Hard Light Productions Forums
Hosted Projects - FS2 Required => Blue Planet => Topic started by: The E on December 21, 2010, 12:34:26 pm
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Because I have lots of time to write all of a sudden, I decided to treat you people to my ramblings.
Please enjoy.
"Action stations, Action stations, this is not a drill!" The announcement and its accompanying siren reverberated through Toutatis' massive hull
"All hands, secure for immediate undock and jump. Repeat, all hands, secure for immediate undock and jump!"
"What in the ****...?" Still shaking off the last few remnants of sleep, Matthew put on his flight suit with all haste.
"All hands, undock commencing in 5..4..3..2..1..Now." A tremor went through the Destroyer as it undocked from Artemis Station. Moments later, the engines lit up, accelerating the the giant metal sliver to cruise speed in seconds.
"Does anyone have a clue what all this excitement is all about?" Looking up, Matthew saw Sofia, his wingman, waiting in the cabin entrance.
"Not me. Now stop staring and check my tell-tales, would you? Let's just hope it's only some shipping accident or something."
"Yeah, right. As if the Admiral would launch the Big T for that." Sofia ran the tests on Matthew's suit. "You're good. Check me, and let's get our asses to Brief 1."
"Copy that."
A few seconds of frantic checking later, both Pilots made their way to their squad's briefing room. The small auditorium was already filling up, with half the squadron already being present.
"There you are. I was wondering what kept you." Captain Mathers grinned at them.
"Sorry Skip, but Matt here had to rescue a kitten from a burning house."
Matthew rolled up his eyes. "What's the deal, Skipper?"
"All I know is that the Admiral is supposed to make an announcement soon. Until then, we're sitting tight."
"All hands, all hands, stand by for the Admiral." suddenly, the ship fell silent.
"Attention, 3rd Fleet, this is Calder. At 0536 Sol standard time, the subspace surveillance net detected a massive disturbance at the Sol-Delta Serpentis node. Acting on standing orders, the Frigate Renjian jumped out to investigate.
Less than two minutes after her arrival on scene, we received her disaster beacon. Based on her telemetry and message log, I have concluded that the Sol System is under threat of invasion by hostile terran/vasudan forces.
Make no mistake, people. This is not some misunderstanding that got out of hand, some tragic failure of communication. The invading forces demanded, in no uncertain terms, the immediate stand-down of all Federation forces, as well as the total surrender of the Federation Government.
This is the moment we've all dreaded. Our lost generation is coming home bringing war.
You've been trained for this. Trust in the people next to you. Trust in your hardware. Trust in your training, and all the experience you've gathered kicking Gef butt from the Belt to the Oort cloud.
The Fleet will move to ready positions under Contingency Troy. Unit leaders are ordered to implement Troy ASAP. Further Updates as they become available. Calder, clear."
For a second, Mathers stares at the intercom, stunned like most of his pilots. He turns to them with a slight shake of the head, trying to give his people the reassurance they expect. Then he looks down on his pad, and starts to tap in commands. the briefing screen activates, and force deployment diagrams start to appear.
"You heard the Admiral. Contingency Troy it is. Under Troy, 3rd Fleet will break up into its constituent FrigRons, with Toutatis linking up with FrigRon Alpha and TAS B to act as ambushers, while FrigRons Bravo and Charlie go out to do a recon-in-force at the node. Delta and TAS A will act as backup.
As for us, we're going to be flying CAP around the big T, so I want Alpha wing to load up on Rapiers, Hellfires and Slammers. Beta, you're on ready 1, same loadout. Gamma, you guys will be backup, so I want you to keep your external rails clear until you get the call.
Right. I know you can do this thing. If we're lucky, it'll all be over in a few hours. As the old man said, we've been kicking ass and taking names for 2 years now. We can handle this. Now go out there and show these jokers what we can do. Good hunting."
As the other pilots filtered out of the briefing room, Sofia and Matthew looked at each other. "Looks like we're going to war, eh?" Sofia couldn't keep the note of apprehension out of her voice.
"Looks that way. We're gonna be fine, Sledge. You'll see." Matthew pulled his wingman out of the chair. "Let's get this done. Drinks are on me tonight, got it?"
"Right you are, Lieutenant Ross, Sir."
"All hands, All hands, jump stations. Repeat, all hands, all hands, jump stations. Initiating subspace in 3..2..1..Now!" As the hum of the subspace initiator filled the ship, and the massive gravitational force of the opening rift in spacetime pulled the ship into the blue vortex, people all over the ship grabbed handholds to stop themselves from flying all over the place.
Seconds later, the ship emerges, light hours away from Artemis Station and all the traffic of the Jovian Systems Republic.
The two pilots made their way to the hangar, trying their best not to get in the way of other crewmembers, still on their way to their duty stations, still under shock from the news.
As the massive doors open, the cacophony of active combat flight ops envelops them. At the Hangars' far end, a flight of Kentauroi interceptors lights up their engines and moves out of the atmospheric containment, kicking afterburners as they hit space. Matt and Sofia shake hands, then proceed to their own fighters.
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Because I have lots of time to write all of a sudden
:wtf:
http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=71278.0
!!!
Fic is nice though; keep it up! :)
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Unlike the Kentauroi, which is a born-and-bred racing machine with guns strapped on, the Izra'il is a heavy assault ship, uncompromisingly optimized for the space superiority role. 10 primary mounts, as well as 10 external rails, make it versatile and hard-hitting, and while it's top speed and maneuverability are not very remarkable, the ship is still sufficiently agile to be one of the most deadly dogfighters in Sol space.
The 33rd Black Swans were the first squadron to receive them when they were declared operational 2 years ago. Their combat performance during that time was exceptional, cutting a swath through the Gaian Effort's supply of refurbished Great War and up-gunned asteroid mining craft.
Matthew walks around his fighter, taking his time to perform all the pre-flight checks the Book insists on. As he climbs up to his cockpit, straps in, and starts the fighter's boot procedure, Mather's voice comes over the comlink.
"Listen up, 33rd, here's the latest on our visitors. It seems that of the 13 ships they jumped in with, 3 jumped clear to Earth orbit, immediately powering down and surrendering unconditionally on arrival. That leaves a total of 3 Destroyer-sized and 7 Cruiser- and Frigate-sized vessels still present at the node.
Comm traffic analysis shows a heavy level of communication among the remaining ships and what is presumed to be their HQ on the other side of the node. Given their apparent behaviour, the Admiral has concluded that the OpFor is in disarray. To exploit this, the planned recon-in-force has been cancelled in favour of a true show of force. FrigRons Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta will jump to the node, supplemented by elements of the Toutatis Air Wing. Yes, this includes us. The Big T, TAS A and TAS B will be our backup on this.
We're jumping out to the rally point as soon as we clear Toutatis' perimeter. Coordinates are being uploaded to you as we speak.
Let's show these people a nice, Jovian welcome, shall we?"
A chorus of affirmatives followed.
Mere minutes later, the four ships of Alpha Wing of the 33rd Black Swans speeds away from Toutatis' #1 hangar. As they curve up at the forward Arashi turret, several subspace vortices open, and Tactical Artillery Squadrons Alpha and Bravo emerge, 4 Narayana-class frigates supported by several cruisers and patrol boats.
"Tighten it up, DC", Mathers says over the comm, "we don't want to be looking sloppy now, would we?"
"Uhh, no, Sir, of course not. Just admiring the view, is all." Matthew feels his cheeks redden up.
"Alright, Alpha, jump out on my mark. 3..2..1..Mark!"
The familiar blue glow of subspace envelopes the fighters once more. After a few seconds' travel through the hypnotic tunnel, the ships reenter Einsteinian space. Around them is the largest gathering of capital ships any one of them has seen in a long time, 16 Karuna-class frigates, 10 Sanctus-class cruisers, dozens of fighters and fleet colliers organizing themselves into formations.
"What are those delivery trucks doing here?" Sofia sounds as if she can't believe her sensors. "Don't tell me they're still loading up on warshots."
"'fraid so. Just your usual SNAFU. Better get used to it now, Sledge." Matthew tries to make it sound natural.
Mathers opens a connection to the senior ship in the area.
"Katana Control, this is Alpha wing, 33rd Black Swans, requesting tasking."
"Swans, Katana Control, form up on us. We're going in as soon as Altan Orde has received her warload."
"Copy that, Katana Control."
As they made their approach, more and more fighters launched from the frigates. Soon, several squadrons' worth of combat spacecraft, Uhlans, Kentaurois and Uriels, were taking up escort positions around their assigned charges.
"Gods, what's taking them so long?" Matthew asks, his voice laced with apprehension and impatience.
Sofia shakes her head. "Stow it. You're gonna get shot at soon enough."
"All FrigRon Bravo elements, Katana Control, Altan Orde has finished her UnRep, and we're going in. Latest status on our targets is still unchanged, we still have to deal with 3 possible Destroyers and 7 smaller vessels. Analysis of Renjian's telemetry shows that these people have obviously managed to reverse-engineer shivan beam technology, so be careful out there.
The Plan is for Katana and Altan Orde to come in from system north, while Serenity and Pegasus come in from spinward. All Uriel wings, tasking is enemy turret suppression. Kentaurois, Black Swans, you are on space superiority. Go out and engage fighters as we close. Uhlans, your job is close-in escort. Acknowledge receipt."
"Black Swan Six copies." Mathers switches back to the squad frequency.
"Okay, DC, Sledge, I want you two to ride herd on those Uriels. Kitten and I will watch Katana's back, got it?"
"Copy, Skip. We'll get those angels home."
Moments later, FrigRon Bravo enters subspace.
For the pilots of the 33rd Black Swans, the few seconds in the space between dimensions are filled with frantic last-second checks.
The tunnel collapses after a few seconds, and unfamiliar shapes fill the sky in front of the Federation task force. The invaders' vessels are a curious mixture of sleek, rounded shapes made out of hard armor plating, devoid of the various antennae, attachments, sensor dishes and mission modules that line the hulls of Federation vessels. Matthew's HUD updates itself as his computers decipher the intruder's IFF transponders. Orestes, Temeraire, Labouchere, Solace; the names sound at once familiar and strange.
"Hey, DC, take a look at those sensor readings. Does that look like battle damage to you?" Sofia asks, puzzled.
Matthew pulls up his sensor readouts. What he sees is a picture of devastation, with every one of the alien ships surrounded by a thin halo of leaking atmosphere and debris. He purses his lips and whistles."Renjian's just a normal Karuna, right? She didn't have any superweapons on board, did she?"
"Not as far as I know. Wherever these people came from, they obviously left in a hurry." Kitten's gravelly bass answers.
"Cut the chatter, people. DC, Sledge, form up on Altan Orde Alpha, Kitten, on me." Mathers' tone is mild, but the edge of command is unmistakable.
"Attention, unknown vessels, this is the United Earth Frigate Katana. You are ordered to power down and surrender, pending an investigation into the unprovoked destruction of the frigate Renjian. You have one minute."
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Renjian's just a normal Karuna, right? She didn't have any superweapons on board, did she?
Something seems wrong with this line. I don't think they'd be so laid back about thousands of people dying.
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I'm more curious about superweapons. What are those?
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Shouldn't the Labouchere have been one of those ships that jumped to earth orbit?
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I'm more curious about superweapons. What are those?
That's the point.
The Renjan diddn't stand a chance, the damage suffered by the 14th was from their engagements with the shivans.
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He was talking about superweapons as if they were equipped on a few warships. If so, what are they?
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the HLP squad!
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I think you may be reading into it a little too much. "Super weapon" probably just means anything outside the ordinary scope of the Federation.
Shivan Beam cannons for instance would create a much different damage pattern than a nuke.
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Yep. It's pretty much just a throw-away line; Matthew just wants to make sure that he's not the only one thinking that the sort of damage the 14th BG has is way more than what a Karuna can inflict in the time Renjian had available.
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You might want to describe the swaths of damaged hull plating that beams would do - might make for a more dramatic statement that's less confusing anyway.