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Post by Relikai on Feb 24, 2016 7:24:59 GMT
The last Invader fell as her blade sliced through it's torso, the constant moving of the weapon's particles at lightspeed sawing through alien matter as the blade completed it's slash. Sheathing the sword, Sarah sighed as she contemplated the increase of Invader activity in Triangulum. Days ago, she cleared out an outpost of Invaders before meeting up with Governor Sharp, and now more has sprung out. Sighing, the Star Admiral hopped back into her Breeze Fighter, taking off as she prepared to return to Sol.
Looking at her sensors, Sarah could see Karsopolis several light years away, wondering if she should pay him a surprise visit. Thinking against the idea, considering that her fighter might get shot down if she appeared in front of the palace with her Vacuum Stealth, Sarah charged up the Breeze as it took off into the atmosphere, preparing for a warp back to Sol.
"Hey wife, how's the hunting?" Gavin Naido's face appeared in a holoscreen to the side, causing the little Star Reaver to laugh. "Aye, it's good. Hope you had your fun too."
"No no, fun's when we get back to the Replicator, if.. you ge-" The screen cut to nothingness, something which never happened before.
"Gavin?" Sarah called, concerned. "Gavin?"
An explosion rocked the Breeze from behind as two high-powered lasers struck it's rear shielding. Shocked, Sarah threw up her Particle-Sensors, revealing a force of four Invader frigates and a destroyer waiting for her in the atmosphere. Two of them were jamming frigates, preventing her from going into Warp.
It's a trap.
Immediately, Sarah gunned her fighter into full boost as Invader fighters closed in on her fighter. The large and heavy Breeze fought back with it's two wingtip rotary plasma cannons, managing to take out several as Sarah did a loop, heading straight for the destroyer. Being anti-aircraft ships, they would have had no problem shredding a fighter to pieces. However, this was piloted by Sarah Voran, and the fighter... was no simple plane.
Flicking a switch, the four turret housings on the Breeze's wings detached themselves as inbuilt thrusters propelled them forward, with their maneuverability controlled by the Breeze's guidance system. Dodging shells and lasers, dual railguns extended from the turrets, firing high explosive shells which damaged the ship's shields and hull as Sarah's Breeze did a strafing run, her plasma cannons ripping through it's armour. Speeding at near-maximum speed, the Breeze flew past the destroyer's engines, turrets and cannons ripping the components apart as the armoured fighter shrugged off the anti-aircraft fire. More fighters appeared as Sarah willed her turrets to engage them, catching nearly a dozen with masterful mental control, a sub-version of the Cybergenius technology.
The Breeze streaked towards the frigates, as they threw up a curtain of defensive fire. The missile bay of the Breeze opened as Sarah locked her eyes on the frigate, banking and jerking her fighter to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Within seconds, the first of the Javelin missiles slammed into a frigate, the Shatterer warhead proving too much as the ship broke into pieces. Triggering off another three missiles, Sarah scored two more kills but the third missile missed, having caught a trailing figher instead.
Cursing her luck, Sarah recalled her turrets as she flew parallel with the last frigate, all her armaments tearing it's midsection apart, blasting a hole big enough for the Breeze to plow through. Checking her systems, Sarah again prepared for Warp when her fighter was struck by a laser from the destroyer, causing a slight bleed in power. However, it was the fighters who now began to rip her shield apart that worried her, as Sarah disengaged her turrets yet again. Pushing the envelop with her Breeze, Sarah charged the wounded destroyer as a blast ripped off part of her wing, even as her turrets continued to destroy Invader fighters. Closing onto the ship, Sarah growled as her cannons blasted the hull yet again, her turrets contributing their fire until they ran out, thus sending themselves flying into the damaged Invader warship, triggering a huge explosion.
Wounded, bleeding and in serious pain, Sarah instinctively placed her fighter into an emergency Warp, towards the nearest safe location - Karsopolis.
The Breeze fighter drifted in space, Sarah lying unconscious in her seat. The automated system kicked in, requesting permission to land.
[ To Orbital Control, Breeze Fighter of Star Admiral Sarah Voran of the Relikan Star Fleet requesting to land. To Orbital Control, Breeze Fighter of Star Admiral Sarah Voran of the Relikan...]
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Post by The Governor on Feb 24, 2016 7:51:38 GMT
"Orbital Control, permission is denied at this time," a shaky human voice said, "Karsopolis is under attack by the Invaders at this time. Most of the ships have left the system for other Invader targets, but we're taking security very seriously."
After a brief pause, a new voice came over the radio. It was a calmer voice, and one holding more authority than the comm ensign who had answered the request. He said in an even tone, "Admiral Voran. Apologies for your poor welcome so far. Understand that this is an uncertain time, but things are calming down. You have permission to land on the planet. Override of normal security procedures by the Governor. Proceed to his private hangar. I'm sending coordinates now. Four heavy star fighters are on their way up to escort you. Two are Hollow-class heavy star fighters, standard models of the Navy. The other two are Vanisher-class light interceptors belonging to Imperial Intelligence. Follow them. Do you require medical assistance?"
When there was no answer, the comms officer paged Sharp and said, "No response from Admiral Voran. She may need medical assistrance, perhaps a tractor beam to assist her landing."
The hologram of Sharp said, "Useful information. I'll inform the pilots, and have physicians ready at the hangar."
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Post by Relikai on Feb 24, 2016 8:34:18 GMT
With confirmation received, the automated system began to guide the Breeze fighter into the atmosphere, shaking a little as it was affected by gravity. With one wing gone, the fighter needed to be careful, as it's weight and stable frame still allowed it to fly at such a damaged state. With the Confederate fighters providing escort, the Breeze's computers managed to calculate a stable course to it's destination. The tractor beam helped, as the computer adjusted itself to allow the fighter to be pulled into the hangar. Coming to a stop, the landing gear activated itself as the Breeze Fighter finally came to a stop, it's canopy popping up.
Sarah Voran lay on the seat of the fighter, blood covering the side of her flight suit where a splinter found it's way through. Sarah did not have a habit of activating her armour when flying, attributing it to encumbrance. The Star Admiral stirred slightly as the fighter landed, allowing her to disengage her seatbelts, but was in too much pain to move beyond that.
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Post by The Governor on Feb 24, 2016 21:41:25 GMT
In the hangar, several important professionals flocked about as the fighter landed. One was a human man withal bald head and brown eyes. He wore a white lab coat and dark shoes, an obvious doctor.
Seeing the condition of Voran, he said to a Dothvalian assistant carrying a case of medicines, "Prep a site and a syringe for her arm. We start with 10 ccs of numbing agent one, add more as the patient requires it. 50 ccs of relaxant four, keep her unconscious while we work." He looked at another assistant controlling a hover stretcher, and said, "Get her out of that fighter and onto the stretcher so I can work on her."
The doctor then removed various regeneration tools, synthflesh, and nanobinders to close up the wound. He then drew a bit of blood, the machine sending Voran's type to a medical centre for potential donors.
Sharp, Silva, and Jennings were also
present, watching over the proceedings. The Confederate ruler asked in an even tone, "How long for a recovery?"
The doctor answered, "Too early to tell. Minor wounds since she got here as fast as she did. But how long it will take is uncertain."
"Notify me when you've finished," Sharp said. He then left the doctor to his work, hoping Voran would be well soon.
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Post by Relikai on Feb 25, 2016 2:13:07 GMT
Three Hours Later
Sarah woke up with a gasp, scanning her surroundings as she tried to piece the recent events together. Sarah remembered the battle, remembered being thrown into Warp, before... a void in her memory caused her to shudder a little, even as she looked at herself, dressed in white patient robes as her waist was bandaged to support her side. Moving caused Sarah to groan in pain, as she pushed herself up to get a hold of her surroundings. Tapping on the bed, Sarah realised that she wass in a hospital, recovering from her wounds. She was awake, but at this point of time, Sarah was feeling lost, and unsure of what to do next...
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Post by The Governor on Feb 25, 2016 2:31:00 GMT
A guard at the room noticed Voran's activity, and raced to retrieve the doctor from earlier. After a short wait, the doctor arrived in the room, looking over the now awakened Voran. He said in a calm voice, "Welcome back, Star Admiral Voran. It's good to see you awake. I'm Doctor Nigel Blair, the Governor's personal physician. You're in his private medical facility. It's a subsection of the Governor's Residence on Karsopolis. Your fighter took some nasty hits. I'm glad you survived, and were able to reach Karsopolis." Cursing his stupidity, Blair hastily added, "I'm sorry to bombard you with information. You're tired certainly. Is there anything you'd like to know? If not, I'd like you to try and wake up a bit while I find the Governor. He asked to be informed of your state."
Noticing how Voran winced with pain upon moving, he said to an assistant, "20 ccs of numbing agent two. That should kill any residual pain from her wounds. And don't worry about side effects. It's combat medicine, so her mental state will be unaffected."
With that, Blair sent a page to Sharp, hoping he would arrive soon. He also waited for Voran to ask more questions or dismiss him.
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Post by Relikai on Feb 25, 2016 2:54:40 GMT
Sarah nodded as Doctor Blair updated her of the situation, especially her location, in which she was grateful. At least I'm not being healed to become a test subject by the Invaders... She thought.
"I am grateful, Doctor Blair. Thank you for taking care of my self. Indeed, I wasn't careful. I would like to know, what happened to my belongings, specifically my suit, uniform, and plane? I do not deny that it is proper for a host nation to possibly strip down foreign military hardware for security purposes, but I would like to know if any of my things are being checked out this way..."
Sarah hoped that her message came out properly, not in an offensive or accusing tone, but one of anxiety. Indeed, the Breeze fighter contained many upgrades and hardware which the Relikans solely pride themselves on, and although many of them were damaged during the battle, like the Vacuum Stealth components, it took centuries of hard work and research to actually have a starfighter which could perform like her plane in the earlier battle.
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Post by The Governor on Feb 25, 2016 3:22:59 GMT
Blair answered, "Your equipment is being held in a locker close by, in the next hallway. It can be retrieved any time. Although, we haven't repaired the damage sustained. We didn't want to damage any sensitive electronic equipment it may contain. Your fighter is under guard by Imperial Intelligence, in the Governor's hangar where you landed. We haven't touched it either, for the same reason." He then laughed and said, "I'm only happy the Relikans haven't made many changes to the base human body, or we wouldn't have been able to treat you. But your belongings can be accessed at any time."
Suddenly, Governor Karson Sharp and Intelligence Director Isabel Silva entered the room. The two complemented one another nicely, both looking like the crucial Confederate leaders they were. This was fitting since they were married. Sharp said in a relieved tone, "Dr Blair. Star Admiral Voran. A pleasure to see you both well. I hope I'm not intruding?"
"Not at all, Governor," Blair said. "I was just explaining to the Admiral where we were storing her equipment."
"We know, Nigel," Silva said with a smile. "I'm glad you could enlighten our guest." She then turned to Voran and said, "Apologies for storing your equipment without asking. But it is untouched. Now, how goes the war against the Invaders for the Relikans? On our side, the Confederacy is under attack, but we are holding steady for the moment."
The blonde Intelligence Director made eye contact with Voran during the questions, hoping the real concern beneath her green irises would shine through the veneer of professionalism.
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Post by Relikai on Feb 25, 2016 4:39:51 GMT
Sarah gave Governor Sharp and Director Silva a genuine smile, nodding her appreciation at their hospitality. Indeed, they complemented each other well, a good couple which reminded her of several others, including a young Jupiterran currently assigned to the Federated Colonies and her similarly young partner, as well as the other couple which led the Jupiterran Star Fleet, and of course, her own husband who no doubt knew that she was in a secure location.
"No, it's okay. I must thank you all for accepting my fighter in. I understand that this is a period of... uncertainty... too many things going on in too many places... I thank you for respecting my equipment, surely it would make it... easier... for us to do some technological agreements in the future." Sarah replied to Silva. Turning to the doctor, "Nah, we Star Reavers are just humans who got a little too close to a Star." Sarah said with a wink.
Returning her gaze to Sharp and Silva, Sarah continued with her side of the war with the Invaders.
"Well, the Relikan Star Fleet has returned to the Sol System in the Milky Way. There we resolved a civil war, and now resources can finally be channeled to concentrate in the battle against the Invaders. They're not easy, and they're spreading faster than estimated. Karsopolis under attack... I was clearing an outpost twenty light years away when I was ambushed by an Invader division of a destroyer and four frigates. Thankfully I could take them out, but well, this happened. Also, the Invaders bit us back in Andromeda, but we managed to do a successful defence and evacuation. Right now we're working with the Jupiterrans and the Federated Colonies to launch a counter-offensive to take some pressure off the strategic defence lines, and I think we're going to have a Conference soon. Just need to clear up some paperwork and resolve some Invader attacks."
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Post by The Governor on Feb 25, 2016 5:27:37 GMT
"Interesting," Silva said in an even tone. She then added, "It's good that you managed to pacify discontent in the Milky Way. This war is hard enough without division. For example, two hugely important Confederate planets are under attack." The Intelligence Director pulled a datapad from inside her coat, and tapped it until two large holographic models of planets appeared. One was red, covered in dark clouds of smog from the factories below. But they had no trouble seeing, for here were housed many of the best sensors in the Confederacy. Colossal orbital docking rings and shipyards dotted its orbit, and millions of factories could be seen on the world below. The other was a sparse world, almost entirely white with the global Arctic environment. Occasional streaks of black were provided by mountains. Silva said in an even tone, "Malantogue and Maarlox. One the brains of the Confederate war machine, the other its beating heart. Malantogue is the headquarters of Munitions Multigalactic, Maarlox Confederate Research and Development. Many of our factories are on Malantogue, and Maarlox holds extensive research as well as a huge portion of the Confederate Clone Army. These two places were the real targets of the Invaders. They began by raiding Karsopolis, drawing forces away from these two worlds. Then they returned to the real targets. Malantogue will take ages to conquer, so it isn't too much of a concern. But the defending garrison on Maarlox is outgunned, possibly outnumbered. They'd retreat, but the Invader fleet is orbiting Maarlox. The Confederate Navy is trying to break this blockade. We can't spread ourselves any thinner, fighting in the Confederacy, guarding against further Invader attacks, and one of our most elite units is missing in action. Nightmare Company, led by Sergeant Scott Carver. They have all the experimental equipment I mentioned earlier, and they've vanished with it. Given the challenges facing the Confederacy, a conference would be useful."
Sharp then said, "I'll offer Karsopolis as the location for the conference. Thylium was pierced once by the Invaders, back when they were at full strength. And their other conferences have gone badly as well." Sharp then added, "The Colonies and the Drathians in Andromeda are both on the front lines against the Invaders. But the Confederacy is a superpower on the Abyssal's final hurdle, and our capital remains a very safe place. Other nations have been fighting them for months, and the Invaders only attacked us recently. If necessary, we still have a very strong military to deploy, even with the current conflicts. So do you think other nations would be interested in a conference on Karsopolis?"
As Sharp finished, the severe weather of the planet picked up, heavy rain pounding against the windows, winds screaming like ghosts, and lightning flashes illuminating the forests just beyond the cityscape, nearly as tall as the Karsopolan skyscrapers.
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Post by Relikai on Feb 25, 2016 6:02:44 GMT
"Yes... They have been really hitting us hard... I did not expect them to appear in Triangulum so soon after I cleared out an outpost recently but..."
Sarah slowly adjusted her seating as she thought over the Confederates' proposal.
"Karsopolis would be good, as a neutral ground. I heard many stories regarding numerous wars being fought among the known powers while we were containing the Invaders, and there is sure to be plenty of friction. Very well, I support the proposal of having Karsopolis as the staging place for the Intergalactic Conference.
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Post by The Governor on Feb 25, 2016 6:24:57 GMT
"Excellent," Sharp said. "On your mission, if you don't mind me asking. Is there anyone you were with, anyone you need rescued? No matter how thing the Confederacy may be stretched, we always have more to give our allies."
Silva then asked, "And you also mentioned Andromeda, a counter-offensive with Colonial help. We'll assist as well. There hasn't been a major allied effort since Tau Volantis. And assuming the Acruani come through for us, we'll have a decisive advantage in the battle to come." The Intelligence Director smiled at this, knowing only the Confederacy had the plan they did for fighting the Invaders. "Don't give up hope, Admiral. The universe can win against these damned Abyssals. Even if they take more of our equipment and soldiers every day, they forget that we are not the desperate HCA, Drathian divergents, the tiny handful of Relikans, or the dying Triangulum colonists. We've all become exponentially stronger. Even if they have as well, they are only a horde. Our universe holds several mighty civilisations."
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Post by Relikai on Feb 25, 2016 12:45:56 GMT
Nodding, Sarah fell silent for a moment, before answering Governor Sharp.
"No, thank you for the offer, but my mission was simply the extermination of the Invader outpost. It was complete, with interest... a destroyer and four frigates, that is. And it was a solo mission. Reckless it may seem to humans, but we Star Reavers dedicate ourselves to the destruction of these Abyssals..."
Sarah then gave a slight smile as she addressed Silva.
"I believe so. Now that the Invaders thirst for more than our blood, they will realise the folly of their greed. We have held them before, we will hold them again. With allies, we shall beat them back, and beyond."
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Post by The Governor on Feb 26, 2016 6:57:35 GMT
Silva considered the statements about the Star Reavers before she said, "Yes. This was something of the idea behind Nightmare Company. It is made up of the finest soldiers in the Confederate military, also dedicated to fighting the Invaders. Hopefully that's where they are now. If they come back, I'll be sure to show you the improvements in equipment since the war began."
Sharp then turned to leave and said, "Wonderful seeing you again, Star Admiral, and I hope you'll be recovered completely soon. Dr Blair will ensure your health recovers. If you need anything or have any questions or suggestions for the war effort, simply ask us. And do we need to inform the Relikans of your situation, or do they know?"
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Post by Relikai on Feb 26, 2016 19:53:58 GMT
Sarah smiled. "No, it's okay, thank you for offering me refuge here. No need to tell the Relikans, I'm sure the-"
-A transmission to Karsopolis-
"Confederacy, this is Fleet Admiral Gavin Naido, Relikan Star Fleet, onboard the Relikan Cruiser Arrimar. Requesting permission to enter your space. I have come to see how my wife is doing."
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