StarDestroyer.Net BBS

So, in the main story thread I mentioned I had some ideas for "non-canon" side stories featuring other universes. With one particular scene in mind, I present the first part of the 13th Tribe/BattleTech crossover.

SLS McKenna,
New Vandenberg Orbit, Taurian Concordat
May 20th, 2767

Aleksandyr Kerensky, Commanding General of the Star League Defence Forces was in a foul mood. Just three days earlier word had finally reached his headquarters of the terrible events…the catastrophe that had befallen them. Stefan Amaris had launched a bloody, vicious and worst of all successful coup d’état against First Lord Richard Cameron. Terra had fallen, the Royal Black Watch slain to a man in a valiant but failed attempt to stop the madness. Nearly two dozen nuclear weapons detonated on or over SLDF bases on the homeworld, while other positions were subjected to carpet-bombing airstrikes or chemical attacks – even military hospitals had been obliterated, as the Usurper tried to crush any SLDF forces he could.

Then the man had the nerve to blame it on Kerensky, that his Rim Worlds forces were responding to a coup by the SLDF, spearheaded by the Black Watch themselves. The news, both official and unofficial, got worse and worse. The Rim Worlds Fleet held orbit, the Space Defence System, both ground batteries and the M-5 Caspar drones where under Amaris’ control. SLS Richelieu and Jean-Bart, barely completed, fighting their way out of the Titan Shipyards, sending warnings over their HPG systems as they went. The old museum ship Dreadnought likewise punching her way out of Lunar orbit and rounding up civilian JumpShips as best she could before fleeing.

And thanks to the slowness of the HPG network, news had only just reached New Vandenberg. Nearly six months had passed, six months for that bastard Amaris to root out resistance and fortify his position. Now, the Periphery Uprising that half the SLDF had been fighting for the last few years seemed so pointless. Both sides recognised it and the Taurian Protector had offered a cease-fire, one that the SLDF had gladly accepted while the troops privately grieved or raged.

Three days. Three days of silent, cold fury from the Commanding General as he, alone, began drawing up plans to take the initiative, to drive deep into the Hegemony and blast Stefan Amaris into his component atoms. The plans would never be workable of course – the SLDF was too scattered at the moment, any immediate assault would be piecemeal attacks that would be crushed in detail, and it would be many months before the massed ranks of the Army and Fleet would be in position for a decisive strike.

Even then, the Fleet would take murderous losses to the SDS, the army would have to fight across fortified territory and into the dozens of Castles Brian scattered over Terra. Even with every Mech regiment and every WarShip, he’d be lucky if half his total command survived unscathed. The alternative would be a decade-long campaign through all the worlds of the Terran Hegemony, bleeding his forces badly – and then they’d still have to fight past the SDS and the thrice-damned Caspar drones.

However, today the Commanding General found himself not at his HQ, but rather in orbit on the fleet flagship, summoned there by the ship’s Captain as something very strange was happening. He pulled himself through the hatch onto the mighty battleship’s bridge, the soothing effects of the zero-g environment a welcome relief to his old bones.

“Captain McNeil, what is so urgent that you called me up from the surface?” His tone was curt, almost biting. The Captain rotated her command chair and nodded at Kerensky, before pointing at the large red “Unknown” contact in the main holo-tank.

“That is what is so urgent Sir. It’s an unknown ship that jumped into the system an hour ago and the commander is asking to speak with whoever is in charge. It’s about the same size as a Lola-III destroyer but we can’t get any more detailed information from sensors, it’s as if they’re jamming us.”

Kerensky frowned, his immediate ire receded as he pondered the mystery ship. “Any guesses as to who they are? And what jump-point did they use?”

Captain McNeil grimaced. “I haven’t the foggiest who it is General. And they didn’t use a jump-point.”

Kerensky nodded slightly at the first part of her response before his brain froze at the second.

“Say that again?”

McNeil obliged. “They didn’t use a jump-point Sir. They appeared at a distance of 100,000 km from the planet and have been keeping station ever since. The ship has no discernable fusion drive, the jump signature was similar to, and yet distinct from a K/F drive signature, and optical sensors show no grav decks, fighter bays, cooling radiators or weapon mounts – though there are a dozen heavy turrets on the topside, I have no idea what they are. If it wasn’t for their request being in League-standard English I’d say this wasn’t a human ship.”

Kerensky blinked. He opened his mouth to decry the absurd possibility, then stopped and thought furiously. “Well” he began slowly, “it occurs to me that we don’t have anything more pressing to do at the moment, and they are well out of range of both us and the planet. Bring all ships to Condition Two, double the CAP, and get me an open channel to that ship.”

McNeil nodded and began issuing orders, while Kerensky secured himself in a spare command chair by the holo-tank and waited. Soon enough the communications officer told him the channel was live.

“This is Aleksandyr Kerensky, Commanding General of the Star League Defence Forces. Who are you and what are you doing in our space?” The message was short and blunt, but it said what it needed to. A moment passed and then a hologram flashed to life before him, of a tall, long-haired blond woman in an unfamiliar uniform – but definitely human, or near enough as to be indistinguishable.

”Commanding General Kerensky, my name is Commander Sarah Larson of the explorer TCS Endurance, assigned to the Alliance Combined Fleet Reconnaissance Squadron. I come bearing greetings from the Supreme Allied Commander, Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, and an offer of peace and opening diplomatic relations with the Star League and the nations thereof. We mean you no harm, and will make no aggressive actions unless fired upon.”

Kerensky looked at McNeil, a clear question of ”What on Earth is this?” on his face. He got no answer except a baffled shrug. He looked back at the hologram.

“Thank you Commander, but you have me at a loss. I’ve never heard of this Alliance, or your Supreme Commander. Where exactly are you from? Your ship is completely unknown to our records.”

Larson’s hologram smiled. ”I get that a lot General. The Alliance is formed of a number of governments spread across several universes and is dedicated to the common defence against foreign and alien threats. We have fought the Wraith, the Goa’uld, the Cylons, the Genii, the Covenant and more. In short, Commanding General, we stand against evil.”

Kerensky blinked again in shock. “Do you mean you’re from another universe Commander?”

Larson’s hologram laughed. “I am indeed General. I’m part of the recon force, checking out new universes for contact. With your permission, I will signal Admiral Jellicoe and ask him to join us for further discussions. His flagship is only one jump away and can be here in a few minutes.”

Kerensky could only nod. “Very well Commander, I will talk with this Admiral, but we have our own pressing concerns at the moment.”

Larson nodded. ”Yes, your coup led by Stefan Amaris. I am confident Admiral Jellicoe will have something to say about that. By your leave General, I will signal the Admiral now. Expect his arrival momentarily.”

The channel closed and Kerensky looked at McNeil. “What do you make of this Captain?”

The woman frowned deeply. “I don’t know sir. Other universes? Normally I’d scoff at the idea…but that ship out there is so far removed from anything I’m familiar with that I’m inclined to believe it. Why use such an unbelievable lie?”

Kerensky nodded. “Why indeed.” He would have said more but a new signal appeared on the holo-tank, a massive new contact. The tactical officer stared at his console in shock before belatedly announcing the arrival.

“Status change! New contact has appeared next to Endurance, contact is….huge.”

The statement was a gross understatement. The sensor data showed this new vessel was almost three times the size of even the McKenna and was just as unfamiliar as the much smaller Endurance. Kerensky and McNeil exchanged another telling look. No ship in the entire history of the Star League or its members was on this scale. Not even the huge yard-ships could match this.

A new signal came in and another hologram appeared, this time of a middle-aged man, with black hair just starting to be shot with gunmetal-grey. His dark hazel eyes were fierce, and his uniform – different again from Commander Larson’s – was perfect, and held a sturdy, strong frame.

The hologram nodded respectfully at Kerensky. ”Commanding General Kerensky, I am Admiral Sir John Jellicoe of the Colonial Fleet, Supreme Allied Commander of the Interuniversal Alliance aboard the Warstar Jupiter. I request permission to come aboard your flagship so we may talk in person. I understand you have an incipient civil war brewing, I may be able to render assistance.”

Kerensky could only nod. “Permission granted Admiral, we shall expect your shuttle in due course. I will summon my senior officers for the meeting.”

With another exchange of polite nods the conversation ended. Kerensky turned to McNeil. “Please prepare to receive their shuttle, and summon General DeChavilier and Admiral Brandt to the flag conference room. Once this Admiral Jellicoe arrives, have him brought there.”

McNeil could only smile and nod at the instructions, and wonder at what the hell they had gotten in to now.

SLS McKenna
New Vandenberg Orbit, Taurian Concordat
May 21st, 2767

The meeting had gone on for hours, with both sides explaining their history and present situation. Eventually, once he had a grasp of the situation, Jellicoe took a sip of tea and spoke up.

“So, to summarise, this traitor Amaris has seized the Hegemony, most likely also seized your mothball fleet, controls the planetary defence batteries and the drone warships and has assassinated the entire ruling Cameron family. The limitations of your K/F drives mean it would take you months to rally enough forces here to retake Terra and months more to reach it – and your casualties in liberating the planet will be immense.”

Kerensky sighed deeply. “An apt summary Admiral Jellicoe.”

The extra universal visitor pondered the situation for a few moments. “Normally, we would not get involved in internal affairs, unless we receive a call for assistance from an Alliance member.”

DeChavilier frowned. “That is troubling Admiral. From what you have told us, your ships and technology could end this coup in short order.”

Jellicoe nodded. “Quite so General. However, I have a personal hatred for drone warships – AI’s damn near annihilated my own people and killed my entire family. We shattered them and won in the end, but thirty billion lives still ended in a single day on the Colonies. As Supreme Allied Commander, I can provisionally accept a nation into the Alliance if the request comes from a ranking official of that nation. Your Star League Council could do so but, from what I understand of your FTL systems and HPG communications that will be difficult to arrange.”

Kerensky nodded. “Correct Admiral. However, there is a chance that one of the Cameron line survives – we know the old museum ship Dreadnought fought her way out of the Terran system with a convoy of civilian JumpShips. The late First Lord’s distant cousin, Jennifer Cameron, was a sponsor of the museum ship as part of a “living history” project. The day of the Coup was supposed to be a major event on board that she was scheduled to attend. If we can find and rescue the Dreadnought, and she is aboard, we will have a presumptive First Lord who can formally ask your assistance.”

Jellicoe blinked. “A warship turned into a museum that resisted attack and escorted civilian ships out of a warzone? That sounds just like the old Galactica in my world, one of just three Battlestars to survive the holocaust. Well I can dispatch Endurance to see if they can find this Dreadnought, if we can I can jump Jupiter in to assist. We may have to leave the civilian JumpShips somewhere safe and extract the DropShips directly.”

Kerensky grinned, finally they had a plan. “I think that is a sound strategy. In the meantime, I have issued orders for most of the SLDF to assemble at Robinson in the Federated Suns, the most convenient location for such a mass gathering. Except for the 8th and 11th Armies and their attendant Fleets – they have orders to strike into the Rim Worlds Republic and deny the output of its industry to the Usurper.”

Jellicoe returned the grin. “Sounds good General. Might I suggest you accompany me aboard Jupiter? I suspect that the Dreadnought might not listen otherwise.”

The officers agreed – albeit reluctantly in some cases – and so Jellicoe activated his comm unit and dispatched Commander Larson to the wayward museum’s last known location. He then called up his flagship, and passed orders back to his own headquarters to assemble what heavy units were available at short notice to prepare for possible deployment.

Warstar Jupiter,
New Vandenberg Orbit, Taurian Concordat
May 27th, 2767

In the Flag Briefing Room of the enormous Terran Warstar sat an eclectic group. Jellicoe, Kerensky, Brandt, DeChavilier, Captain McNeil, Jennifer Cameron and Captain Edward Olmos, the nearly-retired officer who has been commanding the old Dreadnought. The museum ship itself, and the thirty-two civilian JumpShips she had been escorting, were now abandoned in a long, stable orbit on the very edge of the New Rhoades III system, on the edge of the Hegemony. The passenger DropShips had cautiously mag-locked themselves to the Warstar’s hull and shuddered at the unpleasant sensation as the huge ship jumped back to General Kerensky’s headquarters. Captain Olmos had only agreed to leave when Kerensky and Jellicoe guaranteed that they would return and salvage the ships once Amaris was defeated.

Jennifer Cameron, Acting Director-General of the Terran Hegemony and presumptive First Lord of the Star League had handled the startling revelations with remarkable coolness and, once the situation had been explained, formally asked Admiral Jellicoe for the Star League to be provisionally accepted as a member of the Interuniversal Alliance. As soon as Jellicoe had given his – provisional – acceptance, she promptly requested Alliance assistance in defeating the traitor Amaris.

Jellicoe agreed, and the planning began in earnest. The Colonial Admiral had an idea, for both a show of force and a psychological hammer blow that should break the Rim Worlds forces in short order. It hinged on the technological superiority of the Alliance fleets and the advantages of their FTL drives compared to the local K/F drives.

“General Kerensky” he asked, “How long will it take to assemble enough ground forces to retake Terra? Leave aside the SDS, I will handle that.”

The stoic Russian pondered briefly “Two months, I should say, to gather available units at Robinson, but that would still take a month to actually reach Terra.”

Jellicoe smirked, a look that promised suffering to his enemies. “I have a way around that as well. One of my ships can open a slipspace portal to take your entire fleet there in one jump. My combat assets will go in first to eliminate the Caspars and the Rim Worlds fleet, then we’ll suppress the surface batteries and bring your invasion force right into orbit.”

The SLDF officers took a moment to marvel at the possibility of being able to move troops and ships at such speed. It would revolutionise warfare and throw all existing strategies out the window. Jellicoe, however, was not done.

“I suggest then, that you broadcast a message on your HPG network to Terra, telling Amaris you are coming for him and will arrive at Terra on, say, August 1st.” Gasps of protest echoed in the room.

Admiral Brandt was the one to voice the concern. “Why in God’s name would we tell him in advance? He’d have two months to pull in every ship, every soldier and every ‘Mech in the Hegemony!”

Jellicoe smirked again. “Precisely, Admiral Brandt. My fleet completely outclasses the Rim Worlds force, and the Caspars. Let him gather everything and then, when his fleet lies in ruins and my ships hover in the skies of Terra, what will his troops think?”

Jennifer Cameron spoke up. “They will see that Amaris is not as powerful as he claims. The people of Terra will see how outmatched he is and resist. And if nothing else, if he does pull everything to Terra that effectively liberates the entire Hegemony in a single act.”

Kerensky saw the point, and could not fault it. “Then in that case, First Lord Cameron, we should prepare your inaugural address and our message to the traitor. Admiral Jellicoe, can your forces be ready in time?”

Jellicoe smiled again, but this time it was a happier expression. “Of course, whenever we recon a new universe I have combat elements on standby. I’ll call in the ready-action forces from the Tau’ri and UNSC fleets, with the Jupiter acting as flagship and some more Explorers for recon work. In fact, I’ll send Endurance to the outer Terran system and have Commander Larson keep an eye on things until we’re ready to strike.”

Kerensky looked at DeChavilier, Brandt and Cameron who all nodded. “Then let’s get started.”

Throughout the Inner Sphere and Periphery,
May-July, 2767

The message went out across the HPG networks, relayed time after time until by mid-July every human-settled world had received it. It was a message of shattering, stunning news; for many it was the first official message from the Star League since the Coup. What had been circumspect announcements by national governments on Luthien, Sian, New Avalon, Atreus and Tharkad, this was a genuine Star League broadcast, from the First Lord and the Commanding General no less.

”Citizens of the Star League, I am Commanding General Aleksandyr Kerensky. You will have heard of the supposed Coup in the Hegemony, of the death of First Lord Richard Cameron, and that the Usurper Stefan Amaris claims this to be SLDF plot. This is a lie – it is Amaris that killed Lord Richard and almost the entire Cameron line, who used nuclear and chemical weapons to slaughter the few remaining SLDF forces on Terra, who’s Gestapo oppresses and murders civilians by the thousand in New York, in Rome, in Moscow and Berlin and Shanghai. It is he who has caused so much grief and pain.”

“He has failed in one respect though. He has not killed all the Camerons. Jennifer Cameron, second cousin to the slain Richard was aboard the old Dreadnought on the day of the Coup, and that legendary old ship fought her way out of the Terran system with her precious cargo. Jennifer Cameron has been sworn in as acting Director-General and will be confirmed as First Lord of the Star League when the High Council next meets – on Terra.”

The picture shifted, now showing the thirty-five year old, slender and pretty brunette.

”People of the Star League, I am Jennifer Cameron, and I have sworn to defend and preserve the people of the Hegemony and the Star League – I shall do just that. I have given Commanding General Kerensky orders to conquer the Rim Worlds Republic, to deny their industries to the traitor Amaris – and I have also given him orders to liberate Terra. Take heart, my citizens, we are coming back for you. You must endure the oppression of Amaris and his Gestapo only a short while longer.”

The image shifted again, back to Kerensky, who had a triumphant smile and a twinkle in his eye.

”You heard the First Lord correctly, people of the Star League. We are coming for you. And now I speak directly to the traitor Stefan Amaris. You days are numbered. You may have reactivated the SLDF mothball fleet, you may control the Caspars and the SDS batteries, and you may have seized the Castles Brian on Terra.

It will not matter. It will not stop us. We will not be denied as we seek vengeance for our dead. I give you this one chance Stefan Amaris. Lay down your arms and surrender. Surrender and you will be tried under the laws of the Star League. You have until August 1st. On that day, my fleets and my troops will jump into the Terran system and liberate the homeworld of mankind. If you have not surrendered by the time we jump in, there will be no quarter given. Rally all your ships if you want, dig in, it makes no difference. August 1st, Stefan, that is when your Empire ends, one way or another. We’ll see you soon.”

The gauntlet had been thrown down. The Star League at large did not yet know of the Alliance intervention, but they would know on August 1st.

========

So, this should only be two or three posts in total, but I've had the idea of the Jupiter or the HMS Dreadnought or the new (planned for Book III of the main story) UNSC Siege Perilous class battleships blasting apart Caspars and Rim Worlds battleships for a while, and I needed some semblance of justification for it.

I should stress that my knowledge of BattleTech comes from MasterArminas' stories, the (truly excellent) "Davion and Davion (Deceased)" story on Fanfic.net - if you have an interest in BT stories, I would strongly suggest looking that one up, it's outstanding - and a briefing scouring of the BattleTech wiki. So some of the characters come from MA's stories, the idea of a lone surviving Cameron comes from him as well.

What is canon though, is the tale of the old Dreadnought as a museum ship fighting her way out of Terra - something the BT writers openly acknowledge was a big homage to BSG. And thus, the ship's Captain is one Edward Olmos - no prises for geussing that reference on my part

Have to admit, I got a good chuckle at the Dreadnought's captain.

Captain Edward Olmos
I genuinely muppet-flailed in happiness at that one.

I also wish that my namesake could be there for this one. I've been playing BattleTech since it was using Robotech mecha, before Kerensky's Clans were ever conceived. I would LOVE to see Amaris shot down and the entire idea of The Clans side-stepped.

Well the UNSC are sending forces, so the Carrier Strike Fleet can be among them

That's a good opening. Look forward to reading more.

Eternal_Freedom wrote: ↑2021-05-12 01:21pm Well the UNSC are sending forces, so the Carrier Strike Fleet can be among them

YAY!!!

The alliance is gonna have one hell of a tech buffet to pick from at this rate.

Wouldn't the real trick be integrating the diverse bits and pieces?

Probably so really.

In fairness, these (I'm planning more) stories don't fit anywhere int he main story and are "non canon" as it were.

As for using different tech, well sadly BattleTech has precisely zero of interest tech-wise. Jellicoe is only getting involved because he despises AI drone-controlled warships, and from what he's learned from observation Amaris is a little bastard. The same would be true if Jellicoe decided to help out, say, Starfleet during the Dominon War (and yes, that is one idea I've got in the pile).

In canon terms, the "core" alliance tech base consists of Terran/Ancient, Tau'ri, UNSC/Forerunner and Asgard - or 3 out of 4 of the original Great Races. The Nox may help out as well, but we know sweet fuck all about their technology other than "big invisible floating city" while they can already do, so no point including that.

Eternal_Freedom wrote: ↑2021-05-28 01:01pm In fairness, these (I'm planning more) stories don't fit anywhere int he main story and are "non canon" as it were.

As for using different tech, well sadly BattleTech has precisely zero of interest tech-wise. Jellicoe is only getting involved because he despises AI drone-controlled warships, and from what he's learned from observation Amaris is a little bastard. The same would be true if Jellicoe decided to help out, say, Starfleet during the Dominon War (and yes, that is one idea I've got in the pile).

In canon terms, the "core" alliance tech base consists of Terran/Ancient, Tau'ri, UNSC/Forerunner and Asgard - or 3 out of 4 of the original Great Races. The Nox may help out as well, but we know sweet fuck all about their technology other than "big invisible floating city" while they can already do, so no point including that.

TBH, the Ancient, Forerunner, and Asgard all have a better tech-base than BattleTech. About the only thing BT had worth stealing was the metal used for Mech building, and the synthetic muscles that moved them. Nuclear engines overheated too easily, especially when firing weaponry. Their missiles couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. Still not sure what the neuro-net helmets were for -- used the pilot's sense of balance? Jump-jets on mecha just told the whole battlefield "HERE I AM SHOOT ME!!!!".

Oh... nearly forgot the LAMS. Now THAT was interesting Tech, although a Crit-hit fucked you royally. They only mass-produced three models -- Stinger, Wasp, Phoenix Hawk. Upgrade those with Asgard/Ancient/Forerunner tech, they'd be worth stealing!

Hmmm...now I have a random mental image of Spartan-II's deploying in souped-up Phoenix Hawks.

Eternal_Freedom wrote: ↑2021-05-28 08:33pm Hmmm...now I have a random mental image of Spartan-II's deploying in souped-up Phoenix Hawks.

P-hawks were my favorite mechs, Had the trio of Mech, LAM, Aerofighter.
I never got my models from the ex -- after he came at me with a sword I decided not to go back to get anything more. Never once thought of grabbing a policeman to go with me -- I'd have rescued far more of *MY* stuff, including my grandma's Xmas decorations.

Anyway... A transforming Mecha was one of the best ideas BT stole from the "source material". The Marauder was another, even with the heat-sink problem ... and that was before they added JumpJets!!
Exchange the nuclear engine for something that won't overheat, you could keep the PPCs on the Marauder. My Marauders always switched the PPCs out for Gauss Rifles, tho. Less heat, similar hitting power. The P-Hawk I always got rid of the flamer. I was rarely in a battle with ground troopers.

Sounds like the mechs need a Naqudah generator.

InsaneTD wrote: ↑2021-05-31 12:58am Sounds like the mechs need a Naqudah generator.

That's my thoughts

Well now you mention it, while BattleTech space forces bring nothing to the Alliance, Mechs with Alliance tech (naquada generators, shields, better heat control systems, possibly weaponry) would be effective. Especially since a future version of this is one where Jellicoe turns up to help Starfleet with the Dominion.

Imagine how a Jem'Hadar or Vorta will feel when instead of Starfleet goons in pajamas of Bat'leth-swining Klingons, they wind up facing Atlases or Orions or Battlemasters with Alliance upgrades. Bad time to be the Dominion.

Also, I'm pleased to say the next (large) segment is half to two-thirds written and should be up soon.

Eternal_Freedom wrote: ↑2021-06-03 12:06pm Well now you mention it, while BattleTech space forces bring nothing to the Alliance, Mechs with Alliance tech (naquada generators, shields, better heat control systems, possibly weaponry) would be effective. Especially since a future version of this is one where Jellicoe turns up to help Starfleet with the Dominion.

Imagine how a Jem'Hadar or Vorta will feel when instead of Starfleet goons in pajamas of Bat'leth-swining Klingons, they wind up facing Atlases or Orions or Battlemasters with Alliance upgrades. Bad time to be the Dominion.

Also, I'm pleased to say the next (large) segment is half to two-thirds written and should be up soon.

I imagine that barring their air / space superiority the Jem’Hader and Vorta would be quite concerned about a 20th century military, let alone that

To be fair though IIRC Battletech is also inferior in some respects to 20th Century military, at least when it comes to long range weapons that aren’t Line of Sight.

Good points, something to ponder for the future though.

Anyways, as promised, the next bit:

Command Bunker, Unity City, Terra
0200 hours, August 1st, 2767

The command bunker was an old structure, built well beneath the Court of the Star League as a place where the Camerons could coordinate an entire war if needs be. Once it had been staffed with the SLDF’s best, it being seen as a prestige posting for those who had proven themselves worthy of command in the future. Now it was a changed place. The banner of the Rim Worlds Republic, the shark emblem grinning evilly, graced the walls in place of the colours of the SLDF. Gone too were the best and brightest, they had been slaughtered during the Coup. Now, the place was staffed by only the most trusted ISF officers under the grim, paranoid eye of Amaris’ hatchetman, Gunthar von Strang.

Both Amaris and von Strang were currently in residence, and had been for the past six hours, waiting to see if Kerensky made good on his promise to return on this day. Amaris was secretly delighted at the idea, he had planned on a long drawn-out defence of the Hegemony, bleeding the SLDF for every inch of ground retaken. But now? Now he had the chance to use the captured surface batteries and the Caspar drones to massacre a significant portion of the enemy, for there was simply no way Kerensky could have gathered enough ships to shatter the defences of Terra.

Despite his carefully-hidden delight, Amaris was curious and slightly nervous. Was it possible that Kerensky knew something he didn’t? Some secret engine system or other technology that would allow him to bring more forces, or disable the Caspars? He had been assured by both the ISF and a few captured SLDF technicians that such a thing was not possible. But still Amaris doubted – Kerensky had to come today, to keep his promise. And Kerensky was far too skilled a General to announce his arrival and not have some trick up his sleeve.

So Amaris had reinforced Terra has best he could. He left a small handful of troops on the other worlds of the Hegemony and pulled the rest back to Terra. He ran the risk of rebellions, but had also left a considerable number of nuclear weapons on those worlds, hidden away in major cities and factories, ready to be remote-detonated if needs be. He had also pulled as many of the Caspars from other systems to Terra as he could manage in the time available and reactivated as many of the SLDF’s mothball fleet as possible.

With his own fleet combined with the mothballed, but still serviceable vessels, he had mustered nearly a thousand WarShips, two hundred of them battleships and battlecruisers. Acting as the main attack force were a full seven hundred M-5 Caspars, two thousand M-3 drone DropShips, and nearly ten thousand M-11 Voidseeker drone fighters. The main jump points, and the pirate points around Terra, were defended by a half-dozen automated fortresses. It was a potent force, able to slash at any SLDF flotilla, inflict damage and withdraw at accelerations no manned ships could possibly sustain.

And yet…and yet Amaris’ worry grew, as every minute ticked away on the big digital clock above one of the main wall displays. What would Kerensky do?

As the clock ticked past 0205, he found out. An alarm blared, telemetry arrived from the fortresses at the Zenith jump point showing at least one ship had arrived, before the stations began vanishing in the flares of nuclear detonations. The telemetry was abruptly cut off as the last fortress was consumed in the blasts.

Amaris turned to von Strang. “So, Gunthar old friend, the battle has begun.” Given the huge distance to the zenith point, it would be about ninety minutes before the visible light would reach Terra and they could get a better picture of exactly what had arrived and as a matter of course, a number of high-powered optical telescopes and other sensors were trained on the distant engagement, waiting to capture the information when it reached them.

Amaris knew enough of space combat affairs to know that the enemy would not doubt be bringing in more and more ships to begin the slow, nine-day journey to Terran orbit. He looked over at his staff.

“Order all the drones to move towards the zenith point at max thrust. Keep the manned ships in orbit for now.”

The orders went out, but they would ultimately be futile, for Amaris had been right about one thing; Kerensky had an ace up his sleeve.

Fleet Ops, Warstar Jupiter
Alliance Fleet, Zenith jump point,
0210 hours

Jellicoe stood at his usual post by the main holo-display but instead of his faithful Chief of Staff at his side he had General Kerensky, Admiral Brandt and First Lord Jennifer gathered with him to witness the upcoming battle, a battle that would be unlike anything the natives of this universe had ever seen. His force contained some of the finest and most powerful ships of the Alliance, more than enough to shatter the foes before him.

Besides his own flagship were the heavy Battlestars Implacable and Atlantia with their escort groups. The Tau’ri had sent the British battleships Dreadnought and Thunder Child, the US carrier Yorktown and a dozen 304’s as escorts. The largest contingent was from the UNSC, sending their Carrier Strike Fleet led by Rear-Admiral Lady MacLuing aboard the massive Infinity, flanked by the older Trafalgar and Musashi - the three huge carriers had quickly disgorged a dozen escorting frigates each from the internal bays. Finally their came the imposing bulk of the Siege Perilous, namesake of the UNSC’s first class of battleships, and the two smaller Triumphant-class battlecruisers Caledfwlch and Amaterasu. It was, collectively, the most powerful naval force ever assembled in this universe.

Jellicoe turned to one of his officers. “Navigation, plot a fleet course for Terra at 1-g acceleration and execute.” The officer looked at him with amusement so Jellicoe continued. “I know it’s an absolute snail’s pace, but it’s what the natives expect.” The officer smirked and set to work. Jellicoe turned next to a communications officer. “Please set up an open channel to Terra for General Kerensky here, maximum power and all frequencies.”

The officer likewise nodded and shortly thereafter handed Aleksandyr a handset, nodding to show the channel was live. The Commanding General smiled in thanks and began his address.

“Citizens of Terra, this is Commanding General Kerensky. As promised I have returned, and brought forces with me sufficient to annihilate any space defences the traitor Amaris can throw at us. We will be in orbit in nine days, and then we shall begin landings to liberate the homeworld. To the traitor Amaris I now speak. You have but a few days left Stefan, you still have a chance to surrender. I give you my word that a surrender will be accepted. End this now, and no more blood needs to be shed. Think on it Stefan, you have a few days, then we’ll be face to face.”

Command Bunker, Unity City
0400 hours,

Finally the information was becoming clear. As expected the zenith fortresses were all gone and the enemy ships were closing in at a standard one g acceleration. Amaris was growing increasingly confused and fearful. The force closing in was tiny in numbers, just seventy-two ships, but a dozen of those ships were bigger than a McKenna class battleship, some several times larger. It must be a bluff, a trick Amaris thought. This can’t be the only force he’s bringing.. He mentally congratulated himself on keeping his human-crewed fleet in orbit as a safeguard against some future, unseen threat.

Kerensky’s message had, despite the ISF’s best efforts, been heard right across the planet. Amaris had half-expected a massive swell of protests and resistance, but nothing had happened just yet. He turned to von Strang.

“Gunthar, have your ISF troops and the regular army out on the streets in full combat gear. Issue a global broadcast that an immediate and total curfew is in effect. Anyone out on the streets one hour after the order goes out will be assumed to be an enemy agent and shot on sight. And with that dealt with, I’m going to bed. The drones will make intercept in…” he trailed off, looking expectantly at one of the naval officers manning the bunker.

“At max thrust, and assuming the enemy ships don’t change course or acceleration, one day Sir.”

Amaris grinned. “Good! Then I can have some sleep and a few good meals before we watch the fireworks!” His words displayed confidence, confidence he did not feel in the sanctity of his own mind.

Alliance Fleet, on course for Terra,
0500 hours, August 2nd, 2767

The day had passed without issue, the crews went about their business seemingly without a care in the world, or at least without caring about the substantial drone fleet closing on them. The only concession to what was apparently a combat operation was that the ships maintained Condition Two watches, slightly more intense than peacetime but a lot easier to bear than the brutal four hours on, four hours off combat watches. And of course the shields were raised, not that any of the drones or the defenders at Terra had any way of detecting those.

The leaders had assembled once again in Fleet Ops to, as Jellicoe put it, “watch the fireworks.” The main holo-display showed the fleet’s disposition, with the UNSC battleship and battlecruisers in the lead, flanked by the Tau’ri battleships. The Warstar held the centre, with the two Battlestars positioned above and below. The four massive carriers brought up the rear, while the mass of escorts formed an outer cordon. The formation was carefully arranged to allow all ships, even the carriers at the rear, a clear forward arc for their numerous (and extremely powerful) main batteries.

One of the battle staff spoke up. “Drone fleet will be in effective engagement range in two minutes.”

Jellicoe looked at Kerensky, who had a look of confusion, knowing the distance was much greater. He spared the native General the embarrassment of asking by doing it himself.

“How long until their weapons are in effective range of us?”

The officer consulted a display. “Ah…twelve minutes sir.” The console bleeped and the officer checked it before making his report. “Enemy fleet is changing formation, M-3 and M-5 drones are pushing in at 6-g, M-11 fighters are now closing at 10-g.”

Jellicoe nodded. “Then let’s begin shall we. Tactical, all Kobolian missile-armed ships to prepare full salvo launch, scattershot protocol. Have the UNSC battle squadron load cluster rounds in the main battery and plot a firing solution.”

The tactical staff went to work even as General Kerensky looked concerned. “Cluster rounds? Admiral, I know your technology is far beyond ours, but capital weaponry is of little use against fighters, even with their numbers.”

Jellicoe just smirked evilly. “The cluster rounds aren’t for the fighters Aleksandyr. Watch, and enjoy the show.” The tactical officers called out that the firing solutions were ready, so Jellicoe called up a series of external camera feeds for his guests and gave his order.

“Commence fire.”

In space, the Warstar, the two Battlestars and the four Terran cruisers all blossomed with smoke trails as three hundred and sixty missiles were ejected from their launch tubes and ignited their engines, blazing away from their ships and towards their targets at a hundred times the acceleration that a Star League White Shark or Killer Whale missile could achieve. They rapidly closed the range until reaching a certain distance, then the nosecones blew open and each missile released ten smaller warheads. The cloud of warheads spread out wider, covering a larger and larger area, taking all of three seconds to do so. Enough time for the drone computers to recognise the problem, but not long enough for them to save themselves.

And then they reached optimal detonation range.

The displays lit up with thirty-six hundred flares of harsh, intolerable light. The storm of radiation reached out in moments, far larger and more powerful than the drone computers expected from such warheads. The computers had just enough time to realise that as well before ten thousand Voidseeker drone fighters evaporated.

Command Bunker, Unity City, Terra
0600 hours

Stefan Amaris could only watch in horror as the telemetry feed from one of the Caspar drones showed the annihilation of the fighters. Those nukes were far too powerful he thought. This must be Kerensky’s ace card, some new kind of warhead. But only seven of the ships had launched…what other ace cards does he hold? The thought could only echo around his mind, question after question and no answers. Outwardly he remained supremely confident, as a good leader should, but inside he was terrified.

All around him the bunker’s staff could only stare, slack-jawed at such monumental destruction. Then came the next act. The three huge leading ships fired a half dozen massive projectiles that raced across the intervening space at a blinding speed. The projectiles burst open just like the missiles had done, but each one released fifty thousand small iron fragments. Just as the cluster rounds had done against the Covenant at Reach the hailstorm of hypervelocity fragments tore gaping wounds in the Caspars and M-3 DropShips, each one striking with far more power than even the heaviest naval Gauss Rifle.

Hundreds of the lightweight assault dropships where completely shattered even by single hits, or gutted front-to-back leaving showers of escaping hydrogen fuel to escape from the ruined hulls. Drive systems where torn away by glancing hits, gun mounts were obliterated, hull armour ripped open. By the time the storm passed, barely five hundred of the DropShips survived in even remotely operational condition.

The bigger Caspars fared somewhat better. Only two hundred were destroyed outright, but another two hundred were crippled and unable to continue, their armoured hulls shredded like tissue paper when faced with a weapon they could scarcely conceive of. Their command network suddenly came alive, damage reports and tactical discussions raced back and forth at light-speed, while battle computers frantically analysed the situation and tried desperately to develop a counter. Never before in history had such carnage been caused by a single salvo.

Amaris could only watch as his best hope of smashing Kerensky’s forces was blasted to rubble and debris. Around him the battle staff began to babble and panic, wondering just what the hell they were facing.

Fleet Ops,Warstar Jupiter

Jellicoe smirked as Kerensky, Brandt and Cameron gaped in shock. They had heard his explanations of their technology, but seeing it in action against a force they deemed virtually unbeatable was something else entirely. He patted the General on the shoulder and then turned to his comms officer.

“Now then…let’s show these boys and girls how the Alliance does things. Fleet signals, formation flank speed to Terra. Weapons free against the surviving drones. Begin full-spectrum jamming, I don’t want them communicating with each other or their controllers. As for the human-crewed ships around Terra…all units may return fire once fired upon. We’ll let them decide their fate.”

Kerensky finally shook off his disbelief and turned to the Admiral. “What do you mean John?”

Jellicoe smirked again. “I won’t fire the first shot at fellow humans, no matter what their leader has done. But if they fire into my ships they’ve made their choice and we will destroy them. We’ll match broadside for broadside, and we have a lot more guns than they do.”

He turned back to his comms officer. “Signal Dying Light. Execute plan beta in…” he quickly consulted the charts, to see how long it would take the images from this slaughter to make their way back to Terra. “Forty minutes from mark…mark.”

Command Bunker, Unity City,
Forty Minutes Later

Amaris could not imagine his day getting any worse. First these massive new ships arrive, then they all but annihilate his drone force in two salvoes, and now they had powered up massive jammers that blocked the Caspars from working together effectively. Even the remote telemetry had stopped, forcing them to rely on long-range optical sensors. The images they provided only made his day worse.

The seventy-two enemy ships suddenly surged forwards, increasing their acceleration from a typical 1-g to an utterly inconceivable five hundred g’s. The neat formation blew through the cloud of remaining DropShips and Caspars, countless different weapons hurling kinetic rounds, red and blue energy bolts and searing blue and green beams. The drones could not respond, the enemy ships moved too fast, their weapons fired too rapidly, and with the Alliance jamming their combat effectiveness was massively reduced.

On the long-range visual feed he saw the three leading ships letting fly with the huge twin-mount turrets that lined their flanks, the heavy kinetic rounds their fired cutting through Caspars like a rifle bullet through tissue paper. Further back the second-largest vessel at the centre spat out eight bright green beams from the claw-like structure in the bows, the beams slicing four Caspars clean in half before continuing on to strike two more, causing the pair of drones to explode violently as their reactors and fuel tanks were hit.

And then the enemy formation was well clear of the drones, moving at rates the drones could never hope to match. Amaris could almost feel his victory evaporating before his eyes when a sensor operator announced that, accounting for the time-lag, the hostiles would reach Terran orbit in just three hours.

And then another shout came, and Amaris looked as a display screen rapidly shifted images, this time to a point halfway between Terra and the Moon. What he saw made Amaris show true fear for the first time in years.

A massive black disc, rimmed with blue, appeared out in space and from it emerged what Amaris could only assume was a ship, but it was both unimaginably vast and totally alien, a central core with one long forward spike, and three more arrayed back and out. A ship whose size was measured in tens of kilometres.

The image seemed to blur for a moment, as if the mammoth ship was out of focus. Then Amaris looked closer and realised it wasn’t blurry, it was hundreds, no thousands of smaller objects lifting off from where they’d been attached to the hull. The warbooks immediately identified them as SLDF DropShips – six entire Field Armies had just arrived. The massive portal was still there as well, and soon countless WarShips emerged in the wake of the huge ship, the available might of the Star League Navy, launching hundreds more DropShips as they arrived, adding another two Field Armies to the mix.

The DropShips moved back among the WarShip fleet, letting the mammoth unknown vessel take the lead and the entire formation begin burning towards Terran orbit at one-g. They would arrived shortly after the much faster alien formation racing in from the zenith jump point.

Amaris sagged down into his chair. He was beaten. The drone fleet was spent, his human-crewed ships would stand even less chance, being slower to accelerate and to react. The ground batteries might score some damage, but there were just too many SLDF forces present, never mind the new arrivals.

He was beaten. But he would not surrender. He’d see Terra burn before he surrendered.

======

Well ain't this fun!

So in this we see a few things that will eventually feature in the main timeline. The UNSC are still building Infinity, and she will be LadyTevar's alter-ego's flagships as Commander, Carrier Strike Fleet.

The UNSC are also going to build five of the Siege Perilous class battleships and ten Triumphant-class battlecruisers. THe battleships will be Siege Perilous, Ragnarok, Sutekh the Destroyer, Gotterdamarung and Dies Irae, with the battlecruisers Triumphant, Majestic, Superb, Audacious, Renown, Reliant, Onryo, Jörmungandr, Caledfwlch, and Amaterasu.

Yes, the Brits named their second battleship Thunder Child, and both Atlantia and Implacable are Phoenix-classHeavy Battlestars from the planned Kobolian fleet expansion.

Phew!

If or when Thunder Child meets her end it had better be at ramming speed after emptying her guns into multiple targets.

Squeee!! Rear Admiral!!! And a Bigger Ship?!?!? EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

And damn, just rub his nose in it. The Dying Light, Really? Damn near overkill there, but Dying Light *might* be able to stop the "Blow the Nukes" order Amaris will try next.

The only thing missing at this point is ONI and SpecWar sending in stealth Prowlers in ahead of time to teleport insert Spartan 2s & 3s to find and disable defences and hidden nukes.

LadyTevar: Well in this case Dying Light is using his Keyship like a Potemkin troop cruiser on steroids.

Insane TD: Heh...no comment

Amaris is a soul brother to president Morgan Clarke of Babylon 5, with the let Terra burn mindset.

B5B7 wrote: ↑2021-06-10 05:42am Amaris is a soul brother to president Morgan Clarke of Babylon 5, with the let Terra burn mindset.

Now that could be an interesting crossover.

Now that was some real carnage. Funny thing is any of Alliance capital ships could have wiped out that drone fleet single handedly.