Rise of the Remorhaz Society

[sachmo]

Well, I feel better. I actually started posting this story at another website (front office football actually) because the site has a very active dynasty section. I'm happy to find out that at least two people have decided to buy SEIV after reading my story. So now I can tell my wife that I'm making money by writing this story! Of course, it's money for someone else, but hey, she doesn't have to know!

[Ragnarok]

Originally posted by sachmo:
Well, I feel better. I actually started posting this story at another website (front office football actually) because the site has a very active dynasty section. I'm happy to find out that at least two people have decided to buy SEIV after reading my story. So now I can tell my wife that I'm making money by writing this story! Of course, it's money for someone else, but hey, she doesn't have to know!

haha that's great man... We'll be happy to have some more SEIV members. Keep up the good story.

[sachmo]

A New Front

2408.0

Ambassador Mulatti was not pleased with the look on the Chairman�s face. Even thru the vid phone, he could feel the exasperation.
�Explain the situation to me again, ambassador. How did this happen?�
The ambassador took a deep breath. �Mr. Chairman, we were met at the mouth of the Devonshire wormhole by two Ukra-Tal destroyers. They immediately ordered us to heave to, and they boarded us. It was a very crude show of force, but an effective one. We had no choice but to comply. A diplomat came on board with a squad of heavily armed soldiers. They demanded to see me immediately, which I did. The diplomat hardly looked at me as he tossed down what looked like an ancient scroll case. He then told me to take this message back to my superior, and to leave the Devonshire system at once. I tried to inquire about the diplomatic meeting we had arranged on Devonshire IV, but he cut me off with a wave of his tentacles. He told me that there would be no meeting, and that we could return from where we came, and to take our gifts with us.�
The Chairman looked into the vid screen, not quite believing what he was hearing.
�Ambassador, what the hell happened? Could we have misinterpreted the initial contact so badly?�
�Chairman, here is what I believe happened. When the Hawk first warped into the system, and broadcast the hails in galactic standard, the Ukra-Tal was friendly enough. It seems that the especially reserved Lieutenant Commander Douglass displayed the type of demeanor that they found pleasant. It appears that the Ukra-Tal are a race of scientists and merchants, and not prone to displaying emotion. Hence, they believed that this was the way of all of the Remorhaz people. So when they learned that we a much more emotional race, they were taken aback. Our xenologist Dr. Hartman believes that it may have been more than a shock to them, and that they may have actually felt betrayed by this revelation. He thinks that they may have believed that we tried to deceive them.�
The Chairman�s face seemed to sag. He was a professional politician, and knew how a bad start to a relationship could often ruin any chance of future harmony.
�That can�t be everything, though. There has to be something else, ambassador. Tell me everything.�
Ambassador Mulatti wiped his brow. He had tried to think of a delicate way to put this, but there was just no way around it. He would have to read the message to the Chairman in its entirety, and let him judge for himself.
�Chairman, I think you need to hear the message delivered by the ambassador.� He opened the scroll case, and unwrapped the message, and began to read. It read as follows:

From the Enlightened One, Imperator Weshra-Tal of the Ukra-Tal Collective,

Ourselves, the glorious race of the Ukra-Tal, were disturbed to learn of the war being raged by the Remorhaz Society against the Rage Collective and the Norak Continuum.
Ourselves have learned of the tragedies wrought by this war. What is most disturbing to ourselves is that in this war, yourselves of the Remorhaz Society have repeatedly and purposely destroyed colonies belonging to both the Norak and the Rage. Ourselves find this shocking, and cannot understand how a race as barbaric as yourselves could have survived even this long without destroying yourselves. This disregard for the innocent lives of other beings, whom it should be noted are different from yourselves, will make it impossible for the Ukra-Tal to ever have any type of relationship with the Remorhaz Society. Ourselves present this message as a warning�if yourselves attempt to enter any system populated by the Ukra-Tal, it will be considered an act of war against ourselves and will result in the swift and total destruction of yourselves. Further, if yourselves continue this barbaric behavior and destroy any more colonies of any race, ourselves cannot be held responsible for the result. This is something that ourselves will not stand for, and it will be the will of our people to cleanse the galaxy of such a barbaric people. May the Most Knowledgeable One take pity on your heathen souls.

The Chairman looked about as shocked as the ambassador thought he would. Best to let him collect his thoughts before I offer my opinions, the ambassador thought. The Chairman sat, obviously gathering his thoughts. Suddenly his face turned angry.
�How in the bloody hell did they find out about the war? Are they in contact with the Rage or the Norak?�
The ambassador shook his head. �Sir, we cannot be sure how they learned about it. Lieutenant Commander Douglass made mention of the war, but only in passing. He has assured me that at no point did he elaborate on any of the operational details. Our best guess is that they did some investigating of their own about the war and were passed some very biased information. For all we know, this could have been supplied to them be a third party.�
The Chairman looked absolutely defeated. �Ambassador, I need your honest assessment. Is there any hope of normal relations with the Ukra-Tal?�
�I think the best course of action right now, Sir, would be to back off and give them time to observe us. I think if we slowly put out diplomatic feelers and don�t do anything to alarm them, there is always hope. From the information they have given to us, they seem to be a peaceful race. They love to trade, and hopefully we will be able to exploit this in the future. Interracial trade would be a great boon to the economy.� Mulatti smiled.
The Chairman looked back at him. �Yes, it would ambassador. Now if only we could keep from getting into wars, we might get a chance to enjoy the benefits.� With that he ended the transmission.

Over Norak, the RSS Mongoose loaded up the Last of the Space Marines called up for the assault on Regotha II. Their strength was roughly 2600 Marines, and about 130 Blazer Assault Craft. The ships were loaded with supplies, and the fleet made for Regotha II.

RSS Peregrine warped into the Wanduk system. One planet appeared to be idea for colonization. Wanduk IV was a Medium rock planet with an oxygen atmosphere. Of interest was a reading coming from the surface of Wanduk II. The sensors showed what appeared to be a derelict spacecraft, but no other details were known. Their findings were reported back to Naval Headquarters, and Peregrine made for another wormhole, and another system.

2408.1

Grand Admiral Urian sent out the emergency action message to the fleet. This morning, the ground station on Timerron received a terse communication from Ukra-Tal space. The communication read as follows:
Although ourselves are not a violent species, you have left us no choice. Ourselves declare war on yourselves.
Urian was not really surprised that this happened, after all, the Ukra-Tal had made it pretty clear what they thought about the Remorhaz Society. Still, the news concerned him. He had hoped that once the Norak were out of the war, the Rage might reconsider continuing the war one-on-one. Now, the Remorhaz Society was right back where it had started. It was only a matter of a couple of months before the Norak were eliminated from the war, but Timerron was not very well protected. The Ukra-Tal fleet strength, Last time it had been seen, had been significant in the Devonshire system. If they came thru the wormhole, Hawk and a few defense satellites were all that stood in their way. The destroyer Virtue was a few months from the planet. Hopefully she would get there in time to make a difference.
There was good news on the research front. The scientists at the Research Guild had made a breakthrough in Applied Physics, and had the theories in place that would allow advanced sensors, shields, energy stream weapon, and energy pulse weapons to be designed. Hopefully, this would put the Remorhaz fleet on a bit more equal footing with the Rage fleet. Of course, right now the priority was the final design of the Urban Pacification Centers. If all went well, they would be able to be constructed on Regotha III after the Space Marines captured it, and they would begin attempting to integrate the Norak into the Society. If they captured it, he thought. The entire concept was still a theory. He hoped and prayed that everything worked the way it was supposed to.

Gamma Fleet took up orbit around Norak. Commodore Lu spent two weeks consulting with his officers and Navy Staff about their options for an offensive against the Rage. It was known that they possessed a substantial fleet strength in the Fezzran system, and possibly the asteroid-filled wasteland that was the Lundra system. The first objective was to recon in force both of these systems. First, Gamma Fleet move in force into the Lundra system, with RSS Loxias attached to deploy satellites. This would give them an eye in the system to observe possible Rage fleet movements. Meanwhile, a belt of defensive satellites would be laid on the Lapzooli side of the Lundra wormhole. It was hoped that Gamma Fleet could draw a Rage fleet into a trap this way, but so far no one felt that they could rely on the Rage to act in any certain way. Since the recon was the main objective, along with laying the spy satellites, it was a risk they were willing to take. Once the Marine Assault Fleet was finished in the Regotha system, the Artemis and Furious would remain in the system to protect the wormhole, and possibly conduct some assaults on the known Rage colony in the Lezzari system. This might succeed in drawing some of the Rage fleet strength away from the Fezzran system. Their next course decided, Gamma Fleet left Norak orbit in the third week of the month. They would reach the wormhole, and find out what the Rage had waiting for them, by the beginning of the next month.

To be continued...

[Atrocities]

BUMP

What did I say? After reading this, people would be compelled to buy SEIV. Your story brings out the best the game has to offer. The excitement of exploration, conquest, and general empire building.

I hope many more people read your story and buy SEIV.

[ July 07, 2002, 04:19: Message edited by: Atrocities ]

[sachmo]

Strength

2408.2

Captain Will Crowley watched the tactical screen as the Sensor Officer ran a scan of the Lundra system. Nothing but asteroid fields and the lonely blue star that held the system together. Commodore Gordon Lu was also present on the bridge of his former command, RSS Intimidator. He had expected to catch a glimpse of a Rage battle fleet. On all of the other occasions, when a Rage fleet would enter the Xillantha system from the wormhole in Fezzran, a supporting fleet would enter from Lundra also. Sure enough, Rear Admiral Sakazawa reported that a Rage fleet was detected in the Xillantha system. It had indeed warped in from Fezzran. Commodore Lu believed that he would spot a Rage fleet transiting Lundra, and that fleet would give chase as he took Gamma Fleet back thru the wormhole to Lapzooli and Norak. At the end of that chase Gamma Fleet would make a stand, supported by defense satellites protecting the lip of the Lapzooli-Lundra wormhole. Now that there was no Rage fleet detected in the system, he could not spring his trap. At least Loxias would be able to deploy the spy satellite in the system. Commodore Lu made a decision to wait for a few weeks, and see if a Rage fleet appeared. The problem was that the Rage never seemed to do anything the way he wanted them to.

Back on Hera, the research guild had completed a number of tasks. First, they had perfected the design of the Urban Pacification Centers. They now had the proper psychological tools that would be required to indoctrinate any Norakians captured into Remorhaz Society life. Already, the xenopsychologists were experimenting with effective way to deal with Rage worlds, and possibly Ukra-Tal worlds also. Two other discoveries were also made which would be of particular use to the military; the Anti-Proton beam and the Ionic Disperser. The Anti-Proton Beam was the first military energy weapon designed. This beam had a shorter range than the DUC, and over range it lost power. However, it required no physical ammunition to be supplied, and could be powered by radioactives.
The Ionic Disperser was a much more specialized weapon. It had a very short range, but the beam would attack the core of the engines on the ship it was fired at, attempting to overload and destroy them. This weapon would be especially useful against the Rage, with their advanced engine designs. These weapons would be fitted on the Glory B Class Destroyers. All ship designs were updated to use the anti-matter drives, and both the Nemesis D Class Frigates and the Eagle D Class System Patrol Ships were outfitted with the emergency propulsion boosters. The ships of the fleet would be upgraded at the earliest convenience, but on a rotating schedule to keep the fleets at the highest strength possible. Immediately, the research guild began work on shield technology.

2408.3

Grand Admiral Urian was impressed. The shields held thru the test flawlessly. It had taken two hits from the depleted uranium cannon before the shield generator had given out. While the protection was light, it could make the difference between a killing blow and a damaging one. He turned to his counterparts from the other service branches, Field Marshal Gulman and Commandant Hunter.
�Well, gents, that gadget is going to save a lot of lives.�
Commandant Hunter nodded and smiled, �I need to get my eggheads working on scaling that thing down. If I could shield the Blazers�yes Marcus, it would save a lot of lives. I wish we had discovered this Last year. I�m sure it would have been welcomed by my boys on the way to Regotha III.�
All three flag officers nodded in agreement.

On Timerron, construction began on a new Space Yard. The transit time for new ships built at either the Remorhaz or the Glory shipyards was just too great to allow for an effective defense of the Yukra system and the colony of Timerron. It would take five months to complete the facility and a small hoard of resources, but the flexibility it would add could not be easily measured.
The same principle held true for the Lapzooli system, and so Norak also began construction of a Space Yard facility.

2408.4

Once again, the Rage fleet that had invaded the Xillantha system floated around and looked menacing, but did no actual damage. The people of Fort Justice had been obligingly fearful, but frankly the whole thing began to take on a sort of macabre humor to them. The Fort Justice Broadcasting Company began running a weekly serial play called �Spare Parts�, in which the actors portrayed members of the oft seen Rage fleet. The premise was that the commander of the Rage fleet was actually malfunctioning, but since he didn�t want to be �recycled� by the Primary Sequencer, he tried everything to keep it a secret from his crew. The Rage commander kept the fleet in Remorhaz space to avoid being discovered by the Rage �quality control druids�. The writing was brilliant, and the show quickly became a hit. It was even exported to the other worlds of the Remorhaz Society, and �Spare Parts� kept the plight of Fort Justice on the minds of all citizens. Soon the name Fort Justice became synonymous with tenacity and strength.
The stress of living under constant threat of nuclear annihilation had given the residents of Fort Justice a different view of life, to say the least. Governor Kalashnikov had noted to the Chairman that while the people worked as hard as they could, once they were back in their homes, things tended to get a little wild. The alcohol imports of the colony were 35% greater per capita then any other colony in the Society. The sale of recreational items was also very high compared to the other worlds, while less than 2% of the population had any personal savings to speak of. However, the exported resources from mining were usually around 101%-108% of projections. Live for today was the motto of the citizens of Fort Justice. The rest of the Society began to look up to them. Soon the more adventurous (some would say stupid, also) of the Society began packing up and heading for Fort Justice. The strength of this world began to become a symbol for the fighting spirit of the Remorhaz people.

On Remorhaz, the RSS Midguard was the first ship to be upgraded with the anti-matter engines. The engines preformed flawlessly, as did the emergency propulsion packs. The engineering crew was a bit uncomfortable with the whole process in which the component devoured itself, but it did no damage and did indeed fulfill it�s purpose.

Glory launched the RSS Apollo a Nemesis D Class frigate. She was to join the Xillantha Defense Fleet. Upon her arrival, Glory would detach from the fleet and head back to Glory Ship Yard for an upgrade.

The Space Marine assault fleet would reach Regotha III by the beginning of the next month. The first planetary invasion in Remorhaz history was about to become a reality.

To be continued...

[sachmo]

Invasion

2408.5

In the Remorhaz system, a new domed mining colony was founded. Though not as efficient as a colony with an oxygen atmosphere, the short distance from the shipyards of Remorhaz more than made up for the cost of the new colony, which was named Vilnius. The colony immediately began building mining facilities, although it would have been best suited as a refining colony. However, the war effort required mostly minerals, and so that was the priority.

In Yukra, the RSS Virtue was able to join with Falcon and Peregrine and form the Yukra Defense Fleet. The Ukra-Tal sill had not made any movements into the system. If they could hold on for 3 more months, the space yard would be complete, and the fleet would grow in strength much quicker.

The Naval Design Bureau was excited to hear that in only a few short months, the Research Guild had been able to improve on the existing shield generator technology, doubling the strength while only increasing the size of the generator by 1/4th. The new shields were put into the Glory B Class Destroyer design. One missile tube was removed, but the extra shielding and a depleted uranium cannon were a fair enough trade-off.

In the Xillantha system, RSS Mercury arrived to join the Xillantha Defense Fleet, as all Rage fleets had vacated the system. Rear Admiral Sakazawa detached the frigate Manticore and the destroyer Honor and ordered them to Glory for refit. This refit was scheduled to take roughly 3 months to complete. Sakazawa hoped that the Rage decided not to press any attack while he was short of the two ship�s firepower.

In the Regotha system, the Marine Assault Fleet moved into orbit over Regotha III. Captain Jager brought all of the ship commanders from Zeta Fleet and the commanders from the Assault Fleet over the Nemesis for a strategy meeting. Also present was the senior Space Marine Officer present, Major General Steven Brooks. While he was the highest-ranking officer in the room, while the Space Marines were on board the transport, the senior naval officer was in command. That officer was Captain Gina Jager. Once everyone was seated, Gina began the briefing.
�Well folks, here we are. We are about to assist Major General Brooks in capturing the Last planet in the Norak Continuum.�
Laughter rippled around the table. Everyone seemed to be excited, which made Gina relax a bit.
�As all of you know, this is a first time operation. Everything up until now has been done with simulators and mock-ups. In 72 hours, the Space Marines are going to do this for real.�
Gina tapped some keys on her data unit, and a holographic image of Regotha III appeared. Multiple colored displays appeared on the image, marking potential targets, population centers, the drop zones, and other information.
�The Marines have brought along 135 Blazer Assault Craft, which represents an over-strength brigade. The entire force will be deployed in one combat drop. Zeta Fleet, along with Comet, is going to provide fire support for the Space Marines. The red triangles represent troop formations that we have already bombarded with missiles. The green circles�� Gina continued to brief the officers present.
The Navy was to remain in orbit, in direct contact with the commanders on the ground. They would provide instant fire support for any commander who called for it. Also, the ships could provide a picture of the battle that might not be readily available to the ground commanders. Major General Brooks be in overall command of the entire fleet and ground operations until the planet was secured. Brigadier General Henry Townsend would be the ranking officer on the ground. The brigade was actually under the command of Colonel Pedro Marquez, but Townsend was the division commander and wanted to be present for the actual combat drop.
�Ok, folks, that�s it for me. General Brooks?�
The General stoop up, and moved to the front of the room.
�Ladies and gentlemen, I have the utmost confidence in each and every one of you. We all know what we have to do, and we know how to do it. I firmly believe that we will be able to overcome any obstacle that stands in our way. Good luck and God bless.�
The Major General turned to leave. Everyone stood up and came to attention. When he left, the other officers left in small Groups, discussing various issues that had come up during the briefing. Gina watched as the room cleared. She noticed Captain Brennan, commander of RSS Artemis, watching her as he walked past. He nodded to her. Brennan had always given her the creeps. Even back when they had attended the academy together, he had always looked at her with that same cold stare. She knew he was a motivated and capable officer, as well as an excellent tactician. He was also incredibly arrogant. He always seemed to hold those who he deemed inferior in contempt. It made him come off to others as cold and unfriendly. She didn�t know him very well, but she did know that he seemed to view her as one of the �inferior�. Good, she thought. I hope it eats him up inside to have to take orders from me.
Another thought struck her. Would his feelings about her drive him to cause problems? So far, he hadn�t made any trouble for her, and in fact had been a model officer. Their days at the academy had shown her that Brennan could be a vengeful son of a gun, and she had been given command of RSS Eagle when by all rights it should have been his billet. Could he be holding a grudge against her still? Was it possible that he would do something intentional in the upcoming invasion to put her in a bad light, and take her down a notch? Was he capable of such a thing? The more she thought about it, the quicker she chased it from her mind. Brennan was a professional officer in the Remorhaz Navy. He was above letting his personal feelings get in the way of his duty. At least, she hoped he was.

Captain Brennan glanced at Captain Gina Jager as he walked past her on his way out of the briefing. He flashed her the most sincere smile that he could manage. So far, she had managed to not get all of them killed, a circumstance that made him eternally grateful. He was surprised by her performance in the operation so far, but he fully expected the pressure to get to her as the invasion progressed. Once things started to get hectic, everyone would see that she just wasn�t up to leading a fleet into battle.
It wasn�t that he so much wanted her to fail, as that would put people�s lives in danger. He just knew that she wasn�t a very effective leader. Not every officer was up to the task of commanding large-scale operations. He had watched her performance at the academy, and while she was not unintelligent, it wasn�t quite up to par with what he considered essential to becoming an effective officer. His greatest fear is that she would make a major mistake before he and Major General Brooks were able to avert it, and that mistake would be big enough to get a lot of Space Marines killed. He really did hope that nothing went wrong, but his gut feeling was that it would. When it did, he would be there to take her place as commander of the fleet.

PFC Jake Renton looked up toward the ceiling of the cavernous drop bay that made up the bulk of the Landing Ship RSS Mongoose. High above him, the bay was segmented by catwalks and platforms. Resting on each platform was the open troop ramp of a Blazer assault craft. Each Blazer was held in place by a series of electro-magnetic clamps. Once the Mongoose was in drop position over the planet, and her huge drop bay doors were opened, the clamps would release, and the Blazers would free fall into the upper atmosphere. Once free of the landing ship, gravity would take over. The Blazers would enter the atmosphere are the maximum possible angle, coming down at high speed to hit their drop zones in the minimum amount of time, while at the same time reducing the exposure time of the Blazers to enemy anti-aircraft fire. Just before landing, the retros of the landing sled would fire, and the Blazer would touch down. It would then detach from the sled and fire it�s own hover engines. From here, the Blazer would transport the Space Marines as close to their target as possible, until the troops were ready to assault, in which case they would disembark from the Blazer and attack on foot. The Blazer would follow along and provide fire support with its three depleted uranium cannons.
Renton had been thru one actual drop. When Mongoose had pulled into Nora to pick up the Last of their brigade, they loaded all of the troopers up into their Blazers and dropped them en masse upon the heads of the unsuspecting wildlife that inhabited Western Norak. The ride was like sitting in a runaway elevator as Renton had remembered it, but it was over pretty quick. Actually, now that he thought about it, it was more like sitting in a runaway elevator that was being smashed on the outside by thousands of hammers, and all the while someone was kicking you in the rear with a steel-toed boot. Yes, that was the sensation. Once they were on the ground, his training took over. They captured the mock objective, and their projected casualties were �only� 40%. Renton had hoped at the time that when they attempted a real combat drop that the experts were proved wrong about those casualty figures.
�Renton! Get your butt in gear!� The gravely voice of Sergeant Chuck Williams cried out. Williams was always mad about something. He was the guy who kept the platoon moving, though. He raced down the line, eyes locked on Renton. He was beside him in seconds.
�Renton, I was wondering if you noticed that we were deploying for a COMBAT DROP TODAY?�
Renton shouted, �Yes, Sergeant!�
�Then could you kindly get your thumb out of your butt and deploy to the Blazer? Am I asking too much, Private?�
Renton shouted again, �No, Sergeant!�
Sergeant Williams started to pull away from him. �Good. Thank you, Private First Class Renton. I guess I won�t have to kill you. The Noraks will still be able to do it for me! Move it, 4th Platoon! Get your butts into the Blazer! Move! Move! Move!�
The 20 marines of 4th Platoon, 1st Battalion filed into the Blazer and quickly took their seats. They secured their gear under their seats, and their rifles in the clamps beside their seats. Then they strapped themselves in for the drop. Sergeant Williams prowled the left side, and Platoon Sergeant Jefferson inspected the right. The sergeants inspected each Space Marine, and ensured that everyone was locked in correctly, and their equipment was stowed. A loose pack could turn into a missile during a high-g drop. After a few adjustments, everyone was deemed secure. Sergeant Williams stuck his head up into the crew compartment to inform the loadmaster that everyone was secure. Then Williams took his own seat, while the loadmaster double-checked everyone. Once he was satisfied, he headed back for the crew compartment.
Renton looked over at the Sub Lieutenant. His face was white as a sheet. He�s going to lose his lunch again, Renton mused. When someone's stomach empties in free-fall, it�s not pretty. During the Norak drop, Sub Lieutenant Mike Diamato had emptied his. Renton though that just having that experience would keep someone from doing it again. He imagined that his theory was about to be tested. He looked across the troop compartment, and watched the light display near the ceiling. It was still red, which meant that they weren�t ready to drop yet. Suddenly he could feel the Blazer shudder. He glanced at the light display again, which was now burning bright amber. The Blazers on the lower tiers were dropping.
Sergeant Williams shouted on Last time, �Remember to deploy in formation, troops. When that buzzer goes off, I want weapons in hand and your butts on that ramp. Got it?�
They responded in unison, �HOO RAH SERGEANT!�
The light turned green, and a muted clang was heard. Suddenly the world fell out from under them.

�Captain, all Blazers have been dropped. Mongoose is now beginning her climb out of orbit,� the sensor officer reported.
Gina didn�t look away from the tactical display floating in front of her captain�s chair.
�Weps, I want you ready to knock out anything you see. Pay particular attention to the mountain ranges. If we�re going to have trouble, it will come from there.�
�Aye, aye, Cap. I�ll hit whatever you tell me to.�
Gina�s mind whirled a mile a minute. She was trying to access threats from whichever quarter they may appear. Nothing so far, but the invasion had just begun.

PFC Renton opened his eyes. The entire drop was just almost a distant memory. He had just felt the sideways tug as the landing sled�s retro engines fired, braking the Blazer. In a few moments, they would be on the ground. He was half expecting to wind up scattered across the atmosphere, but that was not to be his fate today. Absently, he wondered how the other platoons were faring.
Suddenly there was a thud. That would be the sled touching down. The pilot of the Blazer was loose from the sled in moments. The hover engines of the Blazer began to whine, and the pilot moved her forward a bit. He then pivoted the Blazer on its axis, turning a full circle and scanning the horizon. No buzzer meant no enemy close by. After a few tense minutes of waiting, Sergeant Williams held up the ok sign for the sub lieutenant. That meant that the entire company had survived the drop. Then Renton remembered that the lieutenant had most likely been sick all over himself. He turned to look, and saw nothing. The sub lieutenant sat in his seat, attempting to get his headset back on. He looked a little beaten up, but he hadn�t lost his lunch. For some reason, Renton felt proud of the sub lieutenant. Enlisted men weren�t supposed to like officers, but maybe this one would turn out ok. He gave the sub lieutenant the thumbs up. The sub lieutenant, having gotten his headset back on, smiled warmly and gave Renton�s thumbs up right back.

On board Mongoose, Major General Brooks watched the battle unfold from his command center. The tensest moment had been during the actual drop, when the Blazers were sitting ducks falling thru the atmosphere. The Blazers had made it down in one piece, every single one of them. Since the planet only had one major landmass, the entire brigade moved from the three drop zones and converged 10 miles from the main city. Brigadier General Townsend ordered the entire brigade to assault the city. General Brooks watched closely, expecting troops to come swarming out of their hiding places to try and overwhelm the Space Marines. It never happened. The planet of Regotha III was taken without a shot being fired.

PFC Jake Renton was up before and standing by the ramp as soon as the buzzer went off. Sergeant Williams was the first in line, and shouting orders to the platoon.
�DO NOT fire unless you are fired upon. General Townsend has reported no resistance to our assault, and he doesn�t want any if he can help it. If you fire without provocation, you will be brought up on charges. Is that clear?�
As one, they replied, �HOO RA SARGEANT!�
Sergeant Williams turned around. �Ok, get ready��
The ramp opened with surprising speed. Renton was out and on the ground before he knew it, his rifle pointing ahead. It wasn�t until he had a moment to access the situation did he become surprised. Choking the streets, lying prostrate before them, were millions of Norakians. They were chanting something, but they did not move from their positions. One Norakian moved from out of the crowd, his three legs making his move with a curious gait. Renton aimed his rifle at the Norakians head, and tensed. Suddenly the Norak stopped and shouted in a strange, lilting voice, �We wish to no more fight. Norak surrenders! Norak surrenders!�
A cheer rippled thru the brigade. Regotha III was theirs, and the Norak were out of the war.

Grand Admiral Urian and Commandant Shawn Hunter entered the Chairman�s office. He was sitting on his balcony, drinking what looked to be dachenberry juice.
�Out here, gentlemen. Join me outside and help me to enjoy the day.� The Chairman was sitting at a table, his uneaten lunch sitting before him.
Hunter cleared his throat. �Sir, we have news from Regotha III. We have taken the planet, sir. There were no casualties on either side. It appears just before the Space Marines dropped, the High Priest had a vision from their goddess. She told them that it was their destiny to join with us in harmony, and that we would form one society that would rule the galaxy. Sir, the Norak no longer oppose us.�
Both men saw the Chairman�s face flush with color.
�Gentlemen, this is a great day. You can�t know how happy this makes me. Also, it makes me happy that we did not have to wipe out their entire race. Thank you both for this. Without you, this would never have happened.�
The two officers beamed with pride. The Chairman invited them to stay for lunch. He had suddenly regained his appetite.

The people were buoyed by the bloodless victory. While there was still a long way to go in this war, the victory over the Norak was a sign that they might be able to come thru this war intact. Chairman Sachmo had Regotha III renamed Providence, in honor of the bloodless end to the conflict with the Norak. The 1st Space Marine Brigade secured the planet until regular Army troops could be brought in to keep the peace. Also, construction was immediately begun on the first Urban Pacification Center. The Chairman was determined to bring the remaining Norakians into the Remorhaz Society.

Artemis, Hawk, Mongoose and Comet were docked at the newly captured Providence Space Yards, and a refit was begun. Comet was to be refitted as a Nemesis Class Frigate. If there were a need for it, another planetary attack ship would be built, but Chairman Sachmo wanted to avoid the destruction of colonies, and so wanted to avoid using them, and specifically planetary napalm, if at all possible. Nemesis and Furious were ordered to rendezvous with Gamma Fleet at Norak.

2408.6

This month was spent mainly in consolidating gains and redirecting forces. Once Gamma Fleet had most of it�s assets reattached, they would attempt to access the position of the Rage forces. Since the Rage had a rather large fleet patrolling the Lundra system, Gamma Fleet would have to be very careful not to get caught in a bad situation. Once again, it was hoped that a Rage fleet could be lured into the defensive system outside of the Lundra-Lapzooli wormhole, but that couldn�t be counted on.
In the Yukra system, once the shipyard was constructed on Timerron, more ships would be added to the Yukra Defense Fleet. Once sufficient asset strength was built up, offensive operations could be considered, but the General Staff decided that the Rage would have to be knocked out first. After gaining more intelligence on the Rage disposition, the main offensive would begin. The target would be the Fezzran system, and the liberation of Cirius. It was time to turn the tables on the Rage.

To be continued...

[ July 11, 2002, 15:35: Message edited by: sachmo ]

[Atrocities]

more please.

[dumbluck]

I wouldn't want you to think that Atrocities was your only fan

[sachmo]

Thanks for reading, guys. I'm glad you're enjoying it almost as much as I am.

[Ragnarok]

Dang, just finished reading the latest sotry. Great job.