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[kingmonkey+1]

The Charlemagne moved through the darkness of space leaving the fire of battle far behind. Behind it, like a pod of leviathans, The Majestic and the Afric trailed. All three mighty cruisers bore the scars of the conflagration on their skin. All their fighters had returned-- those that had survived. Wounds were now being tended, repairs being made. It would be almost a day's journey to the nearest refitting station where they could undergo restocking.

Aboard the Charlemagne, Boris slammed his fist into the arm of his chair. Several of the younger staff started at the sudden noise. Lt. Craft stood with his hands behind his back, awaiting the captain's response to his report.

"Lieutenant," Boris said, "I'm sure I didn't hear you quite right. Please join me in the war room so you can explain that to me."

The two officers left the bridge in the charge of Boris' very capable crew. They were ample distance away from the AI world, and battle was unlikely to follow them this far into regulated space, however lack of caution was a cardinal sin aboard the Charlemagne.

"Please repeat that, Abin," Boris said to his executive officer, "what exactly are our orders?"

"U Command states that we are to abort this mission and return to dry-dock for debriefing. My sources tell me there is a good chance you are to be commended for this sortie-- possibly given the Bronze Star. A promotion is almost certainly in order." Craft's voice was smooth and cool, without a trace of emotion.

"So they want me off the Charlemagne, do they? Why would the U go through the effort of putting together a mission like this, only to cast our people to the wolves? It doesn't make sense."

"If I may, sir?"

"Of course." Boris waved his approval.

"Captain, I believe we are looking at two different parties. The U has direct contact with this Viletta; you've said as much before. My transmission came from U Prime Command, signed by the council. Perhaps the council is operating independently of the U's wishes?"

Boris glared at his second in command. With a glance, Craft understood and they both tapped a tiny device under their cuffs. Illegal signal jammers, especially devices of such sophistication, were illegal, but many star ship captains needed true privacy when discussing battle plans, so it was commonly overlooked. Boris had used that laxity to outfit his entire ship with such devices.

"That's seditious talk, Craft," Boris said with an even tone, "but you could be right. Still, the motive eludes me."

"Perhaps they are in league with the AI?"

"No. I'd be more inclined to believe they are trying to advance their own political agendas. Collaboration with the AI is like collaborating with sharks. Needless to say, we didn't receive that transmission, right lieutenant?"

"Of course not, sir. As usual, I awaited confirmation until I spoke with you. Are we going to go back?"

"We can't. Not yet. The Charlemagne is in need of serious repair. We took a good pounding on the AI world. We do need at least 48 hours for minimal repair. I don't like the thought of leaving them to fend for themselves, though."

"I didn't realize you cared greatly for them, sir."

"Cared? Most of them are psychopaths. Aranom's lost his edge after years as a schoolteacher to snotty nosed summoners. His young protegee is a naive girl with no practical experience. They'll be lucky if she doesn't summon a beastie in their own camp. Nielfax is one third power to two thirds overconfidence. He's reckless and given the chance to grandstand, he'll get them all killed. The aerial mage may survive, but her power is quite unpredictable. Maximus may survive if he gets his head in the game. And Viletta-- Viletta is a hard-headed, stubborn, egotistical, dominatrix who is simply too arrogant to die. She deserves Sanger, I'll tell you that much. I'll wager those two at least will survive."

"Of course, sir, you are able to sit here and cast judgement on them, not because of arrogance, but because of ...?"

"If you were anyone else, you'd be in the brig right now, Craft." Boris sat down, gesturing for Craft to join him at the table. "I sit here in judgement because it's what they need. They may be lunatics and egomaniacs, but almost any one of them has more raw power in them than I do. For better or worse, I'm part of this gang of misfits and miscreants. The honourable thing for me to do is apply my powers to finding out what's going on, and go back there- guns blazing- and get them off that Gods-forsaken stink hole of a planet."

[sashbandit]

Maximus dodged and weaved through the AI until he was nearly at the tunnel. "Well now I knew something good would happen." He said with a huge grin. Particle beams had just begun to rip the AI into pieces ensuring that they wouldn't be followed, at least for a while. "Alright team lets move it unless you wanna see what happens on the inside of one of those beams." Maximus slid into the tunnel and started concentrating his magic again. This brief pause was exactly what he needed to gain some concentration.

"Your Sanger right?" He said with a little enthusiasm. "Well I'm glad your alive thats one less objective we need to worry about." with that Maximus turned towards the back of the cave. "So where does this thing lead anyway?"

[Blazingstar]

As usual, amidst the remnants of gun fire and other forms of assault, the summoner stood straight and calm, his face tilted downward slightly. His eyes were not really focused on what he was doing as he quickly jogged over to the entrance to the tunnel Sanger had created. He understood what was likely being thought about him by many of the others, "Why didn't Aranom do anything? Isn't he an incredibly talented summoner..." or something of the like. However, Aranom was not the person everyone knew. It had been far too long since he had been in any real combat; in fact, he was pretty much a dull blade at this moment. Only Canis and Draconis felt it, but that was due to the fact that their own strength waned and failed as Aranom's did.

He was not upset or enraged at the fact that they had been led into a trap due to command misplacing a few zeros; anyone that was looking at him would clearly see that he was mad about something..but it wasn't that. Aranom, the once proud man, had lost almost all of his talent for his summoning. That was the downside to the summoning arts...they were easily lost. At this moment in time, over 75% of his abilities lay dormant, behind a gate that was almost impossible to open.

As the aging man ducked into the tunnel, his movements became quicker, empowered by his failing in this mission. The summoner did not know what it would take to release his power, but he did know that he had better find out soon, else he become a liability to the group.

[Iris Lilium]

She heard her orders and followed them to a letter halting her flying spell she landed upon the ground and immediately took off at a great speed, It was a nice speed for running without magical power as she probably needed to save what she could of it. "Sakuya, Melee mode." she spoke softly, the staff she carried changed it's form almost reconstructing it self into a Katana. Complete with a sheath. With sword skills taught to her by a certain Red Headed Sword User, she ripped through all opposition, the blade and her were like whirling death as she danced her way quickly through the droves of enemy's slashing them apart one by one.

The blade was almost singing, emitting a soft chime like a small hammer hitting a crystal object. A beautiful clear sound, as that powerful blade cut mercilessly and without distinction. She then quickly dropped into the tunnel as ordered.

[Ryand-Smith]

OOC: Sorry all

The man simply said, "This tunnel leads to the location of my old command centre. We can rest there, before we attack the hangar, retrieve my blade, and form up with the other Agressors on this world." Sanger simply looked at the sky, before heading into the tunnel. "Well, I see you are a user of the power of melee. I thought for once that I was alone in that group. Remind me to show you the power of a General Guardian, miss," Sanger said, as he headed through the dimply lit tunnel, the hasty connection leading into a proper underground base.

"Team, I see you all made it clear, but Sanger here is not telling us something! How did you loose your bla." Sanger seemed angry now, as his face flushed, "They made a god damned copy of me! With their tech, I don't know how they did it, but there is some artificial Sanger running around, calming he is your Gate, Viletta!: Worst of all, he's on no person's side, and he is half the reason I'm still alive!"