Dark Rain's Story

Multiple sensor echos rippled throughout the local space, as first dozens, then hundreds of ships began to emerge into real space. Already in formation, the fleet corrected minor misalignments within but a minute, smoothly splitting into squadrons as the took in sensor data. On each bridge the scene was the same, the command crew lying in their crash couches seemingly asleep. Yet the whisker beam transmissions flitting with startling frequency between the vessels told another tale.

<Assuming command of Dragnipur Fleet, Flagship Draconus. Task groups to assigned locations, standing order to engage any and all Taiyou, Varden, and UCON vessels. Taiyou vessels are cleared for termination, Varden and UCON are termination only if necessary.>

A flurry of transmission answered the call, Admiral Nomack's head nodding on her command couch before she thought through the link to her own crew. <Com, prep general transmission, range throughout the system. Target any Aschen frequencies you find and lock them in.>

The communication would appear as the woman herself on the recipient screens, the projection as if she were awake, addressing those viewing. "This is Admiral Carmine Nomack of the UDW Draconus to all local Aschen vessels. Assistance is at hand, access the attached codes and communicate with Dark Rain vessels. This is not a trick, scopes on outer system bearing for confirmation. Warning, our weapons are high range, high power directed fusion, do not be in the firing paths to target."

The vessel in question beared her course straight in toward Terra, the 2k long supercarrier appearing as an umbral blade scything forth, her attached cruisers and destroyers like that of swords and daggers around her. Abyss Cannons throughout the fleet powered up, the many massive bores smoothly tracking with the assistance of the AI/bridge crew fusions of each ship. Pilots rushed to their fighters, bombers, AIMs, and platforms, grav-drives and plasma boosters warming up as they spilled out hangar bays. Radar and lidar lashed among the stars as hosts of sensor clusters and electronic eyes peered around, and the vast amount of data was translated to little more than thought to the cybernetic fusion of man and machine.

Oh but they had warned before, but finally they were wakened. Dark Rain was going to war, and in a bizarre twist it was to the aid of the Aschen. The initial number of vessels was increasing anew, as the central carriers and supercarriers of the formations began to disengage the smaller parasite cruisers attached to themselves, the sleek, extremely heavily armed craft nosing away from their berths to add to the swarm. Escorts disengaged from the cavernous belly hangars of the full cruisers, and the approach of Dragnipurcould not help but be noticed as the flood of high power grav and counter-grav drives tugged the fleet ever inward.

The hypercarrier Devastator carved its way back into real space, arriving at the coordinates Kianna had provided. All around the immense starship, supercruisers, battleships, and destroyers materialized as they disengaged their tunnel drives, immediately launching their smaller escorts and fighter swarms. The battlegroup was by no means a full fleet, but as the parasite cruisers undocked from his ship, Jenovan stared out his bridge's display at the arrayed vessels and found the sight satisfying in a deadly way. The formation spread itself, the nearly eighty vessels clearing the firing lines of the hundreds of Abyss Cannons that bristled from every ship. Fighters, bombers, platforms and AIM mechs swarmed through the vacuum, moving to join their squadrons and reach their assigned coordinates.

His bridge lie in their couches around him, yet the Admiral himself sat strapped into his command seat, his holodisplays glaring before him. "Com, open lines to the battlegroup." A moment later, a light to confirm the connection. "This is Admiral Grieves to the Devastator Group. We hold this line, ladies and gentleman, and we show the Aschen why the Dark Rain are feared across half the stars."

Though he could not hear it, across the bridges and halls of his vessels, the sound of a simultaneous salute, fists crashing into chests and breastplates, answered his words. Eyes turned and stonily watched the space for the ships of the Pegasus Project Kianna had spoken of, the naval pilots and soldiers aware of the standing orders.

Shoot on sight, and terminate with extreme prejudice.

The Admiral took a moment to stretch his own arms, and as they settled back down, a muted glow came from his eyes, strong enough to shine through the silks that shrouded them. A sign that in addition to the vessels under his command, there was another weapon in the battle to come that was being wielded, and it lay solely in Jenovan's hands.

The Zar fleet remained it's current placement, but as the new massive fleet arrived the admiral knew his relief force to the surface could be caught in the crossfire. He walked briskly across the bridge and opened a comm. "Relief Force Pull back to the fleet break off planetary run. I'm calling in additional assets for defense now." He said before closing the channel.

The admiral looked over the tactical map of space it was alight with thousands of ship signatures. "This is a bloody nightmare." He muttered. " Pull defense fleet Alpha and tactical response battle-groups beta and gamma, from the mid rim and re-position out remaining assets. Make sure to get some special actions teams as well. I want play this safe but hopefully we don't get yanked in." He said with a frown.

Now he turned his attention to the massive fleet. "Who are they?" He shouted to find no answer. "Someone try to hail them!" He shouted as he motioned to the Dark Rain fleet. "Attention Foreign Fleet this is the Admiral Zarhara of the Zar-Republic, Please Identify. We are a neutral fleet and do not wish to engage!" He said in a message. "Repeat the message and alert me of any response." The admiral said.

Upon receiving the retreat order the small relief task force broke off and raced through the fray heading back for the Zar Forward position a few miles from the main battle. Unnoticed to the admiral until the fleet returned though was that Commander Wolf's shuttle had not returned but instead made it's way to the surface.

General Allen sat in an office at the old Sanctum base. He was here while preparations were being finilized on the new Joes base. It took over a year to build since the attack by an Aschen agent crippling their previous base but it was almost done. But he was here to get work done. Over his desk he worked on two serious letters. One to the Terran Government, the other to the Invictus leader that was calling for Terran Reform.


To the Leadership of the Terran National Government,

Hello, My name is Dave Allen if you do not recognize the name from your briefings I am General of the GI Joes a counter terror organization. Your records may show that our previous base was destroyed durring the Aschen occupation of Terra. We do not fade easily. But this letter is in regards to recent events. Over the past year terrorism has seemed to be running rampent throught Terra. The people are scared but I have seen no action taken on behalf of the TNG. Therefore I suggest this, if the TNG does not step up and take appropriate action then the Joes will. I am leaving exactly Twenty-four hours in place to see something take place before I begin to send out my counter terrorism teams.

Sincerely General Dave Allen.


He finished the letter and printed copies mailing them not only to the TNG but other various organizations as well. Then he went on to write the second letter to the leader of Invictus.

[i]To the current leader of Invictus,

My name is Dave Allen General of the GI Joes, a counter intelligence group on Terra though I'm sure you already know this so I'm going to get straight to the point here. We have received word through our intelligence and your broadcast regarding your calls for Terran reform. I am in complete agreement with this and have attached a letter that I sent to the TNG. Terra is not defending it's people, something has to be done. I am more then willing to step up and help, so I am offering my support to your cause and more importantly the people of Terra. I would be happy to discuss this in person if you so wish.

-General Dave Allen, JOE CO

A large ship would make it's slow approach on the planet of Langara, the ship was almost a thousand meters long, about five hundred meters wide. The ship radiated different energy, possibly using more than one way of powering itself and it's shields. The shields could absorb amounts of damage that would seem impossible, even with the technology available to the universe.

The ship began to speed up towards the planet, reaching a speed most large ships should be unable to reach. It was unclear to those watching or attempting to intercept ship where the unusually fast spacecraft was going at first.

That was until it reached the skies over Caprica City. Rioting and unrest from the city below was eclipsed by this new ship. Some would probably wonder who had arrived. New Aschen ships? Special forces maybe? Hadante?

It was something new. Something dangerous. Those who could tell that this wasn't aid were already fleeing or awaiting a fight with invaders or police attempting to stop them.

Whoever or whatever was inside the ship didn't seem intent on doing anything. One could wonder if the ship's arrival was just a ploy, keeping people distracted from something bigger.

Inside the watch-tower men and women were scrambling to respond to the situation.

"Sir, they're preparing to fire," Asha called out.

"Get our shields up," an officer hollered.

A dome over the top of the tower slid partially open to a slit that reveal the volarian crystal encased within it. A beam of light emitted from its top as it reacted and a moment later there was a flare of light as a pale dome encased the tower and the surrounding area. The dome flared and grew red with each strike of plasma against it, but the shield seemed to be holding up well enough.

"Concentrate fire on the cliffs!"

The retaliation from the watchtower came in the form of solarcannons that tore through the ranks gathering at the cliffs, and those trying to scale it. Rock was turned molten beneath the heat, and quickly hardened over as the cold water of the sea washed in to cool it once more.

Visibility became all but impossible for the naked eye from the thick plumes of steam that rose up from the evaporating water, but the turrets were unrelenting. With the solarcannons sheering the cliffs and turning the rock molten, even targets with shields capable of withstanding the temperatures of the focused solar beams would quickly become victim of the laws of gravity dragging them loose as rock - solid and molten alike - cascaded downwards to smash them against the rocky shores below.

"Sir, we're picking up a Taiyou signal from nearby - a battleship it looks like," Asha called out.

"Put me through to them," the officer said.

'We're under heavy fire, I repeat we're under heavy fire. Requesting immediate reinforcements.'

"We have a response from the Losenyu," Asha spoke up. "They're sending reinforcements with the Taiyou fleet moored in Losenji. They'll be here in about ten minutes."

"Time to dig in then," the officer growled. "Do we have enough power?"

Asha checked some readings. "Worse case scenario, at this rate we have enough reserve power to keep the crystal running for two and half, maybe three days under heavy fire. Weeks if we don't need to switch to the reserves, fewer if we need to increase the power," she answered before pausing. "Uh... Sir?"

"What is it?"

"We're receiving word from the capital that a Dark Rain vessel is arriving with the Avorians," she explained. "We're being requested to not fire upon it."

"Who the hell are the Dark Rain?" the officer asked. "Ah fuck it. If it can shoot, we can use it. Pass that information through to the Taiyou and the Losenyu."

The nearby fishing village wasn't as fortunate as the watch-tower, and the repetitive striking of the gong ceased as the civilians were fired upon. Like ants they scattered with cries and shouts as they began to evacuate the town to head further inland away from the battle.

A plasma blast took out one of the pillars on the gong and sent the altar falling from the cliff face to the rocky waters below, but the last strike of the gong seemed to be holding a reverberating tone as it sank beneath the water. As the gong vanished from view the sound turned to a deep keening wail... or was that coming from somewhere deeper?

The sound might have been mistaken for the low groaning song of a whale, if not for the vibrations it carried with it through the water that left the vessels within the ocean vibrating.

Deep within the ocean depths a single draconic eye opened as Haigara was roused from his slumber. Having slept for the better part of a century tucked away in the seemingly endless chasms of the ocean depths, the aptly named 'sea-god' had gone unnoticed by the Cybran's that had moved into his waters - and they had gone equally as unnoticed by him. It wasn't until the gong was struck that the weight of his deep hibernation was beginning to lift.

There was no light where he dwelt, and no life save for his own, but over the years his resting place had grown eroded and buried beneath rock.

With a shudder he rose and braced his massive bulk against his prison as he let out a loud keening wail that sent vibrations through the rock to weaken it at its faults. For now the prison held though and Haigara fell still to gather his strength once more.

Soon.

He could feel his old strength returning to him. He knew not why he had been roused, but the gong would not have been struck for idle reasons - lest the humans come to know his wrath instead of his protection.

Bowman, 8th Gun Battery, 3-Battalion

Unlike the mechanized and armored artillery atypical of the Guards, or Home Army, the marines still utilized towed artillery. These cumbersome and antique weapons may have been deemed long obsolete in modern wafare but they still served a purpose to the Apparatus custodial forces garrisoning the planet still. It was a whole battalion, well over 300 guns, that was left with the half-regiment sized force guarding the island after a previous skirmish amongst the Shintenchi militaries and an unknown aggressor.

Now these guns aimed lazily towards the coast. Barrel plugs and breech stops were torn out of the weapons like the cork of a champagne bottle. Electric drives powered up to a shrill whine that dominated the rolling plateau reaching from sparsely wooded grasslands that was the gun battery's Primary Artillery Site. These weapons were massive fixtures or warfare, locked against the ground and dug down to the middle of their tires that sprouted from the stubby, almost insect-like 'legs' that allowed the towed gun some local mobility.

They were particularly out in the middle of nowhere, partly to maintain as little an impact on the local populace but to also make a quick, total invasion of the island all but impossible without bringing serious reinforcements. This was a double-edged sword, as in their position they were only able to recieve brief, rapid coordination from command.

Artillery would most certainly be needed in the upcoming skirmish. Firstly, though, the guns had nowhere to aim in particular: secondly, none of the marine gunners knew just what exactly their target was.

This is a typical curse of the artilleryman, who often fought the battle so far removed he wouldn't have a serious idea of who, or what, he killed with his long guns.

Several meters away from the first collection of guns, the Forward Station, a control post had been dug in and fortified into the slopping landslide that would serve as the artillery battery's fire control center. Parked outside and dug into small redoubts along with it were armored personnel and weapons carriers, holding ammunition and repair equipment along with spare barrels.

A Corporal took the binoculars away from his eyes, turning away from the sliding landscape to their front leading to what was known as 'the Littoral Zone'.

"We're at about ninteen-twenty klicks out, are we ranged for fire?" The Corporal laid himself against the lip of the fighting position, a quickly raised series of trenches and gun pits in a star-formation around the artillery. Three marine artillerymen crouched in the fighting position with their equipment, handheld targeting computers and digital clipboards equipped with extensive terrain mapping of the littoral area.

"We'll probably start firing soon, sounded like we were just waiting for a Fire Mission Clear from Actual." A Private marked calmly as he scrawled over a clipboard, tracing fire paths with a stylus and working out trajectories on an app.

"There doesn't seem to be any inclement weather developing so we could be firing just off raw data ... who's calling the fire missions in the field?" The Corporal replied, while sliding back down into the pit and taking the AR-682 assault rifle with him from the lip of the trench.

"Natives. They'll be getting backup from an Imperial taskforce but it looks like most of the leg-work will be done by them."

"Let's hope they appreciate how to effectively utilize artillery."


Back at the Forward Station a klaxon rushed through the position and suddenly the team of four gun operators sprang into action. Bursting from the dug out position beside the parked M22HAT-M artillery tower providing a small amount of shade with a camouflaged tarp reaching out from its side.

"Readying for fire mission, sortie the first round! 155-General, go, go!" A Sergeant bounced down into the trench leading to the first gun, an M-155 Odin-II howitzer, and stomped his way through the soft mud to the breech of the weapon. Joining the three other crew members for a total gun crew of four the Sergeant took his position at the armored bulwark molded to the side of the weapon's impressive mechanism. He planted himself at the spartan metal seat, one leg pressing at the servos controlling the angle of the gun.

Just on the other side of the loading breech a Corporal pulled back a lever. Metal and machine howled as they ran together and the breech was pried open and the inner mechanism of the howitzer waited for a fresh round to enter the breech.

"Deciding for first fire mission -- elevation A-4, directionals are R-2 and L-3.2." The team worked as a coordinated, living war machine. The breech of the weapon gaped open as it waited for sustenance, and a pointed 155mm general purpose high-explosive shell was planted on the round-ram. The autoloader mechanism whirred and the shell slid into the howitzer.

"Gun loaded, Sergeant!" A Private crawled away from the weapon, taking the Sergeant's place at the gun shield.

"Sending it."

The Sergeant bellowed as he stood at the lip of the fighting hole. The four-man crew now assumed a slight distance from the weapon, as the concussive blast of the 155mm shell launching on its trajectory was capable of seriously damaging any living thing caught in the fury. The men all crouched and plugged their ears as the Sergeant lifted a hand into the air, fingers clenhed on the wireless trigger of the gun. When he dropped his hand back he activated the clapper, and dust sprang up all around them as the howitzer fired.

The next two guns in the battery then fired simeltanouesly, a thunderous storm of weaponry and machine roared across the Volarian plains: the first of a three-minute long opening bombardment from two coordinated batteries began.

Deep under the surface, Dark Rain traffic entered the communications nodes of a behemoth that had been waiting in slumber through the course of several wars. As yet, nothing moved, but if one studied the freshly grown rock and coral deposits, one could see the outline of a ship.

And it was simply huge.

The men and women onboard the UDW Apophis bared their teeth in anticipation of action, and moved like a well oiled machine when the captains orders came from the comms.

"Ready A.I.M. Catapults. Load Dragon Furor, Titanium Wolf, Fury Bear, and Wizel."

The Cybrans quickly pushed away from the cliffs, started to create a beachhead like the rest of the assaults along the coastline. They quickly took the remains of the village as Godhearts Armoured Command Unit stood within the way of the some of the firepower, while overcharging his weapons to make on plasma blast to go straight through the shields as he gave the order to fire....

The forces had found a path up to the top of the cliffs to attack the solar cannons and the turrets quickly.

Then the Heavy artillery started to rain down on the forces, but that did not stop them. A number vehicles were destroyed as they continued to force inland. Vast amounts of missiles launched within a few seconds to counter the shells raining down, all designed for heavy explosive power.

Monitor Station K19,
Underwater near the coastline of Volaria.

"Sir, the new orders. We have to launch the Nuclear weapons into high orbit towards the Cybran Fleet that is hanging in orbit, awaiting to drop." Called the Senior NCOs with a shout while smaller missiles with HE warheads fired towards the Solar weapons also.

The Officer unbuttoned the top button of his shirt to produce as key, the Senior NCO doing the same. They pushed the keys into the keyholes and turned them. A second NCO quickly set the trajectories and pressed the last button. Alarms started to go off, Nuclear codes firing. Nuclear codes firing

The UDW Purgatory boiled in towards the combat zone, smooth and silent on its counter-grav drive as it began to enter a sort of aerial slide, bringing its port side guns to bear. It parked a few kilometers out of the strike zone, hovering over the prairie. Abyss usage was locked in the scenario, but frigates were built for atmospheric operations just as well as orbital ones, and the heavy barrels of its Ballista cannons were brought to bear on the larger of the Cybran ships. Smaller, triple bored turrets lined up to engage the larger minor units, while the hatches of dozens of missile silos cracked open.

Spectre, in command, per Storm Witch's absence, surveyed the tac screens on the bridge, nestled within the heavy armored belly of the beast. His command reclined in their stations, eyes closed as they linked through their implants to the shipboard AI, forming a formidable union of men, women, and computer. "All stations, fire at will on Cybran painted targets. Extrude sniper platforms and get the Hounds and Wolves with heavy rifles out on the deck. Kick out Sparrow."

As one, sixteen Ballista's thrummed before the resonant shock of 100mm slugs were blasted downrange at Mach 6, each one no mere chunk of metal. Each was equipped with a three stage enhancement, an optical targeting camera, miniscule fins and a plasma rocket booster, and underneath the camera unit was a thermal core that just before impact, initiated the transformation of the outer shell into dense, superhot plasma. The bolts thundered across the sky, minorly adjusting courses to strike the center of mass on the Cybran warships, where if they struck, carried enough kinetic shock to blow large craters, if not tunnels, straight through their targets.

Exactly three seconds later, they roared again. And would continue to do so for as long as targets remained on the scopes.

At first, dozens, the several hundred missiles rose from the frigate, climbing high into the air to gain maximum velocity. When they turned earthward once more, they kicked on a counter-grav drive that sent them blistering into the forefront on the assault closer to Mach 13, each one releasing smaller smart bombs that rode in their wake as they dropped to hammer the front lines with sheer kinetic shock and a delayed explosion equivalent to a single ton of TNT. The smart bombs, however, only carried a scant equivalent of 200lbs of TNT, but three released per missile changed the perspective of those on the receiving end when they struck almost 5 seconds after the missile volley. The Purgatory held back the next volley for "sweeping".

At the same time, the triple bored turrets of the frigate released line after line of high output lasers into the melee, each throwing a 15 gigawatt/second charge into the larger of the minor Cybran combat units, simply hammering the heavies as the Iron Hounds and Steel Wolves came out onto sniper platforms bearing huge, menacing rifles that they slapped down on mounts at the edge of the platform, targeting particularly effective small Cybran units or leader appearing types, putting 20mm hyperballistic slugs screaming across the sky with deadly efficiency and the skill of long practice at such extended range combat.

Finally, something substantially large rose on the top of the frigate, sailing off the bow before active stealth systems wrapped the A.I.M., taking it from sight as it began a cautious approach of the combat zone.

All said, the sheer destructive force of a single Dark Rain frigate was crippled only by the lock out of its Abyss cannons, but even as it was, it would be terrifying to behold.

Suddenly, a large second force erupted from the seas, vast battleships arming up their weapons as they appeared from under the surface. A vast fleet of tanks and heavy vehicles pushed towards the land, climbing onto the beaches before they stopped on the flat plains about ten miles from the beaches. A set of engineers quickly began to build a number of firebases, loading their materials off the trucks that came through a constant stream of weaponry and supplies. There was then a number of armoured command units that pushed themselves up from the water, with a group of support command units appearing from behind them.

A vast starship calmly pulled up from the vast ocean pushing it's thrusters to counter the gravity and test it's systems before a couple more appeared to the sides of it. At the command of the HDNS Purger was a younger commander, out of training and armed to the teeth. He stroked his chin before nodding to his systems commander, "Send us up."

The vast starship pushed its way up out of the atmosphere, with a few others following it. They were already preparing an orbital strike of Volaria, with a number of heavy artillery and missile silos quickly being put into swift action, starting to round of shells as soon as they came out the factory. The sheels went into the atmosphere then started landing on the denfive points all over Volaria. The front line bases where the clement had dried within a few minutes were already have hive of activity, great flags and banners being put up along with the anti aircraft weapons. These forces had to rely on anti aircraft guns until the SAM launchers were pulled out the sea. There was already a vast amount of civilians pushing their way around to settle into their new homes on the surface after years of living under the sea.

Unfortunately as the forces located the small path - which would provide little in the way of moving a large body of troops very quickly - the solarcannons once more tore across the cliff lengths in a devastating line of destruction. Paths were closed off as molten rock poured down, and once more gravity took hold as the forces trying to reach the height of the towering cliffs were once again sent cascading back down to the beach below where the turrets continued unabated in firing into the masses gathered on the beaches.

With the artillery strikes and solarcannons lancing along the coast, it was making it difficult to scale the cliffs head on. Even if the Cybran shields could hold against such damage, the cliffs couldn't, and without secure rock to gain purchase on they were left to fall. All along the coastal cliffs entire sections of sheered rock were being knocked loose to crush the Cybran's at their base.

It was proving a poor strategic location for a seabased assault - and serving as a display of why such assaults were so difficult given the massive quantity of lives to be thrown against the rocky cliffs just to make it ashore. They were leaving themselves pinned between the ocean and the enemy artillery.

The poor fishing village itself was at the very height of the cliffs, and wouldn't be so easily overtaken without first breaking through the enemy artillery, and the villagers were making short work of fleeing inland which left little to take but shanty shacks should the Cybrans take the cliffs.

As the tower began to draw more fire, the dome atop it opened further yet and the crystal grew all the brighter. The tower was well designed to hold up under heavy fire until reinforcements could arrive and once more it stood through the reprisal blasts of plasma that dispersed across the shield.

With the towers still up and UCON lending heavy artillery along the coast line, the Cybran's hadn't yet managed to neutralize the defensive measures keeping them from progressing and thus wouldn't be able to simply breach the cliffs casually without a change in tactics - or an ongoing siege that could well span hours, if not days or weeks.

Meanwhile reinforcements were arriving - and it would seem that Avantia's earlier call to reinforce the regions further north had been the right one. As the Cybran's sought to overcome the watchtowers further up the coast, they were swiftly being met with the arrival of transport ships carrying Volarian troops aboard. The Volarian's had the high ground - an advantage that even large numbers would find difficult to overcome. And for every inch the Cybran's fought to gain, there was a rain of artillery bombardments all along the beaches to thin the tide. The few that might reach the heights would be faced with the arriving reinforcements ready to drive them back to the sea once more.

Haigara rose once more as he braced against his stone prison, and as he strained against the great weight a keening wail once more shook through the faults of the rock until with a rumble that was muted by the deep sea he broke free. Immense chunks of rock tumbled away to sink deeper into the ocean depths and into the seemingly bottomless chasms while Haigara himself made for the surface.

Free.

His strength was returning to him along with the vigor of wakefulness and his murky form swept past the remains of an underwater ruins - once a city of Shintenchi that had been swallowed up by the sea long ago. At the center of the ruins stood a large statue depicting an ancient sea-god standing poised and proud, but as Haigara swept past the rock began to crack and crumble.

The creature encased within snapped its eyes open as the rock shattered to reveal the form of Haijiri, son of Haigara and once king of the Val'hai. He woke to an emptiness though. The Val'hai were gone, and only the ruins remained. What had driven them from these waters?

With questions on his mind he too began to ascend towards the surface after Haigara.

The large behemoth had a lead on Haijira though as he continued to gain momentum. The ancient dragon knew his enemy now. These people with their machines had invaded his waters.

The ocean surface churned violently in a thick froth before Haigara at last erupted in a geyser of water among the Cybrans trying to reach the shore. His scaly hide was almost blinding in the glaring light of the afternoon sun before with a great groan, the beast arced to the side and came crashing down atop several Cybran vessels to likely snap them clear in half.

The great sea-god was monstrous in size, and the keening wail that it emitted into the water was almost concussive to the Cybran's in the ocean.

As Haijira rose towards the surface as well, something else caught his attention aside from Haigara's flare for destructiveness. The Cybran base was down there in the murky depths of the ocean, and it was from there that these others came. His strength too was yet to return fully but he could feel the base now within his minds-eye as he ceased his ascent towards the surface.

The telepathic draconian sent a brief image to Haigara of what he was detecting deep down there in the ocean depths.

"The shield is holding," Asha told the officer as a particularly large and overcharged plasma blast struck against it which momentarily sent the tower readings fluctuating. "Taiyou and Losenyu reinforcements should be here in two-minutes."

"What in the -"

Those within the tower had a clear view of the monstrous behemoth that had just erupted from the water, and many of them did little more than stand and gape. Sure everyone knew the legends of Haigara, but none had seen sign of the great sea-god in over a century.

Haigara's presence was a mixed omen though, for the beast would not likely differentiate Taiyou from Cybran once the Taiyou arrived on the scene. It was only through Haijira that Haigara was known to be tempered.

There was an odd feel to the skies that day, and it was because something below had stirred.

A beast from above wormed through the air and lashed about, its body resembling that of a snake. It had no scales, but a furry mane sprouted from its head to the very tip of its tail. Upon its head, there were two long antlers. Long whiskers whipped and snapped from its snout as it flew. In its talons, five with each hand, clenched tightly onto a shiny white pearl. From a clasp at its chest and held around its neck, two strips of cloth made from a rich and decorative material flowed with the beast's movements.

The celestial titan cast its eyes down to the sea below, diving down from the clear sky above. Though not as large or bulky as the sea god from below, the titan from above still held an intimidating presence. It was not a simple animal, nor just a feral dragon. Both its behavior and appearance dictated that it had some kind of intelligence. All of that which was Ming Yu came swooping down toward the battle.

It would seem that incoming fire peppered the Cybrans from all sides, from UCON, Dark Rain, and the Avorians. Though the incoming Artillery had yet to come from every conceivable direction.

Seconds went by before brilliant yellow streaks of light filled the sky from above, and ordinance began to rain down on the Cybran ships in the Astral Sea, tearing their hulls to peaces and engulfing them in brilliant plumes of orange and white flame. No armor in the universe could stop these slugs, as they carried enough velocity to tear metal, ship, and rock asunder from orbit. With each impact water and metal vaporized in brilliant plumes of steam, and mere seconds after the first volley, the second followed.

Just east of the Cybran fleet, the Taiyou fleet had finally arrived, with the full force of everything the Taiyou had sent to Losenji. A fleet of fifteen Taiyou capital ships chugged their way towards the battle, with the Shokaku Class Carrier, the Zuikaku Class Carrier and the Shogun battleships, along with the support craft of the Taiyou Fleet.

Commandant Katamura watched as the Cybrans continued to shell the Volarian coastline, alarms blaring as the ship launched it's complment of Aircraft, Jet Tengu alongside Jigabachi AV Attack helicopters moved fourth from the Aircraft carriers, burning at full speed towards the Cybran fleet, which was still being subject to orbital shelling from the Taiyou fleet in orbit.

The nuclear warheads speed towards the Volarian coastline, but something caused them to suddenly turn course--

They were heading right for the Cybran fleet in the water.

Katamura watched the spectacle unfold, before she sent a wide-band message to all allied forces in the area.

"All Friendlies, All friendlies, this is Commandant Katamura, we have nuclears in the field, all friendlies brace for Nuclear detonation, it's about to get really hairy out there!"

The missiles, shells, and other warheads screamed towards the Cybran fleet, and would detonate near or at where they had launched from. The unseen force having diverted their course away from the Volarian coastline.

With the task completed, beads of sweat formed on the young girl's brow. "They will all pay!" She growled, and then she concentrated, and the water and even the Shokaku Carrier buckled and rocked from the sheer power being put fourth by this one child.

The Central Command ship would likely and suddenly find itself being lifted out from the water, literally carried from the water by an unseen force. The Shelling continued and would tear gigantic craters into armored hulls, and as the Central Command ship rose in altitude, the lone figure would find her nose and ears bleeding as she let out an inhuman scream.

There was a deafening snap, a sudden twitch from Yuriko, and a shockwave that split the very seas apart as the Command unit would more than likely literally be rend in two by the sheer power of the Psionic energies being exerted upon it, as if it was a piece of paper torn asunder by a pair of large hands, it was then, and only then the Command ship was allowed to freefall back into the water to sink to it's watery grave. The young girl fell to her knees, and vomited violently onto the deck of the Kaze no Tani.

As one of the volarian transports touched down Kim and her 10 man squad poured out around the landing zone. The cybrans were attacking and she and her squad needed to get into their defensive positions. She had a small supply of anti tank rocket launchers, and two heavy machine guns and a two man mortar her team was ready for defense. She felt she had a wide verse of weapons.

Before she and her squad could move out though they received the imminent detonation warning and all of them dropped to the ground bracing for impact. Kim closed her eyes as explosions could be heard far off. When she finally looked up she could see several mushroom like clouds over the ocean.

She waited a moment before her training kicked in again. "Alright enough staring we are still under attack, we need to double time it to set up in this equipment!" She shouted as she lead the way toward the fishing village. Rhino squad was quick to get to work as two soldiers ran forwards and dropped two ground breaching charges. They ran back and then the things detonated. They were the answer to quick trench building as a large trench resulted from the carefully calibrated devices which ejected their charges downward rather than outward.

The squad began to set up in the trench as they waited for the cybran attack. Her group had blown their trench right between two of the shacks facing the cliffs of the unattacked village. She placed the machine gun teams in the shacks and the moarter and the rest of the troops in the trench. She was confident in their positions for now but she wasn't exactly sure what would come over the cliff.

Bludgeon, 832nd Marine Armored Company, Objective March-13

"Hurry up you gagglefuck of a platoon, you're all too stupid to live forever!"

The Master Sergeant's harrowing voice called out across the strongpoint bisecting the tiny ribbon of coastal road that reached away from the enemy beachhead. Just barely a meter behind him the platoons CP, or Command Point, let out a wailing siren as the large radio mast was slowly brought down and fit to the sides of a GV-70 logistics vehicle. Shouts and calls went out across the platoons positions, large Vee formations on eiher side of the road, interlocking it and then stretching well over 2km to either side.

This formation was known as the "Biko Ambush" or the "Biko Bush", named so after the Bushmen counter-insurgent forces of the Forge who had minted the maneuver. A tactic nearly three centuries old but still as useful as ever in warfare.

These formations made head on assaults particularly costly through the defenses-in-depth, where instead of all forces are dedicated to maintaining a single line, commanders utilize successive defense lines to simply grind the enemy down until no advances can be made.

Outflanking these formations, tactically at least, meant that the opposing forces were merely exchanging one frontal assault on their objective for another. To nullify this maneuver, the entire attacking force would have to change its axis of advance, strategically recognized as a difficult change when under fire.

It was in these formations that Bludgeon company waited, their armored vehicles and tanks dug into the rear-areas defenses with infantry and other fighting vehicles at the front. With tanks held in reserve, amy infantry breakthrough could then be concentrated against will the full power of those armored reserves.

After looking at what was happening around them, and with the masses of reinforcements forcing their way in to attack the Cybran forces, Godheart decided to pull out all along the coast, the entire army turning to go back under the sea in order to teleport away. This was only the start of war he thought as he turned his lower half of the ACU and walked back into the waters, firing with everything he had in order to get as much forces as he could away from the cliffs and Volaria itself. They were already losing to an enemy that they had never thought existed, and the true might of all the forces in the area was what made them pull away. Those lands would be attacked again, some day.

As the starship pushed its way up from the ocean, it wasn't met with an empty island. No, Gonthar - along with the other two of the three titans - was in fact a popular tourist destination. The glittering oceans bordered by tranquil beaches were lined with tourists who scattered screaming as the cybrans emerged. People watched in horror from skyscraper hotels as the soldiers set about their work establishing bases on the beaches and other places beyond the city limits.

The local police force held back, protecting civilians but not challenging the beach assault just yet - contact had been sent to the TNG and a military response would be en route. News crews broadcast the event to the world as it unfolded.

In one particular penthouse suite, a purple-haired woman leaned onto the balcony as she watched. A blonde boy walked up next to her, jaw still hanging as though dehinged from when the first ships had emerged.

"Well, Castiel," Castala remarked, "I suppose that's that for our vacation."

"I thought we came here to get away from this sort of thing." the youth groaned.

"I suppose that's lesson learned," the magician said to her assistant with a dry chuckle, "Next time I want a relaxing holiday, I'm going offworld."

From far in the distance, several people watched as the large ships pulled up and the starship ascended.

"This don't look good," said one, a woman with soft tanned skin and long hair pulled back in a ponytail. For as cold as it was, she wore little clothing, nothing more than a pair of baggy pants and a bandeau. She had a good amount of muscle on her.

"Did you expect mermaids to be flipping onto shore today, instead?" spoke a second woman, this one more slim, more feminine than her companion. Light, draping robes flowed down from her shoulders and stopped at her knees. Upon her skin there were a myriad of painted designs, a few of them tattoos. Her eyes, normally a smokey grey, were covered in a black film as she projected a spell of far sight over into the area.

Behind them there was a town, a small place of many within Gonthar. Though Albertine had moved there within the last three years, it had been Aldarine's home since her birth.

And now it was being invaded.

Cheery.

Vast factories and housing buildings went up within hours, and with a few minutes of it going up, resources and people started to move in. The vast military force made a move towards the cities that were already there, starting to shoot at police and civilians alike. There was already a mass death camp in the sea waiting to be loaded with people for building the new weapons and tanks that were waiting.

A second set of starships took off from under the sea, moving towards the city before they raised themselves out the water. There was already a fleet down there, waiting for the orders from the high order, whom were miles offshore and under the groand in the deep rock of the earth. It had took years to plan, and the teleportation from Volaria was only set one of the vast plan to attack the world. Only Godheart was a living being, the rest of the forces automated.