Mon Aug 23, 2004 9:21 am by Solar Pilot
(Note: Yeah... I know... long time since my last post, and I know this one's a doozy. But I've been busy with work, so deal. Anyway, here goes. I'm playing mega catch-up along this one post, so... use your imagination.)
Nathan Edwards/Patriot/Newark Station/Liberty Police
Edwards groaned as he tractored in the last of the escape pods floating around the hulks of West Point. He didn't like this at all. California was lost. Texas was falling. He knew the New York system would be next. The destruction of most of West Point was proof of that. Although, he couldn't understand why the Bretonians would be rash enough to attack the installation. It was a military academy , not a forward outpost. There were mostly young adults on that station. Countless many of them dead now, floating adrift the vacuum of space; the remainder floating around in the escape pods. Fortunately, he was not alone. Most of Chief Constable Alistair Grey's BPA squadron had accompanied him to this point.
Earlier, when Edwards had entered Magellan out of San Diego, he found an enormous force of BAF Crusaders and Liberty Rogue Bloodhounds waiting for him. Frantically, he'd hit his thrusters, avoiding the torrent of fire that they'd unleased upon him. And then, as if divine intervention had stepped into play, a voice had spoke out among the torrent of radio chatter from the Bretonians: "Red Flight, engage!" In a scene of surrealism, the dozen BPA Cavaliers opened fire with Skyrails and Rippers upon the combined BAF and Liberty Rogue swarm that was chasing a lone LPI Patriot. Glad for the support, Edwards came about and had pressed the attack as well, his Justices opening up on the horde as well. In the midst of the confusion, about four Crusaders and five Bloodhounds fell before they began to get organized. While the Cavaliers covered Edwards, he'd transmitted the lockdown codes to the California Jump Gate. Like a godsend, he saw any ambient lights coming off of the gate dim down to nothingness. It had worked. The California Jump Gate was shut down. But now there was a new problem: he needed a new way out. He knew heading to the Cortez System was out of the question. That left him one other option: he'd heard about a disused jump gate between Magellan and New York. That could work. Once there, he'd need to get to the California Jump Gate there, hoping to stave off any rushes by the Bretonians and Rogues from California. So after the police fighters grouped as one, and dropped an immense field of mines and countermeasure flares, they engaged their cruise engines and sped away. Finding little pirate resistance along the way, they managed to get to the Magellan Jump Gate. Edwards used his codes to shut down that gate after they'd gone through it as well. For now, no more Bretonian forces could push into Liberty through Magellan.
When they'd arrived in New York, they found the Badlands unusually quiet. That quiet was shattered when they saw the flare. In the direction of West Point. Speeding that way, the dozen Cavaliers led by a single Patriot arrived at the wreckage of West Point, finding most of the central superstructure in flames and pieces. Distress signals were emanating from various points along the largest pieces of the hulks. Edwards and Red Flights 1 and 2 worked to retrieve as many of the escape pods as possible. Two ships from Red Flight 3 headed for the California Jump Gate to warn the defending Liberty forces there of the incoming onslaught from California, while the other two headed for the Battleship Missouri , advising them of the impending attack from Texas. Fortunately, after their stories were corroborated with Edwards transmitting across the Neural Net, Defenders were dispatched to both jump gates to disable their entry gates on the other sides. The Cavaliers returned to West Point with other Defender escorts to grab the remaining escape pods. The hodgepodge group of rescuing fighters sped off for Manhattan, dropping out of the trade lane next to Newark. After countless repeatings that the BPA Cavaliers were not under direct Bretonian command, they were granted landing clearance on Newark Station.
The Bretonian Police Officers met Edwards on the landing deck. Surprisingly, they were met with welcome hearts as they entered the bar, most if not all of the patrons grateful that they were able to save so many survivors from the West Point wreckage. The remains of the installation were evacuated for now. At the moment, the biggest news was that most of the Liberty Navy and Police forces in Texas and California were pulling back to New York, amassing at the Texas and California Gates. For the sake of humanity though, the Bretonians had made a de facto agreement with the Liberty Police forces in Texas not to open up the prison stations in that region. They knew prisoners in those stations would easily attack both Liberty and Bretonian forces. So the Bretonians kept well away from the Huntsville and Sugarland . What's more, the Bretonian occupiers were remaining well-mannered to the Liberty civilian population, for now anyways.
As the BPA officers and Edwards sat at the bar, ordering up glasses of Liberty Ale, they were joined by a welcome sight: Edwards' Blue Flight had landed on Newark after pulling out of California. What's more, many of Blue and Red Flights had worked on operations in Cortez and Magellan before. They were glad to see each other. It was perhaps the oddest sight in the midst of this sudden war between Bretonia and Liberty: to see LPI and BPA officers carrousing in a bar near Manhattan. One could see that the few Navy officers in the room looked a little uneasy at the sight, but were keeping their peace for now.
After a while of relaxing, talking, and drinking, Edwards had received a call on his Neural Net. Taking Grey in tow, the two of them made their way to a public comm console, receiving a call from LPI Chief Adam Lewiston. Needless to say, the chief was surprised to see a BPA Chief Constable there, but under the circumstances, they needed all the help they could muster. The fact that the Bounty Hunters Guild was not under LPI employ was proof enough of that. They were told that under new resolutions from Congress, all LPI forces were remanded to the command of Admiral Baldwin, head of the Liberty Navy. And they were already receiving orders: meet at the Battleship Missouri in preparation for an attack on Buffalo Base in the Badlands. Grey instantly volunteered his flight to join them, and Lewiston was not one to object to free reinforcements. After returning to the bar and rallying their pilots, Grey and Edwards made their way to the hangar bay as their squadrons' pilots began to head for their fighters.
"Who'd have thought it'd end up like this, hm?" Grey asked as the whine of engines began to increase.
"I certainly didn't," Edwards replied. "Look, Al... I appreciate what you're doing here. I really do."
Grey gave Edwards a look of humor. "Think nothing of it, Nate. Besides, I know you'd do the same for me if Jacobi flipped her lid and came against us."
Edwards smirked. "Probably."
Grey began to move towards his Cavalier. "Let's get moving. I have a few calls to make along the way."
After enough pre-flight checks, LPI Blue Flight and BPA Red Flight made their way from Newark's hangar bay, a glorious sight to see a mass of Bretonian and Liberty fighters streaking for the trade lane to Fort Bush. They were on their way to Norfolk Shipyard.
It was time to make a stand.
It's Dagger time again 
