Post by EmperorMyric on Mar 22, 2021 17:20:52 GMT
Obyrd System: Capitol Space
“Sir, we are approaching firing strength now”
The thrum of the capacitors filled the entire control room as the complementary sound of gunfire continued to play out down near several corridors. They didn’t have much time. Several technicians worked across the control panels, getting the huge form of the Strixx gun into firing condition, the bodies of the station’s crew splayed out across the floor covered in bullet holes.
What a waste.
Stolak sighed, the inside of his HUD showing him the entire situation as another Hydra class of his was speared by a loyalist Trident class out in the space battle erupting around the station.
Loyalist
An interesting term his mind had used. Weren’t they all loyalists? Seeking what was best for their own people? Stolak was on a mission, a critical one at that. Sent by members of HICOM to ensure the Strixx guns use against the direct commands of those under Inaras regime. Times were changing, and Stolak was only trying to do what was necessary to keep Capitol going, and the talk of surrender that permeated every street, every level, and the crushing lack of resources and basic necessities due to the crumbling economy was unbearable. Riots had broken out on many Capitol worlds ever since Rubikon had been invaded and the Crucible destroyed. The collapse of Triarch was the final straw, the economy had collapsed, and now Capitol was on the verge of defeat. Stolak had seen what the AGA had done to Rubikon Prime first hand, occupation under them would be throwing away everything that they had strived to build and their own freedoms, he wouldn’t allow it.
Inara was going to sue for peace, he knew that, but he wouldn’t accept it. And thankfully, most of HICOM felt the same way. Even now operations were under way, likely by both parties, to wrest control of the government or aspects of such. The next few days would be bloody indeed, the bodies at Stolaks feet were testament to that, it was a shame. They had been so unified and now they were divided, defeat did interesting things to an empire he thought.
Stolak watched as ‘loyalist’ forces now fought their way to the control room, the counter boarders were pushing through his forces. Hydra Guard. He should have known really, this was never going to be a round trip. Even as his small fleet engaged the other in close proximity of the Strixx gun, a hopeless battle that was to help deter boarding and had since failed, his forces had secured the station and was now prepping it for use. The Strixx gun had been the next step from the Crucible, a smaller, stealthier and cheaper weapon designed to destroy enemy worlds at a strategic level. It had been completed weeks ago, but per Inaras orders had not been used. Likely she saw more strategic destruction as detrimental to negotiations, HICOM knew that such was a laughable idea, the Crucible had already destroyed all hope of that, now it was just a case of making the AGA bleed, cripple them so they would be in a lesser position to occupy their nation.
And so that’s why Stolak was here, to against orders, use the Strixx gun. This time on the Nuclean capital system of Stella Prime, to hammer their megastructure they were constructing and so proud of, and to wipe out their current government. That would be a shock to them for sure, so soon after the Crucibles destruction to suddenly have an invisible hand reach out again and enact retribution.
It made Stolak smile.
“How long?” He asked, the sound of gunfire was closer now, corresponding to his HUD warning him of enemy contacts only 2 corridors away. Despite the marine contingent he had with him fighting fiercely with their grenade launchers, automatic shotguns and boarding shields they were being cut down by the cold precision and close range armour piercing weapons of the Hydra Guard. Not only were they Hydra Guard, they were Inaras personal regiment themselves, replete in their ornamental gear, what an honour he thought.
“Not long, just making final alignments to the accelerator. The shells ready to go and the capacitors are charged. Give me a moment and we can fire”
“You have one minute tops. Then we all die” Stolak along with two other marines in the control room readied their weapons as a loud crash echoed down through the bulkheads. Stolak himself shut his helmet, his large bulky armour would do little to protect from Tachyon weapons, but it would make him feel better at least. Checking his automatic shotgun through the HUD he turned to face the bulkhead for the control room and took up positions to fire. The other non-necessary technicians also readying their own firearms. They had managed to get aboard without problem, using covered IDs and HICOM forged orders, they were never going to leave. This had always been a suicide mission.
Stolak heard the last of his marines outside the bulkhead be cut down, several ‘pings’ cut through the room as Tachyon rounds went through the bulkhead and impacted several walls, the penetration on them was phenomenal. As the lifesigns of his squad blinked out Stolak sighted his shotgun, the technician called out then.
“Ready to fire!”
“Punch it!” Stolak shouted back, the entire station then suddenly jolted. He felt several Gs as he and the other held their footing thanks to magnetic boots, then suddenly were pushed the other way as the stations considerable RSC thrusters kicked in to stabilise it. The round was away, mission accomplished. At that moment the bulkhead was melted as a reaction charge detonated.
Stolak smiled at the thought of a successful mission. He hoped that what he had done would help, even as the Tachyon rounds tore through him and his men and he screamed in defiance with his shotgun blaring Stolak honestly believed his rebellious actions as patriotic.
Even as he died, in his mind he was a hero.
The Strixx round escaped the station faster than any of the nearby Capitol vessels could stop it, unwilling to destroy the station they had recaptured it. But it was too late.
The projectile accelerated away gaining speed as it finally approached 0.6c before activating its slipspace drive, disappearing from the system on its pre-programmed course of destruction.
Stella Prime: Nuclean Ecumene Space
Using data collected from a variety of sources the round exited FTL in the inner areas of the Stella Prime system. Absolutely bustling, as any capital system would be, with civilian traffic and military vessels moving to and fro all over the area, especially as the construction of the megastructure continued to progress. Vast resources were brought in from other systems to fuel the build in huge several hundred kilometre hauling vessels which dwarfed even the military ships in system. Carefully laid access lanes were patrolled as ships moved in and out of the inner system and into safe designated areas for FTL arrival and departure.
The shell’s arrival shattered that, its appearance triggered nearly every alarm in system as it tore free of FTL and sped at relativistic speeds in system towards the ‘top’ of the huge project. Several military vessels tried to intercept it, but their exact positions and relative speeds meant that the weapons fire went wide and was not able to score any direct hits, even with such hits its mass would still be able to do considerable damage. A state of emergency was declared, but it would not be quick enough.
The Strixx shell, only a minute out, continued its course as ships scrambled to move out of its way or escape the system, the memories of the Crucible on other empires was still fresh. What if this shell contained some kind of sunbuster weapon? Now was the time to leave, and vessels all across the system who were both military and civilian initiated FTL jumps, leaving the entire system in chaos as the round finally impacted.
Within the Overseer’s palace, Fleetmaster Serrexx had been in a meeting with Overseer Stellios, when alarms began blaring. Both men jumped to their feet, as Stellios’s secretary AI displayed the incoming projectile and advised evacuation. But there was simply no time, as a few minutes wasn’t even close to enough time to evacuate the building, let alone get off planet. They could only stare in horror along with everyone else, as the image of the projectile, blue shifted due to its relativistic speed, closed the distance in less than the blink of an eye and smashed through the palace grounds.
Luckily for the Nucleans the Strixx was not a sunbuster like the Crucible, it was only meant to shatter planets. As such the megastructure would remain largely intact. However, the round tore through the shell’s north pole, impacting with unimaginable force, its mass overpenetrating the first shell layer and sending relativistic fragments through the layers below to fall into the raging yellow dwarf beneath. The area around the impact zone was instantly vaporised, the shockwave and fireball pulverizing and burning everything for several million kilometres, killing billions of civilian and government officials in the vicinity of the government district. Those even out to nearly 150 million kilometres away suddenly felt the full flash of the impact, receiving horrific 3rd degree burns as the energy flashed out across the system in a huge pyrotechnic display. Ships crews watched the impact with horror as the impact started to subside, and the huge mega tsunamis began. Reaching hundreds of metres high they raced across the artificial oceans, totally submerging islands and smashing coastlines even hundreds of kilometres inland. Billions more died from such secondary affects as the Nucleans realised the sheer scope of destruction that had been caused.
From a distance, the burning, several thousand-kilometre-wide hole through the various shell layers was tiny compared to the entire structure. But on the surface, billions had died and the government district, the seat of the Ecumene’s government in the Ancerious galaxy, was completely annihilated, along with the personnel that worked there. On top of that, billions more had died from the secondary flash and shockwave impacts, as well as the tsunamis. Stolak’s mission had been a success.
In his mind he had been a hero.
In reality, he was a murderer.
“Sir, we are approaching firing strength now”
The thrum of the capacitors filled the entire control room as the complementary sound of gunfire continued to play out down near several corridors. They didn’t have much time. Several technicians worked across the control panels, getting the huge form of the Strixx gun into firing condition, the bodies of the station’s crew splayed out across the floor covered in bullet holes.
What a waste.
Stolak sighed, the inside of his HUD showing him the entire situation as another Hydra class of his was speared by a loyalist Trident class out in the space battle erupting around the station.
Loyalist
An interesting term his mind had used. Weren’t they all loyalists? Seeking what was best for their own people? Stolak was on a mission, a critical one at that. Sent by members of HICOM to ensure the Strixx guns use against the direct commands of those under Inaras regime. Times were changing, and Stolak was only trying to do what was necessary to keep Capitol going, and the talk of surrender that permeated every street, every level, and the crushing lack of resources and basic necessities due to the crumbling economy was unbearable. Riots had broken out on many Capitol worlds ever since Rubikon had been invaded and the Crucible destroyed. The collapse of Triarch was the final straw, the economy had collapsed, and now Capitol was on the verge of defeat. Stolak had seen what the AGA had done to Rubikon Prime first hand, occupation under them would be throwing away everything that they had strived to build and their own freedoms, he wouldn’t allow it.
Inara was going to sue for peace, he knew that, but he wouldn’t accept it. And thankfully, most of HICOM felt the same way. Even now operations were under way, likely by both parties, to wrest control of the government or aspects of such. The next few days would be bloody indeed, the bodies at Stolaks feet were testament to that, it was a shame. They had been so unified and now they were divided, defeat did interesting things to an empire he thought.
Stolak watched as ‘loyalist’ forces now fought their way to the control room, the counter boarders were pushing through his forces. Hydra Guard. He should have known really, this was never going to be a round trip. Even as his small fleet engaged the other in close proximity of the Strixx gun, a hopeless battle that was to help deter boarding and had since failed, his forces had secured the station and was now prepping it for use. The Strixx gun had been the next step from the Crucible, a smaller, stealthier and cheaper weapon designed to destroy enemy worlds at a strategic level. It had been completed weeks ago, but per Inaras orders had not been used. Likely she saw more strategic destruction as detrimental to negotiations, HICOM knew that such was a laughable idea, the Crucible had already destroyed all hope of that, now it was just a case of making the AGA bleed, cripple them so they would be in a lesser position to occupy their nation.
And so that’s why Stolak was here, to against orders, use the Strixx gun. This time on the Nuclean capital system of Stella Prime, to hammer their megastructure they were constructing and so proud of, and to wipe out their current government. That would be a shock to them for sure, so soon after the Crucibles destruction to suddenly have an invisible hand reach out again and enact retribution.
It made Stolak smile.
“How long?” He asked, the sound of gunfire was closer now, corresponding to his HUD warning him of enemy contacts only 2 corridors away. Despite the marine contingent he had with him fighting fiercely with their grenade launchers, automatic shotguns and boarding shields they were being cut down by the cold precision and close range armour piercing weapons of the Hydra Guard. Not only were they Hydra Guard, they were Inaras personal regiment themselves, replete in their ornamental gear, what an honour he thought.
“Not long, just making final alignments to the accelerator. The shells ready to go and the capacitors are charged. Give me a moment and we can fire”
“You have one minute tops. Then we all die” Stolak along with two other marines in the control room readied their weapons as a loud crash echoed down through the bulkheads. Stolak himself shut his helmet, his large bulky armour would do little to protect from Tachyon weapons, but it would make him feel better at least. Checking his automatic shotgun through the HUD he turned to face the bulkhead for the control room and took up positions to fire. The other non-necessary technicians also readying their own firearms. They had managed to get aboard without problem, using covered IDs and HICOM forged orders, they were never going to leave. This had always been a suicide mission.
Stolak heard the last of his marines outside the bulkhead be cut down, several ‘pings’ cut through the room as Tachyon rounds went through the bulkhead and impacted several walls, the penetration on them was phenomenal. As the lifesigns of his squad blinked out Stolak sighted his shotgun, the technician called out then.
“Ready to fire!”
“Punch it!” Stolak shouted back, the entire station then suddenly jolted. He felt several Gs as he and the other held their footing thanks to magnetic boots, then suddenly were pushed the other way as the stations considerable RSC thrusters kicked in to stabilise it. The round was away, mission accomplished. At that moment the bulkhead was melted as a reaction charge detonated.
Stolak smiled at the thought of a successful mission. He hoped that what he had done would help, even as the Tachyon rounds tore through him and his men and he screamed in defiance with his shotgun blaring Stolak honestly believed his rebellious actions as patriotic.
Even as he died, in his mind he was a hero.
The Strixx round escaped the station faster than any of the nearby Capitol vessels could stop it, unwilling to destroy the station they had recaptured it. But it was too late.
The projectile accelerated away gaining speed as it finally approached 0.6c before activating its slipspace drive, disappearing from the system on its pre-programmed course of destruction.
Stella Prime: Nuclean Ecumene Space
Using data collected from a variety of sources the round exited FTL in the inner areas of the Stella Prime system. Absolutely bustling, as any capital system would be, with civilian traffic and military vessels moving to and fro all over the area, especially as the construction of the megastructure continued to progress. Vast resources were brought in from other systems to fuel the build in huge several hundred kilometre hauling vessels which dwarfed even the military ships in system. Carefully laid access lanes were patrolled as ships moved in and out of the inner system and into safe designated areas for FTL arrival and departure.
The shell’s arrival shattered that, its appearance triggered nearly every alarm in system as it tore free of FTL and sped at relativistic speeds in system towards the ‘top’ of the huge project. Several military vessels tried to intercept it, but their exact positions and relative speeds meant that the weapons fire went wide and was not able to score any direct hits, even with such hits its mass would still be able to do considerable damage. A state of emergency was declared, but it would not be quick enough.
The Strixx shell, only a minute out, continued its course as ships scrambled to move out of its way or escape the system, the memories of the Crucible on other empires was still fresh. What if this shell contained some kind of sunbuster weapon? Now was the time to leave, and vessels all across the system who were both military and civilian initiated FTL jumps, leaving the entire system in chaos as the round finally impacted.
Within the Overseer’s palace, Fleetmaster Serrexx had been in a meeting with Overseer Stellios, when alarms began blaring. Both men jumped to their feet, as Stellios’s secretary AI displayed the incoming projectile and advised evacuation. But there was simply no time, as a few minutes wasn’t even close to enough time to evacuate the building, let alone get off planet. They could only stare in horror along with everyone else, as the image of the projectile, blue shifted due to its relativistic speed, closed the distance in less than the blink of an eye and smashed through the palace grounds.
Luckily for the Nucleans the Strixx was not a sunbuster like the Crucible, it was only meant to shatter planets. As such the megastructure would remain largely intact. However, the round tore through the shell’s north pole, impacting with unimaginable force, its mass overpenetrating the first shell layer and sending relativistic fragments through the layers below to fall into the raging yellow dwarf beneath. The area around the impact zone was instantly vaporised, the shockwave and fireball pulverizing and burning everything for several million kilometres, killing billions of civilian and government officials in the vicinity of the government district. Those even out to nearly 150 million kilometres away suddenly felt the full flash of the impact, receiving horrific 3rd degree burns as the energy flashed out across the system in a huge pyrotechnic display. Ships crews watched the impact with horror as the impact started to subside, and the huge mega tsunamis began. Reaching hundreds of metres high they raced across the artificial oceans, totally submerging islands and smashing coastlines even hundreds of kilometres inland. Billions more died from such secondary affects as the Nucleans realised the sheer scope of destruction that had been caused.
From a distance, the burning, several thousand-kilometre-wide hole through the various shell layers was tiny compared to the entire structure. But on the surface, billions had died and the government district, the seat of the Ecumene’s government in the Ancerious galaxy, was completely annihilated, along with the personnel that worked there. On top of that, billions more had died from the secondary flash and shockwave impacts, as well as the tsunamis. Stolak’s mission had been a success.
In his mind he had been a hero.
In reality, he was a murderer.