Chapter Two

[Quantum Rain]

First topic message reminder :

As the forum auto-splits topics every 50 pages, the next topics will be named further chapters accordingly. This is chapter two, guys, KEEP IT UP!

Post.
POST.
POST!

---

Reeds just kept on whistling as guards and crew cleared out of his path. Eventually, he stopped at a door, the label addressing it as 'Science Lab 2A.' He smiled as he opened the door and Lae saw that the science lab was not small by any means. It was massive, in fact, taking up at least five rooms and two floors entirely on its own. It also seemed to host a massive range of equipment, some of which were entirely foreign to him. With all of the technology, equipment, and stores here, one could only wonder what Reeds' intention was with this lab.

He rolled the cart up next to two others and then proceeded to rummage around for a datapad. "Sit down, my fine lab rat." He said friendly still as he finally found his desired object, turning it own and turning toward Lae, a mischievous grin on his face.

[Fore Admiral Disayle]

--Hiigara--

*Sajuuk's power readings continue to increase, faster and faster, and it also releases even more drones to nullify the swarms of Primitus drones. A cluster of three spots on either side of its hull begin to glow as the power charges, and golden mote-like particles spark into existence all around the ancient Progenitor ship.*

Karan: Fleet, just buy me a little more time! I've got something up my sleeve for these [censored]!

--The World of New Song--

*The unlikely allies reform their fleets to meet the Primitus head-on, but soon falter in the face of the ancient destroyers' teleportation.*

Soban: GodDAMMIT, that teleporting is wreaking havoc on us--can't we do something about it?!

Tokhta: The Travelers will do what we can!

*From then on, wings of Morrigi ships harry the Primitus vessels wherever they go or teleport, keeping up steady pressure on the ravagers and allowing the rest of the allies some breathing room. The Morrigi's drones also work in concert with friendly strikecraft and PD to take down the swarms of Primitus drones and corvettes.*

*The Spirit of Aves remains engaged with the first Ultor, taking a beating but staying in the fight and also keeping the giant ship from attacking The World of New Song. The avian flagship can do nothing about the hostile assets on the planet already, however.*

*The Primitus drones discover that the Rachni are not so easily discovered and killed. The insectoids number in the millions, but remain deep underground--beyond the drones' reach. Additionally, the Rachni's living Hives bristle with defensive weaponry that target the drones and bring many of them down. Furthermore, a few brave Brood Warriors--Marduk included--come aboveground and use their biotic powers to send spheres of the planet's lava at the invaders. Finally, ultrasonic screams periodically rock the drones as the Rachni hurl the power of their minds at the demons of steel.*

[Roach]

The drones descending on the planet also find them selves under fire from unmanned free peoples fighter craft from a base hidden in an inactive volcano. The Free peoples Fleet in orbit kept up concentrated fire on the primtus vessels using their speed and mobility to keep them selves on top of their target now matter were it teleported. The Litany hurls spreads of torpedoes into clouds of Primtus drones the powerful war heads detonating a maximum yield and destroying them in scores an unfortunate primitus frigate is caught in the middle of a deadly salvo from Litany and The Pyotr and their 6 star defender escorts who decloak and finally join the fray the three Stridents and Three Praetors bring a renewed offensive effort from the free peoples fleet as they keep constant pressure and fire on the Primitus.

---Litany---

"Admiral the oblivion missiles have been replenished."Dawson yelled to Roach over the sound of an explosion.

Roach acknowledged him with a wave of the hand. "Hold them for now Dawson." Roach turned his mind else were "I need a target Admiral Soban" Roach thought rather than said to Soban.

[Quantum Rain]

--Hiigara--

"I'll buy you time, but you better fire soon." Admiral Mercer stated over the comm as his ship moved to engage the Ultor. "I can't hold it for long, but I can divert its attention to me to give you a clearer shot." His ship fired on the Ultor with its primary weapon, the Ultor forced to counteract with its own beam, greatly diverting energy from its previous goal to defending itself.

The Primitus fleet ruthlessly crashes into the Hiigarans, their ships screaming oddly at the desperation of the fight now, as if knowing what the Progenitor Dreadnought would do. Their weapons are even more deadly, their intent sinister as drones and ships actually crash INTO Hiigaran cruisers and Verusian ships, some emerging unscathed due to their interconnected shields while others obliterated with their multiple victims.

---

--New Song--

Hold you weapons until I provide your target. She stated in the same telepathic manner towards Roach, as if knowing what he stated to Soban. Allow my ships to probe for their weaknesses. Soban, the Hiigarans and Turians need to form a spherical defense formation to lure them in to you while the Morrigi herd them inward. My ships will continue to flank them from the sides, probing for their weaknesses and drawing attention from you, Roach, to take the rear guards and aim for the Ultor once we relay weak points. She said, surprising all who could hear with her knowledge of names and species.

The IS ships start their probing actions immediately after Marion stated such would occur. They took minimal losses through hit and run tactics, phasing out when they predicted their own deaths. Granted, many still lost to the flames of battle, but this action soon paid off as targeting data was being transmitted to the allied fleet minutes later.


The Ultor orbiting the planet screamed a mechanical roar as a massive outburst of energy threw its neighboring ships, even its allied ones, flying off, damaged and out of control from the sheer power it unleashed. It began firing wildly at the enemy ships as they flew away, launching hundreds to thousands of missiles and beams at them, the base, and the Rachni below, sending upwards to millions of drones and larger strikecraft from its hanger bays, casting their shadow over the world as they swarmed towards it.

I will draw this Ultor away, Ackbar, focus on their drones and provide cover fire for the insectoids below. Marion stated as her ship recovered from the sudden blast and seemingly hurled itself toward the Ultor, matching its blows with its own weaponry, drawing its attention. Though this bought time, the IS ship would not last forever under such heavy fire. Already its shields were showing signs of stress.

[Quantum Rain]

For Q.

//Coruscant\\
"Well if you hadn't blown it up, there might be some.
Anyways, if we're staying here do either of you have any more underground contacts, preferably
ones we won't kill in the first minute, as you may have guessed, black market
vendors tend not to advertise themselves quite as much as corporate whores do,
let alone put up their stock list?"

--Coruscant--

“I’m certain I can find some by peering into the minds of others.” Siber announced from his little section of wall. “That is if you can find anyone worth ‘questioning’.” He continued, putting down his commlink after talking with his AI.

--Coruscant--
"My friend Ray runs a black market tech shop if he does not have what we are looking for he can point us in the right direction."

[Sir Noret]

//Coruscant\\

"Excellent, take the lead then, hopefully we'll avoid a gun battle this time..."

[Quantum Rain]

--Anima Prime--

Though the creatures were gone, Lae could still guess as to where they went, that is until he caught a glimpse of them again, still cloaked, but running away from him still. As he followed, though, they outright vanished again. However, he could see a barrier of some sort, camouflaging something behind the otherwise barely visible dome.

[Wynn]

--Anima Prime--

Though the creatures were gone, Lae could still guess as to where they went, that is until he caught a glimpse of them again, still cloaked, but running away from him still. As he followed, though, they outright vanished again. However, he could see a barrier of some sort, camouflaging something behind the otherwise barely visible dome.

Lae stopped at the edge of the barrier. He looked at it for a moment, then ducked into an alley way. He activated the earpiece and spoke in a low voice. "Rain, these things led me do some kind of barrier, cloaking boundaries most likely." He looked back out of the alley to see if anything was happening then ducked back in.

[Quantum Rain]

"Cloaking barrier... that explains why we didn't detect them. See what's inside but don't get caught." Rain replied over the comm. He looked about the control center, which flashed to life finally as power was restored to the entire building. The reactors that powered the base had to be restarted manually, but at least they worked. "Status Lieutenant?" He asked, an officer saluting then standing at ease. "Power has been restored and we've begun re-keying primary systems. The base should be fully operational within two hours, sir."

[Wynn]

"Cloaking barrier... that explains why we didn't detect them. See what's inside but don't get caught." Rain replied over the comm. He looked about the control center, which flashed to life finally as power was restored to the entire building. The reactors that powered the base had to be restarted manually, but at least they worked. "Status Lieutenant?" He asked, an officer saluting then standing at ease. "Power has been restored and we've begun re-keying primary systems. The base should be fully operational within two hours, sir."

Lae pressed the button on his cloaking device. He had no idea what was on the other side of the barrier and did not want any surprises. While cloaked, he walked through the cloak's borders and met with whatever awaited him on the other side.

[Quantum Rain]

What waited for him was a desolated area of the city, where the buildings were torn down and the sky darkened for some reason. When he looked ahead, there was a massive glowing spire, pouring out some dark energy cloud at the top, which swirled around it and formed the cloaking barrier around the area. The hell hounds could be visible now, sprinting towards the spire, but around the spire were also several hundred shadowy figures patrolling the area. They didn't sense him at first, but one group was slowly walking towards his area, he could see.

[Wynn]

What waited for him was a desolated area of the city, where the buildings were torn down and the sky darkened for some reason. When he looked ahead, there was a massive glowing spire, pouring out some dark energy cloud at the top, which swirled around it and formed the cloaking barrier around the area. The hell hounds could be visible now, sprinting towards the spire, but around the spire were also several hundred shadowy figures patrolling the area. They didn't sense him at first, but one group was slowly walking towards his area, he could see.

"My god..." Lae muttered. He jogged lightly out of the way of the approaching patrol and took cover in the remains of the buildings and uncloaked when he was sure it was clear.

Xaldius: I actually feel at home.
Lae: I feel like i need a bullet to the head.

[Quantum Rain]

The guard passed by without so much as sensing Lae's presence. The cloak seemed to work as they disappeared into another alley, retreating into the artificial night that the spire created. As Lae stayed within the ruins, though, he would take notice of the corpse lying next to him, entirely eroded by time, all that remained was the bones and tattered clothes of a civilian.

[Wynn]

The guard passed by without so much as sensing Lae's presence. The cloak seemed to work as they disappeared into another alley, retreating into the artificial night that the spire created. As Lae stayed within the ruins, though, he would take notice of the corpse lying next to him, entirely eroded by time, all that remained was the bones and tattered clothes of a civilian.

Maybe I can put a strobe on that tower and have the ship bombard the area. Lae began creeping his way twoards the tower. He would use the shadows of the alleys and jump onto ledges jutting out of the sides of the buildings to dodge patrols who came through the same alley way. I like that you chose to make this place nice and dark. Im right at home in the night.

[Quantum Rain]

As he approached the spire, he would pass by several patrol squads undetected, with hell hounds sweeping the area ahead of them. However, when he got within the home stretch, he noticed a severe lack of adequate cover as the buildings were all rubble, nothing was standing. Furthermore, the entire area around the spire had battalions of these shadowy figures, all standing in formation like statues, as if prepared for war. There were two rows arrayed in a circle around the spire, like bands, with at least ten battalions per band.

[Wynn]

As he approached the spire, he would pass by several patrol squads undetected, with hell hounds sweeping the area ahead of them. However, when he got within the home stretch, he noticed a severe lack of adequate cover as the buildings were all rubble, nothing was standing. Furthermore, the entire area around the spire had battalions of these shadowy figures, all standing in formation like statues, as if prepared for war. There were two rows arrayed in a circle around the spire, like bands, with at least ten battalions per band.

Lae sat there for a moment. He had to get the beacon past them unnoticed. He thought for a moment. "Ive got it." He whispered. He climbed up to the top of the ruined building. He balanced on the free-standing wall, and pulled out one of his arrows and a beacon. He took out some tether and wrapped it around the arrow and the beacon. Then, he took out his bow and altered it to be a long bow, then tweaked the draw weight as high as he could. He would have to put nearly two hundred and fifty pounds of force back on the string to draw it. "Long as i can get the string back for a moment..." He muttered. He put the arrow on the string, and held it up. He began pulling with all of his might on the string. He began wobbling slightly on the thin wall as he did so. He gritted his teeth and pulled harder. His arm began to burn, and he finally felt the string bottom out. He held it for a moment, turned the beacon on, aimed at the mid section of the tower and let go. The arrow flew off out of view immediately. The sudden change in balance made Lae wobbled again, and he fell. He grabbed onto the wall with his free hand, which was the one he drew back with and nearly fell off out right. He quickly put his bow on his back and grabbed on with his other hand and began to climb down. Shortly afterwards, the beacon would reach the ship and the rest of Dominae with no explanation.

[Quantum Rain]

--Spire--

The arrow landed into the ground next to the spire that was about a kilometer away from where Lae shot at it. The shadowy soldiers did not even hear the arrow zip over them, oblivious to the noise and small shape. The beacon hummed softly to itself as it sent out its more powerful signal to the IS teams outside the dome.

As Lae landed, he could almost sense an approaching patrol team, hear the hell hounds inching closer to his location.

---

--Military Base, Command Center--

"Sir, we're picking up a signal. It seems to be a beacon." An officer spoke up, looking curiously at the top-down map the scanners supplied him, with a blinking dot as the beacon's location. "What is its location?" Rain asked, raising an eyebrow at this occurrence. "Close to the area Fang reported the dome." "Have you been able to re-establish contact?" "No, sir, the dome is likely jamming all communication signals.

[Wynn]

--Spire--

The arrow landed into the ground next to the spire that was about a kilometer away from where Lae shot at it. The shadowy soldiers did not even hear the arrow zip over them, oblivious to the noise and small shape. The beacon hummed softly to itself as it sent out its more powerful signal to the IS teams outside the dome.

As Lae landed, he could almost sense an approaching patrol team, hear the hell hounds inching closer to his location.

---

--Military Base, Command Center--

"Sir, we're picking up a signal. It seems to be a beacon." An officer spoke up, looking curiously at the top-down map the scanners supplied him, with a blinking dot as the beacon's location. "What is its location?" Rain asked, raising an eyebrow at this occurrence. "Close to the area Fang reported the dome." "Have you been able to re-establish contact?" "No, sir, the dome is likely jamming all communication signals.

What the hell? He couldnt tell what it was, but he knew he had to get back off the ground. He climbed half way back up the wall, then held completely still. I can sense things now?

[Quantum Rain]

The first hell hound appeared from the alley it was traveling through, sniffing the ground and growling lowly as it approached. It seemed to have caught a sense of Lae's presence, but it couldn't find him yet. It looked about, its growling elevating slowly.

[Wynn]

The first hell hound appeared from the alley it was traveling through, sniffing the ground and growling lowly as it approached. It seemed to have caught a sense of Lae's presence, but it couldn't find him yet. It looked about, its growling elevating slowly.

Lae slowly reached for his cloaking device and pressed the button. He would be cloaked, and slowly climbed up the wall to keep quiet. He looked back down from time to time to see if they were any more onto him or not.

[Quantum Rain]

The hell hound followed him vaguely for a time, and then stopped, losing track of his prey. It sniffed about still as Lae slowly moved further away from him. Eventually, it lost Lae fully as it rejoined the patrol that continued its assigned route. Lae would notice by now that there was a lack of activity aside from the patrol. The spire and dome were still intact and the IS had not begun its attack.

---

--Military Base--

"Send Regnum to his last known position. I want to know what's under that dome." Rain ordered to the comm officer, who nodded and relayed his orders. "Regnum is en route sir, eta five minutes." "See if you can get our sensors through that dome." "Yes, sir."

[Wynn]

The hell hound followed him vaguely for a time, and then stopped, losing track of his prey. It sniffed about still as Lae slowly moved further away from him. Eventually, it lost Lae fully as it rejoined the patrol that continued its assigned route. Lae would notice by now that there was a lack of activity aside from the patrol. The spire and dome were still intact and the IS had not begun its attack.

---

--Military Base--

"Send Regnum to his last known position. I want to know what's under that dome." Rain ordered to the comm officer, who nodded and relayed his orders. "Regnum is en route sir, eta five minutes." "See if you can get our sensors through that dome." "Yes, sir."

Lae got to the top of the wall again, and decided it would be best to go by air. He would have to move fast and quiet. He began jumping across the ruined buildings "tops" and parkoured his way to the edge of the dome. He had a few moments before the cloak died. He jumped across a few more free standing walls, and jumped out of the dome, and grabbed onto the side of a building outside. He climbed to the top and placed another beacon. It would begin transmitting immediately afterwards. He was some distance away from where he had originally entered, so if someone had reached that point within that time, they would not find him.

[Quantum Rain]

Through the comm, Lae would hear a whisper of a voice, almost unnoticeable. "Fang, if you can hear this, get out of there now." An unfamiliar voice spoke, in the distance, Lae could see a crouched figure with a sniper rifle atop a building, hardly noticeable. "You've got Sierra-Foxtrots headed straight for you."

[Wynn]

Through the comm, Lae would hear a whisper of a voice, almost unnoticeable. "Fang, if you can hear this, get out of there now." An unfamiliar voice spoke, in the distance, Lae could see a crouched figure with a sniper rifle atop a building, hardly noticeable. "You've got Sierra-Foxtrots headed straight for you."

Lae swore under his breath. He put his finger on the earpiece. "Radius! Bomb it!" He said quickly. He began free running across the rooftops as fast as he could, knowing he would not stand a chance against the approaching enemies.

[Quantum Rain]

"Belay that! Regnum, Fang, fall back to the military base immediately." Rain spoke clearly over the comm, looking at the sensor data the officer collected. "Take out those Echoes while you're at it." "10-28, I'll cover your retreat." The other man said, sniping at the shadow figures Lae could now see chasing after him as he ran. They were firing this odd energy at him, which exploded on contact of a surface.

[Wynn]

"Belay that! Regnum, Fang, fall back to the military base immediately." Rain spoke clearly over the comm, looking at the sensor data the officer collected. "Take out those Echoes while you're at it." "10-28, I'll cover your retreat." The other man said, sniping at the shadow figures Lae could now see chasing after him as he ran. They were firing this odd energy at him, which exploded on contact of a surface.

Lae continued to run at his full speed. He didnt know where he was going entirely, but dove down into a building's top floor for cover. He sprinted forward, then jumped across to another building's top floor.

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