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[Catra]

log entry date: 16 / 2 / 199
location: starzone selena, on the outskirts of an asteroid belt, aboard the HHF flagship ferrum parma
name and rank of logwriter: Nick Crusaire, Admiral

Today home fleet arrived in the selena starzone to investigate the sightings of non-hegemony ships in a mineral rich asteroid belt. the ships that reported the sightings only concluded that they were low-midline tech and probably not of that of tri-tachyon, as they assured us they could tell by the blue engine trail their ships produced. we are sent to investigate and either eliminate the base of operations of the vessels poking around our space (should they be pirates), fire off a few rounds and give them a stern warning to keep clear of hegemony controlled resources(should they be independants) or blow them up (should they turn out to be anything else or openly hostile).

but still, that leaves many questions:

If they were Pirates, they surely must know that the refining station is locked down by several of our patrols, and they also need proper hegemony codes to land, and that the next one is in independant space, which would require them to dodge several patrols of both the tri-tachyon and hegemony, and convince independant patrols they are there just to refine some ore. my guess is that they would get killed when they were asked where they got it from, unless of course the captain was a good liar and the independant captain was a fool for trusting a pirate.

If they were Independents, then they should just know better, or atleast have given us a headsup that they would be doing such recon so that we could politely turn it down and tell them it is ours.

If they were ludii...[mechanical noises] grrr...ENTER!!

: log entry terminated :
Termination cause: manually ended by log writer via voice request

I always thought it was weird that it said "request" instead of "command", as if it was going to demand that i tell it more like an jealous, overbearing girlfriend, in which i would find the nearest equivalent of a ditch in space and leave it there, though i would have to then come up with a very plausible, secondary reason to do so, else stanson would never talk to me again.

i stood up and looked over my shoulder to see my second, josef churnev, standing awkwardly half inside my ready room, with a look of "please forgive me" and "this is serious" on his face and turn fully towards him.

" admiral, we are now entering the zone where the sightings have occurred, scanners indicate no one or thing is here. "

" what a blessing and a curse. reorganize the fleet into pincer formation and tell longbow to move into the centre quadrant and to stay behind the belt. then board one of our faster frigates and take several with you, move ahead of the fleet and be a messenger on my behalf and do what must be done. if hostilities break out return immediately and message longbow to open fire. "

churnev, now standing confidently and fully inside the room, salutes " yes sir. but what do we do if it is indeed a hegemony vessel? "

grasping my chin and lowering my head, i felt myself ponder this more deeply than i really should have. why didn't the upper echelon include orders for such a situation? normally they are very thorough, but they didn't include such orders. did they want me to use my own discretion? kill them for possible mutiny? possibly selling secrets? interrogate them?

finally, i glanced back up to see a very wary looking churnev, and after a few more moments, i settled with my course of action " if they are indeed hegemony, then inform them they are to get into standard flight formation with the rest of home fleet and be escorted back to central. if they are to refuse, or otherwise try to waylay you, then inform longbow to open fire. you are dismissed."

with that, churnev simply nodded and left to carry out his duties. after pondering the situation a little more, i dismissed all thoughts and readied myself for what is to come as i walked onto the bridge.

(A/N (Authors Note), so this is the prologue to an AAR that i am going to work on after its completion, and id like to know if my writing style is good enough to continue working on one, also what do you guys think of the title? its named that because the patrol group is going to start out as 4 wolf class frigates. the character descriptions are sparse because i have them planned for a more logical presentation as i just think its weird for a admiral to just suddenly describe himself / others for no reason whatsoever, and if you have any questions thus far then go ahead and ask. oh and the date is dd/mm/yyy. home fleet is the fleet to each starzone(which is comprised of 5 star systems) capital planet that only does what they ask of it. my second is just josef churnev, not josef stanson churnev, stanson is a completely different character who will be revealed later. central is slang for the admiralty building located on the planets surface / orbital station, and forgive the lack of upper cases, i really cant be arsed to be that anal, if i remember to do it, then great, if i dont, oh well. longbow is not a person, but a strike group, what that strike group is will also be revealed soon.).

[robparker]

Go for it, after the prologue I'm already curious as to what the ships are 

[Sunfire]

I agree with the above

[Catra]

As i step into the bridge, i look up at the highest tier of copper mountain to see my second working industrially to carry out the assignments given. i suppose i can count myself lucky to have such a hard working second so i can focus more on other things, not that the assignments i give him are less important, no, in fact they are the most important orders, all i really do is make sure everyone is carrying them out correctly and change it up as needed as the situation demands. i bow my head and make for my usual spot on the bridge, between fire control and damage control. i despise the narrow pathways we are forced to navigate, as i suspect morale would plummet if the crew would ever see their admiral trip over his own two feet. as i arrive at the middle of the pathway i look up and inspect the slanted armor plating that copper mountain was made of and that protected the crew should a stray shot hit the bridge and somehow breach the primary armor. first visually, then i run my hand over its cool, smooth rusty copper colored surface, then finally give it a few taps with strength behind it. satisfied that it wont crash down on me if we are to be striked, i look forward into the main view port, of course at this time i am really only looking at more armor plating, as it only opens during fleet deployment and engagements.

i look over my shoulder and begin my inquisition into the readiness of the ship.

"fire control what is the status of the primary and secondary batteries"

" sir, hellbore cannons are inoperable due to the large amount of asteroid debris buildup within the barrel "

" sir, pilum launchers are having difficulty calculating optimal course to target due to the high speed shifting of the belt, also getting safety locks due to unsafe firing conditions "

" very well, we will just have to do our best without them "

i return to looking back at the view port, which is now open and i can see the 2 out of the 4 other elements that make up home fleet moving into formation as fast as they can. i look for the conquest irelius, but with little luck as all the conquests look the same from this distance. longbow is behind us so i visually cannot be sure they are in formation, though since its only 8 ships i doubt they will ever be caught out of formation. i watch as churnev's ship surges ahead and several frigates break off from the 2 elements and move towards the most likely intercept route should ships want to enter the belt. i turn my attention downwards at damage control and scan over the technical readouts on their terminals, even though its unnecessary, i decide to question them on their readiness as well.

" damage control what is the status of manual repair and auto repair systems "

" sir manual repair is at 60% currently as it is time for regulation break and downtime for the crew assigned to the task"

" sir auto repair system is fully functional and is currently focused on the engine section, shall i have it moved? "

pondering the question, i go through scenarios where an engine attack is plausible for an enemy in the state we are in. not seeing it very likely, as longbow is behind us and can intervene on an disabling attempt, i respond.

" yes, have it focus on the secondary battery, as for this engagement, if any, they would be our primary source of offensive firepower. "

" yes sir "

i step out of the platform with my usual carefulness and move up 2 more tiers, landing myself between sensors and navigation. still rather disgruntled with the lack of far reaching offensive capability, i stare out the view port yet again and spot a sensor array, which, given the location is a rather odd area to place one. as i make it to the middle of the platform, i turn to sensors and inquire about the array

" sensors, what can you tell me about that array "

" sir, the array located at 15 15 is broadcasting to a group of ships called " the lances " and is currently reading that they are outside the range of operation of this array "

" the radar radius of...

the lances? must be some merc group. since we got contracts with them all throughout hegemony space they're pretty much allowed to move as they wish as long as they show proper digital work confirming mercenary status. but i wonder if the sightings was of that merc group, maybe just checking up on this array? but then..

" sir, the startup date of this array is dated the same day of the sightings "

" what? lieutenant bring up all contracts with merc groups in this starzone  and relay it to C&C"

i hastily walk off the platform and up towards the final tier, from there i can oversee all the movement within the bridge section and do not need any voice amplification for different system operators to hear me. i look down at my console and see the readout i wanted, and as i suspected there is no mercenary group by that name. who can they be? and where is churnev? he should have reported in about the vessel that keeps appearing here by now. i hear sensors calling me for me and practically leap over the console.

" sir, the array is now showing that 8 paragons and 32 apogees are receiving the tactical data. "

with that, i look up and see a rather large shower of 32 beams slam into, and completely snap, 2 conquests in half. i yell down to comms and then navigation.

" COMMS! inform the fleet to take attack pattern knight. since they are also in pincer they must move in parallel so the other enemy fleet cannot shoot through their shielding and hit the engine of the opposite fleet. order longbow to lower left quadrant and inform them to keep behind the belt, and to continuously move around and to duck behind their escorts when they are not firing open fire as soon as they get confirmation that their targets hull is open to destruction"

" NAV! full forward and also assume attack pattern knight and move for the enemy fleet on the right, inform all ships of our element to move infront of the ferrum parma and act as a shield bubble against those beams, have a contingent also on our flank to guard from that direction as well. raise shields only as necessary, this slow hulk of armor will need all the speed it can get. "

the orders were relayed and the battle for the asteroid belt in starzone selena has begun.

(A/N boring chapter =P if any readers haven't guessed yet, i'm in command of an onslaught currently. =P if i did a bad job of explaining what copper mountain is, ill try again here: basically, its consoles for navigation comms and what not, but the housing for the electronics is slanted and is also armor plated and have a walkway seperateing the 2 "steps", and they are stacked upon one another in a stairway fashion, finishing with the commanding officers C&C at the top.)

[Catra]

as i watch from my tactical console all elements moving towards their first waypoint, i seem to see that no ships are taking damage what so ever, as if the enemy isnt firing anymore. thats strange.

" sensors, when will all elements reach their first waypoint "

" sir, element 1 will arrive in 20 seconds, element 2 in 24 seconds, and we will arrive at ours in 27 seconds "

"good. inform element one to take attack pattern rook and and element 2 is to watch out for friendly fire as we will be on the opposite flank, but tell them also to open fire should the opportunity present itself. "

" aye sir "

i look back down at my tactical screen, hoping to finally see if the enemy is moving as i want it to, though that desire is cut short when i hear sensors calling for me.

" SIR! enemy frigates and destroyers are coming into sensor range directly inbetween element 1 and 2, if they maintain course they will arrive at a split point and will force them to turn and engage them without shields, or try and kill them before tachyon fire kills them "

well played, this is an extraordinarily organized gambit...

" have all frigates and destroyers break off from the 2 elements and flank the new threat from both sides "

i look back down at tactical and see the many signatures of our frigates and destroyers moving quite fast into position, i guess the other 2 admirals readied them knowing i would give such an order.

" comms, open me to longbow "

" longbow, focus your fire onto the new group that has just emerged, take out the destroyers first then the frigates, but if you get an order from either 1 or 2 theirs is to be carried out first "

with that, i sat back down and looked up through the view port to see the lances of our 6 sunder destroyers streak across the asteroid belt, and with tactical i see they have hit their marks, but unlike every other firing from longbow, nothing happened. why didnt these ships just explode?

" sir, incoming comms from strike captain neryl "

" admiral, these enemy vessels are like flying bunkers, they have every possible manner of hull and armor reinforcement and wider than normal shield arcs facing not us, but towards you. i do not think they were here to force a decision, but rather to find out where longbow is by making them fire. "

sitting back down and grasping my chin, and looking at tactical, he was right. why else would they not be firing at us? then i saw it, all 64 beams firing from the void, eliminating anything that wasn't a ship in their path, and severely crippling strike group longbow, or at least the parts of it that mattered.

" longbow, you are to retreat, there's nothing you can do here. neryl, kill all the enemy vessels and then move to assist element 1."

i looked back down at tactical to see the order of battle:

element 1
HHF Conquest Irelius
HHF Falcon Long claws
HHF Falcon Sharp Claws
HHF Eagle death from above
HHF Dominator phoenix

element 2

HHF Conquest Perpetuos Victoria

i stopped at the conquest, a tiny bit of regret washing over me, i just knew i should have taken that vessel as my flag ship, it is afterall the most luckiest vessel in space. every captain can boast of their long victory streaks, but everyone knows everyone else is hiding a loss inbetween those chains of victory, however not this ship. since its construction in 172, it has seen every star system in every starzone, be it ludii, hegemony, tri-tachyon, independent, pirate. it has, like its name implies, at-least i think implies, it has never lost anywhere at anytime. it even has the logs to prove it. if it was to lose here, that poor captain would go down in history as the idiotic tool who broke the most legendary winning streak of all time, and then we couldn't call it perpetual, if that's what that means, anymore.

(A/N i, personally, know the translations. however the character does not. for instance, ferrum parma = iron shield, however to the character its copper cheese. he deduces that ferrum(at the very least he knows its a metal) = copper, due to the color of the armor, and parma = cheese, like in parmesan cheese.)

[Catra]

i look down at tactical to see the engaged symbol over element 1, they're doing quite good, despite the odds. with the Irelius in the middle, the 2 falcons on the flanks as to not block the main armament, the Eagle infront and the Dominator in the back, its a solid defensive bubble, but still that can only hold out for so long.

the ship rattles as the first impacts of fire hit the shields. element 2 is already engaged, but the enemy is making no moves to engage, its as if they want to take out the command structure instead, and i grit my teeth and think, if that's what they want, they can try their best, for ignoring element 2 is a grave mistake.

"comms, open to element 2"

" admiral hykis, move against the paragon on the far left, i will move to assist "

"comms, element wide"

" everyone, target any apogees that get close, we have to preserve our strength for the paragons "

with that, the 2 Falcon Cruisers and 2 Enforcers take flanking positions to dissuade any foes from getting close, which it did quite nicely as the apogees were swerving in and out of attack range trying to muster the courage to commit to the assault.

as the paragon drew within range, the secondary battery consisting of 1 storm needler and 2 light needlers opened fire, sending out a near neverending hail of flechettes that will soon shred into its thin armor, as not even the most advanced shields or dissipation systems can keep up with such weapons.

sensors shouted, with urgency in his voice

" SIR! Dominator Phoenix of element 1 is reporting the Conquest Irelius has been sunk. unknown amount of survivors "

with that, i grew pale, my face distorting between anger and sadness, and also that of doubt. stanson would not just die like that, not in such a undeserving place as a lowly asteroid belt.

" comms, open to the Phoenix "

" captain Ubaris, your last order is to find the escape pod containing admiral stanson and to flee the system. "

" but sir he might not have.. "

" AND unless you have solid proof he HASNT escaped, then you are to look for him "

the ship started to list to one side, apparently the entire enemy force gathered there while we were concentrating on the one paragon, which is somehow still alive even after such pounding from a conquest and a onslaught. this is really bad.

" all vessels assigned to ferrum parma,  engage the paragon and finish it off, then join Element 2. Admiral Hykis, you are now also commanding the task group assigned to me. use them as you see fit, but only after we finish off this other paragon. "

at the end of the orders being handed out, the paragon finally succumbed to its wounds and detonated. the ferrum parma slowly lurched forward in a broadside, knowing its numerous guns would be more effective than wasting time turning. Engineering started to shout

" SIR! main engines offline. "

mm, not that it mattered, were slower than full stop anyway. though they are VERY determined to kill me, sacrificing so many apogees just to turn off my engines, what a steep price for one person.

" SIR! capacitors at 85% dropping shields "

with that, the ship really started to rock nonstop, they had pulse and burst weapons, so from herein concentrating will be very difficult and our lifespan shortening much faster than if they used their traditional laser weapons. then i saw yet another explosion, looking down at tactical i was it was the other paragon. good, i thought, atleast now we are even in ships lost.

" admiral Hykis, after you are done here you are return to central and debrief the upper echelon of the events here, do not try to avenge the irelius. "

with that, the ship started to drift clockwise from the force of weapon fire, bringing 2 paragons and 8 apogees into view, and all the lances of that strike force fired into one spot and with that, the ferrum parma succumbed and detonated.

[Catra]

i feel so groggy. everything everywhere, and then some, ache. all i can really remember is hearing sensors calling the sinking of the irelius and how angry, sad, and doubtful i was that stanson had died. i cant even remember of the outcome of the battle, or where it was, or if it was still continuing. i feel a small bump and with that my eyes fly open and with all the might i could summon i grasp for the nearest rail to brace for more weapons fire. only, instead of the usual copper color and sturdyness of plate armor, i'm greeted by a endless sea of dirty beige and a rickety silver railguard, and staring at me in pure amazement is the pair of shiniest emerald eyes.

" i am Dr. Janus benson of the onboard valkyrie medical staff. i need you to calm down, the effects of cryo-regeneration will wear off soon enough and i do not want to sedate you, as that can lead to more problems. "

valkyrie? why am i on a troop transport? why did this Dr. just disrespect me by calling me by my first name instead of admiral? why am i suffering from cryosis? whatever, thinking is more tiring than usual.

" nurses, please retrieve the data on this person from the pod and put it against the files we received from central to confirm identity. "

with that, i can hear the Dr.s assistants running off my physical features and confirming them by glancing over to both myself and the files from central

Blue-Green mix eyes
Dirty Blonde medium length hair
dirty blonde ear to ear beard stubble
5 feet 7 inches  yeah i was pretty short and staunch for a human, but whenever me and admiral stanson stood side by side, everyone would say they respected/feared me more.
205 lbs

" ok, physical identity confirmed, now run the genetics "

i hate this part, mostly because of the needles. which to me is rather amusing as it is scary, i dont flee from FTL particles, or million ton space cannonballs, but the tiniest of injectors scares me to no end. i wince and grit my teeth to the point where if there was more pressure they would shatter and i try to move myself as far away as possible from the machine. i feel the small machine do its nanosecond work and start to relax as i hear the assistants run off the genetic markers

blood type AB+
slight speech impediment
low metabolism

yep, sounds like me alright. its amazing that, among the truly innumerable amount of humans alive in this age, only a meager 5% have the same blood-type as myself, or i of them, should they be older.

"ok, umm, im not sure what i should call you from now on....."

why not admiral? that is what you should be calling me afterall.

the Dr. glanced up an assistant, who said nothing but nodded in agreement nonetheless

" right, i suppose admiral Crusaire will still do, as it isnt official yet. "

what isnt official? a promotion? no, that couldnt be it. some elements of home fleet were lost after all. court martial? not likely, else there would be very heavy security and i would be aboard a military vessel, not a lowly valkyrie. then what? a deafening screech fills my ears and i look for the source, a loudspeaker, how archaic.

" Janus, we are approaching the Corvus system, have our cargo ready for departure in 10. "

star system Corvus in starzone gothic was...well...very far from starzone selena, why was i being waylayed in such a system so far from any command structure to carry out my debriefing on the events in selena? i watched the Dr move to a console, very gracefully i might add, and respond.

" aye aye captain. " with that the Dr. pressed a few more buttons.

" mess, bring the admiral a few meals"

" armory, please bring a standard issue laser pistol and a kevlar coated uniform for the admiral so he can be more presentable."

with that, the Dr. moved over the numerous machines that filled the tubings that went into arm with substance and moved and pressed some widgets. i guess whatever it was that they used to cure cryosis took the life out of you, as soon as the last of the drips went dry, i felt more alive than usual. then i started to ponder why i had to look more presentable. i, myself, have went to the most luxurious planets in the hegemony to procure exotic fabrics and gems for my uniform. maybe it was too high class for this system? as i ponder this 4 young enisgns walk into the infirmary with rather large plates of food, and the rather intoxicating smell of roast beef, corned beef hash mashed potatoes corn chowder and sweet peas flow into my nose with a harmony few combinations of food could produce. i move to situp and the realization hit me of what was said. without looking, i knew my uniform was missing, as its very hard to miss the sudden freedom given when not wearing such a movement restricting uniform. as i began eating, i inquired with the Dr. as to the whereabouts of my uniform, surely it must be in this infirmary.

" Dr, what happened to my uniform? "

the Dr. moved to a console and started typing.

" well, Admiral Crusaire, it says here that it has been sent in for recycling due to irreparable damage sustained in battle, and will be used for the next Admiral of home fleets uniform. Congratulations, you started a tradition, Admiral. " underneath the breather, i can feel the Dr. give me a weak smile trying to ease the tension.

i go for another bite to eat, only to hear the clang of metal on metal, i look down disappointed that i went through all the plates so fast, and also pretty amazed i finished all that in under 10 minutes. after awhile 5 ensigns come in, 4 to take away the plates, and they look even more astonished than me. the 5th one carrying my new uniform and laser pistol. he puts the uniform next to my feet and when he grabs the pistol, the ensign grabs it by the furthest point away from the trigger. ha, how amusing, must be the kids first time handling a personal defense firearm.

" thank you ensign "

the ensign is startled but quickly regains composure.

" your welcome admiral, anything to ease the transition "

transition? apparently everyone on this ship except me has been briefed on whats happening. though i doubt the higher echelon gave orders to tell anyone lower than captain the truth, and even then there's truths that even us admirals aren't privvy to unless we put 2 and 2 together and ask the right individual the right question.

i feel the ship rumble and the loudspeaker screech yet again.

" Janus, we have docked at the orbital station at corvus 2, Command has given us 5 minutes to unload the admiral or they will forcefully board with marines and take him by force. i want him off. now. "

" ill leave you to it then admiral. dont be late, these marines are very wary from the constant struggle and will likely rifle butt you and drag you off. "

with that, the Dr. leaves and i scramble to get dressed and am off the ship in probably record time. as i step onto the cargo ramp, i am greeted by a rather large platoon of marines, by my guess there's 90 of them.

[A/N so how was the prologue? was it too lengthy? are the texts too lengthy in general or what? also, anyone wanna guess the gender of the good Dr.?]

[Sunfire]

It was good, um... fe...ma...both!

[Catra]

i walk down the ramp and past the platoon of marines. the Dr. wasn't lying, they look extremely angry and worn out. one marine is standing at the end of the line with his jet black helmet wedged between his hip and wrist and his gun slung over his shoulder. he puts his power armoured gauntlet out to greet me.

" hello Admiral, i am sergeant Anthis of the Corvus 2 Orbital Station Defense Force. i am to escort you to the command section for your briefing "

i'm bewildered at the amazing control he has over the gauntlet, instead of a bone crushing death squeeze, its barely putting any pressure on my hand at all. i hear someone clearing their throat and look back up at the sergeant.

"oh, yes of course sergeant, please proceed."

i look around the structure. ill never be less amazed by these behemoth structures. there are hundreds of personnel running about to do various tasks, most of the appear to be pilots getting briefed on their assignments. fresh faced recruits are mixed in with the truly battle hardened elites of all the hegemony. i also can see all manner of ships docked and are undergoing repairs or rearmament. powered walkers handling missiles onto their racks. high rise cranes detaching turrets to reload their internal magazine feeders, and even the rare anti-matter dispenser for those who can even -find- such a rare weapon. a little downards i can see a sunder with a plasma cannon attached to it, what a waste of a slot, though watching it get reloaded was fascinating to me still, its basically drawing power from the stations perpetual fusion core.

we ascend some stairs and arrive at an office overlooking the half circle of operations. the sergeant turns and salutes.

" well, we are here admiral, have a pleasant one "

and with that, and before i could respond, he walked back down the stairs, put his helmet back on and gave it a tap on the side, probably to activate its communicator. i walk into the office to see a rather grizzled officer.

" ah, you must be Nick Crusaire, i presume? "

his voice was a deep one, though somehow it didnt sound natural to me.

" its Admiral Crusaire, and yes i am he who you speak of. "

" not according to this letter you aren't "admiral" "

what? he opens a drawer and presents an old fashioned paper letter to me.

From: the Admiralty of starzone selena
To: current quartermaster of Corvus 2

Contents: Classified, QuarterMaster and recipient eyes only.
Consequences: Exemplar Execution

well, i am the recipient, so i guess i am spared of being made an example of, for now.

Dear QuarterMaster

in accordance with the decision made by the admiralty of the selena starzone fleet admirals, Admiral Nick Crusaire is relieved on charges of strategical and tactical ineptitude and needlessly losing resources in the battle of the asteroid belt in the selena starzone by way of losing 90% of the Home Fleet assigned to that starzone. i am happy to say that his charges are lessened for his heroic sacrifice and thoughtful choice of ceding command of the vessels assigned to him and giving them to the more competent admiral of the perpetuos victoria, which made it back to port safely, but heavily damaged, as always with that vessel. he is now assigned to the Corvus Patrol Fleet and is on his way there now, he will arrive somewhere in late 205. despite his loss of rank and slander in this letter, do not underestimate the boys genius, he was promoted to lead home fleet afterall.

Signed

Fleet Admiral Mica helenkis
Fleet Admiral Jakin Farris
Fleet Admiral Tobius Merth
Fleet Admiral Merk Pikalus

well, i suppose i deserved those harsh words, afterall so many died needlessly, and for no point, atleast that i could see, under my command. but 205? wow, corvus was much further away than i imagined. a good chunk of my life gone, or, i guess not really since i was in cryo.

i look back up at the quartermaster, he looks saddened now that I've read the contents of the letter.

" don't worry about it kid, i'm not going to pass judgement on you, those people signed up on their own free will, they accepted they could die at any given moment. "

"well, ok then. so what slots are open?"

with that, he reaches for the dataslab and passes it to me.

" have a look for yourself. and i'm sorry its all low level stuff, probably not even a tenth of the tonnage you are used to commanding, but there are several captains ahead of you already vying for those positions, so i cannot just give it to you and expect happy thoughts and cheerful launches if you take command. "

i look down and scroll through the listings, when one caught my eye. Patrol Group Seeker, made up of all wolf class vessels. i'm surprised this backwater even receives any. but what truly caught my eye was the second wolf in the listing: the CPS Irelius. there just cannot be 2 like minded people in this galaxy.

" i want to command Patrol Group Seeker. "

" very well, i will inform the captains and have an audience with you shortly "

" ok, but i do not need to see the captain of the irelius, we are good buddies "

" but..the captain names aren't listed.."

" i know that, but i also do know that in all the domain, no other vessel will share this name. "

" very well "

i look out the window to spot the 4 wolves in dock at the very end of the station where it begins to curve. i see 4...captains? i really wasnt assigned a new rank, nor told what theirs were, jump onto a personnel transport while the 5th stayed behind, that must be jax, he probably knows its me who is now in command. the transport gets here in short order and lands on the transport pad opposite the location i came in at. but why are there 4 coming this way? there are other 2 other ships aside from the irelius and mine, thisll be interesting.

they filed in one by one. the first one had fiery red hair, messy as could be. helmet hair looked alot tamer than his. no facial hair whatsoever, smoother than a lady's leg after a thorough shave, he must do it often to maintain such a level of absence. his eyes are the same shade as his hair and look like they are burning as if there's a real fire in them, what a scary trait. he is cladded in the standard white officers uniform of the old domain.

the second one was shorter than the first by about 2 inches, but still towered over me. he looked really rough, a rather thick stubble lining his chin and a rather dark shade of brunette hair that extended to over half his face. determined blue eyes are set in his sockets. this one was cladded in some sort of leather jacket and a white wool cap.

the third was my height and stature, bright blonde hair was atop his head. cleanly cut into the low-cut we all receive when we are first drafted in as pilots. also cladded in the same officers uniform of the old domain. his eyes are a eager emerald. the 4th one to walk in was the same as the 3rd, only his eyes were a bright blue. they must be brothers.

they spoke in the order they walked in:

" i am Ren Mackalee of the CPS Judicium, i am here speaking with you now because i deem you worthy enough to speak to." he spoke in a loud, confident voice.

" i am Carinth Palonis, Second of the CPS Judicium. " his was much more lower and alot deeper, but held the same confidence.

" i am Julin Hatilbur of the CPS Clarus Spes " his voice was barely matured. it was like a he is fresh out of the academy.

" i am Dusty Hatilbur, Second of the CPS Clarus Spes " same as his brother, i wonder how one could tell them apart when no ones looking.

" nice to meet you all, i am...captain?...Nick Crusaire. i expect alot from you, so do not disappoint. for losing in such a backwater brings shame to the hegemony and tells our enemies we are weak, which we all know we are not."

they all snickered at the way i turned my proclamation as captain into a question, though i did not ask them of why they did so and dismissed them to their vessels with a hand wave. i boarded the next personnel transport to the CPS Irelius.

walking up the ramp and into the corridors of the vessels, i inquire where the captain is and am promptly brought to his quarters. the ensign is nice enough to even ring for me.

" Enter! "

i walk into the room at jax's command and look around. it was amazing, he saved all the pictures of his daughter from the Conquest. as i stare at them, i still cant help that she looked nothing like her father. she was gray eyed with platinum blonde hair. he was emerald + blue eyed and jet black haired. no pictures of her mother anywhere, just her playing in fields or eating cake at birthday parties or holo pictures of her first steps or her first words at the bottom in a subtitle. i look over to my friend from the academy.

" JAX! its amazing you survived an exploding conquest. im very happy you made it, but how did you make it to this backwater? "

" admiral, i'm more amazed you survived the sinking of a onslaught, i will have to show you the damage that thing sustained when it went under. i was reassigned here after losing the Conquest, it was this or retirement, and that just sounds boring to me."

" haha, yes, yes it does. well get ready we are leaving as soon as i am acquainted with my command staff "

with this he stood up and saluted. " of course admiral, its always good to finally fly with someone who's competent at the head. "

with that i step off his vessel and move onto my own. its definitely not as spacious as the onslaught, but is still much larger than most of the lower tech vessels of the same class. the bridge is Cobalt painted to match the sleek blue armor on the outside. there is not alot of people here, though there really isn't a need for many. the consoles are paired, unlike the conquest where each section could hold 8 or more people. the bridge is flat with a small singular raised section where the captain of the vessel is to be seated in the centre, where he can easily overlook all the readouts of the various sections of the ship, i move to this section and take my seat.

a rather large man walks over and takes a stand next to my side.

" sir, i am second of the Custos Iter, Kaylin Varinis " he said in a smooth, leveled voice.

" very well, Second Varinis, inform the rest of the elements of Patrol Group Seeker and meet 100 KM from the station "

with that, his smooth voice fills the bridge and the rumble of clamps detaching and thrusters activating could be felt throughout the ship.

as the 3 other wolves meet at the location, i look towards my tactical screen and notice something rather odd. they are all outfitted the same way. well that's bothersome. already i have to use my campaign funds to reverse this crippling overspecialization. that will wait, i promised them a battle and we will seek one out and see how everyone fares among the stars.

(A/N and they're off! i know right, the ending was cheesy. so how was character presentation? any thoughts on jax stanson? or anyone else for that matter? =P)

[Catra]

log entry date: 06 / 12 / 205
location: star system corvus, starzone gothic, aboard the flagship of patrol group seeker of the corvus patrol fleet Custos Iter.
name and rank of logwriter: Nick Crusaire, captain?

we finally set sail for battle. i received my orders and its a very small patrol route. just stick around corvus 2. but why so close? there must be atleast 8 capitals ships and numerous smaller craft defending corvus 2 from assault, just what can a small 4 ship wolf pack do? whatever,  i set off and start circling the planet.

a few hours go by with nothing, then sensors report a brawler and a piranha wing moving past corvus. i yell to nav to intercept but they turn tail and then i see why command wanted me so close to the defense fleet, a massive group of fighters, a  venture cruiser and numerous smaller rapid repair ships came to the assistance of the lowly brawler and bomber. i quickly tell nav to bring us to 80 degrees and fly past the threat and for this we retreat back to the safety of corvus and await more prey.

as we get back to corvus, i can see the sky alight. there's a small battle going on and i move in to investigate. a rather large force of pirate frigates were bold enough to actually engage the defense fleets mostly comprised of cruisers and capital ships. though the large guns of the capitals cant hit the more nimble frigates or fighters, this is my chance to swoop in and gain some glory.

i engage whats left of their force:

2 lashers, a brawler and a piranha wing.

we deploy in standard line formation with me at the very end on the right and move in to engage.

in no time the ships reveal themselves on our sensors, i quickly make a battle plan.

" comms, open to the other wolves "

" everyone, focus your fire on the lasher "kallidike", break their center and then move onto the brawler, then sweep over and finish the other lasher "

with that, i watched on my tactical screen them converging on the ships location and all open up with their graviton beams and tactical lasers, preserving their missiles for the eventual overload of the poor vessel. i looked up at the main viewport to see my two targets infront of me, the other lasher and the piranha wing. i have to keep these 2 distracted so they do not flank the others.

as i move in, i see tactical laser fire and graviton beam slam into the lasher " aphaereus", and i look down to my screen to see its the CPS judicium breaking rank and assaulting a target that isnt the marked one.

" COMMS! open me to the judicium"

as the bridge of the judicium come into view, i am greeted by the captains loud voice shouting for the crew to put more into the engines so they can rush in for the kill of the "aphaereus".

" CAPTAIN MACKALEE! you are to disengage from the target and proceed with the order of battle i planned. "

" ha! you glory hog, 3 to 1 is a waste of my time, i'm sure the other 2 captains can handle such tiny prey " with that he closed comms and launched several missiles. when i looked up i was greeted by a overloaded aphaereus.

" WEAPONS! MISSILES! "

but before weapons could respond, the Judiciums missiles hit home and destroyed the vessel.

i slammed my fist into the side panel of my captains chair, i look up at Second Varinis, a look of amusement plastered on his face.

" what are you so amused by second? "

" sir, how angry you are over a vessel stealing your glory, this is commonplace here in corvus, for you do not know how long you are going to live for, so its best to accrue as much glory as fast as possible. "

" hm, do not lecture me on glory varinis. and im not angry he took that kill, but rather that he broke rank and assaulted a target that was far from the original battle plan. he left the irelius wide open to a flank maneuvre and made the Claras Spes isolated should they have given chase "

as the conversation with my second drew to a close, a bright flash filled the main viewport, the first lasher " kallidike" detonated in a massive explosion of anti-matter and fusion. the others must have used their harpoons, i mused. my second opened his mouth to counter what i said to him previously, but i just raised my arm in a signal for him to stop, that i dont want to talk about it further. he shut his mouth and looked back at the viewport.

we all grouped up infront of the remaining brawler. figuring their primary weapons no good to defend from so many missiles, we all unleash at the same time, and in a stunning display of ingenuity , the captain of the brawler released the rest of the missiles in his rocket pod, thus providing him with a missile screen.

" ha, its a shame he is a pirate, i could use a captain with smarts like that, comms open to the rest of the group. "

" everyone, me and the irelius will circle behind and assault it from the back. the Judicium and the Claras Spes will assault it from the front. good luck trying to get the kill everyone "

with that, we all moved in and assaulted the ship, the captain figured the ship who assaulted first will have the highest flux and concentrated on the Claras Spes, which gracefully dodged all the fire poured from the main guns of the brawler. moments later it was rubble.

(A/N so finally we get to the AAR portion and already we have drama unfolding. so how am i doing with the telling of the report?)

[Catra]

log entry date: 11 / 12 / 205
location: star system corvus, starzone gothic, aboard the flagship of patrol group seeker of the corvus patrol fleet Custos Iter.
name and rank of logwriter: Nick Crusaire, captain

after our first skirmish, nothing has happened in a few days. we are now assigned to go a wider range of operation around corvus 2. in the distance the scanners pick up a fleet calling itself an attack fleet, and as we move to battle distances, the scanners pickup two buffalos, 2 talon wings, a lasher and a brawler. hm, if they have buffalos it must be a supply convoy they raided. good, this will procure me extra supplies.

i open tactical and notice there are 2 sensor relays in the area, one is shrouded in a dense fog.

" comms, open me to the group "

" everyone, we are to move to the the Sensor Array Beta, we cannot lose the precious speed advantage our ships give us "

with that, we all race to see who will get there first.

as we approach, the signature of the talon wing pop onto the tactical screen. ha, this will be easy, for its 1:1. in one burst of green, all the talons were quickly swept away.

as we move in on the array, sensors shout out.

" sir! from 80 degrees we have the approach signiature of 6 pilum class missiles, heading for the judicium. "

pilums? how can they fire pilums? no ship in their fleet has medium mounts to hold them.

" nav, viewport to the judicium "

we swing around to the judicium, shields raised and taking the hits without a sweat. i hear sensors call out again.

" sir! buffalo signatures confirmed. pilum missile launch also confirmed from the buffalos. numerous weapon systems also registering on the vessel "

what? that monstrosity isnt a buffalo at all! its a makeshift destroyer. very well, i guess we will have to make do.

i look at tactical to see the other talon wing moving in to secure our sensor array.

" everyone, stay put and eliminate the talons first, we cannot lose this array. "

the talons swoop in, and in another burst of green, are quickly swept aside.

" everyone, concentrate on the buffalo " hippodamia", be careful of getting flanked by the lasher and brawler. "

with that, they move in, the brawler unleashes a wave of rockets to keep the space around the buffalo clear of combatants.

" nav, weave inbetween the rockets and the buffalo, and move in on the second one. "

" weapons, when the xochipilli comes within view, unleash 2 harpoons from each rack. "

nav expertly dodges all the rocket and swerves in a S pattern and lands itself between the brawler and buffalo, with a straight shot at its target. seconds go by as the missiles close in, the buffalo crew trying its best to shoot them down, to no avail, as they are consumed by the anti-matter payload.

as the buffalo's explosion dies down, i look at tactical, the brawler and lasher are both maneuvering to box me in, but my wolf far exceeds their agility and aptly gets away as the other 3 move in for the kill. the buffalo tries to avenege its fallen comrade by launching more pilums, i slingshot around the wreck of the old buffalo and the pilums slam into the derelict. as we clear the wreckage the claras spes comes within view and we nearly crash into one another.

a bright flash of light fills the left portion of the view port, i look down at tactical to see the buffalo signature missing. good, that was quite quick. these things are very fragile for a makeshift assault vessel.

" comms, open me to the Judicium "

" captain, you and i will assault the brawler, go in and assault its rear, i will distract from the front. "

" comms open me to the Irelius and Clarus Spes "

" captains, assault the lasher, make sure it cannot flank us while myself and the judicium assault the brawler "

as i move in on the brawler, its determined to keep me at bay, launching its rockets with abandon.

" weapons, we cannot take hits to the shield and continue the offensive, hold fire for now "

with that, the guns fall silent and the rumbling of large impacts against the shield are felt throughout the ship.

" sir, the Irelius is hailing us "

" put it through "

" captain, the lasher is destroyed, what are our orders now? "

i look down at tactical to see the brawler attempting a retreat, likely due to spending its rockets

" stand down, myself and the Judicium can deal with this. "

from the left and right, we assault the lonely gunship and within seconds its rear armor is bubbled away and it detonates.

[Catra]

log entry date: 26 / 12 / 205
location: star system corvus, starzone gothic, aboard the flagship of patrol group seeker of the corvus patrol fleet Custos Iter.
name and rank of logwriter: Nick Crusaire, captain

a few weeks have past, with just small one sided skirmishes between my patrol group and small pirate fleets of 1 - 2 frigates and a fighter wing.

as i make my orbit around corvus, the outline of an atlas across the skies of the planet pique my interests.

" Second Varinis, what is an atlas doing here in this system? "

" sir, that is how the orbital station gets most of its new weaponry and fighter craft. "

hm, so this backwater is important enough to have an atlas deliver a huge ton of supplies. that's interesting.

" nav, bring us into port, its time we shed ourselves of our over specialization "

with that, the ships of the patrol group turned sharply and found its way into the docking slots specially preserved just for them. as they slid into the docking slots, the rumbles and roars of the balancing jets could be felt and heard throughout the ship, and the loud creeking of the docking clamps heard as it lowered to hold the ship into place.

as i walked off my ship, i can see several other starship captains lounging around the requisition officer who handles all the transactions, others sitting on the cargo ramps of their vessels, either waiting for the rather large pack of others to clear out, or perhaps waiting for their own cargo to be loaded onto the vessel, and others looking as if the atlas couldn't have brought anything useful to them and ignoring the shipment entirely and went back to briefing their crew or looking over their dataslabs.

i see the Clarus Spes docked next to me and the Hatilbur brothers disembarking. i sprint over to them.

" Captain Hatilbur, i would like for you to tell me your thoughts on turning your ship into a dedicated point defense vessel. that fight with the modified buffalos shown me we are sorely lacking in missile defensive systems "

" i agree also, they could have easily taken out any of our vessels early on as we were all dangerously close to overloading at several occasions in that fight. my vessel will proudly serve as a point defense platform for the patrol group. though i also do suggest that at the very least, the forward turret should be a burst or long range defensive system for all vessels, as the Clarus Spes cannot be everywhere all the time."

i smirked at the rather insightful thought of the young captain.

" very well, i will tell the other captains of what you have said and ask them to please outfit their vessels in the way you suggested. "

with that, i handed him a data slab.

" this is the newest array of armament from the atlas, look it over and decide what your ship will be using. "

" very well sir " he saluted and started to walk off, though he did the most peculiar thing, he handed the tablet to his brother, and he started to read off the shipment. that's odd, such a smart captain who isn't afraid to speak up i cant see not being arsed to read things himself, though i suppose maybe its so he can walk without fear of bumping into some and causing an incident and to think as they are read off, as it much easier to walk, listen and think than walk, read and think, as im guilty of doing that plenty of times when in command of the ferrum parma.

( A/N, short chappy. so why do you guys think Captain Julin Hatilbur gave the slab to his brother? )

[Catra]

log entry date: 04 / 02 / 206
location: star system corvus, starzone gothic, aboard the flagship of patrol group seeker of the corvus patrol fleet Custos Iter, Wolf Class.
name and rank of logwriter: Nick Crusaire, captain

while routinely patrolling around Corvus 2, i saw an ever increasing amount of cruiser led patrol groups heading off into the same direction. as the latest group launched, i opened comms to the rest of the group

" everyone, get in flight formation with that patrol group, let us see why they are sending so many resources to one location "

with that, all the captains beamed happily, secure in the fact that their captain is a bold risk taker.

as our patrol group pulled up next to various other frigates of the patrol, no one seemed to spare us a second glance or a comm to find out who we were.

after a few days flight i can see from my viewport several hundred streaks of purple, red, blue, and green and yellow, there's quite a fierce battle going on down here. i bring up tactical and there's atleast 7 different fleets engaging various levels of pirate infestation. as i decide my course of action there is a medium sized group with the signal of " pirate Armada" attempting to flee through the Corvus star's outermost corona, probably hoping the super brightness of the star will mask their presence, i assume these are remnants of the once huge Armada. i open up fleetwide.

" gentlemen, we are going into the Corvus star and intercepting the remnants of that pirate Armada, no objections will be taken into consideration "

with that, we broke off from the patrol group, which by then intercepted a large pirate carrier group of 1 venture, 6  Condors a gemini and numerous fighters of all sorts.

as we drew close to the star, the Armada started moving towards us, apparently they arent as crippled as i thought as theres a fully functional hammerhead and Sunder. this is going to be a tough battle.

we deploy in standard line formation and engage full burn towards the enemy. as our battle lines shorten, sensors and comms call out.

" SIR! a hyperion 1.1 KM out , fully armored. a Hammerhead 2.1 KM out, heavily damaged "

" sir, the Irelius is reporting that the Sunder and Lasher are 1.9 and 1.5 KM out from them and are requesting orders "

i ponder the situation, with us split like this it will be easy to isolate and destroy one of the vessels, we should strike at the hammerhead, this way atleast it will be closer to a fair fight, plus its directly inbetween the 2 groups of wolves.

" comms, group wide "

" everyone, engage the Hammerhead, if we can cripple that ship alot of their staying power will be removed and we can pick off the lowly armored sunder. "

with that, the 3 captains started plotting courses and telling weapons what to do.

that plan did not go as well as planned. the captain of the hammerhead quickly saw through the plan and started a full reverse towards the lasher and sunder. the hyperion frigate got inbetween myself and the Clarus Spes, taking my missiles to its shields and shooting down the rest with its burst PD systems.

as me and the Clarus Spes moved in, the hammerhead brought its guns to bear on me and started firing. it was easy to strafe but my lone firepower couldnt hope to break its shields. soon the other 2 joined in and we got its shields lowered for a brief time, then the sunder moved into range and we had to withdraw. as i sat in my chair formulating a new plan, i looked at tactical and saw the Judicium had isolated the Hyperion. i open to Clarus Spes and Irelius

" Captains Hatilbur and Stanson, assist the judicium in quickly dispatching the foe and rally at 1 KM from the wreckage facing the enemy "

with that, we set off towards the hyperion. it was doing fine taking the hits to its shields, as the lasers arent really known for shield busting prowess. then it made the fatal mistake of assuming it could hit the extremely agile wolf with its antimatter blaster, which quickly saw the vessel overloaded and destroyed in a plume of blue.

i got a distress signal from the Irelius, as i looked at tactical, the hammerhead had cut it off from the rest of the group and is now in pursuit. i open comms to everyone.

" ok people, saving the Irelius is top priority. "

i send the Irelius coordinates to fall back to and give the Clarus Spes and Judicium another set of coordinates, one which will intercept the Irelius pursuers.

as the hammerhead comes into view, we try in vain to stop it, even with all our lasers we cannot make its flux level rise to make it drop shields, so with that, i call full retreat, we just cant simply win a war of attrition with 2 destroyers.

during retreat, the judicium reported an overloaded reactor. that hothead! hes going to get himself killed, i switch to tactical to see what can be done. looking it over, it doesn't need any help, its momentum will bring it outside the range of the hammerheads primary armament, and without anymore missiles it will safely outrun it.

even though i've only had short interactions with captain mackalee, i would still be saddened to see him die.

as we regrouped several KM away from the battlefield, i surveyed the damage. the Irelius, after all accounts, is going to have to stay in drydock for 9 days. that is quite the beating it took, especially for a rather high tech vessel.

(A/N booooo our favorite patrol group got its first taste of defeat rather early on. =P )

[Catra]

as the repair crews and machine dock workers dismantle and remantle the Irelius, i get a comms from the quartermaster.

" Captain Crusaire, can you make haste to the Provisions and Requisitions office "

as i hear the message, it sounds more like a order rather a request, so i give my second some orders and head towards the office.

arriving via personnel transport, i look out at the Irelius, its hull is severely burnt in places and several giant gaps can be seen. theres a giant swarm of machines dismantling the ship, and in some places remantling it where the internal repair crews have finished. i raise my eyebrows in astonishment such a vessel could take hits like that. i walk into the office after a few moments.

" ah, Captain Crusaire. Patrol Group kalonis reported your group tailgated them to a hotzone, which is far outside your patrol path. "

" sir, i just wanted to see what was..

" i didnt ask for a explanation Captain, i was just informing you of what i have been told, but since you are trying to defend yourself, i assume it to be true. very well then i am informing the requisitions officer to open the stock of destroyers to you so that, should anymore such incidents occur, or the pirates get bold enough to stray too close with heavier firepower, you can be prepared. you are dismissed "

" thank you, Quartermaster "

with that, i take the personnel transport and comm the rest of the patrol group.

" everyone meet up by the shipyard, quarter just gave us permission to requisition a destroyer. "

i don't have to wait long for the rest of the captains to meet up, they look extremely eager to begin looking over heavier firepower for the patrol, and looking at the Hatilburs, they look as if they are going to be promoted to my new flagship.

(A/N and we get a lucky roleplay break though tbh im not quite sure what i want for a destroyer. =P )

[Catra]

log entry date: 16 / 02 / 206
location: star system corvus, starzone gothic, aboard the flagship of patrol group seeker of the corvus patrol fleet Custos Iter, Wolf Class.
name and rank of logwriter: Nick Crusaire, captain

its been 3 days since the Irelius has been fully repaired, we didn't decide on a destroyer, so we just left knowing the option was there should we ever need one. on routine patrol around Corvus, a pirate Armada comes flying around and destroys the small number of ships in the defense fleets flying around Corvus 2, as a majority of them were in for repairs.

my wolf pack and the small number of mercenaries who usually hung around the station looking for a job were the only ones left to defend the system, and there's no way we could take on a conquest with our meager holdings, let alone the rather large fleet of ships flying around it.

as comms was jammed up with chatter from everyone on what to do, the fleet of mercenaries that the hegemony hires to protect the station when routine maintenance comes around shows up, the pirates are unprepared for the staggering amount of capitals and cruisers and are quickly routed. as i make my way to scan the wreckage for survivors, i see two tempests hauling off with a conquest, they all look extremely damaged and make a beeline straight for them and open comms once in range.

" attention vessels of unknown standings. this is Captain Nick Crusaire of the Hegemony Patrol Group Seeker, you are to power down all systems and transmit personal ID codes, or..."

before i could finish, 3 ID codes, all pirate, was received, along with a plea of surrender.

" very well, i accept your plea, marines will be boarding your vessels and arresting you, along with transferring control of your vessels to me, for the time being atleast "

with that, we moved to the drydock and as i stepped off the Custos Iter, i could see a giant mob of officers, captains, and pilots all crowd around the heavily damaged Conquest, just wondering who it belonged to. as the cargo ramp came down to the floor with a thundering crash, and the first marines stepped out, a jolt of electricity sparked through everyone and spurred them to rush to the requisition and claims office to try and bid for the newly liberated and uncommandeered vessel. unfortunately for them, i knew they would wait to see who the lucky captain was who barely survived combat in such a thrashed vessel, and took the opportunity to file all the paperwork to get the vessel to be assigned to patrol group seeker, on grounds that we do not have the firepower to deal with anything other than low tech frigates and fighters. by the time the other captains made the realization that it was open game, my paperwork was the only one infront of the QuarterMaster, who, by hegemony law, could not turn down my request for the vessel, as at the time there were no other bidders for it. as soon as his stamp of approval was on my paperwork, a secretary walked in with probably every captain and officers requisition form. i smiled at the middle-aged secretary and showed her the stamp on mine, she let out a sigh and walked back    through the door where she came, muttering something about there being an uproar amongst everyone else.

(A/N this quite literally happened 2 seconds after i posted my last update lol it actually almost got nabbed by a independent merc force =P it was like, nanometers from destruction before i caught up with it.)