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Magnum is in the mess hall, trying to enjoy a meal but is having some trouble with looks from the ship crew, from his experience being a mystic and having his reputation are a perfect combination for gossip and drawing attention. He purposely avoids crowds for this very reason, preferring life in the cold void where not many eyes train to him if at all. With a long 12 hour sleep under his belt he feels a lot better, though his mind is still a little worn.

"Mind if we join you?" as Marouge and Porralla come into view with their food.

Magnum glances them with a weak smile and he says "Not at all."

As they take their seats Marouge says "So you are capable of giving a smile." with a light snicker.

Magnum gives a sigh and he says "I haven't really had much to smile about lately."

Porralla wonders what to ask him, even well rested he still looks kind of down and gloomy and she says "Magnum, I was wondering if we can get know you and I'm sure you would like to get to know us." giving a shy smile.

Magnum looks to the two ladies with Marouge giving an affirmative nod and he says "S-Sure, what would you like to know?" deciding to see about opening up.

Marouge gives a soft giggle and she says "This isn't an interrogation Magnum."

Porralla says "Where are you from?"

Magnum can already see the looks being given to them, ears being perked as they search for information and he says "I'm from Earth, it's an M-Class planet in the Milkey Way Galaxy which is a few galaxies over."

Marouge says "Hmm, not that many come from that galaxy." her curiosity getting sparked,

Magnum says "Truth be told my ship is incapable of traveling from one galaxy to the next, after some digging and research I found my way through rifts and other phenomena, thankfully the shields and hull held for each incursion. If it wasn't for Elvo I may not have made it."

Porralla blinks and she says "Elvo? Is she on your ship?" getting excited.

Magnum knows what she means and he says "Evolutionary Learning Virtual Overseer, Elvo is my ships a.i. and has been pretty helpful. You see my ship is fully automated and can run on it's own if need be."

Both ladies stare at his statement and Porralla says "An artificial intelligence?"

Magnum gives a nod and he says "Yeah, she was already built into the ship when I found it adrift. She isn't much of a talker like me but our company to each other makes the voyages better to manage. Her memory systems have become erased to a degree, so she doesn't know where she came from and given the ship was a wreck with no markings or numbers, so I couldn't track anything." with a slight shrug towards the end.

Marouge says "So you didn't really have to do any modifications?"

Magnum lightly shakes his head "Heh, I wish that was the case. When I found the ship it basically was a wreck, I had to salvage what I could and it was a gradual process, converting the ship was easy, acquiring what was needed is another story. But the Howl of Silver has turned into quite a vessel and giving Elvo access to the rest of the ship removes the need for a crew entirely, I also use robots for security and maintenance, all guided by Elvo as well."

The mystics words form quite a picture in their minds, Magnum is the only living soul on the ship, surrounded by the cold essence of technology no contact with any our person in the ships holdings outside of the artificial intelligence. They begin to wonder what that would be like if their ships were like that, a capable machine having replace most of not all functions of a ship and having a mind of it's own while only a handful of people maintain the bridge, armed machines patrolling instead of bodies of flesh and bone. To many it is a nightmare scenario, as there have been cases of robot uprising throughout history, yet Magnum seems to have found a way to make it work.

Porralla says "You sound like quite the engineer, I can only imagine the marvelous works you have done." intrigued by his disposition.

The mystic says "Well, most of my creations relate to my suits. But I have helped other systems by providing the means for water and food production, just enough for them to start a new and I also give the schematics needed.", his features sadden as he glances away "After all, burnt crops aren't the best thing for you."

Marouge says "I have heard of your humanitarian efforts, though it is over-shadowed by your combat record. Many say it doesn't make up for the loss of life, but many haven't been in the situations you or I have been in." as she crosses her arms.

Magnum says "It is what it is, I understand if they have malice towards me. But being a freeblade is my life, it is a hard one but I've learned how to make it work." with a shrug.

Porralla notices something strange, she can see what looks like frost breath, something that someone does when they speak when it's really cold out. Given that there is nothing wrong with the ships atmospheric systems, it must have something to do with the mystic himself. He was talking but he was still reclusive to a degree, then again the conversation got a little off topic.

The weasel says "What are your interests? You are excellent with technology, but is there anything else that has your fancy?"

Magnum thinks for a few moments and he says "Well, I enjoy astrology and archeology, plus I am well versed in biology. Though I also enjoy games, like solitaire as well as video games from my small stock, I enjoy reading and occasion I do like to draw."

Marouge says "I can see you being a good teacher, if you decide to retire from being a crusader." with an encouraging smile.

Magnum goes to say something but the speakers say "Captain and Freeblade Magnum, please report to the bridge."

The three get up and they make their way to the bridge, they arrive to see a stallion adorned in articulate armor sitting on a small throne, beside him is a massive warhammer, his mane a dyed crimson that rivals blood in color, his features showing deep scars from past battles like the few trophies mounted on his armor and his eyes a baleful deep green.

The stallion sees them and he says "Captain Lequo and Freeblade Magnum, I am glad that we can finally meet up. The enemy was stubborn, but we proved to be the better force."

Magnum bows his head as he says "Master Koress." with Marouge doing the same.

Marouge looks to him as she takes her chair and she says "The enemy has lost a lot of ground, all that remains is their command fleet."

Koress says "These cultists will be crushed in the next few hours, it's a shame though that this young order turned renegade. We'll give them the mercy killing they need."

Magnum says "I request to be part of the first wave."

Koress gives a hardy laugh and he says "Already done, you'll be fighting alongside Lancer Derra. His squad is tasked with attacking the main vessel, he is reckless but I am sure you can make him more level."

Magnum gives a firm nod and he says "I understand."

Koress says "I have deployed their strike cruiser to your location, they should be arriving in roughly fifteen minutes at their current speed."

Magnum says "I'll make preparations to transfer to their ship upon their arrival, my power armor is already primed."

With that Koress bids them farewell and end his transmission, Marouge and Magnum share a look, they both simply want this mission to be over. The vixen wishes the wolf luck and he does the same to her, this operation has brought them into conflict with an apocalypse-knight order, the Metal Howlers. An order only formed five years ago, their crusade having them working with a dangerous cult, purging innocent systems and raiding caverns... for reasons only they know. But their renegade status is one that can't be ignored, early on they could have made a case at redemption, but that time has long passed. A light cruiser size ship arrives, to which Magnum is already suited up and boards with Magnum's ship moving in formation with theirs. Magnum eyes the heavily equipped squad of power armor troops, most armed with plasma and power weaponry, then there's Derra, the lancer of their squad. A rather young hyena, he has silver studs lining his jaw line, his left eye having been lost long ago in combat is now a cybernetic implant, a power sword resting on his left hip, a phaser mounted on his left wrist and a chain around his neck with jewelry hanging off of it, taken from duals against worthy opponants in war, his silver hair sending a sheen to it.

Magnum approaches him and he says "Lancer Derra?"

Derra looks to him with those brown eyes of his and he says "I was wondering when you were going to talk, I guess what I heard is true. The mystic isn't one for talking, he silently strides into the fray instead.", his servos whirring as he changes his stance.

Magnum says "We are both here for the same thing Derra, to claim victory and to destroy the renegades."

Derra puts on a smirk, he says "We've got some time, how about we kill some of it? Would you be up for a spar."

Magnum raises an eyebrow as this catches the attention of Derra's squad, he sighs and he says "This close to being deployed?"

Derra gives off a laugh as if the mystic just told a joke and he says "It is my squads tradition, though a duel between us will amp them up more then then the typical spar. We practice this with real power weapons and armor as well, it adds to the challenge." as he readies his power sword.

Magnum is amazed at what he's hearing, the lethality is beyond what he would ever expect in a spar, he decides to draw his sword and the two get ready, at the very least he'll humor the knight.

The two begin to circle each other as Derra draws breath "I have heard of your powers, they obviously aren't permitted."

The two knights stop circling as they brace, their swords energized with eager power, ready to cleave an enemy in half, Magnum coldly scans his opponent like a machine while Derra bares his teeth is an eager smile. He had heard of the prowess of the mystic and seen all kinds of footage, he was eager to see how much steel the mystic really had. Both engage each other at the same time, their swords striking each other, the power fields sending sparks and light in every direction as they press together. The servos of Derra's suit whir while the muscle fiber units in Magnum's remain silent, they force each other back and each delivers a follow up swing and the powered blades deflect each other in glorious light.

The two begin to circle one more as the hyena speaks "Such a cold gaze, focus so sharp it can cut steel and your technique is spot on... but I don't sense much passion behind it.", he advances with a great swing which Magnum catches and parries and he says "It's almost like your a machine in of itself."

Magnum says "Do you always converse like this?", he does a charge of his own with a balanced swing, Derra blocks but he gets forced back.

Derra regains himself, the cutting power of that swing was impressive, if he didn't have such a firm grasp on his blade it would have flown across the room...but he did feel some emotion behind that swing, it was different compared to the others. Derra decides to do an onslaught of strikes and so he charges the mystic, his sword swinging on point with thrusts mixed in, Magnum either deflects the strikes or dodges outright, Derra's last move is a hefty swing which Magnum blocks and locks into place, both the hyena and the wolf stare at each other. The wolf gives Derra a smirk which catches his attention, the mystic forces him back and does his own barrage of attacks, the hyena is doing his best to deal with the attacks from the wolf, but he's barely keeping up. It's not just skill though, while the power armor used by the Everglaive is extremely advanced, the mercury suit Magnum uses is even more so as it grants him far more mobility, less weight to deal with as the suits muscle service output more power. Derra's team watches in awe at the sheer display in front of them, one final swing sends Derra flying back as he does his best to hold onto his sword. The hyena finally halts himself, the suits servos giving off whirs to try to regain themselves, the mystic takes a quick breath as his suits anti-matter generator continues to give quiet hums.

The two canines stare at each other, the wolf bracing himself for another attack, his eyes laser focused Derra. The hyena begins to laugh in joy and excitement, this catches Magnum off guard as his squad just stands there.

Derra says "There it is! There's the passion, the FIRE! The burning flame of a knight, a warrior!" as he raises his sword.

The bravado gets to Magnum as a smirk crosses his face once more, combat was one of the few things hat got his blood flowing and one where he can really show what he was capable of outside of his affinity for technology.

Derra puts his sword away as he approaches the mystic to which he does the same, the hyena says "The renegades won't know what hit them, our attack will be sung in the halls for years to come."

The striker cruiser and the Howl of Silver break from the Briggette Armada, moving in to attack the enemy from the rear. Marouge gives the order that all hands are to report to battle stations as Porralla stays on the bridge, she stayed in her quarters for the previous battle, she wanted to see this one, to see a battle in person. Eventually the main part of the Everglaive fleet rendezvous with the Briggette Armada, they commence a warp jump and emerge near striking range of the enemy fleet. The fleet has at it's core a heavy cruiser surrounded by seven standard cruisers and five destroyers, just behind the fleet is what looks to be a desert planet, it's surface baring a cracked scar from it's past, the crack wrapping around it's surface. The ships of the Metal Howlers are heavily retrofitted and a mash up of multiple ships, their scared hulls baring past battle damage and ramshackle repairs.

Marouge says "All craft are to launch, fighter-bombers are to strafe the outer ships, heavy bombers are to remain in close formation with escorts as they hit the heavy cruiser. On my mark, all ships launch a missile barrage."

From behind the strike cruiser and Howl of Silver zoom from just over the planet, the vixen gives the order and missiles launch from hers and Koress's ships, flak guns fire at the missiles but about half get through and cause a decent amount of damage, the flanking ships fire with the Howl of Silver landing a devastating hit on a cruiser and the strike cruiser firing it's plasma cannons, covering another in green flame. From the strike cruiser a boarding pod launches and smashes into the heavy cruiser as both ships pass it, the pod opens, Magnum and Derra take point with Derra's squad following suit, their huds scan the area for any movement and so far there's nothing.

Derra says "We know what must be done, we head to the bridge and deal a killing blow."

From around a corner, an exo suit with heavy armor emerges, the left arm equipped with a heavy flamethrower, it's shoulder baring machine guns and it's right arm a powerful buzz saw. Mutants emerge from doorways, their muscles bulging with chain mail hanging off of them as crude weapons are in their grasp, ranging from clubs to power saws and ramshackle firearms.

Magnum readies his blasters and he says "That may be more difficult then we assumed."

Derra says "Fighting another knight order isn't easy, but that's the fun."

Most of the knights charge with one staying behind with a plasma cannon, it's green burst fires and hits the exo, the others smash into the mutants, power swords, power axes and power hammers clash with the beasts. Magnum gives a quick gesture, a wall of ice forms as a creature spews acid from it's mouth, the ice melts as the mystic fires through it with his blasters, with his control of the wind, he send a hurricane force into a small squads worth, sending them into a bulkhead and breaking their backs. An abomination rushes the mystic from behind, he summons a wall of water, the beast quickly halts itself in surprise, spikes form on the water, the wall flies at the creature, the carnage causing the mystic to smile under his helm. Derra gaze is one of awe, seeing the mystics abilities in use is truly something, though he does wonder when he'll see it, the one attack he is known for the most. The exo charges the mystic, the damage dealt to has ruined it's machine guns and most of it's front armor, Magnum boosts forward, he cleaves through the left arm, oil sprays everywhere as Magnum quickly swings around the suit and impales his sword through it's back, he pulls his sword out as the exo falls, he blasts a mutant while bisecting another. The knights of the Everglaive finish off their batch as Derra's phaser burns through a heavily mutated specimen.

Derra and his squad approach the mystic and he says "It is true, a powerful mystical being turned crusader."

Magnum gives him a glance, he says "We must press on.", rattling from the heavy bombers deploying their payloads hits the hull and he resumes his advance."

Derra smirks under his helm 'And that cold, calculating focus can rival any machine.' as he and his squad do their best to keep up.

In the void, two of the enemy ships have been destroyed and five including the heavy cruiser have been boarded and all the the others have taken moderate to heavy damage, Master Koress having boarded and taken over one of the outer ships and now bringing it's weapons to bare on the others. Porralla is breathing heavily, taken aback by the destruction in front of her, her heart racing as she looks at the carnage.

Marouge looks to the weasel with some concern, this is what she wanted to spare her from, but in the end her lover would see this display, she says "Porralla, this is what it's really like. Out here in the midst of battle, there is no diplomacy and the only thing protecting us is an energy field, our hull and thick glass while our weapons strike at each other. And the knights are fighting in those holds, a far more grisly task, one you haven't witnessed yet either... and I hope you never will. Only soldiers should see this kind of thing, not civilians."

Porralla can only stand there, it brought back memories when their home, the kingdom of Io'Ra Light came under attack by the Gold Alliance and the Coalition of Kre, though she never witnessed the invasions of the outer worlds, she saw the refugees who fled to the core world. She remembers when only the core world remained, praying with the masses that help would come and that the nightmare would end... thankfully it did thanks to the many knight orders and Magnum bringing mercy on there side. The fear she was lifted, but that in of itself gave her a sense of fear she would never forget. But seeing a battle was a first, that each ship contained either a few dozen to a few thousand and that when the ship was destroyed, most of the crew if not all would be lost, it was one thing seeing it on paper but this was far more telling. The Howl of Silver comes around and with a flash of it's forward guns, an enemy cruiser is hit and moments later it explodes an a vengeful inferno, flame consuming the beast of metal as it's crude construction tears itself apart. The sight send shivers down her spin, all she can do is wonder how any of them can handle this, how they can remain unscathed from such an experience.

Magnum and Derra continue down the halls as the other knights fire the occasional burst of weapons fire, they reach a massive set of double doors that are magnetically locked with a blue energy shield just in front of it.

Derra says "These guys are crafty, I'll give them that."

Magnum has his helm fold into his suit, he looks to Derra and he says "You may want to step back."

Derra nods, knowing what the mystic has in mind, he has his squad brace behind some solid structures that are part of the walls. Magnum looks at the shielded doors, his mouth opens, a small spark forms for a moment before becoming a dense ball of energy, the blue mass giving a soft hiss as the air around it cooks in heat death. Magnum fires his beam, it smashes into the energy shield, both forces screeching as one tries to outlast the other, alarms soon blare as circuits explode and capacitors burn themselves out and then the shield explodes as the beam finally punches through and blows the doors to oblivion as the explosive sound rumbles throughout the ship.

Magnum closes his mouth, he raises his sword to signal the others, they quickly link up with him and they enter the hall of the ship. The hall is small but it is still quite a sight, ramshackle lighting and hanging battle trophies with standards over alters, at the end are two exo suits, armed with close combat weaponry with titanium plating, sitting on a throne of vehicle parts is an elephant is power armor, in the grasp of his right hand is a massive double headed hammer, it's haft is red, the hammer heads at a slight angle with gold plates on the hammer sides and great steel links the haft to them.

Magnum says "Grand Master Wejo the Mechanic, we are here to deliver retribution onto you. You are charged with renegade actions and heretical practices."

Wejo gets off his throne, his servos grinding from the strain and he says "We may be declared renegade, but we have reasons for what we did. Our enemies from the veil are coming and we were trying to uncover how to stop them."

Derra says "By wiping out innocents and siding with cultists? Now that's a bad joke."

Magnum says "Surrender and you'll be granted a quick end." his blue eyes staring the elephant down as his sword emits it's power field.

Wejo's hammer comes to life "I had hoped you would see reason, it's too bad we couldn't make our case before being declared renegade, hopefully our voices will have more weight in death."

Magnum and Derra glance to each other, they raise their blades as they yell "CHARGE!!!"

Both sides charge and smash into each other, Derra's squad occupying the exos while Magnum and Derra tackle Wejo. One of the exos roars as it readies it's power flail for a swing, it's claw catching one of the knights, a knight smashes his ace into the exo as it brings it's flail down, it's head squashing another knight, it snaps it's captured prey in two as a fourth knight takes his hammer and smashes it on the exos head, ending it's attack. The other exo is armed with vicious buzz saws, already bloodied from eviscerating one of the knights, the plasma cannon fires which hits and destroys the right saw, a power axe cleaves into it's back pack while another knight cuts into the wires leading to the remaining saw, the exos back pack explodes and it simply falls to the ground.

Wejo roars as he swings his hammer as if was just a stick, with a great swing he just barely misses Derra and the impacts smashes through the hard floor, he quickly turns as Magnum tries to flank him, Magnum summons a wall of ice which catches the hammer but fractures to dust on impact, Magnum fires a burst from his blasters, the x-ray energy sizzling some parts of his armor, Wejo charges the mystic, his hammer ready for another swing. Derra gets ready to intercept as Magnum summons reserves of water and sends it forth, the tidal wave force smashes into the elephant but it doesn't slow him down even though it shorts the suit, Derra comes and swings, his sword cutting into the elephants left leg, almost severing it at the knee, the elephant brings his hammer down towards the mystics head, Magnum summons a powerful force of wind that's barely keeping the attack at bay, the static from the power weapon having an effect on his hair.

Wejo suddenly feels his back becoming stabbed as pain seeks it's way through, he looks to see ice shards coming from the water the mystic used earlier, the elephant looks to the wolf to see his mouth is aglow with his beam ready, Magnum fires a quick blast which hits him square in the chest, the elephants armor explodes from the sheer heat as flame emerges from open areas on the front, he groans as he stares at the mystic. Fire continues to consume the inside of the suits as sparks emerge from jumped systems, the back having exploded from being overloaded in a fraction of a second.

Wejo says with painful weezes "I... caaaan... see... why... they call... you... Anu...bis!", he lets his hammer go as he falls backwards with a massive, crashing thud.

Magnum puts his sword away as he takes a firm on the hammer, he raises it as he howls in victory, the howl echos throughout the ship, the bridge crew quickly decides to surrender, having heard the howls in logs, they broadcast a verbal surrender and they also launch a surrender signal into the void.

To be continued...