Dawnbreaker Episode III/Part 6

CHAPTER 16: They seem polite enough

HYPERSPACE

"Commander, we'll be emerging from lightspeed in two minutes." The pilot of the Hydrae flagship, The Executioner, said over the comm system.

Gornall stood up, and cracked his neck to the side.

"Good.."

He put on his trench coat, and made his way to the bridge. Gornall arrived at the bridge just as the co-pilot began the countdown. "Emerging from lightspeed in 3, 2, 1..."

Lt. Cmdr. Amanda "Mustang" Reynolds yawned. So far... this combat patrol was turning into a snooze fest. She looked out the cockpit of her Scimitar at the lush world of Yavin IV.

"Hey Mustang, I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but..."

"Yea..." she said, anticipating what her wingman was about to say. "I miss the damn cats too. Never a dull moment with 'em."

Suddenly, her radar lit up like a Christmas tree.

"HOLY SHIT!" she exclaimed as she pulled hard on the stick to avoid running into a ship that just seemed to appear out of nowhere. The Scimitar banked hard to the right, barely missing the unknown vessel. Her wingman followed close behind.

"Excalibur, Mustang. Just had a whole herd of ships pop in on us. Unknown," she reported.

"Understood. Attempt to establish contact, but do not engage unless fired upon." came the reply.

"Copy that. Hun Squadron, form on me," Reynolds said before switching to an open channel. I hope they're ready for anything, 'cuz I got a bad feelin' about this...

"This is Lt. Cmdr. Reynolds to unknown vessels. Ya'll in Confederation Airspace. Please identify yerselves."

"Fascinating..." Gornall mused, looking at the planets, and Confederation ships. "Well, they seem polite enough, don't you think?" He said, almost sarcastically. "Ready the weapon systems, but don't fire unless I give the order. Accept their transmission."

The pilot opened the channel between them, and Gornall spoke again. "Good evening, Lieutenant Reynolds. This is Commander Gornall of the Hydrae Alliance, here on an expeditionary mission."

Mustang blinked at the mention of an expedition. She quickly checks in with the Excalibur to see if they were listening in before proceeding.

"You boys got some serious firepower for an expedition fleet," Reynolds replied. "Hell... I'd call that overkill. You expectin' trouble wherever ya heading off too?" If this is an expedition, then I'm a Firekkan. Way too many ships... She thought to herself.

"None of our ships have ever returned from this voyage." Gornall responded. "This time we come prepared - For anything."

Mustang thought for a moment as her squadron continued to fly around in front of the armada, currently the only thing between them and the fleet.

"This may be a bit above my pay grade, but perhaps we could work somethin' out," she suggested. "If yer interested, I can contact the Excalibur so you can talk to the Captain."

"Yes, that would be most helpful." Gornall responded, before lifting his finger from the transmit button, and turning to the bridge officer. "Is the scan of their ship finished?"

"Yes sir." The officer responded. "If we do have to fight them, it'll be a short fight - Few dozen smaller ships, minimal armor and weapon systems, I couldn't detect any shields at all, or even a hyperdrive. Our scanners couldn't recognize some parts however. I can't get any details from their engines, or most of their weapons, for instance. They're built completely different from ours."

"Ah...Good. Send the Ghosts. We may not have to fight them after all..." Gornall said as he turned back to the console, where he waited for the Captain of the Excalibur.

Captain O'Neill watched the tactical display showing the unknown armada. She decided to play it safe and have the fleet go on alert, but not look like they were on alert in case it provoked them. All it would take for each ship to be ready for a fight would be a single push of a button.

"Captain, the rest of Alpha Wing's on the flight deck, ready for launch. Should we prep Delta Wing?" Commander Granger reported.

"Might be a good idea," O'Neill replied. "Something about this doesn't feel right. What's the status of Gateway Station?"

"They've raised their shields as a precaution. You think its going to get ugly?"

"I hope not. We got enough problems back home to be making enemies out here. Lets keep an eye on the Radar. Anything looks out of place, I want to know about it."

"Yes ma'am."

O'Neill walked over to the communications station, and took the headset from the officer. With a nod, she signaled to be connected.

"This is Captain Sasha O'Neill, TCS Excalibur."

"Greetings. I am Commander Gornall, 63rd Legion of the Hydrae Alliance. We are an expeditionary fleet, attempting to map out the uncharted regions of space."

"Well... I guess we're both doing the same thing," O'Neill replied. "We're still mapping out Jump Routes from this system, and our star charts are... pretty much non existent for this region."

"You're not from this area either?" Gornall asked, surprised.

O'Neill thought about how to respond for a minute, then decided not to reveal the whole truth about their origins.

"That is correct," she replied. "We're from... very far away. We're using this system as a resupply base while we send ships out to neighboring systems to chart jump routes. It's a slow process, but at least we don't have the Kilrathi harassing us. And before you ask, it's a long story."

"Jump routes?" Gornall asked.

"Our Jump Drives allow us to leapfrog from one system to another," O'Neill explained. "However, if we want to get to a distant system, we have to travel through the systems in between. So if we map out where a system's jump point leads, we'll know where we're going."

"And how long have you been here?"

"About a year now," O'Neill replied. "We're cautious explorers."

Meanwhile, on the crew deck of the Excalibur...

An invisible figure silently stalked the halls of the Excalibur. Her specific job was to learn what she could about the crew. She made her way to Pilot's Country, which, according to scanners, had more crew members in one spot than any other part of the ship. She peered around the corner, and began scanning and saving everyone's faces to a database.

Everyone in Pilot's Country were looking out the viewports at the sight of the large armada.

"Well... that's different," William said. "And no scramble order..."

The woman frowned as she looked through the window, then froze. This is not going to be pretty. What are they doing here?

William noticed the woman react to seeing the unknowns. "You recognize those ships?" he asked.

She looked at William, her face cold, "Unfortunately." She slid from her seat, "I have to go."

William just sat there and watched as she left. "Did I... miss something here?" he asked out loud.

The invisible intruder scanned the woman's face as she left the table, and to her surprise, it matched a face already in the database.

Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Executioner, the fleet officer said: "Sir...There's something you may want to see."

"Excuse me for a moment, Captain." Gornall said to O'Neill, before turning to the fleet officer.

"Sir, the results from the Ghosts have come in - One of the facial scans has a match already in the database."

The officer displayed side by side images of the two scans.

"That's not possible..." Gornall whispered.

Syren awoke from her deep sleep to hear her ship come of hyperspace. She got out of the pod and put her gear on. Quickly, she switched the ship into manual control and maneuvered the ship towards the planet Yavin. Just as she did so, she saw a star-ship unlike anything she had ever seen.

Gornall temporarily put aside the scans as a new ship appeared on the radar. He stepped back to the comm, and spoke again to O'Neill.

"One of yours?" He asked.

O'Neill turned to her XO. Commander Granger shook his head.

"All expedition ships accounted for, and the next supply ship isn't due for another week," he said.

"Looks like someone else wants to check us out," she said, returning her attention to the open channel.

Syren looked at the ships as she came ever closer to them. She armed the two cannons and tried to establish contact.

"Whoever's out there, I don't want any trouble."

"This is Commander Gornall of the Hydrae Alliance, please identify yourself." Gornall responded.

Mustang facepalmed as her Scimitar continued to fly around in front of the rather large fleet.

"If ya'll don't mind, how about I handle the new arrival while you two keep talkin'?" she suggested. "Would give my boys somethin' to do..."

Looking over the data her sensors were giving her, Mustang decided to play it cool with this small craft.

"Unidentified Craft, please hold position and identify yourself," Mustang ordered. "Yer in Confederation Airspace, and we're a mite jumpy after that big fleet showed up outa thin air."

Hoping that this new arrival was also friendly, she ordered the rest of her squadron to hold position as she went to take a closer look.

As she heard the female voice over the speaker, one of the ships started to move closer.

"My name is Syren. I'm looking for someone that recently arrived here. Has anyone passed through with the name Ty Havox?"

Mustang checked in with the Excalibur before responding. Just as she thought, the only known new arrivals was that big fleet they were dealing with right now.

"Sorry," she finally replied. "Either you're boy's a ninja, or he's not here. Only real action we've had since we got here is that fleet and you."

Not here? Syren thought to herself.

"Thank you for the information. May I come aboard? This ship is not going to hold up much longer." She asked.

"Ya'll have to get clearance from Excalibur," Mustang replied.

O'Neill watched as the small unknown was guided into the hanger before turning her attention back to the fleet that had arrived first. "Well... I guess it was only a matter of time before we met the neighbors," she said to herself before addressing the other commander on the line. "So... how long are you planning to stay in Yavin?"

"Is that what this place is?" Gornall responded, more to himself than to the Captain. "We don't know for certain yet - We've already sent scouts out to explore the immediate area and the nearby planets."

"We've been here a while," O'Neill explained. "So far the only thing of interest is what appears to be an abandoned base in some old ruins on Yavin IV, and a nearby debris field. I even heard that my Wing Commander brought back a souvenir from Yavin IV. Before you guys showed up, I was considering authorizing shore leave."

"I see. And do you know of any other nearby planets?"

"I'm sorry, but our starcharts of this region are rather... incomplete," O'Neill replied. "We've only mapped out a couple jump routes, and one of them leads to an Asteroid Field."

"Alright. Well, we will, for the time being, stay in this area until we have explored more thoroughly. We'll be out of your hair soon."

CHAPTER 17: Either you help, or get the hell out of my sight!

DEEP SPACE - SECRET IMPERIAL RESEARCH STATION

Grage had just barely laid his head down to rest after a long day of experiments when somebody pushed the buzzer at his door. Irritated, Grage got out of bed and answered. A young officer stood outside his quarters, looking quite beside himself.

"Yes?" Grage asked.

"Admiral, I have horrific news! Bastion has been destroyed by the Shadow Empire!" the officer trembled, "It seems the SE has built its own Death Star!"

Grage was taken aback, and it took him awhile to finally respond.

"What about the defenders?"

"Admiral Pellaeon and that Von Grath chap were both killed during the battle." the officer quaked, "Von Grath's flagship was the first to be taken out by the Death Star and Admiral Pellaeon sacrificed himself in order to destroy an SE interdictor and allow the rest of our forces to escape."

There was a pause, as Grage attempted to process all this information. Then the young man added:

"Oh! General Ferann requests that he speak with you immediately." Grage did not respond, but rather went back in his quarters and quickly threw on his uniform, before storming back out and heading to the communications room. Once there, he activated the holo-projector. The device fired up and the imposing holographic figure of General Magus Ferann stood Grage.

Ferann was a beast of a man, standing at nearly six-foot-six and possessing arms that looked strong enough to arm-wrestle a Wookiee. His face was dominated by a thick, curled mustache and several battle scars. His grayed, receding hairline was the only betrayer of his age; otherwise he was in peak condition far beyond his years. Supplementing his already well-decorated uniform, a heavy-looking vibrosword hung at his side, adding to his intimidating appearance.

Grage glanced at Ferann's right leg, which he knew to be a prosthetic, since he himself had done the operation many years ago.

"Good evening Admiral Grage, it's been a long time." Ferann boomed in his deep, husky voice, "No doubt you've already been informed of the tragic events at Bastion?"

Grage simply nodded in acknowledgement, so Ferann continued: "Thanks to Supreme Commander Pellaeon's sacrifice, enough of the Home Defense Fleet escaped to fight another day. The defenders of Bastion, both Imperial and Ekatra Sentinel forces, have assembled at staging area Beta-92, outside our former territory. Survivors from the other fronts have assembled at Beta-95, which is where you are to evacuate all your research and ships, since I doubt your base will stay hidden for long. However, I need you personally to come to Beta-92 so you can meet with the remaining commanders."

"Very well. Who is in command now?"

"We're still sorting that out." Ferann replied, "You're input would certainly be appreciated. Move quickly, because the SE has overrun our positions and all fronts. There's no telling just how soon they could be on top of you."

"I see." Grage responded, "Then I'll see you at the staging area."

"We'll be waiting."

The transmission ended, leaving Grage to find a way to get all of his men and research onto his few still-under-repair ships in a potentially very short amount of time...

Meanwhile, Admiral Patricia Reynolds was trying in vain to contact Titania. All she got was static. She knew that something big had just gone down at Bastion: ES forces in the sector had commed her and requested she follow them to a staging point with the 'Survivors' of her fleet and the Remnant fleet that was assembled there.

Giving up on Titania itself, she tried Ekatra Lord Diablo Kretovas, Remus's apprentice, and got an answer: "Yes?" he asked.

"Lord Kretovas, I apologize for interrupting you at this hour, but something-"

"Is terribly wrong?" Diablo interrupted her.

"Yes..."

"I know. The SE has found Titania and is bombarding it as we speak."

"WHAT?!"

"The planet is lost, Admiral. There's nothing we can do."

Patricia took a long moment to take it all in, and then she came to a grim conclusion: "I think something similiar has happened at Bastion. I've been requested to join the 'Survivors' of Remnant and ES forces at a staging area," she said.

"You're probably going to the same place I am," Diablo commented, "I received a similar message."

"Any word from the TEC?"

"Yes... they've lost the Terrania system."

"My God..."

"Ron and General Tasckird are still alive, and they escaped aboard their flagship, the Ankylon, with their surviving forces. I've already told them to meet me at the staging area."

"Ok... what are my orders?" Patricia asked, getting back to formality.

"Keep doing what you are doing, and try to find out what happened to Remus. We'll probably meet up."

"Very well my Lord."

The transmission ended, and Reynolds looked back at the viewport, showing the blackness of space whizzing by from her Vera Command Cruiser.

DEEP SPACE - STAGING AREA BETA-95

In a makeshift conference room of a half-destroyed Super Star Destroyer, the remaining commanders of the Imperial and ES fleets had assembled to discuss what moves to make next. Grage and Reynolds were still en route, but would be arriving very shortly. In the meantime, the present leaders were already bickering over whether or not an alliance with the New Republic should take place. Most were in favor, but there was opposition coming from two Moffs who had managed to escape their sectors, as well as a handful of die-hard military men. The imperious Ferann, who had muscled his way to the forefront of the discussion, was rapidly growing weary of the unending stubbornness of the Moffs and their allies. He was just about to lose all patience when an officer interrupted him.

"Sir, Admiral Reynolds is here," the officer said, motioning out a viewport at the Vera Command Cruiser which had just entered the system.

"Make sure she finds her way to this room!" Ferann snapped, his frustration being taken out on the unfortunate officer.

"Y-yes Sir!" the officer stammered, quickly leaving as a shuttle from the Vera did a fly-by.

"I do not understand your problem," one of the ES Commanders said to a Moff, continuing the conversation, "Don't you think it would be better to ally with an enemy where you have a chance to live than to die without a chance to even fight?"

"The New Republic would do nothing to help us!" the Moff retorted, "They had considerably more resources and territory than we did, yet the SE took them out with relative ease! They'd just drag us down. And I absolutely refuse to work with those rebels!"

The Commander had no response. He had had enough of the Moffs and their stubborness. At that moment, Patricia walked in, escorted by the still-trembling young officer.

"Sorry. Had to practically find my way here myself," she muttered, making a note of Ferann's size and stature.

"I'm glad you're here Admiral. My condolences for the unfortunate fate of your leader." Ferann stated, trying to calm himself somewhat, "Right now we're trying to determine the next course of action. Had Admiral Pellaeon survived, he'd no doubt be recommending we join with the New Republic in an alliance, an idea with which I wholeheartedly agree. Unfortunately, some people seem to think otherwise."

Ferann cast a glare at the Moffs.

"Wait, what? Say that again. What about my leader?" Patricia asked, not quite sure if she had heard him correctly.

Ferann was surprised that the other ES men had not informed Reynolds when they had sent her the message.

"According to witnesses, the Despair was destroyed by the SE's Death Star at Bastion. It was the first ship lost by our side I believe. As far as we know, nobody escaped."

Patricia, dumbstruck, actually had to sit down as the news ran through her like a shockwave.

"We're done..." she muttered.

"That's not the attitude I want to see." Ferann said, before turning toward room as a whole and adding forcefully: "What we need is real leadership now! Even if we are fighting a lost cause, it's better to die fighting than give up and allow the Gatekeeper to conquer the Galaxy! Our leaders gave their lives so we could fight on. Are we to continue sitting here bickering and wallowing in negativity, while the SE bears down on all fronts? Who among you are willing to continue the fight?"

Diablo Kretovas entered the room, escorted by several surviving Ekatra.

"We are," he said angrily.

Patricia, the reality of the situation setting in, and knowing that she would be key if they were to have any chance of survival, stood up.

"I am."

Around the room, the Remnant and ES survivors all chimed in with their support - except for the Moffs - who remained silent...

Pleased with the response from the rest of the room, Feraan turned to face the Moffs, his face set in stone.

"And if you pathetic buffoons are going to continue to get in the way, then I'll allow you to surrender to the enemy so you can rot in some SE prison. Either you help, or get the hell out of my sight!"

Grage finally arrived just as Ferann spoke, although he went unnoticed by the rest of room at the moment.

The first Moff looked conflicted, before he nodded in approval.

The second Moff, however, said, "I'd rather die than work with those Rebel scum!" and walked out of the room.

Ferann watched the man leave, not caring a bit what became of him.

"Now then..." he began, before noticing Grage at the entryway, "Ah! Admiral, how nice of you to join us."

Grage walked over the main conference table at Ferann's suggestion, then the general continued.

"So, we are all agreed on allying with the New Republic then?" he inquired, sweeping the room to make sure nobody else objected, "Right, then our next problem is getting in contact with them."

"Coruscant has been lost, and with it their main communications, fleet headquarters, and commanders," Patricia input.

"And we've lost Titania, as well," Diablo stated, drawing a brief look of despair from Admiral Reynolds, which he returned with a stone-faced expression, "So we are unable to contact them, as all of our databanks were there."

"And with Remus dead..." an ES officer began but couldn't go on.

"Our entire command structure dies with him," Diablo finished, "He commanded everything, and commanded everything well. The only reason we still have any warships to offer as support is because he foresaw a disaster such as this coming."

"And with Supreme Commander Pellaeon and the majority of our Moffs gone, we lack a command structure in its entirety," an Imperial officer remarked.

"Perhaps we should combine our forces into a single, unified organization?" another Imperial general, a husky man by the name of Marcus Tynes, suggested.

"That's a good idea," Diablo said, "Can it be done?"

"Oh it can be done. The Rebel Alliance did it years ago. My concern is how it can be done," Patricia added.

"Its either that, or taking on the Shadow Empire by ourselves, individually," an ES officer said grimly.

"We don't have a chance that way," the Imperial Moff stated bluntly.

"We don't have a chance either way," an Ekatra corrected him, "But I think we all can agree on doing some damage to the SE before we go down."

"I don't know... if the Rebels can do it vs. the far-superior Galactic Empire, we can do it, too. And we're in a better position than they were," Patricia said, thinking out loud.

"Can you stop with the Rebellion references?" an older Imperial officer, who served during Palpatine's first run, asked politely.

"The Republic could be desperate enough to integrate in as well." a young Imperial woman suggested.

Although some of the Imperials didn't seem too fond of the idea, most realized they could always use the additional manpower.

"It depends on how much of their territory they've lost," Diablo said to the woman.

"According to what data we have left, they've lost the entire Core, and all they have are a few scattered Outer Rim planets, among them Mon Calamari, Honoghr, Bespin, Hoth, Kashyyyk, and several asteroid fields like Vergesso," Patricia stated, looking at a data file she brought with her. "Yeah, they'll be desperate," the Moff added.

"It would be best if we discussed it with them in person." Ferann stated, "Lieutenant, try to raise communications with any New Republic forces that may be left." One of the officers in the corner of the room saluted then jogged out of the conference room.

Ron Repelon and General Rebert E. Tasckird of the TEC entered the room unannounced, escorted by a few Stormtroopers.

"Ah, Mr. Repelon. Glad you could make it. And I see Tasckird made it as well," Diablo commented.

"Yeah. Just barely. But it was Hell back at Terrania. We managed to escape with a few caps, but nothing else," Ron said grimly.

"The SE hasn't found our base at Acrux yet. All our surviving forces are there," Tasckird added.

"So they've taken your territory, too..." Patricia mumbled.

"Yeah. But we managed to get the Ankylon out of that mess," Ron said with a touch of optimism, "She took out a Super Star Destroyer by herself."

"We'll need all the help we can get." Ferann stated, "We've just been discussing the integration of our forces into a single, unified alliance. We're also awaiting word from any New Republic forces are out there."

"While we wait, shall we discuss perhaps what brought this sudden surge of SE activity on?" Patricia wondered aloud.

IN ORBIT ABOVE MON CALAMARI

Admiral Finin Braji of the New Republic, or at least what was left of it, sat in a conference room with several other officers. Braji was a middle-aged man, with a bald head and greying beard. Though he was only in his forties, he looked closer to sixty.

"It's only a matter of time, before the Shadow Empire finds us here." He said, his voice tired from stress and lack of sleep.

"We need to rally our allies. Call our men from Kashyyyk, and Hoth, and tell them to regroup here." A younger officer said.

"So they can wipe us all out at once?" A woman interjected.

"So we can gather our strength!" He snapped back. "We have a better chance against the Empire together rather than scattered!"

"And then what?" Another man asked. "We just sit here and wait? You've seen what the Empire can do, they took nearly every Core World in a matter of days! We are no match for them - We've already lost."

The woman spoke up again. "We still have fleets, and small armies. We should take what we have left and leave Mon Calamari, before the Empire arrives. Then we can build our forces back up, and use hit-and-run tactics against the SE."

The Admiral, who had been silent for several minutes, cleared his throat. "With so few of us left..." He began. "We must be extremely cautious, else we risk the destruction of the Republic. Ailyn," He said, addressing the woman.

"Yes sir?" She answered.

"Find me a list if places we can, temporarily, escape from the Shadow Empire to."

She nodded, and began pressing buttons on her datapad, as the Admiral turned back to the rest of the room.

"The Empire surely knows where we and our are. We, and the rest of the New Republic, need to retreat, rebuild, and plan. Tannis," He addressed the older man, "Did you manage to contact any Jedi?"

"Just one, sir." Tannis responded. "A woman named Jaden Korr. She said she may be able to contact another Jedi, and they'd meet us here."

"Good, lets hope that-"

Braji was interrupted by an officer bursting through the door. "Admiral, we've got an incoming transmission from the Imperial Remnant."

The Admiral was surprised at this. The Remnant? What could they want? Perhaps...

"They wish to speak with you immediately." The officer continued.

Admiral Braji nodded, and rose to his feet. "Yes, I will speak to them now."

He left the room, and walked to the bridge, where he accepted the transmission.

"This is Admiral Finin Braji of the New Republic."

"Admiral, this is General Magus Ferann of the former Imperial Remnant." Ferann, who been called to communications room when contact was reached, addressed the Republic admiral, "I have been informed your defeat at Coruscant and subsequent loss of the Core Worlds. Considering that we, the Empire, have also lost our own capital, we face a situation not unlike yourself. That situation being one of desperation. On behalf of the Empire, the Trader Emergency Coalition, and the Ekatra Sentinel, I would like to formally make an offer of military alliance."

An alliance? Though he had thought of this possibility, the idea still surprised him. It could be a trap...But it was unlikely. He had heard reports of the SE and TEC under attack. The Admiral delayed his response for a moment with a question.

"I am not familiar with the Ekatra Sentinel."

"None of us were either until a few days ago. Apparently they're an old enemy of the Shadow Empire from the same home galaxy." Ferann replied, "But they are in the same situation as we are."

"And what is your...alliance, planning?"

"To stop the Shadow Empire's expansion of course. If you expect specifics, I have little to give you."

Braji was silent for a brief moment. "It is as they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. We will join you."

"Excellent! Unfortunately, having you come to our current location would be foolish, since we are still too close SE lines. Perhaps we should meet somewhere easily accessible to both of us."

"Such as?"

"A neutral planet, perhaps near or in Hutt Space."

"Hutt space..." The Admiral started to say, almost as if the idea was absurd, but quickly stopped himself, knowing that it was most likely the best option. "Very well."

"Unless you have any objections, we'll meet at Saki. Try to save as many of your men, officers and equipment as possible." Ferann suggested.

Braji merely nodded.

"Then that's settled. We'll see you there." the Imperial general concluded.

"Indeed."

The channel was closed, and Admiral Braji just stood there for a moment, thinking to himself. An alliance with the remnant...Who'd of thought?

"Well, I can think of more than a few officers who will be none too happy about this decision..." He muttered to himself as he made his way back to the conference room.

CHAPTER 18: Old Acquaintances

HYPERSPACE

"We'll be arriving at Yavin in three minutes." Aaron said over the comm system.

The Assailant, who had not slept at all during the journey, made his way to the cockpit, and took a seat.

"So....Are you going to explain why we're going to Yavin?" The pilot asked.

"No."

"Yeah, no need to tell me, I'm just the pilot..." Aaron said sarcastically.

The ship emerged from hyperspace, revealing a massive fleet of unfamiliar ships.

"Whoa...." Aaron said as he slowed the ship down, almost bringing it to a halt.

Chris leaned back in the cockpit of his Rapier. It had been a couple hours since that fleet appeared, and things had been very quiet. Almost too quiet for his tastes. Hun Squadron had returned to the carrier a little while after another ship had arrived, and now the Black Knights were out on CAP. Again, Chris looked over at the lead unknown. Something about it was bothering him, but he couldn't put his finger on it. The problem was... usually when he had a bad feeling, it turned out to be justified.

"New contact, bearing 1-4-7 mark 2-3. Unknown."

The call snapped his attention back to the present. Finally having something to do, Chris jumped into action. "Alright, everyone stay frosty and maintain patrol. Mags, with me. Lets go see who we're dealing with this time."

"I got your wing Rattler."

The pair of Rapiers shot ahead, and towards the unknown. It wasn't long before they were close enough to get a look at the craft. Too big to be a fighter, but too small to be a corvette. Chris pegged it as some sort of transport, possibly civilian in origin. Flicking a switch, he issued a challenge to the unknown.

"Unidentified craft, this is Knight One. You've entered Confederation Airspace. Come to heading 1-2-0 and identify yourself."

"Knight One, this is Aaron Vene of the Shreiking Kilik." Aaron responded. "We're..." He glanced at the Assailant's seat, to find that he was no where to be seen. "Uh....We're looking for someone." He said, unsure exactly why he was here.

"Anyone in particular?" Chris asked, curious as to what's going on. It seemed like a lot of people have been coming here looking for someone. He swung his Rapier around and pulled in alongside the craft. From there he was able to get a good look inside the cockpit. From what he could tell, the pilot was human.

Still can't get over the fact there are humans in this galaxy... he thought.

Adding to the confusion, Rowan's YT-3000 Luxury Yatch appeared out of the hyperspace, having a slightly slower hyperdrive than the Assailant's ship and thus taking slightly longer to arrive.

"Just a small ship, four lifeforms, a hyperdrive, and weapons about as powerful as one of our fighters." Gornall responded, "Well, these ships mean that there's more out there to explore..." He addressed O'Neill again. "Do you get many visiting ships here?"

O'Neill listened in on the exchange between Knight One and the new arrival. First that fleet arrives, then another small craft whose pilot is looking for someone, now another craft with the same story, although without a name to go by yet. Something was going on, and she had a feeling whatever it was, it was gonna be big.

"This is the most excitement we've had since arriving here," O'Neill replied finally, trying to word it carefully.

Ty looked over the large fleet that was clearly not made up of Terran ships, wondering what could be happening.

"Hailing the Excalibur, this is the..." the merc started, before having to search for the name of Rowan's yacht, "This is the Crimson Star. I request permission to land."

Rattler rolled his eyes, he ordered Mags to cover the last new arrival while he dealt with the new one. Pulling back on the stick, he pulled away and shot off towards the new ship.

"What's going on all of a sudden?" he asked over the squadron channel. "Its like this system just became Grand Central Station!"

"Beats me Rattler. But at least we aren't falling asleep like we usually do," Blaze replied.

"You do know that the Captain probably heard that, right?"

The only response he got was a groan, which made him smile. At least they could still poke fun at each other. As soon as he pulled in alongside the newcomer, he switched to an open channel and once again issued a challenge.

If I wanted this much work on Picket Duty, I would have requested an assignment near New Constantinople. he thought, then shook his head. And most likely miss out on the war. The Cats didn't show much interest in that region.

"I'm with the Killik, sorta." Ty responded to Rattler, "I also know your captain. Again, I request permission to land."

The Assailant walked back into the cockpit of the Kilik, and took a seat.

"What have you told them?" He asked.

"Nothing really, your friend arrived, which-"

The Assailant spoke into the comm. "This is the Shrieking Kilik, requesting permission to land on the Excalibur."

Chris couldn't believe what he was hearing. By all rights, no one in this galaxy should know the name of any of their ships. He finally decided to call them both out on it.

"Ok... who the hell are you people, and how do you know us?" he exclaimed over the open channel. "We have had nobody come to visit us for a frickin' year, and haven't had contact with any local governments yet!"

"We encountered you people at Akates a year ago. I told you I knew your captain." Ty stated coldly.

Chris blinked at the mention of that system. The main thing that came to mind was a pair of posturing idiots who were more concerned with who had more power than the fact that there was a rather big threat to everyone in the area. But he couldn't think of who else would have been there...

"Do we have permission to land or not?" Ty growled, growing impatient.

"Uh... Stand by," Chris replied before cutting off the channel. "Excalibur, Rattler. Now what?"

"With all these ships appearing like this, I'm a little uncomfortable with the situation Rattler," Captain O'Neill replied. "But the only way we're gonna get answers is to allow it. I want you and the Black Knights to come in. We'll have Dragon Squadron take over the CAP."

"Roger that. Knights, form on me. We got a 'Get out of CAP free' card," Chris said as both newcomers were given clearance. With that done, he angled his Rapier for an approach to the Carrier.

Gornall watched as the two ships landed on the Excalibur. "What a hospitable bunch..." He muttered to himself, referring to the Terrans. He suddenly had a weird feeling, that whatever was going on, would not end well...

Chris landed on the flight deck, and a soon as his Rapier pulled to a stop, he popped the canopy. Climbing down, he tossed his helmet into the cockpit and made his way over to one of the transports. Other members of the Black Knights were gathering around as well as a few marines. Captain O'Neill was nowhere to be seen yet, most likely still dealing with everything going on outside the ship.

"So... who are these guys?" Sakura asked.

"Not really sure," Chris replied. "But one of them did mention that big furball last year..."

As soon as he landed, Ty made his way over to where the Killik was docked. He planned to give Deek his pay, then he'd be through with him and the Assailant, for now. The Assailant and Deek stepped out of the ship, and met up with Ty.

Not wasting any time, Ty gave Deek a small pouch containing his agreed compensation for the first Rowan assassination attempt, plus a little extra for the trouble. Although he was tempted to ask for more for the extra risks he had to go through, the Twi'lek didn't dare demand anything extra from Ty, so he stayed quiet.

"Rowan's body is yours if you want it." Ty dryly remarked to the Assailant, before turning and walking over to what he thought was the nearest Terran officer.

The Assailant just stood there for a moment, before shaking his head to himself, and following Ty to the officer.

"So... where's the hatch on these things?" William asked as the group continued to wait. Chris noticed a couple individuals approaching from the rear of the ships, and facepalmed.

"Either on the other side of the ships, or in the back," he replied to William's question. "And we just stood here like idiots."

"On the bright side, we're not out there on CAP still," Reanna said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I need to speak with Captain O'Neill." Ty declared as he approached the ConFed officer.

Chris turned to face the person who spoke, and was confronted with a gruff looking mercenary. At least... that's how he looked to him. The rest of the Black Knights hung back, allowing their squadron leader to deal with the guy. "Any particular reason you wanna talk to the Captain?" Chris asked. He seemed kinda familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Ty however, reconized the Terran as one of the individuals he had met at Akates.

"Hey, weren't you on the bridge of the Uberweapon at Akates?" he asked, not answering the earlier question.

Chris blinked in surprise. "Yea... and I think I was the only one who actually yelled at the two posturing leaders," he replied, unsure where this was going.

"And you're lucky they didn't gut you then and there." Ty chuckled, "I don't know if you remember me, but I was working for the Gatekeeper at the time. When we uh... got shifted into that other dimension or whatever... your captain and I were forced to work together to try to escape."

"While I got stuck with a crazy Sith woman," Chris replied. "I always had this creepy feeling around her, her commander, and the Gatekeeper." "Forceusers do that to you. In case you don't know what that means, they've got 'special' powers that they generally use to compensate for their lack of real skill. Anyway, I'd like to talk to you captain, since I'm looking for some... work." the mercenary responded.

Chris bristled for a moment at the mention of special powers compensating for lack of skill. Being a combat pilot, he had plenty of skill. The fact that he could navigate any jump thanks to his Pilgrim heritage added to his skills. Shaking his head, Chris let it go.

"Captain O'Neill's probably still stuck on the Bridge dealing with that fleet out there," he said, pointing out the airlock shield at open space. "I'm sure she'll be down as soon as she can. And I wouldn't blame her for wanting to get away from that."

"Right. Well, maybe you can answer a few questions before-hand." Ty said.

"I can try," Chris said with a shrug. The rest of the Black Knights decided that the guy wasn't about to eviscerate their flight lead, and stepped closer.

"Do you have any ideas on what the long-term plans are for your military in this area?" Ty inquired.

"We're an expedition fleet," Chris replied. "Our original mission was to try and attack the Kilrathi homeworld, but... the Jump Point we took didn't lead to Kilrah. Now... we're pretty much on the fence. Either we'll get recalled to reinforce our efforts back home, or we find new allies or something. I don't really know. I just know that Admiral Tolwyn was a bit of an ass when he was here." The rest of the Black Knights suppressed a laugh, apparently sharing his sentiment on the Admiral.

"Well, I'm a guy who generally fights for pay, but I also have pretty good knowledge of the systems in this area. If you captain is interested in exploring, I am more than willing to guide 'expeditions within your expedition'." the merc suggested.

"You're also gonna have to tell us about your Jump Drives. Being able to appear out of nowhere like that... We're stuck popping out at specific points," Chris pointed out, curious about the technology.

"I'm no engineer, but I'll answer what I can, assuming I can sign on here. I don't do things for free; I'm a mercenary, not a missionary." Ty stated bluntly.

Chris shrugged and gave the merc a lopsided grin. "And I'm a Combat Pilot. I just know that our Jump Drives work, and how to plot jumps."

"You're gunna have to know whose territory you're in when you go 'jumping' around." Ty chuckled sinisterly, "Some people don't like visitors."

"You make it sound like just being here is a bad idea," Sakura said.

"Look... if we run into anyone, the Captain can talk to them," Chris countered. "I mean... we're not going to do the same thing the Iason did when she ran into a Cat Destroyer. Non verbal greeting my ass. Misunderstanding, that's what it was."

"Not everybody wants to hear talk. Try negotiating with a pirate!" the merc responded, "I don't know what you're used to dealing with, but you guys are going to need to be careful what you do in this galaxy."

"Dude... we've been at war for over 20 years," William shot back. "We can handle pirates without breaking a sweat."

As the merc continued to chat with the Terran pilots, the Assailant walked down the corridors of the Excalibur. He had to find out what was going on. What was the 'Hydrae Alliance' doing at Yavin? What was the creature that attacked them? His vision of Yavin, and the new arrivals couldn't be a coincidence. He ducked into a corner to avoid being seen by a ConFed officer before continuing down the hall. He had to speak to Captain O'Neill. She may have some answers as to why the new fleet was here.

"Sir, the ghost's have picked up another match." The bridge officer informed Gornall. The Commander looked at the screen, bewildered. It couldn't be...

"Patch me through to the ghost that scanned him." Gornall ordered. The Bridge officer complied, and the Commander spoke into his comm. "Ghost 13, this is your Commander speaking. Follow that last man you found - Don't let him out of your site."

The ghost pressed a button on her wrist, indicating her acknowledgement, and silently stalked after the Assailant. She followed him down several hallways. Where could he be going? She thought to herself. He abruptly turned a corner halfway through the current hallway, into a room. She jogged to the entry way, and peered around the corner, to be immediately met by the Assailant's fist. She staggered backwards, and was hit again, this time in the stomach. The Assailant grabbed at her face, and yanked off some kind of optical device, and disabling her cloaking shield in the process.

It was a woman, clad head to toe in a black, skin-tight space suit. Not an inch of skin could be seen, and besides two small pistols at her side, she appeared to be unarmed. The Assailant attacked again, aiming for her head, but the woman dodged, and hit him in the left side of his face. He twice more, she dodged the first attack, block the second, then followed up with a flurry of attacks at his head and chest. She finished with a roundhouse kick, knocking him to the ground. He drew a his pistol, but she leapt forwards and kicked it from his hands before he could fire it. The Assailant hit the woman's legs out from under her, and elbowed her in the stomach. He rolled to the side and stood up just before the woman jumped into a standing position. She swung at his face, but he grabbed her arm, and threw her into the wall. He attempted to stomp on her, but she grabbed his foot and shoved him backwards. The woman once again leapt to her feet and charged at the Assailant, as he took up a defensive stance. He blocked her attacks, and as soon as an opportunity presented itself, he grabbed one of her pistols and removed it from her holster. Before he could fire, the woman grabbed his shoulders, and flipped over his head, and landed behind his back. She wrapped one arm around his neck, and grabbed the hand holding the pistol with the other.

Just then, a Terran mechanic stepped into the hallway. The woman spun the Assailant around to face him, and pulled the trigger. There was a loud POP sound, and the mechanic slumped to the ground. The Assailant ran backwards, slammed the woman into the wall. He elbowed her in the face three times, and spun out of her grip, still holding the gun. She bolted down the hall way as he fired several shots at her. He chased her a ways, firing down the hall, but she was too fast, and disappeared around a corner. He slowed to a stop, and walked back down the hallway, to where the mechanic was laying.

The Assailant suddenly felt the barrel of a gun at his neck. "Drop it," Cmdr. Reynolds said. She had been on her way to Pilot's Country when she thought she heard something. She arrived to find someone crouched over a crewman, with a gun. "Yer lucky we got rules about how to deal with these things. Where I grew up, most people shoot first. Now drop the weapon."

The Assailant slowly reached his hand towards the floor, and set the gun down. "It's not what you think." he said slowly, keeping his hands in sight.

"Enlighten me," Reynolds replied coldly. "And while yer at it, get up and turn around."

He complied, slowly standing up and turning around. His face and hands were bloody, thought the blood on his hands was most likely the mechanic's. "There's someone else on your ship. I was attacked, we fought, and your man ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time." He explained stoically.

Reynolds just eyed the Assailant skeptically. "And... where is this intruder? With everythin' that's been goin' on, how do I know you're telling the truth?"

The Assailant nodded his head towards an object on the floor. It was some kind of headset device, with goggles, a communicator, and broken wires in the back. "I took that off her head." He explained, wiping blood from his face. "After I got the gun from her, she took off down the hall. I think I hit her at least once."

Reynolds, not taking her eyes or her aim off the Assailant, got down and picked up the device. It didn't look like it would fit the man in front of her, but she still wasn't going to take any chances. As soon as this guy was secure, she's take the device up to O'Neill. "Until we sort this out, yer gonna chill in the Brig. IF what you say is true... well... what happens is up to the Captain."

"Look lady, there's someone sneaking around your ship, who just killed one of your men. I need to speak with your captain."

"Oh ya'll get a chance," Reynolds said, grabbing the Assailant's arm. "I'm just coverin' the bases. Lets go."

While his gut reaction was to disarm and incapacitate Reynolds, the Assailant decided that would probably not help his situation. He complied, and silently followed the woman to the brig.

As Reynolds closed the brig door, the Assailant pointed at the headset she was holding. "Ask the Commander of that Hydrae fleet if he's ever seen that." He said before sitting on the cell bed, and leaning his head against the wall.

"And how do ya know about them?" Reynolds asked, curious. Granted he was most likely a native and had better knowledge of the native governments than anyone in the expedition. "Who are they?"

The Assailant lifted his head. "Old acquaintances..."

Reynolds thought about how the guy said what he said, before leaving the Brig. Something was going on, that was for sure. After getting a few marines to handle the mess and at least secure that area, she made her way to the Bridge. Captain O'Neill was looking over the Tactical Map, which was holographically displaying the current location of all nearby ships. From what Reynolds could see, the Captain was on the edge of a headache.

"Something doesn't add up here," she said. "Why so much firepower?"

"Captain?" O'Neill turned to face Reynolds. "Mustang," she replied, then motioned to the display. "This could get real ugly, real fast. And I don't know if we got a lit fuse or not. Something's bothering me about this."

"Well... I hate to add to that ma'am, but..." Reynolds said, then presented the Captain with the device. "If ya haven't heard yet, a tech got shot on Deck 12. Found someone over his body and I shoved his ass in the Brig. He claims he didn't do it, and said we got an Intruder on board. He also said something about mentioning that thing to the commander of that fleet." O'Neill examined the device for a minute. The situation was getting interesting, and that was usually a bad thing. First that fleet arrives, then several ships arrive and request landing clearance on the Excalibur, by name. Now this.

"Damn..." she muttered, tossing the device onto the table projecting the Tac Map. "I'm not gonna tip our hand just yet. We're heavily outnumbered if this blows up in our faces. You said you got the guy in the Brig?"

"Yes ma'am."

She scooped up the device again, and made her way to the door. "Commander Granger, keep an eye on things up here. I think its time I met our guests."