Praetorians: Zealots (IC)

[Thevshi]

Vanor System
Outer edge of the Perseus Arm
Lor time mark 1471.5 [March 8, 2016 (Terran Calendar)] 

The Praetorian spacecraft Kavaca hung at the outer edge of the Vanor system, a small silver drop in a vast field of black dotted with the lights of millions of stars.  The Praetorians aboard had been following a faint energy signature, the only possible clue they had to locating a group of Spectrum Knights that had been terrorizing the local sector.   

In the months since the Praetorians and Star Knights had driven the Spectrum Knights from their base of operations and captured some of the group's key leaders, the remaining Spectrum Knights had been scattered across the galaxy.  Although they were individually dangerous, being scattered did mean their rampages were generally brought to a quick end.  Of course, this did little to slow the appearance of new Spectrum Knights, as new ones continued to pop up seemingly at random. 

Then, a little over one Terran week ago, a small group of Spectrum Knights had begun striking at targets within the sector.  In response to request for Praetorian assistance, Paradigm had sent Elite, along with Magnetar, Mater Vyrdna, Corona, and a new member to the team, the Terran Queenie, to the sector. 

"The energy signature associated with Spectrum Knight armor leads into the system Elite."  Magnetar commented from his seat on the bridge of the Kavaca where he was manning the ship's sensors.  The only other "original" Praetorian aboard besides Elite (Mater Vyrdna did not count, as two thousand years ago, she had been a member of the Delaztri Navy, and not a Praetorian), Magnetar spoke in GalStandard, the only one aboard who could not understand being Queenie. 

The Vanor star was a red supergiant, so massive that if it sat at the center of the Sol system, it would swallow everything out to about Mars' orbit.  A thick asteroid belt was visible clustered around the Vanor star, extending out millions of miles within the system.

[Blue Rose]

"Yes, I see..." Elite replies in GalStandard, paying close attention to the sensor readouts.

 

"An old trick, but only because it is a good one."  She starts adjusting sensor filters to try and keep the trail.  "I believe I can keep the trail, if you believe it safe to navigate the asteroid belt."  She then proceeds to relay the situation to Queenie in the... well, a language of her planet called English.  One of entirely too many.

 

"Be ready, everyone.  This would be an excellent place for an ambush."

[Vahnyu]

"An ambush... Tsk, these Spectrum Knights have been nothing but an annoyance, thus far." Mater Vyrdna contemplated irritably. As the new Spectrum Knights poped up in small batches, in unrelated sectors, and indeterminate time marks, this led to the Praetorians having to scour the 6 edges of the galaxy, splitting their personel, and having to pick them off few at a time. "They're probably yet more grunts, faffing about with their newfound powers and spreading random mayhem. I doubt the remaining leaders are gonna be surfacing anytime soon." Slumping back at her seat, Vyrdnaya frowned in frustration at the Praetorians' current predicament.

 

"If only we knew of the Spectrum Knights' source of recruiting, we could have come up with a plan to systematically put a stop to them a long time ago... Ah well. Guess our options are still limited." She commented. Unlike Elite, Vyrdnaya hadn't bothered translating in English for Queenie. It's true that the girl was a newly recruited Praetorian, which should automatically warrant respect in and itself, but she wasn't born on the Delaztri empire, just like Corona. She didn't feel comfortable trusting Queenie, and had only recently started getting somewhat along with Corona. Somewhat.

Edited March 23, 2016 by Vahnyu

[Raveled]

Corona had been in her armor since the moment they had entered the system. Now she was looking over the sensor data and frowning. "I don't like it," she said. "This is too convenient. Why would they run to a dead system like this? They have to know we'll find them sooner or later." She folded her arms and tapped armored fingers against her armored biceps. "They have to be meeting up with allies. It's the only thing that explains this."

[EternalPhoenix]

Queenie was a little surprised when Magnetar had come calling with a message from Paradigm. It had been a little while since she’s heard from any of the Praetorians. She had almost started to believe they’d forgotten her when her ring vibrated softly. Someone had been on the line. And so here she was, on the Kavaca. Meeting new people. No. Meeting her teammates. Elite reminded Queenie of royalty, somehow. With precious little of the arrogance of the high born and more than enough of the better qualities. Mater…no way could Queenie pronounce her other name, seemed a bit more standoffish.   But that was all right. No one could hate a good and generous chef for long. Queenie had brought a few things along in her hiking backpack, but nobody really seemed that interested. She chalked it up to interspecies differences. As for Corona, she trusted her immediately. By now, Queenie knew a professional soldier when she saw one. She’d worked with the FCPD often enough to see the signs, cranked up higher.

 

Right now, she absent mindedly twisted the Ring around her finger. “These guys are using tech, right? It’s got to be made somewhere. And this is the middle of nowhere, isn’t it? It’s what I’d do, if I was running away from strong enemies, I’d go right to where we’re supposedly strongest.” Queenie thought it was a solid line of reasoning, but as she often said, she was just a chef.

[Thevshi]

"As long as the asteroids are not too densely spaced, we should be alright to enter."  Magnetar replied as he guided the Kavaca forward, moving quickly toward the edge of the asteroid field, but slowing down some as he drew closer, waiting for Elite to provide any necessary course changes to keep after the energy trail. 

"I believe the worlds where the Spectrum Knights have attacked would view them as more than just an annoyance Mater Vyrdna."  He then replied to the technomorph.  "With power comparable to a Star Knight, it is a good thing they are far fewer, and far less organized."

[Vahnyu]

"Which makes it all the more frustrating that we haven't managed any progress in stopping them, Magnetar." Vyrdnaya responded exasperatedly. She knew her teammate was right, that trivializing other peoples' suffering was uncalled for, but it was that same suffering that frustrated her. "We're barely helping anyone as it is. We're cutting off a limb, and two more grow to take its place. I fear that..." she hesitated a bit, as she contemplated. "... that before we even manage to find its weakness, this beast will have grown far too many arms for us to handle. That the Spectrum Knights will have fully recuperated their losses, and lauch an overwhelming counter attack, before we even manage to locate their organization's heart."

 

Vyrdnaya slinked back at her seat. She hated being a defeatist, but she couldn't help having doubts about their predicament. Even if they had technically been on the winning side of the war, so to speak, she was always weary that maybe things have been too easy, that the Praetorians've been lulled to a false sense of security, that they've been baited to their downfall.

 

"Well, Corona?" she addressed Aya in her native tongue. "You've had your share of work as an intergalactic investigator for the Lor Republic, in this time period. How do you think the Spectrum Knights managed to keep such a low profile? They've proven themselves far too flashy to've managed that, at least to such a degree."

[Raveled]

"Flashy, but independent," Corona noted. "They don't need spacecraft or even a base to work out of; each one can operate separately from the others or team up for big jobs. It's a lot easier to track one big signal than to track six tiny signals all going in different directions." She blinked, shifting her gaze to the starfield outside the ship, searching for answers. "The chaos hasn't been helping them, either. The Lor and the Grue and what's left of the Khanate still don't trust each other. It makes it easier for little things to slip through the cracks. That's why we're here."

[Blue Rose]

"Lady Bee makes a strong observation.  This would work well as an obscure location to gather.  Decentralized organization has served them well in their defense and survival, but some goals require a foundation.  A satellite of order circling their anarchy."  As Tatiana speaks, she continues her sensor sweep, tracking their mark.

 

"But it begs the question; why did this one lead us here?  Either they have completed something and they consider themselves ready for us, or this is a young and inexperienced opponent, fleeing to perceived safety out of fear, to the doom of their allies.  None of us have survived this long by assuming our adversaries are children and fools."

 

So many options.  She gives Bee an abridged translation as she thinks.

 

"This is clearly an ambush.  If this ship does not enter, they will take it as fear and hesitation, and be emboldened.  If we do enter, we will be attacked on their terms.  An undue risk.  I propose this ship enter enemy territory, but we will not be on it.  Lord Magnetar, do you believe we could program the ship's computer to make a shallow entry into the asteroid field, unmanned?"

[Thevshi]

"My own programming skills are not likely sufficient."  Magnetar replied to Elite's question.  "However I am sure Mater Vyrdna's are more that up to the task."  He then added, looking back at the other senior Praetorian as he continued to guide the Kavaca toward the outer edge of the asteroid field at a relatively slow speed. 

"Of course, if we lose the Kavaca we could be stuck out here for some time.  And I would not want to be the one to have to tell Traveller what happened to her favorite spacecraft."

[Blue Rose]

Tatiana nods, "The plan is to go ahead of the ship, off-hull, and stage our own ambush.  The ship enters, the enemy reveals themselves.  We launch our ambush, distracting them from the ship.  If we can program a remote signal for the ship to withdraw to just outside the asteroid field at that point, the risk should be manageable."

[Vahnyu]

Vyrdnaya considered it for a second. By all accounts, it sounded like their most prudent course of action. "I could certainly try my hand at entering a few inputs here, making some crosswires there, building a remote control, and the like. But..." she paused, as she further gave this issue some thought. "... that still leaves us with the whole issue of how to quickly close up to our would-be ambushers, especially from a safe, hiding distance." That... put a damper on the plan. Stay too close, and the counter-ambush would fail. Too far, and they would be unable to catch up to the Spectral Knights.

 

It was at that time that the red laser-lens she had for an eye glew a bright yellow, as if some lightbulb had been lit open inside her head. "Aaaaand I think I've got the answer to that!" With that, she got up from her seat, and headed towards Elite and Magnetar. "See, there's plenty of spare parts inside the Kavaca, right? I bet I could borrow some of them, meld them into a makeshift spacecraft. Nothing fancy, nor particularly blasty. Just big enough to accomodate us all, and fast enough to catch up to the Kavaca from one side of the stellar system to the other."

[Thevshi]

With a plan decided on, the Praetorians set to work preparing to execute it.  Mater Vyrdna was the busiest, programming the Kavaca to act at the decoy and then transmuting some of the ships spare parts into a small space vehicle to help transport herself, Elite and Corona (who were the slower fliers among the group).

 Magnetar had kept them on course at a steady speed as the preparations were made.   

Once they were all done, the group moved into one of the ship's airlocks, exiting out through the side as Mater guided the makeshift vehicle she, Elite and Corona were riding in, as the Kavaca proceeded into the edge of the asteroid field.

[EternalPhoenix]

Queenie was just following along. Elite’s translations were helping, but she still felt a little out of her depth. Further from home than she’d ever been, surrounded by people she barely knew or had just met. She…just kind of went along with the plan, feeling very much the freshman in a crowd of juniors and seniors. From a social perspective, at least. She didn’t doubt her skill or ability with the ring. And so she was just kind of…flying slowly (for her) alongside the tiny transport for the slow fliers. She still wasn’t sure exactly what to do, but she did know that she’d know it when she saw it.