Hair of the Wolf: Open for Business 2(split)

[Zebulon]

Andy shifted in his seat. His heart pounded. His thoughts raced, but on the surface a very calm expression, like a marble statue.  The Inspector took out a handkercheif and mopped his brow.

"Mr Anderson, I find myself in the untenable position of having to ask you, your company and the AoF for a favour." He motioned Andy to silence. "Let me finish. I am prepared to overlook certain charges that are being leveled at the AoF should they be successful in what I am about to ask of you. Do you accept?"

Andy frowned. "I need to know what I am accepting first, Mr Dixon."

"No, Mr Anderson, you do not. You will accept and then we shall proceed. Failure to accept will result in an all out hunt for AoF members as fugitives. It is, Mr Anderson, an offer that you cannot refuse."

Andy was used to tough negotiators but this guy was something else! "Ok. Shoot."

" I have a problem relating to Mr da Silva. I have a communique from Osiris High Command that when he is found he is to be returned to them without question as he seems to have breached their codes of conduct.  I asked them if it was serious enough to warrant a police investigation and they became very cagey and then very abrupt. Mr Anderson, I do not respond well to threats." He paused to let the information sink in. Andy nodded and the Inspector continued.

"I was about to issue orders regarding Mr da Silva when I recieved an m-wave from one of my undercover operatives working out of Crete who had recently attended a breifing being given by the Monkies. He had seen Orilion. Orilion recognised him as one of my officers but did not give him away. Orilion contacted my man and gave him a message to pass on to me." The Inspector handed the m-pad message to Andy. It read:

"Greetings my old friend. I have some information for you and in return I would like you to do something for me. The Order is in crisis. There appears to be some influence at work that is causing great distress amongst the Order families and Units and there is a great deal of disent. Ships and pilots are going missing, only to turn up fighting with the new and enlarged Nomad threat that is heading towards Sirius. The clans are massing. Humanity is combining in an effort to combat this growing threat. Enemies are engaged in cease fires in order to undertake this venture. It is a massive effort that I wish you could be part of.  I will keep in touch with you through Agent xxxxx. Now for the return favour.  I have an associate who is one of the Order's foremost particle physics experts. His particluar field is Dynamic Interactive Particle Movement and the Theory of Molecular Manipulative Construction.  I am concerned that the influence in the Order wish to utilise Alphonse da Silva to their own ends.  I cannot allow this and have sent him into hiding. He may try and contact the AoF for asylum first as he is wary of any official link as this might alert the Order.  I will be obliged to you that if you come across him you permit him to move freely and let me know that he is safe. I believe that Andrew Anderson, Chairman of the BMM and Anderson Enterprises will be the best contact with AoF as he has direct links to Zebulon Antarxes. Let me know if this is acceptable, my old comrade. Trent, Junko and the family all send their best from their hideout. Take care. - Orilion"

Andy looked at the Inspector, and then back at the pad. It took a while to sink in.

"You want the AoF to hide and protect Alphonse da Silva from the Order?"

"In a nutshell, yes. And from whoever else may have an unhealthy interest in him." replied the Inspector. "You better decide quickly because believe me, the fact that he is here will soon leak out from those that have sypmathies with the Order. He needs to be moved and fast."

Andrew Anderson stood. "My father's motto was always 'Nothing Ventured. Nothing Gained.' and I intend to honour that. He always spoke highly of you, so at any rate I will undertake the task."

The Inspector looked relieved. They shook hands.

"I will have to contact Zebulon on Primus. Can we use your undercover agent initialy? I fear that my official transmissions may be monitored."

"I will get his details. The benefit of high office here is that my office is secure, even from psychic interference. We can work from here if you prefer?"

Andy smiled his consent. "Margaret?" the Inspector called over the comlink.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Get in some food. Mr Anderson and I have some work to do. None of the fast stuff, get some decent sandwiches and a pile of Babylonian Coffee, preferably the Bel variety. Throw in a few trimings of your own. I trust your taste. Oh, and Margaret, make sure there is enough for three, your helping out for the duration.'

"Of course, sir. On it right now."

They took of their jackets and rolled up their sleeves. "Lets get to work!"

[cold_reaper]

As I rushed past the docking ring of Planet Primus, my head was swirling. "That wasn`t Carnival. It couldn`t have been. He`s dead." But something inside of me, maybe even the gauntlet, told me that he was alive and well. And on his way to pay debt of "gratitude" to Seraphear who tried to kill him. "Let`s see...the last message from Ser told me he was heading towards Tekagi`s in Tohoku. But why Tohoku? What business could Wolf have there?There`s something I`m missing here." So I headed to Tekagi`s.

I loved that place. In my old days, the first time I came to this place of the Universe called The Void, Tohoku was a haven for traders and pirates alike. But now, apart from some business certain pirate clans and organizations have there, the place was deserted. I always visited Planet Penzance from time to time, to visit some of my Pirate friends. But with Outcast battle groups in the area, you can never be to careful. I exited the Dyson Sphere - Sparta Jump Gate to find an impressive view. Hundreds of fighter squadrons, dozens of Cruisers and Gunboats, Order, Monkeys, Robots, Freelancers, Corsairs, Outcasts and small feel battle groups of all the Four Houses and Europa were stationed. If I wouldn`t have known better I`d say the whole Sirius Fleet gathered there to survive the upcoming storm. But sites like this could be seen in Alexandria, Alaska, Omicron Alpha, Gamma, Tau 37, Omega 41, Nomad 1, Unknown 1 and 2. Per short, in most parts of Sirius that were in direct threat from the Nomad invasion.

I docked with the Jump Gate to Tohoku. On the other side, things were quiet. I made my way as fast as I could to Tekagi`s and landed there. The place was huge, now a base of the Blood Dragons, once the base of Governor Tekagi, later revealed to be a Nomad Host and working for them. I was always impressed by this base and its complexity. But I had no time enjoy the view. I had to find Seraphear.

In the hangar I saw his Crusher safely docked. "He`s here alright..." I said to myself. I went through all the bars, asked around, nobody saw him. As I was about to give up, I heard gun shots in a bar behind me. I never went there because the place looked like a dump. I entered the bar and saw people panicking and running around. I heard some gun shots again and I ran to the direction where I heard the sound.

Whatever I saw or presumed, nothing could prepare me for what I`ve seen. In a room in the back Watchwolf and a woman were looking horrified at Seraphear who was thrown around like a puppet by...something. It was indeed, as I feared, Carnival. But only it wasn`t the old Carnival. He had black eyes flecked with reddish dashes. His scars were completely gone. "So the dream wasn`t so accurate." I thought. I stepped into the light and shouted:

"CARNIVAL.YOU WILL STOP.NOW!"

He let go of Seraphear, who fell down to the ground with a big bang, and turned to me. I could feel his hatred and anger as he glanced at me. The gauntlet felt my will and was activated. I raised my left arm forward and said:

"I am Pyro. And you WILL stop!"

At that moment I projected my conscious self into the mind of Carnival. I was surrounded by darkness and could feel hatred in the air. I was on a plateau, the plateau of his mind. His thought were black. In front of there was the only light source in this black inferno. Carnival himself. He had a blood reddish glow around him, his eyes were the same as in reality, but his conscious self still had the scars. With a demonic laugh he said:

"Pyro. And a Nomad gauntlet. I might have been persuaded in the past to do things I didn`t want with that thing, but not now. Noooo...you see my...friend...(again an ironic laughter) I`ve grown much more powerful for the likes of you. So do yourself a favor, mate, and get the hell out of here while you still have time. Otherwise, we`ll see who`s gonna go insane."

" And I`m not your average gauntlet user my friend. I know what`s possessing you. The nomad blood, the nomad influence. Carnival, can`t you see? You`re not yourself. Your judgment  isn`t right. You are acting this way because of the nomad will that exists in you. Stop this. I can see it in your eyes there is something else left in you."

"Nomad influence you call it, better than ever before I call it. I`ve never been this strong, this powerful. If sacrificing what was left of my humanity is what it takes, so be it. I gave you your chance Pyro. Now you shall suffer for helping your friend."

"So be it. You want the hard way."

With this said I felt something around me. Flames. I burst  into flames. Flames covered my conscious self. I hurled a fireball at Carnival. He dashed. "I see that you will be an worthy adversary. Good..." He jumped forward and with a blow to my jaw sent me down to the ground. He came in for a second shot, but I was too fast for him. I twisted around and hit him in the kidneys with my flaming fist. A powerful growl came from his throat, like he was in pain. "YOU SHALL PAY FOR THAT!" Immediately darkness surrounded me and put out my fire. Out of nowhere Carnival came and blasted me with a blow that hurled me several meters forward. He came in slowly, glowing in the dark, angry, hating, wanting to make me suffer. But as he drew closer and closer I remembered the dream. I said then with the loudest voice I was capable of:

"You sink you teeth in, bite the blood that drains the life inside of me and feels your soul with love and hate and all those things you need to breathe. My body dies, but still my soul remains eternally in search of Caspian waves and shallow graves, explain why ME?"

At the same time Carnival stopped. His eyes changed. He looked amazed. He dropped down to his knees and just sat there. He seemed to be in pain. Suddenly a silent growl came out of his throat. But then the growl grew in intensity. Slowly it seemed like words were being formed. As a response to what I said.

"I watched the sky bleed grey with see-through shades of violent bloody stains and felt the evil prime and wicked start a course straight through my veins.I'm so alive, my skin so cold and fake. I close my eyes I know that now's the time to take my chance with death and realize. "

While saying that something really weird happened.( as this whole situation wasn`t weird enough already.) A human figure detached himself from Carnival`s body. And surprise. It looked just like Carnival only the eyes were coal black and there were no scars. I realized that was the person who died in my dream. And the person who gave me a response to those words I heard in my dreams. He was Carnival`s core self that died in my dream, but hearing my words, got reawaken.

"This is the end you monster. I`m putting and end to your terror."

"I`ve beaten you once, I will do it again!" responded Carnival conscious self with hatred and anger in his tone.

They started fighting. I didn`t get involved. Somehow it felt wrong. But I didn`t have to anyway. The core self of Carnival defeated his conscious self. Blow after blow, kick after kick. He dropped down to the ground. His eyes turned red and than coal black. He looked the same as his core self, but only with those scars.

"I see now...I made a mistake...I am sorry..."

"There`s a lot you need to be sorry for. But now it has ended. We shall bury the hatchet and leave in peace. Carnival is back. Thank you my friend..." said the core self while looking at me.

As we were speaking the darkness cleared and the "sky" remained crimson. A terrible shout came out of nowhere, and the figure of what seemed to be...a Nomad came out of nowhere. He approached the conscious self of Carnival and attacked him. But when he got 2 inches from him he was pulled away by an unseen force. He collapsed in the emptiness that exist beyond the plateau of the mind. Thus the Nomad influence was gone forever from Carnival`s mind. Never again will he hear the voices of his victims. Never again will he feel the thirst.

I existed Carnival`s mind and came back to my body. As I opened my eyes Carnival was sitting on the ground crying(or at least trying to). His eyes were now normal(as normal as they could be considering he was a cyborg.) I went up to him, placed my hand on his shoulder and said:

"Carnival, my friend, it is over. Get up now. And start your new life..."

[Carnival]

I couldn't believe it. I thought I was free! All my blood had been drained in Seraphear's first attack, back on Primus, and I thought I was thinking as myself. Clearly, I was totally wrong.

I got up, and wiped my eyes. The mechanisms in them had blurred up with the tears, and I blinked a few times, trying to clear my vision.

"Pyro." I walked up to him and grabbed him in a fierce embrace. "Thank you."

Seraphear and Watchwolf were staring at me, ready to bolt or fight at any moment. I walked over to the place where Seraphear's metal construct had come to rest, and picked it up. I walked back to him, and motioned him to stand. He did so, and I fitted the claw back onto his shoulder.

"Now..." I lifted his unprotesting arm and placed the metal claws round my throat. "If you wish me dead, still, after all I have done... my life is yours to take."

"Don't be so damn stupid." Watchwolf cut in. "As long as you're free from that twisted Nomad blood, you're one of us."

"Yeah. I acted out of rage, not thought," said Seraphear, pulling his arm back away from me. "I think maybe if I hadn't done such a stupid impulsive thing you would have been fine."

"Well, I doubt it." I turned again to Pyro. "But thanks to you, I feel better than I have done for years."

Pyro nodded and smiled.

"Just don't go eating people and you should be fine." He held the gauntlet up. "I'd imagine you want to hurt someone for what became of you."

"Hell yeah!" I punched the air, suddenly feeling more free and alive than I ever had done before. "The Nomads won't know what's hit them!"

As I spoke, I noticed Wolf's beautiful companion stifle a laugh.

"Hey, what gives?" I winked at her. "A mans allowed to be happy about freedom and a fight, right?"

She shook her head, looking at us all in turn. Seraphear just stood there, his ridiculous servarm flexing as he got used to the weight of it again. Wolf was grinning widely, and Pyro seemed... content. When she turned to look at me, however, I took my chance.

"So, Wolf never told me he had such... ravishing associates." I saw Wolf roll his eyes and then shake his head as I walked over to her. "And what name do you go by, Miss...?"

"Cortana." She shook my hand. "Not Miss anything. Just Cortana."

"Well, it's VERY nice to meet you Cortana." I winked at her again, seeing Wolf's grinning face reflected in her eyes.

"Good grief, Carnival," he laughed. "I think we should have left you evil"

"What's that meant to mean?"

"Well... you're different now." He smirked. "You're flirting like a school kid."

"Hey, its been a very traumatic experience, Wolf." I stared at Cortana again. "I need to relax."

"Well, there are plenty of other attractive girls around here, if you're that desperate." She whispered.

"I'm not desperate!"

Everyone burst into laughter, my indignant cry ringing out loudly. Much louder than I'd meant it to, in fact.

"Ok, enough messing around." Seraphear pulled up a chiar and sat down. "Come on Wolf, whats the plan? And where the hell has Vengeance disappeared to?"

We all took a seat and huddled round the table. For a moment, I let myself drift.

I was back. And I was back amongst friends.

And soon, we were gona have the fight of our lives.....

[Watchwolf]

Sometimes things happen so fast it's like they're in slow motion. Know what I mean? It's one of those paradox's of the human mind and the way it processes information. The eye perceives data at a rate if about 26 frames per second. The mind goes a helluva lot faster than that. Usually the mind just sort of takes a little break, smokes a cigarette, maybe orders out for pizza, while it's waiting for the next frame. But when events happen so fast that the incoming information shows a distinct change between each frame the mind goes into a sort of situational awareness mode. So what happens is, in between each frame the mind takes all the time it can to try to make sense of the previous one and extrapolate the overall sequence of events into the bigger picture. Because the mind is processing mass quantities of data during that time, from the mind's perspective it's all in slow motion.

See?

Me neither.

But this is what I did see: Seraphear's arm looked like it was way too big for the rest of him and it didn't take long for Cortana's bodyguards to back away from it. As if that wasn't surprising enough, another guy attacked Seraphear and tossed him around like he was made of paper. So I shoot him and the flechettes bounced of him like asteroid chips off an AT's hull. Then Pyro comes in, calls the black monstrosity Carnival and pulls a bunch of magic tricks out of thin air. Then Carnival splits in two and fights with himself. Then what looked like a Nomad ghost splits off the second Carnival and disappears screaming. Then everything's all normal like it never happened and Carnival's flirting with m'Lady. And all the while Cortana's taking it in like another day at the circus.

So can you imagine how I felt? I felt like, "Damm I shoulda kept a little farther ahead of these guys" But not being an idiot… well ok, most of the time anyway… I decided I should play it cool while I tried to find a connection between all the craziness that had happened over the last 24 hours.

"Come on, Wolf, what's the plan?" broke into my musing.

What I was thinking was "Beat feet outta here as fast as they can go."

But much to my amazement, since I was supposed to be playing it cool, and incidentally confirming that maybe I AM an idiot most of the time after all, I heard myself say, "Let's all have a drink and talk about it. I think I have an idea."

I had everyone's attention. He'd asked about Vengeance, but I didn't want to talk about that so I steered away from there. "Cortana here has a little something in her pocket."

"Here. Let me get that for you," Carnival grinned and reached toward Cortana.

"Sure, if you want to be beaten senseless with the bloody stump you'll have left," Cortana grinned back. Carnival seemed to take a moment to decide if she was serious or not. He glanced at me and I sort of nodded. He withdrew. Cortana laughed.

"You never told me you have such weird friends, Wolfie. Got any more surprises for me?"

"Well maybe just one," I said. "I think I have a way to turn the tables on the Nomads. Play their own strategy against them. But it's going to depend a lot on guile, insanity and those pockets of yours. Tell 'em."

Cortana nodded. "You said most of the House Navies, the Monks, the Robots and what's left of the Order are all involved in this big battle they're expecting, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So what's that leave us?"

They all looked at each other. Apparently Seraphear is the brightest of the bunch but I figured it was the fact that we were talking to a pirate, because he said, "Pirates?"

"Right. What else?"

They all looked at each other again. Pyro ventured, "Fugitives?"

"Right. And Rogues. And Zoners. And Junkers. And Hackers. And Outcasts. And Corsairs. And Hessians. And Bundschuh. And Unioners. And Blood Dragons. And Golden Chrysanthemums. And Mollys. And Gaians. And Xenos. And yes, even Bounty Hunters. That's what we got left. And that's a pretty formidable fleet. And one no one would see coming."

As she went on with the list their eyes widened. When she finished it with Bounty Hunter Seraphear almost choked on his ale and had to spit it back into his mug. They all looked at me as if to see if they'd heard it all right.

"I said insanity, didn't I?"

"Aye, that you did," Pyro replied.

"Here's the thing," I went on. "Pirates got their cruisers. And Corsairs got their battleships. And so do the Outcasts. Fugitives know how to get in and out of anywhere. Rogues can sneak up on ya without you ever knowing they're there til your tail's on fire. Zoners got bases everywhere. Anything that works with electricity Hackers can make stop working, or better yet, make work different than it's supposed to. Bounty Hunters heavy fighters are second to none. They've all got something they do best. You put 'em all together and there's nothing that can stand up to them..."

"Yeah, right," Carnival interrupted. "Put 'em all together and you got the biggest battle since the First Nomad War."

Cortana leaned forward. "You think so? Instead of thinking about what makes them enemies, ask yourself this: What do they all have in common?"

"They're all wanted in every system for one thing or another?" Pyro.

"No!" Cortana looked at me. "Your friends are a little dense, Wolf. You tell them."

"What they all have in common is, Sirius is their home. They have families and they have friends, and not one of them wants to see it all end in a ball of purple Nomad fire."

"Not to mention we'd all love to pull the Navies' nads out of the fire and show them we have our place in the Void too."

Their stares of disbelief gave way to nods. "OK then, so tell us what you're going to do with all this insanity, Wolf."

I grinned a wicked grin. "You ain't seen nothin' yet, fellas…" and proceeded to give then a lesson in guile.

[Zebulon]

A message came in from Tohoku. It was brief but important. Seraphear and Carnival were alive and well as was Pyro. They were with Wolf and the BRO Queen Cortana all having drinks at Tegaki's base home of the Blood Dragons. Zeb sighed.  These guys were facing the potential end of Sirius and they were sitting around drinking? He smiled and thought to himself that a drink would be a very excellent thing right now.

As Zeb scanned around it struck him that there were all sorts of people here and all with one thing in common. Sirius was their home. What struck Zeb was that he could see groups of people deep in conversations, checking logistics, machinery, supplies, armaments.  Three men dressed in a variety of pilot's uniforms were talking to a man in coveralls standing next to a Demios. They were discussing the type of cannon that was being installed. One pilot seemed to be interjecting, to the amusment of the engineer and the others were looking on in fascination. Not odd, you might think. Except for one thing. The vessel in question was a SYNDICATE craft. The engineer was one of the crew and the pilot was none other than the infamous Amok. The other two pilots were ESF and one of the BBD. All three at one time or another would have been in the process of trying to arrest or kill one another, but today it was different.

Zeb was about to head for the bar when his m-wave buzzed. The message read.
"Expect a contact. Bretonian Special Branch. All Clear. Operative is deep cover. Andy." followed by a clarification holostamp. He smiled. "Long time no see, Andrew." he thought. At that moment a small man carrying a large case and struggling with it, came past Zeb. The man put the case down and mopped his brow. "Hello guv, howaya doin' mate?" in the strongest Bretonian accent Zeb had heard in a long while.

"Who's the case for?" asked Zeb in a nonchalant way.

"M' boss. That big bloke over there with the funny uniform." He gestured in the direction of a very large chap indeed. Built like a brick out house and looking all military and scary.  It was one of the ESF Generals. Always turned out and always on their best behaviour. They had been Orilions escort to Primus.

"You need a new job mate." Zeb stated with a smile. The little bloke nodded. He then tucked hand in his trouser pocket and produced a small m-wave  - much smaller than the usual makes. Quietly he placed it under his hand whilst leanin on the packing case. "I have something for you Zebulon. Its from Andrew Anderson."

Zeb discreatly took the m-wave. It clicked into life. When Zeb looked up, his small companion had  gone, case and all. "Ah, more details." Zeb thought.

[Zebulon]

Zeb was puzzled. He scratched his head. What with all of the chaos surrounding the area in the preparation for something big it was always possible to miss the smaller details. On the face of it, it looked like nothing more than a babysitting job for BMM at the request of Andrew Anderson, one of the Anderson boys that were Zeb's charges and protege's since the untimely demise of their very wealthy and influential Bretonian parents. Andrew had inherited the chairmanship along with the family assets, which were amongst the largest in Bretonian Society.  

The info from Andy was a little sketchy. Seemed that the individual involved was a special case attached to the Bretonian Special Branch.  Given that the last communication had suggested that they were interested in speaking to Zeb gave him thought to pause. Reading on however, clarified that it was because of AoF's widespread connections and the ability to allow things to "disappear' or just simply "not be there", that the Bretonain police wanted to speak with Zebulon Antarxes. Reaching the end of the message, the small screen read:
<</Press>>

Zeb did exactly that.  This was just the sort of thing that Zeb revelled in and the AoF were one of the best at. The screen beeped and responded with:
<</Acceptance>>

He slipped the m-wave into his pocket and walked to his quarters. As he strode purposefully across the landing field, Zeb go to thinking. How often had the AoF been paid to hide people. He smilled, remembering the occassion when the waring clans of TRIAD and Orion had two high  value operatives in hiding in the same buliding owned by AoF and that both of them had targeted each other for termination, yet they were sharing the same facility, kept apart by the manipulations of the facility manager. AoF were paid handsomly by both sides for the care and safe return of both persons as soon as the feud over trading rights and a cardamine route had been settled. This task  might not be quite as simple due to the need to keep this person out of the hands of the Nomads and the Order.  Zeb was already dreaming up a plan.

He reached his room. This was going to be a job for Roadbug, codename "Argh". This guy had the perfect ship. A tricked out Feure Zeuge Humpback varient freighter with double fitted Robot thrusters and armament that made the thing look like a flying porcupine.  Escort wise it was going to have to be Ralph Anderson and his gang of AoF traders and fighters.  With that sort of backup and the connections that they would need to use, the "target" would be kept pretty much on the move in order to minimise the threat of detetction. Why this "target" was so important, Zeb had no idea and sometimes it was better not to know.  Rendevous was set for New London at the BMM satelite station. The cover would be a regular AoF run coming in from the back of Leeds system having run through Magellan.  This whole thing was going to have to be handled with a very special kind of diplomacy.  The Hackers had pretty much been on the AoF kill list due to the involvement with the Molly's, in combination with the Libery Rogues in attacking AoF convoys coming in from the Cambridge system with diamonds from Dresden. A bit of a sore point, but not something that the AoF couldn't get round, if the price was right of course. It might even require the attendance of Zeb at a "Parley", one of the combined pirate clan meetings held to sort out disputes and such. A bit of a throw back to ancient maritime customs, but a valuable source of information for the AoF, whenever they could attend either in person or by subterfuge. Zeb new there was another one scheduled for two days time at Trafalgar base in New London. A chance maybe, to show off some of AoF's influence and hopefully engage in some profitable and persuasive negotiations to the present crisis and the cause of Sirius freedom.
---------------------------------------------------@oOo@-----------------------------------------------------

The charts were spread over the desk. Comms units were buzzing as they went to work. Albemarle Dixon looked across at Andy. "Are you sure they can pull this off?"

Andy proceeded to tell the Inspector about the "Brannigan Incident" where the AoF had sucessfuly hidden a known and wanted Molly operative out of sight from even the Special Branch right under their very noses. It was worth the telling just to see the look on Inspector Dixon's face. AoF had placed the man in one of the maintenance units used by the Bretonian Police on the Southampton base during one of the Special Branches major operations against the Mollys. Andy quoted Zeb, "Out of sight. Out of mind."  The Inspector had to agree. AoF were up to the job. Why? Well it had been a young Detective Constable that was placed on Southampton at the time and on the hunt for the said Patrick Brannigan who would have to agree that the ruse worked. The Constable in question? Albemarle Dixon of course.

Andy's m-wave bleeped. It was Argh. He had just docked at Freeport 1 and was now in the Bretonian police area. He was going to take the route via Magellan and Leeds to get to New London and was awaiting Ralph and his boys before setting off. There was also a sub note from Zeb to await further instructions.

The next message hot on the tails of Argh's was one from Zeb. It stated that Zeb had made contact with Mikey and the contingent of Angelus de la Guardia he was with. They were going to conduct Zeb to Trafalgar base for a "Parley". The request was to have the Bretonian police stand down on this particular group. No point in any bloodshed.

They were pondering their next move. They had figured out most of the secured locations for their "package". All that remaind was for AoF to undertake the movement and to protect da Silva until further instructions were recieved. So far the Inspector had proved to be a resourceful man. Andy's concern was how the Bretonian hierarchy might react if they found out that one of their top operatives had been making deals with known terrorists through the rather dubious connection with the AoF. Only time would tell and time was what they didn't have much of.

----------------------------------------------@oOo@-----------------------------------------------------------

Gregorio Karpov was a worried man. The Database had been showing signs of corrupted data and related interference on a scale not witnessed before by the Hacker's Data Track Operatives.  The increase in "alien" traffic was also a concern. Whilst the Hacker's loved nothing better than to mess with the larger corporations and government fronts, the one thing that they hated was anything that smelled of Dom Kavash or Nomad programming. There was never any great finess to it and it was just too darned "logical". There were never any flairs of individuality or skill. It was all bland code and an absolute devil to grind through. Attempts at adaptation of Nomad code and the use of the organic based hardware interfaces had proved useless and on one or more occasions, fatal.  Rumours had been surfacing all over the commweb and in the m-wave traces that suggested many of the clans were combining resources. The precise nature of this was not yet known. He could worry about that later. Right now he was getting ready to travel to Trafalgar Base. Another pointless conglomeration of pirate nobodies all fighting over who had rights to what.

As a Hacker, Gregorio knew that he was considered suspect by most of the other clans. His connection to the Slavic affiliated Netsphere had earned him some respect and the skill of Gregorio's Techmen was never questioned. He smiled as he knew that part of the whole problem was that people were always worried that he knew far to much about them.  Whilst he could never realy be interested in the small details, he did have to admit that it had, more than once, nearly cost him his life.  People often whispered that these "snoopers' passed on infornation to the government.  That of course led to more than one fight on more than one space station.  The Hacker's were ruthless in the defence of their hard earned reputation.

Well, with any luck they would be able to get to the bottom of what was realy going on at this "Parley" on Trafalgar. No one was going to get round the Hacker's that easy. Gregorio was damned sure they weren't going to be left out if it meant ehancing their reputation as the best in Sirius when it came to all things data related.  Rumour had it that a contingent of Corsairs would be attending.  That would prove unpopular with the Hessian delegation for sure. If nothing else there would at least be entertainment.

Gergorio finished fastening his tunic and with a last swift glance in the mirror headed to his ship to assemble his personal wing.

[Zebulon]

Alaska. Cold. Unfriendly. The Void. The Empty. Its vast fields of Ice, home to one shipyard, a prison and a naval base. The gateway from Liberty Space into the unknown. The backdoor to Nomad territory.  Through the solitary stabalised wormhole to Omicron Minor,  with its Liberty Rogue home planet and the Europan trading station  - Freeport 7.  Rebuilt. Renewed and a beacon to pioneers throughout Sirius. From there to the Nomad Systems  - treasures, artifacts, and the ever present risk and thrill of combat.

The ship waited.  Sitting there as still as a brick.  Not wavering. That would be if you could see it.

By Nomad standards it was a primitive technology and one that they had little need or use for as it was seen as an affront to what passed for honour amongst the Nomad society.  This was different.  Inside the vessel sat a member of the Elite.  The Eclipse known as Koumori.  On his masters instructions he was ordered to take this demeaning assignment and monitor the traffic in Alaska. No "why?" or "What?" just plain and simple obedience.

So Koumori sat and he watched and he counted and he registered and he reported. Invisible to the eyes and ears around him.

-------------------------------------------------------------@oOo@--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well lads, this is home for the next few months make the most of it!" yelled Helboy to the rest of the BBD rascals that had come to the call.  They had been given the "Keys" to the old shipyard in Alaska.  It had taken a great deal of diplomacy on behalf of the Bretonian government and on the part of Zebulon Antarxes, the President of AoF to prise the Liberty Admiral's grip from the old ship yard and the old boy was not a happy man. "Another gang of freekin' freeloading pirates! Thats all I need."

The place would need refitting and all the right equipment put in place.  Mongrel was already on the M-wave to the Hackers for the necessary kit.  They could probably botch most of the old Navy stuff that was here.

"WoW! Look at this!" Blazin beckoned to Hellboy. "They've left the defence net dormant here, but its all still working - a bit of power and it will be up and running. Yeah! The defence turrents are all still fitted too!"

They both scanned down the touchscreen list. "Rail Guns! Quad Turrets! Sunkiller mounted rotation turrets - four hardpoints on each one!" Blazin was beginning to dribble. Hellboy gave him a sidelong glance.

"Mate, you do what you have to do - if this is a fortress then we have hit pay dirt! No wonder that old barnacle of an Admiral didnt want us in this place. Its been tricked out and left dormant for those 'special' occasions."
Hellboy laughed.

This was going to be the best duty in a long time and afterwards? Well, looked like the BBD had just got its own home from home.  The revenue from traders coming into Alaska to take the route to Freeport 7 and beyond would be beyond their wildest dreams.  A few minor problems, Liberty Rogues were not going to like this one bit, but with the assistance of the Hackers and a few bribes Hellboy didn't see that as a worry.

They were here to watch for Nomad movements. The VLF were on their was as part of a support and observation group. They were unhappy that the Privateers had been given command of the facility, but it was a numbers thing and Orillion's word had been final on it.  Others were heading to Alaska to make up the numbers and bolster what little reluctant support the Liberty Navy had been prepared to lend.

Hellboy hit the lights in the office and threw of the covers to the desk and the cabinets. "Nice!" This had obviously been or was going to be the place where the head honcho sat.  "I could get used to this!" thought Hellboy.

----------------------------------------------------------------------@oOo@------------------------------------------------------------------

The monitor in the ship beeped. Koumori registered the log. This time it was different. The Shipyard had just come to life. He recognised the ships as he had fought these criminals time and time again.  It was time to alert the Commander. Koumori understood why he was here and felt a quiver of privelege through his being for the honour in serving his Queen......

[Watchwolf]

It'd been a very long day. I mean, it's not every day you narrowly escape getting fried, get rescued by your ship while parked in a hangar, watch a dramatic shootout between two supposed friends, then an eve4nr more dramatic showdown between a crazed demon and his inner good guy, then sit down and form an impossible plan involving the most improbable participants.

I needed about a week's sleep.

I didn't have a week. In fact I barely had a few hours. I had the feeling things were beginning to happen fast. I needed to get it all together faster. No time for sleep now I thought. There's plenty of time for that when you die.

I decided to put a call in to Zeb. I had no idea what he'd been up to but whatever it was it couldn't be as bizarre as what the rest of our merry band of misfits were up to.

I was wrong.

I got out my pocket m-wave and opened a secure channel to Zeb. I put in the random-sync crypcode and waited for the call to go through. I was surprised at the static. Any at all would be a surprise but this was extraordinary.

"Hey Zeb! Where are you? No, don't tell me, lemme guess... You got icicles hangin' off yer bum, so you must be in Alaska." I laughed.

"Right, mate. Laugh it up. And if you're lucky your next post will be to Solarius."

"Ouch. OK, I get you," I sobered up. "So they sent you up there. I figured they'd send a force but I'd hoped they wouldn't waste too many valuable resources."

"How's that? You figured? What are you on about, Wolf?"

"Well, there've been a few developments, partner. Not officially, mind you but as far as I'm concerned, more important than that."

"Aye? Well are you going to keep me in suspence?"

"No, partner. But this is for your eyes and ears only. In fact, I want to switch over to Random Cyclic, if you don't mind."

Random Cyclic? Zeb thought. What's going on that needs that level of security? This was a relatively new technology in M-wave encryption. The static random was a hard enough nut to crack, but those geniuses in Kusari had had their fill with Hackers breaking every new algorythm anyone could imagine. This new one divided the randomly coded information into tiny pieces and cycled the pieces through another random encoder. The result was like scrambling the words in a message, then scrambling the letters in the words, then scrambling the pixels that made up each letter. "Alright. Hold on a sec."

We set the transceivers' encryption sequences. After a few beeps he was back. "Alright. So let me have it."

"Funny you should put it that way, my friend, " I said seriously. I proceeded to fill him on what I figured was happening. I also told him about Vengeance. To me, that was a big part of the equation.

Zeb whistled. "This is too bizarre to be fiction, mate. You really think the Navy's got it all that screwed up?"

"Well it's not like they're just diddling around. They're being led through such a series of deceptions as to make an AoF trader proud..."

"Hey..."

I laughed the best laugh I'd had in days. "OK, so now that you know the situation, here's what we're doing about it." I went of to detail the meeting and what we had in mind to counter the situation.

I could almost hear Zeb's jaw drop. "Such gall!" he exclaimed. "But where's that leave us?"

"Gall? I'll show you some gall, partner. There's a lady over in Minor I want you to hook up with. How you extract yourself and your playmates is up to you, just try to keep it a secret. Make sure she's nowhere near any weapons, though, cuz she's not fond of surprises. Tell 'er Wolf sent ya, duck, then tell her this..."

[align=center] ---------------------------------------------------------------------@oOo@------------------------------------------------------------------ [/align]

The signal was weak but adequate.. But even as clear as it was, still barely readable. The Nomad communications cell had gotten rather adept at working through the humans' encryption. But this one would need attention. Still, he was getting enough to tell him what he needed to hear.

"Alaska....... force....... meet........ vengeance.......situation....... ready........ secret.......surprise......."

Yes, certainly enough.

[Zebulon]

Zeb docked with the old shipyard in Alaska. This place was Hell, with icecubes.  In the back of Zeb's mind was Andy and the rest of the Anderson boys along with the variety of AoF traders, explorers, adventurers and fighters that were staking their lives on all of this.  It was the sort of feeling that whilst you are an individual, there is the sense that governments could fall and new alliances from surprising quarters take place.  All very much like that bloke who wrote a bunch of plays, millenium ago on the Ancient Home World, Shakestick or Wavespear or something like that.  Zeb made a mental note to catch up on his reading and catalogue of his private and very large Port collection. He paced down the cold corridor towards the control room.  

--------------------------------------------------------------@oOo@-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Andy looked across the desk at Albemarle Dixon.  A picture was starting to form. The charts and the messages from the Special Branches wide net of operatives and the stuff coming in from the AoF was painting an alarming picture.  Now, Dixon was no strategist that was for sure, but even he was looking a bit puzzled. All this activity from the erstwhile allies and yet very little movement from the Nomads.

"I don't like it." he said. "I don't like it at all."

Andy pulled himself out of the chair. "Whats up Alb?" The two men were now on first name terms and had a new found respect for one another. Given the way things were going Albemarle Dixon could find himself out of a job if his superiors or that fat admiral got wind of what was happening in this office. As if reading his mind Andy stated, "You know that there is always a place at BMM for a sharp mind like yours and I doubt if Zebulon Antarxes would turn down the offer of your services at AoF...." The comment hung in the air.

"Lets deal with one thing at a time. I'm not about to give up my  substantial pension rights yet!" replied Dixon.

""Ok we have Argh on his way to collect our friend da Silva. We have an escort team consisting of your brother Ralph and I believe that you have heard from Mikey who is taking his Angelus de la Guardia to Alaska to bolster Zebulon's numbers and with more Corsairs on the way. Don't know that Liberty will like that much, and isnt that a bit out of their way?  I forsee potential flash points with the Liberty Rogues and the Hackers, cos you know how they feel about the sustained campaign against the Hessians and LWB. Now we have the Molly's on standby at Trafalgar and you have a representative heading there to find out what all the fuss over da Silva is. No doubt some techno mumbo jumbo or such. Our old friend Watchwolf is up to something in Alexandria and we are getting reports in of activity as far away as Tartarus. I am recieveing information that suggests that Bretonian armed forces are gathering in Leeds and by Planet Wight in Manchester - what our High Command are up to I have no idea but I bet they are just playing it safe. We have noticed a mass reduction in Corsair activity in Cambridge and my sources report that they have all but closed off the jump hole between Omega 5 and Cambridge with limited traffic through to Dublin.  Who would have thought it! Corsairs and Mollys in the mix together. If this fragile set of alliances colapses this whole sector will disolve into chaos."

Andy responded, "Well. lets just hope that it doesn't..."

---------------------------------------------------------------@oOo@-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Humpback variant vessel slogged its way through Magellan.  Roadbug was adept at taking all the side routes and short cuts through Sirius. He chuckled at the surprised messages from the escort when they discovered new routes that they had never even suspected existed. First destination was the Bad Lands in NewYork , they could hide out there for a time till the next decision was made and the next hide away located. The trick was to always stay on the move. Never let them get a fix on you for too long.  The empty eye socket itched under the thick leather patch. Roadbug never scratched at it cos he knew it was just the phantom memory of a long lost eyeball.  He had refused a prosthetic cyber replacement.  Old superstitions about man and technology combined.  The Humpback "Forget Nothing" sailed on.

In the hold of the vessel, and very well accomodated was Alphonse da Sliva.  His mind was racing. He was on the verge of cracking a very fundemental physics principal and one that would have serious ramifications for the fight to come.  He had become disgusted at the Orders lack of activity and after Orilion had retired it had just got worse.  The new Nomad influence that had surrounded the politics in Osiris had put him in fear for his life.  Whoever was pulling the strings had become aware of his superior scientific abilities. The "New Einstien" people had started calling him. What rubbish. He lay back on his bunk and let out a sigh. The two wipeboards were covered in calculations and always ended up at the same result - inconclusive and impossible, but he knew that it was not. He was missing something fundemental and basic. Patience would show this answer and sadly that was what he did not have much of.  At least his family was safe. It was a Newton moment.  Alphonse da Silva was waiting for the apple to hit him on the head.

--------------------------------------------------------------@oOo@------------------------------------------------------------------------

The representatives were assembling. Trafalgar base had never been this busy and it was giving the Commander a head ache. His PR officer had worked out who should sit where in order to prevent a fiasco like the one that happened before when the Hessians had stormed out when they had discovered that the Red Dragons and the Hogosha had been given seats next to the Corsairs and had moved them three places down the order of precedent. There had been an ugly scene outside the conference area and guns had been drawn. Four Hogosha died along with a dozen Hessians killed or wounded. The Red Dragons had pursiued the remaining Hessians out of the system and what little had been achieved was left in a rather fragile mess and then nothing more than a drunken rabble of pirates tearing up the bar. At least the cardamine and slave quota's had been fixed and the routes agreed upon. Numbers were falling due to the increase in competition and the activities of the law enforcement trides. Adapt and survive had been the overall feeling then and it still pervaded this particular meeting. There was, however, something else on the go and the Commander had yet to find out what it was. "They tell us nothing!" he exclaimed to no one in particular. He took a passing swipe at  a rating that seemed to be doing nothing. "Get to work!" he yelled at the assembled scurrying crew in the control room as he turned on his heels and left the bridge.

Corben Malcom Brady was one of the best that the AoF had. Young, handsome, devious and a very smooth talker."Could sell ice to the Alaskans" was what Roadbug had said about this man. He ran with a variety of groups who all accepted that he was one of their own.  His AoF association had been well covered. Today it was about to be uncovered. Deliberately, by Corben himself.  There was only one man apart from himself that Corben Brady was loyal to and that was Zebulon Antarxes. This was going to prove testing as there would very likely be some very offended parties and the last thing they needed was a gun fight.  Brady had decided to come wearing the uniform of the Liberty Rogues. His Corsair, Hessian and Outcast connections had often surmised that he was from that stock and he did nothing to disuade them from thinking it.  Truth was, like Zeb , he was an ex Navy man - Bretonian Special Forces, Vaccum Combat Specialist to be precise. Even with a vacsuit on this guy could move and usualy that meant that the opposing side ended up sucking space.  That was all in the past and not something he talked much about.  In order to soften the blow, Brady had brought a female companion with him. Females were not a surprise to most as there were plenty of representatives from a variety of clans that were, the Golden C's for one. However, this was the daintiest of soft dressed wall flowers any of these pirates were ever likely to see. She was also Brady's bodyguard. One of the shapeshifting priestesses from Bel. She could alter her hight , her face and her hair. lengthen her arms and legs and the breadth of her torso. She was more flexible than a rubber band. There were stories that said they could change into monsters and such. This was laughably false. They were notorious assassins when turned to the deed and this little guilded lilly was exactly that. Deadly.

Brady scanned the room. Hessians. Golden C, Red Dragons, Liberty Rogues, Hackers, Corsiars, Mollys, Outcasts, LWB, Hogosha, and several others all present.  Brady was shown his seat buy the Liberty Rogius and next to the Hackers.  He had not had much dealings with them but Zeb had passed on information and contact from Andy Anderson to pass to these guys. AoF needed their help. Why? Zeb had not said and Brady didn't need to know. All were seated and with a bang of the gavel, the doors were sealed and the introductions began.  Once that was out of the way, the Chairperson indicated to Brady and to the room to be silent while the young man made his announcement.

"Fellow Freelancers and Adventurers, I have important information to give you.  Many of you through your own networks and negotiations will have realised that something big is happening in Sirius. Some of you here have representatives on Primus in Unkown2.  A fleet assembled to address the increasing Nomad incursions." He paused. There were murmers. Some had declined to go as it meant supporting the hated Order and their lawmen. " This is a time for great change." Brady started by listing several treaties that were only known to the parties involved. There was a sense of stunned outrage. How could he know all this? What was he doing? One by one the secrets were uncovered to the discomfort of many and some very suspicious glances across the table. He continued.
"You are all asking how I know this.  I will tell you and in order to keep this on even ground I will even tell you who I work for." Even more surprised looks. "Zebulon Antarxes of the AoF sends you his greetings and felicitations. He also begs you to listen to what he has to tell you."

They were now on their feet and the place was in an uproar. Brady smilled inwardly. Zeb said this would happen. It turned out that many had been under the impression that AoF had been in THEIR pocket and not the other way round. The gavel was battered on the table. "OK! all of you! Settle Down and hear the man out!"
The roar stilled to a murmour, some remained standing others sat down.

Part of the deal here was that no weapons, communicators or transportation devices were permitted in the chamber. You were locked in here with nothing more than your wits.  There was no way that this burst of information could leave the room. At least not until the meeting ended.  

There was a shout. "Traitor!" And a rush. The Hessian stepped forward and linged towards Brady, finger nails exteneded. No doubt the tips were poisoned. Like soap on oil the delegates gave them a wide berth. Brady didnt flinch or even move in the direction of his attacker. There was a blur and a sickening sound of breaking bone, followed by a thud as the Hessian hit the floor. Standing over him was the wall flower. Not a mark on her. The Hessian's body rolled over. The arm had been all but twisted out of its socket and the fingernails from his own hand were sunk into the neck, just by the jugular vein. It had been a sudden death. The young woman smoothed out her sylphic dress and went to sit down beside Brady. The delegates all returned to their seats. "You will pay for that!" shouted the Hessian leader. In the time honoured fashion, Brady walked round to the Hessian delegation, bowed low and presented a bag of gold credits. "I hope that this will cover the cost?" The leader took the bag,weighed it in his hand.  It would be rude and would breach the ettiquet if he counted it. He grunted and passed the bag to his minion. "Accepted, Freelancer."

Brady returned to his seat. All the delegations were watching him and even more so the delicate and demure young woman next to him who had despatched one of the Hessian Elite without anyone even seeing what she had done, it had been so fast.  Outraged they may be, stupid they were not!

This was going to be a long session......

---------------------------------------------------------------@oOo@-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Zebulon Antarxes entered the large shipyard control room.  It was a hive of activity. Equipment was being taken out and replaced. Things were being jury rigged and Zeb recognised several Hacker operatives amongst the equipment. Holoprojectors and three dimensional star map podiums were being set up. Star Navigation charts and a variety of locator and decoder sets were being put in place. In the midst of it all was a large chart table. Historically some things didnt change. By this table there were two figures engaged in a heated debate.

"You will do what the frac I tell you to do! Your freekin' men have no discipline and yet you call yourself Navy? They are insubordinate and surly, they wont do as my boys ask even when it could save their frackin' lives!"

"Listen, you freeloading freebooter! My men don't and won't take orders from a second rate former navy turned pirate weasel like you! Or that spindle of a second in command that you have! Jeez! No one can understand a word the boy says, let alone OBEY an instruction from him! Who made you the boss here anyways? I wouldnt credit that m-wave print with the ink its written in! You forged it cos you got here first!"

They had not seen Zeb enter the room. He walked over to them and they were so involved in the debate they took no notice of him. Zeb took off his overcoat. For this occasion, and it was a rare one, he chose to wear his former Bretonian Naval Commander's uniform, plus decorations. In place of the Bretonian Navy Wings were a set of AoF tabards and the gold crested Phoenix. It gave Zeb an extra air of authority and he carried it well.

"Gentlemen. Please! " shouted Zeb.

They both stopped and turned to face Zeb. It took them about an extra 3 seconds to recognise who it was. They were both silent.

"Mr Hellboy and Mr. BlackStorm. As representatives of the BBD and VLF respectfully, I would hope that this display of hostility is a recent and temporary thing?"

They straightend themselves up. Looked at one another and then back a Zeb. "YESSIR!" snapped BlackStorm, who cracked off a smacker of a salute. Not to be out done, but noticeably slower and with an air of respectful reserve Hellboy did the same.

"Just so you both know, I have here orders and papers signed by the Joint Chiefs - both of your bosses have signed this and I have a commission from Orilion to back it up." he handed the papers to the stricken parties. As they read, Zeb told them, "I am in command here. I will personaly shoot any commander of any tribe, clan, squadron or battalion that questions or argues any of my commands in public." He was talking in a low voice and it carried menace. " I dont want a repeat of that little performance I just witnessed. We are in a situation that is going to need everyone to 'get along' at least for now. Do I make myself clear?"

Both men nodded, and then remembering where they were, and in unison said, "Yes, Sir."  Zeb smilled. They both looked relieved. "Ok I want an update report on numbers present and their state of readiness. I want to know who is headed to back us up and I want numbers.  I want picket flights out to the jump hole and sentries placed at the gate to New York. Get the pickets in a rotation so the pilots can have some down time. Gentlemen, this is not the Navy, but I expect everyone to give their best, I want thing run tight and professional, but there will be time for relaxation. When you have done what I ask I suggest that you two go get a drink and set your differences apart for now. I want it known throughout the station that I am in command now. Do it by word of mouth, no need to yell it over the tannoy - thats the Navy way and we dont want to upset our privateer brothers now do we?" Zeb dismissed them with a wave. This was going to be a tough one.

"Sir, we are being hailed."

Zeb stirred himself and made his way to the comms officer. "Who is it , Chief?"

The crackle over the m-wave came through, "Buenos dias, amigos. This is Caballero Mikey Anderson at your service. Requesting to dock. We have one hundred of our finest  Angelus de la Guardia here to assist you in your little venture!"

Zeb smilled and nodded to the Chief. " Your request to dock has been granted please dock at gates 1, 2 & 3"

"Carry on here Chief, you have the con. M-wave me if anything comes up." Zeb grabbed his coat and made his way down to the docking bay.




.

[Carnival]

We drifted in Babylonia, the squadron looping lazily around the jumphole to Tohoku. Seraphear's Crusher was just visible behind me, and I could hear his voice over the coms.

"Ok everyone. You've all been briefed, and you all know what to do. We don't know what to expect in terms of fleet size or ships."

I relaxed back in my seat and watched the other squadrons making up our group soar around me. A mixture of Blood Dragons and Pirates made up the bulk of the battle group, their cruisers and battleships blocking out the light as they passed.

"There have been reports of some ships going missing... some of them battleships. We need to watch out in case they have been slaved to the Nomad forces."

I sighed heavily and reviewed the report Wolf had sent round. It was a bold plan, that was for sure, and it was going to be pretty damn hard. I opened the com channel and spoke my thoughts.

"If we come across any hostile ships that happen to look like us, be sure to paint them red as soon as they appear."

I ran my hand over the console of my Valkyrie N1. The Nomad controls had all been replaced with something more suited to my style.

"And if you fire at me, I'll have your head."

A general chorus of laughter and light hearted threats answered this statement. Despite the lightening of mood I felt horribly uneasy.

Maybe I should just pull out. I'm not good enough for this....

[Watchwolf]

The room would have appeared completely chaotic to the untrained eye. They were in  the makeshift headquarters on Barstine Base, with desks and monitors lining the walls, several long tables arranged more toward the center of the room, a huge holomap taking up the center of the room. People rushed in and out with no apparent reason but to stay in motion. To a casual observer there would seem no way anything productive could come from the jumble of uncoordinated activity.

Two set of eyes stood to one side of the room taking it in. One, untrained, gawked in confusion at the storm whirling around him. The other, well trained and experienced  watched his companion with mild amusement.

Commander Gannon of the Kiwi Battle Alliance patted his companion on the shoulder. "Didn't I tell you?" he quipped. "Sirius is in the most capable of hands."

The young man beside him looked troubled, which seemed more than a little appropriate considering the name he carried. "If you say so, Gan. Maybe it just looks like trying to herd Kyushu Tunnel Cats."

Gannon smiled as he let the picture form in his mind. Herding cats... now there's a thought. Getting the various House Navies to work as one makes that look easy.

An out-of-breath Rhineland ensign rushed up to Gannon, snapped a salute, and said, 'I'm looking for Trouble, sir..." He stopped in mid-sentence as though he's just sworn at a superior officer. Gannon burst out laughing.

"Be careful what you ask for, Ensign. You just might find it."

"But Sir, I was told there was trouble here... I mean... there'd be... um... trouble was coming and I was supposed to ... " he stopped, again as Gannon tried to hold in another burst of laughter.

"Take it easy, Son. If it's trouble you're looking for, you found him." He motioned to Trouble.

"You have something for me, mate? That's what I'm here for."

Looking relieved, the young officer handed a sealed packet to Trouble. As a former racer-turned smuggler-turned scout he was one of the fastest and most elusive pilots in the sector. His modified Robot Discoverer racked out with missiles instead of guns made him a formidable opponent. Someone was always looking for him for one reason or another, which is what gave him the idea for his moniker. When they found him they usually regretted it. "Thanks, fella, I got it now."

The Rhinelander looked to Gannon, who nodded, then scurried away obviously glad to have that experience behind him.

"That needs to go to Central in Sparta, T. Admiral Nephalim. Top Priority, Eyes-only. You know the drill. Can't trust the M-wave encryption. Intel says it leaks like a garbage scow."

"Yeah, I know. And if anyone tries anything I'm supposed to eat it."

Gannon slapped Trouble on the back. "Good luck. Avoid the trade lanes. Hurry back."

"You bet." With that Trouble headed for Sparta.

Commander Gannon thought about it for a moment as he watched him go. Yeah, I get the feeling trouble is indeed headed for Sparta. The Joint Navy Forces were massing there to repel the expected Nomad invasion. Kusari, Rhineland, Britonia and a lesser contingent from Liberty were pouring in through the Inter-System gates. Everything pointed to the invasion coming in from there. It made perfect sense with all the Nomad connections going in and out of that system. Still.... He shook off the thought itching in the back of his mind. All the best heads in Military Intelligence were piecing this thing together.  Not that that gave him any more confidence, he mused at the oxymoron. Anyway, it sure was going to be a helluva battle and a lot of good men would be lost. He hated sending them into battle, he thought as he caught sight of the Rhineland ensign zipping past on another errand.

[align=center]---------------------------------------------------------------@oOo@----------------------------------------------------------------------- [/align]

I hung in a station-keeping formation with Cortana, FEA[R] and a loose-cannon mercenary aptly named Cannon outside of Penzance. We had a 4-way group secure channel open and were going over a few last minute details.

"Looks like the party's all set, Wolf," Fear said. "I got about as many rogues together as you can imagine. No one wanted to come along but I managed to convince more than I expected. I've got them strung along inside the rock field between Tekagi's and Madrid. They're all powered down to standby and hanging there next to the biggest boulders they could find. You can't tell they're there unless you now where to look and then you're likely to miss half of 'em."

"What more could you expect from rogues...?" Cannon commented with barely suppressed sarcasm. "That's what they're best at."

"And you oughtta be glad for that too, mate," Fear shot back. "We get plenty of practice poppin' disruptors up your CM chute when you don't even know we're there. You outta be glad we got something better to do for now."

"Listen, pal. If you want to see where to pop a CD I can show you a few places you never thought they'd fit..."

"We can give that a try if you want. You've got nothing to fear but Fear itself..."

"Alright! you two! Can it or I'll give you both a coupla rockets to ride!" yelled Cortana into the mic. I grinned at the thought of these two trying to stay ahead of her missiles. With just the two of them it really wouldn't be a fair fight.

"Sounds good, Fear," I interrupted, Keeping control of this group was proving to be more of a challenge than I figured. You'd think I'd figure better, knowing the um... diverse force we'd assembled. This had to be a first, and I kept wondering how long the fuse was and how much time I had til the fire reached the charges. It was moments like the one I'd just seen that made me wonder if insane was strong enough a word for what I was trying to do. If it weren't for Cortana with her stunning smile and sparkling personality, not to mention the respect she'd earned in many a fight,  this would never have worked. Once again I was glad she was on my side.  Carnival, Seraphear and Pyro were somewhere doing pretty much the same thing I was. I wondered if they were seeing any of the barely held hatred between all these people I saw. I remembered something C'd said when we'd split up yesterday: Get these guys all together and tensions would be running high. And when you think about that, that would be a good thing. Get them all ready to kill something, then turn 'em all loose on  something to kill. I wished I could have taken credit for that being part of the strategy but it hadn't occurred to me.

I shook myself out of my daydream. " Your guys set up, Cannon?"

"You bet, Wolf. Got a line set up in the Blue Nebula on the opposite side of the gate from where the rogues are. Got some 'Dragons coming in through the hole there too to add to the mix. Not to mention a very cranky fleet of GC's hiding in the tube under Tekagi's. They're short on Cardamine and looking to hammer anything that moves."

"Great. Cort? You set up?"

"Sure are, mostly. Got the Triad and my Bro's in low orbit around Madrid. A large group of Fugitives is sitting in the ice field around the Babylonia hole, with more coming in there. Got two battle groups of cruisers docked here on Penzance, there's no way they'd be able to park anywhere and not be noticed. Outcasts likewise on Madrid. Their refitted Rhineland battleships are itching to go. "

I could imagine. They'd been fending off Nomad patrols for a long time and were more than happy to send a few thank you notes to the Nomads for the fun.

"What I can't figure is, where the hell are they?" I wondered. "You'd think by now with all the pokin' around we've been doing here, that we'd flush a few out by now."

I get the feeling they're all back of the Tartarus jumphole." Fear guessed  "I'd wager they've been sneaking them in from there for weeks and are staying back there to avoid any attention.

"IF they're there..." Cannon growled.

"Oh, they're there, alright," Cortana replied. You can count on that. If Wolfie says they're coming, you can bet they're coming.

"Wolfie?" came across in unison from Fear and Cannon.

"Yeah. It's a long story, fella's"

[align=center]---------------------------------------------------------------@oOo@----------------------------------------------------------------------- [/align]

"Sir, I have an open channel message coming through. Sounds like it's Europan."

"WHAT!?" Gannon shouted. "Who's the knucklehead using free space? Someone didn't get the memo?" He pushed the Petty Officer aside form the comm console and peered into the screen. The picture was broken and intermittent,so bad that the AI in the commset was displaying captions under the screen. There were even gaps in the words there but enough to get the point of the message. A few stifled gasps were heard as the point of the message became clear.

".......battle group Oscar 4.....fire in the  hold...... life support failing...... never saw them....."

"Hello! Let me talk to the Captain!"

"..... dead, sir. we're...... what the hell!  Hold her steady! ..... Get those guns on line!....."

"What's your status!?"

"....can't hear you...."

"Where are you? We'll send support!"

"..... end...  lane...... Sigma.... Dammit!......"

The signal dropped,  The screen went white.

"What the ... Can you get a fix on that , Chief?"

"Working on it Sir. Best I can give you is between Sigma X-13 and Ptolemy."

"Dammit, man! There's a lot of space between those two!"

"Best I can give you, sir. Not much to work with."

Gannon looked at the CPO. The man looked as if he was going to cry. He'd seen it before. The strongest men could fall apart the first time they saw death. You didn't have to see it to see it. In fact, most of the times, if you were close to see it, it was the last thing you saw. The Black  was a harsh mistress. She doesn't allow for any mistakes and never gave back the price she collected for them.

"I know, Chief. You're doing the best you can. See if you can get an idea of the last position of Oscar 4 and  try to get hold of any of the other cruisers  in the area. I need some eyes out there."

[Seraphear]

"Seraphear, we've had reports of fighting in Alex! I think the Nomads are making their move!" I heard Wolf's voice over the coms, and switched the broad channel to address our ragtag fleet.

"Ok ladies and gentleman. It appears the Nomads are beginning to make their move." I glanced at the readouts. "Expect enemy contact very, very soon."

"Erm... Seraphear?" A hesitant voice said in reply.

"Yes Captain, what is it?"

"One of our battleships seems to be experiencing engine difficulties."

As the man spoke I saw a huge Pirate battleship drift away from the fleet, its exhaust spewing light in random patterns. It flew unsteadily away from us, the crew obviously trying to keep the rest of fleet out of danger.

"Well I'm afraid they will have to patch up and do the best they can." I counted up. "We have another 4 ready, and I believe we have several more cruisers with us."

"Yes Seraphear."

I looked back again, the battleship still limping away from us. I only hoped they could get far enough away to repair without being in danger of the Nomads when they arrived. With any luck they would be able to enter the battle.

"Keep your engines warmed and your guns ready." I reminded everyone. It seemed Carnival was doing just that, taking potshots at passing debris and pulling reckless moves in his N1.

We all settled down and waited uneasily for our visitors...

[Erebus]

He stood before his Queen once more. This time another of her elite Eclipse by his side. Yet in this place there was no strength or courage in numbers. Were all Eclipse crowded before her throne, all the more would be the trembling before her terrible beauty.

Erebus glanced sideways at Koumori as if to say "You first." He cloaked his thought knowing were he to loosen it his Queen would be first to hear it. Koumori, being an Elder Eclipse, knew better than to behave in such a way and  ignored him. His steady focus on the dais before him was rewarded.

"Erebus, tell me what I want to hear."

"Yes, my Queen. Our armada is assembled in Alexandria. The Hive is reborn and flourishes. Advance guards have already begun to probe their defenses. They show no signs of coordination. We seem to have taken them completely by surprise.

"Their forces are concentrating around our city in Sparta as anticipated. Our forward units are in position in all the adjacent systems but Tohoku. Ships are assembling there to brush aside whatever meager resistance might be encountered. Scout reports lead us to anticipate none.

"All is in readiness for our initial pre-emptive strikes in Order systems. Shadow units await instructions."

With a barely perceptible nod she turned her attention to Koumori.

"A large force has assembled in Alaska, my Queen. They have even activated an old base there. It appears they are preparing for a massive assault."

"Excellent... You have more to report?"

Koumori shuffled his feet, if such a term can be used, in an apparent display of discomfort. "Yes. It appears the Humans may be introducing new technology in their defense of New York. We have not been able to ascertain the nature of this unexpected development. However, with no other reference to it elsewhere I conclude they may be fielding a technology which may be limited in supply. It makes sense they would deploy such a weapon in defense of a home world if they were few in numbers. This adds credence to the conclusion this new technology may be formidable for it to be depended on for such a defense"

The Queen leaned forward, her face transformed into a vision of menace. Lesser Nomads might die of fright before her anger. Indeed these Eclipse trembled.

"WHAT!?" Why did I not know of this sooner?!?" Her vocalized demand echoed throughout the hall, so powerful was her rage.

"M-my Queen. I have only discovered this myself and have hurried to you with this news."

"Where were my eyes and ears in their home systems as this new weapon was created? Who has failed me!"

Erebus and Koumori looked at each other, trembling. Erebus recovered more quickly, perhaps because it was not he who feared for his life, perhaps because he saw an opportunity to glean favor over his peer from an angry Queen.

"My Queen, in order to not alert the Humans of their impending destruction our agents have remained as quiet and reserved as possible. Even so, the most important information continues to be reported. I would not be concerned with this development since it has not surfaced. It may be of no consequence and perhaps......"

The Queen rose to her feet.  Being the Queen she was of significantly greater stature than any male in the hive. Her entire body seemed to expand as the fullness of her outrage radiated beyond any physical constraint. Her aura shone a brilliant violet-red as she raised her arms, waving them in fury.

"Fool!" The very walls shook in terror. "It does not occur to you the greater the threat the more deeply these cunning Humans would conceal it?! In this most important hour our eyes and ears should be more open than ever before! Upon who's authority were they closed??? You dare tell me what should be my concern! You insignificant minion! I have no further use for you!!!"

With that her arms were leveled toward Erebus. Her glowing aura deepened into a pure red and expanded toward the Eclipse. Koumori backed away. Erebus stood transfixed as the light enveloped him. Then his eyes flew open and his face contorted as spasms wracked his being. He writhed in pain, his mind and voice screamed out their terror. He fell to the floor. His body twitched a moment then lay still, already beginning to whither as his life seeped out into the Void.

She turned her attention to her remaining "elite" and growled. "Return to Alaska. Watch carefully. Miss nothing. Report to me hourly. Understood?"

"Y-y-yes, m-my Queen."

[align=center]---------------------------------------------------------------@oOo@-----------------------------------------------------------------------[/align]

He had followed the Nomad to the hall again, once more hoping to gain any possible insight as to his situation and how to escape it.

When the silence was shattered with the Queen's shrieking "WHAT!" he could not help himself. Instinct drew him to peer around the corner. The Queen was obviously angry. Her voice was so terrible to his ears that he shrank back in fear. When she rose he was surprised at her height. Her sounds became more agitated until he knew she was completely outraged. She began to glow. He watched, amazed as the light around her changed color and grew. One of the Nomads scurried into the shadows while the other, the one he had come to know in recent days as Erebus, remained. As the light surrounded him, he began a keening sound that rose in pitch and volume until he thought his head might split like stone under a sonic drill. Then he collapsed and the room fell deathly quiet.

The queen focused her attention on the other Nomad for a moment, then swept from the room. The other Eclipse remained a moment, turning to look at the body of him comrade on the floor. His face twisted into that shape he had come to recognize as a smile. The he left the hall through a side opening.

He was about to venture into the hall to get a closer look at the unfortunate Erebus when several drones scurried in and took hold of the body. They lifted it unceremoniously and hauled it toward him.

Knowing he was not visible, his curiosity overwhelming, he simply stepped aside. As they moved past him he could clearly see Erebus' face. It was contorted in an expression of absolute horror.

He followed, curious. They carried the body to one of the rooms he had been watching, in fact the very one he had found himself in weeks ago.  They carelessly dropped him on the slab and left. He was of no further concern.

Interesting, he thought. Most interesting....