The Siege of Kura 4 (missions)

[Slate]

Kura 4 is a strategic strong point of the Faction Guard, located roughly 2,000 ly from the [Maginot Line]. It was generally used as a staging ground for larger operations against the Selkis. Kura 4 was also a testing/proving ground for troops and weapons of the Faction Guard.

The most recent weapon was in the process of being developed when Kura 4 fell under Selkis attack. While the planet's orbital defense grid has been able to halt the advance of frigate and larger class of warships, hundreds of small dropships have been able to bypass the defenses, mostly be exploiting small blind spots, or coordinating efforts when they were preoccupied with dealing with larger ships.

The Selkis troops that have landed on the surface have been slowly wearing away at the Faction Guard troops stationed there. Since Ralenek's sent his initial message to Trinity, they have lost their citadel. While they were able to retreat with the weapon, the information crystal containing it's blueprints remained. Now they are on the offensive, trying to keep the Selkis from leaving the citadel and escaping with the weapon plans.

Meanwhile on the Black Orchid, Trinity has ordered a rotation of the majority of her crew and supplies along the way. Kensyr had awoken, albeit angry at what happened on the Novastorm, he and Trinity both understand the gravity of the situation.

"Attention all hands, squads Alpha and Beta assemble in the hanger bay and await further orders." Ordered Trinity over the ship's comms. "Sierra... Keep her safe." She said just before leaving the bridge. As the dragoness made her way to the hanger, she replayed the battle plan in her mind. Kensyr, squads Alpha and Beta, and herself would take both dropships to the surface and rendezvous with Ralenek and his troops. The Black Orchid and it's crew would provide support where possible, for the most part aiding the orbital defense grid by destroying as many Selkis dropships carrying troops and supplies as possible.

[Cobalt3924]

(OOC: I'm assuming I'm the only one posting on this one?)

[Buzzwolf]

"Echo! Bring us out of D9! NOW!" The Female Fox yelled over the chaos on the bridge. a sudden surge knocking her off her feet back into her captains chair

"Aye Cap'n! Bringin' 'er outta D9!" his hands flew over the keyboard, even as the ship lurched again, in an attempt to shut down the drive as quick as he could. with the press of the final holo key, a lance of energy tore through the ragged sapce of the D9 corridor, cutting a path back into normal space. To any onlooker, the only sign anything was happening, would be what appeared to be a ripple in space, as though someone had tossed a pebble across a pond. A moment later, the beam cut through into open space, tearing though and dissipating off in the distance. The beam cut out as the bow of the ship transitioned into real space. The space around it seemed to bend and pull, appearing reluctant to release the two Kilometer long vessel back into it's reality.

The bright blue flare of the sublight engines lit the space around as the ship fully transitioned to realspace, two of the nine engines sat dark next to the glow of the others. The Rings wrapping the bow sections came back to life as the capacitors were relieved of their burden "Report!" The captain called out, pulling herself from her command chair, as the turulence caused by the D9 corridor ceased

"D9 Drive is down" an officer called out over the comm "Drives two through four are down as well as two of the sublight engines, attempting a workaround"

"We have minor injuries and some structural damage reports coming in from across the ship, The marines report no injuries...of course" Echo said sarcastically

"What about weapons systems? Shields? do we at least have some defense at out disposal?!"

"Weapons systems and Hex shields are confirmed to be online Captain" the air above a large round table that the bridged was centered around shimmered to life with a glowing blue AI that had taken on the form of a Female fox...without a nose. her voice a soft tenor to the ear, with a sweet ring about it that said she could get her way more often than not "All rings are intact along with the forward cannon and all drone pods..but Captain? we may have different problem to deal with"

"Oh? more than my ship being put through more abuse than anyone had anticipated, being stuck in this backwater galaxy with two squads of Heavy Marines till someone sends us some help--"

"I have to stop you there Captain...no ones coming for us..."The Captain looked at the AI and mouthed the word 'What?', more confused than pissed at being interrupted as the AI continued "and I think I know why the military insisted on such a presence...we're nowhere near the target coordinates" The form of the AI shrunk as a galactic map appeared charting the course the ship had taken along with where they were supposed to have ended the test flight of the drive. The Captains jaw started to drop as she saw the line on the map. the predicted line was a mere sliver of the traversed line that the AI had approximated

As the captain leaned on the edge of the holo table, she gaped at just how long the line was "Neon...how far have we gone?! We were only in D9 for twenty minutes at most! How in the hell could we possibly have gone That far?!?" She stood back up, attempting to regain some of her composure as the bridge bustled around her

"I can only guess until we can obtain a starchart of the area captain..." a new set of graphs and charts appeared replacing the starmap "Seems that the exponential level of folding that occurs in a D9 Corridor is far more than we could have ever predicted...I estimate that we're more than thirty thousand times further than we had predicted..." She let it sink in in the now silent bridge as the other onboard AI chimed in

"Captain? I hate to interrupt you wonderous revelations, but we have a more pressing concern at the moment" the holo table cleared as it was replaced by Kura 4 and another AI. A tall, thin white fox dressed head to toe in a white reapers cloak continued speaking "We're not alone out here Captain, and it looks as though we jumped right into the middle of a warzone too. We're also picking up what seems to be an encrypted distress call, why it's encrypted, I'm not sure, it's not like a distress call is much of a secret when you're losing" The AI crossed his arms with a snort. Kane, the second AI aboard the ship, was a master Code breaker. after the galactic war between his home worlds and a rivaling corporation, he was re-purposed for military use by the Empire till the rebel factions had been suppressed. he'd been re-purposed once more from there as a envoy of sorts, accompanying small squads aboard large military contracted vessels to ensure everything went as it was 'supposed to'. "It would seem that for the moment we've gone unnoticed, but I can't say how long that is going to last with the energy readings--"

"Well, I say we just say Hi, we are a science vessel with authorization for First Contact" Neon Huffed, miffed at her calculations being almost overlooked when Kane had chimed in "Seems like it'd be easy enou--"

"Easy as it may seem, we don't know what the hell is going on down there" a few screens fizzled to life over the holotable of the battles going on below and in orbit, she tapped on a couple that zoomed in on what seemed to be an improtant building "There" the hologram lit up as she set her clawtip on it "That seems to be a building of importance with all the activity going on around there" the building she'd chosen happened to be the Citadel that the two faction had been fighting over "Avoid it. We'll find an access point to it from outside, no one goes in there unless otherwise instructed. Sergeant Leto" she tapped the interface connected jsut below her left ear "If you would be so kind as to jump to the bridge" a double clicking in the comm confirmed the transmission moments before a rift tore it's way through the space just in front of the doors. through it, strode what appeared to be a small giant. A wolf tiger Hybrid that went by the name of Sergeant Alex Leto. his armor dwarfed anyone else on the bridge and even made the modest sized Echo look small.

"Orders captain?" the deep rumble of his voice carried across the bridge with a relaxed tone, as though everything that'd happened was all expected

"We need to find out where we are and what's happening," she said over her shoulder to the new officer on the bridge "Take a couple of your men planetside, be as discreet as possible till we know what we're dealing with...do I make myself clear? I don't want a shot fired unless they shoot at you first. I want this to be a clean, in and out, intel gathering operation" she had walked up to him by now and tapped a clawed finger tip against the Marines heavy chest armor. she wasn't at all pleased with having to use the soldiers that had been forced upon this experimental voyage, against her want too.but for now she'd have to make due and use these soldiers to her disposal

"Aye, Captain, in-'n-out, quick as a whip" a wry grin slid across his face, his superiors were going to love the data he was going to be bringing back after this mission "Rook! Quattro!" his comm activated automatically through his neural link-up in his suit "We're going on a little hike! Pack it up and meet up in Hanger nine in Five!" Throwing her a somewhat casual salute, the rift reopened in front of the doors for as he stepped toward and through it.

(OOC: Yep...really overdid it there...Edited it, and tried to shorten it up a bit)

[Cobalt3924]

(OOC: Having just finished reading the Novel that was the last Post, I have no idea how to introduce my char now... Every one of my ideas; just all gone out the window.)

[Slate]

With the squads briefed on the mission at hand, Trinity was on board one shuttle with one squad while Kensyr was on board the other with the second squad. Maneuvering up to the cockpit, she opened a channel to Sierra using the Black Orchid as a proxy.
"Sierra, I need a sit. rep.... Specifically numbers." Said the dragoness. There was something akin to static mixed with murmurs on the other end for a few seconds, before the slightly computerized voice of Sierra spoke coherently.
"Orbital defense grid holding. 5376 stations operational of 6000 prior to the initial incursion. 283 of 400 occupational defense cruisers operational. 37 Selkis frigates remaining, large quantity of reinforcements en route. 1 unknown." her voice was cold and void of emotion.
"What do you mean unknown!?" Trinity questioned.
"Unknown classification of ship. Does not match any record of a Selkis or Faction vessel." Sierra replied.
"Ssss... Well, if they aren't Selkis, they aren't with the Selkis. Hopefully they can receive radio transmissions. Broadcast an ultimatum. They are either a help or a hindrance. We can settle the details once this conflict is done." She ordered, abruptly ending the conversation.
"Ma'am, we'll be touching down in 2." said one of the pilots. Trinity looked out the window of the drop ship.

They were in the atmosphere, and had just past the cloud barrier. It was raining, and the clouds made the entire sky a dull grey. There were mountains in the distance, but for miles around the terrain consisted of rocky mesas and large fissures on the surface that stretched for miles. As they approached the ground, the distinctive red of Vector weapon discharge could be seen. Only a small percent was aimed into the air, as air superiority was still contested. The drop ships were in range, and as soon as it happened, they came under fire.

The pilots took evasive action. Kensyr's drop ship, however was not so lucky. Trinity looked towards it and could only make out a large crack in the craft's power core. It was glowing brighter by the second, when suddenly the part carrying Kensyr and the squad he was with detached, and began to fall rapidly. The still flying drop ship had a bright blue-green glow about it, before it exploded in a bright ball of energy. The resulting shock-wave rocked the other craft, and sent it spinning uncontrollably.

The pilots regained control right at the last second. When they landed, it wasn't the intended LZ. No, the rally point and Citadel was still miles off, and the others were somewhere in the opposite direction.

"Arm up! I want a perimeter around this transport, NOW!" Trinity ordered. "Report." Trinity said to the pilots.
"Weapons and flight controls are online, but communications are down." one of them replied.
"Get them up, and see if you can't raise Ralenek. Let me know when you do." said the dragoness, as she exited the vehicle. As soon as she did, the drop ship unhooked itself from the troop transport and hovered to a new landing spot a few meters away. Her squad had set up a perimeter using supplies from the transport. One of the marines opened up a panel on the inside of the transport, and it displayed a circular hologram. He manipulated it as though it was a puzzle, and pushed several 'buttons' that eventually caused the transport to transform into something more defensible. Over the course of roughly five minutes, they turned an unassuming patch of rock into a formidable outpost. Now if they got attacked, they would most likely survive, so long as it was just infantry.

[Cobalt3924]

Just over one of the nearby Hills, a small Platoon of Rakai Soldiers was preparing to assist with the battle to reclaim the Citadel. They saw the Drop ship crash and set up the perimeter.
“Commander!” One of the soldiers called to his commanding Officer. A very muscular Strider Rakai walked over; Suru’Kai’s Second-in-Command, Terra’Nali.
“What is it?”
“A dropship crashed just over there: Doesn’t look anything like the Selkis and they were under heavy fire by them. Chances are they’re friendlies.”
Terra’Nali looked over the hill at the ship as it transformed into the outpost.
“If their friendlies, it might be best if we help defend them. That ship doesn’t look like it can receive or send anything, and it definitely won't survive a full assault by the Selkis. Deploy some signal flares and send a squad over there to inform them that we are willing to assist them.”
“Yes Sir.” The Rakai said and headed off. Terra’Nali turned to his landed ship in the sand.
“As soon as we get the clear, set up a defensive perimeter around that outpost until their communications are online!”
The soldier platoon started preparing for combat as the squad heading for the outpost deployed some flares; alerting the outpost to their location and signalling to them that that they were no threat.

[Buzzwolf]

"Captain, we have a transmission coming in on the...radio bands?" he looked confused a moment "We still have radio bands?" he asked with a grin

"Just read it already please, Echo" She sighed and put a hand on her face

"Aye captain" a few clicks of his claw tips opened the message "Seems Ma'am, they've given us an ultimatium...we're either with them or against them...fair enough in the middle of a war I suppose..." a message beeped on his console "Looks like that ship also just launched a couple troop carriers to the planet ma'am"

The captain sighed, this day was not going at all as it was supposed to. this was supposed to be a simple routine test run. a quick jump from one star system and back. easy enough right? she had not planned on winding up stranded in another galaxy altogether caught in the middle of some kind of galactic level war "send them a reply Echo, let them know we'll help however we can, we'll deal with getting the data we need afterwards. finding an ally where ever the hell we are takes priority at the moment--" she'd started planning and plotting defensive points on the holotable when the display was overridden by Neon

"One of the dropships just exploded on route Ma'am. Reactor Fallout is causing sensor interference. I can no longer track the remaining dropship. Predicting course." a series of algorithms flew across the holotable. a circle appeared on the table, about a kilometer in diameter

"That's as tight as you can get it?" She started circling the table, already planning out her next move

"My apologies Captain, I only have speed and trajectory to work off of, I can't be much more certain without knowing more about the ship itself. Rerunning algorithms" the circle tightened up some and the layout zoomed in on the area "That's as tight as I can get it Ma'am"

"That'll do Neon" her eyes darted around the layout even as she spoke, looking for the most likely area within the circle to send the troopers. "There. Sergeant Leto! You have a new Mission. We have a downed dropship on the surface, take you're squad in and give 'em a hand." a sly grin crossed her face "You'll be working for your supper tonight Sergeant"

"Would hurt my pride if I did anything short Ma'am!" the comm clicked off automatically as the coordinates transfered to his suit "Alright Marines! Listen up! we have an presumed downed troop transport on the surface below with an unknown species with an unknown intent. what we do know is that they contacted us before the other uglies did...so were gonna help 'em out" he typed a couple commands into the holopanel that jumped from his wrist mounted interface and transferred the coordinates "Rook! Quattro! You're on point! Get down there!" two simultaneous flashes as the rifts opened and they jumped to the planet "Move out Marines!"

[Slate]

OOC: Sorry for the hiatus. Got distracted by various art projects and video games. This is much shorter than I originally intended/wanted, but hopefully it's enough to get things rolling again.


IC:"Ma'am, up in the sky." pointed one of the soldiers.
"Look sharp men, it might be a Selkis trap. Focus all our attention one direction, while another group attacks our flank." said Trinity.
"You're right ma'am, we're picking up a smaller force coming from a different direction on the sensors." said one of the soldiers.
"Form up! Check your blinds. Don't shoot until you have a solid shot!" She ordered. The squad moved in position, ready to defend when the time came. Trinity touched her ear, and opened up the short range squad comlink to the pilots. "Keep the transport low, and cover our weakspots."
"Aye ma'am." said one of the pilots. The rod like engines whirred to life, the iconic pulse of vector engines causing nearby stones to shake.

[Cobalt3924]

“Hold position!” Terra’Nali called to his squad when the stones around them vibrated a very faint frequency; undetectable to most species, but detectable to Strider Rakai.
“I don’t think they think we’re friendlies…” Terra’Nali said as he activated a Flash Flare on his wrist and raising his fist in the air as it flashed bright white: the universal symbol of Truce: Unmissable to anyone looking in their general direction.
“I don’t know how they could miss the Flares… Let’s hope they’re not Blind to this either. If they are: we've got a problem...”

[Buzzwolf]

"Sitrep Quattro!" the hybrid called out as he stepped from his own rift to the craggy rock overlook that had been selected by the Captain. any scans that were picking them up would be seeing a massing force seeming to appear 'from thin air'

"Acoustics seem to indicate they know we are here. an Ionic drive startup was initiated recently from the suspected down point. I do not believe we are expected just yet sir" the Synth spoke in his flat voice as he turned, the five eyes laid out in a cross pattern on his face glowed in a deep green color, then the four that made up the outer points dimmed so only the circular central one was still lit, matching the dark green and black of his uniform. the synth didn't wear armor over top of his metal frame, he preferred the light weight and agility to the raw power and abuse the marines could take. the synth also didn't appear to carry any weapons on him. all he needed were built into his frame. "That and..." he pointed to the fading flare and white light "We do not seem to be alone out here either sir, acoustic say there's a small platoon down there, I suggest we approach with caution."

"Noted, There's our downed bird Marines, cover's your friend till we get them off the defensive" another few flashes appeared behind him as a couple more of his men rifted in "We've got ten minutes till the DC's are recharged from a jump that long, so till then, we're hoofing it! Quattro, you're the only one with a secondary DC, you take lead and see if you can't talk some sense into them" the Synth nodded "And watch yourself Quattro, i don't want to have to be carrying back a smoldering wreck after this" the synth nodded again, all five of his eyes lighting back up as the rift slipped across his body, a near perfect slip. "Bishop, Take a cliff! you're on rear guard with that cannon of yours. Follow up on the all clear" the cannon he was referring to happened to be a VERY large caliber Mag Rifle with a dimensional containment built into it for longer rails than the gun was long.

The synth appeared about fifty meters off from the makeshift bunker, immediately raising his metal hands in the air, one holding what appeared to be a small white flag and just standing there, awaiting acknowledgement before moving closer to the base, but even as he stood, still as a statue, the secondary DC, not having used even half it's stored power from such a short jump, was prepping in case he needed to move quickly