Remnants
<A ship was recently discovered in the Terminus system, seemingly intact, but abandoned. A team was sent inside to investigate, and they located the ship’s bridge. Power was restored to bridge section. The following is a transcript of events in the ship’s log, later identified as Korigul, a Kortul Devastator class Vasari battleship>
<Note: exploratory parties reporting hearing strange noises in walls of ship; accounted to nervousness, but now mounting sound and video recording devices on exploratory party members’ helmets>
<Log entry begun approximately 30 standard minutes prior to first contact with Aluxi dynasty ships; terminated three standard minutes following cessation of conflict>
<Translated post recovery; note: appropriate rank equivalents utilized, known background on individuals attached in separate file>
An alien bridge is displayed on screen, a polished dark floor extending in a semi-circle and is covered by swirling symbols. The walls are lined with monitors and consoles, the screens glowing yellow on deep purple. In the center of the room is a dark colored chair, sitting in which is a dark skinned individual in a red uniform, covered in pins and patches. Directly in front of him, there are no consoles, only blank bulkhead. There is a small display on the left arm of the chair extending up at an angle for easy viewing.
“Captain Kastru, move carrier fleet into the shadow of the asteroids and launch all squadrons.” said a commanding voice.
“Affirmative,” came the reply with some comms distortion.
“Commander Ratingus, bring your Enforcer and Skirmisher detachment to bear on the native forces. Frontal assault formation,” the commanding voice continued.
“Yes, Admiral Katrikkan,” said another voice over the comms.
“Captain Celchu, bring the Assailant group to seventy degrees off of their port bow. Engineering, Conn. Bring the Korigul up fifteen degrees and bring the engines to all ahead full. Take her above the battle.” Admiral Katrikkan commanded.
“Aye, Aye sir.”
“As ordered Admiral.”
Admiral Katrikkan opened his mouth to issue another order when suddenly the ship shuddered and alarms blared.
“Damage report! What hit us?” he snapped.
“Sir, sensors reported multiple high velocity metallic slugs impacted on our shields. Computer reports the slugs’ most likely origin from the native fleet, at the indicated ships.” The battle appeared on the bulkhead in front of Admiral Katrikkan with several capital ships outlined in bright yellow.
“Conn, Damage Control. Shields held through the initial strike, but barely. Another hit like that before they recharge, and we’ll likely be crippled, if not destroyed.” A series of numbers scrolled across the display on the arm of the chair.
“Weapons, Conn. Weapons are free. In-ship Systems, Conn. Distribute power away from engines to weapons and shield regenerators. Draw emergency power from anti-matter reserves. Get those shields back up to full ASAP.” Admiral Katrikkan said with urgency.
“Designate highlighted ships as group [untranslatable][assumed letter in Vasari alphabet; designated “1”] and send data to fleet. Targeting Control, Conn. Focus fire and destroy targets [1]. Commander Ratingus, focus fire on targets [1]. Targeting data sent.”
“Received,” answered Ratingus.
“Sutra, divert power to phase missile launchers and reloaders and fire upon targets [1].”
“Understood,” answered the captain of the Sutra as the Vulkoras Desolator began moving into range.
Three Kol class battleships began turning towards the command capitol ship that sat raining fire from above the fight. A Dunov Battlecruiser opened fire upon the Desolator, but the Sutra’s shields stopped the Dunov’s rounds. The phase missiles launched by the Sutra moved through the Aluxi ships, and impacted the shields of the battlecruiser, and explosions were seen beneath the shielding of the ship. A large explosion filled the screen as the missiles that were bypassing the shields struck the command bridge, severing control of the ship and allowing the engines to overheat and catastrophically fail.
“Sir, sensors detect a strong magnetic field increasing in strength around the natives’ ships. They are firing!” the sensors officer exclaimed.
Admiral Katrikkan quickly ordered, “All power to the lower and forward shields! Do not let that volley through!”
The shields readout for the upper and rear sides of the ship reduced to zero, as the lower shields readout increased. Then the lower shields readout dipped considerably, dropping to zero for a moment with an imperceptible pause before the ship shuddered.
“Status!”
“Three high mass slugs fired at extreme velocity. The first two were entirely blocked by our shields, but the third was only partially blocked. Loss of pressure in outer compartments in section [untranslatable][assumed letter/number combination designated “2”], and outer hull buckling, but that’s all,” reported an officer.
“We were lucky. Be more vigilant. Return power to normal distributions, and accelerate to flank speed. Bring the bow down thirty degrees smartly. Let’s take her to the fight,” Admiral Katrikkan said.
“Attention all ships, do not fire upon target [untranslatable][assumed letter/number; designated “3”]. I want that ship alive. Instead focus fire upon each ship from closest to farthest relative to the Sutra’s position. Ravustra, move to support Sutra’s flank,” he continued as the battle progressed on the bulkhead display. The Aluxi fleet was now beginning to stumble as more of its ships were destroyed or crippled. Only a single Kol Battleship remained unscathed, as no Vasari ships had yet fired upon it. The Vasari were not without some casualties, as the Skirmisher detachment was now five less in number, and the Enforcer detachment was short one ship. The Assailant group had not suffered a single casualty, and the three Vasari capital ships that were in the task force had not even lost shields yet, except for when the three Kol battleships had fired their rail guns at the Korigul.
The Aluxi ships began to retreat, making for the edge of the planet’s gravity well. Bomber wings appeared in front of them, boxing the ships in, but they kept moving. Fighter wings began to strafe the fleet, closely followed by the bomber wings. Soon chaos reigned as ships began to falter and die, their inertia carrying their dead hulks forward at the same speed until either an aft explosion accelerated them into the ship ahead, or a bow explosion slowed their progress and faster ships behind the now uncontrolled husks of ships crashed into them.
Admiral Katrikkan ordered, “Engineering, Conn. Raise the bow thirty degrees, continue flank speed. Subverter ships, Korigul actual. Accelerate and disable weapons and engines of target [3].” On screen, a group of small blips broke from the Korigul and raced ahead, halting a Kol Battleship. The rest of the Aluxi fleet continued onward, to the edge of the gravity well, missing two Kol Battleships, four Kodiak heavy cruisers, fifteen carriers, and sixteen cobalt light frigates. In total three fourths of the original fleet had been destroyed, crippled, or otherwise rendered useless. Only five light frigates, one Kol battleship, one Dunov Battlecruiser, two Kodiak heavy cruisers, and one carrier survived to jump away.
Admiral Katrikkan sat back in his chair, pleased with the success of his operation, but apparently unsettled to learn that the natives were more advanced than any other race the Vasari had encountered, beside themselves. Even though they still were millennia behind the Vasari, it was a new prospect for him to lose ships in an operation that was supposed to an easy domination of a planet. “It appears that this race is more advanced than we thought. They are probably multi-planet, if not multi-system. Prepare defenses for a counter attack,” Admiral Katrikkan commanded, “set up repair platforms and phase jump inhibitors. I want fifteen missile batteries in an overlapping pattern on this side of the planet. They are likely to come from the same direction when they attack as when they fled.”
<Log entry terminated>
<Transmission terminated. Will continue as each entry is fully translated>
Alright, quick explanation for those who don't understand:
a TEC ship (late war) has discovered the Korigul abandoned but intact. they are searching it and sending transmissions of the ship's logs as they translate each entry. they begin at First Contact with Aluxi Dynasty ships
<Begin transmission>
<Note: exploratory party missing, search party sent out. Strange sounds recorded on other exploratory parties’ video – attributed to weakened hull>
<Entry begins at approximately 1850 standard time, terminates at approximately 1912 standard time>
Admiral Katrikkan was sitting in his chair on the bridge, the only one present. He tapped a few holographic keys on the chair’s display, bringing up the image of another Vasari sitting at a regal desk.
“Admiral Katrikkan,” the other said.
“Viceroy Vorak,” Admiral said.
“What is the reason, if I may ask, for this transmission?” the Viceroy asked.
“The natives are more advanced than we predicted. Although we drove them off quite easily, they still managed to destroy six of our ships. I believe them to be a multi-planet race, possibly even a multi-system race. I have prepared defenses, and I expect a counterattack,” answered the Admiral.
“Why was this not discovered earlier?”
“Our sensors detected little phase activity from the planet, and what there was we assumed was merely mining and other off-planet resource ventures. This led us to believe that this was a Class five civilization, a single planet entity. But it appears that instead it was a military outpost colony, and the traffic was small transports.”
“I must stress to you, the Vasari Empire already has enough enemies. We do not need to make an enemy of a Class four or even a Class three civilization. It will be a drain on the little resources we have, unless they are of little actual military strength, and we can use their resource technology.”
“They mainly use magnetic accelerator cannons, but they have refined this technology to a powerful level. Only three simultaneous shots are needed to take down the Korigul’s shields. I request reinforcements to ensure losses are not too high for us to hold the planet.”
“Request granted. We will send the Katana Fleet to your sector to supplement your own forces.”
“Thank you.” The transmission ended, and he spoke to himself, “[untranslatable][assumed curse word, no designation given] The Katana Fleet! They must be serious about holding this sector.”
He turned and spoke into a speaker, “Navigation, Conn. I want every asteroid over twelve point two five three kilometers mapped. Send the report to the Combat Bridge when it is finished.”
“Affirmative.”
The admiral pressed a few buttons and said into the same speaker, “Groundside, this is Korigul actual. I want you to build two anti matter disruptors at the following coordinates: [untranslatable] and [untranslatable]. I want four squadron hangars, two flanking each disruptor. Planetside, build defense structures to withstand bombardment. That is all.”
“Orders received,” came the reply over comms.
He sat in his chair for a few minutes, and then stood up and left the bridge.
<Entry terminated>
<End of transmission>
Interesting story. I wonder what happened to the exploratory team. Please keep the story going.
Counterattack
<Note: exploratory party still missing, search party now missing also. Armed infantry squad now being sent with parties. Exploratory parties now report seeing occasional movement in shadows. When investigated, no possible cause. This movement recorded on video cameras>
<Log Entry begins at FC plus one standard month, 1200 and terminates one point five minutes after cessation of conflict>
The Admiral is back on the bridge, and the console stations are filled. An image of part of the planet’s gravity well is shown on the bulkhead screen. Vasari ships are arrayed in a half-cube formation, Skarovas enforcers and Ravastra skirmishers lining the front, Stilakus Subverters and Seruven Overseers in formation behind them, followed by Kanrak Assailants, two Kortul Devastators, one Vulkoras Desolator, a Jarrasul Evacuator, and a Skirantra Carrier. A large group of Lasurak transporters was stationed near the planet. Fighter wings were ahead of the main formation, ready to begin making runs to protect the bombers behind them and to strafe any flak frigates.
“Sensors, Conn. Is the Katana Fleet in position?” asked Admiral Katrikkan
“Yes, sir. They are awaiting your signal to attack.”
“Very well. Communications, Conn. Contact Sinistra and tell them to ready for combat, enemy forces are [fourteen standard minutes] out.”
“Affirmative,” the Comms officer answered, “Sinistra replies readied for combat.”
Katrikkan leaned into the voice pickup, and said, “All ships, hold position and do not fire until my signal.” He sat back, and ordered, “I want updates on enemy ETA every [three point five standard minutes].”
“Aye, Aye, sir.” The sensors officer reported.
The sensors officer declared the time to arrival every three and a half minutes, until the last call, when Katrikkan ordered, “squadron [untranslatable][assumed letter number combination, designated “4”], form wall formation. Assailant group, prepare to fire.”
The Trade Alliance ships phased back in at the edge of the gravity well. The TA fleet consisted of ten Kol Battleships, four Dunov Battlecruisers, two Marza dreadnoughts, one Wekkan class carrier-battlecruiser, one hundred fifty-five cobalt light frigates, fifty Kodiak heavy frigates, twenty-five Warden flak frigates, and twenty Percheron light carriers. They were in standard sphere formation, combat ships toward the front, support ships to the rear, and capitol ships centered in it.
“Squadron [4], advance at flank speed toward center of sphere but maintain formation. Assailant group, fire on my mark.” Katrikkan waited until the squadron was halfway to the TA ships before saying, “Assailants, fire in three, two, one, mark.” The squadron continued to advance, despite coming under uncoordinated fire from the flak frigates, the missiles launched by the Kanrak Assailants closing on the fighters. All three groups – the TA ships, the fighters, and the missiles – neared each other, and Katrikkan ordered, “Squadron, break pattern [untranslatable] and return to position with bombers. Planet defense fleet, advance; cube sides, swing out. All ships, open fire. Burn their mongrel hides.” The missiles punched through the sphere, destroying all of the light frigates and continuing to the capital ships, immediately disabling one Kol battleship and damaging another.
The two fleets stopped a short distance from each other, hurling seas of rounds between them. The Overseers helped to restore shields where they could, but it wasn’t enough. The Vasari began taking losses, and holes were starting to open up in the formation.
Admiral Katrikkan ordered, “Katana Fleet, rig from dark running and assault enemy formation. All ships, fire at will. Target the capitol ships first, then the support ships. Squadrons, attack the flak frigates and carriers.”
A very large fleet with eight Vulkoras Desolators, ten Kortul Devastators, five Skirantra Carriers, two Antorak Marauders, two Jarrasul Evacuators, and innumerable Skarovas enforcers, Kanrak Assailants, and Stilakus Subverters appeared on the screen behind the Trader ships, whose formation had condensed into a wall of frigates in front of a wall of capital ships. The Kortul Devastators launched explosive nanites onto the Trader capitol ships and the Desolators launch as many phase missiles as they could at once, destroying all of the TA capital ships in moments, as well as blasting enormous holes in their frontal wall formation, allowing the Vasari fleet to surround and eradicate the remaining ships. Five light carriers and a light frigate managed to jump back. The Vasari fleet pushed their advantage, jumping through the phase lane with the TA ships. Although most of the fleet was not in position, Katrikkan decided that the ships that were would be enough. He jumped with three devastators, two desolators, sixty skirmishers, and twenty enforcers.
When they dropped out of phase space, they saw a Plasma storm occupying the center of the gravity well, with large asteroids within. The trader ships were already halfway across to their jump point. Katrikkan ordered the skirmishers to give chase, as they could easily close with the slower of the Trade Alliance ships. The Cobalt Light Frigate once again managed to survive until the next jump, however, but the slower carriers did not.
“All pursuit ships, return to formation and head back to Aliope,” Admiral Katrikkan ordered.
The ships returned to the Korigul and jumped back to Aliope.
<End transmission>
yes, weird things happen. but I don't plan on doing the entire story this way - just the first few parts. after that I am going to switch to first person (Katrikkan's POV)
And I have invented some ship classes if you didn't notice. the background on that is that because this was early war, they would not have advanced their ships yet to include the ships in Sins
Hi Orodun
I like this good start shows promise good imagination , this is a side of the community that needs to be encouraged
please keep your story going, as a vasari player I am eager to see where you can take us in the sins universe
great work
thanks
karma to U
I am also a Vasari player and to tell you the truth, I think that a few persons have greatly misrepresented them(https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/321796). I wanted to show people the political side of them and have people know, in the words of the great Edoc'sil (oh so many there were - I tend to name my flagship that, and it has only been destroyed once), My power is unmatched!
<Note: integrity of bridge compromised. Multiple teams missing. Unknown hostiles. Unknown strength. This will be the final transmission made while docked with Korigul. Fire teams stationed at doorways to bridge, others stationed at advance posts making tactical retreat to safety of bridge. Combat sounds heard, but when fire team sent to help retreating forces, none found. One incident of soldier surviving to within sight of fire teams, but “shadow” killed the survivor and both “shadow” and body disappeared without a trace. After transmission complete, making tactical withdrawal to research vessel and proceeding in haste to Naeve>
<log entry begins at FC plus one standard month, one day, at 2412 and terminates at 2441>
Admiral Katrikkan stood in front of the captain’s chair on the bridge of the Korigul, speaking with a human individual on the screen. The human is as of yet unidentified, but was wearing a standard issue Aluxi Defense Fleet uniform. His light blonde hair stood out in striking contrast to the drab grey uniform. Behind him was a green plain leading to a deep blue body of water, with the occasional terran tree dotting the landscape.
“Construction of the emergency fortifications was due to be finished three days past. What is wrong?” Admiral Katrikkan inquired in Galactic Basic.
“Why, n-nothing, my lord. I-it is just that things are going s-slower than ex-expected,:” the man said nervously.
“Then accelerate them! Or my soldiers will do it for you!”
“Y-yes, my lord,” the man answered, stammering.
“Bah,” Admiral Katrikkan said as he disconnected the transmission and turned away. He paused for a moment and then turned back to the screen.
“Open transmission to Karakus.” On the screen appeared a Vasari in military uniform. His rank patch was only a gold bar atop his left shoulder.
“Captain Grett. This is Admiral Katrikkan.”
“Admiral.”
“The Karakus sustained some minor hull damage. Please place that on your list of repairs in the appropriate priority section.”
“Actually, that would put your ship next in line and we are almost finished-“ a crew member tapped Grett’s shoulder and whispered something in his ear, “make that finished with the Ravustra. We are moving to repair your ship currently. What section is the damage in?”
“The lower hull. My engineers tell me we have increased in mass slightly since the damage, so the slug is likely still upon the outer hull.”
Captain Grett muttered to a crewmember next to him, and asked, “[untranslatable] that’s one big slug, all right. How did that manage to cause so little damage?”
“Our shields stripped most of its inertia, but they failed just before it stopped completely. I do not believe there is any damage to the superstructure, but I would greatly appreciate it if you would check for me,” Katrikkan responded.
“That-
[signal lost]
[signal recovered]
Moving to Kori-“
Katrikkan answered, “Thank you. I would also-
–TEC Armed Research Vessel Swift Foot. We are declaring a shipboard emergency. Request military assistance. We are under attack by unknown hostiles. They are not Vasari or Advent. Repeat, they are not Vasari or Advent. We have docked with the Vasari vessel Korigul and are currently within the Vasari ship. They have broken through the doors and will soon arrive at this station. This is [static] requesting military assistance. I repeat, [static] they have overcome our [static] the bridge will soon be overrun. Enemy appears to be [static]
-like to congratulate you on the promotion, Captain Grett.”
“Thank you, Admiral.”
The screen blanked, and Katrikkan walked away from the combat bridge.
I hope this goes well. I can’t afford to foul up, with the mistake on the strength of this race, Katrikkan thought as he walked back to his quarters. Standing orders were that he be waken if an enemy fleet was picked up on sensors within two days of the planet, and he was glad that he left them. Now he could get some sleep without worrying about his second-in-command making a rash decision while he was asleep. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the man, but he didn’t think the man was ready to serve as captain of a capitol ship such as the Korigul. He walked into his quarters and noticed a flash-message was waiting on the communication pad on the dark wall. He debated for a moment, then decided that it could wait until he woke up, since they didn’t hand him it directly. He lied down in his sleep pod, the lightly padded surface comfortable after hours in the hard chair on the combat bridge. He momentarily thought before drifting off to sleep, As an admiral, I could get this better padded. But he chastised himself, That would never do. A commander must have no more amenities than his crew.
Interesting. This was probably the Vassari's ancient enemey. I wonder how it would fight the three races. Perhaps it enters the minds of sentient beings, and activates the fear centers of the mind, thus creating confusion and and a unwillingness to fight your enemey. This was probably why the survivors of the Dark Fleet came back terrified with fear. That would probably be the first stage of the attack. After that, the Vassari's ancient enemey would take advantage of the confusion of their enemey, and initiate the second phase of their attack. I don't have enough information to develop a theory about the second phase of their attack. Any thoughts on how the vassari's ancient enemey defeated them?
not a clue. this story is unfolding for me too. dead serious, I have no actual plan when I write, it just comes. the closest thing I have to a plan is that at some point I will jump back to the late-war time period
and I am considering kicking this to the general area. not many people can find here.
Katrikkan glanced at the timepiece in his sleeping pod. Damn, only eight hours. I really need to get more rest. He thought, as the Vasari race have a slower metabolism than humans, allowing them to stay awake for longer periods of time, but ensuring that they also need an average of ten hours of sleep, instead of the humans’ eight. Because of this, most of the crew worked a fifteen on, fifteen off shift, or fifteen hours on duty, fifteen hours off duty, much like the humans’ twentieth century Navy shifts – twelve on, twelve off. It improved the ship’s extended performance, and allowed the Vasari to remain at general quarters hours longer than the humans, and at condition two weeks longer. This was another of the advantages the Vasari had over the TEC, or as it was at the time, the Trade Alliance. Unfortunately, this slower metabolism meant that they were slightly slower than the humans, when on the ground. However, space personnel had an implant near the base of their neck that released medicine at the appropriate times and also released geramine – the Vasari equivalent of adrenaline – when the body was stressed into performing bursts of action, and could even deliver an electrical shock to the nervous system to restart both of the Vasari’s hearts. Also, they had implants of nanites that would, in the case of trauma, move to the site of a wound and begin reconstructing the flesh.
Katrikkan walked out of his cabin, and decided to tour the engineering section. He walked down the hall, and stepped into a fast transit elevator. Vasari ships usually had their decks angled so that, except for the area near the outer hull, crewmembers’ feet were toward the engines, and above them was the prow of the ship. This greatly helped with inertial tolerance as acceleration could serve as artificial gravity, saving the gravity generators power when accelerating, and inertial dampers did not have to counteract it as much. This meant that though he was going “down”, Katrikkan was actually heading toward the stern of the ship.
He floated out of the elevator onto the deck of the engines, which, as needed to help service the massive engines, was without artificial gravity. Katrikkan glided out to the observation platform. There was a grid work around the outer casing of the engines so that if a technician happened to lose his grip on the handholds of the surface, he would not float far away and could quickly get back to the site of the needed repair or test. Katrikkan silently watched, unnoticed until a technician floated by and happened to look into the window.
“Commander on deck!” he shouted, saluting. The other technicians suddenly came to the closest attention they could in zero gravity, and saluted by putting their fist over their hearts.
Katrikkan returned the salute, and said, “As you were,” as the techs dropped their salutes. They went back to their assorted tasks, and a grizzly Vasari approached the admiral.
“How may we be of service, admiral?”
“That’s all right, I merely decided to have a look at rest of the ship. Seeing only one section of the ship all the time can get to be quite boring. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You don’t have to agree just because I am your superior. I want your honest opinion, no matter what I ask.”
“Can’t you say anything else?”
“No, sir.”
“Very funny.”
“I thought so, sir.”
“How are the engines?”
“Fine. Especially now that the excess mass was removed. One of the engines was knocked slightly out of alignment during the last engagement, but it’s been repaired.”
Katrikkan looked thoughtful for a moment, then asked, “Just how serious is that likely to be in a serious engagement? I don’t want our engines nonfunctional just because we took a few rounds.”
The technician answered, “Not very, but if used out of line for too long, it can damage the engine mounts and hull. And it generally takes a big hit to throw it out of line, but flying around with that slug stuck to our hull didn’t help it at all. Fortunately, there’s no actual damage.”
“Good, then. Dismissed.”
The technician pushed off of the observation deck toward a pair of new recruits that were at messing with a locking strut that held the engine to the ship and dispersed its energy throughout the ship. “No, the other way! .04 to starboard, not to port!”
The admiral and captain of the Korigul shook his head and glided back to the elevator, heading to the bridge for his watch. He walked down the dark hallway, to the dark red door that opened to the transit bridge. He stepped up to the captain’s chair and sat down in the empty room. He liked to command from the combat bridge even though most captains, when not in battle, liked to command from the more comfortable transit bridge, which had a view port that allowed the captain to see what was going on real-time. He still would have a hologram of himself up in the transit bridge, so that the bridge crewmembers could see him in the command chair, but the hologram was accurate enough so that only a very close inspection revealed it not to be real. Because their conversations were only transmitted to the combat bridge if they pressed the transmit button when they spoke, the command crew had a habit of speaking freely on the bridge.
The rest of his crew walked onto the bridge, and Katrikkan acted as if he didn’t see them. He waited until they sat down and said, “Is everyone settled?” without looking around.
The X O hit the transmit button and answered, “Yes, we’re all set up here.”
“Good, then let’s get started. Navigator, give me a course to bring us alongside the Sinistra.”
“Yes, sir. Course requested is two-five-eight by zero-zero-nine. Range is ten thousand kilometers.”
“Engines, all ahead two-thirds. Bring us to course two-five-eight by zero-zero-nine smartly. Navigator, report when we are two thousand kilometers from Sinistra.”
A few seconds went by, and then one of the crewmembers said without hitting the transmit button, “Did ya hear that the admiral grilled the groundies?”
“Yeah, ‘cuz they were goin’ slow on building the bunkers,” another said.
“I heard he was a real hard ass with ‘em.”
“I heard command was going to demote him.”
“Naw, he managed to convince them to send the Katana Fleet, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, and three others.”
“They’re due any time now.”
“Quite the trikka, eh?” said another crewmen, using the Vasari word for someone who is good at negotiating but is weak at fighting.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Katrikkan said, stunning the bridge crew, who had thought that throughout this, he couldn’t hear.
“I-I’m sorry, sir,” the crewmember who had insulted him said.
“I know that the crew talks of me behind my back. Every captain has it done to him. Just keep it off duty, shall we?”
“Y-yes, sir”
After that, the crewmembers maintained a professional manner throughout the exercise. Katrikkan rarely pulled this stunt, but for him, it was fun. It also helped keep the crew on their feet, which often keep the ship alive. The Korigul pulled up alongside the Sinistra, ready to welcome the three fleets. Admiral Katrikkan was no longer going to be the highest ranked officer in-sector, as Fleet Admiral Saren of the Rakni Fleet was a full level higher than him. Rear Admiral Krath of the Fourteenth Remnant Fleet and Rear Admiral Soth of the Ravisher Fleet would also be joining him.
Very good!
thanks.
The next post is nearly done.
Hmm... the book indicates that the unknown element which destoryed the old Vasari Empire could be a military force. A new faction, I guess...
The viewscreen filled with Vasari ships as one of the fleets jumped in.
“Contact! Tags as Vasari Ravisher Fleet,” The sensors officer reported.
“Very well. Open a comms channel to Rear Admiral Soth on the Leviathan,” Katrikkan ordered.
The Rear Admiral appeared on the main bulkhead, in uniform, and said, “Admiral Katrikkan, good to see you.”
“Likewise. Welcome to the fleet. You should move your ships away from the well edge. Now, were you briefed on the threat? We did manage to capture a native battleship; however, the crew was not very cooperative.”
“Yes, I have the file on the threat. However, it didn’t mention that you captured a battleship.”
“Yes, the Corusca, a Kol class battleship, or so the captives tell me. They speak of being a part of an empire of unimaginable size. Undoubtedly an attempt to scare us into fleeing the sector, as if they thought we would believe that nonsense! I have a little surprise for them, once the Rakni Fleet and the Fourteenth Remnant Fleet arrive.”
“Careful, Katrikkan. Their empire may be larger than we think, if not as large as they say.”
“I’ll believe that when I see it. How they would manage to conquer that many planets with such a low level of technology is beyond me.”
“That may be true, but still, they may be larger than we think.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Korigul out.”
“Leviathan out.”
Katrikkan blanked the screen as the comms channel closed and checked the sensors report. The Rakni Fleet was an hour out and the Fourteenth Remnant Fleet was already in phase to Aliope. He waited in his command chair on the transit bridge as the Fourteenth Remnant Fleet poured into the gravity well.
After approximately half of an hour, the Tiraskus – the flagship of the Fourteenth Remnant Fleet – arrived. Katrikkan opened a comms channel between the two ships and a conversation similar to the one previous occurred with Rear Admiral Krath. The Fourteenth Remnant Fleet moved into position next to the Ravisher Fleet, and the Rakni Fleet began arriving. After approximately ten minutes, the Reaper phased back into realspace.
Katrikkan opened comms and promptly saluted, his right fist across his heart.
“Admiral Katrikkan. You seem to have had an impressive fleet at your disposal. And yet you took such losses. I wonder how,” Admiral Saren said, his tone dripping with contempt for the Admiral.
“I did not have all of these ships at my disposal during the conflict, my lord.” Katrikkan said, barely covering his immediate dislike of the man.
“Ah, then. Now that we have real command, we will push back this slime and take what is rightfully ours. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes, my lord,” Katrikkan said, distaste beginning to creep into his voice.
“Good. Take position in the fleet. Reaper out.”
Katrikkan exited the bridge, giving his X O the deck. He strode back to his quarters at a brisk pace, passing startled technicians and marines. He put his palm on the security lock to open his door, and sat down at the small desk opposite his bunk. When he sat, a gold and red display came up from the tabletop. Katrikkan pulled up the roster for Saren’s command staff. Not finding what he was looking for, he moved up a level and checked the complaint log. There was a list of names that the complaints were against. He scanned down the list, and saw Fleet Admiral Saren himself. He tapped his name, bringing up a long list. From the top, the subjects read, “Abuse of command; Exceeding mission parameters; Improper discipline; Excessive disciplinary action; Conduct unbecoming of an officer;” and so on. Katrikkan knew he would find some complaints, but not this many. Usually the most a captain or admiral would have would be four to five complaints against him, but Saren had twenty-three different complaints.
Katrikkan, amazed at the sheer idiocy of the Fleet Admiral, exited the interface. Instead he brought up his personal log. He wrote,
“Date: sixth of the month of Vanth, 56412.
Reinforced at Aliope by Fourteenth Remnant Fleet, Ravisher Fleet, and Rakni Fleet. Spoke with Fleet Admiral Saren. Contact was brief, but the Fleet Admiral has an unpleasant personality. Checked complaint logs, found that he has an unusually high number of complaints made against him. Preparing task force to push into native territory, expecting heavy resistance. Despite this, Fleet Admiral Saren believes we will sweep them aside. I disagree.
The enemy has shown advanced tactics, even using their relatively low technology level, although, they have managed to advance their magnetic accelerator technology to a high degree. This leads me to believe that we are facing a large foe, although their only chance of winning is through sheer numbers, should we be unable to secure further reinforcements from high command. Despite this, it is also my belief that we shall win, though with some casualties.
Admiral Katrikkan, Korigul, Third Remnant Fleet”
Katrikkan leaned back in his chair, anticipating an unpleasant conquest ahead of him. He could not directly confront Saren, and would have to follow his orders. He knew he would not enjoy it.
I finaly found my login information. I have to say that this is a great plot so far imo, and i can't wait for what's next... If you do decide to move the thread to another board put a link here as i have this favourited please...
it was already moved, so you've got the right link. I asked a moderator to move it for me.
“Admiral Katrikkan, Bring your ship to point Alta Centauri.” Fleet Admiral Saren ordered.
“Yes, sir.” Admiral Katrikkan answered, knowing that put him in the most exposed position. He gave the appropriate order to his navigator and to engineering. The ship answered hungrily, as if ready for the fight ahead.
The local fleet was approaching the task force, nearing weapons range.
Fleet Admiral Saren had reorganized the Third Remnant Fleet into different groupings, including ships from the other fleets. It was using one of these groups that he ordered, “Desolators, prepare to fire on my command. Devastators, deploy nanites one thousand kilometers forward.” The nanites would be just outside the safety limits, as close as he could order by regulations. The natives approached, unaware of the explosive menace awaiting them. They came closer and closer, and Saren ordered, “Desolators, fire missiles!” Phase missiles streaked from the ships, exploding on the nanites cloud, creating a large explosion in between the two fleets.
When their viewscreens cleared, they could see the native fleet still approaching, having lost only a few forward light frigates. The nanites banks had to be reloaded, as well as the missile tubes, crippling the Devastators, as they could not fire their main weapon for nearly half an hour as they reloaded all of their tubes. Katrikkan had put in a request for more reloaders on the Desolators, but it had gone unheeded. If they had one to every missile tube, the tubes would be reloaded in a matter of minutes, instead of the inordinate amount of time that it currently took.
“All ships, open fire.” Saren ordered. The Reaper began turning away from the fight. Small asteroids bounced off of its shields as it moved back toward the edge of the gravity well faster and faster.
“The little bastard’s fleeing! So that is how he managed such a high rank. He starts a fight, runs away, and his subordinates finish it for him. He gets the credit, being commanding officer, but never actually did the work.” Admiral Katrikkan thought. The Reaper neared the edge of the well, and suddenly a volley of missiles appeared from the asteroid field behind the planet. “They’ve missile frigates hidden in the asteroids!” Katrikkan exclaimed. The missiles struck the shielding of the Reaper, and brought down the shields. Another volley came from the asteroids, this time it struck devastating blows on the Reaper, disabling the engines and destroying the starboard weapons mounts, as well as opening up gaping holes in the starboard wing of the Devastator.
“I am assuming command of the task force. Captain Celchu, move your group to cover the Reaper. Fire two volleys into the asteroid field. There are LRFs hiding among them.” Admiral Katrikkan ordered, “Captain Ratingus, move forward to engage the enemy.” Katrikkan brought up the tactical display. “Engineering, Conn. full reverse thrust. I want us out of this batyn trap. Weapons, Conn. Fire forward weapons, including pulse beams.” The Korigul started moving back toward the fleet, and the Enforcers and Skirmishers moved ahead to cover her.
The Reaper was venting atmosphere, and it seemed that the comms array had been destroyed, as the Reaper was not responding to hails, nor was it transmitting signal.
The Aluxi fleet was close enough to easily distinguish individual ships. There were two Kol battleships, one Wekkan carrier-battlecruiser, one Dunov Battlecruiser, one Martin Dreadnought, eighty-five Cobalt light frigates, fifteen Warden flak frigates, and fifty Kodiak heavy cruisers. In the Vasari task force, there were thirteen Kortul Devastators, ten Vulkoras Desolators, five Skirantra Carriers, four Jarrasul Evacuators, two Antorak Marauders, four hundred Ravastra Skirmishers, one hundred fifty Skarovas Enforcers, one hundred Stilakus Subverters, seventy-five Kanrak Assailants, fifty Lasurak Transporters, and fifty Seruven Overseers.
The Aluxi forces, used to dealing with inferior pirate vessels, continued advancing despite the known numerical advantage of the Vasari task force. They still assumed that these intruders were just pirates, raiding the outer planets. The Vasari was going to teach the Trade Order that they are not mere pirates, and are a force to be reckoned with.
The two fleets engaged, fire flying both ways. The Aluxi shields went down fairly quickly, but the Vasari shields held. Many Aluxi ships were destroyed in the first few moments of the battle. The strikecraft, already launched, were strafing the Aluxi forward lines. They scrambled three fighter squadrons from their Wekkan carrier-battlecruiser, but they were no match for the Vasari fighters.
The Vasari juggernought blasted through the lines of the Aluxi, tearing the fleet to pieces. The first major loss was the lead Aluxi Kol battleship, which took with it two Wardens and one Kodiak heavy cruiser who happened to be too close.
The Assailants were having some success, as several large explosions were seen among the asteroids. Whenever one of the LRFs fired, it was quickly targeted and destroyed as the Assailants targeted it
On the bridge of the Korigul, Admiral Katrikkan was giving the orders controlling the ships of the task force. He brought the Subverters around the far side of the planet, skirting the edge of the gravity well, so as not to come into range of the long-range frigates hidden among the asteroids. He ordered, “Overseers, release reactively armoring nanites,” as the concentrated fire brought down the second Kol.
“Concentrate fire on the Dunov Battlecruiser, but do not fire on any disabled ships.” Admiral Katrikkan had learned the classes of the Aluxi ships from the captured crewmembers of the Corusca, as well as their weapon firing arcs. Only the Kols could send fire to the rear of the ship, and they had been destroyed already. The Subverters were closing on the Aluxi fleet, and they began to disable the capitol ships by disrupting the power flow to all systems. The ships were helpless as the Vasari fleet destroyed all of the supporting Aluxi fleet, leaving only the disabled ships intact.
The Assailant group moved into the asteroid field, and cleared it of the LRFs.
“Korigul actual to Sinistra actual. Dock with the Reaper and assess the damage. Relieve Fleet Admiral Saren of his command, under charge of cowardice in the face of the enemy and desertion,” Katrikkan ordered.
“Move to dock with the Martin Dreadnought. Prepare a boarding party,” Katrikkan continued. The Admiral walked off of the Combat Bridge, saying, “Executive officer has the deck.”
A computerized voice came over the bridge speakers, “Logged: Admiral Katrikkan stands relieved. X O Tarkin has the deck.”
I have a quick list of ship classifications, individual ships, characters, etc. that I can post if anyone wants it.
That would be great.
Vasari
Ships
Korigul – Kortul Devastator, flagship of Third Remnant Fleet
Sinistra – Kortul Devastator, flagship of Katana Fleet
Leviathan –Kortul Devastator, flagship of the Ravisher fleet
Reaper – Kortul Devastator, flagship of the Rakni Fleet
Tiraskus – Kortul Devastator, flagship of the Fourteenth Remnant Fleet
Sutra – Vulkoras Desolator, Third Remnant Fleet
Karakus – repair vessel; small and flat in order to hover above any surface of a ship to repair the outer hull, Third Remnant Fleet
Fleets
Ravisher Fleet- large fleet of the Dark Armada
Rakni fleet – oldest and largest remaining fleet in the Dark Armada: its commander outranks Admiral Katrikkan
Katana Fleet - medium sized fleet, its commander is a freind of Admiral Katrikkan
Third Remnant Fleet – a fleet formed from fleeing remnants of the unknown enemy that took the homeworlds and ships built by the secret factory ships that are kept well behind Vasari lines
Fourteenth Remnant Fleet – a relatively fleet formed from fleeing remnants of the unknown enemy that took the homeworlds
Characters
Admiral Katrikkan - commanding officer of Third Remnant Fleet
X O Tarkin – executive officer of the Korigul
Admiral Veris – commanding officer of Katana Fleet
Rear Admiral Soth – Ravisher Fleet CO
Rear Admiral Krath – Fourteenth Remnant Fleet
Fleet Admiral Saren – Rakni Fleet
Commodore Vanth – commander of the Subverter group
Captain Kastru – commander of carrier group of Third Remnant Fleet
Captain Grett – captain of Karakus
Captain Celchu – commander of Assailant group of Third Remnant Fleet
Commander Ratingus – commander of Skarovas Enforcer group, Ravastra Skirmisher group
Grand Admiral – commander-in-chief of the Vasari armed forces; unnamed
Viceroy Vorak – chief planetside political officer, currently part of The Supreme Council of the Vasari; supervises forward elements of fleets and expansion, currently well behind lines of battle
Terms
Trikka – Weakling, usually good at negotiating because cannot fight
Batyn – Rodent once on Vasari homeworld, analogous to a rat
Corusca – Kol battleship, captured in First Contact by Vasari
Warden Flak Frigate – early Flak frigate
Wekkan class Carrier-battlecruiser – early carrier capitol ship
Martin Dreadnought – Predecessor to the Marza Dreadnought
Jattan LRM frigate – early long-range frigate
Aegis siege frigate – early siege frigate
nearly done with boarding action
As Katrikkan headed down to the armory, he reviewed the boarding action doctrine. It had been many years since he had personally been involved in a boarding action, but he felt it was time to renew his feel for it. He palmed the door to the armory open. The six squad members in the room immediately came to attention, and he released them from it. He walked to a gold trimmed locker – he hated the trim, but he never remembered to get maintenance to change it to the regular red and black. He put on his helmet and armor, which was undistinguished from the others in the room for safety reasons. He closed the locker and walked to the weapons locker. He palmed that open, and removed six concussion grenades, which were small black spheres with a gold line around the middle. When activated, the line turned red. Katrikkan put them on a special holster on his belt, which had three metal strips shaped to hold the spherical grenade. The top prong was on a hinge and locked down on where the other two converged and could be undone with a tap to the button on the outside.
Next, Katrikkan pulled a short rifle from the rack, as well as two attachments for it that enabled it to become a sniper rifle and a light anti-armor weapon as well as the submachine gun that was its default mode. He hung that from his belt as well, and put the sniper attachment, which included a scope and a barrel extension, on his back, and the anti-armor attachment on his thigh. He put the extra energy packs in pockets on his outer vest, where they could be quickly reached. He locked down his helmet, and proceeded to the docking airlock. The other soldiers were waiting for him, having donned their gear much faster than him.
“I am just an observer, so you have command, sergeant,” Katrikkan said.
“Aye, sir,” the sergeant responded.
The light next to the airlock started flashing red, and everyone at the airlock snapped their weapons up. Those near the door dropped to a kneeling stance, and those farther away adopted a standard standing firing position. The light turned gold, and the airlock opened. They moved as a squad across the short span to the dreadnought’s docking hatch. The lead soldier attached a breaching charge and they all stepped back. He gave the countdown on his fingers, first holding up three, then two, then one, and they all turned away as the charge went off. They charged through the opening and quickly took covering positions just outside it. The Karakus’s airlock door cycled shut as the soldiers reported a clear corridor. The rest of the squad exited the docking tube and they headed aft to the engine room. They turned the corner, and were met by two crewmembers, who were expertly taken down by two quick shots each by the lead soldier. The Karakus began disconnecting from the Martin Dreadnought, and bulkheads automatically closed behind the squad as atmosphere escaped.
“Non-powered safety bulkheads. Either smart or primitive,” Katrikkan thought to himself. They advanced without incident for a long while, only running into unarmed technicians. They didn’t bother capturing these, as they were unlikely to know anything useful. The fire team advanced to the engine room, where they paused outside the door. They took up door breach positions, and Katrikkan mounted the sniper attachment to his weapon. He loaded the sniper rounds that used a shell housing a small antimatter particle that exploded upon coming into contact with a particle of normal matter when the round flattened against an object such as an organic body or a steel bulkhead. This ammunition type was almost never used in boarding actions because of its tendency to punch through the outer hull. The engine room was double sealed, however and it was safe to use it within.
Katrikkan moved a little away from the door, and knelt, making sure he had good coverage of the door. The lead soldier stuck a beach charge on the door, dashed to the side of the door, and it exploded. They threw a concussion grenade into the room and rushed inside when it went off. Katrikkan, seeing no armed hostiles, removed the sniper attachment and entered the engine room. They quickly subdued the technicians and moved them into a corner. They disabled the main power conduits with explosive charges and then moved the technicians into an improvised holding cell – a small sealed room with the interior door controls destroyed. They radioed Karakus that power was cut and the Subverters ceased to disable the ship. They moved forward in the ship toward the bridge. Alarms suddenly began to blare, as apparently the communications were powered on a separate line. They quickly fell into tactical formation, but continued toward the bridge. They advanced down three long corridors before meeting another human. They rounded a corner, and were confronted by an armed and armored squad blocking the entrance to the bridge. They immediately dropped back behind the corner, primed three grenades, and quickly tossed them toward the squad. When they heard the explosion, they rushed the group, rifles blazing. Katrikkan moved forward, the human’s bullets bouncing off of his armor, as the humans had anti-concussion equipment mounted on their hard suits.
Katrikkan and the rest of the squad climbed atop the barrier and fired into the soldiers, shredding the humans’ bodies with the energy rounds. With the squad dispatched, the fire team moved on to the bridge door. They once again took up breaching positions, but instead of a sniper, Katrikkan primed a grenade. The breach charge went off, and Katrikkan threw the concussion grenade to the far wall. Another grenade landed close to the door, and a third was sent into the forward part of the room. They quickly secured the stunned captain and the command crew. They forced the captives to jog with them as they headed back to a docking hatch. Whenever they met a corner, a soldier moved a tiny camera around it, and checked the next hallway. In some cases, they had to keep the captives in the previous hallway as they killed the fire teams that were still attempting to guard the bridge. They always left three soldiers behind to guard the captain and his crew when they did so. Once, one of the captives tried to escape while most of the team was clearing the next section. Two of the guards promptly shot him, and he dropped, dead before he hit the ground.
They continued onward, coming to a second docking hatch.
Katrikkan tapped a button on the side of his helmet, activating the radio, and said, “Korigul, this is strike team. Mission accomplished, need extraction. Trace signal to docking hatch.”
The reply came, “Congratulations. Pickup in five. Beginning docking procedures.”
The squad forced the captives against the airlock, and took up a defensive stance, with three squadmembers facing aft, and three facing to the fore. Katrikkan stood guard on the captives, keeping a watchful eye on them. By now, the humans had discovered that their captain had been kidnapped, and were searching the ship in armed patrols.
“Hostiles, fore!” a squad member reported. Katrikkan turned to the threat so he could see both them and the prisoners. The squad wheeled to face the opposing force, using the small space of the airlock as cover. Suddenly, two silver cylindrical objects rolled down the corridor. They came to a rest in front of the squad and they heard a click and a white gas quickly escaped the objects. Bullets were flying down the corridor, but the soldier nearest the object quickly stepped from cover and kicked them back towards the humans.
As he stepped back behind cover, he fell back into the arms of his comrade, his helmet cracked where a bullet had hit it. His comrade checked the fallen squad member’s pulse in the back of his neck, and shook his head. Katrikkan knew the soldier was dead, and leaned around the corner to fire. The energy bolts from his gun hit one of the humans in the right shoulder, and he promptly fell and was dragged back behind cover. Katrikkan heard a loud clang as the Korigul redocked with the ship.
“Hold them back just another minute, the tunnel is pressurizing!” the squad leader commanded. The squad redoubled their fire, suppressing the forward humans, but shots started coming from the other direction as well. The squad split back into the two groups that had originally guarded the hallway, and spread their fire. Bullets zinged by them into the walls, but few were on target. The Vasari’s, however, were deadly accurate, from years of fighting, forcing the humans to stay under cover at the ends of the corridor.
With a click, whoosh the airlock cycled open, and assault troops poured into the hallway, relieving the elite squad. They waited until the docking extension cleared, and then moved through the hatch into the Korigul. They relinquished the captives to a detention team who was waiting to take the command crew of the human ship to the holding cells. Katrikkan rested his hand on the squad leader’s shoulder in silent consolation for the lost team member, and then headed up the corridor to the bridge.
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