[h2][b]Falul ‘Taham and Dr. Fiona O’Connell - The [i]Immaculate Aegis[/i][/b][/h2]

[hr]

Falul gave a long glare and a soft growl towards the view screen as the situation rapidly developed. Though, any frustrations he had were directed more towards potential…external factors. To have the [i]Aegis[/i] accidentally arrive here, in just this place at just this time, seemed far too convenient. He wondered if Elizabeth had a hand in this as well, but that would be a concern for later. The [i]Aegis’[/i] AI soon returned the comparisons of the sensor scans to their archived schematics of local ships. Providence-class carriers, Munificent-class frigates, Lucrehulk-class battleships, this was clearly a fleet belonging to the faction known as the “Separatists.” Falul recognized the name. From what he had been reading, they had been waging a war against the Empire’s predecessor. 

In any case, the arrival of the Imperials complicated some matters, and simplified others. “Acquire new targets and have strikecraft prepared for launch. Target two of the weaker ships, here and here, with the torpedoes and ventral lance.” Falul ordered, pointing out two of the Venator-class star destroyers on the holographic display in the center of the bridge. He was aware that the larger class of Imperial ship was more dangerous, but targeting the weaker ships first served several purposes. Destroying the Venators quickly would be the most efficient way of reducing the amount of incoming hostile firepower, especially if they could be destroyed before they launched their own strikecraft. From the technical specifications of the local universe’s ships that Falul had studied so far, their turbolasers had a more limited range than the [i]Aegis’[/i] primary weapons, so they could fire upon the Imperials before they could return fire. Secondly, if the [i]Aegis[/i] could potentially cripple or destroy a Venator in a single shot, that would make both their allegiance and value in combat crystal clear to the Separatists. 

“Once we have fired upon the Imperials, attempt to fall into formation with the local fleet.” Falul ordered before soon turning his attention back to McKay. “I want this ship ready for, at minimum, a combat jump.” Compared to normal slipspace usage, a combat jump would be easier to keep stable, as the borer would only need to be active for a small fraction of a second, once the portal was established. 

With as frantic as she was being, Dr. O’Connell clearly was not accustomed to the stresses of battle. Still, there was at least one useful thought that came to her mind that she had the courage to bring up. When it came to ship-to-ship combat, there was always one single advantage that the UNSC had that could actually, legitimately be considered an [i]advantage[/i]. “Shipmaster, I…I think Isaa-, um, the UNSC AI is still aboard. If you let it plug into the ship, it could run cyberwarfare far more effectively than this ship’s AI.”

Out of all the information that had been presented to him, Falul took the most time to consider Fiona’s proposal, even if it was only a few seconds. “Very well, but it may only work through the ship’s spirit, and must be contained from core systems.”

In the hangar, the Spartan team would easily notice the rapid bustle of activity as the pilots scrambled to their Seraphs and Banshees, though it took less than a minute for Dr. O’Connell to contact them on their comm channel. Or, more specifically, Isaac. “Are you still on-board, Isaac? An Imperial fleet just dropped into the system, and it’s looking like there’s going to be a fight. The Shipmaster just gave permission for you to take over cyberwarfare for the [i]Aegis[/i]. You'll have to go through the ship's AI as an interface, but you still should have access to everything you need.”