Resurrecting the Wraith

[Kauket]

It was a relatively quiet day in the shady nebula of Coronado, apart from the usual traffic of Freelancers and smugglers. Deeper within the cloud lay the hidden location of the Battlegroup Auxesia’s flagship, the Eidolon Wraith. The vessel was teeming with personnel preparing for its departure from the safety of the Barrier Nebula’s depths, bound for the more public zone of Barrier Gate Station in order to meet up with the Hellfire Legion as the two groups planned over the Neural Net several nights ago.

“Engines?” - “Check. “ -“Radar systems?” - “Check.” -“Reroute the power from the weapon grid to the shielding system. “ - “Roger that. “ - “Perfect.”

The communications aboard the warship were lively as the engines roared to life. “Reactor room is nominal, energy levels look stable. We’ll be able to fly.“ said a voice over the engineering radio link to inform the Keeper, the commanding officer of the vessel’s bridge. From an elevated position in the center of the bridge, the Keeper was able to monitor a variety of subsystems that ranged from the onboard security systems to the intricate networks of life support and fire control. A tool this powerful was kept restricted by a gamut of voiceprint, fingerprint, and other identification checks in order to prevent abuse from untrustworthy parties.

The current Keeper, Sapphire Raven, stood up from her chair, observing the few guards standing at attention by the bridge’s sole entrance. “Stone, can you go round up some pilots and assign them to escort duty? At bare minimum, we need four escorts on active flight. Go make sure we have the two security teams at the ready,“ Raven called out to Christopher Stone, one of her subordinates. Chris turned his head to the side, acknowledging the request.

“Right-oh. ‘Kenzie, Johnson, on my right n’ left. Davis, you just follow around like you know what you’re doing. A few corridors from now you suckers will go your different ways to scavenge for even more suckers. I’ll tell you who gets who in a ‘sec. You others stay here and make sure that nothin’ explodes, just like a taught you,” he barked at the soldiers, and with a nod towards Sapphire, he and three other guards left the bridge.

Chris looked at the soldiers following him not long after leaving the bridge, turning to the first and saying “McKenzie, go grab Repetti. I’ve no idea who the hell she is and I wanna see what she’s made of.” He turned to Johnson, continuing his list of orders, “You find the weirdo with the donuts. As much as he creeps me the hell out, he’s a good shot. On you go.” At a crossroads between two corridors, he turned towards Davis, speaking, “You’ll look around for the Mione lady, same case as Repetti. I need to start payin’ more attention.” At last he looked at all three, and addressed them as a whole, “Radio back to me once you’ve found them, and I’ll tell the boss. I’ll go around lookin’ for Hale once I pick up somethin’ from my office. Tell ‘em all to go outside.”

On the way to his office, he radioed Raven, “Repetti, Hale, Mione and Dee-Dee will become the Eido’s escorts shortly. I’m pickin’ up the gift you gave in case things go sideways and I’ll go out myself, unless you need me inside.” Back on the bridge, the Keeper smirked, “Good to hear. I’ll need you to stay onboard to ensure the security team follows the protocol we set out. “

As the Eidolon prepared to launch its fighter escorts to ensure its security in the journey to come, the sleek warship commenced its fated voyage to the neutral ground near Barrier Gate Station. The control tower for the vessel crackled over the comms, “This is Eidolon Control; Guardian Wing Alpha-Two, you’re clear to take off. “ One by one, a motley assortment of fighters ejected from the launch tubes of the Battlegroup’s flagship, forming an aluminum cloud to safeguard the path of the Eidolon Wraith. The flotilla arrived at Barrier Gate Station within a short period of time, where Hellfire Legion forces awaited them. Under the command of their Lord Commander, Samuel Locklear, they awaited the coming voyage with a certain impetuous eagerness.

“Ah - Good evening Lord Commander. “ Raven announced, intending to greet Locklear properly.

“Good evening Raven. Are you ready?“ responded Locklear.

“I’d ask the same, but we know the answer to that. And apologies for the delay, we had a little clearing up to do but anyway, let’s get this show on the road. “

“It’s fine. Legionnaires, move out. Wing two, take point and make a clearing ahead. We’ll stick with the Eidolon. “









The two forces, now joined together by a common mission, filled the space around Barrier Gate Station in one massive formation. Centered around the Eidolon Wraith, the combined Hellfire-Auxesia fleet moved towards the Cortez jumphole. Despite the boastful and confident flying of the ships, Raven felt less sure of an easy outcome.


“Let’s just hope that the way is clear. “ she muttered, giving a brief pause between her words, “Oh who am I kidding, of course it won’t be clear.. “

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