Chapter 1 - Commencement

## Prologue (9/02/21)

The Asyl Ioathrellian appears in the domain of his long-lasting adversary, having come to watch as the Honu Dalamen continues to starve to death after his connection to the third dimension was severed by the Outlands Federation. Inevitably, the Asyl cheerfully taunts his weakened archenemy, elated that after the millennia of battling one another, the Honu would finally meet its demise, and then goes on to state that he gives full credit to the one who made this all possible. Shortly thereafter, the Asyl departs, and the Honu is forced to consider doing the one thing that he despises most.

## Part 1: Interstellar (9/03/21-9/29/21)

On April 7, 3194, Stratos Squad comes together for the first time, the squad consisting of Nilam Enrinque, a mining operative and expert employed by the MDMR; Strelka Saturn, a mechanics and engineering expert; Wolfgang E. Meyer, an expert rifleman and pilot; Cassidy-Mae Ambrose, a CQC and stealth expert; and Elliot Castillo, a law and navigations informant. Having been tasked with inspecting all of the party's vessels, Strelka first turns her attention to the crew of The Jackdaw—Wolfgang, Cassidy-Mae, and Elliot—and greets them. Wolfgang, however, disapproves of Strelka's request to inspect The Jackdaw, stating that he already has a mechanic, a gentleman named Jackie, who awkwardly attempts to generate small talk with Strelka. After the peculiar exchange, a wolf named Aria Snowdrop arrives, greeting Strelka and the other members of Stratos Squad, and briefly converses with Strelka and Nilam. Following this, Strelka provides them a greenlight to see to their vessels and takeoff, which they (mostly) rather enthusiastically carry out. Stratos Squad then jump into slipspace (Strelka has to dock due to Dr. Strangelove lacking the appropiate drive), en route to Questa.

## Part 2: Cinder (9/30/21-10/30/21)

Stratos Squad emerges from slipspace just outside of Questa's atmosphere, the homeworld of the Outlands Federation and the planet that has the capital city, Cinder. The planet's visuals receive mixed reception from the group, but ultimately, they proceed on to capital port Bay H80 located in Cinder. Expectedly, the squad isn't certain that they'll be treated fondly, but nonetheless, they all press on and exit their vessels upon arriving at the spaceport. However, upon entering the atrium, they're pleasantly surprised by the visuals; in the process, they encounter Commander Beaumont Argent, who was tasked with retrieving Stratos Squad and escorting them Traxus, a government building in the city where the negotiations will take place. Their initial conversation with Argent goes mostly well, and it's revealed that he and Aria have had a longtime friendship that spawned during their childhood. Nonetheless, Argent escorts the diplomats and Stratos to their transit car, but a complication with the transit car operator forces Argent to briefly part with the ISMA servicemen; they are guided into the transit car by a security officer, and they all take a seat, some of them doing so at the bar and others doing so at a normal seat in the vehicle. Cassie, Strelka, and Aria—the three that went to the drink expo—are served by a bartender named Ecrins, who although seems fairly cordial, raises concerns with the current television channel with Argent as he boards the transit car. As he is preoccupied, Argent isn't interested in doing anything about it, and soon enters the operator's cabin alongside the replacement transit car operator. Once the two are out of sight, Ecrins informs them that the departure sequence is extremely loud, which happens to occur just as Ecrins delivers the warning, and the transit car departs from the station moments thereafter.

## Part 3: Grand Traxus Station (11/03/21-11/21/21)

Once the transit car arrives at the station across the street from Traxus, the diplomats and escorts exit the vehicle and step onto the ground below, with Ecrins and the transit car operator remaining behind. Chief of Security Aru Flynn, as well as his subordinates, greet Argent and the ISMA dispatches with a friendly tone, though one of the security guards is shunned away for the "conspiratorial" belief that Mother actually exists. The spectacle sparks mixed reactions from Stratos, but they ultimately continue on into the building, passing by a statue of Ruth Blackclaw in the process. As they enter the Main Negotiations Hall, a group of officers begin to provoke Stratos, and after their leader attempts to size up Nilam, Argent incapacitates their leader and forces him to leave as Chancellor Val Caesar himself arrives, greeting Stratos Squad in a seemingly civil fashion.

## Part 4: Traxus Negotiations Hall (11/21/21 -12/20/21)

Despite the Chancellor's seemingly friendly behavior, Stratos experiences issues on their own: Jackie goes dark on the communications, the Techmaurok Katana Exosuit's motion sensor pings irregularly, and Strelka's readings of Dr. Strangelove are weakened. Their concerns are brought up to Val Caesar himself, who dismisses their concerns and proceeds onward with the negotiations. However, the negotiations take a turn for the worst and become rather enflamed—literally. Several explosives go off along the building's perimeter, causing debris, rubble, and fire to gradually overtake the building.

## Part 5: Traxus Negotiations Hell (12/20/21 -1/03/21)

With the building rapidly deteriorating, the diplomats being slain, and a powerful military presence of enemy soldiers surrounding the building, Stratos is in a tight situation. Following a brief skirmish with Aria, Val Caesar is incapacitated by Argent, the latter going as far as gunning down a squad of friendlies in order to rescue Aria (but not an event entirely unwitnessed, as Lady Fahrenheit takes notice). Despite technically being on opposing sides, Argent offers to lead Stratos to safety, which obviously raises skepticism among them; however, with Traxus coming down on them, they lack much option and follow him into underground Cinderian filtration tunnels, which will allow them to escape whilst circumventing the soldiers above-ground.