Post by EmperorMyric on Mar 22, 2021 17:16:27 GMT
Jenga System: Auraxii Space
Jenga was a mess.
The system contained a end of life sequence star, bathing the system in an angry disturbed orange and red. Surrounding it was a myriad of worlds, 2 barren scorched planets orbited close to the star, likely once having been habitable before it engulfed the inner worlds and blasted the ones that had survived atmopsheres away. Another planet quite large orbited some way off, it too had likely supported life once, although it had not died to the star. Radiation signatures from the planet were high and its atmopshere was choked with ash and lethal particles, no signals came from the world. Turned into a holocaust by devastating bombardment of atomics it had died in fire, and recently too.
The other 3 worlds in system were all however fairly active. One, the furthest world was an iceball seemingly with some kind of defensive outpost it too had been bombarded but was still functional and seemingly had survivors within. The occasional surface to space missile launch showing that they were doing what they could to influence the engagement now raging around One of the two gas giants. Both swarming with moons one of the Gas giants was clearly a mining operation with large processing facilities clinging like spiders to the upper atmopshere harvesting the various moons for their mineral wealth. The second swarmed with gigantic shipyards, webs of construction bays, storage facilities, resource locations and parts manufacturing areas covered a spectacular area of the orbits that turned around the lavender coloured helium rich giant.
The areas of space surrounding the shipyards roiled with combat. As did those near the processing plants.
Multiple fleets jostled for the best firing angle. Two fleets of purely Auraxii ships, one around 150 vessels and one around 300 vessels respectively seemed to be defending the two areas in system supported by numerous defense platforms, and ground based installations on the moons. They however were slowly being pushed back. Attacking them were another two fleets, one was made of Auraxii, Triarch and an assortment of other slapped together ships around 300 strong which was now attacking the mining facility in an attempt to capture it. While the final fleet was the firmly recognised form of Capitol, 125 vessels of the Grand Empire of Capitol fought the Auraxii at the shipyards, clearly hoping to ransack and take it for themselves to help alleviate the damage done at Rubikon. The Capitol vessels, much more advanced than the Auraxii clearly had the upper hand.
But the entire situation was a mess.
———/////—————
Thaerus Gael sat in his command throne aboard his VoidSabre Dreadnought, leading his fleet as they made for Jenga. His armoured claws drummed the armrest as he reviewed his plan for the upcoming assault. Suddenly a countdown was issued in the top left of his macrys HUD, drawing him out of his Warhelm and into reality. Ten seconds till they reached their destination.
-///——-////——
The BladeSinger fleet broke FTL within Auraxxi space, immediately picking up on the immense presence of ships already in the Jenga system. The Dagger Corvettes shrunk back towards the Glaive Carriers in order to protect themselves using the Glaive’s superior shielding. The three massive KingsBlade Capitol BattleShips formed up on the even larger Dreadnought as they began relaying data between them. The Warclaw Escorts took defensive positions above and below their designated ships.
Macrys nodes ejected from along the sides of the larger ships, scanning the immediate areas of space and sending their data to the holo aboard the VoidSabre Dreadnought.
As they entered visual range, the holo-map of the system displayed itself before Thaerus, allowing him a good vantage point to oversee this grand task, and watch over the other fleets.
This was to be his finest hour.
“I want weapons ready to fire on my command, do not fire on anyone not firing at you!”
Thaerus looked closely at the Triarch Ships under magnification, unknown to him in make, but clearly marked. He would soon find out.
The Capitol ships were easily picked out, already having plenty of their kind in the macrys archives.
“And get my a connection with the Capitol fleet!”
Thaerus paused, marking several targets for destruction.
“They look like they could use a hand.”
———/////—————
Well outside the combating forces' interdiction areas, numerous ripples in space indicated the arrival of Inquisition ships. Even at this distance, the battle(s) in progress could be clearly made out on sensors, and soon the lightweight fleet took up defensive formation around their transports. The transports, being roughly the size of a standard battleship, dwarfed the few cruisers and frigates sent to escort them and were only lightly armed to deal with smaller raiding ships, not to engage in full combat.
"It seems we are late to the party," said Inquisitor Ruunskiir. "Indeed, brother," replied Inquisitor Roth, "we must send out our intentions at once. I do not plan on losing any transports."
"At least for today." Responded Ruunskiir. "Open frequencies.
Across most all frequencies the Annoliddans sent out a greeting: "To all parties currently engaged in combat, we of the Annoliddan Inquisition ask that amnesty be granted to our presence here today. We simply seek to aid any and all civilian populations within this system by providing shelter, food, and other consumables aboard our transports, and hopefully evacuate them to less hostile territory. If there are any objections to this, please contact us at once or otherwise make your intentions clear so we may do as little as possible to intervene."
Along with this, Roth opened a direct channel to the newly arrived Echo forces in the area, preparing an opening response once connection was confirmed. "Echo, your presence here today is unexpected. Pray tell what are your intentions here today, so we may reach consensus on our next course of action?"
Even as Roth's channel was broadcasted, Ruunskiir ordered all ships armed and advance, yet not to enter interdiction nor firing range until responses came through.
More ships exploded on the various sides as the battle continued. It was clear Capitol had the upper hand against one of the Auraxii fleets, the former allies of the APP now facing the wrath of retribution, it was a message not to have turned from the APP. Even though it was a small raiding force it was enough, the Auraxii lesser technology struggling against the more advanced weapons and defenses of the humans. It was a situation made worse by trade, Capitol had provided the Auraxii with much of their old Mk.2 technology, handing over weapons, defenses, sensors and more. Each one intricately known and able to be exploited simply by their now would be aggressors.
The Echo message was quickly picked up by the Capitol commander, who in turn quickly accepted the link.
"Hail friends, it is an honour and an unexpected event to see your people here. As you can see this dishonourable vermin still tries to hold out despite their weak nation falling around them. Our objective here is to secure the Jenga shipyards, stip them of valuable material, shiphulks and facilities then withdraw. I presume you are here to do the same, if so I am sure we can come to a fitting arrangement" The man smiled.
The Capitol response to the Inquisition was however less than friendly.
"Forces of the AGA. We have no intention of fighting you here, you may conduct your 'humanitarian' aid as you see fit, however if you engage us or seek to take the shipyards we will engage you with extreme force"
---
The second fleet made up of ragtag forces continued to engage at the mining stations. Both taking and dishing out heavy losses. They responded to neither party, intent on docking and raiding the mining area. From the long range scans, hull markings indicated due to their bad inscriptions that they belonged to the Varren rebels, it seemed they needed more resources and were not keen on engaging Capitol, either that or they had potentially negotiated with them.
Thaerus listened to each of the messages upon their arrival. The loss of life was something he wasn’t going to avoid, however this would look better for them publicly if they let the Inquisition do their work.
To the Inquisition, the Tempest responded.
-/-You will have your amnesty. However, stay out of our way. Should you interfere, we will not hesitate to react accordingly.-/-
To the Capitol Ships, Thaerus grinned before speaking.
-/-Greetings to you as well, Vo’ra. My forces will assist you in the taking of the shipyards. The raw materials are yours, though I would request anything of substantial value we recover remains with us unless you wish to barter for it. Mark your targets, we have your back.-/-
The Echotian fleet begins to move into an attack formation, with the largest, most well armed and shielded ships in the front and the smaller, more agile ships using them as cover.
The Glaives discharge their interiors as thousands of Wolfpack fighters swarm into the space within the fleet, lining up and arming warheads.
A macrys signal is sent to all engaging ships as the main guns of the Dreadnought finally finish charging.
-/- Let them fear us, brothers. Vo’Al! RHAAAAA!-/-
Ruunskiir cursed the Inquisition's luck. What he had hoped to be a simple refuge and reformation effort was dissolving quickly. Now with Capitol's and the Echo's grace, the Inquisition fleet continued forward, dipping well and away from the main warzones and to the far ends of the shipyards. The transports made the most direct path while the cruisers and other support craft moved around them, weapons armed but untrained on any target, yet. Inquisitor Roth was surveying the battles taking place planetside around the system, various ships not allied with Capitol or the Echoes launching attacks on the mining worlds.
"We are supposed to help these people, not watch them get slaughtered, or worse!"
"You know as well as I do we are not ready for all out war." Retorted Ruunskiir. "The Inquisition still needs time to rebuild our fleet, especially the Pelion itself. To aggravate Capitol further or get these Echoes on our bad side is suicide with the fleet we brought, and long term war for our people."
"'Sustain one group's survival before securing another's'. Yes I remember our mantras and current situation, but to leave these people to die for nothing more than insolence of their superiors and the material gain is against everything we stand for!"
"Everything we stood for, brother. This is a new galaxy, a new playing field. There is no room for sentimentality over a few hundred deaths when we still have the chance to save thousands."
Both brothers fell silent, the matter settled. They looked onward as the transports began their approach vector to the landing zones. The only set military craft coming in for a landing bore the two Inquisitors; all other ships remained in defensive formation above. Ruunskiir opened a communication channel to the shipyard's control station, as well as a broadband transmission across the area:
"To all personnel and civilian parties in aboard the shipyard, we of the Annoliddan Inquisition have come to provide provisions to you and offer transportation and escort off this station and out of this system if you so wish. I ask those armed or otherwise combat ready to stand down. Your cooperation in this manner will help the aid come more smoothly."
Meanwhile Roth got back in the communication line with the other two major parties: "I thank you kindly for allowing us to perform this operation. We will see to it the civilian elements are out of your way when you board the station. Also, if possible, would you kindly transmit your marked targets , both ships and aboard the shipyard itself? Don't want anyone caught in the crossfire now, do we?" The last sentence could not have come out more dry. Roth did not care what his brother's thoughts on the matter were; if so much as a stray shot struck out a dockworker, he would see to it the shooter paid dearly for it.
The Capitol reply was short "We intend to take sections of the shipyards ourselves. With the loss of our main shipyards at Rubikon we have been ordered to take as much infrastructure as we can. You are welcome to keep this territory if you wish, we are only here to raid"
One of the Capitol escorts exploded as the Auraxii vessels concentrated fire, and were met by a huge Tachyon barrage that tore several vessels apart. However the Auraxii were forced to now concentrate on the Echoes attack. A firing line formed as the Auraxii re-orientated their ships to engage, huge railguns the staple of Auraxii firepower now unleashed on the Echoe fleet each Auraxii vessel class was designed to take on the ship above it, and so escorts targetted capital ships and capital ships targetted battleships and dreadnoughts. A wave of thermonuclear missiles also now leapt out of launchers, targetting the Echo escort forces while Auraxii fighters peeled off and went to engage the wolfpacks. Now divided in firepower the Capitol fleet renewed its assault.
The battle around the mining sector was not less vicious. With the Auraxii defenders having used improvised weapons installed on the various moons to damage the Varren fleets attack the situation was now at a stalemate as ships on either side were destroyed.
The response to the Inquisition by Capitol was just as dry "Marked targets have been sent. If any civilian or Inquisition soldier is still on the shipyards when we board they will be classed as an enemy combatant and dealt with such. We wouldnt want that now would we?" It was clear the Capitol commanders patience was tested.
The civilians on the shipyard came willingly, as did many military personel. There were thousands of them, boarding transports and reliquishing their weapons seemingly eager to leave. It was then the Auraxii defenders finally replied.
The captains bridge seemed heavily damaged as the ship was engaged "Cease your humanitarian aid! You seek to steal our workers away behind our backs in the guise of help, we need those people! They are our lifeblood!" The workers however painted a different story, thanking Inquisition forces for saving them from near slavery and starvation under the oppressive government that had been established here.
Darren Briar had hoped things might have been a bit more... quiet following their activities around Rubikon. The raids had gone on and on and on dragging on in much the same fashion the battle itself had. He'd hoped that with the battle done and his ill-gotten goods offloaded he would be afforded some time to relax...
No such luck.
No sooner had he finished offloading the last of his cargo than Sol had called and informed him a new contract had been negotiated to the south and he was to report to 'Freeport 43' and get further instructions from Devo.
He hadn't even known there was a Freeport 43.
Dreams of relaxing quickly forgotten Darren had gathered the Fifth Fleet and made his way to the galactic south, first to Freeport 43 and then quickly onward to the Jenga system on the instructions of his new employer, the Varren Doge.
With a bright flash his forces arrived in the system, tearing a hole into realspace and emerging from the swirling void beyond, a hundred and sixty two ships with the battleship Mercury Summer at their head.
He took a moment to listen to the report from his sensor operator. All here were known to him. Auraxii, Capitol, the Varren, Echoes and the Inquisition... With the exception of Capitol and the Auraxii, the Exiles had, in one form or another, made deals with everyone here.
This could get sticky.
Darren sighed, taking a long drag on his vape before finally picking up his transmitter and sending a message to what, at his best guess, were the Varren's commander.
"Fourth Admiral Darren Briar entering battlespace per instructions of Urasas Ranark. Request access to comms network, sitrep, ROE, and objectives,"
While he waited for an answer his ships began closing the distance between them and the Varren, shields coming up and weapons systems beginning to deploy as his vessels prepared for combat.
The line of railgun fire from the Auraxxi fleet wouldve torn apart the smaller of the Echotian ships had they not been taking cover behind their much larger, much more heavily shielded counterparts.
The Dreadnought, though not as bulky as the KingShadow or KingsHelm, easily shrugged off the barrage of guns directed to it. Shields complained, but through the superior design of the Echotian vessel, held firm. The KingSword Capitol BattleShips, being of almost the same caliber as the Dreadnought, continued forward though rocked heavily by the hail of fire.
Point defence on the 5km long Glaive Carriers brought to bear their full potential; forgoing a central lance for thousands of turrets.
Concentrated fire rained out from the twin Glaives, peppering the nuclear assault and weathering it down substantially. A few did manage to pierce the counter-fire however, hitting home into 5 of the Warclaw Escorts.
Wolfpacks broke into skirmishing formations, holding nothing back as they engaged the Auraxxi fighters. Whilst the Wolfpacks had less than average armour, they made up for it in pure speed and maneuverability.
———////—————
The space around the Echotian ships seemed to flinch slightly as the main guns of the Dreadnought and Capitol ships discharged; tracing their firing trajectories in retaliation to the Auraxxi guns.
The WrathBorn Battlecruisers stayed in formation, relinquishing thousands of high-yield lance batteries.
WarSword destroyers having braved their first assault, peaked out from behind the great behemoths of death to rain their more concentrated blasts of heavy lance fire upon the prime targets of the Auraxxi Force.
Aboard his command vessel, Thaerus Gael watched his fleet engage, his own need to pilot a Wolfpack staying at the back of his mind.
-/-Target the larger ships, ignore anything too small to hurt us! Wipe their pathetic ships from my sights!-/-
Ruunskiir was happy to see the evac was off to a good start. From his bridge aboard the cruiser, he watched as the mass of civilians and other personnel crowded around the boarding ramps, directed upwards and into single-and-half-file lines as they walked into the transports. Dropships circled the airspace above, never fully touching down but hovering low enough to drop supplies to those that requested it and occasionally helping small groups reach the loading platform.
As each Auraxii came aboard, each was greeted by an armed acolyte, who each in turn briefly embraced each newcomer with one arm before ushering them forward and calling for the next individual. Behind them stood a sparse row of power-armored knights, armed and vigilant but taking up relaxed poses. The purpose of this screening was not known to the people coming aboard until they made physical contact with the acolyte; upon physically touching them, the civilians and military personnel would be greeted by Annoliddan telepathy, delving into each other's minds. This not only reassured all that came aboard that the Annoliddans' actions ultimately sought their well-being, but also provided instructions for what to do once they boarded. While the Auraxii personnel could read and understand the thoughts of the Annoliddans, the Annoliddans likewise delve into the thoughts of each one that passed through screening; their most recent memories and thoughts became clear, and long-standing stances and allegiance in this conflict became clear. If any individual was believed to become 'problematic' aboard the ship, their name and designation was added to a long, growing list of persons to keep an eye on.
Inquisitor Roth watched over the live feed along with his brother, and sent his reply to the Auraxii commander:
"We are not forcing your people to board our ships. What they do is of their own free will, as it should be. If you wish for your workers to stay, make them a better offer."
Once the message was sent, Roth folded his upper limbs behind his back and turned to the comm officer.
"I want all ships to arm their cannons and ready Svalinn missiles for launch at moment's notice. Do not fire yet unless fired upon first. The less blood and fuel we spill the better."
Ruunskiir nodded in agreement at this action. He shortly after left the bridge to prepare for introductions. The Annoliddans found it rudimentary, but they knew other races liked to be greeted by the commanding officer.
The Varren who appeared on the coms message back to the BSO was a runty little creature, face screwed in anger and pain, although whether from injury from the battle or elsewhere Darren couldnt tell.
"About dehm time! Get your fhleet into positon with mhine, Auraxii-" He spat off screen at the name "Have duh in hard need to push them out. Mhining complex our object" Its galactic basic was anything but well spoken. But it was clear the Varren were trying to take the massive mining complexs across the area, they did not seem to care for Capitol or anyone else, only the Auraxii and the potential income of resources. The Varren fleet had pulled back as had the damaged Auraxii force that guarded the facilities, using the cover of the various defenses and ground based bodged installations to provide them with extra firepower.
The Auraxii fleet around the shipyards however was more or less totally destroyed.
Between the huge Echo attack and the Capitol strike group the Auraxii ships were cut apart in a wide barrage of different weapons, crushing the shields and piercing the hulls of their Inferior warships. Lances vapourised smaller vessels while Tachyon Arrows and more lances ripped larger battleships apart. The one dreadnought that the Auraxii had was also blasted apart in a huge detonation by the main guns of the Echo dreadnought and additional capital ships. A few Auraxii vessels survived, they either tried to desperately still fight on or sought to flee as the fighter groups engaged the Wolfpacks in a last ditch effort to hurt the Echoes. Surprisingly the Auraxii fighters were not as inferior as their ships, reverse engineered from the Capitol Sabre Mk.2s the craft were capably agile and had a heavy weapons complement of missiles and cannons as they worked in threes to destroy their foes.
The civilians continued to pour into the Inquisition ships as the vast majority of them were thankful of their rescue. Some however fanatically tried to take down their rescuers in fits of rage, or used improvised construction tools to fight, they were no problem but a nuscence for sure. However little targetted the Inqusition fleet and with the Auraxii fleet gone the shipyards were wide open for taking anyway.
"Closing to engagement range," Briar intoned once the Varren had finished giving him the short update. "What about the Echoes and the Inquisition?"
Rather than waste his time waiting for a response the Exile fleet instead spread into combat formations, moving past the Varren's damaged vessels and onward toward the Auraxii around the mining stations. For a moment, Briar considered offering them the chance to surrender... but he doubted they would. Any prisoners would likely be executed by the Varren, and he was willing to bet the Auraxii were well aware of that fact.
He listened as the bridge crew counted down the time until they hit firing ranges. Time updates were called out constantly as shields were and point defenses came online and the ship's computers generated firing solutions for coilguns and particle accelerators while missiles locked on their targets.
"And will you be joining us for this attack?" Briar asked as final preparations for engagement were made.
As Ruunskiir entered the landing area aboard his shuttle, he was pleasantly impressed to see how well his soldiers were handling the situation. Despite the occasional interuptions from the civilians surging forward en masse, or the occasional renegade group charging them tools in hand, the acolytes overseeing the boarding continued about their tasks calmly. They never pushed back against the mob, instead speeding up the process to make due. Whenever an individual or hostile group attempted confrontation, the Annoliddans simply dispatched them with a swift CQC maneuver and further telepathic screening to pacify any hostility. If these failed, the knights behind them sent out a small burst of stun rounds into the delinquents, never enough to knock them unconsious, but enough to dissuade further fighting.
Ruunskiir's shuttle hovered over the loading platform. He stood atop its open ramp looking out and over the mass of people coming unto his care. A number of the dropships and the transports matched their harmonic resonators to his frequency, ensuring his voice came across the whole area. Video feed in the ships showed those already settled in the Inquisitor hovering above their comrades:
"Residents of Jenga, I am Inquisitor Ruunskiir. My brother Roth and I, and our most loyal forces, thank you for yout cooperation in today's events. I understand this move displeases many among you greatly, and I sympathize. We too were revoked the right to our own homes long ago, by powers entirely out of our control. However, much like you will soon, we found a new place to rest, a new place to celebrate... a new place to call home."
As he spoke, Ruunskiir's peripheral vision scanned the horizon around him, taking note of the battle(s) being waged both close to the station and more distantly thoughout the system.
"I know many of you supported the Empire during its time, and many still despised its regime. However, regardless of your allegience before today, I ask you to not act upon your feelings towards or against it. Today is about preparing for the future, and as bleak as it is, we can still prepare nonetheless. With your help and cooperation, you can once again call somewhere home."
As much as he loved hearing his brother spout rhetoric unto the masses, Roth was instead busy preparing countermeasures against any soon-to-be threats; targeting solutions were planned, missiles armed, masers primed. What little had engaged them so far were nothing but Varren or Auraxii stragglers still circling the station, but those had proven to be little more than target practice against the cruisers. Still, there were bigger fish in this waterless sea of a system...
Thaerus watched the enemy fleet with little remorse as it was obliterated. With the Capitol ships at their side, combined with their own weapons of war, this station was as good as theirs.
-/-Remaining Wolfpacks, return to your Glaives. Let our guns cleanse the Auraxxi craft from your wings.-/-
Almost immediately, Wolfpacks began breaking away from the fight. Hundreds had seen themselves blown away into the void, but many still remained. As they approached the Glaives, the mighty point-defence weapons at its disposal casually ripped through any that dared to give chase.
The larger ships continued to shoot at any remaining Auraxxi ships; even firing at large chunks of remaining ships to avoid leaving anything to a slow death.
-/-Capitol forces, we are deploying Warpack troop carriers once the skies are clear. Let us take this station, El’ra!-/-
"Ihgnore them for now, our phriority is to thake the materials. If they ghet in our way we dhestroy them" Another data package revealled that Capitol was in on the whole situation. Seemingly they had made some kind of deal before hand or even on the spot regarding who got what.
A simple acknowledgement was all that came in regards to the joint attack, the Varren fleet forming up close to BSO and in formation weapons activated. It seemed they would help.
The response to the speach by the Inquisition was one of surprising agreement, with many of the Auraxii nodding or happy with what was said. They eagerly awaited their instructions and the children among them seemed to be happy to be going somewhere new. Many had suffered in this regime and had not enjoyed the regime before either, this was to be a new start, if they could get out of the system. It wasnt long before target locks appeared on AI ships from the Capitol fleet.
"Inquisition forces, you have had plenty of time to evacuate the people from the shipyards. Your time is up, any left aboard are our responsibility now. I suggest you leave here at once" Was the only communication sent in relation to the event.
The Capitol forces acknowledged the Echoes message, the Capitol fleet moving closer to the shipyards now disgorged their own shuttles and drop ships full of shocktroops and marines. They would clear out the facility and then begin to break it down ready for moving to Capitol space.
At the Capitol decree and movement, the processing accelerated greatly. The Acolytes now stepped forward, shouting for everyone to board while able. The most distant edges of the dwindling crowd were being encircled by the dropships scooping them up and carting them by the dozens into the transports whose engines made the telltale sign of readying for takeoff.
"Time is short. We must leave." Ruunskiir's words rang out as the last of the civilians were less than gracefully dropped into the loading bays. As soon as a stable atmosphere was established, the ships of the Inquisition began pulling away from the platform, leaving scorch marks across its surface as fusion thrusters accelerated the fleet away from the shipyards. Roth kept all munitions at the ready as they sped away to the edge of the system. He dared not question his brother's decision to leave the system immediately; the political situation with the other factions in the system were either still an unknown factor, or shaking on a thin stick as it is.
"The 'yards are yours," Inquisitor Roth replied to Capitol. "Have fun with the collapsing infrastructure and what have you. I have a few thousand mouths to feed."
Drop pods, Warpacks, and Warstriders were deployed onto the shipyards. Warstriders would be sent to crush any AA batteries before the higher capacity Warpacks would swoop in to deploy their troops.
Squads deployed from the drop pods, weapons at the ready, blades freshly cleaned for battle.
Aboard the VoidSabre, Thaerus reviewed the hobo-projections of the shipyards. From here he could direct his forces more efficiently, overseeing their combined efforts and focussing their attacks where most effective.
Drumming his fingers against his command chair Briar listened carefully as reports came in from across his fleet and the bridge crew began steadily counting down range to target and how many minutes until they would enter optimal firing range.
The situation wasn't ideal. Even with the Varren backing him up he wasn't keen to just roll straight into an all out slug fest... But he didn't have much choice. He was joining a fight already in progress and did not have the benefit of surprise... so instead he supposed he'd have to rely on chaos.
"Target the largest ships," He instructed. "Take them out as quickly as possible. With luck we can wipe out their commanders right from the outset and force a route early."
The command was relayed across the fleet as they hit optimal firing ranges and the fleet lit up with weapons fire. Particle accelerators, coil guns, and missiles lit up the void as the exile's ships closed in. The fire was focused exclusively on the ten largest vessels in the Auraxii fleet, all other ships were ignored for the time being.
Briar hoped that, with a little luck, he could wipe out senior level command, and the Auraxii would break and route without the guidance of a clear leader.
That was the hope at least.
There was no resistance to the Inquisition as they left, while the Capitol commander wanted to destroy them he knew this was neither the place nor the time. Current objectives stood, however thankfully as an almost ironic side affect to the Inquisitions saving of the crew there were little crew left to man the defensive systems. Only light fire from several places fought Echo and Capitol boarding forces and were quickly wiped out.
The Capitol marines in their bulky boarding gear alongside Hydra Guard swiftly moved out alongside the Echoes through the facility. Killing any Auraxii they found with no remorse as they secured dock sections, processing units, material stashes, weapons caches and more. While the troops went through the facility the Capitol fleet now moved into specific positions ready to break apart and transport the shipyard when the troops were done.
--
The Auraxii fleet and defenses still standing now engaged the Varren and BSO forces with vigour, the vigour of a cornered beast with nowhere to run. Heavy railgun and spinal fire erupted across their fleet as missiles flew out of launchers in huge volleys. The fleet was in a tight defensive formation, allowing for maximum PD firing angles as missiles were shot down and railgun shots intercepted. Attack craft flew close helping to intercept rounds from BSO and Varren volleys but ships died as they always did. Particle accelerator shots smashed through shields and armour to crippled internal systems as vessels exploded violently in the void.
The ground based defenses also engaged, firing in a way that would direct the missiles into a crossfire for the attacking fleet. While it wasnt overwhelming it was enough to cause damage as Varren vessels came apart from return fire or were sent blazing through space with no control. It was clear despite the technology the Varren had purchased or stolen they knew nothing about void war as they merely threw themselves at the Auraxii.
Unmolested for the most part, the Inquisition ships made way to the edge of the battlefield's interdiction radius. So long as no other threats arose, the command was given for all ships to flee the system to deepspace between the Auraxii stars. From there, it would be up to the inquisitorial brothers and their crew to find a new home for the hundred-plus thousand people in their care.
Then, hoping there would be such a suitable place, they would return to the surrounding systems and rinse and repeat until it became an option no more.
Roth dreaded the days ahead of them.
Auraxxi forces, to the dissatisfaction of the Echos on the ground, gave little in terms of a worthy fight.
Between the Striders and the combined might of both Capitol and Tempest forces, the remaining defenders were slaughtered without hesitation.
——-/////————
Thaerus opened his macrys channel to the Capitol ships.
-/-The Shipyard is yours. Extracting forces. Targeting remaining Auraxxi forces.-/-
With this, the ‘BladeSinger’ fleet pivoted, forming a defensive line around the station.
Targets where found, and firing solutions where calculated by the macrys systems.
-/-The will of the Tempest be done.-/-
Briar had hoped for more competent allies, but he couldn't exactly go mouthing off to his employers about their lack of tactical understanding. He could bring it up at a later point, but the Varren stood little chance of winning this war if they just tried to throw numbers at their problems and hope for the best.
The Auraxii had clustered together, amplifying their point defense and making his initial plan of eliminating their leadership an unlikely outcome. He swore loudly as damage reports began coming in. His forces were doing their best to use their numbers advantage, sheltering behind one another when the fire against them became overwhelming... but the Varren throwing themselves at the Auraxii was making it difficult.
His fleet slowed their advance as they began taking losses, letting the Varren take the lead as they spread their formation out as much as they could while still maintaining cohesion.
"Saturate the area!" Briar ordered. The Auraxii were clustered together, making them prime targets for a sustained missile barrage. He advised the Varren commander, though whether the idiot would hold off on rushing in and let the missiles do their job was anyone's guess.
Across the fleet the order went out and railgun and particle accelerator fire slowed in favor of launching missile after missile into the Auraxii formation. The Organization had no shortage of nuclear warheads, and Briar was keen to put them to work.
Some were targeted at specific vessels, but the majority of the nukes were set to detonate in the Auraxii formations where they had the potential to damage multiple ships, and still more missiles were set to detonate before reaching the fleet proper to destroy counter-munitions launched against the swarm.
The Auraxii fleet didnt go down without a fight. The Varren forces taking substantial damage from the frontal assault as a response, thankfully the BSO elements prevented them from nearly loosing their entire fleet...
With the last defenses destroyed and the system in the hands of the various victors. Bargains were struck, Capitol merely took the shipyards, dismantling them and their contents and using FTL tugs to take them back to their own territory, thanking the Echoes for their aid and informing them they would likely meet again in this region soon.
As for the Varren a deal was made between them and the Echoes, content with the huge and profitable mining infrastructure the Varren gave the rest of the system to the Echoes and agreed to leave the other surrounding systems for them too.
With the system quiet, and now held the struggle for Jenga was now over.
Jenga was a mess.
The system contained a end of life sequence star, bathing the system in an angry disturbed orange and red. Surrounding it was a myriad of worlds, 2 barren scorched planets orbited close to the star, likely once having been habitable before it engulfed the inner worlds and blasted the ones that had survived atmopsheres away. Another planet quite large orbited some way off, it too had likely supported life once, although it had not died to the star. Radiation signatures from the planet were high and its atmopshere was choked with ash and lethal particles, no signals came from the world. Turned into a holocaust by devastating bombardment of atomics it had died in fire, and recently too.
The other 3 worlds in system were all however fairly active. One, the furthest world was an iceball seemingly with some kind of defensive outpost it too had been bombarded but was still functional and seemingly had survivors within. The occasional surface to space missile launch showing that they were doing what they could to influence the engagement now raging around One of the two gas giants. Both swarming with moons one of the Gas giants was clearly a mining operation with large processing facilities clinging like spiders to the upper atmopshere harvesting the various moons for their mineral wealth. The second swarmed with gigantic shipyards, webs of construction bays, storage facilities, resource locations and parts manufacturing areas covered a spectacular area of the orbits that turned around the lavender coloured helium rich giant.
The areas of space surrounding the shipyards roiled with combat. As did those near the processing plants.
Multiple fleets jostled for the best firing angle. Two fleets of purely Auraxii ships, one around 150 vessels and one around 300 vessels respectively seemed to be defending the two areas in system supported by numerous defense platforms, and ground based installations on the moons. They however were slowly being pushed back. Attacking them were another two fleets, one was made of Auraxii, Triarch and an assortment of other slapped together ships around 300 strong which was now attacking the mining facility in an attempt to capture it. While the final fleet was the firmly recognised form of Capitol, 125 vessels of the Grand Empire of Capitol fought the Auraxii at the shipyards, clearly hoping to ransack and take it for themselves to help alleviate the damage done at Rubikon. The Capitol vessels, much more advanced than the Auraxii clearly had the upper hand.
But the entire situation was a mess.
———/////—————
Thaerus Gael sat in his command throne aboard his VoidSabre Dreadnought, leading his fleet as they made for Jenga. His armoured claws drummed the armrest as he reviewed his plan for the upcoming assault. Suddenly a countdown was issued in the top left of his macrys HUD, drawing him out of his Warhelm and into reality. Ten seconds till they reached their destination.
-///——-////——
The BladeSinger fleet broke FTL within Auraxxi space, immediately picking up on the immense presence of ships already in the Jenga system. The Dagger Corvettes shrunk back towards the Glaive Carriers in order to protect themselves using the Glaive’s superior shielding. The three massive KingsBlade Capitol BattleShips formed up on the even larger Dreadnought as they began relaying data between them. The Warclaw Escorts took defensive positions above and below their designated ships.
Macrys nodes ejected from along the sides of the larger ships, scanning the immediate areas of space and sending their data to the holo aboard the VoidSabre Dreadnought.
As they entered visual range, the holo-map of the system displayed itself before Thaerus, allowing him a good vantage point to oversee this grand task, and watch over the other fleets.
This was to be his finest hour.
“I want weapons ready to fire on my command, do not fire on anyone not firing at you!”
Thaerus looked closely at the Triarch Ships under magnification, unknown to him in make, but clearly marked. He would soon find out.
The Capitol ships were easily picked out, already having plenty of their kind in the macrys archives.
“And get my a connection with the Capitol fleet!”
Thaerus paused, marking several targets for destruction.
“They look like they could use a hand.”
———/////—————
Well outside the combating forces' interdiction areas, numerous ripples in space indicated the arrival of Inquisition ships. Even at this distance, the battle(s) in progress could be clearly made out on sensors, and soon the lightweight fleet took up defensive formation around their transports. The transports, being roughly the size of a standard battleship, dwarfed the few cruisers and frigates sent to escort them and were only lightly armed to deal with smaller raiding ships, not to engage in full combat.
"It seems we are late to the party," said Inquisitor Ruunskiir. "Indeed, brother," replied Inquisitor Roth, "we must send out our intentions at once. I do not plan on losing any transports."
"At least for today." Responded Ruunskiir. "Open frequencies.
Across most all frequencies the Annoliddans sent out a greeting: "To all parties currently engaged in combat, we of the Annoliddan Inquisition ask that amnesty be granted to our presence here today. We simply seek to aid any and all civilian populations within this system by providing shelter, food, and other consumables aboard our transports, and hopefully evacuate them to less hostile territory. If there are any objections to this, please contact us at once or otherwise make your intentions clear so we may do as little as possible to intervene."
Along with this, Roth opened a direct channel to the newly arrived Echo forces in the area, preparing an opening response once connection was confirmed. "Echo, your presence here today is unexpected. Pray tell what are your intentions here today, so we may reach consensus on our next course of action?"
Even as Roth's channel was broadcasted, Ruunskiir ordered all ships armed and advance, yet not to enter interdiction nor firing range until responses came through.
More ships exploded on the various sides as the battle continued. It was clear Capitol had the upper hand against one of the Auraxii fleets, the former allies of the APP now facing the wrath of retribution, it was a message not to have turned from the APP. Even though it was a small raiding force it was enough, the Auraxii lesser technology struggling against the more advanced weapons and defenses of the humans. It was a situation made worse by trade, Capitol had provided the Auraxii with much of their old Mk.2 technology, handing over weapons, defenses, sensors and more. Each one intricately known and able to be exploited simply by their now would be aggressors.
The Echo message was quickly picked up by the Capitol commander, who in turn quickly accepted the link.
"Hail friends, it is an honour and an unexpected event to see your people here. As you can see this dishonourable vermin still tries to hold out despite their weak nation falling around them. Our objective here is to secure the Jenga shipyards, stip them of valuable material, shiphulks and facilities then withdraw. I presume you are here to do the same, if so I am sure we can come to a fitting arrangement" The man smiled.
The Capitol response to the Inquisition was however less than friendly.
"Forces of the AGA. We have no intention of fighting you here, you may conduct your 'humanitarian' aid as you see fit, however if you engage us or seek to take the shipyards we will engage you with extreme force"
---
The second fleet made up of ragtag forces continued to engage at the mining stations. Both taking and dishing out heavy losses. They responded to neither party, intent on docking and raiding the mining area. From the long range scans, hull markings indicated due to their bad inscriptions that they belonged to the Varren rebels, it seemed they needed more resources and were not keen on engaging Capitol, either that or they had potentially negotiated with them.
Thaerus listened to each of the messages upon their arrival. The loss of life was something he wasn’t going to avoid, however this would look better for them publicly if they let the Inquisition do their work.
To the Inquisition, the Tempest responded.
-/-You will have your amnesty. However, stay out of our way. Should you interfere, we will not hesitate to react accordingly.-/-
To the Capitol Ships, Thaerus grinned before speaking.
-/-Greetings to you as well, Vo’ra. My forces will assist you in the taking of the shipyards. The raw materials are yours, though I would request anything of substantial value we recover remains with us unless you wish to barter for it. Mark your targets, we have your back.-/-
The Echotian fleet begins to move into an attack formation, with the largest, most well armed and shielded ships in the front and the smaller, more agile ships using them as cover.
The Glaives discharge their interiors as thousands of Wolfpack fighters swarm into the space within the fleet, lining up and arming warheads.
A macrys signal is sent to all engaging ships as the main guns of the Dreadnought finally finish charging.
-/- Let them fear us, brothers. Vo’Al! RHAAAAA!-/-
Ruunskiir cursed the Inquisition's luck. What he had hoped to be a simple refuge and reformation effort was dissolving quickly. Now with Capitol's and the Echo's grace, the Inquisition fleet continued forward, dipping well and away from the main warzones and to the far ends of the shipyards. The transports made the most direct path while the cruisers and other support craft moved around them, weapons armed but untrained on any target, yet. Inquisitor Roth was surveying the battles taking place planetside around the system, various ships not allied with Capitol or the Echoes launching attacks on the mining worlds.
"We are supposed to help these people, not watch them get slaughtered, or worse!"
"You know as well as I do we are not ready for all out war." Retorted Ruunskiir. "The Inquisition still needs time to rebuild our fleet, especially the Pelion itself. To aggravate Capitol further or get these Echoes on our bad side is suicide with the fleet we brought, and long term war for our people."
"'Sustain one group's survival before securing another's'. Yes I remember our mantras and current situation, but to leave these people to die for nothing more than insolence of their superiors and the material gain is against everything we stand for!"
"Everything we stood for, brother. This is a new galaxy, a new playing field. There is no room for sentimentality over a few hundred deaths when we still have the chance to save thousands."
Both brothers fell silent, the matter settled. They looked onward as the transports began their approach vector to the landing zones. The only set military craft coming in for a landing bore the two Inquisitors; all other ships remained in defensive formation above. Ruunskiir opened a communication channel to the shipyard's control station, as well as a broadband transmission across the area:
"To all personnel and civilian parties in aboard the shipyard, we of the Annoliddan Inquisition have come to provide provisions to you and offer transportation and escort off this station and out of this system if you so wish. I ask those armed or otherwise combat ready to stand down. Your cooperation in this manner will help the aid come more smoothly."
Meanwhile Roth got back in the communication line with the other two major parties: "I thank you kindly for allowing us to perform this operation. We will see to it the civilian elements are out of your way when you board the station. Also, if possible, would you kindly transmit your marked targets , both ships and aboard the shipyard itself? Don't want anyone caught in the crossfire now, do we?" The last sentence could not have come out more dry. Roth did not care what his brother's thoughts on the matter were; if so much as a stray shot struck out a dockworker, he would see to it the shooter paid dearly for it.
The Capitol reply was short "We intend to take sections of the shipyards ourselves. With the loss of our main shipyards at Rubikon we have been ordered to take as much infrastructure as we can. You are welcome to keep this territory if you wish, we are only here to raid"
One of the Capitol escorts exploded as the Auraxii vessels concentrated fire, and were met by a huge Tachyon barrage that tore several vessels apart. However the Auraxii were forced to now concentrate on the Echoes attack. A firing line formed as the Auraxii re-orientated their ships to engage, huge railguns the staple of Auraxii firepower now unleashed on the Echoe fleet each Auraxii vessel class was designed to take on the ship above it, and so escorts targetted capital ships and capital ships targetted battleships and dreadnoughts. A wave of thermonuclear missiles also now leapt out of launchers, targetting the Echo escort forces while Auraxii fighters peeled off and went to engage the wolfpacks. Now divided in firepower the Capitol fleet renewed its assault.
The battle around the mining sector was not less vicious. With the Auraxii defenders having used improvised weapons installed on the various moons to damage the Varren fleets attack the situation was now at a stalemate as ships on either side were destroyed.
The response to the Inquisition by Capitol was just as dry "Marked targets have been sent. If any civilian or Inquisition soldier is still on the shipyards when we board they will be classed as an enemy combatant and dealt with such. We wouldnt want that now would we?" It was clear the Capitol commanders patience was tested.
The civilians on the shipyard came willingly, as did many military personel. There were thousands of them, boarding transports and reliquishing their weapons seemingly eager to leave. It was then the Auraxii defenders finally replied.
The captains bridge seemed heavily damaged as the ship was engaged "Cease your humanitarian aid! You seek to steal our workers away behind our backs in the guise of help, we need those people! They are our lifeblood!" The workers however painted a different story, thanking Inquisition forces for saving them from near slavery and starvation under the oppressive government that had been established here.
Darren Briar had hoped things might have been a bit more... quiet following their activities around Rubikon. The raids had gone on and on and on dragging on in much the same fashion the battle itself had. He'd hoped that with the battle done and his ill-gotten goods offloaded he would be afforded some time to relax...
No such luck.
No sooner had he finished offloading the last of his cargo than Sol had called and informed him a new contract had been negotiated to the south and he was to report to 'Freeport 43' and get further instructions from Devo.
He hadn't even known there was a Freeport 43.
Dreams of relaxing quickly forgotten Darren had gathered the Fifth Fleet and made his way to the galactic south, first to Freeport 43 and then quickly onward to the Jenga system on the instructions of his new employer, the Varren Doge.
With a bright flash his forces arrived in the system, tearing a hole into realspace and emerging from the swirling void beyond, a hundred and sixty two ships with the battleship Mercury Summer at their head.
He took a moment to listen to the report from his sensor operator. All here were known to him. Auraxii, Capitol, the Varren, Echoes and the Inquisition... With the exception of Capitol and the Auraxii, the Exiles had, in one form or another, made deals with everyone here.
This could get sticky.
Darren sighed, taking a long drag on his vape before finally picking up his transmitter and sending a message to what, at his best guess, were the Varren's commander.
"Fourth Admiral Darren Briar entering battlespace per instructions of Urasas Ranark. Request access to comms network, sitrep, ROE, and objectives,"
While he waited for an answer his ships began closing the distance between them and the Varren, shields coming up and weapons systems beginning to deploy as his vessels prepared for combat.
The line of railgun fire from the Auraxxi fleet wouldve torn apart the smaller of the Echotian ships had they not been taking cover behind their much larger, much more heavily shielded counterparts.
The Dreadnought, though not as bulky as the KingShadow or KingsHelm, easily shrugged off the barrage of guns directed to it. Shields complained, but through the superior design of the Echotian vessel, held firm. The KingSword Capitol BattleShips, being of almost the same caliber as the Dreadnought, continued forward though rocked heavily by the hail of fire.
Point defence on the 5km long Glaive Carriers brought to bear their full potential; forgoing a central lance for thousands of turrets.
Concentrated fire rained out from the twin Glaives, peppering the nuclear assault and weathering it down substantially. A few did manage to pierce the counter-fire however, hitting home into 5 of the Warclaw Escorts.
Wolfpacks broke into skirmishing formations, holding nothing back as they engaged the Auraxxi fighters. Whilst the Wolfpacks had less than average armour, they made up for it in pure speed and maneuverability.
———////—————
The space around the Echotian ships seemed to flinch slightly as the main guns of the Dreadnought and Capitol ships discharged; tracing their firing trajectories in retaliation to the Auraxxi guns.
The WrathBorn Battlecruisers stayed in formation, relinquishing thousands of high-yield lance batteries.
WarSword destroyers having braved their first assault, peaked out from behind the great behemoths of death to rain their more concentrated blasts of heavy lance fire upon the prime targets of the Auraxxi Force.
Aboard his command vessel, Thaerus Gael watched his fleet engage, his own need to pilot a Wolfpack staying at the back of his mind.
-/-Target the larger ships, ignore anything too small to hurt us! Wipe their pathetic ships from my sights!-/-
Ruunskiir was happy to see the evac was off to a good start. From his bridge aboard the cruiser, he watched as the mass of civilians and other personnel crowded around the boarding ramps, directed upwards and into single-and-half-file lines as they walked into the transports. Dropships circled the airspace above, never fully touching down but hovering low enough to drop supplies to those that requested it and occasionally helping small groups reach the loading platform.
As each Auraxii came aboard, each was greeted by an armed acolyte, who each in turn briefly embraced each newcomer with one arm before ushering them forward and calling for the next individual. Behind them stood a sparse row of power-armored knights, armed and vigilant but taking up relaxed poses. The purpose of this screening was not known to the people coming aboard until they made physical contact with the acolyte; upon physically touching them, the civilians and military personnel would be greeted by Annoliddan telepathy, delving into each other's minds. This not only reassured all that came aboard that the Annoliddans' actions ultimately sought their well-being, but also provided instructions for what to do once they boarded. While the Auraxii personnel could read and understand the thoughts of the Annoliddans, the Annoliddans likewise delve into the thoughts of each one that passed through screening; their most recent memories and thoughts became clear, and long-standing stances and allegiance in this conflict became clear. If any individual was believed to become 'problematic' aboard the ship, their name and designation was added to a long, growing list of persons to keep an eye on.
Inquisitor Roth watched over the live feed along with his brother, and sent his reply to the Auraxii commander:
"We are not forcing your people to board our ships. What they do is of their own free will, as it should be. If you wish for your workers to stay, make them a better offer."
Once the message was sent, Roth folded his upper limbs behind his back and turned to the comm officer.
"I want all ships to arm their cannons and ready Svalinn missiles for launch at moment's notice. Do not fire yet unless fired upon first. The less blood and fuel we spill the better."
Ruunskiir nodded in agreement at this action. He shortly after left the bridge to prepare for introductions. The Annoliddans found it rudimentary, but they knew other races liked to be greeted by the commanding officer.
The Varren who appeared on the coms message back to the BSO was a runty little creature, face screwed in anger and pain, although whether from injury from the battle or elsewhere Darren couldnt tell.
"About dehm time! Get your fhleet into positon with mhine, Auraxii-" He spat off screen at the name "Have duh in hard need to push them out. Mhining complex our object" Its galactic basic was anything but well spoken. But it was clear the Varren were trying to take the massive mining complexs across the area, they did not seem to care for Capitol or anyone else, only the Auraxii and the potential income of resources. The Varren fleet had pulled back as had the damaged Auraxii force that guarded the facilities, using the cover of the various defenses and ground based bodged installations to provide them with extra firepower.
The Auraxii fleet around the shipyards however was more or less totally destroyed.
Between the huge Echo attack and the Capitol strike group the Auraxii ships were cut apart in a wide barrage of different weapons, crushing the shields and piercing the hulls of their Inferior warships. Lances vapourised smaller vessels while Tachyon Arrows and more lances ripped larger battleships apart. The one dreadnought that the Auraxii had was also blasted apart in a huge detonation by the main guns of the Echo dreadnought and additional capital ships. A few Auraxii vessels survived, they either tried to desperately still fight on or sought to flee as the fighter groups engaged the Wolfpacks in a last ditch effort to hurt the Echoes. Surprisingly the Auraxii fighters were not as inferior as their ships, reverse engineered from the Capitol Sabre Mk.2s the craft were capably agile and had a heavy weapons complement of missiles and cannons as they worked in threes to destroy their foes.
The civilians continued to pour into the Inquisition ships as the vast majority of them were thankful of their rescue. Some however fanatically tried to take down their rescuers in fits of rage, or used improvised construction tools to fight, they were no problem but a nuscence for sure. However little targetted the Inqusition fleet and with the Auraxii fleet gone the shipyards were wide open for taking anyway.
"Closing to engagement range," Briar intoned once the Varren had finished giving him the short update. "What about the Echoes and the Inquisition?"
Rather than waste his time waiting for a response the Exile fleet instead spread into combat formations, moving past the Varren's damaged vessels and onward toward the Auraxii around the mining stations. For a moment, Briar considered offering them the chance to surrender... but he doubted they would. Any prisoners would likely be executed by the Varren, and he was willing to bet the Auraxii were well aware of that fact.
He listened as the bridge crew counted down the time until they hit firing ranges. Time updates were called out constantly as shields were and point defenses came online and the ship's computers generated firing solutions for coilguns and particle accelerators while missiles locked on their targets.
"And will you be joining us for this attack?" Briar asked as final preparations for engagement were made.
As Ruunskiir entered the landing area aboard his shuttle, he was pleasantly impressed to see how well his soldiers were handling the situation. Despite the occasional interuptions from the civilians surging forward en masse, or the occasional renegade group charging them tools in hand, the acolytes overseeing the boarding continued about their tasks calmly. They never pushed back against the mob, instead speeding up the process to make due. Whenever an individual or hostile group attempted confrontation, the Annoliddans simply dispatched them with a swift CQC maneuver and further telepathic screening to pacify any hostility. If these failed, the knights behind them sent out a small burst of stun rounds into the delinquents, never enough to knock them unconsious, but enough to dissuade further fighting.
Ruunskiir's shuttle hovered over the loading platform. He stood atop its open ramp looking out and over the mass of people coming unto his care. A number of the dropships and the transports matched their harmonic resonators to his frequency, ensuring his voice came across the whole area. Video feed in the ships showed those already settled in the Inquisitor hovering above their comrades:
"Residents of Jenga, I am Inquisitor Ruunskiir. My brother Roth and I, and our most loyal forces, thank you for yout cooperation in today's events. I understand this move displeases many among you greatly, and I sympathize. We too were revoked the right to our own homes long ago, by powers entirely out of our control. However, much like you will soon, we found a new place to rest, a new place to celebrate... a new place to call home."
As he spoke, Ruunskiir's peripheral vision scanned the horizon around him, taking note of the battle(s) being waged both close to the station and more distantly thoughout the system.
"I know many of you supported the Empire during its time, and many still despised its regime. However, regardless of your allegience before today, I ask you to not act upon your feelings towards or against it. Today is about preparing for the future, and as bleak as it is, we can still prepare nonetheless. With your help and cooperation, you can once again call somewhere home."
As much as he loved hearing his brother spout rhetoric unto the masses, Roth was instead busy preparing countermeasures against any soon-to-be threats; targeting solutions were planned, missiles armed, masers primed. What little had engaged them so far were nothing but Varren or Auraxii stragglers still circling the station, but those had proven to be little more than target practice against the cruisers. Still, there were bigger fish in this waterless sea of a system...
Thaerus watched the enemy fleet with little remorse as it was obliterated. With the Capitol ships at their side, combined with their own weapons of war, this station was as good as theirs.
-/-Remaining Wolfpacks, return to your Glaives. Let our guns cleanse the Auraxxi craft from your wings.-/-
Almost immediately, Wolfpacks began breaking away from the fight. Hundreds had seen themselves blown away into the void, but many still remained. As they approached the Glaives, the mighty point-defence weapons at its disposal casually ripped through any that dared to give chase.
The larger ships continued to shoot at any remaining Auraxxi ships; even firing at large chunks of remaining ships to avoid leaving anything to a slow death.
-/-Capitol forces, we are deploying Warpack troop carriers once the skies are clear. Let us take this station, El’ra!-/-
"Ihgnore them for now, our phriority is to thake the materials. If they ghet in our way we dhestroy them" Another data package revealled that Capitol was in on the whole situation. Seemingly they had made some kind of deal before hand or even on the spot regarding who got what.
A simple acknowledgement was all that came in regards to the joint attack, the Varren fleet forming up close to BSO and in formation weapons activated. It seemed they would help.
The response to the speach by the Inquisition was one of surprising agreement, with many of the Auraxii nodding or happy with what was said. They eagerly awaited their instructions and the children among them seemed to be happy to be going somewhere new. Many had suffered in this regime and had not enjoyed the regime before either, this was to be a new start, if they could get out of the system. It wasnt long before target locks appeared on AI ships from the Capitol fleet.
"Inquisition forces, you have had plenty of time to evacuate the people from the shipyards. Your time is up, any left aboard are our responsibility now. I suggest you leave here at once" Was the only communication sent in relation to the event.
The Capitol forces acknowledged the Echoes message, the Capitol fleet moving closer to the shipyards now disgorged their own shuttles and drop ships full of shocktroops and marines. They would clear out the facility and then begin to break it down ready for moving to Capitol space.
At the Capitol decree and movement, the processing accelerated greatly. The Acolytes now stepped forward, shouting for everyone to board while able. The most distant edges of the dwindling crowd were being encircled by the dropships scooping them up and carting them by the dozens into the transports whose engines made the telltale sign of readying for takeoff.
"Time is short. We must leave." Ruunskiir's words rang out as the last of the civilians were less than gracefully dropped into the loading bays. As soon as a stable atmosphere was established, the ships of the Inquisition began pulling away from the platform, leaving scorch marks across its surface as fusion thrusters accelerated the fleet away from the shipyards. Roth kept all munitions at the ready as they sped away to the edge of the system. He dared not question his brother's decision to leave the system immediately; the political situation with the other factions in the system were either still an unknown factor, or shaking on a thin stick as it is.
"The 'yards are yours," Inquisitor Roth replied to Capitol. "Have fun with the collapsing infrastructure and what have you. I have a few thousand mouths to feed."
Drop pods, Warpacks, and Warstriders were deployed onto the shipyards. Warstriders would be sent to crush any AA batteries before the higher capacity Warpacks would swoop in to deploy their troops.
Squads deployed from the drop pods, weapons at the ready, blades freshly cleaned for battle.
Aboard the VoidSabre, Thaerus reviewed the hobo-projections of the shipyards. From here he could direct his forces more efficiently, overseeing their combined efforts and focussing their attacks where most effective.
Drumming his fingers against his command chair Briar listened carefully as reports came in from across his fleet and the bridge crew began steadily counting down range to target and how many minutes until they would enter optimal firing range.
The situation wasn't ideal. Even with the Varren backing him up he wasn't keen to just roll straight into an all out slug fest... But he didn't have much choice. He was joining a fight already in progress and did not have the benefit of surprise... so instead he supposed he'd have to rely on chaos.
"Target the largest ships," He instructed. "Take them out as quickly as possible. With luck we can wipe out their commanders right from the outset and force a route early."
The command was relayed across the fleet as they hit optimal firing ranges and the fleet lit up with weapons fire. Particle accelerators, coil guns, and missiles lit up the void as the exile's ships closed in. The fire was focused exclusively on the ten largest vessels in the Auraxii fleet, all other ships were ignored for the time being.
Briar hoped that, with a little luck, he could wipe out senior level command, and the Auraxii would break and route without the guidance of a clear leader.
That was the hope at least.
There was no resistance to the Inquisition as they left, while the Capitol commander wanted to destroy them he knew this was neither the place nor the time. Current objectives stood, however thankfully as an almost ironic side affect to the Inquisitions saving of the crew there were little crew left to man the defensive systems. Only light fire from several places fought Echo and Capitol boarding forces and were quickly wiped out.
The Capitol marines in their bulky boarding gear alongside Hydra Guard swiftly moved out alongside the Echoes through the facility. Killing any Auraxii they found with no remorse as they secured dock sections, processing units, material stashes, weapons caches and more. While the troops went through the facility the Capitol fleet now moved into specific positions ready to break apart and transport the shipyard when the troops were done.
--
The Auraxii fleet and defenses still standing now engaged the Varren and BSO forces with vigour, the vigour of a cornered beast with nowhere to run. Heavy railgun and spinal fire erupted across their fleet as missiles flew out of launchers in huge volleys. The fleet was in a tight defensive formation, allowing for maximum PD firing angles as missiles were shot down and railgun shots intercepted. Attack craft flew close helping to intercept rounds from BSO and Varren volleys but ships died as they always did. Particle accelerator shots smashed through shields and armour to crippled internal systems as vessels exploded violently in the void.
The ground based defenses also engaged, firing in a way that would direct the missiles into a crossfire for the attacking fleet. While it wasnt overwhelming it was enough to cause damage as Varren vessels came apart from return fire or were sent blazing through space with no control. It was clear despite the technology the Varren had purchased or stolen they knew nothing about void war as they merely threw themselves at the Auraxii.
Unmolested for the most part, the Inquisition ships made way to the edge of the battlefield's interdiction radius. So long as no other threats arose, the command was given for all ships to flee the system to deepspace between the Auraxii stars. From there, it would be up to the inquisitorial brothers and their crew to find a new home for the hundred-plus thousand people in their care.
Then, hoping there would be such a suitable place, they would return to the surrounding systems and rinse and repeat until it became an option no more.
Roth dreaded the days ahead of them.
Auraxxi forces, to the dissatisfaction of the Echos on the ground, gave little in terms of a worthy fight.
Between the Striders and the combined might of both Capitol and Tempest forces, the remaining defenders were slaughtered without hesitation.
——-/////————
Thaerus opened his macrys channel to the Capitol ships.
-/-The Shipyard is yours. Extracting forces. Targeting remaining Auraxxi forces.-/-
With this, the ‘BladeSinger’ fleet pivoted, forming a defensive line around the station.
Targets where found, and firing solutions where calculated by the macrys systems.
-/-The will of the Tempest be done.-/-
Briar had hoped for more competent allies, but he couldn't exactly go mouthing off to his employers about their lack of tactical understanding. He could bring it up at a later point, but the Varren stood little chance of winning this war if they just tried to throw numbers at their problems and hope for the best.
The Auraxii had clustered together, amplifying their point defense and making his initial plan of eliminating their leadership an unlikely outcome. He swore loudly as damage reports began coming in. His forces were doing their best to use their numbers advantage, sheltering behind one another when the fire against them became overwhelming... but the Varren throwing themselves at the Auraxii was making it difficult.
His fleet slowed their advance as they began taking losses, letting the Varren take the lead as they spread their formation out as much as they could while still maintaining cohesion.
"Saturate the area!" Briar ordered. The Auraxii were clustered together, making them prime targets for a sustained missile barrage. He advised the Varren commander, though whether the idiot would hold off on rushing in and let the missiles do their job was anyone's guess.
Across the fleet the order went out and railgun and particle accelerator fire slowed in favor of launching missile after missile into the Auraxii formation. The Organization had no shortage of nuclear warheads, and Briar was keen to put them to work.
Some were targeted at specific vessels, but the majority of the nukes were set to detonate in the Auraxii formations where they had the potential to damage multiple ships, and still more missiles were set to detonate before reaching the fleet proper to destroy counter-munitions launched against the swarm.
The Auraxii fleet didnt go down without a fight. The Varren forces taking substantial damage from the frontal assault as a response, thankfully the BSO elements prevented them from nearly loosing their entire fleet...
With the last defenses destroyed and the system in the hands of the various victors. Bargains were struck, Capitol merely took the shipyards, dismantling them and their contents and using FTL tugs to take them back to their own territory, thanking the Echoes for their aid and informing them they would likely meet again in this region soon.
As for the Varren a deal was made between them and the Echoes, content with the huge and profitable mining infrastructure the Varren gave the rest of the system to the Echoes and agreed to leave the other surrounding systems for them too.
With the system quiet, and now held the struggle for Jenga was now over.