The Hidden within the Darkness 07 – Victoria Station, Lunar orbit

The Ether ship, Thunderchild, docked at Victoria Station, which orbited the moon. The Ethernauts departed the ship as technicians and other personnel began assessing the damage wrought by the Nephandi. Captain Verne made his way to Commodore Svenson’s office and as he entered, he saluted smartly. The Commodore looked up and returned the salute. "Captain your report from Jovian was a long time coming. We had lost contact with our ships and we were relieved to hear the Nautilus, Dauntless and Behemoth were still operating on the front line and relatively unscathed. The Dreadnought had returned a week ago, severely damaged and was still undergoing repairs.

"I bring further good news Commodore. The alliance between the Nephandi and Marauders has ended. A large force of Marauders attacked the Nephandi and destroyed their forces utterly. They were aided by a number of Euthanatos and Verbenna. The main conflict took place on Jupiter, Io and Europa. The Nephandi were caught by surprise and we took advantage of the betrayal and directed our attacks against the Nephandi. They were caught in the middle and their demise was complete."

Commodore Svenson nodded. "The Council had been expecting this. Whatever drove those two to ally in the first place has the best experts baffled. The Marauders despise the Nephandi, for the Nephandi believe in the utter end of all things. And that goes against the Marauder’s belief. Did you find any evidence of those the Nephandi serve."

"We did not, sir." Captain Verne replied. "The operation is nearly complete. The Nautilus will complete operations against the Marauders on Saturn within a few days. The Dauntless and Behemoth accompanied by thirty Void Engineer ships are attacking the last of the Marauder bases on the Jovian moons."

"The Council believed that the Technocracy had found a large source of Quintessance on Jupiter. Did you see to any evidence of this during the operations?"

"No sir. We discovered the ruins of eight Technocracy bases on the surface of Jupiter all within one thousand miles of the Red Spot. We believe the bases were destroyed in the first wave of attacks. Perhaps the rumours of this Quintessance reserve, is what brought the Nephandi and Marauders to Jupiter."

The Commodore nodded. "I had thought of that as well. But our own bases and observers in the Jovian sector had not been able to detect the reserve in the last 70 or so years that we have been there. Jedediah Barnes is one of our most famous observers, and he has been hunting the reserve now since 1934. Until now the Traditions occupied Ganymede, the Technocracy, Europa and we knew the Marauders were on Callisto. What of Metropolis 2, did the Technocracy fortress survive the assault."

"We believe so, sir. We were able to detect Amalthea, as it is a construct orbiting Jupiter. And Jedediah told us, that Amalthea is Metropolis 2. The Marauders attacked the fortress, but were driven back. The Nephandi tried also, and they were driven back. Metropolis 2 is one of the few facilities to have survived in the Jovian sector. The Order of Hermes chantry on Himalia is intact. They did not involve themselves in the conflict, otherwise they would have compromised Himalia to Metropolis 2. Their observation of Metropolis 2 was deemed too important by the Council and they were not mentioned in discussions between the Council and the Void Engineers. The settlements on the outer moons such as Leda, Lysithea, Phasiphae and Ananke were destroyed. But these facilities were small and many were able to evacuate before the forces arrived. The Dauntless is continuing its operations to find the Third Hollow World. Other than Hollow Earth and Hollow Venus, it is believed that the third may well lie in Jupiter or Saturn. So, the Ethernauts on the Dauntless are taking this advantage to conduct investigations in accordance with Directive 5466."

"I have already received their preliminary reports. What of our mining operations on Saturn. We have not heard from mining colonies since the attack."

The Captain relaxed his stance slightly before continuing "Well sir, we were able to evacuate a number of personnel from Hyperion and Phoebe. Mimas is a total wasteland. Obviously the Etherites and VA’s that were living there were caught in the first wave. We believed the Nephandi tried to attack Titan, but the spirit that lives there responded in kind and destroyed them. Because of the spirit, Titan remains a red zone. The Technocracy bases on Tethys were hit, but did not suffer greatly from the attacks. The cloaking systems used on there based on Rhea worked. The Marauders and Nephandi missed the complex completely. The outer moons, Dione, Enceladus and Iapetus were Marauder controlled and they launched the major wave of their attack from here. However, removing them from the outer moons is going to be difficult. The Voiders are considering containment. They have vessels at Rhea and will deploy within the next few days. The Behemoth and her flotilla will participate in the containment, as ordered by Admiral Adamski."

"Excellent Captain." The Commodore returned lighting his pipe. He took a couple of puffs and leaned back in his chair. "We made the right decision in coming on board with the Voiders. How did you find them."

"They considered us………antiquated, sir. But when the Dreadnought, Behemoth, Nautilus and Dauntless went into battle they quickly changed their mind. The Void Engineers do not have vessels as large and powerful as ours. They do not have dreadnoughts, we do. They were appreciative of our assistance, considering few of the other conventions came to the party, when it was needed. We saw Iteration X and Progenitor forces in the Jovian sector. They provided ground forces of HIT Marks and other constructs besides. I have separate reports on these operations, obtained from Voider contacts. You will have these in a few hours."

The Commodore nodded. "We have assisted in a task that has prevented an outright attack on Earth by the Nephandi and Marauders. They have been wanted to return to Earth since we kicked them out after the Second World War. Stand your men down Captain. We should re-establish communications with the Dreadnoughts, with the new enhancers we have. They will be operational in a few hours. You have done well Captain, accept the gratitude of myself and our fellow Ethernauts."