NationStates Jolt Archive

Location: Outpost 12-A, Edge of Imperial Space

Barnes took a sip of Coffee. As usual, nothing interesting on Radar. His partner on the Outpost, Galia was sleeping.

Man, these shifts are so boring...

Suddenly, the deck was rocked by an exlosion. Barnes was thrown from his feet.

"Computer report!"

Hostile ship detected. Weapons are charged. Should I activate defenses?

"Yes computer now!"

The defense cannons came to life, firing blast after blast of hot laser into the intruder.

Galia ran into the room, her hair a mess.

"What the hell is going on?!?"

"Galia we're under attack! Contact home and send a distress signal! Send all avaliable data on a probe as well, in case the transmission does not make it!"

Galia ran to a console and began punching buttons. A probe quickly launched and jumped to hyperspeed, back to Earth.

Warning. Hull compromised. Abandon the station. Destruction immenent.

"Galia! Get to the escape pod! Get back to Earth!"

"I'll miss you Barnes!"

Galia lept into the command deck escape pod and launched, Jumping to Hyperspace shortly afterwards. She had just enough time to watch the station explode into a sheet of flame...

----------------------------

Fleet Admiral Falkor of the Hyacombe Federation smiled. He had started the game... now it was time to see what they did with the Chess pieces...

Grand Lord Gregory read the report.

"The Emperor is away attending a wedding. There is no need to recall him. Summon Grand Admiral Dangar at once."

The Grand Admiral bowed before the Supreme Military commander.

"What is you wish sir?"

"Deploy the fleet to the destroyed outpost. I wish for you to survey the damage. The interrogation of the Girl from the outpost indicates that there is a civilisation just beyond the border-A hostile one. Your orders are simple. Find out what in the 6 moons happened and then find and destroy those responsible."

"At once Lord Gregory!" Dangar gave the Imperial Salute, and left.

He walked to his Vice Captain.

"Deploy the fleet."

Hmm... wrong time of day I suppose.

Ok I shall bump this later in the afternoon and see what happens.

(See factbook for Fleet numbers)

The Fleet gathered around the remains of the Outpost. Commanding from the New Infinity Class Command ship Endgame, Dangar sat on his command chair.

"Report."

"The analysis reveals weapons fire that we have never encountered before."

"A new race?"

"Yes Sir, it seems whoever lives beyond our borders does not like us."

"Hmm... send a message back to Earth. Request permission to fly beyond the border and make contact and possible conflict with the agressors."

"Aye sir."

OOC: is this near my space?

OOC: is this near my space?

If it's ok with you, you could share the border with the Hyacombe Federation... then you could join in, by perhaps having one of your border stations attacked...

OOC:Sounds fine to me! Probably the bath system then. Ok, i'll RP a responce to the attack on your platform.

IC: 'Sir, we have just recieved a distress call from a TIN Border Installation neighbouring us. Should we respond?'
'Yes, enter max hyperspace towards where that platform was attack. Make sure the rest of our fleet follows us. Contact HQ, and let them knowm where we are headed.'
'Yes sir.'

The fleet of 6 ships, with the MDC Explorer leading them entered Hyperspace, and arrived at where the signal was sent from moments later.

OCC: Gotta go. Continue at 1 roughly.

Rodger.

Streaking out of phased space, the HMS Shropshire dropped to normal speeds, the blue-green glow that coated her hull fading away as she approached a dead planet. Unknown to them, this system was not all that far away from the borders of TIN.
Her sensors reached across the void and touched the planet, beginning a scan for any signs of life, useful resources, anything worthy of a mention in their logs.
A Coventry-class cruiser, the Shropshire was a long ship with a disproportionate number of turrets for her size. She wasn't too large, at just under 250 metres.



"Initiating scan," sighed an officer at one of the port stations. Lieutenant Thrace. He hated exploration. He was much happier trying to navigate a capital ship through an asteroid field in pursuit of terrorists. "No life. Mineral scan will take a couple of hours. I will... what the?"

"What is it?" Captain Jennifer Jelico asked, stepping away from one of the forward consoles and walking over to Thrace.

"Something incoming," Thrace said. "Unknown hull configuration, but then, that's not unusual."

"Establish a comms frequency," Jelico ordered, and stepped over to the centre of the bridge.

"You're up, ma'am," Thrace said.

"This is Captain Jelico of the Royal Bretonian Cruiser HMS Shropshire," she said. She spoke loudly and clearly. They had no translation equipment, so she was hoping they did. "We are on a peaceful exploration mission. We intend no harm. If we have intruded in your territory, I apologise; please direct us to your nearest border and we shall leave peacefully."

She paused for a few minutes, looking up at the speakers hopefully. She looked over at Thrace, who shook his head.

"I repeat, this is Captain Jelico of the Shropshire, we mean no harm," she said, slightly louder. They waited, and again Thrace shook his head.

"They're on an intercept course, ma'am," Thrace announced. "Intense energy readings."

"Grade 2 Battle Alert," Jelico sighed. She sat down in one of two central seats and pulled an arm-mounted console towards her. "All stations, battle ready. Mr. Clarkson, deploy the energy sheath."

"Aye ma'am," another officer called. Lieutenant Commander Clarkson. Judging from the holographic console he was operating, he was the tactical officer. "Emitters charged. Sheath deployment in five... four... three... two... one... now."

The lights dimmed slightly, and there was a loud humming noise followed by some small vibrations throughout the ship.

"Energy sheath deployed," Clarkson announced. "100% integrity confirmed."

"Load the flak turrets and the port torpedo tubes, Commander," Jelico nodded. "But hold off on charging the particle turrets. Just in case."

"Yes ma'am," Clarkson said, pulling down a head-mounted microphone. "Torpedo room 2, let's get ready for some nukin'."

Jelico squinted out of the windows at the front of the bridge, but she couldn't see anything out there apart from the edge of a brown planet, and an infinite number of stars. Several damage control personnel and a medic filed their way out of an elevator onto the bridge and stood to one side, just in case.

"Vessel is hostile, ma'am, repeat, vessel is hostile!" Thrace shouted suddenly. "Incoming fire!"

"Grade 1 alert!" Jelico shouted. Emergency claxons started to sound, and the dim white lighting of the bridge was replaced with dim red lighting. "Brace for impact! Helm; full acceleration and initiate evasive manoeuvres, try and get us..." she didn't finish her sentence, as she was thrown from her chair, along with half of her personal console, and landed head-first beside the forward navigational console.
Sparks flew from exploding monitors, and holographic displays flickered wildly as the ship lurched to one side violently. Smoke poured from ruptured conduits and flaming circuitry.
Once the ship steadied a little, the damage control personnel immediately jumped to put out the flames and seal any conduits. A medic rushed over to the Captain, who had a small gash on her forehead.

"She's unconscious!" the medic shouted to Clarkson. "I have to get her to the ward!"

"Incoming!" Thrace shouted again.

"We can't take another hit!" Clarkson called over. "Energy sheath is ruptured. Torpedo room 2, lock and load, repeat, lock and load. Let's see how they like nuclear explosions."

***

A massive scorch mark now marred the hull of the Shropshire. Its energy sheath was sparking madly across the hull, struggling to stay charged. Two torpedo-shaped objects emerged from two small holes in the side of the vessel, leaving white streamers as they started thrusting their way towards their unknown adversary.
Just afterwards, another bolt of energy slammed into the side of the Shropshire, knocking it out of orbit completely. It began to slowly drift into space. The internal lighting seemed to flicker all over the ship, until it shut off completely. Their enemy seemed content with that, and left them to die.

"Message from HQ-Permission to cross border granted. Orders to seek and destroy confirmed."

"Take us through."

The Fleet began to cross the border, at Half Hyperspeed. It was an hour before...

"Sir, detecting unknown craft, Heavy damage detected. It does not match the configuration of the hostile ship."

"Then who is it?"

"The ship appears to be Bretonian sir. Should we assist?"

Dangar considered options in his chair.

"Hmm... Ok take a breaching pod. Set weapons to stun only, and see if they need help. Remember, they may think we attacked them, so we must exercise extreme caution."

Dangar turned to the comms officer.

"Keep trying to raise them. We have to hope their comm systems are operational."

The breaching pod quickly swept from the Cruiser, impacting on the side of the vessel, before drilling a hole into the vessel. A number of troopers stepped into the craft...

(It's up to you what happens next.)

Thrace groaned, clutching his head as he came to. He struggled to move, but finally managed to push some of the debris off himself and wriggle free. Almost all the consoles were dead, and the emergency lighting wasn't functioning. The core must've come pretty close to meltdown.

"Cap... *cough* captain?" he spluttered, looking around. The only light was that cast by several small fires blazing in exposed circuitry. Thrace couldn't hear the familiar hum of the environmentals, so that fire could be the death of them all even if it didn't spread.

"Captain..." he said with relief as he spotted Jelico. She was in roughly the same place as she had been before. A fairly large metal scaffold had been sheered free and fallen over her, but it was balanced on the navigational console.

"I'm... OK... I think..." she said, sitting up. Her eyes widened when she saw the scaffold just inches away from her midsection, and quickly slid herself out. "What happened?"

"The unknown fired on us," Thrace told her. "You were knocked about pretty bad, ma'am. We launched a couple of torps but they hit us again. Dunno whether the torps hit anything or not; we've got no power..."

He trailed off as there was a hum and a clang. Lights came on, dimly, but they were on. More importantly, the environmentals came back on, pumping fresh air into the room and sucking out some of the smoke.

"All decks, this is engineering," a voice said through the intercom. "Emergency power is on-line. Please report any possible hull breaches to the chief damage control officer."

The ship shook slightly, and a deep clang reverberated across the decks. Thrace jumped over some debris and looked at his half-operational console. On the flickering holo-display he could just make out a small vessel, attached to the side of the Shropshire.

"Captain, we're being boarded..." he warned her. "Guess now we know why they didn't finish us off."

Jelico crouched over Clarkson's body, her fingers against his neck, and shook her head. "You're second in command now, Lieutenant. Deal with it."

Thrace looked at the dead commander and sighed. Nevertheless, he pressed a button on his console.

"Anyone alive on deck three -- or if you can reach deck three -- if you can get to an armoury, grab some gear and head for section 12," he said. "Intruder alert."

"Now, what works, Lieutenant?" Jelico asked.

"In a word, nothing..." Thrace sighed, and started listing all the things they didn't have enough power to switch on.

***

Corporal Peterson looked up from his dead friend at the sound of that. He looked behind him. Of all the marines stationed on this ship, three survived. Tragedy though it was, they had duties to attend to.

"You heard the lieutenant!" Peterson called, standing up. "Let's move, soldiers!" Two privates, not long out of training. They'd be useful.

Peterson kicked the lock of a nearby cabinet and pulled out a rifle. He tossed it to one of the soldiers, and then grabbed another one for the other soldier. He took one for himself, and nodded.

"We'll stop by the armoury on the way and pick up some PTA's," he said. "Let's go."

"Yes sir!" they both snapped to attention.

The two Privates followed Peterson as he pushed the door of the barracks open and headed out into the dim, narrow corridors cautiously.

(OOC: And now, I go for an hour. Food time...)

OOC: Ok... I will reply for now though...

IC: "This man is wounded... Medic!"

The medic ran over to the man trapped under the sheet of metal.

"He'll be ok... but I need to use the Medpack on the pod. Somone get it."

A trooper quickly ran to and returned from the pod with the heavy med pack. The medic quickly administered drugs.

"His wounds should heal quickly. Sir, we should get to the command center and explain our situation to the commander of this vessel."

"Agreed. You lot, come with me! The rest of you search for suvivors, and remember, they will most likely think you are intruders and try to kill you. Use your guns and remember, keep them on stun!"

The troops split up and set off through the bowls of the ship.

OOC: Just for note moleland there is still a group of craft at what is left of the station, surveying the damages.

IC: "How bad does it look?"

"I dunno, I'm gonna take a closer look!"

The Commander hit his retros and got closer to the wreck.

"Hmm... Looks like we can still salvage what is left of the Core module, so we can download its memory, but the station is irrepairable. We'll need a new station. I think we'll have to upgrade it to a Doomsday Defense station."

"Rodger sir. What if the intruder returns?"

"We're ready for them. Weapons are already online, and scanning is at max. We'll slaughter them." (Imperal troops tend to feel invincible when prepared-a bold mistake. But it happens a lot in every country.)

The Commander turned around and fired his rockets.

"Open the airlock. I'm on my way back."

Others are still welcome to join, but please note I will be also playing the role of the bad guys, the Hyacombe Federation.

OOC: Ok, I've arrived at the wreakege of your station. You going to respond to my arrivial, or shall I contact you first?

I gotta go to lesson, so we'll have to pick this up later. I'll be back at about 3.

See ya tomorrow then. from 9 till 2! (Free periods most of day)

See ya tomorrow then. from 9 till 2! (Free periods most of day)

Rodger that.

The Small fleet, consisting of 3 frigates, 2 interdictors and lead by Vice-Admiral Striker's MDC explorer entered the area near where the platform was destroyed.

'Sir, a small group of TIN vessels is gathered around the debris.'
'Hail them!'
'Channel ready.'

'This Vice-Admiral Striker of the MDC Explorer. We have detected distress calls from, what appears to be, your destroyed station. May we be of any assistance?'

OOC: Gotten run. Lessons now. See ya tomorrow.

"This is Commander Halifax of the Salvage vessel Agargo. For the best explanation I suggest you chase up Grand Admiral Dangar, who is currently assisting a Bretonian vessel, last we herd at these co-ordinates."

The commander relayed the co-ordinates with the touch of a button.

"You might want to make contact with Grand Lord Gregory, and inform him you are in the area. He may be able to tell you more than we know as well. As for us, we're just going to finish up our reports and then head for Tydus Prime, so don't worry about us. I doubt the ship will return, there's nothing here for them."

"Good work, Carl," Jelico smiled as she heard his voice. A proper, direct line somewhere at last. "What's the damage?"

"Well ma'am, it's not good," the voice said through the radio. "We have hull breaches on two decks, and we've had to shut down the MOX reactors to stop an overload. Environmental systems are functioning for the moment, but the batteries won't last forever."

"Can you fix the ship, Carl?" Jelico asked directly.

"If we could make contact with the Norfolk, or the Victoria, with their resources I could have her running..."

"Commander, we don't have communications," Jelico said. "We're not making contact with anybody. Can you fix the ship, on your own?"

"I... we'll see, ma'am," Carl said. "I'll give it a bloody good try."

"Carl... if you can't fix the ship, can you blow the core?"

"Half my team is working on stopping the core from blowing," Carl grumbled. "Letting it explode won't be a problem. Well, it will in that we'll all die, but it won't be hard to achieve."

"OK then, that's all I needed to know," Jelico said, clicking off the channel. A repair crew forced the elevator door open and started extinguishing fires on the bridge. Jelico looked at Thrace. "Lieutenant, we need to start sealing the emergency bulkheads on decks two and three."

"I already tried, ma'am," Thrace said, looking over his shoulder. "Only two of them shut, the rest are damaged. I am tracking numerous lifeforms in the ship now; they seem to be spreading out, looking for something. Internal defences are... non-responsive. I only have three of our own people moving in on their position."

"Three?" Jelico exclaimed, stepping over. She squinted at the flickering holodisplay, trying to make out the internal schematics it was displaying. "The marine barracks are on that deck."

"I'm getting no lifeform readings from the barracks," Thrace said. "I think they're the only ones left. They've been by the armoury though, so they should be fully equipped."

"Whoever these aliens are, they crippled our ship in two hits," Jelico said. "I don't think three men are going to be 'fully equipped' enough."

"I'll try and get some more bulkheads closed," Thrace nodded enthusiastically.

***

The three marines made their way cautiously through the dull corridors, dodging bare power cables and open circuits, and stepping over debris as they went. They all wore solid-looking grey armour now. Chest plates, arm plates, a tight helmet that covered all but their necks and faces. It looked like it was made from plastic, but it wasn't. Well, bits of it were.

Peterson stopped still, holding his hand in the air. The two tailing soldiers nervously stopped as well, pressing up against the bare metal wall. He held up his datapad. Movement. Definitely. He could sense it.

He made gestures with his hands and quickly moved to the other side of the corridor, and took a peek down there. Alien troops, coming in through a hole in the outer hull. One of them reached down and did something to one of the Shropshire's dead crew, before they all started to move off.
A firefight was the last thing he wanted. There were only three of them. Navy officers could handle guns, yes, but nowhere near as professionally as a naval marine. He'd have to go for the soft approach, avoid bloodshed on either side. At least then they might learn something from them. Plus, he was worried that if they killed the intruders, their mothership would simply finish the job it had started.
Peterson made up his mind and nodded to the other two soldiers, and all at once they turned and stepped into their way, aiming their rifles at them.

"Intruders, halt," he shouted sternly. "Drop your weapons, put your hands on your heads and get up against the walls, or I will open fire; do it NOW!"

"Intruders, halt," he shouted sternly. "Drop your weapons, put your hands on your heads and get up against the walls, or I will open fire; do it NOW!"

The General of the group turned his head.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE! We're here to help! We boarded you after we found your ship crippled!"

-------------------

The second party continued their way around the ship, finding more injured crew.

"This ones alive! Bring the medkit!"

the doctor scanned the mans wounds.

"This man is in critical condition. Pass me the regenerator."

The medic went to work on the wound, slowly regenerating the flesh by bombarding it with ionised particles.

"He'll hold until we can get him back to the pod. Come on!"

The General of the group turned his head.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE! We're here to help! We boarded you after we found your ship crippled!"

"I'm sure it was easy to find, seeing as you had a weapons lock on it at the time!" he shouted back. "Maybe you accidentally leaned on the big red 'fire' button too? Come on, weapons, hands on heads, walls; I wasn't born yesterday."

"I'm sure it was easy to find, seeing as you had a weapons lock on it at the time!" he shouted back. "Maybe you accidentally leaned on the big red 'fire' button too? Come on, weapons, hands on heads, walls; I wasn't born yesterday."

"Listen to me. I am General Woodman of The Imperial Navy. The rest of our fleet is with us outside. We're hunting down the same people who crippled your ship. They blew up an Imperial outpost on our border nearby, killing 50 people."

The General stepped into the light. His face was harsh, but the truth was in his eye.

"Tell me this. Why would we board your ship after doing this much damage? Your ship could explode at any second. We're trying to help as many of you as we can before your reactor goes critical. Please, believe us!"

"Listen to me. I am General Woodman of The Imperial Navy. The rest of our fleet is with us outside. We're hunting down the same people who crippled your ship. They blew up an Imperial outpost on our border nearby, killing 50 people."

The General stepped into the light. His face was harsh, but the truth was in his eye.

"Tell me this. Why would we board your ship after doing this much damage? Your ship could explode at any second. We're trying to help as many of you as we can before your reactor goes critical. Please, believe us!"

Peterson glared at the General for a few moments. He lifted his rifle up as though he was going to fire and then he pointed it at the floor and sighed.

"Alright, fine," he growled. "Wait here. You two; watch them. Shoot if they move."

He turned walked around the corner to find a functioning comm panel, and clicked it on.

"Bridge, this is Corporal Peterson on deck three," he said. "I have some of the intruders at gunpoint. Their leader claims they are not responsible for the damage caused and that they are victims of the same people who attacked us."

"Hold on Corporal," Thrace's voice said. Peterson leaned against the wall, waiting for Lieutenant Thrace to return.

"Corporal," Jelico's voice came through, finally. "Ask their leader to come to the bridge. I will speak with them."

"As you wish, ma'am," he sighed. "Peterson out."

He stepped back around the corner and walked up to where the two private's stood, nervously holding their rifles up to their faces.

"At ease, soldiers," he nodded to them. "I don't trust you but the Captain apparently does. Will you please come with me to the bridge?"

The General smiled.

"Of course. Lead the way."

The General took his communicator to his mouth.

"Medical team this is Woodman. I've made contact with the crew. Lock on to this signal and meet us on the command deck."

*Crackle Beep "Aye sir! Be right there" Crackle beep*

"This is Commander Halifax of the Salvage vessel Agargo. For the best explanation I suggest you chase up Grand Admiral Dangar, who is currently assisting a Bretonian vessel, last we herd at these co-ordinates."

"You might want to make contact with Grand Lord Gregory, and inform him you are in the area. He may be able to tell you more than we know as well. As for us, we're just going to finish up our reports and then head for Tydus Prime, so don't worry about us. I doubt the ship will return, there's nothing here for them."

'Confirmed. We will contact the Grand Lord Later. First of all we shall assist your ships in aiding the Bretonian vessel.'

The Vice-Admiral turned to his crew, 'Enter Hyperspace and travel to these co-ordinates.'
'Hyperspace engaged'
'ETA?'
'10 minutes.'

A few minutes later, the fleet entered Hyperspace, and, shortly arrived at their destination.

'This Vice-Admiral Striker, We were directed here by your ships stationed at the destroyed installation. We wish to offer our assistance. Do you require it?'

"Right then, this way," Peterson gestured.

He led them through a network of dark, narrow corridors, past several repair teams and emergency triage rooms, and finally into an elevator. Once everyone was inside, Peterson entered a series of codes into a panel. The doors slid shut and the elevator lurched upwards, whining and squealing in protest.
When it finally rumbled to a stop, the door opened but stopped halfway. Peterson sighed and forced the door open, and stepped out on to the bridge.

"Captain Jelico," Peterson saluted. "This is General Woodman. Our 'saviour', apparently."

"Thank you Corporal," she nodded. "You and your men are dismissed."

"Ma'am, with all due respect..."

"Help with the triage teams, Corporal" she told him, firmly but calmly. "We can take it from here."

"Yes ma'am," he sighed again. "Come on soldiers, let's head to the ward." Peterson stepped into the elevator again and pulled the door shut.

"General Woodman, I hope you understand this," she began. "But I have trouble believing that you just happened to show up twenty minutes after our ship was disabled. If it wasn't you who attacked us, then who was it, and why?"

"We're still trying to get to the bottom of that Mam, But we believe we are currently in their space-they may have attacked us for intruding perhaps-All I know is that we need to stop them now. You are free to use our communicators to contact your fleet and request assistance, and we will gladly allow you to leave, but we could really use your help-working together, we may be able to track the agressor down. "

the comm system flared.

"General, this is Grand Admiral Dangar. Report"

"Everythings in order sir, we have confirmed our identities and are now attempting to exchange information."

"Do they have any idea what we're dealing with?"

"Negative sir, seems they were disabled before they could identify the attacker."

"Very well. Carry on and give me a full report when done."

"Aye sir. Woodman out."

The General looked back towards the Female Captain.

"Now where were we?"

----------------------------

"Sir! Ships detected-Moleland origin."

"Fantastic-a true ally at last."

'This Vice-Admiral Striker, We were directed here by your ships stationed at the destroyed installation. We wish to offer our assistance. Do you require it?'

"Thank you brave allies, we would greatly appreciate any assistance you might give. This is what happened...."

-Just assume i'm bringing you up to speed here-

"...And thats everything. Now we're trying to track down those responsible and make them pay. Will you assist us?"

The Vice-Admiral listen intently... Taking in every detail, 'My Fleet is at your disposal. We are willing to help you track down these attackers, as they have already attacked two bordering nations, unprovoked. We could be next. The MDC explorer has excellant medic facilities. We recommend wounded are transported here as fast as possible. Is the stricken vessel able to receive transmissions?'

"You can make transmissions through my General and his team, who are currently on board the stricken vessel-they each have communicators. Contact him, and ask him to hand the commlink over to the captain."

'Confirmed'

The Vice-Admiral turned to the communications officer
'Transmitt on the General's frequency.'
'Channel receiving!'

'General Woodman, this Vice-Admiral Striker of the MCD Explorer. Please may you pass this messege to the Captain of the vessel please. *Assumes you do*

Captain, this Vice-Admiral Striker of the Mole Class Destroyer Explorer. We wish to aid you. Requesting permission to board your vessel, and bring aboard repair equipment and Medical supplies, and recover wounded to our medical facilities.'

"If we can bring the primary computer core back online," Jelico said. "Then we would have access to the sensor logs we recorded prior to the attack. You may be able to make more sense of them than we. In the mean time... Lieutenant, where's the nearest Bretonian vessel?"

"Battleship Norfolk, ma'am," Thrace nodded. "They're a good five days away at maximum speed, though. They were sent to chart the zeta sector a month ago."

"Go with the General, if you don't mind of course, General," she said. "Signal the Norfolk, and request direct assistance. Make sure you incorporate your personal ident code into the transmission so they know who it is."

"Yes ma'am," he nodded.

"I'll find Commander Hughes and encourage him to work a little harder on reactivating the primary computer core," she said to the General. "Then you can download our sensor data, see if it is of any use to you."

Captain, this Vice-Admiral Striker of the Mole Class Destroyer Explorer. We wish to aid you. Requesting permission to board your vessel, and bring aboard repair equipment and Medical supplies, and recover wounded to our medical facilities.'

"Oh, while you're at it Lieutenant, tell these Mole people that we accept their generous offer," Jelico added. "I'll have the repair teams try and open the main hangar bay for them."

"Aye, ma'am," Thrace nodded.

'Sir, the vessel has told us we can land in there hanger bay.'

'Good, Load up a shuttle with medical officers and repair crews. Send with it our 3 top engineers!'
'Order sent'

Minutes later the shuttle was sent and travelled the short distance to the Hanger bay. It entered, with a bit of troubled through the damaged hanger bay, and landed.

The door lowed, and an engineer emerged from the relative gloom of the ship. The mole was no more the 5ft 6 high, and his eyes were relatively small.
'I am engineer stuart of the MDC Explorer. My repair teams and my two fellow engineers are here to assist you in repairing your ship. We recommend all wounded are brought here and board this shuttle as soon as possible.'

"Have an Engineering squad sent over... We need to get that computer core working..."

"General, Admiral Dangar wishes for you to return to the Flagship-you've been working 16 hours straight."

"Tell him to stand by. Let's go and meet the Moleland crew."

"I am Chief Engineer Commander Carl Hughes," Hughes said as he strode into the hangar bay to greet the engineers the Molelanders ((you call your nation's people anything different, let me know and I'll edit it in)) had sent. "I appreciate the extra assistance your commander has seen fit to send."

"I am Captain Jelico," Jelico called out, standing beside Hughes. "These nurses will escort any trained medics to the most urgent locations. As soon as we have located all the injured people we will be happy to have them treated somewhere other than the corridors. Our ward is quite full at the moment."

"Now," Hughes began. "This is a standard Coventry-class cruiser, powered by two Class-55 MOX-fuelled nuclear reactors. I will assume that you are all aware of at least the basics of such technology, if not direct practical experience. If you do not, please speak now and you can assist our damage control teams with any outer hull breaches; they are understaffed and need skilled help.
"Our primary goal at the moment is to find and repair a leak in the coolant system. In addition, we need to remove all fuel from the reactors to prepare them for a clean restart. Once this has been fixed, we should be able to activate at least one reactor and start work on the computer core and other non-essential systems. If you'll all follow me, the main engineering room is two decks down this way..."

'Our back-up generater uses nuclear fushion, so my fellow engineers and I can help fixing that. My repair groups can help fix other systems. The medical officers shall await your wounded.'

The engineers followed the Chief Engineer.

It was after several hours of none-stop work that Hughes stood back and folded his arms, a pleased smile on his face. One of the MOX reactors was purring away again, pumping power into the ship. It wasn't enough power to run all systems at 100%, but it would suffice.

"Good job people," he called, clapping the Molelandian engineers. He walked over to a comms panel on the wall and clicked it on. "Captain, this is Carl. You wanted power, you've got power. Only 50% though. Don't want to blow all the damaged stuff up just yet..."

"Thank you, Carl," Jelico's voice said. "Good job, everyone down there."

"I'll start booting up the primary computer core now," Hughes said. "I don't see any obvious physical damage. There might be a couple of software issues, but they'll be simple to work out."

"Alright, Carl, keep me posted," Jelico said.

"Will do, ma'am," Hughes said, and released his finger. "Alright people, we've still got work to do. I want a team to stay here and monitor this reactor, a team to head to the rear and sort out the engine plating, a team to join the damage control teams in repairing the hull, and a couple of people with me, to boot up the core!"

***

Jelico clicked the comms off and looked over at the TIN personnel. "You should have your sensor data in a short while, it seems," she smiled.

"Captain, I just received a transmission via the General's communicator," Thrace said. "The Norfolk has acknowledged our request and is starting to head over. Apparently they went off their assigned course for some reason, and they're closer than I thought."

"Did you tell them that they could be running right into another one of those alien ships?" Jelico asked.

"I mentioned it," Thrace nodded. "They're aware of our condition and of what caused it, and said that they would be 'careful'."

"Sounds like Captain Yates to me," Jelico sighed. "Alright, once sensors are back online keep a lookout for them. I don't suppose any of our generous guests want any nutrient cubes?"

A few minutes later, some of the holographic displays stabilised and information poured across them.

"Ma'am, computer's back online now," Thrace announced. "I'll prepare the sensor logs for download."

"Thank you Lieutenant," Jelico nodded. "General, you can download those sensor logs whenever you wish."

The General watched the sensor readings on the monitor.

"Download these readings back to the flagship. The Admiral should see this..."

Dangar flicked on the monitor.

"What the..."

The image of the ship was one of horror. Writhing, Living tentacles? Massive Puss-spitting cannons?

"We're dealing with a Bio-ship..."

With there task done, the moles return to their mothership.

Onboard the MDC Explorer

'Sir, our men are returning.'
'Excellant. Are there sensors back on line?'
'Yes, it appears so.'
'Open a channel to the General.'
'Opened!'

'So, General. What have you learnt about these attackers?'

"A what?" Jelico asked. "Are you joking?"

"We've known about micro-organisms in space for a while now; it's been theorised by Cambridge University scientists that there could be large organisms capable of surviving in space," Thrace nodded. "I guess you could train them, or genetically engineer some, to be... ships. Might not even have a crew, I didn't have time to scan them in detail."

"Fascinating..." Jelico nodded thoughtfully. "Well, is there any way to effectively defend against... that?" She pointed at one of the large cannons. "Our energy sheath didn't seem to have much more affect than our armour."

"During the reign of President Phillip, we were attacked by a whole fleet of Bioships, flown by a race called the Minarii Kiithid. After a lot of action, they were eventually crushed with the combined force of our fleet and the Taiidan Imperium. But we lost contact with The Taiidan last year, and we fear this could be why. I'm worried they have returned to finish us."

The Admiral read more reports.

"Hmm... from what I see, The ship has been improved from what we last encountered. Thank the moons there is only one of them."

He headed over to the comm officer.

"Contact Lord Gregory-Tell him the Beast is back."

----------------------------------------

And now, a secret IC explanation as to what is going on...

Fleet Admiral Falkor walked over to his tactical officer.

"What did you find from that sssship...."

"My masssster, they do not have what we ssseek..."

"Where isssss it? I musssst have it back, and I know thossssse Imperial people have it..."

The Admiral walked over to the chamber in which the 6 moon crystals were supposed to be. There were only 5.

"Thosssse Imperialsssss will pay for sssstealing our ssssacred crysssstal...."

Not far from the planet and the cluster of ships, another vessel streaked into normal space, and started thrusting towards the Shropshire. She was a much larger Victoria-class battleship; the HMS Norfolk. All her turrets turned to aim at the alien vessels as she approached, and her torpedo launchers opened.

A transmission was broadcast in their direction. "Alien vessels, this is the Royal Bretonian Battleship HMS Norfolk. Identify yourselves and your purpose. If you are responsible for the damage to that ship, prepare to leave or be fired upon."

OOC: Is this addressed to us? *Assumes it is*

IC: 'This is Vice-Admiral Striker of the Mole Class destroyer Explorer. We are not responsible to the damage to your ship, and in fact have helped it be repaired. Charge-down your weapons immediately!'

The General handed his communicator to the Captain.

"I think you'd better tell them whats going on before somthing happens."

Jelico took the communicator and held it up to her mouth.

"Phil, this is Jen, stand down," Jelico said.

"What's going on over there?" Yates asked after a short pause. "This isn't a standard Bretonian frequency..."

"These people have been helping us repair the ship," Jelico told him. "It wasn't them that attacked us. Our sensor data confirms it."

"Alright then, Captain," Yates said after a few moments. "I'll start shipping over our own damage control crews, we should have you up and running within a couple of hours."

"Thanks, Phil," Jelico said.

"That would be Commodore now, Captain," Yates said, rather smugly. "Ambassador Lonnigan is onboard the Norfolk, and he'll be shipped over with the repair teams. I've been looking for a way to get rid of the irritating S.O.B. for a while now..."

Someone shouted a complaint in the background, much to Yates' amusement.

"Alright, and congratulations 'Commodore'," Jelico mocked. "The hangar bay is open, send 'em whenever you're ready."

"Norfolk out," Yates said, and the channel was closed.



The Norfolk's weapons turrets turned to their stowed positions, and the torpedo launchers were sealed again. As the larger ship slowed to a halt nearby, two large shuttles dropped from her hangar bay and made their way towards the Shropshire.

"Vessel 'Explorer'," another transmission aimed soley at the Moleland ship. "I am Commodore Yates. The situation has been explained to us, and the threat revoked. Please accept our apologies."

"Ok now thats sorted..."

Dangar walked over to the console.

"As soon as repairs are done, call back our troops, and prepare to move out. It is almost time to continue our search."

'Your apologies are not needed. No harm was done, and the problem resolved. Afterall, 6 warships may look threatening...'

The Vice-Adirmal looked to his communications officer, 'Open a channel to the General.'
'Ready!'

'My fleet and I are awaiting instruction!'

"Ah..." a man said, as he stumbled over some debris on his way out of the elevator. He wore civilian clothing -- a grey suit -- and wasn't very tall.

"I am Ambassador Lonnigan," he said as he approached the General. "I would like to thank your poeple on behalf of the Bretonian Government for your assistance in this matter. As a matter of courtesy, I would like to offer you any help we can in return for your generosity. Whatever you require, we will assist if we can. Won't we Captain?"

Jelico looked up from the hole in the deck plating. "Uh... yeah, whatever... no, just seal that conduit and it'll work! Not with a laser coupler! Oh, now look..."

"There," Lonnigan smiled. "How can we help you -- General, is it?"

*Ahem!* "My name is General Woodman, and If you want to help us, you should talk to Grand Admiral Dangar, he's in charge of the matter."

"Moleland commander, please contact Lord Gregory, since he learned of your presence, he has been pestering to ask for your contact. And after that please contact Grand Admiral Dangar for orders. I'm merely a lone General."

'Confirmed!'

'Prepare a long-range encoded transmission to Lord Gregory, via the nearest Com Sat!'
'Ok sir, that'll take a few minutes to prepare'

a few minutes late
'The channels ready sir'

'Lord Gregory, this is Vice-Admiral Striker of the MCD Explorer, I have been told to contact you about these... disturbing events...'

"It is good to hear from you, old friend. I wanted to personally tell you why this is happening."

Gregory activated a monitor.

"A few weeks ago, we found a drifting hulk near the TIN/unknown border. It was all but abandoned."

The display showed the ship that had attacked them-offline.

"We boarded her and found a gem... experiments showed this was a source of great power, and a possible new energy source."

The display showed the gem being taken from the ship by Imperial troops.

"We thought she was abandoned, but then she started comming online just as we went to hyperspace. We did not consider her a threat. Now it seems thye are comming to get their gem back. And we need to stop them. Once they have that gem they will be more powerful. The gem is currently here with me, but it seems they want it back, so we must destroy them. Will you help?"

'For me there is no contest. I would be delighted to assist you. How dangerous is this race?'

"Unknown. We havent fought them yet... but intellegence believes their weapons can burn through the hull of a ship, and they are immune to nuclear weaponary."

'That is worrying... I shall return to Mole Sapce and report this to my Superiors. I'm sur ethey will not mind my assistance, but I have to tell them what I intend to do...'

"Rodger that. And Striker, it was good to see you once more... Lord Gregory out."

Lord Gregory pressed a button, turning off the communication and displaying the Imperial logo on screen.

With the messege concluded, the Vice-Admiral turned to his Crew.

'Set a course for Bath 2, max Hyperspace!'
'Eta, 15 minutes sir'

A few minutes the Fleet of 6 ships suddenly accelerated away into the distance, and vanished from all scanners...

The Shropshire's engines suddenly roared to life, and stopped herself from drifting slowly into space. She turned and flipped up, adjusting her position to match the plane of this particular solar system.



"That did it, Carl," Jelico shouted. "We've got engines back!"

"I told you I'd fix it," Hughes said smugly over the radio. "So far you have engines, 100% of primary power, restored hull integrity, long range sensors, forward and starboard torpedoes, the flak turret and half of the particle turrets. I just got comms back up too. I'm still waiting for teams to finish linking up the damaged sheath generators, so you don't have the energy sheath just yet. We're good to go, though."

"Good job Carl," Jelico said. She clicked on the intercom. "Could a trained helmsman please report to the bridge; repeat, a trained helmsman to the bridge, over." She clicked off the intercom and looked over at Thrace. "I don't want to stay here for too long, in case that weird space creature comes back for seconds."

"I hear that, ma'am," Thrace nodded. "What's he doing?" He pointed at Lonnigan.

"Grand Admiral Dangar, I am Ambassador Lonnigan of the Bretonian Empire," Lonnigan was speaking into one of the communications stations.

"He's figured out how to use the comms," Jelico sighed. "Commodore Yates was right, he is an irritating S.O.B..."

"Grand Admiral Dangar, I would like to submit my thanks on behalf of the Bretonian Government for your peoples' assistance in this matter," Lonnigan continued. "And ask if there is anything we can to to return your generosity."

The fleet entered Normal space, very close to Bath 2.

'MCD Explorer, where have you been?'
'Sorry HQ, responding to a TIN distress call'
'Very well, in future please tell us when you intend to leave Mole Space...'
'That's why here...'

The Vice-Admiral filled HQ in on the situation

'Ok Vice-Admiral, you ahve permission to carry out this mission, but on your head be it. None of your fleet will be forced to do this mission. HQ out!'

'Open a channel to the fleet!'

'Fleet, this is your Vice-Admiral........ So that is our mission. You do not have to join it.'

In the end, only 1 interdictor decided to join the MCD Explorer on this mission.

The 2 ships entered Hyperspace, and returned to where they were, an hour before...

"Bretonian commander, you are free to leave as you please. If you wish to assist us in destroying the enemy vessel, we would gladly appreciate the help. The Imperial Fleet will leave this sector in one hour."

The 2 Ships Exited Hyperspace near the vessel.

'General woodman, This Vice-Admiral striker. We are here to assist you hunt down these 'Aliens''

"This is Grand Admiral Dangar. I am in command of this mission, and we welcome your help. A trade squad earlier spotted our ship heading for Mole space, and we intend to stop it before it crosses your border. We're about to get underway. Prepare to head for the co-ordinates now being transfered to you."

The Vice Admiral Looked the Co-ordinates in horror

'That's right next to a civilian prision platform in the Waste of Space system... I'll try and alert them via the Com Sats'

After a few seconds of attempting this, it failed

'Looks like the Sats have been destroyed. Better depart for the platform at max Hyperspace!'
'Hyperspace engaged, ETA 20 minutes.'

let's hope we get there in time...

"Bretonian commander, you are free to leave as you please. If you wish to assist us in destroying the enemy vessel, we would gladly appreciate the help. The Imperial Fleet will leave this sector in one hour."

"Both the Shropshire and the Norfolk will help you with this," Lonnigan said enthusiastically. "We will follow your fleet when it departs. Good day to you!"

He pressed a button and cut the channel.

"We will?" Jelico asked, mildly annoyed.

"Yes," Lonnigan nodded. "My mission is to establish healthy relations with any extra-Bretonians we might encounter on these exploratory voyages. Using their help and then running will not accomplish that."

"Really? Well, my mission is securing the safety of this ship and crew," Jelico told him.

"My authority in these particular matters is clear," Lonnigan shrugged. "You will do what I feel is necessary, or you will be reprimanded upon your return to Bretonian territory."

"You... I..." Jelico clenched her fists and growled, and then ultimately shrugged. "Fine, I give up. Let's take our wounded ship into battle with a superior foe alongside an alien fleet whose motivations remain unclear and hope for the best! Phillip was right, you're a pain in the..."

"2nd Lieutenant Hutch reporting," a low-ranking officer interrupted her. "I'm a trained helmsman, ma'am."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Jelico sighed, gesturing for the forward console. "Take a seat."

OOC: I'll be gone for an hour or so. If you go anywhere, just assume the two ships follow you...

OOC: noted, awaiting tIN response....

"Follow the Moleland fleet, Match their speed."

The fleet (All of it) came about and shot too hyperspeed behind the Moleland vessels.

"Vice Admiral, try to contact your home planet again, and tell them Mole Space is threatened. They may send more vessels. Use our comms boost if you have to."

'There won't be enough time for reinforcements to arrive from other systems. I think I might be able to contact the platform...'

'Channel ready sir.'

'MSC ship, we are receiving your transmission..'

'This is Vice-admiral Striker. We have reason to believe your platform, and in fact you are all in great danger. Evacuate immediately, and request the nearest Warship to escort you to safety.'

'Are you joking... In danger from wha..... oh my God what the hell is (Static)'

'The signal has been lost sir!'
'ETA?'
'About 90 seconds sir, I am receiving messeges from nearby Warships...'
'Let's hear them!'

'What the hell is that thing!'
'It's alive!'
'Attack it!'
'We are kilometres away, we won't be able to help...'

'We are exiting hyperspace now sir!'

OOC: TIN, are you rPing the attackers?

OOC: Yes. I shall start now.

IC: The vessel's tentacles grabbed one vessel and tore it in two while the Cannons melted another craft to smitherines.

Weaponsfire from surviving craft caused the ship to bleed, but these wounds were ignored and it pressed on it's attack, firing into the station...

The Platform was no match for this pulsing creature. It was already badly damaged as the Reinforcements arrived.

'Interdictor Red Claw, activate your Gravity-well generators!'

'Activated!'

No escape for you this time

'Lauch All our fighters, and bigin attack runs on that...Thing!'

'Sir, the platform has been destroyed... And it's beginning an attack run on the Interdictor Red Claw!...'

those sound like nids need a hand with that?

The ship began heading for the red claw... then it stopped, as if somthing had tugged on it's strings.

"Admiral, communication comming through!"

"Put it on."

"Imperial sssssscum... return our gem to ussss and we sssshall let you live... Do it, or you sssshal all die..."

"We don't have it, it's back at Earth." said a crewman without thinking.

"FOOL!"

"Sssso, you keep the ssssacred gem back on yor homeplanet? well, for that we mussst retrieve the gem and redussse your nation to a sssssmoulder. We have no usssse for you, begone!"

The ship came about and vanished into a liquid portal that opened in front of them.

"Oh my god... Bring us about now! Maximum speed for Earth! Warn the defense stations!"

The Vice-Admiral looked at the disappearing portal in shock.

I don't understand... Why didn't the Gravity Well Generators work?

All the Warships in the system gathered around the Wreakege of the platform. The warshisp included 3 MCDs, 19 interdictors, 39 Frigates and 102 corvettes.

Dangar opened a comm channel.

"Sorry Striker, but Earth is now in peril. I've ordered all combat ready vessels to converge over the Earth Nation, but I'm worried we will not make it in time. Grand Lord Gregory is arranging the military defenses, and the Emperor is no where to be found as he is away on business. If you are able to, meet us at earth. If not, wish us luck."

OOC: Heh. I'm impressing myself with this Rp-it's turning out real well. I'm leaving in 1/2 an hour, so lets make this interesting, before I go.

'I would be willing to help you, and indeed...'

His messege was cut short by the captain of the Interdictor Red Claw, 'Sir, you have to report what has happened here first!'

The Vice-Admiral sighed, for the captain was correct.

'I would, but I have to report what has happened here. Good luck my friend!'

"If you report in quick enough, try and join in. If not, it was good to meet you, I've herd a lot about you."

'Good Luck with stopping these... Creatures...'

OOC: Continue with the attack on Earth. I'll 'Turn up' just as it looks like you might lose (How convient!)

'Good Luck with stopping these... Creatures...'

OOC: Continue with the attack on Earth. I'll 'Turn up' just as it looks like you might lose (How convient!)

OOC: Actually I have other plans... We're about to meet another group of Bioships... you'll see.

OOC: Ok, Well You carry on. I'll monitor it!

OOC: Well i'm gonna stop for today, and carry on tomorrow. I'll be on about half past 10.

OOC: I'll see you then

"Observers at the Neptunian mining operation report that the ship has been sighted."

"Good. So they cannot fly through solar systems at their top speed... Get us to Earth now! We can beat them to it and defend Earth!"

"Sir! We're dropping out of hyperspeed! Ships detected!"

Surrounding them were a large number of Bioships.

"So this is it then... an ambush... let's get ready to die like warriors."

"Sir! Comm channel being received!"

"On speakers."

-Comm channel open-

"Imperialssss. I am Halark, Lord of the Hyacombe Federation. We are looking for rebelssss who stole our sssacred gemsss from ussss. We believe you have one of them... Help usss recover our gemssss, and we shall stop the rebelssss for you. You have no hope of beating them with your primative technology.

"How can we trust you?"

"Trusssst? From what we ssssee, you simply have no alternative."

The tactical officer turned to the Admiral.

"What is going on here sir? what about the plan...?"

"In a moment. Err, Lord Halak?"

"Yessss? You agree to our offer?

"Actually... FIRE!"

From within the ships of the fleet, several hidden cannons revealed themselves from the lower parts of the ship, and began to fire at all Bioships.

"Foolsssss! You cannot match the power of our weaponssss! Return fire!"

"Masssster! The weaponsss are not resssponding!"

"Like all lifeforms, we knew biological matter could be infected. Your ships will disolve, just like what you did to us. We knew your plans to invade and conquer the Empire. This is all a trap we have been setting for months. It was so secret only the commanders of the Armada knew about it. We just had to wait for those foolish rebels to try their attack. Already infection cannons are awaiting the Rebels at Earth. And now we have revealed that Imperial supremacy is absoloute, we shall conquer your territory and place in the Imperial flag on your sector. You lose, scum."

"Thisssss cannot be! We are abssssoloute! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Harlak could only watch in horror as the flesh stripped from his skin, as the walls crumbled around him, as the ships began to just dissolve...

"Not any more... let your destruction begin."

OOC: Please note you will be unaware of any of these events happening.

IC: "Massster, I ssssee the Planet Earth on sssscope..."

"Exellent. Prepare to fire the cannon... remember to target the Imperialssss only... We can deal with the ressst later."

A number of fighter craft and defence platforms manuvered into position.

"All right men! Remember, this will be childsplay!"

The Fighters surged forth, and fired their cannons at the large bioship.

"Ignore the puny Imperialssss. FIRE!"

"Massster! Weapons are not resssponding!"

"How isss thissss posssible!"

"The hull isssss buckling! We're doomed!"

"It wassss a trap! A TRAP! GAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

The ship tore itself apart in a shower of colour, with what left of it burning up harmlessly in the atmosphere.

Lord Gregory relaxed back in his chair.

"The perfect test run."

-A few hours later-

The fleet jumped back into Earth system.

"Lord Gregory, This is Admiral Dangar. The enemy fleet was encountered, but luckily the new weapons worked!"

"You found them as well? Then perhaps this will be easier than I though... Prepare to move into Hyacombe space, and take no prisoners."

"For the glory of the Empire, my Lord. We shall crush them all."

No-one around? Oh well.

Flying in perfect tight formation, the fleet began to gather again at Tydus Prime, in orbit of the Shipyards.

"We'll be moving out in 5 hours. Until then, you are free for R&R. Use it wisely. Patrol group Primus will stay on duty as guard."

Tactical officer Patterson Looked out of the window in his quaters, and sighed. In front of him, the mighty Imperial Prime shipyards orbited the Beautiful planet Tydus Prime. In the distance, the shining blue star gave a beautiful glow of the planet.

"We have come so far... why don't we just stop?"

"Trooper, there is a good reason for this..."

Patterson turned his head.

"Admiral Bellena! How did you get in here mam!"

"Tro... Patterson, There's only one reason why we're going through this..."

"Why then? Why won't you tell me?"

"It's for the good of the Empire... suffice to say it was either us or them. We chose to act first. There's a major war comming Patterson, and We're ready for it."

Bellena walked forward and kissed Patterson full on the lips.

"Let's make this evening interesting... I've had my eyes on you for a while boy..."

And-a-doing.

*Sigh.*

Moleland where are you...

I can see you online...

OOC: sorry... a few probs... A double, double cross hey... Clever...

OOC: sorry... a few probs... A double, double cross hey... Clever...

OCC: Everyone's been kept in the dark... even some of the high ranking officers...

OOC: Interesting... Expect VA Striker to rejoin this RP soon!

now I know you're avaliable... post whenever you're ready.

Move the plot along abit... Then i'll post.

OOC: Rodger dodger.
IC:

-Along the Imperial border-

The mighty Imperial Fleet pulled past the Imperial border, into Hyacombe territory. Onboard the Endgame, Admiral Bellena ran back onto the command deck, buttoning her top as she ran.

"You called sir?"

"Yes Bellena. We have just crossed the border. What did intellegence discover?"

"The homeplanet of this race is located at 1.23 dash 5. It is heavily defended-but the fools have implemented Bio-technology on all their equiptment. This should be a slaughter. But just to make sure, we are running tests on the samples on what is left of the vessels we destroyed."

"Good. Keep on it. Be sure to keep scanning for their ships. We may be able to destroy them, but if they get a shot off first, we're toast. How is the antivenom going?"

"We have almost completed work. A special coating on the outside of our ships should protect our vessels from harm. But we must be careful that we are not ambushed while applying it. I suggest we hold here until we are ready."

One of Bellenas officers spoke up.

"Be aware mam, that we are close to the Moleland border. Perhaps if they spot us, they will help us."

"Maybe. But the Grand Admiral has the final say. Sir?"

"Hmm... Very well. Hold here until the work is done. If Moleland shows up, tell them what has happened and ask if they'd like to help... for a share of the territories, of course. The plan has almost worked. Do not let me down."

"For the glory of the Empire, my lord."

Bellena and her officers saluted, and left.

The report had been completed.

‘What are my new orders’ Asked the Vice-Admiral.
‘You are to take 50% of the warships here, and track down, and destroy these aggressors! HQ out.’

‘Transmit that message through to the fleet here… let’s see who joins us…’

Amazingly, every ship volunteered. The Vice-Admiral picked 1 MCD, 10 interdictors, 19 Frigates and 56 modified corvettes at random to join this mission.

‘To Earth!’

The fleet entered Hyperspace simultaneously. Their jump was stopped as they came across the debris of the bioships.

‘What is that?’ Asked Striker
‘Sensors tell us it is the remains of several bioships… and that’s not all they tell us. We can track the ships responsible for this massacre. They were careless entering Hyperspace.’
‘Who were they?’
‘The Imperial Navy’

Excellent, so they have found a way of destroying them

‘Set a hyperspace course and trace their jump path!’
‘Yes sir’

The fleet entered Hyperspace again, and entered normal space a few Kilometres from the Fleet.

"Moleland fleet detected sir!"

"Good-Hail them, bring them up to speed and inform them on how to make the Bioweapon. We must be ready to move out as soon as the anti-toxin is ready."

-Assume I've hailed and told you everything here, as I'm not spending ages writing all that again.-

Now the hunters shall become the hunted. Thought Dangar, smiling in his chair.

"Admiral Bellena, status report!"

"We shall be underway within the hour, my lord. We are applying the Anti-toxing to the ships now. But there are a lot of ships to coat."

The Bretonian ships had been delayed at the first battle area, when the Shropshire's advanced cruise engines wouldn't engage. They finally powered up and were able to follow the Moleland ships' estimated course. They arrived just in time to see the Moleland ships leave again.

"Ma'am, I'm picking up some debris," Thrace announced.

"Imperial Navy? Moleland?" Jelico asked, standing up.

"Negative," Thrace shook his head. "It looks... organic."

"Any indication as to what caused the damage?" Jelico asked, wondering if they could adapt their own weapons to do the same.

"No, I'm afraid not," Thrace said. "Look like they were just... I don't know, vaporised or something."

"Hmm, well, at least we know they can be destroyed," Jelico said. "Did you get a course heading from the Moleland ships."

"We saw them just long enough to get a rough bearing," Thrace said. "Looks like they've changed course. Feeding it to the helm now."

"Alright," she nodded. "Lieutenant Hutch, as soon as you have that course plotted, head off at best speed."

"Aye ma'am," Hutch nodded.



The Bretonian ships turned slightly and then streaked away at high speed, disappearing into the distance.

"My lord! More ships detected approaching?"

"Origin?"

"Bretonian."

"Goody... more cannons to use. As soon as they arrive, bring them up to speed, and have them prepare to assist us if they wish."

"Yes my Lord."

The vice admiral read the details of the bio weapon.
'Call the the head-engineer to the bridge!'

A few minutes passed

'You called, sir?'
'[color=red]What do you make of these weapons mods? How long will it take for it to be equipped'
'Well, about 2 hours to create these mods and find away of converting the laser energy into what is required, and if I had enough men... roughly 6 hours to equip them.'
'[color=red]Take as many men you want. You have 4 hours'

The engineer ran off the bridge to begin work.

OOC: Darn, stuffed it up. I don't think i'll try that again...

OOC: The best of us try and fail... don't worry 'bout it.

OOC: Is anything of any importance going to happen within the next 4 hours? (in this thread i mean)

OOC: Darn, stuffed it up. I don't think i'll try that again...

OOC: You have to put [ / colour ] on the end before you start out with another colour. It's easiest if you just use the advanced text editor and use the '[COLOR]' drop-down menu, though.

IC:

Hughes read the report submitted by the Imperial Navy and looked up at the Captain, shrugging.

"Imperial Commander," he said into the microphones. "I think the best chance of fitting these 'biological weapons' to our ships is by removing the warheads from some of our nuclear torpedoes and replacing them with an improvised warhead containing this agent. They may be slower than most weapons, but each one should infect small groups of bioships at a time."

OOC: You have to put [ / colour ] on the end before you start out with another colour. It's easiest if you just use the advanced text editor and use the '[COLOR]' drop-down menu, though.

I know, but soem unknown reason, I can't get the guided mode...

OOC: Is anything of any importance going to happen within the next 4 hours? (in this thread i mean)

OOC: If you're going to be busy, we could pause, but I was going to start the battle in a minute. There's always tomorrow.

No, I mean I want to accelerate time so I can finish installing my weapons...

No, I mean I want to accelerate time so I can finish installing my weapons...
OOC: Yup thats fine.
IC:

-4 hours later-

"Moleland commander, this is the Endgame. We are ready to move out. Have you finished weapons installation?"

"Moleland commander, this is the Endgame. We are ready to move out. Have you finished weapons installation?"

'Most of our fleet have equipped them, but a few of the corvettes are having problems with them. We are ready to move when you are!'

"All ships, lay in a course for the Hyacombe homeworld. Co-ordinates are about to be relayed. Prepare to hyper out."

Admiral Bellena smiled. Her own flagship, the Bantha was ready.

"And now the invaders will be invaded, and crushed. Ok everyone, our orders are simple. Orbital bombardment. Complete obliteration, and occupation. Let nothing survive. Let's move!"

The fleet lept to hyperspeed.

'Confirmed!'

'Let's move out and avenge the death of 50 innocent civilians!'

OOC: Bretonias turn.

"This is Norfolk, we copy, preparing to move out," Yates said. "This is Commodore Yates to crew on the Norfolk and the Shropshire, Grade 1 Battle Alert and prepare for advanced cruise mode."

Normal illumination dimmed and was replaced with spinning red lights, and klaxons sounded as the two ships followed the Imperial Navy fleet.

"Wepon systems online... defenses set... We're ready to fight my Lord."

"My Lord! We have arrived!"

"Drop us out of Hyperspeed."

The Fleet lept out of hyperspace, and into the view of the Defence force surrounding the planet.

"How did they find usssss? We were ssssuposssed to have delt with them... FIRE!"

The lead ship of the group fired it's cannons at the Flagship...

"Report?"

"The defence is working sir... the attack had no effect... but it'll only be able to hold off about 3 more hits before the barrier falls off..."

"Then let the mayhem commence. FIRE!"

The cannons of the mighty Imperial Navy shot into life...

'Order the fleet to swing round 90 degrees. Bring as many weapons as we can into bare!'
'Order sent!'
'Fire!'

The several Bio-cannons burst into life and cut into the defences on the planet...

The HMS Norfolk streaked in, appearing just out of range of the bioships. They immediately pushed to full sublight speed, heading for the planet that loomed ahead.

Once within range, two of the largest turrets turned slowly to aim at the morass, and started lobbing small slugs of depleted uranium surrounded by gaseous, super-heated plasma, into the alien vessels.



"Forward torpedo room reports the modified torpedoes have been loaded sir," one of the officer said. The bridge of the Norfolk was notably larger than that of the Shropshire, with two levels of various consoles. People milled around going about various duties. Main stations resided on the upper level, though, which was left fairly clear.

"Lock on to the nearest cluster of alien organics," Yates said calmly. "Fire a single torpedo towards the centre of them. Lock onto another group and fire the second torpedo. Prepare to come about and bring our broadside to bear."

The lights dimmed and the vessel shook slightly as they took a hit.

"Report," Yates commanded, still remarkably calm.

"Minor damage to dorsal energy sheath," the tactical officer said. "The modifications seem to be working for the time being, sir."

"Good," Yates nodded. "Maintain evasive manoeuvres, Leeds sequence."

He stood up and moved to a console on the wall. He clicked a button and leaned in to the console.

"Main hangar bay, scramble the Crusader wings," he said.



Two torpedoes streaked away from the front of the Norfolk as she ploughed towards the battle, followed by another two slugs. She started to slow down, using her momentum to move forwards whilst slowly turning to one side. Ten heavy fighters poured from her underbelly, each armed with a single modified missile, and headed towards their targets.

-On the planets surface-

Jalra trotted down the little path towards her education facility. She was about be begin learning the ways of the Hyacombe Federation. A shadow suddenly began to fill the sky... A collection of ships.

"what isssss that?"

Before she had time to think, a giant green blast came from the sky and smashed a 50km area into powder...

-Back in space-

"Sir their flagship is about to explode, and the rest of their fleet is trying to flee."

"Activate the new experimental Gravity well!"

This time, as the enemy tried to open their liquid escape tubes, the portals merely squirted them back into the same area, keeping them trapped.

"It's working sir! But we're lost 49 ships in this attack... we're taking heavy losses..."

"It does not matter-victory is ours! Finish them off, then we can help Moleland deal with the planet-This sector shall fall under our rule!"

OOC: Sorry cuys, finish this tommorow. about 10:35...aM

OOC: Rodger. Have a nice evening.

And there's the boing.

Fascinating...

Fascinating...

Hee hee thats usually what I say...

Oingy boingy doingy

OOC: What loses have they had? Have they attacked me? Anything they have targetted in particular?

OOC: They're firing at will, so take whatever damage you wish. There were about 200 enemy ships, but now there are only 74.

Your attack on the planet has killed 2 of 5 Billion Hyacombe citizens.

OOC: I don't wanna wipe them out... Yet ;)

IC: The returning fire, although powerful was random and not focused. A few corvettes were destroyed, but most ships were undamaged, or shields holding above 50%

A shot hits the Explorer

'Sheilds holding at 84%, sir!'

'What loses have they taken?'
'63% military loses, with 40% Civilian loses...'

'Order all ships to hold fire!'
'Order sent!'

'Open a channel to them.'
'Ready!'

'Attention enemy. You will be crushed unless you surrender to the might of the moles. Stand down all your weapons, and accept landing operations. You have 20 minutes to respond!'

"Hisssss! I am Valdoor, Supreme Overlord of the Hyacombe Federation. We have no choice... We musssst protect our people... we sssshal ssssurrender. Pleassse sssspare ussss. But we assssk one thing-How did the Imperialssss know of our planssss?"

Dangar got to his feet.

"Hmph... Perhaps you should learn of cloaking technology. We've been intercepting your communications for months... you've been watching us with probes, trying to learn our weaknesses... Thanks for pointing them out to us, by the way."

"Thissss isss disssapointing... But know thissss. We are not the only planet of the Hyacombe Federation... planetssss of our Empire lay all acrosssss the Galaxy, sssscattered and wide... we ssshall have our revenge..."

"And we shall hunt down and take them all. But for now, stand down your ships and people and prepare to be occupied... End transmission."

The comms were cut.

"Contact the moles. Ask them if they still want to join us in obliterating them completely... They are now defenseless. We could wipe them out in 1 volley..."

The large fighters zoomed towards the bioships, vigorously swerving to dodge their fire. Three fighters erupted into balls of fire as their shielding was torn down in a single shot. One pilot managed to eject.

"This is Archangel 1," one of the fighter pilots said. "Deploying my payload."

One after the other, fast, modified missiles streaked from the fighters towards their targets and the fighters pulled up, another five of them being destroyed before they could get clear.

The Norfolk moved closer so that they could dock quicker, and pulled in three lifepods at the same time. She took several hits, one of them scorching the hull and blasting away some debris, but she gave as good as she got. Four torpedoes made unique 'chunking' sounds as they left their bays and headed for four groups of bioships, giving the Norfolk chance to pull away again.



Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, the Shropshire burst into normal space. The remaining bioships were occupied, and so the Shropshire was able to launch several of her own modified torpedoes right up their rear ends before accelerating out of range again.

Unfortunately, a bioship spotted them and gave chase. It fired several shots, blasting through the Shropshire's modified energy sheath and straight into the rear engine plating. The entire rear half of the ship was completely destroyed in the ensuing explosion, gasses and corpses spilling out into space. She began to turn as she drifted, and escape pods began blasting off the forward hull.
Luckily, three fighters had managed to launch before the hangar was destroyed, and they set about defending the escape pods from the bioship that followed.



Meanwhile, the Norfolk was doing much better.

"Ask the Imperial Naval ships if they would like us join them and commence nuclear bombardment of the planet," Yates shouted. Some cables draped down from the roof, but other than that there wasn't much visible damage to the bridge.

"Aye, sir," one of the officers shouted back. "Message sent."

The Vice-Admiral listened to this the request. 'Negative. we shall first of all secure this world. It appears you guys have done the hard work. We would hate to steal your reward. We'll join you though when we are ready.'

The vice-Admiral opened up a new Channel to headquarters, 'HQ, this is Vice-Admiral Striker. we need a planet invasionforce ASAP!'
'Roger that. They are on their way to your co-ordinates!'

'Hyacombe Federation ships. Prepare to be boarded. do not resist, and you shall not be taken to the prision Planet of waste of space 4!'

With this, 30 Assault transports were launched towards a few of the bioships. The moles would allow TIN to captured the rest...

"Bretonian vessels, hold for now... Fire all missiles at the planet on our signal..."

Dangar awaited the response of moleland...

'Negative. we shall first of all secure this world. It appears you guys have done the hard work. We would hate to steal your reward. We'll join you though when we are ready.'

OOC:I've replied to you! Silly Wilheim!

"Acknowledged," Yates called. "Torpedoes loaded and standing by for your signal."

"Sir, sensors show the Shropshire has been destroyed," one of the officers said. "There are lifeboats from the forward section, and three fighters are defending them from a single bioship."

"Launch Delta wing, and send a Clydesdale to pick them up," Yates nodded, and looked back at the planet.



Another ten fighters flew from the underside hangar bay, as well as a larger, less refined vessel. They used standard cruise engines to accelerate away, towards the other side of the planet.

OOC: Gotta go... See ya at 12:55!

OOC:I've replied to you! Silly Wilheim!

OOC: Not my fault you posted at the same time as me...

IC: "Hmm... Very well moleland take your prisoners... perhaps the planet is better off inhabitable anyway... prepare to launch transports to occupy the planet... And take no prisoners. The ones taken by Moleland are lucky... I want total exterminaton... It was what they had planned for earth, so it is what we have planned for them..."

A large number of military transports launched towards the planet... Each carrying carpet bombs...

OOC: Sorry, just checked the post times...

IC: The Vice-Admrial was horrified as the TIN bombers bombed Civilians who have surrendered.

'TIN forces, the is Vice-admiral striker. I hereby request you stop your bombing raids. We wish to occuppy a planet that still has life on. We require a workforce! We of course can get our own, but using the ones here is easier. They may not deserve mercy, but please show it!'

'How many prisioners have we taken?'
'Several 1000 sir. Most of them are now aboard the ships in the brigs. They look relieved we captured them, not TIN...'
'I can see why. Can we pilot the bioships?'
'No, but we have forced the bridges crew to do so.'
'Good, Have the corvettes return to Mole space with the prizes. We will await the troops.'
'Order transmitted'

The Vice-Admiral hoped they would still need the troops to secure the planet...

The Bombers suddently halted, and returned to the Flagship.

"Moleland, We value your friendship, so we shall stop... for you. Take them all as prisoners. We have no need for them. Once you have extracted the survivors, we shall ensure the planet is cleansed of their kind, if they are hiding. Dangar out."

Vice-Admiral Striker was thankful for this news, 'Thank you. We require 6 hours, and then you may continue your bombardment.'

'Open a new channel to HQ!'
'Opened!'
'HQ, cancel the request for troops. We need a few 1000 perhaps, but that's all, over!'
'What's happened over there'
'*fills them in*'
'Really? that's some turn around. You've taken so many prisioners? King mole willl be pleased!'
'Thank you'
'HQ out!'

'Ok, we know what must do.'
'What's that?'
'Transmitt this messege to the surface:- Citizens of (Insert planet's name here), you have been spared from death thanks to the Great Nation of Moleland. We are sending down shuttles, transports and assault transports to your planet. You have 6 hours to board them. if you do not board them within the 6 hours, TIN willl continue bombing and you be killed. End transmission.'

After the meessege was sent, Several hundred shuttles, transports and assault transports were dispatched for the planet.

OOC: BTW, -Bretonia-, you should claim a border with me...

Dangar had let them take all the prisoners... except for one. He'd had his troops bring Overlord Valdoor to the bridge...

"You're gonna be our public execution example when we return."

"You will never sssucceed! My people will fight until the end!"

"And I will hunt your kind down and wipe out every planet with my heel. It is time people learned what happens when they mess with The Imperial Navy. Take him back to the cell and keep him under heavy guard. If he moves, vaporise him. I'd advise you not to struggle alien, my men are marksmen."

Valdoor was dragged from the deck kicking and screaming...

OOC: Nasty.

Is -Bretonia- online anytime soon?

OOC: Nasty.

Is -Bretonia- online anytime soon?
OOC: According to the list on the side, he IS online.

OOC: somebody better poke him... I want to capture some people...

OOC: BTW, -Bretonia-, you should claim a border with me...

OOC: I might, but I'm yet to decide where Bretonia is in the galaxy. I'm thinking somewhere nearer the core...

IC:

"I have no more hostiles on the scope," the tactical officer announced. "All enemy targets have either been destroyed or have surrendered. Torpedoes are loaded and locked on to the planet's surface."

"What of the Shropshire? Any survivors?" Yates asked, looking over.

"Just over 40 survivors, sir," the tactical officer said. "The Clydesdale troop transport is on its way back now. There are also three fighters reporting that their base carrier has been destroyed and they are asking for permission to dock."

"Granted. Is Jenni... Captain Jelico among the survivors?" Yates asked.

"I don't know sir," the tactical offer said apologetically. "They've just loaded them up, they haven't identified them."

"Very well," Yates sighed. "Commander of the Imperial Fleet, our torpedoes are still locked on to the planet and awaiting your signal for launch."

"Bretonia deactivate your weapons at once. We have allowed Moleland to take prisoners..."

5hours, 45 minutes into what Vice-Admiral Striker now saw as his only chance to save the innoncents of this war, he regrettably gave the command,

'Pull out all transports. We are out of time. We have saved as many as possible. Return to your ships!'

The ships closed there doors, took off, and returned to space with 30 seconds left of the 6 hours.

'That's the last ship sir.'
'How many did we rescue!'
'21 million approx!'
'Is that all?'
'We could hardly fit anymore onto the ships! In fact the brigs were over loaded ages ago. they all over the ships except in engineering, weapons and on the bridge. we are out of space.'
'So, at least 1 billion innoncents are still about to die?'
'Yes.'

The Vice-admiral Sighed. there was nothing more he could do.

'TIN and Bretonian forces. We have left the Planet. continue your bombing raids.'

'Set a course for the Waste of Space system.'
'Yes sir!'
'We'll leave the army to secure the planet...'

Minutes later, the fleet, having only lost 12 corvettes, entered Hyperspace.

"Time to begin the grand cleansing... Commence bombing!"

A firestorm of death swept over the planet, as bombs and all hell impacted into everything... The fire could be seen from space.

"As soon as everyone is dead, begin a sweep of the planet-survey the resources and then we shall occupy."

OOC: Enjoy the prisoners...

OOC: Hey, I want this planet :(

I don't think I'll be RP in this battle much for now...

OOC: Hey, I want this planet :(

I don't think I'll be RP in this battle much for now...

Have you herd of sharing?

"About time," Yates snorted. He clicked a button on his chair. "Torpedo room 3, fire all torpedoes, authorisation Yates-222-185-B."

He looked over at the tactical officer as the four familiar 'chunk' sounds rocked the ship gently.

"Torpedoes away sir," the tactical officer nodded. "They're splitting up and acquiring individual targets."

"Add some flak to the fun," Yates nodded.

"Aye sir," the officer nodded, smiling.



As the four torpedoes moved away, leaving behind their white streamers, the two large turrets of the Norfolk turned to one side and started lobbing their DU/plasma slugs at the planet. Although they only had a fire rate of one per fifteen seconds, and the projectiles themselves weren't the speediest of things, they were usually particularly effective.
Another four torpedoes joined in the action, immediately splitting up and targeting different population centres.

*Acts like baby* I want it! It's all mine!

Ok, I thought you meant you were going to take it all... he heh...

Bump *Wonders if story has finished*

To other thread my friend!

What, your News thread thingy???

What, your News thread thingy???
YES! Yarr ha harr!

Ok, are you continueing that RP then, or is the OOC: banter continueing...

Drop your troops on the other thread. I have started.

done!