Tales of Grandeur (IC, OPEN, FT)

[United Worlds of Alondra]

The OOC thread!

---

The Introduction - Fall Fleet

---

A pair of hardened pirate corvettes entered the toxic skies of the "drug planet" without too many issues. Despite the hazard warnings alarming their pilots, they were ignored as the warnings soon faded. Nothing would get through their filters as the ships were retrofitted months ago for this kind of air. That way, they could focus on accomplishing their objective: To find any crashed ships from the UWA fleet that they destroyed minutes ago.

Together, the two corvettes were within the planets atmosphere. Female robotic voices of the ship AIs reported on various alerts and statuses of the ships while crews went around, handling the mundane tasks of their crafts while at the command centers, officers and their commanders were discussing with one another, from ship to ship.

The first one to speak was Oscar San Martín. He was once a respected UWA United Fleets officer. Sadly, he was dishonorably discharged for refusing to fire on a bunch of surviving ships carrying civilians and volunteers that went over to the side of the communist insurgents. He would have been put through the mind machines if not for the efforts of a fellow captain named Shiro Taji. It was great for him that the two of them were put together in their respective corvettes to handle the mission. What wasn't so great for both of them though was that they disagreed with the communists. So they found themselves leading pirates instead of comrades because simply, the two were not that radical. Yet.

He spoke to her with a voice that showed some concern as he half-listened to one of his officers report that his ship was already on half their fuel.

"Taji, after we locate the fallen colony ship, we should get to the nearest refueling depot on the surface of this planet. I don't mean to show too much alarm but my ship is half on fuel and due to that, I can't simply get the Europe to go any faster or else I risk this ship."

Taji replied well

"Oscar, I hear you. We'll get that done but this means a lot to our superiors. Not only do we have to locate the ship, we have to make sure that it isn't going to get caught by one of those plantas inteligentes. The colony ship has a lot of materials for us. And if we are lucky, we get some manpower."

Oscar frowned at himself for hearing her speak about survivors as if they were to be used as slave labor. He himself disagreed on the ways of the pirates, the culture of servicio agradecido. Oscar ignored it in favor of telling her

"Very well. But if I get some shit for the fuel situation or something happens, you owe me a bottle from Reyes."

That made Taji speak against him in her own tongue, making Oscar laugh as his ship and her own, which was named the Beldad's Pride, continued their way through the colorful but fatal sky.

[Eodor]

IESS Redeemer X, Rift transition to Spiderweb Sector

"Captain, the Redeemer X is to be the first Imperial scouting unit to transition into this new sector. Preliminary scans indicate that there is atleast one existing civilisation in this area. Should any attempt to hinder your operations they are to be removed, but otherwise do not engage. Good luck, signing off."

With a click, the view screen switched from a helmeted soldier to the lazy, swirling purples of the Rift. Crew members moved back and forth the bridge, preparing to drop out of the Rift. The helmsmen then pulled their brake levers in unison, the frigate releasing a mechanical yawn before the purples of the Rift faded to the black of normal space. The Redeemer X was a relatively old ship, being first laid 519 years ago, and the age showed with the ship's slightly mistimed Rift generator.

"Captain, arrival time is 8.71 gigacycles since departure, engines are on tick over and our two passengers want to speak to you."

The elevator doors at the back of the bridge slightly screeched as they opened, revealing the two Dark Spawn the Redeemer X had been transporting. The two floated in, causing a wave of ceremonial bows amongst the crew; the Captain followed, bowing his head with his fist across his chest.

"Brigadiers, we have arrived in the target sector."

"We can see that, Captain." They both said in unison, their voices echoing throughout both the room and the Captain's mind. The two passengers had been suffered by the Captain ever since they were assigned to his vessel. If rumours from amongst his crew were true then they had some seperate, secret mission in this unknown sector. Admittedly, the Captain was hesitant to allow these creatures to roam around his ship, they exuded an aura that seemed to darken wherever they were. The Captain had, from the moment he had met the pair, felt as though something wasn't quite right with them, almost as though they were made of malice...

"Captain, we cannot care for what you think about us. Are your scanners detecting anything nearby." The Captain twitched slightly, but shook off his thoughts about the two reading his mind. Such a thought was simply preposterous.

"Not yet, I shall inform you when we discover anything."

"We grow impatient, Captain. Your ship has brought us here late, and now your scanners are not detecting anything.", both of the creatures bore down on him, only letting off when one of the scanner consoles starting beeping. The two floated towards the console, where a now visibly worried Fusilier was sat.

"Captain," the Fusilier half choked, "detecting something on the surface of a nearby planet. 8 light years away, it appears to have landed on a toxic world, your orders?"

"Set a course. Get us within visible range."

[PetzConfederation]

---

Spiderweb System
Planet of Staiunerth

---

A small damaged jeep that had what appeared to be a slapdash made insulation made its way into an area that looked like a refinery, market and a slum at the same time. It was in fact the territory of one of the Cartels of the Petz Black Market in this system. This district was focused on extracting various materials and substances from the toxic planet's surface. Since the living conditions on Staiunerth were somewhat hostile the vendors didn't enjoy much profit, thus the market was the smallest part of the whole operation of this particular cartel. The stuff they refined however was constantly transported to other locations and delivered to anyone with enough money to pay for the delivery. Given these circumstances this district was called "The Refinery" for obvious reasons.

The vehicle passed a few blocks before reaching a fence with a barrier and a few petz cartel members guarding it. One of the guards approached the vehicle and cleared off the dust from the driver's window with his glove to see who is inside. The driver looked at him and raised his left hand with a thumbs up gesture. The guard nodded and waved at another guard to lift the barrier up. The jeep continued on its path and entered the part of the district where the actual refining and packaging was taking place. It reached a metal building with reinforced windows and parked near the main entrance. A dirty hairy shaggy petz, with saggy scavenger clothes and a face mask, rushed out of the vehicle and entered the building after waving at the guards. He reached a room and knocked on the door. A deep raspy voice said "Yes !" and the petz opened the door. Inside was the boss of the cartel - Gravo Nerdago.

Dirty Petz: "Boss, it is definitely damaged. There were pieces everywhere and it was burning here and there."

Gravo Nerdago: "Excellent. At least there is going to be a lot of scrap there, if there is nothing else...Did you see anyone around the ship or going out from the ship ?"

Dirty Petz: "Uh...no. I didn't see anyone there. Probably they all died."

Gravo Nerdago: "We'll see about that. Alright, you can go now. I'll give you the money later." - the boss looked at another petz that was standing on his right side - "Hester, take the second group and secure this crash site. You know how this works, now go !"

Hester: "Alright, boss, but it's a large ship. I think I'll need more men."

Gravo Nerdago: "Hm...You got a point there. Then take the third and the fifth group as well. I think this should be enough."

Hester walked out of the room and ordered a few others to inform the group leaders of their assignment. Some minutes later a bunch of cartel members, armed with assault rifles, grenades and grenade launchers filled the narrow street in front of the building. Hester entered a light armored transport and ordered the advance of the convoy. A column of armed and repurposed civilian vehicles left The Refinery with a few small helicopters flying over them. They were moving towards the crash site of The Clouds of the Night - the largest colony ship that the United Worlds of Alondra had ever made.

[United Worlds of Alondra]

The two corvettes reached the massive ship that once carried hundreds of thousands of colonists and a crew of hundreds. There, upon the face of this toxic planet, surrounded by small and great tendrils that approached the corpse of metal and flesh from the forests that relied on the planets poisons for protection, it lay. As it did, a few fires were already going and an explosion was caused at one end of the ship thanks to an ammunition magazine being too close to one of the fires.

The pirates had their ships circle the fallen ship a few times before Oscars ship landed at a clearing nearby. Once there, his partners ship followed just as he had his men prepare to get out and check the dead ship out. Of course, they were not stupid enough to go without protective gear. With helmets on, suits on and oxygen provided, one by one, they left their corvette and approached the dead ship slowly.

Oscar and Taji went together, leading a small group of their own men into the ship itself. So far, the forests of this toxic planet have not breached it. If it did, Taji said in passing, the forests would have convirtió un cielo caído en un infierno ardiente. The two, once they reached the part of the ship that once housed a large cafeteria, split up. Oscar went towards the residential parts of the ship while Taji took her men to look for the treasures that this ship brought. Anything like technology, weapons or even currency from the UWA, which are called aledocians, would be so worth the excavación.

---

At the same time however, the United Worlds of Alondra already knew about the fate of the colony ship and whatever else was there to report. They did not know about the Admiral or her ships yet though. But what they did know was that to leave behind a colony ship on that planet, dead or not, was unacceptable. At this time, they could not send out another fleet but they must send someone. So they chose Captain Enrique Burgos.

The man was in charge of a group of ships. To his name were five destroyers and three small carriers as well as his personal frigate. Out of the nearest sector, which was La Pequeña Provincia (this system has a distance of five light years from the Spiderweb System), they sailed. For them, this mission was to take time and to render them, if successful, promoted.

[Olimpiada]

---

Cobalt, Gaia
Simulation Dome 102C

---

Suspended by its four rotors, the drone surveyed the area outside the shattered remains of the office building. It spotted a likely heat signature, but then dismissed it as an open fire left behind from the detonation of a micronuke launched earlier in the battle. The weapon that was fired and the heat which were left behind were merely artifacts of a complex combat simulation he was wired into with the rest of the division, but they were real enough to Iovinus. He carefully maintained his watch on the area through the drone’s eyes, checking for any sign of hostiles. Just as it seemed like things were clear enough for him to move on, he was hit by a truck.

That statement wasn’t entirely true, but it was an apt descriptor of what it felt like. He had been so focused on the drone’s eyes, he had forgotten to check his own surroundings. An enemy soldier had fired an explosive nanothermite charge to breach the wall, and the flying rubble carried by the pressure wave nearly knocked him out of the building. He scrambled to his feet and dove for his cover, bringing up his rifle as he did so. His helmet had already displayed the outline of the soldier as gathered by its infrared sensors as an overlay to his current visible wavelength setting, leaving Iovinus with an opportunity for a shot. Digital concrete shattered as osmium rounds crashed through it at mach five from either side, the walls offering little resistance at this range. His suit shoulder stiffened as a round tore apart the primary circuit to the servo motors, but the other soldier was not so lucky when one of Iovinus’s bullets crashed through his faceplate, spraying scrap metal, flame, and red mist across the room. That was when the room exploded yet again. As he flew from the window, he could see the outline of a Cataphract Mk. I assault drone displayed on his HUD, with the heat from its freshly discharged railgun glowing brightly. The suit peeled open and unceremoniously dumped him onto the ground as his body was supposed to hit in the sim.

He rubbed the back of his head, cursing. What the hell was with the uptick in urban combat training anyway? Around him, a number of other soldiers similarly removed were wondering the same thing. They knew that this meant upcoming deployment, but what the hell did Olimpiada need with even more cities anway?

---

Joki, Gaia
BlueSky Industries Headquarters

---

“Isaakios, tell me about Staiunerth.”

“Staiunerth is a planet orbiting the star Spiderweb. It has a semi-toxic atmosphere similar to that of Clockwork or Joki, and chiefly exports-”

“Yes, yes, I know what it is. Now tell me about the more pertinent details. Filter in accordance with economic and political concerns for the company.” Despite being the current owner of BlueSky Industries, one of Olimpiada’s larger resident megacorporations, Katherine Iwakura was never free from their systems’ inability to properly register nuance in vocal commands. It really ruined the whole “well mannered butler” air that had been the goal of the Isaakios personal assistant when it lacked the careful sensibility of a well mannered butler. Perhaps the next iteration would have better voice recognition patterns.

“Ah. I see, ma’am. Staiunerth’s chief exports are drugs and pirates. As such, they have in the past proven problematic for our operations in their sector. Despite the superior quality of our arms and products, the profits have never been enough to warrant a proper action against the planet in order to subdue it.” That was more like it.

“So why, then, is there a pile of angry messages on my computer about that planet? It sounds like we’ve got an appropriate method for dealing with it.”

“Recently, the pirates have stepped up operations in the area, even going so far as to down The Clouds of the Night, a large colony ship. As such, shareholders are growing antsy.” She spat a curse, which the machine wisely ignored.

“How many of them?” She really didn’t want to ask this question, but she really needed to.

“One million, eight hundred thou-”

“That’s enough, thank you.” She rubbed her fingers against her temples in an attempt to dissuade an oncoming headache from appearing in full force. Some strings would apparently need to be pulled here to ensure that this did not become an issue. Quarterly profits had been on the uptick, and the last thing she needed was a loss in confidence ruining the company’s hard work.

---

Clockwork, Gaia
Hex Orbital Spaceworks

---

In a spinning ring thousands of kilometers above a sea of smog and industrial might, six chairmen convened. This was the board which owned the Hex Conglomerate, a group of six companies which specialized in orbital industries such as construction and manufacturing.

“There have been stirrings on Joki, it would seem. Outwards, towards Alondra.” The speaker was represented as a holographic cube orbited by a dozen smaller ones. The owners of Hex rarely bothered to all meet in person, as their assets were neatly spread out across six star systems.

“Is that so? What for?” A red triangular pyramid ringed by an ouroboros spoke next.

“Apparently their stockholders have been getting antsy about the Spiderweb system downing that colony ship. They think their assets are next.”

“So encourage them.” An actual human this time, tall and dark skinned, as lifelong spacers often tended to be. “We can pick up the pieces once things go south for them. Might be a good time to buy new assets.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” said the cubes. “We do currently purchase a lot of prefab parts and equipment from them. If that flow slows down much, we could be dragged down with them.” The board considered this for a moment.

“I’m with him,” said another human, whose swimmer’s build and asian features marked him as a Sabishiian. “No sense taking needless risks right now. And if I know BSI, they’re going to sic the feds on that world, and we’ll get shipbuilding contracts in the aftermath.”

“Seconded,” said the pyramid. “We only require a fourth for this action to pass.”

The spacer shrugged, and voted in favor. “You’ve got me convinced, with surprisingly little effort. Let’s go back up Iwakura.”

---

Triumvirate, Gaia
Presidential Palace, Elysia-3 Arcology

---

Above the sea, in a marble and steel office surrounded by a well regulated ecosystem surrounded in turn by plastic and glass, three people deliberated regarding the future of an entire star system.

“Mr. President, the fact of the matter is that the actions of the pirates in Spiderweb cannot be tolerated. We should launch an offensive to curtail them, and soon.” Alexios Cyrenacius, president of Olimpiada, looked at the spacer in the video window carefully. He knew full well that Octavianus Cogitatus always had an ulterior agenda, and usually it was somewhat clear. Unfortunately, both he and Iwakura had managed to drop the meeting on him before he could do proper research into what was actually going on.

“Mr. Cogitatus is right.” The golden eyed half-asian woman in his office had actually bothered to take a fast torchship over from Joki to meet in person. There was likely a meeting with Aurelius-Kawahara or something elsewhere in her schedule that happened to make the time spent more worthwhile, but the simple fact that she was here in the flesh made her arguments more convincing. “Our people are growing concerned with their increased overreaches, and some think they might try for another colony ship, such as one of the ones currently reaching out for Nova Varangia.” That wouldn’t actually be the worst thing, by all rights. It would at least postpone the impending disaster from the sheer number of people trying to force themselves onto that world before it was ready for them. But dead colonists didn’t win elections, and the next one was always right around the corner.

They spoke for awhile longer on the matter, and midday eventually saw the sun falling lower in the sky, lending the room an air of quietude. Finally, a ruling was made.

“Fine, you’ll have your intervention. You’d best know what you’re doing here. I can pull connections right back.” Cogitus closed his window with a nod, and Iwakura bowed before walking out of the room and past the mahogany double doors that separated this world from the rest of the rabble in the galaxy.

[PetzConfederation]

---

Spiderweb System
Planet of Staiunerth
Colony Ship crash site

---

The helicopters of the Petz Cartel that were escorting the column of armed vehicles were now in visual range of the crash site of The Clouds of the Night. It didn't take long for the scanners to detect the two pirate corvettes that were landed in a more open area in the middle of a large vegetation.

Petz Cartel Pilot (radio): "Uh, chief. We see two ships down on the surface near the big one..."

Hester: "Shit !" - he looked at a cartel member that was in the same vehicle - "Tell them to stop !"

The column halted and the helicopters hovered above the vehicles. The leader of this rabble contacted the pilot of the first chopper.

Hester (radio): "Do you see anything else there ?"

Petz Cartel Pilot (radio): "Uh...No, not for now. If we get closer we might..."

Hester (radio): "Can you recognize the ships, who they belong to ? And what are they ?"

Petz Cartel Pilot (radio): "Aa...No, I...uh, they are aa..., not so big ships. Something like our escort ships, and I think they are armed too. But I don't know who they belong to, probably some pirates, because I don't see the ULeeA flag anywhere."

Hester (radio): "It's UWA..., ah, whatever...Fuck, ok, over for now !" - he turned at the other cartel member in his vehicle again - "Hm...Do we take the risk ?"

Petz Cartel Group Leader: "Well...,I don't know. Why not ? I mean, we are three groups here with enough weapons. Surely the small crews of two escorts won't put much of a fight against us."

Hester: "And what if they lift the ships and use them ?"

Petz Cartel Group Leader: "Well, I don't know, you can call the boss. He'll figure out something, I think."

Hester: "Good idea. Let's see if he can aid us with some ships of our own." - he grabbed the radio and established contact with the boss of the Cartel, Gravo Nerdago

Gravo Nerdago (radio): "What ?"

Hester (radio): "Boss, we are almost there, but we came upon two landed escort-like ships, probably pirate corvettes, from the far side of the crash site. I think we will need some heavy firepower here."

Gravo Nerdago (radio): "Agh, damn it ! How can they be so fast ?! Alright, I'll see what I can do. Stay there and don't go near them until I tell you."

Hester (radio): "Alright, boss."

About 15 minutes later Gravo Nerdago had managed to assamble a task unit of two frigates and three corvettes from his Cartel fleet. He ordered the leader of this task unit to rendezvous with the ground unit. Once there Hester would then assume command of the ships as well. The frigates and corvettes were on their way while the leader of the ground unit ordered the helicopters to land on the path behind the column of vehicles so they can preserve their fuel and to be in cover by the vegetation.

[Lotrabme]

The Oort Cloud of the Spiderweb System

The silence of space was broken by a red and white portal ripping a hole in the void from which five spires emerged. As the portal closed around the ships they settled back into material space and form. The greatest of these ships had multiple greenhouse habitats jutting out from its spine in addition to docking and habitat sections. These were enclosed by the unfurling solar shields of the vessel and the thrusters at the aft lit to propel it toward the star and its attendant planets.

This ship, the Nemo, was larger than its companion vessels which were four standard Ombroj Longships. Designed like spears these were more utilitarian in build than the B-3 model of Galleon. While the Nemo was a more streamline ship the Longships like the Noz and its companions were sharp things, sleek but angular. Their thrusters mounted on arms ignited and put them into a defensive pattern surrounding the Nemo.

Each of these vessels were technically motherships, carrying with them a small compliment of Nimloth and Sting Corvettes, designed without the ability to preform portal jumps but loaded with weapons. A portion of these detached and joined the formation, taking up posts on the near perimeter, about 10 miles distant from the rest of the ships, which formed an 8 mile cross.

On board the Nemo

Setting Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-gTUUgZCQo

The Lord Commander of Nemo Company was taking lunch with his crew in the assembly hall. Several were singing along with the ships bard and band and taking in drinks of Kanar, Ale, and Mead. The crew here was a motley assortment of the Empire's militant specimens: the Hamans being former recruits and servicemen of the Savashi Stellaris, Malluman Velites and Braves from Clans with disreputable names, and Ombroj from a wide assortment of the allied tribes. Lord Commander Dumaz was thankful that they got along as well as they did. It was owed to his and Captain Triln's providing them with many opportunities for loot. After raiding Scolodon merchants and surviving an encounter with the Luuds, many were anticipating more riches here among the United Worlds of Alondra.

One of the Malluman warriors approached the Lord Commander sloshed beyond protocol and shouted "Lordship! This welp has dishonored me! Permission to duel sir?"

An Ombroj appeared behind her with several scars already growled through his trunk and grunted "Sir, shes out of her wits."

The Commander took a look at them and said "You know the rules Henlixya, duels need to be accepted by both parties. Take yourself back to your quarters and soak up some sun." With a reptilian hiss Henlixya, the Malluman warrior, relented. "Yes Lordshiph" she said as she walked toward the crew quarters to lay down.

The Ombroj pirate, a thug by the name of Riik, bowed and said "You have done me a solid your Lordship."

"Of course Riik" nodded the Lord Commander. He decided it was time to leave and bid his crew to enjoy their lunches. They hurrah'd in approval.

The Lord Commander walked out of the Assembly Hall and into the long corridors along the spine of the ship. He would enter a small mover which carried him quickly to the Control Center of the Nemo, located in a spherical module near the forward solar shield.

Entering the Control Center, Dumaz looked around the room which encircled the observation orb. Several of the top engineers were present and speaking to Threburn Triln. When he saw the commander he finished his discussion with them and they dispersed. Captain Triln said "how was lunch?"

"It was good, the crew is in good form today. Only had to break up one fight."

"I'm glad to hear it" the Ombroj captain smiled through his trunk. Motioning toward the observation orb the two then entered it. The viewscreen encircling the room displayed the star system at a distance. Sitting at his control chair Dumaz looked at the display and pondered. "So this is the "Spiderweb" system. Doesn't strike me as too out of the ordinary."

"Maybe the locals have an affinity for arachnids" shrugged Captain Triln. "I've looked over the information we were able to collect from broadcasts, it appears that the colony ship carrying the goods landed on this world, the Alondrans call it Staiunerth." With a click of several panel buttons Triln caused the planet to zoom in on the screen, and a 3D display of the world with a mark for the crash site appeared.

"Are we at risk of detection?" Dumaz asked.

Triln replied satisfied "Not at this distance, we are at low burn, but as we get closer our signatures will be noticably foreign to anyone who spots us. I suggest we reach out to whoever we are going to be siding with in this immediately."

Dumaz thought for a moment. "I'm set on aiding the pirates, they're bound to be more open to assistance and we should be able to get some recompense for aiding them."

"Fair enough, should I broadcast it?"

"If you can locate them. Meanwhile, we should continue to monitor the planet and learn as much as we can about its conditions before we weigh anchor. Conal, Dedra, continue your scans."

The two adjutants he was referring to continued their work with affirmative yups. Meanwhile Triln patched through a secure channel to what he believed was the Alondran pirates signature.
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Their corvettes would receive a coded message:

Code: Select all

--- Signal Secure ---
--- This is the NEMO attempting to contact Alondran Privateers. We are a Mercenary Company seeking goods and employment. We understand there is a crashed Colonial Vessel on the planet designated STAIUNERTH. We wish to assist. For a price.---

--- If you wish to continue talks, reply and we will meet you above STAIUNERTH or at a location of your chosing in system.---

--- Peace and Long Life---
--- L.C. Jasin Dumaz and H.Cap. Threburn Triln.--- 

[United Worlds of Alondra]

Oscar hated unwanted company. And this time was the worst time to have unwanted company. He knew it when a radio transmission from one of his friends, Captain Domingo Garcia, warned him as he was approaching the planet in his corvette

"Oscar. Oscar, this is Domingo, do you copy?"

Oscar grunted and reached for his communicator and said to it

"Patch me up to Domingo. Good. Okay, yeah. I copy you, Domingo. What's up?"

"Oscar, I'm happy to be here but I'm picking up some unwanted company. We don't know who they are. They're probably cartel. They're not one of us. We should be careful.

Do you want back up down there? I'm reading unknown foot mobiles, ground vehicles and aircraft."

That stopped Oscar from taking another step with his men, Taji and her men. It froze them as Oscar responded

"Shit. That isn't good. Can you do something about it?"

"Uh, I can. I'll have to get more help for us. How's a pair of frigates and a destroyer?"

"Better. Because this is going to be a race. I'm just at the crash site. See you." Then he ordered his communicator to cut if off and when it did, he looked to Taji. She nodded. This won't be worth the catch if it's not worth the competition.

----

On the other hand, it made the UWA United Fleets expeditionary captain Enrique nervous to be told by both his other Captains and by the reports of his drones (He sent out drones ahead of him as they all entered the Spiderweb.)

It made him realize they were not all alone. Besides the UWA, the commies and the pirates, there were other parties involved. He didn't know about the new ones like the Mind Empire or the rest. He did know about the Petz on the drug planet. But the most surprising thing was discovering a surviving battle cruiser and some destroyers!

They were from the fleet! He swallowed his fears and quickly sent a ping to the ships. They made him wait for half a minute and then sent a ping. They then spoke to his ship before he could give his own orders to communicate with them. What a miracle!

----

There were three fast attack space ships making their patrol when they encountered the foreign ships. Under the command of Captain Alvaro Montes Jaena, they received the transmission. After a while, the Captain responded
Secure Signal…
This is Patrol Montes Jaena. I am Captain Alvaro. You’ve entered our territory. But it seems that if you really are sincere about your intentions then you can come with us on our way back to our base. We will speak there.

[Olimpiada]

---

Triumvirate, Gaia
Ministry of Colonial Affairs, Elysia-3 Arcology

---

“How many, exactly?” Iamblichus Vatatzes, Minister of Colonial Affairs for the Federated Worlds of Olimpiada, was in shock.

“Three, sir.” The astrographer was quite matter-of-fact, and offered little in the way of astonishment. Perhaps he’d simply gotten it out of the way before presenting his proposal to Vatatzes. “Staiunerth needs a little work, since the atmosphere is shot, but we can just use it as an industrial world like Ivy.”

“That many habitable worlds in one system can’t be natural.” This statement was partly based on statistics, and partly based in Olimpiada’s circumstances of existence. Their capital system had six habitable worlds, which had been reduced to five due to their war for independence. However, this was entirely due to the previous owners of the system having spent thousands of years engineering their home system to be a garden. For a system to have started with three habitable worlds naturally seemed nigh impossible.

“So what if it’s not?” That gave Vatatzes pause. He was trained as an engineer, and tended to think of things in a scientific manner. However, his job was chiefly that of a politician and moreso an administrator these days, and such headaches were meant to be left to his subordinates. He tended to forget this, as until recently, most of his job had been signing off on contracts for orbital habitat construction and hashing out mining rights between competing corporations.

“I suppose that’s actually a boon for terraforming purposes, if it is the case.”

“Exactly! All sorts of surveyors and environmental engineers can look at the mess and see how best to replicate it. Might not even need all that nasty conquering we’ve been doing anymore.”

“Bossman wouldn’t like that.”

“I’m sure his sponsors can find other contracts to get rich off of. Trillionaires are fickle folk, but hardly dumb.” Vatatzes quietly put down a note to give this man a raise.

---

Staiunerth, Spiderweb
FWOS Arroyo Seco Nautikos V Delphi

---

Unlike many other methods of superluminal travel, Olimpiadan blink drives lacked any flair whatsoever. A number of ships that weren’t in a space before simply were, and that was that. A studious observer with the appropriate technology could see gravitational emissions in accordance with a wormhole appearing for each ship, exactly the size of that ship, and then moving across that ship at lightspeed before fizzling out of existence and leaving its ships behind.

The ships, however, were not so subtle.

Each had blindingly bright radiators which slowly faded as waste heat from the FTL drives beamed away into space, white fading to yellow, which in turn faded to orange. Four subnautikoi appeared, each having some sixteen vessels in it, of assorted classes. Each squadron was positioned in an orbit along the equator, corresponding with ninety degrees of longitude on the planet below.

On the bridge of the battleship Arroyo Seco, Fleet Admiral Lucas Comnenus surveyed his assembled vessels and the space around them. Operations to destroy satellites were already underway, with anything large enough to mount so much as a laser beam receiving one to pierce it from a passing warship. Comnenus thought it was excessive, but it never paid to be careless.

With those operations underway, it was time for bureaucracy. He hated this part. Reluctantly, he allowed the transmission, and an androgynous voice announced the will of Olimpiada to the system in Latin, Greek, and Japanese.

Attention to all those currently residing within the system presently designated “Spiderweb”. The Federated Worlds of Olimpiada has recently been informed of an uptick of pirate activity in this system, to the point where it has endangered the lives of a number of colonists, which has been deemed unacceptable. As such, the system must change hands to new owners. As such, Olimpiada now claims jurisdiction over the Spiderweb system, and will proceed to enforce the law. Residents should establish contact with the fleet in orbit of Staiunerth for processing into national ID and monetary systems, and those responsible for shooting down the Clouds of the Night should turn themselves in for a fair and speedy trial. We appreciate your cooperation!

Well, this isn’t going to work, thought Comnenus.

---

Staiunerth, Spiderweb
FWOS Cerulean, Legio IL Gaia

---

The pod was pitch black. Iovinus hated it, but understood it. The darkness was disconcerting, but a better option than the terrifying vertigo of falling from space and into a planet. This way, he wouldn’t need to worry, only let the systems do their work as he descended upon the enemy.

“As stated earlier, your objective is to capture the Clouds of the Night and arrest any and all hostiles present. You do have authorization to use lethal force as needed. Support will come from Fighter Squadron Theta-12 “Zipper” and the strike cruisers Fire Ant and Haikuesque. Laser and light kinetic support is authorized as needed, heavy kinetic and ship-grade nuclear will require approval from command before it is employed. Use your head before you even consider it. There’s a thousand of you, and you’re organized. Guerillas and insurgents are difficult to scrape out, but rarely require that kind of firepower.” Major Porphyrius spoke to the members of Beta Company with a certain confidence gained through years of operations. Spaceborne were meant to be the toughest motherfuckers in the Federal Army, and Porphyrius’s belief in the matter was grounded in experience as much as bravado, with a sort of infectiousness that even had Iovinus more confident than usual. “Now, hop to.”

Unlike an aerial drop, Iovinus felt the shift by the addition of gravity, rather than its sudden loss. Without accelerating, the Cerulean lacked gravity. However, his pod had to fire a solid chemical rocket on its backside to actually move planetward, which it had just started. A few minutes of hypergravitation were followed by a click as the booster detached to fall into the atmosphere, its solid fuel now spent. This process was especially relieving, since the rocket actually pulled him upward, since his seat was oriented toward the planet.

There was a long wait until the pods hit the atmosphere. Then the rocking started. Atmosphere crashed into ablative shielding, which then burned off into anti-laser chaff smoke to defend the pods on their way down. Drag chutes began to deploy, big mylar sacks meant to not only slow the pods from orbital velocities, but to emulate the radar characteristics of the pods themselves, acting as decoys. They would periodically detach to fall independently and draw fire, while new chutes would begin to slow the pods once again, a cyclical process which repeated a few times until the altitude and atmospheric density allowed for proper flight on the pods’ stubby wings.

It was at this point that the screens inside turned on, revealing a dirty sky filled with toxic smoke. Iovinus was disappointed. He was risking death over a shithole. Again. The recruiters had promised him land on a conquered world once his term of service was over, but now he wasn’t sure if he actually wanted it.

[Lotrabme]

Secure Signal…
This is Patrol Montes Jaena. I am Captain Alvaro. You’ve entered our territory. But it seems that if you really are sincere about your intentions then you can come with us on our way back to our base. We will speak there.

Commander Dumaz read the transcript of the message and nodded approvingly with a look to Triln which said silently "Respond affirmative." Triln approved as well, this was a rare open invitation from a foreign customer and they weren't about to let it slip. Captain Alvaro would receive the following message.

Code: Select all

Patrol Montes Jaena,

To Captain Alvaro, We are happy with your choice, give us directions and we will come in peace to speak with you.

- High Captain Triln.

The Lord Commander stood from his seat and walked to a free control panel and typed in some of the controls in an absent minded manner, knowing the bridge layout like the back of his hand. After finishing the input he reached out to one of his subordinates "Sergeant Gylksa, please report to the bridge, you are in command while the High Captain and I are out on business. The Noah will take care of most of the piloting you just keep the Longships in check and the crew in their wits."

"It shall be done Lord Commander" she replied from across the comms channel.

Triln grabbed a sack and asked "What are we taking to meet them?"

"We are going to go on one of the Nimloths, less threatening of course, and keep the main fleet in a distant formation above the orbital plane."

"Oh? Sounds smart, what did you set it for?"

"About 45 degrees above the orbits, should keep us out of harms way for now. We just need to wait for this Captain Alvaro to send us the coordinates."

The Commander and High Captain as well as a small fireteam of officers and guards prepared one of the short saucer-like corvettes for detachment from the Nemo and travel to the Pirate Base.

[PetzConfederation]

---

Spiderweb System
Planet of Staiunerth
Petz Black Market District "The Refinery"

---

Attention to all those currently residing within the system presently designated “Spiderweb”. The Federated Worlds of Olimpiada has recently been informed of an uptick of pirate activity in this system, to the point where it has endangered the lives of a number of colonists, which has been deemed unacceptable. As such, the system must change hands to new owners. As such, Olimpiada now claims jurisdiction over the Spiderweb system, and will proceed to enforce the law. Residents should establish contact with the fleet in orbit of Staiunerth for processing into national ID and monetary systems, and those responsible for shooting down the Clouds of the Night should turn themselves in for a fair and speedy trial. We appreciate your cooperation!

The announcement made by the Federated Worlds of Olimpiada was received by the radio operators of the Cartel on Staiunerth. Thanks to the long-term development and operations of the Petz Black Market in the known and unknown space and time it didn't take long for the operators to translate the message and inform Gravo Nerdago about it.

Gravo Nerdago: "What the fuck ? Who the hell are those ?"

Petz Cartel Operator: "Uhm, we managed to gather some basic information about them. It seems that they are some sort of a small interstellar nation that controls six systems. We don't know about their military capabilities, but if they have some enemies or internal problems it will take them some time to really do what they are actually saying."

Gravo Nerdago: "Shit. Alright, I want to speak with the other cartels in the system. Establish connection !"

The radio operator left the room of his boss and activated the encrypted black market frequency that allowed for safe communications between the various petz cartels in Spiderweb. Nerdago was soon connected with all of the other bosses in the system using a large holographic monitor.

Gravo Nerdago: "Ah, I'm glad you are all present. There was a message by..." - he was interrupted by another petz on the screen

Petz Cartel Boss 1: "Yes, yes, we know about it. You are the last one to attend this meeting, actually."

Gravo knew this guy and he despised him, because he was constantly dismissing his authority as a fellow boss and often insulted him in front of the others. Nerdago was about to engage in a yet another verbal conflict with the other cartel boss when a voice even deeper than his own spoke.

Petz Cartel Boss 2: "As I already said, there is nothing to worry about at the moment. This new nation will soon find itself in a great struggle to hold the system, as with all other government attempts so far. If they are too stupid they will waste a ton of resources and men before finally realizing their failure. And if not, then we might actually bring in a new customer."

Gravo Nerdago: "I think we will have some problems in bringing them in the game, initially. Entering the system with such a message shows just how market oriented you really are, especially black markets. And their ships are right above Staiunerth. Good thing we don't rely on spaceborne communicators nowadays, because I just received a live screen view by one of my naval captains how a ton of satellites are being destroyed by this...Federation."

Petz Cartel Boss 2: "Mister Nerdago, unless they show open hostilities towards any assets of the Black Market I suggest you try cutting a deal with the..." - he looked to his left for a second - "...Federated Worlds of Olimpiada."

Petz Cartel Boss 1: "Hah, like he is actually capable of persuading someone..." - he gently smiled

Gravo Nerdago: "Look here, you faggot ! I had..." - he was interrupted again

Petz Cartel Boss 2: "STOP THIS !" - there was silence for a brief moment - "Now, I believe you all understood my suggestion. Nerdago, if you find yourself in a dire situation after a potential negative reply I suggest you organize the other cartels on Staiunerth and move to Vusheshan. Your experience in mining operations will be of good use there."

Gravo Nerdago: "Not all on this toxic shit are miners. Some have to be transferred elsewhere if we can't hold our ground."

Petz Cartel Boss 2: "It is up to you. You are the most influential boss of all the cartels on your planet. Basically you can count their assets as yours, so you must make the final decision there. But bear in mind that we do not intent to send any support. I believe you understand why."

Gravo Nerdago: "Yes, don't worry, I know how unimportant this planet is, compared to Taflapus. I wouldn't waste my ships and men if I were you, too."

---

Colony Ship crash site

---

The task unit of two frigates and three corvettes from Nerdago's Cartel reached the rendezvous point. Hester - the leader of the cartel militia groups that were sent to investigate, ordered the task unit to activate their short-range communications and reach the pirate frequency. The crew of the ships did not know what frequency to look after, however, so they limited the radio signals to the point where the two pirate ships had landed and opened all channels.

Hester (radio): "Attention unidentified ships. I speak on behalf of the Petz Black Market Cartel operating in the area. Identify yourselves now !"

The petz went silent and awaited for a reply while observing his surroundings.

[Eodor]

Rapture 181 Fighter
Callsign: "Tygus-1"
3 AU from Staiunerth

The three Rapture starfighters had just launched form the Redeemer X minutes ago, escorting the Dragon Dropship loaded with the Dark Spawn and eight accompanying Fusiliers. The downed colony ship was broadcasting a somewhat detectable signal from the planet's surface, which was masked considerably by the residual FTL fields of arriving vessels. The three fighters shut down their engines in an attempt to hide from the ships now surrounding the planet; whilst the dropship continued to steadily coast along, engines glowing slightly against the inky void of space. The ships began to enter the atmosphere, contrails blaring behind them.

Redeemer X
Spiderweb

After receiving the Olimpiadian signal, the captain had panicked slightly. He had immediately contacted Imperial High Command to request advice, Commander Lucius Kaal had been on hand to respond:

You are to press on with you mission, Captain. That system rightfully belongs to the Irenton Empire, inform them of that fact. Do your job, Commander Kaal out.

The Captain stood up straight, and began broadcasting his response, doing his best to make his voice authoritative:

Attention forces of the Federated Worlds of Olimpiada and the inhabitants of the Spiderweb system. This is Captain Darius Shunara of the IESS Redeemer X. This system along with all it's inhabitants is territory of the Irenton Empire. Imperial forces are on standby to establish order in this system, all those who oppose the might of His Imperial Majesty will be punished swiftly and mercilessly. That is all.

With the connection severed, Captain Shunara fell to his chair, content in the fact he had caused much more damage than his pay grade would normally allow.

[United Worlds of Alondra]

---

Near the Crash Site

---

Oscar cursed himself when he and his partner and their men all heard what the Petz, the freaking Petz, had to say. Great, he thought. "We're in trouble." He said. Taji could only agree as she swiftly drew her weapons as her men followed while the Petz said

"Attention unidentified ships. I speak on behalf of the Petz Black Market Cartel operating in the area. Identify yourselves now !"

The ships were ordered by Oscar via secure radio transmittion from her communicator "Chicos, ni siquiera hagan nada estúpido. Prepara tus traseros para luchar para salir. ¡Bueno, te veo luego!
" And at his orders, the ships started to come alive, flying up quickly as their missiles soon left their pods and started going after the Petz ships and vehicles while their rail guns and autocannons opened fire just as a few pirates who were on the ground near the ship took cover and started shooting at Petz foot mobiles.

At the time also, Oscar and Taji went their way out of the crash site with their guys, prioritizing their own safety over the booty.

---

---

UWA Expedition

---

Captain Enrique Burgos attempted first to instigate communications with the surviving ships but was interrupted when he was told by one of his subordinates

"Sir! There's a foreign assembly of ships close to Staiunerth! They're....They're probably Olimpiada, I think. We're trying to confirm it with our sensors and the databases."

At that point, Enrique instructed his people "Eso apesta! Bien, aquí está el plan...

I want someone to make contact with our surviving ships while I take one other ship with me to approach this foreign fleet. Battle stations, everyone! ¡Esto no es un taladro!"

And at his words, most of the ships split from Enriques ship and a carrier. The two ships now made their way towards the foreign fleet as the carrier started releasing its fighters and interceptors while Enrique sent a hailing ping to the Olimpiadians, hoping they would not be hostile to the UWA too.

---

---

UWA Expedition

---

Patrol Montes Jaena,

To Captain Alvaro, We are happy with your choice, give us directions and we will come in peace to speak with you.

- High Captain Triln.

Captain Alvaro nodded with a smile as he gave his instructions to his ships. They would turn around and start bringing their guests to their base, which was Henry 5, a deep space station in Spiderweb. It was long home to the pirates and some of their communist friends.

[Olimpiada]

---

Staiunerth, Spiderweb
Beta Company, 1024th Light Infantry Division, Legio IL Gaia

---

As the pods approached the ground, it was time to clear a landing area. Each pod let loose with a pair of weapons. The first was an anti-armor charge. It fired a steel spike with an explosive shaped charge down toward anything the systems considered a non-approved vehicle, leaving a wake of more anti-laser smoke and chaff in its wake. Thick smoke filled the sky below Iovinus as his pod bucked slightly with the shot.

Following that, four machine guns poked out of their previously covered recesses. They both increased drag on the pod by their lack of aerodynamics, and tracked any non-approved signs of life, which consisted of anyone lacking either an Olimpiadan Federal Military ID, or features consistent with what personnel records they knew of from the Clouds of the Night. Carefully, he watched the altimeter decrease.

Upon reaching a hundred meters off the ground, the pod fired a strong rocket, harshly jerking Iovinus up toward the roof of his pod. It quickly burned, bleeding off as much velocity as possible before the pod hit the ground and split open. Iovinus, who had just spent entirely too much time on the edge of his seat, burst out of it like a shot, rifle in hand. His Cataphract drone, which had come in a separate pod next to him, quickly jogged over to join him. The bot’s feed lit up in a corner of his faceplate, giving him an extra angle on the battle.

“Liquid Eight, landed.”

“Liquid Nine, landed,” came the response from another soldier. Two more spoke, and that meant that his fireteam had made it together.

“Liquid Actual, this is Fireteam Delta, planetfall has been successful.”

“Copy, Delta. Our squadron has been tasked with reconnoitering a number of pirate ships landed near the crashed colony ship. Do not engage unless attacked.”

“Copy, Actual. Eight out.” Iovinus looked at the marker that had just appeared on the inside of his faceplate. The objective was roughly one kilometer away. He began to run, his cataphract easily keeping pace with him at fifty kilometers per hour. The wolf sized robot was more than capable of outrunning him, but letting the drone go on ahead without sapient supervision was a sure way to be spotted earlier than planned.

A minute later, he slid to a halt a hundred meters distant from the pirates and took a kneeling position. Seven ships, five of which were filled with xenoi. He wanted to spit, but held back for the sake of not dirtying up his helmet. His Cataphract was within arm’s reach, so he picked off a quadcopter, and let it into the air, its rotors very quietly whirring as it took off. Its feed joined the ones already present in his helmet, and began tagging enemies by heat signature, gait, and a number of other features. He couldn’t ascertain an exact number yet, so he continued to watch.

“Looks like a lot of them, not going to lie,” said one soldier.

“Yeah, but we’ve got orbital support. Like to see them shoot back from all the way down here with that kit.” That one earned a few chuckles.

“Now, now, galaxy’s a big place,” chided Iovinus. “Never know what’s out there. Best to stay sharp. Keep radio chatter to a minimum.”

---

Staiunerth, Spiderweb
FWOS Arroyo Seco, Nautikos V Delphi

---

Who the hell were the Irenton, anyway?

“Intel, who the hell are the Irenton, anyway?” A few moments passed before one of the officers responded.

“They’re not terribly well known to us. Larger in population, and their ships are on average larger as well, though not necessarily better armed. Presently, they only have one frigate in system. Initial imagery shows it as roughly equivalent to one of our Hermes-class, though significantly more massive.”

“And they have the gall to tell us no?”

“Yes, sir.” A small chuckle was appended onto that, which Comnenus couldn’t help but share.

“Right then, let’s remind them who’s in charge here.”

TO: Captain Darius Shunara, IESS Redeemer X, Imperial Expedition Belial Sigma
FROM: Fleet Admiral Lukas Comnenus, FWOS Arroyo Seco, Nautikos V Delphi
ENCR: None

Greetings, Captain. You are presently in violation of newly established Olimpiadan territorial laws. Despite this, we do not wish for unnecessary conflict. Please rescind your earlier statements before we are forced to retroactively enforce the aforementioned laws.

“We've also got another ping, no real data in it. Code suggests Alondrian.”

“Meh. Ignore it, for now. They don't piss us off, we don't shoot them. Simple as that.”

[PetzConfederation]

---

Spiderweb System
Planet of Staiunerth
Colony Ship crash site

---

Multiple warning systems activated on board the Cartel ships in an instant. The captain of one of the frigates immediately contacted the ground unit leader to inform him about the incoming threat, but the missiles of the pirate ships came very fast and before he could finish his sentence the volley already hit both air and ground targets. Fortunately enough the shields of the task unit were able to protect the ships from the initial strike, but the vehicles on the ground that were not directly under the physical protection of the frigates and corvettes above them took serious damage. Explosions shattered the surroundings as metal pieces and burned flesh flew all around from the ones unfortunate enough to be the first victims of the pirate aggression. Some of the debris smashed right into a few cartel members that were manning the cannons of the technicals. A moment later more cartel members fell to the ground, dead or dying, after being hit by the pirates that were shooting at them.

Hester: "FUCK, FUCK, FUCK !!! TO THE COLONY SHIP, NOW ! DRIVE, DRIVE !" - he grabbed the radio and contacted the pilots of the choppers - "GET IN THE AIR AND WASTE THE MOTHERFUCKERS !"

The entire column of vehicles started moving towards the crashed ship in a chaotic formation while opening fire in the general direction of the pirates on the ground. The large vegetation of the area made it hard to see the exact locations of the hostile fighters. The petz that were on foot started running after the column in an attempt to reach the colony ship for better cover. The helicopters hovered above and used their scanners to identify any enemies, after which they engaged them with their rocket pods and machine guns. The few cartel militiamen that were sitting on the sides of the helicopters opened fire with their assault weapons and underbarrel grenade launchers after seeing the direction of the launched rockets.

In the meantime the two frigates and three corvettes targeted the two pirate ships that were flying up and engaged them with missiles, cannons and heavy machine guns. The point-defence turrets of the frigates started shooting down some of the incoming pirate missiles, though the ones that were going for the corvettes encountered almost no resistance.

Hester (radio): "BOSS ! The damn pirates opened fire ! We are going to hide from their ships inside the crashed one, it's big enough, but we're gonna need some help !"

Gravo Nerdago (radio): "Fucking shits...Alright, I'm going to send some more ships over there as soon as I can. Stay there and kill every single slime you see, I want that loot !"

[Lotrabme]

Patrol Montes Jaena,

To Captain Alvaro, We are happy with your choice, give us directions and we will come in peace to speak with you.

- High Captain Triln.

Captain Alvaro nodded with a smile as he gave his instructions to his ships. They would turn around and start bringing their guests to their base, which was Henry 5, a deep space station in Spiderweb. It was long home to the pirates and some of their communist friends.

After receiving the instructions from Captain Alvaro to head for the station designated Henry 5, and after loading all the necessary people and supplies onto the Nimloth Corvette, the party launched from the Nemo and began their route toward the station's location.

En route, Lord Commander Dumaz and Captain Triln were contacted by one of the adjutants on board the Nemo. "Sirs" the young officer spoke over light static "we have been receiving several messages from other vessels entering the system broadcasting on wide-scale."

"What do they say Hroman?" Dumaz asked.

"Well one is from the Federated World's of Olimpiada, while the other is from the Irenton Empire. They are both claiming this system as their property."

"Interesting" Triln muttered.

"Thank you for letting us know Hroman, has their been back and forth chatter much?"

"Not that we've received" Hroman the adjutant replied "but we are tracking ship movements from these and other vessels, and it seems Staiunerth has an increase in ground activity though the atmosphere is blocking our ability to read it clearly."

"Very well" Dumaz stated "Keep your ears and eyes open and keep our ships out of range. Stay on angle above the orbital plane."

"Yes Sir." Hroman cut the communication. Triln turned to Dumaz and said "This could complicate matters and put us at risk."

"We are mercenaries Threburn, risk is part of the job."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Station Henry 5 would receive friendly hails from a small saucer like vessel on approach. It would request to land and offload its passengers Dumaz and Triln to meet with the pirate forces.

[United Worlds of Alondra]

The Colony Ship Crash Site

---

2 large missile pods, 2 small missile pods, 6 rail guns and 3 large auto cannons against a force of Petz? With each corvette unleashing hell on the Petz with such weapons, they flew higher and higher, away from the Petz, creating distance to protect themselves as they also burned more energy to improve their shields, giving them more time and more protection. They continued to shower the enemy with missile and gun and cannon fire while the pirates on the ground were forced to retreat into the colony ship. As they did, a small team of pirates stayed outside to keep on engaging the Petz.

Staiunerth, Spiderweb

The pirates were not alone with the cartels that they were engaging. Just three hundred kilometers away from the pods that dropped on the ground, there was a small pirate base reserved for ground forces and swift scouting. That base watched those pods come in and drop. The pirates there would take no chances, especially with Commander Stephanie Noboa. Under her, the 800 pirates and the 35 vehicles they had as well as the 8 corvettes they had would probably become active. And they did.

Stephanie Noboa gave the order to 1 corvette, several pirates and at least a few captured Infantry Fighting Vehicles to be sent to where the enemy have dropped. At the same time, as her forces set out, Stephanie Noboa called for assistance from other pirates and from the insurgents of the world.

Outside of the planet though, the UWA expeditionary force waited for a reply from the foreign forces and they received nothing. Unsure of what to make of this, they sent a message now, hoping that they would respond to this over a ping. It said

This is the UWA Expeditionary Force. Identify yourselves. This is still a system under the control and sovereignty of the United Worlds

Enroute to Henry 5

Captain Alvaro did not ignore the presence of unwanted guests in the system. As he sailed on, he sent a message to Dumaz

"This is Captain Alvaro, Lord Commander Dumaz. I understand that while it would be rude to ask you to help us deal with these people, I am afraid I have to. This is our home and our territory and we don't want these people messing around. Might I know if I am allowed to ask for your help?"

[PetzConfederation]

---

Spiderweb System
Planet of Staiunerth
Colony Ship crash site

---

The task unit started ascending in an attempt to chase and destroy the pirate corvettes. One of the Cartel corvettes remained over the colony ship due to the damage it sustained from the incoming barrage. In the mean time the vehicles on the ground reached the crashed ship and used the large cracks to drive inside. Some of the vehicles that were too large or unable to find a fitting hole opened fire with their explosive weapons to clear a path. Other vehicles stopped and the militiamen used their rocket and grenade launchers for the same purpose. Once inside Hester was relieved to feel the minimal protection "The Clouds of the Night" gave from more incoming fire. Some of the petz that were on foot managed to reach the colony ship, but others were struck down either by the pirate corvettes or the pirates on the ground. The helicopters, however, continued to hover outside and shoot at anyone their scanners can locate.

Petz Cartel Pilot (radio): "Chief, most of the pirates are running inside the crashed ship from the other side. Be prepared !"

Hester (radio): "Alright. What about the others ?"

Petz Cartel Pilot (radio): "They are still shooting at our men outside. We're going to fry them soon with..." - the signal was lost as the chopper was hit by a missile from the retreating pirate ships

Hester (radio): "What happened ?"

Petz Cartel Pilot 2 (radio): "Uh, they got hit by a rocket from the sky, chief."

Hester (radio): "Fuck. Keep shooting at those assholes outside. And keep your eyes open for more. Inform me if you spot anyone else coming to the colony ship !"

Petz Cartel Pilot 2 (radio): "You got it, chief !"

The cartel members disembarked from the vehicles and started looking around in the close area. Large enough corridors, structural or crash-made, were used to drive some of the vehicles even further inside. Hester ordered one of the groups to remain at the current position while he and the other two groups slowly advanced to clear the ship.

[Lotrabme]

"This is Captain Alvaro, Lord Commander Dumaz. I understand that while it would be rude to ask you to help us deal with these people, I am afraid I have to. This is our home and our territory and we don't want these people messing around. Might I know if I am allowed to ask for your help?"

The Lord Commander was running a diagnostic of the Nimloth Corvette he was in when the message came through. Before sending his reply he let the High Captain see. Triln smiled through his trunk like Ombroj do and said "I'm content to help, and I think my men will be too."

"Very we'll" Dumaz said, "I'll let him know."

A response was sent to Alvaro which read.

Code: Select all

To Captain Alvaro,
  We broadly agree to assist, as to the nature of the help we can discuss more with you at Henry 5. We are almost there. We will let you know our full capacity there.

 Lord Commander Dumaz

The Nimloth Corvette slowed as it approached the Space Station designated Henry 5. It signaled friendly and awaited permission to dock. It was designed to lower itself onto a thether or gate and open a hatch out of which it's passengers would emerge.

[United Worlds of Alondra]

---

Spiderweb System
Planet of Staiunerth
Colony Ship crash site

---

The task unit started ascending in an attempt to chase and destroy the pirate corvettes. One of the Cartel corvettes remained over the colony ship due to the damage it sustained from the incoming barrage. In the mean time the vehicles on the ground reached the crashed ship and used the large cracks to drive inside. Some of the vehicles that were too large or unable to find a fitting hole opened fire with their explosive weapons to clear a path. Other vehicles stopped and the militiamen used their rocket and grenade launchers for the same purpose. Once inside Hester was relieved to feel the minimal protection "The Clouds of the Night" gave from more incoming fire. Some of the petz that were on foot managed to reach the colony ship, but others were struck down either by the pirate corvettes or the pirates on the ground. The helicopters, however, continued to hover outside and shoot at anyone their scanners can locate.

Petz Cartel Pilot (radio): "Chief, most of the pirates are running inside the crashed ship from the other side. Be prepared !"

Hester (radio): "Alright. What about the others ?"

Petz Cartel Pilot (radio): "They are still shooting at our men outside. We're going to fry them soon with..." - the signal was lost as the chopper was hit by a missile from the retreating pirate ships

Hester (radio): "What happened ?"

Petz Cartel Pilot 2 (radio): "Uh, they got hit by a rocket from the sky, chief."

Hester (radio): "Fuck. Keep shooting at those assholes outside. And keep your eyes open for more. Inform me if you spot anyone else coming to the colony ship !"

Petz Cartel Pilot 2 (radio): "You got it, chief !"

The cartel members disembarked from the vehicles and started looking around in the close area. Large enough corridors, structural or crash-made, were used to drive some of the vehicles even further inside. Hester ordered one of the groups to remain at the current position while he and the other two groups slowly advanced to clear the ship.

At this point in time, reinforcements for the pirates were getting close. The frigates and the destroyer were closing in from behind the Petz as they started to lock on targets and to see what damage they could cause. But right now, they were still too far to do any good. They could only watch and wait.

For now, the pirates inside the crashed ship could only retreat. As they did, they started to hide and wait for the enemy to get inside and stupidly get themselves in ambushes. Oscar and his mate could only wait for them now.

---

The Nimloth Corvette slowed as it approached the Space Station designated Henry 5. Henry 5 immediately received their transmission and told the Corvette to get ready to dock. As they did though, Henry 5 told them

Code: Select all

This is the Henry 5

Welcome to Spiderweb! Please dock immediately and prepare all passengers for disembarking. Please also ensure that you follow safety procedures and that your weapons and shields are offline.

[Lotrabme]

Dumaz and Triln set to work with their aids in setting the Nimloth Corvette down and attached to the Henry 5. The station's operatives would find that orders had been followed as energy shielding and weapons systems had been turned off. The only thing moving the vessels were magnetic repulsorlifts which maneuvered it into a safe docking position. The saucer stopped itself gracefully and attached its entrance tube to the station.

Once given the all-clear, Lord Commander Dumaz and Captain Triln organized a team to enter Henry-5. It consisted of three Ombroj and two Haman mercenaries and two Malluman warriors. They went unarmed with guns, but carried small knives for protection and honor. They would however openly carry these and give them over to the station authorities for safe keeping.

Those on the station who would greet the new arrivals would see three basic body shapes. The Hamans were human like enough, but had signs of genetic separation. The Malluman warriors stood close to nine feet tall and their deep purple hued squamous skin gave away their therapsid origins. The Ombroj looked vaguely like squinting anteaters with their proboscis-trunks and heavy eye slits. They had fur patterns of brown and black and grey, and their claws were the first thing one saw of their hands.

The Lord Commander Dumaz was a Haman with a vaguely squared head and dark hair marked by a short goatee and pointed mustache. His eyes were glowing gold and he had a stern brow. The Ombroj Captain Triln was a brusk figure of his race, with tan skin on his head and deep brown fur on his body and two deep scars along his left eye. Ombroj eyes are hidden beneath their slits, but he was a mean looking creature. The other mercenaries were similarly rough around the edges.

[PetzConfederation]

---

Spiderweb System
Planet of Staiunerth
Colony Ship crash site

---

The two frigates and two corvettes continued to pursue and shoot at the two pirate ships, while the third corvette from the task unit was still holding position above the colony ship with its crew trying to stabilize the damaged systems and do minor repairs. As the pirate reinforcements were getting closer so were the redirected ships by Gravo Nerdago as well. The Cartel forces in the area were about to receive additional support from the nearest ports and a few more vessels that were passing by in the close vicinity. At the moment three more frigates and five corvettes were approaching the crash site, slightly running late after the pirate reinforcements.

The cartel groups inside the colony ship sent their more compact vehicles ahead, advancing through some of the large corridors. The smaller ones and the rooms and compartments were checked by the militiamen. Any valuables that were found inside were immediately taken by the petz, if they were light enough to carry while moving further. Hester let the group leaders to take leading positions, because he suspected a shootout anytime soon and realized that the front was way too dangerous. Fortunately for him most of the other cartel members were stupid enough to blindly follow his instructions.

[Elici]

BattleCarrier Chimera

on the command deck of the Elici Flag ship the Chimera General Nazirus discuss's his plans for the Spiderweb system with his commanders and other ship captains.

"alright the only reason i'm bringing us into this is cause the stability of the system is at stake"

"with all due respect sir" Commander Wesinak jumped in before the general could continue "how is this our probelm this system is not with in our borders"

" be that as it may i refuse to allow another government" "another civilization to be brought to ruin by low lifes like our people almost were"

the general makes a point of making eye contact with all the CO's of his fleet before continuing.

"now if there are no more objections here is what ..."

at this time the general is interupted by the NAv officer of his flag ship

"excuse me sir"

as the general turns his attention to the officer she involuntarily jumps back in her seat.

"what is it? " by the generals tone its clear he is not in a good mood at the moment and the new better be good

"sir we will be arriving the the system in 5 minutes" answer the Nav officer with a shaky voice

"thank you " "" now base off of preliminary data about the system we should be dropping out of rift space between an asteroid belt and the 4th plant in the system"

"when we arrive i want your fleet Natalie to take up a position within the belt and use the rocks as cover while keeping an eye on the situation is case your need to move in to support me"

"understood sir"

the general now turned to his other commander

"Waetra i want you to do the same from the far side of the planet if you stay in low orbit you should remain undetected and still be in a position to support as needed"

"and what are you going to do while we sit back and wait" Waetra retorted with a smirk on her face

" easy im going to say hi to the neighbors"

with that the general cut the feed to all his ships

Spider web system
Between Asteroid Belt and 4th planet

as the Elici fleets made up of 5 battle groups each dropped out of rift space all ships in the system would have picked up the distortion however they wouldn't be able to get a reading on how many ships are in the area. just as the general had order one fleet headed for the asteroid belt and headed through it to the far side closest to Staiunerth, the second fleet went to the nearest planet and establish low orbit so as to blend in with the planet. the generals fleet set a course directly for Planet Staiunerth

[Olimpiada]

---

Staiunerth, Spiderweb
Beta Company, 1024th Light Infantry Division, Legio IL Gaia

---

“1024th, this is Major Porphyrius. As hostile forces have been spotted entering the Clouds of the Night, you are cleared to pursue. Zipper Squadron and the Fire Ant will eliminate any pirates seeking to escape the craft from above. Make haste.” The announcement cut across every channel in the company, and they rose from their positions. They shot across the field with haste, reaching their armor’s full speed of fifty kilometers per hour, their mechanical assistants keeping pace easily. Periodically, a soldier would stop to release a burst of fire at a fleeing enemy, their rail rifle cracking distinctively, while the more powerful shots of the Cataphracts came without pause from the machines, their computerized aim factoring in their moving position without the need for a break.

Above them, columns of the sky lit up greenish-blue and rumbled with ionizing air. These were the support lasers from their orbital escorts, picking out vehicles and focusing extreme amounts of energy on them, sufficient to melt metal if given a few moments. Certainly enough to cook the crew. The fighters were less subtle, their nuclear powered chariots streaking overhead and releasing more conventional ordnance where the density of friendly soldiers was such that it allowed for devastating strikes from incendiary and explosive weapons.

Iovinus found it beautiful, in an odd way. That must have meant the trauma suppressants were working.

---

Staiunerth, Spiderweb
FWOS Arroyo Seco, Nautikos V Delphi

---

“More mail for you, sir. Not all of it seems terribly bright.”

“So I see. Requests for reiterated information, mostly. Are their educational programs up to snuff?”

“Doubtful. I suppose it’s good that we’re replacing them.” Not for the first time, Comnenus wished he could enjoy a bulb of coffee inside his suit. The mineral water would have to suffice until they had secured orbit.

TO: Unidentified Alondrian Commanding Officer, UWA Expeditionary Force
FROM: Fleet Admiral Lucas Comnenus, FWOS Arroyo Seco, Nautikos V Delphi
ENCR: None

Your administrative efforts have been found lacking, and we have been dispatched to replace them with an improved version under a better equipped administration. Was our previous broadcast not clear enough? We would be happy to revise it to a version which would be more easily understood by your people. If this is not the case, and you are attempting to reinforce your previous assertions of system ownership, I must strongly advise you to reconsider.

He yawned, which his suit was just intelligent enough to filter out of the ship’s comms system. “Paint the Alondrians with a few targeting lasers, they might get the hint. If the pirates or any other forces try to interfere with our operations from orbit, you have permission to engage at will.”

[Ella2 6]

Mercy Mission

Deep Space, The Spiderweb Sector
FED-0002 King-Emperor Athanaric
The Bridge, The Command Deck
Admiral Genovefa

The shadowy void of the warp bubble's domain knew not the gift of light. The eternal darkness surrounded the vessel, isolating her occupants from the comfort of her sister ships. An insight into the primaeval past prior to the sacred birthing of the first stars. A glimpse at a distant and uncertain future far beyond the passing of the stellar age. The void spoke of different times, far beyond the lifespan of the previous trillion or the next trillion Ellian generations. An enduring and immortal spirit telling the tales of aeons long since passed and aeons long to come. The manifestation of time itself.

Genovefa ignored these grim tidings, choosing instead to focus on the exceptional serenity the warp provided. There was precious little activity on the bridge while the vessel's faster-than-light drive was engaged. With the impenetrable warp bubble raised around them, the crew departments were left idle. Engineering monitored the unchanging conditions of the vessel's internal systems. Navigation watched over the unalterable course of the ship's trajectory. An automatic timer would shut down the warp drive upon their arrival. There was simply nothing to do.

The Admiral had taken this opportunity to rest - as had most of the crew. She leaned her head against her fist, her elbow supported by the arm of the command chair. A somewhat brooding complexion consumed her fiery features; her brows creased into a soft frown while her mind retired to the realm of dreams. Her chief officer, an orange-haired girl of similar stature gently laid her hand on her superior's shoulder, rousing her from slumber.

"What is it, Aenor?" She asked, her large red eyes fluttering open for the first time in hours before closing again.

"We're about to arrive in the Spiderweb sector," the commander informed. Genovefa nodded and yawned before sitting up in her command chair, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Disengaging warp drive now."

The dark void receded abruptly as the warp bubble suddenly and violently popped, spontaneously revealing the alien constellations of the Spiderweb sector. The pointed bow of the King-Emperor Athanaric pierced through the gravitational tsunami generated by her own explosive entry, riding on the wave crests that rippled across the fabric. Her sisterships appeared around her in short order, the popping of their warp bubbles echoing on every sensor across the sector. No doubt their arrival had been noticed by all parties in the system. All eyes were on the Ellian fleet.

Just from the warp signatures alone, it was possible to distinguish a total of thirty-four faster-than-light capable craft had entered the system, but an active sensors scan would have exposed the presence of much more vessels. Observation equipment should be able to make out the angular forms of Ellian warships with relative ease. The keen observer may even notice the slight difference in hull shape between the two Ellian task forces with the vessels constituting the Imperial Expeditionary Task Force having a somewhat much more rounded figure compared to the simpler, blockier starcraft of Genovefa's Royal Expeditionary Task Force.

The disparity in vessel composition further distinguished the two groups from each other. While the Eastern forces were simply a group of smaller war junks lead by a much larger warship, the starships of the Royal Starfleet were clearly lead by a dreadnought type warship supported by a smaller carrier and escorted by what was analogous to a group of corvettes or frigates and a squadron of line cruisers.

A train of logistical vessels trailed behind - large civilian craft which more or less abandoned the pretence of compactness in favour of efficiency. A thin cloud of small vessels surrounded this support formation. If the smallest elements of the Royal Expeditionary Task Force were corvettes, then these would classify as cutters - unrated craft not capable of independent faster-than-light traversal. A testament to this fact could be seen as these tiny vessels detached themselves from the very logistical ships they presumably were tasked with defending.

A message was broadcasted by these new arrivals in the closest thing this sector had to a standard - a mixture of trade tongues derived from Ellian, Solarian and Alondran as well as a myriad of lesser known local languages.

Code: Select all

ATTENTION ALL PARTIES. BE ADVISED THAT YOU ARE BEING ADDRESSED BY FORCES OF THE EXPEDITIONARY STARFLEET OF THE FEDERATION OF ELLIAN DORADUS. OUR MISSION IS THE HUMANITARIAN RESCUE AND RETRIEVAL OF CIVILIANS OF THE UNITED WORLDS OF ALONDRA. DO NOT OPPOSE US.