Affairs of the Lylat System

[Star_Dragon]

(Since this was approved, I see no reason to delay it.)

 

Lylat. Home of the Lylat Federation. Sovereign territory of the Cornerian Defense Force. Site of the war against the forces of Andross. Now, a hotbed of activity. Mercenaries, bounty hunters, pirates, raiders... many characters of all stripes seek to get by, survive, and thrive in this system. Some do so by Force. Force of will, force of firepower, force of reason, intelligence, superiority. Some have nothing, where others have everything. Some have little more than the necessities to survive, where others have vast resources at their disposal.

 

In the bustling traffic of Corneria orbit, a battle group of three warships dropped out of warp. The first warship was a heavily-retrofitted Trafalgar-class Supercarrier, enlarged to twice it's size, refitted with weapons clearly meant to inflict massive damage to even starships equipped with Anti-Kadgeron defenses, and defenses designed to allow the ship to survive against starships of similar and larger tonnages. The ships ID transponder labeled it as the UACS Thermopylae. The next two ships dropping out of warp were a pair of Sangheili Assault Carriers, retrofitted just as much as the Thermopylae, but not enlarged. ID Transponders labeled them as the Darkness before Dawn and the Tyrant's Demise.

 

Normally, the sudden appearance of such heavily-armed warships would be cause for concern. However, none of the three new ships were running with shields or weapons powered. That, and coded comm signals were detected by certain CDF warships in orbit that suggested the owner of this battle group - one Lord-Admiral Markus Tokarev - was conversing with a CDF Mercenary liaison. Still, civilian traffic was steered around this group to avoid any incidents.

 

(Introduce yourselves as you see fit.)

[vonSteakhand]

Pigleon Claimston idly fiddled with the dashboard of his car as he waited for the light in front of him to turn green.

 

Let's see here, what's playing right now...? Mentally mused the pigeon as he cycled through the presets on his radio.

Station one, crap. Station two, also crap. Station three? Definitely crap.

 

"As usual." he grumbled to himself. "There are dozens of frequencies... and nothing to listen to."

 

This senseless complaining only continued as he realized that he had been sitting at the same light for over twenty seconds.  There was nothing to do but grin and bare the fact that he couldn't do anything about it.

 

Last time I volunteer for a business trip... or drive to any spaceports again. Ever.

[Star_Dragon]

While the battle group of retrofitted warships sat conversing with the CDF Mercenary Liaison, someone down planetside on Corneria was thoroughly enjoying himself. He flew between buildings in dragon form, with crimson scales and sapphire-blue dragon eyes. He flew right over Pigleon's car with a gust of wind, taking a left and following the road, destination seemingly unknown.

 

*     *     *     CORNERIA ORBIT     *     *     *

 

"... and you want these... 'Fiends' destroyed, correct?" asked a Cerinian Tiger with an inverted fur pattern of black with white stripes, speaking to the Liaison.

 

"If you want to take on their faction in such a suicide mission, sure - we'll triple the pay stipulated in the contract and pay it in addition to the contract. But again, that's a suicide mission; the contract only says to take out the leaders... somehow," the liaison responded.

 

"What intel can you give me on the leaders?" Markus asked.

 

"Admittedly, we know little of them," the Liaison responded. "In any case, we must request that you allow us to place a link in your computers, so we can verify you have taken out the targets."

 

"If that's all you want to place the link for, then you won't mind my crew isolating that link to prevent anyone from accessing... restricted information. I'm sure you understand," Markus stated.

 

"If it were my ship, I'd be doing the same," the Liaison affirmed. Markus gave a nod, and the link was placed.

 

"Now tell whoever is monitoring that link... be ready for a show," was the last thing Lord-Admiral Markus told the liaison before he cut the channel. Then, the three ships turned from Corneria and warped away...

[vonSteakhand]

"...What?!?" exclaimed Pigleon as a loud gust of wind passed right by his car. "Is this... is this some kind of song?" He asked himself as he gazed at his radio with an almost accusing look.

Fed up with the local broadcasts, he looked up at the light once again, snapping back into reality as several horns from behind informed him that the light had changed while he was distracted.

[Renardfrost]

Renard grunted as he slipped out of a nearby bar, with nothing but a slightly lighter pocket, a drink in hand and a bruised ego to show for it.  " Damn" he mused to himself. " No Info on him tonight... No info on anybody for that matter. I must be the only one here at the moment."  The vulpine Axian rubbed the back of his head.

" I Should head back to the hotel.. Relax a bit." He said making his way to the center of Corneria city. He figured he'd stay for a few days before moving on to Katina. He was bound to get a lead there.

[Star_Dragon]

Just as Renard was talking to no one in particular, getting ready to head back to the hotel, a young dragon with crimson scales and sapphire-blue dragon eyes landed nearby, then shifted forms, becoming a young Cerinian fox, probably in his mid-twenties, but still retaining his dragon eyes. Drake stretched, yawned, and headed for the bar. He stopped to ask Renard, "The drinks in here good?"

 

*     *     *     UNKNOWN AREA OF SPACE NEAR FORTUNA     *     *     *

 

The Thermopylae dropped out of warp with it's two escorts in tow in a temporary staging ground for United Alliance Coalition forces in Lylat. Lord-Admiral Markus stood and admired his fleet here. Though a fraction of his full forces, the fleet here was still massive - far more than the Fiends could ever handle. He imagined that the CDF specialist monitoring his mercenary link to the Thermopylae would be utterly shocked to see such a colossal task force. What's more is that every one of the ships showed no organic lifesigns on board - Markus was the only organic in the UAC. The rest were mobile holograms - sentient as a living, breathing person, but absent of the troublesome logistics Generals faced with commanding organic troops - things like food, water, rest, the works.

 

Markus discovered this kind of use for Hologram technology many years ago, when he was a boy on Cerinia before it was glassed by the Necromyans. Even then, he had the sense to keep this technology a closely-guarded secret. Sure, people knew he had a hologram army, but none knew how he built it. Markus knew the kind of damage it could do should such technology fall into the wrong hands. Soon after he built his army, he got his first ship. After he got his ship, the Necromyans came knocking. Markus and his forces evacuated as many as they could to the Striker, then left Cerinia for good. Markus dropped the survivors he evacuated off on a refugee convoy, then vanished into the stars. The time spanning then and the day he officially founded the UAC was a blur to him, but what set it in motion was the woman he never thought he'd see again: Krystal. A legend among the Cerinian people, having served alongside General Kyle Indari during the Marauder War. She became the head of what became known as the New Cerinia Command. Markus bumped into her at Drozana Station long ago, and everything changed.

 

After taking on a few missions with her, and having his ship refitted with the latest in weapons and defensive technology of the Dragon'taan Marauder Corps, Markus discovered a way to combine the DMC's Kadgeron weaponry with his already-existing Poleron weaponry. Such became the birth of Kapoleron weaponry widely used in the UAC fleet. Events moved quickly then, as Markus moved to secure the Thermopylae - originally a UNSC ship stolen by the Insurrectionists - and enlarge, repair, and refit it. From there, he moved to secure a major shipyard, with which he built the core of his fleet, using ship construction methods known only to the DMC, and from then until now, he and his faction became known as the United Alliance Coalition, an almost-sister faction to the DMC. General Kyle Indari himself even recognized it as a sovereign faction in it's own right.

 

And ever since then, Markus's faction had been growing, so much so that he decided to expand his reach to Lylat, hence the task force he was linking up with to take on the Fiends - a faction of space pirates and criminals that had plagued the CDF from their hidden base somewhere near the Sargasso Region ever since the Lylat War. This task force was a mixed bag of warships from multiple origins - Klingon, Cardassian, Sangheili, Reman, UNSC, and even ships from the Sith and Galactic Empires - but all of them sporting Anti-Kadgeron defenses and Kapoleron weaponry. A highly volatile and no less deadly mix.

 

"Sir," piped up Markus's Holographic Sangheili XO, "The fleet signals ready to depart."

 

"Very well," Markus responded. "Make ready to jump to the Fiend base."

 

The UAC task force formed up around the UACS Thermopylae, then warped with her to the suspected location of the Fiend base...

[Shmibli7]

Jasper threw a shoulder holster over his pressed white shirt. He reaches into the drawer of the  nightstand beside his bed in his suite in the Grand Lylat Hotel. He pulls a .57 caliber energy revolver from it and inserts it into the leather holster. He then throws his dinner jacket over his shoulders, concealing the weapon. He looks out if his window at the vast metropolis of Corneria City. 

 It was night and rain lightly poured, the  streetlights giving it a yellowish white ambience. As he wraps his tie around his neck, the jackal recalls why he was here. He Was on an undercover mission for the Cornerian Secret Service to investigate the smuggling of illegal weapons in the Cornerian underworld. He was posed as a mob leader who wanted to arm his gang and had a meeting with a suspected dealer at Vincent's Bistro, a restaurant that Corneria City's privileged liked  to eat at. 

As another precaution, Jasper takes a leg holster and pulls a small .28 caliber blaster pistol and  places it in the holster. He pushes his pant leg over it to cover it, then looks at himself in the mirror. All of his weapons were concealed. 

He heads out of the hotel and into the street when he comes to a local inside his car. He  watches as he drives by. 

Edited July 15, 2015 by Shmibli7
rp'rs stupitiy

[KazeKat]

Nadir sat in the corner of the bar watching the vulpine ask around for answers to something. He wasn't particularly interested it just happened to catch his eye. Nadir watched as he walked out of the bar. He rubbed his cigarette butt out and turned back to face the group he was sitting with.

Typical Nadir playing poker. The scruffy feline pushed in more money to the center of the table. "All in." He smirked. The winnings were at about 1,000 credits now. Nadir's face was dead pan as the cat slapped his cards on the table. The feline laughed, "Four of a kind." Nadir glanced at the cards on the table and dropped his hand in. "Royal flush!" one of the spectators barked. The vulture grabbed the winnings off the table and the cat stood up with a knife gripped tightly in his hand. "This is rigged! You cheated!" He hissed. Nadir stood up hand resting on his holstered blaster. He gently patted his gun and gave a small smile to the now shaking cat. "Look man! No trouble, I just need that money!" Nadir shook his head and tsk'd, "Tough luck pal.."

Nadir turned toward the bartender and shouted out, "A round for these lovely gentleman!" They all sort of stared at Nadir. The cat now putting away his pathetic knife. As he reached the bar he sad and lit up another cigarette.

[Shmibli7]

Jasper looked at his watch. He had some time before he had to meet his contact. He comes across a bar and casino. Shrugging, he goes inside. He sits down at a poker table and hands the dealer a five hundred credit note and takes his chips. He sees a patron buying a round for everyone at the table and wonders why.

He looks at him. "'Good bet?" He asks.

[KazeKat]

Nadir eyed the Jackal, trying to figure out who this guy was. "Not much of a wager, I just felt generous." He put down the cigarette and took a sip of his whisky. He turned his attention toward the news on the television, something about a warship disrupting traffic. He sighed hoping that it has all cleared up by now. 

He glanced back at the Jackal noticing he was about to be at the same table he was for poker, "I'd be careful with those gentleman over there. They don't take losing lightly. They like to 'cut' down the winners if you know what I mean." He chuckled.

[Shmibli7]

Jasper smiles and opens his jacket slightly to reveal his revolver, then closes it. "Can never be too careful." He says.

He sits down and a waiter comes beside him.

"Vodka, preferably Fortunan." He says as the dealer passes out the cards.

[Star_Dragon]

Instead of waiting for an answer, young Drake Indari - armed with a modified SG9 Raptor Assault Rifle (https://www.flickr.com/photos/99002868@N07/12447841314/in/photolist-jXYrxG-hSbpYY-cVVz5Q-dyyBYR-acAhCi-e77r9i-egvwNq-8ZtDgh-dPp9zW-atN9tE-bE3qxi-cdrYyA-5oy98W-qT4N4T-9fYHkU-brWJJh-7boF5A-abv9uL-9fsuZM-abwnRq-abjXbS) - walked inside the bar, popping his neck as he entered. Flipping the safety on, he slung his weapon, and sat down at the bar. "Bartender... a hit of Vodka, keep 'em coming," he requested. As he was poured the requested drink, he looked around the bar, seeing a few patrons eyeing him - likely because he walked in armed. While most everyone owned a gun nowadays, few outside the military were armed with more than a pistol, fewer still with an Assault Rifle, and none bold enough to wander in public with one in their arms.

 

Being a member of the Dragon'taan Marauder Corps had it's definite perks. He looked up at the news of the three warships that had disturbed orbital traffic, sat there - likely conversing with CDF High Command or a Mercenary Liaison - then left. Drake rolled his eyes, as though he knew who that was. "Typical," he scoffed, as though to confirm he knew who it was, "Always going for a coup d'effect."

[Shmibli7]

"You better put that knife away!" Jasper said, aiming his .57 revolver at a man's head. The vulture was right, these people got violent very quickly. The man puts it away and Jasper turns to the dealer. "I'll take my winnings now." He said.

What just happened was: Jasper had won on let it ride with a nine and a ten, which would fetch him a good 1500 credits. A patron got mad and started pointing a knife at the dealer, so Jasper decided to end the situation before it ended with the death of the dealer.

The dealer hands Jasper a hand of bills which he took. He then holstered his weapon and moved to the bar, where another man sat.

"Evening." He says, sitting beside him.

[KazeKat]

Nadir watched the fox sit down at the bar. Fixated on the piece he was carrying, Nadir knew he was part of something big for him to just stroll into a bar with a rifle. Nadir's interest was peaked when he commented on the news broadcast. "Know those bloaks?" 

He looked over his shoulder at the commotion. The Jackal was aiming his gun at the same stupid cat holding the knife. He let out a small laugh. 'Bad day for that mangy feline' he thought. He watched the man sit between him and the fox that spoke earlier. 

Going back to being quiet he just sort of listened to the conversation. These faces are were new to this rotten bar that he was a regular to. 

[Shmibli7]

Jasper looks at his watch again. Why did he insist on arriving so early? He had another two hours before the meeting was supposed to happen. He watches the broadcast and grimaces. He'd probably be sent on another mission due to that.

The vulture from earlier was there and the man he sat beside didn't notice him, so he shrugged and called for bourbon.

---

 

[Star_Dragon]

(I'm assuming you were talking to Drake)

 

"Evening," Drake returned the greeting. He sighed, then commented, "Never a dull moment here." He sipped his Vodka and then added, "Name's Drake - Drake Indari, Dragon'taan Marauder Corps."

 

Nadir watched the fox sit down at the bar. Fixated on the piece he was carrying, Nadir knew he was part of something big for him to just stroll into a bar with a rifle. Nadir's interest was peaked when he commented on the news broadcast. "Know those bloaks?" 

He looked over his shoulder at the commotion. The Jackal was aiming his gun at the same stupid cat holding the knife. He let out a small laugh. 'Bad day for that mangy feline' he thought. He watched the man sit between him and the fox that spoke earlier. 

Going back to being quiet he just sort of listened to the conversation. These faces are were new to this rotten bar that he was a regular to. 

Drake just chuckled at Nadir. "Just one man, surrounded by an army of mobile holograms that he's been calling the United Alliance Coalition. His name is Markus Tokarev. I actually met him before he became the Lord-Admiral of the UAC. Ever since he became that, however, not a day went by I didn't hear of him and his shenanigans. Originally, he and his hologram army worked as scouts - now, it seems, he's branching out into a full militant faction, taking on mercenary missions that'd be suicidal to take on solo... but I know that, while he is the only organic being in his faction, he's hardly alone."

 

*     *     *     FIEND TERRITORY     *     *     *

 

A massive, asteroid outpost sat outside Sargasso, with an accompanying gathering of ship construction yards - used for starship repair and refit more than construction - and another outpost, sitting obscured by the Asteroid outpost, shipyards, and accompanying fleet of raider and pirate ships, all varying in size, origin, and state of repair.

Fiend territory.

A place that only the boldest and most foolish mercs ever assaulted head-on. But Lord-Admiral Markus Tokarev was no fool. He was determined, intelligent, and well-equipped. So it shouldn't have been any surprise to see a fleet of retrofitted and enlarged UNSC, Sangheili, Imperial and Mandalorian warships drop out of translight speed.

"Shields up!" Markus barked. "All ships, go shields up and weapons hot! Select your targets, fire on my command!" The fleet of UAC warships complied, locking weapons and raising shields, and waited.

And Markus waited for the signal to begin his assault. While he certainly could win against these "Fiends" with a direct frontal assault, he was smarter than that. He had a trick up his sleeve.

 

Unknown to either fleet, however, a Cornerian News Media ship inadvertently warped in, and, seeing the UAC Fleet ready to blast the fiends to hell, started recording live. If either fleet was aware they were now on Cornerian News Media, they showed no signs.

[KazeKat]

Nadir figured the fox was talking to the Jackal but introduced himself anyway. I would be impolite not to, he did not care if they have heard of the infamous pirate or not.

"Nadir Lammergeier, nice to meet you both." He listened to the story of Markus, "A hologram ar-" Nadir was interrupted by the breaking news broadcast of fleet ship. "What the hell?" His eyes glued to the screen now. 

[Star_Dragon]

Drake just laughed and shook his head. "You can always count on Markus to make a show of every move he makes," he said, having seen this kind of thing from Lord-Admiral Markus before.

[Shmibli7]

"Well, that escalated quickly." Jasper said, looking at the news report. Yep, he knew when he got back in a couple of days the CSS would want him on it. It was too big. And if there ever was anything big, he was one of the first people they contacted.

He looks at the vulture curiously. The name sounded familiar, like a person he was sent to investigate on a mission, but he had been on so many missions that names became a blur However he did look familiar.

He pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he took the bourbon that the bartender had given him.

[Star_Dragon]

Drake looked to the news report, showing the UAC fleet making ready to engage the fleet of raider ships and their base. Drake elbowed Jasper lightly and said, "Watch this - in frontal assaults, Markus tends to favor multi-pronged assaults, hit the enemy from two or three different sides."

 

*     *     *     FIEND BASE     *     *     *

 

Markus waited for the signal from the other parts of his fleet. The Fiend radio chatter was a mess of confusion and fear, wondering what the fleet arrayed against them was waiting for. Unbeknownst to them, two other fleets were creeping up on them from their rear flank. It was a complete surprise (to the raiders) when a mixed bag of Klingon and Cardassian warships suddenly de-cloaked behind them and laid into them with Kapoleron-enhanced disruptor cannons, plasma beams, and photon torpedoes. To add insult to the injury, another fleet de-cloaked - a mixed bag of Jem'Hadar and Reman warships - and assaulted their defense grid, blasting apart the Gauss Cannons and missile launchers before they could get off even a single salvo. The Fiend radio chatter tripled into such a mess of confusion, fear, panic, requests for orders, and pleas for divine intervention, that they all might as well have spoken in tongues.

This, apparently, was the signal Markus was waiting for. "Open fire," he stated calmly, his voice cold and stoic. The fleet first visible fired, flashes marking dozens of MAC cannons discharging, followed by a swarm of missiles and a storm of Plasma Torpedoes, all of which were Kapoleron-enhanced. The result was spectacular, but no surprise to a seasoned militant like Markus - the Fiend warships were torn apart like wet cardboard. Corvettes were disintegrated, frigates shattered, cruisers were torn apart, and the few heavier classes present - the ships the Fiend leaders were in - were shocked to find their shields were useless against these weapons as all manner of advanced and no less deadly munitions ripped right through them and blew divots out of, created craters in, and burned away layers of their hulls. "Engage engines," Markus ordered.

The UAC fleet first visible at the start of this battle engaged engines, and began to close the distance. The Fiend warships, cut off from reinforcements and the safety of their rapidly-being-decimated defense grid, fought like rabid animals. Unwilling to surrender and overcome with a sense of martyrdom, they fired every weapon they could. None of it made any difference. Unexpectedly, the Klingon and Cardassian ships moved to assist the Jem'Hadar and Reman ships, leaving what was left of the Fiends' fleet to contend with the UAC Task Force bearing down on them. And if one thought the Fiends did poorly against the UAC fleet that caught them on their rear flank, they would say it was far worse when they faced the main task force. Varied cannons, beams, and torpedoes tore into the Fiend ships, shredding them to scrap as they feebly and futilely fought back. Slaughter would be an accurate word to describe the battle the Cornerian News Media ship was recording in its entirety.

By the time the main force had reached the base the Fiends held, nothing remained of the Fiend fleet but wreckage, derelict hulks, scraps of shattered hulls, and globs of vaporized armor. But when the Main Task Force reached the base, the entire fleet paused. "Sir," Markus's holographic Sangheili XO said, "This base... it could prove useful to us. We can use it as a staging point for our forces in this system. It's out of the way, in an area few tread - we could use this as our staging grounds for this system."

"I concur," Markus's Tactical officer agreed. "Not only that, but those shipyards - we could bolster our fleet with those with the proper refits."

Markus thought this over, then made his desicion.

 

*     *     *     CORNERIA     *     *     *

 

"Sensors are now detecting... what appears to be teleportation signatures coming from the ships," the news reporter reported.

"My god... they're boarding them!" someone said off-camera.

Drake frowned. "That's..." he started, his voice trailing off. He could faintly be heard asking, "Markus, what are you doing...?"

[Renardfrost]

Renard has pent the last few seconds processing what the hell he just saw. he shook his head and made his way back to the hotel. " That was weird... magic doesn't work like that... like.. at all..." He rubbed his head furiously. " bah! As strange as it was it's not my problem!" He said as the elevator moved slowly up to the tenth floor, sighing as he tried to remember where he was fighting last time. Maybe that would help.  All of his thoughts fell away as he fwumped onto his bed for a nice nap.

[Star_Dragon]

After a long commercial break, The Cornerian News Media Anchorman appeared. "There's been an update in the fleet action in Fiend territory," he began. "Sources say that the fleet that assaulted the Fiend base may belong to this man..." an image of a Cerinian Tiger with an inverted fur pattern of black with white stripes appeared before the anchorman continued, "... one Lord-Admiral Markus Tokarev of the... 'United Alliance Coalition,' a faction reportedly supported by, but independent of, the Dragon'taan Marauder Corps. Previous reports have stated that the UAC fleet attacked and decimated the Raider forces at the base, with no survivors being reported. However, a recent update states that Coalition forces are now boarding the Fiend base and taking control of it. There is no word of why they are doing so, but reporters in that area received this communique from the Lord-Admiral..."

The screen was then fully shifted to the image of Markus, where his voice could be heard saying, "This is Lord-Admiral Markus Tokarev of the United Alliance Coalition. I am acting in service to the CDF Mercenary corps to eliminate this threat from Cornerian Space. All civilian traffic is hereby requested and advised to steer clear of this area until Coalition forces under my command can secure it from any remaining Raider threat. As I speak, Coalition Marines are taking over all facilities under Fiend control in this area. I will update you as more information becomes available."

The screen returned to the Anchorman, who said, "That was, uh... Lord-Admiral Tokarev. We, uh... we will take a short break while we wait on word from both CDF Mercenary Liaisons and mister Tokarev." The screen then went to commercial break, and Drake's frown deepened.

"This... this is very strange..." he said.

[Shmibli7]

Jasper throws his bourbon glass at the television. "Warriors. All death and no class. They make a mess and people like me have to clean it up."

He turns to see the patrons staring at him. Saying anything about the CDF in a bad way was taboo, but Jasper knew what the CDF did behind the scenes, he was once the victim of it.

[Star_Dragon]

Drake said nothing about Jasper's comment, pondering what Markus could possibly gain from taking over a Raider base. Back on Dragon'taan, he never showed any interest in them whatsoever. In fact, this incident was the first time he'd ever done something like this. Under normal circumstances, Markus would just blast a raider base to bits without a second thought. Looking at the TV screen as though hoping for another update, Drake silently pondered with a face betraying a look of confusion why Markus now, all of a sudden, decided to take that base?

Drake speculated mentally that either the Fiends had something he wanted or was interested in, or Markus's Holographic XO saw something in that base that Markus didn't. His eyes narrowed, still staring at the TV, as he half-hissed, half-whispered, as though expecting an answer, "What are you doing, Markus? What did you find...?"

[Shmibli7]

Jasper kicks back and watches the report. He looks at Drake and reads him. Soldier, possibly former. He picked the wrong person to yell his thoughts to.

He still burned inside, though. Spies and warriors were unspoken nemesis.