A Trial by Fire
Persean Sector, Terimon System_Orbit above Skogsrå_
UEE 5th Fleet, 'The Fighting Fifths'. Local Time: 0730_
In another time, the planet of Skogsrå would've been a haven of growth and abundance- lush, thick forests and mountains teeming with natural resources, even and temperate climates, oxygen based atmosphere and naturally habitable without any need for significant terraforming, Skogsrå was a veritable pearl in a sea of desolate desert wastelands and cold uninhabitable rocks, that made up the system surrounding it. As it stood now, Skogsrå was just another battlefield, a planet trapped in the constant tug of war between Coalition and UEE hands. A decade ago, it belonged to the UEE, seven years ago the Coalition held it. Four years ago the UEE took it back, and three years after that the Coalition seized control once again. Its population had been dropped to a quarter of its prewar size, two decades of warfare decimating cities and population centers, its industries only kept floating by the boatloads of UEE and Coalition technicians and colonists sent to re-establish control over the planet over the years. The Persean Sector made up the narrowest stretch of the Free Economic Trade Zone, with the Terimon system set smack dab in the center, making it the perfect staging ground for either UEE or Coalition forces into the territory of the other- if they could only hold onto it for long enough. To boot, its abundance of heavy metals meant that ships could be easily repaired without need of transporting materials over large distance, and allied forces could be replenished and restocked in short order.
It was for these reasons the UEE had commanded the recapture of the system- starting with its Capital planet of Skogsrå. At the head of this advance was the Empire's 5th Expeditionary Fleet, the Fighting Fifths. Some half million brave souls onboard countless numbers of the Empire's finest warships and strikecraft, ready to take back what was theirs. The fleet had taken the Coalition defenders by surprise- a misinformation campaign leading the Coalition to believe the first attack was to take place in the neighboring Furindal System, and as such had gathered the bulk of their forces there. A small detachment from the 5th Fleet would indeed assault the Furindal System, though their orders were to merely keep the Coalition forces occupied- not extending themselves enough to get stuck into a full on battle, where they would surely lose, but just enough to stop the Coalition from being able to easily leave and reinforce the defense of Terimon.
Among those in the Terimon System proper, were some few hundred-odd men and women of the 101st Special Forces Group, though their objectives were slightly different than that of the 5th Fleet. For the 101st, the value of the planet itself was not its rich resources- quickly being drained in the passing decades, or even its strategic position in the FEZ, but rather what was left behind centuries ago by a unified humanity: One of a handful of working, undamaged, Nanoforges.
Nanoforges were not new technology by human standards, these installations dotted the industry worlds of the UEE and Coalition alike. Given enough natural resources, Nanoforges allowed for rapid, precise manufacture of consumer goods, hardware, military equipment- all of varying complexity. Old Empire forges however, were a rarity. Capable of goods of complexity outshining its contemporaries, and faster as well- presumably capable of manufacturing MAS parts, smart munitions and advanced stealth systems, all in a package capable of collapsing to the size of a trailer truck. It could be argued that the value of the nanoforge was greater than the 5th Fleet itself, and while the 101st were tasked with aiding the 5th Fleet where possible, their true objective was to secure Skogsrå's nanoforge and spirit it away to UEE hands- whatever the costs.
Perhaps it was frustrating then, for the 101st, that the 5th Fleet's supposedly sure assault on Skogsrå itself had bogged down in orbit. The assault was quickly turning into a siege as the Coalition beat back the UEE forces. What was
supposed to take some 3 hours had turned into 6, that turned into 12. In a few hours, the UEE detachment in Furindal would have to pull back, allowing the Coalition defenders to jump back to Terimon, behind the 5th fleet- encircling them. A breakthrough needed to happen within the next few hours, or they'd have to recall their assault entirely and pull back to safer space.
The UEE had time for one last assault on enemy lines. One last chance to break through and begin the invasion of the planet.
Persean Sector, Terimon System_Orbit above Skogsrå_
INS Roanoke, 101st Special Forces Legion. Local Time: 0730_
"General Quarters, General Quarters. All hands to battle stations. I repeat: General Quarters. General Quarters..." The Roanoke shuddered violently as it turned towards the planet of Skogsrå, a dozen UEE vessels flying out ahead of it. Behind the main battle line was a massive Liberator battle-carrier, the INS Abraham Lincoln. The main cannon of the Lincoln glowed a faint blue, the radiating hum causing the space around it to seemingly flicker before it fired, a trio of twisting, braiding pulses of energy flying through the great void. The space around them remained silent as huge orange flower of fire erupted from the top tower of the Coalition battle-station set between them and the planet- bits of solar panel, steel, and dish parts filling the local area as the force of the explosion ruptured outward. The station and its attached ships shuddered as gas, debris and concussive force rattled the local area. The explosion tore a great chunk out of the station’s superstructure, and the Lincoln must have scored a lucky hit, as a series of secondary explosions began to ripple across the station, slowly tearing the structure apart from the inside out.
UEE and Coalition Battleships alike detached their destroyer escorts, and turned to face each other, the space around them filling with cannon-fire, plasma and laser pulses moments later. Explosions rippled across both fleets as Coalition ships released their MAS squadrons- dozens of tiny specs in the darkness of space. The glint and light from their thrusters made them seem like swarms of angry fireflies in the distance as they flew towards the 5th fleet and its accompanying Naginatas and Sentries.
Onboard the Roanoke, alarm klaxons followed the announcement for general quarters, the entirety of the ship waking up, regardless of shift as the ship changed its vector and prepared to enter combat. The already cramped ship was now a flurry of organized chaos: Men and women ran back and forth, each fully aware of their tasks, sliding past each other as they made their way to turrets, control stations and maintenance decks. Marines armed themselves, preparing for boarding actions, security teams prepared themselves to repel boarding actions. The bridge a beating hub of activity as it sank down to the armor line, making itself a smaller target from any potential hit. The hangar was a veritable hive of moving metal and bodies, MAS crew sprinted for their machines and completed last second maintenance and repairs, while techs rushed to their stations, shouting things at one another and pointing at datapads and screens. Unnecessary or momentarily irrelevant materials were unceremoniously shoved aside as Ultra-light MAS lifters attached munitions and weapons to mechs that still needed servicing.
The pilots were not spared this chaos either- the synthesized voice of the ship VI echoing across whichever room they currently found themselves in.
"All pilots to strike craft. I repeat: All pilots to strike craft. Prepare for imminent combat." "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Outofthewayoutoftheway!" A pink head of hair cursed and spat, half sprinting, half jumping past crewmen, lifters and crates of munitions as she pulled her flight suit on mid-sprint, a bundle of crinkled magazines and mirror clattering unceremoniously onto the deck, a pair of cucumber slices stuck to her forehead indicating what she'd been up to beforehand- likely using the ship's hydroponics bay as an impromptu day spa. This of course made the expected 90 seconds from rack to cockpit Kodos had drilled into them a lot more difficult than it needed to be, but somehow, miraculously, she'd made it.
Half climbing, half throwing herself into the open chest cavity of her MAS, Sabine mashed a key on the side of her cockpit, shutting herself into the darkness. A bit short breath of breath, the glass fogged as she pulled her helmet over her head and sealed herself within her flight suit. The helmet sprang to life as it booted up and connected to her neural implant, painting a heads up display over the helmet’s faceplate. As the MAS slowly woke itself from its slumber, the walls seemed to become transparent, becoming what the ‘head’ of the MAS saw. Sabine turned her head left and right to check the Sparrowhawk’s calibration, making sure its movements mimicked hers- not that she'd have time to make any changes at this point.
Sabine looked up as the massive hangar doors above them began to pull open, leaving a thin oxygen shield as the only thing preventing the entirety of the hangar from venting out. Above them, the inky black void of space, dotted by stars, now occupied with dozens upon dozens of ships. Battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and the exploding remains of the Coalition station loomed above them, as flashes of light from railguns and plasma cannons streaked across the black empty. Tiny flecks of blue lights- the thrusters of MAS and aerospace fighters zig zagged and spiraled around in the far distance, lights flashing as their weapons fired, silent flowers of orange and white taking their place as weapons connected with them.
> Confirming Pilot Assignment: LT SABINE LAURENT_
> ...Pilot Confirmed
> Initializing systems...
> Reactor: Online_
> Life Support: Online_
> Shield Generator: Online_
> Weapon Systems: Online_
> All Calibrations Complete
> All Systems Nominal
> Standby for Launch"Hah! Fuck you Hex!" Sabine's sing-song and lilted accent crackled over the 7th Squadron's comms.
"Told you I'd make it in 90- I mean- This is Rabbit, sounding off! All systems green, and incredibly mean. Ready to mingle with some capitalists."
Krasnaya
Crimson Flame
Eviledd1984
Randomness
Sep
Bork Lazer
13org
AwesomeZero5
Silly
Madlificent
