"The truth is, Varro Kai, I cannot trust you with the initial thrust. Your link to the priest is an inconvenience I cannot dwell on."

The comment, while not unexpected, caused Varro Kai's anger to spark. Though nothing appeared on his emotionless features, the very lack of emotion spoke volumes as to the control he was asserting.

"So my fleet is too..." he began, knowing he shouldn't have. Knowing he shouldn't speak for the High Elder and Judicator of Judicators.

The presumptuousness was not lost on Kal Shora. "Your fleet will hold our flank while we move on Junction."

"Junction? What significance does a human trading post hold for the Dominion?" Again a social faux pas. Never question the ranking Judicator. Especially if you were only a Task Master. Oddly enough, Kal Shora did not react to the other's interuptions.

Perhaps the elder understood Varro Kai's predictament. Perhaps the elder just did not care and Varro Kai was not worth the time to waste before the Junction Campaign.

The injustice of everything Varro Kai had experienced at the machinations of Lohr, the ranking Priest attached to his fleet, from a caste that burned like a canker on the soles of his feet.

Would he have unsheathed his blade and dug the canker from his skin with all the contempt it deserved!

Kal Shora was watching the younger Task Master intently and eventually, as Kal Shora knew would happen, the younger man bowed his head and said tonelessly, "I obey."

The Elder nodded as if he expected nothing less.



And Kai's fleet left Se'T'ap'a'r'odar amid preparations for further Dominion glory. Glory, however, that would be shared by those who earned the trust of the Grand Judicator.






"He resents my presence. I can feel it, High Elder. I question the very motives of his desire to continue Borleas' great design."

The High Elder narrowed his eyes at the Priest Lohr. "I do not trust him." the elder relented as if passing a military secret out for the twitching ears of the priest. As if sharing some sort of confidence that bound the two males in comon cause.

Neither were naive enough to fall for it.

"Is that the reason for the nature of his current task?" the priest asked slyly.

"I want you to watch him. I cannot have him or his fleet take part in the greater glory of the Dominion while there still lies questions regarding his ultimate loyalty. If there is treachery, find it and quickly!"

"I obey the will of Borleas." intoned Lohr. It was not quite on the level of "I obey" but it would suffice.

For now.

"Carry out this trust and there might open up positions more suited to your pious needs, Priest." the Elder smoothly offered and the priest nodded his acceptance of the terms.

"He will come back bonded or broken, High Elder."

"Then go. Your vessel will need to catch up."

"He wouldn't dare to leave the system without the protection of our Caste!" Lohr couldn't help but boast. "According to the will of Borleas."

"According to the will of Borleas," the High Elder concluded before switching off.

The Priest's vessel was propelling itself away from the planet's gravity well and would soon disappear from view.

Looking at the area where the Task Master's fleet would be gathering and where the Priest's escorts would join, his lips separated revealing a grin baring sharpened teeth.


"Prove yourself to me." he said to himself.

RSD Galactus


Simon Kaine looked at the transmission that garbled and flickered in and out, intercepted by the relays of the C&C Communications Department aboard the Kaine's flagship.

"Can you get audio?" he asked having overheard the excitement at having intercepted the signal in the first place.

The Galactus had been practicing various maneuvers within the Insidion Corridor, a secret Hyperroute constructed during the time of the warship's year long refit.

No one would be able to mistake the general sleek lines of the Reign Class Star Destroyer but they also would not be able to recognize the ship due to it's sheer size. A five thousand meter command ship that used to hail in at nearly two thousand was quite a refit indeed.

The Captain, Gordon Sveli, was in the middle of training the various gunners of the expanded warship to coordinate their fields of fire against various fighter attack runs.

It seemed various factions, the Empire included, put too much stock in electronic tracking and computer controlled targeting systems. Systems that were only as good as the mechanisms sending, receiving, correlating, interpreting and, finally, responding were. And the wiring! One could not discount the damage to the electronic skeletal structure overlay a ship boasted.

A ruptured plating on the 6th deck could fry a wire running signals to Port-Side Battery #120 and prevent the firing mechanism from activating in a timely fashion causing a streaking fighter to unload it's payload and deliver a stunning attack against a portion of shield that, incidentally, happens to overload the sector shield generator.

Now, the Reign is one of the more armoured warships in service but no captain likes to rely on the ability of the armour to withstand concentrated weapons fire from an enemy. Call it a "pride" thing.

And so, for this exercise, the automated targeting systems were switched off and the defense of the ship was placed, literally, in the hands of the men, women and occassional alien that was authorized to push a button.

The GFC (Galactus Fighter Corps) was having a field day in trading ways of approaching the gargantuan warship to render their electronic attacks against whatever section was unlucky enough to fall into their targeting sights.

Supreme Commander Kaine was overlooking the performance from the bridge as he took a rare opportunity to flee the secret meetings, military bureaucracy, clandestine operations and general egos of men like Grand Moff Azrael Zell. He took solace in the work of an ordinary soldier and took comfort from the fact that his men were loyal to him by choice, not by being some wire-headed drooling grunt that couldn't tell the difference between an original thought and an implanted one.

He remembered the arguement when the planned Spartan II project was in the early stages, the front runner for the development of a pet project of Bhindi Drayson known only as Dark Empire. The scope with which Drayson thought both impressed and disconcerted him.

Concepts about what makes a warrior ultimate and the disagreements of all as they brought their own unique idea and experience to the table.

"Soldiers fight better, not because they are more loyal but because they've been well trained," it had been said.

"What good is training if the soldier is not 100% behind your ..ideology?" Bhindi asked, pointedly looking at Simon. He suppressed a smile at the meeting for the woman was an excellent politician.

"Because ultimately, my dear," came the patronizing voice of Zell, "a soldier in a combat situation couldn't give a bantha's ass about the ideology of his government. In a combat situation, he's only concerned with saving his own ass!"

Simon then did grin at the memory of what Drayson said then.


*

"Audio algorithm being applied.." came a response from the pit. Typically, at their location, intecepting a signal was chancy at best being surrounded by gravimetric eddies and simple spacial backwash.

"The signal seems to have piggy-backed a laser carrier wave. There is some degredation but it looks like... ahh. .yes.. an emergency signal."

"IFF encoding... Imperial Cruiser Astrin.."

The flailing hologram of who was presumably the Captain of the Astrin was suddenly innundated with sound: "Emergency Transmissi--.... ruiser Astrin .. und... attack. Unknown alie--- Junction...cooridinate..." *insert electronic encoded coordinate burst*

"Can we translate the coordinates?" Kaine asked, looking at the Department Head and the woman walked over from conferring with some of her people.

"We think so, Sir. We will have to swing the Galactus about and leave the Corridor."

Simon came to the decision immediately. "Prepare a situation packet for Imperial Center and send to the IHC. We will investigate this personally. Send the information to Helm as soon as it's extrapolated."

"Aye, Sir." the woman responded crisply and Kaine commed the Captain. "Sveli, we are cancelling the exercise. We've just intercepted a mayday from an Imperial Cruiser and are moving to investigate."

The channel burst active, "Acknowledged Supreme Commander. Recalling our birds now."

Excitement began to run through Simon's body as the call to action generated an anticipation not felt since stepping foot on Coruscant after it's capture.

Where have I been?

~Dominion~

Unknown Black Hole



Varro Kai silently fumed as his fleet took up a standard claw formation even though stationary. The black hole behind their position was giving the impression of coiled fury that did not come close to the force swirling about his mind.


His ships were of an older design but proven. They'd been Borleas' chariots on the Steps and now, that was not good enough for the current Grand Judicator.

And the High Priest Lohr never let him forget it with his constant yammering about the 'Grand Design' of the Dominion Purpose. The Task Master knew that the Religious Caste was formidable here in this new galaxy and they would only take so much of his attitude even if militarily pragmatic. He could not remember a time when such ...diplomacy was required to advance the cause of the Dominion or his own ambitions within the military.

He looked out at the soldiers and underlings serving him and knew that he held their own fates in his palm. A Fleet and it's Task Master were joined more tightly than any familial connection of the Cree Ar could be.

It was more than blood, sweeter than wine and stronger than a blast of dark matter.

He knew he would have to surrender to Lohr if only to spare his soldiers the humiliation that only a Priest of Borleas could conceive.

And the thought galled him.

But being remanded to the hind end of space while the rest of the Cree Ar military advanced into the soft underbelly of this galaxy galled him more.

And so he had called Lohr over to his flagship for pennance.

An opening appeared and through it walked the Priest, not bothering to hide the smug expression lining his face.

The Task Master ignored an immediate urge to hurl the priest out the nearest airlock.

"I have come for your public pennance." Lohr remarked loudly and Varro Kai could have heard a beetle's pincers click together in the silence that followed. He himself could not trust himself to continue breathing.

Lohr was going to humiliate the Task Master with a public display of subjection to the Religious Caste.

It was all he could do to keep the muscles on his face relaxed despite the clenching of his fingers behind his back.

He opened his mouth to speak but before any sound could leave his lips, an alarm sounded.

A proximity alarm!

"What..-" Lohr nearly shouted in confusion and then he stared open-mouthed at the center of their holographic viewscreen and Varro Kai could not blame him for his expression.

For a triangular warship of enormous size had just appeared out of nowhere it's weapons bristling with the evil intent of impeding Borleas' Grand Design.


"Battle." the Task Master whispered and his soldiers responded by moving with more efficiency in their individual duties allowing Varro Kai to reflect on how they would defeat this foe before them.

"Borleas tests you.." the Priest whispered harshly.

"Borleas tests us all." Varro Kai responded absently his eyes still riveted to the sight of the warship.

Unknown Black Hole



"Hyperspacial reversion." intoned the ship's AI as they arrived at the last course correction in their navigational map to the area simply known as 'Junction'.


All at once, as the sensors stretched out to give the Galactus much needed orientation information, an alarm sounded.

"TAC," ordered Captain Sveli and Kaine moved over to view a holographic overlay against the computerized digital representation of one of the largest black holes they had ever seen.

Several points caught Kaine's eye.

"Augment," he ordered and immediately, the points were highlighted and enlarged upon revealing an open claw formation of some sort of vessels the make of which he had never seen before.

"Have you ever seen ship's like this?" Kaine asked Sveli as the sensor AI began to chew at identifying the alien craft. It looked like they were not expecting any company any more than the Imperials expected someone to be stationed around the black hole.

The Captain shook his head, frowning. "There is a resemblance to Chiss design.."

"Not enough." Kaine mused. "They are far enough away but if I would have to guess, their claw formation is indicative of military craft or a military leader.... but I don't see--"

As Kaine turned away from the Tactical Analysis Computer towards a particular pit station, a yell drew his attention back towards the view ports.

Right before his eyes, it was as if space began to disappear shrivelling up to reveal similarly designed craft significantly closer.

"Cloak!" snapped Sveli. "Shields!" the Captain shouted to the defensive stations.

Too late! Kaine thought looking at their adversary. The vessels were much smaller than the Galactus' five thousand meters but three of them were much ...much closer.


The glowing port in front of the middle craft sparkled menacingly.

Unknown Black Hole


Varro knew that the gigantic warship had not detected their presence. The rest of his fleet had been stationed a few kilometers back holding to a configuration known to Cree Ar tacticians as "Reach".

A single Arbiter, positioned behind his flagship, had half formed a wormhole in front of his fleet's Command Group of three vessels. The other two cruisers flanking his flagship were his Flank Commanders and they were present to act as witnesses to Varro Kai's Pennance to the Priest Lohr.

Almost a fortuitous circumstance and one that Varro Kai was not given to lay at the feet of chance.

Everything happens for a reason... One of the chief tenets of faith in Borleas.


It was enough to restore his faith in the system...


If he and Lohr had not clashed, he would not have been sent here...

If Lohr had not been too prideful to demand his pennance...

If custom had not dictated the circumstances surrounding a public pennance...


They would not have had this advantageous position...


Hidden behind a wormhole...


His eyes scanned the stations surrounding his command and he realized his people were ready at their stations.


The large warship did not expect them to be there..


"They've seen the fleet..." his Second responded in crisp, clipped Battlespeak translating the machine language as quickly as it was coming in.


"Weapons Primed," came the acknowledge to his silent status order as his eyes travelled the circumference of the bridge stations that surrounded the large projection in the middle of the bridge.

"Reveal us." Varro commanded in Battlespeak, his hand half pushing the Priest out of the way.

Lohr, for his part, moved slowly back away from the projection of the heretic warship. His eyes were riveted to the machine translations of the scale of the vessel they were arrayed against and surpressed a shudder.


"Fire!" Varro Kai barked out, the excitement of battle beginning to course through his veins.



The glowing port of the Ja'Mha Rerodon Cruiser suddenly ejected its bundle of compressed energy.

~Empire~

Unknown Black Hole


Kaine's gloved hands gripped the bridge rails as a ball of expanding plasma ejected from the bow of the enemy alien warship.


From experience, he knew the initializing time of the shield generators and, calculating the distance roughly by sight of the smaller vessels, that they would surely be knocked offline wherever the energy struck.


He heard Captain Sveli already moving ordering a return fire from all available batteries and mentally approved. He was curious about the maneuverability of the enemy warships when the blasts struck... a shudder running down the entire length of the Imperial command ship.


Before Kaine's mind could register the event, two more volleys from the similar enemy ships flanking the center struck and several crewmembers in their pits were thrown about.


"Return Fire," he heard Sveli order and Kaine was about to open his mouth when more was added to the command, "Center Ship."


Good Sveli! Good!


With the exception of the sections of the hull hit, weapons barked back a response aimed at the center craft, presumed to the flag. As it turned out, the gamble was a good bet for the flanking ship to the right facing the enemy moved up and banked left revealing their underside while at the same time shielding the center craft.


Galactus' weapons tore into the alien warship severing one of it's wings midcenter.

"Shields online!" came an audio report from the ship's AI, relaying information from that particular crew pit and Kaine frowned.

The enemy blasts should have overwhelmed the shields overloading the cycling matrix and damaging the individual generators given they were just initializing at the moment of contact.

Unless the weapons did not affect the shield energy output allowing the initializing to continue unimpeded.

It was a conclusion that suddenly made the enemy numbers much more worrisome.

The broken enemy warship had taken the brunt of the return fire allowing the other two craft to swerve away from the Galactus in an attempt to get out of the larger vessel's range.

"The rest of the enemy fleet is moving forward.." Sveli remarked, looking at the TAC and reviewing a report from the Damage Control pit.

"We've lost temporary contact with those sections that the enemy weapons hit so we do not know the extent of the damage yet." the Captain said, "Shields are down in those sections.."

Kaine turned to the other man, "They are down because the generator areas themselves may have been slagged and not due to overloading. I have a feeling their weapons can pass through our energy shields."

Sveli looked at the Supreme Commander aghast. "Wolves around a Stag..."

Simon grimaced and pointed to the TAC. "Turn our bow to face the position of the enemy flag. That will bring our starboard to "T" off with the advancing fleet. Turn our weapons to meet their threat."

"We keep the shields raised until their next volley to see if your observation plays out and if it does.." Sveli commented as Kaine moved away from the TAC.

"...then keeping the shields raised does nothing but waste energy."

"Where are you going?"

"To check the damage and Sveli, whatever you do, keep our engines protected from flanking fire. Sacrifice a hit on another part of the ship if you have too... Anticipate. The Galactus is no attack cruiser."

"Aye, Supreme Commander!" and the Captain turned issuing orders as quickly and loudly as crewmen could respond.

Who in the hell were they? Sveli wondered.

Unknown Black Hole



The flagship's first shot had struck the larger vessel on the top, on it's rather flat triangular upper hull midway to the port bow (as the heretics reckon battlespeak).

The Task Master's eyes narrowed as he noticed no detectable resistance to their volley.

Quickly, and in succession, his two flanking vessels followed his direction releasing volleys of their own striking near the original hit.

"Signal Reach to extend." Kai ordered knowing that while they suprised the laviathan warship, his three ships on point would not be a match for the concentrated weaponry it would surely lash back at them with.

"Order Gorran on our left flank: shield!" he clipped off ordering the vessel to the left side of him to swing around to shield a move to distance the forward position from the inevitable return fire.

The cruiser Gorran filled his view as it turned it's belly to the enemy and as he was ordering a fallback maneuver with it's shadow, the return fire of the enemy battleship struck his fleet.

The Gorran shuddered as multiple blasts caught it's underside. Varro squinted as the enemy struck and blasted apart one of Gorran's forward sweeping maniples (wings).

"Thrust!" he ordered quickly as the nearby Arbiter formed a short range wormhole that shot all three vessels away from harm leaving the Gorran spinning in space, the victim of a revenge filled return fire.

The black warship continued to fire from all weapons points and blisters that would reach and Varro leaned forward sensing a weakness. For there was no return fire originating in the areas that his three ship's volleys had struck.

With his numerical superiority, they could swarm the larger vessel each striking the weak point ensuring his enemy moved to protect it leaving other areas less guarded.

"The heretics move!" Lohr nearly shouted as if willing himself to be a part of the battle. His fear was evident but the gesture was not lost on Varro Kai. Perhaps there was a hint of courage still flowing through the veins of the Religous Caste after all.

The Task Master's attention was directed to the translation of the signal that was called, by the barbarians of this galaxy, an IFF recognition code. The ship hailed itself as an Imperial warship designated, Galactus.

The shout drew his attention from the sensor translations back to the Galactus and he saw that his enemy was challenging his right to be there by pointing their bow straight at them.

"Are we out of range?" he asked quickly.

The Sensor Officer tried to reply with certainty but could not. "Task Master, with little experience in facing these heretics.."

Kai nodded at that fact and brushed away the Officer's guesses. "The Gods will let us know soon enough."

The rest of his fleet were moving as fast as they could on their sublights but their positioning had placed their near the event horizon of the black hole. It was their culture to hold in waiting as close as possible to the most dangerous phenomena in the area, in this case, a black hole.

As long as they did not move closer from their holding position, they were in no danger. But their proximity to total oblivion was such that maintenance crews worked round the clock to ensure their craft remain in position remaining unaffected by the gravitic drift.

The crews prayed their silent prayers and remained vigilant. Nothing ever curried faith half as well as staring Borleas directly in the eye. And the swirling maelstrom of a black hole definitely made one think Borleas looked upon them, always judging, always testing.

"You must destroy that ship!" hissed Lohr stepping up to the Task Master.

Varro Kai stopped and turned to the religious leader. "A task that I will not be able to complete without the blessing of Borleas." he rebuked.

As Lohr closed his eyes and began to move his lips, Varro interrupted, "a public blessing, Holy Sir."

"The heretic is releasing drones!"

"Now, priest!" Kai hissed back.