NationStates Jolt Archive

Prefect Corbox materialized in the courtyard outside the Consortium Palace, two guards in tow, and a small datapad in hand. The two Cougars at the entrance, recognizing his countenance, clacked their razor-sharp talons on the ground and bowed low in the only salute a mechanized lion analogue could perform.

I'm screwed, I know I'm screwed, he's gonna kill me for this... he thought as he proceeded through the entrance and down the main causeway towards the Baron's office, somehow managing to hide his tormented thoughts in his confident stride. The doors opened before he arrived, and Xenith Steel stared through the portal back at Corbox. Steele locked gazes with the prefect, then narrowed his eyes with a glower.

"Something's wrong," Steele said, then turned and walked back into the command room. His vacation of the portal revealed Baron Skye, behind his desk, with a newly cocked eyebrow.

"Things went bad at the conference I take it?" Baron Skye said as Corbox walked into the room and his guards took a place at the door.

"They had the intention, but not the backbone. I managed to rally a couple of them, but it seems that their call was issued in broad-spectrum."

"Let me guess, the imperials made an appearance?"

"Chronosia and some lackey. They were mostly monologuing about how futile any resistance was, and that their destruction was suuuuuurely inevitable if they chose to fight, and that they stood no chance against the awesome might of the empire, blah blah blah yakkity smakkity."

"And?"

"We got to talking."

Baron Skye gave Corbox a cursory glance, and sighed inwardly to himself. Giving Xenith a knowing nod and a roll of his eyes, he leaned back and returned his attention to the prefect. "Mister Corbox, I understand the Godulan penchant for understatement runs rampant throughout the populace, but I would appreciate it if you would simply cut out the mild sarcasm and say what really happened."

"Okay, we got to arguing. There was namecalling on both sides, and then came the meat of the whole thing. We kind of challenged each other."

"You..."

"Told Chronosia to 'bring it'," Xenith finished, then grinned. "Gutsy! Stupid but gutsy! If this were any other faction I suspect you would have been beheaded and sent in a box to Lord Remiel with a letter of apology!"

Corbox felt somewhat relieved at the comment, but couldn't help but wither slightly under the Baron's horrifying glare. Despite the almost visible waves of anger flooding from Skye's body, he somehow managed to speak his next sentence with a rather toothy grin.

"WELL... is that not a hum-dinger."

"They are coming, Baron... to Thorn."

"So you put the Capitol system up for the taking, so to speak?"

"Yes, Baron. They seemed to react with enthusiasm."

"Well then! I guess we should alert our allies about the coming invasion. Let us hope your momentary, yet very much far-reaching lapse of judgement does not leave us the worse for wear."

The Baron and Xenith looked at each other, then began howling with laughter, to the point that Xenith had to sit down due to lack of breath, and Baron Skye was actually denting his desk with the power of his mirthful pounding.

For some reason, Corbox found this horrendously unsettling, and had to resist the urge to run out of the room in terror.

OOC: THIS IS A WAR THREAD, HOORAY!

Two Versus Two. Me against Chronosia, with one ally each. Open to tags/comments and nothing else. Now let us make... a good read.

Tag for post when I get back to New Jersey; Currently in New Orleans :P

OOC: N'awlins, eh? I'd been wondering what happened.

Far away, beyond even Chronosian space, Gabriel duelled, heart and soul with the Darchon; Lord Lucian was embroiled in the midst of politics with the Gaian Ascendancy (Yet how he would return from the great shift across space and time was beyond even he), and Remiel sought the secrets of an Imperium long dead, pursuing the ambitious Dratherian scavengers across the galaxy. Severino, Lord of Sorcery, held court at his Black Academy, ttoring eager converts in the arts of Chaos magick, and Chronos, his erstwhile predecessor, still fled across the stars from his Father's most glorious wrath.

The forces of the Imperium, were stretched thus, far and wide

Upon the barren surface of Chronosia Prime, there lurked a paradise in the bounds of the castle. Exotic plants from far and wide slithered up ancient collumns. The great trees stretched with yawning slant towards the alien sun above. Beneath the immense branches, he sat, staring into the placid water of a lake that stretched throughout the grounds, leaning forth to stare into its stygian depths. His claw carressed the surface, writhing in the cold liquid, feeling the coolness turn to flaming warmth, bubbling about his clenched Talon.

"My Lord"

He turned to the minor annoyance; a well armed guard of the Palace, who bowed with servitude and reverence to his dark Master. The garden shimmered, fading in the rays of the dark sun, as the Daemon Emperor allowed his power to coalesce; the water evaporating into a mist of searing vapour; the ruins and walls scoured of life.

"What is it you wish?" he hissed, his eyes closed in deepest meditation.

"My Lord, we have recieved word of a challenge to the Diplomatic Corps; the Godulans wish there to be war."

'Indeed; they wish us harm? Ah, democracy and goodness, all in falsehood framed. They seek to wrest the Coreworlds from the Sith's crown, that precious gem" he chuckled wryly, almost sickly, his great girth raising, turning softly to survey the ruination of his domain. "Remiel, Lucian, Severino and Gabriel are all occupied..."

"Aye, My Lord"

"Bring me Cabot..."

Through the hallways of the palace he came, this red armored behemoth, whose hair grew long and blond, his helmet in his arm as he was called forth.

"All Hail Lord Cabot; Battlemaster of Khorne, Lord of the Berzerkers"

His great chainaxes hung as testament to his brutal skill, as he stepped into the presence of his Lord; his Father.

"Cabot, I call you to be sent forth in most glorious warfare. The prize is a rich system; Thorn of the Godulans. I ask you, go forth with my legions. Lead them to glory and to death. Bring me my prize"

Grunting his approval, Cabot knelt, eyes appraising his dark father.

"I shall ready every soldier who can bear arms, and lead your Crusade, My Lord"

'And all shall die"

"Blood shall be spilt for the Blood God, their skulls shall add to his glorious Throne"

"Go forth in my name..."

A risk to Godular deserves a -tag- me thinks.

"Progress reports for the experimentals, General," came an eager voice from behind General Lear as she watched the strange new ships dance about the thick asteroid field. She turned to find an adjutant holding a single datapad forward. Nodding acknowledgement, she took the pad and scanned through its contents while the adjutant hurried off on other duties.

"Simply amazing. I never thought we could have progressed so far so quickly."

Adjutant General Achaedus watched the viewscreen beside her, and turned at her comment. "Truly our finest creations, General. I have to say we've even outmoded our Cougars with these monstrosities."

"They still serve their purpose. You'll notice we've been making them larger and larger."

"To serve with the Gendarmes, I know. True juggernauts."

"We just need things more... spaceworthy."

The viewscreen before them winked off, to be replaced by a picture of Baron Skye. Xenith Steele lounged in the window behind him, giving Lear a lurid glare of power that made her hate him more than anything possible.

"General Lear," Skye began, adopting that aggravatingly... blissful grin, "It would seem that you are going to have some visitors soon."

Lear attempted to regain her composure in the face of Xenith's gaze, and focused her attention on Skye. "Inspectors, sir? Are you coming to see the experimentals?"

"Chronosians."

Silence reigned. After a seconds-long eternity, Lear shook her head slightly, as if to shake cobwebs from her brain. "Come again?"

"The Chronosians are coming. They are going to try to take the system."

"How did that happen?"

"Perhaps you should ask Corbox next time you play chess with him."

Lear shook her head again, this time in frustration. "He didn't."

"He did. I am going to assume that you will be able to handle the situation. We will send reinforcements when we can, not that I suspect you will need them, but we can never be sure with an enemy as comparatively bloodthirsty as the Triad forces."

"There won't be enough left of them to make a teapot, Baron Skye."

"I find your... ferocity reassuring. I would suggest, however, that you evacuate the experimentals. There is a couple other things you might take liberty in executing, but you already understand such things."

"Of course, sir."

"Oh, and let the Balroggans know too, if you would be so kind. It simply would not do to allow our brothers in arms to be caught flat footed. Speaking of arms, how is the Longarm looking?"

"Like a pinecone made of scrap metal," Achaedus answered by reflex, and received a curt nod in response.

Skye's grin took on a malevolent tinge, and Xenith adopted a sardonic smirk of knowing glee. "Maximillian would have loved to be present, things such as this cause him no end of amusement. But I suppose we shall simply have to see what happens without his... enthusiastic influences. Enjoy yourself, General Lear."

The viewscreen switched back to the asteroid field without further fanfare. Achaedus turned to look at Lear, who had developed a wry grin of her own.

"So what now, General?"

"Alert the Balroggans of the development, order the experimental vessels out of the system, and prepare the Longarm. Prepare the final testing stages to commence when the time approaches. Following that, we wait... with baited breath, we wait."

Standing ready on the bridge of his personal warship, The Bloodthirster Cabot surveyed the growing armada of ships. They numbered now in the thousands; three to be exact; and they were of every banner and creed in the Empire. he stood ready with an army of the initiated. Of cultists, Chaos Space Marines; Berzerkers, Noise Marines, Plague Marines; every black troop he could imagine. Sorcerors stood to summon forth hell at his invitation, Guardsmen were ready to lay down their lives.

Could he have any truly greater honor?

He stared out across Chronosian space, eyes alive with the anticipation of what was to come. This dark army would sweep into Thorn, and he would bring his black judgement to the Godulans. As it was his Father's will, so it would be done.

"We wait for now. I shall send word to an ally, and they shall fight with us. Now is the hour, that we ready for war." Cabot looked, turning to behold the sacrifice; prisoners of war, knelt before him. Ripe...Waiting...

He flicked the switch that bade his Chainaxes roar to life; raising the great, terrible archaic weapons. "Blood for the Blood God" His hiss.

The weapons descended, roaring in worship, spilling blood in his name, as a hand descend to pick up the severed heads, still slick with gore.

"Skulls for the Skull Throne"

"So," Achaedus began as he walked into General Lear's office. A stack of datapads rested by her right hand, and she had one datapad in her left hand, tabbing through the massive number of mobilization and preparation reports. "The fabrication facility is almost done working up your order. It will be a close call though, even with all the auxiliaries up and running, we'll be hard pressed to meet the quota. Do we really need that many, though?"

"Yes, Achaedus. We are going to have to throw everything we have at them, and right now, they are to be our most potent weapon. Speaking of which, are the experimental vessels evacuated?"

"The last of them left two hours ago with orders to head to Talbott in the event the battle was lost. I decided to have them do a couple extra things before they departed, another test, if you will. Needless to say, the number of surprises we have in store for them just went up by one."

"That's always good news."

Achaedus turned to look at one of the viewscreens in Lear's office, his gaze falling upon the severely reworked Long Arm of the Law. "That used to be my baby," he said with a sigh, "I remember I was ecstatic when I learned that I had been chosen to command the greatest ship of the Godulan fleet... named after our illustrious leader. But then our illustrious leader died, and all this started happening."

Lear finally turned her attention from the datapad to Achaedus, then leaned back. "You commanded the refitting, the redisign, even the plan for its first and likely only combat role. It still IS your ship, even though you are not aboard, and when the battle is done, your name, and even the name of your charge will be remembered throughout the Consortium, and possibly even the galaxy. What better fate is there?"

The words did Achaedus small comfort. He wanted to be ON that ship when it went into battle, to be with her when she died.

Lear sighed. "You know, we never did get about to assigning a commander to the Godstar. It was still under construction when the Resurgence came. Its been completed a long time now, and Baron Skye has been using it as a test bed for all the latest weapons. Perhaps we could order a change of station after the battle is over, should the Longarm not make it through the day."

"I helped BUILD the Longarm! I can't just walk to another ship as though I own it!"

"As the Longarm was constructed with your own hands, the Godstar was created without any commander in particular. It wants an owner, Achaedus. It NEEDS an owner. Renovations are easy to perform, it would not take long for you to MAKE it yours."

Achaedus considered these words, then nodded. "I will think about it. Until then, I shall be in the holocommand room, preparing the Longarm..." his voice trailed off, and he left the office without another word.

General Lear sat in thought for a few moments after, then returned to her datapad. And if the 'Longarm' DOES make it through the day, I suspect a namechange will be in order...

Blood flowed near ceaselessly from the altars of Khorne onboard Cabot's ship; the slaves and prisoners sacrificed to death by the fiends foul axe; their souls picked off by the daemons that hovered, like carrion birds about this rich table.

Cabot sighed, his thick, lustrous hair pouring from his helmet as he removed it. The implants within him heightened his aggresion; honed the killing urge; something he had insisted be pressed upon his Legion; his offspring.

A soft gurgling chuckle emerged from his throat, as he gazed out across the deck of his grand ship. Its weapons were designed to bring the greatest slaughter to his enemies; almost matching the Ecstacy in its black complexity. Pride filled him as he thought of all that was to be done; of killing in His Name; of blood for Khorne, and skulls....Rivers of blood, mountains of Skulls. he had such promise...

The legions had assembled, rallying to greater bloodlust as the fleets took part in their maneuvers. They knew the battlewould be greater; yet greater still would be the glory. They knew that death would grace both sides; yet they feared it not. They embraced it.

Cabot's eyes opened as he turned; someone stood behind him. His armor great and black; robes of silk and lined with wolf pelt; neural-connectors plunged into the blackness of his skull. With this one came an entourage; a Gun-servitor; a hulking warrior brute in power armor, bearing a great and crackling mace...
This man was an Inquisitor

"Primarch" He bowed his head, drawing a laugh from Cabot's lips.

"Inquisitor"

"I have come, that our enemies be tested for heresy"

'Indeed; you will have much sport on this crusade. Much sport indeed."

"It is not sport, that I seek." he felt his wrath rising "You know that which my order is tasked with. Maintaining the purity of Chaos; seeking that which the Emperor requires; fathoming black knowledge. Lord Remiel-"

"I know what my brothers purpose is, Inquisitor. And I do grant you access to my vessel. I trust, you shall not dissapoint me, or misplace my hospitality."

The Inquisitor turned, and Cabot shifted his attention back to the bridge; to the great viewscreen.

"For the Emperor.." His harsh whisper drifted across the bridge.

tag

And so the preparations continued, the few hundred Godulan Makos already stationed in Thorn took various defensive positions and ran through endless simulations to hone their reflexes and keep their senses sharp.

Defensive installations and drones throughout the system hummed to life.

Oddly enough though, the inner system remained completely silent. No comms, no energy signature, no traffic...

OOC: I'm running out of preparation stuff to post...

OOC: Ditto; we need our other halves to post...

I am starting on a post. I will edit it in here.

The 4th Imperial Fleet was stationed at Thorn for the Diplomatic Talks after the Triad Incident to assist with the rebuild of their new world. They were there not only to guard the Shipyards and Factories loaned to the Triad, but also to be sure their new allies were safe.

The message that was sent seemed just like all the hundreds sent daily. It was processed with the same efficiency by the AI and routed to the Diplomatic Corps. The Ambassador was out of his office attending to some minor snafu that seems to plague operations like this. Hours later when he returned to his office, his inbox signaled an urgent message waiting for him.

Hanging his jacket upon a hook in the closet near the door, he went over and sat down at his desk. Letting out a sigh he accessed his messages.

“I wonder what went wrong now. There is always something.”

There was a message waiting for him that was classified “Urgent, Priority One”. He opened it and began reading.

We have been informed by one of our personal of an invading fleet sent by the nation of Chronosia. It is a result of pride on both sides. We will need the assistance of the Balrogga Empire to help defend the Thorn System from Chronosia and their ally, who is currently unknown.

We do not know when this will occur but we are beginning to mobilize our defenses immediately and suggest you do so.

We are sorry for the inconvenience this causes but since this seems to be unavoidable, we thought all parties should be at their highest state of readiness.


He checked the senders address to be sure this was not a joke. The trace indicated the message came from General Lear. It seemed to be authentic.

“DAMMIT! This can’t be happening. Get me Admiral Ga’Ton immediately.”

The AI obeyed his command and contacted the Fleet Admiral.

Joyous News

“Well!” Admiral Pael exclaimed as he entered the bridge. “It appears that we will have something to do after all.”

“Excellent.” His first officer responded with enthusiasm. “Things were getting a little too quiet around here.”

“Indeed, however it seems that our Chronosian allies have discovered a Godulan base, Thorn they call it, and the emperor in his infinite generosity has kindly delegated us the honour of eradicating it.”

Captain Stuell paused. “Wait, that’s not excellent news, what are we going to invade with? Most of the fleet is dispersed around the Galaxy and we only have our current force for expeditionary measures.”

“The current fleet will have to make do, we are not going to be the major player in this war captain, we are only there to draw away some of the Godulan defence, and hopefully cause them a lot of trouble in the long run.”

“But Admiral, we only have ninety two ships available.”

“Keep in mind that one of those ships is the Emperors Hand, we will have to use speed and agility in this war captain, not brute force and barbarism.” Stuell didn’t look convinced.

“Is there a time frame for the operation?”

“Orders will be coming through shortly captain and don’t worry, everything is in hand.”

The Leave-taking. Three Days Later.

“Well captain I am impressed.” Pael said with confidence. The Admiral, finally off duty after what would amount to a nineteen hour shift was sitting, well slouching would be the better term, on his couch. The Admirals study, like most private rooms for high ranking officers was adjacent to the bridge, it was a place where Admirals could entertain guests, plan impending campaigns, or relax in their few spare minutes. In the case of Pael, it was a place where he could talk privately to his command staff. “You have managed to recall the crews, load the necessary supplies and equipment, and begin the planning of the campaign within a mere three days, very impressive indeed.”

Stuell stood rigidly, it wasn’t often that an Admiral gave praise to his subordinates, and as such, most were unsure on how to receive it when the rare occasion came. “Thank you Admiral, I put it down to my training at the academy.”

Pael gave a slight nod in return. “Well, what have you come up with?”

“Well as we know the Chornosians are going to go for a full frontal assault, which will more than likely cause the Godulans to dispatch most of their fleet to intercept it. I advise we use stealth to sneak into their system.” Pael looked up with an interested expression. “I suggest that we use a tactic performed by the late Grand Admiral Thrawn, I recommend that we use the cloaking devices fitted to the Emperors Hand to get within their defensives, or, pull their garrisons away from their installations and destroy them with surprise and the overwhelming firepower the Hand unleashes.”

Pael raised his hand and interrupted the good captain. “How will we coordinate with the fleet and Hand captain, as you know cloaking devices prevent any form of communication while they are activated.”

“I propose that we use two sith apprentices from the Dark Academy, it will allows us to coordinate effectively, and if necessary retreat.”

Pael considered it for a moment. “I will give the idea some more thought captain, however good work. Please inform the fleet that we are to leave immediately for the rally point, from there we will cross into what we believe is Godulan space.”

“Yes Admiral.” Stuell replied with respect. Turning after his salute the captain left for the bridge.”

“Oh and captain.” Pael added. “Make sure the necessary Sith are on board before we depart……

Four Hours later the Imperial task force departed for war.

“Sir, the fleet is deployed as you ordered. They are waiting in T-Space. The Sensor Network we installed when we got here is looking for the invaders in all known dimensions and FTLs. If they approach we will get at least a 20 Light Year warning. The ships are ready and the Gravity Slings have been positioned. If they approach then we will move any position that does not have coverage to locations that will provide firing opportunities.”

“Good job. Have all Ta’Nar ready to engage in ESPionage. Get the Serjents on line and start a back-up batch. We may need them if there are any boarding actions. Get the fighter pilots ready to launch at a moment’s notice. Prepare the AoD so we can retrieve any lost personal. Set up a Gestalt and link all personal. The simulated hive mind will make communications more efficient and virtually undetectable.”

“Yes Sir.”

The officer left the bridge to carry out his orders. Admiral Ga’Ton continued to monitor the incoming data from the Sensor Network with his Neurolink. He preferred to merge his mind directly into the AI but he needed to remain ready to act. He didn’t want to have to return to his body in order to issue commands.

The neurolink showed him the fleet was positioning themselves centrally to be the closest possible distance to any attack from any direction. The data streams from the ships were being fed into his Link. He could monitor the weapon load outs and ship conditions.

Ga’Ton suddenly felt a tickle and then a presence at the back of his mind. The Gestalt was activated and everyone was linked in thought with each other. He carefully fed the link through his Virtual Mind, in case the enemy had any Psi. He could “feel” several of the True Ta’Nar as well as the human Ta’Nar. Soon they will join us as True Ta’Nar if the Emperor was successful in his Evolutionary Experiments. It has been thousands of years since he evolved out of his original form and began his existence as an Entity. It will be good to be able to Uplift other beings to their state. It would make things much simpler, but it also took time. The Ta’Nar were a patient lot.

In incoming message interrupted his thoughts. The Gravslings were in position and ready. They had enough material handy to tax the shields of the unknown assailants and most would be in a position to fire. All systems were ready.

“Now there is only the waiting to do.”


OOC: I work weekends so this might be my last post until late Saturday/early Sunday. Please be patient, I will return as soon as Real Life is done with me.

Stupid Real Life...

The fleet slowly emerged from Hyperspace into a small binary system. Scoured by two white suns wrapped around each other the vacuum was lifeless and soulless. It wasn’t until two years prior that life arrived in the system designated as P3X 118A, on one of the charred planetoids a small Imperial outpost was erected, specifically constructed for monitoring deep space traffic….

“Well?” Pael enquired. “What’s the situation?”

“We have entered P3X 118A and are requesting enemy fleet movements for the database Admiral. We will be uploading the coordinates to the Hand momentarily.” The communications channel abruptly closed as Stuell saw to his other duties.

Pael remaining in his command chair was unconcerned with the situation. Usually his position would have been on the mighty Super Star Destroyer, however the cloaking field unnerved him. It was an Admirals duty to be aware of the entire battle and not have some Sith describe it for him. Instead Pael was positioned on the Imperial Star Destroyer Horrus, and he, like the barbarian warriors of Telav I would lead the charge into his foes. It was a most unusual tactic for an Imperial flagship, which usually held position at the back of the fleet, but Pael was an unusual commander, which had earned him the emperors respect….. and favour.

“Admiral the pre planned coordinates have been uploaded in the Hand. The sensor station is reporting mass movement of vessels towards the Chronosian advance. The backdoor is apparently open.”

Pael smiled. “Good work captain, though be wary, I doubt the Godulans have left the door utterly open, there is probably some trap up ahead, but good hunting captain.”

“Good hunting Admiral.” Stuell replied. Outside the bridge windows the Emperors Hand vanished within an instant, embedded in a pocket outside our universe the ship was an island of order in a great unknown.

Nodding to the helm, Pael authorised the commencement of the operation, quickly and surely the fleet departed for the target…….

Fleet Admiral Ga’Ton noticed the arrival of the fleet on the Mass detectors. The data showed a large number of ships appearing out of a Hyperspace Jump Point. Alerts flashed across the board and sensors immediately locked and scanned the arrivals.

“Admiral, we have the arrival of several bogies. The sensors are picking up 92 vessels. The Jump point closed behind them and they appear to be doing some sort of fleet positioning. One of the ships disappeared off the Mass detectors and I register a Dimensional Surge of some sort.”

“What happened? Do they possess temporal weapons?”

“Negative Sir, it was not a W-Space surge. I will have to have the data analyzed to determine more. It could be anything. We know nothing about these people.”

“Monitor every frequency and get the readings sent to the AI. Direct her to develop strategies and play them out to determine the best moves based upon what we can discover from them.”

“Already being done, Sir. The Graviton Sling that is out of position is being redirected to a better firing position. Our forces are adapting to the position of their arrival.”

“Divide the fleet into two. The first must match them in numbers and the remainder will stay here as a guard for the Graviton Slings. Take half the fleet and move it in T-Space to a back up position and take us in to the front line. Once we get into position, have the fleet Emerge. Get the Ta’Nar to start scanning them when they are within range. I need information yesterday.”

Ga’Ton could feel the sub-commander contact the Ta’Nar using the Gestalt. They will do their best. He also knew the Serjents were being imprinted and the second batch was getting started. The pilots were ready to launch and the fleet was as prepared as they could be.

“Sir, the ships are in position. We are ready to Emerge.”

“Send the command. We might as well make ourselves known to them.”

92 ships faded into view roughly in two lines, one acting as support for the other. The largest carrier was in the center of the front line. The two stared at each other for a few moments.

“Open a Comm line to them.”

“Yes Sir, ready.”

“This is Fleet Admiral Ga’Ton aboard The Shiva. I wish to enter into a Parlay before either of us does something stupid. What is your decision?”

Behind the Imperial vessel; there opened countless, massive rifts in the warp; great crackling infernos of rogue energy. In it, faces and beings seemed to writhe; sigils danced before their eyes, shifting, maddening symbols...

2000 ships tore free from this dark dominion; roaring into real space with a fury born of the realm they had just left...They were its Children, its Servant, they were the warriors of the Imperium.

Upon the deck of the largest ship, stood Cabot; Chosen of Khorne; he who took skulls and spilt blood in his name. He was a servant of dark and divine power, and now he had arrived at his goal.

"Look at the vessels our ally sends; pitiful, is it not? 92 vessels for such a splendid sacrifice!"

"Indeed Lord; their numerical disadvantage is a strategic failure, truly."

"That matters not; we are the Imperium; evne should we fail, we shall bring death to our foes!"

"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!"

"Open communications witht he enemy vessels."

"Aye Lord, Activated"

"I am Lord Cabot, of the Chronosian Imperium. I have brought my fathers fleets to this system to answer the challenge. I come with the blessing of Khorne and offer you a chance of diplomacy, to better save your skull from his desires..."

Godulan intelligence had been active itself, recently, working with the 'Experimentals' to determine errant power signatures indicative of 'encroaching' sensor stations. They had intercepted the transmission about the new imperial operation to establish deep-space sensor relays and knew that while the 'timetable' was to be classified, chances were that the project was already well underway even before the news release went out.

As such, 'Experimental' vessels, already well entrenched through out the entire outer rim of the galaxy, and indeed some portions of the interior, remaining motionless except for momentary blurs of activity, scanned for anomalous readings fitting certain archetypes. Upon discovery of any, one 'Experimental' vessel would move in, hiding in directed groups of space debris as camoflage, using its own stealth mode to disguise any secondary means of detection as minor poofs of ionized gas, or something else that would seem annoyingly innocuous, until it approached within targeting distance.

When the time was right, they would strike.

As it stood, a small, perfectly harmless asteroid passed within a few AU of the Imperial Sensor Station, it listened and scanned with passive sensors, and eventually managed to get all the information it needed.

A single word went to the 'experimental' command hub, seeming more as the indicative puff of ionized gas caused by the space-rock's approach to the twin suns:

CONFIRMED.

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

Meanwhilst:

"I am Lord Cabot, of the Chronosian Imperium. I have brought my fathers fleets to this system to answer the challenge. I come with the blessing of Khorne and offer you a chance of diplomacy, to better save your skull from his desires..."

General Lear:

"You will get no such satisfaction from us, Imperial Dogs. We need only know of Sojun, and refuse acknowledgement of your whelpish deities' dominance, and the grip of the final arbiter will be absolute. You will derive no benefit from our sacrifice. Our deaths will come at high cost, and no profit. Our souls are not yours to take. There is time for you to turn around and crawl back to your glib-tongued masters, and beg for mercy from them, for you shall recieve none here."

OOC: Shall post more later, particularly with respect to Godulan reaction to the Chronosian arrival. Can't stay around long enough to finish the entirety of this post.

Throughout the outer regions of the system, power signatures hummed to life in a seeming shockwave around the entry point of the Chronosian fleet. Long-range defensive platforms, torpedo platforms, veritable swarms of attack drones, and the entirety of the Godulan fleet stationed in the System, and one particularly large signature a small distance away from Phlegethos, the fourth world of Thorn.

A fleet of about six hundred, the Godulan StarNavy Thorn Contingent was indeed outnumbered. The Godulan Makos were by no means large vessels, but they more than made up for their small size with surprising agility and a disproportionate amount of firepower. All told, a single 450m Mako could slug it out to a standstill with a standard Imperial Star Destroyer.

Not that they would let the Imperials realize it, of course. The vessels were content to remain dispersed throughout the system, feigning shock at the sheer number of vessels entering the system.

As comms traffic flooded with messages along the lines of "Like, OhmiGAWD!" "Err... huh!" "I'll just hide over here, don't pay attention to me!" and "We're screwed!", General Lear turned to a nearby adjutant.

"Inventory?"

"Forty six, General. All primed and ready."

General Lear nodded. "Allocate twenty on quick targeting. If they move an inch, I want them to regret it. Let the Balroggans have their little... negotiation, but if I see so much as a rattled saber..."

"Aye aye General."

Lear turned on her heel and walked out of the room, heading towards the Combat Command Chamber...

A small probe droid enters the system and tags onto an asteriod to watch the carnage unfold.

OOC: I wanna play a news media somewhere. Please?

OOC: Sure, be impartial-ish though... I don't want TOO many people standing around doing play-by-plays.

The Chronosians, far from being surprised, were amused. Cabot allowed a cold smirk to grace his visage as he moved forward on the bridge. "So, this is the Godulan fleet." He smirked, examining tactical overviews of the battlefield, years of experience in the Emperor's service flowing through him, the desire to fight, to cleave flesh and draw blood.

"I want long range weapons systems active; wide barrage, lets try and soften them up; A wave of artillery wouldn't go wrong either"

"Aye Lord! Readying weapons!"

"FIRE!"

Battle was joined, missles and torpedoes surged forth from siloes; cannons rose to their active position and opened fire with cleansing waves of warheads; explosives, nuclear, thermonuclear, biological, chemical; all meant to find gaps in the enemy armor and infest them.

"FORWARD!" Came Cabot's roared cry before he initiated contact with the Godulans.

"You speak of mercy to the merciless. You speak of souls to the soulless. You speak of us as though we were not death itself, but we are! We are the cleansing hand of the Warp, and the souls reaped today shall go to the Gods; you have no protective baubles as the Eldar do...You shall be consumed!"

The fleets surged forward; opening fire with warp cannons, turbo lazers and lances; sending forth their deadly barrage against the Godulans, as they pressed onwards; for glory, for the Dark Gods; For the Emperor.

Admiral Pael was as usual lounging in his command chair, the bridge was orderly, with officers overseeing their subordinates. Who said being an Admiral was stressful….

The situation was well in hand. The Hand and the Horrus were in constant communication thanks to the two Sith, which were rather abruptly removed from the dark academy on Coruscant. The fleet itself was progressing in a standard horn formation, with the Imperial Star Destroyers in the centre and the lighter faster frigates along the flank. Meanwhile the Hand hovered below the fleet, ready and prepared to answer any challenges to Imperial law.

The hyperspace vortexes carried the fleet through countless solar systems, past nameless worlds and stars, and through what was once formally ignored and insignificant star systems. Eventually the tell tale beeps sounded throughout the bridge….

“Admiral, we have unknown contacts directly in front of us, they have erected a standard inhabitation field, dropping out of hyperspace in five, four, three, two, one.”

“Very good captain.” Pael turned to the Sith, who was now gazing out of the windows. “Order the hand to maintain position at fleet point.” Blathe quickly pulled up a set of coordinates on his small control pad. “Fleet point 55567/AB. Captain Stuell is to hold position until ordered otherwise.” Pael finally rose from his command chair and surveyed the area of space his forces were destined to fight in. To their flank lay a small gas cloud, large enough to hide ships and distort sensors, while behind their foes lay the beginnings of a solar system, several gas giants and their moons were just visible while further towards the star, which was a vast red giant a few rocky planetoids existed, only one with an atmosphere that could hope to support any life.

“Admiral we’re receiving a communication, its being broadcasted on all sensor bands. Admiral its in Galactic Standard!”

“Very well.” Pael nodded. “Patch it through.”

”This is Fleet Admiral Ga’Ton aboard The Shiva. I wish to enter into a Parlay before either of us does something stupid. What is your decision?”

“Parly!” Pael was surprised. “ I thought that these Godulans were beneath any honour in battle.”

“Admiral these are not Godulans, the ship designs are utterly unknown, their energy signatures are highly variant, I can’t get a decent scan of the things.” Paels first officer looked grim, there was nothing worse for an Imperial officer than going into battle with an unknown and untested foe. “I recommend, we initiate some form of parlay, at least we can insure the survivors of crew members and wounded. We may even be abale to prevent the use of the uncivilised weapons such as gravitics.”

Pael considered it for a moment. A parlay was very unconventional, perhaps it was a trap? Perhaps it was to throw him off guard, well it was working, but nonetheless his battle honour demanded he at least attempt an honourable set of conditions. “Very well.” He finally decided. “Open a channel but patch it through twenty of our ships, lets keep the flagship anonymous shall we.” Pael managed a sly smile.

“Channel open Admiral.”

“Admiral Ga’Ton you are impeding an Imperial fleet on its mission to deal with on openly aggressive foe Please step aside..” The Admirals tone was demanding and assertive.

“Do you think they’ll stand down?”

“Not a chance.” Pael replied.

The defensive platforms remained silent for the moment, focusing all power into shields to compensate for the barrage. The Godulan vessels, located all throughout the system, simply watched as the missiles headed in random directions to impact on the defensive platforms, and as the drones iterated out of immediate harm.

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General Lear:

"And your delusion will kill you."

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

General Lear watched the situation unfold, and smiled wryly. "COMMENCE BOMBARDMENT, RED RAIN, FULL SPREAD."

To the Chronosians, it would simply have appeared as though twenty blips had just appeared on their sensors. No amount of 'sensor information' could have prepared ANYBODY for what happened next.

Red Rain, a true Godulan Superweapon acting as a giant cluster-fusion bomb, was designed with two stages. Each kilometer long torpedo was fitted with some 450 smaller missiles, each containing a warhead somewhere in the 10 megaton yield. Upon entry into the combat theatre, each torpedo would immediately disperse the missiles, leaving behind a 750m, well armored, and well shielded ramming wedge that picked the nearest large enemy vessel and went into overdrive, ramming itself straight into the middle of the targeted vessel.

As it stood, twenty of these torpedoes had just iterated into position at random sides around the enemy fleet, dispersed their payloads, and commenced ramming speed upon their selected targets.

A veritable cloud of fusion missiles darted into the Chronosian fleet with abandon.

At the same time, the defensive platforms powered up their weapons, several being sacrificed to the Chronosian attack in order to bring themselves fully online. They began pummeling the enemy fleet with heavy barrages of Flux Cannon fire, Phase torpedoes, and Tachyon Torpedoes useful for breaching shield systems.

And the Godulan Fleet waited for the word to begin...

The small spaceship bearing the glittering sign CNN stayed out of the battle zone as cameras powered up and the powerful holotransmitter locked on to the nearest relay station to transmit all over the galaxy.

Lega Val'sar is a Bothan, a common species found in news stations all over the galaxy. She smoothed her fur and held tightly to the microphone in her hand. Her cameraman counted down to the time she would be online...

"We're on in 5...4...3...2...1...Action!" The camera turned on and the music played.

"This is CNN, live at the Godular system of Thorn, where a great battle has, or is about to, take place. I am Lega Val'sar, War Correspondent, and war has just broken out between the nations of Godular and Chronosia. As you can see, exchanges of fire has already occured on both sides. It will be some time before the battle is decided, but to be assured, this promises to be a big one. We are now attempting to contact both sides for a short interview, but so far none have returned our calls. For now, the Battle of Thorn has just begun..."

The cameras expanded their view to show the battle taking place. A mighty battle it was, a mighty battle indeed.

The defensive platforms remained silent for the moment, focusing all power into shields to compensate for the barrage. The Godulan vessels, located all throughout the system, simply watched as the missiles headed in random directions to impact on the defensive platforms, and as the drones iterated out of immediate harm.

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

General Lear:

"And your delusion will kill you."

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

General Lear watched the situation unfold, and smiled wryly. "COMMENCE BOMBARDMENT, RED RAIN, FULL SPREAD."

To the Chronosians, it would simply have appeared as though twenty blips had just appeared on their sensors. No amount of 'sensor information' could have prepared ANYBODY for what happened next.

Red Rain, a true Godulan Superweapon acting as a giant cluster-fusion bomb, was designed with two stages. Each kilometer long torpedo was fitted with some 450 smaller missiles, each containing a warhead somewhere in the 10 megaton yield. Upon entry into the combat theatre, each torpedo would immediately disperse the missiles, leaving behind a 750m, well armored, and well shielded ramming wedge that picked the nearest large enemy vessel and went into overdrive, ramming itself straight into the middle of the targeted vessel.

As it stood, twenty of these torpedoes had just iterated into position at random sides around the enemy fleet, dispersed their payloads, and commenced ramming speed upon their selected targets.

A veritable cloud of fusion missiles darted into the Chronosian fleet with abandon.

At the same time, the defensive platforms powered up their weapons, several being sacrificed to the Chronosian attack in order to bring themselves fully online. They began pummeling the enemy fleet with heavy barrages of Flux Cannon fire, Phase torpedoes, and Tachyon Torpedoes useful for breaching shield systems.

And the Godulan Fleet waited for the word to begin...

Countless vessels burst into flame and debris, sacrificed to the void by the great weapon of Godular; but the Chronosians pressed on, focussing their fire against their hated foe. Cabot felt the bridge shake, saw plumes of seething energy bursting from vessels or filling the silent void with roaring hatred. "Open fire, full blast; let us show them that their advanced toys will not hinder us!" the Chronosian fleet, though injured by the initial blasts, pressed forth; immune to the fear they had sought to sow; strnegthened by Zeal. The Dark Gods would protect them, and they would serve them in turn.

Cabot chuckled, "release Fighters; I want us dealing close range damage, Do what must be done, all weapons systems authorised." The fighters roared from hanger bays, flitting like swarms of hornets through space; their engines roaring as weapons engaged, and the area was sprayed with deadly plasma fire. Missles rocketed forth, seeking Godulan targets, as the Capital Ships continued thier incessant barrage; advancing and firing in tandem.

“Admiral, we are getting a message from the other fleet. It seems to be rerouted through several vessels so I am not sure of the point of origin. I am trying to pinpoint it but without more knowledge of their systems I don’t think I will get a fix.”

“That is OK, I don’t blame them.”

“Admiral Ga’Ton you are impeding an Imperial fleet on its mission to deal with on openly aggressive foe Please step aside...” The Admirals tone was demanding and assertive.

“This is Admiral Ga’Ton. Unfortunately I cannot stand down. I have been asked to be a Second in a duel between Godular and Chronosia. I believe you are also put into this position due to the blunders of diplomats. I propose a Parley between us so this matter can be taken care of both in a civilized and honorable matter. I have seen the sensor reading of what is going on behind us as we speak. I am certain neither of us want that to happen here too. I am sending a file from our databanks. It is basic Parley terms and they are open to change. Please respond after you have had a chance to read through them so we can come to an understanding.”

Ga’Ton activated the mute button and leaned over to towards the Comm Officer.

“Please send the file I just transferred to your workstation to the Sith fleet.”

“Yes Sir, sending.”


Please understand, when I say “we”, I mean both your forces and my forces. The term “we” applies to all Unified Sith and Balrogga forces within 20 light years. No additional forces will be brought into the Theater by either side. The total number of ships used in this skirmish will be equal and set at 92 vessels each, not counting fighters. The extra ships the Balrogga Empire has will remain at the edge of the Thorn system. The Skirmish will take place here.

We will not fire upon ships that are powered down. Any ship may power down in order to surrender. Escape pods will only be used for that manner. Neither side will target the pods nor will neither side use them in an offensive manor. WMD will not be used for any offensive purposes, or will biologicals, chemical, or nuclear and thermal nuclear.

Any forces that surrender will remain out of combat until a termination of hostilities is agreed upon. All ships that surrender will remain the property of their original nations. There will not be any prisoners or ships taken by either side. There will be five ships designated for each side that will not take part in hostilities that will be responsible for saving the lives of any crew. It does not matter what side they are on. The preservation of life will supersede the politics we are forced into. Neither side will direct any munitions or energy weapons upon these vessels. Each side will choose their own ships for this purpose. The weapon systems will not be powered up in these vessels. They will use shields to prevent any friendly fire. All crew will be returned to their nations immediately after the skirmish in the best medical condition possible. Basic biological data will be shared before the battle so both sides can provide adequate medical attention.

If you wish, we can play this “wargame” style with targeting lasers and dummy ammo. The pros and cons with this system is data will have to be shared between us so we both would know the type of damage the weapon in question would inflict. We both would leave this field with data upon the other of the possible weapon yields.

The other end of the spectrum is to go full out like the others behind us. I don’t think either of us wants that end result. There are several options in between. I am open to suggestions.

This is a starting point for the Parley. Please look them over and make any adjustments. If we must do this, we might as well do this the civilized way.

Once a these terms are agreed to, they will hold until the end of the skirmish and both forces have retreated beyond 20 light years. In the event either side willingly or purposely breaks Parley, they will be declared the loser and will immediately leave the Theater on pain of having any and all restrictions being lifted. If a questionable event occurs between two vessels, they will cease fire and wait for one of the hospital vessels to assess the situation.

Admiral Ga’Ton sat back and waited for the Sith Admiral to reply.

Pael considered the terms for a moment, they were reasonable, and he was sure he could manipulate them to his needs. “Communications” he boomed! “Have the frigate Honour leave the battlefield, she is to maintain position 20 lightyears from the system.”

“Yes Admiral” Someone replied from across the bridge.

“Clear the channel to the opposing fleet.” Pael ordered. Almost instantly the channel opened and a small tone sounded throughout the bridge. “Admiral Ga’Ton, the Empire will agree to your terms, however I’m afraid that I must insist upon live fire.” Pael would not have it any other way. “I also agree to all the above terms, ninety two ships per side, and no reinforcements out with twenty lightyears. I have ordered my crews to unload our weapons of mass destruction and I can assure you the Empire will hold its honour. The medical frigates, Tyrant, Anubis, Thor and Hades shall assist our wounded and damaged forces in battle, their transponders are changing to frequency 555/A on the subspace band, they are as of this moment non-combatants.” Pael clicked a few commands into his control pad ordering the fleet to form up into attack position. “ Admiral? Do you have any last minute amendments to make?” Pael waited with baited breath.

“Those amendments seem to be reasonable. The ships we choose will use the same transponder code and will be sent to the edge of the battlezone. I suggest we wait 10 minutes before this starts to give them time to clear.”

“The banned weapons have also been removed from our weapons load outs. I will keep our weapons at full power and we will not pull any punches. I only ask that a ship will power down to surrender before being destroyed. It would not be wise to destroy anything if it could be possible to save it.”

“The unpleasantness will start in ten minutes. Prepare yourselves. When this is over I would like to meet with you, if it is possible."

Admiral Ga'Ton saluted Admiral Pael.

"May your last days be filled with Honor and Glory.”

Ga’Ton closed the Comm signal and turned to the Tactical Officer.

“Track that ship that left and set up a complete scan of everything out there. They agreed to 92 ships and one left. Either they are counting one of their ships twice or they have something cloaked. I want it found. Use all available resources and do it fast. I don’t want to be taken by surprise.”

“Yes Sir, the Frigates Solomon, Nebuchadnezzar, Xerxes, Nefertiti, and Sheba have changed their transponders to the frequency they designated. They are moving to their assigned locations. They will be in location well before hostilities will start.”

“Good, I am glad he agreed to Parley. Most people think that is a weakness but it prevents and limits the unnecessary. Prepare the fleet to begin the jumps. As soon as they start to fire, I want everybody following the Balatian Maneuver. I hope he didn’t expect me to stand still and let him hammer at my lines.”

“All ships reporting full battle readiness. Shields are at maximum and weapons are hot. Carriers report fighters are ready for launch. The AoD are ready to deploy for collections. We are ready as can be, Sir.”

"Now for the countdown..."

The Godulan Vessels pulled back into their positions once again, using available cover to block off enemy fire and sacrificing more and more defensive platforms to the withering hail of cannonfire. Already, the Chronosian fleet had powdered an avenue through the outer debris field and was pushing further in-system.

General Lear watched the situation unfold, waiting... waiting... she kept her eyes directly on the advancing enemy fleet, pummeling its way through the outer debris field. The Red Rain had done more damage than she expected but less than she'd hoped. Oh well, if need be they had twenty six more where those came from. But now, she wanted to... experiment.

"Begin activation sequences of the Longarm, release fighters, drones, and have the Thorn Defense Fleet move into position. Lets give these kamikaze fools a taste of true Godulan rage."

The order went out, and the Godulan fleet didn't move quite immediately, intending to make it look like they were hesitating, however, after about ten seconds, they vanished, and the Chronosian line detonated in a frenzy of flux cannon fire and fightercraft as the Godulan fleet pulled a probability transit right smack dab into the center of the enemy fleet.

Thousands upon thousands of Godulan Starbolts, accompanied by about half their number of corvette-sized defensive drones equipped with capital ship level Flux Cannons and torpedo launchers, drove about the bulk of the enemy fleet. At the same time, the lowly six hundred Godulan Makos commenced full attack operations on anything in sight, roaring about with surprising agility and pummeling the shit out of anything that didn't register as 'friendly'.

At the same time, the massive power signature behind Stygia, the third planet, began to grow...

The Godulan Vessels pulled back into their positions once again, using available cover to block off enemy fire and sacrificing more and more defensive platforms to the withering hail of cannonfire. Already, the Chronosian fleet had powdered an avenue through the outer debris field and was pushing further in-system.

General Lear watched the situation unfold, waiting... waiting... she kept her eyes directly on the advancing enemy fleet, pummeling its way through the outer debris field. The Red Rain had done more damage than she expected but less than she'd hoped. Oh well, if need be they had twenty six more where those came from. But now, she wanted to... experiment.

"Begin activation sequences of the Longarm, release fighters, drones, and have the Thorn Defense Fleet move into position. Lets give these kamikaze fools a taste of true Godulan rage."

The order went out, and the Godulan fleet didn't move quite immediately, intending to make it look like they were hesitating, however, after about ten seconds, they vanished, and the Chronosian line detonated in a frenzy of flux cannon fire and fightercraft as the Godulan fleet pulled a probability transit right smack dab into the center of the enemy fleet.

Thousands upon thousands of Godulan Starbolts, accompanied by about half their number of corvette-sized defensive drones equipped with capital ship level Flux Cannons and torpedo launchers, drove about the bulk of the enemy fleet. At the same time, the lowly six hundred Godulan Makos commenced full attack operations on anything in sight, roaring about with surprising agility and pummeling the shit out of anything that didn't register as 'friendly'.

At the same time, the massive power signature behind Stygia, the third planet, began to grow...

Cabot roared as the Chronosian lines broke in countless places; ships spillign their flaming entrails out into the void. His eyes were blazing with a fire equal to that of the disintegrating ships.

"Launch all that we have; open fire; bring them from the skies!" He hissed, savage and barbaric, striding across the bridge, Chainaxe whirring. "COnsume them utterly!"

Weapons fire roared like angered beasts in the darkness, sending forth waves of focussed destruction against their foes. Boarding pods were launched with sharp thuds and great hisses of effort; screaming towards their target; some cut down by enemy and friendly fire alike in the barrage...

Fighters dodged and whirled, diving through the void, weapons screeching like banshee wails; they would bring death to their foes; oh yes.
Cabot paced the bridge like a caged beast; his eyes taking in every black action of war and loving it. "Great Khorne; Lord of Blood; Master of my Anger, Owner of my hate; let it sunder the Godulans; let the Gods of Chaos bring us victory this day, and I shall make whole worlds bleed in supplication to you!"

The only word to describe the situation was 'Clusterf***'.

Godulan Makos whirled about through the enemy fleet and remains of Chronosian vessels, now being joined by the shrapnel of shattered compatriots. They continued to rush from this point to that point, dodging boarding pods, fighter and capital cannonfire, missiles, debris, and burned bodies. They fired at enemy vessels, flux cannon fire, tachyon torpedos, and more slapped into Chronosian shields and hulls.

The Boarding pods were an issue, however. Despite the agility of the Godulan Makos, several did find themselves fighting off Chronosian troops while the ships continued on as though nothing was wrong.

The Chronosians were savage fighters, skilled as they were brutal. However, the Godulan Special Forces stationed on each Mako more than gave them a run for their money, pumping Flux Rifle fire into the enemy and liberal application of strange pink pellets that detonated like plasma grenades on impact with bulkhead or chronosian armor plate.

Godulan Starbolts powered their way through the melee, bucking and weaving, slicing at Chronosian fighters with their weapons in dogfight mode, or switching into Powered-Shot mode and making divebombing runs on enemy capital ships.

The Defensive drones also buzzed about, displaying surprising agility even for vessels of their small size, picked targets of opportunity and cut loose on fighter and destroyer alike. Being fully automated, they simply shot at non-friendlies with silent fury. As many became damaged, they simply shrugged off the damage, or if their offensive capacity became hindered, rammed the nearest capital ship at full tilt.

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

General Lear watched the undulating mass of warring fleets. She had found herself somewhat surprised that the Makos were faring as well as they were. A testament to Baron Skye's tactical wisdom, she found herself not the least bit ashamed to think. She had fully expected half of the fleet to be dead in the first few minutes, but their effect on the Chronosian fleet had been greater than she anticipated, and she had the distinct feeling that they were still having trouble recovering.

Keep them off balance, never let them regain their footing, all your guns and all your bombs are USELESS if the enemy has the chance to defend against them. As Godulans, our weapon is that we can turn ANYTHING into a weapon. Let even our own losses decimate the enemy! If they cut off your arm, pick it up and beat them to death with it! Know that in your death, your enemy found his end as well!

And indeed it was true, if a Mako found itself overwhelmed by Chronosian troops, or too damaged to continue the fight, venting atmosphere too heavily, or otherwise disabled, they had a final 'SCREW YOU' in store for the enemy fleets.

Plasmatic Pulse bombs in their power cores. The bombs were as elegant as they were simple as they were destructive. A simple power converter attached to the main power core, the converter could be activated at any moment to power up and overload, initiating an explosion that created a sphere of disintegration that consumed it and any vessel it came into contact with. Often times, this detonation would occur as soon as the Mako slapped into the broadside of an enemy vessel.

This was no exception.

Lear removed her gaze from the battle to regard the next weapon. "Is the Longarm ready?"

A voice on the intercom was ready with the answer "All systems powered up. Secondary power sources engaged and shunting energy into the primary. She's ready to go, General."

"Activate the Longarm and commence 'experimentation'. Inform Achaedus of the Departure, he would like to see this part of the battle."

"Aye aye, General!" The comm went out.

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The massive power signature behind Stygia paused, then began to flicker. After several seconds, the signature flared in strength and vanished.

In the middle of the horrendous scramble of gunfire and ships, a truly massive vessel emerged. Archaic by Godulan standards, it still had one use:

Shock and Awe.

The Thirty kilometer long pinecone-shaped... THING materialized in the chaos with full salvos on nearby enemy ships, focusing Flux Cannon blasts in an effort to one-shot its targets, its shields shimmering and crackling with sheer power as it brought massive bolts of pure spatial distortion death on the enemy, launching swarms upon swarms of phase and tachyon torpedos... for about thirty seconds.

Then it blinked, materializing elsewhere in the fleet. Another thirty seconds of pure hellfire, another blink, another spot in the fleet, another thirty seconds, another blink, right into the middle of the largest clump of enemy vessels, what appeared to be the spearhead of the fleet.

More hellfire, but for some reason, this time, it stayed... and the reason soon became patently obvious.

It would have seemed at first that the massive vessel had simply exploded, but that suspicion would quickly have vanished with the fact that each needle-shaped shard screamed forward at an impossible speed, changed direction, and chased Chronosian capital ships around in an effort to impale them.

They were GODULAN boarding pods, some three hundred of them in all, but each no less than 300 meters in length.

With the departure of the pods, the true form of the Archonal Command Ship Long Arm of the Law was revealed to all. An eight-bladed matte black arrowhead, armed to the teeth and crawling with countless numbers of Godulan Starspider Siege Robots which used the massive ship as a grounding surface from which they commenced either opening fire on nearby enemy vessels, or jumping ONTO nearby enemy vessels in order to rip off or destroy weapons turrets and missile launchers with their prehensile tails and capital-grade siege cannons.

And the Longarm charged forward.

“We have ten minutes to prepare gentleman get ready. I want the frigates to take positions upon the flanks and the Star Destroyers to hold the centre. Have the fleet alternate their shields appropriately. As soon as the ten minutes are up I want the flanks to impliment manouvere Sigma 7.”

“Yes Admiral.” Many officers replied from around the bridge. The orders filtered throughout the fleet while vessels took aim on their corresponding foe. Meanwhile the emperors hand lay below the two fleets, a great menace taking position waiting on their next order from Admiral Pael. Waiting on the signal to reveal themselves.

“What of the enemy force, have they begun charging weapons?” Pael enquired.

“Unknown Admiral, all sensors are being distorted, their shielding is unusual to say the least.”

“Do you have any theories?”

“Well, we are detecting some photonic particles, they could be using some form of holo technology but we can't be sure.” Pael took the theory on board, however only in battle would he begin to learn about their systems, when the enemy vessels began to fail he would have his answers!

Pael paced around the bridge, ten minutes really was a long time, especialy when he had given his orders a mere thirty seconds into the countdown. Eventualy the digital counter now ocupying his control pad reached the satisying single digits. Every crewman, officer and person on every ship of the fleet would also be paying strict attention. As soon as the counter reached zero, the baited breathes would be exhaled and an inferno would be unleased upon this lifeles system, up, in this, this no mans land.

5....4....3....2....1....

“OPEN FIRE!” Pael boomed! At once green bolts strathed along the darkness tinting the hulls of the Balroggan vessels as they too began to imp;iment their own stragies.

The frigates stationed along the flanks of the Imperial fleet did not open fire, instead they lept into light speed, their hyperspace engines charged and ready would put the frigate screens along the sides of the Balroggan fleet, well that was the plan.... in an attempt to funnel them closer towards the heavy ordanance provided by the Imperial Star Destroyers.

Pael watched the battle unfold through sensor read outs and holo maps and was growing more and more unsettled at how events were unfolding. The turbolasers were hitting...for the most part, however their damage seemed dissipated somehow, well hopefully a few more minutes of sensor scans would explain the situation more thouroughly. The ion cannons, one of the Empires more prescious weapons remined cold, they were only to be used once the enemy flagship had been identified, if that proved to difficult then they would soon be used indescriminently.

Ga’Ton monitored the countdown clock on his Neurolink. He was a little impatient. He hated waiting but he had years of practice. A couple thousand years ago he might have been the first to fire but his temperance has settled over the years. That is what it means to be a Ta’Nar. You can afford to wait when you have all the time in the world. That did not mean you should not be prepared and sit there like a Cherbitz.

The ships began to spread out, expanding the length of the lines.

“Prepare to execute the Balatian Maneuver. As soon as they fire, I want the ships to begin.”

“Yes Sir. They are ready.”

Aboard the carriers, the pilots awaited the command to launch. The carriers were arranged in the back line to offer them some sort of protection while they were disgorging their fighters. Afterwards they would join the other ships in the Balatian Maneuver as a fifth grouping.

5 ... 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 … 0

Energy beams lanced from the opponent’s fleet, their green shafts of energy flew across the gulf between the two fleets. Swarms of fighters were hurled from the launch bays aboard the carriers. Death blossomed as the turbo lasers struck the Dimensional Shields, much of the energy being dissipated across the dimensions. A most of energy was diverted but some of it made it through. The Reactive Shielding materializes in thick sheets, absorbing much of the impact before being obliterated.

Unfortunately, about half a dozen of the Frigates in the front, which bore the brunt of the attack were fatally wounded. Three of them had blasts go right through them while two others were crippled. They managed to get their full load of torpedoes off before the impact and the crew waited to see if their sacrifice would pay off.

The captains of the ships powered down their weapons and sat there helpless, the internal bulkheads sealing off the sections exposed to raw space as debris floated away from the wreckage. They waited for help from the hospital ships.

Soon they would see the beauty of the Balatian Maneuver.

The ships began to fade away, leaving about a quarter of them. The Turbo lasers passed through the empty positions where the ships were before. The remaining ships fired a full volley of missiles and weapons. The ships that faded away maneuvered their positions in T-Space and waited their turn to Emerge and fire. Each quarter of the fleet would take turns Uplifting, Moving, Emerging, and then Firing. The Emergence of the ships would appear to be random but they were carefully being coordinated through a Space Minus data link so none would appear in the same place as another ship. As soon as the fighters were completely launched, the carriers joined the other ships as a fifth group. Until that they generated Singularities between them and the enemy to try and absorb any fire directed their way. It was not a perfect defense but it would negate any direct attacks.

The Cutter Beams were being held back for now, as well as their other Dimensional Weaponry. They were sticking to energy beams and conventional weapons for the moment. If things progressed, it would be necessary to bring out the big weapons and the box of tricks.

Aboard the ships, the sensors were trying to discover the location of the enemy flagship as well as the possible location of the cloaked vessel. The Ta’Nar was trying to scan the enemy computers with their Cyberpsi. They were too far to get a good contact but that would change as the ships closed. Squads of Serjents waited patiently to fulfill their existence if it came to boarding actions. The AoD were launched to collect the awareness of those who were killed so they could be returned to the clone tanks.





OOC:

AoD - Angel of Death are creations of energy, appearing as spooky wisps that are launched from the ships. Their only purpose is to collect the minds or personalities of those who died in battle and to return them to the clone tanks to be reinserted in clones. They can hold hundreds of minds and they also can sustain them for a time. They have neither weapons nor any physical aspect. They are basically like will-o’wisps or Northern Lights.

Ships at the battle:

7 Carriers (1 Deity, 2 Avatar, 4 Intruder)
12 Battleships
18 Destroyers
24 Cruisers
32 Frigates

Weapons Load-outs:

Balrogga Fleet Stats (http://balrogga.beldragos.com/fleetstats.htm)


Please note, the Flak and Lasers are mostly point defense.

Bumpies. Wanna rp the boarding fights durn it!

The only word to describe the situation was 'Clusterf***'.

Godulan Makos whirled about through the enemy fleet and remains of Chronosian vessels, now being joined by the shrapnel of shattered compatriots. They continued to rush from this point to that point, dodging boarding pods, fighter and capital cannonfire, missiles, debris, and burned bodies. They fired at enemy vessels, flux cannon fire, tachyon torpedos, and more slapped into Chronosian shields and hulls.

The Boarding pods were an issue, however. Despite the agility of the Godulan Makos, several did find themselves fighting off Chronosian troops while the ships continued on as though nothing was wrong.

The Chronosians were savage fighters, skilled as they were brutal. However, the Godulan Special Forces stationed on each Mako more than gave them a run for their money, pumping Flux Rifle fire into the enemy and liberal application of strange pink pellets that detonated like plasma grenades on impact with bulkhead or chronosian armor plate.

Godulan Starbolts powered their way through the melee, bucking and weaving, slicing at Chronosian fighters with their weapons in dogfight mode, or switching into Powered-Shot mode and making divebombing runs on enemy capital ships.

The Defensive drones also buzzed about, displaying surprising agility even for vessels of their small size, picked targets of opportunity and cut loose on fighter and destroyer alike. Being fully automated, they simply shot at non-friendlies with silent fury. As many became damaged, they simply shrugged off the damage, or if their offensive capacity became hindered, rammed the nearest capital ship at full tilt.

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

General Lear watched the undulating mass of warring fleets. She had found herself somewhat surprised that the Makos were faring as well as they were. A testament to Baron Skye's tactical wisdom, she found herself not the least bit ashamed to think. She had fully expected half of the fleet to be dead in the first few minutes, but their effect on the Chronosian fleet had been greater than she anticipated, and she had the distinct feeling that they were still having trouble recovering.

Keep them off balance, never let them regain their footing, all your guns and all your bombs are USELESS if the enemy has the chance to defend against them. As Godulans, our weapon is that we can turn ANYTHING into a weapon. Let even our own losses decimate the enemy! If they cut off your arm, pick it up and beat them to death with it! Know that in your death, your enemy found his end as well!

And indeed it was true, if a Mako found itself overwhelmed by Chronosian troops, or too damaged to continue the fight, venting atmosphere too heavily, or otherwise disabled, they had a final 'SCREW YOU' in store for the enemy fleets.

Plasmatic Pulse bombs in their power cores. The bombs were as elegant as they were simple as they were destructive. A simple power converter attached to the main power core, the converter could be activated at any moment to power up and overload, initiating an explosion that created a sphere of disintegration that consumed it and any vessel it came into contact with. Often times, this detonation would occur as soon as the Mako slapped into the broadside of an enemy vessel.

This was no exception.

Lear removed her gaze from the battle to regard the next weapon. "Is the Longarm ready?"

A voice on the intercom was ready with the answer "All systems powered up. Secondary power sources engaged and shunting energy into the primary. She's ready to go, General."

"Activate the Longarm and commence 'experimentation'. Inform Achaedus of the Departure, he would like to see this part of the battle."

"Aye aye, General!" The comm went out.

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

The massive power signature behind Stygia paused, then began to flicker. After several seconds, the signature flared in strength and vanished.

In the middle of the horrendous scramble of gunfire and ships, a truly massive vessel emerged. Archaic by Godulan standards, it still had one use:

Shock and Awe.

The Thirty kilometer long pinecone-shaped... THING materialized in the chaos with full salvos on nearby enemy ships, focusing Flux Cannon blasts in an effort to one-shot its targets, its shields shimmering and crackling with sheer power as it brought massive bolts of pure spatial distortion death on the enemy, launching swarms upon swarms of phase and tachyon torpedos... for about thirty seconds.

Then it blinked, materializing elsewhere in the fleet. Another thirty seconds of pure hellfire, another blink, another spot in the fleet, another thirty seconds, another blink, right into the middle of the largest clump of enemy vessels, what appeared to be the spearhead of the fleet.

More hellfire, but for some reason, this time, it stayed... and the reason soon became patently obvious.

It would have seemed at first that the massive vessel had simply exploded, but that suspicion would quickly have vanished with the fact that each needle-shaped shard screamed forward at an impossible speed, changed direction, and chased Chronosian capital ships around in an effort to impale them.

They were GODULAN boarding pods, some three hundred of them in all, but each no less than 300 meters in length.

With the departure of the pods, the true form of the Archonal Command Ship Long Arm of the Law was revealed to all. An eight-bladed matte black arrowhead, armed to the teeth and crawling with countless numbers of Godulan Starspider Siege Robots which used the massive ship as a grounding surface from which they commenced either opening fire on nearby enemy vessels, or jumping ONTO nearby enemy vessels in order to rip off or destroy weapons turrets and missile launchers with their prehensile tails and capital-grade siege cannons.

And the Longarm charged forward.

Ships tore apart even as they fired their weapons; some found themselves sent flaming, reeling into space as their engines roared in defiant fury. The ships of the Imperium were maulked by the assault; this terrible and brutal assault. Hulls found themselves pierced; ships impaled or attacked by sinister mechanical crawling...Things. Yet sitll they fought; defiance was their goal; their way.

The Chronosians found themselves fighting a desperate war, besieged within and without. Imperial Guardsmen sent white hot blasts of Lasgun fire into boarded corridors; Marines sent roaring volleys of bolter fire, before lunging forth; chainswords and chainaxes screaming in bloody hunger.
The war was on; and it was everywhere. The Chronosians fought tooth and nail, even as ships shuddered and cracked; even as explosions rocked the abyss...

On board the Godulan vessels; countless fell; meatshield cultists and Guardsmen were cut down in their prime, before great blasts of lascannon and autocannon fire tore from the larger pods. Terminator Armored Marines surged forward, roaring in obscene fury; Obliterators joined them, their fused bodies hissing cacophanies of violence and pain. At several points, Dreadnoughts themselves had tore free of singular pods; their weapons roaring within the confines of the great vessels.

"FOR THE EMPEROR! FOR THE DARK GODS!" Came the numerous roars, bellows, black chants of war; Khornate Berzerkers sought skulls, Slaaneshi Warriors let loose scathing blasts of sonic discharge, whilring and spreading hallucinogenic powders and gases from their armor; maddened by their insanity and decadence. Nurgle worshippers stalked forth, their puss drenched armor still practical; their weapons held in tight grips; their dark devotion sustaining tormented flesh...Sorceror's fought forth, physical strength coupled with spiritual depravity...Soon, Daemons would be ready to stalk the battlefields within, and the powers of Chaos would strike scathing blows without.

The Imperium had known war, it lived for war; and it loved every second of this conflict.

*TAG*

Ah, Thorn; brings back memories, it does.

Why, if the Adventurers' Guild's new Dreadnaughts were ready I'd be seriously tempted to ask if Daggerfall could return with a single ship to exact 'vengence' for letting your ally try and murder him nearly a century and a half ago - this would have been a perfect opertunity.

And you'd be very very very dead if you tried. But then, the Godulans do not return your latent animosity.

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

The Godulan Boarding vessels, dubbed 'Death Darts' by their creators, did not spill out actual Godulans when the hatches opened in the many corridors. The only initial sign of habitation was the strange clicking that could be heard from the dark portals in the hull of each Death Dart.

Then they came.

It would have been hard to describe the monstrosities that surged from the seething hatches on the boarding platforms. One who took a lengthy glance at them would have used the words 'skeletal' and 'insectoid' at the same time, along with 'oh my god the pain help help help owwie', before dying. Each of their four black plated arms carried a massive glowing green cannon, which they turned on the enemy with liberal amounts of clicking glee.

They stood from floor to ceiling, both in height and nature, seeming to ignore the artificial gravity of the Chronosian vessels as they pressed against the resisting Chronosian forces with surprising strength and agility. They were robots, yet they were... something else. They fought with a viciousness thought impossible in mechanical creatures, clicking and cackling with malicious pleasure with each punch, slice, or gunshot. They used their fallen as makeshift shields against the scathing weapons turned on them by the defenders.

At the same time, portals breached on sections of the Death Darts outside the ship, and the mechanical THINGS scrambled out over the surface, accompanied by spiderlike tanks that fought just like they did. Their primary targets were weapons emplacements, working in a frenzy to rip the very turrets from their moorings, breach viewports, tear off sensors, all with a singleminded focus that didn't waver in the least.

Those robots who found themselves disarmed by any and all effective means were quick to produce their secondary weapons: wicked lances useful for punching through armor several inches thick.

They charged forth with abandon.

Out in the space battle, the Godulan vessels were starting to feel a major pinch as their boarded comrades were forced to suicide into nearby enemy vessels in order to prevent being taken by Chronosian boarders. They felt no pain, and they died laughing at the enemy as their Self Destruct weapons went off.

Those vessels that had thus far managed to avoid being boarded or destroyed outright continued to slam Flux Cannon bursts into the Chronosian vessels. The Longarm, built to take large volumes of fire, continued to level crushing salvos of destruction upon everything within range, while the robots crawling on its surface pounded at the enemy with their own batteries.

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

"General Lear, should we move in?"

"No. We need them to remain ignorant of our position. Of the weapons we still have to bear..."

Chronosian tropps fought on, their comrades stacked, left and right; the dead littering the ground as they fought against these swarming things; technological perversions, mindless monsters, abominations in the eyes of the Machine God.

One Klarnas Gortaus fought amongst the furious battle onboard one Chronosian ship; spinning, thrusting, a whirling dervish of plasma death and sharpened chainaxe; his roar echoed through the vessel as he plunged forth into the sinister horde of beings...

Outside, Chronosian fighters raked their own ships with fire; plunging in suicidal glory; cackling maniacally as they plunged, bursting into glorious flame against the hulls, to dislodge these parasites; and drag those within into space.

Chronosian ships were dieing in the inky void; but Cabot remained unphased; ordering them onwards. "You will fight your way to Hell if I so will it." Came the cold hiss. "I want us to advance; focus on the larger ships; annihilate them; engage our main weapon"

The front of the great flagship unfolded, mechanical components spiralling out like some obscene artificial flower. The runes of Khorne flickered briefly, before the hum and whine of energy buildup echoed about the ship; the weapon crackled, sparking, discharge coalescing into one perfect moment as the immense warp cannon blast hurtled forth into the midst of the Godulans. Chronosian Cruisers opened fired with great volleys of missles and magnetic mines; fighters dove through space; howling like banshees as weapons unloaded and then they plunged explosive laden ships into the enemy.

Another volley of boarding pods hurtled forth, to prey upon the more able ships; to force them into the same positions as the others. Chronosian ships, from the smallest fighters to the wounded Medium Cruisers, found themselves plunging into the enemy in suicidal glee. Their deaths would be shared; their glory would live forever. They would venerate Khorne in this sacrifice

The robotic menaces were far from mindless, however. They coordinated their attacks against the defending vessels with a precision matched only by their fury. It was uncertain what was enabling these strange creatures to communicate with and keep track of each other, but their movements and formations seemed almost... instinctual.

On the surface of the Chronosian ships, the robots scrambled back and forth about the monolithic structures of each battleship and destroyer, working as they could to minimize their own casualties due to enemy fighters kamikaze diving into their own vessels to dislodge the mechanized menaces. The sentient spiderlike tanks crawled about, creating a secondary layer of anti-fighter cannons on each vessel against the Chronosian fighters.

Godulan Starbolts roared throughout the melee, more and more focusing attacks on boarding pods, either by sniping them off the Makos with powered shots or knocking them out of the sky.

Things seemed to slow for a moment as the enemy flagship seemed to blossom like a flower, and alarms throughout the fleet went off as the energy buildup was detected. Everything scattered from out of the path of the main weapon as best they could, but the going was slow due to obstacles of all kinds.

The flagship's weapon activated, and for a moment, a multicolored burst of chaotic energy flew forward. Those directly in front of the energy discharge would have been interested in the fact that the discharge had seemingly undergone an eclipse of some form, as only the aura of the discharge was visible from around a strange misty circle of deepest black no more than 2 kilometers away from the Chronosian vessel.

The discharge contacted the portal, and the entire battlezone exploded with a blinding flash of light, but none more so than the Chronosian flagship, which found itself the target of an unexplained beam of pure radiation so strong it could strip away shields and armor alike.

As the flash faded, ever so slowly, it became more and more evident that a strange wall of force was rippling outward, looking much like an sphere of shattering glass. The anomaly reached outward, attempting to engulf enemy and comrade vessels alike, virtually disintegrating them with the ferocity of the spatial tearing and shredding.

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

"Hmm... it would appear they attempted to fire off a superlaser type weapon, Achaedus."

"It does not conform to any previously seen archetypes, General Lear."

"Nevertheless, a Shatterspace Anomaly of that magnitude means whatever the weapon was had a scale of power with sufficient strength to set the Voidshields off. How much did that cost us?"

"Two vessels did not get out in time, but they saw it coming. We suspect that the enemy fleet most definitely did NOT see it coming, so we hope their casualty numbers are somewhat more depressing."

"Well, it looks like we're giving them a little more than what they expected, but those boarding pods distress me. Reports indicate that boarding parties are causing a slim majority of the Capital ship losses."

"Aye General. Our 'Experimentals' are faring well enough against the Chronosians as we pull the same move on them, and the Godulan Special forces can more than take care of themselves, but the crew complements of Makos are small and they're simply being swarmed by Boarding pods."

"Time to clear the air a bit then, don't you think?"

"I shall send the order when you wish them to iterate out."

"Good," General Lear keyed a button on the side of the command chamber. "Allocate six more Red Rain torpedos to the battle. Fire on my mark."

Achaedus relayed the order for the entirety of the Godulan fleet to prepare for a probability jump out of harm's way, and Lear ordered the 'allocation'.

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

At first, the Godulan Makos fought and died, fought and died, fought and died. Then, as suddenly as they had jumped in, they vanished. Makos, Defender Drones, and Starbolts alike formed a wide arc around the Chronosian fleet, commencing a long range bombardment against the enemy vessels with liberal numbers of Phase and Tachyon torpedos.

At the same time, several more of the giant Cluster Bombs materialized in a roughly hexagonal pattern around the Chronosian fleet, sending another few thousand of the Fusion missiles in an indiscriminate wave of slaughter for the second time in the same battle.

However, it had become apparent to General Lear that the Makos had fared badly this stretch of the fight. Barely more than a hundred of the Makos remained, and large numbers of the defender drones and StarBolts floated throughout the Chronosian fleet, deader than doornails. It was hard to determine the status of the Chronosian fleet, as they had a penchant for fighting to the bitter end, just like the Godulans.

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

"We need reinforcements."

"Let the Red Rain do its work. If the Chronosians manage to break through, we'll have to bring in the long range defenses, but I would prefer that we wait until we absolutely need to. I do not wish to risk our soldiers' lives unnecessarily."

The Makos jumped back into the battle, having taken the chance outside the fight to snipe boarding pods off of their compatriots.

"Did the Baron not promise us reinforcements though?"

"He did, but I suspect he is even now monitoring the battle, seeing for himself whether we actually NEED them. Thus far I would say we have been holding up remarkably well with our token force."

"I wish I had your confidence."

General Lear pointed out a particular section of the battle, where the Archonal Command Ship Longarm had probability iterated a small distance away from the still-expanding shatterspace anomaly, even as the cluster bombs exploded all throughout the fleet, and was attempting to pin the Chronosian flagship into the rending sphere with massive amounts of focused fire on the enemy's engines, as well as p. "Relax, Achaedus. Take a look at what your baby is doing. Longarm jumped in almost immediately after the worst of the Red Rain bombardment had passed, and is even now working at pushing the enemy flagship into the anomaly."

"Judging from how they fight, losing their commandant would likely cause them to become even MORE reckless."

"And easier to kill... how are the minefields?"

"If they try to kamikaze us, they're in for a major suprise."

"Good to hear it. Now lets make sure we won't need it."

And you'd be very very very dead if you tried. But then, the Godulans do not return your latent animosity.


OOC:
You sound awfully confident considering you have no idea what the new-build Adventurers' Guild Dreadnaught constitutes. ;) :P

Lets just say that I will be retiring my Battleplates and (atleast most)Superfortress' from NS after the Guild gets some more exposure in RPs, and I conduct a radical paradigm-shift with my nation.

As for animosity, well, why would any of your people feel such? Nothing bad happened to them - and retaliating against GZ, well, I don't know if or how he's improved, but he's godmodded rather blaintently in past RPs.


Anyway, leaving that tangent behind, nice defence-in-depth tactics, and especially your use of jump-tactics without getting 'cheap'(ie things like suicide-jumping smaller, cheaper ships inside capital- and super-capitals), as well as solid writing on both sides; particularly got a kick out of both sides suiciding against each-other.

Although I am suprised Chronosia isn't employing any kind of FTLi.

OOC: Lets just say I've been doing 'research'.

Y'know, I've been wanting to ask what the heck a Battleplate is. I've heard of it, but I've never seen any stats about it.

Btw tankies for the critique.

OOC: Lets just say I've been doing 'research'.

Y'know, I've been wanting to ask what the heck a Battleplate is. I've heard of it, but I've never seen any stats about it.

Btw tankies for the critique.

OOC:
Research? I'm still designing the things; I'd like to know how you're doing research on them - it could save me a bit of work. :p

As for what a 'plate is, well, the quick-and-simple is that it's a 13 kilometer across triangular ubership with alot of multi-lightsecond range guns, including a dozen superheavies with rather obscene firepower, and ~432 rapid-fire missile launchers, along with "planetary-grade" shields, FTLi rated at a lighthour-radius(but never actually deployed to more than a couple lightminutes), and an inversion field that can basicly cover a 90 degree arc with an impenitrible, steerible shield.

I have 3. And 7 Superfortresses which are basicly cut-down 'plates. And some fancy frigates, and a professional army that's so small that it's little more than an honour-gaurd. The 10 supercapitals basicly count for nearly all of my nations 'military points', if you will; quality vs quantity.

OOC: I didn't mean research on your vessels. I meant... 'Research'... you'll see what I mean soon enough.

What's an Inversion field?

OOC: I didn't mean research on your vessels. I meant... 'Research'... you'll see what I mean soon enough.

What's an Inversion field?

OOC:
It effectivly "bends" reality - not space, but actual reality - back on itself, effectivly forming a one-way 'mirror'. It only exists along 3-space, but it's close enough to be covered by ASPEW, which 'blocks out' other spacial dimentions, amoung other things.

The explosions and screams of pilots and crewmen would fill the void if there were any air. Explosions littered the space-scape with small dots of fire and blood filtering through the crisscross of Imperial and Balroggan fire. In the centre of the Imperial forces, the bulk of the fleet remained stationary, utilizing their sheer number of weapons to their advantage, while on the flanks the Imperial frigates moved about the battle field engaging whom they will.

The Empire rarely used tactical finesse in a battle, they preferred the force of brute will to carry their word and forewarning, but perhaps they would have to deviate from their preferred and perfected methods for a short time.

On the bridge of the Horus Admiral Pael watched as thousands of turbolasers leapt forth towards the enemy forces, his view from the bridge obscured by the great flashes of the guns. “Status?” Pael asked cautiously. He hated it when dealing with an unknown foe, it made it, well awkward. An Admiral likes to know when he is going to win or lose a battle before hand, but, well, this was anyone’s game and he had yet to see what these Balroggans were capable of.

“Enemy forces are accelerating Admiral, they’re breaking formation.”

“Order the Wayland and the terror to turn to meet them, keep those ships in the primary firing arc.”

“Yes Sir!” As two Imperial Star Destroyers turned to continue their volley Pael watched as several explosions glittered in the distance. Several tiny dots erupting at the limits of his vision.

“What ships were those?” Pael demanded.

“Enemy Frigates Admiral, two exploded a few others heavily damaged.”

Pael looked at his command pad for a few seconds. “Order a medical frigate to assist in the rescue of survivors.” As usual his order was complied with perfectly and quickly.

“Incoming torpedoes.” A lone voice sounded throughout the bridge.

“Launch countermeasures and drones. Have them take up a defensive measure around the fleet.”

Around the Imperial centre, hundreds of small missiles were deployed, each one holding position around their pre programmed vessel. Protecting it, and shielding it from any untoward impacts. As the outer markers were breeched their plasma engines leapt to life providing the necessary acceleration, within seconds their microwave warheads would begin to eat their way through the torpedoes casing, destroying the circuitry within, or causing them to self detonate before impacting upon their targets. If the front line of microwave missiles was breeched a more draconian method would be employed. Projectile Missiles would instantly lock on to a target, their on board AI choosing the best path at which to complete the necessary task, and within seconds, multitudes of the countermeasures would be impacting upon the dangerous predators. However, not every system was full proof.

Enemy torpedoes managed to move into the lines, impacting upon shields and hulls causing devastation in their wake. “The Frigate Mercy has been destroyed Admiral.” His first officer reported rather sullenly. “She took four torpedoes to the forward bow.”

“Escape pods?”

“None.” Pael looked at the bearer of bad news with a piercing glare. Once again the Admiral had gained an intensified anger. Of course people were going to die, this, after all was war, but it never failed to upset and anger him.

“Admiral, we’re detecting some unusual energy signatures.”

“What form?”

“Intensive gravitational disturbances…. Admiral, the Balroggan fleet has, well they’re disappearing!” Pael looked at his pad in disbelief.

“Charge the Ion cannons, I want them fully prepared, get…..” A violent shudder rocked the ship as blue energy beams shot out from a recently conjured destroyer.

“Admiral, enemy ships are appearing and disappearing around us, damage reports are coming in. The Star Destroyer Justice has received heavy damage to the aft hull, her shields are back online. Admiral! We have lost the frigates Extinguisher and Strength.”

“Return fire with the ion cannons, they’ve got us with our pants down, I want their reversion signatures plotted. Get me some information!”

As the Balroggan forces continued their sweeping strikes the Imperial forces defended as best they could. The combat missiles attempted to defend the fleet from close torpedo fire while the shields could only absorb the piercing energy beams which swathed around the fleet. From the glimmering white of the Imperial Navy blue bolts suddenly came forth, their disabling potency aiming for the heart of any vessel which was in range.

The Torpedo Frigate Pan faded into Realspace. The gunners quickly locked their targeting computers on the nearest enemy vessel and set the Torps internal guidance systems. They launched all the tubes and began reloading them. 16 Torps flew from the tubes, about half of them circled around from the other side of the ship to plot their spiral into their targets. Their engines sparked into high burn and they sped towards their target.

Suddenly the bridge was illuminated by a direct hit from one of the Turbo Lasers. The shields diverted much of the power away but enough got through. The hull of The Pan ruptured and the Turbo Laser flooded the bridge with its raw power. The crew died instantly, never knowing what happened. The beam continued out the other side of the ship. Bulkhead doors slammed shut, attempting to keep the precious atmosphere from bleeding off into space. The ship began to drift, missing the bow. The remaining crew began to board the life pods and eject. An AoD flashed across the scene, collecting the lost minds of those who died.

The Imperial Destroyer, The Gloom Emerged and unloaded its full complement of missiles. The gunners opened up with the Beam Cannons. The blue pillars of energy shot toward their targets. Suddenly one of the Ion Cannons struck The Gloom. The shields did their jobs of diverting much of the energy. The remaining energies struck the Reactionary Armor. The disruptive energies of the Ion Cannon fused circuits in the Reactionary Armor, causing it to malfunction and shut down. As the energy continued to carry inward, it caused panels to explode and systems to shut down. The hardened systems protecting the AI held but the weapons were shut down until they could be repaired. Weaponless and defenseless, The Gloom powered down it’s systems and slowly moved out of the battle area, signaling for one of the hospital ships.

A swarm of Proteus Fighters swept in from the carriers, splitting into individual Wings and then targeting several ships. The now empty carriers began to Uplift.

Thousands of fighters leapt forward from their carriers, their engines burning a path towards the enemy fleet. They attacked from above and below, attempting to get in behind the ships and targeting the engines. Any missiles were also targeted. The pilots were flying using their Neurolinks, eliminating the reaction times caused by their bodies. They saw the battlefield through the ships sensors and relayed commands directly to the ship for impossible reactions times. A few of the pilots were even Precognistic, enhancing their ability to dodge enemy fire by knowing where it was in advance.

Seven additional ships were lost to enemy fire.

----------------
Total disable/destroyed: 15

10 Frigates
3 Cruisers
2 Destroyers
Battleships
Carriers

The robotic menaces were far from mindless, however. They coordinated their attacks against the defending vessels with a precision matched only by their fury. It was uncertain what was enabling these strange creatures to communicate with and keep track of each other, but their movements and formations seemed almost... instinctual.

On the surface of the Chronosian ships, the robots scrambled back and forth about the monolithic structures of each battleship and destroyer, working as they could to minimize their own casualties due to enemy fighters kamikaze diving into their own vessels to dislodge the mechanized menaces. The sentient spiderlike tanks crawled about, creating a secondary layer of anti-fighter cannons on each vessel against the Chronosian fighters.

Godulan Starbolts roared throughout the melee, more and more focusing attacks on boarding pods, either by sniping them off the Makos with powered shots or knocking them out of the sky.

Things seemed to slow for a moment as the enemy flagship seemed to blossom like a flower, and alarms throughout the fleet went off as the energy buildup was detected. Everything scattered from out of the path of the main weapon as best they could, but the going was slow due to obstacles of all kinds.

The flagship's weapon activated, and for a moment, a multicolored burst of chaotic energy flew forward. Those directly in front of the energy discharge would have been interested in the fact that the discharge had seemingly undergone an eclipse of some form, as only the aura of the discharge was visible from around a strange misty circle of deepest black no more than 2 kilometers away from the Chronosian vessel.

The discharge contacted the portal, and the entire battlezone exploded with a blinding flash of light, but none more so than the Chronosian flagship, which found itself the target of an unexplained beam of pure radiation so strong it could strip away shields and armor alike.

As the flash faded, ever so slowly, it became more and more evident that a strange wall of force was rippling outward, looking much like an sphere of shattering glass. The anomaly reached outward, attempting to engulf enemy and comrade vessels alike, virtually disintegrating them with the ferocity of the spatial tearing and shredding.

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

"Hmm... it would appear they attempted to fire off a superlaser type weapon, Achaedus."

"It does not conform to any previously seen archetypes, General Lear."

"Nevertheless, a Shatterspace Anomaly of that magnitude means whatever the weapon was had a scale of power with sufficient strength to set the Voidshields off. How much did that cost us?"

"Two vessels did not get out in time, but they saw it coming. We suspect that the enemy fleet most definitely did NOT see it coming, so we hope their casualty numbers are somewhat more depressing."

"Well, it looks like we're giving them a little more than what they expected, but those boarding pods distress me. Reports indicate that boarding parties are causing a slim majority of the Capital ship losses."

"Aye General. Our 'Experimentals' are faring well enough against the Chronosians as we pull the same move on them, and the Godulan Special forces can more than take care of themselves, but the crew complements of Makos are small and they're simply being swarmed by Boarding pods."

"Time to clear the air a bit then, don't you think?"

"I shall send the order when you wish them to iterate out."

"Good," General Lear keyed a button on the side of the command chamber. "Allocate six more Red Rain torpedos to the battle. Fire on my mark."

Achaedus relayed the order for the entirety of the Godulan fleet to prepare for a probability jump out of harm's way, and Lear ordered the 'allocation'.

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At first, the Godulan Makos fought and died, fought and died, fought and died. Then, as suddenly as they had jumped in, they vanished. Makos, Defender Drones, and Starbolts alike formed a wide arc around the Chronosian fleet, commencing a long range bombardment against the enemy vessels with liberal numbers of Phase and Tachyon torpedos.

At the same time, several more of the giant Cluster Bombs materialized in a roughly hexagonal pattern around the Chronosian fleet, sending another few thousand of the Fusion missiles in an indiscriminate wave of slaughter for the second time in the same battle.

However, it had become apparent to General Lear that the Makos had fared badly this stretch of the fight. Barely more than a hundred of the Makos remained, and large numbers of the defender drones and StarBolts floated throughout the Chronosian fleet, deader than doornails. It was hard to determine the status of the Chronosian fleet, as they had a penchant for fighting to the bitter end, just like the Godulans.

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"We need reinforcements."

"Let the Red Rain do its work. If the Chronosians manage to break through, we'll have to bring in the long range defenses, but I would prefer that we wait until we absolutely need to. I do not wish to risk our soldiers' lives unnecessarily."

The Makos jumped back into the battle, having taken the chance outside the fight to snipe boarding pods off of their compatriots.

"Did the Baron not promise us reinforcements though?"

"He did, but I suspect he is even now monitoring the battle, seeing for himself whether we actually NEED them. Thus far I would say we have been holding up remarkably well with our token force."

"I wish I had your confidence."

General Lear pointed out a particular section of the battle, where the Archonal Command Ship Longarm had probability iterated a small distance away from the still-expanding shatterspace anomaly, even as the cluster bombs exploded all throughout the fleet, and was attempting to pin the Chronosian flagship into the rending sphere with massive amounts of focused fire on the enemy's engines, as well as p. "Relax, Achaedus. Take a look at what your baby is doing. Longarm jumped in almost immediately after the worst of the Red Rain bombardment had passed, and is even now working at pushing the enemy flagship into the anomaly."

"Judging from how they fight, losing their commandant would likely cause them to become even MORE reckless."

"And easier to kill... how are the minefields?"

"If they try to kamikaze us, they're in for a major suprise."

"Good to hear it. Now lets make sure we won't need it."


"In the name of the Gods..." Cabot hissed as the ship was mauled by the great radiation blast and the searing wall of shatterspace the followed after it. "All hands, prepare for impact; reverse thrust!" The ship lurched backwards; hurtled by the raw force of the explosion; its entire right hand side crippled as it spun in space; other ships dragged down before it; torn apart by the coruscating singularity of dancing chaos.
"Command ship; pull back! Pull Back!" Cabot's roar echoed through the comms; the Flagship limping away, pulling itself to behind the battle. "Take us out of here; I shall command the fleet from our mobile monitoring station onboard; we shall guide them to death if we must!"

The other ships were bombarded by the red rain, sundered by enemy fire, even as they puished on; their own weapons roaring towards the enemy, returning their assaults with a dark intensity. The fleet poured out thousands of fighters; Bombers joining the fray as they sought to dislodge the machines from their hulls and to drive their fire home against the enemy. Great ships of war let loose warp cannon blasts and cluster missles; sendign great waves of death against their most admirable and capable foes. The fleet was injured, a wounded animal that still holds the will to fight and kill, and if nessecary die..

"They're floundering."

"Looks like they've gone completely psycho to me."

"Oh come now, Achaedus. Even you should be able to detect the growing hint of desperation in their assaults. They're at the breaking point."

"Our Makos aren't exactly getting the nice end of that situation there. Only their speed is saving them from those assaults. We NEED reinforcements."

"Perhaps, perhaps not."

General Lear tagged a comms switch. "Munitions Adjutant, are the enemy vessels within range of our Protium Disintegrators?"

"Checking... yes General. We can allocate the Levistus and the Mammon towards the bombardment. Do you wish us to begin?"

"Hold for a minute, let our vessels clear a firing lane for you."

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The Godulan Makos, Starbolts, and Defense Drones fought on, matching their opponents in firepower, if not sheer force of will. But even now, after two Red Rain bombardments and the Longarm beginning to show signs of weakening under the tremendous assault being brought to bear against it, even as it worked to turn the Chronosian Flagship into a mass of burning cinders under the weight of its own awesome firepower, the Godulan fleet was close to Exhaustion.

They had fought hard, and even now continued on without respite or mercy.

The order came in, and slowly but surely, the fleet split through the middle to separate into secondary fleets firing on the Chronosians from above and below. The Longarm iterated out of the general vicinity, but kept close enough to maintain its assault on the Chronosian Flagship, focusing on portions weakened by the now-faded shatterspace anomaly.

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"Firing lane cleared, General Lear."

"Commence our last iteration. Its time the Chronosians learned the futility of attacking Thorn."

"Levistus and Mammon away. Full scale artillery assault commencing."

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It likely would not have been the fact that what appeared directly in front of the fleet was not so blasted huge, but that there were TWO of them, that would have shaken any fleet in their presence.

Neither of the Planetesimals was larger than 100km in diameter, but one could plainly see that somebody had been putting massive amounts of armor plate and weapons emplacements all over the durn things. At the moment, they were simply glittering circles, no larger than dimes, to any who viewed them through available viewports.

The Battlemoons, Thorn's primary defensive measure, had as yet remained unpowered so as to mask their true nature. With constant shipments of metals coming from allied systems in addition to their own, as well as technological donations provided by some of their closer allies, the Godulans had been able to fully fortify the eight dominant planetesimals of the first Asteroid field. While in no way capable of matching the sheer firepower of the Death Star due to the fact that the battlemoons were essentially just armored rocks with engines attached, the battlemoons had plenty of Conventional firepower that had been neglected in the revamp: Protium Arc Disintegrators.

Precursors to the awesome Plasmatic Pulse, the Godulans had never truly abandoned the weapons to the sands of time, realizing that weapons such as these still had their uses, particularly against massive fleets. "Nuclear Bombs in a Beam" they were called, as well as "Shimmering Doom". When the Dawnrunners were the dominant ship of the Godulan fleet, they utilized about five of them in their vessels, primarily as anti-fighter and long range assault weapons. The Battlemoons incorporated larger versions, somewhat more enhanced as well, but they were the same weapons nonetheless.

With the rest of the Godulan fleet out of the way and bringing their full firepower onto the enemy from a distance, the Battlemoons were free to do their work.

If sound could travel through space, it would seem as if both of the massive stations had begun to churn out a veritable hail of blue energy towards the enemy fleet with a constant CHUGGA CHUGGA CHUGGA.

Each burst of energy entered into the enemy fleet, detonating upon reaching proximity to anything that lived with a massive blue shockwave of concussive energy capable of pulverizing fighters and slapping into capital ships, sapping their shields and crumpling the hull. Should any vessel have taken a direct hit by the blue energy discharges, a nice large chunk of the ship would have been converted directly into energy in the fury of the blast.

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"Bombardment commencing, preparing to return to standby positions in thirty seconds..."

"Look at them go... we've been waiting for a chance to use those things, haven't we?"

"Yes, but with their entry into the battle brings us a new host of difficulties to deal with. If the Chronosians flee, they will bring word of our new weapons. The Imperials will likely come in force when they learn of our answer to their Death Star."

"This is true... I suppose we should begin preparations as soon as we are able..."

The Flagship limped into the warp, defying its enemies a conquest even as the ship was broken further by assaults. The gellar field rose and they slipped through the warp; their countless wounds protected from the scathing fire of the warp...

The other ships were left to the awesome assaults of the Godulan's, but still they fought onwards; even as hundreds of ships were decimated; they fought, pushing forward as far as they could; weapons roaring and firing till every weapon of the Imperium rang out in symphony, rang out as one. The roars of captains and crew; the scream of energy against the void; these were the sounds of battle. They were wounded, mauled; scathed and bleeding; but they would die before surrendering. Their weapons blazed as ships rose and descended; to attack the Godulan's. So desperate and bloodthirsty were they; that ships would ram other ship's with serated fronts; firing weapons as they slammed towards their foes. Warp cores were overloaded; plasma reactors sent to meltdown; that ever ship that chose to die by its own hand, would detonate amongst the enemy. Great warp vortexes; sundering explosions and singularities of sheer warp energy, would be birthed, monumentously and all to shortly, from these great sacrifices.

"Onwards! Onwards to victory! No Mercy! No surrender!" Cabot's wounded voice echoed in the warp. "Onwards!"

he turned to regard the bridge crew. "This is a terrible day...But we have pleased Khorne in our brutality, and brought great feasts to the Immaterium on both sides. Our Lord is pleased; for the greatest blows come through destruction, sacrifice and self-destruction."

"Reverting to standby positions in three... two... one... iteration complete." The two blips of the Levistus and the Mammon winked out of existence, returning to their position in the asteroid field as intended.

"They're done for. They're all going kamikaze, just like at Tenetia."

"Right into our minefields. And the flagship left the battle to leave the other vessels to their fate. How... courageous of them."

Achaedus gave a surprised look at the space around the massive Longarm, behind the bulk of the enemy fleet. Sure enough, all that remained of the flagship was a dissipating warp portal. "So it did. Whoa... what's the Longarm doing?"

"Forming a spearhead. Its going to pick off as many vessels as it can while the Chronosians attempt to drive towards... well... I guess they're heading for us now."

The Command Hologram around the Longarm Sparkled with contacts as the remainder of the Godulan fleet materialized around it and opened fire on the Chronosian Formation's rear opening up with torpedoes and flux cannon fire, as well as the great Archonal Command Ship bringing its own supply of Protium Arc Disintegrators to bear. A mopping up action, no more and no less.

General Lear tagged the comms again: "Damage report on the Battlemoons?"

"Checking... Levistus reports shield strength brought down to about ten percent under the initial stages of their suicide charge, with several sections collapsed by ramming vessels. Mammon reports as slightly less damaged, receiving no hull damage, as it was slightly further away. They had to extend their shields further out to block the ramming vessels, but several of them got through the Levistus's shields and were wreaking havoc on the surface. Its only by virtue of its return iteration that it's still here."

"Impressive."

"We spent several hundred years working on the things, they'd BETTER hold up under concentrated assaults."

"I'd say being rammed by a bunch of enemy vessels with their power cores set to blow is the epitome of a concentrated assault."

"You have a point there, Achaedus," Lear tagged the comms again, "Send repair crews, seal off what you can. We need that battlemoon in traveling condition."

"Aye, General. Shall we come to the assistance of our Balroggan friends once the last of the Chronosians are finished?"

"Yes, I'll send the order. I need you to send the Experimentals into wreckage field. All those dead vessels will provide the swarm with an amazing source of raw material."

"Aye, General. Relaying orders now."

Lear turned back to the Command hologram, as the remainder of the enemy fleets either slapped into a Godulan vessel or fell victim to the final layers of defensive emplacements the Godulans had put into place, and smiled. "I'll need to signal the Balroggan allies about moving a few things around as well."

Not all of the ships were suiciding, of course; only those cloest to the Godulan's and too weak to truly carry on the fight. Larger ships held together in a kernal of fighting strength; destroyers and battleships left by the flagship; now turned their guns every which way. The clenasing waves shot forth, as Cruisers and Heavy Cruisers were torn asunder. By the enemy or by the cleansing winds of the suicide strikes, countless ships died, plunging in firey sacrifice to their doom. Yet still; even to the last ship they would fight; once more littering the battlefield with gravitational weapons. Even until the ending of their world, they would fight.

"My Lord; suicide assaults have at least damaged the enemy vessels."

"Excellent; focus fire on the injured sections, while the heavier ships cover the rear; if more smaller ships have to detonate their plasma cores against them; so be it; but projectile weapons fire; even your mightiest weapons."

"Aye lord!"

And so, the desperate last stand of the Chronosian fleet began; even as non-essential ships were ordered to warp out...

"Oh dear... General..."

"Well, that's the last of the Makos. They did well, didn't they?"

"Yes General."

"May their next life be as prosperous and... somewhat less exciting than this one was."

"And the Cycle will continue," the two Generals chorused.

They watched the Command Hologram without flinching. General Lear began making finger movements around the Longarm. "I'm signalling the Longarm to get out of there before it collapses. We'll let them come towards the Battlemoons and wipe them out with our artillery again."

The remainder of the fleet defenses vanished from the area behind the enemy fleet, returning towards the Battlemoons. The Longarm materialized a small distance from the Asmodeus, trailing debris and sporting several massive divots in its hull.

Ten more blips, marked as Red Rain materialized over the bulk of the fleet, dispensing another massive salvo of fusion missiles.

"WHAT?!" General Lear bellowed, then tagged the comms, "I DID NOT GIVE THE ORDER FOR FURTHER RED RAIN BOMBARDMENT!"

"Neither did we, General. All Red Rain torpedos are accounted for. Those weren't ours."

"Then..." General Lear turned back to the holodisplay. It had suddenly flooded with contacts. A veritable cloud of Makos erupted into existence as well as a second Archonal Command Ship and even its more archaic consorts, the Widowmakers Demonwing and Diamondeye.

Comms traffic suddenly flooded with catcalls and battlecries as the three massive vessels unleashed volley after volley of... more fusion missiles... upon the enemy fleet. Eventually drowned out by the commander of the second Archonal overpowering the signal.

"This is Adjutant General Arcturus of the Apocalyptus. Baron Skye salutes your fine work defending this system. We're just gonna help finish up real quick, get repairs started, and start up our final preparations."

"Final preparations?"

"You'll see, I'm not going to divulge the information over the wires just yet. You don't mind if we lay waste, do you?"

"Uh... by all means. Help yourself to the scraps."

"Thank you kindly, General. Speak to you in ten."

Another hundred goen under their damned bombardment; another wave of craft decimated. This was not the will of the Daemon Emperor....

"Retreat" The order was given, ships tearing into the warp; cursing with foulest of rage. They had drawn blood from the enemy as much as they had from them; they would retreat, regroup and the next time, the next time they would bring hell to bear upon the Godulans.

Several ships did not obey, instead the surged forward; roaring in insane armor bound defiance; sending forth volleys of weapons fire and searing death; plungign towards the enemy, intending to focus all on one ship; each weapons blast; each self destruction, was a ruinous and terrible parting gift..

For the Longarm.

"All vessels intercept. I repeat, all vessels intercept. Preserve the Longarm. All available battlemoons commence full salvos."

"Its alright, Lear. Let her go, I don't mind. She did her duty, and proved that the Scourge is everything we hoped it would be. Let her go in fiery glory. She deserves that much."

"Belay previous orders save the Battlemoon bombardment."

Arcturus' voice came through on the comms: "General Lear! Are you certain of this?"

"We can always build another Archonal. I doubt the Baron would be able to refuse."

"Acknowledged. Send my compliments and condolences to Achaedus. I'd say he deserves the Godstar after this."

"General Lear, I have one last order to send to my ship."

"Go ahead."

"Achaedus to Longarm: Commence Protocol 9."

"Deny the Chronosians even this last victory, hmm?"

"Yes, General. We shall know that in her death, she will understand that it was her own fate, not theirs that was satisfied."

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With a last surge of energy, the massive Archonal Command ship lanced forward at the approaching group of enemy vessels coming in on ramming vectors. There was a time to fight, and a time to die, and she would deny them the satisfaction of this one last victory. For the archonal was commanded and crewed by nothing more than several Kython overminds, who cared not for their own well being. The entire ship had been juryrigged to contain extra power cores, extra weapons, extra armor, to make up for the fact that it no longer had to concern itself with habitation quarters or life support.

And it had its one last weapon. A single plasmatic pulse bomb rigged to its primary power core, ready to take in all of the power of the vast ship in a single detonation of disintegrating energy that would engulf it and all the vessels around it, turning them into naught but motes of light.

It charged at the enemy, then vaporized in a spectacular ball of crackling blue energy just before it reached them, far more powerful than its Protium Arc predecessors...

And let the enemy vessels' own momentum carry them into oblivion.

The battle was flailing wildly, the Galactic Empire was truly in a bit of a “sticky wicket”. Enemy forces were materialising here there and everywhere, and though the Imperial vessels had a large arc of fire they were still hard pressed to hit the Balroggan forces.

Turbolasers were firing at a continuous rate, from the small to large, they were all unleashing at optimum efficiency. The only problem was that the crews were now beginning to tire. Tubolasers, being manned by humans were, only naturally fallible to human endurance, however, the reaction time was deemed superior to normal computer guided systems. Computers, though marvellous as they were could only react so fast, and with a vast fleet engagement, Artificial Intelligences would be hard pressed to provide the processing power in order to combat an entire fleet battle and still run the ships in question. Then the sticky dangers of ion weaponry would become apparent, one well placed shot could disable the entire computer network of a single vessel, and subsequently there we go, the battle instantly won or lost depending on your perspective.

In retrospect this would have been an advantage to the Imperial forces if more people used battlenets and artificial intelligences to man their fleets, it would make the whole business of Galactic Domination a lot easier, well for the Empire it would. Sadly most people had the common sense not to utterly rely on machines; however Pael was eagerly waiting for the day when he would encounter the exception.

For the Majority of the engagement Pael and the Horus had been rather lucky, with them only receiving glancing blows for…… the most part, though there was some hull damage inflicted on one of the lower decks, thankfully no one was injured, though he did lose some very expensive cases of Tyrallian Ale, over five hundred years old they were! But alas, such sacrifices had to be made in war. Perhaps, after the battle he would have a search conducted for them while the survivors and life pods were being picked up….. Perhaps he though to himself……..

Deep in thought Pael was still attempting to determine how he would find and predict the Balroggan fleet movements. They were seemingly erratic, but in a battle no commander would ever be insane enough to commence such a dangerous thing. For one, the Balroggan ships would probably crash into each other, no this was meticulously planned to give the effect of a random action. Still in deep thought, the Admiral only caught the glowing ball in his periphery vision. Odd Pael thought. what’s that? Deep in the distance a small orange light was visible, slowly growing larger, it started to encompass the bridge windows like a supernova in some far off system, but this was moving too fast it couldn’t be a nova, it was something……

The bridge shields flickered with energy vibrations as the Enemy fighter smashed into the deflector field. Looking away Pael was disgusted with what he saw, for a split second he glimpsed the pilot, a man screaming in agony and pain as the fire consumed his body, then as though it never happened he had peace, and the shields had an energy drain, an ironic mercy really, perhaps he would have preferred eternal agony, at least he would have then had some assurances that he was alive. Moving away from the windows Pael took this as some form of warning, turning he moved deeper into the bridge, missing the squadron of Tie Fighters passing in fury….

“Omega three, keep to my left and stay in formation.” The reassuring voice of commander Vale echoed throughout the comm Systems. Passing the bridge of the Horus, the four Tie Interceptors screamed past the Grand Admiral, Vale was even sure that he caught a glimpse of the mans back, but it could have been anyone he supposed. Flying past the long purple hull of a Balroggan battleship the squadron found their prey, a torpedo gunship which was relentlessly pounding the Orchid.

Emerging from the eclipsing shadow of the enemy Cruiser most pilots were phased by the intimidating glare of the nearby star. Pushing a small button on his hudd the light shields came down, absorbing most of the harmful radiation.

“When we make this run Omega squadron, just go for the tube exits, we’re going to be supported by the Frigate Wayland Two; we only have a few seconds while they redirect power throughout their shields.” The channel remained silent, Vale knew they would do their job, and they would do it well, he didn’t need or expect a Yes Sir! They were all friends, almost family now, and each knew what was expected of them. Passing what appeared to be a Turbolaser battery floating lifelessly in space Vale was once again hit by the harsh recognition of war. War was terrible, there was no debating it, but it wasn’t his fault he loved it, it wasn’t his fault that death was his drive for life….

“Okay, we’re coming into range, everyone safeties off.” The order was followed implicitly. Far of into the distance the small shadow of the Wayland was visible, just sitting there, absorbing enemy fire, standing strong against the onslaught. Without warning the shadow erupted into light as a flourish of turbolaser fire was cast forth towards the gunboat. Not enough to destroy the ship, but enough to give their forwards shields a beating to leave the rear dangerously exposed. “Open Fire.” Vale shouted as his squadron broke apart.

The Interceptors broke apart seamlessly, each one moving for their designated attack coordinates. Dodging enemy flak and point defence fire they had almost completed their mission, the five second window quickly dissipating, until finally success. With the touch of a button the green Imperial fire welded closed the torpedo hatches giving the Orchid a much needed rest. Passing over the crest of the enemy vessel the squadron was ambushed by enemy fighters, their energy weapons searching for the lightly armoured and unshielded hulls. Banking left and right Vale was in a struggle to get out of their way, he was outnumbered, his squadron unable to help, they too experiencing the slender tendrils of death. Over the radio Vale heard a sharp scream, it was Mara then static. Banking upwards Vale fired his afterburners sending him into a roll. The opposing G forces almost pushing him unconscious. Firing his forwards thrusters he began dive back downwards, backwards spinning almost out of control, until he was in front of his enemy. Pressing the fire controls aggressively he destroyed the enemy fighter, he killed the pilot, hoping his death to be an agonising one. Pulling away from the gunship the fighters turned to see a sight, which would fill their minds forever.

In front of them sat the Horus, the knife like destroyer firing everything she had, and to either side was two Balroggan battle cruisers concentrating their fire on the bridge. The blue energy beams firing for what seamed like an age finally passed through the shields and sheathed the bridge tower of its mount. Atmosphere and crew went flying into space while the bridge drifted gently away.

If the enemy ships expected the destruction of the bridge to harm the Horus’s operational efficiency then there were most certainly mistaken. Every laser battery, ion cannon and turbolaser continued to fire, the loss of the bridge seemingly ignored.

Pael got to his feet. “What the hell happened!” He shouted at the top of his lungs. “Report!”

“Ehhh, I can’t Admiral, we’re no longer attached to the Horus, we’ve been sheared off….”

“What the. Very well, I want a fighter and bomber escort for us. Do we still have communications?”

“Yes Admiral .”

“Well its business as usual, we will still continue to conduct the battle from here.” Pael added with an iron will. “Order the frigates Shadow and Dark force to form up around us.”

“It will take them eight minutes to get here Admiral.” His second in command reinforced, but his added thought went ignored Pael was fully aware of how long it would take.

In space the float bridge was ominously getting closer and closer the great wreckage of a Balrogaan cruiser. Lifeless and empty the crew had long abandoned it, now it remained a testament to war.

Vale had been ordered to guard the Grand Admiral, enemy fighters had seemingly caught on as to the importance of the decapitated bridge and they just kept on coming. An endless line of attacks, one after the other without mercy. Firing continuously Vale was starting to get worried that his blasters would melt out before the enemy fighters caught on that the bridge was not to be destroyed, but alas, he was right. Catching the source of the fighter swarm Vale was engulfed and destroyed by the shields of an enemy frigate, fighters were no use against a raging capital ship.

On the bridge everyone had become frantic, the enemy were aware of whom they were, and the death of a Grand Admiral would be a significant blow to the Empire, with only one option left Pael gave the signal, the Emperors Hand would be unleashed.

With a shimmer of light the Super Star Destroyer manifested itself. The nineteen kilometre Behemoth erupted with anger, its firepower directed everywhere, the enemy frigate the first to be attacked……

OOC: Ball and me are letting each other RP our forces so no one moan etc etc.

“Admiral, we are detecting a psionic signature. It is originating from the bridge of that ship the cruisers sheered off and left to drift. There is a reply from……there.”

A marker light appeared on the holographic display. It was near the drifting bridge. Alarms began to go off a moment later as a huge behemoth suddenly appeared. The huge ship displaced several Emergences and caused the ships to abort their appearance or they would have appeared within the bulk of the ship.

“Holy shit! What the hell is that.”

“We are scanning it as I speak. It appears to be a giant version of the Star Destroyers they use. It’s more than three times larger than the largest ship in our military. They are destroying The Deception. The ship was abandoned earlier and there were no crew aboard.”

A sub-commander suddenly spoke.

“Commander, Admiral! With the destruction of The Deception, the explosion has caused the bridge section to change its course. It appears to be drifting towards the engine wash from the behemoth. It will be destroyed unless something is done.”

“Do they show any sign of realizing their danger?”

“Negative, Sir. They are concentrating fire upon everything close enough. Our fighters are taking a beating. If we didn’t have Precogs in the pilot’s seats, your fatalities would be about 10 times worse.”

“Get them on a Comm.”

“I can’t, they are jamming all normal broadcasts. We can only communicate using our Space Minus systems and through the Gestalt.”

The Admiral sat there for a moment before speaking. He used the Gestalt to contact all the minds within the fleet.

“All ships, the Enemy command ship has had their bridge sheared off. It is now drifting to its destruction. That cannot happen. We must stop it. I want all ships to attempt to get close enough to use their tractor beams. The structure must not be destroyed. Saving an enemy will do more good than harming them. All that will be lost in our attempt will be collected by the AoD and returned to their bodies once reconstructed. Do your best and make our Emperor proud.”

Ga’Ton opened his eyes and turned to the Comm officer.

“Keep trying to punch a message through the interference. Relay it through every ship we have left. We need to over ride their jamming.”

“Yes Sir.”

Outside, the swarms of fighters seemed to hesitate a second and then they all began to target the bridge section. They wove and dodged their way toward the drifting hulk of metal. In response, waves of Tie Fighters were launched from the SSD to defend the drifting command structure. Hundreds of fighters clashed and blossoms of flame bloomed in the darkness of space. Countless beams rained a curtain of destruction upon the Proteus Fighters. The ones that made it to the bridge, they turned their noses away from it and tried to lock their single tractor beam upon it and slow it down. They were easily picked off by swooping wings of Tie Fighters or the gunnery fire.

Several Frigates dove into the action, attempting to either provide cover for the fighters or to get their Tractor Beams on the section. They were riddled with holes and destroyed by the continuous fire from the SSD. The bridge section continues to drift towards its doom in the engine wash of the SSD.

Other enemy ships began to arrive and provide cover fire, their gunners targeting the Proteus Fighters as they attempted to reach the bridge. The ships in T-Space Emerged and tried to assist the rescue attempt.

“Admiral, it appears they think we are trying to capture the bridge section. They are defending it with everything they have. Our losses are adding up very quickly.”

“Keep it up, I don’t want to lose this battle because an accident. Keep trying to overload their jamming signal.”

The section drifted closer to the engines. The crew aboard the section was too busy defending themselves to notice their eminent danger. They directed their fire at any ship that achieved a lock with their tractor beams.

Several more ships were destroyed or crippled in their attempt. Three battleships, seven cruisers, and five destroyers were eliminated from the battle in their attempt. Hundreds of fighters were also destroyed. The continuous explosions were almost pretty from a distance but up close it was pure terror.

Aboard the sheared section an officer happened to glance at the proximity alert that had been broken earlier but restored when the repair team fixed a lead. The screen came to life with an alert flashing. The officer’s face turned pure white as he realized what the screen displayed.

“Admiral, Admiral! We are in danger.”

“Have faith. The Emperor’s Hand will keep us safe.”

“No, sir. That is what will destroy us. We are drifting into its engine wash. We have less than a minute left before we are all irradiated beyond help.”

“What!”

Admiral Pael was furious. Even the Dark Apprentice backed away from him.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before.”

“The proximity alarm was knocked offline. It just came back.”

“Signal the SSD to cut engines.”

“I have but there isn’t enough time. The engines would still be producing thrust when we drifted into it. There is no way out of this, Sir. The life pods would not be able to clear the explosion from the bridge.”

“Well, we go down with the ship then.”

The bridge drifted into the cornea of the blast. Suddenly The Ezekiel, an Avatar Carrier Emerged between the two ships and tried to shield the section with her bulk. The top of the carrier had its reactionary armor burned off and the hull melted. Several ruptured appeared in the hull as the massive engines burned their way through the 3000 meter carrier. In the lee of the doomed ship, the bridge section gently bounced off its underside. The section slowly drifted out of the engine wash as they shut down. The Shiva Emerged into Realspace and the tractor beams locked upon the drifting section. The ship then Uplifted to a short distance away. All the other ships Uplifted to T-Space that still could. The Proteus fighters flew away from the enemiy fleet.

“Call a Cease Fire for all ships.”

“Yes Sir.”

Outside the bridge they could hear the sounds of metal scraping upon metal. The loud thunderous BOOM as they came into contact with The Shiva echoed throughout the section. Somehow it did not make Admiral Pael shutter to be held by another ship. He knew they had honor and would return him to his vessel. The important thing was to come out of the battle with Face. He firmly felt both sides did and couldn’t wait to meet this Ga’Ton face to face.