Alric Rosenthal's Story

Despite having left the gate well after the larger battleships the cruisers, destroyers, and frigate escorts had arrived first on the grid in a vibrant display of angry flashes.

Some things about the way the natives did battle would have to be explained to fully grasp what was going on. A grid was the understood maximum effective range of most Eden and Ayenee weapon systems that did not possess independent or built in targeting systems with the ability to change trajectory in flight. Faster than light weapon systems could also stretch the boarders of the grid but for most native weapon systems the grid or maximum effective range of their longest range systems was 250 kilometers. To clearly define a grid was to state that if any part of any two objects was within 250 kilometers of each other that these two objects shared or were on grid with each other.

There were two main reasons that a grid was defined as this small distance and why most battles within Ayenee and Eden happened between two or more units that shared a grid. The first reason dealt with the sensor and targeting interference caused to systems that supported manual or artificial intelligence based targeting systems that attempted to lock on or achieve a firing solution on any target that used hydromagnetic shielding as part of its defensive system bundle. Most of the natives of
Onyx used these defensive systems and even on grid they caused some variance on a target's predicted position, velocity, and direction of moment compared with what was true.

Beyond the soft limit of the grid this variance was magnified and caused extreme havoc to sensor bundles and thwarted artificial intelligences attempting to determine a target's position. Spatial fluctuations caused by the micro energy streams displaced sensor ghosts and visible reflections outside of the target's true signature radius. Impact on target due to this phenomenon fell well below fifty percent.

The second cause of this soft limit on distances was that just too much time was given to artificial intelligences and linked pilots to react actively or passively to mitigate incoming damage through the use of onboard sub-systems on all ships and evasive maneuvering on all sub-capital ships. Even when weapon systems that approached or slightly exceeded the speed of the photon were put to use the window of available reaction time gained through ship and sub-space beacon triangulation and reporting coupled with faster than light communication offered a ship a substantial bonus to mitigate incoming damage.

The cruisers, destroyers, and frigates had come onto the grid 200 kilometers off the most forward Taiyou ship between the Taiyou and the TZE-UB gate. A split second later and the mass of battleships landed on grid 100 kilometers away from that same Taiyou ship and between the Taiyou and the smaller Cáidheach ships. 1400mm double barreled Howitzers rotated forward as the ships spat angry light and vented heat. Each barrel's inner bore measured 1.4 meters in diameter. Each barrel extended very nearly 57 meters from its turret housing. It had taken the weapon teams 15.3 seconds to cycle and reload each and every barrel with individual 23 ton super heavy tungsten carbide sabot rounds. These were the monsters of projectile weapons in Onyx. Though dreadnought caliber projectile systems were far larger they were far rarer than the 1400mm. The 1400 was feared and rightly so despite the common conception of inferiority placed on projectile systems by most of the natives.

More than twelve thousand Warrior class light combat drones poured from the battleship drone bays to intercept, hary, and destroy the Taiyou Cosmo Zero fighter flights, the Taiyou fleets smaller escort ships, and their support vessels. Each was equipped with twin 50mm Gatling Auto-Cannons spitting torrents of depleted uranium rounds, a small compliment of defender and interceptor rockets with miniature nuclear payloads, a micro-warp drive, and a micro-hydromagnetic shield emitter. Each was controlled via on onboard smart artificial intelligence unit that would quickly learn and adapt as the fight progressed and it was all powered by a micro fusion reactor. Anything learned would be relayed to the drone control unit on board each ship and broadcast back through the network so that each victory or loss made the drones that much more of a threat.

The drones swarmed like a hive of bees beat with a stick to overwhelm the manned fighters with a wall of incoming projectile fire and maneuvered with thrusters at strange angles to avoid retaliation. The drones could bank, accelerate, and decelerate at impossible angles and speeds that would cause even a well equipped pilot to black out.



A cynosural field ignited behind the formidable wall of battleships that even now started to split off in groups of fifty. Battle was joined by two Nidhoggur class carriers as they jumped in and cast spatial shock waves across the grid as more support was bridged in via a Cáidheach Ragnarok class titan just six jumps away to bring the ship count up to 2,000 all accounted for. Fleet links went up as ethereal streams of energy crisscrossed the Cáidheach fleet. These were not a group of unorganized ruffians. This was part of the main battle fleet of a major pirate bloc.

Space battles in Eden and Ayenee had been a struggle for controlled chaos by commanders since the advent of remote assistances devices and fleet links. Fleet commanders fought to control their respective fleets calling ship commanders and capsuleer pilots to obliterate selected targets before support could assist them. In this respect the Maelstrom class battleship armed with a full rack of 1400s was ideally suited for it took a relatively small number of ships armed as such to alpha strike through a target's shield, armor, and hull at impressive range on grid. The display that they had showed at the gate had been extreme overkill.

The Cáidheach commander ordered staggered fire. He transmitted from his position on board the Claíomh, one of the Nidhoggurs behind the battleship screen as Einherji class fighters started to pour from both carrier's flight decks. Primary and secondary targets for each battleship group were sent to the fleet. 24 groups started to track targets as guns swiveled. Half of each battleship group fired in unison on their designated primary targets which included one Yamato Class battleship, eight Aoba class cruisers, five Takao class cruisers, two Mogami class missile cruisers, seven Naginata class cruisers, and the Shokaku class carrier.



Warp disruptors lashed out to hold the carrier and battleship on the grid as primary and secondary targets received similar treatment. 9,600 23 ton rounds were sent express mail at 100,000 meters per second to each designated target across 100 kilometers of space. It would take those rounds slightly more or less than 1 seconds to reach their targets leaving just 14.3 seconds after impact for the weapon's cycle time and the guns to be made ready to fire again.

Each ship called primary would taste 200 rounds or 4,600 tons of metal provided all met the mark with each round punching at 27.486 kilotons TNT. Each was a wrecking ball of mass and unstoppable inertia. The Cáidheach were using heavy slugs. For those that survived the second salvo was incoming on the count of 3 and would hit on the count of 4 to leave the first set of guns just 12.3 seconds of reload time remaining. If the primary went down the second volley from each group would be sent down range to a secondary target of cruiser class or above.

An emergency transmission came in across one FTL channel. "Is é seo an Alric Rosenthal ceannasaí luaidhe cabhlach na Comhghuaillíochta Deiscirt. Cuir tú féin in aithne", said the male voice as the video feed came through. There was a brief pause and another broadcast came across. "I know you are under fire. Please respond if you are able", he said in accented English.

As the battle was underway, Admiral Mifune watched as the initial salvo tore his fleet apart, each ship that took ordinance was torn asunder by the mass and power of the incoming slugs. A Yamato Class battleship drifted past the Shokaku as the Carrier attempted evasive maneuvers, but was spared as the brunt of the ordinace flashed brilliantly across the Shokaku's Light Hawk Wings, a new and experimental yet powerful defensive array.

The Slugs impacted each Light Hawk barrier with it's full force, flashing violently but stopped cold by the solid power of this strange defensive field.

The Shokaku bucked violently as the remaining kinetic energy washed across the Light Hawk wings and across the hull of the ship, causing it to list violently to the starboard side. Once the impact had been dissipated, the three elongated rectangular barriers of light shimmered into nothing, and the ship remained, drifting and disabled.

"Main and Auxiliary power is offline!" A Lieutenant called out, as the remaining ship leveled their weapons to return fire. "Light Hawk Wings are recharging, if we take another hit we're done for!"

"The rest of the fleet is reporting heavy casualties, and we still can't enter Hyperspace!" Another Officer called out.

"We can't take another hit like this... All ships ramming speed!" He called out, before he was interrupted by another officer.

"Incoming communication!"

The Admiral nodded. "Put it through, pin that channel and respond!"

It was then the FTL Communication was played, and the Admiral quickly responded.

"This is Admiral Mifune of the Imperial Taiyou Navy's Carrier Zuikaku, we're under heavy fire and sustaining losses by hostile forces." He called out, while he turned to a console. "How much longer until those Light Hawk Wings are charged?"

He then turned to his XO. "Send a long range Data packet back to Niihama, information on the Attack, and our resolution, we cannot let this go unpunished."

A moment followed, and a Data Packet was beamed at Superluminal speeds towards Andromeda, and the remaining line of Taiyou ships began their Kamikaze run towards the Pirate Vessels.

Far off the grid a second star was born in the system, and then another, and another. On grid one hundred kilometers and at the twelve o'clock position another one of these stars was birthed as a covert operations frigate uncloaked. Once the beacon was dropped a massive capital and super capital fleet started to bridge in. It was SOCO's main fleet.

Spatial shockwaves bloomed and rocked the grid even as two of the six Chimera class carriers that came onto the grid entered triage. The role of carriers was to transport smaller sub-capital ships and act as support and logistics vessels to keep other vessels in the fight. While they did have teeth in the form of their fighters and sizable drone compliment they were support vessels. Glowing streams of power flowed out to lick the hull of the Zuikaku. Auxiliary systems and surge protection devices would likely trip and short out under the massive influx of power. The Zuikau's light hawk wings would instantly recharge as the remotely transmitted power flooded their capacitor batteries.

The Two Chimera class carriers were also transmitting powerful Aurora fields to surround the Zuikau and any other Taiyou ship that had not been utterly destroyed and was in danger. Fighters and drones poured forth from the carrier flight decks and in response every single gun from the CAID fleet was aimed to one of the carriers that just jumped onto the field. A massive dog and complex dog fight started between the main fleets but it was not just carriers that had jumped in. Five Phoenix class dreadnaughts had jumped onto the field also. Space bent as they anchored themselves down and launched torpedoes the size of houses at the opposing carriers. The CAID ships easily evaded the vast majority of the kamikaze attempts and those that did managed to impact resulted in the destruction of the Taiyou ships as the hydro-magnetic shielding of the defender literally tore the invader apart.



Thousands of cruise missiles landed on the grid, fired from far distant locations, and guided through network targeting after they warped in. The battle devolved into utter chaos as a communication came through. "Hold on..." The CAID ships started to align off as their battleship losses started to mount. The lead CAID carrier was in serious trouble and could not escape as numerous warp disruptors latched on to it and hundreds of other CAID ships.

The Zuikaku was bracing for the end as several more unidentified ships came within range. Admiral Mifune was watching with a serene calm as the battle unfolded before him.

"Tally our losses and prepare to--" He was silenced almost immediately following as electrical shorts tripped breakers, blew fuse lines, and caused lights to flicker and some to pop with the sheer overwhelming amount of energy. The Zuikaku bucked and shook with the power surges that rocked the vessel.

"Admiral! We're recieving power surges across the board! Our Light Hawk wings are fully charged and ready to deploy!" A lieutenant called out, while a second one turned to face the Admiral. "Weapons are ready to fire! Remaining Battleships are positioned to engage!"

The Admiral nodded as the chaos unfolded, and another communication came through.

"Hold on..."

"I want all remaining Battleships to prepare their main weapons, but not to open fire. Maintain a defensive line while I figure out what the hell is going on." The Admiral said.

As the battle unfolded, the Taiyou fleet, which had taken staggering losses, was slowly retreating and consolidating their position, while the Zuikaku's lighthawk wings flared to life, casting a brilliant wake at the bow of the ship as it began to retreat.

"Salvage what we can.." He said, turning towards the massive Hyperspace gate which was still being unfurled, apparently not having been targeted by the Pirates."

"How much longer until that gate unfurls... if we're up against people like what we just saw, we're going to need numbers, and lots of them..." The Admiral added.

In Ayenee escalation is a process in and of itself. It is a fundamental part of combat here. It is a game of chance hinged in intelligence and dependent on the caution or boldness of a fleet commander. Escalation is of course the increase in intensity or magnitude of a stepped process. On the battlefield of Ayen escalation was tied in with the natives' ability to project power. The natives could project their power anywhere at any time provided they had prepared prior. The only thing that stopped them in their space and prevented a runaway process was the inhibitors. The natives of Ayenee were perhaps the undisputed kings of space travel and power projection.

The Cáidheach fleet had aligned, their formations were breaking up, but their guns unloaded on one of the four Southern Coalition carriers. Despite the power those guns held the carrier remained, thousands of rounds suspended and warped around its hull. The carriers were supporting each other and the Cáidheach did not have the firepower to break it. The dreadnaught missiles landed and detonated against the lead Cáidheach carrier's shield. Her hull imploded, decompressed, and detonated in three different places before separating.

The transmission came through to the Zuikaku. "Greetings Taiyou Force. What are you..." He was interrupted. "Macallaí Braiteoir. Tá siad ag preabadh.", said the female voice off the screen. Alric turned and spoke to the woman off screen. "An bhfuil an Barghest ailíniú thalamh agus leanúint ar lámhaigh. Is é sprioc na Bunscoile an t-iompróir atá fágtha." The Cáidheach fleet warped off in the direction of a nearby celestial leaving the remaining carrier and about one hundred battleships stranded and unable to warp away. The battleships continued to explode as SOCO ground their numbers down. Dead drones drifted in space in numbers approaching the tens of thousands. A male voice spoke then but it was not Alric's. "Tá mé iad. Domhanda amháin, crios astaróideach." Alric nodded to the man off screen. "Thascradh."

Alric turned back to the screen but paused. He then performed a deep bow. "Welcome to Ayenee. Welcome to Wicked Creek. Will you be participating in our war or are you just lost?" Dreadnaught weapons detonated against the second Cáidheach carrier as escape pods sped away from its hull and went straight into warp. People were dying by the thousands but the tone of this man was quite relaxed. The impact resulted in much the same as the other CAID carrier. As the carriers went down the six SOCO carriers aligned away and the five dreadnaughts vanished, casting spatial shockwaves in all direction. These waves vibrated the hulls of everything on grid despite the ships being in space.

The Admiral paused a moment as he turned to the screen.

"Sai hensei shi, kantai o shirasemasu." He ordered, briefly turning away and towards an officer at the helm, who offered a sharp nod of his head.

"Hai, wakarimashita." The Helmsman replied.

Once the brief verbal exchange was finished, the Admiral turned back to the communication. "We were sent to investigate the origin of an Attack against our Shogunate." The Admiral replied, before another helmsman called out.

"Kūkan no yugami! Chakushin yōki!"

The Bridge was alight with activity as spatial distortions ripped apart, this stabilized rapidly to form the opening of a powerful, but stable Einstein-Rosen bridge. This particular portal was simmering with powerful psionic energies, and crackling with arcs of energy.

The Conical shaped wormhole elongated slightly, and began to exert a graviton push, which would push debris, matter, and everything else out and away from the wormhole, after several moments passed, and the SOCO ships were jumping out, the portal belched fourth and a single ship emerged, bearing a strikingly alien appearance.






The alien ship banked sharply starboard as the portal closed behind it, and the small furry form of the Matokey Shipmaster came in on the Admiral's communication screen.

"Admiral Mifune, it appears that I am too late." The Shipmaster said as his ship banked once more, to face off with the Taiyou fleet.

"What has transpired here?" The Matokeyan asked, and Admiral Mifune terminated the link to SOCO to focus on the Matokey.

"We arrived and were subsequently attacked, we don't know if they're Concord or not, an alien fleet arrived to assist us, but we've sustained heavy losses..."

'Taanz nodded solemnly.

"The Ryu-oh will arrive soon, I tried to get here as quick as i could in hopes that I could diffuse the situation but it appears that I am too late." 'Taanz explained.

"The AXIS Cooperation Forces has resolved for a formal investigation before war has been decided. We must return to Andromeda to adhere to their decision. I cannot allow any attacks to further perpetuate here."

After a moment, 'Taanz then opened a channel to Alric, and the SOCO Fleet.

"I am shipmaster 'Taanz Velzzmkt of the Matokey Order, we are allies to the Taiyou Empire and memberstates of the AXIS Cooperation Forces of the Andromeda Galaxy. After reviewing combat footage from the Taiyou Ships, it appears you have offered them assistance, I thank you." He said, bridging the transmissions between the three vessels.

"On behalf of the AXIS, I apologize for the actions of our Taiyou compatriots, and with your permission, I would like to take them home." The Matokey said, addressing Alric.

"Do you know the Geopolitical situation that led to these events?" The Matokey asked, as a second distortion opened up.

There was at first a gravitic distortion, and then a shockwave that pushed the debris out as another ship burst fourth from the velvety blackness of space.




Delegates from the AXIS Cooperation forces had quickly followed in the Matokey's footsteps, and the second ship took position alongside the first.

"The Shintenchi ships should be arriving shortly." Kayabuki said as she turned to the Commander of the new Hybrid ship, the bridge of the strange ship was unlike anything ever concieved by Taiyou minds, the floors were made of wood, with small canals running the perimeter, where water flowed. There was what seemed to be a blue sky, and a forest. It certainly appeared larger inside than outside.

Kayabuki and Livia watched the holographic screens as the ships positioned themselves, and the Prime Minister frowned. "Hopefully we're not too late."

A short time later, several more ships arrived as they blinked into existence among the Taiyou and AXIS ships. While the majority of the ships appeared to be Taiyou in make, the largest among the new arrivals was a first of its kind. A Volarian capital ship. The carrier measured in at about sixteen kilometers in length, and the hull of the ship was an elegant and streamline design that contrasted it from the rougher look of the Taiyou ships that accompanied it.

A hybridization of Terran, Volarian, Taiyou and UDW concepts had produced a graceful ship that was both hardy, and possessing of the aesthetic flair that the Volarian people where known for.

Its internal systems where largely Volarian in make, with heavy usage of Volarian crystal throughout the ships systems, but their AI systems had been refined through their dealings with the UDW. Their weapons systems too where undergoing somewhat of an evolution as the need for projectile based weaponry was on the rise, and though they hadn't forsaken their traditional Volarian crystal in their outfitting of the Volarian ship, it possessed a broader spectrum of weaponry than was typically found among the Volarian military.

---

"We ran into some trouble with our FTL," Commander Aagam Nayar informed the gathering AXIS forces over the comm device within the bridge of the carrier.

Of course the ship would suffer hiccups on its maiden voyage, Commander Nayar thought with a grimace. It had been an honor to be selected to take up command of the Rising Sun, an honor which he was resolved to uphold. Military ran in his blood, and he was the fifth generation of his family to serve in the Volarian navy. That they had encountered technical difficulties before they had even arrived within Ayenee had left the man's mood soured.

"We're running diagnostics on it to make sure everything is a go," he added.

They had got their FTL back online, but he didn't want to be caught out here a galaxy away from home without running a full diagnostic on it.

---

Najiv walked down the halls of the Rising Sun in search of the Ambassador, Jaya Kumara. After what had occurred in Cybran space, Avantia had been insistent upon the presence of the Volarian ship in accompanying the AXIS ships to Ayenee. Furthermore, she had selected an Ambassador from the royal family itself to act in her stead within the foreign region of the Onyx Galaxy.

Najiv was a relatively new attendant within the Volarian royal palace, and it had been something of a shock that he had been asked to accompany Jaya on this voyage. He had never been away from the capital before, and truthfully he was a bit apprehensive and uneasy about the whole matter, but he had dutifully departed the city of Volary without complaint.

Weeks on the Rising Sun hadn't left him any closer to learning his way around the ship though, and the Ambassador's location proved elusive for the time being.

---

Tahir lay in his bunk in the small living quarters that had been provided for him and the few other members of the royal guard who had accompanied the Ambassador on her voyage.

It wasn't a particularly large room, and the bunks where stacked uncomfortably close with one on top of the other to make the most of the space available. Personal belongings consisted of whatever one could fit in a small box on their bunks. It was somewhat constrictive for the avorian passengers who where accustomed to spacious rooms and open skies, but he didn't particularly mind the living arrangements, and for the time being he was occupying himself with a book.

It was a classic that followed the journey of a young Volarian in his quest for the ancient dragon of the Shénshèng Mountains, Kunlong. He hadn't read it since he was a boy, but with little to occupy the time during the weeks on the Rising Sun, he had turned to reading to pass the days. It was one of several he had brought with him.

Among the AXIS ships were 3 Sullen Enterprise ships, one of which towered over the other two destroyers. The crews onboard the vessels appeard to scramble as they tried to paint a picture of what was actually going on.

On the massive Paladin Defender, Admiral Charles Teller looked over the various screens, he was only able to bring a few ships with him but this wasn't an invasion after-all. Beside him stood General Williams, commander of the Enterprises Marine forces. With the fleet here there was a compliment of 4,000 battle hardened veterans. This might not have been an invasion force but the general was taking no chances in coming unprepared.

With the loss of Moff Tarin a few weeks prior, there was clearly still a deep distrust of the situation by many in the military command structure.

Alric did not appear impressed or surprised at the appearance of other ships, how they came, or what they looked like. There was some small chatter behind him but nothing that could be discerned.

There were still enemy ships on the grid even after the CAID carriers had been destroyed. The SOCO carriers started to align off as cruise missiles exited warp tunnels in a steady stream to detonate with tremendous explosive force against targeted CAID battleship hulls. Rainbow waved fronts started to form at the bow of each CAID ship that remained on the field. "Micri-léim tiomáint! Micro-jump drives!", said a woman behind Alric. He just nodded and replied in a disgruntled tone. "Is ea. Tá siad ag dul chun éalú. Yes. They are going to escape."

His eyes lifted to the communication screen. "We would prefer that you did take them home as this is our sovereign space now. I can only guess at the reason they attacked. They saw a target of opportunity. They are pirates. That is what they do but it may be more than just that. Onyx is no small place and coincidence is seldom just that." Just as he said this the fifty-two remaining CAID battleships jumped forward a great distance and cleared the grid. Their images shimmered and they vanished as they went straight into warp. The cruise missiles made a beeline for them but each missile eventually joined the thousands of drones, frozen corpses, and hundreds of wrecks drifting aimlessly and without direction through space. The CAID ships left intact and bouncing around had only one way out of the system. There was still heavy fighting around distant moons, planets, and amid asteroid belts and floating ice.

The CAID carriers warped away but this did not effect communications. "As to your question on the geopolitical situation: Wicked Creek, the region and even the system you are now in was previously Cáidheach sovereign space but CONCORD has raised the bounty on them and requested their removal as a sovereign organization from the star map. That is ongoing work and multiple mercenary organizations seem intent to collect the reward. CAID has been recognized as a terrorist organization by CONCORD and the empires for more than a few cycles."

On several occasions throughout CONCORD's history, relations between the empires deteriorated to within an inch of all-out war but were nursed back to health through the organization’s diplomacy and deterrence. Such was not the case late in YC 119, four cycles ago, when a fleet belonging to the Human Elders and the Cáidheach Tribe conducted a strike against CONCORD’s core communications hub, crippling its rapid response teams and enabling the Elders to mount a large-scale offensive against the Sekhmet Empire. This marked the beginning of what would become known as the Elder War. Ever since this time CAID has had a bounty on their head.

A male behind Alric spoke. "CONCORD é ag iarraidh nuashonrú ar an staid leis an Taiyou. CONCORD is requesting an update on the situation with the Taiyou." Alric raised his hand, palm forward as if he were telling him to stop speaking and then turned back to the screen. "CONCORD requests news. You should send an envoy. I don't like being a messenger boy. I can provide escort to low security space. I also ask that you stop in your preparations to activate your gate. Whoever you have grievance with it is not us and this is SOCO space."

cycle: measurement of time; app. one standard Earth year (365 days)

Meanwhile back on bridge, Commander Nayar awaited confirmation on the status of the ship's FTL.

The Matokey Shipmaster remained silent, listening to Alric as Kayabuki considered his words, Admiral Mifune was also on the other screen.

"Prime Minister, we need to secure this system as a foothold for the Taiyou Empire." He protested, and the Matokey Shipmaster nodded slightly.

"Though I agree, with the Admiral, we must adhere to the resolution of the AXIS." He said, frowning. "The High Council would be disappointed if we chose to remain." 'Taanz explained.

The Admiral nodded, and then turned to Kayabuki. "I'll secure these enemy ships for Salvage and bring them back through the Hyperspace gate. I'd suggest getting an envoy to send to CONCORD so that we can resolve this matter quickly. It's going to take some time to dismantle the gate, and recover our wounded."

Kayabuki turned to Admiral Yotsuga, a middle aged man who was one of the first to receive the genetic enhancements and become linked with one of the new "Royal Trees" that the Science Directorate had come up with.

"Admiral?" Kayabuki asked, while Yotsuga frowned. "I am prepared to take you to CONCORD, while 'Taanz secures this system along with Admiral Mifune." Yotsuga explained, and Kayabuki nodded. "Proceed, then, let me know when we arrive." She said, turning to find her quarters, while the Admiral opened a link to the Rising Sun.

"Ryu-oh to Rising Sun." Yotsuga hailed, appearing as a three-dimensional hologram on the Rising Sun's bridge.

"I'm prepared to travel with the SOCO Fleet to CONCORD Space, it would be advisable that you accompany us. The Matokey and the Recon fleet are going to secure the wrecked vessels, in addition to their own wounded before withdrawing back to Taiyou Space."

A Transmission line was promptly opened back up to Airic, and the SoCo ships.

"We're ready to receive coordinates, and will jump once everyone is prepared." Yotsuga said, waving his hand over a yellow holographic console.

---

Like clockwork, the Matokey and Taiyou recon ships moved quickly, the Omnicruiser moving to provide a strategic position on grid to monitor incoming ships, while the Taiyou began to make towards the ruined CAID vessels. They would be towed back to Taiyou space for salvage and study.

Alric raised a bushy salt and pepper eyebrow and then turned back to the man behind the console. "Breac dom bealach díreach chuig Sendaya i Derelik. Plot me a direct route to Sendaya in Derelik." The man behind the control console had to question the order. No one in Ayenee used direct routes. They were dangerous and took much longer even than using the gates. "Tá bealach a dhuine uasail díreach? A direct route sir?" Alric nodded and turned back to address the AXIS force as the man went to work.

"Give me a few microns. I will arrange your escort." The communication was terminated. What they wanted from Alric was not as simple as it seemed. Most of the systems between here and low security space were inhibited and SOCO did not have sovereignty in all those systems. If they gave the AXIS force coordinates they would never make it. They would crash against a sandbar and maroon themselves in dead-space. Even with Alric providing a direct route for them they still would need escort for the corridor at some spots would be less than a few hundred kilometers in diameter and they could easily stray. The SOCO sky marshal would also have to call in a favor in Farit and then in Sendaya.

Not only was the direct route dangerous it was temporary for it opened up the Southern Coalition sovereignty to attack from a myriad of enemies. The corridor would be closed behind them. The journey would span the distance of nearly two-hundred and ten light years. It would take them through four different regions: Scalding Pass, Curse, Derelik, and through a large part of Wicked Creek. There was also the threat of the Kraed in the black between systems. They had not encountered this evil since the slaughter of Dodixie but there were rumors and vessels sometimes went missing traveling through the dark spots of Ayenee.

Mircon: A length of time just over a minute.

"All systems are a go," Liuetenant Arnesh Agarwal called out as the diagnostic results came in.

"Alright, get us prepped to jump," Commander Nayar instructed before he addressed the holographic image of Yotsuga.

"We'll be ready to jump in three minutes," he told Yotsuga as his crew went about prepping the ship for an FTL jump.

Nearby another officer, Lieutenant Ishya Darzi, was in contact with the other ships as well. "Rising Sun to Ryu-oh, requesting jump coordinates," she transmitted, unaware that the SOCO where contemplating other routes of travel.

The whole bridge was a hive of activity as the crew members of the Rising Sun worked over the ship consoles. They where young, like the ship, but they went through the process with practiced ease. It had been the Matriarch's belief that something as new and innovative as the Rising Sun required a young and equally innovated crew to adapt to changing times.

Nayar could see it in the crew. Many where fresh out of academy, though the senior officers on board had some years of experience under their belt. Still, it was a very green crew, and a lot of faces he was still getting to know.

At the back of the bridge, one of the hatches hissed open to admit Ambassador Jaya Kumara and her attendant, Najiv Hebbar.

The three SEC ships would move into a supportive role with the Omnicrusier ,as Charles and his soldiers prepared for what hoped to be an uneventful operation.

"Atlas to AXIS fleet we will hold with the Chzznt in an imperceptive role."

The term dead-space could simultaneously or separately mean a number of distinct things when the term was used by a native of Ayenee or Eden. The first and easiest to define was the area outside of any proper solar system, anywhere from one to one and one half light years from that system's center of gravity.

The term dead-space could also mean the area between galaxies as there is seldom enough energy present within these locations to allow life to prosper. These areas represent one of the most extreme environments known. The recent discovery of the Kraed twenty cycles ago caused the scientific community in Ayenee and Eden to rethink the defining characteristics of life and what was needed to support it. It also resulted in a greater proliferation of system inhibitors throughout the galaxy and the incursion alert system.

The last meaning relates to certain areas scattered around space in Ayenee and Eden that were unsuitable for inter-celestial, inter-stellar, or inter-galactic travel. In these places only conventional propulsion operates properly. These are sandbars that can leave ships marooned for years, decades, and even centuries. Only recently the strategic usefulness of these special areas had been discovered. Ancient acceleration gates, the precursors to the modern gates in Ayeene and Eden could catapult vessels, much like a slingshot, through this space and out of it. These dead-space pockets can then be used as remote safe houses or easily defensible pockets within even high security space. These pockets could also play havoc with sensors and faster than light communication.

Three frigates and a single cruiser exited warp in a tight formation with vibrant displays of bent light and vented heat as they landed on the grid and pealed off in a direction pointed to a distant star. They shortly came to a stop. The four pilots spoke on a secure communication network once they were back in formation. "Is fuath liom an cac. Déanann spás dorcha mo reáchtáil fola fuar. I hate this shit. Dead-space makes my blood run cold." One of the other pilots, a female quickly responded with a serious tone, "Sioc fan ansin. Stay frosty then." Another male spoke up in reply after a chuckle, "Í a choimeád daingean. Keep it tight."

Alric would open the communication channel back up after only a minute. "I am transmitting your route now. Follow it exactly. Your escort will adjust speed to keep with your slowest vessel." The route would come across as eight coordinates, breaking between some systems and also between them to make small changes in course. Some of the distances between coordinates were short, one only a single light year between two points and some were were much longer.

Provided the AXIS force did nothing that could be considered an act of aggression, their gate did not continue to deploy, and they had no questions Alric would speak again. "Godspeed."

While the Ryu-oh was plotting it's course once it received them from Alric, the Matokey and Taiyou Shogunate forces continued to secure their own wounded, as well as the CAID Ships while the Hyperspace continued to unfurl.

Taiyou Communications made note that the Gate would not be able to stop it's process until complete, unless it was destroyed and therefore would stand near the vicinity of the gate while they waited for it to be complete.

Yotsuga waved his hands over the controls of the Ryu-oh, unaware of the sandbars and other eddies that existed within the Galaxy. FTL Travel in Andromeda was relatively straightforward, done either through shipboard Hyperdrive, or hyperspace gates. All of which was heavily regulated by local governments.

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Yotsuga reviewed the coordinates, and then he looked up to a large screen, his hands relaying the controls to the ship's central intelligence. The Ryu-oh would transmit them to the Rising Sun, and sync it's drives as it made the last checks for jump.

"Rising Sun, jump on my mark, I'm transmitting the set of coordinates now." Yotsuga said calmly, turning to survey the Taiyou crews going out to the wrecked hulks in Sudden Transports, and Yari Midget ships to tow what they could carry back through the gate.

The 'Chzznt itself remained relatively stationary, acknowledging the SEC Ships, while watching for more pirates.

"Jump on Ryu-oh's mark," Commander Nayar instructed the crew.

"Coordinates received, preparing to jump," Lieutenant Darzi called out.

Several other voices chimed out in succession through the bridge as jump preparations where completed, and the Rising Sun would vanish along with the Ryu-oh, leaving behind the vessels that had accompanied it upon its arrival.