The Raid on Kazshurn
Several Days Later...
The rendezvous coordinates the Defiance had been given was hosting two attack groups, 'TS Squadron', that the Defiance had been assigned to, and the much larger 'Battle Group K', though they only had two hours from arriving until Major General Mosatt, who was leading the Third Infantry, gave the signal for TS Squadron to depart, splitting away from Battle Group K even as the larger force made preparations for their own departure. Aside from the eight destroyers Ghom had mentioned, TS Squadron also had two monstrous Well Ships, several kilometres in length, that carried the smaller atmosphere capable transports that would unload the troops. The slightly larger transports carrying the first wave of commandos had departed almost as the Defiance had arrived and would, hopefully, arrive on the edge of the system undetected, hitting the Ragon batteries before the main body of the raid tried to land.
It was just one jump to the target though there was plenty of time for people to prepare. Aethienn put on her low profile suit of armour. Tava pulled on her primitive looking Federation gear, daubed her face and arms in paint the colour of the local mud, then lit up a roll of some herb that made most people dizzy just being in the same room. Thanica and Rabaech both pulled on suits of KC armour. While Gollar gear had been provided, the pair were ex KC soldiers and both felt more comfortable in a suit they had worn dozens of times before. There was time for people who went through some kind of pre-battle ritual to do it. To say a prayer, share a drink, or whatever they needed to do, then the lights on the ship dimmed and they were dropping out of hyperspace, one massive Well Ship to the port side and the other to starboard.
"Defiance, this is Goldenrod, proceed to the marked coordinates and hold formation."
Thanica hit the comms, guiding the ship in the direction of the coordinates that had been marked for them, "Understood Goldenrod, proceeding."
To sides of the Well Ships opened, disgorging their cargo of transports in a vast wave. The ships filed out, taking up positions on all sides of the Defiance in a vast and complex pattern. Far off in the distance, over millions of miles of deep space, a planet gleamed as it slowly rotated it's sun: Kazshurn. "This is Goldenrod, Approach Pattern Eight Seven, Angle of Descent Ten Degrees. Good luck out there!"
The ship began to move towards the planet, cork screwing and tumbling seemingly erratically towards the target world, though there was nothing random about the movement. There was a mathematical precision to it that was all intended to throw off the aim of enemy guns while also. Thanica hit the comms button again, this time speaking to the whole crew over the intercom system, "If any of you are not strapped into a seat, I suggest you get yourself to one now. The Gollar have outfitted the ship for atmospheric landings, but we're being called to pull off a very steep descent for a ship of this size and it will get bumpy."
The planet seemed to slowly grow as they approached along with the faint gleam of an object floating in space; the Ragon station. Static could be heard coming through the comms, presumably messages from the group on the ground, though they were, as of yet, too far away to make out what they were trying to say. The planet continued to grow, "... I repeat.... I repeat, the West battery has not been silenced."
"This is Goldenrod, when will the objective be achieved?"
This time the sound of blaster fire could be heard in the background of the communication, "We are pinned down and taking heavy fire. The objective will not be secured without further reinforcements."
"Eastern Group, what is your status?"
"We have breached the compound perimeter but have taken heavy casualties. The gunners have been driven back, but the battery has not been destroyed. We will attempt to advance further and complete the objective."
Without waiting to be told, Thanica picked her helmet up from the floor next to the navigation console, securing it on her head. The planet was getting very close now. Abruptly there was an explosion directly in front of the ship as a transport some distance ahead was hit. The ship shuddered and jumped as they flew through the debris, hard enough to knock anyone who hadn't taken the earlier warning off their feet, "They have a gunship! They weren't supposed to have gunships, we're open targets!"
It was almost impossible to make out who was saying what as shuttle pilots began to open up their comms in panic, "We've taken hits, shields are barely holding, we need to pull out!"
"This is Goldenrod, stay in formation to avoid collisions! TS, we need destroyer support!"
"That will bring us within range of the surface battery. Please confirm," came the calmer voice of someone who clearly wasn't involved in the unfolding battle yet.
"We're hit! Ship is going..." the transmission cut off abruptly.
"Confirmed! We'll lose too many transports this way. Hit the gunship then withdraw."
Then, as the transports began their descent, they hit incoming fire from the West battery and the number of frightened calls from shuttle pilots only increased. It was impossible to know exactly how many had been destroyed, though it was clear they were being shot down at an alarming rate. Fire streaked upwards from the ground, seeming to come within inches of the Defiance to the people onboard, helpless to do anything but watch. Larger shots could be seen streaking up through the atmosphere from straight ahead: the big guns that were one of the main objectives for the Third. Finally though, some good news came through, the intercom, "This is the Kirosva, confirming destruction of the Ragon gunship. The skies are clear."
It lasted no more than a few seconds, "This is the Hoskia. Hull breaches on multiple decks... imminent Skrim drive overload. We are abandoning ship." One of the destroyers had been lost.
There was little time to think about that though as at that moment the Defiance finally hit the atmosphere, throwing the ship around with almost the force of the cloud of debris they'd flown through on approach and the incoming fire didn't let up, in fact it was now coming from the East as well.
"This is Eastern Group, we've been driven back. Battery is fully operational again! I repeat, battery is fully operational again!"
"I can frelling see that!" came the rather unprofessional response of one of the many shuttle pilots.
The landing ground came into sight ahead, although from the huge burst of fire and dirt that sporadically erupted from it, it was clear that it was taking fire already. The ground looked barren, with dead trees, dusty boulders and dried out creek beds. Here and there the land had cracked, forming deep fissures. Thanica put the ship down on the flat ground, dropping the back ramp, though if anyone was standing too close to it, they would immediately be showered in dirt as an artillery round exploded a little too close for comfort, "Rabaech, the moment you have confirmation the away team is out, divert all power to the shields." Thanica called across the comms, not waiting for the order from Carter.
Outside, bodies of the dead and wounded littered the field as they rushed North along with no small number of the mechs they had built for this mission, through the broken ground towards the Ragon wall that Ghom had described in his briefing. Off to the left a shuttle had taken one too many hits from Ragon shells and was burning fiercely. An officer waved frantically at a group of soldiers, "Stop running! Walk damn you! You don't want to be out of breath when you meet the defenders!"
Nobody was listening to him. Even as the crew watched, one of the mechs hit a fissure in the ground, toppling forward like a felled tree. Meanwhile, a medical team was trying to stretcher someone back to the shuttles, though before they could get there, a shell landed next to them, sending bodies flying in all directions.
Back on the bridge, Thanica turned her chair, swivelling to face Carter, waiting for instructions. She did not want to be left on the ship, not when her friends were out in the hell she had seen on landing...
