26th Decem M40.841

— The bridge doors were breached via Marinus hacking the terminal. Abel opted to move into room first with entorauge and soldiers quickly folding in behind, to demonstrate authority

— Celeste had been taken captive by the mutineering splinter faction, led by Mutineer Leader. Mortessa had taken control of the ships AI interface with bridge crew held at gunpoint to continue working.

— A standoff ensued between the Captain and Mutineer Leader both attempting to assert their authority – Mutineer Leader arguing that urgent action had to be taken to counter a potential Alliance attack, and that Celeste was both delaying and leading the Children of Solar astray. Mutineer Leader eventually agreed to standown and resign control to House Vross, following heated words between the leader, Abel and Calgari, who argued that not resigning to Vross would lead to unnecessary bloodshed and loss of their support for the CoS.

— Abel ordered Celeste unbound and ungagged, which the Mutineer Leader strongly argued against, citing her as a bad influence. Abel dismissed this and mutineer soldiers stood down as Calgari and Uriah freed Celeste

— Abel declared that all voices would be heard equally, and an urgent decision democratically made as to what action to take next.

— Two pieces of communication were recieved at this time:
– Core belives she has successfully sent out an astropathic distress message using the artificial astropath , and is summoned to the bridge
– Edgar notifies Marinus of two large incoming ships, presumably two of the three Alliance Flagships, who will arrive within hours

— A debate begins between the Captain and Entourage, mutineer captain and celeste on several potential courses of action
– Fleeing from the station into the tunnels, which would prevent an escalation and conflict with the alliance ships, but abandon the station and point of origin of the astropathic message
– Attempting to parley with the alliance ships, brokering a peace and allowing time for
Imperial rescue
– Engaging the alliance ships in combat to potentially lead to a hostile takeover with the
CoS.

— Abel agreed to a democratic decision from his entourage, and the decision was made to engage in combat. Abel tentatively voted for this option too, although has doubts, as this will cause maximum uncertainty for the future and loss of life.

— Plans of Engagement were made following lengthy discussion. Several CoS repurposed freigthers were to be manned by skeleton crews and used as torpedos to incapacitate one alliance ship, either ramming directly or detonating engine drives when in close proximity, while the Void Tearer. A fleet of shuttles would be used in boarding actions, with Calgari personally leading The Calgari Elite in a boarding action in the Alliance Shuttle.

— Abel and Entourage began to relocate to Void Tearer’s bridge, with Gratia left to attempt to interface with the station’s operational system and command the station’s defences.

— Abel still believes attempts at a peaceful resolution should be attempted before outright war is declared with The Alliance, although this may be fruitless, upset the Children of Solar, and lead to a deadlock. It may be too late regardless.

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