There is a saying deep in the annals of the underworld, where greed and money are the only gods and profit the only salvation. It has reigned throughout time eternal and in a million different tongues, a billion different dialects. Those of high moral fiber would believe such a saying to be misguided, but that's just because they never looked at the profit margins. The saying, when put in basic, goes something rather like this: war is good for business.

And so as the Coaltion and Black Dragon Empire attempted to carve out chunks of eachothers territories in a grand display of underlying sadomasochistic intent, the Union mobilized and made an offer. The offer was accepted. So now the Union quietly moved to take other worlds like Kubindi open as well since the main forces of the Coalition were off fighting their war.

Outside the Kubindi System

Omega Thrax sat calmly on the bridge of his command ship, Eliminator One, a Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser as it and the fleet around it aligned for the hyperspace jump that would take them into the Kubindi system. It was a shoddy fleet by military standards, but the Union always prefered to mix and match since it confused those it chose to attack. Right now the Union would openly attack the weak Coalition forces at Kubindi as was arranged via negotiations. Omega Thrax was only concerned with success, his small fleet of vessels loaded with nothing save Necrotroopers, the Union's expendable puppet soldiers.

"Prepared for uplink, sir," a necrotrooper technician said as it finished plugging several wires into the back of Thrax's neck.

"Commence."

Thrax felt a slight tingle and then an all consuming awareness as every necrotrooper in the fleet stopped for but a second as they felt the will of Omega Thrax flow over theirs. Thrax didn't even have to speak now, every necrotrooper in the fleet now linked to his own severly augmented brain. The only reason this uplink was even possible was because Thrax was a byproduct of the necrotrooper research known only as Project Necros. Even then though, certain circumstances had been taken into account. The other two dreadnaughts in the fleet were also carrying Omega Thraxs, each also hooked into the low frequency mental network. The reason for three Thraxs was simple, if the main died, the secondary could take control, the third acted as a backup and obviously one of them would have to go down onto the planet after the battle, unlikely to return as Union contacts had made comments of Phage launches from inside BDE space.

Omega Thrax let his mind sweep through the fleet, quietly assessing his resources before givng the jump order. The fleet consisted of three modified Dreadnaughts, each sporting enough external docking racks to carry in two fighter squadrons a piece, seven Kaloth cruisers, six Class 1000 Cruisers, and six squadrons of HLAF-500 starfighters. Perhaps not impressive, but it would be enough to overwhelm what little defenses Kubindi had. So now, with the assessment done, Thrax sent an order through the network and the fleet made a jump into hyperspace.

Kubindi Sytem

Like always, the Union forces arrived with little show, they simply exited hyperspace and began taking up battle positions, a pair of Kaltohs and Class 1000s moving along with each Dreadnaught, though the additional Kaloth took up position ahead of Eliminator One. The fleet performed a brief sensor sweep, assessing what forces the Kubaz had for their defenses before beginning their approach. Figther squadrons simultaneously detached from their racks, flying into formation ahead of each battle group before the Dreadnaughts and the rest of the fleet raised their shields, weapons charging as they prepared to mercilessly annihilate the Kubindi defenses.

Kubindi was not a happy place.

An Azguard fleet was in the process of administering medical aide to the planet. The Kubaz were cloistered in their hives, under the mountains - thankfully, Phage was weak there.

The planet had almost no wildlife, the only life at all being the underground hives of insects and the clans of Kubaz who lived off of them. Under the ground, the Phage could not get. It didn't spread far in the open air. In fact, the cases had been few. For those in the know (of which there were few), the Kubaz actually already had everything they needed to fight the plague off. Their medical centers were adequetly stocked, they had enough medical gear coming in, and Panacea aided the doctors in their work.

The reason for the fleet, was far more secret. A lab had been erected in the windswept secrecy of the blasted landscape. The middle of nowhere, the ultimate hiding place, and also easy to disavow if it came to it. There, the Coalition used the veil of a medical emergency to conduct its' own research on Phage.

"It's strange stuff..." muttered Doctor Proctor, one of the Coalition's leading medical researchers and generally despised by his colleague, Doctor Decker for his work on Panacea. "Half biological, half technological. An Ion wash won't kill it, because the biological side survives - and an ion dose large enough to kill that too would kill the patient."

He examined the sample under the electroscope again. "It replicates, too, so you can't have a temporary solution - hell, that's the problem. Panacea could kill it, one on one, but this 'Phage' replicates too fast."

He was, in point of fact, talking to an A.I. - Rita. "Coalition databanks have no files on the use of Phage before this, nor do we have any files within the same perameters."

"Great, so we're flying blind." Proctor sighed. "At least things can't get any - "

Red lights and sirens suddenly wailed, causing the doctor to leap up and trip over his chair. "What the frack is that?"

"Priority alert. Hostile presence detected in orbit - lockdown to be initiated in five minutes."

"Damn! Wait! I'm still in the lab!" Stumbling to his feet, Proctor grabbed the A.I.'s holoprojector and dived under the rapidly closing door. Dashing through the halls to the emergency bunker, he passed his colleagues in the hall "What's going on up there? Are the Dragons coming after us?"

"I don't know!" shouted a grey-haired doctor who struggled to keep up "Just get to the bunker."



The fleet in orbit was more considerable than would be expected.

The small Kubaz force was still there, bearing proudly the symbols and colours of their nation on the Defender-class gunships and fighters that were theirs. More noticeable, however, was the Claymore battlecruisers, Longsword Frigates, and Kris starfighters that sat with great formality in orbit.

The Azguard in command, who shall be referred to as 'the Commander', stood on his bridge, looking down to the planet below. With great calm and control, a bridge officer saluted, and said "Commander. Outlaw fleet on approach vector - preliminaries suggest similar to the force that attacked Tammar."

The Commander raised his eyebrows in honest interest. "Them again, you say? Very well. Bring us about."

The officer snapped off a salute before hurrying off to give orders. The Commander seated himself into the command chair of his Claymore - he'd missed the earlier fight at Tammar, but now would be a chance to show his merit in defence of something vital to the Coalition.

As the thoughts of battle began to fill his mind, a subtle biological change initiated, and the Azguard spread a feral grin.

"Give me a line to the Kubaz captain!" he exclaimed, as he eyed the approaching enemy with eager eyes. A small screen attatched to his chair came alight, showing the goggled, long-snouted alien native that defended this planet. "Captain! Battle is at hand. I request consolidated command in the repulse of these outlaws!"

The captain pulled on his nose, and said "Command is yours - I trust you will defend my homeworld well. What are your orders?"

"Ensure our fighters are all launched, before raising shields and arming weapons - this is an Azguard plan, captain, which means we will be the attackers, not they!"

The rapid Coalition fleet armed itself, forming a spearhead and tearing through space to meet head-on with their enemy.

Omega Thrax was, in a word, annoyed. That was the only thing this feeling in his mind could be as the sensor relays picked up the Azguard forces. His fleet could not engage something like that, but then again his target had never been the Azguards in the first place, it was Kubindi and its snouted inhabitants that the employer wanted. Thrax sent a message through the mental network to the other two Omega Thraxs in the fleet. They relayed the same annoyance but also confirmed the belief that if anything, ground forces had to be landed. The Kubaz would be easy to subjudgate even with Coaltion forces in orbit, but reinforcements would be required to maintain control of the world once the landing forces smashed their way through the current defenders. With that, Thrax relayed a command to a single fighter pilot and one HLAF-500 turned and vanished away into hyperspace preparing to make an number of confusing microjumps to throw off any trace attempts.

With his message sent off to the Union, Thrax turned his attention back to the situation at hand. The Union fleet began to realign itself to the new calculated tactics necessary to ensure that the dreadnaughts, packed with necrotroopers, would be able to reach the surface. The three dreadnaughts formed into an arrowhead and began to fire their port manuevering thrusters up and their starboard ones down, causing the ships to begin to spin as they moved forward, looking like bullets as the Kaloths and Class 1000s closed in around them, creating a moving shield. The shields went to full power on the dreadnaughts as all spare power was put into weapons on the shield force around them, even life support since all the necrotroopers were wearing their selfcontained combat suits. HLAF-500s surged ahead to meet with GC starfighters, ready to kill as many as possible as the Union fleet prepared to force its way through to Kubindi.

Omega Thrax and his two copies pressed onwards with their battle group drawing in closer and closer to the Azguard forces, data gathered before giving warning of what was to come. As the shield force began to open fire, it gave no clear shots for Longswords to hit the dreadnaughts. The shield force was even making a point to hammer the vile frigates with all their fire power, completely ignoring the bigger Claymores, determined to prevent the support vessels from doing any physical damage to the three most important ships. Omega Thrax would make this into a ground battle, something the Coalition and Kubindi were not equipped to deal with here and if he could land his troops on the surface, the GC would dare not try to bombard because their shots might break through the surface to the Kubaz tunnels just beneath it, killing many. Morality was a weakness that even the Azguards had, the Union however, had no such scruples.

With a roar of laser fire and warheads, the two forces began to trade fire, the shield force constantly using themselves as massive shields to protect the dreadnaughts, any stray shots getting through easily dissapating across the spinning, shielded hulls, no shots able to concentrate on a single location as the dreadnaughts kept spinning like projectiles. The HLAF-500s began the dangerous dance of dogfighting with the enemy fighters, though easily more coordinated than the Azguardians. The shield ships ignored any and all damage they took, continuing to pour all their fire into any Longsword in range, the only real threats to the troop landing operation now as the fleet began to try to push past the Azguard forces, uncaring of what happened to themselves, just as long as the objective was achieved.

The Commander bore a look of fury as he gave his orders "Ignore us, will they? Load boarding torpedoes, and bring us head on with the force trying to break our lines! By my fangs, we shall shatter the dogs!"

The Claymores - a terrifyingly sleek and fast quartet of them - smashed their way out of battle, knocking a surprised Class 1000 cruiser out of their way and into a trash heap. Behind them came the Longswords, as tight squadrons of Kris fighters peeled off to savagely duel with the HLAF-500s. The enemy held tightly around the Dreadnoughts, a protective shell that the Coalition spearhead sought to break.

Particle-Projector fire flew like a volley of stones, knocking a hole in the formation as a pair of Kathols were battered out of formation - a hole just large enough for a Claymore to squeeze. Eagerly, the commander pointed to the space and howled with excitement, his crew bringing the battlecruiers in to pierce the lines.

The other Coalition ships broke formation, scattering around the enemy and pulling away, unable to break the enemy formation, but for the commander's Claymore there was just enough space.

"What the hell is he planning?" said the Kubaz captain, onboard his Defender as the Kubaz forces held tight to repel waves of fighters. "He'll be torn apart - the Claymore's a jousting warship, not a slugger." He was forced to turn away as another wing of HLAFs screamed overhead, and he ordered turret fire to break up their flight.

What he didn't know, was that the Azguard commander had every intention of jousting. The Claymore seized upon the lead enemy Dreadnought, and with a whoosh launched off a volley of torpedoes from the front of his ship, along with another Projector volley.

The Projectors shattered the shields, but these were no normal torpedoes following in their wake. As the battlecruiser smashed its' escape route through the defenders, the torpedoes impacted with sickening thuds and drilled into place.

Space was a hubbub - the Coalition forces hadn't been badly damaged due to the enemy's tight formation and direct purpose, but neither had they been able to halt the enemy from passing them. Regrouping to give pursuit, the commander's Claymore arrived as another few wings of Kris returned from dogfights with the HLAFs.

"Turn around, quickly!" said the commander, as his eyes quickly appraised the enemy. "Confirmation? Someone give confirmation, damnit!"

"Sir! Confirmation - boarders engaged."

"Right" said the commander. This was how Azguards fought a battle!



The boarding torpedoes had riddled the lead Dreadnought. With distressing control and unison, the Necrotroopers gathered at a contact point, looking at the white-hot drill that had just bore through thick armor plating. There was a sound, like the release of compressed air, and the drill opened-

-Instantly, battlecries could be heard, in stark difference to the silent Necrotroopers. Fully-suited Azguard-Sector warriors thundered aboard, spraying fire from their guns and brandishing swords above their heads. Azguards, Vrakken, Kraz, Frozians, even Kraum - creatures of all sizes and strengths poured forth, slashing and hacking into ranks of invaders, who slashed and hacked back.

The Dreadnought had become a battlefield.

(Gah, wrong name, but oh well)

Omega Thrax's mind drifted calmly through the embattled Necrotroopers in the corridors attempting to repel boarders. He hadn't anticipated such a stupid move by the Coalition commander, but then again the Galactic Coalition was noted for its brave souls. However, this boarding situation was most distracting and a small danger to the landing operations for the lead dreadnaught. How typcial that the GC forces would try to remove what they would assume is the command ship. It was irrelevant whether this ship was taken or not, but the fact of the matter is that it wouldn't be because there was one simple factor that the Coalition couldn't deal with; the absolute fanaticism of Necrotroopers.

As the trio of dreadnaughts with their shield ships flew past the Coalition forces and began entering the atmosphere of Kubindi, the battle with the boarding parties continued to rage on, Necrotroopers fighting untiringly and noiselessly against he battlecries of the Coalition forces. Within the deeper innards of the ships, inside the holding bays converted to large cryo chambers, Mark Two Nectrotroopers walked among the racks of hanging inactive Necrotroopers, obeying orders and activating them. The battles on board Eliminator One also were now becoming very blood and vicious as the GC troops tried to fight the painless, silent soldiers of the Union. An Azguardian attempted to run a Necrotrooper through with his vibro blade, succeeding only to feel sharp pain as the still functioning Necrotrooper rammed its own blade in between the soldiers armor plating and twisting the blade, a small added tactic suggested by Omega Thrax who lurked in the back of the minds of all the Necrotroopers.

"Reanimation process going through initial phases on all vessels, sir. " a technician reported over the com unit, obviously not wanting to clog the mental network with this information.

Omega Thrax mentally acknowledged the message and then angled his dreadnaught force, the surviving shield ships following after them, blocking off fire from the Coalition fleet as they all entered the atmosphere, all being small enough to do so unlike the Coalition's Claymores. Their destination soon became clear, the primary enclaves of Kubaz. However an odd energy signature on the scanners quickkly drew Thrax's attention. He ordered a deeper sensor sweep and it registered as a scientific center from the odd energies signature. It showed as recently built from the scans, which meant it was something worth raiding. Thrax redirected the Eliminator One towards the location as his Necrotroopers continued to battle with the boarders, easily holding their ground even as more Necrotroopers were being awakened from the stasis onboard all of the dreadnaughts, Thrax intending to use his to first kill all the boarders.

Down in the corridors, a squad of Coalition soldiers moved down one empty hallway, armed to the teeth. Their progress quickly ceased as several doors opened and squads of Necrotroopers poured out, opening fire with their rather lethal flechette rifles. The first few GC troops caught off guard were quickly cut down by the sharp, fast little rounds as a firefight ensued. In one of the other areas of battle a GC boarding party was defeating the current security squad of Necrotroopers, until they shot the last one. As it dropped to the ground, they moved forwards, only to hear the small beep of a frag grenade being armed. The GC officer of the group looked down in shock as the last dying Necrotrooper detonated his grenade belt, triggering others around him, killing the GC forces with him. The battle for Eliminator One would only continue to get worse for the Coalition boarders now.

Onboard the first dreadnought, the battle was grim. Despite unparalleled fighting, the Azguard-Sector forces were outnumbered and began to be driven back. Most gathered at an intersection, where piles of dead Necrotroopers were being used as crude cover. From there, the troopers poured fire at the neverending flow of reanimated soldiers.

It was here that Captain Lorva arived, dragging a wounded Azguard soldier who'd taken a blade to the shoulder. The two had just escaped from a deadly and explosive ambush moments earlier. He growled and groaned alternately, but she hissed and snapped in the gutteral Azguard dialect before dumping him behind the stack of bodies.

"We're pinned down!" shouted sergeant Clev to the Azguardian captain arriving among the boarders. "They're just pouring out of these vats, ma'm! We can't move forwards at all."

Captain Lorva had only one eye - the other being a mass of scar tissue and a mechanical replacement. She grabbed a passing Vrakken soldier, and shouted "Get the rocket launcher up there, I'm preparing for a break-out."

The Vrakken nodded, and rushed to grab the one heavy piece they'd brought. As he did that, Lorva focused her mechanical eye towards where Necrotroopers poured forth.

As the red digital image came into focus, cryochambers could be seen - row upon row, storing the vast majority of the invasion force onboard this ship. Her two minds raced, establishing a battle plan, and finally settling on a dangerous idea. "Get that rocket forwards! Give him cover - and clear the corridor!"

The embattled troopers laid down heavy weapons fire, which was lethal against an enemy that did not know fear or pain, for they had less reason to get out of the way and many were simply not quick enough. With a moment's respite, the Vrakken rushed forwads and fired his rocket, causing a blast of fire and smoke to fill the hallway between them and the chambers.

"Path clear, ma'm-" The vrakken suddenly took a stray shot to the side of the head and crumpled. Ignoring that, Lorva looked quickly around before spotting a Kraz wearing the green marker of tech specialist (after all, someone has to keep the torpedoe flying!). Grabbing the Kraz suddenly, and neglecting to explain her plan, she leapt over the crude protection of spattered necrotroopers and dashed down the smoky corridor, dropping small orbs as she ran.

The first necrotrooper to rise up against her was decapitated as three serrated claws did their work. With a feral scream, Lorva leapt into the air, landing feet-first on the chest of another. The Kraz in tow was screaming too, although less ferally and more 'What the hell are you doing?!'

Into the vat chambers, they found themselves. All around were cryochambers, terrible things laden with people frozen in time, waiting to awake and become terrible soldiers.

"You're a techy!" bellowed Lorva "Do something! Overheat them, or whatever it is you do!"

"What? I hardly even know what these things are, much less-" A blaster shot from a Necrotrooper whizzed by his head. He reconsidered "I'll get right on it."

Lorva turned to see who had been shooting, and came face to face with a Mark two necrotrooper. They never spoke, but she was almost sure it growled.

As Lorva had to look down just to see it, she reacted quite calmly and logically. She punted it. Across the room.

"Well, that wasn't so-"

The second one leapt from the side of a Cryochamber, landing on her back and clinging to a fistful of her hair. Lorva shrieked in rage and clawed wildly at the air as it tried to bash in her helmet with a bent pipe.

"Hurry it up over there!" she shouted to the Kraz, who was doing something very technical to a wall panel.

"I'm trying, okay? This isn't like dusting... y'know... those things? Grow outta the ground?"

"Sorry, can't recall just what you're talking about!" she shouted back as he tried bashing the Necrotrooper against a wall. There was a sickening crunch and splat as Lorva's helmet ground through a section of his chest and left him a twisted mess on the ground. For good measure, she lifted a huge foot and flattened his head. "How much longer?"

"Just a little longer now. If I can alter the enviromental controls, the vats will overheat and the thawing process will be ruined, killing them all."

"Wait, how're you going to do that?" said Lorva, as she found her discarded rifle.

"Well, first I had to tear out all these safties." he said, reffering to the small pile of wires next to him. "Now I just need to-" There was a sudden spark of electricity, scorching the walls on either side. "There, that should do it."

"Now we just have to get out of here." said Lorva. However, in the time since their arrival, Necrotroopers had clogged the way back. Nonechalantly taking out a remote she pressed the red button, as the small metal orbs she'd dropped on the way in ignited and exploded, once again clearing the corridor. "Come on, before they come back!"

There was a sudden sound of cracking. The Azguard and the Kraz stopped, and turned. Thin cracks in the glass of the Cryochambers began to form, the machinery begining to wheeze dangerously.

"Run!" She shouted, and continued to shout it all the way back. They bounded over the bodies, bellowing orders to pile back into the torpedo. She took a moment to grab the wounded soldiers and pass them up to others as the machinery behind threatened to - well, something. Probably bad.

"Mission accomplished, repeat, fall back!" Lorva shouted into her comm, before leaping into the torpedoe that resealed itself and launched backwards-

-into open air. Drifting for a sliver of a second, the relaunched torpedoes full of escaping boarders then tore upwards through the air, falling far slower than the speeding enemy ships and being soon left behind in the atmosphere. Freefall seemed inevitable, Lorva was cursing just how solid ground was, when just as suddenly they felt a tug.

The Longswords had come! Struggling to maintain constant forward thrust, they caught the torpedoes with tractor beams and sucked them quickly (and sometimes, just narrowly) into their fighter bays. The torpedoes rolled and scraped against the metal, coming to a halt in the bays.

The Longswords themselves pursued as best they could, annihilating the rearguard of the enemy with constant salvoes to their backs. It was not enough, though - even with many Kathols and Class 1000s destroyed, the three Dreadnoughts were unshakeable, even if one had lost its' troop compliment. With no alternative, the Longswords broke off the chase.

"Damn, damn, damn!" said the Azguard commander. He paced his bridge, looking down at the planet where the enemy had "They're sure to get those forces on the ground now! That's it, we need to act fast - we'll catch them in the open. Load our transports and our shuttles, scramble our fighters and have the Longswords prepare for ground runs. This battle is moving to the ground!"

Down upon Kubindi, things were already not going as well as the Coalition had hoped for. A brisk wind on the barren surface picked up a cloud of Phage and set it drifting over the planet, drawing closer to civilized areas, hidden underground and naively thinking they were safe. The Phage was beginning to seep in through the surface entry ways to the many insect hives that the Kubaz fed on to survive. One particular beetle quickly took it on unknowingly and began its journey back underground now that its day to day duties were done for right now. Left and right, the beetle skittered blindly along the tunnels, following the chemical scents laid down by its fellow hive members. It was about to reach the central area when another scent caught its attention and the beetle turned off to the side, with each little step spreading Phage particles to be picked up by other beetles. The scent the beetle had was starting to drive it mad, it was the chemical scent of mating so its pace only increased drawing closer and closer until it found the opening it came from, exited it, and was caught.

The Kubaz looked proudly down at his catch of beetles, knowing they'd fetch a nice price at the local market even as the Phage beetle mingled with the others, infecting them as well as they all pushed and rubbed against one another in the Kubaz's holding container. These specific beetles were hard to lure out which meant they fetched a good price for anyone who knew how to get them. Proudly and rewardingly, the Kubaz plucked out the same first infected beetle and ate it, the Phage entering his body. He then turned and carried the infected beetles off to the main market. Perhaps his batch would be caught but it mattered little now, whole other hives were infected as well and simple physical contact with the insects had already begun to spread the Phage. The infections of Kubindi was beginning even as the Union forces were moving into position to begin their attack, their Necrotroopers protected by their vaccuum sealed suits.



The Union forces were now deploying, the two dreadnaughts landing above the largest population centers of Kubaz, Necrotroopers offloading and beginning to march towards the main entrances. The creatures were no military power and would be easy to subjudgate. Along another part of the surface, Eliminator One cruised in and touched down near the hidden research facility. Omega Thrax stepped off with the remainder of his crews while technicians on board finished ripping out and destroying the ship's memory banks and nav computers. The location of the Forge was on none of the ships, but it was always best if the enemy never knew what they were dealing with in any fashion of the senese.

"Sir, Eliminator One memory cores and nav systems destroyed."

"Excellent," Thrax said, looking across the bleak landscape as the surviving crew unloaded and took up weapons.

"Reports from the cryogenics section, troop compliment completely lost. The GC force sabotaged it."

"A pity, but we still have most of the ship's crew. Prepare to take that facility," Thrax said calmly pointing towards the research facility.

"Yes sir, should we get any heavy ordinance?"

"Explosives. We'll likely need to blast our way in and who knows what else. I also have something I'd like you to rig up."

Omega Thrax pulled the technician aside, giving him some specific instructions as the crew filed out and took formation, mostly being Mark Twos since they crewed the ships. It would give only a small edge in battle since they weren't as mindless as Mark One's, but they were all Thrax had as well. This would require a more conservative attack method but overall, it was important to investigate this facility and deal with it if necessary.

Even as this operation began, the other two Omega Thraxs were directing their own troops, large masses of Mark Ones marching off of their dreadnaughts as the Mark Two's on board also saw to dismantling the memory cores and nav computers, wiping out all traces of any evidence by destroying them. The Mark Twos also went about visiting the weapon bays, removing explosives and beginning to refit them for ground use. This would be an improvised battle, but the Union forces knew how to adapt, which meant they'd be taking some heavy weaponry with them.

"Sir, orbital movement indicates the GC forces are positioning for what may be attempted landings."

"Let them come, they'll only be infected sooner or later. There is no cure for what's on this world now."

Thrax turned and watched a dust cloud that blew past, his hidden eye, a sensor array, detecting the Phage that lurked in the cloud and coat a number of Necrotroopers in it. With a sinister thought, Omega Thrax developed another plan as well.

Fringe of the Kubindi System

A small probe exited hyperspace and quietly scanned the area, relaying its information back to an unknown source outside the system.

Armies of zombie-soldiers poured from the two Dreadnoughts - bloated with the confidence born of unfamiliarity with Kubindi. The harsh solar flares made the planet's surface unlivable, but there were greater dangers waiting the erstwhile invaders.

Too quickly, had they dismissed the Kubaz as defencless. They did not detect any vast armies of Azguards, armed to the teeth in the latest vibroswords and heavy e-web blasters. They didn't find any tanks rolling over the dunes, or massive cannons to knock their Dreadnoughts from the air. The Kubaz wouldn't need them.

Years - no, decades - no, generations of fierce warfare had turned the Kubaz into a territorial, feuding, and above all well-armed society. Even the Coalition had accomplished little beyond stopping open-air armed conflict. It had hardly been necessary to initiate quarentines, there weren't two hives next to each other that were on speaking terms, most of the time, and now accusations of being "plague-ridden" had eliminated what little reason they had to communicate on a regular basis.

So, as silent armies of Necrotroopers ventured into the deserted tunnels that connected the underground city to the blasted hellscape above, furitive eyes watched. They liked a silent enemy, it was a change from screaming clansmen.

It was thus that, as ranks of Necrotroopers advanced, the tunnel began to shake and shudder. Stones cracked and collapsed, showering them in boulders and rubble. As the formations were disrupted, the shriek - or rather, odd honking noise - of Kubaz natives could be heard, spitting fire from the shadows and crevices.

The Necrotroopers were surprised (Or would be, if they could have been) to meet such resistance. The savagery of the natives was a terrible thing, for the hive-city had been on alert and its' warriors were fierce. Did the Union think that with just two Dreadnought's worth of troops they could seize whole cities? The Kubaz were ferocious, insatable, and though their weapons were not as fierce they fought from home turf defended by generations of warriors, popping out from behind rocks, down side-tunnels, releasing pit traps, and all manner of strange projectiles.

Though the Necrotroopers knew not fear, their commander knew basic tactics. As they moved quickly back to the mouth of the cave, the Necrotroopers ranked up to bombard the defenders, arming the most terrible of explosives.

Soon, the defenders realized what was going on. Rifles were brought up with cold efficiency, barely holding back lethal salvoes...

Then, like a bowling ball, a huge lump of matter came crashing down to the ground amongst them, breaking apart and tearing Necrotroopers in its' descent! Above, the defenders turned and saw the pursuing Longswords had arrived, and the Projectors laid terrible waste to enemy numbers as Kris starfighters strafed the Necrotrooper formations. A trap! To drive them between native defenders and Azguard pursuers was the Coalition's aim.

As the fight began in earnest below, the Kubindi captain that now stood at the helm of a Coalition Longsword contacted the Azguard commander in orbit. "There is one Dreadnough unaccounted for..."

"Yes... we've sent a Longsword after it..." The Azguard replied "I can only hope they don't... well, best not to speak of it over these channels. I'll contact you soon, captain."



The scientific personnel were invaluable, indispenisble, and frankly vital. Within their minds was the Coalitions' best hope of beating the plague. So, they remained locked in a secure bunker, behind blast doors and even ray-shielding, auto-security with a self-contained processor, and walls thicker than a capital ship's hull. It was the ultimate fortress to wait out the battle above, where a contingent of elite Azguardian footsoldiers prepared to repel invaders. At least, that's what the despondent group of doctors and scientists hoped, as they sat in the dismal quiet and shadow of their hiding place.

"So there's nothing for us to do but sit here and wait out the battle, if we're lucky." mumbled Proctor, fiddling with a datapad he'd snatched on the way out.

"Bah! What do they think we are? Cattle? To be herded to safety and left to rot as our fates are decided over our heads? We should be out there fighting!" The speaker was a Cathar, who clawed uncomfortably at his hair.

"I wish Maxson was still with us..." said the grey-haired doctor from earlier. "He wouldn't have let us just lurk in this basement."

"And what about Decker?" added a Kaminoan scientist, white robe folded as he sat with legs crossed. "He was a real whiz-kid, if I recall. His expertise would have solved so many problems that we would surely be done with this plague by now."

Proctor felt a gnaw of guilt as he thought of the two men most responsible for fixing his mistakes with Panacea. "Wait... wait, where's Lu Patan?" The doctors turned to him, looking confused. "Where's Lu? Didn't she hear the alert?"

They looked around briefly at all those assembled, before the grey-haired doctor said "I don't think she's here, Proctor. You don't suppose... she didn't get out when the doors closed on the labs?"

"I hardly got out as it was!" spat the Cathar "Who designed those things anyways?"

"I thought you were upset about having gotten out, a moment ago?" said the Kaminoan, furrowing his brow slowly.

"Try and concentrate here." said Proctor, getting concerned. "Who saw Lu?"

No one spoke.

"Damn! We have to go up there, if she's stuck in a lab she could be killed - not to mention she'll have all the samples stored! If they're hit, well, we'd all suddenly have a very personal reason to cure the disease."

There was a certain amount of discomfort at the suggestion of leaving the safety of the bunker. With a sigh of frustration, Proctor rose and lifted his datapad. "Rita, override the security protocol for the door and let me out. Then close it after me. I'll get Lu and be back before the fight begins, okay?"

The datapad was quiet for a second, then said "Well, if you're certain that's a good idea. Protocol overriden. Good luck, doctor."

Quickly, Proctor dashed up towards the research facility.



When at war, Azguards are a terrifying thing to behold. Twice as large as a man, they could crush heads with their fist, but didn't need to - razor claws extended from their hands when necessary, and poisonous fangs made for something that could, if it wanted, look like a terrifying beast. Spikes of black hair, solid black, or red, or green eyes. Hunched posture. Deep growls.

Even in the armour of their station and armed with rifles and swords, there was a sort of savagery to the Azguard soldiers, one that surpassed that of the native Kubaz and was very animal in nature. They almost dripped fury. As the enemy prepared to blow open the door, ranks of lumbering warriors prepared to meet them.

Their captain, who retained a measure of civilization in his appearance, watched the enemy's movements from the cameras mounted outside the facility. "Frontal assault, eh?" He chuckled "I'm going to enjoy this. Tell the boys to prepare a... special greeting for them."

With that, the Azguard soldiers scattered about, preparing to earn the emphasis their captain had given.

The Necrotroopers of the second Omega Thrax fell back quickly into the hold of the dreadnaught as the Coalition forces began to appear and the Kubaz repelled the first entry attempts. Omega Thrax sat back in his command chair, slowly drumming a rhythm with his fingers as he dispatched a message through the network and all shield power went to the Dreadnaughts upper shielding to hold off the weapons fire long enough. Without a second thought, he triggered the vessels repulsor lifts but not before leaving several large modified proton bombs on the ground. With some effort, the dreadnaught creeped away across the ground, position itself over what sensors indicated as what might be the center of this large hive. With no pity at all, another message was sent and dreadnaughts still working gun turned on the surface and hammered it repeatedly. Very soon the surface cracked and caved in, revealing what could be called a city center.

With a new, more vulnerable entrance opened Thrax made a calculated decision, moving the cruiser forward and cutting the repulsorlifts. With more or less some accuracy, the dreadnaught crashed on top of the new entrance with its docking back above it. Without any hesitation, Necrotroopers shoved proton bombs and fire concussion missiles down into the area, slaughtering many and making an opening as smokes and debris hid the sliplines deploying. Necrotroopers streamed down the lines quickly and efficiently, filling any Kubaz they encountered full of flechette rounds from their rifles. Several squads broke off, heading straight for the area's primary entrances and exits, setting charges and quickly detonating them, cutting off the Kubaz army forces or GC from getting to them.

"5th squad move towards the palace, 3rd squad check out that building with the comm relays. 4th and 2nd squads, secure the perimeter, I want no Kubaz alive except the Queen."

The Necrotroopers fanned out further, gunning down any civilian or military personel they encountered as even more continued to deploy from the ship, joining one of the specific squads. The only real threat left was the Queen's personal guard as most of the army had been in the tunnels at the entrance trying to stop the Union attack. Gun fire could be heard in the background as the 5th squad was battling it out with the palace guard to gain entrance as the Mark Three supervising the effort moved towards a facility with GC markings on it. With little tact, they burst in to find an empty reception area before going in farther and deeper. The facility rang of the same design techniques as the Azguard ships, which meant this was obviously a Coalition building. The Necrotroopers deployed into smaller groups, sweeping through the facility, killing any civilian personnel they encountered.

The Mark Three moved down a corrdior with his group and heard a feral roar as several Necrotrooper smashed into a wall ahead of them. Stepping out of the doorway was a Azguard bearing what looked like an ambassador's insignia and blood soaked claws. Without even saying anything, the squad raised their rifles and fired, cutting the Azguard Ambassador to pieces as his body was riddled with sharp, leathal flechette rounds. The group then moved forward a bit more carefully, checking for anymore of the volatile creatures, the Mark Three stopping at the ambassadors body and pumping a round off into the ambassador's head, making sure their victim was dead.

The battle with the palace guard as well as what little army forces were left in the city center went on. With no sources of reinforcements from the caved in entrances, the Union was slowly just overwhelming them as more Necrotrooper poored down the sliplines from the top shielded dreadnauhgt. At the comm station a Mark Two calmly went through the datalogs, retrieving a number of pieces of data as the comm station orperators lay dead at his feet, their blood pooling around them. As he finished extracting the data he then entered it all into a data package and sent it as a high encryption transmission outwards to the waiting probe.

Back at the GC facility the Mark Three was trashing the ambassador's office and then pulled out what appeared to be a map of the GC. The Mark Three looked over it coldly for a moment before something in its mind clicked about how that map was set up. He immediately took this data and it transmitted it as well to the Union controlled comm center, relaying that information as well to the waiting probe.



The final Omega Thrax stood calmly on a rise, looking down at the pathetic bunker structure protecting the research facility below it. Azguards would likely be in it, the annoying aliens infected the coalition like gangreen and were just as deadly. The were just an annoyance to Thrax, who made a point of issuing a no mercy order to his Necrotroopers. They were going to take any prisoners here, which meant any Azguard they found would be pumped full of flechettes. Omega Thrax was past the feeling of annoyed and about as angry as something like him could get. Emotions didn't control him, but mathematically the Azguards had generated enough negative equations in his mind to result in them being branded as exterminateable fodder.

"Sir, prepared to breach facility. It bears GC markings, I suspect there will be a garrison," reported this Thrax's officer.

"Very well, you know the order, nothing is to be left alive. We'll find out what's here after all the occupants are dead. And take that down," Thrax said, aiming a finger at the bunker's comm array.

The officer nodded and pointed at it, shouting an order. A single Necrotrooper took aim with one of their makeshift concussion missile launchers and fired, shattering the array in a fireball and cutting off the facility from any outside contact. That left no chance for interference from the GC forces trying to deal with the other Omega Thraxs on the planet, one of whom was achieveing a hidden objective of the Union attack. Everything was going according to the new plans. Adaptation was everything.



Up in space the single unnoticed probe gave a low internal beep, confirming that it had recieved the transmission to it from down below, completely uninhibited as the GC wasn't jamming. It then gave off a series of long range burst transmissions, sending the data to multiple relays that would in turn redirect the information elsewhere, making a trace impossible. The probe then just sat and waited in case anything else might come in, its sensors keeping an eye on the GC forces hovering over Kubindi.

As the Necrotroopers slid down their sliplines, the long... long... long slide down to ground level, above the battle continued to rage. Recognizing their plan, the Kubaz captain shouted above the din "We've got to give the ground defenders more time! Concentrate all fire on that Dreadnought!"

The blistering fire from above was turning the outer armor of the ship to liquid metal, which ran off in sheets - but still, the ship remained. Getting desperate, a Particle Projector Cannon was levelled downwards from one of the Longswords, and fired.

The lump descended at a terrible speed, splashing into the molten armour and compressing the center of the enemy dreadnough. Suddenly, with a terrible, twisted metal sound, the Dreadnought began sinking inwards. Metal twisted and cracked, the high-pitched shriek of distress audible from the air. Before their eyes, the ship sunk into the hole, tearing as more weight and more broken parts ended up sliding in.

Down in the city, the Necrotroopers raced time, sliding down their ropes to the ground below. If only there was someone suitably heroic to save the city? As they slid, however, the cords began to strain and snap - the ship above was buckling, and the damaged infrastructure began to fail the slipcord's support.

A second Projector shot made it all the way through the Dreadnought, tearing itself up inside. Finally passing a tipping point, the central wreck of the starship was sucked down into the hole.

This occured roughly as the Necrotroopers arrived on the city - it was, after all, a long descent from the surface. The first of them touched their feet to the ground, prepared to wreack indiscriminate slaughter, when an odd sound was heard above. Sort of a whoosh.

It was an unceremonious end for an uncereminous force - squashed by their own ship.

Aboveground, a Kris fighter hauled upwards after an attack run, leaving a series of smoking craters behind him where those Necrotroopers which had been deployed once were. Pushing downwards again, he gave another volley of fire into the ground, ensuring no stragglers remained "This is K-2, the second Dreadnough is still operational! Reccomend immediate isolation."

"Roger that, K-2" said the Kubaz captain, who gestured to his officers. They quickly turned to their instruments, and gave an order to turn their guns on the second Dreadnought.

The six Longswords turned their guns on the second Dreadnought, battering it hard. A heavy shot exploded just underneath one side section, tipping the vessel over before it eventually ran red with slag.

"How're we doing?" said the Kubaz captain, his nerves clearly frayed.

"It was a close run thing, sir." said an equally anxious assistant. "They did indeed manage to blast a hole to the city, sir, after the initial charge failed, but I'm getting reports the wreck landed on the majority of their soldiers."

"It's hard to deploy an army with sliplines." said the captain nodding. "How they honestly thought they could get it done fast enough is beyond me. What's the damage?"

"Hm... damage to the tunnel entrance, sir - firstly our trap, then their guns. Fortifications held, however. Casualties reported by Frontier Guard in repulse of initial enemy attack wave, numbers are still initial estimates. We also have reports of... one building damaged by a bomb hit, one city street ruined by the crash of the enemy ship, as well as an estimated several dozen civilian casualties from enemy potshots, sir. Reports are in that the only enemy unit to escape the crash is... attacking the Royal Museum of History? I'll try to get confirmation on that one, sir. The Frontier Guard is responding to it as we speak with a siege."

"Anything more to report?" he said, with a heavy heart.

"No, sir. The enemy couldn't deploy fast enough. We have no other reported contacts in the city."

"Best we pull the Frontier Guard back into the city, just in case." he murmured. "Quarentine the impact zone, lockdown, post sentries, and get a clean-up crew out here at the gates on the double. I just can't help but feel we're forgetting something..."

He was quiet a moment, then struck his fist to the chair. "The third Dreadnought!"



Proctor stumbled down the corridor towards the testing area, gagging on the sterile smell of the medical research center -

- Only to be grabbed quickly into an alcove by a hissing Azguardian soldier "Do you want to get us all killed?! Stay out of the corridor!"

Proctor tried to say something, but he was muffled as the Azguard held his hand over Proctor's mouth, and checked to see that the way was clear. Carefully, he moved back down the corridor, away from the doors, and rounded the corner.

"Sir." he said, reffering to another Azguard in a ranking uniform. "Found one of the medical staff wandering the halls."

The officer in question was hard for Proctor to distinguish from other Azguards, they all looked so similar. Grey, rubbery, tall, somewhat feral, the only difference easily apparent was eye colour. This one had deep, red eyes. "Pardon our rudeness, doctor, but shouldn't you be in the bunker?"

"Er, yes - sorry, captain, is it?" Proctor felt more than a little uncomfortable. "One of the other doctors isn't in the bunker, and I went looking for her."

The Captain moved to the corner, peered around it at the doors, and said "Might I remind you, good doctor, that it is upon your minds - and thus, your lives - that untold innocents have rested their hopes? If a single one of you is lost, or this research facility destroyed, it might be some time before the Coalition can find and secure a new position, find more samples to test, assemble a new team... you get my point."

"Y-yes, but I thought if I hurried I could just find her and bring her back before-"

"This isn't one of those... human things, I've heard about, is it?" said the captain, furrowing his brow in the effort to understand. "You know, the thing... where the man goes and saves the girl... and then there's usually... a martini? And then he shakes it?"

"What? No! I'm just trying to find Doctor Patan!" Proctor started feeling very uncomfortable, caught between the huge, savage warriors all around him and whatever ominous threat was waiting outside the doors. "Listen - just let me go look for her, I'll be back before you know it."

Feeling unsure, the Azguard eventually bowed to duty. "As you command, doctor Proctor. We will do our best in the defence of this building, you seek Lu."

With that, Proctor dashed off away from the battlezone. The captain watched him leave, before returning to his normal duties "Places, everyone! Prepare for battle - the fate of the Coalition may rest in our hands! For the glory of Azguardia and the High Lord!"

His voice was answered by a resounding roar of battlecries that shook the walls of the hospital and challenged their foe to meet them at last.