[center]
[h1][b][color=f72f39]Alexander Kherol[/color][/b][/h1]
[/center][hr]
[center][h3]The [s]High School Lecture[/s] Meeting[/h3][/center]
[hr]
ANS Manfred von Richthofen. Conference room.

The room was tranquil quiet, as the last of the civilian crew members left the room to their next assignment or stood at attention by the door outside in case any issue evolved throughout the meeting. A meeting between some of the Ascendancy's most powerful men and women. 

One by one the key members logged into the conference room, the time of arrival varied perfectly reflecting their personality. But despite everyone there, the Grand Admiral was still not yet content to begin the meeting. 

[b][color=0b4cb5]"Uhh, still waiting on someone?"[/color][/b] His captain Carina Sansonetti poked Alexander in his arm.

[b][color=f72f39]"Yeah. I didn't expect him for today, but why not let him join as well. He should be here any minute now."[/color][/b]

A proud warrior and youngest man in active command in the Ascendancy military. Quite a peculiar fellow, but enthusiastic and very loyal. Kotaro Winterborn  

Any Admiral in this situation in Kherol's fleet would be walking into their Grand Admiral's ship proud and eager to report their success. The Rebellion on Plenty was just about over, Their leaders gone, their soldiers outgunned and forced to surrender, and all while also rounding up escaped convicts from an unexpected crash landing of the most infamously secure prison ship on the entire Ascendancy fleet. There were a few escapees - some of which escaped right before his eyes - but he already sent two of his unit to chase them down and round them up as well, and third only to his fellow Admirals and Grand Admiral Kherol himself, the Paladins were those he had nothing but faith in the talents and quality of.

It wasn't a perfect, supreme victory, but it was a victory nonetheless.

Yet, it's been a while since Kotaro felt this down. Peaceful negotiations failed, the criminals stole from and killed innocent people who were already having a rough time trying to live peacefully amidst the civil war that transpired, and more soldiers and rebelling farmers died than necessary. Some of them died right in front of him thanks to that gun-slinging traitorous bastard, Joseph Albion, and he couldn't even capture them.

The other Paladins, particularly a trio of what can only be described as clowns wrapped in Dazzle Camouflage cloaks of Red, Green, and Blue, were essentially pulling a comedy act in front of him as he walked to help cheer him up, the shortest of which banged the other two's heads together to silence them, the yellow-cloaked boy appeared beside him as they walked.

"[b][color=yellow]Look, Boss. I know this turned real sour after the fact, but you can't let it get to you, ok? We're only human after all, we all make mistakes, and we all can't always be at the right place at the right time.[/color][/b]" The boy said, before another cloaked boy, one with a Cyan cloak clearly around his late teens, looked towards him.

"[b][color=turquoise]But this is war, Crys. People were bound to die, whether they deserved it or not. Our Lord has to accept that, not just as a Vice-Admiral, but as a Soldier.[/color][/b]" He bluntly said. The yellow-cloaked boy, "Crys", simply looked disapprovingly at him in response, with a Magenta-cloaked boy also looking at them, holding up his hands as if to quell the potential fire that could ignite between the other two.

"[b][color=magenta]I think what Seidon means is, be thankful we saved who we could, and mourn for who we couldn't.[/color][/b]"

"[b][color=turquoise]That's not-[/color][/b]"

"[b][color=magenta]A lot more people could have died from this rampage if it wasn't for you managing things in the place of that psycho. I'm almost certain he would have let those crooks steal from and kill those farmers and villagers if not for you taking command away. We did all we could and prevented the worst case scenario...So please don't beat yourself up over what you couldn't do, Lord Kotaro.[/color][/b]" He said, that gentle tone of voice you don't often find in soldiers these days.

"[b][color=turquoise]Talk over me again, Ein, see what happens![/color][/b]" the blue-cloaked Seidon said, a fearful smile on the magenta-cloaked Ein's face. The shortest of the clowns, about the same size as Crys, dressed in a green dazzle cloak, jumped up and slapped both Seidon and Ein to stop their little conflict. They were about to be in the presence of their superiors, after all.

Still, Kotaro couldn't help but crack a smile at his comrades...Seidon may have been blunt, but he and the rest of them said what needed to be said. This was a Civil War, the neutralizing of a rebel force made worse by the escaped inmates causing further havoc. People were going to die no matter what he did; he can't save everyone, but his actions kept further deaths as low as he possibly could.

"[color=lime][b]My oh my, I leave for about a day or two, and you lot are already at each other's throats. ...I suppose it is acting within your ages though.[/b][/color]" A voice said as the girl from before, Nuletta, and her partner Zebul, appeared to them as they walked. Well, not necessarily to them, though they were moving with them, they weren't moving a muscle, their translucent bodies simply floating still at the same speed as the rest of them. This is because they were holograms, moving thanks to a rail on the ceiling of the hall moving the projector to match the speed of the group.

Zebul was still covered in a white cloak, while Nuletta seemed to have placed a black cloak over her dress. Now, they both look like cultists...but she supposes the same could be said for the rest of them.

"[b]Oh, Hello Nuletta, Status report?[/b]" Kotaro asked her.

"[color=lime][b]I arrived some time ago at the last location of our targets. It seems they made their way to the Galactic Bazaar. I don't quite understand why they'd come here of all places, but sure enough, I happened upon three of these lowlives already.[/b][/color]"

"[b]Any trouble?[/b]"

"[b][color=lime]Well, aside from being unable to find the other prisoners as of yet, things were actually quite smooth, a certain someone had a beef with them and essentially rounded them up for us. ...Now I got your signal, what's this all about, M'Lord?[/color][/b]" Nuletta replied.

"[b]Grand Admiral Kherol arranged a meeting. He wanted us to come along for it. It might have to do with a report regarding what happened here.[/b]"

"[b][color=lime]I see...Very well, If the Grand Admiral asks for us, we must heed the call. We don't have much of a lead at the moment anyways, and our targets haven't made their move as of yet, so the timing's quite perfect.[/color][/b]" Nuletta said. With that, all of them took a position side-by-side with each other, and moved onto the Conference room of the ship.

Eight of them walked in first, two lines of four with a space in the center, before each one made a step in front of the others, making the lines go from horizontal to outer-diagonal, looking towards the Grand Admiral and the other members of his fleet. They all took off their hoods, and bowed to them. Walking in last at the center was Kotaro himself, walking towards the front and saluting to the Grand Admiral and to those gathered here for the meeting.

"[b]The Paladins have assembled, Sir![/b]" Kotaro announced.

The Paladins of Kherol... A group of nine outright superhuman agents and enforcers, loyal only to their leader, Kotaro Winterborn, and to Kherol and any he deems worthy of loyalty. Unlike the other members of Kherol's inner circle, and save for Kotaro Winterborn himself, the paladins have no military authority beyond their agency to Kherol. They are rankless, and - with exceptions - are nowhere near the level of tactical or strategic prowess as Kherol's admirals. Instead, their role is to be the enforcer, hunters, and frontliners of his will and the secretive destroyers of his enemies. Under Kotaro's command, they often protect civilians from the shadows, and destroy elements that pose a major threat to them. Hence the name Paladin, they are essentially honorable knights who swore their proverbial sword to Kherol. It got to a point where they've become essentially an urban legend among the Ascendancy.

Each one was sired by Kotaro, and given a different name, according to their specialty, and under a pagan god of ancient earth as a symbol of what could be watching over them, and a colored cloak.

[center][hider=Lord Kotaro Winterborn (Silver/Gray)][img]https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/skiesofarcadia/images/7/7c/Ramirez_%28Skies_of_Arcadia%29.jpg[/img][/hider]

[hider=Madam Nuletta of Nyx (Black)][img]https://www.teahub.io/photos/full/6-68285_anime-girl-black-hair-green-eyes.jpg[/img][/hider]

[hider=Sir Zebul of Baal (White)][img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a1/e3/0f/a1e30ffb891a23bbf40160f7a81e1097.jpg[/img][/hider]

[hider=Sir Crystian of Izanagi (Yellow)][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/0c50f379-3b63-4433-9c75-69b13cbbede8.jpg[/img][/hider]

[hider=Sir Seidon of Neptune (Cyan)][img]https://i.pinimg.com/474x/b6/66/13/b666133500cd25993f0eddb3da29c1e5.jpg[/img][/hider]

[hider=Sir Ein of Vulcan (Magenta)][img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ba/cb/85/bacb8516d1641a75d71c9373108255e6.jpg[/img][/hider]

[hider=The Harlequins of Loki (RGB)]
[hider=Sir Harl of Loki (Blue)][img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/32/63/16/326316c04b052be10aa0341d0052d7b0.jpg[/img][/hider]

[hider=Sir Lee of Loki (Green)][img]https://img00.deviantart.net/50f2/i/2013/118/4/2/jester_by_incross-d63b842.jpg[/img][/hider]

[hider=Madam Quinn of Loki (Red)][img]https://static.zerochan.net/Samonya.full.411161.jpg[/img][/hider][/hider][/center]

[b][color=f72f39]“Hmm. Just in time.”[/color][/b]The Grand Admiral gave the nine individuals a nod to acknowledge their timeliness. [b][color=f72f39]“Come. You might have heard or even worked under these fine ladies and gentlemen.”[/color][/b]

One by one, in a clockwise manner, the admirals and generals gave their introduction, to each the variety. Annette and Faro were just a quick nod/salute and stating their names, while Antony, the most gigantic in the room with curly locks, gave a rather elegant and extravagant bow, along with his usual flowery language. Lan introduced last, and she seemed rather itching curious. 

[b][color=fff257]“So you guys are the Space Circus, eh? Heard a lot about ye.”[/color][/b]  Was the first word out of her mouth after letting her names be known. The others immediately glanced at her as if she had committed some cardinal sin. [b][color=fff257]“What? It’s true. Look at how colorful they are! A circus can still be good at its job.”[/color][/b]

As strange as it was, the vanguard general of the fleet had never actually commanded any of them throughout the Rau’ve war. She’s heard stories, but a little rumor wouldn’t get in her way of making up funny comparisons. And she was filterless enough to let it echo. The same applies for everyone she knew.

[b][color=fff257]“But didn’t you say this is an officer meeting? Are they involved somehow?”[/color][/b] 

[b][color=f72f39]“Well…”[/color][/b] Alexander replied, shrugging his shoulders. [b][color=f72f39]“Not really. It’s kinda a coincidence that they’re here the same time as Kotaro, so it’s a good time to properly introduce them.”[/color][/b] He then turned to the colorful collections. [b][color=f72f39]“You guys can stay if you want to.”[/color][/b]

The Paladins nodded, saying “Sir!” in unison as military acknowledgement.
[hr]
[b][color=f72f39]"Right, I'll cut to the chase so as not to waste your Friday evening."[/color] [/b]Alexander opened. [b][color=f72f39]"The rebellion on Plenty has been put down, the rogue remnants of Berkeley's fleet destroyed, but I fear that the crisis might not be over."[/color][/b]

The admirals all exchanged glances at the statement. All except for the most hot-headed of the bunch.

[b][color=fff257]"You mean more rebels? Sure. Tell me where they are and I'll collect their payments for existing!"[/color][/b] Lan declared, slamming her hands on the table. 

[b][color=f72f39]"Well, I appreciate the enthusiasm."[/color][/b] The Grand Admiral chuckled at the joke, but he promptly calmed her with a handwave. [b][color=f72f39]"But we are not sure of the status. This is me extrapolating from gut instincts."[/color][/b]

[b][color=92278f]"Then what's the logic?"[/color][/b] The coarse voice of the old general and instructor echoed, as demanding as ever. 

[b][color=f72f39]"Two things. One is the dubious presence of this Windsor's Autonomous Trading Fleet. Their fleet size is quite, to be honest, concerning. And their attitude has been increasingly hostile towards the Ascendancy thus far. Lately, their members have been attempting to crash the stock markets of the Ascendancy. Now I know this is FAAARR from concrete evidence, but it's worth considering."[/color][/b] Alexander said. [b][color=f72f39]"Second...well Kotaro go ahead."[/color][/b]

[hider=System’s Rigged]
Kotaro nodded before turning to Ein, who in turn put on some gloves and clapped his hands together, opening them up to reveal a hologram monitor, a larger copy of which appeared in front of the Grand Admiral and Admirals to see. Pushing a few buttons on his smaller monitor, the larger one began showing images in the form of a slide show as Kotaro took a deep breath.

"[b]As Admiral Annette has already given the summary report - of which I am personally grateful for - the following is a report of the details of my findings while I was stationed here; as a judge, as an investigator, ...and ultimately, as the one tasked with putting down this rebellion.[/b]" Kotaro stated, having Ein change slides to what appeared to be a financial report.

"[b]When I arrived on this planet, it was already a burning warzone, the battle already underway. I managed to arrange a two hour ceasefire with the Rebel leaders, and Planet's Garrison Commander. The latter was uncooperative, but I managed to "talk" him into it...after which I took on the role of judge and reviewed the case that led to this civil war with the five elders of Plenty, Madam Nuletta served as witness to the negotiations.[/b]"

"[b][color=lime]And Bailiff.[/color][/b]" Nuletta added.

"[b]We learned about the cause of this Rebellion. To make a long story short, using legislative loopholes, the Governor and/or Planetary Congress reverse-monopolized Plenty's market and forced a 50% cut to the market price for their goods and products. To be more specific, by emergency law - thanks to the war's aftermath - they were under obligation to sell everything they make to the government to be distributed across the Ascendancy as replenishment. But the planetary government initiated an illegal tax addendum to decrease the cost of those products. Evidence suggests that they did follow necessary protocol on the matter; they wrote to their senators, both planetary and federal, and made clear their discontent for the Governor's decision on this. However, the Planetary government was...unusually silent on the matter. No response from the Governor, nor the Planetary congress, and the Federal senators on the core planet were unreliable, claiming they know nothing on the matter. ...You may recall what happened next in response. Plenty declaring a strike, halting the sale of their products until their objections would be heard. ...If I may have permission to speak a subjective perspective, as someone who kept an eye on this strike as soon as it hit the news, I believe it would have worked due to the attention it was getting and the general dedication they had to it. ...Which is why what happened next was both unusual, and for me personally, disappointing.[/b]" Kotaro explained, showing slides that were relevant to what he was saying, one of which was a well-made letter one of the elders made to the governor of Plenty, and a frame image of the Ascendancy news talking about the Strike on Plenty. He then pointed at Ein, as if to signal him to the slide, which actually moved this time. It was a 3d image of one of the Anti-orbital cannons Plenty had.

"[b]About a few months into the Strike, the Elders came into contact with an Anonymous Rebel who gave them stolen military weaponry, such as the infamous Anti-Orbital cannons they've been using throughout. When asked, they only gave us an alias: Codename "Crow''. It seems this "Crow '' stroked their frustrations at the unusual silence that the Governor was giving, despite his planet declaring strike he made no appearance, nor any statements on the matter. He used this lack of response to provoke them and ignite their anger on what they viewed as utter negligence. I too found it odd how silent the government was to everything that was happening. Unfortunately, they made it impossible to get the Governor's side of the story. ...The Governor was found dead in the basement of his house, and the senators were killed during the bombing of their congress that was the declaration of their annexation and rebellion. ...The method used by this "Crow'' matches a particular Modus Operandi... Combined that with the illegal access and distribution of military grade weaponry of that magnitude, and there's reason to believe this might be the work of the organization '[i]Moonstrike[/i]'.[/b]'' As he said this, a rather gruesome police photo of the Governor's body, clearly having a look of suffering, slided into the screen, followed by the news clip of the burning capitol building on Plenty.

"[b]The rest is history. After a full review, I negotiated my terms to end the rebellion. ...But then the Circle of Hell was detected in orbit unexpectedly, and was subsequently shot down by the rebels. Regardless of why they shot it down, their aggressive decision caused several dangerous criminals - our top-wanted among them - to escape and cause harm to their people. ...I destroyed their cannon, a few unfortunate but inevitable casualties were made as a result, and placed the Paladins' focus on the recapture of the escaped convicts. The rebels of Plenty had two weeks to surrender themselves during our hunt for criminals, or we'd target and neutralize them next. At that point, that was the only thing I could do; the Cease-fire ended around that time. That said, it should be noted that Grand Admiral Laguna was involved in the...frankly poor attempt at suppressing this Rebellion before I got there, and that the Garrison Commander leading the forces against the Rebels, was under her command.[/b]" Kotaro closed off with.
[/hider]
[b][color=92278f]“...So essentially, the tax was what started the wind, and some fools turned it into a storm.”[/color][/b] Faro was silent for quite some time, summarizing the presentation for the others, who had now made themselves comfortable in their seats, before turning for Annette. [b][color=92278f]“I assume you have this in our system.”[/color][/b]

[b][color=f26522]“Yeah. It’s new, but the intelligence sector is making progress with them. Hopefully we’ll have something soon.”[/color][/b] Annette replied. [b][color=f26522]“My and Kherol’s concern is mostly on that tax loophole. This is no religious or racial issue.”[/color][/b]

[b][color=92278f]“The system’s rigged.”[/color][/b] Faro could not say he was surprised. If anything he should know this the best. [b][color=92278f]“Anything else?”[/color][/b]

[hider=The Suspects for the Crash]
"[b]Yes sir... About a week later, once we pinpointed the location of the escaped convicts, I dispatched the Paladins to round them up, then took the liberty to start investigating the Circle of Hell itself. Its arrival and crash-landing was a major factor in the continuation of this rebellion, and the fact that it had no reason to stop at Plenty made its arrival all the more suspicious.[/b]" Kotaro replied. He then had Ein switch over to what appeared to be a slideshow of simple illustrations, portraying the case as Kotaro is about to tell it.

"[b]According to testimony given to me by the Ship's Captain and Warden, Minerva De'Silva, The ship was taking in Prisoners for a while then jumped into hyperspace on its way to the Prison Planet, Alca. Normally, it would be expected for the ship to make some stops on the way to collect more prisoners, but this particular trip was special... The ship was carrying a VIP Prisoner that needed its sentence carried out Immediately, the Rogue AI, Realist. As such, the plan was to collect prisoners during its first stop for long as possible, then jump straight to Alca, without interruption. However, for reasons unknown at the time, there was a black out during the jump, all power to the engines, the lights, everything, just cut out and the ship had to switch to emergency power. As a result of this, the ship was forced out of hyperspace, happening upon and being caught in the orbit of Planet Plenty. The ship's computers were down, including proximity radar, so they were blind when the Anti-orbital cannon made a direct hit. They were caught in Plenty's gravity and crash-landed. ...Honestly, the fact that there were survivors at all is nothing short of a miracle. As for what caused the blackout, none of them seemed to have any idea. Everything was checked and cleared when they hyperspace, then it just shut-down without warning or any clear sign. De'Silva guessed it had to do with the last group that they took in.[/b]" He said as the slideshow moved to match what he was saying, after which, showing a surveillance photo of three particular individuals being scanned at the entrance of the Circle of Hell.

"[b]It seemed the core of the problem lied in the technical aspect of the ship, and so, I had Sir Ein take temporary leave of the criminal round-up to assist me in the matter. Thanks to him, we managed to obtain a number of evidence...evidence which suggests that this was no accident. ...It's our current belief that the ship was Sabotaged from the inside. ...Ein, It's best I leave this one to you.[/b]" Kotaro said, looking towards Ein, who actually pulled a double-take look towards Kotaro, not expecting him to call him out like this in front of these very important individuals.

"[b][color=magenta]Oh... Umm... [i]-Ahem-[/i] ...Y-Yes, M'Lord.[/color][/b]" He nervously said. Ein may not seem like much beyond a push-over, he was essentially the Technical genius of the Paladins. If there was a problem with computers or engines, or something they wanted him to make or program, he was the one to turn to. With that note, Kotaro took a step back, and let Ein take center-stage, where he then took a deep breath and sighed.

"[b][color=magenta]...Where to begin? ...[i]-Ahem-[/i] ...Thanks to the direct hit and subsequent crash-landing, most of the Circle of Hell's computer systems including data storage and security were FUBAR. Monitors were broken, hard drives utterly fried. However, I've managed to find and successfully repair the ship's Black Box, and extracted all the data from it that I could. We manage to find some rather damning evidence as to what happened from it. To start with, there was clear evidence of external hijacking of the security systems stretching to three weeks ago, about a week before the crash-landing incident.[/color][/b]" He said. He started messing with the monitor to show technical data extracted from the ship logs before also throwing in communication logs.

"[b][color=magenta]That day, a few oddities showed up as soon as the Technicians came on the ship to work. It seemed there was a reported hole in the security firewalls in Realist's cell...Oh, Umm, for those unaware, since Realist is an AI that's well-known for viral takeover of computer systems, they had to design an external and internal security system, completely renovating a part of the ship specifically to keep Realist sealed off. All terminals, security systems, almost everything was completely isolated from the rest of the ship. But some areas of the ship had to be connected to it, such as monitoring systems, so any errors in the software or any damage in the hardware had to be immediately recovered and patched, or else Realist could sneak out and take control, and if there's one ship we can't have him take control of by any means necessary, it's the one loaded with criminals and rebels he could break free with just snapping his metaphysical fingers.[/color][/b]" He said to them, showing an image of Realist's cell in a blueprint, showing that all but one or two cables went around the room but never in the room, before then clearing his throat again.

"[b][color=magenta]...Anyways, it was a small hole in the digital seal, more like a dent really, but regardless, any errors - even the smallest one - would trigger an alarm to call the technicians and patch it up. But inconveniently, at around the same time, all the technicians, and I mean [i]ALL[/i] the technicians, caught some kind of virus that kept them bedridden and needed to get out of the ship and back to their homes for weeks. We're told their fine now, but at the time, they were completely incapacitated. As such, an SOS was signaled from the ship to as many computer and engineering companies as possible, even [i]I[/i] was called, but the odd thing was, the email I got was glitched out, and rendered unreadable. I thought it was some kind of spam chain since my connections were also reporting the same thing. But now, I think someone or something, hijacked the connection and completely garbled the SOS. Whatever caused it, likely caused the dent and the sickness to the technicians; too many coincidences to not treat with suspicion. Something wanted to put them in a situation where they needed to call on someone outside the ship to maintain Realist's cell, and they wanted to make sure they were the only one who answered it. On the day of the incident, they got their wish...[/color][/b]" Ein explained, after which, he opened up a few files showing surveillance camera footage, of [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5242654]The three visitors who came just before the ship's incident.[/url] It showed both the scene at the entrance, and the Professor talking with the AI, right up until the Blackout caused the cameras to shut-off.

"[color=magenta][b]The three people of interest are Agent James Carmichael of the Special Forces unit, The boy Captain of the rather infamous Cerulean Eclipse Pirates, Arron Falcon... And our star for the evening, Professor Audric Abreo. Practically a living legend of technological science, in terms of AI, Robotic, and bio-tech, he's almost peerless. He disappeared from society for sometime after that and believed to have been a hermit, but just before then, he took an interest in Nano-technology, and while investigating the security room, our suspicions were confirmed.[/b][/color]" Ein then pressed a few buttons and the monitor showed an image of a very tiny device located in the ship's security room.

"[color=magenta][b]A nanobot, which nanomachines were involved, it was likely suppose to return to the perpetrator, but the evidence suggests that the blast from Plenty that crashed the ship wasn't a part of the plan, and as such, evidence like this was left behind. It's broken now, but it being there shows that they were involved. I talked with Lord Kotaro, and discussing it, we agree that Abreo likely came into contact with those technicians in advance, snuck nanomachines on them and let them enter the ship like a trojan horse. After which they caused an infection, likely inserted manually like an insect bite, hacked the security to make that dent in Realist's wall, and proceeded to hack the cameras from the security room. It sounded like Realist figured it out too. I don't know if he acted alone, or if that Pirate was in on it, but Professor Abreo is a primary suspect in this case. Based on everything, we can say with certainty that he did all this to steal away Realist. But it seemed he failed to do so thanks to those cannons, and likely retreated with the rest of the criminals.[/b][/color]" He then explained.

"[color=lime][b]...Excuse me, Ein, [i]A[/i] Primary Suspect?[/b][/color]" Nuletta pointed out, her eyebrow raised.

"[b]Professor Abreo wasn't alone. We don't know if the pirate was in on it, but we can safely say Abreo had an accomplice. The Terminal in Realist's room had no real connection outside of that room, there was no way he could cause a blackout from there. The Professor masterminded it, but someone else caused that blackout. There was no need to hack the cameras otherwise, given what we saw in them.[/b]" Kotaro answered, before looking towards Ein.

"[b][color=magenta]It was subtle, since there didn't seem to be a need for it, but the nanomachine seemed to disable the thermal lens on all the cameras. I was curious so I watched it again after re-enabling the cameras. I'd like for you all to turn your attention to the monitor.[/color][/b]" Ein said. on the monitor, the surveillance footage showed again, this time in thermal vision where everything was blue except for the people, who were now technicolor silhouettes. As soon as Agent Carmichael pushed Arron towards the Scanner, something popped out of the entrance path from Carmichael's ship, that wasn't there at all when in the original footage. Not only that, but whatever it was, it definitely wasn't human, as it crawled out of the entrance tube from above and crawled on the wall, leaving the scene while nobody notices. It was difficult to describe exactly what it was; it looked like the silhouette of a giant reptile, but there were no arms in sight; it looked kind of like a large snake with legs because of that. Viewing it made a few of the Paladins jump like they witnessed a jumpscare, save for Nuletta, Kotaro, Zebul, and of course Ein himself.

"[b][color=turquoise]What, the hell, was that...?[/color][/b]" Seidon asked.

"[b][color=lime]An Alien, obviously.[/color][/b]"

"[b][color=cyan]Indeed, though I'm not familiar with that particular shape. It can't be a Kanarusian...[/color][/b]" Nuletta and Zebul responded.

"[b]That, is our second primary suspect, the one actually responsible for the black out. De'Silva confirmed that that pathway leads to the engine room, and upon investigating it, I found this on the Hyperdrive.[/b]" Kotaro said, taking out what appeared to be a small W shaped black piece of metal, a small glowing orange rock in the dead center.

"[b][color=magenta]This seems to be a makeshift EMP device planted there. I don't really know how it works myself, it's certainly not tech you'd see in the Ascendancy. What we do know is that this little gem in the middle, seems to be the core that caused said pulse.[/color][/b]"

"[b][color=yellow]That's not a Kaisoken Gem, that's for sure...I'm not entirely sure what it is, but...I do feel heat from it, like standing next to an oven on a cold day.[/color][/b]" Crystian said.

"[b]We'll research this later, the important thing is this was planted deliberately and seemed to have been the cause of the blackout.[/b]" Kotaro then said, pocketing the device once again.
[/hider]
If the first half of the presentation already took a while for Faro to compile and summarize, midway through the second, the commanders were visibly struggling to keep up. Lan was overwhelmed with the logical progression that her head was basically on her arm. Antony was throwing his legs on the table. Annette already knew everything and was just counting minutes on her watch at this point. Faro, the only one maintaining his elegance, was stoically listening and trying to put the rambling together. Alexander was the only one unreadable, thankfully as his eyes were never seen. But Annette could feel his unseeable gaze. She nodded quickly and stood up just as Kotaro finished.

[b][color=f26522]“The abridge version is: This ship is deliberately sabotaged. In the investigation, we uncovered suspected connections to rebel organizations. Moonstrike, and maybe a gang of pirates. We’re not sure as of yet. So...”[/color][/b]

The light-haired woman was in the midst of a hand gesture as she said that, and repeated it several times, staring intently at her colleague lying flat on her table on her flagship. 

[b][color=fff257]"So...from this I assume,"[/color][/b] Lan said, finally awakened from her stupor. [b][color=fff257]"we will not be demobilizing our newest 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th any time soon."[/color][/b] To Alexander and Annette’s nonchalant nod. [b][color=fff257]"I mean not that we'd want to do it anyway." [/color][/b]

[b][color=92278f]"Yes and this would be a perfect excuse to stick it to the Senate."[/color][/b] Faro smirked, a sideway glance to match his contempt. 

[b][color=f72f39]"Ok, so to quickly cap this off...Lan, your work here is the simplest of us all."[/color][/b] Alexander, too having felt the length of this, began with the one whom he knew were only good for the dirty work, but was really good at it. [b][color=f72f39]"Just get these green greens into real soldiers. Also keep the rest of your Battle Groups in top shape. Same goes for everyone here with a command."[/color][/b]

[b][color=fff257]"Aye."[/color][/b] The general in question gave a salute, yet accompanied with an informal tone. 

[b][color=f72f39]"Faro."[/color][/b] Now to his most trusted chief of staff. [b][color=f72f39]"How long is it going to take the cartography team to materialize the operational map of the Ascendancy?"[/color][/b]

[b][color=92278f]"The Ascendancy..."[/color][/b] The Old Guard bit his lips for several seconds. [b][color=92278f]"Since info is a lot more up to date and transparent with Ascendancy maps, I would say 2-3 days."[/color][/b]

[b][color=f72f39]"Perfect, as soon as it’s reaady, have them submit the maps to Antony, Annette."[/color][/b] As their names were called, the other two stood at attention. [b][color=f72f39]"This is going to be tricky, but..." [/color][/b]

Alexander reached for the computer panels and forwarded several files to the two individuals. [b][color=f72f39]"After the maps are submitted, you're going to formulate formal legislation. And make sure this doesn't die in the Senate House."[/color][/b]

Leaving the two a moment to digest the whole thing, the Grand Admiral turned to Kotaro and the remaining Paladins and gave each of them a salute. 

[b][color=f72f39]“Thank you for the report. You’re free to go.”[/color][/b]

“[b]Sir Yes Sir![/b]” The Paladins all said. Nuletta and Zebul switched off the holograms and the Paladins - some aware of how the Admirals treated the report, some weren’t so - walked out of the Conference room, at least one of them seemed to be chuckling and cracking a joke at Ein’s expense. Not that he or Kotaro minded. Ein never really managed to read the room around him when it comes to his passion, this was known, and some-  Seidon especially - saw it coming. In Kotaro’s case, it was more that he raised himself as to believe that he needed to report with as much detail as he could. Admittingly, it’s more become a habit than anything else.

In any case, with this report, the rebellion he has been witnessing for two weeks was officially over. As much as he wanted to stay and help the planet recover, it was best to leave it for people more capable… The farmers are likely not wanting help from him anyways after all that transpired. Besides, there were things he now needed to look into. As for the rest of the Paladins, except for Nuletta and Zebul, they were essentially on stand-by until he, Kherol, or any of his Admirals, had a need for them, choosing to make good with their moments of relief.

Meanwhile, the two commanders in the room exchanged glances with one another again as they read through the files. Annette was quiet, but Antony was visibly concerned. From a little head scratch, head tilt then a palm on his temple, the dashing looking flamboyant commander finally turned away from it and got serious.

[b][color=f7976a]"I won't lie, my dear Alexander."[/color][/b] Antony shook his head as he leaned his hands on the table. [b][color=f7976a]"If there's any rumors in the Senate before that you're trying to buy yourself a crown, it certainly is clear now."[/color][/b]