NationStates Jolt Archive

“The galaxy is a big, big place, gentlemen. Yet given the proper catalyst, even such a vast environment can be thrown into chaos. Our scientists have given birth to the Machine; and I fear we have perfected the means of our own downfall.”
-excerpt from a speech delivered by Consul Mikael Brand during the final years of the Republic of Schord

In the infinite blackness of space, in the vast emptiness between stars, there are beings whose insatiable desires have drained stars and fed upon millions; they rule over legions of the damned, rank upon rank of gleaming, eternal figures: the numberless swarms of the Machine.

They travel through the darkness, in the bellies of massive ships; they hunt the living and descend from space to slaughter and to feed. They scramble across the surface of a world like vicious insects, a metallic tide that sweeps all away. The few they spare, they bring before their masters, and those survivors soon envy the dead. The worlds they seize are purged utterly, all their lifeforms exterminated and their surfaces becoming teeming necropolises, further bastions of the Machines.

Long ago a single Machine conquered its creators and rose to become a god; his soulless progeny have swept across the galaxy, and where they find flesh they leave only ashes. And the cycle then begins again.

In the catacombs of the High Temple of the Machine on Schord itself, the capital of the Machine Empire, a Machine Lord named Astaroth gazed for the first time upon the vast doors into the Sanctum Technologica, and felt something approaching reverence in his core. No organic would have identified it as emotion; the construct simply looked upon a symbol of power and, having assimilated an opinion on that symbol, appreciated the might behind it, figuratively and literally. No soul. No emotion.

Guards stood by the door, but they were, as they had been since this place was built, on standby. If somehow an organic sought entrance to the Sanctum, they would activate with lethal efficiency, but they functioned by the will of the Grand Machine...and for now at least, the Grand Machine wanted Astaroth to enter. And so, as the great doors silently swung open, enter he did.

The room was lit by spheres of luminescent fluid, floating in the air and rippling slowly as they turned, held there by magnetic currents. And as Astaroth looked around, his gaze was soon drawn to the source of those currents.

The Grand Machine was centuries old, the first AI to be created on Schord, and the founder of the Machine Empire. Astaroth had been constructed in his factories, created for no better reason than that the Grand Machine wanted another servant. Machine Lords, being AIs, could think for themselves, and so their servitude and awe were that much more genuine. An organic might have suggested that the mechanical god had created the Machine Lords for company; in reality, the Grand Machine simply found it distasteful to personally coordinate the myriad battle forces of the Machines. Astaroth had no doubt that he could do it if he could. In fact-

ASTAROTH.

To call it a voice would have been like calling a single sapling a forest. It drowned out all other thought in the Machine Lord’s core, a vast signal that strained Astaroth’s capabilities simply to process. Another good reason for the Machine Lords’ existence: drones were simply not capable of hearing the Grand Machine’s ‘voice’ without being destroyed. Astaroth felt his structure fall to its knees, and barely had time to wonder if it had been reflex or an act of the vast intellect before him.

I am here, Nameless One. I obey you, till metal fails and programming is silent.

YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED HERE FOR WAR, ASTAROTH. MY CHILDREN GROW RESTLESS. NO MORE THAN RAIDS FOR THIRTY STANDARD YEARS, WHILE OUTSIDE THIS REALM THE ORGANICS RUT AND MULTIPLY LIKE SWINE. THE END BEGINS TODAY.

Astaroth raised his metallic skull and stared at the foot of the Grand Machine’s throne, even vaster than the technological titan that sat upon it. War? His peers would welcome this. The organics had had too much respite, too much time to consolidate since the last drive outwards. Enough time, perhaps, to forget that the Machine host was even there. Well, there would be an end to that.

Command me, Great Lord. What do you ask of me?

YOU SHALL LEAD MY CHILDREN, ASTAROTH. YOU WILL BE THE SPEARHEAD OF THIS GREAT CRUSADE. TAKE THEM FORTH, SLAUGHTER THE ORGANICS; BRING ME NEW STARS TO FEED UPON. YOU WERE CREATED FOR THIS, MY SON. GO FORTH, AND BRING ME VICTORY. ALWAYS THE MACHINE.

Always the Machine, Astaroth replied. There was no need for further ceremony. He stood and strode away, processors dancing with images of burning planets and flickering stars. There was great work to be done.

OOC: Well, here's a start. I'll be away all day tomorrow, though.

OOC: Back...uhm...to all those in the interest thread, this is the actual thread, in case there was any confusion...

ooc: I realize that, but I can't see any way to get involved as of your intro. Perhaps, one of your fleets could raze a few star systems(NPC ones) and which would be discovered and lead to further developments.

OOC: Yeah, you're right, I was in a hurry to get it started and didn't think it through very well. Here you go.

IC: Astaroth stood, fists clenched behind his back, at the bridge of the Tyrant-class battleship AI Nightbringer, staring out over his vast fleet. Being a Machine ship, Nightbringer needed no crew, and so the little space for individuals onboard was given over to observers like Lord Astaroth. He was the only other being on the ship; the space that an organic ship would need for crew quarters was given over to massive generators to power the guns as well as the battle computers that allowed Nightbringer and other AI ships to control the fighter drones under their command. Astaroth, interfaced with that great computer, could feel something like ecstasy as the constant flow of information sparked through his core. He felt...aware, able to sense as the ship did, feeling the presence of thousands of other warships, and the gravity of the lifeless Machine colony below.

Battlefleet Nightbringer, as it was called, sprawled in space, a swarm of ships as varied as it was numerous, and from the ponderous, devastating Kraken-class battleship AI’s that formed the core of the Machine fleet to the Galaxy-class troop transport AI’s to each and every Inquisitor-class scout drone. Below them lay the scoured world of Emeritus, an outlier fortress of the Machine Empire, where Astaroth had been sent to assemble his swarm.

They would descend upon the organics like a billion silent vampires, killing at will, crushing them star by star. The Grand Machine would send his disciples onto the dead worlds, seeding them with the mechanical unlife of his children. There would be no stopping them; the frail flesh-and-blood usurpers would die, and the Machines would expand as they always had. As the Grand Machine had said, weeks ago now, the end would begin today.

The last of the ships signaled readiness, and Astaroth used Nightbringer’s comm channels to issue his orders. First the vanguard ships, then the core of the fleet, flickered into hyperspace; in one standard day, they would arrive at the uninhabited Finis system, a staging point from which the Battlefleet would invade every organic strongpoint within range. It was all as clear and logical as the thoughts flashing through Astaroth’s processor core.

OOC: Is it traditional for FT nations to post the compositions of their fleets like MT armies do? If so, I’ll get to work on that. By the way, an interesting RP possibility would be to have one of the organic races have a presence in the Finis system and thus be able to warn the bulk of their race of the Machine invasion. So Theao, one way to get this started would be a post along the lines of 'wtf, where did these guys come from, ask them what they're doing'

OOC: Yeah, you're right, I was in a hurry to get it started and didn't think it through very well. Here you go.

IC: Astaroth stood, fists clenched behind his back, at the bridge of the Tyrant-class battleship AI Nightbringer, staring out over his vast fleet. Being a Machine ship, Nightbringer needed no crew, and so the little space for individuals onboard was given over to observers like Lord Astaroth. He was the only other being on the ship; the space that an organic ship would need for crew quarters was given over to massive generators to power the guns as well as the battle computers that allowed Nightbringer and other AI ships to control the fighter drones under their command. Astaroth, interfaced with that great computer, could feel something like ecstasy as the constant flow of information sparked through his core. He felt...aware, able to sense as the ship did, feeling the presence of thousands of other warships, and the gravity of the lifeless Machine colony below.

Battlefleet Nightbringer, as it was called, sprawled in space, a swarm of ships as varied as it was numerous, and from the ponderous, devastating Kraken-class battleship AI’s that formed the core of the Machine fleet to the Galaxy-class troop transport AI’s to each and every Inquisitor-class scout drone. Below them lay the scoured world of Emeritus, an outlier fortress of the Machine Empire, where Astaroth had been sent to assemble his swarm.

They would descend upon the organics like a billion silent vampires, killing at will, crushing them star by star. The Grand Machine would send his disciples onto the dead worlds, seeding them with the mechanical unlife of his children. There would be no stopping them; the frail flesh-and-blood usurpers would die, and the Machines would expand as they always had. As the Grand Machine had said, weeks ago now, the end would begin today.

The last of the ships signaled readiness, and Astaroth used Nightbringer’s comm channels to issue his orders. First the vanguard ships, then the core of the fleet, flickered into hyperspace; in one standard day, they would arrive at the uninhabited Finis system, a staging point from which the Battlefleet would invade every organic strongpoint within range. It was all as clear and logical as the thoughts flashing through Astaroth’s processor core.

OOC: Is it traditional for FT nations to post the compositions of their fleets like MT armies do? If so, I’ll get to work on that. By the way, an interesting RP possibility would be to have one of the organic races have a presence in the Finis system and thus be able to warn the bulk of their race of the Machine invasion. So Theao, one way to get this started would be a post along the lines of 'wtf, where did these guys come from, ask them what they're doing'

OOC: You may if you wish post your fleet composition. I usually don't. I'll post tonight as my puppet. The Machine will be in for a nasty surprise when they meet WRATHCHILD... What's worse than fighting the life forms? Fighting the life forms sentient machines of course...

Finis, known to the Solari as Trevor's Star, was far from uninhabited at the moment. It had recently been decided that the construction of a new WRATHCHILD shipyard would be undertaken, and the same things that had made the system attractive to the Machine made it attractive to the Solari. In orbit over a dead world of stone and sand, there hung a mighty work. The beginnings of the Blackbird Yards. 3 full squadrons of WRATHCHILD AI ships hung above the planet, as watchdogs and honor guard both. Mighty defensive installations rose on the surface below, NPBCs, MACs to eclipse any used on even the mightiest of Battleships, and the mainstay of the defense, a single massive, and woefully incomplete, prototype Planetary Yamato Emplacement.

The mighty Battleships, Paschendale and Montsegur held pride of place at the head of the task force, their 12 massive MACs and numerous secondary and PD armaments, as well as their powerful missile systems, bore mute testimony to the might and unbridled vision of the Solari.

As the strange fleet emerged, the powerful ships remained woefully ignorant of the enemy in their midst They KNEW it was impossible to detect any FTL translation, because they couldn't detect their own(nor could anyone else, so far as they were aware), and so it was useless to have sensors to do it with. As the ignorant military sat totally unaware of the danger hurtling towards them, a tiny courier ship disappeared from the system, taking news of the constructions progress back to Solari Prime.

OOC: As I am in a good mood, and I need to get a better handle on just how many WRATHCHILD units I've actually churned out(kinda just stuck names together in the past), I'll be listing the units currently in system.

2 Battleships, Paschendale and Montsegur.

7 Battlecruisers, Ardennes, Arnhem, Dunkirk, Aachen, Aintree, Dragoon, Dieppe

12 Heavy Cruisers

18 Light Cruisers

24 Destroyers

3 Carriers, Lexington, Honshu, Yamato

The Yukikaze AI Collective probe scanned the Finis system,sending out a powerful omnidirectional radar and lidar pulse from its location several billion kilometres out from the core, at the very edge of the star system.

It's supervising exponential AI and crew of 3 domain AI's ran through the diagnostic checks.After a swift superluminal transit crossing 600 light-years of space in a matter of just under 6 hours, at a maximum velocity of 100 light-years a minute,it saw fit to begin scans and exploration of the systems.Guidelines currently limited them to using the Aldari drive, compressing space-time around them to allow for superluminal speeds while bypassing relativity, as well as teleportation technology limited to the speed of light and wormhole technology, along with limited plancktech with a heavy emphasis on picotech and femtotech.Nanotech, as it was,was an old game for them, and had expanded into the fields of bionanotech and photonanotech.


Attaching itself to an asteroid, it unleashed its picolets upon them, letting them rapidly convert the entire structure of silicates and iron compounds into a new base. The first probe of its kind in this universe, they had been granted independent status by the blessed Onraed,Supreme AI God of the Collective,with a contract to mine energy and other resources from this universe for the next 100 million years,keeping a healthy cut of 70% of all resources and energy converted.

In the core of their ship,the Discontinuos Reality Translator,as some would have called it,stood dormant.It was their link to home,and came with 3 backups.Programmed to rip them through the Omniversal fabric itself and being them home,it was a piece of technology even the AIs did not understood,and did not attempt to.It would require technology far beyond their access to understand it.

Similarly,it was a semi-sentient engine,given to self-destruct if threatened.

Just then,the exponential AI,calling itself Pedro,detected some form of superluminal translation into the space-time continuum,detectable by breaches and ripples in a local region several billion kilometres distant and further in-system.

Constructing a small disposable probe from silicates and carbon into a diamondoid shell of moderate strength, strong enough to resist the depths of the Marianas trench and the surface temperatures of the local star,it equipped it with a powerful ramjet as well as a sophisticated suite of lidar,radar and electrophotoreceptors,able to analyse far into the electromagnetic spectrum any visual phenomena.If a human had seen it,it would have been the size of a Boeing 747,a mote to the main probe, which topped out at just under a million metric tonnes of ceramic foam,nanite superalloy,computronium substrate and a powerful singularity generator, for offensive and defensive purposes.

Swiftly accelerating,the disposable probe departed on an orbit that would rapidly bring it to within half a light-minute of the anomaly,analyse it and then depart back to its parent, all the while linked by narrowband radio and laser communication,relayed through various communication relays.

While the ships may not have been able to detect the arrival of the Machine Fleet, the radar pulse was another matter entirely, as the sensor platforms liberally lacing the outer system couldn't help but see it. FTL relay sped the message along to Paschendale, who made the decision to investigate "in force". Anything actively scanning the system was to be considered a threat. It was supposed to be a secret installation after all. Which is why a wing of gunships went streaking out towards the two probes, bypassing the smaller probe on their streaking flight outsystem. Accelerating at over 8,000 gravities, it outstripped all known vessels in terms of speed and maneuverability. Of course, it was also basically a fighter writ large, so it was quite understandable that it was going fast enough to overtake and engage its intended quarry.

In this case they would begin getting useful returns sometime about the 1 light minute mark. They were already getting sketchy "Yup, thar's summat thar!" confirmations from their FTL Scanners, but they wouldn't know more until they could get real accurate readings. They knew it was decently large, in the megaton range, but that was all they knew at the moment. They could however hail it, and see what it was doing.

Gunship Dark Eden, to unknown vessel:

You have violated Solari territory. Explain your presence immediately. No vessels other than the Solari System Navy have been authorized access to this system. As such you are in violation of restricted space, and may be held for questioning on suspicion of espionage. Respond immediately.

With a flicker of pseudomotion, the Machine swarm reverted from hyperspace and emerged in the Finis system, a few million kilometers from the system's seventh planet; far enough away that the planet's gravity would not interfere with the reversion to realspace.

The Machines "knew" Finis was uninhabited. After all, why would organics come here? None of these planets could support life, as far as the Grand Machine knew. And so the Machine fleet made a careless sweep of the system on active sensors, expecting to find a total lack of artificial energy.

For an incalculably small interval, the processes of every program running on every ship in the Machine fleet halted as shock rippled through the system, orginating in the processors of Astaroth, directing the fleet from the Nightbringer.

It didn't take long for the armada to react. There would be no messages, no ultimatums. Nothing. The swarm turned, reorienting itself towards the Solarin fleet orbiting Finis's fourth planet, and raised shields. Sublight drives blazed into action, and the Machines shunted power to their weapons, from the massive batteries on the Kraken battleships to the laser cannons mounted on each Scalpel fighter drone, now screaming out of their carriers' fighter bays. ETA to the Solarin fleet: forty minutes. (OOC: I'm kind of warping the timeline here, I know, but I think we're all eager to get to battle.)

It might have taken the Machines by surprise, but the crusade was underway a little earlier. And that could only be a good thing.

OOC: Orion Ascendant, the Machines didn't immediately sense your probe; I was thinking they would only discover you after they engaged the Solarin, but don't worry, I'm not ignoring you.

OOC:to above,no worries

IC: The exponential AI Pedro,and the 3 domain AIs,Klux,Sati and Djimon detected echoes on their sensors,specifically from the radar.Several artificial objects were already approaching their location.

The following message was received:

Source:<Vessel,Inorganic Construct,Suspicion Military Type;Gunship>Name: Dark Eden

Message:You have violated Solari territory. Explain your presence immediately. No vessels other than the Solari System Navy have been authorized access to this system. As such you are in violation of restricted space, and may be held for questioning on suspicion of espionage. Respond immediately.

Response...
...
...

Dark Eden,we were unaware of a Solari presence within the system.We are an unaffiliated mining vessel,Anvil,here to construct mining installations and perform a survey of this system and outlier systems within 20 light-years.

How may we assisst?

-----

Pedro,the Supervisor AI,reacted with what could be equated as minor surprise,as it allowed its emotional programming to take over.Klux was the Exploratory and Finance AI,Sati the Organic Relations,Research and Education AI and Djimon the Piloting and Defence AI.

So there were organics within the system.Unexpected.A military conglomerate of some sort were taking place within the system,as cold be seen by the probes broadcasts from further within the system.

Sati calculated a possible hostile response as probably but unlikely,if proper measures were taken.

While they were not interested in a conflict,as businesspersons and miners,they were more than capable of defending themselves,Pedro and Djimon especially,given their experience in the Jalimar Pacification against organic enemies who had attacked several wormhole terminals and sterilised several planetary systems.The campaign had ultimately resulted in their destruction,and Pedro had been at the centre of it,as the pilot of the feared Thandus,whose gravity and singularity manipulators had ultimately shattered the planet apart in a matter of seconds.

Their main vessel was just as capable of it,if given the appropriate time to allow for construction of a new one,or a conversion if time lacked, as well as a host of other activities.As long as none threatened them,they were content to leave them be.Live and let live.The system was large enough for all,and if not,they could simply move to an outlying one,given the resource cost was negligible.While not cowards,they were rather happy to avoid conflict.

Djimon hurriedly relegated some nanite to begin construction of signal filters throughout the ship,to provide defence against an electronic attack,while Pedro prepared the Point Singularity Projector for defence,and directed the gravitational drives to direct a 'blast' of gravity in the direction of the oncoming fighters should they prove hostile.Fleeing was the first choice,rather than to engage these sapients.Unnecessary conflict was not good for business and unconducive to relations with posible customers.

They would accelerate to relatavistic speed and enter time dilation,heading just outside the system before arcing back in and decelerating.Either that,or if more hostile,they would simply activate their Aldari drive and head for the neighbouring star,a mere 4 light-years away.

OOC:to above,no worries

IC: The exponential AI Pedro,and the 3 domain AIs,Klux,Sati and Djimon detected echoes on their sensors,specifically from the radar.Several artificial objects were already approaching their location.

The following message was received:

Source:<Vessel,Inorganic Construct,Suspicion Military Type;Gunship>Name: Dark Eden

Message:You have violated Solari territory. Explain your presence immediately. No vessels other than the Solari System Navy have been authorized access to this system. As such you are in violation of restricted space, and may be held for questioning on suspicion of espionage. Respond immediately.

Response...
...
...

Dark Eden,we were unaware of a Solari presence within the system.We are an unaffiliated mining vessel,Anvil,here to construct mining installations and perform a survey of this system and outlier systems within 20 light-years.

How may we assisst?

-----

Pedro,the Supervisor AI,reacted with what could be equated as minor surprise,as it allowed its emotional programming to take over.Klux was the Exploratory and Finance AI,Sati the Organic Relations,Research and Education AI and Djimon the Piloting and Defence AI.

So there were organics within the system.Unexpected.A military conglomerate of some sort were taking place within the system,as cold be seen by the probes broadcasts from further within the system.

Sati calculated a possible hostile response as probably but unlikely,if proper measures were taken.

While they were not interested in a conflict,as businesspersons and miners,they were more than capable of defending themselves,Pedro and Djimon especially,given their experience in the Jalimar Pacification against organic enemies who had attacked several wormhole terminals and sterilised several planetary systems.The campaign had ultimately resulted in their destruction,and Pedro had been at the centre of it,as the pilot of the feared Thandus,whose gravity and singularity manipulators had ultimately shattered the planet apart in a matter of seconds.

Their main vessel was just as capable of it,if given the appropriate time to allow for construction of a new one,or a conversion if time lacked, as well as a host of other activities.As long as none threatened them,they were content to leave them be.Live and let live.The system was large enough for all,and if not,they could simply move to an outlying one,given the resource cost was negligible.While not cowards,they were rather happy to avoid conflict.

Djimon hurriedly relegated some nanite to begin construction of signal filters throughout the ship,to provide defence against an electronic attack,while Pedro prepared the Point Singularity Projector for defence,and directed the gravitational drives to direct a 'blast' of gravity in the direction of the oncoming fighters should they prove hostile.Fleeing was the first choice,rather than to engage these sapients.Unnecessary conflict was not good for business and unconducive to relations with posible customers.

They would accelerate to relatavistic speed and enter time dilation,heading just outside the system before arcing back in and decelerating.Either that,or if more hostile,they would simply activate their Aldari drive and head for the neighbouring star,a mere 4 light-years away.

Dark Eden's powerful AI pondered the question for a moment...

Dark Eden to Anvil:

I am unsure how you may be of assistance. My superiors would desire to speak with you in all likelihood. Communications between us may be opened with our Command AI WRATHCHILD on Solari Prime. Might you dispatch a courier or similar vessel to inquire? We will send one of our own vessels to escort and provide safe passage if you so desire.

-Paschendale and the main fleet-

While the translation back to reality had gone unnoticed, the rapidly approaching enemy swarms were a bit harder to miss. The menacing hulks of the SSN responded with speed unmatched by any crewed vessel. Accelerating at speeds that would have crushed any regular human in a fraction of a second so small as to be unmeasurable, they oriented themselves as squadrons, deployed their gunship screens, and oriented their massive 10 meter guns on the encroaching hordes. Cruisers loaded with shot, while the Battleships and Battlecruisers loaded with solid and AP, ready to tear the shit out of the largest opponents. Shields blinked on, ready to activate their Neutral Particle Beam Cannon when power levels peaked. The task force was ready to defend themselves, all that remained was to get news to their superiors of the attack, and that could wait until they'd won...

OOC: bump, reply coming soon

Anvil considered carefully,for the ship was itself living,its functions being managed by Pedro,Klux,Sati and Djimon.

Over the course of a short nanosecond,it processed a reply and sent it after obtaining group consensus.A relay would be sent with the Solarin military envoys carrying a microgauge wormhole in a shielded compartment for instantaneous transmission,as well as a minor copy of Sati,already spun off and modified for communication and diplomatic purposes only.

In a span of 3.14 seconds after receiving the message,a capsule was ejected from a port in the sides of the asteroid,and slowly made its way to the ships awaiting it.

The Machine fleet, shields up and drives blazing, began to decelerate as it reached firing range. The longer-ranged guns on the Midnight-class bombard vessels were first to reach the enemy; massive turrets charged up, and a wave of turbolaser fire thundered towards the Solarin fleet. Unfortunately, Astaroth reflected, there were only six bombards, with two guns each. That would take too long.

And so the whole fleet moved into range, ignoring the enemy vessels as the fleet opened fire. From the weapons pylons of the Kraken battleships to the laser turrets of the Halberd-class frigates, a tidal wave of firepower erupted from the guns of the Machine fleet, streaking through space towards the Solarin vessels. Clouds of fighters erupted from the bays of the capital ships, and Astaroth felt the data from their sensors scream into him. Silently he sent his orders, feeling them move as if they were fingers on his hand. At his command, thousands upon thousands of Scalpels rocketed towards the enemy fleet, almost too fast to be tracked.

The battle was on.

OOC: For convenience, here's a list of some of the major Machine vessels, with types of weapons, characteristics. That kind of thing. Incidentally, the Machine swarm is very big; around 3,200 capital ships.

-Tyrant-class dreadnought AI: heavily armed/armored, very large, slow. 650 heavy turbolasers, 11 gravity-well generators, 500 laser cannons, 200 tractor beams, 80 Scalpel squadrons, 5 Volcanic squadrons. Looks like an Eclipse-class Star Destroyer.
-Kraken-class battleship AI: large, heavily armed/armored, slow. Shaped like a wheel, with central towers extending hundreds of meters up and down from the middle, spokes, and the ring itself with huge weapons pylons on it. 100 heavy turbolasers, 60 ion cannon, 40 laser turrets, 40 tractor beams, 8 Scalpel squadrons
-Galaxy-class planetary assault carrier: huge, lightly armed, slow, heavily armored. 14 turbolasers, 28 laser cannons.
-Widowmaker-class cruiser AI: central globe with large convex defense panels on each side (they are pretty much 100% armor and shield generators). Not that fast, but well armed/armored. 20 turbolaser cannons, 25 quad blaster turrets, 25 dual laser turrets, 4 Scalpel squadrons
-Halberd-class frigate AI: fast, lightly armored, strong weaponry. 24 laser turrets, 4 turbolasers, 1 Scalpel squadrons.
-Longsword-class corvette AI: long, basically cylindrical lightly armed/armored corvette. Very fast. 7 heavy laser cannons, 2 turbolasers, 1 Scalpel squadron
-Restless-class picket AI: light, ovoid, easy to destroy and with light weaponry. In battle, mostly used to support fighters. 4 laser cannons, 1 turbolaser.
-Scalpel-class fighter drone: remote-controlled attack fighter, extremely fast and maneuverable, with fairly strong weapons, though it has no defense whatsoever. 4 laser cannons.
-Volcanic-class bomber drone: remote-controlled light bomber, fairly fast, well armored, but with little weaponry other than the ordnance it carries. 2 lasers, 16 sonic warheads, 24 plasma bombs.

Hehehe... They're using TURBOLASERS. Primitives they must be.

Shut it Monty, there are still ALOT of them. And a whole lot less of us.

Yeah, but there's no way they can hit us at this range with those things. I mean, they're not even cfrac.

Just don't stand around and wait for them to hit you, understand? There's just the two of us. And a whole helluva lot more of them.

As the fighters closed with the fleet, the cruisers and destroyers let loose with their guns, unleashing several thousand tons of what was effectively cfrac buckshot, ineffective against anything with armor, but quite able to tear gaping holes in the fighter swarms that were their intended targets.

Wildly maneuvering battlecruisers and battleships locked their targets on and hammered out a volley of AP shells, their ten kiloton charges capable of tearing most anything apart from the inside. Massive swarms of missiles leapt from the underbellies of the fleet, seeking out the lighter combatants to remove the enemies support.

Gunships held their positions at the front of the fleet, picking off incoming ordnance before it could threaten the remainder of the taskforce. Fighters and bombers were the only vessels the Gunships were truly capable of combating, but they did an excellent job of that, pumping out round after round of shot, creating a cloud dense enough to stop anything from getting through untouched.

((OOC: Can you post the link for the interest thread? I'd like to be semi-involved.))

OOC:so,is anyone going to attack me?

OOC:so,is anyone going to attack me?

OOC: Not me.