Discovery Gaming Community

//Personal Note - 6.18.2013
This story line is now obsolete. I am not having it removed, as it's a nostalgic reminder and reference to great times. The overall direction this story / RP was going towards no longer reflects the grand scheme I have for the "SGM Project"

Specific Notations:
-Murdock's personality and character are still valid, and will continue to be used. It needs to be noted now, that he has refused his promotion, and is too remain a captain.

-Tyler Marshall at this point is considered MIA. This is due to the fact that a distinct personality was never assigned. This character is currently having an OMPF written, and will be actively included in future RP. It should also be noted that Tyler Marshall is a Major at the current time.

-Zachary Marshall is officially dead, will not be returning, except possibly mentioned in "war stories"

-Brigitte Mencken has evolved into Adelaide Zurie, and the personality has been correctly adjusted.

-Calego, Kurani, and the other original Deaths| are being retired. While I may include them in flashbacks, unless the original players who RP'd them so well wish to be involved, I have no right to evolve them.



Colonel Tereus Mitchell slowly paced in his captains quarters, aboard the Errant Venture, his Geb Light Carrier. Pacing and Thinkingalthough his mission in New York had not been entirely successful, it had been successful enough, that the Grey Men had not made him disappear completely. Although For all intents and purposes Dead, He was anything but. The problem he was having now, was how to gain income. While the Grey Men had not made him disappear, they had cut him off from any more financial aid, presumably as punishment for botching things in New York. Granted, Kusari and Bretonia were still at war, and Liberty and Rheinland as well, letting the Grey Men do as they wished in GalliaBut the fact that He had been forced to flea New York, and his cell had been disbanded, was of some concern to the Grey Men, as if he could get the job done, and was fit for command. Kurani had been recalled to Gallia, presumably given her own command by now, and the rest of the Deaths| had just vanished, seemingly into thin air. Surprisingly enough, the 2 people still under his immediate command, and with whom he still kept in contact with were Captain Tyler Marshall, and newly promoted Captain Murdock. While this was definitely not as large of a Special Operations unit as he would have liked, He did command a sizable force of about 500, previously stationed aboard the Errant Venture. The problem he was having now was what to do.

While the Errant Venture was most definitely battle capable, and ready, and home to some of the most advanced technology and equipment in Sirius, it had always been more of a mobile command center, then a fleet flagship. While The Order may not exactly have approved of Mitchells acquisition of such a fine vessel of theirs, the only thing that truly remained Order about it was the exterior hull and ship design. The weapon systems on board were state of the art; equipped with a sophisticated auto-fire back system, and the shields, and sensory equipment had been overhauled as well. The sensor array that had been installed on board the Errant rivaled that of a Lane Hacker Spyglass and was capable of filtering through twice as much communications chatter. While it was true that The Deaths| had been in the spotlight for most of the New York Operation, The sizeable crew of the Errant could not be denied their part. Even though the Grey Men had seemingly abandoned him, Mitchell had been able to set aside a sizable amount of funding, and Errant Venture was more then capable of continuing covert operations throughout Sirius on its own. Besides the battalion strength Mechanized Armor Units, and the sizable armories housing the advanced armor all the Deaths| had owned, and the plentiful weapons caches, stashed in safe houses as well as on the ship, the Errant Venture was home to 6 modified troop transports, 10 Grey Men Gunships, and a gaggle of smaller craft ranging from bombers to heavy attack fighters. While the Errant Venture was definitely outfitted with enough to start its own war, it was still only one ship, and still would not be able to withstand a full out attack from a standard attack fleet. Which brought him back to his original dilemma.

While the ship did have superior shields, sensors, weapons, and a cloaking device, what it lacked was an escort fleet. Captain Marshall, and Captain Murdock still retained their Fighters/Bombers. This in itself was not as much the answer as the problem. While it would be nice for the Venture to have its active patrol craft defending it, with seasoned pilots such as Murdock and Marshall, acquiring capital ships of any specific faction was. Ironically the main reason for the shortage of such capital ships was largely because of his successes in his areas of operation. Which again brought him back to another stumbling block. While it was true that the naturally secretive design of the Order would best suit his purposes, a fleet of Order ships anywhere led to problems. The second choice would be Liberty Navy ships, preferably, a pair of Liberty Assault Battle Cruisers, and possibly a Liberty Carrier. How ever the only readily available ones were Liberty Siege Cruisers, and the ship systems were a nightmare to rework, in preparation for the necessary overhauls. That in itself would cause months of double shifts for the Ventures Engineering teams, and would definitely put a sizeable dent in his carefully accumulated nest egg, and currently only source of funding.

The only other option, and the least liked by Mitchell was to forcibly take a ship, and hope to keep his crew alive, and the target ship intact. While this shouldnt be too difficult to pull off, the knowledge that in the event things went catastrophically wrong, The Venture would have no place to berth that readily had the technology and supplies needed, to repair her. It was at times like these that Tereus realized how much he had depended on, and missed Kurani, as she had always made the logistics side of things so much easier. Colonel Mitchells pace had increased noticeablyand would have continued if the in quarters command comm. hadnt gone off.

Colonel, Captain Marshall has just landed in Hangar 3, and is insisting an immediate audience with you to report hiserr.findings*Captain Marshalls swearing can be heard in the background, as he yells at the hangar security*

Colonel Mitchell looked at his quarters chronometerTyler was 8 hours earlyand his mood suggested that things had goneless then well. Send Him up right away Ensign.

Yes Sir Tylers continued berating of the hangar security could be heard right up until the ensign had released the comm. buttonthis was definitely going to be interesting.

Five minutes later, the door buzzer went off. Upon answering Tereus was thrown a sharp salute by Tyler, and then asked him to come in.

Well Tyler I hope you have brought some good news*Colonel Mitchell moved over towards the small drink synthesizer he had on the wall* Captain would you care for a drink?

That would be fine sir, anything youre having. Replied Tyler abruptly

After Colonel Mitchell had finished the drinks, he gestured to the small table he had and they both sat. Tereus took a long sip from his Sidewinder Fang, before starting up the conversationpreparing him for less then joyful news.
Well Captain, what do you have to report on your reconnaissance operation? Mitchell said casually.

Sir, it was less productive then we had originally anticipated. Many of our fragile alliances and treaties were considered severed upon the disbandment of Deaths|, and many of our contacts refuse to acknowledge us outright. DXI, while no longer an open ally, has virtually vanished, and any attempts to contact Director Seido in person have resulted in failure. The Order is less then pleased, and we still havent heard from our contacts within the Iron Legion, however the general consensus seems to be, that we are treading on very thin ice. Due to the ongoing war with the Bounty Hunters Guild, The Order is becoming less and less willing to provide vital supplies in the mass quantities we once had access too, in particular Hydrogen Fuel. The only thing really going for us, yet at the same time working against us, is the Junker Congresss Dont ask names, and Dont cause trouble policy they have held for years, with the exception to, them being precarious about letting a capital ship within range of their bases, yet thats understandable. Tyler paused for a moment, taking a drink from his Nova Bombthen continued, the only real thing going for us right now, is that through Captain Murdocks contacts, and your contacts at Renzu Corporation, we do have a viable, and reliable supply chainwell that and the fact that we can manufacture most of the much needed supplies here on board the Venture.

Mitchell closed his eyes for a moment, slowly massaging his temples, then let out a deep sigh. This was indeed worse news then He had hoped for. The news that his contacts within Renzu Corporation, and Murdocks Order contacts were still willing to talk to them, was good news, and the Junkers Base Access issue was understandable, the news that The Order had restricted their Hydrogen Fuel purchasing, seriously dampered things. While it was true that the Errant Venture was capable of harvesting and producing the supplies necessary to manufacture Hydrogen Fuel, the ship was not able to accommodate the massive amounts of fuel needed to keep the ship and its fighter/bomber squadrons supplied for long term operations, and it definitely would not be a viable means of supply for much longer. Which meant that Tereus would have to move Venture out of Omicron Minor, and secure a temporary base of operations somewhere rarely traveled, and resource rich

Thank You Captain, was there anything else that I needed to be apprised of? Mitchell asked

No Sir, that was all. Replied Captain Marshall.

Very well Captain you are dismissed. Tyler threw another sharp salute, which Tereus returned, before exiting Mitchells quarters.

Tereus slumped into his chair, and again began to massage his temples, trying to formulate a plan in his mind. If the ship ran at full readiness and alert 24/7 they would have enough H-fuel to supply the ship for 3 monthsif he cut down the number of fighter/bomber patrols, then they should be able to drag the supply out for another monthhowever that was dangerous, and ill advised especially in such remote systems.

Mitchell let out a sighAt this point in time, it seemed there were more questions then answers, and more cons then prosIf only they had been able to get a hold of Director Seido on this matter

Suddenly all of the woes of command racing through Tereuss mind stopped. DXI was a mercenary groupcontracted out by various corporations and house militaries to get the dirty jobs done, when military or corporate assets were unavailable, or unwilling to be so easily expended. While many of Mitchells and the Deaths| contacts were no longer reachableone thing remained the same. Mitchell, Marshall and Murdock were all highly trained operatives, in an ever enemy infested territory. The Crew of the Venture were all highly trained, in various things, but everyone had undergone the same Special Operations training course, a basic, yet rigorous, intensive, and extensive prerequisite before being assigned active duty positions by the Grey Men. Even though the Grey Men had financially abandoned Mitchell and his crew, they had provided a means of procurementWar. While it was true that many factions were unwilling to work with Mitchell, understandably after the disaster that was the New York based operation, Mitchell still had ties to several High Ranking Political Officials in different houses, that were just as power hungry as anyone else. This led to demandand with wars raging in all four houses, it was in high demand. The Supplied commodity? Intelligence. Covert Actions, dirty business that official house representatives would not be willing to be seen tied to, publiclywhich was perfect, as the Deaths| Public fa?ade had been poor, yet the behind the scenes had been what had mattered.

While many of these political figure heads owed Tereus favors, not many had been willing to compromise their positions over what had happened. However Tereus did now one particularly ambitious, and lazy figure head that would be more then willing to accommodate Tereus, and his agendafor a few less then pleasant favors. Tereus pulled up the Astro-Navigation charts and began to plot a course...Things were looking up.

After several days of system jumps, two reactor malfunctions, and a close call with a nomad patrol, The Errant Venture finally reached its destination system of Frankfurt. Emerging from the Dresden Jump Hole Tereus ordered the ship to cloak, and move to grid coordinates 7 Baker to avoid any accidental detection while Mitchell finished finalizing the contract details with Bundesrat Klaus Heinrich of Frankfurt. When He was sure all was well on the bridge, He left Captain Marshall the Helm and headed off to his quarters.

Mitchell secured the door to his quarters, then pulled up a secure login, and began to prepare for transmission through High Security channels in the Neural Net. After a few minutes of authenticating his login, and setting up the transmission options, he was finally ready. He looked at the chronometer hanging on his wall, waited, then hit the transmit button. Within seconds the Face of Bundesrat Klaus Heinrich materialized.

Ah Mein Herr Colonel Mitchell. It is long time no? I was beginning to feel unneeded, but circumstances would have you asking for Mein help yah? as Heinrich said this, Mitchell dectected a hint of smugness. Well Mitchell would let him have his feelings of superiority, because the perks far outweighed the annoyingly snobby sarcasm the Bundesrat exuded on a consistent basis.

Bundesrat Heinrich, so nice of you to accept my terms for meeting. It has indeed been a long time, and I wish I had kept in contact, or rather, not had to contact you under such unfavorable circumstances. Said Mitchell respectfully as possible.

Yah, well such things are not important, for in the end what do we have but our friends, and reputation? Now I am thinking you wish to get down to business No? The Bundesrat stated.

It would be preferable. As you are most likely aware Herr Bundesrat, My biggest concern right now is a steady supply of H-Fuel, and a safe Berthing area. On top of that, I also need a benefactor, and a steady flow of coin to. Mitchell was cut off by the abrupt and not so suttle laughter of Bundesrat Heinrich.

Mein Herr, why dont we dispel with these pleasentries, as we both need each other yah? Some more then the other me thinks. So here is what I am willing to offer you, and your crew. Safe berthing within the vicinity of Frankfurt, and in particular around Mannheim station, you will have to remain cloaked, for obvious reasons, and I shall also offer financial support and all the H-Fuel you need, in return for small jobs and favors no? You will complete the tasks I lay out before you and your crew, and in the end we shall both profit yah?

Mitchell was thrown off by the straight forwardness of Bundesrat Klaus Heinrich, however past dealings with Herr Bundesrat had proven profitable, if not entirely pleasant, but then again, when was war filled with pleasentries? Mitchell continued, after a brief pause to collect his thoughts, Of course Herr Bundesrat, as we both know that our dealings in th past have been quite beneficial and profitable to all involved. Now that we have both gotten our demands out on the table, I would like to start taking on supplies, as we agreed, and as before, all jobs should be sent via secure Neural Net channels, and for the time being need to be encrypted according to protocol 174 Zebra.Well Herr Bundesrat, it has been a pleasure, to profit and good fortune eh? Mitchell forced a chuckle.

Indeed Herr Mitchell. As we have agreed. Mannheim Station is apprised of our agreement, you may begin transfer when ready yah? Heinrich out. With that the screen faded to black. Mitchell let out a sigh of reliefthings were definitely getting betterWhether or not they stayed that way was another matter.

As Mitchell logged off the secure neural net transmission with Bundesrat Heinrich, He couldnt help but wonder if he had just signed his soul over to the Phantoms. Oh wellwhat was done was done, and anything Herr Bundesrat Klaus Heinrich could throw his way, couldnt be any worse then what had been done for the Bundesrat beforeor so Mitchell hoped.

Mitchell finished up in his quarters, then headed back to the bridge, After relieveing Captain Marshall, and recieveing a status report, Mitchell was pleasently surprised that the first load of H-Fuel was being offloaded now, in Hangar 2, and a second shipment of H-Fuel, and other menial supplies was cleared to land after the first transport was finished. To the unaware observer, any transport that Tereuse to offload supplies would appear to be taking regular readings of the surrounding area, to ensure optimal harvesting for Mannheim Station. For the transport pilots, however, it was a hair raising experience of trying to dock with a cloaked ship, using nothing but the Ventures Flight Controllers word, and some fancy manual pilotingbut as the trasnports ferried goods back and forth from Mannheim to the Venture throughout the day, things beTereuse progressively easier.

After 10 hours of visual monitering the progress from the bridge Tereus finally decided to get some much needed restwell more at the insistance of Captain Marshall and Captain Murdock, with some help from Lieutenant Calego. After much more insistance from his command staff, Tereus finally decided to leave in the bridge in the capable hands of Captain Marshall, and theInteresting hands of Captain Murdock and Felix. Lieutenant Calego was providing Tereus with the reports of the new modifications he had made to the reactor, and the improved efficiency in the use of H-Fuelbut after about 5 minutes of being ignored, he decided it best to catch Mitchell, when he wasmore refreshed, and returned to the Engineering Deck.

Tereus worked his way back to his Captains Quarters, secured the door behind him, kicked off his boots, and killed the lights. Overwhelmed from exhaustion, and the burden of command, as well as the trials and tribulations of the past few days, he was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Tereus was up at 0700 hours the next dayand wasnt entirely surprised to find 3 new encrypted messages from Bundesrat Heinrich. No doubt the Bundesrat was going to make sure he got everything he could out of this arrangement. Tereus slumped into his chair, and began the decryption process. The first message was done decrypting within a minute, and Tereus started to read the Bundesrats Instructions while the other two finished.

Encrypted Communique from Benefactor

Herr Mitchell,

As per our agreement, I am sending you the first of several Duties I need you to take care of. This first one shouldnt be too difficult for a man of your prowess and skill. However as usual should anything happen to you or your members, I have no knowledge of you or your intentions. On a more serious note if you are to be captured, or a member of your team is captured, then you can be assured that this contract will be terminated and the proper precautionary measures taken

Tereus chuckled, The ever caring Bundesratalways looking out for number one. Mitchell continued reading Herr Heinrichs instructions.

The first task, as stated above, is a simple one, however is one of great importance to me, and should be to you as well if you wish to continue our convenient arrangement. The Target is a thorn in my side that needs to be removed. His name is Arndt Bertram. He is a well known political activist, who wishes to see his Rheinland prosper, however while his intentions, or rather his fa?ade is, commendable, his true loyalties lie to with the Bundschuh. This however is not the problem, or at least not the main one. Despite being tied to the Bundschuh, He has been made untouchable, or rather, untouchable by me, in that He comes from a wealthy and well connected family of pure Rheinland lineage, and his father Erick Bertram also happens to be close friend to Bundestagspr?sident. Now this really shouldnt be a problem, however Erick Bertram has taken it upon himself to try to ruin me, and because of this, the Bundestagspr?sident has not been as willing to back my rise in Rheinland Politics. On top of that, Erick has enlisted in his son Arndts help, by having him use his Bundschuh connections to tarnish my name with lies of theft from the republic.

Here in lies your task. I want Arndt Bertram silenced once and for all. This may be difficult as when he is away from the Family Estate in New Berlin, he is rumored to be harbored on Bruschsal Base, here in Frankfurt. I dont care how you do it, but I want him gone, and I want it donewith as little collaterall damage as possible. I believe that with the absence of his son, Erick Bertrams state of grief, will make himmore susceptible to my influential expertise.

Any special items that you may need, send to me right away yah?

End of Communique

Mitchell finished reading the other two messages from the Bundesrat, which were just more in depth details, as well as available intelligence. Despite the obvious denial by Heinrich, that any of this was more then spur of the moment by necessity, much of this intelligence must have taken months to gather, and it just seemed a bit convienent that this would occur as the Bundesrat was coming around for a formal reviewEither way work was work, and it was obvious work needed to be done. This was going to take a delicate bit of handlinga bit of finessebut mostly the help of Ensign Brigitte Mencken. Tereus light out a slight smile as the image of Brigitte flashed across his mindthen he keyed the comm. Captain Marshall have Ensign Mencken report to my quarters immediately, and prepare the Spatial, and a four man contingent that includes yourself and Murdock. Mitchell out.

Not even ten minutes later Ensign Brigitte Mencken knocked on Mitchells door. You requested my presence Colonel? Brigitte said, throwing a salute.

Yes Ensign Mencken, I did. I have an assignment for you, much like the one I gave you while we were operating in New Tokyo. Tereus watched a slight smile crack across her .

Yes Sir. Im your gal sir. Stated Brigitte. Straight to the point as always, Mitchell always admired that about Menckenbut enough on that.

Outstanding Ensign, assemble your necessary gear, then meet Captain Marshall in hangar 3and ensign. Said Mitchell.

Yes sir? asked Brigitte.

His favorite color is red. Thats all. Mitchell quipped.

Yes Sir! Brigitte stated, as she threw a salute, and left the room. This indeed was going to be an interesting operation. The only snag was going to be, how to get everyone else onto Bruschal, with out putting Ensign Mencken in jeopardyTime to have Tyler break out the Zero G equipmentthis was going to be too interesting to pass up.

Lieutenant, have my gear readied and taken to hangar 3 said Mitchell as he keyed the comm.

Right away sir. came the response.

Finally, thought, MitchellNow were doing something.


The mission plan was simple. Brigitte would play on Arndts weaknesses, in particular high class women, and Mitchell, Marshall, and the rest of the team would provide close security, and a means for her to get out, once everything went down. Murdock, and Felix, would be waiting in the cloaked spatial, to provide a means of escape. Assuming everything went according to plan, at approximately 2000 hours, Ensign Mencken would meet Arndst Bertram at the Edelweiss Caf?, on Planet Holstien, striking up conversation, and if all went well, leaving with Bertram to head back to Bruschsal. The plan, or at least Brigittes part of the plan was to portray the Intelligent, easy, yet politically confused student, finishing up her final studies. Arndt would be taken by Brigittes natural charismaand more likely her perfect formand would wish to treat Brigitte, as well as possibly recruit. Now all of this was highly circumstancial on whether or not Bundesrat Heinrichs intelligence was accurateor rather accurate enough.

Marshall had the team assembled and all ready to go, and Murdock, and Felix, had the ship preped and ready to launch, as Colonel Mitchell joined them on the flight deck. After going over everyones role once again, the team loaded up into the modified spatial, and took off, activating cloak, and heading for Planet Holstien. On the way Mitchell once again went over every aspect of the plan, and then the team started getting ready. Brigitte was all ready to go, just put some touch ups to her red lipstick, while Mitchell and Marshall suited up in their zero g Helghast suits. The fifth man, Lieutenant Kowalski, was checking his weapon, and his communications equipment. He was going to be Brigittes back up on the ground, acting his part as just another student face, hanging around. Marshall and Mitchells job was to ready for EV-Operations, assuming Brigitte did get invited back to Bruchsal, she was going to need a quick way out, once the deed was done. It was Tereus and Tylers job to EV Drop to the exterior of Bruchsals, and make their way to a remote access hatch located need level 3. Brigitte, according to Hienrichs intel would be located on the southern most corrider, of level 3, and would be able to access this exterior hatch, by crossing to the eastern corridor. Once there, Marshall, and Mitchell, would have the spare suite, and they would all exit through this hatch, and Exfil via Murdock in the cloaked spatial.well it sounded simple enoughit was more of a precision execution, a little bit of luck, and Felix not distracting Murdock.

Arndst Bertram arrived at the Edelweiss at approximately 1950 hoursBrigitte played her part to a T, and by 2030 they were leaving, Entourage and all to Bertrams waiting Luxury yacht on the Holstien Landing Pad. Kowalski tailed Brigitte as close as he dared with out blowing his cover, or worse, Brigittes. At 2045 Bertrams yacht was on its way back to Bruschsals, and from the sounds of it, Brigitte and Arndst were getting along just fine. At 2050 much to Mitchells dismay, Murdock got the Spatial off the ground, and was in hot pursuit, albiet cloaked, of Bertrams Yachtlargley in part, according to Murdock, that Felix had eaten to many chocolates, and the lavatory aboard the spatial was to cramped, hence Felix had gone to the Holstien Launchpad, a popular bar, to use their facilities.

At 2120 Bertrams yacht was cleared to dock on Bruchsals, and according to intelligence, it would take roughly 20 minutes for them to complete the landing sequence, pass through security, and make it to Bertrams quartersbut from the sounds of how things were progressing, that was only if they made it to Bertrams quarters at all. At 2125 Mitchell and Marshall were EV, and thrusting towards the Level 3 Exterior Access Port. By 2130 they were inside the access port, and by 2145 Brigitte was in Bertrams quartersand thats when everything went horribly not according to plan. As Brigitte was settling in to do Bertram in, she was interrupted, by one of Bertrams formers, drunk, and upset, crashing in unexpectedly. At that same time, Murdock decided to start singing Its a Long Way to Triparywhile having foot on the outgoing comm. This in turn led to the base going into an alert status, which happened to lock down all exitsincluding the Access port, and their primary escape.

Now even though they had trained for all of this, and they knew what to do, or rather, what shouldnt have happened, the training payed offIf rather amauterish to the outside eye. Brigitte used the distraction of the Klaxons to dispose of Bertram and Former, and make it out of Bertrams Quarters, while the Entourage, was busy securing Bertrams unit. Mitchell and Marshall used the distraction of the klaxons to blow the locking mechanisms on the Exterior hatchand Murdock used the time to finish two more rounds of Its a Long Way to Tripary this time with Felix. Brigitte made it to the Access Hatch, just as a Bundusch Security Team Came waltzing off the Turbolift.which just happened to be across from the access hatch, Mitchell, Marshall, and Ensign Mecken were inand thats when they got extremely lucky.

Seems as though Bertrams Entourage was used to every scenario, except the one in which their boss was dead. After noting that Brigitte was missing, and their boss was dead, they felt no need to stick aroundwhich provided the perfect distraction , when they Came cannoning into the corridor. The Bundusch Security Teamobviously not accustomed to threats on their own basewere.skiddish to say the least. When Bertrams entourage had entered the hallway, the last one out had inadvertantly slammed the quarter door shut, adding to the chaos of the klaxons. This in turn led to the Security Team in the Turbo Lift to direct their attentionand fire, towards the southern corridor, and that in turn gave Mitchell, and crew, the split second needed to detonate a second charge, which blasted open the exterior hatch, and sucked them out into the open space, with the decompression.

Murdock Came through like a champ, and had them on board the spatial, before the automated defense turrets started spewing tachyon bolts everywhereand once aboardMitchell, in the most sincere tone he could muster stated, Well that was fun wasnt it?

Several days had passed without word from Bundesrat Heinrich. While it was a welcome relief, Mitchell and crew had been far from relaxed. At 0300 hours the previous day, an unexpected explorer exiting from the New Berlin Jumpgate, and, allegedly, looking for the Dresden Jump Holeinadvertently crashed his ship, a 203-ARK-B5 Freighter, commonly known as a Rheinland Humpback, into The Ventureor rather, from his perspective nothing. While this normally wouldnt have been a problem, Mannheim had been scheduled to deliver a shipment of H-Fuel, and Water to The Venture, and a Transport docking with nothingwould raise suspicion. The Rheinland Media had already gobbled up the news of Arnsdt Bertrams untimely, and quite unexplained end. The Bundschuh had been kept at a level of high alert for the past few weeks, and had also increased patrols. The Rheinland Military had been sent to investigate, luckily, rumors of a Liberty Fleet amassing in Texas, had cut the investigation short, as the Cruiser and its crew were recalled to Bering, in the event the situation in Texas escalated. While the Humpback that had crashed had sufficient damage to not be a problem as Mitchell had the helm move the still cloaked Errant.Venture out of harms way, the bewildered captain of said humpback, had sustained enough damage to critical systems, that resupply operations to the Venture had to be halted. If that wasnt enough Lieutenant Calego had been working on improving reactor efficiency, when a tainted bit of H-Fuel hit the reactor, causing a buildup in the exhaust flowCalego and Team had done an outstanding job of fixing the problem, minutes from reactor overload, but that incident led to the individual testing of each load of H-fuel currently on the ship, and a check of H-Fuel shipments from Mannheim Station, at stations end, then again once aboard the Errant. This led to more setbacks, and headaches, and an awful lot of reassignment.

However in the last day, things had finally began to settle down, and the crew was just getting back into the old routineand of course Bundesrat Heinrichs timing was impeccable. Tereus had been dining in the Officers mess, going through an informal status report from Marshall, Murdock and Calego, when the meeting, and dining had been cut short by Lieutenant Mencken over the mess comm.

Colonel, We are receiving an urgent and encrypted communique from Mannheim Station, Station Communications is very insistent that it be sent nowhere except your personal quarters. Lieutenant Mencken stated.

Very well Lieutenant, tell them I shall be back in my quarters momentarily, I will contact you when I am there. Mitchell out. Responded Tereus using the wall mounted unit. Well guys, looks like this meeting will have to be postponed, feel free to finish up before getting back to work, if youll excuse me. With that Mitchell stood up, as did all the officers at the table, and headed back towards his quarters at a steady pace. Just a brisk walk down the corridor, then up a level to the officers quarters via short turbolift ride, and Tereus was back in, what he had jokingly named, his prison. He keyed the comm.

Lieutenant Mencken, I am back in my quarters now, please patch it through, and do apologize to Mannheim for the delay. He released the comm button, then logged into the Secured Neural Net Channel. A less composed, and rather upset Bundesrat Heinrich visualized upon his screen.

About time Mein Herr, I was beginning to wonder if you were the man for the job. The Bundesrat said irately.

Apologies Bundesrat, just technical updates from my staff. What is it that we can help you with. Mitchell said as politely as possible. It wasnt so much that Mitchell didnt like dealing with Heinrich, it was more or less that He didnt, or rather, never liked Heinrichs attitude, or personality in general, however the ample supply of H-Fuel, and the generous funding they were receiving on top of it, far outweighed any personal discretions Mitchell may have about the Bundesrat.

Well Herr Mitchell, I do hope your ship and crew are in pristine condition, especially after that unfortunate mishap which occurred the other day at this point the Bundesrat had paused, just briefly, as if to laugh in his mind at Mitchell, then continued, especially in lieu of recent events. I am sure that you are aware that several positions are being made available through the upcoming elections, which provide better benefits, and a comfortable seat in the Capital District of New Berlin.

Tereus could almost taste the delusions of grandeur wafting from the image on his screen, but he decided it best to keep it to the point, and on topic. Of course Herr Heinrich, what is it that you would have us do for you?

Ah straight to the point, I knew you could be counted on Herr Mitchell. Yesas you are most certainly aware the Bundestagspr?sident has come under recent political fire, due to his moreliberal views, and is on his way out so to speak. At this point Heinrich paused briefly, as if gathering his thoughts, then continued. On top of that he has lost many supporters within the Rheinland Military, mainly due to the lack of funding made available, but more in part for his neglect to take action, against the Bundschuh and its allies. Now it just so happens that I am a loyalist, and firm supporter of several prominent Rheinland Military figure heads, and I happen to have the funding, and there full support. The issue is, that in order to the Bundesrat cleared his throat, How do you sayrather to set the stage, certain people need to be dealt with. In this particular instance, I need you to dispose of the personel stationed on Eltmann Outpost in Munich, once that is done, then Fleet Commander Adolf Gerdhert will arrive, and secure it. Of course for obvious reasons, Fleet Commander Gerdhert will be allowed to take credit for the successful completion of this swift action, and I will also be elevated into the spotlight

As the Bundesrat yammered on, Tereus allowed his mind to wander off. Of course Gerdhert would be made to look the hero, and Heinrich would be idolized as a model Rheinlander, doing what needed to be done for good of motherland and people. That wasnt as big of a problem, as the logistical setup of Munich. Pulling from memory, Mitchell recalled that the Eltmann was located approximately forty-six kilometers from Augsburg Colony, which had come under more frequent raids by the Bundschuh lately. The gas cloud Eltmann was located in would more then shield the station from any action that occurred at Eltmann, and the Errant Ventures sophisticated jamming equipment would effectively mask any transmission Eltmann might try to send. Nothe problem would lie with moving the cloaked Errant Venture, out its relatively untraveled area of space, into the congested trade lane area, bustling with economic activity. Of course the easiest, and preferred plan would be to move The Venture out of its location in B7 and into the trade lane area so that Mitchell and crew could quickly reach the Munich Jump Hole located in region Delta twoMitchells planning was cut short by the end of the Bundesrats yammering.

Herr Mitchell, do you understand what needs to be done? concluded the Bundesrat.

Of course Herr Heinrich, and it should be of little trouble. Mitchell paused gathering his plan in his mind, ..Herr Bundesrat we will need Mannheims normal operationsdelayed in order to safely, and stealthily move the Venture from its present locationI believe a one hour delay should be adequete.

At this the Bundesrat had scoffed, but in the end, the rewards of this being done, far outweighed any inconvience the Bunderat might have to forgo.

Very well Herr Mitchell, it shall happen as you have said, I am sending the rest of the Information to you now. With that the Bundesrat terminated the transmission and Mitchell immediately got down to planning.

Within the hour Mitchell had prepared the plan, and the Errant Venture was underway, and at the Helm, Captain H.M.Murdock with Felix. Now despite Captain Marshalls rather insistent advisement that someone else, or rather, anyone else be allowed to pilot the venture through the bustling trade lane network, Mitchell had stated that no one had Murdocks expertise or panache. It was true that on more then one occasion Mitchell had been urged to relive the mentally unstable Captain Murdock, by more then just Marshall, but Mitchell liked Murdocks style. Besides his character and personality, brought balance to Marshalls overly aggressive tendencies. With things finally settled, and the crew in position, and as ready as any could be with Murdock at the helm, The Venture started her sublight engines, and moved, still cloaked, towards the ever crowded trade lane area.

Murdock was his usual self, at home at the helm of the ship, oblivious to the nervous looks, or sweating brows. He carefully started to manuever the still cloaked Geb towards the Trade Lane outside of Mannheim stationand Felix started begging for chocolates.

Felix how many times have I told you that those chocolates, while rather tasty and delightful, arent good for a growing velociraptor? Murdock said to his pet, or viewed by everyone else, thin air. Doctor Fraiser said, that Velociraptors dont need chocolates, in particular dark chocolates, cherry filled chocolates, caramel chocolates Murdock was cut short, as he manuevered erratically, barely missing a Heavy Tanker laden with explosive H-Fuel. See what you did Felix? You almost made us crash getting me talking about chocolates. Murdock sighed.

There was a brief pause and Murdock was stroking the air near the Helm about head height before continuing. Felix I swear to Murdock spun the controls hard to port, again narrowly missing another fully loaded heavy tanker, and a Daumann Construction ship. You know what, Im not going to answer that Felix. No of course chocolates are good, but.No Im sure Doctor Fraiser knows what shes talking about when she says Velociraptors shouldnt eat boxed chocolates by the truckload.errwell that is true she didnt say anything about foil wrapped chocolates, or paper wrapped chocolates, or melted chocolates or at this point Murdocks chocolate debate with Felix was interrupted by Marshalls abrupt, and obviously distraught intervention.

Marshall grabbed Murdock by the collar, Now look here fool, I dont give a damn about no chocolates, and I dont give a damn about your invisible pretend Dinosaur, Keep your eyes on the traffic, or Im gonna break your neck.

Murdock rolled his eyes, and looked at Felix, See Felix I told you Marshall has unresolved issues from his childhood. Murdock paused then lowered his voice, Must not have gotten chocolates as a boy.

Thats it fool, Im tired of Chocolates and Invisible Dinosaurs, and Crazy Pilots that always trying to get me killed. Marshall made a move at Murdock, and was abruptly cut short as he looked out the viewport, and saw a rapidly approaching Mainz Storage Facility, loaded with enough H-fuel to wellDamn it fool, keep your eyes on the trade lanes, were gonna crash.. Marshall let go of Murdock and clutched the stabiliszing rail for dear life.

Murdock fixed his collar, then yanked the controls, skimming over the top of Mainz Storage Facility, and back into the bustling trade lane, headed towards Sigma 14 Jump Gate. I swear, Felix, Marshall must be scared of flying, because he gets this way everytime. Murdock stated casually, shaking his head.

No Fool I just dont like it when crazy men fly, and try to get us all killed., and I especially dont like it when you talk to the air about chocolates. Marshall raised his fists, but Mitchell stepped in.

Well that was quite the bit of excitement for the dayMarshall I want you to go work on prepping the mission gear, and I want you and Calego to work on getting an Orbital Drop Mech prepped for boarding operations Mitchell paused, as it was evident Marshall wanted to say something, but marshall just headed for the turbo lift, shaking his head, and muttering under his breath about that crazy fool and his dinosaur, Mitchell continued, Murdock, and Felix, that was some outstanding flying, but I think I will have Lieutenant Mencken take over now, thank you. Mitchell helped Murdock out of the Helm chair, Why dont you and Felix go get some milk from the mess, eh, Im sure you would both like that.

I guess so Colonel. Said Murdock, then entered the turbo lift, headed in the direction of the mess. Lieutenant Mencken looked at Mitchell.

Well sir, I guess we can all breath a little easier now. She stated, wiping noticeable sweat from her brow.

I guess we can. Colonel Mitchell stated, as he eased into his Chair. Murdock, Mitchell thought to himself, no one can do it like you. He let a slight smile cross his lips.

With the Errant Venture clear of the trade lanes, and the bridge in the capable hands of Lieutenant Mencken, Mitchell decided to retreat to his quarters during the journey through the Munich Jump Hole. He had left Brigitte with orders to move the ship away from jump hole, and to within twenty-five kilometers of Eltmann Outpost upon their arrival on the other side. Now it was time for some shut eye.

About an hour later, Mitchell arose and headed to the bridge. Unfortunately for this mission, he was going to have to stay on the bridge, while Marshall and Calego, and the squad of Troops they had assembled had all the fun. While disappointed, he had specific instructions from Brundesrat Heinrich that he should over see only, and make sure that Fleet Commander Gerdhert was apprised of the situation, before entering the area, as he was much too valuable an asset to lose. Mitchell went over some last minute logistics, then keyed his comm.

Captain Marshall, are you and your men ready? queried Mitchell.

Yes sir, prepped and ready to move out. On your signal, Alpha 1-6 are standing by to escort the ODM in, and their Sleds are 100%. Was Marshalls reply.
Roger that, Captain prepare for deployment. Mitchell cut the comm, then turned to address the officers on the bridge. Lieutenant Mencken move us to within three kilometers of Eltmann, Comms, activate the jamming field. Mitchell keyed the comm again, Major Maddox prepare your flight squardon for immediate launch, Captain Marshall, once the shooting starts you are go for infil.

All over the ship the call to general quarters could be heard. There was the pounding of boots on the deck plates, and the excited tones as orders were passed down along the chain of command. Back on the bridge, Mitchell was no different.

Mencken bring us in closer, Mitchell keyed the ship wide comm, Forward batteries one through four prepare to fire on the hangar doors on my markthree.twoonemark. As Mencken brought The Venture to within firing range, the forward Cruiser batteries opened up fire. A magnificent display of pulsing energy strobed towards Eltmanns hangar bay, then exploded in a radiant shower of sparks and fire.

Maddox launch your wing now! Mitchell had keyed the comm, Marshall you are clear get your men EV!

The crew had trained and trained, and when it all Came down to it, they were like a well oiled machine. As the forward batteries continued to pound the stations defenses, Maddoxs wing provided close support, and a distraction for the Orbital Drop Mech, and Space Sleds headed to the now, depressurized and out of commission hangar. So far so good. Mitchell keyed the ship wide comm again.

All hands fire at will. Mitchell stated as he slumped back in his chair.

Damn it Calego! Watch that crossfire! Marshall cursed from the gunners seat in the ODM. This thing may be tough, but the last thing we need is for one of the stations defense turrets, or the Ventures forward batteries to lance our hull and were Vaped!

Calego winced. It wasnt easy flying one of these things toward a station, and it definitely wasnt meant for evading such accurate weapons emplacements. The Orbital Drop Mechs had been designed by the Grey Men for planetary insertion, and the premise that the weapons firing back would the large and slow firing, planet based orbital defense grid, not a Wurzburg class Space Station. Im Doing my best. Was all the response Calego gave as he focused on dodging and weaving through the hail of weapons fire coming from in front, as well as behind. Warning klaxons were blaring bloody murder as Calego finally piloted the ODM into the devastated Hangar, quickly joined by the three sled teams.

Alright! Stated Marshall, Lets get this party started!

Kiara Maddox cursed as she jinked left then right, kicking in the afterburners to evade the moonstalker missile which Eltmann so kindly sent her way. Warning, Incoming MissileWarning Incoming Missile blared the ship computer casually. Maddox dropped two enhanced countermeasures, then juked hard leftseconds later she was rewarded with an explosion behind and to the right of her location.

Talon Leader this is Talon two, the package has arrived safely, please advise with further instructions. Kiara keyed her ship comm unit. Roger Talon two, to all talons this is talon leader, break off and pick your targets at will, weapons free, repeat weapons free. Kiara unkeyed her comm, and armed her sidewinders, locking in on the missile turret that had so kindly fired on her, while its operators tracked another ship. The targeting computer registered as locked on with its dull drone, and Maddox fired.

Talon leader, fox three! Kiara exclaimed as she released the deadly missiles on the unsuspecting turret crew. Milliseconds later a bright orange explosion flamed up on the exterior of the Eltmann. Direct hit, nice shot Talon Leader! Maddox heard over her comm as she arced away for another pass.

Mitchell was on the bridge of the Venture, casually watching the excitement unfolding outside the bridges viewports, and that need for excitement started to well up inside of him. Mitchell had always been a doer, and had been reprimanded for such on more then one occasion. An officer should never be the first man through the door, for if the officer dies, the team falls apartMitchell grimaced at the memory of his OCS Instructor berating him for clearing a room in Advanced Tactics. While Mitchell did understand the need for a clear chain of command, he also couldnt help but feel out of place sitting on the Bridge.

Mitchells thoughts were interrupted as the status reports started to flood in, and the returning fire from the Wurzburg class station had all but seized. Mitchell read through the incoming reports, on his chairs HUD. Talon Squadron cleared to land and rearm and refuel, no casualities, minor damage to three ships from close misses. Engineering reports fires on levels six and seven contained, minimal injury to the crew. Forward batteries siezed fire, awaiting further orders. Alpha Team successfully boarded, no casualties so far, taking extra time to break through the fused inner airlock doors, will report back when the breach the station.

Mitchell keyed his comm, Marshall, Calego, Report, whats the hold up?

On the Eltmann Calego keyed the comm unit, Sir, we are having a bit of trouble breaching the inner airlock doors, the doors were fused shut when the first salvo ignited the fuel storage cylinders.eta to breach, is zero two mike. Over.

Tyler was still hard at work trying to cut through the hangar doors with the gauss torch, when Mitchell had radioed over. Another short coming of the ODM was that it was more of a brute force machine, meant to overwhelm the opposition with its generous reserves of ammunition, and its multiple weapons systemshowever the designers obviously never intended for the ODM to be used in this particular application, because the gauss torch was cutting through the fuzed airlock doors like a starflea ate through a gunboats shields.

With a loud thunk, and the short blast of enviroment hissing out, Alpha team finally cut through the inner airlock, and prepared for recompression, and the immenent firefight. Alpha one through six had deployed the mobile ballistic shields, and had taken up position to the rear of the ODM when the pressurization process had been completed. During the process, the shouts of orders, as the base inhabitants prepared to defend their station, could be heard over the hissing of the air being pumped into the airlock. However nothing could have prepared the defenders for what they saw when the airlock doors opened, or for the massive amounts of weapons fire that immediately raced towards them.

Calego moved the ODM forward as Marshall manned the multiple weapons systems. The first three sets of defenders were almost instantaneously killed when the ODM, and the rest of Alpha team opened fire. The rest of the defenders, were either getting mowed down or retreating, in hopes of meeting up with the rest of their defense groups, stationed deeper within the bowels of Eltmann. Calego almost felt sorry for the Bundschuh trapped on this station, for their deaths were inevitable, but he felt more sorry for them knowing that Tyler had a evil grin on his face as he plastered one after another onto the stations bulkheads.

Calego, Move us up! exclaimed Tyler as he continued to fire the ODMs weapons. Marshall was having the time of his life. Not only did he get to blow things up, and test out the ODMs newly installed weapons systems, but nothing the defenders had here, was enough to stop himIt was like shooting nomads in a barrel. Tyler cracked his smile and layed heavy on the trigger.

At 1840 hours, after two hours of fighting by Alpha team on Eltmann, and roughly three hours since the attack had started, Mitchell was finally given the greenlight to sound the all clear, and give Fleet Commander Gerdhert the go ahead to move his troops in for the Cameras. Alpha team reported zero casualties and was awaiting pickup at the starboard emergency docking hatch. Mitchell sounded the all clear, and ordered a troop shuttle to ferry back the exhausted, but uninjured alpha team. Once he was sure everything had been attended too, he stood up.

Lieutenant Mencken, you have the bridge, I want Alpha team ready for debriefing in an hour. If you need me I will be in my quarters. Once Alpha team and all patrol craft are aboard, set course back towards the Frankfurt Jump Hole, the cavalry and its media will be here shortly, and I dont wish to be here when they arrive. Mitchell said as he walked towards the turbo lift.

Yes sir. Stated Mencken, as Mitchell stepped into the lift. As he reached his quarters Mitchell heard the sublight engines kick in, and felt the groan of the ship as it reached speed. Time to go apprise the Bundesrat of the operations success.

The Errant Venture was back in Frankfurt, and Mitchell and crew had been quite busy. The Munich incident had put Brundesrat Heinrich and Fleet Commander Gerdhert in the spotlight, giving the crew of the Errant Venture the time needed to do a ship wide maintenance. While the Venture was a highly advanced and sophisticated masterpiece, it was still prone to the wear and tear any space faring ship in sirius did. Calego and his teams of engineers had been hard at work finishing the reactor upgrades, as well as helping Marshall testbed a new weapons system. Maddox had been hard at work upgrading and adapting the new weapons systems to her squadron of ships, as well as making routine upgrades as well. Murdock and Felix had been more or less wandering the corridors of lateas Maddox had kicked them out of the hangar after a failed attempt of wooing. Marshall had been hard at work testing the new weapons systems, as well as working over the ODMs, as a result of the less then adequate performance in the Munich System. Mencken had been busy training some newly promoted officers in the use of the vast and complex bridge systems, as well as getting used to her own promotion, and the new duties which Came with it. The newly promoted Commander Mencken had been with Mitchell since he had first been given command of this ship. Mencken had been long overdue for a promotion, yet Mitchell, until recently, had never had the time to finish all the paperwork. Commander Mencken had tried to hide her excitement at the ceremony, but everyone could tell she had been absolutely beaming with pride and joy. Mitchell on the other hand had been busy working on his spatial. While most men in his position would have pushed this off on the plethora of technicians running about, Mitchell found it relaxing, and a getaway from bridge life. Mitchell was working on the engine upgrades when his personal comm. link went off.

Colonel Mitchell, we have an approaching CTE-HF fighter approaching our position, and requesting clearance to land using an old clearance codeplease advice. Came Commander Menckens voice over the comm. link.

StrangeTereus thought out loud. Commander, how outdated is the code that ship is broadcasting?

There was a brief pause, then Mencken spoke again. Sir, it registers as six months out of date, and the pilot is using a Foxtrot Two Niner Alpha Eleven security cypher.

Clear the ship to land in Hangar three, however have a security detachment on hand just in caseand get Captain Marshall down to the hangar too. Mitchell had a grin on his face as he watched the Kingfisher heavy fighter entering the hangar. The ship extended its landing skids, then gently touched down on the deckplates, the receding whine of the engines shutting down could still be heard as the cockpit opened, to reveal a familiar face.

Major Marshall, long time no see.

Major Zachary Marshall unstrapped his flight harness, then eased his way out of the cockpit. Permission to come aboard Colonel? Zach stated, while throwing Mitchell a sharp salute.

Permission granted Major, its good to see you againMight I ask how you tracked us down? said Mitchell casually, with a grin.

I had been laying low, hanging out in different places within New York, trying to stay out of the spotlightand you know, after reading about some fancy attacks by the Rheinland Military on Bundschuh bases, and suchnaturally I hopped in my fighter and headed down here to track down your handy work. The younger Marshall stated with a smile. Really a nice bit of work you guys have been doing Colonel.

That was mostly MY handiwork fool, Tyler Marshall stated as he walked up to the two, security team in tow. He waved the team off then continued over, was fairly simple, like shooting at the range. The older of the Marshalls walked over, then punched his younger sibling in the shoulder, almost knocking him overgrinning the whole time. Thats for not calling.

Amidst the laughing, Colonel Mitchell called over one of the ensigns from the security team. Ensign show Major Marshall to one of the unused quarters on the officers deck. The ensign signaled Zach to follow him. On his way out of the hangar, Mitchell called after them, Major, Officers Mess, 2100 sharp. Marshall threw a nod of acknowledgement, and hurried off after the Ensign with flight bag in handThings were definitely looking up.

Major Marshall joined Mitchell in the Officers Mess at 2100, for a spur of the moment reunion party. Commander Mencken, Major Maddox, Captains Marshall and Murdock, and Felix, Lieutenant Calego, Doctor Fraiser, and a few other officers were present when Zach arrived. After the initial bout of introductions and reintroductions, a few drinks, and some appetizers, the main meal arrived. Zach was just getting finished telling about his times hiding out in the New York System, when the Officer Mess Comm. sqwacked.

Colonel Mitchell, Bundesrat Heinrich is requesting an audience, he says its important. The ensign on the bridge said over the comm.

Of course it isMitchell thought as he keyed the comm. Have it patched through to my quarters, Marshall if you will excuse me.. with that Mitchell stood up and headed back too his quarters. As usual the Bundesrats timing was impeccable.

Mitchell emerged from his quarters several hours later, and immediately ordered the ship to prepare for depature, and also put the ship into a high alert status. All the exterior hatches were locked down, the hangar doors were sealed, and all flight squadrons were ordered to the launch tubes, with their ships, ready and armed for immediate deployment. Once general quarters had been sounded, and all crew members were accounted for, and at their stations Mitchell spoke.

This is Colonel Mitchell speaking. Many of you are probably wondering why general quarters has been sounded, and the ship has been locked down. He paused a moment then continued, A few moments ago, I received our new orders from The Bundesrat. The Errant Venture is to make immediate departure for the Omicrons, and we will be forced to traverse through Nomad infested space. Until further notice, the ship is locked down, and will remain in a state of high alert. I dont need to remind any of you of how much of a threat, and danger the Nomads are. All crew stand by for Immediate departure. With that done, Mitchell unkeyed the ship wide comm. and turned towards Commander Mencken.

Commander Mover us out towards the Luneburg Jump Hole, by the time we arrive, it should be phase aligned. Mitchell commanded.

Yes sir, Mencken replied, Helm, turn us sixty degrees starboard, ahead full towards grid Echo Three Niner.

As the ship lurched forward, massive sublight engines powering up, Mitchell allowed himself to review in his mind the task which the Bundesrat had set His ship and crew upon, and shivered. It wasnt a shiver of fear, or rather it was, one of those shivers you get when you wake up from a horrible dream, and are all alone in the dark. It wasnt quite a pre-mission jitter as much as it was of a feeling of impending doom, and whether or not you were up to the task for iteven though your supposed to be the stories heroMitchell snapped back to reality.

Commander, Order Captain Marshall to assemble a platoon of ODMs , with his new toy, and have Major Marshall and Lieutenant Calego meet me in Hangar 1. I want a platoon of shock troops, full gear, sent to the hangar as well, Major Kowalskis unit should do. With that said, Mitchell stood up and headed for the turbo lift, Commander the Bridge is yours.

As Mitchell stood in the turbo lift, his mind started to once again wander back to the conversation with Brundesrat Heinrich, and that one phrase just kept repeating over and over in his headI want a Nomad Power Core. The turbolift arrived at the Hangar Deck, and the doors hissed open, Mitchell snapped back to reality. He approached the Security Personel stationed at the hangar entrance. The guards threw a sharp salute, Mitchell turned to the Officer of the Watch.

Captain Reed as soon as I enter these doors, I want the hangar locked down. No one gets in or out without my permission. Do you understand? said Mitchell sharply.

Yes Sir, I understand completely stated Reed.

Mitchell just nodded then walked through the hangar doors, as soon as he passed through Captain Reed initated the hangar lock down sequence, and seconds later there was a loud klunk, and the sounds as the reinforced hangar doors locked into positon, and the bolts slammed shut. Tereus stopped in front of the assembled men. Majors Marshall and Kowalski, Captain Marshall, and Lieutenant Calego all turned to face Mitchell, then Kowalski yelled a brisk order.

Attention on deck! shouted Major Kowalski as Mitchell approached. Everyone snapped to attention.

At Ease. Said Mitchell, You all are probably wondering why I have called you down here. While it is true that the ship is on heightened alert as we pass through the omicrons, due to the nomads and wilde, the reason I have called you all here, is because you are my A squad. While every one onboard this ship has received the same training, and shown the same dedication, to me and this ship, out of all of them, this group has consistently outperformed everyone else. As this is going to be a very high risk mission, I need my best. Mitchell paused, then dropped the holoprojector he was carrying on the floor, a system map showed up, then a base, and some other technical information. Mitchell continued, This is omicron 74. while its technically a neutral system, it is heavily defended. Mitchell clicked a button, and the map zoomed in, As you are aware, Omicron 74 is a Zoner Guard system. It pumps out their best ships, and is routinely patrolled. Usually patrols are light, consisting of bombers and fighters, however intelligence is unclear as to how quickly the zoners could call in a fleet, or worse a juggernaught. The following is important gentleman so pay attention. Mitchell continued, while omicron 74 is a zoner guard system, known for its freeport station, and livadia shipyard, what isnt so well known is that the zoners have a top secret research station, buried within a minefield. Navigating the minefield will be tricky, but it will also give us the time needed to get the job done

Mitchell droned on for another twenty minutes going over the rest of the briefing, then the men went to work, gathering gear, and suiting up. The plan was relatively simple. The Venture would use its advanced hyperdrive to enter Omicron 74 at coordinates Hotel One. This would put them well out of scanner range, and would allow the ship to build up enough energy to activate the cloak, and the jamming systems once within range. It would take roughly twelve minutes to move from Hotel One, into the minefield surrounding Corinth, and then another ten minutes to navigate the minefield safely. Once within three kilometers of Corinth, The Venture would activate the jamming field, and launch forward tubes one through ten at key points around the station. The new torpedoes that Captain Marshall and Lieutenant Calego had been working on, had weapons jammers, and cloak technology. As the torpedoes screamed their way towards the station, the automated, and manned defenses would have an impossible task trying to hit them. Once the Torpedoes slammed into the station, they would launch multiple warheads further into the station, releasing a powerful non-lethal nerve gas that would effectively neutralize everyone on board through paralysis to their limbs and body, while keeping the vital organs of the unfortunate crew, functioning normally. In essence, the crew of the Corinth would fall to the floor, unable to move. This would give Mitchell and his strike force to get on board the station, steal the nomad power cell being researched there, and get back on board the venture, before the taskforce that would most likely come out of Freeport XV arrived. Under normal circumstances, it would take the zoners under one minute to launch the task force, and ten minutes to get to corinth, navigating the mine field. Which gave them roughly twelve minutes after jamming commenced to get in and out with the power cell. Twelve minutes wasnt much time, however Tereus had every bit of confidence in the men He had selected for the job. Tereus snapped back to reality, then picked up His gear and walked over to His ODM. A slight smile appeared on His face, as looked at His newly overhauled Mechthen thought to himself, Flying one of these beats the bridge chair anyday.

At 0400, approximately three hours after Tereus ordered the Venture to jump to Omicron 74, the ship dropped out of its travel through hyperspace, and appeared at the designated coordinates of Hotel One. As soon as the ship dropped out of the hyperspace window, Mitchell and his men were already geared up. Kowalskis unit of shock troopers would be piloting a Assault Shuttle down to the station, while Mitchell, Calego, and Marshall would be flying ODMs as close support. Marshall and Calego would be using a two man ODM, just like when they stormed Eltmann, only this one was equipped with non-lethal rounds should they run into anyone, they did not want to kill any of the stations crew, only obtain the Nomad Power Cell. Mitchell would be piloting his newly reworked and upgraded ODM, which he had frequently used in thousands of battles before now. His was a more agile ODM, geared toward assualt, and when not fitted with the non-lethal armament, was geared to overwhelm, and outmanuever anything the enemy could throw his way. The Mech itself was about three quarters the size of the two man mech, and his was painted black and red. The look of it as Mitchell moved it into position by the exterior facing hangar doors, was one of sheer menace.

At 0412 Commander Mencken had skillfuly piloted The Venture to the entrance to the winding path through the minefield, that would lead them to Corinth Research Station. So far everything was right on time. The Venture was in stealth mode, all non essential systems had been shut down to limit energy emmissions that could possibly give away the ships position, even though invisible to the naked eye and most scanners, Corinth was a research station after all.

At 0421 Mencken pulled The Venture through the last leg of the twisting minefield path, to within three kilometers of the base, then engaged the jamming field. Almost instantaneously the forward torpedo tubes fired, and the hangar doors opened, sucking atmosphere, and Mitchells unit out into the black, icy void of space. Mitchell immediately pushed the throttle open, and launched his ODM towards the silent station, hoping that the torpedoes gas had effectively immobilized its crew. First to land on the exterior of the station, Mitchell set a breach charge, and waited for Calego to move the Assault ODM into position. Kathunk. Mitchell detonated the charge, placed over a storage area close to the location the labs containing the Nomad Power Cell. Calego manuevered the Assault Mech into the hole, then signaled the all clear. Mitchell followed, and shortly after, Kowalski expertly piloted the Assualt Shuttle into position over the hole, and the sound of the docking clamp magnetizing to the stations hull, and the hiss of pressurization shortly followed. As soon as the storage room had been rapidly repressurized, the Shock Troops started to board, and set up for breach into the Laboratory Sector. With Calego and Marshall in a point position, Mitchell gave the order, and Kowalskis men opened the doors. Everything was a mess. Klaxons were going off all over the station, and the gas had definitely done its job. Kowalskis Group was hurriedly running towards the Lab containing the Nomad Power Cell, while also trying not to crush the immobilized crews heads with their powered armor boot heels.

At 0426 Mencken contacted Mitchell. Sir, Freeport XV has just launched multiple ships, and they are headed this way. Intercepted communications chatter confirms, they are headed here to Corinth, as the Station has been out of contact for six minutes. ETA is eight minutes sirhave you got the power cell yet?

Mitchell keyed his comm. Not yet commander, Kowalski, whats taking so long, do you have it?

Kowalski responded, and weapons fire could be heard over his comm, Were at the lab sir, but a small group of scientists, and a security team have holed themselves up in that labwe are mopping up now, but its gonna take us about five minutes to get back to you. Over.

Mitchell cursedof course it couldnt have been expected that all the crew on board would have been knocked out, but the fact that Freeport XV had launched its ships prematurely was a major problemespecially since they would be blocking The Ventures escape route. Mitchell yelled back through the comm. Kowalski you have three minutes to get that back here, or we are gonna be in for a long walk back.

Roger that sir, we are already on our way back. Kowalski replied.

Sir, the Zoner Response Fleet is six kilometers out from the entrance to the minefield, current taskforce shows three destroyers, and a large group of support craftI hope you are on your way back. Commander Mencken radioed.

As Tereus keyed his comm, Kowalski and crew came bursting through the storage doors, followed by weapons tracers. We have it, we are evacing now, have the ship ready to jump as soon as we get on board! Mitchell signaled Calego, and Marshall, then both ODMs fired stun grenades and knockout gas down the corridor. Seconds later the whooosh of escaping atmosphere let them know Kowalskis team was headed back towards the ship.

Lets Go! Mitchell ordered, and the ODMs pushed off, back out into the blackness of space.

As soon as they emerged from the stations innards, Mitchell could already tell things were getting very bad, very quickly. As they rocketed back towards the Venture, Mitchell could see a thin trail of smoke coming off the Assault Shuttle as it screamed into the hangar bay. Already, just a few seconds out from the station, the cloud of escort craft sent by Freeport XV had already started sending a storm of weapons fire in their direction. The two ODMs started to dodge and weave through the hail of weapons fire, and launcehed themselves full speed into the hangar bay. Mitchell keyed his comm, Mencken were in, get us the hell out of here!

Commander Mencken ordered the ship to begin powering its hyperdrive as she piloted the massive Geb away from the fight. As the Zoner fleet closed on their position, effectively trapping the ship between a minefield, and a wall of weapons fire, the Errant Venture jumped, hurtling it away from the fight.

As soon as the Venture jumped to hyperspace Mitchell knew there was something wrong. All over the ship warning klaxons blared, and a concussion of small explosions were heard towards the aft of the ship. Mitchell rushed from the hangar bay towards the turbo lift, Captain Marshall hot on his tail. Calego along with Kowalskis unit had gone rushing towards Engineering, as the first concussion of explosions went off. Tereus ran out of the turbolift once the doors opened revealing the command deck. Mitchell started barking orders as he took his position in his chair, Commander Report!

Mencken looked pale as she yelled her reply over the numerous alarms going off on the bridge, I dont know sir, as soon as we jumped there was an overload, We are accelerating at a massive pace, and we cannot drop out of hyperspace.sir the reactor is going critical

Mitchell keyed the engineering room, Calego talk to me, whats going on?

Calego could be heard yelling back through the comm frantically, Sir Im not quite sure, but we are getting some massive build up in the reactorSir its overloading, and if I cant stop it, well

Mitchell cut him off short, Goddamit Calego, I dont care what you have to do, but you do it, and you do it now!!

The silence that followed meant that Calego was already working on itWarning Reactor pressure reaching critical, estimated two minutes until overload. Stated the ships computerMoments later Calego yelled back over the comm.

Sir I think we can manually shut the reactor down, and do a system restart, but if successful, we will drop out of Hyperspace immediately, and frankly sir, that alone may tear this ship apart.

Do it Calegodo it now! Mitchell responded. He keyed the ship wide comm, All hands, this is Mitchell, we are shutting down the reactor, prepare for an abrupt, and harsh halt from hyperspace, All hands brace for immediate hyperspace exit. Standby all medical teams to receive casualties. With that Mitchell unkeyed the comm, and strapped into his ChairA reactor overload, or the ship being ripped to shredswhat a choice of fate.