Subject: Lord of Ashe Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2001 13:37:12 -0800 From: "Colin Brian Witz" Newsgroups: alt.startrek.vs.starwars The Lord of Ashe Scouting the fringe for Rebel activity had been a long and boring Patrol for the Red Spider Fleet. The four ships traveled in a Diamond formation, Lead was the ISD “Widowmaker“, followed behind and to each side by the VSD’s “Venom“, and “Scorpion” followed in the rear by the Interdiction Cruiser ‘Red Widow’ Most would target the ISD however the fleet’s actual flag was the lowly Interdictor. The whole fleet had been built around her, and she was the most technically advanced vessel in the fleet. Her sensors and Droid controls allowed her to probe the universe with her numerous eyes; the design had been radical extended long-range operations with out any resupply. The VSD’s were outfitted with auto forge droids from the corporate authority. From the depths of space she could resupply her self with Fuel, TIES, and missile reloads for a very long time. She could not however replace any of her ships or her personnel. From the bridge of the ‘Red Widow’ Admiral Vellis stood beside the COMPNOR cybernetics Specialist Aliaina Synver. To most imperial observers the non-military female scientist would be beneath notice. Vellis knew however that Aliaina was a protege of Issard herself and the woman who had designed the enhanced computer links for the ‘Widow’. Vellis also knew that the vessel was named after his COMPNOR watcher who had personally dispatched a sector Moff for incompetence some 5 years ago. The Widow was receiving an interesting transmission; A possible rebel or Pirate base was located on this nothing world. The Probe had been eliminated after only 4 1/2 hours of operation and three broadcasts. The World was desert, high levels of background radiation, burned out cities, and nomadic humanoids that reminded Vellis of the natives of Tatoonine he had seen during a Smuggling interdiction patrol some years before. Then the last broadcast, a plain of glass stretched before the probe, heavy tank like vessels traveled from one shielded city, out into the desert. The Probe ended its last transmission before descending the massive cliff facing into the glass valley below. Aiaina smiled (More a predator's display then actual pleasure or friendship) “Impressive shielding, dodging by the depth of the crater, and the surrounding thermal damage, a massive plasma discharge had to have been leveled against it from orbit.” Vellis wondered what sort of incident had resulted in this. There was nothing on Imperial databases that suggested that this planet could be home to an advanced colony, and certainly not one that could have performed the sort of damage he had observed. Deep within the glittering city a young human awoke, he was not alone, he knew, there were androids everywhere his predecessors had built them, just as the Androids had grown him, taken from the Frozen reproductive cells of the best of the warrior caste from the survivors of the great war. Harvesting the best traits, he was the last one though, the beasts outside had snuck aboard a gathering tank and had invaded the complex they had succeeded in destroying the entire Creche facility thinking it was the source of the diseases that continued to ravage their kind. Thus Derroth had lived fifteen years in high pressure oxygenated liquid by himself. Unlike the nomads he was immune to all disease, most forms of genetic damage, and the high-pressure environment and enhanced nutrients his body was used to provide him with superior strength. The androids had also used their knowledge of retroviruses and bacterial warfare to augment his symbiotic organisms he could digest just about any material and was immune to all toxins found on the planet, including the mutated sea life. He was the life form designed to reclaim this world. Unfortunately he was all alone. Preparing for the days martial arts training Derroth ‘Killed’ the four AP’s sent to spar with him that day before donning his personal Armour and awaiting the progress report for the day. Sheldon model seven greeted him with the news. “Our computer’s have intercepted this transmission from Station 85-gs-14X” as you know it has settled in orbit over a gas giant within the solar system, it transmitted this image to us about 8 hours a-” “Sheldon, why are you telling me something about space, our problems are the nomads.” “Lord Derroth looks!” Appearing before him and Sheldon, was four large sensor blips, this could only mean one thing. Extraterrestrial life! He was not alone. And they would soon be coming to his home, as the last knight of The States of NORSON it was his job to his civilization from all threats internal and external. Out along the dessert Claymore looked out at his Empire. The genetic weaponry used during the previous war blessed the dark haired humanoid. He and his fellow mutants were stronger then the nomadic humans that roamed the world. In addition to the enhanced strength, Claymore also had a second set of arms, and was infected with a retroviral strain from the end of the conflict He was unlike most of his army very fertile. The time for the fall of the Crystal city would be coming soon, thought claymore as he hefted that weight of his oversized Virbrasword (Taken from the limb of a ‘Reaper’ bot.) Checking the charge on his spike rifle he say that the magnets and accelerators were at full capacity. One at a time he could fire a rail spike through the hulls of the most powerful of his machine enemies. Spurring his reptilian mount into a gallop he called down the rest of his forces to attack the nomad convoy, with luck they would capture food, and resources necessary for their operation, and perhaps a few nomads would survive for his pleasure. Lord of Ashe: Part 2 (Commencing Ground Operations) Claymore watched from above as the Nomad convoy approached his trap. With a signal to C-Rat he spurred the mutant Calvary into action. The Nomads defended them selves as best they could but their SMG’s and light rifles were no match for the strength and natural armor of the chosen. Claymore stopped his lizard suddenly saving him self from a minigun blast that killed Eff’Em Jay and his brother Mike-Mike. Without thinking he targeting the offending nomad wagon with a shot from his spike rifle. The old beast drawn metal wagon collapsed on it’s self has the long steel shaft buried it’s self in the vehicle's side. The wagon master was thrown from her vehicle by the force of the impact and came down hard on one side. As she tried to rise Cee-Ess came forward to crush her head. With a look Cee-Ess understood and scooped up the winded human and brought her to master Claymore. Within a few hours all that was left of the caravan was divided into food and spoils of battle. He would give his men a night to enjoy their new slaves before starting on his plan to destroy the Crystal City. Derroth was preoccupied; these strange new invaders could not have come at a worse time. Second they had ignored all forms of broadcast he had made to them. HE had hoped for more time before he had to use these new gliders but time he did not have. Over the thrum of the fans he climbed into the lead glider cockpit. The large lift fans on either side of the flying wing craft, got his forces airborne, then one at a time they activated their four thrusts vents, and shot off over the glassy plain. The Widowmaker’s launch bay was full of storm troopers, AT-AT’s and AT- ST’s. Ground command was beginning its plans for landing in the valley out side of the only standing city. The Target is shielded and must be assaulted from the ground. Further more we have detected several automated orbital defenses (Even the greenest grunt had heard of Venom’s crippling injuries at the hands of a Droid manned missile and Particle beam cluster on the planet’s moon. The Following DBZ strike by the surviving vessels had obliterated all resistance from that corner. The Empire was ready for retribution. The Bridge of the Red Widow was also a frenzy of organization; Venom had been damaged and would need to be scrapped for replacement parts. Aliaina considered the damage, yes Venom had moved too close to the moon in preparation for the assault, While they had detected no life, the follow up scan by TIE fighters had reviewed a large complement of droids and machinery, The Salvo had caught Venom be surprised and her watch crew had dropped shields on that side thinking themselves safe from attack. Were there any member’s of the bridge crew still alive they would be facing court martial. Still all attempts to contact the natives below on standard comm frequencies had failed, the only response was that the city had been repeatedly pulsing the fleet with some kind of radiation burst. Elsewhere on the Bridge of the Red Widow, a young navy technician named Cal Thrensen had just pieced together the beginnings of a message in the hopelessly understrengthed Radiation attack comming from the planet below. Now how to inform your superiors without getting killed, or loosing credit for ones inventiveness. After all how many cultures still used lightspeed radiation based communication systems. Claymore and his Calvary crested the mesa and found that another group had already intercepted the harvesters he had hoped for. Strange white robots and their huge companions. Screaming a battle cry he fired his spike into the eye of the lead Two legged monsters. It bobbed erratically, and then righted it’s self blasting the sand where his mount had just stood a second before. Charging he sliced the first white machine in two only to discover that it was not a machine but rather a man dressed in some form of Armour. While his spike gun could travel through multiple enemies however the capacitors need 5 seconds to recharge between shots. Leaving Claymore’s men at a considerable disadvantage against these new comers. Just when things could not get any worse, the ground shook toppling the two legged monsters as small explosions destroyed mutant and armored man alike. Major Rally had the situation well in hand when the first of the enemies had hit. One shot had gone through the view port of an AT-ST decapitated the driver, and wounded the commander before the copilot/Gunner was able to take over the controls. And righted the Transport The projectiles these large humans were firing were about 300 mm long by 40mm wide and struck with such force that the initial volleys had killed five storm troopers for each shot fired. Thankfully they had little effect on anything as heavily armored arts an AT-AT. However Imperial Discipline and superior volume of fire, particularly form the e-web teams were winning the day. Suddenly the sky erupted as 3 aircraft popped up over the cliff rim; their missiles discharged thousands of little explosives each equivalent in force to a miniature thermal detonator. Storm troopers, Aliens Scouts and even the legs of his walker were ravaged by the simultaneous blasts. Firing his turbo lasers he obliterated the first vehicle of the V formation before its wingmen scattered their strafing runs proved harmless to the heavily armored walkers. With a pause he sent a message to the Widow maker requesting TIE fighter support. And then ordered imperial army technicians out of the troop hold to repair and salvage what they could from the attack. Derroth, Tallon, and Strider had chosen to make the first strike, the Mutants were fighting the aliens he had known were comming, Deferring to Tallon he took the right side as the Android's wingman during the cluster bomb attack, one of the four legged models opened fire destroying Tallon’s craft, and the other’s were unaffected by the pulse particle beam attacks of his gliders. He had lost one of his engines and his right lift fan had been damaged by Tallon’s explosion, he doubted that the stealth features of the gliders would surprise these new foes a second time. And wondered if enemies this powerful did indeed possess an air force like his own. Licking his wounds Claymore gathered before the leaders of the various tribal factions. Those mutants that hated the Citadel and all that it stood for and described the new menaces that threatened their way of life, he brought with him, the head of one of the ‘White Men’ and the weapon it had carried. C-Rat stood next to him easily cradling the heavy version of the same weapon, one that had taken three of these new comers to wield now fit nicely in C-Rat’s hands with the power boxes resting on either side of his mount. Still while they had trophies he knew that he and the few others had been lucky to escape at all. New plans would be necessary to handle this new threat. On board the Widowmaker the sense was grim They had been suspecting one force, and had been attacked by two, the shielding and stealthy nature of the craft had hidden them from Imperial Sensors until after the initial strike. Second, the Captain of the Widow maker had only sent a quarter of his available ground forces, not enough for the combined assault. The Bactatanks on Red Widow, and Scorpion were already full of injured from the destruction of Venom and there were a numbers of burned stormtroopers from the bombing attack. Still, a racket and clangs disturbed the Captain’s thoughts before him stood a Army Lt. whose left leg had clearly belonged to a protocol Droid just hours before. He was holding a pale skinned humanoid with wiring and plastic looking almost like intestines streaming from it’s mid section. “I lost my leg and my driver to this DROID!” He spat. Intelligence would soon here about this. On the bridge of the Red Widow Admiral Vellis sweated as Aliaina talked with a young technetium. A man who would soon be in charge of Widowmaker. The enemy tried to talk to us using lightspeed communication. As primitive as their weapons are they are effective in killing our people. One side seems composed of Bioreplication Droids, while the other power seems to be humans whose genetic structure was altered for warfare in Biohazard us and radioactive areas. Caught between the two factions seem to be croups of subsistence level primitive humans who have not reached beyond the slug thrower level of technology. Of other concern to us is the fact that both sides have attacked us from surprise using their knowledge of their own terrain to their advantage. My solution is that we must pacify this area. To accomplish this task we will be disembarking the whole of our ground troops at this Nomad settlement, in preparation for the grounding of VENOM. As you are aware a Victory class star destroyer can enter a planet’s atmathsphear with the aid of some repulsors what’s left of Venom shall become the first Imperial outpost and true city this planet has seen in centuries. End of Part 2 Lord of Ashe 3 Final Perpetrations Derroth paced back and forth. Power levels were reaching a dangerously low point, for 300 years the Citadel‘s survival had been linked to power. The inability to Harvest Uranium from the mines, controlled by the Mutants, had been creating a problem. Even with conversion shields, and solar power, the city of machines used far more power than it was able to harvest! The battery reserves were at an all-time low, and these new aliens had occupied his planet. He could no longer watch them through glider, or through the ancient Satellite network, as their damned air power outclassed his Gliders completely, and had destroyed every last satellite he had in orbit. Still, he knew the exact location of their new fortress that was blockading his trade routes. And mining convoys. “Sheldon, activate all of the Remaining Power suits, Reapers and Tanks.” “But my lord, our power supply is too low. We won’t have enough reserve to last a month if we reactivate all of those units.” “Unless I capture their power cores, we are dead.” Claymore’s latest meetings with the council had also been productive, the foes in white had ignored the mutants when they had retreated to their caves, and had concentrated their forces on the Citadel. Furthermore, the Elders had authorized him to use the remaining Holy Weapons of the time before, as well as the new accelerator model, that had been influenced by the captured white soldiers weapon. The rapid accelerator, had 6 small barrels, each could fire a 1/4” pellet at high velocity, and would recharge from the Battery pack rapidly. This allowed the soldier to fire faster than anything the enemies had, except their rapid fire energy weapon on which the design was based. Claymore admired the mining as he headed to his Harem; the slaves would soon have his troops underneath the enemies fort. Major Ralley looked out at his new command, prefabricated sections had unloaded themselves, and the auto-miners had stripped off the hull-plates of the VENOM to create strong walls for his new city. The heads of four AT-STs had been cannibalized, and turned into Turrets. Desert survival, scout, standard and the Compnor bitch’s new creation, the red helmed Scout-troopers, now known as Medic-troopers. Still, the massive number of casualties, had necessitated some changes. When the survivors of the first ground attack had come out of bacta, flash memory imprints had given them knowledge of the most advanced emergency medical techniques that the empire had. Planning for the battles against the droids, one trooper in five had been equipped with a DEMP rifle. Down below, inside the Newly constructed fort VENOM STRIKE, it was filling with population. Not just Stormtroopers and Technicians, but Thousands of Refugees, fleeing the Mutant raiders. The medic- troopers had discovered that, despite the biowarfare that had been used on this planet, the Nomadic Natives were human by Imperial Legal standards. This combined with the fact that 75% of the surviving refugees seeking refuge in the fort were female, and that the fort’s entire military force was male, had resulted in predictable results, (The population of the fort was due to Triple within a year). Derroth hoped that the chameleon Armour on the robots, and the tanks, would hold up against the enemies sensors. The heavy Particle cannons, and Plasma missiles should be able to damage the enemy’s heavy Armour, however the plan was to wait, for information and to find some weakness. Failing at that, he would launch his plasma missiles over the walls, and into the heart of his enemies. Rally's sensor technicians had spotted two separate attacks forming, out along the perimeters; the droids had been moving stealth tanks. While he could not spot all of the tanks, he knew they were there. Second, an increased level of seismic activity showed that someone was trying to mine into his fort. This would be entertaining, as the Hull metal had also lined the foundation of the fort. Claymore, had discovered that he could not mine upwards, but that did not discourage him. He had, after all, access to one of the Holy atomic weapons to use. He planted the device below one side of the Wall, and sealed the tunnel. Derroth was scouting the perimeter of the base on his own, in order to conserve energy. His insulation suit would not only render him invisible, but it would store his Bioelectricity to transfer back into his power-suits batteries. Moving with speed, and silence that a normal human could never match, Derroth was done with his scanning close to the enemy forces when it happened. His enemies had spotted him, first the energy beams did nothing to him, and then three blue blasts converged on him. As the shuttle docked in the Star Destroyer, the battle had changed dramatically. They had captured a human. Interrogation Droids, and Compnor awaited the young man. Aliaina looked at him, he was muscular, and even in binders he looked like he could break out at any time. One of the new Medic-troopers showed her the biodata on the prisoner. Resistant to drugs, a muscle density that was five times normal, a body that was superior in every way to that of a normal human. This represented a find that would definitely be of interest to her supervisor. Lord of Ashe 4 The Empire’s Problem Alaina sat at her desk within her private chambers, scowling at the data pad. Loss of personal and Efficiency were both worsening, Still! In the Year since her fleet had left Courscant things had changed dramatically. She wondered how much longer she could keep her little fleet in the dark, not knowing their Current mission or anything about the status of the war. It had been six months since the death of the Emperor and things just kept getting worse, something on this planet was killing her troops, robbing them of their classical Imperial Efficiency. However it was her duty to find a planet which her force could conquer, hold and set up manufacturing facilities upon until Issard called her back. At least she could look forward to the interrogation and execution of her new prisoner. She made a reminder, those troops that had captured him were bucking the trend on the planet. The efficiency of the squad of survivors from the first disaster was at 85% compared to the overall fleet efficiency of 65%, perhaps a public reward would inspire her Troops to emulate these heroes. The Counselors had summoned Claymore to the rise, to witness the council’s new weapon. Being a Warrior (and a member of the officer caste) he hated the telepaths of the council as much as he feared them. “So Warlock, just what have you come up with to destroy these white armor men?“ “Observe, but do not participate. My two brother’s and I shall need all our powers of concentration.“ Claymore thought. The Warlock rebuked him, demonstrating the powers that caused unease in the Warriors present. Below, the raid against a caravan bound for the "Whites" fortress was about to be routed.. His troops, even with the new weapons, would stand little chance against the four-legged machine that was approaching with a pair of its two legged companions. The white armored troopers were quickly dismounting a floating troop carrier; similar to the kind his army used some two hundred years ago. Not wanting to watch his Lieutenant C-Rat be slaughtered alongside his troops, Claymore was about to turn away when it happened. First he saw a group of "Whites" completely miss C-Rat and his cavalry charge, despite the close range. In the back a trooper thought to throw a grenade but dropped it after activation. The "Whites" were becoming incompetent all across the field. Being held back observing, Claymore would get none of the spoils or glory it would all go to C-Rat. Now the machines where in range to attack, when the two-legged machines where blown apart by the four legged machine in the rear! Claymore watched in horror and disbelief, as the machine headed through the battle crushing and blasting the "Whites". The four-legged monster was heading right for the four of them on the rise, C-Rat and a squad of soldier’s came up as the beast knelt down. The white-clad soldiers were starting to pick up their skills again, but were too few now and denied the use of their heavy weapons or their escape, as their transport had been one of the casualties of the turncoat machine. “My brothers and I can control the minds of the weak, or create confusion within the ranks of many, but not both at once.” “So what do you need us warriors for then Sorcerer?” “Simple, only the ones that drive the machine are under my control. You will need to capture or kill the rest of the crew. We would prefer capture, as we do not yet know how this machine works.” With a savage cry Claymore activated his vibro-sword, the hum turned into a scream of pain as the sonic field tore the metal away molecule by molecule. Finished with his cutting Claymore kicked the door hard, crushing the "White" soldier’s waiting behind it. Again the sorcerer’s had provided some protection, as the "White" soldiers could not hit him or C-Rat, even at the range of a few meters. C-Rat finished off the rest with savage glee, firing his six-barreled autogauss. Past the first door it was Vibroswords and fists as they waded through their helpless enemies. Deep in the engines of the walker, technician Kathryn Flier heard the sounds of battle approaching. She had been fortunate enough to survive the fall of the Venom, by being a lowly ranking engineer. The Reorganization had placed her under Walker command, and she was going to do her best to prove to those army shell heads that even FEMALE Navy personal were up to regs. Pulling out her blaster pistol, she took aim at the first approaching form. Her vision blurred but she held back, and concentrating with all her anger she was surprised at the sudden clarity, as she fired a shot at the first one to approach her position. The big human’s head exploded as his brains were blown out, the second one died likewise, then a third and fourth. With two shots left in her blaster, she took aim at the big ones comming in fast. She fired one shot that struck her opponent right in the chest, but he still came on and slammed into her in a rush as her last shot went hopelessly wild. As she fell under the weight of her enemy she remembered with equal clarity her Grandmother‘s warning not to go into the academy, <“They will not understand you; they will treat you poorly“> <“But, Grandmother, the Empire is under attack by Pirates and Terrorists. I can‘t just let it fall!”> <“Child there are things you do not know, things you can not know“> <“Gran, all I know is I have never met a machine I can’t figure out.”> <“There is a reason they call us Flier‘s ‘witches‘.”> Imperial Base Infiltration unit Victor X-585 had completed his perimeter patrol, when an officer approached him and his three companion units. “Damn, your one lucky trooper, not only do you survive the battle of the Pass, and a long trek back here, your first week back your squad captures the droid’s leader. And now your being sent up to the ‘Widow’ for promotion and to take part in the prisoner’s execution.” Major Rally stated. “I live for the Empire.” A response gauged at having a 73% chance of aiding him in his mission. “So, where did you get those wounds soldier, Sand people on Mon Calamari” The Major asked. He thought, not realising how much he was broadcasting. *Bioscan indicates the Major is suspicious and a 90% chance that the question is a trick* “Captain it’s a good thing to be suspicious one never knows where the rebels might be.” Victor X-585 responded, his systems working to the desired effects. “Well get your jinxed asses up to the shuttle.” Rally said pointing them to the shuttle. he thought. “Yes Sir” *Mission Parameter update: Elimination of Major Rally will be necessary before implementing stage three of the infiltration program.* “Shuttle docking with ‘Red Widow’ stand by.” Alaina watched as the Stormtroopers stepped down from the shuttle ramp, the trooper’s Sergeant moved with ease even though his Med-File noted that he had lost a leg and part of his left arm in the service of the Emperor. Perhaps it was the fact that all of his reconstituted squad were cyborgs which accounted for their high level of efficiency, compared to the rest of the ground troops. She definitely wanted to speak with this one, perhaps bring him into her quarters. The Five stood in a perfect three by two formation. She shivered, seeing the living embodiments of memories of the old Empire that she had not seen in months. Yes, this is why she had turned in her parents as rebels, and later executed her first husband for letting a Rebel agent escape. “Gentlemen. Come with me.” *Analysis of situation indicates, unranked civilian possesses high authority. Secondary analysis indicates increased heart rate, body temperature and Pheromone production, target female is attracted to one or more of our units* 'Widow' Outside the landing bay Captain Reeds had been briefed by his commander Major Rally, to keep a ‘Eye’ on the troopers. Reeds was bitter, after having lost his leg at the hip as well as his male ‘Equipment’ during the battle of the pass, when a mutant rifle had shot through the view port of his scout. Having decapitated his driver, it had pinned him to the rear wall of the AT-ST through his hip bone. The battle had won him a promotion to Captain and a temporary transfer to the ‘Widow’, but it could not replace what he had lost; not just his body, but his pride. Everyone in the Walker squad had heard about how he had whined like a baby for hours, and had soiled himself as a result of his wounds. Derroth sat in his cell. He hadn’t lied to his interrogators, and he knew they would kill him soon. He only hoped that his plan would succeed without him. Reactivating the remaining Twelve infiltration droids and sending them into the enemy’s camp had taken some daring, the first group having been sent as nomad’s seeking protection from the Mutants and Robots. The Second group sent about a week later on foot, claiming to be survivors of the battle of the pass. He had only chosen soldiers who had pre-existing cybernetics, so as to dull suspicions if any of the enemy sensor techs had noticed the underlying artificial material in the soldier’s bodies. The organics for the infiltrators had come from the same vats that the androids had produced him from. They should pass through sensors, as they were ‘Human’ on the outside and carried masking equipment. Wasteland Caverns C-Rat cursed as the hot goo was applied to his chest. The human bitch had killed 4 of his men, and had destroyed his right lung. The Counsellors had promised that the crew would not be effective in combat, but here and there they had been lucky. Three quarter’s of his forces had died storming the machine, and the woman had killed 4 of the twelve that had died. He had made sure that Claymore understood that as soon as he was healed enough for battle he was going to claim her as his prize, and then teach her some lessons in pain to pay back that which she had caused him. The goo always hurt like hell, but it would heal his wounds almost as good as new. It was a pity that humans couldn’t survive the shock of the goo, ripping her apart and healing her with it a few times would be a good release for his tensions. Kathryn woke up in a cage. Her weapons, tools and uniform were all gone. A woman in a collar gave her some foul smelling stew. She ached all over, not where the big monster had fell on her but as if she had strained every fibre of her being during the battle. The slave girl started to speak to her. “My name’s Alizon, I used to be a caravan master, but now I belong to Claymore. They treat me bad because I killed two of his troops when I was captured.” “Well, good for you, I killed five.” “I feel really sorry for you, you only killed four. C-Rat’s an Officer, they're tougher, and he’s bought you as his only prize from the battle. He intends to make you suffer really badly for hurting him.” “So where are we?” “Down in the Warrens, the Mutants are the only ones who know the way back to the surface, and the metal in the walls keeps these caves from fully being discovered. Like I said before, C-Rat owns you now and I hear he’s going to make you really suffer.” 'Widow' The detention block on a warship was one of the most secure areas onboard, still the guard on duty noticed that Captain Reeds had come to escort the five trooper honor guard that would take the prisoner to the execution site. This for a teenaged kid, who despite his obvious muscle mass, had not given navel security any problems the whole week he had been there. ‘Troopers to receive the prisoner’s for Execution.” Captain Reeds informed him “Yes sir.” The naval security officer was about to key the cells, when Captain Reeds shot the lead Honour Guard soldier with a blaster set to stun. The blue beam had no effect. Quickly the Stormtroopers and Naval troops moved with precision, but they were too slow. Quickly the console guard followed the Captians lead, shooting the fake sergeant in the head only to reveal a metal skull underneath the helmet and skin. Reed never got a chance to reset his blaster as a meter long vibroblade snaked out through the hand of one of the five troopers and into Reed’s guts, pulling upward the machine sliced him in half. The naval trooper’s responded but were too slow, the Stormtrooper armor and the machine nature of the attackers allowed them to carve through the detention crew in seconds. Opening the door, Victor looked down at Derroth, who was unfazed by Victor’s appearance. “Lord Derroth, the area is secure.” “Infiltrator, you were ordered to maintain cover, at ALL costs. This rescue will have jeopardized all of the other infiltrators.” “They fired the first shots. I believe they suspected us.” “I see. We need to access their main computers then.” “Computer interlocks are controlled through a suite two levels above us; thus far our systems have been unable to bypass their security.” “Well, we must proceed there at once. We need the information and it looks like the only way to accomplish this is with my ‘Human capabilities’ that you machines can’t seem to reproduce.” The Wasteland. Becky and Max were brother and sister; they had traveled with Honor, their father’s dog, since the mutants had orphaned them years ago. The Bitch was one of the ‘Wardogs’ that had been bred for combat, and as mounts during the Great War. Coming upon the battle of only a day or so ago they were amused at the carnage. Two of the ‘Chicken’ machines lay smoldering, as did a number of "White" soldiers, few ifs any mutants were there. Max began to scavenge through the dead, even though the mutants automatically loot after every battle they were always sloppy. Inside the crushed transport Max hit paydirt, an intact small arms locker. The young man was hauling his sack back to Honor when he heard a strange hum. Turning around he saw his sister straddling a floating piece of machinery that reminded him of their father’s old Blitz cycle, that he had kept trying to fix. “Get off of that thing, it’s dangerous!” Max yelled at his sister. “Your just jealous that I found it and you didn’t.” Becky replied, hitting the nail on the head; much to Max's chagrin. “So where did you find it then?” Max changed tack. “Back of the Transport, I think there’s another one that could work.” Becky smiled, knowing her brother well enough to realise she had won this little debate. “You’re crazy sis.” Max said, already tempted despite himself. She gave him a rude gesture, and sped off faster then either he or Honor could follow. “Honor, she’s going to be the death of us.” Max proclaimed wearily. Wasteland Caverns Kathryn was not too sure about the stew, her instincts told her it was drugged, and she looked at the cage. It was too small for her to fully stand, or for her to lie down, and it was made out of some unknown plastoid material. It was obviously immune to any effort on her part to get free from it. She sensed someone approaching, it was a couple of mutants. One of them used a pole with a loop in it to snare her neck and pull her to the bars, while the other one pulled out a vibroblade and sliced open the plastoid ribbon that secured her cell door. “The time has come for your ritual of Claiming” The first told her. “C-Rat, left the healers hut just now against the healer’s advice.” The second added, obviously enjoying telling her this. 'Widow' Alaina was furious, not only had the prisoner escaped but also those troops she had hoped to use as examples had turned out to be some sort of Human Replication Droids. Worse she had waited in the landing bay with full honor guard the whole time, and no-one knew where on the ship they were. Still it was only a matter of time before they were captured. In a fuming state she headed to her quarters. As she entered her look turned to shock, seated around her suite were the fugitives with the leader seated at HER desk. She was about to turn around when she saw the one with half a face had blocked her path. “Come in, I need some information from you.” Derroth stated calmly, clearly in control of the situation. “Well, I had heard clones were mad this just proves it.” Arriana spat back. “You’re wrong on two counts. One: I am not a clone, I am a Chimera. A clone is an imperfect copy, a Chimera is a unique being created from multiple genetic sources. Second: I am ruthless, and calculating but my mental capabilities are not unstable.” Derroth was again icily calm. “I won’t tell you anything.” It was a declaration more to herself than her captors. “We’ve been able to open up your files, including your orders; I crossed referenced with your personnel files. And inputed your father’s name as the password. Then I got it right on the second try, it was your husband's, very lax. What I propose now, is an alliance. Your troops are falling to pieces around you, and my androids have the highest technology and manufacturing base on this stinking planet. The mutants are our common enemy, they control the only source of Uranium planetside. I can supply you the troops, and the weapon’s to finish them off. What we need from you is energy, and a little clarification.” “I am listening.” Arriana said, her curiosity piqued. “It says here that the strike cruiser that rendezvoused with you six months ago took two thirds of your supply of the medicinal called bacta, and in exchange left you with various equipment. The one item I can’t figure out is what are these four ‘Spartii cylinders’?" Looked at her piercingly, expecting a prompt answer. Lord of Ashe 5 Colin Brian Witz The End Game Wasteland, The Caverns: The Counsellors were concerned, C-Rat’s bravado and need for vengeance was jeopardizing their carefully laid, plans. The appearance of a witch was something the prophecies had foretold, she could be the ruin or the salvation of their people. Either way the Council had too much to lose, to trust the results to a bullheaded warrior. The drugs and their combined power would not be enough to keep her controlled if C-Rat pushed things, however the creation of a warrior/Counsellor hybrid would be an unstoppable force. Kathryn’s mind and body were on fire, they had forced her to drink the drugged mix this time, and her body was fighting it. While her body was still bound to the well-worn stones, her mind was recalling events that had been locked up for years. She remembered the night at Cadria, the black robed figures, judging her, sealing her mind. Memories of her parents, and her grandmother. A faded form appeared before her. “Child, there is no power without a price, it is our curse to pay for that which we have stolen, with our flesh.” The Ghost told her. “I have not been able to talk to you, until now that your bonds are loo-”The Ghost was interrupted by the returning static that had been burning in her mind. The large humanoids had returned in force, there were hundreds of them, and they were all male. A small cluster of shorter monsters stood separate before her but seemed to possess some authority. One of them, possibly an Elder of the tribe she thought, stepped forward with a band of the plastic material she had encountered before. The Elder spoke. “Within our society, all conflicts are judged by rite of combat, any warrior may challenge another for a prize of battle. However, when that prize is a captive, the warrior must prove himself worthy by defeating that person in unarmed combat before claiming the prize.” Kathryn watched in horror as a three-meter tall, four-armed monster came forward. His skin was still discolored from where she had shot him. Looking at him she knew she had no chance of winning, he had to outmass her at least three to one and she was weakened from fighting the drugs. The battle would be one-sided and only symbolic, but she would do her best. C-Rat approached the woman, with confidence, the trail was only a show for him to demonstrate his power to his brothers; to hell with the Counsellor’s fears, and he would have his prize. Her first attack had not been to the groin or eyes, like was normal but had been a foot sweep that had caught him off balance. Although embarrassing it was not damaging and her attempt to kick him as he got up was disastrous for her. Grabbing her ankle with one arm he pulled her off her remaining foot and winded her, he paced about as she got up, listening to the jeer yells of his brothers. Kathryn came in for a back attack while the monster gloated lazily, she thought she would be successful despite the twisted ankle, until he grabbed her, following up with a choke hold. He released her after several painful seconds and let her gasp for air at his feet. Walking away, he gave her another opportunity for an attack. She realized that He was just playing with her. Enraged she focused all of her energy and hatred into one kick. He blocked with an arm attempting to grab her leg again, however the blow sent him across the wide room, with an unmistakable crack. She smiled, but lost hope as the giant came for her with one arm limp. Space: In orbit over Norson. The machines had proven to be quite adept builders during the last week, their single-mindedness reminded the Admiral of what the Imperial Navy was supposed to be. Their accuracy, and skill, had impressed him more then any yard crew he had ever seen. It had taken them only two weeks to turn a VSD into a small space dock. They were presently repairing damage to The Widowmaker from past encounters, under armed supervision of course. The ground combat had not been going well, denied the authority to commence orbital bombardment by his superior, Vellis was finding the situation unbearable. He knew better then to challenge Alaina, but the ground losses in materials were getting staggering, and worse yet the COMPNOR bitch,and the machines, had been up to something secret onboard the VSD turned spacedock. The Scorpion, interior hanger. The vessel being assembled was, by outward appearances, a common tramp freighter. The communications and data slicing package was from COMPNOR, half of the crew were ‘Loyalty Officers’ the other half were more of the infiltration droids. The freighter would scout, and resume communication with some select cells, dropping off the HRT’s at various ports along the way, and begin a mission of passive reconnaissance of the Empire during the Crisis. Derroth, and Alaina stood together, before the four tanks, three held infiltration droids, with muscle tissue bonding to the skeletons of the machines. The fourth held a pair of Fetuses. Alaina looked down at the life forms floating in a sea of Bacta. “I see your wasting my Bacta and Cloning Cylinders adding to your personal family” Alaina spoke with a frown. “We had agreed that I could modify them to be used for my purposes. We haven’t been able to build any more Humanoid models for 15 years! The mutants destroyed all of the organic vats and our fabricators for memory plastic around the time of my ‘Birth’.” Derroth retorted. “So, why are you doing this now?” Alaina replied “The Bacta will speed their growth, and they will be about five years of age in another three months. I am convinced; I see very few successful outcomes for our ground forces that will not require the deaths of one or both of us. My little brother and sister here are a provision against my demise.” Answered Derroth before adding. “In a way, they’re our children. I added your genetic information into the pool, along with that stormtrooper that Victor killed rescuing me.” Their arguments were cut short as Alaina’s comm. informed them that the attack on the main garrison had begun. The mutants were using their new weapon, and 4 captured walkers, along with overwhelming numbers. Derroth, Victor, and two Compnor TIE pilots approached their gliders; the addition of Imperial technology had improved the flying wing designs. The huge fans were still there but the jet engines had been replaced with four Ion drives, shielding, & repulsors systems had also been added. The weaponry consisted of the plasma bombs from before, as well as Imperial Heavy E-Web‘s as chase armament. The main weapon however was a hybrid, ‘Heat Sting‘ Missiles using the proton torpedoes as the blueprint; they carried shaped plasma charges of Norson manufacture. They also had a full volley of Six concussion missiles that both sides seemed to have developed. Now was the time to see if the new ground assault craft would work. Wasteland, The Caverns. It had been a bad week for the Imperial Ground forces, Kathryn had been made to watch as the monsters had converted captured troopers into more of their kind. She burned with anger and shame as she watched them being led past her, to their fate. C-Rat‘s sadism had increased, and he had taken his convalescence, while the other‘s had been fighting, as an excuse to hurt her further. She started to get up when her tormentor arrived to rape her again. He carried with him a shock prod that he had enjoyed using on her as of late. The plastic in the collar reacted to electricity so, with just a slight touch, he could leave her choking for several seconds. C-Rat was in a bad mood, his unnamed son was careful, to stay clear of his father at times like this. Until he went into the depths of the ruins and brought something back, he would still be nameless. He vowed that whatever he found among the ruins, it would be better then the packet of emergency food his father had returned with. He knew that one of the things upsetting his father was the fact that the slave was healing faster then he was, despite his daily attacks. The adolescent mutant still sported a number of injuries as a result of his father’s rage, and from being an Invalid. He heard his father bark an order at the poor slave in the other room then a loud noise and a blinding flash of light, followed by the smell of burning flesh and Ozone. Then it happened again and again, had the girl been killed by a full strength discharge of the Prod? Kathryn, stood over the dead giant, and felt alive for the first time in her two week nightmare, the buzzing in her head had left when the soldiers had departed for the attack. When The mutant jabbed her with the shock stick she had not collapsed this time, but rather felt a burning all over her body. The stick must have malfunctioned as the mutant tossed it aside, and came in. Raising an arm out to protect herself Kathryn felt her fingers explode, as she released the whole charge from the shock stick into C-Rat! Still her body burned as she drew energy from the air around her and released it into her tormentor. After the fourth discharge she was certain that he was quite dead, and actually cooked well done. Dressing in whatever she could find in the room she reached up, and using her newfound command over electricity removed her collar. Wasteland, Top side, Max woke late, he and Becky had been hiding in the ruins all their lives, the Mutants rarely ventured there except when they were almost fully grown. With all of them heading out to the great big battle, Max knew there wouldn’t be any mutant coming here for weeks. Still he was concerned; he woke up and Becky and Honor were gone. It took him fifteen minutes of searching, and yelling, before he found the note his sister had left on his sleeping form that morning. “Brother, the mutants have moved out. Honor and me went out to watch the ‘Dogs and Chickens’. We promise we will keep a safe distance.” Read the note. Becky called those monstrous war machines either ‘Dogs’ or ‘Chickens’ and Safe was a relative term where his crazy sister was concerned, especially with a major battle brewing. He cursed himself for being the responsible older brother to such a force of nature. He was packing up his gear when he saw a young mutant and a small human heading directly for the most dangerous part of the ruins, the old base. Wasteland outside Fort Venom: Each Walker contained three of the Twelve counsellors. Safe within the Walls of their moving fortress, they possessed power enough to destroy the ground machines of the Citadel with ease. Now they could bring their mental powers right to the front of the combat, controlling the humans who fought to stop them. Never ones to risk themselves, the Council had waited until they knew that they could overwhelm the forces of their enemy. From the minds of the captives they knew of the vast power above them, and the three most powerful of their number were not focusing their efforts on the battle below, but on a single mind far above them. Space: The Red Widow’s bridge: Alaina’s crew waited at their override stations, the superior control systems would enable her crew to fire on Scorpion station from Widow, and simultaneously have Widowmaker perform a DBZ on the robot’s headquarters at the first sign of Betrayal. It had taken her over a week and a half to crack the codes for the machines shield generators. Regardless of the outcome of the battle, Derroth and his ‘kin’ would soon be no more. A pity Alaina thought, she had wanted to be able to hurt the alien more before destroying him. Still being blasted into plasma by weapons of his own design would have to be fitting enough. The wasteland: Becky watched the battle unfolding from a 1/2 km away, Honor would let her get no closer, still through the ‘nocks that she had found in the bike’s saddle she could see the details clearly enough. Though long-boned, she could barely control the fast machine, but in her heart she knew she could use it to fight; if she had to. What she really wanted was a TANK, or better yet, one of those war machines the aliens had brought. She remembered those two mutants killing her father, smashing the blitz cycle, one taking the Minigun from the side car, the other his rifle. She had been watching helpless as they killed ma, and took her older sister. Claymore was enjoying himself very much, he had just shredded 5 reaper bots, with his auto-gauss, when he spotted a squad of soldiers acting in a very coordinated manner obviously under 'psycher' assault; the only force that was a threat to him was the machines. He liked being able to kill them, now that he had better weapons it was even better. With all of the human’s hiding himself or herself in the fortress it was going to be good plunder. Still something bothered him, where were the aliens air support, for the plan to be successful they would need to draw the alien’s air force closer to the battle, close enough for the master’s to control the minds of the ship above. Claymore felt sudden chill come over him, but could see nothing from his flank of the battle, when the sky shifted slightly. Firing a captured missile, it blasted into one of hated Citadel Gliders. Derroth watched the telltales flicker, Victor’s ship had been hit. That meant it was him, and his less then trustworthy allies, he hoped that his back-up plan would work. Locking onto the lead walker he fired a full four-missile volley. With a smile he watched the machine stagger and fall, as three holes tore through its side though one missile was consumed by fratricide. He came around on the enemy’s flank, while they shifted their war machines to hit him. He unloaded with his nose guns, while his human wingmen did likewise. Becky watched in shock, cloaked gliders had fired missiles destroying one of the ‘Dogs”. She saw one of the gliders pull off from the battle, and sail out over the dunes, crippled and unable to control itself. She waited for the roar of explosion, but it never came. The lame duck wasn’t dead after all, still she doubted anyone fighting knew that. With a quarter of their number destroyed, the counsellors reacted with vicious resolve. They found that they could control two of the four ground bombers, and still freeze the minds of the shuttle crews on the surface. With a thought the offending third glider was slammed with energy fire, it sailed over the armies before slamming into the dunes. The Counsel dispatched Claymore to search the crash site; the ship had had a mind, but not one that they could control. Alaina’s interdictor slowly entered the atmospheres under her command, she saw Derroth’s vessel crash, but the assassin team had used blasters, rather than heavy missiles to kill him, she amended her plans. With a motion she dropped the shields on the Citadel. “Admiral Proceed with code Base Delta Zero, on the Android’s Headquarters!” She commanded. Now to proceed with a little orbital bombardment of her own. Victor had finally got the controls of his glider back online. He had restored power to three of the four engines, however steering was shot, and he had had to cannibalize the FCS to bring the throttle controls back online. It had been unfortunate that the cloaking field required so much power, that one had to drop the shields to use it, given another year or five they could have solved that problem. Judging by the enemies movement and habits the remaining three walkers were advancing in reversed wedge, obviously the most powerful telepaths were in that rearmost vehicle. With a scrambled transmission he notified the other units of the betrayal, before doubling his forward shields and transferring all remaining energy into the engines. He still had a full load of ordinance to make a strike with. As the Widowmaker was moving into fire, the chime of the Turbolift doors opening onto the bridge disturbed Admiral Vellis. He spun around and shot the lone 3PO unit, and watched as its cargo rolled onto his bridge with deadly certainty. Vellis leaped away from the bombs. Onboard the Red Widow, panels flashed, as the override controls to the Widowmaker's main bridge went offline. “Aux control has been reestablished!” came the reply over the Widowmaker's comm. as they watched the spectacular end to the droid’s base. Widowmaker: Aux Control *Destruction of primary base complete, operation ‘Deceiver’ underway* Hector continued his duties as he processed, linking with two units on the main bridge. *Infiltration of command and Control is only 5%, infiltration of crew at large is insignificant, proceed with caution* *Main C&C crew injured or terminated by Thermal Detonator charge, diversion attack is judged at having 65% chance of reducing overall ship alertness, as the target is 98.1567894% likely to expect us to perform a strike against them. * “The MedTrooper’s report Admiral Vellis is alive, but injured; he is being rushed to medical.” *Chances subject Vellis will react in a manner favorable to mission success, judged at 73.94512%* Ground side: Becky’s curiosity had gotten the better of her as she had approached the crashed vessel. She found the pilot unmoving, and still strapped into his chair. Becky was suprised at his age, he wasn’t much older than her, and looked younger than her brother. Honor growled a warning, but she ignored it, reaching for the stick that lay strapped to the side of the pilot. She had just about gotten her grasp on it, when Honor’s teeth tore into her clothes pulling her out of the ship. She was about to fight with the dog when she saw the Mutant approach, judging by its size it had to be an officer. Becky ran and jumped on the bike. She thought. The Outskirts of the Military Base: Max had been following the two people for a few hours now, the doors and locks, that neither Max nor the Mutants had ever been able to crack, opened before the robed woman and her mutant companion. While always cautious, Max knew that the rewards of the old base were too great to pass up. On the second floor down he hit pay dirt, a hangar full of Blitz Cycles and recon Armour. After donning the military grade armor, Max helped himself to a scouts pulse rifle and several clips of caseless ammo. He then mounted the bike, sliding his father’s tag into the slot in front of him, activating the power cell. Checking the stores and seeing that he had a full rack of six missiles, he sped off out of the hangar through the vehicle lift and out into the desert. he thought grimly. Space the Widow’s bridge: “Commence Ion cannon bombardment of the battle area.” Alaina commanded Her ship and crew responded with an unquestioning swiftness. That would leave only the machines on the stripped down scorpion, she could deactivate them with Demp guns and Spacetroopers at her convenience. Attacks by reprogrammed droids had been expected, but she had more then enough forces onboard Widow to deal with that contingency. “Prepare my personal shuttle.” She commanded. Space; Widow maker's medical bay: Vellis fumed. He hated her deceptions, and he hated the way she betrayed everyone. Triggering his Comm., he spoke, “Crew, ready fighters, and Spacetroopers; I will meet you on the bridge after I personally send a status report to Widow.” “Sir shuttle from Widow has departed!” Replied a junior officer. Wasteland: Major Rally looked out at the battlefield, the Ion discharge had crushed his forces. As he prepared to die the battle had finally turned for his side, the glider that everyone had thought destroyed had slammed itself into the rearmost walker, with a full load of munitions. The blast from the suicide attack had killed a great deal of the enemy forces, and had knocked over the other two captured walkers, his troops were no longer being held back and were able to counter attack. Rally commed a request to Widowmaker for support, only to find out that TIE bombers, and assault shuttles were already enroute. Becky saw the monster on the giant Lizard raise his multibarreled weapon to fire on Honor! Stretching her body out fully, she got a firm grip on the weapon studs and still barely held the throttle controls in place with her tiptoes. She fired, blasting the lizard and spilling the rider. she thought, as her foot slipped from the left throttle control sending the bike into a hard right spinning turn. Claymore was furious, his beast was dead and the little brat had not only spoiled his shot, but completely evaded his reprisal attack on them with a sudden dodge. He had discounted the child, thinking one so small to be unable to operate weapons effectively. Still he could kill the dog, and bring pack the pilot of the strange craft. He turned around to see the status of the battle, and was blinded by a flash of light; as the rear of the battle exploded along with screams of pain in his head as the council died. Spitefully he took aim on the dog, when the heat came and seared his heart. Aftermath: The strangest thing happened at the end of the battle just when Rally thought he had seen everything a pair of heavily armed, crazy children showed up and snipered and harassed the retreating mutants. Rally liked the way the older of the two acted. In a year or so the boy would make a fine scout trooper. The girl was another matter entirely; she wanted to be an AT-AT pilot of all things! Well, they also brought with them a downed pilot, who Rally recognized with a chuckle; this boy was the proverbial bad credit. He had heard that when the Walker exploded Alaina’s shuttle had tried to reverse course, claiming they were under mental control, the assault shuttles had simply blasted her out of the sky. Vellis presented her own journals proving that she knew that the Emperor was dead, and she was just robbing the planet for her own benefit. Of course Norson was a year from anything of value, but it would make a good place to start again. It would take them another fifteen years to bring the planet’s mining and construction capabilities back into proper order. Still Vellis and Derroth said they would rise again, the natives called the wasted world ‘Ashe’ and so it was that the Empire could now claim to be the undisputed LORD OF ASHE. The Kids Max: Joined the first class of Trooper trainees, now a scout Sgt. Becky: After five years of Pestering, she finally forced her way into Imperial ground forces training: She still wants to pilot an AT-AT. Honor: Just had a litter of puppies, the spring before Becky joined the Academy The Imperials Vellis: Military Governor of Ashe Rally: Promoted to Col. Kathryn: Location unknown, rumors of a witch leading a small band of mutants persist but are not confirmed. The Citadel Having transferred their main AI to the Red Widow’s computers before the attack, the machines continue to serve, and are building automated mining facilities for the Scorpion construction yard. Derroth: After graduating from all of the courses offered at the Ashe academy, Derroth took over the facility on his Nineteenth ‘Birthday’ He now has 24 ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters.’