'There is no Black and White in reality, just grey, especially in war'
-unknown
Turian Controlled Space
Outside Relay-114
1:00 PM Galactic Standard Time
Captain Facus Regiion
The Turian Captain stood proudly on the deck of the Turian Dreadnought Perseverance, the Turains flared proud mandibles as he watched many young Turian hopefuls man their stations and prepare the fleet for what was to be expected a crushing defeat for the inferior enemy.
Facus Regiion will not say he takes pride in this, in fact he does not but he does take in pride to the good he has done. Though his methods were questionable and he himself admitted to be very rash and unfair however the Turian knew what he had done was right. As a Captain who had fought against Batarian Slavers and pirates the Turian male was no doubt hardened for decisions that may prove immoral.
Attacking a technologically inferior race that was glaringly new to space travel was no great jump for pride and in fact when he reported it to his superiors in the Colony world Galedia, he had gotten some surprise and even wandering looks. But Facus didn't mind, he was a Turian and like all Turians whatever he did was for the good of the Hierarchy.
This new and technologically new race wouldn't last a minute in Citadel space with the Batarians and Krogans, they would be safer under Turian protection as a client race than to be accepted as a member of the Citadel Species. Put into the fact the image of the Turians upholding their responsibility as peacekeepers of the Galactic community and maintaining their position in the Citadel Council, this soon-to-be slaughter was a necessary evil.
As Facus looked at the young faces, he saw hesitancy and even disgust. Yes, massacre of an inferior species has a tendency to deflate a person's pride. But the Primarchs, whether in his vision or not, have ordered the forward assault on these new alien species and whether the soldiers wanted to or not, it wasn't up to them.
Facus just hoped that in time the Turians and even this new race would see this as a changing moment in their lives, where they could both prosper well enough together.
"Captain, I think it's best if we return to the ship" Facus turned behind to see Severus, the male having been shaken up at the fact about the destruction of the previous enemy fleet-They hadn't even fired back, nor did they try to run, Sir you don't think those were civilian ships, do you?- The question had found a place in Facus' mind but he never thought anything of it, like he said it was a necessary evil.
"Yes I do believe so" The new Admiral in charge of the fleet, Vobus Broclin, was a good Admiral and Facus knew he wouldn't jeopardise the safety of the alien race unjustly. Yes, Faus knew, this would all be for the better.
The Captain gave Severus a nod of understanding, clasped a talon on the young Turians shoulder and then moved towards the docking bay doors. As he passed some Turians gave him nods of respect while some were slow and hesitant, it seems news of his deeds had spread faster than he hoped.
"Severus once we're onboard the ship I want the Turian ground troops prepared and ready for a ground fight, we're not gonna bombard them to extinction, we have to capture the planet and occupy it, understood?" Severus gave an affirmative and by the time the Turians had stopped their conversation they were already at the Bridge on boards the Cruiser Justice.
Severus made a salute then slid back into his chair off to the captain side while the Captain himself took a seat on the Captains chair. Calmly waiting for the kilometre length dreadnought to lead the ship onwards which it did, the Admiral even giving a small honest speech on the most likely outcome and expressed his contempt on the situation. By the time he was done the relay had already began arching traces of Element Zero to connect with the Turian ships before launching them towards the unknown race system.
The ships soared through space in Faster Than Light speeds and when the Captain was satisfied that they were almost there, he ordered his men to prepare their weapons. He wanted it done quickly and painlessly for both sides.
When the streams of light finally disappeared to reveal the inky blackness of space, the Turian ships slowly began to launch their rockets towards where the suspected homeworld of the alien species was located. As they did Captain Facus couldn't help but feel a sudden depth in his stomach, it was like a warning from the spirits themselves 'Go Back!' they cried.
Facus shook his head and tried to shut the voices away, there was no turning back now.
"Sir unknown contacts! Ten Cruisers and one Dreadnought, possibly hostile, Sir!" Facus eyes snapped forward, he had expected that the fleet his patrol had encountered outside the relay wasn't all their ships but he hadn't expected them to have a Dreadnought. Almost immediately he was contacted by the Admiral of the fleet.
"Admiral Vobus Broclin" Facus freeted, the Turian Admiral was dressed in the uniform of an Admiral, which admittedly could have been passed off as armor, and he was looking...disgruntled.
"I remember your report specifically emphasize how this species is not at a technological state as we are" He wasn't happy, Facus expected as much. Faulty intelligence was worse than no intelligence at all.
"Yes sir I did. The enemy had no readings of Element Eezo and their ships had no defence against our ships. More than likely I would suspect the dreadnought to be a colony vessel" Facus tried to appease Vobus accusatory ire, assuring him his soldiers wouldn't die at least not too many, Facus wasn't naive to think the unknown didn't have any defences.
"Right" Vobus' mandibles flared slightly, a type of warning for Facus that said 'You'd better be right' before the communication line cut off. Facus eased himself into his chair, he couldn't help but respect the species stubbornness, they would benefit greatly from the Turians and their people may even make exceptional Auxiliary forces.
But when the ships drew closer towards the alien homeworld, inching closer and closer, Facus couldn't help but feel as though the stars themselves were retreating farther and farther away from them, as if they expected a cataclysm to happen and self-preservation dictated to flee.
It was not until a few minutes later that he knew why. Smack dab at the centre of an enemy formation was a massive dreadnought that could have outsized the Destiny Ascensions 3.4 Kilometre length. The Turian found himself impressed with this races ability at engineering and found himself particularly eyeing the Cannon located its its underside.
"That thing's a monster!" Facus didn't chide the Naval man for speaking out of turn and merely marveled at its utilitarian design. The ship had a grace only Military veterans could respect, at the centre of Ten cruisers, it was like a mother of Thresher Maws protecting her brood. No doubt the leader of the attack was located onboard the ship.
"This Admiral Vobus Broclin, all ships mark your targets, once we eliminate the Dreadnought open fire!" Smart move, Facus thought. Eliminate the enemy symbol of strength and they would break, disrupting their chain of command was an added bonus, the following chaos would allow the Turians to cut cleanly through the enemy line.
The Captain ordered his cruiser to position itself next to the Turian Dreadnought, the other Cruisers doing the same and the formed a tight formation, the Frigates already preparing their wolfpacks to eliminate any runners.
A sudden surge of eezo was detected from one of the terminals nearby Facus' seat, he eyed it, anticipating it to go off with the discharge of the Dreadnoughts main cannon, a cannon that made 90% of the ship itself. The terminal blinked red and then with a loud boom it was launched, in all actuality from vacuum he heard nothing but from just looking as the bolt of metal soared through the darkness, he could imagine the sound.
The slug traveled at a velocity of 4025 KM/S that one could barely keep up with the naked eye and when it slammed against the enemy ship, particles and explosive chemical dusted off the ships hull and Facus had every right to expect the Dreadnought to be gone but when the dust cleared, the Turian was slack-jawed (or slack-mandibles?) as the alien ship stood strong and powerful.
The Dreadnought seem to shook with anger at the Turians for even daring to attack it and like its namesake, which the Turians did not know about, it was pissed. Suddenly the underbarrel of the ship lit up and Facus was able to notice more of those strange markings he had found on the other ships that had passed through the relay, they were intricate and ended with many circles and 'veins' of oddly made lines spreading from there, encompassing most of the ship in a grand design.
In the blink of an eye the alien ship had launched something, and if Facus was a lesser man, he'd have thought it was a coil and that coil became surrounded by blue energy, energy that looked like Eezo and then the blue energy turned to a blue cackling of power that Facus could have mistaken for lightning before it slammed into the Turian Dreadnought. What happened next induced panic into the Turians heart.
The Dreadnought began buckling forward as arcs of electricity began splashing against its barriers, the kinetic energy of the coil itself caused the barrier to falter but with the sudden zap of, not electricity but a far more volatile substance, began to shut down the Dreadnoughts defences.
"All Cruisers form up on the Perseverance defend the Dreadnought no matter what!" Facus immediately ordered his ship to move to the front of the Dreadnought and already Facus' saw some of the Turians launching their own Salvos at the enemy ships, it was there that Facus' saw the enemies unique form of 'shielding'.
It was like a barrier but at the same time not, when the slug reached a certain point of the ship a warp would happen in between the deadly projectile and the ship itself, much like a singularity only more...natural. What happened next Facus could only speculate as the projectile did detonate but it just disappeared right afterwards.
"By the spirits I made a mistake" Facus' swore, this civilisation wasn't the helpless new spacefaring species he once thought, they were a powerful intelligent species that did not rely on Eezo and even though Eezo was many times declared the best and only form of Space travel fighting a powerful unknown like this did little to ease Facus' worries even if they were at a technological advantage, after all a fist could beat a gun if it was experienced enough and watching as the enemy Dreadnought closed in slowly, keeping its distance while also preparing to launch another salvo, showed Facus this enemy was very experienced.
Delsto System
Above Planet Lao
Onboard NSA The Kurama
Captain Keitaro Uzumaki
"Shields are holding! The Crystallized Chakra Core is holding at peak efficiency, small arms fire from the enemy Fighters! Strengthening seals keeping the Hull integrity at 98%, we're moving forward! Get the PDS (Point-Defense System) online" Nani Inuzuka, the pilot in charge of Navigation and Control, asked her co-pilot Jacob Stinson, in charge of Weapons and Operations. Jacob snorted as he slapped several runes located on his chairs arm rest, sliding four fingers through several slides as the ship began to vibrate with the launching of the PDS' Quick Impact Chakra Coil, a smaller version of the Chakra Impact Coil used on the enemy Flagship.
"Those bugs are getting really annoying" Keitaro grimaced as another one of those oddly shaped fighter flew across the Bridge main view port. "And I thought our Fighters are daring" He mused.
All around the Captain Naval Officers were working like clockwork, racing between stations and terminals to keep the fleet apprised to the situation and alerting engineering crews to damages.
"Carlos how's the fleet looking up?" Keitaro looked over his shoulder to see Carlos sprawled over the SAT (Situational Awareness Table) that was projecting a holographic map of the battlefield being powered by a Magical Lacrima, cheaper and more reliable for holograms, the picture were mostly red with their fleet colored blue and the enemy green. It's red, there isn't much more to be said about that.
"The NSA Lookie-here and the NSA Mincemeat are reporting severe hull damage, they got tag-teamed by the enemy and their Space-Time seals were overwhelmed" Carlos reported, "The enemy Fighters are also wreaking havoc on the Cruisers but switching the QICC (Quick Impact Chakra Coils) made it easier to shoot them down.
Keitaro frown before turning eyes to the Sector Commander of the Fighter Division, Yumi Yamanaka who was currently barking orders to her HOUND fighters engaged in combat with the enemy through a piece of metal located in her ear that had Yamanaka seals inscribed on them that used the Pilot favored telepathic signals rather than the electronic radio.
"Tobacco Squadron, Neko Squadron and Skull Squadron are currently holding the tide of enemy Fighters at bay, we've lost at least 6 HOUNDs while the enemy is losing a steadily growing number of 25" Keitaro raised his eyebrow, not quite believing that assessment. Seeing the look Yumi clarified, "Their Barriers don't seem to like our Lightning Rounds all too much, Sir" Keitaro made an O face and nodded his head.
"What of the ICRU Units?" Being as large as it was The Kurama had at least two Divisions of ICRU personnel (2560 Soldiers) at its disposal and those very ICRU personnel were currently being transported to the surface of Lao where they would coordinate with the local police in formulating a proper place of attack should the enemy, and it was inevitable, break off from the engagement and start landing troops.
"The Sickle-Class Corvettes have just reported all ICRU personnel being safely transported to the planet's surface, they also state that most of the civilians have been sent down into the underground bunkers" Keitaro grimaced, he would rather Carlos have said 'All' rather than 'Most'.
"Tell the Corvettes to hide behind the moon for now, their small and it doesn't seem like the enemy would detect them" That in itself was risky but Corvettes had no room in this type of engagement, in fact Corvettes never had room in this type of engagements.
"Aye Aye, Captain" Carlos smiled slightly and Keitaro could help the chuckle that escaped his lips, the old saying was rarely ever used but if anything the fact that it was used now in such an event was simply ironic.
The Red-haired Uzumaki maintained his stance, standing in between the two pilots, hands clasped behind his back and watching the enemy ships with narrowed eyes. Perhaps it was in his Uzumaki blood, perhaps because of heritage. Being related to the Namikaze and naturally The Yondaime Hokage and also to the famed Rokudaime Hokage who both stood at the face of great odds with fierce determination that Keitaro was able to stand so still as another of their rounds impacted against the ships Space-Time Seals.
(I was listening to the Mass Effect them while writing this)
Oddly Keitaro wondered whether they had felt the fear he was feeling now and if so he wondered why they kept fighting. This fear gnawing away at his heart, the adrenaline crunching through so painfully that it was only due to his blood that he hadn't crumpled to his knees. So how? Then he passed his eyes over his crew and slowly he began to realise, they had to stand, tall, proud and strong whether out of confidence, stupidity or will, they simply had to stand because if not them...then who? So Keitaro had to wonder to himself, who had to stand here? Was it him? So naturally due to his relation to these two heroes? Or was it more?
Again he passed eyes through his crew and then to the ships outside that were valiantly fighting against this enemy of thirty-two ships, as Cruisers wreckage drifted past him, numbly reading the name of the ship as Mincemeat, Keitaro realised. No, he wasn't what had to stand so proudly and neither did the Yondaime nor the Rokudaime. They didn't stand, they guided, they built. It was they alone that made the hero, it was what they had created that made them heroes. And in this very battle, it wasn't he nor his crew that stood as the heroes, the standing proud warriors of old, but it was the very ship that was leading this fight.
The Kurama held strong against the enemy blasts, each cacophony of Lightning and Wind it launched was like the roar of an angry beast in Keitaro's ears. Like the shinobi before, Keitaro was an insect to this beast, just as the heroes of old made their companions feel. In this way Keitaro knew, if The Kurama would not stand then who would? It wasn't Keitaro to be the symbol, Keitaro is the one to pick the ship back up when it would be faltering, to lead it onwards when it knew nowhere to go.
Keitaro stilled his breath as this fact caused a jump start to his muscles and as if the ship itself was spurred on by the Captain another Chakra Impact Coil was launched, this time laced with Wind Chakra, and it slammed against the enemy ship like an apocalypse. it pierced through the ships neck, severing it from existence as the Cruisers began riddling the Kurama with shots. The Space-Time Seals activated and the thin veil that surrounded the ship lit up like a firecracker as several barriers began springing up all around the ship, using the veil as power and a basis to emerge. The enemy fire splashed against the barriers, briefly being absorbed before the eezo was rejected by the Crystallized Chakra Core while it tried to feed the seals as much Chakra needed.
39%, Keitaro barely registered the number as he ordered his ship to aim for those that looked like Carriers, if the space battle was lost then Keitaro would damn well make sure the Ground Battle would win.
28%, The three remaining NSA Cruisers began to surge forward as the previous enemy fleet of 35 enemy ships was whittled down to 20. The Cruisers began forming a line between The Kurama and the enemy ships.
19%, Keitaro was livid as he stared at the ships blocking the main cannon of The Kurama and immediately ordered a Com. link established between the lead Cruiser. "What do you think you're doing! You're blocking the path of the Kurama get out of the way!" Keitaro all but screamed into the Communication seal. The Uzumaki was angry but then he heard the soft ragged breaths on the other end, the coughing and splashing of blood and Keitaro realised, the man on the other end was close to death.
'This is Senior Naval Officer Takeda Bu-*Cough-Cough* agh, if this is the Captain of The Kurama my apologies, Sir but I cannot follow that order' Keitaro was about to retort but the SNO stopped him before he could begin 'Sir, we cannot allow The Kurama to fall, It'd lose the moral of the troops if that happened so early in the conflict and honestly Sir you're our best hope to show this Alien-teme's that we Shinobi don't fall easily'
The Uzumaki snapped his mouth shut, eyes glazed as he watching one of the Cruisers became engulfed in a fiery explosion, one of the lifeless corpse of a Shinobi floating by the Kurama's view port. "Fine" The Uzumaki spat and he noticed how Carlos looked at him worriedly. Calmingly he raised a hand in his direction and ordered The Kurama to retreat. If The Kurama fell now, it'd only mean worse for the whole Shinobi fleet.
The Uzumaki glared at the enemy ships as the last of the Colony Cruisers began closing in on them, like rabid animals they tore through three enemy ships before one was destroyed, split in half right down the centre. The last ship, and the ship Keitaro realised was where Takeda was onboard, began putting their engines to full throttle, the ship racing forward and toward and enemy vessel. In a stunning show of power it crashed straight through the Cruiser before the ship ceased and the combine fire from all sides was too much for it to handle. Like another ship before, it exploded in a fiery display before it vanished.
The enemy vessels began to close in on the planet and Keitaro could help but curse as the planet was left to fend for itself in ground warfare as The Kurama retreated to lick its wounds. Looking down at one of his pilots Terminals Keitaro saw something that only served to make him angrier.
In big blocky letters it read, Shield Strength 9% Hull Integrity 68%. Keitaro punched the nearest wall and cursed. As if it felt Keitaro, and the entire crews, sorrow The Kurama began buckle and let out a wail of despair for fallen comrades and a lost battle.
Keitaro felt anger bubble in his chest, he wanted to go back, he wanted to slaughter every last one of them. The Captain lifted his head and then looked as if visibly struck by bullet. In front of him, on the side wall of the ship was the Shinobi motto. A motto made by the Great Rokudaime and Leader of the Nine Guardians himself. It read 'Endure, Heroes are born of sacrifice'
Guilt and shame built up in his chest and complete self-loathing. A hand was placed onto Keitaro's shoulders and he looked behind him to see Carlos' reassuring face, smiling at him to say 'Stay Strong'. The Uzumaki turned his head away.
Again he wondered.
How do those heroes stand so strong.
Codex: Naval Technology.
Due in part to their counterparts in the west the Shinobi complimented a wide variety of ships and capabilities that the people of west continuously try to outdo andthereby continue to strengthen the Shinobi Navy and Army.
Learning from Modern Sea Combat and later the Colonial Wars many of those in the Military apprise Scientists and Engineers of the West to situations regarding their creations and suggestions to improve proficiency as such the Shinobi War Machine was a machine that builds on top of itself with many of its advancements being made over previously thought to be the epitome of perfection.
Shielding: Using a combination of Seals, Chakra and Western Creativity, the Space-Time Barriers seen on modern day ships find themselves a treasured friend of the Navy. When under combat the NSA ship would release a thin-veil of chakra around the ship itself that acts as a sensory web that detect an enemy projectile when said projectile comes into contact with the veil. Upon contact a Space-Time barrier would appear where the contact was located, using the veil as a basis and fuel. These Barriers absorb the impact of enemy projectiles instead of merely blocking and should it contain any Chakra it would later send this Chakra towards the NSA ship. HOUND Fighters/Interceptors use the same principle however their shields are on indefinitely and do not incorporate the veil, instead due in part to the HOUNDs small size the Space-Time Seals would always react to a collision and instead of absorbing the projectiles Chakra, (if any) the Barrier would merely take the hit head on as the HOUND didn't have enough space to vent off extra Chakra if absorbed and the aircraft itself couldn't handle the stress.
Chakra Impact Coils: Large Coiled rounds that make the ammunition of the Shinobi main Naval Weapon, the Cannon located at the underbelly of a ship. These Coils are highly Chakra Conductive and when launched from the main weapon would continuously generate Chakra so as to provide fuel for the resulting attack. In Vacuum there is not Chakra Rich Environment where Jutsus or Affinity Chakra to power itself so the coil acts both as a supplement and a projectile. In addition the Coil can be used in conjunction with the Five Elements, Wind (For Quick Deadly Strikes), Lightning (For Cutting Power), Earth (For Hitting power), Fire (Less used in Vacuum however when used would mostly be targeted at breaches) and Water (Which make good in disabling several systems and atmospheric bombarding. ANBU and T&I use it with either a paralysing drug that saps into a persons skin or poison) The Coils can also be used in conjunction with any Jutsu making the power of the CIC rounds near limitless so long as a shinobi is willing to power the Coil with the Jutsu, this however takes time and previous Chakra.
Quick Impact Chakra Coils: Nearly the same in every way to an Impact Coil these are more of the ammunition of the Shinobi's Point-Defense System and Secondary/ Broadside Cannons. They can also be used in conjunction with Jutsus however most view it as a waste and are normally kept within the Five elements.
These are but the few basic of the Shinobi Arsenal, an ever changing view on technology as Shinobi learn from the battlefield and off, building upon them and creating what could only ever be deemed, on step towards perfection. As the famous Shinobi saying goes, "A war isn't a war unless you learn something from it"
Authors Note: Mass Effect Music always makes me like that. Anyways, as you people can see I am very much new to Naval warfare, a brief stint in A Spartan to be V2 (which I should go update) was all I had for experience so hopefully it came out good. Now I may not have explained this well in the story but the ships aren't directly in front of the planet, that'd be stupid now wouldn't it? So don't imagine that. Anyways can anybody see where this battle heading? Ground war! My favourite war to write!
Anyways Signing off.