Alexis stood and watched as the team mingled, and got acquainted with the newcomer. She felt a sort of nostalgia, relating to Ari as she was once in that position. Alexis wasn't within earshot of the group, but she could tell that they were introducing themselves and exploiting the quirks of one another to try and break the ice.
    
While she quietly watched, Alexis felt a brief vibration at her hip. She pursed her lips, having a feeling she was needed somewhere. The captain took the holopad from her belt. It was a bridge summons. With a long sigh, Alexis ran her hand through her bunned hair and turned to head toward the hot box. She was not in much of a mood to be doing anything in that room, having sat for five hours listening to admirals argue from beginning to end. She exited through the same access she came from.
    
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[b]"Report."[/b] Captain Marquis demanded as she entered the bridge in the heart of the Lincoln.
    
[color=lightgreen]"Fighter Wings ready to go,"[/color] replied XO Aston calmly, in his ever professional and matter-of-fact manner, [color=lightgreen]"Final refitting is taking place now and should be finishing shortly. Otherwise the Lincoln should be ready to launch."[/color]

Alexis maneuvered through the hotbox and onto the CIC platform. It was raised above the rest of the bridge by five feet, giving her an overlook of the whole bridge. She listened to what Aston had to say and nodded slowly. [b]"Good news, then. But there's gotta be more, Aston."[/b] she looked over to him, [b]"Otherwise a report that small would've been sent straight to me."[/b]

[color=lightgreen]"Admiral Ardin sent the coordinates for the mission location a few minutes ago, I thought you should take a look over our course before we set off."[/color] Aston replied cooly, still standing upright, his back rigid and straight, as he followed her to the CIC. [color=lightgreen]"The Engineering Chief down in the reactor room also-"[/color]

[color=chocolate]"Hey! Uh, Captain Marquis..! I think you should take a look at this,"[/color] interrupted Ensign Cleary, one of the technicians working the long range radar suite.

Alexis glanced at the radar tech and moved to his side, [b]"Where should I be looking, ensign?"[/b] she asked, her eyes scanning all parts of the screen, looking for whatever had caught his attention.

The Ensign gulped, but pointed a slightly sweaty finger at a  growing dot on the screen, [color=chocolate]"I'm getting a wierd reading over here, its something big, and its moving pretty fast."[/color] 

A more experienced technician quickly pushed the ensign out of the way, as he made more space for the Captain to see.

[color=silver]"You idiot,"[/color] the older technician berated him, [color=silver]"Thats not a [i]'big thing'[/i], its a jump signature..."[/color] the technician's voice trailed off and his face grew pale. [color=silver]"A lot of jump signatures..."[/color]

The captain raised an eyebrow, [b]"There weren't any advanced warnings of a fleet arriving to berth while I was gone, were there?"[/b]

[color=lightgreen]"No Ma'am,"[/color] Aston replied confidently, [color=lightgreen]"The only fleet being serviced right now is the 5th."[/color]

She sighed and looked over to another ensign, [b]"Do we have any probes available for launch?"[/b]

[color=lightgreen]"I believe so,"[/color] Aston replied, [color=lightgreen]"I'll tell the flight deck to-"[/color] Aston was suddenly cut off as multiple warnings on the long range radar suite began sounding, the bluish lights of the command bridge changing to red in seconds.

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In the emptiness of space, just outside of the Space Dock's range of fire, a huge battleship warped into view, detaching its destroyer escort as soon as it exited light speed. Moments later, several other warships warped into view, releasing their clutch of destroyers as well. Following the larger capital ships were a flight of smaller capital ships and cruisers, which released their clutches of frigates and destroyers as well. The final force was larger than the combined might of the 5th fleet, 2nd fleet, and Cerol's Planetary Defense Fleets. Coalition ships then released their MAS', dozens of tiny specs in the darkness of space, the glint and light from their thrusters made them seem like a swarm of angry fireflies in the distance.

Moments later, the large flagship opened fire.

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The Ulysses Station seemed to rock violently as a plasma blast struck it, melting into half a dozen floors and corridors in the tightly packed station hull. While not a spectacularly major hit, it was the preamble to another volley of plasma from the Coalition fleet, several more blasts hitting the station, others sailing off into the distance and hitting other vessels in the UEE fleet. A flight of missiles followed the plasma bolts, a large number being shot down by point defense guns, but a good number still striking the dock and the the fleets.

Red lights and sirens blared across the entirety of the UEE vessels, as they quickly tried to react to the sudden attack. The 2nd and Planetary Defense Fleets sluggishly moved forward to meet the Coalition invasion fleet, deploying their fighters as they attempted to combat the MAS threat that was quickly closing in. The majority of the 5th fleet was still damaged and docked within the shaking arms of the Ulysses, but the ships that were battleworthy made moves to insert themselves into the battle, MAS' deploying from the 5th fleet Carriers to aid the fighters.

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Alexis had almost sprinted back to the CIC platform and gripped the guard rails tight as the first plasma blast shook the entire station, also causing the Lincoln to shake. [b]"Emergency launch! Anybody who's not on the ship will need to sit this one out!"[/b] she thrummed through her command interface and a large holographic display appeared in front of her. It showed the entire battlespace, with the Ulysses, the 5th and the enemy fleet. A large red spot showed on the gigantic station where the plasma had struck. It was blinking with alerts. [b]"Ready all strike craft and MAS units."[/b]

[color=lightgreen]"Fighter wings launching"[/color] Aston said calmly, and on the forward viewscreen, a dozen of blue thruster trails could be seen as the Lincoln's fighters deployed around their mothership.

There was a very brief rumble across the ship as it detached from the Ulysses and drifted sideways into a clear launch path. [b]"I need those shields up. Prepare the wave motion gun for firing."[/b] her eyes scanned the battlespace, the enemy fleet was huge, she didn't like their chances but dealt with the pieces given to her. [b]"Get the seventh off our ship and into that fight."[/b]

On the display, Alexis caught sight of a small group breaking off from the coalition fleet, heading for the Lincoln and the Ulysses. [b]"Helmsman, get us clear of the station."[/b] she then got herself on the line with the maintenance crews servicing the MAS units, [b]"Get those units loaded, double time. Arm Delacroix's Marauder and Shanks' Disposal with anti-capital charges. Pilots' choice loadout otherwise."[/b]

Then her comm switched to Trapp, [b]"Commander Trapp, I hope you're settled with the position. We've got a battle group headed our way. The seventh is to meet them head on and clear out the MAS escorts. Disposal and Marauder are being loaded with anti-capital charges. The Lincoln will reduce the Coalition cruier's defenses, opening up room for one charge to sink it. The other charge is for the destroyer. You'll be receiving supporting fire from the Lincoln so mind your's and your squad's position, so not to drift into our fire."[/b] Alexis paused, [b]"If the charges can't be delivered, have Alice designate the targets for an Armstad strike. Launch when ready, godspeed."[/b]