Conquest and Preservation

It is the 34th Millennium, location: the Ostima Solar system.

Hundreds of years ago, a group of colony ships arrived, finding the 4 planets of the Ostima system a viable location for settlement. The thousands of colonists first poured out of their ships onto the fertile planet that came to be known as Ostima 1 and within a short year, had constructed the core of what would be known as “Gateway”, the permentent base and first colony in the system.

One major decision that was made available to the colonists after landing, was that they were given the option to undergo gene therapy to improve their physical appearance, mental prowess, or even go as far as to shift their very essence, give up their human appearance in general. The majority of these colonists accepted this offer, and thus, the majority human colonists became anthro creatures.

Over the decades to come the other 3 planets in the system were set up, each planet having particular uses. Ostima 1 having broad, flat surfaces, which would first be used to farm, but later, were converted to become vast cities and manufacturing facilities.

Ostima 2 was of a similar nature, however, soil tests proved to show extremely fertile soil, and thus it was deemed that Ostima 2 would become an Agri World, the majority of the planet converted to farmland, with a primary spaceport and grainery center being at the North Pole of the planet, a good place to keep foodstuffs frozen,

Ostima 3 was a much different world right from the first reports of the probes, the surface covered in jungles and rivers. The first survey teams also reported feral animals, all of which, capable of making an unlucky soul a quick meal. However this planet was used as a world for the hunters and some researchers, certain trees were covered in barks or had saps that were needed for medical supplies. The proper term was given to Ostima 3, "Death World"

Ostima 4 proved to be a treasure trove of minerals and ores needed for construction. As soon as a permanent colony was created, mines and factories began sprouting up along the surface of the planet. However the work extracting minerals was hindered somewhat by the fact the atmosphere of the planet contained high amounts of toxic fumes, which forced the colonists to use robotic workers to do most of the work.

The moon above Ostima 1 proved to be an ideal place to build an orbital docking facility. It was first used to receive shipments of food, ore, and medical materials, but later expanded to be an orbital shipyard and repair station for all of the spacecraft that the colonists would use throughout the system.

There was peace in the system for hundreds of years, but now, all that will soon end. The Ostima system was not hidden from other races in this universe, and now shall be up for grabs by many different armies.

Army List:

Imperium: A government of totalitarian humans, dedicated to the service of their “God Emperor” and intolerant of other races, yet accepting of humanity, they do not share much respect for anthro creatures, yet they still recognize them as humans.

Orks: A race of green, barbaric aliens driven by the soul purpose to make war against anyone and anything, including other Orks at times. They use archaic technology, but their sheer numbers and brute strength make them a force to be reckoned with.

Chaos: Several Millennia ago, a large portion of the Imperial Army broke away and made war on their former brothers in arms, in the name of the Chaos Gods, their purpose to conquer all of the Galaxy, and watch it burn. They use a vast number of demonic forces, as well as mutated vehicles and shock troops.

Tyranids: For those familiar with Starcraft, think of the Zerg, that pretty much sums it up. For those who are not, imagine an insectoid race of near mindless creatures, ranging from the size of a Doberman, to the size of a 2-storied house. Now imagine that they have one soul purpose, to feed on all things organic, and make more of themselves.

Raiders: For those familiar with Warhammer 40k, think Dark Eldar. These vile, heartless creatures are like carrion birds, waiting for their foes to have their backs turn or to wait until their enemies are weary from fighting, before they attack, killing and taking prisoners for their own twisted pleasures. They focus on stealth and lightning fast strikes, using combined infantry and vehicles.

Note: I will be throwing in a few surprises into this RP later on. Also note, NO DIAPERS!

Now…create your character, and be prepared to defend this paradise you and your forefathers spent your entire life, building,
(Rule, only anthros or humans are acceptable unless previously stated by me, PM me with a request if you want a different creature)

Name
Age
Sex
Race
Weapons
Abilities
Appearance

Name: Arixamirosila
Age: 25
Sex: Male
Race: Silver dragon
Weapons: Combat shotgun, Frag grenades, “Soulknife”
Abilities: Psionic powers, specifically, Soulknife “think energy sword”, temporal displacement “incredible speed”
-He is also capable of piloting Mechs and small fightercraft
Appearance: Arix is in his prime, the dragon standing 6 feet with a strong build. He is mostly reserved but he is kind at heart. When not spending time at the Ostima 1military base, he spends time in the Church as a minister. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1829002

Name: Julius

Age: 22

Sex: Male

Race: Human

Weapons: C-10 Canister Rifle, EMP Grenades, two revolvers.

Abilities: Julius underwent metal augmentation, his ability was somewhat unique and pretty cool. While not going as far to call it full blown telekinesis, from time to time, Julius is able to track his bullets, and make minuscule adjustments in order to hit his target. Whatever sort of craft he pilots, it's never very well. But,, in simulations of course, when put in command of a capital ship or large cruiser of sorts, with a subordinate crew, he has captained quite well. But he prefers his time on Ostima 3 over a boring job like that.

Appearance: Julius has white medium length hair, with most of it sitting off his head sort of sticking up. He has grey eyes, and very pale skin. He usually wears a white, form fitting space flight suit, highlighted in important air sealed areas with dark purple. Julius has spent most of his time on Ostima 3, tracking and killing big game for research.

Name: Rose Midna
Age: Late 20's, early 30's, chooses not to give a specific number
Sex: Female
Race: Fox anthro

Weapons: An old-fashioned 'peacemaker'. It's really a US Pre-war single-action revolver but she likes to call it a peacemaker...preference thing. She also carries a light sword at her hip for close combat as well as a long knife. The only other weapon she carries is a lighter pistol for use when she has to refill her revolver. She always has around 100 bullets on her at one time...she used to be a researcher on Ostima 3 so she's a bit paranoid about something springing out at her.

Abilities: Being a scientist who studies plant and animal-life, she's developed a 'skill' of communication with the birds and beasts. She can't control a whole army but she can ask for aid in defending their home. If the communication doesn't work, she can transform into one of them for a short period of time, say about a couple hours.

Appearance: She's a studious-looking vulpine, a pair of light spectacles on her nose and always wears a long white med coat, despite not being a doctor but a biologist. She has long mahogany hair she keeps up in a bun or a ponytail, depending on how pressed she is for time. She normally wears slacks and a button-up blouse and heels, but she can switch them for a pair of boots if she has to go anywhere marshy or otherwise hazardous. She's not the best soldier but she won't let any smart-mouthed aliens take her home if she can help it.

[if you need me to revise any of this, tell me.]

Name: Kaiyoki
Age: 26
Sex: Male
Race: Human, Wolf anthro
Weapons: M108A1 Barrette, Combat Knife, Desert Eagle MK IV

Abilities: A cybernetic tapper, Kaiyoki can meld into the software of a small network, grathering information for recon. He is a scout for the Imperium though can be found on Ostima 3 hunting for sport when off duty.

Appearance: A wolf anthro with silvery-grey overall body fur, white belly-fur and a white stripe of fur running down the middle of his forehead before turning into a small fringe. Kaiyoki uses an ear piece with a HUD over his left eye to comunicate and usually wears standard issue light uniform.

Other: Kaiyoki's weapons are customized with an onboard mini-computer that keeps track of ammo and partially silence the gun shots. He's power allows him to pass some firewalls but he cannot jump more then 4 times unless he is connected directly to the main computer.

My character will not be starting on Ostima one due to plot significance. Much of this will be explained in my first post.



Name: Robillard D. Novdarug

Age: 41

Sex: Male

Race: Human

Weapons: He carries no weapons on his person, he trusts his security more than himself with keeping him alive.

Abilities: Robillard possesses great powers of persuasion. He is charming, and charismatic, knowing just what to say to inspire, or persuade men into doing what he wants. Along with this he is cunning, and is a deadly foe though he never fights.

Appearance: Robillard stands at 5'11” with hair as black as coal. He is clean shaved, and his hair is neatly trimmed at his neck. He wears very little jewels despite his immense wealth. One ruby earing rests on his right ear, and three rings of various shifting colors rest on his hands. Jewels he had not yet found a name for after their discovery. Robillard has no visible weapon holsters on his person, and no armor whatsoever, for they are not needed.

Usually he is clad in simple, not extravagant clothing. The colors shift from brown to black, and that was the extent of his wardrobe. He wore long cuffed-sleeved button down shirts, usually unbuttoned to his chest. The boots he always wore were plain and black, with no notable color changes or even any indication as to who manufactured them. Finally, hanging from his left pants-pocket was an old fashioned, gold pocket watch, which he constantly checked.

Name: Chazen Kyogen
Age: 46
Sex: M
Race: Lapine

Weapons: Modified 'sledgehammer' and a technologically advanced gauntlet that enhances the strength and endurance of his right paw.

Abilities: Possesses immense upper body strength. He often injects himself with various stimulants to give him brief fits of extreme agility and power. Unfortunately this has left him seriously addicted and prone to withdrawal afterwards. An 'up close specialist,' he tends to refuse to use any sort of firearm. Has experience as a mechanic.

Appearance: A tall man, standing at roughly 6'3". Covered in a fine coating of light brown fur, spiked atop his head to simulate hair. Somewhat overweight, if his beer gut indicates anything. Generally wears an oil stained white wifebeater and armoured slacks. A belt is always strapped around his waist, various vials of stims attached all around. Pair of old fashioned cracked goggles is strapped above his eyes. Irises are a rich gold color, though often mostly hidden behind the veteran's foul tempered squint.

Hopefully this qualifies as an anthro. I don't think it falls under any other category but he's a bit unconventional.

Name: Sergei Zaitsev
Age: 137
Sex: M
Race: Wolf (Closest Approximation)

Weapons:
1 Sabre, modified to carry an electric current
1 bolt-action rifle, indeterminate make
1 modified KSVK 12.7 (.50 caliber sniper rifle).
2 small USI-7 "Spikers" (shoot 7mm spikes at near supersonic speeds)

Combat Style:
Sergei does not prefer to rely on close-quarters combat, despite having a very powerful body and deadly claws. However, he carries weaponry for all manner of combat ranges. While stalking his prey, he relies exclusively on a heavily modified sniper rifle. His stature and strength allow him to carry the gun and its massive silencer, without the aid of a team. When this is no longer an option, he will try to take out a target using an old bolt-action rifle, which he prefers for its reliability. Very few people besides him are strong enough to work the rusted, stiff bolt. If this is still yet not an option, he can literally tear an opponent to shreds via his "Spiker" pistols, or incapacitate/kill them with his saber. If his enemy is unlucky enough to dodge/survive all these methods, he will face a grisly and painful death at Sergei's claws. His cybernetic parts make him partially vulnerable to electrical interference or EMP, although this will not incapacitate him entirely. There are plenty of other weapons hidden within his heavily modified body, although very few victims ever get close enough to feel their bite.

Abilities:
Alchemy: Sergei can manipulate any matter that he touches. This has a limited range and can be quite exhausting to perform, but can be used to perform a very wide variety of useful tasks, from simple repairs, to creating small explosives. Generally this ability is reserved for manipulating the shape or consistency of matter, rather than transforming it, as changing requires a vast amount of power.
Telepathy: While this ability is a far cry from the more traditional idea of telepathy, Sergei can gleam vague thought patterns from others. This won't get him your credit card number, but he may be able to determine the ballpark subject you are thinking of. He can also implant ideas into other minds - the success rate of this is directly proportional to how mentally conditioned the subject is. Even then it is not guaranteed to work, and "ideas" can only be what would not be out of the question for his subject to perform. For instance, he could not make an Imperium soldier suddenly start working for the forces of Chaos, at least not without months or possibly years of subtle manipulations. The longer he is around a person the better this ability works.
Life Drain: Again, this requires physical contact with a still-living subject. The closer a victim is to death, the less benefit he gains. Sergei can drain the life force of a victim and use it to greatly boost his strength and speed. His gains are still limited by physical laws, however, as no sort of magic or psionic abilities are augmenting this process. For instance, while he may be able to lift up a small car and hurl it in another direction, he would be quite incapable of doing the same to a tank, or lifting a building from its foundation. This also is part of the secret to his long life, although he certainly cannot sustain it forever. The process of draining is quite grisly and painful. Of late he has reserved this ability only for escaped/uncaught violent criminals. In the past, he was completely indiscriminate. The drawback of this ability is that during the process he is completely incapacitated. He is incapable of taking notice of his surroundings, which can leave him very vulnerable. Breaking this process in the middle would leave him incapacitated, possibly for hours, as he has to open up his own 'life channel' to draw more in. Improperly closing this can be quite damaging.

Sergei has many other powers he learned while he was a Chaos High Priest. Most, however, require a conduit of chaotic energy that he no longer possesses outside the Eye of Terror, or without close contact with Chaotic daemons. Others he has purposefully forgotten. Others yet he retains but will not use.

Appearance:
Much of Sergei's formerly very wolfish face has been replaced with reptilian scales. Some of his original, deep black hair is visible, though. The left half of his face below the eyeball is entirely hairless. The right side is more patchy. His left eye is reptilian in appearance, while his right remains quite lupine. He wears a thick, leathery, hooded cloak to hide his grotesque appearance and avoid drawing attention to himself, although this is done purely out of personal convenience - he is not ashamed of how he looks at all. He stands at 7'1", if he were not hunched over. The modifications to his body allow him to be quite flexible, and most people will find him at a much less alarming 5'11". Were he unclothed, his body would appear quite serpentine. His armor (greatly hardened reptilian scales) is literally grafted into his skin, albeit imperfectly. The mostly impervious areas of his hide have no fur left, while the more vulnerable areas (still quite hardened) still have fur. His jaws can unhinge to swallow prey whole (or even alive), much as a snake does. Along with this, his digestive system has been modified to require feeding only once every few weeks. He walks with a sort of shuffle that might lead one to believe he could outrun Sergei - but he can keep up this awkward gait at very fast speeds. When he speaks, he speaks slowly, with a low, clear, baritone voice, although some of the softer sounds ('already', 'hero', etc) give his vocal chords trouble, and can sound a bit raspy.

Bio:
Sergei was not born into Chaos. However, his home planet was razed by Chaos forces, and one of their High Priests sensed his potential in the Chaotic arts, and took him in as his apprentice. After his master's death, Sergei served as a high priest for forces of Chaos both in the battlefield and in the Eye of Terror. He specialized in genetic modification, and as evidenced by his appearance, chose himself for a test subject plenty of times. Rumor has it he allowed a greater daemon of Tzeentch to possess his body - and yet he was still able to control it. Of course, this may be complete hearsay. He has artificially extended his lifespan far beyond the normal life expectancy for his species via use of gene therapy and cybernetic implants. He was obsessed with his goal of living forever should his faction ever need to leave the time-warping effects of the Eye of Terror, which gives the forces of Chaos virtual immortality. Despite his age, he is still quite physically impressive, again, due to physical modification of his body. After being captured, he was accidentally freed from Chaos's grip on his mind by a member of the Imperium performing experiments designed to pinpoint Chaotic influences on a person's mind. After killing the Imperium scientist, he snuck out of the facility and has made his home on Ostima 1. While Chaos holds no grip over him anymore, and he retains no desire to turn back, the 100+ years he spent as a Chaos High Priest have taken their toll on him, mentally and physically. He was one quite outspoken and idealistic (he served as a Chaos recruiter for a few years), but now remains quite withdrawn and inward, although he may seem at first glance quite 'outward.' - there's a sort of wall between him and others that he is quite reluctant to tear down. He can still be quite arrogant and self-centered at times, and it can be a real challenge to try and balance out his desires with the wants of others. Most of his Chaos past has been forgotten, both by forceful mediation, and by lack of contact with Chaotic forces. Only the last 20 years have allowed him to settle down, and try to forget and move on from a terrible past. Perhaps not-far-off events will help bring him out of his shell. In the D&D world, his alignment would be a close match to chaotic neutral - he follows his own goals and desires, and acts out of self-interest. He does not, under most circumstances, align himself with any organization unless it is to his own benefit, or serves some need or want. However, he is not "strongly chaotic neutral" (he does not act insane).

Name: Wyatt Williams
Age: 31
Sex: Male
Race: Human
Weapons: Steyr AUG, Launcher Attachment
Abilities: None
Appearance: White ethnicity; Height of 5' 6"; Blackish brown hair; Brown/Green eyes; theres a rather long scar on his back as a result of a feral animal attack.


Short Bio: Through rigorous training in the use of most common assult rifles, Wyatt has spent the majority of his life on Ostima 3 honing his skills on it's feral inhabitants. He was frequently seen accepting jobs from scientists or the etcetera that involved the slaughter of the animals for their organs or pelts. From time to time Wames would gather the materials from trees required to make most of the medicine for his wounds, he would usualy stock the extra or even use the surplus for extra economic material that he would eventualy use when he returns to Ostima 1.

I do realize that my description is rather short, but I'm kind of short on time. I will delve deeper into his storyline through the roleplay.

(And trust me, my roleplay posts WILL be rather long in some of the posts))

E: Name changed

The skies above Ostima 1 shone with a clear, blue hue, almost cloudless as the sun started to rise over the horizon. Inside one of the four towers of his Cathedral, Arix sat in a relaxed position, smiling as he went about his routine, getting prepared for another day at the military base, however today was a day that the dragon had been waiting for. Today, High Command would be testing their latest weapon, a prototype for a new vehicle mounted plasma gun.

With a prayer, he started off to the base, choosing to fly instead of drive, the dragon's scales glistening in the sunlight, the air a bit cold but nothing that would be annoying. Soon the base came within view, now starting his gradual descent. he eyed the many base turrets, all of them turning his way. He was used to this, starring down the barrels of pulse lasers, and missile tubes. Soon they turned away, a remote chip implanted beneath his scales sending a signal to call them off. With a swoop and arc, Arix folded his wings when he was within drop distance, landing gracefully outside the airfield.

Three cloaked ships the size of imperium capital ships silently slipped into orbit around Ostima II. In fact, they were imperium capital ships, Emperor class, with some slight alterations. All coat of arms were wiped clean from it's surface, and a massive cloaking device sat on top of each of them. The many guns and hangers scattered across their massive bodies though remained untouched. As deadly as it would be in an imperium fleet.

Robillard D. Novdarug sat at the helm of the middle ship. His dark brown eyes scanned the sight before him. It was just as his scouts reported, an unusual cluster or terrestrial planets. Each serving it's own purpose and each attracting massive fleets that would arrive there in a matter of hours. If he wanted to set up a base he would have to do it quickly. Huge profits were about to be made.

The huge ships floated invisably above Ostima II for a few more moments, before turning to Gadlam XI, the moon above Ostima I. Robillard had already calculated that as the best strategic point to set up his own base. He would be able to repair his ships, and have plenty of access to any needed equipment. It would also be easy to defend if any of the armies stood against him, Robillard doubted they would.

"Men, if you would cloak and prepare to depart for Gadlam XI we would have complete advantage. The EMP will be aunched at it in two minutes. The dead give up their paychecks to the living." Robillard spoke into the intercom in front of him. He could hear cheers echoing down the corridors of the ship as his men scurried to their fighters. The one thing that took priority above their loyalty to him was the money they earned. Thousands of men on each ship were paid hansomely for their work. With good reason too, Robillard only hired profesionals. His second in command, whom the men refered to only as 'Captain Clark' strode up next to Robillard and nodded. Doing the honors himself, Robillard pressed down the button in front of him, and launched the EMP.

Gadlam XI fell into darkness.

An alarm sounded on each of the ships, signalling Robillard's men to deploy. Over a thousand one-man fighters closed in on, and entered every port of Gadlam six. The bewildered guards had little time to set up a defense as their numbers dwindled. To their credit the main defense lasted a whole six minutes. The next wave of ships Held Robillard, Clark, and hundreds of tons of equipment. His men only had three hours to set up shop. Then the dealings would begin between the armies. Twenty minutes had passed since his arrival into the system.

Robillard loved war.

"Look... Sir. Only authorized personnel are permitted inside the base today. Commander's orders. So why don't you... Heh... Hop off before I'm forced to escort you off government property myself." The six foot tall guard crossed his arms and pushed out his chest, attempting to size up to the massive lapine that stood in front of him, looking like he was ready to cave his skull in.

Chazen grit his teeth furiously, left paw tightened into a fist. He lifted back as though he were about to shove it right through the smug human's face, instead swinging a pair of tags in front of his face. "I'm Captain Chazen Kyogen. Not only do I outrank you, boy, but I fucking work here. So get outta the way or so help me I'll knock you to the goddamned ground!" he snarled, rabbity face mere inches away from the other's. Breath smelled strongly of whiskey and tobacco. He was running late. And even worse, he needed a fix. After his 'detox' of course. Not that it ever lasted too long. The veteran was slowly building an unfortunate immunity to the very thing that staved off his stim reliance.

The soldier, although unapologetic, took a moment to peer at the tags before moving only halfway from the gate. A heavy gloved paw landed against his chest, giving a hard shove that sent the man flying about a meter back onto his ass. Chazen stomped a few feet past before pausing and glancing about, his other paw reaching up to rub at the back of his head. "Uh... Shit. Where's the med center again?" Been a long while since he'd actually been on the base. Five years since his semi retirement.

The lithe vulpine headed towards the base, knowing something was amiss. She had a badge around her neck, showing she was allowed in, and just in case she kept her revolver close at paw for a little insurance policy. Luckily she spied the rabbit walking in and took this chance to scamper inside before the guard could stop her. Unfortunately he was close to the entrance so she ran straight into his back and hit the floor unceremoniously, her glasses falling off. She felt around for them, not able to see too well without them. "Damnit...where'd they go..." After snatching them and putting them back on, she looked up at the intimidating lapine and gave a sheepish grin before getting up. "I'm sorry...please forgive me..." Rose backed away a bit, looking down out of respect and, truthfully, slight fear of the man.

Sergei was sitting cross-legged in the middle of a rather dinghy, poorly-lit apartment. A thin layer of dirt seemed to coat everything, although he was no smoker. Despite the squalid conditions, Sergei loved this place. It was far away from any routes, and near the center of the decrepit, condemned building. The near silence allowed him to meditate quite well...in fact, maybe it was the "near" part that was key. There was almost a rhythm to the creaks, groans, and quibbling mice, the skitter-skatter of roaches - a rhythm that might put others at unease, but was quite relaxing to the once-wolf.

At the moment Sergei was traveling through his mind, subtly trying to carve away existing Chaos influences. It was a work in progress, a slow one at that, but every day he became less and less vulnerable to letting anything control him again.

He had been meditating for no more than a short hour when a slight twinge and some minor streaks of pain jolted him out of his peace.

EMP?

Sergei moved some of his limbs around, and some of his joints that more conventional creatures lacked.

If there was one, it was certainly much too far away...but they'll be coming. he thought, and sure enough, he heard footsteps approaching.

He quickly thew on some clothes with a speed that belied his strange shape, and sat down in the same position he was in before. Sergei let out a long, irritated sigh as his apartment door was once again kicked down, and two 'g-men' entered through, guns out and pointed at him, as though that would be enough to subdue him.

"My, my, we are rude today, aren't we." Sergei took a second here to search their heads. "And how is the wife, sir?" he said, looking at the human on the left. "Oh that's right, in the middle of a nasty divorce. I should have known."

Sergei gave them a sort of wicked grin. The world was a giant psychological game, and you could either be a player or one of the played. He took every opportunity to be a player.

The lizard-morph on the right looked to the human, and whispered something which was clearly supposed to be out of earshot, but the once-wolf could hear it easily.

"I told you...he gets in your head."

Now turning to address Sergei, he said "Sir, you need to come with us."

"Well, I see somebody is quite capable of speaking with a modicum of civility. That was really all you needed to say." He stood up, keeping to his smallest stature.

He knew how they had found him...there was chip implanted in his body which allowed the military to locate him at any given time. He could have removed it at any point, but he found it was more advantageous to let them believe they had some level of control over his being. It made sense, he supposed. As a former high-ranking member of Chaos, allowing him to lead a life anywhere but prison, or inside a furnace, was pretty generous.

Sergei left the crumbling apartment willingly with the two g-men, and got into their car, and was soon on an all-too-familiar route. No doubt they would have questions, the same questions they always did when there was some sort of disturbance. Still though, he was quite sure that had been an EMP fluctuation. Not enough to do anything to the power in the city, but when your body was hooked up to cybernetic parts, you felt things like that.

A short while later, he was following the men into the compound, into a short, unremarkable building with a single, embossed label near the door: INTERROGATION.

[OOC Note: Sergei is not necessarily more competent or intelligent than those he meets, although he has a high degree of both. However, he is quite arrogant which I tried to reflect as I was writing this. Also I know this post is epic-length but as the RP goes on they should normalize, usually my first few posts are longer than the rest.]

The new plasma gun was a wonderful piece of technology. Kaiyoki had stayed up most of the night posted as a guard in the base, just to watch it's first testing. He had shuffled over a few times, pretending that it was part of his patrol area, lightly touching it's console. The systems were amazing, this would be hell on the battlefield. Kaiyoki noted a few more lines in the code that he could use to further improve the scope on his sniper rifle. He moved backwards, breaking contact. The information that was once at his fingertips disappeared abruptly and Kaiyoki shook his head to get rid of the disorientation before going back to his post.

The Ostima's star was rising, the warm rays of light bouncing off the many surfaces of metal. A small glint of light that did not belong could just be seen in the distance. Kaiyoki hefted his own weapon just as the defences swiveled to face the speck, ready to take it down. Looking though the scope he had just finished tweaking, Kaiyoki saw Arix flying toward the base. He lowered his weapon and watched as the turrets and SAMs went back to their primary position while Arix landed on the airstrip.

Kaiyoki moved to greet a minister of the nearby church, reaching him just as he landed. "Welcome sir, you here to watch the testing?"

The crickle crackle of branches are heard as Wyatt crawls onto the edge of a tree looking for his target, he takes a moment to ready his AUG and get into a comfortable possition before staking out.

- - -

Late last night Wyatt had set up a small camp complete with a campfire and pelts from the day's game that he would use as improvised blankets to keep him warm durring the cold Ostima III night. The jungles around his clearing were thick, allowing absolutely no sight to or from the far reaches of the area. You would be lucky if you ever got to see the light in one of Ostima's thickest, let alone make it out alive, for the beasts in the area were not something you would want to shake a stick at as they would probably eat the stick, then you.

Wyatt was about to toss the last of the pelts onto his back and douse the campfire until he heard a rather distinct sound coming from the supposed north, as it was practically impossible to accurately tell which way was north in Ostima 3. He silently unslung the Steyre AUG and ducked behind a large tree branch for cover. Wyatt was no fool of the jungles of Ostima 3, he knew what possible dangers may lurk nearby.

The sound was getting closer, the pronounced Crick Crack Pcht was nearly impossible not to notice. Wyatt readied his AUG lightly on the branch for stability and peaked his eye through the scope lense, ready for the impending fight between man and beast. A white looking object was seen slowly traversing through the jungle, creeping towards the location of the campfire step by step. Slowly a man came into view, the light giving off from the campfire slowly danced along his face. Wyatt lowered his AUG for a moment and spoke to the man, "You scared the shit out of me you maniac, you had better have a good reason why I shouldn't toss you out to the animals". The man spoke up quickly, "Oh heavens me! I'm truely sorry! You see, I got lost in the jungle looking for a specific entity and I noticed your campfire, thinking someone was there, I made my way here.'

Wyatt slung his weapon and walked up to the man, "Searching for an animal you say? An experienced tracker such as myself would have no trouble finding this specimen, for that I'm willing to help....For a price." The scientist shuddered for a moment, "Alright, all of the funds that I have are back at the lab, get the specimen and you will get your reward post haste." Wyatt smiled, "Excellent... Let me show you the way out of here and I'll have the animal in your hands by sundown tomorrow."

- - -

The hunt was tiresome and Wyatt was starting to get hungry, he would need to head back to camp soon for a meal. Out of the corner of his eye he spied a large beast that fit the specifications of the scientist's description, Wyatt slowly turned his body to get a better view to take the shot. The creature seemed to be pacing back and forth, as if it were waiting for something, but he paid it no mind and loaded a clip into the weapon. Aiming with tight precision he fired a round into the animal's neck, bringing it to the ground with a loud thump.

Arix let out a small sigh as he touched down, and straightened out his coat. Noting the guards salute him he gave them a curt nod and started for the door. Something felt odd to the dragon, and he knew that whenever he got a vibe like that something was up. Heading inside the airfield ATC building, he began to ponder, certainly nerves about the upcoming testing and evaluation of the plasma caster would cause a bit of worry, but this was not what he felt at the moment. Quickly the dragon followed down a long hallway, turning towards the local base Tram System, the automated cars would take him to any building on base, and right now he was on time for boarding the tram to the Command and Control center.

Sitting down, he put a scale hand under his jaw, wondering just what on Ostima was going on. As the cars started to move, so did his thoughts. Closing his eyes he began to focus inward, separating different emotions, trying to get at the core of what was troubling him, unfortunetly though he was only able to sort out the most basic feelings by the time the tram car arrived at the station. With a shake of his head, the dragon stood and stepped out, thinking that he would sort this out later, right now he had a test to oversee.

Within minutes he had arrived at the main control building, the entire room filled with techs and computers, directing and overseeing operations in a pit below the window gantry where the Top Brass were, all of them turning and giving Arix a crisp salute as he entered. Returning the gesture, the dragon made his way to join them,

"Status?" A shorter human cleared his throat.

"All preliminary testing on Cannon 1 is green, it's ready to fire as soon as it's aligned."

Wyatt quickly slung his weapon of choice and slid down the tall tree. Silently he approached his kill and started to heft it up onto his back. Out of the corner of his ear Wyatt heard a running sound coming from the thick. He tossed the carcas aside and unslung his AUG, knowing that danger was near. "It's a mate..Hell I would be pissed too if some jackass killed my w-." Suddenly a large creature jumped out of the brush and nearly pinned him to the ground. Wyatt regained his balance and took aim at the beast, he fired five or six rounds into its' chest area, but to no avail. "Damnit!" The beast roared with vim and vigour dispite the bullet holes in its' side, and it slamed a paw into Wyatt's chest. He went flying back into the stump of a tree, he felt pained, exhausted, and angry. "You really want you mate back? Here, I hope you have a nice reunion!" Wyatt slowly reached for his AUG and blasted the rest of his clip into the giant entity. It too, fell with a giant thump.

- - -

A small secluded lab on the edge of a large river started to buzz with life when the front door slid open, revealing a man who looked like he had two giganting humps on his back. Wyatt held onto the beasts waiting for someone to tell him where to put them. The scientist whom he had met last night beckoned him over to a table and told him to set the remains on it. He slammed both of the onto the table and looked back to the scientist, "My reward please..." The scientist shook his head in a tisk tisk matter and slowly beckoned him to follow him into a room. The doors slid open and revealed a room full of Ostima's economical material (Dollars, Euros, whatever they are), the scientist bent over and grabbed a small box that jingled when he shook it. He handed it to Wyatt and showed him the door.

- - -

"A job well done...I think I'll head back to Ostima I and show off my 'pretty penny'." He pondered what he should spend it on until he came to a clearing, in this clearing was a small spacecraft designed to transport it's owner from planet to planet. He opened the hatch, stepped inside the cramped cockpit, and intered the coordinates to Ostima I. The hatch closed and the ship took off past Ostima III's atmospheric layer.

Sergei let out a long, annoyed, and very audible sigh.

"You realize you aren't ever going to get any information from me I don't want you to have, right?"

After about 30 minutes of repeated, vague, and all-around pointless questioning, Sergei's small amounts of reserve patience had run thin.

The lizard g-man hissed.

"Shit. Should we just tell him?"

The human, still leaning in the back corner of the room, did not look up as he said "It's not like questioning...him...has ever worked before."

Again, the lizard hissed.

"Look, about an hour ago we lost all contact with Gadlam XI."

Sergei paused, and placed a clawed hand over his face.

"No, I don't know anything more than you, no, I'm not still in cahoots with some secret Chaos contingency on Ostima 1, and no, I had nothing to do with it."

He had held off on using his telepathy to try and guess their questions beforehand, because he had hoped, that unlike every other time he found himself in this room, that they were not going to ask the exact same questions.

"That's not at all what we wanted to know."

Sergei sat straight up. This was new.

"You've got your psychic mind-reading stuff going for you. Something like this isn't really normal, and we want to be prepared for a worst-case scenario. Understand that right now, we have no reason to expect any malicious intent - but we need to be ready. Anyway, those abilities of yours could come in handy, and no matter what happened, we're going to need someone who can accurately gauge the truth. And hey, if it's Chaos or something, there's a chance for some revenge."

A pause.

"You realize how little sense that makes, right?"

Both g-men gave him a puzzled look.

"I don't want revenge on Chaos. I don't have any ties to them anymore, and I want to keep it that way. I've been happy just 'living' for the past 20 years. And you should know better than trying to play silly psychic games with me."

"But-"

"Just shut up. I didn't say no. I'm 137 years old, and I'm getting a bit bored with the day-to-day routine. A small squabble over a moon, if that's what's going on, will be nice to break the tedium. Whatever it is, it's change, and I like that." He didn't bother telling him his suspicions that it could be an EMP blast, and of quite a large magnitude to be able to affect his bionic parts. Of course, it was likely just a machinery breakdown. There was no reason for anyone to bother getting in a quibble over the Ostima system, that he could think of.

"And besides, despite the front you've put up, you aren't giving me a choice. It's either 'help us, or we'll stick you back in prison.' The interrogation bit was the stupid little routine they've drilled into your tiny little heads that was supposed to soften me up. Like I said. Won't work."

The human rolled his eyes, realizing that was as good as an affirmative as he could hope for, then spoke up. "Follow me sir, you'll need to meet with High Command to make it official. Welcome aboard."

Sergei just spit at the outstretched hand, and got a pissed-off glare in return.

A short trip later, he and the two g-men entered a room, a room where an experimental weapon was about to be fired for the first time.

On the left seal guard of Julius’s flight suit was perched this light blue beetle. It was massive. Humongous. He had expected it to bite, or do something aggressive, especially with the number of red black horns crowning the top of its head. But it had crawled onto his gloved hand, up the arm, and onto stable ground on his shoulder. He had chilled there the entire time he piloted his one man fighter back, Julius actually put him on the control panel, close to the canopy so he could feel like a bad ass little beetle.

He landed on one of the many landing pads outside his current place of employment. They were interested in large herbivores that were mainly edible. It was pretty boring, so he did stuff like find cool beetles. He had a feeling he was going to get fired soon, but he didn’t care that much, after three years of hard core work on Ostima III, he’d stashed enough cash to do something other then this. But he liked it.

He opened the door to the bosses office, to report any findings for the day, which he was quickly making up. But when he opened the door he was surprised to find Jackson, a big Ox, literally, talking to Boss.

“… The defenses fell twenty minutes after they arrived in system. All of the defenses on Gadlam XI, in six minutes.”

“Julius,” Joe wheezed, leaning forward in his office chair, putting out a cigar in an ash tray. “There’s an employment opportunity that’s arisen, the refueling depot outside of Gretton town, to the south of here. There’s men there looking for fighters, mercs. You should go.” He coughed at the ending of his sentence.

“Uh,” Julius hefted the strap of his canister rifle a bit higher onto his shoulder. “I don’t think I want to get mixed up in a conflict that doesn’t really involve me, you know so..”

“After about one run with these guys, you’ll make about half your yearly salary that I pay. I know I’m going.”

Julius gave a sort of nod to Joe as he exited the office. Brutus was perched closer to his neck now, and was rotating from side to side.

“Damn Brutus, you’re fucking cool.” Julius said as he powered up his fighter, the thrusters angled down as he hovered off the landing pad and angled the fighter towards the sky, getting above the massive reach of the branches of the jungle.

When Julius got to the Gretton depot, he essentially found out that he was supposed to go straight to Gadlam XI. Which worried him, the place where Imperium defensive positions just crumbled was now the assembly point for anyone wanting to join the ranks of those who conquered it? It seemed a bit arrogant almost, daring the Imperium to stop this faction from assembling itself on the moon.

As he got out of the atmosphere of Ostima, he set in the coordinates for Gadlam, which just happened to be on the nearest side of Ostima II, making this an even shorter journey. This gave him less time to think, which he was busy doing.

“Why am I going to become a merc? I don’t even know who the hell these people are. They could be fanatics. Or just a bunch of thugs who happened to have overpowered the Imperium guard there, they could be taken out at any moment. Me along with them.” Julius sighed and adjusted the pressure on his flight suit. He reached onto the control panel and started to run a scan on the surface. He lifted a hand and flicked Brutus, over onto his back. He squirmed his little legs.

Julius smiled as he read the display in front of him. They were basically using the Imperium defenses, beefing them up here and there with additional turrets. He wouldn’t say the moon was an impenetrable fortress, but it was a formidable defensive position. A few ships were patrolling the moon, and some ships coming up from the surfaces of the three planets, making their way toward docking bays.

Julius saw a transportations shuttle coming up and decided to fall in with it. He switched the controls back over to manual, better safe then dead. A signal soon hailed the small craft.

“This is Gadlam XI, under the command of Robillard Novdarug. State you purpose of visit, and I will guide you in the proper direction.” Said a female voice on the other end.

“Hi, I’m Julius, I came here to be a mercenary.” Julius realized he should have had a better idea of what exactly he was supposed to do, he just sort of flew here.

“Please make your way to bay number seven, land there and fall in with the other men there and await further instructions. I’m sending you the coordinates now.”

Julius flew low to the structures, seeing bullet holes and impact craters dotting the surface of the planet, and the concrete structures themselves. Turrets pivoted to follow his trail across the sky. This was definitely war.

He brought the ship in through the air lock, putting his ship down at the eastern end of the hangar. Other ships lined the hangar, ranging in size from small fighters, to a pretty large freighter. The people who had come on them were sitting in rows of chairs assembled at the middle of the hangar, facing towards a door. Julius slung his C-10 onto his shoulder, adjusting the pressure on his flight suit again. He tapped Brutus’s shell.

“You, you can wait here. Don’t crawl into the wiring and fry yourself either.” Julius climbed down the two steps, the jumped off the wing of the craft, his flight boots making a soft click as they hit the concrete floor. He walked over to the group of chairs, let his rifle slide down his shoulder and sat it next to his chair and took a seat, awaiting further instructions.

*starting things back up now.*

Arix nodded once and turned his head back towards where the cannon now stood, fixed to a modified turret. Several thick cables ran to the base of the platform, each supplying vital coolant and power to the gun. Arix knew to a degree what sort of power this gun possessed, smaller prototypes that had been tested had been able to eat through entire suits of body armor, and when tested on a sample piece of flesh, which had been in the form of a cadaver, the dead human's flesh had turned into a steaming pile of liquified skin and organ.

"Start the power up sequence." he ordered, and quickly a tech punched in a key sequence into one of the terminals. The power fluttered throughout the base, backup generators kicked in to compensate. Soon the coils around the gun began to show a glow, slowly powering up.

Arix now looked down the firing range at the target that had been set up. An older mech that had been stripped of all vital equipment, save for the bits of armor plating that was either too awkward, or too rusted to salvage. The older war machine had served well in the past, and now would have one final use, the target of perhaps one of the most important experements in weapons research to this date.

"Fire control, you may fire when ready." There was an acknowledgement, from whom the dragon couldn't tell from, and an automated countdown soon started. "5...4...3...2...1"

Much to the surprise of several of the staff, there was no explosive boom, or loud hiss of steam. What there was, was a large thump, as the cannon shot its' payload of liquid sun, the recoil having put more strain on the compensators than originally anticipated, but was still within safe parameters. From what Arix could see, the blast of plasma moved almost as quick as a bullet, the blob rocketing across the open field and striking the target mech right at the pelvic joints. The war machine was blasted backwards by the inertia of the blast, but still standing, however this wouldn't be so for long.

The metal skeleton of the mech glowed bright, almost like it was straight from the forge. Soon though it began to warp and deform, several bits of molten steel dripping off and falling to the ground below. This lasted only a second or two, before the blob fully splashed over the surface, and before 10 seconds had passed, the mech was reduced down to nothing but a steaming, smoking pile of slag.

Sergei had stepped in moments before the test firing. In truth, he was quite eager to see the weapon - destruction was a favorite playmate of his.

"High Command's all here to see the test firing of our new prototype. You'll have to wait a bit 'for I can get their signoff on these papers."

"I've got two eyes, you inbred mongrel," Sergei snapped at the human. One thing Sergei could not abide was useless people. Cpt. Obvious, Sgt. Informer, and Mr. Trivia were among the people Sergei classified as useless. The full roster would be quite a bore to recite.

A good way into the Mech's melting, Sergei grinned a toothy smile (though it might be hard to spot under his heavy cloak and hood), and clapped - slowly, and quite audibly.

"Impressive. And when will we all be using the live subjects?"

This might turn out to be a good day after all, he thought. Sergei loved ranged weaponry.

The unexpected comment and the clapping made the dragon turn around, ready to chastise the man who made that comment when he paused. Seeing the strange wolf/dragon creature and also seeing he wore no uniform made him rethink his wording. Taking a split second, Arix reached out with an invisible psi tendril, sensing the presence of the familiar energy within the creature.

A small smile grew on the dragon's lips, one that was only visible to the other scalie, whose keen eyes could pick it up. "A prototype infantry sized rifle was used as the basic model for this gun." He said, in an informative tone, drawing the shocked looks of everyone in the room, which he ignored.

"Unfortunetly we have yet to come up with a power cell that will last more than a few shots before needing to be recharged." He said, tone dropping back to a somewhat serious one. He stepped away from the window, heading over towards the other dragon.

Sergei licked his muzzle, indicating at least mild interest.

"I'm sure I can recall a few designs which might alleviate that matter...but I'm not sure your government would allow it under...let's say, ethical dilemmas."

He shifted his weight back into a more defensive posture, and altered his body structure, increasing his height by a little to be at eye level with the approaching dragon.

Sergei attempted to read Arix's mind, but couldn't gleam anything from him.

Might take a little more work with this one, he thought.

"Doofus and Dorkus behind me tell me I could make a glorified lie detector. Something about the moon or whatnot. I wasn't really paying attention. I'm far more interested in that cannon anyway. Deadly & aesthetically pleasing to watch. Not often you get both."

The human spoke up after this - "Ah...basically what he said, sir. He's far more reliable than the machines."

The young scientist, once she collected herself, put her glasses back on, apologized once more to the lapine and took off into the base before the guard collected his senses and came after her. She wandered around for a bit, mostly exploring before coming to the armory and poked around for a bit, hoping to not get herself in trouble should she not have the clearance to borrow anything.

Kaiyoki had snuck nearer to the gathering of people, the best spot to veiw the test was cluttered with all sorts of higher ups. All of them were silent, there was no chatter, tension flew out in waves. Arix gave the comand to fire, some of the room drew back and Kaiyoki flatened his ears.

The cannon didn't make as much noise as he had expected though he knew it would make the "Wumph" sound. The glowing blob of energy ate up the distance between it and the rust mech that was it's target. Soon after the plasma had hit, the mech started to melt, it looked almost as if it was folding in on itself.

Since the show was over there was not much to stick around for. Kaiyoki decided to stay a while longer, they hadn't seen him yet and someone might drop a bit on furture plans for the cannon.