The Fireknaught Federation had just stumbled upon this galaxy and Pito IX was one of the first planets they stumbled across. Their sensors and scanners picked up anomalies in the planet and its atmosphere, but nothing could specifically be pinpointed. With structures built across the lands that were covered in vines and other organic plants. The atmosphere was superb for common lifeforms and the lands seemed abnormally fertile.

"Sir, we're not picking up any signs of life. No animals, insects, or other forms of life can be detected. What should we do?"

High Commander Esphireses stood quiet for a moment as he pondered his response. He knew something was up, but he needed to figure out what was going. No matter what he chose, he had to make a quick decision.

"Send down a couple scouting parties. See what they can find on the ground. We'll remain here in case something happens." Esphireses spoke in a bold tone.

"Yes, sir. Dispatching commands for scouts and placing the engines in neutral. Relaying orders across the Phoenix network to the entire fleet." The ships AI spoke as it's red form vanished into the ships systems.

A few moments later, holographic screens appeared around Esphireses. On each screen was a different admiral or commander of some ship or force. The AI was linking all the ships so that it could process all the information being provided and allow everyone to witness what the scouting parties on the ground when they land. Everyone was excited and scared at the same time, not knowing what to expect.

Six Aeries-AESS rocked from a hangar on board the Maw of Righteous Deliverence. Behind these Aeries were two Alpha Class - AESD and two Omega Class - AESD. The Aeries - AESS dropped into the planets atmosphere first in case something did arise. After a few minutes, the Alpha and Omega Class AESD dropped through the atmosphere. After a landing zone found with some forestry outside of what looked like it once was a small town despite it's glorious architecture, the dropships would release their load.

The Omega Class - AESD each carried what looked like a Arachnid - PCLT. The Arachnid - PCLT was stood on six legs and capable of carrying two Fireknaughts. The pilots of these mechs quickly took the reigns and got into a defensive position while the other 32 Iron Machina Fireknaught soldiers exited the Omega Class dropships.

As the Omega Class dropships lifted off, the Alpha Class ships dropped off their load of 42 Fireknaughts each. With the exploration of this galaxy being the main goal, each fleet was equipped with various units from other divisions and technologies. The Iron Mortal Infantry produced very good scouts and with cloaking technologies available from the plasma technologies around them, they were near unnoticeable until they were right on top of you.

When the last of the Fireknaught were off the ships, the dropships and starships took off into the sky to dock on their homeships. With 112 footsoldiers and two mechs, the Fireknaught quickly set up a perimeter as they synced their systems and the mechs adjusted according to the atmosphere, finding out there was nothing to adapt to. What they didn't know was the planet was capable of shifting gravity and atmosphere to fit the being standing on its surface. One of the many secrets that they would discovered later on.

"Everyones synced up, so let's get a plan and get to moving. We'll cloak the Arachnids and Iron Machina. The rest of will move slow and try to document anything abnormal."

"Sounds good to me. We'll put the Arachnid in the middle and the Iron Machina can call in behind the Iron Mortal. The fleet will keep us covered from above."

"Alright, move out!"

And with those last words, the large Fireknaught scouting party took off into the woodlands towards the small town. There wasn't much to find except plant life. Due to the Fireknaught's clothing and armors, they didn't even notice their was no breeze. Everything was still, and they knew that, but the plants still had a gentle flutter every so often as if there was wind. It would take an hour to reach the town, but the Fireknaught moved steadily and didn't stress the fact.

The cutter approached at a slow rate, moving only as fast as a transport carrier could, for it was neither a military or courier vehicle, it was only a transport ship. Aboard it stood H'tero and his Rangari Vardan Metsu, who stood silently watching and guarding the envoy from a few feet away of the pilots seat. H'tero himself sat there, controlling the ship through a psychic interface that allowed him to fly it as though it were his very body, a method that much agreed with the young Avari. He approached the world below and smiled as the interface took his vision and enhanced it through the ships sensors, showing him life upon the surface. Such was how H'tero of Istalri Nianya knew to find and meet with the Fireknaught Federation.

The large scouting party had been able to move into the wilderness without any resistance and continued on with their path. The Fireknaughts found themselves lucky as their trail was flat, forested, and was clear of any fallen trees or shrubbery that would block their path. Such tranquil travels with beautiful lifeless forestry surrounded them, causing a lot of them to dream about having a home here. What they didn't realize was that they were being watched by something; the something that crafted this magnificent world.

After a few more hours of travel, the large scouting party was about one kilometer from the town they were looking for. The party started to divide into three groups; one would go directly into the town, the second would flank from their right and the other would make a perimeter around the outside of the town that would involve the two Arachnid.

"We have reached the town and are preparing to enter. Requesting drone surveillance before entering." A Fireknaught officer spoke into his helms communications.

"Dispatching drone immediately. There's an E.T.A. of about twenty minutes. Get into position and prepare to move."

In the next fifteen minutes, every group was in their proper position. Twenty Iron Machina mech soldiers and ten Iron Mortal soldiers formed the initial group entering the town first. The second group was twenty-five Iron Mortal soldiers, leaving the other fifty some soldiers and two mechs to protect them if anything was to come.

The one that requested the drone was connected to the drone as it reached the town. The soldier would use this machine and make sure he didn't see anything moving or hidden that might not be good for them. After running thermal scans, night scans, and energy scans, nothing seemed to pop up and the orders to move in were given. With precaution, the soldiers moved into the town, checking out the metal buildings that looked like they were once home to someone.

Not a sound was made or a light turned on till one soldier found a door that looked like it would require a key. When he ran his hand over the keyhole, a blue energy began to emit while the sounds of locks and levers moved within the door. The soldier stood there with his weapon as the blue energy surrounded the door.

When the energy was fully around the door and a holographic pad appeared in front of the door, a digital voice rang from the door, "This is a private facility. Please Sync and enter your government I.D. code."

"Umn...Sir... I found something!" The soldier shouted, immediately surround by ten soldiers who raised their weapons to the door.

"You have, haven't you boy? Let's hope this is a good job and doesn't bite us in the butt." The officer spoke as he examined the door and the holopad.

"Mark this location. Once we're sure the area is secure, we'll have them send a Core Squadron to come and see what they can find out about this... It reminds me of Promiethian or Covenant, but somethings different." The officer spoke, "You can stay here and make sure nothing comes out of it In fact.." The officer said as he turned to two Iron Machina and another Iron Mortal, "You three stay here with him. If anything comes out of that door, I want it alive."

With the new discovery made, they were on the right track to completing their mission here. For now, the scouting of this town would be peaceful, but who knows how long that could last. In this town they could find a lot, but they would need a Core Squad to override the super encrypted alien technology to get anything useful or figure out what was really going on with this seemingly empty world.

A squad of men peered from the woods into the town. Armed with stolen stealth tech, they were hidden from radar and physical view making them almost impossible to spot. They used the goggles of their helmet to watch the town from a safe distance, there were armed men searching a town, presumably soldiers. "Captain, we have located what appears to be soldiers searching a town. What do you want us to do?" One of the men whispered in his radio. He was no soldier working for a captain, he was a space pirate answering to his pirate captain. "Maintain radio silence from here on out, if something comes up fall back. Remain in position and make sure you record their movements. If there are soldiers in this part of the galaxy then they are most certainly going to come to us eventually. Do not engage them unless necessary, do not get captured and in event that you are about to be captured kill yourself. Once you have details on their plans return back but for now they must not know that there are pirates in the area. This is your captain, good luck." A feminine voice responded back with a heavily encrypted transition which also had a virus attached to it causing the transition to break apart until nothing was left. If there are soldiers they could have picked up the transition, if that was the case she had to make sure there would no trace of this radio call.

The pirates were wise to refrain from getting too close to the Fireknaught. Their party watching the outskirts of the town would easily catch anything that moved due to the stillness to the planet. With it being daytime, their thermal vision and night vision were no good, their motion sensors could immediately catch anyone within a three hundred yard radius of the town. The pirates did have one thing going for them, they didn't use their communications long, something that could have pinged the Fireknaught mechs and soldiers if it was used for ten seconds or more.

A couple hours or so went by and the scout party really got nowhere with the town. What they could enter was useless, just empty houses that were literally one open box in the room. Even though they had only found the one door, they had to search everything to ensure the town was empty. While this would normally be boring, the Fireknaughts were glad it was coming up empty.

"Command, we have only found one door that is locked. The rest of the town is empty. I advise we set up a small base here, open that door, and move forward." The commanding officer of the scouting party informed the command ship in space.

"This is Admiral Johnathan Dawn. Are you sure it is safe to land? We may only get one chance here." the Admiral of a Guardian [AE-Superior Class Cruiser] responded.

"In my personal field experience, it would be best to have a camp set up before we try to open that door. If anything comes out, we need to be ready."

"Understood. I will dispatch a platoon immediately. Any specifics of what you would like?" Admiral Johnathan Dawn responded.

"I would like to request four more Arachnids, eighty more Iron Mortals, and crate of ED weaponry to ensure we can catch anything that comes through that door. With that, set some form of shield for the town. Anything else you think is necessary, send it, I won't dispute it."

"Will do. The ETA will be thirty minutes, so keep looking and be cautious, I still don't believe this planet is lifeless." The Admiral spoke, "We're closing off communications, so be safe, soldier."

"Thank you, sir! We will make this a home, one way or another. The Iron Infantry will not let you down!"

And so the searching continued with nothing new. Five minutes before the platoons arrival, the Fireknaught set up a landing zone that looked like it could have once been a park or field. Small lights were placed on the ground and Fireknaught took positions on every pathway and rooftop that touched the landing zone.

The platoon that was sent to the small town moved in with their cloaking system active. No pirate or soldier would know they were coming unless they heard their engines, which was very plausible as the Plasma engines radiate a low reverberating sound that could little shake a body till it fell to jello after prolonged exposure. These ships would rotate landing in the zone, dropping off equipment and soldiers, becoming visible as they did, and taking back off with the cloaking reactivated.

The Admiral dispatched everything that was requested, but with it came two Goliath - ATV Giga Unit .These massive hunks of metal were a clustfuck of destruction on any terrain or even in the sky. The Admiral's caution was very noticeable when the Fireknaughts on the ground seen these artillery units.

"Alright! I need a squad of men to set up the Hex Shield over the town. I'll need another to man the ED equipment, and in thirty minutes, I expect the ED units as well as ten additional soldiers to meet me at that door. When the Core Unit opens that door, we need to see what it is hiding. The rest of you, establish the camp and turn this town into an operation base.

The Pirates would remain in the woods, still observing the Firenaughts and recording all the information they can. They were still not certain what they were up too but they knew that if they were calling in reinforcements something was going on. Until they found out what their plan was they would remain hidden, carefully observing them. Perhaps they intended to turn the planet into a base, if that was the case then they would all be in danger. But they were sure not to jump into conclusions until they knew what was really going on.

"State your identity!" A voice rang through H'teros communication system, "You are encroaching on military units and we will not hesitate to fire."

Johnathan Dawn sat in his seat and looked at the transport ship that was flying around. He didn't think it was from here as the ships design didn't seem to match this planets. No matter the case, they wanted to know who it was so they know whether to blow them out of the sky or invite them for talks.

The perimeter was secured and the Core Unit made its way towards the locked door. These tech savvy units would start work on opening the door, hooking up different pieces of technology, until it was time to hook up a Core AI. The locks on this door were beyond their capabilities, but the Core AI has instant information from all across the universe that might be able to help them.

"Sir, this could take a few hours to unlock. It's beyond our knowledge and the Core AI will have to dig through information throughout the universe." One of the Core units spoke to the Fireknaught officer.

"I don't care how long it takes, we need it opened. If we have to, we'll cut it open."

"Do you not see this how we see it? You're trying to open a door that is encrypted with technology beyond anything we know about. Does that not strike a red flag? If you decide to cut this door open, I want off this planet." The Core unit spoke in an angered tone, as if the officer didn't respect their work.

"Ahh, I apologize. We're all just so excited that we might have a home that I guess I overlooked that fact. Take your time.", the officer responded with an embarrassed tone.

The Core unit was firm in his words and quickly returned to word, "We plan on it."

Hours passed by and finally something gave in with the door. The Core AI lit up and the blue energy around the door began to turn red as the Core AI took over the controls and began to unlock the door. As the door started to slide open, a white mist raised from it and revealed a tunnel crafted from stones and metal, all blended to make the halls look like it was carved out instead of built.

"Sir, we're open." The Core unit spoke.

The Iron Mortals and Iron Machina were immediately on the door, ready for anything. When it opened and revealed nothing but a lit up pathway inside of it, they all knew what was about to happen. It wasn't long before the group sent to handle this door were being ordered to go inside, Core Unit and all. If only they knew what they were getting into before going down inside the tunnel.

"We're here to scout the place, and something this secure wasn't put in this little town for no reason. We need to be out before night hits so we can move further." The officer spoke.

With that, the group was entering the tunnel with a total of four ED equipped soldiers, twelve Iron Mortals, and two Iron Machina, not accounting the additional four units involved with the Core Unit. For a long while, their trip would be nothing but empty tunnels and large doors the Core Unit opened up.

The Pirates watched as the soldiers opened a strange door before going in. What was going on? This couting mission seemed to grow more dangerous by the hour. However they still had a job to do for their captain, in order to ensure their safety they kept watch and when they got hungry they carefully ate their rations. It would have been a casual meal but they knew any sort of loud noise would give away their position. They would slowly nibble on their rations careful to even down the food. But they remained vigilant in their watch, whatever these soldiers planned on they could not abbadon their job because they were scared.

Deep in the woods something was moving towards the Fireknaught's setup. These machines are called S.P.A.D.E.. These units had a standard energy shield around their body that made them invisible to see at long range. These machines seemed moved in under all scanners and sensors, their shield seeming to block them out.

The machines moved through the treetops till they hovered over the pirates below. One of the S.P.A.D.E. units moved down and stared down a random pirate. Its eye would twist and turn as it was basically deciding what to do with them. Something made them come this way, but it wasn't for the pirates. A dozen of these S.P.A.D.E. units hung out in the treetops above the pirates while the other dozen moved towards the town.

The S.P.A.D.E. made no attempt to rush in as they noticed the forces in the woodlands pertaining to the Fireknaught Federation. The S.P.A.D.E. hung back and circled around the town. For the time being, these machines remained cautious of these Fireknaught, but something kept them back and kept them from calling in more.
.................................................

Within the town the makeshift base had come along pretty good. The perimeter was as secure as it could be with the multiple Arachnid and two Goliath blocking off all the paths in or out of the town, not accounting the transparent dome shield they placed over the town to keep it isolated and contained at the same time. They didn't want attacked, but if something was within the doors they opened, they didn't want it getting out.

While everything was seemingly going fine on the outside, deep within the passage underground, things would start to change for the worse. The first thing to go was there communications to the outside, which could essentially be a very bad thing. The group stopped for a brief moment and the Core Unit began trying to find a signal they could hop on.

"Sir, I don't think we're going to find a signal down here. There's some kind of field that cuts everything, even white noise. We're lucky our communications still work." One of Core units spoke.

"That's just great, no damn signal. I guess we're in this on our own now... Let's see what we're dealing with." The officer spoke.

"Sir, I suggest you let the Core Unit return so we can send message and start working on getting signal down here. We're too valuable to walk in, and our systems contain too much capability to fall into someone elses hands.", pleaded the Core unit.

"No signal and now the Core Unit wants to go back... Ain't this lovely?!" The officer proclaimed in a rather pissed off tone before taking a deep breathe and talking calmly, "That's the best thing right now. If you're leave, I expect you to run back. Our lives could be in danger... We're here to make it home, seconds will count if something is here. Those buildings and these walls weren't built by a backwoods species, so hurry."

The Core Unit took off, rushing back up the passageway while the others started to move forward again. The light produced by the energy patterns on the walls would dim down, adding a more eerie feeling to the scenario. A humming sound could be heard in the distance and the movements of what sounded like large machinery. The officer threw up his right fist and called the group to a hault.

"We need to proceed as cautiously as we can. Not a word." The officer whispered into his helms comm line.

The rest of the group nodded and each moved without making a sound. The group eventually came to what appeared to be the stopping point for two other passages, one large enough to fly a squad of Corvette's through. All the soldiers took pictures of what they had reached in case something happened. In fact, the lot turned on their recording system to record it on video.

"Sir, i'm not getting a good feeling about this. Whatever is making those sounds is right behind these doors. Are you sure we're equipped for something like this?" A soldier asked the officer.

The officer turned to the soldier and smiled, "We've opened bigger doors before and the only way to get our answers is to open these doors... That is unless you'd rather run back and explain why you were scared to do what we came to do so we can have a home..."

The soldier dropped his head, a little disgruntled at himself and the officers tone about the situation. He knew the officer was right and so he readied himself for anything. His chest puffed back out as he walked away. They were here for a reason and he was no coward, he was a Fireknaught.

At that point, in front of the officer, a barrel shaped projection of coding appeared. This energy was a green color with a white ring that moved up and down around the barrel. In the middle of this energy, a basketball sized machine began to appear. The Fireknaughts all raised their weapons to the orb as it finalized itself. When the machine was complete, the energy vanished and left a metal orb with a green core that looked like an eye.

"Hello there. I amSpark 755. I'd like to inform you that you are in a very unwelcoming location. Beyond those doors is your end." The AI orb spoke.

"I don't care who you are. For all we know there's a bunch of gnomes behind that door you're using for slave labor. We're here to make a home and we have to find out what is behind those doors." The officer responded.

"I have warned you. Since I need you, we will open these doors together. Your mental frequency seems to be too strong for anything to come of my suggestion... I hope all of your people are this strong willed." Spark 755 spoke back.

The officer reached and grabbed Spark 755 and pulled it to himself, "If you want to do anything, open those doors. If anything happens to us, we'll make sure you go down with us, there's nobody going to use us for their purposes."

"My your species is amazing, I can't even pick up one signature of fear to what is beyond those doors." Spark 755 ripped from the officers hand and rose up above the Fireknaught.

Through what looked like small tunnels or vents at the top of the passage, S.P.A.D.E. machines made their presence. These machines were no different than those from the woodlands, and they seemed to follow what Spark 755 requested of them. The soldiers took note that there could be a hive mindset to their new friends and needed to watch them.

Spark 755 flew up to the center of the massive doors, humming as he moved along. A holographic image of a locking mechanism covered the front of the doors and what sounded like cannons going off would signal the actual unlocking of these doors. As the door opened, a scent hit the Fireknaughts that very chemically. What they saw when the doors were fully opened definitely proved the AI and soldier right.

"Welcome to a Sidok Hive. Are you satisfied? We need to close these doors before they realize we're here." Spark 755 answered.

"No... This... this is astounding... in all the universe, I have never seen some so barbaric and advanced in my life..." The officer responded while his eyes were focused on what they seen.

Their sight was unforgettable. Massive pillars and belts covered in tubing that was filled with some sort of blue liquid and aliens of all kinds. These beings were connected to a massive system that controlled their minds and placed them in a false reality. Whatever the true intent of this system was, it produced a lot of power and there were millions of tubes containing anything from humans to little green men, it seemed to make no difference to whatever this was.

Flying through the air between all the pillars and seeming to work the place was what looked like three different races, or maybe one was just a machine? Machines with a dozen extensions with hooks, itself looking a lot like a squid in many senses, seemed to fill the air while the other two were very few and far between. One almost looked like a human while the other had a larger build that was hidden behind battle armor.

"What is this, Spark 755?" the officer asked the machine.

"This is a Sidok Hive. Through years of research, the machines eventually found that the human brain can produce more energy than any other known source. These beings could be thousands of years old in sense, as they have a clone ready to fill its position when the mind is sucked dry. It is known for beings to wake up and escape the false reality, but normally these machines are capable on putting the body back in coma so they can continue mining it. The Sidok and Pitotians are remarkable beings, but a virus has infected their code. I had choice but to contain these hives so that their terror would not spread..." Spark 755 responded, "We should go now if you value your life, I think they have noticed us."

And so they had. Every being in the massive underground hive stopped their movements and focused on the door. What called this hive home immediately moved for the opening. The Sentinel beings started firing a bio-nuclear beam that had carried the same effects of plasma, while the other beings started firing other various munitions at them.

Spark 755 was closing the door, but a small group of six Sentinel made it through and the small force had to retaliate. Bullets started flying into the air while the S.P.A.D.E. were hitting the Sentinels with their pulse lasers. The six Sentinel would prove no match from the overbearing force of the weaponry, but in the end, the ED still did catch one alive. When the Sentinel was hit, it reverted back into it's normal form which looked like a dinosaur humanoid with a split jaw. The AI seemed to twitch on the ground like it was flesh, something that was definitely peaking their interest.

The ED units placed the Sidok in handcuffs and rolled him over to looked at the aliens face and talking to the other soldiers, "I don't know what's uglier, it's squid form or how it looks now!".

"It doesn't matter how ugly it is. We need to get it back up to the top." The officer spoke before turning to the other men, "I want all these machines back to the top. Now let's get moving before these things figure out how to get through that door or these bastards wake back up."

It didn't take long for the Fireknaught forces to gather the sentinels and the Sidok and start marching. The soldiers would talk about what they saw and what their minds came up with was wild despite Spark 755 giving them a simple synopsis on what it was. The officer himself would hang near Spark 755, and when their communications kicked back in, he sent a command to the surface to prepare for a P.O.W. and incoming for Core Unit and research unit. In the mix, he also sent a command to prepare to capture Spark 755, who had already sent the S.P.A.D.E. units away.

When the group was near the top, the Sidok woke up and began scanning the area. With a quick leap, the Sidok tried to make an escape. The Sidok didn't get too far before an ED unit brought it down again, this time placing a plasma band on the Sidoks ankles so it couldn't run again, and with the handcuffs putting restraints of the Sidok's system as if it was magic or energy of some kind, that prevented it from transforming.

With the P.O.W. knocked out again, the group continued with their haul. When the sunlight was seen, the soldiers all seemed to move a little faster despite dragging twelve foot long machines behind them. At the entrance, Arachnids lined up and carried off the Sentinel machines while the officer took the P.O.W. to one of the old structures that would be made into a makeshift jail protected by six Iron Machina soldiers.

As the Sidok machines were being took off, a force greeted Spark 755 and used ED Grenades and ED-Rifle: Model X1. The Fireknaught quickly detained Spark 755 and placed it in a container that seemed to look like a giant glass ball. The AI orb would remain here until the Fireknaught decided what they wanted to do with it; if it was friend of foe. For the time being, after such a long haul the officer took an hour break after sending a new request.

"Command, we have a P.O.W. and five more that we believe are dead. I'm sending you the files on my helm and decide what we want to do." The officer spoke as he pulled the data module from his helm and plugged it into what looked like a computer of some kind.

Shortly after the files were sent, forty Guardian ships filled the atmosphere. It looked like fleets of airships were leaving the ships, dropping off supplies and soldiers to the currently established make shift base. It seemed as though the high command decided to invest in an invasion. The pirates would see hundreds of Alpha and Omega transports, not accounting the Aries starfighters and Firefly corvettes that filled the sky in a swarming motion. Even the pirates would know something was up at this moment, something that kept them more occupied inside the town than what was outside the camp.

The small group of pirates slowly began to panick when the S.P.A.D.E units hovered above them. At first they though they had been seen by the military forces on the planet but it seemed that they were more focuses on the town. They felt that their life was in danger but they had to know what was going on, they had to find out if these soldiers would be a threat to them. Waiting just a bit longer the Pirates spotted the group of soldiers that had just went inside the locked building, only to find them with a prisoner of sorts. Now the pirate scouts believed the soldiers here here hostile, and their belief was reinforced when they saw the Guardian ships, along with the Aries starfighters and Firefly corvettes filling the skies.

With all that they have gathered so far, there seemed to be a civilisation underground, and these soldiers had just invaded it and captured someone. Not taking any more chances the group carefully left the scene so they would not be spotted from afar. Once miles away from the town the group located their means of transportation, a small transport class ship able to fit a team of ten. Once inside they began to wait until the skies were clear before firing up their engines and then took flight to try and escape the planet. They would also prepare their FTL systems so they could try and escape the planet without encountering one of the Guardian ships that were floating above the planet. "Get the radio working! Warn the captain that these military forces are presumed hostile!" The pirate manning the ship yelled behind was he scrambled from button to button to arm the FTL drive.

Above the atmosphere of Dasconov VR2G, a frigate was busy salvaging from a wrecked convoy of transport ship. "Alright lads, seems like the ship was carrying a nice supply of food. This could last us a couple of years at best with our current numbers. A pretty good haul I say. Send word to the captain, she would be happy to hear of our latest loot." A man spoke, dressed in a stolen uniform. A man who used to be a prisoner of the planet, his name was simply 'Skar' and he was the one who helped put Iron Joe down for good with the help of his new captain.

As Skar was taking some last notes down on his data pad, he would notice a small transport arrive near the planet with the same symbol on his ship. "Well, looks like the scouts have returned. Give me the report." Skar contacted the scouts and they explode quickly. "Aye sir, we discovered some military soldiers. They seem to be conquering a planet at this moment, I do not know much but one thing is for sure, they have a big fleet." The scouts gave their report and Skar just shook his head.

Once he received the report, he ordered the crew to finish up loading the supplies and anything that could still be used and began to make their way to the planet. He needed to give the captain the message personally and discuss their plan.

Lagging behind the Pirate scout party was two Aeries starfighters and three drones. The Fireknaught scout party remained cloaked as they passed through the pirate planets atmosphere and landed in the midst of forestry a few miles out from the ships. The Drones continued to fly through the skies and streamline imformation to the scouts and the mothership.

"We've landed. This planet is like the other; there's signs of life here, but very little to be seen. We're going to look around on foot, see what the land is like." The scout leader spoke to their command ship.

The four scouts left their ships camouflaged and took off into the forestry. The team was very tactical, one equipped for short range, two for mid-range, and one soldier for long range. With live feeds and alerts from their drones, these scouts could cover more ground at a faster rate, taking in every bit of information.

For the Firenaught scouts, they would notice quite a few number of mountain ranges, each one with some sort of fort constructed on them. Of course, there were plenty of trees and natural cover to keep them hidden. Soon they would notice a frigate fly overhead before landing next to one of these mountain forts. They could see that this fort seemed much larger than the others making it look like some sort of command center.

As the frigate stalled next to the fort, a massive ramp extended from the ship and the doors opened. At least one hundred men began to walk across the ship hauling what appeared to be crates with a shoddy note stuck to each of them labelled 'food'. The last one to leave the frigate was a man more smartly dressed than the other, a uniform with an emblem of a skull holding a gun to its head came into view.

"Alright lads! Once we gathered the food I want you all to begin distributing them to the other outposts. No hogging anything to yourselves! If I see that one outpost revived one less food I will have your head, is that understood!?" Skar yelled as the others replied with a yes. It was clear they were not military, they did not salute the man or addressed him as sir. And they seemed less disciplined almost working by themselves instead of working together. But it was clear that they certainly showed pretty good physical prowess.

Once Skar had his men doing their tasks, he walked up to one of the doors and simply opened it without the need of a keycard.

"I hope you all are getting this. I doubt we are dealing with a formal militant group here, possibly a new inhabitant..." The squad leader spoke before noticing insignia, "We're dealing with outlaws of some kind, possibly pirates. We need to approach with caution."

"Sir! I have a Pokemon from Ruula that might be able to help us get closer." A squad member spoke.

"I didn't know you served on Ruula. When was this?" The leader spoke through communications.

"I was a laborer during construction and served two months afterwards. This Pokemon kinda jumped me one day and we had a bought, but now, after training together, we've formed a solid bond. I promise he can do the job." The member spoke with an anxious tone.

"You're willing to place our lives in the hands of a Pokemon that you had to beat up in order to obtain servitude? Are you mad?"

"No, sir. But we've trained a year together, day in and day out. What would Ruula think if they knew their planets beasts helped us get a home? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to have such a useful creature inside a ball that is the size of a golf ball? Something you could call on at any time that is more powerful than any grenade? Just one chance. If it looks like they think something is there, we'll call it off. Please, sir. We're outnumbered in any situation, and we know we have to remain one step ahead to complete our mission."

The officer took a deep breathe and spoke calmly, "If I get one inkling of an idea that they see this Pokemon, we'll call it off and move closer towards the central structure."

"Thank you, Sir!" The soldier spoke before he pulled of a Fireknaught Pokeball off his hip and released a Kadabra.

The Kadabra that emerged did not look like the standard Kadabra. This Kadabra was equipped with special technologies that amplified it's telepathic power. Kadabra, an extremely intelligent Pokemon, uses his bond to telepathically communicate with his master, even if many miles away.

"Kadabra, view the drone footage and take us to the outskirts of the location where the activity is." The soldier mentally spoke to Kadabra.

"Aye, Master. We shall be there in the twinkle of a star!" The Kadabra spoke, "Have everyone place a hand on me."

After sifting through the footage and using his powers, Kadabra located the central hub. With a thought and short hum, the group vanished and reappeared about two miles out from there the activity was. The Fireknaughts set up a perimeter after finding no signs of travel in many years where they were located. As night approached, they were building make shift shelters that were beneath the ground, having entrance holes that could easily be covered or hidden.

"Night is coming. We should camp here for a couple days and watch. If your Pokemon can transport people, we might be able to do this a much easier way than intended. Let's enjoy our stay here instead of living in the mud." The squad leader spoke.

"Sir, is it alright if he remains out of his Pokeball? If we're going to use him as a key component, we should recognize him as part of the team."

"I don't see any reason he can't. I'm fond of this creatures capability, but I have to keep in mind it's not just a beast."

"Sir, he is more than a beast, he is an intelligent life like you and I. Pokemon are not like the animals we have known in past, these are intelligent creatures that form bonds with people than can never be swayed. Pokemon are friends, not firearms."

"I understand, but like the Arch-Hound, these Pokemon will had duties and risks like any other soldier."

"Understood, sir. We should probably discuss this later. Just please refrain from using Kadabra as just a tool, remember he is sentient like us."

The squad leader was still baffled and confused on what Pokemon were. He thought they were animals and their power was only rumors, but after the Transport, he was forced to review his ideas. It would take some time, but the squad leader was aware that he was going to recognize Pokemon as more than just tools for war.

"I got you. I have faith in you two, don't let the Fireknaught Federation down....Now quit the jibber jabber and get to digging."

While the Fireknaughts dug, Kadabra was using his telepathy to peek into each soldiers mind. After a short dig, Kadabra found was he was looking for and the dirt beneath the soldiers began to move and spread thinly across the ground. Logs and stones began to sink into the ground and the dirt came out. Within minutes, a bunker was built out of what had previously been started on. The longs in the dirt would allow heavy object to pass over without worry while offer some support if for some reason they came under assault,

The group shimmied through the small hole and into their bunker. Once inside, Kadabra began to shovel more dirt, carving out an escape route. When all was said and done, nobody could tell the ground had been disturbed and the Fireknaughts had a safe spot to operate out of.

"Alright, listen up. I want recording devices here, here, here, here, and here." He spoke as he used his communications device to pull up a map on their visors(Kadabra armor produces telepathic frequency to create map in his mind), "Once these devices are up, we can return and rest for the evening."

Kadabra would transport each soldier to a different location to allow installation. After an hour or so, the soldiers had completed their entire installation. If anything passed a certain like or threw up a movement signal, the Fireknaughts could easily pinpoint what it is in milliseconds. This would allow them ample time to call in a drop and set up the proper technologies to engage in step 2 of their mission.

In the middle of night a cloaked Aeries starfighter swooped in and dropped a package for the Fireknaught scouts. The scouts swarmed these supplies and had them inside the bunker in under ten minutes. After four hours of setting up the equipment, networks, and getting everything situated, the Fireknaught scouts were officially in a business and they wanted into any recording systems the planet might have to obtain information on the land, people, and anything else that increased their knowledge of Dasconov VR2G. Once the set up was done, Kadabra decided to take a nap while the soldiers played with their technology.

Inside the command center for the pirates stationed on Dasconov VR2G, a woman sat behind a small wooden desk with a computer that looked like it had been put through a blender and mixed with random parts. As Skar entered the room, he simply waved at the captain. "Yo...I got some news that you would like to hear. Something regarding some soldiers, and also we plundered a nice supply of food that can last for a long time." He stated as he took a seat in front of the wooden desk.

Hayyel slowly stood up upon hearing the man. "I heard from the radio, you keep on forgetting to use a different frequency every time you receive important news. I heard that our scouts escaped from a planet while an entire fleet was hovering over the planet, and they may have already sent scouts to follow them. If that's the case then they may have already settled on the planet." She replied as she looked rather displeased with the news of the soldiers.

Skar was confused at his captains statment, sure he was not that bright but he could understand good tactics. "Wait a second...how would they get---" "They can get through since they have more advanced technology, their technology is more advanced than these orbital weapons. They can take care of any large cruisers or even damage battleships but anything smaller or stealthy will pass through like air through a net. That was how we originally got past them, so if there are soldiers here they are gathering intel for a possible invasion, or to at the very least force us to submit to their rule. All of those soldiers fight for their own benefit. So, if they are here then I want them found and captured, dead or alive...Get the word out, and make sure to use private channels." She spoke before walking to the door that entered the office and picked up a rectangular box that upon touching it broke apart and transformed into a sniper rifle, she then picked up a sword and walked outside with Skar also sending out an emergency message to all pirates on the planet. "Attention everyone, the captain belives that a band of scouts belonging to a military organization are on the planet, You are all advised to search for them and capture them...dead or alive. This is a warning and not a test. Good hunting."

The Fireknaughts remained calm till they picked up the message sent out to all the pirates. They immediately began relaying the information about being hunted back to the mothership while they plotted on what to do next. In reality, there was only a few of them and lot of pirates, and the remaining forces weren't ready come planetside yet.

"We need to keep calm and keep quiet. They shouldn't be able to find our bunker underground. If they do, we can use the Kadabra to hit the road." The squad leader spoke.

"Sir, what if we decided to go in while they are out? We can cloak ourselves and transport in." A soldier spoke.

"We run the risk of getting caught. If we did that, only two of us could go. If the inside team got caught, it would be up to the other two to rescue." The squad leader spoke again.

"Yes, but I doubt that will be an issue. I doubt they have much they could torture us with and sometimes the best inside knowledge is a prison cell. Not to say I want to be caught, but we need all the information we can get and i'm willing to do what I have to in order for our people to make that planet a home." The soldier spoke back.

"Alright. You and I will transport in. When the moon is at its highest point, we will move in. We'll spend one hour there and we will return. This needs to be fast so we can decide a plan to further our knowledge on this location."

"Yes, sir. I will have Kadabra find a good location to transport to. When he returns, we'll have a bit more information on what we're diving into."

With that, the soldier sent Kadabra off to sneak onto the Pirates base and find them a good landing zone. During that time, Kadaba documented what rooms he went in and out of for future purpose. Kadabra never stood more than two seconds in a room at a time, making it hard to catch him or even notice he was there.

(I figured you would could make a good location that the Kadabra would teleport into. Somewhere unguarded and not visited regularly.)

The Pirates soon began their slow but thorough search of the planet, Fighters flew slowly overhead scanning the surface for any signs of movement, Men of the ground looked around for any tracks or anything that seemed out of place whil elooking at every nook and cranny.

Skarr sat inside the bridge of his frigate, scanning the surface and looking for any sign of the souts. Of course, finding trained soldiers that do this thing daily would take a very long time.

Hayyel walked around alone, armed with her rifle. Even though she was the leader, her sight and hearing were impeccable. If she heard breathing she could pick it up, if she coudl see movment from far away she could see it. If an enemy scout was around, he would think she was just a simple foot soldier looking for them. But that is what she was counting on.

Inside the Pirates base, the complex would reach deep underground and with the farther down it went the more the floors looked old and dated until it could reach the very bottom. The very bottom of the complex was black as pitch, dust and webs were all over the place, ancient signs of battle was visible along with skeletons that appeared to turn to dust the second wind touched it. There were also old vehicles, long since rusted and broken beyond repair.

This was an abandoned part of the base, as further ahead there was a rusted door with an old plate with the name 'Iron Joe'. The floor would also contain very old documents ranging from when the planet ussed to be a prison to the reign of Iron Joe himself.