[OPEN] The Invasion of Andromeda

Meldon System

“Beam barrage incoming, captain!”, the informations officer of the Kirishima yelled as the three Hive Fleets opened fire.

“Concentrate shield energy at 238, and turn us slightly to starboard side!”, the captain ordered immediately as the ship’s shields began to concentrate at the said point. It turned slightly to the starboard side, and the barrage hit at the shield’s edge. Like a light diffracting through a prism, the beams dissipated around the shuelds as the shields resisted. As the enemy ships gaped, the captain of the Kirishima spoke to the Commodore once again. “The prototype shields are designed not to simply absorb amplified light energy, but to release it back as soon as it is absorbed. This is the product of one hundred years of experimentation, but this was abandoned as soon as the Tagran were destroyed. The Aragane Class has in mind the dominantly laser weaponry of the Tagran, but we here took one for good measure. It does not seem that the enemy has kinetic weaponry at all, and relies completely on energy based weapons. We will have to be careful for boarding actions, though. They will either have to keep a continous barrage on the Kirishima but ignore the rest of our allied fleet, or try boarding it to finish it. Predictably, that will not happen.”

As he finished, the Kirishima fired another volley, concentrating its attacks on the smaller enemy ships in an effort to thin them out. Meanwhile, the rest of the Silverwing Armada opened fire as well.
 
Meldon system

"Hmmm.....that ship..." Mar'Meenh gave up his usual outlandish demeanor and sat down on his chair, keenly observing the new ship. "It seems to be capable of absorbing and releasing photons at a remarkable rate.......That might be useful."

"Order the fleets to focus on the other fleets for now and have a few Tyrants distracting that weird ship. Remember, I want that ship intact."

"Aye aye, captain," responded the crew in a stern tone.

The three Hive Fleets immediately began to focus on the Drathians, using their scatter fire strategy against the Drathian cruisers. Meanwhile, Sarituo's wormhole has opened and his ship is beginning to move into said wormhole.​
 
Meldon System

“Protect the Kirishima!”, the Commodore ordered as soon ss the Tyrants began to move towards the superdreadnought. “Don’t let them any near it!”

Thus they did. The Taur and six Darksea Battlecarriers moved to block the Tyrants path, after which they were followed by twenty Slava Battlecruisers. “Das vidanya, say hello to our guns and bombs!”, the pilot of a Vostok Fighter screamed excitedly as his squadron left the hangar of the Darksea Battlecarrier Sunspear. The Vostoks flew with frightening speed as they fired away with their missiles and dropped bombs in daring bombing runs against the enemy fleet. Meanwhile, the cruisers and heavy destroyers stayed back, providing covering fire.

The Kirishima ignored the distraction and moved away, moving towards the Drathian fleet where it provided suppressing fire. Amazingly, it catched the beam shots intended for the Drathian cruisers with its shields, rendering them as dissipated photons.

“Allies in both wars,”, the captain of the Kirishima smiled as his ship fired away at the Hivefleet.
 
Meldon System

"Hmmm......" Mar'Meenh leaned on his chair with a cup in his right hand. "These inferiors are tenacious...."

"Well, tell Tra'anh and Tarans'alu to split off from the main fleet and focus on those things" He pointed at the Silverwing fleet. "The rest of the fleet are to continue on their objective."

"Aye aye, captain."

Mar'Meenh tightened his grip on his cup.

"What a mess Sarituo left for me. That pretentious bastard.."​
 
As the hologram of Torvjar flickered on the communications console, Dufrene replied, "Understood, Predator. Part of my fleet will pursue the hostiles to the far side of the moon. A few ships will remain to guard the Predator and ensure no further hostiles can board. As for the rest of the fleet, we're going to join the Drathian cruisers and battlecruisers in their offensive. I'm sure that support from heavy Confederate capital ships would give them a decisive edge in their objectives. If there's anything you need, contact us."

With that, the Confederate fleet began its separate missions. A few took up positions near the Predator, their white turbolasers blazing as they attempted to shoot down enemy fighters and bombers. Confederate fighters also filled the space between the ships, but the transports they usually escorted were notably absent. Instead of prepping for boarding actions, the Assault Corps personnel throughout the fleet had been given new orders. Instead of boarding the enemy ships like usual, it was likely that today they would have to repel boarders. Any Stramstin who boarded would face large groups of well-armed, highly-trained, multirole troops with some of the most advanced combat armour systems in existence.

As for the other group, they assisted the Drathian fleet, using the Deathbearers' superior size and firepower to distract the Stramstin ships from the more agile Drathian vessels. The final group pursued the Stramstin fleet that were retreating behind the moon. When the new Stramstin fleet arrived in the system, Dufrene considered requesting Confederate L'etoile Marine (Confederate Star Navy) reinforcements from Triangulum, but he decided that it was too early at this stage of the battle.
 
Battle of Meldon

Mar'Meenh leaned on his chair with a hand holding his chin. Sarituo had left a really messy mess for him to pick up. However,he'll have to deal with that bastard later, there's a battle for him to win now.

"Any clue where the enemy command is?"

"No, captain."

Mar'Meenh's eyes narrows and mumbled a curse.

"C unts, these inferiors are real pesky. Hmm, a minor fleet is moving towards Tarans'alu..... Tell Tra'anh to blast them up."

"Aye, aye, captain. Any more orders?"

"No, not for now."

"Alrighty, captain."
​
 
Last edited:
Meldon System

The Kirishima and its escorts drove on. The six main pentabarreled turrets of the Kirishima pointed towards various ships of the enemy fleet, the 400 meter long barrels menacing and firing frightful bursts of blue tachyon beams. Several Nightshades were immediately obliterated by the 100 centimeter cannons of the superdreadnought, and two Marrows were annihilated by the focused fire of the Taur and the Darkseas.

“Destroyer Murakame has been destroyed... Isokaze is severely damaged! Fires in the Baikal.”, the informations crewman of the Kirishima informed Alexei just as the Murakame burst into flames and exploded.

“Not bad. We haven’t seen the full combat capability of the Kirishima. Continue the operation. Support the Drathians and Confederates and drive out the assailants!”

“Captain, an expedition from the homeland is headed towards the Mazar System!”, the informant buzzed in. “It is lead by no other than the Sector 4 Flagship: the Musashi!”

“So the High Command has gotten wind of the situation after all. Way to go for our colonization efforts. All units, push forward!”

Mazar System

Sure enough, a massive expeditionary fleet arrived in the largest and most well developed colony of the Commonwealth in the Andromeda: the Mazar System. Its flagship was no other than the Musashi, a 9th Generation superdreadnought which was perhaps one of the most powerful ships of the Commonwealth. It was third in such rank in fact, with the first being the Acnologia, the first and only one of the 10th Generation Acnologia Class Superdreadnought, and second being the Musashi’s sister ship, Yamato.

The fleet soon went into standby in the system’s fringe, awaiting further orders from the homeland.
 
"I think we need to up the ante, would you agree?" Asked Torvjar to his inferior, looking at him with a hard smirk that the ensign did not like in the slightest. Even without an answer, the Drathian admiral looked to his bridge crew. "Patch me through to the enemy. I want to send them a message."

Soon enough, Mar'Meenh would recieve a hail from the DVS Predator. Were his ship fitted with holotransmitters, he'd see the flickering blue form of the Drathian admiral appear from the projector. Otherwise, the message would come only as audio. The entire endeavor was based on the hope that the Stramstins could decipher the High Drathian tongue. If not, then the admiral's message would probably be falling on deaf ears. "Greetings," the message began. "I am Admiral Torvjar of the DVS Predator, one of the many ships belonging to the Drathian Fylkirate. For the past hours, we have been engaged in combat with your counterparts, one of whom has already retreated, and the other who is in dire need of your reinforcements. Needless to say, this victory is not going as smoothly as you planned." He smiled. "That is why I come with an offer, to make things easier for you, and to lessen unnecessary bloodshed. We Drathians pride ourselves on our martial prowess, and our strength is boasted in our ground forces. Alas, as an admiral, I will never be able to see a worthy opponent on the ground, and so, I propose this. Currently, you have many of your troops boarding one of my vessels, and they have been hard pressed to actually take it. So, let us make it more interesting for me and you. I want to see you send all of your boarding parties to my ship. The disabled dreadnought here. If you manage to capture it, the Drathians will not interfere with your invasion. I await your response." With that, the admiral saluted, and the transmission was cut.

Meanwhile, back on the Predator itself, Torvjar looked to his crew. "All hands on deck, prepare for battle. Order the rest of the fleet to pull back and withdraw."
 
Meldon System

Mar'Meenh frowned as the battle raged on. He briefly considered retreating, but the impact it would have on his career made it impossible to do so. He leaned back on his chair and fiddled with his fingers, thinking of a way out of this. The transmission from the Drathians didn't really help either, probably because the inferior was speaking basically gibberish for him. Their fleet even pulled back, is that some sort of trap, designed to lure him in for the prize? Better be cautious just in case.

He then ordered his fleets to focus on bringing down the Silverwing Sentinels. Being in combat for so long must had at least took a toll on their minds, and further losses might be just enough to break them and force a retreat. However, the standard beam weapons doesn't seem to work well on their flagship. "Time to use something else......"

The three Hive Fleets moved towards the Silverwing fleet, sending wave after wave of purple light at them as a means of distraction. Then, the Tyrants moved closer to the smaller ships of the Silverwing fleet and picked them up using their tendrils. The Tyrants grabbed all of the Darkseas and 30 Cruisers, intending to use them as axes and clubs to break into the shields of the Kirishima. The captured Darkseas had their delta wings used as blades to chop onto the shields of the ship, while the Cruisers are basically hurled onto it. The other members of the Hive Fleet continued to fire at any ship attempting to approach the Tyrants.​
 
Meldon

The Kirishima, for the first time, was damaged. Several Andromeda Class Heavy Cruisers were lodged on the mid decks, promting fires and explosions as the ship’s once superb performance began to wane. One of the Darkseas stuck on one of the main turrets, putting it out of operation. However, as the Tyrants tried to club it again, the main guns shot out, destroying many of the ships that were used as weapons against it.

“Forgive me, brethren.”, Alexei said solemnly as the rapid fire 100 cm cannons easily tore apart the vessels of his erstwhile allies. “Is the expedition coming in already?”

“ETA is 5 minutes Commodore. Orders?”

“Order the remaining ships to pull back towards the rendezvous point with the Expedition force while shooting back at our assailants. They are too slow for us. Fall back!”

“Aye, Commodore.”

The remaining ships pulled back, many of them already damaged. Flying back towards the rendezvous point with the Expedition Force, they struggled as they moved backwards. Five minutes went on... until...

A blast of azure light began appearing behind the retreating Silverwing Fleet. It was far greater and more numerous than the allied force present. In a flash, 2,000 vessels of the Star Navy warped in from hyperspace. They were noticeably larger, faster, and slightly different than the Silverwing Fleet. At its head was a ship quaintly similar to the Kirishima, but its shield glowed with such luminous intensity that it could be likened to the full moon in the night sky. Red tracts of light emblazoned its hull, and the largest of its 10 hexabarreled main gun turrets had cannons that were almost as long as half the ship’s entire length. The vessel was pitch black, and a red star was patched onto its prow. It was like one of the age old battleships from the sea, but far greater.

This was no other than Musashi, Terror of the Stellar Tides.

“Ahhh, so the famed Silverwing Sentinels are failing.”, a voice that sounded like a girl’s sounded through an open link in the Kirishima.

“Ugh, who is this?”, Alexei questioned, irritated.

The screen flickered to show who seemed to the commander of the Kirishima. It was a Nicassir. Wearing a purple robe that denoted her high status as a Nicassir Admiral, she made a salute before speaking.

“I am Jiunsan Starvane, commander of Sector 4 and captain of the Musashi. I see that you and your merry band of mercenaries have been decimated. Heh, don’t worry. The heroes of the 4th Fleet are here to protect our colonization efforts. Now see us.”

“I thought there are 5,000? There are only 2,000 here.”

“The others have fanned out to reinforce our colonial outpost. Now be quiet and let me do our job, shall we?”

“Ugh, fine.”

“All ships, fire at will! Keep your distance, as these enemies have been observed to use ship as golf clubs and hammers! Heroes of the 4th Fleet and veterans of Terra Nova, attack!”
 
When he noticed the enemy fleet retreating, Dufrene raced to a comm system and said to the Confederate ships, "The enemy ships are pulling back! A few groups can escort the Drathian ships, minus the Predator! All other ships, rally to the Gehenna and move towards on the enemy fleet. We're going to break right through their formation! Power to fore weapons and engines! Avancer, avancer!"

As the Confederate ships began their advance, their laser cannon and turbolaser batteries lit the dark of space with their constant flash. Numerous fighters also harassed their Stramstin counterparts, and the capital ships maintained a steady onslaught of energy weapons fire as they closed the gap between them and the enemy fleet. A few of the Confederate vessels also broke off to assist the Silverwing fleet.

Once the Commonwealth reinforcements arrived, Dufrene smiled, recognising the ship signatures as Commonwealth. With their firepower in the balance of the battle as well, the Confederate fleet was only encouraged, and continued their operations against the Hive Fleet.
 
Meldon System

"For the love of...." Mar'Meenh clenched his fists and groaned as he witnessed the arrival of 2000 enemy ships. Although the two forces seem evenly matched now, he is not foolish enough to assume that his tired fleets are able to fight for much longer, especially if the trend of enemy reinforcements continues.

"Enemy ships are....." A soldier bowed before him and reported, before being cut off by a wave by the general. "I saw that, soldier. Continue with your duties." The soldier saluted him before leaving him alone in his chambers.

The enemy is surely competent, even more so when compared to those old guard generals commanding his fellow Hive Fleets. He scoffed at the thought of those arrogant pricks. Bunch of bastards only knew to flaunt their heritage. Now that they are keeping their distance, the previous strategy is no longer working as intended. However, that doesn't mean that it's fully obsolete either. He didn't fail to notice that a few Confederate ships had broke off from their formation, and that might work in his favour.

The Hive Fleets hurled the debris of the destroyed ships at the newcomers, forcing them to either waste their ammunition on them, or to enact evasive maneuvers. The distraction was then used by the Hive Fleet to break off combat with the Silverwings and beeline towards the stray Confederates. Using their tendrils, they gripped those ships and started using them to club any enemy ship that got too close. For those ships too big to be grabbed by a single ship, multiple ships grabbed them and used them as some sort of impromptu battering ram. Meanwhile, his own Hive Fleet stayed behind and provided covering fire to the two other Hive Fleets.​
 
Meldon System - The 4th Fleet, Silverwing Sentinels

Jiunsan muttered a curse as the enemy ships grabbed some of the Confederate ships with their tentacles. “Are these fools addicted to yuri hentai?”, he mused to herself as she formulated a countermeasure. “Show them what real anime is! Load HEAS(High Explosive Anti Ship) shells into the main guns! Target the tendrils that are holding our allies like it is a rape show! Ute!”

And thus they did. As the debris of a fallen Andromeda cruiser crashed onto the radiant shield of the Musashi, it simply slammed into it and slid off like a water dripping from a stone wall’s edge. As it did so, it glowed a pulsating light so bright that ordinary men that looked on it for more than 5 seconds would have seen the last thing that their tortured retinas would ever see.

And then the Musashi’s massive main guns opened fire. Massive shells wrought from tungsten and adamantium hurtled in supersonic speeds as they were accelerated across 450 meters of magnetic accelerators. High Explosive Anti Ship shells they were, burrowing deep into the tentacles before exploding with the force of several megaton bombs, freeing many of the ships that were previously entangled in bondage.

Meanwhile, the combined forces of the 4th Fleet and the Silverwing Sentinels fought in a fierce firefight, firing shells and lasers over long distances as they exchanged fire with the Straamstin foe.

It was when Jiunsan thought of something. “Send them a comm link with live video feed. I want a word or two with the enemy commander.”
 
Meldon System

"Ankra'Darak......." Mar'Meenhh cursed under his breath as the enemy immediately counters his tactics, in a not so desired way too. Although the blasted tendrils are slowly growing back, it is certainly impossible to pull it off again.

He grimaced as he watched the battle unfold with his eyes, with the realization that the battle needs to be ended in the next three hours, otherwise the exhausted Hive Fleets would be basically useless. He cursed at the limitations of Stramstin technology before going back to his thoughts again. His thoughts would be then interrupted.

"Enemy transmission incoming, captain." A soldier appeared at the doorway and saluted.

"Send it to the......wait....." Mar'Meenh looked up from his table. "You, pick it up and say something outrageous, like really really outrageous."

"Uh, captain? Did I hear it right?"

"Yes, you pick it up and say something. It can be anything, as long as it is outrageous."

"But they are inferiors, how are they supposed to understand our....." The soldier was cut off by a wave from Meenh.

"That's what I'm gambling for, soldier. Now go and do it."

"Aye aye, captain." The soldier then leaves the chambers.

"Now....let's see how this would turn out...." Meenh rubbed his hands together.
​
 
Meldon System - The 4th Fleet

“You- you dare insult our ancestors!?”, Jiunsan screamed at the screen as the Stramstin soldier’s words were evaluated and painstakingly translated by the translation software of the ship. “‘We do not breed with the ones before you’, you say?”, she said as the four eyed Stramstin’s face looked in front of her. “Nothing more than bestial animals that rape old people are you? And you say that our ancestors had strange quirks you’d rather avoid!?” She yelled as she slammed her fist on her armrest. “Very well then. But if you want to taunt me in order to draw us to you, then you are sorely mistaken.”, she then removed her left glove and raised her middle finger. “Eat nuclear torpedoes, insect.”, she muttered as she issued the order to fire a barrage of nuclear torpedoes. The Musashi fired a barrage of almost 200 torpedoes in a straight line while firing its main guns, destroying at least a dozen Stramstin warships as the Musashi’s HEAS rounds penetrated their chitinous armor before exploding inside them. However, meanwhile, almost two more dozen of the Silverwing Sentinel ships have been destroyed, mostly destroyers.

Jiunsan then opened another comm link again. She then said this time, “If you have any honor in your blood, then there is no need for fine sailors to die. You and I, flagships of our respective fleets, battle in a decisive duel. Do it or die a coward, whoever you are. Do not dissapoint the Vampire of Sevastapol. The winner will have this system, and the loser will leave, never to return. Hmmm?” She said all of this while concealing her fury with very little effort. Her eyes flamed with fire, and her claws were extended. She grinned to show her sharp serrated teeth, and licked most presumptuously. “What now? Scared!?”
 
Meldon System

"Captain, inferiors had respon..."

Mar'Meenh waved the soldier off, assuming that the response was the hail of nuclear missiles that came forth. Luckily, it's not his Hive Fleet that took the brunt of the damage. "I know, I know. Now, I need to think, soldier."

"Aye aye, captain."

The soldier left after saluting the general.

"Now, now.... we can't let you have all the fun......That's not really fair......isn't it?" He observed the battlefield through a screen in front of it. Assuming that the flagships have that fancy shield.......he scanned the battlefield once again. A few Confederate ships are actually still entangled by tendrils. The gods are on his side! The Hive Fleets began advancing towards the enemy, providing covering fire for the ships towing the Confederate ships. A huge Confederate ship was used as some sort of battering ram, smashing into any ship that was unlucky enough to get close to it. The Stramstin, with their sheer numbers and firepower, eventually reached what was the enemy flagship and smashed the Confederate ship onto it like a battering ram.​
 
With a few powerful ships still entangled in spite of the HEAS rounds and several of his vessels damaged, Commander Dufrene reassessed the tactical situation. The Confederate officer certainly didn't want another of his ships being used as an improvised ram against the Commonwealth or Confederate fleets, so he quickly made a change to the armada's tactics. He moved towards the intercom once more, and ordered, "Any of my fleet entangled by the enemy tendrils, do not be passive quarry for the enemy ships. If your ship is tangled, cut power across all systems, even weapons. Put everything into the engines, overload your engine cores if you have to. We wont allow ourselves to be used as ramming weapons against our own allies. Either your ships will break free from the tendrils with the increased engine power, or the ships' cores will overload, and you'll take any nearby enemy ships with you. And if you do manage to break free, initiate ramming tactics against the enemy ships. Everyone else, begin evasive manoeuvres, keep your distance, and continue firing on the enemy fleet. Focus fire on the enemy tendrils, and see if you can free our trapped brethren."

With these instructions, the Confederate Naval crews moved to carry out their instructions. Those on the tangled ships moved with grim determination and a sort of automatic professionalism instilled by years of training. They expected to break free, but if they didn't they were prepared to die doing their duty. As for the rest of the fleet, they fired frantically at the tendrils, desperate to free their comrades. A few stray Confederate battleships moved towards the Deathbearer that had been slammed into the Musashi, guarding the crippled ship as they tried to determine if any Confederate personnel aboard had survived.

As for Commander Dufrene, he said to a subordinate, "Try to open a channel with the enemy flagship." If the Stramstin ship had holocomms, then they would see an image of Dufrene and several bridge crew of the Gehenna. If not, it would be received as audio. Once the comm officer signalled that the transmission was ready, Dufrene began to speak. He said in an even tone, "Greetings. I am Commander Dufrene of the Dothvalian Confederacy, leader of the 3rd Andromeda L'Etoile Marine Battle Group. Despite what I saw in the Great War and the conflict that followed with the HCA, you've proven yourself an entirely new enemy. Still, you've attacked our friends the Drathians, and we have no intention of leaving here until you've retreated or my entire command has perished. Others might challenge you to single combat, but you'll have no such easy victory from us. Everyone in my fleet came prepared to stop you, or die trying. So even if others step aside for your fleet, the only way through my ships is through. That is all."
 
“These insects don’t know when to give up do they?”, Juinsan muttered under her breath as the Musashi’s shields strained under the pressure of a huge Confederate ship being slammed on it. “They just broke into our lines just like that… oh well.”, she sat on her seat as the Musashi’s main guns pointed towards the ships carrying the battering ram. “I, Juinsan Starvane, commands you! Die!”

The main guns opened fire at the ships that were holding the Confederate ship prisoner, destroying several as the HEAS shells burrowed deep into their innards before detonating in a spectacular explosion. Meanwhile, other 4th fleet ships moved to reinforce their lines. Four Slava Class Battlecruisers - Ashigara, Myouko, Haguro, and Nachi, fired their tachyonic shock batteries at the ships that were assaulting the Musashi. An entire squadron of 8th Generation Masamune class heavy destroyers moved and struck at the tentacles that still gripped the Confederate vessel with APEC shells(Armor Piercing Electrically Charged). These shells would often pierce tentacles before generating a continuous electric current of over a hundred thousand volts, heating up the tentacles until they melted.

The Musashi began to back off, moving backwards in an effort to lure the enemy ships deeper into the 4th Fleet’s forces. Then another order came from Jiunsan.

“Frigate Squad 26, grapple hook one of the smaller enemy ships with your anchors and capture it. After doing so, retreat from the battlefield and bring it to the Mazar System.”, she commanded with a sign of glee and ecstasy. “Let’s see how you react to your butt buddies getting captured.”

Sure enough, six Black Eagle Frigates cloaked, stealthily moving towards a Nightshade that was busy in combat against a Stormwind Destroyer. Slowly but surely, they surrounded it in all sides. With pinpoint precision, they fired their anchors and grapple hooks on the Nightshade before sticking to it. Stuck in between six frigates like ham in a sandwich, the Nightshade was effectively captured. The imprisoned ship was brought to behind a wall of heavy cruisers, deterring any pursuers. They fled into the void, and soon they disappeared from the battlefield all together.

“I wonder what your blood tastes like.”, Jiunsan said as she licked her lips. “Maybe a bit of iron and cobalt…”
 
Meldon System

"Another transmission, the inferiors must love this shit."

Receiving another transmission, Mar'Meenh sighed and ignored it, choosing to focus on conjuring up a way to defeat the overwhelming enemy. The capture of a fighter by the enemy forces might seem worrying, but the delicate biotechnology that was used took the Stramstin millions of years to perfect, a few inferior couldn't possibly reverse engineer it without spending millennia in confusion. The fact that S-cells are capable of rapid self-destruction also helped to ease his worries.

The 'club and axe' tactic he had conjured up, which was successful a while ago, was no longer so. It seemed worrying that the inferiors are capable to adapt to his tactics, renowned throughout the Empire for being unpredictable and hard to adapt to, this fast. Way too fast. Either that these inferiors are simply extremely competent, or the Stramstin command was extremely inept. The latter possibility worried him, as he had gambled on the Empire winning this invasion. Otherwise, he wouldn't even had agreed to commit his forces into the invasion. If his compatriots are simply that inept, he would have to flee the galaxy, or at least control enough Hive Fleets to make a difference. Too bad Sarituo isn't dead, at least not for now. After this was done, he would make sure that he is.

The fact that the inferior fleets managed to hold their own against three Hive Fleets also worried him, but that would come later. He had to make sure he lives to worry about it later for now. The remaining Commonwealth ships still available as clubs and axes are struggling to break free of their bonds, some even exploding and taking out a few of his own ships. 'Knew that this wouldn't actually work for long.' He started to regret his brash decision, but it was too late. He had to salvage this.

"If they want to break out so much, let them." Meenh frowned and said in a guttural tone.

The remaining Commonwealth ships still in control of the Stramstin were let out, but not before they were aligned towards their comrades. The enemy ships, clearly not expecting the Stramstin to just suddenly let go, darted out towards their comrades. By the time they realized what was going on, it was too late. Meenh watched as the enemy ships rammed into the shields and the hulls of the other enemy ships, some even destroyed in a bright explosion to his delight. But that wasn't enough, he would have to think of something else to even survive this. He briefly considered retreating, his forces were simply too tired to fight effectively against the still fresh enemy, but he quickly suppressed the train of thought. Retreating wasn't an option. His career was already in a dangerous position due to his background, he doesn't need a resounding defeat to put himself further into the fire.

He had come to the realization that this battle either had to be won now, or it would just be a prolonged defeat for him, which would be worse for his career. He then ordered for the fleet to regroup into one single massive cluster, gambling that the enemy would try to surround his forces. No matter whether his gamble succeeds, it's still going to hurt for him.

'Hopefully this would work.'

Meanwhile, on the captured Nightshade, the biological structure of the ships are rapidly decaying as the captain of the ship ordered for the nutrition packs to be destroyed, leaving the S cells without nourishment, and thus dying of starvation. He then ordered for his forces to inject both themselves and the ship with vials of rapid-degradation virus. The ships rapidly destroyed itself as it's walls and floors melt into an infectious sludge, while the soldiers were temporarily buffed by the virus and prepared to fight an enemy boarding party. Once these soldiers were shot dead, they too would melt into sludge.​
 
Last edited:
Meldon System - The 4th Fleet (Star Vampires)

As the enemy fleet began to cluster into a giant ball, Starvane’s eyes flickered with sadistic delight as she saw them walking right into her plan. “That’s right, pull yourselves together little insects...”, she grinned as she swiped her right hand into the air. “Commence Operation V-Cut! Right and left flank vessels, stretch out and reach towards the back of the enemy formation! Encircle them like how Hanebal did to the Romani in the days when humanity still fought with blades and horses! Annihilate our foe once and for all!”

And so they did. As the enemy cluster drove deeper, the forces in the center collapsed from the sheer momentum of the Stramstin fleet, but the flanks were getting around them. The two Stormpike Dreadnoughts accompanying the Musashi aimed their massive main guns at the nearest enemy ships before firing their positron beams, some cutting clean through the chitinous armor. Sometimes they simply seared the armor, but the Stormpikes were devastatingly effective in protecting the Musashi from ramming and clubbing actions. The encirclement was in full motion, and it seemed nothing could stop it. Or is it?

As the six frigates spirited the Nightshade away, they began their penetrative actions.

“Captain,”, a subordinate to the captain of the lead frigate said as he looked up from his screen. “Sensors show that there are at least a thousand life signs within the vessel, but most of them exhibit animalistic behaviour. I believe that the ones we should look for are the ones that do not do so.”

“Very well. Deploy the drills. Don’t send in the boarding teams just yet.”

“Aye, captain.”

In perfect sync, the frigates opened hatches on their undersides, from which robotic arms with arms and drills came out. They began to drill, but it was surprisingly soft.

“Captain, the enemy ship’s structure seems to be degrading. We have to act fast.”

“We just need one of those bastards. Get them!”

The drills bore holes as they did their work, but as they descended, some were simply shot at as their cameras aimed just to see some of the Stramstin and a horde of constructs.

“That’s disgusting.”, the captain muttered as just as one of the cameras went dark. “We definitely should not send in boarding teams for that. Search for non-animalistic life signs on the ship and try to capture at least one!”

“Aye!”

Several failed attempts later, and then they got one. “YES!”, the captain yipped. “Bring it up here.

There the Stramstin was, captured unceremoniously by the interstellar equivalent of a claw machine meant for children’s stuffed toys. It was surrounded by needles and restraints made of hardened adamantium. A needle was stuck on its left arm, extracting fluids.

“So they look like this?”, the captain mused. “So who and what are you, anyway?”

“I don’t think it understand you captain. What of the ship we are carrying?”

“We aren’t equipped to deal with such a horde. Let the Mazar Defence Fleet deal with it.”

“Technical team, continue your research onto this creature. Try talking to it and deciper the language.”

“Hai!”
 
Meldon System

His gamble seemed to have worked as the enemy moved to surround his massive fleet, but Meenh still hasn't let down his guard yet. This is only phase one of phase one of his plans, and he is aware that there are many chances for him to screw up later. But for now, he should focus on successfully executing phase two.

He ordered for his fleet to adopt a arrow shaped formation and continued onward, smashing into a part of the envelopment. The fleet then began to use it's sheer momentum and firepower to fight a way out.

Meenh rubbed his hands together and looked closely at the battlefield, his legs curled around the legs of his chair. He prayed to the gods that his gamble would succeed. Otherwise, he'll have to immediately start retreating.

Meanwhile, the captured ships denizens realized that either the enemy is not boarding, or they are taking their sweet ass time to. Unfortunately, that time is something they don't really have as the virus' benefits are nearing an end, and after that they will start decaying.

Not wanting to die without a fight, the captain ordered for a mass charge into an enemy ship. A massive swarm of constructs and Stramstin advanced into said ship, spraying Gauss fire and corrosive acid into the ranks of the enemy.

As for the captured soldier, he tried to get out of his restraints, but it was clearly impossible for him to do so. He spat at his captors, his spit full of the virus that was slowly killing him.
​
 
Meldon System - 4th Fleet Envelopment

Sure enough, Mar’meenh’s concentrated attack pierced the center of the 4th Fleet. While the Musashi and the Stormpikes easily weathered the Stramstin’s attacks, others were not so lucky. Several cruisers were annihilated as the revieved the full brunt of laser fire, and two full destroyer squadrons were destroyed. Even the Slavas recieved losses.

“Commander, the Ashigara and the Nachi say their final wishes! They are trailing smoke and debris, and are locked in a collision course with an enemy dreadnought!”

“Gods bless them.”, Juinsan said solemnly as she held her rosary. “Not bad huh?”, she then looked at the fierce battle outside. “Luring me to try to surround you so that you would counter envelope. Not bad... but not good enough! All flank vessels, turn around and cut the advance of the enemy!”, she then sent a transmission to the Confederates, requesting that they reinforce the center to prevent the Musashi, the Stormpikes, and their remaining escorts from being completely surrounded.

The Musashi fought furiously, every hit at its shield causing such an intense blast of light that it could blind one that looked direcly at it. And despite the glaring flash, its main guns always found their mark. The superdreadnought bumped to a Tyrant Dreadnought, prompting a fierce firefight between the two. The Musashi rubbed onto it before discharging a volley of nuclear torpedoes and HEAS shells in point blank range, damaging it critically just before the Stormpikes opened fire on it, dealing the lethal blow.

As the Stramstin of the captured Nightshade streamed onto the frigate, the forces of the frigates returned fire, but they were run over as the gibbering horde charged in.

“The Donskoy Kosak is under attack captain.”, the captain of the lead frigate was informed. Breathing out a sigh, he then gave the order. “Order the Donskoy to detach the affected quadrant into space, and then all ships are to maintain a larger distance while keeping it captured. We will go to hyperspace in 2 minutes, and we will arrive in the Mazar System in 5 minutes after that.”

“Aye sir.”

As the gibbering horde clashed with the scattered protectors of the Donskoy, they would hear noises that would herald a decoupling sequence. Several Stramstin would then get grabbed by Frontoviki drones flying across the air at high speeds before throwing them into energy cages. A mass equal to 30% of the Donskoy’s hull detached before getting shot by the tachyonoc shock batteries of its allied ships. The Donskoy was rendered crippled however, as the attack left half of the crew dead and its subspace engine damaged.

The six frigates began to distance from the Nightshade, keeping it anchored by their hooks, but there would be a hundred meters of empty space between them. They then entered hyperspace, and soon enough arrived in the Mazar System.

“AH! ACID!”, one of the scientists cried as the Stramstin’s spit hit him. “Kill me!”

“Wish granted.”, someone would say as they stabbed him at the head with a blade. “Protocol Number One, if you get spit on by an alien, kill yourself.”, the figure said. He then looked at the Stramstin, and said that “we are arriving to the Mazar System.”

“Doctor, you have to look at this.”, one of the people said as she looked at the readings taken from the Stramstin. “A virus seems to be slowly killing it, most likely in anticipation to capture. If we have tests, we gotta hurry.”
 
Meldon System

Meenh watched anxiously as the battle continued to unfold around him. His forces had nearly broke through the enemy encirclement, but he is well aware that time isn't on his side. After all, there are still other enemy fleets that could aid the encirclement. The loss of a dreadnought is a pain to watch too, but fortunately, it's one under Sarituo, not his Hive Fleet.

"Attention all fleets, enemy fleets are attempting suicide tactics, do not let them near your ship at all costs." He leaned back onto his chair and continued to watch as there's nothing he can do at the moment.

Meanwhile, the captured Nightshade had mostly melted into a sludge of organic material. The virus had done its job and spores began to form within the sludge. They would then start to float into the nearby space and wait for an unlucky host to stumble across them.

For the captured Stramstin, they continued to spit, or at least try to spit on their captors, however, as their bodily functions continued to degrade, the spit is now more organic sludge than spit. Some of them even coughed out said sludge as they cursed at their captors. Not much time is left for them, and they intend to bring as much misery to their captors as their decaying bodies could.
​
 
Several of the Confederate ships that had been held by the Stramstin tendrils were destroyed, and others seriously damaged. Some had managed to overload their reactors and self-destruct before the Stramstin had released them, though these were very few in number. Others had been released, and had slammed into their comrades into the Confederate fleet with the full force of overcharged sublight engines. The rest were freed by the Commonwealth HEAS rounds against the tendrils. Those ships that could move began to move back towards their flagship, the Gehenna. The Confederate fleet, while made primarily of Deathbearer dreadnoughts, was considerably smaller than the Stramstin or Commonwealth fleets in the system, and every Confederate captain understood the danger that would come from breaking formation.

Aboard the Gehenna, Commander Dufrene had received the request from Commonwealth forces to bolster the centre. "Prepare a transmission to the Commonwealth flagship," Dufrene ordered. Once the comm officer signalled that the transmission was ready, Dufrene began to speak. If the Musashi was equipped with holocomms, they would see an image of Dufrene. He had thick blond hair, with occasional streaks of grey, and a face that was lined with both experience and pride. He was obviously a veteran fleet officer, and the white and gold uniform hung neatly off his lean, muscular frame. The three sideways, silver fleurs on his collarbone clearly marked his rank as a Confederate Naval Commander, and his calm, firm voice indicated years of grace under fire.

"Greetings," he began simply. "I am Commander Marius Dufrene of the Dothvalian Confederacy. We've received your requests to reinforce the centre. Although we came to answer a Drathian distress call, the Commonwealth are important allies to the Confederacy, and we're glad for this chance to work with you. If you'll permit, I'd like to bring my flagship, the DCS Gehenna, near the Musashi. The enemy ships are closing fast around us, but with two super-dreadnoughts working side by side, the centre of our formation would be nearly unbreakable."

For just a moment, the officer switched channels to command the fleet. "All ships that can navigate, move towards the Gehenna. Keep your formation as tight as possible. The enemy fleet is counter-attacking, and now we have to stay close together if we're to weather the coming storm. Follow the Gehenna's lead, and reinforce the Commonwealth fleet's centre."

With that, the Confederate began carrying out their orders. The Gehenna led the changed formation, moving close to the Musashi. At 8.7 km, it was somewhat shorter than the Commonwealth flagship, but a quick look at its weapons showed it was no less dangerous. Its fifteen multi-barreled capital laser turrets jutted from the ship at many angles, each one powerful in its own right. When all of them focused on one target, they could rip apart anything smaller than a heavy cruiser with a single salvo. At least, those were the results of live tests conducted against Confederate Naval vessels. Kinetic railguns were also mounted along the ship, though these were fewer in number and used less frequently. Kinetic weapons worked best at long range, and the aggressive tactics of the L'Etoile Marine favoured energy weapons that were effective in close quarters. 150 point defence measures, a mixture of flak turrets and turbolaser batteries, lined the ship as well. While the offensive weapons were manned by Confederate Naval personnel, the point defence turrets were calibrated and controlled by Acruani AI. Finally, several whole decks were dedicated to massive hangars, dedicated to dozens of transports and hundreds of small craft to escort them into battle. The fighters and bombers would occupy enemy forces, and when a gap appeared in the shields of enemy ships, the transports would initiate boarding actions. The actions were led by the iron-soulled veterans of the Confederate Naval Assault Corps and the STAR Commandos, men and women who lived for battle and didn't care if they returned from a mission or not. Whenever they boarded an enemy ship, their objective would be to cause as much damage and havoc as possible before being killed or retreating. But today, they stood in the hangar, prepared instead to repel an enemy that they knew used similar boarding actions.

The Gehenna was an Alsace-class Confederate super-dreadnought, one of a small handful. Designed to duel Colonial battle-carriers as well as HCA base-ships, it had several layers of very heavy trisilviate plate armour, and several layers of shielding. Hundreds of support personnel also waited throughout the corridors of the ship, ready to perform whatever ship-saving operations the battle required. While the Gehenna didn't have the same level of shielding as the Musashi, it would still be a very tough nut to crack. And with its offensive capabilities, it was likely the Confederate flagship could annihilate most enemies before it ever had to rely on its defensive systems. If retreat or a change in formation proved necessary, the Gehenna's colossal sublight engines and sturdy structure would ensure it reacted incredibly fast for a ship of its size.

With all of these traits in its favour, the Gehenna moved towards the Musashi, and began its task of bolstering the Commonwealth's centre.
 
Meldon

As Marius opened the transmission, Starvane bowed as she took note. “Likewise, I am Juinsan Starvane, Commander of the 4th Fleet and the Vampire of Sevastapol. We will annihilate these foes from the universe forever, with our combined might.”

As the Gehenna moved besides the Musashi, it would be greeted by another transmission. “Just as we fought the Invaders in Terra Nova together, so do we fight this unknown foe together. It is an honor!”, Juinsan saluted as the Musashi’s main guns took aim once again. “Target anything that crosses the perimeter. Tear it to shreds!” Bolts of tachyonic energy streamed from the hexabarreled turrets of the Musashi. Star Blazers attacked from the shadows, fighting in dangerous close ranges. The cruisers maintained a barrage of tachyon energy at their enemies, and the frigates appeared and disappeared from the darkness, firing barrages of missiles and projectiles from thin air.

With the combined force of the Confederates and the Commonwealth in the center, Mar’meenh’s gamble stalled. With the pincer forces of the 4th Fleet turning around, it now seemed that the triple Hive Fleets jumped onto a pan of flame.

Meanwhile, the Ilyushin, the lead frigate that captured the Nightshade, began transmitting orders to the other ships. They soon released the anchors and left the Nightshade in the void before entering hyperspace.

Soon enough, the Ilyushin and its compatriots arrived in a science bay on one of the station orbiting Mazar Ultima. In all haste they transferred the captured Stramstin in sealed energy containers, preventing their spit from damaging any more personnel. One would then get discharged unceremoniously into a testing chamber. A plain white chamber, and in there was a black robed figure; a Nicassir Sage. The strongest there is, in fact. If the Stramstin tried to spit on the interrogator/experimenter, it would just splash on an inbuilt shield generator worn by the interrogator. The Sage would look down, and the captured Stramstin would then get locked down into place by chains of energy.

“Let us see what you got.”, the Sage said as he took a chair. “So a virus is slowly killing you. Well, we estimate an hour or so more left for you, so let us make this quick, shall we?”

An AI would then speak ever so emotionlessly. “Language analysis complete.”

“So, what are you and what do you want?”
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top