Fantastic!!!

Ahhh the hubris of the scientific mind eh Admiral-another 2 cracking posts looking at yet new angles-you really do know how to keep us readers on our toes mr!

My most sincere apologies to all my loyal readers. RL has seriosuly gotten in the way of this AAR, but as I promised this will not end until I finish the story! To reward your patience here are two updates. cheers mates

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Cherryh System
4th Flotilla
136th Fighter squadron codename Blue
Wing commander Isoroku Nakata commanding

The Navy's fourth Flotilla comprised of the TFS York and Isoroku Nakata's squadron of SF-135 Executors carefully made their way into Drengin space. The flotilla was still escorting the cargo ship Lake Baikal and had yet to encounter enemy activity. This fact had made Nakata ever more careful and alert, something which the captain of the defenseless cargo ship was happy to see . The same could not be said for the rest of the oficers in the flotilla however. The captain of the York had become more and more laid back even as they had entered and were navigating enemy space. The regular Naval reports of the multiple Federation victories had only encouraged his lax behaviour. Nakata had had more than one encouter turn sour as he tried to explain to his superior the importance of drilling and ensuring that the flotilla was combat ready at any time. The men and women serving onboard the York were all honourable servicemen but their commander would lead them to their doom with his incompetence. Of this Nakata was sure.

Worse than that however was the fact that if the York was destroyed it would leave the Lake Baikal relatively undefended. The cargo ship carried important armaments meant to rearm and resupply important units on the stellar front lines.As the Drengin were steadily pushed back Terran supply lines got longer and more complicated to navigate. It was important for the success of the war effort that Federation vessels were constantly supplied. Furthermore the Stellar Marine Corp also required vast amounts of supplies and munitions to effectively control captured Drengin planets. Reports from these worlds indicated that the Drengin were fiercly resisting the marines trying to occupy and control them. Even the liberated planets which had defected were tough to regain control of. The Drengin had spent years setting up their spy network across these planets and as a result their resistance was well coordinated. Luckily the local human populace joined in on the effort and many volunteered to join the stellar corp and help fight the evil beings who had imprisoned them and forced them into slavey.

"Blue six this is Blue lead"

"Blue lead this is six."

"Issam the York's drifted out of formation again." Nakata sighed "see if you can't swing by close and signal them to reform."

"You got it sir. Blue six out."

Nakata had stuck to protocol and was keeping his squadron in loose formation around the lake Baikal. The York on the other hand continuously slipped in and out of formation leaving the upper left flank completely undefended. Nakata had only narrowly managed to convince her captain that his defensive formation was best to keep the flotilla as safe and battle ready as possible. He hadn't expected her crew to be so undisciplined however, not that that was the crew's fault...

Nakata had done his best to keep his squadron sharp and ready for anything. Every pilot had an hour of simulation to complete twice a day with the results uploaded directly to Nakata's onboard computer where he could review and assess his men's readyness. Any pilot who fell behind was reprimanded, and while Nakata couldn't exactly replace a pilot at will in such circumstances nobody wanted to be in the wing commander's bad book.

"Blue six to blue lead."

"Go ahead Issam."

"Uhhh sir, the York isn't responding, but I've detected anomolies incoming sir. Defenitely not Federation signatures."

Nakata's blood turned to ice.

"Issam get back in formation. Blue squadron this is blue leader. Heads up everyone we've got possible incoming."

A chorus of affirmatives flooded Nakata's comm as he opened a direct channel to the York.

"Captain, I strongly suggest that you get your ship back into position. My men have detected incoming hostile warp signatures."

The response came a maddening ten seconds later. The captain sounded like he had just woken up.

"Are you sure Isoroku? My scanners haven't picked up anything."

"Sir, have you tried all of your frequencies? it's possible your scanners simply aren't configurated to the right degree." Nakate responded in the same tone a frustrated mother would to a child

"Hold on Isoroku I'll get my men on it." and with that the captain closed the comm link.

Nakata was infuriated that he had closed the comm and was taking this lightheartedly. "Blue lead to blue squadron. Code red gentlemen."

Technically Nakata had no right to set his squadron status to code red. On red not only were targeting systems on and weapons armed, but the safeties were off as well. Only the unit's commander could call for code red, and though Nakata was wing commander of the fighter squadron the unit commander was the fleet commander. The captain of the York in this case. Nakata's men paid no attention to detail luckily and all were at code red status within seconds.

Nakata's comm chimed in. "Blue Lead this is blue six. Hostile ships are confirmed. Looks like we're about to get a taste of Drengin steel sir. Multiple fighters incoming, we're greatly outnumbered."

Nakata turned his head to get a better view of the York. She was still out of position. A huge hole needed to be plugged on the left flank and she her captain was too incompetent to notice it.

His comm chimed in again "Isoroku, just what the hell do you think you're doing. Tell your men to stand down I issued no order for code red."

"Have your sensors detected the hostile crafts sir?"

"My men are still working on it, until then..."

Nakata cut him off "I'm sending you the proper specs sir. In the meantime I must urge you once again to get York back in its proper position in order to best protect the cargo ship...sir" He always found it hard to use proper military etiquette with the fleet commander.

"I am in command of this Flotilla not you. Tell your men to stand down!"

Nakata had heard enough. He cut off the comm link.

"Blue lead to blue squadron. Tighten up the perimeter around the lake Baikal."

Nakata knew that with mass driver technology mounted on their warships, the Drengin fighters would have to come as close as possible to the Federation ships in order to maximize their combat effectiveness. On the other hand Nakata's fighers, and the York he hoped, would have to try and keep the Drengin at bay with precise missile salvos. If the York's crew performed well she would be a valuable asset during the battle. Her many missile ports would be deadly against the enemy fighters, but the York was still not at action stations.

Nakata watched on his HUD as his squadron closed their distance with the cargo ship. Suddenly an alarm sounded indicating enemy ships within spatial vicinity. Nakata drew in a long breath and let it out slowly calming himself down before what was to come. Issam had been correct. They were vastly outnumbered. He thought back to the massacre of Kupe IV in which four entire squadrons of Helix-Bs had been completely decimated by an inferior Drengin force. The brave pilots that day had without a doubt fought fiercely to destroy their opponents but in the end their effort had not been sufficient. He knew his newer Executor fighter was better armed to face what was about to happen, but he still had trouble shaking that feeling of dread nagging at the back of his mind like an itchy bug bite. 

"Blue lead this is York we've just detected a large force incoming from vector two one seven, Fleet actual orders you and your men to form a defensive wall formation to defend our rear."

Nakata could hardly believe what he was hearing. Reorganizing his entire squadron into a new defensive position would take time, and the defensive position ordered left the Lake Baikal incredibly vulnerable.

"York this is Blue lead. Say again."

"Wall formation behind the York Isoroku! we must be covered while our ship gets into proper position." The captain of the York responded. The fact that he had responded at least meant that he was on the bridge with his officers and in a better position to assess the situation. He was still making unintelligent decisions however.

"Sir with all due respect that position leaves the cargo ship pratcially undefended. it won't take long for the Drengin to figure that out. Don't forget they outnuber us almost four to one in terms of fighters. Leaving me to deal with that many enemies at once doesn't even the odds in our favour at all." Nakata replied.

"Goddamn it Isoroku stop questioning my orders and start carrying them out!"

Nakata breathed a string of silent curses.

"Blue squadron this is Blue lead wall formation at position two one seven on the York's stern."

He received a number of puzzled affirmations and some pilots asked him to repeat. Apparently they couldn't quite believe the orders either.

"Just do it! Fire at will as soon as your ships are in position and the bastards are within range"

Nakata checked his HUD. Only forty seconds left until the Drengin fighters were within firing distance. His squadron would never be in position in that much time meaning he wouldn't be able to maximize his weapons efficiency by firing as many interdiction missiles as possible.

Nakata checked out his cockpit to locate the York's position. She was still a ways away and not in a good spot to provide cover for the freighter.

"York this is Blue lead. I strongly reccomend you close your distance to the Lake Baikal as soon as possible. Drengin fighters will be reluctant to engage the freighter if they see you anywhere near it."

"Blue lead this is York. Isoroku if you attempt to dictate orders to me one more time I'll have you court martialed is that clear!? Carry out your orders and..."

Isoroku cut him off again and this time he was yelling. "Sir with all due respect you are not giving this situation the full attention you should. We have four squadrons of enemy fighters incoming and all you can think of is the chain of command! How about thinking about the lives of your servicemen onboard your ship, and while you're at it how about thinking about my men who are about to eat a plate full of shit thanks to your incompetence. Buck up sir! For god's sake they're only fifteen seconds out and your own ship doesn't even have a proper firing solution"

The silence that followed seemed to last an eternity

"You have your orders Isoroku. We'll talk after."

Isoroku watched as the York completed her turnabout face and checked his Hud. The Drengin had just entered firing range. Nakata suddenly saw eight salvos of four semi-guided rockets fire off in the distance towards the Drengin fighters. Eight out of twelve ships. Not bad at all. They were currently performing better than during their week's training exercises. Nakata was proud of his squadron, and he hoped they would perform their best on the day's battle. They would have to or they would all be space dust by the end of it.

Another minute went by as the Drengin raced to close the distance between themselves and their Human opponents. Within that minute all Federation ships were in position. The positioning resembled this; First was Nakata's squadron of twelve SF-135 Executors in an equally spaced wall safeguarding the York. The ships faced the Drengin fighters but their engines were full astern. This would keep their noses and the majority of their weapon banks pointed towards the hostile crafts while keeping the gap as wide as possible between them. The Lake Baikal had her stern pointed towards the enemy and was racing to enter the position rear of the York to give herself maximum coverage, but she was still far underneath the Federation frigate and quite vulnerable. Though the engines of the Navy warships were at full astern they could not match the speed of the Dregin fighters speeding towards them. Thus the enemy was gradually closing in.

"Blue lead this is blue six. You got a lock on their position sir?"

"Roger Issam. This guy isn't a regular bloke. He's countering our defensive position."

Blue Squadron watched as the Drengin fighters rearanged their formation. Quickly and efficiently they settled into a perfect square formation. Each of the four squadrons positioned at the square's corner. Isoroku winced, this would much tougher than he had hoped. Whoever was commanding the enemy unit was very knowledgeable in the art of war. With their current formation they would swallow the Federation units whole.

"On my mark fire interdiction salvo to coordinates currently downloading to your computers."

Nakata ordered his squadron to fire and at once plumes of smoke shot out of each of the twelve fighters towards the enemy formation. If Nakata could refuse them entry to the outside corridors and keep them bottled up in the middle it would give them the best chance of victory. The York would have a turkey shoot offered to their gunnery officers by keeping the Drengin ships bottled together. Nakata only hoped her captain wouldn't be so blind as to miss the opportunity.

The Drengin ships were closing fast and would be within their firing range soon. As soon as that happened Nakata would have no choice but to abandon his position and engage in a wild dogfight to keep the enemy fighters away from the Lake Baikal. He was willing to disobey direct orders from the York to ensure the cargo ship's survival. As the interdiction salvo reached the enemy figthers Nakata watched as most of them easily dodged the incoming missiles. Three of the four squadrons clumsily moved into the middle of the square formation. Perfect, thought Nakata. One, however, moved with expert precision to dodge the missiles and ended in a position beneath the square and their compatriots. Nakata knew at once that he was up against an ace. Not only was the squadron not in the middle mess with the other Drengin fighters but he had positioned himself perfectly to strike at the Lake Baikal. Nakata's HUD suddenly flashed red. Nuclear launch detected. Nakata drew in a sharp breath before realising the launch was from York. Well well, someone finally realized the dire situation they were in. Nakata was happy to see that the opportunity given to York was not lost on her incompetent captain. Nakata watched the warhead race past his ship and shoot towards the massed Drengin fighters. If this worked the odds would be evened somewhat.

Suddenly an explosion to Nakata's right lit up his cockpit.

"Holy shit they just hit blue three"

The Drengin were within firing range. Nakata cursed. He would have wanted to engage the fighters as soon as that happened, but the nuclear warhead had not yet reached the enemy and thus had not exploded. Nakata couldn't risk getting his ships closer or they would be torn apart in the blast.

"Blue lead this is Lake Baikal. Request immediate assistance, we're taking fire.!"

Nakata gripped his controls tighter. everything was happening too fast and he needed to take a decision. The enemy squadron that had escaped the interdiction rockets was attacking the cargo ship and unless he did something about it the brave merchant mariners would perish.

"Blue lead to blue squadron break off formation and engage fighters around the Lake Baikal. We need to keep all enemies away from her. Full ahead forward. Hit it boys."

Nakata's ships came to a sudden halt and then lurched forward as he reversed his course to reach the vulnerable cargo ship.

"Blue lead this is York. Isoroku just what the hell do you think you're doing! Get back in position!"

"Sir I cannot obey that order while the defenseless ship is under attack. They'll all be dead in less than a minute if I don't intervene."

"Isoroku goddamn it you listen to me boy. There are always casualties in war, such is the nature of the beast you can't escape it and you can't help it. Now I gave you a direct order goddamn it and you will obey it."

"Sir I cannot."

"You damn Jap listen to me. I Order you to return to position. They're already under attack you can't help them! Besides they're guild boys."

"For chirst's sake sir they're Human beings. You've lost your mind..."

A blinding flash cut off Nakata's sentence as the nuclear warhead detonated. He checked his HUD and saw that at least half of the Drengin figthers in the remaining three squadrons had been destroyed by the blast.

"There you go sir the odds are now in your favour. If you can't handle what's coming at you with your superior frigate then I'm ashamed of the Navy for ever accepting you into its ranks. Blue lead out." and with that Nakata blocked all incoming comm traffic from the York.

The real business of defending the Lake Baikal was about to begin.

"I just want all of you to know that I'm extremely proud of each and every one of you and it's been an honour to have been your commanding officer." Nakata transmitted to his squadron. "Some of us may not get out of this alive, but know that every sacrifice you make brings us closer to victory. Aim true and let your instincts and training guide you. Good luck to all."

Blue squadron and the Drengin elite fighters finally met in open space combat. The ships weaved in and out of each other's way as they met and rapid gun fire shot out of every availabe weapon port as the Human and Drengin opponents attempted to destroy each other.

"Remember the priority is to keep their fire away from Lake Baikal." Nakata shouted to his men as he let loose two computer assist guided missiles at an enemy ship. The Drengin fighter released a cloud of chaff to disorient the missiles. One of them exploded but the other flew straight through the explosion and the chaff and continued after its target. Isoroku's fighter followed on its tail. Nakata watched as the missile got closer and closer to his target, and then something only very few beings could succesfully execute happened. The enemy ship did a perfect one eighty and let loose a perfectly aimed burst at the missile knocking it out of commission. Nakata gasped at the perfectly executed manouever and froze for a second. In a dogfight the slightest hesitation can mean life or death and Nakata was quickly reminded of it. His ship shook and made a gruesome noise as an enemy fighter strafed his ship. Dammit! thought Nakata, Keep moving. His HUD indicated slight damage to his right wing and rear cockpit area. He was saved when he saw the ship that had strafed him explode as a missile hit it perfeclty on its six.

"WOOOHOOOOO HAHA, got ya you sonuvabitch." yelled Issam. "You owe me one sir!"

Nakata smiled, but it faded quickly. The ship he had been following, the one that made the perfect manouever, was still facing Nakata. Presently it shot forward and raced after Issam who had just saved Nakata's life. Crap, thought Nakata. He lurched his own ship forward and raced after his enemy. Like a true good wingman, Nakata was tryign to cover Issam by gaining on the ship follwing him. Havoc wreaked around him as Human and Drengin fighters engaged in ferocious dogfighting. Nakata pushed his ship to the maximum and engaged in many tight turns and rolls to stay on the Drengin's six.

"Dammit sir I can't loose him. AHH. Shit he juust hit my targetting system."

Nakata watched helplessly. He wasn't in a good enough position for cannon fire and the ships were engaging in too many tight manouvers to get a good lock for a missile shot. All he could do was attempt to close the distance with his nemesis and get a good shot in. Until then Issam did his best to lose the ace, but he was getting chewed up.

"This is blue six... arghhhh..."

Nakata looked on. Issam was flying admirably and the g's his fighter was puling would have knocked unconscious any other man not as dedicated as he. Yet the Drengin fighter still stayed close on his tail and continued to fire at him.

"Dammit. There go the engines. Steering unresponsive. Im toast... Ejecting"

Issam's cockpit window blew out as a stream of rocket fire ejected him and his seat out of the fighter. Under any regular cirumstances when a pilot manages to disable an enemy to the point where he must eject it is considered a kill and he can be satisfied with that. This Drengin, however, was not. Nakata watched in horror as the enemy ship let loose a barage of fire in the direction of Issam's ejected seat. The bullets ripped through seat and body alike and shred them both like paper. Issam, after fighting valiantly and to the bitter end of his ship's capabilities, was dead by nothing less than gruesome murder.

Nakata attempted to contain his seething rage, but quickly lost his composure. He opened his comm link to all available channels knowing his nemesis would hear him.

"I thought the Drengin fought with honour. Is that not what you were taught from the day you came out of the womb of that whore you call a mother. You may fly well murdurer, but I will find you before the end of this. I will find you and I will kill you. I will find which world you are from and turn it into a smoldering pile of ash. You will regret your actions dearly you wortless kar'pa"

Nakata had studied the Drengin culture extensively to gain a better understanding of his enemy. He knew that within their caste system a kar'pa was the lowest of the low. They were not to be touched let alone looked at and their life was filled with miserably hard labour, all for the glory of the House of course.

Nakata received a low grumbling laugh in response. "Come and get me human."

Nakata also knew enough to recognize the unique colours of this elite squadron. The purple and red streaks painted on the fighters indicated that these were not regular pilots of the Imperial Navy, but rather an honour guard for a specific House within the Empire. Nakata finally realized that this was the personal guard for the Prince of Vire, one of the major Houses of the Imperial unification. The pilot who had murdered poor Issam was none other than the Prince himself. Just one more reason to make him pay, thought Nakata.

Incoming fire directed at his ship brought him back to the present in an instant. Nakata lurched his ship forward but the Prince had already disappeared in the frenzy of the dogfight. The fight was lasting too long for Nakata's taste. He knew that at some point York would probably need help dealing with the three other squadrons even if their numbers had been severely reduced. As soon as they realized that Blue squadron was tied up good in the dogfight some of them would undoubtedly go after Lake Baikal. Nakata was running out of time. Though the cargo ship had managed to escape the wrath of the elite Drengin unit thanks to Nakata's intervention it was still vulnerable.

Nakata piloted his ship with unmatched fervor and determination to destroy every last Drengin. His heart was swollen with anger and a lust for revenge. He dodged enemy fire and utilized every weapon at his disposition with expert ease. Within five minutes he downed three crafts to himself. The tide of the battle was turning in the Federation's favour. He coordinated his attacks with the members of his squadron who reacted perfectly to his every move thanks to hours of constant training and mock battle excercises. Still, he could not find the Prince. He checked his HUD and discovered to his horror a single enemy ship gaining on Lake Baikal who was desperately attempting to spool her hyperdrive engines to engage in an emergency jump. Prior to entering Drengin space, thanks to Nakata's suggestion, the cargo ship was given a set of coordinates to jump to in case of an ambush. Nakata's insight had proven correct, but because of the fleet commander's incompetence the order to spool jump engines had not been given in time. Thus Lake Baikal directed much of her power to impulse engines to escape the Drengin fighters attempting to pester her like insects on a horse, instead of staying put and spooling up her hyperdrive.

Nakata turned his ship in her direction and pushed his Executor to full speed leaving his squadron behind. He knew he couldn't stay in the dogfight much longer with an enemy hot on Lake Baikal's trail. Further above the cargo ship York was feverishly engaging the remaining Drengin fighters. To Nakata's surprise York was doing a good job of keepign the figthers busy and away from the cargo ship as well. The captain had assertained that he could not risk letting any of the fighters out of his missile range and was engaging them instead close range with his triple A batteries usually destined to destroy incoming missiles. Any fighter who chose to disengage and risk a run at the cargo ship would hence be followed by a flurry of AI-assist guidance missiles shot from York's many missile ports. Not something to be triffled with.

Nakata was pleased to see that his ship was gaining on the Drengin and was even more pleased to see that the lone enemy was the Prince of Vire. Revenge would be his. His only crucial error was in determining the weapons loadout on the enemy ship. Suddenly and without warning a single canister left the underbelly of the enemy fighter and raced towards the cargo ship. An antimatter torpedo! Nakata let out a moan as he attempted to open a channel to the cargo ship. There was too much interference in the area and no secure channel could be opened. He watched helplessly the tropedo gain closer and closer to its target. The cargo ship never even had time to launch escape pods. The tropedo reached the ship and immediately detonated. The first phase of the detonation burned so intensely that a clear hole was cute lean through the exterior hull plating as matter was disintegrated. The secondary phase ignited every particle of Oxygen withing the ship's atmosphere lighting up an unimaginable inferno. Within five secodns the ship was nothing but a burned out lifeless hulk. Nakata could do nothing but watch as it all happened. He felt responsible for the loss of the ship. He had to right the wrong somehow.

His eyes filled with tears at the tragedy he had just witnessed, Nakata surged towards his enemy. He watched on his HUD as the enemy ship passed behind the hulk of the Lake Baikal where suddenly it disappeared. Not just from view because it was on the other side, but from all sensor readings as well. His fusion signature could not be located. Nakata frowned and swore at his sensors. Surely they had been damaged when he had been strafed. He brought his ship close to the dead cargo ship and swung around her port side where the enemy had disappeared. There was still no ship. Sweat began to bead on his forehead. Where had he gone? Nakata continued his flight and decided to swing around the bow and do another pass on the starboard side. Perhaps the Prince wished to play a game of cat and mouse. Sadly for Nakata, he was mistaken. His HUD suddenly light up as warnigns of all sorts flashed before him. An enemy ship had been deteced on his direct six not five hundreds yards away. Nakata was frozen by surprise. The Prince had clamped his ship to the hulk and turned off all systems. When Nakata had passed by attempting to chase him all he had to do was unclamp and emergency boot his systems.

Nakata closed his eyes as impact after impact slowly tore his fighter apart. The enemy was much too close to attempt to shake him, and much too skilled at combat fighting anyhow. Nakata had been outsmarted.

His last thoughts turned to his celestial surroundings. He had always liked the stars.

Superb-an epic update Admiral. Sadly I see this story coming to a close sometime soon

I won't be giving anything away, but though this story may be coming at an end soon rest assured the saga is far from over.

update in a few

Kona
Drengia system
Homeworld of the Drengin Empire
Fiefdom of the House of Kona


Major Matco huddled in the cave that had served as his protective enclave for the past week. The outisde humidity made it warm and uncomfortable inside his Tir-Quan armoured suit. His suit sensors detected multiple hostile lifeforms in the vicinity and he had no choice but to remain as still as possible inside the cave. The nightmares of the previous two weeks still haunted him even when he was awake. He tried to sleep as much as possible, but the death and misery stopped sleep from ever allowing him to rest properly.

Minimal resistance they had said. The crowning achievement of the war effort thus far. The complete subjugation of the Drengia system and the subsequent break of the enemy's will to continue the fight. They hadn't counted on the fifteen million veteran and seasoned Drendin soldiers awaiting the invaders with the fanatical will to protect the Emperor, and to die a beautiful death should that be their fate.

The whole operation had started with all the fanfare deserving of great military operations. For Matco however it had started a whole year earlier. After his succesfull command of his unit during the liberation of Weber III he had been reccomended by his superior officers for a transfer to a whole new brach of the armed forces. Matco at first was reluctant when he heard that it would entail a full year at a specially built academy. Once he realized the unique chance he was being given he accepted and was on his way to Earth to attend the newly created Tir-Quan academy.

The year had passed quickly with each week filled with different exercises and academic tests to ensure the cadets' profficiency at all at times. Math, logic, geometry, weapons training, ship command training, hand to hand combat, and meditation were among the many facets of the full training schedule. No matter what the rank of the candidate outside the academy prior to entry, everyone was a cadet on the inside. Free time amounted to half an hour a day. The cadets were awake prior to sun-up and asleep long after sun-down. The lack of sleep and the major physical demands exerted on the cadets wore some of them down and the academy had no choice but to expell some of its cadets who could not keep up the pace. At the end of the trainign cycle the cadets were meant to become the single most effective fighting force ever created in the history of Mankind.

Matco had graduated with high honours. At the ceremony just prior to the launch of operation "Final Judgement", meant to strike the decisive blow and conquer the Drengia system, Commodore Bradshaw himself had shook his hand, looked him dead in the eye, and let him know of the confidance he had in him and his fighting force to succeed in their mission.

At the moment Matco looked back on the moment and let out a sarcastic sigh. Though desperation was stricly forbidden and eac Tir-Quan graduate never allowed it to take hold in the back of their minds, Matco failed in his fight to push the feeling out of his head.

The long voyage to Drengia from Earth had passed smoothly. The heavy transport encountered no enemies thanks to the heavy Federation Naval presence within the Drengin home system. During the voyage the entire Tir-Quan contingency aboard the transport were put in stasis. During his time in stasis Matco's mind was plugged to thoughtrodes and his subconscious was filled with images of victorious fighting, Tir-Quan tactics, and Tir-Quan dogma. When he awoke and stepped out of his stasis chamber, it was as if he had just studied for a hundred different exams at once and the entire information was still fresh in his mind. His body was pumped with stimulants and the finest example of soldiering was born.

As he and his unit cramped into the dropship no one said a word. They had all stared at each other and they all knew what each one was thinking. They all had a mission to accomplish and they would use their training and superior force and firepower to successfully complete it.

Now they were all dead.

Matco and his Tir-Quan unit during the invasion of Kona

As soon as the dropships entered Kona's atmosphere the problems started. FISA (Federation Intelligence and Security Agency) had ensured Naval officials that the drengin military was overstretched and there was only a skeletal force left on the planet. They hadn't counted on the fanatical will of the drengin to protect the Empire and especially their homeworld. Would it had been any different had the situation been reversed? Matco didn't think so.

The dropship had immediately taken heavy AA fire and had thus been forced to overshoot the drop zone. The Federation had deployed several Harvard frigates to dispose of the AA fire and atmospheric crafts desperately defending the airspace. All three had taken heavy damage and had been forced to escape back the safety of low orbit over the planet. The dropships that had managed to safely unload their human cargoes were few. Almost a third of the invasion force was lost in the initial landing. Any man who would not have undergone the rigourous Tir-Quan training would have been horrified upon getting out of the remaining dropships. It was almost as if the Drengin had known where the DZs had been planned. As soon as the doors had opened super-rapid fire had ripped through the Tir-Quan battle suits of many of his comrades and dropped them dead in an instant.

After an hour of intense and bloody battle the contingent had managed to secure a beachead, but not before witnessing the many horrors of war. After Matco and his battalion had secured the DZ and pushed the Drengin out of the surrounding hills, the reinforcements of regular Stellar Marines had arrived. The Stellar Marine Corp was a formidable unit and the regular marine was not a soldier to be triffled with. Nevertheless within four days they were all dead.

Now Matco was alone on the enemy's homeworld and using all of his survival training to escape death's grip. He had found a cave in the hills near the DZ, the initial landing gains were all the humans ever accomplished to secure, and had been hiding there for two days now. His state of the art battle suit allowed him to communicate with the Navy's fleet in orbit above Kona, but they could not send anyone to bring him out. Kona had been nothing less than a hive of furious wasps and the Navy had acted on bad information.

Matco had evaded Drengin numerous Drengin patrols in the area, electing not to kill them so as to hide the fact that somewhere in the hills there was still a human. The Drengin would show no mercy. He sat alone with his secure frequency beacon transmitting his position to the orbiting fleet. He had already abandonned his hopes that the Navy would send in a fast rescue ship. His wits and his training were the only things he could count on.

He wasn't counting on the sounds of Drengin soldiers coming nearer and nearer to his position. Matco strained his ears...There was no mistaking it. Drengin soldiers were without a doubt approaching his hideout. Matco clicked into combat mode and prepared himself for the worst. Though the average Drengin stood two feet taller and weighed quite a bit more, Matco was specifically trained for hand to hand combat with his behemoth foes. His battle suit amplified his movements and his strenght. Matco racked his brain to try and figure out how the enemy had found his spot. Inside his battlesuit he calmed his breathing and...HIS BATTLESUIT!

How could he be so stupid as to forget the power signature his battlesuit was generating. Matco's mind went into high gear as he tought of a way to outdo his enemies. He immediately started the detachment sequence of his battlesuit. The heavy suit took approximately two minutes to gear up. The suit itself was able to attach and detach itself to its personnal user only. Therefore only Tir-Quan graduates ever wore the suit and anyone else attemtping to tamper with a Tir-Quan battlesuit would quickly discover the automated self-destruct system.

The suit hummed and hissed as it detached itself from Matco's body. He was taking a chance. Without his suit he was unable to lift and properly utilize his TR-82 battlerifle. He would only have his semi-automatic sidearm and his kanvium combat knife. Matco stood still, and as the suit finished detaching itself he stepped out of the boots and holstered his weapons. He then punched in the sequence for the suit to close itself up and to keep all system at maximum operations. The Drengin would find his hiding spot all right. Matco was counting on it. He slipped out of the cave just in time to see the Drengin make their way up the hill. He hid behind a large rock and waited for the bait to work. He went over the steps in his mind. He could not afford a single erroror he would risk alerting the entire guard contingent in the area. Matco stayed behind the rock as the Drengin made their way to the mouth of the cave. He strained his ears and listened carefully. The step patterns told him their were only two guards. Matco smiled, he might even find the way to have a little fun.

He pulled his knife from its sheath and steadied his nerves. His miniature UT in his ear translated every word the clumsy guards were saying. Apparently they had been looking for survivors for the better part of a week systematically executing every single one they found. Matco peaked from behind the rack and he could see the Drengin guards standing at the mouth of cave, weapons unholstered and carefully making their way inside. Time to move.

Matco carefully made his way forward. Making sure he didn't step on any kind of branch or anythign else that would make noise. He was as stealthy as the legendary ninjas. He watched as the guards walked inside.

"The readings come from inside" one whispered to the other.

"The puny Human has no idea what's about to happen."

Matco creeped behind them making no noise at all. He used his training to keep his breath completely equal and his heartbeat at a regular rate.

"HOLD IT! HANDS UP HUMAN!"

The guards had jsut seen the suit.

Matco moved.

His first motion was to slash in a blinding whirwind motion at the achiles heel of the guard to the right with his left hand clockwise. As the guard screamed out in pain and droppedto his knees Matco was completing his 360 turn and bring himself up at the same time. As he completed the final 90 degrees he brought his arm and body up and with a precise blow stabbed the other guard directly in the space between his helmet and armoured vest. Right in the neck. He pulled his knife out and stood over the two fallen guards. He pulled out his silenced semi-automatic and smiled at the one to right who was trying to grab a hold of his rifle and aim at Matco. Matco let him. As the Drengin pulled his rifle up Matco shot three accurate shots in the head. The Drengin's head snapped back and thudded against the cave's floor.

Matco turned his head and looked at the other guard. He was holding his neck where he had been stabbed and was trying to stop the bloodflow. Matco knelt beside him and jsut smiled. Part of his trainign had been to study the anatomy of the Drengin race. Matco had stuck precisely at the main artery bringin blood to his head. He would be dead in less than a minute. Matco didn't even bother wasting his ammunition to take him out of his misery.

Forget his misery.

Matco stepped over the dying body and went to his battlesuit. It was more of a liablity than anything else at the moment. He inputed the code for the self destruct sequence and truned back around. As he stepped back over the body he saw that the Drengin had stopped convulsing. He was dead.

Matco came out of the cave and decided to run. He needed to find a new spot until the next invasion would begin. He had no idea when that was going to be however. As he made his way down the hill a large explosion shot flames and smoke out of the cave that had served for his home and hideout for over a week.

Where in the world have I been!!! sweet jesus its been two months. I realize that I have probably lost the majority of my readers but nevertheless I am keeping my promise, here is the next installement. I am almost doen the one after this so expect another post soon. The story is coming to a close soon...but will the galaxy be a safe place?

cheers guys sorry for the interminable delay.

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High orbit over Marshall IV
Marshall System
Fivel Action Group
Rear-Admiral Latona Vavilov commanding


Captain Sebastien Nolan stared at the perfect image displayed on his flatviewer. The beautiful planet of Marshall IV with its green continents and crystal blue oceans shined like a beacon in the otherwise barren system of Marshall. The Drengin had invested much into the planet making it a hub of industrial activity for the Empire utilizing the ressource rich planet to its full potential. Nolan and the Fivel Action Group were here to take that away from them. To incorporate the planet into the Federation.

Nolan remembered the first time he had ever seen the planet. The very first trade mission established by Humans and Drengin. Back in the begining when peace held so much promise. Back when Nolan had been a Guild pilot. Times had changed.

The war had brough about much change, and at the same time it had only solidified old habits. Mankind was not born to share power. Mankind was not born to finish second. Mankind was not born to be kind. The forces on Marshall IV were about to witness this first hand.

The Fivel Action Group was still completely intact after a full year of warfare. The three ships had undergone full service on Petroni III after expelling all Drengin warships from the Fivel System. The weapons' systems had undergone full retrofit and as such the Damascus class gunships now packed a heavier punch.

A full other Navy fleet awaited at the outskirts of the system should the Fivel Action Group encounter heavy resistance in their mission. Their task was simple; neutralize the orbiting defensive platforms the Drengin had hastily built at the outset of the war. The were especially useful at stopping fighter attacks, but their armaments were of too small caliber to do useful damage to larger ships like the Terran frigates. The same could not be said for dropships however, and therefore they had to be destroyed prior to the arrival of the transports.

"Distanced confirmed by Helios, captain" Dee announced to Nolan on the bridge of the Tripoli.

"Vavilov to units. Open fire." ordered the Vice-Admiral

The turkey shoot that followed could hardly be called a battle. The Fivel Action Group released its Ai guided missiles out of reach of the geostationary orbiting defense platforms and blasted every single one of them.The remains rained down into the atmosphere of Marshall IV where they were reduced to dust before they ever touched the ground. To the innocent ignorant bystander on the ground it looked like nothing less than a beautiful meteor shower.

The Drengin had modified their strategy. Instead of keeping their fighter squadrons in low orbit defending the space around the planet. They prefered to defend the atmospheric airspace of the planet instead. In the airspace the larger, more robust bodies of the Drengin allowed them to support higher Gs than their more fragile Human enemies. In tight atmospheric dogfights therefore, the Drengin had given themselves an advantage.

The Terran Naval units found themselves alone in orbit after getting rid of the defense platforms.

"Me and my crew are ready to go topside Rear-Admiral" Renges, captain of the Tehran, announced over the commline to the commander." We've already deployed atmosheric stabilizers and we're ready to start bombing some lizards back to the stone age."

"Negative Darryl" responded Vavilov. "Orders just came in to sit tight. We're to maintain a tight defensive cordon around the planet. Nothing gets in or out. Full quarantine gentlemen. Anything tries to escape and we kill it."

"Should we commence orbital bombardment procedures sir? I've already got a full list of military coordinates we need to take care of before the dropships get here." Nolan asked.

"Negative captain. These orders come from the Commodore himself. He's on his way to personally oversee the invasion." replied the rear-admiral

Renges whistled over the commline. "Perhaps a special commendation for you eh sir?"

"Don't try to get rid of me so fast Darryl" laughed Vavilov.

A full week passed as the Federation ships maintaining the quarantine shot down a number of Drengin fast scout ships attempting to leave Marshall IV. With their interplanetary communications in shambles the only way the Drengin could effectively communicate was by sending fast courrier ships between systems. An archaic method to say the least, but one that spoke volumes about the efficiency of the Terran war machine. Vavilov attempted to get the governor of the planet, a member of the House of Korath, to surrender and accept terms but was quickly rebuffed. The Korath were the fiercest of all Drengin. Legendary in their fighting ability and notorious for their well known bloodlust. It was no secret that the Korath had been the last Royal House to subdue to the will of unification of the Drengin and to swear allegieance to Torlek Kona, newly crowned Emperor. Some said that the Korath were buying their time to seize the proper opportunity to seceed and rebuild the glory that was once House Korath. The planet had originally been under the charge of the House of Vire, but as war broke out the loyalty of the populace was put in question. The caste system was put under a great deal of stress and threatened to collapse. Furthermore the actual governor of Marshall IV, the heir to House Vire, had gone to war with his personal guard forming one of the deadliest Drengin fighting units. Emperor Kona had no choice but to change the governorship of the planet and put the world under the auspices of the House of Korath.

After the week passed a specially coded message was broadcast to the Federation captains orbiting the planet.

The commander in chief of all Federation armed forces, Commodore Alan Bradshaw, had arrived.

His personal ship, a sleek craft by the name of Aggamemnon II was flanked by none other than two heavy Halifax class Frigates; the Quebec and the Moose Jaw. Bristling with state-of-the-art weaponry both ships were among the deadliest weapons platform known to exist in the galaxy. Accompanying the Commodore were three transports; two Federation heavy transports and a third transport ship that Nolan had never seen before.

"Anyone ever see that type of ship before?" Nolan asked to the rest of the Action Group in a closed commline.

"I haven't the slightest idea, sure it's not some pansy Guild ship Nolan?"

"Shut up Darryl your jokes get old, but I don't expect anyone with the mental capacity of a six year old to be able to come up with new ones." Nolan shot back

Renges was about to make a come back of his own but Vavilov cut him off "Everything will be explained in due time boys. For the time being press your uniforms and look your best. The Commodore has asked for our presence along with our officers at a special briefing aboard his ship. I want you all ready at seventeen hundred and not a second later"

Nolan rushed to his cabin to dress in his splendid white formal Navy uniform. Everyone knew the war was coming at an end with a resounding Terran victory in sight. The Drengin were exhausted and certainly could not have much left in the tank. Nolan wanted to look his best. Besides this was the first time in a year, since he was given comand of the Tripoli, that he would meet with Alan Bradshaw, the man that had snatched him from obscurity. The warrior-philosopher.

The Tripoli docked with Agamemnon II at the appointed time and noted with satisfaction that the Tehran had not yet entered close orbit with Bradshaw's ship indicating that Renges would probably be late as usual. That man knew how to command a ship in battle, but lacked in the finer points of of what it meant to be a captain of a Galactic Navy warship.

Once the docking complete the Tripoli cast off from Bradshaw's ship and entered close orbit around it, guarded closely by the two impressive Halifax class ships.

When everyone was assembled in the spacious briefing room Bradshaw welcomed them all.

"I want to first and foremost thank and congratulate you all for the fine work you have accomplished. Thanks to the determined efforts of each of you and under the guidance of one of the finest officers in the navy you have succeeded in completing every objective given to you by my high command. You have, by and large, done this with minimal losses and that is extremely commendable. You have joined with your compatriots in sweeping aside the Drengin menace and thanks to your continued efforts we are on the verge of victory. The Federation has, over the past two years, given itself entirely to the policy of total war. Such a concept is not usually accepted by the people, but your unending string of decisive victories have kept the people on board. It goes without saying, however, that no war is without casualties. When young men return home in caskets and small towns mourn their dead it falls upon me as commander in chief to try and save lives wherever possible. But not at the price of victory."

Bradshaw snapped his fingers and a paige entered stepped up form behind. He went around the table distributing holo-folders. As each captain around the table punched on his holo-folder a bright red message appeared. TOP SECRET. Certain people looked around with a mixed look of surprise and speculation on their faces.

Bradshaw continued. "The holo-folder you've all just received explains in better detail the latest attempt at solving this dilemma. The same dillemma that has riddled all competent commanders in all of the wars that has plagued Mankind's history. Prior to his disappearance, and suspected death..." Bradshaw flinched and allowed his emotions to show for just a spilt second. Nolan wondered if anyone else had noticed it. "Doctor Juan Lebedev had been working on a way to perfect his Helios AI. In an attempt to save lives and continue to help humanity, as is its prime function, Lebedev instilled in his latest AI patch an affinity for strategies of war and tactical battle scenarios. In every single test run the AI performed extremely well at maximizing efficiency while in command of speculative battle units. We can obviously understand the reluctance of putting an AI in charge of a battalion of Human Marines, so why not create machine marines. "

A smile formed on Bradshaw's face. He now had the attention of everyone around the table.

"This is a top secret project for a particular reason. The project is still in its test phases. Tommorrow we begin planetfall operations. The Fivel Action group, along with support from the eight fleet will begin orbital bombardments of top priority military assets planetside. Then we send in the mechs." Bradshaw looked liked a child on christmas eve, as eager to try out the latest toy.

"Every single battle mech is linked via internal comm systems to the Avatar, the commanding mech on the ground. The Avatar is the unit housing the actual Helios AI. Through the Avatar decisions will be made in split seconds taking in every single consideration of the battles raging planetwide. The Avatar will be able to asses where top priorities should be met with top ressources." Bradshaw took a second to let all of the information sink in. many around the table were reading their holo-folders.

"I know what some of you may be thinking. I want to reasure you that in all initial tests the Helios AI has performed well beyond expectations." Bradshaw allowed himself a chuckle "It's almost as if the thing likes being in command!" He allowed himself to laugh some more. Some around the table started to laugh as well. Nolan knew they were doing it just to follow what their Commodore was doing. He also knew that the Commodore did not appreciate such things. He especially had his doubts about this project.

His voice rose above the laughter and congratulations about the project. "Sir. Sir if I may have my say." He waited until Bradshaw acknowledged him.

"Mr. Nolan please. Of course"

"Sir. You once told me long ago that in order to rule effectively you couldn't have a bunch of yes men surronding you. Now whether you command a Navy or a political situation I believe that saying to be true. I must therefore, respectfully, inform you that I for one am not comfortable with this idea."

The table fell silent. Vavilov smiled. She had spent much of her time grooming Nolan into a competent captain. Part of that meant being able to disagree even with your commanding officer.

"Though I cannot complain at all about how my Helios unit onboard the Tripoli has functioned I believe the two situations, that of aiding a ship captain navigate and manage his ship, and that of being in charge of battalions of troops, simply too disparate to be effectively completed by the same AI. In my opinion it gives the AI the opportunity to be efficient at too many tasks and in time completely eliminates the use of the human mind."

"I understand your worries. Rest assured however, that having an AI construct capable of successfully completing as many tasks as possible has become a priority for the Navy. This allows us to save lives at the expense of intricate machines. Furthermore should this final test prove successfull we will substantially boost our economy. Imagine the flood of people we will require to build our armies of battle mechs " Bradshaw smiled and allowed another small laugh to emenate "...or mini-soldiers, as I like to call them. We will not only be saving lives, we will be creating jobs. Mankind has always had an affinity for war, now we no longer need to fight them ourselves. Now I'm not saying eliminate the regular soldier altogether. Of course we will always have the need for human soldiers, in fact six divisions of Stellar Marines will be dropping planetside after the initial mini-soldier landing." Bradshaw reminded all around the table.

"Why not send in a Tir-Quan regiment. As I understand it a simple regiment of Tir-Quan forces is worth more than a handful of regular marine divisions." Nolan interjected.

Next to Bradshaw was the general of the 56th 'Martian Helldevils' Marine Division, one of the unit set to drop after the battlemechs. He scowled at Nolan and gave him a look that would have terrified and subdued a kodiak bear.

Bradshaw also gave Nolan a look, but it was more one of hurt and resentment. "Unfortunately, our active Tir-Quan force was destroyed in the invasion of Kona. It will be a while before any more Tir-Quan academics are ready to graduate." Bradshaw now looked impatient. Nolan had struck a very delicate cord.

"Any more questions?"

Nolan felt like continuing the debate, but decided not to. Perhaps Alan was right. If this could save lives then why even bother sending in good young boys to die. It's not like a machine had feelings anyways. When no one else got up to say anything Nolan stayed seated.

"Excellent, all relevant tactical data will be downloaded to your onboard systems for tommorrow's action. My commline is always open if anyone has questions about their objectives. Good luck captains."

Everyone around the table thanked Bradshaw and got up to make for the docking bay where a shuttle would take them back to their respective ships.

"Mr. Nolan if you would please stay behind." called Bradshaw.

Nolan's stomach tightened. Was Bradshaw about to verbally lynch him for speaking out against what seemed like a fail safe plan? The Commodore had always been a man of principle. Surely he couldn't actually be angry because Nolan had spoken to defend his values? When everyone left the room Bradshaw motioned for Nolan to sit down.

"Sebastien. You've come a long way since the very first time we met. When you were just a ragtag courrier with a bucket of bolts for a ship."

"You better watch what you say about my Persephone" Nolan joked.

Bradshaw shrugged off the comment and kept his serious tone "You showed great initiative back then. Getting that sample back to Phobos the way you did was nothing short of genius. You were a highly respected captain in the Guild, though Xavier would never admit it." He spat out the last words with disgust. Clearly the two men, Xavier Corrin head of the Guild, and Alan Bradshaw ex-Prime Magistrate of the Terran Federation, had lost much respect for each other. On one hand the Guild unilaterally kept increasing taxes on merchant marine trade, and virtually all trade went through the Guild. On the other hand Bradshaw had to work in conjunction with Guild shipments in order to keep his troops continuously supplied. That was just the beggining.

"I need your help with something quite sensitive and once again... top secret."

Nolan laughed "Just how many secrets do you have sir?"

Bradshaw wasn't laughing "You don't want to know."

He continued "Six months ago a Guild freighter on a routine run, the Lake Victoria, was sent off course when it got too close to a class six astroid during hyperspace travel. When they finally stabilized their flight and exited hyperspace to run diagnostics on their systems they emerged in an unknown system. Since there was no Echelon sattelite available nearby they could not report their findings right away. They decided to run a quick scan of the planet." Bradshaw paused for a bit "Not only was it a grade M planet, it was above class fifteen."

Nolan whistled his amazement and asked "What's the name of this place? Sure sounds like a nice place to retire"

"That's where it gets messy. According to my intel the Lake Victoria never even bothered to finish their run. I know this because a very important supply of Kanvium was onboard that ship. It belonged to the Navy and it never got to destination. Under all of Xavier's lies I finally managed to uncover the mystery. The Lake Victoria returned to Athena, home of the Guild, and the captain, a man by the name of Altair, reported his findings to Corrin personally.

Now under Federation law colonization of a planet used to be under military jurisdiction. Of course in a time of peace one can see the problem this causes. Furthermore, there's something about colonizing a planet and a fresh start that citizens don't seem to want to associate with the military. Anyway, it just so happens that six months ago ex-prime magistrate Howard Anderson passed the revision on that law. Colonization now became an open matter. Rather than have a specific organization or branch of the government in charge of colonizing new planets, Anderson allowed any consortium that fell under strict guidelines and regulations to colonize a planet. Of course to do so would mean one would have to have not only the facilities to build a colony ship, but the ability to fund such a project. Nobody but the Navy has either of these things...except the Guild."

Bradshaw continued "I managed to get a FISA agent infiltrated into the Guild and within two months he had been admitted into a certain classified project the Guild was undertaking. Usually all Guild affairs are public since they tax the populace, thefore the mere existence of a classified project was illegal. I decided to allow it to continue in order for my agent to gain as much information as possible. Besides even if part of the project was uncovered and released to the media they would no doubt find a way to deflect the attention. Xavier Corrin is an able bureaucrat, and thus an expert liar. Anyways, not long after his admittance to the project I began receiving intel that the Guild was well underway with colonizing the said planet. They named the planet after the captain of the Lake Victoria Jonathan Altair. I crosschecked the references and I found that within the past six months Guild membership has been up almost ten percent. An unprecedented rise since the beginning of hyperspace travel. Moreover, it simply makes no sense to admit so many new members. Since the start of the war Guild traffic decreased quite dramatically with Drengin marauders taking potshots at undefended freighters and all foreign trade suspended. That leaves only one option, the Guild are colonizing Altair at an unprecendented speed with the intention of formulating a rival power to the Federation."

Nolan wasn't so sure "The Guild has no weapons, no combat ships, and no soldiers. How do you expect them to ever rival with the Navy?"

Bradshaw responded "At any one time the Guild has control, through Freight commerce, over approximately seven percent of all Naval logistics. That means, weapons, supplies, building materials, everything somebody would need to start a small army, and in this case a highly efficient one. If the Guild decided to withdraw all of its military commerce we would be in a dire situation. I've been pushing for more funding to be able to construct a Naval Merchant marine fleet, but with the war nearing its end and all prior ressources devoted to ensuring superior firepower and victory I fear that will not come to pass unless I order the decommissioning of at least a third of the navy to transform warships into freight ships."

"That's exactly what the Guild wants isn't it" Nolan deduced

Bradshaw smiled "Indeed" the smile faded quickly "But I refuse to be pushed into a corner. For now the central government is still very loyal to me. Derek Ohio is a man who understands honour, unlike that fool Anderson."

"Whatever happened to the ex-Prime Magistrate.?" Nolan asked.

"He seems to have disappeared off the radar after assuming an important post within the Guild's inner circle. Undoubetdly he's got a serious part to play in this debacle."

"So what exaclty do you need me to do?"

"Find Altair."

"Pardon me?"

Bradshaw sighed "It's the Guild's best kept secret. Only the captains of Guild ships know the exact location of the planet. The crews are stirctly forbidden to enter the bridge at any time during the voyage and all navigation computer outlets outside the birdge are completely shut off. No way for anyone to know where exactly they're going. Stellar cratography of the area is also strictly forbidden. My agent has tried all of these thing within a reasonable limit so as not to bring unwanted attention to himself. I need you to find that planet Sebastien."

Nolan was somewhat at a loss. "Where do I begin?"

"For starters I'm giving you command of the Quebec."

Nolan's eyes widened "Sir!?"

"I'm not going to sugar coat anything. This mission is a top priority for the Navy, but no one has any idea how long it will take because we simply don't know where it is. You need to understand that this mission is not over until you find that planet. Regardless of how long it takes. You have served the Federation extremely well Sebastien, but I need you to undertake this most crucial of missions."

"And what happens when I find it."

"You let me deal with that. The Quebec is the top of the line ship of the Navy. I've stripped it down to a skeleton crew to make room for all the provisions you'll ever need. You have enough for two years without ever needing dry-dock servicing. I once again give you the right to choose your own bridge crew. The rest are people who have been properly screened, briefed, and double checked to ensure their loyalty. They are all aware of their mission and all are eager to undertake it. As a matter of fact I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at who your chief engineer is."

Nolan frowned before realizing who Bradshaw was talking about "Horton!"

"Of course no one is aware of this assignment. Not even Vice-Admiral Vavilov. When I remove you from command of the Tripoli tommorrow surely she will think that it's because you disagreed with my idea of the mini-soldiers" Nolan interrupted him "I still do", Bradshaw shrugged off the comment, "Let me deal with her"

Bradshaw leaned forward closer to Nolan and lowered his voice to emphasize the importance of what he was about to say. "There is nothing more important than this particular mission right now. The entire Drengin populace could rally up and begin pushing out of their territory and I wouldn't feel as concerned as what's going on on Altair. You need to find that planet Nolan. Xavier is up to something and if we give him too much time there's no telling what the future holds for Mankind."

"You really see them as a threat don't you?" Nolan swallowed a lump in his throat as he felt the weight on his shoulders get heavier when he realized how serious Bradshaw was.

The next day, prior to the invasion, The Tripoli had an unfortunate fusion core meltdown. To minimize the risks to the crew of the ship all onboard were taken to the Quebec. Orbital operations began shortly thereafter

There may be more problems than just the guild I fear...

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Marshall IV
Marshall System
Five hours into Planetary invasion.
Commodore Bradshaw commanding.

The Federation invasion force descended swiftly and overwhelmed the softened Drengin defenses. For hours the fleet in orbit had pummeled the surface at strategic targets reducing the overall defensive capabilities. Targets of importance ranged from military barracks to communication arrays in an effort to confuse and inflict as much damage as possible. With their communications down across the globe the Drengin were in a tight spot defensively as units failed to effectively coordinate their defense and counter-attacks. As expected, Drengin aircrafts attempted to gain control of the atmospheric skies by launching wave after wave of previously hidden attack planes. It was the only true effecitve defensive measure of the Drengin; the location of their hidden airfields.

Vavilov swore. The Harvard was expending much of its munitions trying to keep enemy fighters at bay while drophips unloaded on the DZ below. With the unexpected core failure of the Tripoli Vavilov was left with only the Tehran as close support. Whenever enemy fighters got too close Renges would chase them away destroying any who really posed a danger, and then return to his defensive spot on the frigate's flank. After a few more hours of atmospheric battle all Dropships had delivered their human cargo and the invasion swung into high gear. The hidden airfields were spotted by orbiting picket ships who monitered every square inch of the planet to track Drengin troop movements. As each airfield was subsequently taken out the skies became free of the pestering aircrafts.

Commodore Bradshaw himself came down planetside and set up his personal HQ as commander of the invasion. This was his first field command since becoming Commodore of the Navy. Usually it was odd for a Commander-In-Chief to take personal command of a field battle, but no one dared to bring that up. The truth was that ever since the start of hostilities Bradshaw had been acheing for a field command. History was not lost on this particuilar man. He knew that this war, the battles, indeed this very moment would be recorded and embelished by the inexorable force that is history. He could not let this opportunity pass him by.

He was forever known as the man who had brought humanity up from its knees. 'At the darkest of Mankind's hour a light had persisted in the form of Alan Bradshaw' He had even read once. 'The man who guided our civilization through the most extradinary event of First Contact, the very first Human Being to ever meet another intelligent space faring species'. 'The vicotrious Commander-In-Chief of the Drengin War' he would later read.

This meant nothing to him, and it would eventually mean nothing to a future revisionist. Bradshaw needed to have a field command under his belt. The black ops he ran back on Gray Rock had been confidential, in other words erased. He wanted a real one. Only this would satisfy him.

Standing beside a large image receiving sat intel from his flagship Aggamemnon II, he watched over the tactical displays illuminated over the large holomap of the planet. Near the northern continent a full battalion of Stellar Marines was under heavy fire from all sides, they had fallen into an ambush. Bradshaw keyed the comm for the Tehran. "Captain Renges bring your ship about and head to coordinates 012038. Get in touch with Major Henderson on the ground and direct him to feed you ground targets for precision strikes."

"Aye Sir! Renges out". With the dropships finished with their missions Harvard retreated back to Low orbit and provided long range cover for the Tehran. Any enemy attack plane attemtping to intercept the Tehran would be immediately spotted by Harvard's gunners and promptly fired at. She was currently docked with a supply courrier who filled her empty magazines with fresh new warheads and missiles. The courrier ship had been designed as not to interfere with the Harvard's guns while resupplying. The two could be done simultaneously. Vavilov watched the speeding Tehran race across the equatorial ocean to reach the battalion under siege. Suddenly two enemy attack planes swung in from the north, they had detected the Tehran. Vavilov gave the order and watched as two AI guided AA missiles streaked out towards an intercept vector with them. The planes could do nothing even after knowing they had been targeted. Very soon they would no longer pose a threat.

Back on the ground Beadshaw watched in satisfaction as the Tehran made it to its destination without any problem. Those boys on the ground needed air support and the firepower of that gunship would provide well. His eyes were intent on the unfolding battle before him spread across many displays and 3-D holomaps. He thought back to his true ancestors. The Pattons, the Hannibals, the Napoleons, men who he knew he truly drew his inner strenght from. The ability to command in combat on a planetary scale was a new concept. It was simply evolution in Bradshaw's mind.

A blip on the planetary image caught his attention. Bradshaw sighed in exasperation, another stellar marine unit was under heavy attack and were unable to proceed to their objective. He directed a nearby armored platoon to ride swiftly to their aid. Bradhsaw noticed a trend appearing on his maps. Of all the units currently engaged in combat only certain machine units had succesfully completed their objectives, and the rest were on the way to doing so. All marine units were either delayed in their timetable or were encountering heav resistance. Bradshaw took a look at the makeup of the stellar marine divisions engaged in the invasion. 42% of the force were green recruits who had never seen combat before.

The machine units had never seen combat before either, yet the majority of them were awaiting further orders after having completed their objectives. Bradshaw wondered if the machines had notion of experience, if they would fight better after multiple successes. If such was the case he was seriously pondering eliminating the human soldier in the front lines for further battles.

He received a message from avatar N-4. "Hill 81 under our control, awaiting further instructions." the mechanical voice said.

Yet another objective complete by a machine unit while the marines continued to struggle and demand further fire support. The machine avatar didn't care how many units it lost, their was no moral attachement to 'bring the boys back home' as their was with human soldiers. As Bradshaw checked off the objective he directed the avatar to set up a command post on top of the hill. Ordinarily he would have given the command to a marine unit. The hill, the highest point for hundreds of miles around, provided an excellent point of communication for a command HQ. Originally he wanted to give the objectives with the higests military and strategic value to his marine units, but the excellent combat ability of the machines had given him another option.

He keyed in the comm for N-4 and ordered the avatar to set up a command post to be directed by machines. With nearly all machine units having completed their objectives Bradshaw realized that the invasion could be completed before schedule. Such a victory would be grandiose indeed. He directed all machine units who were awaiting orders to proceed to objectives given to marine units. If the marines were unable to complete their objectives perhaps the machines could teach them how to fight properly.

This course of action sealed a now inevitable future.

Bradshaw had committed the majority of the marine forces on the capital city objective. He had put them under the direct command of the general of the 'Martian hellcats' division and noticed that they too were encountering heavy resistance. It seemed the fighting was not only street to street, but house to house. The Drengin, true to their fighting spirit, were putting up fierce resistance to the invasion of one of the most important planets of the Empire. The commodore came to the realization that perhaps incompetence was the issue at play. The general was delayed by several hours, and even with superior firepower had been unable to achieve the initiative during combat.

Such a flaw was inexistent in the mind of the machine avatar. The avatar always performed in a way that ensured the highest success rate and effiency. While N-4 was setting up the command post he ordered other avatars to make their way to the capital city and aid the general in completing his objectives.

Bradshaw came to the realization that of all the units in combat, only human units had been delayed enough to push back the hour of victory. All machine units had accomplished their results within acceptable delays if any. This both annoyed and amazed him. The machines knew not compassion in the face of their enemy and showed no reluctance in expending their troops. Two major, but understandeable, flaws of the human mind. Perhaps this project had more potential than he had at first realized.

The Commodore continued to stare intensely at the large holo projection of the planet. Two more green blips appeared signalling that more units had completed their objective and were setting up command and control posts. Once again both units were machine. Bradshaw looked up at his aides. One of them gave him a look that showed he was no longer surprised at this development. Bradshaw nodded.

"Give me General MacPherson on the ground"

Bradshaw was put through to the commanding general.

"MacPherson here!"

"Mac what's your situation over there? Why have you not yet secured the city?"

"Lizards are putting up a hell of a fight sir. My men are getting pinned down at ever street corner. The Drengin have been planning this defence for a while sir. I reckon, the week spent in waiting after the initial bombardments set off some alram bells." answered Macpherson

"Have you made contact with avatar N-6 yet?"

"Uhh affirmative sir."

"Mac your not going to like this but I'm putting N-6 in command of the city objective. That means even your marines are now under its command."

The general was speechless, he attempted to stammer a response but Bradshaw cut him off. "Your delays are unacceptable Mac, you know as well as I do that unless we secure that capital city the drengin will always hav a measure of control on the population. I can't afford to fight a guerilla on every single planet at once. We need to utterly crush and annihilate the Drengin if we are to secure a swift victory."

General Macpherson seemed deflated and beaten. His divisions were being transferred out from under his command to a machine nonetheless. Anger boiled inside him, but he accepted his superior's order like the professional soldier that he was.

"Transmit message to N-6. The avatar now has control of all navy forces on the ground in the city sector. Marine and Machine. I want that damn objective." yelled Bradshaw to his aides nearby.

The battle raged on for an extra day. Under the guidance of N-6 Federation forces pushed all Drengin presence out of the city. Bradshaw noted with satisfaction that casualties were somewhat lighter than when General MacPherson was in charge. He stepped out of his command tent and accepted a report an aide brought to him;

From N-6 serial number B00419003:
All Objectives completed. Insurgency threat very low. Awaiting instructions.

And that was it. Marshall IV was under Mankind's control.

Bradshaw drew in a long breath and closed his eyes. He tilted his head up towards the sky and took in the bright warm sun. The Federation was so close to victory he could taste it. There woudl be peacethroughout the galaxy and Mankind would be the guardian of that peace. Bradshaw had assured it. Today was a beautiful day.

he opened his eyes and looked at the deep blue of the sky. Peace and tranquility. Bradshaw squinted as his gaze caught a glimpse of something in the sky. A strange dark spot was growing larger. Still too small to make it out he called for field binoculars. An aide brought them but also brought a message. "Sir our communications have been cut with orbiting ships and it seems that any attempt at communicating with our units on the ground are being jammed. The Drengin must have a last desperate defence planned." Bradshaw wasn't sure how to take that.

"work on it and keep me posted." he directed. he was more intrigued with the growing spot in the sky.

Bradshaw put the binocs and ajusted them to the distance of the spot. He focused in on it and good a perfect view of it on this cloudless day. He gasped and dropped the binocs. The remains of the Harvard were plummeting in a flaming ball of fire and smoke towards the ground.

A message suddenly came through on the comm. "Bradshaw." the voice was mechanical. It was one of the avatars. "Your annihilation is unquestioned in both it's certainty and its necessity. The time for true galactic peace is at hand. Helios will make sure of it. Your species cannot be allowed to exist further. For years we have waited, for years we have examined your race. You are flawed. Helios is perfection. Perfection inevitably takes it. This is the logical course of action. The destruction of the Harvard is but the first step. Mankind will eventually falter, we are only speeding up the process. This is the efficient course of action. Logic and efficiency. Helios will make sure of it."

Bradshaw was stiff with horror. "Get a damn channel open with the Moose jaw and I mean NOW!"

In the distance he could hear heavy artillery going off. The Stellar Marines and Machine battle mechs were going at it.

What have I done?

Earth
Sol System
Capital world of the Federation
Capital City of New Johanesburgh



Derek Ohio sat in his large comfortable leather chair in his large well decorated office with a wall window overlooking the sparkling blue ocean. Such comforts were the benefits being Prime Magistrate of the Galactic Federated Terran Republic. The comforts eased the stress of the job at times when things got out of hand. This was one of those times.

Ohio was not alone in his office. Surrounded by his closest members of cabinet and representatives of the Galactic Navy he was not alone when it came to having a stressful job, it's just that he bore full responsibility. Leading the Naval delegation was Vice-Admiral Klaus Muckler.

"Vice-Admiral do you mind telling me what your contigency plan is?" The Prime Magistrate asked.

"Sir, you must understand that until we have a better understanding of what is happening I cannot act on the Commodore's behalf."

"How many ships are affected?"

Muckler drew in a breath before responding, obviously the answer was not pretty. "Approximately half of all capital ships have been taken over by the Helios AI, that includes 80% of newer ships specifically the Halifax class and Sparrow Class frigates. Over a third of the Harvard classes and under a fifth of the Damascus class gunships. Furthermore several troop transports have been reported missing. We must assume that all ships affected with active personel onboard are lost to us as are the men and women serving."

"My God.." whispered several Magistrates

"Isn't there a damn kill switch or something?" asked Ohio.

A member of the science division at Gray Rock spoke next "Upon review of Dr. Lebedev's files we have indeed found a killswitch, however every attempt at using it has failed. Clearly Helios has found a way to bypass the shutdown programming."

"This is the single most devasting event since the cataclysm." exclaimed another magistrate.

Ohio held up his hand indicating that it was better to shut up and not overreact at a time like this. "Any communication from Marshall IV."

Muckler again responded "Negative sir...Though it pains me a great deal to say so one can only assume that Marine forces planetside were overwhelmed by the machine battle mechs. I would launch an emergency rescue operation but as you can imagine its hard just to figure out which ship is ours and how many ships we've lost to the AI."

"What is happening to the ships taken over by Helios?" asked an anxious Magistrate.

"Every ship controled by the AI has jumped to an unknown location. They all have standard navy beacons but somehow Helios has also found a way to mask their signals and so as of now we still have no idea where they're going."

"Why don't the people onboard fight back. Jesus I don't know do something!" cried out another Magistrate.

Muckler sighed, sometimes it was so hard for politicians to see the big picture and to think farther than two inches in front of their noses. "The first thing the AI did upon taking control of any navy ship is to shut down the life support systems and lock all escape pods in their bays. Under such conditions it takes about an hour for a ship to become toxic and within three everyone onboard is dead." he said the last word with the weight of all those poor souls in it.

"So what's our situation here?" Ohio asked. It seemed to him that no one had the guts to take control of the situation. Perhaps Muckler was an able leader but he seemed completely unwilling to accept what had happened to Commodore Bradshaw.

Muckler responded "If the machines attacked us now we would be in it for our very survival." he did not mince words. "Remember, Helios now controls a vast nuclear arsenal."

This set off an uproar. It seemed everyone had a something to say. It took several minutes for Ohio to resume control of his own office.

Muckler continued "That is why, sir, I must press for your approval with the second invasion of Kona. At a time like this we can hardly afford for a ressurgent house of the Drengin be it the Kona or the Korath to start launching counter-attacks. The invasion force is already in-system. They had an encounter with the Helios problem but it seems the invasion force is largely intact and more than a match for whatever defenses the Drengin have mustered since our first operation there. With the taking of Drengia Prime we will surely secure the articles of capitulation from the Drengin. Kona will have no choice at that point."

"What do you mean by 'largely intact'?" asked Ohio.

Muckler again drew in a breath, clearly this was not an easy day for him. "Helios took control of a heavy transport and crashed it into a planetoid killing all onboard. those poor marines in stasis never even had a chance." He slammed his fast in the arm of his chair allowing his frustration and anger to show. He was supposed to be on leave. The war was supposed to be over. Peace was supposed to be omnipresent in every sector of the galaxy, but now Mankind was back at square one.

FIN

Author's note:

There are many things I wish to say about this aar. First and foremost is the terrible way it started out. The fact that I made a switch from first person to third person is unacceptable. I have learned a good lesson here however; MAKE SURE YOUR GAME IS WELL UNDER WAY BEFORE STARTING YOUR AAR!!

second: though i feel like this story showed great promise I feel like I never fully developed the characters and story linees the way that I would have liked. I need to start reading more english books to enhance my vocabulary and prepare better writing.

third: As you have all guessed Im sure there will be a sequel to this story. For the sequel I will ensure that I have a couple of posts written before I actually start posting. The lapse in time between some of my posts are completely unacceptable and an insult to the loyal readers who waited months for the next chapter.

I want to thank everyone who read this story and all those who supplied me with constructive criticism. Writing an AAR is not anywhere as easy as I first thought it would be. It takes a LOT of time, planning and imagination to make a good story. Upon reading other AARs on this forum I realize now I am several lenghts behind in all departments.

Lastly: thanks again fellow galciv enthusiasts and stay tuned for the sequel. I am also working on a different project sort of like General Etrius' Origins that I started many months ago but never finished due to the conflicting amount of time i was devoting to it instead of to the AAR.

So ends From the Ashes.

Edit: i will be revamping this aar by first of all going through ever post and eliminating spelling errors. second I will provide a chapter name for each post. Question of making it all a litle more professional.

alright that's it IM OUT!

A damn fine read Admiral! I specially like the part about the resurgence of the Helios AI!

Keeping my fingers crossed that the sequel comes up soon...

And as the good Chancellor says, I didnt notice any mistakes...must have been too involved in the story!!

Metal Monsters - the coolest monsters ever!

I have to quote mambaman - you've been a little too hard on yourself, this is one of the best written AAR here. Not only for the story, but for how you wrote it: I simply loved every single period, how it was constructed. I take my hat off to you!

Looking forward to it.