The War of Survival: FT RP

//Stars, I'm not going to reply to your post just yet, as I want to bring my RL friends Zutanari and Roxolani in this fight. Also, whenever it comes to something big happening with the Ker'Athal, or something like their major armies are moving, I would prefer to have me do it as I'm controling the maps and applications. If you guys want to add something, TG me so we can throw ideas together.

I'll be posting a reply to you, Toro, in a few.//

//ok, I never said that they came through. //

Hunter

Hunter stood and watched as the ship was gently sat down on the tarmac, and he was accompanied by his Rysedeiniik with an extra member that made seven, Bors Quethsegol's son Horuus.

The detail brought with him were all Vanguards and Vanguard Knights of the First Legion, and they were dressed in full battle gear, along with Hunter, who was in full battle armor of a Vanguard Knight.

He, alone, stepped forward to the ship, and inspected it for himself. He could see men preparing defensive positions and choke points on the ship. He expected this, any honorable species would go out fighting, and he admired it.

Commander Darei came forth to him and knelt, "Milord Hunter."

Hunter turned, "Darei, it is good to see you again. You know you don't have to kneel in front of me, rise."

Darei rose, "Begging your pardon sir, but I honestly didn't believe the news when you came back. You always prove us wrong, milord, and I am appreciative of it. Welcome back."

"It is good to be back, Darei. What can you tell me of these people?" Hunter asked.

"For one, they aren't as technologically advanced as us. It took them jumping one of our ships to do the damage it did, and our ship will be out of commission for a week or two. They're honorable people, and very intelligent in the arts of war. The rest though, you may want to see for yourself," Darei explained.

Hunter nodded and touched Darei's head. To the aliens on the ship, it was only for an instant, but to the two Dotarians, it was quite some time to learn it all. Once the connection was broken, and Hunter learned of the Collective, he stepped closer to the ship.

"Torrogian Collective Soldiers, you have fought well against my people even in the eyes of certain doom. You did, however, fire upon us first however, whenever we were peacefully meeting you. Honestly, had it been any other Dotarian Ryse, you would all be dead and not brought here. I am a merciful man, and since your men have proven their valor on the field of battle, I shall spare their lives and provide proper living spaces for them.

"However, Wovis, the only way I'll do this is if you come forth to me and explain yourself to me. You are a wonderful tactician, and we'll need all the help we can get in the coming fight against a foe that seeks the destruction of all sentient life in this galaxy. These beings are merciless, fearless, and cold-hearted. They are a race of sentient machines that can overwhelm our galaxy, and I'll show you them if you come to me. Your men have fought enough, let them rest for a while. You have fought long enough for your Collective, there is no need to fight anymore.

"You don't come to me, however, and there will be serious consequences. I can see that you are barricading your ship, covering choke points and doorways so as to stop my advance toward you. I won't give you the courtesy of being able to kill my men. I will not storm your ship, I'll destroy it in fire. What I will do, is I will burn you in fire to where you cannot fire upon us. You will not get an honorable death, you will only get death. Cease your struggle, and live to fight for your honor another day."

With that, Hunter raised his hand to signal the Vanguards surrounding the ship to pull charging handles on their weapons, for tanks to aim their turrets at the ship, and for Vector Gunships to swoop down and aim their weapons at the ship, showing the Collective personnel that there would be no getting out alive if they fought.

Reserdan
Presidium City
Emperor Sanji Masaki
The Rising Darkness

On the Planet of Reserdan, the Heartland of the Dark Jedi Republic a City Wide Storm had formed on this day, drenching Presidium City in a torrent of Rain, a gloomy day indeed, however the Storm was matching the feeling of the condition of the Dark Jedi Republic, something dark was coming over the horizon, something of the likes the Dark Jedi had never saw.

In the Emperor's Observation Dome, the Joint Chief's of Staff: Grand Admiral James Quimond, Grand Moff Thrawn, Commander Gilad Pellaeon, and High Dark Jedi General Myaku Masaki were sitting around a massive Holomap of the Galaxy, whist Chancellor Ryaku Masaki and Emperor Sanji were sitting on two of the larger seats...

"All over the Nations of Strategos Prime, we have had reports of Chaos in these nations, and on our Long Range Scanners, we have reports of Deep Space Movement, this could be tied with what is causing these crisis's in the other nations." Grand Admiral Quimond stated, standing up from his seat.

Grand Moff Thrawn also stood up and replied "Yes, even my Chiss Agents have reported these Deep Space Activities and reported it back to me, and judging of their movements, they seem to be arming for some type of war, and we have no intel on their capabilities, i suggest that the Republic should also arm itself for a defense against these invaders, they could pose a threat if we let it slide." Thrawn stated before he sat back down.

This in turn caused Commander Pellaeon to rise up and state "This might cause a stirring from the citizens down in the other cities, this could also lead to all-out panic if we do not approach it correctly, and that might even cause us to be ill prepared to combat this threat-" Pellaeon was then interrupted by Myaku who stated in support of Pellaeon "Yes Commander, you may be right, but doing nothing is the same as being unprepared, so we should order our troops to be on the look out for anything that is different, and just quietly prepare for war, we need to keep the Civilians out of this if we are to combat this threat, what do you think Ryaku, Sanji?" Myaku asked.

Both Ryaku and Sanji looked at each other and conferred with each other regarding this "Yes brother, this seems to be one of the wiser courses of action for the Republic to take, but you have forgotten two other factors that would change the outcome, The Communist Reich and the Mandalorian Enclave, so far they have been left out of the loop of things." Chancellor Ryaku stated, letting Sanji finish for him "We need to get the Mandalorians and the Reichians involved in this, you four are to prepare a Presentation for the Reich and the Mandalorians about this upcoming threat." Sanji finished.

All of the Chiefs of Staff stood up and saluted the Emperor and Chancellor "It will be done my lord." Grand Moff Thrawn stated for everyone as all four Chief's gathered their belongings and departed the Observation Dome.

//Would you like me to send you an envoy to see you about the Ker'Athal threat?//

Dotaria wrote://Would you like me to send you an envoy to see you about the Ker'Athal threat?//

//Sure//

//How are your standings with my people? We've never gone to war with one another, but we haven't fought together. So, in a civil war between Democratic Governments and Fascist Governments, who would your people choose?//

Dotaria wrote://How are your standings with my people? We've never gone to war with one another, but we haven't fought together. So, in a civil war between Democratic Governments and Fascist Governments, who would your people choose?//

//I would prefer a Democratic Government, but i might go all Commander Shepherd in helping to unite the two people.//

//Then you would have fought with me in the Civil War, we're on good terms.//

Ambassador Yeruus Jeraine entered Republic space coming directly from Requiem and the Ryse to warn the Republic about the coming onslaught.

"This is Republic Command, state your intentions," Communications over the Dotarian Xenos Class Warship said.

Ambassador Jeraine smiled, "This is Ambassador Yeruus Jeraine from the Dotarian Confederacy, requesting permission to dock and to speak with Emperor Sanji."

"Ah, a Dotarian. It's meen a long time since we've gotten the pleasure of having a Dotarian in our space. Your people tend to keep to themselves, its rare to have a warship in our space. Your intentions are peaceful?"

"Yes, though soon, peace will not be upon us, and all of our lives will be in danger. I'm speaking to Emperor Sanji about an alliance and to see if he has our backs," Jeraine replied.

"You're clear to dock. Your number is 5-7-1-9 on our docking bay."

"Thank you sir."

They docked at the designated docking area, and flew a Pelican down to the surface of the planet to another tarmac. Jeraine stepped out to the fresh air, and took in the sight of the Republic Planet. It was a beautiful sight that rivaled Requiem itself. As he turned, he saw the Emperor receiving him himself.

"Ah, Emperor Sanji!" Jeraine said, towering over the Emperor, as Dotarians did to most species. "It is good to see you. How are things doing in the Republic?"

Dotaria wrote://Then you would have fought with me in the Civil War, we're on good terms.//

Ambassador Yeruus Jeraine entered Republic space coming directly from Requiem and the Ryse to warn the Republic about the coming onslaught.

"This is Republic Command, state your intentions," Communications over the Dotarian Xenos Class Warship said.

Ambassador Jeraine smiled, "This is Ambassador Yeruus Jeraine from the Dotarian Confederacy, requesting permission to dock and to speak with Emperor Sanji."

"Ah, a Dotarian. It's meen a long time since we've gotten the pleasure of having a Dotarian in our space. Your people tend to keep to themselves, its rare to have a warship in our space. Your intentions are peaceful?"

"Yes, though soon, peace will not be upon us, and all of our lives will be in danger. I'm speaking to Emperor Sanji about an alliance and to see if he has our backs," Jeraine replied.

"You're clear to dock. Your number is 5-7-1-9 on our docking bay."

"Thank you sir."

They docked at the designated docking area, and flew a Pelican down to the surface of the planet to another tarmac. Jeraine stepped out to the fresh air, and took in the sight of the Republic Planet. It was a beautiful sight that rivaled Requiem itself. As he turned, he saw the Emperor receiving him himself.

"Ah, Emperor Sanji!" Jeraine said, towering over the Emperor, as Dotarians did to most species. "It is good to see you. How are things doing in the Republic?"

Emperor Sanji looked at Jeraine and smiled warmly, shaking Jeraine "Yes, things are doing very well here, however, i have received very disturbing news about Deep Space Activity that has my Chief's of Staff very concerned, so i must head off to New Germany and present to Premier Richtofen about this latest threat, so would it be a bother if we went with me to New Germany, we can talk about what is happening on the way." Emperor Sanji stated.

"Not at all," Jeraine replied, "though I'll have to bring my ship with me, if that's okay?"

Dotaria wrote:"Not at all," Jeraine replied, "though I'll have to bring my ship with me, if that's okay?"

Emperor Sanji smiled "Why of course, but anyways, i'll come with you, i need to be away from my entourage, this Emperor stuff includes way to many guards either way." Emperor Sanji said as he got into the Ship with Jeraine, his ship heading up to orbit, Emperor Sanji then turned to him and said "Enter these Coordinates: 0-6-5-1-3-2-7-5-2, that will bring us to New Germany using the Reichus Prime Route, a shortcut to New Germany." Emperor Sanji replied to Jeraine.

Jeraine wrote the coordinates on a piece of paper as they went back to the Destroyer. Once they boarded, he gave the coordinates to the Oficer on Deck and invited the Emperor to have lunch with him in the council room. A huge feast was brought out, and Jeraine reminded the Emperor of how much a Dotarian had to eat to stay alive, which was a whopping 10,000 calories.

"A high metabolism is both our savior and curse. It keeps us looking good, but if we didn't have the best logistics officers in the Galaxy, we would be in a lot of trouble whenever it would come to war," Jeraine joked, making the Emperor laugh.

"So, what is your business in Republic space?" the Emperor asked after laughing.

"I bring dire news. A storm is coming to Strategos Prime and is threatening to destroy all sentient life in our galaxy," Jeraine explained, then explained the returning of the Ryse, the arrival of the Lionids, the battle between the Lionids and the Ker'Athal, a discription of the Ker'Athal planet, and explained to him that there wasn't a lot of time left before Strategos Prime had to prepare for war.

"Does the Republic have Dotaria's back?" Jeraine asked after talking.

Balthazar


Balthazar was speaking softly to his eldest son Rokan, sipping from a glass of red wine, when suddenly, his grip on the glass loosened. Enough so that it fell from his hand and shattered on the floor below. Liquid spilled in every direction, and Balthazar dripped his chest. A feeling of terror and dread spread through him like a wild fire.


"Rokan....call the council of the 12 together....we may have to post pone The Challenge..." Balthazar said with a sad tone in his voice. Rokan, Balthazar's eldest son, turned from his father and started for the council chanmber, at the rear of the ship.

Balthazar had to call a meeting. It has been a long time since, and this feeling of dread that filled his heart, was almost to much to bare. He walked to a telescreen on the wall nearest the porthole to the vacuum of space, and spoke in his native tongue to his. But while he was speaking, one word rang out....Hunter.... The screen lit up and he began speaking a message.

" Hunter, I know you are busy but we have a problem. The stars life has been extinguished. The enemy is beginning to pour through. I thought we had more time, but their other fleets must have returned from conquest, with stronger weapons. I have already called together the 12, so that we might discuss further action. I need you and the Rox to help me find a place for my women and children. All of the men can fight but the elderly and others must be out of harms way. They have already has to bury to many of their children. I will contact Riorn, and confer with him as well, but I request both you and your mate to be present at this meeting. It is important that we all understand what we must do before the enemy reaches their first target. Hunter please make haste.....the Ker'Athal are coming...." With that Balthazar tuned the screen to a different frequency. One that reached the whole of his fleet. He came on screen and gave one simple command, that every man, woman, and child, not only understood....but one they feared they would hear again.

"Warriors.......Shamen.....mothers....fathers....brothers.....sisters....sons..........daughters....PREPARE FOR BATTLE!!!!"

Hunter

Hunter heard Balthazar's plea and looked down, with the wreckage of the Torogian ship before him. He turned to Rayne and Bors. "Take over here, The Ker'Athal are breaking through. The star I put in it's place is destroyed, they'll pour out any second. I'm taking the First, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Legions with me, 4 million strong. Hold things down here."

"Yes, my love," Rayne said, then embraced Hunter and kissed him.

"I'll hold things down here, Hunter," Bors said.

Hunter turned and saw Riorn. "Ready your men, brother," Hunter said in haste, "We've run out of time."

Riorn's eyes widened a little, then he regained his composure, "Alright. I need a ship back to Roxas and some transports to help. Where am I needed once I gather my men?"

"With Bors. You can use the Xenos Class Destroyer Luaan. We may have another war with the people you see behind me, so we must be ready for them. I have to take my bigger forces and hit the Ker'Athal head on to buy us some time. May the Gods and Titans watch over you, my friend," Hunter said.

"You as well, Hunter," Riorn said, then turned to go home and gather his men.

Within minutes, Hunter was at the Council of 12, listening to the Shamans under Balthazar, itching to take his fleet to the Ker'Athal.


The Ker'Athal

A large fleet of over 7,000 ships stood ready to jump through the portal gate to destroy the new fleshlings, who called themselves Dotarian and Lionid //It's the only ones they've met, so they're the only ones they're after right now.//

The order was given, and all of the ships lit up blue to charge their weapons. Shields charged and engines powered up, indicating the fleet was ready to go. They then pushed for the gate to meet their new enemy.

" We cannot send the entire fleet" Rokan said from across the table. He sat under the signal of Water, one of the 2 that sat there. The other was Josak, an elder in the discipline of Water. Balthazar looked around the table at the other five symbols. Under the sigil of Fire sat Balthazar's other son, Misan and Trilis. Under the sign of Earth sat Chika and Hika, twin brother and sister. Under the Wind symbol sat Shokus and Yimta, also elders in the discipline of Wind. Under Electricity was Riku and Kilala. These two also sat under the sign of Spirit.

Hunter noticed something about each of the Shamen present that he hadnt noticed before. Each one almost appeared to embody the elements they practiced. Almost as if they were elemental themselves. He looked at Balthazar waiting for a response.

" Rokan.....take your brother and gather the Shamen....Riku....take our sons and get the Civilians to Kexas. We need to get our ships cleared. The rest of you prepare for battle..." Balthazar looked serious.

Misan looked at his father and screamed in anger, " I am not going to sit idly by while you go to battle again father."

With a loud roar, Balthazar stood to his feet and yelled, " You will do as your tol, you are my cub, and barely out of your mother's womb, do not defy me, no GO!!!!!!"

With that the three left, and Balthazar looked to Josak, and in a low, angry voice, " Go and over see the exodus from the ships, and thenprepare 30 of them. We leave for the Gate as soon as they are ready."


Balthazar looked at Hunter and gave a samll nod and a smile. " Let's go to war..."

Hunter smiled, and pulled something from his armor. He sat it down on the table, and a hologram map popped up from the table. "Alright now, down to business. The Ker'Athal are going to be filling out from the gate and attacking Admiral Gout's men from Falling Stars. They won't be able to hold for any longer than an hour or two if it is a full invasion force, so we'll have to jump there and do it quickly. Now, since this is Gout's position, he'll have to retreat to this planet here." Hunter pointed to a planet on the Dotarian side of the Galaxy. "We'll jump here first to see if he is here, and if he is in the mids of retreating or he is still at his position, we'll enter the center of the Galaxy from here."

"We'll have to fight forward probably, as the Ker'Athal's numbers are too massive for a single fleet to stand up against. We WILL be pushed back Hunter, trust me," Balthazar said.

Hunter nodded, "Then what we'll do is have our transport ships drop men on this planet and hold this position while we take our warships directly to the center. This planet is our fallback position. How do the Ker Athal fight in space?"

"Like wolves..."

Hunter chuckled, "We fight like wolves too. What are their weapons like? Their mannerisms of fighting?"

"They'll overwhelm you if you try to stay and fight. They have plasma weaponry that can easily burn through our ships, and our ships aren't designed to weave in and out with theirs to stay moving. If you stay moving, you'll be harder to hit," Balthazar said.

Hunter sat back, digesting the information. "Alright then, I want your ships, since they're so few in number and they can't dogfight like ours can, to stay in the rear of our procession and provide fire for our ships. When I say retreat, you need to retreat or your ships will be blown to hell and back. I'll do what I can to stem their advance so Admiral Gout can retreat to our fallback position. We'll have to fortify the hell out of this planet so we can hold them here and not hit any of our other planets."

"We need a contingency plan if they overwhelm us here," Balthazar said, acting like he was seeing into the painful future.

Hunter paused, taking in the pain on the lion's face. He then said, "Once they start taking space around the planet, it would be suicide to hold that position. We'll retreat back and fortify our planets. We have to buy time to create an army to go to their homeworld. We can-"

"You don't know what it's like to fight on their turf, Hunter. Hell, as I was told when I was younger, was fire. It's not, Hunter, it's cold and black except for the blue that illuminates their planet. True fear is found there... True fear..." Balthazar said, interrupting there.

"But so is Vengeance," Hunter said, "at least, for you."

Balthazar nodded, smiling, "Oh yes, vengeance too, but fighting at their home... It's like they expect it."

"They won't be expecting what I bring to the field, but that is for a later date. Let's focus on our task at hand."

"Aye, let's go to war."

They went to their ships and flew to the rendezvous planet and to war.

Riorn looked to the captain of the Luaan and gave the order, "Get me to Roxas immediately, if not sooner." He said, turning to the communications officer, "I need a message sent to the Rox camp outside of the Citadel on Requiem." The officer nodded and prepared to send the message, "Whenever you're ready, sir." the man said looking at Riorn expectingly.

"Driera. Prepare the men. The enemies of our new allies have broken through and we are not yet finish with our battles against the Torogian Collective. I am on a ship back to Roxas to gather the outer tribes for war. Get our forces prepared to fly. There should be enough of our ships in orbit around Requiem to carry whats left of our men to Bors' location. Spirits protect you, love." He said, nodding to the communications officer and walking back to the pilot.

"How long before we reach Roxas?" Riorn asked the pilot.

"Give me a few minutes to ditch the gravity fields, and we should be arriving shortly. Go ahead and buckle up, sir, this won't take long but it might be bumpy," the pilot said as Riorn nodded and turned to sit down in the chair reserved for the commanding officer on the bridge.

After a few minutes, Roxas came into view and Riorn nodded, "Alright. You stay above Roxas and wait. When all of the ships have returned, we will return to Requiem. Hopefully this shouldn't take too long." Riorn said as he walked over to a pelican and jumped in, going through exit procedures and launching off, gathering up the entire Roxan fleet from the station orbiting the planet and bringing them to the massive gathering on the other side from Roxis, the camp was so large it could be seen from orbit, the fires looking like a star on the planets surface. Riorn told each of the pelican pilots to get ready to launch, and when they landed, not to exit their ship, and to leave the doors closed.

When the mass of pelicans landed on the outskirts of the camp, Riorn stepped out of the pelican and stood before the massive crowd that was gathering around the group, many armed and angry looking, fully prepared to kill until they saw Riorn.

"Rox! I need a council with your leaders. Both of the criminal clans, and the outriders. This is important to the survival of us all. Will you meet me? On open ground?" He asked, knowing full and well that despite the respect he got here, demands would get him no where.

"Aye, Snow-claw. You are known for your honor. We will meet you," said an old man, stepping from the crowd, willowy and weak in his old age, although well known and respected by all present. "Bring us ale and meat for our guest. We cannot have a meeting on an empty belly, or a dry throat. It would be shameful." he said, pointing to two of the stronger looking young men who nodded and brought out many skins of ale as well as a roasted boar, fifty other men stepping from the tribe, young and old, thick and strong, or willowy and weak, all of them bearing the marks of war and carrying their tools for battle with them.

"Thank you, Jirak. I did not know that you still lived, friend, or I would have visited you. You son Jorn said that he took the clan after you died," Riorn said as he embraced the former leader of the southern clans.

"Hehehe, I'm not dead yet, although if my son still breaths, I would ask that you stop him from doing so. He is a liar and a thief, and I would not have him disgrace these lands with his foul presence any longer," Jirak said, spitting on the floor in anger.

"He lives no more, nor is does was his blood spilled upon our holy planet. He died in a distant empire, Dotaria. That is why I have called you all here. I would have you all rejoin the sacred council, and the Rox people, in our battle to defend this entire galaxy, and to defend our home and allies. There is an enemy that will destroy everything. Every clan, every race. They are brutal and they no not the word mercy, only slaughter. The entirety of Strategos Prime, the coalition of our galaxy's peoples, is gathering to fight these machine-men. The Rox need your people as well. I already called away many of the sons and daughters of Roxas to fight with the Dotarians against the Herat'Fuum. That was when Jorn died. Your grandson has taken up the mantle of Southern Chieftain and he has done his job well. He is more like his grandfather than anyone else," Riorn said, to the council of men, giving Jirak and smile and a pat on the shoulder as he sat to his right. "So to sum up what I have said: I need what soldiers you can give, and I need them now, to put in a ship and travel to fight a foe that has destroyed entire galaxies, and has now come to ours. They will not ally with anyone, only slaughter. Who will join me?" Riorn asked as he looked around, all of the Chieftains looked at each other.

Jirak stood immediately and nodded, "I will give my warriors to you. They know their poisons and they know how to stay in the shadows. They would make good scouts and assassins should you need them."

Tiorlin, another old man stood as well, "My clan is with you, Riorn. The Snow-claw is known to fight only when he must. If you say we are needed, then we will answer the call. As will all of my brothers in leadership." He said, looking to the others, who seemed to think, realizing that it was an immediate decision they needed to make. They all stood.

"Riorn. Will we need to go too? Or will you lead our men? Personally?" another chieftain asked, the short obvious adolescent stepped out and looked up to him, a few small daggers on his belt, the largest of them dripping with poison and caked in dried blood.

"I would appoint a champion from your clan, your most loyal and bravest warrior to lead your men if, like you, Jirak, you were old and frail, or sick and weak. I could not bear the thought of any of you Chieftains dying because you couldn't stand to the machinations of those we will fight against. Gather two of every three of your warriors and hunters, and bring them to this field. The one will stay and defend your people while the others on gone, so you are not helpless. Time is lives of our allies, so be fast about this," Riorn said as he stood and buried his halberd tip in the ground, pulling his hand back and the handle being covered in frost. "This council is hereby dismissed." He said, as he turned and walked away, taking the wolf skull that made his hood and draping it over him to shade him from the hot sun as he walked towards the celebration fields, wanting to meet some of the people that the clans had thrown out. He drank multiple skins of ale over the few hours it took for the Chieftains to gather their men and choose their regents, and heirs should they fall if the Chieftain was leaving, or their Champion if they were to stay. While the armies gathered, knowing that the twenty or so transport ships that had traveled with him were gathering support from the tribes celebrating around Roxis, he found a couple of women and he danced around the fires with them, laughing, and when he'd fall back to lay down when he was tired of the fast paced music, he would always close his eyes and breath out, only open them to see a bunch of small children gathered around him, amazed at his size, they would grab him by his arms and drag him up, the some of the little girls wanting to dance with the large Chieftain, while the boys and some of the older girls all wanted to wrestle around, Riorn putting up a "good fight" but suddenly falling back as soon as the rest of the little warriors would jump in, acting defeated as they all jumped on top of him the entire dog pile laughing until Riorn opened his eyes from playing dead and wrapped them all up in a large bear hug, jumping up as a few of them clambered up to dangle from his horns or tusks, a few of the smaller children even crawling into his beard or hair and laughing as he danced around the fire, laughing as they dangled from his arms and legs too. He was in the middle of this odd show of affection for the children when Jirak hobbled up and, smirking at the oddity yelled.

"Riorn! The men are gathered! To you must go." He shouted, Riorn looking up and sighing, walking over and nodding, embracing the old man, a few of the children even clambering onto Jirak's shoulders who just chuckled and let out a moan of feign discomfort.

"Oh! You children are so big and strong my old body can't hold you up!" he said with a chuckle as the mothers of the children all walked forward, picking their kids off of the two men and taking them back to the fires.

"Thank you old friend. Pray to the spirits for us. We all could use as much help as we can get in these trying times. And visit your grandson, he believe his grandfather dead. He should meet the man for whom he has been named after by the High Council," Riorn said with a wink as he hugged him again and looking back, waved goodbye to the gathering, "Runak Rox!" he bellowed, the crowd answering with a silent fist to their chest, then raising it up high in a salute.

"Wait a moment, he was renamed when he became Chieftain?" Jirak said, turning and rushing to walk behind Riorn, confused.

"Aye. It was my idea that he should have a name of honor, not the same name as his father. He was supposed to be his fathers heir, in name and title, but I put up the vote to change his name to that of his Grandfather, or at least name him after you. It was passed unanimously. Jirakas leads well for a boy his age," Riorn said as he started climbing the steps into his pelican and bellowed for the men, gathered in the field around them to start climbing into the pelicans to be transported up to the Roxan fleet. When the men had finished clambering into the pelicans, never having even seen a ship before, Riorn was amazed this was going this well as they all lifted off, to load into the waiting transports.

A few trips to and from the surface later.

"Alright. Lets get back to the Luaan that way I can tally up how many men we're bringing up. This is the last bit of reinforcements we will be able to draw upon..." Riorn said, to the captain of the transport ship, as he programmed the coordinates for Roxis into the ships computers and the ship slowly started forward, the entire fleet falling in, a total of 371 ships, all gathering around Roxas, eighty of them were Roxan transports, 20 of them were Dotarian transports, the one Dotarian war ship, the Luaan, was at the lead with Riorn looking over the numbers, leaving a total of 270 Roxan warships all armed and loaded with supplies, readying the jump.

"Pilot. Get us to the moon Bors and Driera are on. The 39 million we have now is the last army the Rox can form. No one can question our dedication to this war now, nor will we lose, without losing gravely," he said, turning and looking at the gathering of Chieftains and champions behind him. "Tell your men that we will be arriving in a few minutes. And to prepare their stomachs, Faster Than Light speed is a bitch." he said with a grin before turning back around and sitting down, looking out of the front of the bridge and sighing. "20 years is not near long enough peace..." he said to himself as he felt the ships exit the gravitational pull of Roxas and enter into FTL speed. The other ships falling in behind the Luaan.

Wovis thought about his options. He sighed and lowered his weapon. The things were in his head again. There was no way that the being didn't implant something in his brain. Wovis looked around. "We either walk out and give them the technology stored within this vessel and walk away with our lives or we stay and die." Most of the crewmen and marines around Wovis stood up as well. Wovis spoke into his suit's communicator. "Stand down. Stand down. I repeat, stand down. Walk out slowly. No weapons. Helmets off." The crew complied with Wovis's orders, and started to walk to the several exits on the ship.

And as expected, the 154 crew members - the ones that survived - walked out of the ship, helmets off and without weapons. Wovis was the last to walk out.

//Sorry for the long wait and the short reply. I'm currently a little busy.//

Bors walked up to Wovis, "I am taking over this negotiation while my Lord is away. As you saw, he had to leave. I'm about to explain to you why." He then turned to the Vanguards, "Take these people to Block 46, and give them good rations."

"Gentle treatment?"

Bors nodded, then turned back to Wovis. "You are quite a man, commander. Come, let us eat."

They sat down at a table brought up with a lavish ammount of food on it. "Where are you taking my men?"

Bors nodded, fully understanding that the man was worried agout his men. "Block 46 is a prison for mostly lords and ladies, or people of high status. They will be taken care of and live comfortably, but they will be held there for the duration of their time here. They're also being fed, though not as lavishly as you are right now, as you are eating with a Dotarian. Let me explain to you what is happening..."

Bors told him of the Ker'Athal, and what their mission was. He described them in vivid detail, and told him how their numbers were too vast to describe. After he was done, he asked the alien, "Do you think your people will help us?"

Wovis sighed. He was rather surprised that the being could communicate through Wovis' brain. This eliminated the language barriers that have started wars and conflicts throughout the Collective's history. Wovis thought about it for a split second before declining. "That is not my decision to make. I am a mere Lancer. If you turn my ships system's back on, I may be able to call an Archon which can forward the message to the High Council." Wovis thought about it some more.

"But of course, destroying four frigates would be considered an act of war. I do not think things would go well with the Fleet if it arrived. See...I activated my distress beacon and sent a message to the fleet. It's likely they are on their way right now with ill intention. Not to mention an intrusion in the mind is...considered illegal in Torogian Collective space."

But nonetheless Wovis was glad that he didn't have to worry about the language barrier. But he was concerned about how this being was in his head. Let alone how Wovis could understand the being.

//Just wondering if the interrogator is speaking English or Collective Standard Language - since the other guy stated that he learned the language just by glancing through Wovis's mind.//

//He is speaking the Collective language.//

Bors smiled and looked down. "I understand it isn't your decision, as I would expect my Knights not to make any decisions for my country as well. Still..." Bors thought some more, the asked, "How do I know that you won't turn on me and give away the position of my home?"

"You don't." Wovis replied. "The fleet will be here any moment now. I have no ruling on how they handle the situation. Personally, I am offended that you are in my head, right now." Wovis gave Bors a death stare. "Which is why I opened fire on the first man that boarded my ship. I do not think relations between the Torogian Collective and...whatever you people are...will go smooth."

Wovis looked off to his side, looking out. "Where have you taken my fallen crew? And what of the wreckages where the battle took place?"

"Your fallen in the field were left where they were," Bors said, getting angry at the slyness of the alien before him, "Right now, I'm not in your head. What I CAN do, is slaughter your men myself by ripping them apart with my bare hands, after I fry your brain. Treat with me CIVILLY, or I will be forced to do something I will regret. Your people are not as technologically advanced as ours, I can glass your worlds in the blink of an eye and won't lose sleep. I can destroy you, AND your pathetic races, or we can live in peace. YOUR actions RIGHT NOW will determine how I stand with your people. You are in NO position to tell me what I am going to do at my own HOME. YOU fired on US for NO reason other than you thought we were poking around with you. Trust me, If we wanted you dead you would be," Bors said, then turned to the nearest Vanguard and said in Dotarian, "Arm our planetary defenses and get our 6 fleets in space right this second. We may have a party coming to us."

"Geh, dii drog," The man said, then followed his orders.

Bors turned back to Wovis and leaned across the table, "I have given you food, hospitality, and shelter. Take life or I will give you death. We have enemies at both of our gates, I would advise you to pick life."

Wovis looked at the Dotarian with hatred, and the next words he would say would probably be the start of a war that was the last thing the Galaxy needed. Bors though, deep down, hoped the man would reconcile and help him.

Wovis let out a huff of air. "Technologically advanced? The ships you encountered were Kalicoroin-76 Frigates, also known as the Celu Class Frigate. It has the weakest armour and armament in the fleet to sacrifice for speed. You can think you are high and mighty, picking on the smallest within the pack. But do know that when the pack goes hunting, they come out victorious." Wovis knew that he would either be considered a hero or a traitorous, depending on the outcome. "Bring my ship's power back online and I will do what I can to stop the invasion. Your people destroyed my battlefleet, and I respect that. I will do what I can to delay your inevitable destruction. Whether or not we join you in your fight is not my choice, it is the High Council's choice." Wovis looked around, taking note of...well everything really.

Wovis noted the hard work put into...everything. He remembered the being's ships, and how sturdy they were. They - four frigates - destroyed one of the smaller ships, but he remembered how hard it was - even for a Celu Class. //Can't remember if I actually did destroy one of the Destroyers in that fleet. But since you destroyed four frigates I think it would be a fair trade if one of your Destroyers was well...destroyed. Also I did plan to incorporate that into one of my post but our battle ended shortly thereafter.// "The fleet will arrive here in...around ten standard collective time units. In that time I can delay them, but it is not guaranteed. They may arrive here quicker and have a bloodshed. If you want support - I will vouch for your species. If the fleet gets here first, then the Council would've already made their mind and they wouldn't trust a mere Lancer over the decision of three Archons." Wovis let out a small wince, standing up. His leg was still injured. "Unless if you want your fleets destroyed and your world glassed...I believe we have a common goal as of right now, Get me back to my ship."

//Whoops thought you were communicating via Wovis's brain again. But another note, Archons are essentially Fleet Admirals.//