Kathryn Connors's Story

Nearly a mile away, perched atop the smokestack of an abandoned factory, Kathryn watched everything go down through the high powered scope of the new Type 100A SAP. It's high powered Wide-Spectrum scope and orbital uplink gave a real time feed directly to the singular agent as she watched, clad in full black combat gear and covered by an active camouflage net.

"Alpha team, the eagle is in position, move into position." And the team promptly checked in. One of the Tech Con mercenaries moved in behind Dominic, adjacent to the U-87s. Little did the Tech Con playboy know that one of his mercenaries was an undercover agent.

"Make sure this goes down without a hitch, Miles is paying us big bucks to make sure everything runs smoothly." She said on her earpiece, adjusting her scope and zooming in on Dominic.

It had been several hours after making contact with the businessman that the ambush had been prepared. Across the slums a force of dozens of capsuleers were amongst, or had actually replaced, themselves with the population of the slum -- their contact would be walking into a prepared, enveloping ambush that could threaten to consume them before ever reaching the girl.

At the sight of the convoy, their fate had been sealed as the perimeter gate of the warehouse loomed high overhead. Corroded steel and sheet metal peeled away as the checkpoint opened on an automated system: despite the dilapidation it became obvious the Aschen were walking into a prepared situation.

“Convoy, ten -- get ready to light ‘em.” A condemned apartment building just beyond the fence of the packing house stretched over the open yards of the industrial site. Peeling away from the high powered telescope an man’s obscured face turned over to the sniper behind the window.

“Faust, this is Nightwatch, they didn’t play the fucking game.”


“Oh … nooooo.” Faust callously shook his hands, plans foiled by some pretty boy who didn’t understand the concept of following directions. “Oh heavens, what do we do now?” A single light shown on him in the basement of the warehouse: a few meters away, an access into the sewers pried open as other Leaguesmen were seen transferring crates down into small boats in the sewer.

“I’m sorry, Miss Chambers. I really should’ve gotten a better buyer, I was hoping to make your business quick -- look at me, and I said I was a competent businessman” He said, not even giving a cautionary glance to the woman sat in the corner bound to the chair. Planting his hands on the wall he contemplated for a quick second. “You’d probably like to tell him your own disagreements though, right?”

As he turned back at the woman Faust clutched a flaying knife in his gloved hand and approached Valerie until coming to a crouch in front of her and wearing a look of slight, childish regret. “Hold on a sec, just gotta’ make sure this is on.” Faust held the weapon between his legs while another hand checked at the small microphone wrapped around her neck and found a soft link blinking on and off. The Scatterran made one quick indication back to a trooper before waving off his hand.

“I guess go tell Weald to break the convoy open. Hey - hey - hey! Remember the plan, you only bring me Hagan! Everyone else, gut ‘em open.” Turning back to Valerie he planted his hands together with the knife standing upright. “I think you’re pretty disappointed he didn’t follow directions too, are you? Good Miss Chambers, because I want you to tell him just that right now.”

Faust took the knife and slammed it into the woman’s kneecap, carving ligament and bone and twisting until the connection with the microphone came to life as dozens of speakers all throughout the factory winked to life and broadcast a deafening, painful scream.

A few meters in front of one of the parked cars a pole stuck from the ground with an attached telephone, and one of the previously mentioned speakers above it. As the silence and eerie quiet of the factory peeled away, searchlights sprang to life flooding the entire factory floor and its nearby locations in harsh light.

A woman dressed in black leather that stood outside the warehouse was revealed when the flood lights snapped on. She unclasped her hands from behind her back and pushed up a pair of sunglasses further onto her nose. Her hands were clasped behind her back as she stepped toward Dominic Hagan with even and precise footsteps through the veritable junkyard of the warehouse.

The last note of Valerie Chamber’s scream died away.

There were scraps of scattered debris laying around. Most of it was torn up concrete from other bombings and attacks on Wing City. And beneath every pile of misplaced rumble was an IED powerful enough to rip the limbs off of a body.

There must have been at least thirty piles.

The capsuleer smiled after she stopped at a precise five foot distance between her and Dominic Hagan. The two drones with the man were not an issue, nor did she seem upset about the breach of agreement. All the woman did was lift an eyebrow in curiosity. Her incredible and inhuman mind began to pick away at the drones’ inner systems.

It was nothing for the capsuleer to hack into the brains of a machine for she was a greater machine than what could ever be created without flesh and blood. There was no AI that could withstand the onslaught of something like a Shadow. It would be all over in nanoseconds and the capsuleer would have absolute control over the drones protecting Dominic Hagan.

“Welcome, Dominic Hagan of Tech Con Industries,” Sara Weald said to the man standing before her. “You have failed to listen to instruction and I am sorry but The League is very disappointed in this decision you have made. And since you have made it, Mister Hagan, you will have to accept the consequences along with that decision.”

Valerie Chambers desperate cries for help echoed out over the otherwise silent concrete yard of the warehouse.

All the vehicles had parked over an improvised explosive device that had been placed by Sara Weald. The Tech Con insignia was painted all over the SUVs. Fission explosions were going to be a glorious and wondrous sight to see once Sara Weald activated the bombs.

“Now with that being said… The League is always up for renegotiation. I am sure we can come up with a new deal between you and me, Mister Hagan,” said Sara Weald.

The black-clad capsuleer lifted her empty hand and pushed up the sunglasses on her nose by the corner of the frame. High pitched whines screamed from beneath the Tech Con SUVs as they activated and detonated in synchronized explosions.

Whisper was waiting in the back of the lead SUV at Dominic's request as he himself had exited the vehicle. It had taken a bit of pushing for him to relent to her being present at all, but she didn't much care to report back to Mollem that she had simply decided to take the evening off. She was uneasy with this place though and had obliged Dominic on the matter of her remaining in the car.

Was it instinct or perhaps her empathy that had her on edge? It was hard to say, but her senses swept their surroundings picking up on the hostility and adrenaline that permeated the area, and with each passing moment her instincts told her that something was going down. Something that neither she nor Dominic wanted to be here for.

Against the abrupt objection of the men still in the vehicle with her, Whisper pulled the door of the SUV open and stepped out.

"Domin-"

A woman's scream cut her off and she paled.

The frail woman didn't look like much as she stood there beside the open door of the SUV with uncertainty and unease painted all over her expression.

Dominic frowned at the woman. It took every ounce of his not inconsiderable willpower to refrain from flat-out snarling at her. The screaming echoed in his ears long after it'd died from the speakers.

"I see the League doesn't follow directions very well either," the aristocrat smirked at Sara, nonchalantly removing his gloves from his hands, "I said I wanted her alive and unharmed. Now, unless that scream is the sound of your companion wailing about how much money he may have just lost from this deal, I'd say that we're both in an economically unfavorable position." He offered Sara a sarcastic grin. "Needless to say, I believe that we both can benefit from a bit of 'renegotiation' at this point."

Hagan turned swiftly as he heard Whisper's voice. "Get back in the car, Jacquelyn." He spoke very sternly. Perhaps, for a brief moment, the facade of elegant pomp and businessman monotone fell from his handsome visage. Perhaps, for a moment as he looked back at Whisper, he allowed himself to appear every bit as afraid as he probably felt.

But then he turned back to Sara and everything was normal. Cool. Calm. Collected. Certainly a bit annoyed. There was nothing about his mannerisms that betrayed the fact that he was bartering with terrorists.

"Now," he straightened his jacket, "perhaps we can discuss this after I've seen-"

And then everything went boom.

The trucks. The explosions. The noise. The fire. It all happened at once. Dominic was nearly thrown off his feet on to the ground as the whole earth seemed to quake. Spinning swiftly on his heels, he watched nearly every one of his convoy trucks go up in a ball of flame. Those lucky few that were spaced out far enough from the blast-zone still suffered significant debris damage. Most of the drivers had been controlled by an AI, but he still had nearly half a dozen men in total loaded up in those cars. He looked fearfully over to the lead vehicle, splintered with debris. At least Whisper had gotten out on time...

Smoke billowed into the air. Plasmic fires raged and cackled. Dominic's hands curled into ball-knuckled fists. He turned slowly to Sara, his teeth grit.

"That is not how this is going to go down."

Whisper hesitated as Dominic told her to get back in the car, and for a moment it seemed she might. That is before the high pitched whine of the bombs drew her attention. It was the only warning offered before the detonation but it was all the warning needed. Her mind snapped to focus and zeroed in on the device, but already the chemical reactions had begun.

What seemed to happen in but a moment to the rest of the onlookers had taken on a surreal sluggishness to Whisper; It was as if she had all the time in the world to assess the situation and react.

The lead vehicle sat just beyond the worst of the damage, but for the woman standing outside in the open, the fragments of the other vehicles would kill her just the same.

The heat and flaming bits of debris overtook her, but none of the deadly shrapnel seemed to find its mark. Save for a few small tears in her clothes, and a scrape along her upper arm the woman appeared largely unharmed.

When she reopened her eyes the unease from earlier was gone, replaced by something harder. When Dominic looked to her, she met his gaze and for a moment one might have thought there a crimson hue to her eyes - a trick of the lighting and the flames.

She said nothing though, nor moved as Dominic turned back to Sara.

While Dominic spoke, Whisper threw out a telekinetic web to draw up an image of their surroundings within her minds eye that was unhindered by physical barriers and obstacles that might bar her vision.

The lone LDA Agent flinched as the explosions rocked the slums, ripping through the buildings and causing the rooftop to shudder while Kathryn watched the events unfold through the scope of her rifle.

"Shit, go to contingency, now!" She hissed into her comm link, centering the cross-hairs of the scope onto the black clad capsuleer.

"ShitShitShitShit..." The Agent fussed, as she locked onto the target before her, but her placement made a shot difficult, as Dominic was too close to the target, and the heat from the shot would liquefy him along with the target.

"K, this is Command, prepare for contigency."

“This is exactly how it is going to go down, Dominic Hagan,” said Sara. She reached up and took the sunglasses off.

“You broke the agreement and now I get to change it. We would not have hurt your dear Valerie but you showed up with extra guests. Tsk tsk,” the capsuleer woman said with a wag of her index finger.

The drones that had come with Dominic Hagan stepped forward and trained their weapons on the man and Whisper. It was now obvious that someone had tampered with their AI. Sara was controlling them by the sheer willpower of her mind. And if that failed there were multiple bodies converging in on Dominic and Whisper from the shadows of the fires rolling around the warehouse.

Each of the capsuleers had a battle rifle in their hands and aimed at Dominic Hagan’s heart as well as Whisper’s. They were surrounded and the only option to stay alive was to surrender.

“If you want to live and if you want your precious Valerie to live then you will surrender. You will give yourself to The League. I’ll be sure to sell the two of you together since you seem so attached. I’m not as cruel as I may seem,” Sara said to Dominic.

“She’s been very hopeful that you would come to save her,” said Sara.

Another harrowing scream sliced the air of the warehouse. Valerie had screamed Dominic’s name.

“It’s just business.” The capsuleer smiled like a shark about to devour a school of tuna.

“Now, don’t make me ask again, Mister Hagan. Come along. It’s quite nice inside,” Sara said to the two of them. She extended a hand and beckoned for Dominic and Whisper to follow her into the warehouse. The barrels of guns hovered near their spines and ribs. Resistance was not an option with two overthrown drones and ten armed capsuleers circling around like vultures over two carcasses.

Whisper stepped closer to Dominic and slipped her arms around one of his to keep close to him. Her fingers entwined against the cloth of his suit while her eyes sought out Sara's. There was something off about the frail, white-haired girl though.

While her actions were those of a frightened woman - her eyes held no fear. There was a weight of cold neutrality behind them and one was left to wonder if she was seeking protection from Dominic, or if it was she who sought to protect him.

Meanwhile it was with calculated precision that her psyche sorted through the influx of information her telekinetic web was providing her. She was no longer seeing through her eyes, but rather the eyes of everyone else. Their adrenalin was her adrenalin, the weight of a finger against a trigger was her own.

Much like the thought process of an AI, she was sifting through numerous scenarios and possibilities, weighing and calculating the likely outcomes of each with rapid fire precision.

Her assessments kept coming back around to the same conclusion.

'This woman hadn't brought near enough men.'

She took no action though as a woman's agonized scream assaulted them once more, and her fingers tightened against Dominic's arm. Her calculations didn't account for the woman that Dominic had come for - or the chilling cry of another that had preceded Valerie's second scream. There were variables not yet accounted for.

Though the Cylons could be reprogrammed, it would be immensely hard to do so. The Capsuleer's would need access to the Tech Con security mainframe and would need the technical know-how and cybernetic strength to overpower an AI directive, all of which protected the drones from being rewired through sheer psionic force. That said, if the League was able to do all of this, the Cylons would be completely at their disposal.

Either way, things didn't look good for the young CEO. With most of his convoy destroyed in a matter of seconds, and with ten different guns scoped in on his skull (guns wielded by men and women who literally had lifetimes of training behind a trigger), Dominic was quickly realizing just how bad his situation was.

"Leave the girl," he said plainly. He tried to put himself in front of Whisper. "She's nothing to you. Taking her or killing her would only make things worse for all of us. Let her go."

After leaving the basement Faust tightened the glove around his right hand tightly, standing by like a silent observer as the combat teams sprang into action. Just a few floors up, the sounds of battle raged and rifles chattered in an automatic symphony as Faust took the scenery in. Turning to follow a machinegun crew as they hefted a 12.7mm assault weapon and a tripod Faust reached out as he passed a crate and pulled an automatic rifle into his grip.

“Clean up Miss Chambers and get her out of here, no proper woman such as her needs this sort of violence.” He remarked bitterly to a passing trooper, a quick salute not even noticed by the commander until he departed from the machinegun crew and ascended up a catwalk.

“Fucking Aschen and their fucking plans … “ Faust continued on down the catwalk, while watching an exchange of gunfire fly underneath him. “All their little fucking plans … “ He grit his teeth in a moment of furious rage, one hand wrapping the sling around his arm. With the other, he cradled the battle rifle into his shoulder. “And their fucking weird ass money.” Putting one elbow onto the railing he aimed the rifle downward and brought the scope to his eye.

“I’m so fucking glad they didn’t end you in the Galactic War.” Notching the safety off he chambered a single 9x56mm projectile into the chamber and felt the hum of the rifle’s magnetic rails.

The scope magnified the battle nearly threefold, and peering down into the lot that surrounded the industrial site Faust quickly tagged the various figures and shadows flickering about the factory.

After spotting Hagan three loud thundersnaps rang out, the battle rifle jolting in his hands as Faust sent a round at the two figures huddled together: a woman gripping at the young Hagan’s arm the image caught in his scope before his vision was blinded by the muzzle flash for a split second.

“Move in and secure that fucking Aschen.”




On the main floor of the meat packing station a heavily armed team of capsuleers was seen flanking beside a prepared machinegun nest: the GPMG mounted on a tripod and protected by a sandbag dugout spitting hot lead across the open spaces leading to and from the packing factor. Launching projectiles the size of a child’s forearm, attempting to run or simply back out the same way they had came would have to be done through a literal gauntlet of weapons fire.

“Eyes on the spook, up there!” One of the gunmen shouted through his microphone until he brought the KLS-89 into his shoulder, Sara and the two targets just ahead of them.

“Covering the flank!” Two of the troopers said before activating the flashlights on the foreguard of their weapons and illuminating Hagan and the woman beside him in light. “Just fuckin’ get them already dammit, there’s a whole mil riding on this!”

Kathryn silently watched the exchange before everything erupted into a literal gauntlet of weapons fire. "Screw this." She brought her scope to a dilapidated sign and some power lines above Sara's head, and she took the shot.

There was a brief whine, and the energy exchange from the high-capacity battery pack mounted on the agent's back into the rifle began, the initial capacitors powered up, followed by the secondary capacitors.

It all released in a sudden fever pitch and a deafening boom.

There was a blinding green flash of light at the muzzle of the rifle, the concrete under the weapon instantly liquefied from the sudden heat. Kathryn's face was instantly sunburned from the sheer amount of radiation from the cannon, and finally the bolt began to travel downrange at blinding speeds, impacting the signage above the exchange with a plume of orange-green flame and sending a hail of liquefied metal, concrete, and other superheated debris raining down on Sara and Dominic.

The weapon whined, and signified it's second charge, where Kathryn lined up the second shot on the muzzle flashes from inside the warehouse.

She pulled the trigger, and the weapon barked it's report, sending a massive green streak of light headed straight for Faust, liquefying everything around it and sending liquid metal and concrete raining down on anyone unfortunate to be under the bolt.

---

That wasn't all that was starting to transpire, with Contingency in place, a team of twenty LDA Spec-ops clad in full combat gear inched in on the exchange, and suddenly a firefight began to erupt between Aschen LDA Agents and SRL Capsuleers. Rapid-strobe like green flashes of light lit up the alleys, along with muzzle flashes from SRL Weapons.

"Go go go! Corvettes will be here any millicenton!" A Team leader called out, while he raised his PDW up at a group of SRL fighters, and laid down a rapid-fire spray of disruptor bolts downrange, suppressing the targets and allowing the rest of his team to move closer.

Up above two Apollos darted over. "Command, I'm trying to raise the Kobol's Killers, try to get them in on this shitstorm."

“Patience,” said Sara with a look over her shoulder. She had not seemed disturbed by the rounds that had by her ear whatsoever. Whether the bullets that Faust had shot at Whisper and Dominic Hagan struck, the Shadow still turned back to face the two with utter calm. There was even a small smile teasing the corner of her mouth.

“The other is valuable as well, Faust.”

The drones that Sara Weald had captured with her unfathomable resources and capabilities as a Shadow attempted to apprehend both Whisper and Dominic into submission and incapacitation. If they tried to run than the other ten capsuleers under Sara’s directive were going to shoot simultaneously at the targets’ knees, legs, and feet.

“As for the new terms, Dominic Hagan, you have not even allowed me to explain. I will personally let the woman leave if you surrender yourself,” Sara said before the sky shattered and exploded above her head. The split second before the debris came crashing down in a molten, screaming, and twisting storm of chaos there was an exasperated look on Sara’s face.

The Shadow’s body was crushed and annihilated right before Dominic and Whisper’s very eyes. The flesh melted off the bone that had cracked under the weight of the sign. An explosion of the body’s blood splashed everywhere on the impact. The capsuleers surrounding Whisper and Dominic immediately kept them all pinned to their current position. No one was going anywhere. And if they attempted to run, they were going to open fire and to kill this time.

The sound of someone’s hand clapping came from around the corner of the warehouse. The clapping stopped and Sara Weald pushed her sunglasses up onto the bridge of her nose. She looked down at the crushed body and arched a brow. There was an amused look on her face.

“Good shot. Commendable,” Sara Weald stated as she flexed the fingers of her right hand. A static discharge encapsulated the hand. It was very subtle and very near unnoticeable in the wash of the artificial light shining down on them all. It was Sara’s RADOS activating.

The time for games and teasing was now over. No more room for the dramatics. Just results. Sara was more than disappointed. She so loved her drama and the suspense that came along with it.

A charge of electricity ignited in Sara’s hand and created a blinding light. She struck the ground and an eardrum shattering explosive sound of disorienting noise rolled across the Abandoned Slums. It was as if lightning had struck precisely where the Shadow’s hand had impacted the pavement.

Faust's bullet that was meant for Whisper was an abrupt pressure upon Whisper's psyche as it crossed into her telekinetic web and it seemed to slow to the surreal sluggishness of molasses. Her eyes flicked to the side as the energy of the bullet built like an elastic band before the projectile was returned back along its original path.

Though the battle was unfolding at a sluggish pace to Whisper, this was purely a matter of perspective as the bullet refound Faust's location as swiftly as he had pulled the trigger.

Other wayward projectiles likewise found themselves repelled, but as the drones moved in to grab her and Dominic she shifted her attention. The young psionics eyes narrowed and with a push of her mind, she sent all manner of wreckage from the exploded vehicles through the air for both the drones with force enough to skewer flesh and bone with ease.

As the capsaleers opened fire Whisper turned her head to the side, her brow furrowed heavily at the weight of the building energy bearing down on her psyche. Bullets were flying in all directions striking the very same men who had fired them, and ricocheting off walls - but none seemed to reach Whisper or Dominic.

She couldn't keep up this level of concentration though. Several bullets scarcely missed striking Dominic and herself as they penetrated her defensive efforts, but she couldn't go on the offensive while under direct and very heavy fire. It was all she could do to simply stand there and maintain the heightened sense of awareness required to disperse the gunfire.

As the Aschen weapon struck its mark overhead her concentration wavered. Whisper and Dominic were both in the path of the falling debris. Fire and plasma rained down as both she and him began to lose substance and form, and the falling debris simply passed through their incorporeal and fading wraith-like forms.

On the catwalks Faust stood aside as two other troopers approached carrying shoulder-fired launchers. Aiming down the KGW-70 Faust sighted the first of the inbound security forces to rescue Hagan. Pointing the launcher team into a position on the catwalk Faust rushed down the railing to a ladder, when an MG-99 roared to life from a prepared position on the flank of the factory lot.

“Multiple security personnel inbound!”

Nearing the ground Faust stopped and ducked under the railing as a hand grenade went sailing out into the lot right in front of him. Nearly sliding on his back the rest of the way down the capsuleer joined a fireteam of shock troopers, assault rifles and combat shotguns outfitted with flashlights and CQB equipment. “Envelop them and watch for reinforcements, when they send in backup you know what to do.”

Drawing the battle rifle over his shoulder Faust accepted a compact, bull-pup NR-83 rifle and covered a firing position as part of the fireteam departed. Only a few seconds passed by before several teams of Resistance insurgents opened fire at point-blank ranges in prepared ambush points on the Aschen forces.

Leading the other element parallel to the gunfight Faust directed the team into a runoff canal fed by the abandoned factory. Keeping the bull-up in his shoulder Faust descended the slant of the canal in a slide, shadows from muzzle flashes and gunfire thrown opposite him. “You and you, over there in rifle positions now!” Forcing his way through muck and debris the capsuleer was quickly ascending to the mouth of the canal, nearby a pedestrian walkway. From a position able to plunge fire down at the targets from behind, the insurgents seemed to be drawing a wide noose around the battlespace.

Kathryn growled as she watched everything unfold in the enhanced scope. She watched each capsuleer move out and around to form a wide noose around the encroaching Security teams. A mixture of LDA Operatives, Tech Con Mercenaries and Terran mercenaries working for Tech Con were obliviously walking into a wide noose.

But suddenly there was a deafening crack, and Kathryn ducked behind a brick redoubt and onto her back as she watched the night sky split apart and the hulking hammer-shaped form of the TCN Hyperion slid down and moved to settle over the slums. This large vessel, though diminutive compared to the larger, newer Reverence Is, at the length of five football fields, it alone still packed quite a punch and was more than capable of simultaneously handling air and ground threats.

Kathryn winced her eyes as the ship swooped over and lowered itself towards the ground, which was shuddering and shaking under the immense force of the massive vessel above.

----

"Mr. Hagan we have arrived just in time, LDA Units have called for contingency." A Tech Con officer reported, while the Helmsmen worked to keep the ship stable.

"Get us as low as you can, then deploy the bottom bays so they can extract my sun, flatten anything around him."

The Officer nodded.

"All Batteries selective fire, you are free to engage." He called on the comms, which signaled the acknowledgement of the order.

The bottom batteries of the ship, which were heavy plasma cannons traversed and swiveled to life. With high-powered sensors it began to pick up SRL Targets moving in the dense slums, and those that surrounded Dominic and Whisper.

With bullets going in all directions, the Tech Con team moved in. They descended on harnesses and lines under the ship, armed with beam rifles they began to pick off any exposed targets with lethal precision.

The ship's secondary laser and plasma batteries came to life, and began to pepper indiscriminately around the pair, not so much to try and hit anything; but to keep the SRL suppressed long enough for the extraction to finish. As explosions plumed and mushroomed up around Hagan and Whisper, a pair of Tech Con mercenaries descended down on lines besides where the two once were, and moved quickly to try and locate where Whisper had phased too. While the surroundings were lit up simultaneously by the gem encrusted ship above. Likely forcing Aschen and SRL into cover alike.

Dominic tensed as the bullets and debris came flying, fully expecting the worst. His personal shields might save him from death, but whatever was about to happen was certainly going to hurt...

Of course, Dominic had NOT been expecting Whisper's latent psionic talent. He stood astonished as a hail of deadly projectiles collided against her telepathic shields, dashing themselves upon the strength of her will to no avail. Although Hagan had suspected Whisper to be in possession of some sort of supernatural power, he had never expected them to be so influential.

But then the attacks came thricefold, and Whisper's concentration began to fail. A bullet made it through here. A chunk of plasma there. They wouldn't last long.

"Jacquelyn, we need to move," he urged her, "we need to find cover no-AUUGHHH!" Dominic suddenly fell over a hunk of concrete crashed through Whisper's barrier and slammed into his leg, pinning him to the ground. Were his shields not activated, it would have severed the limb entirely. As it was, he had only a few broken bones.

Although going ethereal may have allowed Dominic to free himself from the debris, the damage was still done. He was seriously crippled. In their ethereal state, they were temporarily invulnerable... though not invisible. The two could still be easily tracked and found. Things did not look good.

"Th-the factory..." Dominic growled, mustering his willpower and forcing himself onto his good leg, "quickly we need to find cover..." Though it was enemy territory, it was the closest building. He only hoped that the skirmish between the SRL and the LDA would distract his foes long enough for them to get to safety and, hopefully, rescue Valerie. Dominic also noted with ire the carelessness of the Tech Con platoon deployed by his father (easily recognized in his gem-studded transport ship). The crossfire of the Aschen fighters was just as much a threat to Dominic and Whisper at this point as was the SRL.

Valerie was panting hard and attempting to keep as calm as possible. Blood was running down her leg in a red sheath. It was ruining her pants and that was unacceptable. Pain lanced up into her spine and Valerie wanted to do nothing more than curled into a ball to weep. That was never going to happen.

The owner of Daedalus Enterprises had been tortured, beaten, and broken before. These SRL terrorists were nothing compared to Eris Driscoll. It almost made Valerie laugh but it was cut short by a particularly painful stab of agony up her thigh.

The sound of gunfire erupting around the warehouse was disturbing to Valerie. There was panic in her thoughts but she did not let them control her. It was very possible that Dominic was dead. Valerie had to face that probability. He was no soldier and these people were trained with years of experience in warfare.

A soldier approached her and began to clean Valerie’s wound despite the firefight. There was no confused expression on her face as the nameless man took care of her. Her wound was healed up with some odd medical device. The pain was still present but it was not as intense as it had been before. Valerie used the skin-to-skin contact to her advantage.

She slipped into the capsuleer’s mind and began to manipulate him toward her own goals. She sent a strong impulse for him to release her. Valerie’s binds came loose and she pulled her hands out of the harsh rope. Her right hand immediately connected with the capsuleer’s skin again.

“Take me out of here,” commanded Valerie. The armed man nodded and complied. Every foot step pained Valerie but she held her composure. If she remained calm and did not act like she was escaping than all would be fine. Everyone was far too distracted by the ongoing battle to pay attention to her.


Sara stood directly next to Dominic and Whisper had been just seconds ago. They were gone and the mission was failed. She tugged off her gloves by pinching one finger at a time. The Shadow was not particularly worried about being killed or shot. It was like getting stung by a honey bee to her. It only hurt for a second.

"Target lost, Faust," said Sara. "Mission failed. Congratulations."

Faust ascended from the runoff canal by a small ladder, reaching a gun emplacement perched near a roadway overhang at a bridge across the canal. Taking his rifle from the sling on his side the capsuleer flashed a hand signal to the first gunner. Across the slums entrenched anti-air installations began firing in wide volleys, bright lights streaking into the sky from various caliber weapons hidden amongst buildings and sidestreets.

Taking a ruggedized communicator from a gunner Faust checked a quick readout, a remote survey of over a dozen guns and other installations in a spiderweb out from the factory. At this particular installation a double-barreled 57mm anti-aircraft gun opened fire into the air and spat autocannon rounds into nearby VTOL craft or closer ships. The Resistance commander quickly requisitioned a militarized motorcycle, leaving the guncrew as a large vessel passed overhead.

Keying into a handheld, Faust piloted the vehicle back towards the factory, weaving his way through the foot traffic and activity as fighters and insurgents came out of the woodwork of the slums. “This is Faust, ready the ballistic missiles.”


Faust idly stood himself inbetween the woman, and the soldier helping her, after appearing from a service tunnel. Clutching the magnum he reached forward and pulled the trigger, sending one round through the man’s chest and causing him to fly backwards, spilling Valerie to the ground with him. The capsuleer gurgled as his chest filled with blood and Faust racked the hammer once again as he strode towards Valerie. “You will be quiet the flight risk for whatever poor shmuck buys you ‘eh? I’ll be sure to look for someone who likes a good struggle.” Reaching a gloved hand down to her neck the capsuleer waved another pair of troopers over.

“Put her under before moving her out again, from here on out we move her under NBC conditions -- go, go god dammit!”

"I hope I'm not too late to the festivities." Said a female voice coming from the door of the bar as Kathryn, a young, blonde haired woman slowly closed the door behind her, and surveyed the interior and the bar's Patrons.

"I could hear the commotion from across the street." She said, taking her black jacket off and hanging it by the door. The woman was clothed somewhat differently from the rest of the patrons, a white shirt and black tie, and silver badge pinned to a black belt where a weapon was also holstered.

She first brought her attention to the nearby SRU Officer, she could pick an off duty cop out a mile away, that was at least before her attention went to her table, as she moved towards it. Even though her attention was on the table, her periphery was on the group of men that seemed to be ready to start a fight.

She stopped, almost half way to her table as her slender fingers gracefully touched across the weapon holstered at her hip. She didn't withdraw it, nor did she seem to take any overt action. However the audible whine of a Disruptor pistol powering up could be heard among the cacophony of voices.

"I would prefer to enjoy my drinks in relative peace." The blonde said with her eyes on the Knight and his comrades. "Take your Gods damned shenanigans outside, I'd hate to watch the Judicars smash your faces in." The woman warned.

Ansen saw the woman enter, and noticed immediately she was armed and charged to subdue any violence. Dammit all. Ansen walked over to her telling Marchosias that he would be right back to get them the rum they wanted.

"Excuse me madam, I couldn't help but notice your Disruptor pistol. That is a nice model. Also things are hopefully settling down, would you like a drink? Sorry for the ruckus, I'll happily buy you your first round." Ansen said as warmly as he could after all of this nonsense.

"Well, there's the downtown district. Plenty full of rough and rowdy bars." Revan smiled. "I even heard there's one with a gothic theme going on, if that's your thing."

Revan strode over and leaned against the bar. Giving the newcomer a foul look, he scowled. No need to bring guns into the equation, you psycho bitch.

Ansen thought seriously about just leaving, he had his twin pistols holstered. Ansen really didn't want anymore commotion than there already was.

"Ew, gothic, disgusting. Meh, the downtown district sounds fine, plenty of people to scare just by looking at them."
Marchosias brings out his heavy scythe trough a portal and uses it as support for walking.
As he walks out of the bar, he turns back "Oh, before i forget." Marchosias snaps his fingers making Ansen and Jacen jump involuntarily.

The loud lich leaves the bar. From across the street, his voice is heard "I'LL DEFINETILY COME BACK! LOVED THE RUM!"
Soon after, a woman is heard screaming in fear.

"Standard issue, Type Twenty-three." She said, watching as the Lich slowly began to leave, shaking her head slowly at the commotion he was causing.

"People like him would be purged where i come from." She commented, letting her hands run along the weapon once more, an audible click and a hiss following as the weapon disarmed, and powered down.

She turned to Ansen and nodded. "You recognized it as a Disruptor, you must be familiar with my people." She said, looking around the bar.

"Or heard enough stories. I'm Kate, pleased to meet you." She said, turning an eye to Revan.

"'Frak you lookin at?" She said aloud.