Orphan Company (Sci-fi Char RP|IC|Open)

[Rynagria]

Cpl. Jonah: Injured and dragging Paxton to the Ship

---

“Boss, are you sure you can make it in this condition?”

“Do…-Don’t worry, Pax…” Replied Jonah, as he persisted in dragging the wounded private back to the ship, condensation from his breathing now appearing on his visor. “I’ve got you… I’ve got you… You’re going to be fine, we’re gonna have that BBQ in Texas someday.”

In a way his reassurement was aimed at himself just as much as it was to his wounded friend.

“I’d like that… I’d like that…” There was a short pause from Paxton, causing worry to flash across the Corporal’s face for a moment and was relieved when his subordinate continued on. “Whatever happens, thank you and… Don’t blame yourself…Again.”

Huh?

Hearing this stopped him in his tracks cold, just a few meters from the ramp entrance. He would have looked back, had the other personnel trying to evacuate not forced him to move on, lest he be trampled. Upon passing through the doors, Private Elizabeth rushed at him and gave him a quick hug, prior to noticing Paxton.

Or rather his corpse.

With sad eyes, she said nothing and moved aside, the medics finally coming to tend to the two. Confirming who he was, one of the medics led Jonah away to the medbay, while the rest transported Paxton’s body to a place out of sight.

Pvt. Logan: Committed to Delaying Action

---

Everything had happened so fast.

Initially, Jonah had linked up with the rest of them to ensure that the fireteam’s firepower was complete. Next, both Paxton and Elizabeth landed hits on the heavy weapon, disabling it for that moment. Then, a hostile Ragon that managed to close in, shooting Paxton and slamming Jonah on the ground. The sound of his right arm breaking was broadcasted over the comms for the entire team to hear, from the sound of it, probably pulverized into dust in some place. Luckily with the help of his automatic rifle, that Ragon wasn’t able to continue going berserk on the rifle team.

Finally, with whatever straight thinking Jonah had left at the moment, sent Lizz back first. He would have said something, had his corporal not go off on his own with their deceased friend. Not too unsurprising, as the young man likely had a concussion with the amount of violence done to him. With all of that taken into account, that leaves only him by himself, taking it into himself to hold out until his ammunition runs out or everyone surviving makes it back to the ship.

Pfc. O'Hare
The soldier standing there said nothing to this. Instead he was on the radio. "We got two survivors from the forward weapons fireteam. Their comms are out, they confirm one KIA, and one wounded that was too heavy to move. We're moving to you now but they're in pretty rough shape and we are exchanging fire with the lead Imperial elements."

“The lucky bastards.” Logan murmured to himself, as he scanned the surrounding area for this particular group of soldiers. Taking a short moment to sight them in, the line rifleman shifted positions and began laying some suppressive fire for them. “This is Pvt. Logan from Cpl. Jonah’s fireteam. I don’t know who’s left out here, but I’ll try to keep those lizards down with some suppressive. Don’t get bogged down too bogged down. Out.”

[Dyelli Beybi]

...
Ivan soon stumbled into the Nebuchadnezzar, and was quickly followed by Nikolai, who flew in as a full-sized phoenix as opposed to using his shrunken state. Outside were two Imperial Ragons that had been frozen in place, though far more were coming.

"What the hell is happening?" Ivan managed as he slung his blaster rifle. "We're... ugh. Can we get out of here now?"

Ivan, for his trouble, had Hannah fling her arms around his chest in a hug that would have knocked a smaller man off his feet.

"I agree," Scott completely ignored the display of affection, "Lets get the hell out of here," he said as if it were an order.

Clearly Newton was used to that and she ignored the instruction, though favouring him with a smile and a wink as she pressed the button for comms, "Major Cohen, are you aboard? Are we ready to depart?"

Hannah, meanwhile, looked up at Ivan, "We can't leave anyone behind," she said insistently, in the sibilant Ragon language.

Cohen's voice came through a few moments later, "I'm aboard, but I'm not the last," she said, before descending into coughing for a few moments, "Fuck... I thought the shields were meant to keep that fucking dust out of the ship. I feel like I licked a blackboard! Newton, what is our situation?"

"We're not under immediate threat," she replied, glancing around the people on the bridge, "But, we have a route out of here and if we dawdle I don't think it's going to stay open much longer." She clicked the comms off, turning to the others, "Well what was I supposed to say?" she asked, pre-empting an expected question, "Ancient aliens left us a route out of here that a Martian dig team uncovered decades ago? You'd need to be time travellers to do something like that and that's impossible."

Scott looked like he had something to say but Cohen's voice interrupted across the comms, "All soldiers in the field. Make your way to the extraction point immediately. We are ready for lift-off."

[Europa Undivided]

Ivan, for his trouble, had Hannah fling her arms around his chest in a hug that would have knocked a smaller man off his feet.

As he found the love of his life engaging in an embrace, he hugged her back. He swore, once again, that there was no way that he'd allow himself to lose her again. "We're going to get out of this, Hannah," Ivan said, though he pulled Hannah back towards another spot in the cargo bay as more of the fleeing Orphan Company soldiers got aboard. Soon enough, they were no longer in the way, but there were still a few of their troops still trying to reach the extraction point. To make matters worse, a particular member of the expedition was far too heavy for any of the soldiers to carry, and if they tried to do so together, they'd be vulnerable to the encroaching Ragon Imperials.

Hannah, meanwhile, looked up at Ivan, "We can't leave anyone behind," she said insistently, in the sibilant Ragon language.

"Of course, of course," Ivan responded. "We will try our best. But how are we going to-"

Ivan felt something cold, even through his suit. Nikolai had left the ship again, while the brother Nikita was still sitting down, managing the three drones that provided much-needed suppressive firepower to aid in the Orphans' escape.

“The lucky bastards.” Logan murmured to himself, as he scanned the surrounding area for this particular group of soldiers. Taking a short moment to sight them in, the line rifleman shifted positions and began laying some suppressive fire for them. “This is Pvt. Logan from Cpl. Jonah’s fireteam. I don’t know who’s left out here, but I’ll try to keep those lizards down with some suppressive. Don’t get bogged down too bogged down. Out.”

Logan soon found himself shadowed from above by a trio of drones, all of which were firing a hailstorm of blaster bolts from their twin-mounted blasters. After a few seconds of providing suppressive fire against the Ragon Imperials, one advanced toward the group of soldiers that were trying to move away from the incoming lizards. It hovered above the group, advanced targeting suites firing bolts at the nearest Ragons in an effort to keep them away. The other two kept a considerable distance, though they were still laying enough bolts to keep most of the Ragons from simply barging their way through the Martian landscape. The lead drone then headed to the place where the forward team had been located; it was there that Nikita, using the visual sensors of the drone, spotted a wounded and immobile Tuesaaya.

"How are we supposed to evacuate her?" Nikita growled as his mind focused on keeping the drones operational. Twice now he had to make sudden thruster movements to evade enemy fire, and by the looks of it, it was just going to get more and more intense. There is no way that he'd be able to bring that 600-pound alien woman out, nor could any of them, except for Allison. Allison, however, seemed to be preoccupied elsewhere. She wasn't close enough to Tuesaaya to carry her out before the Imperial Ragons overran them.

As he debated options within his mind in vain, a familiar shadow appeared in the peripheral vision of the drone.

A wall of ice formed between the retreating soldiers and the encroaching Ragons as Nikolai, in his transformed state, swept overhead, covered by a trailing icy mist that obscured him from all sight. Ice crystals crept up from within the Martian rocks as he close in, and the Martian air, cold as it was, became colder still. It was clear to all that could clearly see him that he was something that violated every sensibility of physics, but still existed either way. The one Ragon that was close raised its weapon, roaring something in its sibilant tongue, only to be covered in a blast of freezing wind, encasing the abominable creature in ice, if only for a time.

"You are being rescued," Nikolai said to Tuesaaya, his crimson eyes staring down at her. "I hope you are not sensitive to cold."

With that, the massive cryophoenix wrapped his talons around the cybernetic alien and tried his best to lift her to the air and swiftly deliver her to the Nebuchadnezzar. Nikita's drone kept firing, desperate to keep the Imperial Ragons off. If it got shot down, it would surely overload its power source and explode, as was its design.

[Nachfolgia]

Allison Clark

Things had apparently gone from bad to worse. Allison, while on her way to protect the ship from incoming Ragons, she was blindsided by a large flash and then a seering pain in her head. It was like someone was screaming inside her skull. The pain of which caused Allison to drop to her knees as she clenched her helmet in a vain attempt to stop the screeching.

Once it subsided, Allison was a little disoriented. It took her a moment to get her bearings. That's why the call came out for a mass evacuation off the planet. She wasn't sure what was happening, but it seemed bad. Running full speed, Allison went for the ship. She stopped several times to cover the other soldiers that might be slower than her, laying down fire on advancing ragons. She still had her massive machine gun and she was going to use it. She wasn't going to let the others get left behind. Not like the countless that got left when Austin was evacuated, the memories of which were as fresh as yesterday.

When Allison did make it to the ship, a giant ice bird was flew by her, heading quickly towards the battlefield.

" Nikolai, No!" Allison called out.

There was little she could do as she watched her boyfriend fly off into danger. Tearing up at the thought of Nikolai getting hurt, Allison's rage took over. She ran forward several yards and began to lay down a massive amount of covering fire. It was all thay she could do to keep the Ragon's occupied while Nikolai was outside.

[Tesserach]

Cpl. Tuesaaya Sanmanee

A wall of ice formed between the retreating soldiers and the encroaching Ragons as Nikolai, in his transformed state, swept overhead, covered by a trailing icy mist that obscured him from all sight. Ice crystals crept up from within the Martian rocks as he close in, and the Martian air, cold as it was, became colder still. It was clear to all that could clearly see him that he was something that violated every sensibility of physics, but still existed either way. The one Ragon that was close raised its weapon, roaring something in its sibilant tongue, only to be covered in a blast of freezing wind, encasing the abominable creature in ice, if only for a time.

"You are being rescued," Nikolai said to Tuesaaya, his crimson eyes staring down at her. "I hope you are not sensitive to cold."

With that, the massive cryophoenix wrapped his talons around the cybernetic alien and tried his best to lift her to the air and swiftly deliver her to the Nebuchadnezzar. Nikita's drone kept firing, desperate to keep the Imperial Ragons off. If it got shot down, it would surely overload its power source and explode, as was its design.

Tuesaaya's faceplate was unrecognizeable, completely obscured behind blood and tape. She struggled to get to her feet, most of her vacsuit was similarly tattered and taped shut. Part of one of her mechanical arms was completely missing, the end of it sheared off. A visible inspection of the area, and the four ragon corpses around it, revealed one whose armour had clearly been badly damaged in some sort of explosion near the top of the hillock with a portion of Tuesaaya's missing arm sticking out of it's neck.

"Hold on. My O2 is on empty." Tuesaaya replied evenly, even as she stood on shaky legs as Nikolai tried to grab her. Tuesaaya meanwhile with her one remaining arm worked to detach the O2 line she'd run to the still functioning rebreather unit on one of the dead ragon. Without much of an arm left, Nikolai's talons started sliding loose no matter how Tuesaaya tried to brace it. "Just dig into my shoulder, I'll deal with it as we " She started steadying her breathing and slowly the rate of her hearts. The irritation in her voice was palpable. "Thank you for the ride but I really am too old for this shit."

Taking an incredibly long inhale she gave Nikolai a tap with one one good arm to indicate she was ready to go.

[Europa Undivided]

When Allison did make it to the ship, a giant ice bird was flew by her, heading quickly towards the battlefield.

" Nikolai, No!" Allison called out.

There was little she could do as she watched her boyfriend fly off into danger. Tearing up at the thought of Nikolai getting hurt, Allison's rage took over. She ran forward several yards and began to lay down a massive amount of covering fire. It was all thay she could do to keep the Ragon's occupied while Nikolai was outside.

Allison would be aided in the cover fire by a duo of Nikita's attack drones, whose twin blaster cannons laid down a veritable storm of piercing light. One of the drones' barrels was already beginning to glow red-hot from the constant firing they did in order to help facilitate the retreat of the remaining Orphan Company forces. It kept firing and firing, smoke hissing out of the guns like misty snakes. Flying of red death whizzed past Ragon Imperial soldiers, a few connecting and causing scorching marks on their mighty battleplate. None were foolish enough to pop their heads out and get hit in just about the only vulnerable part of their armor, but their weapons were truly powerful indeed. Nikita watched several retreating troopers getting holes torn across their bodies by the dreadful Imperial Ragon blaster rifles through one of the drones' feed.

In the past, the sight may have caused despair, fear, and, maybe, the urge to vomit, but it has been some time since he had mowed down an entire force of brainwashed clones during their escape from the Prefeton facility. The smell of sizzling flesh had never left his memory ever since, his mind now accursed to permanently recall every detail with perfect clarity. He had always wanted to forget it, and yet...

Nikita didn't move from his position inside the Nebuchadnezzar's passenger bay, his attention as focused as a laser. Die, you damn lizards!

As Allison and the drones kept firing, they'd both see Nikolai flying closer and closer, with hissing Ragons not too far behind.

"Hold on. My O2 is on empty." Tuesaaya replied evenly, even as she stood on shaky legs as Nikolai tried to grab her. Tuesaaya meanwhile with her one remaining arm worked to detach the O2 line she'd run to the still functioning rebreather unit on one of the dead ragon. Without much of an arm left, Nikolai's talons started sliding loose no matter how Tuesaaya tried to brace it. "Just dig into my shoulder, I'll deal with it as we " She started steadying her breathing and slowly the rate of her hearts. The irritation in her voice was palpable. "Thank you for the ride but I really am too old for this shit."

Taking an incredibly long inhale she gave Nikolai a tap with one one good arm to indicate she was ready to go.

Nikolai internally winced as he was forced to dig one of his talons into Tuesaaya's shoulder; he supposed that, since she was a cyborg supersoldier that hailed from wars long forgotten, she'd be able to take a bit of structural damage... but, also, she was a cyborg supersoldier that hailed from really ancient wars long forgotten, so he worried that she might not be able to take it on top of everything that she has endured over the decades, no, centuries of service that she had seen. Nevertheless, neither of them had a choice; Tuesaaya already had a missing limb, but the Federation might be able to replace it given their technology. Nikolai, in turn, had to ensure that he'd actually be able to bring the heavy cyborg woman to the Nebuchadnezzar; something that he can't do if she were to slip and fall back down to the ground.

So, with a few successive flaps of his impossible wings, Nikolai flew off, freezing the ground below him whenever he spotted Ragon Imperials within range. He either had to make them lose their mobility on slippery flows of ice that spread above the Martian rock like blight, or freeze them outright.

Several Ragon warriors struggled to maintain their balance as the ground beneath them became slippery ice; most did not fall, but a few would, nonetheless. However, they turned their weapons unto the cryophoenix that bore the ancient Kitya soldier to safety, and began to fire. Bolts of maser fire whizzed past, giving Nikolai pause. Nevertheless, determined to ensure that this relic of a past age would survive yet again alongside many others, he flew on. Seeing Allison and Nikita's drones laying down cover fire encouraged him further, and he braved the gunfire... until a single shot finally nicked him on the shoulder (or was it really his shoulder?), tearing off a chunk of supernatural ice off his frosted form. The cryophoenix began to falter, but he was close enough. He dropped down in front of Allison, who was the only one who could also carry Tuesaaya.

"Carry her to the ship, love," Nikolai said in a reverberating, ghostly voice before shrinking into a smaller, crow-sized version of his cryophoenix form. The two drones kept firing, though they were barely audible in the thin Martian air. "I will be... just in front of you."

[Dyelli Beybi]

The ship's shield registered a hit, which in turn saw Newton hurriedly pouring over her displays though she didn't announce if it had done serious damage or not. She paused for a moment, as if considering what she ought to say before hitting the button for comms, "Cohen, we're taking fire. Are your people aboard yet?"

"Not yet," came the terse reply.

Newton paused, carefully considering her words before adding, "The window of opportunity to make our exit is rapidly closing. We can't wait any longer."

Cohen swore, paused then said, "Sixty seconds. We've still got people out there."

Newton looked about the bridge, then gave a despairing shrug, flicking the comms unit one last time, "Understood... and pray we don't take too many more hits like that last one."

"Everyone, you have sixty seconds to get back onboard," Cohen called over comms, "The ship is under fire and we need to lift off now. If you're not aboard in that time frame you will be left behind and you will die. So fucking RUN!"

[Nachfolgia]

Allison Clark

"Carry her to the ship, love," Nikolai said in a reverberating, ghostly voice before shrinking into a smaller, crow-sized version of his cryophoenix form. The two drones kept firing, though they were barely audible in the thin Martian air. "I will be... just in front of you."

Allison did not let up her fire even as her weapon began to overheat, pushing it to the limits. She breathed as sigh of relief as she was Nikolai returning with Tuesaaya in his claws. That immediately turned to horror as she saw his ice form get struck by laser fire. The phoenix looked like it was hurt as it continued to fly towards her.

" Nikolai!" Allison screamed out before running out to meet him. Nikolai dropped Tuesaaya to her feet as he transformed into a ice crow, asking Allison to carry her to the ship. Allison was hesitant at first, more worried about Nikolai in that moment. She knew he was still human and therefore more fragile than Allison or even Tuesaaya. He cant take blaster fire like they can. Still, Allison agreed and pick up Tuesaaya almost effortlessly with one arm and plopped the cyborg's body on her shoulder.

" You better stay right in front of me. I can take the shots. " Allison said in a serious tone as she ran back to the ship. Once inside, Allison would take Tuesaaya to the medical bay, if they could even do something about the Cyborg.

[Rynagria]

Private Finlay Logan: Running like Hell

---

“I’m out…… Fuck.”

All of his ammunition spent, Logan dropped the now useless weapon, breaking into a full-blown sprint. After all, the final call for boarding the ship had been issued and the automatic rifle would only slow him down. Of course, the distance between the ship and him wasn't a problem, especially for an experienced soldier like him. No, that would be the explosions going on around him, the plasma from the Imperial Ragon’s weapons, and above all else the Martian terrain. In particular the decent sized rocks he has to jump or hop over and most egregiously all of the red dust kicked up by the battle. This was the same fine powder that now covered him head-to-toe, the biggest concern being his visor, as it heavily distorted his field of vision.

Despite his difficulties in seeing, Logan was only fifty meters away from the Nebuchadnezzar. His goal now in sight, Logan decided to dump any extra weight he could in an effort to be more mobile, the mostly empty ammunition pack would be one of the many items left behind. Not like the Ragon’s are interested in reverse engineering of this stuff, right?

“Fuck this planet.” He muttered under his breath, just as the sound of his weighted feet on the metal filled his ears. A triumphant grin forming on his face, the soldier would turn around and present his middle finger at everything outside of the ship.

“FUCK ALL OF YOU!”

Happy that he made it, Logan made his way further into the ship, in search of his comrades.

[Europa Undivided]

While Allison brought the wounded Kitya cyborg to the infirmary, Nikolai pretty much went there too. He flew in his icy avian form until he dropped it just as he entered the infirmary, falling to the floor. He winced in pain as he looked at his shoulder just to see that he was nursing a superficial but still excruciatingly painful wound. His temporary transformation into a creature literally made out of had nullified the pain for a while, but now that he had expended much of his energy in his heightened transformed state as well as freezing more than a few Imperial Ragons in place, he couldn't hold it back any longer.

As the doctor approached, Nikolai let out a drawn-out sigh. "Tuesaaya's far more injured than I am. I will... I will just need something for the shoulder. And the pain."

Meanwhile, Ivan walked back into the hangar, where Nikita was still concentrating. One of the drones had already exploded as it received a direct hit from one of the Imperial Ragon soldiers. The others continually fired in desperation; one had its barrels begin to melt from the strain. Eventually, the twin blasters would cease to function, but by that time, the mission had been accomplished. Everyone who could ever get to the ship in time was already there; all those left were either dead or about to be.

Predictably, Nikita, his mind tired from controlling three machines at the same time, collapsed into a heap out of exhaustion. Ivan caught him before he would hit himself on the floor... though any semblance of respite that the moment would evaporate as the Nebuchadnezzar began to rise.

[Tesserach]

Cpl. Tuesaaya Sanmanee

Tuesaaya for her part was somewhat ambulatory, but despite her size made ideal cargo. She didn't make a sound as Nikolai's talons dug into her flesh, moving only briefly to spray foam on the site to keep her remaining air from escaping. Otherwise she went worryingly limp during the trip, stirring only to assure Nikolai. "I am still alive."

Despite the obvious severity of her injuries Tuesaaya seemed as unphased by them, in fact she seemed pretty typical Tuesaaya, stirring only briefly to thank Allison and Nikolai for their assistance.

While Allison brought the wounded Kitya cyborg to the infirmary, Nikolai pretty much went there too. He flew in his icy avian form until he dropped it just as he entered the infirmary, falling to the floor. He winced in pain as he looked at his shoulder just to see that he was nursing a superficial but still excruciatingly painful wound. His temporary transformation into a creature literally made out of had nullified the pain for a while, but now that he had expended much of his energy in his heightened transformed state as well as freezing more than a few Imperial Ragons in place, he couldn't hold it back any longer.

As the doctor approached, Nikolai let out a drawn-out sigh. "Tuesaaya's far more injured than I am. I will... I will just need something for the shoulder. And the pain.

The doctor took one look at the nearly 9ft tall cybernetic soldier with twisted off mechanical arm. The look on their face was priceless. Tuesaaya wiped away blood dripping down her face as she peeled off her vacsuit - quite literally ripping it off with her one remaining arm. It was obvious Tuesaaya's blood, while still red, was a different mixture entirely that what most species possessed. It was also clear, once the vacsuit was away, she'd been shot several times in the chest, as well as sustaining a number of shrapnel injuries from the explosions and close quarters fighting. "You can see to the Nikolai first." Her voice was calm as she addressed the doctor. "My injuries are not immediately life threatening. I have been told by other medical professionals before that even simple medical interventions in my case are... an involved process."

The doctor just looked at Tuesaaya, inspecting an injury to her lower abdomen where blaster fire had clearly removed and seared a sizeable chunk of her abdomen. The doctor looked vaguely concerned. "It's fortunate you're three times the size of my average patient. This would've been a fatal injury otherwise."

Tuesaaya looked down at the wound. "The Ragon that shot me three times might disagree about it being fortunate. Their design choice for weapons that do not overly damage smaller prey is tactical error on their part." That straggler had nearly killed her twice. First when it had shot her. The second time when it had charged, intent on finishing off the other two members of her team. It clearly hadn't expected her to get back up. That she'd snapped her own arm off while it had her pinned and used the jagged edge to stab it repeatedly through it's damaged faceplate had also seemed to have come as a surprise to it.

"Other injuries?" The doctor asked.

"Four of my ribs are broken. Also, one of my hearts has stopped." Tuesaaya replied. The doctor looked alarmed. "I have another in my upper chest that is operating fine. I have less of a body to circulate fluids around these days anyway." She gave a small shrug with her one remaining mechanical arm.

The doctor continued to look at her slightly mystified at his patient, clearly trying to figure out how to even approach dealing with this particular patient.

Tuesaaya looked over at Nikolai next to her then added helpfully for the doctor. "This one turns into a frozen avian." She gestured towards Nikolai as the doctor looked over at Nikolai. The doctor stared for a moment while rubbing their temples.

---

“I’m out…… Fuck.”

All of his ammunition spent, Logan dropped the now useless weapon, breaking into a full-blown sprint. After all, the final call for boarding the ship had been issued and the automatic rifle would only slow him down. Of course, the distance between the ship and him wasn't a problem, especially for an experienced soldier like him. No, that would be the explosions going on around him, the plasma from the Imperial Ragon’s weapons, and above all else the Martian terrain. In particular the decent sized rocks he has to jump or hop over and most egregiously all of the red dust kicked up by the battle. This was the same fine powder that now covered him head-to-toe, the biggest concern being his visor, as it heavily distorted his field of vision.

Despite his difficulties in seeing, Logan was only fifty meters away from the Nebuchadnezzar. His goal now in sight, Logan decided to dump any extra weight he could in an effort to be more mobile, the mostly empty ammunition pack would be one of the many items left behind. Not like the Ragon’s are interested in reverse engineering of this stuff, right?

“Fuck this planet.” He muttered under his breath, just as the sound of his weighted feet on the metal filled his ears. A triumphant grin forming on his face, the soldier would turn around and present his middle finger at everything outside of the ship.

“FUCK ALL OF YOU!”

Happy that he made it, Logan made his way further into the ship, in search of his comrades.

Off to one side of the loading ramp was a small group of soldiers - looking nearly as exhausted as Logan himself as they stood in a small circle - tending their equipment and injuries. One among them was standing, visible through his vacsuit his face and hair were still drenched with sweat. "Yeah! Fuck those guys!" Walking towards Logan the man jerked a finger towards back of the ship. "You good?" He asked, looking Logan over for signs of injury.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Rebecca Cohen

The gang plank retracted and the doors slid closed. Cohen, who was also near the doorway slid down against the wall, her legs trembling as the adrenaline began to drain from the system. She took off her helmet, sitting it down beside herself, running a hand through sweat-drenched dark hair, "Fuck," she gasped, pausing for a moment before adding, "I hope that we got everyone off."

She glared at Logan, "I ordered you to run to the ship, not make a heroic last stand," she growled. Then after a brief pause, laughed, a laugh that kept going despite there having been no ostensible joke.

---

Rashalar, Newton, Scott and Hannah

It really wasn't designed for him, but Rashalar, the white ragon, had managed to squeeze his massive bulk into the bridge, "That sound, did you hear it? The scream that echoed through your head when we fired the weapon?" he asked, "That is the call of the true enemy. They are here... I fear that everything we have done was pointless."

Abruptly the comms system sprung into life. In the bridge at any rate, "The actual situation, Master Ragon, is rather more complicated."

"Did you -" Rashalar began, only for Newton to cut him off.

"That was something from the navigation chip. It must have had a virus on it" Newton looked alarmed, though it was her turn to get cut off, this time by the voice from the computer.

"Pilot, if you stop following the route laid out for you the enemy will destroy this vessel in a heartbeat," the virus replied, before continuing, "This message was recorded a great many years ago for the benefit of assuring you that what is happening now may not be the end of all life -"

"That's inspiring," Scott grunted.

"- the vanguard of the Outsiders' forces have breached this universe at different points in time and space. This was the result of the machine you constructed, but it was not at the time the enemy expected. They are not yet fully prepared. A different ship set into motion this chain of events, over one of your centuries ago and this battle was, though you did not know it, inevitable. In order to survive, for anyone to survive, you must travel through the anomaly you call 'The Wormhole', to the Vanishing Point, occupy the fortress that has been built there and then hold it against the forces the Outsiders will throw at you. If you succeed, you will be returned to the moments before the breach occurred."

"Well," Newton paused, momentarily at a loss for words as the 'virus' finished what it had to say, "That wasn't what I expected when I woke up this morning," she finished. The ship lurched as it followed it's pre-set path. She dialled up a view screen, beginning up an image of sleek, angular ships that seemed to be emerging from the wormhole. One fired some kind of lance-like weapon, that missed the Nebuchadnezzar by a whisker, as it unexpectedly spun to starboard. Bright light illuminated the bridge for a moment.

"I've never seen any ships or weapons like that," Hannah commented before asking, "Do you think we should tell the rest of the crew what the alien recording said?"

Newton gave her a blank look, then turned back to her console, "Hannah, my girl, I know you are new at this, but we don't usually do briefings when we are under attack."

"I think that chip will guide us through," she answered confidently.

"Tell Cohen and leave the decision to her."

[Nachfolgia]

While Allison brought the wounded Kitya cyborg to the infirmary, Nikolai pretty much went there too. He flew in his icy avian form until he dropped it just as he entered the infirmary, falling to the floor. He winced in pain as he looked at his shoulder just to see that he was nursing a superficial but still excruciatingly painful wound. His temporary transformation into a creature literally made out of had nullified the pain for a while, but now that he had expended much of his energy in his heightened transformed state as well as freezing more than a few Imperial Ragons in place, he couldn't hold it back any longer.

As the doctor approached, Nikolai let out a drawn-out sigh. "Tuesaaya's far more injured than I am. I will... I will just need something for the shoulder. And the pain."

Meanwhile, Ivan walked back into the hangar, where Nikita was still concentrating. One of the drones had already exploded as it received a direct hit from one of the Imperial Ragon soldiers. The others continually fired in desperation; one had its barrels begin to melt from the strain. Eventually, the twin blasters would cease to function, but by that time, the mission had been accomplished. Everyone who could ever get to the ship in time was already there; all those left were either dead or about to be.

Predictably, Nikita, his mind tired from controlling three machines at the same time, collapsed into a heap out of exhaustion. Ivan caught him before he would hit himself on the floor... though any semblance of respite that the moment would evaporate as the Nebuchadnezzar began to rise.

Once Allison put Tuesaaya on the infirmary table, she turned her attention to Nikolai. She took off her battle scarred helmet and dropped it to the floor with a loud thud. Kneeling down next to Nikolai, she began looking over him.

" Are you ok?! How bad is it?!" Allison said frantically as she inspected his injuries. Once she realized he would be OK, she lightly flicked him to cause some pain.

" You idiot! Why did you go out there?! You could've gotten killed! You know I can handle those shots, you can't! Why risk it?! If you had...!" Allison angrily yelled at him as she began to tear up.

[Europa Undivided]

" You idiot! Why did you go out there?! You could've gotten killed! You know I can handle those shots, you can't! Why risk it?! If you had...!" Allison angrily yelled at him as she began to tear up.

"We had so little time left," Nikolai answered with that same small, quiet voice that he had always used ever since their fake lives in Prefeton began. "The Imperial Ragons were beginning to close in fast; too fast. And Tuesaaya here far too heavy for any of them to carry. And you... you were too far away to get to her. So I went there myself. I trusted Nikita to use the drones to cover me, which is what he did exactly."

Nikolai winced. He watched Nikita enter the infirmary from the corner of his eye, who then quietly sat beside him. "I'm sorry, Allison," Nikolai said apologetically and held her hands. "It won't happen again. I hope."

[Tesserach]

Cpl. Tuesaaya Sanmanee

" You idiot! Why did you go out there?! You could've gotten killed! You know I can handle those shots, you can't! Why risk it?! If you had...!" Allison angrily yelled at him as she began to tear up.

"We had so little time left," Nikolai answered with that same small, quiet voice that he had always used ever since their fake lives in Prefeton began. "The Imperial Ragons were beginning to close in fast; too fast. And Tuesaaya here far too heavy for any of them to carry. And you... you were too far away to get to her. So I went there myself. I trusted Nikita to use the drones to cover me, which is what he did exactly."

Nikolai winced. He watched Nikita enter the infirmary from the corner of his eye, who then quietly sat beside him. "I'm sorry, Allison," Nikolai said apologetically and held her hands. "It won't happen again. I hope."

Tuesaaya, towering over the rest of the medbay sitting on a gurney next to Nikolai listened to this exchange, but remained silent throughout.

[Rynagria]

Private Finlay Logan

---

Off to one side of the loading ramp was a small group of soldiers - looking nearly as exhausted as Logan himself as they stood in a small circle - tending their equipment and injuries. One among them was standing, visible through his vacsuit his face and hair were still drenched with sweat. "Yeah! Fuck those guys!" Walking towards Logan the man jerked a finger towards back of the ship. "You good?" He asked, looking Logan over for signs of injury.

“Hell yeah, my guy!...” Finlay exclaimed then pausing to shake off the dust still on his vacsuit. “Definitely physically at least, mentally I don’t know yet. I’m gonna need time to process everything that’s happened so far. But that’ll be for later! We can always celebrate that we survived contact with the Ragon.”

Rebecca Cohen

The gang plank retracted and the doors slid closed. Cohen, who was also near the doorway slid down against the wall, her legs trembling as the adrenaline began to drain from the system. She took off her helmet, sitting it down beside herself, running a hand through sweat-drenched dark hair, "Fuck," she gasped, pausing for a moment before adding, "I hope that we got everyone off."

She glared at Logan, "I ordered you to run to the ship, not make a heroic last stand," she growled. Then after a brief pause, laughed, a laugh that kept going despite there having been no ostensible joke.

With the ship sealed, Finlay was more than happy to twist off the helmet with a hiss. Sweat thoroughly covering his face, he took a deep breath and smiled at the slightly less recycled air. Only hearing the latter half of the sentence, the young Private laughed at it.

“Heroic Last Stand? I’ve been in plenty of those! Besides, I didn’t it was tha-...” Suddenly, upon realizing who he was speaking to, immediately fixed his lax posture and gave the best salute he could muster at the moment. “Ma-Major?! My apologies, ma’am! I didn’t intend to disobey a direct order! Um, it was our old unit’s SOP when in retreat. It always seemed like the task always fell on Corporal Maldonado’s fireteam for our company, ma’am… I-It just seemed natural at the time.”

The irony of the calm that he felt during combat and his nervous demeanor while out of it was not lost on him. Then her laughing only caused more confusion in Private Logan.

“Are you okay, Major?”

[Dyelli Beybi]

" You idiot! Why did you go out there?! You could've gotten killed! You know I can handle those shots, you can't! Why risk it?! If you had...!" Allison angrily yelled at him as she began to tear up.

"We had so little time left," Nikolai answered with that same small, quiet voice that he had always used ever since their fake lives in Prefeton began. "The Imperial Ragons were beginning to close in fast; too fast. And Tuesaaya here far too heavy for any of them to carry. And you... you were too far away to get to her. So I went there myself. I trusted Nikita to use the drones to cover me, which is what he did exactly."

Nikolai winced. He watched Nikita enter the infirmary from the corner of his eye, who then quietly sat beside him. "I'm sorry, Allison," Nikolai said apologetically and held her hands. "It won't happen again. I hope."

Ishtar Iltani

"He did it because it's his instinct," Doctor Iltani supplied, perhaps a little unhelpfully, "All part of the fight-flight-freeze reaction that is common to most sapient creatures. You can say it won't happen again, but outside of a lot of training to keep that reaction suppressed, whenever you hit a high-stakes situation you'll react the same way. In both of your cases, you rush in. In my case, I normally run away, but I'm not a trained soldier. I just put the trained soldiers back together again after they've run head-first into danger."

She moved across the room, studying the vitals of one of the wounded troopers on a monitor. It looked like she had lost interest in them, though after a moment she added, "And save torturing your mate until after you're out of the medical bay."

---

Rebecca Cohen

...
“Are you okay, Major?”

"Better than okay," she answered, drying her eyes, drawing herself back to reality, "I'm alive. As you were."

---

Epilogue
(obviously with some theme music)

They were left for no more than twenty minutes before Cohen's voice echoed through the loading bay, where most of the crew were, "Hey! Hey everyone! Listen up!" Despite her small size, the Israeli woman was exceedingly loud when she wanted to be.

She hopped up onto an ammo crate, just to be sure that everyone could see her. She was still in her dust-stained combat armour, though she'd lost the helmet once she was onboard, "I know this is not exactly the news you would have hoped for, but you all heard that ... sound... when we fired the device at the wormhole, didn't you?"

There was a nod of assent amongst the Ragon contingent. They had heard it, but had assumed the other species had not, "We have limited information about what is going on, but the short story is that device we fired at the wormhole didn't do exactly what it was supposed to. We've opened something up that is allowing creatures from the outside into our reality." she paused, shook her head, then added flippantly, "Whoops!

"These things will devour and destroy everything in our universe, but the good news is we have a chance to fix it. So I need you all to gear up, one last time for a big fight. Bigger than the Battle of Saridat, for those of you who were there. The next time those doors open," she pointed at the rear loading bay, "Expect hostile fire. Our mission is to secure the landing ground and wait for reinforcements to arrive. We're going into the unknown, against an enemy who probably unguns us with little to know information on what we're facing. The fate of our Universe, the known bits and the bits beyond, hang in the balance, so fucking it up is not an option.

"If you've got any questions," she gave a wry half-smile, "I don't have any answers, so keep them to yourself.

"You know," she added finally, "If I was with any other group of people I'd say, we're all going to die and take my final bow. I don't know what effect you lot will have on the enemy, but, by God, you frighten me! We're Orphan Company! And if the Universe is looking for it's champion against whatever-it-is that is coming from outside, in my opinion they've made a pretty good choice... and who wants to live forever anyway?"