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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tun Kai Poh" data-source="post: 8438545" data-attributes="member: 6761960">Prayers. Apotheosis.On the Shaka Zulu, the Armory crew members work at a brisk pace, clearing the ship for battle. Strike Captain Bannon is in a foul mood, sweeping through deck after deck on last-minute inspections. The junior officers pass around word that the Union fleet took out an equal force of Karrakin ships without taking a scratch. Splinter and Eland have already gained a rep in the Dawnline Shore. They are a force to be reckoned with, no matter what the Strike Captain says.Every Armory capital ship carries a small garden lounge area, a small piece of Ras Shamra to remind the spacers what they fight for. In the last hour leading up to inevitable engagement, as the two fleets deccelerate and lock into the gyre of battle, some of the Rittermeer crew members stop in the ship's rock garden to press their hands against the slate boulder at its centre, saying a little prayer.On the MSMCS We Demand Hazard Pay, Major Mahayhay busies herself with the readiness of the mounted chassis wings, ensuring that they have been fitted with breaching charges, CQB loadouts and boarding beacons. Data on the Armory ships is loaded into each mech's COMP/CON or onboard NHP. Where she deems it appropriate, she slaps the odd pilot on the back and gives them encouraging words. She keeps up a solid front that belies her misgivings about their voyage of death.In his ready room, Colonel Milch revises his final will and testament. Messages to both of his ex-wives, and all seven kids. Despite his outward bravado and bluster, he too has a bad feeling about this battle.Ship NHPs merge. The fleet legions coalesce.In the Union fleet's command centres, Aegis greets each captain simultaneously. "Fleet is ready for action, Captain," the legion says to Tabitha. There's a slightly different tone to her voice - of course, Tabitha realises, the mercenaries's NHP, Cunningham, has been integrated into Aegis for this battle as well."I'm ready to designate targets for superheavy and primary weapons," says Aegis. "The Richard Wagner will soon suffer battle damage from its overcharging procedures. We will fire before any of the enemy flagships. Two of the Hannibal's destroyers will retaliate with short-spool spinal guns at roughly the same time. The Shaka Zulu's RED GIANT Solar Lance will take some hours more before it can fire. The Titania's Demisolar Lance will fire at the start of the second day of battle. And then, if the Wagner survives, one of its guns might fire again. Some time during this sequence of events, at least one enemy carrier will arrive to join the Armory fleet. These are some of the most probable events we must plan around."In the Shaka Zulu's CIC, the Armory fleet's digital shipminds knit together and resolve into the towering figure of Aelita, the fleet legion. "Strike Captain, what is thy will?"Catrina Bannon looks around the virtual battlespace at the faces of her subordinate captains. "We should keep our distance, let our spinal lances do the work. Captain Klukas, I want a curtain of Pulse-Pack Missiles in their path. Let's see if the Red scum want to taste nuclear fire to get to us."Captain Ashanti of the Hannibal clears her throat. "Our lads on the Siegfried and the Roy will be the first to draw blood with their spinal guns. Who do we kill first?""That one." Bannon stabs her finger at one particular ship. "But Titania will be the one to fire first, with the Omnigun and the Harbinger laser. Klukas, soften her up, why don't you?""The pleasure will be mine," replies Klukas, stiffly saluting.Bannon looks up at Aelita. "Coordinate the firing. Ensure the most efficient distribution of damage. Make them bleed.""Thy will be done.""Good. Remember, we just need to wait for Gopalakrishnan and his ships. Hold the line. Stall the Reds. Victory is inevitable."</blockquote>

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