The Galactic War: Rogue Element ~The Beginning

[Aluminator (Kit)]

Aetheas fixes Keshin with a steady gaze. He really is having trouble understanding this Yeerk. Here is someone who has, by their own admission, attempted to kill Ossanlin in the past. Not just defame or hurt or humiliate-- actually kill one of the greatest War-Princes in the history of the Andalite people. And yet not only is she still alive, but she seems to be more-or-less on Ossanlin's good side.

Aetheas finds himself wondering, not for the first time, about the Captain's mental health.

He shakes off the thought quickly. It's far too late to begin doubting Ossanlin now.

Isn't it?

<I am sorry to have dragged you into this fight,> he says curtly, <but you may rest easier knowing you've made your way to the right side.>

His brow furrows for a moment as he thinks, <there have been a number of supplies brought aboard with the Rebels we've picked up. Whatever they could carry with them, I believe one of them said. That seems apt.> He thinks for a moment, <I believe Keslin and Myitt were given charge of most of the supplies.> By some more willingly than others, he thinks with a frown. There are some interesting dynamics at play in the Rebellion, which he's not yet had the time to analyze properly. Aetheas knows he can, and should, see what he can offer Keshin... but then, Keshin's not a Rebel, exactly, and Aetheas is a bit eager to get rid of her. His research on the ship has kept him from researching Keshin's history with Ossanlin as he'd like.


Varit looks around, only just beginning to take this situation in as his head clears. Oxygen... wonderful oxygen... he'd forgotten how good breathing feels.

Resseliss's mind has begun winding up again too. He smells the meat, he senses the flowing blood and the beating hearts of the creatures around him. How long has it been since he's eaten? He's determined not to be a slave to his instincts, but surely one little nibble can't hurt...

<<Think again,>> says Varit. <<Even if you were allowed to eat our friends, look at these Andalite guards. Look at those tails. You wouldn't make it three steps without being sliced open from head to toe.>> Between Varit's will and Resseliss's, they're able to keep the hunger in check for now...

Varit's still a little shell-shocked by the presence of this 'Ossanlin,' and by the fact that they have apparent Andalite allies.

"Keslin," he slurs with his Taxxon tongue, "may the Kandrona shine and strengthen you. Keslin..." he hesitates, "Are we on a dome ship? How in the world did you come by a dome ship?" His tone... as far as Taxxon tones go... is equal parts awe and incredulity. "Is this Tora's doing? Or Efaen's? I know there are some strong ties between the Rebellion and some Andalites. A War-Prince..." he stops, looking at Ossanlin... can this be the Captain that Myitt's always talked about? "Way to go, Keslin!" he whispers with great enthusiasm, his expression turning to a terrifying Taxxon smile.

"My shared human host is Jenny," he says, answering Keslin's implied questions. "She was with Neffec at the time of the attack, as far as I know. I have not heard from either one. I have not heard from... anyone..." he chokes a bit, wanting to embrace Keslin, and only checking himself when he remembers just what body he's in now, and that he's under heavily guarded watch at the moment. He opts instead to say simply, "thank you for rescuing me."

"This is Resseliss," he says, gesturing to his body with his many claws. "He was my prior host. We shared a... special bond." As special a bond as one can share with a Taxxon, he thinks. "When the attack began, he found me in the pool and saved me. We escaped in the Bug with Gerald Thomson." He chokes again. All that's left of Gerald is a few bones sitting on the floor inside. "He was injured. He... he didn't make it..."

[Shenmue654]

"Do you know where Keslin is right now?" stated Keshin, almost impatiently. His gaze out of Joanne's eyes was haggard and less than flattering, and his posture almost looked as if the Yeerk was holding up Joanne's body using puppet strings. They had never been particularly attractive to begin with, but now they just looked sick.

"Myitt..." Keshin bites his lip. The Yeerk rebel had a long history with them, but the rebel had been distant and distracted. It pained him, a little, to see his former rival and sometimes client distraught over the many deaths the Andalites had caused. It wasn't like they were close, but Myitt was the closest thing Keshin and Joanne had to a regular acquaintance. "...Myitt One-Nine-Five has been evasive. I don't believe that we can talk to her about what we need."

"As for the sides, well..." Keshin shakes his head, an odd look of guilt across Joanne's face. "...we owe your captain our services. He saved our lives." This was technically true. They weren't sure yet whether there were better opportunities around than being on the same ship as Ossanlin, but even the turelek had to admit that gratitude was part of the reason they hadn't gone outright looking for them.

But gratitude only lasted as long as Joanne's breath remained strong.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin looks Varit and Resseliss up and down, keeping his expression impassive.  A taxxon that had gone out of its way to save a Yeerk?  Strange...  <Yes...well there may be some difficulty in that depart...>  Ossanlin cuts off as his ARC gives him a private tone.  <Excuse me.>

Ossanlin opens the communication from Esarvit.  <What is it...?

<<Prince, we've picked up z-strain radiation signatures.  Three ships jumping in...identity as yet unknown.>>

Ossanlin furrows his brow.  <<On my way.>>  He looks back between Keslin and Varit.  <I am sorry to cut our introductions short, Varit, but I must depart.  There is a...situation.  The guards will stay with you...likely the best place for you for now is within the Dome.>  He nods at Keslin before turning and galloping toward the ramp-well, trusting him to take care of their new charge.

He opens a private communication with Eleric and his other flight-squad commanders as he gallops up the ramp-well and onto the Prime deck.  <<Prepare for potential deployment, five minutes.>>  He closes the communication, running through the big aft dome bay doors.  He gallops across the simulated Homeworld plain, running by Aetheas and Keshin, giving them a passing glance.  Somewhat strange to see Aetheas taking a shine to the bounty-hunter...but that's information for later processing.  Using the mind-trick he'd learned, Ossanlin files the information away for later perusal.

He gallops through the fore bay doors and down the corridor to the bridge.  He slows to a trot as he enters the bridge, walking quickly up to his console.  A flurry of hasty tail-salutes greets him.  <Situation.>

Esarvit turns a stalk-eye on Ossanlin before speaking.  <Three vessels sir, Yeerkish...Imperial .>  He corrects himself.  <Two salvage ships and a frigate escort...another Z-strain singularity opening, sir...the frigate has spotted us, they're powering weapons.>

Ossanlin narrows his eyes, his brain kicking into full command mode.  <Claxter, evasive action.  Esarvit, engage energy shielding.  Transfer TO console control to the Captain's station.>  Ossanlin's holographic display enlarges to surround his entire head and upper body, his ARC interfacing with the display.  Loads of information starts bombarding him through the display as twin red energy beams lance out from the frigate.  Both salvage ships had begun to turn, no doubt plotting an escape course.  The frigate couldn't hope to take on a Dreadnaught dome.

<Sir, the new singularity has resolved...it's a Blade Ship!>  Esarvit controls his surprise well.

The dracon energy splashes against the Tyrennian's energy shields, draining them only minimally.  <Powering weapons...>  Ossanlin starts the charging sequence.  Normally the weapons and maneuvering tactics would be handled by the TO.  Ossanlin spares only a glance for the empty TO station which mirrors what he's doing at his own console.  Somewhere in the back of his mind he wonders if Aetheas might find it instructive.  Ossanlin hasn't manned a TO station for years, but he's what they have under such emergency conditions.

A blade ship...the Tyrennian would still be the favorite to win...but best not to take any chances.  <Lightning-strike, Storm-shrike...deploy immediately.  Stop those salvage ships from escaping.>

Ossanlin discharges the Tyrennian's three primary Shredders at the frigate's foresection, watching the ship's red-glowing shields fade rapidly against the searing blue beams of the Dome's firepower.  The frigate needed to go first, then they'd deal with the Blade...



Eleric dips his hoof into the cool water of the Dome's artificial stream, slaking his thirst.  Today he finds the Dome particularly...stif ling.  Yes, Ossanlin had deployed Lightning-strike more often than any other squadron over the past couple of weeks, but they'd not been deployed for days now.  He spent the largest portion of his time in the hangar bay, making sure his fighter stayed prepped and in prime condition...but there were only so many times one could polish an exhaust vent before it began to feel utterly pointless.

When his communicator crackles to life and he hears the order to prepare for potential deployment in five minutes...his hearts begin to race.  Yes...YES!  This sounds like it's going to be fun.  He grins to himself as he opens his own communication to his squad-mates confirming the orders they'd all just heard, galloping for the ramp-well.  He passes Ossanlin on the way...the Prince looks serious.  Real serious.  Eleric's grin grows.

As he reaches the hangar, it's abuzz with Andalites running between fighter bays, the fighters already beginning to hum in their warmup cycles.  He nods to his squad-mates as he passes them, a bit of swagger entering his trot.  These were the ones he led...Lightning-strike...one of the best fighter squadrons in the military...in his mind anyway.  <Get to your fighters, boys...we need to be ready in two minutes.>  Three of Lightning-strike's members are older than him, but what was age but a number?

One of Eleric's stalk-eyes catches sight of a Taxxon at the end of the bay and he almost does a double-take.  No...a Taxxon...really?!  But he leaves himself little time to ponder as he reaches his tail-fighter and runs through his pre-flight checklist, making sure everything is in order outside the ship before entering the ****pit and engaging the safety-restraint field.  He hears the blood rushing through his ears as his hearts continue to pump quickly.  He checks his gauges and displays, his ARC interfacing seamlessly with the fighter's HUD.  His fighter hums like the perfectly-tuned machine that it is, showing ready for launch.

Seconds that feel like hours tick by before another communication comes through.  <Lightning-strike, Storm-shrike...deploy immediately.  Stop those salvage ships from escaping.>

Eleric grins again, engaging his squad-communication group.  <Tails to the wall boys... DEPLOY!>  Eleric punches the magnetic catapult and his fighter rockets out into space, plasma engines flaring to life as he forms up at the lead of his squad, whooping mentally with exhilaration.  He and his squad separate from the Tyrennian quickly, turning through the debris field.  <Let's fry some slug!>  He punches up maximum burn, setting a heading for the first salvage ship, his squad-wings falling in behind in formation.



Varekil rounds a bend in the ramp-well and quickly moves out of the way as he sees Ossanlin running upward.  He barely catches the Prince's upward nod...so apparently he isn't needed in the hangar, but perhaps would be in the med-bay.  Sighing, he turns around and trots back toward the med-bay.



Firin rakes Rythil's hand along his head-spikes in a gesture of frustration.  All of this top-end Andalite tech, and he still hasn't been given permission to dig into it.  Granted, the files Ossanlin had given him access to were lovely, but they simply didn't match the visceral satisfaction of digging into a state-of-the-art Shredder coil, for example.  He looks back down at the mobile handheld device the Andalites had given him.  He can't help but feel that one of those holographic projectors they used for their little Apix Realtime Computers would be better, but apparently those were reserved for people who were...important.  Speak of the devil, he watches the Andalite Prince gallop through the dome toward the bridge in a hurry.

Firin files it in the back of his mind as he runs his hand across the wall beyond the holographic projection.  It feels seamless, yet he knows its not.  Somehow these walls were able to produce nearly any sort of natural phenomenon such as wind or rain, as well as maintaining the projection.  He looks back over the Dome schematic...the holographic projectors built into the dome walls were quite sophisticated indeed.  With a bit of modification, they might be even more-useful for...his thoughts stall out as the day-time hologram slowly fades out, showing the stars outside.  Firin furrows his brow, looking up at the naked crystalline dome...odd...the day-cycle still had hours left, so...he gasps suddenly as the tail-like protrusion above the dome flashes bright, almost-white blue, a searing beam of energy lancing forth, burning a bar into Rythil's retinas.

"Dapsen!"  Firin exclaims out-loud, winching Rythil's eyes shut in pain before they open again in realization.  The Captain running for the bridge...the hologram fading...the weapons fire...they're in a battle!  Firin furiously taps at the little handheld device.  He wouldn't be able to see console or command functions of course, but he could probably at least see the feed from the basic visual sensors.  After a few moments, his eyes widen as his little handheld device shows four Imperial vessels...one of them a Blade Ship!  "By the Kandrona..."

<<Imperial filth...>>  Rythil had been fairly quiet of late, so this little outburst came as a surprise.  <<They deserve what's coming.>>

Firin sighs internally.  <<I suppose they do, Rythil.>>  The Tyrennian is a fearsome ship...it should be more than a match for this small band of Imperials.  Yet he can't stop the little bit of gnawing anxiety from nibbling on the back of his mind.  Blade Ships were fearsome too...and if more Imperials were on the way...

<<Stop thinking like that, Firin.  You're giving me a headache.>>

<<...>>

[Chad32]

Claxter began turning the ship so that they could still fire, and also move away at the same time. He also started prepping the engines for some fast flight. He heard the command to deploy the ships, so they weren't jumping into Z-Space. This was going to be his first fight as pilot, and his adrenaline started pumping as soon as he saw that Blade Ship. Sure the Tyrennian still had the upper hand, but it would be careless to let a Blade Ship's main cannons hit them full on. He worked on ducking around the frigate in an attempt to get under the Blade Ship. One good shot on its underbelly should be all they need to cripple it.

He remembered what Enorryma had said about working with the Tail fighters, and kept an eye on them too.


Ferxal was resting after his exercises when he caught sight of Ossanlin running across the dome. There were few reasons that a captain would rush out like that, and none of them good. His suspicions were verified when he saw dracon fire. They were under attack, and there was precious little he could do to influence the battle. Even if his ship was repaired, he was loathe to volunteer to go out. If there was a boarding party, he would gladly offer his services, but that would mean things were going quite bad. Still, he felt he should do something, yet his guards prefered he stay put.

[Terenia]

Keslin stares at Varit. “Gerald…” He says, his voice trailing into silence as his jaw works.

<<He escaped,>> Chris says.

<<Injured,>> Keslin responds. <<If he didn’t-- >>

<<Don’t be stupid, Kes,>> Chris responds, his stomach churning with realization. <<If Gerald got onto that ship, wounded, with a Taxxon, he didn’t die from his injuries. I don’t care how good Varit thinks he is at control, or how special his bond is with that Taxxon. There’s no ****ing way.>>

Keslin has to work hard to keep his face from showing their joint nausea and grief, and he forces a small nod. “Gerald was…he was a friend,” he finally forces out.

He is saved, momentarily, from further conversation as Ossanlin relieves himself of the Dome. Something is happening, he thinks, frowning at the Captain’s abrupt departure. For a strange, teetering moment, he is more inclined to follow the Andalite than stay with his fellow rebel Yeerk.
It hits him out of nowhere, sneaking up on the shadows of grief, anxiety, and stress. Surrounded by a Taxxon and a ring of Andalite guards he suddenly wants nothing more than to run. To find relief. To—

<<Dude, Kes, give me control,>> Chris says, pulling Keslin out of his dark thoughts.

<<What?>>

<<Right now, you idiot. You’re making me shake like a ****ing leaf!>>

Keslin blinks, coming back into awareness, realizing that Chris is right. He has broken out into a cold sweat, the shivers that usually only manifest themselves in his fingers spreading to his entire body. Swallowing, he nods in response. <<Yeah. Okay.>>

As soon as Keslin slides out of control, the trembling ceases. Chris sighs and runs a hand through his messy blonde hair, giving the Andalite guards a slightly crooked smile, hoping they haven’t noticed, or don’t know enough about humans and Yeerks to understand, the slip.

“Varit,” Chris says. “I…I’m going to take you to the Dome, okay? I need you to follow and I need you to keep Resseliss under control. These guards here? They will shoot you if you lose control. I can’t stop them. I can only trust that they’ll keep their weapons on stun. Okay?” He doesn’t mention Gerald. He doesn’t want to think about Gerald.

[Aluminator (Kit)]

<Mm...> Aetheas begins, tapping on his data pad and transferring the display proper to his ARC's holographic projector so that Keshin can see it as well. He brings up a display and queries Keslin's location. The display instantly shifts to a full view of the Tyrennian, displaying Keslin's location as...

<Keslin is in the hangar bay. Possibly greeting new Rebel arrivals.> He zooms in the display, <This is...>

He's interrupted by Ossanlin galloping past. He frowns. Something must be happening, for the Captain to be in that kind of a rush.

He looks to Keshin again, surprised, <The Captain saved your lives?> He pauses for a moment, processing. <Was this before or after you tried to kill him?> His words carry a surprisingly uncharacteristic bite behind them.

He seems about to say more, but suddenly, the dome lights up, flashing blue as the main Shredder fires above them. A battle!? This cannot possibly be a good thing.

<Excuse me,> he says hastily to Keshin. He turns to run in the direction Ossanlin had gone-- towards the bridge. As he goes, he doesn't even look back to see if Keshin's following, instead focusing his stalk eyes on the ARC's display, changing overlays to show power distributions, hull strain, weapons fire, heat, and myriad other factors as he thinks of them.

He arrives on the bridge, panting, and moves to stand out of the way, trying to take in the flurry of finely-organized chaos that is a dome ship bridge during a battle.


Varit watches, surprised, as Ossanlin leaves abruptly. He stands for a few moments, unsure of what to do with himself, and almost too afraid to move, with the guards surrounding him. If he notices Keslin's moments of shock, it doesn't show on his unreadable Taxxon features.

"No problem," he mutters warily, eying the guards who are armed to the tail. "Even a Taxxon can behave himself under these circumstances."

As he follows Keslin... no, wait, this has to be Chris now... towards the dome, he tries to steady himself, to get his bearings. "Chris..." he begins, wincing at the mangled pronunciation, "how did this happen?" He gestures to the ship around them, "Andalites... an Andalite dome ship, no less. They attacked us... but we're not prisoners? I... Resseliss will need to eat soon..." He pauses, "I will, too, if there's Kandrona available." He looks at Chris imploringly.

A shudder reverberates through the hull and up the deck plating. Varit feels even the slightest vibrations through his many legs-- this is like an earthquake.

"Are we safe?" he yelps.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin catches a glimpse of Aetheas through the holographic display wrapped around his head and shoulders.  <<Observe from the TO station, Warrior.>>  An exact replica of the display currently wrapped around Ossanlin is projected at the Tactical console, showing incoming sensor data and Ossanlin's responses in real-time.  Aetheas would see and hear exactly what Ossanlin did as the battle progressed.

Ossanlin monitors the Tyrennian's power consumption as both Apix 2 coils ramp up to 75% utility.  His many-fingered hands fly over the console and interface with the hologram around him as well as he readies the primaries for a second volley.  <Helm, evasive pattern seven-seven-alpha.>  The Shredder coils cool enough for a second shot and Ossanlin discharges the three primaries simultaneously, focused on the frigate's primary energy signature.  The beams melt through the frigate's hull before a massive explosion rips through space, the frigate nearly vaporizing as its energy source loses containment.  The Tyrennian is enveloped in a brief bluish haze as the shockwave from the large explosion splashes against the shields, pushing the ship back a bit.  The inertial stabilizers keep up well, but there's still a tremor and slight shift in the floor.

<Target neutralized.>  Esarvit calls out from the sensors station.

The Shredder coils are holding up well, the cooling systems wicking the massive amounts of heat away from the focusing arrays quickly.  Meanwhile, the Blade Ship had engaged, immediately attempting to move out of the Tyrennian's firing arc while discharging its own primary weapons.  Claxter's actions carry the Tyrennian clear of the firing path and the shot goes wide.

<Six bugs deployed, sir.>  Esarvit speaks up.

Ossanlin notes the bugs on their way toward the Tyrennian.  <Down-Burst, Thunder-Crash, deploy now.  Tactical home-ship defense.>  Ossanlin watches the display as twelve more fighters blast out of the Tyrennian's hangar-bay.  <Activating point-defense.>  Ossanlin queues up the smaller point-defense Shredders.  They would automatically seek out non-friendly fighters and fire on clear shots.  He discharges one of the secondary Shredder cannons at the Blade Ship, the blue energy beam splashing against the darker ship's red shields as the two squads of defense fighters engaged the out-numbered bugs.  Two of the bugs explode almost immediately as the multiple tail-fighters fire upon them simultaneously.  The bugs come within range of the point-defense shredders and the Tyrennian lights up with small pulse-shredder fire, seeking for the bugs in the mass of fighters.  <Claxter, stick with the fighters and get me a bearing on that Blade Ship with the primaries.>



Eleric watches the second volley of primary Shredder fire lance into the Yeerk frigate.  He winces a bit, but smiles at the bright flash of the frigate's core going nova.  He braces as the shockwave hits his fighter, throwing him off-course a bit.  He corrects and locks himself back onto the nearest fleeing freighter.  As soon as the ship is within range, he punches up his squad link to battle-status.  <Formation X-5...lets tear this thing a new hoof-hole.>

He opens fire as his squad-mates form up around him and do the same.  The fairly weak shields of the freighter glow angry red under the bright blue barrage of Shredder-fire.  Eleric evades a weak Dracon blast from the ship...this thing was made for cargo, not battle.  <That's it boys, lets burn 'em out of the sky.>

[Terenia]

"It's a long story," Chris says, giving Varit a sidelong glance as he makes his way towards the Dome, all but ignoring the Andalite guards. "But suffice it to say, these Andalites are not the Andalites that destroyed are base. These guys saved us, and they're letting us stay with them until we're back on our feet." Or maybe longer, he adds internally.

Frowning, he strides down the hall. Chris is tall, but giant worms set a good pace. "There is Kandrona," he allows. "But we'd feel better about letting you feed if we were able to isolate your Taxxon friend somewhere. Food for him is....uh...well, we'll figure something out. Andalites aren't exactly big meat eaters."

As they walk, Keslin and Chris both pick up on the flurry of activity that implies conflict. The departure of several fighters hadn't escaped their notice either. A battle was happening, and Chris was itching to be a part of it, despite Keslins reluctance and attention to duty. "Almost there. Ah...don't expect to make too many friends straight away, Varit. No one is going to be expecting a Taxxon."

He steps into the Dome first, then sands aside, allowing Varit entry.

[Chad32]

Claxter did as commanded, and stayed close to the fighters. It would be really bad if the Blade Ship started firing on them with the main guns, as they would just be vaporized if they took a hit, so he had to make sure the Tyrennian was seen as too much of a threat, while also not letting the Blade Ship pummel them. Many screens showed the fighters, Blade ship, distances, and other factors that Claxter needed to keep his eyes on at once while thinking very quickly. At once he found his opening. <Clear shot. Hit it hard.>


Ferxal sort of paced in anxiousness to do something about the battle, but unable to really do anything. He saw in the entrance to the dome, a Human was coming in with a Taxxon. His face would have scrunched in revulsion if not for his long training in suppressing all emotion. Did the rebels really employ Taxxons? He was curious in the way one might be curious about some unknown slime they found on the floor. He stepped closer to the Taxxon, but didn't actually speak to it.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin discharges the primary Shredders a third time, the intense blue beams drilling the Blade Ship's crimson shields.  Ossanlin immediately follows the barrage with one of the secondary Shredders.  It pushes through the Blade Ship's temporarily-drained shields and impacts on the battle-bridge, heating the reinforced hull-plating until it glows orange.  A primary might've punched through and ventilated the Blade's bridge, but the weaker secondary beam only weakens the reinforced hull.  In the meantime, the Blade Ship's shields re-mesh and strengthen again.

The Blade Ship alters its course and pulls out of the Tyrennian's primary firing arcs again, taking a pot-shot at the tail-section of the ship, one of the blood-red beams searing across the aft shields.  Ossanlin notes a small explosion as another one of the bugs explodes.  None of the Tyrennian's own tail-fighters had been shot down.  Two more bugs explode in quick succession...only one left.  <Down-Burst, tactical aggression...burn that Blade Ship's shields.>  Six Tail-fighters break away and make for the Blade Ship, discharging Shredders at the Yeerk vessel.


Eleric dodges around the lumbering freighter, pulling an orbital turn hard enough to feel the g-force through the inertial dampeners.  The large, non-combat ship's shielding ghosts rather quickly, and Eleric begins methodically picking the freighter apart, destroying its small anti-fighter cannons first, then disabling its thruster nacelles.  <Remember, boys...don't blow the Kulouk apart, the boss just wants to stop it from leaving.>

Eleric's fighter alarms blare warnings as his external sensors pick up increasing levels of Z-Rad.  His eyes widen as he ducks away from the second freighter...Storm-Shrike had been almost as effective at picking it apart, but it was going to attempt a jump without any shields!  He watches as Storm-Shrike's fighters max-burn away from the Yeerk ship as fast as possible.  Even the first freighter was trying to use maneuvering thrusters to get away from its panicking comrade.

A sudden blinding flash of light announces the freighter's doomed jump, followed by a massive shockwave as Z-Space immediately tears the freighter to shreds.  Even at this distance, Eleric's fighter is thrown by the explosion. He manages to wrest control of his fighter back and immediately checks his displays.  His squadron is fully accounted-for, but one of Storm-Shrike's fighters is dead in the black.  A trail of shredded and molten ship wreckage hovers in a five-click wake...each piece of refuse having once been a part of the freighter that had just tried to jump.

Eleric's comm crackles to life with several thought-speak voices.  <Kerin, respond.  Kerin!>  <His vitals show he's alive...> <He's unconscious.>  <His hull is partially-compromised...decompression in less than five minutes.>  <We have to tow him back!>

He watches as Storm-Shrike's squad leader energy-tethers with the damaged fighter and begins to haul it back pain-stakingly to the Tyrennian, the rest of Storm-Shrike forming a protective cocoon around their injured comrade.

<Lightning-strike, on point!>  Eleric orders his squad to form up in front of Storm-Shrike, ready to deal with any threats that might crop up.  The first freighter would keep.

[Chad32]

<Sir, one of the freighters tried a jump after Storm Shrike killed its shields. The attempt tore the ship apart, and one of the Tail Fighters is damaged.> Claxter said. <They always said never try escaping into Z-Space without shields. I guess that's what happens when you try anyway.> After thinking quickly, he decided the only way to get the ship closer, while keeping the main guns pointed at the blade Ship, was to let the ship drift to the side a bit to line up the hangers, then back towards them. Like the Tyrennian was orbiting the Blade Ship.

[Shenmue654]

Keshin notes the visual on Aetheas' ARC display. Keslin did appear to be on the move, but Keshin still had time to greet him. "I think I'll go---wait!" Ossanlin suddenly galloped past both Keshin and Aetheas at an extremely high speed. Keshin frowned. "Huh, I wonder what's got his fur in a knot."

Aetheas then incredulously notes the improbability of Ossanlin saving the life of the bounty hunter who tried to kill him. Keshin turns to Aetheas about to explain that Ossanlin saved him from dying in the prison, but suddenly the top of the Dome lights up. "...uh oh," is all Keshin can say as he looks up. Even he could guess that meant that there was a battle underway, or some other trouble. Ossanlin's haste only confirmed his suspicion. Before Keshin can speak to or move to follow Aetheas, the Andalite brushes past him with a hurried apology.

Keshin stood underneath the Dome, glancing back at the exit and thinking about whether to follow Aetheas to the bridge or not. <It's pointless. We don't have an assigned combat role. We'll just clog things up.>

<An' if they need some reinforcements? We don' even know what these guys are fightin'.>

<If they--->

Before Keshin can finish his thought, the situation gets even stranger. Another rebel enters the Dome, followed by a...a Taxxon. Yes, it's definitely a Taxxon. Keshin blinks several times to ensure he's not dreaming, warriors darting past him out of the Dome to their positions. Keshin walks up to the rebel, holds up his hand as if about to say something, and then puts it back down. No, clearly this place was way beyond explanations.

"Do you know what's attacking the Tyrennian?" Keshin said, quickly. 

[Aluminator (Kit)]

Aetheas dips his tail in response to Ossanlin's order and quickly takes his place at the TO station. It takes him a few moments to get his bearings amidst the displays and holograms flashing around him, keeping track of every aspect of the battle. He's seen simulated battles with more craft, but in those cases, he's always been aboard a tail-fighter with little need to keep track of the extents of the battlefield. This... this is a different experience altogether, a view from the bridge of a capitol ship responsible for squadrons of fighters.

He keeps one stalk-eye trained on the Captain, watching his movements and his orders closely. Ossanlin has obviously done this before, and Aetheas intends to learn from him. A Blade Ship may not be a match for the Tyrennian, but it could still pose a threat. And there's the question of their own lack of a dock or access to Andalite supply lines-- any damage taken will be that much more difficult to repair in the future. It is in their best interest to come out of this battle as unscathed as possible. To that end, he watches Claxter's actions carefully as well.

Aetheas finds himself repeatedly searching for the reasoning behind the Captain's orders and shots, and very nearly always finding it-- if only after the fact. Usually, he sees, Ossanlin is simply more adept at taking in the entire situation than he himself is.

He's shocked to see one of the Yeerk scavengers tear itself apart attempting to reach Z-space. Whether it had been a suicide attack or a panicked escape attempt, it had caught him completely off-guard. He looks to the bridge crew to see how they adapt, more curious than anything.


"Andalite in-fighting?" Varit wonders. "Huh. They always seem to put up such a unified front. I guess it makes sense, though. So does the Empire, and yet here we are." He laughs, but it comes out sounding forced.

"I... Kandrona... I need Kandrona," he responds. "Resseliss will, of course, consent to confinement for the time being. You and I both know he's used to that at this point.

<<Promise you'll come back,>> says Resseliss.

<<...I'll try,>> is Varit's response after a moment's hesitation.

<<I need food or I'll die,>> his host reminds him.

"Though if we can figure out a source of protein for him, that would be ideal," Varit continues. It hasn't been long since he's eaten... he thinks guiltily of the bones aboard the fighter... but the Taxxon hunger never really subsides.

As they step into the dome, he draws a breath, shocked. "I... I've heard of the dome ships," he says, "but this... this is... they really do bring a piece of their world with them."

When a human woman asks what's attacking, his response is immediate, "Attacking!? We're being attacked?" He unconsciously skitters a couple of steps backwards, arching his back slightly. "Keslin, we can't be under attack! I just got here!," he says, his voice growing even more shrill and even more difficult to understand.

The Andalites running everywhere... the shuddering deck... the deploying fighters...

"I figured this place was always like this," he says sullenly, eying the human woman and the Andalite who've neared them.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin nods in response to Claxter.  <Hangar, prepare to receive Storm Shrike squadron, one in tow.>

<Claxter, bring us to heading 0.045, pitch 55, yaw 240.>  Ossanlin discharges the rear secondary Shredder at the Blade Ship as another explosion announces the destruction of the final Bug Fighter.  The point defense pulse-Shredders go quiet.  <Thunder-Crash, tactical aggression on that Blade Ship.>  Blade Ship shields are strong, but they would wilt quickly under this barrage, and if the Blade Ship behaved as he expected...the next fifteen seconds would see a disabled Blade Ship, or a fleeing one.



Eleric takes point in front of his squadron, watching the rest of the battle from a bit of a distance.  He watches as the final bugs explode...he would've liked to have a shot at at least one of them, but Fighters had to look out for each other, even if they weren't from the same squadron.  It was an unspoken understanding, one that only other Tail Fighter pilots truly understood.

Suddenly the Tyrennian enters an orbital broadside trajectory...that would get Kerin inside quicker.  Interesting that Prince Claxter had become such an effective and considerate pilot after such a short time...Eleric represses the surge of jealousy.  He doesn't want to pilot the Tyrennian...that would take him out of the ****pit of a fighter, but the fact that the Tyrennian's new pilot had been made a Prince...well, he himself would be a Prince one day.

Eleric escorts Storm-Shrike back to the hangars, their squad leader towing their injured squad-mate into the irregular hangar, the others returning to their individual bays.  <Alright boys, Storm-Shrike's safe...lets go blast a Blade Ship.>  Eleric grins to himself as he flies around the underbelly of the Tyrennian, his squad forming up behind him.

[Chad32]

Claxter did as commanded, and kept steady watch on the Blade Ship. Hopefully they could get a large supply from a crippled Blade Ship, if they could manage to take it down. He wondered what would happen to the crew, though. It's not as if Ossanlin had rescued the imperial prisoners at Corvus. Maybe just leave them stranded with possibly a reasonable expectation that they would survive? This wasn't the time to think about that, though. Right now he had to focus on making sure the Blade Ship didn't make a comeback and cripple them.