Chapter Three

First topic message reminder :

As the forum auto-splits topics every 50 pages, the next topics will be named further chapters accordingly. This is chapter three, guys, KEEP IT UP!

Post.
POST.
POST!

~Jediluigi

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--Yaga Minor--

“Unfortunately, they did not have one.” He stated, looking over the janitor’s shoulder to confirm his directions mentally. Now there was just the matter of blending in without magic…

--Unknown World--

Leon walked up cautiously toward the creature, pistol ready in his free hand as he kept himself aware of his surroundings. So it takes a shot to the head to kill them. He thought, as he used the opportunity provided by the creature to learn how to combat his potential enemy.

--Gothis Orbit--

The Hive Ship activates its telekinetic powers once more, managing to deflect the torpedoes utilizing similar abilities to the Rachni. The Collective fleet presses on still, taking light losses via the Thanix cannons by comparison to the Turians.

--Gothis Land--

Despite the Collective Troops hunkering in and luring the enemy to them, several were still dieing, while some managed to put up a fight.

--Charad--

The pilot looked at the kiwi incredulously, as if annoyed. She hands the drawing to the kiwi, as if emphasizing it.

--Konnsallann Station--

Cross was annoyed, at first, to the interruption, but then intrigued by the report she overheard. She remained silent, however, waiting to see if anyone would even remember her presence and what they would say in explanation.

--Bladnir--

(On hold until JL either gets Victoria II or managed to talk to me on Skype to discuss where to go from here.)

Upon receiving the transmission Hadron Squadron's commander chimed in to the offer of Omega squad on the bridge via their armor commlink units.

"General, we've been able to partially repair the communications systems but only the Ship-to-ship Quantum Entanglement transmitters are functional." Hadron Squad's CO stated.

"Thank you Captain, that is good to hear. Move to engineering to find out if it is safe to start working in that zone." the General replied

"Yes Sir."


The General then turned to the XO of his squad, "Mantes, send a response to that vessel giving permission to board." he commanded, Mantes gave a nod in reply and typed out and sent the message to Survey 72.

He then made contact with Valkyrie's CO, " Colonel Tanyr I need you and your men to move to the upper cargo hangar bay beneath the superstructure and open it in advance of visitors coming aboard."

"Sir, Yes sir." Tanyr responded and within a few moments the starboard blast doors for the upper cargo hangar bay were opened fully, however the port side blast door had jammed halfway through its cycle, revealing the massive hangar bay within with debris from destroyed craft and from portions of the supports and trusses within the cargo offloading bay.

/Survey 72 Fence-class Light Frigate|E7-81 1IC|System E7-81|Sector E-7 Space\

Following receiving permission to board, Survey 72 moves to establish an orbit in tandem near the Red Faction vessel. As the Directorate ship approaches the bridge crew is taken a back by the thing they've been communicating with. "It's massive, I'll give it that much" remarks the XO.

"Massive, perhaps but its been beaten to hell and back, just what are we dealing with here I wonder?" The sensors officer comments.

"I'm not sure, but I don't think its going to end well. Whoever the hell tore this thing apart is packing fire power and probably wants to finish the job; one thing is for certain, this isn't just the result of a feud between the warlords. Relay to Csilla to put the 12th on yellow, I imagine we're going to need a bit more firepower then what ACE can muster by the end of this," The captain orders.

"Understood, sir," the comms officer replies dutifully.
---
Survey 72 establishes a parking orbit roughly 500 meters above the Red Faction vessel. It launches a shuttle to board the near derelict vessel shortly afterwards.

Those coming aboard via the Directorate shuttle would be met by some Praetorians of Valkyrie Squadron who would lead them to the General on the bridge. However before the shuttle landed Colonel Tanyr made contact with the shuttle.

"Welcome aboard, in order to be able to traverse through the ship you'll at least need a Powered air respirator unit, for the ship's Life Support system is barely functional." he stated.


-- Meanwhile --

Captain Flethro and Hadron squad had reached the Engineering decks and began checking the damage caused by fires that had started before the purge occurred.

/Survey 72 Fence-class Light Frigate|E7-81 1IC|System E7-81|Sector E-7 Space\

7 men emerge from the shuttle, the first three are wearing the navy blue uniforms of ACE officers and have respirators masks. The other four are dressed in light armour and respirator masks as well. The captain takes the lead and introduce the other two officers as the XO and the Lieutenant before being led to the General.

Invictus, Altair Galaxy

The Federation fighters find themselves in the fight of their lives. While obviously skilled and well equipped, they would find themselves quickly swarmed two to one for every drone they managed to destroy. The drones, lacking the need for any pilots or life support, could effectively maneuver in ways no organic pilot could, including high speed turns that would pancake any normal person from the g-forces involved to complete reverses in the span of seconds. Plasma and neutron cannons fired and detonated in the massive swarm of the dueling fighters, it was a sight to behold for any who dared glimpse it.

The rail guns from the Federation forces would prove their worth, dealing substantial damage but not enough to turn the tide. The missile volley would only prove itself mildly effective, the enemies point defense systems and anti-ordnance mines halting many of the incoming warheads. The Atrum forces would continue with long range artillery fire and missiles, and a continued attack from the plasma-beam cutters. For the moment the Atrum forces were holding, attempting to inflict more damage than the Federation could tolerate. The energy bursts don't reveal any ships in the initial volley, but for a moment the drones cease to be replaced before it resumes.

The Second Battle group was ready now for the Klingons, their ships having moved to defensive positions, and they blasted away at the approaching ships with neutron cannons and plasma batteries. The Atrum fleet was surprised at the tenacity of the Klingon vessels, but what they were doing was borderline suicide, considering they were now in range of most of the battle groups heavy guns. The Atrum forces did not hold back, temporarily redirecting fire from the bombardment to the attacking Klingons.

(I understand you landed a party, me and you have to talk about that.)

Inside the 'Cathedral', Planet 031 'Ruhen', System Beta 03, Beta Galaxy:

Upon the final words of the Guide, the Imperial Squad slowly readied their weapons, save Sergeant Munzel, who was listening intently. "I see... And what exactly is this 'Rune', and what makes it so important that you have to go through all of this trouble?" Something wasn't quite right, Munzel knew. Well, besides the fact that this apartment existed as it was, along with the rest of this damnable city. "And how does one become... Worthy?"

Recopia, Recopi system, Core Worlds, Alpha Galaxy:

The fired rockets would be mostly mitigated by the extensive planetary defense network either intercepting or disabling most of the enemy missiles but several would get through to the docks, with only a single warhead breaching the atmosphere before it was intercepted by a fighter craft.

Once the Directorate forces began appearing en mass around the docks, the Imperial forces would deactivate their scrambling systems but activate the gravity well generators, ensuring that the Directorate forces would have to sub-light it towards the planet. This, however, did not deal with the enemy forces present.

As the gravity well generators activated, a detachment of Imperial forces began to encircle the Directorate fleet present, laser cannons and missile systems online and tracking targets, but not yet firing.

The federation fighters continue to duel with the droids as federation corvettes and gunships swing in to provide support swatting drones with their heavy flak batteries and pinpoint laser cannons and missiles.

Federation capital ships close to range and ripples of phaser, turbolaser and and maser fire erupt in a multicolored wall smashing into the Imperium fleet. Federation destroyers begin opening fire with their thanix cannons and several federation assault ships fire their devastating Jovian high density beam cannons. Several wings of bombers and support fighter wings are launched. Meanwhile the massive federation carriers continue to launch wings of star fighters into the massive drone fighter duel. The concentrated atrium artillery barrages and plasma weaponry managed to overwhelm the defenses of several federation warships but the fleet continued undaunted.

The Klingons break in all directions as they pass through and beneath the enemy fleet firing torpedoes and disruptors as they go they reform and continue making lightning fast sweeping strikes the sheer maneuverability of the agile Klingon ships being dizzying.

Meanwhile federation ships continue with their charged particle screen soon half the sector would be saturated by particles making the feild an uncomfortable place for any cloaked vessels.

--Invictus Ground---

The Klingon fleet had dropped in several lances of mechs two divisions of infantry and six tank battalions. as well as several Mandolorian commando units led by Travis Farr

General Vladimir Suvorov moves quickly to set up a forward HQ several key positions are reinforced and federation troops settle in for a long battle.

=Nazario=

Stellvir gritted his teeth, getting increasingly annoyed by the enemy’s persistent nature as their vollies crashed against the Glory’s powerful shields. Then, an officer spoke up. “Sir, confirmation by three captains that their respective missions were a success. Two more report that victory will soon be attained.” “Ah good… took them long enough.” He nodded in approval, now viewing the situation in a different light. His task was completed here, though not in the way he originally desired. “Divert all power to shields and the main weapon; switch it to its secondary setting. We’re leaving this system.” “Aye, sir.” “All ships, form up once more on the proper signal. Defensive positions otherwise.”

All combat groups form up into “shells” of sorts, rotating as they compounded their shields into several large domes, serving to outlast the enemy. The Bane of Glory itself managed to hold out against the extreme bombardment, but found itself unable to retaliate. The mechs and drones were obliterated in droves as production outright ceased. The Imperium fleet had simply halted its offense in strict favor of its defense, as ftl drives were also being charged up. The Glory’s Primary weapon had completed its charge-up sequence once more, but instead of unleashing a beam, the shields of the ship suddenly expanded outward and created a vast emp field. Imperium shields were greatly weakened by the emp as it affected everything in range. What was also odd was the field’s composition, containing electro-magnetic energy, ion energy, and pockets of plasma, as well as an unknown, but definitely extra-dimensional energy that caused small rifts and wakes. As it expanded, it would soon reach the Morrigi stations positioned around the battle, aiming to cause malfunctions and disrupt their effect on out-of-phase cloak and travel.

As the rest of the allied volley crashed into the AI fleet, more ships were destroyed and the Bane itself was damaged to an extent, but as they had created a compound shield, the losses were not as disastrous as it could’ve been otherwise. With the interdiction fields disrupted, the AI fleet formed up and exited the system, retreating.

=Galactic Stage=

With the invasions of Rocam, Oma Ker, Daedros, Triginta Petra, and Altakiril underway by the AI forces, the first three of those systems had fallen to enemy forces. The IS fleet that was previously stationed at Nazario had moved to support defenders at the last two, seeking to hold the line as best as possible.

Turian Rebel forces, now under the command of the Astrum Collective, had begun to mobilize further as a new military command was set in place, to attempt to mitigate the damage and chaos caused by the loss of the Hive ships and prisoners. The Collective had now assimilated the Turian Rebels and began to march towards the border, seeking to unite with the Imperium forces on the other side of Turian space.

=Ruhen=

He glances over at the other squadmates as they readied their weapons, raising an eyebrow. “To prove one’s self worthy of the Rune is to defeat the guardians of that Rune. I am a guide, not a guardian. I will not interfere nor answer the tribulations of the close future.” He attempts to reassure the others before addressing the leader directly once more. “The Rune is…” He started, then pondered, wondering how he could answer such a question accurately. “It is the epitome of a power ascended past that of most mortals. He who wields the Rune wields the power it possesses.”

/Recopia|Recopi System|M-11|Mazeronian Core Worlds\

The Directorate fleet continue firing with their main batteries on the docks. The 100 or ships that made in before the gravity wells activated focus on the largest rebel ships at the docks. The main fleet fires another a salvo of missiles specifically aiming at where they believe the Moffs to be concentrated on the surface. The ships that did not make into the dock area hit the edge of the well and attempt to rejoin the main fleet. A hail is sent to the defense fleet's flagship:

The Directorate has no quarrel with you, let us eliminate these rebels and lower your gravity wells so we can we leave.

~Marenta Prime~

The sniper sees an unknown object moving on his radar at an alarming speed, so he looks out the window to see Jaxe climbing the side of the building.

Quickly drawing his head back into the room and cursing in Alska, he makes a break for the exit, and runs as fast as possible down the hallway and stairs, hoping to make it to the back entrance before being caught.

Sir Noret wrote:/Survey 72 Fence-class Light Frigate|E7-81 1IC|System E7-81|Sector E-7 Space\

7 men emerge from the shuttle, the first three are wearing the navy blue uniforms of ACE officers and have respirators masks. The other four are dressed in light armour and respirator masks as well. The captain takes the lead and introduce the other two officers as the XO and the Lieutenant before being led to the General.

Colonel Tanyr and a small detachment of his squadron met the directorate men and began the trek to lead them to the bridge within the main section of the superstructure. Along the way they could easily see the overall internal state of the ship through a small percentage of the entire ship; support trusses between decks had rupture through floors and ceilings of some corridors, major sections were sealed behind heavy bulkheads or ray shields to seal many sections of the ship where deep Hull Breaches had occurred, as well as wiring and varying other forms of debris hanging from the ceilings and from out of the walls. After about 15 minutes of winding around they had reached the primary command sector of the superstructure.

Colonel Tanyr motioned to a dual door at the center of the largest corridor in the sector and told them to be careful as the door opened up and revealed the bridge. Near the front at a holo-desk station was the person that was referred to as the General.

--Invictus--

*The turian fleet sends a transmission to the Free Peoples' forces.* General Septimus: Greetings, friends from the Free Peoples! It's good to see you again, but I have to retreat. We've taken massive damage, but we'll be back as soon as possible. Be advised: if the battle goes to ground, try to link up with our civilians--they're trained in combat and will already be forming a resistance network. Good luck!

*With that, the turians hastily depart the Caestus system.*

--Nazario--

*The League fleet recalls its strikecraft as the blast wave expands outward. The allied vessels shudder with the EMP's impact, but recover and pursue the AI fleet all the way to the system's edge until they jump away. Then, with the battle over, Ackbar finally releases his pent-up breath.* Ackbar: Report!

Crewvian: Sir, the Morrigi's disruptor stations have suffered severe electrical damage.

Ackbar: Get them repaired. What about us?

Engineering officer: The batarians' shield protected us from the worst of the blast, Admiral. Just a few circuits fried here and there.

Communications officer: Same goes for the fleet.

Ackbar: What are our losses?

*The avian flips through several reports before answering.* Comms officer: 1,500 capital ships lost, 5,000 damaged to varying degrees. 3,000 strikecraft pilots dead or missing.

Ackbar: We got off light. Set the minefield again and begin repairs. We have to be ready if they come back. Another thing I want to know is, where the hell are those IS pogues?!

*The comms officer takes several minutes to answer.* Comms officer: Sir, they were moving to assist us, but then they left to help our forces at Altakiril and Triginta Petra.

*The hawk grimaces.* Ackbar: I wish they had told us that part. Triginta Petra...that's where Ironbeak was deployed. I hope he's doing okay. What else?

Comms officer: Reports indicate that our fleets at Rocam, Daedros, and Oma Ker were forced to retreat. Ground forces on all those planets are doing what they can, but it's only a matter of time before they're either defeated or destroyed.

Ackbar: Dammit. What about Invictus?

Comms officer: The initial enemy assault caught General Septimus off-guard, but a force from the Free Peoples has just arrived. Septimus is retreating.

Ackbar: That's not good. It's very unlike a turian to retreat. And Altakiril?

Comms officer: The IS forces under General Marion Cross are requesting our assistance. They fought the Imperium fleet to a standstill, but are now bogged down in a nasty ground war. There's heavy fighting all over the planet.

Ackbar: Looks like we're taking it to the ground. Get the 3rd Army underway. We'll meet them there.

Comms Officer: Yes, sir!

*The avian forces soon depart the Nazario system, on a course for the Thal system of the Shrike Abyssal.*

--Altakiril, Thal, Shrike Abyssal--

*About a day later, several hundred avian ships enter the Thal system and send a transmission towards Altakiril.* Ackbar: This is Fore Admiral Ackbar of the Galactic Avian Union to any friendly forces in the area. Does anyone read? General Cross?

--Theatre of War--

*The Collective forces meet stiff resistance from Hiigaran, batarian, and turian battlegroups deployed and dug in to counter their advance.

=Altakiril, Thal, Shrike Abyssal=

"This is Altakiril Actual, Admiral Ackbar. General Cross is pre-occupied at the moment, but you have been granted clearance. Allow us to send landing coordinates, he'll brief you on the situation in person." An officer replied from an untraceable location. Moments later, an encrypted message containing coordinates was sent.

The frozen planet itself featured no signs of war, but on the surface, fierce fighting had already begun. In three separate areas, entrenched AI forces were attempting to hold off the IS advance or vice-versa, with no side gaining a discernible advantage.

/Survey 72 Fence-class Light Frigate|E7-81 1IC|System E7-81|Sector E-7 Space\

The Directorate group walks through the doorway, once through they stop and the captain bows slightly. "Greetings from the Directorate, now who are you?" He asks, rather bluntly.

The General returns the Captain's gesture and replies, "I am General Alec Kaidan, True Sith Empire and Red Faction Military. I apologize on the part of all aboard this vessel for intruding upon your space, but we had no control or choice given the former circumstances we were originally in."

/Crippled Red Faction Vessel|E7-81 1IC|System E7-81|Sector E-7 Space\

"Understandable General, I will admit that neither me or my government know much about the True Sith Empire and nothing about this Red Faction would you mind enlightening us a bit?"

--Altakiril--

Ackbar: Copy, Actual. We're on our way. Looks like you could use some help--want us to drop a few rocks on their heads, mix things up a little?

=Altakiril=

This time the voice of General Cross replied. "I appreciate the offer but that may not be advisable just yet. I would rather the enemy to not know of your capabilities or presence if I can help it." He said, sounding calm, but tired all the same. "Please make haste in your arrival and have the rest of your forces await in standby."

=Oma Ker=

The Nazario fleet had arrived a few hours after they had departed from their respective planet. Unsuccessful in a takeover, but good enough as a distraction. Admiral Stellvir watched as the fleet reformed. Battered, with some ships deactivating as they exited from FTL, the fleet was surprisingly damaged. "Hmm. Damage assessment."

"Flagship damage estimates at 10% total. 5% loss of ships in the first battlegroup, 9% in the second, and 2% in the third." "Hm, not bad for supposed 'primitives.'" He commented. "I shall meet that admiral in battle again some day, but until then I shall follow my orders... Let us begin preparations for the second phase of the invasion." He spoke to himself quietly. He smiled ever so slightly as he analyzed the situation he now found himself in. "Perhaps this will be a challenge after all."

--Altakiril--

Ackbar: Very well. I'll be seeing you shortly, General.

*The avian forces hurry across the system and descend into allied-controlled territory on the planet. Their ships establish themselves in low orbit, and then Ackbar suits up into avian battle armor and flies down down to the indicated coordinates. Half a dozen other flyers escort him along, lead by Bularr.*

=Marenta Prime=

Jaxe entered a level below where the sniper was, shattering the glass as he swung in and ran towards the stairwell. He forced the door open with a detonation, causing a smoke-screen on his level as he aimed to intercept the sniper.

=Altakiril=

What the Avian forces would find is a small landing pad blending in with the iced over plains. At first that is all that was seen, but the avians would soon pass through a cloaking field, revealing a much larger operation. Several Audacity-class frigates hovered overhead an obviously makeshift, but large and fortified base. People were harried and mobilized, with aircraft patrolling along the boundaries of the dome and another task force being prepared for either a fourth advance or as reinforcements.

~Marenta Prime~

The sniper saw smoke rolling in from the stairwell's doorway, and decided to make a blind charge through it, hoping that whoever had released the smoke wouldn't see him.

--Altakiril--

*The flyers touch down at the landing pad, folding their suits' wings and looking around curiously from inside their armor. The plates surrounding Ackbar's head fold back to reveal his face, and he scans the surrounding area, squinting against the blizzard.* Ackbar: I hate snow.

"Certainly." Alec began, "The True Sith Empire is the organization I officially serve, as do all the uniformed men on board this ship. The TSE is a rather large organization whose influence spans over 200 worlds, whether it be via direct control or indirect influence. It is controlled by two tyrannical Sith Lords name Korr and Feltranus and has been in power for over a century within its sect of the unknown regions." As he said this a hiss started coming from the ventilation systems followed by a steady current of air, the Life Support systems within the sector had been fully restored.

Alec then removed his helmet and then resumed, "As to the other, The Red Faction, it is a movement that two others and I had founded a little over a year ago. Our goal is to overthrow the Empire and give the people freedom from tyranny once and for all. In fact that day is now on the horizon and it is but a matter of time until we begin, whether fully ready or not."

-- Meanwhile --
Engineering Sector
Hadron squadron had finally arrived at Engineering and began assessing the damage caused by the fires and battle from before to find out what could be repaired or not. Little did they know that engineering was still entirely unsafe to be in due to unseen forces that would be beyond anyone's control...

" I see. While I lack the authority to speak for the Directorate you're Red Faction seems like it shares some of the ideals the Directorate has, you may wish to speak with the higher ups. Regardless, what services can my crew provide, and how likely is it that you will be or were followed?"

"We could probably find such very beneficial, and we will attempt such soon. But in terms of what could be provided here..." Alec paused as he looked down at the displays before him and then began again, "For this vessel there appears to be very little to be helped in its condition, and for what we need to do now that we can't get the ship back to the rendezvous with our forces in order to accomplish our original goal, though some of the insurrectionists who stole this ship originally had been injured during our struggle to take this away from the fleet of pirates we took this from. We also need to establish contact with our forces in order to finish our mission, even though we can't get the ship to them."

A praetorian who was standing at the navigation control station then interjected, "If those we were fighting were to follow us it would take days to weeks to track us given that we pulled a long-range blind Hyperspace jump. That is even if they are able to track us at all."

"That and given the current condition of the ship, it would never survive or even be able to fight back if attacked." Alec stated, "But we shouldn't have much to worry about in that reg..." He said as a thunderous, followed by smaller, blasts rocked and shook the ship to its core. Klaxons began to blare at full power throughout the ship.

From the outside of the ship one could see the engines rip apart from the blast and multiple detonations coming from all around that sector of the ship in the aft. One could easily deduce that the origin of the blasts was from the Engineering Sector.

/Crippled Red Faction Vessel|E7-81 1IC|System E7-81|Sector E-7 Space\

"Oh, this is good..." the Captain says before taking out his comlink and bringing up the bridge of Survey 72, "Comms, sitrep"

"It appear the vessel's engine block is currently in the process of rapidly and violently exploding, we can't determine the cause from here," comes the response from Survey 72.

"I see. General, I think perhaps we should evacuate your ship before or things start exploding."