[h2]A Week In Summary[/h2]

[u]Phase 3: Instigation[/u]
The plan was simple in it's complexities, as Stryker put it. With each passing minute, the Revenant was coasting further away from the heart of the Deadzone, away from Serros, and apparently, away from the task at hand. However, as was already known among some of the crew, Hadrian Sol owned a sizable estate on the planet Rokarr in the Lykori System, a star on the fringe of the Federation's territory. According to the scouting report Stryker and Carver had received from the pirate Vanderos, the estate was located in a place called Sovereign's Valley, completely isolated from any settlements on the planet. To Stryker, it seemed the perfect place to stage their assault, far away from the streets of Serros where millions of civilians would find themselves in the line of fire, but first they had to get Sol to retreat to his fortress, and the terms of the deal with Vanderos were clear, to completely eliminate any opposition to his rise to power. And for that, they needed to draw Farek and Sol into open conflict.

Grayson, Joe, Vulcaan and Marcus worked through the night to assemble enough fully-functioning sets of the pirate armor bearing Farek's mark. The four bonded over their shared skill of smithing, established a camaraderie the likes of which Grayson hadn't felt in what felt like years. By the end of the night, they had even cobbled together a collection of armors that, in the dark, would look similar enough to the type Sol outfitted his men with. Perfect subterfuge was the name of the game.

At the halfway point of their journey to Rokarr, the Maelstrom dislodged itself from the larger vessel and sped off back to Serros, by all calculations, both ships were to arrive at their destinations at the same time and begin mission in tandem. Carver, Grayson, SAL, Tobi, Marcus, Lataniva, Ian, Tibulus, the Ren platforms and Raisin on the Revenant as the ground team, and Stryker, Ace, Taleste, Amy, Kira, Lexi, Harriet, and Kaeci on the Maelstrom. The few remaining stayed on the Revenant, planning to take the ship into low orbit one the ground team disembarked to get some topographic scans of Sovereign's Valley.

On Serros, the Maelstrom team donned the Sol-style armor and picked their way through the streets until they found themselves a gaggle of Farek's men, drunkenly stumbling out of a pub. They wasted no time, dragging the drunkards into an alley and slitting their throats, they arranged the bodies beneath a banner bearing Sol's mark. When Farek discovered this in the morning, there was no doubt the easily-tempered pirate would spring to action against Sol, seeking revenge despite the latter's protests to any wrongdoing.

On Rokarr, the Revenant ground team, all clearly bearing Farek's colors for the opposition to see, committed to a soft assault, throwing potshot after potshot at the militia men stationed along the walls. After a time, the Revenant swooped down and fired a lobby of hellfire against the walls, giving the ground team ample time to board and make their escape. Both ships reunited several hours later, and the crews retired to their respective bunks for a well-deserved rest. The seeds of war had been planted, now to see how quickly they would take root.

[u]Phase 4: War[/u]
The battle lines shook out slowly over several days, traffic above Serros becoming increasingly crowded as Sol and Farek both recalled the many ships in their respective fleets. Rumors trickled down to the Revenant-Maelstrom joint crew through Vanderos' pirates that Amon Haresal, another pirate captain with a sizable crew of his own, had declared the 15 ships under his command to Sol's army. Meanwhile Leonid Skilca, the last of the big 5, having apparently decided the whole thing was a colossal waste of time, was staying neutral in the conflict, choosing instead to take his men and ships off into the stars, word was they'd return when the matter was settled. So that left Farek friendless, outnumbered, and in a prime position to be stabbed in the back. Orders were handed down for Vanderos to declare for Farek's army, posing as a friend while plotting his downfall.

As the various pirate groups began to fight it out in the streets and in the skies, the crew managed to insert a team on the ground, they did everything in their power to evacuate civilians from the immediate danger zones. Despite a devastating death toll among both the fighters and innocents over nearly four days of open hostilities, countless more lives were saved by the efforts of the team on the ground.

Dawn of the fifth day. The day Hadrian Sol would breathe his last. Again, Stryker called it a plan that was simple in its complexities. The Revenant would slip in to the open combat above Serros, joining Farek and Vanderos' side of the fight with the Maelstrom, already cloaked and engines hot, magnetically attached to the hull. A small crew would remain aboard the Revenant to man the guns, everyone else was on the Maelstrom, locked and loaded for the fight.

It was a hot landing to say the least, the Maelstrom breaking orbit and forcing its way to a landing zone while keeping its cloaks actuve enough to avoid fire. The crew spilled out into the streets, moving as a cohesive unit, carving a path to the place the two crews had met, Sol's bar and his main headquaters on Serros. Blood of all colors imaginable stained the streets. Stryker, Carver and all the rest knew that it would end today, here and now if possible. The conflict had escalated in a way that the captains should have expected, and already too much innocent life had been wastefully torn apart. As they arrived at the heart of Sol's HQ, their initial suspicions were confirmed: the coward had fled. Slipped away in the fighting to retreat to his fortress on Rokarr. The chase was on.

Thanks to some nifty flying from Tibulus and Ace, the ships were able to safely navigate their way out of the combat zone just as Sol's long anticipated flagship showed up, a massive military-grade dreadnought, too large and dense to ever land on a planet, and fully equipped with every sort of weapon imaginable, including nuclear capability. Stryker made a call for Vanderos to evac his men in an attempt to save their lives, but all they got in return was the static of a dead line. Serros faded in the distance, the fates of everyone left behind completely unknown as the two ships pushed on for Rokarr, and the final battle with Sol's forces.

"Alright everyone, I'm gonna keep it short and sweet" Stryker's voice echoed through the ship as the crew prepared themselves "You've seen the scans and the recon imagery, Sol and his people are dug in deep. And they'll be expecting us, so here's the plan. As we speak, Carver's got his people gearing up and prepping to dock his ship onto us. The Maelstrom's stealth systems should allow us to get planetside without detection, we'll be going down in groups of 7, closing in on them from all sides to spread their defenses weak. They outnumber us greatly, but this way we could tip the odds in our favor. One last thing, Sol should have all of his top people down there with him, Vendra Nekten, Mavarros Sylva, Kovitar Qresh, and Wrenti Karr chief among them. All of them need to die alongside Sol if this mission is to be a success. If yor team spots any of them on the battlefield, engage immediately. Good hunting everyone, see you down there."

The Maelstrom linked up and one by one the teams made their way down to the battlefield. The rocky valley was doused in sunlight. It was a beautiful day on Rokarr, for many in the crew, it would be their last.