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A fleet of cruisers and destroyers coated in pink with thrusters of amethyst, guns of polished silver brave the darkness around them. At it's center is a large carrier, it's hull decorated in opals and diamonds, along it's sides are vicious hooks and blades as it's plasma cannons give a somber magenta glow, the bridge is alive with activity as slaves in chains and barbed wire carry out their orders, officers wearing their debased uniforms of fur and skin. Suspended in the air in the middle of the bridge by golden chains is a throne of marble with a pink unicorn sitting atop of it, her eyes are a shimmering purple as a sensual smile adorns her features, black hair and tail a glossy, neat black with matching high heel boots.

A figure in power armor moves over to her, carrying a two-handed axe "Mistress Circie, we still have not heard from Kathleen or her forces."

The unicorn flashes a smirk "Magnum and his allies most likely swept them aside, if anything she removed the charm I gave her to try to get a rise out of our mystic crusader. Oh well...", a sigh escapes her lips "She'll get in touch with me at her..."

Violent, red sparks emerge as if on cue towards the front of the deck, from it a semi-solid jackal emerges from it, her eyes aglow with rage as she let's out a growl at the unicorn.

Circle claps her hands "Ah, speak of the devil... Kathleen darling, I trust you found me alright?" as she seemingly dances towards the growling canine.

Kathleen bellows "Don't 'darling' me! Where were you? We could have used you in the battle, were too busy making one of your servants into another toy!" as she stomps towards the pink mare while making a fist.

The unicorn gives a giggle "Your so serious, my forces needed some time to regroup... besides it's a good thing I didn't join the fray, the mystics have returned."

The jackal barks "So I've heard... and something I could have stopped if you got off your rear and helped!" her flared nose level and mere inches away from Circie's "The Vision of Consumption could have given us the edge we needed, now the mystics... the old enemy has come back... as if we didn't have enough to deal with you sparkly bicycle!"

The entire deck goes silent with many not daring to let a gasp slip, Kathleen's temper is one thing many learned not to tempt with, most not seeing the day to come. The unicorn begins to laugh, only angering the canine further as another growl escapes her lips, the jackal wishing in this moment to be fully tangible to remove that arrogant smirk from the mares features. After all the trouble Kathleen went through in getting the portal and offerings set up, it was all for not and her forces reduced to dust and scrap on solar winds and the lost to the void... she's not sure who she hates more... Magnum or Circie. The jackal knows the kind of power the mare can bring to bare on a whim with only her charm and a wink, the sundering of whole worlds and constructions in the void with even her own twisted kingdom, yet when ever the two worked together it was always hit or miss despite the similar objectives the two women have, great victories sprinkled among a wash of failed or offhand crusades of terror with some disastrous failures mixed in for good measure.

The mare relaxes her voice "True, the Vision of Consumption will never return... but we have new potential for tools to wage war with. If we can turn even some of the mystics to our cause..."

The jackal scoffs "Such tales are extremely rare even for mystics.", her gaze becomes more stern "And it won't matter if all YOU do is screw the operation up and they kill each other before we can deploy them!" with her arms crossed.

"But a fallen mystic could be the wonder weapon we need, even one will shake things up." as the mare balances herself on her staff "Especially since no one seems to know where Magnum or his ship is."

Kathleen sighs "I must return to regain my strength and form, try to locate Magnum and don't confront the mystics... it is time we rid ourselves of that blue marked freak, you can have his hide... I want his soul!" her words laced venom and a hiss at the end.

The canine fades back into the energy from where she came, Circie lets a relaxed giggle escape her lips as she gives the order to see if they can track the mystic wolf as her staffs crystal rapidly changes color while humming a spell, trying to see if she can locate the mystic crusader along the tides of essence. Those eyes of hers open slightly as they glow a ghostly purple, the flow of the other world and it's passage ways are now open to the mare. It's true, compared to a demon or the like her gaze isn't as refined, but like Kathleen she knows Magnum's scent, all she needs is to get a whiff.

...............................................

With the Everglaive under Derra's command and those under Marouge's leadership, the Hunter of the Damned is becoming ready for service as the dreadnought's system are coming to life as parts are becoming restored to full working order, while the systems have become deteriorated they are still surprisingly efficient, no doubt from Magnum's robots having already been in the process of restoring it, but most of the attention has been on converting and bringing up to speed the ships sensors and communications to more modern specs alongside it's upgraded software. With aid from the Hunter's failing a.i. they have been successful in converting the system the ships uses to track exotic prey, it's Mage System.

Derra looks to Marouge "So the system has Magnum's signature and it can read it... why isn't it detecting him?"

The vixen sighs "According to the a.i. the system works like a thermal detection system, it'll only ping if Magnum uses his powers and even then, the use must be intense and last long enough to get a lock. If it was the anomaly types it was meant to detect it would be near instantaneous....", her gaze goes to the hyena "A mystic ship we've been tracking looks to be going on random search patterns and we've been getting reports from a few outposts of cult forces performing similar tasks."

The knight closes his eyes for a moment before giving a nod "We are not the only ones looking for him or his ship, we don't know the full intentions of the mystics but the cults must think they can deliver the killing blow or they seek the possible wreckage and salvage what remains."

The thought sends a shiver down Marouge's spine, she knows Magnum has safeguards in regards to his technology but she can picture the horror one could unleash with such potent weaponry... best not to think of it too much.

Despite the fact the ancient race is still a wild card, the Mystics have been sending envoys and diplomats to a handful of star systems and have taken no hostile action as of yet... then why did they attack in the first place? The vixen thinks back to the incident, how they focused fire on the Howl of Silver, do they perceive Magnum as a threat or is something else going on?

It hits her "Za'vara! Magnum said that she's a mystic fox and she was a fortune teller..." she looks to the hyena "If I had to guess, their species seems to have some form of natural divination ability."

Derra's gaze goes to the console in front of him as his mind reflects on meeting the fox for the first time "It makes sense, that would give them a huge advantage,,, for all we know, she and the others may very well know what we are doing.", a smirk shows on his features "But if they bleed like Magnum then we know we can kill them, after all we have slain creatures that have had foresight before."

Marouge straightens herself out "But we don't know how far this ability can go, I don't doubt your knights or my forces, but we must proceed with caution. Their technology is far beyond ours and we saw how potent it is, we can only guess the extent of their capabilities as a civilization."

The elite knight knows she's telling the truth, even the most advanced Orders aren't as advanced as them... the only saving grace they have more then likely is their use of energy and kinetic shields against such weaponry, but more then likely useless against the natural powers they wield. The knight thinks of the powers he's seen Magnum use, how he uses the cutting elegance of air and water while using it for a natural defense, how Magnum's beam can rival some of the mightiest beam weapons used by navies... what are the rest of their kind capable of?

................................................................

The blue sky of Balleva bares the signs of a shower having past as a gentle mist sweeps around the various structures, Magnum is breathing in the moist-infused air, given the lack of needing to go on crusade or work on his projects the mystic is exploring his abilities of both water and air, playing around with both to try to understand it more. True he can use both as a form of attack or defense but he's never used either in a more relaxed way, while watching the the water flow in a semi-free pattern he begins to reflect on his time over the past few weeks and having begun to relax into the civilian lifestyle a little at a time, he decides to try something a little different as he brings the water and air together in a certain configuration, creating a small cloud of rain over him. The lukewarm water hits him as he spreads his arms, the water forming various rainbows with help from the sunlight, he remembers when he use to play in the rain when he was younger, the liquid always felt familiar to him as it felt more like a friend or an extension of himself somehow.

It hits him though, his smile slowly fades as he realizes that this won't last, once the Howl of Silver has finished his repairs he'll be on his way back towards the stars but was for the best cause, he doesn't know what his race is up to, for all he knows he could be the only thing between all out war with them or a declaration of peace. A sigh escapes his lips as he forces the rain to stop, he has the water leave his clothes until they are dry and the water reaches the ground and he heads back inside to check on dinner as Vanessa is going to be home soon, since he's staying with her he wants to show how much he appreciates her help, true he's being paid to be a sugar baby but he also decided to take up some of the house work and after asking the skunk if he could help her with it he got the green light as he didn't want to make it seem he was imposing.

After checking the dinner, Magnum looks at his reflection on the surface of the refrigerator, another consequence of the lack of the crusades and his routine research and development cycles, his thoughts have been going towards reflecting on his past... and not just over the past two years. He remembers all the remarks made against him growing up, how he didn't resemble the others because of his markings, he did find a group of friends but for the most part he feels that he was never really accepted because of his looks, he traces his right pointer along the marking around his eye as he thinks to what Elvo said about embracing his heritage... he is unsure if he can do just that. It has been nice though, being in an environment where no one stops to stare at him, where can markings to the uninformed are part of a fur trend rather then a birth right signaling the coming of something far more powerful or mysterious.

On that he hears the front door open with the tapping of high heels, he straightens himself up as he hears Vanessa humming a catchy tune that she always sung when she got home, the notes full of joy and signaling her day before saying a word.

The mature skunk emerges into the room, a holstered umbrella on the side of her dress with her stylized hair grazing the air, those purple eyes of hers land on the mystic as she gives a smile "Magnum sweetie, how was your day?" as she puts her purse gently on the table and gives him a light hug.

The mystic returns her hug "It was okay, how about yours?"

Vanessa chimes "Fine and dandy, with the celebration coming up my list is being booked."

Magnum blinks "Celebration?"

The skunk gives a nod "It's an annual celebration of the year that celebrates the end of the system spanning war we had. When the conflict ended with the Dove Armistice the entire system celebrated peace for seven days, thus we call it the Dove Celebration. The way it works is that every district is part of a large festival spread over the entire system and the three factions lay down their arms outside of their emergency auxiliaries."

Vanessa explains what the populace does to celebrate, concerts of music and theater, cookouts, veterans adorning their uniforms... in general it sounds like a combination of Memorial Day and Veterans Day from the mystics point of view that lasts for seven days.

But to Magnum this does raise some red flags that any power or force could exploit with ease and with help from Elvo the wolf has learned more about the other powers. the nation they are in is part of the Confidant League, the two other factions are the Star Coalition and the Fleur Federation controlled by the Fleur Monarchy and the way they are set up across all three worlds is that while all three are present on each world, one has more of a presence then the others and that is where their capitals are as well. Balleva is the world of the Confidant League and Rella and Prova belong to the Star Coalition and the Fleur Monarchy respectively with the moon colonies of each being satellite states that act more like outposts and forward bases. The talk of peace and celebrating it is nice, but after Elvo got her short range communications and scanners back online, she has been finding encrypted messages for all three powers... for everyone's sake the coyote has been working on keys to access them.

The two have a quiet dinner and move on to watch some news as the skunk fills out some of her bills, she glances to the mystic and he looks like he has something on his mind as his eyes keep going from the tv to the floor, she decides to put her bills to the side and she gently wraps her arm around him and he gently takes her hand.

The skunk feels his grip "Are you alright? You look a little down." those purple eyes scanning hm.

The mystic takes a light breath "I've just been thinking of some things that I haven't thought of since I left home two years ago.", he looks to Vanessa "You see, because I was always on crusade or working on my technology, I never had a real chance of reflecting on anything. Even when I was in the process of becoming a freeblade I never had any real interactions outside of Elvo until I met Marouge and Poralla and eventually Derra and Za'vara, I never talked about my past or my feelings. So I always used it as an excuse alongside the medication I use to take."

Vanessa takes his words in as her curiosity becomes stronger "I understand what your saying, but what happened."

His blue eyes look to her as he tries to put his words together "As you know I am a mystic wolf, but I didn't realize that until just before I left how different I really was. My markings are unlike anything everyone else was, I did get some complements on them but most simply stared and others always made sure that I felt I was against the norm, I even remember one student back when I was in middle school taking a knife to cut into me to see if my fur color went to my muscles." earning a concerned gasp from the skunk as Magnum does his best to stay on track "I didn't want to admit it but I was an outcast even with the small group I was able to hangout with, my parents even went toe-to-toe with others on occasion.", he looks to his blue-covered hands "After I figured out how different I really was, I despised myself, thinking my blood was the cause of all my problems... even though it was same color as everyone else's. As a result, even today I still don't see the value of embracing where my blood comes from, that my powers are only tools for me use like my armor and weapons and I feel more cursed then blessed. Sometimes I even wonder if it's the reason why my mom eventually left both my father and I behind." looking very confused by the end.

The skunkette blinks for a few seconds, trying to process what the mystic just said, to a degree she understood the pain he has when it comes to the characteristics he bares, being a skunk carries a natural stigma after all due to their natural scent glands, she puts together some words that hopefully will interact with the wolf, she gives a light sigh "I think that's a phase most of us go through, as you know being a skunk means we have a... unflattering defense so a lot of us have that removed, me included.", she gently places a hand on the left side of the mystics face and brings his gaze towards her "I know that you have some anxiety with crowds and even with the gathering around here with their body art you are still very self-conscious even though you do blend in. I do understand that feeling though, thinking that you just don't belong anywhere and at the same time that the world seems to be against you. whether you choose to embrace your heritage or not is up to you...", she puts on a feminine smirk "...but you are so handsome and I bet that if the world you left got to know you then you probably would never have left, you maybe quiet but you are so sweet and you are very unique indeed. You and Elvo have told my children and I about what you have done, your efforts in fighting for the greater good and the strides the both of you have made in technology. You are more then a knight, you are a paladin of light.", she gives Magnum a quick peck on the cheek "But that is only one part of you, just the very surface... you've denied exploring things for two years, denied yourself so much personal growth for your emotions. You need to focus on you at least for a little while and work on your personal tastes."

Vanessa brings Magnum into a light embrace as her mind goes to Magnum mentioning his mom leaving her family behind, hearing that broke her heart, she wishes her late husband was still around so that he can see how his son and daughter have made their own destinies, so that they can see the pride in his eyes, so that he can support them and her kids are her world, she would never abandon them for anyone or anything, she became successful to help her children grow, to help fund their dreams and she was always there when they needed her for support. Even at glance she can tell how hurt the mystic really was and how confused he is, those blue eyes filled with so much sadness, he isn't shedding tears yet but she's worried that he's probably cried so much he's run dry. Vanessa moves her tail to where it's wrapped around the wolf and Magnum embraces her, she begins to gently pet the side of his face as she comforts him, she knows what his interests are as he enjoys music and machines... maybe she can get her kids to get him involved and she can help him.

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The world of Prova, the world of the Fleur Federation was once the heart of the United Star Federation, it's gothic architecture and spires being the nations given look, windows of stained glass of rich and poor, sturdy wagons of steel and plasma growl and hum as the sky gives a calm ambiance, the inner workshops and outer factories churning their gears as farms perform ther labor, seas of sapphire blue that conceal the behemoths of machinery. The capital city of the Federation, Coreath, a fortress of stone and steel, battle emplacements train the sky of shell and cannon, checkpoints of soldiers on patrol as heavy treads roar as golden flag soars against the tides of wind.

The core of the city is the Oculus Palace, the office of leadership, the foundation of faith and the symbol of power of the Fleur Monarchy, the throne room is massive, the floor being of black marble, stone statues of immense soldiers align either side as lit candles brighten the room while purple, blue and gold create the stained glass window above. Sitting on a throne of white and red, a lioness wearing a black overcoat with bronze plate covering her shoulders like her black pants having bronze knees, a chest plate of steel with an eye of jade and an iris of blackened iron, her amber eyes sharp and clear. Before her is a badger and an armadillo, the former having adjustable eyepieces and wearing royal blue robes lined with gold with a copper badge of a book over his heart, the latter has had his shell adorned in titanium, in his right hand is a heavy cane with the tip of the cane is like the head of a sledgehammer, his coat being the same black as the lioness.

The lion looks to the badger "What is your report professor Victor?"

The mustelidae adjusts his glasses, he activates a holographic projector "The ship we detected entering Balleva's atmosphere doesn't match any vessels used by the League or the Coalition. From what we can tell the ship is roughly the size of a frigate and after cross referencing what we got from the emission scans, the ships energy signature seems to be some form of anti-matter based system. Our initial theory seems to be correct in the sense that the ship suffered extensive damage based on the footage and at this time the vessels location is unknown."

The lion looks to the armadillo "General Lex, is it possible that this is still some kind of prototype weapon system?"

Lex straightens himself out "Unlikely, the League no longer has an interstellar navy as it was destroyed during the war, anything that did survive was converted to cargo and transport vessels. As for the Coalition they don't have the technology to even attempt something like this given that their ships still use fission given that they lost their ability to produce fusion power after the war. Majesty Vorca, what is our course of action?"

The lioness looks to the image of the unknown vessel, not even her monarchy can create such a machine and she would know if such a project was underway... an external force from outside the system. With the Dove Celebration coming fast, it is a means for concern... but it doesn't change the current situation.

Vorca looks to both of them "We continue the operation as normal, chances are they have left by now without us realizing.", she stands up with a raised fist "By the time we are done, all three worlds will be flying our flag!"

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The Coalition world of Rella, a planet of industry and fission power, the rough terrain has given way to tracked vehicles being the norm, the structures looking more like bunkers then anything else as aircraft fly on patrol and heavy supply ships move from surface to orbital dry docks and back again, exo suits with hazard stripes performing heavy duty tasks as ore is smelted and factories unleash a hail of noise, with half the structures being above ground and the other half below connected via tunnels.

The capital of this world and the faction is Kraken Hammer, it is a converted mountain, battlements, pillboxes, landing platforms, hangers with their bays open, the massive fission generator is underground and surrounded by powerful radiation countermeasures. A cheetah wearing a suit is looking at a similar image that the Monarchy had thanks to the devices the Coalition has, his eyes tracing over the image as he thinks about what his advisers had been discussing with him earlier.

The cheetah activates a comm unit "This is Prime Chairman Yuko, put the Coalition on yellow alert and add extra encryption to every transmission."

For the League, President Lance is coming to his own conclusions with input from the cabinet, the otter knows just how limited his options are given that the League still isn't even close to start the process of recreating it's lost fleets and the military is still in a weak state. He looks to the red flag hanging in his office, not wanting to raise any red flags and possibly instill panic, he decides to simply pass an awareness alert to the authorities and the military... as he hopes that whatever it is isn't hostile.

..................

The darkness of space is being lit up with teal beams zooming through it, frigate-sized ships are being cut through effortlessly, their identification being that of a pirate group attempting to seize the mystic vessel but their numerical advantage didn't exist as they thought they did, Za'vara smirks at the carnage as she ignores the pleas for surrender, a teal beam striking a frigate as it tries to flee and a second later the fresh target explodes in hellfire, eventually a few ships finally jumped out but the pirate fleet had been destroyed as the twisted bodies of eight frigates and a cruiser burn in the void.

Za'vara finally comments "They thought they could over power us? Their overconfidence is quite refreshing but in the end futile."

Mo'Ceva scowls at her "If you had let me negotiate with them then we would have possible had more eyes to look for your target."

The former gives a laugh "These primitives are more useful as tools of war to fight one another, against us they are just so defenseless and offer no form of resistence."

Mo'Ceva looks to the viewer at the burning wrecks, Za'vara was known to be ruthless but she never thought she would go this far, this image won't help the Mystic's in the short term as the black boxes would reveal the attempts to surrender, she knows she needs to say something "Either carry this out without degrading the Mystic Alliance or I will put the motion in with Mother Aru'ksa that this hunt of your ends." her eyes forming a rigid glare.

This attracts the crew on the bridge as Za'vara begins to laugh "You do know this action won't get any attention compared to all the diplomacy our agents are doing with the wider universe, do you really think a group of pirates will get any sympathy even if they surrendered. That group raids between three systems at regular intervals, do you think their populations will offer an olive branch?" completely amused.

Mo'Ceva didn't want to admit it, Za'vara was correct in those facts and if anything the Mystic's by at least those systems will be viewed as heroic, she decides to go meditate to leave the situation. The vixen begins to review in her mind what has taken place over the past few weeks, the signature they had gained had given a general direction but they haven't found any evidence of Magnum or his ship and since then there hasn't been another spike or any indication of where he might be and now they are flying aimlessly as they continue to go in that general direction. If the wolf used his powers they'll certainly detect it, but only if it's strong enough to tip their detection for it. The vixen has also been looking at the mystics record as a knight and she's very impressed, the number of empires and armies he has destroyed and brought down the retribution hammer is staggering and the general consensus is that Magnum is a freeblade techno-knight that fights for a better tomorrow with many claiming he is a god or an angel come to carry out some kind of grand justice, it's actually very entertaining how the population still has that way of thinking, compared to them the mystics are indeed god-like but they are still mortal.

To be continued...