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"Sir!" Said a tired officer to Espona. "Reinforcements at Norad ready, sir! Should I call them in?" "Of course! What, you think we aren't in dire straits here?" Said Espona. "Call them in, and from now until the battle lasts, you think you should do something, you do it." "Yes, sir." Said the officer.
As the battle raged, the reinforcements came in. The 700 ships the Haorn kept in reserve smahed into the Raiek from the right, guns blazing. 500 Raiek were destroyed and most pulled back to deal with the nbew threat. Many didn't get the chance, as the experienced commander of this particular fleet had launched A flotilla of Armor and Energy Leeches, stopping several in their tracks. Another hundred were gutted and/or disabled. 300 more were stopped dead. They didn't last long. The new fleet hightailed it to the HAorn side, losing 200 ships.
------------------
As Espona looked on, he made a decision. He would use the Mothership ramming tactic he had used earlier. The great Motherships formed a wall, flicked on their Sub-space Generators, and plowed through the Raiek. 1200 Raiek were destroyed. Meanwhile, 500 Haorn were incoming. However, many Motherships that were incoming were blown to pieces, around 6
(This message has been edited by Espona (edited 11-29-2001).)
(This message has been edited by Espona (edited 11-30-2001).)
Researcher K'raia woke late at night with an astounding idea. Quickly she woke Councillor Karaze. "Councillor,"she said quickly over the handscreen, "I'm sorry to wake you.But I just had an idea on how we could make the Generation-II vessels even better. When the Tribunal first hailed us,it was with a "Plasmator Frigate".This frigate could move quite fast.If we could obtain the Plasmator's drive technology from the Tribunal,our new warships would perhaps be able to match the speeds of the warships of other factions!" Karaze replied that it was a good idea,and closed the link.
(Message) (White-Alpha Encryption) (To:Tribunal BASE ship Phyrexia ) (From:Councillor for Science Karaze) (Tribunal,in the time that we have known you, you have proven to be good friends,and your technologies continue to amaze us. We would like to do a technology swap;when the Tribunal first made contact with the Skraine,it was with a "Plasmator Frigate".We were impressed by the speed of this vessel,and we would like to obtain the drive systems of it for our own Generation-II warships. In return we can offer our Plasma Shields,which are quite powerful,and when coupled with your more powerful shield capacitators,ought to be quite good,or our Plasma Web,which can cause heavy damage to a ship's shields over a period of time. -Councillor for Science Karaze,Skraine University of Stellar Technology)
Later that day,Karaze received the report she'd been waiting for;the EMP weaponry was complete,and a demonstration had been scheduled. So a few hours later,Karaze sat at the bridge of a Tempest in the Rau'Chi Kel system. Several asteroids had been equipped with shields. Karaze watched as the modified Tempest shot a hail of blue-white EMP bolts,which struck the asteroid's sheilds.The shields flickered,then failed. Then the Tempest brought the EMP beam into play against another asteroid; a crakling beam of blue-white energy shot out,ripping away the asteroid's shields in seconds. "Impressive."Karaze murmured to the Tempest captain.
The Tempest returned to SUST,where Skraine researchers were ready to bgin work on two new missiles,the Lance and the Dart. The Lance would be fast,and armed with a Pure Kinetic warhead. The Dart would be launched in the hundreds;first,a Dart Cannister would be launched from the ship.Then the Cannister would detonate,and the Dart missiles,armed with Kinetic warheads,would fly off towards the target. Both missiles would have good guidance systems.
------------------- ETA until Generation-II warships complete:10 posts ETA until missiles complete:8 posts ETA until Cempak IV colony complete:6 posts
------------------ (url="http://"http://www.geocities.com/shades_shipyard")Shade's Shipyard(/url), the source for your ship needs.
Quote
Originally posted by Espona: **As Espona looked on, he made a decision. He would use the Mothership ramming tactic he had used earlier. The great Motherships formed a wall, flicked on their Sub-space Generators, and plowed through the Raiek. 2,000 Raiek were destroyed. Meanwhile, 500 Haorn were incoming. **
MOD: Come on.. You didn't register any losses for that "ramming tactic", and the concentrated Raiek fire would be EXTREMELY intense. you killed 2000 of mine in one move? you woulda lost at LEAST 1670, so i'll count it. On the other hand, if you want me to come up with a ramming tactic using dreadnoughts, and kill 2000 of your ships in a post, I'll do it.
IC: After a successful strike at the Raiek fleet, the Raiek try to decide what to do. The Sijak phantoms arrive after a crew on Raiek prime alerts them to this battle, and the small fighters, while they lack a lot of firepower, have the speed to avoid most of the Haorn's fire, and by swarming seperated haorn ships, they destroy several dozen with minimal losses.
Suddenly, a Bright blue pinpoint of light forms in the middle of the Haorn fleet, but the fleet os oblivious to the growing threat. The Raiek fire their thoron beams at a long range, and destroy several of the Haorn warships, right as the Raiek wormhole forms to complete size in the middle of the haorn fleet, and a little over a thousand raiek appear with guns and thoron beams blazing in all directions, and the raiek number increases expodentially as the carriers launch their fighters, and in a matter of seconds, the Raiek's intense firepower, combined with their element of suprise, and the haorn already being in chaos, almost a thousand haorn are destroyed with about 600 raiek losses. Several heavily damaged dreadnoughts and carriers (35 ships) self destruct amidst the Haorn, destroying over a thousand. The battle rages....
------------------ Dont Believe me? Just ask the Blind Man.. He Saw it all... ------------------ post sponsored by (url="http://"http://home.dal.net/ipixinc/welcome.html")Ipix Inc. Web Design(/url)
Chimaera Supercarrier ETA: COMPLETED
-------------
The Chimaera Supercarrier was completed at last. Now the Styx Bomber would become extremely useful in battles, for now they would be carrier mostly in the supercarriers, and provide the Confederacy with a nice edge against Galactica ships.
The upgrade process would take about 8 posts. It involved the miniaturization of some systems to make more room as well as some hull expansions. The things that would be added; a Styx Bomber bay with 6 Styx Bombers, as well as an extra anti-proton turret (for upgrading the ship class model). The upgrade would begin immediately, but in the meantime the Confederates would continue to research one tech only. A second tech would put too much strain on their economy at the moment.
Meanwhile, as the Confederates finished up building a few new colonies in the Milky Way, the colony of Dreden was going quite well. Already it had numerous shipyards and cities across the planets, and the system was buzzing with activity. And there was also a new colony be setup; Charon had two planets and a lot of asteroids. Charon I was colonized as a standard colony, but Charon II and several other large asteroids were turned into mining and shipyard bases. Despite being rather remote at the moment, the Confederates hoped to use the system as a staging point for scouts.
In the Milky Way, the fleet in DSN-8619 stayed there, though some of it dispersed to be stationed elsewhere. Some went to Dewe, others went to Krraali. A total of 420 ships stayed in DSN-8619.
Command Station Project Construction Project ETA: 3 Posts (time increased due to new station ideas which will take longer to build)
Chimaera Supercarrier Upgrade Project Upgrade Project ETA: 8 Posts
RESEARCH PROJECTS
Citadel Defense System ETA: 13 Posts
------------------ If at first you don't succeed...Hit it harder! - Me -------------- Millennium. Its coming, prepare for it. Coming to the (url="http://"http://www.ambrosiaSW.com/games/ev/chronicles.html")EV Chronicles(/url).
Originally posted by -REDCHIGH-: **Several heavily damaged dreadnoughts and carriers (35 ships) self destruct amidst the Haorn, destroying over a thousand. The battle rages....
**
MOD: That's unreasonable. 35 ships would blow up about 50, not over 1000.
------------------ Word.
Things had gone badly for Galactica recently. The only plus was that its border systems where far more heavily defended than they had ever been, with Missle Defence Drones being put online in ever larger numbers. The other plus was the defence fleets where far larger than similar Confederate ones due to higher build rates, and the fact Galactica didnt waste resources on battlestations.
Taking a leaf from the Confederacies book, Galactica has begun placing fixed defences in uninhabited systems between Galactica border systems and Confederate border systems. They would be mostly Missle Defence Bouys, since they could be transported easily, and the masses of them made availible with the release of the Missle Defence Drone meant any enemy fleet trying to pass through would have a lot of trouble. --------
In Eta Cassiopea, the whole of the space ceded to Galactica has been settled, with shipyards newly constructed, new fleet bases, and thricing colonies. The area is far more populous and productive than comparable Confederate settlements in the area, due to the fact it has far more resources availible, and that it is engaged in trade with the Skraine pretty heavily. --------
The retuning of Galacticas gravity devices is completed, and their full effectiveness has been restored, and they can now be controlled more finely. It is believed the gravity well projectors will be the best defence against the Confederates new bombs, since they can be redirected towards the enemy fleet with timed gravity surges. That or a direct kinetic missle strikes. Should the bombs be launched from extreme range, they would be easy to dodge, or easy enough to smash into each other using a standoff missle with gravitational warhead.
Work on the gyroscope missle is proceeding, and work is currently focusing on containing the highly volatile gravity well. ETA is 5 posts.
With all the work done on gravity systems, scientists are looking at a gravitational containment system for antimatter. Various theories are being suggested, but it will be some time until more can be done on this. NOTE:This is merely setting the stage so the size of antimatter warheads can be reduced without reducing damaging power at some stage.
(This message has been edited by RMA (edited 11-30-2001).)
Originally posted by SilverDragon: **MOD: That's unreasonable. 35 ships would blow up about 50, not over 1000.
meant 350
OOC:RED, I edited so you only lost 1200, and I lose 6 Motherships. Reasonable?
Espona, looked at the fight, and decided, this is hopeless. Much as he hated, he had to retreat. The Haorn backed down, and they let off a final volley of Armor and Energy leeches, destroying a final 50 Raiek. They retreat to Norad, praying the Raiek won't follow.
As ships continued to be built at a fairly good rate, just a little below Galacticas, the Confederates were drawing up plans for an upgrade to all shipyards. It would be a while before they could proceed with the project.
Meanwhile, as the Confederate colonies prospered, trade between the Confederate colonies and the Skraine was slowly increased to show the Confederates good-will towards the people who nearly became their enemies.
As the Dreden system continued to be expanded, the Confederates in the Milky Way were also sending out scouts to try and find good planets to colonize that could help their economy and shipyards.
---------------
In Ross 154, Lythrawn finally had his Zeno cloaks installed. Now that that was finished, Lythrawn visited a few other Terran worlds nearby, except for Terra of course.
Lythrawn was always amazed by humans. They could go through immense strife and troubles, and yet come out of it and become quite strong and advanced in the end. And all the while remaining mostly peaceful and civilized. Lythrawn wished the Prylak were similar.
Upon hearing of a Prylak attack on the Terrans, Lythrawn immediately started off for Terra. If the Prylak from Andromeda attacked, they could cause a heck of a lot of damage...
-------------------
As Lythrawn hyperspaced into the New Sol system, he was shocked to see the wreckage of a Prylak dreadnaught and one or two Prylak Battlecruisers, as well as 2 Prylak battlecruisers being swarmed by Terran ships.
As Lythrawn watched, a group of 4 Supernovas jumped in the system; tractor beaming a fifth Prylak battlecruiser.
Lythrawn, quite overwhelmed by the whole scene, hailed Casene on the Equinox and asked what was going on. Casene explained how the Prylak attacked and how the Equinox came and blasted them away, and then how they had destroyed two battlecruisers and disabled the other two. The Terrans were now boarding the ships to examine them and find out as much about them as they could. The fith battlecruiser was one found disabled in the wormhole to Andromeda.
Lythrawn nodded and grinned at the ships. The latest models from Andromeda were quite powerful, but his battlecruiser with its many improvements could easily beat one. Suddenly, an idea came to mind. Grabbing a datapad and having a breif conversation with Casene, Lythrawn rushed off.
Tretheck turned to him. "Where are you going?"
"To the Equinox," Lythrawn yelled behind him on his way to the transporter room...
------------
Walking into the conference room on the Equinox, Lythrawn say Ravaer and Esponer talking, and Casene waiting to see him. Lythrawn sat down and spoke first. "I must admit, the Equinox is a formidable vessel. If you can destroy a Prylak fleet of that size, than you might even be able to stand up to a Prylak battlefleet. And those, sadly, are much larger than the one you engaged.
"But I must warn you that not even a Prylak battlefleet is a match for a Prylak Starfortress. Now you really see how big of a threat the Prylak are. If you are going to fight them, you'll need help; maybe help from the Phyrexia or from the Sijak. Either one would be most useful to you if a Starfortress did attack."
Lythrawn grinned and looked out at the three disabled battlecruisers. "You know, I would like to have some of those... Mine's only a Mark VII, those are probably Mark XVIs at least."
Casene paused and looked at him. "I would be willing to give them to you on one condition."
Lythrawn's face instantly brightened, but then his eyes narrowed. "What condition?"
"I can't give ships like that to someone I don't trust or someone that might betray me."
Lythrawn nodded and shrugged. "I see your point. I would be careful to lend a Prylak Battlecruiser of my own to someone I didn't trust fully. What are you getting at?"
"Swear not to betray the Terrans," Casene said grimly. "And if you break that promise, I will kill you."
Lythrawn nodded slowly. "I swear. And believe me, even though I'm a Prylak, I always keep my promises, even before the attack on the Milky Way."
Casene smiled and then Lythrawn showed her a design schematic of two ships and a bomb. "What you see there is a bit of the technology used by the Prylak in M32. The large ship is the Empyrean Carrier. I was wondering if you could help me build 2 Empyreans; I would help you as much as I could, and they would be quite useful to me if a Prylak Starfortress did attack."
Casene thought for a hard while. The Prylak Battlecruiser was powerful enough, and the Empyrean could easily destroy one of them with the StarNova Bombers and Quantum Bombs. She spoke slowly in reply. "I'll think about it."
---------------------
OOC: Yeah yeah, it's a lousey post quality wise. I'll fix it up a bit later.
Oh, and another thing; all the stuff in that post is cleared by SilverDragon.
OOC:RMA,when I ceded unto you the North Sector,I expected that at least 5 of them would have no military or commercial value. While I'm not denying you the right to colonise those systems,I feel that not all of them would nessecarily be worth colonising.If you colonised only the systems with names,rather than EC-designations,you'd have a more reasonable 8 new colonies. But this is just my opinion.
Skraine scouting fleets continued to patrol the area near their nebula colonies. While one fleet moved around the eastern bulge of the nebula,another moved southwest. Many of the systems they came across had been only superficially scanned by the ships of the Great Expansion. Cincal was one such;the fleet which investigated it was pleased to report to Magistrate K'Sarragh the discovery of two new habitable worlds. The first,Cincal Prime,had a sparse asteroid belt orbiting it,the remains of several rocky moonlets. The second,Cincal II,was slightly colder(comparable to European winter). Beyond it circled a thick belt of ice asteroids. The system was also good in that it was close to Galactica and Confederate colonies,and might act as a point for trade.
The message passed through K'Sarragh's mail,and continued to the Skraine Colonisation Bureau on Skraine Command with his authorisation. The SCB replied;they'd do it,but as colony ships were being stretched thin,they asked that future colonisation wait until after Cempak IV and Cincal were complete.
-------------- ETA until Generation-II warships complete:9 posts ETA until Missiles complete:7 posts ETA until Cempak IV colonised:5 posts ETA until Cincal colonised:4 posts
(Norad is my space.. I'll assume you meant some haorn system?) The Several Raiek ships follow the Haorn, making sure it isn't a trap, but are forced to turn back when the rays from the nebula become too intense. Norad is repaired, and the Lazerus is slowed, and ship construction is double full (Due to high slave morale from scaring the haorn away).
OOC: You forget I kind of took over Norad.
The raiek curse when their comms to the planet below are answered by haorn officers... they had no idea the planet was taken... The Raiek ships release every javelin, space bomb, and an extreme barrage of heavy beam fire, before jumping out of the system, silently vowing revenge.
------------------ Lazerus research is finished, (go back and count), and after careful consideration (and a reccomendation by Esponer), the Lazerus Base ship project is no more. Now it's a heavy dreadnought class so I can use it for offensives... _Theoretical Stats: Shields: 8000 (five times the dreadnought) Armor: 500 Turning, maneuverability, speed, poor. Acceleration: suprisingly decent. Turrets: 50 Heavy Beams: 12 Armament: 40 Javelin launchers, around 1000 space bombs, carries 20 Gunships, and a downgraded wormhole. (Uses wormhole technology to wormhole into hyperspace, and exit to any system, around 4 jumps away, but based on distance more than jumps, so it would get further in Milky way, and shorter distances in Eta Cassiopea. Takes 15 minutes to charge, but can carry it's escorts (and any nearby enemy ships) with it(Milky Way, 5 jumps, Ross, 4 jumps, Eta Cassiopea, 3 jumps.) _ ------------------ Dreadnought construction has already started. (Construction Rate= 2 Lazerus' per post. One is already built) All ships are sent to Raiek prime, around the stationary wormhole, to be sent where needed. A small fleet (2 bombers and 2 gunships) is sent to everywhere the wormhole can reach- Andromeda, Eta Cassiopea, and Milky Way. _** (Andromeda Galaxy, Prylak Galactic Base)** The ships jump into the Prylak home system, and hail the planet. |Gunship Commander| "Your Brethren have made it! May we land? We have many stories-"(they are interrupted) |Prylak Planetary defense Commander| "Die Rebels" And a Prylak fleet incinerates them before the raiek get a shot off. Luckily the wormhole was closed, and is untracable. ** (Eta Cassiopea, EC-17)** |fighter pilot| "Where are we?" |Gunship commander| "Seems like we made it.. We're picking up a colony a few systems away.. a Government called "The Tribunal", let's check it out. They jump into Hoth IV, and linger with their shields and weapons powered down. (i forget if the tribunal have cloaks.. If so, I linger, if not, I hail) ** (Milky Way, Namer system, next to a confederate/galactica skirmish... )** |gunship commander| "Man, I wonder if this whole galaxy is a warzone... Are those.. Confederates?" |Fighter pilot| "I believe so" |Gunship commander| "Then we need to ally their enemy, dont you think?" The Raiek fighters buzz around the confeds, distracting them enough with their occasional javelins for the galactica to have an easier win. The fighters hail the galactica vessels: |Gunship commander| "Greetings, we are enemies of the Confederates as well. Who would we talk to about diplomatic relations with your government?" _ ------------------ Dont Believe me? Just ask the Blind Man.. He Saw it all... ------------------ post sponsored by (url="http://"http://home.dal.net/ipixinc/welcome.html")Ipix Inc. Web Design(/url)
(This message has been edited by ~REDchigh~ (already edited tomorrow).)
(This message has been edited by -REDCHIGH- (edited 12-01-2001).)
Espona looked happily at his fleet commanders. "Well, we have sucessfully driven off the Raiek. Both planets are now building more ships as we speak! We will conquer the Raiek, and then anyone else who decides to stand in our way!" 500 Haorn ships were incoming from the home system.
Construction: 20 Destroyers every post 1 Mothership every post
Unfortunately for the Raiek, nearby ships from Confederate border outposts are immediately sent in, chasing off the few Galactica ships. Before the Raiek can react, a Confederate flagship with its escorts arrive. They quickly open fire, blasting apart several Raiek ships, and then charging in to finish off the remaining vessels.
Before Galactica can send in more ships, the Confederates retreat back to Blaga.
New designs for a special Long-Range Artillary Cruiser are being brought up, and it is hoped the vessel will be quite useful against Galactica with its heavy long-range primary weapons. Research has yet to actually commence.
As the station refit for the three main Confederate base stations continued, one of the bigger parts of the stations are added; massive ion disruptor turrets specificall modified to be heavy station defense weapons. They are quite powerful and will serve the stations well.
OOC: The three main stations I have are not to be confused with standard battlestations.
As trade with the Skraine continued, a Confederate frieghter fleet arrived in Cincal and hailed the Skraine. "Under orders from our admiral, we are now giving you some supplies and equipment to help you build your trading station. May our two peoples prosper."
----------------
Background Development
In the meantime, under specific orders from Admiral Scorcher, the Confederate fleet in Hrekka had been shrunk to a mere 120 vessels. The other 300 ships were sent to Kelmoan, where they met another 100 ships. From there they set out. Their mission; obliterate the Pirates.
Jumping into DSN-1615 (or whatever that system name is, it's too difficult to read), the massive Confederate fleet opened fire. As the Pirates charged, suddenly a massive group of Ravens cloaked from behind and blasted away dozens of Pirate ships within minutes.
Though normally the Pirates would have en edge with their special anti-Confederate weapon technologies, the Confeds had been able to modify their weapon frequencies enough to block out the Pirate techs. What was worse was that the mines had been removed to be replaced later, meaning the Confederates had a big advantage over the Pirates.
Within just minutes, the battle was over, and the station was in complete Confederate control. Not a single Pirate survived the battle.
With the job finished, Commander Specter, who led the assault, sent a message to the Terrans and Lythrawn containing specific instructions from Admiral Scorcher himself...
-----------------
Casene looked over the message from Specter. It contained special planes for a sneak attack on Zak Vilda; the most dangerous man in the Milky Way and on the top of the Confederate hit list.
Scorcher suggested that the Terrans temporarily deactivate the sub-space inhibitors, allowing them to send the Equinox through and attack DSN-6008. If the battle against the Prylak was any show of how good the Equinox was, then the Pirates would be doomed.
The message also contained plans for how Lythrawn could help. He would come along with the Equinox and help fight Vilda, seeing that he had a lot of firepower and that Captain Tretheck was eager to use the three new battlecruisers they had.
Casene and Lythrawn agreed, and the plane was immediately put into action.
Just two days later, a strike force of 300 Confederate ships had been readied, and the Equinox and Lythrawns fleet set out from Terra using the newly re-activated hyperlink.
Finally, the fleets attacked.
The Confederates and Terrans jumped in first, the Equinox scaring many of the Pirates away instantly. Then Lythrawn and his fleet jumped in, which also scared many of the Pirates, but not Zak.
As the two fleets charged, in just seconds the course of history would be changed...
Command Station Project Construction Project ETA: 2 Posts
Chimaera Supercarrier Upgrade Project Upgrade Project ETA: 7 Posts
Citadel Defense System ETA: 12 Posts
(This message has been edited by Captain Carnotaur (edited 12-01-2001).)
Originally posted by Espona: **Espona looked happily at his fleet commanders. "Well, we have sucessfully driven off the Raiek. Both planets are now building more ships as we speak! We will conquer the Raiek, and then anyone else who decides to stand in our way!" 500 Haorn ships were incoming from the home system.
Sent to the two systems per post? sure. Built by two planets? no way. Build by your govt for govt fleet? Definately.
2 1-mile long Lazerus' lift off from Raiek Prime, and wait by the wormhole, ready to go to (Undisclosed).
Construction slows to a mere 100% when the slaves's moral goes back to normal.
The Pirate Finale (Written by Thunder, edited and approved by Captain Carnotaur - hope you enjoy it ;))
The battle lines had been drawn, the pieces placed. This, Zak knew, would be the battle that would decide the fate of the Pirates, and of so many other races. From on board his dreadnaught, he surveyed the battlefield, watching as his loyal fleet exchanged fire with the Prylak and the Alliance. In the distance the Terran Equinox loomed menacingly, perhaps the biggest threat the Pirates faced. Zak was outnumbered, but he was confident that his military strategy was sound - the pirates would come out victorious or die trying.
The battle began slowly, each side exchanging long range volleys with the other. Great masses of energy and explosives would fly out from both sides, lighting up the opposing battle lines with flashes explosions as the ordinance met its mark. This went on for several minutes before the battle commenced in full.
-----
A wave of warships swept forward from the Alliance lines, pummeling the Pirate flank. Zak's fleet responded with a flurry of cannon fire, forcing the warships to retreat, but not before sevreal of his destroyers had been heavily damaged. Zak decided to press the advantage, sending a wave of fighters to hound the retreating warships. They too were forced to withdraw as even more Alliance ships surged forward.
The battle raged on in this manner for nearly half an hour, in perpetual neutrality. One side would probe forward with an offensive, only to be stopped and forced back by their opponent's defensive lines. Then the Prylak and their allies made their move. As a wave of Alliance fighters strafed the Pirate lines, drawing their attention, the Prylak Battlecruiser moved into cannon range of the Pirate lines. The Equinox opened fire with its stasis weapon, immobilizing several dozen Pirate vessels.
Zak watched gleefully as two Alliance fighters exploded on his viewscreen. The Alliance had made a tactical mistake; their fighters could never survive such close range strafing runs. His glee quickly faded, though, as he was knocked to the floor by a large explosion. "What was that?"
"Putting the source on the viewscreen now," his tactical officer responded. On the screen, the Battlecruiser loomed. "Open fire," Zak ordered.
None of the combatants in the DSN-6008 system had ever witnessed a supernova, but if they had, they thought, it would look much like the battle between Zak's dreadnaught and the Prylak Battlecruiser. The release of energy was massive, and the blinding light display something never before witnessed in this galaxy. The massive armaments of both ships were trained each on the other, as explosions engulfed both ships, energy bolts and missiles releasing their full fury against the shields of the two warring behemoths. Their battle frenzy fueled by this awesome display of military might, the two sides only fought harder and faster. Battle lines were abandoned, and chaos ensued.
Flashes of light and debris were everywhere. DSN-6008 had once been the site of two warring fleets, now the fleets were indisnguishable; one chaotic, warring mass of vessels. Losses mounted for both sides as the chaos of the battle bagan to take its toll. More and more of the great warships on both sides were being reduced to smoldering hulks and floating debris.
"Status!" Zak yelled, as his weapons officer struggled to stave off an approaching wolfpack of Prylak and Alliance warships.
"Shields are down to 20%," his tactical officer replied, "but we're looking pretty good otherwise." Zak didn't respond, though, he was too busy watching the view on screen. Nearly a dozen of his vessels were converging on one of the Prylak carriers; it was nearly disabled and soon would be destroyed.
Onboard the Prylak Battlecruiser, Grand Admiral Lythrawn's face showed a slight smile. "Zak is a good strategist, but he his forces have made a grave mistake. They've taken the bait. Now close the door."
"Yes, sir!"
Zak watched as his forces continued to assult the stricken carrier, now disabled. His attention was quickly focused elsewhere as warning sirens sounded from the sensor station. Zak ran over, looking over his tactical officer's shoulder.
"It's a pincer move!" Zak was right - the carrier had been the bait to move the pirate vessels into position. The majority of the Pirate fleet, including Zak's own vessel, were now caught between a wall of Alliance ships, and an advancing Prylak battle line. Refusing to give up, Zak ordered his warships to charge the oncoming Prylak line, while he turned his ship upward - the one direction the pincer move could not contain. Little did he know his enemies had one last surprise up their sleeves.
As Zak's pirate fleet caused heavy casualties to the Prylak line, Zak struggled to pull his vessel clear of the crossfire. As he came out above the formation, a single shadow loomed on the viewscreen. His ship was now face to face with the Equinox. "Now," said Terran commander Casene said, "Finish him."
Another lightshow ensued, as the two most powerful vessels on the battlefield went at it with all they had. Every bomb, every missile, every cannon... all were pointed at the enemy and blazing. Zak fought with all his strength, cunning, and strategy, but he was simply overpowered. The Equinox was at almost full shield strength, and Zak's dreadnaught was down to only 15%. The explosions rocking Zak's bridge grew stronger and stronger, his shields no longer offering full protection against the barrage the Equinox was dishing out.
Sparks flew from Zak's weapons console, knocking several of his bridge crew unconsious. "Shields are down!" someone screamed, "Armor is taking heavy damage!" Zak looked at the viewscreen, realizing there was little hope of victory. "Take us away," he ordered, "we need to recharge our armor and shields."
"No can do," his tactical officer replied. "Engines have been damaged. We won't be able to outrun the Equinox." Another explosion rocked the bridge, followed by another and yet another. Grim status reports began to pile up one upon the next. "Engines have been destroyed... Weapons at 30% efficiency... life support failing... main power offline... reserves down to 5%..." System after system failed. Soon Zak's once powerful dreadnaught was dead in the water, disabled. The constant hail of weapon fire began to subside, followed by a series of loud clanks coming from the lower decks. "Sir," one of Zak's bridge officers warned him, "we're being boarded."
Zak brandished a phase rifle, waiting behind a bulkhead on his bridge. He could hear the weapons fire getting closer. His marines were battling with Alliance and Prylak troopers, and the troopers were gaining ground. Even as the battle raged on in space, beams and bolts of energy filled the darkened corridors of the dreadnaught. Two screams and an explosion against the bridge doors announced the arrival of the troopers to the bridge. Zak fingered a concussion grenade, ready for the oncoming forces.
Several tense minutes followed, as the Prylak and Alliance fighters cut through the bridge doors with plasma torches, filling the bridge and the corridor outside with smoke. Finally they made it through, and the heavy bridge doors came falling down with an impressive clanging noise. Immediately the invaders were met with a hail of phase rifle fire and consussion grenades. Five Prylak troopers and three Alliance marines died almost instantly. They had the advantage in numbers, though, and came storming onto the bridge, taking up defensive positions behind consoles and bulkheads across from the pirates.
The battle of the bridge was nearly as chaotic as the battle in space - smoke filled the bridge, making it impossible to see more than a meter. Energy flashes from weapons fire filled the room, illuminating the dimly lit bridge with a constant glow. Zak fought bravely, sniping off four marines single-handedly. Unfortunately the pirate numbers were dwindiling. More and more were stunned or killed, leaving Zak with less and less support to fall back on.
After the firefight continued for several more minutes, the weapons fire suddenly halted. Zak, crouching behind a bulkhead, waited tensely for the invaders to make their move. No move came. Instead, the smoke began to clear. A hull breach had opened up somewhere on the deck, and was slowly beginning to depressurize the entire level.
As the smoke cleared, Zak could see his situation. All of his resistance fighters had been killed. He was alone, facing a dozen Alliance and Prylak marines. He crawled over to a console, one of the last ones working, and entered several commands. As he did, he heard a familiar voice. It was Alliance Commander Specter.
"You are outnumbered and your ship is in our hands. Cooperate and you may still survive." Two guards converged on Zak's position, hoisting him to his feet and holding him at gunpoint.
"To the day I die," Zak spat back defiantly, "I will never cooperate with the likes of you."
"As you wish," Commander Specter replied. He leveled his anti-proton rifle at Zak's chest and fired. The pirate was blown back against a bulkhead by the impact, then slumped over.
Zak Vilda, brilliant strategist, warrior, and proud leader of the Pirates, was dead.
As two Alliance marines carried his lifeless body from the bridge, a Prylak trooper made a startling discovery. Zak had left them one last present before he had died. "Zak started some kind of self-destruct before he died. The hyperspace core is at critical pressure... this ship will explode in about... forty seconds!"
"Quick!" Commander Specter shouted, "everyone into the escape pods!" several dozen escape pods detached from the hull of the bridge and moved quickly toward the Alliance and Prylak fleet, which was desparately attempting to vacate the blast radius. From the viewport of his escape pod, Commander Specter watched the Pirate dreadnaught enter its death throes.
Ripples of energy and sparks of electricty coarsed across the hull of the dreadnaught. As the protectives walls around hyperspace core began to fail, explosions could be seen rocking the lower decks of the vessel. Whole chunks - entire rooms, cargo bays, engines, were being detached from the dreadnaught by the force of the internal explosions. Eventually the ship could contain the force of the hyperspace core explosion no longer. A wave of pure white energy swept out in all directions from the center of the vessel, disintegrating the hull of the dreadnaught, vaporizing it altogether. The shockwave illuminated the entire system, speeding outward with crushing force. Nearly two dozen Alliance vessels too slow to outrun it were caught... they too were vaporized. Commander Specter was spared, knocked unconsious as the shockwave overtook his escape pod, leaving it damaged but intact, awaiting recovery by some Alliance vessel. Slowly the shockwave subsided, and the chaos that filled DSN-8006 subsided with it.
The casualties of the chaos that had reigned in DSN-6008 were staggering. Nearly half of the Alliance vessels involved had been destroyed, and several Prylak vessels had either been destroyed or damaged. Even Lythrawns battlecruiser had been heavily damaged, and almost every pirate vessel had been destroyed. DSN-6008 had become a graveyard, scrap metal and burning hulks littering every corner of the system. Thousands had died, and hundreds of powerful ships were no more. Brave fighters from both sides had been lost. Even Zak Vilda himself.
And nobody present would forget the things they had seen that day. The Battle of DSN-6008 would be emblazoned in their memories forever.
------------------ Ad Astra Per Aspera - "A rough road leads to the stars"
(This message has been edited by Thunder (edited 12-01-2001).)
OOC:REDchigh,cloaking is Tribunal sig. tech. Also,the closest colony is a (battle)station of mine,in the system adjoining EC-17. Also,the closest way to Hoth IV is through Dimire or Hoth V;Dimire is a Tribunal colony,and if you passed through Hoth V you would have been obliterated.
In the Skrineen system,Karaze checked her incoming hypermail.Nothing. The Tribunal didn't seem to be responding. Soon Researcher K'raia called;were the Tribunal going to trade the Plasmator Drives? Karaze responded that she did not know;the Tribunal had not responded. It was only an idea,after all;instead,K'raia should concentrate on stuffing the Generation-II vessels with as much firepower as possible.
In Cincal,the colonial administrator was happy to see the equipment donated by the Confederates. It was a nice gift;now the colony would be able to be completed faster. He relayed the proceedings to Unity Starbase,where Magistrate K'Sarragh sent a message to the Confederates.
(Message) (White-Alpha Encryption) (To:Confederate regional command,Dandreson system) (From:Magistrate K'Sarragh,Unity Starbase) (We thank you for your gift of equipment;with it we can now complete the Cincal colony faster. Hopefully this will lead to further trade between us;is there anything you would like? -Magistrate K'Sarragh,Skraine Interstellar Coalition of Worlds)
The Skraine battlestation in EC-103 was astounded to see a small fleet of Rhai'ek vessels jump in from EC-15;they were gone before the Skraine could fire. The station commander alerted the other worlds of the Hoth Sector. Upon hearing the message,almost every warship commander in the Hoth Sector volunteered to go. K'Sarragh had to select the elite of the systems forces,leaving behind the unfortunate few who had neither the skill or the experience. The Skraine fleet of 350 vessels jumped into Hoth IV,weapons powered. Once again the Rhai'ek had their sheilds and weapons powered down. Fools ,Commander Chirakka thought.The Skraine would hunt down Pry'lahk or Rhai'ek wherever they were found. The Skraine strike force,an overwhelming number of vessels,opened fire,ripping apart the small Rhai'ek fleet. Once again,the Skraine had wiped out a Rhai'ek strike force. No Rhai'ek would live in the Eta Cassiopea galaxy!
------------------- ETA until Generation-II warships complete:8 posts ETA until Missiles complete:6 posts ETA until Cempak IV colonised:4 posts ETA until Cincal colonised:2 posts(speeded by Confed equipment gift)
More ships at Norad and Norad 4 were built and moved to join Espona's force. Meanwhile, the 500 Haorn had arrived.
Espona looked over the battle recordings. He saw the wormhole open up in the middle of his fleet again and again. He had sent a copy to hius scientists to analyze it, and discover the mechanism that caused this and duplicate it, or at least make something like it. He also noted weapons such as this Thoron Beam was so effective, he needed adequate protection from something like this. Another message was sent to his scientists, this time to figure out protection from the Thoron Beams
Research Wormhole tech: 10 posts Beam defense: 5 posts