"Where did the Chinese get a space fleet from?" Maguire demanded, grabbing onto the back of VonGrippen's command chair as the Excalibur heeled about her bow shifting from the Orbital Stations to target squarely upon the flotilla of frigates powering up towards them on Ion drives.

"They've had them since we arrived on Earth," VonGrippen responded, "possibly longer. The MI-6 reports referenced a Chinese fleet that has been sitting idle in dry- dock for years. Logically, with a naval invasion of Japan underway, why would those ships sit idle?"

"They could have been decoys," Maguire fired back.

"Misdirection wasn't something I would credit a man as confident as General Chow with. He wouldn't have risked confronting the Americans if he didn't have a measure to counteract their domination of Space," VonGrippen replied. "Fortunately for us they are unaware that I was prepared for them."

Maguire turned his head, "Admiral?"

VonGrippen gestured to Ben, "signal the colonial forces Commander, instruct them that the second stage is a go."

There was a moment of uncertainty as Ben complied with VonGrippen's orders, his hand touching the headset, before the arrival of the starships in flares of light.

They were converted intra-system haulers, outfitted with engines copied from the Orion designs. The massive industrial plants that the Americans had funnelled money into the colonies to fuel their war machine, had been turned to the production of jump drives to retrofit capable ships. Their governors understanding the importance of what VonGrippen had offered to them, a chance for unity and ultimately the stars.

The fleet closed on Earth, all bearing the VonGrippen crest; a motley collection of colonial defence fighters and makeshift thrustlifters designed to cart cargo into orbit turned into dropships. A broad variety of assault craft that detached themselves from adapted cargo pods on the haulers, sweeping down, en-mass towards Mainland China, sweeping around the Chinese fleet still struggling to get into space.

"Its suicide," Maguire observed noting that despite their impressive arrival, there were still too few vessels to effectively mount an invasion of China, "you're sending those men right into the heart of the Red Army."

"You're always such a pessimist Desmond," VonGrippen responded lightly sitting in his command chair, "you're under the misguided impression that the Red Army are on their side."

"Chairman," one of Zheng's officers alerted him to the danger, "House VonGrippen was holding a fleet in reserve. They have altered the descent vectors and are entering Chinese airspace."

"Scramble our conventional fighters to intercept them!" Zheng commanded, "And recall the frigates."

VonGrippen held up a finger watching the frigates break from their ascent, arcing about to follow the Colonial forces, "And there would be the recall orders from the party faithful suddenly second guessing their decision to attack." He leaned forward in his chair, tapping the back of the helm with his cane, "take us down behind the frigates and increase forward fire. They will be launching their conventional fighters to intercept the STOAT's. Are the House Windsor fighters ready?"

"Confirmed," Commander Durnham looked back up towards the Admiral, "Valkyrie Squadrons out of bases in New Zealand are three minutes from Chinese airspace."

"Then time is of the essence," VonGrippen remarked sliding his watch from his pocket and flipping it open. "Commence Orbital bombardment of Beijing's SAM emplacements. Let's clear a path for the dropships."

Markus turned his chair at the news, delivered from an ashen-faced Secretary Morgan, "all of them?"

"Sir," Morgan inclined his head, "both the train and the flight bound for Colorado. The only member of the Cabinet, outside of those of us in the White House, is the Secretary of State."

Markus nodded, looking at the computer that had been set up on his desk, reaching out a finger he tapped it, preparing to record a message that would be delivered over the emergency broadcast network.

"My fellow Americans," Markus began sitting upright, as a string of bullets smattered off of the windows to the Oval Office, "as of this moment our nation stands betrayed from within. Elements loyal to the Alliance of Houses have successfully rendered the defences of this Nation ineffective. Our Eastern Seaboard is now overridden by their troops, and the President of this Nation is surrounded by hostile forces."

Behind him Washington burned as troops fought on to hold the enemy at bay.

"I would ask each of you for strength and prayer in this dark time, and understanding as I transfer the leadership of this Nation, as per the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, over to the Secretary of State. I hope that President Morvanor will lead you to freedom where I could not; his temperance, and negotiating capabilities have been demonstrated throughout the war. And I trust in his capabilities as I now ask you to do the same."

The doors that led to the gardens rattled as a marine guard collapsed against them.

"I ask that you resist them, and stand proud. And remember that this nation as the land of the free, despite the darkness that is about to befall all of us."

"Good luck..." Markus stroked the transmit key as he shut the laptop, watching as the doors opened, his Secret Service guards lifting their assault rifles.

"Stop!" Markus commanded standing, "there is no need. Set your weapons down," he gestured, as even Secretary Morgan complied, dropping his pistol to the floor as the first tentative weapon pushed its way inside followed by a British soldier.

More followed as reports were issued into radios. And moments later an officer bearing House VonGrippen Striking Falcons on his uniform marched into the room, a dark look on his face as he issued orders for him men to secure the President.

Markus inclined his head, "I surrender."

The Excalibur, it's secondary weapons hammered out volley after volley of fire into the heart of Beijing. Its Orion rail cannons redirecting and targeting on missile emplacements and military bunkers, sending kinetic slugs slamming home destroying the facilities as it covered the precious Colonial dropships and the hastily cobbled together army.

She pulled her bow up as she settled on her Antigravity drives, floating like a shimmering warden over the city. Silver in the afternoon light, maser cannons battling attacking fighters, its flak barrier lighting the sky with flashes as bright as lightening.

Maser cannons sprang to life, tracking inbound missiles that penetrated the wall of flak, spinning their chambers as they cut the missiles to pieces before they could do more to damage the warship. The errant missiles that did penetrate the secondary line of defence detonated against the nano-fluidic armour of the great starship doing little damage.

Beneath the ship the dropships hit the ground, spilling troops in Colonial manufactured body armour, rushing to meet the Chinese soldiers who were hurrying to secure positions around the dropships and cut the Colonial troops off before they could establish a beachhead.

Through the sky, Valkyrie fighters fought with the Chinese conventional fighters, a pin-wheeling mass of steel that battled for supremacy of the sky while the recalled Frigates, ungainly in atmosphere, struggled to provide cover for them while staying away from the Excalibur's lethality envelope.

The troops on the ground had one overriding order, fed to them by the intelligence reports MI-6 had provided. Find where the rebellious elements of Chow's government were holding the general. Fight their way to him and free the one man who could halt the bloody vengeance of the immense Red Army.

Death littered the streets of Beijing, soldiers battling and dying as they fought onwards. Colonial troops who flanked Chinese through the rabbit warren back streets, or the corridors of the Forbidden City. While Chinese soldiers meticulously hunted the intruders through markets and buildings. Small arms fire chattered, under the roar of the fight over their heads.

VonGrippen listened to the reports as they were fed back to the command centre. Reports of the push through the palace, that troops were pinned down in one of the courtyards by a pair of Chinese tanks.

VonGrippen looked over at the weapons tier, "order the first and third to assist, they should have anti-tank capabilities." He drew out his watch again and examined it, noting that they were running out of time, the second wave of Chinese fighters would be arriving in less than ten minutes, fighters likely armed with modified A- SAT missiles that would do Excalibur grievous damage. Once they arrived he would have little choice but to lift the Excalibur back towards space or risk the bone chilling call of 'Vampires' across the bridge that would send damage control crews scrambling.

Cut off from his unit, Major J.T. Williams slid down away from the gunfire as he wrestled through the medical bag he was carrying, trying to treat a dying soldier who was bleeding to death on the cobblestones in the lee of one of the buildings.

The field doctor, at one time a resident of Tarkus General Hospital, press-ganged into uniform by a recruiting call that had appealed to the patriotic and loyal to fill the ranks in the new militia. It had sounded exciting to a young man that had been growing terrified at the weight of responsibility that had been piled upon him working in an understaffed hospital on the frontier. However, he hadn't bargained for front line duty, with so few medics and corpsmen he'd been volun-told he was going down with one of the drop ships. Bad planning on the part of the Colonial Militia in-experienced with full scale warfare.

Now, with his arms soaked in blood, as he tried to press a young boy's organs back into his stomach as he struggled to find something, anything that would end the sobbing cries of pain. It didn't matter that he was working on a Chinese soldier, in war there were two kinds of men that toiled regardless of race, or creed. The doctors and the chaplains.

He finished doing what he could, wiping the sweat from his brow as he stood up, stopping as he stared down the barrels of a pair of Chinese DT-09 assault rifles. The first enemy soldier jabbed the weapon forward, before the other, a sergeant or other senior NCO barked something back at him in Mandarin, gesturing to the boy the doctor had been working on, and up to the red cross on his arm.

There was a momentary hesitation before both men retreated, the NCO giving the doctor an understanding nod before they vanished into the haze of smoke. The doctor heaved a sigh of relief as he collected his medical bag and looked up through the gloom towards the HMS Excalibur. So many hopes for equality and recognition that were hinging upon that starship and upon each of them.

He climbed up the stairs, cautiously glancing through the sliding rice paper panels and into a shrouded garden. It was almost serene, except for the din of battle all around. And he proceeded cautiously through the trees, spying the pair of ornate cages that had been all but forgotten in the Zheng rebellion.

He gasped at the two Caucasians who lay curled at the back of them. The girl's eyes sliding open as she sat upright, staring in wonder at the young man that was staring at her in shock.

"I'll get you out," the doctor offered, rushing to the locks, grabbing the complicated latch system, twisting it too and fro as he wrestled it open. Aware that the man in the second cage was also sitting up now, curious about the stranger who was trying to rescue them.

There was a click as the complicated latches retracted, and the door swung open. The doctor smiling as he hurried to the second door, working with that one while the girl took a hesitant step towards the open door to her cage.

Confusion on her face as she searched for someone, looking about as if she had never been permitted out on her own before. The doctor managed to pry the last latch open, stepping back as the man rushed out past him, bowling him over.

He stood, low, crouched on all fours as he tilted his head, like an animal sensing the wind. Before he ran towards the gates, leaping an impossible distance straight up to the rooftops, running with blinding speed down towards the city proper.

"What the hell?" Williams asked in shock as he struggled back to his feet.

The girl was sitting watching him, on top of her cage, the wind blowing her hair as she turned her head towards the palace, she hopped down and stared inwards, moving with a surety of a person that knew her way. One who had a purpose.

Williams shook his head and followed her, maybe she would lead him somewhere where he could link up with a Colonial unit.

"Sir," one of the TNC officers stepped around the plotting board, "we have... something strange..."

"Would you care to clarify?" VonGrippen asked his eyebrow raising as he turned his chair back to the officer.

"There are reports of a man who threw a Chinese tank like it was a Tonka toy, sir." The officer kept his hand pressed to his ear, "he's tearing apart anything with Chinese emblems, like he's pretty... upset, sir."

VonGrippen looked down at Derek, who had stood up from his console at the news, before he nodded, "label him GN-2 and keep tabs on him. Under no circumstances are our forces to get in his way, let him cause as much chaos as he can while we continue on to our objective."

The bullets froze in midair, as Bohao took his vengeance, unleashed and free at last he poured the extent of his fury into his attacks. Supercharging the humid air about him till the electrical charge blew outwards. Like chain lightening, the blast roared through the air in a circle, him at its epicentre, blasting through the ranks of Chinese soldiers struggling to stop him.

The rational part of him was aware of the battle, of the ship overhead and of the Colonial soldiers. But he was past caring about anything except making the Chinese pay. Pay for sealing him in a cage, pay for the endless torture and tests that he had undergone with his sister. The brutality of the 'training' Chow had put him through.

Then the indignity of surgery to... pacify... him.

He rounded a corner, staring at the pair of tanks ahead of him as he drove his hands flush to his sides, each of the tanks squealing to a halt as they were hit by an invisible wall of force, one that pushed back against them as their tracks skidded and tried to find purchase.

He advanced, as they were driven backwards by his sheer fury, pushed to a point where he twisted his hands, propelling them both into the sky. There were no beatings now if he used his powers. There was no threat for his sister's life hanging over his head unless he complied. There was only undulated rage.

He crushed the tanks like tin cans, throwing the tanks skywards like projectiles as fast as he could into one of the Chinese frigates.

Sephradon stood on a rooftop watching the pair of tanks fly skywards. The wind fluttering her dress as she held onto the support beam. Understanding the waves of rage flowing off of her brother, she could sense the torment inside him, the pain... his loss. It vibrated through the air, and she could feel his blossoming strength. His suffering had made him strong, and she revelled in the momentary thought that maybe she was no longer alone.

She stepped to the edge, as she watched the Chinese truck roar around the corner behind him, the belt fed heavy machinegun roaring as it poured firepower at her brother. The sheer hail of bullets sliced through even his capacity to hold them at bay, too many individual things to concentrate upon. She smiled sardonically as he was cut down where he stood.

That wouldn't kill him.

There was a pang of regret within her as she closed her eyes, her hand flexing, knowing that Rikard's instructions had been absolute, and she would obey them. She created ice, a frozen tomb for her lost brother, giving him a final end to the torment that had plagued him. Even GN-2's were vulnerable to the cold once they were unconscious. She used this knowledge, learned when she had slain Sarah in Brussels, to kill him.

Dropping to the ground with a gentle glide, her head sliding around as she stared at the Chinese with their machinegun, sneering at it as she detonated the weapons magazine box, blowing them sky-high.

With a swirl of her skirts, she marched off in search of her sister. Her task half complete she had work to do.

"Sir, reports place a second GN-2 in Beijing, she just dropped out of nowhere killed the first and then destroyed a Chinese truck." The TNC barked, "they say this one's different, she's dressed all in white and..."

"Sephradon," VonGrippen stood, there was only one he recognized from that description, the MI-6 reports that placed a woman in white in Sarajevo with the capacity to destroy a convoy of police vehicles.

Ben moved to VonGrippen's side, "if she's alive I should go down there, try to..."

"She's killing GN-2's," VonGrippen murmured, looking up, "and you're in no condition to fight her, unless you're still holding out on special 'powers'."

"But I can reason with her, maybe stop her..." Ben offered, he seemed tired, but determined.

"If you go, there are no guarantees I can get you out of Beijing again," VonGrippen held his watch out to his friend, "we're running out of time."

"Buy more," Ben replied, "if anyone can..."

VonGrippen inclined his head, "take Derek with you, he's seen one of... your sisters in action. He might be useful."

"Mister Walczak," Ben called coughing again as he walked back towards the elevators, "you're with me."

VonGrippen shifted in his chair, "once they are clear, set a course directly for the inbound fighters. Do we have shields?"

"Negative, the primary power matrix is offline," Commander Durnham reported as an engineering diagnostic appeared on a holographic display.

"So we have no jump drives, no primary cannons... just our conventional and nuclear arsenals," VonGrippen nodded, "the old fashioned way it is, standby for incoming missile strike, damage control teams to your stations... we're going through straight through their weapons fire."

"Through a missile strike?" Maguire shook his head, "how?"

"We're going to be travelling so fast my aim is to be through the missiles before they can arm themselves," VonGrippen shrugged, "accelerate to .25 light speed..."

"The missiles will arm and follow us," Maguire pointed out.

"Yes they will," VonGrippen nodded, "and by the time we clear the outer atmosphere they will have run out of fuel and we will execute a free fall dive back towards the fighters."

"You are attempting fighter manoeuvre in a starship..." Maguire shook his head in wonder, "this will be something to see."

Williams stayed behind the young woman, gaping as she made gestures with her hands, throwing Chinese soldiers that got into her path through walls, her strides purposeful and determined as she led the way through the inner network of corridors, working her way to what had, at one time, been the Imperial suites of the Emperor of China.

The guards on the doors gaped at her approach, lifting rifles that were torn from their grasps, before they too were sent sprawling. Sliding along the highly polished floors to rest in a pile.

She stretched out her hand, as the doors tore from their runners, crashing down she ran forward and affectionately into the arms of General Chow.

The old man looked surprised to see her, his hands curling around her head as he drew her close, looking right into the eyes of the man bearing VonGrippen's crest, "what is happening?"

"We're liberating you, sir," Major Williams reported, "Admiral VonGrippen believes that once you are free you can order the cease fire."

"He expects me to surrender?" Chow asked, his tone edging with anger.

"On the contrary, sir, he hopes to restore you to your rightful place," Williams gestured, "but we need to hurry, sir."

Chow mulled it over for a long moment, releasing the girl, "Kaili, I need you to create a path for me," he ordered in Mandarin, "to the command bunker."

Kaili nodded her head obediently, turning she closed her eyes and pushed outwards, an explosion of noise as the wind ripped up around them, she channelled it forward boring a hole through the thin walls and carving a direct path out of the building for them.

She walked ahead, throwing aside any that got in her way. Those who recognized the general quickly formed a guard unit around him. Glad, at least, that their general was free and able to stop the insanity.

They marched behind her, allowing her to lead them straight to the bunker where Zheng had fortified himself. The great steel doors barring their path bubbled and hissed as she melted them with a thought, pulling them down with ease.

"How were you able to control them for so long?" Williams asked the general in wonder.

Chow shrugged, "I offered them love and affection. Like any animal, there is the danger it will turn upon you. But a good trainer knows that the bond between master and pet is strongest when you care for the animal."

"She's a human being..." Williams replied incredulously.

"Don't allow your senses to deceive you," Chow replied in amusement, "could a human being do what she can do?"

He walked through the melted doors and into the command bunker, holding up his hand as he stared at Zheng and those loyal to him.

"Signal our forces to stand down." Chow commanded, his eyes never leaving Zheng's.

The officers in the room complied without question; each knowing that Zheng's rule, and the rule of the party was at an end.

The Excalibur bore down upon the missiles; her main drives powering her forward as she closed the distance. The range finders and missile lock alarms roaring around the bridge as they bore down upon their prey.

"Sir, signal from Beijing, the Chinese forces are standing down," Commander Durnham said.

There was a hesitation of about a second before the line of missiles self-destructed. A wall of flame that the Excalibur shot through.

"They were armed," Maguire murmured in shock.

"Yes they were," VonGrippen responded standing up, "bring us about and take us back to the city."

The whisked whirr vibrated through the air, as from the doorway a shard of white ice streaked through the air towards General Chow. There was a gasp and a blur of motion as the General turned his head to see Kaili throwing herself into the path of the shard.

It struck her, a violet cracking noise exploding out of it as the girl froze crashing to the edge of a table and shattering like glass.

"No!" Chow uttered in shock as he dropped to a knee, holding onto the broken pieces as he looked up through the doors at the woman in white standing there.

"I have disposed of your pets," she snarled taking a step forward, "I should do the same to you for what you did to them..."

"Sephradon stop!" Ben's voice echoed from behind her.

She turned her head, "and so the cripple makes his presence known at last."

"You have to stop," Ben said swaying, the uniform jacket hanging open and his shirt undone, but the VonGrippen markings on the sleeves still obvious.

"And so I find yet another pet," she stated evenly, "or is it that your master is himself nothing more than Markus's dog?"

"I am no one's pet," Ben replied calmly, "I'm a father, and a husband."

Sephradon drew pause, "You're what?" she asked in surprise at his reaction.

"We didn't have a choice in how we were brought into this world or how we leave," Ben pressed, "our only choice is what we do while we are in it."

"You're talking in riddles," Sephradon replied taking a step forward, "defend yourself..."

"I can't," Ben answered with a shrug, "I wasn't altered like you were."

"Then pick up a weapon!" Sephradon commanded.

"I can barely stand up," Ben shook his head sadly, "how do you expect me to fight you? You can kill me with a thought if you tried..." he swayed and coughed again, "what can I do to stop that? I've never raised a hand in anger against you, even as children you used to protect me from the others when Katherine wasn't around."

"S-stop it," Sephradon shook her head, "just take a weapon, do something... don't just stand there!"

"I have a daughter, a beautiful little girl. I haven't seen her in two years, but I write to her every day. My husband, Lance, is a school teacher back on Geldan... we're happy."

"You're dying," Sephradon replied coldly, "how can you be happy?"

There was silence from the others in the two rooms, General Chow cradling the remains of Kaili, a well deep within him flooding him with grief as he looked at the woman that had killed her that he could do nothing to stop.

"I don't know," Ben shrugged simply, "I guess it's because I have a home, a place that I belong. People who care for me. You can have that too, if you wanted it."

Sephradon's hand shot out as she crushed one of the Chinese officers foolish enough to reach for an assault rifle.

"And where would I find a home?" She asked sadly, "I have only vengeance..."

"You have family," Ben pressed sagging a little as Derek caught him, helping him stay on his feet, "Markus, Katherine, and I."

"We shall see," Sephradon warned, as she drew in upon herself, and in a flare of light she vanished.

VonGrippen stepped down from the dropship that touched down in a main concourse of the Forbidden Palace. Resting heavily on his cane as he walked through the rows of Chinese tanks, looking up at the Communist flag that came fluttering down from the main flag pole. The battle had been swift and furious for the Chinese capital, Colonial forces storming the Forbidden Palace, half-trained farmers and liberated factory workers dropping with such speed and battling their way to the prison complex to liberate the one man who meant their survival.

General Chow looked weary, standing on the upper tier of a flight of steps looking down at VonGrippen climbing to meet him. The aged General nodded his head in gratitude to the Admiral as they met once more. VonGrippen clasping his hands together in a reverent bow as he tucked his cane under his arm.

Chow returned the bow, looking about him, "your men fought bravely."

"They did," VonGrippen agreed turning and looking at the scene of battle. It had taken a lot of life, sacrificed to free one man. But that man was the lynch pin that kept China together. The one man whose support meant the unification dream was a reality. Once he had been freed it had taken little time for him to suppress the violence. As quickly as it had begun, the battle was over, and those responsible for the coup had found their own soldiers turning back upon them.

Communism had fallen, as had democracy, to the resounding echo of the battle overhead.

"So, my friend," Chow remarked quietly looking upon the man beside him, "what happens now?"

"I have given you back what is yours," VonGrippen responded as he watched the sun overhead begin to wane into twighlight, "you already know what comes next."

"The House of Chow is born then," Chow said with a reluctant sigh, watching as someone raised a flowing flag, a yellow curled Chinese Dragon upon a field of gold. A mark of respect, and a signal of the future as a dynasty was born.

Chow sighed as he ordered one of his aides to step forward with the dark ebony cane with a simple polished handle and handed it across to VonGrippen, "yours now." He said pressing it into VonGrippen's hands, "you acted on my behalf, to retake China for me. As such, take this gift of gratitude, may it keep you balanced in the long night to come."

VonGrippen smiled tightly, trading his own medical cane for the gift, his eyes tightening, "thank you Highlord..."

"Are those the titles that have been chosen?" Chow asked quietly, "I can grow accustomed to that I suppose." The old man lowered his head as he turned away, "it will take time to make the transition from war to peace. But you have my word, the House of Chow will be a part of this Empire."

VonGrippen bowed again as he withdrew, returning to his dropship, personally escorting his men back to their ships. For its first engagement, the House VonGrippen had earned the blood red on the lapels of the great coat.