Battlegroup Valkyrie (IC)

[Caltharus]

0845
2nd Lieutenant Wallin

“Will do Ma’am” Lucas said in answer to his CO’s command. As the troops moved off their transport, boots clanking against the metal of the ramp, he gave orders to secure the immediate surroundings of their landing craft. After it was secure, they would have to mark a place for contraband to be secured at, not to mention possible detainees. Then as the operation would move on, they would haul the stuff to their Lockheed-Grumman before moving to the next location. Some would say the job of his Alpha platoon was monotonous, but Lucas disagreed. He had to, because if he allowed himself to become complacent, the chance of some nasty surprise would immediately jump up. With his troops largely staying still near the area they landed at, it was always possible that some mob would come to protest foreign troops disturbing their day.

For the time being at least all seemed peaceful. Only few people had come to see their perimeter and had been turned away without incident. Still the people had seemed rather aggravated by the whole situation. Maybe they were simply frustrated for their work being complicated as areas were swept. Then again, the sweeps were done for a good reason, so perhaps the people of the station had some more nefarious reasons for disliking their presence.

0915

Out of nowhere, mere half an hour after they landed on the station, a shrieking explosion almost threw him, and several of his men, to the ground. Though the relatively faint sound of the explosion combined with the fact that they were not actively being sucked into the vacuum of space, told that the explosion was not in their immediate vicinity, explosions are newer what you want to hear in a space station. Almost as soon as he had regained his footing, reports came in from two of his squads a bit further away telling of the explosion. Though he didn’t have much in the way of actual knowledge of the explosion, it was clear that Major Winters needed to be notified:

“Raven Actual this is Cobra, message, over”.

When he got a response, he continued:

“Explosion felt and heard at LZ, no info on the source, no depressurization detectable, out”.

Lucas could not help but wonder if the other platoons of Bravo had heard and felt the explosion too, not to mention the other company deployed at the station. It’d ease his nerves if he had even some idea as to what had happened and especially how close to his platoon. Hopefully it was someone else's problem. Then he felt a sting in his hearth for wishing such a thing. Perhaps some squad of Alpha had struck an IED during their sweep…

[Imperialisium]

Valkyrie CIC
915+ ST

"This could spiral out of control fast," muttered Starling to herself. Ignoring the franticly rapid pace Carter for a moment Victoria looked at the Sirian SIDAR contact. "Have Raven flight reconnoiter the habitat. See if they can find where the explosion came from. Marines are to begin evacuation procedures. It is to be assumed Sirian or possibly even Martian saboteurs are aboard the station. Time till Epsilon crosses the line?"

Shivam turned in his seat, "We have precisely thirty-four point eight minutes till Epsilon crosses over, mam."

Starling turned to Albor, "Marines have twenty-five minutes. Nothing happens they pull back and leave as fast as possible."

Shivam abruptly turned in his seat again, "Mam, Sirian vessel is deploying boarding craft."

"Launch the alert fighters. Bring the Battlegroup about. Dorsal and spinal batteries are to begin target lock sequences."

Gunnery froze for a moment, the thought of firing on another warship hadn't been done like this in some twenty years. But they begin arranging their gunnery crews and targeting computers. The Valkyries smaller armaments were entirely automated. However, its big guns despite also being able to be automated generally had two crew assigned just in case of electronic failure or technical trouble. Further, the kinetic batteries wouldn't register like a missile preparation would. It would give them ever so slightly more time if push came to shove.

Turning to Carter, Victoria spoke lowly, "Remember your station," before turning away back to the command table.

Out in the vastness of space the scout ships would be able to witness the events unfolding on their advanced SIDAR suites. First the Sirian vessel launching boarding craft. Then the Valkyrie unleashing two entire squadrons from her flight pods on a slight perpendicular course to eventually intercept them.

Epsilon 04
Evelyn Valiere

Across the Marines main communication line used by their internal command structure. The voice of the Officer of the Watch, Shivam Kuljari, came over quickly and crisp. All Marines begin evacuation procedures. All transports prepare for hard burn from the station. Sirian battlecruiser inbound with boarding craft. Epsilon station is headed for the Armistice Line.

Evelyn looked at the other two Marines she was with at the intersection. PFC Henry Martins and Private Hans Volgenberg. "You got to be kidding me."

Just then a pair of station security men entered the hallway from the Hydroponic's lab. Evelyn instinctively raised her weapon and demanded the security personnel remain still.

Epsilon Processing Center 3

Clutching the machine-pistol in his hands. Nineteen year old Derrick Yurgen eyed the marines in the distance. He was Prospect. A slang term from the Moons of Baal for a prospective member of a gang. His gang in particular being anti-Federation in sentiment, and pro-Sirian. Believing the Federation to be a corrupt and ineffectual government. The Yellow Sons. That was his gang, his clans name. The Terrans would have to leave. Derrick had heard the quickly spreading word throughout the station's several thousand workers. They were abruptly headed over the line. Now was his chance to be a made man. A legend among his clan.

Behind him the machinery of the processing center chugged and churned as raw material, waste, and debris was conveyed into massive machines. Smelting, compacting, separating usable material from junk that would be discharged or recycled into something else.

Sweat trickled down his hand as she clutched the automatic weapon. Chest rising and falling. "Fuck the Feds." He pushed open the door and raised the pistol right as the male marine with a foreign accent shouted at him to stop. He squeezed the trigger. The Marine fired more accurately. Four rounds at high speed perforated his chest cavity. Collapsing his right lung and nicking his aorta. He was drowning in his own blood by the time his head smacked the floor. But the chaos had already begun.

The bullets whizzed past Evelyn's helmet and barely missed the two security personnel. One, probably via instinct more than anything else, fired his own weapon while shouting into his mic. His compatriot reflexively also fired. Evelyn rolled to the corner. PFC Martins was on the ground, clutching his knee. A round had punctured through just above into his femur. Between the armored slates of his body suit. Volgenberg groggily crashed beside Evelyn. Two rounds having been stopped by his rear cuirass plates.

Evelyn quickly spoke into her mic, "Marine down at intersection of Processing Center 3 and Hydroponic Lab 11. Engaged by station security and hostile workforce!"

Rolling to her stomach Evelyn laid down two controlled bursts. Training kicking in. Two station security men crumpled to the floor. Volgenberg ran over and pulled out a small aerosol looking can. Spraying it on the hole made in Martins suit. A quick sealant. Wouldn't offer any protection to another round but it would at least keep pressure. Gripping the downed Martins Volgenberg hoisted him and both made down the hallway towards the airlocks.

The sound of gunfire already in the distance. Word coming through station security channels that they had been fired upon by the Federation Marines. Most of the security personnel, ex-Sirian military, reacted as expected. With teams of security personnel opening fire at Marine units for the moment dispersed on their pre-assigned duties. Swiftly joined by squads of station gang members with a hatred for the Federation.

Station Administrator Feldmann

Feldmann was jostled just like everyone else at the sudden explosion. Regaining his composure he looked around bewildered. His security personnel likewise confused. Then, within minutes, the security personnel's mics chirped and their brows furrowed as whatever word circulating reached them. The Security personnel swiftly began walking away. The sounds of rattling gunfire beginning to echo around them.

"Whats going on? Wha-, is that gunfire?"

[Revlona]

Lt. Colonel Andrew Takanami

"You heard her Marines, Charlie Company begin moving back to the transports, Bravo company withdraw to provide security around the transports, I want a full cordon as Charlie withdraws, Maj---" The Lt.Colonel said over the command channel after the Officer of the Watch gave the Evacuation order, however he was cutoff as gunshots began to fill the air. First a rapid exchange soon followed by the echos of fire fights across the station.

"Bulldog Actual this is Raven Actual!" A voice came out loud and tense over his headset, that was Captain Avery Hickle of Charlie Company, "Shots fired on marines. Marines down in several locations! Security began firing on us in tangent with several suspected gang members! Over!" The Captain said, the muffled gunfire easily heard from his side of the conversation.

"Understood Raven Actual, all units, Security personnel are now to be considered OPFOR, weapons free, over" Takanami said crisply over the Battalions channel which every marine would hear. "Charlie, begin to withdraw to the hangar, we are getting out of here, over"

"Valkyrie this is Bulldog Actual. We are in heavy contact with OPFOR Security, began shortly after explosions were felt in the station, I'm withdrawing Charlie and Bravo set up a cordon around the transports, plea---" Takanami said before jerking his weapon up and letting out two short bursts. A Trio of security personnel had rounded a corner and had snapped off several shots towards the platoon of marines which were directly around the transports. Nearly an entire platoons worth of fire joined Andrews own shots and the three Security members went down almost immediately under the hail of bullets.

Screams of "Medic!" and "Man down!" surrounded Andrew as a marine barely 5 feet from him went down, clutching at his throat as blood began to pour from a bullet when that had slipped through there.

"Tighten this security! Eyes on those fucking doors at all times!" Andrew called out. "Raven actual hurry your Asses up!" He called out over the command frequency before switching back to the Valkyries Frequency. "Valkyrie this is Bulldog Actual, we have men down, we are going to need medical personnel ready when we get back! Over" He said.

"Where the fuck are the intel officers?!" Andrew called out then as a thought struck him. He racked his brain but couldn't remember exactly which platoons they had gone with, damnit. He'd have to figure that shit out soon.

[Bolslania]

915
Epsilon Station

All of a sudden his headset was filled with instructions and notices, Sirian battlecruiser, heading back over the Line. He heard the critical phrase, to power up engines and get ready to burn hard from the station. He smashed the ignition button, the engines roaring to life.

Evelyn quickly spoke into her mic, "Marine down at intersection of Processing Center 3 and Hydroponic Lab 11. Engaged by station security and hostile workforce!"

"Shit." Tima muttered, he saw three security guards come in and begin firing, rounds bouncing off of the armored hull of his dropship. Unfortunately he was unable to do anything other than provide cover for the Marines. If he was in a vulture he could maybe use the chin-gun, but that wasn't the situation.

He heard Takanami shouting on the command frequency as a round slammed into the canopy. The engines still roaring at life. This whole operation had just gone to shit in 30 seconds.

"Black 1 to Bulldog actual, we need to get off the station before those Sirian drop ships get here, over." He said calmly. Tapping Hans on the helmet he said

"Get prepped for wounded, some Marines have gone down." Hans nodded and got out of his seat. Tima could hear him unloading and deploying cots for the wounded Marines.

"Black 1 to Raven Actual, do you have eyes on the intel officers?" He said, he could trust the marines to rely on their training in this scenario, but he didn't know to what extent the ONI officer and discipline officer had been trained for a shootout.

[Antimersia]

Valkyrie CIC
0915+

Captain Starling's order was short, and cutting. As much of her orders tend to sound. Carter moved down to look at the screens of several ensigns in the CIC to watch every development. The Sirian boarding felt like the most shocking development. The news of shots fired on the station barely phased Carter. The moment that explosion went off he knew in his gut that the marines on the station were bound to run into a fight. He trusted that Lt. Colonel Takanami would have that under control though. With the evacuation order already in effect, now meant that the more pressing concern is why a Sirian craft is breaking the Armistice like this. He watched the screen as the weapons batteries progressed towards locking onto their target. Carter had to shove thoughts out of his mind. Questions like why the Sirian vessel was crossing the Armistice line are of little significance now. He blocks it out and zeros in on the simple fact that they did.

It doesn't take long for the batteries to finish locking onto the Sirian war ship. The ensign sitting at the computer that Carter is staring at informs Captain Starling that target lock on the warship has been achieved. Carter's eyes never left the screen. He was worried about the warship locking onto the Raven or even the Valkyrie in turn. He had been blown up once more than he ever wanted to be in his life already. His face remained calm and resolute even in the face of his fears though.

[New yugoslavaia]

Inner corridors
Epsilon Station
0914

Sergeant Darwin Bures ("Green Leader") /Charlie-Bravo squad ("Green Unit")

Following the arrival of the transports, Bures and his squad had quickly set off to their first target on the station. Being a farming module, Target Alpha would be pretty simple to clear out...provided the venting option was approved by high command. With it and its heroin farms out of way, Bravo squad could safely take out the last target without much incident and then return to the Valkyrie for debriefing.
Overall, it would be a rather simple operation.
"If station schematics are correct, we should be approaching the dome entrance soon!" one of the marines chimed in.
"Thanks for the update, Lance Corporal Orenstein." Darwin replied.
After rounding another corner connecting the numerous rectangular corridors of Epsilon Station, the group indeed found themselves facing a entrance. Compared to the many roughly human sized doors that Bravo squad had passed on the way, Dome 6's bulkhead almost completely covered the wall. Pale yellow light from the overhead lamps illuminated the large green 6 plastered over much of its surface area.
"Here it is. Our first order of business."
Bures scrolled his eyes over the frame, finally resting his sights on a small glowing panel to the right of the entrance.
A male marine spoke up near the back of the crowd.
"Are we going to go through with original plan or not, Sergeant?"
"Just need to run it by command first, then we'll make our move Private Ambrose."
Without breaking eye contact, Darwin lifted his right arm and performed a series of taps on his wrist computer.
"This is Green Leader to Command. Requesting authorisation to vent Alpha Target, ov-"
At that moment, a powerful shock went through the corridor. Overhead lights blinked in an out of operation. The entire squad stumbled for a moment before regaining their composure...before voicing their confusion with varying amounts of vulgarity.
"Green Leader to Command. Do you copy, over?"
"..."
"I repeat, this is Green Leader to Command! Do you copy over?"
Just as clueless as the rest of his unit, Bures turned around to face his troops.
"Seems we might have to readjust our plans. I can't contact Command so we'll have to improvise. My verdict is that the situation is too volatile at moment so engaging targets is a no go. We'll fall back until we receive further instructions. Understo-"
His speech was cut short by the sound of moving hydraulics. Moving to face the source revealed that the bulkhead was slowly beginning to raise.
"They're opening it from the other side! Fall back!"
Half the squad moved as to be facing the back while the rest continued to focus on the door. Soon, at least half a dozen prone figures armed with handguns crawled under the growing gap, firing away at the marines wildly.
"Permission to use a stun grenade, sir? Orenstein asked.
"Permission granted!"
After removing the pin, the Private chucked the silver cylinder towards the entrance. Panicked exclamations were succeeded by a loud bang and a disproportionately small flash. A horde of disorientated thugs and guards grasped at their heads near the now open doorway.
"Wait, are those security?"
The Sergeant quickly answered. "Yes, but we're got bigger worries. Green Squad, move!"

[Segmentia]

Valkyrie CIC

Alexander took everything that transpired in-stride. He had been in far more chaotic and hectic situations than this, after all. He had been about to tear into Lieutenant Commander Chesire for his outburst, but the captain had already spoken on it before he could, so he left it, for the most part.

“Besides, the civilians will be fine.” He offered, his attention never really leaving the displays, though he did look at Captain Starling.

“I advise against your orders for the battle-group, Captain. Launching the alert fighters is one thing, but anything other then a defensive formation for the battle-group could be seen as a provocation by the Sirians.” He said clearly, then lowering his voice. “We've just been handed a political hand grenade with the pin pulled. Anything overt could play directly into the Star Republics' hands.” He said, voice low enough for mostly just Starling to hear, though others close by might also. “I recommend hailing the Sirian vessel, lets not forget that the Sirians have a vested interest in Epsilon as much as we do. For all we know they could have launched a damage control team, as unlikely as that is.” He concluded. He had a fairly solid suspicion that the explosion and the abrupt change of course it had brought about for the station was entirely intentional, it was far too much of a coincidence to be anything else, but if this situation blew into a scandal Starling's career could take a serious hit as a result, with the only real cushioning for any fall she might suffer being have followed protocol properly.

The sudden reports of fighting breaking out on Epsilon was the last thing they needed. He exchanged a worried but calm look with Starling before pulling out his pocket watch and checking the time.

SSRNV Hawk

“They've launched fighters and seem to be moving into an offensive formation.” Captain Viltri said, tone calm and even slightly amused. Isabel stood beside him, together watching the large tactical display. The station was on course for crossing the Armistice Line in roughly thirty minutes, with the Hawk arriving on station well before then, the same with the Major Radecs' drop ships, ready to land on the station as soon as the station was over the Armistice Line enough to fall under Sirius Republic authority.

“They seem a bit jumpy.” Isabel said, hands clasped in the small of her back.

“Shall we do likewise?” Viltri asked, glancing at Carrow. She thought about that for a moment. It would make sense, reacting to something that could be seen as a clear provocation. On the other hand...

“No, let the Terrans look like fools. We're responding to an emergency situation aboard Epsilon and rather then helping the situation the Terrans are trying to provoke a stand-off.” Carrow said.

“That'll play well in the press.” Viltri nodded slightly. The current administration of the Terran Federation was pro-military, but there was still a large and politically powerful anti-war bloc in government, and among the Federations population, and RIS was always eager to get ammunition they could use in the media war, and this situation could play into their hands very nicely.

“Ma'am, we're getting reports of fire-fights on Epsilon, seemingly between local gangs and Terran marines. Station security is saying they are also under attack by the Terrans.” The commutations officer called. The bridge was silent for a moment.

“The Terrans had better hope they got off that station before they fall under our jurisdiction.” Viltri said.

“Update Major Radec on the situation. Her new orders are to take control of the situation, and detain and remove the Terran Marines from the station if they are still aboard when she lands. She is to still secure the Alpha Priority assets as well, as her primary mission.” Carrow said, and the communications officer sent updated orders to the Major and her marines.

[Caltharus]

0915
2nd Lieutenant Wallin
Epsilon station LZ

After the explosion, events seemed to quickly spiral out of control. Mere moments after he had reported to Major Winters, a full-scale evacuation from the station was ordered, cutting the operation way short. Not only that but the fact that the station was both spiralling towards the armistice line and about to be boarded by Sirians send shivers down his spine. Before the operation had begun, he had taken comfort in the fact that it was likely to go rather routinely, but now in the span of few minutes he had suddenly turned out to be grimly mistaken.

The call out that station personnel would be considered OPFOR gave him and his platoon mere moments to prepare before first rounds were fired at their position. Yet that moment was enough for the well-trained marines to adjust to the rather drastic change in hostility towards them. To his right a group of people opened fire on the marines guarding an intersection of corridors, only to be forced back by the fire superiority marines could throw at them with their SMGs. Though he was afar Lucas swore that one of the men in the attacking group had been previously rather casually talked out of trying to get through their checkpoint.

Then another burst of fire could be heard, this time to his left with a trio of what seemed to be Station security firing away at his marines, only for them to be in the receiving end of nigh full platoon’s firepower. Almost without him even realising he too raised his SMG and let out a burst of fire as the men fell riddled with bullets. They clearly had not anticipated how many defenders their LZ had.

He had been trained to know that battlefields always were chaotic, but to Lucas the truth came as a shock, nonetheless. He quickly checked his watch: – 09:18 – “Three minutes? All this had happened in mere three minutes.” With the speed of how quickly the situation had changed he couldn’t help but wonder if those three security guards had simply been caught in their own excitement and thus done the mistake of entering the hall, or if some other rather human mistake had cost them their lives.

“Tighten this security! Eyes on those fucking doors at all times!”

Lucas straightened his posture instinctively and begun to better adjust his squads to make sure each route to the LZ was covered. “You heard the lieutenant colonel, keep an eye out on every possible avenue! Alpha squad mind those doors as well” He said pointing at doors which for now had been deemed locked and not a threat. Partially even before he had the time to tell what to do to Bravo and Charlie squads they had already begun to shift, again showing that they were professionals who knew what they were doing – perhaps even better than him. For a moment he stood there wondering if he should continue giving orders nonetheless – but before he could say anything Platoon sergeant Morra interrupted him:

“They know what to do, Sir. No need to try to micromanage even the smallest of details.”

“So it would seem Staff Sergeant. I’ll keep that in mind.” Sighing a little he spoke again:

“Retreating back to the Lockheeds is going to be rather hectic – do you suppose we should do it squad by squad or fire team by fire team?” Lucas turned to look at the Platoon sergeant as he spoke, wondering if his question made him look indecisive.

“It’s impossible to say for sure. Squad at a time might be faster and smoother, but then again depending on the support we get, it might be riskier.”

Lucas judged that Platoon Sergeant Morra’s voice didn’t sound disappointed so perhaps he approved of his intent of doing an informed decision.

“Team by team it is then, we shouldn’t risk having an entire squad retreat at the same time and get flanked on the way.”

As they spoke, he could see how a marine was glanced by a bullet to his helmet. After firing a fierce burst in return, the marine briefly slided his hand over the spot he was hit in, before lifting his weapon once more and firing away. Somehow the whole thing felt almost surreal. Just before his eyes a man had been inches away from being killed and he didn’t seem to think about it twice. “The benefits of good training I suppose” Lucas mused in his mind. He would not allow this feeling to distract him from doing his duty in the situation, which was only going to get more hectic as they waited for Charlie company to arrive.

[Imperialisium]

Valkyrie CIC
Captain Starling

"We only need come about for quicker retrieval of our Marines," responded the Captain to Albor. About them communications came in from the Marines on the station about the spiraling situation aboard. They were engaged by station security, for some reason, and ant-Federation affiliated workers, which Victoria could guess as those with heavy gang or cartel ties, were joining in the opportunity. "Albor direct the Marines out of that station. Scramble whatever you need to retrieve them. Communications open a line to the Sirian ship."

"Communications channel opened. Awaiting their ping back for confirmation of the hail," responded the communications officer. Sweat forming on her brow from the stress of the situation.

Placing her hand on the heavy naval phone before her, Victoria paused and closed her eyes, inhaling and exhaling slowly. Before snapping her back to straight attention, phone in hand, resting next to her right ear. Awaiting for whoever commanded the Hawk to pick up. There would be a delay of course, there always was unless ships were extremely close, but it would not be enough to cause issues.

[Bolslania]

Zeus CIC
Captain Greer


Captain James Edward Greer stood silently in the control center of the Zeus as he watched the display in front of him. The operation had been going smoothly, deceleration had started without any hitches, the Lockheed Grummans had gotten under way and landed safely. However 3 minutes after the L-G's touched down things had immediately begun to go wrong. His radio feet was full of chatter as desperate Marines radioed back to the Valkyrie, asking for instruction as they were engaged by security forces and possible insurgents on Epsilon station.

To make matters worse, something had reversed the course of Epsilon, and the station was now drifting back towards the Sirian side of the Armistice line, where a Sirian Alpha-class destroyer was waiting for it. His eyes flicked to the Valkyrie on his display, waiting for Captain Starling's move. She began to act, deploying fighters in a defensive screen and powering up her ship's defenses.

"Weapons, engage missiles and cannons." He said to his Chief Weapons Officer, Emmanuel Grimes, who repeated back the order and gave out the proper instructions to his subordinates.

"Coxswain, standby to bring us into a defensive position along the Valkyrie." He said.

"Standing by." The Coxswain said, leaning forward to his controls.

"You're move." He said to the red square that indicated the Sirian Warship. It had deployed dropships, but it certainly couldn't meant to engage the Battlegroup. As aging as the ships in Battlegroup Valkyrie were, they were still more than a match for a single Sirian destroyer. Plus, why would the Sirians want to spark a shooting war in this fashion? They probably didn't want to start shooting. But Greer doubted they would mind the chance to provoke the Federation into an aggressive act and make the Federation look bad on the interplanetary stage. But there was almost certainly something the Sirians didn't want found on that station, too bad the Marines wouldn't be able to find whatever it was.

---

Captain Pevtsov "Tima" Timofey Yurievich
Epsilon Station, Airlock 19


The situation on the station continued to decline into chaos. There were wounded marines on the pad, and rounds were bouncing off of the side of the L-G's. To make matters worse, Epsilon station continued unerringly on its path towards the Armistice Line.

"This is Black 1 to Bulldog Actual, we need to bug out we only have a few minutes before we cross over the AL, over" He said. Inside the cockpit he tapped his foot nervously on the armor plating beneath his seat. Sweat soaking the inside of his helmet. If the marines didn't get onboard quick, they would be moving from a fire into an oven.

[Segmentia]

Valkyrie CIC

Albor nodded to Starling and picked up the receiver before him. “Put me though to Bulldog Actual.” He said to a com-tech off to his side, and he was quickly patched into the marines network.

“Bulldog Actual this is Valkyrie Minor.” He said, glancing at a list of ready elements he might have to send into help haul the marines out, though with how little time they had there wasn't much he could do. “You need to exfil immediately. There's not much we can scramble to help you in time. I repeat, you need to exfil immediately. Once station security gets organized you'll be a hell of a lot worse off then you are now, especially since it seems you've started shooting them.” Albor said, speaking in his usual blunt manner.


SSRNV Hawk

“Commodore, the Valkyrie has opened a communication channel.” The communications officer said from her pit, turning to face and look up at Carrow. Isabel nodded and walked to the sleek command table near the middle of the bridge, Viltri joining her. They both picked up the receiver, and Carrow nodded to her communications officer, who in turn pressed a series of buttons and then nodded back at Carrow.

“This is Commodore Carrow of the SSRNV heavy cruiser Hawk, go ahead Valkyrie.” Carrow said calmly, glancing up at the tactical display and watching as Epsilon station continued its trajectory towards the Armistice Line.


Epsilon Station Chief Security Office

Security Chief Lucas Malden was a veteran of the war, having fought in the Sirius Star Republic Marines, and eventually mustering out into the generally cushy job he had now, overseeing the security for the infamous Epsilon Station. It had been an interesting challenge at first, having to switch between two different criminal codes to enforce as the station drifted back and forth, but eventually a hybridization of law naturally settled in on the station. He ran a strict security force, comprised of mostly Sirian veterans like himself. Dealing with the local gangs and their regular if not constant turf wars had given the station security a very well deserved reputation for precise brutality, and today had been shaping up to be one like every other day, other then a fairly standard sweep of the station.

The explosion had made him annoyed and having to deal with the emergency response to that. But the sudden and rapid reports of an out-break of gang violence seemingly directed at the Federal marines, and then the even more urgent reports of Terran marines attacking his security teams, now that had pissed him off.

Standing in the organized chaos of the main security and emergency command center on the station, Malden was busy getting his security forces organized and directed. The armories were opened and platoons worth of pissed off guards were gearing up, a decent amount of older but still lethal equipment, but his elite guard units made up entirely of battle-hardened veterans had some degree of modern gear, usually reserved for when the worst gang violence broke out.

“All teams, this is Malden. I want these Terran bastards blocked in, keep them pinned where they are and engage at will. Repeat, I am giving the order for all teams to engage at will, both the Terrans and the gangs. No arrests.” Malden said over the stations secure comm line. He watched a 3D display of the station update and show the movements of his teams, the gangs, and the Terrans. As instructed, his security teams were moving to deal with both threats, though as per his orders the Terrans were the primary target. Where the Terran Marines might have been facing a few scattered patrols, they would now be facing organized veteran squads and platoons of heavily armed and armored station security, no longer caught unprepared for surprise Terran aggression.

“And someone bring Feldmann to the security center.” Malden added as he removed a pack of cigarettes from one of his pockets and lit one, taking a deep drag and blowing the smoke from his mouth. Today was going to be a long day...

[Imperialisium]

Valkyrie CIC

"Valkyrie to Hawk, this is Captain Starling of the Terran Navy. As you may guessed a situation has transpired aboard Epsilon station. My Marines aboard are conducting an exfiltration operation and I am moving to retrieve them. I ask you hold the Hawk and your dropships at least five hundred clicks away from the station until all Marines are away. Over."

A bit of courtesy went a long way. Carrow knew in a straight up fight she'd never survive a full battlegroup confrontation. At the same time any shot from either would spiral to a full blown shooting war between every Terran and Sirian ship in the star system. Something neither likely wanted. As such Starling had one option, playing the olive branch card while Epsilon was still on the Terran side of the line. Carrow could drag it out or say no. In which case she'd have to pull a defensive maneuver to retrieve her Marines before pulling away in an ordered fashion. Ideally, Albor would have orchestrated the withdrawal well before any of that transpired.

CAP

"CIC this is CAP. Coming around the asteroid." The voice of the four bird Carrier Air Patrol pilot, Anastasiya Tisza, came over the CIC speakers. Maneuvering her Apollo fighter around she vectored into position to see the source of the explosion. "Uh, CIC this is CAP, Callsign Artemis, I have confirmation of a directional explosion." That it was. A clean and precise detonation that shot in one particular direction in such a manner as to produce artificial thrust. At least enough to temporarily throw the asteroid of its slightly erratic orbit.

[Bolslania]

Epsilon Station
Captain Pevtov Timofey Yurievich

The movement of Revlona's characters and subordinates was done with their explicit consent


"Alright lets get the hell outta here." Tima said, powering up the engines as the last marines took their seats. He accelerated drastically, putting his engines into War Emergency Power as he tried to get away from the station before it crossed the Armistice Line.

"Black 1 to Valkyrie, marines onboard, returning to hangar, over." He said, he could see Anderson on his wing as they rushed back to the Valkyrie.

A few minutes later and they were on approach to the hangar, Tima brought out the landing gear as he decelerated to landing speed he touched down on the pad smoothly, hangar crewmembers rushing to the craft. He dropped the ramp to let the marines out, stripping off his sweat soaked helmet. His hair was matted to his head.

"Well that went well all things considered." Hans said from the front seat. Tima chuckled.

"It could've gone much worse, that is true." He said, unbuckling himself and getting out of his seat. Somebody would probably want to debrief him.