Re: Newbie Galactic Combat II - Story Thread
Chapter 34
The purple ball of Kornephoras X was beautiful. It sky's full of clouds shown brightly against Kornephoras the blue sun. Of course Prince Dravel knew it was an illusion. What he was seeing as he looked as his screen was thousands of kilometers distant. It was only being shown brightly through the ships optics, and they creped across the endless gulf that separated interplanetary distances.
It had been 2 weeks since the fleet has had fought it way through the warp point. The wreckage of the system bases still sent out streams of radiation. That was undoubtedly part of the reason few survivors had been found, that's something that still burned in Dravels heart. Sure intellectually he had known he might have to fight fellow Dravens, but up until the moment his ships had actually fired he had never quite believed it.
Now he took a breath, the memories of that day, came flooding back to him in full detail. He could hear the ghosts of his fellow Dravens that had died, he knew that those ghosts would haunt him until the day he finally passed.
The only thing that had made it bearable was Sosha. For several days following the fight Dravel had all but locked himself in his cabin, only leaving long enough to do his duties, then he would retreat back into his own personal purgatory. Their he would question what he was really doing here, making war on his own people, after all they had elected Yalare, maybe it wasn't Yalare who was the tyrant, maybe it was Dravel himself, and just when he was about to give up. To maybe call this entire invasion off, Sosha had arrived.
Dravel didn't know what she had said, his own emotional turmoil was too much. But just by her being their it somehow was able to take away the pain... no, not take it away, but someone to share it with. To take the burdon that he had been carrying himself and spread it between the two of them.
He wept that night, for many hours, and Sosha wept for him, and somewhere in that time they had realized what they meant to each other. The next morning when they woke up they were still embraced in each other's arms, and it seemed as if an anvil had been lifted from Dravel's heart.
Now, finally he was no longer alone.
It wasn't long after, that the incoming ships of home fleet had been spotted. Dravel still dreaded having to fight against his fellow countrymen, but now at least he could find solace in what he was fighting for. As he looked up and saw Sosha their working hard at her console the reason was reaffirmed in her warm eyes. She noticed him looking at her, and blushed slightly, but her smile radiated within him long after she looked back to her work.
Dravel did the same. He stared at the plot showing the incoming ships, they outnumbered him at least 2 to 1, and unlike the base stations these ships would have Phased Polaron Beams. The next generation of shielding was suppose to be able to stop PPB attacks, but as of yet no one had managed to adapt it to an actual warship. In any conflict his shields would be worthless against home fleets landing city class dreadnaughts, of course they would be in the same pickle, but they had more ships than he. No, the only way to win a battle with home fleet was not to fight them at all, and that was exactly what Dravel was going to do.
"Sosha?"
Her head snapped up, and despite her trying to act professional, a small hint of smile still came through. "Yes my Prince... err, I mean, Admiral." She blushed at slip of tung.
Dravel, smiled at her slip up, it was innocent of course, and had some other junior officer made that mistake he would have undoubtedly given them a talking too they would not forget. But, this was Sosha, and right now he didn't give a damn about rules and regulations.
"I want you to open a communication with the flagship of Home Fleet. But, I don't want Yalare knowing, so you'll have to use sub light communications."
"Yes, sir, it'll take a few minutes to set that up."
"No problem Sosha, we still have time." And Dravel gave Sosha the broadest grin he could manage.
Chapter 35
"...Once again I reiterate my warning to home fleet. If you do not alter from your intercept course of us we will be forced to engage you. Yalare is not worth dieing for Admiral. I await your reply." With that the small hologram over the table vanished, and the room light came back up to normal.
Admiral Nakanorma, looked over his assembled officers, "That came in over slower than light communications in a directed beam 5 hours ago, we have positively Ided the speaker as Prince Dravel. Observations?"
Commander Harlow, was the first to speak. The commander had been a "special" appointment by the Yalare administration after the former commander vanished of course that wasn't long after his less than flattering comments about the government. Admiral Nokanorma tried not to think about that, it was just more proof that the republic had gotten more dangerous over the Last few years.
"I think the prince it attempting a coup just as the Prime Minister said before we departed. He knows he can't win, so he is hoping that we will go ahead and let him walk right up to Kornephoras X and take it over. It's desperation pure and simple."
Nokanorma thought about it for a moment, then nodded his head, "I got to fight in war games against the prince several times. When his back is against the wall he never tries desperation ploys. No he is up to something."
"Sir," said Harlow, "I think you are letting your personal relationship cloud your judgment." Harlow didn't even try to keep the venom out of his voice. Their was no love between the admiral and the commander, as far as Nokanorma was concerned the commander was idiotic political appointee, totally unqualified for the position he now held. His only trait for the job was his unending loyalty to Yalare himself.
"Commander," Nakanorma did his best to keep his voice even, "Whatever my personal feelings for the Prince, it is abundantly clear that he is breaking several Republic laws, and it is our job to stop him." Good Nokanorma thought to himself, let Harlow try to make an issue of that.
Harlow seemed taken back, he had hopped to edge the admiral into a confrontation that would let Harlow assume command of the fleet, but Nakanorma seemed a little more cunning than that. Oh well there was always next time.
"I was not trying to insinuate anything Admiral, and I apologize for any misunderstanding."
"None the less," Nakanorma went on ignoring the commanders stuttered explination, "we still only have one course of action, we will continue to intercept the Princes fleet. Once in range we will send out fighter strikes. The fighers will hammer their main battle line from long range, as well as suppress their own fighters. We will then move our capital ships into range and engage the enemy wit PPB's. Commander, I trust that you concur with this action?"
"Of course Admiral."
"In that case Gentlemen, lets get ready, we launch fighters in 10 hours."
Chapter 36
Lieutenant(j.g) Shanar watched the empty blackness of space only occasionally broken by stars before her fighter cockpit. Relatively she was going almost 10% the speed of light, but outside it looked as though she wasn't even moving. Also as she looked outside it appeared that she was lone, but that was just an illusion. Her instruments told the real tale, she was joined by over 215 IF-302 attack fighters. Each spaced several kilometer apart, its immense force glowed as individual icons in Shanar's helmet display. But as immense as the force she was now apart of was, it was nothing compared to the onslaught that was heading her way.
Dravel's force had brought several of the Alliances new Escort Carriers with him. Their relatively small fighter compliment was augmented by their ability to handle starship style weapons. Shanr really didn't care about that right now though, the force coming at her was from Home fleet, it had no need for starship style weapons on its carriers so it used full blown Super Carriers. Their immense bulk could hold almost 100 large IF-400's, home fleet 7 of these, and that was what was coming at her now. 600 fighters of variouse classes was heading right to the Princes fleet.
Shanar had no doubt most of those fighters were optimized for anti-shipping strikes, but their would be more than a few escorts mixed in amount them. It wasn't all doom gloom, as far as her sesors were able to tell, they were using exclusively large fighter designs. The IF-302 that Shanar now piloted was of a small figher design. In a one on one fight the smaller fighter would lose, but the her wing had no intention of making this a fair fight. They would close to max weapons range, fire their missles, and then turn around, using their faster speed to elude the enemies as long as possible. It wasn't a perfect solution, and undoubtedly they would lose some pilots, but at least they would weaken them down so that the prince's point defenses could finish the job.
"Ok, everyone" it was her commander over the wing com system, "pick your targets, remember fire and leave. We don't want any hero's here. Good hunting everyone, out."
Shanar picked her targets, and imagined a pilot like her was doing the same against her. It was horrible to think that she was shooting at her own people, but she had little choice. Slowly the clock counted down, and then began to beep. She was in range, "Computer" she said the small crafts cybernetic intelligence, "commence staggered firing on primary targets, on mark."
She took a breath, it seemed forever, and the silence of her cockpit surprised her the only sound was of her own life support systems. She exhailed slowly, letting the stress flow out of her, "Weapons release, Fire."
The craft shuddered slightly as a massive load of a 1,000 Kilo missiles detached. Barely a heartbeat later it ignited its own Contra Tarrene engine and sped off into the darkness at a staggering rate, the process was repeated over and over. In all she launched 6 missles at 3 targets.
Barely a heartbeat after her Last missle detached her blood ran cold. Her computer beeped its cold uncaring warning in her ear, "Inbound missiles. 12'oclock forward, Inbound Missle..."
Shanar pulled the craft into an almost 90 degree turn, even with the compensators on board 20g's got through. The only thing that even remotely allowed her to live was the sensors in her suit redirecting blood to the brain. But she still blacked out.
She didn't know how long, but it couldn't have been more than a second she woke again. The roar of the computer still screaming in her ear, "Inbound missle 3'oclock right, Inbound Missle..."
Shanar cursed under her breath, and lauched decoys out, at the same time bringing the F-302's engines to over 130%. The crew dogs would just have to ***** at her for burning the fuser out, they wouldn't get the chance if she never made it back.
She was still struggling with another turn when she was almost blinded by the brightest light she had ever saw as the first missiles from home fleet stuck home. Their antimatter warhead unleashing huge amounts for energy for just milliseconds, but it was enouph to rip though the small f-302's like so much toilet paper.
Shanar's fighter buckled against the shockwave's roaring everywhere around her, as she attempted to pilot her craft through what could only be explained as hell. Then just as suddenly as it started it was over.
Ever so slowly, she was able to take stock of the survivors, their were so terribly few. She didn't know if it was proper for her to give the order but she really didn't care, Home fleets fighters would be doing the same as her, and it wouldn't be long before a second volley came through "Everyone back to the ships, on the double, anyone who doesn't keep up will be left behind." That brought a few laughs. And Shanar whipped the f-302 around back towards the fleet. So few were going to be coming back today. Of the wings original 215 fighters, just over 100 came back to the carriers to reload, and rearm.
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