Commander, I am sure that from the information you have received, you can be in no doubt of the perilous situation that we are asking you to investigate. Scientific results from a reconnaissance of Hycaron II carried out some fifty years ago show a virtually dead world. Most of its continents showed no life of any kind, at least nothing that could be classified as more than a microbe. What land creatures remained were restricted to a large isolated island, an area recently investigated by another science survey and subsequently by a mercenary ship sent to find them. Whatever agency or force that scoured Hycaron II of life, has destroyed all who went there. Through accident or intent, we believe that this force is now on Illaria, and threatens tens of millions of Echolian citizens. You are aware of the news brought from that world by traders and passenger ships, and that the planet is now classified as Code Red. I can report that this steady trickle of news has now stopped and we have heard nothing for months. Some adventurers foolhardy enough to go to Illaria report no activity or transmissions from the surface. Those that land do not return. You and your team must go to Illaria and investigate what we are facing. Although your team will be primarily military in nature, you will need a strong scientific team to accompany you. I am pleased to inform you that we have sourced science and logistical support from our friends at the Sansica Corporation. They have agreed to provide science personnel and equipment for the mission. Your force will consist of four ships, the Nike Aegis, Nike Ajax, Nike Atlas, and the Nike Athena. Since your force must be highly mobile and able to defend itself, we will be provisioning the Nike Atlas with anti-grav APCs. We feel certain that with those assets, you will be able to deal with any situation that arises. Commander Rhynhald, I thank you for accepting this assignment and look forward to appraising your team profile in due course. Conrad D’Armigan, Office of Strategic Information, Candor. An original starship model created in Hexagon with over 450,000 polygons. Rendered in Vue 5 Pro Studio. Unit badge created in Photoshop CS2. In case you're wondering, Nike is the ancient Greek goddess of Victory, while Aegis was the shield of Zeus. Thanks for looking and for any comments.