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March 26, 2342 - CSF Darwin; Bridge: High Orbit over Falora

(12:14 PM) {Five Months Ago}

There was organized chaos on the bridge of the Darwin as people; both human and fur, rushed on and off the bridge giving reports from scans of Falora and the New Hope colony. Members of the flight crew were giving each other details of the ship and the area around the planet. The sensors tech monitored activity both near and far. Engineering called over the ship wide comm system to report damage while the med bay reported injuries. Fleet Admiral Justin Keeton was sitting in his captain's chair with a perplexed look on his face as he read through the reports he was receiving.

"Mr. Carter, what damage has the colony sustained?" Keeton asked a small fennec fox who stood by his side.

"Well sir, the entire military district and space port were completely annihilated by what appears to have been the enemies beam cannon. Areas around the colony have also received light to moderate damage from phase and energy weapons fire. There..." The fennec started to say only to stop with a sad look on his face; his large ears dropping back before saying "There are reports of a few areas where nothing but the bodies of vixens and young children have been found piled up. It's not exactly clear why they were round up, but it looks as if everyone else was shot where they stood." Mr. Carter reported.

Keeton sighed as he placed his hand to his face; with his thumb on his cheek and first and middle fingers on his forehead "This is horrible... so many dead." Keeton said as he sighed again. "Any ideas on how they snuck through undetected?"

"No sir and the moment they went into hyperspace, our sensors lost them."

"Great..." Keeton groaned.

"Everything alright sir?" a familiar voice asked from behind him.

As the Admiral looked over his shoulder, he smiled a little at who he saw and said "It's been awhile since you've come up to the bridge second lieutenant."

The person who stood behind the Admiral was one of the longest serving members of the Darwin besides the Admiral himself. He was Five foot seven inches tall, had light brown short cut hair and blue eyes. His once lean, muscular and athletic build has now become just a muscular build but not overly muscular. He was wearing a blue officer's uniform that just barely seemed to fit. He was thirty years old and had been advanced to the rank of Second Lieutenant from the Sergeant he was seven years ago.

"Well sir, I've been very busy just as you have." Neal Matthews said as he smiled.

"Yes, I know Neal. How are Albert and James doing?" Keeton asked.

"If anything, Daminia has just made them stronger and more alert to danger. Do you have any word if Lliam survived the attack?" Neal asked as Keeton stood up.

"No reports on him yet, I heard the hospital was one of the first targets that the Outcasts invaded. All the injured there were killed, so it's unlikely." Keeton said with distain as he headed to his dayroom; just on the other side of the bridge, with Neal following behind him.

Before they made it into his dayroom one of the crew announced "Sir, we're being hailed... and we don't detect any vessels close enough to hail us."

His curiosity going up a notch, Keeton said "Is it just voice or are you detecting a video feed as well?"

"Both sir." The communications officer said.

"Be prepared to raise shields incase this is a trick." Keeton commanded as the bridge crew prepared for battle; yellow alert going out ship wide.

"Everyone is ready sir."

"Put it on the main screen." Keeton said and took his seat in the captains' chair as the screen lit up showing a long haired, white furred and red eyed wolf in front of them wearing the main body section of the enemy's armor.

"Hello Admiral, this is William Sutarra reporting sir." Lliam said.

"Lliam?! W-Where are you hailing us from?" Keeton asked; surprise evident in his voice and on his face.

"I'm onboard the starship Luxuria. We're requesting permission to dock with you." Lliam asked.

After getting over his initial shock and surprise, Keeton noticed that Lliam had been wounded. Blood had stained the fur on the right side of his head not to mention the blood on both sides of his muzzle. Both wounds seemed to have been dealt with Keeton judged by the bandages around his head and on his muzzle.

"Are you alright Lliam?" Keeton asked.

"I'm okay sir, nothing too serious. Would it be alright if we docked?" Lliam asked again

"How far away are you? We can't even detect the ship." Keeton informed him.

"Really?" Lliam said an looked away from them "Do you have some sort of sensor jammer on this ship?" Lliam asked someone off screen.

"Oh sorry, forgot that it was still active." A feminine voice said from off screen.

"Wha-... a ship just appeared on the sensors sir! They're less than... twelve kilometers from us." The sensors tech said.

"They were that close and we still couldn't detect them?" Keeton said with a raised eyebrow to the sensors tech then looked at Lliam and asked "What kind of ship are you on?"

"Honestly, I have no clue sir. We beamed up to this ship the moment you attacked that Outcast ship. I'm not sure how large this ship is or if it can even land in the hanger, or would you prefer for us to dock to a docking port?" Lliam asked.

Looking over to the sensor tech Keeton asked "Is the ship small enough to fit in one of the hangers?"

"Yes sir... but just barely." The sensor tech said.

"Okay Lliam, you're cleared to land in the starboard hanger and to whoever's flying that boat; please land out of the way... in case we have to launch fighters." Keeton said before calling out "Cancel yellow alert, everyone stand down."

"Thank you sir, be seeing you in a moment." Lliam said as the transmission ended.

"Well Neal... I think that answered your question. How about you go meet them in the hanger? I'll see you all in my dayroom when you get back." Keeton said as he stood up and headed towards the dayroom. Neal; who had a grin on his face, shook his head as he went to the turbo lift and headed down to the main deck.

******************

CSF Darwin, Starboard Hanger - (12:30 PM)

The Luxuria lined up with and landed in the starboard hanger of the Darwin. Protective blast doors closed once the Luxuria had safely past them, the ship was then guided by tractor beams; with help from the Darwin's docking computer, over to two stabilizers that would hold the ship in place as there was no gravity within the hangers. Once the ship was secured a catwalk was extended to the port side entry hatch as oxygen was pumped into the room as it pressurized.

As per the rules for security; once the room was pressurized, several armed soldiers entered the room and waited outside of the hatch along with one more person. After the hatch opened, the first person to step out was not who the soldiers; or Neal, were expecting to see.

The twelve year old boy who had stepped out had everyone present confused; which worsened when the fifteen year old girl stepped out after him. They both had started to drift off due to the lack of gravity but thanks to the hand railing that was in their way they didn't float off further into the hanger. The soldiers confused looks soon faded as Lliam stepped out followed by Kathy who had a word with the two kids.

"I thought I told you two not to get off the ship before us."

"We're sorry." They both said; they were both holding onto the railing as if their lives depended on it.

Kathy chuckled as she tousled their hair and said "It's okay, you can let go. The reason you started to drift away was because there's no gravity in here."

Lliam had grabbed onto the railing and used it to cross the catwalk to the soldiers and the second lieutenant who stood with them. He thought he recognized the second lieutenant but couldn't recall for sure. Neal noticed that Lliam was having trouble remembering him; which was understandable after living seven years on Daminia.

"Lliam, it's been awhile." Neal said as Lliam stopped himself from running into him by grabbing the hand railing. After Lliam had stopped Neal stuck out his hand.

Lliam reached out and shook his hand but still couldn't recall who he was. Neal smiled and even chuckled as he said "Still don't remember me... guess I can't blame you. It's me Neal."

"Neal?!" Lliam said in surprise and palmed his head "Sorry, so much has gone on... not to mention you look different. How've you been?"

"Busy, with the way the war's dragging on." Neal said and looked back at the kids; who were trying to get use to the zero gravity, and Kathy who was stopping them from floating off "Okay, so I'm confused. Who are they and how'd you end up with them?" he asked.

"Well it's a little bit of a long story." Lliam said as Kathy headed over to them and stopped next to Lliam.

"Hello I'm Second Lieutenant Neal Matthews, welcome to the C.S.F Darwin." Neal said as he offered his hand.

She grasped his hand shook it before saying "Hello Second Lieutenant, I'm Kathryn Nance; Captain of the Luxuria."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, I'm sorry if I seem rude but would you mind staying with your ship for the time being?" Neal asked.

"That's not a problem, it was nice meeting you." Kathy said as she turned around and chased the kids back into the ship.

"The Admiral's waiting for you in his dayroom." Neal said and stood aside as he gestured for Lliam to come with him.

"So Neal, how are the others doing?" Lliam asked as they headed towards a turbo lift.

"They're okay, last I knew they were catching up on what's happened in the last seven years. I'm not sure if they've gotten to the worst part yet though." Neal said a little grimly as they entered a section with gravity and headed into one of the turbo lifts.

"What's the worst part, sorry if I'm cheating by asking you?" Lliam asked as Neal programmed the lift to take them to the bridge.

"The loss of the core worlds and Earth." Neal said to Lliam's surprise.

"We've lost Earth?! When... how?"

"It was about a year and half ago, the worst part in that other than losing control of Earth was the loss of most of our Admirals and Council members along with her." Neal said as they arrived on the Bridge.

Neal was the first to exit the turbo lift and started heading towards a door. Lliam followed him and looked around before asking "I thought this was the bridge?"

"No, a battleship class starship bridge is on duel layered deck because the actual bridge can be lowered further into the ship to protect it during battle." Neal said as he entered the actual bridge.

He made a quick right after entering the bridge and Lliam followed. Upon entering the bridge Lliam was amazed; so much so that he actually stopped. The entire bridge was built around a holographic three dimensional galactic map; areas of the map were highlighted in blue, yellow or red. Blue areas; which were few and far between, were areas controlled by the A.T.W.F while red areas; which filled a greater chunk of the remainder of known space, listed areas controlled by the I.F.H.W.

Several worlds that were controlled by the Federation were now being controlled by the I.F.H.W and the people on those planets had either become prisoners for bargaining reasons or slaves. There was also a large section of yellow on the map that outlined sovereign non-aligned worlds that created a neutral zone called the S.U.W (Sovereignty of Unaligned Worlds).

The Captain's chair sat directly behind the galactic map but was elevated so the captain could see the map and everyone on the bridge. Lliam could also see what Neal meant; he could see that the entire bridge looked as if it could lower itself. The helm was directly in front of the map while communications and sensors were on the right side of the bridge. Weapon systems, engineering as well as shield and ship status was on the left side.

Neal was already at the Admirals dayroom when he noticed Lliam was looking at the bridge in awe. He smiled and walked back over to him. "It's impressive isn't it? This design has been implemented on all Capital and Independent type starships. Other types of starship still use what you remember on the I.S.F. Darwin. Now come on, the Admiral's waiting." Neal said as Lliam followed him in.

The Admiral looked up as the door slid open; a smile on his face at seeing Lliam. "Lliam, it's truly good to see you again." Keeton said as he stood up and offered his hand which Lliam shook.

"It's good to see you again as well sir." Lliam said as Neal took a seat in a chair next to him. Lliam took a seat in the other chair as Keeton retook his seat.

"Well Lliam, what can you tell me about what transpired before we got here?" Keeton asked.

"Not much sir, I finally woke up today in the hospital. You remember Sara Morris right sir?" Lliam asked.

"Yes, she was the Darwin's former head doctor." Keeton said.

"Well, I managed to talk to her when I woke up... and it seems she met my sister who's been living here..." Lliam said as his voice trailed off. "God... how could I have forgotten about her?!"

"Maya Ann Sutarra, born November 6, 2323?" Neal asked after he dug out a data pad. At Lliam's confused nod Neal scanned through it before bringing up a picture "Would this be her?" he said as he let Lliam look at the data pad.

At Lliam's shocked response Neal concluded it was Lliam's sister in the image. "She's been badly wounded by energy weapons fire but the injuries aren't fatal. She and a few others were rescued from a shelter that had been attacked and is being taken care of by some of our medical staff who went down planet side." Neal told him.

They both could easily see the relief that hit him after hearing that. "Oh god, you don't know how happy I am to hear that... I still can't believe I forgot about her."

"Were you in battle?" Neal asked and at his nod added "Then it's understandable, the adrenalin that was going through your body made you focus more on what was happening around you rather then thinking about other things. Just be glad she's alive and won't die."

"Yeah... thanks Neal." Lliam said.

"Turning back to the matter at hand..." Keeton said with a smile.

"Oh right, anyway she called my sister over who was babysitting her daughter and we had a late breakfast together while they told me things that had gone on... including what my brother did. It was only minutes later the colony was being invaded..." Lliam then started to fill them in on what happened; leaving out that Kathy was a Freelancer. They listened intently as he told them everything, but when he came to the part about fighting the True Outcast Mateo they became concerned.

"So you're saying there are Outcasts out there that are different from the others?" Keeton asked.

"One's that are similar to what you can do Lliam?" Neal asked.

"Yes, from what I understand most of the Outcasts are just normal people. But it seems that Outcasts like Mateo are in charge of the others... and have abilities like I do." Lliam said, leaving out the part that about Psionic abilities that Mateo said he had.

"That is a very disconcerting thing to hear." Keeton said as he scratched his chin "You said when he announced himself he said he was a test subject of the... Electus Project?" Keeton asked as he looked over to Neal "I guess the Freelancers weren't lying when they said that organization known as the Electus were behind everything."

"I guess not, oh I bet you're wondering what the Electus is huh Lliam?" Neal asked.

"Actually, Delta told me about the Electus seven years ago before the transport was shot down." Lliam said which surprised them.

"What did he say?" Keeton asked.

"Well... he said the Electus was an organization comprised of thirteen individuals. The same number of test subjects that were tested upon like Delta... and my ancestor which is why I can do what I do. Those thirteen however were just the ones who survived and were the strongest of all of them. He said the word Electus came from an ancient language and means Chosen and they believe that only a few people are able to surpass all others. For what I don't know but... that's why they created people like Delta." Lliam explained to them.

"I see... but didn't this Mateo say he was test subject twenty four of the Third Generation? Wouldn't that mean that there are many more like him and only a few like Delta?" Neal pointed out.

"I guess so... I wouldn't know for sure." Lliam said.

"Yes it would." Keeton said which surprised not only Lliam but Neal as well.

"What do you mean by that sir." Neal asked.

"Only the top echelons of the Federation were privileged to this information." Keeton said and took a deep breath before sighing.

"The Freelancers let us in on information about Delta; they managed to hack into his personal files and sent us what they knew. When he was only nine years old he was kidnapped from his family and raised as a child solder. Over the next ten years of his life, he and many others which were known as the First Generation of the Electus Project were sent on missions that tested their skill and leadership abilities.

"About a few years after he was first kidnapped, many more children were taken which became known as the Second Generation of the Electus Project. Of the First Generation, the only one to survive and who was also the most skilled in everything was a man named Murazar Dauthi... yes that is Delta's name. The person who was most skilled within the Second Generation was a male wolf by the name of Tro'nen Wilson... yes the same Tro'nen Wilson who was the captain of the C.S.F Zorn and the reason the planet Zu'Nara is; for all intents and purposes, a rock .

"It seems from the files that both of these people would've been members of the Electus had the Zu'Nara incident never happened; which turns out may have been due to the genetic tampering but that remains unclear. But the files speak of many more... hundreds, maybe even thousands more who were tested on like this Mateo. But here is where things go different.

"It seems Delta killed off most of the people of the Second Generation but not all, he also killed the people who made them all. Afterword's he took control and started not only the Third Generation that Mateo claims to be from, but a Fourth and Fifth Generation before closing down the whole operation." Keeton told them.

"Dear god... that means we could be up against an army of G.M.P (Genetically Modified Person) super solders... not including all the others who are under their command." Neal said.

"Yes there is that possibility but it's unlikely. The data also reports that only about seventeen percent of all the test subjects from all the generations gained longer life spans and about one percent gained life spans like Delta; which suggests he could live for several hundred more years. We have no idea how many of them still live but we won't rule out the possibility. Now... what else do you know Lliam?" Keeton asked.

Sighing Lliam said "Not much... only that Mateo could have killed Kathy and I but instead got a call from someone else saying they acquired the targets."

"So they came here searching for something and not to just destroy the colony?" Neal asked with a questioning look.

"Mateo had a picture of who they were looking for... after releasing Kathy, she managed to kick him and he dropped the picture before being beamed up to their ship." Lliam said and faltered on finishing the sentence.

"Who were they after?" Keeton asked after seeing the look on Lliam's face.

Looking the Admiral in the eyes Lliam said "They came here... to capture Sara and her daughter Aurora."

Both Neal and Keeton looked at Lliam after he told them that. Lliam sighed then asked "Sir, can we speak alone, there's more that I have to tell you and is for your ears only."

Neal looked at the Admiral who nodded at him. "Well okay then, there's things that I need to be doing anyway. If you'll excuse me." Neal said as he left the room.

"What is it you need to talk to me about Lliam?" Keeton asked once the door slid shut.

"It's about Kathy."

"The... Captain of the Luxuria?" Keeton asked as he sat back in his chair.

"Yes... I can't lie to you about this. She knows that and trusts me to explain this to you, she told me this while she docked the ship in the hanger. First off I guess I should mention... she used to be a Freelancer." Lliam said which caused Keeton's eyes to widen in surprise.

"Not only was she a Freelancer, but she was one of the seven Freelancers who worked directly under Delta. And if that isn't a big enough surprise... my brother Rrahkarr has been a Freelancer ever since he went AWOL and has also been working under Delta with her. About four years ago, she and Rrahkarr were sent on a mission and learned that Delta had betrayed the Freelancers and went over to the enemy.

"They were the ones who reported this to the Freelancer leadership who I'm guessing let the Federation know what happened. Anyway Rrahkarr told her to go into hiding because he feared for her safety. Kathy and him rescued those kids that are with her and she's been taking care of them ever since. It was right after that mission that he went missing.

"Rrahkarr had told her some things that relate to me as well. That attack that caused me and the others to be stranded on Daminia was caused by the Electus... or rather, by one particular Electus Leader by the name of Patrick Territh. Their original goal at that time was to kill him not me... though I was on their list to kill.

"Now, Kathy told me the reason she thinks the Outcasts were sent here. She thinks they captured Sara and Aurora for the sole purpose of either capturing or torturing Rrahkarr on this Patrick Territh's orders. The reason he never contacted her after he left was so that wouldn't happen." Lliam explained to the Admiral.

The Admiral sat there for a few minutes as he absorbed what he was told. Not only did he just find out that there is a Freelancer aboard his ship, but that she had been in contact with Rrahkarr up until four years ago. He was thinking on what to do when Lliam started to talk again.

"I'm going after them sir."

Coming out of his daze Keeton asked "What do you mean?"

"I can't let them torture them. I can't let them suffer at the hands of those people. For god's sake, Aurora is only a little girl. Kathy said she'd help me, if I could get a few more people to come with us." Lliam said.

"Skipping the fact that she's a Freelancer, I can't afford to let any men go... I need every single person I have to help fight this war." Keeton said.

"Am I still listed as MIA?" Lliam asked after thinking for a moment.

"Well... yes, we haven't had time to change that." Keeton said, wondering where Lliam was going with this.

"Then I presume that you still have James... and Albert listed as MIA as well?"

"Yes, they're in the same boat as you." Keeton said.

"Then if they agree with what I want to propose to them... you won't be losing a single person of your crew or staff. If anything you'd gain two people if they want to stay. Or are you going to detain Kathy and those kids who only have her to count on?" Lliam said.

Keeton remained silent and as if to give him another reason to let them go Lliam said "Think of it this way, we'll be going into enemy territory. Since James is human he could even fish out information that could prove useful to you at starbases that are under enemy control. We could give you information on enemy fleet movements that we find..." Lliam was saying when the Admiral cut him off.

"Alright, I get your point. No I will not detain her and I won't stop you from doing this. If you don't get caught it could lead to very vital information that we could use. You just have to convince your former squad mates to join you on your crazy little idea." Keeton said with a smile.

They both stood up and Keeton stuck his hand out again. Smiling Lliam shook it again and said with a grateful tone of voice "Thank you sir."

"I don't know why you're so inclined to save her... whether it's because she used to date your brother or you have feelings for her I don't know but..."

"It's because their family. Rrahkarr never learned of this before he disappeared but... Sara was pregnant beforehand. She jumped me the last day I was on board thinking I was him... Aurora is his daughter sir." Lliam said which surprised Keeton the most that day; his mouth even hung open a little before he started to chuckle.

"Well then... you better hurry if you wish to catch up to those bastards." Keeton said with a smile; thinking "I hope you know what you're doing." as Lliam left his dayroom.

Stepping onto the bridge Lliam noticed Neal and a couple others were standing around the galactic map. Neal was pointing something out to the others as Lliam walked up to them. Neal was showing them the movements of the Fleets as they patrolled around the sector. Seeing Lliam approaching from the other side of the galactic map, Neal finished showing them what they needed to know before going around the map.

"Hey Neal I have a question if you have the time." Lliam said.

"I got a little time, what do you need?"

"I was wondering, do you know where I could possibly find James and Albert?" Lliam asked.

"Of course, since they have no duties as of yet they've mostly been hanging out in the Cantina drinking and catching up on events over the net. And since this ship is so... well pretty much a maze for you, I'll take you there but I have a couple stops to make on the way." Neal said and patted Lliam on the back as they both left the bridge.