NationStates Jolt Archive

Hanging in the void in the home system of Arcadeos was the assembled might of the First and second fleets. The veritable cloud of capital ships were surrounded by swarms of snub fighters as the military staged for the coming assault on the Trose system. Saacon Ralpmet, leader of the Dominion shook his head. Numbering more than a hundred vessels, he doubted they would be able to retake the system alone. The navy might-might-be able to hold its own but the Dominion’s ground forces were questionable at best. He didn’t doubt their heart, but the ground forces hadn’t been used for anything more substantial than disaster relief in nearly a century. Sure, they kept getting new, updated equipment, but there wasn’t a single member of the army that had seen combat.

Turning, he returned to the recording device. Sighing, he said simply “I’m ready.”

“Very good, sir.” said the technician, “And in three…two…one…” He motioned with his hand.

“I am Saacon Ralpmet, leader of the Dominion of Arcadeos. Approximately one standard week ago, we were once again invaded by the Rhithin. They have captured an entire system from us. We have begun to ready ourselves to undertake the momentous task of liberating these worlds. Unfortunately, past experience has shown us that our period of isolation has had adverse effects on our force effectiveness. So I find myself in the unenviable position of appealing for aid. I am requesting assistance from the powers of the universe, be they legitimate governments or mercenaries. Please, help us in our hour of need. We simply lack the manpower to do it alone.”

“And that’s it, sir. I’ll get it to the broadcast center ASAP.” Roughly half an hour later, the message was sent out on all waves and frequencies, by every means possible. The only questions were who would answer and how long would it take.

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The OOC thread is right here (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=493232). If you’re trying to jump in late, post there first and we’ll figure out how to work you in.

********On ACES: Military command space station********

Aboard ACES, several military higher-ups were discussing the situation. "Well, if we deploy corsairs, we could drastically increase our numbers."

"That won't do. They would be useless once fighting moved to the surface. I think it's time we got a true field test out of Project Lion."

"Are you sure? They will have trouble operating on at least two of the planets."

"What could serve our needs better? Is there another system with as geographically different worlds as Trose? And we have the added benefit that it would net us actual combat data. We could see how it performs in a real battle instead of computer generated ones."

"Hmm. That's on the back burner for now anyway. We won't be able to launch any assault unless someone responds to the message.

Tagging for future post.

Tag

"Admiral, recieving transmission, priority one."
"Play it."
"Aye, sir. Playing recorded message, recieved 00:47 Cravna time."

“I am Saacon Ralpmet, leader of the Dominion of Arcadeos. Approximately one standard week ago, we were once again invaded by the Rhithin. They have captured an entire system from us. We have begun to ready ourselves to undertake the momentous task of liberating these worlds. Unfortunately, past experience has shown us that our period of isolation has had adverse effects on our force effectiveness. So I find myself in the unenviable position of appealing for aid. I am requesting assistance from the powers of the universe, be they legitimate governments or mercenaries. Please, help us in our hour of need. We simply lack the manpower to do it alone.”


"Sir... Your orders?"
"Contact Command. And ask permission to assist. These people need help, and now."
"Aye, sir."

The massive Aegir, a Legacy-class dreadnought, gently floated through the endless black, escorts in tow. Her engines glowed a light blue, allowing her to drift on her patrol route at a relatively slow speed. However, this changed when word reached them of the crisis brewing. Her engines flared to life, as did her escorts'. She moved into a position to initiate an FTL jump, pending a response from command.

And that response came quickly.

"Aegir, Command. You have orders to link up with this "Dominion of Arcadeos" and request more information. Reinforcments are en route to the location from which the signal came. Let's hope you get there first to ensure they know not to fire upon an assault group."
"Thank you, sir. Aegir, out."

The Admiral assumed his position in the CIC. He lifted the com from the table before him, and issued the order.

"All hands, prepare for jump to lightspeed. Repeat, all hands, prepare for jump to lightspeed."

He set the com down, and without speaking, pointed to the helmsman.

"Aye, sir."

The stars on the forward viewscreen streaked as the Aegir group entered the endless vortex of hyperspace. Today, however, the trip seemed quite short. The group emerged from hyperspace in the system from which the signal originated.And sitting there was possibly one of the largest fleets the Cravanians had ever seen assembled in one place.

"Open a com before they start shooting."
"Aye, sir."

The admiral cleared his throat as he stood in the center of the CIC.

"Attention "Dominion of Arcadeos" forces, this is Admiral Jonathan White of the INS Aegir. We recieved your message not long ago, and were ordered to come check it out. Mind filling us in on the details? Because I'm sure we'd be happy to assist."

The drednought and her escorts waited for a response, on edge as to what may happen next...

There was excitement in the command room of the station. It had taken a little longer than hoped, but at last someone had responded. "Alert the fleets to stand down. Have a runner sent to inform him that someone has answered and arrived." As people lept to complete these orders he turned back to the microphone. "Admiral Whyte, on behalf of the Dominion I welcome you to ACES military command station. The fleets have been ordered to stand down. You are in no danger from us. As for more information...you would have to talk to someone much higher up than I. You are extended an invitation to board the station with up to but not exceeding four other individuals. If you have a small transport of your own you are cleared for bay one." A part of the station took on a blueish tinge as floodlights illuminated it. "If you lack one, one will be provided for you. Also available upon request is a group of our men to be held on your ship while you are here. A sort of guarantee, as it were."

Admiral-General Yuri Kilani was tired of the arduous paperwork that came with his job, as well as having to put up with the stupid and rather obnoxious Imperial Fleet officers that his Excellency Treize had become more catered to. It was irking for a former member of the Specials, the former organization that was under the command of Treize before he became Emperor, like Yuri to have to deal with them.

Yuri sat in his office aboard the Omega-class transport Pelosi, where the large majority of the 90th Mobile Division was aboard and staying; one of several detachments that made up the 1st Mobile Army commanded by Yuri.

“Damn but it’s boring doing nothing but flying around from outpost to outpost,” Yuri growled allowed. He stood up and ruffled his uniform a bit. He wore the standard uniform of a Specials Admiral, one that many thought outdated, not to mention that the sleeves were ripped off. Yuri Kilani however always had things his way, or made them that way.

Stretching his neck, Yuri slapped the comm button on his desk. “Cynthia, I want to know the minute we arrive at Opel, where the local bar is located, and tell me wher-.”

“Excuse me Admiral, but we have a situation,” said Yuri’s secretary, Cynthia. “His Excellency has sent us a transmission that Section 3 intercepted several hours ago. I’ll play it through the line now.” Before Kilani could react, he heard a stressed voice start speaking in Basic.

“I am Saacon Ralpmet, leader of the Dominion of Arcadeos. Approximately one standard week ago, we were once again invaded by the Rhithin. They have captured an entire system from us. We have begun to ready ourselves to undertake the momentous task of liberating these worlds. Unfortunately, past experience has shown us that our period of isolation has had adverse effects on our force effectiveness. So I find myself in the unenviable position of appealing for aid. I am requesting assistance from the powers of the universe, be they legitimate governments or mercenaries. Please, help us in our hour of need. We simply lack the manpower to do it alone.”

“So what do we care about some small water-back nation?” asked Yuri. He new by instinct that Treize wouldn’t have sent that message unless something big was afoot, and he knew that that meant trouble. “And why us, what about those Imperial lap-dogs of the Fleet?”

Yuri could hear the smile on Cynthia through her words. “Because his Excellency asked that you personally handle it. The 1st Mobile Army has marching orders.”

“About time Treize gave me something to do other than act like an officer,” said Yuri. “Alright, get a transmission through to all transports and throw together an escort; and make sure that those Fleet Dogs aren’t the ones play look-out!”

“Yes Admiral,” responded Cynthia.

Within hours the 1st Mobile Army had assembled into five Omega-class transports, five Agamemnon-class Carriers and a few dreadnoughts. For an escort Cynthia had requisitioned the 3rd Mobile Fleet Echelon, made of four Erasmus-class Destroyers and three Jacobin-class Heavy Dreadnoughts. They quickly set a course for the Trose System and jumped into hyperspace.

Sitting on the edge of the Trose system was the I/R vessel Lynx. Monitoring the system on behalf of the taskforce that was shaping up around ACES station, it would periodically send updated information back to command. One of several such ships in system, the Lynx was tasked with monitoring the fourth planet, a veritable iceball. The crew certainly didn't envy whatever troops would be sent there.

Making yet another sweep with passive sendors so as not to alert the Rhithin ships in orbit, something odd was detected. "Sir, it's hard to tell on passive but I think something's coming."

The captain sighed, "Are you sure this time?"

The sensor tech shrugged, "No, sir. It's this new stream impeller or whatever it's called. They don't properly document these things before installing them." That was true enough. Everyone remembered the debacle at Phospha where using something new had resulted in teh loss of twelve capital ships of cruiser class or better along with all hands. And that had been during combat.

"Well, how many do you think?"

"I'm not sure sir. My WAG would be between fifteen and twenty. And they're not from the direction of the taskforce."

Crashing into parties was a hobby of Yuri Kilani’s and he was the same way when it came to battlefield campaigns. Didn’t matter who was running it, he did things his own way it usually ended up making victory out of what seemed a quagmire. It was one of his many qualities that Emperor Treize favored of the gun-loose admiral.

“Fleet coming out at sector 47, point alpha. We’re receiving first reports on a possible group of ships in-system,” a crew-technician called down from his station. Below in a sort of bottom curve of the command bridge of the Pelosi Yuri stood watching his tactical screens.

“Alright, copy that. Have all fighters and space mobile suits prep for immediate combat. We could be going in hot!” ordered Kilani. The crew captain nodded and worked his comm controls. The crew sat busy for several minutes and then their actions reached a high pitch as the chronometer came to an end, and the transport “fell” from hyperspace.

The star ridden outline of hyperspace disappeared from the viewing screens and the small mobile fleet appeared into the fabric of space. Before them was the Trose System.

“I want a CommScan of the entire system now!” yelled Kilani. Timing was everything, and when you opened up into a system without warning, you had to be ready or you’d be dead.

“CommScan reports a small vessel off our port bow, forty kilometers range. Unknown if it is enemy or Arcadian,” responded a tech. “Attempting to identify now.”

“Have we received a transmission?” asked Yuri. His crew captain held his hand up to his headset and waited a moment, conversing with another tech further up the command bridge. He turned to Kilani and shook his head.

“No active transmissions from anyone yet received, sir.”

“Then open a line, I’ll introduce us,” said Yuri. He cracked his classic lop-side grin and pulled up a transmission receiver into his hand. He waited until the communications clerk had given him the heads up, then he started into it with gusto.

“Attention, forces of the Dominion of Arcadeos. I am Admiral Yuri Kilani, commanding officer of the Thrashian 1st Mobile Army. We’ve come here to help you deal with your little problem; in other words to save your butts and kick some enemy Rhithin butts at the same time. Can I speak with the commanding officer here?”

Several of the crew members cracked into hushed laughter and were even gasping for breath. The admiral never ceased to amuse the weary soldier that was for sure.

"..........." The crew of the Lynx stared at the speakers with open mouths. The man was quite clearly insane. The captain gritted his teeth. "Send off a report to command that Thrashian forces have arrived in the Trose system. And log any and all information between just before they arrived and they talked to us. And send that to command as well. This is the second time in as many days that one of our supposedly 'undetectable' Farsight class vessels was detected. With the damn designers not fully testing anything before it goes into service it's a wonder that the military hasn't collapsed yet."

A sensor tech suddenly called out, "Sir, multiple Rhithin ships leaving orbit and heading this way!"

The captain sighed, "Patch me through to this moron."

"Done, sir."

"Admiral Kilani, this is the intelligence and reconnaissance vessel, Lynx. Your arrival is rather unexpected as I have yet to recieve any word of you joining our little coalition. You've also managed to alert the Rhithin to your presence and possibly ours as well, something we didn't want to happen until the initial assault."

TO: ACES Military Command
FROM: I/R Vessel Lynx

LEVEL 4 ENCRYPTION

vnneurhnroitvroitvuiwnuvarunoiqupounovmpuunvtiuivtupuvt
\itvrubmopitvuoiwuytoiyvon yiorvewun9otqwpqu]
qvu9ut49v0uot9u9un 8ut4q8u t4quy0tqiuy tqiyu pq
whreohnh oiewhfoihrgfiohewpo eoipwurfewuhfewjofew
wfjpoiqjibewieoiewopi

END TRANSMISSION

It took less than ten minutes for the on-crew slicer to decrypt the message that the small vessel of the Dominion had sent. The crewman at first thought he read it wrong, when he logged it into his records, but shrugged it off and sent it on to the Admiral.

Captain Polewicz brought the message up to Admiral Yuri Kilani on a print out. He handed it over and then stood by to receive orders. Yuri furrowed his face and began reading.


"Admiral Kilani, this is the intelligence and reconnaissance vessel, Lynx. Your arrival is rather unexpected as I have yet to receive any word of you joining our little coalition. You've also managed to alert the Rhithin to your presence and possibly ours as well, something we didn't want to happen until the initial assault."

Yuri smiled when he read the last sentence. He always liked busting in on peoples laid out plan; usually it caused for not only mass confusion on your allies side, but also for your enemies side as well. Of course he’d had his fair share of bad experience with bouncers back on Thrashia Prime as well when he tried it at bars…oh well, it didn’t faze him in the slightest. Yuri turned to the CommScan tech. “Ensign, get me a further in-depth scan of the surrounding area. Our friends in the pretty cool and spiffy recon vessel say that we’ve attracted some unfriendly attention,” said Yuri.

“Yes Admiral,” responded the crewman. The man worked furiously at his controls and sped through his protocols like a demon. Satisfied Yuri turned back to Captain Polewicz who stood by patiently.

“Captain, alert Lieutenant Anzable that he and his shock company are to be standing by on my orders to launch and fight the enemy. Also, alert our escort commander that enemy vessels are approaching.”

“Of course admiral, and as for the Lynx?” Polewicz half turned away and gave Yuri a patient look of a man use to last minute and hurried orders, which was to be expected from a man who had served under Admiral Kilani for over seven years. “Yea…have our slicer boy hook me up a direct link transmission so we don’t have to keep talking back and forth in code. Level Meridian and add in a few of their encrypt ideas into it, so they will recognize,” said Yuri. He scratched his head and thought a minute longer then waved Polewicz away.

A few moments later a line was opened up between the Lynx and the Pelosi. Yuri Kilani cleared his throat dramatically and then held the transceiver up to his mouth.

“Attention Captain of the Lynx, I am Admiral Yuri Kilani. I am full aware that you were not pre-warned of our arrival. I guess you could say I’m sorry…just a bit. But anyway, water under the bridge. I however do need to use your scrawny little butt. I need you to feed me all available tactical data on the approaching ‘goblins,’ that is the bad guys, and any other small surprises that might be important to know. And don’t worry. If they’ve occupied this system for a long period of time, they would have their own spy network within it to warn of any major build up…so I am guessing anything you might have been planning…was well, to be blunt, no longer secret,” said Yuri.

ooc: how many Rhithin ships coming at me?

There was excitement in the command room of the station. It had taken a little longer than hoped, but at last someone had responded. "Alert the fleets to stand down. Have a runner sent to inform him that someone has answered and arrived." As people lept to complete these orders he turned back to the microphone. "Admiral Whyte, on behalf of the Dominion I welcome you to ACES military command station. The fleets have been ordered to stand down. You are in no danger from us. As for more information...you would have to talk to someone much higher up than I. You are extended an invitation to board the station with up to but not exceeding four other individuals. If you have a small transport of your own you are cleared for bay one." A part of the station took on a blueish tinge as floodlights illuminated it. "If you lack one, one will be provided for you. Also available upon request is a group of our men to be held on your ship while you are here. A sort of guarantee, as it were."

"I have a shuttle ready. I shall be there in a moment."

The shuttle took off, and began docking procedures with the station. It slowly descended to the deck, the ramp lowering to the floor.

((Sorry for short post, but I have to run.))

OOC: *Twitches* He...is so...arrogant and...condenscending. Also, the codded transmission was not directed at you, but at my military command. It was seperate from the dialogue with you. Sorry about not making that clearer. The ships heading for you are of roughly even fleet strength, with more ships in orbit.
Sorry for my short post: I have to leave this hotspot.
IC:
The captain of the Lynx was totally flabbergasted. This was such a strange occurrance that he had no idea what to do. Puling what he knew off the top of his head, he replied "They seem to favor size and power, leaning heavily in favor of battleships and dreadnoughts. The smallest capital ship we've seen them field has been cruiser class. As big as they are, they are extremely heavily armed and armored for their size. Rather than mobile suits, they supplement their snubfighters with combat drones. And they've only been here a week or so.

“I am Saacon Ralpmet, leader of the Dominion of Arcadeos. Approximately one standard week ago, we were once again invaded by the Rhithin. They have captured an entire system from us. We have begun to ready ourselves to undertake the momentous task of liberating these worlds. Unfortunately, past experience has shown us that our period of isolation has had adverse effects on our force effectiveness. So I find myself in the unenviable position of appealing for aid. I am requesting assistance from the powers of the universe, be they legitimate governments or mercenaries. Please, help us in our hour of need. We simply lack the manpower to do it alone.”

"They ask for help?"

"Apparently so."

"Then they are weak."

"I disagree."

"Let us compromise. Send a fleet to this system mentioned in the message, but have it hold fire until ordered to do so or fired upon. Also send a courier vessel to the station where they are gathering themselves and what allies they have to find out if are truely weak or not."

"Your plan has merit. I second it."

"As do I."

"Very well. We'll do that."

The voices in the darkness subsided and footsteps could be heard receding into the distance. While the fleet was being readied, a lone courier ship was dispatched towards ACES station.

OOC: I'll RP the arrival of the courier ship in the next post.
Oh, and sorry for the quality of the post. Its 0308 in the morning.

Saacon hurled his glass against a wall, where it shattered. "Who did what?!"

"A power calling themselves Thrashia jumped into the Trose system, almost on top of the Lynx."

"They've just ruined any chance at surprise we had! And just how the hell did they know where to go? I sure as hell didn't say in my broadcast!"

"We're looking into it as we speak, sir. Now, this admiral White has just arrived." Saacon nodded and left the room. Heading toward the bay flanked by a pair of soldiers, he struggled to bring his feelings under control. When they arrived in front of the shuttle's ramp, he had a smile on his face, seeming for all the world as if he had not received bad news.

As the admiral and his entourage came down the ramp, Saacon flashed a great big smile. "Admiral White, I am honored to personally welcome you to the Dominion." Extending his hand, he continued "Thank you for responding to our call for aid."

"The honor is mine.", Admiral White said with an equally wide grin as he grasped Saacon's hand and shook it. "We would have been here sooner had it not been for all this damned bureaucracy that we have to go through these days, but backup should be here within the hour to further bolster your forces. I'm just glad we recieved your transmission."

White continued along with Saacon, his entourage of two officers and two Troopers close behind. (the Troopers were more of a formality, in dress uniform and armed only with sidearms)

Meanwhile, Assault Group Trose sped through the never ending vortex of hyperspace, trying to make it to the staging point with speed.

OOC: *Twitches* He...is so...arrogant and...condescending. Also, the coded transmission was not directed at you, but at my military command. It was separate from the dialogue with you. Sorry about not making that clearer. The ships heading for you are of roughly even fleet strength, with more ships in orbit.
Sorry for my short post: I have to leave this hotspot.
IC:
The captain of the Lynx was totally flabbergasted. This was such a strange occurrence that he had no idea what to do. Puling what he knew off the top of his head, he replied "They seem to favor size and power, leaning heavily in favor of battleships and dreadnoughts. The smallest capital ship we've seen them field has been cruiser class. As big as they are, they are extremely heavily armed and armored for their size. Rather than mobile suits, they supplement their snub fighters with combat drones. And they've only been here a week or so.

OOC: That’s the general idea, it’s his personality after all to be like that. *big grin* And he has the experience and rank to back it up. *bigger grin* (And understood, the transmission thing.

IC:

Admiral Kilani frowned to himself. An enemy that favored large battleships and dreadnoughts…he broke into a big grin.

“Don’t worry son, you can change your pants after my boys take care of them. As for right now, I am sending my men into combat; as such I expect to be automatically gifted by your esteemed ‘high command’ with any necessary medical treatment that my men may require. Other than that, just keep feeding my captain here tactical data. He’ll open a gate for you to send all information via the holo-net. Admiral Kilani out.”

Yuri tossed the microphone over to Captain Polewicz and sat down in his T.I.B.C. (Tactical Information and Battlefield Command) chair and brought up a vid-link to the docking bay. There in the range of the camera stood a sergeant talking loudly with another ensign who was moving an ammunition cart out of the path of a Zaku II space-type.

“Sergeant Dorden, is the 7th Company ready for flight yet?” asked Yuri real loud. He could hear the feed-back of jet-packs being tested for battle in the background. The sergeant, an old grizzled veteran turned to the vid-link screen.

“Ah, Admiral, just who I wanted to see. We got the 7th ready and waiting at the launch pad; 3rd squad of 10th company is ready as well. Also, Lieutenant Anzable told me to inform you that you’re getting slower with age,” said Sergeant Dorden. He grinned large and made his white mustache fizzle. Yuri snorted in good humor.

“Well, tell that ‘Lieutenant’ that he better earn his nick-name today. And all his men too. Get me a connection to his cock-pit will ya’ Sergeant?” asked Yuri. Sergeant Dorden nodded and worked at some controls off screen. Within a few seconds the old veteran disappeared and a helmeted pilot sitting in what seemed like a tight and highly messy cubicle appeared.

“Admiral.” Char Anzable’s voice was filtered by his helmet, but Yuri could still tell that his voice was in the pilot’s dry humor moods.

“Anzable, you’re men all ready?” he asked.

“Ready and waiting Admiral.”

“Good. Here is the situation. We have several large battleship and dreadnought analogs coming at us. By now Captain Polewicz will have linked your combat computers with the necessary information. I’ll also have my command line open,” stated Yuri, far more serious and more in the true role of a commanding officer. “You’re to destroy the advancing enemy and as we deploy all of 10th Battalion into space, are to spearhead into the upper atmosphere of that ice-ball of a planet ahead. Got it?”

“Just like the battle of Julian 3 sir,” replied Anzable. The pilot gave the thumbs up sign.

“Indeed. Good hunting Lieutenant.” Yuri cut the link and closed down the screen. He turned to his main deployment ensign. “Open main deployment doors and launch 7th Company.”

“Yes Admiral. Main doors opening now.”

With a great groan of metal on metal the large deployment doors for deploying space mobile suits from the Pelosi came open. Immediately a group of 30-odd human figures blasted out of the darkened doors. It was the 7th Company, a mix unit of Leo Space types and Zaku II space types.

Several of the escorting Erasmus destroyers locked onto the approaching targets and began firing its long-ranged ordnance at the large enemy ships. The escort commander set his chips in a concave arc to provide protection to the larger transports while they each deployed space mobile suits.



Char Anzable felt the smooth rocking that was caused by his Minovsky Reactor that powered his personalized Zaku. He felt more at home inside its cramped space than he did anywhere else. Some said it was obsessive, but he didn’t think so when it came to combat and trusting one’s equipment.

“Sergeant Falx, take 1st platoon up the left side; Sergeant Rommel, take the 2nd up the right. 3rd platoon follow me up the middle. Avoid fighters or these drone things, just skip ‘em. We’re going after the big boys. Disable any large guns and go for eliminating any command towers you see, just like on the old Imperial SDs, got it?” ordered Lieutenant Anzable. A chorus of affirmatives answered him.

“Alright, then. Increase Minovsky particle output by 40% to jam all signals from enemy craft. And try not to be too stupid.”

The group of mobile suits hit their accelerators and began moving at high speeds to the enemy. The battle was soon to begin.

bump

ACES Station - Ten Light Minutes Out - Exterior

The small systems courier ship dropped out of slipstream ten light minutes from the Arcadeos ACES station. A small class big enough for her two man crew and armed with a single PDL turret, the courier vessel moved towards the station at a modest 30 PSL while broadcasting the equivilant of a white flag and awaiting for the locals to make the first move and initiate contact.

Meanwhile - Trose Star System - Oort Cloud - Exterior

A Heavy Cruiser Battle Group accompioned(sp?) by three Planetfall Readiness Groups dropped from slipstream and immediately engaged their Shadow Phase Cloaks. Hiding halfway between Hyperspace and Real-Space, the fleet held position watching the Thrasians, the Lynx, and their 'friends' while awaiting confirmation on which side to engage.

OOC: Here's what I'm commiting to the Trose Compaign.
The standard Heavy Cruiser Battle Group includes one Heavy Cruiser (XMC), four Deep Standoff Attack ships (DSA), sixteen Group Defense Frigates (GDF), nine Long-Range Surveillance ships (LRS), and four Supply and Maintenance ships (SAM).
The standard Planetfall Readiness Group includes one Atmospheric Attack Craft Carrier (AAC), nine Drop Ship Carriers (DSC), four GDFs, three LRS, and two SAMs.
There's one HCBG and three PRGs. As I'm in a rush right now, I can't do the math.
The ball is in your court now. Its your move.

OOC: *sigh* I hate Jolt timeouts. Now I have to do this again.

IC:
--------------Space around ACES------------
"Major, new contact moving nice and slow. It appears to be transmitting a 'don't shoot me' message."

"Right, talk it in and I'll open bay two."

--------------Inside ACES-------------------
Glancing at admiral White as they walked down the hall, Saacon said "You were the first to arrive. We're expecting a few more groups and once they arrive, we'll be able to give the briefing for the first assault."

------------Trose system-------------------
The Rhithin ships opened fire at maximum range, sending torrents of energy cascading towards the Thrashians. Fighters and drones zoned in on the mobile suits, as would the point defence weapons once they got close enough. The Lynx was operating in its secondary capacity as combat control, transmitting updated targetting information. "Captain! New con...tacts?"

"What was that?"

"I thought we had new contacts, sir. But they only show up on a few of the sensors."

"How many contacts?"

"I can't tell sir, WAG it at between seventy and a hundred."

"Visual?"

"Negative, sir."

"It's gotta be a bug then. You can't hide that many ships."

OOC: Technically the cloak operates by hiding the ship between dimensions (thus covering one aspect that anyone with non-dimensional sensors might detect with a standard Real Space style cloak), so I'll accept that they were picked up, momentarily as they dropped to STL and cloaked moments later.
Oh, and cargo ships move 20-30 PSL, warships move at 30-50 PSL, fighters at 40-75 PSL, defensive missiles at 60-70 PSL and offensive missiles at 85-95 PSL.

IC: ACES Station

The two crew of the courier ship debated about if they should accept the invite. While one was a full fledged Avatar Of The Abyss, just in case a situation like this should arise, a courier ship usually dropped in system and stayed just long enough to transmit the message before continuing on its route. However, these weren't normal circumstances, so the decision was made to play along with the locals, for now.

OOC: An Avatar Of The Abyss is a quite potent character. They are the elite troops for SSQ. Of course, a Spirit Of The Abyss is even more powerful, though the Abyss itself dwarfs even that. You'll find out a few AOTA abilities while the character is aboard your station.

IC: Ignoring the flight control instructions, the pilot swiftly and masterfully piloted his craft into Bay Two and landed smoothly. While the pilot remained inside the vessel, the 'passenger' tesseracted out into the nearest corrider.

Meanwhile - Trose System

The lone XMC, the D.E.S. Deadly Deception, was awaiting her commander and the entity assigned to lead the fleet in this operation to arrive. Of course, that would wait until after he was finished aboard the ACES station.

The Rhithin ships opened fire at maximum range, sending torrents of energy cascading towards the Thrashians. Fighters and drones zoned in on the mobile suits, as would the point defence weapons once they got close enough.

With a dazzling show of piloting skills and new-type calculation the 7th Company sliced through the first wave of Rhithin attack drones. Literally. Several of the Zaku II pilots had taken out their heat hawk melee weapons and had begun hacking aside drones as they passed, much like millennia old cavalry charges through infantry, slashing from side to side as they cantered past.

Char led the 3rd platoon, his personally trained platoon, up the middle of the designated attack lanes. Since he knew that the suits could take it, they were going at speeds and output levels above what engineers said were safe. They sped through the fighters with ease. Char could just imagine what Admiral Kilani would be saying just about now: “There goes the “Dread Speed Demon” yet again.”

The massive Rhithin ships loomed ahead. From the look of them Char thought of several key locations for them to attack. He opened up a company-wide transmission band and started speaking in Thrashian Battle Language, one which was known only by the Thrashian military and used over open communication channels without fear of information being leaked.

“Leo suits hand back and engage your heavy laser rifles at the large guns on these ships; and keep those drones off our rear. Zaku pilots, we’re going in hot. If you don’t have your heat-hawk out, now’s the time to get it,” said Char. One enthusiastic pilot let out a long ‘yeeeha!’ over the link and brought a grin to the faces of all the pilots.

Chars hand moved like it was devilishly possessed over the controls and he accelerated ever more, outdistancing his men. He knew that point defense cannons would be a threat, but not when he moved at his maximum speed levels, and especially when he ‘gripped them by the belt’ so to speak.

Lasers began firing all around him in a blaze of PT fire. One of his following men was hit and then concentrated one, causing him to explode. Several others did as Char had and increased their speed to compensate.

Char maneuvered up the ventral part of the ship, coming over its edge and advancing right up its axis. Very few laser cannon could now reach him, or for that manner fire at so close a range or at his low level of height. PT was normally designed against fighters, whose normal practice was to make strafing runs. For an enemy to get this close was more often than not, an unknown to most enemies facing against the 1st Mobile Army.

A large tower building with large cannon was ahead. With a great red shine Char’s heat hawk axe lit up. “Here’s one for the home team!”

With a glittering arch Char’s heat hawk cut through the metal of the ship, slicing off the laser cannon there. Several other of his men sped past, adding their own marks along the side. The cannon exploded and debris momentarily blocked Char’s view, but cleared as he sped on. His men were cutting through the metal of the ship and cutting down important cannon stations and a few were heading down towards the command tower. Another had even entered what looked like a hanger, and Char new that any interal damage would be good.

A Leo suit managed to get into a rear position of the front ship, the one that Char was attacking, and got a clear shot at its engine. Powering up its custum Buster Rifle (not the gay Gundam Wing buster rifle, just a powerful medium laser rifle) it fired a salvo of shots into the ship.By this time, several other Zaku platoons had deployed from the other ships, and began making a field of debris out of the fighters.

In the control room of ACES, one of the techs whistled. "That was pretty ballsy considering all the firepower that's sitting here."

Below, the AOTA was met in the hallway by a pair of soldiers. "If you would be so kind as to accompany us, we will take you to where others are meeting."

Elsewhere, Saacon led admiral White into a circular room that rather resembled a small amphitheater with a holoprjector at it's center. "We will wait for the others here. And the breifing will begin when they have arrived."

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

Rhithin ships continued to fire upon their Thrashian counterparts, whle the first one attacked by mobile suits began to drift away consumed by internal explosions. The fighters and drones looped back around to fall on them from behind and the bombers continued on to assault the Thrashian capital ships.

In the control room of ACES, one of the techs whistled. "That was pretty ballsy considering all the firepower that's sitting here."

Below, the AOTA was met in the hallway by a pair of soldiers. "If you would be so kind as to accompany us, we will take you to where others are meeting."

Elsewhere, Saacon led admiral White into a circular room that rather resembled a small amphitheater with a holoprjector at it's center. "We will wait for the others here. And the breifing will begin when they have arrived."

"Lead the way," the AOTA replied coldly brushing a strand of his red hair from his eyes.

Rhithin ships continued to fire upon their Thrashian counterparts, whle the first one attacked by mobile suits began to drift away consumed by internal explosions. The fighters and drones looped back around to fall on them from behind and the bombers continued on to assault the Thrashian capital ships.

As the two forces battled, valuable data and intel was being gathered on both sides through passive sensor sweeps by the cloaked Dark Empire fleet.

The two soldiers led him(?) to a room resembling a small amphitheater, already occupied by others. One of them turned, and looking the newcomer up and down asked "And you are?"

The two soldiers led him(?) to a room resembling a small amphitheater, already occupied by others. One of them turned, and looking the newcomer up and down asked "And you are?"
OOC: Yes, its a him. I thought that was obvious with the all the male pronouns.
Sorry if I'm a bit snippy, but I'm a bit tired right now.

IC: With a scowl, he replied, "I don't see what matter that is of yours, nor what it has to do with why I am here."

He looked at the man(?) straight in the eyes with his own red ones. The black lines under each would be quite apparent at that close range, though, it was proof of their artistry, that they couldn't be distinguished from ink on the surface or a more permament tatoo. Placed right below the eye sockets, they served their purpose.

“Taking heavy fire, our shields are out on the port side! Control is falling,” came a broad-band distress message from the captain of the Peregrine, one of the escorting Erasmus destroyers. “We can’t hold out for much-.”

The captain’s words were cut off as a terrific explosive engulfed the command station of the escort destroyer. The shock waved caused several mobile suits traveling past it to be sent hurtling in all directions; a few even collided and caused minor explosive balls to be seen.

After seeing the explosion Admiral Kilani let out a long list of expletives and other descriptive words concerning his thoughts on the Rhithin and what would happen to a certain number of their close relatives. The crew of the Pelosi were grim set as the debris of the destroyer slowly floated away from the battle.

“Damn it! Isn’t Char doing anything?” asked Yuri. Captain Polewicz turned to him from his command station.

“He is Admiral, we’ve succeeded in destroying their lead ship due to the 3rd platoon of 7th company using its heat hawks to destroy it, both externally and internally. We lost three Zakus and two Leos however in the initial assault.”

Yuri huffed and folded his arms across his chest. He hated it when he lost men in combat. One dead soldier meant that he himself had failed in creating a sure-fired plan of action. It bit into him at the back of his mind. “What forces have we deployed since the battle started?”

Captain Polewicz checked his screens. “All of 1st Space Battalion is deployed, some 300 mobile suits total, and we’ve lost 24 thus far. The enemies have changed the direction of their fighter attack and have begun concentrating on the mobile suit threat.”

“Good, then tell Captain-Major Fergusson to have his entire escort force concentrate their combined fire power at point beta-feta 7 point 5. Destroy that ship now. At the same time, order 10th company to shift its attack into that gap of formation and to destroy the ship behind it,” ordered Yuri. He worked his tactical screen furiously.

“Aye Admiral.”

* * * *

Captain-Major Fergusson was more than obliging when he received the Admiral’s order. He himself held a private dislike for Yuri Kilani’s command style as well as general character; however Fergusson respected him for being a damned good tactician and leader.

“All cannons synchronized?” asked Captain-Major Fergusson. His crew chief spoke into his comms headset for a moment then turned and nodded.

‘We’re all ready sir. All cannons are now fire-linked.”

“Fire!”

Like metal to a magnet, a fearsome barrage of heavy laser cannon fire erupted from the escort ships of the fleet and all of it was concentrated on a single Rhithin counterpart. It was most destructive to say the least.

10th Company, a group of Serpent space type mobile suits; equipped with better weapons and engines than either the Zaku or the Leo sped through the gap created by the barrage. Like Lieutenant Char’s example, half the group went strait in at enormous speeds, while the other held off the near seemingly continuous line of fighters and drones. The targeting system of the mobile suits, as well as that of each individual pilot was enough that it off-set the greater number of fighters. However some losses were still being taken just due to shear weight of numbers.

* * *

Lieutenant Char was hurled into his safety straps and another explosion wrapped itself with waves around his mobile suit. He had just cut deep into the torso of another Rhithin ship and then immediately jumped, using the ship itself as a springboard, in the direction of another ship, letting the jump, the explosion, and his insane rocket speeds send him like a great red comet from one ship to another.

His men were also copying his style. After the first Rhithin ship they had destroyed, they found several weak points: the engine area, the hanger bays, and the command station areas. Each was in a designated area and it wasn’t hard to calculate from one jump to another. Char thought of it as skipping stones.

“Two down, couple more to go!”

(Fleet) Commodore Anaihilos Ceitar watched from the bridge of the Firebird-class Battleship Phoenix Rising as the squadron made another jump toward the Tendarin sector. Originally linked by two space-folding galactic gates, the reopening to the Federation's borders had sent Anaihilos and his squadron on a survey mission while delivering troops and supplies to the Tendarin garrisons.

'Another dead system by the looks of it. Well, let's just prepare for a quick survey and onto-'

'Sir!' the ensign at the tactical station shouted, 'We have multiple contacts bearing mark 278 from our position. Weapons fire has been detected.'

'Captain Negalashin, set Condition Yellow throughout the fleet. Launch a CAP and get Alert Five strike craft ready immediatly.' This was certainly not what he expected, not at all.

'What are the designations of those ships, ensign?'

The young human turned to the andolith, 'Looks like Rhithin and Thrasian ships sir. They're engaged in heavy fighting. Triangulation marks this as the Arcadeos system. And sir, that transmission we picked up seems to have originated from this system.'

'Very well then, ensign, thank you.' Ceitar, 'Prepare to move forward. And contact the ship that sent that transmission. Tell them we wish to parlay.'

The Empryian Federation was barely six months out from isolation, and it was once again getting involved in Interstellar politics. I hope Rena is having as much fun as I am. He sighed and prepared his Squadron for war.

((OOC: Will post fleet strength and a longer post later. I need sleep and it's 4:30 AM.))

Aboard the Lynx:

"Captain! Multiple contacts inbound! Unknown type and displacement."

"Are they here to help us or the Rhithin?"

"No idea, sir."

The captain sighed, "Alright. Signal the Thrashians. Transmit the list of frequencies that will remain free. Once they confirm with us, commence jamming. Its about time we made ourselves useful, prepare all ECM suites for combat."


Aboard ACES:

Saacon returned the red-eyed stare with his own golden irises. "Yes, as a matter of fact not only does it concern me, it does actually concern why you are here."

*Snip*
Aboard ACES:

Saacon returned the red-eyed stare with his own golden irises. "Yes, as a matter of fact not only does it concern me, it does actually concern why you are here."
OOC: Yes, the red eyes do indicate the same thing they would in RL.

IC: "Very well then," the man replied with a slight humph, "I am Vice-Admiral Jack Spicer, Avatar Of The Abyss and mechancal genius extrodenaire(sp?)."

Saacon looked the albino up and down. "Then I welcome you to ACES. Soon, A briefing will begin and all shall be made clear."

Saacon looked the albino up and down. "Then I welcome you to ACES. Soon, A briefing will begin and all shall be made clear."
Jack harumphed and took a seat.

"Then wake me when it starts," he said with half closed eyelids.

After several hours time, the Thrashian task force had successfully beaten off the Rhithin and their forces. It had not been a small feat either. As many as 78 space mobile suits had been lost in combat, not to mention the fate of the Terridoc Erasmus-class Destroyer, losing all its crew. The causualty list was high.

However the day was won. The ice ball planet had been reached and the entire task force had taken up orbit around it. Rhithin forces were reported to be on the planet, however for the time being a landing was not yet possible. Admiral Kilani was forced to wait upon the arrival of the Thrashian Commissariat & Supply; men whose duty was to bring through the reaches of space large orbital stations capable of holding fuel and large amounts of supplies, as well as docking stations and medical bays.


Lieutenant Char Aznable finished his last check-over of his Zaku and then opened the cockpit. The fresh air of the ship was more than enough to rejuvinate him. As he stepped out he accidentally seared his hand on the hot armor of the Zaku. "Damn thing!"

He stood on the deployment pad and looked up from the waist of the humanoid machine. His left arm was badly damaged, and his suits head had taken some damage too. But it had survived, which was what counted to Char.

"Sir! Lieutenant! Can you hear me?" called out a voice below. Char turned and looked into the belly of the repair dock aboard the Doranago. A mechanic in a field grey jump suit was waving at him. To Char he seemed barely a boy.

"Yes, corporal?"

"Sir, if you'll get down now, we can begin repairing your suit!" the boy called up happily. Char was taken aback by that. Usually it took quite a while for the qeue to get smaller.

"Whats the rush?" Char asked.

"Admiral Kilani wants all space mobile suits combat ready within three days. Thats when we're expecting the Supply Boys to arrive with the orbital stuff." Char nodded and stepped onto his hook line. It lowered him via lever down to the ground from his cockpit. He took his foot out of the loop and turned to the mechanic.

"All yours son."

"Son? I'm 24 years old sir!" The mechanic gave Char a dirty look and went ahead of him to rummage through some crates. Char shrugged and walked off. Inside however he was rolling. 24? Did he feel so old that he say men as boys? He needed some sleep. That was for sure.

Char reported in, submitted a detailed report to Captain Polewicz and then hit the sack in his courters. He fell asleep as his head hit the pillow.


Admiral Kilani sipped from his cup of recaf as he watched the screen in front of him. It was a recording from a probe that had been sent to the planet below. Thus far they had sent seven probes. This was the first one to bring back images.

"Damn Rhithin." Kilani muttered. He turned and looked around the bridge. It was quite, as only half the crew was here. Now that they were in near-safety the Admiral had seen fit to give some of his men some much needed R&R. It didn't hurt to do so. However the young CommScan ensign sitting in front of him turned and nodded.

"Yes sir, they're a piece of work. That's for sure."

"Seen anything?" asked Kilani, deciding it didn't hurt for the ensign to breach normal protocol. Hell he hated it more than anyone, and was quite infamous for breaking it himself from time to time.

"Not really sir. Captain-Major Fergusson set up his pickets pretty well. The escort is basically handling all observation, and as such as I can see, are doing a damned good job. Got to hand it to him," said the ensign. His black foppish hair bobbed up and down as he spoke. Kilani found it rather funny since it was rather like his own hair.

"Yes...I guess I do have send that officer a recommendation. He did pull off a marvelous attack during the battle," Kilani said.

"Indeed sir. When sir, if I can ask, are we gonna get our supplies? When are we gonna hit ground?" the ensign looked nervous and wearied as he asked.

"Not soon enough my boy, not soon enough." Admiral Kilani went back to sipping his recaf and watching the screen.

A sleek, white, spindle shaped craft exited hyper at the edge of the Arcadeos system, blue light radiating from its drive nodes as it bled off excess energy from the translation into real-space. Hatches opened along its side, and delicate 'sails' gently extended. In reality, they were exquisitely sensitive sensors, dedicated specifically to long range intelligence gathering, and deep inside the starship, dozens of technicians and operators in several dimly lit control rooms were at hard work over glowing computer monitors, busily analyzing the emissions being picked up from the assembled warships.

The ship slowly accelerated toward the assembly, betraying a hint of caution from her commander, and soon a transmission was broadcast.

"This is the Scütwerks Armaments Corporation starship Supernus, requesting approach clearance and directions. We are here as part of a peaceful information gathering operation."

A runner came up to Ralpmet and whispered in his ear. The leader's eyes bulged for a minute before he calmed down. "It appears that enough have gathered after all." He said, "It seems that the Thrashians have thrown caution to the winds and instead of coming here to recieve all the information as requested, instead engaged the Rhithin in orbit around the fourth planet in the system, thereby negating a large part of our strategy." He looked around the room, "I can send for refreshments if you like. The briefing will begin as soon as we can contact this impetuous Thrashian admiral."

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

"Supernus, you are cleared to approach in line with beacon fourty-two. Docking station twenty-seven has been made available to you." A portion of the station became illuminated by a blue flashing light. "Just follow the light and welcome to the Dominion."

***********************************

Aboard the Lynx, the captain was attempting to make contact with admiral Kilani. He had received orders to make a visual communications link between the insane Thrashian and ACES.

OOC: Yeah, everyone thinks Kilani is insane, Thrashia. And Vernii, can you please post in the OOC thread as to what your intentions are?