Post by EmperorMyric on Mar 22, 2021 15:49:21 GMT
The three Unanimity vessels drifted gently in the void of space. Well, 'gently' relative to normal astronomical rates, to someone totally unfamiliar with the reality of inter/intra-systemary transits, the speeds they were flying at were staggering. Only two were dedicated AUN warships; a frigate and a destroyer. The third was a survey ship, performing scans on the system's sole gas giant. They had not named the system themselves, a comparatively minor locale next to the systems colonised proper by the Artificia, but nonetheless they had orders to perform routine systemary scans. They knew the second planet in the system was inhabited by a native race, humanoid arachnids called the Staebh, who in turn had named the system 'Isrekis'. Contact with the Staebh had not been pleasant during their last visit, but the pre-FTL race had shown no signs of interplanetary warships, and so according to intelligence the Unanimity vessels saw no real opposition.
This day would prove to Unanimity intelligence that their data needed an update.
---
The mood aboard the AUN destroyer Vorstaght was...calm. Bored. Systems were green, they had fuel and power for weeks, at least, and the system seemed fairly calm. A meteor performing a low stellar slingshot, and one of the Staebh's interplanetary carriers drifted towards one of the gas giant's moons, a tiny speck on AUN sensors.
"How long are we planning to be here?" A crewman asked aboard the quiet bridge.
"Hopefully not too long. Survey ship should be done soon."
"Good, this assignment is dull as hell."
"I'd pick this over Kulne's fleet."
"Why? They're actually out there doing something."
"Yeah, but that something involves the risk of getting blown into space. At least humans who get vented die eventually."
The bridge went quiet for a moment, before the captain spoke up.
"Anything new on sensors?"
"Uhh, hold on." the officer leaned forward, tapping a few keys. "Two new contacts. Look Staebhic in origin."
"Probably just more of those carriers of theirs."
"I dunno, those are uniform in design. These are a little bigger."
"New model?"
"Possibly. I'll keep an eye on them."
The descriptor of 'new model' was...not wholly incorrect when referring to the two ships, their flat noses pointed at their copper-hued targets. The Staebhic ships were comarably awash with motion, their crews racing to make sure systems were readied, everything was in place, and...pray to their gods. They knew full well their targets were more advanced than them, and with the rest of the Staebhic United Space Navy--all four other ships of it--in orbit over their homeworld, they did not hold the numerical advantage. A vague hint of relief washed over the alien crews as their sensors indicated that one of the ships, at least, had no significant ship-to-ship armament.
"SUSN Taskforce One to Taskforce Two, how copy?"
"Loud and clear. Green across the board. All weapons online."
"Likewise. Prepare for attack. Load the coilguns."
"Aye aye. Best of luck, One. Two out."
"To you too, Two. One out." the vessel's captain nodded, shuffling to get comfortable in the straps of his seat, the ship's interior having no artificial gravity, as he turned on the ship's internal comms.
"Alright, crew, this is your captain. The 'Artificia' have seen fit to return to our system, despite our warnings not to. Evidently, they did not take us seriously. We are to engage this force and drive them out. We will destroy them if we can and must, but our primary objective is to force a withdrawal. I will not lie; they are more advanced than us, and we do not have numbers on our side. But, we have the element of surprise. They do not know of the SUSN's existence yet. Today is the day we make our presence known. Good luck, everyone."
With all said and done, the two Arbalest warships went to battle. Capacitor shells were loaded, and the coils were charged.
"Uh...captain?" an officer asked.
"What is it?"
"I'm getting an energy spike from those two ships. They're pointed right at us."
"What're you saying, that it's weapons fire?"
"Maybe."
Before anything else could be said, however, a single order was echoed across the two alien crafts. Coils were charged, power dumped into them, as their payloads were fired. They would have made a deafening crack, were it not for the all-quieting void of space. Both headed for the smallest of the Unanimity warships, the frigate.
"Ma'am, confirmed weapons fire, two projectiles headed for the Johrgas!"
"Return fire, return fire!"
Laser turrets turned as they charged, targets locking onto the two Arbalest warships. The two slugs were virtually ignored, the crews of neither ship thinking they had enough power to break the warship's energy shields. The crackle of lightning sparking across the shields as the capacitor banks loaded within them discharged, followed by the blaring of alarms within the frigate, proved otherwise. The lasers fired, searing deep black ruts into the armour of the Staebhic warships. One of them fired several panels off into space, fresh, undamaged armour waiting beneath pushed up to replace it.
"Ma'am, the Johrgas' shields are offline!"
"Keep firing, move to protect it!"
"We'll leave the survey ship exposed!"
"Something tells me the survey ship isn't what they're after."
"Captain! Both slugs have impacted! I'm getting no energy signatures around the smaller warship! The larger ship is moving to protect it!"
"Taking return fire! Armour holding!"
"Then its shields are down. Send a message to the orbital fleet; the capacitor slugs work." the captain nodded, turning to the gunnery officer. "Fire the torpedoes! And get Two to do the same!"
"Affirmative, sir! Firing in two!"
The torpedoes had been detectable since the ships had been spotted. With their inactive status and external mounting, however, none had realised their purpose. Perhaps they had thought them backup nuclear generators, or auxilliary engines. They were neither. Electromagnetic rails engaged as the locking clamps detached, the torpedoes racing ahead of the Arbalests, rocket motors firing seconds later. Twelve of them, racing for the Unanimity vessels. Even more alarms blared on the bridges of their targets, as orders were yelled for defensive fire. Lasers and particle lances raced back, several torpedoes, one after the other, were turned to slag and scattered, shredded by particulate impacts, or detonated prematurely. The rocket motors were disengaged, dishes extending to full size on the rears of the impactors as nuclear warheads were dropped behind them. Orion drives. Explosive nuclear propulsion. Another was hit by a particle lance, tearing it apart. Three were left, all headed for the Johrgas.
"Ma'am, three torpedoes, headed for the Johrgas! ETA eight seconds!"
"Tell them to evade! Move, move!"
The frigate's engines and manoeuver thrusters alike burned, the frigate desperately trying to get clear. For two of them, it succeeded, the projectiles screaming past, ultimately on a collision course with one of the gas giant's moons. The third, however, hit home. With a deafening, gutwrenching screech of twisting metal and the hiss of gasses the torpedo struck one of the frigate's engines, wrenching the motor free and sending it, and its remnants, spiralling into space as the warship fought to bring itself under control. Damage control enabled immediately, bulkheads dropping shut, valves sealed and power lines disengaged. For now, at least, the frigate was stable. Damaged, and with crippled mobility, but stable.
"Sir! Torpedo impact! We've taken out one of the smaller warship's engines!" was called aboard the Arbalest's bridge. Amazement, and a hint of hope, washed across the vessel's bridge.
"Damn, only that?"
"The time between the coilguns and torpedo launches may have bought them time, sir."
"True. Send another message to command. Don't give them time to respond. Load the coilgun again. Impact fire."
"Captain! Larger warship is turning to face us!"
"What?!"
Indeed, the larger form of the Vorstaght had turned to aim its spinal laser at one of the two Arbalests, the red glow becoming stronger, to the point it could blind someone.
And when it fired, the Arbalest 'Taskforce Two' stood no chance. The laser went straight down the smaller ship's own spinal barrel, vapourising the coilgun slug in an instant before proceeding onto the ship a flash later, melting its way through the crew section, turning the alien crew to ash, in an instant. After that, the fuels were hit, and the vessel's fate was sure. It exploded in a ball of heat, gas and shrapnel, its companion only saved by distance and its own battered armour.
"Sir! Taskforce Two is gone! All hands KIA!"
"Dammit! Burn to evade, put some distance between us and them!"
"What about Two?"
"There's nothing left of them! We need to leave!"
The Arbalest turned, its engine firing in force, burning for a higher orbit, becoming steadily smaller on Unanimity sensors. Eventually it would start decelerating as it approached the zenith of its recently altered orbital path.
"Captain, the other Staebhic ship is trying to leave. Do we intercept?"
"...No. Let's see to the Johrgas, make sure they can move. And that their FTL drive is intact. Check sensors again, make sure it's only them."
"Alright..." an officer nodded, tapping away. "Four more signatures like it, in orbit over their homeworld. Seems like they're building a navy of their own, captain." the officer reported.
"Okay." the Captain nodded, rubbing their brow. "Tell the survey ship, we should cut our plans short. And send a message to HICOM. Send a god damn cruiser next time. As soon as we know the Johrgas can move and jump, we're going bloody home."
"Aye aye."
---
To the fortune of the Unanimity vessels, the Johrgas' FTL drive did in fact survive the impact, and with only a few improvised measures to make sure the ship could jump in relative safety, the three vessels took their leave, the survey crew sending their findings to what counted for the Artifician scientific community, and the warships their report to naval command; the Staebh were building warships of their own, and as outdated as they were, they could hurt if given the chance. The frigate's missing engine was proof enough to that.
The mood was different on the homeworld of the Staebh, however, as the Arbalest returned to orbit, rendezvousing with the other four ships of its kind. The command crew of the recently founded Staebhic United Space Navy were a mass of grinning faces, and the populaces what cared were similarly pleased; the copper-hued ships of their neighbours had been driven out, they had shown they could fight. There was something of a sour note to the celebrations, however, with the news of the loss of Taskforce Two, and the total annihilation of the ship's crew, something that dimmed the smile of the remaining ship's captain as the medal was pinned to his uniform. Even with this, in the minds of the Artificia and the Staebh alike, everyone knew this would not be the last they would see of each other.
This day would prove to Unanimity intelligence that their data needed an update.
---
The mood aboard the AUN destroyer Vorstaght was...calm. Bored. Systems were green, they had fuel and power for weeks, at least, and the system seemed fairly calm. A meteor performing a low stellar slingshot, and one of the Staebh's interplanetary carriers drifted towards one of the gas giant's moons, a tiny speck on AUN sensors.
"How long are we planning to be here?" A crewman asked aboard the quiet bridge.
"Hopefully not too long. Survey ship should be done soon."
"Good, this assignment is dull as hell."
"I'd pick this over Kulne's fleet."
"Why? They're actually out there doing something."
"Yeah, but that something involves the risk of getting blown into space. At least humans who get vented die eventually."
The bridge went quiet for a moment, before the captain spoke up.
"Anything new on sensors?"
"Uhh, hold on." the officer leaned forward, tapping a few keys. "Two new contacts. Look Staebhic in origin."
"Probably just more of those carriers of theirs."
"I dunno, those are uniform in design. These are a little bigger."
"New model?"
"Possibly. I'll keep an eye on them."
The descriptor of 'new model' was...not wholly incorrect when referring to the two ships, their flat noses pointed at their copper-hued targets. The Staebhic ships were comarably awash with motion, their crews racing to make sure systems were readied, everything was in place, and...pray to their gods. They knew full well their targets were more advanced than them, and with the rest of the Staebhic United Space Navy--all four other ships of it--in orbit over their homeworld, they did not hold the numerical advantage. A vague hint of relief washed over the alien crews as their sensors indicated that one of the ships, at least, had no significant ship-to-ship armament.
"SUSN Taskforce One to Taskforce Two, how copy?"
"Loud and clear. Green across the board. All weapons online."
"Likewise. Prepare for attack. Load the coilguns."
"Aye aye. Best of luck, One. Two out."
"To you too, Two. One out." the vessel's captain nodded, shuffling to get comfortable in the straps of his seat, the ship's interior having no artificial gravity, as he turned on the ship's internal comms.
"Alright, crew, this is your captain. The 'Artificia' have seen fit to return to our system, despite our warnings not to. Evidently, they did not take us seriously. We are to engage this force and drive them out. We will destroy them if we can and must, but our primary objective is to force a withdrawal. I will not lie; they are more advanced than us, and we do not have numbers on our side. But, we have the element of surprise. They do not know of the SUSN's existence yet. Today is the day we make our presence known. Good luck, everyone."
With all said and done, the two Arbalest warships went to battle. Capacitor shells were loaded, and the coils were charged.
"Uh...captain?" an officer asked.
"What is it?"
"I'm getting an energy spike from those two ships. They're pointed right at us."
"What're you saying, that it's weapons fire?"
"Maybe."
Before anything else could be said, however, a single order was echoed across the two alien crafts. Coils were charged, power dumped into them, as their payloads were fired. They would have made a deafening crack, were it not for the all-quieting void of space. Both headed for the smallest of the Unanimity warships, the frigate.
"Ma'am, confirmed weapons fire, two projectiles headed for the Johrgas!"
"Return fire, return fire!"
Laser turrets turned as they charged, targets locking onto the two Arbalest warships. The two slugs were virtually ignored, the crews of neither ship thinking they had enough power to break the warship's energy shields. The crackle of lightning sparking across the shields as the capacitor banks loaded within them discharged, followed by the blaring of alarms within the frigate, proved otherwise. The lasers fired, searing deep black ruts into the armour of the Staebhic warships. One of them fired several panels off into space, fresh, undamaged armour waiting beneath pushed up to replace it.
"Ma'am, the Johrgas' shields are offline!"
"Keep firing, move to protect it!"
"We'll leave the survey ship exposed!"
"Something tells me the survey ship isn't what they're after."
"Captain! Both slugs have impacted! I'm getting no energy signatures around the smaller warship! The larger ship is moving to protect it!"
"Taking return fire! Armour holding!"
"Then its shields are down. Send a message to the orbital fleet; the capacitor slugs work." the captain nodded, turning to the gunnery officer. "Fire the torpedoes! And get Two to do the same!"
"Affirmative, sir! Firing in two!"
The torpedoes had been detectable since the ships had been spotted. With their inactive status and external mounting, however, none had realised their purpose. Perhaps they had thought them backup nuclear generators, or auxilliary engines. They were neither. Electromagnetic rails engaged as the locking clamps detached, the torpedoes racing ahead of the Arbalests, rocket motors firing seconds later. Twelve of them, racing for the Unanimity vessels. Even more alarms blared on the bridges of their targets, as orders were yelled for defensive fire. Lasers and particle lances raced back, several torpedoes, one after the other, were turned to slag and scattered, shredded by particulate impacts, or detonated prematurely. The rocket motors were disengaged, dishes extending to full size on the rears of the impactors as nuclear warheads were dropped behind them. Orion drives. Explosive nuclear propulsion. Another was hit by a particle lance, tearing it apart. Three were left, all headed for the Johrgas.
"Ma'am, three torpedoes, headed for the Johrgas! ETA eight seconds!"
"Tell them to evade! Move, move!"
The frigate's engines and manoeuver thrusters alike burned, the frigate desperately trying to get clear. For two of them, it succeeded, the projectiles screaming past, ultimately on a collision course with one of the gas giant's moons. The third, however, hit home. With a deafening, gutwrenching screech of twisting metal and the hiss of gasses the torpedo struck one of the frigate's engines, wrenching the motor free and sending it, and its remnants, spiralling into space as the warship fought to bring itself under control. Damage control enabled immediately, bulkheads dropping shut, valves sealed and power lines disengaged. For now, at least, the frigate was stable. Damaged, and with crippled mobility, but stable.
"Sir! Torpedo impact! We've taken out one of the smaller warship's engines!" was called aboard the Arbalest's bridge. Amazement, and a hint of hope, washed across the vessel's bridge.
"Damn, only that?"
"The time between the coilguns and torpedo launches may have bought them time, sir."
"True. Send another message to command. Don't give them time to respond. Load the coilgun again. Impact fire."
"Captain! Larger warship is turning to face us!"
"What?!"
Indeed, the larger form of the Vorstaght had turned to aim its spinal laser at one of the two Arbalests, the red glow becoming stronger, to the point it could blind someone.
And when it fired, the Arbalest 'Taskforce Two' stood no chance. The laser went straight down the smaller ship's own spinal barrel, vapourising the coilgun slug in an instant before proceeding onto the ship a flash later, melting its way through the crew section, turning the alien crew to ash, in an instant. After that, the fuels were hit, and the vessel's fate was sure. It exploded in a ball of heat, gas and shrapnel, its companion only saved by distance and its own battered armour.
"Sir! Taskforce Two is gone! All hands KIA!"
"Dammit! Burn to evade, put some distance between us and them!"
"What about Two?"
"There's nothing left of them! We need to leave!"
The Arbalest turned, its engine firing in force, burning for a higher orbit, becoming steadily smaller on Unanimity sensors. Eventually it would start decelerating as it approached the zenith of its recently altered orbital path.
"Captain, the other Staebhic ship is trying to leave. Do we intercept?"
"...No. Let's see to the Johrgas, make sure they can move. And that their FTL drive is intact. Check sensors again, make sure it's only them."
"Alright..." an officer nodded, tapping away. "Four more signatures like it, in orbit over their homeworld. Seems like they're building a navy of their own, captain." the officer reported.
"Okay." the Captain nodded, rubbing their brow. "Tell the survey ship, we should cut our plans short. And send a message to HICOM. Send a god damn cruiser next time. As soon as we know the Johrgas can move and jump, we're going bloody home."
"Aye aye."
---
To the fortune of the Unanimity vessels, the Johrgas' FTL drive did in fact survive the impact, and with only a few improvised measures to make sure the ship could jump in relative safety, the three vessels took their leave, the survey crew sending their findings to what counted for the Artifician scientific community, and the warships their report to naval command; the Staebh were building warships of their own, and as outdated as they were, they could hurt if given the chance. The frigate's missing engine was proof enough to that.
The mood was different on the homeworld of the Staebh, however, as the Arbalest returned to orbit, rendezvousing with the other four ships of its kind. The command crew of the recently founded Staebhic United Space Navy were a mass of grinning faces, and the populaces what cared were similarly pleased; the copper-hued ships of their neighbours had been driven out, they had shown they could fight. There was something of a sour note to the celebrations, however, with the news of the loss of Taskforce Two, and the total annihilation of the ship's crew, something that dimmed the smile of the remaining ship's captain as the medal was pinned to his uniform. Even with this, in the minds of the Artificia and the Staebh alike, everyone knew this would not be the last they would see of each other.