A SPARTAN'S WAR

Sa'sur groaned sleepily at the insistent buzzing of her COM. She felt the powerful arms of her husband and mate pull her tighter and then she smiled thinking it was just a dream. The buzzing continued and she opened her pale blue eyes slowly as the noise chased away sleep.

"You had better answer it." The deep voice spoke just next to her elven ear and she turned her head slightly, leaning into the delightful nuzzle that her mate gave to her sensitive elven ear.

Sa'sur's husband and mate of nearly nine hundred years had joined them on Earth for a short leave before he returned to his own ship and crew. When Andro decided to conduct this mission he had come along just to remain near his beautiful elven mate and not lose the time they had together. It was a simple mission and would still allow them plenty of time when they returned to Earth.

"Perhaps I will choose not to." She stated with a smug smile.

Menlan grinned at her response. "Ah… so this is how the discipline on the Prince's ship goes." He stated sarcastically. "It all begins with the Captain you know."

Sa'sur rolled her naked body over within his arms and glared at him with her changed pale blue wolf eyes. "I will show you discipline husband." She growled at him as she leaned closer and nibbled on his chin with her fangs.

Menlan chuckled softly, enjoying the attention of his elven mate. Nine hundred years and five children had not dulled his desire for her in any way and he pulled her tighter as she kissed him. He felt her tense in his embrace as the buzzing continued. He smiled once more and drew his nose over her lips as they ended the kiss. "Answer it Sa'sur." He said. "I still have four days and all of it is to be spent with you. What could possibly be wrong on so simple a mission?"

Sa'sur groaned and smiled. "You don't know Andro that well my husband. Trouble seems to follow that poor boy no matter where he goes."

"He is a Spartan and a leader of men." Menlan told her. "Like his father. Trouble doesn't follow them… it seeks them out."

Sa'sur nodded her head with a small laugh. "Yes it does." She rolled away from him quickly, pulling the sheet with her and wrapping it around her body as she stood. Menlan laid there and Sa'sur's wolf eyes gazed hungrily at his naked form. "Don't you move do you hear me?" She told him with a soft and sultry voice. "I am going to feast on you when I get rid of this call."

Menlan laid back on the bed and grinned. "I look forward to it." He said.

Sa'sur turned and marched across her bedroom and slapped her hand down on the console of her desk. "Sa'sur!" She snapped. "And this had better be good! I asked not to be disturbed unless there was an emergency!"

"Commander Waltra Captain! We have received a Priority One Alpha message from the Prince! He is ordering us into orbit of Solmar under Shroud to conduct passive sweeps of the planet! The entire power system has been brought down and he suspects Kavalians are on the surface!"

Sa'sur immediately became all business. "Kavalians?" She gasped. "Sibfla! And we are without our Strike Wing again! Contacts?"

"None so far Captain."

"Alter course and put us in the best position to scan the planet! Begin full spectrum array passive scans of the surface!" Sa'sur hissed. "I'll be on the bridge in three minutes!" Sa'sur turned back as the conversation ended and she saw Menlan rising to his feet. "Menlan I…"

Menlan shook his head. "You are Captain of this ship for a reason my beautiful wife and mate." He stated reaching for his clothes. "Got room for an observer?"

Sa'sur moved for the chair and her own clothes. "As long as you are observing me and not the female crew!" She quipped playfully.

Menlan laughed as he pulled his pants on. "Only you stir my blood Sa'sur. Only you."

Dantio studied the small clearing from the treeline. He could just make out the outline of the ship. Whoever the pilot was they had consummate skill to land the ship in the clearing as they had. The camouflage net was secured to several large trees and would make it impossible to spot the ship from the air. He could see no movement under the net, though from his position he could only make out the rear of the ship.

[Dantio?] Vari asked reaching out within Mindvoice so their voices would not be heard or carry over the distance.

[No movement.] Dantio answered. [Larger than I thought the pick up ship would be.]

[Looks like a STRIKER from the back here.] Emios commented. [Ramp is right and the length is good.]

[Why would a STRIKER be the pick up ship? RAPTORs usually pick us up.] Haridl asked.

[Location is right.] Dantio spoke. [Sibfla… will nothing go according to plan on this day?] He cursed.

"You know what they say about plans." The deep voice spoke from behind them.

All four of them moved with incredible speed, rolling in different directions as they brought their weapons up. Dorian was impressed to say the least. He knew that his vampire blood gave him unmatched speed and allowed him to blur in motion, but these three men and one half elf female had moved with incredible reflexes and speed themselves. He had wrapped Andro within the shadows just as his mother had taught him and they quickly made their way to where the Omega Team was watching the ship. Dorian knew his mother was considered one of the masters of using the shadows among all vampires, and her skill in this regard had passed to him easily. She had helped him to refine it to exacting control before she had left to join his father, but Dorian remembered all her lessons. Dorian had his father's deeply tanned skin and his eyes, but his features were all his mother and Isabella was widely considered one of the most beautiful vampire females anywhere within the Union.

"Nubou!" Dantio hissed as he leveled his weapon at the two figures. His mind quickly saw who it was and his eyes grew even wider. He would recognize Prince Androcles anywhere and he lowered his weapon just as quickly. "Milord!" He gasped in shock.

Andro was squatting on the ground, his azure colored eyes bright and focused. He had been prepared to use his Etheric power to disarm the Omega Team if they had opened fired without question. Thankfully Andro saw that his father's training and that of others prevailed over their base instincts.

"Prince Androcles?" Vari gasped with wide eyes seeing him and the tall young man standing beside him.

"Put your weapons down." Andro spoke firmly. "You are back among friends."

Dantio didn't hesitate and lowered his A4 instantly as he pushed himself to his knees. "Sire we…"

"I decided to make the pick up." Andro told him. "It was supposed to be routine and I thought the field experience would benefit my brother Dorian."

Dantio looked at Dorian quickly. "Brother?" He asked surprised. "Your… your mother was still carrying your brother when we left Union space three months ago Milord."

Dorian grinned. "It's a long story." He stated.

"Where is the rest of your team?" Andro asked.

Dantio shook his head. "Kavalians hit us Milord." He spoke. "They were everywhere. The Lieutenant and half our team went into the settlement to see the Zero Squad off from the spaceport. Once the ship had left they were moving to rejoin us. The Kavalians hit them in force."

"Kavalians." Andro hissed. "They didn't follow you?"

Dantio shook his head. "They tracked us until we moved into the deep timber to make the pick up point." He replied. "I assumed they did not want to follow us."

Andro shook his head. "That isn't it." He said. "They've brought down the power grid for the entire planet and locked out all primary satellite feeds. They didn't feel the need to pursue you. How many hit you?"

"Two companies at least Milord." Emios answered.

Andro got to his feet and held out his hand to Dantio. "We're not leaving just yet Dantio. There is more to do." He said.

Haridl looked at him. "Milord… we don't know if they were taken alive or dead." She spoke up. "All of them went down… but they could still be alive."

Andro nodded his head. "One of them is at least." He said. He tapped his head. "Once you got close enough for me and Elynth to detect your shields and the resonance you were using I could make out one other who is not among your group here. Robaran? He's a vampire isn't he?"

Haridl gasped softly and Dantio nodded his head pulling his eyes away from her. "Our communications operator." He said in reply. "They… they will not treat him kindly if he lives Milord."

Andro glanced at Haridl because of her reaction and then back to Dantio. "Mark my words… we will not leave him behind. If it is possible in any way we'll go after him. However, it appears the attack against your team was only the beginning. We have other issues that have come up."

The Omega Team looked at him. "Sire?" Emios asked.

"If my guess is accurate… the Kavalians have brought down the entire power grid for the planet." Andro told them. "It appears they want Solmar as a forward base and have moved to do just such a thing. They've taken down all three power Substations, deactivated power to all the settlements and shut down the main Power Plant in the west. All offworld COMs are being jammed except for our military channels. They apparently think having you here was a flunk since no general alarm has been raised. At least none that we can detect. You're sure the Zero Squad got off?"

Dantio nodded. "We watched their transport depart Milord."

"The settlements?" Vari asked. "They'll go after the settlements and begin digging in deeply."

Andro nodded. "That is why we aren't leaving. Come on." Andro spoke heading in the direction of the STRIKER.

SCIMITAR

Sa'sur moved onto the bridge with even strides and immediately began to bark orders. Menlan simply moved to the side out of the way and watched with pride as his wife and mate showed why she was one of the most feared ship commanders in the entire Union Fleet. Sa'sur was completely unaware of this reputation he knew, but there were very few Fleet Officers who wanted to go up against her in drills. Her association with the Crown Prince had given her an entirely different outlook in combat. She drove the SCIMITAR to do things most commanders would not expect of their ships or their crew. Menlan also knew the SCIMITAR was far more advanced than most of the LEONIDAS IIA-Class Strike Cruisers in the fleet because it was the Crown Prince's ship. Many of her systems, while not directly based on City Ship 41 technology like the new ARIZONA-Class Strike Carriers, were tweaked and then fitted in such a way that the SCIMITAR was as close to the ARIZONA-Class ships as possible in terms of capability, though it would never be a match for the newer ships. Menlan knew the turnover rate for the Prince's ship was the lowest among active ships. Part of that was because of the honor that came with serving on Androcles's ship, but a larger reason was his wife and mate. She was a taskmaster towards her crew, demanding nothing but the very best from them all of the time, but she would also go right to the wall in order to protect them and care for them. The crew of the SCIMITAR knew this and who in their right mind would want to transfer to a new ship when his wife and mate commanded the SCIMITAR in such a way.

"…to me!" Menlan heard Sa'sur bark as he watched her.

"We are settling into a high polar orbit and have begun scanning the planet." Her XO barked out from where he stood next to the sensor station.

"Still no contacts in orbit?" Sa'sur called out.

"None that we can detect Captain." The Tactical Officer replied.

"Andro says there are Kavalians on the planet damn it!" Sa'sur snapped. "I want to know where the nubou they came from!"

"Captain… the entire planetary power grid is offline!" Her XO barked once more. "The main Power Station is still operating at barely sustainable levels and power is barely flowing to the PDC Substations, but from there it has been stopped! Sensors indicate the PDC Coils have been removed from each substation! All six settlement grids are dark!"

"All orbiting satellites are locked out!" The XO snapped turning to face her and holding a data pad. His fingers tapped quickly on the pad. "We can use our fleet backup codes to access them, but no one on the surface will be able to access the network." He moved up next to her chair. "The planet is effectively cut off."

"Adjust lateral array nine to scan for Tri-Cobalt power sources!" Sa'sur ordered. "Both in orbit and on the surface!" She turned to her XO. "Tap into the satellite system Legol and tell me exactly what they were doing before they were locked out." The man nodded and moved to another station. "Begin powering weapons! Bring the shields online as well! Have the Ready Alert Squadron on standby! And tell the Spartan detachment to suit up and move to the landing bay! I want them fully loaded! And tell them this is not a drill!"

"Captain!" The male voice spoke and Sa'sur turned to look at her husband and mate.

"Menlan?" She asked.

He stepped forward. "My recent trip to the Advanced War College brought me into the same class as Carina Leonidas. She suggested this same scenario in our classes on Kavalian tactics."

"What scenario?" Sa'sur asked.

"If the information you are receiving is accurate then these are the estimated actions a Puma Bane Commando unit would assert in order to take the planet for a forward staging area." Menlan spoke. "It would involved cutting the planet off and then securing key points before a larger force arrived to take the planet."

Sa'sur came to her feet slowly. "Nubou lae!" She swore. "And Solmar is a strategic point to stage out of!"

Menlan nodded. "Given it's proximity to the Bontawillian border and Union space I would have to agree." He said.

"Captain!" The sensor operator shouted as she turned from her station. "Long range sensors are detecting Kavalian ships jumping into the system!"

"Get Andro for me!" Sa'sur snarled. "Now!"

"Standby!"

Sa'sur turned to her XO. "I want Mark 22s in the missile launchers! Prep all torpedo bays and standby to launch the Ready Fighters!"

"Captain… Commander Sa'roh reports that the Prince has moved to the Eastern PDC substation. Without the satellites to bounce off, we'll need to move to an ecliptic orbit for direct COMs with his implant!"

"Do it!" Sa'sur snapped. "How long?"

"Six minutes!"

SOLMAR

EASTERN POWER DISTRIBUTION COIL SUBSTATION

Andro stood beside the smashed computer control station and his azure eyes drifted over the bloody remains of nineteen Bontawillian and elf workers. His A4 hung from quick release clips now and his hands clenched and unclenched on the pistol grip and barrel of his weapon. It had taken them only fifteen minutes to cover the seventeen kilometers running full out in their wolf forms. Thankfully the terrain between where his STRIKER was and the substation was essentially flat and it allowed for them to traverse the thick timber easily. Andro stepped up to the aging Bontawillian who was leaning back in his chair, his throat sliced open by a large blade, his blood covering his uniform and pooled beneath his body. All of them had been executed in a similar callous manner. It mattered not that the engineers were all civilians and many of them probably had never fired a weapon in their entire lives.

Andro turned his head when Dorian and Dantio moved back into the control room.

"The engineering section looks the same." Dantio spoke softly.

Dorian nodded. "Barracks area as well. They murdered everyone. Some even look as if they have been interrogated."

"Three of the engineers appear to have been tortured as well." Dantio spoke moving up beside his Prince. "Their bodies were… their limbs were missing."

Andro nodded. "Puma Bane Commandos." He answered. "They are not known for their forgiving natures. Nubous butchers!" He hissed.

"The PDC Coil generators are gone Milord." Dantio continued. "No way to get power back."

"How many dead?" Andro asked.

"Each substation had a standing crew of sixty-three." Dantio answered him from memory of his mission files. "We've accounted for fifty-seven of them."

Andro looked at him. "Elves." He said.

"Milord?"

"Did you find any female elves?" Andro asked. "Personnel records indicate anywhere from four to six female elves worked at each Substation. They were from the 1st Elf Engineer Division."

Dantio shook his head. "No Milord."

Andro turned back to the dead bodies. "Then they were taken." He said softly his anger beginning a slow burn.

"Sire… if they hit all three PDC Substations and the Power Station at the same time, they must have five times the number we saw take down our team." Dantio said. "I estimate they hit this Substation with no less than fifty troops."

"Dantio… what is the population of Solmar?" Andro asked turning to look at him once more.

"Between sixteen and eighteen thousand Milord." He answered. "Mostly Bontawillian with a mixture of others. Elves and humans mostly."

Andro's ear implant crackled and Cletus's voice sounded. "Andro… Sa'sur is trying to contact you. The station is disrupting her signal without the satellites. I have her on the short range holo projectors. She must have moved the SCIMITAR."

Andro nodded. "On my way." He spoke. He looked at Dantio. "Take whatever explosives we have with us and booby trap the generators." He spoke. "If these Kavalian bastards try to turn the power back on to this station I want them to pay dearly."

Dantio nodded. "Understood." He spoke. "Then what?"

"Then we are going to detour and try to see what is happening at the spaceport." Andro said. "I want to know what is going on."

"Andro…" Dorian spoke now. "Standard OPSEC says we are to evacuate the planet."

Andro nodded. "I know. But I won't leave unless I know rescuing any civilians is not doable." He said. "That's why we are going to the spaceport."

Dorian nodded his head. His own anger was building as well at what he had seen. The mindless butchering was almost too much. He held no regrets in his mind for killing Qurot in the fashion he had, but this senseless murder of civilians was unacceptable to him. And to his brother it seemed.

"I want gone from here in five Dantio." Andro spoke. "You and the rest of your team just got drafted into the Durcunusaan as my personal team. Get to work."

Dantio didn't hesitate and turned to leave the control room as Dorian stepped closer to Andro. He looked at his older brother, a man who had taught him so much these last weeks. Dorian had spoken with his father three times since they had departed, each time longer than the last as his father imparted upon him all sorts of knowledge and his love. Yet Andro had been there from the outset and because they were both born fully aware of everything around them, this gave them a connection. "What now?" He asked softly.

Andro met his dual colored eyes. "We get as many civilians off this planet as we can fervon. No matter what it takes."

SCIMITAR

"…thirty-seven Kavalian warships." Sa'sur told him. "No GREAT SOULS… but a boat load of DIATAGAs escorting troop ships! They'll be in position at their present speed to begin landing troops within the hour. From the number of troop ships we estimate at least two to three complete divisions! Close to a hundred and fifty thousand troops! Andro… you need to get out of there now!" Sa'sur spoke to the fuzzy holographic image of Androcles on the surface of the planet below.

Sa'sur saw him shake his head. "No." He answered. "We need to determine how many civilians are left. I don't think the Kavalians will have killed them all. We need to evac as many of them as possible."

"That is not acceptable!" Sa'sur snapped back surprising Menlan with how she spoke to him. Then it occurred to him that they had fought together for many years and they were friends above all else. "You are Crown Prince! You can't not stay on a planet that is being invaded by the nubous Kavalians!"

"I will not leave these people to the mercies of the Puma Bane butchers!" Andro snapped right back. "You have not seen what they have done to those engineers we found here at the PDC Substation Sa'sur." Sa'sur watched a Durcunusaan officer she did not recognize step into the transmission and whisper something to Andro. He turned back to her. "Send me the Spartan company Sa'sur. And every STRIKER and KADEN we have on board since they have Shrouds. We can stage out of another area on a different continent. I'll send the coordinates for them to land now."

"Andro… you can not pull off the entire population!" Sa'sur barked at him.

"And you can not fight almost forty ships alone!" Andro ordered. "Take the SCIMITAR out system and call for back up. With the Spartan company and what I have here we can at least delay them from fully entrenching themselves here. It should buy you enough time to contact General Vengal and Admiral Ceneu. They are in command while Riall is in High Coven space! They will know what to send and how much!"

"Andro you…" Sa'sur began to protest more.

"You know I am right." Andro said. "I will not risk our ship and our people against the odds arrayed in opposition to you now. Send me what I asked for and then leave the system and bring back help!"

"Three days Andro." Sa'sur announced. "Four at most!"

Andro nodded. "We aren't going anywhere." He said trying to interject some humor.

"Jomann and Sadi and your other mates are going to have my ass for leaving you!" Sa'sur stated.

Andro laughed now. "Only after they are done with me." He said. "You are safe."

"I'll be back Andro." Sa'sur said.

"You always return Sa'sur." Andro said. "That is why I trust you with my life. Now kick those ships loose and get out of here before the Kavalians arrive in force."

"Stay frosty Andro!" Sa'sur exclaimed.

"I will."

Sa'sur stood up as the transmission faded and then turned to her XO. "I want every possible bit of supplies we can spare on those KADENs and leaving in ten minutes!" She snapped. "Weapons! Rations! Uniforms! Everything! Go!" Her XO nodded and dashed from the bridge. "Helm… as soon as the KADENs launch come about and take us across the Bontawillian border. I don't care where. Send a coded burst to our Strike Wing. I'm done going places without our full Wing!"

Menlan stepped up to her now. "It is the right move tactically Sa'sur." He said softly.

Sa'sur turned to look at him and nodded. "I know my love. That doesn't mean I have to like it."

Menlan nodded. "True. Put me to work. I feel like a third wheel here. What can I do?"