Bryn Magus's Story

Commander Magus frowned, then he brought up the screen.

"Commander." A Lieutenant reported. "Grid-One Seven, Plasmite napalm strike called in by an advanced recon team that came under attack. Ambushed by unknown hostiles." The Lieutenant added, while Magus nodded. Just then the door opened up, and a shadowy figure stepped forward into the CIC. "The Operation is classified from this point forward." The Figure said, slapping a black file on the table in front of the Commander. The Commander slowly opened it, reading through the text.

"The Ministry of Defense wants us to what!?" Magus asked, keeping the Terrans on hold for a moment.

"Black file Pogrom concerning primitive natives in the jungle." The Agent explained. "The Operation is entirely deniable." The Man explained, and Magus nodded, putting the phone back to his face.

"Possibly militant groups, Maybe Civilians? There's Aschen civilians settled in the area, some of them carry disruptors. Could be a clash between them and Hataf militants in the area." He said, pulling up the Screen. "Could be a Clear-Burn for farmland, We'll investigate and come back with a report."

MacDuff frowned. "Negative, Chariot. We'll investigate ourselves and send you a full report within the hour. Keep your men OUT of Hafirjan. I repeat, keep your men OUT." He looked to a technician, his face red. "Cut it."

The hail ended a moment later.

A timid-looking TNG adviser walked over to his captain. "What do we do, sir?"

The Captain sighed, scratching at his scruffy jaw. "What do you THINK we're going to do, Chiggleys? We're going to stomp around and make a lot of noise, and we're going to be careful while we do it." He massaged his temple. "And at the same time, we're going to sneak around and be very quiet." He pushed a button in his chair, speaking into the comm. "Get me the TIB."

One of the technicians looked up. "Sir, the amount of ozone on our charts constitutes a far greater exertion of plasmic waste than a community of armed civilians could muster. Furthermore, ownership of disruptors by Aschen civilians has been illegal-"

"I know, Janet," MacDuff growled, "I know, I know, I know. Do you think ANY of that makes even a SMIDGEN of a difference to them?" He shook his head. "Tell Captain Vrail to power up his FRs. I'm sending the Fiddle and the entire NPA 5th Platoon to Veshrac immediately."

A technician called out from across the room. "TIB response, sir. What shall I say?"

"Give them the coordinates and a very brief sitrep," Ashton responded blandly, "and then delete the hail. Delete the record of the deletion."

"Yes sir."

And then the communications room was in a frenzy again, dozens of workers hurrying to fill out MacDuff's orders.

The captain himself sat quietly in his chair, desperately trying to rub the headache out of his temples.

Commander Magus sat silently aboard the AHSC Chariot of Fire, grabbing the railing as a Lieutenant turned. "Incoming Transmission from the Varden." He reported, and Magus sighed and growled slightly, as the Reverence was now over northern Hafirjan.

"Patch a reply through." He said calmly, picking up the communication phone.

"Lieutenant Commander Amen Omari, this is Commander Bryn Magus of the AHSC Chariot of Fire, Couple of things. Neither the Aschen Government, nor SOLCOM ordered any kind of attack on any jungle. We have reason to believe it was Hataf militants and Aschen settlers." He said, making a face. "We're en-route to investigate the nature of the Fire in the jungle, but to brazenly accuse us of a hostile act without any proof flies in the face of our fragile peace." He said, then he turned to his Executive Officer, Colonel Athena Truesdale.

"Set Condition Yellow." He said, clasping his hands behind his back, while the lighting shifted from violet to yellow, and an alarm began to blare.

"All hands, Action stations!"

Omari grumbled. 'Ladar, magnetometric, gravimetric, and radar all confirm that those fighters are returning to dock at AHSC Chariot of Fire source of the transmission just received.', EGO relayed. 'Alert Admiral Apis.', Omari thought. 'Admiral Apis is currently monitoring the situation.', EGO relayed. 'Deploy Thon unit one and two. Create a firebreak. Deploy APDs to get these fires under control and search for survivors.'

Two interceptor drones detached themselves from the underside of the MBC and started to pinwheel away as six APDs descended into the flaming jungle to search for any survivors. Moments later the deafening sounds of 30mm repeating blaster cannons filled the air as the drones created a twenty-five meter firebreak around the blaze. Modulating and inverting their hydromagnetic shielding the all-purpose drones started to snuff out the accelerant fueled blaze. Cutting lasers were used to fell some trees to save others. These drones swam through the flames, floating above the ground to complete the task commanded of them: Stop these fires and search for survivors.

The platoon on board the MBC were already prepared for deployment in their PDS, weapons locked and loaded. Heavy equipment was manned and prepared for a fight. 'Transmit to AHSC Chariot of Fire that we read them.', thought Omari. "Commander Bryn Magus of the AHSC Chariot of Fire this is EGO in stead of Lieutenant Commander Amen Omari. We read you."

'Transmit to Captain MacDuff of the Diomedes the location and current situation. Ask for assistance and advisement', thought Omari. "Captain MacDuff of Diomedes this is EGO in stead of Lieutenant Commander Amen Omari of the VEF at location, containing blaze, and searching for survivors. We request assistance. Please advise.'

What the Varden would find would perhaps not be what they expected. Despite their assumption that the napalm strike had been an attack of some nature against indigenous people, the Varden drones would find no apparent casualties, nor survivors. Fires and scorched earth were the only remnant left in the wake of the devastating attack. The Mira it would seem had cleared well out of the area leaving not a trace of their passing.

Perhaps the Aschen claim to the TNG of locals clearing land was not so far from the truth, but whatever had transpired on this day one thing held true. The hardy felinoids were well prepared to live up to their name as ghosts of the forest.

As the General cut and run from his position, the two Mercenaries that were setting up the plasma cannon quickly stopped, the Private grabbed his weapon and started to give pursuit.

"Gods Damnit we're going to need a Reverence uplink if we're going to sift through all this jungle!" The Sergeant shouted, as the second Corporal moved to assist Venner, pulling him behind cover.

"Satchmo, Alpha, this is One Niner Actual, be advised we have wounded and will require Exfil, how copy Also Be advised unknown hostiles have disengaged, Our Sergeant and a Private have broken to pursue, requesting Command-Net Uplink." Emerson called on the radio, as Siler, and Private Nadine moved through the jungle, with their enhanced Aschen physiology after the General.

"We're not going to be able to keep up." The Sergeant said, climbing through some foliage.

----
AHSC Chariot of Fire
Reverence I class Planetary Assault Carrier
Geosynchronous Orbit above Hafirjan
Commander Bryn Magus

"Commander!" A Lieutenant turned as the Tech Con transmission managed to reach Aschen waves.

"We have a distress signal from Tech Con patrols in Hafirjan, unknown military hostiles. They're not armed like the natives." The Lieutenant said, while Commander Magus nodded.

The AI then chimed in. "Commander, I have detected unknown radio patterns, Primitive frequencies with minimal encryption, I've analyzed the frequencies and can transmit on your command."

Magus nodded slightly. "Alright, use their radio communications coupled with surface scans to track their movements. Prepare a squad of Marines, I want him alive." The Commander ordered, and the AI Nodded.

"I will transmit a warning."

She then patched herself into the Imperial Vox communications network, broadcasting a smooth, monotone female voice.

"Attention unknown hostiles, your attacks against the Empire will not go unpunished. It is advised you surrender immediately, or face further abrasive action."

The message would simply repeat.

All while the Lieutenant turned to the Commander.

"Marine drop pods are away, ETA One millicenton."

AHSC Reverence I Chariot of Fire
Cargo Bay

Once the transmission was completed, the group would be safely tucked away aboard the Reverence, now surrounded by Aschen personnel, Commander Magus would be the first to approach General Alexander and Commissar Torgärd.

Following the Commander was a lone individual in a black suit and tie.

The Commander regarded the group a moment, then he shook his head.

"Take them in for questioning." He ordered, and a pair of Marines moved to escort each down a causeway, General Maximilian in one room, Commissar Torgard in the other.

The room was a simple, white brightly lit room with a metal table and two chairs. Both were sat at their respective chairs by themselves in the rooms, and left in silence, separated from each other for more effective questioning.

---

The door to the General's room slowly opened, and a singular LDA Agent, in black suit and tie entered, then he slowly lowered himself into the chair and then he tossed a file folder onto the table.

"I'm Agent Sanderson, with the Langaran Defense Agency, we'll start by stating your name, and your rank." The Agent said.

---
The same thing occured in the Commissar's room, Agent Michaels slowly entered, and began his line of questioning.

"State your name, and your rank." He said flatly to the Commissar.

---

Commander Magus would turn to Agent Carolina, and incline his head. "Thank you for your assistance."

The Commissar watched this man enter the room, somewhat amused by this situation, where he had often found the roles reversed, with him doing the interrogating. Listening to the man's words, Torgärd whispered prayers to the God-Emperor, ignoring the demands of the man before him. While any score of standard Guardsmen might easily betray their Imperium, he was a man of the Commissariat, and it would take more than a simple please and thank you to get any information from him.

"Blessed be the Emperor on His throne. Blessed be His sons. Blessed be His kingdom among the stars. May His light shine the brightest. May His word be heard by all. May His will be done. The Emperor Protects"

Carolina was about to retort to the Commissar but instead she kept her mouth shut, thankfully the helmet on her armor kept her face from being seen as she glared daggers of death at the Commissar. When Commander Magus spoke to her Carolina stood at attention. "Sir, we were in the area. Part of the job to help when requested. It was a pleasure Sir. It felt good to get back into a hellpod."

Then she went throughtfully quiet. "There is one thing sir. My ride is still down there waiting for pickup. It dropped a NAV pointt for the pickup location. Would it be too much trouble to bring it aboard the same way you did with the rest of us ?" and by 'it' she meant Puma. If it was too much trouble, a Pelican was going to pick her up anyhow and take her back to the Kill It With Fire If it was too much trouble she could simply radio the Kill It With Fire and have them pick up Puma instead.

" I have already disclosed my name and rank. Your certainly no inquisitor...I will repeat myself regardless. I am Maximus Alexander, Lord General of the 363rd Jerichan, Devoted Servant to my lord, The God Emperor of Mankind. "


Maximus looks around his interrogation room, somewhat disappointed. Redirecting his attention, Maximus begins to look his interrogator over. He was scrawny, well dressed...It was pitiful.


" You will get nothing more from me. "

The LDA Agent frowned and then he glanced at the file, watching the Commissar. "Hmm." He then leaned back and seemed to watch the man. "You would do well to answer my simple inquiries, for your own sake. They are simple questions, your name, and your rank."

He took down a pen and began to write in a strange language. "Your name, and your rank." He said simply. "I would hate to have to escalate to more... abrasive measures. But fear not, we will get our information." The Agent said, tapping his comm node pinned to his lapel.

"We're going to need a Confessor for this one." He said simply.

---

The Agent interviewing Maximus took down the words he spoke. "You serve the God-Emperor of Mankind, interesting considering no such emperor exists, at least, in any common terminology." The Agent said, regarding the General a moment. Perhaps he was part of a radical Imperial Aschen sect, as some regarded the Divine Shadow as a God-Emperor, but that was an obscure name that was rarely mentioned.

"Who sent you, why did you attack those mercenaries? Tell me, General. Where are you from?" The Agent asked, taking some notes in the Aschen language. "If you will not reveal any further information, that is your choice, but I would rather not escalate our interrogation methods."

---

Commander Magus offered a nod. "I'll send a Raptor down to pick Puma up then, and we'll transfer it and yourself back to your ship. The two prisoners will probably be taken to Langara so they can be processed by the Confessor Cabal."

"Thank you Sir" Carolina replied to Magus. She liked him already. He reminded her a little of the Councilor. The Directors Right Hand Man. And yet this man seemed nicer and a bit more ontop of things. She did not want to know what a Confessor was. As far as her job went, she was done and deserved a break.

"Like I said sir, it was a pleasure. If you need aid, look me up, I'm either of the Kill It With Fire or the Ready or Not. Both ships are normally docked at a Orbital Platform. Which they should be about now. A Pelican Patrol was to meet up with us on the ground. Again, thank you sir." She did not want to keep him distracted from his duties too long.

Inside the holding cell another slender female figure was seen standing just on the other side of the energy field watching the Commissar. Standing besides her was Commander Magus.

"So this is the prisoner? The other one is being transferred to this holding block?" She asked, and regarded the Commissar for a moment. Commander Magus nodded. "Yeah, the other one's resisting transfer, trying to escape." He said, and the woman nodded. "The one in the cell is the smarter one of the two. The Divine Shadow will want to assess their purpose here, their reason for being sent here, and then see that they are returned from where they came. However I'm concerned that this is a vangard for a larger invasion force."

"Prepare your ship for the arrival of the Gigashadow." Nagala said, and the Commander nodded, before he departed, and the Admiral adjusted her dark blue uniform, before she stepped into the cell, and then she moved to sit down on a bench.

"Do you smoke?" The Admiral asked, withdrawing a fumerello from her breast pocket.

"Getting out is only half the fun, but twice the work." A gruff voice echoed from a somewhat isolated corner of the bar. There sat an older, rugged looking man.

He set his emerald green drink down on the wooden table of the bar itself, sliding the glass forward and flagging down yet another glass of the liquid, before he brought his attention to Tenna and the group of people surrounding him.

"One of the most wanted men in the Empire and you choose Gambit's of all places to hide." He added, while he downed yet another drink.

"Any fugitive worth his salt would put as much distance between him and the Empire as possible." The man added. He wasn't overtly Aschen in appearance, clad in a black uniform adorned with rank insignia and other pins. Of course the Aschen Empire had changed it's uniforms in recent times, moving away from blue, to black uniforms.

"It's not just fugitives from the Empire that seem to hide here, but fugitives in General." The man added. "For someone who claims to know their crimes, you look pretty dumb to me."

Tenna's eyes went a bit vacant as the gruff voice of the Commander bit into the conversation. Of all the people he might have expected, this one was special, and not exactly in a pleasant way.

"Commander Magus, of the Reverence-class, Chariot of Fire. I've heard much about you, but sadly I've only ever had the honor of speaking with Admiral Nagala. What's life like aboard the flying whales nowadays for you O-country folks?" He chuckled softly, then let himself relax a bit more as the Commander's words about steering clear of the Empire for safety's sake. The notion would have kept him safe, to some degree, and he'd certainly been out and about of late, but if anywhere was his home, it would be here in Wing City. If nothing else, there were plenty of spit-off planets to jump to as needed in an escape.

"Better to hide among my enemies then be stranded in the wastes out between the stars. Plus, if you're aiming to apprehend me for the money, I think we may wish to reconvene at a later date. I'm not exactly keen on being cuffed today, though I should thank you for the offer."

Looking at Claire, he could only smile a bit more and wink. "Lass, I wouldn't be too worried about no hole being dug. At this point, I'm digging 'em sideways into the walls of the one I started when I joined up with UCON years back. It's only gotten deeper." He sighed a bit, acting almost wistful at the memories one would expect, but he kept himself sharp, should anyone make a move he wasn't happy with. And though he felt in power of the situation, there was always a nagging feeling in his brain telling him to run.

Bravado could only take a man so far, after all.

"And Cap'n, I'm afraid that the Solitude might be about as big as your Redemption. At just over 30 meters, she's a hair bigger than your hold, I'd wager. Plus, you wouldn't want a pair of Marenian's packed so close to your hull. The ion spray they release can get a bit erratic around another ship's electromagnetic signature, so docking in flight would likely burn off a good portion of anything it hits." He shrugged apologetically. "If you ever need an escort, though, I could make a pretty decent decoy, though ten percent wouldn't be much to cover the task."

"Ah my good fellow, then we can focus on what you find yourself misinfomed, the hold of the Redemption is quite massive. I can carry up to 35 passengers and their gear, plus ten crew. Hell, I got six hovermules in there I need to sell off to make space for other cargo to transport on jobs for MarsCorp. Food supply is good as well. Redemption ain't that small friend." Kuyden said.

30 meters ey, that could come in handy. "Dependin' on the job, and how many crew I got, most of the money I make go into keeping Redemption runnin'" Kuyden said thoughtfully, "Assumin' I don't make a full crew, I still need gunhands as well. She's got four gunmounts on her, just need to have them install." He smiled then, "All is good thought I think. Assumin' you mean what you say. Dependin' on what takes after us, I can pay up to 30% on the intake pay of the job in question of when we need a decoy. I think you'd like the job, yes ?"

He turned back to the bar, voice going low as he spoke to Tenna "though, All things considered, I think you'd be best off joinin' m'crew for your own safety, you're best off on the move. Best possible option. Goin' for your ship might get you targeted by those huntin' for you." He said thoughtfully. He was not going to press his case if Tenna did not want the job.

Storm-Shadow looked around the bar at the different people who started talking. He sensed the hostilities starting to flare and he let out a sigh. His HUD started to scan everything again, checking for weak points. His HUD also highlighted everyone with different colors depending on the kind of threat they posed.

"Let's not do anything rash, everyone. At least, not inside this fine establishment." he said, his voice as monotonous and intimidating as ever as it rang out across the bar as if coming from the shadows themselves. "I suggest taking all hostilities outside." he said, reiterating his previous statement. His hand hovered near his blast pistol, which set to stun at the moment.

"Sideways? That's a novel concept, I'm surprised you know what the light of day looks like." Claire replied to Tenna picking up her now finally delivered drink. "Who said I was worried about the likes of you?" She continued sipping on her drink. " Besides I think he likes the work of digging in shit." Claire added to the Commander's comment.

"This is neither hostile nor, rash. Hostile is getting thrown through a window, being shot at, or at the very least a drink thrown at you." She grumbled hearing Storm-Shadow's comment. Claire was all too familiar with what was hostile, and she had little intent of getting mixed up in a brawl, but would defend herself if push came to shove.

Opening the basement door and shutting it behind him, Adam Ruin shifted the white cloak that hung around his neck from around his arm, striding to lean against the bar. Laying a massive hand on the wood, he rather relished the creak it gave as he settled weight against it, raking the crowd with a withering glare. From his sheer size and build, it was nearly impossible to mistake, given his watchful gaze, that security had just arrived.

The Fallen might have stood without a weapon in front of this crowd, but one wasn't needed when a punch from him could send a car through a wall. For now, however, the man merely watched the crowd, scowling deeply at the man who's hand hovered all to readily near his gun,, shaking his head slowly in a firm negative should he glance over.

"I'm not keen on apprehending nobody, at least. Not here." He said, downing another drink. "Divine Shadow's made it clear that Gambit's is off limits for anyone not on R and R, or there to simply enjoy a drink." He said, chuckling.

"The same can't be said for the LDA kill-team parked outside the bar ready to put a charged particle beam through your skull." He said, swishing the emerald green liquid in his glass, offering a nod to the Gambit's Security.

"But I'd wager so long as you're here. You're safe. Once you're out there though, in Wing City, all bets are off. Fortunately for you, cashing in bounties isn't part of my job description." Magus added.

He then turned to Storm Shadow. "This isn't your fight, I'd stay out of it if I were you... for your own personal safety."