Re: [004 - G] Artemis Tau 7 System

by Haze Thu May 30, 2013 10:29 am

Hub - Inner Decks

The dark grey machine settled in the air and began moving for the doors.

"Corl, hello. You're going to take me to a shuttle."

USS Carentan, - Supercarrier, Hastings Class

The Voehn sphere bleeped and flashed green again.

"Esteemed representatives of all class four, three, and indeed... class two civilizations present, if I might tentatively suggest a more outlying and indeed ulterior course of action. It has long been my understanding that these matters of haste and utility are often best decided by the abrupt nature of decisions previously made in haste and anger. having said that, it would be to the circumstances beneficial if we were to pay heed in the nature of our meeting. I suggest we pick a grouping by manner of chance and select them to spring said trap. Others will wait in relative proximity to support their venture lest it become precarious. Do all accept the suggestion of logic inherent in said plan of action?"

by **Hades** Thu May 30, 2013 8:12 pm

USS Carentan, SBG-12
Conference Room

The United Systems representatives remained mostly silent throughout the discussion that followed the Major's response, although the President and some of her advisers seemed to whisper to one another on occasion; no doubt, they had found the sphere's proposal mostly sound, even though the manner in which it was said was peculiar at best. In fact, some wondered if it was mocking the other representatives, or, in fact, the USMIS Major; there was also the issue of just how dangerous springing a trap was, even with reinforcements. For all they knew, the Alarei expected such a move, and they could match any reinforcements with ships of their own; the alternative was to send a stealth recon, an arguably safer decision. One risked the entire allied fleet, the other risked a few stealth fighters.

The Lord Admiral's anger was justifiable as well; the Alarei had taken many lives during their genocidal attack, and USMIS had already determined that some of the leaders had personal involvement in the losses. The Kal'Bavakorian Empress, even though she was not present, and had mostly been forgotten by the summit's nations, had lost family; the High Executor had lost a daughter. The son of a prominent United Systems Senator had been lost aboard the Carentan just a few days earlier. No doubt, they would all push for rushed measures against the Alarei; at least, that was what USMIS had predicted, even though some of the leaders seemed more restrained than they were expected to.

The President decided to take her turn in speaking next, but before she could, everything was engulfed in darkness; the LED lights that illuminated the room were abruptly shut down, and it took a few seconds for the emergencies to kick in, bathing the room in an eerie red hue.

USS Carentan, SBG-12
Combat Information Center

"What the hell is going on?"

Much like the conference room, the entire Carentan had experienced a total loss of power; within a fraction of a second, the gargantuan warship had been reduced to a drifting piece of metal, ceramics and plastics. The Reaction Control Systems that managed the ship's rotation in space were disengaged, but luckily, they had been purely maintaining the ship's attitude in correlation with the star formations, and it wasn't sent on an uncontrolled spin. But that didn't make matters better; it was only a single piece of good news amidst a sea of bad luck.

It took several seconds before the computers rebooted, running on emergency backup power, and the red glow that had similarly engulfed the interior of the ship became present in the Combat Information Center. With the computers still rebooting themselves, the officers in the bridge had no reliable way of determining what had happened, except for one. The emergency phones were still working; powered by the user's own voice, instead of some kind of electrical system, they were designed to allow the ship's commanding officers to communicate with the department heads and issue vital orders. Now, it was being used to relay system reports.

"Sir, the main reactor is offline, we've got ship-wide loss of power. Engineering is turning on the backups manually."

"Report from the hangars, launch tubes are offline on all decks."

The XO sighed in disapproval; everything was taking a turn for the worst, and they had no idea as to why it was happening. The Carentan was behaving like a crippled animal, and there was no way it was due to physical damage endured during the battle; no, it was most likely a computer malfunction, something that the engineers had paid no attention to and had allowed to expand to the entire computer network. But that was an optimistic scenario, for the alternative would be devastating: a virus, much like the one that had crippled the Carentan many months ago. The virus had been purged from the systems and the backdoors fixed, but there was always a chance that another saboteur had planted it.

The pessimism was confirmed the moment the initial start-up sequence for the computers was complete. Every screen on the bridge was overrun by walls of text, scrolling past at speeds too fast for even the most trained of computer technicians to read. A virus.

"Sir, engineering is pulling the plug on the computers now, they say the entire network has been overrun."

It was over a few seconds later: the screens shut down again, and everything was switched to manual control. By the time the diagnostic screens came up, everything had been isolated from the network. Although some systems had been completely devastated by the virus and needed to be reuploaded from secure backups, such as the fighter launch tubes, others, such as the FTL drives and weapons, were online with limited functionality. There was only one thing the XO could do:

"Commence jump prep, spin up FTL drives one and two! Stand by to jump at emergency stand-by coordinates!"

"Aye!" retorted the FTL console operator, pulling the emergency phone from nearby. "Engineering, conn. Spin up FTL drives one and two, stand-by coordinates alpha."

The engineering officer was quick to confirm: "FTL prep underway for drives one and two, sixty seconds to green board."

"Is the vessel from the Hub aboard?"

"Aye sir, they landed just now."

"Start the clock, distribute the coordinates to the entire fleet and tell them to follow-"

"NEW CONTACT! Bearing zero mark one two three, distance... TWO HUNDRED METERS!"

"Collision alarm, object on CBDR, time to impact twenty seconds."

"Radiological alarm, bearing zero mark one two three, distance two hundred and closing. The object's got nukes!"

Everything made sense then; the virus, the system shutdown, the attacks... The Alarei had been severely underestimated in their computer capabilities; they had allowed the USC to hack into their systems, allowed them to get overconfident, and then they had uploaded a virus through the open uplink under the guise of USC encryption. And judging by the size of the object that had jumped in, it didn't have nukes; it was a nuke. Normally, the threat would have been already been neutralised by the ship's point defense systems; but the arcs that normally displayed the active system were absent from the main systems display.

"Where the hell is the point defense?!"

"Point defense systems are offline, flak defenses are unresponsive! Main batteries are still loaded with capital munitions!"

"Can the CAP intercept?"

"Negative."

And there came the reason for the launch tube deactivation; even though the Carentan could still launch fighters by allowing them to take off manually, it couldn't launch them fast enough for them to intercept the warhead, and the fighters in the air were too far away to destroy the nuclear weapon; the Carentan was at the nuke's mercy.

"Sound the collision alarm..."

+"All hands, all hands, brace for impact."+

The entire ship shook violently as the multi-kiloton nuclear weapon detonated against its armor plating, instantly vaporizing the external ablative coating; the thermal and radiation energy released by the weapon was translated into kinetic shockwaves as the ripples spread throughout the vessel, creating cracks on the armor and internal hull structure. Everything in the local area of the impact was turned into gas, including armor, machines and even the crew that happened to be passing by the corridors.

But most importantly, the FTL drive was critically damaged by the electromagnetic radiation, partly because the many canisters of volatile hydrogen fuel were ignited by the heat; fires spread through the entire deck, and with artificial gravity in the deck offline, it spread wildly, like a liquid, burning everything in its path. The only thing more dangerous than the fire itself were the wide-open hull breaches left in the aftermath of the nuclear attack, venting more and more of the Carentan's precious oxygen reserves into space with every passing moment.

by Zombiedude101 Fri May 31, 2013 3:14 am

U.N.C Rhang Hnen
Command Center

"Sir, sensors are picking up a loss of energy signatures from the U.S.S Carentan. Unknown contact reported, radiological signatures detected, it's approaching fast."

"Have we recieved any further comms messages?"

"Negative sir, and- the Carentan has suffered a direct impact! Sensors indicate considerable damage to the hull and loss of system functionality."

"Understood, send a transmission to the Carentan and contact the Councilors' envoy ASAP,and have the Second Fleet placed on stand-by. If we're facing an attack we need to be prepared."

"Understood, sir."

With that, the communications staff across the Command Center of the Rhang Hnen set about following their orders. The rest of the Second Fleet was quickly informed of the situation if they hadn't been already, and a similar transmission was forwarded to the envoy of the Councilors, back on the Carentan. Following this, a transmission was quickly directed towards the Carentan.

"++U.S.S Carentan this is the U.N.C Rhang Hnen. Our sensors have reported a loss of energy signatures and a direct impact from a multi-kiloton nuclear warhead, causing significant damage. What is your status, over?++"

USS Carentan, SBG-12
Conference Room

Before either Councilor could formulate a response to the sudden loss of power across the ship, the sudden voice over the intercom was enough to prompt the Councilor-General to assume a bracing position, with the High Councilor quickly following suit, whilst each of the marines grasped onto the nearest secure object in an effort to brace themselves. Of course, the impact was quite easily enough to stir them up, prompting the High Councillor to release an audible grunt of shock as he felt the shockwave ripple through his body, whilst the Councilor-General merely snorted, a discomforted alien frown creased his features.

Eventually, once the shockwaves and turbulence had died down, the marines quickly assumed a defensive position and readied their weapons, with the Captain of the envoy quietly nodding after recieving the transmission informing him of the situation from the Rhang Hnen, before beginning to speak, first of all into his communications headset before eventually addressing the Councilors directly.

"++U.N.C Rhang Hnen, this is Captain Yaris, both Councilors are uninjured and in safe condition, over++"

"High Councilor, Councilor-General, sirs, I've just recieved a transmission from the Rhang Hnen. It appears that the Carentan has suffered a loss of power and a direct impact from a nuclear warhead."

Nodding solemnly, the Councilor-General looked towards the President and spoke, still maintaining his calm demeanour despite the circumstances. This was no surprise, however. The Councilor-General had always been one to place the matters of duty above those of his personal safety, as did most who were raised on the Rakhan homeworld of Xenu.

"It seems that my fears may have been confirmed, Madame President, in which case I must ask what action it is that you reccomend we take next, circumstances considered. I would personally reccomend retreating to the Korrae System where this summit might be continued in safety, though I would understand your desire for neutral ground."

by **Hades** Fri May 31, 2013 10:49 pm

USS Carentan, SBG-12
Combat Information Center

The entire CIC had been violently rocked by the explosion, throwing the crew against their consoles, the floor, or the walls. The lights had turned off as the power relays were disrupted by the electromagnetic pulse, an unfortunate side-effect of the nuclear detonation, and all of the consoles turned to displaying static as they momentarily lost connection with the rest of the ship. In the aftermath of the nuclear attack, the crew manning the combat information center was injured, confused and afraid. The inertial dampeners had done a good job at protecting the ship though, the XO had to admit that; without it, everyone would have been pulverized by the force of the shockwave that shook the entire ship.

It took a few moments for the commander to gain his posture in front of the command table, and he tried to ignore the stabbing pain that he was feeling the aftermath of; getting one's stomach slammed on the table was not a pleasant experience, that much everyone knew. By the time the consoles were reverted to their usual display settings and the lights returned, he was already yelling for every operator in the room to give him a status report. For all he knew, the ship had been torn in two, and they had to abandon it.

Thankfully, that was not the case.

"SOMEONE GIVE ME A FUCKING DAMAGE REPORT!"

"Direct hit on our dorsal stern, hull breaches on engine decks one through four. Deck one engine compartment twenty-two is completely exposed to space, decks two through four report sporadic atmo leaks. Artificial gravity is offline in the entire engine section, and we've got multiple chemical fires spreading in decks one through six. Radiation readings in deck one are approximately forty sieverts per hour."

"Sir, report from engineering, the fusion reactor is being restarted now but the fire extinguishing systems are offline, they are requesting immediate support from damage support teams."

"FTL drive one has been destroyed, most of the circuits were fried by the fire. No report from drive two yet."

"Casualty reports coming in from sickbay, fifty-two dead, sixty seven critically injured."

The ship had been extensively damaged; the FTL drives were offline, the ship was venting oxygen, water and coolant, there were fires on multiple decks, and the radiation readings near the impact zone were above the lethal threshold. Most systems were still rebooting, so the extent of the damage the other decks had suffered was still unknown, but it was no doubt high. The Carentan was crippled, and it wasn't over yet. The fires had to be dealt with before the Alarei no doubt decided to enter the party.

"Sound the venting alarm on all fire-afflicted decks, stand by to seal and vent the oxygen from those compartments. Give them a sixty second count."

"Aye sir."

The petty officer activated the main intercom circuit, broadcasting the announcement to the entire ship: "Attention on the Carentan. Stand by for emergency venting of decks one through four, engine sections seven through thirty-six. Sixty seconds to venting; all hands clear the area."

"Sir, sixty percent of the ship has been switched to backup power."

"Weapons?"

"Weapons report... Eighty percent functionality. Auto-targeting systems are offline, however."

"Tell engineering to get that jump drive online ASAP, launch all fighters. Set condition one SQ for nuclear missile launch."

USS Carentan, SBG-12
Conference Room

The Admiral muttered a quick apology and then instantly rushed away; he had to get to the Combat Information Center and assume command of the fleet again, a task he had left to the marginally less experienced executive officer of the Carentan; the ship had suffered a direct hit from a nuclear warhead, that he already knew. The memory of being hit with an Alarei warhead was still fresh in his mind, a memory that he had acquired during the defense of the Amarath system; but this was far more severe. Either the Alarei had precisely aimed their warhead where it hurt, or they had vastly improved it; or both, that is.

This left the President to take care of the matter. Her advisors had just briefed her on just why the Carentan couldn't jump away to safety, and she had to share the news with the other dignitaries.

"We appreciate the offer, Councilor-General, but this ship isn't going anywhere for the very immediate future. The FTL drive has been severely damaged, and an Alarei attack could very well be minutes away."

Of course, the Alarei were not willing to waste any time.

Space was distorted on multiple points as the ships completed their jump, and within a few seconds, they were all there: a dozen Alarei battleships, escorted by numerous smaller cruisers and frigates. Almost infinitely varied in their design, each single ship appeared to have been built with different materials and a different purpose; standardization wasn't something a near-extinct race could afford, after all. But it was only after every single one of them had jumped that the true beast of the Alarei fleet entered the system.

Spanning a gargantuan ten kilometers in length, the mothership seemed to be a jack of all trades. Numerous distinct shield generators and armor plates were crudely welded on its surface, along with a series of point defense turrets; the Alarei had seemingly managed to deal with the logistical nightmare of employing three separate defense systems on a single warship. The hangar bays were likewise crowded with small fighter craft, more than fifty squadrons total, and they were all launched at the same time and sent on a direct course towards the allied fleets.

But it was the weapons that would prove to be the biggest threat: dozens of turrets and missile launchers rotated to aim at the allied fleets, and specifically, the Carentan. With the delegates from most nations aboard, it made for a very tempting target, and the virus had revealed the presence of such delegates over a cleverly hidden transmission.

Power readings from the Alarei fleet spiked; they were powering up their weapons grid.

by Haze Sat Jun 01, 2013 12:15 am

USS Carentan, - Supercarrier, Hastings Class

The two Voehn creatures turned to each other, gurgling and roaring loudly. The exchange ended with one smashing its prosthetic into the face of the other. The defeated monster turned and began to thump towards the room's exit, followed by the victor. The sphere stayed where it was, bleeped, turned blue, and spoke.

"I hope you don't mind, but the Colonel and the Captain will be leaving this vessel with their escort. I think they'd rather be at the helms of their ships right now."

Manticore - Ship Captain's Chamber

"Bohr is in danger. Our mutual friend will have to wait. I'm moving my ship to the USC vessel to help. You are coming?"

Ansahl leered at the Mind before turning and shoving her way through the chamber's doors and into the bridge. Heads turned as she made her thumping entry, but they quickly snapped back towards consoles and viewscreens as she began to give orders.

"I want this ship parked next to the USC fleet with firepower prepared. Colonel Bohr is in danger and requires protection."

VASF Battlegroup

The Humour my Death Wish moved first and fastest, breaking out towards the Carentan. The Manticore followed behind.

The other ships of the battlegroup seemed to waver before following. The largest of the miniature fleet waited several seconds before engaging its drives.

Manticore - Bridge

A message appeared on the central viewscreen, covering the tactical display usually shown there.

Just so you are informed, I think this is a terrible idea. For all we know the USC could take this as some sort of threat.

"Wirebrain, can you tell that fucking thing to stop over-riding our view screens?"

"I'm doing that. This conversation has already happened, I'm showing you what was said."

A second line appeared on the board.

Perhaps you should send them an explanation then.

Yes. I'll handle that.

"The point, wirebrain?"

The viewscreen flicked back to its usual tactical display.

"The Abominator has sent no messages to the USC. I would wager it's trying to get us shot."

"Fantastic. Someone get me a line to the USC ship. Wirebrain, translate."

++--We are inbound to collect our representatives from your Carentan.--++

by Omni Sat Jun 01, 2013 4:39 am

The High Executor nodded, sheathing the combat knife he had reflexively pulled out when the ship was hit and the lights when out. Likewise, Elisa had fallen into a combat stance. He looked to her. "Tell Rehei to ready the shuttle. We need to get back to the Siege, now." She nodded, pressing into the commlink in her ear. "We need the Dove ready depart, ASAP." She radios over. She looks back to the High Executor. "It'll be a few minutes."

"Tāmā dai!"

High Executor Nolan presses a button on his gauntlet, activating his holotool. He types a few things in, remotely accessing the Siege's tactical computer. Momentarily, a holographic tactical display of the system appears before him. He pauses for a moment, pressing his finger into his ear, activating his commlink and transmitting to the rest of the Valhallan fleet. "Focus on the dreadnought. I want that thing out of commision."

Artemis Tau 7 System

On command, all four Valhallan vessels in the system come to bow, all of them aimed at the behemoth Alarei ship. Within moments, the Quantou-Class Heavy Cruisers begin to fire their spine-mounted ORION batteries, their projectiles moving close to the speed of light, almost appearing to be an energy weapon. The VSV Siege, after some delay, opens fire on the Alarei ship.

by Zombiedude101 Sat Jun 01, 2013 12:33 pm

UNC Rhang Hnen
Command Center

"Multiple contacts reported, energy signatures corespond with records of Alarei vessels. Confirmed, Alarei Fleet has entered the system."

"Alert the Second Fleet and divert power to weapon, shielding and engine systems. Advance on the USS Carentan's position and engage the Alarei Fleet there."

"Sir, another contact reported. Capital class vessel, approximately.... ten kilometres in length, sensors indicate that it possesses three seperate defense systems; armour, shielding and point defense."

The officer's voice faltered for a brief moment as he processed the information that was being read to him, before continuing on.

"Sensors indicate that fighter units have been launched from the vessel, and sensors indicate that it is targeting vessels of the Second Fleet, Allied Fleets, and specifically the USS Carentan. Energy readings have multiplied, sensors indicate that the craft is powering weapons."

"By Hnen... alert the Second Fleet once more, deliver the order to advance on and defend the Carentan. Whatever the case, focus fire on that capital and protect the Carentan at any cost."

With that, the order was sent out.

UN Second Fleet

And with that, the entirety of the Second Fleet followed their given orders and began to advance upon the Carentan, their weapon systems primarily focussed on the huge beast that was the Alarei Dreadnought, their main batteries prepped for use.

by Double D Wed Jun 05, 2013 12:04 am

USS Carentan, - Supercarrier, Hastings Class

"High Executor Nolan, you won't mind us catching a ride with you?" said the Caliph as he got out of his chair. Tailing close behind were his guards and Ssumazz friend, the three of them showing little emotion, though Ttomalss didn't have much choice in the matter.

S.I.C.N. Queiq - Cruiser, I'dad Al'oda Class

<:: Captain Fakhir, are you getting this? ::>

Of course Fakhir was getting this, despite the fact that he was struggling to believe it. Swallowing loudly, he pointed to members of his crew; shouting orders so loudly that his voice was nearly raw by the end. Part of him regretted requesting that the Caliph leave most of the Navy on stand-by. Yet another part was somewhat grateful for it. If they were to die today, most of the navy would survive, but of course Fakhir had no intentions of dying today.

<:: Captain Fatima, prepare to cover the Carentan. We'll be moving to do so also. ::>

<:: Understood. ::>

Artemis Tau 7 System

With the speed that only a corvette could manage, the Jhelum moved quickly to the massive USS vessel's aid, its light cannons online and ready to intercept any Alarei fighters. Following suit, the larger Queiq also moved in, launching its fighters in an attempt to protect both the Carentan and itself. Like the smaller vessel, the ships light cannons stood on standby while the larger Type 54 batteries took to firing on one of the smaller frigates.

by **Hades** Sun Jun 16, 2013 11:51 pm

USS Carentan, SBG-12
Combat Information Center

"WHERE THE HELL ARE MY NUKES?"

The executive officer was obviously outraged, and for good reason; his own ship was betraying him, and the nuclear missile prep was going too slowly. With power losses across the entire ship, it was a miracle that the technicians had managed to even pry the tubes open with their engineering mechs. And yet, it wasn't enough. Targeting systems were just coming back online, and the close-in weapons systems and point defense lasers were still booting up; over reliance on electronics had cost the Carentan's crew greatly.

"Nuclear missile prep is still underway sir, launch stations one through five are reporting failure in their catapults. Station six is depressurizing its tubes now."

The tactical officer tried to sugarcoat it, but just couldn't; five out of six nuclear missile stations were offline, and the sixth one was taking far too long. And with the enemy point defenses still online, there was just no guarantee that the warheads would even reach their target. It was a nasty situation for the Carentan, and to the XO's lament, the rest of the Battlegroup seemed to be similarly affected. The USS Juno was launching its own fighters, but other than that, the rest of the ships remained still in space, their commanding officers caught in the confusion. Even the USS Dauntless was drifting aimlessly, and it was the only other capital ship in the battlegroup.

And suddenly, the Juno's signature started moving on the map. The two vectors indicating its velocity and acceleration pointed to one thing: it was putting itself in front of the Carentan.

"Sir, the Juno is navigating between us and the Alarei dreadnought. It can't possibly hope to survive that salvo!"

"All Juno fighters are away, but they are not joining our own. Their CAG is refusing the attack orders."

"Radiological alarm, the Juno is preparing nukes!"

"It's doing what? It's got no torpedoes!"

"Sir... The Juno's ISBM tubes just opened."

"What the hell are they doing?"

USS Dauntless, SBG-12
Combat Information Center

"Captain, the Flagship is still dead in the water and their armor is offline."

"Radiological detection, USS Juno!"

"The Juno is preparing strategic missiles, Captain."

That made absolutely no sense, and Captain Oliver Henderson momentarily thought that the Juno's commander had gone insane; those ISBMs were not built to survive in a space battle, they had no hope of getting through to the Alarei ship. Multiple simulations had been ran by Dauntless, the dreadnought's AI, and all pointed out that the missiles would be shot down by automated point defenses long before reaching their target.

Unless...

"Sir, the Alarei dreadnought is shifting targets, it's aiming for the Juno!"

"Alarei dreadnought almost at full power, it's going to fire a salvo!"

The Juno's captain knew that the ship didn't have the firepower to go one-on-one with the dreadnought. He had launched all the fighters, and judging by the cloud of smaller signatures that were being launched by the Juno itself, the carrier was launching its evacuation shuttles. It all made sense.

The Juno's fighters were going to escort the shuttles away from the combat zone, hence why they were refusing direct orders to attack the dreadnought. The carrier was going to present itself as a more appealing target to the Alarei, thus giving the Carentan enough time to go to action stations and recover from the nuclear blast.

But before that plan could be realised, the gigantic triangle that represented the Alarei dreadnought shook, and multiple hit indicators appeared on its exterior.

"Direct hits on the dreadnought, the Valhallans are launching everything they've got at it!"

"Alarei dreadnought has lost starboard RCS and is venting coolant on multiple decks, the Siege is tearing that thing apart!"

"Caliphate ships are engaging Alarei frigates, they are using their fighters and weapons to defend the Carentan!"

The Siege was probably the most formidable of the amassed ships in the area, and even though Captain Henderson was glad for the intervention, he couldn't help but feel a bit jealous about the siege cannons the Valhallan dreadnought carried; the Dauntless had matching weapons, but it lacked the precision with which the Siege could project its firepower. No, the Dauntless was built to fire its main artillery like a shotgun, spreading damage throughout the entirety of the enemy target and wrecking its hull support.

At the same time, the Captain felt sorry for the Alarei. The behemoth of a ship was in a very bad position; the focused fire from the Valhallans had forced it to redirect all power to its defenses, thus stopping the salvo it was preparing to unleash on the Juno.

But then again, no plan ever survives contact with the enemy.

"The dreadnought is turning about, it's going to attack the Siege!"

The Valhallans certainly had the Alarei's attention. The gargantuan dreadnought was wounded, there was no doubt of that: its entire starboard side was bursting in flames as every shot was fired upon it, and gaseous clouds of coolant evaporated into space, causing the ship's heat readings to spike severely. More than that, it had lost a large portion of its starboard hangar bays.

But it still had main propulsion and most of its reaction control system thrusters.

The dreadnought begun to turn at a slug's pace, ignoring the fact that the little battleship known as the USS Juno was a flashing, exposed target with barely enough armor to hold itself together. The Siege had hurt it, figuratively, and it posed itself as a much more threatening target.

The rest of the Alarei fleet, however, did not budge; it had other things to worry about. The Caliphate's fleet detachment, although small, had already managed to cripple a frigate that happened to have its lightly armoured engine exposed to it. Multiple battleships opened fire, aiming for the fast and agile corvettes of the Caliphate; it was a win-win situation for them. If they hit, they had the firepower to cause quite a lot of damage on the pesky frigates. If they didn't, they were almost certainly going to hit the target right behind them: the Carentan.

The dreadnought's turn, in the meantime, was almost halfway complete when it transferred power to its main batteries. The Siege had poked the giant, and said giant was not pleased.

USS Dauntless, SBG-12
Combat Information Center

"Alright, you know what, fuck it. Full power to the engines, turn us about the vertical axis. Take us to minimum artillery range."

"Aye, commencing fourty degree turn around the Z axis."

"Transfering power to RCS, reactor at one hundred percent output."

Similarily, the United Systems dreadnought begun its own turn; it had to be almost perfectly aligned with the Alarei dreadnought to be able to unleash its full artillery, and it was conserving power for now, keeping the capacitors charged for when a full salvo could be fired.

"All fighters are away."

It was at that same time that the fighters reached their engagement distance; the squadrons from four out of five ships in the US battlegroup, a total of twenty-eight squadrons, or about six hundred fighters, commenced their attack run against the advancing Alarei fighter formation. Instead of holding back, like the Caliphate's fighters, the USC's squadrons knew that their best bet was to be on the offense. They were slower than most fighters and had a whole lot of frontal weapons and armor, meaning that they needed to be the ones that dictated the range.

And that they did.

The first volley of missiles hit the Alarei formation almost completely unchallenged, explosing in microscopic nuclear explosions. Not only was the explosive and thermal potential enough to wreck havok across the formation, destroying dozens of fighters per warhead, but the resulting electromagnetic pulse disabled nearby vehicles and left them dead in the water. But those that remained functional begun to close the distance almost immediately, trying to do what they always did best: win by sheer numbers.

"All fighters, all fighters, this is the Carentan CAG, commence bottleneck maneuver on my mark."

"Copy, standing by for bottleneck!"

"RCS on stand-by, ready to bottleneck them. Switching to unguided railguns."

With the range decreasing rapidly, the USC had but one option: the bottleneck maneuver. The fighters were going to split in all directions, using their forward momentum to make a pass around the Alarei squadrons while turning so their weapons were facing them. That tactic had worked fine in the battle of Sanctuary, after all.

"All fighters... Commence burn... Now, now, now!"

The thrusters fired, and the fighter formation begun to expand outwards in sequence, forming what was commonly known as a bottleneck; but the Alarei had predicted the move. The Alarei fighters mirrored the move and then opened fire, hitting the outmost fighters of the USC formation hard and by complete surprise.

"Shit, break now, now! Bottleneck has failed, repeat, bottleneck has failed, break engagement and return to optimal-"

"Shit, I lost my radiator, reactor's going critical, ejecting!"

The radio frequencies were filled with screams as fighters exploded; some pilots ejected, but most did not. Severely outnumbered, the otherwise powerful USC fighters were surrounded, and after reorganising, they continued to take significant casualties with every passing second.

The Carentan dispatched only a single message to the Manticore: "Acknowledged, move to our starboard. We will expand the umbilical."

USS Carentan, SBG-12
Conference Room

Out of a sudden, the room was swarming with men in black, and men in power armor: United Systems Secret Service. Their goal was clearly to get the President to safety, namely the jump-capable Marine One shuttle, but she wouldn't budge. After a few hushed whispers between them, she plain out walked towards the airlock, heading for the Combat Information Center. She was the President, but she was also a former Admiral; and nobody could ever keep a USC Admiral away from the CIC in times of war.

by Omni Mon Jun 17, 2013 1:08 am

Conference Room

The holographic representation of the Alarei Dreadnought flickers, before a readout appears displaying the damage caused to the vessel by the Valhallan cannons. Direct Hit. Heavy damage to all systems. High Executor Nolan nods, pressing his fingers against his earpiece. "Siege, Cruisers, keep firing. Siege, divert some power from the main gun to the shields." He pauses for a moment.

Captain Roberts tapped her foot lightly, pressing her finger into her earpiece and radioing the shuttle's pilot. "She ready to fly?"

"Affirmative."

She looks back to the occupied High Executor. "The Dove's ready, sir." He nodded in response, pressing a button on his gauntlet. The holographic display vanishes. He looks to the Caliph. "Come on!" He, followed by Elisa and their two guards, hurry out of the room, quickly making their way to the shuttle bay.

by Zombiedude101 Mon Jun 17, 2013 1:13 pm

UNC Second Fleet

"++Second Fleet, this is General Vherz. You are clear to engage Alarei Targets, prioritise your fire on that capital vessel and ensure the Carentan's safety, out++"

And, true to the orders of the acting commander in lieu of the Councilor General, who was still onboard the Carentan, the Second Fleet began it's onslaught against the Alarei Fleet with the cruiser, UNC Belavhiz, delivering the first of the deployed payload from its batteries. The other vessels across the fleet quickly followed suit, with the bombardment being particularly directed towards the capital vessel.

The UNC Rhang Hnen, with it's XERITH class weaponry intended for the purpose of swift and brutal assault was not a vessel to be trifled with, was one of the Union Navy's most publicized military vessels since the recently de-serviced UNC Rhangzhen and as such, it was to little surprise that the Xenu-Class Battleship had directed the entirety of its wrath upon the Alarei vessel.

USS Carentan
Conference Room

With barely a word, both Councilors each offered the politest bow of the head that the situation allowed, before deciding to follow suit after the High Executor and return to the shuttle bay. Of the two, the Councilor General seemed to be the only one capable of guessing the President's intentions, and of all people, he probably understood more than anyone else. He'd done his research, as any respectable politician and military leader would've, and he'd known of the President's military service.

In fact, both he and the President played very similar roles to their own people. The only differences were that the Councilor General shared more power with his associates than the President, and the President got to have her own special title as opposed to a combination of 'Councilor' and 'General'. And so, the Councilor General quickly took off ahead, with the High Councilor and the five Marines serving as their envoy quickly trailing behind. The sooner he was back on the Rhang Hnen, the sooner he'd be more comfortable with the knowledge he'd be with his people once again.

((Blame the new text editor system for fucking up the text format))

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