FSE

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Two weeks have past since the start of the Aldebaran Civil War, amazingly even with the UAC and Toad Empire still at each others throats... sides are still taken due to the internal power struggle. Canis II and Warren in an ironic twist of fate side with rebels and their cause alongside some of the more weaker mammal states such as the koala's, most however claim a neutral view towards the civil war as they keep their weapons aimed at Toad Space. Genis, the capital of the UAC and it's member states faces a grave turn as supporters from both sides are drawn, it is now clear to the Aldebaran's that they should have unveiled their power earlier and that the conflict would have likely ended ages ago if they had performed their arts of the arcane. As the UAC burns in turmoil, the Toad Empire and it's greatly weakened military and morale is still on the defensive as it's major recent defeats have left a lasting impact as the Toads struggle to create new tools from existing and even outdated tech to try to get back in the war as they quickly realize they can't capitalize on the sheer chaos now plaguing their rival super power. The victor of the civil war will decide the fate of not just the fate of Aldebaran and it's feline population... but of everything else as well...

The ruined world of Canis II, a world torn apart by the stellar war, debris of ships still float in the void as crews do their best to remove the ruined hulks, the planet surface isn't much better as the heavy fighting has destroyed much of the worlds infrastructure, obliterated buildings, ruined surface factories and discard vehicles and weapons cover what was the location of the last stand. With most of the worlds military assets destroyed, only a small army of around a thousand conscripts make up the worlds ground forces with only a handful of armored vehicles and artillery pieces, meanwhile the fleet in space is only a heavy cruiser with some frigates, all survivors from Canis forces that were deployed to other theaters during the siege.

A frigate emerges from ftl, it's shape looking like a winged arrowhead, it's hull showing it's an Aldebaran machine and the hazard stripes on the wings and nose are a dead give away. The Canis fleet moves to intercept but on the top of wings where they meet the body, quad missile launchers pop-up and launch their plasma missiles, each one striking home as the shields of the fleet give practically no resistance, the frigate are effectively torn in half from the impact and detonation of plasma, the cruiser on the other hand survives but for a few seconds it's power is knocked out from the sheer energy displacement of the plasma causing an emp effect. The frigate rolls like a fighter and zooms towards the heavy cruiser, the crew of the ship can't bring their systems back online and the captain quickly launches a surrender flare, prompting a signal of acknowledgement from the frigate, the mysterious machine quickly switches it's facing towards Canis II, the ground forces look up to see the machine come screaming down, all around the machine eight triple barrel pop-up plasma turrets make themselves known and begin to cover the ground in plasma fire, from the nose of the craft two fusion cannons flash and destroy a command structure, a few moments later another surrender flare launches and the frigate leaves the planet.

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I look over the control systems of my new ship, the heads up display of my helm giving me all the data I need to run the 1,300 ton machine.

The crafts a.i. makes itself known "All targets eliminated, Canis II and it's defenders have been defeated."

I give a smirk "Send word to Queen Katrina, that the Executioner has completed it's test run and is ready for action. We still need our battle automata however." making the ships next destination Aldebaran to return with it's holographic controls.

Within a few minutes I arrive at Aldebaran and regroup with the fleet in orbit, I have the Executioner dock and I leave the craft, eventually making my way to the briefing room where the council is residing with members of the U.A.C. states that have sided with us.

I give a salute "Adam reporting in!"

Katrina gives a nod which prompts me to lower my salute "Excellent work Adam, that frigate has passed it's trial to move forward, requisition what you need and we'll make sure you get supplied."

Mimi looks to both of us "That machine... I have never seen anything like it, any chance you could make more of them?" with her arms crossed.

Jenny shakes her head "Unfortunately we can't, the Executioner is a highly refined prototype that can't be mass-produced due to it's cost. Besides it would be pure chaos if such a thing entered mass production."

Falicia motions to a hologram "The Executioner incorporates several key systems, a highly advanced a.i. system handles most of the functionality but a crew can be used if desired. a high output anti-matter power plant with back up system to go with it's anti-matter drive, powerful electronic warfare suites and computer systems, repair and probe drones with multiple automata to handle boarders, security and maintenance, fuel processing systems for extended operations and an armament of smart missiles, plasma turrets and fusion cannons mounted in the nose. This makes the Executioner an excellent hunter-killer and it's sheer speed will allow it to outrun most other vessels, now worries about the a.i. as we've put blocks in to handicap it from doing anything... undesirable."

Bucky steps forward "Is it enough to end the civil war? If the toads launch a surprise attack during this we're kind of screwed."

Katrina looks to the rabbit "It is foolish to assume it will be a one hit wonder, the craft is formidable but it can't be everywhere at once and we don't know the limitations of the design yet. The best way to describe it is that the Executioner is essentially an enlarged fighter with turrets, compared to vessels like your which is a dispersed structure which is more suited to space, the Executioner is partially streamlined and it'll work in both atmosphere and space with little difficulty."

The look on everyone's face is just priceless as it seems to be sinking in just how much went into the machine, from an engineering point of view, the Executioner is heavier then the the Righteous Indignation but far faster, has more firepower and defensive capability and by far more utility with the same comparison for the three hastily-made frigate that were made at first, then again unlike most of the mammal fleet the Execution was built from the ground up to serve in a military role rather then a retrofit of an existing craft. Working alongside the engineers for it has just been a dream, the sheer technical know-how as they work like an artisan to create what they are working on, while the automated construction system alone was amazing to see, watching them fit the circuits and power lines, all the moduals and systems needed to make the vessel work. I had to be a little specific as I wanted to keep the design modular to keep the machine easy to maintain and to swap out for replacement parts.

But now Warren is the next target, I enter a large hanger with a hundred soldiers standing in power armor covered in ceramic plates, the suits baring hazard stripes and other markings, here they are, the first of my formation. What can I say, desperate governments hand out blank checks.

I stand firm "Attention!", the soldiers stand firm and give a salute "At ease.", they stop their salute but continue to stand firm "Now we are moving to Warren, another world that has sided with the separatists. I am not going to sugarcoat the truth, they are traitors to the U.A.C. and they are no longer your allies. Until they wave the white flag and surrender they are fair play, so treat them as such. This is the first attack for the Hazard Corps and I spared no expense, the armor you are wearing is state of the art and weapons to match. These traitors will know fear, they will know that they signed their own death warrant as we make our move.", I begin to walk around "What I am saying I don't speak lightly. I saved this world when the toads tried to invade a second time... now here I am, to be the Reaper himself. I accept that though not to my taste, but what matters now is doing what needs to be done.", I stop "So make yourselves ready!", I give a salute "IRON WITHIN! IRON WITHOUT! REMEMBER THE SIEGE!"

The soldiers salute once more and repeat the cry, this battle will show just what the Siege of Canis II had done to strengthen our resolve. Looking back at the preparation briefing, Bucky looked disappointed and asked if he can try again to get Warren to side with us but was denied, I feel for the guy as they are his people, his peers and his family... when he asked me what I thought afterword and I couldn't give him an answer that he wouldn't hate. Bucky and his crew were the one's who have taught me the most and had always been straight forward with me and I was the same return, I had to be. I had to plainly say that I understood where he was coming from and that I don't want to bring down the guillotine down on them, but I clearly say that if I don't do anything I'll be court-martialed and all the eyes are on me and the Hazard Corps, my only option is to see it through until either we crush them completely or until they surrender. The look on his face told me everything I needed to know...

Given the operation and the time we have, the Executioner will be sent out after it has received the rest of it's kit, meaning I'll deploy with the troops immediately. Looking over what schematics and blueprints I have been given, surprisingly there are few if any defenses at all and the few dry docks in orbit were geared towards civilians ships, mostly liners and other civilian craft, nothing practically for war preparation at all. Of course the info is likely out of date or such structures are probably hidden underground and hiding them even from their allies just made more sense.

I begin to head out and I hear "Wait up!", I turn around and I see Willy coming towards me in full uniform, a submachine gun hanging off his shoulder.

"Willy? Is something wrong?" as I have no idea what is going on.

Willy exclaims "I've been assigned to the Hazard Corps to help with the ground operations." as he hands me some documents.

I take them and begin to look them over with Bucky's signature getting my full attention, it's a temporary position for the operation and all the typical jargin, I give a sigh "Alright, I'll be assigning you to the fourth engineering division, they can use your experience." he give me a salute which I reply back, but I also speak up "That's the officially statement... but is there something here that isn't listed on the paperwork?"

Willy nods "Bucky reassigned me so that he knows the situation on the ground, he knows you'll bring him up to speed but he wants multiple eyes on it."

I give a smirk and chuckle "I expected nothing else. Given how tense the situation actually is I don't blame him for doing this, if the roles were reversed and this was Earth we were talking about I'd be doing the same.", I put on a more serious look "Believe me I don't want to do this either and I don't want to use the excuse that I'm just following orders to justify what may happen... but I sadly must."

We finish getting everything in order and the fleet heads out, a collection of cruisers and assault craft split into three groups, the first group is under Bucky's command which will hit the defenses and disable any forces in orbit, the second is under Mimi's and the last under Dogstar's despite everyone telling him to get more rest. My forces are spread across the second and third, our weapons are ready, our vehicles prepared... now it was time for action.

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Bucky enters the bridge of the Righteous Indignation, with Bruiser taking Jenny's place as she's been moved to an Aldebaran ground assault unit for this deployment, he takes his seat at the helm and gets the ship ready.

Bruiser looks to him "Everyone is on standby Bucky and ready for orders."

The hare gives a slight nod "If were lucky, we won't have to go through with them.", he gives a sigh "How could Warren have sided with the rebels? We set the climate right after the toads used the climate converter and Adam prevented a second attack... now we are the ones attacking it. If I had to guess the rebels must've pulled something on them, I can understand Canis II though, they lost practically everything."

Bruiser looks over some of the controls "Me personally I'm not sure about this either, no one wants to do this but we could get into a lot of trouble if we don't."

Bucky looks to the void ahead "Adam said the same thing." as he primes the drive.

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The fleet jumps to Warren and exits to find a rebel force in orbit consisting of cruisers and frigates with some of the hare fleet joining it, from a battle cruiser this beam shoots from what can be seen as a large memory stone, the beam cuts through cleanly two cruisers and five frigates, their primitive shields offering them no protection from the psionic-based beam. Bucky gives the order for the other groups to move in as the rebels are using some pretty powerful tech, The two groups quickly storm in, both baring Aldebaran vessels and the fleet engagement quickly falls into pure chaos as the ships of the U.A.C. can't get into position to deploy their forces thanks to that rebel Aldebaran ship and it's beam. The only ships that are withstanding such an attack are the other Aldebaran vessels and even they can't last forever...

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"Alright, we can't land with that battle cruiser firing that weapon, we need to get in close and board it, our mission is to capture it if we can, if not we sink the thing!" getting my equipment ready and heading to the boarding pods.

Mimi sounds on my comm "That ships point defense will tear us to shreds, but I don't see any other option. I'll notify the captain of your ship to perform a run and to abandon ship if the ship suffers too much damage."

I look over the psi-axe and plasma pistol as the memory stones give their blue glow... it comes to mind, that this reminds me of when I was still in training and I boarded that toad ship, another trial by fire, but this was a whole new ball game, while my gear is a huge upgrade over what I initially carried, the opponent is far more powerful, the Aldebaran's are unrivaled in most in not all fields depsite their somewhat lower numbers, even without their psionics their tech advantage alone is staggering and so fighting the rebels won't be anywhere near as easy as fighting the toads, dealing with them is going to costly indeed. So far the only thing that can hold up against their attacks is their own defenses and even then it seems to only be good for a time... and why do the toads still exist again? If the Aldebaran's jumped in earlier this war would have ended near instantly.

The Hazard Corps aboard the ship get into the boarding pods, altogether there are 13 of us as the ship is only a small frigate, I don't know if it'll be enough but it's a chance we need to take. I get in position to the front, knowing my telekinetics can make a strong enough shield for everyone to have some defense, but it works both ways, after we get into a strong position I'll have to drop the barrier otherwise we'd just be wasting ammo. The pods launch as the battle cruiser fires these plasma shots and it makes short work of the frigate, I feel a shiver hit my spine as I suddenly feel cold, that beam fires again and I'm grateful I can't see the intended target, we find our entry points which are view ports and the pods slam into them. The pods cut through and we get through with me putting up the telekinetic field, some plasma shots come our way as we find some light cover, I drop the field and open up with my plasma pistol, the second shot going through one of them and burns through her like a shooting star.

I open comms "Adam here, we've boarded the enemy battle cruiser and proceeding to disable the craft, find another way to deploy the ground forces while we keep them busy." a plasma bolt hits one of my soldiers, the ceramic armor absorbing the plasma with some ease, he returns fire and kills the Aldebaran, I give a smirk "At least we have a chance on the ground." as I ready my psi-axe "Alright everyone, let's start breaking things.... IRON WITHIN! IRON WITHOUT!"

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"Adam has done what?!" Jenny blurts from the news.

Mimi replies "Adam and a small force has boarded the battle cruiser to try to disable it, but we can't wait for that, he even stated for us to begin deployment in alternative areas."

Bucky cuts in "At this rate that's not a bad idea, we can handle these smaller ships but that thing is going through us like hare teeth munching on a carrot."

Deadeye fires a few shots, but the laser are useless as the shield quickly deals with the laser blasts, the duck feels his hands shaking "Me guns are useless Bucky! We might as well be sneezing on them!"

Jenny quickly forms a plan "Willy and I will launch our own boarding strike, it wouldn't hurt to give them another beach head to worry about, besides they'll aid our iron warrior no questions asked so it shouldn't be a problem."

A nearby enemy frigate fires at Bucky's ship which he barely dodge, however the edge of the shields meet the powerful plasma at it's edge and the shield goes down instantly, sparks erupt all over the ship as Blinky tries to reroute power to avoid any overloads. Bucky is taken aback by the display of power the Aldebaran vessels have as he decides to change his vector to flee the fight until emergency repairs are done, knowing his ship can't take another hit.

Jenny and Willy get into some assault pods with the Hazard Corps troops on the ship joining them, they make it successfully to the battle cruiser via the bow and begin to go about disabling the ship, the rebels reply with psionics and high-yield energy rifles, one of the enemy felines gets a psionic grip on one of those of the Hazard Corps, crushing him as she gives a smirk, the soldiers helmet eventually breaks enough to where his face is exposed, despite the flow of crimson he's giving her a smile which catches her attention, he pulls out two grenades as he uses his remaining strength to hug her and in a huge explosion as she screams the grenades detonate. The display stunning Jenny and Willy along with enemy crew, the remaining Hazard Corps continue their advance as they practically ignore the return fire of the crew as they open fire with projectile and energy weapons, one of the hazard striped soldiers pulls out a disposable plasma launcher and fires which destroys a nearby sensor room. A male Aldebaran comes at the with a two-handed psi-sword, cleaving into one of the power armored soldiers, the wounded soldier pulls out a pistol, shoves it into the cats mouth and pulls the trigger as the sword wielder releases a psionic wave that obliterates the solders helm and flesh underneath.

The carnage is just insane, the Hazard Corps are moving like a sledgehammer as they go room-by-room and hallway after hallway, in close combat they are using chaindrive weapons, pistols, piston-driven punches and hammers as they light the halls with a combination of hand flamethrowers, plasma and gauss pistols, submachine guns, shotguns and assault rifles, a few are armed with disposable plasma launchers, a few thanks to the power armor are wielding heavy machine guns.

Jenny blinks at the sheer destruction 'Shock and awe? These guys are crazy! How did Adam train them to be this efficient and do this much damage so quickly?! Even the baboons would be stunned at this.'

Willy looks to her "Adam's refined the tactics he taught during the siege, maximum firepower in the shortest amount of time, a more up to date version of the blitzkrieg in many ways."

The cat and human catch up to the Hazard Corps "Whatever the case, with how effective they are they'll shake the ship apart at this rate." passing the dead Aldebaran's along the way.

The group eventually comes to a bulkhead that's sealed and so the Hazard Corps begin to get to work on setting charges, Willy looks up and sees a barrier is activating, he shoves Jenny forward and he jumps back, a barrier separating hm from the rest of the group.

Jenny turns around "Willy? Are you okay?"

The human nods "I'm fine, but I now I can't get to you."

On that an Aldebaran wearing black robes comes and grabs Willy as she runs down the hall.

Jenny calls out "WILLY!!!" as she tries to look for him from where she is.

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A power generator explodes from a charge as we sweep through the halls, we've really broken our way through the ship, destroyed many minor systems and a few stabilizers, we're down to seven now but the the look of fear is amazing as the ship burns around them while the alarm sounds.

I hear on my comm "Adam?! Do you read me?"

"Jenny? Is that you?" as I take cover.

"Yes, Willy and I boarded with some of your troops to reinforce you and help disable the ship. Willy just got captured and I think they are heading to the bridge, they got us locked up over we are."

I take a breath "Keep up what your doing, we aren't too far from the bridge on my end, we'll meet up there."

The Hazard Corps that are with me look to me and nod with looks showing they are more then ready, I lead the way sword in hand with plasma in the other, making our way to the bridge as we smash our way through bulkhead after bulkhead and the security forces don't really last long. We eventually make it to the bridge, I raise my hand as it glows blue, the reinforced door buckles and after twisting it I fling it away but an energy barrier separates me from my soldiers. I look ahead to the glorified bridge with holographic screens and controls with some memory stones here and there, the captain is standing at it's center with a cat in black having Willy in her grip as the captain has a plasma pistol aimed at him.

The captain gives a smirk "We underestimated you Reaper, your forces are formidable indeed. Now look, I have the first human here at my mercy and so I will offer a choice, either stop destroying my ship and surrender or I'll kill him where he stands."

I give a growl "Let him go, he's just a kid!"

"A kid who is armed and aided you in yours and the U.A.C. darkest and heroic moments. The thing is that you humans are an interesting case and formidable, both of you will protect the Sisterhood that is still in place as well as the U.A.C. as has been demonstrated. Why not serve with us? The Sisterhood has done nothing but be lazy as entire populations have been wounded in this war."

I give a sigh "I know and I have voiced my opinion on that, but this is madness! Do you not see the very darkness of space is now illuminated by our souls suffering heat death? There is going to be no winner in this war no matter what either side does, the real enemies are the toads and you've got us fighting each other!"

The captain shakes her head "I share that, but even if we surrendered we would never be welcomed back with open arms and tried as traitors. And that is why in the end we would rather die then face that, we are the true sons and daughters of Aldebaran and the Aniverse belongs to us!"

Willy looks to me "Adam?" which earns everyone's attention "Don't worry about what happens to me, this ship needs to go down and they need to be stopped. You know this!"

"Willy, you are just a kid! You shouldn't even be close to the front let alone in the middle of this hell, you and I have defied the odds yes, but you know as well as I do we've been lucky all this time. Don't try to let that run out!"

Willy smirks "I know.... but you'll go further then I can. Even after the siege I know I could never be much use in a fight in the long run, I know my technical skills are of use, but they are going to need your willpower, psionics and tactics far more."

"Don't say that! We made it this far because of those skills too, we need brains and brawn if we are going to win! There is always a way, that is what we have taught each other!" as I do my best to keep myself together... fearing about what may happen.

The captain scoffs "Enough of this!" and fires her plasma pistol at Willy, blowing a hole through his chest as steam erupts in a piercing scream "You want this runt? Take him!" and she psionically throws him to me.

I catch Willy as I drop my weapons "Willy? Say something!"

Willy doesn't respond at all, those blue eyes showing no sign of life, I feel the tears form as it hits me, I smash my hand into the floor as I scream into the air.

The captain sounds "You had the chance, his death is on you... Reaper." and she begins to laugh.

I slowly open my eyes as I try to look through my burning gaze, I glance to Willy and close his eyes before laying him down, I can feel the power coming from my memory stone as the wolf makes it's presence known, I have my weapons come back to my grasps as I step past Willy. The psionic wiring near me explodes which really catches their attention as the captain starts her laughing. This has gone too far, I've tried to be reasonable and diplomatic and it hasn't really brought anything, all they care about is force and the need to control regaurdless of who or what stood in the way.

I let loose a howl as I send out a large psionic wave which causes the whole room to shake as more circuits explode and displays become scrambled, after howling for about thrity seconds I stop and see the fear in their eyes, I tighten the grip on my axe and charge at the captain with a burst of psionic speed at the new target... search and destroy!

To be continued...