The Colonial Alliance
Epsilon Eridani System
ODV Valiant

June 1, 2550 CE

Azuk had been sleeping relatively peacefully in his cell when the alarms blared overhead. He had barely been asleep for a few hours as he sat up. From the cot, he could see the desk where the brig officer for whichever shift it was usually sat, but the desk was empty. If he had to guess, there was already something going on before the alert was sounded and it required all security personnel to be armed and ready for something. On the wall behind the desk, a star map sat showing where they were exactly. It was more meant for the prisoners that were being brought somewhere so they knew where the ship was. Right now, it simply had a marker over Epsilon Eridani. For something to happen in this system, Azuk knew it couldn’t be good.

“All hands, brace for impact.” The Captain said over the intercom. With nothing to brace onto, Azuk just laid back down. Within moments he was thrown to the floor by one impact almost right behind the cell it felt like, but then a second less violent impact more toward the front of the ship. “We have boarders. All crew are advised to shelter in place if you are unarmed.”

As if to confirm the suspicion that the first impact was nearby, the brig door was blasted open and three heavily armored and armed individuals stepped into the brig. On first glance, with the blue colored armor and featureless humans, Azuk had to assume that they were the aliens that Omniwatch made contact with. If they went for the brig first, he also had to assume he had some sort of tracking device in him.

“There he is.” One of the armored soldiers said, pointing at Azuk.

“He’s the only one in here.” The apparent commander said. Even with the helmet on, Azuk knew the voice. “Tulrikvah. Up. You’re getting out of here.” They said as they stepped over to the cell and, with a hard kick at the door, broke the magnetic lock and kicked it off the slide. When Azuk hesitated, they added on, “We have about five minutes before these people respond to the fighting. Let’s move.”

When faced with three people that could easily kill him, given how quickly the cell door was taken care of, Azuk chose to comply. He already had plenty of questions. Once he moved toward the cell door, the soldiers moved toward the exit of the brig. Azuk had to squeeze through the small gap that the kick had made. It wasn’t an easy task with his size, but with some effort he pulled himself through. To be freed like this didn’t sit quite right with him, but given the fact he did rather well as a pilot and he was being terminated over a mistake, Azuk was perfectly fine with Omniwatch suffering.

As he walked up behind the soldiers, they entered the hallway. Two of them turned to the right to face deeper down the corridor while the third one turned left. “This way. You’re our objective so we’ll be pulling out immediately.”

“What do you all want from me?” Azuk asked as he made a few quick steps to catch up to the soldier.

The question didn’t get an answer. As they made another left, with the other two soldiers following behind Azuk, he could see the impact of what seemed to be a boarding pod through the deck windows. The first soldier climbed into the pod through the part that had broken through the hull, and Azuk followed. Inside the pod was large enough for at least a dozen soldiers in that same armor, and darkened with only dim red lights lighting the inside of the pod.

Once the other two climbed into the pod, the entrance closed. Azuk looked toward the back, only to find the first soldier at a console that, only now, could he make out in the light. “This is Pod One. We have the target. We’re withdrawing from the ship now. What’s the status on Pod Two?” The soldier asked.

Of course, Azuk couldn’t hear the answer. Instead he simply copied what the other two were doing and took a seat. The restraints were far too large, obviously meant for armor, but he was able to make do somewhat with some adjustments to the straps rather than with the hydraulic clamp. The whole pod shuddered as it seemed to move backward. With no way to see outside, Azuk assumed it was pulling from the ship. The shuddering stopped within moments and then the inertia from spinning around was felt.

“Trimalchio is waiting for us at the RV. ETA will be about six hours. Brace for acceleration. Once it smooths out, you better get comfortable. We’ll be sitting a while.” The soldier at the controls said.

As they had warned, the pod rapidly accelerated, pushing Azuk to the side against the straps. It was a far greater acceleration than anything he felt in the interceptor. Within a few minutes though, none of which were pleasant, the engines cut out and Azuk was given the chance to get at least somewhat comfortable. He knew they’d have to do the same thing to slow down and he didn’t look forward to that.

Deep Space

It took closer to eight hours before the deceleration began. As with the acceleration, the pod jerked quickly as the overpowered engine slowed it down over the course of several minutes. After that long at such a speed, Azuk figured they were deep in deep space at this point. He only hoped that the Alliance didn’t detect them and follow them. The last thing he wanted to do was die on some boarding pod in deep space. That felt like an incredibly undignified way to go.

“Alright, recovery procedures will be underway. We’re under Trimalchio’s control now.” The soldier said. “We’ll probably be in an airlock within ten minutes.”

“I always thought these types of pods were disposable.” Azuk said.

“They usually are.” The soldier confirmed. “These are a bit bigger and hardier for longer range boarding operations and maneuvering. This operation was far beyond its normal capabilities. We’re lucky we made it back without having to signal for assistance.”

With the mention of this being beyond their abilities, Azuk had to ask, “You mentioned another pod?”

“That’s right. They’re a bit behind us. They captured the rest of the pilots.” The soldier said.

“Why?” Azuk asked, knowing he wouldn’t get an answer.

If they were capturing the pilots, that meant they were likely getting the most dangerous ones and the ones that knew how to take down their ships. Or, and perhaps this was a stretch in thought, they were going to try to copy the interceptors for themselves as a defense and needed people to train new pilots. Azuk really didn’t want to be pressed into service with another military, but he supposed it was still better than being in prison.

As they had said, it took about ten minutes before the pod came to a stop and the airlock opened. The warm air inside the pod, as the life support had long since been exhausted and they were running on limited oxygen, was quickly replaced by a rush of cool air from the ship. The soldiers were the first to stand up and head off the pod. Azuk spent several more seconds undoing the straps before he was able to stand up and follow them aboard.

Inside, the airlock opened to a large hangar bay, not unlike the one that was used to transfer him back to the Valiant just a few days prior. This one, however, had a number of larger craft on pads. The nearest one he assumed was nearly the size of a normal corvette but he saw no visible weapons on the outside. Instead he had to assume it was some manner of troop transport, likely meant to shuttle troops to the surface.

“Get off of me!” Azuk heard Rahimi shout in Caliphate Common as he stepped aboard the ship. He looked to the right only to see her trying in vain to resist another armored soldier and failing to break out of his grip. Behind her, Andromeda, Jack, and a few other pilots from other squadrons were led off the pod. They chose not to resist the soldiers, which was probably smart.

“Tulrikvah, come over here and translate for me.” Another voice shouted, one which Azuk quickly placed as the major. Azuk took a moment to look at the soldiers he had arrived with and they didn’t show any sign of stopping him, so he quickly moved across the hangar to the Major. “I trust you’ll cooperate fully with us?” Azuk simply nodded at the question. He had nowhere else to go anyway since prison awaited him otherwise. “Good. Translate this for them. Let them know their presence will be required to assist with forming a new program. If they cooperate, they will be returned home. If they cause trouble, they will be thrown out the airlocks.”

“I need to ask, what is the program exactly?” Azuk asked.

“You’ll be cleared for that later. Kindly translate that for me.” The Major said.

Azuk nodded before he turned to the other pilots. “Effective immediately, you’re all under the employ of these fine people. If you cooperate, you will be returned home safely. If any of you cause trouble, they will not hesitate to kill you.”

“Why are you cooperating with them?” Rahimi asked.

“Because I’d rather see the Caliphate burn than return to prison on false charges.” Azuk growled back. It seemed to silence her for now. “They’ll likely get proper translations moved over to all of you, so I wont have to keep translating.”

“That’ll do.” The Major said. “Tulrikvah, the admiral wanted to see you when we got up here. I believe she has an offer for you. We’ll deal with the rest of them.”

“I hope I’ll get an escort up there then? I obviously have no idea where the admiral would be.” Azuk said after looking around. The Major simply pointed at one of the soldiers only in a uniform, with a red armband Azuk noted. The soldier nodded and waved for Azuk to follow.

The walk through the ship took just under twenty minutes, with one tram ride down what Azuk assumed was one of the main corridors of the ship. Eventually he was led into a particularly well decorated part of the ship with soldiers guarding the entrances. One of the soldiers simply adjusted a camera on the entrance for it to record Azuk, then the doors opened for him. From there he was told to go down to the wide door on the right side at about the halfway point.

It wasn’t hard to find that door, especially when it was opening as Azuk approached. He took a glance inside only to see a typical office with a desk and a uniformed, female canine at the desk. “Tulrikvah, come in.” The wolf said without looking up from a datapad on her desk. Azuk cautiously entered the office, taking a moment to look around. Once he was inside, the doors closed behind him almost silently.

The whole office had a particular appearance of… at least nobility or some manner of senior military, Azuk figured. With wood being rare in space, the fact the floors appeared to be real wood, along with the desk and chairs, was a strange sight indeed. As he got closer, he saw that the uniform the wolf wore was more like an armor decorated with various gold colored fittings and two stars on the collar.

Once Azuk took a seat across the desk, the admiral set down one of the datapads. “I trust you weren’t actually informed of anything going on, so I’ll make it rather simple. The Empire is preparing for an offensive against the local powers.” The Admiral said. “We’re going to be making the first strike within the week. The orders from my superior is that this dreadnought will be leading the charge into… Procyon I believe.”

 “I suppose that was the information that you all extracted when I was captured?” Azuk asked. As he asked that, he was only somewhat surprised that he didn’t care they would be attacking Procyon. He didn’t care about his home anymore.

“That’s right. Great Home, Procyon. Your home, apparently.” The Admiral said. “Since you don’t seem to resist it, I trust that you’ll cooperate with us?”

“Within reason.” Azuk said.

The Admiral nodded. “I suppose that’ll have to do. I should note that you will be receiving a pardon for any crimes against the Empire, which I know are numerous. It was approved by the Emepror just a few hours ago. That is only to enable offering you a contract.”

“The last contract I signed was supposed to keep me out of prison.” Azuk said. “That clearly didn’t work out. I at least know Omniwatch would do everything in its power to cause me problems. What of you all though?”

Again, the Admiral nodded. “I understand the hesitation. If there’s anything you can trust us on, it’s keeping the terms of a contract. I believe we’ve also been rather honest with you and more than fair despite it all.”

Azuk had to stay silent for a moment. It was true. The enemy had treated him better than even those he worked for. It was strange to think about. “What’s in the contract?” Azuk asked.

“You’ll be given a temporary rank of lieutenant and put in charge of the testing of our reproduced interceptors. You will still be under charge of the ship’s chief engineer however.” The Admiral said. “Regardless of the outcome, be it a victory or defeat by some chance, of the Procyon offensive, you will be offered Imperial citizenship and residency as you will likely be unable to live in the region you’re used to. As well, you will be given a payment of fifty thousand Imperial credits per week. We expect it will only be two weeks or so, but it could go on further. Our onboard lawyer wrote up the more detailed contract, these are just the major points.”

“How are you producing interceptors?” Azuk asked.

“Using what we extracted from you, we have rough plans, armament, and other capabilities.” The Admiral said as she reached for a datapad and slid it across the desk. As Azuk picked it up and glanced at the plans for an interceptor, she continued. “You saw how large this vessel is. We also have limited production capacity. We’re in deep space mining for what we need using support vessels. As it stands we can produce one prototype every few days. They won’t be perfect, but that’s where your direction comes in. You’ll be tasked with making sure they are tested by those under your command and any issues reported so they can be corrected on the next one.”

The plans that Azuk saw were almost identical to the Tesgno interceptor, though some details were mixed up with the Omniwatch version. He had a distinct feeling though that the Empire will use more advanced materials to make a version better than Omniwatch’s. “It seems rather… easy.” Azuk said. “What’s the catch?”

The Admiral cracked a small smile. “I like the confidence. Truthfully there’s no catch. Duties may vary by the day, but you’re effectively just directing the testing side of things. It’s why the other pilots were captured.”

Azuk had to change the subject slightly as the fact they were going to be attacking Procyon set in. “What will come of Procyon?”

“The interceptors will be used for atmospheric operations and shock and awe.” The Admiral said. “In space, we believe we can handle any further interceptor threat and can certainly handle the navy ships in a fair fight.”

Shock and awe was a term he last heard in relation to the Brakian incident. If it was at all the same, and judging from how these people acted, Azuk figured that they were essentially talking about bombing the planet and taking out military assets. “I won’t be complaining about that.” Azuk said. “I guess I’ll sign the contract.”

The Admiral nodded and set a datapad on the desk. “This is yours. I figured you’d say yes. It has the contract on it. Just sign it and then you’ll have to go down to the quartermaster for uniforms and rank tabs. The pad will also direct you to your quarters. I know you don’t have… anything other than the clothes you have on now, so I assume it won’t take long before you’re settled in. Simple ship maps are on the pad. Given the size, you’ll need it. You’ll start tomorrow. Any further questions?”

“No. Not right now.” Azuk said as he signed the datapad with a finger as it appeared to lack a stylus. Once he signed it he hit the box that confirmed the signature. Moments after, the Admiral’s console pinged.

“Good. You’ll have the rest of the day to get settled in and get your uniforms. In the morning, the datapad will show where you’re assigned along with other work orders.” The Admiral said. “I recommend catching up on history and learning what you can about us. If we succeed and return to the Empire, you’re welcome to stay, and it wouldn’t do to not know anything.”

“Yes ma’am.” Azuk said as he stood up. “Thank you.”

“Good luck, Lieutenant. We may speak in the morning. Be ready to work.” The Admiral said before returning to her console. “You’re dismissed.”

Azuk left the office quickly, only to be met with a human soldier in uniform with a red armband. He simply gestured for Azuk to follow him and proceeded down the hallway. While following, Azuk opened the datapad and went through the various programs attempting to find the directions to the quartermaster and requisitions. By the time Azuk and the soldier stepped into the hallway, he had found the marker in the maps and set it as his destination.

The walk through the ship, in his civilian clothing that he bought in Alpha Centauri, seemed somewhat out of place and he did earn several unusual looks from passing personnel. Just in walking, Azuk noted a few things. The soldiers with the red armbands were all wearing a grey camouflage uniform with a simple utility belt and a few items on it. Azuk assumed those were the ship’s security forces, likely marines if he had to guess. He wasn’t sure why he assumed that, but knowing what marines are usually for, it seemed rational. Other personnel were all wearing solid blue uniforms. It was equally obvious that they were the actual Navy personnel, which made Azuk more confident in his guess about the marines.

If anything actually stood out, however, it was the mix of species. Most of the soldiers and sailors he saw appeared to be human, but there was a mix of other canines and felines like one may see on some Alliance ships. However, among them were several other races, seemingly mostly among the marines, such as a larger ursine race. When he passed the first one, Azuk couldn’t help but stare up at the large white creature until he passed. Ultimately Azuk decided that they were rather mixed. He would definitely have to read up on everything when he got the chance.

It took about half an hour of winding through several large corridors and down a lift before Azuk finally arrived at the requisitions section of the ship. The lobby for requisitions was rather large, taking up a considerable space and having seating for at least a couple dozen people. At the front, in front of glass that appeared reinforced, a line snaked back and forth a few times. Azuk let out a sigh and stepped to the back of the line. He knew he’d be here for a while.

About another hour passed as the line slowly moved forward, only sped up at the 45 minute mark by another soldier taking up another window and processing someone else. When Azuk finally stepped up to the window, the look he got from the human on the other side of the window was simply a tired stare.

“What do you need?” The person asked.

“I’ve just been brought aboard. I need new uniforms and rank tabs.” Azuk said.

“Datapad please.” The person said. Azuk slid the datapad into the slot. After a moment of going through it, the person slid it back and straightened up a bit. “As a local contractor, I should note our uniforms are a little different than anything you’d have had. I’ll send instructions over to the datapad. You’re being given a work uniform, service uniform, and dress uniform. Lieutenant tabs and other minor accessories are included in a bag in the box. Uniform standards should be in the datapad already. The boxes are going to be delivered to your assigned cabin. If there are any issues, just let us know through the datapad messaging.”

“How are they getting sent up to the cabin?” Azuk asked.

“Internal air tubes run through the ship to vital locations and beacons to direct various items coming through. It works as our garbage disposal as well as delivery system in the other direction.” The person said. “They should be up to your cabin by the time you get up there. There’s a line though, Lieutenant. If there’s nothing else, could you please move ahead sir?”

Azuk nodded and stepped off to the side to look at the long line that formed behind him. He made his way along the side of the lobby, only to stop near one of the empty seats so that he could locate his cabin. Unlike the short time it took to locate requisitions on the map, his cabin was clearly marked. It was also located near the top and front of the ship; about 3 kilometers away. He let out a sigh and started walking, only somewhat thankful the ship had trams in the main corridors, according to the map and his own experience earlier.

In all, it took a matter of fifteen minutes to get up to his cabins, a speed that he didn’t expect knowing how long everything else took. The deck that his cabin was on, and the specific corridor, was empty as Azuk walked down it. He figured that was probably for the best as he came to a stop outside his cabin. To the right of the door, connected to the frame, was a small panel. The display at the top already read ‘LCDR Tulrikvah’. Unless someone else had the same name, Azuk hit the button for entry to the cabin. After a moment of delay, the door slid open and Azuk stepped inside.

For being an officer, the room he received was rather small. A cot sat on the right side at the back of the room. The back wall also had a display and a panel for that, which Azuk figured could be customized to whatever he saw fit. On the right by the door, several boxes rested on a shelf in an alcove. When he looked at the top of that he saw a circular hole that had been closed. He assumed that was the piping system through the ship. He decided to get to the uniforms later. Other than that alcove, some cabinets, a shelf, and the cot, the quarters felt very barren. It would have to do though.

After taking a few minutes to get comfortable, change the off display to a look at stars and space, and adjust the temperature to something more reasonable, Azuk set an early alarm and laid down on the cot.

June 2

The morning came quickly, and Azuk found himself comfortably sprawled out on his cot. Given what he was used to the last few days in Omniwatch custody, the actual bed was a welcome change and he almost didn’t want to wake up. After hitting a delay on his alarm several times, which is why he set the alarm particularly early, he finally pushed himself up to look around the room. The room had darkened slightly, perhaps something detecting he was asleep, though it started to gradually lighten up now that he was awake. He stood up from the cot and moved over to the alcove with the boxes. He knew those were the uniforms, and he had to get one of them set up for the day.

After going through the boxes to find out which uniform was which, he finally settled on the solid blue uniform that looked rather similar to the ones in the Alliance and which he presumed to be the utility uniform. After going through another box, he found the various accessories and badges and, with a guide on his datapad, proceeded to attach the various items where they were supposed to be. It took only a few minutes before the uniform seemed ready to go, with the lieutenant insignia for the cap and one lapel, a nametag that seemed to just stick on and read 'Tulrikvah', and a badge for what he assumed to be the experimental unit he was in charge of. On the left side of the uniform, directly across from the nametag, there was also a patch that read 'GHE Navy'.

Satisfied that all was well, Azuk got himself dressed, which took a bit longer than he had planned on since he had to adjust the pants to actually fit him. Something he had noticed in the back of his mind is that his digigrade leg structure was unusual compared to all other species on the ship. He finally just settled with keeping it rolled up just under the knee in a rather tight roll. It wasn’t great, he knew, but it would stay in place for a while at least.

After a moment to straighten the uniform, Azuk took a moment to look in the mirror. Being in the uniform of another nation seemed odd, but to him it was rather nice. Satisfied for now, Azuk stepped out of the cabin and removed his datapad. Unlike yesterday when he had made it to the cabin, a few people were in the corridor. He paid them no mind as the datapad created directions for him to get to the work zone he was assigned to.

It took about half an hour, mostly due to the shift change on the ship, for Azuk to reach the assigned section near the bottom and rear of the dreadnought. While initially he thought that was a strange place for it, if they were refitting the dreadnought to be able to launch these craft, it was actually a good place. He noticed as he approached that there were several large, hangar doors leading to the room and the corridors themselves could easily transport an interceptor down them. He had to assume there were also large lifts to move them to the hangar decks.

He held the datapad up to the door pad and, with a ping, the doors slid open to reveal a large, three deck high hangar bay. Directly in front of the door were most of the machines in the room, but beyond them he was able to see the frame of what would probably be an interceptor. As he stepped in, Azuk finally noticed the one marine posted by the door with only a weapon and an armored vest for any sort of protection. Inside the room were the rest of the pilots from the Valiant as well as a number of the mechanics, but also several uniformed Imperial Navy personnel that, Azuk assumed, were engineers.

"Good morning Stripes." Andromeda said from one of the seats at a table. She was looking over some of the diagrams of the proposed interceptor on a holotable. "They have a rather close mockup of an interceptor here. It's almost impressive." Azuk looked over to her, only surprised by the fact that she was in the same Navy uniform as he was.

"What's with the uniform?" Azuk asked as he stepped over to the table.

"Well, they made proposals to all of us to join them and we'd get a new chance at life when this whole thing is over." Andromeda said, turning to Stripes, revealing the junior lieutenant rank on her lapel. "I was actually the only one to take it, other than you apparently. I did sign up with Omniwatch to get out and explore after all. Nothing like heading to a totally different area of space and still be somewhat able to fit in. What about you?"

"Nothing left for me here." Azuk said. "Anyway, the interceptor. Anything you can think of that would need changing?"

"They seem to think that they can throw a warp core in, plus a hyperdrive, and turn it into an almost independent starship in its own right." Andromeda said as she focused the hologram on the rear part of the interceptor. "Omniwatch was going to try that, and honestly the newer versions are almost capable of that, but I think these people can actually do it."

"That would change things. To have them drop into a system, almost too small to care about, and strike without needing a warship as close support." Azuk had to nod in approval. It was oddly appealing. It would make for an excellent strike against the Caliphate. "I think the whole thing will need to be upsized though to make room for both drives and a power core, plus fuel reserves. What are these?" He pointed to four smaller engines on the inside of the larger main thrusters.

"From what I can tell, those are the main space engines." Andromeda said. "I asked one of the engineers that worked on this design. Lower power and make use of waste plasma from the fusion reactor, run it through magnets, and eject it through those engines. The fuel reserves would only be used for the larger, atmospheric engines."

"I am curious how this is all supposed to be built here. It seems like it needs a lot of specialized equipment." Azuk said.

"Funny you mention that. Apparently, they ordered a lot of parts ahead of time. They must have been planning this for… well, a few days at least." Andromeda said as she moved to the cockpit and some of the sensors and pointed out how they're not quite properly fit in the design. "It's a bit sloppy, but they have a decent working model. I guess we're here to make sure it works, and as the scapegoats in case it doesn't. Why were you put in charge though?"

"I have no idea." Azuk admitted. He had no real engineering experience, but he could at least consult on how the craft should work. Out of the pilots, he probably had the most practical experience with the interceptors themselves and since it's new for the Empire it seems, that experience was probably what they needed to make sure their prototypes were functional in the first tests. "Where's everyone else?"

"The chief engineer came down a bit ago. He split the groups according to what I advised." Andromeda said. "I told him they should split us on our squadron lines, and pointed out who was in what squadron, and he went with it. So, Team B, that's the other squadron on the Valiant that we didn't much deal with, is working with the engineers and mechanics and working on the frame based on this prototype. They've been at it for a few hours now."

"And Team A is doing what?" Azuk asked.

"Currently we're the ones managing the design side of things with an engineer to advise. We'll probably have to actually fly the prototypes." Andromeda said. "Given that I accepted the offer, they put me in command of Team A, so I report to you, again. Team B is commanded by another junior lieutenant, but he's one of these people, so expect him to be a bit… aggravating."

"I sort of expect that from everyone here. I guess I may as well take a walk around and see how things are looking. Thank you for letting me know what I missed." Azuk said. He started moving toward another one of the tables once Andromeda gave a nod and went back to looking over the hologram and seemed to mark down more things to change.

Having not had the time to actually replace him between the arrest and departure, Azuk only saw Rahimi and Jack sitting at the other two tables in their Omniwatch jumpsuits, but he also took note of the one other person in a Navy uniform. Azuk took a moment to walk over to him, but noticed that he didn't actually recognize the insignia.

The human noticed Azuk though before he could say anything and gave a glance to Azuk's lapel, then snapped to attention and saluted. "Good morning sir." After Azuk retuned the salute, he relaxed. "I'm Chief Petty Officer Jameson. Chief Engineer put me and my team on the engineering side of things. I have extensive experience in aviation and engineering, but I did arrive on the last supply ship as part of the reinforcements so this is a new setup. Could you fill me in sir?"

"Just call me Azukhannja, or Azuk." Azuk said. "I'm technically just a contractor here, not an officer. What I do know though is that these craft are used by the local forces extensively and they dealt a heavy blow against the Empire's forces. The Admiral I suppose intends to recreate the technology and deploy them in response."

"What do you know of these things then?" Jameson asked.

"I said I was a contractor. I flew these for years and have had to do maintenance on them. Most of those in the black jumpsuits are the same." Azuk said. "The ones I flew typically carried an armament of antimatter torpedoes and could take out a dreadnought with only a couple of them." He chose to exclude the fact that they actually did since it was an Imperial dreadnought. "They could, in theory, be fit with bombs for striking on a planet. I think that's part of the idea with these."

"That's what I saw as well." Jameson said. "It's a hell of an undertaking. What do you think? Can they be built out here?"

"Honestly I think there's a better chance of just raiding the local depots to seize their interceptors." Azuk said. "I mean, you drop in some marines, clear out a base, move us - myself and the other former pilots - in, steal the ships, and then escape. It'd save a lot of time and resources."

"That is an interesting idea." A new voice said. Azuk knew it immediately as the Admiral before having to turn to face her. When he did, he saluted her. Jameson was more surprised however and apologized as he saluted. The admiral returned the salute and then said, "Where would those depots be, Tulrikvah?"

"I'd need a star map so I can point them out, ma'am." Azuk said. "I know where the Tesgno stocks of the interceptors are, and I know where the Omniwatch ones are. If you want a risky operation, I can give a guess for the Alliance depots."

"The first two will do. I think I'll see about putting together a raid." The admiral said. "There will be a message sent through your datapad asking for information probably. Send everything you know through and then we'll see what can be done."

"Yes ma'am." Azuk said. With a nod from the Admiral, she left the room before anything else was looked at.

"Well, you saved us from inspection probably." Andromeda said. "Let's hope we're not stuck with having to steal interceptors. I'm not much use on the ground."

"I doubt that would happen." Azuk said with some degree of confidence.

Chara System
IHN Defender

June 14

Two weeks passed quickly on the dreadnought as the interceptor teams moved ever closer to a working Imperial prototype. On top of the refined materials coming from mining vessels attached to the fleet, the special materials from the Empire directly was beyond valuable. Azuk already liked the projected performance of the interceptor, but it would have to be flown to get a real feel for the craft. After an adjustment to the plans, he was able to outfit it with a rack of four torpedoes - though with fusion warheads, as it appeared the Empire didn't actually use antimatter - as well as an alternate configuration using simple bombs for atmospheric operations, as the Admiral did mention shock and awe. In all, it was a productive two weeks, if boring, but there was some level of accomplishment as the interceptor was nearing its completion.

And yet, despite his confidence in not being involved, Azuk found himself called up for a special assignment aboard the battleship IHN Divisible and its task force of two additional cruisers, and a group of four destroyers. According to the Admiral, it was decided that a raid would be too risky and may not have any pay off. Instead, it was decided that the Empire would contact one of the other entities in the galaxy and have them carry out a raid and transfer the items to them for a sizable return. That led to the Empire contacting Canis Interstellar about an opportunity to strike at Omniwatch indirectly on Azuk's information.

Now, almost two weeks later, Canis contacted the Empire and said they had seized Omniwatch interceptors. The problem, however, was that the location was at Chara. Canis enjoyed their close ties with the canine Brakian government, and it wasn't surprising that they would want a meeting in a system where they could get a guarantee of at least a local government, but the fact it was a government system meant more things could go wrong with the arrival of an alien task force. It was also only two jumps from Sol, and the Alliance had a fair presence in the system. While Omniwatch made first contact, Azuk wasn't sure if the Alliance was made aware of the contact.

He also wasn't entirely sure just why he had to be here. According to the Admiral, his position on this team was meant to ensure that Canis will work with them because, as Azuk had said, they had less issues with the other species in local space compared to companies like Omniwatch. While he did hope that it would hold true even while he was on a different side, and he hoped that Canis wasn't about to spring a trap. If they truly stole Omniwatch interceptors, or perhaps just bought them, then it should go smoothly. For some reason Azuk assumed that they were being led into a trap though.

For now, the plan was simple. Canis wanted the Empire to land a ship at one of its orbital facilities over Chara III - in this case, the cruiser Defender since it could actually fit in the provided space and it had space in the hold for the interceptors. After arrival, a designated representative of the Empire would meet the onboard Canis representative for the transfer of an extra bonus after confirmation of the interceptors being present. The representative role fell on Azuk since he knew what he'd be doing and what to say, but the Defender had marines from the main dreadnought moved over to provide security. He'd be personally guarded by one of the company commanders due to being a representative for the short time.

Since a military uniform wasn't seen as ideal for the role, Azuk had decided to wear the civilian clothes he had when he was rescued from the Valiant. The leather jacket, shirt, and pants were rather simple, though not very formal. Azuk wasn't worried about that. He had to confirm the interceptors weren't tampered with, one by one, so getting in and out of the cockpit without ruining the clothes was a necessity.

"We just broke off from the task force." Captain Trovato said as she sat on top of a crate in the cargo bay of the Defender with Azuk. "Captain said the ETA is about twenty minutes."

From the little bit that Azuk managed to get out of the wolf since they were in the cargo bay, Azuk found that Captain Trovato is apparently related to a high officer in the Imperial Army. Beyond that, she was reluctant to say anything much. Still, he at least felt somewhat comfortable around someone that seemed halfway competent. Whether that was good or bad, however, was yet to be seen.

Azuk kept his silence though as he was informed about the ETA. As part of the deal, from what he was told, the bonus was simply in refined metals since a simple transfer of Imperial credits would be useless, which made the briefcase he had to carry incredibly heavy. Among the bars inside, from what he glanced, were gold, silver, and a number of apparently rather rare materials that, according to the Admiral, seemed unique to the space the Empire occupied on the other side of the galaxy. He had a datasheet on the minerals on his pad just in case he was asked what they were.

The silence in the cargo bay was almost deafening as the ship continued. At about the twenty five minute mark, the cruiser rocked slightly as the engines shut down and the ship was properly landed within one of the station's large hangars. As soon as the engines shut down, Captain Trovato moved off the crate and onto the floor. Azuk picked up the heavy case and approached the line where the cargo bay ramp would lower. As he came to a stop, the ramp lowered slowly with a hiss as the pressure equalized between the two ship and the hangar.

Once the ramp rested on the floor of the hangar, Azuk started down it. As he reached the midpoint, he saw the interceptors at the far end of the hangar. He did a quick count and counted only about ten of them. Closer to the ramp however there stood a single tan colored Tesgno in a suit, flanked by two human security guards with laser rifles in plain sight. Azuk hesitated only slightly at the fact that it was a Tesgno, as he had actually expected a Brakian, but he continued on after a glance to Trovato, but she seemed to be scanning everything.

"Welcome aboard Mister…?" The Tesgno executive said.

"Tulrikvah." Azuk said, extending a hand to the Tesgno. If his name didn't give it away, he was sure the immediate demeanor and action would give away that he was from this part of space.

The executive took his hand and the two shook. Instead of Common though, the executive spoke in the Tesgno language. "I expected an actual alien, not a Tesgno and a Brakian." He said.

"She isn't Brakian, apparently." Azuk said before looking around and noticing seemingly nothing out of the ordinary. "I must know; is this a trap? I've had this feeling long before we arrived that something was wrong. We're the same. Tell me that this isn't a trap and that everything is normal?"

The executive nodded slowly. "It is completely legitimate. The interceptors were bought from Omniwatch and not tampered with. Omniwatch told stories of these aliens and how they were… well, ineffective. Without their weapons, Omniwatch knew the interceptors wouldn't be a real danger. The Board agreed."

Azuk waited and watched the Tesgno closely. The explanation seemed truthful enough. "I will trust you this time." He held the briefcase out to the executive. "I believe this is the arranged bonus payment between the commander and the company."

The executive took the briefcase and handed it to one of the security officers. "I must say that you should get the interceptors loaded quickly and get out of the system." The executive said. "The Alliance communications are starting to talk about your ships." He nodded. "Thank you for the business Mister Tulrikvah. Let's hope that our organizations can work with each other again in the future." The executive gave a polite bow, and Azuk reciprocated it before the executive turned and left the hangar.

Once the executive was gone, Azuk turned to Trovato, "We don't have much time. Get handlers down here so we can move the interceptors aboard."

"What were you two talking about?" Trovato asked just before she tapped the headset and said, "The goods are clear. Get out here and move them aboard."

"Tesgno don't usually lie to each other in these matters." Azuk said. "I am going to trust him and hope the Terran influence hasn't corrupted that." Trovato simply nodded at the remark and said nothing more. She took a step back as several of the cargo handlers stepped off the ship and moved quickly toward the interceptors. "Relay this up to the captain… Captain. The Alliance cannot be engaged. The last thing we need is the main government in the region after us. They're probably already preparing for an engagement now."

Trovato nodded, yet again, and tapped the headset. "Captain, this is Captain Trovato. Tulrikvah reported that the Alliance may be preparing for an engagement with us. He advised that we not fire on them. Given the fact they appear to be main the government, I believe this may be the best option sir. We don't know much about them."

Azuk focused on the cargo handlers as they brought the interceptors aboard two at a time using a simple anti-gravity sled type object that attaches to the front wheel and would lift it enough to pull the interceptor along. Within about fifteen minutes, according to the datapad Azuk referenced constantly as he grew increasingly impatient, he had the interceptors aboard the cruiser. Despite the statement about no weapons, as the cargo bay door closed, Azuk inspected the interceptors and found they still had the graser pods on the bottom. That would save at least some trouble, if they could safely produce torpedoes aboard the dreadnought.

"We're clear Captain. All interceptors are aboard. We're ready to go sir." Trovato said as she took her position on the same crate again. Azuk instead chose to pop the cockpit on an interceptor open and climbed inside, and doing so caught Trovato's attention. "Let's hope you can fly again."

"I intend to, Captain." Azuk said as he glanced over at Trovato. "I also intend to fly the prototype when we finally finish it. At least with these we'll have working models. It should speed things up." He paused. "How much do you know about the long term plan for this operation?"

"That it's classified." Trovato said. "Sorry. The Admiral will clear you for whatever you need to know, but this isn't one of them."

Azuk just nodded. He worried ever so slightly that he would have to be involved in an attack on Procyon. While he truly wasn't so worried about any combat, he didn't care for the possibility of having to bomb Tesgno cities or destroy the ships. Of course, destroying Macavah was another story all together. Bombing the heart of the Caliphate would be a strike he'd be more than happy to carry out, especially if it killed the Caliph.

"All hands, be aware that we are currently have an unknown ship on an intercept course to us." The captain of the Defender said over the ship intercom. "We're moving to blue alert. Prepare for potential hostilities."

There was something tempting about asking the Captain to open the ramp and let him launch the interceptor, but he was pretty sure it would cause more problems than it was worth. If the Alliance was actually intercepting, then they shouldn't fire on the cruiser immediately unless Omniwatch reported hostile contact. Of course, Azuk had a feeling it could actually be Omniwatch and they recognized the hulls.

Trovato stood up from the crate. "That means I need to be on standby with the rest of my marines. Good luck Tulrikvah." Before Azuk could respond, she started moving.

Within moments of wondering if it was the Alliance, the cruiser rocked from the impact of several kinetic rounds. Immediately after the sirens for the alert blared in the cargo bay, prompting Azuk to close the canopy on the interceptor to drown out the alarm. With a few button presses he managed to turn it on to check the air supply, finding that it was still full. He reached down to confirm a mask was available and let out a sigh of relief that it was. If for some reason the cruiser was destroyed, he could at least salvage one interceptor it seemed.

The cruiser rocked a few more times from the impacts, though they were less violent than the first few. Azuk guessed they had the shields up now to at least absorb some of the energy. He strapped into the interceptor, fearing the worst from the constant hail of fire. From his position in the interceptor, and given the lack of viewports from the cargo bay, Azuk had no idea what was actually going on outside and whether or not it was an Alliance ship attacking.

Soon after the second impacts, the alarms stopped and the captain said something. Azuk couldn't hear it through the canopy of the interceptor and he didn't actually care. Given the alarm was off, he had to assume that everything was fine now and they were withdrawing. That was good for him. He got comfortable in the interceptor's seat and prepared for a long ride back to the dreadnought. When they got back he'd have to design new weapon designs with the engineers to make sure these were outfit properly. If it was the Alliance that fired on them, Azuk had a feeling it wouldn't be long before the Empire decided to strike.