The Fifteen Minute War [Closed][Attn: Fenvaria Republic]

[Kisia]

Temjuojo Border System
Castle General's Quarters
LVC Kikurizho

Castle-General Yandei Hathuko stared at a dataslate, idly thumbing through it as he took tea in his quarters. While he was still rather young at only 26 years of age, he was ambitious- and had connections.
Such was how he had managed to get a posting to a Hojai-class Armored Citadel as it's commander. The Kikurizho was a fine and capable ship, Though, it was not all glory and honor. Yandei's posting had been in the Northern Frontier Mobile Banner, a command assigned to defend the northern stellar borders of the League, not a particularly hostile front at the moment.

His own squadron was one assigned to a semi-permanent duty station in Temjuojo, a system with almost laughably minimal activity. Besides some mining outposts and a minor fueling station, the system was basically deserted, long since considered a non-priority area. In fact, most of his squadron had actually been tasked with handling other matters in nearby sectors, making his effective command rather small for someone of his station. Thus, he was in an odd situation, as the command was his, yet he had precious few ships and no real way to prove himself able to command- perhaps maneuver his way into command of a ship in an actual war fleet.

He continued to sip at his tea and read through the file, until there was a knock at his door.

"Enter." Yandei replied, placing cup and saucer down on his working desk. A junior officer walked in, making a slight bow before walking to his desk and saluting, with Yandei himself responding with a quick wave of his hand.

"Joshuujin-ko." the junior officer started. "Command has requested the temporary reassignment of the Kuhozai, Ankou, and-" the officer stopped as Yandei glared at him.

"Why? I've told them constantly that I barely have enough voidships to even maintain the most minimal of patrols in this area! If they remove any more, we're risking the ability to even conduct deadspace customs checks! I've consistently requested they take ships from other commands, and yet they insist on robbing me blind!" Yandei said, grimacing angrily, his right hand balled into a fist, thumb moving idly.

"A-ah, well, you see, they intend..to..." The officer started, clearly uncomfortable bearing the inadvertent anger of his superior.

"Out with it, Gods be damned!" Yandei shouted. As if struck with a sudden bolt of courage, the junior officer suddenly stood ramrod straight. "They intend to merge this sector with another, and disband the squadron assigned to this area!"

"You mean to tell me my command is being liquidated?" Yandei paused. "No. It already has, that was the ploy the entire time. These 'temporary' reassignments have lengthened consistently over the past few weeks. I'm sure those ships have already been permanently reassigned to their new squadrons." He laughed nervously. "I suppose it was too good to be true, being Castle General at such a young age..."

The junior officer bowed his head. "It would appear so...though, I'm sure you'll obtain a new command, sir."

Yandei sighed. "I wish I could share your optimism. I've had no real chance to do anything of merit. They'll probably put me in charge of some ragtag collection of ships in a colonial backwater." There was a long pause as Yandei tilted his head, closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, as if thinking. Eventually, the other officer made a slight cough- trying to politely indicate he was still there.

"Actually....no. I don't approve these transfers. If they want to liquidate my command, they're going to give me an official goddamn order, not these sly tricks." Yandei looked up. "Inform command that I'm not giving them anymore vessels."

The officer allowed a brief smile. "Very good, sir. I'll make sure they're notified of your decision immediately. If there is nothing else...?"

"No, you're dismissed. Keep me informed, I presume command isn't going be happy about me not folding over."

Just as the junior officer had finished bowing and turned around with intent to exit, an alarm started blaring. Another officer came on over a loudspeaker, his voice somewhat static-y.

"Joshuujin-ko!" We're detecting several energy signatures from our long-range probes, presumed direction is from outside League Space! Orders?"

Yandei slammed his fist on a button. "Form the ships we have up immediately! Recall our more distant ships as well! I'll be on the bridge shortly." He barked. The officer over comms made a terse reply, and the line clicked off.

"Now we have ample reason to deny that request. Instead, inform them of what's going on here, and to send some reinforcements. Now could be our chances for
glory." Yandei said to the officer still in his quarters, who promptly saluted and briskly walked off. Yandei went over to his desk, donning his kepi and affixing his sword to his uniform.

Today would be a good day after all, he began to think.

[Fenvaria Republic]

Victorious Glory
Dire Wolf Class Battleship
1487th Flotilla
System Unknown

---

Lord Captain Gregory Maltif adjusted the high collar on his naval uniform as the lift started to slow down as it approached his floor. The collar of the uniform was too high and rubbed up against his neck, making it a bit awkward to move in. So he started to tug on his collar, doing his best to adjust it so that it wasn't rubbing up as much. After a few moments, he found some better comfort, with a sigh, he then fixed his jacket, which was a dark grey peacoat-like jacket. Two sets of eight silver buttons were on each breast. The silver trip ran on the top and front edges of the collar, Where sat the rank of a Lord Captain. On the sleeve of the jacket, there was a silver trim that outlined the top of the cuff as well as the lower part of the cuff; three gold buttons sat there as well. He also wore a pair of black formal pants that had a silver trim running down the seams of the pants. He wore black digitigrade boots that also had slightly darker black gaiters that covered the boot. The elevator finally dinged and the doors slid open, he placed on his naval blue peaked cap and walked out onto the bridge.

At the waist, he wore a black belt that had a gold buckle, on this buckle was a depiction of the Thalduhm insignia, a single eagle spreading its wings. On this belt were the more traditional items that every fenavria wore, a short sword, and an M12 Combat Pistol. The shortsword has remained a staple part of the uniform since the formation of the nation, it’s original inception was as a defensive weapon. However, now, it mostly fulfills the role as a bayonet, or the soldier’s last line of defense, or an all-purpose tool. Also nowadays, the shortsword has changed a bit, going from simple metals such as steel or titanium to the modern inception, which was a vibroshortsword. The M12 Combat Pistol serves mostly as the officer’s defensive weapon, these pistols being quite common amongst the populace as well as the military.

Once he was on the bridge, the Lord Captain looked around, he started to evaluate the crew, what they were doing. The stations on the bridge; navigation, gunnery, internal, communications, sensors; were quite busy as the bridge officers completed their tasks. Several officers moved back and forth, exchanging notes and calculations. The bridge crew was mostly made up of organics, fenavria, evandari, and even humans. However, there were also several AMI (Artificial Military Intelligence) units walking around, overseeing the organic officers and checking their calculations or reports. These units had a strong resemblance to the species of the Empire, however, what gave them away was their softly glowing eyes and ears tips.

Gregory Maltif then started to walk to his chair, which sat in the middle of the bridge on an elevated platform and dark grey railing around it. As he walked to his chair, one of the AMI units looked over at the Lord Captain and saluted, before shouting out, “OFFICER ON DECK!” The rest of the bridge crew turned around before they too would snap to attention, saluting the Lord Captain as he walked to his chair. He stopped for a moment and looked at the bridge crew before shaking his head and smiling.

“At ease!” he ordered with a cocky smile on his face, soon the crew went back to their tasks and Maltif resumed his walk to the command chair. He then climbed the steps to his command chair and sat down, looking around at the officers below him. He had a smug smile on but then it quickly vanished. “Navigation, are we to our destination yet?”

“We will be dropping out of FTL in a few moments, sir.” replied the AMI unit at the navigation area, she looked back at the Lord Captain and smiled. “You are awfully eager to get out of FTL aren't you?”

Maltif shook his head and laughed a bit, looking at the AMI unit and then back at the window of the ship. “Yes, We have been stuck in FTL for some time, and I really want this mission to be over so we can go back and party.” He replied with a grin on his face once he finished talking.

The AMI unit rolled her mechanical eyes and shook her head as she turned her attention back to her section, with that there was a brief pause before she then spoke “We are dropping out of FTL in 3...2...1... and drop”

With that the ship dropped out of FTL and into the system, soon the massive battleship was accompanied by 19 other vessels. These ships ranged from destroyers to cruisers. There was a distinct lack of any heavier capital ship, this was because those ships were reserved for home territory defense and planetary bombardment. After dropping out of FTL, the ships would regroup and move further into the system, however, one of the sensor officers then turned around and looked at the captain.

“Sir! We have signatures!”

“Thalduhmian? Aumanii? Peninsualrian? Domain?”

“Negative sir.” replied the officer as they typed away on their screen. “It is a signature we have never seen before.”

“And what of the system?”

“Sir, it seems to be colonized, we are detecting several communication signatures. Whatever told those eggheads at the scouting department that this was an open system, really fuck up sir.”

“I see, very well.” he paused and picked up the folder that was right next to him, looking it over for a few moments he then closed the folder and responded. “Might as well establish communications with these people.”

“Aye aye sir.” replied the sensor officer, who looked back and the Lord Capitan nodded.

“Send off the first contact message, let's hope they have a translator.”

“Attention, unknown contacts. This is Lord Capitan Gregory Maltif of the Thalduhm Empire, commander of the 1487th Flotilla. We have stumbled into your system and are interested in diplomatic communications.

"Message has been sent."

"Good, now we sit back.....what can go wrong?"

[Kisia]

Throne Room

"His Lordship has entered!" Shouted a guard as Yandei walked into the room. His captains and lesser officers all turned to salute him as he walked up to the raised platform that his commanding chair was on. Yandei took his seat and with a wave of his hand, returned their collective salute. The room went back to being a flurry of activity as runners went to-and-fro between the different command stations, trying to avoid tripping on the bundles of cables that ran in semi-organized trunks to computers in other areas of the ship, alongside dodging other officers. The arrival of the unknown fleet in the system had put everybody on edge, especially considering the lax security as of late. Just as Yandei was about to call for his Lord-Captain, the second in command of the ship, he ran up, holding some papers.

"What's the situation thus far?" Yandei queried. His second handed him several papers, giving a verbal recollection as Yandei physically thumbed through them.

"The other fleet appears to be holding at the edges of the system. Their signatures don't match any vessel we currently have registered in our own systems as well. We're double-checking all known registries, but nothing so far. They've also sent us a message, we're working on trying to decode it...but so far we're only turning up gibberish."

"What of our other vessels? Where are they?"

"Per your request, they're pulling back to our position around the fueling station. We've sent an emergency teleprint to Regional Command, we're hoping they'll respond shortly."

"Good. The readiness of the crew and guns?"

"We're on action stations currently, my lord. All guns are reporting they're ready to fire as soon as you give the order."

"Excellent. Carry on for now." Yandei replied, giving the papers back to the Lord-Captain, who saluted and walked off the platform and down to consult with the other officers. Yandei turned to his right, where a collection of color coded phones sat, mounted into a station for his usage. Each had a hardwired connection running to a different department on the vessel. He picked up the orange phone, and immediately someone picked up.

"Engineering Captain, responding." A woman on the other end spoke.

"Just testing the lines. Is everything set down there?"

"Aye, my lord. You'll have all the power we can deliver."

"Very good. I'd like to control the engines directly from the helm, if you wouldn't mind."

"Not at all. I'm switching the controls over.....now. The helm should now have operational control of the engines, with Engineering acting as backup." the engineering captain spoke. A shout from the helmsman confirmed the change.

"The transfer went without issue. Remain on standby for now. If we need move, you'll be the first to know."

"Aye, sir. We're at your call."

With the formality out the way, Yandei hung up. Slouching back in his chair he pondered his odds. It was 19 against 10. Most of his ships were screening vessels, he had a few cruisers, and his own assault cruiser. It would be better to wait...but glory isn't gained by idling uselessly. As he mused more, one of his communications officers shouted that the translation had come in.

"Well? What is it?" Yandei shouted from on high. The rest of the bridge died down to hear the young officer. He looked at the paper.

"It's....not something that should be said aloud in polite company, sir." The officer replied, quickly handing it to a superior, who scanned it and grimaced.

"What game are you playing here? This is serious!" The other officer shouted back to the younger one, who simply threw his hands up.

"I've ran the translation matrix seven times, each with a different language index! They all turn out the same thing or garbled gibberish! There can be no question, that's what they're saying!" The younger officer said, defending himself. "If you would like to see sir, by all means, I will show you!"

"Let me see it." Yandei spoke, breaking the argument between the two. Now the senior officer broke into a cold sweat, pondering his next choice of words.

"My lord, this translation can't possibly be-"

"Let me see it." Yandei repeated again, tersely. Defeated, the officer quickly ran up to where Yandei was seated and handed him the paper, with clear worry in his eyes. Yandei scanned the paper for all of three seconds before crumpling it up and throwing it down in anger.

"Those wretched curs! How dare they besmirch the name of Great Kisia like that! Communications! Type as I dictate!"

"Aye, sir!" A crewman said, turning to his keyboard, waiting for Yandei to speak. After he was finished, he ordered it sent.

I cannot allow such insults to go unpunished. Your race is clearly an unlearned and savage one, nor am I sure how such a feeble-minded species managed to obtain spaceflight, if you simply didn't steal these vessels from some more capable species. I will answer your insults the same, and with gunshot and steel. I hope you are prepared to meet your false gods, because you shall not leave this place alive today. Long Live the Kisian League, Ten-thousand Years to Her Name!

As the effective declaration of war was sent, another message was recieved, this one from the Naval Command.

"Reinforcements are on their way, sir! They shall be here in fifteen minutes."

"I will have dashed these savages before the stars by the time they arrive!" Yandei proclaimed angrily, grabbing another telephone and pressing a button.

"Squadron! These savages have dared to trespass on our territory and have the gall to insult us here! On our honor as Kisians, such an insult can only be repaid with blood! To battle stations, for the time for combat and glory is upon us! Kaikoto Taishei!" Yandei shouted, before hanging up the phone, and flipping a switch on his chair. Another alarm went off, and the lights grew to a dim and eerie red- battle stations had been called. The bridge once again flew into a flurry of activity, as everyone prepared themselves for the first naval action they'd seen in weeks.

"War Communications! I want us in an aggressive formation! We'll charge right into the heart of their fleet and get them with one decisive blow! The fleet shall engage at red-line speeds on my command! The cruisers shall engage their larger vessels, the screens will combat the other screens at will!"

"Aye sir! Sending the orders now!" An officer shouted. Yandei picked up the orange receiver again.

"Engineering! Prepare to red-line the engines, disable all non-critical safeties!"

"As you order sir!" The engineering captain replied, before barking several muffled orders and hanging up.

"Orders confirmed as received, sir! Awaiting your command!"

"Helm, full-speed ahead, red-lining! Push the engines to the absolute limit!"

"Aye! Engaging!"

There was an audible reverberation as the ships engines boomed to life, from zero to near critical limits in mere seconds. As they began to accelerate rapidly, Yandei picked up a blood red colored phone.

"Gunnery Captain! Engagement orders, sir?" A gruff voice on the other end spoke.

"I want all lesser guns trained on their largest vessel, and to fire at their own discretion! The broadsides are to hold until I order them to fire! Ready torpedoes and advanced missile salvos to be fired on my order as well!" Yandei shouted.

"Aye, sir! Relaying your orders now, and giving you firing authority over the broadside guns, missiles, and torpedoes! Confirm!" The man on the other end said. Several runes flashed rapidly on a nearby console, and several buttons lit up, all within Yandei's immediate reach.

"Confirm. Continue to execute these targeting orders until updated."

"Sir!" The other man shouted, before hanging up.

"Estimated time until contact?" Yandei queried.

"No more than 8 minutes, sir!" His Lord-Captain spoke, running back up to stand beside him.

"Very good. We'll whip these curs before the Response Fleet even arrives."

"Fifteen until reinforcements get here. Eight till we're in striking range. We need to hold on for seven minutes then. Seven. I'm in command. I can do this." Yandei said to himself, a brief moment of clarity coming through his rage induced haze. He briefly considered if he had jumped the gun, but put it out his mind. There was no time for doubt, only steely resolve. They would either win or all die this day. Yandei had proclaimed the former, but silently prepared for the latter. His hands started to strain, as he began to shut out everything around him, save the distant roar of the engines.

A tap brought him back into reality. His second had produced a clear pill, stealthily offering it to him.

"For the engagement anxiety, sir." He whispered, his voice just barely audible. It had been some time since he'd taken one of the clarity pills, but now was most certainly a time for one. Yandei took the pill and quickly popped it into his mouth, swallowing with what little saliva he had left- his mouth had gone dry from nervousness. It had no discernible taste, but he began to feel...different. Things seemed sharper now, a little louder. It was almost as if he was selectively tuning out what he didn't need to be hearing at that time. Shaking his head, what remnant traces of doubt he had left had been cast aside. He could only think of war now. That was all he needed.

There was nothing else right now. Just him, this ship, his squadron, and the enemy that needed to be killed.

[Fenvaria Republic]

Victorious Glory
Dire Wolf Class Battleship
1487th Flotilla
System Unknown

---

At first; it was moments, then it turned into minutes before finally one of the sensor officers turned around facing the Lord Captain. "Sir, the unknown fleet is moving."

"Mm?" pondered the Lord Captain as he leaned slightly forward. "Their course?"

The sensor officer then turned back to their station and tapped away on the holographic screen, raising an eyebrow before squinting their eyes as they looked over the report. "Sir, it appears they are heading straight for us.... they are gaining speed and moving into an unknown formation."

"Keep our current heading; widen the formation to allow them to pass." responded the Lord Captain with a nod to communications, would nod back and relay the orders. The Lord Captain then placed a hand on the chin of his muzzle and thought to himself, what could this unknown fleet be doing. Could they be moving towards the Thalduhm fleet to meet in person? An odd way of making first contact but a new one, maybe their communications are short range. Either way, they would soon get their answer as the ships drew closer. However, one of the communications officers then turned around.

"Sir! We have received a transmission from the unknown fleet; it appears they go by the name 'Kisian League' According to the translated header."

"The rest of the message?"

"Er....not so friendly sir." the officer paused and looked back at the screen. "Forwarding it to you."

The Captain nodded then looked back at his screen, the message popped up and he carefully read through the entire thing. Squinting at the transmission as he went through it, however, then widening his eyes as he finished it. Once he was done reading it he looked back at the bridge and frowned; then with a sigh, he addressed them. "All stations prepare for combat!"

The alarm on the bridge then sounded, wailing and flashing strobes of red as the bridge crew buckled themselves into their seats. The Lord Captain then turned around and walked to his chair, doing the same as the rest of the bridge crew. "Navigation, reduce our speed and bring us into attack formation!

Aye, aye, sir!"

"Communications relay the orders to all ships and send a message back to the Kisians, tell them if they want a war they shall have it."

"Right away!"

"Gunnery; remove all safeties and prepare the main gun, I want all weapons prepped ASAP. We shall hit them with the spinal cannons and missiles before we move into broadside formation."

"At your command, sir." replied the gunnery officer.

"Good," mumbled the Lord Captain to himself, he then leaned forward in his chair and growled. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen of the Empire let us teach these barbarians how the Thalduhmians fight!"

Dear Kisian League;
We find your declaration of war appalling and damaging our honor; however, we will not stand idle. With this message, the Republic has declared war be prepared to meet your gods and embrace the void.
Nach vorne! In die Hölle!

[The Eridani Imperium]

KAV Viken - Command Center
Battlefleet Vekja, Raiding Beta Quadrant...

---

"Report! How are we doing on supplies?" Drengr Ironhand looked across the deck, watching his crew work.

"Supplies are good. Frigg has replenished our stocks of melrakki, and we show no signs of running out of space." Ironhand's helmsman, disconnected from the ship for once, paced the deck. "Our weapons systems are primed, and morale is high."

"Then what are we waiting for, Helmsman?" Captain Ironhand looked at him.

"A fair question, Captain." The Helmsman nodded. "...Wait, messages intercepted. translating..."

I cannot allow such insults to go unpunished. Your race is clearly an unlearned and savage one, nor am I sure how such a feeble-minded species managed to obtain spaceflight, if you simply didn't steal these vessels from some more capable species. I will answer your insults the same, and with gunshot and steel. I hope you are prepared to meet your false gods, because you shall not leave this place alive today. Long Live the Kisian League, Ten-thousand Years to Her Name!

Dear Kisian League;
We find your declaration of war appalling and damaging our honor; however, we will not stand idle. With this message, the Republic has declared war be prepared to meet your gods and embrace the void.
Nach vorne! In die Hölle!

Silence fell upon the Viken, until Captain Ironhand spoke. "Locate and approach origin. Carefully please - it looks like things are about to get interesting. All ships are clear to deploy cables for salvage."

[Kisia]

"My lord, missile and torpedo solutions have been plotted!" a lesser crewman shouted.

"All ships, fire!" Yandei replied. A moment later was the distant thump of rockets leaving their pods, and torpedoes leaving their launch bays. "Ordinance away, cleared bays currently undergoing reload!" the same crewman replied.

"Good. Proceed as ordered, we will launch another salvo up close before we engage them in broadsides. Have what guns we can prepare firing solutions, to fire at their discretion." Yandei narrowed his eyes, looking at his crew in the situation. They were all running to and fro, exchanging information as needed, and handling their duties well so far. They still had their edge, it seemed. He heard his second-in-command speaking to someone over another hard-line phone, before giving an acknowledgement and hanging up. "Naval Infantry are reporting they're loaded up in breaching pods, ready to be fired at your command."

"Excellent. Our brave infantry will cut them down." Yandei said coolly, pleased at the news. Just then, another alert came in from the fueling station. It had been determined yet another unknown party seemed to be in the vicinity. The response was mostly muted, for they were already engaged with this enemy- it would do them no good to ponder others right now.

"Send another teleprint to Naval Command, request the majority of the Mobile Banner. Inform them this may be the first wave of a general invasion" Yandei spoke to his communications officers, who went to task rapidly sending off another high-priority request for reinforcements. In his mind, he knew sending off two teleprints was probably tantamount to saying there several full war fleets in-system. He would deal with the consequences later however, until proven otherwise, it was best to treat this as a full-fledged invasion. "As for the fuel station, they're going to have to hold out on their own."

"May they die well, clothed in honor and glory." He thought again to himself. If he could destroy the first fleet, he could swing back around and engage the next one. By that time reinforcements should've shown up and with overwhelming numbers and firepower, they would all be destroyed.

[Fenvaria Republic]

Victorious Glory
Dire Wolf Class Battleship
1487th Flotilla
System Unknown

---

Bridge
“Enemy munitions away, sir! Missiles and torpedoes.” reported the sensor officer as they tapped away on their holoscreen. The Lord Captain nodded and kept looking forward at the general direction where the Kisian ships were coming from, a small frown appeared on his face as he then turned to the side.

“Gunnery, what are the status of the main guns and our missile solutions?” questioned the Lord Captain as they folded their hands into their lap.

“Sir, main guns are at 90% charged, missile solutions have been calculated and have accounted for the moving targets. I am also receiving gunnery reports from the rest of the fleet, sir. As well as a report on the Kisian fleet proposed ships of heavy weapons.”

“Good, put them up on my display. Are the-”

“Sir, PD guns have been prepped and are waiting to intercept the enemy missiles.”

“Good.” replied the Lord Captain as he looked over the gunnery report, his eyes went line by line as he looked over the report. All of the ships were ready and waiting for the incoming attack. Now, what to do. He flicked over to the page about the Kisian ships, several highlighted ships had the possibility of fielding heavy weapons. He could focus the fire of his guns on these ships, however, he decided against it as that would be a waste of ammunition and a bit overkill. “Gunnery, relay orders to the rest of the fleet gunners, they are weapons-free on any hostile ship... Also, I want all fighters ready for flight. As soon as we engage in close range with the enemy, I want them targeting gun emplacements.”

“Aye, aye, sir.”

The Lord Captain then closed the folder and leaned back in his chair, he then tapped one of the arms in anticipation as he waited for the missiles to hit. Then he reached into his coat and pulled out a small box, flipping the lid he pulled out a rather thick cigar. He placed the cigar into his mouth and pulled out a lighter, cupping his hand over the end of the cigar he then flicked the lighter on. Slowly burning the tip of the cigar with a small trail of smoke. He then puffed and looked at his crew.

“Sir! Main guns are charged!” replied the gunnery commander

“Fire” stated the Lord Captain as he looked off into the darkness of space, the little winkle of the stars shining.

With a nod the gunnery officer tapped away on their console, moments later the soft vibrations and thumbs of the main guns could be heard on the bridge as the oversized slugs of metal fired from the ship. Soon from the underbellies of cruisers and destroyers fired their main guns in a staggered line, flashes of orange and yellow exited the barrel followed by a dark grey slug. Their target, the heavier ships of the Kisian fleet. Right after the opening salvo of the main guns, there was then a massive salvo of missiles from each ship. Aboard the Victorious Glory, the Lord Captain watched as the missile tubes opened up and fired off the first wave of missiles. Which went high and then gunned towards the Kisian fleet.

Corridor
Across the ship and the rest of the fleet, the trooper complements aboard each ship started to set up defenses if they did get boarded. Doors were locked down and static defenses were set up, at intersections mobile cover pieces had been set up. The heavy machine guns had been pulled out of storage and set up in vital intersections, while at other intersections light machine guns had been set up. Most of the troopers had been armed with submachine guns, carbines, and shotguns, mostly due to the close-quarters nature of the ship. At one of the vital intersections, two troopers lifted the heavy machine gun and placed it on its mount. Before finally, another trooper slid a pin into the base of the gun, securing it in place.

“Do you think they will attempt to board?” asked one trooper as they leaned back onto the mobile cover.

“Pfft, no.” replied the other trooper picking up a box of ammo and opening it, pulling out a belt of ammunition. While he did this, the third trooper opened the lid of the machine gun, allowing the second trooper to place down the belt. “If anything they are going to get chewed up by those main guns so bad that they wouldn't dare to come into knife-fighting range.” the second trooper smiled and laughed as he loaded the machine gun.

“I say maybe.” replied the third trooper with a shrug. “I mean, we are crazy....but there is bound to be crazier.....plus hell, the Lord Captain is one for getting up close and personal. How about you?” asked the third trooper nodding towards the first.

The first trooper shrugged “I say yes, as well given the Lord Captain, he wants to make sure that we get some fighting in. Plus, he is a fan of the old tactic of broadsiding.”

The other chuckled and nodded, with the third trooper cycling a round into the chamber of the machine gun. “All I know” he started as he looked down the sights of the gun “Is that if they do try and board, they are going to have one hell of a time on this ship.”

[Kisia]

Throne Room

Klaxons began to ring loudly as sensors indicated incoming enemy fire. Observation screens showed a large amount of missiles and shells aimed at them, with particular focus on the larger vessels.

“Incoming projectiles and missiles! Point-defense and anti-missile countermeasures online!” a sensors operator shouted with alarm.

“Overcharge the frontal shield generators. Prepare to execute evasive maneuvers. Inform the other vessels to do the same, and have our screens focus fire on incoming missiles, primarily.” Yandei replied in response.

Terse shouts came from those he had instructed, and once again the officers returned to shouting at their men. Distant thumps could be heard as some of the gun batteries began to open fire on targets as they saw fit, aiming mainly at the larger vessels of the other fleet. Yandei sat, ears twitching at every salvo as he watched the enemy munitions get ever closer to their fleet on one of the observation screens.

“Evasive maneuver plotted! Alerting crew!” Shouted a navigational officer, as he flicked another switch. The lights pulsed, indicating a high-velocity maneuver was about to happen, and that the crew should probably brace.

“Execute!” Yandei shouted. As he did, he lurched in his seat as the ship rapidly started to jerk and swerve, attempting to dodge some of the shells fired from the enemy. A few flew past, while others slammed into the overcharged shields and simply exploded harmlessly on it, bright bursts of light akin to the detonation of nuclear warheads going off. The more rapid sounding fire of ship-based point-defense missiles and autocannons started to be heard as well.

“Resuming normal corrective course!” The same officer said, once the worst of the maneuver was over with. Yandei took a brief look around. Everyone appeared to have held up, though a few of the more junior crew members certainly looked like they were regretting whatever they ate earlier. Luckily, for now, it appeared everyone was keeping their meals down.

“Status, any damages?” Yandei asked. One by one, all the stations reported in, reporting either none or minimalistic damages. The fore shield generator had blown a fuse in the attack, but it was being replaced. The other larger vessels had escaped mostly unscathed, with minor damages as well.

The screens were another matter. Not blessed with much armor or shielding, some of the screens had taken moderate damage. They continued as ordered, but with clear evidence of battle damage, coolant leaking out into the void, bits and pieces of armor falling off, and other such debris.

Yandei paused. He wasn’t going to be able to take many more salvos like that, not with precious few ships. He looked at his navigational officer.

“Can we execute a rapid FTL jump at this range?”
“It’s possible, though we risk slamming into the enemy vessels if we disengage too close. We would need to zip past them.”

“Make preparations for such a maneuver. We’ll hit the bastards from the rear. War Comms, inform the rest of the fleet.” In the space of a few tense seconds of alarms and shouted orders, everyone was quickly brought up to speed about the maneuver. Yandei could feel the deep rumble of the FTL drive rapidly being spun up.

“Drive ready!” The helmsman replied.

“Short-range jump, engage!” Yandei replied. There was a period of intense shaking, and the sensors went offline for a time, before reactivating, showing the fleet had jumped behind the enemy. “Quickly! Execute a high velocity turn, 180 degrees!” While there was no verbal acknowledgement, the hard swing of the ship served as an effective one.

“Fire and close! We’ll smash them quickly now!” Yandei went on, showing a bit of enthusiasm as his plan worked. Though not as perfectly executed as a proper Federal Navy formation would’ve done it, considering the circumstances, everything went well.

As per his orders, the fleet opened up once more, though this time aiming at the presumed ‘softer’ side of the enemy flotilla. Seeking to take advantage of the confusion, they sped once again to rapidly close distance and unleash a broadside into them.

[Fenvaria Republic]

Victorious Glory
Dire Wolf Class Battleship
1487th Flotilla
System Unknown

---

With a heavy roar, the impact alarms sounded, alerting the crew to incoming fire and for them to brace. Lord Captain Gregory Maltif sat in his chair with a stoic look on his face, watching the holographic map that was in front of him. There were several blue and red triangles on it, indicating the two fleets. Slowly, these triangles closed in on one another as both sides started to throw munitions at each other. He then raised his head and looked out into the void and frowned.

"Navigation; prepare for evasive maneuvers and get us into a better firing position!" Ordered Matlif with a deep and authoritative tone. "Systems; over burn the reactor and divert that power to shields and thrusters!"

The navigation AMI unit turned to look at Matlif and nodded, "Preparing for evasive maneuvers." They said in a relaxed but yet soothing voice. "All personnel prepare for maneuvers."

Nanoseconds after the AMI unit's reply, the second pair of alarms sounded. Telling the crew to brace for evasive maneuvers, several of the bridge crew could be seen holding onto bracing bars that sat around the bridge.

With the alarms blaring, the system AMI unit looked over her shoulder and towards Matlif; she then nodded. "Acknowledged, overburning reactors."

Without a second thought, the ship lurched to the side as the emergency boosters fired off and then followed by the overcharged thrusters. They managed to dodge what munitions they could, with several of them being clean misses or narrowly missing the shield of the ship. Nevertheless, several munitions impacted harmlessly across the shield, producing balls of light over the surface of the shield. Then came the missiles which had been met with staunch resistance from the Thalduhmian point defense systems, UV lasers, and flak fire danced in space as they attempted to create a screen of sheer fire.

"Sensors!" yelled Matlif as he watched as the point defense picked off what missiles it could. "Status of the first volley!"

"Appears to be minimal impact across the capital class warships. Like our ships, they seem to be shielded. However, it appears that their smaller ships have taken some significant damage."

"Damn," muttered Maltif as he looked at the Kisian fleet that laid before him. He let out a sigh before leaning back in his chair, folding his hands together. "Systems, report. Communications; what is the status of the fleet?"

"Sir, 2 destroyers have sustained significant damage. However, they are still operational. Another destroyer reports minimal damage and is still operational. Several destroyers report minimal damages; but, our fleet monitor reports major damage to their port bow side and damage to their port side thrusters. It seems like they took most of the munitions intended for our carrier." reported the AMI that oversaw the communications station.

"Are they still combat operational?"

"Yes sir, however, they will be lagging a bit."

"Acknowledged, order them to pull back and provide covering fire."

"Orders sent and they acknowledged." replied the communications AMI unit.

"Good." Matlif then turned to the Systems station, "Systems, what is your report?"

"Minimal damage to the ship, sir. Our point defense managed to knock out what they could before they hit the shields. Shields are holding stable but slowly recharging since we redlined the reactor it will take some time to cool."

"Noted, seal-"

"Already underway, Lord Captian." replied the Systems AMI unit.

"Good, thank you."

For a brief second, there seemed to not be another volley; maybe like the Fens, the Kisians were stunned by the durability of the other's ships. Matlif looked out the window at the fleet and frowned, there had to be something else to it, why did they stop firing?

"Gunnery, prepare a second volley. Navigation, move us to a better firing location so we can fire another salvo at them."

"Aye Aye" reported gunnery and navigation stations

"Sir, it seems the Kisians are booting up their FTL drives." calmly stated the sensor AMI unit as she turned to face Matlif, who widened his eyes and looked out the window. Just then the Kisian fleet disappeared, the AI just stared at Matlif and calmly stated "Destination unknown."

For a few moments, the whole bridge crew sat and waited in silence for something to happen. Concern and anticipation hung in the air as they paused. Just then, the collision alarms sounded, then was followed by the ears of the sensor station AMI unit perking up. "An FTL signature has just appeared right behind us, high tonnage."

"Navigation! Bring us around! Before they-"

"Already on it sir!" exclaimed the navigation AMI unit as her officers began to work furiously to plot coordinates.

However, they were not quick enough as the Kisian fleet then dropped out of FTL and had started to open fire with all guns. Some of the ships in the Thalduhmian fleet managed to bring themselves around to face the Kisian fleet. The would return fire, unleashing all of their munitions in a hail of glory. However, some of the capital class ships of the Thalduhmian fleet could not turn as quickly as, say, the smaller ships.

Already wounded, the fleet monitor raced headfirst into battle to protect the carrier as it turned around. Impacts from hostile fire flickered across her kinetic shields, absorbing what incoming shots they could, before eventually being overloaded and collapsing. The destroyer would exchange fire, firing everything it had at its disposal. It's guns aimed at any Kisian ship it could see or dared to cross into its field of fire.

As the wounded fleet monitor protected the carrier, the carrier lashed out as well, sending its full complement of fighters and bombers towards any nearby Kisian warship. The faint exhaust trails from the fighters danced in the darkness of space as they avoided debris and other hazards.

As the Thalduhmian battleship and other capital class warships came around, they would see the fleet monitor finally succumb to the immense damage that it had taken. Holes littered her hull, fires raged in oxygenized zones, armor plates were barely hanging on, or had been completely ripped off. With a final shot from her main cannons, she then fell silent as the power to the spine was cut by a Kisian shell. Her thrusters then sputtered and went dead, slowly she floated there. A lifeless hulk in space, slowly the ship tumbled away out of view.

Matlif growled and watched as the injured warship floated away; it was most likely that her crew was dead or dying. Slowly, as they suffocated in the vacuum of space. He then turned away from the ship and towards his bridge crew.

"All stations, engage! Full broadsides on any bastard that dares to get close! Warm up those main guns for secondary volleys, I want a fix on the Kisian flagship ASAP.”

There was a silence on the bridge as the crew began to once more race around the bridge attending their stations and diligently complete their tasks. Maltif sat from his chair and watched them with a very serious face, today was the day that they would bring the full fury of the Empire on these Kisians.

[The Eridani Imperium]

KAV Viken - Command Center
Battlefleet Vekja

---

"Captain! Further messages intercepted - they’ve noticed us!"

Captain Ironhand reached up to stroke a horn, his grey tail flicking in annoyance. His blue eyes flicked over to another Kadrian - female this time, her skin a sunset orange. “Engineer, coordinate with Assault - get the MACs online and armed, and our dropships ready. I don’t want to be stuck in the mud when they start shooting.”

She nodded, her eyes narrowed on her display. “Aye, Captain. Issuing alert, Locking down and depressurizing observation decks.”

Captain Ironhand then turned to look back at the screen. “Helmsman, start our approach. Get a message back to Command Actual and let them know our situation. In the meantime, if they start shooting...” The Kadrian gave a evil grin, one befitting his demonic visage. “Such will be considered an act of war against the Eridani.”

The helmsman followed his commander’s orders, and any ship that entered a certain range of the Viken would find their comms being pinged with a rather straightforward message.

Outlanders - if you are reading this, then you have more than a few of our guns pointed at you (Stop reading and cower in fear if you must). This ship is under the aegis of the Eridani Imperium, and any attack will be considered an act of war. Make your next choices wisely.

[Kisia]

Brilliant flashes of light played across the fleet, alongside explosions and fires as the skirmish continued once more, their brief surprise now over as both fleets opened up in earnest. Immediately, the horrors of war began in earnest. A wounded Fenvarian destroyer charged headfirst into multiple fields of fire, exchanging fire with great ferocity as the enemy crew bravely fought on, before overwhelming fire eventually brought the ship down, with another shell finishing it off. Whatever momentary exhilaration there was at this kill was short-lived, an already damaged destroyer had been crippled by the engagement. There was an intense flash of light as it's reactor containment failed, and the ship vaporized itself in a moment, all crew aboard presumed lost. A frigate bravely charged into a shot meant for a larger vessel, the shell breaking through the weakened shield, lashing savagely into the side of the vessel, sending it spinning rapidly for a moment before the ship broke in two as explosions ran across the vessel.

"Dozens of smaller signatures, they look like assorted small craft!" One of the bridge officers shouted. "Point-defense should be capable of handling them, our remaining screens are attempting to fight them off; some are headed for the Kikurizho!"

"This vessel will not be crippled by the flimsy craft of these savages! Ahead full! Prepare to broadside and launch boarding torpedoes!" Yandei shouted, knuckles gripping the hands of his seat with an alarming strain. "All engineering and security parties, prepare for imminent engagement!"

There was a tense few seconds as the ship blazed headfirst towards the starboard side of the flagship with the rest of the heavy cruisers, almost in a repeat of what the valiant Fenvarian destroyer had did earlier. Alerts went off as shields started taking intense fire, holding, yet under some manner of stress. As they crossed sides with the Victorious Glory, Yandei gave what he thought may have been his final orders, resolved to die gloriously.

"Broadsides, FIRE! Boarding Torpedoes, FIRE! Show them the might of our Federal Navy!"

As ordered, the heavy macrocannons of the Kikurizho, arranged in a row of cannons along the mid-rear of the vessel opened up, the thundering roar of the cannons being heard even on the bridge. What turrets could fire on the Fenvarian capital ship also turned to engage, firing smaller shells, alongside the other various guns angled across the vessel. The other side of the ship fired at the other nearest vessel near the enemy flagship. The heavy boarding torpedoes took off as well, their heavily armored and aggressive payloads ready to seize control of the enemy vessel or die trying.


Further out, near the Battlefleet Vekja

While the Kisian fleet was aware of the new presence, their concentration on the battle had left no time to actually deal with them. While hostile fire was not actively being exchanged at them, the stray shells from the engagement may have gone past them, but as for an an actual aggressive intent- none appeared to be forthcoming. The refueling station however, was armed with a small compliment of defenders, and a few outdated guns. The station broadcasted a signal lock on the fleet, and sent out a message on all channels.

Attention, Eridani barbarian savages! This system is under the control and authority of the Kisian League! Cease all advances, and state your purpose! Further movement into the system will be interpreted as an act of war, and will be dealt with harshly!

[Fenvaria Republic]

Victorious Glory
Dire Wolf Class Battleship
1487th Flotilla
System Unknown

---

Bridge
“SIR! ENEMY FLAGSHIP STARBOARD SIDE!” exclaimed the Sensor AMI unit as they tapped away on the holographic projection that sat in front of them. Maltif gritted his teeth and within moments of hearing the AMI call out he was already issuing orders.

“Systems! Intensify Starboard side shielding and sound impact alarms!” roared Maltif, the Systems AMI unit nodded and quickly started tapping away on their holographic screen with impressive speed and accuracy. Maltif then turned to the gunnery station, he noticed they were practically scrabbling around. It seemed like they had predicted his orders and started to issue them out. Nevertheless he still issued orders, “Gunnery! I want those starboard side guns running hot! Throw every fucking shell we have at those sorry savages!”

“Aye Aye!” came a response, with a few taps on their screen the Lord Captians’ orders had been sent, moments later the dull lights of the starboard turrets could be seen. However, the fenvarian response was just seconds after the Kisian flagship opened up with their broadsides. Flashes of white impacted across the shield of the ship, as the shielding once again took most of the brunt of the broadside. For a few seconds the shielding rippled and waved, only for the last shell of the broad side to overload the shielding, causing it to collapse.

Just then the Systems AMI unit exclaimed “Lord Captain! Shielding has failed! Emergency portside shield generators are running red! We have fires on decks D and E, bulkheads 1 and 4. We also have a fire in emergency shield generator room three!


“Do we have anyone in those bulkheads?”

“Negative sir!”

“Vent those decks and room three, once that is done order a combat repair of the generator! I want crews running over time on that generator!”

“Yes sir!”

Gritting his teeth Maltif watched as the starboard side guns flashed, and the kisian guns responded. In his head he replayed the events that led up to the encounter over and over again. It seemed odd to him, that things didn't go as peacefully as he hoped. It was truly a shame, the Kisian ships had impressed him with the amount of punishment they could take, he wondered if the Kisians were also impressed by the Thalduhmiann ships. However, his thoughts were then cut off when the Sensor AMI unit exclaimed.

“Sir! Enemy torpedoes!”

“At this range! That is suicide!” responded Matlif as he snapped back to reality, he then turned to the Sensor AMI unit and began barking orders once more. “Scan those torpedoes! There has to be more to them-”

“Already done, sir. I am detecting lifesigns on the torpedoes” the AMI unit paused and smiled, a sort of devilistic smile. “It seems we have unwanted guests coming.”

Matlif nodded and opened a communication line and connected himself to the Lord Captain of the troopers aboard the ship. Soon, a rather gruff and older looking figure appeared on the communication line, the soldier was dressed like he was ready for battle. A grey helmet sat on his head, with an army green double breasted peacoat over his torso, the peacoat went down to his knees. Under the coat he wore a dark grey uniform and black boots with slightly lighter black boot coverings. Over all of that, the soldier wore dark grey armor that covered his torso, forearms and knee caps. The soldier also wore a belt with a harness that held several pouches long it, with two bags off to the side of the hips. There was also a shortsword sheath and a pistol holster, that could be barely seen by Matlif. While he couldn't see it, he also knew that the Senior Captain was also wearing the infamous jump kit that sat on the belt as well, just right above the buttox.

“Senior Captain, we have some unwanted guests approaching-”

“Repel them off the ship with as much force as we can give them?” replied the gruff looking trooper Senior Captain with a smug grin on his face. He then turned to the side and shouted at someone off the screen. “TELL THE TROOPERS, WE ARE GOING TO DO SOME FIGHTING!”

“Please try not to put anymore holes in my ship, please”

“Lord Captain Matlif, I am sorry to inform you, but you got a lot of holes in your ship, and there is only going to be more.” chuckled the trooper Senior Captain, he then pulled out his pistol and racked the side, then putting it back into his holster. “Now, excuse me Lord Captain, but we have to dance with some Kisians.”

After that the transmission cut and the Lord Captain sighed, this was going to be a long battle and they might not make it out. Just then he heard one of the communications officers exclaim,

“Sir! We are picking up another nation within the system, they are calling themselves the Eridani Imperium.”

“Damn, another force? Are they allied to the Kisians?”

“Unknown, sir. But it looks like they are in aggressive stance with a kisian station”

Matlif sat back and thought for a moment, if they were not allied or friendly to the Kisians, he could use this to his advantage. He could lure the Eridani into fighting both them and the Kisians, letting both fleets duke it out. At the same time, his fleet would also be divided by fighting both the Kisians and the Eridani....but it could give him more breathing room. “Communications, order Destroyer 32 to fire a salvo shot at the Eridani fleet.”

“But sir! That would bring them here!”

“Yes I know, however, we need to divide the Kisian fleet more. Now send out that order”

“Yes sir....”

Portside
The Senior Captain clicked the holoprojector off and stowed it away in one of his pouches, with a grin on his face he walked over to one of the defensive posts. A wolfish grin had curled onto his face as he approached the position, the troopers there would salute him before returning to their duties. A two of them manned the heavy machine gun that had just been set up, with portable barricades surrounding it in a semicircle. The gunner would turn around and see the Senior Captain walking towards them, the trooper would give them a salute and a nod.

“What brings you to the first line, sir?”

“Well, I am here to lead.....I prefer to lead from the front, you should know this, corporal.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Sir, that would be unwise, the chances of you getting killed, captured, or wounded will be severely increased.” came a synthetic voice right behind the Senior Captain, the three fenvarians turned around to see another fenvarian there. However, unlike them this soldier appeared to be quite mechanical, glowing eyes and ears gave it away. It was the pack’s AMI Humanoid Combat Platform or HCP for short. “This could lead to all sorts of hicks and mission-critical directives.....the lost of the battalion commander would create several problems-”

“However, while that is true, troopers packs are trained to operate independently in the event of something like this happening.” the Senior Captain smiled and nodded “I appreciate your concern, it is comforting. However, we are at war, comfort is for when the fighting is done.” pausing he then clicked on his mic. “MASKS ON!” After a few seconds the commander then pulled out what appeared to be a face mask then quickly, he slid it onto his helmet. With a few clicks and a hiss, the face mask sealed into place and his goggles then slid down and sealed as well. And now, they waited for the inevitable boarding. Seconds would go by as the troopers waited, several of them holding their breaths as they waited. Then over their mic system, the sensor AMI unit spoke.

“10 seconds!” came a soft female voice, and soon it started to count backward, the troopers then moved into their defensive positions and fixed their bayonets to their small arms. Only to dip behind them and wait for the enemy boarding pods to release their cargo. The Senior Captain then clicked on his mic.

“System AMI cut the lights to the hallway..... let us plunge them into darkness.” Within seconds the lights cut out and plunged the hallway into darkness, so the troopers clicked on their night vision. Soon afterward, the troopers heard the ear-piercing screech of metal on metal through the portside wall of the ship, and within moments the tips of what appeared to be cylinders poked out into the hallway that ran along the portside wall. Then after a few moments the tips would open up and several figures would disembark from the tubes, grinning the Senior Captain then shouted over his mic; “OPEN FIRE!”