An Interdimensional Incident (IC, CLOSED)

[Mirum]

Somewhere Off The Coast of Eleyta, Mirum
Onboard the Devastator-class Supercarrier MNV Loyalty
Dec. 25th, 2021
9:12 AM Local Time

President Elmspirit, Admiral Thehin, Captain Newhall, and several other officers stood on the bridge of the Loyalty, addressing the situation that pertained to the Eleyta situation. Several other high-profile Mirian officials were present- even if by secure radio- as well as Marshal Benjamin Derrick Sam Fiannaidhe and Major Claire Zhang Yijun of Valentine Z as observers. One such officer, Commander Nathanial Hazelcrown (also the The Assistant Minister of Defense and War), elaborated on the situation.

"...I hereby propose that we perform a pincer maneuver on these invaders. They will not see it coming, despite how often it is used. Come to think of it, a joint-force pincer maneuver would be nearly unthought of, and therefore would most likely catch them completely off guard. We would have our fleet bombard the city, while our army waits on land to cut them off in the forest, should they try to flee. I also-" Commander Hazelcrown began, before the radio began to fizzle, "-that we-" *SKKKKKT* "-missiles-" *SKKKKKT* "-communications-" *SKKKKKT* and the radio cut out entirely before a horrid, high-pitched, and terrifying screeching noise overtook the bridge, as many on the deck began to cover their ears and wince. Alarms began to blare on the ship, signaling the reactor had gone offline, and was initiating SCRAM procedures.

"CAN'T YOU SHUT IT OFF?!" President Elmspirit yelled over the screeching noise while covering her ears, "I SAID SHUT IT OFF!" A junior officer quickly cut all the audio communications, and silenced the alarm.

"What in the Underdark was that?!" Captain Newhall panicked, "Did they find out our plan and decide to use electronic warfare?"

"I would doubt that very much, sir." Commander Hazelcrown's voice chimed in, as the radio system rebooted, as with the other systems on the vessel, "If they were to use electronic warfare directly on us and they wanted to, then our systems would've been knocked out. Permanently. Rather, I believe that this could've been a byproduct of something, but I am at a loss as to what."

"MADAM PRESIDENT! You might want to come see this." A junior officer yelled from outside, pointing upward. President Elmspirit and several others rushed outside, and glanced upward. In the midmorning sky above, a large, dark object was careening through the sky in flames, toward the coast and toward Eleyta. "I think that's the ship, ma'am."

"It can't be, can it?" Captain Newhall wondered out loud, "I was told that it would impact in a few weeks after blast, not a few days."

"That looks to be it, alright. Where will it be impacting?" President Elmspirit asked.

Another junior officer shrugged, "I can't give you the specifics because of its' size, but I can tell you a few miles from Eleyta at the minimum."

"Commander Hazelcrown?" Lyra Elmspirit began, took a breath, and exhaled, "Do it."

"Yes, ma'am." Commander Hazelcrown's voice said, before the radio was turned off.

"They'll need ground and support. Send in the 4^th Army Corps, the 3^rd Tank Division, and the 1^st Fighter Battalion. Put Commander Hazelcrown in command."President Elmspirit commanded.

The Woods Northwest of Eleyta, Mirum
Onboard C-10C Serial No. 42542

4^th Paratrooper Company,
25^th Arcane Battalion,
4^th Army Corps

Dec. 25th, 2021
9:17 AM Local Time

The cargo aircraft soared through the sky above the forest as it raced its way toward the city ahead. The troops inside were silent, awaiting the green light that signaled their time to drop. Among the silent troops was Lieutenant Arhana Sai, whom had but less than a day before been in a meeting with President Elmspirit. The wait seemed to last an eternity, especially to soldiers like Lt. Sai, who lacked the patience of some of the more experienced soldiers. At last, the light turned green, and the rear and side doors opened. The jumpmaster didn't even have to order the paratroopers to disembark, as the moment the doors swung open, the drop began. Lt. Sai, who was the commanding officer of Squad 3, was the first in line out the left door and her squad followed, while Squad 1 and Squad 2 jumped out the right and rear doors respectively. Not long after Lt. Sai jumped, the static line pulled taught, and her parachute deployed. Her landing zone was in a large clearing near the edge of the forest. Her company's orders were to fall back to the trees and assist the armored divisions that were on their approach to the city. The liberation of Eleyta had begun.

Just Off The Coast Of Eleyta, Mirum
Onboard the MNV Silence (Attack Submarine)
Dec. 25th, 2021
9:23 AM Local Time

Captain Bardor Steelgrip stood on the command deck of his submarine, the MNV Silence. Not but seconds ago, he had received orders to assist in the bombardment of Eleyta in order to soften up the extraterrestrial troops that were holding the city. Captain Steelgrip and his crew were now making the final preparations to fire off half of the submarine's 24 cruise missiles, which would, surely, be enough to take out at least some of the enemy. Also in the fleet were the MNV Nova (Dauntless-class), MNV Interceptor (Intrepid-class), MNV Intrepid (Intrepid-class), and MNV Goliath (Titan-class). At first, the Nova and Goliath would bombard the city with their main batteries, then the Intrepid and Silence would fire half of their missiles to finish them off. Two minutes passed, and the order to fire came. The bombardment's first strike came from the Nova (Specifically Turret No. 1, Gun 1), which launched a full broadside (firing one at a time, bow to stern), followed by the Goliath. This repeated about three or four more times, before all fell silent for about a minute, then the Intrepid began the missile bombardment. Then the Silence joined in, the battleship and cruiser unloading more shells onto the city. Within the first few minutes, only a few of the walkers fell before something strange began to happen. The walkers split up, twenty headed inland, while twenty headed toward the beach. Whatever was happening, it wasn't good...

---

TL;DR / Notes:
The retaking of Eleyta has begun. I'll respond to this as Drecha because I'm lazy and want to get this up as fast as possible in order to build suspense and get around to addressing the other RPers' posts as soon as I possibly can in a third megapost from Drecha. No official response to the Arkiv's internet outage yet because timecrunch that's not as important RN as the retaking of Eleyta is to Mirum's leadership.

[The Arkiv]

Chapter VI: Excession
+++++Undesignated Arkiv System+++++

The Arkiv stilled.
Over their almost two millennia of existence, the Arkiv had encountered a myriad of threats. Some, were basic, like rogue asteroids, stellar phenomena, and other freak natural events that nonetheless could be either endured or halted altogether.
Others, were more complex. Interstellar civilizations, panicked about the concept of the Arkiv, attacking in an attempt to cleanse a percieved threat from the cosmos. The Arkiv could not fault them for inferior organic reasoning, driven to such emotional response as 'fear', and due to their own limitations waged war much like an immune system, simply building up to the point that incursion was impossible and deescelating after the cessation of hostilities.

The Drechans were a change.
Fundamentally, the Arkiv did not particularly care for their leader's long winded monologue. It fell upon effectively deaf ears and blind eyes, as the Arkiv perception narrowed to a single subjective 'point'.
Existential Threat. The Arkiv had detected, for once in their existence, a true existential threat. Thus, in their own unique doctrine, the Arkiv began to...change, their attitude towards the Drechans. They were not some conquering power that could be placated by a cost-benefit analogy, they had seen fit-and indeed were able-to wipe an entire planet from existence. Time slowed to a crawl for the Network, as Ansibles fired and drafted new battleplans, new orders, new schematics-the Drechans obviously utilized some form of gravitic weapon, and the large construct at the center of the Drechan Fleet was obviously the sole carrier of this weapon. Ergo, it was to be the target.

Immediately, the Network fractured, if only slightly and metaphorically, to create a newer, smaller, more specialized progeny. Improvised General Defense Network, classified RK60. Meaning of RK60: Type R for Restricted Membership, K for Killing Star Scenario, 6 for level of Ansible Priority, and 0 for Ethical Constraint. Effectively, it was restricted to minds that were capable of understanding and waging war in the most efficient way possible, created in the event of a xeno civilization capable of wiping out the Arkiv in totality manifesting, the third-highest priority for communication lines, second only to vital traffic, and no ethical constraints whatsoever.

For what was a mere handful of seconds to Drecha, the Arkiv, completely unbeknownst to him, had mobilized, and become something far worse than he could have ever anticipated. Ships matching the Liberation's profile, numbering thrice that of the Dark Orb's escorts, Shockingly began blitzing across the system in ordered jumps, seemingly linked to a variety of inoccuous satellites scattered across interplanetary space. One third each mustered in orbit around each of the remaining worlds, which in turn had their own changes brought about. The outermost one's surface was rapidly shifting and seemingly rippling, seeming to be assembling some strange device. The middle planet, which possessed a constellation of skeletal shipyards, had appeared to busy itself with one such berth, although the project was hidden from the Drechan sensors by a cloud of jamming, the size of the berth indicated a vessel exceeding even the Liberation in size. Finally, on the innermost planet, what appeared to be swarms of metallic flowers-which from the limited exchange of information with the Arkiv, Drecha knew to be ansible arrays operating on some principle to convey information instantly through the manipulation of quantum-entangled electrons-began to unfold and rotate to face roughly the Dark Orb, for some as-yet unknown purpose.

Yet even then, the Arkiv response did not cease. Defensive platforms, from wallowing hulks between the planets to the swarms of launch tubes orbiting and sitting upon the surface of worlds, opened up and dispensed their deadly payloads-Torch Missiles. Vehicles of destruction with such powerful engines that they could chase a vessel across a star system, they lit in a barrage of beacon-bright infared signatures and hurled into interplanetary arcs, seemingly planning on rendevouzing about a lagrange point created by the Dark Orb's presence and from there launching into an all-out attack on the escort fleet. A similar swarm of candlelight signatures indicated a veritable armada of ships-obviously not tailored to war and rather industry, but still a massive fleet of 15,000, began to pull away from their previously parked orbits about asteroids and dwarf planets, some travelling inward from high orbital arcs, others clawing outward from their positions around the star and planets. Although they were, as previously stated, not designed for the art of waging war, the capacity to manufacture a fleet of missiles and strike craft was a formidable one, and from the way their engines strained to wallow them into the proper trajectories, they had loaded their gullets with raw material.

To the untrained eye, the Arkiv response appeared discordant, incoherent. Not as the ordered formation of a warfleet, but the rapid response of a foe caught flat-footed. If one looked deeper, however, there was an inherent harmony to the movement of the vessels and missiles, that seemed to indicate a greater force at play-much like how the cells of a body fight off disease by surrounding and absorbing offending pathogens.

+++++Starcruiser "Liberation", Terra+++++

The Liberation, in its current situation, would likely have found it a far easier affair to simply shoot down the Starcruiser while it was still in atmosphere. However, that would have caused planetary devastation, due to the mass and cargo of the Starcruiser.
Ergo, the only other logical solution was to battle it on the ground, in the Arkiv fashion. The Liberation followed the Starcruiser, but diverged in trajectory. Where the Starcruiser was rapidly, uncontrollably hurtling towards the ground, the Liberation was haltingly "gliding" downwards through the atmosphere. The plasma sheath generated by re-entry forcibly deflected and dispersed by whatever space-warping drive was permitting its movement. Somewhere in the Mirian countryside, it impacted. The entire structure seemed to fold in on itself and pancake, flexing and actuating on thousands of newly-formed joints and limbs as it first halted its descent forcefully, and then seemed to...almost merge with the ground, slowly and inexorably sinking into the soil before the few fully solid components vanished into the soil with an audible "crump" and an outburst of soil. As the final parts of the vessel sank out of sight, the upturned soil mended itself, seemlingly flowing back to how it once was, with even the plants re-emerging. Sure, they grew larger than they were previously, and had a darker hue to them than the surroundings, but otherwise there was a near-identical match to the ones from before. However, underground was the site of real changes, as the roots, no longer formed entirely of plant matter, grew, and grew, and grew, intertwining with those of nearby plantlife, and spreading with alarming pace.

[Drecha]

SOLAR SYSTEM (Svenska-Britannia)
The Supercruiser had sat, waited, and watched for four months. Scanning. Planning. Preparing. Until the day had come. Reenforcements had arrived at the edge of the system, and progressed toward the planet. A massive force including fifty Starcruisers and twenty-six Supercruisers (if one was to count the single Supercruiser that had stayed and waited) surged from the outer boundary of the system, shields up, weapons ready. This was, by no means, a slow trip. It only took eight minutes from the time which the force would have arrived and have been detected until their arrival above their target. The Supercruisers moved to engage the enemy starfleet, while the Starcruisers launched their payloads of walkers and fighters to attack the enemy below. Not long after a little over half the landing force made it through, the shields were raised, and the other half was destroyed when they slammed into the shield. What happened next would remain to be seen.

---

UNKNOWN SYSTEM, ARKIV SPACE
Spotting the mess of incoming vessels, it was decided that instead of wasting ships on a weak attack, two Supercruisers would split off from the main force and continue the mission over Terra. The remaining vessels began to open fire, as the Dark Orb began to prepare to retreat. The Starcruisers and Supercruisers then assumed a defensive, pyramid-shaped position, from which overlapping fire could be easily placed.

---

ELEYTA, TERRA (Mirum / Arkiv)
What was left of the Starcruiser, post-impact, was filled to the brim with soldiers and walkers, however, it should be noted that this was a mere half of what had been originally onboard. The other half had either landed or perished when the Starcruiser broke in two, with only one third of the Starcruiser entering the Terran atmosphere. The troops poured out of the wreck, advancing with an unforeseen pace, toward the enemy.

---

OVER DEAD EARTH (Californian Fallen Angels)
The Starcruiser took the lack of response as an affirmative, as it began to land its walkers in a large flat area, which would be used to clear the area so the Starcruiser could land. This was to show the leadership of this world their power, and allow them to board the ship, should they so choose. An infiltration soldier (Changeling), designation 4233-I-AN-54432, was chosen to represent this vessel as its' 'leader'. 4233-I-AN-54432, assumed its' natural state, and a outfit similar to the uniform worn by the standard soldiers- minus the helmet- and the entry ramp was lowered. The walkers moved into an attentive position near the ramp, as did the soldiers and droids, before another message was broadcast.

Come to us. Meet us. We would like to talk. Face to face. Our emissary to yours. We are waiting. We assure you, no harm will befall you. Should you wish, we can find a different site to meet.

---

OOC Section:
The Author's Comment:
Okay, so some of you might be a bit confused about this post. Another RP-wide timeskip has not happened yet. I am getting SB caught up to speed here, so the only ones who have to worry about this are SB and myself. On another note, if you were not featured in this post, please, KEEP WORKING. I will get to you when you post next. Do not be discouraged if you can't fully keep up. These things, they take time, you know? You can do it. I believe in you.

[Svenska-Britannia]

THE SACRED WAR.
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton

Alternate Earth, Sol System

The Battle for Earth has officially begun all across the four corners of the planet. The Confederation and the rest of the independent nations across the globe have all accepted an unconditional military alliance with the Confederation being the leading Hyperpower for the defense of the planet. Citizens have been directed to stay far from conflict zones and evacuate to the nearest safe area, The Grand Emperor of the Confederation gave a speech to his citizens and reassuring them of the situation and promising vengeance against the alien invaders

Battlestars in High Earth Orbit began their fierce and brutal fighting against the Supercruisers, thousands of millions of shells, tachyon beams and missiles fired away in the blackness of space while at the same time the Longbow Super-Cannons fired away at the largest ships of the alien fleet with their Zero-Point Shells.

On the planet itself, the Alien forces would be greeted upon the sight of Hundreds of Millions of troops and countless multitudes of War machines. The Invading force realize that they are not facing off against any other force, they are fighting against men and women with nothing in their hearts except rage and hatred against their enemies. For each city that were to be besieged by the hostile forces, the Confederation’s forces fought wildly like a rabid mother defending her children.

Fighters and Bombers filled the skies of the planet like a swarm of angry hornets, Battleships and other Naval vessels filled the oceans with a Tsunami of Fire and Death against the Enemy Forces engaging them. Missiles, Guns, and other Weapons were being hurled to their enemy with Raging Hatred to protect the Civilians and their Beloved Families.

Drecha has awakened the Svenska-Britannian sleeping giant after decades of peace, and now it is hungry for the satiating feeling of Vengeance and Unfiltered Fury..

[Qhevak]

The Oortian Community of Qhevak, for all its local strength, was not a true dimensional power. While having quite mastered the science of warp and wormholes, and capable of zipping across a galaxy in less than a year, the ability to go sideways between the worlds, rip open holes to places with different physics and histories altogether, still eluded them. Still, it had its own means of exploring other realities. The galaxy it lived in was old, had played home to many ancient precursor Imperiums and eldritch horrors - and in certain areas, the geometries of space and time were not quite right. This had shown itself in plenty of odd ways, but one of the best known was the fractal Earths, scores of alternate versions of the same world scattered throughout the galaxy. While some had born stellar civilizations of their own, many were persistently lower tech, without even knowledge of the broader galaxy. This had led many galactic powers to ignore them once they had gotten over the initial weirdness and it became nothing more than an interesting factoid.

While on the large as disinterested as many, Qhevak was home to a broad arrange of strange groups and cultures, some of whom were quite interested in these sorts of anomalies. Which is why when, over four months earlier, an enormous, unidentified FTL warship had dropped warp only a single AU from the Fractal Earth playing home to the civilization known as Mirum, a small Qhevaki research probe hiding in the inner Kuiper Belt was one of the first to know. When, two months later, the probe hurtled back into the Oortian Community at max warp, sending its message of invaders from places unknown, many were still uninterested. Qhevak, despite its recent growing integration, was still premised on staying mostly separate from the rest of the galaxy, and did not wish to involve itself in a large-scale conflict unless it could be proved that it threatened the Community itself. But some were interested, nonetheless. Qhevak’s eclectic array of mercenaries were always jumping at new challenges, and Kokopelli, the great strategic planning group mind built into the clouds and orbitals of the gas giant Ullr, was quite interesting in analyzing the potential long-term threat posed by this new entity. And with the Community’s decentralization, no one really had the power to stop them. Which is how, on one very dark Christmas Day, a task force of Burning Quasar, the de facto militia force of Qhevak’s massive Moria Hab and Kokopelli eirself, found itself de-warping just a light minute from Mirum’s raging war.

---

Strike Squadron 2, Burning Quasar Mission Group Tau
Terra [Mirum] [α Quadrant]
December 25th, 2021 NSY :: 2:03 PM Eleyta Local Time

---

The task force was buzzing with activity the very microsecond it left warp, weapons charging and red-hot droplet radiators spreading as hordes of microsats shot from their hulls, forming into distributed interferometry arrays scanning everything from visible and infrared to gravity and tachyons. It was a mid-size task force with a triplet of two-kilometer Archangel fighters, shaped like long thin spiky pyramids bristling in particle beam firepower. They were flanked by over a hundred secondary craft – needlelike Mikha’Il lance fighters, multipurpose Seraph cruisers, as well as a planetary assault wing of Grizzlies operated by the private contractor Shivastra.

As the interferometer swarms zeroed in on Mirum’s Earth, the fleet was quickly both relieved and mildly disappointed. The Starcruiser, formerly a huge bulk dwarfing any craft the Community fielded in warfare, had somehow crashed into the surface, its wreck a titanic metal mountain splayed across the surface. At this distance and with heavy winter cloud cover, determining the cause, or how much aboard survived, was practically impossible, but with the tech implied by such a craft an accident appeared unlikely.

Strike Squadron 2
Naval Task Force Internal Comms

---

[TacMind Politics By Other Means] (Archangel-class Primary) (Class B2): Was not expecting an utter wreck to be the only ship we had to face. Formally registering my disappointment, hoped to see how those things held up.

[TacMind Done Being A Plowshare] (Archangel-class Primary) (Class B2): Not much visual evidence of penetrating energy weapon hits, far as I can see. Parts look torn open and flash burned, consistent with thermonuclear proximity burst.

Mirum is a Tier-6, as far as we know. If a ship that large was killed by a primitive ballistic they’ve gotta have either absolutely awful point defense or let themselves be hit – either way, good sign for us. I would rate more probable that the weapon was fired by another interstellar civ. Volunteering my assets for FTL observation duty, if they are still nearby I should be able to catch it.

[TacMind Raining On Your Parade] (Archangel-class Primary) (Class B2): Copy that, Plowshare. Looking at nearby readings there appear to be troop movements around the vessel, but current distance is insufficient for proper observation. Given the city it appears to have crashed near, I would expect conflict with natives to occur soon. Politics, I assume you will be volunteering to investigate. I will maintain moderate distance, monitor for any additional in-system anomalies.

[TacMind Politics By Other Means] (Archangel-class Primary) (Class B2)[/): You know me well, Parade. I will move in, check it out, hopefully give them a taste of hot electron penetration if I can.

The Politics By Other Means tugged slightly on the strings of higher dimensions and a bubble of warped spacetime flowed up around it, shifting towards Mirum at just above the speed of light before dewarping to a halt just a hundred thousand kilometers away. Maneuvering thrusters flickered in brief bursts, orienting the mighty vessel towards the crash site while stabilizing its orbit. The vessel’s TacMind peered down, the interferometry array spreading out once more to look with a much finer degree of detail. Cloud cover was, once again, preventing too fine a look, but far more information could still be gleaned.

Strike Squadron 2
Naval Task Force Internal Comms

---

[TacMind Politics By Other Means] (Archangel-class Primary) (Class B2): Tracking unknown ground forces moving from wreckage, appears out towards population centers. Appears to be centered around large three-legged walker types – no idea how they are making it practical, but what the hell do we know about their tech base anyway? From what can be observed, city seems have been abandoned. Would guess it was attacked by precursor landing force, cannot get good enough visuals.

Local forces are moving to engage walkers but are still relatively far – are attempting pincer movement with battleship support. Gonna be difficult to take out much of the invader’s more spread-out units from orbit given current cloud cover, but I can always slice up the wreckage, kill anything still inside, and follow-up on anything I see.

[TacMind Done Being A Plowshare] (Archangel-class Primary) (Class B2): Copy, Politics. Authorizing strike, on condition you limit firepower to avoid damage to locals. Do not want a repeat of what went down in the Lieren Toy War.

[TacMind Politics By Other Means] (Archangel-class Primary) (Class B2): They were absolutely asking for it, but oh well.

One more thing. I am seeing some odd anomalies in plant life near the craft – slightly different visible hue. Not sure if natural, but it is something to look out for. Anyway, enough talk – time to get more shapes on the tally.

Thrusters puffed twice briefly on the fighter’s fore and rear as the spinal moved into position, accompanied by gentle shifts in the four main battery turrets. The interferometry array folded in, as the craft switched to onboard phased array detection – much lower resolution, but still quite adequate against most ground targets at his distance. A second of silence passed, as the TacMind checked firing vectors, carefully observed the surroundings to ensure ey would not accidentally violate any of the annoying interstellar legal suggestions of war. Then ey fired.

A relativistic electron beam was near invisible and utterly silent in space, save, of course, for what it did to it's unfortunate target. In an atmosphere, this was the opposite of the case. Five pencil-thin terawatt beams of near-light subatomic particles shot down, each ionizing the atmosphere into a smooth, blinding white thunderbolt that roared like a never-ending volcanic eruption. They spent a minute slashing through the starcruiser’s wreckage with blazing fury, sweeping a tight pattern of bisecting lines across its breadth. The fighter’s magnetically confined droplet radiators spread outwards as they did, surrounding it in a kilometers wide halo of blazing liquid metal that dumped the colossal thermal load into vacuum as fast as it could. Then the beams found further targets, searching outward for signs of Drechan troop movements and blasting them with brief electron bursts. It was winter, Christmas Day, and the cloud cover was too great to find too many mobile targets – but the TacMind was happy to blast what ey could.

It was five minutes before the guns stopped, the continuous nuclear-equivalent fire bringing them near to the point of melting. Politics By Other Means spread eir interferometry array once more, gazing down at maximum resolution into the devastation that had been wrought, and it was good.

Another two dozen warpships popped into normalspace right after, these ones into a low orbit just four hundred kilometers above the planet. These were much smaller than the Archangels – Grizzly planetary attack craft, each just two hundred meters in length. Heavy mass drivers opened up on full automatic as they did, each one sending a storm of fifty-ton drop pods hurtling down towards Eleyta on high-speed trajectories. It was time to take the fight closer.

[The Arkiv]

Chapter VII: Clarketech
+++++Undesignated Arkiv System+++++

The Arkiv Offensive met the Drechan Fleet with silent, blinding light.

The first to impact were the Missiles. Although many could have been swiftly dispatched, matters were complicated by the sheer variety of each payload. Individual missiles split into dozens of kill-vehicles, some kinetic impactors, designed to penetrate and abrade. Others, warheads, designed to blind and sear with the light of nuclear power. Deadlier still, though, were the Nuclear-Shaped Charges. Calibrated around the percieved range of Drechan point-defenses, they detonated outside the envelope of reliable interception. Some plowed low-C particle beams into the formation, others sending forth blindingly fast projectiles capable of crumpling portions of hull and cracking smaller ships in twain, while a third category blazed cones of x-ray light, aimed to blind and disrupt the myriad weapons of the fleet.

The ships had hung behind, but while the MIL-IND factory ships churned out yet more missiles for the offensive, fifty vessels-all matching the Liberation in build-had decelerated from some kind of sublight warp drive in formation. The Drechan fleet would detect a hundred more further in-system, fifty on the planet rapidly assembling surface infrastructure, and fifty more about the world assembling some kind of vessel.

Aboard the ships before the Drechan Fleet, however, internal changes were occurring. The workings of Drechan AI and Parasites had been dissected, analyzed across the trillion minds of the Bioapotheosis Subculture and refracted, warped and distorted to create a new, and ultimately deadly weapon against the Hivemind. A Psychic Lance. Aboard each ship was an immense, supercooled mass of biological material and nanomachines, dormant but rapidly awakening. In unison, the Lance's components reached out to each other, networking and building off of each other's strength into a positive feedback loop, psychic energy coiling like a spring, wound to snap at a moment’s notice. Meanwhile, the Ansibles of the innermost world came to life, their data-stores swelling with custom-tailored Viruses, feral VIs, and cognitohazards designed to disorient and break down the Parasites and AIs of the Drechan Fleet. A brutal new tactic, unlike the previous attempts by the Network at seizing control.

The assault on the Hivemind was expected by Drecha, but not in the savage form it manifested as. A swirling cloud of virtual teeth and claws manifested, a feeding frenzy as the psycho-digital specters the Arkiv had created were unleashed upon the Fleet, flensing away at AI, Parasite, and each other with wild abandon, a maelstrom that threatened to grow with every subsumed mind until it spilled over into the greater Hivemind. At the heart of it all, a blazing beam of psychic light bored into the minds of the AIs inhabiting the Dark Orb, intent on burning them out completely rather than the previous method of taking over. Swifter, more brutal, and indicative to Drecha that the Arkiv, who were previously petrified at even the slightest potentiality of losing a mind to permanent death, had abandoned that philosophy in the face of annihilation.

+++++Mirian Countryside, Terra+++++

The Arkiv infestation continued to grow. Spreading rapidly beneath the ground, millions of cubic meters of nanite began to filter out into their hijacked root system, serving as both a heat-dispersion matrix for the still-operating Reactors of the dismantled Liberation, and hijacking more than mere grasses.

Trees that, by all means, should have been dead and barren began to grow. Thick, waxy leaves dark as night flowered from branches. Flowers erupted from snow and frost-covered dirt, unfurling to great heights with dark grey petals, aimed skyward with glittering silver flecks. Squirrels, birds, and other herbivores were confused by this turn of events, but took the opportunity for an early snack, devouring contaminated plant matter-which released payloads of gene-plagues and nanotech into their systems, which would eventually alter them in ways none could imagine.

Meanwhile, however, the minds of the Liberation convened on their findings from scouring the primitive communication network of the planet. Their internal thoughts all landed on the same idea; Magic. Metaphysical manipulation of the universe. Its mechanics, revealed. Although true spells were stored within guarded libraries, the Arkiv were a culture of experimenters, and the propensity for custom spells raised important questions. For now, the would-be-wizards waited, calculating countless different configurations for spells while their colony rooted itself, preparing for the inevitable conflict against the Drechan invaders.

[Mirum]

Somewhere Off The Coast of Eleyta, Mirum
Onboard the Devastator-class Supercarrier MNV Loyalty
Dec. 25th, 2021
9:34 AM Local Time

A black-suited government official wearing dark sunglasses quietly stepped onto the bridge, and pulled President Elmspirit away from the gathered crowd of politicians and military officials, before whispering something into her ear. Elmspirit listened very closley, a grave expression befalling her face, before she whispered something back into the ear of the official.

"Thank you." President Elmspirit nodded, as the official turned to leave. She rejoined the group of officials, and informed them, "I have just been informed of some recent developments in the war." She zoomed the map out, and turned it to focus on an area not far from the crash site of the alien vessel, where a large black splotch slowly expanded across the land. "It seems as if we have another visitor. It is unknown what they want, or what they are doing, but it seems, from their recent activities, that they are an enemy of our invaders, which is good. However, it seems they are doing something in violation of standard warfare conventions, as what it looks like is that they are using some form of bioweapon. We cannot allow this to continue, so we need to establish contact and contain it. That is already underway, however, to ensure their motives are what we think they are, I have a test in mind which I will reveal when the time is ripe." She paused to allow questions to be asked, before continuing, "In the meanwhile, we will continue to push forward to Eleyta, doing whatever we must to retake the city. Should this fail, and no progress be made, I will have no choice but to call in a Code 13- a nuclear strike. As much as the city holds a large chunk of infrastructure, it is no longer inhabited by our civilian populace, and therefore is a military target. We cannot allow the city to be used as a stronghold for our enemy." Silence filled the room. Everyone knew what would happen if they failed to stop the spread of this invasion in its early stages, and everyone knew why such decisions were being made so soon. No one liked the idea of a nuclear war, but an alien invasion with unknown consequences would be far worse in the opinion of the majority here. Right now was not the time for caution. Now was the time to rise up and stop this invasion before it was too late. "If anyone has another plan, now would be the time to reveal it."

Somewhere in the Golden Sand Desert,
Installation 25b (UNDERGROUND TOP SECRET BLACK SITE)
Dec. 25th, 2021
10:43 AM Local Time

An alarm sounded in the Situation Control Room, signiling further instructions were on their way. The commander turned her head toward the monitor, and watched. Green text appeared in the top right corner of the screen. "Orders from high up. Unknown alien bioweapon deployed. Contain it. Study it. Contact it." That last part was unusual. She thought, and finally, an image appeared on screen. It showed the bioweapon's effects on a large area, and how it was spreading- according to the notation, at least- and coordinates were provided. The commander didn't hesitate. She picked up the M1C and spoke into it.
"Command to response teams. Command to response teams. Anomaly detected. Bioweapon-type. Extraterrestrial origin. Unknown risk, unknown class. Proceed with extreme caution. First response deployment within seven minutes. All personell, this is not a drill. This is not a drill. Flight crews to your aircraft. Response teams to your transports. This is not a drill. Orders to be provided en-route. This is not a drill. Command, out."
She knew the orders would be carried out and to the letter. Her troops were the finest in Mirum and perhaps the world. Minutes later, the first teams were on their way to the site. They would land, samples would be taken, and contact made. Containment would happen next, as the willingness of The Visitors, as they were beginning to be called, would determine the route of containment.

Somewhere Northwest of Eleyta, Mirum, 10 minutes later...
The 4^th Army Corps and the 3^rd Tank Division began to advance slowly and quietly on the approaching forces. Many of the soldiers hid in the thick foliage of the forest, while the tanks remained as still as possible. The enemy lines kept moving foward, then the troops came. The walkers, by this time, had begun to move out to sea, the twenty remaining had remained at the edge of the city. The hoardes of troops were nearly upon them. Seconds passed, as the troops marched ever closer to the Mirian lines. Silence for a few tense seconds. They were within range now. Then the order came, and torrents of steel and lead were unleashed on the Drechanian troops. Explosions rang through the air- both arcane and nonmagical alike. The Mirian troops fought to the death, and with a ferocity of a cornered tiger. Needless to say, the Drechanians may have seen the Mirian troops, but they did not see this coming.

Edge of the Arkiv 'Crash' Site, 7 minutes later...
The SCU had arrived. Their STOL cargo planes landing just under a mile from the edge of the crash site. They poured out of their transports in full-body hazmat suits, brandishing flamethrowers, carrying science packs, and supported by flametanks. They cleared the perimeter of their site, before they advanced toward the ever-expanding Arkiv biowepon. One of them pulled out a decontaminated piece of paper with a pre-writen message* in binary (with English, German, and Elven translations as well), and placed it gently in the goop. They all then took a step back and waited.

*

Greetings and salutations. Welcome to the planet Terra. We are the Mirians, a multi-species nation- one of many- that inhabits this world. Who might you be and what might your purpose here be?

---

TL;DR / Notes:
-Response to Drecha included (combat).
-Response to Arkiv included (message).
-Respose to Qhevak coming in a later post because of the IC time differences.

[A m e n r i a]

See, usually, when an alien attacks, the first spot they'd think of hitting is America or Japan for some reason, at least before the Third World War. Not this time. We were at the forefront of this war. Waaay before the Ottomans or the Arabs chimed in. Probably because they thought of us as the greatest threat on the planet.

4 months later, Daweijian

soundtrack

Drechan walkers dropped onto the ground below, with some fighters swarming around them,, and others moving ahead for reconnaisance. In response, squadrons of Amenrian J4T Japati fighters. Flew towards them from beyond the city walls. A message was broadcasted to the invaders, giving them the benefit of the doubt, if only for a moment. Unidentified alien vehicles, you are in the territory of the Empire of Amenria. Land your aircraft at the nearest spaces and dismount from your vehicles. I repeat: land your aircraft and dismount from your vehicles. Despite the authoritative tone, Amenrian pilots are rather nervous about this one. They could feel the hostile intent coming from the Drechans, but they had standard procedure nonetheless. It doesn't help that these enemies are completely new, and nothing was known about them - not their size, not their tactics, or their physiology. Amenria stands at a technological disadvantage, and the pilots know that.

One squadron leader hears the okay from HQ. "Permission granted. Fire warning shots." Missiles flew from the fighters and right through the air near the alien craft, but they were replied with a volley of missiles? Or are those..possibly energy based explosives of some sort? The projectiles were headed directly at them, some nearly missing and others landing a direct hit in a loud boom.

Southern coast of Mutiara

The bridge of the KK Pelindung was vibrant with activity, with banks of consoles and holographic displays being operated by stern-looking individuals coordinating both the ship itself, and the task force it serves as a floating command centre to. With destroyers by her side, the carrier moved away from land and begin launcing her air squadrons, while the destroyers opened panels containing missile launchers, sending volleys at the armoured monsters the invaders brought with them.

The captain of the Pelindung, a vice admiral by the name of Jang Donghyun whispers prayers under his breath as he monitored the glowing blue displays before him. "Considering the size of those things, we're unlikely to do much to them now. We might have to throw dozens of barrages and even more planes at them. This'll be a long day. Brace yourselves." he said, followed by a brief silence, before somebody at the other end of the line replied. "They've already taken out some of our pilots stationed at the city border. I'm moving my task force as we speak to support the ones still fighting over there. God protect you, Vice Admiral."

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Battlegroup Anna - Joint Task Force ‘Zielonka’ | Colonization Vessel ‘Presidia’
Presidia, really, was not so much a vessel as a megacity crammed into a large, vaguely cone-like shape, with engines and wormhole drives. Within that cone lay vast forges, hydroponics bays, dwellings, training grounds, military and political centers, and hangars and defensive emplacements. In short, along with the three other colonization vessels, it carried much of the infrastructure for the Battlegroup to survive as an independent polity, free from the Lombardic League that had first driven its predecessors to the stars. In better days there had been dozens of them, shepherded by hundreds of warships. Attrition, betrayal, and sheer bad luck had whittled them away. With each loss, the remaining colonization vessels became ever more burdened – armor plating, point-defense batteries, vast VLS cells, skyscraper-sized EW/ECM suites appeared like cancerous growths, taken from stricken warships – those few that could be recovered, at least.

Currently, the Presidia was undergoing a refit: yet another sensor-bank was being installed, to direct her VLS batteries in their deadly work. Overseeing this, from her vantage-point in the bridge of the Renewal-class heavy cruiser Northampton, was Admiral Henrietta Lutzow; commander of the naval component of the Battlegroup and, implicitly, the Battlegroup as a whole.

And she knew, as most of Battlegroup Anna did, that their time was running out.

It was simple math; the Battlegroup was barely one percent of its original size. A bad run now could – no, would spell death. But alas: war brought in the rare ores and industrial capacity of clients upon which the Battlegroup relied. Offers of settlement left them vulnerable, and all too often settlement was a prelude to attempts at extermination, or left them vulnerable to the inevitable roving Lombard battlegroup. Battlegroup Anna faced dissolution if a war went badly, but yet it relied on it all the same.

The problem seemed to have been solved with the discovery of ‘World Machine’; a strange land, described by even the natives as some sort of video-game come to life. It had a certainty to it, with effectively perpetual conflict and decent rewards for relatively low risk.

But alas. The arrival of an unidentified vessel had caused a stir, and reinforcements were now on their way to the garrison. Rumors abounded of similar vessels arriving to other polities heralding the arrival of a vast and powerful entity set on dominating the universe.

Henrietta hoped for the sake of the Battlegroup that they were wrong.

---

Ulan-class Corvette ‘Lancer’

The iron triangle of ship design, for Battlegroup Anna, was missile capacity, range, or sensors. Each took up space that squeezed each other out, and making larger vessels that could do all three well, as opposed to merely adequately, was logistically demanding and expensive. Corvettes, for their part, went all in on sensors. For their size, they possessed immense radomes and sophisticated detection equipment. Their limited range, however, kept them close to other ships, serving as the eyes and ears for a larger fleet. It was a thankless job, but it gave the crew – and Lancer herself – time to themselves.

On normal days, the corvette had nothing but time on her hands, and aside from occasionally looking up from her dog-eared novel or a chess game to ensure her hull was executing the proper search pattern.

But today was not a normal day.

The telltale blip of a contact caused her to look up, and she began to scrutinize the sensor output. It wasn’t consistent with an asteroid, nor did it possess any similarity to past vessels. No IFF output as well…
On a whim she pulled up something that she had heard earlier; a report from the World Machine garrison, about a new, unidentified vessel arriving. Attached were raw sensor output values from the ship. She compared the two, and her heart immediately jumped into her throat.

Soon after, the crew went to general quarters, and a contact report was sent to the rest of the Task Force. A separate message was sent towards the vessel.

Code: Select all

UNIDENTIFIED VESSEL – YOU ARE APPROACHING AN AREA OF SPACE WITHIN WHICH MULTINATIONAL BATTLEGROUP ‘ANNA’ IS CURRENTLY OPERATING. IDENTIFY YOURSELF IMMEDIATELY OR YOU WILL BE PRESUMED TO BE HOSTILE AND DESTROYED.

[Drecha]

EARTH (Svenska-Britannia)
In the skies above the world, ships fought at differing ranges. The battle above was going to end fairly quickly, as even the smallest of battlestars could outmatch a few Supercruisers. This is not to say that there would not be losses on both sides. Knowing the battle was lost, things quickly switched from an orderly battle to a chaotic one. The ships drew in as close as they possibly could in an attempt to prevent the Longbows from hitting them without friendly fire. Supercruisers regularly attempted to ram and board their counterparts, while the Starcruisers kept up the barrage. If a ship was to be taken over- in part or in whole- its weapons were then to be brought to bear against the ships it had previously fought besides. The goal of the forces were to take out as many enemy ships as possible, not to provide ground support. Reinforcements were already en-route. In space, it was only a matter of time now.

On the ground, however, things were different. The fighting occured all over the place- mainly the continent of Europe- in an attempt to take out as many major cities as possible. The fighting was bloody and fierce. Overall, it was a stalemate at first- for the most part. When one side managed a victory in one place, there was a defeat in another. Yet, without the support from the space fleet, the ground war would end in Drecha's defeat- eventually. Wherever possible, the Drechanian troops began to dig in and hold their ground, while the droids marched off to their certain destruction. Whenever possible, Changelings would sneak off and attempt to infiltrate the enemy and sabotage them. The war had just begun...

---

UNKNOWN SYSTEM, ARKIV SPACE
The battle was nearly lost. The starships had been essentially paralized by this blast, and were too busy fighting it off to do anything. Even the Dark Orb had been fried by this, however, there was still hope for Drecha. A failsafe remained in the Dark Orb- one that forced the completion of the last order to reach the station. In this case, that was to retreat. The station powered up, and began to jump back to the Hive. It would need months upon months of repair because of this, but it would survive. There was one more trick up Drecha's metaphorical sleeve. He had expected another attack, and this time, he returned the favor. With an unexpected fervor, the psychic blast was redirected (as in returned and continuing on its current path) to the Arkiv.

---

ELEYTA, TERRA (Mirum / Val Z / Arkiv / Qhevak)
The ground war was an intense one. Both sides locked in a stalemate. The combined force of Mirian tanks and infantry outnumbered the Drechanian infantry, but the Drechanian infantry held the technological edge. The stalemate lasted for hours, heavy losses on both sides. That was, of course, until the reinforcements arrived. An orbital bombardment nearly leveled Eleyta (and by extent, the walkers there), and minutes later, drop pods and landing craft unloaded infantry behind Drecha's lines, assisting the Mirians and their allies in purging them from the planet. The battle for Eleyta was over within hours. Thousands were dead. But the war for Terra was not over yet. Drechanian reinforcements were inbound, and yet again, it was only a matter of time...

---

EARTH (A m e n r i a)
The local military attempted to hail and command the Drechanian forces to stand down. Warning shots were fired, but they were shot down by the light PD on the walkers. Ignoring this warning completely, the walkers began to advance, unloading their troops and shooting at the fighters with precision. Sensors aboard the Starcruiser showed a task force rapidly approaching, so they prepared for a fight. The Starcruiser then moved into a position directly over the city, in which it was visible from below, as a show of force.

---

UNKNOWN SYSTEM, BGA SPACE
The Starcruiser recieved the message from the enemy. It had not noticed the corvette approaching, and therefore, it began to power up. The weapons systems brought online, fighters launched, and the ship prepared for combat. It was the Starcruiser who fired first- launching a full barrage of all its weapons, as it signeled the fleet- which secretly lay dormant a few light years away- to send Stealthcruisers on recon missions to find out if more targets were nearby. Unlike the Starcruiser, Stealthcruisers were faster, more manuverable, stealthier, and had more missiles; perfect for the task at hand.

---

OOC Section:
The Author's Comment:
So Drecha is taking its first major losses. Not unexpected, so I decided to change up my stragegy a bit. If you are on the recieving end of these new strategies, it's nothing personal. Again, if you were not featured in this post, please, KEEP WORKING. I will get to you when you post next. Do not be discouraged if you can't fully keep up. These things take time. You can do it. I believe in you.

[The Arkiv]

Chapter VIII: Strangelets and Sorcery
+++++Undesignated Arkiv System+++++

The Psychic Lance's deflection was an unexpected but not impassable measure. As it lashed backwards into the Network, the vessels carrying the Lance's components forcibly shut it off with induced hemorrhages, shearing open neurons and blood vessels to force the beam of radiance to nothingness. Soon after, repair systems began putting the artificial brains back together-there was yet more for them in the future.

However, the crippled Drechan vessels was a surprise-and a welcome one, at that. Unable to fight, unable to raise shields, they made easy pickings for the Arkiv defense. The Starcruisers were summarily destroyed, broken apart by batteries of mass driver fire, nuclear bombardments, particle beam strikes, and laser power. The Supercruisers, however-were treated differently. While crippled by the Viruses, the Arkiv fleet drew near-close enough to even dock. Tendrils hardened against the predations of their own ravening weaponry entered the ship, winding through power distribution systems and computer mainframes, subsuming any individual they found into the Network, where their E-Weapons were forcibly shut down and sent into hibernation.

As the Supercruisers were dissected, the Arkiv learned their specifications. Weakpoints, construction techniques, the increasingly-less-intimidating technological core of the Drechans. With this in mind, they hauled the now-toothless spacecraft back to their worlds, modifying and rearming them in a similar manner to the Liberation of before. Missiles were remanufactured, laser arrays defocused and powered down, and ships reclaimed patrolling orbits. Across the Network, new hulls were laid down and fabricated, clouds of missiles filling the vacuum. Preparing for the next Drechan offensive.

The predictive algorithms implied a much, much more significant force coming the Network's way, and it would be prepared to meet it.


+++++Mirian Countryside, Terra+++++

The Arkiv had sensed the Mirian presence at the edges of their Infestation long before the attempt at contact. The flamethrowers taken to the surrounding growths almost provoked a hostile response-
but no. They were cleansing. It was natural, misguided, perhaps, but even a brief analysis indicated no true threat from them. Ergo, contact-by-proxy was necessary.

The Arkiv study of magic had revealed the possibility of "Magic Items", artifacts imbued with specific magical effects. An attribute they began to exploit. Heavily. The inbound Proxy was a prime example of this. To the Mirian observers, a towering, armored humanoid emerged seemingly from the ground. Standing at almost seven meters tall, blackened armor, almost organic in appearance, covered every segment of their body. A gargantuan cloak, rippling with woven-in magical sigils, only covered as much as the upper back and arm. Combination lock-esque devices adorned the hands, limbs, and chest-each slowly rotating through different combinations of runes. A bona-fide Arcane Focus, crafted of silver and diamond, rested where the collar bone would be. The head was encased in an armored carapace, glimmering with straight, angular lines of magical power. A wide-brimmed hat, like that of a farmer's, rested low enough to almost completely conceal the face, even with the viewing angle the difference in height the Mirians had.

A telepathic voice reverberated into the skull of every Mirian present, a brush with something far greater, far older, and far more alien than they could have possibly considered. Writhing darkness at the edges of their vision, tendrils sinking into their subconscious-an ocean current, as docile as it was willing to drag them into the depths. And this ancient presence spoke.

"Who are you."

For the rest of the Infestation, it simply continued spreading, mutating and modifying afflicted flora and fauna while also digging roots deep into the ground, siphoning up veins of material and carving subterranean infrastructure. Among which was the Ansible, previously destroyed by the impact. It began beaming the knowledge of Magic and its applications into the greater Network, and on a hundred worlds, the Arkiv came to work once more under this new knowledge, building new weaponry for the clash with the Drechans.

[Svenska-Britannia]

BATTLE FOR EARTH

"PEACE GIVES WAY TO WAR IN THE END OF THINGS"
- Unknown Soldier

EARTH (Svenska-Britannia)

Battles within High-Earth Orbit became an all-out clash between warships, the proximities of the ships alone are reminiscent of the battles of the 18th century in where sail ships battled eachother with gunpowder cannons at close ranges. Confederate Battlestars fought savagely against the Drechian warships and unleashed their weaponry against them, a few of the ships were being boarded by Drechians in order to lessen the numbers for the Confederates, but with all warships being well defended by seasoned and fanatical marines it would prove a herculean task for the Drechians to even take a single ship.


Meanwhile in the most conflict affected zones mostly in Europe, Confederate soldiers and their European Allies battled fiercely and rabidly against their enemies. Jarnvakt and Praetorian Infantry units utilized their Multi-Role capabilities to launch counter-offensives being accompanied by armored units and aerial support. The Prince and the Princess of the Confederation have also partaken in the defense of Europe against Drechian ground forces.

Battleships and Naval Vessels have continued their engagement against the Drechians by either the usage of Naval Bombardment or directly engaging their transports and have done so relentlessly, Whilst the Confederate Airforce have ceaselessly continued engaging the Drechians in every marked or unmarked area of europe’s maps. Bombers have dropped millions of tons in ordinance against hostile positions or forward operating bases.

In the screens and monitors of the entirety of the Confederation and the rest of the World, Grand Emperor Charles Von Roland gave a speech concerning the Drechian Invasion.

“Citizens and Fellow Allies of Earth, this will be a long day for all of us. As of this time we are officially at War not against one another, but against an alien threat that has invaded our sovereign planet. We still do not know who they are or what they want, our forces have engaged the enemy at every turn and have stopped them in our tracks.

We don’t know who they are, but they will know us. They will know that we will fight for every inch of ground they take, they will know that every city they take we will take back tenfold, they will know that for every soldier that falls their families will avenge them and retaliate thricefold. They will know that they will lose against us! Not because of our strength or technologies but they will lose because they have underestimated the Human Spirit! We will deliver our righteous vengeance against them and they will remember it until it haunts their dreams and becomes their worst nightmare!

AVENGE THE DEAD, PROTECT THE BELOVED, DESTROY THE ENEMY!

UNITY IS STRENGTH! DIVISION IS WEAKNESS!

UNITED WE STAND!!”

And with the conclusion of his speech, billions of Earth’s citizens cried out the same motto. Soldiers listening to the speech in the frontlines cried out the same as well and fought more fanatically than they ever did. The Speech was broadcasted throughout the entire planet and even got sent out into deep space since the signals sent were so strong.

Meanwhile in the depths of one of the government buildings in Svenska-Britannia, the Emperor’s Military Police took action and started its own operation against the Drechians be it through gathering military intelligence or even infiltration. The Emperor has commanded his loyal soldiers, and now they will do their orders right down to the letter.

[Californian Fallen Angels]

Tophel Clan Territory, The Lower Planes
May 9, 2072 CE, 12 Years After The Apocalypse

Temple of Murderers, Mount Erebus
Time: 1505 Hours

Sathuzixaniel had arrived in an inhospitable universe filled with smoke and flames. A towering mountain loomed ominously over the land like a massive grave marker over the scorched and decaying ruins below. The mountain was made of smoke-stained black stone, it's face bare of any foliage. A long and winding staircase went up the mountain, reminiscent of a snake trying to constrict its prey. At the end of the long staircase was a massive temple fused into the face of the mountain, it's surface not so much carved as shaped from the same stone by some supernatural mold. Along the way up, tall, wrought iron poles stood vigil, each ending in a decorative metal cage containing a ghostly blue flame, giving off no heat, but shedding dim light on the long journey. Periodically, human bones were encountered on the way up, arranged in various works of art, such as wind chimes made of long, thin bones, or sculptures made entirely of bones.

Eventually, Sathuzixaniel reached the temple itself. The funereal building was constructed of many large stone pillars interspersed between stone walls featuring reliefs depicting heinous acts of killing. The air choked with nauseating incense, emanating from the many dozens of censors featured in this temple, fashioned from human skulls, which hung from the vaulted ceiling by severe lengths of metal chains. This incense would prove barely more tolerable than the stench it was covering up, the unmistakable smell of death and decay, the foul fumes of which filled the whole building, as the cadavers of many sapient species, in various states of decay, were arranged and contorted into sculptures for the patrons of this temple to admire. A dias made of polished obsidian inlaid with large, set amethyst sat near the end of the temple's great hall, surrounded by wrought iron braziers filled with smokeless blue flames that screamed lamentations of senseless pain and misery in a million languages at once. In the center of the dias was an inlaid mandala depicting unspeakable grisly scenes of horror. Levitating above the mandala, a demonic vulpine figure sat cross-legged in meditation. This being was only describable as vulpine by some horrid cosmic accident, some unspeakable affront the very concept of "fox", for it's whole being far too skeletal, its fur sallow, its elongated, conical snout extended far too long. It's limbs were far too long as well, and dreadfully thin, terminating in gaunt hands with spidery digits and long, hooked claws. The terrible being's ears far too outstretched, and it's mouth, it's terrible, gaping maw stretched the whole length of it's snout and head, extending down it's neck and torso, and lo it was filled with an impossible number of teeth arranged in endless rows. It's large and sunken eyes glowed red, with pentagrams scratched across their surface, and needle-thin, bestial pupils. It's tail was long and swooping, spiraling back on itself. Upon it's chest was another eye, larger than an outstretched hand, ominously staring and glowing. This central eye blinked sideways, and this was not dissimilar to a mouth closing, for the eyelid had conical fangs. Two mortal servants attended to this being, dressed in simple garb, waving oversized fans. A servant in a simple, white outfit knelt at the dias. The wretched, vulpine creature roused from its meditation, and arched its head down to gaze upon the servant. The demonic being opened it's mouth partially, and blackened tendrils raced out, grabbing and restraining the servant effortlessly. Thee tendrils exerted great and terrible force as they pulled upon the limbs, dislocating, an finally severing them from the torso, spraying blood across the floors of the temple. The tendrils lifted the servant's dying body up by the neck, until the servant was eye level of the demon lord. The hungering jaws opened wider, and pulled a wispy, ephemeral strand from the servant's mouth, consuming it. As this happened, the servant instantly fell limp, deceased.

"Your excellency, Ecclesiastic Nightvixen." Sathuzixaniel said, bowing her heads and kneeling before the demon lord.

"Rise, my child. What brings you to the Temple of Murderers?" Nightvixen asked, their voice halfway between an animal's growl and two humans speaking, one male, and one female.

"You recall the economic project designated as 'The Fallen Angels', on Earth." Sathuzixaniel explained. "They are facing an existential threat, and Contractee Alexa Chambers has not been handling this in an adequate manner. I traveled here to contact you, as well as Lord Astaroth, and Lady Namaah."

"I see. This complicates matters. The Fallen Angels was supposed to be our last major investment on Earth, what with the planet's destruction at the hands of Samael. This was meant to be a major stopgap, until we can establish a major religion on another mortal world." Nightvixen said.

"Yes, it was an important investment before... I'm sorry, I don't understand, what?" Sathuzixaniel frowned.

"In order to ensure the continuation of the influx of mortal souls, the trade of which is responsible for the prominent and prestigious position of our nation, we need to seek a new source. The Fallen Angels are supposed to sustain us until then." Nightvixen explained.

"Yes, I am aware of that part." the succubus said.

"Then it is the part about religion you do not understand? If we can found a religion through a mortal, and establish a Contract with them..." the demon lord began.

"We can collect the souls of every mortal who follows that religion." Sathuzixaniel finished.

"Very good, my child." Nightvixen praised the succubus. "Now, with regards to this emergency you have informed me of. I shall send messengers to Lord Astaroth and Lady Namaah, you need not trouble yourself with this matter. The High Council will convene to determine the best course of action. Once we have decided on the course of action with regards to this incident, we shall intervene on Earth."

"Thank you for your wisdom, your excellency." Sathuzixaniel said. She chanted a spell, and was consumed in lime flames and discordant notes by the portal.

Former United States, Dead Earth
May 10, 2072 CE, 12 Years After The Apocalypse

Above the Karman Line, Mesosphere
Time: 0615 Hours

The invisible, incorporeal, demonic gaze of the imps fell upon the Drechian starcruiser. They watched and waited, observing the ship, gathering as much information from a distance as they could. As they did, they presented electromagnetic and thermal anomalies (in the form of minor electromagnetic interference and "cold spots" respectively). They continued this for some time, making notes about the ship's dimensions, apparent composition, and staying mostly still so as to not seem unusual to anyone on the ship - they had long since wised up that the people of Earth could use various devices to get a general read on their presence (such as an EMF reader), and did not know what these Drechians were capable of. One imp, in a moment of bravery, cast a spell to sense electromagnetic radiation within the ship, seeing the flow of it in the ship and any separate sources of electromagnetism within the ship. However, as a byproduct of the magic, a notable quantity of rapidly decaying quantum particles were produced, and the imps were unsure if the ship could detect this. After watching the starcruiser for around an hour, they began their descent back down to the surface, where they would be debriefed on what they have found.

Benton Airpark, Redding, California
Time: 1100 Hours

When the imps returned to the Benton Airpark, they spoke at length with 106 about what they had discovered, of the "great metal vessels in space", in as much detail as possible. The android in turn, recorded all of the information down as a typed document. This file would be disseminated to Honest John Doe, and all the other appropriate authorities that she would later be ordered to send the file to.

Sierra Army Depot, California
Time: 1330 Hours

On orders from Kadrea Cooper, the Sierra Army Depot was to be converted to a long-range military outpost for the Fallen Angels. Two humvees, three MRAPs, four technicals, six pick up trucks hauling sandbags, razor wire, cinder blocks, and bags of cement, and an up-armored former school bus were driven up to the former army depot, carrying engineers, reinforcement troops, mages, workers, and security guards. They would begin establishing defenses and battlements, and various earthworks; fortifications that would make the Sierra Army Depot a more defensible position. Over the next few days, the workers would dig trenches, construct battlements and watch towers. More materials would be brought in from elsewhere, sheet metal, rebar, and car parts. When welding rods ran low, workers resorted to using sparklers in their welding guns. As the workers constructed the battlements, armed guards were posted to oversee the construction effort - to ensure that none of the workers would try to run away. A small work camp was established for the workers to live in during the project, with simple tents and tarps set up. For warmth, a bonfire was set up, and poncho liners were handed out. For food, the workers and soldiers alike were given old MREs. During the construction phase, several workers would develop hypothermia and frostbite.

Former United States, Dead Earth
May 11, 2072 CE, 12 Years After The Apocalypse

Sheraton Redding Hotel at Sundial Bridge, Redding, California
Time: 0900 Hours

Outside the Sheraton Redding Hotel, Honest John Doe stood with Sathuzixaniel and 106, discussing their plan for the meeting they were about to have.

"What information do you bring?" Honest John Doe asked.

"I spoke with Nightvixen about it. The High Council is meeting to discuss this matter. It is looking very likely that someone will be sent here to handle this." Sathuzixaaniel explained.

"Very good. Everything is falling into place. 106, what information did the imps find?" Honest John Doe inquired.

"They definitely confirmed the existence of a spaceship in Dead Earth's orbit. A big one too." the android replied.

"I see. This confirms my suspicions, at least." Honest John Doe furrowed his brow. "Different question for you, 106. You have audio files of our dear leader, Ms. Satan's voice, right?"

106 smiled. "I have recordings of everything I have heard, Mr. Honest John. Do you want me to play one back for you?"

"No, not right now. That will be very useful though. Thank you." a smirk began to etch its way across Honest John Doe's face. He readjusted his sunglasses. "Sathuzixaniel, how likely do you think the High Council will send someone to 'handle our problem?'" he asked.

"Highly likely. The main question at the table isn't whether or not to send someone, it is who they will send." the succubus answered.

"Good, good." Honest John Doe said, the smirk growing wider. "106, do you have your work gear?"

"Affirmative, Mr. Honest John." the android replied. She lifted her jacket slightly, to reveal a pocket holster for her Beretta 695 Leopard. From her back pocket, she removed a butterfly knife, and performed a few simple tricks with it, before flipping it back closed, and placing it back in her pocket.

"Good. You will need it. Now, is everyone ready to get to work?" Honest John Doe exclaimed, a grin on his face and pep in his step.

Sheraton Redding Hotel at Sundial Bridge, Redding, California
Time: 0920 Hours

Honest John Doe, Sathuzixaniel, and 106 walked into Ms. Satan's office ardently. Ms. Satan stood up, furious, her yellow and red eyes glowering intensely.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Ms. Satan shouted.

"It's alright, I'm just here to talk." Honest John Doe said, his hand gesturing for Ms. Satan to sit back down.

"You can't be in here right now! You don't have an appointment!" the changeling growled.

"I don't know about that. It was pretty easy to walk in here just now." 106 said snidely.

"My dear Ms. Chambers, do you remember your business partner, Xathalil?" Honest John Doe asked.

"What about her?" Ms. Satan angrily retorted.

"Do you remember what you said to her?" Honest John Doe pressured. His voice and expression remained calm and confident.

"I've said a lot of things to a lot of people. You're going to have to be more specific." Ms. Satan said.

"Do you remember what you said to her the first time you met her?" Honest John Doe asked, a slight smile across his face.

"Yes." Ms. Satan answered.

"Do you know why we're here?" Honest John Doe asked.

Ms. Satan paused for a moment to think. Honest John Doe cut her off before she could speak.

"We're here for a little chat, Ms. Chambers. Why don't you have a seat and order yourself a BashCaf?" Honest John Doe said gesturing again for Ms. Satan to sit down. Reluctantly, she complied.

"Fine. What's this about, Doe?" Ms. Satan said cautiously.

"We received another message. You'll want to hear this." Honest John Doe stated.

Ms. Satan rolled her eyes. "You could have scheduled a meeting." she said incredulously. "Fine, let's hear it."

"Right on it!" 106 said cheerfully. The android stepped forward, took a deep breath, and proceeded to play back the audio file.

"Come to us... We would like... [static] Our emissary... ...yours. We are... [static] ...no harm... Should you... [static] ...we can find... [static]"

"I see." Ms. Satan said. "It sounds like they are wanting to meet up."

"That seemed obvious." Honest John Doe said flatly. "Is there anything else you'd like to add? Maybe something about the color of the sky?"

"They're moving things along too quickly. We don't have much choice but to take them up on it." Ms. Satan frowned.

"That may be correct. However, this does not mean that we cannot play this into our favor." Sathuzixaniel said.

"How so?" Ms. Satan asked.

"We've been sending our replies out across all channels, if you recall, on account of not knowing what channel to send the messages to, to ensure they are received. It appears that there are two separate parties here, who are not entirely on amicable terms with one another, who have both been receiving our replies." the succubus explained. "Therefore, if we send a reply saying that we would like to meet up and talk, and we name a location..."

"We can trick them both into meeting at the same place." Ms. Satan said.

"This would greatly shift things into our favor, and give us more control of the situation." Honest John Doe explained.

The office was quiet for a few minutes, the tension rising higher. None dared to disturb the silence, until...

"So that settles it then?" Ms. Satan asked. "Don't think you won't be reprimanded for the disturbance."

"No, I'm afraid not, Ms. Chambers. This isn't finished, sadly. You think you're la grande capo, some Zinntyrann mit eiserner Faust, seeking El Dorado like a small, foolish child." Honest John Doe chided. "You're just a big fish in a small pond, yet you think yourself a shark? There is no easy ride, signorina, no pyramids of gold. You were neither clever nor brave to get where you are, just merely in the right place at the right time. You thought yourself some kind of big shot, and now you've been outgambited."

Ms. Satan reached down, opening one of her desk drawers to grab her gold-plated Replica Arms Archer pistol. As she did so, a cold, metal blade pressed against her neck.

"You can't do this to me." Ms. Satan said indignantly.

"I can, and I am." Honest John Doe said, giving an insincere smile.

"So this is how it's going to go down? You're going to kill me? And then what? If I die, so does the Fallen Angels, and with it, your paycheck. I know how this works, Doe!" Ms. Satan spat at Honest John Doe.

"That's where you're mistaken, Ms. Chambers. I'm not going to kill you." Honest John Doe said, as he slowly approached Ms. Satan. "The Tophel Clan still needs you, for the reasons you've pointed out. But our bosses, your investors, they have deemed you a liability. You'll get to live, but you're no longer in charge. You're going to be replaced by someone who actually knows what they're doing."

"You think I'll let you live afterwords? I am the Fallen Angels!" Ms. Satan yelled.

"I don't think you'll be in much of a position to do anything." Honest John Doe said, standing next to Ms. Satan, as 106 restrained her and kept the butterfly knife pressed against Ms. Satan's neck. Honest John Doe reached into his back pocket, and removed a cold, wet handkerchief. "Shh... It's time to sleep, Ms. Chambers." Honest John Doe said, pressing the handkerchief up to Ms. Satan's mouth and nose. She began vomiting almost instantly, and struggled for several minutes before falling unconscious.

"Alright, I trust you to get this right, 106. You're going to have to work quickly, the chloroform will only keep her out as long as my handkerchief is on her, and we can't leave it on too long without risk of serious illness or death." Honest John Doe instructed the android once Ms. Satan was unconscious.

"I won't fail you, Mr. Honest John!" 106 said, as she got to work with her butterfly knife.

With help from Honest John Doe and Sathuzixaniel, Ms. Satan was rolled onto her side with the chloroform handkerchief still held up loosely to her face. The android pulled Ms. Satan's suit jacket partially off, and tugged the collar of her shirt down, for better access to the changeling's neck. 106 carefully began cutting at the back of Ms. Satan's lower neck, severing the spinal cord. Honest John Doe handed several alcohol wipes to 106 as Sathuzixaniel flipped Ms. Satan onto her back. 106 cleaned her butterfly knife.

"Alright, that was the C5. Now for the Broca's region. Is she right hand or left hand dominant?" the android asked.

"Right handed." Honest John Doe answered. 106 jabbed her butterfly knife into the left side of Ms. Satan's head, slightly above the temple. She jiggled the knife around violently, pulpifying the brain tissue in that area.

The android stood up and used the remaining alcohol wipes to clean her butterfly knife. "Alright, Mr. Honest John. It's done. Without extensive augmentation, she'll never walk again, she'll have trouble moving her arms at all, and she'll never speak again."

"Very good. This is all proceeding excellently." Honest John Doe said, removing the handkerchief from Ms. Satan's face. "You should probably sterilize and bandage her, prevent blood loss and infection."

KVIP FM Radio Tower, S Fork Lookout Road, California (North West of Shasta and Redding, it's kind of in the middle of nowhere)
Time: 1245 Hours

Several technicals were parked at the radio station. Battlements had been set up, consisting of several hulks of cars and trucks piled on each other, and partially buried. Several small watch towers were set up around the radio compound, atop each of which was a sniper nest. The entrance had two machine gun nests set up with three layers of cinderblocks, each of which had a M2A1 HB set up on a tripod. Several soldiers patrolled the checkpoint, armed with various rifles, shotguns, and the occasional laser. Several card tables were set up, with various guns and munitions laid out, and another card table featured several handloading tools, including presses, dies, gauges, and case trimmers, next to which was a box of primers, and several glass jars filled with smokeless powder. Another card table featured several soldiers betting cigarettes on a game of poker.

In a recording studio, Honest John Doe sat with the android 106, discussing the next step.

"Alright, you know what you need to do. The software's on that flash drive I handed you." Honest John Doe said.

"Are you sure about this, Mr. Honest John? It's dangerous to stick stuff in your head." 106 asked nervously.

"The flash drive has the audio software on it that you're going to need. You just need to install it." Honest John Doe explained.

"Mr. Honest John... this isn't like with a computer. If something goes wrong, it goes wrong with my brain." 106 said, her voice breaking.

"It'll be alright, 106." Honest John Doe reassured the android.

"Promise me there aren't any viruses." 106 said.

"There aren't any viruses." Honest John Doe said.

106 reluctantly picked up the flash drive and slotted it in the back of her head. She took several deep breaths as she installed the software within.

"So? How did it go?" Honest John Doe asked after a few minutes.

The android took another deep breath as she booted up the software and configured it to her existing audio files. She closed her eyes and frowned. Once she had it all configured, she spoke up.

"You tell me if it worked." 106 said. Her voice sounded exactly like Ms. Satan's.

"Great! We've got a broadcast to record, 106." Honest John Doe exclaimed.

General Broadcast, All Available Channels, FM Radio
Time: 1315 Hours

"This is Alexa Chambers of the Fallen Angels. We have received your message of diplomacy. We agree to your request for a meeting. We would like to meet you at the coordinates 39.788621° Latitude,-120.249073° Longitude. When we are aware that you have arrived, we will contact you with further instructions via shortwave radio. When you arrive, please come armed, and bring radiation-countermeasures; we are non-hostile, but the wildlife is fairly dangerous and there is a radiation 'hot zone' nearby."

Key

---

Conscious
#6363EF = Honest John Doe
#EF349A = AGN-51 M71 A14L7Y-321AP-HV-106
#FF66FF = Sathuzixaniel
#737373 = Alexa "Ms. Satan" Chambers
#CF6C22 = Kadrea Cooper
#D929B9 = Seraveli
#A4B297 = Nightvixen
Dead
#CF2242 = Pearson
#248046 = Rifleman Twin
#828242 = Shaman
#359FFF = TeyoTek Garm
Other People (QUOTED ONLY)
#3366FF = Chief Aviator Gwen Tracer Hepburn “Fate of Existence and the Omniverse” Ellen Trixie Caitlin Foxworthy Avril Verlene Eveline Celinda Sammy Doris T-Rev Oxton Arielle Lindall Leslie Vitesse Allison
#357575 = Drechian Radio Reply
#40FF40 = Charlene Jeannie Natalia Adeline Marceline “Wanbyeoghan Hyeobsang-Ga.” Celestie Christine Irelle Dv. Arianna Rees Edith Novena Annie Ciara W. I. Bethany Myong Suh-Hyung

Acquired Assets

---

Post 1:
None

Post 2: (aka what we got from the Sierra Army Depot - why we were going there in the first place)
x10 AN/TWQ-1 Avenger air-defense missile system
x30 FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS
x200 H&K M25 assault rifle
x50 H&K XM900 20mm grenade launcher
x4 TeyoTek Garm multi-role weapons platform robot
x2 X-10 Viper VTOL transport/air support/air evac
x? large quantity of various MilTech munitions

Post 3:
None

Post 4:
None

Casualty Count

---

Post 1:
Personnel:
x1 point man, x2 rifleman, x1 shaman

Post 2:
Personnel:
x1 bradley commander, x1 bradley driver, x1 bradley gunner, x4 drone pilot, x2 point man, x2 psyker (electrokinetic), x2 responder, x6 rifleman
Vehicles:
x1 M2A4 Bradley, x2 MRAPs, x4 self-driving car bombs

Post 3:
None

Post 4:
Personnel:
x4 worker

Total Casualties:
Personnel: 27
Vehicles:
x1 M2A4 Bradley, x2 MRAPs, x4 self-driving car bombs

[Qhevak]

---

8th Landing Group, Shivastra Interstellar Security
Terra [Mirum] [α Quadrant]
December 25th, 2021 NSY :: 2:31 PM Eleyta Local Time

---

Strike Squadron 2
Naval Task Force External Comms
Recipient: Devastator-class Supercarrier MNV Loyalty

---

[TacMind Politics By Other Means] (Archangel-class Primary) (Class B2): Miran surface forces, we are representatives of the Burning Quasar militia force of the Oortian Community of Qhevak. We are presently deploying mercenary forces to the surface of Eleyta to assist your military in the retaking of Eleyta. These will cooperate with your forces when possible - do not attempt to engage, at your own peril.

I'm sure you’re experiencing something of an existential crisis right now – do not worry. Once the present ground engagement is over we will deploy diplomatic representatives to your carrier, with your permission, to discuss matters further.

Drecha hadn't known what hit them. Already occupied by fighting Mirian forces and lacking anti-orbital defenses, the orbital bombardment from the Politics By Other Means leveled much of their heavy ground forces in minutes - along with much of the city. Already shaken, they were little match for the landing force that followed shortly afterward - mercenaries of the Shivastra private military company hired by Burning Quasar to take care of the planetbound work. As an "official", Oort-dwelling Qhevaki defense militia, the latter was relatively inexperienced with serious planet-bound warfare, but Shivastra's forces were hardened, their experience forged in the atomic heat of galactic fronts. Their warsynths had battled Missionary remnants in Moria’s cavernous halls, fought CyNex corpowarriors in the towering arcology ziggurats of Saban’s World, slain the Dreaming Womb on the vyre-lit steps of Kazil-Tah – there was no greater Christmas gift to them than a novel opponent.

The drop pods roared down, still red hot from hellish reentry fire and aimed at the points hit hardest by the Archangel bombardment. Quenchrockets fired to slow them to terminal velocity just before they slammed into Eleytan streets and plazas, gouging deep craters into stone and asphalt as they did. Then the podwalls opened and the synthmorphs swarmed out in wordless coordination, half-ton insectoid Djeiens tacsynths backed by heavy spider-tanks, nimble gunthopters and hordes of synsect drones nearly too small to see. Invisible under active camouflage, reconnaissance microbots methodically located remaining Drechan forces, targeting them for elimination with standoff missiles, flanking strikes with hyperpenetrating bursts of photons and kinetic darts, and occasional low yield orbital electron spears carving buildings to ribbons.

With the pre-existing pressure of the Miran army, the battle for Eleyta would not last much longer. The city - what remained of it - was retaken in under an hour. It was not a bloodless victory - the Mirians had lost thousands trying to hold off Drecha in the first few hours, much of the city had been leveled by the combat and Shivastra had lost a few dozen synths of the own in the brutal urban fighting - but a victory nonetheless. The conflict seemed off to a good start for now.

The initial engagement finished, the orbiting Grizzlies released the bulk of their forces into the now cleared landing zone. Heavy duty cargo landers, resembling nothing more than huge rectangular bricks, ejected from cargo bays and jetted onto high-speed reentry paths, landing in open areas of Eleyta on gimballed atomic thruster pods. Larger forces exited, preparing for the second phase of the Drechan surface engagement which was yet to come. And another shuttle, smaller and sleeker, released from the forward Grizzly, heading down on it’s own path.

Fifteen minutes later the craft, a little white civilian shuttle with an appearance like a slim, ornate flying saucer, touched down on the flight deck of the MNV Loyalty under the quiet lift of distributed electric microfans. The front bay door opened, and the diplomatic force exited, looking surprisingly normal compared to the nightmarish Qhevaki war machines seen before. They were humans - strangely tall, with almost sculpted-looking features, and wearing odd, disparate and elaborate forms of clothing - but humans nonetheless, near-baseline liaison officers hired to provide a presentable face to Qhevak's post-human warminds. Ran Dziek, a tall, dark man with slick black hair and penetrating purple eyes stood at the forefront, wearing a dark robe with embroidered patterns that shifted and twisted as he moved, walked forward to the waiting Mirian reception, raising a hand in greeting.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

UNKNOWN SYSTEM, BGA SPACE
The Starcruiser recieved the message from the enemy. It had not noticed the corvette approaching, and therefore, it began to power up. The weapons systems brought online, fighters launched, and the ship prepared for combat. It was the Starcruiser who fired first- launching a full barrage of all its weapons, as it signeled the fleet- which secretly lay dormant a few light years away- to send Stealthcruisers on recon missions to find out if more targets were nearby. Unlike the Starcruiser, Stealthcruisers were faster, more manuverable, stealthier, and had more missiles; perfect for the task at hand.

Ulan-class Corvette ‘Lancer’

"No response." An officer finally said, after a long silence. "And...EW says they're powering up shields..."
Lancer's captain turned to her, and after sharing a brief look, grabbed the nearest microphone to the ship's PA.

"ALL HANDS TO GENERAL QUARTERS!"

In an instant, the corvette came alive. Sensors went dark, to minimize the signature that the Starcruiser could get on it, while men rushed to their stations and a short salvo of four cruise missiles were fired, as Battlegroup Anna's first shot in a war it still didn't know was raging..

---

Meanwhile, frantic messages began to be sent back to the Battlegroup; the colony-ships, and the warships sheparding them, began to take notice and respond. Waves of strike fighters and bombers, skipping with wormhole drives well ahead of their fleet, began to seek out the enemy, or using their slower 'standard' FTL to converge upon the confirmed -- and closer -- contact that was the starcruiser, while the proper warships -- arsenal ships, frigates, destroyers, light and heavy cruisers -- surged out and began, in conjunction with the colony ships, to direct their powerful sensors, sharing their information over datalink, with each other, with the aim of finding, fixing, and destroying any other contacts.

Quickly, the Starcruiser would note the apperance of a wave of smaller craft, arriving to support the corvette, undoubtly with more to come.

[Taho-Xhi]

Observation Perch
High Orbit
Subspace R0-[...]-[0S], Continuum E

U+150 d25

There were disadvantages to hiding inside a subspace only a few million kilometers across and host only to a stellar-mass black hole. The main one was that it was practically too obvious of a place for something to sit, what with bubbles like these seeing use practically everywhere in the metaverse as places for multiversal civilizations to stash secret projects, reserve fleets, emergency backup systems, and other infrastructure that a curious attacker would find juicy enough to hit.

The advantages outweighed them. The subset of civilizations who understood the concept of a continuum — or at least comprehended the idea of traversing sheets of reality to reach Continuum E — was already fairly narrow, but on top of that, one could only reach a subspace by promptly tunneling out of a universe and into the void between them after such a step. As a result, the only people who would jump into a subspace to surprise its occupant, in this case a single X-shaped destroyer sitting fairly quietly around the black hole with everything but its life support and computers in passive mode, were those who would more than likely have heard of Taho-Xhi already, and realized exactly what they were getting into. The other main advantage was that in a subspace so small, and with the only blocked line of sight being perfectly adequate at lensing light and other signatures around itself, it was hard to show up with a fully-active spacecraft and not spook the locals.

Two ships — a big blocky freighter-tug with dozens of ports dotting its sides, and a lean but still impressively large, dagger-shaped interception cruiser — splashed into the local slipspace and then skidded to a halt in realspace. In the destroyer, Tiel, human-adjacent with brown hair and a scrawny, bony body clad in armor and infosubstrate like cloth, and floating in the middle of his living pod with his control headset on, immediately did a double take before realizing who they were.

"Oh — ...oh! Hey, look who came to wake us up! Ghost, and, ah, what's his name..."

Out of a service hatch on the wall crawled one of his copilot Enne's spidery metal bodies, Enne-Avaba. "I suppose Bird's Nest finally remembered we existed," they wheezed in a high-pitched tone. "You can take the contact message; I need a break from computer work." Tiel shrugged and opened the fleet communication line.

[2] × ⊥ ⪾ RoadToNowhere9991Thank you kindly for receiving us. Is it time to mobilize?

[5] ꖔ ⪽ ceased-productionhi road ! so sorry about the wait .

[5] ꖔ ⪽ ceased-productionjust about ! mal says he caught onto a weird signal overlap , and we're gonna go check it out .

[5] ꖔ ⪽ ceased-productionget ready cause this is gonna be a long run .

[2] × ⊥ ⪾ RoadToNowhere9991Do explain.

[4] ⩚ ⊥ ⪾ Caltad AcoI can take it from here, ghost.

"Why do they keep doing this?" muttered Enne. "Just get all of the information out at once."

"Look, I'm just glad we're handing this off to someone competent. Do you want Ghost of all people to try to explain everything to you in one go?"

"None of this is my point."

"Welcome back to Taho-Xhi, I guess. Nobody follows communication protocol, and somehow that's our problem to sort out." Tiel frowned. At least he enjoyed the company for a few minutes of conversation.

[5] ꖔ ⪽ ceased-productiongo for it !

[4] ⩚ ⊥ ⪾ Caltad AcoMal's been tracking something for a while now. Some two-planet civ had the bright idea to rev up a spacecraft and send it on a joyride all over the cluster, asking for help with — and I can't believe I have to say this — some satellites that went down. None of us claim to know how or why they managed to do it. The Commander, for her part, doesn't even want us to investigate.

[2] × ⊥ ⪾ RoadToNowhere9991Understood. I take it we convinced her otherwise?

[4] ⩚ ⊥ ⪾ Caltad AcoNot exactly. I'm not done yet.

[4] ⩚ ⊥ ⪾ Caltad AcoSee, a lot of the jumps they made lined up with other inbound jumps to the same universes, by something else — at least, if Mal's right about the signature sizes and it's not the same people. Often two sets of transits, four months apart. His reasoning is that their whining caught the attention of one of the larger-scale locals — someone with a four-month transit time, perhaps — and they're going around black-foresting everyone who might've tried responding to the transmissions.

[4] ⩚ ⊥ ⪾ Caltad AcoIt's a wild guess, but it's the median of a whole bunch of really interesting possible scenarios, so the Commander gave us the green light, and we're going to try to pick one universe, hunt down one of the transmission locations, and see what happened there.

[2] × ⊥ ⪾ RoadToNowhere9991How long does it take to triangulate one historic transmission within a whole universe?

[5] ꖔ ⪽ ceased-productionmal's recordings aren't great . . . so in second-tier ships it'll be a bit . . .

[5] ꖔ ⪽ ceased-productionbut that's why you're coming to help !

Tiel chuckled. He could hear Enne-Avaba making a sound like a brushed motor as they spun around in frustration and then fussily climbed back into the service hatch. "Hey, relax, it's just more practice," he called, but even after a minute of warming up the engines and configuring navigation computers, Enne didn't respond.

Perhaps, he figured, Enne was getting exhausted. They'd spent the better part of a year running virtual training and monitoring the subspace for intrusions while the rest of Bird's Nest was away on half a dozen odds-and-ends micro-operations that, as the newest members, they weren't qualified to run. But something had to give eventually, and even if it was for a mission as basic as doing a lot of repetitive computer work, a chance to get out of this place was worth some further boredom. Plus, if Caltad was right, the chances of the investigation turning into an all-out assault were looking good. In the end, it was most likely that Enne just didn't see things that way. If something interesting was happening, Enne may simply not have been sure it was on a timetable that merited real-time investigation. That said, there wasn't much else Tiel was getting from their behavior.

Once Ghost sent over the last of the coordinate packets to align the ship out and prepare for the jump, the two of them plugged in the numbers, and one by one the ad-hoc gathering dispersed into the great void between worlds.

---

Bird's Nest Staging Point
Intergalactic Space
Universe R0-[...]-[0], Continuum B

U+150 d25

Med-55440 — though he'd used his handle so long he didn't much like his clustermind birth name anymore — was halfway through a six-hour sequence of fast Fourier transforms when he got a message. He figured the rest of Bird's Nest would be moving fairly soon after his report went out, but this one was still out of the ordinary. It was from the Commander, worded as frustratingly as ever.

[9] ⌯ ◇ ⪾ OH, YOU KNOW, THAT ONEIt's this time last year. How many powers meriting actual Taho-Xhi involvement, beyond simply playing with the locals, are in this whole cluster?

[9] ᑀ ꖊ malarchaiMy estimate wasn't any higher than the baseline, and it wasn't exactly like we were sounding out all too many slipspace trails. Are you saying finding two is unusual? I could point you to a host of counterexamples.

[9] ⌯ ◇ ⪾ OH, YOU KNOW, THAT ONEI'm saying that finding two that we hadn't even recorded is suspicious. I'm saying that finding two so odd, if I am to trust you, is suspicious. No trails. Suspicion isn't unusual. It's why we're here. Finding everything going wrong is normal. It's good training. The complication arises when we consider their natures.

On the surface level, he knew why she talked like this. He could, if only barely, extrapolate her thoughts and expand them out in just the way that'd prove safe, rather than overwhelming him in a thousand kinds of infohazards, and he could realize that she made the same decisions to talk to him. That didn't mean he was at all comfortable with the conversation.

[9] ᑀ ꖊ malarchaiDo you want to send out an alert right away? We could bring in a more prepared unit, and have everyone eligible jump to a higher tier to get ready for something. Fairly standard procedure.

[9] ⌯ ◇ ⪾ OH, YOU KNOW, THAT ONEOne meeting, that's all. I tell Bird's Nest to be prepared to lose ships over something they don't know. No trails. No foresight. Make a metaphor of choice. You know how this goes. I won't disturb you until we are ready.

Only then did the Commander's ship actually arrive.

[Russian-American Continental Alliance]

Establishing Battlefield Control

---

--|--|2023

PPL-OPCOM
[LOCATION UNKNOWN]
O p e r a t i o n R a i n f a l l

---

Pacific Peace Legion Squadron "Alpha 1-1"

---

As battles raged on in the background of the universe, there were... some anomalies inside it. Anomalies that belonged somewhere else entirely, yet, they were sticking around. They weren't there to sow chaos, nor were they there to keep the peace. The anomalies, rather, are just tagging along with the fight in order to find something new to do. Fighting base-from-base gets tiring when it's repeated seventy times. Without breaks. And has a risk of 67% mortality rate for anybody inexperienced enough to blindly follow the orders of the Supreme Commander.

As a squadron of Pacific Peace Legion soldiers huddled together in the storage area in a ship belonging to their current superiors, it wasn't hard for them to joke around about the battle erupting in the background. After all, they've been through artillery strikes, hordes of tanks coming at them without remorse, and airstrikes that would rival MiG alley in the most dangerous places. Many of them weren't exactly inexperienced, but they weren't well aware of how this new type of warfare they're facing worked. They just knew that missiles go boom. A lot. And they're milking the situation for conversation material.

"So, how long till you bet we get hit by seventy laser-locked missiles?" One of the soldiers, a Marine, asked. He was raising his leg while sitting on an ammo crate perched up against a wall, M16 braced on his legs. "Beats me." Another soldier, a Conscript, said. Pulling the charging handle on his rifle, he elaborated. "This new type of warfare... Space warfare, was it? I'm not exactly experienced with it. Because; A. I'm a ground soldier. B. I've never actually watched any sci-fi in my life. And C. I'd rather be fighting on the ground and die to a conscript just like me rather than some sort of 'God' wannabe." The Russian finished, loading 5.45 bullets into his rifle.

"Well, when are we being deployed down there?" One of the Russians, Dimitri Borisov, asked. "We're expected to be transported at a safe LZ. But for now, we're in the middle of space, for one. So we can't exactly lament about missing ground action. It's expected that we're not going to be hitting the ground until... actually, I don't know how much time we have left until we go back to our old ways of warfare. Base-to-base. It's going to be wild explaining it to OPFOR if any of us get captured." An American Pathfinder says, M11-M0 rifle in hand.

The Americans and Russians talked about how they were expecting the ground phase, that is if they even got there, to be. Bets and predictions were passed around. One particular bet involved the saying; "None of us have gear that's outside the standard issue, so we're all going to die." Which comes from the American soldiers. The saying had some truth in superstition in SOCOM. 'Faceless' grunts, no matter their position, whether it be Marine, Ranger, or SOCOM Operative, would face certain death if they didn't have any gear that made them stand out no matter how impractical they would be. The factuality or sheer coincidence of this depends on belief, but most lean towards the former.

Meanwhile, two Japanese soldiers were ignoring the conversation and partaking in their own 'intellectual' debate. Particularly on the status of their current Prime Minister, Kanata Romanova. Also known as the Chairwoman of the Pacific Peace Alliance. More specifically, about her general 'political actions' regarding the status of the People's Republic of China. Curiously, they seem to be... radical.

"I'm telling you, Kanata's definitely a top LDP politician if she's able to do this without getting impeached under five minutes." A Japanese rifleman, crossing his arms, said to another rifleman in front of him. "I mean, declaring the Chinese to be beyond saving? Asking it to lay down and accept defeat? What kind of shit is she trying to pull off?" He said, before his partner responded. "Again, I don't give a fuck." He said. "I am standing here. On a steel fucking floor. Waiting for you to shut up. When will you do the third one?!" He said, pointing his hand at the floor below him, angry at his partner's ramblings.

All the meanwhile, out of sight from the rest, a Russian Topol-M missile operator lamented her own life. She was going to be perfectly honest, she didn't expect to be shipped off to a conflict above her own paygrade. When she was officially reassigned from the Kaliningrad Topol-M Command, she was expecting this contract to be a regular operation that somehow decided to involve nuclear weapons. However, she couldn't have been more wrong than that. Oh, look upon her works, ye mighty, and despair!

"This sucks." She said, taking a look at the helmet she took off to dust around a few times. "First I'm reassigned from Kaliningrad, even though nuking those damn Euros was fun, and then I'm outsourced as a contractor. Those two are fine, but being sent to a conflict above my paygrade? Good god." Operator Natalia, bored, lamented. "It'll probably be funnier if I was barred from using nukes on my Topol-M. That would be REALLY fun." She said, gritting her teeth. She just wanted to nuke someone, damn it. Not sit around like a piece of shit.

Ah well, she thought, she had at least one thing to compensate. And that was hearing fellow soldiers talk about their daily lives. That brought a smile to her on the same level as launching several nuclear warheads at people.

And all she had to do for now was just wait until the time was right.

Alpha 1-1, as shown on the cameras of Battlegroup Anna. Circa [TIME INCONSISTENT].

[Drecha]

MARS (Val Z)
The walkers began to advance, and despite the few losses from some form of what (at first) seemed to be an artillery battery, the advance progressed. The so-called 'battery' was to be the primary target for the first wave. Soldiers and droids were deployed from the walkers and quickly moved forward to attack. Around the planet, the other walker units began to move into position around the cities, repeating what the group around the main city did. Oddly enough, there weren't any 'batteries' around these cities (at least, not to the caliber of before).

---

DEAD EARTH (Fallen Angels)

"This is Alexa Chambers of the Fallen Angels. We have received your message of diplomacy. We agree to your request for a meeting. We would like to meet you at the coordinates 39.788621° Latitude,-120.249073° Longitude. When we are aware that you have arrived, we will contact you with further instructions via shortwave radio. When you arrive, please come armed, and bring radiation-countermeasures; we are non-hostile, but the wildlife is fairly dangerous and there is a radiation 'hot zone' nearby."

The Starcruiser, having already arrived in this location, set its secondary communicater to shortwave communications. This was interesting, but not unexpected. This was the first time that a Drechanian vessel had used shortwave radio for communication in thousands of years. The radiation wouldn't be an issue. The wildlife, however, was. Several times per hour, a walker had to scare off hostile wildlife from the ramp, and twice had one gotten in. Needless to say, this proved to be no problem for the droids onboard, who dispatched them with ease, and threw their carcasses into a pile just outside the ramp.

---

UNKNOWN SYSTEM, BGA SPACE
As the corvette launched their short burst of missiles, the Starcruiser's PD already had a lock. All four were destroyed within an instant, and as the various detection systems began to pick up numerous small craft approaching at a rapid place, fighters were launched to match them. The Starcruiser fell back, firing from a distance, instead of point-blank range. An encoded message was intercepted from the larger enemy vessel, and quickly decrypted (to the extent where the basic details were known), but finding the exact destination and contents would take a while. Elsewhere, the Stealthcruisers began to disperse, searching for wherever this message was directed to. Unknowingly to both sides, one began to draw closer and closer to the fleet, but would likely be spotted before it could react...

---

EARTH ( Svenska-Britannia)
Within a short period of time, the battle in space would be over. Instead of fighting to the death, the remaining vessels- both the few* captured vessels and remaining original ships**- decided to withdraw. There were hardly any perminent losses on the side of the defenders, as compared to that of Drecha's losses. Giving it one last barrage, they then jumped to lightspeed toward random destinations several times each, before setting a course for a predetermined rendevous point. The captured ships would then be dissected, studied, and used for target practice, in order to gain an edge over. Unlike in space, the ground battle would not be over soon, but would rage on. Fighting was intense between the two sides, as both fought with fanatical fury, and both had edges that the other didn't. Paris and Berlin were two of the major cities that saw the most fighting, seeing how close they were in proximity to the dual capitals of the primary defender- Svenska-Britannia. The defenders had the skill edge and numbers, but Drecha had the technology and the spies. Changlings would prove no doubt useful in the long run, seeing how hard they would be to catch, if you didn't know where or how to look. Given enough time- even if the battle had ended- the Changlings would most likely remain, giving out valuable information that would guide the oncoming waves in the future. For now, though, the battle for this Earth raged on, scarring the surface of the world. Drecha would loose this battle, but return later...

---

OOC:

Some posts, I did not reply to, as:
A. From what I can tell, they did not directly involve Drecha.
B. I couldn't really find any reason to immediatley reply.


Notes for SB:
*Less than 5 captured ships, more than 1. I'd say 2-3. Your choice, SB. Damage and condition of the vessels may also vary, and again your choice to that. I'd say damaged, but not too damaged.
**I'd wager that there are about ten remaining Drechanian ships- 8 Supercruisers and 2 Starcruisers, all of which are badly damaged. All the others would've been destroyed, if not captured.

[Russian-American Continental Alliance]

Establishing Battlefield Control

---

--|--|2023

PPL-OPCOM
[LOCATION UNKNOWN]
A i r W a r f a r e S e c t i o n

---

Pacific Peace Legion Air Combat Squadron
"Shitfuck Squadron"
[//ORDERS: FIRE AT WILL//]

---

While the battle continued to rage on in the outskirts of space, the PPL contractors observed as their employers did everything they could to defend themselves from foreign attack. Some wanted to stay out of it, as it wasn't their battle YET. However, those were a minority. There were a lot of people who wanted to join their employers, even if it meant giving their lives away in the process. Compared to their adversaries, at least with some observers saying, they were outmatched by the enemy's air force. Which wasn't exactly incorrect but they did feel confident.

And they were ready to prove that.

In the storage areas of their employers; PPL aircraft were being pulled out of storage left and right. Officers with safety vests moved their hands and shouted into megaphones as pilots, crew, and soldier alike did everything they could to ready the PPL's air combat squadrons for a fight against the enemy; if anything, just to make their employers have an easier time dealing with these opponents. Aircraft were pulled out, much to the amazement of some PPL soldiers who did not expect this big of a response to enemy aircraft approaching them.

And to focus on a squadron that was working on getting their aircraft ready... In comes Shitfuck Squadron. Fitting for a vulgar name, they're considered the "D-Team" of the PPL's air combat squadrons that weren't already formed ad hoc. However, surprisingly, this instance, they were the first squadron that jumped on the chance to fight for their employers. This move surprised many, as Shitfuck was considered to be the poorest-performing squadron in the Pacific Peace Legion. However, what people didn't know is that these people made up for it with their loyalty to the cause of the Legion, and would gladly die if it meant dying for freedom.

"Go, go, go!" A PPL Shitfuck Squadron pilot said, motioning to a ground crewman who pulled an F/A-18 Hornet with a towing tractor. "WE'VE GOT TO GET UP THERE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!" He continued. While that was going on, a lot of the storage area was in chorus, singing a song as they towed aircraft and armaments away from reserve, so they may accomplish their purpose and fly in the sky once more. Even if there was no sky to speak of, really.

"O'er azure skies and emerald plains
where freedom and peace prevai!!
With courage and strength,
we'll fight 'till the end for liberty in our land!"

The mob all chanted, putting strains on themselves just so that they may launch one fighter into the cosmos, all for the sake of providing support for their contractors. The song of the airmen, crewmen, and riflemen all echoed in the storage rooms as combat aircraft were prepared and readied. Men lifted missiles through collective effort, bolting them to the pylons of Hornets.

When preparations and arming were complete, the Hornets went along, moving.

They had readied about 48 planes in under seven minutes. Which was double the size of a regular squadron of aircraft for the PPL. They all lined up, ready to be launched, they did not care how they would be launched, as long as they were launched and got speed, they'd do it.

And one of them spoke.

"This is Shitfuck One, requesting permission to take off." He broadcasted to his employers. Battlegroup Anna.

All the while, PPL observers were awed and cheering. Most, but still. The cheers and exulting drowned out any naysayers, and they'd keep it that way.

All the while Shitfuck Squadron received their orders.

[//OBJECTIVE UPDATED: ELIMINATE EXTRANEOUS SPACECRAFT.//]

[Svenska-Britannia]

Earth (Svenska-Britannia)

The battles throughout the earth raged with such ferocity that people thought the heavens themselves were falling down and crashing to the ground. In space, around 2 light battlestars were reported lost/captured by enemy forces but the rest of the Interstellar Fleet managed to destroy the rest of the enemy vessels except for 1 Supercruiser and 3 Starcruisers. The Navy has taken particular interest in the technologies used by the hostiles and have ordered the captured vessels to be examined and reverse engineered.

Paris and Berlin suffered the most from the midst of the fighting, Svenska-Britannia along with the United States of Russia commenced immediate humanitarian aid missions to refugees and survivors of the battle. The Confederate military continued their relentless counter-offensive against the Drechians eager to see them utterly destroyed. The Confederate Military Police have already assumed that in order for a planetary force to continue its military operations it would have infiltrators running amok and giving the enemy information for new attack plans, and so the Military Police began it's thorough Counter-Espionage operations all across the globe and formulating strategems in countering hostile infiltrators.

The Planetary Shields are set to full as the rest of the planet recovers from the battle it had just endured. People in the streets have cried out for vengeance and revenge for the death and suffering that the Drechians caused.

The Emperor has heard their calls, and he promises them a merciless and righteous justice.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

UNKNOWN SYSTEM, BGA SPACE
As the corvette launched their short burst of missiles, the Starcruiser's PD already had a lock. All four were destroyed within an instant, and as the various detection systems began to pick up numerous small craft approaching at a rapid place, fighters were launched to match them. The Starcruiser fell back, firing from a distance, instead of point-blank range. An encoded message was intercepted from the larger enemy vessel, and quickly decrypted (to the extent where the basic details were known), but finding the exact destination and contents would take a while. Elsewhere, the Stealthcruisers began to disperse, searching for wherever this message was directed to. Unknowingly to both sides, one began to draw closer and closer to the fleet, but would likely be spotted before it could react...

"Falling back" and "firing from a distance" were relative for the Battlegroup; their missiles had extremely long range, to the tune of millions or billions of kilometers.
This was immediately put to good use, with a second salvo of missiles was swiftly released -- but not only a few from the corvette. No, the Starcruiser had aroused the ire of none other than the dozens of arsenal ships and the colony-ships themselves, with their hundreds upon hundreds of missiles stowed away. A second salvo, consisting of two or three dozen missiles guided in by the corvette would be fired off, slipping into wormholes and then exiting soon after, considerably closer to the Starcruiser.

The Drechan interceptors would be quickly logged by the corvette and the strikecraft, and a response was prepared for them as well; another few dozen missiles -- this time designed specifically to shoot down other missiles and strikecraft. Furthermore, interceptors of their own were dispatched, rapidly wormholing in and attacking the enemy starcruiser and it's interceptors at relatively long ranges with their own missiles.

The Pacific Peace Legion itself would be placed on standby, with orders to be ready to launch aircraft within 5 minutes.

The Drechan effort at decryption revealed about fuck-all in terms of actually useful information, and amounted to, essentially, "engaging, requesting assistance, keep an eye out for other hostiles".

[Mirum]

Somewhere Northwest of Eleyta, Mirum,
Arkiv Landing Site
Dec. 25th, 2021
2:33 PM Local Time

The figure loomed in front of the soldiers and scientists of the SCU, who propmtly readied their weapons, only to be halted by the commander. A lone, telepathic voice pierced the minds of the SCU Agents. They were not scared, per se, but slightly unprepared for this exchange.

"Who are you."

"We are Mirian soldiers and scientists- some of the finest on this planet- and members of a secretive organization dedicated to understanding and protecting the world from unknown entities. We are Special Task Group Phoenix of the SCU. Who are you, and why might you be here?"

The commander had spoken, yet the presence seemed to mull the response from the Mirians, the lines of its carapace dimming and re-etching themselves as it seemed to internally communicate with an external force, before brightening to their previous luminosity.

"We are the Arkiv. Our purpose is to exterminate the KillingStarScourgeAnathemaPrey that invades your home."

"And who would that be referring to?"

Images brushed the minds of the Mirians. The Drechanians, brief images of the glimmering spiderweb that was their collective intelligence, the death of a world, pure, unbridled...not anger. Not fear. Nor something in between-but an urge to extinguish before the Proxy's mind retracted into its mortal coil once more. The gathered Mirians would realize that the Arkiv were not there to save them. They were there to destroy the Drechanians. Utterly. And would continue to do so until Drecha ceased to pose a threat in its entirety.
Then, the commander spoke once more, without any emotion, but somewhat relieved.

"Ah. Then we have a common enemy. But what makes you think we cannot handle this by ourselves. Surely this threat extends beyond our borders. So why remain here? Why not extend your resources elsewhere to better combat this threat?"

The atmosphere remained silent for a few moments- both physically and psychically. Then the entity 'spoke' once more.

"The KillingStarScourgeAnathemaPrey is a blight. All instances of it must be destroyed to ensure threat minimization."

"And we assure you, we are working on that ourselves as we speak. But I must ask, what are you attempting to do with all this, and what is it?"

Images once more filtered through the Mirians' subconscious. Growth, extraction, harvest, evolution-creatures engineered into weapons, birthed from writhing masses of protobiological ooze, arcane hellfire raining down and scouring the Drechan force from the face of the earth. The Arkiv were not there for salvation. They were there to destroy. And with that, the SCU knew what they needed to do.

"Give us one week. One. The deed will be done, and this threat will cease to exist on this world and you will have yourselves a new ally on the offensive against this threat."

The presence around the Mirians writhed in displeasure. Although unreadable due to the sheer gap between the Mirian minds and that of the Proxy, they could sense that the Arkiv were...irritated. By the presumptuous behavior of the Mirians. It became disturbingly clear that they had very little control in this situation.

"We will require one week to produce our army. If the Drechan forces are not removed from this planet before that point, we will exterminate them ourselves."

Somewhere Off The Coast of Eleyta, Mirum
Onboard the Devastator-class Supercarrier MNV Loyalty
Dec. 25th, 2021
2:32 PM Local Time

Strike Squadron 2
Naval Task Force External Comms
Recipient: Devastator-class Supercarrier MNV Loyalty

---

[TacMind Politics By Other Means] (Archangel-class Primary) (Class B2): Miran surface forces, we are representatives of the Burning Quasar militia force of the Oortian Community of Qhevak. We are presently deploying mercenary forces to the surface of Eleyta to assist your military in the retaking of Eleyta. These will cooperate with your forces when possible - do not attempt to engage, at your own peril.

I'm sure you’re experiencing something of an existential crisis right now – do not worry. Once the present ground engagement is over we will deploy diplomatic representatives to your carrier, with your permission, to discuss matters further.

The Loyalty’s Chief Communication Officer picked up this message on the ship’s radio, promptly relaying it to his commanding officer, who relayed the message to President Elmspirit in her office. The President then decided to let this pass and the diplomats have a meeting. She would then order the ship to prepare for this as well. The plan was to let the ship land, and the diplomats would then be escorted by SpecOps soldiers to the War Room, where they would discuss whatever needed to be discussed. And so it was. The preparations were made, and the ship was made ready for the arrival of the diplomats.

---

Fifteen minutes later, the craft, a little white civilian shuttle with an appearance like a slim, ornate flying saucer, touched down on the flight deck of the MNV Loyalty under the quiet lift of distributed electric microfans. The front bay door opened, and the diplomatic force exited, looking surprisingly normal compared to the nightmarish Qhevaki war machines seen before. They were humans - strangely tall, with almost sculpted-looking features, and wearing odd, disparate and elaborate forms of clothing - but humans nonetheless, near-baseline liaison officers hired to provide a presentable face to Qhevak's post-human warminds. Ran Dziek, a tall, dark man with slick black hair and penetrating purple eyes stood at the forefront, wearing a dark robe with embroidered patterns that shifted and twisted as he moved, walked forward to the waiting Mirian reception, raising a hand in greeting.

There were eight Mirian Naval SpecOps guards present to greet the arriving diplomats. The guards themselves were mostly human- some elves and half-elves were present, but all of them were wearing the distinct Mirian Navy ceremonial uniforms, and held rifles- 1933 Midknight MK-21A-3 Bolt-Action Rifles, to be exact. They approached the craft in unison, before halting ten feet away from it. The lead diplomat then approached, raised his hand in greeting, and the lead guard spoke up in a highly formal manner, and gave a crisp salute. No emotion was shown.

"On behalf of President Elmspirit and the entire crew aboard the MNS Loyalty, welcome aboard. Please, follow us. The President is waiting."

The guards led the diplomatic team forward, into the depths of the ship's superstructure, and to the ship's war room, where sure enough, President Elmspirit was waiting. She stood up as they entered the room and smiled.

"Welcome aboard. Please, take a seat. Now let us discuss- but in the meanwhile, could I offer you some tea?"

---

TL;DR / Notes:
- Mirian SCU-Arkiv meeting
- Mirum-Qhevak meeting
- Co-op post with Arkiv

[Greater Vanguard Cult]

⚔We didn't start the fire,⚔
But we're damn well putting it out.

- Henrietta Kordovskaya11,421 N.W.E.

DANAKAI (~0.5 M_☉) SYSTEM
20 AU FROM STAR, BEARING 34°

OUTER SYSTEM DEFENSE POST -- STAR-FORTRESS "DKAI-82"

Theme: "Federation"

Something was off. Danakai was a shithole of a system where good things rarely happened, sure. But this was a special kind of looming, foreboding danger. For while it was undeniably a backwater, Danakai was the gate and key to the Zone's rich and plunder-stuffed interior. Over a hundred billion souls, their hearts beating as one -- all of their fates hinging on the security of frontier systems like this one.

It was at moments like this that Admiral Henrietta Kordovskaya felt resolute and determined. Being at the head of any armed forces was an ethically dubious job at some times. Heck, she had sent men off to the central systems at one point, a price each ten cycles to be paid. By volunteering or coercion, tens of thousands of soldiers were shipped off to Earth and its vassals, cryogenically frozen for the long journey through the void. They'd never see their families again, and she had ordered it for the greater good. Because otherwise the central government's fleets would, at some point, come round and have a word. That word would involve the death of millions of innocent lives; lives she had sworn to protect.

So yeah, she'd have the manpower drafted and she'd pay her lip-service. But no mistake was to be made, this was her country. This shithole system was hers, and it belonged to everyone who stood behind her as well. She had a relatively mighty armada at her disposal, and had proven herself in battle before. Now, the system and others like it had been laden with "state-of-the-art" sensors, defenses, and installations. Nobody would sunder the AUAZ -- they stood eternal, unconquerable; the freedom of their fledgling republic an example for all to follow!

Henrietta's excited train of thought was interrupted by a subtle buzzing from her pocket. She pulled out her Personal Communication Device - a small, vaguely squarish thing, about the length and width of her palm, a neon blue screen contrasting with the stainless grey alloys of the device's body - with a sigh. It was from Vice-Admiral Joseph Vertgehn. The message was marked urgent. Henrietta frowned. Urgent messages were not something you saw every day. They were reserved for critical security flaws and breaches, invasions, and-

She read the message. Three words in block capitals: 「EMERGENCY. BRIDGE. NOW.」 The Admiral's heart immediately started pounding. That wasn't good news. She flicked a switch on the PCD, and spoke: "I'm coming immediately." These would be transcribed and transmitted to Vertgehn's device in a matter of microseconds.

And so, Henrietta ran. Ran like a damn athlete. DKAI-82 was a gargantuan station. There was quite literally no time to lose. She ran to her centrifuge's transportation unit, and shouted: "Get me to central command, now!" Her voice was strained with concern. She had only had an urgent communication once before, two years ago. Many had died soon after. The system had held on, barely, and only thanks to speed and quick-thinking. After less than a second of processing, her vocal patterns were recognised by the station's security systems. "As you wish." Came the steady, ever-calm voice of Darien, the station's artificial intelligence assistant. The module decoupled from the centrifuge and immediately propelled itself towards the central command module; Henrietta was lifted off her feet, gravity abandoned.

It struck her that, in her hurry, she'd forgotten to strap herself in.

About thirty seconds later, she collapsed to the ground with a painful thud as the transportation unit docked automatically with the central centrifuge. Scrambling to her feet, the doors opened and she rushed through a handful of corridors until she came to the station's "bridge". Inside, she saw the Vice-Admiral, surrounded by technicians working at their monitors; worry was etched into his usually young and hopeful face.

"What's- what's the situation?" Asked Henrietta. She was out of breath from her frantic journey here.

"Something big has just... appeared on the system's edge." Noted Vertgehn. "It's heading towards the station at frightening speeds. Our FTL sensors have determined that it is moving considerably faster than the speed of light. We're seeing-- one object. Large, around 13-20 by 7-14 miles in size-"

"Miles?" Interrupted Henrietta.

"Miles." Confirmed the Vice-Admiral. "It is travelling at frankly ridiculous speeds towards the station. If it is made by sapient life we must concede that there is a functionally ridiculous technological disparity between them and us. This can't be a natural construct."

"What the fuck are you waiting for? Put the station into total alert!"

"Well-"

"Did I stutter, Comrade Vertgehn?" - 'Comrade' a vestige of the Vanguard's cultural influence, even this deep into the periphery - "I want the armada crewed and ready. I want the entire station armed and ready until we figure out just what the fuck this thing is. This is an order." Henrietta was panicked, her heartbeat now at a frantic pace. "This entire fortress needs to be ready to take on the universe."

"Of course, Madame Admiral." Vertgehn turned to the rest of the bridge. "You heard her! Get your arses moving!"

The colossal, deep-space installation, almost in the blink of an eye, began to crank into motion. Crewmen were shaken from their beds or idle occupations to head towards the anchorages and board the ships; those in the local defensive modules began to man and arm their units. Sensor and utility systems were manned with every technician on the damned station.

Bracing for impact, in the midst of space's smothering blackness -- Danakai, so distant now, shining. The dice was rolled once more, the system's fate yet again in the balance.

[Svenska-Britannia]

Battlestar Vanquisher, Stealth Battlestar
High Planetary Orbit, Earth (Svenska-Britannia)

As the rest of the Interstellar Navy licks from their wounds, especially on the Battlestar Vanquisher. Much of the chief engineers and repair crew along with the Naval officers were keeping themselves busy with the tasks of repairing and restoring much of the ship's combat capabilities. Prince Armfeldt stood on the CIC of the Battlestar and watched as the officers and crew went about in many directions, he sighed seeing as how the ship itself took a beating in the battle for earth.

An officer nearby walked up to the prince and gave a short salute before giving a message.
"Sir, i've received a message from Buckingham Imperial Palace, the Grand Emperor has given you full authority to use your Emergency Rank. You are now the 3rd Commander-In-Chief of the entire Armed Forces just behind His Imperial Majesty and the Grand General." The officer stated his message to the Prince.

Armfeldt looked at the officer for a few seconds before looking down at the operations table of the CIC, the responsibility of being the 3rd Cmdr-in-Chief is not taken lightly as he has total control over the entirety of the military along with the Interstellar Navy, ranking higher than the Grand Admiral.

He stared at the officer once more before replying.
"Thank you Colonel, you may go.." Armfeldt replied.
"Sir.." The officer then made a snap salute, of which Armfeldt gave with his own before going back to his own respective post.

As the situation in the CIC was slightly improving, a sudden power surge shut off all the lights of the CIC save for the red emergency lights.
"What in the fu-?!" Armfeldt was surprised at the sudden blackout of the ship. The crew then went to work getting the lights back on. But not until a silhouette of a figure managed to get himself aboard the CIC of which Armfeldt noticed by the corner of his eyes.

Eventually, the lights came back and revealed the figure...

As the lights turned, Armfeldt would see that it was Viktor Von Stein, the Kraken's Wrath. He was a demon, a powerful one at that, and one that served the Supreme Chancellor of the Rapture Republic. That had remained silent since the Drechian invasion of Earth began. He would be elegantly dressed from hat to his standard aristocratic military-styled white, black, and gold uniform.

He appeared more like someone that belonged at a banquet - if they could happen without the concerns of unknown forces crashing the festivities. But those who knew the Wrath know better to make that allegation openly, if they valued their life enough, and not end up as torn corpse upon the ground within a flash of a second. Regardless, the Wrath's expression was pure indifference to what he had interrupted between Armfeldt and the Officer, and most likely was apathetic about the ensuing crisis as a whole.

Probably only came here to appease his boredom, but that thought would only be made to avoid the worst possible scenario that he had been sent to terminate the Prince Armfeldt, and despite the two by history, being very close each other as good friends while rumors said otherwise. Armfeldt would know that Viktor would not hesitate to take his life within an instant of the command being given to him.

But given the posture, Viktor showed no signs of malicious intent, his arms were crossed as he eyed Armfeldt with a keen predator-like glare, and remained silent, allowing the room to fill with ominous anxiety as the demon's oppressive aura expanded to all corners of the room to break down the crew's psychology, and send into a total mental down as the last nerve cracked.

"Rapture has escaped this dimension, this war does not interest the Chancellor. He shall not partake in this circus, nor risk his race to it. There is no help from Rapture, the Fatherland's safety comes before the woes of Humanity. Yet, by fortune's grace, the Chancellor does not wish to see its business partners utterly destroyed, and he sent me to judge the worth of keeping those assets, alive. Otherwise, complaints can reflect negativity. Be reminded of that. " Viktor stated, his radio-esque voice while calm struck as a venomous spear through the heart.

Assets, they were, every human was viewed as an asset, and likely all of them expendable in the Chancellor's eye, with the United Confederation being the sole exception, but would be balancing on a tight role to ensure that by the Wrath's judgment. Humanity could have a chance in this fight against nearly impossible odds with one of the most powerful and historically notorious figures standing beside them against possible extinction. Even if, that figure was only with them to show to their cold-hearted master, their lives could still be of usage once all is said and done.

"Aside from my explicit instructions, it is an honor to be in your sanctum once more, Your Highness, Prince Armfeldt of the United Confederation of Svenska-Britannia." His voice was now less traitorous to the soul, and was tranquil, and held enthusiasm, though suppressed, and buried under formal greeting, and humble bow to Prince Armfeldt.

Armfeldt listened as the demon of the Republic stated his message with such calm yet deep striking words that rattled the morale of the crew at such a voice. Confederate marines along the CIC were kept at a state of alarm at the sudden appearance and the announcement of Viktor, Armfeldt mentioned for the marines to stand down and lower their weapons of which they did so without hesitation.

When Viktor finally finished his announcement with a greeting to the Prince, Armfeldt replied with a subtle nod to the Demon before replying with his own words.

"The United Confederation, its allies, and the entirety of Earth is at severe risk. We've just endured a battle that struck us to our hearts and have done unspeakable amounts of death and destruction, Svenska-Britannia is at war with an unknown alien race which have ever since tried to destroy our very might. Our forces on the ground are fighting with fanatical fury against the alien invaders and making sure that each human life the aliens take we take from them tenfold, our ships here in high earth orbit have suffered various amounts of damage and have lost a few ships. But we've managed to capture a fair number of our enemies' ships and started studying and reverse engineering them for our advantages." Armfeldt stated, before looking at the operations table.

"A fair number of the enemy ships retreated to unknown space. Safe to assume that they will be coming back in greater numbers to eliminate the United Confederation and Humanity in one fell strike, I have been informed that i will be the 3rd Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces and i will be expected to handle the defenses of the planet along with reforming the Interstellar Fleet to better combat the enemy. But the Confederation is walking along the edges of a knife and we are not sure how this will end up for us." Armfeldt stared back at Viktor.

"We are at War, and we might lose this War if the Confederation falls.." He stared at him with a darkened emotion

"Correct. Humanity is at war, the Aquarian is not, and your defeat is no concern to us, besides our own safety, and leaving the Earth to dwell within a pocket dimension. Until a suitable habitant to settle presents itself. Otherwise, Rapture will not get involved, the risk too great, and its manpower and will too small, and the only involvement is me, and my personal desire to see you alive. So you must consider what few options you have." The Wrath stated firmly, emphasizing the stance of his master regarding the war, but made it apparent that the Wrath does not wish to see Armfeldt dead from the aftermath.

"Normally i would feel a bit of offence to your remark. But considering Rapture's cold diplomatic stance with everyone, it is somewhat understandable. And as for your personal desire, you are always welcome to fight alongside me till the end. We've been preparing for our enemies to arrive, and by that time we will be prepared.." Armfeldt stated before the onboard cameras of the Battlestar activated and showed a live feedback display to the CIC in a massive screen.

The view showed an Armada of other Battlestars, Fighters, Bombers and Orbital Defense Platforms amassed in a neat formation as they were being displayed. Along the side, new and upgraded Battlestars and space vessels roll out of the Spaceport to further bolster the Interstellar Fleet.

Just behind the ships, stood a formation of the large and lumbering Mars class Battlestars that represent the might of the Confederation in space. Their hulls bristling with gun batteries and defensive platforms, their hangars filled to the brim with Space Fighters and Bombers armed to the teeth, their massive Spinal Mounted 'Tachyon Lance High-Energy Particle Beam' Cannons hummed in anticipation of being fired against their enemies with impunity.

Armfeldt looked at the screen with a bit of pride showing the might of the United Confederacy before looking back at Viktor.
"We will fight and die to the last in order to protect the ones we love..and we will do so armed and ready for it." He boldly stated

"Death is not a factor for me to be concerned with, it is a temporary experience. Until I may return to my bound duties as a servant of the Chancellor and the Fatherland. But I shall indeed spend my time well, ensuring this vessel is not wasted, and to see firsthand of your handiwork. It may aid in ensuring that the Chancellor still finds usefulness for the Confederation if they emerge from this challenge, alive and strong." The Wrath stated, his voice unchanging as it remained calm in both tone and expression.

"Tell me, Armfeldt. What does this distraction before the inevitable of their utter destruction do they have? Also, have you discovered their poor excuse for a command structure?" He inquired, insulting the enemy, and phased his questions carefully as to raise the morale of the humans as the Wrath made his entrance to make the enemy realize they've just swallowed a bigger pill than they could handle.

In the Wrath's ancient past, he had a similar experience with seeking to destroy all life, but he was not sapient, he was merely an abominable mindless leech that feeds on the negative essence of the omniverse, but was inevitably defeated by divine intervention and a coalition before his mindless form could truly end bring the end of all things.

This enemy based on what little information he received seemed to be on the same path, however, but not for total annihilation to satisfy a bottomless hunger, but to dominate and subject all lesser beings such as humanity to their will. Or that is what he assumed, at least, but nevertheless. The Wrath would see this as nothing more than swapping a fly on the wall, small entertainment, and nothing truly worthwhile.

Despite what the humans have said and make to be some sort of dramatical endgame for their species. It might be, but even when he first appeared to them. He doubted it and saw them dragging on the conflict to fulfill the void of purposeless in their hearts. He always found them as such empty creatures with the exception of Armfeldt, who have strangely managed to catch his fancy since they first interacted in more appropriate circumstances.

---

OOC:
This has been one MASSIVE wall of a post, but it has been done. This was done in coordination in a joint post between me and The-Rapture-Republic, my deepest thanks to him in assisting with the post

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians – Chapter 4 – An Absolutely Total War on All Fronts and of Two Planet Proportions.

The invasion came in swiftly and mercilessly. At least, that is what they always say and what the Valentians always expected. And they were right. Drechans arrived in the form of four ships - the first pair hovered around on Mars, while the other pair arrived at Earth. The methods that they have used to fight the Valentians on each of the planets were different, but one thing was for certain - the negotiations were over long ago, and Valentijn “De Sierlijke en Vrij Valkyrie General ov Valentine Z” Samantha Maxwell Delta Weston Stijn Angelus Tracey Mitchell Tristian Marnix Basilisk Lewis Hyatt X. Constantine Sein Lin Zaw Naing already had authorised her people to use lethal force to take down as many of these invaders as they can. The Valentians have a mix of emotions going for them - adreanline and anticipation from having to fight an actual enemy for once. At the same time, the last war and instability they had was back in 2025, which was 63 years ago. Simulations and war games might have helped, but not having to fight a war for that length of a time was going to put dents on their preparedness. At the very least, the relative lack of preparation would be coming from the military force of the Valentians. The contingency plans were done to their fullest effects, and Valentijn wasn't certainly worried of that one. For one, Exuberant Superintendent T-2000/2904-3 Surveillant Clarissa Alanis Star Breya « La Amoureux Chéri » Millie Taissa Butterfly Mélody Coraline Jolijn Trini Clementine Hollie Samantha Zeta Harumi has the plans to the planets backed up - their dimensions, the ecosystem, the geography, terrain - everything in her mind. Additionally, the last citizen of Valentine Z has his body successfully registered, catalogued, and his consciousness uploaded (not copied) onto Zastępca Strażnika Adriana Krystal Desiree “Cudowny Manipulacja Światłem” Venus Kowalski Faith Stanisława Engelse I. Cherise Krystyna Zaborowska Sztormowska Pamela Alina Re. T. Lillian's storage system in another dimension - the bodies to be reconstructed later as the consciousnesses are put inside the virtual world. All it would have been left for the invaders and the enemies of Valentine Z are the actual soldiers that volunteered to fight alongside The Sixty, with little to no entertainment for the enemies to get off on killing and torturing civilians. "Never go down without a fight, show them we are not pushovers!" Valkyrie Valentijn mouthed off, her words metaphorically echoing to others.

---

Valentijn “De Sierlijke en Vrij Valkyrie General ov Valentine Z” Samantha Maxwell Delta Weston Stijn Angelus Tracey Mitchell Tristian Marnix Basilisk Lewis Hyatt X. Constantine Sein Lin Zaw Naing, Mars, Valentine Z

With the planet no longer having the red and brown hue like it used to thanks to the terraforming efforts from decades ago, Valentijn looked up into the sky, with Marcus standing on her shoulder as the two looked at the ships that were coming into the atmosphere. The Valentian soldiers were giving signals and commands to each other, all within the local range and none of them being able to contact back Earth. That privilege, however, would only belong Valentijn and a few others who still have the hard (EMP-resistant) communication lines between the two planets. "They are not... most solid communi...ations, but they wil... do," Gwen came in through the other line, with Valentijn sending back a short acknowledgement. At the moment, the lack of interplanetary communication was not a big deal, at least not yet; they were more worried about the possibility that they might get overwhelmed by the enemy. The ships seemingly came in at overzealous speeds, unfazed and apathetic of the lifeforms that are on the planet, with only death and destruction in mind. At comfortable attitudes, that was when they started firing into the ground of Mars. Valentijn (and the cities' automated systems) triggered a siren system that echoed through the whole planet. "WARNING: ORBITAL BOMBARDMENT HAS BEGUN. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. ALL MILITARY PERSONNEL, PREPARE DEFENSES," repeating and fighting for the airwaves against the sounds of the bombardments themselves. "INCOMING PROJECTILES. ESTIMATED IMPACT TIME: 8 MINUTES." Valentijn shook her head, putting Marcus onto her palms and running into Mars' capital defenses. "Of course, they would do such a thing," she muttered to herself and letting out a sigh, "These guys really love their orbital bombardment. Hang on, it's gonna get crazy!"

The Valentians have some of the more potent technology and magic this side of the multiverse, most of them used to benefit themselves as a whole and not spending too much on blowing each other up. Still, even they knew that invasions would come along, especially when there is a vast multiverse involved. Not everyone out there benevolent empires, after all. As a result, the Valentians have defenses of their own - high-energy and high-velocity rounds that are just enough to oblierate whatever is coming towards them, while also not being too powerful to level a city. "No MACs in the atmosphere," is the sound advice of Colonel Adrian that the Valentians still follow, even one Valentijn. In the span of a few seconds, the cities' (and in mountains and some fields) batteries of defensive weapons come alive with various hums - from small railguns to lasers to good ol' kinetic weapons. After a small loading and bootup sequence, the automated defenses, powered by the cities' simpler AIs, started aiming at the heavens above. "Mars Planetary Defense System, Ready," the computers all reported back to Valentijn's helmet. Coordinates and trajectories set, small chances of not hitting, but you will miss 100% of the shots you don't hit. With determination in her voice, she pressed a few more commands on her wrist computer followed by giving the order, "Fire!"

Uniformly, the defenses and cities started firing, trying their best to hit the projectiles from the orbital bombardment. A few of the rounds were disintegrated or scattered before they could make a lasting damage, but for the most parts, it was not enough. And Valentijn know about it; Valentijn knew that there was little to no way to stop the orbital bombardment if it is already happening. She could have gone for the days of Project Resolute and set up a force field or a dome in order to protect the cities. However, with no civilian causalities to worry about, Valentijn figured, "Might as well fight instead of delaying the inevitable. If they want us dead so badly, we will still show them a fight and two." All in all, the orbital bombardment on Valentine Z's Mars have definitely disabled the defense systems - most of the cannons were damaged, blown off, or simply ran out of power to operate. The cities were starting their first phase of destruction, with most of the ill-equipped structures crumbling into rubble. Military bases and depots were hit with the most bombardments, suffering a large loss on the weapons, vehicles, and everything else along the way. "Look how quickly turned my place into rubble," Valentijn mused, shaking her head as she looked around the once-proud cities and landscapes that the Valentians have put up on Mars. It could have been fixed with reterraforming, but there was no denying that it would take a lot of effort and rebuilding. On top of that, the transmissions that she was receiving from the battlefield wasn't the most helpful to the situation. "A handful of deaths, Valentijn. We can still hold it off if needed, but we really ought to shut these things down if we were to stand a chance! All of our AAs are down, though!" For Valentijn, that was exactly the kind of motivation she needed. "Almost."

Putting her shield down on the ground, making sure not to step and splatter any friendlies, Valentijn unslung her rifle from her back. A custom-made Solothurn S31-4000, a railgun fit for someone of her stature, after realising that she was going to need a gun of her own other than her sword and shield. After all, there is only so much you can do by throwing the sword or shield and hoping that you might get it back. Taking aim at one of the ships nearer to her position, Valentijn held her breath and squeezed the trigger, the rifle in her hand humming with energy and power. The small slug in the railgun - 6 cm in diameter, left the barrel of the rifle at an astounding 250 000 000 m/s, the kinetic energy hopefully enough to take it out. Of course, Valentijn was not content with simply shooting off one single shot. Taking aim again and moving back from the recoil, Valentijn fired again. Altogether, she fired off 30 shots onto the ship, followed by another 200 shots while using a relatively strong-structured building as support. "The ship seems to be down," came confirmation from one of the Valentian scouts, "Its hull integrity has been numbered." Valentijn let out a small chuckle as she folded the bipods of her railgun, "Took me long enough, but hey. It ain't easy." As the ship went down, it fired a single shot at Valentijn's general position, hitting the building that Marcus was standing on. With absolute horror in her mind, she rushed towards her close friend and took him on her hands, followed by diving onto the ground as she smacked another building down to rubbles. "Thanks, man," Marcus said, his biological armor reacting to the shock and impact while checking up on itself and its wearer. Valentijn got up slowly, sitting and lying against a building. She wasn't injured, just needing a gauge on the surrounding and then checking up on everyone, "Hey, no problem," she said, trying to control her breathing and then tuning in to everyone on the planet's local radios. "Is everyone all right?" was replied to with a mix of responses - from being absolutely perfect and nothing much happening, to needing a bit of medics here and there. "All right, coordinate with each other and rotate the medics around. Don't worry, Valentians, I will be with you. They will need to do better."

And that was when the Walkers came in.

---

Vice Foresittend Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Moira “Неуловимая, Женщина-шпион” Marlene Wendy Lucille Lapis Jill Khorosheva Vin. Zolina łnt. Natasha Vasilisa Helen Ceeta Tescelyn Maximovna, Mars, Valentine Z

I know the intelligence guys weren't kidding when they dumped a folder full of papers, as well as bringing in their EMP-hardened equipment and dossiers. I mean yes, since we don't normally fight wars, we have simulations and as a result of that, we have inside jokes, jabs between departments, and the like. Those are all well-meaning and at the end of the day, the Valentians still fight together as one, there is no doubt about that. Anyway, going back to the topic at hand: I know I was not going to like this surprise when the intel guys told me. At first, I tried to reason and deflect that it might possibly be bad data, or that we have grabbed some intellignece from a few muiltiverses away, not this. However, the day the invasion came in and I saw Valentijn and Marcus outside with the rest of the Valentians, I knew I had to eat crow. The legs measured 76.2 meters, 15.24 meters-wide, with the central pod of the same size as the width. These thing made even US feel small, easily dwarfing especially a few of our small cities. With my twin pistols in tow along with my time bracelets, I disabled the computers in my office and asked the rest of the Valentians to do the same - whatever is not fried by the EMP will have to die by our hands. It was not as if they were our only sources of whatever data that we hog, and I definitely don't like giving our enemy the intelligence.

Knowing is half the battle, and whatnot. As I barged outside with a few Valentians in tow, I saw one of those things right beside Valentijn. "Damn, those things are fast!" one of the Valentians yelled out before she started blasting at the walker. The thing did not pay her any mind, doing its best to give Valentijn new holes in her chest. I slowed down time a bit, gave myself some breathing space as I watched the rest of the world slowed down around me. It was pretty fascinating at first, though over the years, I have gotten used to it. It's still cool, don't get me wrong, but the charm of encountering it the first time will always be the best one. Anyway, I slowed down time, watched for the weak points on the walkers (at least, I hoped, according to the dossiers), and then I started blasting. Valentijn got stabbed on her left thigh, which made her way angrier than she normally does, and then she started landing fist blows on the walker. I thought she would unsheathe her sword or bash the walker with a shield, but no - just good old punches. And she did it until that walker was an unrecognizable mess of circuit boards. "Wow," I thought, though not exactly at the way Valentijn handled it; I knew she could do it, and she would use her size to her advantage. I didn't think she would be this mad but well, here you go, I suppose. Far away, another battle was happening.

---

Foresittend Marcus Alan Ariel Maximillian “Unendlichkeit Jäger” Swifty Felix Maverick Prometheus Revlin Lynx Artyom Lichtenstein Baptiste C. Talon Haydn Lincoln Taal Reynolds Fang Wu Ying, Mars, Valentine Z

He pushed his men out of the way, the hail of bullets missing them and instead hitting him straight on the torso and chest. And yet, he stood there, unfazed. Marcus stood in the middle of the battlefield, his armor deflecting a seemingly endless number of bullets and small explosives, with the biological armor staying put to Marcus' will and valiantly fighting alongside him. "At this rate, we are going to be shot," the alien worms communicated with Marcus telepathically, with the latter considering his options as he surveyed the battle and then checking the on-board computers. A lot of scattered squad here and there, a handful of Valentians splattered, lasered, and stomped upon by the Walkers, and a few of them dying to infantry fire or structural collapses. "I hope they signed up for the virtual world," Marcus thought to himself as he charged towards one of the buildings, then in ruins from the battle that has so far only lasted for a few hours. He saw small waves of infantry coming out of the Walker in the distance, shooting and scattering a group of disoriented Valentians. 20 Valentian soldiers, each of them hiding around the building and its perimeter, walked towards Marcus - a man in the 20 meter tall armor. "Foresittend, good to see you! Oh, and thanks for saving our asses back there. What are your orders?" With a meaningful look and a nod to the direction of an approaching walker, Marcus readied his shield and his cannon, "Give me some covering fire. We are going to tear this one down." With a sudden burst of energy, they charged towards the walker, which has already deployed its share of infantry. Marcus (and the biological armor) slammed down their shield, which caused the ground to shake and trembling a few Drechian soldiers. That would perhaps be the last thing that most of them see before they either hear the arm cannon flinging hot plasma bolts, followed by a charge that pinned them down and splattered them. He also would take a few shots that slowed him down and forced him to recover. That is, at least until Marcus became more fired up. "Stay away from Valentine Z. And my family. And my friends!" he yelled, turning Drechian soldiers into pulp and scattering several of them, with his men fighting alongside and covering him.

---

Chief Aviator Gwen Tracer Hepburn “Fate of Existence and the Omniverse” Ellen Trixie Caitlin Foxworthy Avril Verlene Eveline Celinda Sammy Doris T-Rev Oxton Arielle Lindall Leslie Vitesse Allison, Earth, Valentine Z

She stood still, waiting and enjoying the calm before the storm. As per Valentijn's orders, the entirety of Valentine Z's Earth populace has been evacuated and put away for safety, including the folks from Vidunderlige Nye Verdern. It always took the anarchists and isolationists a few attempts to convince them of the fact that the external invaders were coming, and that more importantly, Valentine Z has nothing to do with it. They eventually complied, with Valentine Z being more than happy to help them out as their relationships have been cordial even after separation. "They just like to be alone, I can understand," Gwen remarked, as the last VNV citizen had her consciousness transferred for safekeeping and for later rebuilding, "At the same time, we have to save everyone we can too. Can't enjoy being alone if you're dead and you can't be revived back." The tactics going to be used by the Drechians are not going to be far off from the rest of the Far Future Tech (FFT) empires and worlds, as Gwen has noticed. Having been to various worlds and universes, Gwen always knew what to expect, what to do, what to eat, and perhaps most importantly on how to survive. She didn't always bring back everything with her, but after the war was over on another world, she took their building-sized MAC for her own usage and baptizing it as the Railgun of the Fate, with its energy needs flowing from herself and drawing from lifeless worlds. "Two ships, coming in fast!" Adriana exclaimed, Clarissa on her side as they are guarded and by a few of Valentine Z's finest men and women in the military. Gwen nodded in acknowledgement as she fired off into the skies above with her railgun, flinging shells at unfathomable speeds and piercing the air. She missed the first few rounds as she took aim, but by slowing time and doing some calculations on the railgun, she managed to land a few shots on them. She let out a small satisfied "Hah!", perhaps thinking that this would not be too bad after all. Of course, she has seen the future fights and what might happen, but that would be details to worry about for later. For that moment, Gwen was confident that the Valentians will get out of this relatively unscathed, perhaps other than to take years to re-terraform and rebuild.

---

Anastasia “De Sierlijke en Vrij High Valkyrie ov Valentine Z” Freya Valentina Ada. Jolin Annelijn Caitlin Trijntje Crystal Clarice Constance Judy Voi. D. Nexitros Annile Teresa Thida Myat Yadana Aye, Earth, Valentine Z

Standing 57 meters tall, Anastasia looked to the skies before unsheathing her Sword of Dawn and swung at the attacking infantry, killing and wounding many of them at one go. She took turns swinging the sword with much strength, followed by charging in front and shielding the Valentian soldiers from the enemy fire. "I will NOT let this new family suffer the same fate!" she yelled, her voice with equal mix of terror and anger, understandably so because she lost her world before in the same fashion, and with the Valentians being nothing but cordial to her, she was not going to lose them yet again. The Walkers, as they have been termed, crawled into the Valentian cities swiftly as they dropped infantries and were killing the Valentian troops left and right, but under the vigilant and vengeful eyes of Anastasia, they got a lot more than they have bargained and seemingly underestimated for. With the legs taller than her, Anastasia had a bit of a trouble having them not stab her, or the Walkers not shooting her. She got a handful of scratches to which she tried her best to shrug it off, but they kept on coming towards her - relentless and determined. For that moment, all she could do was gasp a little, before channeling inner fire to herself. It would make her twice her current size, but it will also make her a current target. "Anything for my friends," she quipped, gripping her sword and shield as she stood tall and ready. She will either win the fights, or will die on the soil and ground of Valentine Z; anything less, she would not settle for. "I hope Holly's safe too.." she added in.

---

Head Diplomat Charlene Jeannie Natalia Adeline Marceline “Wanbyeoghan Hyeobsang-Ga” Celestie Christine Irelle Dva. Arianna Rees Edith Novena Annie Ciara W. I. Bethany Myong Suh-Hyung, Uncharted System (for Valentine Z), 8000 kilometers from Dead Earth

The omnious nature of the place was something that Charlene simply could not remove and get away from. She felt as if there is something that is going to follow her and maim her. Worse of all, the transmissions were reported to be sent to these people in bits and pieces. For instance, the phrase "not aggressive" could have its first part lost, and it would have been the entirely new meaning. Charlene brought in crates of dried food and anti-radiation medication as suggested by the Valentians, but she knew that she might need a weapon or two in case something went wrong. An automatic pistol of hers, some poisoned daggers, and.. that was more or less it from her, it would seem. She still has the ability to transmit images beyond comprehension into minds to make them get stunned and feel vulnerable, but there is no basic consensus on whether it might work on other beings. After flying for a day or two, Charlene finally managed to arrive at the planet, at least 8000 kilometers away from it. "That... that looks like it," she thought to herself, carefully adjusting the controls and the autopilot system and to ensure that she was not aggressively flying at any point in time. Her plan, for the time being, is to fly and hover at this altitude (slightly away from the atmosphere) and fire another signal. Perhaps the absence of having to fly though multiple universes might mean that the signal might be stronger, in turn a better message, and most importantly - not getting blown to pieces. "Composing message now... and send!" the ship beamed the message towards the planet, now to wait.

"Good day to you, my friends! This is Head Diplomat Charlene Jeannie Natalia Adeline Marceline “Wanbyeoghan Hyeobsang-Ga” Celestie Christine Irelle Dva. Arianna Rees Edith Novena Annie Ciara W. I. Bethany Myong Suh-Hyung of Valentine Z once again, and I would like to inform you this time that I am now 8000 kilometers away from your planet, and requesting to land on your capital, or anywhere that I can talk to your people, in order to rectify and discuss about the threat that loomed above us all. To clarify, I am NOT the intruder. I am here peacefully. Cordially. Non-aggressively. Friendly. Non-violent. Peaceful. Pacifistic. Unharmful. Safe. I only bring medication and food for your people, and nothing else. I do hope we will get to talk to each other soon on the ground. I will await for your reply on my ship as I hover above your planet. Thank you for your understanding, please do NOT shoot me."