Spring RTS Engine

Jones drifted back into his seat.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhere├óÔé¼Ôäód you go?├óÔé¼┬Ø O├óÔé¼ÔäóDay asked
├óÔé¼┼ôSober-room├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHe├óÔé¼Ôäós still in there?├óÔé¼┬Ø Asked Sanderson incredulously
├óÔé¼┼ôYup. Either he├óÔé¼Ôäós an alcoholic, drank a lot of drink before our little trip ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ that├óÔé¼Ôäós the most likely one ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ or he just has alcohol for blood├óÔé¼┬Ø Said Jones, listing the possibilities off his fingers
├óÔé¼┼ôWhy do the Ground-hogs think that lots and lots of alcohol will cushion them from being blasted through the atmosphere?├óÔé¼┬Ø Sanderson asked
├óÔé¼┼ôMaybe they├óÔé¼Ôäóre trying to get so drunk that they can├óÔé¼Ôäót remember it afterwards?├óÔé¼┬Ø O├óÔé¼ÔäóDay suggested. Sanderson shrugged.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhen does our Investigator arrive to pick up Calliger?├óÔé¼┬Ø Jones asked
├óÔé¼┼ôYou really need to cut down on the impatience├óÔé¼┬Ø Sanderson observed over a glass of water
├óÔé¼┼ôYou really need to shut up├óÔé¼┬Ø Jones fired back

├óÔé¼┼ôNow,├óÔé¼┬Ø Adams said ├óÔé¼┼ôis probably the best time to get to the escape pods├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor turned and looked at him. She was not losing this ship
├óÔé¼┼ôI am not losing this ship├óÔé¼┬Ø
Adams sighed. He leaned forwards over her shoulder and out through the window
├óÔé¼┼ôYou see those ships coming towards us over there?├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor nodded
├óÔé¼┼ôThey├óÔé¼Ôäóre attack frigates that will kill us when we get in range├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôNo they won├óÔé¼Ôäót. They think we├óÔé¼Ôäóre dead├óÔé¼┬Ø Taylor stated confidently
├óÔé¼┼ôWe just shot a torpedo up the Invincible├óÔé¼Ôäós exhaust. The Falcra is most definitely alive and kicking!├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor went rather pale.
├óÔé¼┼ôBut my ship,├óÔé¼┬Ø she began
├óÔé¼┼ôIs missing a wing.├óÔé¼┬Ø Adams finished
├óÔé¼┼ôAlso, if they think no-one is on it, the CRU are almost certain to try and salvage it. Especially a ship of this calibre├óÔé¼┬Ø Anders added
Taylor looked a bit less pale, but still undecided.
├óÔé¼┼ôThe frigates are closing in on us and the Vengeance, Taylor├óÔé¼┬Ø Anders reminded her
She pressed the escape pod buttons, and the pod doors shot open.
├óÔé¼┼ôFine.├óÔé¼┬Ø She said, pointing at the Invincible ├óÔé¼┼ôBut we├óÔé¼Ôäóre landing on that├óÔé¼┬Ø

Lannings had similar ideas. With puffs of compressed air shooting out their jets on the rear, boarding pods shot forth from the Vengeance. In a supporting action, the battleship also fired its full broadside. The lasers ruptured several docks and a few decks, but the Invincible was far too big to be completely destroyed by a single barrage of laser cannon.
├óÔé¼┼ôAll crew, abandon ship├óÔé¼┬Ø

This move had caught the Invincible completely off guard. It began to aim it├óÔé¼Ôäós plasma turrets, having lost the missile launcher to the Vengeance├óÔé¼Ôäós broadside. Then the two TFC cruisers swooped down. The first: The Damnation (the captain was a bit sadistic) had two forwards-mounted laser cannons and several missile pods. It├óÔé¼Ôäós primary weapon, however, was it├óÔé¼Ôäós EMP cannon. The second ship, the Revenge, was more geared to dealing with smaller ships, having three plasma turrets spread across it├óÔé¼Ôäós surface. The Damnation strafed the Invincible, and the Revenge went for the NCLF frigates.

Taylor watched in awe as the Revenge cut a bloody swathe through the NCLF cruisers
├óÔé¼┼ôBelay that order!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôTaylor!├óÔé¼┬Ø Adams exclaimed
├óÔé¼┼ôI said belay it!├óÔé¼┬Ø
She flicked the pod switches and the pod doors shut
├óÔé¼┼ôTaylor, open the escape pod doors├óÔé¼┬Ø Adams ordered
├óÔé¼┼ôNo. This is my ship . I - ├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôTaylor, Lt. Anders and about half your security force are stuck in the escape pods. Open the doors├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor opened the doors and her troops floated back in. Anders did the same, looking rather disgruntled.
├óÔé¼┼ôWarn me the next time you try to do anything like that again├óÔé¼┬Ø

The Invincible├óÔé¼Ôäós PD guns took aim at the Vengeance├óÔé¼Ôäós oncoming boarding pods. Then the Damnation├óÔé¼Ôäós EMP fired. Out went the Invincible. The boarding pods landed on it├óÔé¼Ôäós hull and began cutting through it

Unlike the rebels on Montoya├óÔé¼Ôäós cruiser, the Invincible├óÔé¼Ôäós security team (read: army) were a mix of the PDF of the Invincible├óÔé¼Ôäós planet of origin, various ex-criminals, hired thugs and arms dealers. They were fairly well armed and fairly well trained.

They still didn├óÔé¼Ôäót outclass Inquisitorial Storm Troopers though.
The Inquisitorial Storm Troopers, both feared and revered throughout the galaxy wielded a great number of highly advanced weaponry, and a special type of armour that deflected bullets using magnetic fields (If the bullet was positively charged it was repelled. If it had a negative charge it was attracted to somewhere where it would do zero damage to the user, like the shoulder pads. If it wasn├óÔé¼Ôäót charged, the armour itself could easily withstand it). The armour could withstand both high and low temperatures, and was completely sealed, meaning it could work in space too (it also had built in jetpacks for such a functionality). The helmets had built in Thermal and Night Vision, as well as a Heads Up Display. Not to mention all the bio engineering and implants.

Common weapons they used included Plasma Rifles, high calibre pistols, nerve gas grenades, auto-targeting machine guns, flamers, grenade launchers (which could also work in zero-gee) and shotguns. They had specialised equipment such as the Crawlers (not that those on the Vengeance had any). In short, pissing off an Inquisitorial Storm Trooper was a bad idea.

Circular plates were cut out from the hull into corridors and rooms. One opened up into a large mass of wires, with which that pod├óÔé¼Ôäós Storm Troopers caused great havoc. The corridors were dark with the lighting down from the Damnation├óÔé¼Ôäós EMP. The NCLF troops couldn├óÔé¼Ôäót see shit. The Storm Troopers could. The NCLF began dropping flares so that they could see. Then the lights came back on as the Invincible├óÔé¼Ôäós second generator came online, and the NCLF saw their enemy. The Storm Troopers shot the hell out of them.

Lannings lead his own little squad of five Storm Troopers. They were moving forwards to the ship├óÔé¼Ôäós secondary bridge, killing as they went. Lannings decapitated an NCLF rebel in PDF uniform with a clean swipe. The Storm Trooper behind him killed another two with plasma fire and the guy with the MG swept through a group of technicians fleeing the carnage, taking care not to breach the hull.

Lannings turned a corner and ran into a PDF sergeant. The man tried to raise his pistol but Lannings slammed him into a wall. The pistol floated away and Lannings caught it and raised it to the sergeant├óÔé¼Ôäós head. The Planetary Defence Forces were meant to defend their planet against the enemies of the TGA, not join them.
├óÔé¼┼ôTraitor├óÔé¼┬Ø

The sergeant opened his mouth to reply and Lannings shoved a nerve gas grenade down his throat, pulling the pin as he did so. The man shuddered and his eyes rolled up into his head as the nerve synapses got flooded with messages, mostly painful ones. The only thing that stopped the man collapsing to the floor was the lack of gravity. Lannings continued on.

The Falcra was busy. It still had one space-engine working, and was manoeuvring both to avoid the (rather one-sided) skirmish between the Revenge and the NCLF frigates and pick up the Vengeance├óÔé¼Ôäós escape pods. The Falcra had a little docking bay, and could only pick up one pod at a time. The pods were also going very fast and the Falcra wasn├óÔé¼Ôäót. They didn├óÔé¼Ôäót manage to pick anyone up. After a few minutes when the pods had long flown out of range for the Falcra├óÔé¼Ôäós tow cable, Taylor gave up the chase.
├óÔé¼┼ôOh screw it├óÔé¼┬Ø Taylor muttered, diverting the Falcra towards the Vengeance.

The Falcra docked. Taylor did it slightly awkwardly, but she managed it. The airlocks opened and Taylor and her team dropped in, glad to be in a working ship. Adams and Anders followed, as did the Vengeance crew they├óÔé¼Ôäód picked up (who weren├óÔé¼Ôäót particularly happy about returning to the ship they├óÔé¼Ôäód just run away from). Taylor slipped into the pilot/nav seat and checked the engines. Then she realised her mistake.

The Damnation turned around in a graceful curve, coming around for another strafing run along the Invincible├óÔé¼Ôäós hull. Like the Revenge and those aboard the Falcra, it├óÔé¼Ôäós captain didn├óÔé¼Ôäót know the Invincible had been boarded.

The boarding pods on the Vengeance had, at the Inquisition├óÔé¼Ôäós behest, been replaced with state-of-the-art ones for the Storm Troopers. They were very manoeuvrable, nigh-invisible to the naked eye and invisible to radar and heat sensors. The idea was to notify your fellows that a ship was being boarded. Lannings, however, had never used them before and was unaware of their capabilities. He had notified no-one. Thus, the technology of the boarding pods had in fact worked against him. The rest of the ├óÔé¼╦£fleet├óÔé¼Ôäó ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ the Falcra, Revenge and Damnation ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ had assumed that Lannings had escaped on a pod of his own, and that the Invincible was still ├óÔé¼╦£live├óÔé¼Ôäó.

For this reason, they had continued shooting at it. And Lannings and his Troopers both hadn├óÔé¼Ôäót noticed yet, and had no way of communicating with the other ships.

├óÔé¼┼ôCan we undock?├óÔé¼┬Ø Adams asked
├óÔé¼┼ôNot easily. We cause a lot of damage to both ships if we tried├óÔé¼┬Ø Taylor replied floating idly in the bridge and watching the fight outside. Anders had procured caffeine from somewhere and handed it out to everyone. Adams was fiddling with one of the white circular guns he had found aboard Montoya├óÔé¼Ôäós cruiser. They were identical, definitely manufactured, possibly en-masse. The guns still didn├óÔé¼Ôäót fire though. The craftsmanship of whomever made it was extraordinary and the gun was incredibly complex, far beyond the skills of most factories, let alone any one person trying to make pistols. Where the hell had it come from, and how had it gotten into NCLF hands? By accident or on purpose? Were the NCLF being supplied these weapons? If so by whom? And why? What did they serve to gain?
So many questions, so few answers to be garnered from a white, circular pistol.
Taylor watched as the rear half of the Invincible exploded.

Lannings and his Storm Troopers finally realised they were being shot at by both sides. Lannings swore.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat the hell do they think they├óÔé¼Ôäóre doing?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôSupporting bombardment?├óÔé¼┬Ø One of the Troopers suggested
├óÔé¼┼ôSupporting bombardment? They just blew up half the damn ship!├óÔé¼┬Ø
The trooper didn├óÔé¼Ôäót say anything
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat the hell are they doing? They trying to get us killed?├óÔé¼┬Ø Lannings asked the air, searching for an answer.
├óÔé¼┼ôCan we call off their attacks?├óÔé¼┬Ø Lannings asked at last
├óÔé¼┼ôNegative.├óÔé¼┬Ø
Lannings cursed
├óÔé¼┼ôThey must have known we were aboard!├óÔé¼┬Ø
One of the troopers began to speak
├óÔé¼┼ôHold your tongue!├óÔé¼┬Ø Lannings shouted at him. ├óÔé¼┼ôLet me think!├óÔé¼┬Ø
One of the implants used by the Inquisitorial Storm Troopers involves modifying brain patterns and impulses. In other words, an Inquisitorial Storm Trooper will follow any order from a certified commander, such as Lannings. Thus, the trooper didn├óÔé¼Ôäót say anything. He had been about to mention the stealthy nature of the boarding pods.
├óÔé¼┼ôNo communications... they must have seen the pods... must have known we were boarding... no... no they couldn├óÔé¼Ôäót have...├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôSir?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôTraitorous bastards├óÔé¼┬Ø Lannings muttered.

The Revenge, having dealt with the NCLF frigates flew over to the Vengeance and Falcra.
In the Vengeance, the face of Captain Deneeka appeared on the communications board. Taylor floated over to it
├óÔé¼┼ôWhere├óÔé¼Ôäós Captain Lannings?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHe and the crew abandoned ship. Our engines have failed. Can you tow us?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôAbandoned ship?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYes sir├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThat doesn├óÔé¼Ôäót sound like Lannings...├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThere├óÔé¼Ôäós no-one but us aboard sir, and all the escape pods are launched├óÔé¼┬Ø
Captain Deneeka mulled this over
├óÔé¼┼ôSir, we cannot undock from the Vengeance without causing major damage to both vessels. We need a tow├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOkay, fine. Where too?├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor looked to Adams
├óÔé¼┼ôThe Towii Space Dock├óÔé¼┬Ø Adams stated
├óÔé¼┼ôAn Investigator?├óÔé¼┬Ø Deneeka asked in surprise
├óÔé¼┼ôYes. Towii Space Dock if you please├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYes sir, right away├óÔé¼┬Ø
Deneeka├óÔé¼Ôäós face disappeared from the screen and a tow line shot from the Revenge to the hull of the Vengeance.

Lannings was still furious when an explosion nearby broke a hole in the hull. As the Trooper armour was completely sealed, they shot out into space without dying. Having exited the ship, the squad used their jets to move across the fairly flat hull of the Invincible. The Damnation came across in another strafing run, punching large holes in the hull. One such hole appeared near the Invincible├óÔé¼Ôäós escape pods. The Troopers slipped in through it, squeezing into one of the larger pods. Lannings flipped a switch, punched a button, set in some co-ordinates for the nearest planet, punched another button, and out flew the pod, falling to the planet Bartua.

The Revenge made another strafing run and the Invincible├óÔé¼Ôäós front section split in half. The Revenge pealed off to join the Revenge and the Vengeance, leaving the Invincible for dead.

Adams took a seat and heaved a contented sigh.
├óÔé¼┼ôNo-one escapes the Inquisition├óÔé¼┬Ø
He even smiled slightly. Taylor looked a bit annoyed and may have argued, but Anders told her to drop it with discreet hand signals. She sighed a much different sigh and floated off angrily into her living quarters on the Falcra.

Anders rolled his eyes, annoyed with both, and floated off after her.
Adams meanwhile snatched Ander├óÔé¼Ôäós pouch and suitcases full of memory sticks. He drifted lightly over to a console, plugged a random stick in and began scanning it. This one seemed to have the installer for a program called ├óÔé¼┼ôSpring21├óÔé¼┬Ø. Adams unplugged that stick and put it to one side, pulling out another and plugging it in. Several pictures of some sort of ceremony involving Montoya and some guy. The next one had a document entitled ├óÔé¼┼ôNCLF ideology, part 1├óÔé¼┬Ø. Adams put that in a pile of it├óÔé¼Ôäós own for sticks that actually had useful information. He put another stick into the machine. This would take a while.

Anders floated forwards and stopped Taylor at the airlock. She didn├óÔé¼Ôäót give him a chance to speak:
├óÔé¼┼ôI just lost most of my ship and three members of my force whom I knew very well. This ship is a wreck, it├óÔé¼Ôäós crew will probably die from either getting picked up by the wrong people or not getting picked up at all. We caused a hell of a lot of chaos and a hell of a lot of problems, and he just sits there and looks for all the world like it was a job well done hunting down a pair of lovers. I do not want to be consoled or told that he├óÔé¼Ôäós not normally like that or anything of that ilk. Is that clear? What do you want?├óÔé¼┬Ø

Anders looked momentarily stunned. ├óÔé¼┼ôNothing, never mind├óÔé¼┬Ø.
Taylor still looked thoroughly pissed, and she pushed off into the Falcra. Anders went back to the Vengeance├óÔé¼Ôäós bridge and let her brood.

Adams was reading through a document when Anders entered.
├óÔé¼┼ôFound anything?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYes,├óÔé¼┬Ø said Adams, nodding ├óÔé¼┼ôWe├óÔé¼Ôäóve got a lead.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôA planet?├óÔé¼┬Ø
Adams nodded again. ├óÔé¼┼ôEver heard of a planet called Tarris?├óÔé¼┬Ø

========================================
PRODUCTION NOTES

Sorry it's a bit late

├óÔé¼┼ôSo what├óÔé¼Ôäós so special about Tarris?├óÔé¼┬Ø Anders asked
├óÔé¼┼ôIt├óÔé¼Ôäós an industrial planet. The funny thing is that the planetary government is still in control. They send the ├óÔé¼╦£all-clear and we├óÔé¼Ôäóre fine├óÔé¼Ôäó message to us on a regular basis. With more pressing matters, we never paid any attention to them as long as they kept on producing weapons. However, according to the documents on these sticks├óÔé¼┬Ø ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ Adams set seven memory sticks on the table ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ ├óÔé¼┼ôThe planet is in the hands of the NCLF├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThat doesn├óÔé¼Ôäót make sense├óÔé¼┬Ø Taylor blurted. The Vengeance had been in tow for about three hours. Taylor had come back down about ten minutes ago when Anders called her in for the briefing. Adams, Anders, Taylor and several leading members of her security force were crowded around a table aboard the Vengeance. Two view panels had been hung from the ceiling. The captains of the Revenge and the Damnation were watching the briefing through those.

├óÔé¼┼ôNot at first, no├óÔé¼┬Ø said Adams, nodding ├óÔé¼┼ôAccording to these documents, it├óÔé¼Ôäós the planetary government and the PDF that rebelled and turned traitor, not the local population, which is the norm.├óÔé¼┬Ø
Adams let this sink in for a moment

├óÔé¼┼ôThe documents go on to mention that the planetary government is part of one of the more extreme branches of the NCLF. Through a very stubborn and intrusive propaganda, the local population see the TGA as their enemy. Despite the extreme amount of profit the government is making from selling us weapons, they live in rather extreme poverty. The air isn├óÔé¼Ôäót clean and has a large amount of soot and various fumes in it.├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThat├óÔé¼Ôäós rather detailed├óÔé¼┬Ø Captain Deneeka observed from his view panel
Adams nodded. ├óÔé¼┼ôThe NCLF staged a meeting there about three years ago. Montoya and this Ian Keller├óÔé¼┬Ø ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ Adams wafted a memory stick ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ ├óÔé¼┼ôwent to it, spending a week (local time) there├óÔé¼┬Ø
Captain Deneeka accepted this with a nod

├óÔé¼┼ôAnyway, the local population have been lead to believe that their poverty is our fault, and thus they despise us like nothing else├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhere does all the money go?├óÔé¼┬Ø Taylor asked
├óÔé¼┼ôTo the NCLF. The local population are supposed to grow their own food, but with most in large cities, the system doesn├óÔé¼Ôäót really work to well, so they have a rationing system. As I was saying, the locals hate our guts, and any outsiders who pay a visit and aren├óÔé¼Ôäót from the NCLF get their ships and belongings confiscated and they get thrown into a separated city near one of the poles. According to these documents, even most of the NCLF ships give it a wide berth, and all the local systems avoid it as best they can. It would appear that the NCLF don├óÔé¼Ôäót approve of their methods ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ that├óÔé¼Ôäós what the meeting was for. The government uses the PDF like a sort of secret police rather than a defence force.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôSo what do we do?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWell, it would appear a significant number of factories also make guns for the NCLF. As we├óÔé¼Ôäóre investigating where all their guns are coming from, Tarris seemed a good place to start. I├óÔé¼Ôäóve got in contact with the Inquisition ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ they├óÔé¼Ôäóre sending over two more Investigators to help with this operation. A TFC fleet with accompanying forces from the Terran Land Army will also provide support, along with a contingent of Inquisitorial Storm Troopers├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor whistled appreciatively
├óÔé¼┼ôSeeing as you have no ship, you may as well come with us├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor nodded.
├óÔé¼┼ôSo we go straight to Tarris?├óÔé¼┬Ø She asked
├óÔé¼┼ôNo.├óÔé¼┬Ø Adams replied. ├óÔé¼┼ôFirst we go to the Towii Dock. We have some men to pick up.├óÔé¼┬Ø

*** 5 hours later ***

Calliger awoke groggily. His body felt like it had been mangled repeatedly. His arms ached. His legs ached. His legs ached even more when he stood up. His vision swimmed slightly. He took a few careful steps forwards and regained his balance. He was in medical room. He felt a bit ill. Had he been shot? He lifted up his shirt. No scars or other such marks. Huh. The room was empty. There were six beds, including his. He tried to walk and floated off onto the ceiling. Then he remembered he was in space.

He drifted along, still slightly groggy, as though he was half asleep. He reached the lift tube. What did he do here again? He put his feet cautiously on the pad and looked up the tube. Then, after a brief flashback, he pushed off. He went up slowly this time, watching what was in all the little rooms and doorways. Tech monitors. Bare wires. Living spaces. Crawl ways and air ducts. The caf├â┬®. He put his hands to the top of the doorframe and swung into the dome. Landing on the floor, he began looking for Jones and Sanderson.

He found Sanderson. He waved him into a seat.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhere├óÔé¼Ôäós - ├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôJones and O├óÔé¼ÔäóDay? They├óÔé¼Ôäóre asleep in one of the rooms. I├óÔé¼Ôäóm just here to admire the view and wait for you to wake up.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHow long was I out?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôAbout six hours├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôSix hours ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ what happened?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôAlcohol abuse├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôAre you an alcoholic?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôDid you drink a lot of alcohol before we picked you up?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYes. I heard it helps you cope with space travel├óÔé¼┬Ø
Sanderson snorted ├óÔé¼┼ôThe only way it will make space travel ├óÔé¼╦£better├óÔé¼Ôäó is if you get so drunk that you can├óÔé¼Ôäót remember the trip in the morning├óÔé¼┬Ø
Calliger shrugged, looking out the window. A shot-up battleship was being towed by a pair of cruisers.

Taylor swung lazily from side to side in her swivel chair. He was a bit stiff, but that tended to happen when you didn├óÔé¼Ôäót get up for five hours. They were approaching the Towii dock. It looked like any other dock ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ big and white, like a stick that had been pushed through a large sphere. She noticed with concern a severely mauled TFC fleet. She hoped this planet wouldn├óÔé¼Ôäót require evacuation soon. She got out of the seat and stretched. She was actually quite tired. Then she floated to the PA system.
├óÔé¼┼ôWakey, wakey people. We├óÔé¼Ôäóre here├óÔé¼┬Ø
She got a cup of caffeine, took a sip and slid back into her chair, watching the oncoming dock. Damn, she thought, she really was quite tired.

Bartua was an ordinary planet. Hospitable, yes, but not really colonised. Only a few dozen cities per continent, population of about 10 billion. Rolling hills, good weather, tall trees, lots of greenery and little furry things. Not much in natural resources that would make the mining companies come here, the planet grew foods and crops and sold them to get income. On the Eastern Continent, Loutia, a single pod broke into the atmosphere. It was white, and had a few scorch marks. It broke through the atmosphere, blazing a trail much like a comet. It smashed down into the ground, sliding along, pushing great amounts of earth before it. It tore through several fields and smashed through a farm house. It finally stopped when it landed in a ditch and could get no further. A hatch in the side popped open and an six suited men jumped out. They wore strange white and angular armour that covered every orifice. They also had large guns.

Damien had lived in that farmhouse for his entire life. He was now seventy, fairly old for Bartua. He├óÔé¼Ôäód survived countless winters and summers, inter-family rivalries and even wars. And never one had his farmhouse been destroyed. Along with about 20% of his crop. Hunting shotgun in hand, he approached the crater. At first he had thought it was a meteorite, but then he noticed it was white.
It was a ship. A small shuttle, that had crashed. He wondered what had caused it. Setting his shotgun down, he ran forwards towards the ship.
├óÔé¼┼ôHello?├óÔé¼┬Ø He called ├óÔé¼┼ôAnybody there?├óÔé¼┬Ø
Suddenly, men in white metal suits shot forth from the bushes and general undergrowth in the ditch.
├óÔé¼┼ôImperial Sky Navy! State your allegiance!├óÔé¼┬Ø

Taylor was still in the chair. The chair was spinning slightly on it├óÔé¼Ôäós axis, and her head lolled with it. Snores filled the air. She was asleep. Outside the cabin, unbeknownst to her, the Battleship Vengeance had, with the aid of the Revenge and the Damnation and a pair of Repair Ships, docked at the Towii Dock. The ship was now being swarmed by repair drones. Adams had gone into the dock to hunt down some bloke or other.

Taylor suddenly woke up. Her eyes shot open, shattering whatever dream it was she was having, and she saw the ceiling of the Vengeance bridge. What had woken her, and how had it done so so suddenly? Something felt wrong. Like a sort of sixth sense. She got out of the seat to jump off, and realised what it was. The ship was vibrating. The only thing that could do that was the engine, and that was out, wasn├óÔé¼Ôäót it? Had the repair drones fixed it? How long had she been asleep? She didn├óÔé¼Ôäót know when she fell asleep, but it was now getting rather late. The side of the planet they were orbiting (Planet Twee or something) was in shadow ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ night time. Had Adams got back yet?

She nabbed a caffeine and decided to find out.
The first person she met was Anders asleep with a crumpled cup of caffeine in his hand. Brown goblets were floating around. He was sitting at a table and had fallen asleep on it. A bag of memory sticks was also on the table. Taylor floated past him with a quiet smile.
The Vengeance was, apart from Anders and a small horde of repair drones, deserted. So Taylor floated through the open airlock into the Falcra. The boarding platform was empty, her team must have gone into their living quarters. She drifted towards the bridge. Her chair was just like she├óÔé¼Ôäód left it. The control sticks, and the buttons and switches. The pedals...

She├óÔé¼Ôäód had it for ages and piloted it herself, built it from the ground up with only the best parts. She was both a mechanic and a flyer, although flying wasn├óÔé¼Ôäót something she actually had a permit for. She├óÔé¼Ôäód run off in (a much smaller version of) the Falcra to avoid an army draft, and got chased over half the galaxy for it. She learnt how to fly the ship quick. She ran into a few ex soldiers who took a liking for her and the security team grew from there. She learned how to fight, bite and be a right little bitch in combat quick too. Her katana techniques, being self-trained, were somewhat unorthodox, but still deadly enough. She began to offer their help to anyone who needed it and they became a professional security force. They occasionally went to zero-gee paint balling matches to annoy people. The force grew with the new income, new guns, new bits and pieces for the Falcra.

She loved it in space, or more accurately, zero-gee. There was so much freedom to be had! Much better than being tied down to a big rock. Then she ran afoul of the... well, they seemed to have forgotten her know, so never mind that. They could have at least apologised.

├óÔé¼┼ôWill you stop caressing the damn ship?├óÔé¼┬Ø A man asked from behind her. She spun and saw Kandell standing there with a grin. He had been in the force for a long time, one of the first she met. He had taught her how to fight. He had taught her how to fly other ships. He was also the only other person how could fly the Falcra - the Falcra├óÔé¼Ôäós control system was radically different to that of any other.
├óÔé¼┼ôHow is everything?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWe├óÔé¼Ôäóve lost both wings ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ the other came off due to structural weakness, the plasma cannons with it, we├óÔé¼Ôäóre out of torpedoes annnnd ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ we can├óÔé¼Ôäót land on any planet without being shredded in the atmosphere├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor swore
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat about the repair drones?├óÔé¼┬Ø
Kandell shook his head ├óÔé¼┼ôThey don├óÔé¼Ôäót understand how the ship works ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ it├óÔé¼Ôäós not in their database.├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor swore again
├óÔé¼┼ôSo we├óÔé¼Ôäóll have to do it by hand?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôAs usual├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI thought we registered the schematics with the TFC two months ago?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHow much has the Falcra changed in those two months?├óÔé¼┬Ø
Damn, he was right. The schematics would be out of date. She needed to re-register then every time she twiddled with it. As she often did that on a daily basis, and getting schematics was rather complicated, she didn├óÔé¼Ôäót bother. Once a year had seemed good enough. Anything minor she could deal with, fair enough, but the wings? They didn├óÔé¼Ôäót hold any crew, which was perhaps lucky, but they did carry the plasma cannons and were necessary for inter-planetary flying.
Curses
├óÔé¼┼ôCan we leave the ship here?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôNo. Towii is scheduled to evacuate in a month ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ Hellion Fleet Gamma.├óÔé¼┬Ø
More Curses
├óÔé¼┼ôYou could bring it with you├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor hadn├óÔé¼Ôäót noticed Anders standing in the doorway.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat do you mean by that? Also, you look like hell├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôMeh. I can├óÔé¼Ôäót see me, so I don├óÔé¼Ôäót really care. Adams got you a contract├óÔé¼┬Ø

Calliger had actually found it rather easy to sleep in zero-gee, but he did wake to a bit of a shock when he discovered he was floating in mid air. Jones was floating over him.
├óÔé¼┼ôWake up! The Investigators├óÔé¼Ôäó here├óÔé¼┬Ø He whispered
├óÔé¼┼ôWho?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôInvestigator Adams. IIA├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat time is it?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHaven├óÔé¼Ôäót a clue├óÔé¼┬Ø
Calliger groaned. He had a feeling he would be a little late for his meeting with HD Lewis. The room was dark ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ someone had dimmed the light strips.
A rugged and old man, with iron grey hair was in the doorway. He wore very bulky clothes and a long sword was strapped onto his belt. Calliger scrambled for some clothes.

HD Lewis had agreed to postpone the meeting, until they├óÔé¼Ôäód finished with Tarris. Lady Donnel and the two cooks had been dropped off on the dock and now Adams just needed to pick up this Calliger, and meet an old friend. He watched Calliger get his stuff together and stayed in the doorway. Calliger floated forwards.
├óÔé¼┼ôI├óÔé¼Ôäóm James Calliger├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôInvestigator Adams. Come with me├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat about HD Lewis?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYou meeting has been postponed├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôUntil when?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôUntil I complete my operation├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOperation?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôNot in the medical sense├óÔé¼┬Ø
Calliger sighed in relief
├óÔé¼┼ôNow follow me├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI can├óÔé¼Ôäót accept this├óÔé¼┬Ø Taylor said bluntly
├óÔé¼┼ôYou can and you will├óÔé¼┬Ø Adams replied
The two were arguing over a table. Taylor├óÔé¼Ôäós IIA contract lay on it.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhy should I? I can get better contracts practically anywhere else! Safer and with a better pay too!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôIf you don├óÔé¼Ôäót then you will come under arrest by the IIA and the Inquisition!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôArrested? For what?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôFor the same reason you fled the Terran Government 30 years ago!├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor looked stunned
├óÔé¼┼ôNobody escapes the Inquisition, Taylor.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI have a full security team of over 50 men and women armed with the latest of weaponry.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI know that├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThen you also know that I could have you killed in an instant├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôLuciana,├óÔé¼┬Ø ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ Taylor registered the use of her first name with a slimmer of glee ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ ├óÔé¼┼ôThere are two Investigators, plus over two hundred Inquisitorial Storm Troopers en route. If you were to have me murdered, and presumably Lieutenant Anders as well, then both the Terran Land Army and the Inquisition will chase you, find you and kill you.├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor gulped
├óÔé¼┼ôI don├óÔé¼Ôäót have a choice do I?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôOh, you do. Imprisonment and possible execution or redemption by working for the Inquisition. A sort of atonement if you will├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôFor my sins?├óÔé¼┬Ø Taylor asked sarcastically. Adams leaned forwards
├óÔé¼┼ôYou seem to think that we are not serious, but believe me we are. Think about it. Because of you did many people have died who should have lived, and many more will die when they should not! Because of you! We├óÔé¼Ôäóre serious Taylor! We always are! I have seen more evils you have seen days. The stuff of legends and the stuff of nightmares. I have seen the best and worst qualities of mankind. I have seen hope, happiness and joy, but I have seen far more of death, despair and poverty!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOnly because you go out of your way to find it!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôIt├óÔé¼Ôäós my job! We live in an imperfect world Taylor, and it is full of imperfect people! We are at war and can only end in one way! Everyday we evacuate more and more planets and flee! We can├óÔé¼Ôäót flee for ever! We will run out of space, luck or pretty much anything because the Hellion sure as hell won├óÔé¼Ôäót just let us run. They want us dead ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ each and every one of us and I imagine they have their reasons. This is the way the world dies. The best we can do is survive for as long as we can and what you did certainly didn├óÔé¼Ôäót help with that! Don├óÔé¼Ôäót you see? What can happen, will happen. Humanity will die eventually! The best we can do is delay it. For as long as we can. There├óÔé¼Ôäós no Deus Ex Machina here, Taylor! Don├óÔé¼Ôäót you see?├óÔé¼┬Ø

Taylor backed away from him, straight into Anders, who was leaning against a weapon rack. The resulting scuffle knocked it over and munitions floated everywhere. The chaos broke Adams reverie. After Taylor and Anders got the weapons back into their rack before they hit something and went off, he blocked Taylor├óÔé¼Ôäós exit
├óÔé¼┼ôYes or no?├óÔé¼┬Ø He asked
├óÔé¼┼ôYou promise to leave me and my team alone after we├óÔé¼Ôäóre done on Tarris?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI can promise nothing├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThen give me your word├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor looked at him, pissed
├óÔé¼┼ôAfter this, I will be considered ├óÔé¼╦£forgiven├óÔé¼Ôäó, right?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôRight├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôAnd once that has been done the Inquisition, and by extension, you, will have no need to ask me for ├óÔé¼╦£favours├óÔé¼Ôäó, Riiight?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYou├óÔé¼Ôäóre an incredibly talented woman Taylor. You some of the best equipment money can buy, and quite a lot of equipment that money cannot. I doubt it├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor shoved his arm aside and stormed off

Kandell was outside.
├óÔé¼┼ôI heard shouting, what - ├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôFuck you!├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor continued on. Kandell watched her leave, rather surprised.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat was that about?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôApparently she wants to fuck you├óÔé¼┬Ø A passing IIA pilot said in a perfect deadpan.

Jones entered the room. A woman in black armour had just exited at high speed. She looked pissed, and may well have been crying. Both confused and intimidated, he slipped through the closing doors with ease.
├óÔé¼┼ôInvestigator Adams?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYes?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThe Vengeance is ready to fly├óÔé¼┬Ø

===================
Again, apologies for it being late. I was in a local play, didn't have much time for writing

I am still writing this, don't give up yet. I keep revising this one bit

I can wait.

Zoombie wrote:Should write more Insurgency Division. :P

I was trying to reach the end of the second chapter in this post, but it's become a bit too long and will take at least another few more pages before that happens. Thus...

First, however, Adams had an old friend to meet. Jaun lived aboard the Dock, and Adams found him on one of the lower levels. Jaun had retired from the Inquisition a few decades back, and now worked as an armourer, designing weapons and guns. He was very good at it, and had a contract with the Inquisition ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ he gave them weapons, they gave him the materials to make the weapons. For this reason, Adams had made his little detour.
├óÔé¼┼ôHello Jaun├óÔé¼┬Ø
Jaun├óÔé¼Ôäós armoury was covered in weapons of all shapes and sizes. Rifles, rocket launchers, grenades, mines, pistols, sub machine guns, grenade launchers, carbines, machine guns, sniper rifles, the works. There were enough weapons to equip a small army in there. Jaun truly was a weapons expert.
├óÔé¼┼ôGalligan!├óÔé¼┬Ø
Jaun met him with open arms.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat can I do for you?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYou can have a look at this├óÔé¼┬Ø
Adams handed him one of the white circle pistols he├óÔé¼Ôäód found aboard Montoya├óÔé¼Ôäós cruiser. Jaun took it carefully and cradled it in his hands as he looked it over.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhere├óÔé¼Ôäód you get this?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôNCLF cruiser├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôNCLF?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThis doesn├óÔé¼Ôäót look NCLF...├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI know. That├óÔé¼Ôäós why I came to you├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWell, it├óÔé¼Ôäós not one of mine. This was made by machine, not hand assembled ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ too complex... you got any more of these?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOne├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôLet me see it├óÔé¼┬Ø
Adams handed him the other pistol. Jaun looked that over carefully too.
├óÔé¼┼ôThey├óÔé¼Ôäóre identical. Definitely machine-made. Possibly mass manufactured...├óÔé¼┬Ø
Jaun aim the pistol at a bullseye on his target range and pulled the trigger. The pistol did nothing
├óÔé¼┼ôHmm├óÔé¼┬Ø
Jaun looked it over again and flipped a switch. He aimed it again at the target and fired. A jolt of electricity shot out the barrel, blasting a large hole in the target. The recoil was immense and Jaun nearly dropped it. The pistol seemed to spin about to compensate for the recoil.
├óÔé¼┼ôSo that├óÔé¼Ôäós why it├óÔé¼Ôäós circular├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat did you do?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôSafety switch├óÔé¼┬Ø he hoisted the pistol up close to Adams ├óÔé¼┼ôhere├óÔé¼┬Ø
Adams flipped the switch, aimed at another target and fired. His arm shot up and Adams floated back into the wall.
├óÔé¼┼ôThat can probably blast a hole in a ship hull. Definitely unsuitable for zero-gee combat though, with recoil like that├óÔé¼┬Ø
Adams nodded
├óÔé¼┼ôCan I keep one?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI want to find out what powers it. Besides, I could find out where it was made. All the factories these days ├óÔé¼╦£tag├óÔé¼Ôäó weapons made by them.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôSure├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThanks├óÔé¼┬Ø
Adams left.

The Vengeance undocked at 12:10 am, local time. Using it├óÔé¼Ôäós brake engines, it moved backwards and pulled out so that it could turn around to it├óÔé¼Ôäós destination. Jones and Sanderson were being very cautious, being unused to flying large ships ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ Taylor had refused, stating that her contract didn├óÔé¼Ôäót say anything about flying, which caused another large argument between her and Adams. Unbeknownst to the Investigator, Anders had quietly apologised to her about him. Jones and Sanderson knew this because they had both coerced Anders into doing it (he was, as he put it, ├óÔé¼┼ôTo tired to put up with this crap├óÔé¼┬Ø) and kept Adams occupied whilst he did. Calliger had simply stayed in his room to avoid getting involved. Taylor├óÔé¼Ôäós security team had done much the same, but felt some animosity towards the Inquisition, some more so than others but that Kandell bloke had kept them in check.
Jones keyed in the co-ordinates for the rendezvous with the two other Inquisitorial Investigators and the Storm Trooper troop ship. Along with them came the Revenge and the Damnation would accompany them, mainly to keep an eye of the Vengeance. The Falcra was still attached to the Vengeance├óÔé¼Ôäós upper hull, and it still lacked both wings. And Taylor was still pissed, now in both senses of the word. The Terran Fleet Command flotilla and the Terran Land Army troop ship fleet would also meet them there. The Vengeance moved rather slowly, mainly to avoid stressing the engine too much.

Jaun carefully removed the outer casing, which was made of a white plastic. Within were innumerable wires and gears, currently doing nothing. Jaun was in awe. This was a masterpiece in mechanical engineering. He spotted a likely candidate for the power source and extracted it with tweezers.
├óÔé¼┼ôWow...├óÔé¼┬Ø
He removed the cell├óÔé¼Ôäós plastic casing. A blue light was emitted from within it.
Then someone shot Jaun through the back of the head.

*** 20 hours later ***

Jones and Sanderson, now fairly used to piloting the Vengeance (├óÔé¼┼ôIt├óÔé¼Ôäós like a shuttle, but more sluggish├óÔé¼┬Ø), were still in their seats whilst Taylor kept an eye on the engines and their course.
The Vengeance drifted in to the arranged meeting place ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ another orbital dock, much bigger than the one at Towii ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ and slipped in, waiting for the other ships to arrive. This dock (nicknamed ├óÔé¼╦£The Ark├óÔé¼Ôäó for its size) was basically ten ├óÔé¼╦£Towii Docks├óÔé¼Ôäó stacked on top of each other. The Vengeance was docked at level 6. Most of the ports had ships in. The Revenge and the Damnation also docked, both on level 7.
Taylor├óÔé¼Ôäós security force, most of the Revenge crew (The Damnation crew had to stay aboard the ship to make some repairs) along with Jones and Sanderson wandered off. Captain Deneeka and Captain Hannelsburg (the slightly sadistic captain of the Damnation), along with their XO├óÔé¼Ôäós and heads of security, Investigator Adams, Anders and Taylor all went to the caf├â┬® on the top level, to wait for the others.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo what├óÔé¼Ôäós the basic plan?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWe don├óÔé¼Ôäót have a basic plan. That├óÔé¼Ôäós why everyone├óÔé¼Ôäós meeting here first.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOkay. What do you think we should do?├óÔé¼┬Ø
Deneeka, Taylor, Hannelsburg, the XOs and Heads of Security from the Damnation and the Revenge, Anders and Adams were sat at a table.
├óÔé¼┼ôMe personally?├óÔé¼┬Ø Adams asked. Deneeka nodded ├óÔé¼┼ôOne Investigator should go down there officially to see how they react. We tell them nothing of the other two and the fleet. Go down as a lone Investigator and retinue, on his way to some place or other. The Vengeance will go into orbit, masquerading as the Investigator├óÔé¼Ôäós vessel├óÔé¼┬Ø
Deneeka nodded. ├óÔé¼┼ôThat├óÔé¼Ôäóll stir things up. But why the Vengeance?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôIf we move the Revenge, Damnation or any other TFC ship, with full crew, we may appear too strong. The idea is to see how they react to an Investigator who appears fairly weak. They wouldn├óÔé¼Ôäót dare do something against a heavily armed force├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThat├óÔé¼Ôäós a little risqu├â┬®├óÔé¼┬Ø Taylor observed. ├óÔé¼┼ôEspecially if your plan happens to get that Investigator killed...├óÔé¼┬Ø She seemed to be forcing herself to sound innocent
├óÔé¼┼ôIf they make an attempt on the Investigator├óÔé¼Ôäós life then we all pile in. Planetary Invasion├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWith a single fleet?├óÔé¼┬Ø Hannelsburg asked incredulously
├óÔé¼┼ôWe├óÔé¼Ôäóve done it before├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat about the other two Investigators?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThey infiltrate. One masquerades as a Local ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ they├óÔé¼Ôäóll have to go in last once we have some info on how Locals act etc ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ and one as an Outsider.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThey├óÔé¼Ôäóll need shuttles.├óÔé¼┬Ø The Revenge XO observed.
Adams nodded ├óÔé¼┼ôTaylor would fly down the Official Investigator, Jones and Sanderson could pick which bunch they fly down ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ both will have to stay on the planet, Taylor, you would probably be able to return to the Vengeance if you wanted├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor nodded
├óÔé¼┼ôThe TFC and the TLA stay out of sight until we need them├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYou sound pretty certain that Tarris is in the hands of the NCLF├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôAt the moment, they├óÔé¼Ôäóre guilty until proven innocent. If they├óÔé¼Ôäóre Loyalists we can extract the Investigators and leave. If they aren├óÔé¼Ôäót, then we invade.├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôChrist alive, these guy├óÔé¼Ôäós couldn├óÔé¼Ôäót make a neutral article if they tried...├óÔé¼┬Ø
Sanderson was reading the front page of one of the available newspapers at an automated kiosk.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat├óÔé¼Ôäós that?├óÔé¼┬Ø Jones asked over his shoulder
├óÔé¼┼ôNews of the Galaxy├óÔé¼┬Ø
Jones snorted ├óÔé¼┼ôThey probably don├óÔé¼Ôäót even know the meaning of the term├óÔé¼┬Ø
The two were browsing around in the shopping area of ├óÔé¼╦£The Ark├óÔé¼Ôäó. Sanderson put some credits into the machine, took out a different newspaper and walked off to read through it. The kiosk automatically transferred the money to it├óÔé¼Ôäós owner, and put in an order for a new newspaper. The two entered a small restaurant
├óÔé¼┼ôI thought automatic kiosks were banned for being used in money laundering?├óÔé¼┬Ø Jones observed idly
├óÔé¼┼ôOnly in the Western Sector├óÔé¼┬Ø Sanderson replied, taking a seat.
Jones also took a seat
├óÔé¼┼ôOooh, crap├óÔé¼┬Ø Sanderson observed
├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYou know the dock left, the Towii one?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYeah├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThe lower half of it exploded ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ an armoury blew up.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOuch├óÔé¼┬Ø Jones observed
├óÔé¼┼ôQuite a lot of dead too├óÔé¼┬ª├óÔé¼┬Ø Sanderson muttered, reading through the list
├óÔé¼┼ôHow many?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôCouple hundred. Damaged that Dreadnought a bit more too├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThat├óÔé¼Ôäós Dreadnoughts for you. Designed to have the crap shot out of them without violently exploding├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôEven if it can├óÔé¼Ôäót actually do anything because it├óÔé¼Ôäós had the crap shot out of it├óÔé¼┬Ø Sanderson pointed out
├óÔé¼┼ôTrue. True├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOoh, half-price on Neural Implants├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOh where?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSo what do we do now?├óÔé¼┬Ø Taylor asked
├óÔé¼┼ôUntil the rest of the fleet arrives?├óÔé¼┬Ø Adams shrugged ├óÔé¼┼ôLook about I suppose├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHmm. Meeting adjourned then├óÔé¼┬Ø Anders said, before pushing out of his seat and floating off
Taylor nodded ├óÔé¼┼ôI├óÔé¼Ôäóm off then├óÔé¼┬Ø She floated off too.
├óÔé¼┼ôWell, I├óÔé¼Ôäóve got a ship to run├óÔé¼┬Ø Deneeka, along with his XO and Head of Security, departed
├óÔé¼┼ôI├óÔé¼Ôäóve got a ship to fix├óÔé¼┬Ø Hannelsburg said, before leaving with his officers in tow.
Adams stayed in his seat. He sat still for a few moments before a waiter flew over.
├óÔé¼┼ôA small blue wine please├óÔé¼┬Ø
The waiter beeped in affirmation and sped off

Taylor decided to check up on her troops, before stocking up on supplies. She found Kandell, predictably enough, at a bar, with a full wine glass and a few people to socialise with.
├óÔé¼┼ôKandell! What a surprise to meet you here!├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOh, you know me, Luci. Where there├óÔé¼Ôäós atmosphere, wine,├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWomen├óÔé¼┬Ø Taylor added.
Kandell chuckled. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell, yes.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYou├óÔé¼Ôäód probably have ignored me in that bar, all those years ago, if I wasn├óÔé¼Ôäót female├óÔé¼┬Ø
Kandell very nearly laughed openly, but didn├óÔé¼Ôäót to avoid unwanted attention.
├óÔé¼┼ôHow is everyone?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôA bit rustled at the new job, but that├óÔé¼Ôäós about it. Several of the newer additions want to know why you got cornered into this├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWell, a bit mystery never hurt anyone├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOf all the people to say that...├óÔé¼┬Ø Kandell mused deliberately
├óÔé¼┼ôDon├óÔé¼Ôäót├óÔé¼┬Ø Taylor said, only half-threateningly
├óÔé¼┼ôOkay. Wine?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôIs it free?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôIt is from me├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOh good, I├óÔé¼Ôäóll have two├óÔé¼┬Ø
Kandell chuckled again
*** 2 hours later ***

Taylor was checking through the local armouries. Most were mainly Personal Defence Weapon dealers, but a few sold higher calibre stuff. He came back with some more ammo for the Plasma Rifles and a few new barrels too, to replace those that had melted up a bit. These went aboard the Falcra, to be distributed amongst the team.
Then she went for food supplies. They had half a ton of those damn water chits, but they were useless if you had no water to purify. So she got a pair of large water tanks and had them hauled into the Vengeance├óÔé¼Ôäós cargo hold until she could refill the Falcra├óÔé¼Ôäós tanks. She also got a good amount of genetically-modified ├óÔé¼╦£long lasting├óÔé¼Ôäó foods (she went for the cheapest stuff ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ they all tasted like slightly cheesy plastic no matter what they were) and some more tasty stuff to freeze. That all went into the Vengeance├óÔé¼Ôäós cargo hold
Finally, she got to the part she most wanted to get too ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ parts for the Falcra. She got a lot of scrap metal sheets ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ they were as good as ordinary hull plates, just cheaper and required a bit more work to be able to use properly ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ some fuels, two new fuel tanks, a lot of scrap spaceship engines and a load of other stuff. She couldn├óÔé¼Ôäót find a replacement for the inertia suppresser. She hadn├óÔé¼Ôäót expected to. She had to do a lot of favours, some of which she rather regretted, to get that. All this stuff went into the Vengeance as well, making rather heavier, at the annoyance of Jones and Sanderson, when they tried to move a trio of shuttlecraft aboard.

***A few more hours later ***

Sanderson and Jones had gone back to the Vengeance, to improve their flying abilities with the ship. Anders had also come back to go through some more of the data sticks. Adams and Taylor├óÔé¼Ôäós security force (including. Kandell) were still on the Ark. Taylor was hauling stuff back and forth between the Falcra and the Vengeance. She├óÔé¼Ôäód just moved a batch of scrap metal aboard when Anders walked in.
├óÔé¼┼ôHello├óÔé¼┬Ø
He got a muffled hello in the return. Taylor let go of the scrap, letting it float in mid air
├óÔé¼┼ôHello├óÔé¼┬Ø She replied, finally. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat do you want?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôHalf our memory sticks have gone├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôAdams took them. Some specialists on the Ark apparently.├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOh.├óÔé¼┬Ø Anders looked at the scrap metal ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat are you doing?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôWith this?├óÔé¼┬Ø Taylor asked, gesturing to the metal, ├óÔé¼┼ôPushing it aboard the Falcra so I can repair my ship. You can help if you want├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôYeah, why not├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI thought you had memsticks to go through?├óÔé¼┬Ø Taylor asked, pushing the scrap before her again
├óÔé¼┼ôI went through them. Where├óÔé¼Ôäós the rest of that stuff?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôCargo hold├óÔé¼┬Ø Taylor shouted back through the airlock

Adams was also about to return to the Vengeance ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ his ├óÔé¼╦£specialists├óÔé¼Ôäó had been no help whatsoever ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ when he spotted a ship coming into dock. It was from the IIA, and also had the Inquisitorial insignia on it├óÔé¼Ôäós side. One of the Investigators had arrived. His turned on his ear stud.
├óÔé¼┼ôAnders?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôSir?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOne of the Investigators have arrived├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôGoody├óÔé¼┬Ø Anders sounded rather out of breath
├óÔé¼┼ôAnders, what are you doing?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôGoing to meet them├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôGood. Adams out├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhere are you going?├óÔé¼┬Ø Taylor asked
├óÔé¼┼ôOne of the Inquisitors have arrived├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôOh. Have fun├óÔé¼┬Ø Taylor went back to moving scrap metal
├óÔé¼┼ôYou├óÔé¼Ôäóre not coming?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI have a ship to run├óÔé¼┬Ø
Anders shrugged a floated off

Investigator Tennad took a seat. She was white skinned and wore an awful lot of armour. She had short grey hair tied behind her head and a thin and bony face. She looked stern and chiselled. She had a brisk walk and wore a long, ceremonial deep red Inquisitorial robe over a marble-white suit. Under that were several layers of armour and electronics, making Tennad look quite large when she was actually rather thin.
Her entourage consisted of a man and a woman of about the same age (around 50 or so). They stayed behind her at all times, spending most of their time whispering to each other and keeping an eye on their surroundings. They both wore deep blue suits and had Plasma Shotguns (which spewed out plasma in exactly the same way as the Rifle version, but shotgun style) strapped to their backs. They too wore an awful lot of armour. The man had short-ish brown hair and the woman was a shoulder length blonde. The two seemed to know each other well. They sat next to each other beside Investigator Tennad. Opposite Tennad sat Adams and Anders. Deneeka and Hannelsburg sat at the table as well, and Taylor sat away from Adams, next to the blonde haired woman.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhen did you arrive?├óÔé¼┬Ø Adams asked Tennad
├óÔé¼┼ôAbout five minutes ago ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ you saw us arrive.├óÔé¼┬Ø Tennad replied, puzzled
Adams looked caught off guard. Anders smiled slightly and Taylor grinned evilly into her wine glass. The blonde woman gave her a funny look.
├óÔé¼┼ôWhen did you arrive?├óÔé¼┬Ø Tennad asked, deciding to start the conversation again
├óÔé¼┼ô4 hours ago├óÔé¼┬Ø Anders replied diplomatically
├óÔé¼┼ôAnd you are?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôLieutenant Anders. This is Luciana Taylor, she runs a security team now working for the Inquisition├óÔé¼┬Ø ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ Taylor coughed into her glass and got inquisitive looks from Tennad and her retinue ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ ├óÔé¼┼ôThis is Captain Deneeka of the TFC Cruiser ├óÔé¼╦£Revenge├óÔé¼Ôäó and Captain Hannelsburg of the TFC Cruiser ├óÔé¼╦£Damnation├óÔé¼Ôäó ├óÔé¼┬Ø
Tennad nodded to each in turn. ├óÔé¼┼ôThis is Annika Torwin├óÔé¼┬Ø ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ she gestured to the blonde haired woman ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ ├óÔé¼┼ôand this is Zackarias Bradbruck├óÔé¼┬Ø
Taylor and Annika shook hands.
├óÔé¼┼ôNow that the introductions are over, I have some questions to ask of you├óÔé¼┬Ø Tennad said to Adams. Adams gestured for her to go on ├óÔé¼┼ôFirstly, has Investigator Harris returned yet?├óÔé¼┬Ø Adams shook his head. Tennad looked a bit surprised but carried on regardless. ├óÔé¼┼ôI would have noticed the Army and Navy Fleets. Secondly, what information do you have on Tarris?├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôI think Lieutenant Anders should answer that question: he catalogued it├óÔé¼┬Ø
Anders looked slightly caught off guard ├óÔé¼┼ôErm, well, the information we have is from a small mountain of memory sticks taken from an NCLF sympathiser. However, I have only been able to catalogue about half of the sticks because Investigator Adams took several for an outside analysis,├óÔé¼┬Ø
├óÔé¼┼ôThe analysis turned up nothing.├óÔé¼┬Ø Adams began, ├óÔé¼┼ôI was about to return them to Lieutenant Anders when you arrived├óÔé¼┬Ø
Tennad nodded in understanding and turned back to Anders
├óÔé¼┼ôMost of the sticks,├óÔé¼┬Ø Anders continued ├óÔé¼┼ôcontained fluff. Stuff we can├óÔé¼Ôäót really use or already know ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ personal relationships and that sort of thing. The information on Tarris was contained on this stick.├óÔé¼┬Ø He held it up. ├óÔé¼┼ôThe NCLF held a meeting there once, the relevant data is on this stick├óÔé¼┬Ø He handed it to Zackarias Bradbruck who handed it over to Tennad.
├óÔé¼┼ôThank you.├óÔé¼┬Ø Tennad said, ├óÔé¼┼ôPlease excuse me whilst I look through this evidence├óÔé¼┬Ø She pushed off and left before Adams could say anything. The group dispersed.