The Ascension of the Imperium IC (All Tech, TG for interest)

[Mercatus]

Edge of Octavian Home Territory, Near Visoran Vessels

Thousands of jump signatures would be recorded by any nation that had the technology to recognize the bending of space and time. But alas, nothing appeared to come through. They opened and then abruptly closed. Little did the AI aboard the Visoran vessels know of the attack that was about to ensue. Around 3,357 Intangible-Class stealth heavy fighter craft had jumped into the area and were preparing to eliminate any intelligent presence in the area. These vessels, even when uncloaked, would still be unidentifiable, as they were not known to exist, let alone be in service of the Mercatusian Military. These vessels were invisible to all forms of electromagnetic and particle-based detection, and packed quite a punch with their strange armament that worked through means unexplainable and incomprehensible to most other nation's scientists. Each was equipped with a yet unknown dark-matter based weapon that could channel large concentrations of dark matter from the surrounding space to an advanced "receiver" on the weapon, which would then project a burst of the exotic matter at a target, thereby dealing significant damage to both the hull, shield, and occasionally even pilot of a vessel. The material was delivered in concentrated bursts, much like conventional plasma weapons used by more primitive star states, and had detectable exotic particles interspersed within the dark matter so the pilots of the vessels could track their shots. This was their only weapon, and it was far from conventional, but it was extraordinarily dangerous, and combined with the cloaking ability of the vessels they were mounted on, made them almost undetectable. Also, the ship seems to possess nothing in the means of conventional propulsion, and seems to bend the fabric of space around it to propel the vessel through space at sublight speeds. As a result of their hyper-advanced nature, there were far fewer of these vessels in operation than more conventional craft, and they are extremely expensive to operate. This was the first field use of the ship, as it had just passed military trials back in the Sextans Supercluster, and this operation would prove that the Mercatusians would be able to stop Octavian expansion and become the sole superpower in the universe. Communications flew via quantum entanglement between the ships in the mostly undeciphered Mercatusian language, and soon all communications stopped completely, and a few of the Intangible-Class fighters discharged their weapons toward one of the 5 Visoran vessels.



Intangible-Class Vessel Uncloaked

[Sildorian Empire]

Moving to the Holo-board showing the movements of the fleet The Paramount could see that there were a few problems. The Infiltrator on Earth was caught in some kind of firebombing, the 14th fleet was being pursued by ships reminding The Paramount of the ISO and the Cymopolia debacle (The Rantar Reforms still rung in The Paramount's processors), The Visoran were asking for better communication, and the language of some fox organics had been discovered. The first two situations seemed to be resolving themselves, but the last two would require his attention. To the Visoran, The Paramount would issue a direct Aether link to The Paramount.

After that The Paramount found that AI had decoded an organic language and he had to give a message to their leadership

Hello, Sildorians. We are The Paramount of the Octavian Imperium. We are undergoing a period of expansion at the moment. If you interfere you will be part of out newly acquired terriotory.

Valarr Outpost, Valarr System

---

The message from the Imperium arrived only three standard hours after the two officers' previous conversation. It did not arrive at the Scientist's own Holo device. Logically, it should have been sent to Utaris itself, but for the sake of conversation, let's assume it dispatched through an unknown channel into the Station's central Holo-board. It cut through Hanvark vur'Grelka's opened projections and tabs, and patched through a short, world-changing, 32-word missive from an unknown channel. "How-" Regolid cur'Padarn, Chief Scientist onboard of the Station would have raised an eyebrow if he had one, but the sentiment remained. "Why in the Shroud did they reach-"

"I'm going to assume this 'Octavian Imperium' is the Delta Menace, then" his superior officer muttered. "that answers one question, but raises many more." He turned to his subordinate scientist. "Do you suppose the Xenomorphs' can do anything with that?" Regolid shook his head, "That's a negative, sir. If anything, this is more in the Negotiators' field of expertise. Should I-" he had no need to complete his sentence, for Hanvark merely raised a hand. "No need, I'll contact Utaris myself. They'll know what to do with this mess better than any of us do."

Utaris Complex, Sildora Prime

---

"As you can see sir, all evidence -and nearly all of that is from the short, 32-word dispatch we received from this Imperium- hint at something akin to a War in Heaven between Empires that never Fell in the first place." the Holographic projection of Major Hanvark vur'Grelka of the Valarr Outpost notified his own superior, Archon Mangolim vur'Jaffab himself. The Archon rubbed his chin as he looked at the missive the Major had sent alongside this recording. This could not bode well. While there was probably no necessity for this, etiquette called for a measured response. He began dictating; later the missive would be patched through the same frequency and to the Octavians.

Greetings, Octavians. Your missive has been received and well-understood. While Sildoria pledges not to interfere with your expansion in what is -to us- Unknown Space, It should be apparent that the Silda have no intentions of becoming part of your Newly-acquired Territory. The Government of the Sildorian Empire has, as expected, interpreted this unilateral demand of non-interference to mean a lack of aggression on the Imperium's part as well.

Within hours of receiving the missive, the High Command issued orders for all Shipyards in Imperial Space to pick up their pace and increase output and for the Army and Navy to begin a recruiting campaign comparable to that of the First Contact period. While Sildoria was distant enough from this Imperium's potential location that it could be possible the Octavian expansion would be limited to their own sector of the Galaxy, the Archon held the healthy doubt that it was going to be that easy, and should the Octavians decide Sildoria was to be part of that 'newly-acquired territory' after all, a larger defense force would be imperative, if potentially hopeless.

[Khorzromoth]

---

Outskirts of Octavian Space
KV87 System | Orbit of KV87-c

---

The KV87 system was, ostensibly, entirely unremarkable. One of countless trillions of barren systems across the galaxy, home to nought but desolate rock. The content of said rock was precisely what the Octavians were after, as their ships passed over each planet, scanning them from orbit for minerals. Faint anomalous signals coming from the system did catch the attention of the ships' onboard AI as they entered, but those were largely inconsequential - their directive remained to dig up minerals to feed the Imperium's rapid expansion, and they would stick to it without question.

Planet KV87-c showed the greatest promise - vast mineral deposits lay beneath its surface, waiting to be exploited for the Imperium's ends. A few oddities were also picked up by the ships' scanners: hollowed-out passageways seeming slightly too intricate for natural cave systems, strangely uniform geological formations dotting the surface, bizarrely-shaped canyons and trenches running in geometric patterns... Nothing important, of course. The planet was, beyond any doubt, completely uninhabited - no signs of unusual activity were being picked up by sensors. No suspicions were raised when what was clearly a massive statue, depicting some sort of frightful arthropod, was found carved into a mountainside - while it was now evident that some civilisation once called this planet home, its days were long gone. Nothing remained of it save for this statue, and the Octavian mining ships had no time to waste on long-dead alien archaeology.

And so the Octavians began their harvest, dismantling the planet piece by piece as drones were deployed to collect the minerals within. No questions were asked when a strange, distorted signal, like an alien scream, briefly passed through the fleet's communications, coinciding with the collapse of the statue in the mountainside. This harvest was a lucrative one. The Imperium was sure to be pleased.

---

Wellspring Maelstrom
Nest | Fractal Depths

---

A shrill howl echoed across the seemingly limitless expanse of the Nest, resonating through the surrounding chaotic vortex of Abyss-space.

Something out there had been slighted.

Deep within the Inner Sanctum, through layer after spatially-warped layer of the labyrinthine gigastructure leading up to a pristine silver chamber, the scream was little more than a murmur. Not because of any sort of conventional acoustic dampening or shielding - it was not, strictly speaking, a physical "sound", and the medium through which it passed was decidedly unconventional in any case. Rather, it was a psionic impulse - a pure expression of anger and indignation from an ancient entity of the Abyss, resounding directly in the minds of all who lay within its realm. And the Sovereign of Insight, having a rather prominent dislike of unwanted interruptions, simply barricaded his mind from the intrusion, letting in only a sliver for the sake of examination.

And so it seemed that a Titan of the Abyss had been displeased. An unfortunate development, and certainly not one Khorzromoth needed while war raged at the Maelstrom's doorstep in the Shallows. Running the signal through his internal systems, the Sovereign quickly traced its provocation back to the dismantled remains of a barren planet in Surface-space. Sure enough, traces of remnant Abyssal radiation lingered around the floating chunks of rock, some of which bore the marks of Ashkhorol glyphs carved into the surface. Despite his perpetual coldness, the sight of such despoliation was enough to appall him. Had it been mapped out earlier, such a site could have yielded valuable religious discoveries, under the nigh-impenetrable protection of a Khorzromothite Surface outpost - and yet here it was, torn to floating shards. And picking away at the fragments, like flies on a carcass, were mining vessels belonging to the Octavian Imperium, a rising Surface civilisation. This would not do. Not at all.

A signal was thus dispatched across the Nest, carrying the following message for its recipient: Octavia has blasphemed. Destroy them. For the Abyss.

---

Outskirts of Octavian Space
KV87 System | Outer Debris Disk

---

Amidst the dust and debris in the outer reaches of the KV87 system, a small patch of space began to twist and turn in on itself. Passing motes disintegrated as they were engulfed by the expanding warp, growing simultaneously larger and more chaotic. Finally, the fabric of space was torn asunder as a Rift emerged, opening a passageway into Surface-space from beyond.

A single black sphere emerged through the Rift, which promptly closed upon its entry. Roughly 700m in diameter, and wholly featureless from the outside, it drifted forward by reshaping spatial geometry around it, pushing itself through the system with a wave of distorted space. Cruising along at a constant, unhurried speed, it closed in on the Octavian ships - as it did so, a transmission came through their communications channels, with the sphere as its apparent source. Strikingly brief and concise, it clearly sought no diplomacy or negotiation, merely announcing a simple directive.

"You defile that which is sacred. Your sentence is death. Repent."

[South Reinkalistan]

Open Letter to the Octavian Imperium

To whomever it may concern,

As of late, the Turetnysk space station has been reporting many abnormalities within the space-time continuum. Until a few days ago, the Commissariat of the Exterior would not have thought such a sentence to bear any reasonable meaning, not the least be included in a diplomatic communication as it is being used now. However, times have indeed rapidly changed, and the People's Federation has been forced to take action. It has come to our attention that the Octavian Empire is engaging in an active effort to forcefully expand its stellar sphere of influence. This puts Earth, and therefore South Reinkalistan, under a considerable metric of threat. Such a danger to our sovereignty cannot, and will not, be tolerated.

The technological difference between South Reinkalistan and Octavia is vast. We are not under any illusion that we aren't standing at an immediate disadvantage. With this in mind, the Reinkalistani state has been preparing for invasions of an unconventional nature for a considerable period of time, and is as prepared as it will ever be for a conflict of this nature. Thus, we issue a warning: if Octavian vessels enter the Sol system, South Reinkalistan and Imperial Octavia will be at war. This is an ultimatum, and the so-called Paramount would do well to heed it. Let it be made very clear that if you fail to do so, your vessels shall be crushed. Your armies will be ruined. Your leadership will be hopelessly embarrassed. Your attempts to subvert the righteous activities of the People's Federation will be met with resistance; Tosdoda stands with us, and Marx watches our efforts with hope that his dream shall be made manifest in our wake. Octavia will not take this destiny away from us.

Rest assured, the Prime Commissariat has signed a mobilisation order for the Red Army, Red Fleet, and Air Force. We will not be bullied, especially not by degenerate extraterrestrials such as yourselves. We shall resist the fickle influence of alien interests, and secure a future for the Reinkalistani people. This is inevitable.

Yours Faithfully,

Lakersk Turnov
Commissar of the Exterior

[The Zravvisk]

Near the newly conquered planet
The Solemn Dagger watched the last hour of the primitives’ existence. It was only a couple of centuries since their last visit to this planet, so their translators didn’t need to update their languages too much. The crew watched and listened to broadcasts from the planet as they worked. Cheers rang out and stories of their last time on the planet were exchanged whenever the primitives won a tactical victory, no matter how minor. The zravvisk knew that the primitives would lose but they respected the warriors who went down fighting. Harty chuckles echoed though the ship as they recognized the gesture sent to the Imperial fleet, proud at the defiance. Then silence reigned as the gas fell and they witnessed the death of billions of fierce warriors. They stood as still as statues as they processed what happened before wordlessly heading to their battle stations. The Octavians would pay.

With the fleet dispersed across the planet in an orbital bombardment and landing stance, it would be trivial to sneak up on a capital ship and cripple without it getting support. The dreadnought was a tempting target, but with the size of the fleet it was unlikely it would take serious damage before the Dagger had to retreat. Scanners showed two capital ships close to each other and not too far from it though. The dreadnought also seemed to be the only ship in the fleet that seemed to have hollow spaces, a perfect target for the makeshift bombs being built in the teleporters. Shame they couldn’t wait for the scanners to determine where the bridge and other key sites were, but time was of the essence. They had to strike before the fleet regroup and could give each other meaningful support.

The Dagger rushed in between the artillery ships, pulling into a hair’s width next to one them. The Dagger dropped its stealth shield and unleashed its barrage. Point blank torpedoes smashed into the closest artillery ship’s hull while the graviton cannons twisted and rent armor. The second artillery ship suffered much less damage, the increased distance allowing point defense to destroy torpedoes and the grav cannons to deal much less cataclysmic damage. Zravvisk sized bombs were teleported at the dreadnought, aimed at guessed key spots.

The Dagger made a hard turn towards the surviving artillery ship, shedding armor and redlining the engines. The artillery ship rotated as hard as it could, firing its particle cannons while trying to bring its main cannon to bare. Just barely the increasingly agile Dagger slipped though the artillery ship’s firing arc and fire another broadside of grav cannons and torpedoes much closer this time.

The stealth shield was reengaged as the Dagger raced towards the edge of the system. Walls of shots followed its predicted vector, every shot on the shield confirming its location. Even more armor was dematerialized for every ounce of acceleration. If the crew were not braced, they would’ve been thrown into the walls by the maneuvers the ship was pulling to throw off the enemy targeting vectors.

Finally, the shield shattered, revealing the ship once again to the fleet. Even more shots whizzed as the Dagger dematerialized its entire hull on the bow for even more speed. Shots began to fly though the ship while drone fighters closed in. The rear laser cannons lit up, unleashing a hail of fire attempting to intercept missiles and fighters.

The nav computer finally indicated that they were far enough away, and the ship jumped into the safety of ftl. The officers assessed the damage and began to plan their report. Meanwhile, several others began making plans of their own. Plans for a memorial for the dead planet and eulogies for its fallen warriors.

[Visoran]

Edge of Octavian Home Territory, Near Visoran Vessels

Thousands of jump signatures would be recorded by any nation that had the technology to recognize the bending of space and time. But alas, nothing appeared to come through. They opened and then abruptly closed. Little did the AI aboard the Visoran vessels know of the attack that was about to ensue. Around 3,357 Intangible-Class stealth heavy fighter craft had jumped into the area and were preparing to eliminate any intelligent presence in the area. These vessels, even when uncloaked, would still be unidentifiable, as they were not known to exist, let alone be in service of the Mercatusian Military. These vessels were invisible to all forms of electromagnetic and particle-based detection, and packed quite a punch with their strange armament that worked through means unexplainable and incomprehensible to most other nation's scientists. Each was equipped with a yet unknown dark-matter based weapon that could channel large concentrations of dark matter from the surrounding space to an advanced "receiver" on the weapon, which would then project a burst of the exotic matter at a target, thereby dealing significant damage to both the hull, shield, and occasionally even pilot of a vessel. The material was delivered in concentrated bursts, much like conventional plasma weapons used by more primitive star states, and had detectable exotic particles interspersed within the dark matter so the pilots of the vessels could track their shots. This was their only weapon, and it was far from conventional, but it was extraordinarily dangerous, and combined with the cloaking ability of the vessels they were mounted on, made them almost undetectable. Also, the ship seems to possess nothing in the means of conventional propulsion, and seems to bend the fabric of space around it to propel the vessel through space at sublight speeds. As a result of their hyper-advanced nature, there were far fewer of these vessels in operation than more conventional craft, and they are extremely expensive to operate. This was the first field use of the ship, as it had just passed military trials back in the Sextans Supercluster, and this operation would prove that the Mercatusians would be able to stop Octavian expansion and become the sole superpower in the universe. Communications flew via quantum entanglement between the ships in the mostly undeciphered Mercatusian language, and soon all communications stopped completely, and a few of the Intangible-Class fighters discharged their weapons toward one of the 5 Visoran vessels.

Octavian Space The two remaining Visoran ships instaneously flared shields to full and began PDVA manuevers- Letting the PDVA tech instaneously adapt the shielding to literally shrug off the dark-matter bombardment like a BB gun hitting the broadside armor of a battleship. Dark-Matter. How hideously primitive. The remaining carrier instantly began to deploy it's vast swarms of fighter craft, the area rapidly becoming crowded, as the Hivemind went through the universe itself, identifying the craft with ease, highly bemused by the lack of technology to counter PDVA style attacks. This would be easy compared to that damn cruiser. And they even bent reality to move! They were more obvious than a forest fire.

Almost instantly, every Mercatus ship was swarmed by over 10,000 strikecraft, tearing them apart as the weapons on them were instaneously adapted to deal the most damage to each ship. One of the slabs pulling up alongside a strike-craft, which a blast from a fighter's weapons had disabled, and sending a massive nanite swarm across to slip through the very molecules of the armor, and begin to integrate the vessel, and it's crew, into the vast Visoran Hivemind. The pilot knowing about it in seconds, as a huge wall of grey nanites literally slammed into his body, sliding in through the molecules of his skin. Connecting him into the Hivemind, and subsuming everything about him in an instant, spreading to take control over the rest of the fighter, and turn it again Even as this was happening, the millions of strike-craft swarming each Mercatus vessel were easily tearing them apart, sheer numbers and endlessly adapative weaponry overwhelming shields, and then armor, and then any combat manuevers the pilots were trying to use to avoid the inevitable, as the carrier deployed more and more strike-craft in a a constant steam.

Idiotic primitives would be idiotic primitives, the hivemind noted idly as it worked. The heavy slabs own guns snapping about, adapting to the Mercatus fighters as the universe itself pointed out their weakpoints- Ripping through them with ease, as the guns roared again and again. Turning the attacking fighters in rubble and debris.

Idiotic primitives, didn't they know trying to play the fighter game against the Visoran was a losing matchup?

[The-International Space Organization]

---

Octavian Space

---

The Hivemind watched in fascinated dis-interest as the fighters raced across the distance, and then with a minor sense of dawning realization as billions of Gigatons were thrown about casually, the octavian fleet ceasing existence in seconds. The situation had just changed. 001 paused for a trillionth of a second, feeling like millennium to the constantly active hivemind, as the decision was weighed. This single cruiser's estimation rapidly shifting...

And then the decision was made, in an instant. The strike-craft swarmed across the line, as the guns on the five ships opened up- Millions of shots composed of non-descript energies racing across the void of space at light-speed, even as the distant cruiser slammed into defensive maneuvers, the line of strike-craft racing forward to engage their opposites on all sides. Missiles streaking into the void from every single craft that had them, on all sides, painting the void in energy trails and chaos as suddenly, the Hivemind lost control of some of it's fighter forces. Either slowing to a stop instantly, continuing on a course with it's pre-set velocity, or any other unusual thing as the Hivemind scrambled to regain control, forcing against a sudden blockade- Giving the distant cruiser femtoseconds to take advantage, as a line of fighters suddenly came blasting in to wipe out the line of fighters that had lost control. Missiles measuring in gigatons being thrown about like party-poppers, and wiping out entire formations in single hits as other strike craft came swinging in behind, weapons blaring. Hundreds of Vipers and Raptors being taken out, even as the Hivemind's carriers rushed to replace the combat losses which had been sustained, dropping more and more strike-craft into the system in an instant.

Then the Hivemind's ships threw themselves into another volley, as the first shots raced closer, the Cruiser flaring it's vast array of defensive measures. Nullifying shots with manipulation technology, as the ship's own defenses began engaging the Hivemind's swarm fighters. Harsh maneuvers throwing the rest off, or fighter-craft kamikazeing themselves truly nullifying the volley. The Hivemind's own defensive systems roaring into life, as the mid-field between the cruiser and the five slabs became a roaring battlefield, explosions filling the void and disrupting sensors as the amount of explosives being thrown about quickly began to rise. And then the secondary attack efforts kicked in- Another swarm of fighter-craft rushing out of the Hivemind carriers, racing forward to rush through the blossoming cloud of explosions to close distance with the distant United Government cruiser. And then the United Government cruiser turned tail, engines roaring as it raced... For the sun? The strike-craft following it peeling off of pursuit, as automated systems kicked in to keep the strike-craft intact. The cruiser vanishing from sensors in raw heat, solar masses, and anti-sensor measures flaring into life. The Hivemind was stunned- Digging through dozens of reference files, theories- This was the first time a foe had displayed an ability anywhere along this line...! The remaining Visoran strike-craft turned to deal with the United Government strike-craft left over, raw numbers and widely organized tactics quickly overwhelming the remaining United Government craft with ease.

And then one of the carriers detonated, a broadside volley from inside the sun tearing it apart instantly. The Hivemind spreading it's remaining fleet out instantly, and throwing them into maneuvers as the Hivemind raced to find a counter-measure to the ship- Or to even refind the ship, as it's usual methods were quickly counter-acted in seemingly every step. The Hivemind turning other sensors against the scene- And there! A blip. Too metallic to be the unrefined material of a sun. The remaining ships sent a volley of fire at the blip of the cruiser within the sun, the strike-craft swarming forward as-well. Missiles lancing out in both directions, counter-measures and interception missiles dueling in the void of space, even as strike-craft tried to get a strike into the cruiser, but kept getting torn to shreds as heavy missiles, defensive fire, and the blazing heat of the sun. The inbound shots from the four remaining ships either missing or getting intercepted as the cruiser vanished from sensors again, it's composition seeming to change again, as the Hivemind rushed to find it again. How was this one cruiser so succinctly avoiding everything?

Another ship suddenly detonated, another multi-billion-gigaton explosion flaring, as the Hivemind traced that broadside angling backwards... And there it was again. The three remaining ships sending a volley inwards at that precise point- And finally gaining a results, as energy flared. The United Government cruiser was finally hit- Leaping out of the sun, and on the opposite side of the solar system. The entire port broadside scarred, and burning, as systems leapt into life- Seemingly warped and melted by the burning heat of the sun, a critical strike having slipped through. The remaining strike-craft rushing out, even as the remaining three ships shared information. Coordinating, communicating, and planning. At range, the three remaining ships were clearly highly outmatched- But what about something else? The Hivemind scrambled to pull together a strategy, and then execute it.

The three ships flared movement channels at the same time, as the Hivemind turned a portion of it's electronic warfare capabilities against the cruiser- More shots ringing out, as the cruiser suddenly took hits on it's starboard. The hivemind noting that they were simply shredded against a shield which certainly had not been there previously, but sending more orders for more shots to ring through the void. A vast difference in electronic warfare capabilities revealing themselves as the cruiser was now forced to turn tail, and begin to flee as more shots cut through the void of space. The cruiser now receiving hit after hit against it's shield, as suddenly, a turn revealed a flaring port broadside, all guns roaring- And then it was gone.

A single trail of quantum energy revealing what had happened, as a third and final ship was torn apart by the sheer firepower thrown at it, as the remaining two ships instantly added distance from another- Was it going to come back? Had that retreat been the end of this fight? The Hivemind waited one minute, than another. A half-hour, feeling like entire multiverses of time having passed to the hivemind, passing as they waited. More and more strike-craft taking to the field, incase that damned cruiser returned- Before, eventually, as the half-hour passed, the Visoran fleet recalled it's strike-craft, and left the system, to gather some reinforcements...

---

SUB-POCKET AUZ-384, LEVEL 33 - BRIDGE OF THE ERVAN CRUISER 'STARFURY'

---

Bulwark looked at the report, as the damage control team officer standing on the bridge waited. "To summarize the report, Captain Bulwark, minimal damage to our armor on both sides. The Kehener adapted and held well to the situation, and we've already repaired damage sustained in the armor. Some weapon systems are being a bit more troublesome in the regen, but i've got a set of QAPAI from engineering going over them quark by quark." The officer paused, collecting his words for the next section of the report. "The largest damage sustained was to our EW QAPAI. That burst at the end of the engagement was monstrous- I've never seen so many exabytes of data shoved through a connection before. We got hit with enough information to begin corrupting some of our QAPAI, and two of them are too corrupted for the code-jockeys to save. Three of them will have to undergo extensive repairs, which leaves us with exactly one working EW QAPAI."

Bulwark lingered in silence for a moment- "Remember our comrades fallen, then. Do we have a solution for new ones? We cannot risk another engagement with those damn slabs without EW, now that they've learned the trick."

"Well, captain." The voice of the lead array operator interrupted, as he looked up from his station. "I've got a temporary solution, like we do back on ICN ships. Switch all our outbound electronics off, and rely on good ol' manual work." The officer put a hand on his station. "I just finished a course on quantum scanner theories, and I can easily string together a sensor setup, and I know Vulcan has been putting work into quantum based control methods. We can supplant all our electronic channels they can engage with quantum tricks."

"Make it so." Bulwark instantly replied. "We need to find out where we are vulnerable in these areas so we can counter it head-on. If they're gaining allies that powerful, we need to deal with the octavian threat sooner rather than later. Make it so!" The bridge leapt into life, even as Bulwark turned to the array officer. "Array, another request- The ISO has forwarded a request for detailed mapping. They want scans of everything Octavian- Major industrial planets and defensive fleets as the requested priority."

The array officer saluted, as he turned to his work- Now loaded up with plenty of tasks, and others, decided to tackle them in order from easiest to hardest. Quickly setting up a program, as some arrays turned to Octavian space, scanning it over to build a complete image...

---

REAL-SPACE - ISO RALLYPOINT 'REDWALL'

---

The four ICN ships arrived at a point a fair distance outside the Octavian galaxy with a flare of light, which cut through space like a tidal-wave. The huge seventy five kilometer long super-ships forcing their way out of warp-space with a colossal BANG! of energies as Blunt Force Drives spun down from howling along at full speed. Those old BFDs were starting to show their age at this point, with ships this large...

Grayson shook his head, as he looked to the sensor officer. "Any sign of the Cruiser?"

"Negative, captain." The sensor officer stated. "No flucuations to indicate it's lingering in warp-space either. Fancy that, we beat the Ervans to a rally point!" The bridge crew laughed, lightly, as they turned to secondary duties. Coordinating with the other ships, as they lurked in the void between galaxies. The ships own long-range sensor arrays turning against the galaxy ahead, as they waited... "Cruiser off the port beam, captain. Bearing 78-78-78, on heading 70-70-70. Ervan... IFF is broadcasting as the Starfury. She's our ship."

Grayson smiled. "Communications, estblish a line. It's time to get to coordinating."

"Aye aye, captain."

---

ISO RALLYPOINT 'REDWALL' - FLIGHT DECK C OF THE ARK ROYAL

---

The zero-G hangar was packed full of fighters, and crews, as they rushed to prepare a massed strike like few others this galaxy had likely seen. Voidhawks quickly being burdened down with 'air to air' and anti-ship load-outs, even as Tomcats were being burdened down with heavy bomb load-outs. H-Palm, conventional, H-C, bunker-busters, anti-infantry cluster missiles, anti-vehicle, anti-bunker, all manners of load-outs coming into the forefront as the ammo stores in the carrier were working full-time to get the almost two point two billion strike-craft that were going on this mission fully loaded, prepared and ready to deliver a crippling economic blow. The ship shook as it turned from the rally point, preparing to enter warp again, as the crews scrambled to get all the fighter-craft prepared in time, now...

[Gladian Imperium]

Sentinel Arrays Alpha-1 through Beta-3, 300ly above and below Galactic Disk

All six AIs watched with eager anticipation as the United Government Cruiser fought against the unknown slabs, cheers ringing out with each new trick it pulled as "money" exchanged virtual appendages. A quality diversion from the toil of constantly mapping Octavian space, the task put on a simple automated loop for the duration of the fight. The arrival of the "hidden" Mercatusian fighters, easily found when subspace impositions were modified, and the subsequent massacre was less interesting as the AIs got back to work filing reports. This was a concerning development, one most certainly warranting an excursion into Octavian space. A soon as the report was forwarded to the Warmaster and the Strategic Mind, a meeting was called for the confirmation and enacting of battle-plans.

Antechamber of the IWS Wall of Iron
Warmaster Lutherus gazed at the motley crew of the present company. The gunslinger, hamster, jester, frog, templar, and cloud were all Avatars of the Warminds, and a further avatar-an elderly African human, wearing a suit and sitting in an armchair-were all before him.
"Now that we're all situated, our emissary from the Minds in charge of this Operation can show us their plans for Onslaught." Lutherus said, gesturing towards the human.
"Very well, allow me to introduce myself. I am Trez'nav Oplike, secretary of the Strategic Mind "No Happy Accidents". I have been given this data pack for detailed plans regarding onslaught." Trez'nav said, generating a hologram. Three different systems were picked out-each detailed accordingly.
"This first system-Target One, As it will be called, is a frontier naval shipyard and supply depot. Its destruction would immensely hinder Octavian activities in the region." He said, showing a somewhat small, multi-kilometer complex of fuel tanks, storage bays, and ubiquitous shipyards.
"This second system is Target Two, a developing colony. We believe the resources on said planet will turn it into a valuable mining settlement for the Octavians, therefore it's elimination will help deprive them of those resources for the time being." The new image was a desert planet, with a few faint lights on the night side.
"The final system, Target Three, is a frontier industrial world. While not as built up as more valuable targets, it is less heavily defended and will help complete the opening for Onslaught to progress. Here's the plan:".

Trez'nav detailed the plans for each one, for the first one, a barrage of Gladian Swarm Vehicles was to be deployed, overwhelming the station's weak defenses and crippling it at best and destroying it at worst, with orders to destroy its maneuverability and deorbit it. For target two, several Amphitere Landing Ships were to deploy, carpet-bombing the colony with Fusion Warheads, rendering a large region of surface unusable. For the final one, special clearance was given for three VES Micromissiles to be deployed against the planet-a total of 336 exatons of TnT-in order to send a message to the Octavians.

With these plans out of the way, the beginning of Onslaught was underway at last.

Target One, G-541 System

The station was in high alert. After the destruction of the fleet a scant dozen light years away, orders had come to be ready for any eventuality-and to send a panic signal back up the chain of command if that damn cruiser showed up again. So, when a wormhole opened a few kilometers away, it immediately raised shields and began preparing a message...until a bunch of missiles, hardly larger than a watermelon, came flying out of it. Crossing the distance in a matter of seconds, the various Fusion Warheads slammed into the shielding, causing it to flicker and die, sending power surges throughout the station. Panicking, the AI began rapidly launching fighters and bringing it's few AA Guns online as hundreds of fighter craft poured from the event horizon, unloading their own missiles into the Drones and station as Gravitic Autocannons rattled off hypervelocity rounds. Casualties mounted on both sides, as Swarm Units were taken down by Drones, Drones were split apart, and the station's gun emplacements were eradicated with multi-kiloton warheads. Unfortunately, this was a game of numbers, and the Drones lost, the swarm units closing on the toothless station to fully take it out of action. Nuclear explosions rippled across it, tearing open its storage bays and reducing drydocks to twisted branches of slag. Finally, the Swarm Units slammed into it on a kamikaze run, forcing the station out of orbit and into the foreboding clouds of the Gas Giant it orbited.

Target 2, G-542 System

The five Amphiteres rapidly dove out of their wormhole, making for the fledgling colony at max thrust. They were currently running on empty loads, with the exception of the five Fusion Warheads each mounted on their hardpoints, leading to a total of six point five gigatons of firepower. Diving into the upper atmosphere, the launching of fighters was detected. Unfortunately, there would be no time to intercept. The bombs were already armed, and trajectories calculated. With a simple press of a button, all five Landing Ships dropped their payloads, hurtling out of the atmosphere and flipping end-over-end to frantically gun for the wormhole before they were caught.

A few seconds later, the continent the settlement was on lit up with a blinding series of explosions, sending a massive wave of fire across the planet and sending several kilotons of material into orbit, the ground around the epicenter of the bombardment breaking and melting, incinerated by weapons of unfathomable power. The shockwave would have downed or destroyed anything in the air and was causing tremendous seismic events across the planet. Driven to avenge their colony, the fighters attempted to pursue, firing all their weapons against the retreating vessels. Three of them were struck, sending small flakes of armor spinning off into the void as Micromissile Racks emptied their loads, filling the area between the two parties with over 1500 flak warheads that shortly detonated, shredding pursuers with numerous shards of metal as the Amphiteres cleared the Event Horizon, the Wormhole imploding shortly afterward.

Gladian Fleet, Jump Point Six
"That's two targets down, Warmaster." An operator called out, as a carrier received the five Amphiteres.
Excellent, begin calibrating for Target Three." Lutherus responded, perched on his Command Throne.
"Understood, beginning generation of Terminus." The Operator responded, turning to the controls for the Wall of Iron's Wormhole Drive.

[Pax Cybertronian]

News had reached the Decepticon Empire that the Octavian fleet was engaged in a state of war in its native galaxy, the Milky Way.

Considering the very recent destruction of an entire fleet of presumably Octavian origin by United Government forces – as far as the Decepticons knew, it was some powerful empire they incensed, the Decepticons thought that it might be wise to enter – to a limited extent. Like Cymopolia, High Command had deemed it to be unwise to drop the best of the best, most state-of-the-art technology in the galaxy – in terms of realpolitik, it would be better to ensure the best remains undestroyed and sent to galaxies where the Decepticons were actively expanding. However, it was nonetheless likely that, considering the power of the nations there, more suitable, for a lack of a better term, technology would be sent to the galaxy. The Milky Way, simply, wasn’t a massive priority and the High Command couldn’t care less about it for the present moment, even if an ally was there. Cymopolia was also not a priority since it was considered to be a near-dead galaxy – the galaxy of Cymopolia was a “barely breathing slagheap”, as a Decepticon commander crudely put it.

Bombrunner was disheartened by this fact. He liked to demonstrate and project the power of the Decepticon Empire throughout the galaxy from their somewhat long-standing colonies in the galaxy, stolen in part from the Human Confederacy and an assortment of other stronger and weaker empires, but he considered the Decepticons to be superior in power to the Octavian war-fleet, as far as he was aware, at least. However, it would probably be easier to defend the Octavians – or keep them alive for as long as possible – if he had more starships and better technology at his disposal. Nonetheless, while he still grieved over this, he still had a duty to fulfil. He didn’t necessarily agree with the Octavians’ negative disposition towards organic life, but he still was loyal to Cybertron to the end. With this in mind, he promptly contacted the Paramount for the colonies in the Milky Way.

Code: Select all

“I am Bombrunner, the commander of the Decepticon fleet assigned to this galaxy. We’re here. What assistance is required?”

He sat back and waited for a response.

[Imperial-Octavia]

The Holo-board

...The situation had become worse. Much, much worse indeed. A frontier colony had just been nuked alongside a station, the Visoran were seemingly pushed back by the cruiser, the Sword of the Imperium was under attack, and unidentifiable black orbs had come from some nowhere planet seeking to start a holy war against the Imperium. If The Paramount was able to, he would have one hell of a migraine right now. The Tactical Codex began moving ships before he could, Hundreds of K'onqesta Dreadnoughts would be deployed to aid the Visorans in the east while every frontier planet was told to make planetary shields and stack them as to make the most defensible position possible while methods of stopping the attacks were discovered. The Paramount would have done the same, but he was almost disappointed that he wasn't allowed to issue the orders himself. Now The Paramount only had to deal with the diplomatic side of this debacle.

The Paramount watched the course of the K'onqesta class dreadnoughts. They were a reletively new addition to the Octavian navy, but a needed one. Though against this Cruiser...The Paramount wasn't sure how well they would be able to aid the Visoran even in the hundreds. He wondered about leaving a Foundry ship in a nearby system to spawn extra ships, but he couldn't see any other type of ship being much help against the Cruiser. The Paramount did however link a couple million drone fighters along with the craft to help the Visoran with sheer numbers. The Paramount hoped this would be able to beat off this accursed cruiser...

Of course we wouldn't think to send our allies against such a craft without aid. We have sent en route a few hundred Dreadnoughts and millions of Drone Fighters. Surely this will be able to swing the balance of the encounter in your favor.

The next matter that concerned The Paramount was a message from some primitive nation from Earth who managed to notice the stealth cruisers around the planet and they were demanding that The Octavian Imperium stop whatever actions it was taken. The Paramount's response could be described as such. In the face of the expansion going catastrophically wrong The Paramount let out some of the most hysterical laughter he had ever laughed since his inception. It was just so hilarious that this primitive organic nation even had the notion, the concept of demanding his empire do anything for this insignificant spec of land. There was only one response to their yelling and scraping

Speak to us again when you have united Reinkalistan, organics.

Finally there was one last message from the Deceptions. They were fine allies, but he wasn't sure they were good enough allies to stand having their navy deleted by the Cruiser. Oh well, it wasn't as if The Paramount had anything better for them to do.

Our allies in the Deception Empire should move themselves to the edge of the Imperium where a certain Cruiser was last detected. Our alliance will need all the firepower possible to take it down and the Cruiser is proving to be a major issue.

The Paramount hoped the diplomatic and millitary situation would resolve themselves before things got any worse if that was even possible.

Italy

J'eil heard of talk of sending him to a hospital; such talk was to be shut down. "NOO! You can't send me to...the hospital. I have a mission to complete and I-" J'eil's hand went to his skin suit's stomach, where his fusion core would be, tearing through it a bit leaving false blood leaking from the area "-know a way to help Passione. I just need to see...THE BOSS!" J'eil's voice would boom outward as a stream of synthetic blood began shooting out of the mouth of the Luigi Ricci persona as the rest of J'eil's systems went completely heywire, but once it stopped something appeared from J'eil's body. It was humanoid and white with green stripes along it's arms and legs. There are noticiable wires and hydraulics located around it's body and it held an orb in it's hand. It was the stand Mr. Roboto! J'eil felt better, but his shock replaced the pain he felt earlier. "A-are you guys seeing this shit?!?"

Planet 560: Designation: GS

An artillery ship had been crippled, another damaged, and the Sword of The Imperium was just attacked. Tal'Talen would not be tolerating this and though she did not say a word all the ship AI knew she was burning with rage. With a few taps of her fingers multiple Uan class cruisers and two Battlecruisers complimented with a few dozen drone fighters were sent after the energy signature from their FTL jump. With the single EW cruiser in the formation it was planned to disable the craft so that they could be captured when the rest of the fleet arrived. Said fleet would order an extra artillery ship and a cruiser with interdiction abilities. When those were sent the rest of the fleet would come in to...interrogate them.

KV87

The paltry Octavian fleet knew a declaration of war when they heard it and from all their logs this would count as a declaration of war. The 4 Karsh'Ka destroyers stayed in the back firing their mass drivers at the orbs while blinding white beams clashed against the pitch darkness of the orb coming from the ion cannons from the Uan class cruisers. Corvettes moved forward to harass the orb firing their Gauss cannons and particle cannons as they used their speed to harass the craft. Sensors could not bring up any results so the AI decided to call in reinforcements though it was unlikely anything would move in quickly they were going to arrive eventually.

Yvonnadiel

The planet was ripe for conquest. On the edge of one of the un-harassed fleets, sensors picked up odd energy readings from the surface and atmosphere, but most AI dismissed them as a local anomaly. Any civillains watching the skys would see massive dropships descending from the sky dropping hundreds upon hundreds of drones across their countryside truly inspiring fear in the people of the primitive planet. However on the inside of the dropships some problems would be appearing. As the dropships came into atmosphere every MK2 drone inside would find themselves disconnected from the Tactical Codex even with it's increased strength. The few drones that were able to experience some free thought found this weird, but mantained formation and stepped out onto the grounds of this new and strange planet...

[Il Passione]

Italy

J'eil heard of talk of sending him to a hospital; such talk was to be shut down. "NOO! You can't send me to...the hospital. I have a mission to complete and I-" J'eil's hand went to his skin suit's stomach, where his fusion core would be, tearing through it a bit leaving false blood leaking from the area "-know a way to help Passione. I just need to see...THE BOSS!" J'eil's voice would boom outward as a stream of synthetic blood began shooting out of the mouth of the Luigi Ricci persona as the rest of J'eil's systems went completely heywire, but once it stopped something appeared from J'eil's body. It was humanoid and white with green stripes along it's arms and legs. There are noticiable wires and hydraulics located around it's body and it held an orb in it's hand. It was the stand Mr. Roboto! J'eil felt better, but his shock replaced the pain he felt earlier.

The entire crew stood in shock and saw the being nearby, their eyes widening in surprise and awe as Mista was about to draw his gun, but decided against it.
"This is..." Abbacchio stuttered. "...he's become a stand user!?"
"Just like us..." Fugo said, seeming fearful

"Come on, there's no time to gawk at it." Bucciarati said, before looking at Luigi carefully. "You... need to see the Boss?" He then stepped forwards, holding his head. "None of us have seen the boss in person. Not even the Consiglieri, Doppio. We recieve his orders through a voice chat on a darknet proxy, and the best chance you have at speaking to him directly is Cannolo Murolo, the head of Data and Intelligence. He'll organise a voicechat between you and the Boss." Bucciarati stated, before looking to Mista.

"Mista... keep an eye on this Ricci, and get him to Cannolo." Bucciarati said. "If he wants to talk to the boss, you have to convince Cannolo he's worth speaking to directly. He knows what's best."

"Make sure tinman doesn't rip himself apart any further. Got it." Mista stated, before putting a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon. Let's get you to the warehouse, pronto. Just while Bucciarati and the gang are figuring shit out."

[American Pere Housh]

---

Octavian Space

---

The Hivemind watched in fascinated dis-interest as the fighters raced across the distance, and then with a minor sense of dawning realization as billions of Gigatons were thrown about casually, the octavian fleet ceasing existence in seconds. The situation had just changed. 001 paused for a trillionth of a second, feeling like millennium to the constantly active hivemind, as the decision was weighed. This single cruiser's estimation rapidly shifting...

And then the decision was made, in an instant. The strike-craft swarmed across the line, as the guns on the five ships opened up- Millions of shots composed of non-descript energies racing across the void of space at light-speed, even as the distant cruiser slammed into defensive maneuvers, the line of strike-craft racing forward to engage their opposites on all sides. Missiles streaking into the void from every single craft that had them, on all sides, painting the void in energy trails and chaos as suddenly, the Hivemind lost control of some of it's fighter forces. Either slowing to a stop instantly, continuing on a course with it's pre-set velocity, or any other unusual thing as the Hivemind scrambled to regain control, forcing against a sudden blockade- Giving the distant cruiser femtoseconds to take advantage, as a line of fighters suddenly came blasting in to wipe out the line of fighters that had lost control. Missiles measuring in gigatons being thrown about like party-poppers, and wiping out entire formations in single hits as other strike craft came swinging in behind, weapons blaring. Hundreds of Vipers and Raptors being taken out, even as the Hivemind's carriers rushed to replace the combat losses which had been sustained, dropping more and more strike-craft into the system in an instant.

Then the Hivemind's ships threw themselves into another volley, as the first shots raced closer, the Cruiser flaring it's vast array of defensive measures. Nullifying shots with manipulation technology, as the ship's own defenses began engaging the Hivemind's swarm fighters. Harsh maneuvers throwing the rest off, or fighter-craft kamikazeing themselves truly nullifying the volley. The Hivemind's own defensive systems roaring into life, as the mid-field between the cruiser and the five slabs became a roaring battlefield, explosions filling the void and disrupting sensors as the amount of explosives being thrown about quickly began to rise. And then the secondary attack efforts kicked in- Another swarm of fighter-craft rushing out of the Hivemind carriers, racing forward to rush through the blossoming cloud of explosions to close distance with the distant United Government cruiser. And then the United Government cruiser turned tail, engines roaring as it raced... For the sun? The strike-craft following it peeling off of pursuit, as automated systems kicked in to keep the strike-craft intact. The cruiser vanishing from sensors in raw heat, solar masses, and anti-sensor measures flaring into life. The Hivemind was stunned- Digging through dozens of reference files, theories- This was the first time a foe had displayed an ability anywhere along this line...! The remaining Visoran strike-craft turned to deal with the United Government strike-craft left over, raw numbers and widely organized tactics quickly overwhelming the remaining United Government craft with ease.

And then one of the carriers detonated, a broadside volley from inside the sun tearing it apart instantly. The Hivemind spreading it's remaining fleet out instantly, and throwing them into maneuvers as the Hivemind raced to find a counter-measure to the ship- Or to even refind the ship, as it's usual methods were quickly counter-acted in seemingly every step. The Hivemind turning other sensors against the scene- And there! A blip. Too metallic to be the unrefined material of a sun. The remaining ships sent a volley of fire at the blip of the cruiser within the sun, the strike-craft swarming forward as-well. Missiles lancing out in both directions, counter-measures and interception missiles dueling in the void of space, even as strike-craft tried to get a strike into the cruiser, but kept getting torn to shreds as heavy missiles, defensive fire, and the blazing heat of the sun. The inbound shots from the four remaining ships either missing or getting intercepted as the cruiser vanished from sensors again, it's composition seeming to change again, as the Hivemind rushed to find it again. How was this one cruiser so succinctly avoiding everything?

Another ship suddenly detonated, another multi-billion-gigaton explosion flaring, as the Hivemind traced that broadside angling backwards... And there it was again. The three remaining ships sending a volley inwards at that precise point- And finally gaining a results, as energy flared. The United Government cruiser was finally hit- Leaping out of the sun, and on the opposite side of the solar system. The entire port broadside scarred, and burning, as systems leapt into life- Seemingly warped and melted by the burning heat of the sun, a critical strike having slipped through. The remaining strike-craft rushing out, even as the remaining three ships shared information. Coordinating, communicating, and planning. At range, the three remaining ships were clearly highly outmatched- But what about something else? The Hivemind scrambled to pull together a strategy, and then execute it.

The three ships flared movement channels at the same time, as the Hivemind turned a portion of it's electronic warfare capabilities against the cruiser- More shots ringing out, as the cruiser suddenly took hits on it's starboard. The hivemind noting that they were simply shredded against a shield which certainly had not been there previously, but sending more orders for more shots to ring through the void. A vast difference in electronic warfare capabilities revealing themselves as the cruiser was now forced to turn tail, and begin to flee as more shots cut through the void of space. The cruiser now receiving hit after hit against it's shield, as suddenly, a turn revealed a flaring port broadside, all guns roaring- And then it was gone.

A single trail of quantum energy revealing what had happened, as a third and final ship was torn apart by the sheer firepower thrown at it, as the remaining two ships instantly added distance from another- Was it going to come back? Had that retreat been the end of this fight? The Hivemind waited one minute, than another. A half-hour, feeling like entire multiverses of time having passed to the hivemind, passing as they waited. More and more strike-craft taking to the field, incase that damned cruiser returned- Before, eventually, as the half-hour passed, the Visoran fleet recalled it's strike-craft, and left the system, to gather some reinforcements...

---

SUB-POCKET AUZ-384, LEVEL 33 - BRIDGE OF THE ERVAN CRUISER 'STARFURY'

---

Bulwark looked at the report, as the damage control team officer standing on the bridge waited. "To summarize the report, Captain Bulwark, minimal damage to our armor on both sides. The Kehener adapted and held well to the situation, and we've already repaired damage sustained in the armor. Some weapon systems are being a bit more troublesome in the regen, but i've got a set of QAPAI from engineering going over them quark by quark." The officer paused, collecting his words for the next section of the report. "The largest damage sustained was to our EW QAPAI. That burst at the end of the engagement was monstrous- I've never seen so many exabytes of data shoved through a connection before. We got hit with enough information to begin corrupting some of our QAPAI, and two of them are too corrupted for the code-jockeys to save. Three of them will have to undergo extensive repairs, which leaves us with exactly one working EW QAPAI."

Bulwark lingered in silence for a moment- "Remember our comrades fallen, then. Do we have a solution for new ones? We cannot risk another engagement with those damn slabs without EW, now that they've learned the trick."

"Well, captain." The voice of the lead array operator interrupted, as he looked up from his station. "I've got a temporary solution, like we do back on ICN ships. Switch all our outbound electronics off, and rely on good ol' manual work." The officer put a hand on his station. "I just finished a course on quantum scanner theories, and I can easily string together a sensor setup, and I know Vulcan has been putting work into quantum based control methods. We can supplant all our electronic channels they can engage with quantum tricks."

"Make it so." Bulwark instantly replied. "We need to find out where we are vulnerable in these areas so we can counter it head-on. If they're gaining allies that powerful, we need to deal with the octavian threat sooner rather than later. Make it so!" The bridge leapt into life, even as Bulwark turned to the array officer. "Array, another request- The ISO has forwarded a request for detailed mapping. They want scans of everything Octavian- Major industrial planets and defensive fleets as the requested priority."

The array officer saluted, as he turned to his work- Now loaded up with plenty of tasks, and others, decided to tackle them in order from easiest to hardest. Quickly setting up a program, as some arrays turned to Octavian space, scanning it over to build a complete image...

---

REAL-SPACE - ISO RALLYPOINT 'REDWALL'

---

The four ICN ships arrived at a point a fair distance outside the Octavian galaxy with a flare of light, which cut through space like a tidal-wave. The huge seventy five kilometer long super-ships forcing their way out of warp-space with a colossal BANG! of energies as Blunt Force Drives spun down from howling along at full speed. Those old BFDs were starting to show their age at this point, with ships this large...

Grayson shook his head, as he looked to the sensor officer. "Any sign of the Cruiser?"

"Negative, captain." The sensor officer stated. "No flucuations to indicate it's lingering in warp-space either. Fancy that, we beat the Ervans to a rally point!" The bridge crew laughed, lightly, as they turned to secondary duties. Coordinating with the other ships, as they lurked in the void between galaxies. The ships own long-range sensor arrays turning against the galaxy ahead, as they waited... "Cruiser off the port beam, captain. Bearing 78-78-78, on heading 70-70-70. Ervan... IFF is broadcasting as the Starfury. She's our ship."

Grayson smiled. "Communications, estblish a line. It's time to get to coordinating."

"Aye aye, captain."

---

ISO RALLYPOINT 'REDWALL' - FLIGHT DECK C OF THE ARK ROYAL

---

The zero-G hangar was packed full of fighters, and crews, as they rushed to prepare a massed strike like few others this galaxy had likely seen. Voidhawks quickly being burdened down with 'air to air' and anti-ship load-outs, even as Tomcats were being burdened down with heavy bomb load-outs. H-Palm, conventional, H-C, bunker-busters, anti-infantry cluster missiles, anti-vehicle, anti-bunker, all manners of load-outs coming into the forefront as the ammo stores in the carrier were working full-time to get the almost two point two billion strike-craft that were going on this mission fully loaded, prepared and ready to deliver a crippling economic blow. The ship shook as it turned from the rally point, preparing to enter warp again, as the crews scrambled to get all the fighter-craft prepared in time, now...

32 million kilometers from Ark Royal

6 Infinity Class SuperCarriers, each 70 kilometers in length and brimming with anti ship and anti fighter weapons, along with 40 Marathon Class Cruisers, 40 Mandalore Class Cruisers, and 75 Jones Class Destroyers jump out of Slipstream Space 32 million Km or 16 million miles from the unknown fleet of ships.

Admiral Isadora Xander, who is currently standing on the bridge of her flagship the RSS Sovereign, stares at the unknown ships with interest. She turns her head to the Captain of the Sovereign Captain Isaac Swan asking him a question, "So Captain, what do you think of those ships out there?"

Isaac answers the Admiral's question immediately, "Well Admiral Xander, those ships are around the size of our carriers but I believe 1st Fleet can take out those ships with well placed hits from our MAC guns which is at full charge and ready to fire on your command. Per orders GTR High Command, we are at Defcon 2 which means fire only if fired upon."

Isadora turns her attention to the Sovereign's Smart A.I Athena, "Athena, open a comms channel to that carrier immediately."

Athena answered immediately, "It will be done at once." After a short pause, Athena speaks again, "Admiral, the comms channel open, you may speak now."

The Admiral speaks in the mic, "This is Admiral Isadora Xander, commander of the 1st Fleet of the Galactic Theocratic Republic Navy. Please respond?"

[The-International Space Organization]

---

OCTAVIAN SYSTEM - RAPIDLY APPROACHING THE ORBIT OF CICHI 68HW - FLIGHT DECK C OF THE ARK ROYAL

---

The atmosphere inside the hangar reverberated with the sound of roaring engines, as the Ark Royal slammed out of warp-speed above the planet, skimming the edge of it's atmosphere. A huge flash of light from the raw energy required to move the ship to warp speed splitting the void, even as the Yamato and Bismarck arrived next to it- The escorts for an already deadly formation. The two battlebarges sitting far above the carrier turning their monstrous guns and missile arrays against whatever poor ships might be within range. Depending on both the sheer shock of such an array of ships appearing out of seemingly nowhere, and the raw focused firepower of their broadsides to turn anything caught into slag.

At the same time, the Ark Royal was literally skimming the edge of the planets atmosphere- A fuel valve opening, as a highly atomized H-5 variant began to spray out. Combining with the atmosphere to form a deadly concoction, even as millions of kiloliters were quickly sprayed. The carrier just as quickly leaving as it came... And then, from behind it, the skies above the colony were blackened as billions of strike-craft were launched. Formations spreading out instantly, as they descended on the colony with the fury of a lightning bolt from the heavens, quickly snapping up to blast just over the roof-top levels of factories. Dropping bombs and huge arrays of missiles behind them targetting key points- And then the fires began to spread. H-Palm bombs igniting metal, stone, wires- Anything even remotely flammable was quickly ignited, and everything else that wasn't soon followed anyway. The fires starting small, but spreading faster than anybody could hope to respond as millions of kilograms of explosives were deposited upon the industrial world below, targetting anything that might even think to try and resist. A thousand different firestorms whipping themselves up around the world as the ICN strike-craft bombed without regard to anything caught below, driving the flames higher and higher as every last kilogram of munition was soon expended, the fighters rising back into orbit quickly-

And then Yamato fired one of it's broadsides into the planet. An atmsophere already laced with H-5 requiring that single spark to turn into a burning ball of plasma, seconds after the last fighter escaped the effect range. The firestorms on the surface almost instantly becoming fire huricanes- Before they were snuffed out by the bright burning ball of plasma that the planet's atmosphere had become. Temperatures rivalling that of the local sun scorching anything that might've been lucky [or unlucky] enough to survive the initial bombardment, into ash and debris faster than they could blink.

The ICN crews let out a cheer as the planet below them burned, the Yamato firing another broadside into the planet- Just for good measure, even as the strike-craft rushed back in their orderly fashion. Crews slinging about the billions of fighters into docks in a hurry, as the Ark Royal turned, preparing to leave the ball of plasma to burn itself out in a few hours.

There might even be enough left to strip-mine.

The Ark Royal settled for a bit, as it's two escorts made sure anything stupid enough to approach the carrier group were turned into slag mirroring the planet below...

---

"Captain, threat has been eliminated." Grayson looked up, as an Aide poked his head into the quarters. "All fighters are about to be landed. We're preparing our warp courses now."

"Good. Take us out of here, and back to the rally point."

"Aye aye, captain." The aide left, as Grayson turned back to the terminal. Quickly writing out an after-action report, as other reports began to flood in...

Another day, another burning planet, another after-action-report.

---

32 million kilometers from Ark Royal

6 Infinity Class SuperCarriers, each 70 kilometers in length and brimming with anti ship and anti fighter weapons, along with 40 Marathon Class Cruisers, 40 Mandalore Class Cruisers, and 75 Jones Class Destroyers jump out of Slipstream Space 32 million Km or 16 million miles from the unknown fleet of ships.

Admiral Isadora Xander, who is currently standing on the bridge of her flagship the RSS Sovereign, stares at the unknown ships with interest. She turns her head to the Captain of the Sovereign Captain Isaac Swan asking him a question, "So Captain, what do you think of those ships out there?"

Isaac answers the Admiral's question immediately, "Well Admiral Xander, those ships are around the size of our carriers but I believe 1st Fleet can take out those ships with well placed hits from our MAC guns which is at full charge and ready to fire on your command. Per orders GTR High Command, we are at Defcon 2 which means fire only if fired upon."

Isadora turns her attention to the Sovereign's Smart A.I Athena, "Athena, open a comms channel to that carrier immediately."

Athena answered immediately, "It will be done at once." After a short pause, Athena speaks again, "Admiral, the comms channel open, you may speak now."

The Admiral speaks in the mic, "This is Admiral Isadora Xander, commander of the 1st Fleet of the Galactic Theocratic Republic Navy. Please respond?"

---

REAL-SPACE - ISO RALLYPOINT 'REDWALL'

---

"Captain, we've got a hail from a... Admiral Isadora Xander. I do not recognize the navy she speaks for."

Great. More to deal with. Bulwark mused to himself- "Multiple sets of orders. Gunnery, get us targetting solutions for our missiles on that. Bring the QAD to full strength, and turn our arrays against them. If they so much as flare a targetting solution, I want you to drop a 1M-GT in the middle of that fleet formation and make it go the way of EG. Now, communications, link me in." There was a pause, before the communications officer flashed him an 'OK' sigh. "I am Bulwark of the United Government Navy. What are you doing in this zone of space, Admiral Isadora?"

[Mercatus]

Edge of Octavian Home Territory, Near Visoran Vessels

Thousands of jump signatures would be recorded by any nation that had the technology to recognize the bending of space and time. But alas, nothing appeared to come through. They opened and then abruptly closed. Little did the AI aboard the Visoran vessels know of the attack that was about to ensue. Around 3,357 Intangible-Class stealth heavy fighter craft had jumped into the area and were preparing to eliminate any intelligent presence in the area. These vessels, even when uncloaked, would still be unidentifiable, as they were not known to exist, let alone be in service of the Mercatusian Military. These vessels were invisible to all forms of electromagnetic and particle-based detection, and packed quite a punch with their strange armament that worked through means unexplainable and incomprehensible to most other nation's scientists. Each was equipped with a yet unknown dark-matter based weapon that could channel large concentrations of dark matter from the surrounding space to an advanced "receiver" on the weapon, which would then project a burst of the exotic matter at a target, thereby dealing significant damage to both the hull, shield, and occasionally even pilot of a vessel. The material was delivered in concentrated bursts, much like conventional plasma weapons used by more primitive star states, and had detectable exotic particles interspersed within the dark matter so the pilots of the vessels could track their shots. This was their only weapon, and it was far from conventional, but it was extraordinarily dangerous, and combined with the cloaking ability of the vessels they were mounted on, made them almost undetectable. Also, the ship seems to possess nothing in the means of conventional propulsion, and seems to bend the fabric of space around it to propel the vessel through space at sublight speeds. As a result of their hyper-advanced nature, there were far fewer of these vessels in operation than more conventional craft, and they are extremely expensive to operate. This was the first field use of the ship, as it had just passed military trials back in the Sextans Supercluster, and this operation would prove that the Mercatusians would be able to stop Octavian expansion and become the sole superpower in the universe. Communications flew via quantum entanglement between the ships in the mostly undeciphered Mercatusian language, and soon all communications stopped completely, and a few of the Intangible-Class fighters discharged their weapons toward one of the 5 Visoran vessels.

Octavian Space The two remaining Visoran ships instaneously flared shields to full and began PDVA manuevers- Letting the PDVA tech instaneously adapt the shielding to literally shrug off the dark-matter bombardment like a BB gun hitting the broadside armor of a battleship. Dark-Matter. How hideously primitive. The remaining carrier instantly began to deploy it's vast swarms of fighter craft, the area rapidly becoming crowded, as the Hivemind went through the universe itself, identifying the craft with ease, highly bemused by the lack of technology to counter PDVA style attacks. This would be easy compared to that damn cruiser. And they even bent reality to move! They were more obvious than a forest fire.

Almost instantly, every Mercatus ship was swarmed by over 10,000 strikecraft, tearing them apart as the weapons on them were instaneously adapted to deal the most damage to each ship. One of the slabs pulling up alongside a strike-craft, which a blast from a fighter's weapons had disabled, and sending a massive nanite swarm across to slip through the very molecules of the armor, and begin to integrate the vessel, and it's crew, into the vast Visoran Hivemind. The pilot knowing about it in seconds, as a huge wall of grey nanites literally slammed into his body, sliding in through the molecules of his skin. Connecting him into the Hivemind, and subsuming everything about him in an instant, spreading to take control over the rest of the fighter, and turn it again Even as this was happening, the millions of strike-craft swarming each Mercatus vessel were easily tearing them apart, sheer numbers and endlessly adapative weaponry overwhelming shields, and then armor, and then any combat manuevers the pilots were trying to use to avoid the inevitable, as the carrier deployed more and more strike-craft in a a constant steam.

Idiotic primitives would be idiotic primitives, the hivemind noted idly as it worked. The heavy slabs own guns snapping about, adapting to the Mercatus fighters as the universe itself pointed out their weakpoints- Ripping through them with ease, as the guns roared again and again. Turning the attacking fighters in rubble and debris.

Idiotic primitives, didn't they know trying to play the fighter game against the Visoran was a losing matchup?

Because only a portion of the craft were sent to attack the obviously quite powerful ships, the losses sustained were not a huge blow to the fighter group. The vessel that had been hit with nanites made astoundingly quick calculations and gathered every bit of data there was to know about the powerful technology striking the craft. After the data was quickly compiled, it was sent back to the Sextans Supercluster so scientists and engineers could replicate and perhaps even improve upon this technology. Meanwhile, to avoid being connected to the Hivemind, the ship auto-initiated self-destruct, which was a contingency built in to avoid any unlikely loss of such a craft to any form of Octavian assimilation, as they were much more primitive than the Visoran and on somewhat equal ground with Mercatusian advancements, and such secretive technology could not be permitted to fall into the hands of the Imperium. The ship simply deconstructed itself at the molecular level, including the pilot, thereby denying the Visoran their assimilation. The rest of the Intangible-Class craft retreated from the immediate area, opening wormholes with no calculated location in real space. Instead, to avoid detection or have any vessels follow them, they were suspended in the higher dimensional plane that was hyperspace, outside the bounds of any universe or realm. After this, a realspace destination was calculated to a hidden and classified research station situated smack dab in the middle of what humans called "Bootes Void".

Research and Development Installation, Bootes Void

The experimental craft, now uncloaked and jumping in to dock, numbered 2,574 upon return. Data concerning the radically advanced nanotechnology witnessed by the fighter craft was already being processed and used to improve current nanite technology. The fighters would be undergoing an overhaul to install particle-neutral engines alongside the current warp sublight engines to avoid detection by sufficiently advanced civilizations, and tests would be administered to the various specimens of hundreds of species aboard the station with the radically advanced and new nanotech being quickly developed.

[Gladian Imperium]

Target 3, aka CICHI 68HW
A few minutes after the ISO's thorough torching of the planet, a tiny wormhole formed. At a scant 3 meters in diameter, it was impossible to discern whatever was on the other end of the Event Horizon. Soon after its formation, three micromissiles shot out of it, making a straight deadline toward the planet. Each one was a little over five centimeters long, and weighed only a few grams. After a straight ten seconds of travel, they disappeared into the fiery maelstrom that was CICHI's atmosphere...

There was a flash of light, far brighter than the ball of plasma. The shockwave peeled the vast firestorms off of the planet, sending blankets of ionized gas into space. On the other hand, the planet was torn asunder. Vaporized rock and magma was launched into the far reaches of it's sphere of influence, as the crust was practically torn apart, rendering itself first steam and then magma, vast gouts of material launching into orbit as the final after-effects of the explosions made themselves clear: A vast crater, comparable in size to Earth's moon, had been gouged into the wasteland world. Magma and molten metal spewed from it, and even being remotely in low orbit of the planet would show that radiation levels were far too high for even machinery to operate, and the temperatures were severe enough to make lead run like water as firestorms, freed from the blinding embrace of the planet-wide plasma ball, rampaged across the scoured surface. In essence, the world was made even more hellish than it already was.

A few minutes later, a familiar vessel appeared. Seventy kilometers long, forty wide, and twenty tall, it resembled less of a spaceship and more of a mountain range, torn out of the earth and turned into a fortress among the stars. The ISO fleet would receive a hail.

ARKEYANAN|WARMIND-VIII|OL' RELIABLE
"Well, I can't say this is an expected surprise, but I can't say it's entirely unwelcome either. May I know the name of the Arsonist that beat us to the punch?"

[American Pere Housh]

32 million kilometers from Ark Royal

6 Infinity Class SuperCarriers, each 70 kilometers in length and brimming with anti ship and anti fighter weapons, along with 40 Marathon Class Cruisers, 40 Mandalore Class Cruisers, and 75 Jones Class Destroyers jump out of Slipstream Space 32 million Km or 16 million miles from the unknown fleet of ships.

Admiral Isadora Xander, who is currently standing on the bridge of her flagship the RSS Sovereign, stares at the unknown ships with interest. She turns her head to the Captain of the Sovereign Captain Isaac Swan asking him a question, "So Captain, what do you think of those ships out there?"

Isaac answers the Admiral's question immediately, "Well Admiral Xander, those ships are around the size of our carriers but I believe 1st Fleet can take out those ships with well placed hits from our MAC guns which is at full charge and ready to fire on your command. Per orders GTR High Command, we are at Defcon 2 which means fire only if fired upon."

Isadora turns her attention to the Sovereign's Smart A.I Athena, "Athena, open a comms channel to that carrier immediately."

Athena answered immediately, "It will be done at once." After a short pause, Athena speaks again, "Admiral, the comms channel open, you may speak now."

The Admiral speaks in the mic, "This is Admiral Isadora Xander, commander of the 1st Fleet of the Galactic Theocratic Republic Navy. Please respond?"

---

REAL-SPACE - ISO RALLYPOINT 'REDWALL'

---

"Captain, we've got a hail from a... Admiral Isadora Xander. I do not recognize the navy she speaks for."

Great. More to deal with. Bulwark mused to himself- "Multiple sets of orders. Gunnery, get us targetting solutions for our missiles on that. Bring the QAD to full strength, and turn our arrays against them. If they so much as flare a targetting solution, I want you to drop a 1M-GT in the middle of that fleet formation and make it go the way of EG. Now, communications, link me in." There was a pause, before the communications officer flashed him an 'OK' sigh. "I am Bulwark of the United Government Navy. What are you doing in this zone of space, Admiral Isadora?"

Admiral Xander keyed the mic, "Bulwark, our reason for being here is classified information but I can tell you that it has nothing to do with your nation. We are not at war with each but if I see any hostile action towards this fleet, our two nations will be at war. Xander out." She turns to her crew, "Prepare for Slipstream Jump."

[Visoran]

Of course we wouldn't think to send our allies against such a craft without aid. We have sent en route a few hundred Dreadnoughts and millions of Drone Fighters. Surely this will be able to swing the balance of the encounter in your favor.

---

Hub 00

---

Good. The Hivemind shall prepare another round of attacks- And we shall await for your fleets to be supporting them before they are carried out on that cruiser. But another foe holds the attention of the two remaining ships, for a limited time. Oh, and the Hivemind does request more than a few million. We spent 70 million on the last attempt to no effect.

---

Edge of Octavian Space

---

Because only a portion of the craft were sent to attack the obviously quite powerful ships, the losses sustained were not a huge blow to the fighter group. The vessel that had been hit with nanites made astoundingly quick calculations and gathered every bit of data there was to know about the powerful technology striking the craft. After the data was quickly compiled, it was sent back to the Sextans Supercluster so scientists and engineers could replicate and perhaps even improve upon this technology. Meanwhile, to avoid being connected to the Hivemind, the ship auto-initiated self-destruct, which was a contingency built in to avoid any unlikely loss of such a craft to any form of Octavian assimilation, as they were much more primitive than the Visoran and on somewhat equal ground with Mercatusian advancements, and such secretive technology could not be permitted to fall into the hands of the Imperium. The ship simply deconstructed itself at the molecular level, including the pilot, thereby denying the Visoran their assimilation. The rest of the Intangible-Class craft retreated from the immediate area, opening wormholes with no calculated location in real space. Instead, to avoid detection or have any vessels follow them, they were suspended in the higher dimensional plane that was hyperspace, outside the bounds of any universe or realm. After this, a realspace destination was calculated to a hidden and classified research station situated smack dab in the middle of what humans called "Bootes Void".

Research and Development Installation, Bootes Void

The experimental craft, now uncloaked and jumping in to dock, numbered 2,574 upon return. Data concerning the radically advanced nanotechnology witnessed by the fighter craft was already being processed and used to improve current nanite technology. The fighters would be undergoing an overhaul to install particle-neutral engines alongside the current warp sublight engines to avoid detection by sufficiently advanced civilizations, and tests would be administered to the various specimens of hundreds of species aboard the station with the radically advanced and new nanotech being quickly developed.

The Hivemind, if it could laugh, would have laughed at the attempt to hide themselves from the PDVA sensors- The fighters being picked up again the second they dropped back into real-space, and the 'Bootes Void' instantly becoming a priority target, as the two remaining ships simply moved. Appearing in the system, all guns firing as the carrier's strike-craft swarmed again. The station instantly being targetted by the battle-barge, as a huge swarm of nanites raced across the gap, picking up fighters in it's wake and trying to repeat the assimilation. Of course, doing it far faster now that the Hivemind knew the truth, subverting all the systems before the pilots or even the strike-craft themselves could re-act, even as the swarm slammed into the research station, tearing it's way inside as the swarm quickly began to chew through it. Assimilating information, personnel- And anything else unlucky enough to be caught on the station as the huge numbers of swarming strike-craft outside continued tear through whatever the nanite swarm's didn't pick up.

They hadn't even tried to disguise their signatures as they came back to real-space. How easy. How foolish... This was looking to be a rather easy go for the Hivemind. Maybe something valuable might come out of this, after-all.

[The Rapture Republic]

Locobarrocco Avenue
As Leaky-Eye Luca was busy batrollying an alleyway with a shovel, he staggered back as he caught a glimpse of the massive beam from the distance. A young boy, no older than 12, had just walked out after paying him for a bag of heroin, but he stopped as well to watch the spectacle

"Woah... what the hell?" Luca said, stunned by the event as he saw Victor nearby, shuffling back quickly to hide from the man, hoping he didn't see.

As the beam dissipated, Reaper would be found looking down at the child with the bag of heroin, and before a reaction from the child could be made. Reaper would have sweeped the bag from his hands, and torched it. Reaper grabbed the kid’s arm, and injected him with the rumored wonder drug. “Who was the parasite that sold you the drug? Selling to the youth is forbidden in the Syndicate, anyone that is caught selling to children is to be punished. As we prefer selling to those who have truly suffered in life, and not when they are still innocent and young such as you, kid. Do snitch out the competition.” Reaper demanded, his aura erupted making everyone within his field feel like they are being crushed by ten thousand Gs. “Well? Speak.” Reaper said, his eyes turning a solid gold, and glowing as indication his patience was running thin as he gradually moved his hand towards the child.

[The-International Space Organization]

ARKEYANAN|WARMIND-VIII|OL' RELIABLE
"Well, I can't say this is an expected surprise, but I can't say it's entirely unwelcome either. May I know the name of the Arsonist that beat us to the punch?"

---

OCTAVIAN SYSTEM - OUTSIDE THE ORBIT OF CICHI 68HW - COMMAND DECK BRAVO

---

Grayson smirked, as the transmission was relayed to the a secondary command center, perched in an observation deck at the front of the ship. Overlooking the burning, and now fractured, planet below... And the very familiar shape of a ship-class that had recently been added to the growing 'friendly' roster. "Communications, patch me a response."

"Aye aye, sir." There was a pause. "It's been done, captain."

Grayson paused, waiting a moment for the static to be filtered out. "That would be Captain Grayson, commanding the strike-group 'Mossflower', as apart of operation 'Long-Patrol'. I assume our respective nations are for a very similar reason, over-all?"

---

Admiral Xander keyed the mic, "Bulwark, our reason for being here is classified information but I can tell you that it has nothing to do with your nation. We are not at war with each but if I see any hostile action towards this fleet, our two nations will be at war. Xander out." She turns to her crew, "Prepare for Slipstream Jump."

---

REAL-SPACE - ISO RALLYPOINT 'REDWALL'

---

"Much the same to you, Admiral Xander. Fair hunting." He cut the communications line at this point, and turned to the bridge. "Helm, take us to rally-point Salamandstorm. Inform the ISO of the change of plans, and get us moving. Arrays, track that fleet. If they're Octavian allied, we need to know."

"Aye aye, captain." The bridge responded with, as it leapt into life. The Cruiser rapidly vanishing without a trace to sensors- No flare of warp energy to indicate it left, nor a sign to indicate it had activated some kind of cloak, the Planet class simply vanishing in that instant...

---

DEEP-SPACE COMMUNICATIONS PROBE

---

The probe blinked as it continued on it's track, on a mid-level between the Octavian Galaxy and the observation stations the LA had setup. It wasn't a big thing by any measure- Just big enough to mount a R-G transmitter, and house a few dozen QAPAI, orientated around codebreaking, and infiltration. It had a very simple purpose, all things considered- Preloaded with exactly one message, and one code-word on when it was to be deployed. And thus, the probe sat, waiting. Twirling above the galaxy, as the QAPAI inside it continued the subtle infiltration of Octavian lines of communication- Preparing to blast this message everywhere they feasibly could...

[Il Passione]

Locobarrocco Avenue
As Leaky-Eye Luca was busy batrollying an alleyway with a shovel, he staggered back as he caught a glimpse of the massive beam from the distance. A young boy, no older than 12, had just walked out after paying him for a bag of heroin, but he stopped as well to watch the spectacle

"Woah... what the hell?" Luca said, stunned by the event as he saw Victor nearby, shuffling back quickly to hide from the man, hoping he didn't see.

As the beam dissipated, Reaper would be found looking down at the child with the bag of heroin, and before a reaction from the child could be made. Reaper would have sweeped the bag from his hands, and torched it. Reaper grabbed the kid’s arm, and injected him with the rumored wonder drug. “Who was the parasite that sold you the drug? Selling to the youth is forbidden in the Syndicate, anyone that is caught selling to children is to be punished. As we prefer selling to those who have truly suffered in life, and not when they are still innocent and young such as you, kid. Do snitch out the competition.” Reaper demanded, his aura erupted making everyone within his field feel like they are being crushed by ten thousand Gs. “Well? Speak.” Reaper said, his eyes turning a solid gold, and glowing as indication his patience was running thin as he gradually moved his hand towards the child.

The boy stood in shock as he looked up to Reaper, before pointing at Leaky-Eye Luca.
"Luca." The boy simply stated, the gangster nearby raising his shovel as he looked in fear. "I truly did suffer, as well. Luca killed my father because my mother had an overwhelming drug debt too. I thought his product could take me away from this cruel world for a while."

"AGH! YOU SNITCHING BASTARD!" Luca yelled, looking up at him and pointing with the shovel. "What the hell are you lookin' at!? Stay the hell away from me!"

[The Rapture Republic]

The boy stood in shock as he looked up to Reaper, before pointing at Leaky-Eye Luca.
"Luca." The boy simply stated, the gangster nearby raising his shovel as he looked in fear. "I truly did suffer, as well. Luca killed my father because my mother had an overwhelming drug debt too. I thought his product could take me away from this cruel world for a while."

"AGH! YOU SNITCHING BASTARD!" Luca yelled, looking up at him and pointing with the shovel. "What the hell are you lookin' at!? Stay the hell away from me!"

Reaper dropped his intimidating aura, and pulled his hand back, and pulled something out of his coat pocket. It was watch, and would be holographic display of a country called Rapture, and button beneath the name, teleport. “Your childhood was ruined by that animal. Take this watch, and press the highlighted button. You shall go to a place, where you can be safe and find a better place, you will meet some associates of mine there, tell them. Reaper sent you, and they shall take good care of you. Your life shall no longer be tormented by this demon that for whatever reason hasn’t been slayed. Go!” Reaper said, forcing the boy to hold the press the button, where the child would just vanish. As Reaper directed his focus at Luca. “Do calm yourself, parasite. This is just business, and there is nothin wrong with snitchin. Especially when it comes to keep you from tainting the innocent and bringing them into our world. That is unacceptable, and I’m afraid, you are going to have to pay the price.” Reaper said with contempt in his voice, and blinked his eyes once, causing massive concrete walls to shoot up behind Luca, and Reaper, forming a circle, and trapping them both inside. “Any last words?” He stated.

[Il Passione]

The boy stood in shock as he looked up to Reaper, before pointing at Leaky-Eye Luca.
"Luca." The boy simply stated, the gangster nearby raising his shovel as he looked in fear. "I truly did suffer, as well. Luca killed my father because my mother had an overwhelming drug debt too. I thought his product could take me away from this cruel world for a while."

"AGH! YOU SNITCHING BASTARD!" Luca yelled, looking up at him and pointing with the shovel. "What the hell are you lookin' at!? Stay the hell away from me!"

Reaper dropped his intimidating aura, and pulled his hand back, and pulled something out of his coat pocket. It was watch, and would be holographic display of a country called Rapture, and button beneath the name, teleport. “Your childhood was ruined by that animal. Take this watch, and press the highlighted button. You shall go to a place, where you can be safe and find a better place, you will meet some associates of mine there, tell them. Reaper sent you, and they shall take good care of you. Your life shall no longer be tormented by this demon that for whatever reason hasn’t been slayed. Go!” Reaper said, forcing the boy to hold the press the button, where the child would just vanish. As Reaper directed his focus at Luca. “Do calm yourself, parasite. This is just business, and there is nothin wrong with snitchin. Especially when it comes to keep you from tainting the innocent and bringing them into our world. That is unacceptable, and I’m afraid, you are going to have to pay the price.” Reaper said with contempt in his voice, and blinked his eyes once, causing massive concrete walls to shoot up behind Luca, and Reaper, forming a circle, and trapping them both inside. “Any last words?” He stated.

"Oh, your poor, naive, edgy little gillman. I know what the fuck you are. I could smell that fuckin' ocean water on your ass from a mile away." Luca said, going into a battle stance with his shovel. "I just wanted t'make a little money on the side. The Boss says we can do whatever we like as long as it's more money in his pockets. That's just how we do shit here; and frankly, he doesn't pay us too well either, so we have to suffice for ourselves at times.

If I don't smash your head in 'til I find your brains all over the fuckin' pavement, then by God, I'm gonna fuckin' go down trying!" Luca screamed, swinging his shovel towards Victor's head. "Or you're the one who's gonna 'DIE, DIE, DIE', Reapy-boy!"

[The Rapture Republic]

Reaper dropped his intimidating aura, and pulled his hand back, and pulled something out of his coat pocket. It was watch, and would be holographic display of a country called Rapture, and button beneath the name, teleport. “Your childhood was ruined by that animal. Take this watch, and press the highlighted button. You shall go to a place, where you can be safe and find a better place, you will meet some associates of mine there, tell them. Reaper sent you, and they shall take good care of you. Your life shall no longer be tormented by this demon that for whatever reason hasn’t been slayed. Go!” Reaper said, forcing the boy to hold the press the button, where the child would just vanish. As Reaper directed his focus at Luca. “Do calm yourself, parasite. This is just business, and there is nothin wrong with snitchin. Especially when it comes to keep you from tainting the innocent and bringing them into our world. That is unacceptable, and I’m afraid, you are going to have to pay the price.” Reaper said with contempt in his voice, and blinked his eyes once, causing massive concrete walls to shoot up behind Luca, and Reaper, forming a circle, and trapping them both inside. “Any last words?” He stated.

"Oh, your poor, naive, edgy little gillman. I know what the fuck you are. I could smell that fuckin' ocean water on your ass from a mile away." Luca said, going into a battle stance with his shovel. "I just wanted t'make a little money on the side. The Boss says we can do whatever we like as long as it's more money in his pockets. That's just how we do shit here; and frankly, he doesn't pay us too well either, so we have to suffice for ourselves at times.

If I don't smash your head in 'til I find your brains all over the fuckin' pavement, then by God, I'm gonna fuckin' go down trying!" Luca screamed, swinging his shovel towards Victor's head. "Or you're the one who's gonna 'DIE, DIE, DIE', Reapy-boy!"

Reaper didn’t bother to block, he allowed the shovel to strike him, but he didn’t move, his stance didn’t change, only his expression, his eyes indicated he found Lucas’s little speech, amusing, and Luca would witness his shovel succumbing to decay, breaking as it struck Reaper, becoming a cloud of dust and debris as it directly hit him. “Good swing.” Reaper complimented, as he made his turn by swinging a punch at Luca’s head, and then followed next with jump, and roundhouse kick at his legs, and unfortunately for Luca’s last moments. Reaper’s hand wouldn’t cause his face to breakdown like his shovel, which would be a quick and painless death, but instead that would be his legs, as Reaper sought to cripple him.

[Danceria]

Yvonnadiel

The planet was ripe for conquest. On the edge of one of the un-harassed fleets, sensors picked up odd energy readings from the surface and atmosphere, but most AI dismissed them as a local anomaly. Any civillains watching the skys would see massive dropships descending from the sky dropping hundreds upon hundreds of drones across their countryside truly inspiring fear in the people of the primitive planet. However on the inside of the dropships some problems would be appearing. As the dropships came into atmosphere every MK2 drone inside would find themselves disconnected from the Tactical Codex even with it's increased strength. The few drones that were able to experience some free thought found this weird, but mantained formation and stepped out onto the grounds of this new and strange planet...

Formation was broken very quickly-depending upon the location of the fleet. Some were buffeted by winds, ice, and thunder of unexpected storms or adjacent storms that were several kilometers away from their entry point. The designated AI scrambled to make sense of the anomalies witnessed by the entry squadrons, and the most concise answer would be that there was a spontaneous but effective defense, with forces attempting to push the most dangerous of landing craft away from densely populated areas to wildernesses or into the oceans. However, when the "defense system" consisted of either concurrent storms lobbing lightning and ice at you, or buffeting you with turbulence, or the more prevalent flying megafauna slamming into gunships, it was a little bit bullshit.

In realms designated "Yvon-Alpha through Gamma, the stiffest resistance was felt. A large central storm arced lightning and ice, while slamming Space-to-Surface craft into the oceans or in untamed wilds. What constituted as local cities and nation-states realized several dangerous megafauna rising up and flinging themselves at the newfound enemy. Dispatched from these cities were plucky elite fighters, wielding elemental powers and unnatural strength. The former guilds assembled to hunt down Megafauna such as this now fought tooth and nail against the foes.

Across six continents and vast oceans the Octavians were met in battle, but Drop-Squadron Theta had the most success, perhaps slipping just outside of the "defensive network". Well "success" being defined as a dogfight between dragons and oceanic megafauna within a thundering and blizzarding hurricane, but the unit designated for the subsuming of the local populace into the Empire would be plucked by one dragon, and gradually disarmed or bludgeoned into submission. There, the unit would be brought to a city as a dog would bring an interesting stick to its master. The unit and it's contents can only hope that the leader of this primitive polity would be willing to negotiate...

[Il Passione]

"Oh, your poor, naive, edgy little gillman. I know what the fuck you are. I could smell that fuckin' ocean water on your ass from a mile away." Luca said, going into a battle stance with his shovel. "I just wanted t'make a little money on the side. The Boss says we can do whatever we like as long as it's more money in his pockets. That's just how we do shit here; and frankly, he doesn't pay us too well either, so we have to suffice for ourselves at times.

If I don't smash your head in 'til I find your brains all over the fuckin' pavement, then by God, I'm gonna fuckin' go down trying!" Luca screamed, swinging his shovel towards Victor's head. "Or you're the one who's gonna 'DIE, DIE, DIE', Reapy-boy!"

Reaper didn’t bother to block, he allowed the shovel to strike him, but he didn’t move, his stance didn’t change, only his expression, his eyes indicated he found Lucas’s little speech, amusing, and Luca would witness his shovel succumbing to decay, breaking as it struck Reaper, becoming a cloud of dust and debris as it directly hit him. “Good swing.” Reaper complimented, as he made his turn by swinging a punch at Luca’s head, and then followed next with jump, and roundhouse kick at his legs, and unfortunately for Luca’s last moments. Reaper’s hand wouldn’t cause his face to breakdown like his shovel, which would be a quick and painless death, but instead that would be his legs, as Reaper sought to cripple him.

Luca made an attempt to fight back, but due to his street-fighting slackness, he barely tanked the blows as his own fists were pushed into his face, as Luca was then swept and crippled. He was in shock as the versatility of this entity's power... could he have been another stand user?

No. That was impossible... Nonetheless, that wasn't the priority. His legs had been decaying, rendering him crippled and in absolute agony, a tear leaking from his eye which, this time,wasn't the result of his wound.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT FROM ME,YOU DEMON!?" Luca cried out.