Ceres Genna's Story

As the missiles came out from the strange countermeasure that had been deployed against them, each on-board targeting AI recognized the friendlies before them.

Each warhead turned end over end, and once again began to sail back towards the formation of enemy ships, their rear plasmic pulse drives engaging, each Tricobalt warhead was once again on course, careening towards the group of ships, while a handful of them moved to the formation of Kalinger drones, to detonate their lethal payload, and tear a hole into the fabric of space, drawing everything around the eddies into the abyss.

"Keep up the pressure!" Commander Soban called out.

"Bring us two seven three carom one nine two!" She shouted, grasping her chair as the Aschen ship banked hard to the right.

The Turbodisruptor batteries of the Ifriit opened fire as the Unglauss turned to deploy it's own missiles. A withering salvo of several hundred brilliant turbodisruptor bolts fired from about a dozen batteries mounted on the upper decks of the Ifrit, just in time for EVE to report that the Ifriit's sensors picked up several drop pods. A testament to the fidelity of the Wide-spectrum scanners of the Fast-Attack cruiser.

"Execute tactical jump." Clea ordered.

Almost a split second before the missiles impacted the Ifriit, she winked out of existence with a flash of light, and reappeared roughly thirty kilometers away from the formation of ships, firing it's weapon batteries in all directions, five fields of fire erupted fourth from the Ifriit, as each 'Ship' be it real or fake, was targeted for a withering barrage from danger-close range.

Immediately below the entering drop pods, and positioned precisely to interrupt their trajectories, a Reverence II winked into existence from seemingly nowhere. The Reverence II 'Far Sight Lost'

Admiral Ceres Genna was the first to arrive on station, stone faced, and watching the display, she brought up targeting data as her hand gracefully manipulated the display.

Dorsal weapon batteries swiveled to life, acquiring each drop pod as it descended, using high-fidelity visual targeting systems, and wide-spectrum targeting data that detected even the slightest anomaly, they confirmed positive weapons lock, and began to open fire, sending precisely calculated turbodisruptor bolts sailing up towards the descending landers.

"Admiral, I've calculated landing trajectories, and I've notified the local Provincial Militia, as well as the Imperial Defense Garrison to be on station." EVE Chimed in

The Reverence II began to open fire, sending up a thick soup of flak, and turbodisruptor fire at the descending drop pods, if they were going to make it to the surface, they were going to take losses in doing so.

Of course they weren't going to reach the surface, the positioning of the Far Sight Lost ensured as much. The Pods would either have to make a serious course correction, or collide with the Reverence II below them.

The AI Banks of the Lidar Grid opted to choose option C, defending itself from the assault, and maintaining the Lidar grid itself. The AI Systems on the planet were networked to the wider Computational grid of the entire Aschen Empire, which meant the resources of Billions of AI banks scattered throughout the Empire were directed to redouble on the assault. It was a minor annoyance, but the redoubling left the drones vulnerable to the intruder program that slipped in from the last Aschen counter-assault.

The Intruder program was specifically designed to infiltrate, and subjugate computer defenses, as well as avoid detection. One by one the drones would start to either behave erratically, or be forced to direct it's assault on their fellow drones, propagating the intruder program through the network.

The curious thing was the Aschen ships were jumping, even though the Planck field was active, however, EVE was sending commands to the watchtower immediately prior to jump, which meant a brief split-second shut-down of the field to facilitate the jumping of the Aschen ships.

The Drones assault on the AI Banks was not digital in nature. At least twenty seven percent of the banks would suffer meltdowns as surface temperatures on the planet where the banks were located were increasing at rates resultant from directed laser emissions coming from the drones themselves. the Microwave emissions were noticeable and apparent, but unless the Aschen had the shielding to protect the banks from a localized heat wave upwards of five hundred kelvin, they would lose those banks. The Drones themselves shut off shortly after unleashing the emissions, their batteries drained by the attempt. Shortly thereafter the Lidar Array would be cleaned, revealing that of the five ships, only one was actually real. The Others were merely Holographic Projections, which immediately vanished as they were no longer needed.

Of course when the missiles came out of the superlative layer of the Phase Shield, they would lose all engine functionality, as the missiles themselves would have been completely drained of power. This would render them incapable of redirecting themselves, let alone identifying IFF.

The Ifriits relocation was the smartest move the ship could have made, as it ensured both their own missiles, made into little more than flying rocks and space debris at this point, and the Unglauss' own missed the mark. The disruptor fire struck the hull of the Unglauss, breaching the armor in several locations. Bulkheads to those locations were sealed in preparation for further fire. However...

"Checkmate" Ilia said with a smile, turning to her Magus Slate as a slurry of information poured into it. Observational wards had succeeded, and the transmissions of EVE towards the Planck Fields and the towers that sustained them had been recorded. With this information, Asylia would be able to Pin point the exact locations of those towers on any Aschen planet, and ensure their destruction. "Radiation profile scanned and secured. We've achieved our primary goal. Report on the Dropships"

Her Aid stepped forward "Charlie and Delta are taking heavy losses from enemy flak. A larger warship has just jumped in. They no longer have the numbers to achieve their mission. Alpha and Bravo however have successfully landed and dispersed. The Aschen will no doubt hunt for them ma'am."

"And I'm sure after awhile they'll find them, but by the time they do they'll have done what they were made to do." Ilia said, turning to the Reverence class warship. "We've all we need. Engage Shockpoint and take us to the Rendezvous."

She smiled then and said "Also open a channel to the Aschen forces."

Her Aid hesitated a moment before nodding. "yes Ma'am"

Once the channel was open, Video and Audio feeds showing Admiral Ilia's face would be sent to two Aschen Vessels. "This is Admiral Ilia Thauce of the Kingdom of Asylia. I send you this message to congratulate you on your efforts to disrupt our mission in your territory. It was valiant. Futile, but Valiant. As per our Custom, to respect your significant efforts, I will commend the names of your ships to the King, so he may distribute a notice informing all Asylian Forces of your significance. It will be an honor to face you properly, and finally, in the future."

With her speech done, Ilia gestured to her Aid, who cut the feed. Shortly after, another crewmate called out "Phase field is at half power, Superlative layer holding at sixty five percent. Shock Point Drive is charged at thirty six percent. Jump in Seven Cycles."

The physical hardware that the AI Banks themselves were located in, was a bath of liquid helium that kept it at a frigid temperature of about four degrees kelvin. Which was about negative two-hundred and seventy degrees centigrade. These facilities were shielded from orbital attacks in vast underground complexes. The surface would likely dissipate the thermal energy being directed against it, while thick plascrete slabs dissipated the rest of the heat.

The AI Banks finished their work, highlighting the real Unglauss the moment the four other disappeared, and EVE had chimed into the Commander's ear.

"Close-in scans are detecting magical energies, Tactical recommendation: Disable magical systems to potentially render the vessel vulnerable." EVE reported, and Commander Soban grinned.

"Right, Recalibrate our shields for Anti-mana, and disperse charge! Bring us two nine seven carom one six eight, full military thrust, Starboard damage control teams, prepare for impact!"


While the Admiral was gloating to the Aschen Commander, the Aschen Commander simply called out.

"Execute!"

In one synchronous move, the Ifriit launched itself full thrust towards the Asylian ship, jerking roughly to the starboard side on a fast collision course towards the other ship, while Illia was making her speech.

As the words "I will commend the names of your ships to the king." Came over the comms, the Ifriit would slam into the port side of the Unglauss, jagged angular armored plating would shove against whatever materials the Asylians constructed their vessel out of.

An instant following, the Aschen ship's shields flared angrily, a pulse of Anti-mana energy flared outwards in all directions in a split second after contact.

The impact rocked Commander Soban, and nearly tossed her from her command chair, but she had braced for it.

"Jump!" She called out, and as the two hulls were still in contact, the Aschen ship jumped, sending a spatial shockwave that would threaten to tear the Unglauss in two.

The Ifriit would wink back into existence on the starboard side, exposing her port turbodisruptor emplacements. Unleashing a sustained, and withering broadside that would not stop until the Unglauss either engaged it's shockpoint drives, or was destroyed.

"Ma'am the Ifriit is moving towards us at high speed." The Admirals Aid said as a whisper into Ilia's Ear as she made her speech.

After finishing her speech, the Ifriit made physical contact with the Unglauss. "Admiral, the enemy ship is using an Anti-mana field in their shield, their attempting to disrupt our systems. Buffers are Engaged at 72% effectiveness."

"Very good. Is the-" Admiral Thauce got out before another crewmember spoke up "Enemy ship is jumping!"

"Emergency Dilation now!" The Admiral called out, an order that was followed immediately.

Throughout the ship, and subsequently throughout the Ifriit as well due to their physical contact, time had dilated and slowed. Asylians unique Neurology enabled them to perceive this dilation and take advantage of it. As a result, Seconds stretched into hours, granting Ilia the time needed to properly assess the situation. The Bufferfield was still intact, the Anti-mana being held off, and so she reached out to give out further orders in the time that was bought through Telepathy. "Attention. The enemy vessel is attempting to make a warp jump while in physical contact with the Unglauss. The spatial Shockwave will be severe, full brace for impact will be necessary."

"If it were me, I'd make a return jump afterwards to fire a salvo, to finish us off. Whoever is in charge of that ship is not to be underestimated. Follow them with the PCT, and when they come back in, sacrifice whatevers left of the Superlative Layer to block their attack. After that I want us gone.

Asylians Neurology may provide them an ability to perceive the time dilation normally, meaning they could experience the seconds as they stretched into hours, though most other creatures would experience the time normally. However, physically they could not move any faster than normal. The stretch only gave them a significantly longer time to observe and plan, which was used to coordinate their efforts.

As a result, the Ifriit's jump took several hour long seconds for the crew of the Unglauss who, even as their were jostled and jumbled by the effect, had braced for it enough to maintain their positions. Telepathic communications, Facilitated by two coms controllers who relayed the thoughts of the other crew men to her while Ilia's orders were sent directly to them, As Ilia had been born with the gift of magic, were a flurry.

Damage throughout the ship, all external sectors depressurizing, Port side Weapons systems are gone, core systems suffering no significant trauma

Sublative Layer in position, enemy bombardment contained

Shockpoint drive active

Launch now Ilia commanded her troops, who's actions in real time came without any seconds to spare. The Unglauss was sheathed in an intense Electromagnetic lensing field, and once the field fully enclosed the vessel, rapidly accelerated from nothing to speeds so extreme that it seemed to Vanish. Inside of 2 seconds the ship had disappeared, but for the Asylians on board who were still Dilating the experience, those two seconds were two hours in which they waited as gunfire blasted into one side of them.

When it was finally over, and the crew relaxed from the Dilation effects, Ilia rubbed at her temples. Dilation transitions gave her headaches, but she could not help but smile. "So... Ifriit and Far Sight Lost. Two to the roster of High level Targets. I wonder which wolf will try for them first. Heh. Hehehe"

---

On the surface of Molecay, dropships and drop pods, both damaged and otherwise, made reckless landfall in spite of flak fire and a host of other problems. Once they did, they unleashed hundreds of fully armed and armored individuals who immediately began to make use of their weapons by firing them at anything and everything around them.

These drop ships and pods came down mostly in the most populated, and suburban, areas that could be found. Those on board were not soldiers, but criminals granted a chance at Amnesty and freedom, all they had to do was fight and kill their way off of the planet, and they'd be free men.

Of course not one of them had been told they were landing on an Aschen planet, but it didn't matter in any case, all they knew is that they were free, and fully armed to protect that newfound freedom. They would fight and kill and slaughter anyone and everyone they could reach. men, women, children, armed or otherwise these Criminals would kill, steal cars, and use those cars to try to get to a ship that they could take off world, leaving as much destruction in their wake as they could.

Freedom was incentive enough for these men, but of additional incentive were the bombs implanted in the solar plexus. Charges large enough to take out a city block in each of them, set to timers of an hour, that started ticking down after they landed. The soldiers scattered away from each other as much as possible, because they had been graced by the warden who picked them with the knowledge that the bombs would also go off if their hearts stopped. To that end, scattering ensured the best chance of survival, as anyone who was too close to someone else that got killed, would be caught in the blast.

Of course, that was the whole point of the Reno Baseline, these men were death row convicts, doomed to horrible deaths anyway. So why not make those deaths serve the kingdom in the best way men like this could.

On the surface, the convicts would find open streets, and few people. As the moment the festivities had begun, the call to shelter in place had gone out. Most of the homes in Molecay were equipped with shelters of some kind, a holdover from the intense bombardment the planet was subject to during the great war of magellan.

It would be a pitched battle, implanted explosives rocking the city of Tiir, while the convicts faced off with the local provincial Militia, and the deployed chapter of the Adepts of War, which were set to arrive via drop pods launched from the Far Sight Lost.

Admiral Genna's directive was clear, opening a channel to the Profound Solitude II, she began to transmit an urgent message.

"Chairman, this is Admiral Genna, Reporting from the Molecay System. We were just attacked by a ship belonging to an entity calling themselves the Kingdom of Asylia. We've sustained no losses, but there's widespread destruction on the planet's surface from suicide agents. I'm transmitting full spectrum scans, battle data, and point extrapolations, as well as diagnostic data from all Watchtower installations in system, and planet-side Planck Inhibitors." The Admiral reported.

Once the transmission linked up, Chairman Inviere turned to face the Admiral.

"I want a full detail transmitted to my desk within the hour." The Chairman ordered. "And I'll call the Emperor."

"I want to know how they managed to circumvent our Planck Packs. Possibly an inside job? Localized Null zone?" The Chairman replied.

Genna shrugged. "EVE is running a full spectral, and spatial analysis of their exit jump now, we should have full data shortly."

Inviere nodded.

"Keep me informed."

And then she terminated the link.

Molecay Orbit

With the battle having come to an end, now was the time to pick up the pieces, which meant a single Hera class fleet tender was positioning itself where the brief, but intense engagement between the Ifriit and the Unglauss had taken place. It’s objective was to round up the errant Kalinger drones for study, as well as any kind of debris that could be found, which would be placed in storage, and shipped to the materials sciences people back on Langara, where the hull composition could be analyzed, and a weakness deciphered.

Using a gravity tether, the Hera class moved slowly, pulling debris, and anything else caught within the gravity tether closer, drawing them into a large cargo hold situated on the underside of the vessel.

The Ifriit was slowly positioning itself while EVE was analyzing the data extrapolated from the battle.

“First draft has been tendered.” EVE reported. “I detected both gravitons, chronitons, and a temporal residue that indicates some form of temporal manipulation, this occurred immediately prior to impact with your vessel.” EVE reported. “Graviton spike was detected immediately prior to egress, indicating that their exit jump was not facilitated by spatial alteration, but by physical acceleration. I detected similar methods of transit during our engagement.” EVE added, while Soban quietly digested the information.

“Transmit your findings to Fleet, I’m sure the Chairman will be eager to see your initial report.”

Ceres Genna checks her Command Console

Ceres Genna comes down from the gravity lift, looking around for Andreas Moustakas

Ceres Genna clears her throat, waiting for the salute.

Andreas Moustakas audibly gulped and snapped the salute with one arm, awkwardly holding all of his gear in the other.

Ceres Genna returned the salute. "Ad Victoriam, Initiate, Sergeant Valerian will brief you on your mission, You have trained for this moment." Genna stepped back into the gravity lift, rising up into the belly of the Reverence II Far Sight Lost.

Andreas Moustakas nodded and saluted in response. "Yes sir!" He had put on the vest easily enough, and he seemed to be referencing recruitment posters regarding how to handle his rifle, but there was visible confusion on his face regarding the vial.

Ceres Genna checks navigation

Ceres Genna was watching the displays intently, as a message came in on the radio. Genna's eyes narrowed.

"Ventral Turbodisruptor batteries Epsilon, target the large creatures, await further orders."

Ceres Genna started at the emergency message, before keying up the holographic interface.

"Acquire targets, and fire."

The Reverence II 'Far Sight Lost' continued to loom high in the sky, a duo of massive turbodisruptor emplacements on it's ventral side swiveled to life, bearing aim at the Xamoyos Rex from several miles away.

"Targeting solution acquired!" One of the gun captains called out.

"Weapons free!" Genna's order came through on the comms.

The Reverence II fired once, hurling a blinding green bolt of disruptor energy from the sky towards the Xamoyos Rex, it preceded a deafening boom, and carried with it enough thermal energy to vaporize a skyscraper, the brilliant bolt of energy would likely vaporize the Rex upon impact should it strike true, along with any nearby flora, setting the forest ablaze.