While scrounging around an old internet database, I stumbled upon this little story that I had largely forgotten about. This is my first fanfiction and the first time I really put my mind to writing a story outside of a few old school assignments. I bring it back simply for my own nostalgia and love of StarSiege.

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An inaudible alarm blared through the silent confines of the spacecraft. IT quickly shunted 20 of IT's processing power toward the radiation sensors. Another surge rolled in, causing a spike in the virtual display monitors. shifted the sensors while simultaneously bringing up the auxiliary sensors. Using astrogation subroutines, IT calibrated the magnitude of the anomaly and began aligning the primary sensors to obtain a position. The radiation suddenly began disappearing and faded completely before the readings finished. After 3 seconds passed returned control of the sensors to the onboard instrumental computer and resumed piloting.

"God damn it Allen, what's happening down there?!"

"It's the Cuddler sir! It's already burned through the reactor's main reserve and shut itself down. I've been forced to activate the energy capacitator an…." Captain Orrington cut the COM line before his chief engineer finished. He didn't need to hear the rest to know the problem.

"The 'Cuddler', Captain?"

Captain Orrington turned to see the expressionless face of Caanon Weathers staring at him. "The cloak, sir.", stammered Orrington. The Grandmaster's lips compressed themselves into a thin line. "This is regrettable," he paused, then continued, "but not unforeseen. Tell me, will it hold out until the Treacherous is in position?"

"She'll hold sir."

Caanon nodded in acknowledgement and turned to leave. He said, "Alright then, I'm going below to orchestrate the landings. I'll leave Treacherous and the 'Brid's capital ships to you." He started towards the elevator, but halted and added without turning, "Keep them busy Captain Orrington, I want to bring my men home." Orrington nodded.

Treacherous continued her powerless "glide" towards the Cybrid battle group and Earth. Chasing in its wake, countless shadows, black on black, pursued.

The lone cybrid scanned the nearby space with Elegant Malice's infrared sensors. The scout was proud of IT's spaceform's capabilities. Roughly 12m long from its exhaust to the tip of the optical camera fibers, it was elegant indeed. The ship was made with energy absorbent materials shaped somewhat like a seedpod, with a bulging rear housing the six main thrusters and a tapered front end that ended in several, nearly invisible, strands. These strands could be controlled independently or as a group and were used to collect data, but mostly they served as a high-powered telescope. and the main computer of Elegant Malice had a close relationship and they had performed countless recon missions.

IT continued to monitor the IR spectrum along with the radar when it began to notice several infrared . Small pinpricks of IR energy were suddenly flashing everywhere. IT watched the cautiously and redirected several of the sensor fibers. Suddenly, the visible space in front Elegant Malice seemed to boil and blur. The IR readings went off the scale and a warship materialized 200 meters off the side of the Cybrid spy ship. Lights raced along its massive prow and bluish white fire kindled as engines surged to life. hurriedly began construction of a message containing the 's velocity and vectors, but before it was finished, the rest of the fleet that had been following with cold reactors powered up. was now truly . IT immediately tried to access the Omega VI priority channel, but it was jammed. In desperation, lit the ship's thrusters and positioned itself for a direct laser transmission. As IT did so, IT noticed several of the protrusions on the Treacherous pointed themselves toward the Elegance. They erupted in green flares of light.

"Allan, give me 115 on the engines, helm, set declination at zero-three-zero degrees."

A chorus of "Aye" 's filled the command deck. "Everyone else, get in your crash harnesses and secure any free objects."

So much for surprise, Orrington thought.

The Cuttlefish Mk. II had finally given out and they had been lucky it had not taken out a third of the ship as well. Treacherous was now 15 seconds away form the Cybrid battle group. Orrington had been counting on getting within 4 seconds hoping that a preemptive assault would allow him to destroy at least one, maybe two ships. He still had the upper hand though. Despite their superior numbers and ability to withstand greater acceleration they were facing the opposite direction and in a steady orbit. That gave him more time to get into a favorable position. Treacherous all so boasted the new XGE engines that the techs had come up with on the journey back from Titan.

"Approaching weapons range in 4 seconds, request permission to fire."

"Fire."

Caanon's hand flailed out to grab the nearby handhold, but the ship suddenly lurched forward, causing him to misjudge the timing and continue flying forward over the vertical shaft he was aiming for. To his embarrassment, the lieutenant who had been leading him noticed his plight and grabbed onto of one of his combat boots and pulled him down. "Hold on there a minute, this would be the correct way sir." He said, jerking his head towards the brightly lift shaft. "You'll be wanting to go down that way. The control room is the entrance without a door light. It'll be marked with yellow letters." Contented that he had shown his "boss" where the door was, the lieutenant began making his way back to the bridge. Ignoring the obviously lax manner, Caanon quickly descended the 14 meters to the entrance of the control room.

The interior was dimly lit by fluorescent green lights, was empty except for a console in the center. On it was a pair of gray gloves with small silver lumps at each fingertip. Slipping the gloves on, he flexed his hands and immediately a holographic keyboard and lens appeared. Using his hands, he punched in the 8-digit code. He then stared into the lens for several seconds before a female voice intoned,

"Pass-code and retinal scan complete."

"Greetings Caanon Weathers, Airetech Command Nexus operational. All functions initialized. Link to your neural computer has been established."

Satisfied that the command nexus was operating correctly, he ordered it to perform a search for nearby O-Web and TDF satellites that were still operational. After 5 seconds the computer gave its reply.

"Search completed. 3 suitable hosts were discovered, override codes successful. Positioning first communication satellite over target area, positioning secondary satellite in auxiliary location."

"Excellent, hook-up with the rest of the fleet and give me a COM link to Starry Night."

With the communication lines established, Caanon would now be able to use the holotank as a command center with which to see all. Developed several years ago and quickly installed in the belly of the Treacherous, the holotank would allow him to monitor the battle and assist the ground commanders. Through his mind and before his eyes flowed a veritable river of data. Everything from exact positioning to the shield strength of individual Hercs was before him. Despite its power, the soldiers, including him, hated such devices because they gave too much control to the one using them. However, Caanon had decided that there lack of manpower had to be compensated for and the best way was better coordination and awareness. He would give directions, advice, and warnings, but generally he tried to stay the hell out of the way so the guys and girls who were actually there could work. Caanon brought his hand up and rotated it several degrees until the face of Alliance colonel Chris Walker appeared before him.

"Colonel, commence the drop the sequence. Once all the dropships have been released, go to the rendezvous point over Antarctica."

"Rodge', that sir, we will deliver! Starry Night is on the way."

As the Treacherous moved to engage the Cybrid forces the rest of the ships banked towards the earth in a rough delta formation. A wild assortment of vessels, they were all that the Alliance commanders had been able to retrofit to carry recovered TDF and Knight's Dropships on the long journey from Titan. Starry Night, a large carrier from the Mercury TDF, lead the way as the ungainly convoy skimmed the atmosphere over the skies of Africa. When Starry Night was directly over the capital city, Colonel Walker gave the order to open the bay doors. As the doors slid open, air-born water molecules flash frozen and rained out in a shower of diamonds. Massive loading hooks released their hold on the separate dropships and the autopilots maneuvered each craft down out of the bay. As the atmosphere thickened, the friction ignited the surrounding air. Multiple sonic booms ripped through the city below and those humans still alive looked up and saw hundreds of flares in the night sky.

Meanwhile, Caanon was floating over a miniature battlefield, trying to keep up with what was happening to the third Blood Pennant as they fought their way up a hill to destroy several Recluse tanks while all so attempting to guide several dropships blinded by sand to their correct LZ's. As he used his interface gloves to guide the last of the dropships, voices suddenly drifted into his thoughts, as if they were his own.

"This is Thunder Bird 6, Thunder Bird 6, the Toasters 'r counterattacking 'en masse at our position! Reqst...t...support!"

"Position Sat cameras over grid 4 and bring up Firemen and the Flyers on the secondary COM line."

"...done."

Using the powerful cameras he was able to vaguely see Thunder Bird 6's Dreadlock group as they leap-froged back under heavy fire from several Subjugators. He requested that the artillery provide immediate area saturation of the Cybrid position as well as bringing the few aerospace fighters available to bear against the new threat. Caanon had almost finished setting waypoints when a force spike seemed to suddenly jab into his forehead. The ground faded to the black of the holotank room as he doubled over, overcome with nausea. As the vertigo faded and pressure seemed to ease off his forehead and ears, the familiar voice of the Treacherous onboard intercom came to him.

"Recompression complete. Decks 4 and 5 breached. Bulkheads sealed"

Accessing the ship's main computer, Caanon looked the ship's damage control systems to try and survey the damage. What he saw was not good. The hull had been breached directly above him by Cybrid plasma. The bulkhead connecting the access shaft he had come down had been slagged; it couldn't seal itself. The back-up systems had immediately sealed the room, but not before an explosive decompression had occurred. The emergency recompression had been nearly as bad.

Caanon rested as he considered his choices. If the hull was breached that meant the shields had failed and another breach was a painfully real eventuality. He could look for a back route, but that would take time and it would badly handicap the ground forces.

No, better to stay here. I don't know my way around here well enough and if the assault on the city fails it won't matter whether Treacherous survives or not and besides… he thought with a wry smile, after sleeping in my Basilisk's cockpit for weeks I'm enjoying being upright too much to crawl through some ventilation duct.

Caanon began to chuckle inwardly as he recalled one of Bek's comments that he'd rub off on him some day, then he remembered that Harabec had never been his brother and his face and heart once again became cold.

Orrington's hands were beginning to freeze onto the sides of his crash chair. Each time Treacherous shuddered under enemy fire he would unconsciously grasp its sides. Orrington had seen death far too many times to be panicking or show overt fear, but the action seemed instinctual and he could never stop it. The sides of the first Cybrid cruiser flashed again and the Treacherous reeled under the physical energy from the Cybrid rail cannons.

"Our shields are dead sir! Hull breaches in Decks 4 and 5!"

"Critical damage?" asked Orrington, focusing on the officer's eyes, searching for the telltale signs of grim resignation or wild panic. He found none.

"No sir, but out shields need some time or else we're going to be Earth's newest satellite."

Orrington forced his grip to relax and quickly ran through his options.

He knew how precarious their situation was. While Treacherous had strong shields its armor was hardly half a meter thick in most areas, barely suitable for an assault frigate, much less a heavy cruiser. His only chance was to force the 'brids to match their speed and firepower directly to his in a direct confrontation. For, like the old Dreadnaughts of the sea, Treacherous's creators had sacrificed armor protection for firepower and a speed unheard of among ships her own mass.

Finally, a plan came to him. If the Cybrids did what he wanted there would be minimal chance of failure. However, even if they triumphed he was probably damning his ship to be a cripple for at least a month, perhaps even destruction. Of course, he still had to contend with random chance and lessened agility as a result from the cloak's extra mass.

Such is war, he thought.

"Helm, bring her starboard four-zero-zero-two degrees."

"Engineering, run the engines as hot as you can and divert all power from weapons and nonessential life-support to shields."

Several of the crew stared at him for a moment before snapping back to their duties. The maneuver would not only leave the still vulnerable transports open, but it would all so expose the unarmed stern of the ship to enemy fire. As Treacherous accelerated away towards the moon, the Cybrid ships altered the courses to open fire. Their volleys managed to reduce the shields to 8, but asTreacherous gained momentum they lost their firing angles and were forced to maneuver under Earths gravity. They lost more precious minutes when they were forced to wait for second cruiser, which had been mauled by the human's missiles. By the time they had regained formation the Treacherous was on the opposite side of the moon. They quickly repositioned themselves where they expected the human ship to come back. It appeared where predicted, but much faster then they had expected. Caught in a turn, only the two smaller ships were able get out of the way. Treacherous came right in front of the two heavy cruisers and unleashed every weapon it had in two massive salvos. Arching plasma, missiles, and MFAC rounds flashed through space. Their shields flickered white for an instant and then collapsed. Their exposed armor quickly withered under the firestorm. The first cruiser broke along its spine and the second one, already badly damaged, simply vaporized as its reactor went overloaded. The crew had no time to cheer though; as the two ships that had evaded their charge quickly recovered and began savaging Treacherous's already weakened shields. The armor was quickly breached in multiple places and the force of the suddenly free atmosphere venting threw the Treacherous into a random trajectories.

The bridge was a chaotic blur of motion and flashing lights. Orrington was forced to remove his now unconscious helmsman out of the way in order to steer the ship. Shouting at his XO to take charge, he ordered him to role the ship. The XO wrenched the controls as hard as he could and the Treacherous began a slow roll. The Cybrids were now in the line of the MFACs. With a clear shot the MFAC's slowly chewed their way through the corvette's shields. One shot managed a lucky hit to the reactor. The Cybrid ship went dead in space, not destroyed, but lacking the power to do anything. However, the Cybrid commander of the other corvette had been wiser and had hung further back, resisting the temptation for a quick kill. With several well-placed PBW salvos it managed to destroy one of the human's engine baffles. The Treacherous was now at the Cybrid's mercy. Orrington could only stare as the sides of the sides of the Cybrid ship began to glow white again, signaling the charge of the PBW's.

All this way, to die here so close to home and victory? No, we can't loose! I can't die!

The corvette's sides seemed to explode in white light

Christ and Hunter, what's happening now? Caanon wondered as the most violent quake yet rolled through the ship. The lights flashed and the Airetech Nexus reset itself. He willed his hands to move faster as he manipulated the electronic menus of the Treacherous's computer.

The engines are dead…oh God...

He was no sailor, but Caanon had known too many captains to not know what that did to them. Exiting the ships computer as fast as he could, he ordered the ground commander to take over for him. Having done so he used the ship's own sensors to locate the final Cybrid corvette while the Treacherous's guns finished the off the other. His mind examined every idea he could think of, but nothing worked. Then, in an instant, he knew what he had to do, or rather what someone else would have to do.

Ahhh…not again…I don't want another parent's child on my conscious…

He hung his head, but then resigned himself. Using the ship's auxilery COM arrays, he made a transmission to one of the Draco bombers.

Epilogue

With Treacherous about to be annihilated by the surviving Cybrid corvette, Caanon made a desperate move. Radioing the Draco bomber closest to the Cybrid vessel, he told the pilot what was going to happen: the Cybrid corvette would finish the Treacherous and proceed to attack the transports. Finishing he made a request of the pilot:

"That's what will happen….our only chance is that perhaps you might be able to deliver your Draco's nuclear warhead on the Cybrid bridge…..you know what that means…. I can't order you to do this, I can only ask."

The pilot listened in silence. She then shut off the communicator and sat in her thoughts. Making up her mind, she put the Draco into a 180 and left the battlefield. Seconds later, the Cybrid corvette decapitated the Treacherous with a burst from its PBW's. Satisfied, the ship turned on the fleeing transports. It would succeed in destroying half of the transports, but a desperate defense made by the converted freighter Oberwind Runner and the remaining snub-fighters finally succeeded in destroying the Cybrid ship. After making repairs and searching for any EV crewmembers, the convoy linked up with dropships bringing the men from the ground assault. Altogether there were 311 K.I.A. in the Assault on Nova Alexandria, including those onboard Treacherous and the transports. The ground forces broke the back of the Cybrid resistance, but it was a pyrrhic victory. Despite initially light casualties, Caanon's withdrawal from the role of overhead advisor allowed the invading force to be surprised. A group of Adjudicators backed by low-flying Advocates came through the suburbs to the northwest and savaged the human's rear lines, bringing casualties up to 298. 13 would later die of critical injuries because of the delay of the transports. Of all the units participating, Treacherous fared the worst. All of the officers were dead, including Captain Orrington. Other than Caanon, there were 5 other crewmembers that survived by reaching an escape shuttle. In order of rank they were

Ensigns: Scott Schufield, Rudolf Liebowitz
Specialist Timarus Sa-Yuros
Able Seaman Adam Tepestra

Caanon was later rescued from the sealed holotank room and he promptly returned to his normal command. The Draco's pilot, Airman Amanda Reglay, was court marshaled by a military tribunal several months after the battle's events became known on charges of cowardice and insubordination. The initial decision was death, even though the defense argued that she had never been ordered, but was instead offered a choice. The death penalty was quickly dropped, however, and Miss Reglay returned to serve in the reserves because of pressing manpower needs. Caanon was called on by the prosecution to appeal her release, but he declined.

Afterword

The Assault on Nova Alexandria was quickly forgotten in the wake of the following victories and the liberation of human space from the Cybrid menace. It probably would've become another footnote in history if not for an unlikely event and the news media. Shortly after being named Emperor, Caanon embarked on a tour of the existing shipyards and major military bases. Midway through the tour he arrived at the Vargas Military Institute on Mars, but he was unable to enter because of a crowd of several hundred disgruntled veterans had assembled in order to waylay him. Later reports said most were angry because they're pensions and continuing medical benefits had been lost in the transition of the new government. They began by simply taunting the Emperor, but as he tried to force his way through, they blocked the entrance to the Institute and began throwing empty liquor bottles, rocks, and even a Molotov cocktail. The Royal Bodyguards would have opened fired, but the Emperor intervened. Caanon turned to the veterans said,

"I'm sorry for what has happened to you. However, you throwing your half drunk liquor bottles at me won't help your situations."

He then dismissed them with characteristic coldness and walked through the mob. They let him pass, but when he had reached the gates one of the protesters ran forward and spit at his back. As the Emperor turned, the man quietly raged,

"You backstabbing son of bitch. How many more men do you need throw down to the gutter, TO SCRAPE OUT A LIVING ON THE SCRAPS YOU THROW DOWN?" Not waiting for the answer he continued, "It's on the corpses of the Colonies and men like us that you've climbed up to your golden chair. So what are you going to do now my liege? Gonna go inspect the new the bloods eh? Or maybe give a nice lil' speech about how we all out to throw our lives away for the glorious Empire? We'll have I got NEWS for you! I remember Sau-Thauri where you decided in your nobility to wait to the last moment, I remember listening to my dying friend curse your decision to leave the dying at the battle of Golan Heights, I remember how you hung us out to dry at Nova Alexandria just so you could.."

The man never finished. Caanon reached out with his left hand and physically lifted the man off the ground by the neck, choking him as the astounded bystanders watched. After several seconds passed, a seemly shocked Caanon dropped the man. He stared into the crowd for a second, then left.