RPG Silver One

[Rachmaninoff]

Other than a couple of brief messages waiting for him from Jared when he woke up after the doctor had finished repairing his wrist, Darren had not seen nor heard from him in nearly three days. Once the doctor fitted him with a small brace that he was required to wear for a few days while the newly rebuilt bone set and gave him a stern lecture about not overdoing it, Darren had returned to his quarters and done what Jared had ordered him to do. To continue working on tracing William and to begin revising the shipping protocols.

A task that was simple since all he had to do was switch to partial voice mode with the computer system instead of using the holographic interface to input everything. Again it wasn't the most exciting work but it was a lot less stressful than other aspects of his work had been. But unfortunately it left him with far too much time to simply think about things. He couldn't get the conversation between him and Jared out of his mind. He felt like a fool, for assuming Jared didn't care about anyone. In fact, he was beginning to question his hatred for the military and the government in general.

Darren looked back at the screen to the console at his desk in his quarters, a quick look at the time showed that he had sat there for nearly half and hour doing absolutely nothing. It was already mid afternoon, he had been so busy he completely forgot to stop for lunch. Disgusted he voiced the command for the computer to save everything and go back into standby mode. He stood up and went over to look out the windows towards Earth.

He looked down at the brace he was still wearing, tomorrow morning he would be required to go and see the doctor again, he had went yesterday but the doctor had decided to keep it on for a few more days. Hopefully it would come off tomorrow. It didn't hurt, but it did feel strange to wear. Darren looked back out the window. His mind shifting to other things.

He had worked diligently to track down Williams, especially after learning that he was a top leader in the resistance and possibly the one who either hacked his clearance in the first place or the one who gave the order. He had also been working on modifying the current protocols to make his method of hiding extremely difficult if not impossible to do. Darren had been thinking about it on his own ever since sector six and finding the first fragmented report on William.

To learn that sector four had also been attacked only made him more determined to not only find him but to improve the system to prevent William from hiding like he had been. Darren caught himself starting to clench his fists in anger. His sister lived in sector four and when he had woken up in sickbay only to find out what had happened he had been furious. And then in addition to the message about what he was required to do from Jared, he had been surprised that there was another one informing him that his sister was fine.

Something that also made him feel guilty for what he had thought about Jared. I[I]'m not very good at reading people, [/I]he thought for the thousandth time. [I]All I've done since this started is make one stupid assumption after another.[/I] He sighed and turned to head into the kitchen to fix something to eat when the chime indicating someone was at his door sounded.

He gave the order for the door to open, admitting Jared, who if Darren was not mistaken as he walked over and glanced at his wrist before back to his face, looked a bit uncomfortable.

Jared walked over to where he was standing and held out a data chip, "[B]I have new orders for you as well as the necessary security clearance you will need for the order on this.[/B]" He waited until Darren reached out and took the data chip before continuing.

"[B]It has been determined that the resistance got their hands on experimental explosives for the attack in sector four. Stevens wants you to look to see if you can find any traces of how they could have been smuggled off of sector one in the shipping records.[/B]"

Darren looked at the chip and then back at Jared, "[B]You realize that in order to completely check the records I would have to have access to what the military does as well.[/B]"

"[B]Exactly, the necessary clearance for military shipping as well as classified loads is on that chip. You may not be a hacker, but our own shipping experts failed to realize that people were operating illegally like William. So Stevens wants to see what you see when you look at the records, especially since you did write the protocols in the first place. Also, if you are going to modify them, knowing how the military operates will help you come up with a more complete program.[/B]"

Darren nodded, thinking of a way to tell Jared he was sorry for thinking he didn't know how to care. He started to speak only to stop when Jared beat him too it, the uncomfortable look returning as he stammered out an apology for damaging his wrist.

Darren looked to the side focusing on the sofa in the room instead of Jared as he replied, "[B]I certainly didn't make it any easier by implying that you don't know how to care for someone,[/B]" he paused and looked back at Jared, "[B]So I'm sorry as well.[/B]"

Jared favored him with a lopsided smile that was one of the first real smiles Darren had ever seen from him.

"[B]You may have been rude and thoughtless Darren, but that doesn't excuse what I did. I'll accept your apology so long as you accept mine.[/B]"

Darren nodded his agreement. "[B]Anything else?[/B]"

Jared shook his head negatively. "[B]No, just let me know how things are going or if you need anything, for now working on the records and the new protocols takes top priority.[/B]" Jared nodded again and then turned and left.

Darren took a moment to put the chip away at his desk and then he went back to the kitchen area to get something to eat. Still surprised that Jared had even apologized for hurting him.

[Aaryanna_Mom]

Kim wanted to go back to sleep, but the person behind the voice from the speaker had other ideas as they returned shortly, ordering her to come with them. Confirming her original thought that the person was indeed a guy when the cell door had opened. Not that it really mattered. She was still stuck in her new cell when it had all been said and done.

And though they were finished, for now, she wasn?t sure what to think. It kept bugging her that he had looked so familiar. And yet she was sure that he was not someone she had served with before. Kim had really thought she was on her way to sector one, but when he had run her though [I]yet another [/I]interrogation session she wasn?t sure anymore.

At first Kim had thought they were going to break her for Stevens, but when they had displayed an image of Sako Alkalero and Kajo Flenke she had been surprised, something that he had quickly picked up on as an indication that she knew them. Though she didn?t really know them, they were among the best of Daniel?s agents here on Earth, so it would probably be more accurate to say she knew of them. And unless Daniel had changed things they were stationed at the base in Europe.

Kim choked back a sob; frustrated that her stubbornness had lead to her deliberately answering the questions she had been asked as unhelpfully as possible and merely prolonging the interrogation. Her father use to tease her about her obstinate streak when he was still alive, but it was what had made her a good officer, she never gave up. Though now she was so exhausted and tired that she wondered why she hadn?t given up. [I]I must be a glutton for punishment,[/I] she thought a bit hysterically.

But after they had gotten what little information about Sako Alkalero and Kajo Flenke that she knew, they had started asking other questions. Ones designed to get a bit further into how the chain of command worked in a resistance cell. Stevens had asked the same questions, but he had not probed as deeply as this man did. Like the question about the resistance taking prisoners, Stevens had been satisfied with the response that they don?t and that if someone got in the way they were released.

But this person was not satisfied and had insisted on knowing what would be done if the need did occur. Prying out of her that they would be kept in a safe house. And they had pried about other procedures, nitpicking details for further clarification. Information that Stevens had not gotten as she had not volunteered any information beyond the initial questions she had been asked.

Kim found it disturbing since she had thought that Stevens was quite through in his interrogation, but this man was even more so. That was when it finally hit her. When the assault team that infiltrated the base in Australia had first captured her, there had been two members with combat armor that was vastly superior to the rest of the team. Something that standard assault teams didn?t have. She had thought at the time that one of them had to be the Elite Specialist as armor such as they had been wearing was far too expensive for an assault team.

[I]Does that mean I'm on the Catalyst?[/I] Kim also remembered that there had been a tall woman using an ML-SS.7 with him. If she remembered correctly, the messenger ships used by Elite Specialist?s had enough room for a crew of two to support the Specialist, if she was right, that meant one of them was the Elite Specialist. And that would mean that Stevens had not been lying. It would mean he handed her over to the Specialist. It would certainly explain why he had paid more attention to the fine details of her answers.

This time she couldn?t stop the tears, Kim had thought the interrogations were finally over. But if what she suspected was true, what the man had said was right, she would be here for quite some time. Kim closed her eyes, tired of the same view of the gray featureless walls of her cell. Or as in this case since she was lying on her back on the bed, the gray ceiling.

[CENTER]-----------------------------------[/CENTER]
Daniel smiled at the information contained on the data chip Celestia had brought to him a while ago. Even if they couldn?t get the rest of what was on Commander Crystal?s hand held computer. What they had got was quite useful. He had broken it down in to segments and was sending it in random intervals to William. It would take a while since there was a lot of information. But it was worth it. It didn?t quite confirm all of their suspicions about the research in sector fourteen, but it did have a lot that they hadn?t known. The more Daniel read the more he wished they could get Crystal to join the resistance.

But he knew she never would. Crystal was too practical, to stubborn. And with good reason too. She was very accomplished in her field of genetics as well as her work with the enslaved races. At a young age she had decided that the High Council members were fools for not providing as good an environment as possible for the enslaved races and she had then gone on to prove it. Resulting in better medical facilities being built throughout the Empire as well as the approval of recreation days for all slaves.

But that wasn?t all; she had also diligently worked to improve medicine and treatment for their people as well. An accomplishment that had resulted in her being recruited to work for the military as the High Council wanted her to eventually replace the current genetics specialist working for them. He was due to retire within the next thirty years so they had placed her first on a medical ship and then eventually she ended up serving as the Commander for the Tempest.

He sighed, no, she would not change, Crystal was not the first person he knew of who took the inner path to change instead of the more drastic one that he had. And he hated holding her prisoner since even though she followed the military?s orders; he still respected her for all that she had done.

Daniel closed the files and moved back to the other ones on the disruptions they had been creating. Causing him to smile yet again. Ever since Sara?s friend Glenn had finally finished with his modifications, they had made an excellent team. He had a bit more reserved temperament as well as being a bit more skilled, where she was more of a spitfire. It was a combination that worked and the two of them followed orders quite well.

And speaking of orders, he pulled up a new list of targets for them, ones that were a little harder than the last ones. Destroying bridges, power plants and roads had turned out to be very effective as now the military was pulling all troops back into the more populated areas, leaving those in the country to fend for themselves. It was a pity that William had informed him that the High Council had agreed to call in the reserves for the Empire and send emergency reinforcements to Earth. At this rate he could have briefly broken their hold on huge sections of the US. Still, he was doing better than even William had expected. A thought that just made him smile even more.

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR=DarkRed]Crystal couldn't help but sigh yet again. It had been nearly six days since she had been brought to the home and other than to learn that her abductors first names were Sako and Kajo, she had learned nothing else. Sako, the tall one, was the one she saw the most as he seemed determined to prove his point that she was naive. Any other time she would have enjoyed the debate since every time they bantered he would go and read up on what she said and then return and counter it. It actually was rather interesting that instead of the usual you're wrong and I'm right mentality he actually listened to what she had to say.

She remembered when he had returned after the first time he had called her naive. It was at that point that Crystal realized he had taken the time to actually read up on what she had done. It really was a pity that he was a member of the resistance since getting deeper into the whys and why not of genetic enhancement of the lesser races was not a decision to take lightly. Nor was the one to simply free all of them either. And discussing the finer points was something she enjoyed.

Crystal already had her own ideas on that and since it was between her and the High Council she was not about to discuss it with a resistance member. The research in sector fourteen was classified not something she could openly discuss with just anyone.

Kajo was more quiet and she had only seen him twice since this whole thing started. Each time it had been to bring her more material for reading and taking back those that she had finished. Crystal had not even bothered to try and talk to him. She knew perfectly well that people's perspectives were distorted and that any relationship between a prisoner and their captor was unhealthy. Even her discussing things with Sako was something she would have to be careful about. It was obvious to her that he was subtly trying to get her to see the '[I]error'[/I] of her ways.

She knew all about the problems of prisoners sympathizing with their captors. As a doctor, even though it was not her field, she had briefly covered how profound an effect that could have on a person. And Crystal knew she would be foolish to think that it would be any different for her. Besides, she knew about it from dealing with the races that were enslaved. She had not been lying when she had told him about how there were many of them who were happy.

Like the beaten, starved and tortured children she had dealt with when the invasion had first begun. Or some of the more destitute and poor from other sections of Earth. Crystal actually did not agree with what the High Council did, but she had been smart enough to realize that you could make changes without resorting to the drastic measures that the resistance did. By foolishly making a stand all they did was make themselves targets where she had actually made a difference. And she would continue to do so, in her own way.

Crystal set the book she had been reading down and stood up and stretched. There wasn't a lot of room with the bed to the right of the window and a small dresser to the left. The drawers filled with different types of sleeping clothing as well as regular clothes. But other than one day where she had used the soap in the restroom to wash her uniform and let it dry, she always put it right back on as she had no intention of becoming '[I]use'[/I] to the clothing they had provided. And so long as she was here, she would continue to wash it every couple of days and put it right back on.

She looked over to the small table at the end of her bed, with barely enough room for it to fit between the end of the bed and the wall. And then just past the table was the door to the rest of the place she was in. The other wall where the door to the restroom was had nothing on it and barely provided enough floor space for her to do stretching exercises every day.

Even the small restroom was just big enough for the necessary amenities and a small shower stall. Crystal wondered if they had converted an already existing home since she had seen signs of them simply coating the existing plain white walls with the substance that was similar to that of the ships. Though the door to the restroom was a simple drape of cloth and the door to the main room opened from the other side, leaving her with nothing that could be pried to possibly open it. Not even a handle as doors on this world were known to have.

Crystal finished stretching and sat back down, watching the flowers and the grass of the meadow move from the wind. It was interesting to watch since she was use to the plain gray walls of a spaceship, but it had reached the point where she was finding it boring, as well as the materials they had brought for her to read. It was frustrating to not have access to all the medical updates since she liked being able to look up references and make notes on things that could be useful. It was irritating when she would instinctively think of pulling up other information only to realize that she could not.

Calmly she picked up the book she had been reading, even if she could not check and make references like she was use to, the information was still useful and she would be foolish to not take advantage of it. [/COLOR]

[Horendithas]

[B]OOC:[/B] Just a quick note everyone, it has now been ten days since Crystal was kidnapped and the attack in Sector four happened.

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed][CENTER]-------------------------------------[/CENTER]

Sandra had just returned to the Creator from dealing with the remains of the US government on Earth. Though she had successfully gotten them to take their role in restoring peace in the more remote areas more seriously, she would be glad to finally end any form of self regulating as far as law went. She could hardly wait for the reinforcements to arrive in just four days. Until the resistance presence was dealt with, allowing them to be more involved just wasn't going to be possible like it had when other worlds had been taken over.

The method in how they were destroying bridges, power plants and just about anything that was still being used until things could be converted was very disruptive. And what made it even more annoying was that they were doing it with the very supplies they had stolen from the troop encampments. Forcing them to install better shielding and better security to prevent it from happening again.

But Daniel was clever, he never stayed with the same tactics for long, switching before a pattern of attacks would emerge. Cautiously avoiding civilian causalities making it even harder as the leads they got usually were no good.

Sandra paused as the doors to the bridge opened to admit her, Jared was sitting at his spot taking care of his own duties and other than to nod in his direction she immediately headed for the observation/conference room just off the bridge. Sitting down at the table once the doors shut and sending out a request to talk to her father. Not that she wanted to but because he had requested that she contact him the moment she returned from Earth.

Sandra waited patiently for a response since she knew it would not be simple for her father to answer immediately. But in less than a minute he did.

"[B]Sandra, I need you to take care of something for me.[/B]" He said, not bothering with small talk.

"[B]What would that be father?[/B]"

"[B]It has to do with your betrothal to Stevens and being selected as a candidate.[/B]"

Sandra scowled, "[B]Get to the point father.[/B]"

"[B]It's simple, it's come to my attention that you have neglected to provide the donation of your 'genetic' material to be held in storage should something happen to you. Regardless of whether or not the two of you end up together once you both start serving on the High Council,[/B]" Her father paused then continued in a much colder tone of voice. "[B]You are required by law to do so within a month of the announcement that you are a candidate. And it has been nearly six months since that happened.[/B]"

"[B]You already know how I feel about Stevens father, that has not changed.[/B]" Sandra said angrily.

"[B]Just as you know that it is required of all candidates to do this regardless of who they are paired with. You are conveniently forgetting that Stevens was not matched to anyone for the first couple of years he was chosen and yet he made sure to take care of the matter within a week of being chosen as a candidate.[/B]" He countered.

Sandra just glared at her father, furious that he had brought it up. She did not want to donate the necessary material. She did not want a child between her and Stevens, even if it was done through genetics and someone else carried the child. Why couldn't her father understand this and pair her with someone else? Why Stevens?

"[B]I am well aware of that father,[/B]" she spat. "[B]Just as I am aware of your refusal to match me with someone else.[/B]" Sandra gripped the chair she was sitting in tightly, doing her best to keep her temper under control.

Her father sighed sadly, "[B]You just don't get it do you? Stevens family and ours is the best choice to keep things balanced, something that everyone but you can see.[/B]" He shook his head, "[B]I can't protect you from yourself. And I can't change the arrangement since no one wants to change it.[/B]"

"[B]I don't believe you.[/B]" Sandra replied with barely suppressed fury.

"[B]That's too bad, because you have one week to comply or else you will be stripped of your command and shipped back to sector one in restraints.[/B]" He ignored Sandra's look of disbelief. "[B]We are tired of your childish attitude and will not tolerate it any more. I had thought that you had come to your senses when you started backing Stevens suggestions, but this?[/B]" He just shook his head again. "[B]If you don't fix this and start showing Stevens the proper respect his position demands, then you will have no one to blame but yourself.[/B]"

Sandra started to reply to protest what her father was saying but he cut her off.

"[B]No more arguing Sandra! Either you take care of this at once! Or else once we are done stripping you of your rank and privilege as a candidate for a position on the High Council, I will personally ship you right back to Stevens as his personal slave![/B]" Her father said angrily before terminating the connection. Ignoring Sandra's look of disbelief and shock.

She sat there for several minutes stunned by what her father had said, going from being furious to shocked and back again. Sandra had never seen her father angry like that before. [I]Jared was right.[/I] She finally thought. [I]I need to get over my dislike of Stevens or at least hide it better. [/I]

Sandra got up and left the observation room, ignoring everyone on the bridge, not trusting herself to talk to anyone, still upset over what her father had said. Tomorrow she would go down to sickbay and have the procedure done. And then she would make sure to keep her opinion of him to herself.

She managed to remain outwardly calm until she got to her quarters but once she was inside, her language and resulting temper tantrum was anything but ladylike. And it didn't help that she knew Stevens was seeing Jared. A thought that made her pause, wondering why that should matter. She concluded by stomping her feet childishly before heading over and fixing herself something to drink. [I]Why do I even care?[/I] She thought. [I]Jared doesn't like women, Stevens is just a huge flirt. So why do I loathe him so much? [/I] It didn't make sense. [I]It's because you're attracted to Jared,[/I] the other side of her whispered.

[I]Am I?[/I] She wondered, [I]actually jealous?...[B]No![/B] [/I]Sandra asserted forcefully. [I]I'm not the type to like someone who doesn't even like women.[/I] But though her mind was silent she could tell that the thought was not going to go away that quickly. She downed her drink and got up to fix another one.

"[B]I am not Jealous[/B]!" Sandra said defiantly.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[color=darkslateblue]It had taken a while, but Kiva and Daego had managed to locate Kajo Flenke, on of Crystal's abductors. The two both worked in the London area, which had been relatively easy to determine. However, their exact location had been harder to get. Kiva and Daego had been going from safe house to safe house, getting what information they could, usually from handheld computers. But thanks to the Resistance's caution, each handheld contained only what its owner needed to know. Kiva and Daego were able to get the locations of more safe houses, which they went to in hopes of getting more information. This had continued for a while, but eventually they'd recovered a handheld with Kajo's location.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Kajo didn't seem to be at the safe house where Crystal was. However, there did seem to be times when he left his safe house to go somewhere else. It was possible that he was going to Crystal's location, so he could very well know where that was. So Kiva and Daego had targeted the safe house he was at.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]When the [i]Catalyst[/i] was in position over the safe house, Kiva and Daego transported down to the surface and moved quickly. Daego blew down the door, and he and Kiva ran in. There weren't too many people in the safe house. Those who were there tried to resist, but they didn't do very well.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]It wasn't long before Kiva and Daego found Kajo. He had his handheld out and was doing something with it. Kiva knew that he had to be running a deletion routine, so she acted quickly. She stunned him, then ran over and grabbed his handheld. As she'd guessed, there was a deletion routine running. She cancelled the routine. Some information had been lost, but hopefully there was still something useful on the handheld.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Well, here's some good news," Kiva said as she examined the handheld. "Since he was using this thing, I don't even have to hack my way into it. Let's see here... okay, looks like there's some encryption on this thing still, but some of the content's already open, including Crystal's location."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Good," Daego said. "Shall we go, then?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Yes. We'll take Kajo with us and hand him over the Stevens when re return to orbit Now let's go. I think Crystal's been in the Resistance's hands for far too long."[/color]

[Rachmaninoff]

It had taken a while, but Darren had finally managed to trace the records of how the Resistance had gotten their hands on the experimental explosives. It hadn't been easy and it had required getting assistance from one of the computer specialists on the Creator to write a routine to filter the information he got to look only for a few things. However at the same time, the clearance he had gotten from Stevens had made things a lot easier since any request he sent for data no matter where it was in the Empire, was given top priority. No waiting for days to get the information, all requests were handled within a few hours.

It had made a job that could have potentially taken months down to less than a week since he didn't have to wait very long for the information. Ironically the solution to the problem was what he had wanted to do in the first place, but the necessary computer time, space and available processing power just didn't exist on that level. But that had been nearly thirty years ago. Things had changed since then and most of the older computers had long since been replaced. Now it would be easy to do what he wished, which was why he had needed a computer specialist, not only for the routine to look for information, but to rewrite the current program to change how often updates were done.

After receiving the go ahead from the High Council they had put the new system in place for sector six and four, testing it to see how it worked. And so far for the past few days it had worked beautifully. Now things were updated every thirty minutes instead of every twelve hours and any fragmented report was immediately checked into and verified. The military had already caught a number of smugglers using similar tactics that William had. It was a pity they hadn't actually caught William though.

Darren finished looking though the report on how the new system was doing before putting his computer in his quarters on standby. If he had known that the computers for the shipping outposts and for storing the data had been updated in the last five years, he would have already requested the change regardless of what had happened with him being caught in the mess regarding Earth.

If there was one thing that irritated him more than anything, it was people like his father. When he had realized what he had done to the employees of his shipping company Darren had been furious. It had taken him several years to repair the damage and in doing so he decided to make it harder for losers like him to ever do it again, prompting him to send the proposal to the High Council in the first place. And then when it was finally done, he hadn't felt sorry for any of the merchants who got in trouble. If they hadn't been such lousy no good losers in the first place, they wouldn't have gotten in trouble.

His only regret was that he would be required to take credit for what he had done. Something that Darren was not looking forward too. Especially since now that sector six and four was working on the new system, arrangements had been made and within a few weeks everything in the Versilan Empire would be switched over, even the military would have some modifications made as well.

Especially since tracking down the explosives had lead to military personal in sector one who had been illegally selling the stuff on the black market. Though that had lead to a dead end as those responsible for stealing it had already been dealt with. They had been caught by a Kiva Salqarian, who was the Elite Specialist working here at Earth. That had made things easier since the trail he had been following backwards from William to where they had been stolen, had lead to the report where she had exposed them to the High Council.

Some of the stuff former Elite Commander Hays, Ryan and Jennifer had sold on the black market had not been found just yet. Once it was shipped off of sector one things would have been done behind closed doors, so Darren doubted any more information would be found. At least the source had already been dealt with.

Darren shifted and put his feet up on his desk, lounging back in his chair. Now that the new shipping protocols were being put in place there wasn't much for him to do. Until the reinforcements arrived in a few days, things had been to chaotic on Earth for him to work in the UK. And Australia didn't have anything that needed to be done. And Jared didn't have anything else for him to do.

Tomorrow would be different though. Tomorrow the High Council would be officially announcing the new shipping protocols and naming him as the creator from the beginning and as the new expert for the High Council. A position that usually required one to actually work in sector one in the city where the High Council was located. Something that annoyed the hell out of him. It had been intimidating facing them in the observation room on the Creator the other day as he had talked to them, but his stubborn streak had reasserted itself. Darren was not going to work in sector one. And after a while of insisting they had finally agreed that once Earth was taken care of he could return to working as a merchant, that they would put him on what was known as a field operative status.

Another thing that just annoyed the hell out of him. Darren had actually been feeling like his anger towards the military and the government was misplaced after what happened with Jared, but the way the High Council was virtually deciding that he worked for them whether or not he liked it had just made him furious all over again. Making him feel like an idiot for questioning his feelings towards them.

Even though Jared had been a hell of a lot nicer lately, it didn't change the fact that he was still a sick bastard in other areas or that the damn military and the High Council had no problems making your decisions for you. Darren got up and went into the kitchen area to fix himself a drink.

No, things had not changed, all that had happened is the so called '[I]work for the military for a few months[/I]' that this thing had started out as, had turned into them making sure he was stuck working for them for life. A thought that had him wanting to scream with frustration.

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]Fleet Admiral Stevens was standing in the observation room just off the bridge of the Conqueror, the door locked and secured as well as the transmission before him. One of the entire High Council. Stevens waited patiently for them to speak first. Though he knew why they had requested this conference.

"[B]Stevens, we have read your report in regards to the project at Mars. Your initial estimate of only two months has extended into six. Explain this.[/B]" One of the members said.

"[B]It's simple, as the reports I have been sending you,[/B]" Stevens stressed the word [I]sending[/I], "[B]show, the new process that was tested was worked into the project, requiring additional testing to work out any bugs.[/B]" He paused and then when the High Council did not respond he continued.

"[B]For something of this nature, rushing things and running the risk of destroying years of research and development was a risk I felt was irresponsible and unacceptable.[/B]"

"[B]Stevens, we understand that already, what we want you to explain is why there is still no set date for when you will be finished. We accepted your reasoning for moving the project to the facility on Mars since valuable information was being leaked from sector one. But we feel that it is time to hand the project over to Kiva and let her finish it by virtue of testing the project in the field.[/B]"

Stevens shook his head negatively, "[B]I understand why you would wish me to do so, but in the past four months three major issues were found, issues that would have been an unnecessary problem for Kiva or any Elite Specialist had we simply handed it over to them. Please be a little more patient, everything in the last month has passed the tests perfectly, the remaining few weeks are merely a formality as those running the project do not foresee any further problems.[/B]"

"[B]If they do not see any problems, then why wait?[/B]" The Council questioned.

"[B]Because the final tests are to get the project ready for field and combat use. Something that would be a waste of valuable time that Kiva could spend working on something else. Would you have me waste her talents on simple testing that can be done by someone else?[/B]" Stevens challenged the Council.

Stevens continued, "[B]I realize that I have not given a set date, because there is still the slight possibility that something else could turn up.[/B]"

"[B]Very well Stevens we will wait on the final testing, but once it is done you are to hand the project over to Kiva immediately.[/B]" The Council said. "[B]Also what is the status of the other project?[/B]"

Stevens smiled, "[B]That's the beauty of it, by holding back the project and incorporating the other one into it's construction, it too has been tested at the same time, under conditions far more demanding than normal testing. Making it clear that the new process works. Once the other project is finished we will be able to begin the process of phasing out the old method with the new one.[/B]"

"[B]Excellent, inform us the moment the project is ready for you to hand it over to Kiva.[/B]" The Council responded.

"[B]I will.[/B]" Stevens replied, bowing towards them and then waiting for the transmission to end. It was rather ironic that the High Council had contacted him in regards to the project at Mars. He was even more impatient than they were to finally unveil it. He had been disappointed when he first arrived at Earth to learn that it was not quite ready.

Stevens went back over to the desk in the observation room and unlocked the main door as he pulled up the information on the project. Smiling as he read through the information on it. The resistance had been quite a problem since they had arrived here and if things went like he thought they would, the new project would help put an end to it. A thought that just made him smile even more. He would put an end to the foolish resistance cell on Earth and drag each and every one of those the council wanted captured back to sector one in chains. It was a moment he was looking forward to.[/COLOR]

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR=DarkRed]Crystal took a moment to place a piece of paper in the spot where she was reading the latest materials Kajo had brought her the other day. Setting it on the dresser next to the window. Turning her attention to the view outside. This morning had been the beginning of the twelfth day since she had been brought here. Crystal had hoped that by now she would have either been found or released, but it seemed that for now she was still stuck in this room.

Though she rarely saw Kajo, the other one Sako always showed up every evening to check on her and to give Crystal her dinner along with the necessary stuff for both of the earlier meals in the day. If he had time he would bring up points to discuss, if not, he would politely inquire if she needed anything and then leave. She was beginning to suspect that she was the only one here since other than when one of the two arrived, the place was silent.

Which was probably why they had given her rations, in case one of them did not make it back to check on her for one of the days. Crystal glanced at the clock on the wall by the door it was almost time for Sako to arrive a fact that was reinforced by the sound of a door opening and then footsteps as they came up a flight of stairs. A moment later a knock at the door indicated that someone was about to open the door. She did not bother to stand up as Sako opened the door and came in with the usual stuff for her.

?[B]Please just set it on the table and leave.[/B]? Crystal requested.

Sako did as she asked, ?[B]Is something troubling you?[/B]?

?[B]I am not interested in discussing things with you Sako, please, just leave.[/B]?

?[B]Very well Commander. Though I will be here for a while so please call out if you need anything before I go.[/B]? Sako then left and closed the door behind him.

Crystal turned from looking out the window to glance at what Sako had left on the table. She was not hungry and she ignored it in favor of picking up the book she had been reading. Ignoring the sound of footsteps as Sako went back down the stairs, but then she paused at the sound of a commotion, one that sounded as if someone was breaking things in part of the house.

Then the unmistakable sound of disruptor fire could be heard. [I]Just what in the world is going on? Is someone finally here to free me?[/I] Crystal stood up, turning to face the door as the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs was heard. Then a moment later the door opened, revealing yet another Versilan wearing light combat armor.

?[B]Commander Crystal,[/B]? He said, ?[B]I?m here to free you. Please come with me.[/B]?

?[B]And you are?[/B]? Crystal asked.

?[B]Daego Kelse,[/B]? Daego replied. ?[B]I?m here on behalf of the High Council to retrieve you.[/B]?

?[B]I see,[/B]? Crystal replied. ?[B]You?re the one working with the Elite Specialist Kiva.[/B]?

?[B]Correct. Now if you?ll come with me I?ll transport you back to the Tempest, but to do that you?ll need to be outside this building as the stuff used to build this place won?t allow a transport door to be opened.[/B]? He turned and left once Crystal started to follow him.

She followed him back down the stairs into the front room of the building where another person was there, wearing the same combat armor that Daego was. The front door of the building had been blown open and Sako was lying on the floor, Crystal couldn't tell if he was unconscious or dead from where she was standing. The woman looked up from the hand held computer she had taken from Sako when Daego and Crystal entered the room.

"[B]Ah, excellent[/B]," Kiva said, looking up from the handheld. "[B]So she was here. Greetings, Commander Crystal. As you've probably figured out by now, I am Kiva Salqarian. I'm sorry it took us so long to find you, but the Resistance has proven to be extremely capable.[/B]"

Crystal then spoke with both Kiva and Daego for several minutes, as well as explaining that her hand held had been taken from her. Then a few minutes later they were finished something Kiva indicated when she spoke again.

"[B]Good,[/B]" Kiva said. "[B]Now, if you?ll just follow Daego outside, he?ll see that you're returned to the Tempest.[/B]"

Crystal just nodded and followed Daego outside waiting patiently while he called the Tempest and requested a transport door for her. Then when it was open she turned briefly to speak to him before entering it.

?[B]Thank you Daego, be sure to give my thanks to Kiva as well.[/B]? She said.

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

Crystal turned and walked though the transport door sighing with relief. She would first take a moment to send a message to Stevens and then she would go and get cleaned up before transporting over to the Conqueror. [/COLOR]

[Aaryanna_Mom]

[B]OOC:[/B] Just to be clear, this is the same afternoon that Crystal is rescued, before Sako showed up at the safe house where she is being held.

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

It had been well over a week since Daniel gave both Jason and Celestia the hand held computer they had taken from Crystal. Both of them had done an excellent job in hacking into it but they still had not managed to get into everything. Every couple of days they would try again, obtain some more information and then be forced to quit in order to re-write the routine. It was rather annoying and yet surprising that there was so much security for it. And based on what Celestia had said, any attempt to force the information would trigger an unstoppable program that would erase everything. Still they were close, Celestia had told him that morning that she was certain that the next level of security was the last. Daniel only hoped that was true.

A chime indicating there was a message for him sounded and he opened up the communication to see that it was the officer running the base in the UK.

"[B]Daniel, as you already know the military has been finding and seizing our agents in the safe houses we had set up over here. What do you want us to do? We've been limiting the information each agent has but who ever is working on it keeps finding another safe house anyway.[/B]"

"[B]They haven't found the one Commander Crystal is in have they?[/B]" He asked.

The officer shook his head negatively. "[B]No, the last report I got indicated that she is still there. I've kept her there alone to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to its location. Sako will be checking up on her later this evening.[/B]"

Daniel thought about it for a moment. "[B]If you are having that much trouble, start moving all agents to the secondary safe houses. The ones that aren't in the system yet. Once you've done that place a watch on the other ones to see just who is raiding the safe houses.[/B]"

"[B]All right. Did you want me to continue with the current targets? Or can I broaden our reach to include other countries? Right now the military presence in the UK is pretty damn tight, making it hard to hit anything. If I move the operations elsewhere I think we have a better chance of being successful.[/B]"

"[B]What did you have in mind?[/B]" Daniel asked.

"[B]I was thinking of hitting the smaller troop encampments in other countries like Germany, Switzerland, places like that. Our activity in those areas has been pretty sketchy at best so I'm thinking they would not be prepared for it.[/B]"

Daniel nodded. "[B]So long as you still hit the targets I assigned you, feel free to add on extra ones.[/B]"

"[B]Understood sir.[/B]"

Once the communication ended Daniel got up and left the side room to join Celestia and Jason who were working side by side. He walked over and peered over their shoulders. It made little sense to him, but they seemed to understand what was on the screen.

Celestia turned to face him. "[B]Can I help you father?[/B]" She said with a smile as she looked up at him.

"[B]No, I was just going to go and grab a bit to eat.[/B]"

Celestia paused what she was working on and stood up. "[B]How about we join you then? Jason and I could use a break.[/B]"

Jason stood up as well turning to face Daniel. "[B]Sounds good to me.[/B]

"[B]Lets go then.[/B]" Daniel said with a smile. It had been a while since the three of them had a chance to simply sit down together for lunch. Lately he had been so busy that he had just snatched something and taken it with him to eat while working on reports. It would be nice to have someone to chat with for a change.

Daniel had been meaning to talk with both Jason and Celestia to see how they were doing. They had seemed more relaxed after their break at the mountain safe house, but it wouldn't hurt to make sure. He made a note to himself as they walked down the corridor to check with the doctor and find out if sending them away was something he needed to do on a regular basis. Especially since Celestia seemed to be more relaxed and at ease. Well as much as anyone could be considering the situation.

Then as they entered the mess hall he shooed them towards a table and headed over to where the food was to get something for all of them. Stifling a groan when he saw that once again today's menu would be plain sandwiches. [I]Maybe I should check into having more variety in the food here[/I] he thought. [I]I am sick of sandwiches.[/I] He sighed as he picked up a plate and got enough for all of them. Then he went over to join them at the table they had sat down at.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[color=darkslateblue]"We're in position," Daego said. "Ready to go."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Good," Kiva said. The [i]Catalyst[/i] was above the safe house where Kajo's handheld had indicated Crystal was being held. Kiva and Daego were not wearing full combat armor, unlike they were when attacking the base in Australia. Like at the safe house Kajo'd been at, there wasn't likely to be too much resistance. And the Specialists' light combat armor was still far superior to the millitary's armor.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]As with the previous safe house, Kiva and Daego moved immediately after transporting down to the surface. Daego blew up the door, and Kiva ran inside, stunning the only person she saw, who she then recognized as Sako. Daego came in right behind her.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Sako's here," Kiva said. "That's probably a good sign. Daego, look for Crystal. I'm going to check Sako's handheld here."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Got it," Daego said. He went upstairs, and before long he had returned with Crystal.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Ah, excellent," Kiva said, looking up from the handheld. "So she was here. Greetings, Commander Crystal. As you've probably figured out by now, I am Kiva Salqarian. I'm sorry it took us so long to find you, but the Resistance has prooven to be extremely capable."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Yes," Crystal said. She noticed Sako, and said, "Is he dead?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"You mean Sako?" Daego replied. "No, Kiva just stunned him. We'll be giving him to Stevens along with Kajo, the other man involved in your capture. Why?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"It's just... well, Sako suprised me," Crystal said. "We're on opposite sides, but he... well, he didn't seem to dislike me. He didn't accept my viewpoints, but he actually listened to what I had to say. He actually respected my opinions."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Well, there'll always be people like that on both sides of a conflict," Kiva said. "I'm a little suprised they picked that kind of person for his duty, though. He sounds like the kind who would sympathize with your situation, and that's never the right person for prisoner duty."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"It might have been deliberate," Daego put in. "Maybe the Resistance was hoping Crystal would sympathize with Sako and the Resistance."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"If so, they were wrong," Crystal said. "I mean, yes, I understand what they think, but I don't agree wit hthem."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Anyways," Kiva said, "when questioned, Kim informed us that you would be treated well, and that you wouldn't be interrogated. Is this correct?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Crystal nodded. "Yes. They didn't even ask me much. They did take my handheld, of course."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Shit. Well, at least it should take them some time to hack into it. I'm assuming it has high-level security?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Very high-level. Grade Alpha, to be precise."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Really? Okay, so yeah, it's pretty secure, then. Odds are, they won't get much that's important even if they manage to get through the security somehow. Still, there's always a chance they'll get everything. Crystal, as soon as possible, you need to make sure Stevens knows what was on that handheld. We have to assume that the Resistance knows everything on it."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"All right, I will," Crystal said.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Good," Kiva said. "Now, [/color][color=darkslateblue]if you?ll just follow Daego outside, he?ll see that you're returned to the Tempest.?[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Daego went outside with Crystal, and returned by himself shortly thereafter. "No problems," he said. "Crystal has been recovered."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Good. All right, let's search the rest of this place, then get back into orbit."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Their search sdidn't turn up anythinguseful, so they returned to the [i]Catalyst[/i], taking Sako had his handheld with them. Upon returning to orbit, they transported Sako and Kajo to the [i]Conqueror[/i], along with a message reporting their successful recovery of Crystal. Daego added his own bit to the message, requesting that Jared not be involved with either of them. This didn't suprise Kiva; Daego hated people like Jared. He didn't like Stevens, either, but unfortunately he had to put up with both of them. As least they were capable officers. That helped Daego; they were useful, so they could be tolerated. But if they ever ceased to be useful, Kiva knew that Daego would not be someone either of them would want to encounter.[/color]

[Horendithas]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]Stevens was in the observation room of the Conqueror when the message came from the Tempest that Crystal had been found. Indicating that as soon as she took a moment to get cleaned up she would transport over to talk with him. Then a short while later, just as Crystal arrived yet another message came, this time from the Elite Specialist with the details on her retrieval as well as the information that the two responsible for capturing her in the first place had been transferred via transport door to a holding cell in the Conqueror.

He motioned to Crystal to take a seat across from the desk he was sitting at while he finished reading what the Specialist had sent him, smiling at the bit that had to have been added by her crew Daego Kelse, the request that Jared not be involved with either one of the resistance agents that had captured Crystal. Something that Stevens ignored since in his opinion the request was from a personal standpoint and not a professional one. It was not the first time he had gotten such requests and it would not be the last.

Stevens knew perfectly well that Jared was not well liked and that a fair number of people not only hated him but did not understand why someone like him was in a position of command to begin with. Though he suspected that this Daego was different, in at least the aspect that he would have realized Jared was more than capable and good at what he did. Otherwise, chosen by Kiva or not, he would never have been allowed to serve on the Catalyst if he lacked the judgment to see that.

Still Daego would get his request, for now, indirectly of course. Jared was going to be overseeing the arrival of the reinforcements and Stevens had his own things to take care of so for now he would be handing their interrogation over to someone else. If Sako Alkalero and Kajo Flenke proved difficult, he could always have Jared take over their interrogation later if it was necessary. Jared may not be liked for his sadistic methods of torture, but there was no denying that he was good at getting the information he wanted out of resistance members. His reputation was bad enough that for some just the thought of falling into Jared?s hands was enough to get them to talk.

Stevens closed the report and turned his attention to Crystal who was waiting patiently for him to finish. He looked up, pleased to see that she looked unharmed.

?[B]Crystal, I am pleased to see you again. I am sorry it took us so long to retrieve you. I trust you were treated well?[/B]?

Crystal shrugged. ?[B]Aside from being locked up in a tiny room, yes. The only thing they did was to take my hand held computer. All of my research and notes regarding the work in sector fourteen was on it.[/B]?

?[B]I know, let us hope that they will not be able to get into your files. You were provided with high-level security were you not? Grade Alpha if I remember correctly.[/B]?

Crystal nodded. ?[B]Yes, and when I realized what was happening I shut it down immediately so any attempts to get in will require them to start from the very beginning of all the security levels. As well as activating the program that will, if they try to force their way in, delete everything on it.?[/B]

?[B]Good. Now I know you probably would like time to take it easy before returning to your work, but I need you to tell me everything that happened.[/B]?

Crystal nodded, starting from when the two had first barged in and forced her through the transport door. To how she had met and briefly talked with Daniel. Taking time to explain how Daniel had informed her that they had deliberately kidnapped her to not only get her hand held computer but to interfere with the research being conducted in sector fourteen.

Then she went on to explain how Sako had taken the polite and understanding approach to try and get her to see their side, she left nothing out, including how he had surprised her by respecting her opinion on things. Stevens listed as Crystal then went on to harshly judge herself as well since on some level she had enjoyed the conversations, even though they did not agree on how things were done. She finished with how Kiva and Daego had finally rescued her.

?[B]Thank you Crystal. Normally I would recommend a session with one of our therapists on the dangers of sympathizing with one?s captors, but I suspect that in your case it will not be necessary.[/B]?

?[B]You are correct,[/B]? Crystal confirmed. ?[B]Those fools haven?t a clue what they are doing by enhancing the humans. It is helpful for their cause, but they lack the necessary medical training to tweak the process to match each person individually to optimize the procedure.

They can?t possibly understand the inherent dangers in giving them an increased lifespan, strength and other things as well. Changing someone on such a profound level will have psychological implications that have to be carefully watched for. Something that has to be carefully monitored during the process as well as after.[/B]? She sighed.

?[B]I know, which is why we must hope they did not get the information. If they do the resistance will throw it out in the worst possible light, not realizing that their ignorance of what?s being done is a factor. It?s something that the people will not understand.[/B]?

?[B]True, but if they do find out and make a point of spreading the news, then I will be sure to point out just how ignorant they really are.[/B]? Crystal said firmly. ?[B]I?ve said it before and I?ll say it again. Genetics should not be in the hands of fools. What the resistance has done is not only irresponsible but also unethical. The only person who will not be affected by their foolishness will be Jason?s sister Sara. Her genetics will match Jason?s closely enough that she should be unaffected. But the others?[/B]? Crystal just shook her head.

Stevens smiled. ?[B]For now we will not worry about it. I will see that a replacement hand held is gotten for you and if I have any other questions I will be sure to contact you. Until then you are officially off duty for the next twenty-four hours. I want you to take it easy and get some rest. I will deal with the High Council so you will not be required to contact them.[/B]?

?[B]I understand.[/B]? Crystal said as she stood up. ?[B]If I remember anything, I?ll be sure to inform you at once.[/B]?

Stevens watched as she left, pleased that she had been recovered. It was a good thing no one had harmed her. Because if they had, he too would have made sure that they regretted it. [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Rachmaninoff]

Darren did his best to not fidget as he stood carefully at attention as he once again faced the entire High Council. Only this time it was for the formality of naming him as the new shipping expert for the Versilan Empire, a position that he still did not want. And though the more formal outfit that was similar to what Stevens wore as the Fleet Admiral with the same style and cut was far more comfortable than the simple cadet uniform he had been wearing. He already hated it.

The only difference between his outfit and Stevens was in the shades of brown that was standard to the shipping industry instead of the green for the military or the blue and silver a candidate for the High Council wore. And clearly on his collar were the symbols indicating his new status. Something that he had to resist the urge to tear off and toss aside. Darren wanted nothing more than to rip them off and stomp up and down on them like a child throwing a temper tantrum. But instead he kept his expression as neutral as possible while he waited for his turn to respond to the High Council once they reached the point in the session that would include him.

Darren had already talked to both Mike and his sister last night. He had been forbidden to say anything until then. He still couldn't get over how they had responded, surprising him by still wishing to be associated with him. Mike after the initial shock of realizing that he was responsible for the protocols in the first place as well as the new ones had just laughed it off as being just like him. A comment that had stung until Mike pointed out that he had never hidden how much he hated his father and other merchants like him.

But his sister.... Darren hadn't spoken to her in years and what she had said had surprised him the most...It had been late last night when he had contacted her...

[INDENT]Darren stared at the new outfit Jared had brought by with disgust. He had placed it on the sofa and then left. Darren left it there as he needed to talk to his sister Kerstin first anyway. Though he had not spoken to her in years. He turned back to his computer console when a chime indicated that she had answered the transmission.

Kerstin was just as he remembered with her silver blond hair, petite figure and cheerful expression, one that instantly changed to a huge smile when she realized who had contacted her.

"[B]Darren![/B]" She shrieked with joy. "[B]It's about time you contacted me! You bum! Even if Jared has kept me updated on how you are that's no excuse for not calling me yourself.[/B]" She fixed him with a stern glance, biting her lower lip a bit as she pouted.

[I]Jared kept her updated? [/I]Darren shook his head a bit, unsure as to what she meant by that. "[B]I'm sorry.[/B]"

She glared at him a little more and then finally stuck her tongue out at him childishly. "[B]You should be.[/B]" She waved her hand in the air as if brushing something aside. "[B]But enough of that, what have you been up to? Besides working for the military.[/B]"

Darren hesitated, unsure how to tell her why he had called. "[B]You know about the shipping protocols that were changed around thirty years ago right?[/B]" He finally asked her.

Kerstin smiled mysteriously, "[B]You mean the ones that you wrote?[/B]" She giggled at his dumbfounded expression. "[B]Oh Darren! Honestly, I've always known about that. After what Daddy,[/B]" her expression darkened in anger, "[B]did to all those people who worked in his company and you complained about it when you took over, it was obvious.[/B]"

"[B]But..[/B]" Darren stammered.

"[B]No buts.[/B]" She said firmly. "[B]Unless you've forgotten that you talked to me about how things would be run if you were in charge. And when the protocols changed a year later, even though you were not mentioned I knew it had to be you. The change was exactly what you had talked about![/B]"

Darren smiled weakly, "[B]I see, I didn't realize that you knew Kerstin.[/B]"

She smiled widely at him, "[B]Of course not. I figured that you were keeping quiet about it because of Daddy and his merchant friends. After all if they had known, some of them would not have hesitated to try and kill you.[/B]"

Kerstin stopped smiling, becoming more serious before continuing. "[B]I can guess why you called me, if this is about the shipping protocols, Daddy and his friends have already been complaining about the new ones in sector four and six. He may not run a ship anymore but that fool is still working with others to get around the checks and make a profit.[/B]"
[I]
God, that fool never learns,[/I] Darren thought. [I]If he's caught, he'll be executed for sure![/I]

He brought his attention back to Kerstin when she continued, "[B]I didn't say anything to Jared since I don't have proof of what he's up to. And I didn't know if he knew you wrote the protocols or not. You wrote the new ones too, didn't you?[/B]" She asked him.

Darren took a deep breath and then let it out. "[B]Yes I did, it's why I called you. Jared's going to be sending security to pick you up tomorrow morning. I want you to go with them.[/B]"

"[B]Why?[/B]" Kerstin asked her expression puzzled.

"[B]Because tomorrow during the session with the High Council, it will be announced that I am the new shipping expert for the Versilan Empire. The current expert will be stepping down and retiring.[/B]" Darren waited for her response as her eyes went wide at what he had just said.

"[B]Damn! That's going to create quite a stir! Especially since you're so young! Being made the High Council's expert is going to really piss off a lot of people.[/B]" She shook her head in disbelief. "[B]Hell, I thought you had to be at least two hundred to even be considered for that position.[/B]"

Darren laughed bitterly, "[B]No, you don't, they tried to offer it to me when I first proposed the change in the first place, but I turned it down.[/B]"

Kerstin frowned a bit, "[B]Then why are you accepting it now?[/B]"

He sighed, "[B]It's a long story sis, one that I don't have time for. More importantly will you go with the security when they come?[/B]"

Kerstin smiled, "[B]So long as you promise to fill me in on what's going on later.[/B]"

"[B]I will.[/B]" Darren promised. "[B]I need to go.[/B]" He hesitated.

Kerstin giggled at him again. "[B]One of these days you'll figure out how to say I love you or take care.[/B]" Laughing even more at Darren when he blushed a bit. "[B]You haven't changed a bit. I'll be sure to watch tomorrow's session with the High Council. Take care Darren.[/B]" She said as she terminated the communication.[/INDENT]
Darren came to himself with a jerk at the mention of his name, breathing a sigh of relief when he realized it was merely the beginning of his part, something that he had been coached on as to how it would proceed. He ignored the stares of everyone on the High Council, grateful that he could not see the rest of the people there due to this being done via long distance communication. The screen he was facing did not include the view showing the rest of the people, or those who though out the Versilan Empire would be watching the session.

Though a tiny part of him as he answered the questions and recited his oath to the the responsibility he was undertaking, wondered if his father was watching. He certainly hoped so. And though Darren was not the type to wish harm towards anyone, based on what his father had done and what Kerstin suspected he was doing, he hoped that he was caught and finally dealt with. [I]I should have turned him in years ago. [/I]He thought as he continued answering the questions presented to him. [I]And I wish this was over already.[/I] Darren thought exasperated at how lengthy the proceedings were.

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR=DarkRed]When Crystal had finally finished with Stevens and returned to the Tempest, she had gone to her quarters, gotten ready for bed and was asleep within minutes of climbing under the covers. The next morning she got cleaned up and instead of a uniform was dressed in a very casual set of cotton type pants and shirt with a soft pink floral pattern, something she rarely wore. But even after sleeping so soundly Crystal was still tired. Still she had really enjoyed being back in her own bed since the tiny bed she had been forced to use had lacked the space for her to truly lay sprawled out like she always did.

Crystal forgo breakfast in favor of one of her favorite fruit drinks, a blend of fruits that was rather expensive to grow and therefore quite expensive to obtain. She always had some on hand even though she rarely had it. But today just having that option again had been too tempting to pass up and she was curled up on the soft sofa, her feet neatly tucked under her as she took tiny sips of the juice until finally she finished it and set the glass on the small end table next to the sofa.

She stretched lazily and then stayed put, voicing the command for the screen on the wall to display the current news. Not really paying attention when the screen came on and the news started. Crystal was too busy analyzing her feelings. She understood why she was still tired since even though she had not been subjected to being interrogated, she had still be forced to stay in that tiny little room with little to no contact for days at a time. Something that had been mentally draining. As well as the underlying fear that she would be stuck there for months if not years.

No Crystal understood it all to well. Even though the resistance had been as polite as possible about it, they had still held her prisoner against her will. It did not matter that even when her belongings were taken the two agents Sako and Kajo had been careful to avoid unnecessary touching. To put her at ease that they would not harm her in any way. They had still forced her at gunpoint to do as they wished. Crystal sighed. She really wished people would see that change had to come from within. They didn't understand why things couldn't be changed overnight. It just wasn't possible.

And kidnapping her, stealing her research notes and delaying what was being done in sector fourteen just proved they didn't understand. Even though she was free, it would still take time to re-write her notes. And to get back on track as to how things were going. Something that starting tomorrow would have her very, very busy.

Crystal looked up from her musings when the news switched to a live broadcast of the monthly session with the High Council. Something that she rarely watched since she was usually too busy to take the time. And even though she had the time she found herself tuning it out, her mind wandering back to other things. That is until they came to the part about naming the new shipping expert. [I]What the hell?[/I] She thought as she watched Darren on the screen. [I]When did this happen? [/I] She finished watching that part and then turned the news off. [I]What else have I missed?[/I]

Then as she got up to go and put the glass away the chime indicating someone was at her door sounded. Surprised she answered it only to find that it was one of the crew, stopping by to welcome her back. Something that as the hours went by and people kept stopping by surprised her. It had never occurred to Crystal that anyone would actually miss her.

But what surprised her the most was when later in the day when she answered the door only for it to be Jared. Who did not give her a chance to react when he easily picked her up in a massive hug, lifting her tiny frame up off the floor. And then set her down and gave her a small kiss on her right cheek. Leaving her a bit breathless with surprise.

"[B]I heard that you were found yesterday Crystal.[/B]" He said, a huge smile on his face. "[B]I would have come to welcome you back sooner if I could have.[/B]"

Crystal didn't know what to say. The whole day had been overwhelming. She was so use to people not liking her due to her blunt and forward manner that she honestly had thought people didn't like her.

Jared just smiled even more. "[B]Surprised that so many people were worried about you?[/B]"

"[B]Yes.[/B]" Crystal finally stammered in reply. A response that Jared laughed at.

"[B]You're so clueless Crystal. Quite a few officers would fight over you given the chance. So it's no surprise to me that you were missed.[/B]"

[I]What?[/I] Crystal thought and then remembered the time when Stevens had said that even Jared would share genetics with her. She couldn't help it Crystal did something that she rarely did. She blushed.

"[B]You should do that more often you know.[/B]" Jared said with a wink. "[B]It really is quite becoming.[/B]" He smiled and held out a bottle that he had been holding a bit behind his back. Something that Crystal hadn't even noticed he had.

She took it hesitantly and turned it to see the label. It was a bottle of the same blend of fruit juice she had enjoyed when she got up. But the stuff was expensive!

"[B]Jared..[/B]" She started to say but he cut her off.

"[B]No buts Crystal.[/B]" He leaned forward and kissed her on the other cheek. "[B]That is from both myself and Stevens.[/B]"

"[B]Thank you.[/B]" Crystal finally replied. Still not sure what to think.

"[B]One other thing,[/B]" Jared said as he reached into the side pouch he was wearing. "[B]Stevens asked me to give you this.[/B]" He handed her a new hand held computer. "[B]I understand your's was taken by the resistance. Stevens said that the security is all put in place and all you have to do is set the necessary passwords.[/B]"

"[B]Okay, I will. Thank you.[/B]"

"[B]You're welcome,[/B]" He turned to leave, "[B]Let me know if there is anything I can do for you Crystal.[/B]"

Crystal waited until Jared had left to go and set the new hand held computer on her desk and go and put the bottle he had given her away. Then a thoughtful look on her face she reached up and touched her cheek where he had kissed her. She knew Jared was not interested in women, but for the life of her she still found it surprising that he actually liked her. Even if it was just as a friend. She removed her hand and shook her head. It had been a long day and tomorrow would be even longer still. She went into her bedroom and pulled out a set of silk nightclothes. It may have been a bit early, but she was still tired. And Crystal was not about to start working on setting up the passwords tonight. That would take a while and could wait until tomorrow. [/COLOR]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]Nearly a week after speaking with the High Council about the project at Mars, Stevens finally got a high priority message from the facility there, telling him that the tests were complete. Stevens read the message again and then pulled up the visual of the facility located on Mars.

[CENTER][IMG]http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/6158/marsmw1.jpg[/IMG]
[SIZE=1]Copyright [URL=http://yonaz.deviantart.com/][COLOR=RoyalBlue][U][B] yonaz@DeviantArt[/B][/U][/COLOR][/URL] [/SIZE][/CENTER]

If it wasn't for the need to keep it secret he would have lowered the class X shielding and sat back to watch people's reactions when they realized that a top level research facility had been right under their noses for so long. But though the project was ready for Kiva to go and pick it up, it would be foolish to reveal to the resistance that the facility existed. Even with the class X shielding there to keep them out, Mars was within transport range and he did not want the resistance attempting to find a way to bypass it and get into the facility.

For now it was best to keep the shielding that not only hid the facility from sight but kept anyone from even being able to detect that the shield was working. Though he suspected that the Catalyst at close range would have at least been able to detect the shield. Though even it would not have been able to see what it was behind the shield.

Stevens pulled up file and prepared the necessary clearance codes to give to Kiva that would allow her access into the shipping part of the facility. Elite Specialist or not, there was no need to give her full access when she was only going to be picking the project up. She would have no need to be in any other part of the facility. A moment later he was done and he hailed the Catalyst. A moment later she responded.

"[B]Hello Stevens, how may I assist you?[/B]" Kiva asked.

"[B]I have new orders for you, Kiva. As soon as you possible, you are to proceed to Mars to pick up a new project that will assist you in your hunt for the resistance on Earth.[/B]" Stevens toyed with the thought of simply telling her what she would be picking up and changed his mind. It would be quite the surprise and he did not want to spoil it for her.

"[B]I see,[/B]" Kiva replied. "[B]Where will I find this project?[/B]"

"[B]I am sending you the necessary clearance codes now.[/B]" He sent the transmission waiting for the chime indicating that she had received it. "[B]Broadcast the recognition signal I've included. When you're challenged, send the clearance codes. At that point you will be given approach instructions. You'll be taking the Catalyst though a very small opening in a class X shield. As I'm sure you are aware, this situation confuses even the best automatic piloting systems, so manual piloting will be required. This will also be the case when you leave, of course. I understand that Daego is skilled at manual piloting, so should be no problems.[/B]"

Daego nodded. "[B]Yeah, I can do that.[/B]"

"[B]Anything else, Stevens?[/B]" Kiva asked.

"[B]No. All further information you'll need will be provided when you pick up the project. Oh, and one other thing.[/B]"

"[B]Yes?[/B]" Kiva asked.

"[B]Good work on recovering Crystal, both of you.[/B]" Stevens terminated the transmission.

Then he closed the information on the facility at Mars and started preparing a short message for the High Council. One that would let them know that the project was ready and that Kiva would be picking it up shortly. It was only a matter of time now, before the resistance was finally dealt with. Stevens sent the message off to the High Council and then another one to the director of the facility with the details of Kiva coming to pick the project up. Then he shut his computer console off.

He stood up and left the observation room and went back out on the main bridge. The reinforcements were due to arrive tomorrow and there were a few things that needed to be prepared for when that happened. Stevens sat down in the command chair on the bridge and motioned for the commander to join him. [/COLOR]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[color=darkslateblue]Sako's handheld hadn't contained anything useful. Clearly, he didn't need easy access to a Resistance base. Kajo's handheld was more useful, but the information it contained was incomplete. This, of course, was thanks to the deletion routine Kajo had started running. Kiva'd stopped the routine before it got everything, but there was no longer enough information to determine the UK base's location. There was still some useful information, though. In particular, part of the contact routine was still intact. This was enough to narrow down the base's location to the southernmost half of the UK. But Kiva and Daego didn't have anything to go on from there.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Once again, a signal sounded. But this time it was not the 'message received' signal. Instead, it was the 'incoming transmission' signal. "What's this about?" Kiva wondered as she put the signal through. She wasn't too suprised to see Stevens on the other end of the transmission; nobody else in the sector was likely to have a reason to speak with her, except maybe Sandra or Jared.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=darkslateblue]"Hello, Stevens," Kiva said. "How may I assist you?"

"I have new orders for you, Kiva," Stevens said. "As soon as you possible, you are to proceed to Mars to pick up a new project that will assist you in your hunt for the resistance on Earth."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=darkslateblue]"I see. Where will I find this project?"

"I am sending you the necessary clearance codes now." The 'message received' signal sounded, and Daego opened the message.[/color]
[color=darkslateblue][/color]
[color=darkslateblue]"Broadcast the recognition signal I've included," Stevens said. "When you're challenged, send the clearance codes. At that point you will be given approach instructions. You'll be taking the Catalyst though a very small opening in a class X shield. As I'm sure you are aware, this situation confuses even the best qutomatic piloting systems, so manual piloting will be required. This will also be the case when you leave, of course. I understand that Daego is skilled at manual piloting, so should be no problems."

Daego nodded. "Yeah, I can do that."

"Anything else, Stevens?" Kiva asked.

"No. All further information you'll need will be provided when you pick up the project. Oh, and one other thing."

"Yes?"

"Good work on recovering Crystal, both of you."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Mars orbit confirmed," Daego said. "Sending signal... okay, we're being challenged. Sending clearance codes... confirmed. Incoming transmission, audio-only. Putting it through."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"[i]Catalyst[/i], you have clearance to proceed," a male-sounding voice said. "Approach vector has been transmitted to your autopilot system. You will hear a warning signal ten seconds prior to the autopilot's deactivation. When manual kicks in, maintain previous course and speed. Do not deviate at all. The shield opening has been set based on that course and speed. Any deviation will create a security risk."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Understood," Daego replied. "Will comply."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]The approach went smoothly. The autopilot took the [i]Catalyst[/i] in as far as it could, then switched over to manual. Daego kept course and speed perfectly, and it wasn't long before the autopilot kicked on again.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Very good, [i]Catalyst[/i]," the unidentified man said. "The autopilot will handle the rest. Your ETA is approximately five minutes from now. Upon arrival, please disembark immediately. You will be met by personell who will take you from there. Before landing, please ready all internal systems for complete data transfer and ensure that storage areas are set to allow transport doors for full equipment transfer." [/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Understood," Daego said. "Please be advised that we do have a prisoner on board. She will also need to be transfered."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Confirmed. Out." The transmission ended.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"A complete data and equipment transfer?" Daego said. "Why the hell do they need to do that?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"I don't know," Kiva said, "but one thing's for sure: We won't be staying on the [i]Catalyst[/i]. Okay, I'll take care of things on this end. You go hit the manual units to authorize both transfers."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Got it."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]As enstructed, Kiva and Daego exited the [i]Catalyst[/i] immediately after the landing. There was a party of five waiting for them. Four were heavily armed and were clearly security personell, while the fifth, the sole female of the group, was likely the head of whatever project Kiva and Daego had come to pick up.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Greeting," the woman said. "I am Lasera Krales, Project Chief at this facility. Were you informed about why you're here?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"We re told only that we're to pick up whatever you've been working on," Kiva said. "We don't know what it is, but I think we've probably both figured it out by now."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Well, what you're here for isn't really our project. We've been working on refining crystals to their perfect state. What you're here for was made elsewhere and then sent to us, as it requires such crystals for operation. As you seem to have guessed, you're here to pick up the first of the new messenger ships designed for Elite Specialists."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Thought so," Kiva said. "Why else would you have had us prepare for a complete equipment and data transfer?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Indeed. You'll find detailed specifications on the ship in its data banks, so I won't bother stating its capabilities here. I'll just say that the ship is an improvement over the old messenger ships in every aspect. You should be able to appreciate how impressive that is."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Yeah, you can say that again. And this new ship's even better?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"That's correct. But enough talking. Come on, I'll take you to it."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]The new ship didn't look much different from the old model. It was slightly larger, but aside from that, it looked basically the same. In fact, unless they took a real close look at a scan of the new ship, the Resistance might not even realize it was a new ship. [/color][color=#483d8b]The inside of the ship didn't look too much different, either. Oh, it wasn't identical, but the basic layout and things like that were all the same.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]It didn't take long for the facility's personell to complete both the data and equipment transfers. When they were done, Kiva confirmed the data's correct transfer while Daego confirmed the equipment transfer. He also confirmed that Kim had been sent from her cell on the [i]Catalyst[/i] via transport door directly to a cell on the new ship.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"I kind of have to wonder what Kim thinks of this," Daego said to Kiva upon returning to the bridge. "When I first spoke to her, she thought she was on a transport ship headed to sector one. When I started interrogating her, I think she realized that wasn't the case, but now that she's been moved, I have to wonder what she's thinking. After all, a standard transport that left when she came to the [i]Catalyst[/i] would be reaching sector one around now."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Yeah. Anyways, you've confirmed a complete transfer?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Yes. Everything's been transfered."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Same here," Kiva said. "Okay, let's begin our departure."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Daego took the pilot's seat and confirmed readiness for departure. The procedure followed was the same as the one for landing. It also went smoothly, and before long the messenger ship [i]Transcendence[/i] had left Mars and was en route to Earth.[/color]

[Aaryanna_Mom]

Daniel sent the final report off to William. Though Jason and Celestia had done an excellent job of hacking into Crystal?s hand held computer, they had not been able to get into the final level. In time he was sure they would have cracked the security, but their last attempt had triggered yet another routine designed to erase everything. One that Celestia and Jason had not been aware of as it was hidden behind the final security wall. By the time they realized it was there, it was too late. The data had been erased.

Celestia had been pretty frustrated in spite of him telling her that they did an excellent job. But then the pattern of the security they had encountered was very high level, at least Grade Alpha. He was surprised that they had even managed to get into what they did. And even though they didn?t get the rest, they were still able to confirm what William wanted to know about. And that would have to do. Daniel was not going to attempt to force the information from Crystal.

But then the chime of an incoming transmission sounded and somehow he just knew what it was. Daniel was not surprised to see the face of the officer running the base in the UK.

?[B]I?m sorry sir, but they found Crystal.[/B]?

Daniel just sighed a bit, ?[B]Tell me what happened.[/B]?

?[B]I sent some agents to check the safe house that Kajo was in as well as the one where Crystal was being kept since Sako and Kajo did not check in this morning. Both of them had been raided and everyone, including Commander Crystal was gone.[/B]? He shook his head. ?[B]I?m really sorry sir.[/B]?

?[B]Don?t be, just keep moving all the agents to secondary houses and abandon the other ones. It?s not worth the risk of them getting caught.[/B]? Daniel ordered. ?[B]What about Kajo?s hand held? Was it gone as well?[/B]?

He nodded, ?[B]Yes sir. I had the computer specialist change the access code to the bases?s transport door immediately. Even if they manage to hack into it they won?t be able to activate the transport door to the base.[/B]? He winced a bit before continuing. ?[B]The computer specialist did say that if the military does get into it, if they are skilled enough it is possible that they will be able to use the information to determine that the base is located in the UK.[/B]?

?[B]It can?t be helped, at least you got the authorization code for the transport door changed in time and the UK is still a big place, they won?t find you that easily. For now just continue with your assigned targets and get everyone to the secondary safe houses. Once you are finished, let me know.[/B]?

The officer bowed slightly, ?[B]Yes sir.[/B]?

Daniel went back to reviewing his own notes in regards to the reinforcements that would be arriving soon. If the information William had gotten was accurate, it was time to finally make use of some other special items that he had. He had been waiting for the right moment and hopefully this would be it.

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

The only thing Kim was sure of anymore was that the interrogations had not ended. She had thought she was being taken to sector one, but the person she had been handed to had made it clear that she was not. Stevens had been very through with his interrogations but this man was even more so. And after a while it made sense. Stevens was the Fleet Admiral for the entire Versilan space forces. To go into the sheer detail of breaking down how standard Resistance procedures worked, to how they were organized was something that Stevens probably did not have the time for.

There was nothing that her new captor did not break down until there was nothing left to be known. If he was not the Elite Specialist, then there was no doubt in her mind as to why he would have been chosen to serve with one. Somehow Kim got the feeling that there was nothing this man would leave undone. She had not asked, but she was fairly certain she had to be on the Catalyst, and every time he came for her, every time the questions began, it reinforced just how good Elite Specialists and their crew really were.

Even when she had served as a Sub-Commander and had been required to assist Daniel the few times they had been required to conduct interrogations, they had never been as good as Stevens or this man was. Kim was not ruthless, nor was Daniel. And though she got the impression that the man meant it when he gave her the chance to simply tell him what he wanted to know to avoid doing things the ?hard way? as he put it. Kim just couldn?t seem to help herself. Every single time she always started out by being stubborn and answering his questions as unhelpfully as possible.

Though when it came to taking the nourishment provided or personal care, she did not argue and simple took what she was given and used the facilities to clean up and change into clean clothing every day. Before Crystal had given her food and supplements, but Crystal was a doctor and she didn?t want to find out what his methods of forcing it into her would be, so she didn?t fight him over that at all. Kim was just too damn tired as most of her energy went into resisting the questions when in the end he always got the answers he wanted.

How long had it been since she had been transferred? Nearly two weeks if she had her timing correctly. Though for some reason he had not come to question her today. Something that had Kim puzzled. Until she was startled by a completely different man?s voice that came from the two-way speaker, ordering her to stand up immediately and then to step through the transport door that appeared in the middle of the cell. Something that Kim simply did without complaint.

The new cell she was in was once again virtually identical to the one she had been in before, though it was the cleanest and newest looking cell she had ever seen. [I]Where the hell am I now?[/I] She wondered as she sat down on the new bed. [I]Did they lie to me after all? Was he merely getting information out of me while I was being transferred to sector one?[/I] The timing was right, if she wasn?t on the Catalyst like she had originally thought, a transport would have arrived in sector one by now.

Kim settled down on the bed on her right side as tears started flowing down her face. [I]So I'm going to be executed after all.[/I] She thought miserably. Not that she expected otherwise, but before there had always been that tiny little bit of hope that somehow she would get free. So long as she was near Daniel who she knew, if give the chance, would rescue her. It had been part of what kept her going, that hope of rescue, even though she knew it was no hope at all. But if she was in sector one, there was no hope.

She couldn?t help it; something inside her finally snapped and great tearing sobs wracked her body as she sobbed hopelessly for a while. Kim pulled her legs up, wrapped her arms around her knees, curling into a fetal position and then wished with all her heart that she were dead. A wish that once she was exhausted from crying and she finally stopped sobbing, she regretted, but it didn?t alleviate the despair she felt. And then, totally spent, Kim fell into a restless sleep.

[Rachmaninoff]

After what seemed like forever the session with the High Council was finished and Darren after a word with Stevens was finally allowed to leave so he could return to his quarters. For today he was done, but tomorrow? When the reinforcements arrived he would be starting on the UK. And if they did not get ready in time for him to go down tomorrow, there was still work to be done in regards to tracking William as well as all sorts of details that still needed to be incorporated into the update on the shipping protocols.

Darren left the observation room that was just off the bridge of the Conqueror, trying to ignore the stares from the crew due to his new uniform. Before he had been a no body with the simple green cadet uniform Jared had required him to wear. But now? Darren could almost feel their thoughts as they recalculated their opinion of him. An aspect of politics that he abhorred. Especially when some of them treated him with deference and respect, something Darren did not want. What he wanted was to get back on his ship and return to what he had been doing before this mess.

He continued though the corridors of the Conqueror, heading for one of the transport rooms to return to the Creator. Trying to take the path with the least amount of people and yet he still failed to avoid attracting attention. Then a moment later Darren was in the transport room and within a few minutes, back on the Creator. But it was no different here. He only hoped that in time people would stop staring, the whole thing was making him feel very uncomfortable.

It was with a real sigh of relief that he finally entered his quarters and the door shut behind him. Darren immediately headed for his bedroom, intending to change out of his uniform only to change his mind at the last minute. Pausing to look at himself in the tall mirror in his quarters. From the dark brown suit pants with gold trim running down the sides to the lighter brown shirt underneath, though he hated the high collar that came up with the gold box shaped pins indicating his rank attached along with another one indicating his connection to the High Council. The rest of the shirt was covered with a dark medium brown jacket that fastened from underneath on one side and the again on the other side, creating an effect of gold buttons running down the front on each side of his chest.

To the pale brown half cape that went down to his waist, laced with the outline of boxes of the shipping industry in gold, overlapping each other. Even the gold trim along the cuffs of his jacket and the shoulders where the cape was fastened, with a gold braid running from one side in the front over to the other side looked quite nice. Put together with his light blond hair and trim form, it did look quite flattering, even if he felt like a fool wearing it. Darren started to change his mind, reaching up to unfasten the first set of buttons when the chime for an incoming transmission sounded. Puzzled as to who would be contacting him he went out to answer it. It was his sister Kerstin.

"[B]Darren! I'm glad I caught you![/B]" She said with a smile. "[B]I was hoping to catch you before I left.[/B]"

"[B]Where are you going?[/B]"

Kerstin smiled, "[B]I guess Jared hasn't told you yet has he?[/B]" She continued when Darren shook his head negatively. "[B]I'm going to sector one.[/B]"

"[B]Why?[/B]"

"[B]I've decided to take some art classes at one of the universities there.[/B]"

"[B]Art classes? Since when were you into art Kerstin?[/B]"

"[B]Darren![/B]" Kerstin protested. "[B]I've always been into art. How else do you think I could afford to live on my own? Daddy comes running to me to get money the same way he does to you.[/B]" She giggled, "[B]Or should I say use to pester you? Goodness, you should hear him when he goes off on a tangent about how ungrateful you are. It's rather entertaining and yet boring at the same time.[/B]"
[I]
She makes a living off of art? [/I]Darren just shook his head. [I]What else have I missed out on?[/I] He wondered.

"[B]I'm sure that will change once he hears about this mornings session with the High Council though.[/B]" He said. [I]At least I won't have to hear it this time.[/I]

Kerstin just grinned. "[B]I wish I could have seen his expression when he realized that it was you who wrote the protocols in the first place as well as when he found out about your new position. Oh that would have been fun to see![/B]" She laughed delightedly.

"[B]Kerstin![/B]"

"[B]Come on! I bet you wanted to see it too![/B]"

Darren hesitated, since that was exactly what he had been thinking during the ceremony.

Kerstin just smiled. "[B]I need to go Darren. I'll call you when I get to sector one.[/B]" She started to end the transmission and then stopped.

"[B]By the way, will you thank Jared for me? I know Daddy and the merchants think he's a sick bastard and all, but since you started working for the military at Earth he's kept me informed as to how you were doing the whole time. Jared even made the arrangements so I will have the security clearance to call you anytime I want.[/B]" She smiled. "[B]I don't know why you guys don't like him, but he seems nice enough to me.[/B]"

Kerstin smirked, "[B]Unless it's because he likes guys instead of girls and you [I]are [/I]adorable Darren. Even if you are a bit of a prude.[/B]"

Darren felt himself flush hotly. "[B]Kerstin![/B]" He protested.

She just giggled at him again. "[B]I'm just saying! After all Jared is pretty [I]damn [/I]adorable as well. And unlike Daddy I'm [I]not [/I]narrow minded or a prude. Anyway, I really do need to run. Take care Darren.[/B]"

Darren started to reply to tell her to take care as well, but the transmission had ended. [I]I should never have lost contact with her. [/I]He thought. Darren had forgotten just how much he enjoyed talking with his sister. Even if, he blushed even more, she didn't know the full story behind Jared. If she had, he doubted she would have said what she did.

He walked back over to the center of his room and sat down on the comfy sofa, place his feet up comfortably on the table. Bad manners or not, he didn't care. [I]I wonder why Jared never mentioned that he was keeping my sister informed.[/I] He wondered. It was really baffling. First his reaction to Crystal being kidnapped, though he had heard that she had been recovered. And then to find out that he had taken the time to keep the only person he cared about in his family updated as to how he was doing.

Jared continued to be someone who confused him. From the time they had first met and he had turned out to be so efficient at his job, from everything that had happened since then. In that respect Kerstin was right, his father and the merchants, himself included really didn't know him at all. Other than the sick things he had done. Something that it was looking like he had allowed to color his judgment of him. Darren snorted. Not that he was going to start liking the sick bastard. Only that he wasn't going to take his behavior for granted anymore.

[Horendithas]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]Sandra stifled a sigh of annoyance as the ship Transcendence entered Earths orbit. Stevens had been rather pleased with himself and now she knew why. He seemed to enjoy knowing things that she did not. And the realization that a new class of Messenger ship was in the works was something that even she had not known. Truthfully she wasn't even entitled to the knowledge, and Sandra knew her irritation was more at Stevens than anything else.

So she kept it to herself and merely noted that the ship Transcendence was now part of the fleet at Earth. Not that it really changed anything since the Elite Specialist did not answer to her directly. No it was more of an acknowledgment that they were required to respond to Kiva's requests. Sandra finished authorizing the change in status in regards to Kiva's new ship and then she went back to reviewing the notes from the public session the High Council held every month.

She had been to busy to attend but Sandra knew about what was going to happen in regards to Darren. It was yet another thing she had to change as far as classification went. She wondered if Darren realized that by accepting the position it had rendered the charge of being in a restricted sector as useless. By making his previous input and current one public, it made it look like the resistance had deliberately hacked his clearance in an attempt to kill him. Especially since he had been promoted to the shipping expert for the High Council.

In no time the rumor that the resistance had tried to have him silenced to prevent the new shipping protocols would spread like wildfire. Especially after the disaster in sector six and four had brought to light the fact that the resistance was hiding in the system. Not that they hadn't been doing so already. It just hadn't been as easy to detect. And the changes were clearly designed to prevent such a thing. Since it was entirely possible that this William had done just that, Sandra did nothing to head the rumors off. Though she suspected that Darren had simply had the bad luck to be in the area and had been a target of convenience instead of a deliberate one. Though now that it was public, he would become a target for quite a few people.

Sandra looked up at the sound of Jared sitting down in his seat next to hers. And then went back to her own work. Tomorrow afternoon the reinforcements would arrive and she would be working more closely with the liaison she had chose for the UK. Just as Jared, once he organized the troop deployment would then be working with Darren as he started getting the shipping in order, especially since tomorrow there would be six non-military ships carrying supplies bound for Australia, the UK and the US. Even with the reserves called in, it had been necessary to use the service of standard shipping to help make up for the loss of transports as many of them had been shuffled to assist in sector four.

She stole a look at Jared when he wasn't looking, still thinking about her conversation with her father about how she had failed to donate genetic material. And though she had since done so, she still found herself wondering about the thought that she was jealous of Stevens and Jared. Sandra had long since calmed down, but it nagged at her since she had never even tried to get Jared's attention and it was irritating that the thought had even occurred to her in the first place.

If anything she was more irritated at how Stevens would sleep with just about anyone who was attractive. Or how he had a habit of completely breaking female prisoners given a chance. And yet, she wondered why that even bothered her. After all, Jared would do the same, at least to male prisoners. So why did Stevens bother her where Jared did not? Was it because she was a female?

The comment from her father about stripping her of her command and handing her over to Stevens had not only stung but infuriated her. How could he even consider doing that to her? Sandra caught herself gripping the console for the computer at her chair tightly, so tightly that when she let go she was surprised she had not broken it.

Sandra stifled yet another sigh. If she didn't figure out just what was annoying her so much, she was going to start getting headaches from the irritation. Jared had suggested she simply let Stevens have his way with her and get it over with. But somehow she just couldn't bring herself to even approach him about a truce let alone what Jared had suggested.

With a start Sandra realized that she had been sitting there for nearly ten minutes, doing absolutely nothing. With a snarl of irritation she went back to dealing with the various reports that had been sent her way. Determined to put both Stevens and Jared out of her mind, and for now it worked as she determinedly worked though report after report. [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR=DarkRed]Crystal had already checked in with the bridge crew before returning to her quarters, then after a few hours of setting up the passwords for the security on her hand held she opened up and sent a secure transmission to the director of the research facility in sector fourteen. Quite a bit of her research was also logged into their database and it would be much more efficient to simply have them send it directly to her. Otherwise it would take her days if not weeks to rewrite everything. A moment later the director, Michael Edwards, answered.

"[B]Crystal, it's good to see you.[/B]" He said with a smile, "[B]I heard about what happened from Stevens. They didn't do anything to you did they?[/B]"

"[B]No, but they did take my hand held computer with all my notes. I'm going to need you to send me a copy of everything I sent to you.[/B]" Crystal replied.

"[B]Shit! That's not good. You're not going to get in trouble for that are you? I mean, you did have everything we are doing on there didn't you?[/B]"

"[B]Yes, I did have everything on it. But it was protected by high level security so it's possible the resistance was unable to access it. And even if they did, I am not in trouble Michael.[/B]"

Michael just shook his head, "[B]Well that's good to hear. I mean... well you know... the High Council can be a bit unreasonable at times. I was worried they would blame you! Though I figured those damn bastards would torture you or use drugs to get the information. Not just take your hand held computer.[/B]"

"[B]Michael, considering the nature of our research can you blame the High Council? You know that what we are doing is banned.[/B]" Crystal folded her arms fixing him with a more serious look. "[B]This was not suppose to be made public without first explaining why it was necessary and you know damn well that the resistance will make it look like the High Council is deceiving the people.[/B]"

Michael raised an eyebrow, "[B]Uh Crystal, correct me if I'm wrong, but they[I] are [/I]deceiving the people, I mean I know why its necessary, but it doesn't mean it isn't true.[/B]" He held up his hand when Crystal started to respond. "[B]There's no need to say anything Crystal, I agree with the High Council and with you. You can't modify someone to live longer with out doing something to make the stress on the body both mentally and physically less damaging.[/B]"

Crystal sighed, "[B]I know I saw evidence of that in both Celestia and Jason when I modified them. And though I was able to tweak the process to avoid making them more passive in the process, it's just not feasible to do it for every one of the lesser races. It would take far too long and require resources that we just don't have for monitoring the process. Besides, it's not a huge change and it's something that as time goes by can be slowly reversed.[/B]"

"[B]I know. Anyway, I'll organize the data you need as well as a report and all the notes on what we have been doing while you were gone. I'll send it to you as soon as it's ready. Was there anything else?[/B]"

Crystal shook her head, "[B]No.[/B]"

"[B]I'll talk to you later then.[/B]" Michael ended the transmission.

Crystal set her hand held computer down and opened up another communication, this time with the facility where she had been kidnapped from. Unless they had managed to take care of it while she was gone, they still had a virus to take care of. When the doctor she had been with answered, she smiled, patiently answering their questions as to how she was doing and then, since they had not finished the work that had been so rudely interrupted they started going over what had been done in her absence. [/COLOR]

[Rachmaninoff]

Darren was already waiting in the transport room for Jared, earlier the reinforcements had arrived and now that they had been deployed it was time for them to go down and oversee the arrival of the supplies. The first two had already landed in Australia and two more were heading for the US. Once they got down to the surface the remaining two would be cleared to land in London. It would be his and Jared's job to make sure things went smoothly. Especially since until the reinforcements had arrived things had been too unstable for setting things up.

The door to the transport room opened as Jared entered and then a minute later they stepped though the transport door, a squad already waiting for them. Immediately guiding them to the open area where the ships were due to land. [I]I wonder why they even need us here? It's not like they need me to tell them what to do since we haven't even set up any of the transfer points yet.[/I] His thoughts were interrupted by the chime indicating an incoming transmission. But a quick check showed that it was Jared's hand held computer and not his. He could not see who Jared was talking to but his answer...

"[B]I see,[/B]" Jared replied in a very cold tone. "[B]When did this happen?[/B]"

Darren wondered just what had upset him. [I]What ever it is, this time I'm going to keep my mouth shut[/I] he thought to himself.

"[B]A Pulse Cannon? How the hell did they get one of those?[/B]" Jared said incredulously. "[B]I see. No, everything seems to be fine here. Right.[/B]" Jared closed his hand held, ending the conversation.

As much as he wanted to know what that was about Darren kept quiet. He could always look up what a Pulse Cannon was once they were done. He opened up his own hand held computer to make a note to remind himself to look it up later, not noticing that Jared had walked over and peeked over his shoulder. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Jared spoke.

"[B]If you are wondering what a Pulse Cannon is all you have to do is ask.[/B]"

Darren turned to face Jared, "[B]I know.[/B]"

"[B]It's not a secret Darren, the resistance shot down the two transport ships headed for the US.[/B]"

"[B]Damn! By using a Pulse Cannon I take it? What about their shields, wouldn't that protect them from ground attacks?[/B]"

"[B]Not these ships, unlike your own ship, or the ones used by the military, these ones only transport basic supplies and only require simple navigation shields to protect against space debris and the turbulence of entering the atmosphere of the planet. A Pulse Cannon would easily damage them, which is why the military does not use them.[/B]" Jared explained.

"[B]Then why were they used?[/B]"

"[B]Because most of the transport ships we do use are still in sector four. And Pulse Cannons are not that easy to get a hold of. But more importantly,[/B]" Jared said angrily, "[B]The only way they could have pulled it off is if they knew in advance what the transport ships would be and their destination as well. It takes at least fifteen minutes to set up a Pulse Cannon and for that type of strike to work they would have needed to get the flight path from the bases' sensors as Pulse Cannons are designed to take out ships within visual range.[/B]"

Darren winced. "[B]I see.[/B]"

Jared started to say something else but was interrupted by the sound of laser fire as several loud shots came from somewhere in the city. [I]What they hell?[/I] Darren stood still as the military immediately went into action, confusing him with the hustle of people shouting and orders being given. Then a few minutes later more shots were fired. Something that this time he actually saw as they arched upwards in the direction where the ships would be coming from. [I]Shit! They're firing at the transports![/I]

He looked to see where Jared was only to realize that he was gone. [I]He must have gone to where the shots came from...What should I do?[/I] He stood there transfixed as the first transport ship came into view, it's engines on fire. It was coming in far too steeply and part of it clipped the shipping building that was close to the landing area. At that moment Darren realized that he was in it's flight path. He started to move only to be grabbed by one of the security personal who urged him to run to the side. Something that once he realized why he was pulling on his arm he did without question.

A moment later the ship hit the ground with a shudder and after traveling for a while it finally came to a halt. A cloud of dust and debris knocked both Darren and the security personal flat on their faces. Darren quickly got back on his feet turning just in time to see the other ship crash into the first one. He winced at the horrible sound of metal on metal as the first ship literally crumpled when the second one plowed into it.

"[B]Dammit![/B]" He exclaimed. Darren started to move forward to see if the pilot was okay only to halt when the security personal grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"[B]It's not safe here sir.[/B]"

Darren pulled his arm free, "[B]What about the pilots? We have to see if they are still alive![/B]"

The security personal grabbed his arm again firmly. "[B]Sir, you are not trained for this. My orders are to see to your safety and as you can see,[/B]" he indicated several squads who were coming out of the building and heading towards the transports, "[B]Help has already been sent.[/B]"

Darren nodded, "[B]All right. I understand.[/B]"

"[B]Thank you sir, now please come this way, I need to get you back to the Creator immediately.[/B]"

Darren followed him without argument. After all he was right, he was not trained for this sort of thing and would only get in the way. And after seeing how damaged the two ships were, he would be surprised if either pilot was still alive. [I]I hope Jared catches who ever did this.[/I] Darren thought. [I]Those pilots weren't even part of the military. So much for their lofty position of not attacking civilians. [/I] Darren nearly laughed out loud. [I]What am I thinking? The resistance was more than willing to sacrifice me when they hacked my clearance[/I]. He shook his head. [I]Those fools are no better than the High Council or the military. [/I]Then he turned his attention back to the security personal as he requested a transport door for Darren. He thanked him and then walked though the door leading back to the ship.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[color=darkslateblue]"There's only one thing this could be," Daego said. The [i]Transcendence [/i]had scanned the US in search of the Resistance base located there, but had found nothing. The scan of the UK, however, produced results. Specifically, a signal pattern was detected beneath London. And there was only one thing it could be.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Indeed," Kiva said. "There's nothing on that planet that would give this kind of reading except one of the Resistance bases. Looks like we were right. The shielding they have down there isn't quite enough to stop what this ship's got."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Yeah, well, remember that we didn't find anything when we scanned the US."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"There's a simple explination for that. The US base just has beter shielding. It may be the Resistance's Earth headquarters. That would certainly explain it having better shielding. And we had a much larger area to search, too. We may have more luck if we can manage to narrow its location down a bit. Maybe something we find in the London base'll help us do that. For now, go do your think with Kim. Ask her about the relative shielding strength of the bases, see what she knows. I'm going to hack my way into the London base and see if I can find any clues that'll help us get in."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]Once in the base's network, Kiva ran her search routines as usual. She also left a report, knowing that it would be sent to Daniel even if he was at the US base. The report contained a complete update. It included a summary of the [i]Transcendence's[/i] capabilities, as well as the fact that the facility on Mars was doing crystal research. It also identified Kiva and Daego as the ones who'd been attacking the safe houses, and also that they were the ones who rescued Crystal. And Kiva added one more thing to the report:[/color]
[indent][color=#483d8b][i]The [/i]Transcendence[i]'s advanced capabilities enabled the location of the Europe base. Entry method currently undetermined. I anticipate that this problem will be solved and the attack will commence within a week, maximum. I recommend that all essential personell there immediately be moved to the US base, the location of which is still unknown. Do this carefully, however. In order to avoid the potential of alerting the Empire to my true allegience, only the most important personell should be moved, and you must provide a believable reason for moving them.[/i][/color]
[/indent][color=#483d8b]Kiva marked her report as urgent and left it in the base's network, as usual. When her search routines were finished running, she withdrew from the network.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]When he was done with Kim, Daego returned to the bridge. "Doesn't look like there's anything we can use," I told him. "What'd you get from Kim?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]'She didn't know anything of direct use to us at the moment, though she was able to confirm that the US base has better shielding. However, I don't think we'll need any more information than what we have now to get into the London base. I came up with an idea."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Really? What do you have in mind?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Something that we couldn't have done even with the [i]Catalyst[/i]," Daego said. "This ship, however, can target with much more precision. Which is good, because my idea requires precise targeting for transportation doors. Here's what I'm thinking..."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"That's brilliant," Kiva said when Daego had finished his explination. "Okay, you get to work confirming the coordinates we'll need to use. I'll contact one of the London-bound transports. Let's see... okay, looks like the [i]Influx[/i] will be arriving down there first, so we'll go with it. We'll procede as we did in Australia.A decoy drone is ready. We'll deploy it so the Resistance thinks we're still up here. We'll follow the [i]Influx[/i] down so our descent isn't detected. We'll finish preperations on the surface, then we'll lead troops from the [i]Influx[/i] into the base."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Sounds good to me."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"All right, then. Let's get to work."[/color]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]Jason winced as one of the other agents in the command center sent the vector information to first the team in the US for shooting down the supply transport and then shortly after that to the team in the UK. He glanced from his work over to Celestia who was carefully ignoring what was going on. She really hated this part of being in the resistance. And on some level Jason did too. His sister Sara on the other hand had become a bit cold and distant. Readily accepting the need to dispatch of those who got in the way.

He turned back to his own computer screen as they were compiling the data the scanners had gathered for making the solution for growing crystals. It had finally found everything on Earth that would work as a substitute. Once the doctor helped them create the mixture the only thing left would be to get the right kind of shielding to keep the Catalyst from detecting it. But a moment later his thoughts went back to Sara. It still pained him that she had been caught up in everything, even though there was no way to avoid it. Jason was glad that she had recruited her friend Glen. He seemed to be a bit more level headed and since he rarely saw her he was pleased that the two of them were working together.

?[B]What?s on your mind?[/B]? Celestia asked him.

Jason turned to answer her. ?[B]I was thinking about Sara. Her and Glen were part of the team that shot down the transports headed for the US.[/B]?

Celestia looked down at her hands, ?[B]I know.[/B]? [I]She hated it.[/I] Regardless of what had happened, she hated the change in Sara. How she had accepted the need to take out others to get the job done. And yet at the same time she cared about her as much as Jason did. [I]It hurt.[/I] Celestia understood the logic, the need to do things, but emotionally? She hated what people had become, even herself as her programs were being used to harm others too.

?[B]Hey! Don?t look so depressed.[/B]? Jason said. Smiling at her when she looked up at him. ?[B]Remember what Daniel said. We don?t have the equipment to be able to pull something like that again. And I doubt the military is going to use that type of transport again after what happened.[/B]?

?[B]I know,[/B]? She sighed. ?[B]I?m sorry, you?d think I?d be used to this by now.[/B]?

?[B]Don?t be.[/B]? He reached over, gently caressing the right side of her face. ?[B]And don?t get use to it. I like you just the way you are.[/B]? Jason smiled and then let go when Celestia blushed.

Celestia turned back to what she was working on, ?[B]Did you finish your part for the Crystal growth solution?[/B]?

Jason turned back as well, ?[B]Yeah, we should get it ready and give it to Daniel.[/B]?

?[B]Agreed, especially since we can?t do anything with it until we get better shielding and besides, I?ve got an idea for altering the routine we used to hack Crystal?s hand held in order to get into the fleet?s update system again. It?s quite different than what we did before and I want to give it a try.[/B]?

Jason grinned, ?[B]Still determined to get into the Catalyst?s systems are you?[/B]?

?[B]Damn straight! I want to know if Kim is still alive and I?ll be damned if I?ll let that security keep me out.[/B]?

?[B]I agree, we need to find out more about this Elite Specialist, Daniel said that they are the best the Empire has to offer. If we can get into their systems we might be able to copy some of data and coding for the messenger ships. As well as finding out more about how they operate.[/B]? Jason replied.

Celestia turned to Jason a determined look on her face. ?[B]I?m positive that the Elite Specialist is the one behind finding the base in Australia and for capturing Kim. I tried asking Daniel but he says he doesn?t know. But if you think about it, logically they are the most likely candidate. I think they are responsible for the safe houses being raided in Europe and for rescuing Crystal as well.[/B]?

?[B]Why do you say that?[/B]?

?[B]It?s simple, based on the information we have on the other ships and personal, they are the only ones we have next to nothing on. And remember Daniel said that the messenger ships are the fastest and the best. He also said that they can even take on small battleships. For something that small to be able to do that, it must have the very best equipment available. So why else would they even send a specialist?

Daniel also said that they only answer to the High Council, not the military and you know that the High Council wants you, Sara, Daniel and myself. What better choice to hunt us down than one of their top agents? Based on what we know Kim was in the base that was destroyed. That would mean that they raided it first to catch her or anyone else important instead of simply blowing it up.[/B]? Celestia explained.

Jason winced, he had already entertained the thought that the specialist was there just to get them, but he had pushed it aside. But what Celestia was saying made sense. Everything thing they had seen had indicated that Stevens, Jared and the others were focusing primarily on the take over and implementation of Versilan rule. On shipping people off to other sectors. As big as Earth was and with the sheer population size. Realistically it would be logical to have someone who focused solely on finding the resistance, eliminating their bases and safe houses as well as catching wanted criminals.

Even more so if the person was skilled at such matters. Jason sighed inwardly. He had been focusing only on what needed to be done and nothing else, pushing such thoughts aside. But if Celestia was right, getting more information was crucial to their continued survival.

?[B]I agree,[/B]? He finally said. [B]?Lets get this done so we can get the new hacking routine ready.[/B]?[/COLOR]

[Horendithas]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]The moment the sound of heavy lasers firing went off Jared knew what was happening. It had been a while but he recognized the sound of a Pulse Cannon. He didn?t waste a moment in immediately opening his hand held and scanning the area. Not only was the resistance firing at the transports but they were doing so from within the city of London no less!

Unlike Darren or other members of the military, Jared?s hand held was different, all command officers were given a more advanced hand held computer. And he took advantage of it to scan the area. It took only a matter of seconds for him to pick up a shield that had been set in the city. There was no mistaking what it was. A disruption shield could only serve one purpose; it was designed to confuse firing sensors, making a strike from orbit impossible with out aiming manually at the target. As well as preventing a transport door from being opened right next to who ever was in the shield. But it didn't mean he couldn't transport to where the disruption ended.

[I]Oh no you don?t.[/I] Jared thought angrily as he entered the override codes for an emergency transport door from the ship to a location near the shield. He pulled out his disruptor and put his hand held in its pouch as he stepped through the door at the same time three more shots were fired. Without hesitation, the moment he exited the transport door he immediately fired upon a group of what had to be resistance members on the top of a huge warehouse. Approximately twenty yards from his position. And though they were carefully situated between some heavy crates for cover the cannon was clearly sticking up.

Jared ignored the resistance members in favor of taking out the cannon first, something he did with his first shot. Based on the number of times that the Pulse Cannon had been fired it was likely that both transport ships had already been hit. But if there was the slightest chance they had missed, he would make sure they didn?t get another one.

He kept himself turned sideways, offering as small a profile as possible as he fired again and again, forcing the resistance members to stay behind the crates. He was only wearing very light body armor under his clothes, as he had not been expecting to run into any trouble. Jared grimaced and staggered a bit when several shots grazed him. He continued to return fire, taking two of them out before a transport door finally opened above them and then quickly moved down taking the resistance members with it.

?[B]Shit![/B]? Jared swore. Quickly he moved to their location only to see that they had taken the two he had shot as well as the remains of the Pulse Cannon. He pulled out his hand held computer and used the scanner to began checking the area as two more transport doors opened and several security squads came through. Unfortunately, other than some fragments from the cannon from when he destroyed it, there was nothing left. He looked up when the security squads got closer.

?[B]Start checking the area immediately, I want a complete sweep of the entire city. Someone had to have seen something.[/B]?

?[B]Yes sir,[/B]? The squad leader turned to his teams. ?[B]You heard him, move out.[/B]?

Jared watched them briefly as they turned and split into teams to start checking the immediately area. He finished scanning the area and then contacted Sandra.

?[B]What?s the status Jared?[/B]? She asked him the moment the transmission opened.

?[B]It's the same as what they did in the US. The resistance used a Pulse Cannon.[/B]? Jared paused as he turned to look back in the direction of the where the transport ships were supposed to have landed. It was clear from the plume of black smoke rising that they had crashed.

?[B]Both transports were hit before I could take out the Cannon. I got two of the resistance members as well before they transported out of the area.[/B]?

?[B]It looks like they hit you as well,[/B]? Sandra replied indicating the burn mark running across Jared?s chest as well as the one along the left side of his head from the disruptor fire.

?[B]It?s nothing. What?s more important is locking down London and doing a full sweep. Even if the resistance can transport out of the area I want every building here scanned and checked. If they?ve been treating the walls to prevent transports like they did with the safe house Crystal was held in, it will be easy to determine if a building is being used as a safe house by the resistance.[/B]?

Sandra nodded, ?[B]Agreed, now that the reinforcements have arrived I?ll authorize sending some that were meant for the US to the UK instead.[/B]? She paused, taking on a look that brooked no argument. ?[B]It will take a few hours for for the troops to be reassigned, that's more than enough time for you to transport back here to be treated Jared.[/B]?

Jared started to object and then changed his mind, ?[B]Understood, what of Darren?[/B]?

Sandra paused as she turned to look something up. ?[B]Darren was transported back to the ship.[/B]?

?[B]And the pilots of the transports?[/B]?

?[B]None of them survived the impact.[/B]?

?[B]I see.[/B]? Jared said coldly. ?[B]I?ll transport up immediately to get treated and then I?ll start the sweep of the city.[/B]? He closed the transmission and requested a transport door to the Creator. As soon as the doctor was through he would turn this city upside down. Since Sandra had pointed out how it would take time for the necessary troops to arrive anyway, it wouldn?t hurt to humor her and get treated. And then once he was done with the city he would systematically move outwards going from town to town until he found all of them. [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[color=darkslateblue]The descent to Earth had been a bit more interesting than expected. The [i]Transcendence[/i] was operating under full stealth, so it was unlikely that the Resistance attackers noticed it. It noticed the attackers, though. "This could get interesting," Daego said.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Yeah, but we're staying out of it," Kiva said. "Fall back and warn the [i]Influx[/i]. They've got a pulse cannon down there, and one of thouse could easily take out the [i]Influx[/i]."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]The warning was too late. The [i]Transcendence [/i]fell back and sent the warning, but the [i]Influx[/i] was hit before it could do anything. The following transport had more time to react, but it was hit anyways. The [i]Transcendence[/i] had stayed far enough back that the Resistance people couldn't see it, and the stealth systems would prevent them from detecting it, so that wasn't a problem, but the loss of the transports messed things up a bit. Kiva and Daego had planned to make use of troops being brought down on the [i]Influx[/i], but now those troops were dead. They could be replaced, though, so the operation was still a go.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Okay, let's do this," Kiva said. "Daego, clear us a zone as close as possible. I'll get more troops sent down.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"...and the two of us can't do this ourselves," Kiva was saying to Stevens over a transmission. "We need replacement troops down here as soon as possible, so we can move on the base. And make sure they have the same special-issue gear the original team had. They'll need it."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Understood," Stevens said. "Response teams are already in London, and more troops will be sent as soon as they're ready. We can send aditional troops for your assult with them."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"Good. Have them notify us when they've arrived. We should be ready to commence the attack by then. Kiva out." She closed the channel, then turned to Daego. "How're things going on your end?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#483d8b]"I've cleared a space, and the drone is in and moving. And yes, I remembered to set its stealth systems to full." With the drone at full stealth, it wouldn't be detected, and if the Resistance did detect anything, it'd look like a simple fluxuation in the base's shielding, something that they'd be used to. Such fluxuations were common when shielding was used underground, so the Resistance wouldn't see anything suspicious about it. Which would only make their suprise than much more complete.[/color]

[Aaryanna_Mom]

When Daniel had first realized what was contained in the message from the Elite Specialist he couldn?t believe what he was reading. He had quickly pulled up a reading from the sensors they had and it still was hard to believe. Other than being slightly bigger, there was virtually no difference in the readout. The Grade B sensors they had were not up to the task of seeing that there was a difference between the Catalyst and the new Messenger Ship Transcendence. The signal was so identical that the deviation was not enough to even register that the ship was slightly bigger. And the specifications as to its abilities were hard to believe as well.

Daniel had never heard of any ship being designed and fitted with perfect crystals. Not only were they expensive to produce, but the time frame was lengthy as well. But according to the report, there was a research facility on Mars just for doing research on the process. [I]I wonder how long that facility has been there? [/I]Not that it mattered. Even if it was within transport range, they lacked the equipment for getting around a class X shield. The best he could do was to let William know just what they were up to.

The new Messenger Ship though that was another matter, it was a serious threat. Based on the information, the only ships it couldn?t take on were the flagships. Even the Crimson would not be able to stand up to it. But more importantly, it was faster than the older ships. Daniel didn?t know the exact capabilities of William?s ship, but it was possible that even he would no longer be able to outrun them. Even if Celestia and Jason had doubled the transport range, it would do them no good to attempt to escape if the Transcendence could catch them. William had been considering getting them off of Earth now that a third of the fleet had left. It was a good thing he was too busy elsewhere. Otherwise, it could have been a disaster.

The part of the report about how Kiva and her crew had been responsible for raiding the safe houses and rescuing Crystal did not surprise him. Daniel had kind of expected it. The way they were raided without even the base finding out until later had led him to believe that they were responsible. But the part of the report that had chilled him the most, enough that Daniel had actually felt himself start to panic was that the Transcendence had detected the location of the base under London in the UK. He had read that part twice to reassure himself that it did indeed state that the base in the US had not been found.

Daniel resisted the urge to rip his hair out from frustration. He wanted to move everyone from the UK to the US. But he couldn?t think of a single reason to justify moving them. If he evacuated everyone, it would be clear that someone had snitched. Putting Kiva?s position in jeopardy. He was torn, knowing logically what he should do and yet racked with guilt over the thought of knowingly leaving them there to be caught unawares.

It was similar to when he had decided to attack the transports. In spite of carefully targeting the engines to avoid a full crash, they had still done so. Killing not only the pilots but the troops on them as well. Daniel had known the chance of the pilots surviving was poor, but he had hoped to avoid killing the troops. Even if targeting the military was considered acceptable by the Resistance. He still hated doing so. Daniel put the thoughts aside to answer an incoming message from the base in Europe. Once again it was the officer there.

?[B]What is it?[/B]? He asked, concerned by their panicked expression.

?[B]We?re got a problem sir. The military has issued martial law for the city of London and the surrounding areas. They?ve transported quite a few troops here and they are combing the city. Anyone found with Versilan based technology is being arrested on the spot. As well as anyone who is a Versilan since they are scanning everyone and every building as well.[/B]?

?[B]When did this happen?[/B]?

?[B]It started an hour after the transports were shot down sir. I?ve moved everyone to different safe houses and some of them here to the base, but there just isn?t enough room to bring everyone in. What do you want me to do?[/B]?

Daniel hid a smile; he knew just what to do. ?[B]What were are going to do is go into silent mode. Other than the bare minimum of personal needed to run the base, everyone is going to be moved to the secondary safe houses in the US immediately. I?m going to open a transport door and I want you to start sending people here. Once you?ve finished other than the shielding you are to turn off absolutely everything that isn?t needed for the base to run.[/B]?

?[B]Yes sir, I?ll get started immediately. Once we are done how long do you want us to stay in silent mode?[/B]?

?[B]We?ll start with a week, possibly two. Once things settle down I?ll start sending people back so you can continue operations there.[/B]?

[B]?Understood.[/B]?

Daniel waited until the transmission was done to breath a sigh of relief. As much as he regretted that the troops in the transport had died, the resulting lock down had given him the perfect excuse to move almost everyone to the US. He got up to go and oversee the transfer of personal from the UK. Now he just had to hope they were able to finish before the base was attacked.