Over the coming hours, we rounded up any UEC survivors. After you take away their ability to revive and kill a few dragons, the smaller equestrian troops tend to give up the ghost rather quickly. Especially when you have about ninety combat bots running around.

With my legion running escort we were able to evacuate the wounded from the station and aid the slaves aboard the destroyer. Along the way, my squad and MOTH team would meet up with pockets of ACM members and slave fighters. Many of whom gawked at me as I walked up and annihilated whoever they were fighting.

But when the last UEC soldier surrendered we discovered that the cleanup effort had already begun. All around us bodies were being thrown out or moved to be buried. At this point, the fighting had come to an end and the UEC soldiers had been moved to the prisons or were held in one of the stations many parks.

At this point, nine hours after the fact the specters and reapers were taken back to the Gally to upload their combat experience to the other bots. Furthermore, most of the basics that had not been injured had begun helping with the cleanup.

We got strange looks as I stomped around the strange city like structure. Perhaps it was the fact that at the moment I was inside of an eighteen-foot mech or maybe it was all of the rust-colored blood that still clung to my mechs chassis.

Or maybe it was the exciting tymerian maiden perched atop my top hatch. “You know how dangerous that is right?”

“Mmm perhaps my love, but I have never been to this station before. And I do not want to let you out of my sight, not again….” There was a scratching noise above me her tail swung low partially over my sensor dome as she turned around. “Plus I can see better from up here.”

“Hey, you alright you seem agitated.”

“I have to shed but have not had any chances to do so. It is starting to become quite uncomfortable and the caps on my eyes are keeping me from seeing very well.”

“Okay grose, I'll talk to the doc and see if there's anything we can do,” I said as she moved around on the top of my torso. With a sigh, I brought up various reports and combat logs. ‘My efficiency rating is down by thirteen percent, It’s that damn left hand I can't get any sensory input from it..’

[Master this biotic is marking my hull with her claws. With your permission master I would find much pleasure in terminating this irritant.]

‘No, Armor maintains standby.’

[Acknowledged.]

We round a corner and as I turn a clunk from the top of my machine drew my attention before Miiora's unhelmeted face filled that cameras feed. “Hold…”

With a thought, I deploy my Icarus mounted blaster cannon and begin scanning for targets as I sweep my left arm around. Until a squeak from collapsed building queued my audio receptors. Miiora must have heard it too because in a second she was down on the ground and crawling over the rubble twitching her tail. “Armor, activate millimeter wave.”

[Acknowledged.]

My vision shifts from a normal window view a grayish vision mode. Panning my camera over the ruble I see several shifting blobs under the collapsed building. “Shit, Miia we've got…”

“I know, I can sense them down there. Would you open one of your locker love?” she cut me off before shifting her joints and unbuckled her battle armors ceramic plates leaving her in softshell.

With a thought, I have armor deploy a drone to fetch a rescue team and paramedics. And allowed Miiora to stuff the plates of her battle armor inside of my leg locker, before stomping up to the pile of a collapsed building and lifting a piece off of the pile.

[Pilot, this exercise is meaningless. I am not a crain, nor am I an ATL power loader. This goes against my programming and I would highly recommend simply destroying the pile. It would, after all, be a much faster and surer way of killing the biotics inside.]

‘Shut up.’

[Acknowledged.]

A shadow falls over the dome as I step forward and grip part of a wall and toss it to the side. Glancing up I see the massive bulk of Galactica hovering over the hab dome. For the next few minutes, Miiora and I worked to clear the debris before the first of the emergency response teams arrived.

The observation chamber usually used to stand the watch over mars was packed today. Almost five thousand men and women from the Galactica and her attached ships were packed in to attend the burial service. The dome of display screens around the chamber showed a panoramic view of the star system.

“...Over the past several days we have lost a lot of good men. Brothers and sisters in arms who laid down their lives in service… to the North American Commonwealth… To the Nordic empire… To the Sino-Russian Alliance… The African federation… to the COG. And to humanity.” As General Barron spoke hundreds of flag-draped coffins in the port hanger pod were wheeled to fighter launch tubes.

“Today we remember those who ventured into the night and did not return. We return them to the place where all life began… There are very few of us out here… in the black. They will drift around this foreign sun and should our kind fall they will remain… beacons of our courage, our hope, and our spirit…”

“Many of you here today have lost loved ones, friends. Several of you here have even lost your lives, only to be returned to grieving friends, and lovers. Our foe… does not treat their dead as we do… to them, to a civilization based on slavery and immortality the value of a single life is almost meaningless… But not us, not the cog. Today we lay three hundred and fifty of our bravest warriors to rest…”

Down on the station, several large groups of now ex-slaves looked up towards the massive human vessel resting over their heads. The words of the ship's commander being transmitted not for their benefit but for those COG troopers on the station. The massive ship along with her small fleet of now disconnected ships all began to angel their port weapons as the commander wound down his speech.

“The Buddha says to Accept your past without regret, handle your present with confidence, and face your future without fear. Now, brothers and sisters, we return you unto space from which all life was borne. Blood to blood, ash to ash, stardust to stardust.”

“Somebody asked me once what it means to be a citizen. Well, now I know the answer. A citizen has the courage to make the protection of the human race and our way of life their personal responsibility. The men and women who died were our friends, they were fleet, marines, troopers, pilots, and pod heads. But most importantly they were citizens.”

“Preeseeeent arms!” The sound of sharp crisp salutes filled the watch dome as the first of the coffins was fired from the ships fighter bays. The men and women inside the ship held their salutes until the final coffin was fired.

“Order arms!” Aboard the human flagship, the displays showed hundreds of glossy black coffins beginning to slowly drift away from the ship. Their gloss brilliantly reflecting the light of the system's star enough for the news cameras onboard Gallivant to pick them up.

“Company Left Face!...” As they turned the group watched as their brothers and sisters continued to drift farther into the black. They watched for several seconds before the ship shuddered as her fifteen portside railguns, and two triple barrelled particle accelerators fired.

“Look, gentlemen… I'm sure we can find a way to handle this peacefully. I'm just an honest man trying to keep his ship in the air, surely you can understand that.”

“Yeah, the only thing I understand “Caption” Callaway is that you're smuggling weapons, My weapons Callaway. Did you think I was so stupid that I wouldn't notice two crates of mint M-66 rifles, and two of those new NAC weapons missing from storage?

“Please, I don't understand what you're implying here. Surely you don't think I would be dumb enough to steal from you? I just want to take my cargo and I'll be out of your hair mister Gram. I am a legitimate businessman trying to make his way in the world.”

“No, you're not going anywhere Callaway. You think that fancy new NAC battle armor makes you tough?..” The fat furry bastard in charge of this colony's smugglers guild said.

‘Damn it... I hate fucking stranded colonies. They're always so damn uppity.’ Besides the fat fuck stood two more semi-armored thugs that resembled some kind of dog or something. This planet was abandoned shortly after the siege started and the inhabitants had to resort to some kind of genetic modification to stay alive.

“Look, I've got a schedule to keep. So how about I just…” the thug on the left shifted to rest his hand on the but of his sidearm. Sure the furry yocals hundred-year-old flechette pistol might be lethal to someone NOT in battle armor but even in its heyday, it was meant to be used against unarmored targets.

“Now why did you have to go and put your hand on your gun for? We were just having a polite conversation.” Pike turned his head to look at his goon as the two of us starred each other down.

Absentmindedly I leaned my left shoulder against a landing strut and slowly moved my right hand and rested it on the single action revolver style blaster at my hip.

The weapon was a holdover from a dark ops kill team NAC sent after my last boss. Its surface was a grey with a glowing red loading gate. I've never had a chance or reason to fire the weapon so I don't really know if it will work.

‘Wish I hadn't left my rifle or Exo in the Rose.’ As if reading my thoughts the large bore gun turret on my ships belly silently shifted to track the three stranded.

“Now you should be smarter than that Callaway. There's three of us and only one of you. You know, now that I think about it my crawler needs some new parts and that dumpster fire of a ship looks like it might just be worth the trouble of this entire affair. So how about this, you leave us the ship. You can even take that cargo you claim to have legally acquired, and catch a ride with the next guy who does in a few days.” The fat man said with a dramatic finish.

“Not a bad proposition… Let me think on it.” I made an effort to appear to be thinking about the idea as I watched Gary walk back to his men. And when he drifted in front of the thug with his hand on his gun I responded. “You know what I've got a better idea.”

In one smooth motion, I cocked my elbow and drew the blaster from its holster in a classic cavalry twist. I squeezed the trigger and a bussing booming report sounded as the blaster sent a bolt of sizzling red energy went sailing through the air. The roughly oval-shaped ball seared a huge nine-inch hole straight through the fat bastards back and into the chest of the thug with the pistol's chest.

‘Holy shit, this thing is awesome!’

There was a commotion and shouts at the bottom of the docking pads ramp. And the third thug fumbled with his gun his canine features twisted into a mask of fear, shock, and anger. When I finished marveling at the weapon in my hand I shifted my aim but before I could get off another shot the point defense turret bombed its own report and the man's upper body exploded in a shower of gore.

The frigid air began to smell of burnt flesh as the wind shifted and behind me, the Rose's boarding ramp slammed down. “Captain get aboard!” A voice called out as my first mate Marquise Warren ran out dressed in a thick fur-lined coat hefting an old M-90 LHO rifle in his big hands.

“Start the fucking engines!” I yelled turning on a heal and began sprinting to the boarding ramp. Behind me, I could hear shouts and as my boot hit the ramp's rubber surface I turned and fired another bolt over my shoulder blasting another furry stranded’ head off. As another of the thugs crested the ramp and exploded as a syringe-like round from Warrens M-90 slammed into her chest, dispensed its aerosolized explosive and detonated.

There was a defining roar as the Rose's drive flared to life on the blast pan kicking up an instant snowstorm. And as I reached the top of the ramp and stepped on the wall that was acting as the floor we began to gain altitude. Down below an assortment of thugs swarmed onto the landing pad and began firing ineffectually on the Martian Rose’s hull.

With a smile twirled the pistol in my hand before returning it to the holster, and gave the men and women below a good look at my middle finger. Before slamming the airlocks hatch shut as we blasted off into the cloudy sky. As we rocketed up I looked to a view screen and saw the huge two hundred meters tracked shanty churning down below fire an old obsolete missile at us.

Now the Rose isn't any spring chicken by any stretch of the word. But up against an old anti-air missile from before even the lanky war, the old girl might as well be the Galactica. The ships AI promptly deployed its point defense cannons and shot the missiles down before it made it within six miles of her tail.

The ship rose farther into the sky I clapped Marquis on the shoulder and the two of us activated out mag boots and clomped up to the bridge. With a heavy sigh, I let the took the helmet off and let it clatter to the deck before flopping into the pilot's seat. “Fuck that planet. Did you know they only paid us three-quarters of what our cargo was worth?”

“Then why'd you take the job?” Marquise asked from the co-pilot's seat beside me. “Because we needed the fuel and we were low on food. Besides I managed to snag a few goodies we can sell when we get back to the midway station. We might just make a profit off of this one.”

“Well, I won't argue with you their kid. Plus Pri'm says we need new parts down in the workshop. She says we should just get one of those 3D printers but I keep telling her they're too expensive.” The middle-aged black man said his eyes never leaving his control panel.

“How long till we reach the node?” I asked bringing up a navigational screen and moving it in front of me. “Don't know, I'd say maybe a few hours to reach this system's node. Since the planet was relatively close to it in its orbit. Then another week or so to hopscotch to the midway.” Warren said eyeing his own navigational display.

The display screens showing our exterior showed the sky give way to a brilliant view of the stars as we exited the atmosphere. For the next few minutes, we burned until we passed the first of the planets two moons.

“That sounds about right, that's what I'm getting on my end. Hey, you got this I've got a date with a mechanic?” I asked getting up and cracking my back. “Sure my spacecraft, we'll be cruising at three-quarter G till we reach the node.”

Nodding to the man I clicked my heels and activated my mag boots before clanking down the ladder and down through the ops deck, galley, crew quarters and storage bay. Before finally, I felt the familiar heat and thrum of Rose's reactor.

With a smile, I patted a bulkhead remembering back to when I had found her on a rock hop between Jupiter and Ceres a few years ago. It took me almost every buck I had to get the now-defunct martian navy corvette into good condition. But she hasn't failed me yet and over the years I've been able to update her with a few black market and modern upgrades. Almost in response to my loving touch the oldish ship groaned. Her hull expanding and contracting as she carried her squishy biotic crew through the black.

“I know girl. With the money, we made from this job and selling those weapons we should have enough to get you the care you need.” In response, the Corvette turned freighter let out another long tinny groan. Sure back in her hay day, she was one of the most badass things humanity had in the black but age has taken its toll. And after she and the last of the old martian navy made their stand over Io in the waning years of the siege she was left to drift for almost fifty years.

As I moved I began to feel the air getting warmer until I finally reached the machine shop. When the door slid open there was a clang followed by the distinct sound of a coolant valve bursting. “Oopah shesha!”

“Prim what the hell are you doing to my ship!?” I yelled over the din of some alarm or another.

“Oopah, shi'niik extel nik'ito!” the raspy voice of my tymerian mechanic yelled out as she seemed to slither down and around the reactors circular tertiary housing and to the valve.

An oil-stained grey and rust jumpsuit hugger her curves highlighting her dull brown, green and black dorsal scales while her ventral belly scales were a light tan. Her hood was out like a cobra as she used her tail to bring a large wrench over before using her arms and powerful appendage to turn the valve until it closed.

“There now it should hold you need to get a printer when we get to dock.” Otherwise, I might have to do something drastic. She sauntered over to the rack swaying her hips as she went, her tail flicking out behind her and placed the wrench in its spot on the magnetic alcove.

“Now how about we get you out of that armor? I have to check it for damage.” Pri'm said glancing at me over her shoulder with one emerald green eye before turning and walking out of the machine shop. “Oopah.” Was all I said before I blew out a breath and followed her to my quarters.

The sex was fast and rough I barely had time to catch my breath during it all. And before I knew it we were both lying naked on the acceleration couch with her tail wrapped around us holding us tightly together.

I met her a few years ago during a job on New Svalbard. She was wandering around the frozen fuel and water planets soul colony after the Manitoba dropped her and a shit load of other slaves off. Apparently, most of the slaves went right back aboard and joined up but not Prim. No, she wanted to stay and help out on the colony, not realizing that there was no warm season on the literal ice planet.

Apparently, she had been tipped off and had been told there was a captain looking for an engineer. So when one day when she was looking for work and a warm place she ended up wandering into the Martian Rose's bay. It must have been love at first sight because when I walked in with Warren we found her damn near drooling over the drive cone as she fixed what she claimed to be a crack.

“You really shouldn't go out alone anymore. When that fat creature came to the pad we thought you had it.” She said slowly dragging one of her claws against my chest.

“Relax babe, nothing bad happened. Besides, that's why I wear armor. Not many civilian weapons can get through that stuff.” She let out a small hiss at that before I felt her tail loosening. In response snaked my arms out holding her close as I kissed the top of her head as she pressed her snout into my neck.

“I still worry my mate. Promise me you will take someone with you next time.” I muttered an affirmative and then with a sight she let me go and got out of the bed. I watched her as she crossed the room watching the scale patterns on her back move as she bent over and picked up my armors left grieve. “Wow, I thought you were bullshitting when you were bullshitting when you said you were gonna inspect my armor.”

“What does bovine excrement have to do with what I said?” She asked with a tilt of her head her eyes never leaving the piece of armor. “It means I thought you were joking.”

“Why would I joke about that? Where is your helmet?”

“On the bridge, I think…”

“Cap, were about to enter the node can you two get up to the bridge?” Warren called over the intercom.

“Sure, were on the way.” Climbing out of bed I put on a pair of pants, grabbed a shirt and a bulb of beer from the galley before the two of us made it up to the bridge. “Hey, boss.” The ex helldiver Exo said as he walked past us in his red armor.

“Hey exo.”

With a content sigh, I plopped down into the pilot's couch and strapped myself in as Pri'm took a sheet down the ladder on the ops deck. “Coming up on the alcubierre node now. Passing you control.” Warren said as he passed the controls over to me.

“My spacecraft. Would you look at that, I never get tired of it.” Ahead if of us several hundred thousand miles away from the wormhole linking this system to the others. The giant swirling blue sphere glistened and shimmered like water as the light was bent around its event horizon in a shimmering bubble.

“Nearing the node…launching probe.” The deck shuddered and we waited about an hour before it returned giving us the all clear. You can't be too careful after all out here on the frontier. The lankys have a tendency to circle the nodes like sharks when they are agitated. “Probe shows clear!” Exo yelled from ops.

“Alright nearing wormhole event horizon. Stand by for jump. Three... two... one… jump.”

The ship shuddered as we entered the wormhole slipped into hyperspace. For almost seconds we waited around on the bridge watching the swirling blue tunnel of subspace around us before the next node spat us out into the next system in the chain. The scopuli system was a trinary star system with three huge gas giants orbiting three red giant star

“Jump is good. Reading green across the board. Alright, let's set course for the next node and get underway.”

Onboard the flagship of UEC battlefleet six a magic transponder displayed the two holograms of the royal princesses Twilight and Luna. Standing before the holograms were the armored form of Alikill Krysk and beside him were the holographic projections of supreme commanders Rarity Belle of the 7th exploration fleet, and Shatter Rock of the 10th support fleet.

“No my Princess, I have not been able to find the Human vessels, but I have a lead on a potential target system,” Krysk said standing before the hologram projector folding a pair of hands behind his back.

“Explain.” the Lunar princess said.

“Several days ago the small flotilla from the third fleet was dispatched to Galimare to put down a slave uprising. Thay fleet has not returned and several of the backed up soldiers reported to have been engaged by unknown vessels. At first, the third fleets analysts believed them to be referring to ACM ships. But when I ran them through the sixth fleets database I found that the two ships that were reported and their fighters and shuttles were indeed Earther in design.”

“Hmm, how long would it take you to divert from your current course to investigate?” Twilight asked typing something on her end on a panel just out of shot.

“My navigational team says it will take us several days off course. And we will miss the rendezvous with the second fleet for the push on the ACM outpost in Strong Tallon.”

“If that is the case then have the soldiers that were backed up on Galavant brought to your ship and have them debriefed. They will join you in your search and should provide much-needed input.” Luna said.

“Yes by the time the battle is over the humans whoever they are will be gone. Where do you think they will go next?” Twilight asked.

“If it is indeed the ship we are hunting, then it should require supplies. Water, food, parts. In preparation, we will place two ships at the second closest supply station to Galimare.”

“Why in the name of the celestials would you do that?” Twilight asked her voice incredulous. Around him, several members of Krysk's bridge crew turned as the supreme commander prepared to speak.

“Because Princess. This Galactica is quite a large ship. One of the largest non-lanky we have encountered outside of my races old empire. Logic dictates that a ship that size is quite slow. Especially because it appears to be acting as a kind of docking platform for the other ships in its fleet. The closest station to Galavant is almost three warp nodes away. But let us not forget that the earthers can jump without the nodes.”

“Exactly, so why wouldn't they just go to the closest station to get the supplies they need?”

“The answer is simple princess. The earthers know by now that we are looking for them. So with this information in mind what would you do? Keeping in mind that your opponent is expecting you?”

Luna rubbed her chin “there are a few tactics that can be used, one of which is hit a different one to cause misdirection” she smiles at him “simple and effective, something you can see pass, however”

“While that may be true, remember the Earthers are cut off from any form of reinforcement unless they choose to recruit from the populous as they go, or garner aid from the ACM, a worst-case scenario. As such they can not afford to deploy in a misdirection campaign. Princess Twilight, keeping this in mind and add into the equation that the earthers' possess the ability to move at faster than light without the nodes. If you were in the commanding roll what would you do?”

“Hmm, find lightly defended stations and hit there? But that’s too simple” twilight pulls out a tablet “but they could also use infiltration teams..maybe..” she types away trying different plans while Luna giggles “do not overthink things again dear Twilight.”

“Perhaps…” Supreme commander Shatter Rock began. “If they took the station..they would first recover anything of use to them before they depart..” he slowly taps his chin “which would mean..they could go a while longer before another raid is needed..”

“Which would mean that they could get to the next station bypassing the closest one to Gallivant. But the question is how would they get there without us knowing? There is a relay two jumps from them now.” Rarity chose this time to speak up.

“My princess, would you like to answer the question?” Krysk asked his lunar princess.

“Gladly krysk” Luna looked at rarity before saying “as you know, they can bypass the use of nodes and plan out their own route in ways we can not. Meaning they could skip by the relay making it useless”

“Hmm…” Krysk emitted a low rumble as he rested back. His centaur-like arachnid body lowering itself slightly. With a hand, he brought up a star map showing the system with the supply station in question. It possessed two stars, four rocky planets, and two gas giants. As well as four Warp bubbles spaced around the system, two at the ecliptic, one between the orbit of the third and fourth planets, and one at the far end of the system's orbit.

“Here is my suggestion. Shatter Rock, I recommend you place your ships on the far end of the node here…” the large zaltule warrior pointed a thick claw at one of the nodes at the systems ecliptic.

Shatter rock nods “I’ll move my fleet there as fast as I can, I am glad one of my captains revived at last” he smiles looking at krysk “and yet again, I thank you for taking me under your tutelage”

“You have potential commander, and with the proper grooming and dedication to your studies you will make something of yourself.” The zaltule said bobbing his abdomen slightly.

“Rarity, however. You have yet to prove yourself as a commander and have time and again failed even in victory. As thus this will be your chance to prove yourself.” Luna commented clearly dissatisfied with the supreme commander's performance up to this point in the war.

Twilight sucked in a breath..“I am sure rarity can do it princess luna, and maybe she can turn her streak around..”

“Indeed. Back to the matter at hand, the seventh fleet will move here.” Krysk said pointing at the node between the third and fourth rocky planets. “The elements of Loyalty, Honesty, and Laughter will hold in a standard patrol pattern around the fourth planet. While sixth fleet waits on the far end of this node here.” He continued gesturing at the node at the far end of the system behind the first of the gas giants.

“When the humans arrive they will more than likely see your three super destroyers as targets of opportunity and move to engage. When they do, you will send a message to our fleets and we will jump in and move to your aid.”

“You mean to use my fleet as bait!?” Rarity yelled in outrage.

“This maneuver will allow us to encircle our target and should they jump away before we can engage, will prove to not only demoralize them. But deny them the supplies they need.”

“Now. Let us focus on our current mission this ACM outpost.”