Hiigara. Our home.

@fleet-command

Karen S'jet - Fleet Command, the Mothership, and the last of her people, travelling the stars to reclaim their homeworld. (( Independent multifandom RP blog for Karen S'jet, and the Mothership Fleet from the Homeworld series. Please read the rules before RPing. Otherwise, know I am willing to RP with anyone. I track fleetcommand. If you don't know what Homeworld is, fear not! I have a recap page that will allow you to attain a basic understanding. ))

33 posts

Karen relaxed as the Mothership Fleet drifted through space. She wouldn’t get many more opportunities to - they were going to invade Hiigara within the next 24 hours and take their home back.

Their birthright would be theirs.

Of course, in the middle of those happy thoughts is when Karan felt something land inside her. She was the Mothership; she felt every part of it, but something felt a bit off.

She zeroed in on it in her mind’s eye, and found someone wearing very, very old clothing - it looked almost Manaani, around the time they’d ended the Heresy Wars - standing in one of the maintenance hallways. Oh well. It wasn’t her place to question.

It was an easy task to wire herself into the speakers. Her voice came from everywhere, yet she was nowhere in sight.

"Hello. You are currently in one of my maintenance hallways. I will light a path to the elevators."

The sides of the floor lit up, bright beams of light that stretched on and then turned right. There were still two more hallways that one could meander down if they felt like exploring - devoid of the bright, directional lighting strips.

warmxsmile-deactivated20250112

Luna shrunk back at the voice like a frightened animal, she was already in very unfamiliar territory and a voice coming from seemingly nowhere only confused and scared her further.

“Uhm…okay…thank you…ah…this is a very nice place you have here, much cleaner than anywhere I’ve been.”

Her lids lowered as the bright light flooded her eyes, they were keen things but sensitive, they needed a moment to adjust to the new stimulus. Blinking she swivelled her head around, careful to not dwell on the sources of light.

She padded down the hallway, even with boots her noises were nothing but soft thanks to light footsteps and a gentle demeanour. An elevator was a strange thing to mention, the only ones she’d seen were out of order due to lack of attention from pre-war times. Judging from what she’d seen so far everything seemed to be working fine, would this mean she’d be able to go on a working elevator?

A lack of light in a direction caught her eye and she stopped in her tracks, turning ever so slightly towards it. This place was so new and for someone who barely knew what caution was each new direction was bound to have something fun in it so she took a few hesitant steps down the dark hallway, eyes open for any new surprises.

Karen quietly watched the intruder walk among her hallways. She was quiet - she stepped almost as though she was tiptoeing, despite the fact she was wearing clothes that wouldn't look too out-of-place in a Heresy Wars vid drama.

As she turned down the dark hallway, Karen gently reminded her that "That path does not lead to the nearest elevator." That having been said, she lit the path - revealing more maintenance tunnels.

#asktrooperluna #fleetcommand #(( I apologize in turn for how long it took me to respond #Got a lil' busy ))

As Karen scouted around, noticing exactly how screwed they were and choosing to ignore Fleet Intelligence as the poor bastard took on the task of introducing the Kushan to the new world they had landed in, she managed to connect to the Assault Frigate they had lost.

It didn’t have very much power - emergency batteries, just enough to power the distress signal. But she could definitely route through to see if any of the loudspeakers were working. From the looks of things, salvage ships were hovering around the Assault Frigate.

Karen successfully wired herself into the speakers on the Frigate, wondering if she hadn’t already subconsciously done so, and spoke.

What she intended to say was “You are trespassing on Kushan property. I request you leave and allow us to collect it.”

What came through to Jet was the same alien language that the distress signal in the ship was in. It sounded female, and somewhat human if you squinted a bit.

theswordsmanofurdnot-deactivate

He forgot his pistol back home. A huge mistake because if this entity was going to cause harm on him, he’d have no defensive methods.

"Who are the Kushan? And why are you invading the Citadel?"

The Krogan asked, demanding answers. Still keeping his cool, but still sounding serious; even if he knew nothing of this race or nation. The only thing illuminating the ship was the sparks and the damaged areas.

The loudspeakers were also kind of rustic for a ship of this era. These ships were apparently primitive on design and construction.

His Omni-Tool was able to translate this somehow, the number of languages on the database was quite high apparently.

"Show yourself. Maybe I can consider leaving this Ship for C-Sec to investigate instead of me looting it."

Karen paused for several seconds longer than she had any right to. The Mothership Fleet was inches away from being destroyed, and here was an alien - a bona fide alien - speaking to her in her native tongue.

The Extranet search stopped. Whatever impossibility had provided for this, she had to take it by the reigns. Karen S'jet was not going to let the Fleet be destroyed.

"...to explain who we are would take quite some time, and I would like to exchange pleasantries beforehand. My name is Karen S'jet - I am Fleet Command of the Mothership Fleet. We are not invading this 'Citadel' - we were following the path of the ship you are currently in - a damaged Vengeance-class Assault Frigate - and it appeared to end up near the space station."

"I cannot show myself at the time, as I am currently located inside a biotank onboard the Mothership, plugged into it to act as its central computer. Look for the biggest ship."

#urdnotjextor #fleetcommand #(( Sorry it took so long to make this #I got kinda busy ))

Karen smiled inside the biotank. “Good. I am currently finding a room for you. We have.. unfortunate vacancies. Many have died so far on our current mission.”

The two soldiers nodded to Isaac and began walking into the egress hallway, their rifles being lackadaisacally held in one hand. The rest of the soldiers followed Isaac as he left the biotank. The hallway was apparently full of what looked like remotely extendable cover, flush with the floor, designed to give the Mothership’s defenders - and her defenders only - an advantage in a fight.

As they approached the door to the bridge - itself a smaller version of the steel biotank chamber doors, already open - mechanical grinding became audible as the biotank chamber doors closed. With another hiss, the hermetic sealant reactivated, and Karen S’jet was now sealed off from the outside world.

cunicularius-blog

He kept silent, it was the only thing he could do unfortunately—it was to keep silent. His surroundings confused him, the soldiers confused him, and everything around him. He would have a room for himself at the moment but that didn’t answer many of his questions, many questions that he swallowed, and many questions that couldn’t be answered.

So far though, he sensed no threats, so he could be thankful for that, right? Still, his stomach refuse to settle but Isaac could only blame that on his nerves.

The bridge doors opened with a hiss, and instead of a bloody, Necromorph-infested hellscape, Isaac was greeted with the pleasant sight of a fully staffed - if large starship bridge.

In the center of the bridge, the most easily visible thing was a massive three-dimensional holotank that appeared to beep in time with periodic pulses from the center - and at the center was a strangely shaped starship taller than it was long.

Surrounding the massive object - likely to be the Mothership itself - were several other ships best described as "massive floating steel boxes that looked intimidatingly armed", and a larger amount of significantly smaller ships. Dots represented contacts that were moving too fast to be capital ships - likely corvettes or shuttlecraft.

And that was just the holotank. There were terminals of almost every type dotting at least five different levels surrounding the tank, each staffed, and you could barely hear someone think over the reports on the bridge - likely to do with keeping track of the massive fleet the Mothership had gathered.

"This is the bridge area," filtered in Karen's voice. Everyone took a moment to look around, then noticed Isaac and the special forces teams next to the biotank doors had returned. Most of them sighing in relief, they returned to their stations.

#cunicularius #fleetcommand #(( Sorry for taking so long #I got busy with other things ))

theswordsmanofurdnot-deactivate

fleet-command:

"…We are currently receiving calls to identify ourselves from several hundred different contacts, all of which are mobilizing and powering up unknown weapons systems. I believe I have made a mistake."

Everyone on the Mothership’s bridge stared out at the supermassive space station before them - larger, it seemed, than the great Scaffold that had held the Mothership in place while it was being constructed over Kharak.

And the fleet that was quickly mobilizing to defend it.

Most of them were in disbelief over the fact that Karan S’jet herself had said she’d made a mistake.

"All ships, begin consuming RUs immediately to overcharge hyperdrives. I believe we have to leave soon."

The voice inside the ship made Jextor to stop and quickly look around, there was apparently no one, or so he thought. The ship was dark on the inside and he didn’t know what kind of voice was this.

Not only on the surveilance was the ship noticed, but it was seen by the nearby civillians too. Though they were scared because it was a design not very known by the Alliance.

The Krogan steadily proceeded to see some dimly lit parts of the ship.

"Whose voice is this…?"

As Karen scouted around, noticing exactly how screwed they were and choosing to ignore Fleet Intelligence as the poor bastard took on the task of introducing the Kushan to the new world they had landed in, she managed to connect to the Assault Frigate they had lost.

It didn't have very much power - emergency batteries, just enough to power the distress signal. But she could definitely route through to see if any of the loudspeakers were working. From the looks of things, salvage ships were hovering around the Assault Frigate.

Karen successfully wired herself into the speakers on the Frigate, wondering if she hadn't already subconsciously done so, and spoke.

What she intended to say was "You are trespassing on Kushan property. I request you leave and allow us to collect it."

What came through to Jet was the same alien language that the distress signal in the ship was in. It sounded female, and somewhat human if you squinted a bit.

#(( Don't worry #I can overcome the language barrier ))#urdnotjextor #fleetcommand

warmxsmile-deactivated20250112

She flexed her hand, blinking down at them as the haze subsided from her vision. Had she set off a pulse grenade or something? If she had then why was she no longer in the desert? A tap on the polished floor with her boot affirmed this, shaking a small amount of dust from the Mojave from it. “Uhm…hello?” she called out “I’m sorry if I’m intruding here but I think I’m lost.”

Karen relaxed as the Mothership Fleet drifted through space. She wouldn't get many more opportunities to - they were going to invade Hiigara within the next 24 hours and take their home back.

Their birthright would be theirs.

Of course, in the middle of those happy thoughts is when Karan felt something land inside her. She was the Mothership; she felt every part of it, but something felt a bit off.

She zeroed in on it in her mind's eye, and found someone wearing very, very old clothing - it looked almost Manaani, around the time they'd ended the Heresy Wars - standing in one of the maintenance hallways. Oh well. It wasn't her place to question.

It was an easy task to wire herself into the speakers. Her voice came from everywhere, yet she was nowhere in sight.

"Hello. You are currently in one of my maintenance hallways. I will light a path to the elevators."

The sides of the floor lit up, bright beams of light that stretched on and then turned right. There were still two more hallways that one could meander down if they felt like exploring - devoid of the bright, directional lighting strips.

#asktrooperluna #(( Sorry for taking so long to get to this ))#fleetcommand

The Defender

A Shield Mk. 3B in flight, engaging its targets with its three rotary mass drivers.

In some cases the Mothership is defenseless. Maybe her escort cordon has been blasted apart, maybe she just got caught in a bad place at a bad time. In any event, the last line of defense for the Mothership is its many squadrons of Shield Mk. 3B Defenders.

A flight of Shields. Their gun pods are retracted, to protect them from unnecessary damage.

Shields were some of the first pure offensive fighters built. While they were significantly slower than Arrows, their more numerous guns allowed them to project slightly more firepower onto their targets. Their hull design remained economical, yet practical, allowing the Kushan navy to field relatively large numbers of these fighters. The Mk. 3B contains slight upgrades to targeting and guns, allowing the Shield to continue service.

Another Shield Mk. 3B, about to fire on another target. Note the extended gun pods.

As the Blade Mk. V Interceptor came into service Shields were relegated to fleet defense. They aren't often seen guarding Resource Collectors or Controllers - that dubious honor goes to the Arrows and Cavalier light corvettes - but Defenders are often seen swarming around supercapital ships or the Mothership, utilizing sheer numbers to overwhelm all comers. In addition, a speedy production time means they are often flung into battle to buy time for other ships to emerge from the Mothership's PDAs.

A lone Shield Mk. 3B in flight, gun pods retracted. Other strikecraft are visible in the background.

Shield pilots, unlike the experienced aces at the controls of Arrows or Blades, or the specialized pilots of the Spectre cloaked fighters or Thunderbolts, tend to be either veteran pilots on their last ergs before retirement, and trainees who need more experience. Oftentimes, a new pilot's worth will be proven in a baptism of fire - as they, and their slow but powerful Shield Mk. 3B - stand between the end of the Kushan and the enemy before them.

#The Ships of the Kushan #Homeworld #Defender #(( All pictures circa Homeworld Shipyards ))

urdnot-jextor has jumped into the system.

The voices were more audible the closest Jet got. It appeared to be a distress signal - though in no known language of the Council races.

Indeed, the vehicle looked deceptively simple for its scale. It was boxy, utilitarian, yet clearly massive. It was most definitely - for the most part - without power, however.

Whatever this was, it was a ghost of its former glory - with a scarred hull, debris drifting around it, and holes peppering the thing, it was dead.

So what killed it?

theswordsmanofurdnot-deactivate

The Krogan only decided to sneak inside, making sure no officers or civillians tried to get a glimpse of him. It was dark, the air locks seemed to have a very old design. These ships were either concepts or obsolete vessels.

Inside, the smell wasn’t any pleasing, the ship’s environment seemed to be filled with gunpowder or something, sometimes even toxic. Jextor tried to cover his mouth and nose before inhaling too much, it might damage his lungs, he needs to be careful.

"What… What exactly is this ship…?"

The smell seemed to be the usual smell of a stricken ship; all the fluids and air leaking just about everywhere.

The vehicle did indeed look somewhat old; likely obsolete.

Then it happened. A massive series of around eighty to a hundred rectangular gates appeared near the Citadel; they seemed ethereal in quality, like a hole into another dimension. By the time Jex's vacuum audio systems had decided on the proper sound to play they had already appeared, and were pulling back to reveal ships.

Blocky, massive, ships. Each one of them sharing similar design aesthetics - some of them looking like the stricken ship. In the middle; a massive ship that stretched about three-quarters of the Citadel in height, looking not unlike a massive banana.

----

"...We are currently receiving calls to identify ourselves from several hundred different contacts, all of which are mobilizing and powering up unknown weapons systems. I believe I have made a mistake."

Everyone on the Mothership's bridge stared out at the supermassive space station before them - larger, it seemed, than the great Scaffold that had held the Mothership in place while it was being constructed over Kharak.

And the fleet that was quickly mobilizing to defend it.

Most of them were in disbelief over the fact that Karan S'jet herself had said she'd made a mistake.

"All ships, begin consuming RUs immediately to overcharge hyperdrives. I believe we have to leave soon."

#urdnotjextor #fleetcommand

"I assure you that I am not joking. I am currently floating in a biotank, inside a sealed room. To you, I appear to have little going for me besides the tank. What would I have to lose by misinforming you?"

As the soldiers arrived, Karen picked up Isaac’s unease as easily as he would have picked up credits. She quietly talked to the soldiers via their communications pieces. Soldier Domhnall, Soldier Azel, please exercise caution around our guest. He appears to not trust members of the armed forces that well. Two “Rogers” sounded off, before Karen redirected her attention to Isaac.

"Domhnall and Azel will lead you through the biotank egress hallway, which leads to the bridge. From there, you will be directed across the Mothership, mostly via elevators."

cunicularius-blog

"Mothership…" Many, many questions bloomed but he didn’t receive enough answers, but it wasn’t his place to question for now at least. He had no choice, at least, that his moment he didn’t. They didn’t do anything to him, and if they wanted to…they would’ve by now…right?

"Alright, lead the way…" He gulped, his Adam’s apple bopping as he did so. With one final, shaky breath, his arms relaxed at his sides. "I’ll go."

Karen smiled inside the biotank. "Good. I am currently finding a room for you. We have.. unfortunate vacancies. Many have died so far on our current mission."

The two soldiers nodded to Isaac and began walking into the egress hallway, their rifles being lackadaisacally held in one hand. The rest of the soldiers followed Isaac as he left the biotank. The hallway was apparently full of what looked like remotely extendable cover, flush with the floor, designed to give the Mothership's defenders - and her defenders only - an advantage in a fight.

As they approached the door to the bridge - itself a smaller version of the steel biotank chamber doors, already open - mechanical grinding became audible as the biotank chamber doors closed. With another hiss, the hermetic sealant reactivated, and Karen S'jet was now sealed off from the outside world.

#cunicularius #fleetcommand #(( Is okay so long as I get the reply #I will remember to reply #though ))

The Attack Bomber

A Thunderbolt in flight. Visible are the cockpit and the prow-mounted plasma bomb launcher.

In the world of strikecraft, there is no doubt that the most effective fighter versus capital ships is the Thunderbolt attack bomber. A wing of Thunderbolts are capable of bringing even Carriers to their knees, provided they are given proper escort.

The rear of the Thunderbolt. The drive exhaust - as well as the ion trail left by all Kushan strikecraft - are visible.

Light and Heavy Corvettes, while still killing Taiidani capital ships, were taking serious damage at their hands - the Corvette divisions were reporting over 75% casualties per engaged target. Fleet Intelligence immediately put towards R&D the requirement for an effective anti-capital strikecraft that would be capable of dealing high damage while avoiding their guns.

The same Thunderbolt, from the sideon. Picture taken during flight testing.

A heavy mass driver caused severe structural fractures that eventually resulted in the vehicle simply disintegrating in-flight - however, a young officer looked over the captured Kudaark assault frigates and discovered something that would work - their plasma bomb launchers. Affixed to a fighter, and using the fighter's own reaction plasma to fuel the bomb, the Thunderbolt was developed in a short program that, during development, inadvertenly exposed six testing decks to hard vacuum. In its first real fight, the Thunderbolt took 100% casualties, but crippled the hostile target - a Carrier - so badly a flight of Arrows was capable of finishing the job.

A flight of Thunderbolts. Visible are Blade Mk. Vs and Arrows running escort duty.

The Thunderbolt's plasma bomb launcher vents reactor plasma into a magnetic containment bottle; the bottle vents some of its own plasma for propulsion, and on impact the impacting side of the field collapses first - venting the plasma onto hull. Such a weapon has made the Thunderbolt rather ungainly - and its intrusiveness into the vehicle has made the attack bomber unable to mount other self-defense weapons. As such, Thunderbolts are commonly found attacking capital ships with an escort of Blade Mk. Vs and Arrows for anti-fighter defense.

#The Ships of the Kushan #Homeworld #Attack Bomber #(( All pictures circa Homeworld Shipyards ))

urdnot-jextor has jumped into the system.

The Assault Frigate - mostly because it had no power to - made no attempts to avoid detection. It simply hovered there.

——

"…and when we arrived near the Mothership, the Sorataami was missing. I think we managed to track its hyperspace co-ordinates… it was headed somewhere else. Out of the universe."

Karen listened to the story from the Sorataami’s former captain. Fleet Intelligence took a moment to respond.

"Telemetry shows that the frigate indeed took a course that is not analogous with our current understanding of hyperspace. Its hyperspace core still had power. Our recent misjump has confirmed that this can be emulated by disabling all safety limiters and overcharging the hyperspace core."

Karen reacted. “We can easily build another Assault Frigate, but I would like to find out where our lost ship ended up. We only need to appear for the time it takes to overcharge our hyperdrives and return to our current course. Seeing as we would have no contact with the outgoing ships, I would suggest moving the entire fleet with us.”

There was quiet on the bridge for several minutes. “If you deem that an acceptable risk.”

"It is. All ships, dock. Stand by for jump to hyperspace."

theswordsmanofurdnot-deactivate

The Krogan only decided to get closer to it, it stopped, sometimes it looked ancient or even obsolete. A deisgn that was quite old or looked old it sometimes looked simple. Nothing too elaborated for something to be used in a war of the big scale it might have faced.

"Just what exactly is this thing…?"

He also heard some voices inside, electronic like, if it was from an AI or something.

There was something of this ship that wasn’t right at all. It even chilled Jextor’s spine a bit.

The voices were more audible the closest Jet got. It appeared to be a distress signal - though in no known language of the Council races.

Indeed, the vehicle looked deceptively simple for its scale. It was boxy, utilitarian, yet clearly massive. It was most definitely - for the most part - without power, however.

Whatever this was, it was a ghost of its former glory - with a scarred hull, debris drifting around it, and holes peppering the thing, it was dead.

So what killed it?

#urdnotjextor #fleetcommand #(( Karen will actually arrive next post ))

quietparagon-deactivated2016120

Circumstance || @fleet-command

Unknown anomalies. How many times had Shepard heard that? Too many to count and she hoped that it wouldn’t end up like all the other times. With gunfire and explosions. Though, the hope was small, Shepard wasn’t really lucky enough for anything else.

Rolling armored shoulders with a sigh, gloved fingers gently tapped Joker’s shoulder. The signal to go ahead and he did with little argument. Expression remained neutral and impassive as the familiar slight pull and jerk of the relay took hold. The Commander was chasing an odd signal. An unknown anomaly in this sector, one that didn’t read like anybody else’s. Confusing even EDI.

As the Normandy juts towards the signal, a mix of the visual display and EDI’s confirmation of what they were seeing in the distance. An unknown fleet. One Shepard could not identify clearly. None that looked familiar.

A frown etched her brow. “Get them on a COMM line, EDI.” Voice clear and stern went silent as she watched her crew work to do as she ordered.

The fleet looked massive. Mostly in ship size, however.

The vehicles currently within visual distance seemed to have a very boxy, chunky look to them as they hovered around the system, for reasons currently unknown to anyone in the galaxy but themselves. Of course, sensors would show a different scale.

There was a massive element zero vent in the next thousand kilometres. It matched the vents that had rarely - if ever - been seen when a Reaper had been destroyed. Several hundred clicks past that was a ship.

It was currently surrounded by a shield of at least twelve near dreadnought-size class ships, and the ship itself was five kilometres long. It put the Reaper to shame, quite simply. The dreadnoughts appeared to be moving around the ship, albeit slowly.

Of course, of quicker note several kilometres away was something that looked somewhat like a shield. It didn't seem to have weapons equipment on it.

----

"Support Frigates, please repair the Sajuuk-Khar."

The unknown ship had entered the system and closed in on one of their harvesting operations. The Resource Collector, as per protocol, had headed away while the fighters prepared for escort.

The vehicle had caught up to them and used a beam weapon to destroy all of them in a single shot. She had sent in a hunter-killer pack in response - ten Ion Cannon Frigates and ten Assault Frigates clustered around two Destroyers, two Missile Destroyers, and a Heavy Cruiser. She spread the ships out, so that thing's beam wouldn't be able to destroy them.

The Reaper had blasted apart the Missile Destroyer with its beam - perfectly placed, it had seared apart all of the armor and pierced the fusion reactor - before the rest of the capital ships responded with their ion cannons. Strangely, while the mass drivers seemed to have zero effect - being stopped by an energy shield - the ion cannons had managed to pierce through the shield, and under the withering fire of sixteen of them, the superdreadnought had fallen.

She had come very close to salvaging it when she felt... something coming from the corpse. Karen wasn't too sure what it was or how she had sensed it - and moreover, whether or not it was just a hunch, or if being hooked up to the ancient hyperspace core in the Mothership actually let her sense strange things. She immediately called off the salvaging operation and set up several sensor arrays, supported by a cordon of probes.

The harvesting operations were slightly more heavily guarded now.

All was quiet - if tense - when Fleet Intelligence spoke up. "Unidentified ship has been picked up by Sensor Array 12. Much like previous contact, it is not analogous with known ship designs, being significantly larger than a Corvette, but smaller than a Frigate. Ship is not emitting heat, and does not appear to be affiliated - by design or by communications - with the same ship that destroyed one of our Resource Collectors."

Karen thought for a split second. "Make no attempt to contact them. They are likely here to investigate our presence in the system, and they will likely make contact of their own accord."

She settled in for what would hopefully be a short wait.

#(( Longpost is loooooooooong ))#quietparagon #fleetcommand

The Interceptor

A Blade Mk. V, in formation with another.

When it comes to fighter combat, the Blade Mk. V interceptor is generally the vehicle of choice for Kushan fighter pilots. While there is still hot debate over whether or not the Blade or the Arrow are better in a dogfight, it is undeniable that most Kushan commanders use Blades in the space superiority role.

Rear of a Blade Mk. V, showcasing the fighter's plasma drive.

The Blade itself was a disaster from the start that almost never made it to production. Fleet Intelligence had saddled R&D with far too many demands for a single fighter - atmospheric capability, hardpoints, upgraded engines - and the first four Blades, while capable of performing multiple roles, did not excel in any of them. The Mk. III and Mk. IV, in particular, were subject to rather... explosive failures.

A Blade Mk. V guards a Providence-class Resource Collector - an oddity, as this duty is normally handed off to Scouts.

The Blade Mk. V came when one of the Blade test pilots and an engineer redesigned the vehicle; cutting away the wings and bonding them to the hull. This resulted in a Blade that fufilled everything Fleet Intel asked - besides atmospheric and hardpoint capability - and it had most importantly made the Blade capable of flying without self-detonation. The rest of the Mothership Fleet has not let their pilots get away with this - even Karen herself has sometimes called Interceptor pilots "Bomb Jockeys".

A Blade Mk. V fires on a target with its twin mass drivers.

While the Blade Mk. V is less maneuverable than an Arrow - this is a fact - it is a much hardier fighter; its additional armor lets it withstand greater, harder amounts of hits, and its rotary mass drivers are more powerful, allowing the Blade to hit harder, too. Interceptors are commonly found in the thick of the action - attacking and destroying enemy fighters and Corvettes, as well as guarding non-combat Corvettes, non-combat vehicles, and Attack Bombers.

#The Ships of the Kushan #Homeworld #Interceptor #(( All pictures circa Homeworld Shipyards ))

"I do believe you do not want trouble. Any hostile intruder to the biotank would not have bothered with a conversation beyond the basics." It was at that point Karen noticed she was not moving her mouth.

She had to get into the business of doing that. It’d freak him out less.

"I regret to inform you that I am not sure of how to get home. As for where you are, you are currently onboard the Mothership. The special forces teams will arrive shortly; I can give you a tour after you have left the bridge."

There was the cracking hiss that could only be hermetic seals unsealing; and the massive doors to the biotank chamber opened. They revealed at least thirty soldiers in full combat gear carrying what appeared to be railgun rifles; true to what Karen said, they were held at rest.

Karen’s arm lifted and pointed to the two in front, who stepped into the biotank chamber. “Domhnall Soban and Azel Soban will be your escorts for the time being. You are human, so for now I can let you wander the ship freely - with them at your side, of course - for a time before Fleet Intelligence requests an interview.”

cunicularius-blog

He simply watched the stranger, squinting at her, feeling woozy, and his hand pressed at the side of his forehead as he listened to her words. "Are…are you joking?" Or was he simply dreaming again? But if he was here then it seemed he had no choice.

At the sound of the hissing, the sight of the massive doors opening, and the sight of the group of soldiers, he immediately felt his stomach sink. This was a sight that came to be a terrible one for him, a sight he was often used to seeing though the soldiers in question were always hostile toward him. Obviously, this group was different, but it still brought back some unpleasant memories.

"A-are you sure?" Again, this only made him feel just slightly uncomfortable, even more so with soldiers at his side. Nonetheless, Isaac took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind as his emotions. "Alright, alright, fine."

"I assure you that I am not joking. I am currently floating in a biotank, inside a sealed room. To you, I appear to have little going for me besides the tank. What would I have to lose by misinforming you?"

As the soldiers arrived, Karen picked up Isaac's unease as easily as he would have picked up credits. She quietly talked to the soldiers via their communications pieces. Soldier Domhnall, Soldier Azel, please exercise caution around our guest. He appears to not trust members of the armed forces that well. Two "Rogers" sounded off, before Karen redirected her attention to Isaac.

"Domhnall and Azel will lead you through the biotank egress hallway, which leads to the bridge. From there, you will be directed across the Mothership, mostly via elevators."

#cunicularius #fleetcommand

"I’ll make sure to smack Senij up the side of the head for putting the dent in your fighter bay the other day. Bet you felt that one," she said with a laugh.

"No need," replied Karen, "though I'll keep eyes on Strikecraft Bay 12 in case that happens. I've gotten worse - it is rather unpleasant to be shot at by Turanic ion array frigates, to say the least."

#catomanaan #fleetcommand

"Just wanted to hear those words come from your mouth, er, speakers. Neural Interface?" Cato attempted to scratch her head in confusion, but then remembered that her flight helmet was on, and in fact, almost never took it off.

"How exactly do you talk in that giant tank anyway?"

"To you? Voice files being transferred across a radio link. There are speakers onboard the Mothership I can directly route my voice through."

Cato was not the only one to voice this curiosity. The new generation of Kushan children - growing up in the Mothership - had asked many questions of her.

"While we’re on the subject, what’s it like being hooked up to a computer?" she asked as she narrowly dodged an asteroid at mach 5. "just call me curious"

"...It is not exactly describable. But to put it in the simplest terms I can; I am the Mothership. Every inch of armor plating and every construction track. If things must be so, I can control every ship in the fleet from here. If the Mothership must move, I will it."

"It also changes how you think about things. The largest ships we've built out here are insignificant even to me. And even in my size, there are still things larger than I. I apologize if it's strange-sounding, but as I have said, it is tough to describe to one not similarly unbound."

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"Just wanted to hear those words come from your mouth, er, speakers. Neural Interface?" Cato attempted to scratch her head in confusion, but then remembered that her flight helmet was on, and in fact, almost never took it off.

"How exactly do you talk in that giant tank anyway?"

"To you? Voice files being transferred across a radio link. There are speakers onboard the Mothership I can directly route my voice through."

Cato was not the only one to voice this curiosity. The new generation of Kushan children - growing up in the Mothership - had asked many questions of her.

#catomanaan #fleetcommand

"Just taking her out for a nice evening drive, Ma’am," she said as she relaxed a little. "Of course, a nice evening drive for me is at mach 7 through an asteroid field. Have to keep those reactions up somehow"

"Of course. Be wary of your reactant levels, Pilot Cato, though I am sure you know this. I would hate to have to task a Porter crew with returning your fuelless Scout."

Karan smiled inside her biotank. Her Scout pilots were getting practice. That was good.

They would certainly need it, for the day ahead was to be cruel.

"Don’t worry, she’ll get back in one piece," she said with a chuckle. No longer starstruck, she resumed her zero-G meandering, though at a much more casual speed.

Still, there was one question that had been rattling around in her skull, it had in fact been the reason she went out flying today, and now seemed like the best time to get an answer.

"Ma’am, do you really think we’ll make it to Hiigara?"

"Yes."

Karan spoke without hesitation and without skipping a beat. She also spoke with the utmost conviction.

"We will make it to Hiigara. The hyperspace inhibitor will be destroyed, and we will mop up the Taiidani fleet and reclaim our homeworld. There are no other options available to us."

"We have come this far. We have accomplished so much. We will succeed."

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