The intercom crack, "...Lord Ryat as recieved the package personally, sir."

 Carbon nodded to himself as he pushed several buttons on the console. "I hope you stressed my apologies for the abrupt leave. I dont want him thinking Im flaking on him." Carbon replied as he slamed the thruster forward throwing the ship into a banking spin. "Let me know when we are ready to enter the Underworld." As he pulled the fighter behind Advent fighter homing in on bomber swarming around a crippled Halycon. Letting loose of the targeting systems the fighters autocannons unleashed a stream of flying metel into the leading fighter sending it into a defensive spin. The Advent squad broke formation flying off all different directions trying to draw the fighters away. Carbon let off a small grin, 'not today' he thought. As he passed by the Haylcon, his fighter unloaded a another wave of fire into the damaged ships. As he turned his fighter around to make to watch the bombers fire off what would be the death shot, his HUD flickered and went black. Everything went black.


The seal hissed as the hatched open. Barken stood waiting for the hatch to completely open, "Sir, we are here and there is a problem."

Carbon steped out of the simulator. Taking off his power suit helmet. "Go figure. I cant even enjoy a simple simuation anymore," Letting out a sigh, "What the sit?"

As Braken and Carbon walked away from the simulation rooms and onto main deck 17, "Seems Iron Division is here. Usually..." Braken paused as the air hatch for the elevator hissed as it opened, "...seing another Division isnt a problem but they are between us and the Underworld...." The elevator closed and started moving up, "...again usually not a problem, but they are at combat ready status, shileds at full...Strike craft deployed...."

"They know its here..." Carbon interupted. "I want every ships at battle ready. Dont give it away though. This will get ugly quick if we do, and we dont have the fire power to fight Iron in the open like this."

Braken gave a puzzled look, "Sir? Whats going on?"

"More that you would like to know, Sorry I will tell you about it after I talk to Xenon."

The elevator opened up to the Command deck. Braken walked out and Carbon didnt. "Sir, where are you going?"

"You just move the fleet to the Pirate point and do as I asked. Im going to see Xenon..." Carbon ordered as the elevator hissed close.

"Sir, we're getting an encrypted message from Paragon Xenon. He's requesting we take on sensitive cargo," the lieutenant says from the communications station.

Alexander looks over, "Any more details than that?"

"No, sir, but he is sending us a full chart to the Eras system, including a phase path to Proxima Eras. Sir, he's just given us a back door out of this place."

Alexander's eyes dart about as his lips move gently but without sound. He recollects himself, "Alright, he just gave us our lives back, so we'll take the job. Have the Centauri send a strike force to the star and meet up with his vessel. Make sure they transmit something friendly."

"Yes, sir," the lieutenant says before turning back to his station. Shortly after, one of the doors to the bridge opens and a man wearing a pressure suit walks in, his helm held lazily in his hand.

"Sir, lieutenant Batson reporting, sir," the man salutes with his chest thrust forward.

Alexander rises to meet the lieutenant, "At ease, what's the report?"

The lieutenant drops his shoulders, "We're still trying to make sense of the gate. The space walks only conclude that the Vasari designing that thing was either a genius or a victim of seizures. It's a bundle of wires and nodes with no rhyme nor reason. Worse yet is that their damn nano tech keeps moving things around. Just as I find an access terminal I think I can use, the whole thing rewires itself."

"So we're a no-go on getting that thing up and running?"

"No, sir," he replies, "we're not going anywhere we won't run into Advent."

Alexander returns to his chair, "Don't worry yourself about that. We've got another way out of here, but I still want that gate up and running. That Kostura is fully operational and we don't have a very large window before it's recharged and ready to go."

"Yes, sir. I'll push my men to double up their shifts," the lieutenant replies before being dismissed to his work.

Alexander rubs his chin for a moment before jumping from his seat and proceeding to his ready room.

"The hounds are in their houses. All the foxes are safe."

The message repeats as a group of Kodiaks and Hoshikos hold their position in far orbit of a white dwarf named Proxima Eras. Some time passes before the boxy form of a cargo ship passes near. As if out of nowhere, another message makes its way through the void.

"The fox is already fed. The chicken coop is safe."

The cargo ship comes to a stop and the vessels sit still for some time. Minutes pass and then one of the Kodiaks sends out a message, "This is a dispatch from the 5th Centauri Fleet. We are assigned to escort you to Eras VII, where you will be transferred over to the David. Comply."

"Understood," the response comes back, "We will take formation."

The cargo vessel forms up and the group jumps away from the gravity well, on a direct path to Eras VII.

Great stuff so far guys!!!!!!! Thanks to all who have posted so far!!! Keep up the good reads!

    Todd, over the ship's intercom: "Okay people!  Last jump until we're in sector 241. Grab some metal and hang on for the ride..." A ball of light begins to appear in front of the cruiser and begins to grow.  "Drive fully charged...  Jumping in 3... 2... 1..."  In a flash, the whole ship becomes entombed in the ball of light that was forming off the bow.  Time on the ship seems to stand still for the half minute duration of the jump. Once on the other side, Casey unbuckles herself from her seat on the command deck and walks up to the window to get a better view of where they are.  She mumbles to herself, "What the..."  Todd joins her, "Pretty ain't it?  It's not much, but we like to call it home."  They stare out the window at a lone asteroid floating out in the middle of no where.  The only light in the area is created by the structures built into it, the plasma exhaust from the more then three dozen of the ships zooming around, and the thousands of plasma torches working on ship hulls and ship parts scattered around the asteroid.  Not even the light from the nearest star has much of an effect here.  Roesh calls over the intercom, "Todd. Casey. Meet me at interlock 4.  Khael, you have command of this ship now.  Go find some sympathisers and find out what their price is after we've finished with the big one." "Yes sir, boss...  And they're on their way." Khael replies.  At the interlock, the three board a small shuttle craft and head for the main structure on the asteroid.
    "What's going on out here?" Casey asks.
    "We're collecting unwanted parts and people and putting them all together." Todd quickly replies.
    "You're like a puppy, Todd." Roesh interjects. "Clueless and eager to please."
    Todd gets a quizzitive look on his face before returning his attention to the controls in front of him. "I think I just said too much."
    "Really?" Casey asks rhetorically. "I could just probe your mind and get all of the answers I'm looking for."  Just then she hears a click from behind.  As she looks out the corner of her eye, she can see straight down the barrel of Roesh's gun.
    "Yeah...  I don't think you'll have time to get all of the answers." Todd remarks.
    "Don't worry.  I'm not going to go back on our deal.  You guys work the TEC side, I work the Advent side, you supply the ships and startup capital, and I don't probe you and prevent other advents from probing you." Casey comments.
    "You can probe me." Todd says.
    "No thanks, I like having my share of the profits being bigger then yours." she replies with a sly look on her face.
    "HEEEEY!" Todd exlaims.
    The little squabble is broken up by hearty laughter from Roesh. "Glad to have you aboard Case! The entertainment value alone is worth it."
    Casey softly punches Todd in the shoulder and says, "Buck up little man, my share has to be bigger. Like an evening with you, I'm sure I'll be doing most of the work."  Peering out the window she continues, "Seems the intel on you guys was correct about the frigates, I count about 50."
    "Very good." Roesh says.  "57 to be exact."
    "Only 10 or so are fully operational though, that's why we salvage a lot of stuff." Todd says.
    "Most of it we sell back to the shipyards, a lot of it ends up out here to build up our own fleet." Roesh adds.
    "The stuff that ends up out here is the military grade equipment that you can't get unless you're a purchaser at an official shipyard..." Casey points out.
    "Doesn't take a mind probing to figure that one out does it, Case?" Roesh asks.
    "10 seconds to airlock, boss." Todd interrupts. "Welcome to your new home, Casey."
    The shuttle glides right into a docking stall and makes contact with the airlock.  The straining metal noises the three hear next indicate that the pressure bladder is filling, creating an airtight seal.  Once the door automatically unlatches and swings open, the three disembark and head down a small metallic ramp which terminates in a much larger hanger like area.  Half a dozen civilian trader ships are being modified in this area, fitted with small laser batteries and shield generators, as well as upgraded engines.  "You guys really are pirates.  You've got ships from all sides out there and you're retrofitting civies in here..." Casey remarks.  "I believe the term is privateer." Todd fires back.  "Is that why the TEC lets you hang out doing all of this out here without bothering you?" she asks.  "Nope.  You read the data file on us.  We don't have a base of operations.  This place doesn't exist." Roesh replies.  "Thier intel is clearly wrong." she remarks.  Todd adds, "They don't know that.  Besides, we're not bumping heads with TEC ships, so why would they bother trying to track us down?"  He grabs Casey's arm and slows their pace down to let Roesh get ahead of them before continuing. "Besides that, we got a perfectly good cruiser that shows up in one of our salvage operations, which is exactly what we needed to get our big toy all fixed up and running, and the boss doesn't even bat an eye.  I was excited as hell 'cause it meant less time in an E.V.A. suit welding, but him...  Nothing.  Like he expected it to be there." Roesh turns around, "You guys going to get here today, or are you gonna sit around playing grab ass?" "Right behind ya boss." Todd squawks.
    They exit the hangar bay and work their way through several halls and corridors until they reach the main complex.  With a pat on the shoulder, Todd breaks away and heads off to his quarters.  Roesh, with a quick wave of two of his fingers, motions to Casey to continue on their way. At the end of the hall, he opens a door.  "You're in here.  Get acquainted with it and then meet me on the observation deck topside."  He then walks away and enters an elevator.  After a few minutes of rummaging around, she exits her room, enters the elevator, and heads to the observation deck.
    Casey enters the observation deck and joins Roesh at the windows. From here she see's something that she couldn't see from the shuttle.  Hiding next to the asteroid, and only partially constructed, was a ship that she had never seen before.  Without even being questioned, Roesh volunteers, "It's a new kind of battleship.  Actually, it's no different then any of the others, but we've had to build our own since the plans for capital ships are all locked up and stashed away.  Every time we scan a ship to salvage, we get more pieces of the puzzle to build our own versions, but we need something to run with very soon and can't wait for all of the pieces.  So we designed our own based off of what we have.  We can't crank them out like any of the big players, but if we secure Advent trade routes, and maybe even Vasari routes, we can easily finance this little operation.  When this one's finished, you're captaining it...  Don't look too surprised.  I looked you up as soon as we found your pod.  You're pretty cut throat...  And most of your people think you're dead.  Just think of the look on their faces when you show up again demanding your routes back in a fully functioning battleship.  If they resist, then give them a reason to reconsider."
    "I won't attack my own people.  Taking their business out from underneath them is one thing, killing them is another."
    "Even if they shoot at your first?  Life goes on, with or without you."
    "That still doesn't mean I should kill them."
    "I didn't say you had to kill.  Just destroy half of their ship like they did to you...  You just have to decide which half."
    "What did..."
    "Do you really think a TEC or Vasari missile would be so kind as to only shred the back half of your ship?  Your own account of the battle places you too far away from any TEC ship to use any kind of weapon except for missiles. Maybe a torpedo could have hit you but that would have come from the front and you wouldn't be here right now no matter how lucky you are.  The only logical explination is that you were hit by a beam blast.  By design or not isn't my place to decide, but not being a weapons analyst or anything like that, I still don't think anyone was within range to warrant fireing it."
    Casey stands there for a minute with a perplexed look on her face, which then begins to show signs of anger.  She turns around and heads back to the elevator and leaves the observation deck without exchanging any more words with Roesh.  Shortly after she leaves, Todd enters from a side door.  He says to Roesh, "She looked like she was about to boil over right there.  I think she bought it."
    "Yes, and all of that garbage you've been feeding her about TEC coverups has her paranoid."
    "Who'd have thunk it.  Mind controllers being easy to manipulate with mind games."
    "Doubt is a powerful thing.  If she only trusts us, and is willing to disrupt supply chains for profit, then we can still operate a legitimate trade franchise, manipulate the black market at the same time, and make money off of piracy."
    "I got goose bumps just now.  Everything you just said sounded like credits filling my bank account."
    A large section of hull drops down into view followed shortly by the Hoshiko Cruiser.  Repair drones stream out of the ship and begin to attach the hull section into place.  Todd asks, "So how did we get so lucky to get ahold of one of these fully intact?"  Roesh replies, "A gift from a friend I haven't seen in a while who wishes us success in the future."  "Sounds like a nice guy." Todd adds.  Roesh just stands there silently.  Todd continues, "Well, I'm gonna hit the sack and try to get a straight 8.  After that I'll be ready to get to work on repairing that broken jump drive on frigate number 11 and getting another ship operational for us."  Roesh just nods.  With that Todd heads out.  Roesh chuckles and mumbles to himself, "Todd, if you only knew about even half of the mind games you wouldn't be so proud of yourself."

(FOR CURRENT RP)

Carbon spun the laser pointer in his hand. The room was dead quite. As most of the Division command sat in the conference room, the tension in the room was thick.  No one wanted to speak first. Braken leaning up against the far wall, "Sir, what the hell is going on?" he said softly, almost in an attmept not be heard.

Carbon looked around the room to any responce. Leaning forward he activated the center projector. As the projector hummed to life he let out a sigh. "Well Im not one as yall know to keep you in the dark. Im sorry I have but here the deal..." The projector flickered to life showing the sector. "...at 1500 UST a unregister cargo ships left the Underworld. Though you knew this Im sure. What this ship contains is what all the secrets are about. Its a prototype. Classified as White Impluse. Thats all you need to know about it other than its will change the universe. Here is where it gets fun...the corp didnt like us having it. We I mean me and Xenon, but with the recent attacks all over -Ue_..." The projector zoomed into -Ue_ space showing several planets flashing. ..." it wasnt safe. Even more so it could of sliped through the huge cracks now forming in the corp. from the terroist attacks. So we took preventive mesures..." A few officers gave a small smile. A flashback to another time. "...well the Directors left are scrambling to regain order and their investments. Obvious with Iron just across the well from us."

"Sir?" An officer from across the table interupted. "If Iron is here..."

"We are screwed? Is that what you are going to say?" Carbon said sharply " Well, its not good. Thats the truth. Xenon says he has it covered though. So that means we need to leave it to him....our priority is here." The projector paned to a Desert planet. " Trinea. Its loacted in the Proveva system. Its the key to all this mess. We had several long range scout task forces make it deep into Advent space. Their probes brought back this on Trinea."

The projector flashed aerial pictures, video, scans, and data. All at once as the probes data was showed. Then it all stopped above what looked like a open face mine. Carbon pointed to the image of the mine. "This...this is a data archive. White Impluse was created JUST on the data gather by flybys done my the probes. As you can tell the Advent know its their also. There no telling what in there, but we plan to find out. I want you all to return to your ships and posts. First thing first we got a Iron Curtain in our way."

(For Current Lore)

"...at Promixus we lost several research labs planetside. Axim main tradeport was hit. Vensu, Cray, Brene, Menuas, Yenk....the list goes on and on. Thats not including starbases and other orbital structures." Crest said as the projector in center of the table flashed as he mentioned each event.

"We lost 20% alone this week!"shouted Trenop. Fuming at the far end of the table.

Minera leaned forward pointing to the projected map, "There not much we can do the Divisions are spread thin, Im not sure we can trust the Planetary Concripts. Whatever this is its deep."

"What do we have? Xenon must have something on this...." suggested Trenop nervously looking around the room for support. "...he must know how they are moving around."

"Well...that is another problem. Xenon seems be running his own ops now, both his and Carbon Divison are what I would classify as rouge. Iron had taken the task of fixing that." Oione spoke up. As she shuffled some paper reports. "Ive not got anything to recent but I confident Iron will take care of it. Once he is finish we could use his support again on the home front.

"Jesus, just what in hell is going on then? We have Divisions going rouge, alien loving terrorist bombing the hell out everything. Bill, Ven, Cren, Max...all dead. Gentlemen, what are we going to do? -Ue_ is not fairing well."  said Xenz. "I know your all thinking it, I know I am...." the silence was deafing, "...we may need to fold our hand here."

(Current DS RP)

A marine walks onto the bridge and salutes the admiral, "Sir, Alkaline Sanders wishes to speak with you."

Alexander shrugs and nods, leading to the admittance of Sanders onto the bridge. After a formal salute, Sanders begins, "Sir, I request allowance to set up a set of mounted guns in the cargo bay."

The helmsman looks back at Alexander with wide eyes and a smile breaks across the admiral's face. It fades momentarily and Alexander replies, "Alright, but I want my Sergeant at Arms to verify the ammo is frangible... and I guess make sure someone's posted at the door to keep my men out of harm's way."

"Yes, sir. Permission to speak freely, sir."

"Sure, go for it."

"Admiral, I've noticed we havn't moved in some time. The -Ue_ Corporation will be searching for the cargo. I recommend we maintain mobility."

Alexander nods, "Although I understand your situation, here's mine. We have a Vasari gate in front of us that leads to a Kostura Cannon. With that gate deactivated, we have no way of knocking out that weapon. Alpha Eras is, last we checked, held by a massive Advent fleet, which could just as easily secure Proxima Eras or move further in-system. Speaking of which, there are still over a million people down on that planet and we are their only lifeline unless someone else can arrive in force."

"I understand that, sir, but we can not allow this cargo to..."

Alexander rises from his chair, stopping short of bumping noses with the Alkaline, "Please go on to tell me how your precious cargo is more valuable than the human lives below. Go ahead. I would love for you to tell me why I should keep a box in MY hold out of one TEC ally's hand and in another's."

Before Sanders can speak, the helmsman blurts out, "Sir, a group of ships have jumped in. Four Kodiaks, all bearing -Ue_ markers."

As Alexander turns his attention to the projectors, another group of signals appear near the Kodiaks.

"What now?"

"Sir, it's a Kol with carrier support. They are turning towards the Kodiaks. Sir, I'm getting energy readings on all vessels."

"Hail all vessels," Alexander commands, "Tell them to hold fire."

"Hold fire. Repeat, hold fire," the comm officer blurbs into his headset.

Alexander looks to the Alkaline as he takes his seat, "Is this what you were worried about?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, too bad. Looks like that freighter of yours wasn't the red herring you hoped for. Helmsman, anyone dead yet?"

"No, sir. The vessels are still in proximity, but no weapons fire as of yet."

"Good, get me that Kol."

Within a short time, a voice comes over the comm, "This is the -Ue_ vessel, Horus. We have been sent by Paragon Xenon to assist the David's Lions."

"Good to hear," Alexander answers, "I'm Fleet Admiral Alexander Draakjacht and I'm running overtime on the bridge. If you will be so polite as to holster those guns and form on our wing, we can make formal greetings after some down time. How does that sound?"

The voice laughs for a moment before composing itself, "Very well, sir. We will comply."

With that transmission out of the way, Alexander has the Kodiaks hailed. Soon they too respond, "We are a dispatch from -Ue_ Iron Division. We are in pursuit of stolen materials last seen entering this orbit. Please identify yourselves."

Alexander looks over to the comm officer, "Polite aren't they?" Turning back with a grin, he says, "I am Fleet Admiral Alexander Draakjacht of the David's Lions. And... well, we also have some men from Xenon, Arnoldt, and a bunch of the Centauri. Really mixed bag we have here."

"Sir, we understand you possess -Ue_ property and request that it be turned over immediately," the voice demands.

Alkaline Sanders speaks up from the rear of the bridge, "Sir, we can't let them have it."

Alexander waves him off and replies, "I apologize, but I have already made an agreement requiring the materials to remain in my possession. Although I can not hand them over, you are welcome to remain here and ensure their safety."

Sanders interrupts again, "Sir, that is unwise."

Alexander laughs, "Pardon me, I have to speak to one of my men." He makes a gesture across his throat and the comm officer cuts the signal. Alexander rises from his seat and looks to Sanders, "Look, I'm not going to give them that THING down there, but I have to make a few concessions to keep this from spiraling out of control. So if you want to go sit on your box and keep it from floating off, you're welcome to, but I have to keep these guys from committing suicide in the name of duty."

"Sir, they will report tactical details to Paragon Iron."

"I'm perfectly comfortable letting them seeing as how where we sit tells them nothing about the Advent or the Vasari on the other side of this non-functioning gate. They know nothing by sitting here that they couldn't begin to guess."

Sanders sucks in his breath and makes a salute before leaving the bridge. Alexander turns back, sighing, "Geez, what is it with people right now?" He gestures to the comm officer and the signal is reestablished, "I apologize for the wait, but I am dealing with a rather large number of issues. As I was saying before..."

"Sir," the voice interrupts, "we are not leaving this gravity well without the cargo onboard one of our vessels."

Alexander shrugs, "Fine, set your parking brake and pitch a tent." He walks over to the comm station and reaches past the officer to disconnect the signal. After, Alexander heads towards the rear of the bridge while taking off his coat, "Lieutenant Commander, you have the bridge. If anyone does anything stupid, shoot them then call me. I'll be asleep until then." His words end just before the mechanical doors his and whir closed behind him.

"Sir, a trasmission" A man in a unifore walked into Iron's quarters, the lights where off and Iron had been laying in his bed, just about to fall asleep

" It  had better be damn good to get me out of bed" Iron said in a very angry voice

" its from the task force we sent after the transport ship, they said they ran into a problem" the man said as he turned the lights on

" Damn it, cant anything be easy? Iron said gettin out of bed, " so, whats going on now?" Iron moved to put on a robe that was sittting on the back of his desk chair, " Run into pirates, or did they blow up the damn thing?"

" well sir, they have run across some resistance with some group that has allied themsleves with Xenon, they call themselves David's Lions, dont have too much on them, most of it is pretty vague, from before the corporation went though the wormhole."

" Well thats a bunch of shit then, what do they got?" Iron asked as he got out a a can of soda.

" Well sir here is the data that they sent back, Xenon has a few ships there too, notable the Horus just entered the system" The man said as he handed Iron the report.

" Fuck, i hate, i mean i hate that fucking ship. They are always in the damn way. First at the diatpty system, they didnt let us finish that damn militia, then they took in one of my best captians for 'questioning' , and now this!" Iron was yelling as he finished his sentence, the can crushed in his anger. " WE are going to TAKE that DAMN device if it fucking KILLS ME!!"

"sir....." The man asked slowly backing away

" Get the fleet ready we are moving to take it back, i want eveything jumping to that system, i want to have a talk with this David's Lions, and see how they like my guns ripping apart thier ships!"Iron was still steaming from the thought of the ship

" sir by the time the whole fleet moves using the same route as the task forced used they will be able to tell we are comming long before we can get there" the man said

" What are you suggesting son" Iron asked

" I've been studing the system that they are located in, there are two stars, one is closer to the system that they are at. If we jumped there then we might be able to get the drop on them" The officer said, with a proud look on his face

" well let the task force ask David's Lions whats the quickest way, then lets take that. We can use thier own info against them" Iron said as he looked over the file, " and when we get there the Horus will burn"

"Sir, the Kodiaks are hailing us again," the comm officer announces.

The lieutenant commander sits in Alexander's chair, "Open transmission."

"Sir, we have a request for system information from our Paragon. Please supply us with accurate information as to the phase lanes of Eras," the commander of the Kodiak group says.

"I'll have to clear that with the Admiral first. I can contact you when I have an answer."

"Please make haste in doing so," the voice replies before the transmission ends.

The Lieutenant commander looks to the helmsman, "Any phase jumps detected nearby? Sign of scouts or anything?"

The helmsman fiddles with his controls for a moment before replying, "No, sir. It looks like the Kodiaks are the only -Ue_ within two jumps, Xenon's men excluded."

"Very well, get the Admiral on the line."

A beep repeats on a small device located on a shelf near a bunk where Alexander sleeps. He rolls over and swongs his arm, hitting the device. "Sir, we have a request from the Kodiak group to supply information on the Eras system."

Alexander pushes himself up onto his elbows and peers through the darkness at the small box, "Why would they do that?"

"I don't know, sir. Perhaps they want to bring in reinforcements."

"They already know how to get here. That doesn't make sense," Alexander replies.

"Maybe so, but Alpha Eras provides a shorter jump path. They don't have any scouts in the area, so they might be betting on a shorter jump through there. Should I refuse the data?"

"No... no," Alexander jumps to respond, "Go ahead and give it to them. They still don't know about the Advent and we might have an ace or two in the hole. Don't give them anything more than basic map data. Let's hope they take the path of most resistance."

"Yes, sir. Have a good night, sir."

Alexander taps the device again and digs his head into the thinly built, military issue pillow in front of him.

(Personal / DS)

    Roughly ten days pass as a steady supply of parts flow into the system and completion of the first battleship grows ever closer as more resources and people are devoted to that task.  More and more frigates begin to materialize and become fully operational, and many more just have their outer hulls completed.  Roesh, Todd, and Casey all meet in a small conference room.  No decorations, no amenities, barely enough light to illuminate the lone table which fills most of the room and the 16 chairs that surround it.  The trio take up positions on each side, leaving the side closest to the door empty.  A few minutes pass in silence...  The door slides open and seven others walk into the room and take seats around the table.  Todd stands up and quiets the new group.  "As you all know, we're rapidly achieving our goals, but we're no where near where we need to be.  We have reports, mostly jumbled radio communications, that the Unified Explorers are going through some 'Difficulties'.  Like all large organizations, personal goals tend to get in the way of group goals, and worse, some people so blindly follow group goals that they forget about everyone else.  Why?  I can't really speculate on the reasons behind this fracturing, I can only say for a fact that it is happening.  My sources tell me that the homeworld for the UE was bombed or something.  It could be the beginning of an entire breakdown of thier organization, it might just be some displeased employee proving he's got more control then he's given credit for.  We just don't know enough at this time to really worry about it.  Maybe that's a good thing, maybe it isn't.  It's good because it'll give us much more elbow room to operate if they're busy shaking down their own house.  It's bad because the biggest fleet usually does most of the fighting, letting us do as we please.  Of course, the more fleets they bring in, our elbow room could get cut off...  At this time we know next to nothing about Advent or Vasari positions, movements, needs, or desires."
    Roesh stands up and continues, "Since we're not going to worry about the details of the big players out here just yet, let's focus on the shattered and the lost.  I've heard that some Vasari clans are working with the TEC out here, and everyone except us is trying to kill as many Advent as they can get their guns pointed at.  Casey, we need you to go with one of the scout ships and head on over to the Ario system.  If the UE is still there setting up shop, they may or may not recognize our transponder code as neutral where their current battle lines are drawn, but at any rate, since back in Trader Space we weren't enemies, and our operations were far below their notice, they shouldn't fire on you right away.  They may not even know we're out here...  We're still far too small of an operation to be on anyone's watch lists, especially since we were practically wiped out in Trader Space during the early parts of the war.  That being said, let the ship's captain do any talking and just stay hidden somewhere.  The reason you're going is because I've heard that the system was supposed to be clensed of all Advent.  While I don't know the end result of that campaign, I do know that some did make it out.  I need you to find those refugees and see if they'll be willing to join us here.  If the Advent survived, then it's your show. communicate with them, see if they'll give us any intel on TEC, Advent, or Vasari out here.  Anything you can get would be better then what we have now.  At any rate...  The more stragglers we can scoop up, the better off we'll be."
    Todd picks up where he left off, "We're not out here to take sides unless we're forced to, we're here to re-establish ourselves, and if we can make some serious cred on the side, so be it.  That means we're not pulling the trigger on anyone unless they shoot first, so weapons stay off.  Of course, we're out manned, out classed, and out gunned, so our best course of action is go into some of these systems that have had battles, scan them to see who and what is there, loiter as long as you can, find the losers and see if they'd be interested in joining our operations, tell them to stand by while we do our best to set up shop and we'll come back for them when we have the resources to support the added people...  Most importantly...  Just turn and get the hell out if someone's asking too many questions or they start getting agressive.  We're bringing in the last few of our undamaged RFT ships to do this, They're gonna get repainted so that all of our old Trader Space markings will be covered, so bring 'em back undamaged.  This is purely intel gathering, nothing more.  Any questions?"
    Everyone at the table stays quiet until Casey leans forward.  "If the Advent in Ario were decimated by TEC, what makes you think they'll be willing to join you and your band of merry pirates?  Let's face it, they'll probably be out for revenge and would rather kill you."
    Roesh replies, "True, but given the fact that we don't know what's out there we're at a bit of a disadvantage.  We need to do this so that we know what's going on.  Yes we're going to be exposed and they'll know someone else is out here, but since we're not displaying any markings, and the transponders will be inactive, as long as you're not followed back, we should be able to maintain our anoniminity."
    Casey replies, "I suppose the risk is worth it, besides, I'm getting bored sitting here."
    Roesh continues, "As are we all.  So if nothing else, let's get busy on fact finding.  We're severely lacking in that area, and we're not going to be able to work out deals with anybody if we don't know where they are.  Oh...  And Casey...  Have you thought of a name for your ship yet?"
    Casey replies, "Yes I have.  The Mary Read."
    Roesh, nods in approval. "Very good. Hopefully in a week's time when you get back, she'll be all finished up and ready for worthiness trials.  You'll have a skeleton crew ready to go, so bolstering your ranks is entirely dependent on how many people we bring in.  Everyone in here will be serving with you, so it's in all of your best interest to bring some numbers in.  Don't be afraid to go planet side and work the populace.  There's always people looking for something else to do then sit on a rock floating around in space.  Allure them with anything you can think of.  Profits...  A new trade order...  Privateering or piracy...  Trade...  Or just a different way of life.  You'll probably end up with younger adults on every attempt, but they're actually our primary choice anyway.  Just remember, every single body brought in means less work for us all."
    With that, the room clears.  Within an hour, 8 scout ships enter the gravity well around the asteroid.  They pull up in line near a small structure that sprays a metal gray color over all of the old markings and bakes it dry onto the ships hull.  Once complete, the scout ships dock with the asteroid and the members of the meeting except for Roesh and Todd transfer to ships of their own and head off into the blackness of space to complete the task given to them.  "So Roesh, when exactly are we gonna get started on phase 2 of our plans?" Todd asks.
    Roesh replies, "Soon, very soon.  We're still short on ship hulls."
    "Really trying to make it look good, huh?"
    "Yes.  I need ships for both sides.  How would it look if we just swooped on in and claimed a victory without any losses?  One sided battles would look a little bit odd."
    "When are you going to tell Casey her part in the plan?"
    "When she get's back.  I don't need her taking the time to think about it, analyze it and go rogue on us.  Especially with her being in possesion of the only capital ship we have out here right now."
    "What about after it?"
    "Won't matter.  What's done is done.  We'll have a planet, and hopefully a real base of operations.  I've picked the Finley system for us to go after.  It's got Traders there already, they're a very small colony, and most importantly, too far away from any fleet to send for help."
    "They're basically screwed and ripe for the picking."
    "Exactly.  In the Finley system, the settlement is currently on a terran class planet.  There's also a couple resource asteroids, a desert planet, and I believe a gas giant.  It's not a significant system by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a very good place for us to start.  How many frigates do we have ready to go?"
    "Well, progress has slowed so we could get the...  Mary Read...  Ready for action, but we're up to 16.  Once we can put all of our attention to frigates, we should be able to get 3 or 4 a day fully operational."
    "Good.  Make sure we have about 30 decoys up and running soon as well.  I'll begin training crews on how to operate them without being noticed."
    "By the way, I was looking at the technical data in our computers and data we've scavenged off of other ships, and it appears that we're lacking in a lot of areas."
    "Don't worry, I have a contact already out here who is willing to give me research notes from some of the newer fleet designs and systems.  Real nice guy.  Once he knew I had enough money and was willing to spend it, he turned into a real businessman."
    "Oh!  Speaking of businessmen...  My contacts got us plenty of explosives to put on all of the decoys to make them blow up real nice. There won't be much of anything left so there won't be a way to figure out they were just hulls, engines, and jump drives..."
    "Excellent work Todd."
    "And as a bonus, we can get parts for orbital defenses on the cheap side.  I guess planets are selling them off to make room for orbital hangers.  I figure, we can start getting a bunch brought in here in case things get hot berfore they're supposed to."
    Roesh starts to walk down the hall in the direction of the battleship. "You keep thinking like this and I'll have to retire..." Stopping half way to the door he says, "Retaining a percentage, of course." Then he continues on his way.  "Let's buy up all of the explosives they can get their hands on in the next couple of days and get it here.  We'll store it in our hanger bays."  The door at the end of the hall slides open and Roesh steps through.
    "Of course." Todd agrees.  He then walks off in the other direction.

" We have recieved a phase jump map sir, the Lions gave it to us, and there is a short cut to them sir" The officer was back again in Iron's quarters. He was holding the latest reports with him as Iron sat at his desk looking over a map of the system.

" So lets jump to that star and move in on them, there is no way they will be able to move fast enough for us not to catch them eventually. Have the fleet prepare to move, tell all captains to shoot anything that isnt us." Iron said to the officer

" yes sir" He said as he exited the room. Iron rose from his chair and headed over to the closet on the side of the room. He opened to find his battle armor sitting inside, the same suite of armor that he had worn though his entire military career. It had many stains on it and had been repaired many times over. It should have been switched out a long time ago, but even as he recieved new gear, he always kept this one suite. He just liked the feel of it, and the way it smelt, though most would say it reaked, Iron loved that smell, the smell of battle. He could feel the ship moving under his feet as it positioned itself for the multiple jumps that would be required to reach his destination. First to the star closest to the underworld, then to the Eras system, then finially to meet up with all those that where about to die. He felt a little regret for having to kill so many good men just because the few  above them would not listen to reason. Iron let out a large sigh as the brace for jump call went out over the speaker system in the ship. He held onto the door of the closet as the ship sprang forward. Iron quickly regained his balance and went to the drawers that was close by. Inside he picked out some underclothes to wear underneath his armor. He put on tight white cloth that would help prevent the suite from rubbing against his skin. He then put on the underarmor, a kind of like padded full body suite. After he had squeezed into it, he went back to his beloved armor. Iron carefully took it off of its rack, and set it on his bed. Some grease from it smeared on the white sheets of the bed, ruining them in the process.Iron took no notice of this and contined to set the pieces of armor on his bed, untill the entire set was laying before him. The ship had a sudden decrease in speed as it reached the grav well of the first star. Iron lost his foot for only a second, leaning against the desk keep hisself from falling. He went and grabed the chair from his desk and set it infront of the armor, sitting in the chair, Iron started the ritual of putting on the armor. He took his time, admiring each piece as he put it on, remembering each and ever stain, crack, and chip that the armor had. He had finished putting it on in about twenty minutes, afterwards he made his way to the bridge. On the way he recieved a call form the bridge. " Yes this is Iron"

"Sir we are ready to jump to the new system, awaiting orders" a small voice cam over the communicator

" Have all ships ready for combat before we jump, i want to be ready to fight as soon as we get there" Iron said moving though the scurring crew to reach the bridge. A few times someone would bumb into him, to only be brushed aside, Iron was focused on destroying the ones that defied him, because no one would dare cross Iron.

He soon reached the Bridge, and all stood to attention for a moment. " Back to your stations" Iron said moving to his command chair. " Is the chair ready?" Iron asked a tech officer standing close by.

"yes sir, ready and waiting" The nervous officer replied

" Good, then plug me in,as soon as all ships give us the ready.... we go into the fire my friends" Iron said sitting in the chair as the tech officer pluged his suite into the chair, giving him direct feeds to his fleet, making reaction time faster. He let the machine take over as he saw a tactical overlay of his fleet. The large device around him spun slowly, making Iron unaware of what was happening outside of the arms that where swinging around him. He was ready for battle.

"sir all ships report ready" said the communiations panel

" Good then lets jump" Iron said, his voice filling the bridge as the machine made it come out though the speaker system. Iron could see his entire fleet, they where all in formation. He could see the blue streaks burst away as ships made the jump to the new star. He blue sun that his fleet was leaveing, it swirled infront of him, a beautiful blue orb. His entire fleet was now on thier way to the new system, leave the star far behind. For a few moments there was nothing but the blue streaks of his ships moving though space. Then came the flashing red. "Status whats going on?" Iron barked out.

" Seems that there is an advent outpost at the star sir, should prove to much trouble, just first ships comming out are getting pounded." said the tactical operator

" And that is why the light frigets go first, how long till the rest of the fleet arrive?" Iron asked. A display came up in front of Iron showing the info he asked for. As more ships arrived, Iron recieved more data. " I want all of the capital ships to concetrat on that starbase, bring it down!" Iron called out, All the ships captians responded back, and Iron could hear them all with the device he was in. As the Hammer came out of the jump it was greeted with chaos at its veiwing ports. All around Beam weapons and flak flew.(http://www.gamepulsive.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/bsg-battle-scene.jpg) Fighters form both sides could be seen weaving in and out trying to get the upper hand, only to be hit by a fresh burst of flak from the frigets.(http://media.moddb.com/cache/images/mods/1/10/9681/thumb_620x2000/6b114cb7b7fb483758fbbb6c2e88ddb6.jpg) At the back of the engagment was where the starbase sat, its shields already gone by the bonbardment of multiple missle barages. It was starting to burst into flame with each hit it continued to take. The many hostile capital ships int eh grave well where either gone or almost there, thier beam weapons still tearing into ships that where close by(http://images.mmosite.com/space/upload/070515/biggish/f3445d1422bc.jpg)(http://common.allakhazam.com/images/8/e/8e26abed49e04a56415c5e1f3c409df8.jpg), the missle barrages of had taken out most of the shielding on the ships with kols and heavy crusers taking out most of the armor plating. There where multiple burst of light as capital ships became space junk.(http://23.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kuyu41PeKN1qzdmt5o1_500.jpg) There still was quite a bit of hostile strike craft, but his flak would take care of it soon enough. Iron looked at his ship overlay to see what the damage had been. He had only lost twenty-five light frigets, 20 heavy crusers, and one of his kols had been heavily damaged in the assult, all of them the first ones to arrive. " Have all ships look for surviving crew members of the lost ships, make sure we leave no one behind" Iron called out to all ships.Over a thousand of responses came back to him, all complying with his command. At that moment the starbase burst into flames and exploded in a brilliant flash of light. Iron laughed to himself as he thought about the possiblity that this was to stop him from reaching his prize. "Make sure we make all repairs nessisary before we jump again" Iron said to his support ships. This was an easy victory for him, but it made him only hungrier to reach the next jump, and to take back what was rightfully his corporation's property. His fleet moved past the wreckage that had once been an advent stronghold in the area. They moved to the edge of the grav well and waited for all the repairs to be compleated.  Iron knew his victory was close at hand....

(all images where found using google images, and are the property of thier respective owners. I used them to try and give some visuals for this conflict. Please bear with them as none of them are actual SINS ships, thanks you)

(Current DS RP)

Admiral Alexander walks onto the bridge, the tactical officer leaving the command seat to him. Alexander asks, "What's the situation?"

Before the tactical officer can respond, a man in dress uniform speaks from the center of the bridge, "The situation is dire, sir. I believe we have to talk about making other plans.

Alexander slowly lowers himself into his seat while a straight brow addresses the stranger, "And you are?"

"Captain (-Ue_ equivalent here) Randal of the Horus, sir. I have come to address our current position."

"Right, and what is our current position?"

"Our current position is one of immobility. Sir, we must leave this planet to evade capture by Iron's forces. He will not rest until he has what he is looking for," Randal replies.

Alexander nods, "I understand, but as I told the Alkaline, we are in possession of a valuable piece of enemy technology and can not simply abandon the people below."

"Sir, although I respect your mindset, Iron will not. Whether or not he bothers with the planet, he most certainly will attempt to destroy everyone here, including the Vasari gate. Abandoning the planet might at least save the colonists, but remaining will certainly not work in anyone's favor."

"Randal, I am not leaving this post, that much I am adamant on. In the meantime, you are allowed to come or go as you see fit to save your crewmen. In fact, I am even willing to let you take the device, seeing that you are one of Xenon's men. After all, Iron knows I'm here anyway."

Randal shakes his head, "Unless I am given direct orders from the Paragon, I am not allowed to take the device on board my vessel."

"Then the matter is settled. We are to hold our ground. In the meantime, I recommend you prepare your men for battle. If you so wish, I can order you to the rear of the formation. If anything is to go wrong, it gives you a fighting chance to leave before we suffer a total loss," Alexander says.

Randal takes in a deep breath, "Understood, sir. I hope we are able to talk again soon."

As he takes his leave, Alexander nods while uttering beneath his breath, "Me too." He turns his head and calls out, "Lieutenant commander, what is our situation?"

The tactical officer answers from his post, "Forces have arrived at Alpha Eras. We have yet to see them jump away, so casualties are unknown, but we did get a look at their entrance strategy."

"Good," Alexander replies, "Are we ready to move on to the next phase of construction?"

"Yes, sir. The station has minimal armor, but a full payload. Our fleet is ready to hug in close orbit behind it and the construction vehicles are ready on your command."

Alexander nods, "Alright, let's give the Kodiak group the good news. Open a channel to all vessels."

A moment passes by as comm static is exchanged between many of the vessels in orbit. When it finally dies down, the caps near the Kodiak group open fire in tandem. The Kodiaks veer around, attempting to escape the barrage, but the engagement is soon over with debris being all that remains of the few ships.

"Sir, the Kodiaks are destroyed," the tactical officer announces.

"Good, set the construction vehicles to work. Make sure everything is set to manual control and customize it for our friends. I want to make sure they get the warmest welcome space has to offer," Admiral Alexander smiles.

Part way through the construction, a fleet enters the gravity well, alerting those on the David's bridge. Immediate hails go out to the newfound vessels. The comm officer turns to Alexander, "Sir, It's Lord Arnoldt's fleet."

Alexander smiles, "That's good news for now. Contact them about the bad news coming soon. I want everyone here to have all the intel they can use."