FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter Five

The Caliphate of Procyon Procyon System IHN Trimalchio

July 22, 2550 CE

It had been a long month and a half aboard the dreadnought. When the interceptors arrived and were transferred aboard, the engineers wanted to take several apart for spare parts, but Azuk put a halt to that. Instead he was able to create new weapons that would fit the connectors and the ports on the Omniwatch interceptors, and applied some of that to the Imperial prototype. With the interceptors secured, Azuk worked to get new pilots trained to fly them. He assigned Team B to one set of interceptors, and Team A would fly another. Azuk, knowing the risks of flying it, volunteered to take the prototype as his once it was completed and the first test flights showed it outperformed the Omniwatch interceptors.

After training pilots to fly the interceptors, getting a large supply of fusion torpedoes, and preparing their own strategy, the Admiral authorized the commencement of Operation Righteous Fury. As he was sort of an officer in the Imperial Navy, he was entitled to information regarding the operation and allowed some input. The first phase of the operation was to lure the Caliphate's navy into a fleet engagement with the Empire. In doing that, with no Alliance support, the Caliphate would face a rapid, decisive defeat. Since it would pull most if not all forces, that would give the chance for the Imperial interceptor squadrons to begin their strikes on key facilities outside the capital world. The second phase would be arriving in orbit over Great Home and commencing a bombardment of the surface using interceptor bombing runs and orbital bombardment. The end goal would be the surrender of the planet to Imperial control or destruction of the planet and its inhabitants; whichever came first.

Azuk wasn't pleased with the second phase, if only because of the huge loss of life, but he also couldn't care too much. If one wanted to follow the Caliph and not resist, especially during the religious wars that tore the planet apart, they deserved their fate in following him. That fate, should they not surrender, would be death. It was harsh, but this was going to be the dawn of a new age of expansion for the Empire and Azuk was more than happy to usher that in. It would cripple the corporations and bring the corrupted Alliance to its knees. He fully accepted his part in this operation and the coming war over the last month.

Among the pilots, only Andromeda was the other pilot authorized to have information regarding the operation since she willingly joined the Empire. Since he remained in command, effectively, Azuk placed her in command of the second squadron, leaving himself, Rahimi, Jack, and one of the two Imperial pilots trained to fly the extra interceptors. The second squadron, with seven pilots, would be Azuk's reinforcements. The first squadron, his, would be doing all operations in the first phase. The mission was as simple as striking the major military stations in the system as well as civilian and military mixed stations. In the event they faced heavy resistance, the second squadron would be expected to move in to assist.

Outside the interceptor operations, Azuk had knowledge of the full fleet strength of the Empire. Including the Trimalchio, there are four other dreadnoughts, a dozen battleships, another dozen battlecruisers, just short of three dozen heavy and normal cruisers, plus an assortment of light cruisers, destroyers, and troop transports. In all, Azuk had counted well over 100 warships, which he knew was only a drop in the bucket for the full strength of the Imperial Navy according to statistics he had the chance to read.

For now, it was simply a waiting game before arrival in Procyon. The IHN Trimalchio was moved up to orange alert, so preparations for imminent combat were being carried out. For the pilots, that meant the interceptors were moved to the hangar deck, armed with their weapons for the first phase of the operation, and then moved onto the magnetic catapults to await the pilots. Likewise the hangars had been opened, with particle shields keeping the atmosphere in, to ensure a rapid launch of all interceptors as soon as the fighting begins.

Sitting in the pilot ready room in his flight suit - a pressure sealed, lightly armored suit in a grey color of the plates and a dark blue coloration elsewhere - Azuk looked at the display that showed the warp ETA. Currently it sat at fifteen minutes and counting. At five, it was expected he'd be in his interceptor and ready for launch on arrival, though the launch itself wouldn't be until all pilots were ready. Azuk, simply, was anxious. He hadn't been in combat since he left Omniwatch, but even that paled in comparison to an actual war. He had trained for the possibility of a war with the Alliance, but the fact that was about to happen in the near future, and with him as part of a third party at that, scared him.

Slowly the numbers counted down and at the five-minute mark, Azuk stood up from the table and moved into the hangar bay. Among the interceptors, which took up most of the space, various marines milled about along with the deck crew. Azuk ignored them as he crossed to his interceptor. The prototype one stood out compared to the repainted Omniwatch interceptors simply because of the additional thrusters and the slightly larger structure to accommodate additional parts and weapons. That added size meant its acceleration was slower than the other interceptors, but it was substantial still. All the interceptors had been painted from Omniwatch black to Imperial blue.

Azuk climbed up the ladder into his interceptor and set himself down in the cockpit, setting the helmet in his lap. He ran through the pre-flight checks, making sure to do it all properly since this would only be the third time that this prototype flew. It took just about five minutes before he went through the basic checklist for this prototype and everything appeared to be perfectly fine. Satisfied, Azuk put his helmet on and made sure it made a seal on the collar of the suit. After a few checks to ensure that as well as check the communications, he was ready to fly.

The ship shuddered as it dropped out of hyperspace. A check of the star map on the interceptor confirmed that they were in Procyon now. Azuk waited a moment, expecting an announcement over the intercom, but instead it was silence followed by the sounding of the red alert. Azuk closed the canopy on his interceptor, cutting out any sounds outside. Of course, as soon as he did that, he heard the muffled speaking over the intercom. He didn't actually care at this point though so he did a double check of all systems.

"Killer Lead to Hunter Lead." Andromeda said through the dual squadron communications. "How's your status over there?"

"Hunter Lead here. Everything checks out. Hunter 2, 3, and 4 report." Azuk said as he hit a button to begin connection with his interceptors to show their status on his HUD.

"Hunter 2 here." Jack said, with his icon popping up on the HUD soon after.

"Hunter 3 here." The Imperial pilot said. From the little he saw of that pilot, they were another outlier of the squadron, being a bear. Nonetheless, his icon appeared on the HUD.

When Hunter 4 didn't report, Azuk finally said, "Hunter 4, report."

"Hunter 4 reporting. What the hell are we doing in Procyon?" Rahimi asked as her icon appeared on Azuk's HUD.

"That's information for Navy personnel only." Azuk said. "So long as you follow orders, we'll make it through the day."

"I refuse to fire on our people." Rahimi hissed out in the Tesgno language over communications.

"Then you will be executed for desertion." Azuk said. He had expected Rahimi to be a problem. He only hoped that the threat would keep her in line. When she didn't say anything else, he figured it worked. "Hunter squadron, be ready for launch shortly. I am sending over the first target. When we launch, we're heading for that."

The first target was a small outpost near Procyon VII that provided deep space early warning to New Home and Great Home. With the fleet positioned behind Procyon VIII in a fortunate positioning of the planets that had VII and VIII at their closest, and safely out of sensor coverage thanks to the gas giant, destroying the early warning system would probably provide a very blatant warning but that was the plan. The second target were the military installations of New Home to draw out the fleet. Once the Tesgno fleet began their move to New Home, the Imperial fleet should have arrived on scene to relieve the interceptors. Even if it took some time, Azuk knew they had the firepower to take on the Tesgno fleet for a short time.

"This is your temporary flight officer." A new voice chimed in over the intercom. Azuk recognized it as the ship's chief engineer. That he had to launch them was only vaguely amusing to Azuk. "You all are clear for launch in the next minute. Standby for the catapult."

Azuk held onto a grip on the side of the canopy, awaiting the launch into space. He used his other hand to finish the activation of the interceptor. The craft began to vibrate as the engines activated. He couldn't safely fire the engines though until they were in space since the plasma could severely damage the flight deck or even the interceptor itself. With little warning other than a loud clicking sound, the magnetic launcher fired the interceptors off into space. Azuk took his hand off the handle as soon as they were in space and he had to take control.

"Hunter on me. Killer Squadron, remain on standby behind us at about... one hundred thousand kilometers." Azuk said once he took control and made a right toward the front of the dreadnought and the gas giant. He activated the waypoint right after for the Hunter Squadron to mark the early warning station. He followed that up by activating the formation autopilot to allow the other three pilots to take up positions in the diamond formation to his sides and behind him.

The flight around Procyon VIII took about half an hour at full power, and another half an hour before they were within a reasonable strike range - approximately 45,000 kilometers - of the early warning station. Of course, their approach didn't go unnoticed. The station sent several hailing requests as they approached. If it were one interceptor, Azuk was sure they'd have been ignored, but with eleven approaching in two waves it would seem, it could only seem like an attack. Unfortunately for them, Azuk thought as they closed within 20,000 kilometers, it absolutely was an attack, and they would be the first casualties.

"Hunter 3, when you have a solution, you are clear to fire." Azuk said. Judging from the small size of the outpost, it would only require one torpedo to destroy the station so they could move. He turned off to the right, getting in position for a partial orbit around Procyon VII as Hunter 3 broke off.

In under a minute, Hunter 3 chimed in, "Torpedo away. Returning to formation."

Within a matter of minutes, Hunter 3 was in position behind to Azuk's left once again. Despite being warned not to do so, Azuk was confident in the protection of his helmet. When the fusion torpedo impacted the station, a brilliant light could be seen a few thousand kilometers to the left of the formation. Approximately 40 megatons of thermonuclear power destroyed the station completely and left a light show for the formation as they began a slingshot around Procyon VII to get them over New Home.

The whole operation was effectively running on autopilot only as there are not current needs for manual control. The autopilot still projected about two hours before contact over New Home. What caught Azuk's attention momentarily was a fast-moving contact approaching the formation, but after a check of the signature, he found it to just be a small Imperial probe. If he had to guess, he figured it had to be launched to provide warning of any contacts over or near New Home. If it would take two hours, the Tesgno fleet could easily be lying in wait.

The two hours passed in almost total silence as the two groups of interceptors kept close to Procyon VII, close enough to almost pass through the very upper layers of the gas giant. It wouldn't hide them from sensors, but it did made the slingshot a bit faster. As the move turned into an hour and a half, New Home was at least partially in sight, and Azuk could get sensor readings on the main spaceport, as well as a few Procyon Defense Force ships docked. After a closer examination, he could make out what appeared to be the CNV Valorous. He wasn't sure what kind of pilots it had now, but Azuk was still concerned about having to take on other, if less advanced, interceptors already. Interceptor combat was relatively rare, but it was usually just a mess when it did happen.

"Trimalchio, be aware that we have naval contacts over New Home." Azuk said into the command channel. "There's potentially one light cruiser, and these carry interceptors. I am unsure of what threat those may pose. We're currently three hundred thousand kilometers out."

"Understood. We're awaiting contact with the fleet in its entirety." A voice on the other end said, though it came through scrambled as they were on the other side of Procyon VIII.

Azuk continued the course toward New Home. At the two hundred kilometer marker, he caught the burst of light in the distance that signaled that the _Valorous_was moving toward them now. He was tempted to order Rahimi to take the shot, but he was fairly certain that she wouldn't comply. They did have to destroy the ship before it could launch the interceptors, and Azuk knew it didn't have forward guns.

Since the ship was approaching them as well, the distance was closing even faster. At fifty thousand kilometers, the sensors detected the launch of several smaller objects. Azuk knew those were the interceptors. "Hunter, we have interceptor launches on the approaching ship. Breaking formation and assume manual control. They'll be on top of us pretty quickly." Azuk hit the button to disable the formation autopilot and quickly took control of his interceptor.

By twenty thousand kilometers, the Tesgno interceptors were only a few hundred kilometers away, and Azuk issued an order to slow all interceptors to an engagement speed, as well as an order for Hunter 3 to begin an attack run on the _Valorous_with Hunter 4 for cover while he and Hunter 2 would handle the interceptors. The two broke off just before the initial contact, but it went exactly as Azuk had planned.

With the group of four Tesgno interceptors moving to intercept Hunter 3 and 4, they weren't paying attention to Azuk and Hunter 2 as they should have been. Taking advantage of their poor positioning, Azuk pushed the thrusters to a higher speed to close the distance between himself and the Tesgno interceptors. He knew 3 and 4 wouldn't last long with four hostiles on them, but they were a great bait. Azuk closed to within five kilometers of the Tesgno interceptors before one finally noticed their folly. Before they could react, Azuk opened fire with the graser pods, careful to not fire near 3 and 4.

The graser bursts tore into one of the interceptors, detonating the power core and, due to the extremely close flying between the Tesgno interceptors, also destroyed the one directly next to it. Hunter 2 fired on the other 2 from another vector, hitting the third Tesgno interceptor and crippling it. Azuk and 2 broke apart to ensure they wouldn't hit each other. Already the fourth Tesgno interceptor was fleeing back toward the Valorous, though they were slower than Hunter 3 and 4.

"Torpedoes away." Hunter 3 said before he and 4 broke off and hit the thrusters to full to escape the potentially dangerous area of the detonations. "I have one left Lead."

Within a matter of minutes, given their close range, the two torpedoes hit the Valorous on the port side near the front and engineering. When the light of the nuclear blasts faded, the cruiser was left with gaping holes and no power. Azuk marked the sensor contact as destroyed as there'd be little worth salvaging from the wreck. The fourth interceptor, with the ship destroyed, activated its warp drive and jumped away.

"We're clear to the spaceport. Hunter 4, stay with 3. You're to fire the torpedoes into the New Home spaceport." Azuk said. He was still sure that Rahimi wouldn't do it, but he had to make her do something. If she refused, he had a plan for that.

Hunter 4 said nothing as she and Hunter 3 started on their attack course toward the New Home spaceport. As before, Azuk and Hunter 2 were close behind by about 40 kilometers. From New Home it was now about 20,000 kilometers and closing rather quickly. Knowing that Rahimi likely wouldn't fire and that there's no lock warning in the Omniwatch interceptors, Azuk hit a few buttons to target Rahimi with one of the missiles next to his torpedoes. If she chose not fire, he would fire on her instead.

As they closed within 5,000 kilometers, Azuk knew that Rahimi should be getting a firing solution. At 2,000, Azuk said, "Hunter 4, fire when you have an opportunity."

"Negative Hunter Lead. I can't do that." Rahimi said after a short pause.

"Understood 4. Hunter 3, fire a torpedo into the spaceport." Azuk said as he hit the button to launch a missile. In a short moment, the missile fired off from the wing and used the gimbaled engine to turn and target Rahimi's interceptor. Even at this distance, the missile closed the gap quickly. By the time Rahimi began to react to the approaching missile, it made a quick turn and hit her interceptor on the top. The large explosion told Azuk enough about the state of the interceptor.

As the burst cleared, Azuk saw an ejection seat moving upward. "What are you doing Azuk?" Rahimi screamed through communications in the Tesgno language. The screaming sounded like it was full of anger.

"Failure to comply with an order is desertion." Azuk said as he turned toward the seat. "Desertion can be punished by summary execution at the discretion of the commanding officer." He switched to the Tesgno language as he approached Rahimi's seat. "And for you, you had this coming. You should have taken the fall with me, and now you get to burn." Azuk set his weapons as the graser pods and set the distance to target the eject seat.

"Hold on Azuk, don't do this!" Rahimi screamed out again, this time with a very blatant overtone of desperation and almost apologetically.

It was too late for that though. Azuk opened fire with the grasers and watched as the pulses fired off toward Rahimi. Rahimi screamed in terror and one final 'I'm sorry' before the grasers hit her and the communications cut out. "Command, Hunter 4 refused to comply with an order." Azuk said over the command channel. "They've been executed for their disobedience."

Almost immediately the commander said, "Understood Hunter Lead. Carry on."

Azuk flew past the eject seat and took a glance at Rahimi. He was almost certain that she had in fact survived the one shot somehow, but he knew it wouldn't be much longer for her. No one was coming for her out here, just like no one had come for him for years despite the fact that Rahimi could have pulled strings to get him out of prison. There was a time that Azuk once cared for Rahimi, but with her dead he felt nothing but hatred for the memory of her. That she was gone was a blessing.

As Azuk handled Rahimi, Hunter 3 had launched his torpedo. Azuk only noticed this because the flash of light of the fusion impact got his attention as he got back into formation with Hunter 2 and 3. Now that New Home's space was more or less clear, the mission was to wait for the Tesgno fleet to arrive to bait them into the trap. It would be simple as staying in orbit of New Home so that the surface military installations would report the detonation of the spaceport and the appearance of interceptors.

About half an hour passed as the now ten interceptors orbited New Home before the first signs of the Tesgno fleet appeared. The first ship to arrive at New Home was the Caliphate's sole battleship escorted by a pair of light cruisers. As soon as they appeared, Andromeda had her squadron moving on the three ships to relieve Azuk's squadron given they were running low on weaponry and may need it. Andromeda's interceptors made short work of the Tesgno ships and then returned to the second line behind the Hunter squadron.

Shortly after they returned to formation, sensors picked up the various signatures of warp jumps. Azuk had both squadrons begin to move toward the signatures knowing full well those were the ships of the Tesgno fleet. Knowing they needed to know, Azuk informed the Imperial fleet that the Tesgno were arriving. As the first ships of the Tesgno fleet arrived, with the dreadnought coming out first, the Imperial Navy arrived at a 1.5 million kilometer distance - a close range fleet engagement by most standards.

"Hunter Squadron, you are being put onto a new mission." The flight controller said. "Killer Squadron will engage the enemy fleet. Your assignment is to intercept this vessel." Shortly after she said that, a marker appeared on Azuk's HUD. "Judging by information you provided us, we believe that this is the Caliph's ship. The Admiral wants them alive."

Azuk gripped the controls of the interceptor tightly. He was hoping he'd be able to kill the Caliph, but now the Empire wanted him alive? He understood, somewhat, but he hated the idea that he would have to save or capture him. "Very well. How are we capturing him? Just disabling the engines?"

"That's right. There's a Marine shuttle on standby." The flight controller said. "Take out the engines, maybe disable any weapons, and cover the shuttle while the Marines get the Caliph."

"What will happen if, for some reason, the Caliph was killed unintentionally?" Azuk asked.

"While he'd be a valuable asset, we have plans to seize the planet without his compliance. It would simply make things easier for us." The controller said. "The Admiral wants the Caliph alive. Make sure this happens Lieutenant."

"Will do. Diverting course now." Azuk said as he turned the formation toward the target now on his HUD. Once he and the two other pilots were turned on an intercept course, Azuk switched to squadron communications. "They want us to capture the Caliph." He said. "Disable the engines of the target ship and then cover the Marines that will breach and capture."

"What can we expect there?" Hunter 2 asked.

"No idea. I know the Caliph's personal ship is just an Omniwatch built yacht. It shouldn't be armed, but it is at least modern." Azuk said. "Prepare for warp jump. We need to hit them before they can reach the gate to Sirius."

If for some reason the Caliph made it to Sirius, they'd definitely be able to alert the Alliance to the Empire's activity in the system. They could easily mobilize the fleet, and the corporations, to fight the Empire. It was inevitable that the Alliance would know they are here, but not yet. It was only a matter of time before they would arrive in Procyon to dislodge the Empire. They had to move quickly. If Procyon fell, the Alliance would have problems in retaking the system, or so Azuk hoped would be the case.

The warp cores activated and shot the three interceptors clear across the system within a few thousand kilometers of the Caliph's yacht. At this distance it was still not visible, but it had slowed down noticeably at the arrival of the interceptors. Azuk set his communications to the local range and said, "Caliph Mahid, you are ordered, on the authority of the Imperial Navy, to stop your ship and prepare for boarding. Do not resist. We do not want a corpse. Your fleet is burning over New Home. If you comply with the Marines, we can guarantee your safety. You know as well as I do that the Alliance won't guarantee that."

"Who is this?" The Caliph asked after about a minute of silence. Azuk knew the voice from the endless propaganda as he was growing up and during the years of the holy wars that tore Great Home apart for two decades just before the incident that put him in prison.

"Lieutenant Azukhannja Tulrikvah, former Procyon Defense Force pilot, current Imperial pilot." Azuk said. "Will you comply?"

The silence on the other end was long, but eventually Azuk detected the firing of the retrograde thrusters on the yacht. "I will comply, Lieutenant." The Caliph said. "I expect to talk to you when this over."

If he didn't have a mission to do, he'd have told him that would never happen. Instead Azuk just said, _"Very well. Standby for boarding."_He switched back to the standard communications. "The Caliph has stood down according to him. The Marines are clear to board. We'll sweep the area. I'd say expect resistance since I can't trust the Caliph not to resist."

"Understood Tulrikvah. We'll monitor them. Carry on with covering them." The controller said.

He hadn't expected this to go nearly as well as this, so Azuk relaxed somewhat as he and the other two kept their formation while flying an orbit around the yacht at about a ten-kilometer range. The scanner was perfectly clear of hostiles as the Marine shuttle arrived. Even as the shuttle docked with the yacht, there was no sign of any hostiles approaching. Across the system though Azuk could see faint flashes of light around Procyon VII as the two fleets engaged each other with nuclear and antimatter weapons. Azuk knew the Empire was winning, but he had to imagine the Caliphate was putting up a hard fight.

"Marines onboard, Hunter. Make sure we don't have trouble out there." Captain Trovato said. That she was leading the operation seemed odd to him, but he supposed that she was in the best position to actually do so.

"Will do Captain." Azuk said as he checked the sensors again. As before, the sensors remained clear as the interceptors finished half the orbit around the yacht.

The sensors remained clear through the entire Marine operation. It surprised Azuk that no one had moved to help the Caliph, let alone the fact that he no escort. He could only assume that the fight with the Imperial Navy had the entire fleet tied up with no reinforcements to spare. If that were truly the case, he assumed any survivors would be beaten and hardly a threat if any jumped away. He was pretty sure the Caliph would have told the commanders never to retreat as he ran.

"We're undocking now. We had no resistance on board. The Caliph is secure." Captain Trovato aid. "I might owe you a drink when this is over, Tulrikvah. We're heading back to the Trimalchio now. You'll probably be needed there to deal with this guy."

"Understood Captain. We'll get over as soon as possible." Azuk said as he adjusted the interceptor course to take them by, and above, the marine shuttle as it left the yacht. "Command, this is Hunter One the Caliph is secure. The Marines are on the way. What are our orders?" Azuk asked as he changed the communications channel.

"Their fleet is holding on." The flight controller said. "It's falling apart but they don't seem intent on surrendering or fleeing. Killer Squadron is tearing apart the smaller ships. Hunter, you're clear to head back to the Trimalchio for rearming and refueling. This phase is complete for you."

"Understood command. Locking formation with the marine shuttle and we'll be there alongside them." Azuk said as he changed to the marine channel. "Captain Trovato, orders are to return to Trimalchio. You'll have us as an escort all the way back."

"Sounds good Hunter." Trovato said. "We'll be activating warp shortly, so it won't be long."

After locking in the formation, with the three interceptors filling the three spaces to the left, right, and behind the marine shuttle, Azuk simply waited for the warp alert. That came after a few minutes, and the interceptors and shuttle jumped back to the dreadnought with no further issues. The Trimalchio_had pulled out of the fighting, apparently, as it had moved behind New Home as the rest of the fleet was engaged still. As the ships drew closer, it became apparent that the _Trimalchio had taken a few hits, but was still fully operational.

The interceptors and shuttle were all bound for the same hangar, but Azuk still broke the formation so they could get into landing faster. They weren't in desperate need of refueling, but spending the minimum amount of time out here was best. He was sure the Trimalchio could easily handle any stragglers that wanted to take it on, so their being out in space was unnecessary.

In all, the landing took only a matter of minutes as the interceptors set down on their pads. As soon as the engines powered down, the deck crew moved stairs over to the sides of the interceptors. Azuk was quick to open the canopy of the interceptor, the seal hissing as it was broken and the slightly different pressures equalized, and climbed out. Knowing that the first phase was effectively over, he could use the short break. The second phase would be easier, but it may take longer. It'd need a refit of weapons from the torpedoes to bombs if the mission was still on as he had expected.

He chose to walk over to the Marine shuttle, which had landed two pads to his left, to see if they needed help with the Caliph. As he approached, the side door of the shuttle opened, followed by two hulking marines in massive suits of powered armor. It was far beyond anything he had seen before outside of the Omniwatch heavy assault suits. The dark blue suits stood out partially because of a few silver colored markings near edges, which Azuk had to assume were some sort of simplified rank system. Those two were followed by two more in all dark blue suits with the Caliph between them. The already large Caliph, who stood just over two meters, was dwarfed by the three meter suits. If they were like the Omniwatch suits, Azuk knew they had to be larger just for the sake of intimidating size. He could attest it worked.

The Caliph looked up and glanced at Azuk for a moment. Since Azuk's helmet was transparent, the Caliph surely knew that he was the one Tesgno on board the ship. He turned away as he followed the Marines into the ship. Finally, at the back, two more with plain suits stepped out followed by the last one in a suit with gold markings on it. He had to assume that was the Captain and that his guess was actually correct.

"I appreciate the escort, Tulrikvah." Captain Trovato said in a robotic sounding voice from the helmet as she waved for him to follow. Not about to cross a suit like that, Azuk followed by the Captain's side. "The Admiral wants you to talk to the Caliph. If we can get him to cooperate, we can secure the planet without any more bloodshed." She said.

"He'll probably call me a traitor and a heretic." Azuk said.

"Heretic?" Trovato asked, genuinely sounding confused.

"Great Home is a powder keg of religious tension, and it's all due to the Caliph." Azuk said. "I happen to still follow one of the opposing faiths to the one his government tries to push. I am sure he'll be able to tell. I am also fairly certain he knows who I am since I was all over the news for a while years ago."

The media storm around his arrest and sentencing was something Azuk had forgotten about for the most part. He had been effectively convicted by the Alliance media long before the trial ever began. When it finally did, he found himself before an Alliance tribunal rather than a Tesgno one and being charged with breaking Alliance protocol. The Caliph wanted to bring the Caliphate into the Alliance just so he could siphon the money from the Alliance into his account and that of his cronies, and Azuk was infamous for his actions in the first contact. It pushed the Caliphate almost into Alliance hands.

"Well, whatever happens, there will be security teams standing by." Trovato said. "Just don't start a fight with him and we'll see what we can do. Make it very clear though that if he doesn't cooperate, we'll just bomb all the urban areas and then occupy the planet. If he cooperates and makes any ground forces stand down and the civilians complacent, then he can maintain some level of authority in the Imperial transitional government."

"That may win him over." Azuk said, knowing how the Caliph wouldn't want to lose power. "I'll try. That's all I can promise."

Trovato nodded, probably. Azuk couldn't tell given the size of the suit. He continued to follow her into the dreadnought. She didn't get out of the suit, but it seemed the corridors could support her anyway. As they reached the security area some time later, the Marines were still in their suits as they stood in the lobby. The Caliph, Azuk assumed, was already moved inside.

"Sergeant, open up. We're talking to the Caliph." Trovato said. At the desk, a Marine, or at least the uniform matched a marine, sat and looked up to Trovato. "I believe you were notified that we were coming."

"Yes ma'am," the marine said before going through the computer. "The prisoner is in interrogation room four ma'am. I would recommend getting out of the suit, but that's up to you."

"The recommendation is noted." Trovato said. "Tulrikvah, come."

Azuk didn't argue, yet again, as he followed Trovato into the security wing. As they moved down the hall, various security personnel moved quickly out of the way for the suit. Azuk fell back slightly to look to the ceiling, only to see that the suit was almost touching the ceiling. Satisfied that he knew she had almost no clearance above, Azuk caught up again. Finally, they came to an open central area with desks and Trovato made a left into a small room. She had to duck down quite a bit to step in. Once she was in, Azuk followed and found it was, indeed, a very small interrogation room. The marine was correct about recommending she get out of the suit.

In the center of the room rested a table and two chairs, though one chair had the Caliph in it. As soon as Azuk entered, his eyes were on him. "Caliph Mahid. Good to see you." Azuk said as he sat down. "Suffice it to say, you're not in a great position here."

"Why are you fighting for them?" The Caliph asked, unbothered by the fact that he was chained to the chair and unable to actually move much beyond putting his hands on the desk.

"I suppose I can entertain that question." Azuk said as he crossed his legs and leaned back into the chair fully. "You decided the Alliance was worth more than justice. I rotted in prison for years. Onmiwatch discarded me. These people at least respect capability and have made a substantial offer. I am not the only one that took the offer."

"The Alliance is our future." Mahid said with some level of desperation. "How long can the Caliphate stand on its own as the Alliance grows? How long before they exploit us like they do the Brakians?"

"No longer." Azuk said. "The Empire is here to bring a new government into the sector. That's why you are here instead of executed. Do you think the Alliance will tolerate a traitor to their cause? Remember, they tried me on their protocol and law when it didn't apply. You'll be tried under their law too simply for being here."

The Caliph looked down, then shook his head and looked back to Azuk. "The Alliance has put pressure on me for years to bend to them. A small demand, a small request there. Your release to Omniwatch came from the Alliance."

Azuk didn't know that part. The fact that Omniwatch listened to the Alliance was unusual. Omniwatch could easily take on the Alliance and still win. He supposed there had to be more at work than the Alliance simply asking Omniwatch to take him as a temporary employee. Given his connections to rebel elements on Great Home, Azuk had to assume the idea was to get him killed where no one would care, but that very clearly failed.

"Regardless of the Alliance, you are here because the Empire wants to deal." Azuk said, noting that the Caliph's eyes glanced to Trovato and her suit for a moment. "She's just here-"

"That's a she?" The Caliph asked.

That gave Azuk a smirk. The Caliph had a point. In the suit, it was very hard to tell. "It is, under the suit at least." Azuk said. "Nonetheless, she's just here to observe. Listen, the Empire wants to offer you a position in the transitional government. All you have to do is tell the armed forces to stand down and the civilians not to resist. The Empire doesn't want unnecessary bloodshed, but they are willing to shed it if that's the only option."

The Caliph tilted his head. "What does that mean?"

Azuk took a deep breath. "The Empire intends to lay waste to Great Home's urban areas and subjugate the rural areas if an agreement cannot be reached here. You were captured because you have some value. All you have to do is make the people stand down and accept our occupation, within reason, and you will retain some authority in the transition and afterward."

"You are one of the pilots. Are you going to be dropping the bombs?" The Caliph asked.

"Yes." Azuk said plainly. "Those would be my orders, and it would be no loss to me. But this isn't about me. Mahid, do you want to be known as the last Caliph, or the one that brought in a new golden age?"

"I'd rather die than let Great Home be laid to waste." The Caliph said. "I shouldn't do this, but if the Empire wants such a simple request done, I will do it."

Azuk nodded to Trovato who turned and left the interrogation room. He assumed that they had a plan for him to cooperate. Once she was gone, Azuk and the Caliph sat in a very uncomfortable silence for the next several minutes. There was no clock in the room, so Azuk had no idea just how long it actually was. All he knew is that the Caliph said nothing and he had no intention of starting a casual conversation. He got what he wanted and needed.

Finally, Trovato returned, this time outside her suit, with another marine and a cart. Azuk knew it was a long-range communications system. If they brought that in, they would probably record him here and then broadcast it straight to Great Home. Azuk stood up so that the other marine could set up the system on the desk. He set a camera on the table, facing the Caliph, and Azuk watched the whole set up next to Trovato. After several more minutes of making sure everything was working, the marine plugged the system in and started it up.

"We are in our communications system. We can hijack the Great Home planetary broadcast in a few minutes. The techs up in comms needs to get that set up. We're almost to Great Home anyway." The marine said. The silence in the room seemed to last forever as the marine wanted for confirmation on the communications. Finally he gave a thumb up. "We're taking over in ten seconds."

"Ten seconds. You should make yourself presentable." Azuk said. He was only slightly surprised as the Caliph did just that, changing from an almost defeated slump to an upright, confident stare into the camera.

Again the marine gave a thumb up. "People of Great Home, this is Caliph Mahid. I am coming to you from aboard one of the invader's warships. They requested a meeting with me directly. We have discussed much and come to some agreements, and some issues of argument. As it stands, they are ready to commence an operation on Great Home that will leave billions dead if they cannot secure my cooperation. I cannot allow this to happen." The Caliph said in a careful tone, inserting pauses for effect where necessary. "However I cannot surrender our sovereignty to a foreign state. We must fight back. The Caliphate of Procyon will stand firm against these invaders so long as I live."

A loud bang filled the room, almost deafening in the small quarters. When Azuk finally looked around, he saw Captain Trovato holding a smoking pistol and the Caliph had a shot blown through his head and a large splatter against the back wall. Azuk just stared at the mess, shocked at the fact that it happened so quickly and that the Caliph actually went back on what he said. He just signed off on the death of the entire planet effectively. Azuk just took a deep breath. While the Caliph had done it, it was he that would be dropping the bombs.

"It was fitting." Trovato said as she dropped the pistol into a holster. She looked to the marine. "Was that recorded?"

"Yes ma'am. That was just all over their media." The marine said.

"And all over our wall. Let's get a janitor team in here." Trovato said before looking to Tulrikvah but couldn't say anything before both hers and Azuk's headsets had activated on the command channel.

"All flight leaders, be aware that we are not launching operations against Great Home." The Admiral said. "We have just received a simple declaration of surrender from the government on the surface. Second phase is complete. Excellent work crew. Captain Trovato and Lieutenant Tulrikvah, report to my office immediately."

Azuk and Trovato just glanced at each other. There was a moment of understanding between two officers that they were likely about to face some serious consequences for shooting the Caliph. Or at least, Azuk knew, Trovato would be getting the consequences. As soon as that thought came to mind though, Azuk put it aside. Rahimi had done effectively the same thing to him. If anything he was willing to take the fall for this whole mess.

In silence, the two moved through the ship and up to the Admiral's office. The marines on that deck were, of course, aware that they were on the way and opened the doors into the corridor. When the two arrived at the admiral's office, the doors opened immediately and both Azuk and Trovato stepped into the office. Behind the desk the Admiral was watching something on her computer. Trovato and Azuk moved up to the desk and stopped when the Admiral finally looked to them.

"Was that really necessary?" The Admiral asked.

Azuk spoke up first. "No ma'am, however the fact he refused to comply meant it was inevitable. I believe that the shot, given that he said that the Caliphate would fight as long as he lived, was rather fitting though."

"Who fired?" The Admiral then asked almost immediately after Azuk stopped speaking.

"I did, ma'am." Trovato said.

"Noted." The Admiral said. "I can't really do anything about this since it was a less than conventional situation. It was handled very poorly, but it had the results we wanted. The government surrendered, and I believe it's because of the shock of having their religious leader killed on global media with zero censoring. I may put you both in for a medal for this, but it will be for other reasons. It was still good work, despite the issue. Tulrikvah, Trovato, you're dismissed. Get some rest or something. Neither of you are going to the ground any time soon and we're preparing the next phase."

Both of them saluted and then left the office quickly without another word. They waited until they were in the corridor past the marines before they chose to speak. "I was expecting something worse." Azuk said.

"I know the Admiral, but it seemed to quick to be anything but anger." Trovato said. "I will take her up on her idea though. I owe you a drink at least for the cover back here. I'll meet you in the officer's fore bar. I assume you want out of the flight suit."

"Absolutely." Azuk said, finally remembering that he was still in the suit. It was almost comfortable enough that he would have forgotten about it. "I will meet you there, definitely."

With a nod from Trovato, she broke off and head down the corridor as Azuk broke off to head for the flight deck to get out of the suit. He needed a drink, though he was thankful he didn't have to bomb Great Home. It would have been a disaster if it came to that. Four billion live on the planet. He was sure almost all of those would be killed in a campaign against the urban areas.

As he said, Azuk moved down to the flight deck, removed the flight suit, and then returned to his cabin. He found that one of the closets was a compact, all-in-one bathroom sort of system. He took advantage of that to get a shower before changing into his all light grey service uniform for the first time. He figured if he was going to a lounge, he should at least wear something that looks decent compared to the blue utility uniform.

After checking the location on his datapad, Azuk finally worked his way through the ship to almost the very front tip of the dreadnought. As he stepped into the lounge, he found it almost entirely empty, but he did note the large windows that showed Great Home below. It didn't take long for him to finally settle on Trovato sitting at the bar counter. Aside from her, only a few other officers were in the lounge. At a glance it seemed that she had the same idea as Azuk as she wore a tan colored uniform that looked similar in style to his uniform.

"It took you long enough." Trovato said as Azuk sat down next to her. "Good to see you actually showed up though. I assume you don't know anything from the Empire as far as drinks go?"

"I don't, no. This is the first time in any bar on this ship." Azuk said as he leaned onto the bar, somewhat copying Trovato as she had gotten comfortable with her drink.

Trovato nodded. "Alright. Well, I'll get you something from Haroma." She snapped a finger to get the bartender's attention since he was off doing something. When he turned around, Trovato said, "Haromian mead for the new guy here." The bartender just nodded. "I think something light would work for you."

"I appreciate the confidence." Azuk said somewhat sarcastically. "So-"

He was cut off almost immediately by Trovato. "Tell you about myself?" She said. Azuk raised a brow at the response, because that was exactly what he was going to ask. "Honestly, I am just a marine. Nothing more, nothing less."

"So you're a brute with no sense of culture? Understood Captain." Azuk said with a smirk.

Trovato chuckled a bit. "I wouldn't go that far. Still, what it boils down to is I felt the drive to serve the Empire, so I joined the Marines, got trained in battlesuit use, served a year or two before getting accepted into officer training, and now I am here across the galaxy fighting a war no one will give a damn about back home. Unless we lose that is."

"I don't think we can lose. This fell without much of a fight. There's really only one other system to really break the Alliance." Azuk said. He smiled a bit at the thought. "Unless you're telling me we're going to hit Sol."

"We are." Trovato said, and Azuk's smile faded. "That's the next phase; an assault on Sol. Our probes have returned interesting details. Command has already authorized shock and awe tactics against Mars and Earth. It's a simple assault and destroy operation. Break morale and then clean up stragglers."

He didn't think the Empire would already go for Sol. It is, simply put, suicidal. The system is extremely well defended by the local Earth nation fleets plus the Alliance Home Fleet. They'd be up against the bulk of the navy in the sector, not to mention corporate reinforcements that would flock to Sol to stop the Empire. It wasn't going to be as simple as going in to destroy and clean up. They would be massacred unless they dedicated overwhelming numbers.

"That won't work. What happens if the fleet is destroyed?" Azuk asked.

"We will be fine." Trovato said. "We as in me and you, since there won't be interceptor flights until the fleet is dealt with and the Marines aren't going down. If we lose, we withdraw direct to Imperial space and abandon Procyon. Command isn't dedicating anymore forces but they want Sol razed. The Admiral knows it won't happen, so it will be a careful attack."

Azuk just shook his head. "Well, I'll deal with it as it comes I suppose. Other than that, what about you? You know all this and you're just a Captain."

That got a smile from Trovato despit the previous conversation. "My father is the Imperial Marshal. I unfortunately can get my hands on some information that others won't. It's not necessarily classified, but it is meant for the admiralty mostly."

"Well what of you then?" Azuk asked again in a different manner. "You're hiding a lot."

"I just do my duty. Honestly you're the first one I've had a drink with in a while." Trovato said. "You're not from the Empire, so you don't know me simply by name recognition and that's a nice change. I guess to answer though, I am what I am. A wolf hybrid from a rural backwater that joined the Marines because it was better than farming." She paused a moment to take a sip from her drink. "I think I should have stuck to farming. What about you then?"

Finally the mead showed up in front of Azuk, but he didn't touch it yet. "Jungle Tesgno from the Tomatov Archipelago. Joined the Procyon Defense Force because I enjoyed flying the crop duster for the family farm. Sure enough they accepted me and I was qualified as an interceptor pilot. Then I got arrested and thrown in prison, which is basically where you all got me."

"Well, it's good to have you aboard." Trovato said. "I think you made the right choice. For what it's worth, I actually like working with you. You know what you're doing it seems."

"And I do like getting stuck with a marine that isn't just challenging me to a sparring match or something." Azuk said, earning a chuckle from the Captain. "I almost hope this wraps up though. I am pretty much ready to finally settle down in the Empire somewhere and just... forget."

"What would you even settle down for?" Trovato asked. "I want to be out there exploring things, not stuck on a dreadnought on the other side of the galaxy. I guess I am still exploring, but from the comfort of a ship rather than on the ground." She let out a long yawn. "Alright, well, I need to get some sleep, I'm probably going to be drunk by the time I get to my quarters, neither of us need to be anywhere, and I get real officer's quarters instead of your closet. Want to come with me?"

Azuk just blinked at the question. He assumed she had to be drunk already to even ask that. "I... would rather not. I'm not... well, I don't really care for women." He stumbled over that slightly because he knew admitting that in the Caliphate would have gotten him killed, but he supposed it was less strict in the Empire.

That still earned a blink from Trovato though before she started laughing, which only served to further embarrass Azuk for mentioning that. When she finally calmed down a bit, she put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Don't worry about that, just trust me. I figure we can get a drink down there at least. Come on. You'll be fine."

Against his better judgement Azuk let out a sigh and said, "Alright. Fine." He decided to relent just this once just because, despite his reservations, he was almost curious.

Great Home, Tomatov City

July 23

Azuk had been granted a day off, including off ship. Since the Army landed at Macavah first, it was decided that it was still largely a safe location and he was given authorization to go down since he lived on the planet. Under escort, Azuk had gotten clearance to go to Tomatov City - his home. The Army had landed there the day before with fanfare from the citizens, most of which opposed the Caliph and the Caliphate. It was as if their arrival was a liberation rather than an occupation.

One Army soldier was left with Azuk for security while he was on the ground. Given his newfound status, he opted to wear his uniform to the surface, supposing it would dissuade most people from attacking him. He lived in one of the most crime ridden parts of the city, or at least he assumed he still did. The housing granted to him was government owned, so they likely still kept it intact and unbothered other than maybe assigning a caretaker to make sure things were clean.

The Army also loaned Azuk a single transport vehicle to get through the city unhindered. The Army escort as a whole seemed unnecessary, but Azuk couldn't complain about it too much since they were there for his security. He didn't even want to come back down, but since the opportunity presented itself he had to get a few things from home.

"You live here?" The soldier, and driver asked as he turned down the small street.

The street was barely large enough to fit the transport and the street itself was still covered in a layer of grime with trash scattered all around. It looked as run down as any Earth ghetto, Azuk knew but it was still home. He knew the people and they knew he was PDF. They didn't tend to mess with him and he made friends with some of the more dangerous people in order to protect his property in case someone tried to break in.

As soon as the vehicle came to a stop, Azuk stepped out. He had his boots on, thankfully, as he stepped out and walked around the front, still sore from the night before. They had parked right in front of his house. It remained as run down as it had before he was arrested, but it seemed even more abandoned. Still, Azuk walked up the stairs to the house and felt around the brick front. After a moment of looking, he found the loose brick and pulled it out to get to his spare key. He hesitated as he looked over the small key before unlocking the door and stepping in.

"Who's there?" A male voice said from further inside. Azuk also heard the click of a pistol.

"Tulrikvah. I own this place." Azuk said from the door.

There was a silence from inside. "Oh. Come on in then." Azuk hesitantly stepped inside only to see a slightly overweight Tesgno sitting on a couch across from a television. Next to them was a pistol on the couch. "Yeah the government had me taking care of the house the last few years." The guy said. "You didn't seem to be coming back, so I sort of made it a home you know?"

Azuk rolled his eyes. He couldn't blame him, but it still seemed ridiculous. "Where's the cat?" He finally asked.

"Oh he's in the kitchen right now." The guy said. "I guess you were just getting a few things or something?"

"That's all, yes. Not much here that matters anymore." Azuk said.

"Ain't that the truth." The guy still kept his eyes glued to the television as Azuk moved toward the kitchen. "So you hear about that alien occupation going on?"

Azuk didn't answer as he stepped into the kitchen. The only thing he had come back for, of all things, was his cat. It was a gift to him from a friend from Earth who had a ridiculous sense of humor. They had exchanged pictures at one point and the friend decided to send Azuk a cat that had almost the same fur pattern as he did. As he stepped into the kitchen, the cat almost immediately took note of him and ran up to rub against his legs. Azuk didn't hesitate to pick the cat up and hold him. The cat also didn't hesitate to squirm out of his hold and then climb up onto his shoulders. Azuk knew the cat would stay there, probably, so he left the kitchen.

At this point the guy finally noticed Azuk as more than just being there. "Wait, what's with the uniform?" They asked as Azuk walked past.

"I'm an officer in the Imperial Navy." Azuk said, knowing that 'Imperial Navy' was also the name of the former Tesgno fleet and current space debris over Procyon VII.

"Good to hear. Be careful I guess." The guy said as Azuk left.

With the cat in hand, or on shoulders he supposed, Azuk was happy enough. The one Army soldier at the transport just shook his head as he realized that all Azuk got was a cat, but he said nothing about it as the two climbed into the vehicle again. Azuk set his cat in his lap as they started down the road back to the spaceport. The cat started to purr as Azuk pet it, and he enjoyed the moment of peace because he knew that the battle for Sol was coming up. Any peace and happiness would be nice before that happened.