Graham Ashworth's Story

Territorial expansion had risen as a top-priority for Transcendents and Humans alike, with both forces sending out fleets to explore the vast expanse of space. Progress started out slow, however, once a side was able to establish colonies, prolonged expeditions had become more feasible as fleets no longer needed to keep returning to the homeland in order to replenish their forces.

Minor battles still break out between Transcendent and Human fleets over rights to a particular territory which of course, results to casualties but overall, authorities aren't quick to immediately use these incidents as a reason for another war. Transcendent fleets, with their huge numbers, were able to cover more space in a shorter amount of time while Human fleets were still hard-pressed to keep up despite their victory in the whole Eastern sector. This had been the situation the two worlds found themselves in for the past 8 years.

---

The World Beneath had dispatched a fleet to investigate the remains of an abandoned space station somewhere within the boundary between the Eastern and Southern sectors. Although it seemed as if the station hadn't been used for quite a while, the ruined parts that comprise the debris found along with the marks left on the walls indicate that a battle had taken place here not too long ago...

"The Winchester managed to rendezvous safely, I see..." An older officer asks via a real time communications channel displayed on the main monitor. While he still looked impressive with his newly-issued uniform, his face already showed signs of wear, obviously hinting that he had seen better days.

"The supply ship is currently docked with this one and the necessary resources, manpower and Harbingers are currently being transferred as we speak. On another note--judging from the parts we were able to retrieve, I can't help but think that this unfortunate unit was attacked in order to acquire whatever it was they unearthed in this ruined station." The woman replied from the other end, referring to the debris that her force was able to bring in. "Sir...could it be possible that the Transcendents are preparing for another war against us?"

"Impossible. It could be that this unit was merely involved in a territorial strife. Our space-faring capabilities are still rather new so we're not really able to assemble a proper unit that can defend the territories we acquire, save for this one."

The two exchanged information for a little while longer before the officer back at the base ended the transmission, leaving the forces in space to their own devices. The woman sighed and shifted her attention to another monitor on her left, showing the two ships docked together and personnel working around the clock to transfer all the necessary supplies.

The Winchester, although a large ship in its own right, was visibly dwarfed by the larger ship it was resupplying. Beside it, the warship Organum stood in all its old glory. With the addition of newer models being integrated in the army, older ships like itself are now being recommissioned as expeditionary forces in order for the World Beneath to spread its influence over the neutral sectors.

"Captain, the Harbingers and personnel are all accounted for. The Winchester also informed us that it would be leaving in an hour. Oh, and I've got the profiles of all the pilots that were transferred here." A voice spoke on the intercom from outside the door where the woman was in.

"All right." The woman unlocked the door with the press of a button and a younger girl walked in, carrying with her a bunch of paperwork. The older woman took it and gave it a quick scan before turning to the younger one. "Inform the new pilots to report to me one by one. We'll depart for Proud as soon as the Winchester leaves."

"Yes Miss Ophelia." The younger woman responded before walking away, leaving Ophelia to her own devices. Leaving the pilot profiles on the desk, Ophelia opens up the navigation console in her room to review the route they are to take.

"Proud...our next mission. We've received reports that its security systems caught a Transcendent unit headed over to this location a few days ago. It was small but, compare that to a similarly sized fleet of our own and the outcome is obvious." Ophelia sighed as she stared off into an image of the space station they were leaving behind. For her, time passes quickly when she's lost in thought. Either that, or she tends to lose track of time when she's mulling over things. The Winchester had already left a few minutes ago. It was time for them to depart as well.

"That's the last of it, Lead."

The voice of one of the pilots he had deployed with floated from the speakers of the Eisenritter's cockpit, snapping Graham out of his trance. He blinked, taking a quick look at the surroundings and seeing only the other machines he had been with. Two Gungnirs, a long-ranged mass production unit- one of which he had borrowed a beam rifle from. While the Eisenritter's beam cannons covered more areas, it still could only fire thrice each cannon. The only downside to the Gungnir's rifle was that it required ammo packs. On the bright side, it didn't have to worry about overheating.

"What's next, Lead?" Another pilot spoke, and Graham turned the Eisenritter's head to look at her machine. "We've got what we came here for. Next course of action is to rendezvous with the Trials of Winter to bring this back." The machine she piloted caught his eye- a mass-production version of the Eisenritter, the Zweireiter at least had its own rifle, but no beam cannons. It had two standard beam sabers, lacking the added voltage of the Nexus beam saber but being able to hold its own all the same.

"What is this thing we retrieved, anyway?" One of the Gungnir pilots piped up- Graham could hear the annoyance in his voice. "I'm not cleared to tell you. Whatever it is, High Command's sent us to retrieve it and that's all there is to it right now, Nilson." Graham replied, grimacing and started on activating the Eisenritter's thrusters. "Let's go. We have a ship to rendezvous with. Stay alert, last thing we want is being ambushed by humans. Or being detected by them." "Well, Lead, if the radars don't pick us up, it's your machine's colors that will," the Zweireiter's pilot joked, and Graham shook his head.

"Whatever you say, Ensign Rivaile. Let's go."

The trip to the Trials of Winter was quiet, the humming of the thrusters being their only sound. Graham tried not to focus on their retrieved item, and cleared his head of all thoughts. He shook his head, focusing himself on the monitor and the vast space in front of him. Being the commander of the Inspection Unit wasn't easy, but he hadn't fought all those battles and willingly had three of his machines destroyed just to give up the moment something heavy was thrown onto his shoulders. Next thing he thought about was the new troops that had been assigned to the Inspection Unit.

Now that was something interesting to think about. Graham was used to getting more troops. But he wouldn't deny that it was interesting whenever a new face showed up. They could die at any moment and he knew that- that's why he wanted to know every face in the unit. They wouldn't last forever. He couldn't give them tasks right away without finding out whatever it was that he had retrieved. Once again, though, the voice of his unit shook him out of it. "There it is!" Nilson exclaimed. "I've been dying to get out of this cockpit, sheesh!" "There you go again, Nilson, complaining about being out too long when you've signed up for this yourself." The other Gungnir pilot, Roderich, grunted. Always down to business, that one. "Stop fighting you two, the Trials of Winter is right up ahead." Rivaile snapped and Graham noted that he'd have to thank her, maybe later.

Reaching the ship, the Eisenritter's feet settled onto the docking bay, and Graham breathed a small sigh. "Finally here. Let's see what this important item is all about."

---

---

The Commander had many fears. He would never let those below him know, but space frightened him. He never truly felt safe within the heavy alloy walls that kept him from a gasping, horrible death. He did much prefer it upon the ground, as chaotic and dangerous as it was in its own right.

Yet, his place was aboard his ship now. And the Trials of Winter was orbiting Proud, a planet with a smattering of human outposts, most of them based around mining. None of them likely knowing the danger that lurked above. Accompanying it were three smaller frigates; Prejudice, Finding Fate, and the Aegis. Despite their size, they were every bit as dangerous as the Trials of Winter.

He was standing on a walkway in the control room, observing nearly two dozen various technicians at work, pressing away on terminals and gently speaking into headsets. This was the hub of the ship, the brain that leads it forward. He learned their faces, knew their names. He had individually picked half the men and women standing in this room now. And it was such that he knew that many had grown agitated - agitated towards him. The fleet has not moved for nearly four hours. Four hours for Commander Ashworth to do whatever he set off to accomplish, right under the Captain's nose. As usual.

Still, Ashworth hadn't returned yet. Even worse, he took nearly half of Second Squadron with him. He couldn't deny he wouldn't be pleased if Ashworth failed - the man irritatingly liked to believe he was in charge aboard the Trials. But he would be furious with the loss of not one, but three skilled pilots.

"Captain, Commander Ashworth has docked, accompanied by Ensign Rivaile, and Petty Officer Nilson." Another crewman spoke.

Damn.

"Tell the fleet to warm their engines. We enter atmosphere in an hour, and we're out in three." Too much time standing still in human-owned systems. They needed to bomb the mining outposts and get out. However, he very, very much wanted to have a talk with Ashworth. A long, not necessarily kind talk.

"And tell the heroic commander that Squadron Two - the one he wanted to inspect - is still waiting in their barracks, and I will be meeting him there." Lilas said, striding out of the room.

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"Hey, Renard. Wake up, for the third time!" Amelia was torn - suddenly and unexpectedly - from her dreams by a loud, agitated voice and a firm hand shaking her shoulder. A blurred, distorted face entered her groggy view, and it took a few seconds and blinks for her to focus.

"There you go, Christ, like waking the dead. Captain wants to see you, remember?" The man said, straightening up to walk away. She couldn't remember his name, she was pretty bad with them. She did know he was one of the other recruits, probably the last one to be - er, what was the word? Reported to, or something?

She sat up with a groan, casting off the jacket she had been using as an impromptu blanket. She and a few of the other recruits had been waiting in the hangar, and she wasn't the only one using her substantial duffelbag as a pillow. Was probably more comfortable than the navy bed they were going to be assigned, anyway.

Yawning, she sat up, hanging the heavy jacket on some bolt sticking out of Bing. Which was what she called the Harbinger, one of the few things she truly had to call her own aboard this ship. She straightened her uniform and hair, trying to get rid of the messiness often caused by sleep as she headed for the Captain's office (but, not without getting lost a few times - even with signs, she still didn't know her way around navy ships).

Amelia eventually found her way, staring at the plaque mounted above the door nearly ten minutes later. Captain Rossweisse. After a moment of thought, she pressed the intercom button, leaning forward. "Crewman Recruit Renard - er, reporting, ma'am." She then leaned back, and anxiously awaited to be called.

"Again?"

From within the confines of her quarters, Ellis woke up after having another dream. A flashback regarding the last time she had to kill another one of her kind. It was the first time she had seen a Transcendent beg for their life. And she had a feeling that it won't be the last. Another mission was given to her. This time, she had to monitor the Inspection Unit under the command of a Graham Ashworth, who also serves as the fleet's inspector.

"Inspection unit?" Ellis asks as she communicates with central command through the communications module in their command center in the outer rim.

"That's right. We have suspicions that a rogue Transcendent has blended within one of our fleets."

"That's impossible, all the other Infiltrators are dead."

"Indeed. You're the last of that project. However, this one is rather...elusive. It is not an Infiltrator, I assure you. Just another one of our kind who had somehow managed to hold ideals which are disastrous to our society. We don't know which fleet he or she managed to sneak into so we've sent a number of Inspectors to monitor the actions of each fleet. The Inspection Unit already has Commander Graham Ashworth to monitor it but, we feel that we'll need someone else. We don't particularly trust this unit. Do you know why?"

Ellis took a deep breath before responding, having already read the details of her new assignment a few days prior. "It's from the outer rim, where the most cases of rogue Transcendents have been reported. I know. I've been stationed there for a while."

"And you've done a good job at keeping our society safe from these disastrous trains of thought. Ellis Arjuna, the last Infiltrator...we'll need you to serve as our eyes and ears on the Trials of Winter. Of course, we'll make the necessary arrangements so that you'll have your own independence, even from Commander Graham or Captain Setoen. You'll be entering as a special envoy that responds to us directly."

"Doesn't it seem ironic, giving me free reign if we're so against this train of thought?" Ellis asked curiously.

"You have the records and credentials for this kind of task. You are the only Infiltrator who didn't turn rogue despite spending a lot of time among the company of humans. I suppose it would be easier now as you'll be with Transcendents instead so if we look at it from this angle, it does make sense. We've sent you a tool to accomplish this mission better and to complete your cover. I hope you find it to your liking."

---

That exchange occurred over three weeks ago. Her transfer had been successful and she was allowed in the Trials of Winter with no problem. Her cover was a high-ranking officer who was sent by command in order to gather combat data for the development of next-generation machines. As she was a representative from central command, she was given a license allowing her to act independently from the other members of the unit. She's already expected that some of the people aren't too happy about it so she's restricted her movements only to general facilities, her quarters and her spot in the hangar and avoided conversing with others as much as possible as to not draw any attention to herself.

"A scheduled inspection? At this time?" Ellis wondered as she listened attentively to the mutterings of the people working around the clock. She was sitting in the cockpit of the Victoria, one of their latest models when an encrypted message from central command came.

"The fleet was spotted by a human colony called Proud. Infiltrate the colony and erase any evidence of the Inspection Unit's involvement in the station attack. Delete this message after memorizing the details and carry out this mission. Use whatever methods you deem necessary. From what was officially reported, it seems that this unit has plans in engaging the fleet stationed there. Use this as an opportunity to slip in through the chaos and back."

"Mission received." Ellis deleted the message as she was told. As if on cue, Commander Ashworth had just returned from their mission in time for the scheduled inspection.

"Three weeks and still no sign of our rogue. I've investigated most of the other members here except...the main crew under Captain Setoen and the squadron under Commander Ashworth. Is it possible that our rogue...is an officer aboard this ship?"

The cockpit of the Eisenritter was temporarily bathed in darkness before the door slid open, the sound of Transcendent mechanics hustling about and the scene of the two Gungnirs approaching their cages being all that he could see. Pulling the helmet off of his head of golden hair, he climbed out- the others could handle the data that their unit had retrieved. Besides, it had yet to be processed, and on the other hand, High Command would surely want them to handle one other pressing matter at hand- they had been spotted by the security systems of the colony they had visited to retrieve data from. One didn't have to be a rocket scientist to know exactly what they had to do.

"Commander Ashworth." He turned his head to the man that called his name. "Squadron Two is waiting in their barracks. The Captain will be waiting for you there." Giving a quiet nod, he moved away from his machine. "It won't be long," he murmured to himself, glancing back at the white form of the Eisenritter. After his briefing was done, he'd be back, operating the machine to draw out the Organum- the flagship of the humans' expeditionary force. Central Command had warned him of this particular ship- "It had been the very ship to drive us out of the Eastern Sector," they had told him. Graham had to be careful when facing it and its Harbingers.

Shifting his gaze away from the Eisenritter, he straightened himself and proceeded to the barracks.

The walk there wasn't too long. In just a few, he was already looking over the squadron, having looked over their profiles on the way there. So far, they had a newcomer on the ship, his bloodline boasting having raised commanders and generals, and the man himself having many ranks and merits to yap about. The Captain was also there in the barracks, always the stiff-necked man he was, his short temper making him come off as a brash man to Graham. Shifting his attention away, he noticed a special person that had been assigned to them- Ellis Arjuna, a special envoy from Central Command themselves. She was an independent unit in herself, neither in his or Setoen's command.

Graham wasn't very surprised with Central Command's decision to send an Infiltrator to their ranks. The Inspection Unit was born from the outer rim of the Transcendents' society, and it was already known to Central Command that many incidents of rogue Transcendents came from that part of the society. It was for that reason that Graham had been assigned not only main commander but chief inspector. He couldn't have the members of this unit going rogue- though, he had been doubting even himself all the same. After taking a quick look through the squadron again, he cleared his throat, cutting straight to the chase.

"Men, I'm sure you're all aware that, given the nature of our mission, it wouldn't be long until the Earth forces catch wind of our activities. Which brings us to this problem at hand:

The colony Proud managed to spot the Trials of Winter while we were en route to our last mission. If they are to report this to the ruling government, central command will be forced to take action in order to eliminate us and terminate any involvement regarding this matter. And so, we'll have to take the initiative and move quickly in order to prevent that from happening."

One of the newcomers spoke up, his voice almost skeptic. "Commander, how sure are we that the Earth forces will report this to the authorities?" Graham's piercing gaze fixated on him just for a short moment before he returned to staring everyone down.

"The presence of the Organum. I doubt they will mobilize something as powerful as that for minor security detail. Most likely, they're already anticipating an attack on their colony. So, what we're going to do is to distract their forces while a team infiltrates the colony and erases the data. We will center our forces on the Prejudice and the Aegis. Finding Fate and the Trials of Winter will stay behind and guard our escape route. We cannot risk having this flagship seen.

Remember; it is extremely important to make this battle appear as a "misencounter". To do that, you'll need to lure the enemy away from the colony and into the neutral border where it is safe to destroy them. That way, central command will be able to deny and participation in this battle."

He then turned to the strike team to be deployed. "Chances are, the enemy will be expecting us to move in. Arm yourselves accordingly and prepare to engage their forces within the colony. As much as possible, try not to draw too much attention to yourselves. That's all. Dismissed." While most of the pilots had started to leave, he glanced at Ellis again. He had heard of the Infiltrator program- "Could she be...?" It was strange enough that Ellis was neither in his nor Setoen's command. The program to raise assassins at a young age had never been fully implemented due to the ceasefire treaty being signed. Only a few Infiltrators were kept by Central Command to act as scouts. It was their job to infiltrate human outposts and gather or erase data that could be dangerous or beneficial to them. But he had heard that most of the Infiltrators were already dead...

"Arjuna," He called her over, meeting her apathetic blue gaze with his. "Will you be joining the forces who will be holding off the Organum?" Her answer would either cement the fact that she was an Infiltrator, or it would destroy the thought completely.

---

"Wonder if the newcomers are good pilots..."

Alexander looked up from where he was checking out the weapons he would be bringing into the confrontation. Having heard of the mission details beforehand, he had been thinking of which extra weapons he would be bringing into the battle. While the Forneus's rifles would be enough- with the beam bayonets to support it if it ever came into contact with any close-ranged machines-, he felt like he had to at least bring two more weapons with him. Beam sabers weren't an option due to the bayonets. A sniper rifle, maybe? But he had heard that Ophelia would have already assigned someone to take on a sniper role in the battle. The gatling gun, perhaps. It would be a bit heavy and he would be lugging it around in the weapon binders, but he figured since he would be fighting with spread-shot attacks, it would do more good.

Aside from the gatling gun, he packed a few grenades. Never knew when he would be chucking it at enemies that could latch onto the Forneus.

Once the weapon binders were attached on the white machine, he clambered into the cockpit, the door sliding shut. It only took a moment before the monitors came online, and he had started strapping himself in. He flexed his fingers a bit before grabbing onto the machine's controls. He'd talk to the pilots being deployed along with him later, when they were out of the ship. Now...

"And now, we wait."

The whole ship was tense upon the arrival of the Commander. Judging from their reactions, Ellis concluded that he probably had a mixed reputation among the Transcendents there. Some think he may be too secretive at what he does. "None of them are probably aware on how much Central command delegates to the shadows..." Indeed, there are several missions, assassinations and plotting that the "Proud and Noble" Transcendents wouldn't ever want to come to light. As the ideal, utopian state, they do have their image to uphold after all.

The commander started to brief their forces, and about time too. Most seem to be getting a little restless. Still, although it didn't concern Ellis directly, she decided to listen in anyway. Who knows, maybe her prey might just slip up. As expected, thanks to their careless maneuvers, the colony managed to spot not only the machines but the main ship as well. To their credit, they really were going to send in their own team to erase the data. As what was written in her mission details.

"Arjuna--Will you be joining the forces who will be holding off the Organum?" That took Ellis aback. She wasn't expecting the inspector to talk to her. Was he suspecting something?

"No. I have my own mission to fulfill." Ellis replied as she walked away from the commotion to prepare for her mission. She wondered about bringing her machine along. Would she run into any battles? If she did, then she take note of it as grounds for accusing the unit for incompetency. They were supposed to act as decoys after all. After giving it some thought, Ellis decided to bring it and hide it somewhere along the colony's blind spot, near a waste disposal block. That way, she can wire it to come to her aid immediately if she needed it.

As the time drew near, Ellis launched in a transport shuttle, taking her machine, a small construction machine used for maintaining the ships and some of the ship's scrap parts. She positioned the shuttle and the machine in the field as planned while she used the construction unit to blend in with the scrap parts that she sent floating towards the direction of the colony. She set the shuttle and her machine to respond via remote commands as backup.

"According to my observations, colonies like these follow strict guidelines with regards to monitoring debris around the colony perimeter. Any cluster that weighs around the same weight as a Harbinger would immediately be taken to a loading bay and inspected to see if there are any salvageable parts. Afterwards, it is just expelled along with the rest. If it's the same weight as the other clusters scheduled to be thrown away, there won't be any more checks after that. Then all I've gotta do is slip out the same way. That leaves me almost an hour to get the job done."

As predicted, the debris cluster Ellis made was immediately brought in to see if there are any parts that can be salvaged. She immediately hid behind the seat compartment and waited for the checks to finish. "Normally, these humans do not know how to operate a Transcendent machine. Even if they are to spot this mobile unit and see that it's not damaged in any way, they won't bother trying to take it apart. They'll probably just do a visual search and move on. This peace has hampered everyone's alertness anyway."

Once the maintenance crew left, Ellis got out of the unit and took off her normal suit, revealing the civilian clothing she's prepared beforehand. Immediately, she took off running towards the worker's exit. "No problem. They'll just think I'm some lost tourist if I'm ever spotted. Now, I just need to get on to the human's network..."

In contrast to the approach their chief inspector decided to use, Ellis figured it would be much easier to try and bypass the human's network than send a full squad to destroy the surveillance units. It would be safer too as she can use the human's network against them from a distant location. She immediately broke in a boarding house of sorts and entered the first room with a computer. "Then again, I only know this due to having gone on several missions of the same nature in the past..." After only a few minutes, she was able to locate points where she could access the surveillance data over a remote connection. Quickly, she began her move.

45 minutes. She'll need to finish up fast.

---

"Captain...we've detected large heat signatures headed to this direction. The signature doesn't match any of our allied frequencies." The Organum's operator cried out.

"They're already here huh? All hands to your stations. The bridge will now be entering combat mode. Deploy the Harbinger unit. Unless instructed, stay on our side of the border at all times. Is Kotko in position yet?" As orders were relayed and crew started moving double time, the bridge of the Organum lowered to a safer position behind reinforced panels. From that point on, they would have to rely on their cameras and radar for navigation.

"A few minutes ma'am. The stationary high-output sniper is in position. T-100 following soon." The operator reported.

"All right. Have the main Harbinger unit position themselves at our flanks. Right flank is to assist with Proud's security forces. The left flank is to guard and defend this ship. Have the Forneus Mk-II lead the offensive on the left flank."

"Visual report in ten minutes. Two enemy vessels detected." Executive Officer Fang reported in.

"Do you think I'm lucky enough for one of those to be our shadow freighter?" Ophelia casually remarked although she wasn't holding her breath for it.

"I don't think so. These signatures are different from last time." Fang responded.

"Just humor me on this one would you? Anyway--" Ophelia contacts Ren on the allied channel. "Kotko, do not fire immediately lest you give away your position. But if you see any machine on their side cross the border then you may fire a warning shot. If they still refuse to cooperate, then you know what to do."

Having relayed enough instructions to prepare their forces, Ophelia contacts the approaching fleet just in case. The visuals revealed them to be of a different class than the one spotted in the surveillance report but, it is possible that this shadow freighter's hiding around somewhere.

"To the approaching Transcendent fleet: This is Captain Ophelia Rossweisse speaking. You are flying dangerously close to our territorial borders. Come any closer and we'll be forced to open fire under the guidelines outlined in the treaty." Ophelia glanced at the crew, making sure everyone's ready. Things could go south pretty fast.

As soon as it was announced that Commander Ashworth was on deck, Petya shot up from his bed and stood up straight, dusting off his uniform and double checking his bed to smooth out any wrinkles his sitting might have produced before standing at attention facing the door to the barracks. He had heard stories of the commander, his exploits having made the rounds at the dinner table back home on occasion, and no no-name soldier of the rank and file was ever uttered by an elder Burundukov. Petya had been told that he would be serving that same honorable man, but the reality did not sink in until it was announced that the commander was now on-deck.

This was it, the start of what was sure to be another long and proud military career, and it would all begin with the first set of orders he was to be given by THE Commander Graham Ashworth. Petya could not wait, thinking even now of how his actions would benefit the great Transcendent Fleet and the people they were sworn to protect and serve.

As soon as the flash of those Commander stripes came through the barrack doors, Petya's arm swung up into a textbook salute, his posture impeccable, and his face a proper mix of eager yet restrained. He was every bit the perfect soldier he was raised to be. The Commander was also every bit as majestic as he'd been lead to believe, his golden hair resting dutifully on his uniform, accenting the red that lined his coat. His sharp blue eyes scanned his squad, and subsequently Petya, and his voice was like silk as he began to explain the situation and the mission at hand.

The Tides of Winter had been spotted on their last outing into human controlled space, a very clear violation of the ceasefire that the two warring worlds had signed. Evidence like that had to be erased, one way or the other, and it would be Petya's job, nay, privilege to lure the humans away from their stupid colony and allow the brave and heroic Transcendent soldiers to erase the footage proving their past activities. A simple enough mission to prove to the Commander that he truly had a Burundukov on his squad, and that together they would make a most glorious future for their people and crush the humans that threatened it.

As soon as Petya was dismissed, he immediately double timed it to the hangars to oversee personally that his war machine, a basic but efficient Model-8, was ready to deploy as soon as the word was given. The standard shield and machine gun should be sufficient for what was essentially a mock fire exercise, excessive firepower possibly leading to increased hostility and further endangerment of the mission and his fellow Transcendent. The beam rifle would be mounted to his machine's back, just in case, but things would have to get messy to warrant its use.

He now sat in his cockpit, dutifully awaiting the order to deploy and the chance to bring yet another victory to the inspection unit, Commander Ashworth, and the Transcendent people as a whole. As soon as the order is given, he would deploy and take his place in formation, shield raised and his machine ready to engage the enemy. He could already feel it deep down in his gut that today would be a proud day in the Burundukov line.

It didn't take long for Ren to get into position, Her T-100 running on minimal power, watching the screen in front of her that served as her eyes as she waited for the enemy to make a mistake. She was hidden pretty carefully in the debris field, floating gently along other scrapped Harbinger parts and civilian trash that had been spaced. Her harbinger's arms were locked into position, holding the rifle with a finger on the trigger, the only thing left for Ren to do is line up a target when they got just over that border line and introduce a concentrated pulse of plasma to their precious hull integrity. To make things even easier, she even had a dotted line on her visuals that served as a marker for the border that updated in real time, an added measure to make sure she didn't fire to early she supposed. Probably a good call, given the tricky politics that would be involved in this little tea party they were about to have.

The Aegis was slowly creeping along her radar, and would hit her visuals within a few minutes. A familiar tension hit Ren's gut as she tightened her grip on the controls. It had been too long since the last time she'd been in a cockpit with a real gun in her hands, enemies approaching and the stakes being life or death. She'd forgotten the high of feeling that power in your hands. Knowing you were going to kill, to take, to destroy... It was a feeling known to kings and emperors and it was this feeling which caused so many to have sprang from the battlefield. This had to be how the first man to kill an animal for its meat had to feel. How chieftains had felt when they wiped out a neighboring tribe. How professional warriors raised with a sword in their grip felt when feeling the barbarians flail helplessly against their shields. Ren inhaled slowly and held her breath, savoring the feeling for just a moment before exhaling through her nose, probably making a soft burst of static across friendly channels. She hadn't felt powerful since she was locked up, and she would just be the expendable con again when she docked back onto the Organum so she had to enjoy it while she could.

"Kotko, do not fire immediately lest you give away your position. But if you see any machine on their side cross the border then you may fire a warning shot. If they still refuse to cooperate, then you know what to do," The captain spoke, a smile spreading on Ren's face.

"Roger Dodger, Cap. Scary then bury, weapons hot and ready. Trans ship is in visual and begging for it. Taking aim now," Ren called, obviously enjoying herself as her unit gently shifted to bring The Aegis into scope, but shifted again when enemy mechs appeared on her radar.

"Heads up, I've got visual on enemy units. Looks like cannon fodder, no command insignia or officer marks. Both making a run for the border. Preparing the scary..." Ren said, grinning as she brought one of the enemy units into her sights. Looked like a standard infantry unit, carrying a shield and a close range gun, probably automatic. Cockpit would be in the chest and popping the head would fry everything but radar.

"Captain Rossweisse, this is Lieutenant Commander Faust of the Aegis, and we are experiencing engine difficulties. Rest assured, we will have this under control before we cross your border."

The man sounded like an ass, but Ren kept her mouth shut and watched. The enemy units were quickly approaching the border, and she was ready to scare the shit out of the one with the shield as soon as it put a toe over the no-no line.

"Of course, we can't help but notice you've a small armada aimed at us, and under the guidelines of the same aforementioned treaty, any vessel under hostile fire within neutral or allied territory is permitted to defensively retaliate in kind."

"Now see, hearing shit like that makes me think they kind of want us to shoot them. Anyone else? Just me?" Ren said, just before opening a direct line to the captain.

"I've been on the giving end of enough ambushes to know one when I see one. Either they're really trying to jump start that whole war thing, or they really want us to look at their ship while they flank us or something, not that I'm calling that Faust asshole a liar or anything. This just feels... weird," Ren said, an alarm going off in her cockpit just as soon as one of the enemy mechs crossed the border. With barely a twitch of her finger, her rifle fired and a blast of concentrated pink energy went screaming through the void of space, getting close enough to the enemy unit to ruin its paint job but no actual structural damage. The unit froze in place, still on the wrong side of the line but Ren decided that immediately firing again might escalate things beyond what the captain wanted.

"Warning shot fired. Moving position now to keep enemy guessing. I know I'm not in any sort of leadership role out here or anything but, I say let's call their bluff and open fire on the fucking ship when it enters our space. Let Faust prove he isn't a filthy filthy... SHIT!" Ren shouted, a blast from a beam rifle hitting a clump of trash near where her Harbinger had been a moment ago when it had fired the warning shot.

"Tranny has returned fire, I repeat, Tranny has returned fire. Firing at last known position, still invisible. I'd like it noted that beam rifles are not standard engine field repair equipment, copy," Ren said, smirking as she lined up the idiot back into her sights. Didn't matter where this asshole was at now... it just fired at a human owned vessel while in human controlled space. His life was forfeit...

-=-

Words could not describe how elated Petya felt at finally being in the cockpit of one of the Transcendent's finest infantry units, officially deployed, and on a mission of utmost urgency. He was bestowed the prestige of being one of the units designated to baiting the enemy into attacking, under the guise that he was attempting to stop the mighty Aegis from crossing into Human controlled space. His Model-8 had it's shield ready but kept its weapon lowered, following instructions and simply stayed in formation with the ship until the Human Armada was in visual. As soon as it was, he would do as the captain instructed, and venture out into human controlled space in order to begin slowing down the ship to keep it from entering human space.

The humans, those filthy impulsive piles of nerves and impulses, would fire on him as soon as he was in range, and then the captain's brilliant plan would come to fruition. Such a brief cross of the border would be hard to prove, but damaged hardware would not be.

As soon as the captain gave the word, Petya surged forward in his mech, feeling a sense of exhilaration as he approached that forbidden human border, but the feeling was cut short when a round of sniper fire filled his visuals and nearly punched a hole through his mech's head. In panic, Petya came to a complete stop and began scanning the area for where the blast had come from. Seeing as this was space, there was only so much available cover in an endless void of nothingness, but the debris field that orbited the colony immediately caught his attention. It was the most logical choice for a sniper to hide. For the sake of his unit, he had to flush that enemy out or it would jeopardize the entire operation.

"Enemy in the debris! Enemy in the debris! Moving to intercept!" Petya declared, too caught up in the moment of battle to realize that the enemy unit was still in human owned space, and had every right to hide in there so long as it did no damage to the Transcendent fleet.

Petya switched out his sub-machine gun for the standard issue beam rifle his unit was renowned for, and began opening fire on where the blast had come from.

"I repeat, enemy in the debris!" Petya cried, his unit's fingers still pulling the trigger but only produced a silent clicking of an empty click, the iconic noise lost in the vacuum of space.

"Graham Ashworth! Launching!"

It didn't take long before the Eisenritter had deployed once more. The Nexus Beam Saber still sheathed in its left pauldron, the machine advanced, carrying a beam rifle taken from one of the Gungnirs. He observed the battlefield- there it was, behind reinforced panels, and in front of the colony. The Organum. This wasn't going to be easy, holding off against the flagship just until the infiltration team- and Arjuna, he noted- managed to erase all evidence of them being there. There was a Harbinger unit also guarding the ship.

Graham watched and held his breath as he listened to the conversation going on between the Captain of the Organum and Commander Faust of the Aegis, masquerading the slow approach of the fleet as engine difficulties. It would only take a bit of time until someone- either someone from their side or the humans'- would pull the trigger and then all hell would break loose. And after a bit of waiting, Graham's eyes quickly caught a pink beam.

"Enemy in the debris! Enemy in the debris! Moving to intercept!" The pilot of the Model 8 cried out, and started firing back. Graham released the breath he had been holding for so long. "I repeat, enemy in the debris!" The moment the pilot had repeated it, it seemed that he had run out of ammo for his beam rifle.

He set to work. The Eisenritter advanced- he maneuvered the machine so that it dodged past the beams and bullets fired by the opposing Harbingers and fired back. He just had to pass an extra ammo pack to the Model 8, and he did so promptly. Once his own rifle ran out of ammo, he'd just rely on the Eisenritter's speed and the Nexus Beam Saber to take out the opposing Harbingers. With his skill and the superior technology of the commander-type machine, this wouldn't be too hard. He at least hoped that the Model 8 would intercept the ammo pack.

Initially, Graham had thought of finding out wherever the unit that had fired the first shot at the Model 8 pilot was hiding, but an armor-piercing round speeding towards him made him think better of it. He put up his machine's shield in time, and the protective energy barrier of the Nexus Defensive Shield managed to intercept the round.

It didn't take long for him to identify the machine that had fired at him. It was a white machine that he recognized had quite a reputation on the battlefield. Putting his shield up, he aimed his beam rifle at the opposing machine and squeezed the trigger. If he was lucky enough to take out the veteran machine, he might have a chance of finding out where the hidden machine was.

---

Alexander had deployed, having received the command to do so. The Forneus Mk-II was leading the offensive for the defense of the Organum, while the two pilots that had just come in were protecting the colony. He quietly listened in on the conversation between Ophelia and the opposing Captain, saying something about engine damage or difficulties. It wasn't long until one of the new pilots spoke up through the comms.

"Now see, hearing shit like that makes me think they kind of want us to shoot them. Anyone else? Just me?" "Technically, we have all the freedom to if they cross the line." Alexander leaned back, arms crossed behind his head.

"I've been on the giving end of enough ambushes to know one when I see one. Either they're really trying to jump start that whole war thing, or they really want us to look at their ship while they flank us or something, not that I'm calling that Faust asshole a liar or anything. This just feels... weird." He hummed, deciding not to reply. He agreed that it was strange that the fleet was drawing closer to Proud of all colonies, and the earlier security system report cemented his belief. Still, a beam shot out, and he saw a Transcendent machine freeze in its tracks before firing back.

"Finally," he thought to himself before his hands were on the controls, firing alongside the Harbinger unit with him. He aimed a few shots at the unit that had fired back, but whether his bullets hit or not was up to fate. Right now, his eyes had been focused on the advancing white and gold unit, the beam rifle in its hand firing pink beams at the other Harbingers. It seemed to be a commander-type unit, judging from the gold accents on the machine. He aimed the rifle with the armor-piercing rounds at the approaching machine and fired.

It paused, reacting quickly as it put up its shield. An energy barrier flashed for a moment and intercepted his bullet. That was settled- this was obviously a new model for commanders. And it was putting up its beam rifle and firing at him.

Maneuvering the Forneus, he dodged the machine's beam. As long as that shield was up, he didn't think he would be taking away its main defense. His quick eyes had also caught the commander unit passing something to the infantry unit. He'd have to be careful. Both machines could attack him. Instead, he decided to fire at the other Transcendent machines. Hopefully they'd be able to drive back this Transcendent fleet from Proud. Glancing back for only a few seconds before focusing again, he remembered that they were with the Organum.

They'd be able to push this fleet back, he was sure.

The moment was tense. Within a few minutes upon contact, the approaching ships transmitted back, informing them of supposed engine problems. However--

"Of course, we can't help but notice you've a small armada aimed at us, and under the guidelines of the same aforementioned treaty, any vessel under hostile fire within neutral or allied territory is permitted to defensively retaliate in kind."

"Of course. However, at this point, you're not the ones who're at liberty to make such claims. A large portion of the surrounding area around Proud may be neutral however--as far as international jurisdictions are concerned, your nearest settlements are quite far from this point. Kind of weird what a fleet such as yours is doing far from home. Or your immediate outposts for that matter."

While she's already expecting a fight to break out, she had hoped that her knowledge of the laws would be tempting enough to make any hostile force think twice. Yet, she wasn't counting on it. Especially with the Transcendent. A few more moments pass and then--

BAAAAAMMMM!!!!

Ren fired her warning shot which obviously meant that one of the machines clearly crossed the line. The enemy wasn't taking it lying down and opened fire as well. Not too surprising anymore. Everyone's practically waiting for this at this point.

"As I expected. Kotko, continue engaging the enemy from long range but make sure you keep your battle records intact and ready for playback. We'll be able to present this as evidence at the tribunal. Organum will open fire as well. Anti-air, start your barrage!" Ophelia issued orders left and right, overseeing the field of battle while the gun ports of the ship started to blaze, lighting up the dark space.

"No need to hold back on ammo! If either this ship or the colony is sunk, it's all over! Continue to blanket the enemy with fire. Rear guard, cover us!"

"Enemy formation detected! They're headed towards our position, should we have the advance fleet pull back?"

"No, that's what the enemy's trying to do. Extend the right flank's battle line! Intercept the incoming machines." After giving that order, Ophelia immediately called in the left flank. "Alexander, take a squadron with you and try to break through the enemy's flank! Kotko, once you run out of long range capability, retreat and assist our extended battle line on our right. Make sure nothing hits the colony!"

The situation's been pretty typical for the most part. However, a shadow of doubt hangs over Ophelia's mind. If the battle were to turn into one of attrition, they would get the upper hand. Yet the Transcendent's still attempted an attack anyway. "Either they have a trick up their sleeve or whatever they did down at that station is too important for us to find out..."

"Fang!" Ophelia calls over her XO.

"Yes ma'am?"

"What is the status of our Charged Particle Cannon?"

---

"It's started..." Ellis took notice as she worked on hacking into the surveillance data on one of the security firms stationed on Proud. "The thing with these humans is their love for competition. Multiple security firms on one colony? They mask it under benefits like variety but, it is all just a mad race for profit on their part by using necessities. None of these firms care about each other that they'll be willing to dispatch a team to aid another that's been hacked." A few more minutes pass. Finally, the receiver on her device clicked, informing her that her mission's successful. Quickly, she unplugged the device and headed out her prepared escape route.

"Maybe I could have been more careful..." Ellis glanced at the trail of dead employees she left in the room before running out.

In accordance with her plan, Ellis returned to the waste collection and disposal area to sneak out through the worker pod she used to get in. Normally, humans don't bother with Transcendent machines as they find the technology difficult to comprehend but--

"It's not here?! Don't tell me--!" Ellis immediately ducked in the shadows as she heard some guards storm in. Her plans were compromised. She never considered the humans would actually salvage her worker pod. "Fine!" Ellis took out her remote to activate the Victoria and transmitted the coordinates where she would rendezvous with the machine. She would have to pilot her way out of this place.

"I guess I can never be too lax around these humans...Now, how do I slip past these people?"

---

---

"They're not retreating, Sir." A nearby officer noted.

"Not a large matter. All that changes is that we fight in human borders. Just have to take extra care that none of them make it away." Lilas replied.

The captain carefully examined the display ahead of him, the holographic blips and shapes advancing towards one another. With the window shutters closed, this was the only way he could see skirmish outside. The Aegis, Predjudice, and the Commander's squad escorting them had started to advance dead center towards the enemy - directly towards the assortment of smaller frigates and Harbingers that likely formed the local defensive force, and the indomitable Organum that lurked behind, guarded by what seemed to be a small group of long-range Harbingers.

Of course, such a maneuver would leave the group open to being surrounded. An oversight that the Organum's captain would not be quick enough to capitalize on.

"A bit unfair, a ship that size fighting our fleet. " Lilas mused, hailing the commander of Finding Fate through the communications, "We don't like unfair fights, now do we?"

"No, we do not, Captain." She replied.

"Let's even these odds, shall we?" He said, a faint smile tugging on his lips. "Uncloak and switch those engines on. We're hitting the Organum from the side."

All around him, he could feel as the ship vibrated - as the field that had kept them so well-hidden started to disappear. Slowly the intimidating, alien figure of the Trials came into view, followed by it's smaller sister. Not even moments later, the distant outlines of mechs, fighters, and bombers could be seen emerging from the rear, surrounding their mothership in a well-practiced circular formation. And then, they surged forward, metallic locusts eager to lay waste to humanity.

"Bombers, break the Organum's shields, disable their weapons systems. Fighters and mechs, get them to their destination. Keep both their Harbingers and their turrets occupied." Lilas said, his words punctuating the first beam volley launched by the flagship. The Finding Fate joined in as well, launching a barrage of missiles at the larger Organum.

A chill crept down his spine. Yet, he loved his feeling. It was a raw, primal anticipation. He will see both Proud and the Organum crumble into dust. All in self-defense, of course.

---

---

---

---

Amelia's old H-01 trembled and vibrated with every shot as the jets on Bing's back tried to keep the large Harbinger from flying into space. The rifle was incredibly powerful, and had the added bonus of being a bit more mobile than the stationary one assigned to the other woman. She was sure she saw a Transcendent machine buckle and and swerve after she pulled that trigger.

Even though she had followed the woman's advice - she had counted to two before shooting, it didn't seem to help very much. The edge of her cockpit was carbon scored from a stray Transcendent beam. Luckily, the strong glass didn't crack, but it did make seeing out the lower right a bit more difficult.

"No need to hold back on ammo! If either this ship or the colony is sunk, it's all over! Continue to blanket the enemy with fire. Rear guard, cover us!"

Of course, Amelia was on the rear guard. With about four other Harbingers - none of them belonging to the Organum, she'd been taking potshots at the approaching Transcendent group while most of the other Organum Harbingers fought on the front. Most seemed ordinary, save for one lightning fast machine that wielded a shield, firing upon another Harbinger.

She took careful aim, trying to adjust for the craft's speed. The rifle's targeting mechanics helped quite a bit, and she took three shots, trying to get the fearsome machine to back up.

It was a cowardly thought, but she was a bit glad to be behind. She did not feel the raw fear and terror she was sure had awaited her, but perhaps it was because she was seeing it all from a relatively secure distance. Then again, compared to the massive Organum, how could those two Transcendent frigates - tiny in comparison - even hope to scratch Proud?

Then, she heard an alert on the monitor. Blips appearing on the radar where there originally were none, somewhere to her left. She twisted the controls, angling Bing to the side... and seeing a much more worrying sight. One that crushed her previous confidence with virtually no mercy.

Two Transcendent ships - one, the size of the other two attacking Frigates - and the other was much, much larger, both in terms of size and in the contingent that followed it. They were approaching quickly - and already much, much closer to Amelia and the Organum than the first two ships were.

It took her a minute to even figure out what to say. "The left! They're - more Transcendent forces on the left side!" She hurriedly said, jamming her thumb on the required button as she attempted to broadcast her message.

Before she manages to pull the trigger on the idiot that kicked this whole battle off, the radar in Ren's cockpit began going nuts as the rest of the Transcendent forces began surging forward, slamming hard against the front lines that the captain had set up between that fleet and the colony. One twitchy little bastard could wait, especially since it couldn't even fire at long range anymore, not when there was higher priority targets to take out to keep the battle going in their favor. These were atypical Trans tactics, taking full advantage of their superior numbers to overwhelm the enemy. They didn't need ace pilots in the same way humans did, not when your entire army is willing to throw themselves on the proverbial landmine for the motherland.

"As I expected. Kotko, continue engaging the enemy from long range but make sure you keep your battle records intact and ready for playback. We'll be able to present this as evidence at the tribunal. Organum will open fire as well. Anti-air, start your barrage!"

Ren allowed herself a laugh at that. "Oh boy, a tribunal?! Captain you sure know how to show a girl a good time," she said as she began moving through the debris field again, looking for a target to spend her very precious limited ammo on. She had one or two in mind, of course, having spotted the enemy unit bearing a commander's colors going to bail out that idiot with the shield from before, and of course she knew that some well placed shots might be able to cripple one or both of the frigates if she was lucky. Not like they were capable of dodging a direct shot, but Ren would have to be lucky in that not enough Tranny machines stayed with the fleet to protect their precious warships. It wouldn't be luck though, if they were all attempting to surround their armada, which would require most of their units to pull off.

"Alexander, take a squadron with you and try to break through the enemy's flank! Kotko, once you run out of long range capability, retreat and assist our extended battle line on our right. Make sure nothing hits the colony!"

"The left! They're - more Transcendent forces on the left side!"

Just as the voices rang out through the comm lines, Ren's radar shit itself as another enemy ship uncloaked on the Organum's side, one much more capable of hurting the ship than the other little pests Ren was still moving to intercept.

"Captain, you made a friend. Moving to intercept an enemy unit, might punch a hole in the net if they don't spot me first. attempting to introduce the void of space to the... Prejudice's bridge. Who the fuck names these ships? Captain, permission to rename the Organum to the Five Knuckle Shuffle so as to avoid Tranny pretentiousness," Ren called, steadying herself now that she was in position. She was straight ahead of the frigate now on the outer edge of the debris field, sights angled on where she knew most Trans ships had their control rooms, though she planned on a three round burst , which would only leave her with three more shots with the sniper before it would be useless except as a very expensive club.

"What do the rest of you pilots think? Oh, or The White Whale like from that book. Then it'll be hilarious when we blow up other ships," Ren quipped, and fired a three round volley aimed square at the cockpit of the Prejudice, Ren's T-100 doubling back to the front-lines at full speed. Wouldn't do The White Whale any good if Ren fucked around with these frigates all day when there was a warship just itching for some high output rounds right into it's engines.

Ren was zipping about through the debris, her thrusters off as soon as she reached speed to keep her from showing up on enemy heat signatures, only activating to correct course. She was taking full advantage of it now, but she got the feeling when she got back to the battle proper she wouldn't be hiding for very much longer.

"Alright boys, three rounds left... who needs long range back-up? Cute girl from the briefing? Whoever the hell Alexander is? Mom says I gotta go when I run outta batteries though," Ren said, smiling as she had the various explosions from the battle back in her visuals.

-=-

Petya was still pulling the trigger when that extra ammo pack hit his M-8 in the head, able to hear the thunk even in the cockpit. It snapped Petya out of the haze that had covered his mind, taking some deep breaths to calm himself and get his senses back under his control. His M-8 grabbed the ammo pack and reloaded, barely dodging the shots fired on him, avoiding one but needed his shield to take the other. He had to activate thrusters to keep his suit steady after the blast connected, his shield holding up well thanks to the superiority of Transcendent engineering.

"Thank you, sir! Advancing on the enemy units to bring victory to the fleet!" Petya cried, his M-8 charging forward now towards the enemy that had most recently fired at him. It was an older white suit, one that Petya doubted could stand up to the pinnacle of Transcendent infantry. He returned the favor, raising his shield and firing a three shot volley at the suit before packing away the beam rifle, switching to the close range light machine gun.

Petya did not even bat an eye as the rest of the Transcendent forces removed their cloaks and began firing on the enemy ships. He was focused on the objective at hand, which was to eliminate enemy suits and die if it allowed for a tactical advantage.

"These swine were fools for challenging the glory of the Transcendent Fleets! Brothers and sisters! Slay them all!" Petya laughed, the adrenaline flooding his system again.

"The left! They're - more Transcendent forces on the left side!"

"I know...Fang, could that be--?" Reinforcements in the form of two warship should damper spirits a little. Yet, it wasn't the scale or numbers that Ophelia caught notice of. What caught her eye was one of the ship that chose to reveal itself.

"Yes. The one from the initial image we received..." Fang answered back, keeping a close eye on the movement of the enemy fleet.

"So this is our shadow freighter...As much as I want to sink it down, this one ship against four of them aren't exactly favorable conditions to fight in..."

"But, we can't ignore the possibility these machines would attack Proud if we retreat. For a supposed misunderstanding, they seem awfully eager to destroy us in our own sector. Is this a possible declaration of war?"

"We won't know unless there's an official statement from the mainland. At any rate, I don't plan on retreating here... Have Alexander's group pull back! Intercept the enemy machines and destroy them before they get a shot at this ship! Organum will accelerate and pull back!" Ophelia issues new commands, though the nature of the commands made Fang feel a little uncomfortable.

"Ma'am, surely you don't intend to use the colony as a shield do you?" Fang protests.

"Oh, I'm going to use the colony. Just, not as a shield." Fang looked at Ophelia in surprise who, in turn, just gave her a small nod. "Set the Charged Particle Cannon's firing sequence! Target: The two advance ships!"

"We're not going to be able to turn in time! If we stop now, they're going to sink us!"

"No, we're not going to stop! Ready the port side Rocket Anchors! Increase our speed and charge! Fang, I need you to man the cannon's firing mechanism."

"Are you sure about this?" Fang asked, much more calmer now.

"Doing this, we take out at least half of their overall combat capability. Most likely, they were just sent in to buy time for them to hinder our own extraction team. In the first place, the two ships earlier are the main reason why this battle broke out. Take them out and the Transcendent will lose their reason for being here."

"Got it!"

The Organum moved on to the edge of the colony at speeds impressive enough for a ship its size. Concentrating their shields at the rear, the incoming enemies were intercepted by both the guard forces and the Organum's own anti-air fire. Inside, the crew were on the edge of their seats. Timing would be very critical at this point. No sooner than three minutes, they had reached their target destination.

"Anchors fire!" The ship launched its port side anchors, embedding themselves in the colony bedrock. Without reducing their speed, the Organum used the colony as a pivot in order to immediately do a quick turn, emerging from the back of the colony. The Organum ascended as it released its anchors and prepared to fire its guns.

"Captain, what if it doesn't work?" Their young operator implored, panic rising to her throat.

"Then we can all complain to Ren Huifang in heaven! Tell all allies to steer clear of the line of fire! Fang!"

"Sights set! Charged Particle Cannon--" The guns underneath the wings started to glow an eerie red, giving off intense amounts of energy and heat as it set its sights on the Prejudice and Aegis. As soon as their allies are out of the way, Ophelia quietly gives the order. "--Fire!!!" With that, Fang pulled the trigger and the Organum fired off two intense beams of a large diameter, headed straight for the two approaching Transcendent craft, vaporizing anything in the way.

---

"What?!" Ellis was shaken a little as she felt the shock of the high-caliber beams from within the colony interior. "The situation's looking bad... I'll need to get out..."

"Hey, hold it!" A roving guard managed to spot Ellis and she quickly ran while he called for the security personnel to arrive. They chased after her into the disposal area, armed with assault rifles. "It's okay." They thought. It's just one intruder.

However, upon arriving at the disposal block, what greeted them was not the white silhouette of the girl they were chasing after but rather, the brilliant sheen of a war machine clearly not from this world. The machine's blue eyes let out an eerie glow as it turned its back on the men to make its escape in the vast open space.

Along the way, Ellis passed by fresh debris from the ongoing battle. Most of the machines had been shredded, making it hard to tell which of them were once theirs. However, her visuals soon focused on two rather large objects on her radar.

"Aegis and Prejudice?! What happened--Is anyone there?!" Ellis tried making contact but the ships were unresponsive. Could it be that their forces were overrun? The mighty Inspection unit beaten by only one ship and a bunch of low-quality machines? Before she can wallow in this scenario, Ellis' radar revealed two large allied signatures that had entered enemy territory.

"Finding Fate and the Trials of Winter? Weren't they supposed to stay back? Besides--damn it!" Ellis immediately opened a direct channel to both Captain Setoen and the Inspector Ashworth. "Infiltration mission successful. This battle had already turned to one of attrition in which we clearly are at a disadvantage. I propose a retreat. As we are intruding upon their territory, they have a much better chance of acquiring reinforcements than we have. It is possible that more humans are en route here as we speak. This is an order. Know that to defy me means to defy central HQ."

After giving that general order, Ellis gave the two men a sharp glare. "Commander, I expected you to have a better grasp of the situation and full knowledge of the enemy's capabilities prior to the start of this operation." Ellis referred to the machines they lost. Turning to Captain Setoen, she continued. "As far as I was aware, the flagship was to stay behind lest the enemy recognizes the ship and use it as a case for the dissolution of this unit. I suppose simple orders to stay put were too much for your old mindset to follow." With that last remark, Ellis cut off communications. Still, she was able to confirm one thing:

"Failing to follow through a strategy...Apparent displays for disruptive behavior...Opinions differing from the cultural norm...Dominant qualities of rogues. I'll need more decisive evidence but for now, it seems Captain Setoen is the rogue we are looking for..."

"Thank you, sir! Advancing on the enemy units to bring victory to the fleet!"

As of the moment, Graham couldn't focus on the pilot's words. The white machine was opening fire on him, and it had reared back only to take a squadron with it and try to break their formation. Graham gritted his teeth and stopped firing as the machines neared- the Eisenritter's hand shot up to its left pauldron and drew the Nexus Beam Saber from its shoulder, activating it as a human Harbinger was immolated by the whip-like slash of the blade. "Stand your ground! They're trying to break our formation!" He roared to the other machines in the Transcendent fleet. He backed away from the white machine as the Zweireiter advanced in front of him to intercept. Graham noticed the Model 8 also start to fire at the veteran machine, causing it to draw back.

However...he watched, dumbfounded as a volley of beams started firing.

"What the hell?! The Trials of Winter was supposed to be keeping itself hidden--!" Graham resisted the urge to punch his monitors and instead focused on trying to break the squadron that the white machine had brought with him. Speaking of which, he noticed that the machine was drawing back, and the Organum was moving. "What are they doing...? Could they be using the colony as a shield--?" He mused to himself, and realized that they were pushing the squadron to the defensive. At least, that's what Graham thought. "You're not getting away!" The Eisenritter lurched forward, the Nexus Beam Saber's blue glow shining in its hand as it pursued the white machine.

He was surprised as the white machine raised one of its rifles and emanated a pink beam saber to block his. The added voltage of the Nexus was stronger, but the Harbinger drew back before it could be destroyed, and the tip of the Nexus Beam Saber scratched the surface of its shoulders instead. Suddenly, one of the Gungnir pilots cried out into his comms. "Sir! The Organum-- i-it's--! AHHH!!!" The Harbinger escaped his grasp before Graham was shaken by the Zweireiter grabbing onto the Eisenritter and pushing it back- just in time for Graham to see humongous red beams tear through their defenses. The beams nearly seemed to swallow both the Aegis and the Prejudice, and when it cleared Graham could see that both warships were damaged heavily.

"Impossible...that weapon nearly vaporized both our ships...tch--!" "Sir, are you alright?" "I'm fine, Rivaile." Graham pushed away from the Zweireiter just as a familiar voice came onto his comms.
"Infiltration mission successful. This battle had already turned to one of attrition in which we clearly are at a disadvantage. I propose a retreat. As we are intruding upon their territory, they have a much better chance of acquiring reinforcements than we have. It is possible that more humans are en route here as we speak. This is an order. Know that to defy me means to defy central HQ."
It was Arjuna. Hearing her last words made Graham grip his controls, and before he could speak out, it seemed that the Infiltrator had other words for him as well. "Commander, I expected you to have a better grasp of the situation and full knowledge of the enemy's capabilities prior to the start of this operation." He could hear the disappointment and annoyance in her voice, but Graham swallowed his pride. It didn't mean he was any less annoyed than her though. She had other words for the Captain as well, but Graham wouldn't hear them- he turned to the remaining machines. "The infiltration mission was successful. Let's get out of here before we lose any more men." He ordered, voice grim. The Zweireiter's head turned to his for a moment but he wouldn't notice it- he had already started to withdraw. "Rivaile! Tell the other strike team to retreat!" "Got it. You heard him! Get out of there!" The Zweireiter lagged a bit to ensure that the machines were retreating before following suit.

They may have finished the mission but they had lost two great ships today.

---

""Alexander, take a squadron with you and try to break through the enemy's flank! Kotko, once you run out of long range capability, retreat and assist our extended battle line on our right. Make sure nothing hits the colony!" "On it, Captain!"

The Forneus drew back a bit to signal to the other Harbingers, and advanced again. Alexander met the commander machine again, firing at it before it drew out its beam saber and started advancing towards him after destroying one of his comrades. "Well, this one's feisty." He chuckled before the Forneus raised its rifle, firing at the mech. However, the commander stubbornly refused to break formation and instead drew back as a black and red machine zoomed towards the Forneus.

From his experiences on the battlefield, he had only seen this black machine a couple of times- it was the mass-production version of the commander machine they had with them now- but he remembered it having two beam sabers. He noticed the beam saber handles on its hips, but this one was carrying a massive beam axe. The beam axe swung down, and Alexander backed away so that the tip of the beam dug deep into his left arm. He gritted his teeth and pushed the rifle's tip against the other machine's shoulder before activating the beam, punching a hole through its shoulder.

""The left! They're - more Transcendent forces on the left side!" "Oh come on," He exaggerated his sigh. Still, he did notice the ships approaching and trying to hit the Organum in the side. "Would be great if that was the same ship Proud spotted. That just means the Transcendents are honestly trying to start a war with us or something." He remarked, more to himself than anything.

He could hear the other pilot in the sniper joking about the Transcendent ship names, and he had to hold back a chuckle at the ideas. Still, the infantry unit from earlier was firing at him, and the mass-produced model was pursuing him. "Alright boys, three rounds left... who needs long range back-up? Cute girl from the briefing? Whoever the hell Alexander is? Mom says I gotta go when I run outta batteries though." "Well excuse you," Alexander murmured, chuckling a bit. Still, he did need a bit of help with that infantry unit. He couldn't take his eyes off the commander nor its mass produced model.

Speaking of, as he and his squadron started to draw back, he noticed the white and gold machine racing towards him, its blue beam saber poised to strike. With no shield, the Forneus raised its other rifle and tried to block the beam saber with its own bayonet, although with the Transcendent machine's added voltage, that proved to be futile. Luckily, Alexander managed to get back before it could damage him heavily.

Just in time to see two red beams fire from the Organum. "Man, I haven't seen that in a long time!" He commented, watching as the black machine tackled the commander to keep it away from getting killed in the Charged Particle Cannon's beam. "And so, those two Transcendent ships are down. I'm willing to bet they've got real engine difficulties now, instead of their excuse." He laughed to himself. Surveying the area after the beam had died down, he noticed the Transcendent machines retreating.

"Well, that's that, I guess," he leaned back in his cockpit. "Now to wait for any more orders."

"Good job everybody, especially you Alexander, whoever you are. Drinks are on me. There's booze on the ship, right? Captain?"

"I suppose we can relax a little..." Ophelia sighed, as the Transcendent fleet had started to retreat. Their soldiers were rather ecstatic. It has been a while since they beat their sky-faring opponents in their natural habitat. "Still, do not let down your guard. Continue monitoring the situation. All wounded craft are to report directly to this ship's or the colony's facilities. Maintain combat alert for the meantime."

"Think there's a chance they'll be coming back?" Officer Fang asked as she returns to her post by Ophelia's side.

"I wish my luck's good enough for the Transcendent to retreat this time. That last shot consumed a lot of power." Ophelia sighed as she relaxed, exhausted from overseeing the battle. "I also hope that will earn me a favorable evaluation--"

"You're still worrying about that?"

"I suppose..." As the damaged machines have started to be brought in one by one, Ophelia took note of the damage they have sustained. They've lost soldiers but, the important thing was that the colony was mostly unharmed. Mostly. Unfortunately, their dispatch team encountered the enemy infiltration team and was overrun. Someone managed to send the data but, only fragments of the original evidence made it through.

"Good thing you had the others record their battles..." Fang tried to reassure her Captain. "We also caught the shadow freighter on our cameras so it's not as if this was a fruitless battle."

"Good point. Still, unlike our sky-faring neighbors, we don't have the manpower to spare for these expeditions. If at all possible, I would like to prevent casualties this high in the future. Why don't you take a rest Fang? I'll handle everything else."

"Lot of good scrap out here, if you have the room for it, Captain. Can't beat free when it comes to spare parts and spare weapons. We got time to get a salvage crew together before we all get put in chains?"

"Can we even use Transcendent technology? Isn't it supposed to be too alien to use?"

Ophelia just chuckled over what she heard at their comms. Their conversations remind her of the time she was still strong enough to get into one of those cockpits and experience the war first-hand. Of course, to those peace-spoiled bystanders, war wasn't something to feel good about but admittedly, being a Harbinger gives one a sort of pride and strength one cannot acquire anywhere else. It was this feeling of pride which she missed in her younger days.

"Our engineers can technically reverse engineer this technology though our current technology is more than a match already. On the other hand, we can also trade this for scrap. Either way, we benefit." Ophelia replied and checked the status of her ship. They have their hands full apparently. Although she did recall that Kotko does have her connections in the manufacturing field. "Sure, you can bring them in but you'll have to stock those up within the colony first. The Organum's got its hands full right now. We've also sustained some damage so we'll be docking at Proud for the meantime for repairs and resupply. Ren Kotko, I'll leave an engineering team in your division. Help facilitate the retrieval."

"Once the ship has docked, you guys can take a look around the colony if you like. But be sure to be back at 1500 Hours." She turns to the people in the room with her as well. "That opportunity extends to you as well. Go on before I change my mind. However, medical and maintenance crew are to remain here."

"Yes ma'am though, there is one problem." One of the maintenance people reported to her. "That maneuver we took when we fired the particle cannon caused a minor damage in the blast panel. It is easy enough to replace but--"

"Replace it. Don't worry too much about the funding."

"Well, price is not the issue here. As our ship is an older model, none of our manufacturers makes these parts any more. It will be difficult to source them at this time. I've already spoken to the team stationed at Proud. They don't carry this model here."

"Isn't there another source we can find? I don't really want to charge in with this ship while lacking our "Big Stick"."

"Well--there is one colony we could try. It would be risky though and we'll need to ask HQ to mediate our docking there so--"

"I'll handle talks with HQ. What's the name of the place?"

"The outlaw colony of Albion. They deal with exotic trade there and an evaluation from last month has confirmed that they still carry parts for pre-expansion warships like the Organum."

"Al..bion..." As if she was suddenly splashed with cold water, Ophelia felt a small shiver up her spine. To her that place was very familiar. If possible, she wouldn't want to return there ever again. Given their circumstances now though, she' realizes that there's no other choice.

"Very well. After our resupply is complete, the Organum will head towards Albion in order to get the parts needed to get this ship back to perfect working condition. We'll be taking the direct route within our territory but don't let down your guard. That shadow freighter may still be stalking us."

---

The Victoria had safely landed inside the hangars of the Trials of Winter, after successfully completing her missions. The whole atmosphere within the ship is heavier than usual but, that is to be expected. Even among other Transcendent, Ellis Arjuna is quite detached, making it difficult for her to share with the others pain and suffering. Still, as long as they have a functioning unit, their mission will continue. She had just gotten new instructions from Central Command as well.

"Transfer the remainder of the Prejudice and Aegis to the Trials. Retrieve the stranded pilots, make priority on the ones closest to the border - they're at risk for snatch and grabs. I want this done within the hour. Dismissed."

"Although observing further, his emotions towards this defeat seem genuine enough. In that case, what could he be after as a rogue?" Ellis observes the mourning Transcendent captain. Her suspicions were still intact but without any decisive evidence, making a report right now would be too risky. Besides, they'll need to work together to get out of a new crisis they must face. She called over the ship's XO and asked for Commander Ashworth and Captain Setoen to meet her in the briefing room.

(Written at the assumption that the two answered the summons)

"Normally, I would have to issue a verbal reprimand over the casualties of this operation but, given that the mission was successful, albeit at a cost, I won't do so now. I've called both of you today to issue a new directive from Central Command--this time, involving all of us." Ellis started up the screen revealing the outlines of their new mission. "As the fleet we engaged managed to catch sight of this flagship, it is now safe to assume that even with the surveillance record deleted, our enemy could still have an image of us that they can use as evidence when we report to the Tribunal. As much as I want to remain optimistic about the whole thing being smoothed out by Central Command, it's more likely that this skirmish will be chalked off as "the actions of a few rogue Transcendents" and retire our unit. And no, I don't mean spending the rest of our days as non-combat personnel in some resort or villa somewhere in the mainland. I'm talking prison, or maybe execution. Or a firing squad. Either way, we're finished if we lose this case."

Ellis paused to catch her breath before carrying on, making sure that the two men in the room are still listening. "Fortunately, the Tribunal meeting will be held on an open channel so we don't have to disembark the ship and give it away. With that in mind, command has provided us with a plan: We take whatever parts usable from the destroyed ships and overhaul the Trials of Winter. It doesn't have to be radically different; just enough noticeable differences as to appear as if it is a different ship. In the meantime, we'll hide out along the shoal zone near the borders of Albion; an outlaw colony that doesn't answer to either side. That's where we'll do our overhaul. It will be difficult to move around but, I doubt that the humans will be able to track us there either. And on the plus side, the place has a lot of interference which will make it difficult for surveillance systems to track us."

The screen then changed to show the inner workings of Albion. "Captain Setoen, I will accompany you in the Tribunal meetings. I hope you're ready for this little game of politics. Commander Ashworth will be in charge of overseeing the overhaul as well as sourcing more parts from the colony if necessary. This is the new orders received from command. Well then--" Not one for formal talk with the older people, Ellis merely gave a small nod and headed out, leaving the directives on screen for the two to read. However, before she can fully exit the room, Ellis took a shot at one last question.

"Inspector Ashworth--How is the progress of the rogue hunt going?"

Maybe there was something to be said about the military lifestyle after all. The battle still went in humanity's favor, despite casualties, though based on the sea of scrap floating around them, the space folk they got hit a lot harder by the big friggin gun the Organum apparently had.

"Can we even use Transcendent technology? Isn't it supposed to be too alien to use?"

"Our engineers can technically reverse engineer this technology though our current technology is more than a match already. On the other hand, we can also trade this for scrap. Either way, we benefit."

Ren chuckled before putting her two cents in, "Did one of the Transcendent tell you that? Nah, you'd be surprised how capable humanity can be when we're losing a war. Only thing we can't really use on their tech is software, and we've got our own so it's all gravy, baby. Hauling in their broken shit is how we got these fine ass machines in the first place."

"Sure, you can bring them in but you'll have to stock those up within the colony first. The Organum's got its hands full right now. We've also sustained some damage so we'll be docking at Proud for the meantime for repairs and resupply. Ren Kotko, I'll leave an engineering team in your division. Help facilitate the retrieval."

"I knew I liked you for a reason, mam. A wise and beautiful ruler who wouldn't put such a useful subordinate back in maglocks when she docked. Did I mention you smell nice today?" Ren quipped, smiling as she opened up her comm unit to the Proud colony's hangars.

"Alrighty. this is Ren..." she started, pausing for a moment. Her name carried a lot of weight, but her being 'drafted' was akin to being exiled from the family. If she threw it around and drew attention to herself, her dad might notice her, which would make all that money he spent to make her disappear a waste. One he would correct with a bullet.

"...Thompson, of the Organum. I'm looking for some scrap chasers with empty haulers and emptier bank accounts to help me clean up all this beautiful Transcendent war booty from the beautiful view of your aptly named colony. Any takers?"

-=-

"You're going to do great things for our people, Petya. Another Burundukov at the forefront of Transcendent victory. I can't wait to see how your first deployment goes, my boy"

The words echoed through Petya's head as he drifted in the silence of space. The look of pride in his father's face as he saw him off onto that transport shuttle to the fleet he now served on. He would read the reports, having the pull due to the medals on his uniform to get even classified documents, and he would see the facts of this mission. That his son fired the shots that led to such massive loss of life. His son survived the encounter without gaining a single kill. His son broke his infantry unit and had to watch helplessly as half of the fleet burned. That his son had to be dragged back to his ship. It would not matter than he was wet behind the ears to actual combat. That he had followed every order to the letter. He was a Burundukov, and anything short of planting a flag on Proud would bring shame to his name.

Petya thought about opening the cockpit and spacing himself. It would be better to die of equipment failure than live with this feeling of helplessness and shame. He sat in the pride of Transcendent infantry machinery, the M-8, and did nothing to the enemy who piloted hobbled together monsters of former Transcendent glory. He should have been a force of destruction on this battlefield, and it should have been human corpses floating by his visuals.

"Calling all damaged and immobile units, please respond for retrieval."

The voice crackled over his comm unit, but Petya was silent. He failed. He didn't deserve rescue after that pitiful performance. He couldn't face Commander Ashworth as one of the soldiers who lived when so many brave men and women who had done so much more than him had died. The only thing that kept him from pressing that eject button was how selfish it would be. He owed it to his people to die in a useful manner, even if his life had thus far been devoid of meaning or merit.

"Petya Burundukov responding. My unit's thrusters are damaged and am stranded at these coordinates," Petya said, punching his information into the comms so that he could be found in the void of space. He would accept punishment but he would live. He would make his life count. He would make his death worth something, even if he was no longer worthy of being a Burundukov.

"Good job everybody, especially you Alexander, whoever you are. Drinks are on me. There's booze on the ship, right? Captain?"

"Hell yeah, I'll need to knock back a cold one after all this." Alexander grunted, angling the Forneus to start heading back to the Organum. "Lot of good scrap out here, if you have the room for it, Captain. Can't beat free when it comes to spare parts and spare weapons. We got time to get a salvage crew together before we all get put in chains?" "Maybe I could do more upgrades to this old thing." Alexander didn't have to be out of the cockpit to know the damage that his white machine had taken. Its left shoulder was smoking slightly. Damn. "Can we even use Transcendent technology? Isn't it supposed to be too alien to use?" One of the new pilots spoke up, being answered by the Captain of the Organum herself. The Forneus passed the remains of a bulky, green unit. Pausing slightly, he watched as the mechanical hand of the Forneus shot out and grabbed something. A beam rifle.

"Looks to me as if this unit didn't use this rifle at all." With a shrug he packed it away into one of his weapon binders. He rifled through the remains of the machine and managed to find a few remaining ammo packs, presumably for the rifle. He started to make his way back to the ship again, whistling to himself. Two frigates down- what a satisfying sight for the sore eyes.

---

"Burundukov reporting. Enemy successfully crippled two allied frigates, the bastards. Requesting assistance as my suit's thrusters are damaged and am currently on a trajectory towards the emptiness of space. Copy?"
While the newcomer's voice rung through his comms, the Eisenritter had been heading back to the ship at that point. Graham looked around, still grim after the loss of the Aegis and the Prejudice, and to his slight relief, he saw Rivaile's Zweireiter flying towards the newcomer's damaged M-8. The Zweireiter had taken quite the beating- it was missing a pauldron and a leg, but he noted that the black machine would be fine. Turning away, he didn't bother to stay to see Rivaile haul the M-8 back to the Trials of Winter.

The moment he had stepped out of the Eisenritter, he was informed that the Infiltrator had wanted to meet him and the Captatin in the briefing room. Begrudgingly, he got off of the white machine's chest- with their loss weighing heavy on his shoulders, he started to make his way to the briefing room to meet them.

"Normally, I would have to issue a verbal reprimand over the casualties of this operation but, given that the mission was successful, albeit at a cost, I won't do so now. I've called both of you today to issue a new directive from Central Command--this time, involving all of us."
Another order from Central Command. Graham thought the item retrieval was the last.

"As the fleet we engaged managed to catch sight of this flagship, it is now safe to assume that even with the surveillance record deleted, our enemy could still have an image of us that they can use as evidence when we report to the Tribunal. As much as I want to remain optimistic about the whole thing being smoothed out by Central Command, it's more likely that this skirmish will be chalked off as "the actions of a few rogue Transcendents" and retire our unit. And no, I don't mean spending the rest of our days as non-combat personnel in some resort or villa somewhere in the mainland. I'm talking prison, or maybe execution. Or a firing squad. Either way, we're finished if we lose this case."
Face set into a grim expression, he fought back a sigh. Execution wasn't an option. Not after all the fighting he's seen and the forbidden ideals he was starting to develop under Central Command's nose.

"Fortunately, the Tribunal meeting will be held on an open channel so we don't have to disembark the ship and give it away. With that in mind, command has provided us with a plan: We take whatever parts usable from the destroyed ships and overhaul the Trials of Winter. It doesn't have to be radically different; just enough noticeable differences as to appear as if it is a different ship. In the meantime, we'll hide out along the shoal zone near the borders of Albion; an outlaw colony that doesn't answer to either side. That's where we'll do our overhaul. It will be difficult to move around but, I doubt that the humans will be able to track us there either. And on the plus side, the place has a lot of interference which will make it difficult for surveillance systems to track us."
Albion, an outlaw colony. It was neutral ground, which meant that there were probably both humans and Transcendents. He'd have to lay low, try to blend in. He wasn't an Infiltrator to be able to blend in with humans very easily but he'd try.

"Captain Setoen, I will accompany you in the Tribunal meetings. I hope you're ready for this little game of politics. Commander Ashworth will be in charge of overseeing the overhaul as well as sourcing more parts from the colony if necessary. This is the new orders received from command. Well then--"
To his surprise, before the Infiltrator could fully leave, she turned and spoke to him.

"Inspector Ashworth--How is the progress of the rogue hunt going?" "Nothing has turned up yet." He grunted.

"Negotiations have been made on your behalf and, things went smoothly enough. In fact, it already looks suspicious."

The Organum had now docked within the hangars of Proud, along with other aging vessels currently employed as a security force. While most of the crew had disembarked to make merry after finally visiting a proper center in order to unwind, Ophelia and a handful of people were still at the ship, supervising everything that falls under their jurisdiction.

"We're just looking to pick up a couple of parts. It's not as if we'll be launching any investigation nor will we be staying around for long." Ophelia piped in, the issue of their damaged cannons weighing on her mind.

After a few more minutes of back and forth exchanges, the meeting was finally over. What route they were to take, how long they'll stay, how much can they spend--everything's been sorted out. Ophelia let out a sigh as she left the negotiation. Dealing with commands from the higher-ups are too tiring. Too full of formalities that is to be observed. It basically hammers the point that they were all alone in their mission.

"You didn't tell me you came from Albion..." Turning around, Ophelia saw Fang walking towards her with a worried expression. "Will you be alright, going back there? I doubt you'd have volunteered for the army if not for an opportunity to escape."

"I think. Well, that place hadn't changed much in the last ten years or so. I can still remember some places like it was yesterday." She tries to alleviates Fang's doubts about the whole trip though it is still obvious that she was concerned as she followed Ophelia down to the hangars.

"You don't have to personally act as a navigator, you know?"

"Oh? Good luck finding one from the locals without getting ripped off then." Ophelia and Fang boards an elevator that will take them down to the lower areas of the ship. "People are very shrewd in that place, very dangerous. They do not take too kindly to outsiders. Gangs practically rule the place, making it hard even for military personnel to intervene. But worse of all is the inequality."

"We have too many women on this ship..." Ophelia looks on worriedly at the crew bustling below. "Four more hours...why don't you grab a drink with the others? We don't get a lot of chances like this everyday."

"You know what? Maybe I will. Need me to buy anything for you on the way back?"

"Just the usual."

"Alright." If anybody else back at home would've heard them, they might have found it what the two talk about, Ophelia realized. As she landed down on the platform, she could see that most of their machines are starting to look better than when they had been brought in. Ren was outside, coordinating with the salvaging so hands were rather limited. Besides, serious repairs are much better performed within the colony's machine shops and repair bays.

"Can I get a hangar crane real quick? This one's pinning me to the ground a bit!" Their new recruit. She did well for a first battle, Ophelia noted.

"Just slowly jump down, like you're wearing a parachute." Ophelia called out, having done similar maneuvers when she was still a pilot. Now at ground level with the crew, she started pondering on who to take along for the mission.

---

"Nothing has turned up yet."

"I see..." Ellis just sighed as she left the room. Whether the inspector was feigning ignorance as a willing collaborator or if he's legitimately not made any progress, she cannot be certain as of yet. All she knows was that she'll need to bring in her prime suspect under her eye at all times, hence why he'll be going to tribunal with her. As far as she's concerned, it is only through one's perspective and motives can one determine who's a rogue and who's not.

"But wait..." Ellis suddenly paused as she made her way back to her quarters. "If their captain's the rogue, then could it be possible that everyone on board had gone rogue as well? Maybe I'm just jumping to immediate conclusions..."

"In any case, I'll have to wait until we arrive at Albion in order to find out."

It didn’t take long for the salvaging team to mobilize, much to Ren’s delight. Several small freighters meant for inter-colony transport, as well as a flock of towing units meant for hauling Harbingers both intact and in pieces began to spread out through what was once a hectic battlefield to begin pilfering. Parts of the Transcendent ships the Organum had hammered where the top priority, but Ren left that to the freighters. She was sticking to what she knew, which was the mech carcasses floating around what had been the frontlines. Several of the towing units followed Ren as she began scouring the enemy units for anything new or interesting.

“Okay boys, looking for the units that are mostly intact first. After that it’s just the ones with useful spare parts so we can Frankenstein us some enemy infantry,” Ren barked, already zeroing in on a familiar looking unit. It was the same one she’d popped the head off of while she still had the sniper rifle, which had left it in mostly working condition. The cockpit had been opened so most likely the pilot abandoned ship, so to speak, which meant one heck of a find for Ren.

“Captain, assuming you’re still listening, found a mostly intact enemy suit. Now, I’ve been locked up for about a year or two but last time I checked the infantry units were 07’s. There’s enough 08’s out here to practically replace our squadron if we opted to drag all these half wrecked suits in as well. I knew some guys that could probably rebuild them if you got the money for it. Gotta love military budgets, right mam?” Ren said, smirking as her T-100 reached out and took the riot shield from the headless suit.

“More than enough for engineering to take apart too, if we go that route. I don’t know what constitutes ‘new’ anymore, but I do know that if these ARE newer models then our mission report is going to look fucking great when we turn these fuckers in. Hell, maybe we polish this one up and pop a new head on and you can deploy with us next time, huh?”

After securing more suits and their weapons, as well as reclaiming the sniper rifle that she’d let go of during the heat of the battle, Ren led the towing units back to the colony hangars where the Organum had docked. The freighters were still collecting, but the head of that convoy at least sounded like he knew what he was talking about. They knew which hangar to return to when they were so full of shit they could barely propel themselves, which was as close to supervising as Ren typically got.

The T-100 landed in the Harbinger bay, still holding the enemy riot shield and the sniper rifle she had deployed with, suit slowly drifting towards its designated dock before getting secured in by the repair crews working the hangar. As soon as she was locked in, her cockpit doors opened and Ren finally stood, tossing her helmet at the first personnel she saw before doing some stretches.

“Fucking shit I need a cushion in there. Feels like I got a knot in my back the size of my fist from all that shit. Now… someone point me to where the drinks are. I just got out of prison and I‘ve got a list of stuff I’ve been meaning to catch up on for the past year. And where the fuck is this Alexander no one can fucking shut up about?”

-=-

My boy, I can’t wait to see the good you’re going to do for our people. Great things are in your future, I just know it…
The words swam through Petya’s mind as he watched parts of Transcendent suits and bombers drift past his visuals. They were spoken by his father, just before Petya left for military proper, and were a daunting reminder of how useless he now was. As if Petya’s humiliation could not be more completed, a command level suit had come to drag him back to the ship. There were only a handful, and this particular one Petya recognized as being a part of Commander Ashworth’s personal squad. The right hand of his superior was forced to pluck him from the wreckage of failure to face the inevitable retribution,

He maintained radio silence as he was dragged back to the Trials of Winter, one of the only things standing after the enemy ship’s assault. He had to see so many destroyed units, so many corpses floating in the void as they traveled that he nearly turned his visuals off, but stayed his hand from flipping the switch. He wouldn’t spit on their deaths with such dishonor. They did what he could not, they fought and died for their people. Each one was a better soldier than the coward who had not even scratched the enemy’s paint as half of their fleet burned. Ashworth would take his life over this, he was sure. He could not allow such weakness in his unit.

When finally they reached the ship, the two suits parted ways with Petya heading back towards the Infantry division’s hangar. It was the first sigh of relief he’d allowed himself since deploying, to not be seen by anyone of rank in his moment of shame.
He disembarked as soon as his suit was docked, removing the helmet only when he was halfway back to his barracks. The sight of his neatly made bed made him stop as he entered the doorway. He couldn’t get back in the mindset anymore where that mattered. All he could see was the sight of all those brave men and women floating lifelessly through the void. He flopped down onto that bed, still in his pilot suit and curled up into a ball. He might as well be well rested when the Commander came from him.

In just a few, the Forneus Mk.II had reached the Organum. The white machine slugged through the hangar, smoking from a wounded shoulder and almost lifelessly dragging its rifles. "Come on, big guy, don't fall asleep on me yet," Alexander murmured to his Harbinger, and it almost seemed to be groaning in protest with how it had been walking. Nevertheless he had gotten the Forneus to its dock. As the blue glint of the Harbinger's optics faded and the cockpit was thrust into darkness, the fizz of the cockpit door opening snapped Alexander out of his battle-induced haze. He took off his helmet, sliding down a pole extended to help pilots get out of their Harbingers.

Stretching his worn limbs, he let his helmet drop and looked around. “Fucking shit I need a cushion in there. Feels like I got a knot in my back the size of my fist from all that shit. Now… someone point me to where the drinks are. I just got out of prison and I‘ve got a list of stuff I’ve been meaning to catch up on for the past year. And where the fuck is this Alexander no one can fucking shut up about?” Alexander heard a voice he had first heard through his comms just earlier, apparently looking for him. "I encounter that right hand lackey and the commander of the unit and everyone's talking about me? Man, I'm good." He joked to himself, finding the source of the voice. Once he found it, he raised a hand in a lazy greeting. "The Alexander Hunter that the folks have been babbling about would be me." He chuckled a bit.

---

"How much do you know about shipbuilding?"

"Hm, just the bare essentials. If it were up to me, I can pretty much supervise and ensure that the vessel will be in perfect working order after the overhaul. As for making it look good though..." His eyebrows furrowed a bit in thought. While he did aid a bit in customizing Rivaile's Zweireiter- mostly with the creation of its beam axe- making a battleship look good was a different thing, to him at least. To the Transcendent team that would be aiding him, it was probably going to turn out alright. It was just making the Trials of Winter not look like the Trials of Winter, they had designers for that reason.

"I'm confident that the team will be able to handle disguising the ship enough." He said after a small moment's thought, and fell silent afterwards. There were many things to be discussed. What exactly went wrong in the almost foolproof plan, strategies, and there was the whole thing with Albion being an outlaw colony and how humans would be there. He didn't quite trust interaction with humans. There was no telling if they could affect the idealogies of their men, and then Graham would have to hunt down not only one, but more rogues on the ship.

And he'd get chewed out by the Infiltrator. And Central Command would have his head. He had to be careful.