RPG Silver One

[Horendithas]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]It hadn?t been easy what with the time limit and all, but all of the targets but a few had been taken care of. The few that had been missed had fled into hiding when it became apparent that the government was incapable of stopping what was happening. The worldwide transmission declaring that all naval forces would be destroyed had actually made things easier as so many people were more concerned about barricading themselves in their homes.

And tomorrow he would have his hands full taking care of the domestic shipping yards though it wouldn?t be too hard since most of the explosives had already been placed. With the heightened security due to the past events Jared had decided that it would be wiser to not set them the same day. So far even though the humans had been searching not a single explosive had been found. But then they did not know to look for a device that was only four inches wide and long and one inch thick. And now with things starting tomorrow he had already delivered the message that at precisely 11am sharp all of the domestic shipping yards would be destroyed and if they were too stupid to get out in time then they deserved to die.

Jared finished his own reports and sent both a copy to Sandra and Crystal, he made sure to thank Crystal for the use of her task forces as it had made getting everything done in the time frame much easier. Now all he needed to do was check in with Darren before calling it a night. Now that the invasion was just around the corner it was time to fill him in on some of the details.

He finished up what he was doing, sent the messages off and closed down his workstation in his quarters. It was almost time to meet Darren but he needed to talk to Sandra first. He opened up a channel to her; Sandra was still on the bridge reviewing the communications being held by the upper governments.

?[B]Ah Jared, I just read your report, good work.[/B]? She said upon realizing who had contacted her. ?[B]What did you need?[/B]?

?[B]I need you to approve giving Darren level one clearance for classified information. I could wait until after the invasion, but I want to get him started on a real plan for setting up the transportation and to do that he?ll need too know what is going to happen once we take over.[/B]?

?[B]Very well, I?ll issue the appropriate order. Anything else?[/B]? Sandra asked.

?[B]No.[/B]?

?[B]Let me know if there is.[/B]? Sandra replied before ending the transmission.

Jared reached into one of the compartments of the workstation and pulled out a blank chip, he inserted it into his handheld computer and transferred the necessary files to it before heading over to Darren?s quarters. He smiled inwardly at Darren?s less than enthusiastic greeting when he entered his quarters.

?[B]Ah Darren,[/B]? Jared said as he helped himself to one of the more comfortable chairs in the room. ?[B]Good to see that you?ve recovered so nicely, take a seat.[/B]? He indicated the sofa across from the chair he was sitting waiting for Darren to take a seat before continuing. ?[B]I understand from your report that you?ve prepared a plan to slowly phase out Earth?s method of transportation and replace it with our own.[/B]?

?[B]Yes Sub-Commander, all the details are in the report I forwarded to you.[/B]?

?[B]Yes I know, however you?ll need to modify it based on this.[/B]? Jared handed him the chip with the data on it. And then he waited patiently while Darren read the files noting how his expression changed upon reading it.

?[B]But that would require someone with more extensive shipping knowledge to oversee it![/B]? Darren protested.

Jared laughed at Darren?s chagrined expression, ?[B]Did you think you were finished? I told you this would take at least several months.[/B]? Jared moved forward until he was sitting on the edge of his seat he leaned forward chuckling inwardly as Darren leaned back.

?[B]Darren, we haven?t even been here a month, and that?s with the time table being advanced by three weeks. Did you really think I would fit you with an expensive translator for such a short mission?[/B]? He watched as Darren self-consciously reached up with his left hand to touch his ear where the translator had been installed.

He fixed Darren with a stern glance before continuing, ?[B]You will be in charge of setting up transportation on Earth, otherwise I would never have bothered with the translator or with giving your crewmate a contract to deliver goods. For someone who runs his own company you?re not very bright sometimes.[/B]?

?[B]I didn?t ask for the translator Sub-Commander or the contract.[/B]? Darren said angrily.

?[B]No Darren, you did not. Just as you did not ask for your clearance to be hacked putting you in a restricted zone or to be mistaken for me and nearly killed by an Earthling. But you of all people should understand that lots of things happen that we did not ask for.[/B]?

?[B]True but?[/B]? Darren said halfheartedly.

Jared cut him off firmly, ?[B]No buts.[/B]? He got up to leave. ?[B]Regardless of what you think of me or the military, I expect you to do your job Darren, the sooner you quit focusing on getting back to your ship the sooner you will be finished.[/B]?

He waited for a response as Darren struggled to bring his anger and irritation under control, a battle that he was not very good at. Jared smiled and leaned forward a bit.

?[B]Or is the problem that you still need to work on controlling your reactions?[/B]? Jared said, smiling when Darren flushed. ?[B]Don?t worry, you?ll have plenty of time to practice since you?ll be staying on the Crimson the whole time.[/B]? He laughed at Darren?s look of dismay.

?[B]I expect a revised plan in three days Darren, I suggest you get busy.[/B]? He fixed Darren with another smile and left. [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]Jason wasn?t sure what to expect when Daniel called everyone to the main mess hall for an official meeting. Since he had joined the resistance, he had never been on a base where they actually held meetings. They had some level of a command structure but it seemed far more loosely based than the actual military.

When he and Celestia got to the mess hall it was already jammed with people, crammed together in an effort to fit into to room. He could see Daniel standing on a small storage crate so that he was up where everyone could see him and about in the center of the room he could see the back of Sara?s head as she had already arrived. He smiled at that; pleased to see that she had recovered well enough that she was up and about.

He was about to start working through the crowd to get to her when Daniel raised his hand for everyone to be silent. Something that happened immediately, Jason had his own suspicions about what was up and Celestia agreed with him. The invasion had to be coming, and soon. He and Celestia had been working overtime along with the programming specialists at the other two bases since the announcement that the naval forces would be destroyed. Something that would happen today, which was probably why Daniel had called the meeting so early this morning.

?[B]Thank you for coming everyone. I?ll get to the point immediately since we don?t have a lot of time. I?m sure you?ve noticed how the Versilan military has been neutralizing Earth?s defenses and shipping capabilities as well as eliminating a good number of politicians, religious leaders and powerful businessmen. A standard tactic used to prepare for the actual invasion.[/B]? Daniel paused for a moment to look around the room and then he continued.

?[B]I?ve just received confirmation that a sizable fleet is only four days away from Earth under the command of the Creator.[/B]? He paused as everyone began talking at once. He let them continue a moment before raising both hands to get everyone?s attention. A moment later he had it.
[I]
The creator? Is that a ship? [/I]Jason wondered. He turned his attention back to Daniel when he spoke again.

?[B]I don?t have time to explain the details people, I?ve already issued the order to the other two bases to begin locking everything down and getting all the safe houses completed. From now on standard top-level stealth will be required for everything. I want to plug any holes in our defenses before the fleet arrives. So lets get to work and make that happen. If you run into any problems or have questions run them through Kim. Dismissed.[/B]?

Jason grabbed Celestia?s hand and pulled her inside the room and then to the side of the door, waiting for the initial press of people leaving to die down before he headed over to catch Daniel before he too left.

?[B]Daniel I need to talk to you.[/B]?

?[B]Yes Jason? What do you need?[/B]?

?[B]What happened to William? I thought Celestia and I along with Sara were suppose to be leaving Earth.[/B]?

?[B]You were, but unfortunately that?s no longer an option.[/B]? Daniel replied.

?[B]I see,[/B]? Jason paused and then spoke again when another thought occurred to him. ?[B]Is William dead?[/B]?

Daniel smiled. ?[B]No Jason, he was the one who informed me that the fleet is coming.[/B]?

Daniel turned to leave but stopped when Celestia spoke.

?[B]Wait Daniel, William told me and Jason that he would be back in a week and yet he did not make it. What?s going on?[/B]?

Daniel sighed. ?[B]William was investigating what happened to a number of resistance members in another sector. Unfortunately, most of them are dead and the few that are missing may as well be dead, as he has found no trace of them. By the time he confirmed that it was too late for him to get here before the fleet does and once they are here he will not be able to get close enough to transport you off Earth.[/B]?

?[B]What else are you hiding from us Daniel?[/B]? Celestia asked.

?[B]Celestia, there are things that you are better off not knowing. Should either one of you fall into the hands of the military it would endanger far too many members of the resistance if you had that kind of knowledge.[/B]?

Celestia crossed her arms across her chest and fixed Daniel with an angry look. ?[B]Stop being melodramatic father. Anyone with that knowledge would endanger the rest of us if caught. I can understand that you want to minimize the risks, but leaving us in the dark doesn?t help things either.[/B]?

?[B]I am not being melodramatic Celestia,[/B]? Daniel said coldly. ?[B]There?s a lot going on and a lot at stake here, even my second in command Kim doesn?t know the whole deal. Whether or not you like it everyone?s safety is more important than you knowing what?s going on.[/B]? Celestia started to interrupt but he cut her off.

?[B]I am not going to tell you anything else Celestia, you have been given the information you need to be able to do your part and I suggest you do so, our lives depend upon your programming skills keeping us hidden. Don?t let your foolish desire to know more distract you from your true goal.[/B]?

Celestia wanted to say more, but Daniel turned his back on her and left, ignoring her. She started to follow him angry at his refusal to speak but stopped when Jason grabbed her right arm.

?[B]Jason! What are you doing?[/B]?

?[B]Let it go Celestia, Daniel is right and you know it.[/B]?

?[B]But?[/B]? Celestia started to protest.

?[B]I want to know too, but we don?t have time for that, didn?t you want to work on improving the scrambler for the grade B sensor equipment to keep them from using the data feed to locate the base? You told me you were worried that someone could eventually hack the routine.[/B]?

?[B]Well yes?[/B]? Celestia started to say.

Jason smiled. ?[B]Then lets get to work since we don?t have a lot of time before the fleet arrives.[/B]?

?[B]All right.[/B]? Celestia finally said. ?[B]We?d better contact the other two bases so we can do all three at the same time then.[/B]?[/COLOR]

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR=DarkRed]?[B]Commander, we?ve received confirmation from the Catalyst for a group of humans to pick up.[/B]?

?[B]On screen,[/B]? Crystal ordered. A moment later the main viewer switched to a view showing a fair number of smaller vessels bunched together.

?[B]Raise shields to full power and take us down. I want our position to be that of five hundred feet above them.[/B]? Crystal ordered.

The helmsman entered the command, ?[B]Shields at full power, estimated time of arrival, two minutes.[/B]?

Crystal turned to the communications officer. ?[B]Prepare to broadcast an announcement using the translator. I want the volume loud enough that all of them will hear the message.[/B]?

?[B]Understood Commander[/B],? the communications officer replied.

Crystal opened up a channel first to the transportation personal and then to the crew that was already standing by in the hold where they would be transported.

?[B]I will be giving you the coordinates for where to open the transport doors in a few minutes, also, remember any hostilities are to be met with light force, I want no mistakes, everyone is to verify that their disruptors are set to stun.[/B]? She closed the channel and turned her attention back to the viewer as they were almost in position.

?[B]Commander,[/B]? her Sub-Commander spoke. ?[B]The humans are firing at us, your orders?[/B]?

?[B]Unless their weapons manage to penetrate our shields, let alone the hull, you are to do nothing.[/B]?

?[B]Understood.[/B]?

Crystal pulled up the results of the few hits that had connected with the shields; even space debris was more powerful as the projectiles simply fell apart when they made contact with the shields. She would have been very surprised if their tiny hand held weapons were capable of doing anything, raising the shields hadn?t even been necessary.

?[B]We?re in position Commander.[/B]? The helmsman announced.

?[B]Good, now open the transmission to the outside.[/B]? Crystal commanded. As soon as it was open she spoke.

?[B]You are to cease fire immediately and discard your weapons into the ocean or I will open fire. That includes any you have hidden as you cannot hide them from me. You have five minutes to comply.[/B]? She muted the connection and started the countdown on the main viewer.

?[B]In five minutes I want you to scan the life boats for any remaining weapons,[/B]? she ordered her Sub-Commander when some of the humans who were not firing at them removed weapons they had and tossed them into the sea. It was rather interesting how some complied immediately while others argued and eventually even tackled a few who were still trying to shoot her ship and forcibly take the weapon from them and toss it into the sea.

When the five minutes had expired Crystal waited patiently for her Sub-Commander to scan the lifeboats. She expected some of them to have foolishly kept a few hidden weapons and when the scan was put up on the main viewer along the side showing the boats and that two were highlighted as still being armed she was not surprised.

?[B]I guess they just don?t listen to well do they? When I give the signal I want you to fire the lasers simultaneously next to the two boats that still have weapons, enough to rock them but not capsize them.[/B]? She chuckled. Crystal un-muted the volume and addressed them again.

?[B]You have failed to comply. Two of your boats are still harboring weapons.[/B]? She nodded to her Sub-Commander who fired the lasers sending sheets of water up and over the two lifeboats, soaking everyone in them and causing them to rock madly. Crystal waited for the water to calm back down before continuing.

?[B]The next shot will not miss, you have one minute to comply before I destroy all boats that are armed along with the inhabitants.[/B]? She muted the volume again. This time the rest of the weapons were tossed into the sea. She addressed them again.

?[B]Good, now in a moment a door of light will appear in the center of your boats. You are to walk through it immediately.[/B]? She signaled the transportation personal and those in the hold who were waiting for the humans to arrive.

This time there was no fuss and the humans did as they were told. A few minutes later when the boats were empty she received confirmation that the humans were all accounted for.

?[B]All right, excellent work everyone, now since they were on a ship that belonged to the US military set a course for the closest land that belongs to them.[/B]?

A moment later the Tempest turned and headed towards the west coast of the US. [/COLOR]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[color=darkslateblue]"The [i]Tempest[/i] is reporting readiness," Daego said. "They're standing by to recieve coordinates."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Good. The transmission is set, and I'm starting the broadcast."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]The [i]Catalyst[/i] had entered Earth's atmosphere and was descending towards the surface with the [i]Tempest [/i]following closely behind. Earlier, Kiva had recorded a essage, and now it was being continually broadcast. And naval vessel in range would receive the message, which said to abandon ship immediately or the crew would be killed when the ship was destroyed. Since the [i]Catalyst[/i] couldn't broadcast the message across the entire planet at once, it was being looped so that each vessel would receive the message in enough time for the crew to abandon ship.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Kiva and Daego had planned a basic route in advance. It would, of course, require some modification to adjust for the movement of the targets, which was why Daego was running a continual area scan.The [i]Catalyst[/i] would follow the pre-planned route as much as possible while destroying all ships they came across. The coordinates of these ships would be transmitted to the [i]Tempest[/i], which would be following, though it would quickly fall behind, thanks to the fact that its job would take longer. Still, it would be more than fast enough to pick up all the survivors before they were waiting for too long.meanwhile, after finishing up with the active ships, the [i]Catalyst[/i] would proceed to take out all naval bases and beached vessels that had been able to reach land in time, just not a port. After that, the vessel would return to orbit.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Most of the operation went off without a hitch, though there were a few ships whose crews had chosen not to evacuate, but to fight. Of course, nothing they had was of any use against the [i]Catalyst[/i], so their efforts were meaningless, and just served to get them killed, as Kiva and Daego weren't going to give them more time to abandon ship. They'd warned everyone to abandon or they would die; it wasn't their fault that some people chose to ignore the warning. But most of the people had complied and abandoned ship, and the [i]Tempest[/i] would be coming to pick them up.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"That went rather smoothly," Daego remarked as the [i]Catalyst [/i]returned to orbit.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Kiva nodded. "Indeed. I actually thought that more people would try to fight, seeing as how they were initially so reluctant to start moving as ordered in the first place. But yeah, it went well. Of course, we've still got some work to do."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"I know. How's your new tracer program coming?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"I think I've almost got it finished. I just have to work out a couple bugs in the program, then it'll be good to go. Of course, it still may not work. And if it doesn't, well, I guess we'll just have to try something else."[/color]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][CENTER][IMG]http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/5697/silveronebanner001xi2.jpg[/IMG]
[SIZE=1]Banner by [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/member.php?userid=19869][COLOR=RoyalBlue][U][B]Aaryanna[/B][/U][/COLOR][/URL] [/SIZE][/CENTER]

In what could be considered an excessive display of force the fleet under the command of the Creator dropped out of hyperspace and joined the Crimson, the Tempest and the Catalyst in their orbit of Earth. Nearly thirty ships strong it was an intimidating sight, one that was easily visible to the inhabitants below, as all pretenses at hiding had been dropped.

The arrangements already made, the Creator immediately broadcast an audio and visual signal to all nations on Earth. The message clear, Earth and it?s inhabitants were now the property of the Versilan Empire and any and all resistance would be dealt with. No time to comply or for them to surrender was given, merely a declaration that many of the major countries in the world would shortly receive a visit with instructions on how to proceed and that the others were to wait for their turn.

The transmission ended and minutes later teams of two ships began to descend to preset coordinates. Each of the groups consisted of a full battleship like the Crimson along with another one that was a transport ship. Canada, Russia, China, Japan were but some of the first ten destinations.

Then the Commodore of the Creator sent out additional orders to those who had been at Earth all this time. Orders given to him by the High Council to be delivered to them upon their arrival, then another moment to send the confirmation signal to the Conqueror: [I]Phase Three has begun[/I]. [/COLOR]

[Horendithas]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]Jared and Sandra were monitoring the progress of the ships as one by one they took over their assigned cities. There was some resistance but surprisingly so far no casualties. Though it helped that the human?s weapons were not capable of penetrating the body armor worn by the ground forces. And those few who did resist were stunned and quickly taken away into the transport ships.

?[B]How long until the transport ships are loaded?[/B]? Jared asked Sandra.

?[B]At this rate they?ll be ready to leave within one day, just as the next set of transports arrive.[/B]? Sandra replied.

Jared pulled up another report being fed to the Crimson, taking a quick look at the numbers. He smiled; it looked like once the equipment the ground troops had was unloaded the transports would have enough room for each one to take around five hundred thousand humans instead of the projected four hundred thousand.

?[B]This should speed things up, it looks like they will be able to accommodate more passengers than we originally estimated.[/B]?

?[B]I?ve already informed each sector to where they will be sent to expect more slaves than we originally told them. They should have plenty of time to prepare for their arrival.[/B]? Sandra replied.

?[B]That should make things much easier, leaving them on Earth would be a waste of resources and land that can be put to better use. And the other worlds we took over didn?t have anywhere near the population that Earth did. There?s easily enough humans here to send some to every single world and ease the current labor shortage.[/B]? Jared observed.

?[B]Correct, which is part of why the High Council agreed to advance the invasion in the first place. The resistance is a problem, but the labor shortage was an even bigger one. I?ve recommended that changes be made, since our dependence on their labor is dangerous. If we aren?t too careful we will end up over reaching ourselves.[/B]? Sandra said.

?[B]I?m surprised you got those old fools to listen.[/B]? Jared said.

?[B]It wasn?t me, someone else convinced them to move forward.[/B]? Sandra replied.

?[B]Commander,[/B]? one of the officers spoke. ?[B]I have an incoming message from the Creator.[/B]?

?[B]Patch it through to the conference room.[/B]? Sandra ordered as she got up to head there. ?[B]Come with me Jared.[/B]?

Both of them entered the conference room and then opened up the channel on the viewer at the end of the table.

?[B]Commodore,[/B]? Sandra said with a nod of her head.

?[B]Commander,[/B]? he replied. ?[B]I have a situation that I want you to deal with.[/B]?

A moment later the view on the screen split to show both the Commodore and a view of a huge army out in what was known as the Middle East of Earth. ?[B]I?ve pulled back the ship in that section for the moment as that many people could possibly overwhelm the ground forces.[/B]?

Sandra looked at the screen and then pulled up another one at the terminal in the table. She smiled when she realized what she was reading.

?[B]Have you received any messages from that group?[/B]? She asked the Commodore.

?[B]We have, something along the lines of declaring a holy war and about us being infidels.[/B]?

?[B]I will deal with it Commodore, this is the group I warned about in my report that would cause the most trouble. For now pull everyone out of that section and send them elsewhere. I will try to use tactics to undermine their resolve, if that fails, once the rest of the world has been dealt with, I will destroy them if necessary.[/B]?

?[B]Ah, so that?s the one then, I suspect you will have to destroy them no matter what you do, but by all means if you can salvage them the High Council would prefer it.[/B]?

?[B]I understand Commodore, leave this to me.[/B]? Sandra inclined her head respectfully as the Commodore ended the transmission.

?[B]So those are the religious fanatics you were talking about, you predicted their reaction perfectly Sandra.[/B]? Jared observed.

?[B]Its time to show them how meaningless their threats really are.[/B]? Sandra got up and went back out to the main bridge, taking her seat and once Jared had taken his she pulled up the chart showing the oil fields that were the key point of so many power struggles down on Earth.

She put the view on the main screen along the side. ?[B]Take us down into the atmosphere until we are in enough to avoid damaging the outer layer and above the centermost oil field on the screen.[/B]?

?[B]At once Commander.[/B]?

Sandra turned Jared, ?[B]How much force would be required to pretty much vaporize the oil immediately and yet still leave enough to burn without creating too much pollution?[/B]?

Jared pulled up a screen of his own and began to make the calculations once the scan of the fields in question had been made. He then programmed the information into the weapon?s system.

?[B]I?ve put the information in Sandra, at your word I can destroy them one by one.[/B]?

?[B]Excellent, we have no need of their primitive oil and since their technology is heavily dependant upon it, removing it will make things much easier as the very machines they use to travel will be grounded in no time at all. Later if resistance becomes too much of an issue we will destroy other oil platforms and deposits around the world.[/B]?

?[B]We?re in position Commander.[/B]?

?[B]Good at my mark, fire and destroy each field with the information provided by Jared.[/B]? She gave the signal.

In rapid secession each field was taken out. Sandra smiled as she gave the order to return to space.

?[B]It will be interesting to see how committed they are to their holy war once they realize that they have nothing to fight it with. I predict that within a few days they will be at each others throats. If not, they will be the next target.[/B]?[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[color=darkslateblue]It was two days before the fleet's arrival when Kiva attempted to run her latest signal tracking program. "I've got a signal to the sensor gear. Sending tracer... now."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Confirmed," Daego said. "I'm getting its signal. Tracer program is funcioning."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Good. I'm linking with the sensor gear now... and I'm linked. Beginning signal relay now."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Kiva was relaying her signal through the sensor gear as she had previously. This time, however, her intent wasn't to get into the Resistance base's computers. Loaded into her signal was a tracing program. This program would track the signal's path, allowing Kiva to see where it went. This would give her the location of the Resistance base if it worked. However, the sensor signals were very heavily scrambled and sheilded, which was why Kiva's previous tracker programs had worked.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"I think we've got-damnit," Daego said. "I had it for a second there, but then the tracer was lost."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Yeah, I see that. Pulling out."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Well, we were closer this time," Daego said. "We're making progress, at least."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Kiva, her signal terminated, reviewed what data the tracker program had sent before becoming scrambled." A lot of progress," she said. "In fact, I think we'll get it next time."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Really?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Kiva nodded. "Yep. See, at this point we have two options. One is to continue refining tracker programs like we've been doing. This will likely take a while, but there is a faster way. That last program got me enough data to set up a tracking pulse."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"What's a tracking pulse?" Daego asked.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"A tracking pulse is basically a brute-force solution to the problem of secure sensor transmissions. With a little data on the sensor signal in question, it's possible to configure the tracking pulse, which basically recreates itself during transmission. The tracking programs we've been using have been degraded by the signal's security. A tracking pulse will also be degraded, but by the time it is, it'll have produced a non-degraded duplicate of itself. This will repeat until the signal is at its destination.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Now, there is one drawback to using a tracking pulse. So far, I've been able to use the sensor signals without the Resistance knowing, but a tracking pulse is easier to detect. They can't stop it, but they'll know we've found them."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Is there a way around that?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"As a matter of fact," Kiva said, "there is. A tracking pulse will register as simply a purst of sensor activity. If we time it so we run the pulse when the sensors are recording heavy activity, it will go unnoticed."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"What level of sensor activity are we talking about?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Well, it's a lot more activity than is actually necessary, but we could hide the pulse in, say, the mass of signatures caused by a large number of ships emerging from hyperspace."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"The fleet. We're going to hide the pulse in the fleet's arrival signatures?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Kiva nodded. "That's my plan. The pulse should be ready long before they get here, so that's not a concern. And the fleet's arrival isn't exactly something that'll look suspicious, so it's a perfect cover."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Well, if we'll be ready by then, let's do it."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"I'm linked with the sensor gear," Kiva said. "Tracking pulse loaded and ready to send. Pulse set for transmission upon detection of the fleet's arrival signatures."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Confirmed. Fleet arrival in one minute... 30 seconds... 10... 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. Multiple hyperspace emergences detected. They're on time."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Tracking pulse is away... holy shit!"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Daego spun around to face Kiva. "What is it?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"I- I think I just figured out why this signal's been so hard to track," Kiva said. "The tracking pulse data here shows a multi-signal leap, combined with rotating transmission-receipt units."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"What?! How the hell did they pull that off?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]A signal leap was a common tactic used to make a signal harder to trace. Basically, a signal leap was an interval where the signal was not being directed at all. The lack of direction impared signal tracking. And a multi-signal leap was simply a series of signal leaps. Rotating transmission-receipt uints referred to when relay points for a signal were not set, instead changing randomly. This also made signal tracking more difficult. However, nobody'd managed to set up a combination of the two before, signal leaps originating from and ending at random locations. Nobody, that is, except whoever'd set up this particular system.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"I don't know how they managed it," Kiva said, "but they did it somehow. Shit, it's no wonder we haven't been able to track the signal."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"We've got it now, though. We've got the data, so let's see here... damn, they're not taking any chances here, are they? Even after all they've got set up, they're still dispersing the signal at the end. And it's a pretty wide dispersal, too. We've got a 25-mile radius to search."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"That's a lot better than we had, and I think I know where within that radius it is. See, there one city within that radius, and only one. Our Earth database is identifying it as Canberra, Australia. My guess is that the Resistance base is right under the city. That way, they're protected from an arial or orbital strick, because we'd have to destroy the city and kill its inhabitants to do that."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Yeah, and that's unacceptable," Daego said. "If the base is under the city, we'll just have to take it out from the inside. The fleet'll have enough troops for that. We just need to figure out where the base's entrance is."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"I doubt that'll be in their computers anywhere," Kiva said, "but there might be something that'll help us out. I'm in their network, so I'll just take a look." She ran her data-retrieval programs, then pulled out. She and Daego had just begun to review [/color][color=darkslateblue]the data when they received a transmission.[/color]
[color=darkslateblue][/color]
[color=darkslateblue]"This is from the fleet's flagship, the [i]Creator[/i]," Daego said after viewing the transmission. "They have an order update for us from the High Council. The Council wants the Resistance bases swept for wanted individuals before destruction. Not suprising, I guess, what with the live-capture criminals the [i]Crimson[/i] has confirmed the presence of."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Well, we'll just sweep the base before blowing it up. We'd have to go through it to plant the bombs anyways, so this won't add too much. Of course, we need to know how to get in first, so let's take a look at the data I pulled out and see if we can't learn anything."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
------------------------------------------

OOC: Hope that was good. SunfallE, let me know if I need to change anything.

[Rachmaninoff]

The last thing Darren had expected when the fleet arrived was to receive a message directed to him nor to be given enough clearance that he could now use the ships sensors to at least be permitted an outside view of the ship to see the fleet as well as Earth. He had known about the Tempest but not the Elite Specialist ship. He had heard about them but until now he had never seen one before. Nor had he seen one of the flagships up close either.

The Creator was massive. The Crimson had made his ship look tiny in the same way the Creator made the Crimson look tiny. It was hard to even imagine the work that had to have gone into building it. Darren shut down the view of the outside and pulled up the message he had been sent. To his surprise it was from the Commodore of the Creator. [I]What the hell?[/I] He thought.

A moment later he understood. One of the transport ships had the necessary equipment for him to begin setting up the transportation facilities as soon as they finished taking over Denver Colorado. Though why they were taking that city along with the capital of the US was beyond him. He was to check in with Sandra tomorrow morning and if the area had been taken he would be sent down immediately to start overseeing the set up. [I]What a pain in the butt.[/I] He thought as he finished reading the message.

Why were they in such a hurry? It would take months to finish transporting those who would not be staying on Earth. And then decades to implement all the changes the High Council had in mind. [I]If they think I?m sticking around here for decades?[/I] He started to become angry at the thought. [I]Then they are out of their minds.[/I] Irritated he shut down the terminal in his quarters, he was up and pacing without giving it a second thought.

[I]They can?t really expect me to stay here on the Crimson for such a long time, can they? [/I]He wondered. Though even as he thought that he knew the answer. [I]Of course they can fool! Jared has not only taken other men against their will but killed them when he was done toying with them.[/I] He stopped in the middle of the room and then started pacing again, back and forth in the main room. Working himself into a frenzy until a misstep nearly caused him to fall flat on his face.

He sat down on the sofa and took several deep breaths. [I]All right that?s enough idiot, stop borrowing trouble before it?s even happened. You?ll go down tomorrow, you?ll start the construction, which will go quickly using our technology, and then you?ll start thinking of things only one day at a time! [/I]He sighed and got up to go and get ready for bed determined to put it out of his mind before he gave himself a headache from being so tense.

[Aaryanna_Mom]

When the first report came in about the transport ship loading up humans Daniel knew something was wrong. It didn?t take long for that feeling to become worse as report after report poured in that it was happening all around the world. He got up and went to the side room off of the main command center and secured the door and then the transmission he sent out. A moment later William answered.

?[B]Ah Daniel, I was expecting you to contact me.[/B]?

?[B]We have a serious problem here William.[/B]?

?[B]I know one of my top hackers back in sector one just sent me a report. I?ll be blunt and too the point here, over half of Earth?s population has been slated to be dispersed among all of the sectors.[/B]?

?[B]What for?[/B]?

?[B]The High Council has been hiding it, but apparently the birth rate has been horribly low among the conquered races in the past couple of hundred years. Not enough to draw attention, but enough that the Empire is on the verge of a major labor shortage. I?ll send you the figures, it?s a pity we didn?t learn about this sooner, but now that they?ve started invading Earth the information is useless.[/B]?

Daniel sat down, stunned at the news. ?[B]I had no idea, I mean I knew they were rushing things, but it never occurred to me that it was anything but greed on the High Council?s end.[/B]?

?[B]It?s a pity Earth has such a high population, the High Council has bought enough time to remedy the situation, especially if their secret research works out.[/B]?

?[B]Secret research?[/B]? Daniel asked confused as to what William was referring to.

?[B]Ah right, I hadn?t informed you yet. I came across some information on a project being carried out in Sector fourteen. I couldn?t get all the specifics, but they?ve been gathering humans to test them on how to genetically alter them so they will live close to three hundred years like we do but without giving them any of the additional benefits like our superior strength, vision and immune system. I understand that Commander Crystal has already sent nearly a thousand humans to Sector fourteen for the research. The only thing is there is other research that they are doing that I couldn?t get any information on.[/B]?

?[B]If there really is a shortage, extending their lifespan would end it.[/B]? Daniel shook his head. ?[B]That?s terrible, altering them only to keep them enslaved longer.[/B]?

?[B]I agree, anyway, I can?t keep this line open for long, the Creator is already trying to hack it. I?ve sent you what you need to know along with the data. I?ve got something else I?m checking into that if it pans out will make a huge difference. And it goes without saying Commander,[/B]? William said going formal on Daniel. ?[B]You Kim, Jason, Celestia and Sara must not fall into the Empire?s hands. Take whatever means required to avoid that, especially if you know those hands will belong to Jared.[/B]? William ended the transmission.

Daniel took a moment to read through the information William had sent him. A moment to commit it to memory and then he deleted it from the system. No one else needed to know what he had just been told. Not even Kim.

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR=DarkRed]Crystal was busy reviewing reports of the humans that had been loaded into the transports when she came across a rather startling report. Not sure if she even believed what she was reading, she stopped and re-read it to make sure she understood just what was written. She opened a channel to the Creator. A moment later the Commodore answered.

?[B]Commander, how may I assist you?[/B]?

?[B]I want you to take a look at this Commodore,[/B]? Crystal said as she sent the report to him.

A moment later after glancing through he spoke, ?[B]What would you have me do?[/B]?

?[B]Don?t play dumb Commodore, do you really want to transport people like that to one of our sectors considering the labor shortage? It would be a waste of resources to even attempt to rehabilitate them to their new celibate life style.[/B]?

?[B]Commander, I understand your concern, but your talking about nearly five thousand men here. Not just a handful.[/B]?

?[B]Obviously you do not understand Commodore, the sheer number of humans captured from the facility that were running their sick business is an indication that they will be nothing but trouble. Either you let me execute them or I?ll go straight to the High Council and explain to them how short sighted and stupid you are when it comes to this sort of problem.[/B]? She glared at him, ignoring how he went a bit red in the face.

?[B]That was hardly necessary Crystal.[/B]?

?[B]On the contrary Commodore,[/B]? Crystal said icily. ?[B]There?s no point in having promoted me to the rank of Commander if you intend to ignore my advice on subjects of this nature. I may not be a true Commander, but as a medical doctor it is my duty to state the facts no matter how harsh they may be and in my professional opinion, scum such as these ?men? should be dealt with immediately.[/B]?

?[B]Very well then Commander I will bring your concerns before the High Council.[/B]? The Commodore replied.

Crystal sighed, ?[B]No Commodore, you will not.[/B]? She pulled up her orders from the High Council, the one that the Commodore himself had sent to her, though he had not known what the content was.

?[B]I am pulling rank on you and here is the corresponding authorization for me to do so, issued by non other than the High Council themselves.[/B]? She sent the code and then chuckled inwardly as he worked to control his expression before replying.

?[B]I see Commander, I will order the transport ship to expect your arrival.[/B]? He terminated the connection.

Crystal ignored the startled glances from her crew, as they had never seen her force an issue in that manner or dress down a superior officer. A few minutes later she got up to head for the transport room.

?[B]Sub-Commander, you?re with me, as well as security squads three and seven.[/B]?

?[B]At once Commander,[/B]? then as they were walking through the corridors towards the transport, her Sub-Commander spoke again.

?[B]If I may ask Commander, just what is our mission?[/B]?

?[B]You?ve heard of child pornography and slavery rings right?[/B]?

?[B]Of course Commander.[/B]?

?[B]The men in question were running a world wide child porn industry on Earth, nearly one hundred thousand tortured, raped and beaten children were recovered.[/B]?

?[B]I see[/B],? Crystal?s Sub-Commander said in a cold tone. ?[B]I take it we are going to deal with these scum?[/B]?

?[B]We are.[/B]?

Her Sub-Commander smiled. ?[B]Good.[/B]?[/COLOR]

[Aaryanna_Mom]

Kim watched as Sara walked through the transportation door. Once she was gone she turned and left to go and report to Daniel. Now that everyone had been sent there was nothing left for her to do. It didn?t take long for her to find Daniel.

?[B]Ah Kim, I take it that all of them have been sent?[/B]?

?[B]Yes, Sara just left.[/B]?

?[B]Good, as much as I would have rather kept her here it?s important to get her working as soon as possible.[/B]?

Kim sighed as she sat down at her seat next to Daniel?s in the Command Center. ?[B]I know, the practical side of me agrees with you and the other side does not. If she can?t learn to be more cautious after what happened the last time, then no amount of time will help.[/B]?

Daniel smiled a bit. ?[B]I think she?ll do just fine. You?ve told me yourself that as far as training goes she?s only inexperienced. And in the end all that training she?s done for their style of hand-to-hand combat is bound to help. Even though she screwed up based on what she told me she actually hurt Jared.

Just think of how effective an agent she will be if she keeps her temper under control. And the way she thought about torturing the other one and yet didn?t follow through is more than enough to tell me that she?s not going to just fly into a rage and attack the troops.[/B]?

?[B]I know. And in a sense I can understand how she feels. If I had the chance I?d be tempted to take Jared out myself. But to be honest, I?d rather die than be near that sick bastard.[/B]?

Daniel kept his opinion on that to himself. He understood Sara?s anger all too well. And only his resolve to help the resistance after the damage he had done when he was a Commander in the military kept him from going on a hunt to eliminate Jared.

?[B]On a more important matter Kim I want you to take a look at this.[/B]? He pulled up some sensor data to show her.

?[B]I?m not sure what you want me to see.[/B]? Kim finally said after looking at it for several minutes.

?[B]It?s this right here,[/b]? he indicated when the fleet arrived. ?[b]It?s not that long but there?s a tiny bit of activity that seems off, as if one of the units is malfunctioning and out of synch.[/B]?

?[B]I see. I?m going to be leaving this evening to check the other bases, did you want me to check the equipment at each one to make sure it?s properly calibrated?[/B]?

?[B]Yes. Even if you don?t know the precise location of the base in relation to the actual equipment, you should be able to determine which one needs to be checked. If it?s sending the data to the base and it?s off, I understand it will make things easier to track.[/B]?

?[B]I see, so what you?re saying is that when it recorded the higher activity, some of the information was not following the preset signal leap interval and was sending something when it shouldn?t have been. But if one were off it would be child?s play to determine which signal went where. If that?s the case, that?s bad, it could eventually lead to them tracking our location.[/B]?

?[B]Exactly. And once you?ve checked out the one in Europe you can then check the one in Australia.[/B]? Daniel said.

?[B]All right, it shouldn?t take more than a couple of days for me to check both locations[/B].? Kim smiled. ?[B]Even if I don?t know their exact location. You and William are so secretive about everything.[/B]?

?[B]I know, but it?s necessary since humans have no resistance to the truth drugs the military will use.[/B]?

"[B]But I'm not human.[/B]" Kim laughed. ?[B]I?m just teasing you Daniel. I understand the reason.[/B]? She got up to leave. ?[B]If I?m going to leave tonight I should start by checking the relay?s here first. Just to make sure.[/B]?

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]Celestia moved her chair closer to Jason and put her head on his shoulder when he sighed. Something he seemed to do a lot lately.

?[B]You need to stop worrying so much Jason. It?s not good for you.[/B]?

?[B]Easier said than done. I know it?s necessary, but I can?t help but worry about Sara being out in Denver.[/B]?

Celestia lifted her head and turned to face him, ?[B]I know, I feel the same way. Just as I worry about will happen to us now that we are stuck here on Earth.[/B]?

Jason turned back to the program he had up; they had been working on tracking down a possibly defective unit in the sensor program they had set up. It was a bit challenging when open broadcasts couldn?t be used. The very nature of the way things were set up made it hard to test the equipment without revealing themselves.

Celestia changed the subject. ?[B]Do you think Kim will be able to find the sensor unit that is off?[/B]?

?[B]I?m not so sure, the only time we detected the surge was when the fleet arrived. I?m beginning to wonder if it was just an artifact and not a real transmission. Especially since there was only one instance of something being sent when it shouldn?t have been.[/B]?

?[B]If we didn?t have the fleet here, I would agree with you. And I?ve told Daniel that, but since he was going to send Kim to check out the other facilities anyway, he figured it was best to be on the safe side, and I agree with him.[/B]?

Jason turned back to the screen and pulled up another project that they had been working on.

?[B]Forgetting the sensor?s for the moment, I want you to take a look at this. I?ve been working on the calculations for increasing the transport distance. If we include the newest movement factor, it just might be possible to double the range. [/B]?

Celestia moved forward to take a look. ?[B]That much? Are you sure?[/B]?

Jason nodded. ?[B]Unless I?ve made a horrible mistake somewhere it should work, the only drawback is that with the fleet here I have not been able to test it to see if it actually would work.[/B]?

Celestia looked through the information on the screen before responding, ?[B]Damn! I?d love to test this out. It looks solid and an increase like that would only work in the resistance?s favor.[/B]?

?[B]I know, at that distance, even with the Creator here William would be able to get close enough for us to transport out. The thing is if I test it they will know what we are up to and all they would have to do is start patrolling out so far from Earth to prevent us from using it.[/B]?

?[B]That doesn?t matter Jason, even if we can?t test it we can at least run it through simulations and double check the program. And we still need to improve the encryption for secure transmissions. Daniel was telling me that William detected the Creator attempting to hack their conversation when he spoke to him.[/B]?

?[B]All right, lets get started then.[/B]?

Jason pulled up both programs; with Celestia?s help he began to double-check all the calculations for the transportation door improvements. Even if he was worried about Sara, he wasn?t going to let it stop him from doing everything he could to help. [/COLOR]

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR=DarkRed]It had been a long day but Crystal was finally finished. The worst cases of the battered children had been taken care of and the fools responsible for it had all been dealt with. It never failed to amaze her at how shortsighted people could be in regards to this sort of thing. Though her own people often looked the other way when child abuse was discovered, it still carried a heavy penalty if one was caught doing it. It was one thing for an adult to take advantage of another adult, but a child incapable of defending themselves? That was another matter. Crystal could tolerate the former, but not the latter.

It was the main reason she pretty much ignored how Jared amused himself or anyone else who did the same, so long as they left children out of it she did not care. And though she found it distasteful, Jared unlike a fair number of others she had encountered was far more disciplined and in the thirty years he had served the military, not once had he ever done anything that would interfere with his duties. Something that other?s who were similar to him were incapable of doing.

It was probably the only reason she tolerated him since for whatever reason he actually liked and respected her. Something that puzzled her since usually her blunt and forward manner irritated people. Crystal was no fool; she knew perfectly well that it was her expertise in genetics that protected her. Even the High Council looked the other way when she made an issue of things. Because most of the time she was right and the few times she wasn?t, it didn?t really matter.

Crystal walked through the transportation door and back onto the Tempest. Her Sub-Commander close behind her.

?[B]Commander, is there anything else you need me to do?[/B]?

?[B]Other than to make sure all members of the security squads have checked in, no.[/B]?

They continued in silence until just before they got to the bridge her Sub-Commander spoke again.

?[B]Commander, I?d like to apologize.[/B]?

Crystal stopped and turned to face him. ?[B]What for?[/B]?

He bowed before her. ?[B]For doubting you as a Commander. I thought it was a mistake that a doctor had been put in charge of a battleship.[/B]?

?[B]There is no need apologize, you are not the only one who thought it was a mistake.[/B]?

He looked back up at her. ?[B]I don?t understand.[/B]?

Crystal smiled. ?[B]I too thought it was a mistake, because as you so rightfully pointed out I am a doctor, not a true Commander in that respect.[/B]?

He shook his head negatively. ?[B]Wrong Commander, you are anything but just a doctor[/B].?

?[B]Crystal.[/B]? She said.

?[B]Commander?[/B]?

?[B]My name is Crystal.[/B]?

He smiled. ?[B]Thank you Crystal.[/B]?

?[B]Now lets go and finish up the reports for today?s incident, because I don?t know about you, but after dealing with such filth I really need a good hot shower.[/B]?

He laughed and followed her into the bridge.[/COLOR]

[Horendithas]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]Jared smiled as he read the report on how Crystal had pulled rank on the Commodore, especially since he agreed with her completely. Just because he enjoyed doing as he pleased with others didn?t mean he wasn?t smart or didn?t have things that even he would not do. Those who would sexually assault and kill children were scum and he was pleased to see that Crystal had made sure each and every one of them had been executed for their crimes.

Jared liked having his way with other men, but he found the idea of taking children distasteful. Something that probably had to do with his own upbringing, memories that though they were no longer painful, he didn?t like to think about. It had started when he had barely turned twelve?

[INDENT]If there was one thing Jared had learned since Commander Alan had adopted him, it was that the powerful got what they wanted. That day was something he would never forget. He was twelve and due to a skirmish between the military and the resistance, his parents had both perished. Jared had been at the capital as his parents had elected to have him start his military training. Something that children whose parents were in the military were allowed to do at twelve instead of waiting for the required sixteen limit.

He had barely been at military school for a week when the news of his parents? death reached him. Usually such an incident would have resulted in him becoming a ward of the empire, but instead Commander Alan had immediately adopted him. Jared had been pleased by the adoption, but didn?t understand the strange looks other officers gave him. Surely it was an honor to be taken in by a commanding officer? Or so he had thought.

It was later that day when his things had been moved to the commander?s quarters when he found out just what the strange looks had been for. At first he had been surprised that there wasn?t a separate bedroom for him. But that confusion didn?t last long. For Alan had a thing for little boys and a scrawny twelve year old was no match for a battle-trained commander. He would never forget what happened that night, the beatings, being raped and tortured, it was just the beginning of a long cycle of abuse.

At first Jared cried, but then when he realized that Alan got pleasure from his tears, he became silent. And when no one was willing to help him, he began to plan. All it would take was a single moment and he would end it all. He began to live for that day, pushing and training as hard as he could. When the chance came, he would be ready.

Even today, he still remembered the day he got his chance. The look of terror on Alan?s face when he realized that it was Jared, who had the upper hand, was a moment he would cherish forever. For one thing, he was far smarter than Alan ever was. Once he had his fill of torturing him he had then tossed him from the balcony of their apartment. And even then he had the enjoyment of listening to him scream and then the crunch of bones as his skull shattered on impact.

Alan had always loved sitting on the balcony that overlooked the military grounds. Once Jared had realized that he did it to look for potential playthings, he had decided to toss him from the same balcony. Especially when Alan had gloated to him in the beginning that it was from there that he had first seen Jared.

Ironically Jared had expected to be arrested and executed for what he did. But instead it was classified as an accident and the matter closed. It wasn?t until later that he learned why he had not been arrested and executed...[/INDENT]
Jared went back to the reports he had been working on, irritated with himself for even thinking about Commander Alan. He was different, sure he would torture and rape others, but even then he had always been careful to only select targets that were already in trouble with the law. In his opinion, if you were stupid enough to sell drugs or to steal, you deserved what you got. And he enjoyed making sure they fully regretted what they had done. There was something satisfying about watching them slowly crumble as they realized that there was nothing they could do to stop him.

Jared closed the report and pulled up the one on Darren?s progress in regards to setting up transportation in Denver. A quick look was all that was needed for him to see that Darren was as efficient as always. Tomorrow he would go down to the office he was setting up to check on things. Even if the High Council had given him a bit of freedom and leeway, Jared was still required to keep a close eye on him.
[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Rachmaninoff]

There was one good thing about working down on Earth, so far the past couple of days Darren had hardly seen Jared at all. Though now that Denver was occupied and the construction of the new shipping facility, ironically in the same place the one they had destroyed had been, was coming along nicely. The only thing Darren needed was a more permanent location for an office. One that would give him a good view of the city and yet would have the privacy for him to simply transport down out of view instead of out in the open.

So far the incidents had been far and few, but there were plenty of humans angry enough to attempt to kill him since he still had the treatment that made his eyes look blue instead of silver and he had already been mistaken as a human twice. The fact that they thought he was a human who had turned traitor was rather ironic. Nothing had happened since unlike the woman he ran into at the Dallas airport, they were not modified and had lacked the strength and training to actually hurt him. And even then within moments the troops assigned to protect him had merely stunned them and sent them away to one of the transport ships.

For the most part, the population in the US was not being moved off planet, unless they were foolish enough to cause problems. The US, according to the information Jared had given him was one of three areas? that the population would not be moved off Earth. And even if they were, the sheer number of them would result in it taking time. No, they were too busy removing people from the countries where no one would be left. It was well organized as every day transport ships arrived to replace those that had already left.

Not much more in the way of troops would be brought though since emptying out areas and cities meant there was no need to leave anyone to monitor the place. The empire did not have limitless resources and in about a week there would be no more transport ships until the first ones unloaded the humans to their new location and then returned to make the next trip. But even then once things got rolling that would only result in have a day here or there when at least one ship did not come.

Darren looked up from his handheld computer when one of the construction crew came over to where he was standing at the previous Denver Transportation facility. He closed it and waited for him to speak, he could worry about where to set up his office later.

[Aaryanna_Mom]

"[B]So everything checks out at that location?[/B]? Daniel said to Kim who was talking to him from their base located in Europe.

?[B]Yes, it took a couple of days since the part of the code with the base?s location is encrypted, but our agents on the surface checked the actual units and all of them are working perfectly.[/B]? Kim replied.

?[B]As soon as I finish here I?ll be leaving for the one that?s located over in Australia. I?ve gone ahead and sent messages to the agents in the various cities of that country to go ahead and check the equipment that?s not in the base so hopefully I?ll have all of them checked out within the next couple of days. I doubt it?s the receiving equipment in the actual base but I'll check it out just the same. Anyway, just a second and I?ll send you the report of everything we did here.[/B]?

Daniel waited patiently for her to send him the information as soon as she was done he would give her the report on how Sara was doing since he knew she would want to know. It had only been a few days, but she had been doing exactly as she was told, going and getting the information from her section and returning immediately. Kim would be pleased to hear that.

The chime sounded indicating the file she had sent had arrived. Daniel checked it briefly to make sure everything was there before turning back to talk with Kim.

?[B]Good job. If any of the units are not working properly it has to be one of the ones over in Australia[/B].? Daniel replied.

?[B]Agreed, everything else is working perfectly, all the necessary security protocols are in place and for the most part everyone is accounted for that should be. Before I go, how is Sara doing?[/B]?

Daniel smiled. ?[B]She?s doing just fine. She was disappointed that you were gone when she got back, and I?m sure she?s looking forward to your return.[/B]?

Kim smiled. ?[B]She?s a good kid. Anyway, I?d better get going since I?d like to get this done and over with. See you in a few days.[/B]? She ended the transmission and got up to leave the command center of the base in Europe. The day was still young for her and though it would be night in Australia, she wanted to get started as soon as possible. A brief moment to check with the person in charge of that base to go over the results of her check and then she was through the transportation door to the facility in Australia.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[color=darkslateblue]"Kiva," Daego said, "we just got lucky."[/color]

[color=#483d8b]Kiva and Daego were onboard the [i]Catalyst[/i], which was currently hovering just above the ocean, near Australia. With all steath features active, the ship was virtually impossible to spot with even the most advanced sensor gear, and certainly not detectable by what the Resistance had, though the Resistance would know that she ship was no longer visible on scanners. Or they would, had Kiva and Daego not taken measures against this.[/color]

[color=#483d8b]Before entering Earth's atmosphere, Kiva had deployed one of the [i]Catalyst[/i]'s ECM drones. This drone was set to produce an exact replica of the [i]Catalyst[/i]'s sensor reading, becomming, to scanners, indistinguishable from the real [i]Catalyst[/i]. And like everything else on board the [i]Catalyst[/i], the drone was the most advanced version there was. It could reliably fool all but the most advanced sensor equipment at closer ranges than any previous model. It had a much longer duration, as well, being able to operate at full effectiveness for almost twice as long as the current millitary standard.[/color]

[color=#483d8b]With these safeguards in place, only one potential source of detection remained. upon entering the atmosphere, and ship would produce a noticable atmospheric effect easily visible on sensors. When the Resistance was unable to detect the object they'd have to know was there, they'd probably assume it was the recently-vanished [i]Catalyst[/i]. Kiva and Daego didn't want to give even the slightest hint of what was coming, so they hid their entry signature by following right behind a transport ship destined for Australia. And they were using this ship for more than that. In addition to the standard troop load for maintaining control of the captured natives, the transport ship [i]Exodus[/i] was carrying a full assult team, ready at any time for deployment under Kiva's command. Kiva and Daego were almost ready to attack the Resistance base, so they wanted the necessary troops available immediately when the base's entrancce was discovered.[/color]

[color=#483d8b]The base's network hadn't contained the location of the entrance, but Kiva had known that there had to be one, and that agents outside the base would have to know what it was. And she had managed to get general information on them. She didn't have any exact identities, but she had enough for her and Daego to find them, with some work. But now it was starting to look like that work would not be necessary.[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"What is it?" Kiva asked.[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"The agents we've been trying to locate have just been sent a transmission," Daego said. "It was a compressed, heavily scrambled burst transmission. None of the other ships within the sector would have been able to detect it, and even we couldn't have if we were too much farther away from the base than we currently are. Like I said, we got lucky."[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"Indeed. And to receive such a transmission, they'd need up-to-date handheld computers. We just might be able to get the entrance the easy way. Okay, Daego, deploy a snare drone, and have it grab one of the agents. We can't use a transport door, because if we do that this close to the base, they'll detect it. They won't see us, but they'll know that the Empire has one of their people. And we want them to be caught completely off-guard."[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"Yeah, I know. Okay, drone's target is locked. Launching drone... drone is away."[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"Good," Kiva said. "Just out of curiosity, did you manage to understand any of the transmission?"[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"Not much that's specific, but it looked like new orders. Something about trying to isolate a glitch in one of the sensor leap relay points. The only detail I got is that the glitch showed up about when the fleet was arriving. You think it could have been caused by our tracking pulse?"[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"It's possible, but I wouldn't have expected it, not with the apparent quality of the Resistance's equipment here. Unless the unit in question needed maintainance. That could explain it. Not that it really matters. Soon, that base won't be around any more."[/color]


[color=#483d8b]It wasn't long before the snare drone returned, its target successfully captured. The unconcious captive was identified as a Versilan and not just an enhanced human, and as expected, he had a Versilan handheld computer on him. Kiva immediately began going through it, and it didn't take her long to discover the method for entering the base. It was simple: the base was accessable only through a transport door. This transport door's equipment was kept seperate from the base's main network to prevent its discovery, and could only be accesed via a scrambled, direct-contact line that was virtually impossible to detect even with the most advance sensor gear. Upon receiving the transmission for entry from an operative's handheld computer, a transport door was opened at the location of the transmission's origin. It was left open only briefly so as to avoid detection, so it needed to be entered quickly.[/color]

[color=#483d8b]Now that Kiva and Daego could gain access to the base, it was time for the attack to begin. Kiva contacted the [i]Exodus[/i], which immediately deployed the [/color][color=darkslateblue]assult team. The [i]Catalyst[/i] moved to their location and landed. Kiva and Daego exited the ship, outfitted in combat armor that was, of course, significantly more advanced than what the other troops had. Kiva was equipped with her weapon of choice, the ML-SS.7, while Daego was outfitted with a selection of various heavier weaponry.[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"Okay," Kiva said to the assembled troops, "you all know what to do, so I'm not going to repeat your orders. Remember than even though I am in overall command of this operation, your team's chain of command is unchanged, and I do not require you to obtain authorization for your actions. You know how to do your jobs, so do them.[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"All right, then. As you know, the transport door will remain open for only a few seconds. Our timers are sinchronized, and the door will be opened on zero. When it opens, hit the forward boost, multiple times if necessary. I don't care what you have to do, just get through that door as fast as possible. If anyone's left out here, I'll try to reopen the door, but it's possible that this won't be possible, so if the door doesn't reopen, remain here until the [i]Exodus[/i] returns to pick you up.[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"Okay, people, here we go. 5... 4... 3... 2.. 1... ZERO!"[/color]

------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Take it from here, Aaryanna_Mom.

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]Still wrapped in the green cloak they were so fond of, the figure was still in the observation room of the Conqueror. Only now the view was not one of orbiting the dead world where so much construction had been taking place. It was instead, one of the stars seeming to blur as the ship traveled through hyperspace towards Earth. In only a few days they too would arrive. Phase Three had been started and the preparations had already been made. No one knew what was going on in Sector Thirteen, not even the Elite Specialist had been informed. But soon that would change.

Not only were humans being transported to the sectors to take care of the labor shortage, but also the new changes for Sector Thirteen would help ensure that other potential problems were taken care of. It would take quite a bit of resources to set up, but the pay off would be well worth it. The figure turned from their view through the observation windows and walked over to the desk to begin reviewing the reports they had been sent.

Not too terribly exciting, though the one from Commander Crystal was amusing to read. They had known that she would be perfect in the role of a Commander and that giving her the authority to override the Commodore would not be wasted. But more importantly that she would not be intimidated by him and would actually use it. After all Crystal had absolutely no trouble what so ever telling the High Council that they were idiots. They couldn?t help but chuckle a bit at how she had yanked the rug out from under the Commodore?s feet and took action immediately. If only because it was so gratifying to see that their assessment of Crystal?s abilities had been correct. It was almost a pity that she wasn?t a regular military officer.

They closed the reports once they were done and turned back to watch the blur of the stars from the comfort of their desk chair. Things were going to get interesting once they arrived at Earth. The question now would be who would be the most surprised by what was in store. The people of Earth or of the Versilan Empire? They chuckled at the thought and got up to walk over until they were right next to the window, where the view included part of the ship as well. In just a few more days the real fun would begin.[/COLOR]

[Aaryanna_Mom]

When Kim entered the base in Australia she immediately headed towards the command center at the other end of the actual base. She sent another message to the agents telling them to start the new mission to check for the relay that could have malfunctioned when the fleet arrived. Kim had her suspicions about what happened. She was thinking that one of them was simply off, but not enough to effect normal operations. Which would explain why it only happened when the fleet arrived. With such heavy sensor activity a miss-calibration would show up. Which would also explain why it was the only time it had happened since other than the fleet there wasn?t anything else that would register as heavy activity.

She entered the command center, which was mostly empty due to it being nighttime. She checked in briefly with the officer on duty and then went straight to the receiving equipment for the sensors to check it. Kim stopped for a moment when a chime indicated an incoming transmission from one of the field agents.

?[B]Sub-Commander, I found the problem.[/B]?

?[B]What was it?[/B]? Kim asked him.

?[B]The relay here was slightly out of synch, something that were we on a more advanced world would have shown up immediately. But since the activity here is low key, it wasn?t until the fleet arrived that the data feed was active enough for it to even register.[/B]?

?[B]Good work, fix it and then let me know when you are finished.[/B]? Kim closed the connection; she smiled to herself, relieved that that the problem had been so simple. She would have been surprised if any of the equipment had any real issues since even though it was only grade B it had been in excellent condition when they were installed on Earth.

Kim continued working on the equipment, humming to herself without even realizing that she was doing so. Nor did she notice when the officer on duty smiled to himself when he realized what she was doing. Kim paused for a moment to look at the time. Only two hours had passed since she arrived and she was already done checking the equipment. As she had thought it was fine.

She moved to one of the workstations and pulled up recent reports, as the second in command of the resistance forces on Earth it was also her duty to check their progress. Kim had barely started reading through the reports when the intruder alarm went off, startling her with its harsh siren and the switch to red lighting through out the base.[I] What the hell? [/I]She thought as she quickly accessed the system to see where it had been triggered. As she pulled up the data feed from the security cameras a chill ran down her spine.

Not far from the main transportation area was an assault team swiftly moving through the base. Cutting down anyone in their path. In spite of her mind being in shock, Kim?s training took over and she swiftly closed the security doors even as she changed the alert to one of an emergency evacuation. There was no way they could stand up to an assault team. They were heavily armed and the lighter disruptor weapons they had would have no effect on the body armor they were wearing.

The night officer grabbed Kim's tunic. ?[B]Sub-Commander! What are you waiting for? Come on! We have to get to the emergency transportation exits before they break through the security doors and block our path![/B]? He tried to drag Kim from her chair.

Kim pulled free and turned to face him. ?[B]Someone has to manually operate the security doors or we?ll cut off those who are trying to escape.[/B]? Kim also had her own orders to take care of she had to trigger the small explosives that would destroy the computer systems. Something that she couldn?t do immediately or she would lose the data feed from the cameras showing her the assault teams progress.

?[B]But Sub-Commander![/B]?

?[B]You have your orders, evacuate![/B]? Kim snarled at him in anger. She turned back to the workstation to see that the squad had already blown their way through the first set of security doors. Swiftly she brought up the other views of the emergency transport doors on both sides of the base, to her relief personal were already exiting through the doors, some of them still in their nightclothes.

Kim pulled out her handheld computer and set it on the floor, then she took her small disruptor and set it to overload. She ducked behind the computer terminal and then seconds later it exploded destroying both the weapon and the handheld computer. It was useless to her at this point as the natural shielding of the base would prevent any transportation doors from opening other than in the three designated spots, the original room and the two emergency ones. It would not work in the Command Center. Also unlike the operatives here at this base, like Daniel she had one of the only handheld computers with the program that would open the door to all three bases.

She didn?t know how they found this one, but Kim sure as hell wasn?t going to let them get a hold of her handheld computer. That would be total disaster. Besides all she had to do was get to one of the emergency transport doors and she could find a way to contact Daniel who could arrange to pick her up. If she actually could get out in time that is.

?[B]Sub-Commander![/B]?

Kim turned to see that the night officer was still there. ?[B]Why are you still here? I told you to leave immediately![/B]?

He came over to her and grabbed her front tunic. ?[B]I can?t leave you here![/B]?

Kim pulled free and shoved him towards the door. ?[B]You idiot! You can and you must leave me. I will follow when I can, I have my own orders to follow.[/B]? She turned her back on them and immediately went back to the computer system to check what was happening. She winced when she saw that in that brief time frame they had already broken through the third set of doors. It was for her and the idiot who had stayed, too late. Though he had at least finally left to try and get there. If he was lucky, he just might make it.

Kim checked to see if the emergency disaster alarm was being sent to the other two bases, but other than to know it was working, she couldn?t verify if the signal was actually being received or not and she did not have the time to waste on trying to contact them personally. Unless the Empire was also jamming transmissions in this area, the others would already be aware that something had gone terribly wrong and contacting them would waste precious time.

In what seemed like a split moment of eternity her mind raced with all the questions as to how in the world this had happened. To how they had found them, to how they had entered the base without them even being aware that they had been found. Kim wondered if they would ever find out as she triggered the fifth and final set of security doors as the team blew their way through the fourth set.

Then something caught her eye, two of those who were part of the assault team did not fit, a tall woman equipped with an ML-SS.7 as well as another one with various heavier weaponry. Both of them were wearing combat armor that to Kim?s trained eye was vastly superior to what the troops were wearing. At that point it hit her like a hard punch to the stomach. One of them had to be the Elite Specialist. All that work setting things up and in no time at all they had already found one of their bases. Kim felt sick.

Now that Kim was the only one left in the Command Center. She pulled up the screen and input the codes for destroying the computer. It was not possible to destroy the base and the assault team with it; they had not installed that type of self-destruct system. The only thing she could do was destroy the computers and keep them from seizing the information in them.

As the assault squad began to break through the final security doors, Kim triggered the charges. A moment later after feeling the vibration though the base as the main computer banks were destroyed, all the screens in the Command Center went blank. She stood up and turned to face the door, resigned to what would happen next. She had no means to take her own life to prevent being captured. Kim had used her disruptor to completely destroy her handheld computer, resulting in its destruction as well. She did not know the exact location of the bases so any form of drugs or torture would be useless. Though they did not know that. And Daniel often left her out of the loop as to how things were going. Something that now upon reflection she was glad he had insisted on.

Her only regret was that she would probably never see Daniel, Jason, Celestia or Sara again. Then the time for regrets was over, the door to the command center blew inwards as the assault team destroyed the door. Part of it in spite of her instinctively raising her hands to shield herself hit her on the head, sending her tumbling head over heels to rest on her back stunned. She could taste blood in her mouth and as her vision began to fade the last thing she saw before she passed out was the woman with the ML-SS.7 trained on her approaching.

[CENTER]-------------[/CENTER]

[B]OCC:[/B] I hope that works Takuya, let me know if I need to fix anything.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

OOC: No, everything's fine.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[color=darkslateblue]Kiva had known that someone would have to be in the command center. The base's lockdown had been triggered shortly after the assult began, and someone would have to manually control the security doors or else the base's personell would become trapped. And it would likely be a higher-ranked individual, as common troops weren't usually familiar with command center operations. So Kiva told Daego, who'd been blowing through the security doors un untill then, to stand back and let the branch of the assult team with herl demolish it in a manner less likely to injure anyone on the other side. However, debris did end up hitting the woman in the room, apparently knocking her unconcious. Just to be sure, Kiva set her guns to stun and fired a couple shots at her before setting the guns back to standard shots.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]As Kiva examined what remained of the command center's computers, Daego took a closer look at the unconcious woman. "I think we got lucky again," he said. "This is none other than Kimberly Spencer."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Really?" Kiva said. "Excellent. She's probably one of the best people in this base to capture, and we've got her. She may even know where the other two bases are. Okay, this changes things. Alpha One, your team's on its own from here on. Daego and I are taking Kim, here, and pulling out. Daego, help me gather up everything that's left of the computers in here. Kim did a good job of destroying them, so there won't be much information left, but any scrap of data left is a scrap we need to get. So I don't care how blown to hell it is, I want everything that hasn't been blown completely to bits. Alpha One, this applies to you as well. I want you and your team to retrieve any computer remains, no matter how damaged. Pass this order on to the other branches of the assult force. The [i]Exodus[/i] can deliver the retrieved items to me before leaving the sector."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Understood," Alpha One replied.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Kiva and Daego quickly gathered up what was left of the command center's computers, and they also found what little was left of what had to be Kim's handheld computer. Kiva then sent a signal to the [i]Catalyst[/i]. Beta branch had taken out the base's main power supply, so its sheilding was no longer active, allowing transport doors to be opened freely. And upon receiving Kiva's signal, the [i]Catalyst[/i] opened a transport door at her location. She threw Kim's unconcious body through the door, and she and Daego followed with the gathered computer remains. The door shut behind them, and the [i]Catalyst[/i], at Kiva's command, began its return to Earth orbit.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Daego, contact the [i]Creator[/i]," Kiva said. "Inform them that the assult team is finishing up planting the explosives, and that the base will be destroyed imminently. And have them send a shuttle over to retrieve Kim. They can handel her interrogation; we've got our own work to do. Just make sure they report to us any information about the locations of the other two bases, and I do mean anything. I'm going to get out of this armor, and then I'm going to get to work on these computer remnants."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
-----------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Hope that's good, SunfallE. Oh, and I don't plan to say much about Kim being taken to the Creator (just a general mention that she shuttle picked her up), so don't feel like you have to wait for me to post anything involving her, SunfallE and Aaryanna_Mon.

[Rachmaninoff]

Now that that construction was definitely in full swing, it was time for Darren to set up his office. It hadn?t taken long to decide where. The abandoned clinic that Crystal had used briefly was five stories tall and had a huge office with a side that was floor to ceiling windows that faced not only the transportation facility but gave a good view of the city as well.

And technically the agents who had been on Earth already owned it, not that it mattered anymore, but it did mean that it was still empty. Darren had already transported down with the necessary equipment to set things up. And due to it being isolated, for once he was allowed to be alone with out troops tagging along. He couldn?t run anywhere even if he had wanted to. Not only would Mike pay the price, but he seriously doubted the resistance would treat him kindly. And he wanted nothing to do with them anyway.

As soon as Darren walked through the transportation door to the building, he immediately went up the stairs to the office in question. It was as he remembered, overlooking the city. He looked at the small handheld computer that he had with him. He had a few hours before Jared would be showing up to check on him, giving him plenty of time to get things started.

He walked into the spacious room over to the desk and turned it so that when sitting he would be facing the windows. Darren didn?t have much that would actually stay here on Earth but the few things that would he set down on the desk. He was not an expert, but setting up a small security system didn?t take very long. It wasn?t much but it would warn him if someone entered the building, now all he had to do was line it up with his handheld computer. But first he went into the small storage room just off the main office to check out what was inside.

The agents who had bought the place and set it up had been detailed in their mission. There were a variety of office items that the humans often used. He didn?t think he would need any of it but he grabbed a couple of tablets and their versions of pencils and pens. He thought about more and changed his mind. Darren didn?t even know what most of it was for. Versilan technology was all digital. [I]Perhaps I should see about getting a human who does understand all this junk[/I]. He thought. [I]It is going to take time to phase out how they communicate and I?ll need to deal with all of this.[/I]

He sighed to himself as he walked back out into the main room, so lost in thought that it took a moment for it to even register that someone was actually in the office looking out the window towards the city. He assumed it was an Earthling with her short reddish brown hair and Earth styled clothing. He sighed inwardly.

?[B]Miss, this building is closed?[/B]? He stopped in mid sentence when she turned towards him a startled look on her face indicating that she had not realized that he was even there.

It was a toss-up as to who was most surprised, him or her. Darren froze in panic, his heart pounding painfully. She may have cut her hair and changed the color but he would never forget those eyes. They just stood there staring at each other the silence painful and awkward. Until the clatter of the supplies being dropped by Darren caused both of them to jump.

A feeling of dread came over Darren as he realized that she was between him and the exit out of the room. [I]Why?[/I] He thought in panic. [I]Why is she here?[/I] He caught himself stepping back a few paces before stopping himself. He highly doubted the door to the storage room was strong enough to keep her out even if he could get there before she clobbered him. Finally it was too much and he snapped at her in anger and fear.

?[B]If you?ve come back to finish the job, just get it over with already,[/B]? he said bitterly. ?[B]I still have nothing to say to you.[/B]?

He was surprised when all she did was raise an eyebrow at his statement.

[I]Hell,[/I] he thought. [I]Why are all the psychos beautiful?[/I] First Jared and now her, both of them unmistakably good looking and both equally as nuts. He had not forgotten how she had deliberately hurt him the last time they had met in the Dallas airport.

When she still said nothing he snapped again, ?[B]I meant what I said, I will not help you.[/B]?

He stood there not knowing what to do, trembling from the rush of adrenaline coursing through his body. Too afraid to even try and escape.

[CENTER]------------[/CENTER]

[B]OOC: [/B]It's all yours Mariskah

[Horendithas]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]Sandra had been dealing with the former president of the US ever since they had taken over. And though he was suitable for being a liaison, it didn?t make dealing with him any less annoying. He was stupid, foolish and power-hungry to the point that he would run the common person into ruin without any thought as to how it would affect the big picture. Ironically that stupidity made him perfect as he would always been seeking to do things to his own advantage instead of that of his people. And in time his own people would demand that someone else replace him. Though by then Versilan rule would be firmly established. She wondered if any of the liaisons?s realized that they were chosen because of how stupid they were.

Once that was done, she closed the transmission with the president and opened up the reports from the other day that she had not had the time to get to. Sandra knew about what Crystal had done, but until she read it she had not realized what a fool the Commodore was in that respect. She made a note to speak to her father about that one. That sort of thing among slaves needed to be stamped out immediately as it ended up hurting productivity in the end. Something they could not afford.

The whole incident kind of reminded her of her days as a cadet, since though such activities were not allowed among the lesser races, it was not as strictly regulated among her own people and she remembered all to well how a number of military Commanders had tastes that ran to taking children against their will. She had always been protected. But others had not and she remembered Jared?s circumstances quite well as it was one of the first times she had been exposed to such things.

Sandra clearly remembered the time when Commander Alan had adopted Jared. She too was still a cadet and had yet to be assigned to a ship. She remembered it because being a daughter of one of the High Council she was very active and involved in politics. And it was well known among the higher ups just what Commander Alan liked to do in his spare time. At first she had wondered as to why such a thing was allowed. But then as she grew older, she began to see why most of the time nothing was done about it. Unless the behavior was detrimental to their job or interfered with other aspects of how the Empire was run.

Her father along with other members of the High Council had long ago learned that by allowing a certain amount of excess they got more ruthless and more determined people to serve under them. It was a fine line to walk as she remembered her father telling her once. But it was a sure way to power if you had the wits and understanding to use it to your advantage. And if they were to continue their conquest of other races, there was no room for the squeamish or softhearted people.

In the years that followed, Sandra watched Jared after he had been adopted, at first he was hopeful and then he was resigned, and then just as her father had predicted some would do, he became driven. Surprisingly, Commander Alan didn?t seem to realize it. In fact Sandra began to wonder if she was just imagining things until the day Jared tortured and killed Commander Alan.

She clearly remembered overhearing her father talking about it with one of the other members of the High Council. Her father knew she was listening the other did not. Apparently they had been watching the change in Jared, and when he took the initiative that he did, he caught their attention. Like so many before him, they would watch him and so long as he was useful they would even support him. After all they had no use for those who could not put their duty before their desires.

After that incident it was quite some time before Sandra heard about Jared again. She had just gotten her fist command when she got wind of what Jared liked to do to amuse himself. Unlike Alan he never left a potential threat alive once he was done with them. And unlike Alan he was far more though and dedicated to his job. Even to the point that he would go months without amusing himself in any way. Something Alan had never had the self-control to do. And unlike Alan, Jared would not touch a child. Even to gain information from a resistance member. It was something he simply would not do.

So when she also got wind that others were trying to get him dismissed she carefully followed what was happening and when the time came she snatched Jared up for herself and promoted him to her second in command. The fools who had tried to have him removed she had executed for trying to incite a mutiny since his personal life was in her opinion not connected to his military abilities.

Sandra smiled, no recruiting Jared had been one of the best moves she had made as a commander as he worked harder than several officers altogether. His only flaw as far as she was concerned was that he seemed to only care for men. He was after all quite beautiful. Still end the end even that did not matter, even if he had not been pretty, she would have still recruited him as it would have been foolish to allow someone of his skill to be dismissed.

Surprised at where her train of thought had gone, she pulled it back to the report she was supposed to be reading. Unfortunately, she had quite a bit of work to take care of. [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]The Conqueror was only two days away from Earth when the figure received an incoming transmission from the Commodore of the Creator.

?[B]What is it you wish Commodore?[/B]? They asked.

The Commodore bowed deeply before responding, ?[B]I have good news for you. Not only has the Elite Specialist located and destroyed one of the resistance?s bases on Earth, she captured former Sub-Commander Kimberly Spencer in the process.[/B]?

The figure smiled. ?[B]Excellent, I take it you have her then?[/B]?

?[B]A shuttle has been dispatched to pick her up from the Catalyst.[/B]? The Commodore responded.

?[B]Anything else I should know about?[/B]?

?[B]No sir, everything else is on schedule.[/B]?

?[B]Good, I will be arriving in two days. You are to do nothing with Kim until I arrive. I will oversee her interrogation myself.[/B]? The figure replied.

The Commodore bowed, ?[B]Understood sir.[/B]?

The figure ended the transmission, pleased with the report. The capture of Kim was an unexpected bonus, one that they would be sure to take full advantage of. The resistance was well known for compartmentalizing their command structure to keep from exposing things to easily. But that didn?t mean she wouldn?t be useful. Like pieces to a puzzle what they extracted from her could be matched up to what they had gotten from others to form a picture of what was going on.

And in the end, they knew that there would be valuable information they could get from Kim to make riding Earth of the resistance?s presence much easier.

[CENTER]-------------[/CENTER]

Once again Sara was gone into the city of Denver, and once again Jason found that he was worried as to how she was doing. Though it helped that she had already had several successful runs for gathering information. Now that the fleet was here they were relying on other means besides the sensors to obtain the information they needed.

Jason stifled a yawn as he closed the program he was working on to go and get a bite to eat. Even though the day was still young, he had been restless last night and had tossed and turned instead of sleeping. At this rate he was going to have to call it a day as he just couldn?t concentrate.

He and Celestia had already refined the encryption routine for transmissions. There was still more they could do, but for now it should be harder for others to hack into them. Jason did not even make it out of the Command Center when a priority distress transmission came it. Jason stopped to hear what it was when Daniel brought it up on the main viewer. Surprisingly it was from one of the field agents in Australia and not from the actual base itself.

?[B]Commander![/B]? The agent shouted, obviously upset and in a near state of panic. ?[B]They found the base![/B]?

?[B]What?[/B]? Daniel said incredulously.

?[B]I don?t know how it happened sir! The intruder alarm went off and then it changed to the priority emergency evacuation alarm. I barely made it to one of the emergency transport doors before the Empire?s assault team got to it.[/B]?

?[B]Bloody hell![/B]? Daniel growled. ?[B]What about Sub-Commander Kim?[/B]?

?[B]I don?t know if she made it or not sir.[/B]? He said with a pained expression. ?[B]So far only eighty percent of the personal are accounted for and the emergency transport doors just shut down.[/B]?

Jason was already back at his terminal and he swiftly pulled up the scanner data for that area and patched it through to Daniel while he attempted to contact the base, if the base was in trouble, why wasn?t the emergency disaster alarm working? But even as he wondered he knew the answer. The empire would have jammed the transmissions in the area to prevent them from realizing what was happening until it was too late. Jason winced as Daniel slammed his fists on the console, cursing with frustration when he could not raise the base.

A moment later that suspicion was confirmed as Jason watched the data feed for the base end. There was only one reason the data feed would have ended. It meant that Kim had destroyed the main computers at the base. Which also meant she had not escaped as doing so would have been a final desperate measure to keep the empire from getting the information in the computers. Jason was stunned, how could this have happened?

The agent turned away for a moment and then turned back. ?[B]I?m sorry sir, Kim is not among the people that got out.[/B]?

Daniel took a deep breath before speaking. ?[B]Forget about Kim, get everyone to the safe houses before the Empire realizes where you transported to. Report back to me once that?s taken care of.[/B]?

?[B]At once sir.[/B]? The agent closed the transmission.

Jason started to speak but halted when Daniel put his elbows on the terminal and placed his head in his hands, pulling at his hair in frustration. For a long time no one spoke and then their worst fears were confirmed as they lost the data feed from the scanners in Australia at the same time the other ones registered a large explosion under the city of Canberra Australia. Jason had not known the precise location of the base, but there was no mistaking what had caused the explosion. They had destroyed the base. [/COLOR]

[Rachmaninoff]

[I]You were only hurt because you were working for the military?it?s your own fault for being in the way...[/I]

Darren didn?t even hear the rest. Stung by her words he went from being afraid to being furious. Everything that had happened in the past few weeks, running though his mind, having his clearance hacked, being humiliated by Jared, being forced to work for the Military or face execution. He stepped forward a few steps and practically yelled at her.

?[B]My fault? You?re saying this is my fault?[/B]? He said incredulously. He didn?t even register her surprised look but continued angrily, ?[B]If you didn?t want me working for the military you shouldn?t have hacked my clearance in the first place! You know that traveling in a restricted sector is a crime punishable by death. By hacking the systems and giving me clearance for a sector I shouldn?t have it for you nearly killed me and my crew![/B]?

She started to say something but he cut her off, still furious over what had happened.

?[B]And not only that! Now I have no choice but to work with Jared! And don?t you dare play stupid with me, if I wasn?t an expert at handling cargo and shipping, I would have become Jared?s newest play toy before I was executed. So don?t give me this garbage about it being my fault![/B]?

He stood there, now trembling with rage, his fists tightly clenched in anger as they stood facing one another. He took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself before continuing coldly.

?[B]If anyone needs to leave, it?s you. I can?t. Thanks to you and your resistance friends I have no choice but to work for the military.[/B]?

He finished and folded his arms across his chest, glaring at her. No longer caring if she attacked him or not. He couldn?t stop her and Darren knew he wasn?t fast enough to get away either. And unfortunately his handheld computer was on the desk so he couldn?t signal for help either.

He could see that Jared was due to show up in just fifteen minutes, based on the clock on the wall and part of him wished she would just get lost. Even if he didn?t like her, he would never hand anyone over to Jared. Resistance member or not, no self-respecting merchant would. When she didn?t say anything immediately he couldn?t help himself he spoke again. Sighing out loud before he did so.

?[B]You need to leave, and you need to leave now. I can?t.[/B]? He felt himself flush a bit and ignored it. [I]Damn it![/I] He thought to himself as she just stared at him for several minutes. [I]Why won?t she leave?[/I]

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR=DarkRed]Crystal was getting ready for bed when the chime indicating she had a priority message sounded. Surprised she went to her workstation and pulled it up. She couldn?t think of a single reason as to why she would have been contacted. And when she pulled it up and saw that it came from the Conqueror she was even more confused as she hadn?t known that the person who was contacting her was even assigned to that flagship.

?[B]Commander Crystal,[/B]? They said. ?[B]I have a new assignment for you.[/B]?

Crystal raised her eyebrow at that statement. ?[B]I see, and what would that be?[/B]?

?[B]It?s simple really, I wish for you to assist me with the interrogation of Kimberly Spencer when I arrive.[/B]?

Crystal?s eyebrow rose even higher. ?[B]With all due respect, you already have a competent doctor on board the Conqueror to oversee the use of any drugs used. And I?m sure you are well aware that I am currently overseeing the set up of the medical facilities on Earth. Something that is far from being completed.[/B]?

?[B]I am well aware of that Crystal, and I have a full team on board who will be taking over your duties in that respect. I hardly need to tell you that out of all the doctors in the fleet your work in genetics along with the various drugs we use far outstrips the skills of the doctors available in our fleet at Earth.[/B]?

Crystal sighed. ?[B]Very well, though I still do not agree with your decision.[/B]?

The person laughed. ?[B]That is another reason why I want you to oversee it. I need someone who will not be afraid to tell me that we are going too far.[/B]? They took on a more serious look before continuing. ?[B]I do not intend to miss out on valuable information by accidentally killing Kim.[/B]?

?[B]I see.[/B]? Crystal said. ?[B]If you are serious about this I want you to authorize having her moved to my ship immediately. Because to be blunt, the Commodore is far from objective when it comes to the treatment of traitors. He is not so foolish as to disobey you directly, but he would do nothing if his men were to rough her up.[/B]?

?[B]Consider it done.[/B]?

The transmission ended and Crystal turned her workstation off with a sigh. She really hated overseeing interrogations. And since when had that person been put into such a position of authority? She would have thought that such a drastic change would have been announced. Unless it was fairly recent, but if they were so close to Earth she doubted it. No this had to have been decided weeks if not months ago.

She got up and left her quarters heading towards sickbay. The ship?s doctor Alex would need to be updated and she, if her suspicions about the Commodore were correct, would need to treat Kim when she arrived. Though considering how the resistance?s base was taken before it had been destroyed she probably had injuries from when she had been captured that had not been treated too.

[CENTER]------------[/CENTER]

[B]OOC:[/B] Let me know if I mixed anything up on that SunfallE. [/COLOR]