The sun lazily shined over the horizon of the glittering orb of blue and green that was Cera... From aboard the Pelican shuttling him to his first command, Captain Kayto Shields, a white-haired man, with pale skin and deep blue eyes stared at his home. Winking in the distance were the newly-created Orbital Defense Platforms built with the help of their allies. Four years. Four long years. That's how much time had passed since the UNSC Infinity and the Shadow of Intent showed up in Ceran orbit. Now, one of the two ships, the Infinity, Specifically, was situated in a rather large Cradle just a few thousand Kilometers across from their own. The man could see the massive black ship sitting within the Station's ribcage-like Dry Dock.

UNSC Aircraft and Ceran Ryders maintained patrol patterns, with Longswords buzzing some of the stations around and even them. Two of the newer Broadswords, smaller and more nimble variations of the Fighters employed by the UNSC Navy, joined up with the shuttle, which contained extra crew for the ship, including a squad of around 12 Marines. And seated in front of him, an old woman who wore glasses and a labcoat... Doctor Catherine Elizabeth Halsey. One of the main reasons for the more advanced defenses of Cera.

Kayto watched as they flew by one of the Ceran-manned Orbital Defense Platforms. Unlike their UNSC counterparts in their part of the world, the Ceran ODPs, known as the Thanix-classes, were more skeletal. They were T-Shaped, with the central pylon being where the VANGUARD, the most powerful energy projector weapon of the Ceran Navy, had been installed. It had been boosted with extra range for the sake of hitting targets entering Cera's gravity well... So around 100,000 Kilometers' range. And the gun itself had two prongs that acted as energy conductors and projectors, while down the middle was the main power core... The stations also held M910 Point-Defense and 20mm Gatling Guns as defenses against approaching fighters...

"Cannae wait to see yer girl, eh, sir?" One of the UNSC Marines aboard, a Scottsman by the accent, mocked, nudging Kayto in the shoulder. Other Marines chuckled and the Doctor herself hummed, tapping a few lines into a datapad she'd brought with her. Probably looking over the supply manifest. PACT had been getting a bit too close to Ceran Space for anybody's comfort...

"Ava? ... It's been a while since we've seen each-other, yeah... I doubt she even remembers me." Kayto answered with a hum... Halsey snorted. As did the Marine.

"The Commander. Nay, sir, I meant yer ship. Hey! Connely! Bring us about! Let the Capt'n see his ship!" He said... And Kayto felt a slight change in their direction as the Dropship swiveled ever slightly about...

And finally, coming into view, was Cradle 02. Fondly named after the ship it housed, the Sunny Palace held the Ceran Navy's most powerful warship to date. With a mix of UNSC, Sangheilli and Ceran tech, the CSF Sunrider was a beauty to behold, with an air of elegance and danger, like an arrowhead, poised to strike its target. The white hull had the name of the ship situated near by one of the Plasma superconductors on the wings, just above what looked to be the main containment for the advanced munitions... At the top near the nose and on the back were triple turrets housing 14 inch barrels that had magnets capable of accelerating projectiles at up to 4% the Speed of Light. Not unlike the UNSC's Super-MACS mounted on the Infinity. On its sides were mounted M910 Twin-Link AAA Batteries, Helix Guns and even Plasma turrets built to specification by the Sangheilli and Huragok, or Engineers...

"Wow..." Kayto said...

"Yes, indeed, Captain. Wow." Halsey gave the man a light mock. "Flight Lieutenant, whats the status with the docking?" She asked the pilot.

"We're about to hit the entry point, ma'am..." The Pilot answered, before flicking her com on "This is Pelican Zulu 3-7 to Cradle-02, we're requesting permission to Land and bring the Captain aboard." and preparing to bring the Pelican into the hangar of the Cradle station... She smirked as she got the answer "Zulu 3-7, this is Sunny Palace ATC. You're clear for landing in the Sunrider Hangar Bay. Watch your tailgate when you land, over."

"Roger that, Sunny Palace. We're coming in." The Pilot smiled. "Thanks for flying with Air Zulu, ladies and gents. Watch your heads and don't leave anything in the overhead netting that you wouldn't want me selling in the Ceran Market." and brought the bird into one of the side airlocks that led into the hangar of the ship. The bottom thrusters on the engine nacelles fired as the dropship entered the cavernous hangar of the jointly-designed ship and touched down.

On-deck was another gunship and 10 soldiers clad in heavy armor... Spartans, by the looks of things. As Kayto disembarked, he saw a woman at about chest level discussing with the Master Chief and the Commander of the second team. NOBLE, Kayto had heard they were called. As he approached and while the Marines left for their section of the bunks, the Spartans stood at attention. The brown-haired, scarlet-eyed woman clad in a Ceran Commander's female uniform turned about. Her long hair was wavy, reaching to her waist, but was well kept... As was to be expected.

"Captain on-deck!" The Commander saluted with a serious look.

Kayto saluted back and said "At ease, Commander, Spartans." with slight giddiness. The Spartans had become legendary figures on Cera. "I see you're briefing them here, then."

"I was merely welcoming them, sir." Ava noted calmly. Kayto nodded to her, then said to the Chief "Master Chief. Blue Team. Noble Team. Welcome aboard the CSF Sunrider. We're happy you could join or garrison."

"Our pleasure to be here, sir." Chief answered politely. Kayto nodded, then looked to the Commander and asked "So... Umm..." And things turned a bit to the awkward side of things... Halsey rolled her eyes and walked up to them.

"Commander, I do believe it's time we start our tour. Don't you?" She said, breaking the ice. Ava gave a nod, then showed them "Follow me." Before walking with the Captain and dismissing the Spartans to the S-Deck. Ava looked to the Captain and said a quick "You've certainly changed..." to which the man simply chuckled. She probably referred to the fact of a more protocol-based greeting, rather than a 'friendly' greeting. She gave him a nod and he nodded back...

"So. Where to first?" Kayto asked and saw Ava stop in the center of the Hangar Bay. She looked to the Captain and said calmly "As you probably know from specs and data, this is our Hangar Bay. It can store up to 12 Ryders, a scouting group of SABRE-Class UNSC Fighters and several Booster Frames built to fit in with the MJOLNIR armor sets of the Spartans."

"That's good." Kayto gave a nod.

"Indeed... Although we're currently running on a Skeleton crew and with low supplies, our Ryders and SABRE fighters are expected to arrive next Wednesday." Ava returned calmly, looking around. "The only thing we have at full strength is the UNSC presence. Marines and Spartans, as well as a liaison... Believe it or not, Artificial Intelligence with her own core within the ship."

"You're kidding." The boy smirked "An honest-to-god AI?"

"I never kid, Captain... The UNSC AI is called Cortana and she's currently working cohesively with our crew in running diagnostics and will also be running our Cyber Warfare suite during any combat operations." The girl said calmly, before looking at a wrist-mounted holographic bracelet and turning her hand to open it. "Miss Cortana." and... Kayto partially froze as a young woman's blue avatar took form from the Holo-Display.

"Commander." Cortana smiled, before turning to the Captain and saluting "Ah, Captain. Welcome aboard." and then looking to Halsey. The Doctor gave the AI a nod, to which Cortana continued "I will be serving as a direct liaison between you, Infinity and the Shadow of Intent. Communications, mail and such can be received and stored. Some of my subroutines will be working on keeping ship efficiency up to full and others will be working on weapons and such, to provide backup... The Sunrider can run with a Skeleton Crew of around 90 if needed now... Though I will be handing over control of systems from the Subroutines to the crew once we're at full strength."

"Understood. Where's your core situated, Cortana?" Kayto asked calmly.

"Near engineering, in RnD." The girl answered. "I have to go prep the ship for her maiden voyage, sir. Mind?"

"You're dismissed Cortana. And welcome aboard." Kayto nodded.

"To you as well, sir." She smirked, before winking off. Ava set her arm back down by her hip and said "Let's proceed. Up next will be Deck 1:Bridge and RnD." before walking them over to the Turbolift at the back of the hangar. Selecting Deck 1, the elevator took off with best speed up the conning tower, until it reached its designated area. Walking out into the empty hexagonal-shaped hallways and taking a left, the trio found themselves into a large room, with several deck crew present, among which officers and ensigns. They turned to salute the Captain, before turning back to their jobs... As they entered, Kayto lay eyes on a holographic display map that presented much of the Galaxy they were in.

Running around the place were a multitude of consoles, from communication to weaponry and engine status. Situated square in the middle and facing a window was the Captain's chair, which also had a large holographic projector left of it and a command console further to the right. Cortana's form currently occupied the holo-display, with several screens surrounding her. Past her, a window into the void of space was visible, with UNSC ships making their patrol routes.

"This is the Combat Information Center, also referred to as the Bridge or CIC." Ava explained "From here, you can command the efforts of the entire ship, plot our next jump to the target system and coordinate our Air Wing's efforts, as well as those of the ships that may be joining us from the UNSC Navy's limited presence. Cortana also has a terminal here if you wish to relay direct orders to her and I will be located right next to you at the XO's console."

"Pretty big bridge." Kayto hummed, noticing two of the gunner stations were at the forefront, just below him and near the window. "Those must be the VANGUARD gunners."

"Correct." Ava answered. "You can order a direct attack, but remember, even with the upgrades provided by the UNSC and Sangheilli to our reactor, there is still a charging time for firing the VANGUARD. And consequences if fired at overcharge..." before looking to Cortana and asking "What're the simulated effects of firing the VANGUARD at Overcharge?"

"If fired once, no major problems, provided we allow it to cool itself... And the recharge time to pass." Cortana hummed. "If fired twice or three times, it could melt the forward section of the main gun or break our Reactor's containment. Eitherway, Overcharge should remain a Last Resort if we're surrounded... And even then, used with moderation."

"Got it..." Kayto nodded "Thanks for the warning."

"Our pleasure, Captain." Ava and Cortana said in unison.

"We have a few more sections of the ship to see, Captain." Halsey noted. "We'll take our leave now."

"I'll keep running diagnostics. You come back after the tour's over and we can start, sir, ladies." Cortana smirked, writing up a few lines on the 'Engine' screen. As the trio walked out of the bridge and toward the rear of the ship, Kayto heard a low hum and started to also feel vibrations in the air... Finally, entering the RnD section of the ship, he felt his hairs stand on-end, but managed to maintain a professional demeanor as he looked straight into the maw of what felt like a black hole... Situated between five inches of reinforced alloy and leaded glass, the massive Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine's core pulsed an eerie blue as sparks flew into specially-designed rods meant to contain the energy fluctuations...

To his left, Kayto saw a second core, this one large, circular and with multiple control rods. It emanated a faint vapor and the temperature around it was a bit below the average of the Warship. It was housed, suspended, over what seemed to be a specially-designed pit. Multiple wires ran across the top, neatly arranged and moving throughout the ship... The damn thing was like a sea urchin or a mine with multiple prongs poking out of it, those being control rods. And around it were catwalks and several terminals that linked to it, showing status updates. In-between these two items lay an unfinished laboratory that still had a lot of unoccupied space. And, of course, a small AI Matrix core resided in a tube in the far back, with a chip linked directly to the Matrix awaiting removal.

"This is Engineering and RnD. Here, you can see both the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Drive Core and our power core. We do not yet have the Chief Engineer to maintain them properly, but the few engineers we do have aboard have been doing a fine job keeping them running in normal parameters otherwise. That is, of course, due to us being stationary." Ava explained.

"RnD is where I will be located, should you wish for me to provide upgrades to any of your Ryders or armaments." Halsey stated "Of course, I will require a Chief Engineer to assist me with that, but I think it won't be a problem to wait another week." She then walked to her desk and said "I will unpack my things for now. Commander, Captain, you may proceed without me."

"Understood, Doctor." Ava gave a nod. Giving a wave, Kayto followed Ava as she walked off toward the Turbolifts. She looked to the Captain and said "She seems intrigued by the idea of working with our crew..."

"Doc Halsey was always like that, far as I heard..." Kayto noted. "How've you been, Ava?"

The woman looked ahead as they entered the turbolift, then said "Since we last talked or since I joined the Academy, Captain?"

"Either." Kayto shrugged.

"... I've been better, but I can't complain." Ava hummed, leaning back as the Turbolift began its ascent to Deck 0. The Crew Area. "The assignment to the Sunrider felt like a good opportunity... She's a jointly-designed ship with aid from Allies my father helped make and with a joint Officer Cadre. I've been given quite a lot of education in collaborating with the UNSC's limited Naval Personnel and with the Spartans..."

"Glad to hear I've got an expert in handling those guys." Kayto quipped. And he saw her stifling a laugh to maintain professionalism. The elevator pinged as they arrived at their next area and Ava stepped off first. Down the Hallway and to the Right, they moved past the Medical bay... And Kayto sighed "Next Wednesday... Right." before entering the Mess Hall. The room was fit for half of the ship crew to eat, with a buffet and an actual chef behind the station, as well as several dozen tables and seats. On the left, behind a wall, were some benches and a holographic screen displaying the outside. Specifically, Cera and the sea of stars around it.

"This is the Mess Hall, where you can meet with crew and chat after missions." Ava noted. "Also where you acquire food, but that's obvious."

"It's always good to know where the food is." Kayto quipped again... And Ava yet again gave him the Deadpan stare... He sighed "Moving on?" and was led out by Ava. She entered a place labelled 'Recreation Room', just beside the Mess Hall. Opening the door, she showed Kayto to a room with a small bar in the corner, a window with a perfect view of the Cradle station and, of course, several game machines and holo-visions. A vending machine rested in the left corner, beside a row of computers on desks and a plant resided to their left, just at the entryway. There were also two billiards tables at the center.

"This is an annex to the Mess Hall, called the Recreation Room. Here, crew and pilots may come to relax after missions with either games or drinks... As much as I disagreed with it, some of the Marines insisted for it to be added..." before rubbing her temples. "Let's go."

"I mean... It seems like a nice place." Kayto shrugged, making Ava mutter something to herself... He sighed, then chuckled to himself. Ava was still her old self. As they walked out of the Recreation Room, they marched into the Captain's room. The woman slid her bracelet over the scanner, then waved the Captain inside... To say the quarters wasn't a beauty would be a lie and a half... The beautiful furniture, the bed, the holographic screens that allowed an outside view, even the multi-level area with the office up top.

"Wow... Looks like I've moved up in the world." The Captain's grin returned. He looked to Ava

The woman nodded. "Indeed. Even I said that some of the things on board the Sunrider make it feel like a cruise ship... Alas, this is your office and personal quarters, Captain. Aside from serving as your quarters, there was an FTL communication device installed here in case you want to make calls. In the same vein, if crew members wish to meet you and talk, they'll be waiting in the hallway outside."

Kayto nodded "An open door means a happy crew. And a happy crew means a happy ship."

"Indeed." Ava nodded, a hint surprised at the Captain's behavior... She guessed that he was taught as such by the Academy Psychiatry professor. With a small smile, she offered "That would be the short tour. If you wish to discover more, you can explore the ship later on as you go. Now, let's proceed to the bridge and begin the... Maiden Voyage, as it was referred to." to which the Captain nodded... Back on the bridge, Kayto found his seat with Ava joining him.

"She's ready and rarin' to go, Captain." Cortana said. "All systems nominal."

"Good... Put me on the PA." Kayto said. Ava tapped a few buttons and Shields spoke toward a microphone in his shield. "Attention, all crew! This is your Captain speaking:We will soon begin engine tests for the Sunrider's Maiden Voyage. Enter yellow alert and maintain active sensor sweeps. Shields, over and out." before closing the mic. He heard the ship's yellow alert klaxons sound off twice. Kayto gave a node and said "All ahead, quarter-speed."

... Alarms blared... Klaxons wailed and the sensor crew yelled to the Captain "Sir, we've got five contacts, warping in! PACT signatures!"

"PACT missile boats..." Ava muttered, then turned to the Captain and reported calmly "They must be trying to warp in a strike force. Take us out while we're still in drydock..."

"Go to Red Alert!" Kayto ordered and the mood in the ship, from lighting to everything, turned blood-red... "Get the ship moving!"

In the inky blackness of space, meanwhile... The blood-red Missile Frigates of the PACT Navy, small, stunted ships that had four sets of multi-launch Hell-Dart systems, moved in a wedge formation. They resembled more 21st-century earth-based designs, with one large chemical fuel engine in the back, to which the Warp Ring that allowed them to jump was attached... The missiles pinged as they locked on... And the first salvo flew out of the tubes. Contrails of black smoke followed in the wake of a swarm of scarlet missiles...

The Sunny Palace was the target... As the missiles got closer and closer, Kayto gritted his teeth... He barked out "BRACE FOR IMPACT!" to the crew through the PA, before leaning into his seat. The hum of the core became louder and louder and the hull of the ship groaned as her engines powered, painfully slow. Seconds ticked away until Impact... And as if by God's intervention, the ship lurched out of the skeletal frame of the cradle just as the rockets struck the Station. Several explosions raked the surface of the support station and it began to vent atmosphere, its crew decimated... The cradle itself collapsed into a burning heap of steel girders. Secondary explosions ignited ammunition dumps and the fuel tanks and the station detonated.

The ship had escaped by the skin of her teeth. The crews aboard the Cradle couldn't say the same... Sheilds gripped his chair, then ordered "Bring us about! Full speed! Ava, status on our armaments!" and he gazed to his CO. The woman nodded, then said "We've got ammunition for the Magnetic Accelerators and a single salvo of Hell Darts! Lasers, Point-Defense and Plasma batteries are active."

Kayto grinned. "Let's give'em a taste of Ceran Firepower... Plasma tubes one and two, fire."

The Gunnery officers responded promptly, focusing energy into the coils that made up the magnetic containment field of the Plasma weapons. As the ship herself took a hard-left turn, the plasma guns in the wings flared... And ignited a bright blue hue. Two boulders of focused ionized gas began to travel through space toward two of the Frigates. The small ships were nimble, but even they couldn't believe their eyes. The fireballs closed distance with their targets and slammed into them. Armor plate melted and ammunition racks ignited. The ships detonated in a flare of red... The Sunrider barreled in in the wake of the Plasma shots, its Point-Defense swiveling to greet the attackers.

"MAC Guns and Plasma turrets in range." Ava reported.

"Fire MACs. Let's see how they perform..." Kayto ordered in response, a wry grin on his face... As the two turrets at the front, housing six MACs between one another traversed, one of the PACT ships banked to the right whilst another wanted to engage the Assault Carrier. The first salvo from Turret 01 thundered... The superheated, magnetically-enhanced projectiles screamed through the empty void of space, before striking and effectively gutting through one of the two frigates at three distinct points. One shot struck the reactor core, blasting the ship into space dust upon impact...

The second salvo, from Turret-02 saw two of the three shots miss. The third, however, sent the ship it was targeting spinning after impact. The ship was vivisected by the blast of the Magnetic weapon's impact, which weighed into the gigatons of force, shattering as the shock reverberated through its hull, destroying the one deck it had and detonating munitions.

The PACT retaliation was weak. Eight missiles flew from the last of the gunboats... The Helix guns intercepted five of them, while the others hit the armor in its most heaviest spots. The Plasma turrets at the front spun about. A full broadside of focused energy peppered the hull of the Frigate that fired. The ship was left a broken mess that now floated emptily through space, before it too detonated...

Ava let out a sigh of relief... A breath the woman didn't know she'd been holding. Minor hull damage, but no breaches... She looked to Cortana, who seemed focused on data streaming in from the sensors, before turning to the Captain and reporting "We've cleared the last PACT picket ship, sir. I advise we maintain Red Alert, however. That could have been only a scouting party..."

Kayto gave a nod, then smiled "Agreed. Helm, have us join up with the rest of the Fleet and aid them in the mop-up!"

As the Sunrider moved into position, a hail came through the Comm system... Kayto looked to Cortana, who nodded and winked off the holographic display. In her stead, Captain Lasky, now older with 4 years and with more grey hair on his head, appeared, smiling. "Nicely done out there, Sunrider. Seems she's behaving just as expected..." He congratulated them.

"Thank you, Captain... Yeah, she handles like a dream." Kayto smirked. "Will the Infinity be joining us?"

"Yes. We're currently diverting power to engines to get us out of Drydock in case of a second attack. Our shields are offline for now, but we've got weapons." Lasky admitted. "We're thinkin-"

He cut off as shrill, more loud alarms came to Kayto's ears... Cortana reappeared on the screen next to Lasky's form, then yelled, her voice full of worry "Sir! Massive contact, warping in off the ODP Cluster! The ODPs' generator station has stopped responding!" to which Lasky's eyes went wide... Cortana continued "The Ceran government believes it to be an act of sabotage! We don't know what happened!"

"Damn!" Kayto said... Before looking at the holographic screen...

... A 3km long, scarlet monstrosity winked into real-space, joined by at least three dozen more PACT support ships. Shock reverberated through the Navy and Captain Lasky's eyes went wide. Kayto saw the Infinity off to the right. The enemy warship they faced was one laced with armament. Four prongs extended from the warp ring of the ship, each with about a dozen Trinity lasers, Kinetic cannons and Point Defense systems, not to mention the core of the ship... A massive energy cannon was mounted on her nose...

"Ava, report! Nobody told us PACT had a ship of that size!" Shields demanded, standing up and looking at the holographic display with surprise...

"Captain! I've just gotten the reports now! That's the PACT Super-Dreadnought Legion!" Ava yelled aloud... Then gasped "POWER SURGE FROM THE LEGION'S MAIN ARMAMENT! BRACE!"

... Infinity's engines strained and nearly buckled as the Captain had ordered a full intercept. First, lasers from the enemy Dreadnought cut through the blackness. The waves of light struck Ceran Navy warships that the Sunrider had joined with... As the Shadow of Intent made way to join the fight too, the spinal energy weapon of the Legion powered... Aimed right for the rest of the fleet...

"Ava!" Kayto coughed "Status report... What's the damage!"

"Such disgusting firepower..." Ava trembled as the reports came in... "The CSF Infallible has been sunk with all hands! The CSF Guardian, Paladin and Shield have taken severe damage and are unable to fight or retreat! We're venting atmosphere and our port-side Trinity lasers have been severely damaged and are unusable... And the Legion's powering another shot and the Infinity's moving to intercept! THEY DON'T HAVE SHIELDS!"

... The main cannon of the warship let out a deafening, high-pitched thrum as the beam of high-frequency, high-power plasma lanced through space. The Infinity moved in front of the barrel and took the brunt of the shot... Centimeters of Titanium-A melted away within a flash of heat. The beam of energy gutted through the mid section of the ship and multiple sections were vaporized. One of the Hangars was severely damaged and one of the Tridents was caught by the beam just as the ships were launching to intercept... The Infinity had begun to drift, turning its weapons to engage the enemy warship...

"No..." Kayto said... And a second shot screamed out of the mouth of the beast. Cera City vaporized... The planetary capital was reduced to ash, fire and memories now gone forever...

As Lasky's form reappeared, a bit wounded, the man ordered "Captain! Cera City has just been nuked and we've lost the Admiralty! As acting commander of the joint defense fleet, I am ordering a full withdrawal! The Infinity and Shadow of Intent will provide cover while the Sunrider and whatever ships can, leave the system! Consider it a standing order! Lasky out!"

... Kayto looked at where the man once stood, then looked to the displays of the engagement... Shadow had indeed joined. Its Seraph fighter complement opened fire with all weapons, its Lasers and Plasma thundered... But more PACT ships arrived... He looked to his planet and at the crater where Cera City once resided and felt his heart beat rise... A hand gripped his shoulder. He turned to see Ava, with tears in her eyes, call out "CAPTAIN! YOUR ORDERS!" with a cracking voice.

... "Slip us out!" He ordered, unsure.

"WHAT?!" Ava barked.

"You heard me! Cortana, get us a Slipspace jump solution to the Rally Point and get us the fuck out of here!" He ordered, then turned to Ava and took her hand "Ava... I swear to you and to everyone that died today, we will be back for Cera! We will come back! We'll make allies all over the galaxy if we have to and come back here to get our home back! But for now, you have to trust me!"

... Swallowing and unable to say anything, Ava nodded... She trusted him with her life...

And Cortana called out "We've got the solution! Strident-class Frigate UNSC Midway is requesting permission to join us!"

"Granted, now JUMP!" He barked...

... Ahead, space rippled and broke apart. A sparkling wormhole, made of blue lightning, erupted. And as the Captain took one last look at his burning homeworld and the Fleet fighting to defend their retreat, he swore to himself and to everyone who died and was dying to defend Cera... He would be back. With a Fleet... He would be back and he would retake Cera...

The two ships, one Ceran, one UNSC, now united in cause, flew through the Slipspace tear... And it winked out and shut behind them...