StarDestroyer.Net BBS

prologue: Broken Diplomacy wrote:Earth, the one place we were forbidden from returning. The UED had fallen back in disarray, leaving us to our fates. But we stood firm, our alliance with the Protoss was all that was left in holding back the flood of the Zerg that now sought our blood with renewed vigor after the UED kicked the hornets nest.

But we gained allies, we found a small group of hunters that gave us aid, joining forces, their ground forces joining with ours to protect our fledgling government and becoming the first nation of species, the Republic of Allied Worlds was born.

Others joined us as we drove back the Zerg, smashing the hive and slaying the two great betrayers. Kerrigan died in a duel amidst the ruins of the old Confederacy, a system that is not gone in the implosion. Durran’s body was killed by Zeratul himself, though reports say that he ascended to something greater, but nothing is conclusive other than his corpse.

Other outcasts of earth joined us in floods and our unified nation grew across the stars. It was the dawn of a new age.

Earth tried to force us to join them, to be under their banner.

We drove the UED back, protecting our borders but leaving those who banished us their worlds. We have not struck out in aggression, just defended ourselves.

Earth is still our enemy, much like the historic conflict between the USA and the USSR in human history.

We finally had some measure of peace twenty-five years after the beginning of the Zerg War, but it was not to last...

-From the journals of Marshal Raynor-

xXx

“Confirmed contact, unknown vessels,” came the calming tone of the Archangel’s AI, or Angel as the crew referred to her, “Two groups, one with human life signs, and the other with no active signs.”

“Take us into hailing distance,” Admiral Jason Alexander responded from the bridge, “Any idea on the second groups species?”

“Sensor traffic does show a high frequency of transmission, I’m guessing Artificials.”

“Signal the Guardian and the Vengeance to drop the fleet into stealth mode save for us and our squadrons,” the balding human said with a sigh when the visible weapons fire between the two unknown groups started, “Raise shields and prepare a wide channel transmission for me, all bands.”

“Done sir.”

“Attention all unknown vessels, I am Admiral Alexander of the Archangel, this is Republic space, stand down at once.”

xXx

“...stand down at once,” the transmission came.

“Who the hell are these people?” one of the bridge crew of the Galactica stammered as a heavily armed ship with squadrons of fighters surrounding it came into view against the stars.

“Signal them, and ask for help,” Adama ordered as he prayed that this was the salvation they needed.

xXx

“One group identifies their ship as the Galactica,” Lieutenant Jonathan Mikov stated.

“Weapons fire, directed our way,” Angel declared, “The other group is firing at us!”

“All hands brace for impact,” Alexander yelled, “All ships, decloak and return fire, bring them down!”

“Sir, they are attempting electronic attack,” the AI continued, “Not stuff I can’t take care of, but they are trying to break through and disable our systems.”

“Amend that order,” the man growled, “Destroy them with extreme prejudice, no one threatens my people, bring the Yamato Cannon online, let’s send those bastards straight to hell!”

xXx

Captain Seraph Quin, squadron leader of the Wraith squadron named “Shadow Flight”, smiled as his squadron finished checking in as they broke formation and hit the burners, coming around the Valkerie class frigate “Storm Surge” and the Basilisk class Carrier “Tassadar” to enter visual range for their targets.

“Alright people,” he ordered, “The Archangel is going to fire it’s Yamato, stay out of its path, but deal with any fighters that threaten us, as of this time the three winged ones are not to be fired upon unless they shoot first!”

“Roger that,” came the response from Lieutenant Jacob “Preacher” Mane, “And the good lord said unto them to turn the other cheek to keep from being blinded when you blow them up!”

“Amen,” Seraph chuckled, “Cloak and break by pairs!”

The fighters faded from view as they shot through the Colonial convoy and into the swarms of hostile fighters, announcing their presence with a swarm of missiles that ripped through twice the squadrons number in enemies instantly.

xXx

“Sir,” one of the officers yelled, “We’re getting a strange energy reading from the Archangel!”

“What...the...”

The front end of the ship seemed to slowly open, light gathering around it.

Jaws dropped as an energy burst tore through space like a javelin, turning one of the two Cylon Basestars into space debris. The energy discharge of the weapon forcing all who watched to cover their eyes, but still left spots in their eyes.

xXx

“What was that!” Kara stammered as she saw several near hits on the Vipers.

“Wonder if we can get some of those,” one of the other pilots wondered out loud.

The Colonials were holding back, screening for Cylon fighters and missiles, but even they seemed surprised by the frigates that moved in, huge craft with missile launchers all over it.

xXx

The Valkerie “Eclipse” captained by Captain Saranis, a Protoss Dark Templar, positioned itself to open fire with the other eleven frigates in the fleet to take down the second Basestar.

Fire! he ordered the group.

Millions of missiles streaked through the air to eviscerate the final enemy capital ship in a massive explosion.

xXx

Seraph groaned as he took a second hit, his shields failing as Preacher stayed on his wing.

His ship was already suffering as he frantically tried to restore shields, debris shredding the underside pylon.

“Damn it,” he hissed as his hands flew across the controls.

“Blake,” he snapped at the computer, “Download yourself into my suit as a precaution against having to eject.”

“Done,” the AI chimed in, “We’re gonna need to find a place to land, fuels leaking, also the life support unit is malfunctioning.”

“Find us a place to land!”

“Only place I can think of is the carrier or whatever it is that the group we’re protecting has, logs identify it as Galactica.”

“Alright, tell the Archangel what I’m doing and open a channel to it.”

“Secured.”

He smirked for a moment before composing himself.

“Galactica, this is Shadow One,” he stated, “I am suffering an emergency, requesting permission to land, most likely a crash landing, but my life support unit has failed.”

“Permission granted,” came the response a moment later.

“Thanks,” he responded as the transmission cut out.

“Sorry, the comms array just got taken out by a piece of one of the enemy fighters,” Blake stammered, “I’ve got the landing systems operational though they won’t hold, they will slow us down enough to let us survive this...”

“Get ready for a full transfer the instant the computer starts to go down!”

“...Hopefully, dang, transfer complete, I did manage to get it to manual control before it totally gave out though,” the AI’s voice was coming just through the helmet as the suit disengaged from the ship.

The massive maw of the Galactica’s apparent launch bay, retros firing for an instant before they failed, one an instant before the other sending it into a spin like a top, skipping twice before skidding to a jarring halt.

xXx

“Shadow squadron, this is Archangel control,” came the worried voice of Angel, “We show Shadow One heading back into the unknown fleet, his systems are not replying.”

“Archangel, this is Shadow Two,” Preacher said with as calm a voice as he could muster, “One has suffered catastrophic damage and is making a landing attempt with the unknown ship called the Galactica, assuming temporary lead of the squadron, requesting temporary AI assistance in maintaining the computer link for the squadron.”

“Shadow Two, your request has been granted, Novus from Nova squadron has been uploaded into your ships systems and your armors neural net,” came the immediate response, “Your status has been marked.”

“Roger that control.”

xXx

“You okay in there boss?” Blake asked cautiously.

Groaning the fighter pilot shook his head to clear it, “I’m alive, feel a bit sick, but definitely alive.”

He tried to open the hatch, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Damn it,” he hissed to himself and Blake, “What else on this bucket of bolts can go wrong?”

As if in answer the generator cut out and the internal lighting died.

“You could try to bust through it,” the AI commented, “Not sure how strong it still is, but there appears to be enough damage to the canopy that your armors muscle enhancements ought to be capable of ripping it apart.”

“I’ll try,” he mumbled before punching out, the glass breaking outwards in a spray.

“Environment stable, no unknown agents that could harm you,” Blake calmly responded as Seraph crawled out and rolled to the flight deck amidst the scurrying techs and medical units, “Translation systems ready as a just in case, but they speak something close to Galactic Common.”

“Errr,” he stammered as the faceplate shot open, “Hi!”

xXx

“Admiral,” Angel commented as the flashes ceased coming from the battle, “All hostiles have either been neutralized or have retreated.”

“Good, signal the Garithror and the Hyperion to meet us at Nexus Station and to prepare for diplomatic protocols, send them everything we’ve got on both of the unknown groups.”

“Sir, I just found something on one of the two, it seems they had a run in with the Zerg during Kerrigan’s reign of terror.”

“Interesting, prep a shuttle and tell Neritar and Golt that I would like their presence during contact.”

“Sir, is it wise to have Neritar when making contact with an unknown human nation?”

“Angel, I prefer to keep all the cards on the table in this sort of situation, it makes things much easier in the long run.”

“I understand sir, but what’s the reason for bringing a Ghost?”

“He’ll help us in making sure that they keep all of their cards on the table.”

xXx

“Is the rescued pilot alright?” Adama asked as he relaxed.

“Tyrol said he banged up his ship quite a bit, not to mention himself,” Tigh commented, “He had to break out of the cockpit.”

“Let’s meet our guest, signal Colonial One, give them what news we have, ask the President to come aboard.”

“Sir we’re receiving a transmission from the Archangel,” one of the officers stated.

“Put it through.”

“Galactica, we’re sending a shuttle over, please be prepared to receive them.”

“Looks like we have a few more guests on the way.”

xXx

“Admiral, inbound ships, the Hyperion and Garithror were closer, they are inbound from Nemesis station with the Enterprise,” Angel commented, “ETA is in fifteen minutes, they are already in hyper.”

“I guess this system gets to be the meeting place then,” Golt commented as he straightened his uniform, “And just for the record, I hope whatever gods exist torment the idiot that designed these uniforms.”

“They aren’t that bad,” the Admiral replied with a chuckle as they both boarded the shuttle, Neritar already waiting. It had come from the older Protoss designed carrier, piloted by Neritar himself. Four guards walked were strapped in as well, two Marines and two Zealots, standard honor guard for first contact missions.

chapter one: Opening Moves wrote:“Sir,” Captain Marcus Remir said as soon as the doors shot open to the command deck, “We have reports of seven patrols encountering unknown spacecraft that engaged them with hostile intent.”

“More for the map then,” Marshal James “Jimmy” Raynor, admiral of the Republic fleet, stated as he reviewed the star map before him.

Seven more flashing markers joined the myriad of others that flashed like a Christmas tree, mainly of two colors, Red to mark the border skirmishes with the UED, and green to mark this new threat.

Jimmy sighed as his hand brushed the rings he wore on a chain around his neck, four things that tied him to his past.

“Inform President Liberty that we have more contacts with these beings,” the Marshal finally said as he turned to his subordinate, “Also, make sure to inform all border patrols about these ships, they are confirmed hostile.”

“Yes sir,” the man responded sharply as he turned to leave.

“And make sure the reporter knows that I’m still coming over when I’m on Terra next week,” Jimmy added.

Both thought a moment at the planet the government had been based out of, Zeratul had been the one to suggest the name since the humans had lost most of their worlds and the Protoss still had Shakuras. Terra was also a world like Earth had been millennia ago, pure and clear, a garden world.

It was something that seemed perfect, and they would keep it that way. A paradise for all the members of the Republic to call home. It was named for the humans who had actually begun the process of forming the nation of the stars.

xXx

Torik, an ancient being of the race that the Republic referred to as Hunters, sat in the command chamber of Nemesis station watching the stars, pondering the world.

His people had changed since the Terrans and the Protoss had discovered their homeworld. It seemed to have been for the better, the ways of the predator changed, becoming something far different.

It was a growth out of the stagnation that their species had, it truly was a new horizon for them, a rebirth of sorts. The Zerg were enough of a challenge to draw off their predatory natures, transforming the race into warriors.

His race had traveled to Earth, it was one of the favored hunting grounds until it was forbidden, the people proving themselves as more than a prey species. Now it seemed that they had proven themselves to be even more than his own people were, the unifying force of the galaxy.

In the end it was because of three beings and the memories of two others that brought this new government to life. Zeratul, Raynar, and Liberty were the glue that held everything together, and they were driven on by the memories of Tassadar and Sarah Kerrigan. It was the fact that the memories of the human life of the one who would become the earliest enemies of the Republic was one of the things keeping everything going that seemed poetic in a way.

A slight smile crossed his masked face as one of the few relics the Republic had came into view. A retired Leviathan-class Battle cruiser, one of the old Hammerhead designs that came from before the Republic and only three were still in service, this one was something he had walked through the corridors a few times when it was still in action as the Flagship of the fleet, the original Hyperion that had, like his own people, been reborn from the ashes of its destruction.

It was something that put all of the trophy’s his people collected over the ages seem meaningless.

xXx

Above the Cylon occupied Caprica a recon craft dropped out of hyperspace, its cloaking device triggering the instant it reverted to realspace. It was based around the frame of an older Arbiter, but equipped with the best stealth and covert technology with the top of the line intel gathering equipment, not to mention carrying four elite squads and a dozen vehicles of various types.

Colonel Jacob Bren sat in the observation seat of the ships control room, a grim expression on his face as he glanced back over the initial reports from the Probe sent to the system.

What kind of maniac would carpet nuke several worlds, it just didn’t make sense, especially as they hadn’t even done it the right way.

A shiver ran down his spine as a thought about Arcturus Mengsk and the Sons of Korhal that had formed when the Confederacy decimated Korhal.

“Sir,” Lieutenant Adam Blake, the ships pilot, said, breaking his commanding officers thoughts, “We are in position for orbital drop in all four pods.”

The orbital drop pods were one of the newer technologies developed after the war with the UED really heated up. Basically they started with what amounted to a gutted planetary bombardment warhead and loaded it up with the right gear to carry a being to a planet undetected by normal means, though it was a rough ride.

“Fire in the hole,” Jacob said with a smirk a half instant before four brief flashes of light signaled the pods launch, “Godspeed.”

He took a slow breath as his eyes flashed to the scanners again, gauging the best time to land the ship itself, “Tornal, take us in!”

The Dark Templar barely nodded in response as she worked the controls.

xXx

“Sir,” Captain Hannah Matthews said as she burst into the war room, “The Archangel reports contact with an unknown group dealing with a hostile force that matches the descriptions of our new enemy.”

“Is there anything else?” Jimmy said with a sigh as he settled into his chair.

“The sensors say they’re human with a lower level of technology than what we’ve got,” the young officer said slowly as she handed the Marshal the folder, “Also, they are from the general direction of those bombed out worlds, and Angel did mention that it looked like a refugee fleet.”

“I see,” the warrior said with a sigh, “Prepare the ships, we’re going to meet them in the contact system, I’m going as well.”

“Aye sir,” Hannah said with a smile as she headed out.

“Sarah,” Jimmy whispered, “I still wish you were here.”

He climbed to his feet and started out of the war room, the lights flashing off.

“I’m getting way to old for this shit.”

xXx

Alpha unit’s recon unit touched down, two Dark Templar, one Hunter, a Ghost, and each of them carrying a low-grade AI. The Cylons had no idea what was about to come gunning for them.[/b]

Torik is what the Republic refers to as a Hunter, it is basically a Predator (yautja) though their race never encountered the Xenomorphs. Before the first expansion, they decided that with their losses when dealing with humans, that Humans were no longer a prey species. Now they impressed them even more. A lot of their Honor from hunting changed into more for battle.

Also, some of the alien species in this will be from other sources, if anyone has any ideas, tell me and I'll think about putting them in.

chapter two: Before Diplomacy wrote:“Aldaris,” came Preachers calming voice, “This is Shadow Two, we’re forming escort.”

“Roger that Shadow Two,” Admiral Jason Alexander responded as Neritar nodded his response, “We’ll bring your boy back with us.”

“And the...”

“If you throw another one of those axioms at us, you’ll be off the roster for a month!” Golt interjected, “We’ve heard you use that far to many times for anyone’s tastes.”

“I copy,” the fighter jock responded in a much more subdued tone.

Jason smiled as the golden shuttle smoothly followed the Galactica’s lines. The shuttles had replaced the Dropship for most standard use, being far more agile and smoother for day to day use. The dropship was basically designed for getting the most items from orbit to planet side in the least amount of time it could without destroying itself, they were still used in that capacity.

“Galactica, this is the Republic shuttle Aldaris,” the Admiral said with a smile, “Requesting clearance to land.”

“This is Commander Adama of the Battlestar Galactica,” came the response from a man who seemed more than a little weary and yet excited at the same time, “Clearance granted.”

He leaned back in his seat, a smile briefly across his lips as memories of the Zerg wars and the following Earth war, how his life had changed from being a Dropship pilot, to a Valkerie Captain, to a Battlecruiser Captain, to his current position as Admiral of the seventeenth fleet.

xXx

Nathaniel “Wolf” Black scanned the area around him as he readied his canister rifle, the area was clear of motion and heat signatures, but he wasn’t to sure with the tracks he had found, they were very fresh.

He shouldered the rifle in favor of the energy scythe that marked his station, one of the few who managed to reach the status that the remembered one had. He was one of those with the Grim Reaper patch, Azrael’s insignia, one of the Angels of Death.

“This is Wolf,” he whispered into the comms unit, “I’m following some fresh tracks, they appear to be humanoid.”

“Copy that Wolf,” Blake responded, “Check in every two hours at the least.”

“Roger control,” the ghost chuckled as he disconnected, “I’m gone!”

Nathaniel moved through the trees like the ghosts he had been trained to emulate, not a sound to reveal his presence.

xXx

“Names Quin, Seraph Quin,” the Republic Captain said as he took his helmet off, holding it with one arm as he reached out a hand to shake the apparent leader of those around him.

Blake groaned in the headset as the pilot realized that none of those around him understood his comment, “You had to say that, didn’t you?”

Seraph bit down a laugh at the AI’s retort before turning to those of the ship he’d landed on

“So,” he said, “Where you from?”

xXx

The Wraith squadron broke off their escort as it entered the Galactica’s hanger, their profiles drawing the attention of the Colonial pilots as they raced away, heading back to the Archangel for refreshment and rearmament.

Together they were eight of the dozen that had started out, but thankfully they hadn’t lost a pilot, or their AI. Two of their number had to fall back to the Archangel due to damage, one had to punch out, and Seraph had to pull off a crash landing on an unknown vessel.

Preacher sighed, the fighters flying from the Galactica were good, an interesting design, and they seemed to be around the same tech level as the first model Wraiths that had entered service a few years prior to the Zerg war. Though they did look far more worn than he’d yet seen in any ships save for those rebels still loyal to Arcturus Mengsk.

Hopefully the damage to the squadron would get them a chance to acquire the newer model Wraiths or even the new Ravens that were just entering mass production. R&D had outdone themselves with the Raven class, a transformable design that could do some serious damage to everything they’d yet faced save for possibly the Zerg hive ships that showed up near the end of the war.

xXx

Golt shrugged as he heard the engines shut down, he released the straps and climbed to his feet with the ease that he had trained hard for. He was not the same breed as most of the other Ghosts, his training was an experiment for other uses of the talents. He was trained to be a diplomat rather than an assassin and saboteur.

In exchange for most of the combat skills, his Telepathy and Empathy were far higher than normal. He was also trained in dealing with the infiltrators the Zerg had occasionally used near the end of the war, Durran’s betrayal was enough.

He moved with the trained grace that experience provided the forty-seven year old Ghost as he slipped down the ramp to the left of Admiral Alexander.

xXx

Jacob moved swiftly in his armor out of the Crusade as it touched down, the ships cloaking device going to full cloak the instant its engines had been deactivated. His armored boots clicking as they touched the metal of the ramp.

He stepped swiftly to the side to avoid the four Vultures that rocketed out to scout the area chosen to begin camp construction as a pair of Goliaths lumbered into defensive positions with a matching set of Dragoons until the camps defenses were operational.

Standard Republic tactics for this sort of situation was to build a base station for use while investigating the area, that way if further inquiry into the planet was needed, there was a foothold in place to expand from.

The probes were moving round the clearing, already creating warp points for structures to be brought in as the engineers in SCV’s were constructing perimeter barricades and walls. The ships cloaking field was designed to interface through the structures and defenses to conceal it and shield the facilities until they were ready themselves.

It was an awesome sight to behold, the dawn of a new day upon new soil.

xXx

Elsewhere, a dark clad figure stood atop an ancient structure on a forgotten world, smiling at the stars above, his plans were starting to come to fruition among those who thought they ruled the universe.

A low haunting cackle echoed across the landscape as the last light of an alien star dipped beneath the horizon.

Chapter 3: Opening Salvos wrote:Since before the Zerg War, Saramir base was a small outpost used for refueling of civilian and military craft in the vast gap between the Rylos and the Veril systems, it was a meeting place of all sorts, the military had a minimal presence on the space station, though the system was used occasionally for military training exercises.

It was currently hosting one of those exercises, one of the carriers, the Fenix, was just coming into service for its shakedown flight and crew training. The ships was captained by one of the newer races to join the Republic, a Saurian, and was carrying several of the newer craft that the race had brought into the Republic, though enhanced by the tech of their new nation.

Colonel Tyrona sat in the command chair in the center of the bridge, her tail twitching occasionally in excitement as she watched the stars. She had proved herself worthy of captaining one of the massive ships of the Republic, and she was second in command of the new fleet that surrounded them, only Admiral Jeryn of the Hunters outranked her.

Major Marco Anthony, her first officer, entered the bridge with the morning reports with Sergeant Drakur, the Hunter security chief.

A slight nod to the two signaled that she had noticed their presence, it was what she had used since she started getting used to her position, a far cry from the nervousness she had during the ships construction.

“Unidentified ships exiting hyperspace!” Starsong, the ships AI yelped, “Their weapons are powered!”

Bright flashes of light signaled the beginning of combat, as millions of strange craft seemed to appear before them.

“What the hell!” Tyrona managed to say as she saw the Prometheus go up in flames, realizing that Jeryn had just fallen.

“Shields up,” one of the bridge officers said before vacating his post to Drakur.

“All ships, this is Tyrona, engage the enemy, take them out for the Admiral!”

Wraith fighters and Claw interceptors accelerated away from their patrol formations, joined by the swiftly launching Scouts and Corsairs as well as several flights of Talon bombers.

The dromeosaur like officer knew that their ships were severely outnumbered, twenty to one, but they would give a good accounting for themselves.

“Signal Saramir control, tell them to evacuate, we’ll hold these bastards off until the civilians are away.”

“Roger that boss,” Gregory Niev responded from his communications station.

“And by staring death in the eye and facing it with claw and talon,” she whispered to Herself, “Did they gain true honor by sacrificing their very lives to defend the pack.”

“I don’t want to die,” Marco said with a straight face, “But if I do, this is the way I’d choose, defending those who can’t defend themselves.”

xXx

On Caprica, Nathaniel moved in complete silence at what appeared to be a headlong dash through the forest, following the trail he had spotted. His abilities allowing him to maintain the pace without any effort for hours if need be, and the cloaking device keeping him from being spotted.

He had spotted several mechanoids of an unknown type that made him worry, but that wasn’t all, he felt a strange buzz in the back of his mind, something that seemed almost familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it.

Suddenly his mind identified the sound of energy weapons firing, and he urged himself to full speed, leaving only a light rustle now as he moved.

He drew the baton that was attached to his belt, twirling it once to extend it to a full seven and a half foot as he came upon the scene.

Two humans were facing a couple dozen of the mechanoids, and they seemed to be trapped, a grim smirk crossed his lips as he pressed the activation stud on his staff, extending an amber energy scythe blade from the tip as he leaped into action as he decloaked and activated his shield in a swirl of shimmers while materializing.

xXx

Helo grimaced as he saw Boomer get hit in the shoulder as he glanced at his empty handgun as he dragged the girl to cover. It seemed like it was the end for them, he hoped for some way out of this, but the thing was he got a miracle.

A black and silver figure seemed to materialize behind the Cylon Centurions with an energy weapon of some kind that shredded the machines with an almost casual ease as metal shards flew in all directions.

The being looked human in basic shape, but with the armor he couldn’t be sure. The Colonials never really used much armor but then, the first Cylon War had been primarily a space war without any ground combat in the first place, this war may eventually require more in the way of ground troops though.

But this was something he had never expected, the figure waved a hand and the machines seemed to magically take flight to shatter upon impact with each other. It took only a few moments before all of the Centurions were just so much scrap.

“Frack me,” he managed to stammer as the being turned to face him and start over towards him.

A black armored hand was offered as the faceplate retracted to reveal a grinning human face, “Come with me if you want to live.”

xXx

On a world filled with ruins a glowing figure reminiscent of an Archon sat before a holographic board with pieces that seemed similar to chess, but many, many more.

So our opponent has made his move and we ours, it whispered, the ethereal voice resounding through the structure, But the game is just beginning and the eye of destruction will not claim those we protect.