Post by Ofton on Jul 25, 2023 19:55:06 GMT
__**Murallo Alto System - Jade Empire of Ingen**__
It had been less than two entire weeks since the Furrelian Union had launched a devastating offensive against the Free Furrelian Republic. Within those two weeks, the Republic had gone from a semi-prosperous nation with a bright future to little more than a spoilt hope. The Republic had fallen, and the shadow of the Union had cast over it. However, despite everything, a single light of hope for the citizens of the Republic shined in the distance. Despite the devastating opening blow, one fleet had survived the Union’s onslaught: Admiral Osetem Kisodema’s Third fleet. Originally the defending fleet of the Terinosit system, it had only narrowly escaped total destruction by exposing a gap in the enemy line to push through it. Despite not even being stationed in the Free Furrelian Republic or Furrelian Union for that matter, it had become a symbol for Free Furrelian resistance. It had, with the consent of the Imperial government of Ingen, turned the Murallo Alto system into an operating base for the fleet. From there, Intel gathered by wider SAGA forces against the Furrelian Union, which had shortly after the invasion joined CONA, was given to both the FFR fleet and others to who the intel might find itself being useful.
__**Maresit System - Occupied by the Furrelian Union**__
Todesi Meridema walked over the floor of Maresit station, the metal floor clanking underneath him as his heavy leather boots stomped on it. He was not the only Furrelian walking through the hallways of the station, in fact, almost everyone aboard was a Furrelian. But, in his eyes, the aliens might as well have been the most disgusting aliens to have existed. Furrelians who betrayed, nay even resisted the acts of the central government in Neetor, Sallag, or any other system of the Union, were even worse than most aliens in his eyes. With utter disgust, the commodore in charge of the FDS G Section of the 4th Ancerious fleet made his way to a viewing platform into a cargo hall on one of the lower decks. Opening the door to the platform, the instant smell of sweat hit him. Below him, in a hall two-hundred by two-hundred meters large, there laid thousands of Free Furrelian Soldiers who had been taken prisoner of war. The loud mumbling only got louder once Meridema showed his dark-orange face. Shouts of “Scum!”, “Hell’s advocate!” and many more filled up the room, but he simply ignored them. He was safe, twenty meters above them. And even if the prisoners tried to climb up, he could simply have his guards shoot all those who tried, and a few extra for the added intimidation. He smirked at the thought alone but quickly turned to another officer, a grey-haired man called Disonedema.
“*I assume that the freighter will be arriving tomorrow?*” Meridema said to the other officer, his deep voice drowning out the mumbling below. Disonedema nodded.
“*Indeed, a fleet of two freighters and a tonne of soldiers to keep the crowd under control. Preparations are already being made to prevent them from escaping once the loading procedure begins.*”
“*What about the scum downstairs, in the cells?*”
“*Sallag has ordered their execution to the moved forwards. They’ll be executed here, tomorrow. A squad is on one of the freighters.*”
Meridema nodded and looked down at the prisoners. The invasion was going good. Within a month, the republican identity would cease to exist. He smiled, before turning to Disonedema again.
“*I heard that the Kel’Thulian reinforcements got delayed?*”
-”*Yes, that is correct. FTL tachyons aren’t favourable for them this way, so they’ll be taking an alternative route through the Gutalen sector.*”
“*That’s a shame.*” He responded, slightly disappointed. “*We need to get the defences back up as soon as we can, and they would have been of great help with it.*”
“*Indeed, they would’ve.*”
__**Open space between the Jade Empire and the FFR**__
Commander Mosin Ederio looked out of the window on her ship’s bridge. She looked into the emptiness of the void in space. She, and her fleet of only a few ships and a few companies' worths of marines, had taken orbit around a rogue planet, which had been dubbed TXO-309 by astrologists from the Furrelian Union only the year before. She could not get the orders she got out of her head, though. Free Furrelian Intelligence had gathered knowledge of that multiple high-ranking officers of the Armed forces, and even some members of the FFR parliament had been incarcerated aboard of Maresit station. Even worse, within less than a day they would be executed, which would not only be a major morale blow to the Republic, but also to the logistics and legitimacy of the Republic. As such, she was ordered to rendezvous with two fleets at TXO-309. One of the fleets was from the Republic’s Socialist allies of Imaginarium, while the other was from the United Democratic Systems. The two foreign fleets had already been brought up to date with the situation and plan, but as a last-minute doublecheck, they were supposed to meet there before jumping into the Maresit system.
Ederio let out a sigh. The fight was waiting to be taken back to the Republic's territory.
Imaginese Central Command – TIERZ, Tatiana
Field Marshall Timotei Barbu stood, in the full black of his dress uniform, surveying the holographic battle map of the Ancerious Galaxy that lay in front of him and the general staff. “…and so, Comrades, we will answer this Free Furrelian call to arms. Not only would it be a major coup for us politically, but also the immediate approximation of the conflict to our own system could see CONA forces get a foothold on our very doorstep.” Finished the tall and gangly General Glebov Borisovich, an ill-tempered man, who Timotei knew resented being placed on Tatiana, and away from his comfortable existence back in the Nababkin Socialist Republic. Timotei stood, beckoning for Borisovich to sit down as he did so. “Thank you, Comrade General. As you can see, Comrades…this situation presents itself as an immediate threat to our base of operations. We will answer this threat immediately.” He tapped away on his data pad, the map changing, focusing in on the small, localised region of the Tuvian Arm, the movement of holographic images reflecting off the characteristic pure white of his damaged right eye. “General Builis, will oversee this operation.” He gestured to a portly looking man, who sat perched on the edge of his seat overlooking the battle map.
Borvo Builis was in his early 50s, with balding hair and a brown moustache that almost harkened back to an imperial age. He carried with him a reputation of discipline and harshness, one that even Field Marshall Barbu (someone who had garnered the nickname ‘The destroyer of worlds’) respected. He shuffled in his chair as the attention of the room was drawn upon him. He maintained eye contact with the Field Marshall. “His orders are simple,” continued Timotei “He will use whatever means necessary to reverse the tides in the Free Furrelian’s favour, but our true objective is to destroy and maim. This is a fight of pure aggression. We want the Furrelian Union and whatever allies it brings to be pushed and torn at. Our goal is simply this Comrades: fight for fights sake. Hold the enemy here, no further. Make them concentrate their forces in a battle that will have them speaking in hushed tones for years to come of the losses they suffered.” A nodding sense of approval spluttered around the room, a small “here here” shouted from the back. Timotei looked to Borvo, who gave the slightest of nods to the Field Marshall.
Sometime later…
The fleets departed from their holdings around TIERZ, a course was laid into the rendezvous with the Free Furrelian Resistance and the United Democratic Systems. A collection of vessels peppered with a fighter and infantry carrier, combined with their assortment of destroyers, and frigates journeyed in convey. General Borvo stationed upon the largest, troop-carrying ship, the ISS Dong Wu, watched from the gallery window on the bridge, surveying the fleet as it moved into position to jump in unison to faster than light. “Ensign!” he shouted with authority at a young operative sat at the communications desk, who cowered slightly at the words coming in his direction. “Relay to the Free Furrelians that we are on route, and will be arriving shortly. Ask them if they wish to meet face to face before we begin operations…”
The fall of the Free Furrellian Republic and the subsequent conquest by the Furrelian Union took the UDS public by storm. Perhaps it was seeing one of the nations so close to their colonies fall that made them worry, but regardless, none worried as much as Parliament itself. However, within that worry, there was perhaps a hint of greed. Could the UDS take advantage of their fallen comrade? It was an ugly thought to be sure- but one that was worth considering. Not to mention, lending assistance to a fellow SAGA nation would give the UDS far more credibility in the eyes of their allies. And so, the choice was made; a flotilla of fifteen ships was to be assembled and deployed to assault FU forces and lend assistance to their fallen comrades. Their goal is simple; win.
Primary Bridge, SSV Nightingale
Thomas Monroe was a man of action and duty. That much was clear during the fateful day so many years ago when he enlisted to the navy to fight the good fight. Now, well into his seventies despite looking far younger, he still carried the same spirit, albeit tempered by decades of experience. The commodore resisted the urge to sigh as he sat down at the officer’s chair of the bridge. It was quite quiet there despite the excitement coursing through everyone on board. Officers silently whispered to each other while bridge crew quietly focused on their consoles or snacked on some nutrient bars. Currently, his flotilla was en route to TXO-309 where they would meet up with their allies before they began their attack. Idly, he looked over his forces. His battleship, the SSV Nightingale, the Carrier SSV Alexandria, two battlecruisers, three cruisers, two destroyers, and five corvettes- a very threatening force all things considered and it covered all of their needs from starfighter support to ship combat.
Before he could delve into his thoughts any further, the speaker on his chair chimed signalling that he was being called- from the Alexandria to be more specific. He adjusted his cap before pressing the button that allowed for two holograms to appear in front of him, “Commander Franz. Brigadier Zacharius. Report.” Commander Franz was a young-looking human with bright blue hair and blue eyes. He was an experienced officer and fought by his side during the latter years of the Dominion-Systems War. He saluted and spoke, “just wanted to go over the details, sir.” Brigadier Zacharius was a tall and well built man with a slight beard and stubble growing around his chin and mouth. He was a marine and had served throughout the entire war as both a commander of leading allied assaults on planetary defences- be it space stations, shipyards, ships, or even planets- and a boots on the ground commander for when the Alexandria found itself boarded by enemies. The three of them shared a history which other as they all served on the same cruiser so long ago- the SSV Trafalgar, before they eventually reached a higher rank to have been able to command troops of their own and were split for a time before they reunited. “Just reporting on what we have,” Zacharius spoke, “we got a brigade of marines on board the Alexandria alongside their vehicles and support- they should be enough to successfully launch an assault on the station. Taking into accoutn our gear and weapons it should be an easy and done job.” “Our comrades faced them in battle, did they not?” Franz wondered aloud. “Yes, and they won,” Zacharius spoke, “with our help, we will crush them.”
Monroe nodded his head, stroking his mustache slightly, “gentlemen, let’s not get complacent. For we may be facing an equal in combat. While the station may be guaranteed, that does not mean space is either.” The two officers nodded their head in agreement. Monroe leaned back into his seat. Just as he about to speak again, a voice interrupted them. “If I may intervene,” a tall bald man said as he walked into the bridge. His outfit is the same as any of the UDS uniform- all save for the fact that his was completely black and grey. Franz and Zacharius straightened, while Monroe narrowed his eyes. Great. The Systems Intelligence Office was here. He was aware that a spook and their retinue would be joining them but why for this meeting? “I do have a little project I’d like to see demonstrated here,” the man said, “namely, something to assist the Brigadier in his operation. I believe you all know her already.” “The Special Operations Squad,” Monroe muttered, “I’ve heard of this project. So you want to have the SOS field tested here?” “Nothing of the sort,” the man huffed, “just one member. A powerful psionic. Her name is Evensong. Will you be having her? You have until we reach the rendezvous point to decide.” Monroe frowned and looked at his fellow officers. Then, he made his choice right as the ship finally entered the star system.
Kel'thulian Flagship - Depths of the Meridian
The Bridge of the Flagship was quiet, calm, the vessel moving through the meridian towards Maresit, having been delayed by gravitational shadows from moving stars and stellar bodies. Fleetmaster Yo’ta’ke, subsequently also the Master of the Flagship, sits in her chair behind the helm, and calls forth the Labridae, the Kel’thulian equivalent to an Executive officer in other navies. “Yes, Fleetmaster, Ma’am?” “What is the projected arrival time for Maresit? We need to speed up our arrival since the delays.” “Fifteen minutes, Ma’am.” “Good. Make sure all crew are prepared. Comm’s officer, relay orders to make ready for lancing through the fleet.” “Aye, ma’am” said the both of them, turning to work as the fleet grows ever closer to the exit point of their jump, spinals charged with spears of ancerium ready to pull them out of their Deep-meridian pathways.
Maresit System - FU-occupied System
From the Union’s point of view, it was like cracking Glass. The fabric of space-time forming golden cracks and then shattering into a deep-blue portal with lines of golden energy cracking through reality, the Meridian splayed open for all to see. To the Kel’thulians, it was Routine. Golden, radiative beams of ancerium lanced forth from their ships to shatter a way out, their vessels changing vectors last second as they crashed forth from the portal, reverse thrusters draining their momentums. The fleet was of decent size, but not something hard to field by the Kel’thulians, The flagship being a carrier named “Ehltizi Durek”, of which means ‘Eternal Fate’ translated to common tongue. It was accompanied by two more carriers by it’s side, Escorted by a Pair of frigates. In front of them stood the main line of combat, a pair of Cruisers sticking close to the rear of the lines, with a trio of Destroyers making up the Spearhead. From a separate Meridian portal, two Corvettes slipped out, far closer to the station. These corvettes, loaded with supplies, were accompanied by a duo of unarmed troop-carriers. The vessels pushed along with trails of plasma behind them, quickly requesting permission to land the troop carriers and send in freight-drones from the corvettes. As this happened, the fleetmaster brought up communications with the Furrellian Union. “Greetings, Furellian Allies. I am Fleetmaster Yo’ta’ke, of the Kel’thulian fleet. I apologize for delays in arrival, but we are prepared for combat. I have corvettes loaded with supplies and troop-ships en-route for the Station to prepare it for any future defense on the ground, while my vessels are awaiting orders to form around the station for our defense in space. Since you are the organizers of this operation, I have been given orders from High-Command to Fall under the command of whomever is in lead of the defense on the Union’s side.” She stood tall, slender, with her hands behind her back as her mandibles shifted and moved, the words leaving her 'lips' as her glowing eyes looked towards whomever answered the call on the furrelian end, her pupils invisible behind the orange of her (one-way) transparent eyelids.
__**Maresit System - Occupied by the Furrelian Union**__
Meridema had retreated himself to the main Operations Room of the Free Furrelian station. Watching through one of the room’s many windows, he saw the deep blue portals open in the distance: The Kel’Thulians had arrived. He moved from the little office which he was occupying, whose former inhabitant was sharing his space with hundreds of other Prisoners of War below in the cargo hold, to the main CIC. Watching alien ships appear from such an alternative dimension as the meridian was an impressive sight for him, as well as many others aboard the station. Seeing the request to open up a call come in, Meridema opened up his communications with his Kel’Thulian counterpart.
“*Fleetmaster Yo’ta’ke, welcome to the Furrelian Union. My name is Commodore Todesi Meridema of the Furrelian Union’s Naval Defence Service’s 4th fleet, G section. I am also acting as de-facto commander of the Maresit station.*” Meridema’s voice, deep as always, sounded only slightly more enthusiastic than his neutral voice. “*We’ve taken note of your delay, and accept the apology, Meridian gravitational shadows are truly a great hindrance. Your corvettes are welcome to dock, sluices three and four are open and prepared for them, Central Navigation should be handing over all the information required to dock soon. As for the positioning of your fleet, anywhere in between the station and the main Furrelian fleet will be prefered. Don’t expect a lot of action, though. Terrorist activity has been lacking in Maresit, sadly enough.*” Meridema stood, his proud golden badge showing the rank of commodore on his green-tinted white uniform. “*One final request, though. Will you, and some of your flagstaff, be willing to join me tomorrow for dinner? There will be a spectacle you wouldn’t want to see, and we will all appreciate our CONA allies joining us for a good appetite.*”
__**TXO-309 - Open space between the Jade Empire and the FFR**__
Mosin Ederio watched as her allies for the fight left their respective Faster-Than-Light methods. Her flagship, the *FFNS Fire in the Night* was a Free-Furrelian Design, constructed by Gaferius after a deal brokered by the former Gauss Dominion. The Fire was one of the first ships of the *Priceless* class and was around two kilometres in length. The cruiser was relatively lightly armed on the surface, but stored massive amounts of both missiles and, most importantly, EW equipment, such as jammers. It was one of the most modern and advanced ships the Republic had to offer. Still though, the Free Furrelian fleet was very small compared to the fleets of the two nations which had jumped in, Imaginarium and the UDS. While Ederio was not planning on meeting anyone face-to-face yet, she did have something else in mind. Hearing the request from the Imaginese fleet, she quickly opened a communications channel between all three fleets.
“*Salutations, I am Mosin Ederio, commander of the fifth Rapid Operations taskforce. I apologise for the short notice on this, but there is no time for face-on-face meetings I’m afraid. Reports from Intelligence have shown that the prisoners aboard the station are to be moved tomorrow, so we need to rescue them as soon as possible. I will run both of you down on the plan, then we jump to Maresit, where we can meet face-to-face.*” She began, her voice strict but soft. “*To start, depending on the resistance we will meet, we will either try to liberate the system, or we will only extract those being kept captive aboard the system’s main station, in orbit of Maresit I. Due to the risk of being trapped, we will jump just past the orbit of Maresit II, and we will try to rapidly make our way to the station, taking out their ships in the progress. There are three breaching points aboard the station which we’ll use. The main entrance at the docking port near the main captive area, and two secondary ones, one at the CIC and one near the Core. The Main team will liberate the prisoners and bring them aboard of our ships, while the Core team will seize control of it, and the CIC will try to take the Union’s High-Ranking staff aboard the station captive.*” She said, standing proud and organised across the faces of the two other officers. “*After that, if there are still enough CONA ships to be a risk to us, we extract our units and leave with our primary objective. If there are none, we will have liberated our first system. But, if all hell breaks loose.*” She pauses, half for the dramatic effect. “*We will only extract our high-ranking prisoners, then let the reactor go loose. Considering it’s an Antimatter one, you can expect some fireworks in the worst-case scenario.*”
After laying out the plan, and sending the related documents, she turned to the two men a final time. “*I will see you two on Maresit station, may Greyas be with you!*” before closing the channel, and engaging the FTL drives of her fleet. Destination: Maresit.
Imaginese Fleet
“Hmm,” Builis grumbled under his breath as Mosin Ederio’s communication ended “So that is it is it? We are to run headfirst at them.” The man was known for many things, but a sore temper was one characteristic that everyone who knew of the general defined him by. He scowled looking over the holographic map of the system, the facial expression enough to stop junior officers from coming anywhere near his station. “CAPTAIN!” he exclaimed with force. A tall, slim man, dressed in the darkened blue uniform of the Imaginese Fleet stood to attention off to the left of Builis, and raced towards him. His hair was ash blonde, with eyes a deep murky green, with a skin tone that was sun kissed, which gave away his Southern Republic origins to Builis. “Yes, Comrade General?” the man spoke softly, approaching with caution. “Captain Ayatov. Operations are to begin immediately. These…Free Furrelians wish to act with speed to capture their targets…you’ve read the briefing, haven’t you?” He paused, a tempered question to ensure he was speaking on the same level of knowledge with the captain. “Yes, Comrade General. I am fully aware. We all have read it, as per your orders.” “Good…good…just checking. Now…this here is our system.” He pointed towards the large holographic display. It showed the exact placement of the Imaginese ships and its allies. “Here, is the station. We believe around this area will be where the main body of enemy ships will be, as the assets the Free Furrelians wish to retrieve are, from our understanding, there.” “Now, the Free Furrelians are jumping past Maresit 2, and they wish for us to accompany. HOWEVER, I believe we must act smarter. Understand?”
“I…think so Comrade General.” Ayatov said, again cautiously. He didn’t understand. Builis paused, reading the captain’s face, before sighing in annoyance, heavily. “Let. Me. Spell. It. Out.” Builis said, staccato through gritted teeth. “If we follow the Free Furrelian plans, us, and the UDS ships who are arriving will be marching into battle, hand in hand, like line infantry of old. It is SUICIDAL.” He tapped on his own data pad, and the Imaginese fleet split into 2 on the holographic battle map: A carrier, destroyer, and 2 frigates with one group, and a carrier, 3 destroyers, and 2 frigates with the other. “This smaller group, these will follow the Free Furrelian. Go with speed and efficiency. They’ll be outnumbered no doubt, but do enough to draw some enemy fire.” He pointed at the smaller group, before turning to the larger group. “Now these will follow the orbital path of Maresit 2, counterclockwise around the system. I want to flank round this Red Dwarf, and hit them on a delay. Understood?” “Yes. I understand.” Ayatov did now understand. He smiled in recognition of the plan. Builis stared at him. “WELL? Why are you waiting. I. Have. Spoken. GO GO GO!” The captain rushed, ushering in his commands around the ship, and as quick as a flash, the fleet began to disperse.
Kel'thulian Flagship - Bridge
With a nod, Yotake responded to the Furrelian, Meridema. "I Understand, Commodore. I will make sure the transfer of supplies and troops goes smoothly. I shall draw up plans relative to the suggested positioning as soon as possible, and get my fleet in formation; let us hope that the terrorists do not strike in force, if at all." With the mention of the dinner, Yo'ta'ke's stance shifted slightly, more relaxed at the shoulders, as his glowing eyes surged with a slight prick of extra light; the closest thing to smiling that a kel'thulian can do. His mandibles shifted for a moment, and he spoke in a sort of elated tone. "It would be quite the honour, Mister Meridema." And after a half-bow of respect, the transmission ended.
Kel'thulian Fleet - Maresit System
After the short exchange of words, the Kel'thulian fleet had been instructed to move to a planned course set by Fleetmaster Yotake-- Three seperate groups were divided into the fleet, based on their jobs. The first group, consisting of the Ehltizi Durek, and one of the two Battlecruisers, set close to the station as a distant support group for long range fire, support, and defense of the station. Once the corvettes and troop transports were complete with their transfer of supplies, they would link up with this group as fast-moving quick responders, while the troop transports would land back upon the carrier's decks. The second group, consisting of the remaining two carriers, battlecruiser, and all of the fleet's frigate, laying somewhat 'below' and between the Furrelian fleet and the First group. This group would provide the main support for the frontline and as a secondary layer of defense. The Battlecruiser provided heavy-hitting long range weaponsfire, the Carrier provided less powerful but just as ranged fire, and dedicated support from strike craft, interceptors, and bombers. Finally, the frigates would provide screening from the projectiles, missiles, and strike-craft of the opponent's force, hardening up the overall defense. Finally, the Third and arguably most important group, set up directly behind the Furrelian fleet, if slightly above it, only off in distance by a few light moments. This group would serve as the primary fighting force of the Kel'thulian fleet, consisting entirely of the destroyers. The destroyers are armed with powerful medium-ranged weapons, and shall serve as most of the fleet's firepower, and the immediate response against any terroristic scum that may show face afront the station. Once in position, the ships merely sat and waited, silently.
Maresit Station - Loading Bay
As the corvettes docked at their respective ports, the transports sat down in the loading bay, long, wide, and ominous things. The transports had a bow curving upwards like the wide bill of an ocean-bird, and glowing radiators like eyes. In a flash, the bottom part of the "bills" opened up and began to telescopically retract into the main bodis, revealing ramps that slid down, a cold grey steel contrasting the soft cerulean and gold exterior of the crafts, touching down against the ground as the vessels themselves hissed as the chamber repressurized. All that stepped out to start, was one lone kel'thulian wearing a cerulean coat-robe and a breathing mask, who checked at a small holo-tab, before stepping to the side, the sound of footsteps in the belly of the beasts. From them walked a series of what seemed like kel'thulian soldiers, but with many things off about them. For starters, none of them wore the breathing masks so commonly worn by kel'thulians in oxygenated enviroments; hell, none of them even had mouths, just little metal speakers planted where their mandibles would lay. Their armour was not worn- it was built into their body like the welding of metal on metal, only with flesh. Their eyes were cameras, glowing bright gold-orange as they whirred around, looking around them, taking note of the enviroment. And the man with a holopad, who had stepped off the lead ship, began to look for who he may talk to in the loading bay to explain these sickeningly odd 'soldiers' that have left the transport vessels.
Primary Bridge, SSV Nightingale
Monroe stroked his chin and hummed to himself an old tune from his youth. The commodore was deep in thought after the transmission from the Furrelians and was using what precious time he had to think before the FTL drives were at full capacity, “this is an awfully rushed operation,” he found himself saying. Indeed, this operation seemed highly risky even for him. Not only would they have to speed their way past enemy defences but also launch an attack on the station itself before the VIPs were executed. And there was no telling if the natives got too jumpy and decided to execute them early. He rubbed his temples and looked at the holograms of Franz and Zacharius, “gentlemen. It seems we must make haste- as it seems to be with everyone else. Our mission is to rapidly advance and eliminate all enemy defences in the way and launch a boarding of the station with the sword of Damocles hanging over the objective,” he waved his hand and a hologram of the star system’s map appeared, “it appears that our allies desire for us to advance alongside them- that will not be an issue. I believe that as long as we play our cards right we can possibly win a battle of attrition against them through use of superior weaponry and tactics.”
The commodore turned to his executive officer, an olive-skinned woman called Alma, “issue out the order to have our tachyon arrows primed and ready. I wish for our pilots to prepare themselves for combat and want all attack craft ready for immediately deployment.” She gave him a quick salute- raising her hand over her heart, “Understood, sir,” she quickly marched forward to relay the orders to the officers, giving him a moment’s reprieve. Another one of the bridge officers approached him and he quickly gave a report, “sir, the FTL drives are ready. Do we jump?” Monroe nodded, “yes. Prepare to jump to the Maresit System past Maresit II in two minutes. Broadcast this message on fleet wide comms.” Hardly did he have time to notice the salute of the officer when he turned to speak to the holograms, “I suppose you both have heard me. The same orders goes to you Franz. Ready your weapons and fighters. Pass this message along to the rest of the fleet. Zacharias, prepare your troops for boarding.” The hologram of Zacharias winked out all though Franz’s remained, “any particular battle formation, sir?”
He took a moment to consider this before he made his choice. It they were going to directly attack the enemy, then it was clear that they needed to prepare so. Having their battlecruisers and destroyers lead the way would be prudent alongside an escort of three of their five frigates. That way, they would essentially have a ‘spearhead’ that would lead the way. Further back would be the SSV Nightingale and all three cruisers. Not only do they function like battlecarriers and would be able to provide fighter support but they could also provide long range fire using their tachyon arrows. And behind them all would be the carriers and remaining two frigates- they would provide long range support with the frigates acting as point defence for them. This formation should cover all bases. And so, he relayed this to Franz whose hologram winked out soon after. Monroe leaned back into his command chair as the voice over the intercom informed them of the imminent FTL jump. With luck, the Furrelians and Imaginese would be able to pull their weight and this battle will be won…
There is a brief moment of weightlesness and exictement as the Nightingale activated its jump drive. Soon, the monitors on the bridge changed to give the crew an optical view of the star system. An alarm rang out throughout the entire ship followed by a voice from the intercom informing them that they’ve entered battlestations. Monroe hardly had time to check up on the fleet and make sure they were all in proper state when an officer approached him. “Sir… according to our sensors, the Imaginese fleet is spliting up.” He felt his heart skip a beat as he heard the news. No… surely not… not without telling them at least! “Bring up a predication of their course, immediately,” Monroe ordered as he stood up. Soon, a hologram of the star system with their positions laid out on the map appeared. Sure enough, the Imaginese were dividing their fleet… too far away to create any reasonable formation… so why… “We’ll just have to observe for now,” Monroe said, daring not to imagine what exactly they were doing, “for now, ready all weapons. We will release a volley from our tachyon arrows on my command.” And hopefully, if the Imaginese were doing what he thought they were doing, it would work out.
__**Maresit System - Station**__
Kesode Tesinorema had been brought to the Station as a replacement for the Terrorist staff which had previously crewed it. It was a boring assignment, but a necessary one. He would be moving on to Salenetor in only a few weeks time, Maresit was only a temporary assignment as there was a critical shortage of personnel on the recently conquered station. He had seen all kinds of things come and go, mainly POW transports and supply ships, but today was the first time since being stationed that he saw something odd.
The first thing was the execution Batallion of the Furrelian Agency for Homeland Security, FAHS. All-black armoured outfits, worn by men carrying ceremonial weapons and guns reserved for the best of the army, nay the armed forces. Emblems and patches showed allegiance to the Furrelian Union, while the modified Kosinit symbol and weapons clarified membership of the FAHS.
The second thing was the Kel’Thulian soldiers. Tesinorema, besides a very short encounter with the Katharians who had docked a few days earlier, had not worked with aliens before. Especially not with those who looked so off. Supersoldiers who seemed an affront to all that was sacred or logical were not something Tesinorema had expected for the day. He had seen images of aliens on the censored version of the Furrelian Ancnet before, but none came even slightly close to what was walking in front of him. Seeing the overseer, he walked towards him, a very confused, nay, disgusted look on his face. His own tablet was prepared too.
“*I assume this is the Kel’Thulian transport which was scheduled? Can you please explain these… soldiers?*”
__**Maresit II**__
The moment the other fleets assembled into the system, Ederio groaned under her breath: Imaginarium had other ideas, apparently. Sensor screens showed the Socialist Republic’s fleet splitting up, with only a small group following her fleet. The United Democratic Systems did follow the plan, so she had no real right to complain. Still, though, she felt like there would be trouble coming up with the Imaginese fleet splitting. After sighing, she opened communications with the fleet following her.
“*All ships which are remaining, note that we will be moving towards Maresit station in orbit of Maresit I. With fewer numbers, I’m not sure if we can take on the fleet one-on-one, so we will need to act quickly. Full burn towards the station, hit through their weak flank once it is known, focussing on the Kel’Thulian ships. Go to the station, and start the insertion while we try to fight them off.*” She said over the comms, sharing the projected plan on a computer simulation. “*I would now like to ask the commanding officer of the Imaginese section of the fleet following us to contact their Admiral, and get us informed on their plans, maybe we can salvage this, please.*” A few dings and chimes rang across the bridge of the *FFNS Fire in the Night*, with reports coming from the engineering department. “*Finally, do not hesitate to open communications with us once the battle has started. I will broadcast orders at certain moments as well.*” With that, and a general acknowledgement by the FFR’s fleet, her section took off, the plasma drives burning fuel as they flew following the route towards Maresit one, blue trails following on full power.
__**Maresit Station**__
The CIC of the Union-held station suddenly had an awakening. After the Kel’Thulian arrival, not much had happened, with most of the crew having moved to the cafeteria aboard the station to catch a break. Whatever staff had remained would’ve noticed something odd. On sensors, a large amount of unauthorised and unannounced FTL signatures popped out of the blue near Maresit II, and one large cluster of signatures was suddenly moving towards the station at break-neck speeds, with an estimated arrival time of just under 20 minutes. A large trail of plasma exhausts betrayed any attempt of hiding a fleet: The FFR was invading, despite being critically outnumbered. The Sensor Officer, a man called Peridema, did not hesitate and almost instantly informed his senior commander, who in turn informed commodore Meridema. He ran back from his office to the CIC, and indeed, after confirming the presence of the enemy fleet, he called general alarm towards the station and the fleet.
“*They’re going to be here fast, and we need to counter these beasts! Weapons, fire a salvo of anti-ship missiles against the leading FFR ship, we need to set an example to the mongrels!*” he shouted over the CIC, with the weapons officer answering as soon as he could confirm his worst nightmare.
“*Sir, the station has no working weapons besides point-defence. We’re unable to fire, sir.*”
-“*Fuck, Greyas’ sake! Order the cruiser closest to them to fire the same salvo, same target. We will cover the Sensor details!*”
As said, as done. The FDS *Mesot Koderi*, a Liquidator class heavy Cruiser, opened one of its many missile silos and prepared a standard Furrelian salvo. Two non-stealth Anti-Matter missiles, and, recently introduced, Three Anti-Matter Ship-to-Ship missiles equipped with Sensor-blocking systems. With speed, they locked the assumed flagship of the FFR’s fleet and rushed towards them barely slower than the speed of light.
Imaginese Fleet
“They want to know WHAT?” exclaimed Builis, the rage in his voice making Captain Ayatov flinch and beg for cover. “They…request, politely, that we inform them of our plans, Comrade General, in order to, and this is purely a quote, salvage the plan.” He hid behind quotations, hoping the General’s anger would be passed on to the Furrelian who uttered it, rather than he, the messenger. “The nerve. There is nothing to salvage. MUST we hold their hands? FINE. Patch me directly to them. I will “explain” our methods to this coalition of cadres.” Builis turned, and walked with a steady, slow, waddle, to a seat by the communications desk on the bridge, rearranging his uniform as he sat, sitting up straight, and breathing to calm his temper. He lifted the receiver and spoke. “This is General Builis of the Imaginese effort. I believe Ederio was requesting an…explanation as to our methods and tactical approach here.” He did not allow his temper to rise, keeping it in check, despite his annoyance at having to explain himself to self-professed military individuals. “If we move like a herd towards the Maresit Station, we will find ourselves treated no better than line infantry in the days of old. It will be a head on collision, with no advantage offered to us, other than to try and outgun our opposite number. By splitting our fleet, we offer us the opportunity to flank the station from the opposite orbit. At best, the enemy will be unprepared, and at worst, they will have to split their forces, or risk battle within the vicinity of the station itself.” The fleet continued its dispersal, the broken away flank moving clockwise to flank the station, the smaller section maintaining contact with the primary fleet of the alliance.
Monroe stroked his chin nervously. It was clear that the Imaginese fleet were now off on their own thing. The computers had run their analysis and the officers had provided a rough prediction of what they were doing- simply put, it was either suicidal or the cause of the operation’s success. They’ll find out eitherway and it was far too late to stope them. “We receive your orders Commander Ederio, and will act on them,” the commodore stated. He quickly turned to the analytical table, where a loose map of the star system was projected. Before he could comment on anything else an officer rushed towards him and began to speak. “Sir, we’ve detected missile fire from CONA fleets. Missiles from what we can tell,” the officer gulped cleared his throat and checked the datapad, “they fired at the Republic flagship at near realtivistic speeds. Two missiles, to be specific.” “Missiles eh?” Monroe mused aloud, “have the forward lines move up and assist the Furrelians with laser intercepting. If it all goes well, then they will be able to prevent the missiles from reaching them.” The officer nodded and went to relay his orders while Monroe finally focused on the map. After a quick thought, he nodded, “very well. Since they have shown to use missiles it is best we ready ourselves for it. Deploy the drone gunships. We’ll make a screen of smallcraft against further attacks. We’re still too far to release our fighters but this is well within the abilities of the gunships.”
UDS had designed drone gunships to essentially act as mobile point defence against both projectiles and attack craft. They would stay near their carriers and attack and destroy targets out of the reach of their lasers and thin the chaff for them as well. Now, they would be put to the test once more. “Have we identified the vessel that fired the missiles?” Monroe asked an aide. “Yes, sir,” she replied, “what are your orders?” “Have the battlecruisers and the cruisers fire one volley of arrows at it,” he commanded, “we must test the waters first for its durability. Send a message to the Furrelians if they can identify its ship class. Once we have both results, we’ll collate the data and adjust our plans from there.”
The first line of the UDS fleet- consisting of three frigates, two destroyers, and two battlecruisers, moved forwards in order to cover their SAGA allies with their point defence. Based on their calculations, there would be plenty of time for the targeting sensors to identify the two missiles and shoot them down before they reached their target. This was also an attempt to solidify the first line of offence in preparation to engage CONA in battle. From the bowels of the many hangars across the UDS fleet, thousands of gunships came forth. They took their positions all around their carrier ships and assumed defensive operations, often travelling around the ships like a satellite or maintaining their spots. It appeared as if a haze had appeared over each ship that had released them. As this happened, the ships prepared to fire the first volley of tachyon arrows. The standard Ascalon-class cruiser as of now came equipped with three tachyon arrows and there were three of them present. The standard Fragarach-class battlecruiser came equipped with ten tachyon arrows and there were two of them present. The arrows began to glow slightly before they fired, bright lights streaking across space at lightspeed towards the heavy cruiser that fired the missiles both as an attack and as a way to test the durability of the enemy.
Maresit Station
With a light glow of his eyes, the man stepped up to the person, listening to them speak. He wore flowing blue-gold robes and has far more pleasant blueish, semi-scaly skin that led into fins tipped with orange, having far more natural orange eyes glowing with bioluminescense, and a face mask leading to a Carbon Dioxide recycling unit. He nodded, and replied. "Greetings. These are indeed those transports scheduled. These are not quite soldiers, and are rather biomechanical robots." he said simply, before continuing after pressing something on his holotablet. Flashing from the tablet came a rotating diagram of an Avatar. "Grown in factory-labs, these Avatars are controlled from a distance by actual soldiers through direct mind links. This allows them to fight in atmospheric conditions that they couldnt breathe in without a recycler such as what I wear at this moment. They are more resilient and durable than a normal soldier, but far more expensive. Thus, they are used sparsely and only for importances such as defending targets of high value from boarding. They themselves may not be sapient, but the soldiers controlling them are, so I must hope that they are treated as such, despite their unorthodox appearance, even for what you may consider aliens." All the while he spoke he kept to a polite tone, the clacking of his mandibles audible from the speaker on his mask as he finally closed the diagram, and the Avatars began to march forwards at the commands of a few non-avatar officers that seemed to lead them. (edited)
KNS Ehltizi Durek - Bridge
"Labridae! Report!" called out Yotake. "Fleetmaster, Ma'am. Union has begun firing on the FFR forces that have entered the system, of whome have appeared alongside the UDS and..." "And? Whom else?" "The Imaginese." he replied to his Fleetmaster, the glow of his eyes nonexistant as his mandibles moved tersely, fearfully in waiting. The Fleetmaster's eyes dimmed down in a splay of anger as her mandibles tensed up. Her right hand's claw extended, as she slammed her left fist into the chair. "The nerve of them! Those Kre'ka! Power up weapons systems and prioritize the vessels of the damned Imhnae bastards!. Fusion-Torps and Sheathed Rails opening volley, now!" she screamed across the bridge, angered at the news of Imaginese forces in the system. She had lost a brother at Tel'un, afterall. "Ma'am, with all due respect, their fleet is the smallest and least dangerous-" "Stars be damned!" she called out, exasperated. Retracting her claw, she spoke out once more. "Have battlecruisers and carriers fire a volley of sheathed rails towards the Terrorist Daisu of the FFR, and launch strikecraft to begin intercepts. I want the Destroyers to get ready for frontline combat, and fire fusion torpedoes towards the Imaginese flagship. All frigates on standby to defend, and bring the fleet to full alert, defensive." "Y-yes ma'am" the Labridae said, a bit stunned at how quickly she calmed herself, as he ran off to deliver orders.
Kel'thulian Fleet
With news of the Imaginese having arrived alongside the leading FFR and the Colonialist UDS, uproar spread across the Kel'thulian fleet. Anger, rage, outcries to destroy those who had allegedly genocided so many Kel'thulians. But they went unheard, mostly. The Fleetmaster- as angered she herself was- knew that they werent a priority target for anything but revenge.
As for her orders, they began to go into effect quickly. The fleet overall jumped into a defensive combat readiness, secondary reactors kickstarting and guns readying to fire. The carriers readied wings of fighters, interceptors, and bombers to shoot out of catapults. Shunted out like projectiles, they swarmed around the fleet, smaller amounts being launched by the destroyers to defend themselves, while Battlecruisers did the same. The frigates jumped into action quickly, bringing themselves closer to the larger ships around them. Preparing and loading defensive weapons, they were ready to serve their purpose as defensive escorts. Interception missiles, Flak-rounds fired from railguns, Plasma repeaters, plasma, gravitational, and magnetic shielding alike. The first to fire were the Destroyers. Torpedo bays opened themselves and shot forth a total of six projectiles. They were anticapital, fusion weapons, designed to pierce a target and then let out a violent fusion explosion, immolating and melting the internals of their target. They began to zip through the stars, teardrop-trails of torrential plasma gurgling behind them in a wash of fusion as they shoved forwards, protected merely by small APS guns and automated dodging-and-weaving protocols that would have them constantly move back and forth as they approached their targets. Targets that they found in the Imaginese' "Flagship", or in the case of the micro-fleet left behind, the largest vessel. The Last to fire was the hulking Battlecruisers. Their forms stood stark but sleek against the more bulky carriers nearby them, as their large volumes of firepower began to turn and take aim at their Furrelian Target of the FFR's Flagship. Their guns charged slowly, from smaller railcannons to massive ones tipping toes into relativistic speeds. Electricity crackled between rails, and blue rings of fusion-plasma began to spin around the ends of the barrels, some reaching massive diameters depending on the size of the shell the gun would fire. And fire, they did. Rods of metal were shunted at violent speeds, dragging along the plasma rings and shearing through the stars like searing, punching bullets of death on a direct course for their enemies. The shell of a shield prepared to meet the tip of a spear. "May the stars protect us."
__**Maresit Station - Cargo hold**__
“*Uhu… I see…*” It was hard for the Furrelian to hide his disgust for the aliens. Katharians were all good for him, Humans too, hell, even the normal Kel’Thulian standing in front of him seemed like a man he could get a drink with later on, but the avatars were just at a different level.
“*Do… the avatars require anything special for the requested living segment on deck 12? Atmospheric requests have been obliged, you will find that you can breathe there between sections A and C without a mask, but is something else needed, for either you or the avatars?*”
__**FFNS Fire in the Night - SAGA Fleet**__
Ederio listened to Builis talking about Imaginarium’s grand strategy over the communications channel. In fact, the entire bridge of the *Fire* did. Concerned looks were shared between multiple flag officers, but, at most, a few small whispers were exchanged in a murmur of noises, drowned out by the beeps and chimes of the bridge. Ederio let Builis finish, before responding herself.
“*Thank you, Admiral Builis, we appreciate you informing us. Could you, being the Naval Admiral of the SR, please keep us informed on the progress of the second larger task force? With luck, we can strike at approximately the same time, to liberate the Station. Ederio out.*” She could hear the slightly annoyed tone in Builis’ voice, but chose to ignore it. All allies were valuable, and it would not only be a pity but a disaster to lose an ally like Imaginarium over something as minor as a change in plans.
Then, the first warning came in - a duo of missiles incoming. An alarm rang over the bridge, as outside cameras connected the screen on the bridge to where the missiles were, with a projected income trajectory added below it on a map. A tense few moments followed, with the Republicans watching the UDS’s line move to intercept the two missiles. Laser beams flew out, one bright light, two bright lights, both intercepted. Cheers flew across the bridge for a few moments, before the ringing communications opened again, the United Democratic Systems, this time. A proud - and grateful - Ederio opened up the communications channel and began to speak.
“*Thank you for the interception, but there’s no time to celebrate yet. That kind of ship is a Liquidator-class Heavy Cruiser, a secondary workhorse of the Union’s Navy. It is a tough nut to crack, let me tell you tha-...*” The Communications fell out, suddenly. All the UDS would see on the screen was a message of ‘*Reconnecting…*’, but it would never again reconnect to the FFNS *Fire in the Night*.
In the distance, there came three explosions in a row, only moments apart from each other. A bright white sphere appeared in the mid-bow, followed by a larger one near the engines of the ship, and a third one right again in the bow. The *Fire in the Night* had lived up to its namesake - it was on fire, illuminating the night. Three gaping holes formed where the not-intercepted missiles had hit, with some parts even cutting out the interior, to only leave some parts of the hull in place. Any survivors quickly moved to the escape pods like ants, trying to escape from the burning hulk. The FFR‘s fleet fell silent.
__**Maresit Space - CONA Fleet**__
The *Mesot Koderi*, the Heavy cruiser which had fired against the Terrorist flagship with only a small snippet of its assortment of missiles, was cheering with success. They observed the two missiles being intercepted, and the three stealth missiles slip through and hit their target. Great success - target one terminated. Waiting for further orders to persecute the other ships. It manoeuvred towards a more favourable firing position against the SAGA fleet, exposing a large part of its side - just in case it needed to fire more missiles. Yet, there were no orders for a few moments. The crew of the *Koderi* was calm and simply awaited what to do. Evacuations abandoning the ship were not what they had in plan, but it favoured the UDS in this case.
The tachyon arrows had been noticed on the sensors aboard both the *Koderi* and Maresit Station. Frantic calls to move positions were too late because only a few seconds after the orders were received and validated, the first arrows hit their target. Piercing through the hull with some difficulty, the lights and engines of the *Koderi* flickered on and off for a few moments after the first hit. Then came the second, and then the third, and the fourth. Around half of the entire salvo of thirty hit their target, piercing and crippling the heavy cruiser after many minutes of torture. Once the smoke cleared, the damage was visible from the distance. Entire sections had been blown out - usually, consequences of storage explosions, while others had pierced deep into the Heavy Cruiser, blowing away armour plating to leave a ‘soft underbelly exposed. Evacuation protocols were undertaken within minutes, the escape pods manoeuvring, with some difficulty, to friendly ships on the station. The casualties had been made even, one-one for both.
__**Maresit Station CIC - CONA Fleet**__
Meridema hesitated for a moment or two with opening full fire, like how the UDS and his Kel’Thulian allies did. The Union as a separate nation had the largest fleet, numbering around thirty on its own, and together with the Kel’Thulian fleet, they held a slight numerical superiority over the SAGA scum which was invading. If they fired right now, it could mean that later on they could face troubles with the munitions available - mainly missiles. The gold of the stellar seas, even with the massive reserves on a Furrelian ship, like the Liquidator class - built purely around the idea that major firepower consists of large-scale disruptors and swarms of missiles - the stocks could run dry after only one or two large engagements. Replenishment would be difficult, and with the Station itself having no functioning Missile, hell, normal weapon systems functioning, it was difficult for it to help the ships in need. Firing the tachyon lances of the largest ships in response to the UDSs own tachyon weapons was tempting, but a large risk. He pondered for a few minutes, watching the Kel’Thulians firing in the background of the large screen plastered in the CIC. Meridema moved to observe the current map. The main targets of interest for him were the UDS flagships. Kicking those out would cause major morale damage - and he knew that. He remained silent for a few more moments, before speaking up.
“*Order firing group C to focus on the UDS’s Battleship, and carriers after that. Do not use stealth missiles, we can’t have them figuring those out yet. Use disruptors and disruptors only. I will have your head if I hear any missiles being launched, or Tachyons being used!*”
The lead ship of firing group C was a carrier. Despite its original purpose being of carrying fighters and drones, it had a second one it was maybe known more for, massive long-distance disruptor cannons. The Liquidator class had an impressive hold, but the Decimator class was perhaps even more impressive, especially knowing that it was originally not built to carry guns that size. A section of eight ships, including one carrier and one heavy cruiser, once more of the Liquidator class, as well as a few Defacer class destroyers and a duo of frigates, moved to take up firing positions. The acid-green disruptors opened their fire, targeting the *Nightingale*. The deep-green bolts rushed towards the Battleship, and all the while the salvo continued for another few minutes. Knowing that they were in firing range now, the active defence system, plasma syphons, were engaged in case a retaliatory strike would happen.
The initial reports that came into the bridge were positive. The missiles had been successfully intercepted. Now all they had to do was wait for the report on the enemy ship and see how much damage they did before they can gauge how much fire they needed to dedicate to it. Any joy Monroe felt quickly disappeared as the line from the Fire in the Night was cut. And then the report of the ship’s demise began to filter in. “I thought we intercepted those missiles,” Monroe frowned as he read over the report an aide had presented him. “We did sir,” the aide replied, “but something else must have gotten to them. We detected no other fire from the enemy but they seem to have gotten to them somehow.” “Could it have been something internal? I heard those Furrelians use antimatter reactors so maybe they made a critical error or something,” an officer added, “we have to remember that they are not connected to any more of their holdouts anymore so it’s likely they were not able to provide proper maintenance.” “Regardless we must study this more,” Monroe concluded and snapped orders, “have our scanners work overtime and anaylyse the data- we must find out what happened. If it’s internal then there’s nothing to worry about. But if it’s an enemy attack then it will likely change the course of this entire battle. If possible, contact with the remaining republic ships and get whatever information they can. And speaking of our allies.”
He turned to look at a comms officer, “Mister Xander, I need you to send a message to the Furrelians and Imaginese. Tell them that unless Commander Ederio returns to take command, then I will lead this side of the operations or at least, the republic ships present here. General Bullis can do whatever he wants if he refuses to cooperate.” Even when he received news that their attack had successfully disabled the heavy cruiser, he did not take any joy in it for now his ship was taking fire. Reports all across the bridge began to fly in though they managed to maintain a semblance of order that was quickly being put to the test. Their hardlight shields managed to withstand the first few volleys but after that, their projectors were all burnt out and the ship was now a sitting duck and taking more and more ships, its superstructure slowly melting from the amount of fire it was taking. “Sir, we’re taking in too much damage. Several of our weapon systems have been destroyed. We won’t be able to use them for this battle- anymore and I don’t think this ship can be suited for combat,” an officer reported, wiping the sweat off her brow before she returned to her post. The fact that they didn’t specify which weapons were down could only mean she meant most of them. Another soon approached shortly after and his news was just as severe, “sir, we can’t launch any of our fighters in this heat. Unless we can divert enemy fire, the Nightingale cannot do much anymore.” Monroe scowled. So they were gunning for flagships then. That meant they were trying to rob coordination. But at the same time, he saw an opportunity. The Furrelians have made an error in focusing all their fire on his ship and left the others intact. This meant that they could easily return fire on them. If that meant the Nightingale had to act like a damage sponge then so be it.
“Prepare the escape shuttles for emergency evacuation should the worse come,” Monroe ordered, “inform our ships and our allies that if my ship goes down, then Commander Franz is to lead the rest of the fleet unless I return to lead. Until then, divert all power from weapons and engines to whatever hardlight projectors we have left. We must withstand as much fire as we can and draw their attention way from the rest of the fleet.” “Sir, yes, sir!” The cry rang out across the ship and he felt a swell of pride. As long as they kept their calm then they will be able to safely evacuate the ship. But he could tell nerves were fraying. Still, not all was lost, but if worse came to worse, then an escape shuttle was not too far away. “In the meantime,” Monroe spoke and looked over an image of all the enemy ships, “designate the attacking ships as targets F1 to 8, from their heaviest class to lightest. Prioritise ships in ascending order by whatever means necessary and have our first line move in to intercept and destroy. They may fire their arrows at will. The third line may continue to the station. As for our line, send away the SSV Borodino to assist the first line in combat.”
[=][=]
The first line of the UDS fleet focused attention on the eight Furrelian ships that had opened fire on their flagship. They consisted of three frigates, two destroyers, and two battlecruisers, while the cruiser Borodino stayed behind as the rest of the cruisers advanced alongside the third line towards the objective. Eight versus eight. An even match. The twin battlecruisers, Lear and Macbeth were the first of the group to open fire. They were uniquely designed to be able to use their arrows more effectively than other classes and were immediately able to retaliate. Twenty arrows were fired at once, all of them focusing on the Decimator-class carrier. At this range, there was no doubt that their damage may have increased from the initial volley fired before at the heavy cruiser. Meanwhile, the Borodino decided to go toe to toe with the Liquidator-class heavy cruiser. It fired all three of its tachyon arrows at it, before quickly switching to secondary weapons- that being its plasma cannons. Blindign bolts of blue-white plasa contrasted the Furrelian green ones as it aimed to hammer the heavy cruisr into oblivion. And the three frigates and two destroyers found themselves going up outnumbered against the remaining destroyers and frigates. From the destroyers, they fired their Ion Cannons that released high-energy particles accelerated by magnetic fields that exploded upon contact. Meanwhile, the frigates fired powerful gauss cannon slugs at their equals. All in all, this battle was slowly turning into a brawl. But hopefully, this plan of keeping the enemy busy would allow for greater progress on the objective.
“Let me get this clear in my head.” Builis said, with anger in his voice. “We’ve been sent here, BY Military Command, who are now telling us that if we engage with 50% of the enemy forces, we run the risk of breaking some…protocol?!” He was addressing a Junior Officer who had the unfortunate job of informing the General of the recent communique that had reached the fleet, following the General’s planning discussions with the rest of the SAGA alliance in the sector. “Yes, Comrade General. Command make it quite clear that we are to avoid confrontation directly with the Furrelian Union, due to both parties being signatories on the TIERZ agreement of 79 AME.” “This is bollocks, Dmitri. BOLLOCKS! How can they expect us to operate within such parameters? The bureaucracy will strangle us to death in our sleep, I tell you!” Builis flamboyantly threw his arms into the air, in a huff. Rage, embarrassment, all consumed him in an instant, and he ran his fingers into his eyes and across his face in angry despair. An alarm rang out. “WHAT NOW?” Builis exclaimed. A voice from the operating desk replied, quickly. “Missiles inbound on the main alliance force, OUR ships the primary targets. Kel’thulian ships the originators!”
----------------
The missiles raked across the decks of the starboard side of the ISS Donerilsk, a “YAZ Sinykit” Class Carrier vessel, causing the ship to rock and shake as the LAIK gravitational Shields stretched and buckled, and the structural integrity of the ship was challenge by the explosions. The missiles ravaged the ships launch bay doors, knocking out some of the entry and exit points for the large containment of fighters held within, but this did not stop the one-man fighter vessels from launching into the voids of space in retaliation. Bursting into life, the ships immediately met with the follow up fire from the Kels, railgun and a like, peppering the side of the Donerilsk once more, and hitting a handful of fighters as they emerged into the fight, destroying them instantly. The chaos of battle erupted within the small fleet, as internally crew dashed from pillar to post, organising and reorganising as they sought to fire back on the encroaching enemy. A shout of command echoed through the ships, an angry line of command. “RETURN FIRE ON THE KELS. RETURN FIRE ON THE KELS. DO NOT YET ENGAGE WITH FURRELIANS, REPEAT, DO NOT ENGAGE ANY SHIPS BARING THE FURRELIAN MARKING!” Confusing further carried forth the Imaginese retaliation, as the small fleet, following their commands, launched forth a counter strike to coincide with the dance of the fighters, as the Donerilsk opened up its Bramenyev Tachyon Cannons (2x), firing along the torpedo’s trajectory. It’s special cannons, along with those of the Tigrovaya Akula Class Destroyer that served alongside it in the smaller fleet leapt into action, following suit with an array of explosive munitions.
----------------
“This is all shit.” Builis complained, again. “FUCK! Right, fine.” He pulled himself together to concentrate, thinking as his fleet drifted the clockwise route, currently in peace. “RIGHT! I want you to open a channel directly to the Furrelian Union. Between the two of us, understand. If Command are going to throw this at us, we might as well try and make use of it.” The communications operative nodded, and tapped away on their desk, creating the proper settings to send a hopeful message directly to the Furrelian Union. After a few moments, he gave the general a small nod to suggest the line was operative. “This is General Borvo Builis of the Imaginese Liberation Army with a direct message for my counter part within the Furrelian Union’s operation. It seems we are both in somewhat of a diplomatic pickle. I would wish to discuss the terms of our involvements in this…fracas.”
Cargo Hold
"The atmospheric accomodations are greatly appreciated. Outside of that, There is nothing else required for them to function, thank you." The kel'thulian could see the disgust in the Furrelian's eyes, and couldnt blame him. Even to kel'thulians, avatars were... Ugly. Like the fishy version of what Uncanny Valley is to humans. They arent right, in any sense of the word. No matter. The fish waved his hand in thanks to the Furrelian, and stepped away, speaking through his holopad to the various avatars and their kel'thulian commanding officers. They began to march down into the cargo-hold with relaxed dis-precision, some of the units looking at one-another as their comms units gave silent conversation between pairs or even groups of the disembodied soldiers controling robots of metal and flesh. After some point, they made it to the end of the cargo bay and dispersed, following one another towards deck twelve.
Kel'thulian Fleet
The Return-fire from the Imaginese was expected, but nonetheless hard to protect from. Tachyon bolts sliced through one of the destroyers, ripping off guns and striking through the outer armour, venting the atmosphere of rooms as kel'thulian crew were thrust into the void of space, dying a painful and violent death. Quickly, these decks were sealed up, but the damage was done. Explosive munitions went off mid-void as point defense sliced through them, beams of blue plasma sparkling through the dark of space and crashing into munitions, while smaller guns shot off trails of plasma-bolts, twirling around through space. Nonetheless, another destroyer found itself throwing up plasma shields to protect from munitions, shrapnel from the close detonations striking through cameras and shearing off outer armour plating with ease. Following up, the strikecraft leaving from the carriers began to find targets in the distant Imaginese fighters, pushing their fusion drives hard to make contact faster. Despite this, the fighters and interceptors of either side will take some time to reach one another. The three destroyers pushed their bows around to face the capital ships of the Imaginese directly, continuing to softly move in the dead night to keep along their course, while white light coursed through their spines. And with a silent screech of radiation and energy, beams shot forth from the vessels; particle lances filled with dangerous neutral radiation, more than enough to burn or melt through flesh.
KNS Ehltizi Durek
"Damage Report!" called out the fleetmaster. "Fleetmaster, Ma'am! Two destroyers have taken significant damage, while damage to other vessels is negligible. Destroyer 'Ko'olti' has been pierced by tachyonic munitions, lost multiple weapons and an entire sub-deck has been vented, while Destroyer 'Avixia' has been battered by explosive munitions, outer hull plating damaged, a railgun's barrel missing, and various cameras offline. Orders?" "Keep the pressure up and Continue firing! Have the destroyers fired their particle lances?" "Yes, Ma'am!" "Good. Make sure fighters reach their marks, we cannot lose this!" "Aye, Fleetmaster."
__**Firing group C**__
With distance closing in, the casualties started rising. The Carrier was the biggest loss of this massive exchange of fire: Twenty tachyon arrows were no joke for the Furrelians. The first few arrows were intercepted by the plasma syphons or missed the moving carrier by a hair, but following that, the Furrelian carrier began its hammering. One strike, two-strike, three-strike, the number of strikes just began increasing further. Weapons stopped, and engines flicked. Before long, fourteen of the twenty arrows had hit their target, absolutely devastating the Decimator. The bridge’s megastructure, home of the ship’s command, had been blown out, the holes gaping deep into the hull. It all became too similar to the destruction of the *Mesot Koderi*. Holes had especially pierced the middle section with the fighters, destroying the hangars and making gaping holes where once fighters were stationed. However, two differences with the destruction of the *Mesot* became obvious: One, the Decimator was a much tougher class of ship. Its engines had for the most part, besides one hit, survived the attack and were still proposing the ship to the USDs’ lines, though with little control. Furthermore, hull sections which were just removed when the *Mesot* was hit had remained in place on their equivalent spots on the Decimator class. The second and most crucial part was that the UDS’s two battlecruisers only had only brought ruin to the megastructure holding the primary bridge: It had missed the more hidden second bridge. Despite the fact that the second bridge was more meant as a ‘carrier control’, it could easily be repurposed into substituting for the primary bridge. The carrier named the FDS *Ensik Gora*, was battered and most certainly needed to spend a good few months in drydock, but it absolutely was not yet crippled. The carrier had persevered through the firing which was supposed to end it.
And it made sure to make the UDS know.
The *Gora* was still armed with its massive disruptor cannons and more importantly its missiles, and most of those were still in a state where they were capable of being used. The ship played dead for a few minutes, during which it was sending fake SOS messages, encrypted, back to Maresit station, requesting permission to use its non-stealth missiles. Meridema, hearing this, was both relieved and gritting his teeth. Having the carrier launch its non-stealth missiles while being assumed dead in the water would most probably result in some kind of strategic advantage, but it would also betray the fact that it was infact not, and much more importantly it would go against his previous orders. Still, though, the possible advantage would be worth the spent missiles, and besides, the carrier was almost dead in the water regardless, so it did not matter. Orders were exchanged, and the *Gora* had permission once she was in close enough range of the UDS’s ships, which was soon. While waiting for the perfect opportunity, she was drifting, seemingly without control of the UDS’s lines.
The Furrelian firing group and the UDS line were now in close quarters, despite in galactic scale that still being thousands of kilometres. The Liquidator class Heavy Cruiser, almost identical to the second casualty of the fight, took the three arrows from the Borodino head-on. All three hit, but with the plasma syphoning engaged, they had become slightly weaker. All three of the arrows hit around the same area, tearing their way across the spine trenches of the ship, destroying some of the weapons installations above and below it. Yet, the Liquidator was no weak beast either, and with its new target found, it launched a very aggressive - if not just straight-up suicidal - manoeuvre against the UDS cruiser counterpart. Whatever disruptor cannons it had remaining were working overtime while firing against the *Borodino* and whatever other UDS ships it came across, all the while the Liquidator was soaking up plasma and had its armour plating slowly melting away, bulging the spinal trenches and making the limited radiators work overtime. While the two cruisers were brawling it out, the six remaining ships - four destroyers and two frigates - were following the Liquidator on its journey to the front. One of the destroyers tightly followed the Cruiser, firing at and helping defend the ship from the *Borodino*, while the other ships were freer in their moves, and had in fact engaged the other destroyers and frigates.
One of the destroyers took an Ion bolt straight to the face, resulting in the front of the Defacer being blown straight of the rest of the ship, and causing the remaining part to have a blackout during their supposed evacuation. The rest of the ships were luckier, being able to turn their own weapons at the UDS before being disabled. One of the other destroyers was able to intercept an Ion bolt with the syphon, burning out the syphoning system, all the while the third one focused its weapons systems at the two destroyers. Disruptors lighted up in their infamous green glows, heading straight to the two destroyers. The two Frightener class frigates meanwhile held more distance, waiting for a more equal time to fight. At least, until the Gauss slugs started making an impact. The first salvo succeeded in destroying parts of both frigates, especially the fronts were hit heavily, destroying the spinal disruptor on one of them. In response, the Furrelian frigates engaged their point-defence turrets and started firing at the incoming slugs, while the remaining spinal disruptor fired back at one of the UDSs frigates in response.
__**Maresit CIC**__
Meridema watched the situation unfold, the enemy ships were really closing in now, though. He was just minutes away from ordering renewed fire at the SAGA ships when Builis called in. He opened a live connection with the Imaginese flagship, listening to what Builis had to say. After a few seconds, which felt like minutes, of silence, he responded.
“*General Builis of the ILA, this is Todesi Meridema of the Furrelian Defence Service. I assume you’re talking about the TIERZ agreement of ‘79…*” he said, pondering what to say. It was unlikely Builis and his troops were just going to pack up, but he did not want them to fire and oppose the Furrelians, remembering the price of one million SIGEC. “*While I do not have any protests in the way your fleet is in the system, I would like to ask for you to not fire at any Furrelian Union ships, and we will extend the same to the Imaginese ships. I do not protest if you fire at the Kel’Thulian ships, but that’s all of the CONA targets remaining I assume… It’s a bit of a pickle, aye…*” Meridema himself was not sure what to do in light of the situation either. “*Please let us know if you have any further questions or requests, Meridema out, thank you for informing.*”
Builis grumbled, but ultimately agreed to the communique. “It is going to complicate this situation, but I agree. We are held to our word, even amongst these…troubling times. The agreement will hold. We cannot vouch for the SAGA forces not covered by the agreement, but no Imaginese vessel shall be responsible for damages to Furrelian Union ships. Builis, out.” He swilled in the chair that he laboriously buried himself into and sucked upon his teeth as he pondered. The situation was laughable. The diplomats and bureaucrats were to blame. He could not wait to get back to TIERZ and tell the Field Marshall of the activity. He would no doubt have strong words, or worse, for those who had given them this troubling situation. “Sir…” a quiet voice emerged from his right-hand side; it was the Junior Officer. “The main fleet is still engaged in combat, they are taking damage. Fighters have engaged. What should I tell them?” He paused, considering the question, before a brain wave hit him. “Ok…here is what we are going to do…”
----------
The Main Fleet
The battle raged between the main bulk of alliance ships, and the CONA grouping. Limited by the restrictions placed on them, they maintained their fire directly at the Kels, rather than Furrelians. As the vessels exchanged weaponry fire, the fighters from both danced and twirled in combat. The ships were beginning to feel the weight of the combat upon their hulls, as shields were tested to their limits and broken, damage irradiating into the corridors beneath. The vessels continued to move, pushing forward, towards the enemy. Then, it hit them. A silent beam of radiation, the Kel’s particle lance. Like the sharpest sword, it punctured away, tearing a hole right in the carrier’s side. Debris and sparks erupted into the cold of space, and the ship limped, slowly as it came to terms with the hit. It was moving, but the damage was crippling to the infrastructure, shortening the vessels life span tremendously. Its capacities halved, its surrounding ships lept to its aid, returning a volley of fire at the Kel’thulians in anger. The orders rippled through the fleet, direct from Builis. They were confusing. “I want all fighters to engage the Kel’thulian vessels, but I want them to use Furrelian Union ships as cover. I want the naval fleet, as it moves towards the station, to ensure that you are within touching distance of Union ships. DO NOT engage the Furrelians, but make sure that any Kel’thulian attack must consider damage to its own allies!” Bewildered, the fleet moved forward, the fighters ahead of the rest, continuing their dance.
The other side of Maresit Station.
The smaller fleet, unaffected by the battle that raged elsewhere, continued its journey, clockwise, flanking around to Maresit Station. It travelled with speed, and as it moved closer to the space station, did not attempt to hide its positioning, instead opting for quickness as it rushed.
"STARS! Get me a Report, NOW!" "Getting it now, Fleetmaster!" The Labridae tapped away at his screen and sent relevant data to the Fleetmaster's PID. Despite that, he still talked "Fighters have engaged the Imaginese near the Furrelian firing line. We holed their carrier, but it's firing back and doing some damage to our vessels, direct hits on one of the frigates and a destroyer. It is confirmed that the Daisu are refusing to engage with the Imhnae." "....Stars. Keep up the pressure, I want that carrier wiped off the map as soon as possible." "Ma'am!" "Labridae?" "Imaginese fleet element spotted flanking around Maresit Station. Orders?" "Those Wretched Bastards. Have a battlecruiser turn its guns and give them damnation. Other than that, have the stationbound forces prepare for a fight; if those damned Dogs wont fight them in space, they wont be fighting the Imhnae on the ground either. We cannot rely on those slimy Daisu to help us here."
---
The Combat
The Kel'thulian fightercraft swarmed and swirled through the air as plasmafire exchanged with missiles and bullets, bulbs of plasma-flares ejecting out in droves. A Dance of the Dead, so they could say; for we're all doomed, arent we? Through the main fleet, the Kelthulian craft were battered with Kinetics fire, the lances of thin plasma and the spurts of plasmatic shielding only able to destroy so many munitions, while guided munitions were barely fazed by gravitic shielding, only stopped by spears of plasma and magnetic fields jumbling targeting procedures. With a massive, yet silent BANG, a cluster of missiles sheared off the outer plating of a frigate, leaving it's left side dead, and the craft slumping through space on only half weapons and manouvering thrusters. A Destroyer's railgun battery was chopped in half by a massive projectile, leaving a thorn in it's side and now half-unarmed. Despite this, they still lashed back with their own spears and baubles of searing plasma, and shanks of hypervelocity railgun slugs, encased in that sticky burning substance. Through swathes of oncoming fighters and missiles, wide beams of ionized plasma swept and burned and cleansed metal down to its base elements, getting weaker at range. And at the rear of the formations, the battlecruisers- minus one- continued their long-range barrage of low-relativistic railgun slugging. With a slight change in course of a Furellian ship, and an early trigger-finger, a full barrage of slugs was directly en-route for a Furellian vessel.... The minus-one battlecruiser had turned it's prow slightly, allowing it to get a better eye on the forces behind them creeping onto the station. With a groan and the weeping of architecture, the guns unleashed another battery of fire directly towards the Imaginese flanking around, while fusion missiles dropped from firing ports, and began to intercept.
With the carrier seemingly disabled by the barrage the captains of the battlecruisers decided to progress with their mission instead. While they could theoretically stay behind to ensure its death, they needed to get to the station and protect the rest of their comrades. And so, both ships immediately fire up their thrusters and made their way to fly past the ruined carrier. The Lear was aiming to join the brawl and assist the rest of the ships in the battle against the smaller ships while the Macbeth aimed to join the rest of the fleet in getting to the station. However, before both left, a few guided nuclear missiles were fired at the crippled carrier to make sure there was nothing left to recover. Meanwhile, the Borodino continued its brawl with the enemy cruiser. Its cannons continued to breathe plasma into it even as the ship’s shield projectors sputter out from overwork. Despite this, the cruiser revealed a trick up its sleeve- the several fighter wings it was carrying. Even as the launchers for the craft were slowly coming under fire, they swarmed out like bees from a hive and began to surround the Liquidator, focusing on the fragile points exposed by the plasma but firing their payloads of nuclear missiles. The two destroyers were no pushovers. One of the destroyers was able to withstand the blow though its shields were officially put out of commission. The other, however, was not so lucky and when it was struck, it hit the belly of the ship and instantly obliterated the primary bridge alongside dozens of other crew. The ship could still fight but it would take a while before it could orient itself for combat. The other destroyer meanwhile focused fire on the other two it was faced off against, this time firing both its plasma cannons and the ion cannons as well.
The frigate was destroyed by the spinal cannon, the ship taking the hit face on and erupting into a brilliant flash of light that saw the lines of over five hundred sailors vanish. The remaining three frigates focused fire with lasers and their few plasma cannons, intent on brawling it out to buy the main force more time. And the main force, consisting of cruisers, carriers, and frigates, continued to speed towards the Station. All of the carrier-capable ships had long since released several wings of bombers and fighters in preparation for the eventual siege and battles to come.
__**Main Combat**__
One moment it was there, the next it was gone. The Furrelian destroyer which has changed its position to become more in line with the rest of the Furrelian fleet was the unfortunate victim of a friendly fire, one which had cost it its life. With the active defence systems not yet engaged - considering the distance of the main part of the UDS’ fleet, it had quickly become a victim of the full salvo of slugs. Too many to count impacted within a few seconds, followed by a few seconds of silence, before the inevitable golden glow. The anti-matter reactor of the destroyer had gone critical and exploded. There was no Furrelian destroyer remaining, only a husk of debris and dead souls. While most of it had been evaporated, a few segments of the debris had been shot out at incredible speeds in all directions. Some went back into the unsuspecting Furrelian fleet, impacting a corvette and Maresit station. The corvette stuttered with its energy for a few seconds, before signalling that it’d withdraw to the station due to damage. The station was not as lucky, a large piece of armour plating of the destroyer slicing its way into the twenty-third deck, near one of the docking sluices. Forcefields expelled the sharp piece of the classified azanium alloy, revealing the gaping hole left behind a force field keeping the atmosphere in.
A hole barely large enough for a landing pod.
A Free-Furrelian landing pod, in fact.
The *FFNS Free Torment*, a very heavily modified Union destroyer and in fact one of the Free Republic’s original ships had fallen silent after the *FFNS Fire in the Night* had been destroyed. The reason was simple, the *Fire in the Night* had been the only Free Furrelian ship which had equipment able to haul the UDS and Imaginarium - whereas the *Free Torment* had only been able to communicate with its fellow FFR ships. A few minutes after noticing the gaping hole left in Maresit station, it engaged. Terminal thrusters pushed the ship towards the station, manoeuvring past a few Union ships while doing so. With only a few thousand kilometres of distance, the first salvo of boarding pods was launched, one of them heading straight for the hole left by the destroyer, while another one went for the main long-range comms centre, and another rushing towards the main promenade.
By now, the Union had noticed the landing pods launched by the *Free Torment*, and one of the guarding ships had launched missiles to intercept the trio of craft. The first one missed, exploding its conventional warhead a few ten kilometres behind the pod. The second followed a similar path, but the third connected, evaporating the few hundred Free-Furrelian Marines in the craft which was heading straight for the promenade.
Yet, the Union was too late. The first two pods impacted the station at immense speeds. The one heading for the hole crashed through the forcefield, temporarily destabilising it. The door of the craft opened into a recently-depressurised section of the deck, with a few of the maintenance workers and security staff trying their hardest to not be sucked into the vacuum of space. If it was the wisest decision was up for debate. Magnetic boots locked the FFR’s marines, part of the 2nd ‘*Orca*’ battalion, to the floor, disruptors ready to fire. Shots quickly rang out from the Republic’s disruptors, hitting and terminating the security guard who had tried his damn best to stay in the station. Further shots hit the security cameras and the internal defence turret, disabling them. By now, the force field had properly failed, opening the way for further craft landing. The marines quickly unloaded logistical equipment from the pod, before allowing it to withdraw.
A few minutes passed before the Orca’s heard from the unit sent to the comms centre.
“*Section 1 secured, waiting for further reinforcements!*”
“*Copy that! Section 2 secured too, messaging UDS and Imaginarium landing coordinates.*”
“*Copy, good luck Residema!*”
__**Firing group C**__
The massive FDS *Ensik Gora*, the carrier which had been ‘disabled’ by the UDS stumbled past the two battlecruisers as a wreck. Yet, it was still active, though severely damaged. Once it had drifted far enough from the two battlecruisers, it re-engaged most of its systems, just in the nick of time, too. The radar almost instantly went into alarm mode about a series of missiles coming towards the carrier, automatically designating them as targets for the point-defence systems. Hot launches of the interceptor missiles were conducted, as the main point-defence guns were still warming up. The first missile connected with the leading nuclear missile, with the second following suit. The third and final one however failed to connect with the nuclear missile, letting it through. It impacted the lower engines at high-speed, disabling all of them in a single shot.
Now, it was time for the Carrier to respond. Targets were assigned for the Furrelian missiles, sneakily aiming from behind. The carrier was almost purely designed around two things: the fighters and the missiles, the latter were housed in eight large spinal batteries. Now, with the paths right open, it was ripe for retaliation. While much weaker than what it could usually offer, sensor jamming was engaged against both of the battlecruisers, while the first salvos of missiles left their batteries. These anti-matter missiles were not of the stealth variation, making them more vulnerable. Instead, they relied on sensor blocking from a ship, which the carrier provided to the best it still could. The salvos took off, around fifteen missiles for each battlecruiser, heavily depleting the stocks of the *Gora*.
While the *Gora* was facing off against the two battlecruisers, the fighters were making their challenge known to the Liquidator Class which had engaged the *Borodino*. The Liquidator’s point defence had been significantly weakened by all the combat, and in fact, was only taking minimal action against the UDS’ fighters. Instead, it focussed on its terminal goal, disabling the *Borodino*. As it entered nearly broadside conditions, its point-defence and syphoning systems were both disabled at non-critical spots to give all necessary power to the disruptor cannons, most of which were burning through their wiring while giving the *Borodino* hell. Even with all this aggression, there was still a defence against the fighters: the escorting destroyer of the Liquidator. Its point defence had not yet been disabled and was firing at whatever fighter came close enough, both missile and fighter. Even its disruptors had been engaged to protect the critically war-scarred heavy cruiser from the fighters buzzing around them. All the while, the destroyer was asking for permission from both the liquidator and Maresit command to fire some of its anti-matter missiles against the *Borodino*, to properly destroy it, even if it brought the risk of it taking out the Liquidator with it.
For the smaller ships further out, it was now a four-against-four. Two Furrelian frigates and destroyers against one UDS destroyer and 3 UDS frigates. At this point, with the close ranges involved, it did not matter what happened anymore, the combat would result, at least, in the drydocking of both task forces, yet the Furrelians made it their goal to disable the UDS first. The duo of Furrelian destroyers re-focussed their disruptor fire against the single remaining UDS destroyer, while the two frigates in the rear slowly made their way to the front, now acting as defensive ships, with syphoning systems put on their max to intercept hits, and to fire back at the three frigates in random ways.
__**Maresit CIC**__
“*What is going on?*” Meridema said in disbelief, watching multiple alerts show up on his terminal.
“*Reports of a Kel’Thulian ship hitting and destroying a destroyer, resulting in a gaping hole in the lower hull of the station, sir.*” an ensign responded, cycling towards the next alert.
“*Send repair crews and security, ASAP! Take up a message with both mister Builis and miss Yo’ta’ke, warn them not to fire while Furrelian ships are in the way, or they will respond with fire! Next alert?*”
“*Defacer destroyer with sensor track 7390, FDS *Esoper Kolipe* escorting a Liquidator assigned to firing group C is asking for permission to use some non-stealth missiles, saying the situation is critical.*”
“*Damn it, let them have it this once. Permission granted, disable the threat. Final alert?*”
The ensign once again cycled towards the final alert and hesitated for a few seconds with saying it. He mumbled it in his mouth, annoying Meridema.
“*Speak up, now! What is the final alert?*”
“*Sir… confirmed reports of landing parties at deck 23 and 32C.*”
And within those few seconds, Meridema saw his patience snap.
“Station has been hit. Reporting damage across several decks!” “Kel’thulian ships turning about to face the flanking fleet, General!” “Furrelian Destroyer downed! Friendly fire incident, Comrade General!!” “They are demanding we do not fire around FU ships sir. Warning that they will break their agreement with us if we do not oblige.” “Sir…sir, the Free Furrelians have provided us with landing coordinates for an attack on the station. Any landing would be extremely bloody, from our assessment.” The bridge of Builis’ ship was a scramble of messages, as ensigns and junior officers alike rushed from post to post, informing the general of the situation. He remained the only static piece on the board, remaining poised over the holographic battle display table, watching the updates of information, and pondering the next move. The whole situation was a wild mess. He hated it. The tangle of politics had made what should have been a straight forward, no compromising mission into a web of limitations. This was not the job he wanted, but was the hand he had been dealt. The next card played would be a vital one. “Order a stop on the flanking fleet. Have boarding parties prepared, but do not launch. Stay just on the edge of the Kel’thulian range. MAIN FLEET; respect these FU orders, but still allow your fighters to weave inbetween the CONA vessels. Play cat and mouse with the Kels on that front.” He turned to a junior officer. “Patch me once more through to the Furrelians.” He demanded with urgency. Within seconds, a line was opened once more, direct from Builis. He spoke with authority and concern, a tone unfamiliar to the crew on the bridge.
“This is General Builis. We respect the Furrelian Union’s desire to keep hostilities between our respective nations…civil…in these trying times. Unfortunately, our scans detect that your allies are not so inclined. You have lost ships to them, your space station is damaged, and they are show no signs of remorse. This is the type of indiscriminate warfare the Kel’thulians conduct.” He paused, before uttering the main point of the message. “Whilst our sides find ourselves on opposing sides in this conflict, that does not mean we have to become openly hostile. We recognise our status as a neutral third party during to the Furrelian/Jade Empire agreement, and wish to honour that further. Any battle over the space station and the prisoners taken will be bloody. Many will die, many of your own people by your own allies’ hands. My proposal is this; the Socialist Republics will withdraw from this affair and will continue to our agreement. In exchange, we request you transport the Furrelian rebel prisoners to our ships. We will hold them for the duration of the war under our judiciary. This option will save countless lives. I urge you to make this correct choice.”
Space Battle
There was one certainty about the UDS forces fighting the Furrelians in this battle- and that’s that winning was never their prime directive. That would be buying time for the main fleet to pursue their own objective of boarding the station. This thought rang throughout the heads of the captains for all these ships during this because if there was another certainty, then it would be that their chances of actually winning were growing slimmer as time passed. The Furrelian carrier trying to shoot down the nukes served one more role that they perhaps did not realise- it altered the two battlecruisers that it was still very much active and needed to be put down. The Macbeth was designated that role and it proceeded to direct its mighty tachyon arrows and ion cannons to destroy it. But when the carrier fired its antimatter missiles, that’s when the captain realised just how badly they’ve been got. Even as Captain Aydrickson sent a hurried warning to the sister ship Lear, he knew that he had to make a choice which was only made more prominent when sensor jammers began to disrupt their point defence targeting. The point defence lasers of the Macbeth aimed and fired at the antimatter missiles heading heading for the Lear even as its tachyon arrows released for what could be the last time at the carrier, all the while ignoring the missiles heading for itself. The results were that the Lear was able to more or less survive the attack as it shot down the missiles alongside the Macbeth’s assistance. However, the latter, in its attempt to save its sister, went down in an explosion of bright lights until all that remained of the battlecruiser were specks of debris and detritus. To this, the Lear responded by firing an entire volley of tachyon arrows at the carrier.
The Borodino was truly suffering. The Ascalon-class cruiser was never meant to be a frontline combatant against peers and the ugly side of the UDS focus on carriers and semi-carriers. Its lackluster armaments could simply not keep up with the firepower dished out by its Furrelian counterpart and as the battle drew on, more and more of his weapon systems were getting destroyed. But what it did have was good armour and defences- something that it clinged onto even as the former melted under the weight of fire. It began to focus entirely on releasing more drone fighters to continue to harass the Liquidator, before firing a score of nuclear missiles at it. If one thing was for sure, then this would simply delay the Furrelians and buy the carriers more time. Simply put, the Borodino was all but finished. [=][=] The sole remaining destroyer took fire like the poor man’s battleship it was. It fired the last few salvos from its gauss cannons before the ship took a hit that melted all the way through its reactor and saw the ship rendered into a lifeless husk. But the remaining ships were not idle. The frigates opened fire with their own gauss cannons and plasma cannons, the three of them using the lack of focus on them to attack the Furrelian destroyer. And then, their saviour came in the form of the other destroyer, which had finally oriented itself back into action. Its engines pushed the ship forward and it fired with its gravictic cannons- these were essentially discs of alloyed tungsten that were propelled by gravitic forces. While it lacked the firepower of a gauss cannon at long range, it had a faster rate of fire and excelled in closer distances.
CIC of the Alexandria
Commodore Franz knew that this battle was reaching its crescendo. Their brawlers were taking heavy hits and he didn’t know how long they could survive. But his force were finally within range of the station and aided by the FFR, they could finally begin boarding actions. “Any word from Commodore Monroe?” Franz asked an officer. “We’ve receive an encrypted data package from him. He’s ordered for us to board the station and get out,” the officer said, “his ship is still disabled but it should be able to move again soon. Depending on what happens, he’ll either jump out of the system or engage the enemy.” the words ‘to buy us more time’ was left unsaid. Franz scowled. Losing the Nightingale early on in the battle was a devastating blow to their forces. But at the same time, he was glad it was disabled if it meant Monroe could make it out of this battle alive. He had genuinely grown to like the man as a comrade and was not willing to see him die here. He had hoped that Monroe would have retreated but at the same time, he was not surprised that he would want to fight. That just meant he needed to finish the mission quick enough so that he didn’t need to. The commander turned to face the hologram of Brigadier Zacharias. He looked at him and nodded, “I’ve assembled my marines to begin the operation. They will approach by dropships under the cover of fighters. From there, they will assist our allies and secure the target before fighting their way out.” Franz nodded, “and the supersoldier will assist?” The Brigadier spoke, “she will. From what reports say, she’s probably one of the best psionics we have.” “Very well. I’ll have my ships secure the area. We’ll give you as much as time as you need to finish this.”
Carrier Space Battle
The main UDS force was finally at their objective. And they were quick to act. Hundreds of drone fighters and bombers were released from the two carriers and two cruisers. A few wings had joined their gunships that surrounded the ships in assisting for combat and protection, while other wings instead acted as an escort for the dozens of dropships that contained the UDS marines ready for the boarding action. And when those dropships finally reached the destination they began to fire upon any defences they could see alongside the escort fighters to clear the path. When they finally founded a docking pay, the first set of dropships made their way to deposit the armed and armoured marines of the UDS, with a majority of them instead choosing to land at the ones controlled by the FU with the simple reason of a prospect of divide and conquer. But a few of them chose to assist the FFR’s assault and one such dropship contained a special individual.
Boarding Operation
Evensong could hear them. She could everyone around her, really. The thoughts of the marines next to her, their cold calculations and plans of attack. She could hear the thoughts of the free republic troopers as they fought against their once comrades. She let out a breath and shielded her mind from them. She didn’t need such distractions- not when she’s about to enter a contested zone. The dropship she was on suddenly jolted as it landed and as one, the marines stood. She continued to sit. “Comrade Evensong,” a marine captain spoke to her, “we’ve landed. The assault as begun on the other docking bays. We need to act quick and find the targets.” She remained silent. Then she stood up and walked down the ramp of the dropship, entering the station. She scanned her surroundings, a soft blue glow emanating off her form, “find me a survior of the Union,” she spoke. Though her face was hidden under her helmet, her eyes were glowing, “I will search their minds for the location of our targets. Then we can focus our attacks there.”
A line was swiftly opened to the FU after the friendly-fire incident, the Fleetmaster cringing internally. The gunner would be court-martialed after the battle, but for now it was all hands on deck. This needed to be saved. "Meridema, this fight has devolved, and our plans have fallen apart. The one who fired that weapon prematurely will be court-martialled when it is appropriate, but i must request that if your vessels will not help us fight the Imaginese, that they move as far from the Imhnae as they possibly can to reduce accidentaly friendly fire possibilities to zero. Although, we do wish you would reconsider, as what is some money to winning a battle- no, winning a war. Stop collaborating with the enemy, and this fight will be much swifter than the meatgrinder of politics it is swiftly turning into. Kel'thul out." she disconnected the line and spoke to the Labridae. "Get our fleet away from the Furrelians and get a different angle on the imaginese. Have the fightercraft stop following that of imaginarium and keep closer to our own vessels. We cannot afford another incident. "Aye, ma'am." Station "What do you mean, the Furrelians wont be firing on the imaginese!? will they really just let them waltz through the station and take the prisoners!?" "Do what you need to do to keep the station safe, but the colonial scum have gotten too focused on money and politics to help us with the imaginese. Im sorry." "Ah, stars... Understood, ma'am." The kelthulian officer cut the comm, and grabbed a weapon. Across the station, where the imaginese and FFR were predicted to land- or had already landed- the Kelthulians had set up makeshift fortifications, mounted guns, blockades, and 'dug in', so to speak, to the twisting hallways of the station. They were prepared to fight, even if the Daisu bastards werent going to help them.
__**Maresit CIC**__
As much as the Ingenious Bridge, Maresit Station's CIC was becoming a jumble of messages and orders. Meridema had been relatively calm until the reports came in of landing parties in the lower decks, which had become his turning point. The Furrelian commodore took a few seconds of rest from all the alerts, and took a deep breath before finally responding to all the alerts filling the space.
"*Patch me through to Builis, priority one! Next is the Fleetmaster with prio two, then orders to the fleet and station, shared third prio! Do it!*" he shouted over the CIC, before taking a sip from his glass of water. The mess was nothing he wanted to do. He was an officer, not a politician. '*Why did politics have to ruin everything?*' he thought to himself, as a video channel opened up to the Imaginese, him getting a direct view of his Imaginese colleague.
"*General Builis, this is Commodore Meridema. This has proven to be disadvantageous for Imaginese-Furrelian relations, I'm sure you have noticed too. The Kel'Thulians have shown themselves to be less than considerate for... disregard that.*" He sighed. He at least had a basic level of respect for the Communist opposite to him "*However... Furrelian wartime law prohibits the transport of high-level prisoners during unsafe circumstances, and even if combat was to stop, these terrorist leaders do not deserve any remorse from either of us. As such, I'm afraid I will have to ask you to withdraw from combat against the Union and move out of the vicinity of Maresit station. Meridema out.*" and as quickly as the Furrelian appeared, he disappeared from the screen, preparing for the next announcement, one with the Kel'Thulians.
"*Fleetmaster, let it be known that the Union will not take any risks with the Imaginese! We are not cowards, we are not shying away from combat, and we are not collaborating! The battle can be won against the terrorist-UDS alliance, but only if you do not take any potshots in our direction! My fleet will remain in defensive stance around the station and UDS, we can not move those. Please report on all actions against the Imaginese and UDS which you take. Meridema out.*" This time the message was voice-only. Meridema was fuming at the incompetency of his only ally, and he was not going to move his fleet because the aliens couldn't aim.
"*Final message, send it to all units on the station and the fleet!*"
__**Maresit Station Lower Decks**__
Of the few landing docks, one had been re-taken by the FFR's Marines. The battalion of marines had quickly rushed into the pressurised sections of the Station, killing every Unionist they could find in an attempt to quickly spread out across and extract the high-level prisoners. In fact, the only ones who had even noticed the UDS' soldier's presence were the few Orca's who had stayed behind in the entry block. A few looks were exchanged, before a commanding officer, a young Furrelian man named Sedonema, walked forwards to his UDS Comrades.
"*Welcome to the Free Furrelian Republic!*" He said, laughing. "*Toilets are to the right, execution pits to the left.*" A few marines in the back had to laugh, before Sedonema became formal again. "*Commander Sedonema, we're glad you're here. Our goal is to extract the high levels from the lower decks, I'm not sure where exactly but some intelligence reports that a few of the prisoners are being held down in the former cleaning sections. Elevator will probably be locked down, so we'll have to take the stairs. Please let me know if you have a question, alright?*"
The UDS unit which had landed down with the FFR were the lucky one. Another landing dock, while not empty, was understaffed, only being home to a few internal turrets and a security guard detachment. The moment the UDS broke through the heavy airlock, a firefight almost instantly started as the first two automated turrets opened fire on all the individuals breaking through. For the other crew, they were more unfortunate but not in risk; the airlock door had been under repairs, and couldn't open. However, on the main promenade of the Station, a wave of security guards and soldiers made their way down towards the breaching points. The location had been shared and broadcasted around the entire station, it being very close to where the Kel'Thulian units had dug in.
__**Open Space**__
The carrier had exhausted its final breath. As the tachyon arrows made their hit, the already crippled carried broke and fell apart in a golden explosion. One moment, it was there, the next it was gone, together with its crew.
A few hundred kilometres away from the former carrier, a Liquidator class had gone in with its teeth against the *Borodino*. It was giving its everything, relying purely on a destroyer for its point defence and anti-fighter operations. Even if the Liquidator survived, it would still mean that it would have to spend months out of action in a yard in Pobbma, something which the crew was determined to achieve with at least one ship in the grave before them. The Ascalon and the Liquidators had proven to be strong rivals, with every move being matched by the other. As the Liquidator made another pass-by with the *Borodino*, the destroyer was too slow to intercept. A bright flash enveloped the lower hull of the heavy cruiser, the nuclear missile had made its hit and had blown out a great chunk, crippling a few of its lower disruptors. Still though, the Liquidator persisted, even under the drones and the missiles, and it was determined to keep on going.
Open Space
It soon became apparent that the Borodino would be destroyed. Its shield projectors had long since burnt out and its hull was melting. Another pass would see severe breaches in the hull- something that the Liquidator was doing. Explosions rocked the ship, blasting away weapon systems and pieces of the hull. A plasma blast melted right through the ship and exploded in the fighter control room, killing all of the pilots there. Within a second, every fighter the Borodino controlled shut down. Escape pods jettisoned out of the ship in desperate attempts to flee. Yet the captain of the ship and the bridge crew too loyal to leave stayed behind. It was not out of respect or tradition. It was all about practicality instead. For all of them were working their hardest to divert all power into one weapon that had escaped destruction. And as the life support shut down, the captain gave the order to fire a final tachyon arrow at the Liquidator. Then a disruptor beam lanced through the bridge and ended their lives. The Borodino was finished.
Maresit Station Lower Decks
A power-armoured trooper approached Commander Sedonema and raised a closed fist over his heart, the traditional salute of the UDS, “Major Hayes, 3rd Company. No questions yet. Only a request- we need someone from the Union alive. We have a potent psi-trooper here and if she can get her mind on someone then we can figure out where the officials are located specifically,” even as he spoke, the marines were already preparing to enter deeper into the station. Close combat weapons such as flamethrowers and scatterguns were held by a dedicated vanguard. Others instead carried miniature shield projectors and flashbangs- perfect to use in corridors. A platoon of psi-troopers was making their way to support both groups, planning to use their powers as defence and support. Evensong stepped forward to talk to the commander, her armour distinguished from the marine force due to it being nearly entirely made from synthetic muscle fibres with light plating. When she spoke, her voice was a near rasp from disuse, “I am the one he mentioned. Evensong of the Special Operations Squad. We need to move.” Indeed, the major had just received a transmission from one of the boarding companies, “damn. One of them has encountered heavy resistance and the other one found a locked door- its going to support the other and make a push. We should let them distract the enemy while we rush to the lower levels.” He wasn’t asking for approval. He was already directing his marines to enter the station, were bright flashes of plasma guns discharging were seen.
[=][=] In the other bay, the turrets soon came under fire from the dropships as they used powerful plasma weapons to attempt to destroy them and kill the guard detachment there. In the meantime, squads of marines hunkered down to weather the storm and approach, using shield projectors and psionic barriers to protect themselves. Others chose to stay within the dropships until the turrets were destroyed. Soon, more dropships began to appear- the ones from the failed boarding group. They too began to add fire and drop even more marines. The battle was beginning in earnest.
The Furrelians had firmly rejected the compromise Builis had thrown out, which whilst this angered the man, he had to admit, had been built on flimsy foundations. It did however present the Imaginese navy with the increasing problem of achieving their objects, whilst navigating battle field of interplanetary politics, and the literal battle field in the void of space. Builis tapped his temples in a swift rhythm, once again contemplating their next move. Truth being told, he was an army general suddenly conducted a space battle and wasn’t entirely comfortable with the prospect. Neither was he happy with the limitations placed upon his force. His past experiences had followed a far more conventional Imaginese battle strategy and were far more indiscriminate when it came to seizing a goal. Would the Furrelians keep to their words? Even if they refused to exchange the prisoners, how long would it be before they found a nefarious means of striking back at the Imaginese? What was certain was that the Republican Fleet could not withdraw, not now. “Right!” he exclaimed, garnering the attention of everyone on the board. “Comrades, we find ourselves in a predicament. Politics has changed how we must conduct our operation. Currently, we have no good reason to engage the Furrelians, as much as that would solve our problems. Our ships around Maresit A must hold their position until further notice.” He pointed towards the holographic battle map that dominated the centre of the room. “That means that for now, we must support the main effort here, towards Maresit 1. The FU has given US the ultimatum of withdrawing from the vicinity, or risk being fired upon. As much as that would clear things up, and allow us to conduct an operation more on our terms, we must for the time being, maintain support of the UDS fleet, albeit not within the direct vicinity of the space station.”
“So, here this, all ships. Target the Kel’thulian vessels. Aim for engines, primarily. Stop them dead. Relay this to UDS ships in the area. No hold barred. Fire with everything we have. Let us double team the Kels and attempt to utilise this political situation. Get in and amongst the Kel’thulians. Get the fighters racing between the ships. Make it impossible for the FU to aid the fight without risking a direct hit to us. We will maintain our promise, and not fight by the station, but will provide support to our allies. Gods, the sooner they aim for us the better.” ---- The order was relayed, the secondary fleet holding its position, whilst the fighters, cruisers and all of the Imaginese Main Fleet began to engage in a vicious bombardment of any and all Kel’thulian vessels within the sector. Spacial Cannons, laser weapons, missiles et al all erupted in a chorus to join the fray. Fighters continued to dance, taking to dog fights, and support of the bombardment. All aiming to disrupt the Kel’thulian engines.
"Stars bedamned idiots.." Yo'Ta'Ke said under her breath. "Labridae, status rep?" "Fleet is regrouping, fighters are pulling back. Looks like the Imaginese are focusing us down." "Have our guns try and take out the Imhnae's largest vessels. Dump them full of radiation, lead, or plasma for all I could care- all of it. I want them dead." "A-Aye, ma'am." -- The Kel'thulian fleet began to shift- its vessels moving from its previous lines to more of a tight formation, clumping together to get the best anti-fighter coverage, while their own strike-craft began to swarm in and around their fleet, intercepting incoming munitions and Imaginese fightercraft- and bombers. The kel'thulians fired off another large salvo of munitions- missiles, plasma-sheathed railguns, and even a wave of particle-lances; some tachyonic, others the irradiative neutron beams. This salvo was focused mostly towards the carriers and cruisers of the Imaginese fleet- the largest in their formations. -- On the station, the Kel'thulian soldiers and Avatars finished up digging into their positions- without the support of the furrelians, this fight would be harsh and bloody, but the objective must be completed. Avatars were disposable- although the same did not apply to the officers, who made sure to stay in safe positions
__**Maresit Station CIC**__
Meridema sighed at the chaos which had taken hold of his operation. An easy execution of the protection of the station and as such system had become impossible, all thanks to politics. Furrelian politics and its infinite backstabbing of allies and foes alike. He looked at the holographic depiction of his station and the situation expanding all over it. The commodore was disappointed, yet not stressed. He looked at his possibilities and, in his mind, looked at the list of tasks he had. Defending the Union was his most important one, followed by the execution of the high-ranking prisoners. The lower prisoners weren’t as much of his concern, though they still had to be dispatched off in one way or another. Finally, he somehow had to keep peace with the Imaginese. The UDS, or what it thought about the Union, he cared not for, but a million SIGEC in honour of a treaty was something he could not afford with his already massive salary. A harmful situation, really. While he was thinking about his plans, a small explosion rang and shook the back of the CIC, possibly a short circuit. Meridema looked at the wall socket that had exploded. It was lonely in the wall, next to kilometres of electrical wiring and meters of hull. But what had interested him most was something next to it - the air vent.
Suddenly, an idea passed through his mind for the High-ranking Prisoners. If they had to be rid of it, why not do it the easiest way?
“*Station control! Modify the following for the lower decks with occupied cells: Depressurise them!*” Meridema shouted over the CIC at a young ensign. Even though it was combat and he had been trained in all kinds of situations, the ensign hesitated for a split second. In one way, he was murdering his own people. But it was not something the young Furrelian kept to for long. He squinted his eyes as he pressed the button allowing the modification of the atmosphere, and as he swiped his permission card through the sensor, the stats depicted on the screen all slowly fell to 0%.
__**Lower Decks - near main cargo bay.**__
The atmospheric alarm rang out as one of the FFR’s marine detachments approached the main cargo bay. They had fought through the swarms of Union station security, and though the casualties, especially those wounded, were high, the fact that they were nearing one of their main targets did well for the morale. However, with the alarm’s loud blaring, a short announcement followed by an automated robotic voice.
“*Attention: Decks 1 through 4, sections A-C to be depressurised. Evacuate at once.*”
Now, for the UDS soldiers fighting all the way up at the twentieth deck, it was not too massive of a concern, though, for the Republican Marines, it meant one of their main goals had not been achieved. Within minutes, calls regarding what to do filled the communication lines of the Republic. Some thought messages, including one or two falsely sent to the UDS and Imaginese allies, called for a full-scale retreat, in the end, a compromise decision was achieved. The space battle, though still dense, had one glaring gap which was perfect for the FFR’s single freighter to glip past. The Union’s soldiers in the docking bay and freight hold had been moved to a higher deck in order to prevent the FFR from seizing the CIC of Maresit station, and as such the Republicans were able to walk into the freight hold to the cheering of the Prisoners held there.
Despite the freighter having been unable to dock properly and, most of all, secure, it was able to pull off a rushed operation for the multiple thousands of prisoners in the hold. A call for evacuation was sent out to the UDS’ marines, inviting them to the single freighter as it was struggling with the ever-increasing fire from all sides. Though the freighter was old and slow, it had one massive advantage: Heavy armour and empty bulk. Even though by now the Union had noticed the evacuation of the prisoners and marines, the response was slow and disorganised. A jangled mess of orders was sent to advance to the twentieth deck, but it was too late. The last, now freed, prisoner had boarded and as the final Republican marine set foot past the airlock, the ship set off. In a sheer feat of luck, it was able to dodge the fire coming from all sides and jumped out of the system.
Their goals had not been fully achieved, but at least twenty-three hundred prisoners could live to see their families another day.
__**Open Space**__
With the small freighter, the FFNFS *Trade through Light*, having been severely lucky with its evacuation and subsequent FTL jump, the only still achievable goal of the Free Republic had been gained. With the odds, though still undecided, not becoming worth the fight anymore, a signal was sent through the FFR’s fleet by the FFNS *Free Torment*. Because of its limited ability to communicate with either the Democratic States or Imaginarium, a signal had to be sent via-via. The *Free Torment* transmitted orders to the ships closest to the UDS’ and Imaginese leading ships, which in turn transmitted it to said ships on a low frequency.
“*Attention allied fleet and ships, this is the FFNS Free Torment speaking. We apologise for the lack of proper communications, but the Fire being taken out is too much to overcome on short notice.*” a voice message shot to the allied bridges. “*However, the situation is developing badly. Reports indicate that high-ranking prisoners have been executed during the battle, and as such we have decided to cut our losses. Regroup at TXO-309 - where we started - as soon as possible. Fire at whatever targets you want, but don’t take any losses ourselves. Torment out.*”
As if it was a spell, the order took effect. The furthest out FFR ships jumped first, though by now the defence of the Republic’s fleet was weakening massively. Most ships were fortunate, but a few smaller ones were caught by a Kel’Thulian missile or Furrelian disruptor bolt when preparing to jump. One by one, the FFR’s presence in a once solidly FFR system was decreased to floating FFR hulks.
For the Imaginese and UDS, the situation had not turned out much better. Still, though, they were more in state to fight than the FFR’s ships. One by one, both of the allies jumped out, while the once-organised fire became more sporadic. The Imaginese group going via Maresit A were able to leave unscathed, while in the main combat area, both the UDS and Imaginese took some minimal losses as they left. Still, though, the damage they were able to inflict on the defenders was massive as well. A few Union ships had their main cores blow up in the ever-eery golden fireball, whereas a single Kel’Thulian one was splat by an Imaginese missile. A final surprise was left behind by a UDS-aligned destroyer, which, before jumping out of the system, was able to get a direct hit on Maresit Station’s central spine. The explosion breached the hull of the station on multiple sections and caused the lights of the station to flicker for minutes. But in the end, the UDS destroyer was the last thing to leave Maresit Station.
The defence had won, though the losses were much more heavy than anticipated, the battle of Maresit had turned out to be a CONA Victory.
__**Days later**__
Though the battle had turned out to be a victory, commodore Meridema was not satisfied with it. The execution of the High-ranking prisoners had not gone according to procedure - or the wishes of the State. And the fact that so many ‘terrorists’ had been allowed to go free due to a lucky freighter was frightening the Furrelian man. Still, though, Maresit system was still the Union’s, even if filled with the hulks of once proud spaceships and the corpses of hundreds of soldiers.
On his desk laid piles of tablets for him to fill out. They ranged from forms he needed to fill in retarding the engagement, to two letters he had prepared. The Kel’Thulian reinforcements had left Maresit for the Nagke system in the Union proper to get the much-needed repairs at Furrelian anchorages. Meridema respected what the Kel’Thulians had done during the battle, but the fact that a Furrelian destroyer, and its crew, had been fully evaporated due to their carelessness was unacceptable. As such, he had one of his letters directed at Fleetmaster Yo’Ta’Ke, proclaiming that though her efforts in the battle had been admirable, she was no longer needed in Maresit and that she indirectly had the blood of a few hundred Furrelian crewmembers on her hands.
His second and last letter was directed at General Builis. Even though he was on the other side of the conflict and had attempted to seize Maresit, Meridema slightly respected the man’s decision to seize his operation in Maresit. Still though, most of the letter was not about that. Instead, Meridema was almost state-mandated to fill the letter to the brim with propaganda and personal attacks. But, using a few loopholes, he was able to leave most of it out of the letter, which instead simply said that the Union appreciated the fact that he seized the attack on Maresit in honour of the Ingen-Furrelian Agreement, but that it was close to costing Imaginarium a million SIGEC, which of course no one really wanted.
But, as Meridema turned his chair to the window of his office to catch a glimpse of the red dwarf, he sighed for a last time. This was not the engagement he had hoped for, but it was done. At least he knew one thing for sure now though, the Promotion he was hoping for was not coming closer to him.
It had been less than two entire weeks since the Furrelian Union had launched a devastating offensive against the Free Furrelian Republic. Within those two weeks, the Republic had gone from a semi-prosperous nation with a bright future to little more than a spoilt hope. The Republic had fallen, and the shadow of the Union had cast over it. However, despite everything, a single light of hope for the citizens of the Republic shined in the distance. Despite the devastating opening blow, one fleet had survived the Union’s onslaught: Admiral Osetem Kisodema’s Third fleet. Originally the defending fleet of the Terinosit system, it had only narrowly escaped total destruction by exposing a gap in the enemy line to push through it. Despite not even being stationed in the Free Furrelian Republic or Furrelian Union for that matter, it had become a symbol for Free Furrelian resistance. It had, with the consent of the Imperial government of Ingen, turned the Murallo Alto system into an operating base for the fleet. From there, Intel gathered by wider SAGA forces against the Furrelian Union, which had shortly after the invasion joined CONA, was given to both the FFR fleet and others to who the intel might find itself being useful.
__**Maresit System - Occupied by the Furrelian Union**__
Todesi Meridema walked over the floor of Maresit station, the metal floor clanking underneath him as his heavy leather boots stomped on it. He was not the only Furrelian walking through the hallways of the station, in fact, almost everyone aboard was a Furrelian. But, in his eyes, the aliens might as well have been the most disgusting aliens to have existed. Furrelians who betrayed, nay even resisted the acts of the central government in Neetor, Sallag, or any other system of the Union, were even worse than most aliens in his eyes. With utter disgust, the commodore in charge of the FDS G Section of the 4th Ancerious fleet made his way to a viewing platform into a cargo hall on one of the lower decks. Opening the door to the platform, the instant smell of sweat hit him. Below him, in a hall two-hundred by two-hundred meters large, there laid thousands of Free Furrelian Soldiers who had been taken prisoner of war. The loud mumbling only got louder once Meridema showed his dark-orange face. Shouts of “Scum!”, “Hell’s advocate!” and many more filled up the room, but he simply ignored them. He was safe, twenty meters above them. And even if the prisoners tried to climb up, he could simply have his guards shoot all those who tried, and a few extra for the added intimidation. He smirked at the thought alone but quickly turned to another officer, a grey-haired man called Disonedema.
“*I assume that the freighter will be arriving tomorrow?*” Meridema said to the other officer, his deep voice drowning out the mumbling below. Disonedema nodded.
“*Indeed, a fleet of two freighters and a tonne of soldiers to keep the crowd under control. Preparations are already being made to prevent them from escaping once the loading procedure begins.*”
“*What about the scum downstairs, in the cells?*”
“*Sallag has ordered their execution to the moved forwards. They’ll be executed here, tomorrow. A squad is on one of the freighters.*”
Meridema nodded and looked down at the prisoners. The invasion was going good. Within a month, the republican identity would cease to exist. He smiled, before turning to Disonedema again.
“*I heard that the Kel’Thulian reinforcements got delayed?*”
-”*Yes, that is correct. FTL tachyons aren’t favourable for them this way, so they’ll be taking an alternative route through the Gutalen sector.*”
“*That’s a shame.*” He responded, slightly disappointed. “*We need to get the defences back up as soon as we can, and they would have been of great help with it.*”
“*Indeed, they would’ve.*”
__**Open space between the Jade Empire and the FFR**__
Commander Mosin Ederio looked out of the window on her ship’s bridge. She looked into the emptiness of the void in space. She, and her fleet of only a few ships and a few companies' worths of marines, had taken orbit around a rogue planet, which had been dubbed TXO-309 by astrologists from the Furrelian Union only the year before. She could not get the orders she got out of her head, though. Free Furrelian Intelligence had gathered knowledge of that multiple high-ranking officers of the Armed forces, and even some members of the FFR parliament had been incarcerated aboard of Maresit station. Even worse, within less than a day they would be executed, which would not only be a major morale blow to the Republic, but also to the logistics and legitimacy of the Republic. As such, she was ordered to rendezvous with two fleets at TXO-309. One of the fleets was from the Republic’s Socialist allies of Imaginarium, while the other was from the United Democratic Systems. The two foreign fleets had already been brought up to date with the situation and plan, but as a last-minute doublecheck, they were supposed to meet there before jumping into the Maresit system.
Ederio let out a sigh. The fight was waiting to be taken back to the Republic's territory.
Imaginese Central Command – TIERZ, Tatiana
Field Marshall Timotei Barbu stood, in the full black of his dress uniform, surveying the holographic battle map of the Ancerious Galaxy that lay in front of him and the general staff. “…and so, Comrades, we will answer this Free Furrelian call to arms. Not only would it be a major coup for us politically, but also the immediate approximation of the conflict to our own system could see CONA forces get a foothold on our very doorstep.” Finished the tall and gangly General Glebov Borisovich, an ill-tempered man, who Timotei knew resented being placed on Tatiana, and away from his comfortable existence back in the Nababkin Socialist Republic. Timotei stood, beckoning for Borisovich to sit down as he did so. “Thank you, Comrade General. As you can see, Comrades…this situation presents itself as an immediate threat to our base of operations. We will answer this threat immediately.” He tapped away on his data pad, the map changing, focusing in on the small, localised region of the Tuvian Arm, the movement of holographic images reflecting off the characteristic pure white of his damaged right eye. “General Builis, will oversee this operation.” He gestured to a portly looking man, who sat perched on the edge of his seat overlooking the battle map.
Borvo Builis was in his early 50s, with balding hair and a brown moustache that almost harkened back to an imperial age. He carried with him a reputation of discipline and harshness, one that even Field Marshall Barbu (someone who had garnered the nickname ‘The destroyer of worlds’) respected. He shuffled in his chair as the attention of the room was drawn upon him. He maintained eye contact with the Field Marshall. “His orders are simple,” continued Timotei “He will use whatever means necessary to reverse the tides in the Free Furrelian’s favour, but our true objective is to destroy and maim. This is a fight of pure aggression. We want the Furrelian Union and whatever allies it brings to be pushed and torn at. Our goal is simply this Comrades: fight for fights sake. Hold the enemy here, no further. Make them concentrate their forces in a battle that will have them speaking in hushed tones for years to come of the losses they suffered.” A nodding sense of approval spluttered around the room, a small “here here” shouted from the back. Timotei looked to Borvo, who gave the slightest of nods to the Field Marshall.
Sometime later…
The fleets departed from their holdings around TIERZ, a course was laid into the rendezvous with the Free Furrelian Resistance and the United Democratic Systems. A collection of vessels peppered with a fighter and infantry carrier, combined with their assortment of destroyers, and frigates journeyed in convey. General Borvo stationed upon the largest, troop-carrying ship, the ISS Dong Wu, watched from the gallery window on the bridge, surveying the fleet as it moved into position to jump in unison to faster than light. “Ensign!” he shouted with authority at a young operative sat at the communications desk, who cowered slightly at the words coming in his direction. “Relay to the Free Furrelians that we are on route, and will be arriving shortly. Ask them if they wish to meet face to face before we begin operations…”
The fall of the Free Furrellian Republic and the subsequent conquest by the Furrelian Union took the UDS public by storm. Perhaps it was seeing one of the nations so close to their colonies fall that made them worry, but regardless, none worried as much as Parliament itself. However, within that worry, there was perhaps a hint of greed. Could the UDS take advantage of their fallen comrade? It was an ugly thought to be sure- but one that was worth considering. Not to mention, lending assistance to a fellow SAGA nation would give the UDS far more credibility in the eyes of their allies. And so, the choice was made; a flotilla of fifteen ships was to be assembled and deployed to assault FU forces and lend assistance to their fallen comrades. Their goal is simple; win.
Primary Bridge, SSV Nightingale
Thomas Monroe was a man of action and duty. That much was clear during the fateful day so many years ago when he enlisted to the navy to fight the good fight. Now, well into his seventies despite looking far younger, he still carried the same spirit, albeit tempered by decades of experience. The commodore resisted the urge to sigh as he sat down at the officer’s chair of the bridge. It was quite quiet there despite the excitement coursing through everyone on board. Officers silently whispered to each other while bridge crew quietly focused on their consoles or snacked on some nutrient bars. Currently, his flotilla was en route to TXO-309 where they would meet up with their allies before they began their attack. Idly, he looked over his forces. His battleship, the SSV Nightingale, the Carrier SSV Alexandria, two battlecruisers, three cruisers, two destroyers, and five corvettes- a very threatening force all things considered and it covered all of their needs from starfighter support to ship combat.
Before he could delve into his thoughts any further, the speaker on his chair chimed signalling that he was being called- from the Alexandria to be more specific. He adjusted his cap before pressing the button that allowed for two holograms to appear in front of him, “Commander Franz. Brigadier Zacharius. Report.” Commander Franz was a young-looking human with bright blue hair and blue eyes. He was an experienced officer and fought by his side during the latter years of the Dominion-Systems War. He saluted and spoke, “just wanted to go over the details, sir.” Brigadier Zacharius was a tall and well built man with a slight beard and stubble growing around his chin and mouth. He was a marine and had served throughout the entire war as both a commander of leading allied assaults on planetary defences- be it space stations, shipyards, ships, or even planets- and a boots on the ground commander for when the Alexandria found itself boarded by enemies. The three of them shared a history which other as they all served on the same cruiser so long ago- the SSV Trafalgar, before they eventually reached a higher rank to have been able to command troops of their own and were split for a time before they reunited. “Just reporting on what we have,” Zacharius spoke, “we got a brigade of marines on board the Alexandria alongside their vehicles and support- they should be enough to successfully launch an assault on the station. Taking into accoutn our gear and weapons it should be an easy and done job.” “Our comrades faced them in battle, did they not?” Franz wondered aloud. “Yes, and they won,” Zacharius spoke, “with our help, we will crush them.”
Monroe nodded his head, stroking his mustache slightly, “gentlemen, let’s not get complacent. For we may be facing an equal in combat. While the station may be guaranteed, that does not mean space is either.” The two officers nodded their head in agreement. Monroe leaned back into his seat. Just as he about to speak again, a voice interrupted them. “If I may intervene,” a tall bald man said as he walked into the bridge. His outfit is the same as any of the UDS uniform- all save for the fact that his was completely black and grey. Franz and Zacharius straightened, while Monroe narrowed his eyes. Great. The Systems Intelligence Office was here. He was aware that a spook and their retinue would be joining them but why for this meeting? “I do have a little project I’d like to see demonstrated here,” the man said, “namely, something to assist the Brigadier in his operation. I believe you all know her already.” “The Special Operations Squad,” Monroe muttered, “I’ve heard of this project. So you want to have the SOS field tested here?” “Nothing of the sort,” the man huffed, “just one member. A powerful psionic. Her name is Evensong. Will you be having her? You have until we reach the rendezvous point to decide.” Monroe frowned and looked at his fellow officers. Then, he made his choice right as the ship finally entered the star system.
Kel'thulian Flagship - Depths of the Meridian
The Bridge of the Flagship was quiet, calm, the vessel moving through the meridian towards Maresit, having been delayed by gravitational shadows from moving stars and stellar bodies. Fleetmaster Yo’ta’ke, subsequently also the Master of the Flagship, sits in her chair behind the helm, and calls forth the Labridae, the Kel’thulian equivalent to an Executive officer in other navies. “Yes, Fleetmaster, Ma’am?” “What is the projected arrival time for Maresit? We need to speed up our arrival since the delays.” “Fifteen minutes, Ma’am.” “Good. Make sure all crew are prepared. Comm’s officer, relay orders to make ready for lancing through the fleet.” “Aye, ma’am” said the both of them, turning to work as the fleet grows ever closer to the exit point of their jump, spinals charged with spears of ancerium ready to pull them out of their Deep-meridian pathways.
Maresit System - FU-occupied System
From the Union’s point of view, it was like cracking Glass. The fabric of space-time forming golden cracks and then shattering into a deep-blue portal with lines of golden energy cracking through reality, the Meridian splayed open for all to see. To the Kel’thulians, it was Routine. Golden, radiative beams of ancerium lanced forth from their ships to shatter a way out, their vessels changing vectors last second as they crashed forth from the portal, reverse thrusters draining their momentums. The fleet was of decent size, but not something hard to field by the Kel’thulians, The flagship being a carrier named “Ehltizi Durek”, of which means ‘Eternal Fate’ translated to common tongue. It was accompanied by two more carriers by it’s side, Escorted by a Pair of frigates. In front of them stood the main line of combat, a pair of Cruisers sticking close to the rear of the lines, with a trio of Destroyers making up the Spearhead. From a separate Meridian portal, two Corvettes slipped out, far closer to the station. These corvettes, loaded with supplies, were accompanied by a duo of unarmed troop-carriers. The vessels pushed along with trails of plasma behind them, quickly requesting permission to land the troop carriers and send in freight-drones from the corvettes. As this happened, the fleetmaster brought up communications with the Furrellian Union. “Greetings, Furellian Allies. I am Fleetmaster Yo’ta’ke, of the Kel’thulian fleet. I apologize for delays in arrival, but we are prepared for combat. I have corvettes loaded with supplies and troop-ships en-route for the Station to prepare it for any future defense on the ground, while my vessels are awaiting orders to form around the station for our defense in space. Since you are the organizers of this operation, I have been given orders from High-Command to Fall under the command of whomever is in lead of the defense on the Union’s side.” She stood tall, slender, with her hands behind her back as her mandibles shifted and moved, the words leaving her 'lips' as her glowing eyes looked towards whomever answered the call on the furrelian end, her pupils invisible behind the orange of her (one-way) transparent eyelids.
__**Maresit System - Occupied by the Furrelian Union**__
Meridema had retreated himself to the main Operations Room of the Free Furrelian station. Watching through one of the room’s many windows, he saw the deep blue portals open in the distance: The Kel’Thulians had arrived. He moved from the little office which he was occupying, whose former inhabitant was sharing his space with hundreds of other Prisoners of War below in the cargo hold, to the main CIC. Watching alien ships appear from such an alternative dimension as the meridian was an impressive sight for him, as well as many others aboard the station. Seeing the request to open up a call come in, Meridema opened up his communications with his Kel’Thulian counterpart.
“*Fleetmaster Yo’ta’ke, welcome to the Furrelian Union. My name is Commodore Todesi Meridema of the Furrelian Union’s Naval Defence Service’s 4th fleet, G section. I am also acting as de-facto commander of the Maresit station.*” Meridema’s voice, deep as always, sounded only slightly more enthusiastic than his neutral voice. “*We’ve taken note of your delay, and accept the apology, Meridian gravitational shadows are truly a great hindrance. Your corvettes are welcome to dock, sluices three and four are open and prepared for them, Central Navigation should be handing over all the information required to dock soon. As for the positioning of your fleet, anywhere in between the station and the main Furrelian fleet will be prefered. Don’t expect a lot of action, though. Terrorist activity has been lacking in Maresit, sadly enough.*” Meridema stood, his proud golden badge showing the rank of commodore on his green-tinted white uniform. “*One final request, though. Will you, and some of your flagstaff, be willing to join me tomorrow for dinner? There will be a spectacle you wouldn’t want to see, and we will all appreciate our CONA allies joining us for a good appetite.*”
__**TXO-309 - Open space between the Jade Empire and the FFR**__
Mosin Ederio watched as her allies for the fight left their respective Faster-Than-Light methods. Her flagship, the *FFNS Fire in the Night* was a Free-Furrelian Design, constructed by Gaferius after a deal brokered by the former Gauss Dominion. The Fire was one of the first ships of the *Priceless* class and was around two kilometres in length. The cruiser was relatively lightly armed on the surface, but stored massive amounts of both missiles and, most importantly, EW equipment, such as jammers. It was one of the most modern and advanced ships the Republic had to offer. Still though, the Free Furrelian fleet was very small compared to the fleets of the two nations which had jumped in, Imaginarium and the UDS. While Ederio was not planning on meeting anyone face-to-face yet, she did have something else in mind. Hearing the request from the Imaginese fleet, she quickly opened a communications channel between all three fleets.
“*Salutations, I am Mosin Ederio, commander of the fifth Rapid Operations taskforce. I apologise for the short notice on this, but there is no time for face-on-face meetings I’m afraid. Reports from Intelligence have shown that the prisoners aboard the station are to be moved tomorrow, so we need to rescue them as soon as possible. I will run both of you down on the plan, then we jump to Maresit, where we can meet face-to-face.*” She began, her voice strict but soft. “*To start, depending on the resistance we will meet, we will either try to liberate the system, or we will only extract those being kept captive aboard the system’s main station, in orbit of Maresit I. Due to the risk of being trapped, we will jump just past the orbit of Maresit II, and we will try to rapidly make our way to the station, taking out their ships in the progress. There are three breaching points aboard the station which we’ll use. The main entrance at the docking port near the main captive area, and two secondary ones, one at the CIC and one near the Core. The Main team will liberate the prisoners and bring them aboard of our ships, while the Core team will seize control of it, and the CIC will try to take the Union’s High-Ranking staff aboard the station captive.*” She said, standing proud and organised across the faces of the two other officers. “*After that, if there are still enough CONA ships to be a risk to us, we extract our units and leave with our primary objective. If there are none, we will have liberated our first system. But, if all hell breaks loose.*” She pauses, half for the dramatic effect. “*We will only extract our high-ranking prisoners, then let the reactor go loose. Considering it’s an Antimatter one, you can expect some fireworks in the worst-case scenario.*”
After laying out the plan, and sending the related documents, she turned to the two men a final time. “*I will see you two on Maresit station, may Greyas be with you!*” before closing the channel, and engaging the FTL drives of her fleet. Destination: Maresit.
Imaginese Fleet
“Hmm,” Builis grumbled under his breath as Mosin Ederio’s communication ended “So that is it is it? We are to run headfirst at them.” The man was known for many things, but a sore temper was one characteristic that everyone who knew of the general defined him by. He scowled looking over the holographic map of the system, the facial expression enough to stop junior officers from coming anywhere near his station. “CAPTAIN!” he exclaimed with force. A tall, slim man, dressed in the darkened blue uniform of the Imaginese Fleet stood to attention off to the left of Builis, and raced towards him. His hair was ash blonde, with eyes a deep murky green, with a skin tone that was sun kissed, which gave away his Southern Republic origins to Builis. “Yes, Comrade General?” the man spoke softly, approaching with caution. “Captain Ayatov. Operations are to begin immediately. These…Free Furrelians wish to act with speed to capture their targets…you’ve read the briefing, haven’t you?” He paused, a tempered question to ensure he was speaking on the same level of knowledge with the captain. “Yes, Comrade General. I am fully aware. We all have read it, as per your orders.” “Good…good…just checking. Now…this here is our system.” He pointed towards the large holographic display. It showed the exact placement of the Imaginese ships and its allies. “Here, is the station. We believe around this area will be where the main body of enemy ships will be, as the assets the Free Furrelians wish to retrieve are, from our understanding, there.” “Now, the Free Furrelians are jumping past Maresit 2, and they wish for us to accompany. HOWEVER, I believe we must act smarter. Understand?”
“I…think so Comrade General.” Ayatov said, again cautiously. He didn’t understand. Builis paused, reading the captain’s face, before sighing in annoyance, heavily. “Let. Me. Spell. It. Out.” Builis said, staccato through gritted teeth. “If we follow the Free Furrelian plans, us, and the UDS ships who are arriving will be marching into battle, hand in hand, like line infantry of old. It is SUICIDAL.” He tapped on his own data pad, and the Imaginese fleet split into 2 on the holographic battle map: A carrier, destroyer, and 2 frigates with one group, and a carrier, 3 destroyers, and 2 frigates with the other. “This smaller group, these will follow the Free Furrelian. Go with speed and efficiency. They’ll be outnumbered no doubt, but do enough to draw some enemy fire.” He pointed at the smaller group, before turning to the larger group. “Now these will follow the orbital path of Maresit 2, counterclockwise around the system. I want to flank round this Red Dwarf, and hit them on a delay. Understood?” “Yes. I understand.” Ayatov did now understand. He smiled in recognition of the plan. Builis stared at him. “WELL? Why are you waiting. I. Have. Spoken. GO GO GO!” The captain rushed, ushering in his commands around the ship, and as quick as a flash, the fleet began to disperse.
Kel'thulian Flagship - Bridge
With a nod, Yotake responded to the Furrelian, Meridema. "I Understand, Commodore. I will make sure the transfer of supplies and troops goes smoothly. I shall draw up plans relative to the suggested positioning as soon as possible, and get my fleet in formation; let us hope that the terrorists do not strike in force, if at all." With the mention of the dinner, Yo'ta'ke's stance shifted slightly, more relaxed at the shoulders, as his glowing eyes surged with a slight prick of extra light; the closest thing to smiling that a kel'thulian can do. His mandibles shifted for a moment, and he spoke in a sort of elated tone. "It would be quite the honour, Mister Meridema." And after a half-bow of respect, the transmission ended.
Kel'thulian Fleet - Maresit System
After the short exchange of words, the Kel'thulian fleet had been instructed to move to a planned course set by Fleetmaster Yotake-- Three seperate groups were divided into the fleet, based on their jobs. The first group, consisting of the Ehltizi Durek, and one of the two Battlecruisers, set close to the station as a distant support group for long range fire, support, and defense of the station. Once the corvettes and troop transports were complete with their transfer of supplies, they would link up with this group as fast-moving quick responders, while the troop transports would land back upon the carrier's decks. The second group, consisting of the remaining two carriers, battlecruiser, and all of the fleet's frigate, laying somewhat 'below' and between the Furrelian fleet and the First group. This group would provide the main support for the frontline and as a secondary layer of defense. The Battlecruiser provided heavy-hitting long range weaponsfire, the Carrier provided less powerful but just as ranged fire, and dedicated support from strike craft, interceptors, and bombers. Finally, the frigates would provide screening from the projectiles, missiles, and strike-craft of the opponent's force, hardening up the overall defense. Finally, the Third and arguably most important group, set up directly behind the Furrelian fleet, if slightly above it, only off in distance by a few light moments. This group would serve as the primary fighting force of the Kel'thulian fleet, consisting entirely of the destroyers. The destroyers are armed with powerful medium-ranged weapons, and shall serve as most of the fleet's firepower, and the immediate response against any terroristic scum that may show face afront the station. Once in position, the ships merely sat and waited, silently.
Maresit Station - Loading Bay
As the corvettes docked at their respective ports, the transports sat down in the loading bay, long, wide, and ominous things. The transports had a bow curving upwards like the wide bill of an ocean-bird, and glowing radiators like eyes. In a flash, the bottom part of the "bills" opened up and began to telescopically retract into the main bodis, revealing ramps that slid down, a cold grey steel contrasting the soft cerulean and gold exterior of the crafts, touching down against the ground as the vessels themselves hissed as the chamber repressurized. All that stepped out to start, was one lone kel'thulian wearing a cerulean coat-robe and a breathing mask, who checked at a small holo-tab, before stepping to the side, the sound of footsteps in the belly of the beasts. From them walked a series of what seemed like kel'thulian soldiers, but with many things off about them. For starters, none of them wore the breathing masks so commonly worn by kel'thulians in oxygenated enviroments; hell, none of them even had mouths, just little metal speakers planted where their mandibles would lay. Their armour was not worn- it was built into their body like the welding of metal on metal, only with flesh. Their eyes were cameras, glowing bright gold-orange as they whirred around, looking around them, taking note of the enviroment. And the man with a holopad, who had stepped off the lead ship, began to look for who he may talk to in the loading bay to explain these sickeningly odd 'soldiers' that have left the transport vessels.
Primary Bridge, SSV Nightingale
Monroe stroked his chin and hummed to himself an old tune from his youth. The commodore was deep in thought after the transmission from the Furrelians and was using what precious time he had to think before the FTL drives were at full capacity, “this is an awfully rushed operation,” he found himself saying. Indeed, this operation seemed highly risky even for him. Not only would they have to speed their way past enemy defences but also launch an attack on the station itself before the VIPs were executed. And there was no telling if the natives got too jumpy and decided to execute them early. He rubbed his temples and looked at the holograms of Franz and Zacharius, “gentlemen. It seems we must make haste- as it seems to be with everyone else. Our mission is to rapidly advance and eliminate all enemy defences in the way and launch a boarding of the station with the sword of Damocles hanging over the objective,” he waved his hand and a hologram of the star system’s map appeared, “it appears that our allies desire for us to advance alongside them- that will not be an issue. I believe that as long as we play our cards right we can possibly win a battle of attrition against them through use of superior weaponry and tactics.”
The commodore turned to his executive officer, an olive-skinned woman called Alma, “issue out the order to have our tachyon arrows primed and ready. I wish for our pilots to prepare themselves for combat and want all attack craft ready for immediately deployment.” She gave him a quick salute- raising her hand over her heart, “Understood, sir,” she quickly marched forward to relay the orders to the officers, giving him a moment’s reprieve. Another one of the bridge officers approached him and he quickly gave a report, “sir, the FTL drives are ready. Do we jump?” Monroe nodded, “yes. Prepare to jump to the Maresit System past Maresit II in two minutes. Broadcast this message on fleet wide comms.” Hardly did he have time to notice the salute of the officer when he turned to speak to the holograms, “I suppose you both have heard me. The same orders goes to you Franz. Ready your weapons and fighters. Pass this message along to the rest of the fleet. Zacharias, prepare your troops for boarding.” The hologram of Zacharias winked out all though Franz’s remained, “any particular battle formation, sir?”
He took a moment to consider this before he made his choice. It they were going to directly attack the enemy, then it was clear that they needed to prepare so. Having their battlecruisers and destroyers lead the way would be prudent alongside an escort of three of their five frigates. That way, they would essentially have a ‘spearhead’ that would lead the way. Further back would be the SSV Nightingale and all three cruisers. Not only do they function like battlecarriers and would be able to provide fighter support but they could also provide long range fire using their tachyon arrows. And behind them all would be the carriers and remaining two frigates- they would provide long range support with the frigates acting as point defence for them. This formation should cover all bases. And so, he relayed this to Franz whose hologram winked out soon after. Monroe leaned back into his command chair as the voice over the intercom informed them of the imminent FTL jump. With luck, the Furrelians and Imaginese would be able to pull their weight and this battle will be won…
There is a brief moment of weightlesness and exictement as the Nightingale activated its jump drive. Soon, the monitors on the bridge changed to give the crew an optical view of the star system. An alarm rang out throughout the entire ship followed by a voice from the intercom informing them that they’ve entered battlestations. Monroe hardly had time to check up on the fleet and make sure they were all in proper state when an officer approached him. “Sir… according to our sensors, the Imaginese fleet is spliting up.” He felt his heart skip a beat as he heard the news. No… surely not… not without telling them at least! “Bring up a predication of their course, immediately,” Monroe ordered as he stood up. Soon, a hologram of the star system with their positions laid out on the map appeared. Sure enough, the Imaginese were dividing their fleet… too far away to create any reasonable formation… so why… “We’ll just have to observe for now,” Monroe said, daring not to imagine what exactly they were doing, “for now, ready all weapons. We will release a volley from our tachyon arrows on my command.” And hopefully, if the Imaginese were doing what he thought they were doing, it would work out.
__**Maresit System - Station**__
Kesode Tesinorema had been brought to the Station as a replacement for the Terrorist staff which had previously crewed it. It was a boring assignment, but a necessary one. He would be moving on to Salenetor in only a few weeks time, Maresit was only a temporary assignment as there was a critical shortage of personnel on the recently conquered station. He had seen all kinds of things come and go, mainly POW transports and supply ships, but today was the first time since being stationed that he saw something odd.
The first thing was the execution Batallion of the Furrelian Agency for Homeland Security, FAHS. All-black armoured outfits, worn by men carrying ceremonial weapons and guns reserved for the best of the army, nay the armed forces. Emblems and patches showed allegiance to the Furrelian Union, while the modified Kosinit symbol and weapons clarified membership of the FAHS.
The second thing was the Kel’Thulian soldiers. Tesinorema, besides a very short encounter with the Katharians who had docked a few days earlier, had not worked with aliens before. Especially not with those who looked so off. Supersoldiers who seemed an affront to all that was sacred or logical were not something Tesinorema had expected for the day. He had seen images of aliens on the censored version of the Furrelian Ancnet before, but none came even slightly close to what was walking in front of him. Seeing the overseer, he walked towards him, a very confused, nay, disgusted look on his face. His own tablet was prepared too.
“*I assume this is the Kel’Thulian transport which was scheduled? Can you please explain these… soldiers?*”
__**Maresit II**__
The moment the other fleets assembled into the system, Ederio groaned under her breath: Imaginarium had other ideas, apparently. Sensor screens showed the Socialist Republic’s fleet splitting up, with only a small group following her fleet. The United Democratic Systems did follow the plan, so she had no real right to complain. Still, though, she felt like there would be trouble coming up with the Imaginese fleet splitting. After sighing, she opened communications with the fleet following her.
“*All ships which are remaining, note that we will be moving towards Maresit station in orbit of Maresit I. With fewer numbers, I’m not sure if we can take on the fleet one-on-one, so we will need to act quickly. Full burn towards the station, hit through their weak flank once it is known, focussing on the Kel’Thulian ships. Go to the station, and start the insertion while we try to fight them off.*” She said over the comms, sharing the projected plan on a computer simulation. “*I would now like to ask the commanding officer of the Imaginese section of the fleet following us to contact their Admiral, and get us informed on their plans, maybe we can salvage this, please.*” A few dings and chimes rang across the bridge of the *FFNS Fire in the Night*, with reports coming from the engineering department. “*Finally, do not hesitate to open communications with us once the battle has started. I will broadcast orders at certain moments as well.*” With that, and a general acknowledgement by the FFR’s fleet, her section took off, the plasma drives burning fuel as they flew following the route towards Maresit one, blue trails following on full power.
__**Maresit Station**__
The CIC of the Union-held station suddenly had an awakening. After the Kel’Thulian arrival, not much had happened, with most of the crew having moved to the cafeteria aboard the station to catch a break. Whatever staff had remained would’ve noticed something odd. On sensors, a large amount of unauthorised and unannounced FTL signatures popped out of the blue near Maresit II, and one large cluster of signatures was suddenly moving towards the station at break-neck speeds, with an estimated arrival time of just under 20 minutes. A large trail of plasma exhausts betrayed any attempt of hiding a fleet: The FFR was invading, despite being critically outnumbered. The Sensor Officer, a man called Peridema, did not hesitate and almost instantly informed his senior commander, who in turn informed commodore Meridema. He ran back from his office to the CIC, and indeed, after confirming the presence of the enemy fleet, he called general alarm towards the station and the fleet.
“*They’re going to be here fast, and we need to counter these beasts! Weapons, fire a salvo of anti-ship missiles against the leading FFR ship, we need to set an example to the mongrels!*” he shouted over the CIC, with the weapons officer answering as soon as he could confirm his worst nightmare.
“*Sir, the station has no working weapons besides point-defence. We’re unable to fire, sir.*”
-“*Fuck, Greyas’ sake! Order the cruiser closest to them to fire the same salvo, same target. We will cover the Sensor details!*”
As said, as done. The FDS *Mesot Koderi*, a Liquidator class heavy Cruiser, opened one of its many missile silos and prepared a standard Furrelian salvo. Two non-stealth Anti-Matter missiles, and, recently introduced, Three Anti-Matter Ship-to-Ship missiles equipped with Sensor-blocking systems. With speed, they locked the assumed flagship of the FFR’s fleet and rushed towards them barely slower than the speed of light.
Imaginese Fleet
“They want to know WHAT?” exclaimed Builis, the rage in his voice making Captain Ayatov flinch and beg for cover. “They…request, politely, that we inform them of our plans, Comrade General, in order to, and this is purely a quote, salvage the plan.” He hid behind quotations, hoping the General’s anger would be passed on to the Furrelian who uttered it, rather than he, the messenger. “The nerve. There is nothing to salvage. MUST we hold their hands? FINE. Patch me directly to them. I will “explain” our methods to this coalition of cadres.” Builis turned, and walked with a steady, slow, waddle, to a seat by the communications desk on the bridge, rearranging his uniform as he sat, sitting up straight, and breathing to calm his temper. He lifted the receiver and spoke. “This is General Builis of the Imaginese effort. I believe Ederio was requesting an…explanation as to our methods and tactical approach here.” He did not allow his temper to rise, keeping it in check, despite his annoyance at having to explain himself to self-professed military individuals. “If we move like a herd towards the Maresit Station, we will find ourselves treated no better than line infantry in the days of old. It will be a head on collision, with no advantage offered to us, other than to try and outgun our opposite number. By splitting our fleet, we offer us the opportunity to flank the station from the opposite orbit. At best, the enemy will be unprepared, and at worst, they will have to split their forces, or risk battle within the vicinity of the station itself.” The fleet continued its dispersal, the broken away flank moving clockwise to flank the station, the smaller section maintaining contact with the primary fleet of the alliance.
Monroe stroked his chin nervously. It was clear that the Imaginese fleet were now off on their own thing. The computers had run their analysis and the officers had provided a rough prediction of what they were doing- simply put, it was either suicidal or the cause of the operation’s success. They’ll find out eitherway and it was far too late to stope them. “We receive your orders Commander Ederio, and will act on them,” the commodore stated. He quickly turned to the analytical table, where a loose map of the star system was projected. Before he could comment on anything else an officer rushed towards him and began to speak. “Sir, we’ve detected missile fire from CONA fleets. Missiles from what we can tell,” the officer gulped cleared his throat and checked the datapad, “they fired at the Republic flagship at near realtivistic speeds. Two missiles, to be specific.” “Missiles eh?” Monroe mused aloud, “have the forward lines move up and assist the Furrelians with laser intercepting. If it all goes well, then they will be able to prevent the missiles from reaching them.” The officer nodded and went to relay his orders while Monroe finally focused on the map. After a quick thought, he nodded, “very well. Since they have shown to use missiles it is best we ready ourselves for it. Deploy the drone gunships. We’ll make a screen of smallcraft against further attacks. We’re still too far to release our fighters but this is well within the abilities of the gunships.”
UDS had designed drone gunships to essentially act as mobile point defence against both projectiles and attack craft. They would stay near their carriers and attack and destroy targets out of the reach of their lasers and thin the chaff for them as well. Now, they would be put to the test once more. “Have we identified the vessel that fired the missiles?” Monroe asked an aide. “Yes, sir,” she replied, “what are your orders?” “Have the battlecruisers and the cruisers fire one volley of arrows at it,” he commanded, “we must test the waters first for its durability. Send a message to the Furrelians if they can identify its ship class. Once we have both results, we’ll collate the data and adjust our plans from there.”
The first line of the UDS fleet- consisting of three frigates, two destroyers, and two battlecruisers, moved forwards in order to cover their SAGA allies with their point defence. Based on their calculations, there would be plenty of time for the targeting sensors to identify the two missiles and shoot them down before they reached their target. This was also an attempt to solidify the first line of offence in preparation to engage CONA in battle. From the bowels of the many hangars across the UDS fleet, thousands of gunships came forth. They took their positions all around their carrier ships and assumed defensive operations, often travelling around the ships like a satellite or maintaining their spots. It appeared as if a haze had appeared over each ship that had released them. As this happened, the ships prepared to fire the first volley of tachyon arrows. The standard Ascalon-class cruiser as of now came equipped with three tachyon arrows and there were three of them present. The standard Fragarach-class battlecruiser came equipped with ten tachyon arrows and there were two of them present. The arrows began to glow slightly before they fired, bright lights streaking across space at lightspeed towards the heavy cruiser that fired the missiles both as an attack and as a way to test the durability of the enemy.
Maresit Station
With a light glow of his eyes, the man stepped up to the person, listening to them speak. He wore flowing blue-gold robes and has far more pleasant blueish, semi-scaly skin that led into fins tipped with orange, having far more natural orange eyes glowing with bioluminescense, and a face mask leading to a Carbon Dioxide recycling unit. He nodded, and replied. "Greetings. These are indeed those transports scheduled. These are not quite soldiers, and are rather biomechanical robots." he said simply, before continuing after pressing something on his holotablet. Flashing from the tablet came a rotating diagram of an Avatar. "Grown in factory-labs, these Avatars are controlled from a distance by actual soldiers through direct mind links. This allows them to fight in atmospheric conditions that they couldnt breathe in without a recycler such as what I wear at this moment. They are more resilient and durable than a normal soldier, but far more expensive. Thus, they are used sparsely and only for importances such as defending targets of high value from boarding. They themselves may not be sapient, but the soldiers controlling them are, so I must hope that they are treated as such, despite their unorthodox appearance, even for what you may consider aliens." All the while he spoke he kept to a polite tone, the clacking of his mandibles audible from the speaker on his mask as he finally closed the diagram, and the Avatars began to march forwards at the commands of a few non-avatar officers that seemed to lead them. (edited)
KNS Ehltizi Durek - Bridge
"Labridae! Report!" called out Yotake. "Fleetmaster, Ma'am. Union has begun firing on the FFR forces that have entered the system, of whome have appeared alongside the UDS and..." "And? Whom else?" "The Imaginese." he replied to his Fleetmaster, the glow of his eyes nonexistant as his mandibles moved tersely, fearfully in waiting. The Fleetmaster's eyes dimmed down in a splay of anger as her mandibles tensed up. Her right hand's claw extended, as she slammed her left fist into the chair. "The nerve of them! Those Kre'ka! Power up weapons systems and prioritize the vessels of the damned Imhnae bastards!. Fusion-Torps and Sheathed Rails opening volley, now!" she screamed across the bridge, angered at the news of Imaginese forces in the system. She had lost a brother at Tel'un, afterall. "Ma'am, with all due respect, their fleet is the smallest and least dangerous-" "Stars be damned!" she called out, exasperated. Retracting her claw, she spoke out once more. "Have battlecruisers and carriers fire a volley of sheathed rails towards the Terrorist Daisu of the FFR, and launch strikecraft to begin intercepts. I want the Destroyers to get ready for frontline combat, and fire fusion torpedoes towards the Imaginese flagship. All frigates on standby to defend, and bring the fleet to full alert, defensive." "Y-yes ma'am" the Labridae said, a bit stunned at how quickly she calmed herself, as he ran off to deliver orders.
Kel'thulian Fleet
With news of the Imaginese having arrived alongside the leading FFR and the Colonialist UDS, uproar spread across the Kel'thulian fleet. Anger, rage, outcries to destroy those who had allegedly genocided so many Kel'thulians. But they went unheard, mostly. The Fleetmaster- as angered she herself was- knew that they werent a priority target for anything but revenge.
As for her orders, they began to go into effect quickly. The fleet overall jumped into a defensive combat readiness, secondary reactors kickstarting and guns readying to fire. The carriers readied wings of fighters, interceptors, and bombers to shoot out of catapults. Shunted out like projectiles, they swarmed around the fleet, smaller amounts being launched by the destroyers to defend themselves, while Battlecruisers did the same. The frigates jumped into action quickly, bringing themselves closer to the larger ships around them. Preparing and loading defensive weapons, they were ready to serve their purpose as defensive escorts. Interception missiles, Flak-rounds fired from railguns, Plasma repeaters, plasma, gravitational, and magnetic shielding alike. The first to fire were the Destroyers. Torpedo bays opened themselves and shot forth a total of six projectiles. They were anticapital, fusion weapons, designed to pierce a target and then let out a violent fusion explosion, immolating and melting the internals of their target. They began to zip through the stars, teardrop-trails of torrential plasma gurgling behind them in a wash of fusion as they shoved forwards, protected merely by small APS guns and automated dodging-and-weaving protocols that would have them constantly move back and forth as they approached their targets. Targets that they found in the Imaginese' "Flagship", or in the case of the micro-fleet left behind, the largest vessel. The Last to fire was the hulking Battlecruisers. Their forms stood stark but sleek against the more bulky carriers nearby them, as their large volumes of firepower began to turn and take aim at their Furrelian Target of the FFR's Flagship. Their guns charged slowly, from smaller railcannons to massive ones tipping toes into relativistic speeds. Electricity crackled between rails, and blue rings of fusion-plasma began to spin around the ends of the barrels, some reaching massive diameters depending on the size of the shell the gun would fire. And fire, they did. Rods of metal were shunted at violent speeds, dragging along the plasma rings and shearing through the stars like searing, punching bullets of death on a direct course for their enemies. The shell of a shield prepared to meet the tip of a spear. "May the stars protect us."
__**Maresit Station - Cargo hold**__
“*Uhu… I see…*” It was hard for the Furrelian to hide his disgust for the aliens. Katharians were all good for him, Humans too, hell, even the normal Kel’Thulian standing in front of him seemed like a man he could get a drink with later on, but the avatars were just at a different level.
“*Do… the avatars require anything special for the requested living segment on deck 12? Atmospheric requests have been obliged, you will find that you can breathe there between sections A and C without a mask, but is something else needed, for either you or the avatars?*”
__**FFNS Fire in the Night - SAGA Fleet**__
Ederio listened to Builis talking about Imaginarium’s grand strategy over the communications channel. In fact, the entire bridge of the *Fire* did. Concerned looks were shared between multiple flag officers, but, at most, a few small whispers were exchanged in a murmur of noises, drowned out by the beeps and chimes of the bridge. Ederio let Builis finish, before responding herself.
“*Thank you, Admiral Builis, we appreciate you informing us. Could you, being the Naval Admiral of the SR, please keep us informed on the progress of the second larger task force? With luck, we can strike at approximately the same time, to liberate the Station. Ederio out.*” She could hear the slightly annoyed tone in Builis’ voice, but chose to ignore it. All allies were valuable, and it would not only be a pity but a disaster to lose an ally like Imaginarium over something as minor as a change in plans.
Then, the first warning came in - a duo of missiles incoming. An alarm rang over the bridge, as outside cameras connected the screen on the bridge to where the missiles were, with a projected income trajectory added below it on a map. A tense few moments followed, with the Republicans watching the UDS’s line move to intercept the two missiles. Laser beams flew out, one bright light, two bright lights, both intercepted. Cheers flew across the bridge for a few moments, before the ringing communications opened again, the United Democratic Systems, this time. A proud - and grateful - Ederio opened up the communications channel and began to speak.
“*Thank you for the interception, but there’s no time to celebrate yet. That kind of ship is a Liquidator-class Heavy Cruiser, a secondary workhorse of the Union’s Navy. It is a tough nut to crack, let me tell you tha-...*” The Communications fell out, suddenly. All the UDS would see on the screen was a message of ‘*Reconnecting…*’, but it would never again reconnect to the FFNS *Fire in the Night*.
In the distance, there came three explosions in a row, only moments apart from each other. A bright white sphere appeared in the mid-bow, followed by a larger one near the engines of the ship, and a third one right again in the bow. The *Fire in the Night* had lived up to its namesake - it was on fire, illuminating the night. Three gaping holes formed where the not-intercepted missiles had hit, with some parts even cutting out the interior, to only leave some parts of the hull in place. Any survivors quickly moved to the escape pods like ants, trying to escape from the burning hulk. The FFR‘s fleet fell silent.
__**Maresit Space - CONA Fleet**__
The *Mesot Koderi*, the Heavy cruiser which had fired against the Terrorist flagship with only a small snippet of its assortment of missiles, was cheering with success. They observed the two missiles being intercepted, and the three stealth missiles slip through and hit their target. Great success - target one terminated. Waiting for further orders to persecute the other ships. It manoeuvred towards a more favourable firing position against the SAGA fleet, exposing a large part of its side - just in case it needed to fire more missiles. Yet, there were no orders for a few moments. The crew of the *Koderi* was calm and simply awaited what to do. Evacuations abandoning the ship were not what they had in plan, but it favoured the UDS in this case.
The tachyon arrows had been noticed on the sensors aboard both the *Koderi* and Maresit Station. Frantic calls to move positions were too late because only a few seconds after the orders were received and validated, the first arrows hit their target. Piercing through the hull with some difficulty, the lights and engines of the *Koderi* flickered on and off for a few moments after the first hit. Then came the second, and then the third, and the fourth. Around half of the entire salvo of thirty hit their target, piercing and crippling the heavy cruiser after many minutes of torture. Once the smoke cleared, the damage was visible from the distance. Entire sections had been blown out - usually, consequences of storage explosions, while others had pierced deep into the Heavy Cruiser, blowing away armour plating to leave a ‘soft underbelly exposed. Evacuation protocols were undertaken within minutes, the escape pods manoeuvring, with some difficulty, to friendly ships on the station. The casualties had been made even, one-one for both.
__**Maresit Station CIC - CONA Fleet**__
Meridema hesitated for a moment or two with opening full fire, like how the UDS and his Kel’Thulian allies did. The Union as a separate nation had the largest fleet, numbering around thirty on its own, and together with the Kel’Thulian fleet, they held a slight numerical superiority over the SAGA scum which was invading. If they fired right now, it could mean that later on they could face troubles with the munitions available - mainly missiles. The gold of the stellar seas, even with the massive reserves on a Furrelian ship, like the Liquidator class - built purely around the idea that major firepower consists of large-scale disruptors and swarms of missiles - the stocks could run dry after only one or two large engagements. Replenishment would be difficult, and with the Station itself having no functioning Missile, hell, normal weapon systems functioning, it was difficult for it to help the ships in need. Firing the tachyon lances of the largest ships in response to the UDSs own tachyon weapons was tempting, but a large risk. He pondered for a few minutes, watching the Kel’Thulians firing in the background of the large screen plastered in the CIC. Meridema moved to observe the current map. The main targets of interest for him were the UDS flagships. Kicking those out would cause major morale damage - and he knew that. He remained silent for a few more moments, before speaking up.
“*Order firing group C to focus on the UDS’s Battleship, and carriers after that. Do not use stealth missiles, we can’t have them figuring those out yet. Use disruptors and disruptors only. I will have your head if I hear any missiles being launched, or Tachyons being used!*”
The lead ship of firing group C was a carrier. Despite its original purpose being of carrying fighters and drones, it had a second one it was maybe known more for, massive long-distance disruptor cannons. The Liquidator class had an impressive hold, but the Decimator class was perhaps even more impressive, especially knowing that it was originally not built to carry guns that size. A section of eight ships, including one carrier and one heavy cruiser, once more of the Liquidator class, as well as a few Defacer class destroyers and a duo of frigates, moved to take up firing positions. The acid-green disruptors opened their fire, targeting the *Nightingale*. The deep-green bolts rushed towards the Battleship, and all the while the salvo continued for another few minutes. Knowing that they were in firing range now, the active defence system, plasma syphons, were engaged in case a retaliatory strike would happen.
The initial reports that came into the bridge were positive. The missiles had been successfully intercepted. Now all they had to do was wait for the report on the enemy ship and see how much damage they did before they can gauge how much fire they needed to dedicate to it. Any joy Monroe felt quickly disappeared as the line from the Fire in the Night was cut. And then the report of the ship’s demise began to filter in. “I thought we intercepted those missiles,” Monroe frowned as he read over the report an aide had presented him. “We did sir,” the aide replied, “but something else must have gotten to them. We detected no other fire from the enemy but they seem to have gotten to them somehow.” “Could it have been something internal? I heard those Furrelians use antimatter reactors so maybe they made a critical error or something,” an officer added, “we have to remember that they are not connected to any more of their holdouts anymore so it’s likely they were not able to provide proper maintenance.” “Regardless we must study this more,” Monroe concluded and snapped orders, “have our scanners work overtime and anaylyse the data- we must find out what happened. If it’s internal then there’s nothing to worry about. But if it’s an enemy attack then it will likely change the course of this entire battle. If possible, contact with the remaining republic ships and get whatever information they can. And speaking of our allies.”
He turned to look at a comms officer, “Mister Xander, I need you to send a message to the Furrelians and Imaginese. Tell them that unless Commander Ederio returns to take command, then I will lead this side of the operations or at least, the republic ships present here. General Bullis can do whatever he wants if he refuses to cooperate.” Even when he received news that their attack had successfully disabled the heavy cruiser, he did not take any joy in it for now his ship was taking fire. Reports all across the bridge began to fly in though they managed to maintain a semblance of order that was quickly being put to the test. Their hardlight shields managed to withstand the first few volleys but after that, their projectors were all burnt out and the ship was now a sitting duck and taking more and more ships, its superstructure slowly melting from the amount of fire it was taking. “Sir, we’re taking in too much damage. Several of our weapon systems have been destroyed. We won’t be able to use them for this battle- anymore and I don’t think this ship can be suited for combat,” an officer reported, wiping the sweat off her brow before she returned to her post. The fact that they didn’t specify which weapons were down could only mean she meant most of them. Another soon approached shortly after and his news was just as severe, “sir, we can’t launch any of our fighters in this heat. Unless we can divert enemy fire, the Nightingale cannot do much anymore.” Monroe scowled. So they were gunning for flagships then. That meant they were trying to rob coordination. But at the same time, he saw an opportunity. The Furrelians have made an error in focusing all their fire on his ship and left the others intact. This meant that they could easily return fire on them. If that meant the Nightingale had to act like a damage sponge then so be it.
“Prepare the escape shuttles for emergency evacuation should the worse come,” Monroe ordered, “inform our ships and our allies that if my ship goes down, then Commander Franz is to lead the rest of the fleet unless I return to lead. Until then, divert all power from weapons and engines to whatever hardlight projectors we have left. We must withstand as much fire as we can and draw their attention way from the rest of the fleet.” “Sir, yes, sir!” The cry rang out across the ship and he felt a swell of pride. As long as they kept their calm then they will be able to safely evacuate the ship. But he could tell nerves were fraying. Still, not all was lost, but if worse came to worse, then an escape shuttle was not too far away. “In the meantime,” Monroe spoke and looked over an image of all the enemy ships, “designate the attacking ships as targets F1 to 8, from their heaviest class to lightest. Prioritise ships in ascending order by whatever means necessary and have our first line move in to intercept and destroy. They may fire their arrows at will. The third line may continue to the station. As for our line, send away the SSV Borodino to assist the first line in combat.”
[=][=]
The first line of the UDS fleet focused attention on the eight Furrelian ships that had opened fire on their flagship. They consisted of three frigates, two destroyers, and two battlecruisers, while the cruiser Borodino stayed behind as the rest of the cruisers advanced alongside the third line towards the objective. Eight versus eight. An even match. The twin battlecruisers, Lear and Macbeth were the first of the group to open fire. They were uniquely designed to be able to use their arrows more effectively than other classes and were immediately able to retaliate. Twenty arrows were fired at once, all of them focusing on the Decimator-class carrier. At this range, there was no doubt that their damage may have increased from the initial volley fired before at the heavy cruiser. Meanwhile, the Borodino decided to go toe to toe with the Liquidator-class heavy cruiser. It fired all three of its tachyon arrows at it, before quickly switching to secondary weapons- that being its plasma cannons. Blindign bolts of blue-white plasa contrasted the Furrelian green ones as it aimed to hammer the heavy cruisr into oblivion. And the three frigates and two destroyers found themselves going up outnumbered against the remaining destroyers and frigates. From the destroyers, they fired their Ion Cannons that released high-energy particles accelerated by magnetic fields that exploded upon contact. Meanwhile, the frigates fired powerful gauss cannon slugs at their equals. All in all, this battle was slowly turning into a brawl. But hopefully, this plan of keeping the enemy busy would allow for greater progress on the objective.
“Let me get this clear in my head.” Builis said, with anger in his voice. “We’ve been sent here, BY Military Command, who are now telling us that if we engage with 50% of the enemy forces, we run the risk of breaking some…protocol?!” He was addressing a Junior Officer who had the unfortunate job of informing the General of the recent communique that had reached the fleet, following the General’s planning discussions with the rest of the SAGA alliance in the sector. “Yes, Comrade General. Command make it quite clear that we are to avoid confrontation directly with the Furrelian Union, due to both parties being signatories on the TIERZ agreement of 79 AME.” “This is bollocks, Dmitri. BOLLOCKS! How can they expect us to operate within such parameters? The bureaucracy will strangle us to death in our sleep, I tell you!” Builis flamboyantly threw his arms into the air, in a huff. Rage, embarrassment, all consumed him in an instant, and he ran his fingers into his eyes and across his face in angry despair. An alarm rang out. “WHAT NOW?” Builis exclaimed. A voice from the operating desk replied, quickly. “Missiles inbound on the main alliance force, OUR ships the primary targets. Kel’thulian ships the originators!”
----------------
The missiles raked across the decks of the starboard side of the ISS Donerilsk, a “YAZ Sinykit” Class Carrier vessel, causing the ship to rock and shake as the LAIK gravitational Shields stretched and buckled, and the structural integrity of the ship was challenge by the explosions. The missiles ravaged the ships launch bay doors, knocking out some of the entry and exit points for the large containment of fighters held within, but this did not stop the one-man fighter vessels from launching into the voids of space in retaliation. Bursting into life, the ships immediately met with the follow up fire from the Kels, railgun and a like, peppering the side of the Donerilsk once more, and hitting a handful of fighters as they emerged into the fight, destroying them instantly. The chaos of battle erupted within the small fleet, as internally crew dashed from pillar to post, organising and reorganising as they sought to fire back on the encroaching enemy. A shout of command echoed through the ships, an angry line of command. “RETURN FIRE ON THE KELS. RETURN FIRE ON THE KELS. DO NOT YET ENGAGE WITH FURRELIANS, REPEAT, DO NOT ENGAGE ANY SHIPS BARING THE FURRELIAN MARKING!” Confusing further carried forth the Imaginese retaliation, as the small fleet, following their commands, launched forth a counter strike to coincide with the dance of the fighters, as the Donerilsk opened up its Bramenyev Tachyon Cannons (2x), firing along the torpedo’s trajectory. It’s special cannons, along with those of the Tigrovaya Akula Class Destroyer that served alongside it in the smaller fleet leapt into action, following suit with an array of explosive munitions.
----------------
“This is all shit.” Builis complained, again. “FUCK! Right, fine.” He pulled himself together to concentrate, thinking as his fleet drifted the clockwise route, currently in peace. “RIGHT! I want you to open a channel directly to the Furrelian Union. Between the two of us, understand. If Command are going to throw this at us, we might as well try and make use of it.” The communications operative nodded, and tapped away on their desk, creating the proper settings to send a hopeful message directly to the Furrelian Union. After a few moments, he gave the general a small nod to suggest the line was operative. “This is General Borvo Builis of the Imaginese Liberation Army with a direct message for my counter part within the Furrelian Union’s operation. It seems we are both in somewhat of a diplomatic pickle. I would wish to discuss the terms of our involvements in this…fracas.”
Cargo Hold
"The atmospheric accomodations are greatly appreciated. Outside of that, There is nothing else required for them to function, thank you." The kel'thulian could see the disgust in the Furrelian's eyes, and couldnt blame him. Even to kel'thulians, avatars were... Ugly. Like the fishy version of what Uncanny Valley is to humans. They arent right, in any sense of the word. No matter. The fish waved his hand in thanks to the Furrelian, and stepped away, speaking through his holopad to the various avatars and their kel'thulian commanding officers. They began to march down into the cargo-hold with relaxed dis-precision, some of the units looking at one-another as their comms units gave silent conversation between pairs or even groups of the disembodied soldiers controling robots of metal and flesh. After some point, they made it to the end of the cargo bay and dispersed, following one another towards deck twelve.
Kel'thulian Fleet
The Return-fire from the Imaginese was expected, but nonetheless hard to protect from. Tachyon bolts sliced through one of the destroyers, ripping off guns and striking through the outer armour, venting the atmosphere of rooms as kel'thulian crew were thrust into the void of space, dying a painful and violent death. Quickly, these decks were sealed up, but the damage was done. Explosive munitions went off mid-void as point defense sliced through them, beams of blue plasma sparkling through the dark of space and crashing into munitions, while smaller guns shot off trails of plasma-bolts, twirling around through space. Nonetheless, another destroyer found itself throwing up plasma shields to protect from munitions, shrapnel from the close detonations striking through cameras and shearing off outer armour plating with ease. Following up, the strikecraft leaving from the carriers began to find targets in the distant Imaginese fighters, pushing their fusion drives hard to make contact faster. Despite this, the fighters and interceptors of either side will take some time to reach one another. The three destroyers pushed their bows around to face the capital ships of the Imaginese directly, continuing to softly move in the dead night to keep along their course, while white light coursed through their spines. And with a silent screech of radiation and energy, beams shot forth from the vessels; particle lances filled with dangerous neutral radiation, more than enough to burn or melt through flesh.
KNS Ehltizi Durek
"Damage Report!" called out the fleetmaster. "Fleetmaster, Ma'am! Two destroyers have taken significant damage, while damage to other vessels is negligible. Destroyer 'Ko'olti' has been pierced by tachyonic munitions, lost multiple weapons and an entire sub-deck has been vented, while Destroyer 'Avixia' has been battered by explosive munitions, outer hull plating damaged, a railgun's barrel missing, and various cameras offline. Orders?" "Keep the pressure up and Continue firing! Have the destroyers fired their particle lances?" "Yes, Ma'am!" "Good. Make sure fighters reach their marks, we cannot lose this!" "Aye, Fleetmaster."
__**Firing group C**__
With distance closing in, the casualties started rising. The Carrier was the biggest loss of this massive exchange of fire: Twenty tachyon arrows were no joke for the Furrelians. The first few arrows were intercepted by the plasma syphons or missed the moving carrier by a hair, but following that, the Furrelian carrier began its hammering. One strike, two-strike, three-strike, the number of strikes just began increasing further. Weapons stopped, and engines flicked. Before long, fourteen of the twenty arrows had hit their target, absolutely devastating the Decimator. The bridge’s megastructure, home of the ship’s command, had been blown out, the holes gaping deep into the hull. It all became too similar to the destruction of the *Mesot Koderi*. Holes had especially pierced the middle section with the fighters, destroying the hangars and making gaping holes where once fighters were stationed. However, two differences with the destruction of the *Mesot* became obvious: One, the Decimator was a much tougher class of ship. Its engines had for the most part, besides one hit, survived the attack and were still proposing the ship to the USDs’ lines, though with little control. Furthermore, hull sections which were just removed when the *Mesot* was hit had remained in place on their equivalent spots on the Decimator class. The second and most crucial part was that the UDS’s two battlecruisers only had only brought ruin to the megastructure holding the primary bridge: It had missed the more hidden second bridge. Despite the fact that the second bridge was more meant as a ‘carrier control’, it could easily be repurposed into substituting for the primary bridge. The carrier named the FDS *Ensik Gora*, was battered and most certainly needed to spend a good few months in drydock, but it absolutely was not yet crippled. The carrier had persevered through the firing which was supposed to end it.
And it made sure to make the UDS know.
The *Gora* was still armed with its massive disruptor cannons and more importantly its missiles, and most of those were still in a state where they were capable of being used. The ship played dead for a few minutes, during which it was sending fake SOS messages, encrypted, back to Maresit station, requesting permission to use its non-stealth missiles. Meridema, hearing this, was both relieved and gritting his teeth. Having the carrier launch its non-stealth missiles while being assumed dead in the water would most probably result in some kind of strategic advantage, but it would also betray the fact that it was infact not, and much more importantly it would go against his previous orders. Still, though, the possible advantage would be worth the spent missiles, and besides, the carrier was almost dead in the water regardless, so it did not matter. Orders were exchanged, and the *Gora* had permission once she was in close enough range of the UDS’s ships, which was soon. While waiting for the perfect opportunity, she was drifting, seemingly without control of the UDS’s lines.
The Furrelian firing group and the UDS line were now in close quarters, despite in galactic scale that still being thousands of kilometres. The Liquidator class Heavy Cruiser, almost identical to the second casualty of the fight, took the three arrows from the Borodino head-on. All three hit, but with the plasma syphoning engaged, they had become slightly weaker. All three of the arrows hit around the same area, tearing their way across the spine trenches of the ship, destroying some of the weapons installations above and below it. Yet, the Liquidator was no weak beast either, and with its new target found, it launched a very aggressive - if not just straight-up suicidal - manoeuvre against the UDS cruiser counterpart. Whatever disruptor cannons it had remaining were working overtime while firing against the *Borodino* and whatever other UDS ships it came across, all the while the Liquidator was soaking up plasma and had its armour plating slowly melting away, bulging the spinal trenches and making the limited radiators work overtime. While the two cruisers were brawling it out, the six remaining ships - four destroyers and two frigates - were following the Liquidator on its journey to the front. One of the destroyers tightly followed the Cruiser, firing at and helping defend the ship from the *Borodino*, while the other ships were freer in their moves, and had in fact engaged the other destroyers and frigates.
One of the destroyers took an Ion bolt straight to the face, resulting in the front of the Defacer being blown straight of the rest of the ship, and causing the remaining part to have a blackout during their supposed evacuation. The rest of the ships were luckier, being able to turn their own weapons at the UDS before being disabled. One of the other destroyers was able to intercept an Ion bolt with the syphon, burning out the syphoning system, all the while the third one focused its weapons systems at the two destroyers. Disruptors lighted up in their infamous green glows, heading straight to the two destroyers. The two Frightener class frigates meanwhile held more distance, waiting for a more equal time to fight. At least, until the Gauss slugs started making an impact. The first salvo succeeded in destroying parts of both frigates, especially the fronts were hit heavily, destroying the spinal disruptor on one of them. In response, the Furrelian frigates engaged their point-defence turrets and started firing at the incoming slugs, while the remaining spinal disruptor fired back at one of the UDSs frigates in response.
__**Maresit CIC**__
Meridema watched the situation unfold, the enemy ships were really closing in now, though. He was just minutes away from ordering renewed fire at the SAGA ships when Builis called in. He opened a live connection with the Imaginese flagship, listening to what Builis had to say. After a few seconds, which felt like minutes, of silence, he responded.
“*General Builis of the ILA, this is Todesi Meridema of the Furrelian Defence Service. I assume you’re talking about the TIERZ agreement of ‘79…*” he said, pondering what to say. It was unlikely Builis and his troops were just going to pack up, but he did not want them to fire and oppose the Furrelians, remembering the price of one million SIGEC. “*While I do not have any protests in the way your fleet is in the system, I would like to ask for you to not fire at any Furrelian Union ships, and we will extend the same to the Imaginese ships. I do not protest if you fire at the Kel’Thulian ships, but that’s all of the CONA targets remaining I assume… It’s a bit of a pickle, aye…*” Meridema himself was not sure what to do in light of the situation either. “*Please let us know if you have any further questions or requests, Meridema out, thank you for informing.*”
Builis grumbled, but ultimately agreed to the communique. “It is going to complicate this situation, but I agree. We are held to our word, even amongst these…troubling times. The agreement will hold. We cannot vouch for the SAGA forces not covered by the agreement, but no Imaginese vessel shall be responsible for damages to Furrelian Union ships. Builis, out.” He swilled in the chair that he laboriously buried himself into and sucked upon his teeth as he pondered. The situation was laughable. The diplomats and bureaucrats were to blame. He could not wait to get back to TIERZ and tell the Field Marshall of the activity. He would no doubt have strong words, or worse, for those who had given them this troubling situation. “Sir…” a quiet voice emerged from his right-hand side; it was the Junior Officer. “The main fleet is still engaged in combat, they are taking damage. Fighters have engaged. What should I tell them?” He paused, considering the question, before a brain wave hit him. “Ok…here is what we are going to do…”
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The Main Fleet
The battle raged between the main bulk of alliance ships, and the CONA grouping. Limited by the restrictions placed on them, they maintained their fire directly at the Kels, rather than Furrelians. As the vessels exchanged weaponry fire, the fighters from both danced and twirled in combat. The ships were beginning to feel the weight of the combat upon their hulls, as shields were tested to their limits and broken, damage irradiating into the corridors beneath. The vessels continued to move, pushing forward, towards the enemy. Then, it hit them. A silent beam of radiation, the Kel’s particle lance. Like the sharpest sword, it punctured away, tearing a hole right in the carrier’s side. Debris and sparks erupted into the cold of space, and the ship limped, slowly as it came to terms with the hit. It was moving, but the damage was crippling to the infrastructure, shortening the vessels life span tremendously. Its capacities halved, its surrounding ships lept to its aid, returning a volley of fire at the Kel’thulians in anger. The orders rippled through the fleet, direct from Builis. They were confusing. “I want all fighters to engage the Kel’thulian vessels, but I want them to use Furrelian Union ships as cover. I want the naval fleet, as it moves towards the station, to ensure that you are within touching distance of Union ships. DO NOT engage the Furrelians, but make sure that any Kel’thulian attack must consider damage to its own allies!” Bewildered, the fleet moved forward, the fighters ahead of the rest, continuing their dance.
The other side of Maresit Station.
The smaller fleet, unaffected by the battle that raged elsewhere, continued its journey, clockwise, flanking around to Maresit Station. It travelled with speed, and as it moved closer to the space station, did not attempt to hide its positioning, instead opting for quickness as it rushed.
"STARS! Get me a Report, NOW!" "Getting it now, Fleetmaster!" The Labridae tapped away at his screen and sent relevant data to the Fleetmaster's PID. Despite that, he still talked "Fighters have engaged the Imaginese near the Furrelian firing line. We holed their carrier, but it's firing back and doing some damage to our vessels, direct hits on one of the frigates and a destroyer. It is confirmed that the Daisu are refusing to engage with the Imhnae." "....Stars. Keep up the pressure, I want that carrier wiped off the map as soon as possible." "Ma'am!" "Labridae?" "Imaginese fleet element spotted flanking around Maresit Station. Orders?" "Those Wretched Bastards. Have a battlecruiser turn its guns and give them damnation. Other than that, have the stationbound forces prepare for a fight; if those damned Dogs wont fight them in space, they wont be fighting the Imhnae on the ground either. We cannot rely on those slimy Daisu to help us here."
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The Combat
The Kel'thulian fightercraft swarmed and swirled through the air as plasmafire exchanged with missiles and bullets, bulbs of plasma-flares ejecting out in droves. A Dance of the Dead, so they could say; for we're all doomed, arent we? Through the main fleet, the Kelthulian craft were battered with Kinetics fire, the lances of thin plasma and the spurts of plasmatic shielding only able to destroy so many munitions, while guided munitions were barely fazed by gravitic shielding, only stopped by spears of plasma and magnetic fields jumbling targeting procedures. With a massive, yet silent BANG, a cluster of missiles sheared off the outer plating of a frigate, leaving it's left side dead, and the craft slumping through space on only half weapons and manouvering thrusters. A Destroyer's railgun battery was chopped in half by a massive projectile, leaving a thorn in it's side and now half-unarmed. Despite this, they still lashed back with their own spears and baubles of searing plasma, and shanks of hypervelocity railgun slugs, encased in that sticky burning substance. Through swathes of oncoming fighters and missiles, wide beams of ionized plasma swept and burned and cleansed metal down to its base elements, getting weaker at range. And at the rear of the formations, the battlecruisers- minus one- continued their long-range barrage of low-relativistic railgun slugging. With a slight change in course of a Furellian ship, and an early trigger-finger, a full barrage of slugs was directly en-route for a Furellian vessel.... The minus-one battlecruiser had turned it's prow slightly, allowing it to get a better eye on the forces behind them creeping onto the station. With a groan and the weeping of architecture, the guns unleashed another battery of fire directly towards the Imaginese flanking around, while fusion missiles dropped from firing ports, and began to intercept.
With the carrier seemingly disabled by the barrage the captains of the battlecruisers decided to progress with their mission instead. While they could theoretically stay behind to ensure its death, they needed to get to the station and protect the rest of their comrades. And so, both ships immediately fire up their thrusters and made their way to fly past the ruined carrier. The Lear was aiming to join the brawl and assist the rest of the ships in the battle against the smaller ships while the Macbeth aimed to join the rest of the fleet in getting to the station. However, before both left, a few guided nuclear missiles were fired at the crippled carrier to make sure there was nothing left to recover. Meanwhile, the Borodino continued its brawl with the enemy cruiser. Its cannons continued to breathe plasma into it even as the ship’s shield projectors sputter out from overwork. Despite this, the cruiser revealed a trick up its sleeve- the several fighter wings it was carrying. Even as the launchers for the craft were slowly coming under fire, they swarmed out like bees from a hive and began to surround the Liquidator, focusing on the fragile points exposed by the plasma but firing their payloads of nuclear missiles. The two destroyers were no pushovers. One of the destroyers was able to withstand the blow though its shields were officially put out of commission. The other, however, was not so lucky and when it was struck, it hit the belly of the ship and instantly obliterated the primary bridge alongside dozens of other crew. The ship could still fight but it would take a while before it could orient itself for combat. The other destroyer meanwhile focused fire on the other two it was faced off against, this time firing both its plasma cannons and the ion cannons as well.
The frigate was destroyed by the spinal cannon, the ship taking the hit face on and erupting into a brilliant flash of light that saw the lines of over five hundred sailors vanish. The remaining three frigates focused fire with lasers and their few plasma cannons, intent on brawling it out to buy the main force more time. And the main force, consisting of cruisers, carriers, and frigates, continued to speed towards the Station. All of the carrier-capable ships had long since released several wings of bombers and fighters in preparation for the eventual siege and battles to come.
__**Main Combat**__
One moment it was there, the next it was gone. The Furrelian destroyer which has changed its position to become more in line with the rest of the Furrelian fleet was the unfortunate victim of a friendly fire, one which had cost it its life. With the active defence systems not yet engaged - considering the distance of the main part of the UDS’ fleet, it had quickly become a victim of the full salvo of slugs. Too many to count impacted within a few seconds, followed by a few seconds of silence, before the inevitable golden glow. The anti-matter reactor of the destroyer had gone critical and exploded. There was no Furrelian destroyer remaining, only a husk of debris and dead souls. While most of it had been evaporated, a few segments of the debris had been shot out at incredible speeds in all directions. Some went back into the unsuspecting Furrelian fleet, impacting a corvette and Maresit station. The corvette stuttered with its energy for a few seconds, before signalling that it’d withdraw to the station due to damage. The station was not as lucky, a large piece of armour plating of the destroyer slicing its way into the twenty-third deck, near one of the docking sluices. Forcefields expelled the sharp piece of the classified azanium alloy, revealing the gaping hole left behind a force field keeping the atmosphere in.
A hole barely large enough for a landing pod.
A Free-Furrelian landing pod, in fact.
The *FFNS Free Torment*, a very heavily modified Union destroyer and in fact one of the Free Republic’s original ships had fallen silent after the *FFNS Fire in the Night* had been destroyed. The reason was simple, the *Fire in the Night* had been the only Free Furrelian ship which had equipment able to haul the UDS and Imaginarium - whereas the *Free Torment* had only been able to communicate with its fellow FFR ships. A few minutes after noticing the gaping hole left in Maresit station, it engaged. Terminal thrusters pushed the ship towards the station, manoeuvring past a few Union ships while doing so. With only a few thousand kilometres of distance, the first salvo of boarding pods was launched, one of them heading straight for the hole left by the destroyer, while another one went for the main long-range comms centre, and another rushing towards the main promenade.
By now, the Union had noticed the landing pods launched by the *Free Torment*, and one of the guarding ships had launched missiles to intercept the trio of craft. The first one missed, exploding its conventional warhead a few ten kilometres behind the pod. The second followed a similar path, but the third connected, evaporating the few hundred Free-Furrelian Marines in the craft which was heading straight for the promenade.
Yet, the Union was too late. The first two pods impacted the station at immense speeds. The one heading for the hole crashed through the forcefield, temporarily destabilising it. The door of the craft opened into a recently-depressurised section of the deck, with a few of the maintenance workers and security staff trying their hardest to not be sucked into the vacuum of space. If it was the wisest decision was up for debate. Magnetic boots locked the FFR’s marines, part of the 2nd ‘*Orca*’ battalion, to the floor, disruptors ready to fire. Shots quickly rang out from the Republic’s disruptors, hitting and terminating the security guard who had tried his damn best to stay in the station. Further shots hit the security cameras and the internal defence turret, disabling them. By now, the force field had properly failed, opening the way for further craft landing. The marines quickly unloaded logistical equipment from the pod, before allowing it to withdraw.
A few minutes passed before the Orca’s heard from the unit sent to the comms centre.
“*Section 1 secured, waiting for further reinforcements!*”
“*Copy that! Section 2 secured too, messaging UDS and Imaginarium landing coordinates.*”
“*Copy, good luck Residema!*”
__**Firing group C**__
The massive FDS *Ensik Gora*, the carrier which had been ‘disabled’ by the UDS stumbled past the two battlecruisers as a wreck. Yet, it was still active, though severely damaged. Once it had drifted far enough from the two battlecruisers, it re-engaged most of its systems, just in the nick of time, too. The radar almost instantly went into alarm mode about a series of missiles coming towards the carrier, automatically designating them as targets for the point-defence systems. Hot launches of the interceptor missiles were conducted, as the main point-defence guns were still warming up. The first missile connected with the leading nuclear missile, with the second following suit. The third and final one however failed to connect with the nuclear missile, letting it through. It impacted the lower engines at high-speed, disabling all of them in a single shot.
Now, it was time for the Carrier to respond. Targets were assigned for the Furrelian missiles, sneakily aiming from behind. The carrier was almost purely designed around two things: the fighters and the missiles, the latter were housed in eight large spinal batteries. Now, with the paths right open, it was ripe for retaliation. While much weaker than what it could usually offer, sensor jamming was engaged against both of the battlecruisers, while the first salvos of missiles left their batteries. These anti-matter missiles were not of the stealth variation, making them more vulnerable. Instead, they relied on sensor blocking from a ship, which the carrier provided to the best it still could. The salvos took off, around fifteen missiles for each battlecruiser, heavily depleting the stocks of the *Gora*.
While the *Gora* was facing off against the two battlecruisers, the fighters were making their challenge known to the Liquidator Class which had engaged the *Borodino*. The Liquidator’s point defence had been significantly weakened by all the combat, and in fact, was only taking minimal action against the UDS’ fighters. Instead, it focussed on its terminal goal, disabling the *Borodino*. As it entered nearly broadside conditions, its point-defence and syphoning systems were both disabled at non-critical spots to give all necessary power to the disruptor cannons, most of which were burning through their wiring while giving the *Borodino* hell. Even with all this aggression, there was still a defence against the fighters: the escorting destroyer of the Liquidator. Its point defence had not yet been disabled and was firing at whatever fighter came close enough, both missile and fighter. Even its disruptors had been engaged to protect the critically war-scarred heavy cruiser from the fighters buzzing around them. All the while, the destroyer was asking for permission from both the liquidator and Maresit command to fire some of its anti-matter missiles against the *Borodino*, to properly destroy it, even if it brought the risk of it taking out the Liquidator with it.
For the smaller ships further out, it was now a four-against-four. Two Furrelian frigates and destroyers against one UDS destroyer and 3 UDS frigates. At this point, with the close ranges involved, it did not matter what happened anymore, the combat would result, at least, in the drydocking of both task forces, yet the Furrelians made it their goal to disable the UDS first. The duo of Furrelian destroyers re-focussed their disruptor fire against the single remaining UDS destroyer, while the two frigates in the rear slowly made their way to the front, now acting as defensive ships, with syphoning systems put on their max to intercept hits, and to fire back at the three frigates in random ways.
__**Maresit CIC**__
“*What is going on?*” Meridema said in disbelief, watching multiple alerts show up on his terminal.
“*Reports of a Kel’Thulian ship hitting and destroying a destroyer, resulting in a gaping hole in the lower hull of the station, sir.*” an ensign responded, cycling towards the next alert.
“*Send repair crews and security, ASAP! Take up a message with both mister Builis and miss Yo’ta’ke, warn them not to fire while Furrelian ships are in the way, or they will respond with fire! Next alert?*”
“*Defacer destroyer with sensor track 7390, FDS *Esoper Kolipe* escorting a Liquidator assigned to firing group C is asking for permission to use some non-stealth missiles, saying the situation is critical.*”
“*Damn it, let them have it this once. Permission granted, disable the threat. Final alert?*”
The ensign once again cycled towards the final alert and hesitated for a few seconds with saying it. He mumbled it in his mouth, annoying Meridema.
“*Speak up, now! What is the final alert?*”
“*Sir… confirmed reports of landing parties at deck 23 and 32C.*”
And within those few seconds, Meridema saw his patience snap.
“Station has been hit. Reporting damage across several decks!” “Kel’thulian ships turning about to face the flanking fleet, General!” “Furrelian Destroyer downed! Friendly fire incident, Comrade General!!” “They are demanding we do not fire around FU ships sir. Warning that they will break their agreement with us if we do not oblige.” “Sir…sir, the Free Furrelians have provided us with landing coordinates for an attack on the station. Any landing would be extremely bloody, from our assessment.” The bridge of Builis’ ship was a scramble of messages, as ensigns and junior officers alike rushed from post to post, informing the general of the situation. He remained the only static piece on the board, remaining poised over the holographic battle display table, watching the updates of information, and pondering the next move. The whole situation was a wild mess. He hated it. The tangle of politics had made what should have been a straight forward, no compromising mission into a web of limitations. This was not the job he wanted, but was the hand he had been dealt. The next card played would be a vital one. “Order a stop on the flanking fleet. Have boarding parties prepared, but do not launch. Stay just on the edge of the Kel’thulian range. MAIN FLEET; respect these FU orders, but still allow your fighters to weave inbetween the CONA vessels. Play cat and mouse with the Kels on that front.” He turned to a junior officer. “Patch me once more through to the Furrelians.” He demanded with urgency. Within seconds, a line was opened once more, direct from Builis. He spoke with authority and concern, a tone unfamiliar to the crew on the bridge.
“This is General Builis. We respect the Furrelian Union’s desire to keep hostilities between our respective nations…civil…in these trying times. Unfortunately, our scans detect that your allies are not so inclined. You have lost ships to them, your space station is damaged, and they are show no signs of remorse. This is the type of indiscriminate warfare the Kel’thulians conduct.” He paused, before uttering the main point of the message. “Whilst our sides find ourselves on opposing sides in this conflict, that does not mean we have to become openly hostile. We recognise our status as a neutral third party during to the Furrelian/Jade Empire agreement, and wish to honour that further. Any battle over the space station and the prisoners taken will be bloody. Many will die, many of your own people by your own allies’ hands. My proposal is this; the Socialist Republics will withdraw from this affair and will continue to our agreement. In exchange, we request you transport the Furrelian rebel prisoners to our ships. We will hold them for the duration of the war under our judiciary. This option will save countless lives. I urge you to make this correct choice.”
Space Battle
There was one certainty about the UDS forces fighting the Furrelians in this battle- and that’s that winning was never their prime directive. That would be buying time for the main fleet to pursue their own objective of boarding the station. This thought rang throughout the heads of the captains for all these ships during this because if there was another certainty, then it would be that their chances of actually winning were growing slimmer as time passed. The Furrelian carrier trying to shoot down the nukes served one more role that they perhaps did not realise- it altered the two battlecruisers that it was still very much active and needed to be put down. The Macbeth was designated that role and it proceeded to direct its mighty tachyon arrows and ion cannons to destroy it. But when the carrier fired its antimatter missiles, that’s when the captain realised just how badly they’ve been got. Even as Captain Aydrickson sent a hurried warning to the sister ship Lear, he knew that he had to make a choice which was only made more prominent when sensor jammers began to disrupt their point defence targeting. The point defence lasers of the Macbeth aimed and fired at the antimatter missiles heading heading for the Lear even as its tachyon arrows released for what could be the last time at the carrier, all the while ignoring the missiles heading for itself. The results were that the Lear was able to more or less survive the attack as it shot down the missiles alongside the Macbeth’s assistance. However, the latter, in its attempt to save its sister, went down in an explosion of bright lights until all that remained of the battlecruiser were specks of debris and detritus. To this, the Lear responded by firing an entire volley of tachyon arrows at the carrier.
The Borodino was truly suffering. The Ascalon-class cruiser was never meant to be a frontline combatant against peers and the ugly side of the UDS focus on carriers and semi-carriers. Its lackluster armaments could simply not keep up with the firepower dished out by its Furrelian counterpart and as the battle drew on, more and more of his weapon systems were getting destroyed. But what it did have was good armour and defences- something that it clinged onto even as the former melted under the weight of fire. It began to focus entirely on releasing more drone fighters to continue to harass the Liquidator, before firing a score of nuclear missiles at it. If one thing was for sure, then this would simply delay the Furrelians and buy the carriers more time. Simply put, the Borodino was all but finished. [=][=] The sole remaining destroyer took fire like the poor man’s battleship it was. It fired the last few salvos from its gauss cannons before the ship took a hit that melted all the way through its reactor and saw the ship rendered into a lifeless husk. But the remaining ships were not idle. The frigates opened fire with their own gauss cannons and plasma cannons, the three of them using the lack of focus on them to attack the Furrelian destroyer. And then, their saviour came in the form of the other destroyer, which had finally oriented itself back into action. Its engines pushed the ship forward and it fired with its gravictic cannons- these were essentially discs of alloyed tungsten that were propelled by gravitic forces. While it lacked the firepower of a gauss cannon at long range, it had a faster rate of fire and excelled in closer distances.
CIC of the Alexandria
Commodore Franz knew that this battle was reaching its crescendo. Their brawlers were taking heavy hits and he didn’t know how long they could survive. But his force were finally within range of the station and aided by the FFR, they could finally begin boarding actions. “Any word from Commodore Monroe?” Franz asked an officer. “We’ve receive an encrypted data package from him. He’s ordered for us to board the station and get out,” the officer said, “his ship is still disabled but it should be able to move again soon. Depending on what happens, he’ll either jump out of the system or engage the enemy.” the words ‘to buy us more time’ was left unsaid. Franz scowled. Losing the Nightingale early on in the battle was a devastating blow to their forces. But at the same time, he was glad it was disabled if it meant Monroe could make it out of this battle alive. He had genuinely grown to like the man as a comrade and was not willing to see him die here. He had hoped that Monroe would have retreated but at the same time, he was not surprised that he would want to fight. That just meant he needed to finish the mission quick enough so that he didn’t need to. The commander turned to face the hologram of Brigadier Zacharias. He looked at him and nodded, “I’ve assembled my marines to begin the operation. They will approach by dropships under the cover of fighters. From there, they will assist our allies and secure the target before fighting their way out.” Franz nodded, “and the supersoldier will assist?” The Brigadier spoke, “she will. From what reports say, she’s probably one of the best psionics we have.” “Very well. I’ll have my ships secure the area. We’ll give you as much as time as you need to finish this.”
Carrier Space Battle
The main UDS force was finally at their objective. And they were quick to act. Hundreds of drone fighters and bombers were released from the two carriers and two cruisers. A few wings had joined their gunships that surrounded the ships in assisting for combat and protection, while other wings instead acted as an escort for the dozens of dropships that contained the UDS marines ready for the boarding action. And when those dropships finally reached the destination they began to fire upon any defences they could see alongside the escort fighters to clear the path. When they finally founded a docking pay, the first set of dropships made their way to deposit the armed and armoured marines of the UDS, with a majority of them instead choosing to land at the ones controlled by the FU with the simple reason of a prospect of divide and conquer. But a few of them chose to assist the FFR’s assault and one such dropship contained a special individual.
Boarding Operation
Evensong could hear them. She could everyone around her, really. The thoughts of the marines next to her, their cold calculations and plans of attack. She could hear the thoughts of the free republic troopers as they fought against their once comrades. She let out a breath and shielded her mind from them. She didn’t need such distractions- not when she’s about to enter a contested zone. The dropship she was on suddenly jolted as it landed and as one, the marines stood. She continued to sit. “Comrade Evensong,” a marine captain spoke to her, “we’ve landed. The assault as begun on the other docking bays. We need to act quick and find the targets.” She remained silent. Then she stood up and walked down the ramp of the dropship, entering the station. She scanned her surroundings, a soft blue glow emanating off her form, “find me a survior of the Union,” she spoke. Though her face was hidden under her helmet, her eyes were glowing, “I will search their minds for the location of our targets. Then we can focus our attacks there.”
A line was swiftly opened to the FU after the friendly-fire incident, the Fleetmaster cringing internally. The gunner would be court-martialed after the battle, but for now it was all hands on deck. This needed to be saved. "Meridema, this fight has devolved, and our plans have fallen apart. The one who fired that weapon prematurely will be court-martialled when it is appropriate, but i must request that if your vessels will not help us fight the Imaginese, that they move as far from the Imhnae as they possibly can to reduce accidentaly friendly fire possibilities to zero. Although, we do wish you would reconsider, as what is some money to winning a battle- no, winning a war. Stop collaborating with the enemy, and this fight will be much swifter than the meatgrinder of politics it is swiftly turning into. Kel'thul out." she disconnected the line and spoke to the Labridae. "Get our fleet away from the Furrelians and get a different angle on the imaginese. Have the fightercraft stop following that of imaginarium and keep closer to our own vessels. We cannot afford another incident. "Aye, ma'am." Station "What do you mean, the Furrelians wont be firing on the imaginese!? will they really just let them waltz through the station and take the prisoners!?" "Do what you need to do to keep the station safe, but the colonial scum have gotten too focused on money and politics to help us with the imaginese. Im sorry." "Ah, stars... Understood, ma'am." The kelthulian officer cut the comm, and grabbed a weapon. Across the station, where the imaginese and FFR were predicted to land- or had already landed- the Kelthulians had set up makeshift fortifications, mounted guns, blockades, and 'dug in', so to speak, to the twisting hallways of the station. They were prepared to fight, even if the Daisu bastards werent going to help them.
__**Maresit CIC**__
As much as the Ingenious Bridge, Maresit Station's CIC was becoming a jumble of messages and orders. Meridema had been relatively calm until the reports came in of landing parties in the lower decks, which had become his turning point. The Furrelian commodore took a few seconds of rest from all the alerts, and took a deep breath before finally responding to all the alerts filling the space.
"*Patch me through to Builis, priority one! Next is the Fleetmaster with prio two, then orders to the fleet and station, shared third prio! Do it!*" he shouted over the CIC, before taking a sip from his glass of water. The mess was nothing he wanted to do. He was an officer, not a politician. '*Why did politics have to ruin everything?*' he thought to himself, as a video channel opened up to the Imaginese, him getting a direct view of his Imaginese colleague.
"*General Builis, this is Commodore Meridema. This has proven to be disadvantageous for Imaginese-Furrelian relations, I'm sure you have noticed too. The Kel'Thulians have shown themselves to be less than considerate for... disregard that.*" He sighed. He at least had a basic level of respect for the Communist opposite to him "*However... Furrelian wartime law prohibits the transport of high-level prisoners during unsafe circumstances, and even if combat was to stop, these terrorist leaders do not deserve any remorse from either of us. As such, I'm afraid I will have to ask you to withdraw from combat against the Union and move out of the vicinity of Maresit station. Meridema out.*" and as quickly as the Furrelian appeared, he disappeared from the screen, preparing for the next announcement, one with the Kel'Thulians.
"*Fleetmaster, let it be known that the Union will not take any risks with the Imaginese! We are not cowards, we are not shying away from combat, and we are not collaborating! The battle can be won against the terrorist-UDS alliance, but only if you do not take any potshots in our direction! My fleet will remain in defensive stance around the station and UDS, we can not move those. Please report on all actions against the Imaginese and UDS which you take. Meridema out.*" This time the message was voice-only. Meridema was fuming at the incompetency of his only ally, and he was not going to move his fleet because the aliens couldn't aim.
"*Final message, send it to all units on the station and the fleet!*"
__**Maresit Station Lower Decks**__
Of the few landing docks, one had been re-taken by the FFR's Marines. The battalion of marines had quickly rushed into the pressurised sections of the Station, killing every Unionist they could find in an attempt to quickly spread out across and extract the high-level prisoners. In fact, the only ones who had even noticed the UDS' soldier's presence were the few Orca's who had stayed behind in the entry block. A few looks were exchanged, before a commanding officer, a young Furrelian man named Sedonema, walked forwards to his UDS Comrades.
"*Welcome to the Free Furrelian Republic!*" He said, laughing. "*Toilets are to the right, execution pits to the left.*" A few marines in the back had to laugh, before Sedonema became formal again. "*Commander Sedonema, we're glad you're here. Our goal is to extract the high levels from the lower decks, I'm not sure where exactly but some intelligence reports that a few of the prisoners are being held down in the former cleaning sections. Elevator will probably be locked down, so we'll have to take the stairs. Please let me know if you have a question, alright?*"
The UDS unit which had landed down with the FFR were the lucky one. Another landing dock, while not empty, was understaffed, only being home to a few internal turrets and a security guard detachment. The moment the UDS broke through the heavy airlock, a firefight almost instantly started as the first two automated turrets opened fire on all the individuals breaking through. For the other crew, they were more unfortunate but not in risk; the airlock door had been under repairs, and couldn't open. However, on the main promenade of the Station, a wave of security guards and soldiers made their way down towards the breaching points. The location had been shared and broadcasted around the entire station, it being very close to where the Kel'Thulian units had dug in.
__**Open Space**__
The carrier had exhausted its final breath. As the tachyon arrows made their hit, the already crippled carried broke and fell apart in a golden explosion. One moment, it was there, the next it was gone, together with its crew.
A few hundred kilometres away from the former carrier, a Liquidator class had gone in with its teeth against the *Borodino*. It was giving its everything, relying purely on a destroyer for its point defence and anti-fighter operations. Even if the Liquidator survived, it would still mean that it would have to spend months out of action in a yard in Pobbma, something which the crew was determined to achieve with at least one ship in the grave before them. The Ascalon and the Liquidators had proven to be strong rivals, with every move being matched by the other. As the Liquidator made another pass-by with the *Borodino*, the destroyer was too slow to intercept. A bright flash enveloped the lower hull of the heavy cruiser, the nuclear missile had made its hit and had blown out a great chunk, crippling a few of its lower disruptors. Still though, the Liquidator persisted, even under the drones and the missiles, and it was determined to keep on going.
Open Space
It soon became apparent that the Borodino would be destroyed. Its shield projectors had long since burnt out and its hull was melting. Another pass would see severe breaches in the hull- something that the Liquidator was doing. Explosions rocked the ship, blasting away weapon systems and pieces of the hull. A plasma blast melted right through the ship and exploded in the fighter control room, killing all of the pilots there. Within a second, every fighter the Borodino controlled shut down. Escape pods jettisoned out of the ship in desperate attempts to flee. Yet the captain of the ship and the bridge crew too loyal to leave stayed behind. It was not out of respect or tradition. It was all about practicality instead. For all of them were working their hardest to divert all power into one weapon that had escaped destruction. And as the life support shut down, the captain gave the order to fire a final tachyon arrow at the Liquidator. Then a disruptor beam lanced through the bridge and ended their lives. The Borodino was finished.
Maresit Station Lower Decks
A power-armoured trooper approached Commander Sedonema and raised a closed fist over his heart, the traditional salute of the UDS, “Major Hayes, 3rd Company. No questions yet. Only a request- we need someone from the Union alive. We have a potent psi-trooper here and if she can get her mind on someone then we can figure out where the officials are located specifically,” even as he spoke, the marines were already preparing to enter deeper into the station. Close combat weapons such as flamethrowers and scatterguns were held by a dedicated vanguard. Others instead carried miniature shield projectors and flashbangs- perfect to use in corridors. A platoon of psi-troopers was making their way to support both groups, planning to use their powers as defence and support. Evensong stepped forward to talk to the commander, her armour distinguished from the marine force due to it being nearly entirely made from synthetic muscle fibres with light plating. When she spoke, her voice was a near rasp from disuse, “I am the one he mentioned. Evensong of the Special Operations Squad. We need to move.” Indeed, the major had just received a transmission from one of the boarding companies, “damn. One of them has encountered heavy resistance and the other one found a locked door- its going to support the other and make a push. We should let them distract the enemy while we rush to the lower levels.” He wasn’t asking for approval. He was already directing his marines to enter the station, were bright flashes of plasma guns discharging were seen.
[=][=] In the other bay, the turrets soon came under fire from the dropships as they used powerful plasma weapons to attempt to destroy them and kill the guard detachment there. In the meantime, squads of marines hunkered down to weather the storm and approach, using shield projectors and psionic barriers to protect themselves. Others chose to stay within the dropships until the turrets were destroyed. Soon, more dropships began to appear- the ones from the failed boarding group. They too began to add fire and drop even more marines. The battle was beginning in earnest.
The Furrelians had firmly rejected the compromise Builis had thrown out, which whilst this angered the man, he had to admit, had been built on flimsy foundations. It did however present the Imaginese navy with the increasing problem of achieving their objects, whilst navigating battle field of interplanetary politics, and the literal battle field in the void of space. Builis tapped his temples in a swift rhythm, once again contemplating their next move. Truth being told, he was an army general suddenly conducted a space battle and wasn’t entirely comfortable with the prospect. Neither was he happy with the limitations placed upon his force. His past experiences had followed a far more conventional Imaginese battle strategy and were far more indiscriminate when it came to seizing a goal. Would the Furrelians keep to their words? Even if they refused to exchange the prisoners, how long would it be before they found a nefarious means of striking back at the Imaginese? What was certain was that the Republican Fleet could not withdraw, not now. “Right!” he exclaimed, garnering the attention of everyone on the board. “Comrades, we find ourselves in a predicament. Politics has changed how we must conduct our operation. Currently, we have no good reason to engage the Furrelians, as much as that would solve our problems. Our ships around Maresit A must hold their position until further notice.” He pointed towards the holographic battle map that dominated the centre of the room. “That means that for now, we must support the main effort here, towards Maresit 1. The FU has given US the ultimatum of withdrawing from the vicinity, or risk being fired upon. As much as that would clear things up, and allow us to conduct an operation more on our terms, we must for the time being, maintain support of the UDS fleet, albeit not within the direct vicinity of the space station.”
“So, here this, all ships. Target the Kel’thulian vessels. Aim for engines, primarily. Stop them dead. Relay this to UDS ships in the area. No hold barred. Fire with everything we have. Let us double team the Kels and attempt to utilise this political situation. Get in and amongst the Kel’thulians. Get the fighters racing between the ships. Make it impossible for the FU to aid the fight without risking a direct hit to us. We will maintain our promise, and not fight by the station, but will provide support to our allies. Gods, the sooner they aim for us the better.” ---- The order was relayed, the secondary fleet holding its position, whilst the fighters, cruisers and all of the Imaginese Main Fleet began to engage in a vicious bombardment of any and all Kel’thulian vessels within the sector. Spacial Cannons, laser weapons, missiles et al all erupted in a chorus to join the fray. Fighters continued to dance, taking to dog fights, and support of the bombardment. All aiming to disrupt the Kel’thulian engines.
"Stars bedamned idiots.." Yo'Ta'Ke said under her breath. "Labridae, status rep?" "Fleet is regrouping, fighters are pulling back. Looks like the Imaginese are focusing us down." "Have our guns try and take out the Imhnae's largest vessels. Dump them full of radiation, lead, or plasma for all I could care- all of it. I want them dead." "A-Aye, ma'am." -- The Kel'thulian fleet began to shift- its vessels moving from its previous lines to more of a tight formation, clumping together to get the best anti-fighter coverage, while their own strike-craft began to swarm in and around their fleet, intercepting incoming munitions and Imaginese fightercraft- and bombers. The kel'thulians fired off another large salvo of munitions- missiles, plasma-sheathed railguns, and even a wave of particle-lances; some tachyonic, others the irradiative neutron beams. This salvo was focused mostly towards the carriers and cruisers of the Imaginese fleet- the largest in their formations. -- On the station, the Kel'thulian soldiers and Avatars finished up digging into their positions- without the support of the furrelians, this fight would be harsh and bloody, but the objective must be completed. Avatars were disposable- although the same did not apply to the officers, who made sure to stay in safe positions
__**Maresit Station CIC**__
Meridema sighed at the chaos which had taken hold of his operation. An easy execution of the protection of the station and as such system had become impossible, all thanks to politics. Furrelian politics and its infinite backstabbing of allies and foes alike. He looked at the holographic depiction of his station and the situation expanding all over it. The commodore was disappointed, yet not stressed. He looked at his possibilities and, in his mind, looked at the list of tasks he had. Defending the Union was his most important one, followed by the execution of the high-ranking prisoners. The lower prisoners weren’t as much of his concern, though they still had to be dispatched off in one way or another. Finally, he somehow had to keep peace with the Imaginese. The UDS, or what it thought about the Union, he cared not for, but a million SIGEC in honour of a treaty was something he could not afford with his already massive salary. A harmful situation, really. While he was thinking about his plans, a small explosion rang and shook the back of the CIC, possibly a short circuit. Meridema looked at the wall socket that had exploded. It was lonely in the wall, next to kilometres of electrical wiring and meters of hull. But what had interested him most was something next to it - the air vent.
Suddenly, an idea passed through his mind for the High-ranking Prisoners. If they had to be rid of it, why not do it the easiest way?
“*Station control! Modify the following for the lower decks with occupied cells: Depressurise them!*” Meridema shouted over the CIC at a young ensign. Even though it was combat and he had been trained in all kinds of situations, the ensign hesitated for a split second. In one way, he was murdering his own people. But it was not something the young Furrelian kept to for long. He squinted his eyes as he pressed the button allowing the modification of the atmosphere, and as he swiped his permission card through the sensor, the stats depicted on the screen all slowly fell to 0%.
__**Lower Decks - near main cargo bay.**__
The atmospheric alarm rang out as one of the FFR’s marine detachments approached the main cargo bay. They had fought through the swarms of Union station security, and though the casualties, especially those wounded, were high, the fact that they were nearing one of their main targets did well for the morale. However, with the alarm’s loud blaring, a short announcement followed by an automated robotic voice.
“*Attention: Decks 1 through 4, sections A-C to be depressurised. Evacuate at once.*”
Now, for the UDS soldiers fighting all the way up at the twentieth deck, it was not too massive of a concern, though, for the Republican Marines, it meant one of their main goals had not been achieved. Within minutes, calls regarding what to do filled the communication lines of the Republic. Some thought messages, including one or two falsely sent to the UDS and Imaginese allies, called for a full-scale retreat, in the end, a compromise decision was achieved. The space battle, though still dense, had one glaring gap which was perfect for the FFR’s single freighter to glip past. The Union’s soldiers in the docking bay and freight hold had been moved to a higher deck in order to prevent the FFR from seizing the CIC of Maresit station, and as such the Republicans were able to walk into the freight hold to the cheering of the Prisoners held there.
Despite the freighter having been unable to dock properly and, most of all, secure, it was able to pull off a rushed operation for the multiple thousands of prisoners in the hold. A call for evacuation was sent out to the UDS’ marines, inviting them to the single freighter as it was struggling with the ever-increasing fire from all sides. Though the freighter was old and slow, it had one massive advantage: Heavy armour and empty bulk. Even though by now the Union had noticed the evacuation of the prisoners and marines, the response was slow and disorganised. A jangled mess of orders was sent to advance to the twentieth deck, but it was too late. The last, now freed, prisoner had boarded and as the final Republican marine set foot past the airlock, the ship set off. In a sheer feat of luck, it was able to dodge the fire coming from all sides and jumped out of the system.
Their goals had not been fully achieved, but at least twenty-three hundred prisoners could live to see their families another day.
__**Open Space**__
With the small freighter, the FFNFS *Trade through Light*, having been severely lucky with its evacuation and subsequent FTL jump, the only still achievable goal of the Free Republic had been gained. With the odds, though still undecided, not becoming worth the fight anymore, a signal was sent through the FFR’s fleet by the FFNS *Free Torment*. Because of its limited ability to communicate with either the Democratic States or Imaginarium, a signal had to be sent via-via. The *Free Torment* transmitted orders to the ships closest to the UDS’ and Imaginese leading ships, which in turn transmitted it to said ships on a low frequency.
“*Attention allied fleet and ships, this is the FFNS Free Torment speaking. We apologise for the lack of proper communications, but the Fire being taken out is too much to overcome on short notice.*” a voice message shot to the allied bridges. “*However, the situation is developing badly. Reports indicate that high-ranking prisoners have been executed during the battle, and as such we have decided to cut our losses. Regroup at TXO-309 - where we started - as soon as possible. Fire at whatever targets you want, but don’t take any losses ourselves. Torment out.*”
As if it was a spell, the order took effect. The furthest out FFR ships jumped first, though by now the defence of the Republic’s fleet was weakening massively. Most ships were fortunate, but a few smaller ones were caught by a Kel’Thulian missile or Furrelian disruptor bolt when preparing to jump. One by one, the FFR’s presence in a once solidly FFR system was decreased to floating FFR hulks.
For the Imaginese and UDS, the situation had not turned out much better. Still, though, they were more in state to fight than the FFR’s ships. One by one, both of the allies jumped out, while the once-organised fire became more sporadic. The Imaginese group going via Maresit A were able to leave unscathed, while in the main combat area, both the UDS and Imaginese took some minimal losses as they left. Still, though, the damage they were able to inflict on the defenders was massive as well. A few Union ships had their main cores blow up in the ever-eery golden fireball, whereas a single Kel’Thulian one was splat by an Imaginese missile. A final surprise was left behind by a UDS-aligned destroyer, which, before jumping out of the system, was able to get a direct hit on Maresit Station’s central spine. The explosion breached the hull of the station on multiple sections and caused the lights of the station to flicker for minutes. But in the end, the UDS destroyer was the last thing to leave Maresit Station.
The defence had won, though the losses were much more heavy than anticipated, the battle of Maresit had turned out to be a CONA Victory.
__**Days later**__
Though the battle had turned out to be a victory, commodore Meridema was not satisfied with it. The execution of the High-ranking prisoners had not gone according to procedure - or the wishes of the State. And the fact that so many ‘terrorists’ had been allowed to go free due to a lucky freighter was frightening the Furrelian man. Still, though, Maresit system was still the Union’s, even if filled with the hulks of once proud spaceships and the corpses of hundreds of soldiers.
On his desk laid piles of tablets for him to fill out. They ranged from forms he needed to fill in retarding the engagement, to two letters he had prepared. The Kel’Thulian reinforcements had left Maresit for the Nagke system in the Union proper to get the much-needed repairs at Furrelian anchorages. Meridema respected what the Kel’Thulians had done during the battle, but the fact that a Furrelian destroyer, and its crew, had been fully evaporated due to their carelessness was unacceptable. As such, he had one of his letters directed at Fleetmaster Yo’Ta’Ke, proclaiming that though her efforts in the battle had been admirable, she was no longer needed in Maresit and that she indirectly had the blood of a few hundred Furrelian crewmembers on her hands.
His second and last letter was directed at General Builis. Even though he was on the other side of the conflict and had attempted to seize Maresit, Meridema slightly respected the man’s decision to seize his operation in Maresit. Still though, most of the letter was not about that. Instead, Meridema was almost state-mandated to fill the letter to the brim with propaganda and personal attacks. But, using a few loopholes, he was able to leave most of it out of the letter, which instead simply said that the Union appreciated the fact that he seized the attack on Maresit in honour of the Ingen-Furrelian Agreement, but that it was close to costing Imaginarium a million SIGEC, which of course no one really wanted.
But, as Meridema turned his chair to the window of his office to catch a glimpse of the red dwarf, he sighed for a last time. This was not the engagement he had hoped for, but it was done. At least he knew one thing for sure now though, the Promotion he was hoping for was not coming closer to him.