Alexis stood on her command platform, overlooking the CIC and the holo-display in front of her. She watched as little blue blips denoting the 7th launched into the battlespace. Her eyes then switched over to the incoming hostile forces. It was going to be a steep battle if people didn't play their parts, so she had to make sure everybody did. When she got the message from Trapp, she rolled her eyes and then smirked, "Don't fly into my ammunition then, how's that sound, commander? Focus now, there'll be time for jokes later."

[i]"Ma'am, all units have deployed."[/i] an ensign said.

Alexis nodded, [b]"Good, have the fighters commit to strafing the frigates, their engines are top priority until we can get clear of the Ulysses and move freely."[/b]

Launching from a hustling and bustling station like the Ulysses was always a time consuming activity. One had clearances and right of way applied as other ships passed through the illuminated lanes. Needless to say, an emergency launch was even more time consuming. There was no preparation so ships were still travelling in front of the Lincoln, hurrying to get out of the behemoth's way and away from the approaching battle. To top it off, launching from any station couldn't be done with engines at full speed, RCS thrusters along the length of the ship needed to be used so the engines didn't burn and melt the hull of the station; and when you have a ship the size of the Lincoln, using RCS thrusters alone made it a lumbering tortoise.

The deck guns on the Lincoln were already pointed at their targets, working out firing solutions and preparing for the first barrage once they were clear of friendly obstructions. The shield was raised and debris from the damages Ulysses were bouncing harmlessly off of it. The main engines were on but not propelling the Lincoln and blast shields were lowered over the observation decks. With all of the fighters and MAS units launched, the hangar doors closed also so a lucky shot wouldn't cause internal damage.

Hark, the head of the marine bastion aboard the Lincoln entered the bridge. "Captain Marquis, the marines are ready to repel any boarding parties that might come our way. The dropships are ready should we need to perform a boarding action. We're standing by. The ultra-lights are also fired up."

Alexis looked to Hark and nodded. The sergeant was flanked by two marines, all of them holding onto shotguns. In boarding actions, shotguns were the king. Many shipboard marines preferred them over assault rifles. UEE naval shotguns were compact, short enough for extra close encounters. They used a bullpup design with a ten shell magazine. The naval shotguns had controllable choke settings for a wide cone of fire or a tight cone of fire at longer distances.

The marines, including Hark, were all wearing sleek white armor with input jacks along the back for ultra-light MAS interface. Hark's armor was customized a bit, with a plain gray steel plate attached to the chest. Similar to MAS pilots, Hark had kill marks on his left forearm, the fact that it was people and not machines made them seem a little more morbid. Alexis forgot how vicious Hark was in combat, when he was a MAS pilot, Hark had flown into the hangar of a coalition carrier alone and with only its combat knife. He earned the nickname 'Bloodhound' after that since his MAS was practically coated in red.

During combat, Hark and his two marines acted as personal escorts for Captain Marquis. His presence was required on the bridge at such times, or wherever Marquis would be during combat. The UEE didn't like their officer's ending up in the wrong hands, the Coalition had some disturbing ways of getting information out of them.

Marquis looked back to the holo-display and watched as the 7th got to work. She heard Ariana's rambling over comms, along with the rest of the bridge. Hark chuckled, [i]"Green as grass."[/i]

Alexis didn't respond to Hark, she had been exactly where Ariana was. A green and innocent rookie in the cockpit of a MAS. She was top of her class when she joined the UEE navy and was also assigned to the 101st as 3rd Team Leader, back when Commander Glenhelm ran the battalion. She took in a breath and listened to Ariana. Alexis was glad that Ari claimed first blood, and so used to that help with the praise and get Ari on her A-game. [b]"First blood, lieutenant! That's a good omen for rookies on their first battle! Do the 101st proud and keep it up. Three kills and I may include a bonus on your paycheck."[/b] the crew of the bridge looked up at Alexis, wondering why they never got bonuses. She looked down at them all, "Back to work!" she commanded with a hard tone. She heard the scolding tone from McKnight after her comment, he was right, she shouldn't have encouraged Ari in such a way; Alexis knew the gamble on such a risky encouragement. She had done it out of intuition, Aston had once encouraged her the same way and now she's the captain of a battle-carrier.

The rest of the 7th started reporting kills, things were going well. She did notice however that Brick was fighting more than he should be with an anti-ship bomb strapped to him. [b]"Brick this is Fox. I shouldn't have to remind you that your target is the cruiser, time is not on our side here so get moving. Guillotine, that destroyer is coming into range and the Lincoln isn't clear of the station yet, double time it to that ship."[/b]

Alexis agreed when McKnight ordered the fighters to withdraw, but she saw two MAS units headed to finish them off. Her eyes switched over to Maki and her Hellcat on the display, [b]"Hunter, change of plans. Our fighters are withdrawing but two coalition units are moving to intercept them. Back 'em up and make sure those pilots make it back in one piece. Stand by on reserve once they've reached the Lincoln."[/b]

[b]"Skull squadron,"[/b] Alexis then spoke to the fighters, [b]"Continue withdraw. Once Hunter has engaged the hostile units, turn back and assist her. Complete your withdraw after you're clear."[/b]

When the elite MAS units came into the display, Alexis tensed. They were headed for Ari and McKnight, their commander must've spotted the amateur moving patterns. Marquis had partially counted on them not noticing. [b]"Gallant don't rush ahead, take a defensive stance."[/b]

But McKnight had already rushed forward. Alexis mumbled something to herself, [b]"Damn psycho..."[/b] she gritted her teeth and watched as two of the elites were taken care of. The commander was good, though, and he was in an equally good MAS to top it off. She watched as McKnight's blip from blue to yellow as he took a heavy hit from the Mk III's plasma cannon. She also watched as the rookie moved in to assist McKnight, ultimately overcoming the elite unit. She was impressed that Ariana had done that, certainly worth some praise after the battle was done and over with.

[b]"Gallant, what is your status?" Alexis asked, "McKnight, damage report."[/b]

She sighed, hoping there wasn't going to be another death in the 7th so soon after Tori's.

She got the report from Maki and it made her smirk. She made a mental note to reward Maki with a bottle of Gerard's wine and a box of pockies. [b]"Noted, Hunter. Keep your head in the fight and not where it might be later."[/b]

[i]"Captain, incoming priority transmission!"[/i] she heard one of her comms operators speak. She wasn't delighted with who appeared on screen.

[i]"Captain Marquis, I am now giving your MAS squadron a priority command. You are to send your team to protect my shuttle, as it exits the Ulysses and escort it to your ship immediately."[/i] the blueblooded admiral said matter-of-factly.

Alexis looked at the flow of new incoming information. [b]"Sir, the 7th is currently locked in combat. If they withdraw now they'll be easy targets."[/b]

Ardin looked unimpressed, [i]"Your fighters can cover their retreat."[/i]

[b]"My fighters are withdrawing after taking heavy losses, sir. The best I can do move the Lincoln closer to speed up the rende-"[/b] [i]"I want the 7th, captain. Don't make me repeat myself again."[/i]

With that, the transmission cut. Alexis looked at the holo-display. Her eyes ventured to McKnight and the rookie, coming close to the edge of the battlespace after Gallant took the heavy hit. She looked to Maki and Alice as they moved to cover the retreat of the fighters. Brick and Guillotine were now within gun range of the coalition cruiser, turning them back would spell their death. The rest of the 7th in close escort with Disposal and the Marauder could perhaps be retasked, but that'd leave the two bombers woefully unprotected from coalition MAS units.

Alexis looked at the Lincoln on the display and clenched her teeth, [b]"Helmsman, full speed ahead, point us at the coalition destroyer."[/b] she looked to the gunnery chief, [b]"Get me a firing solution for the WMG."[/b]

The helmsman was uncertain and looked back to the captain, [i]"We're not clear of the Ulysses yet, ma'am. Our engines could damage the sta-"[/i] [b]"The station is already damaged and we're no good here. Do it."[/b]

Alexis then addressed all of her units in the battlespace, [b]"All units, all units. The Lincoln's main gun is firing on the coalition destroyer. Clear the firing line."[/b] a red line drew from the Lincoln to the destroyer and a countdown started as the wave motion gun powered up.

Alexis then radioed to her two escort ships. [b]"Gemini I, Gemini II this is Marquis. Do not engage the enemy. Fall in with Admiral Ardin's shuttle.[/b]

She changed her channels, [b]"Hatchet. Echo. Break off from your squadron and move to the admiral's shuttle. Guillotine, hold your charge, sensors are detecting another cruiser moving to outflank us. For now, work with Alice and escort Brick so that he can deliver his charge. Once complete, the three of you will withdraw to the Lincoln and stand by on reserve. Odin, once you and your team have dealt with the hardballers, withdraw and stand by on reserve as well."[/b] a yellow blip took over the blue on one of the admiral's elites, then it vanished. Three MAS units were approaching the shuttle. [b]"Double time, 7th."[/b]

Captain Marquis mumbled again, [b]"He wouldn't be a target if he didn't paint his shuttle to look like a damn limousine..."[/b]

She looked back to the counter for the main cannon, ten seconds. The Lincoln was now at full burn and finally moving into the battlespace as a combatant. [b]"Deck guns, target the hostile frigates, fire when ready."[/b] As if on cue, thuds could be heard from the bridge as the cannons lining the battle-carrier opened up on the smaller vessels. Impact and shield indicators lit up over the frigates on the display. But the frigate shields would only last so long against a continued bombardment from the Lincoln.

[i]"Captain, the wave motion gun is ready to fire. Friendlies have left the firing line and the target is locked, awaiting your command."[/i] the gunnery chief said.

Alexis looked at the display and gave the order. [b]"Fire."[/b]

[i]"Firing!"[/i]

The shot was brilliant. From the nose of the Lincoln, a bright white streak surged forward, along with a thunder-clap of noise despite it being in space. The massive plasma projectile moved forward quickly, and when it hit the destroyer, the target was beyond saving.

The plasma simply pushed through ship's shielding. It melted away the meters of heavy armor like a hot knife through butter and sliced on through the many decks of the destroyer. The metal that wasn't melted away was searing white-blue hot. Orange secondary explosions started appearing all across the two halves of what was the coalition ship. Some escape pods were seen ejecting, they were falling toward Cerol; those lucky survivors would be prey for the planetside forces and captured. Sensor suites on the Lincoln traced the pods and found their predicted landing zones, alerting the forces on the ground to deploy and capture them as they landed.

The firing channel inside the Lincoln was a boiler room, the metal plating along the entirety of the barrel's length was glowing orange from the heat.

The gunnery chief went along with the protocol and told Alexis exactly what she already knew, [i]"Target destroyed."[/i]

[b]"Thank you, chief."[/b] Alexis said with a bit of a smart-ass tone in her voice, it made the chief chuckle.

[i]"Should I acquire a firing solution on the frigates, ma'am?"[/i] he asked.

Alexis shook her head, [b]"Negative, our deck guns can do enough to them so our MAS units can clean up after they handle the cruiser."[/b] she looked to the helmsman again, [b]"Combat speed. Port seventy degrees. Screen Admiral Ardin's shuttle and its escorts until he is secure."[/b]