R.F.E. Trooper Core's Story

All the C.O.R.e. were suddenly alerted and tried to stop the bot, but by the time they reached it, they were all being shut down already. The Militia and the R.F.E. troops started to land and take down anyone who tried to resist and help the C.O.R.e.

The Militian-Roman ship touched down, and Ashia Nova got out. She looked around at the bodies of dead mercenaries and deactivated robots. Some soldiers walked around collecting the bodies.
Ashia, personally, was quite stunned. "That was all it took?" she said to no one in particular. "I would have assumed it wouldn't have worked so well... I mean I'm happy it did, but I'm just so... surprised that it happened so easily."

A soldier that was stationed as Ashia's guard turned to her "They are on a nueral link to their bodies, destroy the link, which, in this case, was to far away from their capital to controll, and you have just unplugged the outlet. Look at it like that you pig." The guard looked at her closer "So is it true that the Emperor himself has feelings for a pig like you?" The guard smiles "I think it utterly impossible for that to happen, he would probably notice me sooner!" She smiled bigger "I am much more fit for the title of 'Empress' than you!"

The guard was crazy in short, she is part of Rome's Guard, and is most likely stalking and obsessing over Rome

Ashia looked the soldier in the eye. "Then go to him, and confess your love," the captain replied smoothly. "I have never made any claim to your beloved emperor, and it would be nice if he could focus on me in a more professional way than a lovelorn one. It would be better for him if he had someone who could give him love back, anyways." Her gaze hardened. "But be warned, if you insult me or stand in my way again, I will not hold back as I discipline you in the way that we Blackrock folk always have. Now, leave me, soldier. I would like to explore the ruins on my own."
With that, Captain Nova turned and began walking over to the ruins of the once-grand fortress, stepping over the various metallic corpses in her path.

It was easy to forget the scope of things in one small section of a very large planet, but it was fairly common knowledge among the population of Blackrock, whoever was left; that the planet was still contested.

That fact came rolling quickly to the fortress, where Ashia, and Rome were staying. The Aschen's advances hadn't reached this part of Blackrock.

It started with a deep roar, which quickly intensified into a deafening screech, a single Aschen B2X Century Bomber, escorted by a handful of Raptor Talon star-fighters passed overhead.

"Hotel-Bravo this is Papa-one... I've got additional bogeys landing on the planet. They probably slipped through the blockade... acquiring target now."

"Initializing target acquisition for JDAM Deployment..."

Following the shrill roar, came a rapid sequence of deafening explosions that rocked the wastes of Blackrock, as the single Aschen Century Bomber began carpet bombing the landing Militia and RFE Vessels, attempting to destroy them through the deployment of Aschen Damocles Type 3 Joint-Direct Attack Munitions, a 21,000 pound guided munition that was deployed en-masse by the high-altitude flying bomber.

There were exactly six-hundred of these munitions deployed, and expertly guided through AI to their targets, cutting a wide, and total swathe of destruction across the ground.

By the time the sounds of the explosions began to fade, the Aschen bomber began to retreat up into the atmosphere.

Rome looked blankly at the Aschen bomber "Do they realize we have defences for that, right? I mean, we are a space race of Humans. We have to deal with bandits, militarys, and whatever else, all the time. I mean common sense?" Rome talked to his War General. The General looked back "Maybe the Aschen are smart, but not intelligent?" Rome smiled "Most likely, and one other thing, they do realize WE cleared this place of the hostile C.O.R.e., we never attacked them, all we did was liberate the civilians, and they just bombed towns, filled with refugees, right?"

The Aschen bomber was completely useless against the R.F.E. ships, though it did destroy some old Militia ships, but the highest kill rate was the Blackrock civs, which totalled in 5,000. 1 R.F.E. soldiers was killed, and 7 Militia R.F.E. were killed

Rome looked at the Aschen forces in orbit of Blackrock. "This is why we help." Rome said. He suddenly got a report on his screen, people were in outrage that the 'glorious' forces of the Aschen bombed towns that were just recieving food and water from the people that just helped the Aschen re-claim a planet, and thats how they treat them. The R.F.E. had just gotten over 4,000 recruits from just one section of Blackrock, and the news was spreading fast.

Captain Ashia Nova's head snapped up as several bombs were dropped upon the Roman-Militian ships. The big ones were barely even hurt, though it did destroy some of the more flimsy Battle-Fighters.
Ashia's head snapped towards a group of R.F.E. soldiers who were standing around, staring in amazement at the Aschen bombers, including the one who had insulted her. "What are you lumps of muscle standing around for?!" she barked, startling the soldiers. "Get in your battleships, on the double! Move!"
The woman soldier sneered at her. "You cannot tell us what to do, pig. We were around before Rome decided to let you in. You have as much say as-"
The captain's backhand caught the soldier in the jaw, the force knocking her over.
Unfortunately for her, Ashia had been wearing her Gauntlets.
The soldier stared at her incredulously, as if she hadn't been disciplined by her captain but by a farmhand. "ON YOUR FEET, SOLDIER!!!" Ashia shouted, and she scrambled up, putting her hand in a salute by reflex. "You want to win this war for your emperor, you can't run around acting on every petty impulse! Now, get in your battleship and fight!"
The soldier and her allies scrambled away. Ashia was a little surprised at the force behind her voice. She'd never had to discipline her soldiers so harshly - her Militian troops had always jumped at her every word. To be honest, however, it had been quite liberating, especially with that rebel. She'd have to do something about her.
No. Focus on the battle at hand, she thought to herself. Smoothly turning around, she walked calmly towards a hulking War-Fighter that was waiting for her. A number of her personal guards, appointed to her by Rome, stood at attention, as well as a couple of engineers. These flocked to her as she entered the War-Fighter and the gateway closed. "Captain Nova," one said excitedly. "We finished redesigning the battlesuit that would work in conjunction with your Gauntlets of Doom."
"Good," Ashia said, still walking briskly. "Bring it here."
They wheeled the tube holding the battlesuit over, and Ashia climbed in. Immediately, the suit opened, and as she stepped in the parts began clamping down and tightening to suit her form. She stepped out, and the engineers gasped.
The suit was made of a hard, form-fitting plastic-metal alloy, colored white. This shell was nigh-impervious from most regular lasers and plasmas, and more importantly protected her from the various harmful parts of outer space, such as asphyxiation, ultraviolet rays and radiation. Over the base shell were more cosmetic grey-and-forest green ones, mostly cosmetic but also offering some minimal protection. Her helmet was white, with a dark visor and long, white, Mohawk-like ridge along the top of the head. She wore a dull green mantle with a clasp that was a cross between the RFE and Militia symbols; a planet with a red star on top of it, cut through the middle. The plastic-metal alloy shone, especially on the gauntlets - which were plated over her Gauntlets of Doom while allowing them to function properly - and the large boots, which included gravity drivers to aid her flight.
"It's beautiful..." a guard murmured.
"Which one, me or the suit?" Ashia asked. When the guard started, she smiled mischievously. "Kidding." The guard let out a nervous laugh. "I was talking about the suit, ma'am. I meant no disrespect."
"No offense was taken," the captain reassured. "Now, enough dallying. Time to move."
As the soldiers and engineers bustled around, Ashia climbed up towards the elevator-like airlock at the top, specially suit to the task she was about to do. It was going to be a bit hard, since the last time Ashia had done this had been back when all this had started, almost three months ago.
A memory of the young Sara popped up, and Ashia pondered for a second where she had gone. Then, the airlock opened, raising Ashia onto the top of the War-Fighter as it confronted the Aschen's B2X Century Bomber. Using the gravity drivers, she flew into a more strategic position.
Then, using the Gauntlets of Doom, Captain Ashia Nova blasted a pure, red-hot beam of plasma directly towards the heart of the Bomber.

Rome got a report of what Ashia was doing by a unkown soldier in her guard.

"Ashia, this is Rome, what the hell are you doing? Do you even have a escort with you? I swear to God, if you do ANYTHING stupid... Just remember what your promise was..." Rome waited for a responce from Ashia.

The Century Bomber continued to ascend into the sky, and it had quite the head start by the time the Battle-fighters had managed to get off the ground.

“Tango One, bogeys inbound on your six...” The Aschen radios chirped, and the trio of Raptor Talon starfighters began to enter combat formation.

Icebrand, Nacho, Husker, on me! The lead Talon pilot called into his radio, as the Battlefighters closed into their position.

The bomber pilots too were aware, as gunnery crews moved towards their turret emplacements, which swiveled to life along the length of the Century Bomber. At that moment, as Ashia closed in, the Raptor Talons broke away, flying in multiple different directions.

“Squadron, check... we have the target, weapons free!” Icebrand called into his radio.

Spinning around, Icebrand oriented his fighter around, and back towards the approaching Battle-fighter.

“We got a figure on the hull... I’ll try to target.” Icebrand reported.

The Century began to open fire, rapid-fire Voram-Thraxon A-6 MECS system that propelled a thirty-millimeter projectile at hyper-velocities. These projectiles peppered the battle-fighter, and were easily capable of penetrating the armor Ashia wore, though, even if the armor could stop the projectile, the sheer kinetic energy imparted would liquefy her insides.

“Target lock, fox one away!”

One of the Raptor Talons launched a missile, which seared towards the Battlefighter, drawn by the heat of it’s engines. The shaped charge would detonate on impact, this was timed at the moment Ashia fired her plasma beam, which meant it would likely miss the bomber entirely.

They had reached the altitude where Aschen ships in low orbit were garnering targeting solutions on Ashia’s fighter, if she continued to give chase, she would find herself up against an Aschen aegis cruiser, ready and willing to take her battlefighter down.

The Aschen Empire had established near total orbital supremacy over blackrock, and it was clear from the vast numbers of Aschen warships in orbit.

—-

Admiral Whitcomb was watching the displays rather intently, as EVE Fed her the data in real time.

General Nabaal was already planning her ground campaign, and the last pockets of resistance would soon surrender, or be wiped out.

The Aschen would make one thing clear, the rebellion against their authority would not be tolerated, calls for the RFE and the Militia to surrender were beginning to propagate across the planet. Those who joined the RFE after the bombing found their shanties burned to the ground, and their families executed.

Things would only get worse once General Nabaal arrived.

Ashia got a holophone prompt as she was flying around and trying to dodge the kinetic missiles the Aschen were sending her. Her plasma beam would have hit perfectly, but the Aschen had performed a maneuver which caused the laser to only hit a bit of the rear - a little bit damaging, but not nearly so much as it could have done. Overall, it had little effect on the bomber, which continued to pepper the RFME troops.
"No, Rome, I do not have an escort and I do not need one," Ashia said sufferingly. "I can handle myself, so you focus on the ground combat while I worry about the aerobatics. Besides, it would have cost way to much to make two or three more of these suits. I'll be fine, I promise." Then, after a moment, she pitied him and said, "I love you. Be careful."
She then switched off the holophone and focused on dodging those kinetic missiles. She had to pull a bit of bait-and-switch, and finally managed to throw them off course, but it had taken way too long. The Aschen began to gain ground. Ashia cursed softly. I need to figure out how to reduce their numbers. If we can whittle them down, we might have an advantage. But how? she wondered.

Once in range of the Aegis cruiser, it opened fire, sending up a thick wall of explosive flak towards the battlefighter, while the Century Bomber made it's final approach into a Reverence I Assault carrier.

At this point the scale of the Aschen occupation made itself evident, there would be no whittling down their numbers, because they would keep coming.

This was made clear as another grouping of Aschen ships winked into view in the distance, General Nabaal's fleet.

General Nabaal's fleet was immediatly under fire from countlless C.O.R.e. ships coming for reinforcements to re-uplink their forces on the planet. The hundreds of C.O.R.e. ships could not be destroyed easily, neither could their billions of troops that were coming as a never ending onslaught. General Whitecomb's ship was also being heavily bombarded.

--------

Down on Blackrock, some of the C.O.R.e. ships hit, and causing an immediate battle between the two. During the madness, Rome transmissioned all troops this simple message,"Blackrock is lost, either to C.O.R.e., or the God damned Ashcen. Get to a evac zone, my battalion and I will guard it untill all are gone, then we will follow. Good bye, and Godspeed to you all." And with that, all coms were cut with Rome, even between Ashia and him.

With that, all 23 battalions retreated, ecept that of Rome's.

"No... No!!" Ashia cursed. They were too strong. Yes, they were the Aschen, feared throughout the Multiverse. But she actually thought they would have a chance.
But they were too strong. Despite the combined efforts of the Roman-Militian troops, they could not defeat the Aschen Empire. Plus, the C.O.R.e. had somehow made a comeback (apparently, they had been dwelling on other planets) and were now serving purpose as a wildcard.
As her troops were given command to retreat, Ashia felt herself torn between staying behind and retreating. She knew it made tactical sense to retreat, and staying here would get her killed... but Godsdammit, this was her planet! Her country! She'd been born and raised on Blackrock. To Rome it was just another tally to his empire, but to her it was her home! And no matter how cesspool-y it was, she would defend it to the death if she needed to.
However, she came to the conclusion that she should retreat as well. The R-M needed top rest and recuperate. Perhaps the C.O.R.e. would wear the Aschen down, and then-
Suddenly, there was the sound of roaring winds and a popping noise as a fleet of 500 battleships appeared in the sky. Each one gleamed with a chrome that seemed to reflect light even better than a normal metal. On it's side was printed a symbol; an azure shield with a white edge.
Oh, hell, Ashia thought, the color draining from her face. The Protectors. This should be fun.
A deep male voice was broadcasted to all of the ships present, whether R-M, Aschen or C.O.R.e. "You fascist fools. Did you really think your villainous deeds would go unnoticed by us? We were just waiting for the precise moment to strike, when we'd have you all in one place." An edge began to creep into the voice. "The Kreios System belongs to the people, not some fascist regime. We're here to make sure it stays belonging to the people."
Within the lead ship of the Protectors, General Reavus DuMarkel turned to his captains and soldiers. "Attack all enemy vessels, whether they are attacking or retreating. Especially target Ex-Captain Ashia Nova, who is wanted for high crimes against the sanctity of the planet of Blackrock."
With that, the Protectors began firing on the various ships present. Ashia Nova had to dodge the laser blasts of five or so W-Wing Blade-Runners that were firing on her. A blast seared the side of her armor; it wasn't very damaging, but every hit counted.
"Dammit!" she said, trying to contact Rome to tell him to retreat as fast as he could. But he had cut off communications for her.
This is going to be a rough one, Ashia thought. She began dodging all the attacks being made on her as quickly as she could.

(OOC: Yes, I know, I kind of pulled the Protectors thing out of a hat. But I actually have established their existence in prior posts before, and I have been planning to introduce them. Also, I felt the action was getting to focused on Ashia, and so I wanted something to preoccupy her so other roles could shine.)

In the middle of the discussion, R.F.E. Militia land speeders, 3 in numbers, started their fast approach.



They zoomed by, hit their brakes and drifted, then immediatly started firing at the Achen scum. They tried their best to not hit the "Refugees".

They were losing.
That was the only conclusion that Captain Ashia Nova, commander of the RFE-Militia troops and reluctant lover of Emperor Rome of the Roman Fell Empire, could draw from all of this. It was three against one - one the sworn enemy of the Militia, one the enemy of the Roman Fell Empire, and one the enemy of all humanoid life itself. Her soldiers... her... soldiers...
Snap out of it!!! she thought, and came to just in time to see several heat-seeking missiles directed at her. "Shit!!!" she exclaimed, and quickly attempted to dodge. But she was not fast enough, and one missile clipped her side and exploded. Her suit, although made of very tough material, was still quite damaged, and she was dazed.
A man chuckled into her intercom. "Not holding up so well anymore, eh, Nova?"
Ashia gritted her teeth. "Reavus. This isn't over yet."
"Or is it?" she could feel her sworn enemy sneering at her in his voice. "You and your foolish 'emperor' really thought you could consolidate enough power to take on the Aschen Empire itself, not just take over the Kreios System? Face it, Ashia. You are a brilliant tactical mind, but you have been outplayed. Give up, and we might just let you go."
"How do I know I can trust your word? Or even that there is not a chance for us?"
"Unlike you, I am a man of honor. As for the latter question, look around you."
She did, and saw what had made her halt in the first place. They were losing, and that was that.
Dodging blasts and attacks from her enemies, she finally came to a decision. Rome would not like it, not like it at all. The man had drive, which she could expect, but he was too ambitious. Such foolish excesses of courage were the very thing that lead to the disbandment of the Militia in the first place.
This was the only way. She knew it, and it gods, it hurt to admit it, but Reavus' word was true.
Disconnecting from Reavus, she barked into her intercom to her soldiers, "Retreat! Retreat! We are losing this battle, and if we do not retreat then we all will die! I repeat, retreat! Over and out!"
Gazing one last look at Blackrock, her home, she whispered, "I'm sorry, Rome."
Then, using her suit-powered gravity boosters, she launched herself away from the battle and into the deep recesses of the Kreios System, where she would wait to rendezvous with the rest of her army.
And, probably, have to face the music with her emperor.

12:51 ISP: "Captain Ashia Nova to RFE-Militia HQ. Recon requested ASAP. Battle outcome assessment requested as well. Current location: Kreios Galaxy X159, Y650, Z489. Over."

* * *

15:30 ISP: "This is Captain Ashia Nova to RFE-Militia HQ. I request recon immediately. Battle outcome assessment requested ASAP. Current location: Kreios Galaxy X159, Y650, Z489. Over."

* * *

18:59 ISP: "Captain Ashia Nova to RFE-Militia HQ, please respond ASAP. I request recon immediately. Battle outcome assessment would be welcome as well. Current location: Kreios Galaxy X159, Y650, Z489. … Please respond soon. Over."

* * *

22:55 ISP: "... Shit on a stick."

Ashia clicked her intercom off sharply. This was the twentieth time she had attempted to call for recon from the RFE-Militia HQ in the... how many hours? Ten? It didn't matter. The current situation was rather dire; stranded out in the middle of space with half of a power battery keeping her running, no allies (or even enemies; at this point, the former tyrant captain would have welcomed any sign of life, human or otherwise) anywhere in sight, and no idea what had happened in the prior battle.
While it was a horrible - and painful - idea to think, Ashia was almost certain that the RFE-Militia had lost. If it had been just them versus the Aschen, they might have won - a very, very slim chance of course, but a possibility. But then those damn rebels had to intervene... on the plus side, the Protectors had most definitely been steamrolled by the Aschen. The bad news was, so had her army.
Ashia spared a thought for Rome, perhaps the greatest leader she'd ever met - no, the greatest man she'd ever met. Calculating without being cold-hearted, and a great listener as well, he had been able to lead a strong army against their greatest foes. And he had loved her not for her looks (or for just being a woman in a high position on the social ladder) but for who she was. And he had understood her - that was without a doubt.
And now he was almost certainly dead.
Ashia was surprised to feel a tear roll down her cheek. Since when had she become so damn emotional? Ever since that business with that snake-man troubadour and the psychic Protector, her entire life had been turned on its head, with said head then being bashed against the wall of suffering until it was a bloody pulp. There was nothing left for her. Everything she had worked for... gone. In less than a month too. She should just give up, and-
NO!!! she thought. I cannot give up! I have not come this far only to give up and die! There are still things I can do. That I must do.
And it came to her so suddenly that it seemed her own body was knock back a few feet from its former position: she still had a mission to do; it was all coming together. Abraxas and his crew; her mission had been to hunt them down. Then, of course, the Aschen intervened, and everything fell apart. But the mission still remained. And it was a mission she had to do, if not for duty then for her sheer sanity.
I will fulfill my duty, if it is the last thing I ever do in this life, Ashia reckoned. Come blood or bane, woe or wave. For the Militia, for Blackrock, for my family... for Rome. For myself. I swear upon it with all of my force of will.
Immediately after this, in an event Ashia would not be sure actually happened even long afterwards, her Gauntlets of Doom seemed to vibrate, to hum with some psionic agreement. To become more... attuned to her. And she could sense the path the trio had taken... where they were now. Even though she had no idea how, she could all the same.
The Zanzarian Port. Misrana. I will find them. And with that, Ashia Nova blasted off into the depths of the Multiverse once again, on the mission that could save her life... or doom it.

Suddenly, all C.O.R.e Units stop attacking and start leaving. Their purpose seemingly unkown still.


On the Emperor's side, he would immediately try to get in touch with Ashia. She seemed far to distressed in her last com.
"Ashia, this is Rome. Do you read? I repeat this Rome, do you read?" He would wait for a response impatiently.