NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: For those of you who haven't read the Hand of Tyr (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=421312) thread, I'll need to fill you in on what has happened. My nation, after discovering the forces of Chaos (Chronosia) working with the Borg (BLACKGRUE) to perform some sort of end-all-beat-all ritual, sent the main fleet to try to disrupt it. Indeed, partway into the ritual stray fire annihilated the ship where the ritual was taking place, unleashing powerful Warp energies that bound my fleet's loyalty to Slaanesh. The capital ship carried this energy back to the home system, tranforming it completely. However, neighboring systems still are loyal to the old ways, and there were ships outside the system and battle at the time. This is where Chaos draws the final curtain over Muktar.

IC:

Arkun sat upon his throne and brooded. His power had only transformed the system of Muktar, but he was aiming to transform the entire nation. Clearly, a Daemon Prince as new as he could never wield such power so soon.

"Looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way."

Pulling himself off his throne, the spare crewwomen pulled away before him. He looked at the starmap before him, showing ten colonies in six systems, as well as a ragtag fleet of ships abroad. He pointed toward one of the border systems which was home to a single colony.

"We strike there first. Turn them if we can, conquer if they don't come quietly. We have made this system a temple to Slaanesh, but such is not enough. Our god shall have an entire nation singing his praises!"

Cheers came from the present crew, and the ship slipped into the Warp to go to the next system. It was well over a kilometer long, black flecked with white and with razor wings of blue and purple stabbing out all over it.

In it's wake, an Outrider arrived from a finished shift, one of the few that wasn't tranformed. Looking at the sun and the transformed planets, the pilot double-checked his coordinates. Triple-checked.

"Well, shit."

Going back into hyperboost, he went to toward the system under Old Muktari control that had three colonies, the Andoka System, in the slim hopes he would be able to save what remained of his people from genocide.

Arkun grinned as the orbital came into sight. It seemed like a Halo station, but much bulkier beneath the "surface," a substantially smaller radius, and a transparent ceiling.

"Give me a visual communication."

On the screen, a communication officer came into view. He had a look of fear mixed with confusion on his face.

"Identify yourself."

"Daemon Prince Arkun, of the flagship Maktur, of the Slaaneshi Theocracy of Muktar." Oh, catchy.

"Enough with the bullshit. Identify yourself."

"Maybe I wasn't speaking clearly." Arkun stepped up toward the screen and reached in, grabbing an utterly shocked com officer by the throat. "I am Daemon Prince Arkun, this is the Maktur, and Muktar is mine. Your colony has two options: join, or die."

Behind the com officer, a guard fired into Arkun's wrist, but it seemed to go through nothing but air. "The fu-"

Arkun threw the com officer aside and pointed his finger at the guard. Just like the Masakari, the guard was ripped apart by magically induced muscle spasms.

"Tell the leader of this station his options. You have ten minutes."

* * *

"Are you sure you were in the right system?"

"Everything matched up, both going in and coming out. There couldn't be a mistake."

"Damn. Damn it all to hell."

"Unless we can mount a resistance, that's exactly what will happen."

The colonial commander nodded. The Outrider pilot had reported back, and was able to give the Masakaris enough information to guess what had happened: some anomaly had transformed their home into their enemy.

"Alright, here's what we do. You, are going on another trip, this time to the Corta System. Have them evacuate to us. I want couriers going to every system, bugging out ASAP if there's trouble. Once we've collected everyone we can, we send out the Code One Beacon. Any questions? Move!"

OOC: The Code One Beacon is a distress beacon stating that the home system has been compramised and that the source is the strongest defense those loyal to Muktar have to offer.

"Any response?"

The Acolyte looked up at Arkun, his eyebrow piercings clattering as he shook his head. "No reply, my lord. Shall we strike them down?"

Arkun nodded, grinning as he pulled the female crew on him tighter in. "Show them the price of their insult to Slaanesh. There will be no exception."

The crew roared. Moments later, they were echoed by the particle beam batteries littering the surface of the flagship, all directed at the relative bottom of the ring. A breach formed, and the rotation suddenly stopped. Another blast arced toward the colony, this time the top. Now the colony was bisected, and both halves were headed toward the gas giant it orbited. Ships began launching, and all but a few were shot down before they could hyperboost out. Soon, the ships stopped launching.

"It appears the station is deserted, sir."

"Let the fall finish the job. We have more systems to conquer."

Almost immediately after the Maktur left through the Warp, more ships pulled away from the falling station, although roughly half of them couldn't escape the gravitational pull. Not long before the last of the survivors were clear, a Bakemono hyperboosted in.

"Attention Doka Colony. This is the Bakemono Terio. State your current situation."

"Oni frigate Tsata reporting. Some freakish ship claiming to be the Maktur came and told us to join Chaos. We refused, and they blew apart the colony. Some of the survivors 'boosted out, but we waited until the ship left before escaping the station."

"Confirmed, Tsata. I'm afraid the enemy claim is factual. The Andoka System has become home base until further notice. We're going to declare Code One Beacon once we have every colony evacuated we can."

With little more conversation, the ragtag fleet hyperboosted to Andoka, leaving ruins, home, in their wake.

* * *

Throughout four other systems, evacuations began to take place, heading for Andoka. The Corta System, a less defended system which also had three colonies, was slower to evacuate. However, things were running smoothly for the moment.

The Dakuru System, however, was a disaster. The ships were just beginning to evacuate when tragedy made itself present to the colony.

Tragedy meaning the Maktur.

"What. The. Hell."

Arkun's eyes had gone from solid white to burning, radiant red as he saw the colony evacuating already. Those nearby looked at the evacuation and scowled in an attempt to gain the favor of their master.

"Your reputation preceeds you, my lord. They flee before your presence in anticipation of your arrival. Saves us the trouble of waiting to see if they'd convert."

Arkun looked at the woman on his lap who had spoken, and grinned slightly. "True, true. That still doesn't explain how my reputation spread so fast."

"We have a foreign contact, sir. Oni class, from the... Andoka System."

"ANDOKA! I have ascended beyond mortality and they still defy my authority!" The crew began getting worried now. Everyone present knew Andokan delegates in the national council had often pressed for him to be removed from authority before the transformation after a scandal with a colonial leader's wife.

"Shall we pull out all the stops, sir?"

"The Andokan ship dies first, then fire on any ship out of the colony. Launch all the Penetrators, and burn the colony to scrap. Dakuru will be an example to all those that defy me."

Seconds after Arkun began speaking, the Oni from Andoka was ripped apart by a quarter of the ship's available particle beams, the rest firing on evacuating ships. Only seven Outriders and a Bakemono would escape before launches stopped. As the Penetrators reached the colony, they began firing at the turrets which had been momentarily been abandoned. The Maktur focused fire on slicing up the colony in the meantime, cutting away hangar sections from the main of the colony.

Soon, turrets began to roar to life, firing autocannons at the Penetrators. Despite their warpings, however, the Penetrators still had their old shielding system, which rendered them nearly indestructible against ballistic weapons.

After a few minutes, absolutely nothing remained of the colony except for scraps of metal that burned away it the atmosphere of the Venusian planet below.

"Collect the Penetrators. Corta may not be done evacuating yet."

"Yes, my lord."

In every ship ever to belong to Muktar, a red light lit up on their territory map right over the Andoka System, coupled with a calm, stead beeping. In most cases, this was met with much profanity and bashing of heads on control panels.

After this little smash-fest, all available ships hyperboosted to the previously mentioned system. Soon, a fleet about a fifth of the size of the main fleet was assembled.

However, the main fleet heard the beacon too, and they were loyal to Daemon Prince Arkun, who had just arrived in the Andoka System at one of the less defended colonies.

"Give them the offer and ten seconds to respond. Massacre them if they refuse."

The offer was sent. Ten seconds passed. A trio of Oni and roughly two dozen Outriders came up alongside the Maktur. When no other ships came, the massacre commenced, resulting in the death of most of the resistance, a half-dozen Penetrators, and all but twelve traitor Outriders..

"Is something the matter, my lord?"

"That seemed boring, for a one sided vengeful massacre."

"Well, that wasn't the main colony."

"The other subcolony should tide me over until the rest of the fleet arrives, right?"

"It should."

"But that wouldn't be going at what I want as soon as possible, would it?"

"The smaller colony is along the way there."

"A valid point. The weakling dies first then. Full thrusters, be ready to shoot down anything that gets in our way."

After routing the second colony, the Maktur and its subordinate vessels, which had roughly doubled in military strength, began making their way to Colonial Station Andoka One. With a quick hand signal, their delegate was on screen.

"Hello, Danalo. It seems poetic that you should be the one to defy my rule over Muktar."

"Arkun? Dammit, man, what sort of unholy bargain have you struck?"

"Unholy bargain? Come now, Danalo, you assume too much. Think of it as a happy accident."

"Happy for you, maybe..."

"True, true. Anyhow, Let your people know I'm offering them the chance to live if they join me."

"They just heard you say it."

"Did they? Perfect. I think five minutes is enough time for your people to scramble off the station. I'll be fair and preoccupy myself with any ships still loyal to you in case they need more time after the minutes are up."

"In case you haven't noticed, you're hopelessly outmatched Arkun."

"ETA of the main fleet, Acolyte."

"Two seconds, my lord!"

"The clock starts now, Andoka."

With those word, the transmuted main fleet began to arrive en masse. Soon, it was the colony that was hopelessly outnumbered. In reply, roughly half the loyalist fleet abandoned their posts to join the Slaaneshi Muktari. Evac shuttles soon began rushing behind the Muktari as well.

Five minutes passed, and the station had lost two thirds of the populace and three fifths of its defending fleet. Grinning, Arkun stated a simple sentence to signal the attack.

"Let Slaanesh smile today."

The collective firepower of the particle beam weapons and missile batteries wiped out all but a few Titunac cruisers, most of which were destroyed in the follow-up strike. Only the Hugust escaped through hyperboost, leaving its fighters that had already been annihilated. Another volley, this time from the colony, struck the shields of the Maktur to no avail. Another volley from the Slaaneshi Muktari, and the colony was heated scrap.

"Victory!"