Low orbit over Bond II

Bond System

Thalan/Federation disputed space

5th Tir-Quan "Alan Bradshaw's life's guard" division


The forest was really quite beautiful. The tall pine trees made great shadows loom over the rolling white landscape. Though the sun shone brigthly it was a cold day at minus 33 celcius. It had snowed all night and in the morning a cold current swept the clouds away and brought the cold. But the sun shone brigthly.

The heavy snowstorm had cammoflaged the dozen fireballs falling from the sky. The already heavy accumulation had made it all the more comfortable, as comfortable as falling from 6 kilometers high can be. It  had conitnued to snow until this most cold of afternoons, which threatened to get colder as night would overcome day.

It had snowed roughly six feet and the landscape was nothing short of pristine. A sort of tabula rasa for the days to come. The tall snow covered pines loomed like still giants. No one would have ever dared to dream that this was bug country.

On the ridge where the fireballs had fallen it was very difficult to now see the snow moving about . Underneath three feet of it General Leclerc sat still. His suit had only just recently unblocked itself after locking up to protect the one who wore it from the cold drop. A tiny antenna stood out of the snow as it stuck out from Leclerc's helmet.

Instantly, an infrared scan filled his visual inside his helmet along with data input on Thalan life detections. The target was over thirty kilometres away, and the Invasion Group was due to arrive in three hours. Immediate and close vicinity sensor sweeps confirmed that the troopers were alone.

"Move" he whispered under the deep snow. Actual visual showed that it was pitch black under the snow, pitch black and still, silent. The rest of his squad heard his whisper. In a matter of seconds snow began to melt all around them. Their suits heated up their exterior platings to an extent that in less than a minute Lecler and his soldiers were easily freed of the snow. Walking through it though would have taken far too long. Even standing the troopers could barely see out of their holes.

"Boost to 8oo hundred metters forty degress West, on the small plateau." Leclerc had a detailed topographical map on his visual.

The troopers all ignited their boosters and shot up through the snow in a controlled rocket boost. Snow that remained clung under their booths metled to vapour in sedconds, leaving a trail of smoke behind them. As Leclerc was climbing higher to make it to the plateau he extended his sensor antenna again. As he reached the apex of his curve, that split second where you remain suspended in the air, he unleashed a powerful sensor ping in all directions. His suit had already compiled all the info by the time he landed with his troopers.

The coast was pretty clear apart for large concentrations of Thalans due south about five-hundred kiometers. Same for North, East, and West. They had landed in a very comfortable safe zone with huge hives all around them. But no Thalan life detections within the radius of 500 killometres all around them. Exactly where they needed to be.

Leclerc had studied the maps and topography to an extent that he knew the planet's surface like the back of his hand. He was right on the mark to strike at his objective. Leclerc had reasoned that for four major hive clusters to be surrounding a specific area didn't mean that within that area they didn't care, it was because the Thalans had dug underground. The hives protected the entrance tunnels to get to the overlord. There were a little over a billion warriors protecting the mind controlling overlord.

Leclerc's men had already deployed around the plateau top and had immediate vantage points occupied while the general linked with their ship still in orbit. In a second the ship's cargo bay opened and a large spatial canister shot out towards the planet's surface. Leclerc looked up in the sky and saw the small trace of smoke trailing the small fireball which seemed to be heading straight for them. He saw it come down right in the middle of the plateau creating a small crater and shooting up more dust and steam into the air.

Four troopers raced to the pod and opened it up. Inside the spatial canister was the most sophisticaded digging machine. The machine was actually Mankind's latest laser technology. The cylinder stood seven feet tall and had about a three feet diameter. It would shoot directly into the ground and the residue of the material transformed by the phasor's intense energies would shoot out of the top of cylinder. The hole would be just the right size to drop the package, and the time frame gave them three hours before the IG commenced landing operations.

The troopers installed the machine and turned it on. A deep hum reverberated within their suits. It was almost comforting. The instant it turned on a plume of white, gray, and black smoke spew out of the top. The hole would be ready in less than three hours, a total distance of some eight kilometres. the troopers acted more than just proffesionally. every action, every movement was made with a soecific end goal in mind. evbery move was calculated to make sure no time was wasted and the mission would come to a successful close. The faster they went the more chances they had.

The first hour went by without a scratch. During the second a small flash lit up the left top corner of Leclerc's visual. He thought to it. The visual was replaced by an image. The Thalans were on the move. They had finally been detected. Leclerc knew that this moment would come and to say the truth he was surprised it had taken this long. The first wave would be here in less than twenty minutes. The Thalan drop bug could fly at incredible speeds with its enormous wings. He alerted his men but they too had been expecting this. They were as ready as can be.

Leclerc made his helmet visual slip up so that he could expose his face to the outside. He stared out at the white beautiful landscape for some time. The tall pine trees still stood as majestic as ever down in the valleys surrounding their position. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes capturing the image in his mind. Suddenly he feels it. A very slight tremor in his feet. He opens his eyes again and over the farthest ridge he can see it. As if the ground itself is moving and advancing rapidly towards them. The Thanlans have arrived. Had he really been stainding there for that long simply taking in the planet's fresh air? He chastised himself inwardly for a such alack of attention.

His suit analyzes all tactical data. In the immediate vicinity there are over one million two hundred thousand Thanlans. Not a single trooper flinches as they see the data appear in their visual. There are three openings to the top of the plateau and each is guarded by four troopers which together guard the central area where the phasor is still mining and spewing the residue in the air. Leclerc thinks of a rousing speech to give to his troopers, but he knows it is not needed. Each trooper is the living embodiement of war itself, each a veritable Ares. They do not need patriotic heedings to enhance their fighting skills. That has already been done to its utmost. So he stays quiet, and the onyl sound you could hear is the distant rumbling of hundreds of thousands of six legged bugs charging tgowards them at tfull speed with but one intention in their primitive brains.

The Thalans are now only a kilometre away. The Troopers open fire. They know they need to conserve ammunition and that in order to prolong the battle favourably they need to keep the Thalans as much at bay as possible. Each trooper shoots one shot of their TR-86 rifles using just over a second to aquire a new target and shoot at that one as well. Each shot is a kill. The Tir-Quan do not aim well, they aim perfectly. The galloping Thalans are literally mowed down from a kilometre away as the 5th TQ fire the opening shot of Mankind's next war. The troopers fire relentlessly into the Thalan mass still moving towards them. There are so many dead however that the bugs are forced to climb over their dead to continued on towards the top of the plateau. The heavy and deep snow does not aid in their efforts.

The troopers reload in less than two and a half seconds. Those two and half seconds allow the Thalans to get that much closer. Their dead are already over a thousand and they have not yet reached the troopers. Leclerc can hear the agonizing squeels of the dying warriors as each bullet hits them exactly at the right spot to pierce the cranium holding the bug's brain.

The Thalans do not stop or hesitate for one second. They are now within a hundred metres from each of the mens' positions. Their dead pile up into a veritable wall upon which the warriors still charge at their prey. There are over five thousand dead when the ammonution runs out, and the bugs are only just a couple of metres away. The trropers throw their rifles onto the ground pushing a little red button on the side before they do. As they let go of their rifle they each pull out their tri-strontium blade.

Fifteen minutes before the invasion group's arrival.

The troopers must hold their ground if the package is to be delivered down the hole and the invasion is to succeed. The four soldiers assigned to each opening stand in a line side by side with their blades gleaming in the crisp sunshine air. Not every blade is the same. Many a trooper customize their blades from the hilt to the shape. Some wield katana's, some wield longswords, not to mention the ones with unorthodox designs. Regardless of the design however, each is sharper than the next and they are ready to slice through the warriors like cold retribution.

The Thalans are upon them but before they can even raise one of their sharp claw legs it is cut in half and they lie dead on the ground as a blade sliceses their underbellies. The troopers slash with better precision than they shoot. They whirl around managing blade and body movements like a maestro manages his orchestra. The result is purity.  Sounds making up together a beautiful music that can tame the wildest of beasts. Only this music is performed by the sounds of Thalan limbs getting sliced off and the sound of the Thalan warriors getting slain.

One trooper jumps twelve feet up in the air and as he comes down he digs his sword in the back of an enemy, as he rips the sword out and ducks beneath an incoming warrior's claw he spins and pulls out his pistol with his free hand firing off three rounds in the warrior's face that had tried to claw him. His gun is holstered before the bug has time to fall to the ground and he is already lunging at the next incoming warrior. He straightens himslef like an arrow in the air as he fires his boosters for a spilt second. On either side of him in the air two claws swing at him, one grazing his helmet visor and the other scraping the paint on the buttocks of his suit. His blade is deep into his enemies and he whirlwinds with his blade sticking out and instantly killing the two others who had sliced at him and missed.

The battle is happening as the sun shines on the increasingly bloody battlefield. The pristine landscape of only moments ago is stained purple with the blood of thousands of dead warriors. And yet they keep on coming. Leclerc swings and hacks with the precision of a surgeon leaving many dead warriors in his wake. To his right a trooper slices in half the head of a warrior coming in on his general's flank to swing at him. The general has just the time to turn around to see this as a second warrior swings with all his might at the trooper and knocks him to the ground. The trooper is stunned for just the tinyest of fractions, but unfortunately there are too many Thalans and he is ripped to shreds in a matter of seconds.

The Thalans do not stop or hesitate for a second, pushed forward by the psychic hold the overlord has over them. At another opening another trooper falls in combat his arm getting sliced off before having his body punctured by the Thalan claw legs.

At T-minus five minutes Leclerc orders his men to fall back. As they do they detonate their dropped rifles. Twelve tremendous explosions rock the ground and throw many Thalans straight up into the air. Fireballs and great black smoke fill the sky. At the same time the digging phasor has finished its work. Leclerc runs towards it and with the help of one of his troops they push it aside and it falls on the gound next to an endless, neat circular hole three and half feet in diametre. Leclerc links up with the ship in orbit and orders it to come down on their position. The Thalans are blown back by the blast and many more bugs are killed, yet before the dust has even settled they come charging back. The troopers form a protective ring around the hole. Every single one of them is ready to die and not one of them feels fear.

As the ship comes to hover above them a military case with a nuclear symbol on the side drops down on the ground right next to the general. He wastes no time in opening the case and taking out the bomb. He arms it and brings it to the hole while his troopers keep the warriors at bay. Another trooper drops, with every death the fighting efficiency of the unit drops just a little bit. They cannot afford any more or they will most likely get overrun.

A message pops up on Leclerc's visual. The Invasion Group has arrived. The geeneral drops the bomb down the hole. One of the more powerful bombs Mankind has built, if this plan is to succeed thye have to make sure the blast is efficient. only one way to make sure of that; make the blast more powerful. He orders his men back into the hovering ship. Each of his men try to disengage so that they may fire their boosters and make it up to the ship hovering at about a hundred feet high. The General is the last to blast off and reach the drop ship with his men.

They each look down at the scene of devastation below them as the ship climbs higher in the clear sky. Many are still gripping thightly to their blades and breathing heavily. They do not say a single word as each honours their fallen comrades in their own way.

"Admiral Scheer, you're clear to begin bombardment. Just follow the light." says leclerc. he knows the invasion commander will hear him.

And with that the earth below them began to rumble. They were at thirty thousand feet still with the door open and each holding on inside the ships drop bay, staring down at the battlefield. From this high up it was clear to see even more Thalan warriors rushing the plateau. The explosion reached the ground and threw rock and earth thousands of feet high.  agiant explosion even though its epicenter was over eight kilometres deep. there is too much dust and debris in the air to see the crater properly.

The drop ship exited the atmosphere right next to Implaccable and Intelligent. The missile frigates where already launching nuclear-tipped harpoons. The missiles flew past the drop ship and headed down towards the surface. Flash after nuclear flash lit up Bond II;s atmosphere. As the days passed the dust settled and the once pristine snowy landscape changed to a desolate dry wasteland.

Another sort of Tabula Rasa.

That's one of my flaws when I write. I like to think that the present tense makes the situation perhaps more dramatic and adds flavour, however I am aware that changing tenses in the same piece is not correct. Sometimes I do it without even noticing unfortunately.

Earth

Sol System

Harbin Shipyards

High Orbit over Earth

The shuttle flew silently, flanked by four SF-112s past the gigantic spatial locks, constructors, and ship builders making up the vast complex of the Harbin Shipyards. The shipyards were responsible for over seventy percent of all tonnage built within the Sol System. The impressive complex was responsible for building both merchant vessels and Navy warships. Men in spacesuits works on the outside of a hull of an as of yet still unidentifiable ship.

Muckler stared through his window at the immensity of the shipyards. Other than the highly industrialized Hub sector housing the Petroni system, no other system within Federation space could roll ships off the assembly line as fast as they could here at the Harbin Shipyards. The Combine corporations all had shares within the shipyards and all the companies built ships here. As the combine invested more and more the complex expanded just as much.

The shuttle flew under a Halifax class Frigate under construction; TFS Toronto was painted in white letters just under her bow. She was almost ready to undergo her maiden voyage and contribute to the war effort against the Thalans. The Oberkammander seemed relaxed, he loved watching this; The construction of space faring ships of large sizes, mankind continually pushing the limits. He smiled as he looked upon these behemoths of kanvium, but as large as these ships were they were to be outdone by the Navy's new ship of the line.

The shuttle flew past more giant locks, some empty but most with ships under construction within their holds, and sped towards what looked like a giant rectangular prism floating in the dark openness of space. "Is that it?" he asked his pilot. "Aye Sir." Above the prism, which was actually a spatial lock closed to preserve the secret of what it held, was the missile frigate Inconstant standing watch over the lock. There were also some two-hundred fifty light and heavy Space Superiority fighters operating within the immediate area. Security was tight, but after all this was war. Only last week a Thalan force had broken through the Echelon system unseen and had arrived within striking distance of Alexandria Starbase. Luckily Invincible jumped into operational range just as the Thalans were to launch their attack upon the station. Using its vast operational range the missile frigate pummeled the Thalans from a distance of over 250 000 clicks with ravaging and deadly harpoon missile strikes. The station was saved from sure destruction as it was only lightly defended being so deep within Federation space. Muckler had eaten a shovel full of the proverbial shit as the Prime magistrate had ripped into him for allowing the Thalans to slip past undetected. Muckler had taken full responsibility, but he had also politely reminded the Prime magistrate that with FISA (Federation Intelligence and Spy Agency) still in civilian hands and in control of Echelon, it was very hard to utilize the satcomm network to its full potential for the Navy. The Prime Magistrate had waved it off obviously wanting to avoid that subject.

Derek Ohio, the Federation Prime Magistrate, had had other news for Muckler that day. While militarily the war was going quite smooth, diplomatically it was in complete shambles. The loose alliance agreed upon during the emergency UP assembly in order to counter the Thalan unprovoked attacks had all but broken apart. Helios had not sent a single ship to aid the Federation vessels in its own sectors of space. At first it was believed that since the Thalans had so effectively mauled the machine forces Helios simply had nothing to throw at them. However the war was over six months old by now and Helios was still hiding on his own worlds. Collaboration with the other races to fight the Thalans was virtually non-existant. Muckler did not particularly mind this last point, but as the Prime magistrate so often reminded him the war must also be won in the political arena. The Imperials had successfully contained the Thalans and had kept their borders largely intact, The Republic of Drengia had done the same and it was not uncommon that their fleets should operate in close proximity with the Terran fleets, but as for actual combat cooperation, they simply told the federation commanders when they wished to attack regardless of what the Navy chose to do. Muckler accepted this ideal for he had instructed his captains to do the same. As such the Federation war machine had ground into dust the Thalan defenses and now stood on the doorstep of Thalis Secundus, the planet housing the Thalan primary hive cluster. It was believed that the super bug which commanded all of the Thalan race was on that world, embedded deep beneath the crust.

The shuttle arrived at the large spatial dock. A small opening on the side allowed for jsut enough space for the shuttle to enter. [Inconstant hovered vigilantly above providing a very real sense of security. From far it was as if a bright light emanated from the prism as the door opened to let the shuttle in, but the light was rapidly put out as the opening closed behind the shuttle. Within the vast structure lit up by tens of thousands of bright lights an imposing ship hovered square in the middle.

"Apparently they weren't sure if she was going to fit when they first got the plans for this one" Muckler said aloud to his pilot.

Not that he cared or anything, but the view was spectacular and very imposing. The very first Wolverhampton class Man-Of-War was complete and Muckler was here for the inauguration of the Navy's first ever true capital ship. Muckler stared at it with a deep sense of pride. These ships would cost twice as much and take twice as long to build as an Inflexible class frigate. The Man-of-War boasted fifty eight batteries of deep space gravitron mass drivers. There was no ship in the galaxy that was able to withstand such punishment. The Inflexible class missile frigates were already far superior to anything the Thalans fielded, and this ship was almost twice as strong. His shuttle docked with Wolverhampton Muckler stepped out into the warship's hangar bay. He was given a smart and well performed formal welcoming by the ship's captain and his officers. They stood in crisp and flawless salute as he inspected them and nodded his approval. Flanked by the ship's captain they began the tour of the ship.

A top of the line Sick Bay could handle dozens of patient at a time ranging from mortally wounded seamen to light cuts and scratches. The mess room was spacious, and crew quarters were well conceived, but the most impressive part of the ship was its engineering levels. Spanning a total of five decks, Engineering onboard Wolverhampton was quite larger than any other vessel in operation. Four Ion propulsion hyperdrives were installed nestled beneath a plethora of coolant tubes and electrical wires of all sorts. Massive fusion generators were also installed to ensure the ship's continual supply of power even in the direst of situations. These also powered the ship's weapons systems. The tour continued as the party made its way up to the bridge. The large command room was abuzz with officers of all sorts running tests and calibrating their equipment. The captain explained how he was drilling his men and women to ensure that the Navy's pride performed at its maximum level of efficiency.

Muckler was walking about the bridge nodding and giving eye contact to everyone who went past him as they saluted their supreme commander. He didn't notice that the comm officer had intercepted the captain and was giving him a report with a frown that said "what the heck does this mean?" The captain studied the report and Muckler was surprised to see that he now wore the same expression.

"Something wrong captain?" Muckler inquired.

"A small unchartered cargo ship just jumped out of hyperspace sir. It's being handled by Inconstant though sir you needn't worry about a thing."reassured the captain of the Man-of-War

"Where is that ship originating from?" asked the oberkommander. The captain, somewhat embarrassed that a small breach in security should happen while the supreme commander of the Terran Navy should be inspecting his ship, attempted to reassure Klaus. "Well the ship is Imperial sir, we all know how vigilant they are about formalities concerning their coming and going." he let out a small laugh ate his sarcastic comment meant to lighten the mood, but no one else around caught on as they saw the look on Muckler's face.

"Captain Perry onboard Inconstant assures me the situation is under control, we aren't sure yet if its some sort of joke but apparently the crew is Human, apparently from TFS Quebec, the same one that dissappeared during the Helios Awakening. Anyhow sir, don't fret the situation is quite under control. If you'll follow me over here we have..."

"Ready my shuttle!" snapped Oberkommander.

Klaus turned right around and headed for the exit leaving the perplexed captain with a look of complete shock. Oberkommander Muckler walked rapidly and with purpose. He was the only person who knew about Quebec's secret mission. After all these years could it be that Sebastien Nolan had actually made it back alive? A million questions invaded his thoughts.

another good post amiral..im loving this.keep it coming

This is all very strange Admiral I have to say re your post being all jumbled up like that-take it you've tried to fix in edit?

Not sure what the solution is-may be an issue with the site...

I've seen the vanishing menu before. I can get rid of it by refreshing the page, but I can't be sure that'll work for you. Give it a try anyway, though.

Earth

Sol System

Harbin Shipyards

High Orbit over Earth


Klaus Muckler's shuttle raced towards the missile frigate TFS Inconstant. nestled just under the frigate was the Imperial cargo ship of Drengin design. Painted in purple and gold, the royal colours of House Korath, the shuttle was clamped to the belly of the frigate. The frigate's hangar bay doors opened and allowed the Oberkommander's shuttle, flanked by its escort of SF-112s piloted by Tir-Quan troopers, to enter. The shuttle landed softly and the ramp openeed to reveal Muckler hurrying down the steps.

"Sitrep!" He called as he returned the salute of the frigate's captain.

The captain motioned for his supreme commander to follow him. "We've docked with the cargo ship but we've kept the hatch closed. All scans reveal human life onboard but I've got an armed guard watching the door in case there's a nasty surprise in wait."

Muckler motioned to his guards to follow him. The three Tir-Quan troopers accompanied him and the dozen marines affected to Inconstant along with the ship's captain. Muckler showed his true leadership skills as he maneuvered through the ship's tight squeezes to find the hatch. Muckler had never actually been inside an Inflexible class missile frigate but he had studied it carefully before approving its construction.The ship's captain was shut silent, politely but shut silent none the less by the Tir-Quan trooper standing next to him, when he attempted to give Muckler directions.

The Navy's missile frigates had performed, and continued to do so for none had been destroyed in six months of war. The Terran offensive had utterly crushed Thalan resistance as the Humans took planet after planet and seized four systems from them. The Navy's numbers weren't great but they used the frigates as incredibly efficient support vessels. All was not without loss however as upwards of 350 Space-Superiority fighters were destroyed and only eighty pilots had escaped death. Only Indomitable had been taken off the front lines. She had sustained heavy damage as the entire 7th fleet had been ambushed. The fleet lost its entire fighter contingent and Indomitable had battled through to the bitter end as every enemy was destroyed. She had limped back to the nearest repair yard and was currently in drydock. She would be out for several months.

This unsuspected development, however, had Muckler on his heels. He made one last turn and opened a hatch, he stepped through into a small room with a large hatch at the other side.

"Open the door corporal" he ordered the marine standing in front of the door.

The marine turned towards the large gray door and nodded to his two comrades. They got  into position and each pulled on a bar at the same time. The door unlocked and a small hiss blew from under the door. They swung the heavy hatch open to reveal the corridor connecting the two ships. Muckler took a deep breath and walked into the hallway followed by his guards and the Marine contingent. They came out at the other end into the large hold of the Drengin cargo ship and came face to face with a group of disheveled Navy crewmen and their captain.


One week ago

Imperial World of Vireshk

Fiefdom of House Vire


Captain Nolan rushed towards the estate manor. He had to get to his crew as fast as possible. They had to get off of this planet now. They had been held here long enough. For months now Nolan and the entire crew of TFS Quebec had been held here, with their every needs tended to and even a large degree of freedom planetside, but without any possibility of ever leaving the ground. They had been kept inside Lord Vire's personal estate and though the Lord baron was not always there, what with political obligations owing, the House's servants and workers made sure the Human crew lacked nothing.

He had already  contain some major frustrations from his crew, but the fact was that they were kept in the dark as to waht was really happening in the galaxy at the moment. Nolan knew that the Altarians had engaged in contact and skirmishes with the Imperial garrisons on the Empire's fringe. Her knew that the Thalans had launched unrelenting attacks on all of the species' neighbours for who knows what reason. The mere existence of the Thalan race had surprised Nolan quite entirely. Since his capture by the Imperial Drengin he had spent the first four months in a dark damp cell and had then been place on this world by the Prince of Vire, the Empire's Crown Prince; Kir'Ith Vire. Kir'Ith's father the Lord Baron of Vire had made sure that his "guests" be treated as honourably as possible.The more pampered they were the less likely they were to ask too many questions.

But Nolan and his crew needed to get off of this rock and it wasn't entirely because they were prisoners. but rather because if they didn't there was a large chance they would all be dead within hours. The Altarians had returned.

Just he reached the manor he saw a small shuttle, painted in Imperial colours and with the symbols recognizing it as the Crown Prince's personal shuttle. Kir'Ith had arrived amidst the confusion and pandemonium. Standing on the landing pad was the Lord Baron himself, his father, dressed in full battle armour. Kir'Ith walked towards him with two Imperial soldiers following slightly behind. Nolan continued to watch as the father and son stood face to face.

"What news?" asked Lord Vire to his son while holding his helmet to his hip, pulse sword hanging by his side. Kir'Ith had a grave look on his face, Nolan could tell. He had seen that face before while being interrogated by him in his cell. Those four months he had spent rotting away getting beat by the guards, before finally giving up the datadisc. Nolan knew Kir'Ith and he knew that the Crown Prince would fight with everything he had to make sure the integrity of his Empire stood fast. Nolan also knew that Kir'Ith was aware of the true Altarian threat, The secret of the "Light", but he feared the Prince's honour would never allow him to admit defeat against any enemy of the Empire. His father was much the same, and the two now stood face to face to one another in the gravest to hit their house since the Unification Wars, long before the advent of House Kona.

Kir'ith looked his father in the eyes. "The Emperor requires immediate service for all of your mobilized reserves and an immediate order drafting full mobilization of House Vire. The enemy has occupied the entire system of War'del. The twenty-ninth and forty-fifth squadrons are lost along with the entirety of the eight fleet. House Tok'Mar has ceased to exist. "

The Lord Baron opened his eyes wide in shock at what had he had just heard. An entire Noble lineage decimated, a whole system lost, and a breach in the lines with little reserves to plug the gap. he didn't know where to start bu he didn;t like the idea that House Vire's personal militia would have to be called into active service. That was utterly against the laws of the Empire and had always been so since House Kona brought into a confederation all the major Drengin Houses. The laws were strict, a House's personal militia was to remain under direct control of the skik'da of that House.

"Every year the emperor asks more and more from me, he requisitions more and more ships, guns, fuel rods, and what am I left with then when something like this happens? What am I left with now to defend my people..." The Lord Baron was now shouting "Your People Kir'Ith!"

Kir'Ith moved to take off his helmet. Iwht both hands he grasped its side and removed before staring deep into his fathers' eyes. "My people now extend beyond the realm of your House father. Do you not realize that you speak to the Crown Prince of the Empire?" He held up his right hand and pointed to the large Korath signet ring. "This ring is who I am now father, and with it I bear responsibilities wou cannot even begin to imagine."

The Lord Baron was furious "How dare you bring your insignificant hubris to this discussion, you are above and beyond all the Prince of Vire, and as such you will obey me as your father and your skik'da. You will not be getting your paws on my only mobilized reserves. It will take at least a week to mobilize the entire planet in case of an attack. I need those ships and those men. House Vire needs those ships and those men" his tone was now much more complacent, almost pleading as the father attempted to hit at the son's emotions.

Kir'Ith was in a trance he stared past his father into in own thoughts and began to speak, "I've seen them fight father, I've seen what fuels them and I tell you now," he regained focus and stared into his father's eyes one more time "there is great honour to be found combating this enemy, and I will lead my people towards that path, no matter the price, but I will be needing your reserves father."

The Lord Baron took a step back "Kir'Ith if you have a shred of honour left in you..." Kir'Ith's eyes lit up like a thunderstorm, in flash he reached for his pulse sword  and brought it up with a frightening shout so that it stood but bare centimeters from his father's throat and said "I have honour father, I fought the Humans and continued to do when Kona's tactics doomed his empire, I was but a simple Prince of your House, I was being held back by your name. The Emperor told me it would come to this one day, the day where you continuously refuse to aid the Empire even after all the good it has accomplished for our race." Kir'ith's hand quivered just the lightest bit, as if he was trying to control his muscles from lashing out. "That time is over now father! Do you understand, our House, along with all the others cannot continue to stand autonomously forever, there has to be one central power structure."

"Abandon the Houses and cede it all to a madman!? Kir'Ith Vire have you gone mad yourself, what poison has the Emperor infected you with? Continue to speak this way and you will not be my son for very much longer. Now put down your sword young pup." The last words were said with visible disdain.

Kir'ith's eyes opened wide at the insult, he lunged forward the stick the sword into his father's neck.

Nolan ran into the estate manor just as the Lord Baron's dead body crumpled to the floor, it was time to put the escape plan into motion.

I think paper tiger may have been the right choice of words there... The Thalans at the start was at war with every single other race. Now in the AAR I made it seem as though it was the Federation that was under pressure from the other powers to go to war with the Thalans. Thee fact is that in-game i bribed every single race save two to declare war on the Thalans knowing that I would have the greatest chance of success in the said war because the Thalans and I were close and I would have the complete element of surprise...that may have been Muckler's thoughts all along when you think about it. I am still surprised though I managed so well.

As it stands now the war is far from over as the core Thalan planets have still not been taken, and the Altarians are at the doorstep. I've delayed writing the past two weeks because of the playoffs but with my team out (I hate the Bruins) I now will devote more of time to it.

thanks for keeping on reading

cheers

Haha, this is cool, I'm especially likeing all your Canadian named ships!

Gray Rock

Sol system

The Moon

The first thing Klaus Muckler had done was to order the crew of Quebec to the showers. These men had gone through hell and Muckler didn't need to hear their stories to be able to tell. The captain of the crew, Sebastien Nolan, intrigued him. He had met Nolan once before during a briefing on Pearson NS prior to the opening of hostilities against the Drengin Empire. Bradshaw had seen something in this merchant marine captain turned military. Muckler had no doubts that Nolan's career within the Navy had risen because of Bradshaw, but that did not discount the fine work he had done under the command of Rear-Admiral Latona Vavilov and the Fivel Action Group during the war.

Muckler ordered that the men be clean shaven, fed hot food, and given new uniforms before anything else was done with them. He had also ordered the transfer of the crew to Gray Rock onboard none other than the Wolverhampton.The ship's captain had been taken somewhat aback at the order, and in his surprise at the demand had spluttered something or other about the crew not being fully onboard yet, and the many systems that still needed testing. A hard look by the Navy's CinC made the captain gulp back his words and order the crew to stations for immediate departure.

Wolverhampton gracefully detached herself from her moorings inside the construction garage as the immense door in front opened up and revealed the ship's new domain, space. She slowly moved out and at once the workers in their spacesuits working on various ships at other space docks turned around and watched the first real capital warship ever built by mankind make its first ever voyage. Even if the ship was only going to Gray Rock, a trip of mere seconds at maximum sublight speed.

When the ship arrived at the dark side of the moon it took up geosynchronous orbit just over a large crater. Shuttles left the man-o-war and descended toward the ground and as they did the ground opened up to reveal a conduit tunnel for small shuttles. The shuttles entered and disappeared as the ground closed up behind them. Two hours later Sebastien Nolan was awaiting to be interrogated.

Standing just outside the interrogation room's door in the hall Muckler took a deep breath before entering. Where to start? he thought. He turned the knob and entered the white room. In the center was a table with a recording apparatus built in. It was really just a show, sometimes interrogators had ot gain the trust of the people they were tryign to extract information. Whether or not the apparatus was turned on everything would be recorded anyways. hidden cameras were palced at strategic spots which would record the person's body language, facial features when answering questions. Every little detail for analysts to comb through afterward.

Muckler sat down in front of Nolan who seemed not confused, but perhaps unsure. Perhaps not completely trusting of the situation.

"I want to start off by telling you that you have nothing to fear about this. It's standard operating procedures to..."

"You mean you've already had to deal with a captain gone missing for over five years and who returns at a time when all is changing, and when all can be lost." Nolan interrupted him.

At first Muckler was surprised that he had even been interrupted as he was not accustomed to that, being the Oberkommander and all. Nolan stared into his eyes and Muckler could see fire.

He retook his composure and brought his handsup just a bit to show that he was backing off. "To eb honest with you Nolan I don't know what to do with you. I..." again he was interrupted.

"Should you not refer to me as Captain Nolan?"

Muckler opened his eyes a bit to show his surprise at the question "Nolan you were declared MIA after the debacle at Marshall IV. With the loss of Harvard and your group commander it was assumed that you too were killed by Helios. It was just never proven, but after so man years it was natural for us to assume that..."

"Don't play games with me!" yelled suddenly Nolan. He half stood up from hsi chair and he seemed to be quivering with rage "You knew of my mission. You knew Bradshaw had sent me out into the unknown , to search for a needle in a haystack. Well we found it! And you have no idea of the powers massing against us in the unknown."

Muckler didn't knwo what to say "Perhaps you should start from the beginning."

Nolan sat back down and looked away for a second before drawing a long breath. He turned back and stared straight into Muckler's eyes. "I don't know what's going on anymore within the Federation. For years I was kept in the dark, and it wasn't until we had escaped form them and got picked up by the Drengin, who by the way I had known had just undergone a small civil war and broken in two, did I learn of the Awakening of Helios."

"Escape from who?" asked Muckler quietly and unobtrusively.

A small smile turned up at the corner of Nolan's mouth. "You mean you don't know a thing do you? Korath's been keeping it all to himself at the price of his own people. Entire Houses are falling within the Drengin empire at this very instant because of the war they wage to defend themselves against Altaria."

"Altaria!?"

"The guild has been found, and it is Primero Xavier Corrin who still leads them, except they are no longer the guild. Not at all, and the Primeor is no longer himself either. They call him the Benefactor, and I fear they are no longer human"

Muckler was now attentive on all levels, completely taken by what Nolan was saying.

"Every day they grow stronger. They praise something they call The Light, I haven't yet figured out what it is exactly but it gives them incredible strength. They radiate an aura that can you cower away. The Benefactor showed me the Light..." Nolan's gaze turned down and empty as he remembered when he had been brought onboard the Altarian ship. When Corrin had showed him a glimpse of the Light. The moment had left Nolan in a state of pure horror and shock. he seemed to clear his head and brought his eyes back up to meet Muckler's. "The Federation is in grave danger, and with it the entire galaxy." Nolan pointedly said to Muckler.

At first the Commander in Chief was as lost as when he had first entered the room. he didn't know what to say.

"Can you estimate Imperial losses so far to the Altarians?" Muckler's military mind kicked in.

"An entire system. I heard losses of an entire fleet and other small ships including fighter squadrons. I saw the Crown Prince kill his own father because the Lord Baron Vire refused to give him control of his mobilized reserves kept for planetary defense. The Empire was struck a severe blow."

Muckler swore at his inefficient intelligence gathering. This was major and he had not known about it.

"The Federation must act!" Nolan's voice betrayed a hint a panic.

"Son, the Federation is already engaged in a major war with the Thalans. To cleanse the galaxy of that dangerous parasite is our main objective. The Guild are still human beings after all, we must pursue diplomatic means before doing anythign rash. The public would lynch in the square if we were to start another war. The Thalan operations are already costing us incredible amounts and each day our economic system takes a hit..."

Nolan interrupted him yet again "Then all is lost. I speak to you of murderous danger, Armageddon, and you speak to me of politics and economics." Nolan slumped back in his chair looking defeated.

He then looked back into Muckler's eyes. The fire was still there.

"Bradshaw would have done something"

Whether or not the Altarians are considered a "good" race within Galcciv2 cannon is hardly of a concern to me. Like I've said I've forgone some of the cannon and modified at times to better serve the needs of my story. I stress this fact because i've never really taken heed of the actual Galciv 2 story when writing the chapters.

If your comment, mambaman, pertains to the fact that it is surprising that the Altarians have declared war on almost everyone in-game, rest assured there was probably a little nudging here and there.

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