STGOD: DAS: Main Game Thread.

[Academia Nut]

Containment was lost. The antimatter mixed with matter at an approximately 75% efficiency rate, resulting in a 64 megaton explosion and the scattering of about half a kilo of antimatter into high orbit.

7 km above and 28 km southeast of Niamey, capital of the Niger province.
The blast obscured the city, but at the very least thousands had died in the countryside. Time would tell if they got the shields up in time over Niamey.

But for all the world, it looked like the Poles just fired on Africa.

For the Ariklu, there was stunned silence as they watched the fireball fade into a colossal mushroom cloud.

And then the captain lost his cool.

"Wielkopolskie, WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST DO?! He cut his engines like you asked and was low over a fucking city! He was willing to surrender to us, and we were going to hand him right the fuck over to you! What the fuck? What the fuck?"

The captain knew he wasn't supposed to lose his head like that, but every fibre of his being had just been offended. The TGA had welcomed them when they first arrived, and had never shown them any hostility even when mercenaries of their people had attacked them. To the Straltoc's alien minds, they had shown great loyalty in the face of adversity.

And now it was time to repay that loyalty.

Across the ship and its two escorts, shields were raised and weapons were powered. It was almost comical how badly outgunned they were, but such an action was practically demanded of them by their basic psychology.

Having regained his cool, the captain of the Ariklu says coolly, "To the captain of the Wielkopolskie, we demand you either surrender to TGA forces or to us. We were willing to be diplomatic about all this, and we could have avoided bloodshed. But you decided to call the suspect's bluff when the lives of millions of innocents were on the line, and you lost. You have betrayed our friends, and for that betrayal we demand justice. Know that we know we are outgunned, but to us it does not matter. Betrayal is the greatest crime in the universe, and if we go to our deaths then we go willingly, knowing we died in defence of justice and order. You have 5 minutes to respond."

[Thirdfain]

-:: Straltoc vessels, we will do no such thing. You see, this vessel has been tasked by both the Polish and TGA governments with both the close support of Loyalist and Polish troops in Africa and with the strategic defense of African airspace. The vessel in question was on a ballistic course towards the city of Niamey, and was only 28 kilometers distant at time of destruction. At speed, it would have been over the city center in less than a second. Had this vessel's combat computers not engaged and destroyed it, it could very well have initiated it's AM weapon in a far more densely populated region. This vessel called no bluff, and in fact assumed that the insurgent vessel was not lying about its' payload, as not all of the TGA strategic weapons stock is accounted for. Their penchant for the usage of suicide weapons and their love of using them on civilian populations is well documented.

I am shocked at your credulousness in believing that fanatic's mad story. Thay vessel could never have made it in to international space while the Weilkopolskie was on-station. Clearly, it was just an attempt to close distance with their target while avoiding our guns as long as possible.

Some three thousand Polish peacekeepers were lost in that blast- this vessel had no choice but to act as it did. Rest assured, the perpetrators of this horrible attack will be brought to justice, and the full weight of the Republic's resources brought to bear to assist our African friends in recovery from this disaster.::-

[Academia Nut]

The captain of the Ariklu was seeing red.

"He... was... gaining altitude until such point as he cut his engines, under orders from you. There were better targets closer to his point of launch, and if he had wanted to blow up the city, he would have done better to fly low first and get in under the defences. He was desperate to survive, and I think it was clear that he was using his bomb as a means to get past you. He was insane for trying, but not suicidal.

"You have four minutes to respond to us or the TGA for your actions. We are not the offended party here, but we will not back down from treachery. I will not stand down until you surrender to a lawfully apointed body to speak for your actions or the TGA declares that you have not betrayed them."

[Thirdfain]

"Under no circumstances would any responsible captain allow a re-entry velocity war-craft equipped with antimatter to survive within engagement range of a major city. This is Africa. There have been no less than twenty-eight major attempted strategic attacks on cities in the past month, of which five have been successful, taking a great number of sometimes absurd forms. The ship's trajectory was aimed almost directly at the city; under the circumstances I could take no other action. Now, if you'd like to open fire on a warship of the Polish Fleet for no reason, you mad alien, do so now so I can blast you out of the sky and begin rescue operations in peace."

[Academia Nut]

The captain was about to respond again when he recieved a tight beam transmission from Ambassador Felsith screaming at him to stand down.

Still furious, the captain does as he is told and powers down his shields and ships before saying, "You are a barbarian to think that I would have betrayed my word by opening fire at any time before my stated deadline. That is what you all are, barbarians. This is why you have burned Earth again and again and again. I have never felt luckier to be Straltoc, to be free of the madness that infects you. If it would not entail the destruction of other friends, I would have been glad if the space monsters ate you if only to purge the universe of your sickness. May your food taste of ash and your water go stale. End transmission."

[Thirdfain]

Polish Expeditionary Force Command
Lagos
West Africa


Great convoys were forming. The fighting in Nigeria had largely settled down, and local authorities had been re-asserting control.

The recent conflagration to the North, however, once more cause the Polish forces to spring in to action. Columns of troops escorted long caravans of relief supplies towards Niger, where the extent of the damage was becoming apparant. Already, massive relief operations were underway in South Africa and the East- Five cities had recieved similar treatment, after all. The TGA resources were stretched, but the Polish Army would do what it could to help.

Back in Poland, the Uche recieved a dispatch with the tragic news- along with offers from the Polish government to begin moving in massed civilian relief to the region.

[White Haven]

Deep Space, Requiem System

At a pre-arranged hour, a number of League vessels in the outer system translate up into hyperspace in unison, searing off through interstellar space through the temporary sensor network formed from the And The Sky Rained Fire detachments on smaller vessels scattered around League space. The League contingent outstrips that coverage quickly, arrowing northwest of League territory...and vanishing into the dead zone formed by the destruction of several outlying Polish detection stations.

[Thirdfain]

Tracking Relay 13-B
Border of Polish Space

The vessels of the 2nd Raiding Division spread out, sensors stabbing into the night like baleful eyes, searching ceaselessly for the leaking air and radiation which the damaged destroyer could only try to hide.

The ORP Bielik, a destroyer, was the first one to spot the fleeing Kiroternah vessel. At short range her probing active scanners cut through the failing cloak and lit up the stealth ship like a christmas tree. The tiny active guidance sensors in the Polish missiles and railgun-launched projectiles could not yet do so well - but this situation was easily rectified.

The rest of the vessels of the division were already changing vectors. A fresh volley of shells closed range and erupted against the small destroyer again- this time, bearing EMP warheads that did not need to score a direct hit to cause further damage to the already severly hurt Kiro ship.

As the powerful magnetic pulses lashed every still-intact system the Apprehension, began to lose both power and control. The forward reactor went offline entirely and the engines finally died, leaving the ship to coast on its momentum alone. The cloak had degraded enough to make the Apprehension's position visible to optical sensors now, as a blurry, flickering mess of distortion.

The order was given and the Polish gunners prepared to bring an end to the engagement. The ORP Wrocław was now in range, and the main guns of the Husaria-class Heavy Cruiser were much more powerful than the light tubes on the smaller destroyers that had wounded the Apprehension so far. The thundering volley streaked across space into the failing shroud field - and for a fraction of a second there was a brief glimpse of shattered modules and smashed latticework before what was left of the Apprehension vanished in a tremendous flare of light. The special operations flock had long indoctrinated their crews in the fate worse than death that would befall them if the humaans captured them, and as a result the aft reactor containment was already on a hair trigger. Within milliseconds of the Wroclaw's shells punching through the outer containment vessel the supercritical neutronium was released.

By the time the glare died down and the Polish sensors reset, a diffuse cloud of vapour was all that remained of the marauding vessel.

[Beowulf]

FEA forces
14 Leukophil-class Corvettes
5 Esinophil-class Frigates
4 Ossea-class Carriers
4 Neutrophil-class Heavy cruisers

Expeditionary Force Niitaka
CO: Field Marshal Lindy Harlaown

1st Attack Division (Reinforced)
S-20 Kusari
S-21 Yuki
S-28 Shojin
12x Ace-class missile destoryers

2nd Attack Division (Reinforced)
S-22 Mikasa
S-23 Iki
S-29 Kyuseishu
12x Ace-class missile destoryers

3rd Attack Division (Cruiser)
C-30 Nakajima
C-32 Marishiten
C-34 Senjutsu
C-35 Zensho
C-40 Issen
C-44 Shinigami

4th Attack Division (Frigate)
24x Asura-class frigates

Some Distance from Three Fleets Staging Point

Fifty odd vessels visibly floated in space. Chronos ticked toward the inevitable. "All captains, open your sealed orders, and jump to the listed coordinates."

Three fleets staging point

In a flicker of pseudo-motion, the Kitaka fleet dropped into realspace, from straight above the ecliptic. Six Kusari-class Satsumas, in two groups of 3 ships. They were accompanied by six Kuro-class as individuals. The Satsumas were guarded by a quartet of Ace-class destroyers each. The apparent lead Satsuma tightbeamed the other two waiting fleets. "Hello, we have been sent by the Son of the Sun. I presume that you both have been under fairly tight EMCOM restrictions and will remain so until this operation is over. Have all members of both of your fleets arrived?"

Recieving the affirmative, the commander sent another message: "Government Ships, perform operations checks." With that, the turrets of all the ships began rotating back and forth to the limits of their travel. As well, the Larkenseal cannons performed barrel extensions.

"All ships, op order Tora." Interdiction fields snapped on, and the Satsumas, whose turrets had previously each aimed at a FEA carrier, opened fire. Additionally, the Kusaris began widespread jamming of interstellar comms. A powerful ECCM pulse swept the volume of space, signalling the cloaked Asuras to decloak and join the unified battle net, as well as revealing any other cloaked Kiroter'nah ships. Lastly, the 3rd Attack division concentrated their fire on two of the FEA frigates, and began orienting themselves to chase any ships that ran.

OOC: Two carriers, two frigates are under fire.

[Adrian Laguna]

Some Distance from Three Fleets Staging Point

Surrounded by an endless field of stars, twenty-five warships and their support vessels hung in the silent void, patiently waiting in combat formation. They proudly displayed the colours of Spain and Austria, as well as the Habsburg Eagle. Inside, the crews were in passive general quarters, everyone at their station waiting tense and expectant. All weapons had been loaded and primed to fire, as soon there would be fire and blood.

Task Force "Barrier"
CO: Almirante (Admiral) Álvaro de Bazán y Guzmán, Marques de Santa Cruz

First Squadron
Deployed in Wall of Battle

NSM Madre de Dios, Spa. 1st Class
KKS Wien, Aus. 3rd Class
NSM Aragon, Spa. 3rd Class
NSM Asturias, Spa. 3rd Class
NSM Mexico, Spa. 3rd Class

Second Squadron
Deployed in Wall of Battle

NSM Espirito Santo, Spa. 1st Class
KKS Prag, Aus. 3rd class
NSM Cataluña, Spa. 3rd Class
NSM Stella Maris, Spa. 3rd Class
NSM Granada, Spa. 3rd Class

1st-5th Fast Flotilla
Each Flotilla has 3 frigates of the Reyes Catolicos design, and is deployed in a flechette (arrow) formation.

Support Elements
Various supply, tender, retrieval, and repair ships.


The First Squadron was arranged in a right echelon wall. With Navio de Su Majestad Imperial Madre de Dios leading the formation, the Austrian warship behind it, and the three Spanish third-classers below. The Second Squadron was arranged exactly the same, but rotated 180 degrees along the x-axis. The five fast flotillas were arranged around the two walls of battle.

Total silence reigned in the command bridge of Madre de Dios. Technicians and officers carefully studied a number of displays, screens, and gauges while the Captain walked among them at a steady pace. The Admiral sat in the commander's chair, stroking his white beard unconsciously and looking pensive.

Suddenly, the bridge came to life. A number of screens lit-up, exited exclamations filled the bridge, and Alvaro de Bazan y Guzman was on his feet. The ships had detected massive amounts of FTL white noise coming in, white noise consistent with full bore interdiction and comms jamming. In an instant the ship was switching to active general quarters, and seconds later later the Captain and Admiral fully appraised of the situation.

As the entire vessel animated, as all the warships in the task force sprang to full activity in but a few moments, the Admiral gave the expected orders, "That's the signal, all ships report in and prepare to sail on my order."

One by one, in the space of a few heartbeats, every ship in the task force sent its readiness signal. The order came immediately, "Unfurl sails!"

The twenty-five warships of the task force deployed their sails and moved as one into twenty-five maelstroms of liquefied time-space. Not a minute had passed from the time of detection to the point when the last trace of the warships had vanished into nothingness.

Three Fleets Staging Point, moments later

There, where the forces of the Kiroter'nah and Brimafel Preeminence had met-up with the Kitaka for a surprise attack on the Polish Republic, where the first two had been betrayed by the third, a one-sided battle raged. One sided not by force of arms, but rather shock and surprise. That is until sudden appearance of 25 swirling vortexes, and the rapid exit of a warship out of every one. Surprise doubled, as did force of arms, and the battle became truly one-sided.

The manoeuvre was risky, jumping straight into a mess of jamming and interdiction was the kind of thing that would likely either result in commendation or condemnation. However, a decade of alliance, and countless joint exercises, had deeply familiarized the Habsburg Empire and the Kitaka with each other's systems. This was no daring ad-hoc manoeuvre, but was a deliberate carefully calculated plan with expected results. Its execution was as close as one could get to perfect in the heat of battle.

Task Force "Barrier" wasted no time. All the ships moved toward the raging battle. The frigate flotillas peeled off to assault enemy pickets, and the two Squadrons raced toward the centre of the FEA formation. Electronic warfare equipment engaged, and immediately it synchronized with and complemented the Kitaka's more advanced EW systems. Not bothering to get a target lock in the storm of noise that was the field of battle, the capital ships launched a few waves of torpedoes. Each wave was marked by twenty eight fusion torches lighting-up and streaking toward the nearest capital ships.

As they got ever closer the culverins engaged. Charged particles reached-out across the void of space at near c, their deadly touch seeking the besieged hulls of the cornered enemy, or the wrathful vengeance of incoming ordnance. By this point the Squadron's targets had been visually identified: the two carriers the Kitaka had not engaged.

The Marquis of Santa Cruz gave the order to close the echelons, 156 railguns swivelled to take aim at each quarry, focused nuclear and kinetic ordnance awaited to be fired, and the two Squadrons readied for the kill.

Edit - I failed at counting and put an extra ship in the force declaration. Fixed now, notice that all other posts are consistent with three third class Spanish warships in each division, not four and three.

[Beowulf]

OOC Note: not related to the previous two posts, mostly.

We are all threatened, friends! All nations of the Civilized Sphere, regardless of allegiance of political background, are threatened! I ask the esteemed representitive of the Trans-Genetic Alliance to bring my message before the North Galactic Treaty Organization- against this threat, we must put aside our petty differences. An entire world has been murdered in a fashion not seen in decades. We must NOT allow this precedent to be set.

I formally place this resolution before the Coalition for ratification. Thank you all, and godspeed."

"I have good news, gentlebeings. The House of Nobles has ratified the CoN treaty. Therefore, it is my privilege to vote 'Aye' to this resolution. We will soon be able to place the 1st expeditionary division at the disposal of this forum."

[Redleader34]

Keeping this part, I said there would be fallout

In the Senate, Several men were outraged, saying "DEATH TO THE POLES, and "GOD HATES POLAKS!" The Protesters were demanding the poles be moved out of the country, and the situation was like that All over the country. The former Rebels, not angry at the Uche, but united under a banner for hatred of the Polish Race, chanted "Death to President Wiśniowiecki! He is Worse than the Bush who did the Iraq!.

Another Protester would shout "The Uche, he has been captured, and they are doing their mind control! That's why he works with them! That is why he has been against us! The Poles are using Mind Control!" Another Chant of Death to the Poles was heard. Scenes like this were all over the Earth, while a video made from clips and set to a generic conspiracy song made its way around the YouTube. It would look like Poland had nuked the Africans, and there was no official response from the Uche Administration, presently, he would be russhing to make a response, the Defense Valkire following them

[Noble Ire]

Interstellar Space
Just North of Polish Hegemony Claimed Territory
System C-0821


The tactical displays arrayed around Princep Ghenai were a riot of starship signatures and firing vectors, all of them newly tagged with the bright hue reserved for the enemies of the Preeminence. The betrayal of the Kitaka had been a complete and utter surprise, and had the 2nd Fleet Core arrived after the Kitaka and thus lacked the time to shift their power allocations from their FTL drives to defensive systems, losses would have been catastrophic. Nevertheless, the situation was looking increasingly grim.

Following the initial volleys against the fleet’s secondary carrier formation, Ghenai had ordered her force into a standard shell formation: the two carrier “bezels” of the fleet, tight formations consisting of two carriers and two frigates each, moved alongside one another and were surrounded by a diamond composed of her four Neutrophil-class heavy cruisers and the fourteen small corvettes usually used as picket and scout craft. Each carrier, her command ship included, had begun to issue a swarm of fighter drone craft before the Kitaka ships were loading a second volley. The formation had come together smoothly, despite the sudden reversal that had caught most ship’s Cotes off guard. Ghenai knew that many of them had been unwilling to trust the inhabitants of this new galaxy, especially ones as secretive and enigmatic as the Kitaka; fleetingly, she wished that she had given them leave to voice their concerns openly. She had been too eager for combat, careless, and now it seemed that it had sought her with equal relish.

Some of the younger and less experienced fleet officers might have cursed the gods and their devilish machinations. Ghenai knew that such an act was a useless gesture. She simply set to work; blame would come later.

“Enemy disposition,” she demanded curtly.

“Sixty enemy craft,” the reply came from a tactical alcove. “Majority establishing a cordon around this area of space and engaging in search and destroy against the Kiroter’nah. Their primary cruiser element is engaging Secondary Bezel at range and maneuvering to cover potential escape vectors.”

“The Kiroter’nah?”

“We lost contact as soon as the Kitaka opened fire. All units appear to have gone under cloak. Judging by the behavior of the enemy hunter-killers, they are moving to exit the staging area.”

Ghenai nodded. The Kiro ships were not designed for open combat, and having to defend them would have stretched her fleet to an unacceptable degree.

“Fleet status?”

“Secondary Bezel is under heavy fire. The frigates have been able to initiate an effective screen, but there are indications drive and weapons system damage to Units I-02 and D-04. D-04’s drone cover is also below optimum; launch damage is probable.”

“Move I-05 to compensate,” the Princep ordered, noting that the lone unattached frigate, still maneuvering itself into the cover of the shell formation, was as of yet unengaged. “What’s the status of the H-00’s?”

Before any of the coordinators could relay the condition of the fleet’s heavy cruisers, a large area of distortion appeared on her visual displays, just to the west of the 2nd Fleet Core’s linear plane. Several sensor boards lit up, and Ghenai knew instinctively that they did not bear good tidings.

“Two dozen plus FTL anomalies on vector 06!” a coordinator called. “Energy readings indicate warships. Their closing with the shell!”

“Affiliation?” the Princep demanded, ignoring the dull, distant rumble that indicated that her flagship was finally being brought into the fray.

The coordinator was silent for a brief moment, furiously interfacing with the Causeway’s AI. “Culture C-14. Habsburg Imperial Navy.”

The designation was familiar; all FEA commanders had been briefed extensively on all the known military powers in the galaxy, and this empire was one of them. Still, the “C” prefix indicated that comparatively little was known about their civilization and military, so she wasn’t surprised that she couldn’t quite place it. There had never been enough data available to ECSP for a full combat simulation. Obviously, she reflected as another blast shook her vessel, that had been an oversight.

“Twenty-five vessels total. The lightest vessels, fourteen contacts, are moving to engage the diamond. The heavier are accelerating into our formation; the analysts anticipate that Primary Bezel is their principle target.”

The Princep was silent for a moment as her flagship’s Cote busied herself with the launching and coordination of the carriers thousands of automated drone craft. The 2nd Fleet Core was not designed for close-quarters brawling; although it had four heavy cruisers to tend the carrier bezels, the remainder of the force was intended to fight targets at range by way of its drone craft, and intercept similarly long-range fire. Her frigates were doing an admirable job repelling the volleys of nuclear warheads and magnetically-driven projectiles that were now raining upon them from multiple vectors, but they could not hold out forever. The corvettes clustered around the heavier ships were also ill-equipped for defensive fighting; she watched as one bloomed into flame, succumbing to the mass of Habsburg frigates.

The 2nd Fleet Core could have dealt with the traitorous Kitaka, despite their numerical advantage, Ghenai was confident of that. But the combined strength of two such forces was simply too much.

“Signal all ships,” she said at last, cool pragmatism squashing whatever reluctance might have colored her tone. “Prepare for withdrawal.”


The captains of the massed Kitaka and Habsburg warships eyed their quarries with mounting confidence and satisfaction. So far, the Preeminence fleet had made little effort to mount a counter-attack; all its maneuvering had been defensive in nature, and its vessels had targeted incoming fire almost exclusively, allowing the attackers to flank and position themselves at will. Even the response to the incursion of the two Habsburg attack squadrons had been half-hearted, emphasizing the maintenance of the diamond “shell” over any potential envelopment of the enemy force.

As a formation of Kitaka destroyers shredded a flight of drone craft that had wandered from the defensive formation, disoriented by the heavy jamming that the comm-boosting suites of the slowly-collapsing corvette perimeter could not fully counteract, the 2nd Fleet Core abruptly changed its combat posture. The remaining Leukophil-class corvettes scattered, plunging directly into the destroyer and frigate formations that had been harassing them, firing their weapons almost indiscriminately. Straining their bulky sublight drives to their limits, two of the vanguard heavy cruisers moved to intercept the oncoming Habsburg cruiser squadrons, each encased in a roiling cone of drone fightercraft.

Abandoning frigate I-02, known to its crew as Dark Eye, the burning wreck that had absorbed most of the Kitaka bombardment of Secondary Bezel, the rest of the 2nd Fleet Core surged away from the Habsburg wall, moving towards the same escape vector along which the Kiroter’nah had fled. Most of the fleet’s remaining drone craft fell upon the hunter-killers still searching there, while the rest remained close to their control carriers, breaking off and intercepting any incoming missiles and projectiles with suicidal eagerness. The tiny fighters ignored their pulse weaponry, instead overcharging drives and reactor systems as they faced each volley, and flying full into any target that they could maneuver fast enough to impact. The carriers and their frigate escorts, lead by the second pair of heavy cruisers, moved through this firestorm as swiftly as they could, their progress slowed somewhat by damage sustained by D-04, which was venting atmosphere from several decks as its functional sublight drive pulsed with all the energy that the funnel-structure could handle.

As the Kitaka repositioned their vessels to engage the new threat, the surviving corvettes punched through the motile battle line and formed up to cover the damaged carrier as the forward Neutrophils closed within optimum range of the first enemy cruisers and opened up with ranks of heavy particle beam weaponry. The smaller vessels had acquitted themselves well, but losses had been severe; only six had made it back to the main formation, and three of those we heavily damaged. Two still fought losing battles surrounded by masses of Kitaka and Habsburg interceptors, and another had made it to the point where the rear-guard heavy cruisers had halted to make their stand, but the rest were little more than swiftly-cooling embers in the swirling void.

As the carriers and their escorts moved further and further away, the embattled rear guard fought more and more desperately against the overwhelming numbers and firepower of the Habsburg cruiser squadrons. As the cotes of the Twilight and Dusk watched their drone escort being burned away by the hundreds, they knew that their time had come. Only battle at the gates of heaven alongside their proud ancestors awaited them now, but neither was willing to simply close their eyes and wait for the wash of light and heat that would take them. Each shattered enemy ship was a spit in the face of the gods, and none on the weary warships had yet blasphemed their fill.

[Dahak]

From: Hegemony of Heavens
To:the Co-Operative Trans Genetic Alliance
Subject: RE: Alien

We accept your reasoning. But we strongly advise the Co-Operative Trans Genetic Alliance to move the alien ship as soon as possible.
The Hegemony is willing to share research results about the alien menace once we have conclusive results.

[Dahak]

To: Poland, TGA, Straltoc
From: Hegemony of Heavens
Subject: Skirmish over Africa

The Hegemony strongly suggests the parties to try and resolve its difficulties without further damaging the ecosphere of Earth. It has taken the joint effort of all Earth nations to restore it to its current state. We do not want it to be destroyed by petty fights.

[Dahak]

Sol
Earth
Summer Palace


"It was only a question of time, Your Majesty," Elajah Yamamori said. Officially, he was the First Secretary of the Crown, but also the one responsible for the planning of the Imperial Outward Migration Project.
"I know," the Daughter of Heavens answered. "But still, I feel I should stay here. To show the flag, if you will."
"Understandably, Your Majesty, "but given the recent events around Earth, the Hegemony must take steps accordingly."
"Very well," she nodded. "At least the Winter Palace on Ganymede is ready."

The Daughter of Heavens boarded the waiting armoured shuttle. It climbed, protected by a shoal of fighters and assault shuttles to the waiting Battleship Musashi. The massive ship and its protective screen moved out of orbit as soon as the Daughter of Heavens was secured. Its FTL drive flickered shortly as soon as they reached secure distance from Earth.
Moments later, it dropped out above Ganymede and she transported down towards the moon and its waiting palace.
Almost all ministries and important departments had followed in recent years or would follow soon enough A lot of populace had resettled, too. The Hegemony was not abandonning its ancient home, but it had long been decided that Earth, with all its nations and potential for war, was not the most secure place to hail your government from. The Jovian system with its massive infrastructure and importance was the logical next step. Earth would continue as an important planet of the Hegemony, but from this day on, it was no longer the capital planet of it.
At least now, the Imperial Household was not in danger of being attacked by some terran neo-Barbs with delusions of grandeur.

[Thirdfain]

Four Lives

Fleet Replenishment Ship Święty Piotr
Swirski Fleet Base
Solidarnosc
Polish Repulic

Konstanty Kołek grunted with effort as he pushed the last container into place. Hold 12 was now completely stocked- the half-kilometer chamber was full of boots, rations, and the massive variety of other sundries an army on the march required to function comfortably. Hundreds of stevedores were at work, assisted by robot loaders and other equipment. The smells of machine oil and human sweat hung low over the cargo hold, products of long hours of vital work.

"Konstanty!" The voice was raised high and clear to carry over the composite din of working humans and the hum of the ship's reactor. He looked up, grinning when he saw Bianka wave. He caught himself staring for a second- even in a shapeless military shipsuit, she looked good. "My shift just got off, Konstanty." She leaned in conspiratorially. "Care to break some regulations?" A pair of slightly crumpled cigarettes appeared as if by magic in her hands.
He shook his head in bemusement. "You're a wonder. Quick, while the boss is busy..."

They ducked behind the nearest shelf. Konstanty lit hers first, then his own. It was against regulations to smoke on board ship, but in the cavernous cargo bay, no one would know or care- just one more impurity for the air scrubbers.

"So, any idea what this is all about?" Bianka said, as she sat down on a box of military-issue prophylactics.
"Well, they wouldn't have us packing enough condoms for an entire War Theater unless they thought there'd be a bunch of roughnecks hitting up some foreign ports for a long time. No doubt we're going to war at this point."

Bianka laid back and sighed. "Christ. I guess with the Northies and the worldeaters and all it was only a matter of time. Think we'll get to see any exotic foreign ports like the recruiting adds said?" She seemed unconcerned at the prospect of the violence.
"Sure, why not- after six months of tooling around the Colonies, I guess Command owes the two of us a vacation. South or North, do you think?"

Bianka shrugged.
"South, probably. You heard the President's speech- some bunch of border barbs got their planet bombed, and now it's our duty to go save them."

"Not OUR duty, right? The Piotr won't be anywhere near the actual shooting. Thank god. I didn't sign up to get killed for Darkholians or whatever..."

Bianka punched him in the shoulder. "It's important, what we do, what the Republic does. Without Solar..."

-::THIRD SHIFT, GET YOUR ASSES IN GEAR. BAY IS GOING VACCUUM IN 15, REPEAT VACCUUM IN 15 DEBRIEF BACK AT THE BUNKS::-

Konstanty stubbed out the butt and helped Bianka up. "Sounds like we'll learn just what's so important soon, huh?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lwow Muster Fields
Lwow, Poland
Earth
Sol System

"COMPANY!"

Two hundred pairs of armoured boots hit the ground simultaneously. The sound was like a thunderclap.

"PLATOON!"

The voices of the sergeants carried over the broad flat field, simultaneously transmitted to the earbuds of the all of Bravo Company of the 2806th Orbital Assault Regiment.

"MARCH!"

The hammerblows of power-armoured boots hitting packed earth in unison reverberated from the great hulls of the ranked Fleet orbital lifters. Kapral Alina Biernacka was in Third Platoon, cool and comfortable in her power-armour despite the oppressive summer heat which was baking the field.

This was her seventh deployment. The gaping mouth of the lander was usually a reassuring friend, a sight she had seen a hundred times. Never before, however, had she been at an embarkment of this scale. For miles in either direction columns of troops were moving. An entire Legion of the Army was embarking, everything from battle-tanks to company cooks.

for the first time in years, Alina felt a surge of fear as her unit boarded. This was no colonial police action or pirate-hunting mission. She could feel it in her bones.

This was war.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CVF-6 ORP Lech Wałęsa
Second Ring Asteroid Field
Nowa Masovie
Polish Republic

A PZL.92B Lampart torpedo bomber had a crew of three- pilot, weapons operator, and EW/ECM co-ordinator. Each one's job was vital to the craft's survival in the hugely dangerous environment which an enemy warship's PD envelope represented. However, there could be little doubt that it was the EW operator's job which was most stressful. Salwomir Gorzynski reflected on what he would soon be experiencing as he reclined in the G-couch tucked under the main command compartment.

There would be the insistent buzz of the lock-on warning, the hum of the battle-computer, and the faint physical jarring sensation which the release of decoys would produce. There would be constant fire in all directions- volleys of missiles from the allied capital ships, countermissiles, and the horrible bursts of flak. At any given milisecond, a PD laser could end the bomber's life as if it had never existed- if Slawomir made even one mistake.

Losses in even a successful bomber strike against a defended capital ship could reach 20%.

"Hey, Slava, I'm getting a spike in your heartrate. You scared or something?"

Slawomir nervously scratched his scalp around the tactical uplink buried in the back of his skull.

"Nah, Luke, just reminiscing about your mother again. Don't you have systems checks to worry about up there?"

The pilot's laughter was somewhat staticky over the 'comm. "We're done up here. Time to hurry up and wait."

Hurry up and wait. Slava knew exactly what he was waiting for. In the next hour, the battle would begin- and the lives of the entire crew of the bird would be in his hands.

[Starglider]

Deep Space Convergence Point
Kiroter'nah Special Operations Group Theta

"Co-ordinator, reading a massive energy spike. Tracking and interdiction fields. It's the Kitaka."

"All ships, maximum battle readiness now. Focus sensors. What's happening? Any inbounds?"

"Negative... reading maneuvers and weapons fire. The Kitaka opened fire on the FEA. They're returning fire."

Yakaath'rat was the group leader for this small contingent of shroud capable minelayers, and had also done much to spearhead the expensive project. The plan had been to hold outside Polish space until the initial fleet battles were over, then make a run through under cloak, creating dangerous anomalies that would hinder rescue efforts. Of course with the bizarre and unreliable nature of these xenos, there was a contingency plan for just this situation. There was no point trying to help the FEA anyway; each of the stealth minelayers mounted only a token fit of eight light hyperkinetic guns, barely enough to repel boarding shuttles.

"Execute sequence 8. Get us..."

"Co-ordinator, now reading inbounds! Multiple contacts coming in at FTL towards the fleet action... more appearing right around us!"

"Flank speed now! Maximum dispersal!"

Twenty-four Asura class ships shimmered out of cloak in a bowl-shaped pattern, a few hundred kilometres from the trailing ship of the loose Kiroter'nah formation, immediately transferring power to weapons and targetting sensors. The Kiroter'nah ships lept forwards, but within a few seconds a murderous crossfire began to blaze out from the Kitaka raiders. The trailing ship, the K.O.C.D. Broken Script, was hit particularly hard; the ship seemed to be surrounded in a coocoon of lightning as its overtaxed and buckling shields tried to divert the torrents of incoming fire. Smelling blood, the bulk of the Asuras concentrated their fire on the Broken Script, overwhelming the shields and burning out the generators with the sheer number of shots. From a distance the ship now resembled a 1 metre model serving as target practice for a firing squad armed with automatic shotguns. The hail of glowing bolts punched countless holes in the hull and shattered the structural/field lattice almost strut by strut. In less than a minute the ship was a tumbling wreck, trailing debris and plasma. The Asuras swept over the ship, intent on pursuing the rest of the Kiro group. Ten minutes later the ship would dissapear in a flash of light, almost unnoticed in the background of the chaotic Kitaka-FEA-Habsburg engagement, as the few surviving engineering crew finally managed to activate the self-destruct.

But the Broken Script's sacrifice was not in vain, for it had bought enough time for the other three Voyager-class ships to engage their shroud generators. Spraying decoys and jinking wildly, the diverging ships smeared into local clumps of distortions admid the continuing fire from their pursuers.

----

"Status?" Yakaath'rat's voice was a monotone.

he always did rely almost entirely on his shell processors in combat thought tactical co-ordinator Ekar'iist that lack of creativity might have gotten us into this

"...to the superstructure and the anomaly generator is offline." the operations co-ordinator was saying "29 casualties confirmed so far." Every ten seconds or so a dull thump rang through the ship as shrapnel from proximity missile explosions hit the ship, occasionally puncuated by the sharp crack of a lucky Larkenseal hit.

"Tactical?"

"They've swatted 80% of our drones. They're zeroing in... plus we're well into the main engagement zone."

Yakaath'rat had gambled that flying through the ferocious and chaotic battle zone would help shake the pursuers, but with the shields disabled by the cloak getting in the way of just one of those battleship salvos could put an instant end to his command.

"Heavy gravitic shockwave bearing 231.42.101.78. Matches a neutronium containment failure."

The Kitaka ships had brought down the K.O.C.D. Non-Euclidean, burning through the cloak with raw EW power and buffeting the ship with Larkenseal fire until a lucky hit finally touched off a cascade containment failure in the forward reactor.

"Increased energy readings around the ship. They appear to be concentrating on us now.".

"The Warped Rune?"

"Nothing on their predicted bearing. Probably clear or a wreck by now."

There was a collosal bang and the command space shuddered from a point-blank missile detonation.

"All power to shields and sublight. Drop shroud now!" no sense going out like the euclid If the K.O.C.D. Warped Rune is indeed still operable, making a stand may enough pursuit to raise their chances of escape considerably.

Yakaath'rat's ship, the Tangled Vector, dropped out of shroud into a sea of fire and wreckage. The forward elements of both fleets had taken heavy losses, leaving the burning wrecks and hulks of frigates and destroyers drifting in space between the larger combatants, who continued to pour fire at each other through their shattered screens.. The main holodisplay filled with contacts as the shroud disengaged, and a brief glance was enough to confirm the situation for Yakaath'rat. A fraction of the FEA ships were retreating, while many stayed and were trying to hold back the enemy onslaught. They were taking heavy casualties, contacts winking out even as he scanned the display.

"Nine frigates zeroing in on us... and fire coming from that destroyer up ahead!" The tactical co-ordinator's statement was almost redundant, as the whining and rumbling of the heavily stressed shields reverberated though the ship.

"Flank speed." Yakaath'rat stared at the enemy destroyer on the optical scanner display. It's rear section was a mass of wreckage, engines completely gone, but sporadic fire still lanced out from its forward section. "Point us directly at that destroyer." Command override protocol omega-theta, both reactors, contact and hull breech.

The intensity of fire from the wrecked destroyer increased slightly, its remaining crew overloading their mounts in a desperate attempt to stop the incoming Kiro ship before it got too close. In the command space there was a sudden exceptionally loud bang and the holodisplays flickered from the power surge. "Catastrophic overload on generator 3! Shields failing..." The enemy ship filled the holodisplay, seconds away. for my flock i give myself to the storm

[Dahak]

Sol
Ganymede
Winter Palace

The Winter Palace was a marvel of engineering and wonder. Located several kilometers away from Ganymede Fleet Base and Amaterasu, the moon's capital, it was a crys-steel dome ten kilometers in diameter. The central spire rose to 15 kilometers above the dome's apex, a shining beacon of the Hegemony's power and might. Inside the dome, extensive gardens spread around a stunning landscape, dotted with pagodas, palaces and temples and, of course, the central spire. It had the same simplistic elegance as the Summer Palace on Earth, only larger here.

The Daughter of Heavens sat in one of the smaller pagodas and just slammed a piece of crys-paper down on a table.
"Why haven't I been given this before?" she asked furiously.
"Your Greatness," the sweating underling stood a good deal away from her, bowing deeply. "It has been held back by a secretary during the move. He did not want to disturb it or you."
"Disturb me?!" she shouted. She breathed deeply. "What's done is done, I guess. Anyway, the Kempetai will deal with him. Now I will deal with this" and pointed at the paper.
The underling shuffled quickly away and she turned to Grand Admiral Therkov.
"Did they really do it," she asked. "I mean, are they really this stupid? Attacking the Poles?"
"I can only assume they did. If we had received it in time, we could have reacted accordingly. Now..." He shook his head. "We sent a small task force to the designated area to check for truth. And inquired the Poles about it."
"Until we receive confirmation, we should not act too quickly. But we should be prepared."
"Yes, I already have set plans in motion for the Kiroter'nah station to be closely guarded and observed. If they are stupid enough to attack, they might be stupid enough to pull off something like this here, in Sol..."
"Very well," she smiled. "Inform me when something happens, will you?"

[rhoenix]

(OOC: Post removed, due to player withdrawal from the game)

- rhoenix

[Crossroads Inc.]

[The following events take place exactly the amount of time it takes for a single from the skirmish near Polish space takes to get to UISC space]

=========================
Galacticus, UISC Military Fortress World
=========================

It was down in one of the many of Hundreds of hangers that a tight, heavily encoded and scrambled single was recieved by a almost forgoton autmated launch system.

The hanger, 11-4Y, was one of the lower lewvel hangers. Oft over looked and nearly forgot about in the cavernous military complex. For those that did maintance on it, it was used largely for storage. As such, when two weeks ago, a shipment of long range, highly advanced probes was sent there, each with a rather 'unique' computer, little was thought of it...

As such, when the dust doors to the hanger were opend, it did rouse a few suspisions.

"Which hanger again? 11-4Y? No ones used that in ages?"
"I double checked sir, we recieved an automated code from an unknown location, but its military, only one of our higher ups would have codes like this, its definatly authentic."

Command Flurn, the Quatoni on duty looked at the report.. It was rather odd, but hje was never one to question orders.

"Launch the probes them, seems they already have locations preprogramed, must be another one of those black-ops Information gathering missions. Blasted departments.. Sometimes I feel like Im never told anything anymore.

He grumbled as he watched the half dozen probs fiore away from the moon before jumping to Hyperspace.

[Beowulf]

GS Shinigami
"Status of my division?"

"All ships are damaged, Zensho and Issen are under attack by the enemy retreating battlecruisers, sir," called out tactical officer Itsuki. "Zensho and Shinigami have a furnace shutdown each. Nakajima has lost A and X turrets. Zensho has diverted mana from weapons to shields."

"Have the division focus beam fire on one of the battlecruisers. Use missile fire on the other. Throw a couple flak shells in to disrupt their fighter cover. What's the status of the 4th division?"

The comm officer responded, "Most of them have been damaged to some degree by suicide fighter attacks. They've lost Ataki though, and some of them have had to shut down one of their furnaces. They've destroyed two bird cruisers, and one suicided into 2nd division's Ita. They're continuing pursuit of the last bird cruiser. Yuki's ECCM pulses are making locating the last one easier. Sir, 1st division has begun engaging the retreating battlecruisers as well. Second division is remaining at the other group of battlecruisers."

GS Kusari

"Have the other ships in the division target the battlecruisers hitting our cruisers. Kusari will try to disable the engine on the remaining ships," commanded Field Marshal Harlaown. "We want to make sure none of them escape. Their coordination is as of yet too good. Have one satsuma per division start jamming their comms. What's the status of our strike craft?"

"Uh, ma'am? What strikecraft?"

Marshal Harlaown laughed. "Of course. How are the enemies strike craft doing?"

"Heavily depleted between their suicide runs, point and area defense, and getting obliterated trying to block shots they can't possibly manage."

OOC Notes: 1st division is moving after the retreating group. 2nd division is hammering the rear guard. 3rd division is getting attacked by the retreating group. 4th division is chasing the Kiroter'nah cruiser, which is getting pinged by the EW equipment on GS Yuki.

[Starglider]

Bootswellington Staging Area
Galactic North of the Polish Border

In the yawning gulf of interstellar space, deep into a region notorious for pirate activity, the largest task force Bootswellington had ever assembled had been holding station for four days. At last the appointed time came; engines flared to life and the vanguard began to move forwards, five ships separating from the main bulk and accelerating towards the Polish border. If the Kiroter'nah attacks were successful, it would be many hours before they were detected - if not, the battle would begin rather sooner, but the pirate commanders were confident the Polish patrols would pose little trouble for their combined might.

The Watcher-class ship moved at the centre of the formation, her passive sensors casting forwards for any indication of Polish patrols deviating from where the spies had said they should be. The EW cruiser carried only minimal point defence weapons, devoting most of her mass to sensors, jammers and engines. While this class was much rarer than the raiding ships, in the past the EW support had been instrumental to locating many valuable Polish convoys and preventing them from calling for help while the raiders pounced.

Flanking the ugly EW cruiser were a pair of slightly smaller Blackblade cruisers, their sleek forms adorned with numerous gun ports through which the ship's 'light' guns could be seen. Mounted in dorsal and ventral turrets on the ship's flattened front section were two massive kinetic guns, capable of flinging fusion shells of frighteningly large calibre. Rarely used in normal raiding due to the risk of damaging the prize, the main guns were good for intimidation and dealing with convoy escorts. Trailing 100,000 km behind these ships another two Blackblades followed under cloak, ready to provide support when called upon.

The crew on the remaining ships stared at their tracking displays as the vanguard jumped into FTL and disappeared. Some wished they could have had the honour - and extra prize shares - of going first, others were glad not to be on point for this operation. But their time soon came. An hour after the vanguard departed, the main fleet slowly began to draw ahead. It had formed up into three elements each consisting of four Blackblades surrounding a massive Kraken class battleship. The pride of the fleet, these first rate ships bristled with no less than twenty of the huge fusion cannons as well as fifty light guns and numerous missile racks, and represented the Kingdom's recent ambitions to become a first rate star navy. The Admiral Ainsley was the command ship and lead the central group, while on the flanks the Green Apple and Red Devil were each trailed by a pair of Reef class interdiction cruisers. The Reefs were along to prevent damaged enemy ships fleeing the fight, to assist in the pillaging of merchant shipping caught in the fleet's path and, if the worse happened, slow down pursuit.

As the Krakens and their escorts thundered ahead, all that was left was a trailing force of eight Lamprey class assault ships and four Looter-class armed transports. The later were actually officially the 'Privateer' class, but everyone called them 'Looters' in honour of a famously overconfident American patrol craft commander who ordered the 'pathetic opportunistic looters' to stand down and prepare to be boarded - seconds before his bridge was anhiliated by a lucky first salvo from the ship's previously-concealed guns. Not much use in fleet combat, this final group departed a further hour after the main body, their mission to sieze ships and cargo deperately needed to resupply the Kingdom fleet and make good the loss of the diplomatic ships at earth.

[Adrian Laguna]

Battle of the Backstab

First and Second Squadron's esmerils endlessly spat streams of bullets that viciously shredded any drones that crossed their path. Incandescent clouds of gas appeared with almost rhythmic regularity, marking the passage of the invisible particle beams fired by the culebrinas. Admiral Don Alvaro de Bazan y Guzman wasn't paying attention to the point-defense fireworks, instead he stared at the enhanced visual images of the target carriers. They were turning tail and running, a perfectly sensible course of action, but it was too late, he was in range.

One hundred and fifty-six cannon were aimed at each carrier, three hundred and twelve gun crews tensely awaited the order to spring into action. The Admiral made a wordless signal quickly followed by a loud and clear order, "All ships, open fire." As one the ten warships unleashed their ordnance, and leaving behind white clouds of metallic dust, over three hundred railgun rounds streaked away across the void.

The bridge of NSM Madre de Dios trembled slightly as her cannons fired. Don Alvaro followed with his orders as it faded away, "Match vectors with target, stay in formation, and maintain continuous fire." Their guns belching death at a steady pace, the warships of the two Squadrons reoriented themselves and lined-up to keep their fleeing target abreast and within range.

"Status of the frigates?" Inquired the Admiral, turning his attention to the other part of the battle.

"They've suppressed most of the pickets with negligible damage. We've got two enemy third classers blocking pursuit and on an attack vector, and a handful of enemy corvettes still in the fight."

"Kitaka?"

"Fourth Division continues to hunt for the cloaked ships, First and Third are pressing the attack on the carriers, and Second is moving to intercept the rearguard thirders."

"Tell our frigates to clean-up and support the Second."

Aboard NSM Patrona, the lead ship of the 1st Fast Flotilla, Vice-Admiral Don Carlos de Amésquita, commander of the Fast Flotillas, had already noticed the incoming warships was studying the tactical displays when the orders came-in. He barely nodded as they were read aloud, and opened a channel to the lead ship of every Flotilla.

"Fourth will continue as is, everyone else cease pursuit of fleeing light ships and switch targeting to incoming heavies. Third you're with me, Second and Fifth go for the other one. Right before entering their weapons range break formation and attack from all angles, don't let them concentrate their fire. Watch the friendlies, the Kitaka Second Division is also on a intercept course."

As the Fourth Fast Flotilla wiped-out the remaining two corvettes, the rest of the frigates sped away like a pack of wolves following the scent of blood.

[Noble Ire]

System C-0821


A violent tremor ripped through the Causeway. The jolt was so jarring that Princep Ghenai nearly lost her balance, despite the shock-absorbing magnetic panels that encased the ship’s command center.

“The Habsburg line?” she demanded, steadying herself.

“Yes, Elevated,” came the reply. “Our aft screens just took four direct hits from high-velocity projectile weapons.”

“Status?” The flagship’s cote called.

“Reserve field capacitors are being brought online to compensate for the one lost to the hits.” The coordinator checked her screens again anxiously. “If we lose any more capacitors, we won’t be able to engage the VID.”

“The rest of the fleet?” Ghenai said, her attention alternating between the main tactical display and a cross-section schematic of the Causeway which was lit up with warning lights.

“D-04 has been destroyed, as has P-010. I’m still processing damage reports.”

The Princep’s eyes locked on the dwindling icons on her screen that had been the crippled carrier and its corvette escort, but she forced them away swiftly.

She focused instead upon the compressing walls of the two enemy fleets, appraising each with practiced speed.

“How many enemy vessels have broken off to engage H-001 and H-002?”

“Twelve light Habsburg contacts, and fifteen Kitaka ships, including three heavy cruiser analogs. An additional three Habsburg contacts are engaged with two P-000s, and twenty-four light Kitaka contacts are still positioned along the last known Kiroter’nah vector.”

Ghenai considered, scanned another tactical readout, and made a few brief calculations. That still left some forty enemy warships dedicated to intercepting the bulk of the 2nd Fleet Core, outnumbering it more than three times and outgunning it by an even more considerable margin. Her drone screens were down to 38 percent, and every one of her ships had sustained damage to varying degrees, hers included. The heavier Kitaka vessels were blanketing the region with an interdiction field, so immediate escape was impossible, and the sheer number and strength of the sources made destroying them all equally infeasible.

The Princep’s old Advanced Fleet Tactics instructor would have called the situation Blessed; a lost cause. There was no way to salvage her fleet, or her ship. Still, death did not scare her. She could still dictate the terms of her end, to some small degree at least, and there was one last vital service to the Preeminence she could fulfill before the end, if she could just figure out how to fulfill it. Time was short; her rear guard was failing, and when it fell, there would be no opportunities left to her.

“Tactical.”

The chief combat coordinator glanced at her in acknowledgment. “Yes, Elevated?”

“Have the analysts been able to determine the probable command ship of the Kitaka force?”

The officer answered immediately, as though she had been expecting the question. “They have narrowed the probable possibilities down to these two cruiser-analogs. Each stands at 41 percent likelihood.”

Ghenai inspected the two ship representations the coordinator had pointed out; one lead a squadron of warships that was bombarding the carriers and their escorts from their starboard flank, while the other was at the head of a similar unit that was still angling towards the dying heavy cruiser pair that she had ordered to stay behind.

“Can we contact the rear guard?”

“No, Elevated. Enemy jamming has just increased by an order of magnitude. We can’t reach any vessel beyond Primary/Secondary Bezel and our escorts.”

“And I’m starting to lose control of the few drones I have left,” the ship’s cote growled.

Ghenai stared at the representations of her rear guard fleetingly, and then nodded to herself. She could only hope now that the Kitaka were as prideful as they were treacherous.

“How many Leukophils with intact VIDs do I have left?” Ghenai inquired.

“Three, Elevated.”

Ghenai straightened up. “Very well. Communications coordinator, hail the fleet.”


What remained of the 2nd Fleet Core was almost completely surrounded. The Kitaka 2nd Division blocked its forward progress. The 4th was spread out below and behind it. The 1st harried from one side, and the Habsburg cruiser squadron advanced from the other. With no where left to run, the carriers and their escorts slowed, and as they did, the fire on them from all side intensified. A damaged corvette vanished in a momentary burst of heat and light. The Preeminence warships slashed the space around them with dashes and lines of brilliance, particle beams of every caliber striking any and all targets they could reach, but it was not enough to hold off the impending horde.

From somewhere beyond sight, a new star burst into life from the void, and then faded away just as quickly; the Dusk had finally surrendered itself to the night. No one knew, and perhaps would ever know, how many foes the cruiser and its companions tore form the living world with them, but all were sure that it had not died quietly.

As the pinprick of light wavered, the 2nd Fleet Core burst into motion one last time. Each remaining capital ship suddenly birthed a thousand minute forms; sensor beacons, tracking probes, communications drones, repair rigs. Every piece of machinery in the fleet that had a sublight drive mounted onto it surged into space from hangar bays, trash ejectors, and missile tubes, and every single remaining drone fighter moved to join them. Four frigates and four corvettes jumped into motion and drove into the storm of debris, a shimmering cascade that was directed at the sliver of open space between the Kitaka 1st and 4th Divisions. One corvette exploded as a super-charged projectile bisected its engine block, but the rest pushed onwards, their weapons forgotten, every joule of available energy pumped into sublight drives and deflector screens.

The remainder of the fleet, the three carriers and their guardian heavy cruisers, also surged into motion, but they did not move into the debris field. Instead, they angled above it, straight at the First Kitaka Attack Division. Each ship was beaten and blackened, venting atmosphere and frozen forms as they went, but they still had drives. Drives and weapons. And every single battery was aimed straight at the GS Kusari.