Delegation on Gaeto

After the events of the Battle of Eafth, Karl was hoping to unite other worlds to help in his fight against the Chat Empire. Karl, knowing that he had strong control and support on Gaeto, decided to hold the delegation there, in the capital of Turesta.
==Background==
With the The Chat Schism only a few days old, Karl was hungry to get back to fighting the Chat. However, he soon realized that the New Galactic Republic was lacking materials to operate against the Chat Empire effectively. He knew he was not the only person who wished to remove the Chat from power; so he had Blue send out an encrypted message to known worlds and groups who had a beef with the Chat. Karl's hope was that he could have enough materials and manpower to no only go to war with the Chat, but to stand a chance of defeating them.
==Gaeto Prepares==
Karl, knowing that bringing this many enemies of the Chat Empire to one place was dangerous, wanted to make sure the city of Turesta was safe. This meant increasing the size of the defense fleet above Gaeto while also filling the city with police forces and Republic Guard soldiers. Karl tasked Jess McKathy with overseeing the security in the city, giving her control of the over 12,000 personal protecting the city. Another security measure was that when ever a ship landed, it was boarded and searched to make sure everything and everyone was accounted for. Though some people were not happy with this, notably, Lord of the STARS and Commander Heathcliff, they eventually allowed Karl's forces to search their ships. However, unknown to them, Karl was also gathering intelligence on each ship as it landed in the dry docks. More safety protocols included all delegates had to either sleep in their ships or in the nearby military barracks, each delegate was under constant watch and escort from Karl's forces, and no delegates where allowed to leave the city for any reason. The planet had entrusted Karl with their safety, and he was not ready to let them down. 
However, even after all of this, Karl could not shake the feeling that they were still vulnerable to a breach in security. Given the events Karl had witnessed during his hunt for Commander Heathcliff, Karl ordered DMR and Jess to keep tabs on him, with assistance from two members of the Elite Guard, Edward and Megan. Their job was to follow Heathcliff around the city and make sure he did not do anything that Karl considered "suspicious." As night fell on the city, the delegation was only 12 hours away. In those 12 hours though, this small group following Heathcliff would start to uncover a bomb plot that threatened not only the meeting, but the entire fate of the New Galactic Republic.
==Enter Heathcliff==
Heathcliff decided to stop by Karl's residence after taking a stroll around the city at night. Being greeted by Ultra Force, he welcomed Heathcliff in, though he was a little surprised he came to the house so late. After a few minutes, Karl came down to greet Heathcliff, and the two sat down. Offering Heathcliff a drink, the two war vets sat across from each other. While Heathcliff was calm, Karl was a little tense, caught off guard by Heathcliff's sudden arrival. Before Karl had a chance to speak though, Heathcliff started asking Karl questions about the delegation. Heathcliff was concerned that Karl was not doing everything in his power to protect this planet from the Chat. Karl, taking this as an insult, reminded Heathcliff that he had already protected this planet once from an attack from an outside force. Heathcliff though did not buy this, saying Karl was ill-equipped to deal with any threats directed towards this planet. Tried of hearing Heathcliff's slander, Karl ordered DMR and Jess to escort Heathcliff back to his ship, and to make sure he stayed there until the delegation started. While Heathcliff did leave Karl's house, he had no intention of going back to his ship yet. He warned not only DMR and Jess, but Megan and Edward, who had been ordered to help the two, that he was going to the slums of Turesta to see some old friends. While the group knew that they would not be welcomed there, the fact that Heathcliff's friends might have intelligence on the bomb plot was well worth the risk. They got into armored vehicles and followed Heathcliff's orders as they drove off into the night. 
The convoy stopped in front of a decrepit building, to which the team asked Heathcliff if this was the right place. He said yes, but told them to wait here first, as they would not take kindly to their presence. Though they were reluctant to obey, Jess sided with Heathcliff, stating they did not have good enough intel to counter Heathcliff's statement. Exiting the car, Heathcliff approached the house only to be greeted by a figure hiding behind the door. It took them a moment to figure out that it was Heathcliff, to which the door opened and Heathcliff was immediately greeted by Hatsuse Ino, an old friend of his. Heathcliff was also greeted by Sora and Shiro, who Heathcliff was glad to see again. The group of four started talking in a foreign language as DMR, Jess, Megan, and Edward approached the building. Listening to the conversation, the four realized they had no idea what the other group was saying. Jess made the call to radio in Karl, asking for Blue to be hardwired into her helmet to act as a translator. Karl agreed and in a few short moments, Blue was in Jess's HUD.
The group approached the house and entered, getting a rude welcome from Sora. This almost caused an argument to break out between Sora and Megan, but Jess was able to cool off the situation. The two groups talked a little more until DMR started getting antsy, saying Heathcliff was wasting their time and energy. While Heathcliff was happy to see his old friends again, DMR was getting on his last nerve, as the two still had not gotten over what happened on Catoonie. To the surprise of Heathcliff though, Jess took DMR's side, saying that while she was happy that Heathcliff was making up for lost time, there were more pressing matters currently at hand. Feeling chased out of his friends house, Heathcliff told Ino to take the children and head to his ship, since he was going to make sure they were safe when the bomb went off. Heathcliff them stormed out of the house, and proceeded to head deeper into the slums. The four soldiers followed him, but Heathcliff told them not to come, as they would be shot for wearing military clothing. Knowing they needed any information possible on the bomb, the team made the choice to still follow Heathcliff, but they turned off their communications, which meant they were no longer in contact with Karl. Since the signal was lost, Blue was returned to Karl, who told him what they were up to. Knowing things would only be escalating, Karl got himself ready to go after the group, leaving Ultra in charge to oversee the house.
==Deeper into the Slums==
Heathcliff lead the group into an underground sewer that was filled with deadly toxins. While there were other ways to get to their destination, this way would was not only the most direct way, it would allow the group to be undetected. Heathcliff advised them to keep their helmets, while Heathcliff's prior experience with the area and augmentations would keep him from being killed by the gases. Before they entered though, Heathcliff also gave Megan and Edward a can of spray paint, suggesting they cover up their insignia's. After a few minutes, the group made it out of the tunnels, and where in front of the contact's house. The group approached the house and Heathcliff knocked on the door. Opening the door, Heathcliff's friend, Avery Johnson, opened the door, surprised to see his old war buddy standing in front of him. The two veterans began to speak with each other but it was soon cut off as the group started pressing Johnson for information regarding the bomb. They learned it was going to be an inside job, with a a member of the Republic Guard acting as a mole. DMR was angry with Johnson, who he accused of with holding vital information. Heathcliff stepped in, calling DMR 'Tyler', and told him to keep his mouth shut; which was the last straw for DMR. When it finally looked like DMR and Heathcliff were about to go at it, the sound of a Dropship landing broke up the two. Karl had finally arrived, and he meant business.
Karl gave Johnson two very clear options, either open the door or he would blast it down. Grudgingly, Johnson let Karl in, who threatened him with violence if he did not answer his questions. Heathcliff and Jess get in the middle of them, with Edward telling Karl everything Johnson had just told them. To everyone's surprise, Karl already knew there was a mole in his troops, and her name was Kai. Jess was angry with Karl for with holding information, but was quick to point out that they were running out of time. A plan was quickly drawn up, which involved DMR acting has Karl's bodyguard, Jess and Megan acting as security, Ultra securing Kai, and Edward monitoring cameras around the capital building.
==The Delegation Begins==
The sun rose on another beautiful on Turesta, and the city was bustling. Security forces were in full swing as they escorting delegates into the capital building. As troops moved around the city, Karl's dropship landed in front of the Capital Building, dropping off everyone except himself. Karl was hoping to convince Heathcliff to stay at the delegation, but told everyone else he would be back before it's official start. The dropship left for the dry docks, as everyone else walked towards the building.
Megan, Jess, and Ultra Force were stationed at the main security checkpoint, which was searching delegates and checking their names off a list. Edward made his way to the central control hub, monitoring movement in and around the capital building. While all of this was going on, Karl's dropship landed in the dry docks and he made his way towards The Hecate. Waiting for Heathcliff to arrive, Karl made small talk with a soldier. Moments later, Heathcliff arrived with all his friends; he was taking them to his ship for safe keeping. Karl making one last attempt to convince Heathcliff to come, told him not to fight because he wanted him to, but for everyone else who was fighting to not only stop the Empire, but to free his sister. When Heathcliff appeared unmoved by his words, Karl left to go get his delegation underway. Unknown to him though, Heathcliff would be coming, but as Sora's bodyguard.
DMR and Karl walked into the main meeting room and got everyone settled in. Making his opening statement, Karl was thankful for everyone who had shown up to pledge support for the New Galactic Republic. As this was going on, Megan and Jess got word that a man had been detained by police forces for having a fake ID. Knowing this could be a break in the case, the two girls quickly moved to see the prisoner. Getting there, Megan started beating the prisoner up when he bad mouthed her. They learned that he was apart of the Black Fang, and he was going to put gas into the delegation's room to increase the size of the explosion when a bomb would be set off. It was also discovered that the bomb needed a wireless signal to go off. Before Megan put a round into the prisoner's skull, he said the bomb was not somewhere, but someone; indicating that someone was going to blow themselves up. Radioing to Karl, he then passed the message onto Ultra, with orders to capture Kai. Though she did fight back, Ultra was able to stick a syringe into Kai, knocking her out.
While all of this was going on, Sora and Heathcliff were making their way towards the delegation. After checking in with security guards, who searched the two, they proceeded into the meeting room and took their seats. After a short discussion between Karl and Sora over the Republic's ability to combat the Chat Empire, a delegate, Krestof stood up from his seat. Shouting that Karl could not promise any of them true safety, he took out a trigger and pressed it. However, nothing happened and before he could react, a bullet from DMR went right through his right shoulder, knocking him down. As he fell to the ground, Heathcliff teleported Sora and himself back to their ship. As the gun shot echoed through out the building, Megan and Jess made a break for the room. Asking what was going on, Edward told them DMR had shot a delegate who brandished a weapon, and that people were running out of the room. Karl, seeing all the chaos and confusion, ordered Megan and Edward to meet up with him in the delegation room, while Jess helped get the delegates safely on-board their ships once order was restored. Until then, no one was allowed to leave the planet.
==From Pain, Comes Answers==
With the delegation suspended, Karl was not longer forced to attend his own delegation. With rage in his heart from the recent events, Karl went to the basement of the capital building to where his two prisoners were tied up. Kai and Krestof were each tied down to separate chairs facing each other on opposite sides of the room. Ultra and a few guards were already stationed in the room when Karl arrived, under heavy guard. Angry and demanding answers from Krestof, Karl started off the torture by peeling off Krestof's skin. As this was happening, Heathcliff arrived with Sora and Shiro, wanted to see what had happened to Krestof. As Karl continued the torture, Sora kept on telling him he was doing it wrong, though Karl just ignored her. 
Krestof, hoping to stop the pain, told the group he had acted as a human bomb because the Chat had promised his people safety. He said that if he was successful in preventing the delegation, the Chat would make sure that his people were safe. Satisfied with him for now, Karl gave him a clean shot in the gut with his sledgehammer, he then walked towards Kai, to now get answers out of her. However, unlike Krestof, she would not talk as she was punched, her bones broken, and hit with a sledgehammer. Realizing he was wasting his time and energy, he went back to Krestof. As Karl approached Krestof, the ground started to shake and a defining roar came in. As the group tried to regain their balance, Krestof's smirked as he knows that the second bomb was a success.
==The Second Bomb==
While Jess was escorting people out of the building and into their ships, the bomb went off, sending her flying. She landed hard, cracking her helmet, so she removed it as she could no longer see out of it. Blood ran down her face as she tried to regain her bearings. Jess's ears where still ringing but she could she people running for their lives, some of them being gunned down. Drawing her pistol, she headed into the dust cloud. Seeing a security officer approach her, Jess lowed her weapon but quickly ducked behind cover when he fired on her. Though Jess identified herself, she was forced to drop the officer when he continued to open fire on her. Approaching the dead body, she realized that the badge was wrong, meaning there were fake officers in the city. However, her attempts to call for help or relay her discovery fell on deaf ears as the bomb had also disabled communications in the area. Coming to the conclusion she would be on her own, Jess continued to move through the dust until a mysterious figure attacked her. Though they disarmed her, Jess fought back with everything she had but she was no match in her current state; the figure captured her and left the area.
As the team regrouped, DMR made a desperate attempt to contact Jess. Though he was concerned when there was no response, he was reassured that it was because coms were down. Heathcliff, Megan, and DMR left the room to go search the wreckage for Jess, while everyone else stayed in the room with the prisoners. However when the bomb went off, Sora killed Kai in fear with a headshot, much to the disappointment of Karl. As he returned to Krestof, the trio left the capital building and entered the deadly dust cloud. As they walked through it, DMR kept shouting out the call-signs, hoping Jess would respond. Instead, the team was met with a wall of lasers as members of the Black Fang, dressed as cops, opened fire on them. Returning fire, the group soon realized they were ill-equipped to deal with the threat. DMR, running off pure desperation, charged the enemy, firing at them with his M36A5C. Unable to get a clean shot, it gave Megan and Heathcliff the chance to flank their enemies and take them down. As the sounds of gunfire settled down, DMR looked around and noticed a helmet laying on the ground. Running over to it, he picked up Jess's cracked helmet and looked around, discovering there her body was no where nearby. As the dust cloud departed, the full scale of the damage and death from the bomb became clear to the group.
Unknown to the team, the unknown figure was after the bounty on Jess's head. Having secured her, the unknown figure teleported to his personal dropship before leaving the planet to collect the rest of its reward. Back at the capital building, Karl, after mutilating Krestof's body, Karl finally shot him. In his dying breath, Krestof said that he was only doing to ensure the survival of his planet, to which Karl said he was doing the same. Calling in the rest of the team, Karl soon learned that while the area had been secured, Jess had been taken.
==Conclusion==
As news of the bombings spread across the planet, the team was left to pick up the pieces. As night fell on the city, they started to come together, trying to figure out their next plan of attack. Karl contacted his personal hacker, asking for a lead on Zeta. As he got to work, DMR walked off with Jess's helmet. It was at this time that Fox and Vegito arrived in the system, coming from the battle of Eafth. As their dropship landed, Blue brought the two back up to speed on current events. While all of this was going on, Heathcliff's injuries had finally taken there toll on his body, he slipped into a coma. With her husband sidelined for the time being, Sinon was left with a lot of choices in front of her, mainly whether to stay on Gaeto or not. Remembering that Heathcliff actually somewhat liked Jess, she decided to keep the Hecate on Gaeto and help them bring Jess back, alive.
Jess finally woke up to see that she was in a prison. A man appeared in-front of her, under heavy guard, and introduced himself as Hado Shinjitsu. He told Jess that they would soon get to know each other well very soon and with that comment, one of his guards knocked her out.
Category:Conflicts
Category:Battles