The Pious Lament slides majestically back into orbit of the plane Gelron, it is a high orbit as yet, to far to accurately fire its ordnance at the surface but from here it can move to cover a specific target from low orbit in under an hour.

The hanger bays are empty right now, all ships deployed leaving the vast space eerily quiet and echoey. Or if would be if it weren’t in a vacuum

The fighters are all running defensive patrols. one gun cutter has just entered low orbit with Jak and Harmonia aboard, another with Ravandio is running recognisance flights around the Northern Alliance capital where Vormav and his team are de facto hostages, and the third is also in low orbit, along with all the ship’s lighters loaded up with troops and armour under the command of Gregory Asgard.

Garu remains in the city, trapped indoors by the 24 hour curfew but he has heard the fighting and received a report from Tungsten that Lady MaCregge, the Planetary Governor general, and Sir Damion Ply-Morrison, Commander in Chief, Gelron Defence Arm, (GDA), both been rescued from Sir Ply-Morrison’s hunting lodge just outside the city and are being flown to the headquarters of Manistee and Volt in the south.

There is still a strong contingent of loyal assets from the GDA at that location.

Communications with the Northern alliance capital are being jammed locally by the besieging force and although the shelling has stopped there, close quarter fighting continues against pockets of resistance in the streets.

The bulk of the Northern Alliance forces have been drawn off to protect the orbital launcher in a ruse by the Junta, the majority of the Junta forces are surrounding the NA capital.
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Gregory has never liked being in transit much. You're outside the safe embrace of your defensive emplacements, but not yet stuck in with the enemy. It's not so much the danger or lack thereof, but the waiting; that, and having to psyche yourself up for contact with the enemy while not knowing when you'll actually reach them.

But mostly, it's the waiting. And as the master of arms, he's not allowed to go "are we there yet" the way most of his men are thinking. And the only people who don't think that way are the pilots, because they know full well that they're not there yet, and if they don't keep their eyes peeled for incoming surface to air fire, they may only get "there" as clouds of discorporated particles.

He looks back to the fighting compartment and its grim-faced men.

It is time.

"He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright..."

"Someone attempt to get me communications with the local Gelron Primary commander in the NA Territory" She orders the vox pit before directing the Lament into a mid-orbit over the NA capital and have fire solutions on each concentration of troops.

Grabbing the vox pick up next to her throne she attempts to connect to Asgard ++Asgard, can you read me, whats the situation on the ground. Have you landed your troops within the city yet and have they engaged enemy troops?++

Mostly just watching the world pass by on her way down to the planet while the shuttle crew do their thing Harmonia must have been listening in on a range of available communication frequencies because her reply over the vox is quicker than normal.  ”We are on the way to one of the jamming centers now, depending on what we find there it may be possible to open up communications entirely, if that path is unavailable to us we will see if our own communication system is more effective and attempt to use it by traveling to the capital itself.  If we are out of communication for more than an hour I recommend some form of bombardment of the sites we are not using.”

”My lady, I have a link here to Brigadier Willax Clune”



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Halfway through a rousing chorus of "He Ain't Gonna Grav-Chute No More", Searlait comes in over the vox. Instantly, Gregory is back to business as he picks up.

++Ma'am, we're still inbound but we've noticed a big army digging in around the capital. They've established artillery emplacements and entrrenched themselves around the city. May I recommend an alternative plan? We have eyes on the enemy ammo dumps; if we can take them out, it'll help a lot with further military action. We should still have the modified orbital strike beacons, so we can mark them for the ship guns. Would be much more effective than engaging larger forces directly.++

 Having ceded operational control of this part of the operation to Harmonia, Jak spends the trip down linked to the ship, passing data on their progress to the internal screens - including a small icon of the Lander moving along a blinking line representing their course - while reviewing the information available (either directly or from the auspex systems of the Pious Lament and the Manufactorum) on the jamming field.

"Confirm their allegiance please" she says to the vox-officer, waiting for a response before talking into the voxhorn.

++This is Rogue Trader Searlait Soairse of the Battlecruiser Pious Lament, what in the Name of the Beloved God-Emperor is going on down there!++

While she awaits a response she types a message-to-vox message to Asgard ++Permission to strafe targets of opportunity granted, attempt to hit supply targets including ammo dumps, fuel dumps, food storage and rear artillery positions where possible without undo risk to ships and troops. If possible damage communication jammers to enable free vox communication. If in doubt relay for confirmation of target, otherwise use your own judgement for targets.++

”Ah!, we have your attention at last,” the gruff voice comes over the Vox, cold and cheerless, ”we wish to negotiate the future of this planet, know that if you fire on us you lose your Factotum and most of the infrastructure here, there won’t be anything left worth negotiating for.”

As she listens a message from Gregor Yorick flickers across her screen, ++Brigadier Willax Clune leads the junta that is attacking the Northern Alliance Capital++

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++Thank you ma'am, I'll be coordinating with Ravandio to hit surface targets. Asgard out.++

Gregory orders the Big Map to be brought up so he has a rough idea of where to strike. He also gets on the vox to Ravandio.

++The LC just gave us authority to fire at will on enemy targets. I think their ammo dumps are the top priority but I'm all for engaging things too heavily covered with AA emplacements for you. We'll also be marking targets for orbital strikes if all else fails. Got anything you're planning to hit? Because UNODIR we will be starting with their dumps.++

The Navigatrix was well poised to hear much of the chatter between the various officers of the dynasty and vessel as she tended to her watch upon the bridge. She was forced to ignore the strong desire to find some place for herself in the military and diplomatic machinations that were rapidly spinning outward but while she might be of some assistance in the latter, she had little capacity for the former beyond a comfortable understanding of naval tactics. A blessing certainly but not of particular use if one did not wish to lay flat anything and everything upon the surface of a world.

It was with a soft sigh then that she focused again on the warp lanes. The aura of dread and horrid fascination palpable to any of the bridge crew that might wander too near. Spared the madness and destruction of her unfettered gaze by virtue of the wounded vanity and pride that necessitated the mask and cybernetics that hid her wretched, wasted flesh.

++"The Manufactorum in orbit is the prize here, the factorum and launcher are merely a bonus. I can have the Orbital facility towed away by the Adeptus Mechanicum within 6 months and be gifted a solar system for it."++ she says to the man on the other end of the Vox ++"If you do not move your forces ten kilometres from the Northern Alliance Capital within the next 15 minutes I will start obliterating it from orbit. Once I destroy them I will move to your capital and start razing it to the ground and even if you surrender I will remove it from the face of the planet, return to Imperial space once I've secured resources to those loyal to the God-Emperor and return with more settlers to replace those killed."++

She gives it a few seconds to let it sink in before once more keying the vox ++"If you withdraw your forces we can have a civilised discussion. Your traitor faction, Gelron Primary's legitimate government, the Northern Alliance's leadership, myself and representatives of the Imperial Inquisition"++

++ You name us traitor before the talks have begun, it would not be negotiation but a witch hunt if we withdrew from our military positions, ++ the gruff voice comes back. ++An orbital bombardment while we are close will destroy this city along with us, if we withdraw you can take us out with no serious collateral damage, do you think I’m a fool.++
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Trapped within the city, Garu chafed. Besieged by rain alone, and constrained by the curfew, he needed his team in the field and helping the Lady-Captain, not drumming their fingers in a sub-standard apartment block

Frustratedly, he keys a message to the command team, ++ Assets remain in place here in the capital, one team exfil'd and on their way to the launcher; we can try to apply pressure here, but out of pocket for swift results ++

++I dub thee traitor because you betrayed you Governor; one I am not particularly favoured towards as it were and you instigated an assault on your neighbour without any formal negotiations. Look, I above all else am a merchant. I'd much prefer a peaceful transaction here and I give you my word that should you withdraw and cease active hostilities I can bring Lady MaCregge & Damion Ply-Morrison to a negotiation along with representatives of the Northern Alliance to ensure a peaceful resolution to this predicament that leaves everyone's head attached++

Receiving the message from Garu she types back ++Can your assets at hand attempt to relay tactical to Ravandio and Asgard's strike forces, I am attempting to negotiating a withdrawal of Gelron Primary's rebel faction++

++ Ack, routing; Raena will confirm ++ responded Garu, before sending a coded message to the Raena squad to see if they could redirect

Vormav chaffed under the thought of being a de facto hostage. He paced back and forth through the office space, snarling imprecations at his staff and checking in with the sergeant in charge of his guard so often that the he suspected the runners he sent just stepped out of sight for a moment before returning with a report of no change.

OOC: I assume I'm still on radio silence?

Brigadier Willax Clune comes back on the vox comms, ++I will talk to you, those other people are irrelevant or unworthy, face to face or over the vox, but just you.++

As she talks Searlait receives a text message on one of her screens in forming here that General Peliaxe, head of NA armed forces, is on another channel, his return with the bulk of the SA armed forces has been delayed by the sabotage of a number of bridges and a spall Junta contingent holding a narrow pass.

Ravandio has nothing new to report but joins the Master at Arms little task force giving him two gun cutters under command.

Meanwhile the third Gun Cutter, with Jak and Harmonia aboard enters orbit.

The radio jamming of the NA capital persists.

Please don’t wait on Ravandio’s posting, he can join back in when he’s ready.
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