Harrigan was so surprised when the governor called to announce the unwelcome news that he called "You've got to be shitting me?!" in English as soon as the governor stopped talking.

It took five more momens for Feltano to translate for him, after which the governor replied "Unfortunately it seems to be true, War Commander - official Scarran forces report gatherings southward I must consider hostile enemies. We have a major insurgency to put down".

"Dunno if you've been keeping track of events outsystem recently..." Harrigan replied, after which he filled the governor in on recent events off the surface of Tal IV.

"These new friends of yours are well enough to assist, I hope?" the governor asked "Perhaps you even have more people with those interesting ...additions... some of you have to further tip the balance of forces in our favour?"

Harrigan grinned before waving a finger at the governor briefly and cutting the call.

"General quarters, general quarters..." he announced over the PA "All hands to combat stations. Generals to the bridge. Governor to the bridge".

The bloodhunter shapechanged to her flying form and took off, stretching her wings and gliding high over the South End. Even without hypersense, her sight was beyond the level of almost every other living thing and easily picked out the large gatherings on the ground below.

Street soldiers she could tell Gang members carrying arms. Clear history of hostility between several of the groups kept under tight control for now. A number of improvised combat vehicles before smiling hungrily and adding A three-man patrol that has just strayed too far from their friends for their own good...

She tucked her wings close to her body and dropped like a stone, stretching them out just in time to slow her descent and shapechange back to her Scarran form safely without killing herself on landing. Moving faster than almost any other creature, she knocked out two members of the ragged patrol before sinking her fangs deep into the one still conscious and feeding gladly, one hand muffling the man's screams just well enough until he was drained completely. She simply killed the other two within the space of a few microts, not needing further sustenance - once she had waited for her meal to settle, she dephased her body and walked past several more patrols to see if she could learn more.

Nrakal muttered to himself when the alert siren sounded.

"Two of the current subjects, Amara..." he said aloud "are maybe a day behind schedule for emergence, these being subject Sturk and subject Rekketh. The three others progress well and according to schedule but are not ready for emergence at this stage".

"I hear you, uncle Doctor" Amara replied "Grandma Doctor Moratha hears you as well. We will watch the tanks and alert you if any of our friends emerge. I expect uncle Commander will need you to lead medical staff and take charge of the worst combat injuries yourself should any happen".

"Both of them should be watched carefully" Nrakal cautioned her "They both have changes that are somewhat... experimental. I have told you and Doctor Moratha what to look for in order to make sure those changes work as intended".

Amara promptly repeated everything about that which Nrakal had told her in exact detail.

"Good, Amara" Moratha told her, rumbling softly with praise "You and I will see to it that our friends emerge and are healthy and well. They will likely need to remain here for observation, even if only for a few arns... unless the War Commander calls them for combat. Recently emerged or not, neither of them would refuse - I know Bloodstars, Amara. I know they would not refuse the chance to test themselves in real fighting and not with training events".

Amara smiled and nodded, saying "They would not, Grandma Moratha. Uncle Sturk would consider the risk of hurting himself minimal compared to getting the chance to blow things up".

"Ah, governor..." Harrigan said "Wondered where you'd got to..." as the community governor arrived.

"I was under the assumption that this was a military gathering to discuss strategy" he replied "and as such my presence would not be required".

"It means all movers an' shakers turn up" Harrigan reminded him "You might not have a military position but you're in charge of getting the non-combat personnel ready and moving to support our soldiers - so here you are".

"Now that's settled... " Harrigan added after a pause to collect his thoughts "...the problem of the day is some as yet unidentified bunch of nefarious malefactors have decided not only to stir the pot a bit but in fact tip the contents out all over the floor and make a big mess. We got armed insurgency goin' on planetside".

"Troll and Skroloth are still near the SubTerranea stadium" Trannak advised everyone "It appears that at least some of those who we'd usually be interested in apprehending seem to feel they have the same enemies we do - in regard to this insurgency, anyway".

"Then keep 'em where they are" Harrigan decided "If our temporary local friends can point out where the bad guys are, then we can go in an' clean 'em out".

"Something tells me they'll try to get us to clear away their competition Southside..." Lazarus added, grumbling "while we do that".

"Something we'll just have to accept for now" Harrigan decided "If they want us to do anything special then they can pay a fat pile of cash, same as usual".

"Governor..." Talannah asked "What is the state of readiness of our non-combat personnel? Is supply and logistics up to the task of providing the equipment our soldiers will need? Do Doctor Nrakal and the other dedicated medical officers have what they need? Are we short on anything critical or non-critical?"

"We are..." the governor replied, checking his PDA "as far as I can tell... well-supplied for war operations, Sub-Commander. As far as our people are concerned, anyway".

"Chief Engineer..." Harrigan asked Tovak, who looked a little uncomfortable "Is the ship as ready as those who live in it? If we need to get moving an' provide fire support or do other stuff, are we gonna be able to do that? Does everything work?"

"I've had everyone I have, Commander..." Tovak replied "crawling through tunnels and checking systems manually as well as doing computer reports - and I do mean everyone. People have been getting their older narls to do some stuff in the tunnels if they're doing tech training, so there's lots of excitable orange faces covered in grease and other stuff around most days. More of the others than you'd think, too" before telling Harrigan about one particular Scarran.

"I'll see him next time he comes off-shift" Harrigan decided "Dunno if he was that way when he got here, but as soon as he knew he was he should have come to see me - or submitted a report personally through the nearest duty doc".

"Think he's been working his eema off, to be honest" Tovak snorted "Not had time to do anything but work, eat, and sleep. If he's new to special skills, as Amara calls it, then I'll have a talk to Doctor Nrakal soon about it".

"He's still watching the last lot in the tanks" Harrigan reminded Tovak "Sturk an' Rekketh mostly - but the Councillor's in one as well, plus Karroch an' Shakka too".

"What forces should we get ready to drop?" Lazarus asked, getting the discussion moving again "I can get Rulok to get tactical command moving quick-smart, we can probably get a battallion dropped in less than an arn if we need it".

Harrigan brought up a live map of the port and market street, with current unrest marked in red or orange while local security personnel were marked in white, Hierarchy troops in red, Sebacean Peacekeepers and their allies marked in blue, and Nebari Establishment marked in grey (Trannak noticed some grey icons had a black band, which he decided meant they were Night Watch).

"That's what's going on right now" Harrigan told everyone "To me it looks like most of the combat's been contained in the South so far. There's been a few flare-ups in the port - but Nebari Establishment forces dealt with that so far".

"Non of us are huge fans of theirs..." Lazarus said, grumbling a little "...but it's good to see them stepping up and taking care of business".

"They like things in order and kept in place" Trannak replied "Hellbolt has said this a number of times. Urban insurgency shows things are not neat and orderly, which Establishment forces will not like at all".

Harrigan thought for a few momens, then conferred with Talannah for a few more, then said "I need people scouting out key areas. That means administration HQ, main transfer road between market street and the port, any unofficial crossing points between the port and either the South or market street. Second-tier positions would be key industrial sites - one of which is that wholesaler the Dulenos usually use".

"The Bloodstars will secure the port-South End border line" Tareg replied, nodding "We would appreciate it if skulker command deployed first and scouted out drop sites, after which they would be free to achieve whatever objectives General Trannak and yourself set for them, Commander".

"We can do that" Trannak replied, rumbling a little "Local security will provide the bulk of protection for administration HQ, but I'll be leaving a few troops there as well to assist. Other skulker command operations will be to deploy teams to scout key locations deep inside the South End - and either nullify any threats found or call in support to do it for us".

"Tactical command will be the quick-reaction force" Lazarus decided "I'll keep a large airborne presence up in Reapers and Strykers for attack runs, troop deployment - and retrieval and medevacs if we need them".

"I want tactical command units patrolling market street and the side streets close by" Talannah added "We all know there's ways through those to the South or the port which don't require passing through the checkpoints - let's plug as many of those holes as we can. Infantry patrols and observation posts with snipers".

"We are assigned to searching the area centred on the Kalish-owned wholesaler" Juroch told Reanaree "used by the Duleno family for their shop. It is not the only business in that area, but it is one of the larger ones and their warehouse complex is situated at a key location between the port transit road and the upper part of Market Street".

"It will be just the two of us?" Reanaree asked curiously.

"It will" Juroch confirmed, nodding "Our General assigned us to this position because both of the business owners are Kalish people and I relate well to you and to the other Kalish aboard - but since the position is away from the immediate conflict areas only two of us are being sent".

After Trannak gave the initial scout assignments to his skulkers, Harrigan beckoned him over.

"Got a slight problem in addition to the normal dren flying around right now" Harrigan told him "You remember we sent Lirak out to make contact with a certain well known but not universally liked individual who had better remain nameless for now... well, he came in with the Hierarchy sporting delegation and is likely a bit irate no one's sent a call his way. I got an idea about who to send, but I'd like to hear from you first since you're the only Dad Amara's known till now"

Trannak rumbled softly for a microt or two before making a suggestion or two about who should go - Lirak and Rulok were both busy elsewhere, but Trannak offered a few possibilities from the more recent arrivals.

"Interesting choices..." Harrigan replied "I think they'd be pretty solid... but I have a slightly less conventional choice, although there's even more solid reasons for choosing him...".

Trannak listened in surprised amazement as Harrigan explained why he made his choice, but said "I will talk to him as well, Commander - Harek knows and trusts me, he loves Amara, he will understand the issues at hand".

Harrigan's treblin hand came up briefly before he answered a comm call.

"We hear you, mister" Harrigan told Skroloth "Your new buddies want to take you out an' show you places where bad guys are, then? OK, you can do that - if they want other stuff done which ain't on our Security contract here you get 'em to pay at least a nice deposit in advance, though".

"Right, then..." Harrigan told the senior officers "That should mean observation teams are deploying, patrols won't be far behind them... most of our defensive actions are in place. Offence...well, we just got news Troll an' Skroloth are heading further South, beyond the stadium, to try and get closer to the enemy command structure, such as it is".

"What about making contact with... him?" Lazarus asked, which got a few grumbles and growls from the others "I need Rulok an' Lirak where they are, we can't send them".

Harrigan grinned and explained the decision he'd reached with Trannak earlier - Lazarus was surprised, but nodded anyway and said "He's older than most back on Earth when they join up an' get their first combat deployments - while this isn't a straight combat mission, I think he'll be good for it, especially since he's got a personal investment in this".

Since Harek had been grumbling about not getting a combat deployment intermittently ever since they started getting handed out, he showed considerable interest when he was told his father had orders for him.

"What do you need me for, Dad?" Harek asked "Assault missions with the Bloodstars? Observation post with some of uncle Trannak's skulkers? Standby intervention with uncle big Anton on the quick-reaction force?"

"If you can stop talking for a microt I'll tell you, son..." Harrigan replied, holding up a hand to quieten his son down a little.

Harek rumbled quite loudly when he realised who we was being sent to meet, even though he added "I don't much like that man's record, Dad... but then there's people in the Kingdom who are probably just as disliked as Kurlun is among the Hierarchy as well".

"Whatever else he is, Harek..." Trannak replied, looking him in the eye "he's Amara's birth father... so you should stay focussed on the mission at all times. Amuse yourself by picking out what traits of his Amara inherited if you like... but right now you're our main point of contact with him, there's more at stake here than just any personal feelings or lack thereof any of us might have toward him".

Harek smiled and rumbled back to his father quite loudly and happily before saying "For you then, Dad... and for my Amara as well", after which he paused for thought for a few microts before adding "For all his notorious record, Dad... I am curious to see Amara's sole remaining birth parent, to see what he is like, what Amara inherited from him and what she didn't".

"You got your orders, mister" Lazarus told him "You've been grumbling about not getting to go since we started giving out missions - so get started on yours now you got one".

Gear... Harek thought to himself What will I need to bring with me? I want one of those heavy blasters, the kind that need two normal Scarrans to carry but which I can carry like a rifle... but I can't hide or sneak around with that before he remembered Uncle Troll has a few special things, test prototypes usually, in his family quarters...maybe Garakk or Alphak know where their Dad keeps those and how to get to them.

"Dad's still got a few things in quarters, Harek" Garakk confirmed enthusiastically, nodding "I know I'm not supposed to be going out myself, because apparently I'm too young... plok to that, I know soldiers and I know orders and I got all the big heavy stuff I'd need built-in... but Dad headed off already and Mom refused to let me or Alphak go. She had that really definite look on her face she has that lets us know we'll get a thrashing if we push our luck any further. Dad didn't say anything about not letting you at some of the toys, especially not the ones you helped him with - so let's go get stuff for you quick before someone tells us not to!"

"Sitrep" Towle asked one of the other Black Ghosts with him.

"Still probin' for weaknesses 'round the portside border with the South in my case" one replied "Took a while to beat proper tactics an' strategy into the Southers' thick skulls... but at least so far they've done a little better than I expected".

"Any opposition yet?" Towle prodded "Either governor's security units, mercenaries assisting the governor, troops of the major or minor powers... or, of course, those Irregulars?"

"One or two skirmishes with local security" came the reply "They move better now than they did before - have the Irregulars been training them?"

"I'd say they have" Towle decided, reading through sections of several intelligence reports "Odds are it's not going to be long before you meet them in greater numbers - or you run across some real soldiers. Since these sporting games are winding down, we've got everyone who's anyone here - I really hope the governor doesn't pressure our ambassador or the head of our sporting delegation to use their troops in his defence, but if there's no other option then we'll fight our own".

"I doubt it'll come to that" a different Ghost replied "Those greyskins are contrary enough that they'll probably sit back and see how everyone else goes, and only step in if it looks like their athletes or their consulate are going to be targeted".

Sobbok smiled thinly and briefly before telling the governor "Reports are in from two of the Storm Lords - Irregulars' troops, wearing green shoulderboards, have made contact with them and set up observation posts at their locations".

"You know what the green shoulderboards mean, Captain Sobbok?" the governor asked, wondering what answer he'd get.

"I read the mil-intel archives" Sobbok replied "Which on this particular topic were not clear at all - oh, one suspected contact logged by the Marshal some time back" before he looked right at the governor before adding "here, of all places".

"I don't know how much detail your Marshal put in his contact report..." the governor replied "but I know that the... organisation... behind those green shoulderboards comes from among your people. Officially sanctioned or not".

"Hah..." Sobbok snorted "The Blood Hand is certainly not officially sanctioned, governor... but as far as the Marshal is concerned they can be safely ignored for now since they don't present a threat to the Black Omega. As for these Irregulars... the Marshal logged their insignia, I know it myself. We'll work with them for now, since the Marshal seems to like at least some of them and my own General does as well - and, of course, you've given their leader overall command of security here".

~Copy that, Captain ((confirmation))~ one of the Storm Lords reported by mentalism ~These Irregulars have not deployed mentalists to assist us... but they move well enough to suggest membership of their elite. Maybe not equivalent to our Force Strangler units, but close~.

~((picture of green shoulderboards on Scarran camouflage uniform))~ Sobbok replied ~confirm/deny ((query))~

~Confirmed~ the Storm Lord replied ~One unit of four. They have deployed two either side of me... in a protective formation? ((amused approval))~.

~Unknown~ Sobbok told them ~The sporting broadcast is currently led by one identified by rank only, that being Sub-Commander - I don't know if that's a political rank or a military one, I'll ask my General or the Marshal some other time~

~Irregulars have made contact with me also~ the other Storm Lord added ~They have deployed arctic-world Kalish with green shoulderboards here - two units of four, in my case. They seem to have a rotating duty roster, with those not on watch taking turns to ask me all kinds of questions. Politely, too~.

~((laughter))~ Sobbok replied ~More importantly, though... do they know their job? Are they deployed in a proper and professional manner? Do they assist you without being ordered to? ((curious interest))~

~Their leader told me they will assist me~ came the response ~He said we have common goals at this point and that it serves both our interests if we work together. They were surprised but pleased when they found out I was a mentalist... which cost me a few momens when the more excitable asked me to mindtalk to them, but no more than that. Excitable or not, after their curiosity was sated they went back to their posts and told their comrades what they felt they had learned by the brief mindtalking before resuming their duties~

"Well then, Kamiel..." Kurlun told his aide "Not only has someone been assigned to make contact with us... it appears they are about to land. What about means in this case I don't know... might be that they're already landed, might be they're just waking up and getting a drink...".

"Assistance is being sent to us by these Irregulars?" Kamiel replied, surprised "I did not know they were amenable to assisting Hierarchy forces in any way, Captain" before he remembered something and added "... ah yes, this will be for your personal business as much as anything else".

"Took you long enough to figure that out, mister" Kurlun snapped, but nodded anyway before he added "We're close enough to several points of importance - even if the other A-team troopers can't get in, these Irregulars might know something we don't".

"In here, in here!" Garakk urged Harek, fiddling with an extremely non-standard locking mechanism before opening the door to the rooms originally intended to be the quarters next to Troll's "Dad tests hand weapons here and keeps a few special test prototypes under lock and key... well, against anyone except Alphak an' I. Little brother showed me how to break in here past Dad's locks an' blocks not too many weeken ago".

Harek grinned as he looked around the room that, by now, looked completely unlike the living quarters it had started out as - before opening drawers and locked cupboards, clearly looking for something specific.

"Anything in particular you need, Harek?" Garakk asked, "I know where quite a few things are in here...".

"That high-yield slugpistol your Dad got me helping him with" Harek called back, grumbling and rumbling as he continued searching "Never seen one quite like that - he called it some strange human word... a revolving. Something like that, anyway"

Garakk corrected his friend's pronunciation, before grinning a bit and telling him "Right over here, Harek... come this way..." before waving him over to a workbench - which, Harek as pleased to see, still had the pistol in question on it along with the holster he recognised and a box Harek knew held ammunition.

"Come to papa..." Harek called, grinning - even Garakk couldn't interpret his friend's slang then, but grinned back as he helped Harek adjust the custom-made shoulder holster and put it on over his short-sleeved shirt.

"Feeling better already!" Harek decided happily before he started looking around and asked "Anything else I might like, Garakk?"

Garakk pointed out where a few different weapons were around the room - though Harek soon discovered most of the more interesting ones were partially or fully disassembled, or inside secure storage Garakk admitted he couldn't get inside without burning through the doors.

"What about this?" Harek asked.

"Err..." Garakk replied hesitantly, after which Harek turned around to see General Tareg standing by the door, hands on his hips, and with a low barely-audible growl coming from his throat.

"Well then...?" Tareg prompted, clearly - even to Harek - not in a mood that involved accepting excuses.

"I got a special mission, General" Harek replied, thinking fast "and I need some special stuff to take with me. I know uncle Troll keeps the very best in here...".

"Experimental prototypes, for the most part" Tareg replied, then turned to face Garakk and added "You think your father didn't tell me, young man? I'm his commanding officer, Garakk - of course I'm going to know about his testing facility and private armoury!"

"Well, since you're both here..." Tareg grumbled after a few microts "...and since Harek's not telling me a load of old plok to get out of a thrashing and punishment training... get him properly equipped, and make sure one of you tells me why your choices for equipment are good ones, too!"

"Does that look like a heavy blaster, Garakk?" Harek said with surprise "Really? I need weapons I can hide under a jacket or that make really big holes in people!"

Amara was performing some of the basic movement patterns of the Kalish fighting art in the main sick bay when a number of lights blinked on one of the tanks and an alarm sounded on the main terminal - Moratha was closest, and she checked each of the tanks before seeing Rekketh banging on his tank, clearly wanting to be out of it and back into fresh air.

"AMARA!" Moratha shouted, before moderating her vocal volume and adding "The alarms are sounding on Rekketh's tank! It appears that his emergence time has arrived - even if it is behind schedule...".

Amara ran over and promptly purged and opened the tank from memory.

"Fekkit, that's long overdue..." Rekketh growled, before vomiting over the side of the tank platform "I can't see any food, but at least I can breathe fresh air...".

"We have hot rations in tins, uncle Rekketh" Amara replied, nodding "Some for you and some for uncle Sturk, when his emergence time arrives. I will get it for you, uncle - you stay where you are for now".

Rekketh grumbled and muttered about being hungry, how the light hurt his eyes, how the loud noises hurt his ears, and a number of other things relating to his adjustment to his change while Amara found the store of hot ration tins allocated to Rekketh.

"Eat, uncle Rekketh" Amara encouraged "but eat slowly. Do not rush yourself and bring on another stomach upset like the one you experienced when you emerged from the tank".

Rekketh ate quickly, nonetheless, and drank a number of bottles of sports drink to replenish vital fluids and minerals as well, before sliding off the edge of the tank and onto the floor.

"Good, good..." he rumbled with relief "Despite being in that tank for 3 monen my muscles are still strong and I am able to stand. Amara... Moratha... I suppose it's too much to ask that there's a uniform in here that fits me? Perhaps my swords and pistols are here as well?"

"A uniform was put aside for you" Amara confirmed, nodding "Your swords and new big boots as well. Not guns, though. They were returned to one of the armouries used by Bloodstars - besides, there have been a number of advances in technology which you may find interesting while you were in your tank. Should you wish to find out about them, then I suggest you talk to General Tareg - or Garakk, if you can find him".

Rekketh grumbled, shook his head to try and clear the slight ringing in his ears, before saying "It'll do for now... if you're going to do any doctor stuff and test me, you should do that now. I'll be needed for fighting or cooking before long. I'd prefer fighting... but a good meal's not to be ignored either...".

"Ah yes" Amara replied, smiling a little and rumbling softly as she took notes for the archives "You are the same Rekketh I remember. Doctor Moratha and I must test you briefly, uncle Rekketh, before we can discharge you from this sick bay. Basic tests anyone receiving the special things must do".

Rekketh grumbled and growled a bit, but his state of mind became calmer as Amara and Moratha guided him through the basic tests required to make use of the abilities given with his change.

"One more test remains, uncle Rekketh" Amara said next "We will do this one outside the sick bay, on the transit platform. It is for the final, and most unusual, addition of your change - and you are the first to have it. The first to emerge from their tank, anyway".

"I thought there were tests for weapons as well" Rekketh asked, looking at Amara.

"I expect a doctor from the Bloodstars will help you with that" Amara suggested "That or uncle Troll will help you" before telling him the basic theory required for the use of his internal weaponry - Rekketh brought up each arm in turn and fired a number of shots from each of his wrist launchers at various points on the wall anyway, nodding with satisfaction. Amara questioned him at length about that, though she also told him off for testing weapons in the sick bay.

"The last and most experimental of your additions, uncle..." Amara said, once they were all on the transit platform "...is the addition of not only jump units but full flight ability. This was done by careful adaption of Nebari grav-tank repulsor technology, and you and uncle Sturk are the first to receive it. Doctor Nrakal stressed that this is still experimental, and while his theory is good it may take a while for your change in this area to adapt and fully link with the rest of your body to a degree usable for proper flying".

Rekketh just grumbled and said "I've used powered armour with flight packs before, how much more difficult can it be?" - after which he lifted up off the platform, veered slightly to treblin, and accelerated into the wall.

"Room for improvement, then" Rekketh said when he was back on his feet "I think I know where I went wrong, though... let's try again...".

Rekketh was still unsteady, but tested himself repeatedly on basic manoevreing until Moratha nodded and said "Good enough for now, mister Rekketh! If we were not under a combat alert right now I'd still keep you in for observation for another few arns, but for now you should report to Gene-".

Moratha' speech was cut off by a burst of flame from Rekketh's mouth - the burst lasted maybe a microt or two, after which Rekketh stopped it and grinned before saying "A combat alert just when I need it! Is General Tareg still on board? I should report for duty immediately!"

Amara made a quick location query on her PDA, then smiled and rumbled briefly before telling him "He is talking to Garakk and my Harek at Troll's quarters, I believe".

"Talking our ears off for getting into Troll's gun vault!" Harek told Amara when she commed him to ask about it "Dad gave me a mission, so Garakk and I came here to get me some stuff since it's closer than the flight deck armouries - to be honest I dunno whether the General wants to properly equip me or put me on punishment training till I drop!"

"Harek!" Rekketh called, a bit too loudly "Wait where you are! I just got out of my tank, so I'll come and see you're properly equipped - if the General is there, ask him to wait for me so I can report for duty".

"I hear you, mister" Tareg replied "Get yourself over to Troll's quarters, I will see to it that you are properly equipped as well - whether from things stored here or an armoury on one of the flight decks. We'll worry about missions for you once I see you and see what your general state of health and coordination's like".

"I'll take a transit car" Rekketh told Moratha, grinning a bit "This time. Later I'll be good enough to fly down the tunnels, count on it".

Amara told him non-stop about the dangers of overextending himself for every microt of the three momens it took for a transit car to arrive, much to Moratha's interest and Rekketh's amusement - until he saw the hard look on Amara's face as she ordered him not to push himself too far so soon after his change.

"OK, I won't" he decided "But I need to test myself, yes? See just what I can do?"

"Yes, uncle" Amara replied, nodding and rumbling softly and smiling "But not too much at any one time. I realise that you will need to do anything you need to if you are given a mission... but still, be cautious and do not endanger yourself any more than you might normally do in combat".

It took a few momen more than Harek would have liked, but eventually he made landfall along with one of the tactical command patrols. Much to his disappointment, Tareg refused to let him take a heavy blaster and made him take a suppressed assault rifle instead, a turn of events everyone in the patrol had now been made well aware of thanks to Harek's subvocal muttering and occasional short growls.

"No one ever gets everything they want to take with them, mister" one of the newer members of tactical command told him with mild amusement "Besides, that rifle's more use than you might think - think about it, if you had the blaster, would you be able to nullify sentries and get inside your target building undetected? No, Harek, you wouldn't - so make the best of it. Besides, even I can hear enough weaponry clanking under your coat to conduct a respectable skirmish if not a war and I don't have the change".

"So you did, as the strange humans say, 'bring enough for everybody' " another Scarran laughed "You're carrying enough grenades for any four of us, at least".

"And uncle Devin's special blend of cutting paste!" Harek reminded the man happily "Several premade demolition charges! The suppressed assault rifle! Eighteen frags and ten sleep gas grenades! Two pulse pistols - oh, and uncle Troll's special new revolver and my combat knives"

"And you still complained you didn't get a heavy weapon?!" the squad leader asked in surprised astonishment "When you're carrying enough explosives to destroy most of market street and enough guns to finish anything left over? Practice taking your time, mister - try actually being stealthy and careful, pick your targets off one at a time, make sure you remain undetected as long as possible".

Harek rumbled softly and said "My friend Feltano taught me about that, him and uncle Trannak and uncle Juroch. They say I can do it well when I feel like it".

"Look at it this way" the squad scout suggested "If you move quietly, you can get close enough to use your blades and not waste ammunition on non-critical targets".

Harek rumbled more loudly then, grinning at everyone for a microt or two, before saying "I haven't stabbed anyone through their helmet since I was nine cycles, that's true...".

"OK, let's go and have a look around..." Skroloth told both Troll and the Scarran gang leader, since that man had come out of his fortified mansion to see him "Our Commander asked me to remind you that if you have tasks for us beyond what's written into our public security contract then you need to pay our contract rates for it".

The Scarran man growled a little, but replied "Can't be getting around that - nor do I know if there's even anything to pass on to you that my own people can't do instead at this stage! I'll keep it in mind, though".

The group was held up briefly while Troll bought grolsahk in a bottle which some enterprising local distiller had made from high-impact plastic.

"Even fits nicely into a canteen holder, see?" Troll replied happily when Skroloth told him to hurry up "Anyway... time for a bit of prowling an' growling now?"

"We's gonna be goin' to see if we can find our enemies an' yours, yes" the Charrid Skroloth knew told Troll "Boss wants to come with us, too - he's good, he won't slow us down"

The Scarran slapped his underling across the side of his face lightly, before rumbling with amusement and saying "I expect both of you know as much about me as I do, I'm well aware there's both official Hierarchy wanted beacons out there for me as well as bounty warrants on several independent worlds - but enough of my past for now, we have enough trouble right here and right now to deal with" after which he ordered the Charrid to lead the way.

Harek grinned as he made his way to the point listed on his PDA as Kurlun's last known position.

Good he decided I get a part to play as well, I get a mission of my own. One where I can test what my friend Feltano and his Dad taught me about being quiet and sneaky, as well as help my Amara before rumbling very softly.

Despite the raised alert level, a few people who knew him were still around market street and waved - Harek waved back and grinned as he ran, the contents of his pockets clanking a little as he did so.

He stopped and hid in the shadows, against the wall of a shop, before listening to the voice recordings Lirak had given him again.

The Scarran is obviously Kurlun himself Harek decided The other voice sounds mostly Kalish, probably a server or maybe his aide - before doing his best to decide if he could hear the voices in the recording or see the faces associated with them from where he was.

Very faint! Harek realised, grinning I can barely hear the Kalish! Further down market street, close to the checkpoint - probably in that eating house I know there or at one of its streetside tables!

"No combat missions for you just yet, Rekketh" Tareg told the newly-changed man "Follow the reports, listen in on the comm and give such advice as you can if you want to - but you're only just out of your tank and your reactions won't be all they can be just yet. If it's an emergency and we need you, I'll come and get you myself".

"I'll work the fatigue out of my muscles, General" Rekketh replied "and load Strykers for combat missions on the flight deck. Whatever the doctor stuff needing to go on inside me is, I'd say some good hard work would help as well".

"I expect it will" Tareg agreed, nodding "Hammond side flight deck for you, mister - get to it" before walking away.

Not what I'd hoped for Rekketh knew but it'll do. My eyes still ache a little, my ears still ring, and something around here really smells BAD - but I've got to get my fitness back to combat level soon, this new change won't do it all for me.

Several groups of insurgents had made a mostly-successful approach through the industrial area between the South and the major part of the port - until one stubbed his toe and cursed for several microts. When several of those near him just laughed, it almost came to blows until one woman snapped "Quiet! You know what we been taught, make that much noise an' a bullet or pulse blast'll find you an' make sure you never make another noise again!"

Unfortunately for them, there were security units on patrol close by, who passed the news to the nearest Bloodstar troops supporting them.

"Good work" their specialist trooper told them when she arrived "There's fighting to be done and we are here. We have the skills but I expect they have numbers - and their leaders will accept a higher level of casualties than us even if their people don't know that. As long as we get this right, that won't matter".

One of the security troops used a small signalling mirror to check the street for signs of the enemy - and withdrew the mirror fast before making several fast signals no one had trouble understanding.

"Pick your targets" the specialist trooper told her Bloodstars "Start your attack with grenades, no more than one or two, before moving to cover positions in the street and using your guns. Local security troopers will give us covering fire and listen to the comms for other regional outbreaks of fighting or sightings of the enemy".

"Harek just reported in" Trannak told Harrigan, on the bridge "He's picked up voices he says are both Kurlun and the Kalish Lirak saw with him. He thinks they're at an eating house with streetside tables not far from the checkpoint".

"Not a bad spot" Harrigan decided "I know the one he means - if they're at the street tables and not inside, they can see the checkpoint and a bit beyond it one way and a good distance up the street the other way".

The two of them, as well as the other Generals present, listened to the communications channel assigned to their ground units as well as the security net - every so often, orders went out giving new directions to an Irregulars patrol or scout group, less often to security troops.

"Looks like we're just getting our first reports of larger-scale contact with the enemy" one of the small number of Black Ghosts told Towle "Some Souther just called in - the way he tells it, it sounds like a company of local security an' who knows how many Irregulars were there an' the first they knew about it was when grenades went off".

"Most likely means..." Towle replied, chuckling a little "maybe a small group of locals... ten or twelve, maybe... an' whetever support those Irregulars assigned to back them up are there. I don't know what they think's a good size for a back-up group like that, I'd use a squad or two - but they might have sent a whole platoon for all I know".

"If any of that lot make it out alive..." the other Black Ghost suggested "we can ask them. Make them do a proper recon report, see how much of that part of training really sunk in".

"Yeah, we'll do that" Towle decided "Don't bother advising them, not this time - let's see how well they do on their own, whether that's pushing through opposition or falling back to a more defensible position. If someone actually calls in for orders - and with those Irregulars' capabilities in surveillance being largely unknown they'd better not do that - we'll see what we can do then".

A foul taste in his mouth and a bad feeling in his stomach woke Sturk in his tank - and the first think he realised was how little space there remained to move in. Unlike Rekketh, however, he didn't just bang and make noise, he knocked hard but carefully on the tank and looked right at a medical monitor camera he could see on the ceiling.

Less than ten microts later, Amara arrived beside his tank with Moratha - he grinned when he saw the excitable look on Amara's face, which made her giggle. Moratha nodded to him, then appeared to press a few buttons Sturk couldn't see.

This tank's being purged Sturk realised with relief I'll be prodded and poked and tested, there's no getting out of that - but at least the tank's being opened and I'll get a breath or two of fresh air first.

"Give me a microt..." his loud, but clearly controlled, voice called to Amara and Moratha "The light's too bright, things sound a bit louder than they should, something really smells plokking revolting, and my stomach's none too stable either".

"This matches Rekketh's account of what he felt on emergence from his tank" Moratha told him "Your reports match Doctor Nrakal's archive as well - he says it is normal for those given any form of the change to feel some form of sensory overload. How long they feel it is subjective - but not long. No more than a few momens" before dimming the lights further.

"Better..." Sturk decided, still laying down in the opened and purged tank - Amara watched with interest and took notes as she watched electricity briefly crackle over Sturk's arms and upper body several times.

"Good!" Sturk replied when she told him about that "It works!" before he growled a little and told her "Stomach's not feeling too good, though".

"All the newly-changed will be hungry" Amara explained, nodding "Both uncle Doctor Nrakal's archives and my own experience tells me this. We have hot rations in tins set aside for you to ease your hunger until the next Meal time, uncle Sturk".

Sturk swung his arms around carefully, testing himself, after which he lifted himself slowly to a sitting position and swung his legs around and over the edge of the tank so he could sit upright more comfortably. Amara took notes on this, noting how Sturk tested himself more carefully than Rekketh did as well as her observations on his health, before giving him the most basic tests all the newly-changed were given. He grinned when he blew the fuses on one of the technical scanners as Amara tested his bioelectric power generation levels - but, under her supervision and Moratha's, replaced the fuses himself.

"You retain your manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination, good" Moratha replied "We expected you would, previous subjects have all done so... but it is good to test you and see for ourselves".

"Can't very well disarm a bomb or defective ordnance without it" Sturk agreed, nodding briefly before testing his thermal vision and looking around the room - he saw the darts still embedded in the wall which Rekketh had shot there, and with Moratha's reluctant agreement added a few of his own.

"It'll do" Sturk decided "All I need now is something to wear... and something to eat".

Amara brought the rations set aside for him to his tank, and passed them to him when he asked for them - and taking notes on how he reacted while eating.

"You still have monitor patches on you, uncle Sturk" Amara told him when he asked about that "They do not work as well as they would on an unchanged Scarran, but I am getting at least faint readings - they tell me the rations you eat are being digested rapidly and the energy and nutrients in them are needed. Eat more, uncle Sturk - when you have finished every tin, I will get your uniform for you and you can climb down from your tank".

"Better, better..." Sturk announced with relief, after he'd finished eating "My stomach feels better, my eyes don't hurt, everything doesn't sound quite so loud - and most of the bad smell has gone away".

"That, Sturk..." Moratha told him "...is probably just the smell of the tank! You have been inside it for longer than you should have been - though you are perfectly healthy - and it's natural that the air inside it would smell bad, even though it's not bad for you".

Amara guided him through the basic tests for controlling his deadlock field, testing him on how he could contract it or expand it as he wished to and finding out its maximum area of effect.

"As expected" she told him when he asked "I have noted this in the archives. Rekketh was eager to leave and find things to do, we will test him this way later. Your first thought was to examine your environment, to test your new capabilities secondly after this. You are reacting more cautiously and carefully than uncle Rekketh did".

"He'll be fine" Sturk decided "Give him a while to work the tiredness out of him from being in the tank and he'll settle down. I'd rather do that now and get back to work when I'm properly rested and had at least one real meal".

"We have two more tests for you, uncle" Amara revealed "which we will conduct on the transit platform. Since Rekketh did one of those without orders, or indeed even proper preparation, there are a few scorched patches on the far wall opposite the transit platform - do not worry about those, we had DRDs test them, the ship has not been damaged beyond that superficial level".

Sturk puffed briefly, watching the brief burst of flame that came out of his mouth and the effect it had on the wall - he noted how it stuck to the wall and burned briefly, explaining to Amara and Moratha why it did this as well.

"We know you participated in the developement of this capability" Moratha said "I understand you did not apply the formula for your own incendiary agent listed in the archive as 'type 27' - but instead a lower-grade but still effective agent known to the humans here as 'napalm' ".

"Yeah, I wanted my stuff kept under tight control" Sturk replied, his voice settling more as he thought about that "I don't mind teaching others how to use it... even how to make it... but I'm going to make sure there's no mistakes when they do. You only get one chance with this stuff and you're lucky if you get that - I was lucky my chance only cost me my hair and a bit of skin".

"You still have all your fingers" Amara replied "Uncle Troll tells us you can tell how good a demolitions specialist is by how many fingers they still have. All of yours are present".

"Now the introductory flight test" Moratha told him "Rekketh did this without orders but with proper supervision. We will watch you and test you on basic manoevreing at low speed. We will test you on other things, or others will, later"

After Amara ran back to the sick bay for his uniform and boots, Sturk put those on and nodded.

"I feel better" he decided "I've eaten, I'm out of that tank, I can move under my own power. On the ground, anyway".

Sturk did collide with the wall several times, but proved to be more patient with the testing than Rekketh was and went through a number of tests at Amara's prompting - including hovering at varying levels above ground while using his hands for other things.

"You can use that to remove dangerous objects above ground" Amara told him "when Kalish are not there to do this for you - or when it is dangerous for them but will not be for you, due to your strong carapace".

"I know Kalish can do a lot of tech stuff" Sturk replied, turning to face her "Often better than me, too - but I won't ask anyone to defuse explosives if I'm there and able to do it myself. That I can do. I'm one of the best".

Crichton and the other Moyans looked around, watching crew of every species present running back and forth on mission or support duties.

"What are we supposed to do?" he asked the first officer he saw "Feeling like a bit of a third wheel right now, to be honest".

The Kalish nodded and commed Harrigan for orders, telling Crichton "The Commander tells me he is on his way here as we speak. If there any orders for you, he will tell you what they are".

Crichton asked again when Harrigan arrived.

"Thought you lot would rather sit tight and keep your heads down" Harrigan admitted "It's not that you don't do your part... but after the last time, Aeryn spooked an' had some kinda PTSD episode. Didn't think you'd want to be prowling an' growling again".

"What Aeryn does is her own business" Dargo replied "I volunteer for any war missions available, War Commander - whether on my own or supporting others!"

Harrigan grinned, saying "Off with the Bloodstars for you then, mister - they're the ones with the red shoulderboards. We're dropping reinforcements, and since you spoke up at the wrong time that includes you...".

Crichton laughed a bit as he watched Dargo call out to any Bloodstar who was listening for a squad assignment.

"I'm not combat-qualified..." Jool said hesitantly "...but I have some medical skills. If you need those, just say so...and unlike any of us except Aeryn, I can speak Scarran a bit...".

One of the Scarran combat medics on emergency duty heard that and called out to her, pointing to the entry point of the emergency surgery post she was posted at - Jool ran off immediately, and it was clear to Crichton that the Scarran doctor was pleased Jool could speak her language and understand medical directions in it.

"Well..." Crichton added once that was taken care of "Unless you want the rest of us fetching an' carrying we'll find a galley and stay out of everyone's way".

"Keep your comms on" Harrigan reminded them "If we need stuff and you're the closest, I expect you to help out even if you're not at the front line - there's a war on, you know, which means we need everyone".

Harek didn't run, but kept to a fairly quiet but brisk pace until he heard Kurlun grumbling a bit and talking to Kamiel - Kamiel nodded before one eye twitched a little, and Harek knew he'd been seen by him if not Kurlun, so he walked up and whispered " 'ello 'ello 'ello...what's all this, then?" before grinning and rumbling within a few fenches of Kurlun's head.

Kurlun growled briefly before turning around and saying "A better attempt at stealthy movement than I thought someone of your size could manage... whoever you are. The only thing I need to know now... why are you here, playing silly games, and talking to me and my aide?"

Harek nodded and rumbled before explaining briefly.

"Good, someone's been sent to make contact as requested" Kurlun said, nodding once "and actually did so reasonably promptly as well. While I'd prefer to get my personal business over and done with, there are bigger issues at hand - namely finding out who's behind this insurgency, interrogating them, and making sure no one ever sees them again in this life" before looking at Harek's coat and adding "It looks like you have enough weapons under there for Kamiel and I as well as you... open your coat, let's see if it's useful or just plok...".

When Kurlun looked at Kamiel, Kamiel nodded and said "Some of this man's munitions will be useful for many things, but some will be useful only if certain situations arise - if I am permitted to ask, I should like a small number of both kinds of grenades, if he can spare them...".

Kurlun watched Harek, wondering what kind of answer he'd give - Harek just grinned, surprising Kurlun and Kamiel greatly, before passing over the grenades Kamiel asked for and telling him "Remember... pull the pin, throw the other bit!" in cheeky street-level Kalish.

Despite this man acting like a fool Kurlun decided as he watched Harek talk with and help Kamiel it's clear now that he isn't one. He makes sure Kamiel stows those grenades properly in his pockets or belt pouches... and he even knows Kalish well enough to speak it concerning the proper use of military equipment. Well, well, well... my contact concerning my personal business clearly keeps his best skills hidden from general view. Whether this one is special-ops certified I have yet to decide, but it looks promising enough for now.

Further South, the Charrid lieutenant raised his hammond hand to signal ~Hide!~

"Cars an' a truck" he hissed when his boss glared at him "Truck 'ad rockets on it - might be mobile artillery, might not, couldn't tell. Cars 'ad pulse cannon on th' roofs".

Troll said a word neither the Scarran nor the Charrid recognised, so Skroloth said "Technicals, that's what he said. A word from his homeworld that means improvised combat vehicles of any kind. Has any of your people seen these being used in offensive actions yet?"

"Not that I know of, mister" the Charrid replied, shaking his head "Think we gotta get across the road, place we want you to see's a way South yet".

When the Scarran decided his underling wasn't moving fast enough, he grabbed the Charrid by his neck and threw him across the road - Troll caught him before he tripped and fell, grinned briefly, then set him on his feet before his boss growled and hissed "Keep. Up. That's the last time I haul your eema out of a combat zone, you should be better than that".

The Charrid knew, from the look on his boss's face, that he shouldn't try to excuse himself in any way - so he said "We're over the line the scouts an' snitches said got took over by one of the smaller movers an' shakers down 'ere when one o' the others lost too many in trainin'. Think them vehicles we saw was 'is. He loves 'is cars, collects 'em".

"There is a bounty on three of the most special vehicles in his collection" the Scarran explained "Not issued by me, before you ask - by ...allies of convenience, others here in the South. Obtain these vehicles for them - and, minus a small commission for me, the bounties for each vehicle you obtain will be yours".

"It's lucky for you that you met me, then..." Troll said happily "I know vehicle thievin', I do. Get me inside his place an' we'll see what we can find..." .

"Pulse fire, both sides of the street!" a gang member shouted, before taking almost a dozen hits and falling to the ground.

BOOM!

"Plas! There's a cannon out there! We got Sca-" another shrieked, bits of road surface flying all over the place when the plasma cannon blast hit.

Someone calmer and further up their chain of command interrupted with

"We have Scarrans, yes. Since none of you lot could tell if they wore any kind of uniform, I can't decide if they're Hierarchy, Irregulars, or mercs drafted for planetary defence" before signalling for someone to go forward and find out.

A Bloodstar, in an alley on the other side of the street, grinned and raised her rifle before putting a bullet through the head of the unlucky gang member sent forward to scout.

"OK, then..." their leader decided, after getting to his feet again "Since no one saw that sniper before they took out our man I'd say we have Scarran special-ops or Irregulars. Still, no one said this was going to be easy - so dispersed formation, spread out, far enough so a burst of autofire or a grenade can only affect one of you at a time".

Their leader got on his comms and called for reinforcements. We'll see just how good these Irregulars really are, he decided in his own mind before making another call to his superiors for support.

"Comms just went down in that sector" a junior officer told Lazarus when he tried to get through and failed "Whoever's in charge there has at least some training and bettter support than we'd like".

"Direct a platoon from the quick-reaction force to that location" Lazarus ordered "Seems to me that the enemy's trying to make a push forward there. Not gonna let that happen".

For all that Shor had been part of the Irregulars for some cycles now, he'd not been part of large-scale deployments very often and found being packed in around so many Scarrans a little disconcerting until Ryalla rumbled softly beside him.

"I'm here as well" she reminded him "We'll go down and support our Bloodstars and see to it there's no breakthrough by insurgents where we are" as the pair of them gathered their personal equipment and boarded a Stryker.

"You'd think I'd have got over that by now, Ry..." Shor laughed softly "Just one of those things with me that pops up now and again...".

"Sit down, strap down!" their CO ordered everyone "The sooner we get ready, the sooner we can reinforce our red comrades down below!" before calling "All OK!' to the pilot.

Once the platoon commander had received readiness calls from all the Strykers dropping his soldiers, he requested immediate clearance from the Cry Havoc's bridge, after which they headed for the port below.

"Well, then?" Kurlun hissed at Kamiel "Are you ready? Finished your resupply expedition?"

"I am ready to proceed" Kamiel replied "If we have important work to do, and you do not wish to eat or drink more, then we should pay for what we have consumed and not remain any longer than necessary".

"Well?" Kurlun asked Harek "You came here, and likely with orders as well, to see me - what do your orders say to do now?"

Harek's grin wound down to a smile for a microt or two before he nodded and replied "I'm here to help you take care of your main reason for being here...but we've got some serious here-and-now problems to deal with too".

Kurlun passed Kamiel some crindars, and after he'd paid the bill they headed back out onto the street.

"Some of my Team headed South earlier" Kurlun whispered once they were clear of the eating house "and while they got beyond the checkpoint and most of the major gatherings they couldn't get close enough to find the leaders of this insurgency - which tells me they have some serious backing from somewhere".

"Let's go find it and kill it, then" Harek suggested "Won't be backing anyone up from six feet under, no way".

Kurlun paused to try and interpret Harek's odd slang, before just grumbling breifly and nodding.

"We will" he promised "Right now - my aide needs testing in any case, so I'll see just how far he can go and whether the important things have stayed inside that orange skull of his..."

Half a dozen rockets dropped out of the sky, landing in amongst the Establishment forces and causing considerable damage to the vehicles - though thankfully no soldiers were killed.

"I am well aware of that" the Enforcers' officer said when one of the few Night Watch troopers close by mentioned it "While I don't like the idea, I am seriousy considering calling these Irregulars for support".

"I cannot order you to do anything, sir..." the one remaining senior Night Watch NCO replied, choosing his words carefully "but may I suggest you try calling our consulate or port garrison one more time. Even if you call the Irregulars after that, our superiors will see we did our best to fulfil our mission without outside help - and thus the chances that any of us will face either political or military courts will be far lower".

Trust a member of the Night Watch to bring up possible retribution against us for doing our jobs the officer thought That is so like them, considering when others cannot perform as ordered due to the situation they find themselves in not matching what our political masters thought it would be they would be the ones sent to exact punishment. Still, whatever I think of the Night Watch in general and the members of it I have with me in particular, I must use all these soldiers and all their skills to hold this sector of the port as ordered.

"All our other forces are already committed to defending our sector of the port..." came the reply from the consulate "...other sectors assigned to us for civil defence purposes... our athletes and citizens at the stadium... and the necessary guards at this consulate. If you require assistance I must regretfully advise you to call local Security" before the link went dead.

"Well, I expect you heard that" he told the Night Watch NCO "Wherever it comes from, we need support".

"Agreed" came the weary reply "We are covered politically against action being taken against us now we have received a response from the consulate... and the only other option that is even remotely palatable is asking local Security if they can spare anyone to help us".

"How'd we do?" the gang members operating the rocket artillery asked their own leader "We hit anything vital? You got uplink to any local spysat to find out?"

"If you mean..." she snapped "...did you kill any Nebari... then no, it doesn't look like it. Visual isn't good, but they 've likely lost at least one armoured combat vehicle or support vehicle" before calming down just a little and adding "D'you need to reload yet?"

"Nah, we got at least five left" the happy reply came "Enough for one good salvo if we can find something nice to aim at".

The woman passed that to those above her. It pained her to have to accept orders from outside her own gang, but in this case she knew there's no other way, and they did get us trained up to use these fancy toys without taking all our money in exchange.

"It'll do" a hard female voice replied "Those Nebari are dug in an' fortified...your last salvo hit equipment and vehicles but the people were too well protected. If they got Night Watch, there's a good chance they might use their cloaking suits an' sneak out to try an' get you - so remember to post guards some metras away from your launch site. Shift your target point another ten forward and maybe five to ten to hammond - something's there, we'll see what it is after the rockets land".

The Peacekeeper spotter had found the Nebari mess tent, which took direct hits from three of the five rockets launched against it.

"They have observers directing that artillery" the Night Watch NCO told his few troopers "We are the only ones who can covertly leave this position and eliminate it. Whether the Enforcers call for local support or not, this must be done and it must be done now".

"Better than sitting on our eemas waiting to die" one replied "We should stay mobile, hunt and kill - the Enforcers can handle everything else".

Security headquarters had just received the call for reinforcements from the Enforcers.

"Security troopers are already committed" the comm trooper said reluctantly "We have barely enough to handle the defence situation as it is... if you need support, comm the Irregulars. They're handling most of the work for this anyway, it's their job - so whoever gives the orders, it's them you need to deal with".

The officer was relieved, if not pleased, when the Cry Havoc interrupted the call and Captain Lazarus told him in very wobbly Nebari "Hang tight there, mister - we got people we can send. What's the situation at your end?"

Once the Enforcers' officer had managed to interpret Captain Lazarus' question, he told him about the artillery and the Night Watch's guess that observers were deployed.

"Yeah, I'd do that too" Lazarus agreed "If they're that good, I'd say we got real soldiers guiding it in - as long as whoever's on the other end knows the basics you can cause some real pain if you got good spotters".

Once this, too, was interpreted the Nebari nodded and said "It is just as well, I think, that the Night Watch I have with me decided to leave covertly to deal with the spotters without orders. Whether they succeed or not, once they make contact with the enemy I expect reinforcements will be sent".

"Hearing that, Dad!" Liz called when she heard that "We're airborne in First Light right now - we'll get there quick, clear the way with attack runs with the Hurricanes, maybe even drop our Wraiths for close-support if Caseya feels like doing that".

"That's Captain Caseya to you, Liz..." Lazarus reminded her "When she's in command on a ship, anyway. Bear in mind she also knows the most about flying that ship too, even more 'n you do".

What sounded very much like Liz grumbling a little come over the comm a microt or so later - Lazarus found that mildly amusing, though he didn't say so before reminding Liz to obey Caseya's orders and respect her rank.

"We will go and assist them" Caseya confirmed from the captain's chair "We will need you, Liz, to conduct communications between us and them due to you speaking the Nebari language fluently and without much of an accent - I can speak it, but I still have a Kalish accent when I do so".

Something I know I do best of everyone here Liz told herself just a little smugly Speaking my husband's language and doing so without a mile-thick accent. The fact Hellbolt and her were married made her smile briefly as well, after which she announced "Comin' around to hammond... Nebari position now zero mark two-nine point five... speed at point one or so...".

"Increase speed as much as you feel safe doing inside atmosphere" Caseya decided "The only consideration being manoevreability when we arrive".

"May as well stay at current speed if that's the case, captain" Liz replied "Even if I go hard an' brake fast I won't be able to go much faster anyway - an' if we stay at current speed we can launch from flight decks or drop decks without additional manoevreing".

"Then you should do that" Caseya decided, smiling a little "Comms, listen on known Enforcers and Night Watch frequencies in case we need to launch Hurricanes ahead of schedule; all the turret gunners should go to their stations; Copilot, you should scan the ground and the air for signs of hostility to us, to the Nebari we are assisting, or to local Security".

The Night Watch trooper on point slipped his head just far enough the wall to see the street - despite the fact his suit's cloaking shield was on and the batteries were still well charged.

"Sentries" he whispered to his nearest fellow trooper "Two... that I can see. Spread out far enough that a burst of automatic fire or a conventionally-sized grenade can only kill one of them".

"At ground level?" came the trooper's next question.

"Confirmed" the scout replied, nodding "There are buildings comparatively close by but this is not a residential sector, so the roadways are wide for the largest industrial vehicles".

"Enemy spotters may be dug in inside one of those buildings" their NCO replied, though the scout replied "Nothing on thermal-imaging, Specialist Trooper... but our helms do not have the detection capabilities of a Wraith or a Cyclone, so forces could be hidden inside".

"Stay together" the Enforcers' officer told them "Get inside the buildings nearest us, search room by room - and kill anyone holding a weapon and not wearing our uniforms or locally accepted ones".

The Night Watch NCO smiled thinly before adding "Do this. I do not know if we have been assigned support from these Irregulars... but for now, assume we have not been assigned any such thing. Assume we have only ourselves to rely upon. Move at your most stealthy pace... room to room, as the Enforcer officer requests... until you find spotters. Signal for the rest of us to join you by hand should you find any... just in case they hear comms traffic".

"Establishment position should be less than a kilometra off the bow at ground level, captain" Hellbolt called from the copilot's console before using passive sensors to scan that area of the port.

"Sighting of Establishment forces confirmed" Hellbolt called in his own language "Something's burning down there, they've taken a few hits - that matches Captain Lazarus' report that they'd taken artillery fire. Seeing fairly unshielded heat patterns matching what I know to be Enforcers in armour among vehicles - almost all of them are damaged, maybe three or four are wrecked. No armoured combat vehicles in sight".

"Liz, comm Nebari forces on the ground and ask if they have found hostile forces" Caseya decided "If they have not, ask if they require assistance with troop reinforcements or with sensor coverage - we will need to deactivate our cloaking shield should either be required, but if Night Watch are there they will assume this ship is one of theirs until a senior officer or embassy official tells them it is not".

"Night Watch units outside the perimeter have not communicated any hostile contact so far" the Enforcers' offficer replied when Liz asked about that "If they actually do what I told them to they should be moving as a single group... I'd upload my guess as to where the enemy artillery might be if I thought you could receive my data link".

Hellbolt just smiled and pressed a few more buttons on his console - and less than ten microts later, a very surprised Nebari officer called "Oh...you can. How fortunate for all of us" before sending his battle plan to him.

"To my HUD, please" Caseya called "I must see. It may be the case that we can guide the Night Watch in more clearly than the Enforcer on the ground".

"Security..." Caseya called "What do you suggest we do? Where might you think enemy artillery would be, given the terrain we can see before us?"

"There...there... there and there and there... or there" the Charrid replied in accented old Scarran "Simple ballistic rockets or big-bore cannon on mobile chassis! Spotters... here...here...here or here... here", pointing to locations he thought good sites for artillery or spotters.

"Mr Hellbolt, send those locations to the Night Watch" Caseya ordered with a slight smile "I know they will be curious, I expect they will be wary... but unless an officer orders them otherwise they will not question the arrival of support when there was none before".

The Night Watch were more than wary when Hellbolt downloaded a map directly into their suit computers, with suspected positions for both artillery and spotters marked on it - their own NCO grumbled a bit for a few microts before telling his troopers "It appears these Irregulars have better intelligence then any of us would have expected if they can access our infantry systems so smoothly - for now we will ignore this, since it assists us in doing our duty. Be assured that once this troubling situation regarding the insurgency has been dealt with, I will communicate with our own superiors in the Night Watch and try to find out how this has been done".

A trooper with a thicker backpiece on their suit came forward and brought up a small holo with the immediate area around them displayed on it.

"See?" he said "Two of those suspected enemy positions are close to us. Not the ones for artillery, though those enemy soldiers we saw earlier might be guarding the position marked here... but two more possibilities for spotters".

"That one first" the NCO decided, pointing to one of the spotter positions on the holo "Cloaking... anchors... then up the wall and in through the fourth floor window".

Residents of the building were still moving around inside, since there was no alert restricting people to their homes or residences - so no one paid much attention to the two Ghosts dressed in rough clothing lounging around in one particular public area since they looked much like anyone else living there.

"We can guide in one more salvo before the artillery has to reload..." they heard over their comms' earbud "Looks like they're down a few from what we saw before... so either they're hidden a few where we can't see them or there's Night Watch down there with those cloaking suits - so you two outside, try and give us at least some warning if you even think we got company".

"I hear ya..." one whispered back.

"Copy that" added the other one more clearly "No one else but people here right now... well, people people, our people. Sebaceans".

"The whole point..." an angry hiss replied "of those cloaking suits, which you should already know, is to keep things that way until they appear out of nowhere an' kill us! Now keep your head movin' side to side, watch for movement in the air - people spot movement 'fore they can actually see what's moving a lot of the time, so I want you doing that. I dunno what those suits can do, how we find them 'cept by guessin' - none of us are Nebari specialists. So be careful".

"Soldiers are soldiers..." one other on the comm said more practically "You see people acting like soldiers, moving like soldiers, trying to come this way... prob'ly means they are soldiers. Dunno how those greyskins feel about this stuff...I'd just grab clothes out of some low-tier shop an' hide in plain sight like we're doing right now. But if Night Watch use their special suits we may well have real problems finding them... but we'll know immediately once we spot them that they're real Nebari soldiers. Don't worry about callin' in if you see any - you light 'em up good with your rifles or hammers, fall back to this room - we'll hear you right quick an' be ready".

-Up- the squad NCO signalled over the suit datalink -No levelators. Just stairs- before he pointed to the scout and signalled for them to go first, after which he reactivated his cloaking shield.

-Other end of the floor- the NCO signalled via datalink again -Long narrow corridor, local residents still moving around despite the unrest outside. Watch carefully for signs of trained personnel...this is not the Establishment, civilians are permitted to own small arms here. That may give the enemy a few microts' reaction speed advantage... so when we make contact we have to be ready to move immediately-

By sheer blind luck, one of the Ghosts on sentry duty spotted a brief ripple in the air.

"Think I spotted one!" he whispered "Way down other end of the corridor, dunno if it's just a scout or if he's got his entire squad with him!"

"Be calm..." came the soft reply, before that Ghost discommed and told the other spotter "Looks like we'll have company shortly. Make sure your rifle's working. I got the blaster mounted already - let's just hope its power pack doesn't give out when we need it most".

-Common area ahead- one of the Night Watch reported -Second such area so far on this side of this floor-

-One more beyond it- replied the scout -While I see no sign of the enemy, the arrangement of the furniture lends itself to improvised fortifications and there are a number of local residents there-

-Noted- came the reply -Advance with caution. If anyone looks to be reaching for a concealed weapon, do not think, just shoot-

When his comrade stiffened, the Ghost knew he'd seen Night Watch as well.

"You seen 'em too, then" he whispered.

"Just one" came the reply "No way there's just one there, though. Think those greyskins use six to a squad - an' it's probably their special-ops out there too or we'd have seen them before now as well" before comming the two spotters.

"Got it" the Ghost in charge replied "We're ready here. We'll have to use the fallback exits to get out of here, no way we can get out the same way we got in - so if we can't avoid a firefight, we'll hold them long enough for you two to get moving before leaving our own way and hoping the enemy don't have vehicles of their own around here".

"Plokkk..." one of the Ghosts on sentry duty hissed quietly "Seein' three if my eyes ain't lyin' to me... plok, two keep fadin' in an' out on me an' it's never the same two!" before slowly lifting a compact autopulser to a position where he could get both hands on it. The target-trackers in his brow linked immediately with the sensors in the gun once both hands made contact - after which he sent a long burst down the corridor.

The Night Watch scout took almost fifteen hits across his hips, chest, and shoulders before dropping to the ground - the squad NCO's armour held together long enough to keep him alive but far from uninjured, and the other four all took a hit or two but not anywhere that would slow them down too much in the immediate future.

Their return fire was more precise and calmer, though they did have to turn their cloaking shields off - which gave the two Ghosts just enough time to kick over the couches and tables to form improvised fortifications.

"Irregulars..." the Night Watch NCO hissed "We have been discovered! It appears that our enemy has secured the end three apartments on this level and fortified the common area closest to them. If you can deploy troops to assist us, I believe we can ensure they are deployed safely - if you prefer to provide other support, please advise me what this will be so I can account for it and end this threat".

"Looks like we have four Sebaceanoid heat sources at your end of the level" Liz told him "I'd say someone started shooting in there - 'cause there's people scattering every way they can from where you are. If there's anything important in there, it's shielded well enough to make me have to use an active scan to find it".

"We will silence the two Sebaceanoids on sentry duty" the NCO assured Liz "We will do our best to secure the people and intelligence material inside for our superiors and your own".

"Shoot on sight" Liz replied, shaking her head "If they're still alive enough after that to be interrogated, fine - but don't risk your own lives for it. Until this insurgency's gone cold again, we need everyone we can get in fighting condition. That includes you".

"Our contact has a refreshingly uncomplicated view of this" the NCO told his troopers over normal comms "It seems neither local Security nor these Irregulars require us to risk ourselves to capture prisoners - oh, if we get any they will be appreciative, I'm sure of that, but we were told that they simply prefer us to shoot on sight. Our contact's exact words" - before shoving half his drekh aside as the Ghost on the mounted blaster opened fire.

"Saw the heat bloom from the barrel as soon as he opened up" Liz told the NCO when he made contact - before deciding "Frell it, I'll come in a bit closer and sweep that place with close-in weapons. Fall back and make your way off the floor - even on low power this is going to be hard, fast, and messy".

"Do it" Caseya confirmed, nodding at Liz when she stopped talking long enough to ask for her to confirm the orders she gave "I do not see any safe drop positions on the roof of this building that we can use to deploy our own troops before the enemy can destroy any sensitive material present and escape - nor do we have my Amara or General Tareg with us to deploy troops by mentalism. You should continue to assume helm responsibilities, Liz, while Hellbolt should direct our personnel in the close-in weapons turrets or designate target zones for the automatic fire-control systems. We should be in position to shoot as soon as the Night Watch report they are safely off the floor the enemy is on".

"We must leave this floor" the Night Watch NCO told his troops "No evidence must remain behind leading others to believe our people were here - out here I would not even leave a body after ident destruct, the trooper may not be identifiable but it will show the clever among our enemies, both military and political, that troopers have been here. Those able to walk must carry those who cannot, whether they are dead or alive. We must ensure maximum deniability".

The Night Watch sent enough fire the Ghosts' way to keep their attention on combat as they tried to find the nearest stairs down - one slammed their hand on an emergency evacuation button on the wall, so within a momen residents were streaming for the stairs themselves with whatever they considered irreplacable.

"We must consider our political standing here" came the explanation when their NCO asked for it "among the general population. If these people, impoverished though many of them are, know we gave them warning enough to leave this buillding while there was still time to do so then they may well readjust their attitude towards our people generally".

"You think the building will sustain too much damage for them to return?" the NCO asked, to which the trooper replied "If these Irregulars are out there now, and your call suggests they are, in any great force... since they are a majority Scarran unit, and since we were not required to risk ourselves to secure prisoners, they may just destroy the entire level to avoid complications".

The NCO revealed a little more of the comm call from Liz, after which the trooper replied "They are airborne in a larger craft, then - that they mentioned close-in weapons at all suggests they will attempt to minimise damage. Should we be able to reach a position a level or more down to observe..." before detailing where he thought they should go.

"Collect our injured comrades and go down at least two floors" the NCO decided "I don't know what kind of ship they have, nor what its owners consider close-in weapons to be - we should get at least two floors down, even if we only reach the bottom of the staircase before we need to render first aid to any of us still living!"

"We are Night Watch..." growled the trooper with the thicker back unit "We will continue on-mission as long as we live. We will not avoid, we will not evade, we will not stop unless our orders say otherwise".

When the body of one of the Ghosts flopped in through the doorway, extremely dead, fire from the mounted blaster stopped just long enough for the body to be dragged inside. Night Watch troopers stopped only long enough to send a shot or two back towards the Ghosts' position before heading down the stairs.

"They're retreating for now" the Ghost on the blaster decided "But we're down one of our own even if we did give those greyskins a beating they won't soon forget - we're gonna have to leave. This position can't be held now".

"Agreed" came the reply "Get down the vent shaft and don't stop till you hit street level or those shafts some of the trainees dug on punishment duty. If I'm still alive I'll catch up an' follow".

"They believe we have retreated" the Nebari NCO was told "What they don't know is if we have reinforcements, or where they are. Are these ...reinforcements... attacking now or short-" before the ear-splitting sound of warship turrets on sustained fire forced them all to cover their ears.

~Get to a window!~ signalled the NCO by hand ~See what these Irregulars have up there - assuming it's them and not someone else the governor sent!~

Caseya deactivated the cloaking shield as soon as both Hellbolt and Liz signalled their readiness - after which Hellbolt directed the turret gunners.

"Short bursts, lowest power setting" he told them "This builiding's going to need a lot of reconstruction work done on it, no avoiding that - but let's not destroy it unless there's no alternative".

~One of ours!~ the scout signalled to his NCO in great surprise when he got back ~Tempest class!~

A Night Watch vessel?! the NCO thought in surprise and considerable unease I can't even go to my own commander with this, once I actually find them - I will have to find Commander Lintaii, since he again leads the Establishment delegation for the Games, or the ambassador of our consulate. If anyone can work out why a Tempest-class ship is here, they can.

"I'll deal with that later!" he shouted over the noise of big guns firing fast "For now, we provide all the medical care we can to our surviving troopers. I'll see about calling for evacuation later once I know how many of us are left to evacuate".

"Clear!" Hellbolt called "Looks like there's no one alive, captain - but I'm fairly sure I saw heat traces of people trying to leave at speed!"

"Deploy our Wraiths as you see fit, Hellbolt" Caseya ordered "Do so with caution, as they are the only ones we have at this stage. We must, however, obtain any intelligence material still in salvageable condition along with any enemy soldiers still alive".

Kalish from skulker command heard the deployment call on the drop deck and brought their vehicles out of standby mode before sealing their sneaksuits.

"Our primary objective is to secure the enemy observation site" Caseya told them over the comm "Secondary objective is to secure enemy soldiers unable to escape for interrogation. There are Night Watch troopers in the building, we will retrieve them as well - we have taught you about them before, be very careful about revealing any information whatsoever to them if any find you and attempt to talk to you. I will send our primary specialist in that culture to deal with them shortly".

"Ship has deployed Wraith armoured combat vehicles from low altitude" the Night Watch scout called over comms to the NCO "Some above us to the observation post, some at ground level".

"Hah" the NCO replied, grinning just a bit "For all their talk about shoot on sight earlier, they clearly want to take prisoners if they can. Don't worry about them, they can pursue that part of this themselves - we don't have a living medic with us, only the Enforcers have one back at our assigned defence site. I'll comm that ship and see if we can get a Wraith diverted to transport us there".

The Kalish infantry in the Wraiths moved fast but with as much care as they could, since it was obvious to all of them that the upper floors were unstable.

"Entering site" came the whispered call on the First Light's bridge, followed by the hiss of a stasis discharge "One prisoner neutralised for transport to Security interrogation site. One body for examination. One computer device, damaged but salvageable. I believe there is a green light on one side, properly lit, although it is flickering a little".

"Bring that with you" Caseya decided "We will examine it later. Bring any documents or personal equipment you can carry. You will be retrieved at ground level. Night Watch are between you and the ground, I will divert you around them".

The Ghost who'd managed to make his escape managed a hundred metras before he heard a whining noise and looked up to see a Wraith come overhead and drop to a position where he could see its chin guns pointed directly at him. He grunted and growled at being captured, dropping slowly to his knees - and saw four troops in suits he couldn't identify come out of the Wraith to collect him.

Nebari-influenced design he decided as they approached but I can't tell if they're official or not. Either way there's nothing I can do about it in my current sorry state - let's hope their officers want to talk, to get information out of me, and not just torture me for fun or kill me. That way I can make plans, escape when I'm ready, and tell Commander Towle and my own superiors on the Thodd what I saw, after which one shot from a stasis pistol put him to sleep before a more cautious Kalish put him in a stasis coffin.

"I hear you" Caseya called when the Night Watch commed in "If you look outside, you will see our vehicles retrieving useful things from the site. Once they have done this, I will send one to retrieve you. We have medical personnel available that know Nebari biology, you will be properly taken care of and returned to your consulate".

"We will return to battle" the NCO replied, correcting her "After medical care, of course. We are not raw recruits, were are the very best of our people - as you probably know already since I can tell you are not a native speaker and yet you still have a ship made by my people!"

As soon as the prisoners' stasis coffins were secured on the drop deck, Caseya ordered a Hurricane to retrieve the Night Watch.

"Mister Hellbolt is in charge of this part of the mission" she advised the Kalish going with him "He is the one who taught all of us what we know about Night Watch troopers and their leaders. We will see to it they have medical care and we will see to it that any of them still fit for combat are returned to the defence site assigned to them - any not fit for combat will be transported to their consulate or to their command post in their sector of the port should that prove a preferable option".

"The Wraiths are leaving..." the NCO told his troopers "but I have been told another vehicle is coming to retrieve us as well - and that doctors will be waiting for those of you who are injured".

"I'd prefer not being worked on by a Scarran..." one of them said "Who knows what they might do to me... if it means I'm alive I'll put up with it and log a contact report when we reach the consulate or other safe territory".

When the NCO saw the Hurricane coming for them, he grumbled warily again - but called "Get out here! Our transport is here! I expect doctors are on it, and if not they will be on the ship it came from! MOVE!"

The Night Watch came as fast as they could - they had to run some distance since the Hurricane couldn't land close to the building they had just been in, but the NCO called out in his own language that everyone was aboard before falling down unconscious.

"We have the chance to test our skills on patients of the Nebari species!" a happy and curious Kalish doctor told her fellows "We have all read the textbooks provided when this ship and its bigger comrade were seized, we know what to look for and how to see them properly cared for - and if we do not, Doctors Nrakal and Moratha can link in from our home as well!"

Medical treatment did not go as smoothly as the Irregulars would like, since the Night Watch were wary about relinquishing their battle equipment - until the trooper with the thicker back unit laughed and said "They have seen it all before, for plok's sake - look around you! Keep your gear where you can see it but otherwise let's see if these doctors really do know how to provide proper medical care for our people or not...".

"Three more port border sites are failing to respond" another Ghost told Towle in the command bunker "Trainees reporting in about comin' under attack by Irregulars in large numbers".

"Did anyone see if they had coloured shoulderboards or coloured stars on their hats or helms?" Towle asked "Before anyone opens their wakket hole to ask why that's important, Commandant Grayza said that tells us what arm of their fighting forces attacked us - so if anyone told you that, you log it an' send it all back to me".

"Looks like them Irregulars an' the locals are blockin' our hidey-holes around the sides" one of Towle's own Ghosts suggested "Dunno if that's just what they can get to nice an' easy or whether they want to funnel us toward the main checkpoint an' crush us".

"I don't know either, not yet" Towle replied "I don't like it, though - we'd better get a few of the better ones on foot patrol closer to the tunnel entrances an' pickup points".

"How do your own efforts proceed, Captain Sobbok?" the governor asked "I thank you for ensuring the Games can still proceed, as do our audience and our businesses - but I would like to know how war operations go with the forces under your command".

"Several observation posts have needed to silence enemy patrols" Sobbok replied "All evidence was destroyed, not even piles of ash remain to show enemy forces were there. Black Omega and these skulkers you seem to like worked together to see this continue... which is interesting to see. I expect the Marshal will find that interesting as well, even though I doubt he'll tell me why".

"Have any of your less well-known personnel achieved success going behind the lines?" the governor asked "I know comparatively little about those forces, but if any such are here then I have no objection to them being used against the insurgency".

"There's a few from one of the more notorious A-teams around" Sobbok replied eventually "but apart from their commander, I don't know who they are nor how many are here. Apart from them, and any competitors that serve in special warfare, I have a very small number under my own authority".

"As the leader of the Irregulars would likely say..." the governor said "...even more special than usual warfare. Or something like that".

Sobbok grinned and rumbled with amusement before nodding and saying "That's right, that's right... they are" before contacting the Storm Lords on observation post duty by mentalism as well, after which he called Kurlun.

~I hear you, Captain Sobbok~ Kurlun said ~I've got my own business to see to here... but my Team and I will certainly deal with any targets of opportunity as we find them. I seem to be worth a personal helper from these Irregulars... so I have some good targets to be getting started with already~.

"Good, looks like that big place over there's what we want" Harek said, pointing to a fortified residence - if a rather ugly one "Looks like we got a coupla guys by the gate - is there really a few wandering around inside? Thought I saw some pop up here and there".

Kurlun extended his hypersense and scanned the immediate area, then nodded before adding "Not usually too close to the gate - but they pass this way often enough we'll need to move quickly when we go in".

"Whether we go in the front way or not" Harek suggested "I say we get those gate guards anyway".

"Off you go, then..." Kurlun urged Harek, signalling for Kamiel to watch.

Hmm... Harek thought The rifle, I think - General Tareg made me take it, so I may as well find a use for it before bringing it to his shoulder and firing - or trying to. An unwelcome but familiar smell came from the rifle's breech shortly before a snapping sound came from slightly further back.

Harek didn't even pause for thought, running right for the henchmen on gate duty and beating them to death with his fists and feet.

"You have got to be plokking kidding me..." Harek groused as he took a quick look at his rifle "Looks like a round blew in the breech and the bolt spring let go! Since I can hear you grumbling about all the stuff I got under my coat and the noise it's making, I'll send it and the rifle topside and sort it out when we're done here" before tapping out a fast message to Amara on his comm and retracting his deadlock zone far enough to barely cover himself - after which he rolled up his coat around the rifle and put it down on the ground.

What is this all about? Kurlun wondered - until he saw the bundle disappear with not even a slight flash, and barely a few microts later, a small pack with a note wedged in a buckle appeared in the same spot.

Harek saw the note and read it, after which he smiled and rumbled softly and happily before eating the note.

"More ammunition for the big pistol under my hammond shoulder" Harek explained "More rations and water. A little room for portable souvenirs as well, if I find any I can't leave without".

Kurlun took another look at Harek now he'd got rid of the coat.

A massive young man Kurlun decided and faster than he is large. I may have seen to the experimental procedures conducted on Kamiel, but these Irregulars look to have a few new ideas of their own as well - this soldier clearly has the change as I do, but not the same change. Well, well, well...

"Well, going in the front way's out" Harek thought aloud "Where do you think, Cap'n? Any ideas?"

"We look over the rest of the walls" Kurlun replied, nodding "We see where any guard patrols go, and determine how professional they are. We see if this place has any access tunnels or shuttle pads not obvious from the outside".

"Sounds good to me, let's go" Harek decided happily "Get inside, take souvenirs, go on a happy rampage".

Kurlun growled a little at Harek's attitude, but nodded when he realised Harek wasn't making so much noise now he'd divested himself of the heavier munitions he'd been carrying before.

For all that I can tell he seems to be happier now he's more lightly loaded and more able to move with both stealth and speed Kurlun decided, after which he told Kamiel "Look over the wall, see if there are guards here or landscape we can use as cover - and be quick about it".

Kamiel bowed slightly before floating up off the ground slowly but surely - just as Kurlun was deciding if he should grab him by the ankle and pull him down a bit, Kamiel came to a halt.

~Ornamental plants~ Kamiel reported ~Not many, but enough to be useful. A few street soldiers, gang members carrying compact autopulsers, moving in pairs. All Sebaceanoid to this point~

Kamiel dropped a short distance with some speed before calling "At least one Tavlek, Captain - equipped in the traditional manner of their scavenging raiding bands, to which additional body armour has been added. Inside the dwellling, as far as I can tell".

"They rarely travel alone" Kurlun told Kamiel, once the Kalish had returned to ground level "If you want to prove yourself worth assigning to Terminations, you get that one nullified good and fast and preferably not too messily as soon as we find him again".

"I will, Captain" Kamiel assured Kurlun, nodding "Your efforts on my behalf and your own in this will not be wasted".

"Did you see a way in?" Harek asked, walking up beside Kamiel surprisingly quietly "Gate, tunnel, sewer - fine detail doesn't really matter".

"Only the front gate" Kamiel admitted "The design of the property suggests a rear gate as well, but I have not seen it".

"We keep going around, then" Kurlun replied "You're on point, Kamiel. Find us a way in, and make it a good one".

"Two smaller shuttle pads around the rear of the property" Kamiel reported after scouting ahead "No vehicle or personnel gates except the front one" before loud bellowing in Sebacean followed a momen or two later and a number of gang members more neatly dressed than the others on perimeter guard duty ran to the gate and checked the two dead guards.

"They'll be warned" Kurlun growled "The way you dealt with that problem was the right one at the time, whoever you are, but now makes our job harder".

"Nope, just more interesting" Harek replied, shaking his head "If your friend here can find a spot where we can't be seen from the front gate, we'll jump the wall and run inside the house and have us some fun...".

Kurlun clearly didn't like Harek's attitude a lot of the time, but nodded when Kamiel looked at him for orders.

"Kamiel and I go first" Kurlun told Harek "Due to my ...special skills... I can walk right through the wall and take Kamiel with me. Since something about being close to you's giving me headaches I'll not risk bringing you the same way, you'll have to climb over and hope no one sees you".

"Don't you worry about that, Cap'n" Harek replied "I got that all sorted out".

Kurlun did as promised, dephasing his body and taking Kamiel with him - and was surprised to hear and see Harek vaulting the wall and landing right beside him on the grass, although his feet sank a little and briefly because of his weight and landing from a height at speed.

"See, told you I had it all sorted out!" Harek replied happily but, to Kurlun's relief, quietly "I can smell a few Sebaceans wandering around... so the less time we spend out in the open, the better...".

The three of them ran over to an ornamental door leading inside the house - Kamiel picked the lock and got them inside, after which Harek sniffed the air and asked "Down or up? With Sebaceans, you'd think the big man would have his room way up top with the best view".

"Down" came Kurlun's reply "For now, anyway. I doubt supplies for the insurgents will be stored at any local leader's own dwelling - but just in case this one's more prideful or just plain stupid let's have a look around in the basement levels".

~At least one Tavlek coming towards you, Captain!~ the bloodhunter called, airborne once more ~Outside your target residence. Still walking at the moment - so I doubt he knows you are present~.

~Noted~ Kurlun replied ~I can take care of that myself. You should stay airborne as long as you can and check for other forces moving outside the residential grounds~

~As you command, Captain~ the bloodhunter replied ~Improvised combat vehicles are moving further South, at least from what I can tell - there are signs of movement, but on the edge of my hypersense~

"Looks like we'll have to borrow one of those technicals for a while, the South's bigger than it looks from beyond the checkpoint" Harek told Kurlun.

"It will save time if we can find mechanised transportation, this is true" Kamiel added "You and I can certainly continue to walk or run as long as is necessary... I do not know if our temporary friend is as fit as you or me, Captain".

I expect he is Kurlun decided, snorting at Kamiel's sceptical attitude There's more to him than is obvious, even more so than with you, Kamiel - but leave the thinking about that to me. You're the pupil and I, Kamiel, am the master - watch and learn and all will be well.

Harek stopped still for a few microts, snifffing - after which his treblin hand made several fast signals.

"Get up there, Kamiel!" Kurlun hissed "That Tavlek you smelled earlier looks to be close to our contact - whether he's the same one you found earlier is irrelevant, there's a Tavlek there and he's in the way. Nullify him quickly, neatly, and preferably not in a way that reveals our presence".

When Kamiel saw the Tavlek in question he knew that would be harder than he'd thought.

Most of the vulnerable points I would exploit for a silent nullification have been protected Kamiel decided Were I a Master of my people's art I could do more, but I am not - I am a stonewalker and I have the same change as my Captain.

Kamiel watched and a very sight smile came across his face as he decided he had an opportunity to make use of his expanded capabilities in a new way.

~It will likely tell our temporary friend a little too much about me~ Kamiel told Kurlun after he passed on his idea ~but I do not see any way to avoid this now~

Kurlun didn't bother reminding Kamiel about the time Lirak came to reveal the information that brought them to Tal IV, deciding that if Kamiel's memory had failed him that was his problem, but instead replied ~Just do it, do it quietly, and make sure neither you nor me nor our new friend are detected~

To give the Tavlek due credit, he wasn't that stupid, just a little slowed by his presence inside a supposedly secure location - when Kamiel tried to attack him he reached out to try and throw him to the ground. Kamiel proved to be faster, moving and stoneshifting at the same time before reaching for the Tavlek with his big stonelike hands and snapping the Tavlek's neck, after which he dragged the Tavlek's body back to his Captain and giving a full report.

"Good enough" Kurlun decided, keeping to himself his interest in Kamiel's tactics and use of his stoneshifting to achieve success "You're getting better, you're using your skills to succeed in new ways without me having to tell you how every microt".

"I'm going to call in a special operative under my temporary command, mister" Kurlun eventually decided, talking to Harek "I doubt you'll know much about them, but they are needed here and now - so keep your questions to yourself or it'll slow us down too much".

Harek just grinned back - so Kurlun grumbled, after which he called in the bloodhunter by mentalism.

Microts later, she dropped out of the sky and landed right beside him - Harek watched closely and didn't even grin, Kamiel noticed - after which Kurlun pointed to the corpse. She searched it, sniffing a little, before passing a few small items back to Kurlun and telling him "There is a recycle chute not far from here. He smells too tainted by those odd chemicals these raiding bands use, I could not feed off him - but I did not feed long ago in any case. I will be well" very quietly.

Not quietly enough to avoid being heard by Harek.

Interesting he decided if not in a way Dad would like. Looks like Kurlun has a bimorphic airborne bloodhunter with him. If he's got access to that kind of people, we're gonna have to watch him before tapping out a quick and fast message to the Havoc before the bloodhunter took off to dispose of the body.

"Incoming transmisssion from Harek!" Shellek announced "He's reporting the presence of a powerful bloodhunter among Captain Kurlun's A-Team personnel - an airborne bimorphic!"

"A bloodhunter" Talannah growled softly "Very well. I'll talk to my son later about that. They must be keeping themselves under control, or Kurlun's doing that for them - if Harek's taken images of them, we can send those to Riaanond for them to pass on to the rest of the Kingdom. We'll find out who they are eventually".

"Sitrep!" Harrigan called, walking back onto the bridge.

"We're taking a few hits, getting injured troopers coming back up on drop craft once reinforcements were landed" Talannah replied "Nothing that can't be fixed, but a few people are goinng to be restricted to the ship for longer than I'd like, though".

"Yeah, we'll debrief Harek when he gets back" Harrigan agreed once Talannah told him about the bloodhunter "I dunno what bloodhunters are, never even heard of them before - but that's something I'll have to deal with later. Bigger problems to deal with right now".

Talannah also pointed out the last few lines of Harek's report - Harrigan just called Lirak, who replied "I wondered about that, sir - just watching that Kalish when I first saw him told me he wasn't normal, and I don't mean the change either. If he is a stonewalker, Captain Kurlun's doing his own research - this Kalish is likely just a test subject, though he's likely earned some trust or he'd not be accompanying his Captain into combat".

"We've been at this for a few days now" Harrigan told his Generals "This insurgency looks to be well-trained and well-supported - and they're still keeping comms blackout on the ground. I want to know how that's being done and I want it shut down".

"I'll get Amara to talk to Troll or Skroloth" Trannak suggested "They're still behind the lines with our local allies of convenience - maybe they've found out something about this".

The Scarran gang leader rumbled very softly as he put his old skills to use again.

~Here!~ he signalled ~Vehicle~.

"Got some whirlygig on the back" Troll said, taking a look himself "I'll go get it so we can have a look at what it does for ourselves. Wait here" before sneaking off and activating his cloak once he thought the gang leader and his Charrid henchman weren't looking.

"Our man's good at this" Skroloth told him "Don't worry, he'll bring that vehicle back for us".

"He'd better be" the Scarran growled softly "We don't have time for pointless showing off, both your leaders and I have problems down here that need solving and need solving now".

A few short bursts of pulse fire followed, after which a large truck backed into the alley Skroloth and the others were hiding in. The Charrid walked around the vehicle and saw a door on the back of the truck, so he called "Over here, boss - door on th' back! Should I go in an' see what's what?"

"You and this one" the Scarran decided, nodding towards Skroloth "When the big one gets out of the cab, he can stand watch".

The Charrid headed inside first, looking around cautiously and resting his hammond hand on his pistol.

"Computers, boss" he whispered, hearing Scarran footsteps behind him "Looks like a comm truck, maybe".

"EW" Skroloth corrected, looking in more detail "Sebacean-made vehicle approved for export. Long range listening post and jamming".

~I was just about to call ((image of Skroloth grinning))~ Skroloth told Amara when she called ~Think we found out how they're keeping the South comm-silent~ before describing the vehicle and what he thought it was for.

~Confirmed~ Talannah told him once Amara linked her in ~That's what it is. Good to see you haven't forgotten the mil-intel classes you took when I trained you, mister Skroloth. Plant listening devices if you have any - destroy the vehicle if you don't~.

Skroloth took fifteen momens to do just that, though he also called Troll in to leave a few hidden charges as well. Talannah passed on the news to Harek in a message to his comm as well.

"Yeah, real good..." Harek said in English, making Kurlun scratch his head in surprised incomprehension briefly before Harek continued in his own language "Some of our boys an' girls makin' things happen, Cap'n - they found a surveillance truck an' left a few surprises in it".

When Kurlun stared at him, Harek grinned and replied "Not explosive ones, big man! Well, not big ones anyway. A few bugs on the comp, a few other ones so we can hear anyone inside. Fun stuff that doesn't go bang".

"That's how it's done, Kamiel" Kurlun told his aide "Once we find out how they think, why they move as they do - then we can exploit what we've learned and we can put our own plans into action".

"We'll keep that in mind, Captains Zarithak and Karath" Harrigan told the two Kingdom dreadnaught captains when they offered to add their own forces to the war effort "For now, we need you most of all to watch our back and direct civilian traffic for us - if plok really starts flying we might need additional military or medical help, but so far there's been no sign of that being needed".

"Neither Captain Karath or I have Reapers for surveillance and covert troop drops, this is true" Zarithak replied "But both of us can provide quick-reaction forces, or relieve your own forces so you can move them on for offensive actions elsewhere".

Skroloth took the lead, leading that group further South - until they encountered a roadblock.

"Barricade right across the street" he told Troll "Improvised combat vehicles behind it, looks like a field camp to me" before ducking back behind the wall fast.

"You, you, an' you - take your boys an' girls an' check Mister Prooy's mansion!" someone snapped "He's not our big man, but so far ours thinks he's an ally worth keeping - we got calls a bunch of his boys got found dead in the grounds an' the main dwelling was burning! Looks like he got out alive but he's gonna be plenty tratted off for a while!"

"Where's that?" Troll asked "You know we got a few more of ours down here prowling an' growling too - anyone we know down here?"

"Might be Harek" Skroloth replied "You know he dropped not long after we did. If he's responsible for that pillar of smoke back there, it looks like he an' Cap'n K are making trouble just like we are".

The Scarran gang leader grinned when Skroloth told him a slightly-edited version of that report.

"Good, you've committed your own forces" he said "Commandos, anyway. If they can get this problem out of our way we can continue Southward - I have one ally close by, a troublesome one though she frequently is. We'll stop there and get a report".

"So we have more of your forces close by" Kurlun told Harek "needing support. Thankfully this is a problem we can deal with - but I'll call the other members of my Team here in the port and see if they can get to me now the gangs here are deciding how to react".

"We hear you, Captain" a female Scarran replied "Couldn't get through before, planned entry route was too heavily fortified-"

"Which is why you're making your move now" he interrupted "I have a helper from these Irregulars, I seem to be worth more alive than dead as far as they're concerned, and there's other forces of theirs operating in the area - so you've got a narrow window of opportunity to link up with me if you move now. Better not dawdle, there's work to be done!"

"We got reinforcements coming" Troll told the Scarran gang leader and his Charrid henchman "You prob'ly ain't gonna like them, but you're just gonna have to grin an' bear it for now".

That most likely means they're either not Scarran... the gang leader decided ...or they're Scarran government forces. That's not good - let's just hope none of them have seen my face before, or at least don't know my name or how I look on a wanted beacon. My street soldiers are the best locally, but can't handle large scale war with the Hierarchy army - not without assistance from Mister Farakk that won't come, especially not in time.

The A-team specialist trooper paused just long enough to send a quick message to Captain Sobbok in the stadium before hissing "MOVE!"

All six of them stayed in loose but disciplined formation, running down the streets and across intersections at a dead run with their rifles up and panning from side to side.

"Yes, I know..." Kurlun replied "Both my aide and I can hear you. There's a roadblock up here, the whole street's blocked off, you'll have to come around from behind and to treblin".

"Oh goody, we got new friends..." Harek said, grinning at the newly arrived troopers until one growled a bit "I'll let you an' your Captain get acquainted again, I'm gonna have a look over the wall there for a microt...".

Once Harek saw Kurlun talking to his troopers, he hissed "Come on over here... Kamiel, isn't it?... yep, come over here. Time for us to find some fun for ourselves, an' it's fun I just know you can help with since you're not off-the-shelf either".

Once Harek paused for a few momens to explain himself in Kalish for Kamiel, Kamiel asked "What makes you think I am not a normal Kalish?"

"Apart from the change I see you got..." Harek whispered, grinning again "... well, I remember you doin' that special floating stuff before. I know that ain't normal stuff for Kalish, not even for Scarrans if it comes to that... and considerin' I was watching you on my extra-special eyeballs an' saw the brief heat spike when you did your special party trick..."

Kamiel just waited, so Harek grinned again and rumbled happily before adding "...but mostly it's something else I'd thought you'd have already thought of, mister. The smell" before tapping his nose and adding "Well, our guy who contacted you first told me what he saw about you when he saw you too, of course".

Ah Kamiel decided This young man knows the old low-caste officer who contacted my Captain and I with his personal information. This is interesting. I will tell my Captain this new information at the earliest possible opportunity - he must decide what to do, this information may affect more people than just me.