Erin Solis's Story

The men in the Combat skins moved into the house, but both of their HUDs picked up the immediate buildup of energy that preceded an explosion. The charges by the door went off, the concussive wave and thermal shock moved outwards and washed over the energy shields of each Combat skin clad soldier.

Brilliant white light bathed their suits, and in an instant they were gone.

AI Assisted neural synaptic links configured with tight-net GPS Feedback from orbital assets allowed a precision short range teleportation facilitated by the blink packs in each of their suits.

Red's activation of the charges also gave his location, the signal from his detonators was highlighted as a brilliant green on the HUDs of the two Crisis Response.

What was next came the fine-tunining AI Assisted Visor system that picked up on the very biochemical energy potential in Red's body, overlaying it on a visual HUD and highlighting it along with filtering out the blinding flash of the explosives.

Both Combat skin clad soldiers blinked to opposite ends of the war torn streets; phase-shift camouflage activated while the men who surrounded the house quickly rolled back, diving for cover behind a small earth-reinforced concrete cinder block retaining wall.

Some didn't make it, as shrapnel caught them in their limbs, but they were pulled into cover by their comrades, tucked away behind a meter of solid retaining wall for the implosion charges they waited it out.

"Datalink confirms an implosive type device, not unlike those that went off back at the base a few moments ago." The Crisis response officer said into the comm link. "Whoever we're dealing with here is connected, definitely not your average rebel, professional." They said. Watching as the house finally came down in a plume of smoke, flame, and dust. The lead Crisis Response made a face, they weren't confident that the Combat skins would be able to withstand whatever maelstrom was going on inside.

The VTOL Continued to hover above the house as well, providing overwatch and datalink coordination with the Combat Skin's systems, amplifying it's own sensor systems.

The figure watched from cloak as the green shimmering highlight moved up the wall of the basement, a brief datalink signal went out, ringing in the comms of the CPF officers that survived the explosion. They were instructed to play dead.

The One Crisis Response officer, or rather Erin Solis watched the shimmering green highlight on her HUD, even as the shouts of panicked Aschen authorities filtered into her comms she shut them out.

Her eyes narrowed, watching as Red emerged to the Chaos outside, the bodies of CPF Officers strewn about from the explosions. Her eyes briefly darted to the shield meter - they were fully charged.

She looked up and around, briefly enhancing her Visor systems, and she licked her lips, bringing much needed moisture to dry, parched flesh.

Everything to her began to slow down, neural commands moved through the suit, and the Chrono Dilation systems activated, creating a localized time dilation field, where time was accelerated, everything to Erin was moving slow, while to the outside observer, if they could observe her despite the cloak, she would seem to be moving obscenely fast.

Erin had a clear advantage, but she didn't know if this individual had cover, additional shooters, more explosives. She tried to weigh the situation as the energy meter for the Chrono Dilation device slowly drained.

The Chrono Dilation was disengaged, and she looked up briefly to the VTOL. "I'm feeding you my tracking data, try not to kill him." She transmitted via Neural Net.

The sniper aboard the Condor VTOL nodded slightly, resting his Type 40 Beam rifle on a small resting point on the VTOL, with Erin's targeting data, the scope highlighted Red's form as he moved from the rubble.

"He's got some damn good cloak." The Sniper mumbled to himself, zooming in on the scope and acquiring the target, Erin and the VTOL's sensors worked in tandem and enhanced the bioelectrical energy allowing Red's entire nervous system to be highlighted, his beating heart, the simple contraction of his leg muscles as he walked.

With a twitch of a finger, the Beam rifle fired, aimed precisely at a point between the heart and the right lung, precise enough to drop him instantly, but not kill him unless he was left to die.

The searing pink beam of light burst fourth, aimed immediately where the scope was zeroed in. Unless there was some kind of miracle, the beam of energy would strike true, exactly where it had been placed.

The beam would likely enter through the back Ceramite plate, likely cutting through it with ease, liquefying the Ceramite and causing severe burns, the beam would move through the chest cavity, barely grazing the heart and right lung, before exiting the front chest cavity, liquefying the Ceramite there and leaving a white hot indentation in the pavement. The wound, if inflicted was likely excruciatingly painful, the rapid conversion of bodily fluids to steam causing further damage, if unsuccessful though, Erin was poised to move in with her own attack, her blink packs primed and ready to jump.

---

Inside the base, the Commander and the war room didn't stand a chance as Yates engaged the explosives, equipment and personnel alike were eviscerated as the building, the motor pool, and the other charges went up, adding to the confusion.

In an instant command was transferred, and the skies above the city began to darken, as the silhouette of a Reverence II began to loom overhead.

As it moved into position, her Commander noted an incoming vessel, the IFF Showed it was a Civilian trade vessel, however the strictures of the lockdown was clear.

The Reverence II's Commander looked up, and then turned to his Executive officer as alarms began to blare.

"Looks like we have an unidentified vessel; destroy it." He said, turning back to the console.

Dorsal flak batteries, rotary plasma cannons, and Turbodisruptor batteries spun to life, swiveling to acquire their targets they engaged, a steady stream of ordinance moving up towards the transport, a flak field so thick, it would likely be consumed.

Explosions erupted around the transport, while plasma bolts seared upwards towards it, sending up a maelstrom of anti-orbital fire from the massive Planetary Assault Carrier below.

The blast of the plasma cannon beams and the other energy weapons hit, splitting the cargo vessel into two. The flames inside the vessel killed the inhabitants. Richter, his co-pilot, and the engineer. All were roasted alive by the flames of the vessel. The engineer's burnt body escaped the new hole in the ship as it split apart.

The rear half of the vessel partly disintegrated, having taken the brunt of the damage, however small pieces of the vessel around the size of washing machines rained down from the sky. The front of the vessel remained in one piece after the vehicle was not only disabled, but broken. It careened towards one of the Aschen buildings: if it was able to make contact, it'd only take out half of the building (which is less damage than it'd deal as a full ship), however any damage it could deal could potentially be catastrophic for those around.

All that was left was for gravity to take its toll.

"Here!" Yates shouted, pinning the down soldier that was following him. "He's a traitor!" He screamed for any and all responding to hear. There was a decent amount of debris falling around him, the bomb causing damage to the building's structural integrity.

Maybe no one was coming, maybe the other explosions had made the IDF more cautious. Yates was distracted by his thoughts, long enough for the other soldier to break free and throw a hard punch at his face.

The two wrestled each other, both reaching for Yates' sidearm. And then three shots rang out, echoing through the building.

"He's there! I was following him!" The soldier shouted as he ran out of the building looking for anyone that was helpful, he covered his right eye with one hand as blood dripped from beneath his palm.

The soldier didn't waste time heading towards a truck loading up the dead, "I can help." He said, slipping an eyepatch from his pocket and carefully putting it on over his eye. "You should get medical attention." A soldier told him, "I'm fine. Nothing I can't handle."

"Make yourself useful, pack these in, I've got more."

The soldier nodded, doing as he was told. At least at first. It didn't take long for him to climb in with the bodies, hiding himself beneath any piece of dead flesh and charred bone he could find until he was gone.

It took a long time, but eventually the truck was moving and was leaving the base. That meant he wasn't seen, that was good. The only con was the fact that he couldn't see the outside world. He didn't want to get out and end up in the middle of a platoon in the city.

He had a better idea. A dumb idea, but better. The soldier carefully removed himself from the dead, glancing out to see the city passing him by. He drew the gun he had used to kill 'Yates', creeping up behind the truck's driver to fire a shot right into his neck.

The truck spiraled out control, eventually coming to crash into a few cars on the street. This was perfect.

The soldier was quick to take advantage, feigning a more serious injury and jumping out of the truck. "Get help!" He called out, opting to make his way into one of the buildings. An apartment complex, a soldier looking for help after a crash wasn't very suspicious.

Not yet, at least. It was time for the soldier to disappear.

He climbed the staircase up, waiting until he was about three stories up to stop. He headed into the apartment's third floor hallway, scanning the rooms as he passed them by. And then suddenly he threw his shoulder into a door, throwing it off it's hinges completely.

Inside were a couple, a man and a woman. "I'm sorry." He said to them, drawing a knife from his other pocket. It was slightly bloodied, it had probably cut him in the crash.

He descended on the couple quickly, barely unable to muffle the sounds they made.

A single flash of white hot pain was all Red felt. The beam split through his armor, his body, melting and boiling everything. A hair of a second after the impact he looked down, catching the tail end of the pink energy as it exited his chest. He didn't even have time to process it, really. The massive spike in internal temperature had nearly cooked his heart, and his body willing shut down. Truth be told it was amazing he stayed conscious long enough to feel the pain, let alone see the bolt.

He might be a human, but he wasn't The Red Switch for nothing.

His limp body toppled forward, colliding with the ground with a solid thud. How could he have known? They tried to plan for everything, but you can only factor so many things, so quickly. The IDF deployed full military hardware that was seemingly invincible within minutes. They prioritized one lone shooter over a base blowing up. Somehow, despite the entire laws of physics, they survived implosion detonations like it was nothing.

How could he have known?

He drifted off in to a sort of dream as his body lay dying. He was alone in a room, the lights were off, and everything felt wrong. He tried to move, but it felt like thick syrup kept him pinned, he tried to shout, but liquid filled his lungs. He was drowning, and started to feel like he was falling. It seemed like it went on forever, but eventually he felt his body impacting with something solid. Something metal. He could feel the heat in his body again, the pain from the blast. He looked up, scanning the darkness for something, anything.

What he saw startled him. A face, distant, and brightly illuminated. A face he knew better than any. Lochlyn's.

It spoke softly, almost caringly. It was hard to make out at first, but eventually Red pieced the words together.

"You know what to do."

With that everything went black, his consciousness fading too far to even dream anymore; because in reality as he lay there on Molecay, his heart stopped. Assuming the Aschen medics could patch him up, and wake him, they'd be in for one hell of a rough ride. They had no way of knowing it, not even from the scars he bared, but he'd been through worse than anything they could inflict on him. They'd get nothing, and all he had to do as wait for The Hessian.

Erin watched in silence as the sniper in the VTOL Took his shot, the searing white hot beam of particle beam energy coursed across the gap between the sniper and Red.

There was a slight crack, with the rapid expansion of air from the thermal energy of the beam as it superheated the air immediately around it.

Erin's face remained stone cold as Red fell forward, hitting the pavement with an audible thunk, it was at that moment she sent a mental command to her suit. It started with a hiss, and the visor split up into three sections, two retracting into either side of the helmet, and the third retracting into the top to expose her pale face, framed by wispy strands of dark hair.

Her eyes moved over to what was left of the house, blood and viscera covered the debris strewn about the foundation. Though the men tried for cover behind earthen retaining walls, the nature of the implosion meant there was no escape. The bodies were mangled and torn asunder.

Erin looked up, several armored SWAT vans were coming down the street, but her objective for now was accomplished. She managed to neutralize one of the insurgents.

Looking up to the VTOL, it was slowly beginning it's descent, Erin chimed back into the Reverence II that was now looming above the skyline.

"This is CPF Crisis Response, I've apprehended one of the insurgents." She said aloud as she slowly walked across the pavement towards where Red was laying.

"Hold back let me clear him of explosives." She said into the comm link as the VTOL slowly began to land, and she slowly started to walk towards where Red was down. Erin's footsteps were slow and methodical as she approached, the visor snapped shut, and the helmet of her combat skin pressurized.

Shields flared slightly, and a mental command signaled her Blink packs, which initiated their charging sequences.

Her mind considered many of the possibilities, who was this man?Was he a rebel insurgent? He seemed to plan for nearly everything the Empire threw at him, had the shooting of those IDF men not been reported, it was very likely whoever this man was would have never been found.

Erin slowly closed her fists, and then knelt on one knee beside Red, She let her hands run across him, checking for hidden weapons and explosives, while keeping her visor tuned with his life signs.

Tactile sensors on her suit's gloves fed sensory information directly back to her brain, and she moved to disarm him, any weapons, ammunition, and extra explosives were likely pulled from his body, and should he not resist, or the explosives not detonate, they would all be set aside out of reach.

Erin then moved to carefully attempt to roll him onto his back, attempting to undo the straps on the armored chestplate and remove it, if successful, it would be tossed back with the rest of his equipment, which would be confiscated and studied.

This would enable the medics to get access to his wound, if everything was deemed safe, Erin would hold up her hand, and one thumbs up.

She opted to stay close by however, as a trio of trauma medics moved from the back of the Condor VTOL and began to rush towards Red with medical supplies in hand, while Erin was carefully watching his vital signs.

Moving quickly, the Medics moved to inject a biofoam like substance into the chest cavity, this nanotechnology infused material would begin working quickly to repair and stabilize the tissues that were damaged.

The medics would also attempt to move him onto a stretcher, while hooking up IVs, which contained a nanite compound and a mild sedative, this nanite compound was designed to assist the body's natural healing processes.

If successful, the medics would load Red onto the stretcher, pick him up, strapping his arms and legs to the stretcher, before hauling him into the back of the VTOL. With the arrival of more reinforcements, Erin turned and ordered the gear be loaded into a crate, where it could be taken into one of the armored trucks, and shipped to wherever the IIA Deemed necessary.

Once everything was secure, and Erin was aboard the VTOL, it lifted off, Red would likely be stabilized for now, and treated further once in IIA Custody.

---

However the Molecay authorities were aware there was now more than one insurgent, with the bombings at the IDF Garrison facility, and the bombings in a nearby neighborhood, the jaws would eventually snap shut on the Hessian as well.

The wrecked truck didn't go long until it was reported to the Central Protection Force and Local Police, and while the Hessian was holed up in the apartment complex, several armored SWAT APCs, Local police cars, and MPs from the IDF garrison were en-route.

Every anomaly was checked, and a wrecked morgue truck was no exception.

They surrounded and locked down the neighborhood, as per procedure when a lockdown was initiated.

While everything was going down, someone, somewhere was going over the surveillance footage from the base immediately prior to the detonation of the implosive devices.

Inside an office aboard the Reverence II looming over the city, a set of eyes was quietly going over the surveillance footage from the base. Several different camera angles, plus the visuals from the tactical AI feed were being analyzed.

While the Hessian was hiding in the apartment complex, the IIA were getting involved, silently watching, going over, and analyzing the surveillance footage.

---

More first responders were dispatched to the site of the crash caused by the 6th order vessel, entire city blocks were demolished by the remnants of the starship, as the Reverence II was unable to destroy the entire vessel.

Smoke and flame plumed up from the crash site, sirens echoed through the cityscape.

Molecay City was slowly turning into a war zone.

The Hessian glanced out of a window into the city, that ship crashing down complicated things. But, it also meant that the IDF and CPF were going to spread much more thin than if they were just dealing with him and Red. That made things easier, yet at the sane time harder.

He had changed out of the soldier garb, instead putting on a suit. It was mostly clean, only the blood from where'd grabbed it was present.

The Hessian made his way out of the room, glancing back at the couple he had killed. It was a gruesome scene, but he'd staged it took look like they had fought each other. Rebels trying to tie up loose ends, or maybe they had discovered the other wasn't who they said they were.

As long as the CPF felt they had closed the case, or at least part or it, worked for him. Leaving the uniform in a burning trashcan probably helped with that.

He headed back to the staircase. One floor up, the apartment right above the other room. He picked the lock and was quick to call down to the lobby and report the commotion.

No jaws were snapping down on him any time soon. The Hessian covered his trail like the consummate professional he was. And soon enough he would be off-planet.

Pain was the first thing Red noticed. A dull, but throbbing ache inside his chest, it was like an extreme bruise, but worse. The smell of singed flesh was stuck in his nose, his sense of time was missing. He reached a gloved hand up to his left breast, nanoweave material allowing him to feel the armor as if it was his bare hand tracing along it. He didn't know what he was looking for, but when his fingers trailed over two jagged lines, he pieced it together.

Disruptor shots. Two of them by the feel of it.

Instantly his mind began wracking through his memories, searching for any relevant data. He jumped to the last thing he remembered, walking out of the house cloaked, and then pain. Definitely a shot from an Aschen weapon, but one that should've killed him. His fingers traced along the rough ridges were the armor had been split apart, and then melted together, his mind swimming. That explained one of the gashes, but where did the other shot come from?

He was coming up blank, and it was letting panic take hold.

That was when his training kicked in, eyes instantly snapping open, but instead of seeing his environment, he only saw black. His helmet was off for some reason, totally shut down. He moved a little, the HUD starting back up thanks to his consciousness. "Strange..", he thought as boot sequences flashed in front of his eyes. "Being unconscious like that might kick in sleep mode, but no-" his thoughts stopped dead as the Clock feature loaded in.

Five hours. Somehow there was five hours between his last memory, and now. A complete black gap.

He shot up with a groan as his visor started giving him multi-spectrum feed. Quick glances showed he was in house, much like the one he demolished. It was pitch dark, and quick sweeps revealed he was alone. "None of this makes sense..", his voice cracked, and lips splintered, he was completely dehydrated. His suits life support functions must've been knocked out, but the only way that could happen was if...

He instinctively reached to his hip for his sidearm, but the holster was empty. His eyes darted around frantically for any kind of weapon he could find, but it was a waste of time. Nothing but furniture. A shiv at best. This was bad, as bad as bad could be. He'd been shot somehow, twice, and taken out of his suit. Somebody had patched him up, too. It painted a pretty quick, and pretty clear picture.

He'd been captured. He just didn't know how, or why exactly, or what they did to him.

None of that mattered this second, though. He pushed himself off the couch he'd been laying on, noticing there wasn't a spec of blood on it. He'd been patched up before he hit, probably dumped here long after the fact. Part of him wanted to reach out to his partner, but he was smarter than that. You don't release a dangerous captive for no reason. He had to assume they were watching, listening, waiting.

He just couldn't make it obvious he was aware of it.

He opened up a comm channel quickly, one that was "secure" on the outside, but he new every Aschen military scanner would pick it up in a few minutes.

"This is Switch Five, I repeat, this is Switch Five. Topside, and Greenlight, requesting all op parties respond." No doubt The Hessian would pick this message up, and being the genius he was he'd decode it in seconds. Right now he was still telling "them" he was alive, and trying to instill the notion that there was a lot of people working with him. "Be advised, Gorillas in Wing City.", hostiles would be on him shortly. "Need immediate evac visa-vi Dangerclose.", stay the hell away. "When can I expect the cavalry?", dear god Hessian, do not respond yourself. "I repeat, Dangerclose evac, mission is still a go.", MAYDAY.

Wing City Hospital, this was apparently where the magic happened concerning the rumored Terran Liberation Army.

At least, that's what the brief detailed for Agent Solis' first assignment offworld since she joined the IIA And completed her training.

She looked up, and around once she was through the doors of the hospital, wearing all black she stood out from the rest of the crowd, in a black sweater, dark jeans, and a slim leather handbag draped over her shoulder.

She was given orders to blend in, meet with the local resistance and set up arms deals.

She checked the fitment of her disruptor pistol, which was concealed in a holster in the small of her back, discreetly adjusting the weapon to sit more comfortably, she approached the front desk, her heels echoing through the lobby.

Outside the elevator shaft before princess hospital steel framework can be heard to creak and groan as a wall straightened and pulled inward. The bent superstructure straightened by a dense cloud occupying the darkened interior. Buttons outside the elevator sprung to life as something reconnected collapsed wire conduits. With a hum of life the floor indicator chimed but displayed nothing. After a few B4 appeared then advanced quickly to ground. It chimed once more and the door opened.

Shiny metal doors open to four humanoid men standing in the dark. Lights blink on from above as what sounded like rain issues from all sides. Blackness drains from the lights into the elevator shaft and the car grows brighter still. Seen more clearly their garb something between a white doctor's coat and an overcoat. Above it heads in coarse gauze to make bare hints at indistinct features. Jinhai made a pale imitation of the doctors they saw as to not disturb the patients. Mostly they were seen at night while patients slept. Other Jinhai in slightly different garb, frequently seen in the city if out of the way, walk in at all hours to drop patients off without so much as a word.

Stone plates with pillars at each corner held between them each occupant quite still. A soldier of some distinction from accident during city repairs laid still as the mortuary slab he'd once been upon. They'd recreated the clothing and the armor but none of the markings. Appearing do until a chest rose making breath more apparent. The man's eyes open, alarmed. Both him and idle compatriot quite alive.

One looked straight to Priestess its flat voice noting, "It is done, humankind."

~~~

"Where are you taking me? Why can I feel my legs?", asked the man reaching for legs quite well smashed by debris to his recollection.

"You are rekindled, humankind," came the emotionless reply, "You must return to the care of other humankind."

"What? Who?", came the soldier's voice as they entered the hallway to set the white stone plates on a gurney.

The four turned toward the basement stairs down the hallway without further word to the alarmed man trying to get up. The soldier just stared with hands propping up his torso. Moving bare toes dumbstruck and quite in shock. Nothing but bare skin below the thigh his clean pants ended abruptly.

"But... where are my shoes? Is that a tattoo? Whose legs are these?!", was all the man could muster.

The members of the TLA seemed to stop what they where doing as the TVs showed the Emperess Electra revealing the true nature of herself and the TLA.

"Well about damn time!" Priestess said before looking up at the sounds and people around her "What the hell is this? And who the hell are you? Troopers!"
A squad of TLA troopers burst in aiming thier guns at the Jinhai and the crazed man.
Priestess raised her own gun and spoke "Now by order of the Terra Nova Empire tell me your business here and how you got in."


Down in the Lobby Mysti looked a way from the news to see the ones she had been talking to had left. She sighed and was about to go back to work when she saw another woman waiting in the lobby. She walked up to her and asked, "How can the Terran Lib...er... How can the Terra Nova help you today?"

There was a distant rumble of thunder, followed immediately by a crack of lightning, and an even louder thunderclap.

It happened in an instant, and the Terra Nova likely wouldn't have a clue what was transpiring, but the Aschen opted to move some pieces on the table.

The awakening of the ancient city drew some very careful eyes, which focused on the singular point in the middle of the ocean; sure it was heavily defended, and the IIA knew that.

Solis was given a single objective, ensure the awakening of the city was not a threat to the Empire, and to identify and neutralize the city's technology before it could be utilized against the Empire.

The room stank of fresh ozone, and the black glossy sheen of the combat skin served as a boon in the total darkness of the room Erin materialized in.

The walls wavered, and she moved right through them into an adjacent hallway.

Grasping the Type 03 PDW attached to her back, she swung it forward, and affixed a blast-suppression unit to the muzzle, which completely obscured the muzzle-flash and brilliant green beam of the disruptor rifle through a multiphasic field.

She moved several paces forward, while running a deep scan for lifeforms, there were hundreds all around her; but this only made her smirk, while blending into nothingness as her phase-shift systems engaged.

Unbeknownst to either party entering upon this city by activating the consoles and beginning to switch on the city, they began the process of reawakening the current slumbering Atlantiens. The city was not abandoned, it had been decided when an agreement could not be reached that the people would instead go into cryostasis with hopes whoever came here could referee the debate and provide the answer. The question was of living within the City, although many loved this place, it was very easy to miss the land and long for simple pleasures of life that while artificially provided in Atlantis were far better away from this. Then, of course, there were traditionalists who believed that no nation would allow them unless they provided secrets of their technology. Secrets the current races of Terra were not welcome to know.

One pod had deactivated while all this went on and the person went searching for the people invading. He was a traditionalist but was open to the possibility of leaving. He was the ideal candidate.

The conclusion of this story would be played out one way or another.

One of the Ghosts near the Emperess suddenly pulled the Emperess down which caused her royal guard to form a protective circle around her.

"We are not alone here..." The Ghost whispered

"Can confirm that ma'am we have a bogey coming up on one of our scouting parties like it wants to be caught." Said a marine with a lifesign reader.

The Ghost shook her head "there's something else here to it is masking itself somehow I can sense it but it is hard to pinpoint."

"Keep looking and have the mages and techs scan for any anomalies... As for the bogey we can see have the squad closest intercept." Ordered Electra.

"We need to get you to better cover your highness"

The Royal Guard led the Emperess to a more secure location. The Ghosts, mages, and techs began to use thier various magical and technical means to pin down the hidden agent.

In another part of the city the intercept squad came upon the awoken man they raised thier guns "Ok mister no sudden moves. Who are you and where did you come from?."

Erin kept smirking, while her suit's AI Silently ran hacks to make attempts to interface with the Terra Nova's communication network.

There would be some anomalous readings on the side of the Terra Nova, but while Erin was out of phase, even the lifesign reader was having incredible difficulties getting a fixation on her signature.

The Psychic ghosts would likely be next to lose the psychic readings, as the suit's psychic inhibitors engaged, and effectively cut off Erin's mind from the outside world.

She shouldered her weapon, which attached to the suit's armor plate with hardly a sound, and she swiftly moved among several cryogenic pods, leaping through yet, another wall behind what looked like some kind of scouting party.

She licked her lips, and brought her weapon forward, highlighting them in the holographic sights of her PDW. There was a quick decision, in order to engage them, she would have to drop back into phase, which left her vulnerable to detection. Mission parameters were clear; she leaped through another wall, emerging in a room with more pods, but one of them appeared to be open.

"Interesting.." She said to herself, switching to high-fidelity thermals, footprints showing up as a brilliant red in the cold floor.

She opted to follow them, and then she engaged her blink packs.

There was no flash, and no fanfare; she simply materialized into the shadows behind the lone traditionalist.

She grit her teeth, and disengaged the cloak, attempting to snatch him, and pull him into the shadows with inhuman strength.

"Shhh... say nothing!" The deep, almost demonic voice hissed.

Noting two individuals seemingly in opposition, the unnamed traditionalist cared little about their quarrel, and instead, he spoke, "Welcome, to Atlantis. I care little for your disagreement in this place. Or any rivalry. You are here solely to help remove a deadlock." he spoke with confidence and poise, despite how old he looked, "By helping us here you may get to hear of some of our secrets in technology and science." nodding he moved if he was allowed to centre of the room, immediately as he stepped near the centre a holographic display of Terra would come out, with each city and town clearly highlighted, "My interface informs me, that one representative is Aschen Empire and the second group of people are Terra Nova a Faction founded very recent." the holographic display evolved to show a clear aerial view of Wing City. It was very intricate and clear, "Oh yes, I see now. Nothing had changed then, tragic you would think after..." he paused as the holographic display morphed and changed to display strange symbols, "Roughly, thirty years... Nothing has changed..." shrugging the picture changed now to the shock of the Aschen individual a perfect recreation of TechCon facility right down to secrets."

Before he could be asked, the display morphed back to the global map, "My oh my some things have changed, but not enough, evidently. Still, no time better than the present." with that he turned to both, "Yes, the Deadlock, while this City is very much impressive and extremely scientifically advanced, many of us missed the feel of grass and real air. We can recreate Gardens, but we were once a people who lived on land."

Seemingly expecting an answer it went on, "Those who help us will be reward substantially and we can promise you complete control of city if we leave. If we don't, we can instead offer you technology and science. So, who wishes to be which side. Who wishes to make a case for leaving this city and who wishes to represent us leaving and finding a place to call home?"

"I don't like this your highness...we should shoot that damn Aschen sneak..for all we know she is here to kill you." Spoke the Ghost guard.

"This has become much more complicated if this Atlantian wants this we do this...after all to them we are probably just as big of Invaders as this Aschen....also we have enough trouble without starting crap with the Aschen." Stated Electra.

"Highness with all due respect the Aschen are scum...and a thorn in Terra's side."

"Perhaps... But for now there is no quarrel between us and them... Now let's go and keep your silence on this matter."

"As you command your Highness."





Emperess Electra and her guards took thier seats as they listened to the Atlantian speak.

"So you are Telling me you need our help to decide whether to leave or stay?" Electra asked. She continued on "The Terra Nova have come here to learn what this city can offer us...and through us Terra. We seek the knowledge and technology of your people knowledge that can help better the life of our people. We have to admit though we had no idea any of you still lived here. Though I will admit our goal was to annex this city for ourselves this was when we still thought it a relic of the past. We assure you now that we wish for an agreement that will benefit us all... But one thing I wonder is Why don't those that desire to leave leave and those that wish to stay stay?"

Slowly, Erin moved from the shadows, the combat skin obscuring her face with it's black glossy visor, the figure in the suit could only be seen as slender, with no evidence of gender or build.

The figure stood there, it's deep voice echoing through the chamber.

"So you know a few tricks."

The voice reverberated, with a somewhat electronic note to it.

"A few parlor tricks; and maybe intelligence from a spy embedded within Tech Con's operations..." The figure said coldly, before they reached up and touched a small button behind the helmet, there was a hiss, and the visor snapped back, revealing a woman. Black hair spilled from the helmet, and her hardened gaze considered the Atlantean before her.

"The secrets of this facility, in exchange for help? And what kind of help would that be?"

Unperturbed he shrugged, "You can presume all you wish, but the technology of this City is far beyond any of your understanding. If it is handed over, as promised I would, of course, provide all the help you desire to integrate your own technology into ours." nodding he turned to the one he presumed to be royalty, "If we split as you said, families, friends and more would end up split and we as a people would suffer. One of the things about leaving here is simply thus once we leave we could never come again. The risks of new pathogens or even cultural changes are too great. This is why we must go as one. Either stay or leave this place."

Regarding both, he spoke bluntly but in a curt manner, "As to what help could be provided, you are to end a deadlock. Both of you pick a side to represent, do you wish us allies who move to greener pastures to rebuild and thus you get potential control of this city with all its secrets and sciences. Or would you rather we stay the guardians of this City and you instead are shared privilege information including some new theories we have not quite presented in a practical way yet. But our sciences would be willing to teach you the disciplines and give you this information."

Giving a rather theatrical grin he continued, "So, who wishes to be which side. Both sides have benefits for you. And it is up to you to measure which does more for yourself or your people."

Electra sighed. Both choices brought great reward. But there was also the Aschen to consider. If the Terra Nova where to choose to have the Atlantians stay and somehow lost out it would given the Aschen a powerful base on Terra. There was no way she would allow that to happen. Even if the Terra Nova didn't get the city Electra figured they still could prove to be friends in the future.

"The Terra Nova chose to take the side of those that wish to find a new home. This city is of great importance and use to our Empire and our goals to defend and Unite this Planet. We also pledge to assist you and your people in finding and building your new home."

"Unfortunately, I must attend to matters of state elsewhere" Electra said. "I leave this meeting in the hands of my aid."

With the the Emperess would show herself out and leave the city.

The Raptor Talons closed quickly on the Militia's fighters, technologically superior in every way to these local vessels, the Raptor Talons made short work of their foes, as small projectiles chewed through ship hulls and shields alike.

"This is Orthros leader, i've got... all fighters break!" The Squadron captain shouted into his comms as they picked up the energy surge from the impending psychic attack; an attack which washed over the fighter craft relatively harmlessly and without too much fanfare.

Aschen Technology was the culmination of years of research and understand, into both magical sciences, and of psychics, years of combat both tooth and nail against adversaries that were leagues ahead of even the mighty Militia; to the Aschen, this was a cancerous tumor that had been allowed to fester because of inaction, this was a mistake that Admiral Whitcomb intended to rectify.

She watched the readouts silently safely aboard the CIC of her ship, the three-dimensional holographic projections bobbing, and weaving about the battlefield.

She didn't say anything for a moment, a powerful surge of energy followed, and the small shuttle appeared to have been destroyed.

"Alpha team, capture any survivors and bring them aboard, have them prepped and readied for interrogation." Whitcomb ordered, before switching frequencies to address the Romans.

"Disengage your weapons, and your engines, and surrender." She ordered coldly. "You will remain where you are until we can ascertain the intent of your people; if you are truly vagrants, then you will have little to offer us, but resist our demands at your own peril." Whitcomb replied.

Her lips pursed into a thin frown, before turning to her tactical officer.

"Sitrep.."

The young officer checked his readouts, before nodding and offering his report.

"Sir, it appears from our intelligence sources, that our lack of influence in this sector has lead to the rise of several independent entities on this world. This 'Militia... is but one of many factions on Blackrock.. the Chairman will not be pleased at this development..."

Whitcomb nodded in agreement. "The one that we captured... prepare a psychic inhibitor, and antimana containment cell... the survivor from the shuttle... transfer them to Holding cell B-3... place them in the Aurora Chair..." She said, nodding to her XO.

"Colonel Ronson; you have the Conn."

With that, Whitcomb turned to leave.

---

Captain Ashia would find herself, once apprehended placed in a small room, a metal collar of some kind affixed to her neck, and her armor stripped from her, leaving only a simple red colored prison jumpsuit, the metal collar was a peculiar device, and she would likely find herself unable to access her psychic abilities, nor any magical abilities that she may posses.

The holding door chimed with an odd crystalline sound, before opening to reveal a pair of Aschen soldiers, clad in a powered Cuirasse exoskeleton and armed with rather sleek looking MC-1 assault carbines. Standing with the pair was a woman, slender in build and wearing all black.

She took a step into the room and the door snapped shut behind her, then she tossed a small stack of files to the Militia captain's feet.

Her only words were. "Who are you people?"

---

The young woman, Sara wouldn't awaken on an operating table, and though it would seem she was in some kind of lab, she was in fact seated in a device the Aschen came to know as the Aurora Chair; she would be strapped in, hands and ankles restrained to the chair as Admiral Whitcomb stood over her.

A technician moved slowly to affix electrodes to the girl's head, the Aurora Chair was designed to forcibly and painfully map the victim's psyche, forcibly extracting memories and displaying them on a screen.

---

A squadron of Raptor Talons quickly reoriented themselves to the arrival of the small alien craft, along with a Condor transport, they moved quickly to intercept.

"I already told you," Said Ashia in a smooth tone, "I am no psychic, and have never possessed any such abilities."
"If you weren't a psychic, then, how precisely were you able to manifest such abilities? Were they magical? Were they technological? It's clear this Militia has been allowed to fester without our presence here. Tell me more about them." The women demanded, glaring down to the Captain.

"I speak the truth that, when I used those powers, they were not of my own caliber. I possess no psionic, nor magical, powers whatsoever. As for the powers themselves, I'm afraid I cannot tell you of their nature without giving away top secret information to our cause. Surely you would understand."

The woman grinned, and then leaned forward. "You're not exactly in a position to decide what to tell us, and what not to tell us, Captain." The IIA Agent said calmly. "We have ways of extracting information from you; you can either profit from this... or we can consider the alternatives..."

At that moment, a door opened up behind them, and two marines stepped inside carrying a bright yellow briefcase of some kind, they pulled up a table, and placed the briefcase upon it.

The Interrogator, Erin Solis stood up from her seat, and moved towards the briefcase, where several torture implements were housed. She snapped it open, and looked down at the assortment of instruements.
She turned to regard Ashia for just a moment.

Ashia Nova was a tall woman in her mid-twenties. She had a regal bearing, and somehow managed to look haughty even as the prisoner of those who destroyed her fleet. She had an olive complexion, a youthful yet cold face, long black hair and brown eyes.
Despite the thoughts of her captors, she was telling the complete truth. She had never possessed psychic abilities, but her true secret was that those powers came from her silver gauntlets. Known as the Gauntlets of Doom, they had been created by four psions who wanted to see if they could pass their abilities on to others. The result was a set of gauntlets that allowed her to short circuit technological devices, generate extreme amounts of cold, move things from far away, and fire blasts of intensely hot plasma.

Her captors had unwittingly put her gauntlets with the rest of her armor. But she wasn't about to share her secret with these people. From the looks of it, they appeared to be from the Aschen Empire - Ashia found this strange, as they had been derelict for quite some time, it seemed. She intended to find this out; unfortunately, it would require much wordplay on her part.
Solis chose a small baton, and she picked it up, while the two Marines pulled the table away from Ashia.

"Now, I'll ask you again, who are you; and who do you work for?" Solis asked coldly.
Ashia managed to keep her fear under control. To give in was to be humiliated. She could give some ground, but not grovel like a dog. "My name is Ashia Nova, and I am Captain of the Militian Fleet of the Kreios Galaxy. I have offered my services to the Supreme Leader, Khorelan Gavax VII, and my loyalty cannot be swayed."

Solis offered a slight, malevolant chuckle, before she moved to bring the baton swiftly across Ashia's knees. Ashia took the blow, grunting but otherwise alright. "Hey, I did what you bastards asked."

"How did your Militia come to power on this world, especially without the Empire noticing?" Erin asked, squeezing the baton in her hand, and bringing it down on the table with a deafening snap. "What is your military strength? Where is your home world!?" Solis shouted. Her shrill voice and thick Aerilonian accent filled the room, drilling a brief moment of tension with the marine guards.
"Alright, calm down, I'll tell you. God, you guys are more insane than us." Ashia flashed a quick, sly smile, then continued. "We are on Blackrock, we're quite strong, and considering you guys were apparently semi-dormant for quite some time, it's really no surprise how we came to power."

Solis offered a slight nod, while her assistant took notations. "This world is the sovereign domain of the Aschen Empire, your Militia will not be able to rule this world for much longer."
"Well, you know what they say; finders, keepers."

Solis chuckled, and then moved to swiftly bring the Baton across Ashia's face. This time Ashia cried out, her nose crinkling with a sickening crunch. "Mind your tongue, Xenos!" She barked, and then she moved back to the bright yellow case. "As easily as you cracked... this world will be retaken easily." She said, nodding to her Marine.

"Take her back to her cell, no food rations, we'll implement the tantalus torment on her, and she will learn her place." Solis ordered, and the Marines nodded.

Her captors had unwittingly put her gauntlets with the rest of her armor. But she wasn't about to share her secret with these people. From the looks of it, they appeared to be from the Aschen Empire - Ashia found this strange, as they had been derelict for quite some time, it seemed. She intended to find this out; unfortunately, it would require much wordplay on her part.

* * * *

Sara grit her teeth against the pain as the Aurora Chair sifted through her memories like grains of sand. Currently, the Admiral was watching one of her sessions of meditation with her grandfather, from a long time ago. What right do these people think they have to look through my personal life like this?! She thought.

"Come now, my girl, make me happier with your mind, like I showed you." "Grandfather, I can't!" "Yes you can, when you put your mind to it." "Grandfather, I CAN'T!!!" "Trust me, my dear, please. You did it before, you can do it now. All you need to do is concentrate."

The woman stood in silence as she watched the display in front of her, glancing for a moment towards the Technician operating the Aurora chair, while sifting through the memories it was extracting.

"It will take some time to map this prisoner's neural pathways." The Technician said.
Whitcomb nodded. "The IIA Is interrogating the other prisoner..." She said, before she turned back to Sara.
"Go... to... hell... " Sara growled through the pain.
Whitcomb simply huffed, then she turned to the technician, and gestured with her hand. The Technician nodded, and turned up the machine.
The pain intensified, and Sara screamed.

* * * *

The escape pod smoked in the ground. It had burrowed about halfway down, and the door out was stuck. Abraxas couldn't get out.
"Help! HELP!" He screamed from within the pod. Suddenly, a figure appeared on the other side. It was a young girl with sandy hair and dark eyes. She wore an outfit consisting of a leather jacket, a loose shirt underneath and khaki pants with plastic kneepads. There was a forest green bandana tied around her head.

She took out some sort of club-like weapon. She bashed hard of the door. It started to crack. She kept going until the glass part shattered, with a hole big enough for Abraxas to squeeze throught the result.

Abraxas clambered out, in a daze. The girl stood before him, arms crossed, club on a sling around her shoulder.
"Could somebody explain what the hell all this fighting is about?" She asked him.

Sorry, there's a lot of it. Anyways, thanks for all your help!

He ordered the entire fleet to disengage and return to the ships. Once they reached the ships, they were to shut down all engines. As all of them floated in space, the emperor waited.

"What is happening on their ships that could possibly stop their leader from speaking with me?" He wondered. Not to intent on finding out, he decided, that he where to speak with the woman, he would not ask. It was mostly for the better of securing ties with the Aschen Empire, that he does not interfere with their work.

Soon, all of them were docked and off, waiting.

Sara wept alone in her cell.

They knew all about the Protectors. They had taken this information from her by force; location, lore, everything. Hopefully, since they'd attacked the Militia, they would see the Protectors as friends rather than foes.

Sadly, deep in her heart, she felt that this may have been just wishful thinking. These were heartless people. They had searched through her memories without a care for her well-being. And thus, she wept.

The cell door opened, and a bright light shone into the cell room. Sara shielded her eyes. She was tired, hungry, depressed and her neck hurt from the iron collar that suppressed her powers.

"Surprise. You have a cellmate," Said the guard mockingly. He tossed somebody in, then closed the door. With a start, she recognized the figure as Captain Ashia.

"You survived," Noted Ashia as she saw Sara.

"So did you."

"Did they interrogate you, too?"

"It was less an 'interrogation' and more of a 'forced memory revelation'."

Ashia nodded, then sat next to her against the wall. Sara felt a bit confused. Here was the commander of the group which hated the Protectors for God knows how long, and yet she was not trying to kill and/or demean Sara.

"Why are you doing this?" She finally asked.

"Doing what?"

"Trying to befriend me. We both know that under normal circumstances, we'd be at each other's throats."

Ashia chuckled. "Hey, there's not really much else to do. Besides, we got sort of a mutual need."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, you heard me right. We've got to work together if we're gonna get off of this ship."

Ashia leaned close. "Do you see a guard out there?" She whispered.

Sara moved to the door. She was surprised to see no guard posted near the door. "I see nobody."

"Good. Now, turn away for a moment, I need to slip out of this outfit and get something."

Sara, despite not knowing her intent, respectfully turned around as Ashia did whatever she had to. When she turned back, the Militian Commander was holding a large, partially feces-stained bag. She flinched back, disgusted.

"I've made a rule to seize every advantage I can manage. I'm just glad they didn't do a cavity search." She reached into the bag and pulled out some tools, including a screwdriver and pliers. "Now, let's get that collar off of you, shall we?"

Sara had to hand it to Ashia; she really was quite a resourceful woman. Her collar off, she could now perform her empathic abilities. She sat down on the floor cross-legged, in a trance while Ashia worked on her own collar. She tapped into her psychic pool, the part of her brain that gave her psionics. She used this to heighten the levels of boredom in everyone, making them less observant and more relaxed. That way, they could escape easier.

"Done," Called Ashia as Sara got up. Together they pulled the door off it's weakened hinges and propped it against the wall.

"We shouldn't have to worry about anyone watching us through those cameras. I made everyone less observant."

"Good job. We'd better hurry, though." They approached a door. They quietly opened it. Inside was a bored-looking guard with a gun and a box with Ashia's armor in it.

Sara made the guard go unconscious while Ashia put on her armor and gauntlets. "Alright, let's go."

They sneaked along the hallway, knocking out any guards who happened to be there. At last, they approached a small hangar with a couple space shuttles. Perfect.

As they moved towards the shuttles, they heard the movement of many feet. They turned to see a troop of Aschen soldiers with lethal weapons.

The troop opened fire on them. Ashia and Sara dove for cover. A bullet grazed Sara's ear. From behind a shuttle, Ashia clapped her hands together. Immediately, the lights went out, and the guards weapons stopped firing. There was shouting.

"Why did you do that?! Now we can't use the shuttles!" Sara whispered harshly.

"I'd never planned on using them." Ashia walked to a rack of parachutes and brought back two. "Put 'em on quickly, there's not much time."

No sooner then they had them on, the lights came back on. Ashia blasted a wave of cold that jammed the guns and froze them to the ground. She opened the bay doors, and together, they jumped out of the ship and through the sky.

* * * *

Lilith and Abraxas had been wondering why the ship had suddenly stopped when they saw two figures jump out and float safely to the ground via parachute. One figure he recognized.

"Abraxas! We must hurry!" The girl cried, running towards him. Abraxas looked behind her and saw the Admiral of the Militia behind her.

She noticed him looking. "Don't worry, I'm with you guys for now." Abraxas was still suspicious, however.

"There's not much time. We need to leave, and quickly."