The Crimm
03-01-2007, 19:22
Just inside the Oort Cloud of the Sol System, ships started to jump to realspace. Old ships. Ships that haven't been seen in Sol in over a century.
Ships that were once the pride of the Imperial Navy of Crimmond sat on the edge of Sol for almost three hours as more and more of them arrived. Two fleets of ships between fifty and one hundred fifty years old, all showing their age in battle damage, patches, dirt and wear. Appearing soon after is a small fleet, half the size of the two previous ones, made up of ships that are obviously much newer designs, seeming fluid and sharp. Like arrows more than ships.
In unison, the ships make another jump, to a point 50% further out than the orbit of Luna from Earth. Now well inside the vast defenses of Earth, Luna and even Mars(should they care to even blink at a large armada appearing near their sister planet), the ships markings become crystal clear. CSS Vlad. CSS Castle. CSS Dagger. CSS Crimmond. CSS Monitor. All names of ships listed as belonging to Task Force Renegade. Once the bulk of the Crimmond Imperial Navy, they refused to return to Earth and be decommisioned. They claimed that they had spent so much time in space that their ships were home and that the galaxy was too dangerous to abandon to pirates. They lept out of Sol and began to be vigilante patrols of shipping routes, driving off pirates and protecting convoys. Later, they started becoming desperate for supplies. So they became pirates themselves, though they still maintained the aura of protection by only pirating the pirates. Good acts aside, the Empire of Crimmond has had a standing bounty on the 'traitors' that is large enough to throw the Empire into recession for a decade, should. Of course, that bounty extends only to those that served Crimmond. You can't call someone who isn't a citizen of the Empire a traitor to it and make it stick.
For over a century, they have operated in the galaxy with as close to impunity as anyone could get. No one has ever found the star system they operate out of, seen the man they call 'Fleetlord' or captured a Renegade ship. Every time a boarding party has come close to seizing a ship, it has self destructed, taking it's secrets with it. They have said many times that they are not Terrans, having lived in space their whole lives. They are instead Renegades. A society unto itself.
And now they are within striking distance of Earth and the Empire of Crimmond. The European continent slowly comes into view on the night side, revealing the bright star of Myer, the largest Imperial city built on the ruins of Lodz, Poland.
Four ships come out of orbit and head towards the Renegades. CSS Fist of God, CSS Chariot of War, CSS Valkyrie and CSS Mjolnir. All four were Spectre Class Dreadnoughts, the last remaining class of interplanetary warship Crimmond had left in active service. Only twelve existed in the whole fleet and three were destroyed in the line of duty. They stopped just shy of the orbit of Luna and send out a general query of intent. When facing odds of(more or less) thirty-seven to one, one does want to be... cautious.
A single message is sent from the CSS Crimmond. "This is Fleetlord John Chapman, highest ranking officer of Task Force Renegade. We are contacting the Empire of Crimmond to deliver the following message from Admiral Saratov, the last member of the Task Force to have actually served Crimmond. 'This message is to be read to the Empire upon my death. I have ordered the Fleetlord to deliver it in person, along with the fleet, as I cannot. None of these crews have ever been this close to Earth. None of them have served the Empire. They are the children of the Empire raised far away from it, in deep space. Let them come home... as they have commited no crime against the Empire. They are returning Imperial property to it's rigfhtful owner and are giving their own property, the new ships with them, as a gift to the Emperor. I am sorry that I could not look upon my home planet once more before I died, but I am not sorry for leaving it to protect those that needed protection.'" There is a pause. "As Fleetlord for the Task Force... I officially surrender my ships and my command to the Empire of Crimmond."
The Dreadnoughts send a standard 'message recieved/stand by' response as they relay it to the capital. This was something that none of them were cleared to make a decision on...
Ships that were once the pride of the Imperial Navy of Crimmond sat on the edge of Sol for almost three hours as more and more of them arrived. Two fleets of ships between fifty and one hundred fifty years old, all showing their age in battle damage, patches, dirt and wear. Appearing soon after is a small fleet, half the size of the two previous ones, made up of ships that are obviously much newer designs, seeming fluid and sharp. Like arrows more than ships.
In unison, the ships make another jump, to a point 50% further out than the orbit of Luna from Earth. Now well inside the vast defenses of Earth, Luna and even Mars(should they care to even blink at a large armada appearing near their sister planet), the ships markings become crystal clear. CSS Vlad. CSS Castle. CSS Dagger. CSS Crimmond. CSS Monitor. All names of ships listed as belonging to Task Force Renegade. Once the bulk of the Crimmond Imperial Navy, they refused to return to Earth and be decommisioned. They claimed that they had spent so much time in space that their ships were home and that the galaxy was too dangerous to abandon to pirates. They lept out of Sol and began to be vigilante patrols of shipping routes, driving off pirates and protecting convoys. Later, they started becoming desperate for supplies. So they became pirates themselves, though they still maintained the aura of protection by only pirating the pirates. Good acts aside, the Empire of Crimmond has had a standing bounty on the 'traitors' that is large enough to throw the Empire into recession for a decade, should. Of course, that bounty extends only to those that served Crimmond. You can't call someone who isn't a citizen of the Empire a traitor to it and make it stick.
For over a century, they have operated in the galaxy with as close to impunity as anyone could get. No one has ever found the star system they operate out of, seen the man they call 'Fleetlord' or captured a Renegade ship. Every time a boarding party has come close to seizing a ship, it has self destructed, taking it's secrets with it. They have said many times that they are not Terrans, having lived in space their whole lives. They are instead Renegades. A society unto itself.
And now they are within striking distance of Earth and the Empire of Crimmond. The European continent slowly comes into view on the night side, revealing the bright star of Myer, the largest Imperial city built on the ruins of Lodz, Poland.
Four ships come out of orbit and head towards the Renegades. CSS Fist of God, CSS Chariot of War, CSS Valkyrie and CSS Mjolnir. All four were Spectre Class Dreadnoughts, the last remaining class of interplanetary warship Crimmond had left in active service. Only twelve existed in the whole fleet and three were destroyed in the line of duty. They stopped just shy of the orbit of Luna and send out a general query of intent. When facing odds of(more or less) thirty-seven to one, one does want to be... cautious.
A single message is sent from the CSS Crimmond. "This is Fleetlord John Chapman, highest ranking officer of Task Force Renegade. We are contacting the Empire of Crimmond to deliver the following message from Admiral Saratov, the last member of the Task Force to have actually served Crimmond. 'This message is to be read to the Empire upon my death. I have ordered the Fleetlord to deliver it in person, along with the fleet, as I cannot. None of these crews have ever been this close to Earth. None of them have served the Empire. They are the children of the Empire raised far away from it, in deep space. Let them come home... as they have commited no crime against the Empire. They are returning Imperial property to it's rigfhtful owner and are giving their own property, the new ships with them, as a gift to the Emperor. I am sorry that I could not look upon my home planet once more before I died, but I am not sorry for leaving it to protect those that needed protection.'" There is a pause. "As Fleetlord for the Task Force... I officially surrender my ships and my command to the Empire of Crimmond."
The Dreadnoughts send a standard 'message recieved/stand by' response as they relay it to the capital. This was something that none of them were cleared to make a decision on...