"So we are clear?" she asked the man on the screen in front of her. He simply nodded his understanding. "Good, my man will be there on the day with the package. All you need to do is ensure he makes it past your people unharmed. And obviously, try not be anywhere near the place at the time."
"I will see to it." He replied. He hesitated a moment before going on. "I am worried though. Our people may not even recover after this."
"It is a little late in the game for self doubt. I suggest you make the best of the situation and do what you can once the dust settles. This is what you wanted after all, don't forget it." She terminates the connection before he can respond.

Darius continued to push his belongings into the bag he travels with, sparing no care for neatness or organisation in what he was doing as he prepared to return to space after spending some time on his home island. He had finally shed the last of his grief that he had not faced and spent some time taking council with Vomar Arodghar, one of the five Elders of the Shakor Clan. He was returning to space after an extensive debate with Vomar about remaining planet side.

Darius heard a knock on his door that broke his jumbled train of thought. He told the person to come in and turned to see they already had. It was Khas, the Elder from the Helgaard family.
"Forgive the intrusion Darius," he began in his characteristic monotone, "but I heard you were leaving today. I wanted to see you in person before you left since I assumed you would be staying longer this time."
"I have to return to the corp." He answered flatly, his tone less of a characteristic and more a sign of his lack of patience. People that attempt to dance around what they need to say tended to wear it a little thin. He would rather they just said it and be done with it. "What do you need?" he pressed.
"To be blunt, we need you. In a weeks time we will hold a meeting and we need you to attend."
"What is the subject?" asked Darius.
"You. Or rather the lack of you." Darius turned from his bag packing and faced Khas. "There is growing concern that you care less for the clan than you do your own quest for vengeance."
"Are you saying I am not attentive to clan business? Ask me anything about current and past clan affairs and I will tell you the answer." Khas stepped further into the room, continuing to look Darius in the eyes.
"I am not alone in this worry Darius. I speak for other Elders too. If you wish to dampen our concerns you should do so at the meeting." Khas turned to leave the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Darius staring at the empty room. He eventually returned to stuffing his bag, more forcefully than before as he felt the indignation rise inside for being spoken to like that, as though he were some kind of underling. He felt the need to punch something as his violent temper grew within, and felt the stiffness in his knuckle remembering the break he inflicted on himself some time back during a time of pod withdrawal. So he had to be content with simply forcing the last items of clothing into his bag with as much authority as he could muster, and prayed it would be sufficient.

Throughout his conversation, Memphos tried to keep his apprehension in reserve. Since he began dealing with her more directly he had slowly begun to feel a cautious unease growing in the back of his mind, which he now felt in the pit of his stomach. His earlier estimations that she was a dangerous flame to play with were becoming more and more apparent as she laid out the structure of her plan in precise and cold emotionless order. Her idea, since Ramar's nose was too clean to simply eliminate him outright, was to frame him. There was a known and minor political dissident group in the Ammatar ranks called the San-Hura, or as the meaning translated, The New Rising. She detailed that a strike team, acting on good information, would be deployed to storm their office facility in the Ammatar capitol. They would conveniently find documents and computer records that were suspected as stolen and begin an investigation to trace their potential origins. This will then lead them to assume that Ramar was the seller of these sensitive materials.
"And how exactly will they believe that?" interjected Memphos, somewhat sceptical of the complexity required. He continued on in that same vein of thought. "And why exactly does this have to include other parties? Ramar possessing high level materials is good enough to warrant a strike on his facility."
"First of all," she began, "waste nothing. The San-Hura are a dangerous political influence that we fear would eventually manage to rip our society apart in public opinion. They do not support the Amarr Empire or their policies, as well as those set forwards by the Mandate. Such a fractious element in our society is a danger to us all. So we might as well use this chance to do some more good for the Mandate while we are at it." Memphos listened intently, forming possible counter arguments but finding little good reason to voice them. She did, after all, have a point and it resonated with him.
"And the path to Ramar?" he pressed.
"Yes, well the trail will be good old fashioned money. Nothing more."
"To look like he sold them the information?"
"Yes, simply put. It won't be so clear cut but several numbered accounts connecting to the San-Hura will display transactions to another account where the money will be laundered by their organisation, then sent on to Ramar." Memphos pressed his lips together and nodded slowly.
"And the money? Where does that come from?"
"A surplus of black ops money we have access to." Memphos raised an eyebrow slightly. "Major General, you do not need to know where this money came from. So leave it at that." The warning shot was clear enough and he took in a sharp breath as he repositioned himself on the seat.
"I had no intentions of doing so."
"Good."

The conversation continued on, stating that Memphos' unit would be tasked with cordoning off the planet of Khabi IV and detaining any ships entering or leaving the spatial grid for search. They would be assisted by a carrier to provide fighter cover against the atmospheric interceptors on the planet should they attempt to engage. A Kameiras strike force would land on the planet and assault the facility, taking everyone into custody, including Ramar.
"Still, resistance is to be expected from a wanted man." She hinted. "So the assault authorization would have an executive elimination order attached, just in case." That cold feeling returned to his gut again.
"And what about the staff?"
"They will be questioned at length to determine their loyalty to the Mandate and action taken on review of each case." Memphos knew this pretty much meant that they would be interrogated and, in some cases, maybe made to confess to something they had no part in to give their story more face. And even those lucky enough to avoid this would find their job and privileged revoked before being moved out of sight when it is all finished.
We are talking about people's livelihoods here…he thought grimly to himself. Honest Ammatar citizens all for the sake of one man. What have I gotten myself into?
"As for the facility itself, it will remain under Ammatar Security Services jurisdiction with your unit providing security throughout the investigations, then most likely dismantled and the project terminated."
"When will I need to be ready?" He asked, eager to bring this deal to a close as soon as possible.
"By the end of the week."
"Very well." He said flatly as he stood up from the table to make his excuses. "I will get back in touch when I have things in place." She nodded, not bothering to stand as he made his way to the door and left. Half way down the hallway, Memphos could not shake the feeling that something about this deal did not add up. He could not figure out what it was but he was determined not to get burned by this woman. And at this time, that meant playing along as nicely as possible so he would not enter the firing line himself.

Darius kept to a quick pace while he made his way through the halls of the station and into the corporate section, passing a retinal scan and DNA check before being allowed admittance that bypassed the security post. Just as well too as he always carried some form of hand weapon with him where permitted. Though since the staff at the post worked for the alliance he was a member of there was no chance of him being detained. Down two levels in the elevator and round the corner saw him on the trail towards his crew quarters. Normally he would report to Maggot to let him know he had returned, but this return was a little different than usual and the tension he felt when he left still lingered in the air somewhat. Besides, Maggot could check the list of active crew if he needed to and would see he had checked in at the entrance. It was best that he simply returning and got on with some work, so that was what Darius intended on doing. As well as avoiding any further unpleasant confrontations or awkward quiet moments with Maggot. He had come to understand in his absence that he had not lost any respect for Maggot and realised he never would no matter how hot tempers raged between them. And he knew Maggot felt the same as he always made Darius feel valued despite the short comings of his personality. Avoiding anything that would put that at further risk was a much better pursuit at this time than seeking more trouble he moment he walked through the door.

Darius felt an odd sensation creep through him as he keyed in his access code for the door to his quarters, like he had missed the place and up until now he had been away from something he loved and craved. Though Khas Helgaard's words still rang in his ears.

'There is growing concern that you care less for the clan than you do your own quest for vengeance.'

Darius shook it off as he entered his room, dismissing the notion once more as well as fighting the urge to hurl his bag against the wall as his contempt for being spoken to in such a way returned. He felt just as relieved to be home when he stepped off the skimmer and onto his home island, as he did again shortly after when he passed through the Clan Hall doors and between the Koude guards as they saluted in respect. It was not that.

Darius, hardly through the door to his room, turned his attention to his workstation and the built in console and, as soon as he activated it, located his music library and allowed a slow and deep beat to roll over him. Now fully able to revel in the sensation of returning to what he knew once more he stood in the room silently to take in the ambiance for a few moments. He looked back at the console once more to see what else might need his attention and saw his message box flashing. With that being all, he knew he would much rather deal with whatever was in there at a later time. He had been gone for a little over a week now and whatever it was would wait a few more hours. He turned his attention to his bag and began to unpack what he needed right now and left some of the clothes tangled up until he could be bothered to sort them out. A stop at the bathroom to wash his face and remove the uncomfortable grimy residue of long distance travel followed him opening his locker and stripping down before sliding into a flight suit. He rolled the suite up to his waist before being interrupted by his door buzzer. The world outside refused to relent long enough for him to even prepare to greet it, and he sighed a moment before heading to the door.

On opening he was greeted by the sight of Sh'Khari, stood proud in her flight suit in his doorway. Her strong, yet slightly nervous smile crossing her face gave way to surprise for a second as if she was going to say something before being struck by lightning. At that point, Darius realised his flight suit top was still rolled by his waist leaving his chest area bare. Sh'Khari could view a modest range of tattoo work, a point of view she had not seen Darius from before. Even more, she could see his mark of destiny on his lower left ribcage depicting a pattern of three wavy lines that merge into one at one end, finally tapering away to nothing. In all her knowledge from her youth, studying Minmatar glyphs and markings, she had not seen a mark like it and it was more a mergence of several marks, so it was most likely rare. She thought how much of a burden it must be, knowing that even he and his clan might not know either. To be proud or to feel shame. To accept or to cast out.

"Captain." He said gently, breaking her train of thought. "Anything I can do for you?" She blinked a couple of times to shake the speculation away and returned to her impish smile.
"Hi, erm… yes." She said, struggling to grasp the words she had spent some time working on as she made her way to his door. Quite some time actually. "I heard you came back today. I just wanted to come and say hello and see if you needed anything." Darius stared at her for a few seconds, either contemplating the question or waiting for another reason. Her chest felt a sudden tightness and weight as she took in a deeper breath. "Actually, I wondered as well…"
"Yes?" He said, still softly as before with not even a hint of his customary impatience.
"Did you want to go get something to eat? You have been travelling for a while now and I just thought… you would be hungry." She forced herself to stop short of babbling and resumed her smiling, letting her dark eyes lock with his in a short moment of hope.

Darius looked to one side as if staring at something in his room just out of sight of the doorway as he contemplated his response a moment.
"No." he said finally. "Thank you, but I am not all that hungry just yet." Sh'Khari continued to smile at the lips but her eyes turned to disappointment and looked down to the side. She was about to say something when he turned his head back to her and spoke again. "But, I am a little thirsty and could use a good strong drink or two. And I could use some company. Maybe as the liquid flows I may get my appetite back." She looked back again and started to nod. "Let me just finish getting suited up first. I can hardly wander the halls half naked now can I?"
"Ohh I don't know, I can't see anyone complaining." She said quickly, then mentally scalds herself for saying something so cheesy. Darius raised his eyebrows and tries not to laugh himself.
"Well, be that as it may, there is a dress code to follow at the bar. Anyway, I'm all but done here so if you want to come in for a moment…"
"Ohh no, that's fine I'll wait here." She said quickly, trying to fight embarrassment.
"Suit yourself. I'll be out in a couple of minutes. She nodded again and he let the door close behind him as he retreated into the room. He looked about the small quarters that were his home away from home as he slid the remaining layer of the flight suit up around his torso and pulled it closed. Before leaving again, he reached into his bag to remove his ID card before slinging the bag under the bed to wait for the next time he needed to travel light and headed for the door, forgetting the message on his console blinking repeatedly for attention.

At the bar on Deck 23, the atmosphere was the usual composition of drunken laughter and heavy base line music, almost Gallente like. To say the least, it was not Darius' style, but he could expect nothing less when a Gallente ran the bar so he could not really complain. It was always like this and yet he would always return each night when the urge took him. Not to mention that it was the only decent place to get a real drink, and they also served great food too. They were both already on their fifth drink of the evening and the bar was getting more and more crowded. The conversation between them had begun talking about the corporation, more specifically the events in Ammatar space some time back. Many of his fellow pilots were still in the dark about what happened, who the two women were and why specifically the Ammatar fleet cared about what he was doing in their space. She told Darius that Zoolkhan was still in a foul mood over the loss of so much hardware in his rescue, though they were almost fully replaced. Unfortunately the plan to attack the Ammatar facility was now suspended as their defences were bolstered. Something Maggot was also not happy about since it is obvious they increased defences in response to the battle in Sasta. All in all he knew not to expect to be received well by either of them. Just as well that he avoided directly reporting to them in case the waters became roiled again.

In the quiet moment between them that saw an end to the fifth round of dark blue alcohol cocktails, something the bartender un-creatively named a 'black hole', Darius changed the subject.
"There is trouble in my clan." He said bluntly. Sh'Khari looked at him inquisitively as he continued. "The five family Elders have called a meeting next week that I have to attend. They will discuss if I am fit to lead the clan." Sh'Khari was lost for words, maybe as the concept of clan leadership was still something she had not faced herself. Her own personal issues with her own clan meant she could not relate fully, but hearing that they were contemplating removing him as leader at least was something she could grasp. The magnitude of it was at least, not beyond her.
"What will you do?" She asked. Darius stared at the empty glass a moment. He knew what he needed to do, but was not sure he could do it. He would have to leave everything over the last years behind, return home and make the Elders happy. And if he did, he would do so at the expense of his own contentment. More over, he would do so at the expense of his credibility in the eyes of the clan. If he returned home like that to save his position as leader of the clan, under pressure from the Elders, how could he even maintain his position as leader? He would be at their beck and call from that moment onwards, working simply under their own good graces and powerless to even make his own decisions or carry on his Uncle's works. Was that what they wanted?
"Darius?" She said again, interrupting his mental deliberations. He turned to look at her again seeing the curious expression, remembering she asked him a question.
"What will I do…" he repeated rhetorically. He broke the stern expression on his face with a grin as he snatched up the menu from the table and began to browse it. "I believe I will order the sweet and spicy fish." He said. She chuckled at him and left the bad business be as she pulled the menu from him with a sharp movement of the hand.
"Let me see then." She said. "Ahh, I love the sizzling meat skewers and rice that they do here." Darius pressed the glowing blue button in the middle of the table and a holographic ordering system appeared above the table. He reached out and pressed his selection, or rather poked his finger into the immaterial projection. The sensors determined what he was touching and highlighted the selection, followed by Sh'Khari's choice of meal. Finally to complete the order, he swiped his ID card over the reader next to the projector, billing his account for the meal and service charge. Now all they had to do was wait for the food to be served.
"Care for a drink to wash it down?" he asked her. She looked apprehensively at the pile of empty glasses on the table they had accumulated already.
"Maybe I shouldn't." She answered.
"Maybe means yes to me." He replied as he stood to go to the bar.
"OK one more then. After that I will stick to Quafe." He winked at her, the first sign of a good mood she had seen from him since she arrived to work for Freelance Unincorporated. She smiled as he made his way to the bar. As he turned his back, he smiled too.

Almost a week later, Memphos was concluding a briefing with his captains on board his flagship Armageddon, The Constantine. The situation had been covered from one end to the other as Memphos relayed the cover story as if it were fact to his on-looking fleet pilots. The San-Hura, Ramar, the transfer of classified materials detrimental to the security of the Ammatar Mandate; all laid out before them as though it were real before he moved onto the specifics of their fleet action against the planet side facility.
"A large detachment of Kameiras has been provided for us and will be stationed on the Archon carrier assigned to support the landing effort." He continued. "Punisher class frigates, along with their assigned fighter wings, will be assigned a landing pod to escort. The commander stationed aboard the carrier will co-ordinate the deployment inside the atmosphere using their support sensors that are substantially stronger than those on the battleships." Each Captain made notes of the operational details on their pads while listening intently. "The remaining fleet will station themselves in orbit and cordon off the planet."

Memphos called up a holoview of the planet showing the fleet deployments and their orbit paths. A zone, highlighted in orange like some kind of thick skin, surrounded the planet in the centre of the image.
"Any ships entering the designated cordon zone around the planet will be stopped, searched and quarantined until the assault it over. Any base personnel on the ships will be detained and all cargo related to the facility will be confiscated for evidence. After the assault they will be allowed to leave if they are clear. Otherwise the ships will be towed to the nearest command base and the crews will be detained for questioning." Again, more notes were scribed on their pads and determined faces stared back at the podium.

Again, the holoview changed to a map of the facility. "The facility, after the raid, will be secured by the Kameiras and the Security Services will land an investigation and interim administration team to conduct evaluations on the work force and all equipment. After this the base will be under their jurisdiction and our fleet will continue to police the area as a no-fly zone until further instructed." Again, that loathsome feeling gnawed away at his conscience, and he tried not to think about the potential lives that would be ruined for the sake of one man.

"Gentlemen." He said in conclusion. "Any questions?" He held for a short while to allow people to raise their hands in query. With none raised, he closed down the holoview and picked up his briefing notes. "Very well. We mobilise in four hours." He stepped off the briefing stage, all officers in the room standing to attention as he made his way towards the door. Once he was clear, the remaining pilots dispersed to their duties.

With a distinctive mechanical whir, Darius' door slid open to reveal the inside of his bunk room.
"Thank you for the meal again." Said Sh'Khari. "The last few days have been fun." Darius nodded with a smile as they prepared to part company.
"Thanks for keeping me company too." Replied Darius finally after a brief stare. "It's the first time in a while I have felt like smiling." Sh'Khari, searching for words, settled for a smile in answer to that. Their eyes froze on each other a little longer as the distance between them began to grow shorter. Sh'Khari took his face in her hands and pulled him down, locking lips together furiously as passions enflamed. Darius ran his hands up her back from her waist and pulled her in close. Entwined together, they retreated as one through the open door which casually slid shut behind them.

Sharp shafts of light began to penetrate through to Ramar's window as he stared out on the early morning sunrise over the dense jungle ahead. The high ridgeline beyond the compound obscured the sun enough at this time of the planetary year to allow it to get well into the actual sky before breaching the ridge itself and shining into the valley where the compound was situated. This made for a dramatic sudden burst of light as the sun breached the gaps in the ridge and jungle tops far ahead. All the while, he ignored the gentle beeping on his desk indicating a waiting message while he observed the display ahead of him. Further more, his attention was on the large transport ship painted in dark graphite and gold patterns that was unloading their latest batch of cargo on the landing pad down below the office window. Lines of guards flanked the painted walkway on the floor leading into the processing building, and they were in turn flanked by several men holding back their snarling slaver hounds as the living cargo marched nervously towards the gaping doorway ahead. More wretched slaves for their testing program.

The last of the slaves scurried off the ramp of the cargo bay, dragged along by those ahead of them, tethered together as one large snake making its way to the centre ahead. The ramp quickly slid upwards again, the belly of the beast now empty, and eventually the last few souls disappeared through the large bay doors which began to slowly slide shut behind them. Satisfied that it had gone smoothly, Ramar turned back from the window to face the desk and his terminal that was still beeping insistently at him.

There was only one message and Ramar quickly reviewed it, his face turning to surprise followed eventually by determined anger.

That evening, the darkness of space above Khabi IV was intruded by a vast array of warp trails streaking to a halt near the planet. Several battleship groups exited warp safely clear of the gravitational pull of the planet and slowly began to set up their orbit paths. In all, eight Armageddon class battleships with multiple Omen cruisers each. Separate from this group, The Constantine was flanked by a small squadron of Punisher class frigates. Almost instantly, The Constantine deployed a cynosural field from the emitter on their port side, away from the planet itself, and projected it to a safe distance.

Bored as usual, the airspace controller at the nearby airfield leaned back in his seat as the monitor screen pulsed outwards from the bottom centre, displaying the usual plethora of nothingness. He almost didn't react when the screen pulsed again and returned a sudden swarm of signatures, followed seconds later by the identification screen flashing up the signatures of multiple dozens of Ammatar Security ships. The controller nearly toppled off his seat scrambling to bring himself in line with the screen again and quickly shouted for his commander.
"Sir!" He blurted. "Sir, I have a large fleet return moving towards the planet at sixty five hundred."
"You sure?" he shouted from across the room. "Check your consol diagnostics it could be a glitch." The controller looked at his commanding officer for a moment then back at the screen, feverishly running a flash check on the display systems. The progress bar filled rapidly and returned the results.
"No sir. It's fully functional." The commander, face creased with confusion, marched across the room to the control console and took a look over the operator's shoulder.
"What the… We had no notification of…" He cut himself short as both men watched a large return suddenly flare up beyond the group. The system interrogated the transponder return and quickly flashed up the identification of the ship.
"Good lord…" muttered the controller. His commander pursed his lips tight for a moment before he headed to the communications panel, lifted the headset and entered his access codes.
"This is Jorkan. Give me the supervisor immediately. High priority."

The field widened into a swirling vortex crackling with exotic energized particles as a shape began to form through the maw. The field flared bright for a second and the long sleek form of the Archon carrier materialised beyond the fleet, who were now forming up on their patrol paths for the planet. Residual energy waves dispersed quickly along the structure of the carrier, which finally opened its external bays, projecting powerful yellow lights forwards. As quickly as that, fighters began to disgorge from the opening at the front and moved towards the body of frigates. Along the starboard side of the carrier, more smaller hatches opened as multiple flashing caution strobes blinked across the surface. The landing pods were ready for launch.

Ramar answered his comms line from his own headset, no longer in his office.
"Yes commander?"
"Sir, an Ammatar fleet has deployed out of warp above the planet." He began. "They are escorting an Archon class carrier. We have nothing of the kind on our expected schedule though." Ramar paused for a second, coming to a halt on his journey.
"Launch your Viscount fighters and tell them to repel anything that enters the atmosphere. Co-ordinate with this base's security post and take field command from there commander." There was a stunned silence over the line. "Did you hear me commander?" barked Ramar.
"Sir.. I… they are our own people sir."
"Listen to me. These forces are commanded by a rouge officer with a personal vendetta. Their orders are not sound in source and their intentions are hostile towards every single person on this base. Do as I say!"
"Yes sir!" came the immediate reply. Ramar tapped his headset to turn it off and continued to run through the concrete tunnel under ground, leading out of the base. He didn't know who sent him that tip off, but he was pleased to see it was accurate. Someone out there must like him.

One after another the thin and wide landing pods, shaped like flying wings, slipped through their port holes and followed the Templar fighters, now attached to their frigate controllers, and headed for the planet surface. Aboard one of the pods, Major General Memphos gripped the shoulder restraints holding him in his seat surrounded by much bulkier Kameiras soldiers. He had boarded the carrier before the deployment and joined the command squad of the landing party. To his right was the commander of the Kameiras, sitting in a specially modified seat with a retractable console. The commander signalled his pod crew to prepare for heavy turbulence and as quickly as that, barely giving Memphos time to increase his grip on his restraints, the pod began to shake violently.
"The upper atmosphere is very dense." Said the commander, leaning over towards him. Unnecessary given the internal communications system in their helmets. "It will pass shortly. Weather conditions this evening are much more settled further down." Memphos nodded, not that anyone would tell with the vigorous shuddering of the cabin. The commander returned to his console and monitored the signals now coming clearer through the atmospheric interference.
"Telemetry from the carrier shows the nearby airbase launching fighters." He pushed the side of his helmet to his ear to better listen. "Three Templar wings dispatched to intercept." Again, Memphos nodded. "Four minutes to touchdown at the compound. Ground activity sighted."

Frantically, the detachment of soldiers at the compound gathered at their mustering points located across the facility, armed themselves with heavy weaponry, and reported to their stations at the various bunkers along the wall. Warning sirens attached to large towers filled the air with their whine summoning the soldiers to their deaths. One of the two landing pads in the middle of the compound was occupied by the transport ship that landed earlier in the day, the ground crew swarming all over it pulling out cables along the side while the pilots quickly scrambled into the open rear hatch. As soon as the last cable been pulled the crew quickly dashed away from the ship and the growing rumble of the engines filled the landing area. The rumble grew to a high pitched whine in seconds and the ground shook as the ship kicked up a halo of dust beneath it while gently lifting clear of the platform. A series of yellow strobe lights around both platforms flickered to life, casting amber beams of light all around the underside of the transport ship which was now gaining altitude vertically above the platform and gradually edging further away from the landing area. More klaxons sounded as the crews raced to their storage bunkers and the two landing pads split along the middle, sliding open like giant mouths.

"Visual sensors show them prepping their VTOL ships." Reported the unit commander as he scrutinised his console while keeping the carrier commander informed of the situation on the ground. "One transport class ship off the ground and gaining altitude." The high power camera units attached to the landing pods gazed unblinking through the rough air around them and showed the commander of the Kameiras the many people on the ground towing long flat beds out to the landing pads with small tractors. "Looks like they are arming them with air to ground suppression weapons." Again, the commander listened to the response in his helmet and nodded. "Yes sir." He looked out at his men. "One minute to landing. Detach and check your gear. Major General, stay put until the squads clear the landing sector." Memphos nodded he understood as the bulky Kameiras detached their harnesses fixed to their seats, unlike the shoulder braces that the Major General was wearing, and stood in the rumbling cabin to retrieve their weapons.

"Lets go people get the aircraft armed and re…" The ground crew chief was drown out by a sudden barrage from the anti-air battery on the roof nearest to them, followed by the unmistakable whine of incoming fighters, and something much larger. Quickly they blasted over the landing area not two hundred meters off the ground. Crackling pulses of light streaked across the sky ahead of them followed by a loud explosion high above. A fireball lit the dimming sky above as the transport ship was cut to pieces by the deadly Templar fighters dispatched by he carrier above. The chief looked back where they had come from, expecting a second wave behind them as the anti-air battery unleashed a second rapid fire salvo and saw a large oval shape with down swept wings at a much lower altitude growing in size. The tracer rounds of fire struck the object which rippled with blue light as the shields took damage, but not nearly enough from the smaller calibre weapons on the installation. It approached silently.
"Ohh god…" uttered the chief. "Lay flat, open your mouths and cover your ears!" he shouted quickly over the diminishing echo of the batteries, already in the motions himself. Several men followed quickly while others looked on confused for no more than a few seconds. Others saw the incoming reason and decided to run away from it. A mistake soon realised as the large Punisher class frigate streaked across the landing zone at supersonic speeds, trailing a near visible cone of dense air behind it. It washed over the base in the form of a deafening sonic boom. Men unlucky to still be on their feet were swept aside like rag dolls and covered their ears screaming in pain from the rupture. Quickly the chief got back to his feet and called those that could still hear him to continue arming the ship that was nearly ready for takeoff. Those that could not hear picked themselves up and simply followed him, getting the idea from his actions. Beyond the wall nearby, the chief heard a sudden whistle followed by a heavy thump.
'What now?' he thought to himself.

The pods all slammed into the ground, controlled by small thrusters that fired to slow the final decent and churned the bile in Memphos' stomach. The Kameiras, well trained in such landings, were either un-phased or didn't show it. A mechanical grinding above and outside the pods could be heard giving no time for a moment's silence as a gun bay opened up revealing a heavy autocannon mounted beneath the armoured skin. Quickly the weapon opened fire in rapid bursts and bright yellow tracers arced through the sky towards the facility, peppering the bunkers ahead. Under cover of the suppressing fire, the hatches opened and the Kameiras charged out of the pods and took up a defensive position. Panic fire from the compound issued towards them but was hardly focused enough to come too close. Memphos could see through the open hatch as heavy calibre fire shredded a watch tower in seconds and silenced their guns. Once rallied, the commander of the Kameiras ordered his men to storm the main gate. The Kameiras from the same pod as Memphos stayed behind to guard him until the all clear was given. More explosions filled the landscape as shoulder fire rockets targeted the bunkers and gouged large chunks from the concrete. Resistance from this wall had all but ended allowing the Kameiras sappers to plan charges on the solid gate. At this distance, Memphos watched the explosion blast a hole in the gate a second before the noise of the blast reached his ears. The breaching hole was assaulted by the commandos and the nearest guard towers, or rather their remains, were checked for surviving security troops. By now, the autocannon fire from the assault pods redirected their salvos overhead to the main building, much weaker than the reinforced walls along the outside. Large holes were punched into the facia of the taller central building as heavy rounds slammed home in a scattered pattern.

Overhead a second wave of Templar fighters and their controlling Punisher approached the base as the VTOL craft on the landing pad fired its engines. Slowly it began to lift off, while struck mercilessly by the laser weapons on the fighter's forward weapon mounts. Barely a few meters off the ground, the flaming husk crashed back to the landing pad spilling flaming liquid in all directions as the ground crew ran for cover. The hatches on the second aircraft opened and the flight crew attempted to escape as the frigate charged towards the compound. Much too late. Piercing hot pulses of light shredded the cockpit of the prostrate aircraft. The occupants, still struggling to get past their seats, were incinerated in a horrifying spectacle witnessed by the remaining crew half way out of the side hatches. Death screams were engulfed by the sound of raw crackling energy and rupturing fuel cells on the outer hull. The craft was engulfed by a cloud of burning hot plasma which ignited into an explosive inferno. Incinerated bodies were hurled from the scene as the Punisher completed its pass over the landing strip.

A silence filled the air as the heavy autocannons ceased their firing pattern. Listening into his helmet, the Kameiras in charge of Memphos' guard detail nodded, another superfluous action given that the commander could not see it, then turned to the Major General signalling the all clear.
"Sir, the guards and all compound personnel outside have laid down their arms and surrendered." He began. "I am to escort you to the perimeter." He said in typical and precise military discipline.
"Commander." Addressed Memphos over his own communication piece attached to the side of his head. "Push forwards to the administration block, seek out and arrest the command staff and confine the target to his office under heavy guard until I get there." He then stepped out of the pod and onto solid ground. For a moment he almost didn't realise how long it had been since he had stood on an actual planet.

Ramar felt the engines kicking in hard as his cloaked covert frigate cut its way through the denser atmosphere. It interfered with his cloaking device making it less effective as he was partially exposed as a shimmering pattern, streaking through the sky. Once he passed into space he should be fine. Or at lease as fine as anyone could be that has been sold short by his own. And he had every intention of settling the score.

"Damnit!" cursed Memphos as he approached the administration block, flanked by his escort detail. He pressed his ear piece hard with one hand as it doing so would make his order seem more urgent. "Search the compound, I want that man found. There is no way he could have gotten out once the assault started."
"Yes sir." Came the response from the commander.
"Take me to the main office." He ordered his detail. They nodded and followed the Major General through the courtyard.

High above, a fast and shimmering form approached the base, far enough away from the templar fighters left on station with their sole Punisher frigate controller. Seconds from the compound, the curvaceous form of a Purifier class stealth bomber materialised long enough to do its work. A long, blunt canister slipped out of the lower dispenser as the ship banked hard away from the base to turn back the way it came. The payload was flung gracefully and silently through the air while the frigate returned to its cloaked state. A hundred meters and directly above the base, it detonated. A blinding flash consumed the landscape followed by the roar of a low yield nuclear blast, sweeping the entire compound and surrounding jungle off the face of the planet.