It will probably make more sense if you read the backstory, found at http://www.ghazporkindustrial.com
The Bones and the Fury
-- By Legacy
"Keth: A resource-rich world in the Atropos system, part of a region known as "The Cul-de-Sac" on the Spinward edge of the Satheias arm. Pre-tragedy population thirteen billion, last known population two billion. Formerly a Hantelle stronghold until rooted out by independent pirates when they leveled the capital city of Ibra'een and who, in turn, were defeated by Coreguard forces under Admiral Mic Sandstride. Recently requested Coreguard aid in response to increased Obsidian Bones activity in nearby systems."
Admiral Rachael Jenner gazed out the bridge viewport of the Star's Fury, her Dreadnought-class Flagship, and mulled over the information that the computer had just provided her. She was one of the most brilliant officers in the history of the Coreguard, having defeated the fleets of the other factions time and time again with nary a defeat. Of these foes, the Obsidian Bones were her favorites, and the only ones that she condoned the use of Coolers against.
And now, the world of Keth, her homeworld, the world where her husband and children were buried, was besieged by the pirates and had begged for aid from the military might that was the Coreguard.
And they would get it.
Admiral Jenner tried not to think about her home as her fleet sped through the void between the stars: she knew the level of devastation that it took to remove the Hantelles' influence from a place.
Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she knew that this was no simple fleet smashing. This time would be different. She did not care. Keth was her home, and she would NOT allow it to suffer the fate that it had when the Hantelle were driven from it.
"Ma'am," announced an officer from his bridge station, "we are entering the Atropos system."
"Order all ships to stand by, and prepare for combat. I want weapons hot before we drop out of Stardrive."
This time, Keth would not fall...no matter the cost.
* * *
Explosions rocked the Star's Fury as a wave of Obsidian Bones fighters slipped through the Coreguard screen. Less than thirty clicks to port, a trio of Heavy Cruisers had penetrated Coreguard lines and were beginning an attack run on the near-defenseless Carriers. A Corvette slipped through the Coreguard forces and charged at the Star's Fury, suicidally attempting to destroy the vastly superior ship. Four hundred clicks to Starboard, a battlegroup of Escort Frigates assaulted Coreguard Corvettes in an attempt to destroy their screening fighters.
To any observer, the battle was going well for the Obsidian Bones: they had come to the battle with more than double the expected firepower and were using this advantage to its fullest, tearing the Coreguard fleet to ribbons. Unfortunately for them, Rachael Jenner was not an observer.
"Apex, Avatar, Charybdis," she began, "come to oh oh six mark three one, weapons hot. Tethys, Lifestealers' Bane, go to seven eight one mark oh niner, flank speed. Dragon, Shark, and Raptor Fighter Squadrons, I want a full assault on the enemy Escort Frigate at three three niner mark seven five...yes, the Escort Frigate, dammit, and ONLY the ONE Frigate! Gunner, get that damn ship out of my sky!"
The first orders given were the first completed as her three-ship Battlecruiser group flew between the Carriers beside the Star's Fury with weapons blazing, shredding the smaller Heavy Cruisers in seconds. With their firepower gone from another part of the battleground, an Obsidian Bone Escort Frigate flew into the gap and made to cut off an entire squadron of Coreguard fighters, only to be blown apart by three more squadrons: Dragon, Shark, and Raptor. In those precious seconds of confusion, the Coreguard found a gap in the Obsidian Bones' line, and two Destroyers charged through it at flank speed, their torpedoes annihilating an entire battlegroup of Carriers in a single salvo.
In an instant, the battle changed. No longer were the Coreguard forces in disarray, their lines full of holes and their support ships under attack. No longer were the Obsidian Bones moving through their enemy's forces with impunity. No longer were the Coreguard outnumbered two to one.
It was now a fair fight.
And Admiral Rachael Jenner had never lost a fair fight.
* * *
"Arr, wench! Ye'll not need a keel-haulin' when me Cooler's done with you!"
Jenner suppressed a chuckle and simply shot the pirate, dropping him to the ground with a smoldering hold blasted in his face. Calmly striding over, she took his Cooler and used it on the corpse, draining away what little energy hadn't fled when her Fusion Pistol had done its job.
She looked around the plasma-scorched remains of her bridge. The Obsidian Bones had lost. Bad. In a final act of desperation, they had rammed and subsequently boarded the Star's Fury.
It hadn't worked.
Seven of the flagship's crew lay dead, another one hundred fourteen unconscious and cold with the chill of imminent spiritual starvation that is a Cooler's trademark. Three hundred of the insane pirates, however, had taken hits from Stunners, and would soon join their six hundred dead comrades when their own dreadful weapons were turned against them to revive the starving and top off the ship's "mess".
Admiral Jenner began doing this personally, putting a Cooler in her helmsman's frigid hand and aiming it at a stunned pirate, then pressing the trigger and backing away as the weapon did its work. Color slowly returned to the navigator's flesh as the weapon went about its grisly business; soon enough, the Coreguard had one more conscious officer, while the Obsidian Bones had one less living pirate.
MedTechs soon arrived, bearing enough energy harvested from the hated pirates to revive the bridge crew, and were pleased to have four Cooler victims'-worth to spare when they were through. Within minutes, the medics were gone, leaving Jenner to order a status report from the Ops...and turn as pale as death when the reply came.
The viewscreen switched to a shot of ships. Lots of ships. Coming straight towards the Coreguard fleet that was at less than one-third strength.
With weapons hot.
* * *
The crew of the Star's Fury had been trained by Admiral Jenner herself, and was generally considered the best in the entire Satheias Arm. With professional efficiency, the bridge crew dragged pirate corpses into the hallway, brushed ash and carbon scoring from their seats, and prepared themselves for battle.
"Your orders, Ma'am?" asked the Communications Officer, sounding more...alive than he had in weeks.
Jenner did not answer. Her fleet had but six ships left. All of her fighters were spent. All of her Heavy Weapons had been fired. The Coreguard Sixth Gold Fleet had nothing left. It was over.
Keth would fall.
"Ma'am?"
"Open comms to all ships."
"Open, Ma'am."
"Coreguard, this is your Admiral. You have sworn to defend the peoples of this galaxy with your lives, and today, you have done so in a way that makes the Service proud. You are the best that the galaxy has to offer, and nothing can take that away from you. Now I ask you, just one last time, to follow me into battle, to throw your lives into the fire in the service of those you have come here to protect. I ask you to fight until your blood warms the steel of the deckplates, to fight until your body goes cold with the flight of your spirit, to fight until there is nothing left of you to fight with!"
Keth would fall. But Admiral Rachael Jenner would be damned if she would back down, even against such impossible odds. Not here. Not at Keth.
"This is my final command to you, my warriors, my heroes in this world of darkness: I command that all ships BREAK AND ATTACK!"
* * *
Epilogue:
"You may enter now."
Jonas Mile nodded politely to the secretary and stepped through the door of the office that she indicated. Unlike most visitors to an Orchid Cartel Trading Center, Jonas wasn't worried in the least: stabbing somebody in his line of work in the back was easier said than done.
Once inside, he saw a pale, unhealthy-looking man sitting in a chair made of Vetan leather and playing a video over and over on his desk's vidscreen. On it, a pitifully small Coreguard fleet assaulted an enemy several times its size, only to be blown to scrap in under a minute
"Mister Mile," said the man, "what can I do for you today?"
"The Order of Hantelle would like to lay claim to the destruction of 43 Coreguard and Obsidian Bones warships in the Atropos system."
"Such a feat would be worth a dozen ships, Mister Mile, but where is your proof? All the video you sent shows is six badly damaged Coreguard craft going up in flames, a feat barely worth a squadron of fighters!"
"True. But you should know how hard it is to remove the Hantelles' influence over a place. Just think: the Obsidian Bones came to Keth for a stockpile of Psi that the planetary government had from the previous Hantelle occupation. The Coreguard came to defend the world. Now, with such a stockpile, they could have had four Coreguard fleets in orbit over Keth the entire time, but chose to face a siege instead. Why?"
"Using the Coreguard and Obsidian Bones as unpaid mercenaries to set the stage to formally reclaim what you never really lost is commendably devious, Mister Mile. The bounty for 43 ships of the line will be waiting at Cona Mende'el 6, along with an extra Corvette...consider it token of good business relations between us in the future."
"Many thanks. The Order of Hantelle looks forward to doing business with you again."
"As do I, Mister Mile, as do I."
~fin~
I'm rather proud of this one, as it's only the third or fourth of its kind in existance and still (in my completely unbiased opinion
) pretty good! Tell me, is this pride warranted? *puppydog eyes*[/url]