Phantasy Star Horizon
ESKK: Another day and another chapter so let's get this chapter started.
(Start ARKS Fleet Council Chamber)
The Council of Six had gathered at the fleet orbiting Halpha as they discussed the recent battle of Geonosis. "Our victory over Geonosis had yielded some finds of note about our ARKS Operatives." Xect said as he sat in his seat pulling up the data gathered by the Intelligence Bureau. "Behold." He said and thus projected the data on the table via the holographic projector.
Inside was the ending of the battle of Geonosis when Yuvel, Laura, Reggie, and Zurna took on Dark Falz Apprentice while in her true form. "Note that their Photon Levels had risen exponentially enough so that even the planets own Photons had reacted to it." Xect said showing the data gathered by the Research division.
"What are you saying?" Noto asked and thus Xect sighed to what was coming next.
"As much as it pains me to say it, and truly it does… I think Yaga was right about them." Xect said and thus he braced himself for Yaga's reaction.
"HAH TOLD YOU!" Xect yelled out as he pointed at Xect with a smug grin.
"Great now there won't be any living with this one." Klara said rubbing her eyes in frustration over what happened.
"Not entirely, Yaga." Xect cut in as he then showed the four individual Photon output levels from during the battle. "Out of the four of them Operative Yuvel and Operative Laura showed the highest Photon Output levels out of the four of them." Xect explained showing Yuvel and Laura's outlines and showing them to be displaying the highest levels of Photon Output from the team.
"Do you think they know of this, or how they did it?" Morgan asked with concern for the pair.
"No, they were entirely unaware of how they drew in so much, Photons." Arthur said with a calm yet stern tone.
"Regardless we can't take this lightly either they prove themselves to be the Guardian or Guardians we've been waiting for, or they become the biggest threat to all of ARKS." Xect said as Noto cringed a bit over Xect's paranoia.
"That sounds like paranoia, Xect." Noto said as he found it disturbing how little faith Xect had in one's character.
"It's not paranoia its pessimism." Xect clarified for Noto, so he understood that Xect trusted no one not even his own friends and his teammates.
"Moving on." Morgan said opting to change the subject before an argument can break out. "This new information is something to be concerned for but the reason for concern is up in the air making this something of a wildcard." Morgan said getting back on subject for the Council meeting.
"Which is why we should wait and observe see where this goes." Arthur said adding his two Mesata bits to the Council of Six's thoughts.
"I'm worried that if we keep using the wait and see process then we might be caught with our pants down as Yaga would say." Xect said making his own concerns on this matter known.
"It's the only way right now, Xect." Arthur said and thus Xect sighed seeing as he still had his own black ops missions to review. "Moving on what is the statues of Stia?" Xect asked looking towards Morgan for this.
"Stia City has been fully constructed and her factories are up and running." Morgan said making it clear that their foundries are ready and already hard at work supplying ARKS with all the tools they needed to progress on through.
"Good, with a working factory especially the number Stia has we should be able to meet the demands that ARKS asks especially during the Clone Wars." Arthur said as that had been a major cause for concern amongst ARKS people.
"We're also proud to report that the trade routes between Retem and Aelio are operational and with proper maintenance should make transporting supplies simple." Noto added as he had seen said network in action personally.
"Good then with any luck we can apply the same system to the rest of Halpha." Arthur said and in turn had one more thing he needed to discuss here. "And what of the smaller islands the Creative Spaces, as they were called back in-game?" Arthur asked and thus it was Noto who spoke up.
"We've been scouting them for the past few weeks and there are several of them scattered around the Aelio and Retem Regions." Noto said as he pulled up his forces scout reports of the Creative Spaces. "Working with the Research and Development department as well as Morgan we managed to set up teleporters to those Creative Spaces." Noto spoke before moving to the next subject. "We've also set up teleport Towers throughout regions making traveling through them easier." Noto added and thus Xect spoke up.
"And what countermeasures are in place in the event of an invasion?" Xect asked as he wanted to make sure Noto thought this through.
"Simple the entire network shuts down in the event we are compromised or invaded." Noto explained to his fellow councilman. "More so if one tower is down the entire network will shut down as well and unfortunately, they will not be of use during battles." Noto added which made sense because it might give the enemy an edge as well.
"And what of the reports of the Creative Spaces?" Arthur asked wanting to get all the fact on those islands.
"Unlike New Genesis we've deduced that the number of islands are finite so we can't just give them to every and any ARKS Operatives, but we can see about connecting them via bridges and the like." Noto said as he looked to his fellow councilmembers. "If we play this right, we might even gain an unofficial 5th Region on Halpha." He added which sounded like good news to the Council.
"Awesome!" Yaga cheered happy to hear this even from Coruscant.
"It's probably smart to give these locations to Operatives of note." Klara said as she meant to give these spaces to those who've earned them.
"Smart but also concerning." Xect said as he crossed his arms a bit. "Sounds like a bit of a feudal system to me where only lords and nobles are given land." Xect said and thus Yaga nodded in agreement with Xect.
"It's the best we have, I'll have to do a count of all the Creative Spaces before we can do anything concrete with it." Noto said as Yaga then had an idea.
"Who not distribute the Spaces between Alliances, that way they can build an entire town for themselves and still leave room for others to have it." Yaga offered and thus Klara giggled a bit at her friend.
"For the first time ever, you said something smart." Klara praised while also giving a jab towards Yaga.
"It does sound efficient." Xect said and thus got down to it. "Very well I'll search through our database for active alliances and will work on it with Noto once he gets an approximate number of creative spaces we can use." Xect finished and thus they were all in agreement on this.
"That sounds acceptable." Arthur said and thus he looked between each of his close allies. "Now then is there any other matters to attend to?" Arthur asked looking between everyone. When none of them answered Arthur to a second to look through the list of things on discussion for them. "Well then other than that, Yuvel, Reggie, Laura, and Zurna have been cited for medals during the battle of Geonosis." Arthur said as he looked to the Council of Six.
"Ceremonies again, boring." Klara said as she rested her head on her left knuckles.
"Klara as part of up Public Relations, we also need to put the people at ease." Morgan said in a stern tone to her fellow councilwoman.
"Actually, I kind of agree with here." Yaga said speaking up on this one here. "I mean those guys just got through a siege maybe we should give them some time to rest before any of that nonsense especially considering the Apprentice incident that occurred." Yaga said reminding Arthur, Xect, and Klara of what happened to Barriss Offee on Geonosis.
"While unprecedented it was not outside the realm of possibilities." Xect said with a calm tone interlocking his hands and resting his head on them.
"True enough, and the Jedi Council seems upset about this new revelation that had occurred." Morgan added reminding everyone that Barriss Offee was a Jedi Padawan prior to Apprentice's possession of the young Mirilian girl.
"They're going to want answers." Arthur said seeing where this was going for their people. "Answers that we might not be able to properly provide." Arthur added making it clear that they needed to tell the Jedi something about this.
"I propose we tell them the truth." Xect said suddenly as it got everyone to look at him in mild shock over what he suggested. "Tell them that we suspected something like this could happen but could not provide actual proof until it happened." Xect said making it clear that a Force Sensitive especially a Jedi being possessed was mostly hypothetical from a data standpoint.
"So, a half-truth." Yaga said as an honest man like him did not like that.
"Do you honestly want the Galaxy to panic thinking no one is safe from the Dark Falz?" Klara asked and thus this threw Yaga for a loop seeing as that one was an even worse outcome then telling people half-truths.
"Dammit." Yaga cursed realizing he had no retort for that.
"Still, this does open a possible can of worms for us." Morgan said as she knew well enough that ARKS has a lot of secrets.
"We don't have much of a choice in the matter, we either play it by ear or recklessly charge head-first into an even greater situation." Xect said calmly knowing they had no other choice but to proceed forward as is.
"I hate this." Yaga said clearly not liking the wait and see approach happening here.
"We don't have much of a choice but to do it like that." Klara said as she understood why Yaga did not like doing this.
"We best move on to other matters before we bring ourselves down further." Morgan said and thus looked to her fellows on the ARKS Council. "The Construction of the Photon Cannons for each City is on schedule and the Cannons for Aelio, Retem, and Kivaris are awaiting testing for combat use within the next two rotations." Morgan said as she gave the read outs of the three cannons. "Stia Cannon is still not ready for testing, we need to account for the more volatile environment before we can be ready for a field test." Morgan said detailing the four cannons.
"Try to see if you can get estimates on how long we have until it is constructed, the sooner we have it the sooner we will be ready for a Dark Falz to attack." Arthur said as he was pushing for the cannons to be ready for the inevitable invasion.
"And one last item to discuss, Project Lecille." Xect said and thus the entire council grew quiet with those words.
"The crowning achievement for ARKS, an orbital station capable of monitoring the entirety of Halpha as well as the waypoint between Halpha and the ARKS fleet." Noto said as he knew a lot of resources was being diverted to that huge ass project for ARKS.
"The public eye is to not only make ARKS here on Halpha more efficient, but it serves as our final bastion against the threats against us." Xect said as he leaned forward a bit with his hands linked and his eyes closed his face displaying an air of true calmness.
"Construction of Lecille is a slow process since its original purpose was to monitor the Halpha experiment and as it stands, we're not running any such experiments." Morgan said knowing of all the unethical aspects of the original Halpha Experiment.
"We still need Lecille if we are to be ready for Dark Falz, and if fate would have it, the Starless." Arthur said as he refused to allow ARKS to become complacent and weak once the Dark Falz had been eliminated seeing how much they suffered when the Starless attacked.
"But a construction that large would need time to be ready and with secrecy it needs to remain hidden." Klara said but then Arthur had one idea that might help them with this small dilemma.
"Then maybe it's time we prepare for the Guardians arrival." Arthur said as they've narrowed it down to Yuvel and his team. Either one of them is the Guardian or they all are. Regardless they must be ready for this, there was no telling when chaos will make itself known.
(Scene Break Stia Region Halpha)
The Stia Region the hostile Volcanic Region of Halpha and as of recently home to their factories. The Region had two major factories fully operational and churning out equipment for ARKS to use on missions. Currently parked near these Factories a Republic Dreadnaught was going through repairs amongst other ARKS ships.
Leading up to the Factory was Anakin Skywalker as he walked in with Ahsoka. Ahsoka looked out of it and for good too if one were to ask. After the battle of Geonosis and what happened to Barriss Ahsoka was not acting like herself. In fact, Anakin even noticed that Ahsoka wasn't acting like the snippy padawan he knew. Anyway, they had work to do while here and Anakin had to focus on that.
They were in the main greeting area as work crews were performing the tasks needed of them around the ships. Approaching them was a Female CAST with Red Eyes and Silver/White Hair. She had pale skin that was complimented by red make-up. Finally, her armor was more gathered around the hip area with hip guards and a tail cloth. She stood in attention as she greeted the new arrivals stern and a bit wound up.
"Greetings, I am the Stia City Sub-Commander Karai, I assume you're the Jedi here to inspect the Stia Factory?" the CAST now known as Karai asked the master and Padawan duo.
"Yes, thank you for having us by the way." Anakin said as he was a bit excited to see how ARKS handles building things. "Though we were under the assumption that we'd be meeting with City Commander Hugan." Anakin said and thus Karai nodded in understanding to this obvious assumption.
"Commander Hugan is a busy man; he tends to handle most of Stia's more combat oriented subjects for Stia City." Karai explained as she did seem more built for this. "I on the other hand handle the public relations aspect for him since he falls short on it." She added which made sense for a guy who doesn't handle social interactions well he needed someone who can handle it better. That was why Karai was his sub-commander while Hugan was the big boss for battles.
Anakin always did love working with machines and to see how ARKS does it was worth seeing if only to make sure they weren't hiding something. After the incident with Barriss the Jedi had some concerns over possible secrets that ARKS was hiding from them. They had dispatched Anakin and Ahsoka to see if they can find anything, nothing major just a quick look around to ensure everything was as ARKS that claims it is. But Anakin was hoping that this trip might help Ahsoka as well, the girl was just not herself after what had happened to her friend.
"Now before we go to inspect the Factory, I must insist that you wear proper protection." Karai said and thus the pair of Jedi looked to the CAST. "One of our safety measures for the workers and guests is that they are wearing proper protections while inside the factory, no exceptions." Karai said as clearly ARKS takes the safety of their workers very seriously here. Anakin and Ahsoka looked to each other and figured that they might as well comply with the CAST for now.
(Later in the Stia Factory)
The sound of metal work and welding could be heard all over the factory as ARKS Workers were hard at work. Conveyor belts were rolling while blacksmiths were forging melee weapons banging hammers on hot metals. Walking through the safety path dressed in hard hats, safety gloves, goggles, and body plates Anakin and Ahsoka were being led by Karai.
"As you can see, we run a tight operation here in Stia." Karai said as they saw mostly CAST working while a few Deuman were helping. From what Anakin could see it looked like the CAST and Deumans were more fit for this type of work then Humans and Newmans. "While most of our minerals originated from Retem this is where the magic happens." Karai said giving the two Jedi a tour of the factory.
"What's that over there?" Anakin asked noticing work on what looked to be a huge engine.
"That is work on new ARKS Ships." Karai said as the workers were seen taking care of said engine. "While we normally build new chips if the population number demands it, we've had a few incidents though with our ships." Karai said but then went on to clarify things for the pair of Jedi. "Nothing major mainly bad parts and replacement for engines, this was one of the engines we replaced." Karai said gesturing to the big engine nearby. "We're attempting to refurbish and repurpose it for continued use." Karai said as Anakin whistled a bit to that one.
"What happens if you can't?" Anakin asked and Karai had the answer for that one.
"We strip it for parts and use those instead." Karai said gesturing to another section where Deumans and Newmans were seen inspecting parts for possible uses for ARKS Ops to use. "Using everything we have available ARKS functions as well as you can expect and as our colonization of Halpha continues we hope to continue making Halpha our home." Karai said as she liked being on solid ground as opposed to artificial ground.
"Your planet is a beautiful one." Ahsoka said adding her two cents on the discussion.
"Thank you." Karai said and thus she continued the tour of the ARKS factory. "Right this way." Karai said gesturing to a small vehicle that was parked amongst others in the factory. Boarding the vehicle, the pair of Jedi got on and thus Karai joined them before she nodded to the driver. The Newman driver nodded, activated the vehicle, and drove off so to continue their tour.
(Later during the drive tour)
"So, you guys built all this?" Anakin asked as he looked around the shipyard they were currently driving through.
"Every last bit yes, since we are still in the process of converting ARKS forms of currency, Mesata into the Republics form of currency, Credits we had to make do with our own means of construction." Karai said explaining the situation.
"Sound like you plan to stay for the long run with the Republic." Ahsoka said with a smile that ARKS would remain loyal to their allies whom they had been aiding ever since they arrive.
Karai tensed up a bit before she smiled sadly to that thought. "Yes, I suppose we are." Karai said which got Ahsoka concerned about this as it did for Anakin. "Now then." Karai said refocusing her attention to her task. "This is where we maintain and repair most of our AIS Units." Karai said gesturing to a warehouse area that showed AIS Units being repaired and looked over by ARKS Operatives some of them using large vehicles for their job.
"Hey, wait isn't that a Vulture Droid over there?" Ahsoka asked as she noted the Vulture Droid not that far from where they were.
"Yes, they were salvaged from Separatists Facilities taken by the Republic, ARKS takes them and repurposes them and/or recycles them for parts." Karai explained as if it was the most basic thing on this side of Halpha and the ARKS Fleet.
"Aren't you worried over possible Separatist programing making these Droids… Volatile?" Anakin asked with clear concern over ARKS doing this.
"We've taken precautions for that, by using the method that one boy from Iago used as I'm sure General Skywalker is aware." Karai said as she had seen the reports of the mission to Iago. "More so we've taken out most of their combat capabilities." Karai said as they passed by a few B1 Battle Droids helping with some cargo.
"Easy, easy does it now." The Droid spoke while standing underneath a large crate of supplies being hoisted around. "Ok your good." The Droid said only for the one operating the crane to drop the cargo and crushing the droid.
Karai cringed as she heard the Droid yell out in panic before being silenced. Meanwhile ARKS Workers moved in to inspect the incident while Karai made a small call on her Mag. "Contact Requisitions and tell them to get some smarter droids." Karai said and thus ended the call as she sighed a bit. "Sorry about that." Karai apologized to the pair for seeing that.
"It's fine, at least I can see why you guys aren't worried." Anakin said as the Droid was either a dumb one or the memory purged worked a little too well.
"Now then moving on to the next bit of this Operation." Karai said as she continued with the tour. "The Forge." Karai said moving to the next and one of the most important areas of the Stia factory.
(Later at the Stia Forge)
Anakin and Ahsoka followed Karai into the next room and found people from all four races of ARKS hard at work. "This is our weapons forge, its where most of ARKS Ops acquire their weapons from." Karai said allowing the two visitors entry into the forge.
"So, this is where ARKS Ops gets their weapons from." Anakin said while exploring the forge.
"Yes, but the best weapons, the ones restricted only to a select few members are personally handled by the Forgemaster." Karai said as many ARKS Workers were diligently working on the craft. Hammer clanged against metals shaping and forming into the weapons ARKS will use. Hot metal entered water resulting into it steaming as the weapon was rapidly cooled. Finished works were branded by the ones who constructed them and added to the containers to be shipped out.
Meanwhile a lone hopeful Newman held a newly built weapon as he entered the big door at the back of the room. Knocking on the door the Worker entered as he vanished behind it.
"So, this Forgemaster, he's that good?" Ahsoka asked legitimately curious about this being.
"Yes, rumor has had it that he had personally forged the Cosmogenic Arms utilized by the Council of Six himself." Karai said as they entered the room mainly so Karai can get a report from the infamous Forgemaster of ARKS.
But when they entered the room, a loud gruff voice was heard from within. "NO NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" A Gruff CAST was heard as the trio saw a blade stab into the wall next to them. "If you want to be a Forgemaster you can't settle on the same equipment every ARKS Operative uses!" He scolded but then sighed to himself before returning to his own work which he looked over a bit. Growling he tossed the weapon to the large pile of scrap weapons abandoned off to the side.
The hopeful apprentice solemnly walked off as Karai looked to him. "Still in his mood?" Karai asked with concern for the worker and the Forgemaster.
"Yeah, he's not talking to anyone." The Worker said before returning to his station to continue until his shift ended.
"Volgun." Karai greeted as she approached the larger CAST.
"What is it, Sub-Commander?" Volgun grunted as he was already working on another weapon.
"I need your report, your already a few days overdue on it." Karai said as she knew how Volgun was when he got into one of his moods.
"You'll get the damn report when you get it." He snapped as he finished the initial bit but then growled and tossed the scrap weapon as well.
"What's wrong with him?" Anakin asked with a raised brow.
"Volgun is a master of his craft, but he had been in something of a blockage when crafting weapons, for him it's an art." Karai explained as Volgun growled and tossed another weapon. She then cleared her throat to get Volguns attention. "Forgemaster Volgun, we have visitors from the Republic here, Jedi Knight General Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Commander Ahsoka Tano." Karai said gesturing to the pair only to be ignored by Volgun.
"So, what of it?" Volgun asked as he didn't bother looking at them.
Karai sighed seeing no way to get through to him. "I apologize, he's normally more… welcoming but when he gets one of his infamous blockages, he becomes less welcoming." Karai said and thus began to lead them out. "Perhaps we should move on." Karai said but then Volgun noticed something on Ahsoka's hips.
"Wait!" Volgun said stopping the trio. "You red face." Volgun said pointing towards Ahsoka.
"Me?" Ahsoka asked and thus Volgun approached her.
"That thing on your belt, the cylinder one." He said pointing to her lightsaber.
"My Lightsaber?" Ahsoka asked as Karai saw Volgun showed interest.
"Yes… let me see it." Volgun said and thus Karai went wide eyed.
"What but." Ahsoka began but got cut off.
"I'll give it right back." Volgun said and thus Ahsoka looked to Anakin who shrugged saying it was up to her.
Ahsoka sighed and handed her lightsaber to Volgun who began to look it over. "Hmmm yes… most intriguing." He said as the opened door now had his workers looking inside it.
"Show me how it's used." He said handing the weapon back to Volgun.
"Um… sure." Ahsoka said and thus she ignited her lightsaber and held it in a reverse grip before she began doing mock swings with it similar to when she was training.
Ahsoka did this for bit before Volgun chuckled a bit to himself. "Yes… yes perfect I can feel it my inspiration." Volgun said and thus Karai smiled a bit. "All of you OUT NOW!" Volgun yelled and thus he pushed everyone out of his office. "I have much work to do, and I need silence!" Volgun said and thus pushed his guests out of his office. "And the rest of you back to work you all have quota to meet!" Volgun yelled before closing the door and locking it so he may work in peace.
Then to the shock of the two Jedi the work crew cheered as they saw Volgun like this. "Master Volgun has got his groove back!" A random Worker cheered as he and his friends were happy to see Volgun like this he was inspired.
"I'd be, warry from now on." Karai said as the CAST looked to Ahsoka. "It would seem that you've become their hero." She added and thus Ahsoka then got sad a bit.
"Yeah… a hero." Ahsoka said and thus Anakin knew Ahsoka was bothered over what had happened back on Geonosis.
"We best move on if we wish to meet with the city Commander." Karai said and thus they departed from the weapon forge.
(Meanwhile with Yuvel's team)
Yuvel, Reggie, Laura, and Zurna were with their go to Weapons smith in Stia. The Stia Region was home to all of their forges on Halpha. Retem was where they had their mineral mines. Yes, certain ores can only be found in Kvaris and Stia, but ARKS had that taken care of. Yuvel took his Lux Frieden as the female CAST smiled at her work.
"There ya go good as new." She said as Yuvel smiled at the work.
"Thanks Lunda you always were one of the best." Yuvel said as Lunda smiled a huge grin.
"Well, that's mighty fine of you, but bet yer little heads that I made some improvements on them there weapons of yers." She said her Yankee accent clear as day.
"I'll say." Laura said as she noticed her Grim Assassin felt lighter in her hand while the blades of the Katana and Scythe seemed to be sharper.
"Have to agree, Lunda you are a master." Reggie said as his weapon the Etoile Order, was being looked over by the CAST who saw the weapon had a few mods to it to make it more effective in battle. Zurna was of a similar mindset as she inspected her Gunblade, the Victorie Ehre and saw the ammunition had been changed for something stronger.
"See ya notice I changed out them rounds, the shots should let you cleave through any enemy you face and shoot a hole through a tank." Lunda said as she smiled to Zurna. "Did the same to yer gun also, Laura." Lunda said looking over to Laura as the silver haired Phantom nodded in response.
"Thank you, Lunda." Laura said to the CAST before them.
"No problem you ARKS Operatives come back when yer tools need a tune up." Lunda said and thus the four began to leave her shop after paying for her services of course. Yes, ARKS Covers most of their Operatives Spending but they still had to pay their share of it.
Exiting the shop, the group began to make their way through the city as Stia City was a buzz of commerce and society. People from all parts of ARKS, Humans, Newmans, Duemans, and of course the CAST were seen walking or driving around the city. Stia City was hot which made sense seeing as it was in a Volcanic Region. The only places that handled the heat well was the outskirts of Stia where there was a flourishing fishing town. Stia City was built in levels reaching towards the very top that stood at the peak of the Regions Volcano. But the key to why Stia was able to flourish was the cooling system that reached out through the entirety of Stia.
The Cooling System was one of if not the most important systems that maintains Stia City. Without the Cooling System Stia would not be able to properly operate. ARKS in Stia defended it with a near zealot fury refusing to let anyone or anything cause it a disaster.
"You know I still find it hard to believe that they got this place working so well." Reggie said as he looked towards his teammates.
"I know Reggie you like to bring it up every time we come to Stia." Zurna said with an annoyed tone showing that Reggie does have a habit of saying this every time they visit Stia City for weapon maintenance.
"Well, it's true." Reggie defended as they continued their walk through Stia seeing as some of ARKS best toys are built in the Stia factories.
"So, you guys want to grab a bite to eat?" Yuvel suddenly asked pointing to a diner on the street they were walking through.
"Sure, I can go for some grub." Zurna said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Ditto." Laura added with a nod towards their leader and friend. With that they went into the diner so they can eat.
(Later in the Diner)
"THANKS FOR THE MEAL!" The Four ARKS Operatives announced after they placed their order, and their food was brought in. Sitting in the booth the Tenno began to eat their food while Reggie had of course been given specialty food for a CAST which depending on the CASTS armor designs can be injected or ingested. It took time for Reggie to adjust to it but in the end he did. Though that did not stop him from being jealous of his friends being able to eat as they normally would.
"This is a strange life for us, we get Isekai into our favorite MMORPG, travel the cosmos for a while, land on a new planet to call home, and get drafted into a war." Zurna said which in turn got her friends to look at her with a wry smile.
"Well, that's an odd way to start a conversation." Reggie said as he injected his meal via the injection ports on his body around his head/neck area.
"She's not wrong though but at the very least we get to fight the good fight." Laura said as the bleach haired Phantom Class Operative then took a bite of her own meal.
"It is what it is." Yuvel said oddly being accepting of how things turned out. "We just have to make do and adjust as things continue to progress." Yuvel said causing Reggie to laugh a bit to what Yuvel said.
"Dude that sounds like a total boy scout thing to say." Reggie laughed as he found Yuvel's attitude to be a bit funny at times. "But at the same time, it's one of your most noted qualities." Reggie added after he stopped laughing to this.
"Can't say I disagree there." Laura added with a smile of her own as it was one of the many reasons that she liked hanging with Yuvel.
"None of us can." Zurna said and thus the group shared a laugh at their inside joke.
But then Laura looked around and noticed several of the patrons were giving the four an awestruck look. "Seems we're becoming awfully famous around Halpha." Laura said as she put her hood up as she did not like being gawked at by others.
"Well considering we lead the charge against two Dark Falz's and have been working with the infamous, Man with No Fear, yeah I'd be starstruck also." Reggie said seeing things from the people's point of view. "We're basically the rising stars of ARKS." Reggie said with a huge smile even if he had a faceplate on his mouth. "At this point almost, nothing can ruin this for us." Reggie said and as if challenged by fate something happened.
An explosive blast went off outside causing Reggie to fall over in shock while the other ARKS Operatives ducked and cover. "The fuck!?" Reggie cried out as he and his friends instinctively sprang into action.
"Let's go!" Yuvel called out as he lead the charge to see what went on.
"Wait what about the check!" Laura cried out but then sighed and took out her wallet. She then quickly paid for the meal, so they don't skimp the establishment adding in to keep the change before she ran out to join up with her friends.
(At the same time over with Anakin)
Anakin and Ahsoka arrived in the main control center that overlooked the entirety of Stia City. ARKS Operatives crews were seen moving to and from different stations as the gathered group looked like an efficient well-oiled machine. Entering the control room, they were met with a Deuman who upon turning towards them revealed he had several noticeable scars.
"Commander Hugan here is Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Learner Ahsoka Tano." Karai introduced after the CAST had brought the Master/Apprentice pair in.
"Welcome to Stia City, I hope Karai was welcoming during the tour." Hugan said in a tone that he didn't like social interactions and wanted to focus on his work.
"She was very informative of your operations in Stia." Anakin said as Karai had shown a lot of knowledge to the Jedi.
"Good." Hugan said and in turn he gestured to the room. "This is the Nerve center of Stia we can monitor the entire region and the factories for any signs of trouble, malfunctions, and possible Falspawn Incursions." Hugan said which Anakin found most helpful.
"I heard there was a Falspawn attack at Retem while my forces where planet side." Anakin said referring to the 501st Clone Battalion who were helping ARKS test out their newest toys back then.
"Correct, in order to avoid another such incident, we've had opted to increase the general security in all of Halpha's regions as well as had Kvaris and Stia given top security from the get-go." Karai said stepping in showing the security feeds of several locations in Stia where workers and Operatives were on the job.
"But aren't you guys worried about an eruption I mean you've set your entire operation over a Region filled with active Volcanos." Ahsoka said voicing her concerns over the Region.
"ARKS Research and Development department have already devised a way for us to harness that power as well as keep ourselves safe." Karai said showing the system in question. "We can't stop the eruptions, but we can control where they go." Karai said showing what looked to be plates and metals reaching from the Volcano's. "We've managed to divert most of the Lava flow towards the ocean allowing for regular expansions of Stia the flow we can't divert we sent it towards the major forges factories to harness the Volcanic power using our Photons." Karai said showing images of how the process worked.
"From there we use the Region Wide Cooling System to keep everything at a safe and reasonable temperature." Hugan said displaying images of the Coolant System spread throughout the entire Stia region. The coolant pipes went through the city as well showing that no one will be dying of heatstroke within Stia. "It's one of our crowning achievements in the colonization of the Stia Region." Hugan finished and thus Anakin had to admit the system was impressive. It released just enough coolant that the system is not overtaxed but at the same time prevented the people in need of it from being over heated by the heats of Stia. The Forges of course needed to be kept hot so a lot of times the system had to redirect the cool air it sent out to other areas.
Anakin and Ahsoka saw the whole thing playing out as they knew ARKS was running an efficient operation. It came as no surprise to them seeing as they had worked with ARKS many times before. While they will admit that some of the Operatives were unique in their own way they still worked well when it came to dealing with the Falspawn and the Dark Falz that created those monsters.
"So, what is the." Anakin began but suddenly an explosion rocked the room as this got everyone on high alert.
"Explosion at Area Block D-16!" A Techie called out causing Hugan to react almost instantly.
"Corner off the area I want fire crews at the area immediately mobilize the Stia ARKS Defenders as well to secure the area!" Hugan said and thus began to leave the room. "I'm heading down there myself to see what had happened." Hugan said opting to lead from the front then from behind a desk.
Anakin and Ahsoka nodded to each other before they also went after Hugan to see what aid they may provide. Kurai remained behind to coordinate things before she goes down to join them as well. Someone had to stay to make sure everything was operating as the design spec dictated.
(Later at the Explosion Site)
Anakin, Ahsoka, and Hugin arrived to find ARKS medical teams already on the scene with fire teams putting out the blaze that had formed. Civilians and Operatives on shore leave were being wheeled away to receive medical attention. They could hear the cries of pain were head all over the area from those who were caught in the blast. Nearby Yuvel and his party were seen helping with the efforts as they pulled more people out of the debris and brough them over to the medical personnel to be treated.
Yuvel was organizing the rescue responders sending them to where they need to go while keeping a calm tone. Nearby Reggie was walking through as carried a kid in his arms which he returned to his waiting parents. The parents in question were of course grateful for this and brought their child over to another batch of medical personnel nearby.
"What happened here?" Hugan asked as he looked to Yuvel wanting answers from the ARKS Operative. Yuvel who Reggie had rejoined looked to the Stia City Commander and gave their report of what happened.
"Not sure we were down at that café eating lunch and then BOOM huge ass explosion." Reggie said as he had pointed to the café in question.
"Commander." Came a on sight ARKS Defender as he was clearly in charge here. "With ARKS Operatives on sight we're moving people to the nearby school's Gymnasium so they can be processed before sending them over to the Hospital." The ARKS Defender said and thus Hugan nodded to him.
"Good I want everyone questioned we need to see if anyone had seen anything." Hugan said as taking control of this brewing situation. "I want to know who was here, what they were doing; hell, I don't care if they were just enjoying a lunch break, I want answers!" Hugan said making it clear that he needed to know if this was just a horrible accident or a possible sabotage.
"Yes sir." The Defender said as Anakin and Ahsoka saw the scene taking place here.
"Is there any way we can help?" Anakin asked as he felt they had to do something about what happened.
"For now, just get the injured sorted and questioned." Hugan said as it was all they can do right now.
"Shouldn't we wait to question the victims?" Ahsoka asked as she had her concerns about triggering all the explosion victims.
"No, we need to question them now while the memory is still fresh in their heads." Hugan said making it clear that they needed as much information as possible. Hugan then called up Karai because there was another thing that they needed here. "Karai, I want security footage of the incident everything leading up to it and everything that happened right after." Hugan said into his communicator letting the Sub-Commander know what was needed.
"Yes sir, Commander Hugan." Karai said and thus she ended the call before getting to work.
Meanwhile Yuvel looked around for anyone that was suspicious. He didn't know how or why but he just felt like something was off around here. Looking through the crowd he noticed someone out of the norm keeping his head down and trying to discreetly leave.
"Hey you there." Yuvel called out to the suspicious man. The man in question saw Yuvel and in turn saw he was calling out to him. Instead of just letting Yuvel talk to him the man quickly began to run for it which made him look guilty. "Wait stop!" Yuvel called out before he then chased after the suspicious man. Weaving through the crowed the unknown figure was running away to avoid capture by ARKS. Yuvel saw this was a clear sign of guilt, but he still wanted to give this man the benefit of the doubt. "I just want to talk!" Yuvel added while chasing after the suspicious man.
The chase carried on like this for a bit, but all things eventually came to an end. The runner eventually made his way to a ledge area and in turn cornered himself. Yuvel arrived and in turn blocked the man's only exit out of there. "Just calm down I just have some questions." Yuvel said in a calm tone trying to prevent the man from doing anything overly risky here.
The man on the other hand would beg to differ as he then went to the ledge much to Yuvel's shock and horror. "You will all fall, Republic Dogs!" He cried out and in turn flung himself over the ledge to his death.
"No wait!" Yuvel cried out trying to stop the man from jumping. But alas the ARKS Operative was too late to stop the man from jumping. What came next was a sickening crash followed by a scream of terror from a civilian down bellow who saw the man's impact to the ground.
Running to the ledge Yuvel looked to the scene and then looked away as he saw the man impact the round. His own blood was starting to pool out under him a clear sign of this man's own tragic death. When ARKS Defenders with Yuvel's team showed up there was some explaining to do.
(Later)
The site was cornered off while ARKS Defenders were investigating the matter as it happened. In the meeting room Yuvel, Laura, Reggie, and Zurna were gathered in the room with Hugan and Karai of Stia City with Anakin and Ahsoka there as well. In the room there were holographic projectors set up that showed the images of Arthur, Xect, Yaga, and Klara of ARKS. Mace Windu, Yoda, and Obi-Wan of the Jedi order were there. And of course, Chancellor Sheeve Palpatine of the Galactic Republic was also there to hear of their discovery on Halpha.
"This is most troubling indeed." Palpatine said as he found the news disturbing. "Separatists on Halpha I thought it would be unheard of." Palpatine said showing that there was good reason to be troubled here.
"We had a background check done on this guy he wasn't one of ours." Xect said with a calm tone and thus the images of the man in question appeared for them. "His name was Fargus Raazul he originated from Raxus a Separatist controlled planet beyond that I'm still scrubbing through to find more." Xect said showing that this was an ongoing investigation. "According to our data he came here requesting refugee statues after he allegedly left the Separatists." Xect went on and thus Palpatine had concerns about this.
"Arthur is this not the third time Halpha and by extension ARKS has been compromised?" Palpatine asked which Arthur knew was not making them look good.
"First the Slavers, then the Falspawn attack on Retem, and now this." Windu added as he found cause for concern. "ARKS has enjoyed a great deal of amnesty since they arrived, but these security breaches are becoming cause for concern." Windu said showing he did not trust ARKS completely here.
"I concur Master Windu, perhaps we need to consider the Republic having a more active role in the activities of ARKS." Palpatine said but Arthur had objections to this option.
"These were isolated incidents I doubt they truly call for Republic oversight here on Halpha." Arthur argued hoping to prevent a more active Republic presence on ARKS just when her people had begun to truly make Halpha into their home.
"And what of the hidden research facility?" Windu asked showing that thanks to Ahsoka the Jedi were aware that ARKS had such facilities. "Why hide away a research facility like that?" He asked and thus Arthur had no way to respond to these clear accusations.
"It was hidden away to prevent the Falspawn and the Separatists from discovering it, we made this explicitly clear in our reports." Xect said but Palpatine spoke up next.
"Apologies but I too find it oddly suspicious that ARKS had such a facility yet failed to inform the Republic of its existence." Palpatine said which Xect saw Palpatine had him in check with this argument.
"With the type of tools and weapons we were working on, we could not run the risk of the Separatist sympathizers in the Senate learning of it." Xect said as that was a reasonable excuse but the level of secrecy here was found to be disturbing to their Republic allies.
"Be that as it may ARKS has had to much freedom in their actions perhaps it's time, we stepped in so the Republic may have oversight over ARKS and Halpha." Palpatine said and thus Yaga spoke up to this one.
"Hey, look old timer with all due respect we're still getting our bearings on Halpha there are bound to be a few hiccups here and there." Yaga said trying to get Palpatine to understand that ARKS is more effective as they are.
"Which I understand representative Yaga, but ARKS is at the moment our only means to combat the Dark Falz and Falspawn and it would be a disaster if you were destroyed from within." Palpatine said which Klara opted to keep quiet to that. "We can discuss this further in the next Senate meeting, but I assure you this is for the best the Dark Falz are a threat we must not take lightly." Palpatine said and in turn he nodded to the Jedi and thus his image vanished.
"Sorry." Yaga apologized before he and Klara vanished as well as did the Jedi Council. Arthur was the last hologram to vanished from the holo projector and thus leaving Yuvel with a foreboding feeling in his stomach.
(Scene Break Later)
Sunset was upon them as Yuvel sat by himself just watching as the sun set over Halpha. Yuvel for his part was shocked that things were turning out this way. While he trusted the Republic as allies, he knew that there were individuals on the Senate who had an agenda. Yuvel was never one for politics even back on their old world, but he knew enough that Politicians almost always had their own personal agenda. Sitting there Yuvel began to grow worried for what may be in store for ARKS in its possible near future. For all they know ARKS may end up losing its independence to the Galactic Republic.
"Are you ok, Yuvel?" Laura asked and thus Yuvel looked to see his longtime friend approaching him.
"Oh, uh yeah… just thinking is all." Yuvel said and thus Laura soon stood next to the Operative.
"Mind if I sit here?" Laura asked and in turn Yuvel scooted a bit.
"Sure." Yuvel said and thus Laura joined him so they can both watch the sunset. They both sat there in blissful and peaceful silence as the pair watched the sunset together.
"Its funny." Laura suddenly spoke which got Yuvel's attention. "We've spent, a few years on the Isekai Fleet of ARKS and have seen many simulated sunsets through it." Laura said as she sat next to Yuvel letting her legs swing back and forth over the ledge that they sat on. "Yet it always seems to pale in comparison to an actual sunset." Laura said as she looked to the horizon.
"I… don't follow." Yuvel spoke as he had no idea what had brought this on.
"Figured you wouldn't but it was a good way to make you drop your guard a bit." Laura said in a teasing tone of voice. "So, what's eating at you?" Laura asked with concern for her friend and squad leader.
"This, the war and our new problems with the Republic." Yuvel said gesturing down to Stia City. "I'm just worried that if the Republic moves in then a lot of people will be unhappy about it." Yuvel said and thus Laura only sighed to this.
"Dilly dally shilly shally." Laura said quoting the famous words used in Final Fantasy VII. "It hasn't happened yet or at all if we focus to much on what would happen, we'll miss out on what could happen." Laura said and thus leaned in close to Yuvel. "Besides the Senate will meet to discuss this so it gives the higher ups time to counter it." Laura said and thus Yuvel could not help but smile a bit.
"Yeah, I guess you're right about that, Laura." Yuvel said and thus he wrapped an arm around her pulling the Newman Phantom closer. As the pair sat there for a moment, they let the peace reign for a bit, but they were unaware of the movements of shadows.
(Meanwhile on Coruscant Chancellors Office)
Palpatine could not help but pat himself on the back for his expert move. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed ARKS to deal with the Dark Falz Collective. The Sith were formidable but against an enemy capable of switching bodies with but a thought he needed ARKS until such a way a permanent method to best the Dark Falz is found.
But regardless of that Darth Sidious will be the inevitable victor of the Clone Wars. ARKS and the Dark Falz were unknown variables, but he can plan and work around them to his own advantage. With Luther was smart and thus Sidious found it best to keep him as an alley and soon with young Klara he will have a hold in ARKS most highest position the Council of Six. Once ARKS is under the control of the Republic they shall fall under the control of Sidious when the Empire he envisions comes to fruition. Nothing shall forestall the Revenge of the Sith not the Jedi, not the Dark Falz, and certainly not ARKS.
(TBC)
ESKK: Another chapter finally finished by yours truly. Thanks to everyone who has stuck around for this long. I hope you all enjoy it as we edge ever closer to the Battle of Halpha arc. Now you all know the drill and you know what I'll ask, leave a review before leaving and as I always say on here, ja-ne.