A Grand Entrance (Part 1)

[Ryksmarshal Rukkel]

Orbis VII and Orbis VIII Fronts

 

By now the combined Katasian fleet had pushed out a perimeter around themselves. Both offensive and defensive capabilities were fully operational as the fleet mauled its way through the area it now inhabited. They pushed forward aggressively. A beleaguered grouping of larger Naxid ships was utterly obliterated by a successful "crossing the C" as they found themselves trapped between the advance of the now near-impenetrable shared defence "bulwark" formation of the main line in the center and two artillery groups and picket ships positioned both above and below.

Bombers with fighter screens darted in and out on the flanks to pick off stragglers and divert the energies of smaller enemy vessels as monitor ships, which amounted to immense capital-killer guns mounted with engines and a bridge, scanned for weakened larger vessels before piercing their cores with three stage kinetic shells designed to burst inside targets with low-yield neutron radiation followed by a thermonuclear blast and then underscored by a shielded core that flooded whatever was left with plasmapalm, an unstable superheated gas mixture that adhered to all it touched as it burned. Ships caught in the sphere of annihilation either outright ceased to be or else were cursed to float, lifeless, through the void of space.

 

Still, Admiral-Nominate Dusty Face was aware of the strategic picture. It was not good. Despite the withdrawal order he was now aware of the full weight of the threat facing them, this wasn't simply a large fleet of ships surrounding them, it was monumental. Yes, they were weak, they were distracted and they had thus far cracked under a concerted Katasian assault but it would only be a matter of time before the commanders of the enemy fleet deigned to deal with the bleeding ulcer that had appeared in the rear of their lines.

Upon further reflection he was unsure whether his fleet could make the edge of the interdiction and withdraw, they were too far deep and the forces arrayed against them far too numerous. The weight of sacrifice already weighted heavy upon him, his fleet was not meant for war, it was meant to secure the future of his nation and, with engineering sections in many vessels already struggling to keep up the frantic defensive action, he already knew that the destruction of any one ship meant a dagger straight to the heart of the Ryk itself.

 

It was about this time news of the Nalydian communication from Admiral Manster Heinz came in. Suffice to say all were shocked to find a nation of the old universe already in the new, wherever they had arrived was a strange place indeed. He sent a quick message to his comms, too busy to do it himself, but hopefully that would suffice. It was at that point he ordered a pivot towards the closer Nalydian lines, hoping to the Watcher that they would be friend and not foe as, by now, they were likely the only hope for his fleet to extricate itself from this mess.

 

Communication from the Katasian Fleet

 

A long snout filled up the screen for a moment as the message came through to the Nalydian fleet. It withdrew to reveal a smart looking katasian naval officer as he adjusted his comms system to the point required for a contact long thought gone. As he sat back, large earpieces clamped over his head, he began to speak:

 

"Attention Nalydian fleet. This is the RSL Grand Karak of the Ryksmarine. We are currently heavily engaged with an unknown enemy, I am instructed to inform you we are turning towards your lines in a withdrawal. As such I have been authorized to request passage into your lines to regroup, in exchange we can offer what limited help available to us at this moment. Direction from Admiral-Nominate Dusty-Face is as follows.

 

If you feed us targets of opportunity we will engage and destroy them. We will be sending advance strike packages for surgical operations forward as an initial show of aid, these will consist of both boarding forces and near light fighter-bombers to offer you direct aid. You will be contacted in due time, direct their attacks and make use of them where most necessary. Additionally, the inter-dimensional relations handbook of the Katasian Ryksmarine states we are to inform you that if you are, in fact, evil parallel dimension twins of previously encountered peoples then you have to tell us as it is important we know these kinds of things in advance.

 

Glory to Katasia, Grand Karak out..."

 

Later, among the Advance Strike Force...

 

Rampaging drums and screaming guitars filled the small cockpit as Desi shifted uncomfortably in his harness directly behind the diminutive katasian pilot in front of him, the stars whirled past as the MkV "Assailant" fighter-bomber slowed to unleash its 105mm revolving cannons on another hapless Naxid fighter before shifting seamlessly to near lightspeed and punched through the screen of enemy ships ahead of them. It was a disorientating experience, and not one that Desi was enjoying.

 

"Ivan...can we stop it with th' spinnin'?" he called out to the katasian pilot, who was now air drumming as they narrowly missed several hunks of wreckage and enemy fighters

"No can do buddy, b****es love spinning. I can do this though, maybe it'll help ya out" he replied before rummaging through his music collection whilst piloting increasingly dangerously and selecting a new song "better?"

"Lita-rally worse than killin' us"

"Glad I could be of service...oo, we're coming up on the Nalydian fleet, two secs"

 

Ivan reached up and opened a new comm channel

"Attention Nalydians, we're here to kick a** and smoke cigars...and I can't smoke cigars because this is a sealed oxygen rich environment so everything would explode. That leaves us only one option-"

Interfleet comms flickered to life "Cobalt-12, you are sending improper communications and we have received word that you are not the assigned pilot for this ship. Please identify yourself"

"It's fine, I left a present" Ivan replied as back on the Karak an emergency disposal team was nearly scared to death when a box they thought was a bomb turned out to be a bunch of confetti poppers rigged to shoot out in such a way that they spelled "SORRY" in the air momentarily.

"That is not an affirmative answer Cobalt-12-"

"You're not an affirmative answer" came the reply as Ivan shut off inter-fleet comms and accelerated towards the Nalydian lines.

 

Shortly afterwards a more official communication reached the Nalydians, informing them that the advance strike teams were in place and awaiting confirmation of targets of areas of vulnerability that required aid by either fighters or Katasian naval commandos.

[Schwieger]

A great stream of plasma fire crashes past the Nalydian formations near the "Voznayali" fortress and into the upper atmosphere of the plant Uranus. The impacts can be seen from space, and thermal sensors on the various Pordish craft begin detecting changes in the profile of the planet. The switch to targeting it directly has taken them by surprise, and it takes a spell for them to readjust their defensive firing patterns to account for the new pathing of the incoming ordnance. For the time being though, it is too late. Tall explosions leap out into space from the impacts deep within the interior of the planet and from the impacts now crashing upon the shielding protecting the myriad colonized moons of the gas giant...

 

"The sky is alight with fire as the Naxids hammer our shields. Splotches seem to creep across them as their fire impacts and we can hear the loud low rumble of impacts even all the way down on the surface. The wait is maddening. There isn't anything we can do here. The battle is in Heinz's hand for now, but we all wish the Naxids would land so that we could fight them. I have confidence that we can whip 'em here just like we did back in Blackhand."

 

-- Nalydian soldier, 10th Division-Assault Paramarine "Spear of Arctodonia," 41st Moscorosian Brigade-Assault Paramarine.

 

Heinz

 

Admiral, would you look at this, the sensors operator states. How peculiar.

 

Heinz nods slowly. He can see the local commanders moving to counteract the most recent Naxid movements, but the development is still worrisome. His nod comes to a stop. Then he frowns. Zhüln up, he says.

 

Tasi, comes an affirmation.

 

Admiral Zhüln's hologram fades into view. He salutes quickly. Admiral Heinz, he says.

 

Heinz returns the salute. Admiral, how are you holding up? 

 

Zhüln scratches his chin. His hologram can be seen looking over some displays and moving tidbits of information around before he finally makes his reply: It looks like Atanok's Division has been hit the hardest. He hasn't lost any ships outright, but the Naxid gravitational warp missiles have been playing havoc with his formations. Twenty of his battlecruisers have been forced back, and at least three of these have retired to the local area of his flagship for immediate repairs.

 

Heinz takes all the information in. That none of the vessels have been sunk is fortuitous to say the least, considering the volume of fire visited upon the formation. He weighs his next order of business when another hologram flickers to life by Admiral Zhüln.

 

"Attention Nalydian fleet. This is the RSL Grand Karak of the Ryksmarine. We are currently heavily engaged with an unknown enemy, I am instructed to inform you we are turning towards your lines in a withdrawal. As such I have been authorized to request passage into your lines to regroup, in exchange we can offer what limited help available to us at this moment. Direction from Admiral-Nominate Dusty-Face is as follows.

 

If you feed us targets of opportunity we will engage and destroy them. We will be sending advance strike packages for surgical operations forward as an initial show of aid, these will consist of both boarding forces and near light fighter-bombers to offer you direct aid. You will be contacted in due time, direct their attacks and make use of them where most necessary. Additionally, the inter-dimensional relations handbook of the Katasian Ryksmarine states we are to inform you that if you are, in fact, evil parallel dimension twins of previously encountered peoples then you have to tell us as it is important we know these kinds of things in advance.

 

Glory to Katasia, Grand Karak out..."

 

We have located the Katasian fleet, Admiral, the sensors operator chimes in. Heinz zooms into the map; sure enough the impressive and distinctive forms of the Ryk warships begin to fade into view. 

 

They're going to need to fight their way through to our lines, Heinz notes, I want the 51st an 62nd Runner Divisions as well as the rift cruisers of the 36th and 14th Patrol Fleets to clear a pathway through to the Katasians. Remove P/A interdiction along their route.

 

Tasinehdao! comes a reply.

 

Heinz' orders sink down through the ranks. In the void, the glistening Chürzhna armouring of the rift cruisers glows as they shunt more power into shielding and thrusters; the cruisers are first to break free from the main Nalydian formations and they slam into the Naxid lines sailing in very close order. The ENS clearance is a godsend for them, and they take full advantage of it. The rotating barrels of the ENS/RPDC finally are able to be put to good use; the mixed batteries, each with three barrels, open up in full concert with their ENS weapons in addition to the rift-pulse discharge batteries, and it is expected that the increased levels of firepower will help aid in maintaining the corridor. Of particular note, though, are the Tylaq Balnook runners which, with their Generation XV DS reactors and rift seal cloaking seem to fade in and out of existence as they target Naxid warships with withering barrages of Array fire and high-yield missiles as they screen for the main contingent of rift cruisers.

 

A reply is given to the Katasians:

 

"We read you, Grand Karak. Naxid formations rotate in and out of the line of battle to retain the strength of their shields. They have forces behind their main lines, near our current front line, that have been drained considerably and should be relatively easy to pick off, provided you can reach them. For your main force, we are sending rift cruisers to help clear a pathway from our lines to your current position to help keep your levels of attrition down."

 

May Jlokhemit watch over us,

And Rekazhnar guide our bows

 

Admiral Zhüln, Heinz says, that will be all.

 

Zhüln's hologram fades away.

[Shex]

 

Orbis IV Front - Combat vs Bro Contingent

 

The Bro fightercraft continue to find that they are having no difficulty in eliminating Naxid forces. And now, with the bro fleet engaging them as well, it seems that their fightercraft are beginning to withdraw. This, actually, is more of an attempt to bring the fighting back to under the cover of guns from the main force to aid them in eliminating the Broes, however. A volley of a couple hundred million missiles is loosed from the fleet, and heads for the 700 or so Bro contingent now targeting them.

 

-snip-

 

Trans-Universal Gate Front

 

The Bro fleet emerges and sets course for the inner system, but even at maximum sublight it will take hours to reach Orbis IV. For the time being though, a large salvo of fire slams into the flank of the Broes from the thirty million Naxid ships sent to secure the gate as they pull into this 'verse. The fleet moves on an intercept course aiming to prevent them from joining with UMS forces elsewhere. Already waves of interceptors begin peeling away from the main force and they start speeding towards this newly arrived UMS contingent, lobbing missiles and firing off plasma and kinetics all the while. Special attention is paid to the inbound waves of interceptors, and very soon they are mixed in with the Naxids and battle is joined.

 

 

Martian Front

 

Millions of missiles, heading straight for their faces.

 

Various Captains of the fleet stared at those missiles, with beads of sweat gradually flowing down their faces.

 

However, Admiral Ak-Baak would not be denied.  His scanners were picking up some faint signals...  A shield of some kind, enveloping the region.  Thank the maker for Triskeli technology!

 

"All ships, make a break for the Triskeli theater shield.  We can match their speed, and under that shield we can endure the worst of it.  Go, now!  Do not attempt to cover each other, the shield will do that for us!  Move move move!"

 

The fleet began to move during his speech, and as the transmission was cut they all flew towards the theater shield.  Point defense turrets were ready, and surviving fighters hurled back to their motherships as quickly as possible in order to help destroy the missiles.  Perhaps, perhaps!  They would make it.

 

Trans-Universal Gate Front

 

The Naxids made it impossible to regroup with the Martian Force.  Bro ships near the gate attempted to utilize defensive formations and concentrate their firepower on the Naxid vessels that seemed most threatening.  Still, the hundreds of thousands of fighters swept across the Naxid fleet, slamming missiles into enemy craft and annihilating more than they ever thought possible.  Visually, even Naxid capital ships crumpled apart from Brotherhood ordinance.  Even if they would fail today, surely the Naxids would understand that facing the Broes meant facing certainly disproportionate losses!  Positronic beams, Antimatter torpedoes, Large Kinetic Rounds flying at speeds greater than half the speed of light, such weapons flew frantically in their attempts to crush the Naxid threat.

[Oncaro]

KDS Salvation of Benaton

The Third Fleet was on the move, heading toward Orbis IV ahead of the Mri 10th Fleet.

"So who the Hell are these new ships, Zorya?" Admiral Mihailovic asked the AVI, reclining slightly in his command chair.

"Katasians, Admiral. I believe they're holdovers from the FB-1 universe, which by the Talean Calendar collapsed around four centuries ago," Zorya replied, and she brought up a number of holoprojections, consisting of data on these new arrivals.

"More aliens, huh? I suppose if they're from FB-1, once again we've got allies who dwarf us in size."

"I wouldn't worry about that, sir." Zorya replied, a smirk on her holographic face. "Size isn't everything. In fact, small size is a common problem for many ships. Issues with resources, and, uh... performance. You know, one out of five--"

"Enough, Zorya. How close are we to the Triskeli?" Mihailovic asked, and Zorya shrugged.

"Thirty seconds until we reach Orbis IV. I recommend entering their theater shield before opening fire on the Naxids. I would suggest covering the Bro contingent there, as well."

"Send the orders... Its time for the Third Fleet to get its first kills."

"Aye, sir," Zorya replied, and her visage winked from existence. Mihailovic stood as the Benaton and one thousand, nine hundred, and ninety eight other ships made it into the Triskeli theater shielding. On his command, the Third Fleet began moving around and alongside the Triskeli ships, beginning to fire particle beams, antimatter missiles, and mass-accelerator slugs into the oncoming Naxid fleet as they made their way toward the beleaguered Broes, who were likewise heading to the relative safety of the shield bubble.

________________________

KDS Panther, en route to Saturn

Commander Milosevic drummed her fingers along the arm of her command chair, her chin in the palm of her other hand. In the few minutes since leaving, the Panther had already made it past Mars and was heading toward the Outer Worlds. But it would still take about an hour to get to Saturn and rescue the crew of Vex's.

"... This is bullshit," she declared. "We can't just... just sit here cruising while Saturn's moons get colonized by these damned bugs!"

She stood, brushing her hair from her face.

"Lieutenant Zordovic, patch me through to the Pords."

"The Pords?"

"Yes, Lieutenant, the Pords! At the current rate it'll take too long to get there, we need an opening in their FTLi field to zip to Saturn, get the Broes, and get back to Orbis III."

"... Oh. Yes, Commander. Patching through now."

Facing the blank viewscreen of her ship, Milosevic spoke once a connection had been established.

"Salutations, esteemed Pordish allies of Kressnia. This is Commander Anja Milosevic of the KDS Panther. Requesting a corridor within your FTLi field with which to get to Saturn and back. The Broes at Vex's need evac. Please confirm."

Edited December 30, 2016 by Oncaro

[Alterra]

Asteroid Belt

 

The Naxids are surprised their volleys seem to be persuaded off course, but nothing fancy occurs in return as the Alterrans begin more advanced operations. The distortions are noted, however. Hundreds of interceptors are swatted aside, but they appear almost... Endless. It seems they have at least hundreds of thousands of these interceptors, if not millions, in the area - most just have not yet gathered to throw their weight against the Alterrans. The count of actual large ships is smaller, but still is not insignificant. 

 

Orbis V and Orbis VI Fronts

 

Saturn has fallen to the Naxids. Titan is now heavily fortified and millions of Naxid warriors take up positions within the rapidly growing tunnel networks beneath its surface.

 

The Alterran fleet emerges into real space deployed against the largest of the Naxid fleets, still largely untouched by battle. Heavy ground based batteries on the Galilean Moons begin targeting what they can with heavy ordnance seemingly almost immediately, while streams of fighters begin forming up to eventually attack. Surprise, though, is on the Alterran side as the Naxid formations are not set up for fleet engagement and it seems, almost, that they are but for a moment paralyzed as they shuffle around attempting to place themselves between the Alterrans and the hive.

 

The Asteroid Belt

Bridge of the AIN Piercing The Darkness

 

Commander Duvaine issued the order to prepare AEON for a second round of tactical offensive moves, while preparing a quad layered defense protocol to implemented instantly on the next offensive course.  The Commander's tactical readouts indicating a high probability of success in this next strike.  Empress Romana - still in the Command Chair - issued the order for the Rift Fighters to execute their next strike.  

 

As the Rift Fighters received the order - each seemingly stopped dead in space and the sphere-like shape rapidly altered to create a cone.  From the center - a powerful blast of Rift Energies exploded outward into the Naxid Interceptors - enveloping half of the Interceptors in the turbulent and putrid Rift energies - the effect lasting more than 10 minutes - more than enough time to destroy the intended targets.  The Rift Fighters each launched nearly 1,000 antimatter torpedos - moving a .75c into the remaining Naxids - a violent barrage.  

 

Orbis V Front

Bridge of the AIN Spirit of Alterra

 

Commander Derweduwen gave the order instantly upon entering real space, "Fire."

 

The Fleet of ships launched a barrage of trillions of high yield anti-matter warheads, followed by blasts of positron charged plasma beams and a launch of anti-matter drones - numbering in the billions - all aimed at the closest hive ship.  The fleet assumed an attack formation and rapidly advanced, closing in on the enemy targets with a micro-light speed jump - appearing in close range almost as soon as the ships appeared on sensors.  The Alterrans attacked the Hive's shield generators, weapons, power, and communications systems - all targeted with precision and skill - The Alterran advanced sensors from the Spirit of Alterra and it's fleet providing targeting solutions and assigning fighters - weapons systems for targeting and coordinating assaults.

 

The Spirit of Alterra fleet began to become extremely fuzzy and nearly impossible to gain a targeting solution on for a brief second...

 

Appearing in the space directly next to the second Hive Ship a second Alterran Fleet seems to appear - a fleet that is of the exact same size and composition of vessels as the Spirit of Alterra Fleet.  The ships launch a nearly identical attack as the first assault by the Alterrans on the first hive ship - trillions of high yield anti-matter warheads, followed by blasts of positron charged plasma beams and a launch of anti-matter drones - numbering in the billions - all aimed at the second hive ship.  On both assaults the strikes meet their contacts with direct strikes.

 

As quickly as the second fleet had appeared - both the first and second fleets seemed to fade into the black on sensors and a single fleet seemed to fade through the darkness near the closest Naxid infested moon.  The billions of Rift Fighters swooped into the atmosphere - opening fire on all ground forces and ground battlements - launching antimatter carpet bombing campaigns.

Edited January 5, 2017 by Alterra

[Schwieger]

Orbis IV

 

A new force has arrived onto the battlefield. A few obligatory barrages are loosed at these new arrivals before they duck behind the fleet-spanning shields of the Triskeli. Unfortunate. That the Bro fleet too has fled behind the shields and more damage was not not visited upon them is also unfortunate, but it cannot be helped. Now though, with the UMS powers gathered in one area, the Naxid fire can be concentrated once more. For their part, the Triskeli would notice the volume fire increasing against their shields, while it appears that a strike force, some twenty-thousand strong, begins to peel away from the main force and sets course for the two Martian moons. No great change in the state of the Naxid fleet here is detected, but the various barrages of ordnance are having an impact on their number - of particular note are the large bore Triskeli rounds from their stations which plow though multiple ships at once as they rake through the formations.

 

Asteroid Belt Front

 

Naxid forces near the vast expulsion of rift energies find themselves rent asunder in rapid order. No counter is given before the wave of thousands of missiles is loosed by the rift fighters, and these too mostly hit their mark. With such a large amount of forces taken out in such short order, and no detection made of the primary hostile force in the area, the remaining Naxid forces begin to trickle away from the asteroid belt back to where they originated - Orbis V. With the bulk of the craft near the rift fighters having been annihilated, it is expected they will be able to make good on their withdrawal.

 

Orbis VII and VIII Front

 

The Pordish counters do not go unnoticed. Almost as soon as the first ships begin falling to the Nalydian and Katasian attempts to regroup behind the primary Nalydian defenses, Naxid ships begin moving into the area in between the rift cruisers and Ryksmarine vessels. With the initial surprise from the arrival of the Ryk craft now wearing off, large clouds of Naxid attack craft start streaming towards the behemoths battlewagons now bludgeoning their way through their formations. Their aim is simple: get in range of the Ryk warships to attempt boarding actions. Nothing more at this time is thrown at the Ryk, but the Katasians might notice a larger volume of gravitational warp type and plasma type missiles being directed towards them now as the mass of insectoid craft begins assembling between them and the Pords. 

 

The targeting of the planets and moons has worked well enough for the time being. Once more the Naxid warships switch track and begin hammering the fortress "Voznayali" and the superkapital warships arranged around it. Their numbers here have thinned noticeably, but in typical Naxid fashion, they continue to press onward regardless of losses. Similarly, at Neptune, the Naxid forces have achieved little but continue their assault and rotate warships in and out of the line of battle. Oddly, however, a contingent appears to break away from the main force assaulting that most distant of ice giants, and it sets course for the moon of Triton...

 

Universal Gate Front

 

The now growing waves of burnt-out hulks and obliterated craft do not deter the Naxid forces laying siege to the newest arrived of Bro fleets. Even as strike craft are taken out and warships are destroyed, it seems ten emerge from the darkness to take their place. The Naxids aimed initially to capture the gate, but if Bro resistance continues with such alacrity, eliminating the gate will much more than suffice. For the time being, they begin to spread out and appear to be attempting to gain more angles on the much smaller force engaging them in almost a bowl-shaped manner.

Edited January 6, 2017 by Schwieger

[Shex]

Orbis IV

 

A new force has arrived onto the battlefield. A few obligatory barrages are loosed at these new arrivals before they duck behind the fleet-spanning shields of the Triskeli. Unfortunate. That the Bro fleet too has fled behind the shields and more damage was not not visited upon them is also unfortunate, but it cannot be helped.

 

-snip-

 

Universal Gate Front

 

The now growing waves of burnt-out hulks and obliterated craft do not deter the Naxid forces laying siege to the newest arrived of Bro fleets. Even as strike craft are taken out and warships are destroyed, it seems ten emerge from the darkness to take their place. The Naxids aimed initially to capture the gate, but if Bro resistance continues with such alacrity, eliminating the gate will much more than suffice. For the time being, they begin to spread out and appear to be attempting to gain more angles on the much smaller force engaging them in almost a bowl-shaped manner.

 

 

Perhaps the Naxids believed themselves invincible.

 

Perhaps they thought that this fight would have been easy.  In truth, Arcadia and the paltry forces gathered before the coming storm did not expect to weather it so well.

 

At any rate, reinforcements were inbound.  It was believed that One World Fleet would be insufficient.  But what about two?

 

Universal Gate Front

 

The gate flashed once again, still standing as relatively little Naxid fire was coming for it.

 

Several ships emerged from the gate, making a beeline for the nearest Naxid force.  Even without deploying fighters, these ships lashed out at the insectoid swarm.  It seemed that raw firepower was the key to victory this day, and as such these ships threw more slugs, antiparticles, and torpedoes at this new threat!

 

But if Naxid sensors, or their equivalents, were particularly keen, they might have noticed that the gate flashed more frequently than necessary for the new arrivals.  Although each flash signaled the arrival of hundreds, if not thousands of Bro ships forcing their way into the Universe, there were multiple flashes where, according to visual inspection, no ships appeared at all!

 

Not long after one of these flashes, a group of Naxid ships attempting to flank the Bro fleet from their ventral sides would have had a most unpleasant encounter!

 

Dill-Rat Vessel Eviscerator, Fourth Vengeance Squadron, Bridge

 

"Dogar and Kazon have blessed us this day!"  The Avenger class Assault Corvette's Captain chuckled.  The room echoed with the clicking of mandibles as his bridge crew gathered eagerly around him.

 

"We Dill-Rats have only recently joined the Brotherhood, and yet her Command has requested our support.  If we succeed in culling our latest prey, they've promised that we will no longer be mere auxilaries.  What fortune, brothers and sisters!  Our ancestors could have only dreamed of this day:  when the descendants of the Illwrath are no longer feared and despised but instead celebrated for causing mayhem and destruction among an interstellar force!  Helm!  How long will it take for us to enter firing range?"

 

"Soon, sir!"  The younger Dill-Rat clicked eagerly.  "Soon.  Oh how I wish my grandfather could be here!"

 

"...  He left on the Great Jihad, didn't he?  I forget, our young hatch so quickly.  I might be an Elder soon.  Still, my chitin hasn't thinned, and my jaws are as tough as ever!  Let us lay waste to this vermin and make the Dark Gods proud!"

 

The Eviscerator rapidly descended upon a group of Naxid ships, and, alongside four of her sisters, decloaked only to fire a massive plume of plasma.  The plumes from a single Avenger could stretch for entire kilometers, and the combined plumes of these ships would surely annihilate enemy ships caught in the blast!  The sea of what could only be described as hellfire spread across the void, and by all visual accounts much of it engulfed an incoming group of Naxid vessels.  Enemy reprisals struck the Eviscerator's shields as the entire squadron rapidly recloaked.

 

As multiple Avenger-class craft decloaked amongst the Naxid Horde, flanking them with their devastating plasma plumes and recloaking to reconstitute more attack runs, the rest of the Brotherhood ships, having received targeting data from friendly ships in advance, continued firing upon the Naxid hordes.

 

So long as the gate held, thousands of reinforcements would emerge.  But perhaps the clever Naxids would notice additional sensor ghosts, telling signs of Cloaking Devices, heading for Mars instead.

Edited January 14, 2017 by Shex

[Ryksmarshal Rukkel]

Aboard the Grand Karak

 

Admiral-Nominate Dusty-Face popped some more RFLX, he was beginning to numb to its effects already but he couldn't afford to have anyone else take the helm at this critical juncture. He ordered all large guns forward, the enemy was attempting to block them but he hoped they would think better of it under that barrage of the fleet.

 

"When facing encirclement the commander is most dependent on the virtu of his forces and the least on fortuna's whims. The virtuous actions of his forces should pierce the embrace of foruna as a sword would pierce a heart, action and not mere existence should capture the day. The commander should strive to remain the point and not be relegated to the haft, for at the point is victory, at the haft, defeat..."

 

He repeated the half-remembered words from the Laptev Fleet Warfare Academy as though they were a mantra. Visions of time spent in the pleasant gardens among the grand buildings as he watched them hoist the flags of the Axis nations each morning, captured with rope to flutter in the gentle breeze on its platform high above the Southern Ocean, floated through his mind. All that was now so much ash, remnants of a time before the universe had become ever more vast, confusing and dangerous.

 

"What was that sir?" asked one of his bridge officers from the console below him

 

"N-nothing..." he replied hesitantly, before regaining his mental footing and leaping back into the action "call up all forces within the fleet, if they are to board any of our vessels we should ensure they get a welcome for their trouble."

 

"The MarineKorp are already mobilizing, we'll call up all available Grand Armee', ArmourKorp and Guard Nationale' to stations. Sir, the frigate Lake Balaikval already reports boarders, commanders are asking to access the special projects armouries...and there was another thin-"

 

"Tell them to do whatever they deem necessary, they have full tactical control inside their own vessels. Ensure they understand the importance of evacuating as many as they can whilst they have the time-"

 

"The other thing si-"

 

"I know what they want, it has been granted, but they shall have none of our transportation"

 

"Very good sir, I believe they have their own available to them"

 

"Let's concentrate on our own affairs, delegate all further boarding actions to Fleet COS but keep me updated"

 

A number of vessels in the fleet were already ensnared in the tendrils of the Naxian attack craft, the largest of which was now the Balaikval, a Northern Federation vessel playing host to the many of the denizens of that tough and wintry land whose people had never truly been conquered by Katasia many thousands of years ago, even as the harsh climate had been. While other, smaller, craft staggered on against impossible odds to hold the line as civilians and non-essential personnel fled to other ships among the fleet the Balaikval had resolved to fight on. Everything was now being mustered to save it although, despite this, evacuations had begun.

 

 

RSL Lake Balaikval

Breach 127

 

Lt. Colonel Nadzov of the Katasian MarineKorp buckled on the bulky assault helmet, she hadn't been out from behind a desk in a while and its presence uncomfortable but yet familiar to her. There was something instinctively repulsive and alluring to the way it crushed her canine ears against her head, that moment of panic as the welding mask like front section closed over her features with an ominous hiss that signaled its seal against the void.

 

Then again it took something special and stupid to be part of the MarineKorp, with its unwieldy spacesuits and handing armour panels that were hardly cutting edge a number of decades ago let alone now, and fling oneself into either the cold darkness of space or the unremitting terror of close quarters starship boarding actions.

 

The human NCO handled her roughly as he helped with the straps, clasps and pouches of her armoured exterior suit. It was no matter though, she was used to it.

 

She checked the chamber on her 16mm submachine cannon and the ignition on her plasma edged axe to ensure their function before looking over to the ursidaen corporal whose tense hulking frame was on guard, his massive shrapnel belching spreadgun resting on the assault shield he had just been wearily carrying. She activated VIZR comms as her HUD sprang to life

 

"Systems test is successful. Are we all in position?" she asked before adding "don't want to be let down by the fleet anoraks from special projects"

 

"We can hear too y'know" came the reply with the distinctive draw of a citizen of the Southern Republics "treat us unkind an' we might not get out from behind our desks to help ya'"

 

"I'd never dream of it petty officer, you know that. What I meant to ask is have you done your magic in this section and are your engineering teams ready?"

 

"They're ready, canisters are primed to flood the section. Once it dissipates you'll have to move quickly to support, then get out. You've got about a minute and counting"

 

Nadzov primed her weapons and ordered the troop into formation, the larger marines went to the fore with their shields and heavy weapons, the rest including her could pick up the scraps. She went back to comms

 

"The seals will hold right?"

 

"Guess we're about to find out Lieutenant Colonel...10 seconds..."

 

A sound, seemingly out of nowhere, suddenly intensified as the Naxid boarders reached the section, flooding it with a swarm of their warriors. Nadzov gave the order to hold as they deflected the first few incoming shots and huddled together, buffeted by enemy weapon fire.

 

Then, all at once, the whole section exploded into a yellowish haze. Within seconds the Naxids were screeching and roiling around as their bodies exploded into blisters and pustules, a horror show of sickening misery that shocked even the hardened veterans among the troop of marines. Few of them even were aware of the kind of work that the special projects division of the RyksMarine and those that were had never seen any deployed up close.

 

The WunderKraft detachments, as they were known colloquially, were responsible for Katasia's development, holding and deployment of parts of the former Laptev superweapon arsenal. They had just unleashed a particularly nasty liquefying compound that came in gas form, yet still this was only the tip of the iceberg that had been held within the larger Katasian fleet as it had escaped FB-1. In under a minute the Naxid swarm was reduced to trembling piles of goop that occasionally popped and oozed.

 

More would come, but now they had time to lock the section down and prevent further swift ingress by the enemy. The shocked silence that proceeded the deployment of the gas was broken by a young private at the fore of the troop

 

"f***, well I'm never eating fondue again..."

 

Nadzov ordered them forward as the engineers rushed in behind to seal the section. All across the ship many breaches were being sealed in similarly horrible and desperate ways, and yet still the Naxids came.

 

 

RSL Lake Balaikval

Living Area B-67t

 

Shell casings rattled on the faux tiles of the small plaza that made for somewhat of a central hub of the commercial boulevard in Area B-67t. Most civilians, save for those too feeble or too stupid to leave, had evacuated some time ago. It was just as well given that the Naxid hordes had broken much of the defensive lines in this sector with relative ease, sowing confusion and death amongst the halls of residences and the more open communal areas as they swept past. Barricades further in had eventually held, heavy weapons and reinforcements convincing the Naxids that they should regroup and hunt down the pockets of resistance left behind for now.

 

Salazar Motille', a corporal in the Guard Nationale', looked down at his Magazine Replenishment Kit (MRK) with dismay. It had not yet gathered enough gases nor converted the casings he had fed into it into usable ammunition, his M2A7 rifle clicked ominously as it signaled it was now empty and that he had drawn a host of roving Naxids down upon himself and his erstwhile companion.

 

His companion was an ursidaen warrant officer in the Grand Armee' and he was not particularly happy about Salazar having given away their position. Nonetheless he pressed a digit to his snout and waited by the door as the Naxids investigated the burst of fire. No sooner had they crossed the threshold and seen the terrier katasian corporal then the giant ursidaen was upon them. His enormous frame rippled as he tore one of the Naxid warriors in half with his b(e)are paws, aided by an influx of combat drugs through his armour and the rage in his heart, he proceeded to fight the Naxids without a weapon for a time.

 

Eventually he drew a wicked looking combat knife before gutting the next two to enter and obliterating the squad that had begun to investigate the outbreak of firing. The ursidaen wiped the blade off against his uniform

"f***ing ошибки" he exclaimed through ragged breath, a wound now springing into a cascade of red from his side as he looked to Salazar "don't just sit there pup, there will be more, you need to keep moving"

 

Salazar scrambled to right himself, grabbing up the MRK in the process. He silently thanked the bold ursidaen before turning to leave. It was at this point a blinding flash streamed in through the shuttered windows of the small shop they had found themselves in. Salazar paused as the ursidaen slumped into a corner, badly wounded. he reopened the crack he had thrust his rifle through earlier and caught a view of the dozen or so power armoured figures now in their midst. The sounds now surrounding them indicated that this had not gone unnoticed by the Naxids.

 

"Watchkeepers!" cried a Knight-Commander, another katasian, of the True Order of the Watcher as it had been reconstituted under Knight-Master Taylor "defensive positions, cleanse this area and do so for the Watcher"

 

After this it was largely a blur of flashes and the clattering sounds of nearby battle as the Knights who had arrivedd via entropic short range drop tore apart all those who dared face them. Order 20mm carbines barked in the twilight of the devastated section as plasma blades flickered though the darkness and weapons Salazar could not even conceive of smashed utterly the foes that the Ryk had been struggling to hold back. After all was done the knights stood there, having been barely touched by the company strength swarm that had descended upon them, surrounded by innumerable alien corpses.

 

A few more Naxids arrived but soon though better of it as a number of their kind were mulched by chainguns wielded by some of the larger looking power armoured figures. The Knight-Commander looked straight at Salazar, instantly seeing through his hiding place

"Soldier, grab your comrades and evacuate to the remaining barricades. We will hold here"

 

He did not hesitate and he found reserves of strength he did not think he had and made his way out of the building whilst dragging the huge ursidaen behind him. He dared not look at the knights as he passed and he hoped he never saw their like again...

[Ryksmarshal Rukkel]

Aboard One of the Larger Naxid Vessels

 

"Ah've been shot at about all ah' can stand today Ivan..." shouted Desi over the din of Naxid fire towards their tenuous position aboard one of the Naxid fleet, he rammed home the speed loader and leveled his revolver at the hip before loosing another six explosive tipped rounds into consecutive bugs as they attempted to rush the position "...what in th' hell is under your shirt an' what in the hell is th' end game here?"

 

He drew the hilt of his sword as a final Naxid approached, the blade unfolded faster than the eye could follow as an upward strike cut the unlucky attacker in half. Ivan cooly gunned down another three of the insectoids with the PDW he had brought from the cockpit of Cobalt-12 after they had landed it inside some sort of orifice that was too disturbing to accurately describe without attracting complaints from social conservatives.

 

He somehow lit a cigarette inside his spacesuit without igniting himself and let the helmet fill up with noxious fumes whilst unbuttoning his shirt to reveal a rectangular device that semed to have various scribblings hewn into it with a mad sense of purpose

"I brought a bomb...I think..." he finally replied

"Ya think?" asked Desi

"Well, it's some kind of hush hush superweapon deal. I don't really know what it does..."

 

Back Aboard the RSL Grand Karak

Special Projects Arsenal

 

The EOD team sent in to deal with the suspicious package down in the Special Projects area were, if anything, even more terrified at the prospect of a non-distinct box lying in what should have been a heavily shielded and sealed compartment. They were also even more surprised when it once again burst into a shower of confetti that spelt "EVEN MORE SORRY THAN LAST TIME" briefly in the air before making a mess akin to a children's birthday party.

 

Two of the deck officers tasked with the cleanup watched their underlings stumbling about as they tried to pick up the colourful annoyance.

"So, do they know what was stolen?" asked one inbetween drags on a dog-eared cigarette

"USW1054 I've heard" replied the second officer

"USW?"

"Unknown Special Weapon, apparently that mad b*****rd Haustrom built it just before the exodus. No one had time or space to test it but it got brought along anyway. Who knows what that things could do..."

 

Back Aboard One of the Larger Naxid Vessels

 

"...but yeah, it's probably a bomb I reckon, it has a timer and some buttons..."

 

Back Back Aboard the RSL Grand Karak

Special Projects Arsenal

 

"...it might kill a planet, it might kill an entire system, a galaxy, the universe. Literally, it could do anything. From what I've heard Haustrom's various creations range from ultimate destruction to stupid toy. That's why they used to go and try and reverse engineer them remotely in an abandoned system. Whoever took it doesn't even know what power they might be wielding"

The first officer took another drag and shook his head "lets hope to the Watcher wherever they've taken it is very far away from here"

 

Back Back Aboard One of the Larger Naxid Vessels*

*which, as it turns out, is pretty close to the Katasian fleet

 

An ominous beeping filled the chamber as Desi's canine ears simultaneously twisted around for the sounds of more Naxids and flattened to emphasize his dismay at Ivan having pressed many of the buttons on the rectangular box that is maybe a bomb but no one is sure yet.

"Ok, well the timer has started" noted Ivan eventually

"What's it say, should we be running?"

"Probably, the panel is currently reading one- no, wait, two exclamation marks, the emoticon people are using to denote their junk these days and the outline of a flightless bird"

 

Ivan laid the device down gently and patted it twice, then he looked at Desi, contorted his rodent-like features into a toothy grin and sprinted away. Desi's gaze followed him before going back to the device, then back to Ivan's rapidly disappearing form

"Oh for f**-" he exclaimed before sprinting after his unthinkingly rash rodent partner in crime.

 

A hard jog and half a dozen more Naxid reinforcements later and they had broken back through to Colbalt-12. Ivan leaped up into the cockpit, nimbly climbing the retracting stairs and scrambling under canopy to start the few pre-flight checks he bothered to do. Desi clawed his way up into the seat behind he pilot just as the canopy closed and released his helmet, panting as he tried to regain his breath

"Ya...You...Watcher damnit...Ivan"

"Don't thank me yet, I'd say we've done our part here and have earned ourselves a little break from the homeland until it's next narratively convenient to appear" he gunned the throttle as the small fighter lifted into the air and began to speed down the long tunnel of the orifice that had led them here "lets blow this unnervingly sexy popsicle stand!"

 

Now...those expecting an explosion as our heroes boldly venture forth from the, in no way allegorical, orifice that is about to deliver them unto new lives amongst new stars will be disappointed. Rather than a whole thing where they just escape, flames licking at them as they do so, our dynamic duo are actually already pretty far away from the Naxid vessel when its entire superstructure begins to violently buzz in a way that pierces the hulls of nearby ships even through the soundless vacuum of space. Instruments read odd things and every third potted plant across the entire system wilts and dies in an instant before blossoming back to life.

 

In keeping with the deconstruction of cliched tropes, whilst indulging in the one where an omnipotent narrator consistently indicates the presence of desperate humour through breaking the fourth wall and explaining events as though they are cutting in to critique their own writing style, the ship does not explode.

 

Instead it is transformed into a previously unknown superconductive material and is then electrocuted violently. The surface of the vessel takes on a glossy orange tinge as its inhabitants and a good few of those manning smaller Naxid vessels near it are subjected to tremors, then slight smoking, then being on fire and, finally, burning to ash. The ship lists through space, beginning to spin wildly as it loses motivation and direction like someone who has been in a job for too long and now finds it both uninteresting and unfulfilling. 

 

Then...

 

...and, dear reader, this is a lesson in the abject cruelty of attempting humour through an unorthodox method of reporting fictional events in sequence...

 

...then the ship explodes.