Voyages in Andromeda (FT Char RP|IC, Open)

[Bingellia]

He's right. Less than a day in this blasted galaxy and I'm probably gonna die. At least I'll get to choose the terms I die on. Phe thought to herself. "Come on, Thanica, you're getting your wish. We're going to empty out that armory and make our stand on the bridge." she implored, dragging Thanica with her as she followed the Kiel. "You're gonna have to tell me if there's anything more significant than a rifle or pistol in the armory. I have no intention of dying today."

"Unfortunately not," Mihal replied as he led the two too the armory, "I took inventory of it once just to pass time, but we've used some munitions since then and we haven't really gotten more." Opening the doors, the Kiel was the first one in the armory and went for one of the rifles. "Take your choice, they're all carbines and they should be charged." Examining the rifle, Mihal noticed that his rifle had a bayonet lug, and grabbed a knife to mount and the rifle before looking through the rest of the armory. "There should be a small box of grenades somewhere in here as well. Flashbangs, I think."

[Auropa]

Vel Sepre
Gollar space
Several days prior
“You understand something like this won’t be cheap?”

“So long as the job is done well, you won’t need to worry about payment.”

“And I suppose I’m not permitted to know why this ship and crew are so important.”

“Correct.”

“And you’re telling me you’ve got others doing the same?”

“Many.”

Sitting within a sealed, dimly lit room inside a Gollaran military facility sat two individuals. One in a pristine military uniform and the other in loose, battle worn attire. Up until now the conversation had been short and to the point. The Gollar wanted hired guns that wouldn’t trace back to them and Vel was one with plenty of experience. The pay was good and operating under a faction tended to lead to decent opportunities but running a job, even in part, against the larger powers always held a certain level of danger and risk. If something went wrong, then it was liable to be his head on the chopping block.

“Suppose I accept.” Vel said after a lengthy pause. “What exactly will I be doing.”

“For the most part, you’ll be on standby. Should the targets come into danger, you’ll be part of the forces sent to ensure their security. Beyond that, if the situation demands it you may be required to assist them in their assigned task.”

“Which is?“

“Classified.”

“Of course, so how do I even know if what they’re doing is what they’re meant to?”

“Should any issues arise, your commander will inform you of what actions must be done. Now then Mr. Sepre, I’ll need your answer. Do you accept the contract?”

Pausing for a moment to lean back in the chair and consider his options, Vel steadily came to a decision. After the less than generous payments from his last few jobs, he could barely afford replacement parts and ammunition. As things were, he needed a score and couldn’t afford to hesitate from the risks.
“…I’ll take it. Though I’m sticking by my rates, if there’s complications or delays I still expect to be paid for my time.”

“Again, your payment won’t be an issue. For now-“ The officer said as he thumbed several short commands into a data pad opening a door behind him. “-proceed to landing bay C with your required equipment and gear. You’ll find your station waiting for you.”

Giving a nod in acknowledgement, Vel rose to his feet and made his way through the door, hearing a slight hiss as it closed behind him and just barely being able to make out mummering behind him as another mercenary seemed to enter the interview room. Whatever was going on with this stolen prison ship, it had the Gollar worked up. While that generally meant more chaos for the already buckling galaxy, it also meant a somewhat reliable source of income for mercenaries like himself, ‘so a mixed bag’ he decided as he made his way through the facility and towards his assigned ship.
‘Besides, how much trouble could one ship get into anyways?’

[Dyelli Beybi]

The Defiance - (Cowritten by Dyelli Beybi, Grenartia and Bentus

As Amlai and Saesa left the med bay they were confronted by a small figure in KC armour. Most of the Defiance crew had been wearing KC armour, though this one was no taller than Thanica and Thanica was still heavily sedated, finding everything funny and in no fit state to be doing anything sensible. A dull purple glow emanated from two energy blades held by the figures sides, angled outwards to avoid inadvertently striking itself. Definitely not Thanica, "Doctor Āihēemlái Āigàm Ǒonhētváihěeāivǎakàe." the figure's helmet pivoted towards Amlai. It was a female Kiel from the sounds of it, "You have done good work for Command and I must commend you for that, advancing the cause of medical knowledge through experimentation others lacked the stomach for. However, all things must come to an end and I am here to put a permanent end to your career," she twirled one of the blades ominously, "Do you know what your sin is, Doctor?" she spoke as if that revelation would bring some degree of acceptance to her intended victim.

As the newcomer spoke, Amlai's tentacle tips started turning from their normal hue towards a darker, navy blue, signifying surprise. However, through determination, she was able to make them turn into a serene blinking red., "I'm sorry, miss...I-don't-know-your-name, but you're going to have to tell me what it is. There've been so many sins, its hard to keep track of them all. Was it a fun one?"

The Kiel completely ignored the question of her name. It was stalling and pointless. Her name was meaningless, "It's greed Doctor. The irony is you would reasonably have thought the last thing the Commodore would care about was whether you sold the secrets of some slaves and mutineers. I'd never have suspected, nor can I really understand what his reasoning is. Evidently you have compromised the war effort somehow. It is not my job to ask questions; merely to execute orders." the glow from the two blades flickered out for a moment as the blades were sheathed, though faster than one could have reasonably reacted, she had drawn her blaster in it's place, "You are complicit in the mutiny and death of several Command personnel also."

Saesa was in a daze in the aftermath of the crash. Her eyes flickered open slowly, the world spinning around her as she was greeted by a deep throbbing behind her skull. Unsteady on her feet, the scientist had to reach out a hand to steady herself on one of the medical beds. Blinking away tears in an effort to clear her vision, Saesa lifted a shaky hand to her head only to furrow her brow as it came away feeling wet. Looking down, she saw that her fingers were coloured with her blood. I...I’m hurt. She thought to herself, trying to ignore her pounding headache as she forced herself to remember what had happened. They said that we were under attack, and that we were going to crash. I tried to brace myself, but I slipped.

Shifting her gaze, Saesa looked at the metal frame of the bed she was leaning on, noting that part of it was also covered in Kiel blood. And I must have hit my head on impact. She was probably concussed, and might have had some internal bleeding, but such injuries were the least of her concern as she registered the sound of other voices in the room. They sounded distant at first, the individual words muddled as if Saesa was listening to the conversation from underwater. Trying to keep herself steady on her feet, she turned around to see a Command agent standing with her weapons drawn as she eyed down the Doctor. The alien seemed to be unperturbed by the armed assailant in their midst, and Saesa - even in her dazed state - felt her heart leap at the prospect of rescue, “Oh thank the gods, I knew there’d be a rescue - I knew it!” Saesa declared, a sense of relief washing over her. “My name is Dr. Saesa of the Kiel Research Institute, my father is the planetary governor of Anac. These mutineers kidnapped me!” However, her eager excitement waned slightly as the meaning behind the soldier’s words began to form in her head. Shifting uneasily, Saesa tried to clear her throat. “I...I don’t know what the Doctor’s crimes are, but surely you don’t need to kill an unarmed woman?” She offered, her voice hoarse as she tried to hide her fear with a weak smile. “I’m a Kiel citizen, and she did help me, after all.”

Amlai noticed Saesa trying to be helpful. Rather naive of her to think a few kind words can save me, or that my executioner would actually be her rescue, she thought to herself, as the reality of the newcomer's words echoed in her mind. "Allow me to offer you some career and life advice, Newcomer. If a single Kolmoik selling the secrets of slaves and mutineers can disrupt the Command's war effort, then you'd best start questioning all of your orders, because you're being led by a cadre of incompetent buffoons."

The newcomer's gaze swiveled between the two of them, "I don't question orders... As for you Doctor Saesa, you are not the mission; however, it would be prudent to eliminate you as well. I cannot say what information that had been shared with you or, indeed, what the information in question is. Were I to know, I would need to eliminate myself. I would say your sin is cowardice, though that is not one on the Commodore's list. It is rather short and specific."

Saesa's brow furrowed as she wondered whether her injuries had somehow made her mishear the soldier's response. The cold icy grip of fear that she'd felt at the strange woman's entrance once again gripped at her chest, but she ignored it as she forced a nervous smile onto her features. "I'm sorry, but for a moment there it sounded like you said -" The scientist's words were interrupted by the barking of the newcomer's guns, a series of shots erupting from its barrel in rapid succession. Screaming at the sight of the Doctor's body jerking backwards with each impact, the alien's blood spewing out into the air as her figure tilted backwards towards the ground, Saesa instinctively dove for cover. The quick movement saved her life as the soldier's aim calmly shifted to where she had been standing a moment earlier. Burying her head beneath her hands as the air above her erupted with blaster fire, Saesa couldn't even afford a moment to think above the terrifying noise and the pounding in her chest. Oh my god, she's trying to kill me!

Amlai hit the ground, grunting with pain, as the intruder's shots hit her in the guts. She was still alive, but it didn't take a medical genius to know it was a mortal wound. Even if she was able to operate on herself, she knew she probably wouldn't last the end of the day. Thankfully for Amlai, being a Kolmoik came with a slightly higher pain tolerance, which allowed her to play dead, which would hopefully further incentivize the intruder from finishing her off. As it stood, she maybe had a few agonizing hours left, assuming the intruder decided to leave her alone. Considering Saesa's pleas, that would probably happen, albeit at the cost of the other Kiel's life, unless she shut up and ran real quick.

Risking a terrified glance upwards as the firing ceased, Saesa noticed that she had managed to dive just so that she was cowering behind a few crates that blocked her from the soldier's line of fire. But it was only a moment's reprieve before the woman could simply step around and butcher her like a lamb. Saesa's heart froze as she spied Amlai's body through a gap in the crates, the sight of the growing pool of alien-coloured blood nearly sending her into a panic. "Pl - Please! You have this all wrong!" Saesa cried out desperately, tears pouring down her cheeks as she struggled to understand what was happening. "I'm a Kiel citizen. I'm on your side!"

"Citizenship?" the Kiellar trooper gave a wry chuckle, "My citizenship never protected me from starving on the street..." she trailed off as her radio abruptly buzzed into life, transmitting a message from the craft in orbit overhead.

"Lieutenant, we have an uidentified alien destroyer on sensors, making full speed for the moon. It has our vessels in target lock." came the crackling message, broadcast to all personnel on the surface, "We do not expect our vessels will be in a position to hold for long so I suggest extracting your target immediately."

The trooper paused, "Guess it's your lucky day, Doctor." she informed the cowering scientist behind the boxes. Chasing a non-target under these circumstances was a poor use of her time so instead she spun on her heels, marching back towards the breach site, "Everyone we're packing up and moving out. All haste!"

"Emeach, did you get that message?" she asked switching her comms on as she strode away from the scene of the attack, "Extract Carter and kill anyone who interferes. The other mutineers are irrelevant. I'll meet you back at the shuttle."

[Grenartia]

He's right. Less than a day in this blasted galaxy and I'm probably gonna die. At least I'll get to choose the terms I die on. Phe thought to herself. "Come on, Thanica, you're getting your wish. We're going to empty out that armory and make our stand on the bridge." she implored, dragging Thanica with her as she followed the Kiel. "You're gonna have to tell me if there's anything more significant than a rifle or pistol in the armory. I have no intention of dying today."

"Unfortunately not," Mihal replied as he led the two too the armory, "I took inventory of it once just to pass time, but we've used some munitions since then and we haven't really gotten more." Opening the doors, the Kiel was the first one in the armory and went for one of the rifles. "Take your choice, they're all carbines and they should be charged." Examining the rifle, Mihal noticed that his rifle had a bayonet lug, and grabbed a knife to mount and the rifle before looking through the rest of the armory. "There should be a small box of grenades somewhere in here as well. Flashbangs, I think."

"That should be useful." Pheonix replied as she searched for the grenade box first. "Ah, here it is." she said, hefting the box up to the level of her stomach. "Now, just put as many rifles as you can on top of the box, and any spare battery packs, too. I'll let you know when it starts getting too heavy."

"Do you think you can get the door to the bridge for us?" she asked, turning to Thanica.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Thanica

Thanica looked... confused was an understatement. She looked between Phe and Mihal, "Get the door to the bridge? But what do you need it for?" she motioned at herself, "Also, I'm not a Ragon, I'll need some help to lift that down."

She then seemed to become aware of the weapons, "Ooh... knives," Before anyone had a chance to stop her she'd lurched over to where Mihal had gone to fetch his bayonet and grabbed another bladed weapon, "And grenades. You know I've been thinking for a while that it might be a good idea to carry one of those on me somewhere. That way I can pull the pin if something is about to eat me. Hopefully blowing them up along with me," she said quite seriously, though, probably thankfully, she didn't try to grab a grenade as well.

---

Vrondich

Meanwhile the comms crackled to life on the bridge, "Acting Commander, we've sealed Engineering and I don't think anyone will be getting in here," came Vrondich's voice. He hadn't exactly followed Sshallah's instructions, though it had probably been the sensible thing to do. Most bridge controls could be overridden from engineering - a fail-safe in case the bridge got destroyed. Vrondich locking it down had made sure that the Kiellar troopers on the ship wouldn't be able to open the bridge up remotely.

Somewhere in the background Rabaech could be heard remarking, "Not unless they have explosives and or a lot of time on their hands... probably not even all that much time if the 'insulation incident' is anything to go by."

[Bentus]

A Bloodstained Flag
The frozen moon

---

By that time, Kaleso had already made a 10 meter long tunnel wide and tall enough for a single Jokari to enter, thanks in no small part to the undying power that his blades had. The intense heat of the blades were also instrumental, as they melted through the ice at a pace that human excavators back on Earth could only dream of. He picked up his pace, melting and cutting through the ice with renewed vigour.

Meanwhile, Ilyak stood inert but almost unseen in the cold ice blasted winds, staying his fire as the captain had ordered it so. “Hmmm... they are an emotional kind.”, Ilyak whispered to the other presence within his mind, who then replied with a sarcastic voice. “Dah, that man must be very pained.”

“He is, Zeta.”, Ilyak answered to the Alpha that was light years away from his position.

“That does not make any logical sense. Why does one feel distress over the death of another entity that is but a fraction of their species?”

“They are not like us, Alpha.”, Ilyak replied to the distant Gnosara Alpha. “Unlike us, they are not weapons.”

“How foolish. Their kind will not last long.”

“Depends, Alpha.”

Though she didn’t turn her helmet to look at Emeach, Hikari’s body posture was indicative of her listening to his words. She continued her evaluation of Lee’s cooling form until the last of the words emerged from his lips - only then did she turn her head to face the Keil.

“Given the choice of you and your guns versus one, potentially two, pissed off Ragons,” Hikari spoke in her untranslated, though accented, Keilar, “I know which scares me less. I’ve already narrowly escaped being a Ragon’s snack once....not something I wish to experience a second time.”

Though the vulpine helmet didn’t show her face, the deadpan tone to the words spoke volumes to the expression most likely on her face. Hikari did note this Keil officer didn’t react to her speaking one of the dialects of his native language as Mihal had - either it hadn’t sunk in or the man was keeping his poker face. Though, she did have to admit he might potentially just not care.

Emeach's gaze lingered on the female warrior for a few moments, his lips pursed into a line as he seemed to be considering her words. But in the end, he didn't offer her a response at all. Turning back to his soldiers, he waved a pair of them forward. "Take their medic into custody and relieve her of her weapons. Once you determine that she's no longer a threat, you can allow her to tend to either side's wounded."

The two armoured Kiel nodded firmly in response, lifting their weapons as they swiftly made to approach Hikari. Emeach meanwhile, had turned his attention entirely to the defeated Captain. His shoulders were slumped, defeat and the consequences of his actions weighing heavily upon him. The Kiel's features remained impassive, but he still felt some empathy for the broken human. While most of the remaining soldiers called out for the remaining mutineers to come out of the cave with their limbs visible, Emeach hauled Carter to his feet and began to drag him towards his waiting ship. "Come on, Captain. Let's get going."

Moments later, several shifting footsteps resounded from within the icy cavern, betraying the presence of sentients hiding with its cold interior. First to emerge was a Kaleso covered with a semi-metallic suit, the same one he had donned when this entire debacle of a mission began to unfold. His face looked dejected even with the Jokari mask on it, and the troopers that had requested for them to surrender to begin with tensed at the Jokari Corsair Lord, as any one of them that was fairly familiar with these cyborg warriors knew that they were deadly even without any visible weapons. Their hands were of metal make, able to themselves turn to weapons of great suffering. Some of them would sigh a sigh of relief as Kaleso casually handed one of them his starblade hits, and kept his hands behind his back. The one he handed his weapons to began fiddling with it, whom he immediately shot with a dark glare. "Don't play with it, Kiellari peasant. You have no idea what suffering it entails should we misuse it."

Still, the Gnosara that trudged behind him was a mystery. It was simply out of the question to take his shoulder cannon off. Still, he just gave another trooper the molecular blade in his hand.

" Be careful with it, pointy ears.", Ilyak said with a sarcastic tone. Even in captivity, he was like this. Funny. Indeed.

Even as the troopers roughly hauled Hikari to her feet and removed the weapons she had brought along, there was only a single line of thought going through her head. Fact was, Lee could still be saved and this Keil was intentionally letting the young man die. She had only just opened her mouth to say something when the sound died on her lips as she caught sight of Kalseo and Ilyak emerging from the cave. Yanking her arms free from the surprised soldiers, she crouched briefly to wash her gloves off in the snow, the troopers giving her a few brief moments to do so before marching her over to join the other two.

“So,” her accented Keilar addressed the soldiers escorting her, “how are you planning to judge me safe or not?”

Meanwhile the troopers around Carter were wary as several of them had their weapons drawn on him and two others approached with bindings similar to the ones that the Human had been put in when first a prisoner. The trooper approached carefully as they still were unsure if the Human had any tricks up his sleeve, soon they would realize he had none.

"Get up!" A soldier said with a rough tone as Carter was still on the groun, looking at Lee's body.

As the Command soldiers disarmed and apprehended the emerging mutineers, Emeach had stepped aside to survey the battlefield. It had been a hard fought victory, and the soldiers hadn't emerged unscathed, but it could have also been significantly worse. With the cessation of hostilities and the sound of blaster fire falling silent on the icy world, the pale white landscape was almost serene. The Commissar looked out over the alien world for a few moments, allowing himself to simply listen to the howling winds as he tried to imagine what the moon would have been like if the conflict of sentient races had never stained its surface with blood.

An indicator in his head's up display pulled Emeach form his reverie, and his eyes narrowed as he recognised both Aethienn's IFF as well as a high priority message from the orbiting squadron. Playing the brief audio file, the Commissar's features twisted into a grimace. Not wasting a moment, he immediately turned to begin pacing towards his soldiers. Opening a channel to Aethienn, he threw radio silence to the wind as he kept his response brief - time was of the essence. "Understood. We're moving." Sending the transmission, he wasted no time in broadcasting to the rest of the ground team.

"We're leaving, now." He ordered. "All squad commanders, organise an immediate emergency withdrawal to the dropships. We take off in five minutes, so be onboard damnit." Turning towards the soldiers that were still lingering by the cave entrance with the prisoners, Emeach scowled as he looked at the mutineers that still needed to be processed. Biting his lip, the Commissar cursed as the operation threatened to so quickly deteriorate. Shooting a quick glance towards the human Captain, Emeach knew that he couldn't allow himself to go back on his word. "Take Carter and the other two humans outside of the cave. They're our prisoners. But we don't have time for the others, tell them that they're free to return to the caverns without their weapons. If they put up any resistance, shoot them. We don't fucking have the time for games anymore."

By this point, Emeach had reached where Carter was kneeling in the snow. A soldier had already slapped a pair of bindings on the man's hands, so the Commissar simply grabbed the human by his suit and pulled him forcefully to his feet. Walking briskly with the prisoner towards the waiting dropship as the vessel hastily spun up its engines, Emeach made one final call. "Six-Two, Eight-Five - we're leaving. Bring Unit Six-Seven with you to the surface immediately. You have my permission to use whatever means necessary to complete the mission."

"You have my word, Ilyak 69.", Zeta Intella said to the Gnosara commander within the virtual world built to accomodate such clandestine communications. "You have a backup here."

"Ah, so my mission here is over, then.", Ilyak answered as the entire veranda disappeared in a flash of white.

With a sudden jolting gesture, Ilyak effortlessly pushed aside the troops that were leading him aside, sending each man flying ten meters away from himself, stunning them as they hit the cold snow. He then smashed into one of the groups of troopers as he moved too quickly for them to notice until it was too late. With a fluid motion, he slid across the snow towards a few parked Lancers, knocking aside Command troopers like bowling pins.

A mightily bright flash of purple erupted, and the frozen ground shuddered with the power of a mighty explosion. All eyes turned towards the source, only to find that a few Lancers have disappeared. Instead, there was a massive burning crater.

"Uh huh.", Kaleso said with casual perception. What was his name again?"

Emeach was already halfway towards the landing craft, his mind running through all the ways he'd chew out the Commodore for how completely the navy had dropped the ball, when the sound of an explosion tore through the landscape. Instinctively ducking - and pulling his prisoner protectively down with him - the Commissar turned around in shock to see the aftermath of the attack.
A few pained groans filled the air, with the limbs and grisly remains of the Kiel soldiers sent to escort the prisoner lying strewn in the bloodied snow. He felt his chest freeze at the sight, his heart sinking as he didn't even have a chance to speak before the inevitable hapenned next.

"It's a trap, open fire!"

Emeach just managed to grab onto Carter and begin pulling him forcefully along into a run as the air erupted with gunfire. With their comrades having been killed and the truce lying in tatters, the Kiel immediately adopted a fighting retreat. The crew of the defiance were forced to either dive for whatever cover they could find outside of the safety of the cave, or face the wrath of the Command firing line. Grimacing in frustration, Emeach hurled the Captain's battered body onto his drop ship.

"I hope you're happy, Captain. No Kiel will dare make a truce with your people ever again." And with that, he offered the pilot a swift nod as the craft began to take to the sky.

[Grenartia]

Thanica

Thanica looked... confused was an understatement. She looked between Phe and Mihal, "Get the door to the bridge? But what do you need it for?" she motioned at herself, "Also, I'm not a Ragon, I'll need some help to lift that down."

She then seemed to become aware of the weapons, "Ooh... knives," Before anyone had a chance to stop her she'd lurched over to where Mihal had gone to fetch his bayonet and grabbed another bladed weapon, "And grenades. You know I've been thinking for a while that it might be a good idea to carry one of those on me somewhere. That way I can pull the pin if something is about to eat me. Hopefully blowing them up along with me," she said quite seriously, though, probably thankfully, she didn't try to grab a grenade as well.

If her hands had been free to do so, Phoenix would have instinctively facepalmed. She supposed these translator microbes didn't handle figures of speech so well.

I'll have to remember that grenade trick just in case I'm on the menu, too... she thought to herself, before clarifying her intent to Thanica. "I meant, see if you can open the door to the bridge, Thanica. Mihal and I are going to haul as many of these things in there as we can. And let whoever's in there know we're coming and we're going to make our stand there."

[Dyelli Beybi]

Thanica

Thanica looked... confused was an understatement. She looked between Phe and Mihal, "Get the door to the bridge? But what do you need it for?" she motioned at herself, "Also, I'm not a Ragon, I'll need some help to lift that down."

She then seemed to become aware of the weapons, "Ooh... knives," Before anyone had a chance to stop her she'd lurched over to where Mihal had gone to fetch his bayonet and grabbed another bladed weapon, "And grenades. You know I've been thinking for a while that it might be a good idea to carry one of those on me somewhere. That way I can pull the pin if something is about to eat me. Hopefully blowing them up along with me," she said quite seriously, though, probably thankfully, she didn't try to grab a grenade as well.

If her hands had been free to do so, Phoenix would have instinctively facepalmed. She supposed these translator microbes didn't handle figures of speech so well.

I'll have to remember that grenade trick just in case I'm on the menu, too... she thought to herself, before clarifying her intent to Thanica. "I meant, see if you can open the door to the bridge, Thanica. Mihal and I are going to haul as many of these things in there as we can. And let whoever's in there know we're coming and we're going to make our stand there."

"Stand?" Thanica frowned, looking like she was trying very hard to get her head around it, "We're under attack aren't we? It's like my mind keeps moving from one topic to another. I'm sorry... I'll try to focus. And not on the knives. On the door. The door codes."

It wouldn't take

---

Chapter Six: Sympathy for the Devil

---

---

While it wasn't clear to the Defiance crew on the ground, in space there was a fierce fight brewing. The KC aligned corvettes were outclassed by the Gollar Destroyer that had ambushed them from the outer reaches of the system, lying in wait in case Commissar Chrichton gave to signal to move in. In truth her orders had been to not signal the Destroyer unless failure of the mission spelled doom for the Confederacy. The death of the Defiance crew, while regrettable, was better than a war with Kiellar Command, which the Confederacy stood no chance of winning. The Kiellar trap had been intricate and Chrichton had gambled that whatever Ouroboros wanted Chrichton for, had to be a potential game-changer for the KC and without her around to explain her actions, the Gollar had decided to assume she was correct.

In space the KC ships had managed to hold the Destroyer off until their landing parties had returned, though one ship had been disabled while opening a hyperspace window. After a short, brutal boarding operation, outnumbered and with no chance of escape, the corvette crew had surrendered.

Meanwhile, on the surface the crew of the Defiance were quickly met by Gollar landing craft with onboard medics who tended to the wounded and moved the crew members Aethienn had left in the snow to die back onto the Defiance which, while grounded and breached, remained with most systems operational. The damage would be repairable, given time, which the crew of the Defiance ought to have enough of, since the system was currently under Gollar occupation and they had engineers to assist. There was no KC fleet in the Neutral Zone and only one ship of significant size, the Zerataca. It would take weeks for the KC to muster a response to this act of Gollar aggression.

It took Thanica a couple of hours to sober up, though once she had, and once she had realised what had happened, she was as close to frantic as any of the crew would have seen her, though she tried desperately to hide it. Inwardly she couldn't help but feel that what had happened to Carter was her fault and she needed to fix it. Despite having been undergoing brain surgery only a few hours before she insisted on meeting with the Gollar Captain in command of the orbiting destroyer and after negotiations that lasted a good two hours, she called all the crew together in the medical bay. To be sure that nobody was left out.

The bay was barely large enough to hold the crew, especially since two of the members were Ragons and since a number of people were still being tended to by Gollar medics. Thanica looked uncharacteristically grim, perched on the side of a bench, one foot tapping the steel leg in a restless, staccato rhythm. She glanced across at the injured members of her crew, the people she had promised to look after. She knew that what had happened wasn't entirely her fault, but she couldn't help but feel that this was her fault. She was the one who had alerted Command to their presence, even if she had no recollection of doing it. Once everyone had assembled she gave a small sigh, unbuttoned her holster and threw her blaster across the bench, where it was out of her reach, "I know what I've done, and I know you must all be feeling betrayed right now. I am assured there is no trace of the KC implant in my head right now and I have no recollection of what happened, but there has to be justice for our dead. If you feel that I deserve to suffer, I won't stop you from dealing out whatever punishment you see fit."

She gave a small, sad smile, "You are my crew and I love you all." For those who spoke languages which differentiated the different types of love, Thanica was talking about what the Greeks would have called 'Phillia', fraternal love, the bond that formed between family or soldiers, "The fact that I did something that led to some of my crew dying and others being taken by the KC is tearing me apart. I do, however, have a plan to get them back. If you still want me to lead you, I'll tell you what it is shortly. If you don't... I'd ask that you save from shooting me or anything similar until I can tell whomever you want to replace me about it, and then you can do what you need to do."

[Endem]

Yp and Tyreh

Yp and Tyreh was standing in the crowd during Thanica's speech, when Yp got a tad bit too active, Tyreh leaned and spoke to him "Don't try it" Yp connected to Tyreh's mind "But..." Tyreh cut in before he could start "No, just don't do it" Yp grumbled a bit in his mind, however he was distracted by a word Thanica used, he did not recognize it.

Tyreh not knowing of his colleague plan watched idly as Yp connected to Thanica's mind and simply asked "What is this 'love' you speak of?" Of course, Yp did not understand the weight of the situation, and if Tyreh could know, and if he wouldn't be killed for it, he would scold Yp for what he done.

[Harbertia]

Sshalah stood with her arms crossed while Thanica spoke. Sshalah had a scowl of sorts. She seemed moody in demeanor as she looked at Thanica narrowly; "Commander, what happened to you could have been any of us. Any of us could have been taken in by the blue ones. You are not at fault for this- nor is the Carter who took this job." Her look was still hostile; "This was a trap, we did what was best in the moment."

[Theyra]

Novo Vohru Andai
Novo was standing close to the wall as things were rather crowded in the medbay. He listened intently to what Thanica was saying, grabbed his chest, and painfully coughed. That gas did a number on his lungs, and the medics say he will recover despite how bad it feels. It feels like his lungs are on fire though the feeling is fading away. That news did not help with what had happened to the crew, Novo did not blame Thanica for what happened. It was those blue aliens' fault for what occurred, and she was an unknowing pawn of Command. He was about to say to Thanica to reassure her that it was not her fault but, Sshalah had been him to the punch. Novo nodded and spoke up after making another pained cough. "Sshalah is right, and it is no one's fault for this, we fell into a trap simple as that and lost some people along the way. Though I have to ask Thanica, what is your plan to get everyone back?" Novo crossed his arms, "We are still recovering from what, and I am not sure how we can go against Command in our state?

Vak'ol Vum

Vak'ol was standing in the back, near the entrance of the medbay, leaning against the wall. Silently judging himself for not doing more during the attack. Even though it probably would not have made that much of a difference really or gotten himself killed. He just stood at the main armory during everything, waiting for someone to arrive, preferably a crew member. It did not matter to him that he had never used a blaster before and had not fought in years. His old warrior pride was nagging at him, and he did not know how to get rid of it. Vak'ol still listened to Thanica's speech and did not blame her for what occurred. Command was the true enemy in this situation, clear and simple. Though he chose to remain silent as Novo asked what her plan is to rescue the ones that were taken by Command. How are they going to get them back in their current state, he wondered. Vak'ol waited for an answer and, for the moment, stopped his internal nagging of himself.

[Europa Undivided]

Kaleso Stralbane

Yare-Lokem

Kaleso sat quietly on one corner of the room, brooding over the entire day's terrible turn of events. First, the thing they were searching for was a mere fake, a fluke that was meant to lead them there to be be ambushed by the galaxy damned Kiellar Command. Then, their captain got taken. Captain Nathaniel Carter, the man that killed a Sarufi Technomancer and crime lord and gained the favour of the infamous Azar Konkara. Now, he has been captured by the Kiellar to who knows where. Maybe they were going to conduct heinous experiments on him, cutting his flesh and seeping in chemicals into his blood like the barbarians they are. He shuddered at the thought. He had come to respect the captain. Perhaps enough to consider Carter equal to one of the Lords of the Corsair Bands, the ones with the irreverence of dogs and the courage of dragons. Either way, he found no pleasure with the fact that Carter was captured, and it further displeased him to imagine what the Kiellar Commodore had in store for the human that had come from a galaxy away just to be injected with a million disgusting chemicals.

Then, Thanica made her speech. Not the most glamorous, but that is easily expected. She was tired. They all were.

As she finished, he coughed. A low one, but it sounded quite… unright.

He looked at his hand. It was not blood, but rather, some sort of glowing psychic discharge that is produced only by Jokarun. And they produce it only when their power is… awakening.

It only meant one thing. The Sixty-Six have completely lifted the shackles from him from afar. Given time, the power he once wielded as a sorceror will return in full. For now, he would just experience coughing and some headaches, but it will return.

"Come now, Commander, spill it, and we will barge in and destroy anything that stands before us just like last time.", Yare-Lokem suddenly daid with a totally serious tone. "O-okay, maybe not exactly like that, but you probably get what I mean. In other words, you should still lead us. My friend and I may be former commanders, but we wouldn't have been stuffed into those cryo pods if we were good ones to begin with."

[Lessoni]

Raoul

Raoul nearly bristled at Thanica's suggestion that anyone would shoot her. If they ever wished to leave the ship in one piece, they wouldn't. He gave a nod at Yare's words, and spoke up, quiet until that moment.

"To put fault of this incident on anyone would be foolish. All there is to do is move forward, and if moving forward takes us roaring through a KC outpost? All the better," he said, his expression almost expectant.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Thanica Vari

Thanica nodded. She had heard enough to get the distinct impression the crew weren't blaming her which, logically, she knew was the truth. Though if they had wanted to take their anger out on her she would have understood, "Thank you for still trusting me. I won't let you down," she promised, "Though if there are any of you who do want to still say something on that topic, I am going to listen... if it's anger at me, as I said earlier, I don't blame you. If it's that you still trust me -" she smiled weakly, "-I'm not so proud that I won't admit that I need to hear that right now."

She sighed, fidgeting with her hair, "Yp asked me what 'love' is, so I'm going to try to explain that first, then I will tell you what the plan is." The Dhasath tribe that Thanica belonged to, like some earth cultures, had quite a few words for the concept, so she described the one she had meant, "It is the bond, Yp, that is built up between people who live and work closely with one another over time. It is more than liking a person, it is coming to appreciate that person's character. You value it and will act altruistically in the defense of that person. I know the concept is probably alien to you, but most of us feel something like that when we look at our crew... yes and I appreciate some of you are probably going to tell me that I'd make a delicious second course."

That was apparently all she wanted to say on that topic. Thanica glanced in the direction of the ceiling, her foot tapping against the leg of the table, "As you might be aware, the Gollar captured a Kiellar vessel when they swooped in to get us out of our bind. What you don't know is that the Captain of that vessel surrendered the current KC IFF codes and some valuable information when they did that. I have convinced the Gollar forces to let me use the codes and captured vessel to infiltrate the KC fleet."

She paused for a moment, glancing about the room to see if anyone had obviously switched off already, "The Gadawei system is expecting a ship in the next day or so from the KC to confirm that the treaty that Ouroboros brokered with Gadawei IV. Since ships move faster than any potential information transfer, they don't know the name of the ship or it's description. We are going to make a few modifications to the captured vessel and impersonate that ship. We have their IFF codes, we have a KC vessel and we have ex-KC troopers onboard who know their protocols; we have a reasonable chance of success. The Gollar will ambush it when it enters this system to ensure that the real ship doesn't show up."

"I'm not going to tell any of you to come along. This is probably a suicide mission," Thanica added, "But for those of you who want to come, some of us, particularly those of us who are Kiel or who have served as Auxiliaries, will be impersonating KC navy personnel. The remainder of you will be impersonating prisoners from the Defiance who we will claim we captured after engaging with a Gollar recovery vessel. We will proceed to the Zerataca, the KC Battlecruiser, that has been pursuing us, and, using the 'prisoners' as a smokescreen, we will gain access to the brig, where we will free Carter and anybody else from our crew who is still alive. If all goes according to plan we will make it out without anyone realising what we were up to... though there is a pretty high chance someone will ask too many questions and we'll need to shoot our way out."

"Oh..." she added, almost as an afterthought, "And I know you guys are angry and want to hurt some KC troopers, but remember that there are quite a lot of us in this room who were KC troopers. They aren't bad people, they're just people doing their jobs. They're people like me, like Cridrac, Mothlua, Vrondich, Vandul and Rabaech. It's only by chance that I'm here with you and not walking the corridors of the Zerataca. Try to keep casualties to a minimum."

It sounded like that was the end, but after a long pause she added, "If you do volunteer and things go wrong, I won't blame you if you leave me. I think it is fair to let you know up front that I'm coming back with Carter or not at all."

[New Udonia]

Strike Team Tetra

Quantum Probability

Rodu had watched Dana collapse face-first in the snow. You are not dying on us now. Rodu crawled toward Dana, rolling her onto her back. Grasping her around the waist, she dragged her toward the side of the trench, placing her upright against it. She wasn't going to be choking anymore. Rodu sat down beside her, keeping her steady. That was when the soldiers found them. They had been looking for Carter's fellow species members and Dana's transparent face-plate immediately ended their search.

"Woah, I'm unarmed!" That didn't stop them from wrestling them both to the ground, undoing her previous work. "She's been hit, she needs to be able to breathe!"
"Silence!" A boot connected with the rogue Kiel's side, causing her to instinctively curl up to face a few more kicks. Technically they were bludgeoning her armor, but the impact still carried through. They secured her companion's wrists behind her back, then rolled her over. Rodu's mind screamed at her to keep quiet. Shutup, Rodu!
"You are killing her!"
"Silence, traitor!"
More kicks, this time with some stomps as exclamation marks. They paused long enough to allow her to form the words: "Please, she's dying... help her...."
An explosion interrupted them before they could respond to her request. Emeach's words followed closely behind. "It's a trap, open fire!" They did.

Cridrac had remained silent on communications watching the scene unfold. At the explosion, he immediately scanned for his teammates. Satisfied with the survival of the team at the cave entrance he moved to check on the other two groups. The Captain was already gone, presumably on one of the Lancers lifting off of the surface. Then he noticed Dana's metallic Gollar armor being dragged out of a trench. Something was off.

He bolted at Cridrac's words. Cridrac had told him that he hadn't seen Rodu, but it was most likely that the troops left her behind. Vandul wasn't taking any chances. Vandul used the same trench network that his sister had used to reach Dana, reaching the edge of the trench as the last Lancers left the moon. "Hey, it's me, don't shoot!" He jumped down into the trench, following the same path of Samlath footprints which had preceded his own. That's when he saw her blaster. "It's ok, it's just me, stop hiding!" Where are you? That moment his eyes noticed something dark in the snow ahead of him.

He knew it was her armor, for it was the same coat of paint the rest of the team used. She was lying upright in the snow, with her arms carelessly draped beside her. "Rodu, they are gone. Don't make me carry you!" No response. "Get up." Sitting down beside her he managed to get her upright using the same tactics she had used on the human. "Who is the heavy one now?" Noticing patches of snow on her back, he tried to brush them off. It didn't work. A closer investigation showed that they were multiple entry wounds that had frozen over.

Cridrac had rappeled to the surface before Vandul had reached the cave entrance. He was close behind Vandul, watching his tracking signal disappear as he entered the final trench. Listening to the one-way conversation, he had already prepared for the worse. Vandul was sobbing, gripping the body. Cridrac silently slid into the trench, standing beside him.

Strike Team Tetra

Mending Morale

Reinforcements had arrived just-in-time for the Defiance crew, specifically Mothlua. Kiel physiology lacks decent temperature regulation, and when her body hit the snow she froze. Her left arm had to be amputated. Luckily her right arm had been buried beneath the snow, so it was salvageable, as was the rest of her body. Several hours later she was still undergoing treatment. Mothlua was lying unconscious, inside of a medically induced coma, when Thanica gathered the remaining crew to the medbay. Vandul was at her side, as was Cridrac. Rodu's body had been placed inside of a cryo-pod on the lower deck, awaiting energy cremation.

The two mentally present Kiel didn't blame Thanica. They had been inside the medbay before she had gathered. Regardless, they remained by Mothlua's side, although Cridrac stood at attention. Listening to the crew express their faith in the Commander was reassuring. The last thing they needed was infighting.

"Oh..." she added, almost as an afterthought, "And I know you guys are angry and want to hurt some KC troopers, but remember that there are quite a lot of us in this room who were KC troopers. They aren't bad people, they're just people doing their jobs. They're people like me, like Cridrac, Mothlua, Vrondich, Vandul and Rabaech. It's only by chance that I'm here with you and not walking the corridors of the Zerataca. Try to keep casualties to a minimum."

Cridrac nodded in agreement, although Vandul remained silent.

I think it is fair to let you know up front that I'm coming back with Carter or not at all."

At this, Vandul spoke up. It was the first time he had spoken to someone other than Cridrac since the incident. "Ironic, isn't it. Carter still thinks you are dead." That was something his sister would have said, it was rare for Vandul to speak his mind to others. Cridrac glanced at Vandul, he hadn't even raised his head to make the comment. Cridrac knew what was going on, if Mothlua woke up, Vandul would feel as if part of his sister was saved. She had been her second-best friend after all.

[Bingellia]

Mihal had been strangely both disheveled and silent as he watched the conversation move around the medical bay and he was tired, both physically and mentally, from the recent events like everyone else was. The sight of the Kiel also rubbing his temples while nursing a bottle of water might show the others how he had tried to get some sleep and all he had gotten was a headache from the effort.

Despite his throbbing head, he managed to smile as the crew came out in support of Thanica and he listened intently as she explained the plan to everyone. She was right when she called it suicidal, but this mission needed every Kiel it could get. With Mothlau critically wounded and Rodu’s death, he was one of the six Kiels that could be spared for this mission and he knew it. “I can go,” He murmured to himself, not loud enough for anyone to hear.

After running a hand to tame his mess of hair a bit, Mihal cleared his throat. He hesitated briefly, but what memories he had from being dragged out of the fire from the Pleasure Haven by Carter came flooding back. “I can help,” he spoke eagerly. It may have been against his better judgment, but he would repay his debts, gods be damned! “I’ll need a crash course in military protocol first, but I can go."

[The Imarian Monarchy]

Having returned to the Defiance with the rest of the crew in the Gollar transports, Romovae joins the rest of the crew listening to the speech given by Thanica that gave briefing the everyone of the coming mission, and the situation. After Thanica finished her delivery, she walks over to the small crowd forming near her. Thinking that joining the rescue would give herself a favor with Commisar Chrichton and therefore the Gollar because both her and Carter are both Human. “Captain Vari, I may also be able to help in the rescue, if there is a set of Keillar Armor or even an engineering jumpsuit that will fit me. However like Mihal, I would also need a course in Kelliar protocol.”

[Europa Undivided]

Thanica Vari

Thanica nodded. She had heard enough to get the distinct impression the crew weren't blaming her which, logically, she knew was the truth. Though if they had wanted to take their anger out on her she would have understood, "Thank you for still trusting me. I won't let you down," she promised, "Though if there are any of you who do want to still say something on that topic, I am going to listen... if it's anger at me, as I said earlier, I don't blame you. If it's that you still trust me -" she smiled weakly, "-I'm not so proud that I won't admit that I need to hear that right now."

She sighed, fidgeting with her hair, "Yp asked me what 'love' is, so I'm going to try to explain that first, then I will tell you what the plan is." The Dhasath tribe that Thanica belonged to, like some earth cultures, had quite a few words for the concept, so she described the one she had meant, "It is the bond, Yp, that is built up between people who live and work closely with one another over time. It is more than liking a person, it is coming to appreciate that person's character. You value it and will act altruistically in the defense of that person. I know the concept is probably alien to you, but most of us feel something like that when we look at our crew... yes and I appreciate some of you are probably going to tell me that I'd make a delicious second course."

That was apparently all she wanted to say on that topic. Thanica glanced in the direction of the ceiling, her foot tapping against the leg of the table, "As you might be aware, the Gollar captured a Kiellar vessel when they swooped in to get us out of our bind. What you don't know is that the Captain of that vessel surrendered the current KC IFF codes and some valuable information when they did that. I have convinced the Gollar forces to let me use the codes and captured vessel to infiltrate the KC fleet."

She paused for a moment, glancing about the room to see if anyone had obviously switched off already, "The Gadawei system is expecting a ship in the next day or so from the KC to confirm that the treaty that Ouroboros brokered with Gadawei IV. Since ships move faster than any potential information transfer, they don't know the name of the ship or it's description. We are going to make a few modifications to the captured vessel and impersonate that ship. We have their IFF codes, we have a KC vessel and we have ex-KC troopers onboard who know their protocols; we have a reasonable chance of success. The Gollar will ambush it when it enters this system to ensure that the real ship doesn't show up."

"I'm not going to tell any of you to come along. This is probably a suicide mission," Thanica added, "But for those of you who want to come, some of us, particularly those of us who are Kiel or who have served as Auxiliaries, will be impersonating KC navy personnel. The remainder of you will be impersonating prisoners from the Defiance who we will claim we captured after engaging with a Gollar recovery vessel. We will proceed to the Zerataca, the KC Battlecruiser, that has been pursuing us, and, using the 'prisoners' as a smokescreen, we will gain access to the brig, where we will free Carter and anybody else from our crew who is still alive. If all goes according to plan we will make it out without anyone realising what we were up to... though there is a pretty high chance someone will ask too many questions and we'll need to shoot our way out."

"Oh..." she added, almost as an afterthought, "And I know you guys are angry and want to hurt some KC troopers, but remember that there are quite a lot of us in this room who were KC troopers. They aren't bad people, they're just people doing their jobs. They're people like me, like Cridrac, Mothlua, Vrondich, Vandul and Rabaech. It's only by chance that I'm here with you and not walking the corridors of the Zerataca. Try to keep casualties to a minimum."

It sounded like that was the end, but after a long pause she added, "If you do volunteer and things go wrong, I won't blame you if you leave me. I think it is fair to let you know up front that I'm coming back with Carter or not at all."

Kaleso Stralbane
Yare-Lokem

“Well. I can do that.”, Kaleso remarked in response to the request to keep casualties to a minimum. “You know, Commander, that we Corsairs don’t usually harm Dhasath crewmen when we are raiding the Kiellar Command’s ship. Not because, you know, we have some sort of special connection, but we know that your people are endangered, like us. Thus, I think I can keep my hands from slicing off too many heads unlike before. Right, Yare?”

“Riiiight.”, Yare simply nodded.

Kaleso continued, “Also Commander, I am sure that my name is quite known in the circles of the Command, at least amongst those tasked with hunting down pirates. Last time I heard, a billion credits have been placed upon my head. So, if I come along as a... ‘prisoner’, I am quite sure that whoever is in charge will be eager to dispense their own twisted version of justice on me.”

Kaleso was probably right in his assumption that the Command Navy were particularly concerned with not just him, but all of the Corsair Lords who lead the various fleets of the Corsair Bands. They had always treated the Command with very little in the way of respect, sending irrelevant messages loaded with insults whenever their surrender has been demanded by authorities.

Now, Kaleso fully intended to help in this endeavour to save their captain and anyone else that got captured. In the few weeks that they have spent as art of one crew, Kaleso found his racial prejudices seeded in him during the fall of the Republic were crumbling like sand castles when he was a crewman for a Captain from across the galactic neighbourhood. Truth be told, it felt like he missed Carter, like he was a friend. How was this possible? They didn’t really talk all that much...

[Bentus]

Aarla - Unit 067
The frozen moon

---

Unit Eight-Five didn’t have a chance to press her surprise attack on Aarla. After delivering the sweetly satisfying first blow, and sending the other psyker stumbling backwards with a bloodied lip, Eight-Five felt something slam into the small of her back. Surprised at the unexpected entry of another opponent, the girl tripped forward onto the ground as Vandul quickly moved to restrain her wrists.

“Don’t move a muscle.” For a few moments, the psyker complied with the command. She was too stunned that the revolting traitor had dared to blindside her to do anything else. But it wasn’t long before her gaze narrowed, her earlier anger returning to her at the interruption. Seemingly unaware of the danger, Vandul’s mind was torn away from his quarry as Carter’s voice broke over the radio to announce the surrender. Caught off guard by the unbelievable command, the soldier glanced warily down at the psyker beneath him. Was that it, just like that? The adrenaline coursing through his veins competed with his rigid training, orders were orders...and yet he hesitated. That hesitation could have cost him his life.

As Vandul’s determination wavered, a slight flicker of light leapt between Eight-Five’s fingers. Preparing to swat away the insect that had landed on her back, the girl found the opportunity stolen from her when an invisible wall slammed itself into Vandul’s chest. The strike was hard and fast, immediately forcing the air from the man’s lungs as he was thrown clear of the immediate danger. Scowling as her kill was snatched away, Eight-Five turned back to her main quarry.

“Stabbing your allies in the back again?” She snarled, pushing herself back to her feet. “You haven’t changed at all, Six-Seven.”

Aarla ignored the other girl’s hateful glare, calmly lowering her hand as she watched Vandul land painfully on the cave floor. Confident that the Kiel would shrug off any injuries her actions might have given him, and knowing that they would have been nothing compared to the wrath of the psyker he had attacked, Aarla finally turned her attention back towards Eight-Five. “You shouldn’t have let your guard down like that.” She stated bluntly. “If he hadn’t hesitated, he could have killed you.”

The calm, almost condescending tone from Aarla only caused Eight-Five’s anger to rise. “Shut up. I had it totally under control!” She hissed back, adopting a fighting stance as she watched her opponent for any movements. “If you hadn’t got in the way, I would have torn him apart already.”

Only half-listening to the girl’s tirade, Aarla treated the other psyker dismissively as she watched the other mutineers slowly conform to Carter’s last order. She frowned at the human’s obstinance. Surrendering just to save one of his soldiers? What kind of a commander would make such an idiotic decision. But as long as he was in charge, there wasn’t much that Aarla could do. Something else has to happen. She thought grimly. Their only hope was for their circumstances to change, which meant that her best option was to try and buy as much time as she could.

Shrugging, Aarla responded lazily to Eight-Five. “Maybe. But that doesn’t matter now, does it. You heard: we’ve surrendered. Not that I’m going to say sorry for anything, though.”

Clearly caught off guard by the nonchalant response, Eight-Five’s aggressive stance seemed to waver. “What?”

They...weren’t going to fight? Opening her mouth to respond, she found that the words weren’t there. She’d been looking forward to the confrontation, eagerly awaiting her chance to wipe the smug grin off of the older psyker’s face. But now that the moment was here, Aarla had somehow stolen even her satisfying victory from her. Looking over towards Six-Two as if for some support, Eight-Five’s expression became crestfallen as the boy simply shrugged and reached to his hip for a pair of handcuffs. Feeling a roiling sense of unease in her chest, the girl turned back to Aarla as she tried to bury her frustration.

“Don’t just act like this is okay.” She retorted, jabbing a finger towards Aarla. “I just beat you! I’m better than you, Six-Seven. And everybody’s going to know it.”

The eye-roll that Aarla offered in response seemed to have the desired effect of infuriating Eight-Five even further. “You didn’t beat me.” She replied plainly, waiting for Six-Two to approach with the cuffs while she kept his partner talking. “My Handler’s commander ordered me to surrender. So I’m surrendering.”

“No, that’s….that’s not fair.” Eight-Five struggled to reply. She’d won, Six-Seven was her prisoner, and their Handler would praise her for a job well done. So why was Aarla acting like she was the winner in all this?!

“This isn’t like the other times, you know? This time, you really messed up.” Visibly fuming, the younger girl glowered at her prisoner. “After everything they’ve done for us, for you, you betrayed our Handlers. You betrayed Command. I knew you’d do it eventually, you know. All those times you’d go and do something stupid, acting like you were above the rest of us. Every time the Handlers would look the other way, but not this time. They’re never going to forgive you for this. You’re done, Six-Seven.”

Aarla’s mouth twisted upwards into a smirk. “Is that really what you think?” Folding her arms, she noted that her calm response seemed to only inflame the other girl further. “You’re smarter than that, Eight-Five. If I really was in as much trouble as you say, I’d already be dead. I would’ve been executed as a traitor.”

Eight-Five’s furious expression wavered, and Six-Two paused as he overheard the exchange. Mentally reaching out to his partner, his voice spoke inside her head. Eight-Five, don’t listen to her. She’s trying to get to you, you know that. There was no immediate response as Aarla continued.

“Instead, you and Six-Two were sent to take me back alive, right?” Aarla grinned, knowing she was right by how Eight-Five shifted uncomfortably under her glare. But what she said next was what really drove the nail home. “Do you think they would have bothered if you’d run off, Eight-Five? Or would they have just asked me to kill you when I found you? Face it. No matter how much you try, or how much you do to please them, I’m still their favourite.”

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion echoed from the cave opening, cutting off the conversation. For a moment, Eight-Five didn’t react to the sound. A red haze had filled her vision as she continued to glare at Aarla - small flashes of electricity leapt between her fingertips as she felt a cold rage building up in her chest. A part of her started to think about the consequences of killing the rogue psyker. She’d get in trouble. She might even get retired. But it might be worth it. Just for the satisfaction of crushing Six-Seven’s skull between her hands.

“Eight-Five!”

The shout finally pulled her out of her reverie, and she blinked to see Six-Two pointing towards the cave entrance. Outside, she could see blaster fire screaming through the air as it looked like hostilities had restarted. Grinning, Eight-Five turned towards Aarla as it seemed like her wish to fight would be granted - but a solid grip on her arm caused her to pause.

“Don’t. There’s no time.” Six-Two stated plainly, holding firmly onto his partner as he met her surprised expression. “The Commissar gave the order to retreat; the fleet is being ambushed in orbit.” He glanced over towards Aarla, his brown eyes meeting the other girl’s expression and lingering there for a few moments before she offered him a nod. He turned back to Eight-Five once she did. “Even if we fought Aarla and won, it would take too long. We would never have enough time to take her back to the landing craft and escape.”

The words seemed to punch Eight-Five in the chest, and her first instinct was to pull her arm free. “Stop calling her that, idiot. Her designation is Six-Seven - that’s what the Handler’s gave us, and she just spits on it like all of their gifts!” Biting her lip, she stole one final glance at Aarla, the girl continuing to stand patiently. Eventually, Eight-Five groaned and turned away. “Fine. But next time, she’s either coming with us, or I’m going to kill her.”

As Eight-Five stormed back towards the cave entrance. Six-Two couldn’t help but sigh at his partner’s single-minded actions. Turning back, he looked at Aarla one last time before he followed her back to the landing craft, shaking his head as he did so.

[Sao Nova Europa]

Laborious but rhythmic breathing...

Darkness gives way to light...

Tso Drothan could barely see what was before him. He couldn't feel his body. He felt trapped. He could barely breath. The breathing device of his mask produced the scary, droid-like sound that had made him (in)famous in the not so distant past. 'I am still in my suit... makes sense. No one knows how to take it off - except for the High Priests.'

He tried to move his hands and, to his surprise, he could feel them moving. 'Not bad...' he thought.

Hey!

He could hear some strange voice. He closed his eyes and reopened them. Before him were some alien specimen he had never met before. "You are?"

"Gollar Confederacy," one of them answered. "I am a Captain. No time for greetings though. You will have to go the Defiance. You are their problem, not ours."

"What?" Tso Drothan wasn't particularly pleased with that... alien and he would have killed him in other circumstances, but he knew better than to try and go into combat after just waking up from what seemed to be a stasis pod.

"Very well... Captain," Drothan replied with his deep, mechanical voice. "Bring me to that ship." For now, he would have to play along and follow orders until he could find a chance to escape.

And so, Tso Drothan was sent to join the Defiance crew. The crew were on an icy moon, trying to repair their ship with Gollar help. Drothan was brought there. He did not know what awaited him but was confident that he could survive. He had seen worse. Memories of the war flashed in his mind, memories he had long forgotten. For a few brief moments, he remembered himself leading armies to the field of battle and crushing his enemies. All of that was now a distant memory... one he could barely recall.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Thanica Vari

Kaleso Stralbane
Yare-Lokem

“Well. I can do that.”, Kaleso remarked in response to the request to keep casualties to a minimum. “You know, Commander, that we Corsairs don’t usually harm Dhasath crewmen when we are raiding the Kiellar Command’s ship. Not because, you know, we have some sort of special connection, but we know that your people are endangered, like us. Thus, I think I can keep my hands from slicing off too many heads unlike before. Right, Yare?”

“Riiiight.”, Yare simply nodded.

Kaleso continued, “Also Commander, I am sure that my name is quite known in the circles of the Command, at least amongst those tasked with hunting down pirates. Last time I heard, a billion credits have been placed upon my head. So, if I come along as a... ‘prisoner’, I am quite sure that whoever is in charge will be eager to dispense their own twisted version of justice on me.”

Kaleso was probably right in his assumption that the Command Navy were particularly concerned with not just him, but all of the Corsair Lords who lead the various fleets of the Corsair Bands. They had always treated the Command with very little in the way of respect, sending irrelevant messages loaded with insults whenever their surrender has been demanded by authorities.

Now, Kaleso fully intended to help in this endeavour to save their captain and anyone else that got captured. In the few weeks that they have spent as art of one crew, Kaleso found his racial prejudices seeded in him during the fall of the Republic were crumbling like sand castles when he was a crewman for a Captain from across the galactic neighbourhood. Truth be told, it felt like he missed Carter, like he was a friend. How was this possible? They didn’t really talk all that much...

Thanica smiled slightly. It wasn't a huge grin, but there was warmth in it, "That is good to know, though I was referring to all Kiellar troopers, not just my own species. I do especially empathise with the auxiliaries. For those of us who lived in Command territory, the only route to gain any kind of legal protection from predatory governors was to do our time serving as cannon fodder and pray to the maker that we made it out the far end alive."

"This is Kiellar Command we are talking about," Thanica added in reference to the bounty comment, "They aren't going to kill you or maim you if they can still work you to death down a mine. They will kill me, creatively, to set an example for other auxiliaries thinking of mutiny, but you will get sent somewhere to work. The Kiellar economy needs slaves. Actually, now I think about it, if this bounty is correct, then that gives us a good reason to want to have our people escort the prisoners to the brig, rather than handing over to the Zerataca crew. We'd want to be sure we got the receipt for the transfer."

She stood up properly, climbing down from the edge of the desk, which did make her look rather small amongst the rest of the crew, "There is one other thing. One of the Kiel will need to play the part of the Captain, not me. It isn't that having a non-Kiel in charge is impossible, but it would be unusual and the idea is for us to look as run-of-the-mill as possible. I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest Mihal on the off chance that one of us -" she motioned at Cridrac, the Strike Team, and the two engineers who were hanging around at the back "-runs into some that we know. If we the play the role of marines we can get away without taking our helmets off... and we can also mutter instructions through the comms channel if we hit an unexpected hitch."

[Grenartia]

Phoenix, and Doctors Yevgeny Levenkov and Amlai, Medbay
Co-written by Grenartia and Khaskonia

A dull haze had taken over after the wounds. Amlais life didn’t flash before her eyes, but she was certainly approaching death at a slow, silent, mostly helpless march. Although she wasn’t fully conscious, she still could sense the impending decay. Plasma weapons didn’t kill with fluid loss like more primordial fighting instruments, but they did plenty of damage in terms of burns and cauterising wounds that need to heal fully. That meant Amlai had work to do. Not to mention the others wounded by fighting. They would need help, as everyone else around undoubtedly lacked the skill to take proper medical action. The human female with medical training would surely be overwhelmed by the mess of different body plans the galaxy had spat out over the aeons.

From the silent darkness of her floor nap, Amlai eventually came to. She’d been moved from where she originally lost consciousness, hopefully not to a Kiellar coroner’s office. It felt more like one of the hospital beds aboard the Defiance, but what confirmed that, at the very least, the crew remained intact, was the cacophony of familiar voices that was slowly coming into focus. It was the sounds of their motley crew, so chances were that at least some of the group had indeed weathered the whole debacle with the Kiellar. Her lower row of eyes cracked open, and glanced at the layout of the room. Indeed, as Amlai opened her primary pair, it was clear that she was in her own medbay. She used three of her tentacles to feel around and push the button on the bed that would let her sit up. She didn’t want to do it under her own power, as her body was still coping with the damages, and she wasn’t yet sure the extent to which vitals were impacted. Although the plasma should have cauterised the wounds, she put her hand over where the pain was emanating from, just as a precaution in case there was a thin wall of jellified blood and pus keeping her organs from spilling out and prematurely ending her career.
Amlai’s tentacles were colourless through and through, as she could now tell, which meant she was in terrible shape. She groaned, which for her sounded more like gargling, and rubbed her eyes. She felt absolutely horrible. The pain was definitely returning as she properly came to. She wheezed, and took a look around the room.

“Hrrak mà câat mâk fǔm ghhóme…” she murmured as she massaged the space between her eyes with her free hand. Amlai shook her head, and sighed. She wasn’t the only one who needed help.

Fortunately, the human paramedic Phoenix was nearby. Weakly, Amlai said, “Phoenix, I need a favour.”

It had been a wild ride. Utterly surreal. One moment, Phe was expecting to fight to the death, and the next minute, the tables had turned. At least for the crew of the Defiance. The away team had gotten their asses handed to them. Hard. Lee bought the farm, apparently. She promised that she'd handle his funeral, and make sure his family got his remains, somehow. And now the doctor was asking for assistance.

"What is it, doc?" Phoenix replied, wondering what she could possibly do.

"I need you to get me some bandages, local anaesthetics, and...a scalpel and some medical thread and needle," Amlai responded while carefully pressing her thumb to her wrist device and unlocking the cabinets and drawers, "The bandages, needle, and thread should be in the drawer labelled "Open Wounds". Get the heavy duty bandages. The medical sewing kit should be on the counter, and has a division with packets labelled "C: K-oid parentheses J. Get me one of those. For the scalpel, get the Heavy Duty small size one. Should be labelled as such. The anaesthetics should be arranged...by species size. I think...no...they changed it out recently. Select anaesthesia, then local, then surgical strength, and then type in "K-o-l-m-o-i-k" for the dosage on the pharmaceutical mixer. That should cover it all. Got it?"

From across the room, Dr. Yevgeny Levenkov had been tending to the wounded, mostly ignoring the speech Thanica had been giving. But he had heard the Kolmoik addressing Phoenix, which perked his attention. Turning around, he spoke up in his characteristic Russian accent.

"Ah! Little Bird! Its so good to see you again. Do not worry what she says, doctors always make worst patients. I will handle this." Unbeknownst to Amlai, he had already been making use of the various supplies, and her instructions weren't quite accurate at the moment.

Phoenix was surprised to see Yev, though all things considered, she shouldn't have been. "Yev, its good to see you again! What do you need me to do?"

"For the moment, nothing. Though, you should probably pay attention to this rescue party they're talking about."

Nodding, Phoenix went back to Thanica and the rest of the group, while Yev tended to the other doctor. Now that Yev was unthawed and on the team, she'd have to make time to catch up with him.

"Do not worry. The Gollar gave me crash course in alien medicine. I have stabilized you and the others. I'm giving you something for pain now." he said, injecting the doctor with the requested anesthetic.

“That’s...a local anaesthetic, right?” she slowly. asked in response.. She removed her hand from her stomach, and sighed, “And make sure you’re recording every you do in a log so I can put it in the commonplace when I have a chance. Don’t mess around in it. It’s all in Móitxán and you won’t understand a thing.”

"Yes, it is local, just as you requested. Rest assured Miss Kolmoik. I wasn't chosen to be Destiny doctor by lottery. You and the rest of the patients are in good hands." Yev stated, reassuringly. He ignored the commend about messing around with her commonplace. He had been diligent in keeping his own records, and once the doctor was well, would be more than willing to compare notes with her.

“Kolmoik is my species, not my name,” Amlai responded with an amused, if tired smirk, “Go ahead and do your thing, but do keep me updated on the other patients. Did they tell you the ship has a consult manual that has comprehensive diagnostics on most sentient life in the galaxy? Could be helpful. A crash course only begins to cover even the small collection we have her.”

"I know. You could tell me your name, and I will use that instead." Yev said with a smile. "And yes, I will look at manual once I am done. But Gollar gave me info on Kiel, Dhasath, Kolmoik, and Sarufi."

“Let me get this straight. Nobody bothered to tell you who the ship’s head medical officer is?” she asked a bemused half-grin half-frown, “We have files on all the patients and they didn’t tell you the names so you could search through them? Oh my star. Well, anyway, I’m Āihēemlái Āigàm Ǒonhētváihěeāivǎakàe, M.D. But call me Amlai instead of hurting your tongue. I can’t believe nobody told you the names of all the patients…”

"It will be ok, Amlai. You are worrying again. Is not good for somone in your condition. As far as I can tell, you are stable. But only if you keep calm. In any case, I must check on my other patients." Yev said, remembering the old adage about doctors making the worst patients.

---

Phoenix, concurrent with Amlai and Yevgeny's conversation

Thanica was giving a briefing, after offering herself up for punishment for the mission's failure. Which nobody, rightfully, accepted. If she hadn't known any better, she would have thought Thanica was still doped up on whatever the other doctor had given her.

Thanica Vari

Thanica smiled slightly. It wasn't a huge grin, but there was warmth in it, "That is good to know, though I was referring to all Kiellar troopers, not just my own species. I do especially empathise with the auxiliaries. For those of us who lived in Command territory, the only route to gain any kind of legal protection from predatory governors was to do our time serving as cannon fodder and pray to the maker that we made it out the far end alive."

"This is Kiellar Command we are talking about," Thanica added in reference to the bounty comment, "They aren't going to kill you or maim you if they can still work you to death down a mine. They will kill me, creatively, to set an example for other auxiliaries thinking of mutiny, but you will get sent somewhere to work. The Kiellar economy needs slaves. Actually, now I think about it, if this bounty is correct, then that gives us a good reason to want to have our people escort the prisoners to the brig, rather than handing over to the Zerataca crew. We'd want to be sure we got the receipt for the transfer."

She stood up properly, climbing down from the edge of the desk, which did make her look rather small amongst the rest of the crew, "There is one other thing. One of the Kiel will need to play the part of the Captain, not me. It isn't that having a non-Kiel in charge is impossible, but it would be unusual and the idea is for us to look as run-of-the-mill as possible. I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest Mihal on the off chance that one of us -" she motioned at Cridrac, the Strike Team, and the two engineers who were hanging around at the back "-runs into some that we know. If we the play the role of marines we can get away without taking our helmets off... and we can also mutter instructions through the comms channel if we hit an unexpected hitch."

As she listened to the planning, she began to realize just how nasty of a bunch these Kiellar Command types were. This is one fucked-up galaxy. Now wonder she wants to go to Earth...

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, and she spoke up. "It should go without question that if we're getting Carter and Dana back, I'm joining the mission. When we were back on Earth, he saved my life. He's like a brother to me. I guess you can have me pose as one of the prisoners. Easiest role for me to play. Anyways, would it be possible to reprogram the implant we dug out of you? We could see if the Gollar would be willing to let us have the Captain of the ship we're hijacking, and put the implant in his head."

It sounded good in her head, but saying it out loud made it sound incredibly crazy. But maybe, it'd be crazy enough to work.

[Harbertia]

Sshalah, her arms still crossed, turned her angry looking eyes down toward Pheonix; "How can you suggest such a thing?" She let her arms fall and moved closer as best she could in the crowd.

[Lessoni]

Raoul

Raoul gave his best approximation of a smile at Thanica's plan. Simple, elegant, and incredibly likely to fail. If they were to die, it would be a blaze of glory, not a whisper.

"I'm coming along. If blood is to be shed, I would not miss it for control of the galaxy."

Internally, he scoffed at the idea that the only way up was through the Kiellar. Better to die than be a government slave.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Thanica Vari

"Did someone keep that thing they put in my head?" for a moment Thanica looked shocked and concerned, "I would not wish that on anyone, not my worst enemy and certainly not a former comrade. I am not going to have any part in turning anybody into a walking time-bomb. That technology is the work of the Enemy and should be destroyed along with all traces of how it was constructed and forgotten so that no person can be tempted to use it."

She looked over at Sshalah. She was never quite sure how the Ragon would react to ideas though she was very glad to have her support on this one. Once this was all over they'd need to see what they could do to get her home... if that was where she still wanted to go, "I don't blame you for thinking about going down that road, but I can't go along with something like that. I know we aren't on an ideological crusade, we've mostly just been running away, but there has to be a line somewhere... and besides, that chip was designed to briefly take over someone while they were asleep and complete a single task before killing them. Getting someone to act as a Captain for a prolonged period of time is going to be a lot more complicated."

Hopefully that was the end of that discussion. She looked between the crew members. There were some new people she didn't know; she would need to introduce herself to them properly once this was over, "Alright, I get the impression people don't want to flay me alive and that people are generally in favour of my idea. Obviously I'm not going to make anyone come along. It will take a few hours to make the necessary modifications to the captured ship -"

"Which is our cue to leave and do that." Vrondich interrupted, tapping Rabaech on the shoulder and motioning in the direction of the door.

"- until then," Thanica continued, "If you have anything else you need to discuss or set in order, do it now... unless you're not coming. For anyone who's a new addition to our group, I'm Commander Vari, the one in charge of this vessel while the Captain is indisposed. I am going to go to the mess for a drink. If you have any questions about what the hell is going on, come with me and I'll fill you in."

---

Meanwhile on the Zearataca... (Co-written by Dyelli Beybi and Arengin Union)

---

Where Carter starts to learn what Ouroboros wants.

---

The crew of the Zerataca took care of their prisoners in a way that was probably surprising given the brutality that Kiellar Command had shown in previous encounters. Wounds were tended to and broken bones set. Meals were decent, if not anything ostentatious. Considerable effort was put into keeping Dana alive, who had, it turned out, suffered a punctured lung and considerable internal bleeding. When the soldiers came for Carter she still hadn't regained consciousness, but her chances of her surviving and making a full recovery appeared good.

Carter was ushered into the presence of a previously unseen Comand officer. It was unclear what species he was for he wore a full-face metal mask along a cloak and hood and a sword at his hip. While his species was unknown, his position on the bridge and his aura of authority left little doubt that this individual was the person in charge. He motioned to the guards who left Carter to stand on his own before retreating a few steps, out of earshot, though their weapons remained at the ready, "Captain Carter," the person in the mask was male, his voice higher pitched than one might have expected for his build. His tone was, perhaps surprisingly, polite, "This meeting has been a long time in the making. May I ask, do you know who I am?"

The Human shook his head slowly, "No idea in hell...." He answered lowly, Carter's voice was raspy, his face bruised and his left eye was still bloodshot from the fight with Emeach. His arm had been put back together, two white brace covering it and they seemed to be repairing his bone structure, Carter didn't know and he didn't really care. He looked straight into the Commodore's blank, metal face with clear contempt and hatred and standing defiantly despite being towered by the figure. He didn't need to say what he was thinking at that moment, it would be clear to even the most naïve of people.

The Commodore gave a small, exasperated sigh, "As I mentioned in the recording you found, I don't need to be your enemy, Captain. There is no need to carry on with the pretence of not knowing who I am; it will not wound me, merely make this conversation more complicated. I have no pride to hurt. Pride is, after all, a sin. You are aware, or at least have guessed that I am Commodore Ouroboros." With his left hand, he reached for his right, unscrewing a ring from his gloved finger which he tossed to the floor in front of Carter. It was shaped as a serpent devouring it's own tail, "That should confirm it for you. You recognise the symbol?"

Picking up the ring, Carter looked at it with gleaming eyes of vague curiosity. He of course knew this was the fabled Commodore of the Kiellar that Thanica had talked about and that had left the recording for them back on the moon, but as far as he knew he was just that. Carter didn't care about his war, who he was, or what he wanted, all he knew is that Lee was dead and he was captured alongside Kris and Dana. What did he want of him? Why was he showing him this ring? This was once more, a strange thing among a thousand for the Human.

"Ouroboros... Ancient Egyptian icon, the cycle of life and death..." Carter said with a slight murmur, trying to grasp what this meant.

"You've just said something important about me Carter, but I don't think you've realised what it is yet," the Commodore replied, "And it is the reason I think there is an even chance you will decide to help me. Where was it you said that symbol was from again and what does that tell you?"

Carter squinted his eyes in confusion and with an eyebrow raised as he moved his attention from the ring and back to the Commodore. What the hell is he talking about... the Human asked himself.

"Egypt... the cycle of life," he answered, "why the hell would I help you!?" Carter then asked aggressively.

"Fascinating," the Commodore seemed to be studying Carter, "You haven't asked the question I would have thought most pertinent. Where was it you said that symbol was from?" Ouroboros prompted again, "And where are serpents like what is depicted on that ring found?"

The realisation hit him at that moment, his anger towards the Commodore had clouted his judgement and now he knew what he meant. His eyes looking in all directions and his body shaking in disbelief Carter looked at the Commodore with widened eyes.

"You're... from Earth..."