A Piece of the Past, Come Forth to Haunt Us [FT] IC

[Free Terra]

OOC/Signups

Mid-March, 2409
Somewhere over Lilith, Twin Sisters

Commander Joel White flew high in the dense stratosphere of Lilith in his Albatross-Class Bomber, feeling absolutely supreme with his cybernetics directly connecting him to the craft. His suit allowed for him be be completely comfortable with any maneuver that his craft could do. He would now exploit that, after all, his patrol was over one of the most safe and secure places in the Heaven and Earth Alliance. Joel went into a sharp turn, testing what the extension of his body could do, he then forced the plane into a downward spiral. Laughing the whole time, he quickly corrected the plane and pulled up to face the sun. The Gs causing him a bit of discomfort, he stabilized, gave a chuckle, and sped up a bit. He kept going and going, attempting to achieve enough friction for the plasma sheath. He then began spinning with the sensation of weightlessness as the technology around him compensated at kept him from feeling the effects of the world he flew through.

That was when command gave the order. "Sentinel 1, that's enough. Return to base." Oh boy. He'd broken another one of the Caelis' countless rules on this barely-inhabited rock, hadn't he? This would be the 18th time that a Caelis officer shit on him because of what happened centuries ago. "Sentinel 1, confirmed. Heading home." He said, disappointed that he couldn't make the flames dance around his craft like the shuttle that brought him to the planet could. Lilith was sparsely populated, compared to Luciela. Joel was doing it over nothing but vast ocean. How it could be anything severe was beyond him. He soon came in on the control tower, and landed nice and calm. "Commander White." The acting commander of the base, General Hall, said as he passed. Joel came to attention quickly, expecting another chastising. It didn't come however.

"A notice came to my desk today. You'll have a visit from high command." The General spoke. Look, I don't know what you did to get audited, nor do I want to know, but for the sake of everyone here, don't get your ass carted off. Alright? The base is already running on a skeleton crew." He said, followed by a "Yes, Sir." From Joel. High Command? Audited? Who did he piss off? Did a mountain of complaints find a Caelis Consul? Joel was afraid now, not of normal punishment, but if he was discharged, he would probably be disowned from the family.

He was jealous of his brother, Grand Admiral of the Navy, Aldous White. He was always a good older brother at home, but the fact that Aldous only wrote once a month to Joel infuriated him. Numerous times, he's written to his brother, lamenting his position as a simple patrol for the second-safest place outside of GRFRT space. Aldous was leading grand fleets on a campaign map lightyears across. Of course, this would be the brother who was coming down from high command when Joel opened the door, expecting a bureaucrat.

"Sir!" Joel yelled as he snapped to a salute. "Ha, at ease, little brother!" Aldous said, walking in. He looked around for a moment. "This all yours?" He asked, gazing upon the desk with countless papers, the journal sat on Joel's bedpost, the list of local girls' numbers pinned on the wall. "Tut-tut." He said. "You should've packed lightly for this..." Aldous said quietly. "Uh, packed lightly for what?" Joel asked. "You're coming with me, brother. There's a universe out there that I know you've been dying to see. Here, I've got all the paperwork ready, and I've got another pilot to fill your position." He said, handing a parchment to Joel. Looking it over for a moment, he saw where he'd be. "The Dea Magna?!" He asked, baffled. The most advanced ship Free Terra had, save for the Titan. More importantly, it was Aldous' own flagship. "Aye, pack your things, we've got a Supercarrier to catch."

Joel quickly packed his things, and left for the shuttle with his brother. He then saw how beautiful the universe was.




1 Month Ago...

Some year-and-a-quarter after the events of the Terran-Caelis war and subsequent merger, the new Heaven-and-Earth Alliance has gone on a massive colonization effort. Another 5 systems have been brought into the fold, and numerous worlds within those systems being terraformed and seeded for colonization. It was around the time of the 4th new addition to the Alliance that a strange signal was detected. It was at first, garbled, but eventually it was deciphered.

"T- all possi- *interference* We are the *interference* We a- -ttack from *unintelligible* We can't ho- *interference* -peaceful mission, we are onl- -pected to survive- 30 Ol- Eart- Years. To all- -ildren of Earth, we are in n- -assistance! plea,- -we ne- -stance! Message o- -epeat."

TRANSLATED:

"To all possible [Allies?] *interference* We are the [UNKNOWN] *interference* We are under attack from [UNKNOWN] *unintelligible* We can't hold [For long?] *interference* [We were on a?] -peaceful mission, we are only expected to survive 30 Old-Earth Years. To all children of Earth, we are in need of assistance! Please, we need assistance! Message on repeat."

The frequency was typically used by Old Earth as a beacon to the unknown that we were intelligent. This meant that there were more who came to this Galaxy from the wormhole that had brought the Free Terran and Caelis peoples to this remote corner of the universe. It was traced to a system 24 lightyears away from the most recent addition. Not much was known, but it was clear enough for action. Another branch of humanity existed. That branch was under attack. Thanks to warp travel, it would be possible to make it there in a few weeks, but with Free Terran jump technology, it could be made wherever one of their ships was. Especially due to Q-COMM systems allowing smooth communication. A call went out, and the Alliance gathered a small force to investigate. First, an old asset, The Sagittarius was sent via warp to the coordinates to scout out the area. It would respond in a month, and by then, both the Caelis and Terrans would have their forces ready. It was carefully agreed upon which ships would be used for what. The most powerful asset would be the Free Terran Navy's Second Supercarrier, the Dea Magna. The ships would be in place a month from now. All that could be done now was watch.




Present Day, Border-System of Porta Exteriores

The fleet held firm at the coordinates pre-agreed upon for a correct jump. The titan was in position to bridge the fleet into the system, currently designated as Fremunt. "All system are green, Grand Admiral." The Tactical Officer reported, and a nod from the hologram of the AI Athena confirmed what was said. "Good, Athena, inform the Imperator that we're ready and waiting for the Sagittarius." The AI nodded, and the message was sent. "Brave men of the Dea Magna, you have been briefed that we may be heading into a hostile system, but be inspired by the fact that our brothers in mankind rest below the planet we seek to liberate. Sisters and Brothers in arms, prepare yourself for a jump into general quarters. All pilots, be prepared to launch immediately after jump, drone controllers are to suit up and be prepared to harness swarms with ferocity." The Caelis were also present, but had unsurprisingly devoted far less then Free Terra. Their laziness and resent towards their new allies didn't cause them to spare expense, however. There, in the middle of the formation, next to the Dea Magna, was the ultra-dark Nightingale. This meant that Aldous' counterpart, Admiral Red Ventus was present. Good, he needed another truly competent commander to assist in managing the large fleet which had amassed.

Initial tactics would be the Carrier group jumping itself far from the field, the Nightshade Carriers would deploy a screen of drones to interfere with detection, and then all drones and fighters from both groups would be deployed to the field instantly, to support the battle group. The battle group itself would begin by jumping at a distance from the enemy, firing a volley from their energy weapons to break the forces currently on-field, then warp into the thick of it to rip apart the leftovers. It was sound, but relied heavily on the element of surprise. If the invaders caught wind of it, then the plan would be hindered. The only other foreseen issue was how the defenders would react to the massive fleet appearing in their space. But that would be explained quickly by the actions the fleet would take.

Fremunt

The Sagittarius had arrived, and with it the first message, detailing its arrival was sent to the fleet. It then released a cloud of highly sophisticated probes that began to relentlessly scan every nook and cranny of the system. After a while, the probes had returned. Vessels holding defensive position over the planet numbering only a few dozen with quite a large number of smaller craft. They were confirmed by the detection of Old-Earth communications systems. Numbers of ships with different signal protocol and outlines number at around 200, with countless small craft. They all held around the outermost planetoid, and bombarded the defenders by re-directing asteroids. It was a cunning plan that the invaders seemed to use. Breaking the defenders' will without engaging them directly, having outer-system dominance and keeping the enemy under a heavy bombardment. It was straight out of the old book, Art of War.

Code: Select all

Emperor, you are cleared to begin operations, coordinate clusters sent. Begin on my mark.

The report was sent. However, a recent legislature added another step. One which could cost the fleet dearly.
Despite their desire to win any battles they fight, the Caelis beat into the ground our policy of diplomacy, and the Sagittarius was forced to begin diplomacy and try to reach an agreement with both parties. The Alliance would not simply rush headlong into a fight without an attempt at avoiding one. Beacon probes were sent, preparing the areas chosen for fleet movement, and two communications probes were also sent. This required the Sagittarius to warp to the other end of the system, to mask the ship's location. Once the two probes ended warp at their positions near both parties, two messages went up.

To the Defenders:

Fellow humans, your call for help has not fallen on the ears of the deaf and mute. We, of the Heaven and Earth Alliance, have heard your call. We are prepared to bargain for and defend your lives with all our might. What you must do for this, is accept our assistance, and refrain from fratricide should our words fail those who strike at you.

To the Invaders:

Unknown members of the cosmos, we are the Heaven and Earth Alliance. You have caused great suffering to our brothers deep below, but we would offer you a deal. We shall refrain from blows, and open diplomacy. The siege of this nation shall end, and we can look forward without slaughter. Or, we defend our brothers by blood, and force you to end the siege through battle. We can all walk away from this richer, if you would use the same decency that we wish to use, and not the harsh weapons that we are prepared to use. If this message is understood, simply respond with the numerical value of 1, so that we may begin proper talks.

The beacons went up, and the Sagittarius readied itself for the response. War meant that within 2 seconds, the fleet would arrive. Peace meant that the fleet would be put on standby, and nobody would have to needlessly die. The invaders' response would kick off the start of a new war, or end an old one.

[Senata Populus Que Caelum]

Nowhere in Particular

It had been only a year and a half since the end of the war. Many had claimed it to be a new era, even the name of armed forces from the Void Fleet has been changed to the Caelis New Era Fleet. This was true for the majority of those too young to fight in the last war and who were only now coming of age. The warrior culture was the life blood of the Caelis, it was far stronger than even the military traditionalists of Free Terra who saw it was above and beyond what was expected in most instances. The Caelis saw it as every man and woman's duty to defend the Twin Sisters and their colonies. The recent merger had begrudgingly meant that it also included Free Terran planets but when it came to recruitment posters that was quietly forgotten about.

The merge was mostly caused by Grand Admiral Red Ventus of the CNEF who initiated the first co-operation between the SPQC and Free Terra. He is one of the few of the "Old Guard" that truly believe in the merge with Free Terra. During the original conflict Ventus was nearly indicted as a traitor which would have him executed but backing from the young Consul Leonis Ithica saw the official ruling keep Ventus in power over the Caelis fleet. While much of the senate is either neutral or against the merge having the most powerful arm of the military and a Consul backing it quells most naysayers. While the military including Ventus remains deathly loyal to the senate the Grand Admiral and Grand General represent partial political forces that sit in on some senate hearings. The Consuls are the largest powers in the government and are the link between military and civilian government. While Leonis Ithica supports the merge Wyven Ren, the other Consul, remains neutral and so the senate defaults to supporting the merge. Rumours are spreading across the lower senators or rebelling against Leonis and stripping his rank but what is hysteria and true plotting cannot be determined.

Many civilians in the republic see this as a highly controversial topic, in part thanks to the free press milking the topic. While moral in the military holds strong many of the older reservists feel that if given the opportunity by the senate to break the ties they would do so gladly. The worst case scenario of a civil war a topic being thrown around by kids on the network but the possibility was perhaps more real than anyone would admit.

[Naretion]

Uncharted Space

A lone Aleandro drone hovered vertically over an asteroid floating in space and was continuously zapping at it to separate the minerals from the rock. As it went about it's routine programming it detected radiowaves representing a message passing nearby it. "Bbb-ZZZT! Activating protocol 39....Detecting....recording....recording....storing....translating...."

"T- all possi- *interference* We are the *interference* We a- -ttack from *unintelligible* We can't ho- *interference* -peaceful mission, we are onl- -pected to survive- 30 Ol- Eart- Years. To all- -ildren of Earth, we are in n- -assistance! plea,- -we ne- -stance! Message o- -epeat."

"Detected, unintelligible message...Recorded...Stored...Translated to capabilities...Transferring...ZZZT!"

---

The Spire

The Spire was a huge construction built in the human nation of Naretion before they had mastered spaceflight and encountered alien races. It was the single largest building in the entire world and has gotten even larger over time as upgrades were made to it including gardens to grow food, housing for government officials, and defense systems to protect it from attack. All over many centuries. The Spire is one of the many symbols the humans of The Federation look to for hope and for their culture. The Spire was where "The Republic of Naretion" ended and "The Phoenix Empire of Naretion" began, resulting in the single most successful government the population of Naretion have ever lived under.

In The Spire, Emperor Nathanael Rose stood in front of a large monitor on one of the highest levels in The Spire which housed the Aleandro control center. This was where the entire Aleandro fleet received their orders, protocols, and reports were received from them. He had been called there to receive a very important message which the communications officers took upon themselves to translate more than the Aleandro were capable of doing through their AI. The original message was played but subtitles were added for the translation purposes.

"To all possible [Allies?] *interference* We are the [UNKNOWN] *interference* We are under attack from [UNKNOWN] *unintelligible* We can't hold [For long?] *interference* [We were on a?] -peaceful mission, we are only expected to survive 30 Old-Earth Years. To all children of Earth, we are in need of assistance! Please, we need assistance! Message on repeat."

Emperor Rose rubbed his cleanly shaved chin in wonder. "A message from an unknown..species? Nation?

Maximilian, his Phoenix representative (Phoenix is the name of the Emperor's elite special forces unit, used for the protection of the Emperor and for the most important missions, they receive more funds and training than any other section of Naretion's military, despite their small size.) stepped forward with his hands folded behind his back. "Sounds to me like whoever they are they need help.

"Yes true...but at the speed of which this message was traveling, that message could be months, years old. Do we even know how far away it originated?" The Emperor asked.

The communications officer shook his head, "No sir not yet, but we do know what direction it came from. How old the message is or how long it would take to reach the source is mere speculation until we do some more investigation."

"If there's even a chance that there is a nation or united species out there in need of help from some unjustified invaders, we must stop them." Max said.

"Yes and no. It is not our duty as Naretion to take care of situations like this. We could take it upon ourselves, but I think I'd prefer to get The Federation involved. Protecting innocent life was the entire purpose of creating it, thus I shall bring this situation to them. Communications officer! Call for a Council meeting first thing tomorrow morning. I want every representative that can make it there. Let them all know it is urgent and play them the message if they need more convincing!" The Emperor said.

"Yes Emperor, I shall inform the council races immediately." The communications offer said as he turned around and got to work.

The Federation was created to stop the destruction/enslavement of free races. First from the Nev-Warks, then from the Koraza. This message was the first situation in a long time that the Federation would encounter that involved possible genocide of a free race/nation. They would meet in the official Council Station, which was a large station placed in the center of The Federation's territory access to an electronic version of The Archives. They would meet the next day, and The Emperor would represent humanity at the meeting as he usually did when he was available.

[New Creataris]

Aurul (Arcum)
New Creatarisian forward base
Command Centre

The command centre was for the most part quiet, base personnel quietly went about their tasks, the viewscreen showed a huge supply vessel delivering standard supplies along with eight massive Planet Bombs for later use and a continuous beeping noise could be heard as the Reflecting Satellite cannon had its capacitors charged for the planned assault. This ordered calm was however, interrupted by a young comms officer running towards the bases commanders, Admiral Dorrel and General Torun, with urgent news. A distress call must have gotten out and now a probe had arrived demanding negotiations, the officer had taken the initiative and had the translation matrix learn this new races language from their probe letting them translate the message. "Do we have any knowledge of where this probe came from" asked Admiral Dorrel concerned that the operation could be in danger.

"No sir, but we have a general direction" responded the officer "we believe the sender is outside the system".

"Send them their one but continue the bombings until we get a satisfactory outcome from this" came General Torun's decision "you should get up there old friend">

"I agree" came the simple reply "prepare my flagship, the carriers and a small escort to leave immediately".

[Organized States]

Fort Dawson
Eden
Organized Systems
The Present Day

"Sir, we have no clue who the hell they are." said one of the Junior officers hurriedly as Major General Lyle Freeland, Organized Systems Air Force, commander of Eden's defenses, weighed his options in dealing with the new arrivals. The coded message sent a month earlier had resulted in the quick jumps of the OSS Ranger and OSS Yorktown, two Ellsworth-class Supercarriers and their respective Carrier Strike Groups, which carried with them hundreds of F-198A Eagles along with providing ferrying for around 150 OSAF F-190C Falcons, boosting the far-lackluster air power in the system. The OS Military, though still an extremely formidable force, had been hit with budget cuts in recent years.

"How far out are our reinforcements?" asked Freeland, stroking his chin, which was slowly bringing stubble. There weren't nearly enough Hydrogen or hell even, Helium Fuel Cells to go around, particularly for use in things as sublime as Razors.

"They're still restaging for another jump at Iridanus IV, sir." The junior officer, a 2nd Lieutenant, said. The reinforcement fleet was a group of 5 more super-carriers and supply ships carrying thousands of more troops that would be essential in the inevitable battle to retake the outer worlds. Another set of massive tremors shook the concrete floor below them. Another asteroid strike.

"Get me Admiral Stims." Freeland said.

F-198A Lucky Strike!
Upper Atmosphere, Providence
27 Years ago

I apologize for the godmodding at first. I thought it was needed to convey the fact that fighting is actively occurring. I now cede control of this craft to New Creataris

The two F-198As tore through the atomsphere at Mach 4.5 as the desperate alien craft attempted to get away. Contrails formed around the side of their small wingtips as Lieutenant Junior Grade James "Bucky" Cornelli's helmet mounted display brought an illuminated green box around the Alien intruder's silhouette. Cornelli armed his ordinance by touching the display in front of him. The two AIM-264Ds, located inside of his internal bays, were topped off before a red circle began moving towards the green box on the Helmet-mounted display. Left, to the right, then to the left again before finally centering in the dead center of the green box before the word FIRE appeared in Light Blue Lettering at the top of the HMD. Bucky's gloved finger flipped open a small case covering the small red button on his joystick that decided whether a being would live or die.

He pressed down on it, and the missiles tore away from his fighter at Mach 9, screaming towards the opponent. Their streaks illuminated themselves on the HMD in purple as he switched to the weapons tracking mode allowing for him to confirm a hit or miss of the target.

"Hunter 1-1, Fox 4! Fox 4!" Cornelli said into his headset, excitement building, as the purple streak got closer and closer.

OSS Saratoga, CVN-451
Eden Orbit
The Present Day

The OSS Saratoga was a proud ship, her massive bow adorned with the hull numbers of ships who had once bore the name Saratoga. The first of the massive Saratoga-class carriers, a new breed of super-carrier to replace the ageing Ellsworth-classes. Carrying 400 F-198Es, 250 Missiles, and bristling with point defense weaponry, the mile-long ship was the pride of the OS Navy. With another 8 being built back home on New Fairford, hopefully they would turn the tide of the stalemated war. Vice Admiral James Cornelli stood on the bridge of his ship, watching as two Sharpens-class Cruisers finished their jumps, joining the fleet of the Saratoga, the OSS Ranger, the OSS Yorktown and their escorts, consisting of a total of 14 Apollo-class destroyers, making the fleet one of the largest ever assembled by the OS Navy in the war.

"Sir, the fleet's assembled and awaiting further orders." said the Deck Officer, a Lt. Commander Thompson, looking back from his seat in front of a control console as more junior officers went about their duties communicating and coordinating the fleet.

"Arm 24 Pahanas and prepare them for launch. Tell the Apollos to scramble their airwings, deploy all of their Eagles in a defensive screen, 8 mile spacing. Keep the Carrier-aircraft in reserve. We'll wait them out." replied Cornelli, rattling off a set of instructions that would extremely difficult for most, if not all, deck officers to follow, but Thompson was pretty damn good at his job, and Cornelli made sure that he was assigned to deck duty during combat actions. With a few taps on the screen in front of him, the orders were away and the fighters scrambled. The arming of the SSM-605 Pahanas was the most important part of that entire order, as the Pahana was the cornerstone of OS Nuclear Fire in this day and age. The Pahana was named for a deity from a culture that pre-dated even the ancient Organized States, the Hopi. In Hopi Mythology, the Pahana or White Brother, left the Hopi during the entrance to the Fourth World, However, it is believed that he would return once again to destroy the wicked and bring in a new age of peace. A fitting name for a 52 Megaton Nuclear Weapon. The Pahana carried with it a range of 56,000 Nautical Miles, well beyond the range of most conventional weapons.

If the new arrivals and the enemy decided to make nice with each other, 24 Panahas certainly had the potential to screw up their days. However, a final warning would be offered.

Code: Select all

ATTENTION UNKNOWN VESSELS. THIS IS THE OSS SARATOGA. RESPOND TO HAILS IMMEDIATELY OR LEAVE THE SYSTEM AT ONCE, AS YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN VIOLATION OF OS MARITIME CODE 45-63, AND INTERRUPTING IN ACTIVE MILITARY OPERATIONS. YOU HAVE 10 MINUTES TO RESPOND.



[Free Terra]

Godmod advisory, TG me if there's a problem.

Fremunt

Message received...
Greetings to you, unknown conquerors. We would request to initiate the diplomatic process by stating our purpose. We wish for the siege of this nation to end. We would ask that you would first give us the name of the nation that you represent. In addition to this, we ask that your weapon system power down, to maintain the peaceful essence of this talk.

The Sagittarius stalled them in order to use its cloaked probes to scan for what and where the weapon was. In addition, the jump beacons were activated, and friendly drives could lock onto them. The initial system scans showed minor activity planetside, but there was no response quite yet. Command was notified of this, and the fleet was warned that there was no agreement for friendly fire. Moreover, the question was raised of where the rest of the invading fleet had gone. Likely looming near the gas giant in system, or in the asteroid belt, hiding in wait for a moment to launch an assault. Mobilization from the other human entity was accepted as a silent agreement.

Regardless, the Sagittarius maintained its stealth systems, and prepared to give the signal to the fleet.



Porta Exteriores

The aliens chose to talk. This meant one of two things, they either wish to end their hostilities and possibly become partners, or they want to stall in order to rally their forces. Either way, the element of surprise waned. The bureaucracy of the Alliance made it difficult to launch a truly unexpected attack on the enemy, as the initial engagement needed to at least have an attempt at diplomacy. The Dea Magna broadcasted to the fleet that the jump drives were still to be spooled, and the Sagittarius would attempt to use its remaining probes to determine where on the dwarf planet the weapon that was bombarding the human nation was whilst attempting to negotiate. This was so the Hera strike group would have a straight warp with its fighter-bombers to take out the enemy asteroid-hijacking weapon while the initial shock of the fleet's arrival caught the enemy off-guard.

Joel was anxious. It had been less than a week since he was chosen by his brother, and now here he was, sitting in the launch bays, waiting with the other one-hundred some-odd fighters to jump in and launch into a warp. He was assigned a wingman position for the Eagle Squadron, his call-sign was Eagle 2. In front of him, in addition to the Eagle Squadron, he saw many squadron names. Mako squadron, fighter-bombers. They would be one of the squadrons that Joel was supposed to protect. Fenris squadron, fighters, they were known for a ruthless and unorthodox tactic in battle. They would fly in formation only until warp, then, they would break into four pairs, firing at targets from two angles. One fighter would lead the chase while another flew a bit behind, getting into a good position for railgun fire. Atlas squadron, fighter-bombers, were known to attack simultaneously, using saturation attacks from all 7 of their planes to overrun defense systems attempting to stop bombs and missiles. Every squadron was different, but they were all brothers. His leader, Eagle 1, whom he was assigned wing duty to, was a skilled pilot. She had never lost a squadmate in both the Terran-Caelis war and the "Maelstrom incident," as it was known. The previous Eagle 2 had died planetside, acute radiation poisoning from the Maelstrom incident caught up to him. Eagle squadron itself was quite remarkable for its 100% survival rate, with over 50 kills in both wars.

Aldous was on edge, thanks to the SPQC deciding that a bureaucratic approach was the best for warmongers who murdered other humans wholesale. It was further disappointing to see that Ventus' hands were tied, and there was nothing he could do to influence Consul Ren. If it were Ithica, he could do something to convince, but with the council divided amongst participants, the SPQC had to enforce the diplomacy clause. Had it been different, with the SPQC having found another dying breed of human, then the action would've taken place immediately. However, their resent for the GFRFT was enough to throw away the chance at decisive action, as well as a chance at a swift and crushing victory.

However, the Sagittarius had just confirmed something on the dwarf planet. A large power-heavy array with an amplification node and large amounts of reflective arrays. A truly omnidirectional laser weapon. The fleet hadn't prepared or something quite that large, but there were contingencies in place. If the fighters groups couldn't take it out, then it would be dealt with differently, as the information was relayed to the Titan.

[Senata Populus Que Caelum]

CNEF Nightingale

Admiral Red Ventus was pacing back and forth across the bridge, stopping every now and then to admire the spherical display screen the entire bridge crew was inside. The bridge was in the deepest, most protected part of the ship and the main feature was the massive sphere that the bridge officers sat inside. On the walls it was a massive seamless display showing the space around them with computer assists highlight allies, enemies, neutral and dividing up between different ship types, classes and just about any other information you wanted. At the moment little blue squares indicated the presence of 98 GFRFT ships and another 29 CNEF ships, not including Nightingale herself.

He watched the empty space around him, it was the clam before the storm. One hundred and nineteen warships spread across thousands of kilometers, scanning the empty space, their radar ears twitching at every magnetic wave. Ventus knew that Consul Ithica had a back up fleet in reserve, even against the wishes of the senate. It was a Combat Group of fifty one warships sitting far back in the safety of the Twin Sisters. Ventus had personally chosen the best warships he could for the mission ahead of the them. Originally he was limited by the senate to having 35 warships but since his specific choice of vessels had taken the most powerful ones away he was limited to 29.

In his fleet were the legendary Flag Ships. Specially designed ships of each class that took the original schematics and were modified to be far more powerful (but also more costly) than their standard counterparts. Included in this was the true fleet flag ship CNEF Nightingale a Nightshade class carrier where Ventus resided, CNEF Republic the Flag Ship type Hemlock Frigate and CNEF Archangel, the single most powerful warship in the entire Caelis New Era Fleet.

Ventus drew the screen to focus on Archangel, it was barely visible on the screen which currently was only displaying the visible light spectrum. In fact the only reason he could see it was because he knew where it was and even then he wasn't too sure. The coating on the hulls of Caelis warships absorbed as much as 99.9989% of all visible light that comes into contact with it. It also drastically reduces infrared and ultraviolet light reflections. More importantly it assisted in absorbing radio waves and helping in stealth capabilities. The only real reason Ventus could see the ship at all was because of the massive blot of darkness that made even the void surrounding it look bright and full of life. It was like looking at a black hole, all (or in this case, nearly all) light never bounced back to your eye and the only way you can see it is the contrast between it and the surrounding space. Though even then only if you know exactly where to look.

This in combination with a highly advanced electronics warfare suite was perhaps the most powerful series of weapons in the CNEF arsenal. Sure, Free Terran ships might be more powerful in a slugging match, thicker hulls and more rail guns, but it was the ability to project "Ghost Radar Echoes" at an en enemy radar warning receiver that could tip the balance. It was possible to project the fake echoes of an entire battle group dozens of light seconds away, tricking the enemy into thinking there are out numbered or out maneuvered. But even after the EW systems had done their damage he had to admit war did come down to actually, physically, hitting and killing your opponent, maybe the Terrans had the right idea? Maybe not.

The most pressing concern he had right now was the use of nuclear weaponry in a combined fleet. In the recent years just about every squash head missile had been replaced with a nuclear payload of varying output. Every single blast would blind ship sensors for just a second or two which was trouble enough but when combined with the launch and detonation of hundreds of nuclear missiles the long term radiation a detonation left behind becomes a real problem. Entire sections of space can become impenetrable to sensors and even damaging to ship sensors. Theoretically is should be fine, but practice was often very different to theory.

OOC: Modern fighter aicraft use similar electronic warfare packages.

[New Creataris]

Providence
Upper atmosphere
27 years ago

To say that Storm-Commander Velkan Sarken was having a bad day would be an understatement, his dropship carried a New Creatarisian Ambassador who had planned to meet a race of primitives inhabiting this system. As per usual fate decided it hated them, not long after sending their admittedly very aggressive language matrix, which had been construed as cyber warfare before, weapons fire began issuing form the surface and two fighters came screaming towards them. Sarken had done what was only logical, he ordered his Weapons Officer to fire as missiles began to streak across the skies towards them and his pilot performed manoeuvres no dropship should ever make in order to flee but one missile hit. As the whole dropship shuddered he regretted not taking a dropship with shields, warning alarms rang through the cockpit informing them of damage to one of the engines, Sarkens' arrogance would prevent them from leaving the atmosphere. With a heavy heart he informed command that they were under attack and could not escape, as the dropship turned he knew that command would want this race exterminated for attacking an ambassador. The damaged craft bore down on the fighters letting loose positron beams from its ventral turrets and firing its compliment of torpedoes at the ground two at a time as fast as possible.

Aurul
New Creatarisian forward base
Command Centre

"General, the fleet reports ready" called a comms officer from somewhere in the room "the unknowns are also asking us to deactivate the Reflecting Satellite cannon in the spirit of peace".

"Launch the fleet and activate the Hyperspatial Sonar if the unknowns are cloaked I want them found, it wouldn't be to much to assume they are looking for us" ordered General Torun "after all we wouldn't want to shoot them by accident". What sounded like the pinging of ancient Sonar rang through the base, the planet and and any ships up to 12 light seconds away from the planet as the base's sensors analysed the subspace waves made by every heartbeat, breath, watts of power produced, everything that had movement on even a subatomic level was picked up, including the probes. "Sir, we've found a number of what we assume are probes and a larger vessel nearby" called a sensors officer "we are also getting signatures which match a large enemy fleet on its way here".

"Very good, jam the probes and tell that vessel we won't deactivate that weapon with that enemy fleet around" came the Generals response "charge and fire two of the backup arrays at the enemy fleet".

Code: Select all

Unidentified vessel
We will not deactivate our weapon with an enemy fleet this close to our base, any shots fired are not aimed at you as you have given us no cause to attack you.

Aural
Surface

Near the base great hangar doors opened revealing a battleship, six Guipellon class multi-deck carriers, fourteen Pormelia class assault carriers and six Destroia class Heavy Cruisers which launched and headed towards the assumed location of the cloaked ship. On other parts of the planet energy began to build up in preparation for the incoming OS fleet.

[Free Terra]

OS, I addressed that they were human when I first tried to open comms. They're not TOO unknown to you. Also, this post may seem tech-wanky, but it's a description more of how the Alliance intends to win the fight when it happens. Also, it's from their point-of-view, so to them, all of it is top-grade stuff. It doesn't necessarily reflect what other nations would see. Typical advisory about godmodding, if there's an issue, TG me or use the OOCC thread to tell me what needs to be edited.

Fremunt

This was bad, not only had the aliens openly declined to deactivate the weapon, but now they were hilariously attempting to find the Sagittarius. Its location was, for now, a secret, as bending all wavelengths around the hull aided in stealth immensely. Had it not been for the QCOMM systems on-board, the vessel wouldn't be able to communicate with the fleet nor the probes. Something amusing was the attempt to jam all of the probes launched by Sagittarius. The fools hadn't realized the quantum communications side of it prevented communications silence, so the probes could still be moved into different positions, which they were, at random intervals for each probe. It seemed, at the moment, like the aliens hadn't figured out that the Alliance forces were human.

Unknown Species.
If you will not deactivate your weapon, then at the very least, cease hostile actions towards the scientific survey probes utilized by the vessel, such is a blatant mockery to the peace process. You have 60 Seconds to comply to this before we deem you as hostile. In addition, you have failed to give us the name of your civilization.

Now, if you do not wish for hostilities, we would wish to propose a new idea. In exchange for the safety of this race, and cessation of your attack, we would offer a mutual prosperity agreement, where our two species will work together in unison, as equals.

With that mess being stirred in the pot, another message was sent to the humans below.

Brothers, we are attempting to find a way to sort this out peacefully, should talks turn hostile, you would not want our help? The message we received from two-decades prior indicates otherwise. A clarification of why we are here will be given. We seek to aid you, as fellow children of Earth.

Porta Exteriores

The situation in Fremunt had gone from bad to shit, which wasn't something that Aldous wasn't used to. The fleet was informed of what had transpired, and both flagships were to know. The decision to jump in if the jamming didn't stop was passed over to Ventus, as a reaffirmation of Free Terra's cooperation. Whilst SPQC Command was mulling it over, Aldous began to assess more tactical data that was relayed from the probes. The weapon's more-accurate location on the planet was found, and the initial Hera strike-group's jump-in coordinates were altered by 2 lightseconds. The aliens weren't about to back down on us, and we weren't about to fold over onto our backs. Initial data showed that their ships were smaller, and to some extent, lesser-armed, not unlike the first-generation SPQC ships. This was good. We could take more hits than they could and for longer, and our weapons were powerful. The fleet was mighty, and was, together, enough of a match for the aliens.

If the initial fight went as the twin AI networks of the Maximus Novus Classe intended it too, then the Alliance would have most of its ships, and the enemy would only have a handful to mount a reasonable counterattack with. More data was examined and put into the simulation, the fleet formations and attack plans were adjusted minutely to compensate. Every little tick of information gathered was added. Even the enemy jamming frequencies were added to the system in order to reduce echo.

When the fleet would arrive, the Free Terran vessels would use a reflective jamming technique, sentry drones placed by the carriers around the battlefield would inflate their radar signature to make the enemy believe a massive force had come through, only to quickly drop signature bloom and move to a different location to do the same, hopefully drawing fire away from the main fleet assets and confuse enemy sensors. Any projectiles from hostile fighters or from ships in the form of missiles would be stopped by point-defense laser and railguns before ever hitting the shields. This way, none of the enemy fighters would be as effective, especially with all of the jamming from allied fighters. Electronic Warfare packages were employed to further saturate enemy radar, and with all of this EW on-field, the idea was to force the enemy to manually aim their cannons and eyeball their shots. The idea amongst the Alliance fleet was to break not only the enemy's ranks, but to destroy their ability to fight.

In the hangar bay, the fighters were ready to launch, and everyone was filled with as much pride as an itch to fight. "Hey, Eagle-2." His commander spoke to him through the QCOMM network. "What is it, Eagle-1?" His commander chimed up again. "Don't you get shot in this fight, I don't want this to be my first loss of my career, and try to keep up, it can be hell out there and we're not going to babysit you in the fur ball." A strange, if expected command. He was the new guy. "Don't worry about me, Eagle-1. Worry about the bombers." While many of the fighters on-board were Free Terran, there was a number of rookies from the SPQC who wanted to learn to pilot a fighter or fighter-bomber. Many of them who were on the Dea Magna were in the fighter-bombers which would be nigh invaluable to the operation. Their anti-ship torpedoes would break the targets that the warships were too busy to deal with.

Those extra pilots would be needed soon.

[New Creataris]

Aurul
New Creatarisian forward base
Command Centre

"Sir they have given us half a minute to cease our jamming efforts or be decared hostile" announced a comms officer "they are also proposing a mutaual prosperity agreement in return for the cessation of the attack".

"Very well, now we at least have a measure of how they communicate" replied General Torun "deactivate jamming and have them send an ambassador to the battleship".

Code: Select all

Unknown vessel
New Creataris appologises for the jamming but we would appreciate not having probes above this forward base, remove them at once then send a representative to the battleship so that we may talk.

Aurul
Orbit

As the group of ships neared the cloaked vessel they stopped and at the rear of the battleship a section of the armoured hull opened to reveal an empty launch bay as an indication of where a representative was to be sent.

[Free Terra]

Quick post to begin. Also, SPQC might recognize this character, and note the minor difference of last name. I lost my keyboard with the number-pad, so I can't Alt code Umlauts any more.

Fremunt

The aliens requested diplomatic envoy in person. "Great..." Captain Jaeger said softly as he sent word to the fleet.

Code: Select all

Fleet, this is Captain Daniel Jaeger of the Sagfittarius, aliens seek level 7 diplomacy, proceeding now. Linking my quantum implants to the jump probes, if I give them the activation signal, you jump in. This includes my death, if necessary.

The scan probes were waved off to 80 lightseconds, as a sign of good will, and the jump probes had yet to be touched by enemy jamming equipment. Had they not noticed or simply ignored the not-sensory communications probes?

He then suited up for unknown atmosphere, his powered suit would filter the atmosphere in their vessel to his necessity of nitrogen-oxygen mixture, as most humans need to survive. He signaled the "Creatarians" that he would appear beneath their flagship. A moment later, his warp drive activated, instantly bringing him beneath the ship, on course with the docking bay. The hangar's capacity for his vessel was... Dubious, at best. He was instructed to land atop one of the large flat-topped vessels, obviously carriers of some sort. He decided, as he left the safety of his ship, to rig the reactor to blow if any non-alliance personnel tried to get into the Sagittarius, as its data and systems were too valuable. He exited, and the aliens directed him to a taxiing fighter that was on what appeared to be the airlock to the deck. The ship was, like most carriers, a jungle-jim of metal and electronics.

After launching in the fighter, he was brought to the enemy flagship. Once on-board, he found the atmosphere was breathable, though he didn't want to reveal his expression to the oddly human-like blue-skinned creatures. He was eventually lead to a conference table, and stood before the officers of the ship. He spoke through the suit's deep speaker setting, masking his voice in a boom. "I understand that you know my language... I am Captain Daniel Jaeger of the Heaven and Earth Alliance's Strategic Vessel Sagittarius. I understand that the one in charge of this vessel is the one I am to be speaking with." He extended his arm slowly. "I wish to shake hands with you, as a formal introduction between our two nations."

[New Creataris]

Battleship 'Raining Glory'
Conference Room

The Admiral (one less stripe on the arm) watched the smaller being extend its hand and extended his own in response to give a firm handshake before sitting down. "Please, sit and remove your helmet" said the Admiral in a tone that left little room for argument "you will not be harmed, we have no quarrel with your people". Commander Nalze of the Imperial Guard watched the Captain intently from his seat analysing every detail, finding no obvious threat he was at least partially satisfied that the Captain had come in the spirit of peace. "I apologize for my armed guard but we must follow protocol you understand" he said in a slightly condescending tone "we also had to be sure you would not try and attack us during negotiations, its happened before".

[Free Terra]

Liberties taken for the purpose of plot, TG if it's too much.

Alien Battleship
Conference Room

The being before him was tall, though Free Terran shock infantry were typically larger men than him. When requested to remove his helmet, the Captain hesitantly removed it, and as it decompressed, he let himself breathe the air around him. It was cleaner than the stuffy inner workings of the Sagittarius, but he preferred the smell of Terra Novus' air. He looked around hesitantly, as the guards around him eyed him like vultures. Captain Jaeger wasn't armed, aside from his wit, but that would be useless against the squad of guards. The Admiral, as he deduced, informed him not to worry, and that it was merely a diplomatic precaution.

"Do not worry, Admiral, I've had bigger guns pointed at me whilst meeting a new species..." He said, recalling the Maelstrom Incident. "It's something I'm rather used to. In any case, we should be getting to business. I speak for my people, the Heaven and Earth Alliance, to you and your people. I ask that you listen to the offer I present with diligence." He said, attempting to be cordial and professional. "I offer a trade and non-aggression agreement. Surely we both have something that the other could benefit from." He looked around for a moment, seeing that there was an intense military tradition with these people. "I presume that your species is a rather advanced one. With advancement comes a greater requirement for resources. My people know this firsthand, and I would offer to extend our exports to you. We are masters of crafting, and have many affordable resources that are manufactured to be both durable and light. He tapped on the table, testing the material.

Metal.
Bingo.

"A table like this is heavy. Sturdy, yes, but heavy. Imagine a stronger, lighter material. Imagine that in everyday life. How useful for construction and for cost-efficiency that would be. Imagine this material is also quite easily crafted with. I presume that in your expansion, you have an abundance of raw materials. We could have a deal, in exchange for this substance, we get raw materials to make into fine things. Seems profitable, no? Here, my helmet is crafted from it, carbon nanofiber." He demonstrated, picking up his helmet, putting on the ground, and standing on it. The helmet was not stressed in the lightest. He then stomped on it. Still, nothing. He offered any of the guards to muster their physical strength to break it. Despite the helmet's light weight, it was unscathed from the guards attempting to smash it. One of them, however, shot the helmet, causing a burn approximately half an inch into it. Though the helmet itself was still wearable. He picked up the helmet again, and from his pocket, a canister of nano-paste. He applied it to the helmet, and in a few moments, it was as good as new. "Convinced?" Daniel said, proud of himself.

[Naretion]

Council Station

The day after the human Emperor had sent out his message a council meeting convened. Every race able to provide a physical representative had done so and those unable had provided a hologram for their representative to communicate through. A mandatory roll call was held to make sure everyone had provided some form of representation in the meeting. The Masquekos and the Chemakos were not intelligent creatures so naturally they were not allowed to provide a representative, but the Corsevors had an almost human-level intelligence and failed to provide a representative for their people. They had been in the Federation for awhile now and refused every attempt to get them involved in the politics of it all. They were far more interested in simply abiding by their original agreement with the Federation rather than acting as official "members" of The Federation.

The human Emperor stood before the council and rose his hand in the air, calling for attention. "Esteemed representatives of The Federation! I assume you know why you're here. Just yesterday, an Aleandro drone received this message." And so it was played back again.

"T- all possi- *interference* We are the *interference* We a- -ttack from *unintelligible* We can't ho- *interference* -peaceful mission, we are onl- -pected to survive- 30 Ol- Eart- Years. To all- -ildren of Earth, we are in n- -assistance! plea,- -we ne- -stance! Message o- -epeat."

"It is quite obvious that this is a cry for help. From likely an innocent nation or race, who was met by invaders. How old the message is has not yet been determined, however I have ordered the Aleandro that discovered this message to begin following the signal to its origin. After a day of travel, there is still nothing. So it may be years old for all we know. I bring this before the council today to present a choice. There is or was a nation out there in need of help, and an invader out there that is trying- or may have succeeded in killing them. Either way, one of them will still be left if we have heard this message too late. If it is the former, then I believe we must extend our hands to the victim race. If it is the latter, then we must put a stop to them before they commit any more atrocities as they may have already committed."

The Koraza representative rumbled distastefully in his seat, "Why should we care about the plights of a species so far away it took their message years to reach us? That is not local to us and therefore has nothing to do with us. It is not our problem and it likely never will be our problem."

The Wohstalle representative glowed as a voice began echoing across the room, "The formation of this Federation was to protect all innocent species from harm from those more aggressive species among us in this galaxy. As long as the threat turns out to be in our galaxy, it is our responsibility to help whichever side is innocent, and subdue whatever side is hostile." The crystal's voice droned forth. Even though the Wohstalle were late-joiners to The Federation and were almost made extinct by the Koraza, they are one of the most respected Federation members and are constantly looked to for their wisdom, which is considered intuitively better than the Aaks, and a lot less opinion-influenced than the Shali-GI, who were considered the wisest races before the discovery of the Wohstalle.

"The Shali-Gi are in agreement with the Wohstalle. This are the principles on which this Federation was founded. It is our duty to investigate this matter and intervene if necessary." The Shali-Gi representative said.

The human representative pressed some buttons on a console in front of him, "A vote has been created on all of your consoles. If no one has anything else to add, please vote yes or no for if this should be made a council matter."

"You humannssssssssss. Alwaysssssss sssstepping where you don't belong. Thisssssss issssss not a council matter. Thisssssss issss the matter of the creatures it involvessssssss." The menacing Arachnai representative hissed angrily, almost slamming the "No" option on its console.

"You Arachnai are short-sighted." The massive Nev-Wark representative roared. "Did you forget that the Har-xsi are our biggest threat? Their military is leagues beyond ours."

"And they are in another galaxy!" The Arachni hissed. "Far from usss."

"Exactly! So we must continue to grow to stand a chance if and when they decide we are worth conquering! To do this we must make allies. The race in need may be one such ally. If not? Then there is a threat that has exterminated them that we must subdue before it grows large enough to affect us."

"Weak alliesss help NO ONE" The Arachai spat, glaring at the Hwako and Feminera representatives.

The Gronob representative began communicating through and a translator spoke slowly for it, "Without The Federation to help races that are weaker than those that seek to destroy or enslave them, we would not be free. The Federation made friends out of my kind and our former slavers. The Hwako and Feminera contribute greatly to certain parts of The Federation's economy and have a negative impact on zero markets. Every race in The Federation contributes in some way that all are beneficial. Your opinion is fallacy. The Gronobs vote yes."

The Koraza representative steamed in anger, "I propose that only races that can contribute to military matters such as this be able to vote in them."

"We do contribute. We dig the deepest tunnels and uncover the strongest minerals for the entire Aeregon fleet as well as help them build their ships at a speedy and efficient rate." The Gronob responded plainly.

"And what of the...'economical beneficiaries'?" The Koraza asked.

"Well let us take a look at the vote." The human emperor spoke.

The votes were entered and at the end all the representatives present had their votes tallied Those eligible to vote but having no representative automatically had their vote made "Abstain".
Yes: 14 - Humans, Maligrath, Shali-Gi, Luthoreans, Nev-Warks, Aaks, Art-Meks, Gronobs, Aeregons, Mehawks, Wohstalle, Spithiens, Ulgrath, M2H110c
No: 2 - Koraza, Arachnai
Abstain: 3 - Corsevors (Not present). Hwako, Feminera.

"We chose to abstain as we felt this matter did not pertain to us, yet we are here to represent our species in The Federation as we have a right to do." The Hwako representative chirped. "The same likely goes for the Feminera."

"The vote is final." The human emperor stated. "This is now a council matter. The High Council members will meet with the Aaks and the Art Meks to discuss strategy in the archives. Any regular council member that wants a voice in how we should proceed is welcome to come meet and discuss this with us in the Archives. This meeting is finished and the vote is final."

[New Creataris]

Battleship 'Raining Glory'
Conference Room

"It is certainly impressive but we employ similar technologies for our biological forces though that would be a material of interest to the empire" responded the Admiral whose Imperial Guard companion had a gleam in his eye "for trade we would naturally require much of this substance and that paste you sprayed on it to repair it".

"Yes, the Imperial Guard would most like it, though the Blue Shadow Guard would most likely gain it first" interjected Nalze "I must say though that we've had few issues with heavy materials for over 800 years now, at least not since ahem, that".

Nodding in agreement the Admiral spoke "your proposal seems most profitable for both our peoples, you get some of our resources and we get this material. But, I would need to get the agreement General Torun on the surface before I can sign off on anything like this".

[Free Terra]

Alien Battleship
Conference Room

Oh. They want the nanopaste. Jaeger thought to himself as the Admiral spoke. That's a problem. The Nanopaste was one of the Alliance's most versatile technologies, something that boosted and permeated both culture and warfare. To simply give it away to the first Alien race that asked for it was a stain on the reputation of the Alliance amongst its own people. "I'm sorry, Admiral, but the paste will need a more... worthwhile arrangement. Its versatility and precision can't be overstated, nanotechnology is coveted amongst the Alliance, so I would ask for a more fair deal."

The Fleet was relayed this information, and Grand Admiral White was quite baffled. "Great, they want the technology that's saved us 800 years of development and reduced unnecessary wartime casualties by nearly 89% over the past few centuries. That's like asking the school-ground bully to stop picking on your friend, and the agreement is for both your arms and a leg in exchange for it... We simply can't agree to that, they need to put something far more valuable on the table than a resource exchange." Simply handing over such a vital technology to a warlike people was too great a risk, but a deal had to be made in order to end the attack.

As Admiral White spoke the next words, so did Jaeger, thanks to a quantum link.
"Perhaps whatever technology you used to find the Sagittarius."


Imperator Calamitatis
Porta Exteriores

Both sides were growing impatient, the talks had been slightly progressive, but the anxiety was too much for most to bear. "When White gives the signal." Was what the President said. Most were on edge from having to work alongside the SPQC, and now that the invaders were not only gearing up, any fight would be one that was foreseen. This drastically reduced the chances of a swift victory, but perhaps the instant appearance of nearly 100 Alliance vessels with all targets locked would be enough of a surprise to catch them off guard during the initial volley.

[New Creataris]

Battleship 'Raining Glory'
Conference Room

The Admiral nodded as a green hologram of General Torun appeared in the seat next to him "How very nice of you to join us General, I am afraid Captain that the technology used to find your ship is classified".

"Indeed, we are however able to give you some of the technology leading to it" said Torun as he took some tea from an attendant out the hologram "we can give you just about anything up to and including civilian Geschtam drives".

As the general finished speaking the door opened revealing a human man with several tubes leading from the back of his bald head to his back with a very simple expression on his face. The man carried a small tray with a teapot, several cups and saucers, a milk jug containing light grey milk and a sugar dish which he set on the table before standing rigid as though he had seen something horrifying. "You are dismissed servitor" said the Admiral without sparing it a glance, the thing still remained still "I said you are dismissed". The servitor turned its head to the Admiral and simply replied "no" before the door guards leapt forward and dragged it from the room.

"I apologise for that, servitors are lobotomised criminals of the highest order and totally incapable of Independent thought unless the brain is regrown, their punishment is to serve as anything fro well armed meat shields to being a persomal servant" said the Admiral whilst waving a small device over the contents of the tray "perfect, nothing dangerous, would you like some tea Captain? Negotiations often go so much better with tea".

[Free Terra]

Alien Battleship
Conference Room

"Then we'd have to give you the precursor technologies for nano-assembly. I'm unsure of what this 'Geschtam Drive' is, but if it's similar to our modernized Alcubierre drive, then we would have no need for such. I'd like to-"

That was when the Human Slave appeared. Jaeger was dumbfounded. The Slave, at his sight, ignored and even defied the orders of his Creatarian masters. The Slave was forcefully and cruelly taken out of the room, and the Admiral droned on about how it was some kind of punishment against the Slave. Jaeger was then offered tea.
He gritted his teeth before speaking.
"I won't accept your tea unless you answer me this. What kind of unspeakable evil warrants enslavement? In my culture, no matter what you've done, nothing warrants enslavement, death is preferable to it. It's seen as barbaric and inherently cruel to us."
He made a clear point that such a display had offended him, and that such a practice greatly jeopardized the diplomatic process.

Dea Magna
Command Bridge

"They have enslaved human beings." The Comms Officer reported. "What." The Grand Admiral spoke. "SLAVES? And they just expect us to roll over and give them our technology while they have enslaved our people?" The Tactical Officer chimed in.
"Inform the Nightingale, ask Ventus if this is reason enough for an intervention. It's his government that cares so much about the rules and technicalities. Prep the drives, inform Jaeger that at my word, he is to cease diplomatic efforts. This situation just became many times more complex. Brief all crews on the situation at hand." The Grand Admiral said, taking his command seat and readying himself for what was soon to happen.

He had a feeling that today was going to be a very long day.

[Senata Populus Que Caelum]

CNEF Nightingale

Grand Admiral Red Ventus sat in the command chair aboard Nightingale. He was surrounded by the crystal clear reproduction of space around him that encircle the bridge. "Sir, we have a Comm from Dea Magna," a bridge officer said.
"Patch it through to my screen," Ventus was concerned, this could mean that the talks had gone brilliantly, something he did not expect to happen, or they had broken down. A small holographic display appeared in front of him and a voice began playing that only Ventus could hear.
"We have confirmed that Opfor is utilizing slaves. This goes against the constitutions of both Free Terra and the SPQC. We are waiting on your go ahead to halt all diplomacy attempts and attack the enemy forces in the system now known as 'AO1'." It was certainly unexpected. He thought the diplomat would have been shot dead or his craft destroyed by anti-ship weapons but instead it was simply an ideological incompatibility. He thought about demanding the release of the slave but quickly realized how stupid it was. Where would it end? The release of every slave? Where would they go? If they are criminals then Opfor could decide to instead use capital punishment.

The simple fact of the matter was that a human system was under heavy assault by a superior enemy force. It was the role of the Alliance to halt these attacks immediately through whatever means necessary. He was satisfied that diplomacy had failed, he almost wanted it to fail, and now they would move in for the kill. Opfor might be happier to discuss terms of withdrawal when their ships are sunk and their stations are burnt. He sent a situation report to Consul Ithica asking to be ready to mobilize the fleet fully and a reply to the Dea Magna. "Be ready for combat operations. When the diplomat is safely evacuated from enemy weapon ranges then we will strike. Operation Marius is a go."

OOC: Operation Marius is what I named the intervention by force. AO1 is the system we are jumping into, Opfor is NATO speak for opposing force or the enemy.

[Organized States]

OSS Saratoga, CVN-451
The Present Day

Cornelli paced the bridge back and forth. His black boots, part of the standard issue Naval Working Uniform, made no noise as he moved. The XO and Captain of the Saratoga sat in the corner, silently awaiting orders. One of the comms officers broke the silence.

"SIR! NATIONAL COMMAND AUTHORITY IS ORDERING THE LAUNCH." the Comms officer, a Lieutenant Junior Grade said. Cornelli moved immediately and instinctively towards his command station as Lt. Commander Thompson quickly moved towards his respective Pahana launch station, a keyhole on the face of their command console. They were both 6 feet apart farther than any human could reach. The XO quickly opened the safe containing the launch keys and handed the small hexagonal keys, no longer than three inches at the most, to both Cornelli and Thompson. The two exchanged a nod before Cornelli began to count down after flipping up the cover above the keyhole. Thompson did the same, inserting his key into the keyhole. Cornelli finally finished his countdown and the two officers turned their keys. Within an instant, Cornelli watched as the missiles tore away from their launch-tubes aboard the Saratoga and disappeared into slip-space as they found their towards the mass of Alien ships clustered around Aurul, tearing through space at Hypersonic speeds as they rapidly approached their target with their 60 Megaton payload of MIVs. The Multiple Impact Vehicle was a small warhead that would break off into multiple independently targeted vehicles, similar to a MIRV. This allowed for the Pahana's nuclear fire to be spread around multiple smaller ships or multiple impact points around larger ships, not to mention the sheer numbers of independent warheads and debris could potentially confuse CIWS.

"Get CAG on the horn, I want a follow-up strike to those nukes immediately. Inform the Air Force of our launches of Pahanas along with the strike order. They'll want to hit whatever targets they can." Cornelli said as the Tactical Officers quickly relayed the launch orders to the Apollos, who quickly prepared their own Pahanas for launch for a potential second volley of weapons.

F-190C Miss Midway
Approaching Aurul Orbit
The Present Day

The single Pratt and Whitney F-1190 sublight engine hummed as OS Air Force Captain Ethan Hunter pushed his North American Aerospace F-190C, the latest variant of the venerable and formidable F-190 space superiority fighter, out of slipspace and towards the enemy flotilla in front of him. He looked out his right side to see the other 35 F-190Cs of his squadron, the 368th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, and another 36 of the 341st Fighter Interceptor Squadron formed up and quickly joined the formation, elegantly sliding the fighter half a mile and found his flight and took his place as element lead in one of the many Finger Four formations that constituted the OSAF contribution to the rapid strike on the Alien fleet, flying top cover for their Navy counterparts. The Strike Package, in total, constituted a total of 250 spacecraft. More than half of the force was Navy, launched from their carriers to strike whatever remained of the enemy fleet, but the rest was Air Force and they made sure their presence was known, primarily in the form of 72 F-190Cs, including Hunter's. The North American F-190C was easily one of the greatest spacecraft ever to grace the ranks of the OSAF. The F-190 was first developed as a replacement for the early orbital fighters and as a counter to the rise of the Martian Socialist Union's and its Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-79 Firefoxs that had come to dominate the Elesyian Continent. Following its first successful combat action at the Battle of Iridanus IV on May 29th, 2379, in which a single OSAF fighter wing wiped out an entire Martian Air Division, the F-190 received extensive upgrading. These upgrades culminated in the Charlie variant.

"Red 3, checking in. In the green." Hunter said.

"Roger that 3. Alright boys, let's kick the tires and light the fires." Red 1, Major Oliver Greenland, the flight lead said as the the fighters finished their final checks and proceeded strait into the storm.

[New Creataris]

Battleship 'Raining Glory'
Conference Room

"Whether or not you find it inherently cruel or not is not of our concern Captain. When our colony ship was lost in this region of space over a thousand years ago we could not simply kill someone and waste the labour they could still give. Over time slavery itself was abolished but where I think you are confused is that a slave may think, may feel, may even be freed but a servitor may not" said the Admiral sipping his tea "the man you saw was one of thirteen people out of fifty two who were caught before they could kill themselves after they killed 18 million people with biological weapons on their homeworld. The world had been on our border for over a hundred years and we offered them a place as an autonomous state within our territory, their government agreed but that man and a few others stole a bio-weapon from their government that slowly tears apart the body. My sister was the ambassador who was to witness the signing of the treaty and she was killed along with everyone else in the city, as compensation the criminals responsible were given to us and that man set the timer himself, he even admitted it without interrogation" he finished sadly.

General Torun nodded "indeed, that man will serve until-" the general was cut off as an alarm sounded throughout the ship.

"Action Stations, Action Stations nuclear weapons inbound from large local fleet" called a voice over the ships intercom.

"Well, that's just rude" exclaimed the Admiral standing "General, I want the Reflecting Satellite Cannons firing at that fleet, two should do it" the generals hologram vanished with a nod "guard bring the tea, Captain I'm afraid your shuttle will likely have been removed from the carriers flight deck so you should come to the bridge with us" finished the Admiral going through a previously hidden side door directly onto the bridge.

Battleship 'Raining Glory'
Bridge

"Report" ordered the Admiral.

"Sir, the enemy has sent their largest fleet yet, they have launched multiple strike craft and have sent a 60 megaton multiple warhead missile our way" replied the Captain giving a salute.

"Activate all CIWS batteries, focus fire the closest weapons and have the shell person handle it" once again ordered the Admiral "I want my strikecraft launched and going for that fleet immediately, tell Torun that I want the rest of my ships readied for launch". A round of 'yes sirs' was his answer from the bridge crew as they sprung into action to obey the orders before they were even given as only a veteran crew could.

Outside

Panels on New Creatarisian fleets ships hulls moved to reveal large batteries of CIWS weapons which immediately opened up in the incoming missiles though some still got through and one managed to be faster than an Assault carriers shields as it went into the hangar to detonate inside destroying the ship along with some of its Melancas which were still launching. The fleet though had begun moving towards the Organised Systems fleet to engage properly as two great purple beams of death bounced around Aurul's (Arcum's) orbit and straight for the Supercarriers in the OS fleet.

[Senata Populus Que Caelum]

(Correct me if I have anything wrong, it's been too long)

CNEF Nightingale

The flag ship of the CNEF hung in space, silently waiting for the go to warp into battle. The fleet was sitting some minutes away at warp speed, well outside the system and out far, far into deep space. "Warning, nuclear threat detected," Alice, the resident AI, said, "a spike in radiation has been detected by Sagittarius." Admiral Red ventus looked at a pop-up holographics display. There were hundreds of symbols scattered across the system map but it quickly panned the view to display the danger. It was clear that the defenders were making a push. Perhaps it was to show the alliance that they were strong enough to be allied with. More likely, it was to attempt to force them into combat regardless of the diplomacy.

"Alice, send a message to Terran command. I am authorizing intervention when the tactical situation allows for it, all we need is their go ahead," Ventus said.
"Of course Admiral," Alice said. He was fully aware of the poor bastard still aboard the unkown's vessel. Acting now could seal his fate to death or worse but a single life could not put a military operation on hold. He wanted to get into the fight as soon as possible, to hit the enemy and never let him recover his balance. The losses would no doubt be high but he knew they could pull through. All he needed was the go ahead and a confirmation of neutrality with the defenders, the last thing he wanted was nuclear warheads being fired at his fleet by the people he was trying to defend.

[Free Terra]

If anything feels a bit too over-the-top, tell me, and I can change it.

Dea Magna
Command Bridge

As the message from Admiral Ventus came in requesting intervention, Grand Admiral White's heart sank. He had met Captain Jaeger once, he was a good and decent man, one who didn't deserve any sort of punishment that the aliens could give him. Yet now he was to be put into the lion's den. "Send a message to the Captain." He said. "Aye sir, quantum link established!" The comms officer reported. "Listen to me, Jaeger, I know that I cannot ask anyone to die for the sake of a success, but I'm asking you to risk it to ensure the survival of millions. End link with your ship, come up with an excuse if it'll save you, and detonate its warp core. The explosion should suffice for taking out the ships nearby. At that moment, we will jump to the predesignated coordinates to intervene."

A chillingly simple response came in.

"Aye, Sir."


Alien Battleship
Conference Room

Great, the people that the alliance was trying to protect may have doomed his ability to protect them. Now, high command gave him the order for Death and Glory. "Ugh," He began. "My head... NO WAIT, THE SHIP!" He dramatically yelled. He knew that the sudden loss of quantum connection to the Sagittarius's systems would make him feel like his mind was being torn apart, but he knew that it's warp core could be equated to 20 megatons of force if detonated. More than enough to destroy most things that can be destroyed. Daniel swiftly fell unconscious as the ship blew up, and the blast of neutron radiation, heat, and light erupted forth from its tungsten-carbide armor. Had he been able to see its vibrant hues of blue and violet, perhaps he would've been amazed by it.

He was at their mercy now, having lost everything but the powered armor he wore. At any moment, the neural implants could be configured to kill him, but as a man on the inside, he could stream instantly to the fleet anything he witnessed. There was no way that they could stop him from doing this without killing him, and then they'd lose their bargaining chip.

However, with the Sagittarius's destruction, the beacons activated. The fleet could enter their positions in and around the battlefield. The carriers would be off-field to launch fighters that would rip into the enemy. The battleships, cruisers, destroyers, all of it would land a lightsecond from the field and unleash hell with their particle weapons before landing on-field to begin the melee. A carrier force would arrive behind the asteroids in the Kuiper belt of the system, launching fighter-bombers that would destroy the beam weapon.

"JUMP!"

Fremunt
Near Planet VII (Arcum/Aurul)

And that is what they did, the Free Terran's Main Carrier group warped a light-minute away, and began launching every fighter and bomber they had. "Mako Squadron, away! Fenris Squadron, away! Atlas Squadron, away!" The Tactical Officer reported. "Eagle Squadron, away!" He said, as Aldous wished his brother good luck. The Comms Officer piped up. "Hera group in position, beginning attack run on the weapon, Imperator is on the line if we need a strike package. Combat fleet in position, firing the first volley." She said. "Don't shoot their flagship, we have a man on board." Aldous said. "Tell the SPQC to hit designated targets with their long-range assets, we need drone coverage and tactical strikes." Suddenly, sensors sprang to life with new arrivals. "Shit... Have the battleships continue to trade fire, take out the bigger guns, cruisers and below, take out the fodder." It was unexpected, the enemy's rapid deploy-ability, but the computers still read a victory as the highest probability.

As this was happening, with Eagle Squadron deployed, the order to warp was received. "ALL BIRDS, INITIATE TAC-WARP!" Eagle-1 yelled, followed by the various and ridiculous battle-cries of the rest of the squadron. Joel had stayed quiet, but they warped in unison. The sight they would warp into was hellish, with the fleet on-field and opening fire, the bombers landing just after the fighters, and countless blobs of green Terran units, blue Caelis units, yellow OS units, and red Creatarisian units on the HUD. "Begin attacking highlighted fighters!" Eagle-1 said as a group of fighter-craft began to blink white and red on his screen. "Engaging!" Joel said, turning towards them and unleashing missiles, guns, and electronic jamming. The sheer number of hostiles was extreme, but the Alliance had faced worse at the hands of the Purge Fleet Just over a year ago.

"Comms, open channel with the defenders, tell them that whether they like it or not, we're here to help. Any fire we receive from them will result in destruction of the firing unit." Aldous said as the channel was opened and the massive campaign view appeared in a hologram in the bridge. "Dial in all units," he said, and the projection came to life with all the aforementioned colors in their groups. "Tell the Hera strike group to nuke the hell out of that weapon, if we can't just hit it, we'll melt and EMP it until we've broken their toy. Devote all combat repairs to the Anima!" He said, and the bombers released their nuclear payloads, in the fight, clouds of nanites were released to repair the damaged cruiser. "Minerva, handle all fighter/bomber and repair operations, and feed targets to the SPQC. We're not anywhere near done with this yet. Try to get us reinforcements from the Maximus Novus Classe!"

"Imperator may need to drop that package in the fray..." Aldous thought as another wave of hostiles appeared.

With all 120 of the Alliance's ships in-system and countless smaller craft deployed, the battle had to be quick. The size difference between Alliance and Creatarisian ships as well as firepower would be the defining feature. Whereas the Creatarisian ships were hundreds of meters, the Free Terran Battleships were over a kilometer each. Though it was a larger target, it was also a target that could take more punishment. Whereas the Terran ships were larger bruisers, the Caelis ships were smaller, yet packed a massive punch. The forces, despite being outnumbered, could be considered even. Today was going to be a very long day, indeed.

[Senata Populus Que Caelum]

(As always, tell me if you want anything changed)

Grand Admiral Red ventus gave the command with a simple nod to his helmsman. The combat group jumped forwards, the warp taking them hundreds of times the speed of light into the OS system. The sensor feeds came back quickly as the probes with QCOMM connections coordinated with their own onboard electronics. The combat group spread out to meet their enemies. In theory the Caelis fleet far out ranged any other weapon systems in the system. The Hemlock class frigates opened up instantly with their spinal mounted lasers. In the war between the SPQC and Free Terra these laser systems had torn gaping wounds in what was otherwise considered "laser proof" and converted their high tech paint into plasma. The sheer energy output was spectacular while the ship itself was only 112 metres long, tiny compared to the monstrous Terran vessels. The technology behind this feet was still being studied by Terran researches who, a year on, still could not replicate the design without Caelis technology. Regardless of the size difference their weapons, ECM and ECCM suites, shields and stealth technology presented an extremely difficult target to find, let alone kill. The next largest vessel in the fleet was the iconic Nightshade class carrier. Despite being a carrier it was the basis for all Caelis battle formations and often outnumbered more conventional warships in a fleet. In combination with twin super output lasers found on the Hemlock, it was also equipped with an armada held inside the light absorbing shell. At full strength the ship could carry just over 1200 tiny combat drones. These Autonomous Combat Drones, variant D (ACD-C, geddit?) were equipped with nuclear, EW and sensory missiles.

The Hemlock frigates held back in a reserve line, sniping targets from light seconds away with pinpoint accuracy. They could be committed should the need arise but they would never be able to match the strength of a Terran frigate in close combat. for this reason Ventus felt comfortable with them doing what they do best, firing from millions of kilometers at targets picked out by the close in fighting ships.

The carriers warped in with the main battle line of the Terrans. Once there, they immediately opened their hangers and dropped thousands of drones. Ventus watched the holographic display of the system, thousands of missiles streaked across space, each bobbing and ducking in randomized patterns to avoid CIWS while EW missiles provided fake sensor echoes and attempted to cloak others in jamming signals. These massive swarm of drones were all organized by the resident AI aboard their respective carriers which ensured individual movement of each drone. Should the mother ship be destroyed then basic and less capable programming would take over. Ventus was astounded by the sheer volume of fire. Each target was specifically chosen by the AI through dozens of criterion and assessed before firing for the best likelihood of a hit.

Finally the Cassava class battle cruisers came into the fray. The quad spinal mounted super high output rail guns were the last thing you would see before your ship was gutted. In most cases the rail guns could be kept on a constant firing pattern with very little delay between each shot. Having a machine gun firing 600mm super dense, sharpened, ultra high velocity shells at your shields tended to end badly for the recipient. While smaller than the Terran ships at 322 meters and with a tiny cross section in comparison it was far more powerful than a terran ship of its size. It was currently the most powerful warship in the entire Caelis New Era Fleet and at the tip of the spear was CNEF Archangel, a heavily overhauled flagship variant of the Cassava. Its five frontal guns blazed away in glorious, constant fire while dozens of turrets and CIWS across its length tore at the space around it. The CNEF had arrived.

[New Creataris]

Battleship 'Raining Glory'
Bridge

The ship rocked violently as the cruiser self-destructed tearing a gaping hole in the shields not to mention the forward section of the ship, the nukes had already done quite a large amount of damage when they hit only increasing the danger the ship was in. "Admiral, we're being fired on by two new fleets, one of the fleets is hitting the Reflecting Satellite Cannons on the surface" called out the sensors officer returning to his seat "the remained of the feet has used to Matter Transference System to arrive and we have lost three Assault Carriers to nuclear weapons fire". The Admiral growled in fury as he picked himself off the floor, he had been deceived, they send their man over to talk whilst they conspire with the barbarians to drive New Creataris out of the system, ungrateful savages, they were going to civilise them eventually but they had ruined that entirely.

"All ships fire at will, if you get close enough deploy boarding teams, reveal all point defences" he ordered dusting off his uniform as crimson beams lanced past the bridge towards enemy vessels "tell General Torun to enact contingency Delta 7 and have a shuttle prepared at once, as soon as this scum is taken with me to the 'Foe-Hammer' I will report directly to command. The Admiral indicated for the guards to grab Jaeger and drag him with them to the only shuttle on the ship, a quiet yes sir barely being hear for the ships Captain now barking out orders.

Outside

One of the large carriers took several shots through her decks tearing through her powerplant and her internal hangers detonating the munitions and the core taking down a Heavy Cruiser with it. All the New Creatarisian ships by this point were letting loose with a great many formerly hidden point defence turrets to bring down incoming strike craft and missiles whilst fighters of all sizes lived up to the Storm formation sweeping through space like schools of fish chasing down enemy squadrons. Those ships who came close to New Creatarisian vessels or had New Creatarisian vessels come close to them would find large armoured panels opening on the ships hulls to reveal large groups of combat androids which launched immediately heading for launch bays, airlocks or windows so they could turn the ship against its allies. The New Creatarisian Bombers were finding their gunners overwhelmed with targets as they bore down upon hostile vessels unleashing missiles, torpedoes, guided bombs and even themselves when their carrier went down or they became critically damaged.

The bright crimson positron beams of New Creatarisian ships joining the mass of other weapons flying between fleets often punctuated by the either the detonation of their turret or the ship itself. It was clear to see though that something was obviously happening between the Dreadnought and the 'Raining Glory' by the number of vessels creating a channel between the two vessels evidently trying to protect something with their massed defensive fire.

Aurul (Arcum)
New Creatarisian forward base
Command Centre

General Torun watch the displays as three more beams left the Reflecting Satellite Canons followed quickly by the destruction of said canons and two more including the main gun warping the cloaking field as it detonated. Explosions could be heard from elsewhere in the base, a combination of the wiped data crystals being destroyed and secondary explosions from the lost gun, up on the screens AI controlled AA batteries were shown to be opening up from the automated terraforming plants across the surface and the gun batteries though those around the guns continually fell silent shortly after the loss of their defensive target. He vaguely heard two aides enter with his combat armour and plasma minigun, he vaguely heard the alarms indicating the failing cloaking field. How could it all have gone so wrong so fast, they had everything ready but now they were being pushed back mercilessly, never the less he was a soldier first and foremost, his duty was to make sure the medical transport made it out in one piece. "Launch planet bombs at the forces in orbit, deploy all fighters and get the evacuees back home NOW said Torun bellowing the final part whilst donning his armour before broadcasting on an open channel "in this final hour we commit all that we are, were and ever shall be to the great dream of all New Creatrisians. We leave behind everything as we give our lives in service to our people. Glory through death, honour through sacrifice, VICTORY THROUGH UNITY" he bellowed cutting the channel with his shout being echoed by the New Creatarisian troops throughout the base.

OOC: Contingency Delta 7 is a complete data wipe followed by the evacuation of all personnel not fit for combat, all remaining personnel are armed and prepare to resist a direct assault.