Birth of the Republic(FT IC OPEN)

[Peace for men]

Some years after the war against the machines Peace For Men soon found itself needing to expand outwards. With the land on its homeworld already populated with other nations the Nation looked to the stars and soon the people left their wasteland lives and made a new nation in the stars. 10 planets in 4 systems soon made the Empire of Peace For Men. The empire stood for 200 years before finally the people grew tried of its father know's best ways.

It started on a windy day on the planet of Koranx 2. The imperial guard and its heavy units had been called to the planet to deal with what had been thought to just be a simple tribal uprising. The Guard had deployed some weeks before and the tribes on the planet seemed to be avoiding combat. The guard had made to push on towards the cities on the planet but when they entered into the forests a massive ambush befell the infantry and armoured columns. Plamsa fire came from no-where slaughtering the guard and when the dust settled men in strange armour moved forwards and began to mop up any and all survivors with grenades and rifle fire. The Guard had no idea who or what the men were but they had withdrawn from the area only to be pursued out of the forests and onto the green hills. The Imperial fifth legion was destroyed within a day by an unknown rebel army. This army was something new and would be able to stand against the Imperuim. It was the first clone army of the new Republic. Some hours afterwards a message came from the Koranx system.

Code: Select all

To: All major space faring nations and empires near our location
            From: The New republic of Peace For Men
 Today we struck a vital blow for our freedom. But we face a heavy and daunting task if we are to liberate the other nine systems of our people. We have an army of some 100 million clone troopers ready and geared up but help is needed if we are to destory the imperialist scum who hold our breathern under their iron grip.

Signed the Chancellor

[OMGeverynameistaken]

A Dispatch from His Imperial Majesty, Tsar Nicholas IX, Emperor and Autocrat of All Russias
To: Rebel Scum

We have, for some time, watched the unfortunate decline of one of the few sensible governments in this galaxy. It has been our unfortunate privilege to behold, in our lifetime, the fall of many such governments to the machinations of their lesser competitors, who swarm about them like cockroaches before lions. As with all other 'republics' your folly is doomed from the start, and we would normally be content to allow you to wallow in your own predetermined failure, but alas, you have forced us to pay attention.

Let it be known that we shall not tolerate this assault upon the rights of a fellow monarch and will, hereby, declare a state of war between ourselves and your 'New Republic.' Should your empire prove capable of supporting itself in this endeavor, we shall render assistance to it. Should it not, we will act of our own accord to ensure stability for the people who's lives you now threaten.

You may now surrender, and we shall consider having mercy upon the leaders of this revolt. While it may be unforgivable to violate the divine right of a king to rule his people, it is only natural that some people are flawed, imperfect, and prone to error. If you surrender now and accept the protectorate of the Russian Empire, your fate may be far less unpleasant than it will be otherwise.

The choice is yours.

Tsar Nicholas IX, Emperor and Autocrat of All Russias
(Signed)

[Peace for men]

To: The imperialist Scum
From: The Republic

We will fight for our freedom no matter the cost! We can fight with or without help. As of today the first offensive of this new war will begin and we shall move our first fleet into the attack on the next system over from us. We shall win this war!

Message ends

Whilst the Republic's clone army formed itself up on the capital planet of Menain the recently crowned Emporer Jacob looked at his imperial officers, "Your telling me three million men of the fifth legion were annihalated by rebels?" he asked the nervous generals. The generals looked sheepish before finally one answered, "Ye..yes your majesty. Wiped entirely out of exsistence. These rebels are well equipped some how. Then again the Koranx system is well known for its ship and weapon building capiablity...and the cloneing research plants."
"God dam it." The emporer said sracthing his chin. "I want defences set up on these planets." he pointed to three planets on the empires map. The generals saluted then left the young emporer in his throne room.

The Koranx system

The Republican fleet had struck at the same time as the clone army. The ships had been made monthes in advance with the latest tech the empire had sent to the ship yards of Koranx 1. The clone army loaded up steadily into their transport ships and soon were flying high into orbit to find themselves in amongst the rubble of the Fifth legions fleet. The clones walked around with their helmets off and their guns stored. As the final transports came into orbit the Republic commanders left the planets defence under the command of the militia's and the Republic government. The fleet slowly turned out of system and soon launched into the warp and onwards towards the first offensive target of the war.

[The Matthew Islands]

The Matthew Islands is dismayed, and upset at your unwarranted and unjustified assault on the Government of Peace for men. As such we deplore you to stand down immediately, and surrender all weapons to us, where we will then turn them over to Government forces. As such we will be sending a battle fleet to the system consisting of:

15 King Gilligan class Destroyers

5 Bulwark class Fighter and bomber carriers, Each carrying 200 Fighters

Mosquito class Fighters

We will engage you on sight if you are caught outside of the planets boundary's.

Singed:
King Gilligan VII
Fleet Commodore Gordon Mason

[Peace for men]

To: All who have recently threatened us
From: The New Republic

We are not attacking unprovoted. Our people have been opressed from the start of the empire. Our vast manufacturing plants and cloning facilities meant that constant armed guard needed to be on the planet. Anyone who spoke out against the Imperuim was shot. But we taught the soldiers a lesson we rose up and when the imperium tried to once again opress us we fought back. Is there no more noble cause than freedom and liberty?

So ask yourself do you want to support the corrupt and current regime or help one that would help to try and end the ceaseless wars our people are forced into? The choice is yours my friends.

[Kreanoltha]

The cityship Thermopylae in deepspace

Lieutenant Kinnos was stationed of the bridge of the massive station. At around 2:00 AM the computers alerted him to a message picked up from slipspace. He immediately alerted Grand Admiral Hintinos. He played the message. All that came out was a jumble of human voices in an unintelligible language. "Ares!" Hintinos called to the station's A.I. "Translate the message into Latin. I don' want to have to deal with English or Greek right now." A few moments later the message cascaded out of the bridge's coms speakers.

To: All major space faring nations and empires near our location
From: The New republic of Peace For Men
Today we struck a vital blow for our freedom. But we face a heavy and daunting task if we are to liberate the other nine systems of our people. We have an army of some 100 million clone troopers ready and geared up but help is needed if we are to destory the imperialist scum who hold our breathern under their iron grip.

Signed the Chancellor

"Assemble fleets Gamma Ki, Epsilon Phi, Psi Alpha, and Eta Rho for deployment." Hintinos ordered. "I will be in command of these fleets. Contact the commanding officer of the Reiver and inform him that I will be taking command of his vessel and the Psi Alpha fleet." Lieutenant Kinnos hurried away to carry out the commands.

Hintinos turned the the A.I. Ares. "Translate the following message into the language of the New Republic." Ares activated his translation subroutine "Continue sir." Hintinos recorded the message, "This is Grand Admiral Hintinos of the Intergalactic Imperial Republic of Kreanoltha. As I speak four fleets are being prepared for war, and I will personally be in command of one of them and will hold the position of supreme commander over the rest. This is all to come to the aid of the fledgling New Republic. We will not hesitate to come to the aid of a new republic that is standing against an oppressive regime. These fleets will jump to what I am assuming is our capital in the Koranx system. We will be there shortly."

"Encode that before you transmit it." Hintinos ordered Ares. He them walked over to the transport and transported to the bridge of the KWS Reiver. He sent the fleets' destination out and ordered them to jump to slipspace. A massive hole was formed in the fabric of space and time as the 248 ships departed from the real world at the same time. They arrived in Koranx system in half an hour.

OOC: My fleets and ships are described in detail in my factbook it's linked in my sig.

[Peace for men]

The message came through slowly to the ships still in orbit above Koranx. The Republic forces felt elated at this sudden revaltion finally someone was coming to help them in this brave endouver against a much superior foe. The fleet held in orbit until the new allies arrived and then a message was sent across translated into latin for the benifit of these people. The message read:

<<<ENCODED TRANSMISSION>>>

We thank you for your help friends. We will be leaving system soon to strike at the Imperuim on the next nearest system. Ehan must be liberated from imperialist control before anything esle. If we take there then the imperial guard will suffer in the long run from arms shortages of tanks and artillery shells.

<<<end of transmission>>>

[The Matthew Islands]

We choose The Government of Peace for men. We are currently deploying our entire fleet to counter your operations. We will begin orbital strikes on you factories, and are moving to intercept your fleets, with specific orders to target your troop transports.

Once again, and for the final time, we repeat our demands that you stand down, and hand over all military hardware to us.




OOC: Can you post an ORBAT of the republics current fleet, and where they are going to attack next. Also Kreanoltha, I looked at you fact book, and the numbers that you're claiming in your fleet are ridiculous. I hope you aren't planning on using them here, I mean, there's no way a country of your size can maintain 11,250 ships, of those sizes.

[-Bretonia-]

"It's always been a mystery to me," Gables shook his head as he took a sip of tea from the rather exquisite crockery mug, glancing at the handful of ministers sat around him. The two-year blackout had made his position as Foreign Affairs Minister somewhat redundant; after all, which foreigners was he meant to have affairs with if they were unable to leave the Great Barrier? As such, with contact restored to the galaxy at large he intended to make his presence felt once again - no matter how much he bored his colleagues in the process.

John Jacobi, the Prime Minister, sat opposite him at the other side of the small, mahogany coffee table, with a perplexed expression on his face. "What is that, then, Kenneth?"

Gables tossed one of the electronic papers across the table, sending it clattering into the plate the Prime Minister had next to him. "Read that. Why do these revolutionaries always insist on dragging foreigners into their little campaigns?"

"Perhaps they feel strongly for their cause, and wish to succeed," Jacobi suggested as he read through the intelligence report on Peace for Men. "Sometimes the only way to succeed is with help, after all."

"Nonsense," Gables said with a snort, rubbing the greying, late-day stubble that had started to develop on his cleft chin. "Dragging foreigners onto your side causes the government you're rebelling against to earn foreign sponsors in return, making the war far bloodier than it needs to be. And even if your little rebellion wins, and you assume control, the foreigners who 'helped' you will invariably want something in return. A string of the new government to tug on, usually."

Jacobi chuckled. "Still an optimist, hmm?"

"Oh of course," Gables returned sarcastically. "Remember, a cynic is what an optimist calls a realist. Geoff, what do you think?"

Davidson, the Defence Minister, looked up from his mug, which he had been swirling around aimlessly as he largely ignored the conversation. "You're the Foreign Minister. How closely tied are we to this place?"

"Well, we have no formal relations, to my knowledge," Gables said.

"Then it's not our problem," Davidson shrugged with a note of finality.

Jacobi leaned back in his high-backed armchair with an expression of amusement, creaking the maroon leather as he shifted his weight to a more relaxing pose. He tapped his finger to his chin as he listened to the various men arguing.

"We might not have any ties with them now, Geoff, but this civil war of theirs is an opportunity to get in with whomever emerges victorious," Gables continued. "And perhaps more importantly, whomever else gets involved."

"Assuming you pick the right side," Davidson said with a scoff. "Wars are unpredictable at the best of times, especially wars of a 'civil' variety. You pick a side to support, throw billions of credits in donations or martial aid at them, and all you get for your trouble is the hope that the side you're on will win. Do you have any idea how much it costs to deploy an Expeditionary Fleet? Even the Fifth Expeditionary Fleet costs a few billion credits to operate, and that's the small one!"

"I'm aware of that," Gables said. "We just need to pick the right side."

Jacobi spoke up, with a tone of determination intended to move the discussion on to more important issues. "For now then, we wait and see. For now, Kenneth, send a dispatch to the Russians - ask them what they intend to do about this mess. They've already voiced an interest in the matter."

"Consider it done," Gables said.

Later that day, he arranged a secured transmission through the Beta-Epsilon Jump Gate and aimed at the Russian Empire, enquiring as to how invested they were in the situation and what, if anything, they meant to do about it.

[Peace for men]

OOC: An ORBAT for the First Fleet? Sure i can do that just don't expect much it's why i was wanting some more support for the rebels really...

ORBAT for the Republics armed forces

100 million clone troopers alongside 20,000 tanks and armoured personnal carriers
10 Heavy battleships
5 light cruisers
6 frigates
200 transports armed with light weapons alongside ship-ship and ship-planet missile systems

Current target system for the republic is the Ehan system the second most important industrial system [after Koranx] in the Imperuim.

[Kreanoltha]

<<<ENCODED TRANSMISSION>>>

We thank you for your help friends. We will be leaving system soon to strike at the Imperuim on the next nearest system. Ehan must be liberated from imperialist control before anything esle. If we take there then the imperial guard will suffer in the long run from arms shortages of tanks and artillery shells.

<<<end of transmission>>>

"Excellent." Grand Admiral Hintinos said. He turned to Kilmithilas' hologram, the ship's A.I., "You did get the coordinates for the Ehan system, right?" "Of course, sir" she replied. Hintinos nodded.

He opened a fleetwide channel and began distributing orders. "Fleets Gamma Ki, Psi Alpha, and Epsilon Phi! Prepare for battle and jump to these coordinates on my mark! Fleet Eta Rho! Stay in system to provide defense should it be attacked by the Empire or one of its allies."

He then opened the encoded channel back to the Republic base. "My fleet as well as two others are prepared for battle and have already set out slipspace drives for the system you indicated. The fourth fleet will stay in system to provide defense. We await your commands."

[Bedessia]

Celestial City Region, City-planet of Vallasht

The Imperial palace complex held many treasures of architecture, and the plunders of many species. However, three centuries of democracy had turned the private home of the elite into the public and noisy Republic Council Chambers. The message was sent to the top of a spire, where the Imperial Chairman, or president as he was called informally sat, in front of a huge obsidian desk. The emssage was translated, saved, and promptly filed away into the vast swaths of the Republic Network.

What is it with these rebellions? wondered the chairman, first that Epsilon Eridnai affair, and now this?

The Republic of Bedessia was three centuries old, having been created due to a lack of available leadership in the Infinite Empire. The Empire became too big and destabilised, as one man cannot run three thousand systems simultaneously. Likely, this was the same case.

---

A reply was sent as followed:

---

To the New Republic|From the Republic of Bedessia|Subject RE: Coup|Category URGENT

To whomever it may concern:

We in the Republic are glad to see that you have shed the tyrannical oppression of the Imperial rule. We ourselves have experienced such fallible forms of government not once, but three times. In our history, there have been three empire, each one ending in tragedy. As such, we wish to inform you that we will not get involved in your internal affairs, but rather, let you figure out your own course. However, if any external conflict arises, or nay nation attacks, we will retaliate, with all force necessary. If your require medical supplies, we will be able to provide them.

Enjoy your day.

END MESSAGE

[OMGeverynameistaken]

(OOC: Assuming a decent period of time has passed to allow for preparations and all that...since I assume we just want to get down to the good part and start blowing shit up.
What's this system like, BTW? Number of planets, interesting features, all that sort of thing.)

The Koranx System
Approximately 12 AU rimwards

Space found itself in a bad situation. Presented with two choices, explode, or be torn in two. In this case, it chose to do both and, therefore, did neither. It twisted, stretched and then...imploded. There was a brief second of confusion before the Russian fleet emerged, which it did in style.

The Interstellar Fleet, a mass of 420 vessels in all, launched into the system in perfect battle formation. A spearhead of frigates and light cruisers crashed out of the Etherway at full speed, blasting away at anything vaguely threatening in the immediate area, securing it for the arrival of the battleships. These came out of faster-than-light drive like bricks don't. They defied space itself in their design, seemingly ancient vessels, they looked like somebody had sawed an early battleship in half and glued the tops together. Their green paintjobs, the color of the Romanov family, glittered in space, the exposed metalwork of the vessels was polished to a blinding sheen. They were built to impress.

Surrounding them were swarms of torpedo boats, smaller ships which barely qualified as capital-class, with light weapons save for their torpedo launchers, these weapons were designed to take out capital ships at a single blow, if only they could hit, being rather slow. But in a volley of 10,000 one could often run out of room to dodge.

Admiral Pyotr Sergeivich Anjou stood at ease on the bridge of the Suvorov, the massive flagship of the Interstellar Fleet. At just over a mile in length, it was an imposing sight. This was more than backed up by its firepower, which could match a modest fleet on its own. The fleet command bridge of this great vessel was as elaborate as any, with hardwood floors, integrated holographic displays for tactical displays, and, of course, luxurious, thronelike, seats for the officers in charge of the fleet.

Adjusting his gaze to a display to his right, the admiral surveyed his fleet. Battle doctrine called for a final 'chance' to the enemy prior to engaging in hostilities, and, as a man who intended to retire, Anjou was inclined to attempt to resolve things without violence. He straightened, nodding to the ensign manning the communications array.

"The standard message, ensign. Let them know we won't kill them all if they give up now." He waved a hand, as if he doubted this would happen. Republicans. They were so...hard-headed sometimes.

---

Attention revolutionary forces in the Koranx System, this is the final offer of parole and safe conduct, extended by Admiral Pyotr Anjou of the Interstellar Fleet of the Russian Empire. You may surrender now and you will have a guarantee of safety, and will be permitted to return to your lives as normal. Arrangements will be made for military clones to retire with a full pension and live out a normal life themselves.

I repeat, this is your final chance. If you fail to respond we will commence hostilities.


(OOC:
ORBAT:
[spoiler]
13 Dreadnoughts
10 Heavy Cruisers
70 Protected Cruisers
107 Frigates
220 Torpedo Boats

For details on classes, I will provide those if asked. See factbook for more details on classes, weaponry, and so forth.
)

EDIT for Brettonia:

The Russians, as it turned out, had a very clear course of action. Tsar Nicholas had made it something of a personal policy to support any monarch in need, although in this case it seemed that the monarch in question was occupied and, therefore, the Russian Empire would be occupying the planet in question until said monarch saw fit to enter some form of negotiations. In the meantime, the Interstellar Fleet had already been dispatched to, as one eager young adjutant put it, "kick some rebel ass."

The mood within the rest of the Russian war ministry was similar, although somewhat more subdued among the experienced officers, who wouldn't dream of doing something so callous as using the word 'ass'. Except for those who did.

[Kreanoltha]

Also Kreanoltha, I looked at you fact book, and the numbers that you're claiming in your fleet are ridiculous. I hope you aren't planning on using them here, I mean, there's no way a country of your size can maintain 11,250 ships, of those sizes.

OOC: I'm FT. I have an Empire that stretches three galaxies. The fleet that I claim is the minimum that could maintain that empire. Besides it's not that hard when the IIRK has a population of 206 trillion. Also if you read further you would notice that we don't force and stamp our ships but grown them using cysteine titanium-A. They are cheep.

[OMGeverynameistaken]

(OOC:
I hope PFM doesn't mind, but I took the liberty of creating an OOC thread:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=60082

Please take the OOC comments and debate there.)

[Kreanoltha]

The fleets had yet to jump when the Russian fleet entered. "Well it's bigger than mine." said Grand Admiral Hintinos "Those ships are crap though. Destroy them show no mercy and ignore any attempts to surrender." The ships of all four fleets accelerated immediately. The smaller ships (frigates, destroyers, light cruisers) moved to surround the Russian fleet, where they would leave small opening for the larger warships (heavy cruisers, battleships) to enter through. En rout they fired MAC slugs the size of houses that surged at the 90% the speed of light and discharged their lances and energy projectors. The lager ships brought up the rear and sniped with their energy projectors. The carriers launched their Harpy fighter/interceptors and fell behind the more battle worthy ships. The Russian ships' fire was simply absorbed or deflected by the energy shields of the Kreanolthan ships. The frigates registered small amounts of power drain from the shield capacitors. Anything equipped with heavier shielding barely noticed it as most of the shots went wide.

[Peace for men]

To the New Republic|From the Republic of Bedessia|Subject RE: Coup|Category URGENT

To whomever it may concern:

We in the Republic are glad to see that you have shed the tyrannical oppression of the Imperial rule. We ourselves have experienced such fallible forms of government not once, but three times. In our history, there have been three empire, each one ending in tragedy. As such, we wish to inform you that we will not get involved in your internal affairs, but rather, let you figure out your own course. However, if any external conflict arises, or nay nation attacks, we will retaliate, with all force necessary. If your require medical supplies, we will be able to provide them.

Enjoy your day.



END MESSAGE

This is the Republic forces i think we may need more than medical suppiles in a minute! We know you do not want to become involved but...

End Message


In orbit above Koranx the Republic's lead fleet commander hung his head in dismay at the size of the fleet in front of him. He raised his head as a young aide came in, "Adrimal the orbital platforms have finally been taken from Imperial forces intact. The guns are ready to fire upon your orders." The Adrimal looked at the young aide then nodded his assent for the guns to fire. "Also fire off several boarding torpedos might be able to at least cause some damage inside one of their ships before our republic crumbles. Four weeks. That's it for our Republic dear gods i had hoped for longer."
"Adrimal?"The aide inquired.
"What? Oh yes sorry dismissed." the young aide turned and left the room.

A few minutes later a volley of Missiles, lasers and high energy beams began to fly out from ships and orbital defence platforms that covered the two planets of Koranx. The message from the Russians had been heard and this was the response of the Republic the usaul Peacean attitude to war is fight to the death and never give in. Clone boarding crews ran to their transports and as fighters and bombers shot out of hanger bays across the small fleet. Transport ships began to move towards the enemy ships to attempt a boarding alongside the transports boarding torpedo's flew out across space as well. War for liberty and freedom had begun and who knew who the victor would be...

OOC: Ah thank you for the OOC thread as well i really didn't want an ooc fight starting stick to IC on this thread please and TG if there's any major problems. Also i know this seems stupid but i'm going to be offline tomorrow as i got some stuff going on but i should be on some time on Friday. Thanks for joining in also guys.

[The Matthew Islands]

"Looks like they are heading to Ehan, a pretty raggedy ass fleet, nothing big on numbers, we could easily stop em, nowhere near enough to cover all their transports." An Officer aboard a scout ship reported to his commander.

"Hmmm its a pretty big industrial area. Let them arrive, and see what happens. I don't think the political elite, have quite made up their minds on who to fully support yet."

"I thought we were supporting the Monarchy."

"No, we did that to appease the Conservative elements in the Coalition. There is an election coming up, and public opinion falls in line with the rebels, The current Government is hoping to have all Conservative elements voted out, and then we will go from there. All that talk of attacking them was just a bluff, by the Political elite, to wage war, but with public support."

"This is why I joined the fleet, I'm told what to do and I do it." The young Officer murmured to himself.

In Koranx, The battle fleet deployed there earlier retreated to friendly space when the Kreanoltha fleet arrived. Seeing the size of the fleet, they sent transmissions to High Command, and all nearby forces to be on high alert.

[OMGeverynameistaken]

Aboard the Suvorov

"Typical." Anjou waved once more to the communications officer, "Inform the captains that-" He was interrupted by a distant rumble, causing him to glance up at the psuedo-windows composing the front half of the bridge, providing a view from the front of the craft via holographic cameras situated on the vessels superstructure.

"Incoming enemy fire." The admiral was interrupted by a call from the bridge liaison, who was proven correct a moment later as the distant sound of the shield generators spinning up sounded and the psuedowindow, a display projected by holographic cameras from the vessel's superstructure, showed the flash and distortion of weapons fire against the ship's shielding. The occasional larger flash was accompnied by a whine from the generators as they briefly picked up the additional load.

Anjou simply shrugged, a sneer drawing itself across his face "Flies. We know how to deal with flies."

After a moment of ignoring the Kreanolthanian fleet's assault, responding only with defensive fire to take out incoming projectiles, as if the ships themselves were unworthy of their notice, the Russian fleet began to act. The turrets of the battleships swung into firing position, majestic arcs drawn by their barrels drawing a thin film of vapor, a result of the magnets within their barrels heating up, through space as they sought the enemy. Gun crews stood by, waiting with the next round of ammunition ready as soon as the current set was expended. Captains stood to the ready, awaiting the order to commence general firing.

For a breathless moment, the Russian fleet stood still.

"Swat them." Anjou gestured to the ensign, who spoke transmitted the message to the rest of the fleet.

As it was in space, there was no thunderous roar outside of the Russian vessels. Only the sudden appearance of a blinding wall of thick vapor, enough to throw off any thermal sensors looking at the area, the coolant which kept the Russian battleship's guns from simply melting with the friction of the shells they fired. Recoil dampers strained, and the ships briefly surged to starboard from the weight of their volleys before correcting their course and resuming their otherwise perfect formation maneuver.

From the cloud emerged the shells themselves, moving at an appreciable fraction of the speed of light and targeted with precision. These were chiefly ASP shells, that is, Armor/Shield Penetrators, amazingly dense shells which relied on sheer mass to do their damage, although they were equipped with a modest explosive warhead designed to, on striking an enemy shield, create a temporary passage for the shell itself. This often had no effect, but worked enough that the design had been kept around.

As this long-range engagement was taking place, the smaller ships of the fleet, the cruisers and frigates, took up a defensive formation around the fleet. Three cruisers would take up a position covering roughly 1/3 of the way around a battleship, with the first being above the 'upper' deck, with their own lower decks oriented towards the larger vessel. From this position they would provide screening fire against oncoming enemy ships, while frigates, looking like flies next to the larger vessels, flitted between the space not covered by the heavy ships, ready to take out any fighters or corvettes which dared enter their territory.

The torpedo boats, meanwhile, seemed to have scattered in disarray, fleeing, for the most part, 'upwards' in relation to the Russian fleet with a lack of discipline or formation which would have caused a seasoned Russian admiral to have a small nervous fit. One or two incautious captains caught fire and promptly exploded, creating a brief display of light in the background of the larger engagement which was rapidly vanishing behind a nebulae of vapor generated by the Russian ships' drives and guns.

Knowing well that the rebels on the planet would have some form of defensive measures in place, Anjou had manuevered his fleet to position the Kreanolthanians between his own vessels and the planet. Anything seeking to get at his relatively small force would either have to pass through the enemy vessel's formation and evade hitting any of them or slow down enough to go around them.

On the bridge of the Suvorov Admiral Anjou sighed, a slightly annoyed look on his face. Sometimes even the best plans went awry.

(OOC:
FYI, this engagement is taking place about 3 billion miles away from the planet. So those fellows in the torpedoes are in for a bit of a ride )

[-Bretonia-]

The Bretonian Royal Empire felt little need to issue a declaration of war to a gang of rebels, whose 'Republic' was not recognised as a legitimate nation. After numerous discussions amongst the cabinet, they ultimately decided that in such small, backwater, bizarrely-named countries as Peace for Men, revolutions crop up every week and rarely represent an improvement over the previous regime even if successful. Instead, the Bretonian government, which had been accused of 'pandering to the royal family' in the past, saw only the benefits of rescuing the legitimate government, and no doubt the brownie points they would score with the Queen in the process.

It was a quiet order, passing through as few middlemen as possible, designed to attract as little attention as possible. With the present state of the economy, and the very real possibility of a concerted fleet action in the Dublin system to combat the Mollys, it was deemed inadvisable to suggest that the government was wasting time on extra-Bretonian affairs. The Fifth Royal Expeditionary Fleet was already on the wrong side of the Great Barrier as they assisted in humanitarian efforts near Alpha-Epsilon, and would take little time to mobilise for action. Simultaneously, Gables replied to the Russian message with a single, cryptic sentence: "on the way."

Commodore Sir Edward Machin was awakened in his quarters aboard HMS Vanquish by a lieutenant bearing new orders from the Admiralty. Taking the datapad and issuing the lieutenant with a dismissive, and somewhat irritated wave to get rid of him, he placed his spectacles on the bridge of his nose and took time reading the new orders.

"By order of the Prime Minister, on the authority of Her Royal Majesty Queen Carina I, the Fifth Royal Expeditionary Fleet is to deploy to the Koranx System, in the nation of Peace for Men, to bring peace to the region and assist the legitimate government against armed rebellion. The Second Royal Expeditionary Fleet will be available to assist in six days.

Rendezvous with Russian forces on arrival for up-to-date sit-rep."

Great, Machin thought to himself. So much for a simple search and retrieve mission.

Knowing the journey would take a couple of days at least, Machin simply sent a command to the CIC ordering the fleet to change course and engage at full steam, while he tried to get back to sleep. Unsurprisingly, he couldn't.

***

"What's the situation, Captain?" Commodore Machin called as he entered the two-tiered CIC of the Victoria-class battleship two days later, still buttoning his red and white tunic, though the gold epaulettes and trim were neatly fixed in place. It was a utilitarian place, with little concern paid towards aesthetics - the exotic superalloys that composed the walls, the floors, and the unsightly support struts were not vulnerable to corrosion, so they simply weren't painted. Railings were similarly practical, being little more than metal tubes to stop people toppling over the sides of the top tier, and the floors were metal grating, designed to be easily-removable to access the components beneath. Chairs were as comfortable as necessary to avoid causing back ache. It was truly military in terms of design.

The only things of particular note were the display panels that littered the walls and the island consoles, which helped illuminate the CIC far more than the dim light fittings around the edges of the floor could ever hope to accomplish.

Machin stepped around to the tactical information console, the largest and most centralised part of the CIC, where Captain Gareth Tailor was already conversing with his executive and tactical officers.

"Commodore, sir!" Tailor snapped to attention. "Long-range scans of the area suggest that Russian forces have been engaged by a Kreanolthan fleet roughly three billion kilometres from the target planet. We are T-minus six minutes out."

Machin nodded, studying the various monitors in the circular TIC area with intent, noting the fleet formations. He stepped closer and pointed at the screen. He appreciated the Russian's apparent strategy to put the Kreanoltha forces between a rock and a hard fleet, and pondered upon a means of joining in. "I'm seeing no evidence of any active FTL inhibitor field in place, is that accurate Captain?"

"Aye sir," Tailor said, looking back at the screen. "Nothing to indicate an obstruction will be presented to our engines as we pass the area. Looks like they were preparing to enter FTL themselves when the Russian fleet arrived to distract them."

"Good," the Commodore said thoughtfully. "We shall not be passing by to the main staging grounds then. Instruct the Merrimack, Admiral Winchester, Lustrous, Marvellous and Regallia to emerge from slipstream... here." He tapped the screen six times to indicate the positions he wished each of the battleships to take when they dropped from FTL, positions which would flank the Kreanolthan fleet on one side at a range of just over a million miles, staggered sufficiently that they covered the dorsal and ventral regions of that flank in an arc.

"Have twenty Coventry cruisers and a hundred gunships take up formation with them. Meanwhile, we shall drop out of slipstream behind on their opposite flank, with the remaining fleet," Machin said. "With the Russians ahead of them and the planet to their rear, they shall be encircled. It shall be our job to tackle any stragglers that may emerge."

"Understood, Commodore," Captain Tailor nodded, studying the marked positions on the screen as he transmitted the orders to the various ships of the fleet.

"Oh, and do be so kind as to sound General Quarters, won't you Captain?" Machin said with a hint of humour. "I want all offensive and defensive systems online the moment we emerge. Pay particular attention to the point defence systems, and get some fighters prepared for launch as well. They appear rather fond of torpedoes, hmm?"

***

As the battle waged on, the skies - or rather, space - appeared to be illuminated in vast streaks of green lightning as the mighty vessels of the Bretonian Fifth Royal Expeditionary Fleet dropped from slipstream in enormous green bursts of light, dropping to subluminal speeds almost instantly as they took up the positions designated by Commodore Machin, with roughly half of the fleet on either side of them. The lack of an FTLi field made the manoeuvre reasonably simple for the vessels, whom immediately brought their weapons turrets to bear against the enemies.

The net they had cast appeared thin, and led one to wonder why they hadn't closed the large gaps immediately. As the turrets all lit up with brilliant white light, casting intensely powerful particle beams and tachyon bolts towards their targets with the speed and ease of light (or faster still, in the case of the tachyon turrets), the distances involved suddenly seemed moot. Meanwhile the Bretonians' own magnetic accelerator cannons took aim and prepared to fire their own relativistic chunks of death into the midst of the enemy fleet.

Ten Victoria-class Battleships, forty-eight Coventry-class Cruisers and a hundred and seventy gunships in all. Few in number they may have been, but Bretonian military doctrine eschewed numerical superiority in favour of raw destructive power. Immediately, each battleship launched twenty Crusader heavy fighters and a volley of powerful, ECM-masked torpedoes each, while the cruisers moved to form a barrier around their larger cousins. The heavy fighters and gunships would preoccupy themselves with taking down any enemy torpedoes and fighters which point-defence systems alone could not deal with, leaving the capital ships to pulverise the enemy.

Simultaneous to the commencement of their attack, several of the battleships began generating FTLi fields around the battle area, ensuring the enemy fleet couldn't abort their unprovoked attack, and that no other parties could launch similar surprise attacks.

"This is Commodore Sir Edward Machin, commanding officer of the Bretonian Fifth Royal Expeditionary Fleet," a transmission went out to both the Russian fleet and their Kreanolthan adversaries at once. "Sincere apologies on being late - Foreign Minister Gables sends his regards. I trust our new-found adversaries shall not be coming aboard for tea this evening, hmm?"

[Kreanoltha]

"FUCK! I forgot the interdictors!" Grand Admiral Hintinos roared. He sighed slightly when he received the reading of the new ships. "More junk ships. They are down right tiny! Thank god." The largest was some one and a half thousand meters long. That was smaller than a light cruisers! He dispatched fleet Epsilon Phi to deal with them. "Sir!" said Artemis, the shipboard A.I., said. "The new arrivals are sending a message." "Ignore it! They're allied with the Russians. Send orders to the rest of the fleet. Destroy the newcomers."

Fleet Epsilon Phi

As usual, the light ships lead, destroyers in the lead. Their admiral saw the fighters and immediately ordered that the missiles be launched to destroy the enemy fighters. The Harpy fighter/interceptors raced ahead of the fleet and began to harass the enemy warships. The light ships in the lead discharged a hail of plasma torpedoes and MAC rounds. The larger ships followed well outlined engagement tactics and sniped with their heavy, long range weapons. Plasma bolts and the pencil thin boson beams of the energy projectors lit the void between the Bretonian ships and the Epsilon Phi fleet. As they approached the light ships maneuvered into a half-sphere.


Main force

Grand Admiral Hintinos activated the interdictor. "We don't want them leaving when they realized what a big mistake they've made." He laughed. "How are the shields doing?" "Good sir! Capacitors are at 94%. Falling slowly." Lieutenant Milthos replied. "We are in close enough to use all of our weapons. Use them!" The Kreanolthan warships opened fire in full. Every weapon they had was cycling as fast as it could. The light warships began encompassing maneuvers. "What are they shooting us with?" Hintinos asked Artemis. "It seems like some failed attempt to punch holes in the shield with some sort of odd explosive. The idea is that the dense shells, they seem to be some sort of lead, will make it to the hull without having to first bring down the shield. The shells themselves are too small to be of much concern. After all, our ships were designed to fight themselves." "Good," replied Hintinos with a slight chuckle "Keep firing."

[Lariza]

FTLi fields, both from the pro-government and anti-establishment forces prevented the II Strike Fleet from arriving at its desired location. Instead the Second Fleet exited hyperspace roughly four-hundred and sixty million kilometers from the battle.

"Just as well." Lord Admiral Walter Smith stood on the bridge of the LIS Inquisitor, a Valiant Class Dreadnought in service of the Interstellar Empire of Lariza. Lord Admiral Walter was a man in his fifties who kept a clean head, by clean of course he meant bald. Officers and crew alike meandered throughout the bridge carrying out their tasks. To whom the aging admiral had spoken was his engineering officer who reported on the FTLi field that had stopped the fleet dead.

"Lord Admiral, it appears there are four fleets that are currently engaged in battle. Three of them have surrounded the fourth and are laying into it heavily." The Sensor Officer reported in a dry manner, which suited Walter just fine as he rarely got hyped about anything.

Walter flipped open a pocket watch to check the time. Hmm, ten minutes behind schedule. Closing it and placing it back into his pocket, Walter turned to the awaiting bridge crew.

"Now hear this. Now hear this. Long range sensors have confirmed the presence of four fleets currently engaged in combat. Our position is roughly a day's time away from the battlefield, therefore all hands are ordered to general quarters. That is all."

Putting the mic down, Walter turned to his executive officer, Colonol Harry Mazz, a man just entering his forties. Mazz was like him, in that he was bald and rarly got hyped about anything except proper wear of uniform at all times.

"Gonna be about an hour to reposition the fleet, Waltz." He said handing Walter a datapad about the system they were in. "And another to see whose who over there in the grapple."

Taking the pad and doing a quick skim across the most important data, Walter answered his exec. "Well atleast we didn't walk into a trap, or a face full of mines."

-----

General Broadcast from the II Strike Fleet, Interstellar Empire of Lariza.

This is Lord Admiral Walter Smith of the Larizan Second Strike Fleet. We have come to render aid to the Empire forces. Our current location is approxiatemly a day's time away from the engagment that is taking place. Expect further transmissions as we come closer.

Lord Admiral Walter Smith, Transmission Ends.

[Saurisia]

Major Steven Mayor ran through the halls of the Presidential Mansion, a document concerning the Rebellion in Peace for Men in his claws. After some time of running, he was finally at his destination: The office of Commander-in-Chief David Santorez. The 36 year old Suchomimus panted, exhausted from all the running before opening the door and finding Santorez sitting at his desk.

The Tyrannosaurus stared at the Major and asked "Yes, what is it?"

"There appears to be a rebellion in a Human nation called "Peace for Men", sir." Mayor said as he walked towards Santorez's desk until he was close enough to hand the 42 year old the paper. After reading through it, Santorez told him "Hm, is there a possibility these rebels could embrace Fascism or a Corporate government of some kind?"

"Maybe..."

"Hm..." Santorez thought to himself, the President and Commander of the Army were vacationing on the planet of Gondowana, obviously to get away from the watchful eye of Santorez and the rest of the Dinoist Party. He then whipped out a pen, scribbled down some words on a blank piece of paper, and then gave it to the Major, telling him "Give this to my secretary and don't even think of hitting on her again, she hates that!"

The Suchomimus nodded before walking out the door and down the hall to the desk of Santorez's secretary Reba Walters, a 39 year old Spinosaurus. When he was close enough to her desk, she looked in his direction and snapped "What the hell do ya think you're doin' here?!"

"Relax, Mr. Santorez wanted me to give you this." handing the paper to her.

As she snatched it out of his hands, she asked "He told you not to hit on me, didn't he?"

"Yeah" the Suchomimus sulkily said as Walters chuckled and then typed down the message on her computer and sent it to the Rebels.

To: Rebels of PFM
From: Saurisia

We have heard of your rebellion, and we wish to know whether you're willing to set up a Fascist or Corporate-run government. If so, we will help you, if not, we will stay out of this.

[The Matthew Islands]

With political stability at home secured, The Matthew Islands was now able to fully put itself against the rebels.

The Entire fleet was mobilised, and the first expeditionary fleet was sent to the aid the Russian fleet.

The Expeditionary fleet consisted of:

50 Leviathan class Capital ships.

50 Bulwark Class Carriers, each equipped with 200 Thor class fighters.

200 Sparta Class Destroyers.

300 Python class Corvettes.

300 Hammer Class Frigates.

[The Fedral Union]

Reveille

A probe quietly flied through the Oort cloud of the system that had become popular from anti republican forces. Its small oblong form was barely visible with any visual tracking, and even its heat signature seemed minute. As fleet after fleet and ship after ship seemed to pass by it took exact readings of baring heading and what ever other data that was “important”. This probe belonged to a small Terran Patrol force inching towards the area in search of pirates. The sudden rush of activity and message from the nation in question roused the admirals interest.

So there was the probe watching as events degraded quickly in to a shooting match. The Admiral opted to send this data directly to central command. The Alliance had little contact with the former or current government.

--Mean while at the Presidential Residence--



At the situation room, at the presidential residence, the events plaguing the republic of peace for men had not gone unobserved. President Sagen sat back on a chair in the well lit room. He was sitting at a long reticular table a myriad of ministers on either side of it, evenly spaced. The table had a large holographic emitter that showed the galactic map. Monitors lined the white walls of the circular and vast room .

The President gazed across the gathered officials. He and the others were quiet for a moment, information was being fed from the incident in the republic as fast as the TA could gather it. Sagen was horrified by this, it seemed for no reason what so ever that “reasonable nations” as they claimed had decided to involve themselves in the affairs of a struggling republic, in an attempt to instil their own form of imperialistic government on them.

The silence was broken by the President himself. His voice was plain, his tone calm- he folded his hands in front of him on the oak colored table.

”This is disturbing, I'm sure I speak for everyone in this room in noting that. Reasonable nations rushing to destroy a government built on freedom and equality. I regard this as a paramount threat to national security. They would resort to bloodshed, throwing men and materiel not to mention the deaths of civilians all to prove some childish point. ”

The secretary of defense looked away from a monitor feeding visual information on the locations of “hostile ships”, he picked up a cigarette with two fingers from an ashtray to the right of him. He put it in his mouth and inhaled the smoke. He responded with a brisk yet calm voice.

”Sir, you are right, I cant say otherwise. These “empires” have if I may be so frank laid out the red carpet for us, its either we stop them now or they will target other governments and perhaps even us. I have taken the liberty of putting the task forces in the area on alert.”

The president nodded, he simply stared at the map in front of him, it zoomed in to the sector of action, three Terran task forces were in rage to strike the system under assault. Two of them were far off and would take an hour or so at a reasonable speed to reach the area however one under the command of Fleet Admiral Terrance Nelson was close enough to be within the system in minuets.


This was a hard decision, likely action could result in diplomatic instability but inaction could result in imperialist knocking on the Alliances door. He weighed this, war or peace? This was what seethed in his mind, currents of thought raced every different way. Sagen looked to his drone, Larua the dragonic emulated sapient machine looked back at him with her blue eyes. He seemed to be conversing with her. A second passed and Sagen shifted in his seat. He sat up on his chair stiffing. He spoke in a clam tone.

“This cannot be allowed. If they aren't stopped there? Where will they stop ? Until all of the republics in this galaxy are under their form of “enlightened” government. I will ask the senate for an authorization of force in the mean time Nelson can spear head our intervention we've got thirty days to clear them out if the senate votes against my proposal.”

The secretary of defense nodded he folded his hands and responded to the president.

”It wont take him long to jump in to the system, how ever the tactical situation seems convoluted, from the probes data several known nations are fighting the republicans and several unknown nations are also present. I am confident however that Nelson knows what hes doing”

Sagen nodded merely, he placed a hand on his hairless chin and trailed his fingers around it drumming them. It was done..


---Terran Fifth Fleet Task force 10 Half two light years away.----
The Cronus had gone through a myriad of repairs, several months had passed since the battle of Pandora. The Cronus had suffered heavy damage after being rammed by an imperial ship however the day was carried.

Admiral nelson stiffened in his chair, the AI of the Cronus flickered in to existence in front of him. Nelson by now had been notified of the orders from command via Comn. He had no particular look upon his face, he seemed confident and clam.

The AI crossed his arms over his chest, his lithe uniformed body looking as real as a biological. The AI spoke to Nelson – as the Admiral stared up at him obviously deep in thought.

”Admiral, our orders have been verified so I take it we're once more going unto the breach of battle? “

Nelson simply nodded, he slid a hand in to his right Brest pocket, right above his myriad of metals and unit citations, he took out a small golden watch similar in size and look to old railroad time keeping pieces used in the 19th century on earth. His mind was filled with thoughts, his recent campaign on Pandora was bloody but successful. He didn't doubt his abilities, but he was disheartened that he would have to end more life, and for what? It wasn't the alliance who was invading a sovereign nation just for its kind of government. He had an utter distaste and loathing for the kind of “royalty” that did these things.

He looked up to the AI once more and gripped his golden watch opening it with his left hand. He gazed at the roman numerals and in the top a small picture of his brother and sister. His lips curled in to a smile in a display of rare emotion.

He spoke to the AI his tone clam. ”Yes, we're going in to battle once more. I look forward to kicking these silver spoon fed debutantes to galactic warfare back to the bosom of their kings or queens or what ever kind of inadequately equipped fool that they serve.”

The AI gazed at the Admiral, he furrowed a brow and responded. ”We shouldn't underestimate them they could prove difficult. They do have a number of ships deployed, it shall be an interesting battle to say the least.”

Nelson nodded he placed his his watch back in his pocket and sat back upon his chair, he gripped the armrests and sighed. Nelson directed a statement in a calm voice to the AI.

”I know this, we wont go in stupidly. How ever by the looks of the map they seem to be assaulting that system , these bloody “Russians” seem to have valid allies. I know what we shall do, all hand prepare for combat!”


The light on the usually well lit bridge went dim, several klaxons began to blare. The holographic consoles hue of light was change to make them more visible to the personnel working with them. The mood on the ship was tense, much of the same crew involved in the battle for Pandora was on the Cronus, they had experience but that didn't negate the nerves that arose before any battle.

Nelson stood up from his command chair, he looked around the bridge then placed a hand on a console to the left of him, this activated the fleet wide comn system. He started to speak in a confident tone, he wanted to relive any fears and give his men a boost of confidence.


”As you all have heard by now, our task force has once again been called to serve our republics needs, against foreign invaders attacking an innocent group of people for their way of life, we cannot forget our principles, you have all served with honour all those months ago in orbit of that moon. Marines and naval officers alike shed blood for this country and for the freedom of those people. We cannot forget that we hold the torch of liberty in our grasp. At any rate, we are going in to this in order for our nation not to fight this battle on its own shores. We must succeed here!”

He nodded to an officer who smiled up at him from her position to the front of the vast triangular shaped bridge. Nelson sat down upon his chair and placed one leg upon the other. He drummed his fingers upon the armrests of the chair. For solders war life was never mundane. It carried a risk of death at every corner with every fight. This constantly weighed on these men and women, like it did in all fleets of all the galaxy, save the few mindless drones.

Yet even with this fact many sign up to serve their nation proudly. Nelson was amongst these persons, how he was there on the bridge of his ship commanding troops he was proud to serve with. Troops who had displayed gallantry and honor in the face of battle.





---Enter the Cavalry---

The eighteen ships of the Terran task force jumped in to hyper space, portals engulfed them as they rushed towards the glinting star that had become a quagmire of hostile forces. It was getting support from the 12th and 8th task forces however they would be slightly delayed. The largest ship, the Cronus herself spear headed the force. Several moments passed, the ships careened through hyper space, a white energetic void flew passed each of them, arcs of lighting like energy seemed to hold a tube around them open. Finally half a light second behind the “Russian” fleet- the task force dropped out of hyper space. The Cronus at the head, the massive heavy cruiser over four kilometers long , was silhouetted against the canvas of blinking lights in the black back drop of space.

To its flanks multiple smaller ships “screens” including, strike cruisers destroyers, heavy frigates several “Olympia” class armored cruisers and two Forrestal class Battle carriers. The ships formed in to a wedge formation. The Cronus like its name sake, imposed upon anything smaller than it.

Nelson gazed out of the viewer at the front of the bridge. The klaxons were quiet now, and other than a few blips from officers or AI's working the consoles nothing could be heard. It was a tense silence many had the same thoughts in their minds. Nelsons gaze averted to the AI of the ship. He broke the silence with a calm tone in his deep gentlemanly voice.

Hail the fleets in this system lets see if we cant convince them not to let this end in bloodshed.

The AI nodded. To say the least it was ready for battle The AI merely smirked as the comn frequency was opened to the hostile ships assaulting the planet. Nelson would deliver this message himself he wanted the pleasure of poking this hive.

Code: Select all

”This is Admiral Terry Nelson of the Terran Alliance fifth fleet task force ten. It is unfortunate we must find ourselves meeting this way, however you have made your intentions clear in this system. My government has ordered this task force and several others in the area   to protect  republican assets in this system. These “rebels” as you call them have a right to declare themselves a free government, your reasoning to intervening here are disturbing.   The Terran Alliance her self is a republic whats to stop your,  misguided nations from attacking us?  As such, your ships are ordered to leave this system, spare me your “grand” announcements and declarations, your attack on this republic has reenforced your label as fascists. You have   ninety seconds to comply.

Nelson motioned for the com to be cut. He adjusted his black and gold uniform putting his officers cap over his head. He was ready for this battle , he was ready to kick these royalist scum back to the cesspool they came from. He grit his teeth the tactical map flickering and zooming in to the system, the Terran task force was spread evenly. Orange cursors surrounded the various ships in the system- The Cronus and its escorts activated their weapon systems. Frightening amounts of sheer power would light up any hostile sensors, as weapon systems of these ships became active. The Cronus was a heavily armored leviathan of a ship, it sported enough fire power to take on a task force single handily. The armored cruisers were minutiae versions of these massive cruisers.