[b]The Hellas system[/b] The gate in the Hellas star system was long abandoned and neglected. Sitting at the edge of systems asteroid belt, there was little need to travel this far out in the system. There were closer resource deposits, easier trade and traveling routes, there was nothing out there. It would be a mistake to assume no one was watching though, as the all seeing eye of the Boatian Inteligence Service was always watching. A simple and long outdated motion and radiation sensor sat just within range to capture the emmisions of the gate and the movement of the Solis ship through it. With utter annoyance , the crew assigned to maintain this station was startled and sure of a system failure. The BIS maintained a rotation of officers on something called, “ Gate Duty” , the much dreaded observation detachment that all officers rotate into. It was a cold, lonely and sometimes dangerous mission due to the remote nature of the location. This detachment included a number of commandos and commando trainees who conduct training and perform repairs on the aging gate monitoring systems. So as normal, the call for service was put out and a repair crew was assembled with equal annoyance. With an almost routine procedure, the shuttle crew left the asteroid cut out base and began the hour long trip towards the gate. Halfway along the trip however, the crew quickly determined that something was certainly different. This was a training mission for the elite shuttle crews as much as it was for the commandos. As such, they were ordered to fly tactically, dipping between and behind asteroids on their way to a target. The shuttles radar was switched on and off between asteroids to provide periodic sweeps of the area while reducing radar exposure. At first, the mysterious returns could be dismissed as rare asteroid alloys and shapes. As the got closer to the target, the radar operator was able to more cleanly make out the shape of the Solis vessel on his high resolution radar. The crewman froze for a moment, stunned at what he was seeing before hastily croaking out “ Contact!” and calling out a gimbal azimuth. The remainder of the crew, equally as stunned, shakily snapped into training as they closed the distance to the vessel. The could recognize its size even from their distance, its slow movement speed making it easy to track with the naked eye. The radar operator continued to be horrified however as his picture of the vessel could be seen in increasing clarity. The Solis ship was long towards the front with a raised rear bridge. The crewman could make out turrets along its length for defense and what looked liked the openings for larger weapons on its side. Based on their side on profile, they could see what the crewman would interpret as large phased array radar antennas on its side. The shuttle’s radar measured the vessel at 2200 meters from engines to stern, dwarfing the 150 meter long shuttle. The radar operator shook as he prepared this data for a report back to the observation post. Everyone was equally terrified of the civilization that would need this weapon and curious, as this would break the isolation of the Hellas system and its people. Within the month, the ship was towed back to Boitia and dissasembly began. Something that the leaders of Boitia and the Intelligence service found eerily too easy. The effect this had on the inteligence service was immense. All officers and commando detachments were recalled from wherever they were and all active operations were abruptly put on hold. To anyone watching, the signs of something going on was clear, but the details of what happened rested firmly with Boitia. [b]Calth Solaria The Court of the Stars [/b] The high court building still wore the scars of the rebellion, a large hole in the ceiling caused a long sunbeam to shoot onto the floor of the room. The usually ornate stained glass windows were still blasted out and without a replacement being available. The debris was clear, which allowed the court to gather for their first time since the battle for Calth. Rylanor sat in one of the newly constructed stone seats with thinly veiled rage evident on his face, only constrained by the stitches on his face. A senator yelled on the floor court, complaining about the state of their provinces now, the damage caused and civilian unease. Under normal circumstances this would be a minor annoyance for Rylanor, but after the betrayal by his own officers and friends every word was a dagger to his pride. Luckily for him, and the remainder of the intelligence service, the true scope of the betrayal was obscured, they would be executed if the high priest knew how many officers turned against the empire. Despite the danger, Rylanor jumped at the chance to consolidate power as he removed and assassinated his political rivals. Those whose loyalty to Rylanor was questionable were executed or threatened into compliance. He also had a plan, something that would ensure the continued existence of his intelligence service and his untouchable status. Rylanor abruptly rose from his chair and walked toward the still damaged doorway. He did not need to listen to this, his action were not governed by the court. The high priest would need to know however, as he would need the support of the military and their naval commandos. The disappearance of the Relic ship would be noticed eventually, but the nature of its disappearance could be used. The high priest was insulated from Rylanors operations and did not know or need to be informed except for extreme circumstances. As he walked through the halls of the court building towards the high priest's chambers, he could not help but smile about what he was about to do. His stiches twisting his face into a macabre half grin. The High Priest nodded in a fatherly way as Rylanor walked into the room, his face twisting into concern as the nature of his wounds became clear. “ I trust you are taking time to take care of your injuries” the high priest said in a low tone, motioning towards the large couch in the room. “ I am trying,” Rylanor said in a flat sarcastic tone before abruptly taking a seat “ I have bad news.” he finished, causing more concern to wash across the high priest’s face. “ Yes.....” the old priest said, nodding his head as he waited for more. “ We uncovered an external supporting actor to the rebellion, as we claimed victory they attempted to assassinate you and inflict as much damage as they could before leaving. As a result, I sent Horus and a detachment of naval commandos to investigate this external actor.” The high priests face changed from worry to a curious gaze as Rylanor took a deep breath to continue “ I made the decision to send a Relic ship, through the gateway” he said with a terse flatness, pausing to take in the priests reaction. At first the priest’s eyes widened but either his age or wisdom prevented panic, he took a deep breath as he looked up towards the imperial seal above the door before looking back down towards Rylanor. “ Was it successful?” the high priest asked “ Yes initially, but we lost contact with the detachment. Its not like Horus to be unable to find a method of communication. I am worried they may be compromised.” The high priest swallowed hard, his curious stare replaced with a thinly veiled panic “ If this enemy can affect us through the gateway, I worry they can best our best and newest ships. This advanced enemy is the only reason Horus might fail. I am requesting full authority over the relic ships, their crews, the entirety of the intelligence service and hand picked naval commandos” The implication of what Rylanor was going to do did not need to be spoken and in an uncharacteristically quick response the high priest nodded, before taking a deep breath. “ Granted, this cannot spiral into a full scale war again, the people are tired this must stay small, quiet and quick.” the high priest added with insistence. Whether it be by a slip of his true intentions or the unwillingness to mask them, Rylanor answered sarcastically again as he stood to leave. “ I will try”