[c]Icrides[/c]

	In orbit around Icrides, Captain Vitaria peered over her instruments on the Landvættir, her flagship. She peered to teh wiry Isaiah as he hunched over his panel and clacked again and again on his keys. At first she thought not to speak, he always seemed busy and she rarely had time for his  fast babble and technical talk. She preferred the words she wished to hear. ‘We’re ready to deploy’.  After several more moments the clacking stopped and those words came.

	“We’re ready to deploy.” Isaiah said.

	Vitaria’s eyes slid over him, and she regarded those words carefully. “Do we expect hostility when we first meet?”

	There was a pause. “We may be able to win without such effort, but we should still show a forceful contact.” Isaiah said.

	Vitaria  gazed over her map one last time. “Settle guns over one of their cities, do not fire except on my mark.” She began. “I’m going down too.”

	“Captain?” Isaiah asked.

	“Isaiah?” Vitaria asked back.

	At that, Isaiah quieted down and did not press what he was wanting to say. He always knew when he could press and he could not. And more likely than not, he could not press. So he clacked again and the ship came to life. “Stone Wolves, prepare to go down to the surface. This world will be ours or the void’s.”

	Vitaria turned with a jerk and wordlessly strode to her Bay. Her marines snapped to salute as their Captain passed them, she scoffed at their display. “We’re readying for war not awards, get to work.” Vitaria ordered. The marines broke rank and went back to their duties as they always expected to do. This Captain was only slightly more lenient than the twins. And even slightly was a relief to many but not much of one. Without more fanfare Vitaria boarded with her marines and the drop ship took off.

Entry was shaky but swift and easy. And they came to the largest city on the face of Icrides. Vitaria was right, this was their capital and her show of force drew out the largest seven B’aiak. THey glared down at the marines and their Captain with contempt and one eye each. This was not a friendly meeting and Vitaria guessed what they were about to say.

“You respass upon sacred ground. Leave this world or be crushed.” The center B’aiak said.
“If you make demands of me I’d know your name.” Vitaria cut back curtly.

“Without sharing yours?”

Vitaria held her head up higher. “Vitaria.”

“King Aukmaar.” Aukmaar said. “And this is your final warning.”

Vitaria looked to the marines next to her on either side. “No, this is your final warning.”

Kng Aukmaar growled. “You threaten a King, you die.” And he charged Vitaria.

She deftly  slid to her side sending the large king careening passed her and collapsing in his bid to overcorrect, she was already bringing her chainsword down onto his back, slicing through flesh and bone and more until Aukmaar the king of Icrides was two in separate halves pooled in his own wounds. His body crumpled and went still.

“The king is dead! The king is dead!” Drekil hollered from his place among the other council rulers.

“And now, so are you.” Vitaria said and with that she sent the signal, somewhere in the distance blasts rocked the world where they could feel but not see. A city was gone, turned to glass under the Landvættir’s bombardment. B’aiak  looked panicked as they heard each blast. Then they grew enraged as reality sank in for each of them. They were under attack and it was time to fight for their lives.

The first strikes had landed and the first deaths had come to teh people of Icrides. War had started.