Disruption (IC)

Upon observing the Markovan go into position, Svar considered his options. Tevri was less than half his height, and undoubtedly more agile and quick. Should he let his guard down, the opposition could quickly strike without allowing Svar the opportunity to react. In addition, if he went into an immediate offense, Svar would have even less of an ability to parry or block a blow, and there was no doubt in his mind that Tevri could take advantage of the Krathunian's forward momentum. So, to prevent this from occurring, Svar decided to go into a defensive position. He did not choose to activate his helmet, as he wanted to reinforce the idea that he was a friend, not a faceless enemy solider. In addition, to prevent an unfair advantage, he turned the environmental response factor of his armor off, the armor becoming smooth plating.

Svar faced sideways, his right side facing towards Tevri. His right foot was pointed in the same direction, with his left foot sideways at the back of his body. In order to keep a sturdy position he bent his knees slightly. Svar held the sword with two hands near the center of his body as to be able to block within any area relatively quickly. It was kept at about a 25 degree angle, pointed in front of him. Svar's right gauntlet gripped the top of the hilt near the guard, grasping from underneath, while his left hand directly held the hilt near the pommel. Svar stared directly at his opponent, and titled his head slightly, as if beckoning him to make the first move.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Q'ren looked Zjer up and down, almost as if it were in disbelief. He folded his arms after a bit and stared the Jorro'kil in the face, peering at the alien as if he were some kind of beast. This, at least to Rakluth and Theranis, was clearly due to the time period from which Q'ren had come from. The Jorro'kil had become spacefaring before this time, yes, but within Old World culture the Jorro'kil were still nothing more than the creations of the Krathunians. This was one of many contrasts to the New World government of the time, which had become the Covenant's absolute ruling body after their war against the Dominion.

Q'ren licked his lips, turning his head slightly to his left, facing Theranis. "How does... he know about the mission?" the elder Krathunian stated with a slight tone of disdain, clearly suspicious of Zjer.

"The Zealot was at the meeting on Ieegar, after Absolute started to attack civilian populations," Theranis countered back with a bit of smugness in his voice, knowing that Q'ren had kept a superiority complex retainijng to the Jorro'kil even after five hundred years of cyrogenic sleep. "The Jorro'kil, especially Zjer, were interested in the mission but it was not an opportune time to join this adventure. I kept him updated via COMM link, and told him to meet us here." He nodded at the Zealot. "You're more than welcome to join us."

Rakluth smiled, disregarding the small argument between Q'ren and Theranis, and saluted the Jorro'kil. "I'm Admiral Rakluth Bretuin. It is an honor." He turned to his companions, continuing to speak. "This is, as I'm sure you know, Sentinel Theranis Ra'agus, Q'ren Talus, and Lieutenant Unit 23550." Q'ren growled slightly at this with displeasure, a deep but raspy sound. Rakluth then turned to Admiral Intaa. "As for why we're here... We're planning on infiltrating the closest Vrentus fortress world to this planet and retrieving a component for Q'ren's superweapon, and we need to know if you have any intel on it."

Intaa widened her eyes, slightly taken aback. "We do." She stated, almost apprehensively. "We've sent several scout fleets to that location since the threat of the Vrentus was revealed, and it's indicated that they're building up a sizable force to assault Axlenta. We were going to send a bombardment fleet as a preventative strike."

Theranis blinked a couple times, as if surprised. "When's the fleet going out?"

Intaa paused. "Soon. We can defend Axlenta if they do strike, but there's no doubt that more lives will be saved if we glass the entire planet. It's either your weapon, or hundreds of Ryun and Wreae. I can't call back the bombardment ships, as they're already on their way here from the inner systems. If you want to race against time, suit yourself, but I'm not taking any risks with this planet." Intaa was firm and staunch in her strategy to defend the planet, and it cleared showed.

Taking a deep breath in, Theranis turned to the rest of the group, which now included Zjer. "What do you all think we should make of this? Do we go after the shell, or not?" He asked inquisitively, the anxiety resonating from his words.

((Will post UR stuff tomorrow, Daryssan tomorrow morning.))

"I'm afraid I can't say what to do in this situation," said Admiral Lirr. "The weapon component is important, but so is saving lives."

"Hmm, 'fraid I have to agree him," said Zizo. "Then again, military affairs aren't exactly my particular area of expertise."
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Tevri kept an eye on Svar. As he did so, he began to speak to his audience. "I'm afraid I can't speak for Krathunians on this matter, but speed and agility are two very important things in Markovan fighting, not to mention jumping and kicking. Usually in battle, Markovan were bladed greaves on our feet, which we use in addition to our swords for melee combat."

Moving closer to Svar, Tevri suddenly croutched slightly, and then jumped straight up so that his head actually came level with Svar's. At top height, he swung around in midair, making a kicking motion at Svar's face, although he was careful to make sure it could be blocked. As he twisted in midair, his tail swung around with the three pairs of flaps flaired. An attentive eye could see that the tail was a particularly important organ for this movement.

The Sovereign class Carrier, already lacking shielding due to the Entropy Accelerator and severely damaged from the other ships firing at it, was pounded by Arrowhead's missile salvo. The center of the ship teared apart as the UFIAI left the battle, several of the nuclear fusion generators overheating and weapon ssytems going offline. Thousands of repair drones swarmed the Carrier almost immediately after, but it was too late for many of the Ryun and Wreae on board. The Summit's engines burst forward, the Destroyer making once last attempt at wreaking havoc on Anima's fleet with its multiple weapon systems before drawing back into a defensive system.

From the bridge of the Evolution, Admiral Tralrin once more contacted the allied forces. "Thank you," He started with, a tone of relief on his words. "I don't know if we would have been able to hold our position for long had you all not joined us. Now, shall we investigate this.. anomaly?"

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Svar braced himself as Tevri drew near, gripping the sword tightly. He brought his arms up, keeping his grasp on the sword, as the Markovan leaped. Svar's right gauntlet blocked him from the kick, and the sword was held so that the blade did not touch Tevri, jutting off to the right. As gravity took control of his opponent Svar swept the blade in a curved motion, bringing it down in the shape of a C to the left. He was sure not to use his full force with this blow, however.

((Waiting for Whoster on CC))

"Yes, I think," said Vey, in answer to Admiral Tralrin's words. "But first things first. Do you require any medical assistance over there?"
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Taken a little by surprise, Tevri still managed to catch Svar's blade with his own, and land on his feet. "That will give you an idea, at any rate," Tevri said to all watching. He then made a feint at Svar's arm, which turned into a quick jab at his leg.

(@ViperaUnion Maybe the Majesty should reach its next destination soon)

Zjer dipped his beak in the direction of Lirr, Teglin and Zizo, the traditional Jorro'kil handshake gesture.
 
He then stood, silent and unmoving, as Q'ren studied him. This was, he thought, something similar to military inspection, though his assumption was quickly changed as he noticed the small competition between Q'ren and Theranis. It dawned upon him that, given the circumstances, this Krathunian staring him in the face may have been surprised to see the creation of his people, the Krathunians, in such an advanced state.
 
He listened, still silent, as Theranis explained to Q'ren the cause which produced this effect; that Zjer was here. Once Theranis finished, Zjer presented his own voice again.
 
"The Sentinel is correct, I was eager to join your quest, I have seen so little action lately, our war with the UFIAI does not often come to soldier against soldier. Though, this is far more grand." He then dipped his beak in the general direction of Theranis, Rakluth, and Q'ren, and returned the salute to Rakluth.
 
"Thank you, Sir. The honor is mine."  
 
Zjer was silent again as Rakluth carried on his conversation with Intaa. After hearing the situation which confronted them, he thought back, something in his memory that would be appropriate for the moment. Ah, there it was.
 
"An old saying I know is this; "We must consider, if we have done the impossible, and if we have, then there is only possible.""
 
He paused to let it sink in, before continuing. "I have seen more than enough evidence that we have done the impossible.. or, rather, the possible. The Confederacy has overcome the obstacles which seem to plague its path.  Now, you must ask yourself, if nothing is impossible, then is the possible worth doing?"

The sparring match in the training room was interrupted when the sound of the intercom crackling to life echoed in the gigantic chamber. Travis' voice echoed throughout the Majesty, "Attention, everyone, we have reached another Chimerosu outpost. Everyone planning on coming with the search party to look for information should report immediately to the airlock room. That is all." The intercom then clicked off.

This started a whole new commotion, and cadets began looking at Lucas, Lloyd, and Watson expectantly. The three they singled out were the most likely to go, if anyone came with the group to the outpost. Watson looked at everyone, the Cavernian frowning, "Uh, we go to the actual planets, but outposts aren't exactly our strong point. We aren't that good at digging up lost information." He looked over at Mira, "What about you? You're one of a few Silexians that learned how to speak International, you couldn't have been born knowing that. You had to study it, how did you do it? Are you going? I think you should go."

Mira frowned, "Well, I did help my grandfather with preserving our history, so I guess I should go." She murmured. She slowly started on her way out.

((Just a real quick post so I don't leave you guys hanging, was unable to post more due to school today))

Svar swiftly moved his hand out of the way of the blade before realizing Tevri's intention. With surprisingly agility he leaped a bit backwards while swinging his sword in a blocking motion, preparing to defend himself. This was when the announcement came on. The Krathunian stood up, his weapon hanging from his right side. "We should get going," He said, glancing at the Chimerosu cadets.

"Coming this time?" asked Aarin.

Tevri shook his head. "No I think I won't this time."

"Hmm, me neither, I think. "I'd like to talk to a few people," said Aarin. He started to turn to Isbar, and found that he had already left for the airlock. Isbar always disembarked on every mission. Some other time then, thought Aarin.

As he passed Mira, he gave her a smile. "Cheer up. Think of it as an opportunity to learn something new. You'll have lots to offer your own people when you get back, I'm sure. Ah, Allé," he said, as the scientist strode past, carrying a data storage unit under his arm. "Going to the outpost?"

"Yep," said Allé. "Are you coming?"

"No, I think I need to talk to Mott about something he's working on. Have you seen him?"

"He's in his quarters, I think." I believe he wanted to speak to you, too."

A week after base defense

Things were looking bright on Cilask, the New Dominon Empire Capital Planet. It was once where Kradus' very palace was. The planet was covered in a huge metropolis. There weren't many places in the planet that weren't infested with forests of cities. It got to the point that enormous machines had to fly throughout the skies, spraying atmosphere enhancing chemicals so the beings below would still have oxygen to breathe, even despite the lack of trees.

The emperor of the New Dominion, Emperor Pylakim, stood on a balcony overlooking the massive metropolis. He was a tall Leprol. A gray, mammalian creature with sleek skin. His eyes were a soft gold and he his skin was usually paired to a lighter shade of gray, to make him stand out from other Leprols. He wore a long blue robe with a hood and some wristbands with controls and buttons on them. He spotted something in the corner of his eye and looked to see what it was.

Something black flew by in the clouds above. He squinted his eyes, to get a better look at it. Then he heard sirens going off, and immediately ran back from the balcony in panic. Another Leprol had burst into the room at this time. "My lord! The rebels! They somehow made it through our detections. Our space defenses aren't responding! Their transitions must have been jammed, then they were ripped apart! Because they're not showing up on any of our readings!"

Pylakim had a look of worry. "Get me some guards! Now!"



The city was already suffering the attack. A huge swarm of old Zraak fighters, the kind the Old Dominion used, began firing down at the city. A huge Zraak Battlecruiser, just like the old kind, appeared in the sky. Others became apparent as well. Aircrafts sent bombs raining down.

A large Dropcraft, a huge disk-like ship but with a bulge at the bottom landed somewhere where it would fit in a large square. The bulge opened up, extending an enormous landing claw. Immediately battalions and regiments of armored Zraak forces poured out of them. Black metallic armor coupled with the Zraak's black and red scales made them all the more ominous. Their eerie red eyes made them seem truly possessed by warlike, dire intentions. The citizens in the streets were in a panic, without question, beginning to be gunned down by the Zraak. Mercilessly.

Shancar stomped off of the landing claw, a few Zraak on Kolgrosurfs, large speeders in which the rider would stand and hold on rather than sit. Shancar's red and black cape swayed behind him with the wind of the speeders flying past. Leprol defenses were fighting hard, but were extremely outnumbered. Shancar smiled. He approached a group of Zraak that were civilians of the city. There were about twenty, on their knees in a group, with their hands in the air. Other Zraak were pointing their guns as them.

"Please! Please don't kill us!" begged one of the civilian Zraak.

Shancar took a gun from one of the soldiers and handed it to the civilian. "Time to suit up, brothers. Wouldn't you think?" He asked. The civilian took the gun nervously, his hands shaking.

One of the other civilians stood up. "This is an outra--" that was all he got out, as Shancar had flipped a hand-held Zraak Zel'gaard pistol into his claws and shot the civilian dead.

The General looked at all of the others. "Anyone else got anything to say?"

"Uh.... Hail the Dominion?" One of the civilians said shudderingly. Obviously he still remembered the battle roar from all of those years ago.

Shancar nodded. "There you go. Now go find an Outfitter Cruiser. Or just steal the armor off our dead soldiers, they won't mind. Now go! And honor your empire, your military, and all of your species! And more importantly, honor the Old Dominion!"

The Zraak civilians got to their feet and charged away towards a large ship that was landing, obviously a Zraak owned one. Shancar grinned. A Leprol Executer approached with heavy armor, firing huge purple thermal XCV bullets. Two Zraak drones held their arms out, springing a red bubble around Shancar that the bullets bounced off of. The General grinned. He took out a larger gun from his side and readied it. A rapid fire of red light blazed out with a horrid screeching sound. Shancar seemed to be launching horrendously as he saw the Executer fall to the ground with lakes of blue blood pouring out. Shancar lowered the gun and continued walking, with the bubble still around him.

A few Aircrafts went through the very streets, flying extremely low. They practically mowed every road and house over with waves of bullets, bombs, and above all, fire. Fire was everywhere. The Zraak obviously disgusted how the Leprol had transformed the old Dominion capital into such a pleasant, happy place. They would make it darker again. The Zraak soldiers came in massive mobs, gunning down all of the civilians they spotted, though they avoided most Zraak, unless the Zraak attacked them.

A few Aircrafts of both old and new Dominion sides crashed and exploded into the streets, their booms could be heard throughout the city. Some Aircrafts dumped thousands of gallons of explosive liquids similar to gasoline onto the houses, so that when armed Aircrafts swept by, they'd do more damage by striking the liquid with their bullets.

Leprol and Zraak soldiers lay in the streets dead, only to be stepped on by the massive battalions of rebel soldiers and new rebel Zraak civilians. Aircrafts were billeting down the defenses of the palace building.

Emperor Pylakim and the members of the Leproian Council were boxed by many guards and were being rushed through a dark hallway. It was a secret corridor, used especially for a hasty escape like this. Pylakim was sweating, terribly afraid. The building shook a bit, some dust falling from the ceilings. Then the group of Leprols rounded a corner.

They stopped in their tracks and gasped as Shancar and a multitude of Zraak soldiers stood in the hall. The Leprol guards pointed their guns at them. Shancar knew everything about the palace, even these escape routes. He once lived in it and he knew that the Leprol would be so stupid as to take the obvious route out. He clicked his claws together, approaching with a toothy, wicked smile.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise" he said.

"Shancar..." Pylakim said in shock. "But you--"

"But I what? I was in prison the last time you saw me? I told you before, you'd regret the day you put me in that asylum. Lord Dalon came to my rescue and sprung me free. But your officers were too stupid to tell you that I was the escaped prisoner. They just informed you of a prison break, didn't they?" Shancar asked with his scarlet eyes narrowed.

"How are there so many soldiers?" asked Pylakim.

"Zraak have a tendency to populate entire worlds within only a short while. We have been increasing the brood an cloning ever since we were cast out" Shancar said. "And I will say, your defenses are putrid. We were able to take down your security grid and your surveillance systems. We destroyed your blockade without the planet even knowing it was going on. Pathetic. Even the Confederacy wouldn't be so pathetic, and the simple fact is, you have some truly outstanding new technology since we all last met. And you don't even know how to use them."

"Shancar, I know we could work something out" he said backing up.

Shancar stepped forward. "You really think so?" He asked. Pylakim nodded. Shancar grimaced, and there was a moment of eerie silence, just before Shancar pulled his arm up and shot Pylakim several times throughout his body, killing him. The Leprol guards raced for their guns to load up and fire but Shancar sneered at them. He threw his arms out in a mocking surrendering way. "Shoot me, I dare you" he growled.

The guards lowered their guns, just as Shancar lowered his. He grinned again. As soon as they let down their guard, the Zraak gunned down ever Leprol standing. Shancar then snickered. "The Capital is ours... Contact Dalon, tell him it's safe to come now. And reform our old blockade in the system's defenses, to keep any Leprol forces from returning."

Theranis opened his mouth to respond to all of this, but the sound of Q'ren's voice interrupted him. "We're leaving," the ancient Sentinel ordered, glaring at Admiral Intaa, and the defiant Ryun fiercely returned the look. Q'ren started to walk away back towards the Anomaly, his anger filled steps echoing throughout the station. The rest of the group followed suit, leaving Intaa to storm off to her office, perplexed at the actions of the Krathunians. Admiral Rakluth eventually came up right beside Q'ren and was about to speak, but the elder cut him off, speaking to everyone in the group - Theranis, Rakluth, Zjer, Lirr, Teglin, the Wreae, and Zizo. "The Continuum Corrupter is my legacy, my magnum opus," He explained in an almost hushed tone. "Without the Shell, I cannot complete the weapon, and the process of creating a new one would require several technologies that, luck has it, don't exist anymore outside of vaults." He looked back at Unit 28515. "How long until the bombardment ships reach here?" He inquired.

The Wreae paused for a minute before speaking in its harsh metallic voice. "The cruisers are on a trajectory directly from planet Ieegar in the Aegus System to this location, a journey of approximately 12 hours with all available power to engines. According to the station's docking schedule they should arrive in approximately 1 hour. The ships will refuel and resupply here before continuing, but due to automated systems this will be a quick process. In addition, it would take the Anomaly approximately 9 hours to reach our destination, and the bombardment ships another 10. This will give us about 2 hours within the Vrentus fortress world before the bombardment ships arrive."

"That's enough time," Q'ren responded with an approving nod of the head. "We better get going then." The group reached the ship and it hastily exited the station, shooting off into the void beyond.

_____________________________________________________________

Svar headed off to the airlock, checking analytics on his HUD with a mood almost close to paranoia. He wanted to make sure the new additions to his armor had worked, and the data showed that the upgrades he had performed had been successful, the gift from Rakluth fully integrated into the railgun and armoring systems. However, to what extent it was effective remained to be seen. Eventually, the Krathunian reached the airlock room and awaited further orders.

_____________________________________________________________

The Vrentus Primes, under the orders of Praedromus, began a search for potential allies, sending scouting ships to several occupied locations that were not in the influence of the Confederacy. Eventually, they narrowed the empires observed down to three that exhibited promise in regards to their cause. One of them was already an ally of the UFIAI - The Imperial Despot of Jiiran. The next was thus far neutral in galactic politics aside from a war against the Dranzoot and the mining of a Federation world - The Samian Prevalence. The last was also neutral, and though ties with the Confederacy were starting to be formed, they could be easily cut - the Vil'Nolwikkan Greater Dominion. The Vrentus prepared to contact each of these, hoping to form an alliance that could shatter the Confederacy.

Once everyone had assembled on the airlock, there was a relatively large party heading to the outpost. In addition to the other representatives from different empires, there was also Ravage, Samir, Travis, Blair, Corey, Mira, and Watson, the latter having decided to come on the mission, after all. Everyone was holding a face mask in their hands, and those that were just arriving were given ones, as well. There was the notable fact that this time, Ravage and Samir had opted not to bring their animal companions. A lot of people gave Ravage questioning looks, as it was no secret that she went everywhere with Xenos, and that the two were practically inseparable. Ravage, sensing the question flicked her tail, and held up her face mask, "We were able to get face masks for everyone so we aren't forced to breathe dust, but we wouldn't be able to get our animal companions to wear them so easily without training them, first, which I plan on doing as soon as I get back. We'll have our lungs protected, as well as our eyes, but if you have a problem with getting a rash in dusty places, I'd suggest not coming." With this, she fixed the mask over her face, which made her look quite terrifying. It molded perfectly to the shape of a Chimerosu's face, but there was only a grille of sorts where the mouth was, and the nose was sealed. The eyes were grey windows that were reflective, hiding the eyes. Overall, the mask was plain and white, and gave a featureless, blank expression to one who wore it.

Everyone put on their masks, "Alright, y'all, come on." Travis said, walking into the Jewel and preparing the ship for takeoff. People were all strangely quiet, as though conversation was dulled by the inability to read the face of another person. When the airlock closed, and everyone was sealed inside the landing ship, they took off, once again, approaching an outpost. This outpost was a bit different from the first. It, too, was on an asteroid, but unlike the first, the outpost was completely inside of the space rock, the only entrances being hexagon-shaped hatches. As they approached, the airlock responded and opened, and everyone was able to dock inside, the airlock closing behind them, and then the room making it possible for everyone to exit the landing ship.

When everyone stepped out, the first thing they noticed was how clean the airlock seemed. When a hallway door opened, they saw that the floor was completely spotless, also, and lights flickered to life, as though the facility were somehow still well-maintained, despite being abandoned. After a moment's hesitation, Samir stripped off his mask, "How is it that this base is so clean?" He asked.

Lirr came up to Q'ren. "What is our next destination?" he asked.
___________________________________

Any ship the Vrentus would find that Mondar was surrounded by millions of ships, with more coming in all the time. They might have noticed that few of them were actually manned, the majority being automated. As Jiiran descended deeper into his paranoia, he drew more and more of his forces closer to himself, intent on forming a buffer between himself, and any that might cause his harm.
_________________________________

Allé and Isar both removed their masks. "It does seem rather well-maintained, doesn't it?" observed Allé. "Do you think it's possible there's still someone operating it?"

Ravage frowned, and sniffed the air, before suddenly seeming to wretch, and shake her head, as though having caught the trace of something that she found highly unpleasant. She clamped a hand over her beak, and her eyes narrowed, "I think I know what that smell is. Grubblons, and I'm not swearing, on that note, there are Grubblons somewhere in this base, and their reek is somewhere further off." In all truth, there wasn't anything truly disgusting about the smell she spoke of, not to anyone else who could detect it. Perhaps the disgust Ravage felt for the larva-like scent was borne out of a learned hatred Ravage felt for the insect-like creatures, native to Krylon. After steeling her nerve, Ravage sniffed the air again, "It's pretty strong, the smell, but I don't quite get why it's here. Grubblons are pests, in any facility like this, they would have been exterminated the moment their presence was detected."

A few people cast questioning looks at Ravage, and when she gave no answer, Samir. Samir sighed, and folded his arms, flicking his tail, "Grubblons are large insects native to Krylon, roughly a foot in length at full size, and that's when they're in the larval stage. They infest homes, eat all the food in your pantry, and are generally nuisances, not really major vectors of disease. They make a mess though, and that's not even considering that they turn into moths, eventually, and start scattering their messy wing scales all over the place. Worse, a lot of them display the alarming tendency to grow abnormally large, sometimes growing big enough to rival a person. They even once mutated and became an intelligent race, which then tried to kill the Chimerosu."

Ravage snorted, "You don't have to mention that part, are you considering that there might actually be an intelligent Grubblon further in?"

Samir flicked his tail, "Well, how do you explain the scent without the extermination?"

Ravage growled, "Well, that's a viable option, but not a nice one. Grubblons and Chimerosu never did get along, and the race we had to exterminate was a bunch of war-mongering savages, that somehow figured out space travel. They would have killed everyone, there's not much chance of negotiation, if there's Grubblons here." She flicked her tail, "Everyone be on guard, then, we get in and out. We'll smell the monsters coming long before we get jumped." She then proceeded ahead, everyone hesitating, before following.

Isbar came right behind Ravage, showing little, if any apprehension. He almost seemed to be looking forward to the concept of a battle. He could obviously smell what Ravage smelled, the way he curled his one lip.

Q'ren glanced at the Markovan Admiral for a second before turning towards the hologram display at the center of the room. Speaking to the Anomaly's AI, he said, "Show me planet Grenvunt, territory of the Vrentus Collective." The hologram display activated in response and a rather peculiar planet faded into view. The entire celestial body was encased in a large, web-like structure, made out of a very durable metal alloy. There were several layers to the web, and each string varied in size - The largest of these threads converged at the poles of the planet before branching off into the smaller ones. The web created three ring-like bulges at the equator and both 30 degree latitudes, the threads converging diagonally.

Q'ren turned back to Lirr after examining this for a second, pointing to the display. After a second or so he gestured for the others to pay attention, most of them eating rations that had been provided for them by the Axlenta station (However, the food wasn't of Ryun-Wreae origin. Instead, it was mostly common intergalactic meals, though specialized meals for the Krathunians, Markovan, and Jorro'kil were provided). "Our destination is Grenvunt, of the Vilus system," He began, scanning the faces of all present. "The first thing you may take note of is its... design. This is modeled after a planetary protection shield created by the R'lek Union, and since their collapse it has been adopted for many Vrentus controlled worlds. Each of those threads you see are made up of a very dense and strong alloy that even the Old Covenant could not replicate. Those three large protuberances there are used for defense and ship docking - We need to avoid these areas at all costs, though there are still smaller prominences that contain smaller planetary defense weaponry and vessels. The shield is massive, travelling down for approximately two miles, and it grows denser as you travel downwards. At the end of the first mile, there is a simulated atmosphere compatible with most species and an actual surface with service tunnels, storage facilities, and so on. This is where the Vrentus infantry will be held, and it is also where the Seraph Shell will be contained, though that is a bit complicated.”

"You see," Q'ren continued, gesturing at the hologram, "the shield is suspended above the surface of the planet by an advanced gravity propulsion system. This system has several engines and power generators scattered throughout. Each of the generators is about half a mile into the surface-like part of the shield, but that area is very treacherous. Now..." The hologram faded as Q'ren looked to it and changed into that of a hollow shell made up of hexagonal plating. "This is the Seraph Shell. Like I explained before, it is used to contain a power source. Each of the gravity propulsion engines on Grenvunt uses a very dense energy source to accomplish, and their output needs to be suppressed in some way to prevent the entire system from overloading. I'm almost certain that the Vrentus transported it to Grenvunt to contain one of these sources. That will be our job - Finding the Shell and escaping before that section of the shield succumbs to gravity and collapses."

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Svar walked slowly with the others, carefully searching the area for anything. Despite the fact that the facility was (mostly) sterile, he kept his helmet on due to the usefulness of the HUD in a combat system. In order to prepare for an encounter, he activated his railgun's targeting mechanisms and allowed for the weapon to trigger in an instant so that he would be able to hit the Gurbblons with either a plasma bolt or one of the retrofitted bullets.

As they got to one of the main rooms at the end of the hallway, Ravage found herself jumping back in shock when a flash of bluish-grey showed up in front of her. "I'm saved, I'm saved!" There was a hysterical note to the laughter that followed, and it was a deep bellowing sound, that didn't match the figure that had somehow, despite everything, managed to get the drop on the Krylonian. Everyone at first might have considered attacking, but what they saw made them blink in surprise. Standing in front of Ravage, grabbing her and shaking her by the shoulders, was a Krylonian scientist of some sort. One thing was for certain, he was incredibly old. His beak was wrinkled and rough in texture, and it looked like his lower jaw didn't line up with the upper part, a condition known among birds as cross-beak, which was probably a birth defect made worse by age, though this man's case was for the most part mild. His feathers were faded and grey from age, and the ones underneath his eyes were molting down to nothing, showing greyish-pink skin underneath. He had a long tuft of thin, hair-like feathers coming from underneath his beak, however, despite the molting, the Chimerosu's version of a beard that happened, depending on the Chimerosu, at a later age in males. The man wore a white lab-coat that looked very worn, almost threadbare, and covered in wrinkles. The sleeves were meant to come up to just past the elbow, but the right sleeve was torn and ragged, coming to just past the shoulder instead. There was a multitude of old grey stains on the sleeves and tails of the coat, and a few small speckles of bright blue ones. It must have been blood, but Chimerosu didn't have blue blood, their blood was red. Another thing, though, was the right arm itself. It wasn't a natural limb, but a cyborganic prosthetic limb, made of a gleaming grey metal, and expertly designed to work in all the ways that a normal arm would work, once connected to the nerves of the arm.

Ravage, recovering from the shock, screeched and shoved the man away, her tail flicking wildly, "What on Krylon?!" She exclaimed, she hadn't even seen this coming. She made a disgusted sound, and folded her arms, scowling, "It must've been the Grubblon's scent, it's masking everything else!" She looked up, examining the man carefully, "And yet, I didn't expect we'd find another Krylonian here." She drifted off, looking away, embarrassed that people had actually seen her momentarily flustered. It was uncharacteristic, and would later be viewed as highly comical whenever someone reflected on the incident, but for now, it wasn't that funny. The old man had made everyone think they were being attacked. Overall, though, he didn't look all that dangerous. He was an elderly person who looked like he wasn't entirely sane, perhaps slightly mad from being isolated for a long time, and he had a look of pure joy on his face, even though a normal person would have been frightened by their arrival. In addition, he was missing an arm, and despite having a metal limb that could, in fact, do serious damage if used offensively, made him look even less threatening than a normal person.

Samir's beak fell wide, "I don't believe it! Another Krylonian, this is...remarkable, incredible!" He couldn't find the right words.

A ship docked at a large platform, landing down and opening a large circular hatch at the side. Many Zraak, including Shancar, where on the platform awaiting. Shancar looked on anxiously with his creepy expressions and his blood red eyes. A boarding claw landed onto the platform and the dire form of Dalon stepped out. Shancar's body was filled with chills at the sight. But they were good chills.

"My lord, I must say you remind me ever so much of our old emperor" he said grinning. Dalon nodded, but having nearly no emotions on his face.

"Very good, General. Now, direct me to the throne room" Dalon said. His red cape flashes behind him. Shancar nodded, turning just as the Jadel overlord joined him. They were guarded heavily with a massive bubble of soldiers that walked with them as they went into the large building. As they went inside, New Dominion banners were being burned on the walls. The lavender flags with a Leprol emblem shaped like a coin all lit up red.

Some gunshots were heard as the Zraak were executing some of the residents of the palace they were finding hiding in some dark corners. They finally made it to a large set of doors that were guarded by a few Zraak.

"What's the status on this room?" asked Shancar.

"Empty of life forms, but we've left it untouched otherwise for your direct orders" he said.

Shancar nodded. "Let's have a look inside" he said pushing the doors open. He gasped as they entered the room. Purple banners were strung everywhere. What was once colored black was now pretty gray and lavender. The throne was no longer the enormous, malevolent, black metal one that Kradus had used. Now it was a calm, smooth edged chrome chair. The windows were tinted lavender instead of red. There were many plants filled with flowers around the room and they reeked of perfumes. "This is absolutely putrid!" Shancar said. "Look... Look what they've done... If I knew this earlier I would have made that emperor die a much more painful death... Dalon, what are your orders?"

"Burn the room. Burn everything in here. Rebuild it and make it as much like the old one as possible. In fact, this palace, this entire capital planet needs to be rebuilt. We'll start here. Shancar, assign your finest for this assignment" Dalon said.

"Good, good. Yes. You and I can focus on the war effort while they're doing all of that."

"Now, find me Kradus' remains. We need to build the memorial site for him" Dalon said.

Shancar scratched his scaly head. "I was going to mention that, we don't exactly have Kradus' body..." he said.

Dalon's eyes widened in rage. His teeth gritted and his fists clenched. "WHAT?!" He shouted loudly, enough to where the mechanisms on his armor made a strange glitchy noise. He twisted a knob on his chest to fix it.

"I already looked into it before you got here. Apparently the Confederacy burned his body in a pyre. The Leprol recorded and archived all of it" Shancar said taking out a circular device with a holographic touch screen system. Dalon began reading it.

"It says that not all of his remnants were destroyed in the fire" he said looking at Shancar. The Zraak nodded.

"He had Karthla implants, thinking they'd improve his body and capability in combat. He also theorized that they'd make him live longer. But it was the first time we'd ever fused a living being with Karthla, without completely infecting them with the virus. For almost a year we started off by injecting the most minuscule amounts of Karthlosis as possible. I'm talking two or three cells, meanwhile giving him immune system boosts. It was just to train his immune system to keep the infection at bay. Then after a year we injected him with a new super-cell that calmed the Karthla cells and made them non-hostile towards Kradus' body. Soon we added mutagens and closed them into a certain area of his body. His right arm and leg and a bit inside of his right eye. Soon it mutated him as expected and benefitted him. But soon the virus grew out of our calculations and was beginning to warp his bodies in wrong ways, such is the design of Karthlosis. No known immune system can keep it at bay. We sought the orbs, hoping they would stabilize everything again. Eventually we found the red, which did as we had planned. But then came his horrid death... The point is, when they burned his body, those Karthla implants would not burn up. They were too powerful to be destroyed. They had been stimulated by the red orb and increased to extreme power. So, the Confederacy tried other methods of destroying them. None worked. Now they're being contained deep underground one of their planets..."

Dalon thought long and hard about this, before he finally spoke. "Send our forces there... We must take back that body. It is our property, not theirs."

Teglin swallowed as he looked at this arrangement. "How are we going to get in without being seen?" he asked.
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At the scientists appearance, Isbar had immediately opened his guns. Upon seeing who exactly it was that had jumped out, however, he put them away, muttering something like "good way to get oneself killed."

Allé grinned. "Well, I'd say that that explains how everything is well maintained. Oh, my name is Allé, by the way, and this is Isbar," he added to the elderly Krylonian.

Q'ren stifled an audible laugh, turning back towards the hologram. "The Anomaly has advanced cloaking technology available, but once we're in the shield, the Vrentus will know we're there. Sentinel Theranis and some of the ship's security drones that you... encountered earlier will be defending the ship, and the rest of us will have to travel down into the surface. Locating the shell will be relatively easy, as captured Krathunian technology will be traceable and distinct from that of the Vrentus."

Q'ren coughed a bit, blinking, and turned back to the group, pointing at the rations. "You all better eat up, we have a difficult task ahead. He leaned back on the hologram projector and sighed, looking up at the surface of the ceiling. "Krathun help us all."

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Svar nodded, allowing his helmet to detract back into his armor. "I am Commander Svar Levantus," He greeted the new Krylonian. "It is an honor."

51,764

Inside Vil-Nolwikkan Space

The City of Karsala on the surface of Estrompir

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Slowly, Edacious entered the elevator. This elevator was very fast; he would have no problem catching up to the Vey Kaam.

Within a few seconds, the door opened once more, revealing the rooftop. It was easy to tell that the Vey Kaam have been severely delayed by the Vil-Nolwikkan military. They clearly weren't going to escape. However, there seemed to be planes everywhere. They seemed to be doing something other than capturing the terrorists. Edacious, an experienced officer, guessed they were planning something. But what?

Edacious was shaken from his thoughts when the defeated Very Kaam leader stepped down from the ship. He knew that they were completely surrounded. The leader spoke with an accent, "You win... do what you must."

Edacious was a little shaken, "You're giving up that easily? This isn't normal for your kind, Vey Kaam. What are you doing?" The Vey Kaam replied, "Are you blind? look around you. We'd be blown to pieces." Edacious shook his head, "Well, of course, but this isn't normal. It's so abnormal that... I'm conversing with an enemy. I'm obviously shocked. What they are planning. I do not know."

Edacious stepped closer, aiming his gun at the leader. "But I digress. Drop your weapons." As the Vey Kaam complied, a small ship, about thirty feet long, landed on the roof. To his surprise, General Yura stepped out, followed by what had to be ten soldiers. Four of the Nolwikkans were covered in grey armor, and held swords. six of the other soldiers were wearing crimson armor, and were carrying almost every weapon in the book.

Grey slashers and Blood Barbarians, Edacious thought. They clearly have something else in mind. Other than... eh, "capturing" the terrorists, I believe. Yura greeted Edacious, in slight surprise, "Ah! Hello, Edacious...! What a surprise to see you here. I... See you overdid it with the armor."

Edacious shook his head, "No. I did what I felt was necessary." Yura gave a chuckle, "Yes. Overdoing it. Now, help us take care of these terrorists, Edacious." The Vey Kaam leader stepped back, realizing that they weren't going to be captured. Edacious knew what she was about to do, too. He was incredibly confused. He hated when things like this happened. It was when he questioned his loyalty to the Archlord the most.

However, instead of doing what  Edacious expected her to do, Yura did the unthinkable. The charged the Vey Kaam leader, knocking him over. The Blood Barbarians opened fire on the other Vey Kaam, while Yura held the leader in her claws. However, the leader stayed silent. Edacious was impressed by the leader's bravery. Yura stepped off of him. Slowly, the leader  stood up and looked Yura in the eye.

"Pedicabo ego vos et domus patris tui," Edacious heard the leader say quietly. Suddenly, Yura charged him again, but with much more force. She kicked the leader in the chest with incredible force, tossing him for what had to be 30 feet. Unfortunately, this also meant that the leader was tossed over the edge. Silently, as if accepting his fate, the leader fell for some 97 stories. Sickened, Edacious looked away, unable to see another life end.

By this time, there were ten Vey Kaam corpses lying on the ground, ready to greet Resara and her guards. Slowly, the elevator opened, revealing the Jorro'kil. Yura looked at Resara with a slight frown on her face.

"Well, hello, Resara. Pay no mind to the bodies... This is unfortunately... our... culture. I trust that You've had no trouble arriving here...?"

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Meanwhile

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A small ship, the War Hero, cautiously entered the territory of the Vrentus. On the War Hero was a team of diplomats, also very experienced in fighting. Archlord Reskullus obviously was very interested in the Vrentus, and wanted to be as appealing as possible.

The War Hero docked at a space station. The diplomats, confident, entered the station, eager to come up with an agreement.

Hopefully, an agreement that will set the stage for massive expansion in the name of the Archlord.

Resara looked around, saw the spatters of blood and corpses. A quick execution, it was obvious. "I don't mind," She said to Yura. "and no, I didn't have much difficulty. Surprising, given the situation. Your security doesn't seem to be very... preventive."

Her guards, following, came up behind her, and nodded as she glanced at them. "Well then.. I suppose we should be leaving." She said, and looked at Edacious. "I believe you'll be guiding me back to the facility which we arrived at."

Resara, unlike most officials, preferred to wear her power armor instead of a suit, sans helmet. This model was equipped with an enhanced personal energy shielding. It was colored a matte black, with purple highlights to signify rank. Though normally unneeded, Resara was glad she had chosen to wear it, in light of the recent events on this evidently violent planet.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Zjer more fully gave his attention to Q'ren as he remarked about the food, then turned again back to the protein-packed meal, and finished it off. He picked up a plastic up filled with water, and, opening his beak, was careful to direct the cup straight down the middle of his mouth. He drank deeply, until the level in the cup was very low. He paused, looked around, then let the remaining water drip into his mouth. Upon finishing it, he set the cup down on the tray it had come on. He then got up, and walked over to Q'ren.

"Exactly what kind of combat should we prepare for, if there is anything we should know about these Vrentus before we're in the midst of them?" Zjer asked.

Zizo Tai devoured his food like a wolf, then glanced at Teglin. "You going to eat that or not?"

Teglin was merely picking at his own food, his appetite quite taken away. Lirr nudged him. "Come on, young'n, you need to keep up your strength."

Teglin ate his meal barely tasting it.

Upon noticing the representatives, the elderly Krylonian scientist gasped with fascination, "Remarkable, genuine specimens of extraterrestrial life! Incredible!" He clasped his hands together, the metal of his prosthetic limb clinking slightly. He seemed to have the general scientific curiosity one expected from the kind of person to be working in an outpost, but overall, he was oblivious to the fact that he had startled the group, or that they had introduced themselves. One found themselves suddenly aware that if the outpost had been abandoned with him there, the Krylonian must have been trapped in the place for over a decade, completely alone. It was no secret that few Krylonians had ever seen an alien, so it probably struck the man as fascinating to see a large number of different species gathered all in one place. After a moment of blinking with surprise, or perhaps his vision was bad, the Krylonian straightened. "Ah, er-hem! Yes, well, I am Horus, the only remaining scientist currently working in this facility. Of course, I cannot say my research as of yet is ongoing, or proceeding as planned. There has been a problem holding it up for quite some time, now." His sentences seemed to lapse together, and his voice, when calm, was quite soft, the kind that automatically made everyone else want to speak quietly.

Ravage flicked her tail, the only one who wasn't in the mood to introduce herself, taking into account Horus' appearance. "Let me guess...Grubblons..." She said, not bothering to have a polite tone.

Horus spun around and pointed at her with his prosthetic right arm, "Yes, Exactly! You're right! Grubblons seem to have found their way onto the last transport ship and they've infested the whole facility. I'm afraid this is only the outermost part of the facility, the only one I could keep clean. The rest, I'm afraid, is dripping with slime, perhaps serving as a nest. Oh, I don't want to think of it!" He seemed completely oblivious to Ravage's rudeness, and more upset about what might be happening to his work.

Allé cast a glance at Ravage. This man clearly knew nothing of the destruction of Krylon. How would he handle this.

Isbar stepped forward, opening the guns in his cuffs as he did so. "We can take care of these Grubblons for you. Where are they?"

Horus rubbed his chin, "Ah, well, they're in the inner rungs of the facility, the whole place is a giant ring, you see." He explained aloud, though it looked more like he was musing quietly to himself. "No telling how long they've been shut up in there to breed, in an environment like this it is possible they were exposed to a wide variety of mutagens, most of them were mutated, the last I saw, luckily I sealed the doors and they can't get out." He looked at the group again, studying them with a bit more calculation in his gaze, "These aren't ordinary insects, boys and girls, they're insects that have grown to abnormally large size. They're only harmless as long as they remain a normal size. Once one has grown into a giant, it can choke you with its wing scales as an adult, and the larvae alone could crush you with their incredible weight. If there are as many in there as I think there are, it's a wonder they haven't broken down the door and gotten me already." He flicked his tail, "You're asking me to send you into a hazardous environment where the sheer number of dangerous creatures inside could kill you."

Ravage snorted, and flicked her tail, "There's some information we need that we think we can find in this outpost, it's the whole reason we're here."

Horus frowned, and was silent for a long moment, "Ah, then we can't let your visit come in vain," He sounded doubtful, "I can show you the door, but once you're inside, you're in danger. I barely fought those creatures off as it is."

Travis thought to himself, "We'll risk it."