EGO's Story

His body shot up as he woke up suddenly, and he rubbed his eyes a little, and clutched his head, in pain. He then looked around, the eyes opening slowly on his face, and then looked down, and observed the platform he was on, his curiosity rising, and then he started to take a deep breath. His curiosity raised even more as he realized that he wasn't breathing, which was also very concerning to him, as he know that he needed to breath..........at least he thought he did, but did die, so that was still weird. He didn't have a physical form anymore. He then stood up, getting off the platform. He walked over to a wall, and knocked on it, still observing how it was a whole white room.

"Hey! Can someone tell me what the hell is going on here, I was dead and now I am suddenly alive, this makes no god damn sense. I mean it, like no sense at all, now let me out of here, before I have to knock some heads to get my way" he said with a slightly angry tone, although he was still very curious at his current state.

A voice from within, female in tone called to him. 'Environmental Guardian Online start up sequence initiated. Initiate Varshar protocol. Spiritual binding holding. Spiritual pressure good. Perception linking. Sharpening. Sharpening.' Liam's vision would shift slightly. Whatever he focused on was magnified one-hundred fold. The sensation left soon after as the voice of the woman in his head spoke again.

'MCC test initiate.' The voice shifted again, seeming closer and friendlier. 'Greetings. Do you recall your name?'

He looked around as he heard the voice calling to him from within and he listened to what it said with precision. "Spiritual binding.........hmm, wait.......binding, I was dead, and now I'm binded....Varshar, this is starting to make more and more sense as this progresses along......" he said with a curious tone. He then heard the next words, and the tone of the voice, making him relax a little.

(Fixed Post) He looked around as he heard the voice calling to him from within and he listened to what it said with precision. "Spiritual binding.........hmm, wait.......binding, I was dead, and now I'm binded....Varshar, this is starting to make more and more sense as this progresses along......" he said with a curious tone. He then heard the next words, and the tone of the voice, making him relax a little.

"My name is Liam Cahal Gardner, part of the Varden, I would like to request information on the present situation, as something must of happened and it caused memory loss, as my memory on the subject is unclear" he said in a calm tone.

Two voices now spoke in Liam’s head, one in the background and one in the foreground.

‘Memory check. Query shows a distinct recognition of the present, past, and future as well as a distinction between them. Consciousness check. What is five plus three?’

‘You are on board the Titan, Shinedown, piloted by Fleet Admiral Rye Apis near SOL Stat, a station in deep orbit around Terra’s star.’ Instead of getting to the true meat of Liam’s question the voice asked a question. ‘What is the last think you remember?’

Liam started to notice the two voices speaking in his head and almost fell over, trying to get used to voices talking in his head and he shuddered a little, and then grinned, a very shit eating grin. "Really now? It's eight, I hope....." he said with a loud chuckle and then nodded his head, taking in the information with quick precision, and then he raised a brow, and thought about the question, with great thought and then shrugged.

"I remember dying, being killed by someone, and then wandering around in the afterlife, trying to just figure out what my next move was before I moved on but It appears that I will not be going anywhere, anytime soon".

The voice in the background spoke one last time and then was gone. ‘Cognitive check. MMC complete. Varshar protocol complete.’

‘Your spirit has been bound with your consent and the blessing of the Varden to a physical shell called a Varshar through a ritual performed by the Wielder Core. I am known as EGO, Enviromental Guardian Online and you do not have to speak to communicate with me. You can think and I will understand.’

‘You are being contained for the moment as you are the first human to ever experience this. The action taken by the Varden and afforded to you is considered a great honor and a formidable risk. Many in the Varden felt responsible for your death and as such have collectedly reached out to you, pulling the needed strings to arrive here, for you to find yourself in this present situation and not deceased.’

Liam's eyes widened a little but then went back to normal, he had a little feeling that is what happened to him, as he did feel much different. He took in a breath, knowing that he didn't have to but did anyway. He looked around the room again and then nodded his head slowly, remembering all the people he had met before, and his face softened at the thought of Kristen, as he knew that he had a crush on her, and that weighed heavily on him, he hoped she was alright but it was unlikely, after all, he had missed a lot of events.

"EGO, I appreciate all that the Varden has done for me, but I request a bit of information from you if you would oblige. I wish to know the status of Kristin Leon, as I fear for her safety, if you know that, I would be incredibly grateful, I haven't spoken to her in a very long time".

EGO did not respond to the request immediately. It was as if it were waiting on a confirmation or permission to divulge the information. ‘Kristen Leon is currently and approximately twenty meters to your right and observing you. She is currently in good physical condition.’ There was a slight pause before EGO continued as if it was waiting for his emotional reaction.

‘Your current body and the linking of EGO with you grants you a number of abilities that can pose a potential danger to those you interact with.’ Across the room a small hatch opened. In a small glass box was a common chicken egg that you could find in any supermarket on Terra. ‘Please pick up this egg without damaging it and then please transfer it between your hands a number of times.’ If this was done properly EGO would speak again. ‘Please replace the egg.’ The hatch would take the glass box and egg up and close.

A 1600 mm plate of hardened steel would descend from the ceiling. ‘Attempt to punch through the steel plate please.’

John Rosenthal turned to look over his right shoulder at the woman and then turned around completely to face her. A small hologram in the shape of a woman blinked on, appearing to stand on the desks glass surface at the far left corner. His blue eyes shifted to the hologram and then back to the woman who occupied his seat. “You are Kianna McGregor, wife of Mollem McGregor.”


His jaw clenched for a moment and then relaxed. “Disable EGO.”, he said and in response the blue hologram flickered and vanished. “You were able to locate this place, enter it, and find me. If you could kill me and were here to do so you would have done it already.” He rubbed his eyes again and then spoke as his hand came down. “No. You are not intruding but I would be remiss if I did not ask your reason for coming here.” He paused in his speech as if he were chewing on an idea. “You came here to this office to speak to me so I am assuming I do not need to introduce myself.”

John Rosenthal moved around his desk and took a seat. "EGO. Play music, Groove Addicts - To Be Free." As the music started he removed the file he had previously been looking at and glanced though the pages. One by one he let them fall into a bin. 'Mind what people do, not only what they say for deeds will betray a lie.', he thought. "EGO take a message." --Scene End.

Somewhere in the Pan'chek system.
The Espérance, Godr, Varden Fortress Class Capital Ship, FCV-001.

The ship ran silent, cloaked, and avoiding detection by advanced sensors and pitfalls both varied and numerous. Some were expected, some were not, but all were avoided or countered with varying degrees of difficulty. The only visible and exposed portion of the fourteen kilometer ship was a small portion of an antenna acting like the ship's para-scope. It was the pilot's, Fleet Admiral Haldis's only window to the outside. Many countermeasures were being implemented.

Probes or the use of the ship's sensors to actually scan the system in an attempt to find what they were looking for would result in the risk of being exposed. As such she was preparing the Espérance to make the jump out of Pan'chek and back to Sol. A corvette would remain in system and keep a watch out for the stolen frigate that they had traced to Langara. "Ship Board Broadcast: Prepare to jump. Action stations. Prepare to jump.", said Haldis's voice across the on board communication system. "Fleet link is engaged. Detecting covert cynosural field at coordinates...", EGO rambled off a long list of numbers that drummed on and on, eventually fading and being drowned out by other noises. Fleet Admiral Haldis issued the order. "Jump, jump."

Space itself bubbled causing gravitational lensing of the starlight behind the Espérance before the invisible ship actually was gone from Pan'chek. The observable effect was similar in nature to a collapsing wormhole.

“EGO.”, Aaric spoke aloud. ‘Searching for responsive capital beacon… Subspace communications are being jammed across primary channels. Switching to secondary channels… Subspace communications are being jammed across secondary channels. Attempting to establish new subspace broadband sequence and encryption. Established… Distributing… ECCM… Online… Broadcasting SOS… Broadcasting SOS… Broadcasting SOS… HCV005, Pike is aligning to answer. ETA till IP is five microns.’, EGO spoke directly into the Admiral’s head.

Aaric turned to the warden. “Set up a PJP. I want the VTOL set on ground there.”, he said and pointed to the location he had previously resided when the hard-light shield went up. “Close the doors to display the Varden emblem and get William to divert all its power to its Aurora arrays. Offload the equipment. Casters, Charges, MAGs, and HCBs have priority. Set up the Casters with charges, a MAG, and a HCB in defensive positions there, there, there and there.”, he pointed about the ruined field on this side of the down Reverence and within the hard-light shields. These stated positions would create a semi-circle with Aaric’s and Commander Bently’s position in the center and the Reverence at their back. “Then take cover and prepare to defend the perimeter. Follow the pre-established ROE.” The warden did not even need to delegate the Admiral’s orders as EGO disseminated the commands and delegated tasks.

Aaric turned then to Bentley. “If your vessel can be turned into a paperweight without utterly destroying the surrounding countryside then we will get you back to Aschen space. EGO broadcast on all channels and repeat.” Aaric then spoke in a clear voice. “This is Admiral Aaric Arlan, Field Marshal, and second in command of the Varden Expeditionary Theater in SOL. The crew and extraneous personnel of the Aschen Reverence, Thunderous Song have surrendered to the Varden and are within my care as prisoners of war. Any hostile action taken against them is in violation of the Inaya Accord, Article 3 and 4 concerning prisoners of war. Any attack on these detainees is an attack on the Varden.”

EGO started to broadcast and repeat the message over and over again even as UCON closed in around the site.

; “Major Denis fuckin’ Nandor, Butcher of Basha!” The Saber’s door slammed shut and the Major was joined by a small entourage of other officers. Two Lieutenants, a Captain and a Master Sergeant all stood around an impromptu checkpoint some hundred meters from the crash site as a nine ton Chieftan drone lunged from one rocky outcropping to the next on it’s way to the Reverence. “Gentlemen -- Sally Chalcis, you find any meat yet?” Nandor inquired, adjusting the pull-down visor of his helmet and disengaging the small computer readout that was fixed over his eye.

“Just corpses and bullet biters. Anyone’s who’s alive buttoned themselves up in the ship. There’s a team getting ready to move on a power coupling right now.” Nandor took a tablet device from one of the Lieutenant’s as he began towards a crest in the hill marked by a marine gun emplacement; the 96mm towed gun pointed towards the Reverence down in the valley below. He looked up to see the pair of Annihilator’s passing low again over the shields of the ship as they flickered and died.

“One more sliver of the Empire, huh Major?” A Master Sergeant remarked, the Scatterran spitting out the butt of the cigar as he loaded a magazine into his AC-9 carbine; the close-in quarters of fighting onboard a ship was far more conducive to a carbine than a full-sized assault rifle.

“You don’t stop hornets from making a nest by asking kindly. Get me a readout of this ship and find the deepest hole in it.” The Major demanded as he sent off the two Lieutenants and a Master Sergeant with a salute. Turning to the Captain the Aschen soldier placed a hand over the speaker of the communicator rigged to his chest.

“Clean out the waste and we salvage whatever’s left. Data infrastructure, software, and transmission records. Don’t waste bullets, Captain.” Major Nandor sent the Captain off with one last remark, and then ushered himself to the passenger’s side door of a Saber armored car. A transmission squawked loudly over the communications as the marine Major clambered into another convoy en route to the crash site.

“Varden Expeditionary forces this is Major Nandor you will stand down immediately and prepare to hand over your prisoners of war after a formal exchange and debriefing -- that ship and that crew is now marine infantry real estate. Varden forces will be granted the enlisted crew and you will forfeit over that vessel and it’s commanding officers promptly.” Major Nandor put the receiver back into the holder as another pair of Annihilator gunships promptly joined the overwatch as a transmission emanated from the wreckage.

“You have thirty minutes to comply by segregating the crew into deck ratings and officers, preparing them in their stations for disembarkation from the ship and forestalling any activities to compromise or otherwise damage the integrity of the vessel. Your cooperation is appreciated, stand by and you will be relieved.”

Behind the Coalition lines, the rythmic song of deafening footsteps echoed through the foliage of the Hidden Glen, a shadow casting itself over the Saber tanks and the Coalitioin personnel within them. The towering form of a King Oni walker stepped up behind Coalition lines, while a Tsunami Tank rolled up alongside the saber, followed by a pair of Sudden Transports.

Disembarking from the Sudden transport was a young Taiyou commandant, the supreme commander of the 1st Imperial armada, Ayako Katamura. Slowly she stepped up to the Coalition lines, flanked on either side by Imperial warriors.

"Whose in charge of this operation?" She said, coming up to the driver side of the vehicle. "I need to speak with the Commanding Officer." She said, handing the nearest UCON officer a data disc containing tactical data from a previous engagement. "Coalition forces are to relinquish all real estate jurisdiction from this particular Reverence immediately." She said, moving past the group to observe the dead ship below. "This is a confirmed kill from the ITN Suzuhara no Abe, a Yamato class Battleship and therefore falls under Imperial Taiyou jurisdiction. We ask all surviving personnel be handed over to us for immediate processing."

---

Commander Bentley and Admiral Whitcomb turned to Aaric, and then they looked to the screen showing the King Oni towering over the ridge. "The Taiyou were the ones that shot us down, no doubt here to kill the rest of us off... if UCON is demanding officers and you're getting enlisted.."

In the rear of the bridge, there was a sudden groan, and a person stumbled fourth into the CIC, prompting salutes from both Admiral Whitcomb and Commander Bentley. "President Kane!" They said, and the other man held his head. "I was knocked out in the fight.. what happened?" He said, clutching the declaration of surrender in his hands, signed and notarized by the quorum.

"We've been shot down by the Taiyou, and UCON, the Taiyou, and the Varden are arguing over who picks over the kill." Whitcomb said, Kane nodded and then reached for the communicator.

"This is President Jarrod Kane, what assurances do we have that we will not be harmed, I have an important message to deliver to the Coalition executive government.. and was en-route to deliver said message to the Coalition..." He said, waiting for a response.

Aaric raised a brow and eyed Whitcomb who had regained consciousness and was now speaking to President Kane. Of course his face was hidden behind his PDS helmet. “We did not respond to this crash site to finish you off, salvage your technology, steal information, or take hostages. We responded to this site to provide medical assistance and found you and your vessel to be in need of rescue.”

The squad sized element continued to perform the tasks issued as commands, setting up a perimeter. “Since the reformation of your government the mandate, at least as far as the Aschen are involved has been suspended. The conditional declaration of war by the Varden on the Aschen has been suspended per the request of Kianna McGregor before the reformation and expunged by the act. This is true unless you choose to continue hostilities that are described in the still existing mandate which I can go into detail on at some other time. Our intent is to provide you transport to an Aschen system...”, he said as he eyed the declaration in the President’s hand. “… where you could issue any declaration from a safe location.” He turned his head back up to look into the President’s eyes. “Thirty minutes is more than enough time for us to organize such an evacuation but the intent to detonate an NaNBC weapon or device with NaNBC capability and range here would cause me to reconsider. I must know of your intent.”

Aaric waited for President Kane’s response as President Kane waited for the Coalition’s. The communication Aaric had transmitted repeated once more and then was dropped.

; Colonel Arthur Slaw watched the Taiyou mech traverse the skyline, nearby Coalition aircraft in slow burns overhead like a picturesque resemblance of the Tripartite. “We have a perimeter established here Commander but that ship’s a red-zone. We only have two gunships inbound now, you can’t move anything heavy in the area or you might compromise the remnants more. We need to step back and keep this zone clear of any more god damn intruders okay? We already have the Varden in there claiming prisoners of war.” The Azrican hitched a thumb back towards a smoke cloud billowing over the horizon, as another small convoy of armored cars rolled out past the Coalition checkpoint. “Twenty meters away is the mobile command center, we’re receiving full transmissions from the site now.”

In the command center a technician pointed another enlisted man over to a holoboard as the other hand clutched the headphone to his ear. “Sonuvabitch the fucking President of the Confederation was on that ship -- we need to get them the fuck out of this ET gagglefuck now.” The enlisted man took a tablet device from his hand and quickly sprinted through the large tent to a Master Sergeant with his feet up on a desk.

“Fuck Wills you’re always on duty for the worst shit, god dammit we need a dispatch to Slaw now and you need to get a shake-down on the line from Regiment!” The Master Sergeant nearly toppled over the desk as he took the tablet device and disappeared out of the flap door.

An engine sprang to life as the stripped-down Saber turned over and a marine special operator threw away the camouflage netting that had been previously draped over it. Around him, three other Saber’s that comprised MAG Alpha Six’s special infiltration vehicles sputtered as their engines burned to life and their crew readied the sprinting vehicles for their mission. On the gunner’s deck of the first Saber a masked soldier yanked the bolt back on the 14.7mm three barreled rotary cannon, and a thumb toggled the electric chamber of the 7mm revolver gun co-axial to the rotary.

“You think this is fuckin’ real? Just a random Reverence the Tiy’s shot out of the sky … war’ll be better off without another one.” Another masked gunman said from the exposed back seat of the Saber that came rolling out of the tiny dug-out garage. The driver pulled goggles over his eyes and made one last adjustment to the helmet on his head before pointing a finger out of the car.

“Time to realize why you’re paid to shoot instead of think, remember why you didn’t join Intelligence. Buckle up and roll marines, we’re meeting some SRI sissies for a nice walk on the Reverence.”



Several kilometers above the wreckage site the bay door of a Vedama heavy transport jet slowly lumbered open, leaving the platoon of khaki-colored soldiers spectator to the calm, gradual colors and sights of the ground below them; all marked with the charred image of the Aschen Reverence below them. “This is Six Three, we’re ready.”

“See ya’ later, stupid.”

The first soldier took a running jump out the back of the airjet, with his arms and legs spread out beside him as he plummeted down through a patchwork of clouds and felt the tug of the chute loft him in the air on a descent to the ship. “I’m inbound, triangulate that transmission onboard the ship and standby to hack directly into the onboard life monitors.” The soldier’s face was obscured in a blank helmet made of a single plate as he used a computer module on his forearm as the ground began to close in. “I’m inbound in ten -- get ready with the Eyeglass, I don’t want any unnecessary surprises while I’m dangling out here waiting for those poor Group fucks.”

Commandant Katamura scoffed a moment. "Varden claiming prisoners of war my ass." She said, taking a pair of binoculars from an Imperial warrior and bringing them to her face, watching the scorched hull of the ship. "Finders Keepers. Take the crew, we get the ship." She said, turning back to Colonel Arthur.

"And it's Commandant, not Commander. A Commander controls a single ship, an Admiral commands a fleet, Commandants command Imperial fleets flagged by the Emperor." She corrected, her accent marring her words only slightly. "I've got four more King Onis in bound, and Sudden Transports to take control of the crew, I can have officers and enlisted transported to Coalition custody, I also understand the President is on board." She said, frowning.

"That complicates things... never the less, with this new intelligence, the Prince has elected to come here to Terra so we can negotiate the surrender of the Aschen Empire." She said, staring out at the ship.

"Best have your heads of state on the horn as well." She said, while being handed a communicator to communicate with the Varden.

"Attention representatives of the Varden Federation, this ship is a designated Taiyou kill, you will surrender the Aschen crew to Taiyou or Coalition custody immediately-- This is non-negotiable, you have thirty earth seconds to signal compliance or we will engage."

She turned to one of her Imperial Adjutants, a young Taiyou man in a crisp black uniform.

"Sono fune ni notte idō suru tame no junbi, Aschen sa rete inai nanika o korosu." She ordered, and the man nodded quickly.

"Hai, Wakarimashita."

Ayako then turned back to the Colonel. "It's strongly advised that all Coalition assets move to immediate cooperative to targeting all Varden assets. This is going to spiral out of control fast." She advised.

---

President Kane simply shook his head, then sent anothe transmission. "I have an urgent message to deliver to the COalition and Taiyou heads of state, my staff and myself are ready to transfer to Coalition or Taiyou custody, so long as we're not harmed." He advised, while Whitcomb and Commander Bentley turned to eachother, then to Aaric. "I wouldn't challenge the Taiyou... problem is the Taiyou are liable to gut us as soon as they take us out." Whitcomb said, but the radio waves were split asunder as a single Taiyou sudden Transport passed overhead, unlike the standard white wash, this was bathed in a deep crimson, and it bore the Imperial Seal, Prince Takayama was already on station.

Aaric tilted his head to the sky for a moment before turning back to the collection of Aschen leaders. ‘The Pike is in position and is awaiting green status on the PJP. They will light the beacon on your command Admiral.’, EGO communicated with Aaric. The Varden Admiral raised a brow though none of the Aschen could see his expression. “I am not about to start a war trying to rescue people that do not wish to be rescued. Such an act would be akin to kidnapping. I hope for your sake and the sake of your people that you are making the right decision Mr. President.”

‘Disseminate.’ Aaric thought and EGO responded. ‘Target?’ The thought in reply came next. ‘The Aschen.’ A device, resembling a steel flower opened on the PJP. A trillion specialized and highly advanced nanites swarmed the site, seeking out Aschen personnel. They would painlessly attach themselves to the survivors of the Thunderous Song as dictated by EGO unless otherwise stopped or prevented. The PJP shimmered and vanished from sight.

‘Transmit to the Coalition, repeating the President’s attempt at communication.’ Aaric thought. ‘The communication is being repeated…’, EGO replied. Threats issued by the Taiyou or other organizations meant nothing to Aaric or other Varden leaders. Like always he acted in accordance with reason and the principles instilled during a long career. Once the communication was complete Aaric transmitted to the Coalition and the Taiyou. "This is Admiral Aaric Arlan, Field Marshal, Second in command of the Varden Expeditionary Theater. I would normally inquire as to the name and title of the individual representing the Taiyou in matters of diplomatic relations but the Varden will be withdrawing. Such inquiries then are moot.”

Aaric turned his head in the president’s direction and continued to transmit. “It would behoove the Coalition and Empire to give fair and just treatment to these detainees, applying neither torture or the threat or action of execution. Aaric out.”

‘Have the Pike light the beacon.’, Aaric thought. EGO transmitted an audible alert to every member of the squad. They all turned to look in his direction as Aaric turned to the President, the Admiral, and the Commander. “Good luck.” ‘Three, two, one, jumping…’, EGO communicated to each warden. Space seemed to stretch and boil around their forms. For a moment they were still there and yet not. They were there and also somewhere else. A nimbus of bright light engulfed them and shot out from them where they had been standing but not into the air. The rays traveled down, encountering the ground beneath their feet and vanishing. This same process took the VTOL and the defensive positions the Varden had previously set up to include the Casters, Charges, MAGs, and HCBs that they had dug in to defend the Aschen.

Deeper out in the vast expanse came another communication to complicate matters. This transmission was an automated warning sent by the AI that maintained the marker. The communication did originate outside of Cybran National Space but even rudimentary sensors would be able to lock onto the beacon and determine that it would eventually enter the outskirts of Cybran space in a few decades. "Alloway. Stay clear. This is Varden marker 1.0.6.Alpha.5.7.3.Echo. This marker is orbiting a rogue gravity well estimated at 723 million standard solar masses. Stay clear. Alloway.", said the female voice. The voice then repeated in a number of different languages some may have been known but most would surely be alien.

The group of Cybran commanders walked towards the ZAR commanders, making it look formal in their full military grade uniform. Von Steiner just smiled slightly as he walked, turning to look at his fellow commanders, "They are small, a bit too small... To pose a treat anyway."

The group smirked, walking towards Wolf and Zarhara, "So, you are the small vessels that entered our space area?"

The Command bridge,
HDS Reyto II,
Alert level five

Captain Gorsha looked at her command screens as the comms officer started to shout out at her, "New threat, just outside the border!"

She turned and opened a comms link to the bridge of the Dreadnought, "Rear Admiral, this is the HDS Reyto II, we have picked up a message coming towards the border. Your orders?"

Will and Max watched as the commanders walked towards them the two walked over to meet them in the middle. "Yes it was our vessels your excellency." Will said with a straight face. He knew Wolf was going to be struggling to keep his cool. Obviously these people were very narcissistic and wary of outsiders though the latter also seemed understandable if what they said about their alert codes was true.

"Alloway. Stay clear. This is Varden marker 1.0.6.Alpha.5.7.3.Echo. This marker is orbiting a rogue gravity well estimated at 723 million standard solar masses. Stay clear. Alloway."

The marker continued to repeat the same message. Through the use of gravimetric sensors the slight pull of the distant singularity could be felt even this far away, at the HDS Erstürmen's location. I direct scan would pinpoint the marker. It was just as the message said. The marker was maintaining an orbit about an astronomical unit from where such sensors would determine the center of the gravimetric distortion resided. The distortion was immense and yet all seemed calm. There was no visual indication that the object resided in that location or that such a monster was moving. The marker, once scanned would indicate that it was highly advanced, utilizing highly sophisticated gravity dampeners and dimensional warping technology to maintain its location even under the immense gravitational pull of the object it orbited.

Even at the vast distance that separated the fleet and the marker it could be detected that the device had highly advanced defensive systems. Likely these systems were designed to defend the marker from debris falling into the well that it orbited. No offensive systems were present on the marker but it did appear to have both a transmitter and a receiver to communicate via broad and cycling out-of-band faster-than-light transmissions.

Von Steiner smiled, offering a hand in order to shake hands with the ZAR commanders, his pale eyes glancing them up and down before locking eye contact, "Welcome to the HDS Erstürmen and also Cybran National Space, sorry for that. We are currently in a state of war in a nearby system. Something that should only take a few days to end, but the High Command say we must be at high alert."

The other Cybran officers looked at the ships, then to the ZAR marines, the Waffen FSS command smirking slightly. He knew that these men would not stand a chance in hell against either the Waffen FSS marines, or the standard Cybran Marines.

Command bridge

The crew continued to call out the location of the marker, the Fighter commander looking up at the Rear Admiral, "Your orders?"

"Send out the fighters, I want to know what is making such noise that we do not need."

Both Will and Max shook hands with the Cybran admiral. "It's completely understandable I would have taken the same actions myself had I been in your position. " Will said with an understanding nod. "So I'm not sure if you have Heard of the Sullen Enterprise Confederation but they plotted a coup to overtake our former government and merge our systems with their own. Our military was split and We are part of they loyalists to the former government. Currently we have forces spread out in hiding though we are looking for a system that would be willing to take us in and grant us asylum until we can organize an assault against the SEC. We would be more than willing to offer the You and your leadership our full services in the meantime. The Three ships here are only a fraction of our full power." Zarhara said with a nod.

Meanwhile Wolf looked from the Cybran troops to his own. He knew his men were good but the armor on those cybrans was tough and they were not currently equipped to deal with them as the troops had prepared more for ceremony than a battle. For this he was glad.