Freya and Lucifer walked among the grass and wove between the trees in their cruiser’s central park. The slightly domed roof above them projected a low sun amidst clear skies. Though it was close to a simulated sunset, there was still plenty of light for them to enjoy.
Not that they were the only ones. Numerous members of the Republic were out as well, all enjoying their little slice of paradise.
They were grouped up or paired up. Most were chatting with each other, or playing strategy games at park benches, or simply taking winding strolls.
The few that came across the two of them often waved their hands or audibly greeted them. Freya greeted them back the way they did, though Lucifer typically only nodded and smiled in exchange.
“I’m still not u
Sy’larthii V, Sy’larthii System, Imperial Domain of the Boundless DrogarThe sprawling Drogar military facility was abuzz with activity and energy. Not just inside the large buildings lined around the campus, but the test sites and outdoor ranges and obstacle courses scattered everywhere in between.And although these buildings were crystal-shaped, they weren’t arranged in organic-looking clusters. These were instead laid down along their lengths in orderly clusters here and there.Numerous personnel were working frenziedly inside and outside the buildings. Those outside were focused solely on testing the various experimental weapons and armor the entire facility produced. At one of the ranges, they were firing a variety of munitions through multiple rifles. And at another, they tested chitinous armor plating with vario
The clean, minimal, and large hexagonal room had dozens of technicians in cleansuits, all working and talking and building. They were in various stations and terminals and workbenches encircling the room itself.And in the very center was a large elevated platform with numerous parts littered on it. A handful of technicians were around the platform, and worked together to build the machine on it. They were assisted by numerous hovering drones and machine arms that descended down from the ceiling.Altogether, the technicians and drones assembled what appeared to be a modular handheld weapon system. They had a handful of weapon bases, each expanded into various configurations from pistol to SMG to rifle.There were also melee/ranged hybrids that were in the process of being put together, though no-one was
Freya and Lucifer swung above and below the enemy mecha, and flanked them vertically. Because of their comparatively higher speed and agility, they were able to strike from both ends and slice into their targets with relative ease.Their plasma lances scored deep gouges in their chitin with expert precision, and quite literally cut off limb after limb from a handful of mecha. They circle-strafed around the Drogar mecha, even while they evaded or weathered all manner of weapons fire.“Keep the cuts as clean as possible,” advised Raijin. “That should help the cores connect to them more easily.”Which the two certainly took to heart. They did their absolute best to shear enemy mecha arms or legs right where they connected to the main chassis - at their shoulders, or at their hips. And because th
Kali spun her infrasonic staff around her body with practiced expertise, then swiped at the uniformed Drogar in front of her. There was a loud CRACK as she struck him on his ribs, and pushed him a couple of meters to the side.She watched as he stumbled around and regained his balance. And just as he tried to step away, perhaps to run, Kali swung her staff at him again and struck him painfully. She swiped him across his forearms with such force that she fractured his bones.The Drogar yelped in pain as he stumbled backward and fell on his rump. He cradled his ribs with his broken arm, then reached out with his other hand with his palm outstretched.“Stop, please!” he cried out. “Stop tormenting me and kill me already!”“Now now, machin
Lucifer’s heart thundered madly in hir chest as ze fell down an eternal darkness. It seemed ze had been falling for centuries, and yet it took no time at all until ze hit something. Hard. It felt as though ze had literally fallen back-first onto a slab of titacrete.Pain spread across hir body, but only for a moment. The feeling dissipated over the next few seconds, at which point ze tried to pick hirself up.But found that hir arms and legs were bound to some kind of old table.No, an old, dirty bed. Hir wrists were tied by some kind of rope that was affixed to an old wooden headboard. Hir ankles were also tied by that same kind of rope, but to the baseboard.Panic filled hir the moment ze recognized where ze was, and when this happened to hir. This was where ze u
Rhylen Terra, Vencal System, Major House FelrahnThe largest megacity on the planet of Rhylen Terra stretched out for nearly a thousand kilometers in every direction. Its center was also its densest, and boasted terrifying towers that stretched up ten kilometers into the sky.But only a few were that extreme - the rest of the building’s heights tapered down sharply and remained low until the very edges of the city itself. Even then, low meant the ‘humble’ height of one kilometer.At the very heart of the entire city was the tallest and widest of them all. Of course, it was the center of power for House Felrahn. And somewhere in the middle of it, nestled safely behind heavily armored walls and patrolled by heavily armored troops, was Felrahn Warroom Alpha.The roo
The Imperial battleships both took on incredible amounts of damage - with one taking far more than the other. The two Felrahn reinforcement fleets absolutely hammered the battleship that faced off against them, and shattered its armor with every moment that passed.Their rail cannon slugs also struck any broadside turrets that were exposed, and smashed the chitin protecting them as well.A number of their stinger-like weapons were blown apart and thrown out into open space.Not that the Drogar battleship stopped firing back. They shot their own particle-charged slugs at the Hegemony ships, even as their own frigates and fighters advanced down the far right flank.Worse, the topside chitin armor slid open and released the massive hovering particle beam turrets inside. All
“I need an update on FGIC Two,” said Lady Felrahn.The holoprojection on the central tacmap was illuminating, but only to a certain degree. Everyone around the table certainly could see when their ships took damage, and their general numbers. But numbers were only one part of a battle.“All capital ships moderately damaged, ma’am” reported an analyst off to the side. “Support vessels have suffered nearly 10% casualties, while skirmish vessels have suffered little over 17%.”“And the Imperials?” asked the High Admiral.“Sensor scans indicate that they have suffered half our casualties at most. However, we still hold the numerical advantage.”“The tac