NOV 2225 - ALTARIAN REPUBLIC DEFEATED AND ENSLAVED BY THE DRENGIN EMPIRE.
               - REPUBLIC LEADER, NETRO MANCER, EXECUTED BY LORD KONA.

DEC 2225 - LORD KONA DECREES ALL SURVIVING ALTARIANS TO BE HUNTED DOWN AND ELIMINATED.

JAN 2226 - FREE ALTARIAN REBELLION FORMED AFTER 8 BILLION SURVIVORS RESETTLES A DISTANT PLANET IN   THE FAR REACHES OF THE GALAXY. PLANET NAMED, ALTAIR. SYRIANA, A FORMER SOLDIER IN THE REPUBLICAN GUARD APPOINTED REBELLION PREMIER BY POPULAR ELECTION.



ALTAIR JAN 1 - STARYARD

After dismantling most of the fleet that brought them to safety, Syriana looks down upon the sole surviving ship. Saved from being turned into building materials and industrial scrap the newly renamed Free Altarian Rebellion ship, the ARS Retribution, was a swarm of activity. A survey ship from the old republic she was now being fitted with the only surviving piece of weaponry the rebellion had. One measly Laser cannon, so old that it's power cells had but maybe 3 or 4 bursts left in it before it was just another usless peice of scrap.

Captain of the Retribution, a very tired looking woman named Lorel strode up beside Syriana.

"It's worth is not much and should Kona's bounty hunters ever find us it won't be worth much more in scrap metal, but it might do us proud."

"It will hold of any pirates that happen to be lurking this far out, besides, the ship seems to look more formidable than it is, let's hope no one out there tries to find out otherwise."

Together in silence both woman looked up to the heavens. After surviving slaughter and enslavement and the following devestation of their home world neither one of them were keen to find out themselves.

"When will she be ready to start patrolling this system Captain?" Knowing the answer already, Syriana was more interested in the woman she had appointed Captain of their only vessel. Was she stout enough to giver her the bad news....

"Not for another 2 weeks. The Hyperdrive is dead and the Ion project is not yet ready. Two weeks.....no sooner."

Syriana smiled....she had little time for bullshit, she was glad to hear her Captain did not either.

---

ALTAIR JAN 15 - COLONIAL RESEARCH LAB, STARYARD

Built from the hulls of scrapped ships and with little thought to form and structure, the research lab and it's cavernous hanger facilities was the most frantic building in the Capital. Housing more than 1 million technicians, proffesors and researchers the lab was a flurry of activity and excitement today, the head of research himself was on hand as the Ion project was realized and installation of the drives into the Retribution completed. One of the most intelligent survivors of the exodus and head of Colonial Research, Professor Zornan sat at his terminal. With the Ion Drive project complete his attention was now turned to helping to bolster Altair's economy. The development of new Trade Centers and the prospect of a global Stock Exchange  gave the esteemed researcher a brief hope of a normal life. Lost in his daydream he barely noticed the roar of the crowd or the rhythmic throbbing of Ion Engines that announced the Retribution had lifted off and was gaining altitude.

An incoming message succeded where the mob outside failed, brought back to reality, he opened his eyes and thumbed the view screen.

"Premier Syriana, i greet you"

"And i you, Professor Zornan, i hope you are ready for another challenge?"

Zornan caught the sigh that desperately wanted to escape his lungs and smiled, "Of course Premier, what did you have in mind?"

After listening to the details of developing a Technology Capital, much like the prestigious institute he administered back on Altaria, now laying in ruins, Zornan resigned himself to the fact that he will not see a day of rest for some time to come..."Normal life." He sighed......His wife of course, had she survived the Drengin invasion would soon point out that he should be happy he was alive to see any days...normal or not.

And she would have been right.....

---

SECTOR 22, GAMMA 4 - JAN 22

With the Retributions twin Ion Engines running at 110%, Captain Lorel was frantically trying to send a signal back to Altair.

"Why o fracking why would the Staryard foreman remove the long range network adapter!!!!"

"I'm not enti........" A quick glance over at the Captain told the young helmsman that he was better off not finishing that sentence.

Barking over the ship's intercom Lorel made little sense. Calming herself she said again, "Get me someone up here who can get the net online and do it now!!"

With the rest of the bridge crew looking at each other nervously and mumbling amongst themselves, Deep Space Sensor Officer Bradnt did not take his eyes off the screens in front of him.

"Signal strength weakening Captain, i don't think they saw us...."

"For all our sakes you better fraking hope not Bradnt" Captian Lorel was never one for using such language, but with the fate of her kin resting squarely on her shoulders she was not bothered about protocol at the moment.

ALTAIR, CAPITAL BUILDING

In the network hub of the Capital Building a bored Deep Space Sensors officer noted the speed at which Captain Lorel was pushing the Retribution along with. Turing to her fellow, although senior Sensor officer she said, "We have one ship, we have 2 engines and we have 1 weapon...and she treats them all like that! What, does she think,  that the whole ship is her own personal Hover Racer...her name should be Captain Rossi."

Laughing at his cute, but junior, colleague, Jornath snorted "The captain does indeed fancy herself a champion racer...i bet starship captain doesn't pay as well either" "I wonder if she wears a safety helmet out there...." Both Sensor officers laughed.

ARS RETRIBUTION

"Have you got this damned network working yet?" Worried beyond imagination, despair had all but replaced the frantic mood Lorel was in moments ago. Nearly pleading she spoke to the network technician in a near whisper,

"...you just have to make this work...for you...for me...for all Altarians." A very sweaty Junior Network Tech jumped up and exclaimed, "I GOT IT!" "It's weak and it won't last long but you should get a message out now Captain."

Captain Lorel nearly kissed the girl! Catching herself before she embarrassed the young officer and her self she gave her a quick hug and screamed at the net operator...

"Transmit now dammit!....NOW!"

NETWORK HUB

Back in the Capitals network hub listening to the Sensor techs laughing at Captain Lorel's expense, Nibel was just trying to get through one shift without causing a stir. One week after graduating the crash course in network operations, Nibel had already broadcast three level one alerts. Since a level one alert was of the highest importance, Nibel had already seen Premier Syriana's face on the view screen three times more than he ever tought he would. Mumbling under his breath...

"Cursed bloody space static and Pulsar's."

And now, once again, he was picking up that cursed pulsar in sector 22, it had already tripped him twice before. Nibel sighed, Colonial Media was already calling it the 'Nibel Pulsar'.

Nibel sighed again...turned away from the screens and was about to head down to the refectory for some supper when the Sensor techs started shouting...

"What's happened?" Nibel asked of them calmly, expecting to be told to shut up he was surprised when they called him over.

"She's gone!" The cute Sensor tech could barely get the words out of her mouth.

Wearily Nibel asked, waiting for the punchline, "Who's gone?"

"The Retribution! She was two sectors out coming in at max speed then she suddenly disappeared...What's that bloody fool of a captain gone and done with our only ship..."

Taking a look at the sensor readouts, Nibel suddenly went white, "Sector 22!!...Sector 22....Oh shit!" Running back to his terminal he brought up the signal that he already knew was not a pulsar. "I had a faint signal from sector 22....it's gone now...I'll play back the recorders."

Before the message had played for the 2nd time Nibel had already fainted and the cute sensor tech was crying uncontrollably. Senior Sensor Technician Jornath was already running, printout in hand, straight for the Premier's office.

OFFICE OF THE PREMIER OF ALTAIR

Finishing a paper sent to her by the newly built Technological Capital about a new propulsion drive called Impulse, Syriana was startled to hear shouting coming down the hall toward her office. She was even more startled when she realized that the shouting was someone calling her name. Bursting through the doors of the Premier's office with little thought to protocol, Jornath took two long deep breaths and as he handed the printout to the Premier said, "...from the Retrabution Premier....we didn't recieve the entire message, just these few words."

Looking down at the printout, Syriana nearly collapsed.

The Printout had but three words on it.....

"THEY'VE FOUND US!."

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