I Have Earned My Journey [FT, CLOSED]

[Great Ingen]

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
Aboard the IJN Disir Dressed In Black

---

The Disir Dressed In Black, a 600 metre long frigate of the Imperial Jade Navy, slipped quietly into the outskirts of the system. Designated simply as TA-1536X, it was as-yet unexplored, but automated probes had indicated it had two potentially habitable planets. Planet IV and Planet II, ranked in ascending order of proximity to the system's star, were both water-carrying planets with an atmosphere composed of nitrogen and oxygen, and so the Misericorde-class frigate ghosted closer to Planet IV, the more remote of the two.

System scans revealed a spike of electrical activity from Planet II. The probe had clearly missed something important; it seemed that the world was inhabited by a species advanced enough to create technology capable of emitting detectable energy signatures into space. From the black-and-white hull of the frigate, an automated probe launched itself into the darkness between worlds, streaking towards Planet II. Meanwhile, the Disir Dressed In Black continued its mission....

---

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
On the surface

---

Sergeant Alfred Haywood, a Forest Neusattran with bronze skin and a thick beard that looked like spun brass, was the first Imperial to set foot on Planet IV. A Kankyo IV Orbital Dropship loomed behind him, its huge belly open as its loading elevator kissed the ground. The region chosen as a base of operations for the exploration effort, which would ultimately decide whether this system was to be colonised or not, had been selected thanks to its proximity to running water and its open lines of sight. A large river basin around a broad river that widened into a lake further south, the area had a broad hill perfect for constructing a temporary base of operations. Oddly, given there was no sign of sentient life anywhere outside of some strange-looking quadruped reptiles that had lumbered away in alarm as the frigate had descended, Haywood could see in the distance what looked like a stone ziggurat...

---

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
The Ziggurat

---

Overgrown and mouldering, the ziggurat was perhaps ten meters high, with twenty steps leading to a gently domed roof and a massive arched entrance leading into a dark interior.

Haywood gripped his M4 Arisaka Blaster tightly and glanced back at the fourteen marines behind him. They had elected to walk the two kilometres to the ziggurat, in full view of the marines behind them busy setting up a perimeter and erecting the prefab buildings and landing pads that would serve, however briefly, as the headquarters of their surveying and security mission on this planet.

All of the marines were in standard MACS armour, slate grey with gold visors. Unlike some of the more flamboyant regiments, the Einherjar had parade ground colours subdued enough to serve as combat dress, so they rarely traded out for camouflage unless absolutely necessary. They had runes carved into their armour plating, and tufts of fur topping their boots, betraying them to be a Neusattran regiment. Haywood shrugged, shook off his fear and, for the benefit of his troopers, strode confidently forward.

"Come on marines. I haven't got all day." he said, adding a pinch of pepper into his tone. There was a brief moment of darkness before his HUD adjusted to the low light levels and activated its visual enhancers, giving him a clear picture in various shades of green. The moment they stepped into the building, one of his marines grunted. "Huh. There's an impulse signal deeper in the structure. Wasn't registering outside."

Haywood turned to glance at her. "What the fuck does that mean, corporal?" he said, employing the standard 'I-don't-have-time-for-your-shit' tone beloved of sergeants everywhere. Corporal Mendenhall was unperturbed by this, having served with Haywood for nearly two years now, and simply re-examined her PID. "Yeah, some kind of signal deeper down."

The pronouncement made Haywood uneasy. This building seemed like some kind of pre-industrial temple, and was dank with the smell of wet stone and fresh water running down rills cut either side of the corridor, leading occasionally to small pools or disappearing into holes in the wall. It certainly did not seem like it housed advanced communications technology, and something just felt off about the place.

Turning a corner, he froze, sighting down his rifle. Ahead was a glowing light, blinking in the darkness, bright against his suit's low-light vision. He waited for a long few seconds, and then slowly motioned his squad to advance. Treading carefully, weapons sweeping the dark corners of the room, they approached the source of the light. Sunlight was filtering down from a hole in the roof above it, and Haywood stopped a few metres from it, incredulous. Against the archaic backdrop of the temple, it seemed out of place. A sleek metal construct with poles sticking out of the top, it was clearly a communications antennae, and stamped with the legend 'Federation of Corundum'. It seemed to react as they approached, with a series of beeps, a flash of light and the scrape of metal against metal as a panel moved, although Haywood couldn't tell if it had opened up or closed something down.

There was silence, and then one of his marines spoke up. "Who the fuck are the Federation of Corundum?"

[Legatia]

Corundan Federal Navy
Cinncinatus-class capital ship Jeanne d'Arc, OCS-36
1.4 LY from Kheti system

The newly-commissioned Jeanne, second in her class, sat quietly in its wide, long orbit of the galaxy. Transiting inbetween systems, she was conducting her first operational shakedown as part of a small task group patrolling the far eastern sectors of Federal space. A veritable, silver giant amongst endless nothing, she shone like a gleaming sword in the nothingness she inhabited. The sheen of her titanium plates and the sharp flicks of her lights were a welcome sight to the two Sparrowhawk pilots, who had intercepted and destroyed a practice combat drone an incredible distance from the Jeanne. Having completed their mock combat round trip of a few million miles, Lieutenant Junior Grade Aina Matsuura took a long breath of relief as their home ship's navigational aids finally registered on her computers. Her wingman, the more senior squadron CO, Commander Jax Ramerre, looked no less fazed as the two finalized their corrective burns, matching their vertical velocity to that of the carrier's as they flew the port approach to the ship. From a camlink in her hud, Ramerre gave her his knowing nod.

"Maiden, Dragon; flight of two Sparrowhawks crossing AP One. Request simulated combat approach port hangar."

"Dragon, Maiden- approved as requested, positive contact shows you twenty seconds from AP Two. Port is clear, deck green. Call the ball." Getting another nod from the CO, Matsuura enabled manual thrust vectoring and switched her autopilot off, her eyes focusing on the widely opened port and the flashing, visual lights from the carrier's visual landing systems. A second later, that information told her she was low on approach. Pressing into her maneuver jets, she gently slid back up, and cancelled the momentum with another quick jet.

"Dragon 1, Sparrowhawk ball;" she called, her commander echoing her, yet his words passed her by. As soon as she passed the third and final approach fix, she set her gear down, vectored her engines full vertical and engaged her retros. At uncomfortable pace the two Sparrowhawks rushed into the pressurized hangar bay, catching a number of deck crew off guard as the powerful engines of the Sparrowhawks shot arcs of plasma into the deck, roaring to a halt just as they hit the decks with a solid, resounding thud.

"..All right, all right, hotshot." One of the deckhands quickly piped in on Matsuura's now ecstatic expression. "Roll her right and power down." A bluecoated deckhand waved her over, as she lined the jet up with the long hangar storage bay where her plane would be transported. Disengaging the battery and shutting the engines down, her cockpit slid open, a ladder unfolding from the right side of the starfighter, one she used promptly to slide down. As the planes were loaded and moved out of the way, her commander gave her a fatherly smile, one of approval. "..Welcome to the squadron, Lieutenant Matsuura. Excellent flying." Taking his hand as they walked, Matsuura offered a rapidfire salute as the CO took his steps further away, towards the door. Or so he would have, would the door not have suddenly shut in his face and sealed.

"All hands, helm, secure the ship for jump." Deckhands immediately scrambled, engaging mag clamps on the unsecured heavy machinery on deck as the heavy steel doors of the hangar bay rolled shut. The distant, resounding sound of the IJAWA jump engine spooling up had just reached the hangar. As soon as the hangar bay had secured with a resounding hiss, the Jeanne rocketed through an almost startlingly short slipjump, lurching forward and stopping in only three seconds.

Aboard the bridge, many of the newly-minted ensigns seemed visibly shaken at the rapidity of such a short jump in such short notice. The vessel's commander, Rear Admiral Marcus Gaholke, was unfazed however, and quickly resumed his duties. A veteran of serving aboard capital ships, he had seen his fair share of operations in both war and peace, and no small share of quick jumps. Given, that sort of stress wasn't one put on a warship too often. The Jeanne was rated for combat jumps, he knew, and it was well enough he made sure the ship could do what it was advertised to without being crushed from the pressures of FTL travel.

"Set the ship condition three. NAV, what's our position?" Wasting no time in communicating with his deck crew, the junior deck crew with urging from their supervisors set quickly back to their tasks. "..Sir, we report holding a heliocentric orbit over the central star of the Kheti system." The Admiral nodded his consent. "OPS, status report."

"Sir, all stations reporting a successful jump. We report three minor injuries in engineering. No structural damage, all systems appear nominal." Another nod was issued. "TAC?"

"Sir!" The Lieutenant in charge of the Tactical department gave a stern salute. "Tactical reports all aboard weaponry is operational or accounted for. Tactical reports the Mistral, Everglade and Ohara are present and in formation, and-" The officer frowned, taking the beckoning of one of his subordinates to come closer. Gaholke, his interest piqued, leaned closer as he walked.

"..Sir, LIDAR contact, unknown vessel in range. Roughly half a kilometer long, in orbit of Kheti Gamma." On the holographic display board at the center of the ship, a three-dimensional rendering of the Kheti system rapidly zoomed in on their fleet's position, holding just beyond the orbit of Planet III, highlighting them in a simple holographic blue. It zoomed in on Kheti Gamma, the more certainly remote system, highlighting the contact.

"..LIDAR reports it as an unknown warship. Contact designated Lima One." Lima One was held in the golden light of an unidentified, potential threat. At the range they were from Gamma, they would not be able to ascertain the precise weapons or capabilities of the ship."

Gaholke nodded, glancing as the Ohara, the sharp black Halberd-class destroyer at its left, gracefully slowed itself with a gentle arcjet fire to match the speed of the Jeanne d'Arc. "..We'll hold here, might just be a hulk or an asteroid. Dispatch the Ohara to investigate and hold orbit. Send them off with a flight of Sparrowhawks."

"..Aye, sir."

---

Corundan Federal Navy
Halberd-class destroyer Ohara, DDH-414
Low Orbit, Kheti Gamma

It had taken forty-five minutes for the Ohara to come to an intercept with Kheti Gamma, and just as it did so, the Sparrowhawk fighters accompanying it had formed up on both wings of the destroyer. The pilot of one approached uncomfortably close to the bridge for Commander Marie Amonette, who received a quirky thumbs up from the now inverted pilot.

"Gooood afternoon, Commander. Vulcan Flight of twelve here withya', at your command." The woman sighed, the deck crew slightly more amused than she. Perhaps the urban myth that pilots had a lot more fun than deck officers was true, but such concerns mattered little to Amonette.

"..Vulcan Flight, Ohara actual. Take the majority of your flight and come in retrograde. We'll converge on this contact once you complete your sweep of the rest of orbit. We'll hold position and expect you within an hour."

"..Vulcan 1, solid copy on your last, Actual. 1 through 10 will be splitting off." The left echelon on the flight peeled in formation, five of the right echelon swinging overhead and in front of the bridge as they rejoined. One said Sparrowhawk fighter from the right echelon formed up on the left, the last member of the right echelon maintaining his position as the blue jets of the fighters faded into the distance, obscured by the night side of the planet. As they had done so, they finalized their approach vectors towards the contact. Well within weapons range, she had been advised that this was not likely to be a significant threat to her warship, and with that knowledge in mind she closed at a fairly expedient speed towards the contact.

"Bring us close for visual inspection, all hands stand fast." The lone destroyer and its two escorts slid ever closer to the contact, unawares of its disposition.

[Great Ingen]

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
The Ziggurat

---

As Haywood's patrol climbed back into the sunlight, their communicators picked up frantic calls from the Disir Dressed In Black. Haywood waved his men to silence and habitually placed his hand to his ear, even though his helmet made it pointless.

"Red Seven Kay, where are you? Pull back to the Disir immediately! We have contact, repeat we have contact! Unidentified ship in-system!"

The platoon gathered around in consternation, glancing up at the huge bulk of the Disir where it hovered over the plains, still disgorging troops and material. In the sky, a small Hyo-class corvette roared into the upper atmosphere, desperate to buy time for the Disir.

It was at that moment that the world erupted around them. An argent beam of blue-white appeared with a loud cracking hiss, punching through Private MacKinnon's helmet instantly with a hideous burst of failing shields, metal and ichor. He collapsed as thin green bolts traced the air, hammering the shields of the platoon. Two more marines fell as Haywood and his squad ducked back into the protection of the tunnel. The surviving marines of the platoon were under fire from both sides as Haywood roared for reinforcements over the comms. He leaned out of the doorway in time to see a hulking figure, nearly nine feet tall, in elegant curved armour, stagger backwards as the combined fire from two marines overloaded some kind of personal shielding and started small sprays of deep blue blood. The being roared gutturally as several others spewed beams in a riot of colours at the overwhelmed marines. More Jade Marines fell as the giant beasts closed in, one throwing a pipe-shaped device which exploded in a shatter of pink shards. Haywood pumped an entire clip into a monster in white armour, which collapsed screaming, and then another's chest exploded in a shower of blue blood. Nearly five seconds later, the retort of a huge Type 107 Railgun Sniper Rifle rolled around the valley, whilst overhead the roar of a Soyokaze shuttle's heavy blaster cannons drowned out the sounds of gunfire below...

---

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
The IJN All Around My Hat

Lieutenant Osred Hogg was not thrilled. His small corvette had been ordered into space to face down the unknown contacts. Clearly outgunned and outnumbered, he had only a single Arisaka Centrefire Barrage Laser and a couple of torpedo tubes as armament, as well as a pair of flak turrets to deal with fighters and small craft.

The only positive sign was that, as his ship struggled out of the atmosphere, they received a notification from the surface with a brief on their unknown attackers. They were aliens of some kind, tall and with a distinctive aesthetic which did not, as the warships ahead loomed in his viewport, seem to match the newly arrived warships.

He nodded to his communications and sensors NCO, who opened a broadcast channel.

"This is the IJN All Around My Hat, here on a surveying mission. Please identify yourselves immediately."

[Legatia]

Corundan Federal Navy
Halberd-class destroyer Ohara, DDH-414
Low Orbit, Kheti Gamma

"Ma'am, we've got contact. Vessel approaching fast, it's armed and marked- it's going through the upper atmosphere now."

"Get open comms with it, now. Is it in range?"

"No, ma'am, but- they're broadcasting-" The transmission came through on the open net. One of the close range observation sensors immediately locked it, weapons sensors aboard the ship immediately turning to track it.

"Hard about starboard, set condition one aboard the ship!" With Amonette's command, her executive took the PA system, repeating her command. The siren went aboard the ship as the crewmen aboard rushed to man their stations. The sleek black destroyer's port thrusters fired, bringing the side of the ship to bear against the small corvette. An array of Iesta MAC guns and CIWS mounts on the port side were brought in its direction.

"Comms, get a message off to it. Identify ourselves and tell it to hold. If it advances any further we will engage it."

"Aye aye, ma'am."

Code: Select all

This is the Corundan Federal Navy destroyer DDH-414 Ohara. You are in Federal claimed space. Hold your position and do not come closer to us or you will be engaged.

[Great Ingen]

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
The IJN All Around My Hat

Typical intel fuckup, thought Lieutenant Hogg abstractedly, finding himself oddly calm in the midst of the worst situation he had ever experienced during his time with the Navy. He called for his pilot to begin a full stop, and thought on his response as he felt the changing momentum of the ship beneath his feet. After a moment, his reply came back crisp and clear; as a Neusattran, he was nowhere near as stiff or prickly as an Ingenious officer might have been.

Code: Select all

Roger that, DDH-414 Ohara. We were unaware this was Federal territory. Request immediate cessation of planetside hostilities, repeat request immediate cessation of planetside hostilities.

---

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
Disir Dressed In Black

---

Captain Gaermundsson watched in quiet dismay as R7K platoon went down in a welter of gunfire. They were only two kilometers away, and a quick-thinking sniper from one of the other platoons aboard his frigate had set up their T107 Railgun rifle and begun laying down covering fire, but in the brief time it took one of the frigate's two Soyokaze shuttles to launch and make it to the scene, almost the entire platoon had been cut to shreds. He watched as the shuttle descended to hover over the thick ferns that made up the grassbed of this planet. Argent green and red pulses from the shuttle's blaster cannons, driving the distant figures away, and only moments later it was in the air again. He listened in on the communications channel as his Hangar Chief and the Captain of Marines clamoured for information. The pilot came back with the bleak message that he had successfully evacuated both survivors, but that one was in critical condition. Two survivors. In a matter of minutes, the Disir had lost a third of its marine complement.

There was suddenly a booming explosion from somewhere below them. His shields officer quickly turned and gave the thumbs-up, indicating no damage to the shields, but then the Captain of Marines, Captain Eawyn Poling, called up frantically.

"We have hostile contacts, fifty-plus foot mobiles assaulting the loading elevator! Retract it, retract it!"

[Legatia]

Corundan Federal Navy
Halberd-class destroyer Ohara, DDH-414
Low Orbit, Kheti Gamma

Planetside hostilities?

Amonnette frowned. She didn't know of any planetside hostilities. Moreover, she didn't know of any Federal ground forces anywhere in the area. This answer interested her, and she signaled to her comms officer, who quickly relayed to one of the strike fighters.

"..Solid copy Ohara- Vulcan 12 splitting off for reconnaissance." The left fighter peeled off and rocketed down towards the atmosphere, as the Ohara sent a reply.

Code: Select all

IJN All Around My Hat, Ohara nor her battlegroup is aware of any Federal ground forces on the ground. Please advise your intent.

[Great Ingen]

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
The IJN All Around My Hat

There was a brief pause as the Hat conveyed this information back to the Disir. When the reply came back, Hogg's tone was shot through with tension.

Code: Select all

Roger that, we are under attack from unknown ground forces of a reptilian species. If you have information on these please advise. We were in-system to scout for potential colony planets.

The All Around My Hat began to reverse course, clearly intending to head back to the surface to assist the beleaguered forces groundside, when suddenly the flak turrets on top of the corvette opened up, booming at unseen targets well clear of the Federation cruiser. Thrusters flared, juking the corvette to port as a bright beam of coruscating white-blue energy crashed into its shields, flaring brightly against the struggling defenses. The attack ceased momentarily and in that instant, the corvette suddenly whipped into nothingness as it activated its hyperspace drive, reappearing a few dozen thousand kilometers away and turning sharply to orient it's prow back towards the fray as it's battered shields sparked angrily. Where it had been moments ago, more blasts tore through empty space and several sleek, silver-red warships shaped like flattened teardrops shimmered into view, suddenly emitting electrical, gravatic and magnetic signatures. One turned to chase the Jade corvette whilst the other two, easily three kilometers long, began to lash out at the Federation ships with the same blue beams.

---

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
Disir Dressed In Black

---

Captain Poling cursed as her kenju ran dry. She clapped it back onto the charge holster on her hip and drew her Ariskaka blaster pistol, unleashing a burst at one of the giant monsters as it attempted to climb the retractable stairs on the port side of the loading elevator. They had come out of nowhere, hurling grenades that burst in bright blue clouds of energy, and in the fire and confusion her marines had fallen back to the loading elevator, hoping to hold it until it could be drawn back up into the ship's belly.

The aliens had managed to badly damage the hydraulics on the starboard side of the elevator, preventing it from closing, and so now the marines were falling back in disarray into the ship proper, where bulkheads would be sealed and the entire elevator assembly jettisoned. Hot on their heels, however, the towering reptilians were pushing hard and even as she finished off her attacker, Poling heard an agonised scream from the far side of the elevator and saw a gold-armoured enemy roaring in triumph, climbing the steps and disappearing inside the Disir.

She took the last few steps backwards up her own staircase, slipping from the bright sunlight below to the cramped, darkly-lit maintenance walkway beyond, then turned to run through the corridor. She had seen at least four marines go down herself, and was fairly sure they'd taken eight or nine casualties overall, but she called out on the comms as she ran for the main deck, where she hoped her troops were regrouping to hold off the boarders now flooding into the maintenance walkways around the loading elevator.

"All marines, fall back to Junction W2. Boarding Procedure is in effect, I repeat we are being boarded."

[Legatia]

Corundan Federal Navy
Halberd-class destroyer Ohara, DDH-414
Low Orbit, Kheti Gamma

"Reptillian species? Proctor." Marie voiced, a black-robed AI appearing at her holodeck. "Run through DNI files for this system and any within a hundred lightyears of-"

"Ma'am, they're engaging!" As a tactical officer shouted, Marie's eyes tore up in shock.. to see the corvette firing off into the distance. A sudden beam of light struck against the shields of the thing, which then warped off. Marie had no time to react before she saw the teardropped vessels uncloak from their hiding spots, and she rushed over to the nearby steering column, knocking the ensign from his seat and violently turning the ship to port and into a counterclockwise roll. Moments later, two streams of laser energy slammed into the fore armor plates of the ship, leaving smoking craters in the dense titanium alloy. As soon as the shocks subsided, she turned to the just-as shocked AI.

"Archer, authorize!"

On the ships' holodisplay, a radiological warning sign appeared as two large missiles in a rearward pod began to spool. The Proctor gave a simple nod, as a tactical officer turned. "Firing solutions acquired, ma'am!"

"Archer, execute!" At her words, the destroyer shook as a blinding pair of orange lights- the last-resort Archer nuclear standoff weapons- screamed from their launch bays, motors switching off for a full second and aiming at the closest hostile warship. Releasing the controls to the ensign who had previously had them, over the deafening rumble of alarms, she retook her spot. "..All stations, engage that fucking thing and get us distance! Proctor, I want a MAC shot on whichever one of those ships isn't dead when the Archers hit!"

Mere seconds after her words, one of the two Archer missiles rocked through the shield, detonating on the rear half of the lead ship. The second Archer slammed into the bulb at the fore of the ship, travelling a few dozen meters into the ships' depths before the nuclear shaped charges blew every single bulkhead in the vessel out, ripping the thing violently to shreds in an explosion that blinded the deck crew. Shielding her eyes, debris pelted the forward hull as, suddenly, another round sliced through the port propulsion, Ohara slowly listing to her port.

"Status report?!" She cried, alarms blaring as engineering rapidly ordered the critically damaged engines shut off. The ship had taken a severe hit, flames and smoke billowing from one of her three primary sublight engines as the contour of the laser had taken it's toll on the ship's lightly shielded rear.

"Heavy damage to our propulsion. Decks report roughly a hundred casualties, and the rear of the ship has been sealed!" The operations officer rattled, as the tactical officer came in.

"Weapons are still online! We have a firing solution on the second enemy vessel." Marie nodded, glaring at the oncoming vessel with a fierce determination in her eyes.

"Get missile batteries on the far one engaging the Jade ship. All primary batteries, engage that vessel!"

A blue arc of light gathered around the Ohara's MAC gun, and with a shudder, the ship let loose, a singular slug arching towards the primary threat.In unison, the few forward-facing secondary batteries she had opened fire, rapidfire armor-piercing rounds being sent in a steady hail towards their target. As the MAC recharged, a hail of Sandor missiles, from their pods below the ship, tore towards the ship currently engaging the Jade navy corvette.

---

Corundan Federal Navy
Cinncinatus-class capital ship Jeanne d'Arc, OCS-36
Heliocentric Orbit, Kheti System

The bridge of the Jeanne was business as usual. They had just now received word of the detection of the Jade corvette. Marcus Gaholke observed the planet quietly as his fleet drifted gently among the stars- when a piercing cry shook the silence. The tactical officer of Ohara's shrill voice sent a chill through his spine as his message came through.

"DDH-414 Ohara, Archer, Archer, Archer!" His voice was full of panic and very much so rushed. The rapidity of the situation's development necessitated such panicked response, but that fell onto the now alerted deck crew of the Jeanne.

He immediately took to the window as the bridge went into a flurry. Seconds later, a small sun of an explosion indicated the obvious detonation of at least one such Archer missile, illuminating the space near the planet and rapidly fading.

"Set condition one, battle stations!" Gaholke took no time in sounding the alarm. A short sprint saw the yet-unused action station alarm activated, sending an alarm through the ship.

That same alarm brought the Cinncinatus-class ship to life, weapons systems flaring to life as the tactical officer began to give readouts. Throughout the ship as Condition One was set, gunnery mates, damage controllmen, pilots and sensors operators flew to their stations aboard the ship, wherever they might be. The grey steel hull of the ship beamed to life, the countless point defense guns spooling as guns were unlocked, loaded, and enabled.

"Sir, Ohara has been engaged by 3 cruiser-sized contacts. They were cloaked in low orbit. I verify an Archer tactical launch by Ohara, radiological analysis consistent."

"There's no way they slipped by us like that! Set the ship for tactical jump. All engines ahead full." As Gaholke ordered, the ship's eight massive sublight drives kicked into gear, plumes of superheated plasma rushing the ship forward as the ships beside her did the same. An operations officer approached with a sprint, pointing to a tactical datapad.

"Sir, Ohara has taken damage and is outnumbered. She reports one ship foundered." Gaholke nodded,bearing his grit towards the planet his warship was now rocketing towards. "She's already spent her Archers. She's dead meat if we don't get there. Get every fucking man on this ship ready to engage. We're going in. Engineering, how long do we have on that jump?"

"Sir, three minutes minimum. We can put you a few thousand kilometers in the zone."

"Then get it set." As Jeanne and her escorts rocketed towards the planet, only time would be able to tell if Ohara was still there when they arrived.

[Great Ingen]

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
The IJN All Around My Hat

Ensign Teorell, the pilot and a classic adrenaline junkie, gave a whoop as the actinic flare of two nuclear detonations winked brightly against the black backdrop of space. As the glare faded, it became clear that one of the alien contacts was gone.

"Fuck yeah!" yelled out Teorell, leaning on her controls to speed the tiny corvette towards the fray. The two surviving alien ships were huge, at around 1500 metres, compared to their little 40-odd metre corvette, but their unexpected allies were outnumbered and were plucking the Imperials right out of the fire, so now was not time to back away from the fight.

"These Federation guys don't piss around," remarked Petty Chief Scipio, their gunnery officer, as he readied the two flak turrets. Teorell had control of the fixed-direction Barrage Laser in the belly of the ship, so Scipio was responsible for the flak turrets and the torpedo tubes, whilst the BDP defenses looked after themselves. "but we've got company."

A quartet of strange-looking vessels, bulbous with long sweeping wings, which seemed to be fighter craft, approached from the starboard bow, spewing green and blue blobs of energy at the Hat. The flak turrets opened up and swept one away almost instantly - it seemed they had no shielding to speak of. They were, however, manouverable, and the remaining three rolling away in elegant, dizzying turns. As Scipio tried to fend them off with his turrets, ahead of them the battle raged on. The missiles had hammered the nearest cruiser, battering its shields but not putting it out of the fight, but Teorell used the distraction to roar past the giant vessel and back towards their newfound allies. Ahead, the other alien cruiser was listing badly. Thunderous MAC rounds from the Federation ship had punched its shields out and left cruel gashes in its hull that bled coruscating blue energy. Despite this, it was still limping onwards, pounding the Federation ship with its own beam weapons, seemingly intent on taking down its enemy with it. Teorell loosed off a couple of shots from her Barrage Laser, but it was like shooting a bear with .22 ammo. You could kill the beast if you really tried, but it'd take a long time or a lot of guns to get the job done.

"Ram her." said Hogg quietly. Teorell didn't respond at first, but then her brain registered what he had said. She glanced back at him in disbelief, but then looked back at the huge enemy cruiser and a grin crept over her face. Taking out a cruiser with a corvette. Not a bad story to tell at mess. she thought to herself, as she maxed out the vessel's thrust. Hogg was right. The Federation had nearly finished the cruiser off with their giant artillery barrages, but it needed one final push to meet its demise.

"Get to the lifeboat!" Hogg yelled over the din, as the crashing of enemy fire intensified, the sound thundering around the small cockpit despite the insulation and shielding protecting them. The crew clambered through the cramped corridors of the ship to the lone lifeboat located ventrally, with Teorell arriving last as she slaved the ship's controls, giving the Narrow AI aboard one clear objective.

The lifeboat slipped free of the corvette, powering up its little engine and buzzing desperately in the direction of the Federation destroyer, broadcasting a distress signal as it went. The All Around My Hat roared like a glimmering missile, white and black and gold and leaving a trail of blazing green behind it. Battered by enemy fire, it ploughed deep into the enemy cruiser, disappearing into the huge superstructure. There was a moment of calm, and then suddenly a fireball of blazing red and orange, brightening in intensity to a searing white, erupted from the flank of the already-damaged alien cruiser. Blasts of shattering hull leapt into space seemingly at random across the length of the enemy ship, and it slowly came apart, its lights flickering and dying plaintively as what had been a deadly weapon of war suddenly was nothing more than chunks of debris floating in the silence of space.

Aboard the lifeboat, racing towards the Ohara, Teorell whooped again. "Scratch one up for me boys!" she called out over the thunder of the engine. Scipio shrugged with a wry smile that he knew would get under her skin. "I don't know Avery," he said, "I feel like those Federation boys did most of the work."

"Ahh," she replied with a dismissive wave "maybe they loosened the lid a little.."

[Legatia]

Corundan Federal Navy
Halberd-class destroyer Ohara, DDH-414
Low Orbit, Kheti Gamma

The deck beneath her rumbled as the MAC drivers rolled another round out. A blue lance of light shot out, the electric discharge sending a low rumble through the ship as it slammed into the closer cruiser. In the distance, pockets of lights flared as the Sandor missiles slammed against the shields, which flickered briefly but had suffered little significant damage. Ohara's secondary guns fired a steady stream of rounds towards the undamaged, further cruiser, which were increasingly caught against the shield of the massive vessel. Another MAC round rolled out, punching a hole through their closer assailant's propulsion units, a plume of energy lancing out as another round smacked into the starboard side, knocking a number of Ohara's secondary weapons offline.

"Wait- hold fire!" One of the gunnery officers directed as a MAC shout rung throughout the ship, pointing at the rapidly accelerating corvette, which had closed within dangerous distance of the enemy cruiser. The Commander tensed her fist. "To hell with that, they're danger close and we're near dead! What are they-"

At that moment, she held her breath as she saw a lifepod slowly slip away from the accelerating corvette. As it streamed away from the ship, the corvette vanished.. and then the contact detonated in a flurry of orange, then white, flames rushing from the scars that Ohara had gouged in the ship before separating the thing into hunks of scrap, blinding the bridge momentarily. Only a sudden roar from the 50mm point defense guns shook her from the detonation, a stream of red tracers tracking a formation of teardropped fighters that had strayed too close to the destroyer. Two of the fighters were laid into, one shredded nearly instantly while the two others sharply pulled off, leaving the crippled fighter to be ripped apart by the guns.

"..Ma'am, that pod's making a course for us now! It's got a universal distress beacon active!" Another deckhand fervently reported, waving her hands as Ohara's roll control motors fired suddenly, cancelling the list that continued laser barrrages had caused.

"Get set to recover it port bay, chaff offboard."Amonette wiped her brow, walking back to her seat. "We're in no state to fight that thing-"

The ship was suddenly rocked to its core by a slip immediately behind it. Above and now abreast from it was the enormous, 6-kilometer long capital ship that had lead her formation, which was making a fleetfooted advance along her port side. Amonette could do nothing but watch in awe as the light-illuminated white letters of the ship's bow identified her- JEANNE D'ARC, OCS-36. Bristling with weaponry and painted a pure, unfettered steel color, the arrival of the capital ship decided the fate of the battle in a single instant. The destroyers accompanying her were of no concern, holding to the rear of the advancing Jeanne, to either side of the hulking vessel as it sailed forwards.

A laser intended for Ohara hit the bow of the massive Cinncinatus-class, which shrugged it off with naught more than a burnmark. As the lifeboat passed underneath the shadow of its enormous prow-mounted MAC gun, a blinding blue light spilled from the front of its primary weapon, punching through the shields and impacting the alien vessel with such force that it caved inwards towards the impact site. Mere seconds later it snapped backwards with a massive explosion that cut the remaining enemy vessel in twixt, two halves thrown into such a violent rotation that they too began to break apart.

The bridge erupted into cheers as Jeanne d'Arc began a powerful clockwise turn to bare its port broadside towards the now-wrecked enemy fleet, where a stream of point-defense guns began to fire off microbursts to destroy larger segments of debris floating towards the heavily damaged Ohara, which carried no shields of its own. Marie, amidst the jubilation, slumped into her chair with an exhausted sigh, the adrenaline finally relaxing her as the sweat about her body began to cool.

About the port bay of the Ohara, the Jade ship would see the steel airlocks release, a blue light shimmering as a pressurized shield flashed open. From the hangar's light signals system, two green pulses were flashed into the cockpit of the lifeboat, signaling a welcome aboard.

[Great Ingen]

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
Aboard the Ohara

The lifeboat slid gratefully into the hangar, landing with an inelegant crash and sliding for several metres before coming to a stop. A hatch at the back of the lifeboat popped open, propelled by one-use pressurized shells which blew it out of its frame, the metal circle clanging to the floor loudly. Shakily, the five Imperials staggered out of the now-useless craft.

The first and most striking thing about them was their skin. Although they were human, three had lustrous golden skin and hair, whilst a fourth, Scipio, had was bronze in hue and the last was pale as cream, with a rich rosy tint to her cheeks and thick brown hair. All three hailed from the planet of Neusattar, the strange and altered mineral compositions of the planet and their diets lending much to their complexions. All five were in the crisp white fatigues with black trim that were the standard dress of the Imperial Jade Navy, with gold trim and small embroidered horseman beneath the number 82 over their hearts. All of them were bare-headed except one of the golden men, who sported a thick spade-shaped beard and looked to be in early middle-age. He wore a peaked cap crested by a golden diamond patch, and he led the other four, chivvying them into a line with a curt gesture of his hand and a grunt in some Germanic-sounding language.

Turning, he placed his hands behind his back and spoke to the Federation personnel who approached them, speaking in heavily-accented Galactic Basic, his sing-song accent oddly pleasant to the ears.

"Hello. I am Lieutenant Osred Hogg of the 82nd Fleet, Imperial Jade Navy. Thank you for rescuing us."

---

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
In the belly of the Disir

Captain Poling took stock. Gather around her were twenty-two marines, meaning that she had lost thirteen in the firefight at the loading elevator on top of the fifteen killed or wounded at the ambush by that damned ziggurat. Twenty-two marines, and they had no idea how many of these monsters there were.

The corridor was dimly lit, red emergency lights only, and for a moment she slid open the visor on her helmet, letting the cool, oily air flow against her sweating skin. Breathing deeply, she glanced up and down the corridor. The only access points to the corridor were through two maintenance hatches which led to the loading elevator area and the main doorway to what would have been the loading elevator's main platform. If they set up along the corridor, using the doors along either side of it which led into various dead-end rooms filled with all the humming machines and metal detritus of a ship's engineering zone. She began barking orders, and the marines clattered to their posts, hauling trunks and whatever else they could move to make cover, allowing them to dominate the T-junction that fed all the routes from the loading elevator up into the heart of the ship. Tense, they waited...

[Legatia]

Corundan Federal Navy
Halberd-class destroyer Ohara, DDH-414
Low Orbit, Kheti Gamma

The sparks flickered off as the sparse few hangar bay attendants watched the pod skid across the steel flightdeck, skidmarks in the metal fading in with a number of others on the relatively worn floor. As the thing spun and turned to a stop, the doors opened to a relative flood of Marines, weapons raised as Commander Amonette and two of her executive staff were escorted in. While the Marines were quick to raise weapons at the men as they approached, a word from the Commander had them lowered to a wary, yet ready stance.

They parted ways for the Commander, who approached the group. In Galactic Basic, she understood, the man was speaking, in a very particular accent no less. Resting her own hands at her hips, she finally spoke.

"Welcome aboard the Ohara, Lieutenant Hogg. My name Is Commander Marie Amonette, Commanding Officer of the Ohara. It's good to see your crew all made it." A flight of three Sparrowhawk fighters ripped by the hangars as their steel doors shut, sealing the bay off from the elements.

"No doubt my commander will want to have a word with you." She nods. "..Sergeant, escort the rest of the crew to the sick bay for treatment. Lieutenant, if you will?"

[Great Ingen]

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
Aboard the Ohara

Osred shook the woman's hand and followed her, gesturing for his people to go with the Federation personnel. He was pleased that these people were human, or at least looked human - although the Jade Empire was not officially xenophobic, and indeed did have a small minority of alien races, it was an unspoken truth that it was an Empire of human species. Especially in light of their common cause against the unknown aliens on the planet below, the fact that they were humans would make this whole process much easier.

"Again, you have our thanks for hauling us out of the fire there. We did a basic scan of the system prior to arrival, but for some reason their ships and technology doesn't register well on our systems. We knew there was life here, but we assumed it was pre-spaceflight at best."

[Legatia]

Corundan Federal Navy
Halberd-class destroyer Ohara, DDH-414
Low Orbit, Kheti Gamma

"You assumed wrong;" the Commander would note, as she walked along the bays. "..We were caught off guard just like you were, but the situation is stable now." She passed through the halls of the destroyer, pacing. "Is this all of your crew? You're lucky you escaped that alive." She wondered, though- he had noted planetside hostilities, but.. what did that mean?

"..Are there other forces we aren't aware of..?

[Great Ingen]

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
Aboard the Ohara

Hogg raised his eyebrows. "Yes indeed. We have a small frigate on the surface, the Disir Dressed In Black, which was attacked by foot mobiles whilst its loading elevator was down. The last we heard, the marine complement had fallen back into the ship proper and damage was preventing the Disir from taking off."

---

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
In the belly of the Disir

Hunhalbida was impatient. His warriors had driven the aliens from their landing site and chased them up into the bowels of their ship, but they had lost many good spears along the way, and now they found themselves stuck. They had burst through two small hatches either side of the ship and found themselves at the far end of a long corridor. Advancing to the middle, they had found a turn to the right, but the first warrior to glance around the corner had been driven back in a hail of gunfire. These aliens used weapons that fired solid slugs, suprisingly primitive for a race from beyond the stars, but they were effective nonetheless.

Hunhalbida had arranged his soldiers and had them burst out at once, hurling grenades and spraying hydrorifle bursts down the hallway, but they had stepped into a wall of metal and Enmerkar had fallen almost instantly, collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud. Thus repelled, Hunhalbida and his soldiers settled down either side of the corridor, as they waited for more reinforcements. They would crack open these defenses and slaughter all those who had profaned the sacred soil...

[Legatia]

Corundan Federal Navy
Cinncinatus-class capital ship Jeanne d'Arc, OCS-36
Low Orbit, Kheti Gamma

As the final member of the 18-strong response force loaded onto the second Arstratos gunship, the door retracted into the fuselage of the sleek gunship. As he took his seat amongst the others in black armor, the element's lead, Master Sergeant Jackson Arciore, stood from his own and approached the pilot quickly.

"We're good to go. Clear to launch." With the pilot giving him a nod, he returned and strapped in as switches in the cockpit activated the pilot's HUD and display sensors. Thirty seconds later, the engines of the Arstratos gunship roared to life. As the aircraft came alive, the chin-mounted 35mm minigun dismounted from its rear-facing fairing, spun up, and withdrew. The targeting sensors cycled and ran diagnostics at the same time the flight controls, vectoring thrusters, adjustment nozzles and engine ports were dialed up and down. Two minutes after startup, the pair of gunships were ready for launch.

Ahead of them was another one craft of the Stratos family, the Arkbird, a specially designed sensors and electronics warfare aircraft. Where the Arstratos had room for troops, powerful sensors arrays and jamming equipment- and either AI or specialists to man them- were mounted. It's distinctive radar bar slid back and forth atop the airframe, already spun up for use.

"..Jeanne, Falx flight of three are green. Falx 1 reports ready for launch." Over the radio, Falx 1, the lead Arkbird, called over, deck crew rushing from the craft as its maneuvering thrusters briefly flared.

"Falx 1, Jeanne d'Arc. Flight is cleared for launch as briefed. Falx 1, cleared for launch."

"Falx 1- launching." As the hangar bay's door slid open, Falx 1 was shot forward, its engines roaring as it shot out of the bay and into the darkness of space. 2 and 3 followed rapidly after, and as 2 and 3 performed burns to break orbit over Kheti Gamma, 1 joined at their rear in the formation.

In the setting sun over the continent, a trio of what would easily be described as three shooting stars screamed towards the ground, so fast that even their airbrakes were deployed to slow them as they reached the surface. 200 miles from their target, the downed Jade frigate, the three formed up incredibly tightly as they began weaving through a mountain range to the west of the target. Falx 1 followed the formation a few hundred feet above, allowing its sensors the altitude needed to perceive and jam any threats that would engage the already supersonic tactical transports.

As they entered a wider valley, to either side of the Arstratos gunships formed a Sparrowhawk strike fighter, and within minutes, the wide plane where the Disr rested was in visibility. And such came the traffic.

"Falx 1, Falx flight- sensors contact three significant airborne contacts in the area... LIDAR readings indicate armed aircraft." Falx's fighter escort peeled below and to its right as the Sparrowhawks immediately accelerated towards them.

"Duelist flight, cleared to engage all airborne targets." As the Arkbird called out to the targets, the Arstratos' rear doors opened to level, a red light shining in the cockpit. Cool autumnal air filled the bay of the lowflying transports, who watched as the fighters engaged their boosters.

"Duelist, in hot." One such Sparrowhawk closed in with incredible rapidity on an orbiting fighter, who, alerted to the threat turned to engage. The Sparrowhawk was quicker on the draw and tore into the teardrop-shaped aircraft with cannon, shredding it as he broke to the left. The second quickly fell onto him with vengance, but crumpled into a fireball as a missile from his wingman disintegrated him.

"Falx flight, Duelist, you're clear for the approach. Be advised, we've got eyes on a hefty number of ground troops in the vicinity of that wreck." As the Sparrowhawks reformed and gained altitude to clear the airspace, the gunships advanced. As crowds of the warriors besieging the ship turned skywards, the two gunships turned their weapons systems on. Within moments, the Arstratos gunships, screaming ahead, filled the fields with explosive rounds and guided rockets, kicking up blood, dirt and dust as they aggressively fired their maneuver thrusters and hooked to a stop above the Disr, the black-clad marines sprinting onto the ship as the deafening roar of cannonfire saturated the air about them.

"Move it, move it!" The Master Sergeant's voice was nearly drowned by the terrifying roar of the Arstratos' cannon pumping rounds into the field, dust and blood kicking up in lines as the turret swept back and forth. As soon as the last man was off of the first, it screamed back into the air to provide support a bit further from the immediate danger of small arms fire. The first element spread about the topdecks of the ship, providing supressive fire from the side that was once protected by the Arstratos that had delivered them. As the other nine members dismounted from the other bird, it too lifted, still throwing rounds into the surrounding field- at this point more supressive fire than anything, throwing a field of flares for good measure as it departed from the scene and into a low orbit. Ocasionally a shot would ring from the gunships- either of a rocket, or a burst of cannonfire- as the operators took to one of the entry bays. Punching into the ship with an explosive charge and a pair of hydraulic spreaders, the marines entered into the ship. They had expected a close-quarters fight and were armed as such, as their lasers and flashlights activated within the darkened hull of the ship. Brimming with tactical shotguns, submachine guns and carbines, the Marines slowly advanced through the halls.

As the Marines slowly peered through the ship, their boots would ring heavily throughout the hallways as lasers and lights shone through. With no clue other than their helmet compass to navigate, they attempted to make their way towards the loading bay. They were unable to read the signs, so they kept alert, guns raised and peering into the dark.

[Great Ingen]

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
Aboard the Disir

---

Ensign Cydippe Basilides was not having a fun time. She was a Mediolanii, a bronze-skinned, bronze-haired native of the southern reaches of Neusattar, she was one of the ship's medical crew. She had helped Master Chief Surgeon Horatio Beak, a Swadian, look after the injured Haywood, but they had lost the only other marine to return from the ambush. Horatio had dismissed her, telling her to get some rest before the next wave of injuries poured into his medical bay, and so she was heading to the canteen with her friend, Ensign Valgerd Thraindottir, a golden-skinned Sattran. The two of them had become good friends after Valgerd had broken her arm falling from a maintenance ladder on the Barrage Laser she commanded. They had struck up a friendly conversation as Cydippe deftly set the bone and then used her Decanter to knit the broken arm back together, and now they spent much of their downtime together, playing chess or hnefetafl, watching holovids or just chatting. Today they were trying to chat casually, but the ship was under attack and they were trapped on-planet, and rumour was their comms and sensors had been disabled. Val was her usual cheerful self, seemingly unaffected, but Cydippe could see the anxiety behind Val's smile, an anxiety she also felt.

There was a boom at the end of the corridor, on an offshoot leading to an airlock normally used for light shuttle transfers. Valgerd was quicker off the mark, whipping out her Arisaka laser pistol, but Cydippe reached instead to steady herself against the wall. Valgerd stepped quickly up to the corner and peeked around, then flung herself back and swore.

"Holy shit! Holy shit we're being boarded!" she hissed, and Cydippe slipped beside her to peek. Sure enough, armoured figures were clanking down the corridor towards them, and one of them definitely saw her and pointed with a gloved finger at her, clearly saying something to the others.

She ducked back, but then cocked her head.

"Val, they're humanoid. You saw the briefing, whatever's attacking us is definitely nothing near human."

Val thought for a second, unconsciously squeezing the grip of her blaster.

"They could be in league with them?"

Cydippe frowned at that and drew her own sidearm, an old model firearm she hadn't even taken to the range in weeks. Edging to the corner, she called around it.

"Identify yourselves!" she cried out, hoping her voice sounded more authoritative to the strangers than it did to her. If they weren't friendly and chose to fight, she and Val had nothing but their crisp white uniform suits and their pistols - she did not fancy their chances.

[Legatia]

Corundan Federal Marine Corps
Special Applications Group/ Delta (XIV)
Wreck of the Disir, Kheti Gamma

As Master Corporal Marcus Vanetti came about, the IR recognition built into his helmet, scanning through the low-light theatre, picked up two figures who had suddenly edged around a corner. The briefest flash of a weapon alerted him immediately to a potential threat. His Mactum 40 submachine gun came to his shoulder, a gloved hand pointing quickly as two, then four more of his element rounded the corner.

"Contacts left." His voice was controlled, the laser on his weapon pointing to their last known position.

"Hostiles?" As a carbine was raised beside him, his fireteam leader's voice came crisp across. Gunnery Sergeant John Texam stepped to his side, quickly readying his weapon. The MCpl wasn't too fazed, the training he had completed near a year ago still fresh in his mind. The only thing that mattered was pushing forward, completing their mission. And so he would.

"No confirmation. I'm gonna keep-"

Identify yourselves! A shaky female voice immediately came out in Galactic Basic, the faintest glint of a pistol barrel shuddering against the wall as he narrowed his gaze. GySgt Texam was the first to answer, stepping forward.

"3rd Company 901st Marine Special Operation Batallion, Federation of Corundum. We're on your side! Lower your weapons!" As the rifles remained raised cautiously at the incoming threat, more men maneuvered to the hallways, taking up firing positions should this have been an ambush. They had no idea of the strength of their supposed enemy, but they would take no chances.

[Great Ingen]

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
Aboard the Disir

---

Cydippe glanced wide-eyed at Val, who seemed surprisingly calm. The golden-skinned Sattran shrugged as if it were of no consequence. "They're definitely not the bogeys that attacked us..

With that she stepped out into the corridor. In her clean white uniform she was a striking figure, her bright hair cut to a professional faux bob that was all the rage among deck crew who didn't have to keep their hair in line with stringent combat regulations like the Marines. Held low in her hands was her long blaster pistol. Cydippe, watching her friend, realised that Val was not truly calm, but rather had reached that nihilistic point that the samurai of Ingen mythologised, and was at peace with the concept of dying. She saw a bead of sweat as her friend raised her left hand and held it out palm-forward in the universal 'stop' gesture.

"Show me your faces!" she called out, her voice steadier than she felt. Cydippe breathed in a moment and then spun out to reinforce her friend, a futile gesture in the face of the marine squad facing them. These Corundans, if they so chose, could kill the pair of them without even needing to slow down.

Before the intruders could respond to her demand, however, a clatter of boots sounded. Around the corner came a tall, bearded Sattran, his forked beard tied with silver charms just above each tip and his thick moustache waxed to points. His skin was golden, like Val's, and he was tall, but more importantly he was hefting a huge, ungainly weapon, a Plasma Storm Rifle. He was unarmoured, in his captain's uniform beneath a peaked white cap, but behind him came a dozen more crew members.

The crowd spilled into the corridor behind Cydippe and Val, and the captain took in the entire scene in a mere instant. He did not smile, but his eyes wrinkled wryly.

"Thank you, Ensigns. Stand down. I think we can trust that these people are here to assist us."

He stepped forwards, handing off the rifle with its spindly framework of armatures to another crewman, and then nodded to the Gunnery Sergeant and Master Corporal at the point of the Corundan squadron.

"Captain Gaermundsson of the IJN Disir Dressed In Black, 82nd Fleet. Welcome aboard, gentlemen. I won't waste time. We are losing the lower decks to unknown nonhuman attackers. They boast considerable numbers and effective directed-energy weapons. My marines are fighting for their lives down there."

---

\Planet IV, System TA-1536X
Belowdecks

---

They had held the aliens for quite some time, the enemy not daring to rush their positions and the marines not wanting to push back and risk being flanked. All of that had changed when one of the bulkhead walls had suddenly melted through. Giant aliens had come crashing through the hole, turning the flank of the tangled defensive positions. Poling and her marines had fought back in the brutal close-quarters, their hikatana weapons flaring with energy and casting whirling shadows across the lower decks. Screams, gunfire and the crash of metal. Explosions and roars.

The marines had left a quiet carpet of butchered aliens soaked in blue blood behind them, but as marines fell in the chaos the survivors had fallen back under cover of fragmentation grenades, scrambling up a stairway, knowing that the aliens now had too many routes into the ship for the few remaining marines to cover. Poling yelled over her comm as she and a half dozen marines fell back down a corridor in one of the storage zones. She knew others had survived, but they had been separated during the chaotic retreat and now they were running for their lives through the echoing metal corridors of the storage bays.

"This is Captain Poling, we have lost the lower engineering levels! I repeat, the lower engineering levels have been taken. All hands prepare to repel boarders!"

She was cut off as one of the huge aliens crashed from a side corridor, tackling the marine ahead of her. She stepped up and shoved the muzzle of her Bull Moose railgun against its neck and squeezed the trigger, a resounding retort and the clang of an impact metres down the corridor barely drowning out the tearing noise as the beast's head disintegrated. Even dialled down for use inside the ship, the power of the Bull Moose was brutal.

Marine Beorwick staggered to his feet, shaking his head as he tried to clear the gore from his visor, and then lumbered after the rest of the marines. Ahead of him, a marine dropped to one knee and fired off shots at something behind him. The chase was on.

[Legatia]

Corundan Federal Marine Corps
Special Applications Group/ Delta (XIV)
Within the Disir, Kheti Gamma

MCpl Vanetti's weapon stayed raised, as did the Gunnery Sergeant's and the now three other men beside him. As her hand went up, the Sergeant beside him leaned quickly forward, his MaVDO shotgun's bulky frame aimed square at her chest. A single jerk would have been all it'd taken to blow her chest outwards, but the severely disciplined Marine operator held his breath as her friend joined him. They stood as still as stone as her command to reveal their faces went, and came, with the briefest of silence. Vanetti went to press the button on the groove of his helmet to disable the visor's anti-glare shield, but after a few second, his finger returned to his weapon and he stood down as sounds resounded through the hallway.

Glances were shot at the boots storming down the hallway. The fireteam's weaponry were already leveled in the direction of travel, and the operators seemed to relax their grips as the easily distinguished figure of an officer supplanted the measly figure of the Ensigns attempting to block their path.

As the man disarmed the Ensigns, and then himself, the Gunnery Sergeant lowered his weapon. The Master Corporal followed suit, as did his teammates, as they were adressed by the Jade officer. His information was brief, and as he finished, the Gunnery Sergeant gave a wave to his teammates. He briefly pointed to one operator at the opposite side, who turned to make a radio call.

"Gunnery Sergeant John Texam, 3rd Company, 901st MSOB, Corundan Federal Marines. Rear Admiral Gaholke apologizes for your rude welcoming here on Kheti Gamma. We're here to rectify that. " As Texam said this, two of the three other fireteams rounded the corner, their weapons at the ready.

"Lead the way. We'll take care of the rest."

---

Corundan Federal Marine Corps
Special Applications Group/ Delta (XIV)
Belowdecks, Disir Dressed in Black

As the 13 heavily armed and armored, black-clad Marine operator walked down the halls yet to be peppered with gunfire, they walked at a brisk pace, their heavy metal-plated boots pounding on the walkways as they made their ways increasingly toward the din of loud gunfire and greande explosions. This time at the head of the formation was MSgt Arciore, who held his carbine tightly in his hands.

"Get in there and spread out and contain it as needed. Do not advance until I give the go, consolidate what they have and find out what we're going up against. Razorback 4 is going to try the long way and see what they see. Stick to your fireteams." As they approached bulkheads immediately before the din of combat, they stuck to the walls.

"Niana, door." Arciore nodded to one of his operators, his markings denoting him as a Staff Sergeant, who quickly deactivated the bulkhead. Arciore and his fireteam of four other men burst through the gap, their loud steps resounding through the hallway.

"Contacts front!" One call immediately went. Before the first fire went out from the Corundan men, Arciore shouted out.

"FRIENDLIES AT YOUR REAR, CHECK YOUR FIRE!"

The moment he finished, they flooded the ahead intersection and immediately fanned out. One marine immediately tore into a hulking alien figure with his submachine gun. Another turned the corner, firing a hail of buckshot at an overexposed creature's leg, bringing it to its knees. Another round- this time a slug- tore through the creature's head and left a gaping, steaming hole, blood splattering the gunmetal armor of the Marine as he immediately stood upon its corpse, cycling buckshot back into the chamber with a resounding pump of its action. Arciore's own well-placed carbine rounds caught a beast who had peeked from around the corner by surprise, blue blood splattering forward and back of the head as a rifle round ripped through it. As they came into contact and with the exact same measured aggression that their comrades under Aciore showed, the Operators laid into their agressors with gunfire and grenades, bringing a certain level of shock back to their defender's causes.

[Great Ingen]

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
Belowdecks

---

Poling and her four marines had regrouped at a bulkhead where they were holding off what seemed like an endless horde of the crabs, as they had taken to calling the enemy, when suddenly the bulkhead behind them had slid open. Whirling, caught halfway through a reload, she felt an instant wave of relief as she recognised the form of human marines, wielding solid-state weapons. Half a second later, the thought crossed her mind that these were not Jade Marines, but then a distinctly human voice called out to her. It was accented, but it spoke Basic, and it said the magic word. Friendlies.

She chopped her hand left and right towards the intersection, hoping that the basic hand signal would convey to these newcomers that there were contacts in either direction of the intersection ahead. Sure enough, they flooded past and mowed down two creatures, followed by a third. She took the opportunity to back through the door the Corundans had just opened, ducking down a side corridor to a sealed hatch that was the aft armoury. Quickly slamming in a key combination, she ducked inside for a moment before hustling back.

The Corundans, counter-attacking against an enemy who had thought they were mopping up the last few remnants of the Jade infantry, cut a swathe into the enemy. One corridor led to a long gantry over what looked like engines, where several enemy had set up at the far end with some kind of marksman weapons and opened up a brutally precise hail of fire to suppress the Corundans there. At the other corridor, alien after alien fell, until suddenly a huge beast, nearly thirteen feet tall including a towering red helmet lined in coruscating gold, stepped into their path.

For a split second Hunhalbida stared down in a towering rage at the newcomers. More humans, trespassing on this sacred planet, butchering his warriors and refusing to accept that they were defeated. Bullets spanged off his armour and crackled against his shielding as he raised a great stave weapon, a halberd-like blade made of a transparent golden material pulsing with energy as he swang it at the nearest marine, before lunging forwards at another with a devastatingly fast strike.

[Legatia]

Corundan Federal Marine Corps
Special Applications Group/ Delta (XIV)
Belowdecks, Disir Dressed in Black

The fireteams of Marine operators cut swathes through the disorganized and now disoriented alien forces. Carbine and submachine gun fire resounded through the halls as they pressed forward with fleetfooted aggression. With ease they found the halls cleared, pushing the enemy back towards the gantries overlooking the engineering sector. Sniper fire pinned them to the doors overlooking it for a few seconds, but as one fireteam began to lay fire down upon the snipers, another team took to an opposite entrypoint, and fired grenades across the distance of the room to devastating effect, silencing the snipers- at least for now.

As the dust began to settle, the fireteams consolidated their foothold on the engineering sector, weapons at the ready. Arciore gestured to a fireteam lead, who took the cue, and hooked to his left.
"This is Charlie, we're moving-" The transmission stopped suddenly as a towering giant appeared before him. With a guttural roar he brought an enormous melee weapon down on Charlie's fireteam lead, severing his arm from his body and sending him flying back. Charlie fireteam's two rifles and a shotgun that remained tore into the beast, the shock of the impact of this gargantuan sending the fireteam reeling back.

"Get them supressive fire, now!" Arciore yelled, as two more fireteams took to the gantries, rifles shouldered against the beast. As Charlie beat a quick retreat, abandoning returning fire to gain distance from this massive creature, Alpha and Delta, 9 men in all, began to engage with carbine fire, Delta using their grenade launcher to send high-explosive rounds at the creature's foot in a hope to at least slow him.

[Great Ingen]

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
Belowdecks

---

The resounding clang of Poling's boots on the deck floor was drowned out by the roars, screams and gunfire up ahead. Sparks skittered into view as, unseen to Poling, the giant alien wreaked havoc with his melee weapon, carving through the ship interior like butter.

"Jolpatyr, be with me now and at the hour of my need" she muttered to herself as she jogged, skidding to a halt and shoving one of the two weapons she had retrieved into Marine Beorwick's hands before stepping out into the corridor herself. In front of her, she saw the Corundans falling back, pouring a weight of fire against a knot of aliens who were led by an absolute behemoth, flailing some kind of energy polearm. At least one Corundan was already down, but the others were fighting back furiously in an attempt to stop the advance of the giant.

She skidded up to their rear ranks and dropped to one knee, hefting her long weapon with its strange, spindly muzzle apparatus. She yanked a control and suddenly the long armatures sprang open. Pulsing energy crackled between the long black shanks of metal to form a rectangular slab of pulsing green energy. From its centre poked the muzzle, from which Poling began to spew blasts of hissing green energy. This was a Plasma Storm Rifle, developed by IdaiTech specifically for CQB and boarding operations, and she watched in satisfaction as blasts from the alien guns either glanced off her shield at crazy angles or else were absorbed. It felt like pushing an umbrella into a hailstorm, and she knew the shielding couldn't last forever, but combined with the gouts of plasma flame it did the trick. The remaining aliens scrambled backwards, the giant leader's armour smoking and crackling as he hurled a last grenade to cover his retreat.

On the other side of the walkway, Beorwick drew the snipers' attention with his Plasma Storm Rifle and accurate Corundan fire drove back or slew the snipers there. Poling's marines and the Corundans surged forward, but the aliens far outpaced them, their long legs carrying them down and through the maze that was the underbelly of the Disir much faster than the humans could move. The first of the marines arrived at the loading elevator framework and cautiously peeked around the corner, sweeping his scope slowly across the debris-strewn field below. Alien and human corpses littered the loading elevator and its surroundings, a ruined shuttle smoking nearby whilst crates of supplies were either blasted or overturned, the aliens obviously curious as to the contents.

Their attackers were nowhere to be seen. Poling set down the Plasma Storm Rifle and tested her helmet comms. They were back online, no longer mysteriously jammed.

"Fire Control, this is Captain Poling. Loading elevator secure,nl requesting status update, over."

The reply came back, the voice at the far end shot through with relief. "Captain this is Fire Control, we're reading no unidentified contacts aboard. Rerouting all marines to your location."

Poling turned to regard the Corundan marines behind her. Their armour was similar in style to the Galant BUS Light variant which half her own marines were sporting, and the sight was reassuring. Despite that, she was acutely aware that they outnumbered her remaining marines two-to-one in the loading bay, although Fire Control had confirmed other marines had survived the onslaught elsewhere.

She tugged off her helmet, revealing golden hair in a tight bun and golden skin, her face aquiline and only just showing the first lines of early middle age.

She stuck out her gloved hand. "Captain Poling, Jade Marines. I'm sorry about your man back there. Thank you for your help here today."

[Legatia]

Corundan Federal Marine Corps
Special Applications Group/ Delta (XIV)
Belowdecks, Disir Dressed in Black

As Charlie quickly fell back behind enemy lines, the other team quickly joined in with their own fire, the four fireteams running hell onto the advancing alien hordes. Careful enough to keep out of the way of the behemoth, the shotguns quickly joined the chorus, semiautomatic blasts of buckshot decimating the smaller aliens as carbine fire blew holes in their heads and chests. Any who swept closer were doused with submachine gun fire, and the occasion saw the tossing or firing of grenades from hand or from a launcher. As their violent advance was blunted, the marines only took a glance back as they were reinforced. A plasma rifle fired behind them, and then more, slamming into the ranks of their aggressors. As the shields of the demon crackled, he signaled a retreat. As he tossed a grenade, one marine had the prudence to take it and lob it back, sending a shower of plasma back towards their retreating forms.

Even with their pursuit, the aliens fled their fire, streaming from the wreck as they were peppered by cannon fire from the supporting Arstratos gunships. The marines halted their advance there. Alpha, Bravo, and Delta, 14 in all, had followed the aliens out. Charlie had stayed to tend to their downed man, their fireteam leader. As the Jade marines contacted their COC, Arciore did the same.

"Pucelle, this is Granite Actual. Message, over."

"Granite, Pucelle;" Jeanne's operations center came back. "Go ahead, over."

"Granite reports mission objective complete. 1 KIA, a few lightly wounded. Have you been in contact with Falx?"

"Affirmative, Granite. The Everglade will be on station shortly to provide support and overwatch. Retain your position and wait to be relieved. How copy?"

"Granite Actual, solid copy. We'll wait, out."

Arciore rested his carbine at his side, before after a moment opting to let it hang from its strap, turning to face the Jade officer that was now adressing him. Arciore deactivated the glareshield on his own helmet, offering professional, slight smile towards the Captain. His face was by no means that of a young maverick, but he, in his late 20s, had a visage that was stern and true. He regarded her comments and her hands for a long moment, glancing back up to the loading bay as his marines seemed to relax for a moment.

"..Master Sergeant Jackson Arciore, 3rd Company, 901st Marine Special Operations Batallion." He took her hand with a firm shake. "..Thanks for your sympathies. Glad we could be of some use to you." He released his hand after a brief moment, and turned his gaze skyward. A droll whine began to fill the air as, merely a few thousand feet above the ground, the black, daggerlike appearance of the Everglade filled the sky, flying in tight formation with a squadron of Sparrowhawk fighters. White and red lights flashed on its underbelly as its weaponry were trained to neutral positions, its hull still glowing slightly from its descent into atmosphere.

Trailing behind it were a full group of 8 Stratos landing craft, which came to the right of the now orbiting destroyer and hooked to land at the site of the Disir. As they set down, their landing bays opened, deploying their passengers- a full company of Marines, armed and ready, slowly filtering out and taking defensive positions among the trees and rubble with proper movement and settling.

[Great Ingen]

Planet IV, System TA-1536X
Belowdecks

---

Poling nodded, watching as the Corundan reinforcements spread out to create a perimeter below. Several more Imperial marines clattered down to the framework around the Loading Elevator, their armour scarred and their weapons still reeking of burnt ozone. She did a quick headcount and realised she only had eleven marines, herself included. Twenty four were either KIA or in the medbay, along with a Corundan marine, whilst the lower decks were littered with dead aliens.

"Did you guys know about these mad bastards?" she asked Arciore as they climbed down to the planet's surface again, after checking in with her surviving marines. Around them, engineering staff swarmed into the Loading Elevator, assessing the damage and figuring out whether they would have to cut the elevator loose or whether it could be repaired and withdrawn back into the ship's belly. Either way, the Disir was angling to dust off this rock as soon as possible. Suddenly Poling's comms crackled and the captain's voice rang out.

"Captain Poling, glad you made it. Good work. Can you ask our new friends if those are his ships above us right now?"

Poling glanced up at the sky. It was full daylight, but alongside a hazy moon she could just see a cluster of specks, dark against the blue sky, meaning there were ships in firing range of the planet and the Disir. She pointed up at the ships and glanced back at Arciore. "Those are yours, I hope?"

---

Bridge of the Disir
Captain Gaermundsson

---

The Disir had repelled its boarders, but the All Around My Hat was nowhere to be found now that scanners were back online. Four capital ships were in-system, along with the wreckage of several vessels which did not match any known scanners. Gaermundsson was not overly concerned, as he suspected that they were more of these Corundans whose marines had arrived to help Poling drive back the attacking aliens, but he wanted to wait and hear back from Arciore before hailing them. If this truly was their territory, then it would be up to the Corundans to decide their next course of action, but he sent a HoloNet message back to Imperial space, advising them of his current situation and requesting reinforcements. Whatever the Corundans chose to do, he wanted to make sure they had enough firepower to leave the system safely, and if the cookie crumbled that way, to leave it in ruins. Half his marines had been massacred in an unprovoked attack, along with a Corundan who gave his life just because it was the right thing to do, and so Gaermundsson was not in any mood to play nice with these aliens.