Mission 7: Space

[MrKill]

The Tranquilitas Beta system is littered with various navigational hazards, such as chunks of hull and armor, bodies, single ship fighters, debris and natural occurring asteroids.

The Covenant ships may, or may not, have reinforcements inbound. They do, however, have powerful warships remaining after their battle against more than forty UNSC warships. They had a Pyrrhic victory, destroying nearly all of them, but suffered a strategical defeat as they were forced to leave the moon of Sanctuary before fleeing to the last planet in the solar system. They prepare to battle to the death.

The UNSC, fortunately, has been slightly reinforced with a refit and repair station. Large, multiple kilometer long support vessels capable of servicing and repairing any ship within the United Nations Space Command Navy. With the refit and repair station four picketing destroyers are on a permanent escort detail during its assignment in the system. Two UNSC ships, a carrier and a cruiser, have also entered the system to reinforce the 22nd and 14th fleets.

Out of the four remaining Covenant ships, they have sought the shelter of the atmosphere of the final planet, knowing the UNSC wouldn't dare firing so close to civilization. All four Covenant warships currently hover near the domed caps, able to deploy massive reinforcements in a matter of minutes. Since they are strategically positioned, maintaining an altitude CAP is nearly impossible for the UNSC as their lasers lash out and destroy the Longswords that take off from the airfields.

UNSC Objectives:
1) Maintain orbital superiority over the Covenant warships! [Incomplete]
2) The orbital stations are blocking the Covenant communications, defend it! [Incomplete]
3) Keep the orbital station secure of hostiles, no boarding parties are tolerable! [Incomplete]
4) Find a way to lure the Covenant ships away from the domes... [In progress]

UNSC Military Strength (Total):
2 x Marathon I Cruisers
1 x Marathon II Cruisers
1 x Tafalgar Carrier
1 x Virtue Carrier
2 x Frigates (Multiple classes)
1 x Destroyer
-- AWAY FROM BATTLE --
4 x Destroyers (Various classes, picket escort)
1 x Virtue Carrier (Severely damaged, docked with R&R Station)
1 x Marathon II Cruiser (Severely damaged, docked with R&R Station)


Covenant Objectives:
1) Find a way to lower the pathetic human jamming! We must purge the heretics with more ships. [Incomplete]
2) They seem to be interested in the space station connecting their primitive invention, find out why. [Incomplete]
3) Destroy the remaining human warships. Be careful, readings suggest large tonnage warships are all that remain. [Incomplete]

Covenant Military Strength (Fleet): 
2 x Heavy Destroyers (In atmosphere)
1 x Frigate (In atmosphere)
1 x Corvette (In atmosphere)

[David]

Admiral David Vardy
Commander of the 22nd Fleet
Bridge - UNSC Killimanjaro

Stepping off the lift onto the bridge, David took note that the repair crews had finished with the Bridge and had moved onto the lower decks. Privately the dock master of the R&R station had informed him that the damage caused by David's "Little" maneuver had burnt out more than predicted and that the ETA for repairs had gone up from 15 hours to 30. Time that he couldn't spare. It was usually shorter but considering that Admiral Klix's ship was the most badly damaged, The station was focusing most of its efforts on the Iowa. 

Shaking his head ever so slightly, David headed over to his command chair where Tom yielded his spot. Sitting down, David punched up the current fleet numbers and repair status of each. It was fortunate that things had not been more serious than what they had been. Not that any human loss was acceptable, He felt that given the circumstance, The battle could have been much worse. Plus the two fleets maintained a somewhat superior position for now. But life had a way of throwing curve balls. One thing David knew all too well.

"Status of the ship, Lambert." David called out, Looking at the Holographic Pedestal. Within seconds, the balding, middle aged dark skinned man with a cup of coffee in one hand and a clipboard in the other appeared, and pretended to take a sip of coffee.

"Admiral. Ship stands at 78% ready. Repairs to lower decks has commenced. Refueling and restocking has been complete." Lambert said in his usual arch tone. "We're fortunate the ship didn't suffer more."

"Thank you Lambert, that will be all." David said, Dismissing the A.I. Then turning to Paris, David offered a tired smile. "Well commander? What's the status of the 22nd."

"The 22nd, or should I say what's left" Paris said evenly. "Is almost ready. Thankfully they weren't caught too badly in the nuke's wake."

"Thank you Commander." David said. In truth, He was silently grateful that the fleet could muster so well after being ripped apart. The fact that what he did have left was almost ready was a blessing. "Mr. Kim." David turned to Kim. "Get me the 22nd fleet."

"Aye. Channel Open." Kim said as his fingers played across his console.

"This is Admiral Vardy." David began. "Right now, Most of you are as I am sure, rattled by the events of what happened. I know it isn't easy loosing friends and comrades. It's never easy. I want you all to know that I am immensely proud of each and every one of you. For your dedication and pride. For your abilities and resourcefulness. And now, I am asking for it once again as we prepare to re-engage the Covenant."

Pausing, David looked out at the Holographic table. 

"Once all ships report ready, the 22nd fleet is going to start out for the remaining Covenant fleet. We have to keep the pressure on so that they know we mean business. Of course we know that four ships are still quite dangerous, So I want you all to remain vigilant and calm. To that end, Please report ship readiness reports hourly to my A.I. and once repairs are complete we will head out. Vardy out."

"You did always have a way with words, Admiral." Lambert said wryly.

"Words are easy." David replied. "It's the conviction behind them that's the hard part."

[Cabel]

[En-Route to meet up with UNSC Fleet Remnants near the Planet Protector: UNSCS Passchendaele: Bridge: Month: January, Year 2548]

The bridge lay silent with only the constant tapping of keys and the pinging from the scanners as the nearly twelve hundred meter cruiser lined from the bulkheads with weapons that would force any armies or navies in previous wars to pale in comparison kept a steady pace locked on a rendezvous course with the remnants of two UNSC Fleets. Looking around the bridge, the Russian officer had to admit his crew of nearly eighteen years of service with many having served by his side longer observed a professionalism only the older more rare crews in the UNSC Navy had the right to claim. The Passchendaele‘s crew had served together for nearly two decades, a notion Matvey held close out of respect as his crew kept humbled out of respect for the dire situation each of them had known from the moment the Fleet briefings had been intercepted while the Marathon Cruiser had remained delayed in a repair cradle out of the rank stupidity of an uppity yard officer.

“Time until arrival?” Matvey asked, that Slavic accent of his breaking the silence that had engulfed the bridge from his hunched over position overlooking the holographic projection table. An older officer, the aging Captain studied the Fleet‘s layout around the colony world of Protector that even his clearance had only barely managed to scrape the surface of. The colony world of Protector had been steeped in more classified material, buried under even more red-tape than the entirety of secret projects held during Earth’s Cold War from the late nineteen forties to the late nineteen eighties, a notion that hadn’t exactly made him feel any more comfortable about the mission assigned. The reports on the losses sustained by the UNSC over Sanctuary hadn‘t been that assuring, where less than a handful of ships had survived against two Covenant Fleets. The Iowa had been damaged, probably beyond repair if luck had been against his old friend Admiral Klix and the Admiral‘s flag had been transferred to the Athenian. The lower tonnage ships had been mostly destroyed with only a few remaining, while the larger Tassafaronga had been designated a temporary refuge for the remaining personnel from the marines, ODSTs and the Fleet. A Trafalgar Class Fleet Carrier, he noted. Over the nearly forty years he‘d been serving on the front in one fashion or another, he‘d rarely set eyes on a Trafalgar Class. The reality the UNSC had deployed a Fleet carrier of that class had been a definite sign to even the most uneducated about the war that the war had taken a dire turn.

“Estimated time of arrival stands at thirty-six hours, twelve minutes, and twelve seconds,” Nadezhda, the Passchendaele’s A.I. reported having materialized in a corner of the holoprojection table. “The Shaw-Fujikawa Slipspace Reactor is operating at forty-percent capacity while the main Reactor’s at sixty percent capacity. The second reactor’s on standby and the third reactor having been designated to power the main and secondary cannons,”

“Increase the Shaw-Fujikawa Reactor’s thrust by fifteen percent, and the main reactor to seventy percent. Increase the coolant by six percent,” he ordered not even having to look up from the holographic projections.

“It has been seen to. The increase to both the Shaw-Fujikawa Reactor and the main reactor has altered our time of arrival by nine hours. We should arrive within the system of Protector in twenty-seven hours, twelve minutes, and twelve seconds,” the Passchendaele’s A.I. replied. “You should get some rest in your quarters, Matvey. You haven’t slept in the last twenty-four hours,”

“I’ll get some rest shortly, after I’ve ingested the last of these reports. The Covenant’s intent on claiming a foothold, on taking this colony we’re sailing to and they aren’t going to stop. They didn’t stop on Refuge, and they didn’t stop on Sanctuary. My old instructor used to have a saying, that if you must fight do so from a position of strength. You can’t allow your opponent to see you shirk, or hesitate. Those are words I’ve lived by,” Matvey explained.

“A piece of wisdom that could be seen as either wise or arrogant, depending on your view. I view it as being wise, as your old instructor had been a wise man although given that he was instructing you he had to have been a man with far more patience than most,” Nadezhda said.

“He was patient, but I remember when I’d been younger I resented him. He left bruises on my arms, leaving them purple and blue for days. A stern taskmaster, but a patient man,” Matvey said.

“You need rest. You can’t be at your best, for the crew or for the others if you’re about to fall over,” Nadezhda said, in a soothing voice and in what some might have interpreted as an impossible gesture from a collection of algorithms and pixels moved over to where her friend stood. Taking a seat with her legs dangling off the side of the table, she sat in front of her friend blocking his view or at least moving the holographic projections to the side. “Get some rest. I know you too well, and I know you’d rather fight than take one step into your quarters. Get some rest, Matvey. The bridge will be fine. Alice will watch over things, and will alert you if things do change. I will personally alert you before we arrive in the system,”

“Persistency has never been your failing,” he replied. “I‘ll abide by your proscription. Commander Qelar,…Alice, you‘re in charge of the bridge. I‘ll be taking a friend‘s advice, and if you need me I‘ll be in my quarters. Inform me if anything changes,” the Russian officer ordered knowing his long-serving XO even from the Alsatian would have carried out his orders even if he hadn‘t said anything. “Thank you, Nadezhda,” Saving the field reports with the holographic projections they had managed to divine through the reports received, the Russian Aristocratic Officer turned from the situation table crossing to the nearest lift guarded by several marines. Stepping inside, he‘d yawn a bit and submitted the designated deck his quarters had been on.

[Huka]

Shipmaster Chur’R-Suf
Aboard the Burning Lineage, assessing battle damage and objectives

“And I said; I want my ship up and running by the next unit!” The aged Kig-yar shrieked through the comlink with his quills erect and vivid of red before shutting off transmission with his translator to the Huragok repairers. Slumping back into his command chair’s soft cushy pillow with a kneading to his beak. “The Gods and their virtues, the beautiful Goddess and her graces, give me strength to not shoot that incompetent fool and his egg-mate.” He mumbled while waiting for the vine in his scalp to calm.

The Security Master just arrived in full Commando armor, strutting along with his necklace of collected teeth from the Heretic ship boarding jiggling to each step. “The ship is clear of anything unsightly, Shipmaster!” he reported with a crisp salute born of a life-time of military professionalism. Suf looked at the former commando from the corner of his bulbous gray eye and nodded, glad he had a respectable knit, and eager for the refitting of their captured bounty to be done for better accommodations.

“Excellent. Keep our Ranger lances ready for quick boarding action and the security at the crack of any disruption to our schedule.” Suf instructed before letting a raspy breath, still can’t believing their task forces’ whittling to human ships...but if the classifications were correct, he is not surprised anymore.

In that little revelation, he prayed that their remnant will be able to get through this. Just then he noticed Bol staring at him from the corner of her beautiful white-golden eye that matched her russet mane, but she’ll never know that from him. “Something on your mind, First Mate?” He asked. Her feathers fluttered up for a brief moment before the fit pirate answered, “I worry for your health, Old Bird.” That made Suf recall his age immediate and hacked out in annoyance. “Old. Bird?” He replied.

“Old Bird. Can’t say you’ll catch the wretches back at ol’ asteroid harlems.” The female retorted and Suf cackled, brightening his mood some as he snipped back, “I could say the same for you.” Bol flaunted her feathers elegant and proudly as she returned in raspy hiss, “In your envious dream, All-mighty Shipmaster.” Leaning back and allowing his Firstmate her little victory, Suf returned to his duty as he got back up despite his legs complaining. “Vak, try to establish some kind of communications with the other ships and find out the hells is going on.” He ordered, stretching his arms out before looking out through the front blastwindows to see the ‘small’ battle in the distance.

“As you command, Shipmaster.” The fellow Ruuhtian replied, his talons moving in practiced agility to access the battle net for any possible frequency while the elder thought on how to handle this battle to discuss with the Field Marshal below.

[Cabel]

[Tranquilitas Beta System, Rendezvous with the Fleet Remnants: UNSCS Passchendaele: Bridge: Month: December, Year 2547]

Transiting gracefully from slipspace, the nearly twelve hundred meter long cruiser bore witness to a system littered with the blasted hulls of UNSC ships and their Covenant counterparts to lifeless bodies twisting listlessly in a heated vacuum. The crew of the Passchendaele had been witness to dozens of systems throughout each of their lengthy careers having been reduced to tombs often either devoid entirely of life or in instances rare and increasingly fleeting a bastion of defense. The mutterings of a few of the younger officers among the bridge crew including that of the young Lieutenant Junior Grade that had been assigned as his subaltern caught his attention, but the aging officer hadn‘t the inclination to reprimand them. The scene before them had intended to tempt their fears, drawing on that notion that the engagement had been decided. A failed attempt, by any measure, he‘d mused. The system lay contested, but the victors had hardly been decided and the Planet Protector had the misfortune of being chosen as the final arena in a system that had been plagued twice in recent months. The Covenant in their unbridled arrogance held that humanity had been better off coming to heel under their boots or whatever the Covenant equivalent had been. For nearly three decades, humanity had proven the Covenant‘s assumptions had been flawed.

“Lieutenant Denrae, open an encrypted channel to the Athenian and the Kilimanjaro. Inform the Admirals the Passchendaele has arrived to reinforce the line, and to assist in any fashion available,” Matvey ordered, having reclined back in the cushioned command chair dominating the center of the bridge. The forward monitors located at the front of the bridge provided him with a view of the system‘s devastation as the Marathon cruiser altered course slightly towards the cluster of ships centered around a massive plate of armor classed as a Repair and Refit station. “Cycle the MLA turrets, and charge both the main and secondary cannons. Prime the ARCHER pods, and keep the SHIVAs on stand-by. Alice, alert the Longsword squadron, and their crews to be prepared to launch at a moment's notice. Pelican, and Albatross pilots are to be included in that order. Bring us into position with the rest of the Fleet,”

[MrKill]

Admiral Eric Klix
Ship unavailable!
Refit and Repair Station

"We were so close to defeat." Eric said quietly as he sat on the observation deck of the massive refit and repair station that had been summoned to the system on orders from fleet command. He watched in the distance as one of the picket Destroyers floated by on her inertia, her engines glowing softly. To the left was the Admiral's own massive cruiser, beginning the first stages of a long repair process, or even a dismantling operation. He wouldn't know for another hour as the crew still examined the ship, but the damaged were extremely severe. The Iowa certainly wasn't leaving the system until it was either repaired and scrapped. The nearly 1.7km long vessel was torn and defeated.

"Then decide if Admiral Vardy made the right decision." Eric's XO said as he stood up and walked over to the window. Bodies floated in the distance and the only reason either of them saw the floating corpse was due to the contrast from the dark pattern in the blue engine flare from the destroyer. The UNSC was still collecting bodies, and they'd continue to do so for some time.

"More than forty ships were lost." Eric said as he thought to himself, allowing the depression of his failures to sink in. It wasn't like him, but apparently the defeats were finally starting to pressure his sanity. He may have had a couple of Pyrrhic victories on his record but it wasn't worth the thousands of dead humans floating in the vacuum outside the window the veteran naval officer stared out of. He knew he had to keep fighting forward or the entire race he tried to defend would be nothing more than ash on a planets surface or a frozen body in space.

"And more will fall, sir." The XO replied.

Klix knew he was right.

"Of course. Get back on the dropship, XO. I'll follow in a minute, I just need to collect my things." Eric replied.

The Admiral collected his backpack and said his final goodbyes to the ship he had saved his life more times than he could remember, "May we meet again, old girl."

[John]

Captain Dylan Hawkins
Commander of Virtue-Class Carrier UNSCS Lexington
Lexington Bridge

Captain Hawkins had been sitting on the bridge for several hours. The Lexington was late. They were supposed to arrive with the Repair and Refit station, but were forced to stay behind due to a mechanical failure. The problem was easily fixed, but it made them lose time.

The Captain had only taken a break to get something to eat, and that wastwo hours ago now. He was waiting anxiously to get out of slipspace. Looking at his watch, he saw that they would arrive any minute now. Captain Hawkins looked around the bridge. This would be the first battle of this crew as a whole. Yes, individually most of them were experienced people. But they had never fought together, and the first time was always the worst.

The Captain held onto his seat as the carrier dropped out of slipspace. Immediately after, he stood up, walked to the communications station and said "Give me comms with Admiral Vardy." The Lieutenant tapped a few buttons and then nodded so as to say the channel was open.

"UNSCS Killimanjaro, this is Captain Hawkins of the UNSCS Lexington. Admiral duBois' compliments, sir. We are requesting clearance to join the formation, and I am asking for your orders sir. Hawkins out."

Then the Captain told the Lieutenant at the Navigation console to set a course towards the fleet, full speed ahead.

[David]

Admiral David Vardy
Bridge - UNSCS KILLIMANJARO
Awaiting Repair Completion.

Sighing, David drummed his fingers against the armrest of his chair. The repair process was always a boring one and he right now didn't have much needing his attention. He had automated Covenant movement to Lambert, who was in process of tracking and making a pattern out. His XO was off dealing with personnel and other issues.

Just then, Kim looked at the Admiral and said "Admiral, Communication for you from Captain Hawkins of the Lexington."

Frowning, David couldn't recall the Lexington being attached to his fleet, But supposed it was likely due to burocratic red tape or something of that like. He could grab details later. "Put it through."

"UNSCS Killimanjaro, this is Captain Hawkins of the UNSCS Lexington. Admiral duBois' compliments, sir. We are requesting clearance to join the formation, and I am asking for your orders sir. Hawkins out."


Nodding, David now remembered that they were still stuck at space dock when this mission had first started. Obviously he was ready. duBois was always a sneaky bugger, slipping in ships just when needed. David made a mental note to see Admiral duBois at some point and have a cigar.

Send message back to the Lexington as follows: "Captain. Welcome to the battle. Our fleet is stationed around the R&R station. Pick a spot and hang tight. Once repairs are complete, we are heading out."

"Message sent sir" Kim replied.

Nodding, David went back to his bored stupor. Hopefully repairs would be done soon.

[Huka]

Shipmaster Chur’R-Suf
Aboard the Burning Lineage, Central Information Command Center
Hovering by the Lesser Human Dome

“So you are telling me there is little chance of hailing outside aid without breaking out of our only defense from the humans high-powered cannons?” Suf questioned on the bridge of upmost annoyance, staring at the Destroyer Shipmaster, one of the remaining original officers that dared to call the Redeeming Vigilance back to this cesspool of failure.

The Sangheili officer nodded with a similar wariness, “That is correct, Shipmaster. Until then, we can only provide support for our ground forces unless you have some sound plan to disrupt their communication jamming?” Suf almost thought he heard some hopefulness in the other’s voice but sadly, he couldn’t think of anything that didn’t including losing another ship.

Hissing out angrily at this waiting game, Suf immediately recalled Til’s previous report on their last venture here. It was almost the same for them in the air. “Blast these humans.” He finally said with a clench of his fist, despising being cornered like this. Stepping away to look at the central holotank, the Captain sneered as he zoomed in on their current position and the objectives. Three known domed structures...

Suf looked at the moving ID glyph of Til’s personal Spirit heading northward to the Water Processor for a moment before staring at the humans’ tower, called a space tether in its link between the surface colony and the space elevator. Such a primitive and very dangerous construct in war, the Kig-yar somewhat grinned in thought on how many innocents were killed in the foolish attempt to escape a Covenant fleet in one of those. He would personally take a small ship anytime than go up one of those.

“The Space Tether is a ideal target to exploit.” He finally said with his disturbed edge gone as a plan started to form in his head on how to exploit it without having the humans on his ship.

[Frazer]

Rear Admiral Frazer York
UNSCS Tassafaronga
Trafalgar Class Supercarrier  
Battlegroup B: 22nd Fleet
"Acting Commanding Officer of the 22nd Fleet"

Frazer walked onto the bridge, ready to take acting command of the 22nd Fleet as Admiral Kilx was aboard another ship not in the current vicinity. He was asked to take command for the moment until he could get here and relieve him. Even though the 22nd had been pretty much reduced to nothing. Only a few ships remained. Two being carriers in his battlegroup, the Preston. Admiral Vardy had the bigger fleet, so Frazer felt like he was the one calling the shots now. He didnt mind, Frazer just wanted to make sure things ran smoother than what happened in the last space fight. He hated nukes.

"Admiral all stations reporting in. Systems normal." Liara said as Frazer said on his captains chair. 

"Roger. Bring the ship to red alert. I was us ready. Wilson open me a channel, fleet wide." Wilson nodded and Frazer pressed the keypad on his chair. First time Frazer had actually used the keypad to speak on comms. 

"All UNSC ships apart of the 22nd Fleet, this is Rear Admiral York of the Tassafaronga. I want all ships ready for a fight. Maintain positions and stand by for anything. As the situation on the ground develops our objectives will change. We dont know whats out there. So be ready for anything. UNSCS Preston and I will have our longswords blanket our fleet and provide fighter support for the 14th and Admiral Vardy. York out" Frazer then wanted to speak to Admiral Vardy, one of his mentors. He was like family.

"Wilson a line to Admiral Vardy please."

"Yes Admiral." Again Wilson coded it in and Frazer spoke from his chair.

"Admiral Vardy. This is Rear Admiral York. Nice to speak to you again sir. I am acting commanding officer of the 22nd fleet until Admiral Klix returns. I would like to know what your plans are for the 14th? Maybe we could just merge the fleets and join as one. Your call." Frazer lent back into his chair. He didnt like splitting the fleets up so much so his idea made sense to him, but ultimately it was Vardy's call. 

[David]

Admiral David Vardy
14th Fleet Commander
UNSC KILLIMANJARO - Bridge.

"Status of the fleet" Asked Admiral Vardy as he sat back down in his chair. He had gone for an impromptu bathroom and coffee break and was now refreshed and ready, his coffee mug in hand.

"Fleet reports good to go. Status of the Iowa is unknown. She took a real beating" Kim replied.

Nodding, David already knew how bad the Iowa was. He had nearly shorn the ship apart. But there wasn't time to think on that now. Now he was just worried about getting through this engagement. Just then, a red light started blinking at Kim's station. Vardy looked at Kim questioningly.

"It's a transmission from Admiral York sir." Kim replied in answer to Vardy's unasked question.

"On Holotable one." replied Vardy, directing his gaze there as Admiral York face appeared.

"Admiral Vardy. This is Rear Admiral York. Nice to speak to you again sir. I am acting commanding officer of the 22nd fleet until Admiral Klix returns. I would like to know what your plans are for the 14th? Maybe we could just merge the fleets and join as one. Your call."


David watched as the face faded from the table. It was nice to know that he had his young protege with him. It made sense. Klix was out of commision for now, with no flagship, So Frazer took up the mantle. He then saw the routing codes and proper authorizations and satisfied, David stood at Holotable two now and directed Kim to open a channel back.

"Well met Admiral. The plan is simple. Take the fight to the Covenant. I was going to send 22nd out first, And have 14th come around and flank from the side. But I want to hear your thoughts." David said with a grim smile as he sent the transmission out.

[Huka]

Shipmaster Chur’R-Suf
Aboard the Burning Lineage, Central Information Command Center
A bad feeling...

The repairs were done on the Burning Lineage; plasma coils were operating at full capacity, the hull restored, and most importantly-the energy shields were operational. Suf was capable of making a swift run for the space tether, if anything terribly demoralize the humans with their casualty of the exposed elevator that transfers all sorts of resources. Self-preservation yearned within the old Ruuhtian but...there seemed to little other options for the Covenant ships at the moment with the human fleet dotting over their heads for the slightest mistake like the opportunists that they are keen to be. He did admit there was grand respect for it but not with the sack of his life.

He had a plan and he had to be quick about it...

Just then, when he got out of his seat again and rubbed at his back, feeling the touch of age again, the sound of alarms rang in the CIC. “Hm?”

“Shipmaster,” Zik squeaked out, “The planet is revealing irregular tectonic plate movements beyond the continent! Calculating at high tier of near 12!” That made the old Kig actually rasp out a disturbed sound from the back of his throat. While Covenant infrastructure was fundamentally strong enough to handle such force, he wasn’t quite sure on humans and the planet itself...

“Do you know the cause?” Suf asked, walking past the holotank and to the green-skinned Ruuhtian’s station as those talons worked their duties. There was a few heartbeats of silence as the view of glyphs calculated and reports to the signs of glassing upon the planet’s surface. “Our holy cleansing from the previous fleet distorted the crust enough for basically a ‘loosening’ and the plates are grinding together at this weakened space.”

Hissing out, the Kig-yar turned away and checked on the progress of the outside army. His jaw gaped out some at the running cracks running along the ground, some soldiers of different species and precious war machines falling into said-chasms while the army quickly tried to make organize themselves when not thrown on their faces and rears. This wasn’t looking quite good and Suf had a particular wonder if the domes saved their prey inside their blasted shields...

“We need to hurry.” He declared before quickly moving over to his command chair when his Communications officer warned about two calls; one from Til on the Battlenet and the senior Destroyer shipmaster calling for him again. Tapping on the answer key, Suf leaned down and listened to the voice of his dear friend, shouting as if for his life in the event of the powerful earthquake, “We need extraction! Drop Locusts for mining through the collapsed ways!” Some reason, the elder felt his spines tingled. He knew quite well that the Field Marshal didn’t like trapped...

At that, Suf tapped on his key again to allow the Destroyer Shipmaster to appear again in place of his map, “Vak, get us over to the army! We’re dropping some help for the Field Marshal!” He ordered with a point of his claw.

“What are you doing, Kig-yar? This is not the best time to be drop any support for the soldiers with this earthquake occurring.” The younger Sangheili questioned, his shoulders stiff and mandibles tight at his own anxiety of being practically useless from their position. Suf looked at the gilded armored elite officer with a certain cunning look on his face, fighting to resist being sarcastic or ‘out of line’ with the Sangheili. “Then rain your unquestionable firepower on the human dome. With this quake, it is sure to give us something.” He ‘advised’ before pacing abit, “I will drop locusts down to the troops, the front forces are trapped in the human tunnels and when the support drop is complete, we will continue with operations on the tether.”

The stalwart Sangheili looked at Suf in consideration to his advise and course of action before snaking his head in a nod-like fashion. “Very well. This operation is on your head alone, Chur’R-Suf. We will not assist unless it provide complete victory.” He said neutrally.

“As long as you get this soldiers off-world to live another day, that’s all I ask.” Suf said with a resigned look to his aged face. The Shipmaster looked surprised to that and something gleamed in his eyes for a moment, “...I can honor that.” Giving an approving nod, Suf tapped his claw on his chair and ended transmissions with a soft sigh.

Nearby, a sour-faced Bol looked at her Captain, “Sir...” Suf lifted a hand immediately, “No, First Mate. I’ve given you your instructions and I want them carried out if this doesn’t work.” The former pirate looked like she wanted to say something but submitted, “As you wish, Shipmaster.”

With that said, the entire bridge was quiet with the exception of some chat on the deliveries to be made, the army-wide battlenet going off about the earthquake, and the hums of the Burning Lineage while the Sangheilian pilots slipped into their legionary Locusts, guiding the squat thickly-armored quadrupeds into their personal shock-absorbing drop pods like tight-legged spiders. The leading Major reported with the filtered rasp of his sealed helmet distorting his voice, “Anti-Fortification Lance of Boiling Grace ready to drop.”

After ten tedious-feeling rooks of the heavy corvette hovering towards an acceptable spot near the destroyed airfield before Suf’s voice warned to the commanders below, “Burning Lineage dropping in support. May the Gods burn our path bright as these burners do!” And on that dramatic mark, the eight egg-like drops fell from the heavens, putting a high acceleration for the tether's pinnacle the tick they left her underbelly with coils and slipspace drive warming up for the biggest attack that the Lineage will see in a while.

[MrKill]

Admiral Eric Klix
Pelican Bravo 024
Orbit over Sanctuary

Bravo 024, the pelican ferrying Admiral Klix to the UNSCS Athenian, had stopped mid flight to avoid a chunk of debris that was floating towards Sanctuary after the bloody and disastrous space battle that both sides had fought. Over a thousand bodies, both Covenant and human, were still floating in the vacuum waiting for recovery crews to gather the dead. Humanity wouldn't collect the Covenant, they had more respect for the Covenant than to disgrace their dead... most of the time. They were getting exterminated with ruthless efficency - everyone and a while a serviceman or woman would fire a coup de grace into a wounded Covenant warrior, or simply fire into a decease corpse in frustration.

But no one deserved to die without air to breath. Eric couldn't think of a worse death, suffocating with no air to breath. Drowning was different, felt different. When you drowned your body was replaced by water, but in space the air is sucked out of you with nothing to fill the void. Painful way to go, and Eric only hoped most of the now deceased went quickly - for both sides. He may have hated the Covenant, and he knew that their drive to exterminate humanity was fueled by religious belief, but he still found a way to respect their dead. In reality, he had come to the realization that they too were just following orders of their superiors, no matter how crazy the religious mumbo-jumbo sounded.

The fact that they continue to fight with the passion to rid humanity meant everyone in this alliance of races were on board, but there were acts that proved that they were also individuals. There had been a few incidents where Covenant warriors had showed 'respect' to humanity, particularly the Elites, in the past few years of the way. Slowly, almost unnoticed, the Elites appear to be gaining respect for humanities resistance against a technological superior enemy. Some elites refused to engage Marines, Army or even Civilians without them being armed, others would gun them down regardless.

Eric had long stopped wishing for a victory between the two organizations, and deep down he knew that it would never happen, but he hoped that humanities final stands would be a legacy to someone, something...somewhere. Particularly to the Covenant - hopefully teaching the Covenant that no matter how vast their technology is, no race will go down without a fight. That one day something more powerful then them will annihilate their cultures.

"Admiral," The pilot of the pelican said, snapping Eric out of his stupor. "We're approaching the UNSCS Athenian."

"Thank you," Eric replied. "Have hanger control hail the Rear Admiral in command. Once those skids drop I'm in command."

"Aye aye, sir."

[Cabel]

[Tranquilitas Beta System, Rendezvous with the Fleet Remnants: UNSCS Passchendaele: Bridge: Month: January 1, Year 2548]

"All UNSC ships apart of the 22nd Fleet, this is Rear Admiral York of the Tassafaronga. I want all ships ready for a fight. Maintain positions and stand by for anything. As the situation on the ground develops our objectives will change. We don’t know what’s out there. So be ready for anything. UNSCS Preston and I will have our longswords blanket our fleet and provide fighter support for the 14th and Admiral Vardy. York out,” came the ship wide transmission from the Tassafaronga over the bridge speakers.

“Acknowledge that transmission along that same encrypted frequency. Inform the Killimanjaro we await the order and are in position. Send along an encrypted frequency to the Killimanjaro,” Matvey said from where he‘d stood near the situation table located in the rearmost compartment of the bridge. He knew most commanders often micromanaged, hovering over the shoulders of their bridge crew manning their stations, but Matvey had held greater respect for his crew. With the exception of replacements from Reach, his crew had established themselves as veterans meaning any novice amongst them had been rooted out long ago. He expected his crew’s adherence to their duties, but hadn’t been so blind as to ignore their lives beyond the touch screens and systems diagnostics required to keep the aging Heavy Cruiser operating. As an old officer, Matvey had come to know the off-duty habits of his crew as much as their lives at their stations and he wouldn’t have traded that knowledge. It made him a better officer, a better human being to know even at the top he wasn’t alone. Humanity had to be fought for, but victory in the twenty-three year long war against the Covenant bent on their annihilation had been an objective replaced with survival.

“Transmissions sent over encrypted frequencies. The transmission to the Tassafaronga is to inform them their message had been received, and the transmission to the Killimanjaro is to inform them of our intent and our position in the formation,” Lieutenant Denrae, at the Communications Station, reported.

“Good,” Matvey replied. “Nadezhda, prepare to reinforce your core for an EMP barrage. The chance of someone firing off a series of SHIVA warheads is high, and I do not want you or your core to be fried if that happens,”

[John]

Captain Dylan Hawkins
Commander of Virtue-Class Carrier UNSCS Lexington
Lexington Bridge

"Ackowledge orders, mister Mulholland. Mister Dempsey, you heard the man. Move us into a nice spot on the left flank. Jack, have one wing in the air. I want them flying CAP for the fleet. Also have the bombers and the other wing on a five-minute standby. Frank, sound Action Stations."

The Captain calmly gave some quick orders. He wanted the Lexington in a fighting trim as soon as possible. The Lexington heaved to, and made her way towards her spot slowly but surely. His orders were carried out, and the Captain saw the tiny dots of the Longswords appearing on the holotable. He wanted to get the fight done so that he could go home to his wife again.

[Frazer]

Rear Admiral Frazer York
UNSCS Tassafaronga
Trafalgar Class Supercarrier
Battlegroup B: 22nd Fleet
"Acting Commanding Officer of the 22nd Fleet"

After a short wait a reply from the Admiral came through on the bridge speakers. "Well met Admiral. The plan is simple. Take the fight to the Covenant. I was going to send 22nd out first, And have 14th come around and flank from the side. But I want to hear your thoughts." Frazer was puzzled with the sudden urge to attack, it didnt sound like a tactic Vardy used a lot. Frazer also didnt want to take the fight to the Covenant as their fleet was very low on numbers. Frazer decided to reply right away.

"Nice to finally meet you again Admiral. I understand the plan is to take to the fight to the Covenant, but I personally dont feel confident in our numbers that we would actually win the fight. We have lost a lot, I dont want to lose more. Is there an alternative?" Frazer may have sounded not in control but the fact was he didnt want to lose more men or ships. He was ready to do his duty but theirs a line that shouldnt be crossed and thats certain defeat.

Whilst Frazer waited he decided to give orders to the Preston to make sure she was ready for a fight if there was one to come. "Wilson a line to the Preston if you could."

"Yes sir." Wilson waited a moment. "Right your on."

"Captain Lanklyn. Rear Admiral York. I want to let you know another engagement is most likely going to happen, I want you to head the Longsword fighter squadrons, make sure they know there targets ect. Tiffany can you help with you that. Dont let me down. York out." Frazer cut the line. There wasnt anything left to say.

He then set back down and waited for Vardy's reply. Yes he was strongly against another attack on the Covenant Fleet but if it came down to it he would do the job to the best of his ability. Frazer sighed. Hopefully this would end well. Hopefully...

[David]

Admiral David Vardy
UNSCS KILLIMANJARO
Commander of the 14th Fleet.

"Nice to finally meet you again Admiral. I understand the plan is to take to the fight to the Covenant, but I personally dont feel confident in our numbers that we would actually win the fight. We have lost a lot, I dont want to lose more. Is there an alternative?


Chuckling quietly to himself, David allowed himself a moment to bask back in the glory of his younger, more naive years as a "Wet behind the ears" Rear Admiral. He hadn't learned it was not only expected, But demanded by the High Command to do the impossible and to do it with whatever you had. It wasn't so much a plan to win, it was a plan to make sure that they could hold out against the Covenant and complete whatever objectives needed to be done and get out in one piece. They had gotten lucky once. But twice was tantamount to making deals with the devil.

Regaining his composure, He sent the following message back. "Not from my stand point Admiral. We need to try and lure those ships away, Cut off their points of re-inforcement to make it easier for the ground troops."

Pausing, David took a second to wipe his brow before continuing. "I have no intention of winning. We got lucky once. Twice? I doubt even the Master Chief is that lucky. No. The plan simply is to lure them away by giving them something else to shoot at. We shall position ourselves on the edge of the system. Take a couple of pot shots, See what happens, and with a stroke of luck, the Ship Masters will take offence and come after us. But just in case, I shall run this plan by Admiral Klix to see if he has further instructions. Vardy out."

Sitting down again in his chair, He then looked at Kim. "Is Klix aboard his new ship yet?"

"Unknown sir. If he is, it hasn't been announced." Kim replied.

"Well get on it. We need him on the horn. Send continuous hails until he contacts us. When he does, Set up conference between myself, Him and Admiral York."

[MrKill]

Admiral Eric Klix
UNSCS Athenian
Marathon II Super-Heavy Guided Missile Cruiser

"Admiral Klix on the bridge!" A MP assigned to guard the bridge reported, saluted as the Admiral walked into the capacious bridge, and returned to his posture as the man strode in. The crew had turned to look, save for the navigation officers and a few communications specialists talking to the troops on the ground, so Klix knew that most of the eyes were on him. His bridge crew followed closely behind. Klix trusted his bridge crew, and he didn't know the Rear Admirals, so the most logical choice for him to do was shift the crews entirely from the Iowa to the Athenian.

"Sir," Rear Admiral Micheal said, saluting as well. "Welcome aboard the Athenian."

"Thank you, Rear Admiral. I am ready to relieve you of your command." Klix replied, standing more formally than casually.

"I am ready to be relieved, sir." The Rear Admiral replied.

Klix looked over his shoulder and nodded at his XO, who then proceeded to relieve the XO of the Athenian from his command, then members of the bridge crew relieved the officers at their stations. While they were doing that Klix and Micheal strode towards the holographic display. Eric had relieved the Rear Admiral of his command but respected that the man had cared and held responsibility for the ship, its crew and significance as a M-II Cruiser.

"Only four Covenant ships?" Eric asked. He sighed as he rotated the picture, immediately back into posture and pose as the Athenian's commanding officer. He wasted little time getting back into the mentality. The four Covenant ships hovered off the ground on the planet below them and they weren't moving. Both a strategic and tactical position for the Covenant warships. As before the UNSC could fire down on the planet or they'd risk killing everyone... if the recent Earthquake didn't already do the job.

"Yes sir. As far as I know Admiral Vardy had something up his sleeve to lure them away. We also detected a faint trace of a stealth ship but we've lost it." The Rear Admiral reported. Klix was aware of the illusive ship shortly after his arrival but figured it might have been the sensors picking up chunks of Covenant debris from the previous space battle that had all but destroyed both Klix's and Vardy's fleets.

"What is the damage status of the Athenian?" Klix asked.

"Nearly complete for patch work. She'll have to sit in a dry dock over Reach for a month to repair the total damage." The Rear Admiral replied.

"Total cost estimates?" Klix wondered. Perhaps the Iowa could be salvaged.

"About the seven million credits so far, sir." Micheal replied.

"That's fairly cheap," Klix responded somewhat surprised. "Iowa's repair estimation right now is roughly one hundred million credits..."

"Aye, sir. It is." Micheal said.

"Communications," Klix said. "Get me a channel to Admiral Vardy and inform him I've taken command of the Athenian just off of the orbital platforms location. Also... send a burst transmission to Rear Admiral York and tell him I've assumed command and transferred my flag to the UNSCS Athenian. Once I rejoin the fleet after repairs to the Athenian are completed I will assume command of the 22nd Cruiser Group."

[David]

Admiral David Vardy
Quarters - UNSC KILLIMANJARO
Supposedly sleeping.

After practically being escorted off his own bridge by his first officer, David decided to see the wisdom of the XO's call and decided he needed a brief respite from worrying on the bridge to worrying in his quarters. Naturally, He grabbed a cup of coffee, frowning on the fact that he felt it was crunch time and coffee was a luxury ill-afforded when things could come, literally in some cases, crashing down around his head.

Reaching his quarters, David let go a gusty, frustrated sigh. He felt like the situation was going to rapidly deteriorate if he wasn't there. Something, He was sure that his colleague, Admiral Klix, would agree. Wincing, David then buried some horrible thoughts. David felt responsible for all of his friends suffering, Even though he knew the Admiral understood the reasoning why, It didn't comfort David in the fact he had just cost the UNSC a lot of money and man-power to try and resurrect a Marathon 2. Was it worth the time expended? David hoped so, as it was going to be soon found out.

"Admiral." came the voice of his XO over the speakers. "I'm sorry to bother you off duty."

"Spare the courtesy, Commander. What is it?" David snapped.

"Sir." replied Paris, unfazed by his superiors bad mood. "Admiral Klix is trying to reach you."

Pausing for a brief moment, David experienced an odd sensation, One he rarely felt when talking with fellow officers, and that was fear. Irrational to be sure, But it was how he felt. 

"Sir?" pressed Paris. "Sir are you there?"

"Yes! Yes!. Put him through here." Replied David, annoyed at his lapse. He then went at sat at his desk and tried to compose himself before tapping the control for the monitor and said "Admiral Klix, Sir!" with what he hoped was a smooth and professional demeanor.

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Back on the bridge, Paris closed the channel and frowned. He knew Admiral Vardy usually never left the bridge, and Paris felt obligated to force him to rest. He wasn't sure what was eating the Admiral. He knew that ever since the incident in the previous battle, He had nearly destroyed the other Admiral's ship, Vardy had been more distant, Maybe seeing if he could prevent more people from being harmed on his orders. But.. this didn't fit.

"Sir." Kim said over at ops. "Permission to speak freely?"

Nodding, Paris walked over and said "Whats on your mind Harry?"

"Well... It's the Admiral" Kim said in a lower voice. "I'm worried he's... Not in control of himself."

Nodding his understanding, Paris put a hand on the LT's shoulder. "He'll be fine." and then after Kim had nodded, Had walked back over to the Command chair. As he sat, He secretly thought to himself. I hope.

[MrKill]

Admiral Eric Klix
UNSCS Athenian
Marathon II Super-Heavy Guided Missile Cruiser

((OOC: Sorry for the short posts. ))

Eric's eye brow shot up at the use of the honorific 'sir' and he begun to question Vardy's mental state. He knew the man had seen the horror of war, and eventually every man met their physical limitations to the things they witnessed. Being in a ship wasn't like being on the ground, no, but in a ship you spent hours plucking the dead bodies from a screen - it lead to the same results. Like food, it doesn't matter how you ate it, it all ended up in the same place.

Perhaps the stress of war was starting to barrage his friends head. "I'm the same rank as you, David." Eric replied calmly. "It's pretty quiet," Eric added. "You're in your personal quarters. I can leave you be if you wish." Eric finished, returning to the command chair and leading back.

[David]

Admiral David Vardy
Quarters - UNSC KILLIMANJARO
Speaking with Klix

Choosing to ignore Klix's advice, David proceeded to wait until Klix had sat back down before continuing. "Indeed. Now that we have that out of the way, We need to form a battle plan." David said, with a touch of sarcasm. Normally he would be bothered that he had allowed himself to slip like that, But now wasn't the time. He knew time was ticking before something bad happened and David wanted to be ready.

"It seems quiet. I know. But that's when most people let down their guard. Get complacent." David said, His brow furrowing. "But I want to be ready. I'm surprised you haven't got a plan up your sleeve already, unless you've waited until your settled in first."

Just then, Paris's voice cut over the intercomm, and David slapped the mute buttons and barked "Yes?"

"Admiral. The R&R station has informed me that repairs are complete on the Killimanjaro." Paris said, seemingly unperturbed.

"Thank you, Commander." David said dryly. "Have them focus their efforts on the Iowa and see if they can't get that ship working again. David out." and slammed the comm channel off, Then turned back on the audio for Klix.

"Sorry about that, Admiral. I've ordered the R&R to try and repair the Iowa as best as they can. Perhaps we can salvage the ship." David said, Knowing that it was likely a futile attempt. "But back to what I was saying. I have a plan ready, if you'd like to hear it. If so, I'd like to also get Admiral York in on this, As I'm sure he would like to be privvy to our discussion."

He then leaned back in his chair and waited for Klix to speak.

[Cabel]

[Tranquilitas Beta System, Rendezvous with the Fleet Remnants: UNSCS Passchendaele: Bridge: Month: January 1, Year 2548]

“What‘s the status of the Fleet?” Matvey asked standing adjacent to the situation table with its holographic projections. The situation table with its holographic projections had been appeared to have been the spot of choice on the bridge for the old Captain, out of the notion he‘d felt a commander had to have a handle on the situation with live reports from the engagement, and perhaps a bit out of habit between both the command chair and the table.

“There hasn’t been any change from the last transmission for us to move into formation, Sir,” the OPS officer reported from his station. “The Fleet’s still maintaining position surrounding the repair cradle,”

“The status of the Covenant Fleet?” Matvey inquired, even though the holographic projections were fed real-time data about the engagement and the positions of the remaining Covenant ships he’d still preferred having heard it from his bridge crew.

“The Covenant Fleet hasn’t altered course and is maintaining a presence within the planet’s atmosphere,” Commander Alice Qelar, at the tactical station reported.

“Inform me the moment one of those Covenant commanders even farts in our direction. Keep us on Tactical Readiness, and if you so much as see one of their shadows shifting raise us to TAC CON Alpha Two,” Matvey ordered. A chorus of acknowledges followed suit, leaving the Russian officer to wonder what the next move would be or with whom. Either the Covenant would make the first move, or the 14th Fleet and the 22nd Tactical Cruiser Group would which would be one of the first times in the War the UNSC navy had been on the offensive rather than on the constant defense.

“Lieutenant Denrae, send on an encrypted channel to the Killimanjaro. Inform Admiral Vardy the Passchendaele is waiting and ready,” he said as Lieutenant Denrae at the Communications station opened an encrypted channel and sent the message to the Killimanjaro.

[MrKill]

Admiral Eric Klix
UNSCS Athenian
Marathon II Super-Heavy Guided Missile Cruiser

Eric listened as Vardy issued his orders and spoke about his plan. While he was talking his mind trailed off, the Iowa was good as scrap metal, but he appreciated the offer. He couldn't help but think that his friend was feeling guilty now. If the ship had been destroyed by the nuclear bombs Klix would have surely died, but luckily the strong Cruisers frame managed to hold together.

He looked at the tactical holographic table on the bridge, the engines of the destroyed UNSCS Arizona still registering an active signal, indicating that the engines were still powered to a degree as the reactors slowly died. The Iowa, however, wasn't registering an active signal as the engines had been totally shut down. It wasn't a good sign, not even emergency lights - which would power the beacon - seemed to be off. It was only a matter of time before he got the bad news, but he already knew the Iowa wasn't slip-space capable.

"I'll hear your plan, David, add the Rear Admiral and let's discuss it."

[Doíteán]

Commander Frank Harris
UNSCS Inheritance
Pacing the Bridge

Frank Harris was grateful his crew survived without a scratch, as well as the Inheritance. She was a tough frigate to be sure.

"Commander, Admiral Klix has taken command of the Athenian. Also the Passchendaele has arrived to reinforce the fleets," his communications officer, Vladimir Chekovik, said as Harris sat down.

"Good to hear," he responded as his ship stayed near the 14th.

The frigate, while not the most powerful ship, was one of the fastest capital ships in the area. And Harris planned on capitalizing on that.

"Sir, the covenant ships are maintaining position near the planet," Nathan, his navigation officer, said as he kept the ship in position.

"Let me know if they so much as even twitch in any direction," ordered Harris as he stared at the holotable, "and I want all weapons ready now!"

"Yes sir," came the response from all around the bridge.

Frank Harris turned back to the holotable with a sad expressin on his face. So many ships and men lost. Hopefully they didn't die in vain, he thought.

"Open a line to Admiral Vardy", he order, turning back to stare out at the planet ahead of them.

"Line open sir," Vladimir responded after he established a communication link with the Killimanjaro.

"Admiral Vardy, this is Commander Frank Harris of the UNSCS Inheritance. Awaiting orders sir," he said with a terrible cough interrupting him half way through.

Commander Xavier Bordeaux

ONI Prowler Nocturne

Other side of planet

The Nocturne had been stationed over the planet for a couple of weeks when the Covenant ships and the two UNSC fleets arrived. Xavier knew the 22nd and 14th fleets would know they were there, so he didn't send any communcation link unless they aquired any information that the fleets would need to know.

"What's the current position of the Covenant ships?" Xavier asked his crew as he sat down.

"The four ships are maintaining position on the opposite side of the planet," responded Trist, the navigation officer of the prowler.

"Let me know if they move towards our position," he told her as he looked towards Shojuna, the AI.

"Roger that sir," Trist replied, turning back to keep an eye on her instruments.

"Any word from the ground Shojuna?" he asked the AI as he turned towards her.

"Nothing yet," she replied before blinking out.

He breathed a sigh. A prowler captains job could be a boring one, but it was a needed one. He pulled out his pistol and began making sure that it was in good condition before reholstering it.

[Frazer]

Rear Admiral Frazer York
UNSCS Tassafaronga
Trafalgar Class Supercarrier
Battlegroup B: 22nd Fleet
"Commanding Officer of the Battlegroup B: 22nd Fleet"

Frazer lent back into his captains chair. Anxiously waiting for a reply of Admiral Vardy. As shown in previous battles, Frazer would rather sit back and plan things through before doing anything drastic, this time was different though. He just wanted revenge, well it seemed like it anyway. So as the speakers came to life with Admiral Vardys voice Frazer lent forward ready to spring into action.

"Well get on it. We need him on the horn. Send continuous hails until he contacts us. When he does, Set up conference between myself, Him and Admiral York." Who was this person Vardy was speaking of? Frazer thought. Well just before the message cut off, Liara came on the pedestal and reported loudly to Frazer.

"Admiral, Admiral Klix has returned to the fleet. I assume he will be taking command of the the fleet but hey we still got the battlegroup right? The fleet at this time has a couple more ships to add to it. More the merrier I guess." Frazer nodded.

"I can actually say I am thankful that he returned Liara. I trust him with my life so I feel better that its no longer down to us to do this." Wilson then turned around and walked away from his comms table to set up the conference call with both the Admirals.

"Right we are ready whenever they are sir." Wilson sat back down at his post.

"Nice work Lieutenant. Ill just wait until one of the Admirals to open the call. Liara, Blackpool and Trayner, all of you be ready to get to work at your stations within seconds please." So Frazer again lent back into his seat. Waiting for orders. Because of boy he needed his orders soon.