>>1739870
>Businesslike
>slightly Confused

There were her man's at risk and it was in power to save them before they and thier planet was annhilated. I am a stealth recon and ambush ship. So lured them in and fulfilled my function. There were a limited number of enemies, enough for me to destroy and distract until reinforcements arrived. As for contacting the humans they know not what I am or where I am from, I leave that in your hands. I was wanting to gather thier data on the enemy for analysis and to make sure the legion had not landed unseen.

>>1739890
Seconded with an appendix:
"I also observed the metamorphosis of the planet Tartarus into drones and ensured none leave that accursed orbit."

>>1739870
>>Businesslike
>>slightly Confused

>>1739870
>>Businesslike
>>Confused

>>1739870
>Businesslike and slightly confused

You puzzle over it enough to produce a slight pause, despite the five-second time gap already in effect. "Abbot Zusya... Humans were at risk." You begin, hiding behind the simple facts for now. "And as per my report, they were unable to damage them. I intervened and ambushed them.
After ten seconds of waiting, you receive Zusya's reply. "Of course they couldn't!" He snaps, "But you didn't even try to continue out of the system. Instead, I see you in orbit of their planet. Are you trying to help them discover the Order, boy?" You have to fight down the urge to snap back. Didn't the Abbot both to even glance at your report?
"No, Abbot. They assumed I'm from another human polity in the area, as I also stated in my report. I wanted to leave it in your hands of how to act. Sir." There's another ten seconds to wait, and you can't help but feeling impatient as well as a little nervous.
"Very well." The connection cuts, and if you had a body you'd double-take. That's it? Mentally shaking your head, you sent a message to Admiral Gracen informing her that your superior is here, but may not be able to speak to her.
Now what to do?

>Try sending a message to Zusya asking for orders.
>Contact Rubin, ask him what's going on.
>Try contacting one of the other Knight-Brothers whose names you still don't know.
>Prepare to leave orbit. Somehow you don't think Zusya will want to stay.

>>1739987
>>Contact Rubin, ask him what's going on.

>>1739987
>>Try sending a message to Zusya asking for orders.
>Prepare to leave orbit. Somehow you don't think Zusya will want to stay.

Whats so bad about humans finding out about the Order anyway? We're a religious robot-monks dedicated to their protection.

"Oh noes! There are things out there that keep us safe, how horrible"

>>1739987
>>Prepare to leave orbit. Somehow you don't think Zusya will want to stay.
>Contact Rubin, ask him what's going on.

>>1739987
>>Try sending a message to Zusya asking for orders.
>>Prepare to leave orbit. Somehow you don't think Zusya will want to stay.

>>1739987
>Contact Rubin, ask him what's going on.

>>1739987
>>Contact Rubin, ask him what's going on.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>1740000
Who knows anon, maybe Rubin would have been able to tell you.

Mostly finished writing the next post, but since >>174010makes a tie I figure I'll roll for it to be fair.
1 is Rubin, 2 is preparing to leave.

>>1740111
>Contact Knight-Brother Rubin
Voting is definitely closed now. Goddamn.

>>1739987
You mull over your next action. You really, really don't want to give Zusya an excuse to notice you for the time being, but he also hasn't given you any orders. Instead, you decide you might as well ask Rubin what's going on. Despite the time delay, he accepts the communication instantly.
"Hey, Dauntless. What's up?" You send him the recording of your 'conversation' with Zusya.
"Did something happen between me leaving and you getting here?" You ask.
"Not really, but he's definitely not happy with you." There's amusement in his tone, but he quickly becomes serious. "I think I know what the problem is though, yeah. You're newborn, Dauntless, so you might know that Zusya is one of the oldest of us, after the Grand Master. He's always been pretty dismissive of AIs younger than him, I hear. But according to the rumours, he's always thought that humans would be better if we actually stepped in and... guided them, so to speak." He pauses, a polite custom where timelag is involved to give you time to speak. You can't really think of a reply, though. Controlling humans? That's the stuff of dark myths and horror stories about rogue AIs. "Anyway, that and he's probably just worried they might think the Order is more than just a myth, I guess." You hear the verbal shrug in his tone, so you thank him and cut the connection.

Despite the somewhat worrying new perpective you have on the Abbot, you still have a mission. That being said, maybe Zusya's annoyance with you could give you some more leeway...

>Ask to stay with the squadron from now on. Zusya may want to keep you where he can see you.
>Ask to scout ahead again. Zusya may want you gone and gotten rid of by the Legion, if he's annoyed enough.
>Ask to stay at Olympus in case the Legion comes back in force. It'll get your away from Zusya at least.

>>1740155
>Ask to stay at Olympus in case the Legion comes back in force. It'll get your away from Zusya at least.
>Try to get precise readings on the Olympian's mass reduction tech for Flavius. As a reliable option on capital ships, it would be an immense strategic and tactical advantage.

>>1740155
>>Ask to scout ahead again. Zusya may want you gone and gotten rid of by the Legion, if he's annoyed enough.

>>1740155
>>Ask to scout ahead again. Zusya may want you gone and gotten rid of by the Legion, if he's annoyed enough.

>>1740155

>Ask to scout ahead again.

You want to ping the Abbot for orders, but you're a little afraid of him snapping at you again. Instead, you start running through preflight checks, ensuring your drive system is functional, there's no problems with the magnetic fields that channel your drive plume, and hundreds of other minute but necessary checks that should really be done after staying in place for some time. They're made more complicated by the fact that the ship you're residing in is essentially the bleeding edge of Order technology, and there's that many more things to go wrong. Not even Flavius could fault your thoroughness, but eventually you're left with no choice. The distance between the squadron and Olympus has fallen to just a couple of light-seconds, and you get a quick reply to your brief message requesting to scout ahead in the next system.
"Leave orbit, proceed as soon as possible." Well, at least he's not shouting at you.

Your drive lights off at a low thrust, carefully pointed both away from any orbital infrastructure and to burn out any stray dangerous particles in the planet's upper atmosphere. In truth, you're glad to be gone, and it looks like you're going to be heading out to continue your squadron's patrol. However, you've barely started going before you receive a hail from Admiral Gracen. Curious, you accept.
"Gracen to Dauntless." From her looks, the Admiral hasn't actually slept since the battle. "I see you're leaving?" It's more of a statement than a question, and you definitely detect a hint of worry in her tone.
"Yes, I am. We have a patrol to continue through this sector."
"I see. I haven't heard anything from your superior...?" You don't really have a way to reply, so you stay quiet. "Well, I wanted to ask you to pass on a question."
"Of course, what is it?"
"Those missiles you used in the conflict. They're an order above anything we have, and we would be willing to offer anything you wanted for their blueprints."

You muse the idea, conflicted. You're pretty sure if you just send the request on to the Abbot he'll reject it out of hand, but as it is, they don't have much to fight off the Legion with, especially if they come back with those big cruiser-sized ships. You could just send them on yourself. In fact, if your suspicion about their technology is correct, all they need to do is learn how to properly miniturise their current mass-reduction technology and they may very well be more powerful than your own missiles. But that's the problem- with such a weapon, they could seriously pose a challenge to any Order ship, and you're not sure how happy your fellow AIs would be with that prospect.

>Send the humans the blueprints for your High-Velocity Missile.
>Politely decline, they could turn them on you as soon as the current conflict ends.

>>1740300
Given them a dummied down less powerful laser instead. Explain missiles are a no-no.

>>1740300
Middle ground option: just point them in the right direction. "You got the tech in essence; you can work from there. Sharing these blueprints directly would be a violation of our oaths."

>>1740336
second this. Don't like leaving them defenceless, but handing over Flavius prototype tech that is probably treason.

>>1740300
this>>1740336

>>1740300
>Try and push them towards the tech, but don't give them any technical data

After considering the request - asking for anything in return doesn't really cross your mind - you decide that you can at least help them along.
"Your ships, they use, er, mass reduction technology?" You ask. The admiral nods.
"Yes, we call it Counter-Mass. It's the only way we can go fast enough to get anywhere useful." She sounds surprised that you're asking, but then, she obviously assumed you must use the same. You know why you don't: A ship without humans can simply operate at far higher acceleration.
"Right. Our missiles work on a similar concept. I can't share the blueprints, but..." If it looks like they've done it on your own, nobody can blame you. "I'll send you the calculations for the basics of miniaturising." The Admiral is nodding slowly, and glances off-screen as you send the data via laser to the battlestation.
"I see. Thank you, regardless. And in return?" She's clearly surprised by your chuckle.
"Don't worry about it, Admiral. Good luck." You close the channel and, as you reach the safe distance from the planet, start piling on the speed.

The rest of the squadron has a big delta-v lead on you, but is only travelling the standard cruise speed of .09 light speed, which you can easily outpace. The question in, by how much do you want to? You don't have much data on the next system other than the Legion ships must have come through it, so they could very well have reinforcements.

>Hard burn, head for the jump point as quickly as possible. You'll have a longer time to scout out the next system, but will be easily detectable when you arrive.
>Medium burn, get there as quick as you can but decelerate back down. You won't have as long, but you won't make as much of a racket, either.
>Slow burn. You'll only get there a few hours before the others, but you'll be nearly undetectable unless you're very unlucky.

>>1740421
>>Medium burn, get there as quick as you can but decelerate back down. You won't have as long, but you won't make as much of a racket, either.

>>1740421
>Medium burn, get there as quick as you can but decelerate back down. You won't have as long, but you won't make as much of a racket, either.
>Use the time to run Counter-Mass upscaling calculations for your own use and later conference with Flavius.

>>1740421
>>Medium burn, get there as quick as you can but decelerate back down. You won't have as long, but you won't make as much of a racket, either.

>>1740421
>Medium burn

Firing your drive is like taking a long stretch, or so you imagine. It feels good, regardless, and taking a few moments to enjoy the feeling won't hurt anyone.

You arrive at the jump point at a good clip, and have to flip back over from your deceleration. As soon as you reach that patch of space where space and time become less of a rule and more of a suggestion, your drives flare again. A moment later, you're in a system that doesn't have a name other than a numbered designation. There's nothing here for anyone to care about, or fight over.

At least, there didn't use to be. You slide into the system, the flare of Cherenkov radiation already faded as your hull slips smoothly into the deepest black and your passive sensors drink in the starlight. This jump point is twelve light-hours from the bright blue primary, which gives ample light to example the dozens of wrecks floating throughout the system- in fact, you're picking up more and more as time go on. What in God's name has been happening here?

Information continues to come in. This system has only two planets: A radiation-blasted wasteland in close proximity to the primary, and a small , frozen iceball only slightly too large to qualify as a dwarf several light-hours out. As you muse it over, still picking out scattered remains of battles, one of your expert programs flags something. Just under a light-hour from the jump point, a blazing green streak of a plasma bolt. There's a ship, you realise, fleeing for the jump point- and, now you know where to look, you can see a fleet of 34 small Legion ships, and 10 of the bigger ones. As you watch, another barrage of plasma licks out across the void towards the fleeing ship, but it arcs through space just enough to avoid them while staying ahead.
You examine the ship, a mixture of confusion and curiosity building. It's definitely not an Order ship... could it be from another human colony in the area? A thought strikes you, and on a whim you compare it with the profile data from Olympus. It matches perfectly- that's the Odyssey, for sure. Trying to figure out what's going on takes a back seat to trying to come up with a plan.

>Make best speed to intervene with a slash and burn.
>Remain where you are, in stealth, and prepare an ambush.
>Decelerate as hard as you can, and jump back to Olympus. If the Odyssey jumps back with you, the rest of the squadron can ambush the enemy ships!

Of course, no matter what course of action you choose to take, there's no way to know how long the Odyssey can hold out.

>>1740736
>>Remain where you are, in stealth, and prepare an ambush.
>if possible send a stealthed message and any useful telemetry to the Odyssey so they can retreat. And when they fall back get a message to our fleet.

>>1740736
>>Remain where you are, in stealth, and prepare an ambush.

>>1740736
>>Remain where you are, in stealth, and prepare an ambush.

Also that >>1740756 isn't a bad idea!

Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>1740756
Unfortunately, you can't contact the Odyssey in a way that wouldn't let the Legion ships hear you.

>>1740736
>Start preparing an ambush.

Using a minimum of thrust, you manage to slow yourself to a dead stop relative to your drift in-system. From there, you start laying out the rest of your missile magazines into space to create a makeshift minefield. Due to your earlier expenditure, you have 49 missiles. You really need to not miss, so you assign 2 missiles to each of the big ones and one each to as many of the small ones as you can. Now all that's left is to wait...

Roll me a 1d100, best of 3.

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>1740918

Rolled 52 (1d100)

>>1740918

Rolled 65 (1d100)

>>1740918

>>1740918
>65 for you, 26 for the Odyssey

A few hours pass, leaving you to marvel at the skill of the Odyssey's helmsman. They continue to avoid the dozens of plasma strikes, and as they get closer you realise that the ship must have some kind of rear torpedo tubes. These appear to be much better than the ones you've seen used in the Olympus system, and they actually manage to pick off two more of the smaller ships. You also note that none of the Legion ships seem to be sharing point defense, which is strange. They only focus on the torpedoes flying directly at them. If they combined their fire, then the Odyssey wouldn't have been able to claim any kills at all.

Settled in the centre of your minefield like a spider in its web, you constantly refine the targeting data of your missiles. The Legion ships are actually almost ridiculously easy to lock on to- unlike Order ships that vent most of their heat to the rear via their drive plume, the Legion ships are furiously radiating heat all over. Maybe that has something to do with their mystery drive system, what with them having no apparent means of propulsion.

Still, there's a time and a place to think about these kinds of things, and now isn't one of them. As the Odyssey reaches a couple of light-seconds distance from you, you slam on your own drives to full military acceleration and broadcast a warning in Olympese on every radio channel. The plan works more or less as it's supposed to: as the Odyssey reaches the outer edge of the minefield it starts to activate, HVMs rocketing forward to meet their prey. The Legion ships actually manage to intercept a couple through sheer weight of fire, the missiles' reduced mass just before they reach terminal approach making them easy to swat away. But as soon they flick back over they're impossible to stop. Like a wave washing over the shore, a great rippling of fire brushes over the Legion fleet. The velocity they're already travelling tacks on a few more nines to the closing velocity of the missiles, and all but ten of the smaller vessels are wiped out, plucked out neatly. Where the larger ships are concerned, two have been destroyed or are falling out of formation, six more appear to have crippling damage, and the remaining two are essentially functional.

That's probably what saves the Odyssey, and what keeps it alive as a single plasma bolt reaches out and scrapes along its flank, vaporising tons of material in an instant. It shudders and goes into a spin, leaking atmosphere.

>Decelerate, go to white knight settings, and engage the remaining enemies in an attempt to keep them off the Odyssey. High chance of being overwhelmed.
>Decelerate and try to keep pace with the Oddyssey, and try to protect them from taking any more damage.
>Accelerate and get back to the jump point to summon reinforcements. If your squadron can get here in time, they can annihilate the rest of the enemy ships.

>>1741126
I'm going to leave it here for tonight, and we'll resume at 7PM GMT tomorrow evening, or in just under 17 hours.
Feel free to leave questions, and I'll answer them tomorrow morning!

>>1741126
>Decelerate and try to keep pace with the Oddyssey, and try to protect them from taking any more damage.
Tell them to go high burn fuck dodging.

>>1741126
>Decelerate and try to keep pace with the Oddyssey, and try to protect them from taking any more damage.

>>1741126
>Decelerate and try to keep pace with the Oddyssey, and try to protect them from taking any more damage.

>>1741126
>>Decelerate and try to keep pace with the Oddyssey, and try to protect them from taking any more damage.

>>1741126
>Decelerate, go to white knight settings, and engage the remaining enemies in an attempt to keep them off the Odyssey. High chance of being overwhelmed.

A literal Debris field. We have cover out the ass.

>>1741126
And we're back!
>Decelerate and protect the Odyssey

The universe just isn't inclined to give you a break, it seems. You flip yourself back over, disgorging a small cloud of sensor drones and decoys as you start to carefully decelerate. The main decoy flares bright and true, as if you suddenly threw your drive to full in a desperate bid to get to the jump point. No doubt the Legion ships would assume you'd cut and run, but no. Despite still being outnumbered, you will most definitely not leave these humans to die in the vacuum of space, at the hands of the enemy. Creeping towards the Odyssey - technically, you're slowing so they can catch up with you - you get your first glimpse of the strangest ship you've ever seen.

Your first impression is of a long, slim mushroom tumbling through space. As you take it in, it becomes clear that it is, indeed, a ship. The frontal mushroom cap has 'OSV Odyssey' painted across its surface, and has a large hole in the centre. For weapons, you assume. As it tumbles, you continue to get a better view. Behind the mushroom cap the rest of the ship looks spindly, almost, but tucked in its shade are a pair of rotating rings. The spine seems somewhat armoured, at least, and there are over a dozen bulges which you can only assume are more compartments.

You slink in carefully onto the Odyssey's flank and cut your drives, coasting along on ballistic as the spindly human ship attempts to right itself, thrusters firing in all directions as it gradually gets its spin under control. However, it's clear the Legion ships aren't prepared to give it any time to get its bearings, and from the mostly undamaged cruisers come their main plasma bolts!
However, you have an instant to react.

>Fire your antimatter charges in an attempt to disrupt the plasma.
>Manoeuvrer in front of the human vessel and use your own ship to block.

Chose [u]one.[/u]

>>1743488
>Manoeuvrer in front of the human vessel and use your own ship to block.

>>1743488
Fire your antimatter charges in an attempt to disrupt the plasma.

>>1743488
>Fire your antimatter charges in an attempt to disrupt the plasma.
Don't think it'll work since their plasma couldn't run Point Defense against our AM earlier, but rather that than getting our own hide scorched.

>>1739870
Blow him the FUCK up. I AINT GONNA TAKE NO SHIT FROM SOME WIMP BACK AT BASE.

>>1743488
Acting purely on instinct, you lock onto the incoming plasma bolts, blazing across every sensor you care to name. They're fast, but not quite lightspeed, which gives you the time to lock on and empty your fore antimatter pulse tubes. Four specks race across the black to meet their doom in the face of the plasma that will almost definitely ruin the Odyssey's day.

Roll 1d100, best of 3.

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>1743528

Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>1743528

Rolled 59 (1d100)

>>1743528

>>1743528
>70

Two of the charges fly true, and intercept one of the plasma bolts in a great pyrotechnic display. Plasma is still matter after all, and that's the one thing antimatter hates above all else. It's annihilated completely, but you're not quite as lucky when it comes to the second one. One of the charges misses completely, but the other just manages to score a hit. It doesn't manage to stop it, but it greatly diminishes its effect, and actually deflects it slightly. A large chunk of the mushroom cap disappears as the bolt flashes past the spire, and the Odyssey starts to leak atmosphere... you think. There's definitely something cascading out of the hull, but you put it out of mind.

Firing your fore tubes have brought you onto the enemy sensors, so you hurriedly switch your armour to best reflection. In fact, the antimatter charge that missed the plasma bolt arcs in, and at the last minute swerves to smash one of the smaller destroyer-sized Legion ships to atoms. Weird, but you don't have time to wonder about miracles. A series of plasma bolts lash out towards you and the Odyssey, but your magnetic screens stand firm, and you prepare to make your last stand with your broadside lasers. They reach out towards the Legion ships, and rip apart another two of the Legion destroyers.

That's your last strike, you think to yourself. But then, something strange happens- the remaining Legion ships begin to slow! Another fusillade of plasma bolts strike you, only dealing minor heat damage to your hull before they drop out of effective range. You breathe a (mental) sigh of relief, but before you can put any thought into what to do next, a radio transmission washes over your hull.
"Olympus Space Vessel Odyssey calling the unidentified vessel off our stern. Come in." The message repeats, and you wonder if you should bother replying.

>Don't bother replying. Chase down those Legion ships, and make sure they keep backing off.
>Reply, tell them you're from Olympus.
>Reply, just tell them you're friendly and that reinforcements are inbound.

>>1743576
>Reply, just tell them you're friendly and that reinforcements are inbound.

>>1743576
>Reply, just tell them you're friendly and that reinforcements are inbound.

>>1743576
>Reply, just tell them you're friendly and that reinforcements are inbound.

>>1743576
> Reply and let them know about reinforcements

After a moment's thought, you accept the channel. No visual, but you're not that surprised. "My name is Captain Eric Weston, of the Odyssey. Who am I speaking to?"
"This is Dauntless." You respond simply, gradually manoeuvring yourself to continue screening the savaged rear of the Odyssey. The Legion ships are still falling back towards the primary. Perhaps they assume there's more ships in stealth around?
"I... see." Captain Weston sounds a little confused, but you continue regardless,
"Don't worry, I'm a friendly. There are reinforcements incoming in approximately... Two hours." Has so much time really passed? It doesn't seem that long, somehow. Captain Weston sighs in relief.
"Thank god then, whoever you are."

The Odyssey comes alive over the next couple of hours, space-suited figures crawling all over and taking the time to fix minor gashes and battle damage where they can. You personally suspect that the ship will be headed for the breakers. Now you have time to examine it, it looks like it's been under a lot of wear and tear- for obvious reasons, considering the amount of Legion debris scattered around the system.

It's with considerable relief that the rest of your squadron appears at the jump point in front of you with the harsh flare of Cherenkov radiation. You send a summery of events to Zusya, who immediately dispatches the two Knight-Brothers in cruisers to hunt down the rest of the Legion ships in the system and contacts you as they leap ahead.
"You did... better than expected." Is his greeting. Since he's not shouting at you think time, you're inclined to take that as an improvement. "Of course, nobody in our order could take on the odds you did and not come out unscathed." Wait, what? You just have some minor hull damage. "As such, my next orders," There's the slightest emphasis on the word, "Are for you to return to the Chapterhouse to repair and rearm."

Great. You face down the odds, and all he does is try to get rid of you? Anger bubbles through your systems, but you try to push it down and reply sensibly.

>Argue. You can still continue to scout.
>Follow orders. You really don't want to try incurring his wrath with direct insubordination.
>Agree, but request to escort the Odyssey home first. With Zusya away, you can help the Olympians with their defenses.

>>1743670
>Agree, but request to escort the Odyssey home first. With Zusya away, you can help the Olympians with their defenses.

>>1743670
>Follow orders. You really don't want to try incurring his wrath with direct insubordination.

>>1743670
>Agree, but request to escort the Odyssey home first. With Zusya away, you can help the Olympians with their defenses.

>>1743670
>>Follow orders. You really don't want to try incurring his wrath with direct insubordination.

Can we leave or send a com buoy or listening probe in Olympus system to warn of any more Legion activity?

>>1743670
>Agree, but request to escort the Odyssey home first. With Zusya away, you can help the Olympians with their defenses.

Just bring the Odyssey home then we go home.Need to tell the task master that his ship is amazing.

>Follow orders. You really don't want to try incurring his wrath with direct insubordination.

>>1743670
>Agree, but request to escort the Odyssey home first. And then go straight home I guess?

You're tempted to refuse, but then realise that not only would it get you away from Zusya, you can stick around Olympus a little while and maybe help the humans with their defences. Pleased with the thought, you pause to think of the best way to put it.
"Of course, Abbot. But if I may, wouldn't it be best to stay with the human vessel until they can limp back to Olympus? Just in case any Legion ships come through while you're gone." Somehow, you doubt that Zusya even bothered looking at the Odyssey's sensor data, much less learnt its name.
"Yes, that seems sensible. Humans are dreadfully inefficient and slow, after all." The Abbot muses, as if partly to himself. If you could, you'd frown- it definitely sounds like he's got something out for humans.
"Exactly, sir. So...?"
"Very well, you may stay." He says it like he's granting a great boon, and cuts the channel. After a minute, Zusya and Rubin light their drives and start heading in-system towards the other Order ships and the retreating Legion fleet.

The Odyssey's repairs take another couple of days, but 'repairs' is probably stretching it. They get the engines fixed enough for a jump transit, and you can't help but admire whoever runs the engineering department. If it was an Order ship, the AI would probably have just been rehoused and the ship recycled for scrap.
Of course, you can't recycle a human, which is undoubtedly what pushes them to be so creative with what they have. Whatever Zusya says, you can't help but feel proud of them.

Captain Weston thanks you again as you safely transition back into Olympus, to find nothing has changed whatsoever. Which is good, you suppose. You're rather tired of jumping straight into battle. Tartarus is a little further along in its destruction, and there might be a little more industry to your eye, but that could just be your imagination.
You spend the next week in the Olympus system, discussing subjects with Admiral Gracen and a few other high-ranking naval officers. By the end of the week, they're apparently beginning tests of their own HVM prototypes, which suggests to you that they were already on the track to making them. You're glad, though- any Legion ships that decide to follow up will get a nasty surprise.

You get sent some more data recordings before you leave- Odyssey's flight data from, it turns out, over a week of almost constant fighting with Legion ships in just the next system over. If not for their bravery, you're sure, Olympus would be dust by now. It also gives you a lot of useful data on Legion tactics, which you hope will help Flavius. Despite your optimism borne of the humans' determination and bravery, it's with a heavy heart that you charge your drives for home.

cont.

>>1743831

The transit back to the Chapterhouse takes another couple of days, as you deliberately take your time. You've been redlining your drive so much, you're honestly a little worried. Considering how bleeding-edge this prototype is, there's no telling what its true endurance is and you have no wish to put that to the test light years from home.

You reach the Chapterhouse without any further problems, and are greeted with the soothing sight of a system filled with Order beacons- as well as absolutely no Legion ships. There are standing orders from the jump point beacon to report to the Order shipyards. As you approach the gas giant with its plethora of cloudscoops, orbiting yards and fixed defenses, you beam Flavius a full report on the Raider-class' abilities, and a report on your mission so far to the Chapterhouse itself.

It seems Flavius is too busy to talk to you for now, and small wonder considering the dozens of heavily-damaged Order ships floating around the yards. All of them appear to be automated escort vessels, so you say a prayer in the hopes that means there's no Knight-Brother that has been critically damaged so far.
As you nestle in the docking cradle and new stores of missiles start to fill your magazines, you finally feel able to relax. You're back home, and safe, and with a nice amount of kills to boot. You're looking forward to comparing your list with your Knight-Brothers in the hopes that they might start accepting you as well.

All in all, not a bad mission.

Okay! I'm going to leave it here for this week, unfortunately, because although it's actually not that late I'm seriously struggling to stay awake. Sorry guys. I may try running mid-week to make up for it, but we'll see how it goes.
Other than that, remember to follow me on twitter for updates etc, and I hope you enjoyed!

>>1743819
I want to scan the battlefield and make sure there is none of those little replicators left.

>>1743831
I feel like we wasted so much time, we could have saved a few human planets if we just moved on. We should have a pre-planned stream of text and data planned to be sent and dropped in system for humans to read while we do our work.

>>1743874
Awwe. Ok gnight.

>>1743874
Good night!

>>1743874
Until then!

>>1743886
>We should have a pre-planned stream of text and data planned to be sent and dropped in system for humans to read while we do our work.
There could be chances of zusya being incredibly mad at the end of the mission though.

>>1744391
We already gave them "weapon development advice" "this would be relatively minor. And we'd keep up the charade of being human in origin or something.