Alexander and his guards stepped outside as the sounds of the shuttle's engines died down. He smiled as Yulia was jogging over to meet him, along with her guards and Dog. She seemed in high spirits and, going by the look on her face, had plenty to talk about.

"Alex!" she greeted him excitedly.

Alexander chuckled and picked up his daughter as she ran over to him, cradling her in his arms. "Had a good day, I take it?"

She nodded before looking embarrassed. "Can you put me down? I'm too old to be picked up."

Hearing her say that broke his heart, but he nodded his avatar and set her back on the ground even though he didn't agree with her statement.

They slowly made their way across the tarmac back to the shuttle, and Alexander didn't want to make it in awkward silence, so he engaged his daughter with a question. "What was your favorite spot to visit?"

"First, we visited Niagara Falls. I didn't realize water could be so loud. Then we went to a wetland preserve in Florida. I was not a fan of the alligators or snakes. Why can't all animals just be fluffy and cute?"

Alexander chuckled and nodded along as Yulia recounted her day. They were halfway across the tarmac when he noted a flash from one of the surrounding buildings. He didn't even have time to crank his processing speed up before the round slammed into one of the guard's static fields.

"Dog! Defense protocol one!" Alexander shouted before scooping up a very shocked Yulia and hurrying toward the shuttle.

One shooter wasn't a problem, but as soon as that shot had gone out, over a dozen armed and armored Marines had appeared from seemingly nowhere and swarmed toward them, firing indiscriminately as they did so. Screaming civilians made the scene even more chaotic as they exited the building where the sniper was located.

Then he saw missiles streaking toward the shuttle. He spun around, placing his body between the shuttle and Yulia. The three missiles were caught by the vessel's defensive field, but that didn't stop them from detonating. Hot shrapnel peppered his back, and Yulia screamed and covered her ears as the shockwave slammed into them.

When his defensive field didn't kick in to protect himself against the flying metal, he knew he had made the right choice to shield Yulia. It meant the material wasn't going fast enough to trigger his defenses, which meant Yulia's necklace may not have triggered either. Sharp bits of flying metal could still be deadly, even at low speeds. He would need to address that issue at a later time, but right now, he needed to get Yulia to safety.

The attack had all been expertly coordinated, happening in only seconds, but the surprise had failed, and now it was time to return the favor. Dog was the first to respond to the attack, his laser module activating before the sniper could get off a third shot. It flashed invisibly through the window, leaving a molten trail behind as it sliced across the entire side of the building to ensure a kill. No further shots came from that direction, but he knew the module would have burned itself out with that shot.

***

Ezekiel Willard watched as Kane made his way out of the Administration center, the gun propped up on a table so he could stand and fire. He kept having to wipe his clammy hands off on his dress uniform as he waited. He had almost pulled the trigger already, but he needed to wait for the fire alarm to go off first.

Kane was near the center of the tarmac, his daughter by his side, when the alarm finally blared, making him jump slightly. Even then, Ezekiel hesitated a moment. The girl wasn't supposed to be there; it was just supposed to be Kane and his guards.

He shook his hands and tried to calm his nerves. He knew if he didn't do this, the attack would still go forward. Taking a deep breath, he moved the targeting reticle over the first guard and pulled the trigger. The glass window shattered as the round tore through it, and he adjusted to target the next guard.

Had he bothered to remain on the first target for a moment longer, he would have noticed that the projectile had not hit the man, but he had already moved on, so he didn't have to think about what he was doing. Ezekiel idly noted that Kane was already reacting to the attack.

Three explosions shook the surroundings, but Ezekiel did his best to focus on only his task.

The second round went off, then he moved to the third guard and readied to fire once more when white hot pain flashed through him.

Ezekiel looked down in astonishment as his clothing burned. Then he realized he couldn't breathe. He tried to reach up and put the flames out, but when he did so, his arms ended in burned stumps. A choked scream tried to escape his mouth, but only blood bubbled between his lips. He stumbled and collapsed as his vision began to dim. He knew he was dead, but he still cursed the STO and Kane as he took his last breath.

***

Alexander's people returned fire, their FE rifles punching through the Marine armor like butter. He thought they were going to make it safely to the shuttle when three armored vehicles rolled into the square, their guns swiveling toward the shuttle and the security detail as they tried to make a fighting retreat.

The rest of Alexander's strike team rushed down the shuttle ramp to join the defense as the shuttle turret popped up from its hidden compartment within the ship.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

It spun toward the first vehicle and fired off a single round from the FE cannon before any of the vehicles could fire off a single round. Alexander clamped his hands over Yulia's ears a moment before the cannon fired. The following shockwave shattered every single window in sight and turned the vehicle into a smoking pit.

The other armored cars spun their weapons on the shuttle, but the railguns they were equipped with were impotent against the ship's defensive field, which didn't suffer the same limitations as the suits.

Alexander took a moment to check on the guards, wincing internally as he spotted Travers dragging Dorry while the others covered their retreat. There was a trail of blood following the man, meaning the defensive measures had been expended.

He should have done more to extend the duration of the fields. He cut off those thoughts and cradled Yulia once again, hurrying for the shuttle. He could chastise himself later. The genuine article resides on M|V|L&EMPYR.

A stray round whizzed past him, and he nearly panicked as it headed for Yulia, forgetting that she also had a defensive field. Her field stopped the round, but he wasted no more time rushing to the ramp as quickly as possible.

As soon as they were safely aboard, Alexander strapped Yulia into a seat and grabbed one of the FE rifles from the weapon locker. He wouldn't be heading back out there, but he would be ready in case one of the attackers tried to run up the ramp.

Now that he had a weapon in hand, he sent a comm to Grace. "Vigbrand, code black, I want the fleet on full alert."

"We were alerted by the shuttle pilot, the ship is already coming online, we will be ready to undock in one minute."

Alexander thanked his XO and cut the connection so he could focus on what was happening outside.

The sound of firing was getting closer despite the shuttle vaporizing all three armored vehicles with ease and turning its overpowered cannon on the armored figures pushing his people back.

The first up the ramp was Travers, hauling the injured Dorry into a nearby seat. Alexander would have assisted, but he was acting as a shield for Yulia since her field was now depleted. She was silently crying with her eyes closed while covering her ears.

Someone was going to pay for this attack, and not just for causing Yulia emotional distress. He didn't miss the fact that the guards were the first target, followed by the shuttle. Someone didn't want him to leave, and they had no compunctions about attacking while his daughter was present.

Soon, the rest of the strike team retreated into the ramp along with a battered Dog. Alexander saw that one of the strike team was carrying one of Alexander's guards, but he couldn't tell who it was at first glance. The man wasn't moving, and Alexander suspected the worst.

"Lift off!" Galloway ordered as four of the strike team continued to pour fire from the back of the shuttle.

The shuttle rose into the air, and the strike team didn't cease fire until they were a dozen feet into the air and the ramp was halfway closed.

Alexander finally lowered the FE rifle and pulled out the trauma kit for Travers to help treat Dorry's wound. Judging by the damage, the man was going to lose his leg. Unfortunately, the medical facility aboard Grace wasn't going to be able to replace it. He would have to use a prosthetic until they returned to Eden's End, where a new leg could be regrown. Reattaching a limb was a tricky process, but it could be done, even years later. He certainly wasn't going to stop at an STO world to see if they would do it.

Alexander glanced at Yulia, but she still had tears streaming from her closed eyes and her hands clamped over her ears. He wanted to comfort her, but he needed to speak with Galloway first.

"Sergeant," he spoke just loud enough for the man to hear.

Galloway finished a quick conversation with the people guarding the back of the shuttle before he hurried over. His armor was chipped and dented from dozens of impacts, showing just how intense the fighting had been. The fact that any of them had made it out was a miracle.

"What do you make of the attack?" Alexander asked.

"It was professional and well-coordinated. Someone planned it out in detail, but I don't think it was the STO."

"How do you know?" Alexander demanded quietly. "They sure looked like STO Marines to me."

Galloway shook his head. "Those were not STO Marines, despite what they were wearing. They may have been well trained, but it was not the same kind of training. Marines are trained to work in small fire teams so they can cover their fellow soldier; there was none of that from the group that came at us. If there had been, we wouldn't be speaking right now. Then there was the fact that actual Marines arrived toward the end and were firing on the unknown assailants."

Alexander wanted to curse the STO for their slow response, but the entire event lasted less than two minutes from the first shot to when they left the ground.

"So who then?" Alexander asked.

"Someone with a lot of money and an axe to grind," Galloway said. "If those were highly trained mercenaries, as I suspect, they wouldn't have come cheap. Add the cost of smuggling in their combat gear and the vehicles, as well as getting hold of actual Marine augment gear, and that price goes way up. Not many people I can think of that could make that happen."

Alexander didn't think it was Omni. From everything he saw from them so far, a sloppy attack like that wasn't really their MO, and it violated their agreement. Not that he thought the agreement would stop them from attacking him if they felt the cost justified it, but he had kept to his part of the bargain, leaving no financial incentive for them to act. He might suspect Qcomm or QuantumLogic of the attack, but news of his manufacturing shouldn't have reached them yet. That left only one possible suspect, the VIP ship that had vanished after he visited Epsilon Indi. He didn't know who that ship belonged to, but finding out was now his top priority.

"Docking in two minutes!" the pilot yelled from the cockpit.

Alexander was about to respond when his comm buzzed.

"Alex, we have a problem up here. The station says the STO has ordered a lockdown, and they are trying to deny our departure."

Alexander cursed internally but kept his voice calm and authoritative. "Tell them that if they don't release all of the BSE and Asgard vessels immediately, we will take that as a declaration of war, and reply in kind." He was not in the mood to play games or sit around and wait for whoever attacked to try again. If the STO wanted to become his enemy, they would.

Galloway heard the full conversation and nodded curtly before turning to his people. "Buckle up, we may have a rough landing."

With that taken care of, Alexander turned to Yulia. He kneeled down next to her and rubbed her arm lightly to get her attention. She cautiously opened her eyes, blinking away the tears.

"My head hurts," she said louder than normal.

He nodded his avatar slowly before patting her on the leg gently. Then he changed his avatar to show text. "We'll get it taken care of on the ship."

She nodded in reply before glancing over at Dorry. Thankfully, the other individual who had lost his life had been strapped into a seat near the ramp, and he was blocking the body from his position.

Another name to add to the wall.

"Will he be ok?" she asked, the terror and fear slowly bleeding from her voice.

"He'll be fine," he assured her.