The Motivation:- Friends and Foes

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MikeAngora
Militia Lieutenant
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Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:19 am

Prologue

"Attention Commonwealth ships; this is Ares Commune Beta-Z-Gamma, you are approaching a civilian commune of the Ares Orthodoxy. We are unarmed civilians and we bear no enmities with anyone so you are requested to proceed due East and desist from approaching."
"Ares Commune Beta-Z-Gamma, this is Viper Leader of the Commonwealth Fleet; you are ordered to surrender yourselves to the Commonwealth or face brutal torture before a very slow and agonizing death! Ha! ha! ha!."
"Viper leader negative! There are women and children on this Commune! As per the war treaty between Mars Serra and the United Earth Arcology, you are prohibited from engaging civilian communes! You can scan our commune, we are unarmed, I say again, we are unarmed!"
"War treaty my foot! Admiral Decker requires your pretty little faces to decorate his living room!"
"Somebody help us! We are being attacked! help! hel..."
"Don't you cry little girl, I'll take real good care of ya! Ha! Ha! ha! ha!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

En Route to Eta Ceti
Sanctuary System
Les Amis Et Les Ennemis

"Welcome to the Sanctuary system everyone!" I announced happily to my Marauders. Everyone responded joyfully and the Heavy I.A.V gunships spread out into multiple 'V' formations.
We were 33 ships in all, including 30 Heavy I.A.Vs, Tychus' Molotok V heavy gunship, Nova's Super-Wolfen and my Manticore Heavy Gunship.
Jenna and Sally, Nova's adopted apprentices, were both in a single I.A.V and were the loudest of the group, chatting about everything they could think of.
This was the first time most of them had traveled so far into human space so Sanctuary was a totally new experience for them.

"Mike, I still don't get your squadron's obsession with Starwars 3DVs. You've been watching the films since we left the Battle Arena." Nova asked as we cleared away from the star-gate.
"With you not, the force is, wicked pilgrim of Domina." Tychus laughed back in a squeaky voice.
"The force? Are you kidding me Tychus?" Nova mocked
"Yeah, commander November no like the force! She's a female Darth Vader!" yelled Carlos from his I.A.V.
"Female Darth Vader! Ha! ha! Ha! You heard the man honey! He's right!" I laughed almost hysterically but I stopped when Nova illuminated my Manticore with an XM900.
"One 'Ha' away from destruction War-wolf. My Lucifer missiles love Manticore meat!"

We continued our chatter as we passed through the system and we could see lots of other Commonwealth ships and stations in the distance, including a Sisters of Domina Temple- our destination.
This was not the first time I was going to visit the St Josephine's mission in Sanctuary, but I imagined a lot would've changed since my last visit a few years ago.
We were about to align our ships with the station's orbit pattern before commencing the plasma-burn toward it, when my communications officer reported a weak signal coming from the outer areas of the system.

"What is it Kevin?" Nova asked.
"Madam, it's a distress signal from grid-ref Hotel-8-7-Niner-Tango. A station of some sort is under attack, they're requesting immediate assistance. Must be Ares ships."
"How many light minutes? Kev?"
"Around five. We're within warp-range. Should we... it could be a trap sir, we have no Commonwealth stations in that region."
"Maybe, but let's find out. Marauders, prepare to warp! Let's put those new heavy I.A.Vs of yours to the test. I'll do a recon before we attack 'en masse'." I ordered and my squadron turned their ships.
"On our Mark everyone." declared Sally and Jenna. "Mark!!!"

The warp lasted for around two and half minutes and we appeared within a thousand miles of the station. We noticed green blips surrounding it and therefore assumed it to be safe.
"Green blips sir. They're Commonwealth Britannia gunships but they're attacking the station! It's a civilian commune! The station is no longer broadcasting the distress signal- it might be too late sir." Kevin yelled.
I became suspicious of this and ordered my squadron to stand back as I went in to investigate.
"Honey if you see a yellow blip heading towards me, you guys kill the origin of that blip. Capish?" I instructed November.
"Copy that War-wolf. Marauders standing by."

I quickly approached the station and noticed up to seven Britannia class heavy gunships pounding the little commune with Katana fire and XM900s. The outer shell had already exploded but the Britannias didn't cease from firing until I got there.
"Attention Manticore class gunship, this is Viper Leader of the Commonwealth Fleet; state your intentions." the lead Britannia announced.
"Viper Leader this is War-wolf flight of the Marauder Squadron; I have no hostile intentions. Why are you attacking a civilian commune? This is against the Commonwealth Mandate of the U.E.A-Mars Serra Treaty!" I replied.
"We're attacking these pests by orders of the C.S.C Terra! Stay out of it War-wolf!" he yelled back.
Suddenly the station's radio lit up.
"War-wolf! You must have got our distress signal! Please help us. We are not hostile Ares, we are civilians! There are women and children on this commune! We're holed up in the strong rooms in the center of the station! Please help!" a young female voice cried.
"Viper leader, I demand you stop this madness immediately!" I roared.
"I demand you shove my XM900 up your butt! We're taking these girls to the Terra for the entertainment of Admiral Decker and his senior officers." the leader laughed back and the seven Britannias immediately formed up against me.
The computer alerted me of 14 XM900 warheads illuminating the ship.
"What? Decker is sending out goons to attack Ares civilians? This doesn't make sense! We have plenty of brothels in the C.W, why unarmed Ares Communes?" I asked firmly.
"We're not goons Mr. Pussy-wolf, we're Task Force One-eighteen and it's none of your business why The Boss wants these Ares turds for breakfast! Wait a damn minute! Your ship signature says you're a Fleet Lieutenant, why do you give a @#$! about these Ares turds anyway?"
I ignored just about everything he said except for his referring to Decker as 'The Boss'- Decker had officially taken over my father's position as the Emperor of the Commonwealth!

"Admiral Decker is 'The Boss'? Isn't Commander Roland Anderson the Emperor of the C.W?" I asked back even as lasers scanned my ship inch by inch.
"He was the boss! You don't read the news much do you mate? The boss was killed by his own son apparently. Thankfully, the bastard and his squadron were killed by Point Juno people shortly afterwards. Anyways, enough time wasted. Disengage your Lucifers fellas, he's one of us. Please get out of here and let us do our jobs lieutenant sir. We've got to take these ladies back to the Terra." he replied in a calmer tone.
"Look Viper, I cannot allow you to attack these civilians. It's against basic moral principles and against the C.W mandates. Disengage from the station and return to base." I said and slowly inched my finger towards my weapons console.
The Britannia pilot was taken aback and became silent for a few minutes.
"We have our orders lieutenant! We also have orders to use force against anyone who tries to stop us. This is the last time I'm saying this, get away from here!" he thundered back.
"Your 'orders' are against C.W Mandates! I'm saying this for the last time too Captain. Desist from your actions." I reciprocated his tone.
"Hey! Wait just a god damn minute! Now I recognize that voice! You're Anderson's son! Not just a murderer, but also a bloody coward eh? First abandoning the Europa and then abandoning your squadron in Point Juno and running away! There's a million Rin prize on his head fellas- dead or alive! Take him!" he screamed.
The Britannias were about to unleash their terror on me but suddenly found themselves surrounded by 30 fully armed Heavy I.A.V gunships along with a Wolfen and a heavily modified Molotok Bounty Hunter.
"You see partner, you got one little fact wrong. The squadron in question, is very much alive." Tychus laughed
"You no kill zee inno-cent people on zee station amigo. Izz a ve-vy bad idea!" Carlos reiterated.
"You bloody band of turds! You're siding with the Ares!! Just like that son'ova'bitch Calvin Taylor! Bloody loonies!" the Britannia pilot replied angrily but his men were becoming very hesitant.
"Tell your men to disarm their weapons and surrender. You can expect mercy in return Captain." Jenna declared firmly.
"We're Commonwealth Marine pilots you bloody s**t! When Admiral Decker finds out about this you'll be getting violated just like these Ares girls in this commune!" he snarled back.
"Hey guys? Did he just call my sister a s**t?" Sally fumed angrily.
"It seems he did darling, it seems he did. Make it quick please." I said and floated away to dock with the burning commune.

Of the seven Britannias of Task Force One-Eighteen, five joined their Captain and exploded violently into many pieces while two immediately disarmed and surrendered. We quickly confiscated their gunships and arrested them for questioning. This was the first time in my life that I had ordered the destruction of any Commonwealth military ship.
I thought about Calvin and wondered if he was also faced with a similar group of Decker's goons when he was investigating an Ares Commune with the C.S.C Antarctica.
My squad-mates also docked with the commune and we charged in with weapons on standby but quickly put them down when greeted by a cheering crowd of young men, women and children.

A young lady approached us and thanked us profusely.
"We're a small group of scientists studying the outer planets of this system. Our men have gone on a research mission to a nearby exoplanet and are due to return in a few days." she declared even as the small community of people showered us with ticker-tapes and revelries. Martians were very similar looking to the Commonwealth humans with the exception of slightly pointy ears and sharper complexions. They were also very much ethnically diverse, some had Asian features, some were fair, some were dark and some were mixed like me.
This was the first time any of us had ventured into Ares property without hostile intent and we were completely mesmerized by the amount of love we were getting. We were seated around a large rectangular metal table with a seating capacity of at least fifty people.
They offered us the only food they had left after the Britannias attacked and we jumped at the opportunity to try out 'real' Martian food (the only Martian consumable that we had tried before was Nori but that was for, ahem, 'recreational' purposes).

"What is an Ares commune doing alone at the edge of the system madam?" one of my pilots asked as the food was being served.
"Please, it's Anita. We're not involved with the warring Ares communes located in the main solar system. We belong to a splinter group of the Ares Orthodoxy and we have officially declared an end to hostilities with the Commonwealth. We've put several proposals before the main Ares command for peace but your people keep on attacking our communes and the Orthodoxy has no option but to continue waging war." she replied.
"We are sorry for the actions of our people Anita. We're trying to find out who and what is responsible for this and I promise to do whatever we can. Anita you said you belong to a splinter group?" Nova asked curiously. Actually all of my team became very curious at this statement. Calvin Taylor had mentioned working for some Ares splinter group in our last encounter with him.
"Yes November, we are loyal to Akira Gorba..."

Anita was about to reply but was stopped by a thunderous sound coming from just outside the station.
"Jet Blasts!!! Sir, it's the two Britannias!!!" my men screamed and we ran towards our ships.
"But how?? I had them locked down with lasers!!" I screamed back.
Sure enough, the two Britannia gunships we had captured were accelerating away from the station.
"God damn it Mike! If those two reach any C.W station they'll signal Decker! Everything will be over!" Nova screamed as everyone literally threw themselves into their ships and began pursuit.
Britannias were very powerful ships but thankfully for us, this power had come at a cost- speed. Nova's Wolfen was the fastest ship in our squadron and she zoomed ahead of us towards the Britannias in the distance before unleashing her arsenal of XM900s and incapacitating them. She docked with one of the Britannias and ran inside.
We also caught up and Jenna, Sally and Gordon docked with the other Britannia while Tychus and I joined Nova.

The young pilot lay on the floor with a single bullet wound in his chest. I quickly recovered his broken laser cuffs and gasped in horror.
"These are uranium based laser handcuffs! You need a lead cutter and an hour to break though these without chopping your damn hands off!" I yelled.
"Damn straight Nova! Mike's right... he's broken these babies like weaving thread." Tychus remarked as Nova searched around the cockpit.
"Commander Mike! Sir! Tychus! Nova! Get here now!" Gordon radioed from the other wreck.

We ran inside and saw the pilot bleeding profusely from his mouth but he was still breathing and whispering something.
Gordon, Sally and Jenna stood around him with their weapons ready to fire at a moment's notice.
"Wait! What? What are you saying Marine?" I said and slapped the young man on his cheeks in an attempt to revive him.
All of a sudden his began to glow red and he began to breathe heavily. Everyone took a step back reflexively.
"You shalt not stop my condemnation of this world! Everything you hold dear is just a dream granted by me!! Death is the only reality for you and now it is time to wake up!! Fus Roh Dah!!!" he spat the words out of his mouth and then abruptly slumped dead to the floor.
I couldn't make heads or tails of what he was on about and looked curiously at Nova who seemed have frozen at the young man's statement.

"Michael, this was no human voice!" she screamed as if she'd seen a ghost and stumbled back but We quickly caught hold of her.
"Nova? What's wrong? Do you know this??" Tychus asked.
"Yes... The dark lord speaks from beyond... The Penitent signals Dr. Morgental mentioned... "
"What? Nova? Who do you think possessed this man?" I asked impatiently.


"Oracus..." she whispered.
"Umm, I'm sorry I just killed your officer Akira, but he was getting on my nerves''
"Can I take his ship now?"

Calvin E. Taylor to Akira Gorbachev, the daughter of Ares Chief Admiral Vasily Gorbachev, after brutally killing one of her Tundra pilots.
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DigaRW
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Wo...who...who...whoa what?
O...o....o...ra...cus?
That is shocking plot twist...
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TheLoneWolf
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Fus Ro Dah. Unrelenting force, it means. Its translation is "Force, Balance, Push". These were first heard around Whiterun after fighting a dragon, and then in Bleakfalls Barrow. Thats in Skyrim. These are thus sorta holy words, or unique words. Unique to the Dovakiin (the Dragonborn), Dragon Priests, the Greybeards and their pupils (like Ulfric Stormcloak). For Oracus to speak they are not. And may the force be with you, young Mikey.
MikeAngora
Militia Lieutenant
Militia Lieutenant
Posts: 121
Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:19 am

400hrs
Sanctuary System
"Losing Faith"

Prologue
---Setting---
5 Britannias escorting a single Aurochs class transport through a bright, pink and red colored nebula.

"Sierra one this is Sierra 2; it's getting damn quiet here boss. I'm feeling a little nervous."
"Sierra 2, just shut up and fly your damn ship! It's just a stupid nebula."
"Sierra leader this is Bison transport; the kid's right Colonel, it's pretty damn quiet for a nebula. I'm feeling the cold boss."
"Calm down everyone... It's a god damn... "

-Lead Britannia explodes- all ships fly around randomly searching for the unknown enemy ship.
"You should be feeling the cold you fat turd! In fact, you're about to get a Frostbite deep up your hole!" a cold and raspy voice declares and the four other Britannias also violently explode.
"Ba... ba...ba... wha, wha, what da da da do you want tuh-tuh?"
"Your bodies on a skewer if you don't hand over those Ares civilians you got in there. Honestly, I prefer the first option ha! ha! ha!" the unknown voice declared, still hidden from the Aurochs.
"Na na na no! Wait! Take the cargo! Let us live... Please! We were just carrying out orders by Admiral Decker. He, he's capturing Ares civilians to keep the war going. He's your enemy! Leave us alone!"
"Ha! Decker! So you're Decker's pets. Okay, I'll spare your life. Eject all of the civies into the nebula in their escape capsules. If even one remains..."
"No! We'll eject all of them! Ejecting now!"
50 cylindrical escape capsules eject into the nebula and disappear.
"Good... Say your last words Commonwealth scum!"
"Wait! You said you'll spare our lives!"
"Awww... I lied. It hurts to be lied to, don't it?"
---Aurochs explodes violently---
"Get some coffee stupid droid! Make it extra strong..."

---
Captain's Log
Commander Michael Wales Anderson
Order of Saint Josephine Mission
Sisters of Domina Monastery
Marauder Flight Docked

We had returned to the Ares Commune that we had rescued and briefed Anita about the turn of events. We gifted them some of the equipment we recovered from the Britannias and also left a few of our spider repair droids to help rebuild the station before departing to the Sisters of Domina to discuss the strange signals being sent by the Penitents to the Heretic system. We also had to discuss the stuff the dying Britannia pilot said.

The Sisters of Domina temple was a very large space station built around a crystal asteroid. The asteroid gave out very large but strangely 'safe' radio signatures and caused a gentle hum to resonate throughout the station. We landed on the cream colored docking pads and were greeting by five women in blood-red two-piece gowns that trailed behind them. Their heads were covered with the same garment. They were holding golden plates with burning incense and flower petals in their hands.
As we all disembarked from our ships they came forward and began to sprinkle the flower petals over us and the leading lady pulled out a Longzu sphere and waved it in the air.
"Welcome children of Domina. Sister November, what a pleasure it is to have you. The Holy Mother awaits you in the Chrysalis." she announced- pointing to a large opening that led directly into the crystal asteroid. I was a little confused as to how she knew Nova but then assumed it to be a 'spiritual' connection for pilgrims.
We accepted the small ritual and followed the women into the aqua-blue crystal tunnel.
"Psst! Hey Mike, are you noticing the size of these ladies'..." Tychus began to whisper.
"Quit it Tychus!"
"Nah Boss, he's got a point, just look at those..."
"God damn it Andy shut up! The lot of you! We're not here to flirt with nuns... Now shut up and keep walking!"
Actually, I was barely managing to control my eyes myself but the mere sight of Nova's rage filled eyes made me feel like I'm their brother.

Along the way, many other sisters in pink, green and purple clothes passed us and greeted us with a 'Glory to the Holy Mother'.
After nearly ten more agonizing minutes of walking we reached a large crystal chamber which was decorated with bright red banners and golden ornaments of all kinds. There were many sofas and cushions neatly placed like in a normal church.
In farther end of the pulpit, an old lady sat in a similar two-piece with a dark ruby crown on her head. There was a burning aura around her, almost as if she was on fire. He eyes glowed blue and I could even see light coming out of her body.
"Welcome my children..." she announced as we were motioned to get down on our knees before the throne.
The mother had a very strange aura about her and her voice seemed to echo and resonate as if she was under some divine spell. It immediately sent waves of comforting energies surging through the hall.
"Great Mother, it is my most noble honor to be in your presence!" Nova declared with teary eyes. Jenna and Sally, also teared up upon seeing their mentor.
"November Gwendolyn Caesar... It seems you are fulfilling your penance very honorably. You have brought the daughters of Domina with you. Keep your heart strong and wait for the arrow that is due to pierce it." she replied but her face fell into a small frown. She stepped down to Nova, Sally and Jenna and brushed her old wrinkled hands on their cheeks.
She then looked to Jenna and her began to tear. She kissed Jenna's face and rubbed her own tears on her forehead.
"Jenna Faith Caesar, blessed are you among the children of Domina. An innocent flower among many thrones, Domina has chosen you for a divine purpose." She whispered and Jenna gave an innocent smile.
"Holy mother, I have found my destiny with November, with Sally and with my family. I choose to stay with them forever." Jenna replied and wrapped her arms around a willing Nova.

The Mother smiled and then receded back into a small chamber behind the pulpit. Some sisters gathered around us and led us to the upper floors but took Nova, Sally and Jenna into the Holy Mother's Chambers. My team became somewhat hesitant at this but I calmed them down.
One of the sisters lead the my and my 29 men into a medium sized hall filled with spacious beds and decorated with red colored curtains and gold, and silver ornaments.
There were two space facing balconies that allowed a gentle starlight to trickle into the room.
We didn't waste time and my squadron huddled together in the center.
"Okay Andy. What do we have?" Tychus said to our communications officer.
"The crew of the Europa has reached the Mafia planet as planned sir. They've begun constructing a base for us in Eta Ceti. I had a word with Lord Mihko too. He's sent Molotok Bounty Hunters to protect the planet until we get there."
"Fantastic! What else?"
"Sir, there was an incident a few days ago here in Sanctuary. Another one of Decker's Task forces vanished in mid space near the Bermuda Nebula. A Sotho class gunship was passing through that area and noticed some green blips disappear and when he reported the matter it turned to be the last recorded position of Task Force 3-71."
"Ares ships sir? A Phobos maybe?" Carlos suggested.
" Negative Carl, There was no Ares signature in that area. It seems the ships just vanished into the nebula."
Tychus looked up morbidly at me.
"Mikey, do you think?"
"It cannot be! Taylor was in Point Juno trying to get the Lamplighter from the Europa!" I squirmed.
"Taylor? Sir? Calvin Taylor? The man who killed Chuck?" Gordon asked.
"Yes Gordy. Tychus could be right sir, he's probably hiding in the nebula." remarked Val, our ship maintenance expert.
"There's only one way to find out. Tychus and Gordon, we're going out to the nebula to investigate. The rest of you are gonna stay here and make sure Nova, Sally and Jenna don't get word of our expedition." I ordered.
"But sir, wait! Taylor is after your head for what happened in Lone Wolf Walking! He won't even spare your hair!" warned Jason.
"I know he won't do it Jase. Tychus and I know Taylor since we were in diapers. If he wanted me dead, I'd be dead already." I said and we got up.
"Is the feeling mutual Commander? If you wanted him dead?"
"I don't want him dead Jason, I didn't want him dead in Lone Wolf Walking."

My team freshened up and quickly ran back into the main hall where we had met the Holy Mother. There was a large gathering in the hall with hundreds of sisters in red gowns standing and chanting 'Hail Domina, mother of God!' repeatedly and in unison.
I saw Nova, Sally and Jenna kneeling at the feet of the Holy mother in pure white gowns. I assumed it to be an initiation ceremony for Sally and Jenna.
We watched in amazement as many of the sisters began to scream and shout loudly and some began to speak in strange tongues, while others laughed or cried hysterically.
"Must be Martian Nori boss." one of my men whispered.
"I'm worried about my Nova and my girls. What the hell are these ladies doing?!" I replied.
"OUR Nova and OUR girls Boss!"
"Damn straight! If anything happens to em, I'm gonna strip every single onna..."
"I'm mainly worried about Jenna." Gordon snorted and everyone immediately gave him a curious stare.
"I mean, Jenna, Sally and November ma'am" he snickered
"We'll discuss this on the way to the nebula Gordy boy." Tychus laughed.

The ceremony was not ending anytime soon so I decided to take the chance.
"This is it boys, now is the chance. Tychus and Gordon, we're going! The rest of you just stay around and if anyone asks, tell them we're gone shopping!" I said and I ran off.
"Shopping!!? Frigging Shopping Boss?? What, is there a Walmart a couple of miles from here?? Seriously?!" Val screamed but we didn't look back.


------------- ------------------- ------------------- Meeting with an old friend --------------- ------------------- --------------

The nebula was relatively small compared to the other large nebulae in the system, probably a few light days in diameter at the most.
As our three ship squadron approached the humongous gas cloud, we turned on our anti-static charge systems to avoid getting struck by space lightening.
Once inside the cloud, everything became deathly silent and all light from space became blurred by the large smoky pink clouds.
'Come on! Where are you?!' I thought to myself and suddenly noticed a small light moving in the distance.
"Look alive boys, I detect activity at our 1 O'clock."
"Tally ho! I see it Mikey. Taylor is a master hacker and may try to get into our ships. Turn off your comm systems now, we communicate with hand signals now." Tychus whispered.
"No, I want him to find us. Keep comm systems on and beaming. He's around us, I can feel him." I whispered back.
It was getting deathly silent now and even our ships came down to a gentle hum.
"Hey Boss?" Gordon whispered. "I wanna ask you something."
"Go ahead War-wolf 3"
"If we make it out alive, I wanna tell you that I love Jenna and I wanna marry her."
"What?? Have you told her? Have you asked November?" I almost screamed.
"Yes, November Ma'am says I should ask you. Jenna loves me too boss."
"Have you, umm..." Tychus asked coyly.
"Yes, but only once. I swear!" Gordon fumbled.
"Gordon, you have my blessing. You can marry Jenna when we..."
As I was speaking, we heard a loud bang and a flash of light in the distance.
" ' IF ', Mikey boy! 'IF' you make it back!" a deathly voice thundered and we immediately stopped our ships.
"Evade! Evade! Evade!" Tychus screamed and a ball of blue lightening screamed past us, immediately bringing our shields down to almost 30%.

"Well, well, well; look at who we have here. If it isn't baby Anderson with groucho Tychus. And what's this? You've brought another lamb for the slaughter it seems. I've been waiting for you ha! ha! ha!" the voice thundered in our ships.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the abandoned sewer rat. Oh, and enough with the whole 'phantom in the dark' thing Cally. Someone who boils little kids alive is about as manly as a drag queen!" Tychus thundered back with not a single shred of fear in his voice.
"Calm down Tychus... I'm not here to fight him." I replied calmly.
"I wanna bring your shields down a little more Anderson. I want to see you weak and helpless, just like you left me." the voice echoed again.
"Come on out in the open Taylor. Cowards fire arrows from hidden castle walls. I know you're not a coward, come on out." I replied.
"Come out? You don't deserve to see me you wretched piece of @#$!!" his voice crackled like lightening on the radio.
"You're right Taylor. I don't deserve to see you but I wanna talk to you brother. I'm here to say I'm sorry. I'm disarming my weapons and lowering my landing-pads."
"Mike! Have you gone mad??! He's gonna cook us!" Tychus yelled angrily.
"He can cook us right now Tychus. Just trust me, and do exactly what I'm doing." I replied.
"You have me at my weakest Taylor. You can fire that beam whenever you're ready but just give me a chance to speak." I announced.

There was complete silence on the radio, so silent that I began to expect my death at any moment.

"What the fack do you want Anderson?!"
"I want to say I'm sorry Calvin. I'm sorry for what happened that day. I had no choice."
"Sorry?! You're god damn sorry?! Your Britannia flew off by itself, leaving me and my brothers to die? Are you even listening to yourself!!"
"Decker would've declared us traitors Calvin! I couldn't have let you go down as a traitor! The Terra would've been destroyed by Gorbachev's Phobos!"
"Those who break orders are garbage! Those who abandon their comrades are worse than garbage! Decker deserved death that day! He and the Terra deserved it! For all he did, for all the lives he took and for all the people he destroyed!...... For the hopes and dreams he took away!"
"What about those innocent people on the Terra Calvin? Did they deserve to die too?"
"Garbage cannot venture forth it's litter-bin can it? If the Terra had been destroyed that day, it would've been a different today! Those people were a small sacrifice for the greater good!"
"A small sacrifice? Like you boiled Chuck alive??"
"There you go again! Caring for your @#$! precious ones! That @#$! had it coming Anderson! Where has abandoning me got you huh? You're still a freaking fugitive! Oh and by the way baby boss, I didn't kill him! He killed himself! If I wanted to kill you and your band of little girls, I'd have done it ages ago!"
"Taylor, we have bigger things to worry about than our petty conflict! Decker is attacking innocent Ares civilians and even using captured Ares ships to kill Commonwealth civilians to keep his war going! There's also some ancient god or alien known as Oracus who's posing a threat to all of humanity! You are merely concerned with revenge!"
"Oh, so after being declared a traitor and with no friends left to hide behind, baby boss sees a bigger picture! You are merely a hindrance to my greater redemption for humanity! You and your girlfriend Decker didn't just take away my life Anderson... You took away the only thing I had left to live for... you took away Aki..."
"Akira Gorbachev... Admiral Vasily Gorbachev's daughter. Oh my God! Decker kille..."
"Shut up you piece of @#$!! Don't say her name with your filthy mouth! Do it one more time and I'll have your pretty little November handing naked from my Frostbite! Oh, and don't test my ability Mikey, I've had my eyes on you since you formed your chickenshit squadron!"

The mention of Nova's name suddenly sent shivers down my spine. He had my family in his sights all along!
"Don't get personal Calvin! Your enmity is with me! Leave my family alone!"
"Just like you left mine alone Anderson! Say your final words!" Taylor thundered and unleashed a volley of the blue light streams.
Tychus and Gordon immediately evaded and sped towards the direction of light, firing their weapons randomly at the source.
"No! No! Stop! Do not attack him! Tychus! Gordon stop!!"
"Common Anderson! Get even! Fight me!" Taylor cried as his Frostbite Class Advanced Gunship finally came into view. It was a majestic ship to say the least.
Tychus and Gordon were landing rounds on him but neither were his shields getting scratched, nor was he firing back at them.
"Call back your dogs and fight me like a man Michael or I'll put the bad dogs down!"
"Tychus and Gordon stop firing now!" I ordered and they finally relented.
"Damn it Mike! He's here to kill us and you demand we stop??" Tychus screamed.

I now had Taylor in my cross-hairs and my upgraded Mark VII howitzer was fully armed and ready. Taylor immediately turned down his shields and looked at me through the cockpit.
"I have my shields down Anderson... Common finish it! Your Mark 7 can rip me to shreds! Finish where you began Michael! Kill me!! Kill me or I'll fire first!" he screamed.
"Do it boss! Kill him!" Gordon yelled.
"Do it Mike! This is our one chance!" Tychus also yelled.
"No..." I declared. "I killed my brother once, I won't do it again. I will not shoot." I finished and Tychus, Gordon and Taylor himself hurled abuses at me.
"I will have fun raping Nova to her bones Michael. I will rip off her skin with my fingers! Do it!"
"Your poisonous words have no meaning to me Taylor. I know you won't do any such thing! I know you won't kill innocents." I replied.
I closed my eyes and tears streamed down from my eyes and wet my space jacket.

Then, at that very moment, my worst fears unfolded before my very eyes. I saw 30 green blips following countless yellow blips heading in our direction.
"November! What the hell are you guys doing here! Get out! Go away!" I screamed but it was too late.
Taylor immediately pulled up his shield to full power and bore the XM900s and Tev-9 beams that hit his ship without any difficulty.
"Calling the girls for help now eh Anderson? You always were a coward! Now face my wrath!" he screamed and maneuvered towards the incoming squadron of Heavy I.A.Vs being led by Nova's Wolfen.
Everyone immediately broke into chaos and the fighting began in earnest but Taylor didn't fire at the squadron. He continued to evade and I tried in vain to stop everyone to shooting him.
After another minute of intense space maneuvering, I finally managed to get the squadron to settle down. Taylor floated a few hundred meters before the assembled squadron.
"I've had enough of this tea party! I want you to witness Decker's destruction Michael! I want you to see me rip his skin off, inch by inch. Then, it shall be your turn!" he declared.

As Taylor's ship slowly began to move backwards, a projectile flew towards our squadron from the direction of his ship and hit a Heavy I.A.V on the nose.


"It's Jenna! She's been hit! Taylor shot at Jenna!"
"Umm, I'm sorry I just killed your officer Akira, but he was getting on my nerves''
"Can I take his ship now?"

Calvin E. Taylor to Akira Gorbachev, the daughter of Ares Chief Admiral Vasily Gorbachev, after brutally killing one of her Tundra pilots.
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You never cease to excite and amaze me, do you?
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Author's Note:

Hi everyone. I wish to dedicate this next chapter to anyone who's lost anyone to God's garden. While writing this next part I felt very upset, almost as if I'm losing someone in real life. Call it author's suffering or foolishness but for a few minutes I actually felt I killed a real girl. :D
My heartfelt love to anyone who's lost someone they love and know that nothing is every truly 'lost'. It merely goes away into "God's great garden" if you choose to believe that.

Cheers
Mike
-----------------------------------

Packing up the dreams God planted
In the fertile soil, of you
I can't believe the hopes He's granted
Means a chapter of your life is through

But we'll keep you close, as always
It won't even seem you've gone
'Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong

And friends are friends forever
If the Lord's the Lord of them
And a friend will not say never
'Cause the welcome will not end
Though it's hard to let you go
In the Father's hands we know
That a lifetime's not too long
To live as friends


'Friends are Friends Forever' by Michael W Smith

Bermuda Nebula
Sanctuary System

"Domina! I summon the power of Desperate Escape! Take us to your temple!" Nova screamed and our entire squadron warped back to the Sisters of Domina Temple.
No one bothered to think about how it all happened and we immediately pulled Jenna's I.A.V to the docking station. Everyone scrambled into the green Heavy I.A.V and rushed to the cockpit.
Jenna was in lying in a pool of blood and barely breathing.
Nova and Sally screamed in horror.
"Genie!! Genie!! No! No! Mike! Mike! My Jenna! My Jenna!" Nova screamed frantically.
"Stop Facking about and get her inside the station! Now!" Tychus ordered and picked up the lifeless body and ran outside into the station.
Everyone was now screaming hysterically and we ran behind Tychus.
The sisters quickly brought out a gurney and we rushed towards the hospital section.
"She's still breathing! Come on! Jenna fight baby! Fight it!" Gordon yelled as he pushed the wheeled bed into the operation theater.

The sisters blocked our team from entering and immediately began their work on my daughter's lifeless body.
Tychus, having served as a battlefield medic also went in.
Nova and Sally were inconsolable and they fell to the ground crying.
"Mike! Tychus! Gordon! Val! Someone please save my baby! I'll die Mike! I'll die! Please just save my baby!" Nova cried out as she held an equally upset Sally close to her.
Gordon himself was beating his hands violently against the wall and screaming.
"God please! God! Save my Jenna!" he yelled.
The entire team followed suit and began to wail to God, to Domina and some to their mothers, anything they could do to awaken their sister, daughter and friend.

I had no one to call to, there was no one for me to cry to, so I stood silently looking at the ICU door and it opened.
Tychus came out with a face that pretty much gave away everything he was trying to hide.
"Michael, we've managed to get her speaking. Everyone please come in right now." he began to announce but Nova and Sally were already inside.
My daughter lay on the white bed with a mask on her face and wires connected to her arms. Everyone knelt down around the bed and tried to speak to her but I stood at the door and stared directly into Jenna's eyes.
Hey eyes opened and upon seeing me, she flashed the brightest smile I had ever seen on her face.
"No, No, Nova " she whispered.
"Genie! Genie, don't do this! You're gonna make it!" Nova cried and gripped Jenna's hands.
"Take care of my sister... You're all she has now..." Jenna barely managed.
"No! Genie! no! It's us! Me and you! Jenna and Sally! We're a team!" Sally cried.
"Gordy, I have always loved you... I always will." she cried and took a deep breath.
Tychus looked into her eyes, "She's going." he said without any emotion.
"Jenna no! Mike said yes Jenna! We can marry! We'll have kids, and, and grand-kids. We'll, have our own house on Incandescence with picket fences and dogs... just like we dreamed!" Gordon cried and kissed my daughter's forehead.
Jenna's breathing became more intense and she struggled with each breath but managed to mention every single one of us by name before finally landing on Tychus and myself.
"Tychus, take care of him. He'll need you now more than ever." she whispered pointing to me. Tychus, having accepting the inevitable, shook his head.
"I didn't regret coming with you even for a minute father. I loved you when you saved my life in Charon, I love today. Thank you for the great adventure."
"I love you too kid. I said yes to Gordon for your marriage kid. I just want you to know that." I was barely able to speak because of that emotional lump in my throat.
"Hey, at least I didn't join some silly pilgrim in the Vanilla to die after a few systems in my Ronin. You gave me a better adventure father."

My daughter reached for Nova and began to gasp for air. Tychus and the sisters of Domina made one last ditch attempt to save her by pressing the electrodes to her chest but it was in vain.
I saw my daughter take her last breaths as everyone broke into eternal weeping, but I didn't weep, I didn't cry. I continued to stare at her face, the smile still on it.
"Call it in Sisters.
Name: Captain Jenna Faith Caesar Anderson,
Designation: Pilot of Korolov Shipping, Captain in the Commonwealth Fleet, Honorable Mafiosi in the Black Market Syndicate and War-Wolf 5 in the Marauder Squadron.
Daughter of: Michael Wales Anderson and November Gwendolyn Caesar.
Time of death: 1400hrs Standard St. Katherine's Time
Place of death: Sisters of Domina, Sanctuary System
It's over folks, she gone." Tychus announced and officially declared the end of my daughter.

Everyone continued to wail but I walked outside and into the docking bays.
I stared into the light filled space, and thousands of stars and galaxies declared their indignation of me. Jenna also appeared in the space before me. She was dancing, playing and laughing with the stars.
I continued to stare but then I felt a freight-liner plow into my back causing excruciating pain. I turned around and another freight-liner flew towards my face and I saw twinkling stars in the darkness.

"He had the chance to kill Taylor! Taylor's shields were down and he didn't fire his howitzer! Had you killed Taylor, Jenna would've been alive!" Tychus screamed and rammed another hard fist into my stomach.
Then it was Gordon's turn. He had a metal baseball bat and he swung it full force at my knee and I fell down from the impact.
"Glad I'm not your kid Commander! Seems you have a habit of killing your loved ones! I LOVED HER MORE THAN YOU DID! SHE WAS MY LIFE ASSHOLE!!" he blasted and hit that same knee again.
I coiled up in the pain but didn't respond.
"Yes, we're all just expendables for him. To be killed for his greater good! Chuck's murderer lived to take away Jenna! You served her on a plate to him!" another Marauder screamed and turn by turn all 30 of them broke down on me with kicks, punches, bats and anything they could get their hands on.
Blood spewed out of my mouth with every hit and I enjoyed every single one.
I did not want to live anymore because it now sunk into me that Taylor was right, I had always been a coward. My inner obsession to be the better man was killing off the people I loved, first Taylor, then Chuck and now my own daughter. I silently begged for death to come with every blow but fate was not so merciful.

I closed my eyes and accepted the beating but then I heard frantic footsteps running towards my direction. It was Nova and Sally with some sisters.
"What? Oh my God! Mike! What the hell do you idiots think you're doing! Stop!" Nova screamed.
"Shut the fack up November! Your boyfriend here had the chance to kill Taylor but he didn't! First he had a chance to save him and he didn't and now he had a chance to kill him and he didn't! He left Taylor to die down there! Not me! I was in a god damn Aurochs carrying the Ares scientists! Michael! You killed our brother and now you killed our daughter! You left Admiral Watson to die! You let Susan put a bullet in her head!!" Tychus screamed furiously and rammed his metal shoes into my gut.
I let out a small sign and prayed for it to be the killing blow but in vain.

"Stop! Stop! Stop this madness Tychus! I've just lost my baby and now you wanna rob me of Mike too?! I don't know what happened back there but I sure as hell know that Mike was not responsible for Jenna's death!" Nova thundered as the 30 men stepped back.
"No, Nova... They're right. I am responsible. Please let me die. Taylor has his sh*t against me, if I die he'll spare you all. Sally, didn't I order Tychus to torture you? Didn't I let your brother get killed? It was me, it was always me! Just let me go for God's frigging sake! LET ME FACKING DIE!!" I yelled and pulled out my weapon and put it to my head but Tychus kicked it away in haste.
She knelt down next to me and pulled my bloodied head into her lap. Sally also knelt down and held my hands.
"No! We're not giving up! Jenna would not have given up! We're taking this fight back to Taylor, back to Decker and all those responsible! We are a family and will do this together! Do you understand this? I said do each of you filthy pieces of sh*t understand this?!!!"

The entire team bowed down their heads and Tychus also knelt down to me.
"Damn straight Mikey... Just what I beat you up for. I just needed this anger to come up from your emotional shell. Taylor Mikey."

" Marauders, I swear by everything I believe in; I swear by sacrifice of my Admiral Frederick Watson and Fleet Lieutenant Matthew Philips; I swear by the sacrifice of my sister Susan Brown, I swear by my eternal love for you, oh November, and I swear by every last breath my dead daughter Jenna took today.... I will rip into a thousand pieces the body of Calvin Taylor! I will make him regret the day he war born! He will beg for death but he shall not be granted it! He will squirm like a wounded worm being picked at by crows! I will..." I said and fainted. Everything went black.
"Umm, I'm sorry I just killed your officer Akira, but he was getting on my nerves''
"Can I take his ship now?"

Calvin E. Taylor to Akira Gorbachev, the daughter of Ares Chief Admiral Vasily Gorbachev, after brutally killing one of her Tundra pilots.
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***BONUS CONTENT***

"Fool!" Decker thundered at the man standing in front of him "I told you to kill Michael, and you killed that stupid space cun..."
He has cut short by a sharp voice "You told me to investigate the destruction of your squads, and kill the one behind it" he began "and when I told you that there was a whole squad in there, you ordered me to kill the ship I gave you the visual of."
"It was a nebula, you great oaf!" Decker rumbled like a mad man, "And one his halfblind in one! But you had killed it before I cancelled my order! And when I told you to kill that bastard, you ran away!"
"My cover was blown. It would have been unwise to linger. Besides, one life was promised, and one was tak..."
"What does the death of a space whore mean to me?"
It was the other man that thundered in response.
"YOU HAD ME MURDER AN INNOCENT, DECKER!"
"And as if I care! Get the f&ck out there again! And kil..."
"I'm going out of here, yes. But not to do your bidding, you piece of @#$!!"
Decker was silent.
"F&cking merc..." Decker muttered, as the man went away.
Even after he had been officially declared the new Supreme Leader of the CW, people didn't obey him. The death of Ronald Anderson had affected human space more than he had ever anticipated. The terror was over. Even his own people refused to obey him as they had obeyed Anderson. People even talked of Michael Anderson, the person who murdered his own father, to be the rightful match for the "throne". But Mike was in hiding. The mere thought of Michael, what plans he was hatching, and what was going to be his next move, were enough to get his temper high.

And then there was that Calvin Taylor. He was a bigger problem than Michael. Michael was dormant, but Taylor was as active as a boiling volcano.

Decker and Anderson Sr. had left him for dead during LWW. But still, the son of a bit survived. Played games in the shadows, he did. Decker didn't know he was alive till too late. The thought sent a chill down his spine. Taylor was one man he didn't want on the opposite side. Originally considered for the position of an Ascender, Calvin Taylor was one of their best tacticians.
Decker had no problem with it. He had himself voted for him to be considered. Taylor hated Roland, and so did he.
But then he stumbled upon the anomaly. That damn slu7 of a daughter of the Ares Leader, Akira by name. That damn @#$! led that damn group. And Taylor figured it all out, with that oaf Helios. He wanted his hands on her. He wanted her thighs to bleed red. He wanted to bit her *coughs* off. He wanted her to squeal, to cry, to pain. He wanted to rekindle the war. But then she was suddenly dead. He had monitored his squad himself. They hadn't hit the main building. They had exterminated the Demios guarding ahead. They had disabled the three orbital buildings. They had killed the guards in front of her office. And yet, they found her dead. A smile on her face. And a hole in her head. He had done it all for nothing.

When he went to the Antartica, he found Tayor getting ready to attack that very station. He found that amusing. He informed Taylor of his act, and yet he held his own off. Decker suspected him.

After LWW, his suspicion stood corrected. In the form of a ROM in Helios' hand. He hadn't anticipated that. Yet, it happened. He placed the ROM infront of the Council. But most of them were his own men. Greedy old fogeys he had bought. Helios lost the plea. And then, when Decker tried to kill him, Taylor's men, his Reapers, saved him.

When he tried to replace Helios, the Antartica went rogue.

***

The man had left Decker for good. He began to think as he entered his trusty Freyr.
"How could I shake hands with HIM?" he cursed.
It was an insult to the memory of his brother, the original owner of the ship. Decker had made him kill, nay, murder an innocent. He had destroyed a life.
And he hated himself for that.

He was thrusing farther and farther from the Terra when two Brits came at his tail.
"The person who blasts the frog out of space first, wins!" one of them shreiked.
He didn't hear them, but he knew what it all meant.
Before they had a chance to react, he had spun around and dispatched them as easily as flies.
He had a special weapon with him. The curtsey of a stranger.

Suddenly, his com lit up.

"My! The effeciency you show with that weapon is fantastic!" a calm, but macilous, voice spoke forth.
"Who the f@ck are you?" the pilot said uncertainly.
The other one ignored him.
"When I ordered it to be made, I didn't think it would be that deadly!"
The Freyr pilot froze. His eyes blew wide open. He was not talking to an ordinary man.
"What do you call it?" the voice asked.
He dare not ignore.
"Akan Flux" he answered.
The voice laughed.
"Its not that."
"What is it then?"
"Its called Maelstorm cannon."
And with that, the Fre9r began to follow the strange Brit into the nebula.
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***BONUS CONTENT***

300hrs Standard St. Kat's Time (S.K.T)
Rogue Fleet Station
Eta Ceti System

"Hey Drake! I see a ship inbound! He's flying at 60% light speed." a young communications officer reports to her superior.
"Is he one of ours Sarah?" Drake, a 40 year old with small white beard and dark complexion snorts back.
"No sir! All of our Centurions and Brits have been accounted for. This one looks very strange."
"Calm down and tell me how many Brits do we have on station?"
"Around 10 sir."
"Okay, dispatch those pilots and intercept the inbound ship. Also put the whole station on yellow alert."
"Roger that sir."

10 Britannia Class heavy gunships rocket out of the large cylindrical station and speed towards the incoming ship.

"Attention unidentified spacecraft; this is Foxtrot leader; you are approaching a restricted spatial periphery. State your intentions."
"Foxtrot, this is the local space marshal, my intentions are very kind. I wanna meet your leader for a business proposal."
"Um, space what? Okay, disarm your weapons and lower your landing pads." the confused Rogue Fleet pilot replies after consulting with his commander.
"You got it partner. I'm approaching." the unknown pilot said as the majestic Frostbite Class Advanced gunship finally appears within eye shot and docks with the station.

As the Frostbite hovers into the hangar, around fifteen fully armored soldiers with large Gauss rifles surround the ship.
A small circular door slow opens underneath the cockpit and a dark figure with a standard military haircut, floats down on a jet of air.
His armor has a black cape attached to it and a large sniper rifle is stripped tightly on his back. A mask covers the lower half of his face and only his crystal green eyes are visible.
Two soldiers immediately frisk the man and order him out of his armor.
"You'll have to leave your armor and weapons inboard your ship sir." a young officer said. The man didn't reply and followed the instructions.
The soldiers then lead the mysterious character to the main meeting area the Commander of the station is sitting down opposite a large black table. The soldiers paint the back of the man's armor with their red lasers, fingers ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"Bad day to be you huh?" the man thunders in a chillingly cold voice.
"What do you want and what are you here for?" the commander orders.
"I understand your chickenshit outfit here has got beef against Decker." the man replies.
"Yeah so?"
"From now on, you and your little Rogue fleet are gonna be reporting everything to me. Plans, missions, business dealings- everything." the man replies authoritatively.
"Ha! ha! ha! ha! Had too much to drink mate? A lone unarmed man walks into my station and orders me to follow orders from now on!" The commander mocks and approaches the masked man.
"Ha ha ha yourself cu*t! I'm not here to request, I'm here to command. I'm gonna be watching over everyone who rallies against Decker from now on. If you choose to follow, you can expect my assistance in return, if you choose to disobey, well I feel sorry for your mothers for giving birth to you dip-shits." the masked man replies calmly.
The flabbergasted commander gets frustrated at this point and his guards draw closer to the masked man, guns ready.
"Oh really? Well, I don't take orders from mysterious characters buddy. Let's see what's under that mask." the commander laughs.
The masked man then pulls out a paper thin 'U' shaped hairpin from his pocket and holds it up in the air.
"You know this is usually used by women to manage their hair, but I've found a better use for it." he declares and the soldiers around him chuckle to themselves.

The Commander approaches the masked man and reaches his hand out for the mask.
"Ha! Lets see who's the asshole under that mas.... Hu-haaaaaaaaaaa!!! AAAhhhllkakakaka!! huh, huh, huh uhgrrrmmrrrr!!"
The commander drops dead to the floor with the hairpin nailed into his left ear. The soldiers look on in horror and immediately point their weapons to the masked man's head.
"Calm down ladies. My ship has thermonuclear engine ready to explode on my command and there's a little Freyr class gunship with a pretty mean weapon targeting your station. If my hair touches the ground you're all dead in 10 seconds. I'm not gonna be here ordering your asses to clean dishes, I just want loyalty and nothing else." the masked man announces calmly and the soldiers swiftly lower their weapons.
"Who, who, who are are are are ya ya ya you!" a petrified soldier asks the masked man.
"I'm your rich uncle Sam from London. What's your name kid?"
"Ba, ba ba Bryan ss ss sir."
"That's a nice name Bryan. Put your gun down and get me a strong coffee will ya?"
"Ya ya ya yes sir." the young man replies and runs off.
"Good. Have your Comm officer broadcast this message to the rest of your outposts. I'll be checking around."

The Frostbite zooms away and leaves the station.

***

Rogue fleet is now loyal to the Ares Splinter groups but continues to enjoy autonomy as a separate faction.
"Umm, I'm sorry I just killed your officer Akira, but he was getting on my nerves''
"Can I take his ship now?"

Calvin E. Taylor to Akira Gorbachev, the daughter of Ares Chief Admiral Vasily Gorbachev, after brutally killing one of her Tundra pilots.
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1800hrs (St. Kat's Standard Time)
Rogue Fleet Outpost
Eta Ceti System
"Vengeance of the War-Wolves "

-Prologue-

A lone Super-Wolfen class heavy gunship warps in directly in front of a Rogue Fleet outpost with a blue hued shield covering it. The station immediately begins to fire at the ship and teams of Britannias are deployed to dispatch the intruder but they fail to scratch the ship. The Wolfen pilot hovers directly in front of the control tower at the top of the station.

"Stop firing right now. I'm here for business." a female voice orders and the firing stops immediately. The Britannias gather behind the ship with their XM900s vibrating in the launch tubes.
"Wot the hell do you want Commonwealth scum!" the leader of the Britannias responds in a lurid British accent.
"I want the location of a certain Mr. Calvin Edward Taylor. I hear he's been visiting Rogue Fleet outposts in this system. In return, I'll spare your lives." the Wolfen pilot replies in a nefariously calm tone.
"We don't know any Calvin Taylor! Now f*ck off or be killed!" the Brit pilot responds angrily.
"Hey Amigo! If I was you, I'd lee-sen to zay senorita. She no like getting pee-sed!" a voice screeches suddenly in a corrupt Spanish accent.
"Oi Who's there? Is that you, you fakin slu*t?!" a second Brit pilot spits on his mic.
"I am asking you for the last time. Where is Calvin Taylor?!" the female exclaims firmly.
"I'm not tell-in! Wot you gonna do? Gimme a bloody lap dance from that puny Wolfen of yours?"
"Yeah! Wot's a little girl like you in a Wolfen gonna do to our Brits?"
"Calvin Taylor is responsible for the death of my daughter. If only you understood." the Wolfen pilot begins to weep on the radio leaving the Britannia pilots confused.

There is complete radio silence but then the Wolfen begins to shake violently.
"Oi boss! Wot's she do-in? Wot are dose woh-aite lights circle-in er ship?"
"Holy lord! I love you Danny!"
"Wot? Wot's go-in on Boss? Hey you! Sto..."

"Domina! I claim the power to SHATTER MY ENEMIES!"


The Motivation: Vengeance of the War-Wolves---------

Sisters of Domina
Funeral of Jenna Faith Caesar Anderson
Eta Ceti System

Everyone, including the Marauders, were in white robes with the exception of Gordon, Nova and myself- we were in crimson. Nova and I being Jenna's only 'legal' guardians and Gordon her betrothed, we had the cumbrous task of performing the last rights.
The circular meeting hall of the Eta Ceti S.o.D Mission was relatively smaller than it's Sanctuary counterpart and had red carpet spreads instead of chairs - the sisters prayed on their knees.
Senior officers from the Europa's crew sat down on their knees in the front of the crowd of sisters and bowed their heads before the Holy Mother.
Lord Mihko was also present along with several high ranking Syndicate officers. They were given special seats at the rear of the large hall.
The Marauders sat in the front row directly facing the Holy Mother's throne and they tried as best as they could to join in the resonating chants of the sisters who held each others' hands from both sides.
Tychus had Sally sit beside him and for the first ever display of benevolence anyone had ever seen from him, he embraced her tightly as she wailed loudly for her sister.

Gordon, Nova and I were in a small circular chamber behind the pulpit preparing Jenna's body for the service. The chamber was carved completely from a single aqua blue crystal and an assortment of perfumes and balms were kept all around us in bottles. Jenna was dressed in an elegant wedding dress and she laid snug inside her even more elegantly decorated cedar coffin. Her face was still lit up wit that precious smile she parted with, something I assumed was a result of the cryogenic liquid that locked her face in place during our journey from Sanctuary.
My eyes were not willing to move away from her face. I just kept on staring at her smile and something in me screamed for her to wake up but I knew she wouldn't.
Gordon had drenched his crimson robe wet with silent tears, as had Nova.
"Is there any chance that..." Gordon held Nova's hands and began.
"She's gone Gordy. She's gone." Nova said and pulled the young man's head to her neck as he began to weep loudly for the first time since we had left Sanctuary. He tightened his embrace on Nova and his eyes became blood red within seconds.
"Sister November, it is time." one of the sisters told Nova and we finally walked out into the congregation.
I stared on in silence as the sisters lifted the glass cover from the box and the Marauders lined up for a final look at Jenna's face. Behind them, the Syndicate and Europa's officers also lined up.

One by one, my teary team came and said their 'goodbyes' to my daughter. Sally screamed and shouted but Tychus calmed her down and led her away.
The Holy mother then began the service which included prayers, chants, short speeches by each of the Marauders.
It was finally our turn to address the crowd. Nova and Gordon gave moving speeches that could've made rocks shed tears but when I finally held the mic, I said only a few words.
"I love you kid. I just want you to know that I didn't want this to happen." I said and began to walk off the pulpit but Gordon grasped by shoulder and stopped me.
"Let it out Mike." Nova said.
"I will let it out Nova. You'll see it when I do." i replied calmly and walked off.
The service soon ended and everyone tearfully bid their final farewell to my daughter. The Holy Mother and her sisters took Jenna's body away into the inner chambers to be shut up forever in the sacred crystals.
We stood at the exists as everyone walked out of the hall expressing their condolences along the way. A Europa officer stopped and informed me about his crew progress at the Black Market's hidden planet in the system. The crew had already built the base and were now constructing infrastructure to build and repair ships. He also reported of a derelict ship they had found floating in Point Juno but didn't reveal it's details. "We'll tell you when we're done with it sir." he said and walked off.

Lord Mihko was the last to walk out and as he did, his men ordered our squadron to come to a side.
"I'm really sorry for your loss kids. I have something that might be able to help you." the lord began. "My intelligence tells me that a mysterious ship of some kind has been flying around to Rogue Fleet outposts in the outer systems. Apparently, he's got em scared to their bones. Perhaps this is your guy Taylor. I guess you can start your vendetta from here. There are two such outposts in this system." he finished.
"Thank you father. I really appreciate this." I bowed and kissed both his wrinkled hands, my team followed suit.

"Hey Mike!" Lord Mihko yelled as my team frantically made their way towards their ships. "Rip out his kidney for me too! I loved your kid!"
"I'll rip out both of them father!" I screamed back.

------ Epilogue---- Continued from the Prologue----

We quickly flew through the debris of the destroyed Britannias and docked with the burning station. People ran around wildly screaming and wailing as all 32 of us stormed into the docking bays killing anyone we saw carrying a weapon.
Nova and Sally had their Specter armor on and with a push of a button turned into thin invisible blurs- invisibility was one of the deadliest abilities of the Specter armors.
The rest of us clunked on with our heavy C.W Marine armors and shot anything that moved.
Tychus suddenly got hold of an escaping man and lifted him up into the air by his collar.
"WHERE IS YOUR LEADER?!" he thundered.
"Upstairs! On the upper decks!! Please lemme go!" he screamed. Tychus released his grip but shot the man in the face immediately afterwards.
I gave a disgusted look at him but didn't stop moving.

We finally reached a room full of soldiers in marine armor and their guns pointing directly at us.
"Ha! ha! ha! Ha! Muhuhuaha! ha! ha! ha! What did you think? That you can just barge in here and get me? Now face the wrath of the Rogue Fleet! Blast em boys!" the commander of the station ordered but in vain.
"Wait, wait, wait... Don't blast anything yet or your commander's head goes boom. Tell them to lower their weapons and come out of their armors. NOW!!" Nova screamed as she and Sally became visible directly next to the commander's seat. They had their particle guns pointed to his head and a green beam held on to their barrels, almost begging to be let loose into the flesh.
"Whaa? Wait! Do as she says!" The commander squealed in horror and his men immediately jumped out of their armors.

We fired almost instantly and every single man fell to the ground in explosions of blood.

"WHERE IS CALVIN TAYLOR!!!" I thundered as Tychus lifted up the horrified man by his collar.
"I don't know who you're talking about! Let me go! Please!" he squealed back.
"You don't get it do you? If you don't tell us where Taylor is, bad things will happen... egregious things!" Sally yelled and splashed the man with flammable liquid. He screamed in horror.
"Tell me where Taylor is! I know he was here! I can smell him!" Gordon demanded.
"I dunno! I dunno who Taylor is! A masked man came in here and ordered us to be loyal to him! He told us to send info to him about Decker! please lemme go! hhaaa!" the man began to cry like a little girl.
"Gimme the coordinates! Where do you send the info to?" I yelled.
"Here! Here! Take this ROM. Only I have it! The coordinates are in here!" he yelled.

I took and ROM and we began walking outside the room when Tychus stopped me.
"What do we do with him? He's gonna send a message to Cally about our visit."


I gave a weak smile and threw my lit Zippo lighter into the room and walked out.

"From now on, everything burns!"
"Umm, I'm sorry I just killed your officer Akira, but he was getting on my nerves''
"Can I take his ship now?"

Calvin E. Taylor to Akira Gorbachev, the daughter of Ares Chief Admiral Vasily Gorbachev, after brutally killing one of her Tundra pilots.
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TheLoneWolf
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That was extreme... I know the masked man was! THE MASK OF ZORRO :D
MikeAngora
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TheLoneWolf wrote:That was extreme... I know the masked man was! THE MASK OF ZORRO :D
Hell hath no fury greater than a man who's lost his daughter... especially if he could have saved her life. :twisted:

Also Hell hath no fury greater than a wife whose husband called her frigging 'Nova' in bed!!
"Umm, I'm sorry I just killed your officer Akira, but he was getting on my nerves''
"Can I take his ship now?"

Calvin E. Taylor to Akira Gorbachev, the daughter of Ares Chief Admiral Vasily Gorbachev, after brutally killing one of her Tundra pilots.
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TheLoneWolf
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MikeAngora wrote:
TheLoneWolf wrote:That was extreme... I know the masked man was! THE MASK OF ZORRO :D
Hell hath no fury greater than a man who's lost his daughter... especially if he could have saved her life. :twisted:

Also Hell hath no fury greater than a wife whose husband called her frigging 'Nova' in bed!!
Thou speak correctly, my friend!
MikeAngora
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Ares Commune Hotel-Bravo-3-1 Echo
Eta Ceti System
Marauder Flight En Route
***Bonus Content***

A red haired woman around 30 years of age, and her blonde companion of around 26, stand before a large throne surrounded by Ares guards.
They are both wearing white robes over their Specter armor and have light-sabers hanging loosely from their waists. The blonde is a few inches shorter than the red-head but has the same build.

"Honorable Commander Abdul Rah-man, we come to you in peace." the red head declares and both women bow before the man on the throne, a tall pale skinned old man wearing red Ares fleet uniform and an officers' cap on his head.
"Peace? You kha-laim peace when your bee-ple are destroying innocent Ares communes, unarmed civilians and making prostitutes of our women?" the commander replies angrily.
"We do not belong to that faction my lord. Those wicked deeds are of the new Emperor Admiral Conrad Decker. The dark lord Oracus influences him, he is hell bent on gaining power over human space and we stand to oppose him by your side. However, I am not here to discuss that my great lord. I'm here to discuss a more imminent threat."
"I am listening to you my daughter. Speak."
"A raging fire approaches this Commune as I speak. He will destroy everything, men, women, children- he will not even spare your pets my lord. He will burn everything in a roaring amber. However this can be stopped if you tell me where I can find Space-Marshal Calvin Edward Taylor."

The Commander flinches in his seat and rage fills his eyes.
"Taylor? Why should I tell you that? And who is coming here to destroy this Commune? Decker? We'll be ready for him! We have Deimos destroyers patrolling this commune and up to fifty Sandstorms. We're ready for everything!" the commander thundered.
"My great Lord you have it all wrong. Calvin Taylor killed my daughter in cold blood and the man coming here is her father. Decker may show mercy, but he will not. I cannot let hundreds of women and children die for my one daughter."
The commander stands up upon hearing this and steps down to the two women who're still bowed down on their knees.
"My dear daughter, November is your name right? And this is Selena?. The Commander asked curiously and the women nodded in approval. "I am aware of this incident. Taylor himself told me of it, but my dear November, it is you who've got it all wrong. It was not the Frostbite that hit that Heavy I.A.V, it was a Freyr hiding in the asteroids."
The women immediately standup in utter horror.
"A Freyr?!" the younger one asks.
"Yes, a ship registered under some Wade Jay-ride...um, no, Jay-rike..."
"Jayridge! Wade Jayridge! Oh my God!" they both scream in unison.

---------------- 1 DAY EARLIER Sisters of Domina Sanctum, Eta Ceti System----------------

"JENNA!!" I screamed and woke up in the middle of the night. Nova and Sally, who were sleeping in adjacent room heard the sound and rushed in. Nova was in a purple night cardigan and Sally was in poke-dot pajamas.
"You saw her again?" Nova said calmly and sat down on my bed.
"Yeah... Just cant stop seeing her. I was leading her down the isle and Gordon was waiting at the pulpit. Suddenly I saw a black wolf jumping into the church and tear her to bits before my very eyes and I couldn't do anything!." I sighed.
"Wolf... Calvin Taylor. Father, you've got to stop blaming yourself for this, It was not your fault. Calvin didn't respond to a single shot and no one was expecting him to take out Jenna like that." Sally insisted, referring to me as 'father' for the first time since we met. Nova nodded in approval and held my hands.
Jenna and Sally were only two or three years younger to Nova and myself but I never once felt anything more than parental love for them both. With Jenna gone, that love and concern for Sally only doubled.
I pulled Sally towards me and stroked her golden-blonde hair with my finger tips.
"Thanks kid, but if only you understood. I had a chance to pull that trigger and save Jenna but my obsession to be a better man than Taylor withheld me. Sally, I need you and Nova to promise me something. Just promise you wont go away. Everyone I love just keeps on going away from me, but I need you both to stay safe." I replied while still breathing heavily.
Nova waved her eyes at Sally who slowly pulled herself away from me.
"You better get some sleep baby. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow." Nova said to Sally. She got up and gave both of us a kiss and walked off into her room.
I looked curiously at the woman on my bed.
"Why'd you send her off?" I asked.
"Because I think you need your time off cowboy. You've taken enough stress as it is." she smiled and threw off her clothes.
I was a little reluctant at first but I allowed it. Nova and I hadn't 'known' each other since we left the Battle Arena in Rigel and I felt I owed it to her after all she's been through.
I wrapped my arms around her and switched off the lights.

"What do you have in mind for tomorrow cowboy?" Nova said half an hour later, still huffing from the exertion.
"I've run the ROM that Rogue Fleet commander gave me. It's a heavily defended Ares Commune in this system run by Commander Abdul Rah-man Karim. He's regular Ares but has affiliations with Vasily Gorbachev and his splinter faction. Taylor has been throwing his weight around the outer systems from this very commune. Taking it out should lure Taylor out of his little hole to face me in earnest." I replied.
Nova seemed a little irritated at my response.
"Mike, why do you want to attack a Commune? There could be innocents on that station, think of all the lives that would be lost." she replied with a tinge of anger in her voice.
"Small sacrifices for the greater good Nova. Taylor taught me that by killing my baby." I said and gave her a deep kiss but he pushed me away.
"BUT you are not Taylor Michael! Jenna was my child as much as she was yours! I will not allow you to kill hundreds of innocent to avenge her!" she thundered and sat up.
"What do you want me to do then Nova?! Sit idle and keep seeing Jenna in my dreams??!!" I blasted back and got up from the bed. Her hair was all over her shoulders and she dug into me with very un-spiritual eyes.
"You're no different to the man who killed my daughter! You have let him enter your mind and he has turned you into the monster that he is!" she screamed back.

" I will no longer be weak! I will cut his head off! If avenging my daughter requires me to kill even a million people then, so be it! The Europa's crew have prepared my secret weapon and I will raid and destroy that Commune and Taylor with it!" I roared at the naked woman. "And put your damn clothes on, I'm sending Selena over to sleep here. I'm going to her room." I said and stormed out, clanking the door loudly behind me.
----------------- Early Morning 5:00 AM

Everyone had woken up early that morning and had their breakfasts well before the Eta Ceti sun rose on the Sisters of Domina Sanctum. We all gathered before the Holy Mother in the main hall and paid our respects to her. We also joined many of the sisters in their morning prayers but our minds and focus was on one thing only - vengeance.
"May the Grace of Domina and the great God beyond her be upon you my children. Michael, the Ares also look to her for hope. Remember this today." the Holy mother cautioned me and sprinkled holy water on my fully armored men. I thanked her and we began to walk out of the station towards the hangars. We had also packed up all our clothes and gear from the station since that was to be our last day at the Sanctum.

As my team and their droids loaded up the ships, Nova came running over to me. She was still in her casuals but had her shoulder-length hair neatly tied up into a pony tail.
She didn't say anything at first and thrust herself towards me, squeezing her arms around my body.
"I'm sorry for last night Michael. I had come to cheer you up but did just the opposite. I just want you to know that I'm with you in this." she said, not releasing the pressure from her grip.
"It's aright darling. Where is Sally?" I said and kissed her forehead.
"She's feeling feverish. I'm not taking her with us, the sisters will take care until we get back." she shook her head and replied.
Tychus over-heard this and clunked towards us in his heavy armor.
"Damn straight! Then, neither are you! You're staying back to take care of her." he began and puffed his cigar. We both looked at him curiously.
"Mikey, I don't trust these 'Sisters of Misdemeanor' with Sally anymore. Yesterday I saw one pinching another one's butt Mikey! Brrrr! Gave me the god damn shivers!" he said in a very serious tone- we had to laugh.

As we were about to get into our ships Sally struggled out into the garage with her bed clothes still on.
"Hey War-Wolves!" Nova cried as Sally stood next to her. All 30 of us and turned around in unison. "Come back alive!" she said and hugged every single one of us except for me, I got a Commonwealth Navy kiss.
"Take of the kid November... and keep her away from these sisters!" Henry, our defense systems officer yelled to everyone's laughter.
"Umm, I'm sorry I just killed your officer Akira, but he was getting on my nerves''
"Can I take his ship now?"

Calvin E. Taylor to Akira Gorbachev, the daughter of Ares Chief Admiral Vasily Gorbachev, after brutally killing one of her Tundra pilots.
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Lamplighter? Impossible!
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5015 hours
Eta Ceti System
Marauder Flight at 0.99% Light Speed
"Meet the Marauders"

I knew this would be a dangerous mission and I knew that when I face Taylor only one of us would walk out alive. I had to get this operation right at all costs.
I had designed a very basic plan of attack: have the Marauders attack the Ares Commune and keep them alive just until Taylor shows up; then warp em away and face Taylor alone.
The Ares commune was just ten minutes away and I pulled out a photo of Major November Caesar. I stared into her eyes and thought about all the good times we shared together, all the fights we fought and the things we went through.

"War-wolves, we're ten minutes away from the target. Think about Jenna... Think about our family! Spare no one!" I declared.
"We are with you Commander! We were with you in Point Juno, we're with you now!" my team replied enthusiastically.
"We're splitting up into three groups of eight each. I need a flight of six Marauders to hover over the battlefield to provide AWACS support. Andrew, you and your Comm boys are Checkmate; Tychus, you're Black Wolf; Gordon you're Grey Wolf and I'm assuming White Wolf. Select your team mates." I said as our computers automatically assigned each Marauder to their team leader.
"Attention everyone this is Checkmate squadron; All units call in." Andrew said as he and his team of six marauders lifted up above the rest of the squadrons. We were flying in simple 'Arrow' formation up until now.
"Checkmate this is White Wolf;"
"Checkmate this is Black Wolf;"
"Grey Wolf, rearing to go Checkmate;"

"All units assume Arrow formation with White Wolf at the front- bank at 60 degrees. We'll commence electronic disruption when targets are within radar range. Checkmate out."
"Roger checkmate", Roger Checkmate, Copy that Checkmate, assuming formation."
"Uhhh boss? How do you plan to take out those Deimos destroyers? You do understand that Heavy I.A.Vs are breakfast snacks for that ship?" a worried Val asked.
"Don't worry kid. The ship will take care of them. Besides, who said you're flying I.A.Vs?" Tychus said and everyone's breath almost stopped.

The confusion ended when a familiar voice blared on the radio.
"Attention War-wolf flight; this is Control Group Delta B. We are ready for you Commander!" the female voice declared.

The Marauders immediately broke into a frenzy of questions and quips about this transmission but I didn't answer. This was my big surprise for my team and only Tychus knew about it. If at all, I only regretted Sally and Nova's absence.
"Damn Straight Mikey! Our secret weapon is ready!!" Tychus declared jubilantly.
"Boss? What the damn hell is going on?" the voices of my mates continued for a few seconds when we all saw the secret weapon before us.
"Gentlemen! How many of you have ever landed on a Star Ship Carrier?" I declared triumphantly.
"A whaat?!!" everyone screamed in unison.
"War-wolf flight, decks are cleared for landing; just don't bump into those Britannias on the landing docks! Delta out." the female announced again.
"Britannias??!!" my team declared again almost in complete horror now.

As we approached the gigantic Star Ship Carrier the Marauders finally realized what the crew of the Europa had been doing on Lord Mihko's secret planet.
"Control Group Delta-Bravo this is War-Wolf leader; we're on approach. You guys have done a pretty good job of it." I declared happily.
"Thank you sir... We've removed the destroyed vault and replaced it with a much more powerful one. We've tripped everything; engines, weapons, armor, defense turrets- the works!" the cheerful voice replied.
"Control Group Delta Bravo please change your call-sign." Tychus ordered.
"Roger that sir. Attention all units; Control Group Delta Bravo shall now be addressed as J.S.C HYPERION. Hyperion tower out." the voice replied as we did a 'fly by' over the massive Star Ship Carrier. The crew was cheering on the decks with colorful flags.
I had intended to name it M.S.C (Marauder Star-ship Carrier) but later changed to J.S.C (Jenna's Star-ship Carrier). Jenna had always wanted to serve on the ship that it once was but couldn't because of her young age; the ship that once was The C.S.C Europa.

This was my secret weapon, baby. Decker was able to take out the Lamplighter from the Europa's vault with the help of a pesky pilgrim on the way to the galactic core, but under heavy Ares resistance was forced to abandon the partly damaged ship. The Ares groups in Point Juno were unable to make any use of it since most of the critical systems had been damaged by Admiral Gorbachev's Phobos so left it floating in Point Juno. That's when the Black Market Syndicate played their cards and got their hands on it and negotiated a deal with the Ares Splinter factions in return for millions of Rins and bootleg military tech.
Lord Mihko only needed a trained crew and a commander to use it without affiliating it to the Syndicate and we fit the bill perfectly. I would be using it with the Marauders while using the new vault to deliver Syndicate goods to the distant systems in the process. I would also have to pay tithes to the Syndicate for any loot I get in my campaigns including but not limited to sophisticated military hardware from other factions- especially the Ranx. It was a win-win deal that I could not refuse.

The Marauders were ecstatic to say the least. We quickly broke formation and landed on the carrier- a first for everyone except Tychus and myself. Even our former Centurion pilots had served on Commonwealth Fortresses at best but never did deck operations. High fives were given and taken and the everyone rejoiced except for Gordon. He bowed down to the deck and kissed it and tears dropped like tap-water from his eyes.
"So this is Jenna? She's not as pretty as my one." he said tearfully and everyone stopped.
"She isn't, but she's just as strong, just like you are kid." Tychus held the young man's shoulder and shook him.

"Marauders! Beloved children of Admiral Watson! I give to you your ship! Your new home! Your freedom to choose to live the way you want to! I give to you the result of your decision to stand against the oppression of the wicked Admiral Conrad Decker! I give unto you this day!! Jenna's Star-ship Carrier, The Hyperion!!" I began to a volley of applauds and handed the mic to Tychus.

"Aright ladies, first fight begins today! We're gonna pop open an Ares commune believed to be supporting a rogue mercenary known as Calvin Edward Taylor. He is responsible for the death of this ship's name sake and my own niece, Ms. Jenna Caesar Anderson. This man is extremely dangerous and a very deadly strategist so there is a good chance he's already a step ahead of us. The Heavy I.A.Vs will be sent into the hangars for today. If the situation goes from bad worse do not expect the cavalry because WE ARE THE CAVALRY and those upgraded Britannia Gunships are your horses! All call signs will remain the same and the good people of the Hyperion have programmed your Brits accordingly. TO BATTLE STATIONS MARAUDERS!" he said and the Marauders immediately manned their shiny new gunships.

The plan was to remain the same. We go in and attack first while the Hyperion stays on standby to take casualties and more importantly, to get those Deimos destroyers.

" Hyperion this is Checkmate flight; we're in space."
"Grey wolf space-borne!;"
"Black Wolf is space-borne!;"
"White wolf is in the space, all units proceed to target now!"
My men did not revel in their new ships this time. We had only one focus today... to find and kill Calvin Taylor and none of us would relax until we did.

We increased speed and moved away from the ship as we approached the Commune however there was not a single defense craft in sight. I was expecting Taylor to be a step ahead of us... This was clear trappings of a booby trap.
"War-wolf flight slow down. We're conducting electronic operation over the target area." Andrew said as his six specialized E/A (Electronic Attack) Britannias got to work scanning the entire area with multiple frequencies.
"Got em! We detect a gathering of large Ares combat ships due Delta-north of the Commune. We're commencing radar jamming operations." he said concernedly.

As we approached our weapons ranges a voice broadcasted from the Commune.

"Attention incoming War-wolf flight. This is November Caesar! Desist from attack! I say again desist from attack! All Ares defending ships have disarmed their weapons and have lowered their landing pads! Please desist from attack! Mike! It wasn't Taylor who killed Jenna! It was Wade Jayridge son of Jame Jayridge!! Mike stop the attack for God's stake stop the attack! We're in the Commune Mike!"
"Nova??! Marauders, don't shoot! don't shoot!" Tychus yelled in a frenzy before I could respond.
"Umm, I'm sorry I just killed your officer Akira, but he was getting on my nerves''
"Can I take his ship now?"

Calvin E. Taylor to Akira Gorbachev, the daughter of Ares Chief Admiral Vasily Gorbachev, after brutally killing one of her Tundra pilots.
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