Rise of the Remorhaz Society

[sachmo]

Stick and move

2410.1

�Captain Brennan, I understand that the odds of your ships defeating the Rage fleet are not in our favor. Nevertheless, the Norak colonists here on Nova feel very strongly about fighting for their freedom. It was hard enough getting them to agree to evacuate 6 million colonists. They all wanted to stay and fight. As it stands now, you would probably have to force the remaining 1 million into the shuttles at gunpoint. They simply refuse to abandon the planet.� Governor Nina Leeks held up hands and shrugged.
Brennan ran his fingers thru his close-cropped hair. The fact remained that the Rage fleet was within a parsec of Nova. They still had enough time to evacuate all of the colonists from the planet. If Brennan�s fleet remained behind to cover their retreat, Mongoose stood an excellent chance of escaping and making for Providence. However, that would mean that Remorhaz ships would not be able to count on the support of the recently constructed weapons platforms on the surface of Nova. Without those platforms, the Remorhaz ships lost a significant amount of firepower. Still, when weighed against the lives of 1 million Remorhaz citizens, there was no choice.
�Governor, Major General Brooks can make them leave. Please don�t force us into anything� Brennan glanced at Brooks, who nodded imperceptivity.
�If they aren�t smart enough to save their own lives, Governor, then my men will do it for them. Haven�t those Norakians seen enough of this war? If the Rage ships push thru our fleet, the colonists will be sitting ducks. I can�t in good conscience leave this planet without them.�
Governor Leeks stood up.
�Gentlemen, you are both officers in the military. I understand that it is your sworn duty to protect the lives of Remorhaz citizens. However, there is something you are overlooking here. These Norakians have been given a whole new outlook on life in the Remorhaz Society. Never before have they enjoyed the amount of freedom that they have now. It stirs strong feelings in many of them, as you can see. They see this as a chance to pay us back for the gift we have given them. They see this as a chance to keep their families and people free from tyranny and harm. So you would force them to leave, because that is your duty. However, in doing so, you may be denying them their most basic rights. Also, if the Rage defeat you here, what is to stop them from catching Mongoose in space, destroying her and everyone on board? At least this way, they have a fighting chance. Please, let them stay.�
Brennan looked over at Major General Brooks again. Clearly, he was considering the governor�s words.
�Alright Governor, we will discuss this. Of course, we will have to clear any decision to let these people stay with Remorhaz. Neither of us can approve something like this on our own. I hope you understand,� Brennan said.
The Governor nodded. �Of course. Please contact me if I can help in any way. If you will excuse me, I have to help prepare for the defense of our planet.� She headed toward the door.
Brennan watched her leave. Once the door was shut, Major General Brooks let out a long breath.
�Good god, Brennan! If you had told me a year ago that I would be arguing with a Remorhaz citizen to protect Norakians, Norakian citizens of Remorhaz no less, I would have told you to go eat your hat!�
Brennan laughed. �Yes sir. It�s quite a turn of events.� He thought for a moment. �Governor Leeks makes some good points, doesn�t she?�
The general folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. �She does. You know, situations like this are usually celebrated as heroic acts. Why is it that I am so uneasy about it?�
�Because it�s suicide. Our chances of defeating that Rage fleet are pretty slim. We just don�t have the firepower. If we had another month, I would feel a lot better. As it is, it�s going to be a rough ride. I hope we make it out of this.�

In the end, the Chairman gave the 1 million colonists permission to stay on Nova if they wished. Major General Brooks still was not happy about it, but he remained silent. Mongoose detached herself from the Marine Assault Fleet and headed full speed for the Knoglam system. If the fleet survived, they would return. If not, they would make for Providence along with Comet and Liberation. Of course, that was if the Rage actually attacked. Once could never be sure what they were going to do.

The Research Guild was able to improve on the anti-matter torpedo design and extend both its range and payload. All future Ganymede Light Cruisers would be fitted with this advanced torpedo design. By the beginning of the next month, they planned to have completed research on a second-generation anti-proton beam.

Remorhaz launched RSS Cerci, an Icelus C Class fleet repair ship. She headed toward Xillantha to join the rest of the fleet. She would join them as soon as possible, but the timetable would not be held up to accommodate her joining before the assault on Fezzran. That assault should begin in the first week of the next month.
In an interesting turn of events, the Rage sent a transmission to Fort Justice. It read:

�Pathetic weaklings, flee from the Xillantha system.�

This presented the Navy with an interesting scenario. If the Rage attacked Xillantha in force, it might be worth it to first try and defeat the enemy fleet before assaulting Fezzran. Hopefully, if the Rage fleet was destroyed, that would mean that ships which were responsible for defending Fezzran would be lost, making the assault much safer. Rear Admiral Sakazawa was made aware of this situation, and he increased the alert status of the fleet. If the Rage came, they would jump them. The fleet in Lundra was also notified, so that they could intercept any reinforcing fleets coming from that direction.

In the Lapzooli system, the planet Harkness was colonized. This colony was to be a research colony.

The Texrak Hegemony proposed a research and trade alliance. Ambassador Mulatti quickly ordered his mission to accept the treaty. The Texrak were quickly becoming the Remorhaz Societies first stalwart allies. Time would tell if they would enter the war on their side or not, but at least they weren�t looking for a fight.

2410.2

The Remorhaz fleet at Nova barely escaped with their lives. The Rage ships moved in and glassed the planet, leaving the fleet to fight for their lives. Not one hit was scored on the Rage fleet as they were able to use their superior maneuverability as an advantage. Once the battle was over, the Remorhaz ships had nothing left to protect, and so immediately fell back toward Providence. Whether the Rage ships would follow or not remained to be seen.

The Research Guild completed work on the second generation of the anti-proton beam. The next project was aimed at discovering the secrets of astrophysics.

Glory launched the first Ganymede class light cruiser, RSS Ganymede. This ship headed for the Xillantha-Lundra wormhole, to join taskforce 9.5.
Correlia complete construction of its shipyard facility, and immediately began construction of two Nemesis class frigates.

2410.3

An Ukra-Tal fleet of 22 assorted ships appeared in the Wanduk system at the beginning of this month, and fell upon the colony at Cherek. Without mercy, the Ukra-Tal scorched the planet from low orbit. No Remorhaz citizen was left alive. The colonists on Ymoria saw that they were next, and a massive panic ensued. The Chairman tried to gain contact with the Ukra-Tal government for a possible discussion of terms of surrender of the planet, but there was no response. No one was in any position to send any aid. The factories on Ymoria began construction of space mines, which they hoped would discourage the Ukra-Tal fleet. It was a thin hope, indeed.

Remorhaz launched the first Ganymede B class light cruiser, the RSS Orion. She and the Midguard moved to take up stations to protect the core systems from an Ukra-Tal attack. There was nothing to stand in their way if the fleet in Wanduk decided to head for Remorhaz. Production was stepped up on minelayers also, to lay a huge defensive barrier of mines to attempt to slow the Ukra-Tal down, at least.

Rear Admiral Sakazawa was surprised when his fleet completed the jump into the Fezzran system. He had expected to surprise a Rage attack fleet gathered in system, but instead he found two unprotected planets.
The first, Fezzran VI, was a domed planet populated by about 6 million Rage. The entire 2nd Space Marine Brigade was dropped, and the planet was captured without much of a fight. The local garrison had been neutralized from space by the rest of the fleet. The planet was named Vengeance, and immediately as request was placed to have a colony ship constructed so that Cirius could be recolonized. The Remorhaz Society was determined to hold Fezzran this time around.

Ambassador Mulatti stared at the com unit in muted shock. He wasn�t quite sure why, but the mood of the Texrak Hegemony had quickly darkened over the Last few months. It was now to the point where the entire Remorhaz diplomatic mission was being expelled from Texrak space.
Once he was finished with the details of the embassy evacuation, he contacted the Chairman. Needless to say, he wasn�t happy.
�Damn it, Sangi! What more can we do? Could one of our enemies be doing this to us?� The Chairman�s face was as read as a dachenberry.
�It�s entirely possible, but without an intelligence network to speak of, we have no way of knowing, sir. I think that we should be ready for anything from the Texrak.�
�You can bet on that, mister. Thanks for calling me so soon, Sangi. I guess when it rains, it pours, huh?�
Sangi relaxed ever so slightly. �Yes sir. Let me know if you need anything from me, sir.�
The Chairman just grimaced and closed the connection. He sat back in his chair and took a stiff pull from his scotch. What more did it take to have normal relations with alien races? I wish I could figure out what is required to keep our neighbors happy, he thought.
Well, I�m glad I kept that task force in Lundra.
He placed a call to Grand Admiral Urian.
The admiral decided that they would redeploy the 1st Space Marine Brigade from Providence and have it join task force 9.5 in the Lundra system. Once they linked up, and when the inevitable war started with the Texrak Hegemony, the Space Marines would be able to sweep into Aldan with the rest of the fleet and hopefully knock them out of the war in one swift, punishing attack. He hoped that things stabilized before that, but past history showed that it probably would not.

2410.4

The Ukra-Tal fleet destroyed Ymoria.

RSS Falcon was lost when she warped into the Yukra system and ran into a minefield just outside of the wormhole.

In the Fezzran system, the Xillantha Defense fleet continued its attack against Rage colonies. This time, the target was Fezzran IV. 4 weapons platforms, and a belt of defense satellites protected the planet. It was also home to 105 million Rage colonists. Rear Admiral Sakazawa ordered the fleet to move into maximum firing range of the planet and destroy all defenses found. Once the defenses were neutralized, the 2nd Space Marine Brigade assaulted the planet. This time there was organized resistance, but it was crushed by the overwhelming might of the Space Marines. Brigadier General Richard McMasters, summed the combat up best in his after action report, �The Space Marines were in among the Rage lines before they knew the bombardment was over. To them it must have seemed as if they were receiving fire from their own rear area. Unfortunately for them, it was our boys.� Fezzran IV was renamed Scorpio.
The Fezzran system was now back in Remorhaz hands. Both newly captured worlds would be used as forward supply and repair bases. The fleet would immediately begin preparations to deny the Rage entry into Fezzran, but they would also attack any targets of opportunity that presented themselves. The offensive was not to stall under any circumstance.

The loss of the Wanduk system was quickly being felt throughout the Society. This month, projections called for a deficit of around 4300 mineral resources from construction. While the society had built up a considerable stock over the past few years, this was not the time to have to curtail production because of supply shortages. If pressure could be sustained, the Rage might be put on the defensive. A lack of supplies at this point in time could be disastrous.

To be continued......