RPG Silver One

[Aaryanna_Mom]

When Kim had finally come to she had not been surprised to find herself being transported to one of the ships orbiting Earth. She did not know which one and she did not bother to speak to find out. And when the squad that had been sent to escort her realized she was awake, they had no trouble at all taking advantage of her helpless state with her hands bound behind her back and her feet hobbled to prevent movement. But when she didn?t respond to their jeers or even when they tossed her around like a punching bag, the leader of the squad finally stepped in and stopped things before they got out of hand.

Then they took her to a holding cell and once they removed the restraints they simply tossed her in and closed the door behind her. After taking a moment to wash the blood off her face from where she had been hit by pieces of the door exploding inward Kim sat on the bed and then finally moved to a resting position, as she was feeling sick to her stomach. It had been hours since she had anything to eat and the throbbing pain in her head along with being beaten up and what could only be the after effects of being stunned, she was surprised she wasn?t feeling worse.

Kim couldn?t help herself, she laughed a bit, once they got started, how she felt now would be nothing. She wanted to cry, but couldn?t. She had hoped it would never come to this, and now that it had she wasn?t sure what to think, she had no illusions. Even if she didn?t know the exact location of the bases, there were plenty of other things she knew that the Empire did not. The question was how long could she keep what little she knew to herself?

She almost started crying when the door opened yet again, but when she saw who it was she froze in shock. Another squad had come to get her only it was one from the Tempest. [I]What the hell?[/I] And among them the young man who had served under her now wearing the rank that she had once worn, that of a Sub-Commander. She didn?t know what to say and the uneasy look in their eyes tore at her. After all to them she had turned traitor, she had turned her back on them.

Unlike the previous squad they were gentle when they rebound her and helped her stand up to leave the cell. Nothing was said the entire trip, no jeering, no abuse, just a horrible uncomfortable silence as they first took her to the shuttle and then over to the Tempest. But what was worse was walking through the corridors of the battleship she had once served on; seeing the shocked expressions of the crew she had once helped command.

And when they finally put her in a new holding cell and removed the restraints, before leaving the new Sub-Commander leaned forward and whispered the words I?m sorry, before he too turned and left. Leaving her to wonder why she had been moved in the fist place. It made no sense and she wondered why they even bothered. Kim was fairly certain that she had been aboard the Creator before so why they moved her from the flagship to the Tempest was a mystery, unless they intended to take her back to sector one. In which case moving her would make sense, as the flagship would be staying at Earth.

And then as if to add insult to injury the door opened to admit the ships doctor Alex who along with another woman, wearing the uniform and insignia indicating she was the Commander of the Tempest entered the room. Alex was carrying the necessary medical equipment to treat her injuries and she was positive she had seen the other woman but she could not remember where. Kim nearly laughed out loud. It was just so ironic that they were going to treat her only to turn around and torture her. She focused on the woman instead of Alex. Waiting for her to say something.

[Rachmaninoff]

[I]If you know so much about me then you know perfectly well what Jared did to my brother?[/I]

[I]What the hell? Just what is she talking about? [/I]Darren wondered. And when she still refused to leave he wanted to scream in frustration. Was the translator not working properly or was she just too stubborn to back down? He had already told her he couldn?t leave. Jared was due to transport down in just five minutes and if she didn?t leave soon?
[I]
Why do I even care what happens to her?[/I] But then a moment later he realized that it wasn?t that he cared, it was who would get her that mattered. If it had just been the military he would hand her over without a second thought. But to hand someone over to Jared, just the thought was enough to make him sick. He took a deep breath before responding; [I]if Jared finds out I warned her?[/I]He pushed the thought aside.

?[B]You just don?t listen do you? I already said I cannot leave.[/B]? At those words Darren saw a stubborn look flash in her eyes confirming his thought that she was merely being stubborn. She would probably clobber him but he approached her anyway.

?[B]Jared told me what happened the last time you and I met, I know that he beat you senseless and that one of your friends arrived in time to save you from being captured by him.[/B]? He ignored her startled look and continued to approach her until they were less than a foot apart.

?[B]He?s coming here and if you don?t leave in the next five minutes he will find you here.[/B]? Darren looked straight into her eyes, trying to get her to believe him. Hoping that she would. And from the hint of fear he saw he hoped that she finally did. When she didn?t answer he turned away.

?[B]Fine, be that way. I don?t give a damn if the military gets you, and if you?re too stupid to leave then there?s nothing I can do.[/B]? He walked back to the desk and sat down, the clock indicating that only three minutes remained. He could see that she was struggling with what to do and given a choice he would have left, but he meant it when he told her he could not.

Then finally after a parting shot along the lines of why would you care what happens to me, she turned and left without saying another word. Darren breathed a sigh of relief; one that was short lived when only minutes later Jared showed up along with a security squad for setting up a more permanent office. Without a word they left to set up a patrol of the area leaving Jared and him alone.

Darren couldn?t help it, he flushed uncomfortably at what he had done, if Jared ever found out that he had warned her, he would not be forgiving. And now that he was facing him, part of him regretted it.

Jared raised an eyebrow questioningly, ?[B]You seem a bit nervous Darren, have you had more problems with humans again?[/B]?

Darren flushed even more, how was he supposed to respond to that? ?[B]You said it yourself Sub-Commander, I need to work on controlling my responses when I?m around you.[/B]? He looked away, disconcerted by Jared?s piercing gaze. ?[B]You know damn well I hate working with you.[/B]?

Jared just laughed. ?[B]It?s about time you quit pretending to be polite to my face.[/B]?

Darren turned back startled over what he had just said. The last thing he had ever expected was Jared to be amused by what he had just said.

?[B]Don?t look so surprised Darren, even when it is not flattering, I have always preferred honesty from those I work with.[/B]? Jared chuckled some more. ?[B]Now since I know how much you adore working with me lets get started.[/B]?

Darren picked up his handheld computer and opened up the file he had been working on as Jared came over, he ignored how having Jared that close made his skin crawl and started explaining the things he needed to do, including the part about finding a human with the necessary skills to understand the paperwork they used. And when he looked out the window briefly, he was pleased to see what he thought might be the woman a good distance away heading down the street. Jared did not know that she had changed her appearance, and he was not about to enlighten him.

[Horendithas]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]It had been a long but productive day. Jared dropped Darren off at his quarters and then joined Sandra in hers to report on how things were coming along. He had barely entered when Sandra indicated he should take a seat on one of the sofas as she was already resting in one of the chairs sipping on a drink while reading something on her handheld computer.

?[B]Ah Jared,[/B]? she started once he had sat down. ?[B]I have good news. Not only has the Elite Specialist located and destroyed one of the resistance?s bases, she captured Kimberly Spencer as well.[/B]?

Jared raised an eyebrow in surprise. That was certainly quick. He had expected it to take much longer to find them let alone destroy one of their bases. Ryan had been good, but it seemed that this Kiva was far better.

Sandra put her handheld down and looked directly at Jared when he did not respond. ?[B]In addition to that the Conqueror will be arriving in just under two days to oversee her interrogation. Kim was on the Creator, but at Crystal?s order she was moved to the Tempest. It seems that the Commodore is turning out to be unreliable in certain areas,[/B]? Sandra paused and then continued. ?[B]I have already informed my father since that fool allowed his men to beat on Kim, she was not seriously hurt, but that sort of short sightedness simply cannot be ignored. He is lucky nothing happened to her or else he would be facing execution. It?s pointless to capture resistance members if they are killed before they can be questioned.[/B]?

Jared laughed, ?[B]He really is a fool if he thought nothing would happen. I take it he is going to be dealt with?[/B]?

Sandra nodded. ?[B]He is, I?ve been arguing with the High Council on this and they agree, we?ve been looking the other way far to long when it comes to this type of behavior. We simply cannot afford to be so reckless. I intend to make an example of him to remind the others that no one is above reproach. Once the Conqueror arrives he will be stripped of his command and sent back to sector one. And if he doesn?t like his new desk job and handling paper work, he deserves what ever fate the Council decides to give him.[/B]?

?[B]Is there anything you need me to do about this Sandra?[/B]?

She shook her head no. ?[B]No, everything has been taken care of already. You are to continue working with Darren and overseeing the progress of humans being transported off of Earth. Things are going well, but in the area?s we have yet to establish a presence, things are out of control. I want you to start putting out the fires so to speak, except for the Middle East.[/B]? Sandra smiled with amusement. ?[B]Ever since we destroyed their oil fields they?ve been rather busy fighting among themselves so I see no reason to stop them from saving us the trouble of putting them out of their misery.[/B]?

?[B]It?s a pity that they turned out to be unsuitable, but still considering how many people there are here, it won?t make a difference. There is more than enough elsewhere on Earth to take care of things.[/B]? Jared replied.

?[B]Exactly, and I see no reason to waste my time with them.[/B]? Sandra paused and tossed a data chip to Jared. ?[B]The rest of the details are on there. If you have any questions just let me know.[/B]?

Jared recognized a dismissal when he heard one. He took the chip and bade Sandra good night before heading to his own quarters to turn in. [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]As the Conqueror dropped out of hyperspace and slipped into orbit around Earth, the figure in the observation room stood up, the green cloak they had been wearing falling to the floor. It may have been melodramatic to be so secretive but lately the resistance had been getting their hands on top-secret information. Not a lot, but enough to tell them that someone on the inside was not who they claimed to be. Commander Daniel and Sub-Commander Kim had both turned out to be traitors, so it stood to reason that there were others as high up in the chain of command if not higher that had not been found.

He smiled to himself as he left the observation room to enter the bridge and take his spot as not only the Commander of the Conqueror but as the new Fleet Admiral for the entire Versilan space forces. Stevens was not above flattery and he preened shamelessly as he walked through the bridge, noting the surprised glances from all but the most senior officer on the bridge. It was not so much the blue and silver that only a candidate for the High Council could wear as it was the cut and style to match his rank as the Fleet Admiral that drew their attention. It was common knowledge that he was a candidate and had been for years. But until now they had not known that he now their new Fleet Admiral.

By the end of the day the news of his promotion would be all over the Empire as the previous Fleet Admiral had already retired but had maintained the illusion of still being in charge while working though him. It had been a bit of a pain but in the end it had been worth it. The project in sector fourteen was going well, a good number of hotspots in sector twelve had been eliminated and now even on Earth the resistance had been dealt a crushing blow with the loss of their base and the capture of Kimberly. Stevens smiled as he sat down in his seat and caught a flash of his own reflection in one of the monitors, the crisp clean look of his uniform showing off his rugged good looks with his light brown hair and silver colored eyes.

He immediately sent orders to the commanders and their ships along with a request to the Elite Specialist to forward any information they had found from the destroyed resistance base. Stevens had his own ideas as to who was on Earth. They had confirmed that Jason?s sister Sara was there and Jared was positive that her reactions indicated that Jason was there as well. Stevens had read the reports regarding those two and he found it hard to believe that Celestia would be elsewhere as the resistance would be too softhearted and keep them together. He was more than willing to bet that all the new improvements they had been reporting from the way the sensor routine was set up, to the encryption programs to even the new movement aspect of the transport doors, were all done by Celestia and Jason working together. The probability of all three of them being there was very high, especially since some of the changes were recent.

?[B]Contact the Creator and inform the Commodore that he is to report to me immediately.[/B]?

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

Stevens pulled up the report on what had happened to Kim and the one from Sandra?s father and the High Council, noting their decision to strip the Commodore of his command. He would have executed the fool but this would work just fine. He made a few notations and then closed it. He looked up to see that the crew had finished contacting the Creator.

?[B]Now, contact the Tempest and inform Commander Crystal that she is to bring Kimberly here at once. Then contact the Crimson and inform both Sandra and Jared that they are to report here immediately as well. Once they have arrived other than Kimberly who is to be placed in a holding cell, the others are to be escorted to the observation room. Once all of them have arrived you are to notify me immediately.[/B]?

Again the bridge crew responded, ?[B]At once sir.[/B]?

Stevens smiled to himself as he pulled up yet another report. It would be quite amusing to see Sandra?s reaction when she saw him again. And even more interesting when he unveiled the project that had been right here in this sector the entire time so carefully kept secret that he was surprised that he had not been found already. The Elite Specialist certainly had the equipment to detect it, but they would have had no reason to even look there in the first place. And even if they had, they would not have been so foolish as to interfere with it. He had wondered at the High Council?s choice in choosing someone so far beneath the position but after seeing her in action he no longer did. Kiva had certainly turned out to be exceptional at her duties.

He continued working through some other reports, humming to himself a bit while he waited for the others to be brought to him.[/COLOR]

[Rachmaninoff]

The very last thing Darren had ever expected was to get yet another message sent directly to him. This time from none other than Fleet Admiral Stevens shortly after the Conqueror dropped out of hyperspace and joined the fleet currently stationed at Earth. He didn?t like it, not one bit. Receiving messages directly instead of through Jared implied that he had connections, connections that he did not want nor did he want other merchants to think he did.

He had always hated the politics surrounding the military, the backstabbing and scrambling for the tiniest indication of favor. It was why he had stayed neutral; he did not want enemies among the merchants. But once it got out that the High Council had selected him to work at Earth, the fact that he had been caught in a restricted sector was being overlooked by the other merchants who were envious of what they thought was an ideal assignment.

Just the other day when he had talked to Mike he had been required to authorize him to hire some additional security for his ship as there had been attempts to sabotage his cargo by some of the more ruthless merchants. Darren sighed as he read the message. He had been fooling himself, the moment the Crimson had pulled him over for being in sector thirteen during a lock down his life as an independent merchant was over. Even if he went his own way afterwards, it would take years if not decades for people to realize that he had no connections.

Darren started reading the message again only to stop and start reading it again. Surely there had to be some mistake! What kind of game was the new Fleet Admiral up to? And why in the world would he need to pack up his things on the Crimson and be ready to move when both Sandra and Jared returned from the Conqueror? And more importantly just where was Stevens having him moved to?

He looked up from the workstation to the quarters that had been his home for nearly a month, he wouldn?t miss them but he wondered just where he was being moved. Earth perhaps? Though he couldn?t think of a reason why they would move him there, not when transporting to the surface was so simple and easy.

Darren continued reading the message. It went on to explain that he was to start setting up transportation in Australia immediately. Okay, that made sense, he had heard from Jared that the Elite Specialist had not only found a resistance base there but had destroyed it and captured the former Sub-Commander of the Tempest. It was his understanding that this Kim was currently being held on the Tempest. He certainly didn?t envy her. The military was anything but kind when it came to getting information from traitors.

Still with the base in that area gone, it would be easier to make the final decisions as far as setting things up without a more pronounced resistance presence since the US was already having issues with them disrupting and destroying facilities as they were being built. Which even to a non-military person such as himself meant there had to be a base some where in the US. Still that was not his concern, well other than to recommend security measures for the transportation facilities.

So he was to start on Australia, one of the three areas where they would not be transporting the humans off of Earth. If nothing else it would at least mean his chances of running into Jason?s sister Sara again would be nil. Which could only be a good thing as he was still regretting his decision to warn her to leave before Jared arrived the last time they met.

He turned off the workstation once he was done with the message and began to gather his things. It didn?t take long since he didn?t have very much with him. And then because it had been a long day he started getting ready for bed. He certainly wasn?t going to stay awake and wait for Jared and Sandra to return, they could be in meetings all night before returning to the Crimson.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[color=darkslateblue]"I've got another location," Kiva said. "Adding it to the list."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"I see it. Coordinates confirmed.l Beginning scan... yep, it's another one."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Over the past couple days, Kiva and Daego had been examining the salvaged remains of the resistance base's computers. In particular, Kiva was focusing heavily on what was left of Kim's handheld computer, as she considered it more likely to have useful information. And so far, she had managed to get some information off of it, though this was made more difficult by the thuroughness Kiva had come to expect from this particular branch of the Resistance.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Kiva had expected all information to be heavily encrypted, but with the [i]Catalyst[/i]'s advanced computer system and Kiva's onw decryption programs, this hadn't been too much of a problem. But the data was additionally protected by deliberate ragmentation. Basically, this meant that anything saved on the computer was fragmented, and each fragment was saved in a seperate memory location. This made piecing the information together much more difficult, especially since Kiva only had the remains to work with. But she'd still managed to pull out some useful information.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]So far, Kiva had been unable to find anything relating to the locations of the other bases, but she had found the locations of several safe houses in Australia. This was valuable information, any not just because knowing anything about the Resistance was good. These safe houses were likely being used by those who had escaped from the destroyed base. Which was why when Kiva sent a status update to the newly arrived [i]Conqueror[/i], she wasn't supprised that the reply included and order update to take out the safe houses. Also, Australia was one of the areas where[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"I think I've got what I can here," Kiva said. "I'm not seeing any more locations. Inform the [i]Conqueror [/i]that we're entering Earth's atmosphere to begin our run on the safe houses."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]While Daego composed and sent the message, Kiva quickly connected to a Resistance base, which ended up being the same base she'd connected to the first time she'd hacked in, through the grade B sensor gear. She normally would have waited for a better opportunity, but she felt that she should update the Resistance on recent developments as soon as possible, especially the fact that Kim was alive and currently on board the [i]Conqueror[/i]. So while Daego was busy, she quickly planted her report and withdrew from the Resistance network, leaving nothing besides the report to indicate that she'd been in. She removed all evidence from the [i]Catalyst[/i]'s computers as well, so there would be nothing for Daego to find.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Okay, the [i]Conqueror [/i]has confirmed receipt of message," Daego said. "You ready, Kiva?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Kiva nodded. "I'm ready. Let's get started."[/color]

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR=DarkRed]After making sure Kim was transferred safely to a holding cell on the Conqueror Crystal waited patiently in the observation room of the Conqueror. Unless Stevens intended to start the interrogation immediately she couldn?t think of a single reason for her to even be there. She stifled a sigh and waited just the same, the day was already over so it wasn?t like she had anything better to do, well besides get some rest that is.

She didn?t have to wait long, moments later once the Commodore of the Creator arrived and then Sandra and Jared, Stevens entered and motioned all of them to take a seat at the small conference table that was just inside the door. Then moments later a security squad entered the room as well. Something that did not surprise Crystal as she knew what was going to happen to the Commodore for his foolish actions. Something that Stevens took care of immediately.

?[B]Thank you for coming everyone,[/B]? Stevens started. ?[B]But before we get started there is something we need to take care of.[/B]? He motioned to the security squad who immediately seized the Commodore ignoring his protests.

?[B]Now before you open your mouth Commodore and get yourself into even more trouble, I?ll explain my actions. You are probably wondering just what is going on. It?s simple, you are being stripped of your command and sent back to Sector One for the High Council to decide your fate.[/B]? He cut off the Commodore before he could even speak.

?[B]It?s really quite simple Commodore, surely you remember my orders from two days ago? No? Then let me refresh your memory.[/B]? Stevens turned on the display for the conference room and played part of his conversation with the Commodore the conversation spoke for itself?.[I]I will be arriving in two days. You are to do nothing with Kim until I arrive. I will oversee her interrogation myself.[/I]

Stevens switched the display of one showing the squad who had picked Kim up beating her senseless. ?[B]You received that order before your men had even picked Kim up. No orders were issued to tell them that you had been ordered to do nothing to her and nothing was done to discipline your men for their actions. In other words Commodore you indirectly disobeyed a direct order from your superior officer, something that I will not tolerate.[/B]?

Stevens paused and then continued. ?[B]Not only that by endangering a valuable prisoner before she could even be questioned you interfered with the work done by our Empire?s top agents, you nearly destroyed all the hard work done by the newest Elite Specialist. You should be grateful that all I am doing is sending you to Sector One.[/B]?

Crystal just sat back further into her chair, suppressing a smile over what Stevens was doing. Normally she did not like politics but in this case she found she rather enjoyed it. She had complained numerous times to the High Council about behavior such as the Commodore?s but nothing was ever done, until now. She only hoped it was a trend that would continue under Stevens command and not just a one time fluke.

?[B]Now take that fool out of my sight and put him on the transport for Sector One.[/B]?

Crystal watched as the Commodore was taken out and then turned back to Stevens, curious as to what he was going to do now that the Creator had lost its commanding officer. But even more curious was Sandra?s expression, as she looked rather upset. Crystal sighed, if only the rest of the meeting would be as entertaining. [/COLOR]

[Aaryanna_Mom]

It had been several days since the base in Australia had been destroyed and now yet another flagship had arrived at Earth. Daniel had already contacted William to update him as to what had happened. He had gotten little to no sleep as he had worked frantically to make sure people were moved to the safe houses in addition to trying to figure out what had gone wrong.

Both Jason and Celestia were equally as tired having worked non-stop to rewrite the routines to accommodate the loss of the equipment in Australia. Without the receiver in the base it had been necessary to change how the sensors relayed the information.

But more importantly, Daniel had not been able to confirm if Kim had been captured or not. He had finally tracked down the night officer who had been there it had broken his heart to hear how she had insisted on staying to manually oversee the security doors to help as many people escape as possible. And the night officer had at least been able to confirm that Kim had destroyed her handheld computer.

But then he had followed her orders and left. Daniel could only assume that she had also destroyed the bases computers as well. But whether or not she had been killed or captured was unknown. Daniel sighed to himself as he left the command center and entered the small conference room, regardless of what had happened he still had to continue the harassment of the new measures being put in place.

He quickly sent out the orders to the operatives working in the US, confirming the next set of targets to be taken care of. Even if it only slowed them down, every little bit helped, he only hoped that what William was working on would work out.

Daniel was about to sign out when another message came in. Even though it showed how good an agent she really was, it still chilled him to realize how easily she could hack into their computer system. He could only imagine how hard it must be to play such a double-edged role, especially at such a high level within the Versilan government. And though he was glad to get the update he was less than thrilled to learn that Kim was onboard the Conqueror.

He forwarded the information to William and then removed all traces of the report from the computer system. He really hated this part, knowing things that the others did not. Daniel got up and left he had a lot of work to do, having interrogated traitors himself when he was still a commander he knew perfectly well that Kim would eventually tell them what she knew. He had to be quick if he was going to get things changed to minimize the damage.

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

Kim sighed as she was moved to yet another holding cell. Only this time she knew that the next time they came for her it wouldn?t be to move her to yet another cell. Commander Crystal, unlike the others had been forward and blunt with her when she had been on the Tempest. She had never met her but she finally remembered her. She had been the doctor serving on the Crimson, Kim had never met her but she had heard of her.

She had explained while Alex had been treating her, she could save herself a lot of trouble by simply telling them what they wanted to know or she could make things harder on herself. Her blunt and matter of fact way of simply explaining what would happen had been chilling. Not that she would cooperate, after all, the longer she held out, the longer Daniel would have to make the information she had useless. Kim curled up on her side on the bed in the cell, she wondered who she would be dealing with, besides Commander Crystal that is. She sighed yet again. Not that it mattered, she?d find out all too soon.

[Horendithas]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]Jared watched with amusement as Stevens stripped the Commodore of his command and had him escorted out of the observation room. Regardless if the Commodore had been correct or wrong, his actions in regards to Kim were clear. He should have known better, and years of sloppy command habits had finally caught up with him. The only question in Jared?s mind was what Stevens had in mind and just how Sandra was going to react to it.

She had made no secret of the fact that she held him in disdain, ever since the High Council had announced her position as a candidate and betrothed her to Stevens. Even if it was but a formality, she had been swift to let the Council know that she did not approve. Stevens had always been rather flamboyant and quite the flirt, something that Jared knew Sandra did not approve of. Or rather that she found it distasteful to be matched up with one who enjoyed meddling in other?s love lives, both male and female alike.

Stevens was anything but discreet. And on some level Jared didn?t understand her objection. With genetics she could fulfill her part of the family duty in providing a child for the families without ever touching Stevens. She did not even have to carry the child herself. Nor was she forbidden to have her own lovers. The politics surrounding such affairs was common knowledge among the people. Sandra?s objection was personal and even Jared knew that if she was not careful she too would be cast aside for someone who was more suitable. As he watched Sandra, noting her barely concealed anger he wondered if she realized just how precarious her position really was. He turned back to Stevens when he spoke again.

?[B]Good now that the Commodore has been taken care of we can get down to business. First of all I need you to report here at 0700 hours tomorrow morning Commander Crystal I intend to get started on Kim?s briefing at that time. The rest of this doesn?t really concern you but if you wish to stick around you may.[/B]?

Crystal stood up and shook her head. ?[B]If it doesn?t concern me then I can find better things to do with my time. Until tomorrow Stevens.[/B]? She nodded briefly and then left.

Stevens waited until she had left to continue. ?[B]Very well, I?ll start with the most important change. Now that the Commodore has been dealt with I need someone to take command of the Creator. And I have decided to hand that task over to you Sandra, effective immediately you are to transfer over and take command of the Creator as their new Commodore.[/B]? He paused and then continued with a hint of irony in his voice, ?[B]And since I know how much you adore your beautiful Sub-Commander Jared, he will transfer with you to serve as your second in command. Far be it from me to separate you from those you actually do enjoy working with my dear.[/B]?

He smiled at the change in Sandra?s expression and continued before she could speak, ?[B]And since I understand that Jared?s preference does not coincide with yours dear Sandra, he may take that pretty little shipping expert with him as well. After all the guest quarters on the Creator are empty and I do want everyone to be happy in their new positions. I?ve already advised this Darren to be ready to move when the two of you return and I?ve already informed the second in command of the Creator that he will be taking over as the new Commander of the Crimson.[/B]?

Jared winced when Stevens was finished, promotion or not, Sandra was furious, he could see the effort it was taking her to simply sit there and say nothing. Though if he were to make a guess, the fact that she had been left out of the loop about Stevens being promoted to the new Fleet Admiral was what really had her upset. Something her own father, a member of the High Council would have known about, someone did not get promoted to Fleet Admiral without the Council approving it.

It took her a moment but then Sandra finally spoke, ?[B]You?re too kind Stevens.[/B]? She said with barely concealed fury. ?[B]Is there anything else I need to know before I move to the Creator?[/B]?

Stevens smiled and pulled up a map showing the plants near Earth. ?[B]As a matter of fact there is. As you already know the resistance is working with other factions outside of sector thirteen. The Creator tried on many occasions to hack into their communications but failed. It is my belief that they are bouncing the transmission from different locations through this sector to fragment the data and thus make it harder for us to decode what they have sent. I intend to put a stop to that.[/B]?

He highlighted several of the planets besides Earth. ?[B]Based on the preliminary data done by my own computer specialists, they would need to have relays on at least three of the other planets here for such a system to work, but the data the Elite Specialist sent me indicates that even the Conqueror, the most advanced flagship in the fleet lacks the necessary equipment to detect the relays. Even though they have given me the data as to where the grade B sensor equipment is, they do not show up on our scanners.[/B]?

Stevens paused as he pulled up yet another display showing all the planets and moons where the relays could have been installed in the system. ?[B]As soon as the Elite Specialist finishes destroying the safe houses they located in Australia I intend to send them to find and destroy the relay points. Even with the equipment onboard the Catalyst they will need to actually be in orbit around the planet or moon in question to detect it. Once they have done so they will destroy them. This will take priority even over finding the other two bases as I am convinced that we have a traitor much higher up than Sub-Commander Kimberly or Commander Daniel. I intend to lure them out and catch them and right now the best way to do that is to take away their ability to send more secure transmissions.[/B]?

Sandra spoke, ?[B]And what are my orders?[/B]?

?[B]Simple, once the safe houses are destroyed you are to finish securing Australia, I also want you to post these pictures of Sara, Jason and Celestia on every network on Earth. I want every available member looking for them.[/B]? He pulled up wanted pictures of each individual. ?[B]I?m sure that they are safely hiding in one of the remaining bases and that no human would turn them in, but I intend to up the stakes. For starters, if one of Earth?s governments hands one of them over to us I will give them the right to request any citizen of their country who was taken to one of the other worlds to be returned. Families that were separated in the confusion will be reunited with their loved ones. And I will follow through on that promise. I?ve already had the troops deliberately separating families at random so I can reward individuals who come forward with accurate information.[/B]?

He smiled. ?[B]Its time we started playing on their own fears to flush out those who would oppose us. Now unless the two of you have questions I suggest you head back to the Crimson and move to your new quarters. I have my own work to do. Dismissed.[/B]?

Jared got up and followed Sandra to the shuttle. He could tell that she was still angry and he kept his mouth shut. Hopefully she would calm down because even if Stevens annoyed her, they had a lot of work to take care of.

Stevens watched them leave and then sent yet another message to the Catalyst. Letting them know of their mission update. The data indicated that there was at least five different relays and that they needed to destroy three of them, all five if possible. And at the very end he tagged on a note to the effect that scanning Mars was not necessary. He sent it off and then left to go to his own quarters. It would take the specialist a couple of weeks and delay the hunt for the other bases, but in the end he felt that the payoff in disabling their ability to scramble deep space transmissions would be worth it. [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]Jason turned to Celestia and nodded to her when Daniel came out of the side conference room. Both of them got up and before Daniel realized what they were up to they guided him back into the room and shut the door.

?[B]What is it?[/B]? Daniel asked them.

Jason took out a data chip and handed it to Daniel. ?[B]I hacked into the military?s network. Kim is alive, she?s being held on the Conqueror.[/B]?

?[B]You what?[/B]? Daniel started to reply angrily.

Celestia stepped forward, ?[B]Don?t start father. We?ve been working on the program to extract information and yet leave no trace that we were even in the network. Jason and I agreed to help the resistance, we never once agreed to follow orders blindly.[/B]?

She walked over to the screen and pulled up the latest broadcast on Earth, showing the conditions and reward being offered for any information on her, Jason and Sara. She waited a moment for Daniel to read it before continuing.

?[B]I understand that you are trying to protect us, but we can?t afford to keep playing it safe. They know that we are here father.[/B]?

Daniel shut down the terminal. ?[B]Not necessarily. They could be putting that out in the hopes of getting information. The only one who has actually been seen is Sara. They don?t have physical confirmation that either one of you are here. It?s a fairly common tactic to pretend you have information even when you don?t.[/B]?

?[B]But we are here,[/B]? Jason replied.

?[B]That doesn?t matter, what does is that the two of you don?t do things that would attract attention. If I needed you two to hack into the Empire?s systems I would have already asked you.[/B]? Daniel took the data chip and tossed it back to Jason. ?[B]Knowing about Kim changes nothing. There is nothing we can do.[/B]?

?[B]Damnit Daniel![/B]? Jason said angrily as he grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards him until they were face to face. ?[B]What?s the point in even trying? We?ve been at this for what seems like forever and in less than a month it?s all going to hell![/B]?

Daniel pulled free of Jason and gently shoved him back. ?[B]You don?t understand Jason, I can?t tell you, but I can promise you that things are being done. It may look hopeless but it?s far from that.[/B]?

?[B]How father? Why do you think Jason and I decided to hack their systems? We can?t help you if we don?t know what?s going on! You?ve got to stop treating us like children! We know the risk and we have the right to take it! Besides do you really think they don?t know who?s been making the improvements to the different programs? You?re forgetting that both Jason and I were subjected to a full interrogation long before William rescued us. It?s not that hard to recognize another programmer?s work. Especially when they have access to everything we?ve ever done.[/B]?

Jason watched, as Daniel seemed to struggle with what Celestia had just said and then his expression changed and Daniel spoke. ?[B]Fine, I understand what you are saying and I?ll even agree to both of you having a more active role so long as you promise me one thing in return.[/B]?

Jason looked to Celestia and then back to Daniel, ?[B]And that would be?[/B]?

?[B]You have to check with me first before you do anything. I may not be a programmer, but even I know that the systems are designed to detect when someone accesses them without permission. Also, there are still going to be things that I can?t tell you, I can?t and won?t risk the lives of other agents when you do not need to know what they are up to. Fair enough?[/B]?

Both of them nodded.

?[B]Good then lets start with you explaining to me how you managed to hack into their systems.[/B]?[/COLOR]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[color=darkslateblue]"All right, looks like we'll get another load here," Daego said. "How many more can we hold, Kiva?"[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"Um... okay, we should be able to cram all of them in, but we won't have any room left. Good thing this is the last target. Has the [i]Conqueror[/i] confirmed our request?"[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"Yes. Transport shuttles will be standing by at the designated coordinates. We'll be able to transfer the captives immediately."[/color]

[color=#483d8b]Kiva and Daego were at the final safe house, and had basically blown its top half off, exposing the interior. They'd done this with some of the other safe houses as well. Doing this eliminated the sheilding in place, allowing for easy abduction of the Resistance members within. Daego locked onto each person and transported them up. With so many transportations, the Resistance's equipment would detect the location and the people in charge would undoubtably figure out what was happening, but this was okay, as they'd know that the safe houses were being destroyed anyways, and this way there would be captives. After all the Resistance members present had been captured, Kiva gave the command and the [i]Catalyst[/i] fired, destroying the rest of the safe house.[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"That takes care of that," Kiva said. "Daego, take us to the given coordinates. Let's get these captives away. I'll inform the [i]Conqueror[/i] of our success."[/color]


[color=#483d8b]"That's the last of them," Daego said. "All captives are away. Confirming shuttle routes... yep, looks like we were right. The prisoners are being divided pretty much evenly among the ships of the Fleet."[/color]

[color=#483d8b]It was then that the 'message received' chime sounded. "Looks like we've got another order update," Kiva said after reading it.[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"Another one? What're we doing this time?"[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"Well, remember what you guessed about the Resistance's signal-leap setup?"[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"Yeah. In order to maintain a random leap network of the complexity they seem to have, they pretty much have to have a number of large relay stations."[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"And these, of course, would be well-concealed using state-of-the-are stealth technology. Any we also agreed that in order to avoid having these stations noticed by anyone, they'd have to be located off-planet."[/color]

[color=#483d8b]Daego nodded. "Yeah. Are we supposed to find them?"[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"That's right. Which means we'll be putting our search for the bases on hold for a while. We have to assume that the Resistance is using the best gear they have, since even we haven't been able to see anything yet. We're going to need to scan every planet and moon at point-blank range. And although this wasn't mentioned in the message, we should probably scan every good-sized asteroid within the belt, as the large asteroids would be sufficient for such a facility."[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"Yeah, that'll take a little while. I assume we can skip the gaseous planets?"[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"Of course. You can't build a relay station on one of those. We'll still have to check their moons, though. Oh, and interestingly enough, we're being told to skip Mars."[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"What? Why?"[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"Well," Kiva said, "the reason isn't given, but it's obvious that there's an Imperial presence of some sort on Mars. Otherwise, they wouldn't have given the planet the kind of exhaustive sweep needed for them to be that certain. With their equipment, they'd need a surface-level, low-extent scan, and that would take days. So you can be sure there's something on Mars. But that's not important, though I would like to take a basic scan to confirm security-you know, test the sheilding, see how well-hidden this whatever is. No, all we need to know is that there isn't a relay station on Mars. We'll still need to check its moons, though."[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"Well, what are we waiting for, then? We should get started."[/color]

[color=#483d8b]"Indeed. I've sent conformation of orders to the [i]Conqueror[/i], so there's no reason to wait. Let's get going."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Just so it's clear, nobody important was captured. I just thought it made sense for Kiva and Daego to take prisoners.

[Rachmaninoff]

Darren finished up his breakfast and putting together the last of his things, since Jared had not shown up last night he was fairly certain that he would today. He still didn?t know where he was being moved to and since the notification had come from the newest Fleet Admiral he wasn?t too worried. He had barely taken a seat and turned on his handheld computer to start going over the plans for Australia when the chime indicating someone was at the door sounded.

Quickly he switched off his handheld and went to answer the door. Sure enough it was Jared though there was something different about him though he couldn?t figure out what it was. He mentioned something along the lines of good you?re ready to go and picked up a few of the bags himself helping Darren so that a second trip would not be necessary.

Then he followed him to a shuttle from the Creator that was waiting in the hanger bay. The Creator? They were moving him to the Creator? He didn?t get a chance to ask Jared if that was the case since he was piloting the shuttle himself. But when he overheard from his vantage point of sitting in the co-pilot?s chair the officer on duty welcoming Jared back to the Creator the difference suddenly clicked. It was his uniform. Though nearly identical to his previous one, there were subtle differences most notably in the one indicating his rank.

Jared was now serving as the second in command for the Creator if he remembered what the cut and symbols on his uniform meant. Darren pulled out his handheld computer to send in a request for the updates for today but Jared beat him to it.

?[B]You know Darren, if you really want to know what?s going on all you have to do is ask.[/B]?

Darren froze in place his right fingers just above the send button. He hated how Jared did that. Watched what he was up to even when he was supposedly engaged in other activities. He turned to see Jared watching him with one of those self satisfied little smirks he often wore.

?[B]All right, what is going on?[/B]? He finally asked him.

Jared smiled and turned back to landing the shuttle, ?[B]The Commodore turned out to be [I]unreliable[/I]. Sandra is now the Commodore of the Creator and I am her second in command where the previous second in command of the Creator has been put in charge of the Crimson. So before we head down to Canberra Australia to get started today, since you are my responsibility I am moving you over to one of the guest quarters of the Creator. There are other updates of course so do go ahead and press the button to request the info.[/B]?

Darren did as he was told and then put his handheld back into his pocket and got up to grab his things once the shuttle had landed. And then in spite of his best efforts to be indifferent, he couldn?t help but gawk and gaze at everything as Jared took him through the corridors to the guest quarters. There was no getting around the fact that the sheer size and scope of the flagship was impressive.

And the crew was every bit as efficient and quick as those on the Crimson had been. The trip to his new quarters was over soon enough and even they put the one on the Crimson to shame. It was obvious as they entered that he had been placed in guest quarters meant for important guests. It was nearly twice the size of the previous one he had been in and even had the luxury of a replication unit. Something that like his translator had to have perfect crystals. Even the Crimson had only two of them on the entire ship, as it was too costly for more.

Darren sighed inwardly as Jared placed the bags he had been carrying on the floor. There was no point in saying anything since Jared would only make fun of him. Something that he did at every opportunity, as he seemed to delight in making him ?react? as he put it.

?[B]I?ll be back in a few hours to take you down to Earth. I suggest you take the time to put your things away and prepare any questions you may have for me.[/B]?

Darren waited until Jared had left before picking up the first bag with a sigh, he took it into the new bedroom to start putting things away.

[Aaryanna_Mom]

When the door to her cell opened Kim knew that it was finally time. She did not bother to resist, she could not stop them, she refused to be dragged and instead walked though the corridors of the Conqueror with her head held high. But her confidant stride was but a mask to cover the intense feelings she had been running though the past couple of days. From a fierce determination to hold out to a horrible fear of what was going to happen, she was bordering on hysterics, wanting to cry one moment and laugh the next.

But when they finally took her inside the interrogation room she was shocked by what she saw. Not the equipment since she was well acquainted with it, she had overseen interrogations herself when she had been the Sub-Commander of the Tempest. Though she had relied on drugs instead of outright torture. It was not the presence of Commander Crystal who unless she was mistaken looked a bit pained. No what grabbed her attention was the presence of Stevens.

Kim had not seen him for years; she knew he was a candidate for the High Council. But what she had not known was that he was the Fleet Admiral. It had to be a new position since the last update the resistance had gotten just over a month ago still had him listed as being a Commodore. But there was no mistaking the cut of his uniform along with the symbols indicating his rank. Even with the blue and silver of a candidate, it was unmistakable.

Kim burst into fits of laughter; she couldn?t help herself, the idea that the High Council would promote such an obvious flirt as Stevens to the position of Fleet Admiral was too much. Even when he tried to talk to her she continued to laugh it was just so ironic to think that one such as he would be put into a position of authority. Unless you counted how he was known for tumbling into bed with anything that had two legs and was attractive. It was rumored that he got what he wanted by sleeping around more than from any real talent. Or from his connection of being from one of the families that ruled the Versilan Empire.

Finally with tears streaming down her face Kim regained her composure. She had been laughing so hysterically that she had hardly noticed when they had placed her in the chair in the middle of the room and strapped her down. She could hardly move but didn?t care. Now that she had stopped laughing Stevens spoke.

?[B]It?s been a long time Kim, I?m relieved to see that you still have a sense of humor. Even if I fail to see what is funny about your position.[/B]?

Kim snorted, ?[B]I was laughing at your position as well as mine.[/B]? She snickered a bit more. ?[B]To think that the High Council is so desperate that they actually made you the Fleet Admiral. So tell me Stevens? How many people did you have to sleep with to get that rank? It certainly wasn?t due to any talent on your part.[/B]? She smiled inwardly at the flash of irritation in Stevens?s eyes before he responded.

?[B]I see so it?s going to be like that is it? Pity, I had hoped for more from you than that Kim.[/B]? She watched as he got up and walked over to where she was strapped down. And then shivered a bit as he walked around the chair, casually running his right forefinger along her right shoulder and along her back as he circled around till he was facing her again and then grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him as he leaned over.

?[B]It really is a pity, you were showing so much promise for one so young. And yet you threw it away to follow that softhearted fool Daniel.[/B]? He let go of her and walked back over to sit down behind the desk with all the controls for operating the disruptors in the chair she was strapped to.

Kim snickered yet again. ?[B]Still so predictable Stevens, blaming other men for your own inability to get what you want. Even if Daniel weren?t around for me to follow as you put it, I would rather die than serve or assist one such as you. And it?s so like you to make assumptions as to why I left the military. But then you always were an overconfident fool.[/B]?

Stevens smiled innocently, ?[B]Ah but I do know why you left. It was no secret that you cared for Daniel, even to the point that you contacted others to talk to them when you found out about his mother?s execution.[/B]? He smiled at her tiny start of surprise. ?[B]We may not know who you contacted since the program written by Celestia erased the databanks of the Tempest when all of you were spirited away by the resistance, but I?m sure I can convince you to fill me in on that detail, as well as many others.[/B]?

Kim shrugged as best as she could with the restraints. ?[B]You can try.[/B]? And then she smirked at him. ?[B]Do your best, after all you finally have my undivided attention. So do try to not bore me to tears like you?ve always done in the past.[/B]?

Kim chuckled at Stevens as yet another flash of irritation crossed his face. Then it was his turn to smile as he began to turn on the equipment, which in turn started to send a slight vibration through the chair she was strapped to as the disruptors began to power up. Kim shivered as he motioned to Commander Crystal who came over and administered a shot. It was going to be a very long day.

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR=DarkRed]Crystal sighed inwardly while Stevens and Kim snipped at each other. All it did was remind her of how much she hated doing interrogations. She was not interested in toying with someone?s mind, only in obtaining the information needed. As a result, she actually made a very poor interrogator since she was too blunt and forward. Crystal would rely on drugs where both Stevens and Jared were good at combining physical pain with humiliation along with the drugs to find out far more than she ever did. The only thing she was good at was making sure Kim survived to give Stevens the information he wanted.

It was a common mistake to be impatient and press a prisoner to fast and too far. It was too easy to send someone into shock if you didn?t know what you were doing. And at least both Jared and Stevens had the sense to realize that overriding her in deciding the doses and when to quit for the day would be foolhardy. Not that it really mattered. Once they were done the High Council would most likely order them to execute Kim anyway.

Then once the initial banter was done, Crystal gave Kim the first dose. Then because simply sitting and watching was not something she enjoyed, she pulled up the reports in regards to the prisoners the Elite Specialist had caught when they destroyed a number of safe houses in Australia. She did what she always did, placed the live feed of Kim?s vitals along the top of the screen and then pulled up the reports just underneath it. It would give her warning signals if Kim required any form of medical attention.

Crystal went into a mode she often did during surgery or other work that required concentration and incidentally she tuned out the conversation between Kim and Stevens. She focused on deciding what to do with the prisoners as far as interrogations went since she had informed Stevens that modified humans would require different tactics. Crystal sent out orders for each doctor on the ship they were on to scan both humans and Versilan?s alike for their genetic profiles and then send her the information. Crystal started writing up the combination of drugs that would work best for each one based on those profiles as the reports began to filter back to her.

A couple of times she stopped when Kim?s vitals spiked due to the drugs and the pain Stevens was inflicting on her with the disruptor's, but her attention ended up not being needed since Stevens was following her advice and backing off to give Kim time to recover when it was needed.

Then faster than she would have thought possible, the readings indicated that they were done. Kim had reached the limit of what Crystal would allow for the day. And to his credit, Stevens simply agreed to Crystal?s order instead of demanding she use something to wake her up. A moment later security came and unbound Kim?s unconscious body to take her back to her cell.

?[B]Did you learn anything useful?[/B]? Crystal asked Stevens. She smiled a bit when he gave her a startled look.

?[B]Weren?t you paying attention?[/B]? He asked.

Crystal scoffed, ?[B]To her vital signs yes, to what you were saying, no. You know perfectly well I dislike using torture. It?s one thing to monitor the drugs and her tolerance levels, but yet another to expect me to actually pay attention when I have other work to be done.[/B]?

Stevens just shook his head. ?[B]How can you tune out something like that?[/B]?

?[B]Simple, a doctor is well acquainted with tuning out the pain of their patients. You either learn to do so or you can?t be objective about treating them.[/B]? She looked at him through narrowed eyes as if teaching a small child a lesson they should have already learned. ?[B]It?s the same when dealing with the military. You learn to tune things out or else their stupidity is more than one can bear at times.[/B]?

Stevens laughed with amusement. ?[B]Damn if you aren?t blunt! And seeing how the Commodore was such a fool I have to agree with you. Though if its something I can fix, I don?t tune it out. Even stupidity needs to be dealt with. So if you were tuning us out, just what were you doing?[/B]?

Crystal adjusted the holographic display so Stevens could see what she had been doing. ?[B]I?m preparing the data for the prisoners who were caught to be interrogated. Though since most of them are human and the few Versilan?s we caught seem to have no discernible rank, I?m inclined to believe that the information obtained will be pretty useless. And unless you have no objections I intend to send the modified humans to sector fourteen as the data on them will be useful for the research being done.[/B]?

?[B]Consider it done. Once they?ve been briefed I?ll have them sent to sector fourteen. Anything else?[/B]?

?[B]I?ll check later tonight, but if Kim recovers as well as I think she will, then we can begin again tomorrow.[/B]?

Stevens stood up and prepared to leave. ?J[B]ust let me know when she is ready again. As much as I would like to get the information as soon as possible, I have no intention of rushing things.[/B]? He smiled. ?[B]I can wait even though I didn't get anything useful from her today.[/B]?

Crystal sighed once Stevens had left; she quickly finished up one of the reports on one of the captives before closing things down to head back for the Tempest. There really was no reason for her to remain on board the Conqueror now that they were done for the day. [/COLOR]

[Horendithas]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]Even Jared could see as he entered Sandra?s new quarters that she was still furious over what had happened yesterday. She was already dressed in her new uniform of blue and silver styled for one of a Commodore. But what was really surprising to Jared was that she was pacing back and forth muttering under her breath. [I]This can?t be good?[/I]

Then just as suddenly she took a deep breath and turned to face Jared who had been standing there at the entrance for several minutes. In an unconscious gesture of nervousness she reached up with her right hand and smoothed her hair down, and then she motioned for Jared to join her by indicating a seat across from her workstation. Without bothering to explain what had upset her, though Jared knew what had, she sat down and immediately launched into discussing work.

?[B]As you already know Jared the Elite Specialist captured a good number of resistance members when they destroyed the safe houses. So far a fair amount of them came from the base Kim was captured in, and it?s looking like she was the only one of any real importance there.[/B]?

Jared shrugged. ?[B]I?m sure we?ll find the others at one of the other bases.[/B]? He smiled, ?[B]After all the Elite Specialist, Kiva was it? Has proven to be extremely resourceful.[/B]?

Sandra leaned back in her chair, ?[B]True but finding and destroying the transmission relays is bound to take several weeks, something that Stevens and I do not agree on. I feel that our priority should be to locate the bases, but he does not.[/B]?

Jared sighed, ?[B]May I speak freely Sandra?[/B]? Wincing when her expression changed. [I]She really needs to get over her dislike of Stevens [/I]he thought.

?[B]Very well Jared,[/B]? she replied coldly, making him wince, as she had never talked to him in that manner before. ?[B]Say what you feel you must, I will not hold it against you.[/B]?

Jared straightened up in his chair and looked directly at her, focusing on making eye contact to prove he was serious in his intent. ?[B]It?s really simple Sandra, you need to stop letting your dislike of Stevens get in the way. Now before you get angry, stop and think about it. The resistance is obviously contacting other factions and getting information. So long as that line of communication is open it makes it easier for them to be one step ahead of us. Even our daily updates are being hacked and the computer specialist on the Crimson told me that their ability to bounce it around the sector makes it nearly impossible to trace.[/B]?

He paused and watched as Sandra tried to listen instead of getting angry, when she didn?t say anything he continued.

?[B]I know that Stevens is a flirt and enjoys meddling in others affairs, but it doesn?t change the fact that he really does know what he is doing. Candidate or not the High Council would never have approved him if he weren?t good at what he does. And another thing, if you really look at how he behaves I?m sure I?m not the only one who?s noticed how effectively he appears to be incompetent to others. Sleeping around doesn?t mean you can?t think or be a good officer. And the way people underestimate him only proves how clever he really is.[/B]?

?[B]That?s not why I dislike him Jared.[/B]? Sandra said through clenched teeth.

?[B]Then let me be even more blunt, you don?t want to follow through on your obligation to provide a child for the families correct?[/B]? He continued when Sandra said nothing. ?[B]Or is it that Stevens has insisted on actually having you?[/B]? Jared did his best to not smirk at her startled look, which was quickly hidden. ?[B]Honestly Sandra, if that?s all that?s bothering you I can give you something that will make the experience?[I]less memorable[/I]. It?s fairly easy to do you know.[/B]?

?[B]Jared![/B]?

Jared laughed delightedly at Sandra?s expression, he had never seen her blush before and it was rather charming. ?[B]All joking aside, I?m quite serious Sandra. If that?s your only reason for disliking Stevens then sleep with him already![/B]? He smiled at the bewildered look on her face. ?[B]If there?s one thing I do know about Stevens, the more you play hard to get the more he wants you. And besides,[/B]? Jared said mysteriously. ?[B]Stevens is very experienced in that area, unlike some other Council members and Candidates I could mention.[/B]?

?[B]What?s that suppose to mean?[/B]?

Jared sighed dramatically, ?[B]I mean that he is very astute to his partners pleasure as well as his own. Where the others are only interested in what they get out of the experience.[/B]? He sat back and crossed his legs and simply waited for Sandra to put things together. It didn?t take her long and he chuckled when she flushed again.

?[B]But that would mean you have?[/B]? She started to say.

?[B]Exactly, and I must say Sandra, you look rather charming when you blush.[/B]? A statement that resulted in her turning even redder.

She looked away and then turned back to find Jared patiently waiting for her to respond. ?[B]All right, all right! I?ll think about what you said okay?[/B]?

Jared smiled. ?[B]Good, because I?m not interested in being put with a different Commanding officer. Now if you?ll excuse me its time for me to go and pick up Darren and head down to Australia.[/B]?

He waited for Sandra to nod before getting up and leaving. She had a thoughtful look on her face when he left. [I]Finally, she?s starting to think instead of simply reacting?[/I][/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Rachmaninoff]

OOC: Just to let everyone know, per SunfallE's directions I am advancing the story by four days.

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

When Darren had first transported down to Australia with Jared, he had been surprised by how well things were under control. Unlike other areas that were not completely taken over or stripped of the inhabitants, some of those areas were far too dangerous to travel in without a strong military presence. He had not removed the treatment that made his eyes look blue and now that he had been at it for nearly four days he was beginning to wonder if perhaps he should. It was almost embarrassing to be mistaken for a human; he had been getting all sorts of strange things, from outright hatred to others attempting to gain his favor.

Darren stopped what he was doing at the desk in his office in Canberra Australia and turned to look out at the city. If you overlooked the massive construction projects taking place and the troops occupying the city, it was actually very charming in a very old fashioned sense. It was so different from how things looked back in sector one. The style of buildings and construction was something that hadn?t been seen on his world in thousands of years. It was like stepping back into the past.

He turned back to his workstation?[I]now is not the time to be daydreaming fool[/I]? Darren pulled up the reports on the facilities being built. It was all going rather smoothly. Though he suspected that the main reason was the lack of a more prominent resistance presence. Since the Elite Specialist had not only located their base that had been situated underneath the city and destroyed it, things had calmed down. And then once they located and destroyed a number of safe houses and captured a fair number of resistance members, it had pretty much died.

The US and Europe was not faring so well. Who ever was in charge of the resistance here was good, it didn?t seem to matter how many troops they had, they still kept finding ways to sabotage and destroy facilities that were being built. In some areas it was all they could do to maintain control of the area. Darren toggled a key to bring up the current updates and the progress on the hunt for the three humans that were suppose to be on Earth. Nothing had been found and surprisingly, even with the conditions of reuniting families very little in the way of leads was coming in from the humans. He would have thought that they would be quick to turn them in. But so far that was not the case.

Darren paused the update when it came to the part about the woman named Sara. They still did not have an updated picture as to what she looked like and even though he did not care for her he still wasn?t going to tell them that she looked nothing like the picture they were circulating. He wasn?t even sure why he kept it to himself. It was one thing to say nothing to Jared, but to the military? [I]Because if you tell the military idiot they will want to know how you know she looks different.[/I]

Well true, but it was more than that. Her actions the last time they had met puzzled him. The first time she had nearly killed him and seemed to have no trouble hurting him. The next time once he had calmed down, he realized that she had practically tried to shove him out the door. The question?why? [I]Stop thinking about her fool?[/I]

Darren closed the updates, stood up and walked over to the window. [I]I should see if I can find another expert to take over, one who will actually want the position?[/I]But even as he thought it he knew it would not happen. Before he would have been proud to admit that he excelled at what he did, he had even written up the protocols for handling shipping in the Empire when he started his own company. The current method had been so inefficient and wasteful, others had fought the idea at first, but the military had been quick to catch onto how it would benefit not just them but the entire Empire. And though he had refused offers to work for both the Military and the High Council, he still had been pleased to see the changes he suggested becoming standard throughout the Versilan Empire.

It was a pity that the very accomplishment he had been so proud of was being used against him. Though he supposed he couldn?t be to upset, after all, with the incident of being in a restricted sector, if he had not possessed skills that were useful, the military would have executed him. Whether or not it was his fault he was there was irrelevant. He closed his eyes, breathed in deeply and then sighed before heading back to his desk. When he was finished, the first thing he was going to do was go back to his quarters and have a drink. Something that was becoming a habit as of late.

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]Secured within the room just off the Command Center Daniel sent out a transmission to William. Then he waited patiently for him to reply.

?[B]What is it Daniel? What was so important that you couldn?t wait?[/B]?

?[B]Jason and Celestia have figured out how to hack into the fleets system using the updates. It?s the perfect opportunity to take advantage of some of the information you have since they know we hacked the system.[/B]?

William merely raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

?[B]Don?t you get it William? The Empire will think you got the information from us, instead of from some of our more secret agents. Jason and Celestia actually hacked the computer banks of the Conqueror![/B]?

?[B]I see, then I?ll look into it to see if I can set a few things in motion.[/B]? William finally replied.

?[B]If you?re going to act you had better do it quickly, the Catalyst is no longer in orbit around Earth and with the amount of trouble we are giving them I doubt they have left the system. I?m concerned that they have them looking for the relays we set up, if they take those out, it will severely limit our ability to communicate with you.[/B]?

?[B]That would make sense, the specs I gave you for setting up the relays are designed to hide from everything I know about. But the Catalyst is another story. If anyone can find the relays, it will be them.[/B]? William shook his head looking down for a moment and then back at Daniels image on the screen. ?[B]All right, unless I run into any snags I?ll initiate a run. It won?t be as much as I would like but it will create quite a stir.[/B]?

Daniel nodded. ?[B]Good, I?ll keep sending you any new information we manage to get from hacking the system.[/B]? He ended the transmission.

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

Curled up in a blanket on the sofa in his pajamas, Jason was holding his handheld computer and working on a report while Celestia finished changing into her night attire. Lately it seemed like there was nothing good to read. The base in Australia had been destroyed, they had received confirmation that the safe houses had been destroyed and that most of the members in them had been taken. And shortly after they were destroyed the Catalyst had disappeared. Something that had Daniel worried.

Jason had tried hacking further into the system via the updates but he couldn?t get far enough to get any information on the Elite Specialist. He and Celestia had worked on it for days, they had managed to get pretty far, but every time they got near the systems of the Catalyst they had been met with security they couldn?t bypass. Daniel had told them that Specialists had the best equipment in the Empire but he was convinced that given time he and Celestia could hack into it.

Though the last time he had tried he hadn?t even been able to find the ship. And equally as frustrating was his inability to find anything on Kim, though he suspected that was due to the information on her being kept in a handheld computer instead of in the main computer banks of the Conqueror. With a sigh he shut down his handheld computer and set it down.

?[B]What were you looking at Jason?[/B]?

He looked up as Celestia came over and sat down next to him. ?[B]I was reviewing the information we got the last time we hacked the system.[/B]? He shook his head, ?[B]Every time I think we?re in I get blocked. And the last time I couldn?t even find the Catalyst.[/B]?

?[B]Maybe they?ve been called elsewhere?[/B]?

?[B]Daniel doesn?t think so and with all the trouble we?ve been giving them I agree. It just wouldn?t make sense for them to leave if they?ve got better equipment than anything else in the fleet.[/B]?

Celestia chuckled. ?[B]Speaking of trouble, I certainly never expected your sister to be so innovative at causing mischief.[/B]?

Jason smiled. ?[B]She?s always been like that, if one thing doesn?t work she just finds another.[/B]?

?[B]Still to think that she would come up with the idea to combine disruptor technology with a basic gun to increase the destructive power, I?m just surprised by it. It may only be good for a few shots, but giving resistance members the ability to actually rip through the standard body armor worn by the troops has really helped.[/B]?

?[B]I know, and given time she?ll come up with other ideas as well.[/B]? Jason said. ?[B]I?m sure of it.[/B]?

?[B]I know.[/B]? Celestia replied as she ran her right hand up along his chest and moved to kiss him a kiss that didn?t stay innocent for very long.[/COLOR]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[color=darkslateblue]"Contact confirmed," Daego said. "Drone is secured in position and has entered standby mode."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Good," Kiva replied. The [i]Catalyst[/i] was currently within the asteroid belt. Kiva and Daego had been scanning the larger asteroids for a couple days, and now they'd found the first relay station. But they didn't just destroy it. No, they were going to try and make use of it first.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Kiva had come with the idea to use the destruction of the relay facilities to attempt to locate one or both of the remaining Resistance bases. This was possible, but not exactly simple, and even if done perfectly there was a chance that it wouldn't work. But Kiva and Daego were going to do it anyways.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]The signals being relayed were heavily scrambled. However, the destruction of a relay station would cause a temporary degradation in the scrambling as the remaining relays adjusted to its absence. But this degradation would be over too quickly to be made use of. Unless, Daego had said, all of the major relay stations were taken out simultaniously. This would cause a significant disruption, though still a very brief one. But it would be significant enough for signal tracking to be possible during its duration.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]In order to destroy all of the stations simultaniously, Kiva and Daego planned to deploy remote-detonated heavy-duty explosives carried within stealth drones. These drones were designed specifically to avoid detection from even the most advanced sensors. They were virtually undetectable. They were normally used for scouting purposes, but it was possible to store objects within them. Kiva had decided to store explosives in them, then have one attach to each relay station. When Kiva and Daego had finished their sweep and the [i]Catalyst[/i] was back in Earth orbit, they'd send the signal, and the explosives would detonate, destroying the relay stations. They would use the brief window of opportunity this would provide to attempt to locate the remaining bases. It might work, or it might not, but they were going to give it a try.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Okay, what's next on the list?" Kiva asked.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Well... okay, we've actually come far enough around in the belt that it's time to divert back inward to Mars and scan its moons." Since Mars and Earth were not in allignment, the [i]Catalyst[/i] had circled through the asteroid belt, scanning the larger astroids while getting closer to Mars. and now it seemed that it was time to leave the belt temporarily and check Mars's moons.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"We're that far already?" Kiva said. "man, it doesn't seem like it's been that long since we started. All right, then, divert from the belt. Let's go check the moons of Mars."[/color]

[Aaryanna_Mom]

Daniel sat down after ending the transmission with William. For a moment he looked ancient and tired instead of the more youthful man that he really was. He looked at the screen on the console in the small room, the report from Jason and Celestia?s last attempt at hacking still up. He may not have been a programmer, but he knew what they had done was very clever.

The military, especially when a fleet was coordinating operations had a system of updates that the ships used to keep in contact. On a regular basis requests for information were sent to whichever ship was leading the group and based on your security level, a report or rather update was sent back. The network was supposed to be secure and to the best of Daniel?s knowledge it was.

But Jason and Celestia had designed a program that went inside a transmission that looked like a request for an update. Once it was in the system it would appear to fade as if the transmission was lost when instead it would send out several programs designed to gather information and then return to them via the response system. It would go from ship to ship before finally attaching itself to outgoing updates meant for the network on Earth where they would collect the program along with the information in it.

So far it had been extremely useful, they had even managed to get into the systems of the Conqueror, though most of the programs had been detected and stopped. Still some of them had gotten through. The only exception was the Catalyst. Any time Jason tried to program it to go there, the security caught it. They had been working on variations of the program and until the Catalyst disappeared, every single one had failed.

He wondered if the Elite Specialist Kiva had noticed the attempt. Though he would be surprised if she hadn?t. She was too damn good at her job. If she had not been an agent, the fight would have been over already. He would have never known what an Elite Specialist was capable of doing until it was too late. He had been very careful to avoid using any information that could place her position in jeopardy since he knew full well how difficult getting that position must have been. And some of the information she had sent him had amazed him. Even when he had been a Commander he had not had access to some of what she had sent.

But the rest he had been able to use to minimize the damage and continue the fight against the invasion. Without it more than just one base would have been found and destroyed. That and Williams fanatical devotion to keeping things on a need to know basis. Other wise if the information about the bases had been in the computer system, an Elite Specialist who was not an agent would have hacked the system and launched assault teams at the same time on all of the bases within days of them arriving. He had known they were good, but until now he had never really seen it. And it was chilling to realize that the reports of their expertise was not a rumor.

Daniel shut the terminal down. He had already sent out the information for the next wave of attacks. Europe was doing better, but their constant harassment of the troops and construction was going better than he had expected. And so far it looked like the humans had no interest in turning in Jason, Celestia or Sara. A huge percentage of the reports being given to the Empire were actually outright misdirection by people who were furious over what had happened.

He still had an agent keeping an eye on what the Empire got incase a real tip came in. So he could make sure no one was in a city where they had been reported as being seen. He sighed and got up to head for his quarters. If only they could have found information on Kim. Not knowing how she was doing really hurt, something that he had not expected. He kept thinking of the time they had served together on the Tempest, to the time they spent together working on Earth, to the way she would sneak in a kiss on his cheek under the guise of them pretending to be married before the invasion. It had only been a little over a week, but to him it felt like an eternity since she had been taken.

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

Even though they had finished hours ago and brought her back to her cell, Kim still hurt like hell. It hadn?t been so bad at first, but each day it became harder and harder to resist. So far she had managed to say next to nothing by working around the compulsion to tell the truth by actually telling the truth but not all of it. It wasn?t easy, and knowing what was going to happen didn?t help either.

Crystal had been clear on the day she had first been taken to the Tempest. The drug would suppress her own natural ability to produce chemicals to numb the pain; it would be designed to keep her from passing out. And then she had gone on to explain how every day the dose would slowly be increased as her tolerance to it increased. Or even switched to something new to confuse both her body and mind.

Right now Kim wasn?t sure who was more heartless, Crystal and her matter of fact way of explaining what would happen or Stevens for actually following through on it. She had been hit by a disruptor blast before, but the disruptor's for torturing prisoners were different. They weren?t designed to destroy or stun, but to stimulate the nerves on a frequency that was painful. And the drugs given to her by Crystal made sure she felt every single second of it.

Kim chuckled to herself as she shifted on her bed to lie on her back to ease a sensitive spot on her right side. She sighed. At least getting under Steven?s skin was entertaining. Even if he was now the Fleet Admiral it didn?t change the fact that in some areas he was still a fool. And irritating him had become the highlight of her days, even if she was having a hard time remembering them, she was fairly certain only four had passed since he started torturing her, but right now with the hang over from the drugs and pain she couldn?t be sure.

Still if she had her timing correct it had been a week since she had been caught, more than enough time for Daniel to make most of her information useless. Not that she?d quit resisting of course. She had meant it when she said she?d rather die than help someone like him. She resisted the urge to laugh and closed her eyes. Soon Crystal would show up to force nutrients into her to make sure she stayed healthy enough for being interrogated. Moment?s later in spite of the pain, Kim?s exhaustion caught up to her and she fell asleep.

[Horendithas]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]If there was one thing Jared liked about his new quarters on the Creator, it was how spacious they were. He didn?t need the space, but he had always hated smaller rooms that one could barely move around in. The way things were cleverly designed with metal square columns half a foot thick that went from the ceiling to the floor in intervals of a foot apart gave the illusion of an entry way, a separate main room with couches, a separate office and kitchen and dining area, and yet how it still let you see through to the other sections was an effect that he found to his liking.

And now that he had it fitted with carpet since he hated the feel of cold metal when walking barefoot, things were perfect. Well besides the fact that he was alone. He pulled up his feet and turned sideways until he could prop them up on the sofa, because the other thing he liked was having actual windows to the outside. And though the Crimson did have them, they were tiny where the ones on the Creator were literally from the floor to the ceiling for an entire wall of his quarters. Jared briefly set his handheld computer down and turned to his right to look out the window.

It really was an impressive view of Earth even with the pollution and damage to their atmosphere. Though now that they had been there for more than a week, things were already changing. Canada had already been completely evacuated and it?s citizens shipped off world. Something that had become a necessity since the resistance had proven to be rather effective at pinpoint strikes against new construction and facilities. It had taken pulling all of the troops from Canada back into the U.S. to maintain order. And many of the countries in Europe were no better. It didn?t matter though as Stevens had already sent in a request for more troops as a temporary measure until the rest of those who were to be shipped off world had been taken care of.

The chime of an incoming transmission caught his attention and Jared turned back and got up off the sofa and went over to his workstation in the office to answer it. It was Fleet Admiral Stevens.

Jared bowed slightly, ?[B]Admiral.[/B]?

?[B]Jared, I need you to take care of something for me.[/B]?

?[B]And that would be?[/B]?

Stevens grimaced, ?[B]I?m sure I don?t need to tell you that the resistance has become quite a problem, or that Kimberly Spencer has proven to be difficult to get anything from. It?s been a week and yet I?ve gotten next to nothing from her.[/B]?

Jared shrugged, ?[B]I would suppose it?s due to her military training and her being a Versilan,[/B]? he leaned forward a bit, ?[B]But that?s not why you contacted me Admiral is it?[/B]?

?[B]No it is not, but it is why I want you to follow up on some reports that I have received since I am a little short handed at the moment.[/B]? Stevens looked away briefly as he sent the information to Jared. ?[B]This should be fairly easy for you especially since some of it involves areas on Earth that you have already been working at.[/B]?

?[B]I?ll get started on it.[/B]? Jared replied. Then when the transmission had ended he opened up the report to take a look. Most of it was fairly standard, but when another report came up he raised his eyebrow in surprise. [I]Now this should be interesting?[/I][/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]William shut down the transmission with Daniel and then started going though the information he had sent him. If he was going to do what Daniel suggested it had better match what he had gotten. It didn?t take him long to select a few targets that were within immediate reach, but when he got to the information obtained from the Conqueror he changed his mind. He read through it again and then pulled up another report from a different agent to check something, if the timing was right he could do far more than a simple run. A moment later he smiled. Oh this was going to be good. What he wouldn?t give to see Fleet Admiral Stevens expression when he found out. William pulled up yet another screen to start writing up the orders.

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

When Jason joined Celestia in the Command Center she was already hard at work. But instead of working on improving the program for getting information though the updates she had a picture of something he had never seen before up on her screen:

[CENTER][IMG]http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/9268/crystaldp5.jpg[/IMG]
[SIZE=1]Copyright [URL=http://bakenius.deviantart.com/][COLOR=RoyalBlue][U][B]Bakenius@DeviantArt[/B][/U][/COLOR][/URL] [/SIZE][/CENTER]

?[B]What are you looking at?[/B]? He asked as he took his seat next to her.

?[B]This is one of the planets where the crystals are grown,[/B] ? Celestia said. ?[B]William asked me if it was possible grow them in small numbers if he could get his hands on the latest stealth shield technology.[/B]?

?[B]Why would he need a stealth shield?[/B]?

?[B]It has to do with the nature of the crystals, I?m sure you remember that they don?t completely exist in just our universe right??[/B] She continued when Jason nodded indicating that he did remember. ?[B]It?s actually fairly easy to grow them so long as you provide the proper mixture for the shards, but the problem is that since they gain their energy from existing in several dimensions at the same time the distortions are easy to pick up with even the most basic scanner. And too many together with out some form of a shield causes problems.[/B]?

?[B]Which is why transport ships have to separate them with containment fields right?[/B]?

?[B]Exactly, you get too many together and they start to break apart on their own until only so many are left, keep them separated into groups and they do just fine. Usually they are allowed to grow freely since the weakest crystals break apart and only the stronger ones remain. Which is why perfect ones are so expensive, it?s hard to grow them since it takes time to allow them to keep going though the refining process of others growing near them and breaking apart. Since the longer they are exposed to the stress of other crystals the more the imperfect ones are filtered out.

It?s not done a lot because it?s expensive to allow so many crystals to go to waste when perfect ones are only needed for a small fraction of Versilan technology. They only matter for things like food replication or permanent translators since imperfections can make the food useless and in the case of the translator, since it?s right next to your brain it can cause damage.[/B]?

Jason shook his head in confusion, ?[B]I don?t understand, everything we have on the base uses the crystals, why would we need the shielding to grow them? Wouldn?t the shields of the base do the trick?[/B]?

Celestia turned to face him. ?[B]No they wouldn?t. The reason the shields work is because all of the crystals have some form of low level shielding already keeping the distortion down to a minimum. But in order for them to grow properly you have to allow a good number of them to be together, it changes the nature of the distortion, making it more pronounced and even the shielding of the base might not be enough. And since William and Daniel are convinced that the Catalyst is still in this sector, it?s not worth the risk since they have the best scanners and stealth system. It?s possible they would be able to detect it and by doing so find the base.[/B]?

Jason thought about what she had said, ?[B]Okay, that makes sense, so why is he asking if you can even grow them?[/B]?

Celestia turned back to her screen and pulled up another report, one of the conditions required for them to grow. ?[B]The problem is that I need to synthesize the mixture since most of the ingredient are not natural to Earth.[/B]?

?[B]Ah,[/B]? Jason said with a smile, ?[B]I see, but Celestia, won?t it be difficult to copy something like that? I don?t know about you, but that sort of thing is hardly our expertise.[/B]?

?[B]I know, which is why William also sent me more specific information that will tell the scanner what to look for, right now I?m writing up the program to look for what he has specified.[/B]? She replied. ?[B]Once we find the necessary matches the doctor will know how to refine it to help create the growth mixture.[/B]?

?[B]In that case I?ll help you with the program.?[/B] Jason said as he turned his terminal on so Celestia could send him the information she had so far.[/COLOR]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[color=darkslateblue]"That's that," Daego said. "Phobos is clean."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Well, that takes care of both moons, I guess," Kiva said. "Now, before we move on, let's get that scan of Mars."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"I know. I've already got the routine ready. Executing now."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]At first, the scan was finding absolutly nothing. Nothing was picked up until the scan was about 20% complete, but at that point, there was something.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Okay," Daego said, "let's see here... what the fuck? Kiva, you seeing this?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Yes. Yes, I am. That particular effect could only be caused by a class X security field." A class X field was the best sensor shielding there was. There were shields that were stealthier, but when it came to preventing a scan, nothing was as good as a class X field. Not even the [i]Catalyst[/i] could penetrate the field and see what it was hiding. And a class X field was pretty damn ahrd to detect. The [i]Catalyst[/i] wouldn't even have picked up the field without being in Mars orbit.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"What the hell is down there?" Daego wondered. "What could be set up down there that justifies a class X field?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"I have no idea. All I know is that whatever it is, the number one security priority is not avoiding detection. With a class X field, that has to be the number 2 priority, even though class X fields are damn hard to detect. The top priority is clearly preventing anyone from learning just what is down there."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Indeed. What the hell is down there?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"I don't know, but we'll be filled in if it ever becomes necessary. Untill and unless that happens, wat's down there is not our concern. Take us back to our previous location in the belt. Let's get back to work.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"You'd think that I'd be used to these things by now," Kiva said, "but this Resistance branch continues to amaze me. Shit, I'd love to meet the person who thought all of this up."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Shortly after returning to the asteroid belt, the [i]Catalyst[/i] had picked up an unusual signal on an asteroid it was scanning. It was some sort of facility, but not a relay station. A direct scan was able to identify just what the facilty was: the automated control station for the relay station found earlier. The Resistance had seperated the actual relay equipment from the system that controled it, which made both parts much harder to detect. And since each control station could handle a cluster of nearby relay stations, the loss of a couple stations wouldn't be a setback. And a control station was easier to replace by itself than as part of a relay station, making the loss of a control station easier to compensate for.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Looks like there'll be a lot more targets than we anticipated," Daego said. "We won't have enough stealth drones for all of them."
[/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Yeah, but we don't need them for every target. We only need them because in Earth orbit we'll be out of range of the bombs without the drones' superior comm range. If we place explosives on the relay stations and put drones only at the control stations, the drones can relay our signal to the bombs, including the ones within the drones. We'll be able to hit every target simultaniously with the drones we have, and we may still have a couple left over."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"That... yeah, that should work."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Indeed," Kiva said. "You start setting the stealth drones up for the relay. I'm going to try hacking into the control station. If we're lucky, I'll be able to figure out how many relay stations it controls. I'll also try to get the stations' locations, of course, but given how good the Resistance's signal security has been so far, I don't think I'll be able to do that."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]As Daego went to set the drones to relay the destruction signal, Kiva hacked her way into the control station. No matter how hard she looked, she was unable to determine anything about the relay stations, including how many there were. But she did get one thing done. She had composed a brief report for the Resistance, telling them what she was doing. She also suggested a small modification to the signal security that would basically be unnoticable and would have no effect on most things, but that would minimize the disruption caused by the destruction of the relay stations, thus vastly decreasing the chance that the [i]Catalyst[/i] would be able to find either remaining base. One or both might still be located, but the chance would be much smaller with the modification. Kiva's report concluded with the information that something was on Mars, shielded by a class X security field.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Kiva sent the report through the control station to one of the relay stations. From there, it would eventually get sent to one of the Resistance bases, where whoever had been recieving her reports would see it and be able to prepare for what was coming. After sending the report, Kiva pulled out of the control station. Daego had already sent the first prepared drone down to the station, so Kiva set the [i]Catalyst[/i] moving towards the next asteroid to scan, then went to help Daego with the rest of the drones.
[/color]

[Mariskah]

[COLOR=Navy]Sara looked out the window of Glen?s room overlooking part of the city. They had walked there from the fight. Glen walked over and closed the curtains.

?[B]What are you doing?[/B]? He asked. ?[B]You?re making yourself a target.[/B]? He grabbed her arm, pulling Sara away from the window. ?[B]If someone sees you and turns you in?[/B]?

?[B]You?re worrying to much Glen.[/B]? Sara replied flippantly. ?[B]I can?t worry about that anymore. If it happens, then it happens. I?m not exactly defenseless or easy prey to catch. Not anymore.[/B]?

?[B]What do you mean?[/B]? Glen asked. Her attitude surprised and puzzled him. He stared into her eyes briefly before looking away. There was a harsh coldness to her now. He felt like he was talking with a different person and he didn?t like it. ?[B]Where have you been all this time?[/B]?

?[B]Hiding and fighting the Versilans.[/B]? She answered. ?[B]Well, mostly hiding.[/B]? Sara managed a weak smile.

?[B]What exactly did you do to end up with that bounty on you? And how did you manage to do anything to these aliens? I?ve seen people trying to fight them. They?re so much stronger and just brush the attacks aside.[/B]?

Sara walked over to the small couch in the room and sat down, placing her hands in her lap. ?[B]It?s a long story.[/B]? She said. ?[B]I didn?t really do anything to them. They?re after me because of Jason.[/B]?

?[B]That?s another thing. Why is there a bounty for Jason and Celestia? I thought they were dead[/B].? Glen asked before sitting down next to her. He reached for her hands, holding them in his own. They were far more callused then the last time he had seen her.

?[B]No, they?re not. The Versilans kidnapped both of them. They mainly want to capture me to use as leverage against Jason and Celestia since they no longer have them. And because I?.[/B]? Sara paused. She wasn?t ready to talk about Jared with Glen especially since she wasn?t certain he would even go with her. ?[B]That aside, I have been looking for you because I want you to consider being part of a group that?s fighting them[/B].?

?[B]How the hell could I even possibly fight them?[/B]?

?[B]There are,[/B]? she paused. ?[B]Ways you can fight them. Come with me and you?ll learn how you can fight them. There is someone I want you to meet who will explain everything. Please Glen, come and at least listen, for me.[/B]?

Glen let go of her hands, stood up and walked to the window. He took a brief look out. One of the new facilities that house ground troops was in clear view. [I]Fine.[/I] He thought. [I]I?m tired of doing nothing.[/I] He turned back towards Sara.

?[B]Fine. Lets go.[/B]? He started walking towards the door.

?[B]Glen, we won?t be going that way.[/B]? She sent a signal for a transport door to be opened. She smiled at Glens surprise when it opened. ?[B]After you.[/B]?[/COLOR]

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

OCC: Okay Aaryanna_Mom it's all yours. :catgirl:

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR=DarkRed]It had been awhile since Kim had been taken away and Stevens had left. Normally she would leave as well, but she was reviewing the readings of Kim?s vitals now that it had been over a week since Stevens had started on her. She couldn?t be positive without taking the time to do a more complete scan, but it looked like the combination of truth drugs along with the other stuff mixed in was starting to have a very negative effect. Crystal issued the order for Kim to be moved to the Conqueror?s sickbay and then went back to reading some of the final reports in regards to the other prisoners.

She had been compiling the data from the modified humans to look for a pattern in the genetic modification. And when she ran the results it surprised her. Crystal ran it again. There was no mistake; someone besides Nathan was working for the resistance on the Crimson since she had never sent that information to the High Council. Crystal closed the reports and left for the sickbay of the Conqueror. She needed to check something to be sure before she contacted Stevens, and she needed to check Kim as well. It didn?t take her long to get there and Kim was already there, though she was still unconscious.

When the doctor asked if they could be of assistance she smiled and gave them the report she had been working on and asked them to review the genetics of what had been done to the humans and to compare it to another report and to estimate the probability of them matching. He was clearly confused but took the information and retired to his office to do as she asked.

Crystal turned back to Kim who was already on the examination table. With the help of the doctor?s assistant she began the scans, it didn?t take long to confirm her suspicion that the disruptor's and the drugs was affecting Kim?s health. Nor did it take long for her to repair the nerve damage that the interrogation had caused. Then she had Kim moved to a recovery room that could be locked down and then she went to check on the doctor who was reviewing the reports.

?[B]Commander,[/B]? he said with a nod as she entered his office. ?[B]I?m not quite finished but unless you have further information for me, it looks like the data of the genetics match. I?d say there is a 98% chance that the first report is an indication that part of the genetic modification pattern in the second report was indeed used to make the changes to the humans.[/B]?

Crystal nodded. ?[B]That was my assessment as well, do you need to study it further to be certain?[/B]?

?[B]I have only a few pages left to read Commander.[/B]? He replied.

?[B]Then you do not need to as that is merely a summary of the process. What I need you to do next is to see that Kim receives the proper rest she needs, as she will be here for two days. The interrogation has resulted in nerve damage that I have repaired and she will need time for that to set. I have requested some guards to oversee the process since Kim is combat trained and none of you are, once they have arrived I want you to follow these instructions as to her care.[/B]? Crystal handed the doctor a chip with what she wanted done.

?[B]I understand Commander, as soon as they arrive I will see to this immediately.[/B]?

Crystal checked with her handheld to see where Stevens was before leaving sickbay to go and talk with him. It didn?t take long for her to get to the bridge and for Stevens to escort her to the observation room just off the bridge. His expression one of puzzlement as to why she would have come directly to see him.

As soon as the doors closed behind them he spoke. ?[B]What can I do for you Crystal?[/B]?

?[B]It?s simple Stevens. First of all, I?ve moved Kim to sickbay and repaired some nerve damage caused by the disruptor's and the drugs. She will need to rest for two days before you can continue.[/B]? Crystal looked at him sternly as if daring him to object, something that Stevens did not. ?[B]Once she recovers I have a new mixture of drugs to use for the next round, she?s proven to be highly resistant to the last truth serum so I wish to switch to another one along with different modifications that will again keep her body from producing chemicals to dull the pain.[/B]?

?[B]Fair enough,[/B]? Stevens replied, ?[B]I actually have a number of reports to take care of, though I already gave most of them to Jared to take care of.[/B]?

?[B]I have another one for you to take care of Stevens. I?ve been compiling the data on the captured humans who were modified. There is a 98% chance that the process for altering their genetics came directly from the work I did with both Jason and Celestia when they were on board the Crimson. Something that would mean there is a traitor on board the Crimson since Nathan was killed before I started their modification.[/B]?

Stevens frowned a bit before responding, ?[B]Why do you think they had to have used your data?[/B]?

Crystal pulled up her report and showed it to Stevens, ?[B]It has to do with the markers I used, the chances of them matching every single one in the exact same order I did is pretty unlikely when you consider that there are close to a million markers to be made that do not have to be in the same order. For someone to use the same sequence would indicate that they simply used my notes to make the modification since there is billions of possible combinations, so the chance that they would mark all of them in the same order I did is very slim.

Also, other than the notes on my own handheld, the resistance erased the data banks of the Crimson when they rescued Jason, Celestia and Daniel, I never got a chance to send the data to the High Council and since my handheld is always with me, the only time that information could have been stolen would have been between the time I started the modification and before the data banks of the Crimson were erased. Especially since I never got around to sending the information since the Council at the time indicated that they were not going to modify other humans.[/B]?

?[B]I see, I?ll look into it then,[/B]? Stevens replied. ?[B]Anything else?[/B]?

Crystal shook her head negatively. ?[B]No, I?ll let you know when Kim is ready for you to continue.[/B]? She nodded at Stevens before leaving to head back to the Tempest. [/COLOR]

[Aaryanna_Mom]

Daniel was about to finish up for the day since Sara had not returned yet. It was late enough that it was likely she had not found the person she had told him would make a good member of the resistance. Not that it mattered, she was still handling her assignments with a much better frame of mind and calmness even after her initial display of anger upon learning that Kim had been captured. And though she had been bitterly disappointed to learn that there was no plan to rescue Kim, Sara had still continued to gather the necessary reconnaissance information for each U.S. city that he sent her to.

Things had changed so drastically since the invasion, that Daniel had finally turned the smaller side conference room into an office of sorts, there were just to many reports and details to deal with that required secrecy for him to stay out in the main Command Center. Even now he was dealing with a report that had come from the Elite Specialist through their relay system. Confirming his suspicion that they had not left the sector. Unlike others who laughed at Stevens being made the new Fleet Admiral, he knew better.

He had worked with him briefly before he had been assigned his own command and it hadn?t taken long for him to realize that Stevens was very smart. In fact it worried him that Stevens had been put in charge since he was in Daniel?s opinion a bigger threat than the High Council. Charming, charismatic and with a knack of knowing how to find other?s weaknesses, he was someone that shouldn?t be underestimated. Something that the report from the Catalyst confirmed as it was Stevens who had issued the order for them to search for and to destroy the relays.

Though until they found the first control station the Catalyst had not been aware of them being separated from the actual relay equipment. That had actually been Celestia?s idea as she had maintained that it would make the signals even harder to detect. And by doing so it had made it possible to have even more relays as a control station could handle the input from three relays. Taking the initial set up of five relays up to fifteen controlled by five different control stations. It would take the destruction of three control stations to plus at least ten of the relays to take down the system completely. Something that Celestia knew as she and Jason had written the program to accommodate the separation of the control station and the actual relays. The whole system had made their communications not only impossible to trace but to hack into as well.

Daniel sighed, once the Catalyst was done that would end, even Stevens had estimated correctly that they had to have at least five relays, though he couldn?t have know what they had done since as far as Daniel knew separating the equipment had never been done before. He made a note of the data Kiva had sent about the signal security since it had never occurred to him that destroying all of them at once would create a disruption that was traceable, once again it chilled him to realize just how much of a disaster it would have been if someone other than Kiva had been sent to sector thirteen.

Daniel quickly sent the information to William, including the startling discovery of Class X shielding on Mars. There was no telling how long ships using full stealth systems had been coming into sector thirteen to Mars. And even he couldn?t think of a reason for using such an expensive method of shielding. Just what in the world is on Mars? Once again, Daniel was willing to bet that Stevens was behind it. But damn if he still didn?t have a clue as to what he was up to. Still he sent the information to William, he might know what was going on. Then like he always did he deleted the report,after he transferred the details about the modification Kiva had suggested to his handheld first. He had already told William that he intended to tell Jason and Celestia the he had sent the information about improving the system in that manner.

Finally finished, Daniel turned off his workstation, stood up and stretched as a yawn caught up to him. And if not for yet another chime indicating that Sara had returned with the person she was looking for, he would have gone to bed. Instead he headed to the briefing room where Sara had taken this Glen to.

Minutes later he entered the room, and after introducing himself he immediately launched into who he was and why he was on Earth. But more importantly on how if he decided to join he would be modified like Sara so that he could actually be able to fight. Something that he could see puzzled Glen as he finally spoke.

?[B]Modified? Just what do you mean by modified?[/B]? Glen asked Daniel.

Sara snickered, ?[B]I could show him if you want Daniel, I?m sure having his butt kicked by me would be more than enough for an explanation.[/B]?

Daniel just fixed Sara with a stern glance, ?[B]That will not be required Sara,[/B]? he turned back to Glenn. ?[B]Its really simple, we can change your genetics to better match our speed and strength in addition to increasing your lifespan to match ours as my race lives around 300 years.[/B]?

?[B]Three hundred years?[/B]? Glen asked incredulously. ?[B]That?s not possible.[/B]?

Daniel clasped his hands behind his back staying in the same position of standing at the head of the table that both Sara and Glen were sitting at, [I]well this is interesting[/I], he thought. [I]Maybe I should let Sara trounce him.[/I]

?[B]Oh and how do you figure that? You?ve already seen for your own eyes that our technology is vastly superior to yours; even your own race had started to begin mapping the genetics of your people. What makes you think we haven?t already done this?[/B]?

Daniel smiled before continuing, ?[B]How about you undergo the process and see for yourself if I am telling the truth or not?[/B]? He watched as Glen thought about what he said, he could be wrong but he got the impression that Glen had already decided to join.

?[B]What if I change my mind? Won?t that put you at risk since I know the general area of where your base is?[/B]? Glen finally asked.

?[B]What are you talking about? Didn?t Sara tell you? Our transportation technology is nothing like the silly science fiction shows you grew up with. The range is great enough that you could be on Mars or even somewhere deep within your own moon. If you thought we were located in Denver Colorado, you are mistaken.[/B]? Daniel replied.

?[B]All right, I?ll do it then.[/B]?

Daniel turned to Sara, ?[B]For now I want the two of you to get some rest. I?ve already moved the person in the quarters next to yours Sara,[/B]? he tossed her the card key. ?[B]Go ahead and show him where it is and then report to the doctor first thing tomorrow morning.[/B]? He waited for the two of them to leave before heading for his own quarters for the night.