Part III

...THREE MONTHS LATER...

Van Toren struggled to his feet. His clothes were torn and dirty, his face full of soot. His vision was foggy. He shook his head, trying to clear it. He looked around. The buildings were in ruins, smoke was climbing out of the charred and gutted structures. The sky was dark. He stumbled through some of the flaming wreckage looking around. Everyone was dead. Bodies, twsited and grotesque were jammed under pieces of metal, most of the flesh burned off. Somehow he had gotten lucky. He was in the capitol building when it happened. Severus had been in council with the other senators when it attacked. It was fast, so fast. It came through the walls, it had happened so quickly. Van Toren continued to stumble through the wreckage. He found his way into the remains of the council chamber. There lie the bodies of the council... including Severus. Van Toren shook his head, what had happened.
Suddenly, there was a slight shuffling and then the sound of a pistol activating. Van Toren turned around. Facing him was Taylor Doyle with a gun pointed at Van Toren. Doyle then spun the weapon around and held the handle out to Van Toren.

"You might need this" Doyle said flatly.
"What happened?" asked Van Toren.
"I don't know for sure, but I have a hunch. Are they all dead?" Doyle nodded to the council
"Yeah, all of them, as of right now, the New Order doesn't exist!" Van Toren said.
"We have to contact Jacquelyn on the Scarlet Fire, Earth is not a safe place anymore," Doyle said.

Jaquelyn had watched the destruction from the Scarlet Fire and had tried to trace the source of it, but just as she had seen it, it was gone.. Severus was dead, and most likely Toren.. She kept trying to contact Doyle, hoping he was still around, but it was all static.

Doyle and Van Toren entered the remains of a room

"There should be an emergency radio here, if we're lucky, she's still in orbit" Doyle said. Van Toren looked at Doyle

'Where have you been?" Van Toren asked
"I was betrayed, I've been in a cell for the last few months, this destruction however destroyed the cell...ah, here we go" Doyle rummaged through and pulled out a transmitter. He adjusted it to the Scarlet Fire's emergency channel

"Doyle to Scarlet Fire, do you read?"

I looked outside from my reserved apartment on Earth at the smoke arising in the distance. The loud boom outside disrupted my thoughts on the past.

"Van Toren..." I said to myself. I quickly grabbed my communicator and contacted Jacquelyn.

"Jacquelyn! It's Destral! Come in!"

"Doyle to Scarlet Fire! Damn, all I get is interfere...." Doyle stopped as Van Toren shushed him

"Did you hear that?" Van Toren whispered. The two paused, silent as can be. Doyle looked around

"It's here" Doyle whispered

Amongst a smoldering pile of rubble, a hand flew up. It waved above the concrete, slammed onto part of it and began attempting to free what is assumed to be a body beneath. After several minutes of silent work, a person emerged, gasping for air. He collapsed down onto his knees, before realising he had shatterd one of the his kneecaps and fractured his left shin. He stayed were he was and began to try and fix his wounds, to no avail. He gave up and used his radio.
"This is medical officer Francis Addive, can anyone hear me?"
He didn't hear anything at first, but then hear half of a conversation.
"...Destral! Come in!"

Van Toren gripped the pistol, his hands becoming sweaty

"What exactly is it?" Van Toren asked

"If it's what I think it is, it is death incarnate, nothing can stop it, nothing at all" Doyle replied.
The two of them jumped as a rock fell. Van Toren's heart was racing

A rebel frigate appeared in Earth's orbit... A large field of debries was surrounding the entire planet... The remainings of the huge battlestations that orbited the planet once...

"Sir, we're detecting a ship..."

"Invisibility protocols, Lieutenant..." Said I... The ship disappeared in a clocking field... "Were we detected?"

"No sir... The debris helped us out..."

"And the hostile vessel?"

"It's the 'Scarlet Fire', sir..."

"Great..." Said I... "How's the planet?"

"Devastated..."

John Hunter smiled at the records he was reading while the autopilot handled approaching Earth orbit from the surface. He was reading the summary of the records had kept on him, which he managed to obtain right before all hell broke loose.

There was a place for this. Put it into the character's topic, where it belongs. ~ Terra

Hunter smiled. Heh, susceptible to reason. If you call a mountain of unmarked gold bars reason, hell yes. Oh well... Planet Earth was one big post-apocalyptic wasteland now, the New Order has turned into disorder, and the council has been turned into meat for the Haven to feast on. No more records, blacklists or most wanted lists to worry about any more.

He would have grabbed something to drink and make a toast on his freedom, but now was not the time. Now he just had to keep the Haven on the planet, And that would involve either preventing anyone from leaving the planet, Or putting them in quarantine until it was sure that the ship is bug-free.

He overrode the automatic pilot and gently guided the captain's yacht in the lifeboat bay of his flagship the Puma. Flagship was a kind of big name for it. The ship was not very large and very sleek, and the whole lifeboat bay has been emptied of it's usual contents to accommodate his yacht. Despite it's rather small size it still housed a system of drives that made the ship the only ship of such large size able to reach up to factor .5 in normal sublight travel. Furthermore the ship was equipped with weapons, boarding and towing systems to incapacitate any unlucky victims swiftly and loot the most valuable goods to put in the cargo holds.

While Hunter gave the Puma and a couple of other ships the order to start scanning the planet and it's surroundings for any signs of people getting any urges to leave the surface he stepped out of the TundraWolf mark three and waited for his crewmembers to carry the now empty containment box out of the vessel and put it somewhere on the side. He looked around and observed the still very visible marks of the frantic hunt for the monster. Time to clean up this flying wrecked raft of a spaceship, he thought.

Jaquelyn had a few transports fly down to the surface, using their scanners to detect any life that could have been left. She spun around in the seat, worried. No communications were getting through the debris field. She tapped away at one of the new consoles on the bridge, and smiled to herself. Atleast the upgrades were finished now. Top of the line scanners, heavy weapons, troop armaments and even a squadron of drone fighters. The Scarlet Fire was a magnificient ship, but she was going to have to rename it once she got to the pirate's outpost on Verti II. It wasn't the name she had planned for this vessel. If anyone knew what happened to Earth, it'd be the "lovely" folks of Verti II.

Doyle spun around as Van Toren was ripped to shreds. Doyle took off running. It was what he had thought. Doyle ran and didn't look back. He could hear it, giving chase after finishing with Van Toren. There was no way in hell Doyle was going to outrun this thing!

--On the sufrace-- One of the transports spotted Doyle, and came down for a landing, opening the bay as three soldiers on the side began shooting at the thing that had taken Toren's life.

Doyle jumped in the vehicle

"GO GO GO GO!!!!!" he yelled frantically. The marines kept firing and Haven lunged up at the shuttle. The shuttle quickly picked up speed ascending away from the creature. Doyle sat back down against the wall, covered in blood. He was breathing heavily.

"Get us to the Scarlet Fire immediately!" Doyle commanded

"I repeat! Jacqueline, come in! Are you receiving?!"

I kept yelling into the communicator, then put it away with frustration. I sprinted out of my apartment, dressing in my cape and armor, and tried to find a transport to the Scarlet Fire. Then I saw a shuttle down below...with my old friend, the commander, hopping aboard.

Hunter cursed in some outer colonies dialects that were better left untranslated when he heard the news. That ship was the last one he could use here now. There was no way that he could stop that ship from leaving orbit if it wanted to. His only hope was that it's crew was dead before they could do so, or that the transport crafts did not dare to touch down.

Luckily the others were too panicked and shocked at the sight of an annihilated earth to bother about checking for other vessels in orbit. He wasn't going to leave that to chance, however. He was about to give the orders to retreat a bit further when he got the news that one of the transport crafts had touched down and picked someone - or something up.

Doyle reached into a pocket of his and pulled out a set of rank pins. With Severus and the council gone, he was the next in line according to rank. He put the pins on his shirt lapel and then looked at the marines

"Can you contact the Scarlet Fire?" Doyle asked.
"We have a direct line" replied a marine.

"Good, patch me in to the ship," Doyle ordered

Ioan Davies sat leant back. After all this heavy fighting, his lumbago was starting to play up again. Still, it was worth it. The rebel cause was spreading acroos the galaxy, to a point where it and the New Order were at equal terms. They all just needed to keep it going, to avoid any stall that might prove disastrous.

The transport kept down as one of the soldier's spotted Destral, and hurried him aboard. It took off, and flew straight to the Scarlet Fire.
------
In Orbit

Jaquelyn activated some of the upgrades such as an experimental shield program, covering the ship. She smiled as it worked properly, but she knew that in fight, it couldn't be relied upon. She took a few moments using the debris field for target practice with the new guns, and kept all scanners on level 4, hoping to pierce through stealthed ships in the area. She sent an open comm to any nearby human vessels in the area: "This is the Scarlet Fire, trying to find any surviving vessels in the area."

The shuttle landed in Hanger Bay 3 of the Scarlet Fire. As soon as the platform hit the ground, Doyle was out of the shuttle. Doyle took off at a run heading for command. Doyle climbed some ladders until finally making it to the command deck. The ship was on security alert so the doors to command were shut. Doyle pulled out his old pass card and swiped it in the door. It denied him. Doyle rolled his eyes

"Right, forgot..." Doyle pulled out his newer pass card and swiped it. The door slid open and Doyle entered command.

Francis was lying against a wall. He had been there for several minutes, and recieved no replies to his radio calls. Eventually he decide to try and stand again. Using a crowbar that was lying beside him, he climbed up and put his weight onto his right leg. It hurt a lot, until he remembered he had morphine syringes in his med pack. After using one, he hobbled off to find somone, preferably in one piece. After a short while, he came upon a car. Its roof had been torn off, but it still worked. He drove for a few miles slowly until he found his path blocked by a toppled building. Again, he tried his radio.
"This is Medical Officer Francis Addive, calling anybodu on this frequency, can anyone hear me?"
Again, the only reply was the hiss of static.

Jaquelyn had a shotgun pointed straight at Doyle's head as he entered the bridge. "I'd stay right there if I were you.. This is my ship now." She smiled ever so slyly as she stared directly at him. She motioned for two of the soldiers to point their guns at him as she lowered hers. "Where is Toren and Destral?"

"I would put that gun away if I were you, unless of course you wanted to kill the Supreme Emperor of the New Order" Doyle said flatly

"Sir, they've raised some sort of force field around the ship..." Said Someone on the bridge...

"Has the dropship made it to it?" Asked I...

"I don't know sir... We lost cantact with it right before they raised shields..."

"No! Not Again!" Yelled Borrego in angst... "Where's our contact?"

"Inside the 'Scarlet Fire'..."

"Can he do anything?"

"No, sir..."

I got an increasing worry as I was seeing so close to my goal, but yet so far away...

Despite Jacquelyn being able to control her emotions quite well, Doyle could still detect that shock and disbelief

"I have the evidence that proves that I am just that, the new leader of the New Order" Doyle said

Jaquelyn overcame her shock and just started laughing. "You think I care about the New Order? I have my own agenda, outside of what me and Severus made. He wanted me to get rid of Toren and yourself, and my payment was this ship. As soon as you were taken off the ship, my contract with him was sealed and done. This ship is no longer New Order ground, so I'd reevaluate where your at right now. This is now Enigma Corp. territory."

(If this is not what you had in mind DW, let me know and I'll edit accordingly)

"What the hell just happened down there?!"

I rushed through and squeezed by Doyle, and was relieved to see Jacquelyn was all right.

"That THING just took out half a city! What the hell was it?!"

(let's just keep it to NO and Rebellion ATM, I dont want too much happening what with haven and all)

"Hm, well, if this ship is yours, then this command shouldn't work" Doyle turned toward a console, "Supreme over-ride, condition alpha red, secure code Doyle 9-9-3-0-1"

The lights suddenly flicked off and then on again.

"Secure command and control re-established to Doyle, Taylor" the computer responded.

"See Jacquelyn, Severus had the wit to overthrow Van Toren, he had plans for the next ten years, he was very edgy about his power and his ruling, so much so, that Severus isn't dead even as we speak, you see, Severus never existed," Doyle informed Jacquelyn, "I am Severus, or rather I am Doyle, Severus was an alias."

(Well, Enigma Corp. is actually tracking the massive destruction that has been caused by a as of yet unidentifiable source... and it could work to the advantage of having it during this as to keep a new continuation after this is finished to do a sort of Resident Evil thing later on.. {Umbrella Corp})

Jaquelyn just kept laughing. "Activate override E-7-3-2-Z." The ship shuddered to a complete stop, and a automated voice noted that all systems were shutting down except basic life support. "We are now dead in space till I say so. And all the soldiers on here are mine. During the 3 months we were on Earth, I was able to get in contact with my sponsor, and was able to replace every New Order soldier on here. I also counted on you using your code to try and take command."

(I seriously don't want to actually work for New Order...)

I fired several shots in the air to get everyone's attention.

"YO! Listen up! This command overriding will get us nowhere! We can figure out alliances later! We can bicker all the hell we want later! Right now, we need to focus on the rest of humankind! That THING down there, as both of you have so fondly noticed, just took out half a frickin city! And that debris field out there is making things even more frightening! So let's drop the guns, make nice, and find a way to take out that frakker before it hits us, too!"

Spoiler:

The crews of the pirate ships were getting restless at the sight of the barren planet earth. Even ruthless pirates, Hunter's most finest and trusted crew had their ethical qualms about obliterating a whole planet - and not helping any survivors too, at that.

"Alright, alright, girls, I know. The problem is that I do not intend to infect any other planets, and I don't think you want to either. So here's our options: We go out there with one of the other ships, do a quick survey of the surface and shoot up as many Halen creatures as we can with the onboard weaponry, and maybe even pick up any possible survivors if the risk isn't too high. The other option is that we try just that, and don't leave the surface anymore, or that the rest will be gone, with that leviathan ship just floating around the corner."

"Captain, are there really no other options?"

"Yeah, we could also leave this hole of horse dung, ASAP."

A while later one of the smaller pirate vessels entered the atmosphere and race over the burning surface and rubble while keeping constant contact with the Puma.

A soldier from Enigma Corps whispered something in my ear.

"...the surface of the planet."

"WHATEVER! We need to work together!" I snapped.

(Um.... Toa... there are no new order soldiers on board.. they're all Enigma Corp. Doyle is the only New Order personnel on board and he is currently having rifles pointing at all vital organs on his body.)

Terra wrote:(Um.... Toa... there are no new order soldiers on board.. they're all Enigma Corp. Doyle is the only New Order personnel on board and he is currently having rifles pointing at all vital organs on his body.)

Edited. I think I need my eyes checked...or a longer attention span...

(I'd say both)
Francis continued walking along the deserted streets, heading for a nearby spaceport. He knew some ships would be in orbit and all he had to do was get to them. He had no idea that the spaceport was destroyed, and the streets weren't as abandoned as he thought they were.

Doyle stood there, all of them at a standoff. Doyle then smirked at Jacquelyn

"Execute final over-ride" Doyle said. The lights flickered again and main power came online. Jacquelyn looked at him with a face of frustration.

"Who do you think would have enough power, enough resources, to sponsor you to overthrow the New Order capitol ship?" Doyle said, hoping it would begin to sink in, "who knows the New Order inside and out? Who would be the one person with the ability to overthrow this government politically?"

Jaquelyn nodded, and shook her head. "As a representative from Enigma Corp, I guess I have the rights to offer an agreement to help destroy or capture whatever is causing all this destruction. And we can go to Vertis II... We have a shipyard there that could help augment some of the systems aboard this ship, with you overseeing them of course... No reasons to trust someone who just tried to kill you eh?" She smiled, heading back to the captain's chair. "You also might want to let your followers out of the cells.. "

"Hail the 'Scarlet Fire'..." Said I...

"What?" Said the Comm Officer, in surprise...

"Just Do It!" Said I... "And get a reroute before..."

A comm link was oppened, through a almost disabled comm satelite:

"Doyle, this is Rebel Commander Borrego... Are you recieving us?"

The skiff raced through the atmosphere with the surface flashing past just a few hundred meters below. The crew inside was heavily armed, all onboard weapons were primed and ready to rip right through anything they might encounter, but there was nothing to encounter.

"Captain, so far we see no sign of the Haven, but we have measured huge amounts of nuclear radiation in the area."
"It's likely that a nuclear powerplant blew up here, if I see the damage. The blast probably took most, if not all, Haven with it. Nevertheless, keep watching!"
"Hey - what's that, yes, it's... Captain, we've spotted a survivor walking down an empty street. He seems to be wounded!"
"Do another flyby to ascertain that the area is really clear. You can try to pick it up then, but make sure you've taken measures against radiation, and make sure that you're escorted with heavy guns. Captain out."

Doyle went up and stood at the command perch and hit the comm

"Borrego, didn't take you long. What's your assessment of this situation? The New Order council is destroyed, I am all that remains. Effective immediately, the New Order no longer exists!"

"Oh... Anyways, we've a wide angle on the scene, possessing details even of outer planets..." Started I... "I can show myself, help with S&R operations and link our in-system sensors to you... but... I have a condition..."

An individual was inside a cave on the surface. Because of its architecture, it served as an excellent shelter. Inside, he had stocked it with a lot of weapons and foodstuffs, stolen from supply shipments that had either been abandoned or 'mysteriously disappeared'. Grabbing his best weapons, a pair of old Longswords, as well as a pistol, he set out. NNo one knows who this mysterious individual is......except him: Deslot 'Swordsman' Mendosa.

You might want to read this thing before you enter it. Oh, and a character sheet, and a 'please?' over at the discussion thread.

(He has one, M. It's in the "Join The Game" Thread.)

I stood there watching the old dude communicate with someone, then looked at Jaq.

"So you have connections now."

She didnt reply, she simply looked at me with a shrug.

"You've certainly gotten much more powerful in the days we've been apart."

(Oops, didn't see. But, it is very, very skimpy.)

The pirate skiff raced over the waving person a second time, and found no signs of nearby Haven. The ship slowly landed and two heavily armed and armoured men stepped out, posted themselves at both sides of the entrance while a couple of people ran in a turtle-shell formation towards the survivor.

{I prefer to make not much information on my character and build his character through the RP}

James woke from his coma, not knowing were he was.......he had minor amnisia


(Just, when i am needed start talking to my charictor or something, so i know what i am suppost to be doing)

Doyle stood there waiting

"Spit it out Borrego! This is no time for holding things back!"

"You have a prisioner that interests me, one of the reasons I fought you... And the only thing I ask is: After I help you with the situation you release it, ok?" Said I, rushing the things the best I could... "You see... the blond 16 year old girl you kidnapped a few months ago? If you release it, you have my full cooperation..."

Jaquelyn looked at Destral, and sighed, turning back around and sat down in her chair. She began to tap coordinates into the system, getting ready to get the ship to Vertis II. "We're leaving in a few minutes Doyle.. Hurry up and end the conversation." The captive new order soldiers walked onto the bridge, rubbing the back of their heads in utter confusion. Jaquelyn clasped her hands together, resting her chin on them, thinking back a bit on what was going on. The nanites in her bloodstream buzzed with annoyance, and anyone within earshot could hear the very slight noise. If anyone paid close enough attention, they would see that she has never taken a breath this entire time, the nanites keeping her body in a top physical condition.

(well, ED, it seems you're acting unconscious lately, so I'm helping a bit before the story gets too stuck)

The survivor was was stumbling towards the rescue team when he suddenly tripped and stayed down. The team, now alarmed, ran towards him and turned the unconscious body over. The badge on his uniform read 'Medical officer Francis Addive'. They picked him up with two men, and while the other two kept surveying the surroundings and the sky they walked back towards the ship, where the sentinels were urging them to hurry up. They were all just barely inside when the ship lifted up and the door started closing. By the time the door was completely closed they were already at a thousand meters altitude.