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

[Gladian Imperium]

Former Target III, LA Rally Point
A massive wormhole formed in the outer reaches of the system, as the entirety of the 800th Armada transited through it. Hundreds of various ships, ranging from minuscule, strike craft-sized drones to the massive hulls of ancient dreadnoughts, made their way through the Egress in short order, with discipline one would see at a military parade. Soon after, a large shuttle would be detected leaving the vicinity of one of the super-capitals located towards the central area of the fleet and making its way towards the Ark Royal, even as the remaining five Warminds entered the system, their IFF Signals matching the esoteric naming styles of Arkeyanan warships.

GLADIAN|SHUTTLE|STEEL COFFIN
"This is Gladian Shuttle "Steel Coffin", requesting permission to board ICN "Ark Royal" for discussion of strategy."

Aboard the shuttle, Warmaster Lutherus sat across from Trez'nav, the holographic AI "organizing" files into a briefcase, silently humming some song from an obscure corner of the Federation. The two guards he elected to be sent with him, Krassus and V'tan, Stood silently at the far end of the shuttle's passenger compartment, donning Centurions while chainguns were held in a relaxed position, hardpoints barren of anything worthwhile. Lutherus himself was wearing diplomatic garb-an imposing, regal outfit accented by an armored chest plate and gauntlets. A ceremonial Talyk-Varka, a massive sword, was sheathed across his back, only adding to his intimidating aura. Feeling the subtle vibrations of the Steel Coffin's Gravitic Drive below him, the Warmaster mentally prepared himself for the coming meeting.

[The-International Space Organization]

GLADIAN|SHUTTLE|STEEL COFFIN
"This is Gladian Shuttle "Steel Coffin", requesting permission to board ICN "Ark Royal" for discussion of strategy."

---

OCTAVIAN SYSTEM - IN THE ORBIT OF WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS A COLONIZED WORLD - COMMAND DECK BRAVO

---

Grayson smirked to himself, as he grabbed his cap off the console he had laid it to rest on. The golden two-headed and four winged eagle of the Intercluster Navy gleaming in the industrial light. He took a moment to straighten his naval blue trench-coat, taking a moment to fit two decorations to it. One a ICN certification of valor, a silver heart-shaped medal with a glistening saphire in the middle, and the other a United Government 'Bronze Eagle'- It's name an apt description of what it was... Soon finishing as he turned to the communications officer. "Welcome them aboard in the primary hangars. I'll be awaiting with a gaurd."

"Aye aye, captain!" The communications officer said, quickly turning- Sending a response, as Grayson walked out. Opening his 'watch', the holographic screen flaring as he sent out a request for a ceremonial gaurd to join up with him, as he walked for the main hangar...

---

Ark Royal, hailing Gladian Shuttle 'Steel Coffin';
You have been cleared to land in the main hangar. Captain Grayson will meet you there. Follow the guide lights in.

---

... Grayson awaited, idly, in a heavy blastdoor near to the main hangar. Two ceremonial gaurds waiting, older style Fleet Marine EAS armor, polished to shine in naval blue. Old, but still useful, M-98 bullpup 12.7 combat rifles at the ready, as Grayson nodded to the two.

It was time to recieve their guests, as the forward hangar doors began to slide open, to allow the Gladian shuttle entry...

[The Zravvisk]

Outside Imperium space
The Solemn Dagger rested in the middle of an asteroid thicket. Repairs were going on in the interior while the armor was slowly rematerialized. Rematerializing all the armor they dropped during the battle took a lot of energy and the reactor was working at full capacity to try and reach it. Still someone always kept an eye on the sensors. With that high energy ftl jump they had put a lot of distance in between them and the enemy fleet, but they had also left a trail. The enemy could jump out of ftl at any second and the stealth shield had to be ready to be immediately raised.

With incoming ftl signatures, the stealth shield was activated. A large fleet of Imperial vessels had entered the system. Battlecruisers, cruisers, fighters, and according to the sensor interference, an EW ship, an impressive force. The fleet spread out to begin their search, but not so spread out that they couldn’t support each other. Estimates showed that their current search pattern was likely to find the Dagger before the ftl drive could jump again.

With all the armor the cruiser had shed, it was an oversized and over gunned destroyer, not fit to take them in a straight fight. It couldn’t pick them off with stealth due to their mutual support and the EW’s interference. If they tried harassing the fleet in the field until they could make an untraceable low power jump, they ran the risk of being detected while making the jump. Then the fleet could use the Dagger’s vector and the short range of the jump to find them again. They needed a distraction.

Luckily, the ancestors had provided them with an opportunity. They had found an abandoned mining ship in the asteroid field and it seemed to be in relatively good condition. Well good condition besides the large hole in the side from a large asteroid hitting it while a crew mutiny happened. But no zravvisk had ever complained about minor inconveniences like working in vacuum. The Dagger had originally planed on earmarking it to be added to the Armada when they returned, but now it could be their distraction.

The Dagger had its comms shut off as they moved to the mining ship. No need to have a way for a stay communication reveal them to the EW ship or be open to hacking. The crew relied on their own short ranged communicators as they flew out and began to work on the ship.

Immediately some of the crew flew to the bow of the ship to begin painting a rough sketch of the zravvisk dragon. Having similar emblems could convince the enemy that it was part of the same fleet and could not be ignored. The rest of the crew headed inside to work some zravvisk engineering magic. Spare anti-ship missiles were bolted on while others worked on the many mining lasers to turn them into deadly weapons by removing safeties and making adjustments to power. Others worked on the laser cannons and shield generators trying to make the civilian equipment somewhat military grade. The main communication dishes were found and had their wires ripped out. Finally, they had found the computer core and began uploading a basic military AI.

It could now fight on its own, not nearly as good as a crewed ship, but it could fight. Besides, it didn’t need to be perfect, just good enough to cause some chaos. It was ordered to stay in place running on auxiliary power, pretending to be a ship hiding in low power mode. Then when any ship got close enough it would go to full power mode and begin engaging targets, not unlike a ship that was discovered. It would also be programmed to try and ram the nearest large ship, as a mining ship with good armor and point defense, it was considered to have a decent chance survive that long. Its final programmed order was to overload the reactor and self-destruct with the help of the armed explosives on board if it got close enough to a large ship or got boarded.

With their work done, the crew reboarded the Solemn Dagger and hid further in the asteroid field. The enemy would find the mining ship first and as they engaged it, it would create openings in their search net. They could then slip by and hide in an area the fleet had already searched until they were ready to jump unnoticed out of the system.

[Khorzromoth]

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.

---

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

---

The space between the Octavian flotilla and the encroaching vessel was set ablaze as the Imperial warships discharged their weapons onto the strange orb. Massive slugs hurtled through the void from the destroyers' spinal cannons, accompanied by searing ionised rays from the cruisers, while corvettes swiftly zeroed in to pelt it with ordnance from up close. Yet the vessel was wholly untouched. Artillery shells simply vanished before they could make an impact, while particle beams stopped short of meeting their mark - all melting into an unseen barrier. And then the craft fired back.

Small spots of distorted space flew outwards from the barrier, each one centred around a spherical nucleus of swirling black and red. Darting towards the Octavian ships at near-lightspeed, they shrugged off all incoming point-defence fire, absorbing it with their barriers in a manner identical to the main craft's shielding. And as they neared their destinations, said barriers collapsed.

As the Abyssal matter contained within the nuclei spilt outward, the Octavian ships found themselves repositioned as the space formerly surrounding the barriers was abruptly contracted. The Abyss then began to encapsulate them, weaving its way through every opening, every passageway... every particle. And in an interval of time best measured in attoseconds after the barriers' collapse, the Abyss consumed the particles it had enveloped - and erupted in a violent flash. For a moment, the area was awash with blinding light, then everything was tranquil. The harassing corvettes, the cruisers and destroyers firing in the distance, the fragmented remains of KV87-c and its moons - all gone. Disintegrated, vapourised - or better yet, annihilated. Only the orb remained. Soon, it too would disappear from the system. Splitting apart into three smaller orbs, each one opening a Rift and shifting back out of Surface-space, the otherworldly interlopers would soon reemerge at locations unknown - and enact retribution upon those who dared slight the Abyss.

[Visoran]

Hub 00

---

The Hivemind had been busy. Taking information taken from the previous encounter with the cruiser to build a profile of it's abilities- Mobile. Cruising speeds of about .99C, if the over-all scans were to be believed. A heavy armor mixture like few others the Hivemind had encountered. Heavy reality manipulation technology with the ability to counter PDVA technology. And that was just the tip of what the Hivemind believed this monstrous cruiser to be capable of, which would require an equal or greater amount of firepower to match. A ton for ton rating would just end in disaster, and as such...

The Hivemind had decided on it's heavy escalation. A single World classification ship- A 100 Kilometer radius planetoid, now being moved out of moth-ball at some nearly abandoned corner of the Hivemind's vast empire. Preparations would have to be made, for such a ship to be put back into motion. Such an imprecise era of warfare had long since passed, but it might be needed in this scenario. 001 noted this movement, and took a moment to ping the processing thread it had stuck on managing the contact with the Paramount-

"The Hivemind has mobilized a heavy unit in order to deal with this cruiser. Coordination shall be needed for a successful combat operation."

[The Auraverse]

|⬡|MAGNUS Computing Grid, Deep Foldspace|⬡|
|⚠|ERROR: SUB-POINTER INOPERABLE|⚠|
|Incalculable depths|

---

The Director tilted his head nigh-imperceptibly. To describe his surroundings at the present time would be infeasible within any language structure construed by modosophont minds - suffice to say it looked uncomfortably similar to the way iron tasted. He put down the twisted, shapeless thing he had been toying with - where exactly "down" was is perhaps a question best left unanswered. His eyes narrowed by just a fraction - not that he was actually using them here. There'd be very little point. And sight was oh so limiting in a place where the very concept of cohesive radiation was uncertain.

There were very few people who knew Hatlen closely enough to discern the meaning of these subtle expressions, these micromovements he had allowed to be cultivated primarily out of a disregard for the smaller-scale control inefficiencies inherent to his realspace body-plan. But if one of those people were to stand here before him, in a set of environmental conditions where the very act of comprehending where and how to stand required a brain that operated in the yottaflops, they would pin his body language on a rather singular emtion.

Curiosity.

Most of these selfsame people would then get rather concerned, because one of the first things impressed upon more or less anyone interacting with Hatlen on a regular basis is that his curiosity could lead him and whatever observable universe-space he was occupying at the moment into some very interesting places - not all of them very friendly to continued sophont survival or the viability of commonly-understood physics.

It was not the great happening he had anticipated. Not yet, anyway. But there were... echoes. Of varying intensities, and of varying meaning - to begin with, the engagement he'd already made measures to observe had borne somewhat unexpected fruit. And elsewhere, there had been ripples. Someone was toying with power that did not belong in this locale, that had not been concretely accounted for. And wild cards could be oh so very irritating.

The Director righted his head once more. Moves had been made, orders given. Actually not orders, per se - one could hardly command oneself. But on that note, there would be an opportunity for more conventional directives, and perhaps for the employment of agents outside the confines of MAGNUS itself. Brushing a nonexistent speck of lint off the hem of his coat, Hatlen stepped forwards. Again, best not to look too deeply into what "forwards" actually entailed. And then he found himself elswhere.

|⬢|ISV Caeruleum|⬢|
|Security Deck, Cabins|

---

Overseer Tesheva, head of SynSec, stepped out of her shower cubicle. The soft white glow of the lamps glinted off the polished metal plate adorning the small of her back. She tapped a panel on the wall - with a subtle wavering of the air, a rather simple set of clothes was made manifest about her person. Form-fitting pants and a faux-leather jacket over a dull orange tank top - all nigh-featureless, save the subtle geometric designs woven into the faded nanocloth, and the small silver badge on her lapel. Making her way out through the bedroom and into the hallway outside, she showed no reaction to the Director's entry - merely nodding to him as he stepped out of a solid wall, and continuing on her way as he fell into step behind her. A translucent datapad winked into existence in her hands as she entered the dining area, and seated herself at the table. Hatlen took the seat opposite, steepling his fingers.

"Good morning."

"Likewise."

Both of them knew that "morning" here meant more or less whatever time they wanted it to - to confine the cycle of proceedings to day and night in a place with neither would be pointlessly restrictive.

"I have a proposition for you. More of a task, actually."

"I'm all ears."

"A war is coming. Or has come, depending on your outlook and precise spatial location."

At this, she frowned.

"One involving us?"

"Not yet. And certainly not directly."

"And I've not been informed, because..?"

"Well you see, I am informing you. And it wasn't really anything worthy of your concern - as mentioned, I aim to limit our direct involvement in something so petty."

"Then what exactly do you need from me?"

"To put it simply, I may need you to fight."

"Personally?"

"Preferably."

She nodded. She'd expected nothing less.

"I've no qualms with it. What is it that I'll be fighting?"

"I'm actually not sure yet. Terribly loath to admit it, but there it is."

"That's... unlike you."

"Oh, I know. Rest assured that you'll be informed in due time, and will have all the support necessary to carry out this engagement within acceptable metrics."

"One more question, then. Why? Is this all part of some grand scheme? Actually strike that last bit. Kind of self-evident."

"Quite so. And I will tell you this - the ultimate goal is tied intimately to the Work."

She nodded once more. It was enough.

"Is that all, then?"

"Business-wise, yes. I believe we've concluded."

"Anything interesting you've been up to lately?"

"Oh, you know. Poking about. Going on walks."

"Considering what happened the last time you went on a walk, I'm beginning to grow concerned."

"Oh, don't be alarmed. Everything's going swimmingly."

"You've certainly been poking about in that galactic backwater a fair bit. Found something of interest?"

"You could say that."

He smiled. There was static between his teeth.

|✧|Outskirts of Octavian Space|✧|
|Conceptual vicinity of the 'Starfury'|

---

The Eidolon had grown busy. Though its physical form appeared motionless, there was a great deal of movement going on within other metrics. Fire had been exchanged. Vessels had shifted, bounced back and forth, weathered munitions and returned them. And now some of these vessels were no more, and another had fled. The cruiser's response had been of particular interest - while the Visoran vessels' methods of propulsion and attack were certainly peculiar to the layman, there came a certain point past which everything of that ilk could be chalked up to "reality warping." It was still logged, of course. Sent back to the Corde for processing - data remained data. And data was always of value.

But then, there had been two happenings of somewhat greater interest. The cruiser's response, and its foiling of what had at first glance appeared to be a technologically-superior enemy force. And the third fleet, which had jumped in and out with such a dearth of care, and yet no actual response from either in-combat party. Technically nonexistent mechanisms working at full tilt, the Eidolon worked to catalogue and forward all this - certainly, the higher circles of the system it served would derive something from it.

|✧|Outskirts of Octavian Space|✧|
|KV87 System | Vicinity of KV87-c|

---

With a silent eruption of azure-blue space, another Eidolon popped into being. Whether it had been purpose-assembled here, or had simply made its way up from the near-surface portions of whatever foldspace cranny it had been idling in was impossible to tell - its nigh-featureless white exterior betrayed nothing. There were threads here. Remnants of an occurrence. Traces had been left - the orb had hardly bothered to cover up its actions. And the Eidolon certainly knew how to pick up on wayward threads. Its realspace bulk shifting by milimeter increments, the towering thing set to work - certainly, there was something waiting to be pieced together. And perhaps, a place quite unlike this one to pay a visit to.

[Imperial-Octavia]

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."

Italy

J'eil was surprised to learn that everyone else in the room apparently knew what this thing was, "So, this issa stand? H-huh, that's pretty interesting right guys? Ahahahaha..." J'eil's nervous laughter was legitimate unlike the rest of his dialogue. He knew he was meant to find these stands and add them to the Imperium, but to think there was a whole organization full of them and probably more scattered throughout this world. Suddenly a message appeared from high command

Prepare as many stands as you can, Earth's invasion has been slated to a sooner date.

J'eil sighed, the mission had just gotten that much harder...

Earth's solar system

All across the solar system stealth craft would flood the orbits of planets around this Earth. Many organics irritants existed on this planet. Skyhooked, those organics who sent that hilarious message to their liege, and the arch irritant Rapture who had historically annoyed Octavia. Each one of these stealth ships had the solution to these irritants, attack drones, tanks, and Artillery, all waiting for the planetary shield to fall. Until that happened they remained cloaked orbiting nearby planets running diagnostics and calibrating their aim...

Future Imperial Space

The task groups continued scanning the area searching for the attacking ship when suddenly a cruiser detected something in the asteroid belt as it suddenly opened up fire upon the cruiser with anti-ship missiles which were mostly stopped by point defense and the shielding and was subsequently opened fire on with the Uan's torpedoes and particle cannons as the rest of the task force converged upon it. As it began it's final charge, the overwhelming firepower of the task force would destroy the mining ship before it could actually self destruct. From it's scrap the scanners of the force would notice one thing in particular, the Zravvisk dragon. Despite signs of this not being the craft that attacked the fleet, Tal'Talen would be pleased to know where she would be taking her fleet next...

[b]KV87-c

The paltry fleet in KV87-c had been erased and the reinforcements were aware. Though the AI could not feel fear they realized that entering that system would mean their destruction. The few moments of info collected from the short confrontation showed that Octavian weapons were using seemed to be unable to hit the orb, a true conundrum. Until something could be found to counter it, nothing could be done to stop the orbs. For now any planets the orb approached would have their planetary shields turned on while an evacuation would be attempted via the Aether. For now this was the best way to minimize damage from this orb until something was found to fight the thing off.

[b] Yvonnadiel

To many organic generals this would be considered a failure, but to the Octavian AI it was opportunity. Surely a civilization with the power to weaponize their planet, organic or not, would be a valuable asset to Imperial operations. The unit's Commader Drone came to this convulsion rather quickly and would order operations as such. Upon meeting the primitive warlord the Commander Drone would open with this: "Hello. We can give you gold if you aid our empire with your planet weaponization technology."

The Paramount's Palace

Two messages from the Visoran had arrived and though the first one had required The Paramount take a pleasure insert or two (70 million fighters was a surprisingly high number to just be shrugged off), by the occurance of the second one he had recovered. This cruiser was proving to be a great disruption, seemingly for no reason. The Paramount saw no other choice than to throw his ships in with the Visoran despite his doubts in their effectiveness.

Of course. Any assets you require will be provided from the Imperium and her allies.

After sending that The Paramount had to wonder. Why? Why was this period of expansion so vehemently opposed? Was there something about this that required this level of force and co-ordination? Seeing that not only this cruiser attacked, but also the Zravvisk pirates and the mysterious orb which ate a small expansion force it was all very...suspect. Though he knew not to make conspiracy theories especially after his time as Ku'shak and his subsequent beheading by his cabinet after he had purged the last 5, but something about this situation rung foul. Regardless, it would seem as if the Imperium would need more resources to deal with it. And the Sildorian Empire presented just the perfect opportunity to attain them.

Infiltrators posing as remnants of the Octavian Oligarchy were sent en route to multiple important planets in the Sildorian Empire offering Intel on Octavian affairs which would be false, of course, but when they used the anti-matter explosives to cripple multiple planets, the Intel would most likely be considered false anyway. A convoy of Infiltrators posing as organic refugees would also be sent to the Ignis States for a later invasion with the same anti-matter bombs. With the power of the module their leaders would be swept away as the rest of the organics would. Despite some slight roadbumps The Paramount was still certain this expansion would go to plan and that the Imperium would expand to a size never before seen.

[The Rapture Republic]

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.

“Nothing, but that’s probably a lie. As you can take this as a sort of punishment for bringing the still innocent into our world.” Reaper replied, snapping his fingers, the walls would fall down, returning the area back to normal. Reaper went on his way as he left Luca to succumb an agonizing death by his legs rotting away and soon the rest of his body. Reaper looked upwards, sensing a disturbance. “Something’s coming. I hope this won’t become a bother.” He stated, thinking out loud.


Somewhere below Rapture

VictorNet sat upon the Machine throne connected to the vast defense network that that dictated the Republican Military that layed inactive for the time being but directives from the Chancellor would be implemented to be prepared for the worst case scenario. Despite the Chancellor wanting to maintain peace with the Octavians, which personally, VictorNet thought to be a ludicrous goal when analyzing from past and heated disagreements between the Paramount and the Chancellor but nonetheless. He understood the Chancellor was overworked and it would be the best, if he could get a moment’s rest. Yet, there was cybernetic gut feeling that the Chancellor’s ideal rest won’t be happening anytime. Otherwise, all systems were operational, and the kinetic shield encircling the Homeworld was at full strength and only growing stronger as he activated seven generators to enhance its durability, in case of an theoretical attack.

[Gladian Imperium]

ICN Ark Royal, Hangar Bay
The Steel Coffin slid into the hangar, moving with the same paradoxical grace seen in similar Grav-Drive vehicles. Setting itself down on large legs, A hatch beneath the cockpit opened, lowering a ramp as first the two Centurions, followed by Lutherus and Trez'nav, disembarked, the Centurions swiftly taking position on both sides of the ramp. Grayson looked up as the shuttle descended, even as a Tomcat was carried overhead by some of the hangars systems, casting a minor shadow on the grouping below. His own two honor gaurd taking up a position next to him as he walked to a mid distance between the hangar door and the lowering shuttle ramp, waiting.

Lutherus and Trez'nav approached Grayson, the former's movements being somewhat ponderous, and the latter walking in a manner that was almost too real for a hologram. As the Warmaster drew closer, engravings could be made out on the chestplate and gauntlets as he saluted the Captain, while the LA had only known the ISO for a small amount of time, it had rapidly analyzed cultural files sent their way, knowing gestures to use in what situations.
"Captain Grayson, it's a relief to know that the Alliance is not alone in this fight." Lutherus said, his voice sounding like the echoes of thunder in a stormy valley.

Grayson returned the salute, before dropping it. Noting the two companions, as he nods. "And it is good to know we have another set of allies besides the United Government." His voice, compared to the rolling thunder of the Warmaster, was refined. The smooth cadence of a business man, with the hints of an accent that spoke of a rather lavish upbringing. "But, as much as I do enjoy the art of carrier warfare, a hangar is not the place for a meeting. If you all would follow me, there has been a room prepared for this meeting."

The two followed him, the Centurions maintaining their vigil at the Shuttle's entrance. Humming, Trez'nav would pull out a manila "file" during the walk, reading through its contents, although anyone looking would only see a mess of fractals and garbled text, with vague images outlining Elephants, Warminds, the Starfury, and various other vessels involved in the conflict. They soon arrived to a forward observation room- A 'glass' floor seeming to seperate them from the void of space, but an adept eye could spot the seams of screens, which showed the burning planet below. A table had been organized for the meeting- Including a chair for the Warmaster, as Grayson took a seat marked with the ICN Eagle. "Please do take a seat. There are some things to talk about- And Bulwark sends his apologies he cannot join in person, but he is currently dealing with another issue, and shall be joining us via hologram in a few minutes."

"That is understandable, Captain. The Sentinel Arrays that observed his ship's skirmish with the unknowns said that it had sustained notable damage to the port hull." Trez'nav said, sitting down at one of the chairs. Lutherus settled on the stool that had apparently been designed for a species of Gladian make. "So, what is the largest elephant in the room right now, asides from this ship?" The Warmaster asked. Grayson laughed, lightly, even as he waved his hand over an interface that popped up. Inputting a few codes, as a holographic image of the galaxy appeared over the table. "Bulwark put together a strategy to deal with the grouped Octavian fleet as a whole- But we're currently trying to settle on a place to truly lay an ambush. We have a few problems, but none of them my four ships could have exploited alone... But now with the extra backing of the Alliance, Bulwark does believe... Ah, here's his alert now." An emitter in the room flicked on, as 'Bulwark' appeared at the table.

"I must apologize for my lateness, but I was dealing with issues... But, as the Good Captain was saying, with the backing of the Alliance, I believe we can lure the Octavian Fleet into a destructive confrontation, and undercut Octavian Expansion where it stands. The current is determining where the strike shall take place." Bulwark's voice was neither the rolling thunder of the Warmaster, nor the refined voice of Grayson, but it was something in between- A seemingly perfect blend of two different worlds...

"Indeed, location is everything. The wrong person in the right place can make all the difference, after all." Trez'nav remarked, pulling a "page" from their file and tossing it into the air, where it morphed from a barely-legible paper into a holographic diagram that split apart into various filters. "This is sensor data from our sensor stations above and below Octavian space. They've yet to notice them, so, for the time being, we'll have a reliable source of intel for quite some time. There's one particular location that is of interest to the LA for the purposes of heavily wounding Octavian morale."
The diagrams merged, beginning to overlap and zoom in before coming to rest at a large ring-shaped structure encircling a star.
"This megastructure seems to have only recently been completed, and the traffic indicates that it is a major civilian icon. Its destruction could severely harm Octavian morale, and also remove a valuable location for industrialization."

"There's a few other smaller targets, as well," Lutherus remarked. "Several minor industrial worlds, trade routes, the like." He continued, as the LA hologram shifted to show several of said worlds and trade routes, numbers below them indicating possible population, production capacity, and damage to the Octavian economy with their destruction. Bulwark and Grayson both took a moment to study the information- Bulwark speaking first, at a nod from Grayson. "I can see viability in both options, and a combination of two strategies I had previously could exploit all of the above. Grayson's fleet was outfitted for raiding, so he could easily pull fleets along by burning a path up and down the Octavian trade-lanes, into a battle at the Ringworld."

"Aye, combining two strategies for the best option of devastation." Grayson agreed- "But would you still be able to pull off Chariot?"

Bulwark nodded."Easily. But, overall, I believe the viable option is to focus our combined fleets into a massed ambush of Octavian, and allied, forces that will be pulled towards the ring. Morale is a factor here, and such a devastating blow against such an icon could easily do harm to it- Alongside the devastation, the Good Captain could cause along the industrial worlds."

"If you don't mind me asking, what is Chariot?" Trez'nav inquired, pulling a pen from nowhere and turning to a new page in the file.
"So we lure them to the Ringworld. How exactly will we manage to pull that off, is another beast to tame." The Warmaster said, adjusting his position slightly.

Bulwark paused, "Ah, sorry. I have grown used to operating with the MSGA Combined Military. 'Chariot' is a catch-all term for hit and run operations undertaken by a joint task-force. In this case, it is the action of our fleets drawing the Octavian and allied fleets into a prolonged, running, confrontation, and dragging them to a preset ambush point. Or creating a scene so large that Octavia has to scramble a large fleet to respond to it." The holograph of Bulwark than turned to the Warmaster. "The battle at the ringworld itself should be fairly easy. My array operators recently completed a re-certification in shell manipulation. They can easily drop a multi-gigaton shell in the middle of a ship's engine bay. I also do agree luring them will be an issue, but my Cruiser has already proven to be of a certain degree of caution. If my cruiser were to take 'damage' and then 'retreat'... We could lure them into a confrontation, as they tried to pursue it to 'finish' off my cruiser."

The Warmaster rested his head on an armored arm for a second, processing Bulwark's words. The kind of feats the United Government could pull off were vaguely known, and well beyond Gladian technological capacity. However, a "grin", if you could call it that, began to show on his face. "I believe I understand what you're suggesting. It sounds daring, and if it fails we won't have another shot at it, but should it succeed, we'll be able to lure them right into the equivalent of a Gravlev derailment. What can the 800th Armada do to aid in this tactic?" He inquired, eyeing the two commanders as Trez'nav quickly jotted down the notes regarding Chariot. Bulwarked smirked. "We have the hammer, but we need the anvil. We have the ship, but we need the anchor. The five ships with I had planned for this operation would, originally, been enough to ensure a majority of the fleet that engaged was destroyed. Now I believe it can be entirely destroyed. Anything you can contribute will be appreciated. My cruiser can hold them in the system. It will be up to the combined mights of our fleets to ensure they are destroyed."

"Hmmm, well, I know a few ships in the fleet who would be willing to aid in raids with the Elephants, and the 89th and 700th Support Fleets have full reserves ready for logistical support." The Warmaster said before Trez'nav jumped in. "And the Warminds can assist your vessel in luring them to the Ringworld. They are, after all, the exact same ship, have one jump in, get in a scrap, and jump out, have another one jump in, continue the cycle until we lure them to the target system."

"Good." Bulwark said, as he gestured to Grayson.

"Ah, right." He turned, as the holograph on the table updated to include the information from the LA dossier. "I plan to go full Lancaster on the Octavian Industrial Basis. I will pick a trade-lane, and run down it burning every world that stands between here and the end of it. From there, my plan is to repeat it. Again and again. Until the Octavians send a fleet to meet me in battle- Then I shall engage that fleet, and draw them back to the ringworld. If you can spare ships, Warmaster, they would be greatly appreciated. As confident as I am in four Elephants, some backing firepower would be very nice." Grayson finished- A brutal smirk now spread across his face, almost entirely unfitting of his 'upper-class' demeanor...

"I happen to have just the ships for the job, Captain. While I did say the Warminds could back the cruiser, they'd be doing so one at a time. Their avatars can patch into this very meeting room right now if you'd like to meet them face to face." Trez'nav suggested, a very mild smile beginning to tug at the corners of his mouth. Grayson took a curious demeanor- While Bulwark simply took on a bemused one. "I believe that would be rather useful, to the operation. If you wouldn't mind brining them in, that would be rather helpful."

"Very well, patching them in," Trez'nav said.
In the next instant, a variety of...eccentric beings made themselves known. While they maintained the same looks as their usual avatars, the Warminds had switched to "combat mode", meaning that some changes were made. The Avatars were, in order from most to least noticeable, a cartoonish Jester wielding a scythe, a Knight Templar actively loading a double-barreled shotgun, a bright red lens flare coming from within its helmet, A Gunslinger, loading their revolver while a lit cigar hung in their mouth, a large cloud of some kind of aerosol gas, an alarmingly buff frog, and finally, a hamster that very strongly smelled of elderberries.
"Pardon their...eccentric appearances. Warminds aren't particularly serious with their names and Avatars." Trez'nav said as the Warmaster maintained a neutral expression.

Bulwark easily kept nothing but the faint smirk on his face. Grayson, however, spluttered for a second before composing himself. Taking the second to straighten his cap, and compose his words, before he said something rather rash... "I have been told of that in the past. I did not expect it to be quite so... Literal, with all options considered."

"You better hawp we're eccentric. Ah ken someone wha manifests thair avatar as a grandfather timepiece 'n' speaks in ticks 'n' chimes." The Hamster started squeaking, in a very harsh Scottish accent before being cut off by the Jester, who proceeded to speak in an equally confusing Shakespearean tone. "What mine own colleague intends to sayeth, is 'greetings, we art the warminds assign'd to the 800th armada, at thy s'rvice.
Trez'nav seemed unfazed by the unusual dialects. "Apologies, Captain. I should've warned you before I patched them in." Grayson simply smirked, leaning back in his chair as he recovers from the shock. "Ah, no worries. It is very entertaining to have a break from the usual pomp and ceremony of the Combined Armadas, as ironic as that might sound coming from someone of my decorum. There is a reason I enjoy working with the United Government, after-all." He simply said, nodding to Bulwark as he said that, who simply smirks in agreement.

"Very well, the relevant information regarding our tactics has been forwarded to the Warminds, and-" Trez'nav was cut off by a gesture from Lutherus. "My apologies, Apparently there's some captains that need to speak to me." He said, putting a hand to the side of his head, causing a geodesic, holographic "mask" to form across his face. After a few wordless minutes, the mask dissipated, and the Gladian's hand returned to his side. "I've just received word that your ships will have some assisted firepower, Captain." He said, "The Arsenal Barges Blazing Heavens and Steel Vengeance have both volunteered to accompany your vessels on fire support, and another one, Blind Prophet has volunteered to accompany the Starfury."

Grayson smiled, again. "Oh, I always did love a fireworks show, and this promises to be one of the biggest since the Trafaxxian Scuffle!" He claps his hands once in delight, before re-composing himself with a cough. "Ahem, sorry... I tend to get carried away at times. But, I do believe, unless any of you have something to add, that this is everything?" Yes, this does conclude our meeting, I believe. Good hunting, Captain." Trez'nav said, standing up and putting the Folder away. A small file would be transmitted to Ark Royal, showing the rotation of Warminds that'd support Mossflower in the raidings, as well as the loadouts of the three Arsenal Barges that would be accompanying them and the Starfury. Lutherus stood up as well, taking a brief moment to straighten the folds on his kilt, before saluting. "Farewell, Captain Grayson. Enjoy your Arson spree."

Grayson stood to salute as well, as his crew handles the download and transfer of the file. "I shall, War-master. Fair hunting, and may we all return alive."

Mossflower Task-Force, former Target III
Soon after the Warmaster and Trez'nav's departure, two vessels departed from the Gladian Fleet and began moving into formation with the ICN vessels. Both were around the same size as a Super-Rhino, if not somewhat stockier. Their IFF signals would read as Arsenal Barge, Steel Vengeance and Arsenal Barge, Blazing Heavens. Both ships sent their greetings to the Ark Royal as the five Warminds also moved into position, taking up a position near the rear of the fleet as they reported their drives were primed for the first jump. Another Arsenal Barge, Blind Prophetand the sixth Warmind, T'Was But A Jest moved away from the formation as well, preparing to rendezvous with the Starfury when it showed up. It didn't take long for orders to be transmitted along the ling of the ICN fleet- And up to the two arsenal barges, as FTL coordinates were synced across the entire fleet.

It was time to prepare for the raid down Jugular 1- Something which Grayson was now rather enthusiastic for, with the backing of the Warminds and dual arsenal barges. This campaign was shaping up to be far more fun than he'd ever thought it would end up being.

[Synne Industries]

---

R.S.S. Fabel⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Octavian Space, Incorporeal Extraspace

[⭍ ] [✉] [ 1 ]
| Bel Class VCBM guidance ship | Scouting Division One |

---

The storm was over. Brief, but more than enough for the crew of the guidance ship. Fighter attacks followed in the passing minutes but all of it would be like the after-credits scene of it all, fun, but unable to match the sheer excitement brought upon by the cruiser's brute force rampage and innovative tactics. Now, all that was left was some casual chatter between officers as the Fabel slowly drifted through Extraspace. Munoz kicked a physically unspecified appendage onto his work station table, facing a crewman. "Oi, you. Get Maldonado on comms, I wanna see what he and his lurkin' bunch thought of all a' this."

⠀

A something thousand lightyears away, hidden within the depths of the Extraspatial abyss.

⠀

---

R.S.S. Mann⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Intergalactic Space, Incorporeal Extraspace

[Ħ] [⎈] [ 1 ]
| Hermes Class Destroyer | Scouting Division One |

---

---

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

---

The space between the Octavian flotilla and the encroaching vessel was set ablaze as the Imperial warships discharged their weapons onto the strange orb. Massive slugs hurtled through the void from the destroyers' spinal cannons, accompanied by searing ionised rays from the cruisers, while corvettes swiftly zeroed in to pelt it with ordnance from up close. Yet the vessel was wholly untouched. Artillery shells simply vanished before they could make an impact, while particle beams stopped short of meeting their mark - all melting into an unseen barrier. And then the craft fired back.

Small spots of distorted space flew outwards from the barrier, each one centred around a spherical nucleus of swirling black and red. Darting towards the Octavian ships at near-lightspeed, they shrugged off all incoming point-defence fire, absorbing it with their barriers in a manner identical to the main craft's shielding. And as they neared their destinations, said barriers collapsed.

As the Abyssal matter contained within the nuclei spilt outward, the Octavian ships found themselves repositioned as the space formerly surrounding the barriers was abruptly contracted. The Abyss then began to encapsulate them, weaving its way through every opening, every passageway... every particle. And in an interval of time best measured in attoseconds after the barriers' collapse, the Abyss consumed the particles it had enveloped - and erupted in a violent flash. For a moment, the area was awash with blinding light, then everything was tranquil. The harassing corvettes, the cruisers and destroyers firing in the distance, the fragmented remains of KV87-c and its moons - all gone. Disintegrated, vapourised - or better yet, annihilated. Only the orb remained. Soon, it too would disappear from the system. Splitting apart into three smaller orbs, each one opening a Rift and shifting back out of Surface-space, the otherworldly interlopers would soon reemerge at locations unknown - and enact retribution upon those who dared slight the Abyss.

In this day and age of multidimensional technology, one would have to be an idiot to not be aware of every little fight, battle, or confrontation within a billion lightyears. Though most of these would become clutter not worthy of a crew's attention, what had just popped up on the LB systems of one particular Initiative destroyer and its single remaining escort was a bit more special than your average surface-level slug-flinging, laser-beaming, and torpedo-launching fleet battle. It's one thing to perform a dimension-melding FTL jump or to screw a bit with Extraspatial physics in the name of science, but openly lobbing bits and pieces of another dimension at the enemy before triggering a planet-cracking blast and promptly [Expletive redacted]ing off via. reality rift was one way to draw attention. Though whatever had caused the ruckus was now unable to be tracked directly, what the Mann could do was to travel to the point of the Extraspatial surging and launch itself in the general direction of whatever had taken off. Some "switch" flipping, "button" pushing, and "radio" chatter later, the RSS Mann was off, traveling at effectively infinite speeds using its interdimensional grappling hook of a propulsion system with the guidance ship Geissler in tow.

---

[ ⎈ ]
System KV87

---

If the Mann had arrived mere minutes ago there would have been a planet waiting for them at the terminus of their jump. Instead, they were met with nothing. No rubble, no scrap, just an empty void of open space. Though the physical realm of Realspace would be devoid of any notable chunks of matter, the ship's LB sensor suite was overflowing with activity, "warm" signatures all around and interdimensional Geiger counters going haywire. Obviously, whatever had launched the attack did not care for Extraspatial masking. From the battle site, three distinct readings would stand out. Trails of dimensional residue evocative of some sort of reality-"clipping" jump, three nearly identical masses of something had slipped from Realspace into their own planes of existence. If a Conquistador Class had been there, perhaps the strike group would have been able to evoke local background LB beacons and sentries to gain a perfect recall of the skirmish. Unfortunately, the RSS Mann would need a few extra kilometers in height and reality-enforcement equipment that half the crew wasn't cleared to know about before it could call itself a Conquistador. With its technological limitations, the destroyer did what any good scout flagship would do, actually chase down the damn target, or rather follow a linear trail and perform a gorillion different scans while lurking if anything interesting shows up. Boring scan or no boring scans, taking action was better than doing nothing, it gave the crew something to do as well as decent pay. Selecting one of the three fading signatures, the RSS Mann and Geissler once again slipped into the depths of Vector-transit Extraspace before accelerating to comically high speeds. Whatever this ship, creature, or object of wacky geometry was, it would soon be getting a visit from an Initiative dimension inspector.

[Il Passione]

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."

Italy

J'eil was surprised to learn that everyone else in the room apparently knew what this thing was, "So, this issa stand? H-huh, that's pretty interesting right guys? Ahahahaha..." J'eil's nervous laughter was legitimate unlike the rest of his dialogue. He knew he was meant to find these stands and add them to the Imperium, but to think there was a whole organization full of them and probably more scattered throughout this world. Suddenly a message appeared from high command

Prepare as many stands as you can, Earth's invasion has been slated to a sooner date.

J'eil sighed, the mission had just gotten that much harder...

Bucciarati and the gang seemed to look oddly at him for a moment as Abbacchio shook his head.
"Right... Mista, take Luigi to Cannolo and see what he can do." Bucciarati said, the team running off with him as Mista took J'eil up from his arm, taking him to a nice Fiat where they would enter to head off to the location.
"God fuckin' damnit, I knew this shit was gonna happen today! Today's April the 4th! 4th day of the 4th month! And the beam that shredded Polpo? Landed at 4PM. It's not a fucking coincidence, I swear! Bad things always happen when the number four is involved! Ever since I was a lil' kid, when my neighbour picked a kitten from a litter of four, and that same kitten clawed her eyes out... I've never trusted the number four." Mista said, as he rushed to drive over to the warehouse up north. "Alright, here's our stop..."

Mista and J'eil would then get out from the car, Mista taking out his gun as a bunch of playing cards would scatter appear around the area before he knocked at the door, an old-sounding voice on the other side.

"Hey, Mista, is it? You're, uh... you're with Bucciarati?" Cannolo asked. "And-uh... who's the other guy?"

"His name's Luigi Ricci. He needs to see the boss urgently." Mista asked. "Apparently it's some major business deal."

"I don't have any background info on this guy. I don't know what his affiliation is, and for all I know, he could be a double agent for that new gang we're fighting. Why the hell should I let him in and have him chat the boss?" Cannolo asked.

"He's not the same guy who's after us, for one..." Mista asked. "...look, Cannolo, we might have-"

"-the guy trailing ya? Yup. My stand picked up that he's going your direction. Hope he hasn't tracked the car, but we'll have to blow it up for good measure, or have a dummy driver in there til it drives off a cliff." Cannolo said, opening the door as it revealed a stony innard with a number of computer monitors and towers, as well as a file cabinet and some other intel paraphenalia, somehow equivalent to that of the CIA by the looks of it. "So... what business do you really have with Passione? You don't just show up out of the fuckin' blue for nothing. One way or another, you've got something to do with that guy, and if it's not, then it's definitely something bigger." Cannolo said, dismissing Mista as he walked out, standing out the door of the shed.

"So, lay it down to me... what's the reason you wanna talk to the boss?" Cannolo asked.

[The Rapture Republic]

Meanwhile, Reaper got a strong feeling that he was making process in tracking his prey, and soon will carry out the execution directed to him by the Dragon. As he walked, climbing up a sheep hill, he would kneel down and notice tire tracks, leaning into a forest. “Someone’s been in a rush, perhaps this is the target? Best keep going. Before doing anything unwarranted.” Reaper said internally to himself, and proceeded on his venture to wipe out the Passione. Following the tire tracks as he saw them.

[Pax Cybertronian]

Sitting inside his base somewhere on the outskirts of the Milky Way, Bombrunner surfed around, bored. He then noticed that he had received a response from the Octavian fleet.

Code: Select all

”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.”

Bombrunner, noticing this and waking up out of his boredom-induced stupor, quickly responded.

Code: Select all

”That has been noted. We’ll see how powerful the cruiser is, first of all – we may have…certain firepower we can (hopefully) quickly enough port over to the galaxy should the cruiser become as much of a nuisance as you’ve implied. Could you also reveal your fellow allies to us? It would make strengthening ties easier for us, in addition to coordinating attacks on your enemies.”

Sending the message, Bombrunner ordered a taskforce of Decepticon ships to aid the Ordocravian fleet in attacking this cruiser. Surely, it was not too powerful – it was just a single ship. One lone powerful ship could be eventually taken down; nothing was truly invulnerable – it was just dependant on the power of the nations involved, the principle of “always bigger fish” would apply. Bombrunner saw nothing wrong with protecting the power of the Empire by any means necessary; for all his life, he had been raised to believe that the Decepticons must win by any means necessary, or else that could potentially jeopardize everything they’ve done up until now to ensure the survival of the Cybertronian race.

Once the order was fulfilled, several Decepticon warships, chief among them a large Worldsweeper claimed to be capable of destroying dozens of worlds by itself, warped over to the Octavians’ instructions. They were somewhat evidently there to test out the cruiser’s strength and see what course would be necessary next – the Worldsweeper, he presumed, wasn’t even the best in the fleet and was quite old by this point.

With some luck, the Decepticons could take out this lone, troublesome cruiser with these ships alone.

[TheMandate]

Earth 232 (Yamato’s Earth)
United Colonial Guard Section 3 Ship XS-2342
Section 2 Prep-Bay

The ship had watched silently as the Octavian Cruiser landed carefully noting everything it did. Even as the ambassador unit stepped out it and its cruiser were being carefully analysed from orbit, every movement logged and pondered by teams of VI assisted analysts high above. The local officials meeting the ambassador unit had also been watched the whole way to the cruiser with careful note having been made as to their security arrangements. Information which would be sent on to the ground team prepping deep within the ships bowels. Indeed, for the 50 highly trained soldiers arming themselves in the cramped prep-bay every scrap of intel they were seeing would be invaluable in the coming operation. The speakers built into the compartments ceiling chimed an alert.

“Lieutenant Lauritzen” came a voice from the speakers “contact the Captain for final briefing”.

The Lieutenant sighed in exasperation as he jammed his rifle back in the rack so he could go back out into the small hallway leading deeper into the ship. Once out of the room he turned to a control panel on the wall and punched in his acces code, sealed the corridor and signalled the Captain.

“Lauritzen here” he said annoyance clear in his tone “what do you need now, sir”.

“Slight change of plans Lieutenant” said Captain Lepmets ignoring the insubordinate tone of the Lieutenant “rather than outright attacking the road I want your men to mine the road. Standard anti-armour charges should suffice, put another squad on long-range support and you can assist the squad placing the mines once they go off. The other two squads I want to get a look at that Cruiser, I’m authorising the use of a starship demolition charge for both squads should they get the opportunity”.

“With all due respect Captain” began Lauritzen audibly angered at the change of plans “I am responsible for all ground deployments. You don’t have the authority to alter my operational plans”.

“Actually Lieutenant I do” replied Lepmets “operational directive 32346. It empowers the ranking UCG officer of an intelligence mission to task and retask Section 2 elements as necessary should targets of opportunity present themselves”.

“With all due respect sir you may just kill all of us going to that planet” Lauritzen shot back angrily “mark my words if I get back from this I’ll have you up on Article 10 for undue peril”.

“If you come back Lieutenant I’ll have you on article 11” shot back Lepmets “valuing your men over the priorities of the mission. Now do your job”. With that the signal cut, Lauritzen struck the panel in anger then released the locks and went to tell his men about the change of plans.


Earth 233 (the one with Rapture and Passione)
United Colonial Guard Section 3 Ship XS-2416

The ship had hung for quite some time above the planet simply watching and listening as messages flew from the planet into space and back Though the Octavian signals could not be deciphered it was clear they were making a move to take the planet. Most confusing to the crew though were the strange energy flashes in the region known as Italy, but that was a mess that would have to be dealt with later. A series of pings echoes through the cramped bridge as energy flashes appeared on the holographic system display dominating the centre of the room.

"Captain" called a young Europan sensor technician "we've got brief energy flares across the system. They're barely there at all but they're flooding the system".

"Is there anything with the flares" asked Captain Bernardo Diez "are there any ships or weapons"?

"No sir" replied the technician again "just the flares. Computer thinks they could be alien jump signatures but nothing came through with them".

"Just because we don't see them doesn't mean they aren't there" said Captain Diez stroking his beard thoughtfully "comms, send a sideburst home. Helm, get us to the gate without breaking stealth". A round of affirmatives came as the stealthship slowly broke orbit to head for the stealthed gate they had dropped as thy entered the system.


Mandate Space
Romanov Space
Haven System
Novy Petersburg
Novy Moskva
Imperial Palace complex

The enormous and lavishly decorated throne room was unusually empty for a Tuesday afternoon, normally there would be petitioners, dukes, senators and all manner of other guests in the vast chamber. Today however, was a rather special day. Today was after all the day that a portion of the Grand Fleet and the Grand Army would be sent out to bring yet more of humanity into the fold, though said expedition was also expected to meet with significant resistance hence the lack of pomp or ceremony. The only people present were the Imperator of the Mandate herself, Lord High Admiral LeClerc, Lord Marshal Brezhlin, a number of aides and of course the ever present Preobrazhensky Lifeguard. That being said the chamber was still missing two individuals, those being High Admiral Paul Ebner and Field Marshal Jacek Olbrys who were both slated to lead the expedition. The great golden doors of the chamber opened revealing the two missing individuals who were rapidly stewarded to the throne by a pair of heavily armoured Lifeguards

"You're out of uniform Admiral" growled Leclerc as the two approached, Leclerc allowed the High Admiral a moment of fear before he gestured an aide forward with a case which was opened to reveal a pair of armoured epaulets for a Grand Admiral. "High Admiral Paul Ebner effective from this 22nd of March 3574 you are promoted to the rank of Grand Admiral and issued the Imperator class vessel 'Imperator Nikolai' for use as your flagship" recited Leclerc, the words scrolling by on his ocular implants even as the newly promoted Grand Admiral replaced the epaulets on his shoulders only for LeClerc to slap them as was tradition.

"Now that we have such pleasantries out of the way gentlemen" said Anastasia rising from her throne "kneel". Before her Grand Admiral Ebner and Field Marshal Olbrys knelt to be given their orders. "Grand Admiral Paul Ebner, Field Marshal Jacek Olbrys, you are henceforth charged with the integration of Earth 232 and Earth 233 along with the integration of any other human or near-human groups you find. You are also charged with containing the threat to humanity posed by the Octavian Imperium and its vile ruling AI. In this vein you shall take charge of the forces assembled in orbit above us to execute your orders forthwith, any additional forces you may require shall be granted to you by my mandate. To thus prevent any misunderstandings you shall both be entered into the ranks of the noble Corsairs and granted the sceptres of office to grant you access to all the resources you shall require on your mission. Now, rise and carry out the holy work with which you have been charged". With that a pair of Lifeguard handed the two senior officers golden sceptres with the symbol of the Mandate at the top containing a sample of the Imperators living tissue as proof of their authority".

"We shall not fail you majesty" said Ebner saluting before spinning on his heel and leaving joined shortly after by Olbrys who saluted and also turned to leave.

Thus the wheels of history were set in motion.

[American Pere Housh]

ICN Ark Royal, Hangar Bay
The Steel Coffin slid into the hangar, moving with the same paradoxical grace seen in similar Grav-Drive vehicles. Setting itself down on large legs, A hatch beneath the cockpit opened, lowering a ramp as first the two Centurions, followed by Lutherus and Trez'nav, disembarked, the Centurions swiftly taking position on both sides of the ramp. Grayson looked up as the shuttle descended, even as a Tomcat was carried overhead by some of the hangars systems, casting a minor shadow on the grouping below. His own two honor gaurd taking up a position next to him as he walked to a mid distance between the hangar door and the lowering shuttle ramp, waiting.

Lutherus and Trez'nav approached Grayson, the former's movements being somewhat ponderous, and the latter walking in a manner that was almost too real for a hologram. As the Warmaster drew closer, engravings could be made out on the chestplate and gauntlets as he saluted the Captain, while the LA had only known the ISO for a small amount of time, it had rapidly analyzed cultural files sent their way, knowing gestures to use in what situations.
"Captain Grayson, it's a relief to know that the Alliance is not alone in this fight." Lutherus said, his voice sounding like the echoes of thunder in a stormy valley.

Grayson returned the salute, before dropping it. Noting the two companions, as he nods. "And it is good to know we have another set of allies besides the United Government." His voice, compared to the rolling thunder of the Warmaster, was refined. The smooth cadence of a business man, with the hints of an accent that spoke of a rather lavish upbringing. "But, as much as I do enjoy the art of carrier warfare, a hangar is not the place for a meeting. If you all would follow me, there has been a room prepared for this meeting."

The two followed him, the Centurions maintaining their vigil at the Shuttle's entrance. Humming, Trez'nav would pull out a manila "file" during the walk, reading through its contents, although anyone looking would only see a mess of fractals and garbled text, with vague images outlining Elephants, Warminds, the Starfury, and various other vessels involved in the conflict. They soon arrived to a forward observation room- A 'glass' floor seeming to seperate them from the void of space, but an adept eye could spot the seams of screens, which showed the burning planet below. A table had been organized for the meeting- Including a chair for the Warmaster, as Grayson took a seat marked with the ICN Eagle. "Please do take a seat. There are some things to talk about- And Bulwark sends his apologies he cannot join in person, but he is currently dealing with another issue, and shall be joining us via hologram in a few minutes."

"That is understandable, Captain. The Sentinel Arrays that observed his ship's skirmish with the unknowns said that it had sustained notable damage to the port hull." Trez'nav said, sitting down at one of the chairs. Lutherus settled on the stool that had apparently been designed for a species of Gladian make. "So, what is the largest elephant in the room right now, asides from this ship?" The Warmaster asked. Grayson laughed, lightly, even as he waved his hand over an interface that popped up. Inputting a few codes, as a holographic image of the galaxy appeared over the table. "Bulwark put together a strategy to deal with the grouped Octavian fleet as a whole- But we're currently trying to settle on a place to truly lay an ambush. We have a few problems, but none of them my four ships could have exploited alone... But now with the extra backing of the Alliance, Bulwark does believe... Ah, here's his alert now." An emitter in the room flicked on, as 'Bulwark' appeared at the table.

"I must apologize for my lateness, but I was dealing with issues... But, as the Good Captain was saying, with the backing of the Alliance, I believe we can lure the Octavian Fleet into a destructive confrontation, and undercut Octavian Expansion where it stands. The current is determining where the strike shall take place." Bulwark's voice was neither the rolling thunder of the Warmaster, nor the refined voice of Grayson, but it was something in between- A seemingly perfect blend of two different worlds...

"Indeed, location is everything. The wrong person in the right place can make all the difference, after all." Trez'nav remarked, pulling a "page" from their file and tossing it into the air, where it morphed from a barely-legible paper into a holographic diagram that split apart into various filters. "This is sensor data from our sensor stations above and below Octavian space. They've yet to notice them, so, for the time being, we'll have a reliable source of intel for quite some time. There's one particular location that is of interest to the LA for the purposes of heavily wounding Octavian morale."
The diagrams merged, beginning to overlap and zoom in before coming to rest at a large ring-shaped structure encircling a star.
"This megastructure seems to have only recently been completed, and the traffic indicates that it is a major civilian icon. Its destruction could severely harm Octavian morale, and also remove a valuable location for industrialization."

"There's a few other smaller targets, as well," Lutherus remarked. "Several minor industrial worlds, trade routes, the like." He continued, as the LA hologram shifted to show several of said worlds and trade routes, numbers below them indicating possible population, production capacity, and damage to the Octavian economy with their destruction. Bulwark and Grayson both took a moment to study the information- Bulwark speaking first, at a nod from Grayson. "I can see viability in both options, and a combination of two strategies I had previously could exploit all of the above. Grayson's fleet was outfitted for raiding, so he could easily pull fleets along by burning a path up and down the Octavian trade-lanes, into a battle at the Ringworld."

"Aye, combining two strategies for the best option of devastation." Grayson agreed- "But would you still be able to pull off Chariot?"

Bulwark nodded."Easily. But, overall, I believe the viable option is to focus our combined fleets into a massed ambush of Octavian, and allied, forces that will be pulled towards the ring. Morale is a factor here, and such a devastating blow against such an icon could easily do harm to it- Alongside the devastation, the Good Captain could cause along the industrial worlds."

"If you don't mind me asking, what is Chariot?" Trez'nav inquired, pulling a pen from nowhere and turning to a new page in the file.
"So we lure them to the Ringworld. How exactly will we manage to pull that off, is another beast to tame." The Warmaster said, adjusting his position slightly.

Bulwark paused, "Ah, sorry. I have grown used to operating with the MSGA Combined Military. 'Chariot' is a catch-all term for hit and run operations undertaken by a joint task-force. In this case, it is the action of our fleets drawing the Octavian and allied fleets into a prolonged, running, confrontation, and dragging them to a preset ambush point. Or creating a scene so large that Octavia has to scramble a large fleet to respond to it." The holograph of Bulwark than turned to the Warmaster. "The battle at the ringworld itself should be fairly easy. My array operators recently completed a re-certification in shell manipulation. They can easily drop a multi-gigaton shell in the middle of a ship's engine bay. I also do agree luring them will be an issue, but my Cruiser has already proven to be of a certain degree of caution. If my cruiser were to take 'damage' and then 'retreat'... We could lure them into a confrontation, as they tried to pursue it to 'finish' off my cruiser."

The Warmaster rested his head on an armored arm for a second, processing Bulwark's words. The kind of feats the United Government could pull off were vaguely known, and well beyond Gladian technological capacity. However, a "grin", if you could call it that, began to show on his face. "I believe I understand what you're suggesting. It sounds daring, and if it fails we won't have another shot at it, but should it succeed, we'll be able to lure them right into the equivalent of a Gravlev derailment. What can the 800th Armada do to aid in this tactic?" He inquired, eyeing the two commanders as Trez'nav quickly jotted down the notes regarding Chariot. Bulwarked smirked. "We have the hammer, but we need the anvil. We have the ship, but we need the anchor. The five ships with I had planned for this operation would, originally, been enough to ensure a majority of the fleet that engaged was destroyed. Now I believe it can be entirely destroyed. Anything you can contribute will be appreciated. My cruiser can hold them in the system. It will be up to the combined mights of our fleets to ensure they are destroyed."

"Hmmm, well, I know a few ships in the fleet who would be willing to aid in raids with the Elephants, and the 89th and 700th Support Fleets have full reserves ready for logistical support." The Warmaster said before Trez'nav jumped in. "And the Warminds can assist your vessel in luring them to the Ringworld. They are, after all, the exact same ship, have one jump in, get in a scrap, and jump out, have another one jump in, continue the cycle until we lure them to the target system."

"Good." Bulwark said, as he gestured to Grayson.

"Ah, right." He turned, as the holograph on the table updated to include the information from the LA dossier. "I plan to go full Lancaster on the Octavian Industrial Basis. I will pick a trade-lane, and run down it burning every world that stands between here and the end of it. From there, my plan is to repeat it. Again and again. Until the Octavians send a fleet to meet me in battle- Then I shall engage that fleet, and draw them back to the ringworld. If you can spare ships, Warmaster, they would be greatly appreciated. As confident as I am in four Elephants, some backing firepower would be very nice." Grayson finished- A brutal smirk now spread across his face, almost entirely unfitting of his 'upper-class' demeanor...

"I happen to have just the ships for the job, Captain. While I did say the Warminds could back the cruiser, they'd be doing so one at a time. Their avatars can patch into this very meeting room right now if you'd like to meet them face to face." Trez'nav suggested, a very mild smile beginning to tug at the corners of his mouth. Grayson took a curious demeanor- While Bulwark simply took on a bemused one. "I believe that would be rather useful, to the operation. If you wouldn't mind brining them in, that would be rather helpful."

"Very well, patching them in," Trez'nav said.
In the next instant, a variety of...eccentric beings made themselves known. While they maintained the same looks as their usual avatars, the Warminds had switched to "combat mode", meaning that some changes were made. The Avatars were, in order from most to least noticeable, a cartoonish Jester wielding a scythe, a Knight Templar actively loading a double-barreled shotgun, a bright red lens flare coming from within its helmet, A Gunslinger, loading their revolver while a lit cigar hung in their mouth, a large cloud of some kind of aerosol gas, an alarmingly buff frog, and finally, a hamster that very strongly smelled of elderberries.
"Pardon their...eccentric appearances. Warminds aren't particularly serious with their names and Avatars." Trez'nav said as the Warmaster maintained a neutral expression.

Bulwark easily kept nothing but the faint smirk on his face. Grayson, however, spluttered for a second before composing himself. Taking the second to straighten his cap, and compose his words, before he said something rather rash... "I have been told of that in the past. I did not expect it to be quite so... Literal, with all options considered."

"You better hawp we're eccentric. Ah ken someone wha manifests thair avatar as a grandfather timepiece 'n' speaks in ticks 'n' chimes." The Hamster started squeaking, in a very harsh Scottish accent before being cut off by the Jester, who proceeded to speak in an equally confusing Shakespearean tone. "What mine own colleague intends to sayeth, is 'greetings, we art the warminds assign'd to the 800th armada, at thy s'rvice.
Trez'nav seemed unfazed by the unusual dialects. "Apologies, Captain. I should've warned you before I patched them in." Grayson simply smirked, leaning back in his chair as he recovers from the shock. "Ah, no worries. It is very entertaining to have a break from the usual pomp and ceremony of the Combined Armadas, as ironic as that might sound coming from someone of my decorum. There is a reason I enjoy working with the United Government, after-all." He simply said, nodding to Bulwark as he said that, who simply smirks in agreement.

"Very well, the relevant information regarding our tactics has been forwarded to the Warminds, and-" Trez'nav was cut off by a gesture from Lutherus. "My apologies, Apparently there's some captains that need to speak to me." He said, putting a hand to the side of his head, causing a geodesic, holographic "mask" to form across his face. After a few wordless minutes, the mask dissipated, and the Gladian's hand returned to his side. "I've just received word that your ships will have some assisted firepower, Captain." He said, "The Arsenal Barges Blazing Heavens and Steel Vengeance have both volunteered to accompany your vessels on fire support, and another one, Blind Prophet has volunteered to accompany the Starfury."

Grayson smiled, again. "Oh, I always did love a fireworks show, and this promises to be one of the biggest since the Trafaxxian Scuffle!" He claps his hands once in delight, before re-composing himself with a cough. "Ahem, sorry... I tend to get carried away at times. But, I do believe, unless any of you have something to add, that this is everything?" Yes, this does conclude our meeting, I believe. Good hunting, Captain." Trez'nav said, standing up and putting the Folder away. A small file would be transmitted to Ark Royal, showing the rotation of Warminds that'd support Mossflower in the raidings, as well as the loadouts of the three Arsenal Barges that would be accompanying them and the Starfury. Lutherus stood up as well, taking a brief moment to straighten the folds on his kilt, before saluting. "Farewell, Captain Grayson. Enjoy your Arson spree."

Grayson stood to salute as well, as his crew handles the download and transfer of the file. "I shall, War-master. Fair hunting, and may we all return alive."

Mossflower Task-Force, former Target III
Soon after the Warmaster and Trez'nav's departure, two vessels departed from the Gladian Fleet and began moving into formation with the ICN vessels. Both were around the same size as a Super-Rhino, if not somewhat stockier. Their IFF signals would read as Arsenal Barge, Steel Vengeance and Arsenal Barge, Blazing Heavens. Both ships sent their greetings to the Ark Royal as the five Warminds also moved into position, taking up a position near the rear of the fleet as they reported their drives were primed for the first jump. Another Arsenal Barge, Blind Prophetand the sixth Warmind, T'Was But A Jest moved away from the formation as well, preparing to rendezvous with the Starfury when it showed up. It didn't take long for orders to be transmitted along the ling of the ICN fleet- And up to the two arsenal barges, as FTL coordinates were synced across the entire fleet.

It was time to prepare for the raid down Jugular 1- Something which Grayson was now rather enthusiastic for, with the backing of the Warminds and dual arsenal barges. This campaign was shaping up to be far more fun than he'd ever thought it would end up being.

Outer edges of System, 1 billion miles from the [i]Ark Royal[/i]

16 Infinity Class SuperCarriers, each 70 kilometers in length and brimming with anti ship and anti fighter weapons, along with 100 Marathon Class Cruisers, 100 Mandalore Class Cruisers, 150 Jones Class Destroyers, and 200 jump out of Slipstream Space after jumping from system to system. A billion miles from the leading edge of the 1st Sector Fleet sit the ship owned by the ISO known as the Ark Royal. Grand Admiral Ryan Kenobi stands on the bridge with a smirk on his face thinking, So its finally time to declare our support of the Octavian Imperium.. Ryan asks a lieutenant to get the Ark Royal on his comlink which he got in 2 seconds.

Ryan activates his comlink, "This is Grand Admiral Ryan Kenobi, Commander of the 1st Sector Fleet of the Galactic Theocratic Republic, to the ship known as the Ark Royal. You are illegally in Octavian space. Leave immediately or your ship will be destroyed." He turns off the Commlink before speaking to the entire fleet over a heavily encrypted comm channel, "To all ships of the 1st Sector Fleet, today we will be at war with the enemies of the Imperium as they are our allies now. Deploy all fighter wings to defend the fleet and raise shields to max power. We officially we are now at Defcon 1 which means any enemy ship that comes near is to be destroyed. "

The ships of the 1st Sector Fleet made a precise Slipspace jump from a billion miles out to 1 million miles away from the Ark Royal. Fighters are deployed from the carriers with orders to eliminate any enemy fighter or bomber that comes near the fleet.

[The-International Space Organization]

Outer edges of System, 1 billion miles from the [i]Ark Royal[/i]

16 Infinity Class SuperCarriers, each 70 kilometers in length and brimming with anti ship and anti fighter weapons, along with 100 Marathon Class Cruisers, 100 Mandalore Class Cruisers, 150 Jones Class Destroyers, and 200 jump out of Slipstream Space after jumping from system to system. A billion miles from the leading edge of the 1st Sector Fleet sit the ship owned by the ISO known as the Ark Royal. Grand Admiral Ryan Kenobi stands on the bridge with a smirk on his face thinking, So its finally time to declare our support of the Octavian Imperium.. Ryan asks a lieutenant to get the Ark Royal on his comlink which he got in 2 seconds.

Ryan activates his comlink, "This is Grand Admiral Ryan Kenobi, Commander of the 1st Sector Fleet of the Galactic Theocratic Republic, to the ship known as the Ark Royal. You are illegally in Octavian space. Leave immediately or your ship will be destroyed." He turns off the Commlink before speaking to the entire fleet over a heavily encrypted comm channel, "To all ships of the 1st Sector Fleet, today we will be at war with the enemies of the Imperium as they are our allies now. Deploy all fighter wings to defend the fleet and raise shields to max power. We officially we are now at Defcon 1 which means any enemy ship that comes near is to be destroyed. "

The ships of the 1st Sector Fleet made a precise Slipspace jump from a billion miles out to 1 million miles away from the Ark Royal. Fighters are deployed from the carriers with orders to eliminate any enemy fighter or bomber that comes near the fleet.

---

OCTAVIAN SYSTEM - IN THE ORBIT OF WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS A COLONIZED WORLD - COMMAND DECK BRAVO

---

Grayson, standing on the bridge of the Ark Royal simply smirked as the message arrived. "Gunnery! Load skip-shells and missiles! Set range to match! Relay order to the combat teams on other barges. The idiots have jumped into Suicide Range!"

The gunnery officer, and the communications officer, simply responded with a sharp, 'Aye Aye!'. The crew leaping into life as the orders were relayed back and forth. The four ships swinging into broadside, just as it begun to happen.

When the ships had jumped to the 1 million kilometer range, they'd jumped right into the most dangerous spot for any fleet to be- Right underneath the guns of the combined fleet. At that distance, with shells covering the distance at 88% the speed of light, even without skip shells- They'd stand no chance to even dodge, when the shells closed at that speed, they'd hit in under 3.8 seconds- No chance to dodge, no chance to intercept- Only a chance to pray. Each missile, closing at 90% the speed of light would hit home in precisely 3.7 seconds. A tiny difference, but one that with the payload each missile was packing, didn't truly make a difference. Every single skip shell- Rated to simply 'skip' clean through hostile shielding, hit with damn near 38 Exatons of raw kinetic force. More than enough to mulch a planet- Let alone vulnerable internal systems.

The Ark Royal alone had over somewhere in the range of two billions missile cells, now being turned against the distant hostile fleet, as the big guns on the Yamato and Bismarck suddenly snapped to face the fleet now at suicide distance. Their own VLS tubes spiralling open, as hatches snapped from 'idle' to 'ready' in a single instant. The VLS barge 'Iowa' opening up it's own billions of missile cells, as the smaller guns on each ship also slammed into bearing on their own target. Heavy systems slamming skip-shells into place, as gunnery crews instantly snapped to targets within the ships, far too close for their own good, as sensors designed to pick out an asteroid 50 light-years away instantly picked out the vulnerabilities in the ships now sitting within the so-called 'Suicide Range'.

Grayson laughed, again, as he gestured to the communications officer- "Send them a message..." There was a pause, and then a thumbs up from the CO liason. "Octavian space, you say? How bizarre, I see no settlements nor stations to back this claim." He said, smirking...

[American Pere Housh]

Outer edges of System, 1 billion miles from the [i]Ark Royal[/i]

16 Infinity Class SuperCarriers, each 70 kilometers in length and brimming with anti ship and anti fighter weapons, along with 100 Marathon Class Cruisers, 100 Mandalore Class Cruisers, 150 Jones Class Destroyers, and 200 jump out of Slipstream Space after jumping from system to system. A billion miles from the leading edge of the 1st Sector Fleet sit the ship owned by the ISO known as the Ark Royal. Grand Admiral Ryan Kenobi stands on the bridge with a smirk on his face thinking, So its finally time to declare our support of the Octavian Imperium.. Ryan asks a lieutenant to get the Ark Royal on his comlink which he got in 2 seconds.

Ryan activates his comlink, "This is Grand Admiral Ryan Kenobi, Commander of the 1st Sector Fleet of the Galactic Theocratic Republic, to the ship known as the Ark Royal. You are illegally in Octavian space. Leave immediately or your ship will be destroyed." He turns off the Commlink before speaking to the entire fleet over a heavily encrypted comm channel, "To all ships of the 1st Sector Fleet, today we will be at war with the enemies of the Imperium as they are our allies now. Deploy all fighter wings to defend the fleet and raise shields to max power. We officially we are now at Defcon 1 which means any enemy ship that comes near is to be destroyed. "

The ships of the 1st Sector Fleet made a precise Slipspace jump from a billion miles out to 1 million miles away from the Ark Royal. Fighters are deployed from the carriers with orders to eliminate any enemy fighter or bomber that comes near the fleet.

---

OCTAVIAN SYSTEM - IN THE ORBIT OF WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS A COLONIZED WORLD - COMMAND DECK BRAVO

---

Grayson, standing on the bridge of the Ark Royal simply smirked as the message arrived. "Gunnery! Load skip-shells and missiles! Set range to match! Relay order to the combat teams on other barges. The idiots have jumped into Suicide Range!"

The gunnery officer, and the communications officer, simply responded with a sharp, 'Aye Aye!'. The crew leaping into life as the orders were relayed back and forth. The four ships swinging into broadside, just as it begun to happen.

The Ark Royal alone had over somewhere in the range of two billions missile cells, now being turned against the distant hostile fleet, as the big guns on the Yamato and Bismarck suddenly roared in brutal anger. Shields flaring to full power as a broadside composed of tens of millions of shells leapt out of their guns- And then into MDV space. Crossing the distance between them and the distant task-force in the blink of an eye, each shell coming back into real-space inside the distant ships, 'skipping' through the shields merrily. Slamming into ammunition bays, weapons, missile arrays, reactors, bridges, hangars- Anything that might cause an explosion. With the sheer volume of firepower directed down range, every ship had atleast 70,000 Skip-Shells merrily jump through it's shielding and into vulnerable internal systems- Detonating with explosive rage, each shell alone powerful enough to take out a planet, meaning the firepower being turned against the fleet here was simply nothing but raw over-kill...

And then the missiles joined the fray, as the VLS tubes on every ship opened wide. The Ark Royal alone contributing just over 2 and a quarter billion missiles into the fray, which turned, rapidly homing in on the wreckages- Crossing the one million kilometer distance before any remaining crewmember had a chance to blink. The billions of missiles seperating into uncountable numbers of micromissiles- Lancing out to strike at the swarms of fighters all around. Each and every fighter and bomber being struck by an explosion large enough to wipe out a city in an instant, as the shields on the Elephants flared to full, CIWS now kicking into life- Not like they'd have anything left to target, but the thought was what truly mattered. Raw overkill coming into play, as the force was turned into slag almost as soon as the Admiral had transmitted his message.

OOC: You do know that is Metagaming or is it godmodding so we'll retcon my fleet being destroyed since my ships have powerful shields and you didn't give me a chance to respond to your attack.

[Gladian Imperium]

Former Target III

While the 1st Sector Fleet threatened the ISO, other ships in the system began moving. The 800th Armada began shifting, swinging itself around into a massive pincer as it began advancing toward the Pere-Housh(Working Placeholder) Vessels. A message would be sent:

GLADIAN|DREADNOUGHT|WALLS OF IRON
Forgive me for sounding crass, unknown vessels, but may I inquire as to the reason behind your harassment of these eleven vessels? After all, two of my own ships are among them, I can't help but feel a sense of responsibility to defend them from any...Untoward aggression.

Among Mossflower, the two Arsenal Barges began routing power to their weapons. Steel Vengeance began turning towards one of the Infinities, while Blazing Heavens would maintain it's position, warming up an Effector Pulse should fighters come its way. The Five warminds would also spring to life, massive RKKVAs being brought to bear as they twisted in their mounts, fabricators coming to life as countless munitions were synthesized on the spot and shields went online in the bink of an eye. Should the 1st Sector Fleet prove a threat, they would pay dearly for their actions.

[Guuj Xaat Kil]

Deep within hyperspace, and lost as well...
CSS Intrepid, Monolith-Class Exploration-type Ship

“Well, we’re screwed.” The captain told himself as he stared into a screen, revealing through a camera the light blue of deep hyperspace, and the ominous glows in the distance indicating a hyperspace storm. They were multiple light years within this cloud and to top it all off, they were lost in uncharted space. “Probably in some godforsaken new universe, just my luck.” his hands were pressed together and pressing against his mouth, a sign of worry he was fond of doing so whenever in stressful situations such as these, and boy was this one knocking past situations out of the ballpark already in terms of severity, “Completely and utterly deep within the shitter we are.” No gravity wells, fully formed or no, have been spotted as of this moment. Crew was tense and on the verge of panicking.

‘Now how did this all happen?’ One might ask, and the reason was an accident caused by science. More specifically, this particular Monolith-class was equipped with a multiversal navigational drive, an experimental one at that, and they were currently in the “let’s test it but with real people and see what happens” stage of experimentation. And this particular captain was the best option out of a pool of around... Two other people. Currently, said captain was regretting his decision deeply and simply wanted this to be quickly resolved, but he had been chosen for a reason. “An explorative spirit” they had called it, Mr. Captain here would simply call it wanderlust.

And boy did space had a lot of places to explore, but right now...

“Very deep in the shitter.” The jittery captain would reiterate to himself quietly. Once more, still no gravity wells of any sort as of this moment had been spotted.

And then that moment ended.

“Captain! Captain! We’ve found-“ The crewman would be quickly interrupted by the captain’s voice. “Yes, a few pitiful nascent gravity wells nearby, even though interspatial sensors detect no nebulae or even a single planet nearby,” he finished for the crew-member, “I’ve got a hunch that we shouldn’t jump into them, but we don’t have a choice now do we? Fire up the drives, we’re getting the hell outta here.” And so the order was followed through, and with it came the distant thrumming of hyperspace drives and the trepidation of what would be waiting for them on the other side. He had a strange hunch then, telling him to get ready for a fireworks show, up close. Readying the ship’s secondary power system, he had his finger on its metaphorical trigger, or in this case, a button.

A button which he pressed after pressing other buttons, delaying its activation to the moment they left hyperspace. Which they would leave in “Jumping in 5,” went the monotonous voice of the AI, “4, 3, 2, 1...”

And they left the queerly tinted place. The captain saw from the cameras that they had arrived, and within the safety of skimspace already, which was... Not supposed to happen, but the view of slowly passing skip shells just outside, and just near them, would change his mind quickly about it. “Well, good thing we jumped safely, or rather into safety,” he grinned, but it quickly was replaced by a flat face, “Bad thing we jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire... Bloody hell AI get us out of this mess, stat!” The Monolith-class quickly breezed out of the fire and into a place where it could have time to get out to gauge their reactions and get in if said reactions were poor ones.

And that they did, exiting out of slipspace and into normal space, enjoying the fireworks show laid out for them. “AI hold off the messages, we’ll be doing some viewing for the time being.” As a result, they simply looked at the other fleet’s inevitable demise, and the explosions that would follow in the wake of its destruction.

[The Auraverse]

|✧|Outskirts of Octavian Space|✧|
|KV87 System | Vicinity of KV87-c|

---

After the preliminary series of microshifts serving to align its realspace "body", the Eidolon continued hanging motionless. It did not stir as the unimaginable volumes of infomass making up its more genuine form - conglomerations of conceptual metafiber and trans-mathematics dense enough to be considered a de-facto cohesive physical entity - were operating in full swing to comb every atom, every planck-square of physical space within the system that may point to the doings and eventual disappearance of the mystery orb. Nor did it change position with the arrival of the R.S.S. Mann - certainly, a physical newcomer to the system was cause for the rerouting of attention, but there was no call for physical relocation as of yet. And as the Hermes class destroyer hopped onwards in pursuit of an orb-trail, the questing, informational pseudo-tendrils of the Director's probe found a few quirks. Familiar oddities in architecture - pointers indicating something that approached familiarity. The framework knew, however vaguely, what had just passed through the system. And it knew that the quarry they sought was one and the same. Perhaps not for the same reasons, and most certainly via different methodologies, but their tasks ran broadly parallel. Which meant that the time for loitering and gathering of informational miscellanea had passed.

But then, to pursue the Mann would mean to abandon the collection of battle data. And there were three exit threads, not one - the second pursuer had seemingly selected one at random. Of course, the Eidolon could call for backup. But that would put further coordinative strain on the Corde, call for the management of additional nodes further up the logistical ladder... thus, a simpler way presented itself. Or rather, a far more complex, roundabout and convoluted way, but one that passed for simplicity within the equally convoluted and nonsensical parameter-metric employed by the Syndicate for the purpose of what it considered to be efficiency. The limiting factor was time, after all, and time equaled processing power. Thus, the best way of going about this was to manufacture some more.

The colossus moved once more, but without actually moving. A realspace observer would have struggled to make sense of what exactly was happening, advanced sensors or no. The towering, stark-white thing appeared to shrink and grow simultaneously, and yet the space it occupied remained identical. It moved closer and further away to any potential observation point, everywhere at once, and yet its position remained locked. At this point, any modosophont caring to continue looking would have likely suffered any number of cognitive failure-induced symptoms and disorders, and their continued integrity, both mental and physical, would be cast into doubt. But there were no modosophonts observing - just the nonexistent, unblinking un-eye of the Corde, hanging just outside the reach of conventional space.

What the Eidolon had actually done was difficult to describe, but amounted to the following. It had, by means of external help, self-fractalized - now extant within a pocket of subtly altered physical bounds that resembled, in passing, the far reaches of deep foldspace its de-facto mothership was still embedded in. It was not the real thing, of course - the complexities of allowing a foldspace pocket to exist outside the preset parameter-metrics, and coexist with the boundaries of realspace without catastrophic consequences were far beyond the scope of what the Eidolon was authorized to do within its current task-sequence. But the resemblance was just close enough to allow for the rough internal replication of the Menger Effect - that ephemeral, nigh-incomprehensible principle which allowed MAGNUS to exist as it currently did, so helpfully devoid of the concepts of size and position. And this was made use of to its fullest - now pseudofractalized, the Eidolon's onboard processing array had been artificially boosted in computing power to a degree that would have likely amazed any pre-Clarketech sophont. As it stood, it still failed to rival the monstrous arrays comprising the Corde, but it was enough for a few more advanced applications of Translocation. One of which was now put in full view.

Once more, the Eidolon distended. This time it was not its size, nor its exact positioning which an observer might have found difficult to comprehend - instead it was the precise number of such units that seemed to occupy that occluded region of space. There had been one, yes. But now, one would espy legions, if only one cared to look. So many as to be uncountable, floating alongside and within each other, in a tumbling mess of white and blue... and then there were four.

The precise mechanism of this occurrence would once again be difficult to quantify or comprehend - suffice to say that the four Eidolons remained one and the same. It was all that very same singular unit, so to speak - with the key difference that it now simultaneously occupied four distinct realspace positions. One body, many placements - just as soon as this pseudo-division had concluded, three already distanced themselves from the fourth. Each took up a semi-arbitrary position - after all, they didn't necessarily need to physically follow each of the orbs' "threads" in order to track them. But it helped, in some incalculable way, to be set up so. With a silent flash of azure-blue space, they vanished one by one. And the fourth remained.

There was still a great deal of data to process, after all.

[Skyhooked]

Good ol' Skyhooked

Still wondering, what those mysterious space objects were, Council decided to observe this even futher. It appeared, that they got much closer, and then suddenly disappeared. After a short checkup it was evident, that there is no mlafunction and they did exist, which concerned them.

-"So, they got even closer, and may or may not attack us soon. But they suddenly disappeared from all our sensors. Sensor malfunctions is excluded, as we checked the data from multiple sources. This may be a stealth attack with 64% probability."-John Walker AI starts the session, as he stands near pool table.

Casey James adds his words -"And dudes, there is other interesting thingy. We have noticed an energy anomaly, that surrounds the Earth, possibly those two things might be related somehow, but we have yet to find out how."

-"Hell, they might be in Sol system... but this is just my gut feeling. No proofs of hostile activity... yet. Still, I think, we should inform our military to be more alert and watch for any threats due to potential hostile activity. Our people will get the news too and become alert as well."-Decides overboss. Looks like there is no need for further discussion. Everything is obvious - there is a definite potential threat and reason to stay alert. But not enough proofs for mobilization.

The professional military started to conduct more exercised and all bases, from Pyongyang Blue Star to Ira district in New Sodom and Fort liberty in Skyhooked city prepared their weapon and personell. All branches and factions were ready to mobilzie in "minute's notice". Country is not fully prepared, but the enemy will lose his surprise advantage, whn he makes the move.

Venice, Italy.

What about the Road Warriors, who were suddenly sent to a not too fitting job because of some drunk game between the big bosses?
After getting necessary details about Lopez and his residence, they started their plot to kill him as best as they can. They weren't a squad of ninjas, so climbing walls and entering Lopez's appartment and slitting his throat was out of question. Improvization was the answer.

Jose's warband decided to split. Three men entered the roof, from where they could see the appartment of their target. Great visual. And luckily it was close enough to carry our the plan, which was pretty simple. As Lopez enterd and opened the window, one of road warriors used his belt as a sling to launch a molotow right through the open window. This was one of the classic moves, Skyhookers used during the revolution to throw grenades and molotovs further.

Molotov cocktail was lit and thrown accurately through the window. The aim was to cause a fire and smoke Lopez out, while Jose and other five men would wait for him in an ambush near the doors of the appartments, ready to pull out their hidden pistols and knives as soon as they see the target.

As three men saw the smoke, they realized, that they succeeded. Now, it's up to the rest of the group to carry out the plan. Meanwhile, they didn't celebrate their victory yet, but decided to observe, in case if Lopez somehow fins the other way out.

[Ignis States]

Italy

J'eil was surprised at the speed that situation escalated, but didn't hesitate to pick up Polpo's things and ran. With his robotic legs he was able to run faster than anyone in the area. In his rush J'eil's finger accidentally scraped against the arrow, which quote strangely went straight through the synthetic skin, flesh, and bone directly to his mechanical insides. J'eil didn't have the time to notice though as giant stadium lights rose from the ground while J'eil was already a distance from the prison.

A while later

As J'eil ran he felt weird and not how he usually felt weird condemning other synthetics to death, no this was different it was almost like he was...sick? Though that shouldn't be possible he could feel his reactor's power fluctuate while no issue existed, his sensors were being very slow especially when he had just given them a upgrade to processing power, and strangely some of his limbs were lethargic. Most strangely he began seeing wisps of some humanoid being floating around in his sensors which really began to concern J'eil. Granted he was still physically above many organics, but it felt as if his legs were made of cement and his arms shackled to the ground; he had made the appropriate adjustments to his persona of Luigi making his face red and causing some extreme sweating in the body, but if the thing that attacked Polpo came after him now he wasn't sure if he would be able to survive. Eventually he made it to the location of Bucciarati both looking and feeling like crap. He banged on the door and prayed he'd be let in "Bucciarati! I think Polpo might be dead and I think the arrow thing he gave me had some disease on it! I feel like shit and I'm seeing thing right now, you really gotta let me in man! It's crazy out here!"

Wherever the hell the Paramount is right now....


"Paramount. I hope I am not interrupting anything."
Seemingly out of nothing, a few feet away from the man in question, a bubbling speck of vantablack energy forms, quickly coalescing and expanding as a strange...presence enters the room.
A presence that feels strangely ominous, strangely...dangerous. That ominous presence is only amplified as full physical form is taken: A pitch black silhouette of what looks to be something humanoid, standing at about 6 feet, 2 inches. Pinpricks of green light gaze into Paramount's eyes, as if trying to leech into his souls and figure out how they tick. Folded on his back are bat wings, the edges lined with a silvery glow.

"I hope you don't mind me barging in like this, but it was the quickest way to get your attention. I am willing to aid you. I've taken an...interest in you, so to speak. You have potential to go further than you are, potential to..."
The figure almost looks amused, though it's hard to tell with a lack of a face.

"I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm willing to aid you, that's my point."




Meanwhile, in the Draksesa Castle...

"Mark, what do you make of all this? Should we take action with the Paramount and Octavia yet..?"
The Princeps Senatus stands on top of the castle, her eyes focused firmly towards the stars, towards the brewing conflict that's ensuing. By her side is her sword, held tightly in her grip.
Mark Draksesa, meanwhile, simply adjusts the hilt of a navy blue Roman spatha at his side, the blade crackling with an indigo flame. His piercing gaze is focused firmly on a hovering mirror about 2 meters tall and 3 meters wide, located a few feet to his right. Around the edges, nine spheres of energy levitate: White, Golden, Orange, Pink, Fuschia, Violet, Purple, Black...and finally, a swirling sphere of every color imaginable. The mirror itself is a view of the currently transpiring events.

"You're going to hate me for this, but we should wait some more. I doubt Octavia's stupid enough to directly threaten us until later. For now, just get ready for if shit goes fanwards."
With that succinctly put, the Ausar flicks his palm, shrinking the mirror down so it's 6 inches wide. He then catches it midair, walking back to the inside of the castle.
"I'll let you know if things get worse. You know what to do if they do."

"Right!" With that, the wolf goes back to observing the skies, as if making sure nothing's going to swoop down.

The Paramount's Palace

A entire fleet gone in less than a moment...The Paramount now realized the situation had truly deteriorated and not soon after he got this message from 001

"You have gathered many strong enemies, Paramount."

The Paramount replied very quickly, hoping to plug the hole in his plan early

"I hope that we have also gathered many strong allies. Please stop whatever did that to our fleets if you can."

Once again The Paramount found another matter demanding his attention, this time literally. The Paramount attempted to scan the thing in front of him and was given no answer from his database. Well then this had just become interesting, "And who are you exactly? We don't think that we are going to be willing to trust any ghost appearing in our palace."

The strange entity eerily flickers, his body shaping itself into something that would be far more familiar to the Paramount. Slowly, the pitch black energy changes into golden brown fur, the bat wings fading entirely as Zen reveals himself in all his glory.
Though one thing can be seen as immediately different: His eyes. Zen's pupils are alight with uncountable colors, everything across the spectrum of light from radio waves to gamma.
"You remember me, do you not, Paramount? We haven't seen each other in nearly a century, but I doubt you'd forget. Despite our past differences...you interest me. You hold the potential to ascend beyond conventional machinery and enter the realm of godhood like I did. As I said before, I offer my aid. Though most of these trifles I'll hardly bother with. If there's a truly major threat, on the other hand, I'll dispose of it best I can. Simply give me the word."
Around the Ignisian's form, black static begins to crackle, a strange energy building up around him as his body takes full form. The Paramount is liable to notice one thing immediately: Zen is far, far stronger than he was before, by a magnitude of thousands.
"After all, I have observed that this war effort isn't quite going well for you. The idea of your rise ending this soon disappoints me. I'll do what needs to be done to cement that rise, Paramount. Use that aid well."

[Imperial-Octavia]

Italy

J'eil saw Cannolo's question as good enough reason to reveal who he really was. A part of "Luigi's" neck would seemingly unlatch itself from his flesh and Luigi would place his hand underneath the muscle underneath it and pulled upward revealing a metal caricature of a human skull. His voice would change to a less rough voice and turn into something far friendlier, "Alright the truth then, my name is J'eil, the emissary of a inter-galatic empire interested in your gang's stand users. I was assigned here to see what these stands were and see if the gang would accept work from my liege." J'eil let a beat pass to let Cannolo absorb the information that he just gave him, "Now, my Imperium is willing to help Passione with the syndicate problem when we invade this planet, but my liege requires the aid of your organization to complete some tasks. I can assure you that if you take our offer your gang will prosper." J'eil reapplied the fake flesh and skin and his voice reassumed the previous rough tone as if nothing had happened.

Above and below the Galaxy

A few sensors detected some odd objects located above and below the galactic plane. Octavia rarely bothered to deal with that was outside the galactic plane unless it gave the Imperium some benefit and this seemed to be one of those cases. In the current time of intergalactic unrest, the Tactical Codex decided to deal with the objects. Infinity class space station's would focus their lasers at them and with their long range capabilities they would be within their range. 5 stations were assigned to each object and they would continue firing upon the objects until they were destroyed. Hopefully this would not pull yet another star-state into this growing debacle.

The Paramount's Palace

Yet another message, this time from Bombrunner. The Deceptions were valued allies of Octavia at this quite precarious moment and The Paramount was aware of this. And so even though he thought that Bombrunner could find out this information in other ways he decided to answer the message personally.

To: Bombshell
The allies of Octavia are numerous. In our current alliance we have the Visoran Empire (synthetic), The Hobbes Dystopia (Lead by a synthetic), The Mighty Yamato Empire (organic for now), American Pere Housh (organic), and of course the Deception Empire. That is the complete alliance we currently have.

As The Paramount finished writing the message the wisp began speaking again and as The Paramount turned to look at it he saw an old enemy. Zen. The previous leader of the Ignis States. The Paramount had long suspected he had axed himself off and did the universe a favor, but instead he decided to come to his senses and begin supporting The Paramount. Albeit his support was based in some odd fascination with The Paramount's power when paired with the module, but support was support. He could feel Zen had gained more power, much more, but he wasn't surprised. He did seem like the type to continue training and what not, however The Paramount saw an opportunity in Zen's new heights of power, "We supposed you can say that the war is going against our favor. You can help us with that though. There's this cruiser from the United Government..." The Paramount showed the predicted location of the Cruiser to Zen "The civilization that made it is incredibly advanced and multiple of our allies have tried and failed to destroy it. We would like you to assault it with the rest of our allies. With your power it shouldn't give you too much of an issue." The Paramount didn't fully believe that Zen would steamroll it, but it would be quite funny seeing Zen get broadsided with those ridiculously sized guns.

The Paramount had one final thing he wanted to do today, he had to assemble all of their allies to put this cruiser down and with the current communication lines in their alliance it would be easy.

To all members of the Octavian Coalition
As some of you may have heard there is a Cruiser that has caused the Octavian nation some significant harm. In order for all of our nations to achieve our goals we must take this cruiser down. As such we order all Octavian allied vessels to combine at the Octavian Ringworld. From there we will find the Cruiser and whatever may accompany it and destroy it. We recommend you bring the most firepower you can afford to bring. We must leave no chance of this Cruiser's survival and crush it completely.

The Paramount sent the message off to the motely crew of nations and hoped that they would be able to overwhelm the ship with sheer firepower alone. The Paramount did have his doubts though. Major doubts.

[Visoran]

Hub 00

---

To all members of the Octavian Coalition
As some of you may have heard there is a Cruiser that has caused the Octavian nation some significant harm. In order for all of our nations to achieve our goals we must take this cruiser down. As such we order all Octavian allied vessels to combine at the Octavian Ringworld. From there we will find the Cruiser and whatever may accompany it and destroy it. We recommend you bring the most firepower you can afford to bring. We must leave no chance of this Cruiser's survival and crush it completely.

The Hivemind noticed the message as soon as it had been sent out. Good. The Hivemind believed a combined offensive would be precisely what was needed to bring this cruiser to it's knees, and then crush it. Likely no single ship, no matter how powerful, would bring that cruiser down. It's crew had proved too intelligent to fall for a single ship on ship action. Brute force would likely have to win the day over strategy...

The Hivemind quickly prepared for this next stage of combat, as the WK Class Wold Cruiser was removed from it's drydock, preparations fully complete... And then it was gone, now sitting in orbit of the ringworld. A short and simple message was quickly sent-

The Visoran are ready to commit to the needed fleet actions.

[Hobbes Dystopia]

To all members of the Octavian Coalition
As some of you may have heard there is a Cruiser that has caused the Octavian nation some significant harm. In order for all of our nations to achieve our goals we must take this cruiser down. As such we order all Octavian allied vessels to combine at the Octavian Ringworld. From there we will find the Cruiser and whatever may accompany it and destroy it. We recommend you bring the most firepower you can afford to bring. We must leave no chance of this Cruiser's survival and crush it completely.

Alpha 4 Military Rally Station
The Strategic Mind took 0.5 seconds to properly assimilate the message sent by it's synthetic leader. He immediately summoned General Varplan to the war room.
"Ready all troops to depart, we are going to join the other fleets of Octavia and it's Allies, our combined strength will certainly destroy that cruiser."- The General listened motionless, he already knew that sooner or later he would be sent to "the great unknown" and meet the Octavians. And he was strangely happy, eager to see their technical and tactical advances.
"Oh, and general, make sure to take with you some of our new "assimilated" soldiers, they will surely please the Paramount. Now go."
As the General exited the room, the Strategic Mind proceeded to calculate the probability of survival for those 20 battleships, reaching the conclusion that it was near zero. He could not send them reinforcements, nor could he regularly transmit them orders or strategic assessments. However, loosing those 20 Corvettes, all equipped with the new Octavian technology, was a price worth paying to assure the Dystopia's place in the alliance built by Octavia.