RP: New Dusk Conclave Expanding Horizons: Vale of Discovery

HANGAR 2A

Thorn's request was quickly answered as her cargo pod jettisoned, an ominous black and red pod with its single bar of its heavily modified 50mm LRG was attatched to Oracle's open slot. Eight torpedos were affixed to her hull at various points as she finally disengaged her docking clamps, letting the Geist lock her tiny body against the restraints as she stretched out in the new body of her ship.

A gentle push of her RCS, more of a gentle breath turned her to the open hangar door, the frost glittering and spreading across her hull as the reactor spooled, screaming, engine glowing a feint blue-white. Then came the mighty crack and rumble of the easiest touch of her throttle, one that sent the Oracle rocketing across the hangar and out to space as she flipped over and turned from her shining bronze to a shapeless black, cloaks engaging.

More touches and breaths came to maneuver herself into position, forward and above the main gun of the Carrier, where the bridge could see the growing glow of her engines, and Rose could feel her sensors scramble as Thorn disguised herself as a coming shot from that prow gun.

Then the stars themselves split, screaming as twelve megatons bloomed across the Vale's armored hull in a four kilometer long plume of plasma that washed harmlessly over the windshield, and in a split instant, Oracle was no longer in friendly space. Engines cut, gas turned her, and the same engine bloomed half or less so strong as Thorn decelerated hard towards a recognized pirate vessel. Six of her torpedos broke away, engines lighting as they curved around, falling into a ring formation as they approached, and their several kiloton thermonuclear warheads bloomed like radioactive flowers against rickety slaver shields. But Thorn's engines had cut again, spinning ninety in the wrong direction, another ninety to pass through the fireball, through the shields and use her own as a battering ram, last ninety with instants to spare as the last two torpedos lit, and the railgun fired repeatedly, the blasts shearing the engine clean off the aging slaver cruiser-carrier, her reactors shattered, her crew on damage control with only emergency power. But like dust on the wind, Thorn's Oracle was gone, only detectably there by the occasional flare of a railgun and the thermonuclear bloom of a Starfire shell as she found something important and made a precision strike.

BRIDGE

Rose had already folded into herself, her body stiffening, slumping as she reached out in the infinite dimension of the carrier's navigational array, opened her eyes to the endless expanse of stars and the fire trading between her people and the pirates. Gently, she started shutting down pieces of herself, devoting the wasted processing power of her rage and hate for these animals to analyzing the gravitational effects of the local star, the precise orbits of every piece of debris larger than one of her children.

She folded again, letting slip the need for her body, the warmth, longing, and pain associated with those cobalt soul piercers of the woman she had married. The connection and warmth faded as other AI nearby would feel Rose rapidly growing, her tactical and navigational data becoming more refined as she claimed the helm's precise controls.

More seemed to fade away as Rose's attatchment to the physical plane faded, her body growing limp as her avatar shattered, reducing Rose's communication to screens of text and a simple, cold replica of her voice.

"Captain, I have firing solution on pirate flagship. Sensor data indicates a shot will vaporize the outer hull, fragment the superstructure, and burn the life from any ships hiding in its shadow. Addendum: Warning: Unidentified Eye class vessel outside formation, has engaged and disabled slave cruiser. Targeting tata lost. Eye class vessel did not respond to comms and is running dark. Minor damage to hull, all maneuvering thrusters operational."

The creature surged forward, smaller and less built beings parting from its massive bulk. Like some single minded beast having caught its prey, both arms converged upon the crate and pulled it upwards as he grunted a gargly thanks. Immediately, another set of arms smaller and slimmer and ending in six-pronged claws. His primary ones dunked inside and the sound of clattering metallic fragments could be heard, rustling like little leaves and contrasted by the sound of something hungrily sucking and crunching them together. The box jerked upwards a little before it was simply tossed aside with an empty thump; its contents vanished into his dense armour.

He turned to leave but paused for a short second; something caught his eye that had previously just vaguely teased his curiosity. A smell not like the vertebrate inhabitants of the vessel; something almost familiar to him. Hidden behind their dome-coverings, a pair of eyes zeroed in on Adria, travelling across her wings, and then back to her red eyes.

"Civilians should leave." He said, the rest of his body turning to orient itself with his head.

Under his breath however, a few small vents briefly opened in his armour and a small waft of spore-like pheromones released. Short lived and sharp in their odour, they would dissipate quickly. Yet they were too fine for the noses of all but the most honed of hunters to catch and even if they did it was unlikely they'd understand them.

*QUERY: IN DANGER? CONFLICT - IMMINENT. DO NOT GO LIGHTLY; RECONSIDER.*

That was the general gist of the olfactory message.

He would not stay for long beyond moving towards 2B. It was time to see how well the troops he had trained would perform.

Space

The XM1 was hovering into the wall position and using its shields to protect itself from any incoming missiles or gunshots as Sareash looked around "Hold the line! Protect the fleet at all costs" She barks out the orders and fires back at the incoming vessels ripping a smaller ship into pieces after a few shots. This was a well-organized attack upon their exploration fleet, this was not counted for to happen, where did they come from and why are they here. Well if they are truly pirates then profit from this all counts as most obvious one "Attackers move forward!" With that said, Sareash moved forward and waited for others to form up with her as the defense line closes up behind them.

ARMORY




Sasha was on the way to the Hangar when an announcement from PA rang into her ears. Crap, so it's time. Sasha quickly turned around to enter the armory again, rushing the armorer to grab her things out by impatiently tapping the countertop with palm of her hands. LOUDLY. Sasha never wanted to miss the drop, not this one. She was raring to explore this new, recently-discovered planet and whatever thing (or things) it had to offer. After all, it has been a while since her last time of action, and her rifle exploded on her last time, which counted as semi-fun on her book. She had to have some fun once in a while, and she meant full-on fun, complete with exotic creatures, meeting new people, maybe fighting them, or drinking with them, whatever came first.

As soon as armorer handed her sidearms, pistol belt, and other gears, Sasha didn't take her time to put them on. With her Harbinger SMG holstered inside her customized leather shoulder holster like a pistol, Sasha then dressed into her Zytone Armor. Her armor was heavily decorated, with rank insignia of Corporal drawn on both of her arms parts in an effort to fool enemy snipers lurking about to take shots on officers, the only part of her armor that was camouflaged was her helmet, even then the pattern used to camouflage her helmet was somewhat weird, with other parts of her armor just painted in deep green.


"Alright, let's do this. "


Slinging her beloved GP-1 assault rifle on her shoulder again, Sasha made her way onto the Hangar for the last time, this time not even walking but rather running up to the place.

Bridge
Izzy took a deep breath and replied "Alright." Isabelle Pine sat down in a chair and waited for a damage report. She hoped it wouldn't be bad, but there was really no telling at the moment. They had already been attacked by the reapers recently, she didn't understand how this could happen so soon after.

Hangar 2A
"Thank you," Chlorate beeped to Rihanna, she floated away a few feet as if a little scared of the magnetic toolkit, then she hovered down and landed on the floor. After hearing Zeke, she happily beeped and smiled, excitedly calling back "AFFIRMATIVE!" Before he could say anything else, she quickly ran off to the tanks, her loud feet made a very rapid CLANKCLANKCLANKCLANKCLANK sound. The sudden series of sounds stopped beside Lena's tank, and the gynoid asked "Hello, is this the tank unit that requires operators?"

Armory
The large-winged girl was shocked to hear Jack had gotten a tank for her. Her wings were too big and couldn't fold up enough, they posed quite a huge problem rendering it nigh-impossible to get into the narrow hatches of a regular tank or sit in the cramped compartments. Plus, Jack thought they were too fragile, there was no way he made her a modified tank. "Really..." she remarked doubtfully, not amused by Exia making what she believed to be a joke. Hearing the strange creature's suggestion to leave, she glared at him and growled "I'm not leaving." Just then, she smelled the pheromones he released. She didn't quite understand them, but she could certainly smell the sharp odor regardless. The blonde's nose twitched, she looked around. "Where did that come from? What's making these strange scents?" she asked, confused.

"I will hold you to it that you won't regret that. The coming conflict will be ruthless. I will be collecting the battle-slain afterwards."

His mouthparts clicked as he spoke, a second line of dialogue overlapping his own and partially obscuring his words. That wasn't the point as much as it was to draw her attention.

A second wave of pheromones, stronger than the last but still requiring her antennae to detect, wafted out of a few of his glands. If she looked closely, she might see a few flecks of light orange powdery substance pass through amidst the bodies rushing by.

This one's olfactory message was simpler and not dialogue but a sensation and idea. Almost like a threat but it wasn't directed at her; it was the warning of one. Another "message" was layered over it; curiosity. "IDENTIFY YOUR IDENTITY WHAT ARE YOU" was its rough translation.

As far as he knew, he was the only arthropod here.

If she did not respond, he would simply begin walking away.

Hangar 2A

Lena of course heard the storm of clanks coming her way only to stop suddenly, and a voice outside the tank calling out. She lifted herself from the commander's seat and looked out from the cupola ring for the source, her eyes drawing a bead on the gynoid, blinking in surprise for a moment. "Uh...yeah," she finally said, clearing her throat awkwardly. "Needs a driver. Guess you're my co-pilot then?" Lena pulled herself from the command cupola and slid down the side of the tank, landing smartly next to Chlorate. "Name's Lena, ex-Nepleslian veteran tanker. Charmed," she added with a nervous grin, extending her hand to the gynoid.

Bridge

As her stationmates bickered, Aradia chuckled; the way they did it almost seemed more friendly than anything else. "Well, whenever there's a society, there's gonna be people who have reasons to not like it. People who decided that they were too good for society end up making their own society, and decide they hate the former. 'S funny like that," she coolly stated, fingers already dancing the console's expansive controls. The plasma cannon began to charge even as Arria was told to do so; she responded with a single word: "Gladly. Let's teach them a lil' something called justice, eh-!!!!"

The smol elysian was interrupted as a simply gigantic trail of plasma washed over the ship, tickling its shields as the Oracle ship jetted across the void. It took Arria a moment to process what she'd just seen. When she did, her comment went as thus: "That's a ship? That's one hell of a ship. Is he compensating for something?" Not familiar with Thorn's ship - or its pilot - the birb only had to guess as she started screening point defense batteries across the supercarrier's surface. The larger cannons began to pummel the encroaching fleet of rogues, while the plasma cannon prepared to smash them to bits.

The golden eyes lit up as the firing solution popped up on Arria's screen. "Ah, so they're the shoddy modders. I'm surprised they're trying to fight a proper military. Better for us, anyways, clears the trash out before we settle in! Firing!" The lance of plasma and energy ejected from the carrier hit its mark square in the face - do ships have faces? - and quickly overwhelmed its shield generator, shattering and smashing and melting the mass underneath, the pirate vessel practically annihilated by the shot, excess energy diffusing into the escorts using it as cover and quickly shredding them, too. It was, indeed, quite the lightshow. Arria seemed pretty pleased with herself, in fact.

Hangar 2A/Space

Rihanna
The dark mare grinned, giving her head a small toss, sending her mane to one side. "I thought you'd never ask!" she replied. "Since I have a ship myself, I'll be heading to the surface after the troops and all land, they want me to set up as part of a forward repair and supply point. I'm ready to go, just waiting on the all clear. So for now, i'm all yours, Commander!"

Aztec
Their banter went back and fourth for a time, as the troops filed onto the transport around them, the two veteran soldiers and friends knowing that at this point, there wasn't much else to do than wait. Their part would come soon enough, as it always did. Harris stopped mid sentence, holding up a finger as he listened to some communication. "Alright everyone, strap in!" He started, raising his voice to be heard over the closing ramp. "We'll be launching in ten!"
Aztec simply nodded, the golden colored horse took a slow breath, then raised his armored helmet, slipping it over his head, the internal HUD coming online as he locked the seals. Reading green icons, Aztec depolorized the visor, anyone seeing his face through it now would see the light faintly reflected off of his golden colored hair and the white of his muzzle.

Katja
"Talon 3 break left, now!"
Katja cut her fighter left, hard enough for her to actually feel the g-forces over the compensators. She felt more than heard the pirate fighter's being destroyed behind her.
"Thanks for the save, Jonas" Katja said, her eyes glancing at the HUD for nearby targets, of which there were none, for the moment.
"You ought to keep an eye on your rear scope, Kat"
"Front's bad enough right now" Katja snorted. "Surprised there isn-"
"Mayday, Mayday, Hunter's Faith requesting assistance!" Interrupted a panicked voice. Likely a civilian ship. "We're under attack, we've lost maneuvering, we won't be able to-"
"Talon 8, Talon 3, Talon lead. You two are closest to the Hunter's Faith. Clear them off."
"Talon 8 copies. Captain's orders, Kat. On me!"

(Posting for Jack. Let's get this show back on the road!)

The board was set, and all pieces deployed in this game of three dimensional chess, now it would come down to who was the craftiest of either side's leaders, as well as soldiers. Brilliant ideas, and swift thinking would be the miracles needed for the exploration fleet right now, even as they moved all the final bits into place. Two storms were about to meet in the middle for a violent display, one that would leave any bystanders in grave peril if such were even present. With already ships being lost on both sides, things were becoming dark as lives were being lost. Thorn's efforts already netting her a large kill count aboard the cruiser that was nothing more now then a dying grave, and ignored by its peers. It was the only one she had the munitions to claim on her small ship, and would receive a call to return from a familiar presence.

SPACE
The prows of the carriers began to shine with a brilliant blue as their main guns charged with ionized plasma building up in their firing chambers. It swirled and coalesced into a torrent that soon was magnetically compacted into a blast entering it's final stages of being built up and released. This gathering power hummed through even the deck plates as it grew, the crew who felt and heard it knowing that it was a full on battle now. The few civilians on board the military ships sitting in quarters waiting as view screens gave shifting views of the battle as it broke out.

However, the tension was much much worse for those aboard the civilian ships, the sounds of alarms ringing anytime something hit a shield, or an enemy fighter swept near. They waited, most in fear, as what should have been a simple colony venture became a war with them dragged in by proxy. The only sound was the shudders of their ships as they weathered against current events, and thumps towards the hull as the Hydras shifted into defense positions, and moved for better lines of sights for their guns.

"Mom, why are we fighting the other people?", a small girl asked as her mother held her protectively. The woman looked at her child with a shaky look of assurance, unsure if they were going to make it out of this alive, but trying to still appear calm for the sake of her daughter. "Because they're bad people who don't want us to have a home honey. But the soldiers will keep us safe, they're stronger then the bad people. We'll be starting that garden in just a few weeks sweetie, so don't worry, almost there."

They both looked out the "window" of their transport ship's hull, their view only of the spread of ships that made the joint fleet, as the small flashes of barrels briefly lit hulls with all manner of weapons fire. The brightest were the carriers' main guns as pillars of highly charged plasma were sent like brilliant spears of blue fire through the void out of view. The little girl watched on in nervous wonder, able to sense her mother's fear, but not old enough to understand the gravity of their situation yet. She squeaked as the ship next to their's suddenly rocked and shuddered, it's shields bursting into dissipating particles while hull blossomed out from the impact leading to an internal explosion.

The sundered transport became nothing but debris as everything between prow and the aft thrusters became only debris, the faint figures of bodies floating among it all of those unlucky enough to instantly be wiped in the explosion. The girl buried her face in her mother's chest as she turned away, her mother stroking her hair comfortingly as tears fell.

Meanwhile, the joint force's fighter craft danced and weaved their trails of destruction and weapons fire as they were enthralled in intense dog fighting. The joint force craft had superior weapons and shields, but the enemy had more in numbers, and their crafted were a strange design that allowed the core of the craft to flip and change directions 180 degrees with a flip of the central body. On either side of it, were large symmetrical blade like wings that pointed front and back, sharp and already seen cutting into armor decently for such a crude yet crafty vehicle.

Katja and her wing were zipping and dodging, taking any target they could when one got lazy, or made a grave error in their maneuvers. Scores were falling in this dance of fighters, so far more falling on the pirate's side then the joint force's, but more fighters were joining the fray, proving it was far from over, but still looking grim in the far outcome. Mechs and Hydras were throwing in their pot shots where they could, claiming a few kills on these strange craft when they could. Having to adjust for the build and unorthodox maneuvers, it made it hard, but they got their lucky hits in.

The Hunter's Faith was able to limp back, deeper into the fleet's formation where it was safer, thankful to their flying saviors. At least lives were still able to be saved today so far, but the battle ahead would put that to the test. It would not be an easy struggle for the joint fleet, or for all those innocents caught in the middle of it all.


BRIDGE
"[Admiral, planet based artillery fire detected. The ISS-Folen has been lost with all hands, no survivors detected. Trajectory of kinetic based munitions suggest from a position close in proximity to our landing target on the moon. All ships have been updated, what actions should I advise?]" The AI projection of a genderless figure was displayed in the air near Admiral Casdan, a inquisitive stare as it waited for orders to relay, before it's gaze looked off to something seemingly at the holo map console where Rose furiously worked.

Casdan had been carefully watching as the fire from the main gun aimed by Arria tore through the shields of the ships in the cluster, as well as the hull on several. Her gaze quickly broke as it turned to her right, seeing the distant, yet easily seen cloud of growing debris with a curse, "Current orders will remain in effect, and the landing force shall proceed as planned. However, I want SHIVA where that little sneaky fuck is right now. If they want to pull that, we'll pull it better. Work with miss Arria to clear the artillery's LZ if you would, please Mega?"

The AI's projection would nod before disappearing, then reappearing above Arria's console. "[Santo Hei, please trade the control of the main gun to operator 4, the admiral has a special target that requires your targeting skills. I have taken the liberty of having our launch tubes loaded with starfire mag warheads, and your target is the new artillery position located next to our landing objective. Please take the liberty of leveling this annoyance if you will, we've already lost a civilian transport to it. Retribution for the fallen is in order." What could only be assumed as being a small grin formed on it's face, as Mega waited for Arria's response.

Rose however, now having another reason for her rage added, would feel herself slipping deeper into the computer again. But this was stopped again as a soothing and familiar presence kept her mortally bound and dragged slowly back into her own head while keeping her connection strong. "Keep your wits luv, a calm fury is more precise and lethal then hell itself. Let it guide not control....", came a whisper from deep in the data, that only Rose would hear.


HANGAR 2B
The hangar was a swarm of activity as armored and unarmored troops poured in from across the ship. Landing crafts were lined up and ready, heat radiating from their waiting engines.

Officers were present across the bay, directing everyone as they entered. Despite the seeming chaos, everyone knew their roles - craft had been assigned, drills had been run, and the soldiers of the NDC were ready for the occasion.

Istarossi ran into the room alongside Exia, both women fully suited up. Exia had a broad grin on her face that Rossi couldn't quite match, but neither of the two were shy about their eagerness to get into the fray. They ran to their assigned craft and buckled in for the rough ride down.

"Welcome aboard, ladies," came a voice over the intercom. "With you onboard, we're all set for launch. Hold tight!"

Thrusters ignited and the landing craft began to launch from the ship in waves. They shook violently during their takeoff. A sudden stillness followed as the crafts entered space.

The intercom continued, "All troops, prepare for entry. We'll be landing as soon as we've got a clean place to park. We're expecting some serious heat when we hit the ground, so be ready."

SPACE

The situation was getting out of control, Sareash gritted her teeth and looked at her wing, everyone was holding their position while engaging the pirate ships. The fleet, the civilians were in danger as a civilian transport exploded. Sareash kept the intercom in check while she took another enemy fighter down with her gun, the XM1 was moving on her command and she could feel the sweat rolling down her back as she took another one down "For damn sake, these bugs are everywhere... take down their hanger bays now!" She barks the orders over the communication grid and charged her weapon as she aimed at an enemy vessel and fired with a full burst seeing the reflection of the shields "Tssk..." Sareash was not having her day, that was for sure.

Taking a deep breath "Keep your heads, clear people, show them what the NDC is made off! We do not back down, we are fighters!" Trying to give some motivation to pep the troops up as she noticed more enemy ships aiming at the civilians "Oh those damn cowards....Tango-14 and Bravo-21 with me! Rest of you keep pushing forward!" With that said she boost herself to go towards the civilians ships followed by two other XM1's "Civilian fleet is in danger, protection escort on route"

Planetside
Kuvexian Orbital Defense Encampment

The sky was dominated by towering cannons. Each was massive, easily several stories tall, and the light they cast when they fired required all of the ground crew to where tinted goggles. The build up of energy before each shot could be felt on their skin; the discharge strong enough to whip loose hair around and send unattended objects flying.

A handful of these cannons were present in the camp. Each time a lance of energy pierced the sky, the assortment of Kuvexian forces would watch to see if a kill was confirmed. The occasional desired explosion could be seen even ground side, causing the ground crews to cheer.

One of the Kuvexians in the camp strode about, calling to the gunners and maintenance crews. "If you want to earn your pay and live to spend it, keep those cannons firing! This planet belongs to Kuvexia - show these fools how we handle thieves!"

The Kuvexian grinned and looked up, the gold of his earrings jingling pleasantly. They were trophies of past victories. As another bright flash of light lit up the sky, he wondered which of his ears would get the next earring.

This flash of light, however, did not fade. It grew in size and strength and slammed into the cannons in waves. The generators exploded in sequence, ripping through what was left of the camp and taking out the support crew instantly.

Somehow the officer survived, though badly injured. When his eyes finish adjusting, the explosions so brilliant that even his tinted goggles had not been sufficient, he could just barely make out a swarm of dots descending from the sky above. A large number of them exploded in tiny puffs of smoke and fire, victims of the Kuvexian strike craft he was sure, but too many were still getting through.

He grabbed his comms. "All troops! Prepare for battle! The thieves are saving us the trouble of having to go looking for them!"

The officer cut the comm and coughed purple blood into the back of his hand.

There was still time. He'd have his earring.

Space
Elefirn Strike Fighter Squadron

The Elefirn fighter ace and his group had been picking off stragglers on the edge of the battle since the first clash. As far as she was concerned, it was dull work - hardly befitting the rank and accolades piled on her by her Kuvexian masters - but the fighter squadron One Leaf Gently Blowing knew its business.

Sit back.

Find the real threat.

Engage.

She grinned as she found a few targets that seemed worth their time. The NDC fighters were doing their best to protect the freshly-launched landing craft and civilian vessels from the fighters swarming all over them. One group of NDC fighters seemed to have an edge - which suited her just fine.

"Alright, you sorry lot of does, I'm marking our targets. They've been tearing into our forces; it's time to return the favor," she said, voice full of fervor and confidence. Acknowledgements pinged across her HUD from the others in her squad.

Her weapons lit up as an enemy fighter strayed too near. With a grin, she pushed her engines to the max and punched through the new cloud of plasma and debris. Her fighter's shield flickered but held, designed to take a much bigger beating than a few pieces of scrap.

The squadron streaked through space, taking pot shots and wreaking general havoc along their way. The few NDC fighters unfortunate enough to try and engage them were short lived, barely slowing down their approach.

The squad leader watched as the distance indicators next to her targets rapidly decreased. Almost there.

"Here we go! Let's show them what a real dog fight looks like! In strongest storm or changing season, we are!"

"One Leaf Gently Blowing!" came the echoed reply from the rest of the squadron. The distance indicator turned green and a torrent of weapons fire erupted from their fighters as they descended upon Sareash and her wing.

Nearby, another NDC civilian ship exploded under the hail of capital ship fire.

Planetside

Someone up above was keeping track of how many of the landers had been lost to ship and fighter attacks, but there wasn't time to worry about that on the way down. The pilots did their best to dodge and strafe while maintaining a breakneck descent. At the last possible moment, their thrusters kicked in.

The landing craft began to pound into the 'clearing' around the smoldering remains of the Kuvexian orbital defense cannons. The troops inside could already hear the sound of weapons fire and explosions from outside as the local infantry responded, firing upon the landers and emerging troops.

Istrossi shared a glance with Exia as the doors opened and gave each other a broad grin.

"Live or die, at least it'll be interesting!" laughed Istrossi as they barreled out of the lander with the other troops. She hefted up one of her large arms, an oversized gauntlet wrapped around her forearm. It whirred and glowed with brilliant energy as a large barricade of energy coalesced before her. She used it to protect the last of the troops leaving the lander, giving them time to go seek cover. Exia and the others sprayed fire at anything moving in the vicinity, forcing the Kuvexians to take shelter as well.

Istrossi monitored the remaining charge on her shield barricade, taking cover just before it expired.

"Alright, people!" she yelled out, trying to be heard over the sound of the battle around them. "Our tanks and mechs will be dropping right behind us - let's secure the area so our friends can bring the hurt!"

All around them, dozens of landers were dropping off their troops. Other landers would follow right after, taking advantage of the pressure the troops were applying to deploy the larger assault craft.

The sound of heavy footsteps and massive machinery could be heard approaching from the distance, but not from where the NDC forces were arriving.

OOC
Alright, everyone! Time to ratchet up the battle.

Ground forces have your choice of enemies - Rixxikor, Graxlat, Elefirn, etc, as well as a handful of Kuvexians in PAs that should be appropriately scary. Despite the orbital fire from the NDC ships, plenty of barricades, bunkers, artillery, and the like are still present. The path has been cleared; it's up to the NDC ground assault troops and armor to take control of the area - and eventually, the planet.

Space forces still have plenty of hostile ships and fighters to trade fire with. For Sareash and others in fighters, the new Elefirn ace fighters should prove to be a powerful challenge- especially if you want to keep the civilian ships and landers protected. For anyone manning the guns in the NDC capital ships, the Kuvexian forces will continue to put the hurt on targets of opportunity as they seek high kill counts and to demoralize the colonizing forces - unless they're stopped first.

Kuvexian Defensive Emplacement

The blackened ruins of gun emplacements proved at once treacherous and useful for the influx of black armoured soldiers surging from the bellies of the landing craft. With the initiative from the massive blast that had reduced imperial majesty to a smouldering mockery, the conquering horde poured out as vigilant gunfire raked enemy positiosn and shocked defenders were shredded apart or forced to flee further back to rapidly forming defensive emplacements.

It was amidst this orchestrated mayhem that a nearly nine foot tall thousand pound carapae-encased creature vanished mere seconds after its transport unloaded its battle hungry cargo and with it, an entire squad of Conclave troopers. It wasn't hard to see why; landing under fire was pure chaos no matter which side you were on. Machine gunners and grenade launchers had more pressing matters to focus on such as those direclty firing back and those swarming out of their vehicles like a horde of armoured shadowclad black knights. It was not broadswords and lances they brought to bear but bullets, enough to force even rapidfire energy weapon emplacements to reconsider sticking their heads above their targeting sights for a few precious seconds.

All hands were on high alert; anyone not firing a weapon at the Conclave onslaught as hauling ammo, medical equipment, and grenades to the front. They didn't have time for otherwise; the absurd volume of fire they were laying down was the product of rigorous training and discipline, maintained by the armoured form of kuvexian superiors directing barrages and volleys in an unending streams of loud barking and crackling radio transmissions. It was easy for it to turn into pure white noise, an amorphous stream of angry dictatorial command that matched the red hot heat of their gun barrels.

After a while, that's what it was; just the rattling of hands gripping heavy calibre and high output energy weapons, the deafening roar of the guns, the stench of oxidizing air, and the sound of cracking armour, crunching bones, and garbled screams over the audio.


The elefrin carrying a charge pack for a laser cannon dropped it down and fell flat onto her rear, watching as the kuvexian commander's body was yanked to the ground by crooked, curving arms like the joints of some massive spider. He thrashed against the cracked soil and makshift plating, reaching for a knife only for his screams to grow louder and causing pause amongst his inferiors, another kuvexian rushing to try and pry the legs off. One rose and stabbed into his elbow, puncturing armour with its pointed tip and shattering bone as if but glass. His body convulsed, reeked as his bowels emptied, and painfully crunched as veins, flesh, and skin tore from the messy sawing motion.

The elefrin pulled out her sidearm, crouching down as a barrage of bullets flew overhead taking care of the macabre distraction. His suffering had to end, mutilated alive by some unknown terror. His chest jerked upwards as more static screams yelled at them to help; all too late as the gargles cut out. Why became clear; fragmented armour exploded outwards mixing with innards, his last meal, and bodily fluids. In some profane, vile birth a pointed barrel emerged. The world paused in a bout of surreal surprise.

The rifle barrel roared, each report like a gigantic ram slamming into an underworld gate and bodily damnation found its mark. The elefrin's pistol fired, burning carapaced armour. The weapon swivelled her way and the next thing she knew, her lower body seemed distant and halved as her upper half traveleld through the air propelled by a carnivorous, concussive force. The weapon swivelled and a Graxalat screamed, wildly spraying into the desecrated gun-hole. Two rounds; one blew his armour clean open like an egg shell. The other ripped the meat off his bones with an explosive charge sent it pouring through the bipedal coffin. More hellish roars, inhuman judgement from below, and more panicked scattering and vicious, hatefilled, fearful retaliatory fire.

Another Kuvexian; iron willed and dour. Directing the others to get back to their posts on threat of severity, he grabbed the rifle and shoved his own through his comrade's unrecognizable carcass, firing a ripping barrage into the dirt and scoring hits on the unseen opponent from the sound of armour reacting against rounds. The gunfire intensified with his hatred but in a split second he realized those weren't the sounds of Conclave rifles. Dull thuds and choking cries; he looked around to see black clad figures erupting from the dirt; knives and rifles wielded with equal savagery as point blank rounds and throat-hungering blades ripped into secured gun positions and desperate defenders.

Cursing he leapt back, swinging up his rifle to fire at the horrid beings seemingly borne out of the soil of their nightmares. Rounds flew wild; friend and foe tasted ripping DEW supremacy yet they moved with a sudden, carnal tenacity. It wasn't quite human to him, no matter what the scans told him. Commando soldiers attacking from the earth, sweeping through his squads, slicing through them like chaff against the scythe? What treachery was t-

What? He stumbled backwards as something slammed into him, sending him off of his feet and into a box of rounds.

There it was; its arm still glowed from the energy blasts he'd sent even through the soil and the end of the massive rifle in its righ arm was caked in a number of fluids and half melted meat. Its body huge, enormous, nightmarish, some overgrown creeping scum of the undergrowth. Every inch segmented and jointed, multiple limbs emerged like surgical tools attached to long jointed limbs, and the nightmarish un-face that did not glare at but through, around, and past him. What the hell was that thing? Crab? Beetle? Centipede? Mantis?

It lurched, no shot forwards. His weapon raised with the same lightning speed it had a thousand times but on its at least ten legs, its hand had alread caught the rifle. Another ripped it from his grasp and before his fear could travel up his spine, he found his boy parallel to the ground, held up by two massive clawed arms. He panted, yelling over the radio, but only gunfire and screams answered. Soon, another voice joined them, evoked by multiple pointed limbs emerging from his back and the sound of bone and metal giving way.

For the NDC troopers approaching the position, the first thing they saw was half of a kuvexian body flying over the top, slamming into the ground dead and still and the sound of a few more distant, tentative bursts.

"Zvraciek here; one position taken. The worms are regrouping and beginning to open fire. Let us widen their wounds." The arthropod monstrosity's voice buzzed over the radio, monotone in his tone as he secured the emplacement.

Vale of Discovery
Bridge

Arria couldn't stop a smirk from forming upon her face when her handiwork registered on the moon's surface, the multicolored explosions of different munitions and fuels painting its canvas of a surface, visible even from this distance. Assholes can't even prioritize. Being cruel like that is the number one way to lose, dick. The Elysian thought. She spent a second more tracking the progress of the landing craft and their mecha escorts, before turning her attention back to the battle she was personally fighting.

A civilian ship's explosion rumbled through the massive carrier's hull, and Arria grimaced. "God, I hate fighters! Gimme that," she commanded to the ship as she took control of a battery of CIWS and aimed them manually - check the movement, danger close... The shields of that ship can take the splash, the smol determined as she opened fire, shredding a group of fighters who expected the bulk of the ships to protect them. As expected, more than a few shots missed, evaporating on the barrier surrounding the other ship. Thank the light, one less group of those little shits to deal with.

Planetside
Chlorate was sitting in the driver's seat of Lena's tank. Oddly enough, the tank was moving... but she was not. The robot was sitting strangely still... no, not just that, she was limp! She wasn't even touching the controls! Was she asleep? It probably wasn't very reassuring that earlier, after Lena extended her hand, Chlorate responded by... Staring at it. She clearly didn't understand what the gesture meant. Despite this, the tank was still driving just fine.

Adria looked around in the cockpit of her Hydra tank before she deployed. She took a few minutes just to take in what the interior of one of these looked like. She never saw it herself before, she would've wanted to but her large red wings simply refused to let her fit inside the narrow hatch-and even if she managed to squeeze them through, the interior would've been far too cramped for them. Luckily, this one was modified. After this, she deployed her tank behind most of the others, and spent some time getting used to the controls as she slowly caught up to the rest.

Bridge
Isabelle Pine sat in her chair, lightly tapping her foot in a way that wasn't very audible. She did this not out of impatience, no, not at all, but out of habit as she was unsure of what was going to happen next. She wasn't sure what to expect, but she was ready for the engineers in case they called for help. Fortunately, she didn't hear anything yet, which indicated the S6S-Valiant hadn't sustained any real damage. It concerned her, though, that she didn't have a hand in directly preventing the ship from sustaining damage. She was an engineer, but not a trained combatant; she could repair damage after the fact, but not stop it beforehand.

As the battle escalated quickly, and how the main planetary body based threat was wiped out with impunity, Zeke gave a slight mix between a smirk and a pity filled smile. Tossing the activation key to the daur girl named Scharlette, he climbed into the XM1 painted in forest patterned digital camo, and locking his Impulse armor suit into the pilot cradle. As the plating closed around his armored form, making a armored coffin like cocoon, he felt his consciousness dive into the systems of the mech alongside Nyx. Opening his sense, the cramped interior was replaced with a digital bubble of sorts, the feeds from the battle net spilling over the bubble's surface.

The blonde merc gave his sorta niece a thumbs up as the drive started up, and the locks freed on their shared armored avatar. Taking on of the new plasma rifles made for their mechs, and all other weapons systems now showing green, the mech stepped forwards and to the catapult. "Alright Nyx, you ready to help ole uncle Zeke do what this family does best? It's time we got out there with the infantry and kicked some pirate booty", he said with his usual dumb smirk at another terrible pun.

Nyx materialized beside him in hologram form as her AI was uploaded in place of Eve. A smile formed on her lips as she took a quick look around then got a systems alert as the weapons system showing green across the board. They were ready to kick butt, was what she thought but she couldn’t help but laugh at his pun attempt, though it was a terrible pun, she was amused by it since they would be fighting pirates. “Yes, let’s kick some Pirate booty,” she said with a smirk that copied her uncle’s smirk.

They were moving forward according to the sensors, and she got herself ready. “I’ll handle the diagnostics, and repair work, as well as what else I can do here, you got the rest right?” she asked as they moved. “You know... Chlorate loves tanks... but I think I have found something I like too, vehicle wise I mean. “She said to Zeke then as she turned her attention to the screens. “Hello Pirates, on behalf of my family, and our army, we are evicting you from this world, it belongs to us now, sorry” Was said next but since she didn’t project it outside the Mech, only Zeke could hear it, and also the Dusk legion they were connected to. All could hear in her voice, she wasn’t sorry.

Louis looked around nervously as he and the other civilians were herded into a safer section of the ship. Looking around he could see the room ready nearly full and more people were coming, unconsciously he scratched the scars on his cheek. He wondered how safe they were going to be, gleaming from the few question that he managed to ask the military personal salvers were among their attackers. Remembering the articles his mentor Silas had written about human trafficking stoked a growing panic in him.

When he was shoved from behind and nearly fell forward Louis was brought back to reality “Watch it!” A man yelled as he walked away from Louis. Taking another look around he made his way to the edge of the room and lean against the wall. Taking a deep breath, he reached into his satchel and pulled out his audio recorder and a set of headphones. Plugging the headphones into the recorder and putting them on he selected a recording from one of the people he had interviewed about an important event in their life and listened.

Sharlett grabbed the key out of the air that was tossed to her from a new found friend. At least she figured he was a friend since he seemed nice to her. Though he had not given her head pats which to her was always a sign of friendship. She would have to confirm if this was true at the end of the battle. That is if they lived to see each other again.

He hopped into the armor and quickly was sucked into the armored abyss. The systems instantly activated and she was greeted with a warm welcome. Mostly this was from the internal heating/cooling system of the armor, rest of it was from the fact she was crammed into a steel box with a tone of fur. She thought the hours she will need to spend getting this all brushed out.

She readied to launch and even got a good laugh from the pun made by Zeke. Pirates always did have a thing for collecting booty.

(I forgot we're on a moon for this thing - mentions of Planet have been corrected to Moon where it makes sense)

Moonside
Kuvexian Orbital Defense Encampment (Ruins)

The Kuvexian officer hissed as the Conclave forces began to make a mess of his now ruined encampment. It had taken weeks of work, carefully hidden deliveries, and plans to prop up the pirates in this region as a destabilizing force. A few more weeks and he'd have been able to pull out, confident that even if the pirates had managed to screw up with all they'd been given, they would have left a dent.

Now it was all coming undone.

He spat out a curse, continuing to shout orders. He knew that pirate reinforcements were on their way from wherever the hell they'd gotten off to, but the assaulting force weren't likely to give his forces enough time to fortify their ground positions.

He switched his comms to a band reserved for his forces only. "Troops! Fall back to the bunker!"

Whenever the pirates arrived, they could earn their keep the hard way.

(@AntediluvianIntransigence )
"Troops! Fall back to the bunker!" said the voice over the radio.

The Graxlats and other aliens that comprised the encampment's rear line, would have laughed at the absurdity of the order if they weren't so busy dealing with huge, monstrous, gun-toting insectoids. They were all used to a diverse range of body shapes. Even disgusting aliens had their place - they worked with the Rixxikor often enough, after all.

Nightmares were something else, entirely.

One of the nearby Rixx spat, sending fluids across the ground and a few nearby allies. "FUCK ME, FUCK THIS," he yelled as he hefted up his laser rifle, "AND FUCK YOU!"

The rifle blared, firing a messy barrage of energy towards the attackers. Others, partially shaken out of the terror-filled paralysis that had overtaken them, joined in the attack. Their numbers, they hoped, would be sufficient to deal with the insanity that was this new enemy.

(@Noodlewerfer, @Phyrexus )
The pirates received no such warning as their dropships and aircraft approached the battlegrounds.

Crude mechs, armored with thick metal scrap and with an appearance closer to a tank on legs, were released from the dropships. Some were destroyed as they fell and others before they were even released from their dropships, but enough made it to the ground for the Conclave forces nearby to feel their impact through the ground.

One such mech threw open its laser-scarred hatch, revealing a rugged man within who wore a grin as puffed at a large cigar.

"Arrright you bastards," he said over the comms to the survivors of his assault force, "let's go collect our loot! You can have the guns, but I'll keep the women! Bwahahaha!"

The others responded in similar fashion, adding in a few helpful yarrs here and there. The Kuvexians had been quite clear about their expectations for the pirate band and they weren't interested in losing the additional income. Assuming they all survived.

The pirate mechs dashed forwards, riding on the tank treads of their thick, angular feet. When they were close to emerging from the forest and into the clearing created by the orbital fire, they came to a halt. The group took aim at the Conclave's armor, opening fire with surprisingly powerful plasma weaponry.

One of the Hydras exploded immediately. The shields of the others were battered by the plasma, but managed to hold - for now.


(@SirSkully )

"FUCKING SHITS KILLED KANOXOR!" cried a Rixxikor as it emerged from the nearby wreckage, looking at the still-smoking body of its 'comrade'. It had liked Kanoxor.

"I TOLD YOU SHITHEADS THAT WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TRIED TO FLANK THESE ASSHOLES," declared another Rixx, following the first with a handful of others. "EVERYTIME. EVERYTIME SOMEONE GETS A BRIGHT IDEA, SOMEBODY GETS FUCKED!"

The first Rixx scowled at the second. It had seemed like a good plan. The pirate who had been giving them orders had even waved them off with a "sure, whatever, sounds great, just leave me alone". It had seemed like a strong endorsement of the plan.

They stood there quietly for a bit, looking at the body, before one of them broke the silence.

"So, do I get his shit?"

That caused them all to begin bickering, waving their hands about and generally competing for the best insults. Somewhere in the middle of all the flailing, one of them noticed the man standing nearby.

"Oh," it said, simply, as it scrambled to get its weapon back into its hands, "shit."

(@Jack Pine , @Steeljaw36 , @EhWha )

The power armor forces had been moving forward at speed, Storm Rifles and other weapons blaring. Their assault was slowed as power armors of various design had been deployed to intercept them. The Conclave forces had been forced to find shelter and lay down covering fire as they moved from wreckage to wreckage.

Istrossi snarled as a blast came too close for comfort, looking at the others in her unit. If they didn't take action, and soon, they would lose the advantage their assault had given them. Worse, the enemy might retreat to a position that they might actually be able to hold. The four meter tall woman shook her head to clear it. She hadn't made it this far by being some brilliant tactician - she could leave that to the people duking it out in the stars above.

She had made it this far on guts.

The Tsumi woman double-checked her gauntlet's power, then shifted her Storm Rifle to her lower arms. "Alright, everyone! I'm gonna charge these bastards. Fall in and take'em out!"

'Because if you don't, I'm about to die a really embarrassing death,' she thought with a wry grin.

Her gauntlet's shield flickered to life, wide enough to protect a three-wide group of Revenants. She burst out from behind their cover, running forward with a presence that would be hard to match by anyone smaller than she. Her weapon erupted, roaring out in the signature Storm Rifle fashion. Rossi didn't dare to look back, but she hoped to hear the echoing cry of other Storm Rifle fire from behind her.

Space
Elefirn Strike Fighter Squadron "One Leaf Gently Blowing"

(@RaWolfe, @Steeljaw36, @HarperMadi )
The squadron dove and twisted through wreckage and enemy craft alike as it pursued their targets. Stray craft that came too near exploded in a hail of plasma fire from both sides, barely an afterthought for the intense dog fight that streaked through the battle. The Conclave fighters were devoted to keeping the civilian ships safe. The Elefirn squadron was devoted to keeping them from doing anything but that.

The squadron leader grinned as her crosshairs lined up with one of the XM-1's. She pulled the triggers and the mech, its shields far past their limits, was punctured. Its engines flared up and sent it careening through space.

"One more for me!" she cheered.

A thick beam of energy from the Valiant caused the squadron to disperse and temporarily cut off the squadron's view of the capital ship.


(@Jack Pine , @Charaa )
Aboard the S6S-Valiant, one of the hangar bay operatives was busy checking clearances and flipping release switches. "Unit Zeke, cleared for catapult!"

Energy crackled along the catapult as it built up its charge. Lightning seemed to flare as the mech was flung at high speed into space, briefly shoving its occupants backward before the initial dampeners caught up.

"Unit Sharlett, cleared for catapult!"

The second mech fired in the same fashion as the first, emerging into space shortly after the first. Their HUDs immediately tried to make sense of the fracas, painting the hundreds of rapidly moving craft and capital ships with friend-or-foe markers.

One group of allies was marked as high-priority: the slowly dwindling XM-1 force defending the civilian ships.

S6S Valiant - Bridge
(@Arbitrated , @Noodlewerfer , @HarperMadi )

The successful attack on the encampment, and the following landing force deployment, had temporarily thrown the enemy forces into a crisis. The short amount of time that the pirates and their conspirator allies had focused on the landing craft had given the civilian ships a reprieve, but only barely.

The Conclave ships, however, were putting a sizable dent into the enemy's defending forces. One pirate ship lit up as it was struck and another exploded in a red-white sphere as its generators went critical.

The battle seemed to be turning solidly in their favor.

One of the bridge crew suddenly sat up in their chair. frantically working at the console. "One of the disabled pirate ship's engines have come back online! It's heading straight at the Valiant with maximum thrust! Shield systems appear to be back online!" she cried out. The disabled ship was perilously close, largely ignored as the Conclave ships had moved on to other, more active targets.

The pirate ship's heavily shielded and armored prow began to absorb an incredible amount of fire. It quickly became obvious that this maneuver was a tactic on the ship's part and not some lucky stroke.

If not dealt with swiftly, the Valiant would soon be impaled by the other vessel.