[center][h1]Title[/h1][/center] [center][h2][color=39b54a]Collab between the Daxini Collaborative and the Ghost Region[/color][/h2][/center] [hr] [hider= Daxini Collaborative] [center][h2]Daxini Chieftain’s Office on Planet Dax[/h2][/center] [url=https://ibb.co/KDGHPW5][img]https://i.ibb.co/KDGHPW5/The-Daxini-Chieftain-Kwaria.jpg[/img][/url] The Daxini Chieftain - Kwaria [img]https://i.ibb.co/20mfY15N/Kwaria-office.jpg[/img] Battle Group Beta Chief in Command - Gravyn [img]https://i.ibb.co/X8J9KVD/Gavryn.jpg[/img] Battle Group Beta Claw Chief of Exploration Team, Havoral [img]https://i.ibb.co/DRBr2dq/Claw-Chief-Havoral.jpg[/img] [/hider] [hr] The Daxini Clan Council had just finished a session to review the status of the Battle Group that had been dispatched to search for Daxini that had been trapped by the last Reclamation War along the Scorched Line. The decision to send troops into the area along the Scorched Line was proving to be a profitable one. While the group had encountered some difficulties, the sheer volume of rare minerals and metals that had been reclaimed from the debris fields had been well worth the effort to send the group. There is a growing concern for rumors that had been coming regarding activity from the Ghost Region. After debating whether to send a group to investigate or not, the Daxini Clan Council had finally reached a quorum on the vote. Kwaria was meeting with Flight Chief Gavryn. Gavryn had a distinguished service record and was ready for a serious assignment outside of Daxini space. Kwaria was meeting with Gavryn in her office on Dax. Kwaria had smiled as her assistant showed the chief in. Kwaria rose and greeted the chief warmly before waving him to a seat in front of her desk. She reclaimed her seat behind the desk before continuing. Kwaria's voice was strong and sure as she got down to the purpose of the meeting. Kwaria: “Flight Chief Gavryn I have been reviewing your service record for consideration of a special assignment. I want to thank you for your service to the Daxini Conclave. Your record reflects your honor, integrity, and service to all Daxini. I have special orders from the council for you.” She paused and searched Gavryn’s face and body language for any tells, uncertainty, or discomfort and was pleased to find none. Most of the Daxini Space Fleet or DSF got their orders through the chain of command. It was rare to be interviewed directly for a mission. Gavryn’s face held curiosity and nothing more at this point. Kwaria smiled at the commander and continued. “There are a great deal of rumors and stories being brought to the Clan Council’s attention by our Eagle Eyes and traders coming into Daxini space. Rumors about activity in the Ghost Region. Some Daxini Traders have gone missing in the area. Action has been demanded by their clans and families. The Clan Council has authorized an exploratory mission to the region. Your orders are to assume command of Battle Group Beta and take it into the Ghost Region. You are to investigate rumors of activities and disappearances. You are to investigate the disappearances of two known missing Daxini Merchant ships and what activity is in the area. The Clan Council has declared the Ghost Region as dangerous territory and has warned Daxini vessels to avoid the area for now. We have no idea what you might run across which is why we are sending a Battle Group.” Kwaria paused to let Gavryn process the information. She was pleased to note curiosity and concern in his expression. She continued his briefing in a concerned and worried tone. “You will have the flight plans and last known coordinates of the two Daxini Vessels that passed through the edge of the Ghost Region that disappeared. The merchant vessel Bright Claw, a Avitas Merchant Clan vessel. The Bright Claw was a family merchant trading vessel making routine cargo runs between Dax and the Bio Mech Union worlds. According to family members, they were carrying foodstuffs and some metal ores. The Tech Star is a Kronar and Xiodane joint clan vessel that is directly owned by Xi Tech Systems. Xi Tech Systems is one of our larger technology companies that specializes in computer systems. Their vessel was carrying rare minerals and ores they use in manufacturing. If at all possible, you are to investigate and determine what happened to these vessels. If rescue is at all possible, you are to provide support and rescue our people if at all possible. If there is danger and new powers stirring in the region, we need an assessment of what is going on and how bad it is. Only with this vital information will the council know if we need to address this issue further. Do you have any questions?” Gavryn nodded as he sat forward indicating his interest and engagement in the conversation. “Yes Clan Chieftain, can you tell me which ships I am being assigned to? I want to be sure I have an adequate force to face such an unknown quality.” Kwaria hit a button on her tablet sending Gavryn his orders via encrypted connection for him to review. Gavryn was assigned to a type 2 battlestation named the DSF Venator. His assigned command staff was Eagle Eye K'rklick, Talon Chief Pryssa, Flight Chief Argryn, War Chief Rainar, and Kronar Support Chief Islea. Gravyn reviewed his command team with pleasure. He had worked with Islea and Pryssa before. He had heard only good things about the others and Flight Chief Argryn was a legend among the DSF pilots. He moved on to the ships in the Battle Group and their commanders. The Daxini Excalibur Class Dreadnaught, the DSF Vallor, was under the command of Flight Chief Graezzon. The Daxini Daedalus Class Destroyer, the DSF Steel Claw, was under the command of Flight Chief Davon. The Daxini Mid Size Cruiser, the DSF Courage, was under the command of Flight Chief Benita. The Daxini Light Cruiser, the DSF Lightning, was under the command of Flight Chief Arkun. The Daxini Light Cruiser, the DSF Star Axe, was under the command of Flight Chief Kayvel. The Daxini Stealth Ship, the DSF Skyhome, was under the command of Flight Chief Xitaka. The Daxini Stealth Ship, the DSF Verdant, was under the command of Flight Chief Zagronti. Gavryn reviewed the Battle Group Beta makeup applying his experience and tactical knowledge to sum up the ship deployment: A type 2 battle station, an Excalibur class dreadnought, a Daedalus class destroyer, a mid size cruiser, two light cruisers, and two stealth ships. He nodded believing that was a good mix of ships for the mission he was being assigned too. He didn’t necessarily need more stealth but he had two ships with stealth capability if he needed them as scouts. The group was fairly well balanced for offensive and defensive capability but it wouldn’t move very fast. It would only be able to move as fast as the slowest ship which in this case was the battle station. Unless the battle station followed, coordinates for its next transfer were provided by a scouting group. He had not worked with any of the other Flight Chiefs in command of the individual ships of the group. He had heard rumors that Flight Chief Xitaka was a risk taker and had been disciplined for defying orders in the past. He didn’t believe that the Xitaka would be on the roster for this group if there was much validity to those rumors. Gravyn held his own council and was pleased to see that the Clan Council had not offered to send a token group into the area. They were taking what was being reported fairly seriously. Gavryn had been lost in thoughts and realized he was keeping the Clan Chief waiting. He hurriedly used his paw print to accept the orders. “My apologies Clan Chief. I accept the assignment. We will be underway as soon as all supplies and personnel are on board. I estimate it will take 2 days to recall all personnel and load all the necessary supplies. Is there a time limit on my mission?” Kwaria was pleased to leave this troublesome issue in the hands of a competent DSF officer. “The council is ordering you to make haste to begin your search at the last known coordinates of the two vessels. They were in the same area of space when they disappeared. The council is expecting this mission to take at least two months. You will stay in touch via quantum communications link with Dax. We will reassess your mission after two months depending on your findings, Flight Chief.” Gavryn stood and nodded before saluting the Clan Chief. “Understood Clan Chief. I will take my leave so I can get started.” Kwaria gave him a regal nod of acceptance as Gavryn turned on his heel and left her office. He went to his office at DSF command on Dax and began issuing the appropriate orders to his command team. Battle Group Beta left for the Ghost Region on time two days later. [hr] [b][u]Hastea Star System Ghost Region[/u][/b] The star system the Daxini fleet found itself in could be described in one word: foreboding. Much of the system was covered in dense clouds of dust and gas which acted almost like a dense fog, giving distant objects a hazy appearance. Perhaps worse yet there was something in the area that seemed to disrupt long range sensors and even communications signals. Still, even from the edge of the system, the Daxini could find out some important facts about the system. It had four planets, one rocky and three gas giants. The rocky planet was just at the inner edge of the star’s inhabitable zone. Interestingly enough the region of space from that planet to the star itself was mostly clear of gas and dust, perhaps pulled into the star. The planet had a single supercontinent that, even from an extreme distance, was clearly dominated by deserts. The atmosphere showed signs of pollution indicating that the planet either currently, or until fairly recently, had a sizable population. The planet was also the only apparent source of communications signal in the whole system. In fact only one signal could be detected at all. All attempts by the Daxini to connect to this signal ended in failure; these failures stemmed from significant differences in communications protocols. In fact the signal was regular enough and, apparently, open enough to have likely been intended for use by the general populace. Perhaps some sort of government message to people who entered the star system or maybe something as simple as a radio station. Clouds of tiny metal fragments could be found all around the Daxini fleet. They appeared to be defensive chaff at first glance, but something was off. The chaff pieces were irregularly sized in a fashion similar to how a child might tear up pieces of paper to make fake snow. The clouds of false chaff were moving comparatively slowly and not at risk of damaging any ship even if said ship was to sail directly through the cloud. In the distance, far away from the Daxini fleet, but certainly still somewhere in the star system, a consciousness stirred. It became aware of the Daxini presence, not in full, but in the same sense that someone sleeping might partially awake and notice someone opening their door at night. Those amongst the Daxini who were the most sensitive when it came to psionics might feel this consciousness. They might sense its tired eyes drift in their direction. They might sense the slight hunger one feels when waking up in the morning. [hr] Battle Group Beta transitioned into the area of space near the coordinates they had been given about where the two vessels had disappeared. Gravyn was sitting in his command chair on the battle bridge of the DSF Venator as the battle group came out of the wormhole in formation with the destroyer and two light cruisers leading the way followed by the battle station and the dreadnought, midsize cruiser and the two stealth ships. Gravyn was pleased with the efficiency of the crew as everyone was focused on their tasks and followed his orders as the battle group spread out in a defensive formation with all sensors active. Gravyn waited patiently as the crew gathered the information requested. He knew it took a few moments for the sensor sweeps to begin sending back data and for the crew to interpret it. His tactical officer was the first person to speak. “Sensors are bouncing around the area due to all the dust and metal debris clouds. The system has four planets, one rocky and three gas giants. There are signs that the rocky planet might be inhabited. The debris cloud ends on the other side of the inhabitable zone. That is the best we can do with the sensors at this time sir. We have no maps of this area of space for comparison.” The next to speak up was his communications officer. “The only communication signals seem to emanate from the rocky planet.” Gavyrn was considering this information as a powerful consciousness barely brushed the edge of his telepathic range. It was something large and alien. Gavryn had never felt anything like it before. It was as if a large creature had stirred in the depths of space barely aware of their forces. Gavryn’s experiences had only been with the telepathic link and bonds he had to his clanmates. This was something foreign and outside of his experience. It shocked him as his hands curled around the armrest of his command chair tightening. He felt a deep primal fear. He knew that whatever it was knew they were there. Gavyrn called out in a strong voice full of fear. “Red alert. There is something out there. Head towards the planet. Maybe we can find answers there. Make sure all ships are scanning and on alert for anomalies in the area. It is strange that there seems to be inhabitants in the area yet there are no ships or space stations.” Gavryn could only think to himself: what is going on in this area of forsaken space? [hr] The alien consciousness seemed to consider the Daxini for a moment before giving a mental shrug and, with a sentiment that could perhaps be translated to “Just five more minutes…”, fell back asleep. Still the feeling the Daxini had of being watched never quite went away as they traveled towards the planet. If anything it felt like a great many beings were crowding around the fleet, just barely out of reach and somehow invisible. The sensation was akin to being in a pitch black room and hearing… something. Someone breathing? Perhaps. Or perhaps just a figment of the imagination. Every reach out into the darkness had one’s fingers brush against nothing but empty space, yet the feeling that many somethings lingered just out of reach couldn’t be shaken. Despite the sense of being surrounded, the Daxini made it to their destination unmolested. The planet had at one point acquired a ring. A ring of debris and broken ships. A ring that told a tale of a desperate struggle. Numerous types of warships and space stations littered the planet’s orbit. All broken. Some hulks were mostly intact, with small holes torn into their hulls that indicated that something had pulled the holes open from the outside. Other ships had been torn in half and twisted into shapes no spaceship should ever be subjected to. Others still had been so thoroughly destroyed that there remain just tiny fragments. Thousands of ships had waged battle here and lost. And perhaps the most shocking of all was that every one of these destroyed ships appeared to have been built and designed by the same entities. They were all built of the same materials with the same construction philosophies and methods. They all had similar design properties. They all seemed like they belonged in the same fleet. So where was the attacking fleet? Had the battle been part of a civil war or had the winning side taken their destroyed ships with them when they left? In the distance the wreck of a once might dreadnought came into view from around the edge of the planet. This beast of war had been one of the many ships that had been torn in half; its massive spinal cannon had obviously not been enough to change its fate. The words “GNRS Colossus” was painted onto its hull in a language similar, but somewhat different to that used by the Yrani Imperium some two thousand years ago. The planet below told a similar, dreadful story. Radiation could be detected from the planet. It was apparent that nuclear weapons had been used on the planet’s surface, although a combination of the relatively low number of warheads used as well as how long in the past the detonations had been, meant that the radiation level was only high enough to be problematic for a living being in a few distinct “hot spots”. Strangely enough not all, or even most, of the planet’s population centers had been destroyed by nuclear blasts. A few cities certainly had, in fact several of the largest based off of the surrounding suburban sprawl, but just as many nuclear strikes had occurred far away from any sign of civilization at all. And even more odd was the complete lack of any evidence hinting at an orbital bombardment at all. The signal the Daxini fleet had been receiving could be traced to what appeared to be a warehouse situation in what could be generously described as the “middle of nowhere”, between two middling sized towns, nowhere close to any of the nuclear strikes. Even from orbit, it was easy to make out some kind of broadcasting equipment connected to the warehouse; its roof was absolutely covered in pipes, metal boxes, and other various objects whose purpose was impossible to decipher from orbit. [hr] The Daxini made its way towards the rocky planet that was broadcasting the signal. The repulsor shields on their ships left long corridors free of debris as it pushed the dust and debris out of the path of their large ships. The fur along Gavryn’s neck was standing on end. The odd lurking alien consciousness had him on the edge. Nothing added up to any known and reasonable answers for what had happened in this system. The further the fleet moved towards the planet the more questions they had. Gavryn couldn’t shake the feeling that there was at least one if not more large lurking alien presence that inhabited this deep dark region of space. He was not used to feeling like prey. He was used to being the hunter so the feeling was particularly unsettling. The tactical officer continued to report findings in a tense voice as the battle group moved towards the planet. “Sensors are indicating that the debris field that surrounds the planet is composed of the same materials and design. It might have been some kind of civil war since it seems to share a common ancestry and sources. Sensors are showing nuclear radiation on the planet. It was as if nuclear weapons had been deployed on the planet’s surface yet the impact craters don’t really reflect orbital bombardment patterns. We have a most intriguing puzzle. Sir, there is one hulk with identification visible on scanners. It is identified as the GNRS Colossus. I am running the name through our database to see if we can find any more information.” Gavyrn waited patiently as his crew worked to try and solve the puzzle. He couldn’t help the feeling that they were heading into a trap. That they were willingly climbing into the leviathan’s maw. His fur was beginning to irritate him as it rubbed uncomfortably on the collar of his shipsuit. His instincts saying they were in danger kept his fur puffed out away from his body. The communication officer’s voice “Sir confirming the source of the transmission is coming from this warehouse located in between the remains of moderate sized towns. Nothing else is around.” The communication officer put the images of what they had found on the main viewscreen for Commander Gavryn to look over. They had arrived at the planet and Gavryn had decisions to make. Gavryn: “Tactical keep scanning the debris fields for any signs of our missing Daxini vessels. Let me know if the database search turns up anything of note.” The tactical officer nodded as he continued his work. “Understood sir.” Gavryn then turned and addressed the Battle Group’s Claw Chief. They were responsible for any combat troops. Gavryn had overall command but Rainar commanded the troops. Just like Flight Chief Argryn commanded the fleet of ships in the battle group. “Claw Chief Rainar, arrange an exploratory team to visit the communications site and investigate it. Coordinate with Flight Chief Argryn for transport to the location.” Gavyrn’s eyes narrowed as he tried to put together the large puzzle before him. Gavryn turned to the communication officer. “Communications I want you to work with the Kronar Support Chief Islea to analyze the communication signal. Can we broadcast to them? Work to try and decipher the message and build a translator for it. Is the technology they are using known to us? Maybe that can give us some answers.” The communications officer nodded. “Yes sir.” Gravyn had not expected to find such an intriguing and beguiling mystery at the very start of this mission. He had expected to find no traces of anything at all or something obvious like debris and evidence of pirate raiders or hostile forces. Gravyn’s voice was calm and full of confidence in his crew as he told them. “Let’s get to it people.” The command center became a hive of activity as the Daxini began to utilize the resources and work with the people and specialties in the Battle Group. Hopefully they will soon have some answers. [hr] The [i]GNRS Colossus[/i] did not show up in any of the Daxini searches of their database. No warship had ever had the name Colossus. However the word itself did have a little bit of an interesting history. In the Yranni language giants were typically beings to be feared. In mythology the Colossus, however, was a being that at worst was apathetic towards smaller beings and at best a protective and benevolent being. Perhaps even more interesting was the fact that the word colossus wasn’t even originally a Yrrani word, but was instead adopted into the language from the Yarrani-Twei, with a slight difference in accenting being the only real distinguishing factor between the two. The [i]GNRS Colossus[/i] used the Twei version of the word. The broadcast continued to remain frustratingly inaccessible to the Daxini. It was not encrypted and had a very easily identifiable pattern. It did, however, use some sort of technology that was inherently incompatible to what the Daxini typically used. Still it was only a matter of time before the Daxini would be able to figure out how to make sense of the broadcast. Still, simply getting their hands on a piece of communications equipment on the planet below would make the process much easier. [hr] All was quiet at the warehouse as the Daxini exploratory team landed. Perhaps it was due to being in the middle of a desert, but there was no sign or sound of wildlife. Even the wind seemed muted. The doors to the warehouse were closed, but unlocked. They creaked as the Daxini entered the warehouse, shattering the silence. The doors appeared to have been repaired several times. Newer hinges, patches in holes, and other similar repairs had occurred in what could have been a stretch of years, with the oldest looking like it had been done decades ago and the most recent repair, a patch over a fist sized hole, might have been done perhaps six months ago. In fact such patches and repairs were evident on all the walls of the warehouse. The interior of the warehouse was pitch black. It was a massive structure, large enough to fit an entire battalion of main battle tanks and have room to spare. Oddly enough it was mostly empty, although several large shelves packed full of metal scraps would occasionally obscure line of sight enough to conceal the far wall of the warehouse. The ceiling was covered in strange pipes that didn’t seem quite right. The pipes’ purpose was a complete mystery to all who saw them. As the Daxini entered they would just barely hear a woman’s voice coming from a far corner. The voice was too muffled to make out what she was saying, but it sounded like she was speaking to someone. As the Daxini made their way through the warehouse her voice became clear, and it became evident that she was speaking in some evolution of the Twei language. The message was transmitted back to the Daxini Ships over the exploration team's communications. The Kronar used the databases of the Yranni language to create a translator program to handle the linguistic shift. They managed to translate the message and share it with the exploration team and the command staff. The message translated as, “I know we are all stressed,” The woman said with a soothing voice, “but help is on the way. Word has come in that the Third Fleet is on its way to break the siege. We just have to hold out for another month or two. Now I have received a request by a young lady to play a song for her fiance who is serving on the Colossus. This next song, as are all our songs, is dedicated to the young men and women who are fighting to maintain control of our orbital space.” The woman went silent as a melancholic song began to play. Finally the Daxini got around the shelves enough to see where the woman’s voice was coming from. There was no woman. The corner of the warehouse had been converted into a broadcasting room of sorts. The broadcasting equipment had obviously been set to run autonomously, probably repeating the same songs and conversations, for centuries. Still the equipment itself, although largely covered in dust, had certain parts that had clearly been wiped clean sometime in the past few months. An old security camera attached to a nearby wall turned to look at the Daxini, making a horrible screeching sound as sand and dust that had gotten stuck in its gears were ground and rubbed against. The camera seemed to regard the Daxini for a moment before tilting up as if to look at the ceiling, then down at the Daxini before returning to the ceiling. It continued to do this, somehow almost seeming frantic. The Daxini in the exploration team heads all snapped in unison towards the screeching camera as their weapons came up and were aimed at the camera. They were puzzled by its movement. They were staring up at it. They asked Islea to help them with translating their words and broadcasting it over a speaker at the camera. “We mean you no harm. We are trying to find out what happened here. Do you need help?” They repeated variations of their message but there was no reply. [hr] Several miles away from the warehouse a previously hidden silo opened up from beneath the sand. A heavy duty industrial elevator slowly rose to the surface, bringing with it a heavily armed and armored, six legged mech. Some sort of heavy laser or particle beam cannon mounted to its front, two missile or rocket pods on its back, and a variety of other equipment indicated that this mech was ready for a fight. The moment the elevator had stopped moving the mech began sprinting towards the warehouse. At its current rate of movement it was no more than ten minutes away from the warehouse. And, given its armaments, it could probably already fire on any craft taking off or landing at the warehouse. [hr] The Daxini pilots were still aboard the troop dropship that had carried the exploration team to the surface of the planet. They had been actively scanning the area around the warehouse using the ship’s sensors. They detected the elevator and the mech. They tried to communicate with the mech. They were hailing them over all known communication frequencies and bands trying to find a way to talk with them. They even began broadcasting over a speaker on the outside of the dropship. Maybe they could hear them if they were in the mech? They hit their comms to warn the team. “Claw Chief, we have movement. There is a mech headed this way armed with some kind of heavy laser or particle beam cannon, and missiles. We are hailing them but so far no response. It is moving fast. Expected Eta 8 minutes.” The exploratory claw chief commander “Understood. Keep trying but you are authorized to defend the ship. Raise your shields and warm up the engines in case you need to maneuver.” [hr] The mech did seem to understand that communications were being sent its way. It too sent out communications over a wide variety of frequencies and bands. To the Daxini AI it would be apparent that the mech was rapidly cycling through communications protocols, attempting to find something that was compatible, but finding nothing. The mech fired three green flares above itself, followed a moment later by three flares in the direction of the warehouse, two red and one green. It continued on its rapid dash towards the warehouse. In fact the mech picked up speed as the Daxini dropship used a physical speaker to effectively yell at the mech. As the mech picked up speed it pointed a laser communications array at the Daxini fleet in orbit, finding one of the ships there with startling ease. It didn’t use the laser in its traditional role, instead it hit the ship with the laser in a series of short and long “flashes”. The flashes were in fact an old Yrrani Imperium telecommunications code that used signals of two different durations to send out a message. While usually sent out in an audio form, it could be used in a visual form as the mech currently was. The message was short and to the point. FRIENDLY FORCES ENVELOPED. MOVING TO ASSIST. [hr] Inside the warehouse the camera continued to desperately attempt to look at something on the ceiling. The being controlling the camera apparently lacked either the capacity or desire to respond to the Daxini with any kind of vocal or auditory message. The camera finally gave up on looking up and instead turned to look at the Daxini. A moment later it slowly and deliberately turned towards the door the Daxini had entered the warehouse through. The pipes and unidentified machinery that were attached to the warehouse’s ceiling and roof began to undulate and shift ever so slightly. They began to change color, turning from rusted metal to a sandy brown. Slowly pipes moved, turning into tentacles, or opened up revealing sharp teeth. [hr] Islea was surprised when they saw the colored flares over the dropship's cameras. He then saw the telemetry on the lasers that the mech had fired at the ship. They were low powered targeting type lasers. The pattern was recognizable though. The Kronar had been digging through the database the Daxini had compiled on the Yranni. It matched the Yranni Twei. It was an old morse code style of emergency communication. Islea sent the translation message out to the commander and the ground team at the same time. Islea: “They are communicating using code. It matches the Yranni Twei in the database. They are warning us. The translation is “FRIENDLY FORCES ENVELOPED. MOVING TO ASSIST.” As Islea was sharing the translation of the code, the Xidonae Claw Chief in charge of the exploration team, Havoral, had an itch between their shoulder blades. Their fur stood on end inside their power armor. Havoral felt something brush against his awareness. Instinct alone had him looking up as he raised his gun as the ceiling began to change colors. He fired a grenade at the center mass where teeth appeared as tentacles began to move along the ceiling. Havoral barked out a command and warning as he fired into the monster above their heads. Havoral: “Above us! Fire at will! Move!” Havoral was already moving to one side away from the tentacles as he continued to fire at the monster above their heads. The rest of the exploration team came alive and began to fire weapons up into the hanging above their heads. [hr] Tentacled monsters died by the dozens, torn to pieces by the Daxini gunfire. But they kept coming. And from every direction. They fell upon the Daxini in a combined mass of tentacles and teeth. Their hunger would be sated this day. The fleet in orbit could see more of the creatures heading towards the warehouse from wherever they had been hiding before. First they came in singletons, then in the tens, then hundreds, soon thousands. They were all coming from comparatively distant locations, it would take the closest ones at least ten minutes to reach the warehouse, but they approached from every direction. [hr] The mech came to a sudden halt as it neared the warehouse. It leveled its cannon at the warehouse and a second later opened fire. The particle beam that shot out of the cannon was like a perfectly straight bolt of lighting, only it was sustained for far longer than a lightning bolt. The mech shot the roof of the warehouse, moving the beam from one end to the other. What had at first seemed like an odd collection of pipes and machinery began to move and changed into more of the tentacled beasts, only to be annihilated by the beam. Pieces of the warehouse roof broke apart and showed the monsters and Daxini inside with debris. After a few seconds, and only after the roof was certainly cleared of any living creature, did the mech’s particle beam fade away. Heat shimmered from half a dozen vents as the mech stayed perfectly still, venting heat into the desert air. After a few seconds the mech turned towards the direction of the closest oncoming horde of monsters and fired several rockets from one of its weapons pods. It then turned towards the next closest group and fired another couple of rockets. Its ammunition expended, the pod was ejected from the mech. Finally the mech turned back towards the warehouse and charged. It didn’t stop as it approached the warehouse. Its particle beam cannon was firing even as it smashed through the wall, the beam catching several monsters as they leapt at the Daxini. The mech kept the beam on, using it almost like a sword to cut tentacled creatures apart as it moved the beam around. The particle beam heated up the air in the warehouse to what would have been hot enough to cause burns, had the Daxini not been wearing their armor. The beam flickered off as the last of the creatures in the warehouse fell to the combined mech and Daxini fire. A fuel cell shot out of the side of the mech’s particle beam cannon, its half melted state indicating that it had been subjected to far more abuse than it had been designed for. The mech seemed to regard the Daxini for a moment as it vented the heat generated from its particle beam cannon. Finally it spoke in a deep, masculine voice. “We are surrounded. Outsiders, it is past time that we left.” It shifted its body slightly so that it could look at the Daxini dropship. “Is your dropship capable of carrying a sixty ton vehicle?” [hr] [hider=Daxini Troop Dropship] [img]https://i.ibb.co/CQF3dmq/Troop-Drop-Ship.jpg[/img] [/hider] [hider=Daxini Ground Vehicles] [img]https://i.ibb.co/P9DxBx5/High-Speed-Armored-Troop-Carrier.jpg[/img][/hider] The Daxini troops were well trained and responded immediately. They were outnumbered but the enemy seemed to die easily. Havoral understood now that his unease came from subconsciously detecting an alien presence. They had not tried to mentally connect to him. He was uncertain how intelligent they were. They seemed to respond to stimulus as one which made him ponder if they had a hive type mentality. His troops were giving as good as they got but it was a matter of numbers and attrition. They would eventually run out of ammunition and power. Havoral was busy trying to stay alive shooting anything with a tentacle that moved even as his brain was processing the message translation from the drop ship. Havoral: “Don’t fire at the mech. Try to assist. We are surrounded. Confirm and open a corridor to the ship so we can flee.” Havoral ducked as part of the ceiling came down and lasers cut into the building. Havoral began making his way towards an exit barking orders over their comms. Havoral: “Ground team evacuate! Fighting retreat to the ship. The mech is friendly. Provide supporting fire if you can. MOVE IT! Watch your heads!” Havoral instinctively shielded his mind but he felt the pressure of many minds against his. He pulled a teammate out of the clutch of tentacles as he fired his energy weapon at it’s head. He pushed them towards the exit as dust, blood, and debris exploded around them. He had barely made it to the entrance when a deep voice was asking about the capacity of their drop ship. Havoral paused as his team followed orders and headed towards the dropship. Some of them were firing at the tentacled creatures in their way or running towards them. Havoral shrugged as he tried to answer the question. He trusted Islea to put the translation to work for him. Havoral: “Yes, if we can fit it. If there is room in the hold. It currently has our own ground vehicle in it. Less talk and more running and shooting.” He took off after his team trying to keep their tail clear. The numbers coming towards them seemed endless. [hr] The mech kept pace with Havoral, staying a dozen or so feet behind him to keep itself between the Daxini and the most immediate threat. It would occasionally rotate in place to fire its particle beam at a target either in the warehouse or somewhere far off. Then it would smoothly turn back around and return to its spot a dozen feet behind Havoral. But the mech’s movements weren’t smooth. Not at all. When it was moving at high speeds it certainly looked smooth and elegant, but at the slower speeds it was moving at now, revealed a very different state. The mech had a jerky motion to it. It wasn’t the jerkiness that might be attributed to hesitation or an uncertainty of how to move, but instead was the motion of a machine worked extremely hard and not properly maintained. In fact now that the mech was in close proximity to the Daxini they would be able to make out other obvious signs of disrepair. Paint had almost completely flaked off, with a few sections being subjected to a more recent, but sloppy, paintjob. In several areas that outer shell of the mech had been damaged, exposing internal components to the environment. “Please clear enough space in your cargo hold for me.” The mech said. After a few moments it added, as if only as an afterthought “I would be more than happy to answer any of your questions once we have left.” [hr] Havoral called into his comm unit. “Move all the way forward. Make enough room in the cargo hold for the mech! We are coming in hot. Fire team, provide cover fire.” Havoral leaned forward and pushed his combat suit to the limit. The servos whined as he ran full out for the dropship. The dropship’s dark matte hunter green finish stood out starkly in the dry brown grass and dust covered dirt that was the environment surrounding the warehouse. Havoral twisted and fired his grenade launcher into a tightly packed group of tentacled monsters closing in from the left side. He flicked a switch on the side of his gun and began using the plasma beam to cut down more of the strange creatures. Havoral was surprised to see that his fire team had decided to stretch his orders as the Daxini Heavy Armor Troop Vehicle floated out of the back of the Daxini Drop Ship. The heavy armored troop vehicle was more of an antigravity tank. The short range rail gun turret spun up with an audible whine of power as it began lobbing small tungsten carbide shells into the creatures trying to cut into their path on the right side. The heavy plasma cannon on the troop vehicle also began firing, taking out small pockets of the creatures as splash damage turned into an area of effect attack. Havoral would have words with them later if they survived. He had to give them credit for thinking outside the box. The heavy vehicle had moved forward out of the way of the ramp giving the “friendly” mech a straight shot into the cargo hold. Their efforts pushed the creatures away from their sides but they were still coming in like a never ending wave. Havoral spoke into helmet comms once more. “Prepare to lift off as soon as everyone is on board. We will be heavy one friendly mech. We need to lift off in a hurry. Will the extra weight be a problem?” Havoral was pleased to hear the response back from the pilot in the affirmative. The drop ship could carry two armored vehicles. They had only brought one not anticipating that they would face any significant threats on what appeared to be an abandoned planet. Havoral broadcasted his next reply over his speakers for the mech. “Just keep running right into the ship. They will cover us as we lift off.” [hr] “Understood” The mech answered in response to Havoral. Despite this one of its weapons pods shifted to point straight up before launching a rocket into the air. The rocket flew up for a few hundred feet before it split apart into several dozen smaller objects that all shot out in different directions. These objects arched towards the ground, striking the ground in a full circle around the Daxini and mech. As they struck, they exploded, killing some tentacled monstrosities and stunning those nearby. It halted the horde. For a moment. Through all this the mech never broke stride and quickly scuttled onto the Daxini craft. “Be advised that there are swimmers that can spit a dangerous plasma projectile and can fly at high speeds. It is best we leave quickly.” As if to punctuate his point a tentacled monster about twenty percent larger that the ones the Daxini had encountered spat a forewarned glob of plasma at Havoral. The plasma flew wide, very wide, and was never at risk of striking any Daxini. Still a second slightly larger than normal monster spat more plasma at the Daxini. And in the distance dozens more of the plasma spitting monsters could be seen making their way forward. “If we are lucky there won’t be any swimmers lurking in orbit.” The mech commented. [hr] Havoral never broke stride as he kept up with the friendly mech. The Daxini Heavy Armored Troop Vehicle had pulled far enough out of the entrance to the cargo hold that the mech could go right in. Havoral didn’t miss the display of firepower and the missiles shot by the mech and the effect it had on the tentacled creatures. He kept sprinting his power armor whining as the servos worked hard to provide the speed and power he was demanding of them. He continued to fire his weapons as he ran up the ramp. Havoral looked properly horrified by the information the mech provided about the creatures. He spoke quickly into his comms unit. His voice full of authority and command. “Button up the ship quickly. We need to take off quickly. Get that damn troop vehicle back inside and get us in orbit. Get me a line to the commander.” The Daxini crew rushed to obey his orders. The heavy troop transport easily backed up into the cargo bay. They had just set the vehicle down as the ship’s AI engaged the docking clamps and shut the cargo bay door. You could hear the heavy guns on the ship firing into the heavy masses of creatures closing on the ship. Havoral breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the ship moving, the pilot taking his words to heart was already launching the ship skyward. All of these things were happening simultaneously. Havoral wasted no more time on getting to know their friendly mech. He needed to warn the ships in orbit. His comm blared to life as a calm and authoritative voice relayed to his ear. “This is Commander Gravyn, report.” Havoral quickly laid out the most relevant information for the group commander. “We were surrounded by hostile forces. Some form of intelligent looking creature with tentacles. We were aided by a friendly native. We are currently launching towards the battle group. The friendly informed us they call these creatures Swimmers and they can spit plasma bolts and apparently can live in the vacuum of space. He warned me there might be some in orbit. I can confirm that they can spit plasma and he said they fly very fast, sir. I wanted to get a warning to you to be on alert. We stirred them up good down here sir. If they can communicate with each other, they might know where we are and come after us.” Havoral took a deep shaky indrawn breath. He had done his best to warn the ship and his fellow Daxini about the danger they had run into. Now it was time for him to trust his leader to make the right decisions from here. Gravyn’s voice was decisive as he replied his comm line opened. Havoral could hear him giving commands to others on the bridge. “Send a red alert out to all ships. Enemies are inbound. They are organic and dangerous. All ships should be alert and prepped for action. Get the orders going out.” Gravyn’s voice was directed at Havoral once more. “Havoral, I want your team to make for the DSF Venator. I want to meet our friendly and debrief the team when this is over. We will watch for you and try to offer support.” Havoral nodded even though Gravyn couldn’t see it. He shut down his comm line with Gravyn and began to move towards the mech. He spoke to the pilot to give him their new destination. “New destination, we are to dock with the Venator and the battle group will provide fire support.” Havoral made it to the mech and looked at the battered machine. He wondered how old it was. It had clearly seen action but was well maintained and repaired. He used his comms to help him translate as he spoke aloud. “Do you want to come out of that mech? We can go to the bridge together. The battle group has been warned. They will offer fire support.” “That’s good.” The mech commented after a moment’s pause. “I’m cautiously optimistic that the Swimmers in orbit are either in a deep hibernation or have long since moved on in search of food elsewhere.” The mech’s legs made small adjusting movements, creating a light tapping sound each time. The movements simultaneously gave the mech an arachnid feel as well as came off being nervous. “Unfortunately,” the mech continued after another moment of silence, “I will not be able to join you on the bridge. I am a cataphract-class autonomous heavy lancer. Serial number TA-553728991. I am attached to the Fifth Squadron, Seventh Heavy Division, Third Army of the Auria Planetary Guard. Or at least…” His tone turned dark, “I was.” His tone lightened as he continued “I have often been called Tango and would prefer if you did so as well.” Havoral almost lost his footing as the pilots took evasive maneuvers to a new art form as they threw the ship around to avoid plasma fire from the swimmers chasing them. Havoral’s arm shot out to catch the bulkhead wall next to him to keep from falling. The lead pilot’s voice came over the internal ship’s communications. “We are taking heavy fire. Hold on to something, it is going to be a bumpy ride.” Havoral couldn’t help grumbling under his breath and muttering “Warning was too late.” He placed his back against the bulkhead as he turned his head towards Tango. There was nothing he could do to help his pilots except to stay out of their way and let them do their job. Havoral regarded the mech curiously. “Nice to meet you Tango. My name is Havoral. I am a Daxini. Do you mean that you are a digital lifeform? An artificial intelligence? We call ours digital entities.” “I am a nonbiological being, but I am not a [i]nominal[/i] artificial intelligence.” Tango’s tone remained pleasant as he spoke. “I am a type of synthetic intelligence called a bioroid.” He paused as the ship hit some turbulence, forcing him to brace himself. “The short of it is that the Republic sought to create synthetic beings with the minds of biological creatures, but the bodies of machines. And much like a biological creature, the mind of a bioroid exists in its brain.” Tango tapped his own head with one of his front legs. The ship hit another patch of turbulence and as Tango braced himself one of his legs gave out, causing him to collapse to the floor. “Damn!” He cursed. “I’m getting old.” He sort of shook his head as he rose to his feet again, turning his head to gaze at the Daxini. “So Havoral… What brings outsiders like you to a graveyard like this?” Havoral slid down the wall to sit on the floor. It seemed like a more secure way to stay and talk to Havoral. The ship shuddered and jerked as the pilots sought to get the ship into the atmosphere and back to the Daxini Battle Group. Havoral chuckled as Tango commented on getting old. Havoral felt the same way when his joints ached on a cold day. Havoral’s ears twitched and his nose wrinkled from the smell of ozone and heated metal that clung to the cargo bay. The scents of heavy machinery and weapons fire still hung in the air. His head tilted to one side as he listened to Tango’s reply. Havoral looked curious but was in not afraid of Tango. “We have true digital life forms that have become members of our race and world. They call their clan the Kronar. I am from the Xidonae clan. You had mentioned you were part of the planetary guard. Are there any of your people still down on the planet? We are investigating the disappearance of some of our civilian vessels that have gone missing in the area.” Tango remained silent for almost a full minute before answering. “I doubt it. It has been four hundred and ninety-eight years since I last saw a citizen of the Republic. The last confirmed transmission I received from one was ten years later. And there was an unconfirmed message that I never personally received that was allegedly transmitted a further three years after that. The last communication I had with a bioroid was fifteen years ago. This is a dead planet.” “As for your civilian vessels…” Tango moved his front most legs in a fashion that partially imitated a shrug. “If they entered the Ghost Nebula they have almost certainly already encountered the Swimmers. Perhaps they managed to escape this star system.” Tango gave another pseudo-shrug. “I have no idea how the rest of the Republic is fairing, but if the Republic still exists somewhere perhaps your civilians got lucky. Ah!” Suddenly Tango sounded excited. “That reminds me. There was an old government black site hidden away on one of the moons of the closest gas giant. I was never informed about what exactly went on at that site, rumors said it had something to do with cryostatis or something, but I do know that it had the ability to track starships. The facility was abandoned when the Swimmers first arrived in system, but its tracking systems would have been automated. With luck those systems may still be active.”