When asked "how far Sparta's boundaries stretched?," King Agesilaus' replied brandishing his spear, "As far as this can reach."


One the most powerful fleets in the Empire is on the attack. Their massive turbolasers primed to crush the NUNS on Ghardaka II. The only thing standing in the way is a handful of tiny NUNS ships and Valkeryies. It is a courageous group of NUNS tin cans facing off against a giant Imperial armada. Lead by the legionary Annihilator the largest Star destroyer in history.

It is late in the battle for Ghardaka II system and the NUNS need to stop the Empires advance. The NUNS have the Zentradi 33rd Naval/Marine Fleet base on Ghardaka II protecting the Protoculture Temple while Doctor Aphra and SMS are investigating the temples connection to the Hypergate. If the Empire fails to capture Ghardaka II then they will not be able to control the Hypergate. Empire hardly relies on their TIE fighters they rely on their Star Destroyers. The Empire devised a bold plan called Operation Dejarik. The Empires plan is to crush NUNS with Turbolasers.

The Planet Force lead by Grand General Cassio Tagge appeared out of hyperspace above planet Ghardaka II. The Empire spots ships that are above Ghardaka II. They can not get a clear reading of the NUNS ships because of the NUNS use of active stealth. The Imperials believe that they are facing one of the main fleets of the NUNS. Grand General Cassio Tagge orders the deployment of the troop transports and Y-85 Titan dropships. The Y-85 could accommodate four AT-ATs in addition to four AT-STs as well as 1,000 troops.. Walkers were held by cranes, clamped along the sides, in battle-ready configuration, and could be quickly deployed via drop-down floor hatches. The Y-85 was armed with two forward twin laser cannons for defense.

Grand General Cassio Tagge could not be more wrong about NUNS fleet, it is a small task fleet of the NUNS Ghardaka system battlegroup called Task Force 3 (Taffy 3). A handful of small ships to support the Zentradi 33rd. The Last thing anybody expected was this small task force to be thrown into battle against this Imperial Main Battle Fleet.

Task force 3 was made up of two Guantánamo Class Stealth Carriers, four Northampton Class Stealth Frigates, six Stealth Cruisers, and 200 Valkyries. The NUN ships are armed with 72mm Beam Gun Turrets.

The Imperial Planet Force boasts five Star Destroyers, one Executor-class Star Dreadnought, and many transport ships. The Annihilator the Executor-class Star Dreadnought alone had over 5,000 weapons emplacements, including turbolasers, assault concussion missile launchers, and ion cannons. With warships able to direct all power to their energy weapons, the Executor-class had at least 100 times more firepower than an Imperial-class destroyer. The Annihilator mass alone was greater than all of Taffy 3's ships combined.

On board, the ships of Taffy 3 all the crews are relaxed and confident. They think the main battle is at the Hypergate. All of the sudden on the fold radar screens appears a massive amount of ships. The call went out all hands to general quarters we are being attacked. The Massive Turbolaser of the Annihilator opened up on Taffy 3.

The Stage is set for one of the greatest miss matches in space warfare history. A virtual David versus Goliath in space. One most epic space battles in the NUNS war against the Empire is underway. The Empire's fleet has opened fire on Taffy 3 a group of tiny NUNS ships. Beams of massive green plasma bolts erupt from the Annihilator's guns.

The Empires Fleet is 25,000 kilometers from Taffy 3. Taffy is the only force protecting the Zentradi 33rd Naval/Marine Fleet base on Ghardaka II.

Grand General Cassio Tagge believed he was attacking one of the main fleets of the NUNS so he rushed his ships into action. Normally the Imperial form into a single line battle column bringing their full guns to bere on an enemy. Grand General Cassio Tagge wants to strike a fast blow against the NUNS so he rashly ordered a general attack. A tactical error in this battle.

Taffy 3 commanded by Clifton ("Ziggy") Sprague knows he is outnumbered and outgunned and reacts quickly. Sprague's two Guantánamo Class Stealth Carriers are surrounded by four Northampton Class Stealth Frigates, six Stealth Cruisers. His first priority is to get his carriers out of harm's way. He orders to move behind the planet Ghardaka II at the same time he scrambles all his Valkyries to the attack. Over 200 VF-171 Nightmares and VF-171EX Super Nightmares launch. The Stealth Frigates and Stealth Cruisers electronic countermeasures (ECM) to screen the carriers. While masking the carriers retreat it exposed the Stealth Frigates and Stealth Cruisers. The Imperials started to target the Stealth Frigates and Stealth Cruisers. The plasma flashes near the Stealth Frigates and Stealth Cruisers started to make their crews nervous.

The Stealth Frigate closest to the Imperials is the FFM-810 Johnston her captain Commander Earnest Evans was not about to let the enemy overwhelm them without a fight. Not waiting for orders he goes on the offensive. In what seemed like a suicide mission he ordered full flank speed. Johnston breaks defensive formation and flew directly to the enemy fleet. One of the crewmen said to the Captain, Please don't let us go down with our anti-ship missiles not being fired".

The crewman had been the Vajra Conflict on a Stealth Frigate and had not fired any of their anti-ship missiles so he wanted to get those fired.

Captain Evans said, "Let's make our missile attack".

In order to get the ideal launch for missiles guidance systems, he needed to get his ship within 8,000 kilometers. But the turbolasers could strike at 13,000 kilometers and Annihilator's guns could destroy the Johnston in a single strike. The Empire blast away at the Johnston. Johnston plows ahead fearlessly zig-zagging through the enemy's salvos. Evans orders his crew to chase flashes. In this defensive tactic, the ship sets a course for a flash from a near miss gambling the enemy gunners won't shoot in the same place twice.

Johnston closes on enemy Star Destroyers range 12,000 kilometers striking distance for her 72mm Beam Guns. Johnston opens fire on the nearest Star Destroyer. They did not believe they could get through the shields but they did rough them up a bit and damaged some of the turbolasers. In less than 5 minutes Johnston unleashed over 2,000 energy beam blasts. Johnston races towards the giant enemy ship its missiles ready. The Johnston is a Northampton Class Stealth Space Frigate serve as the first defensive line in the emigration fleets, with aircraft carriers forming the second defense line. Additionally, a squadron of stealth frigates will operate as "pilot fish" for surveying routes and securing supplies ahead of an emigration fleet. Weighing just 1,200 metric tons and a length of 252.5 meters are nicked name Tin Cans for their lack of armor. The Star Destroyer weighs 40,000,000 Tons and 1,600 meters in length. The Johnston is faster than a Star Destroyer, but the Star Destroyer dwarfs the armament the Johnston. The Johnston's only hope is to launch its eight Anti-Ship Reaction Missiles from its four launchers.

The Johnston presses forwards to within missile range. Amazingly the shocked enemy gunners fail to score a single hit. Johnston's missile firing crew take aim. They must lead their target and estimate the time the missiles will take to hit their mark. On Captains Evans orders the missiles are launched. Each missile packs a huge punch with their reaction warheads. After the launch, the Johnston moves sharply away. The missiles fly at the target at 24696 kilometers per hour. The Star Destroyer is hit hard blowing its bow off crippling it and causing massive secondary explosions.

Owing to Captain Evans audacity one the Star Destroyers is out of commission in less than six minutes. The Johnston's triumph comes at a price. She is in range of another Star Destroyer. The Turbolasers plasma bolts slice right through the Johnstons deck and engine room. Her acceleration and speed were cut in half. Next plasma bolts from possibly the Annihilator's guns smash the bridge. To the crew of the Johnston, it felted as if the ship was picked up and shaken. The Empires shots paralyzed the four Twin 58mm Beam Gun Turrets. The decks are covered with blood and Captain Evans is seriously wounded but will not give up control of the ship. Captain Evans is forced to go to the secondary bridge, the main bridge is filled with gore and unimaginable carnage. Incredibly the damage control crews managed to establish power to half of the Gun Turrets. Captain Evans is determined to keep on fighting and the Johnston keeps on firing. The other NUNS ships prepare to engage with missile runs, while the brave pilots of Taffy 3 throw their lightly armed Valkyries against the heavily armed Star Destroyers of the Empire. The Valkyries had managed to break the Empires fighter screens. Several of the Empires fighters went Ghardaka II to support the invasion.

The battle that started out as a mismatch is now an outright war. The Valkyries from Taffy 3 take flight from their carriers to stop the annihilation of their ships. These fighters were armed to fight other fighters they do not have anti-ship reaction missiles. Their job was to stop the Empires massive ships running down their carriers like dogs on a highway. Pilot Richard Roby in his VF-171EX Super Nightmare Plus strafed Empires Star destroyers with his two Erikon AAB-9A beam cannons. He aimed at the Turbolasers. He believed if he put the turbolasers out business then the Star Destroyers would be out of business.

The Valkyries courageous efforts forced the Empires ships into defensive maneuvers. This break in the attack allows the Century FFM-796 and Amagi FFM-860 Northampton Class Stealth Space Frigates to launch a missile attack. Amagi missed their target but headed to the Annihilator. The Empires flagship turns hard to avoid the incoming threat.

From the cockpit of his VF-171EX Super Nightmare Plus, Richard Roby spots the retreating the Empires flagship and moves in with his micro-missiles. He started firing his missiles at the turbolasers but then started fire his missiles at the bridge because he was to close to the Turbolasers. He stopped firing when he ran out of missiles.

Surprisingly after the missile and Valkyrie attack, the Annihilator does not rejoin the fight. But the Empire's fleet still wields plenty of firepower. The Samuel B. Roberts Stealth Space Cruiser enters the fray. She heads out of a missile run on one of the Star Destroyers. The Samuel B. Roberts is a Stealth Space Cruiser The Stealth Space Cruiser is a small but powerful starship possessing excellent weaponry and speed. Although roughly the same size as a Northampton Class Frigate (being notably higher due to the more vertical design), the Stealth Space Cruiser has greater firepower and mass. She is armed with five 72mm beam gun turrets, six twin 58mm beam gun turrets, 24 (approx) x 20mm twin beam CIWS, and six anti-ship missile launchers (mounted within three ports per port/starboard sides of the forward bow).

As Samuel B. Roberts flys ahead her crew spots the Johnston limping back from her strike. The crew of the Samuel B. Roberts sees Captain Evans on the viewscreen at it steels their resolve. The crew all watched in amazement as Captain Evans was giving orders and as the ships passed they watched Captain Evans give their captain a quick salute.

Under the cover of the active stealth, they closed the distance with the Star Destroyer. The Star Destroyer started to turn its turbolaser turrets to the Samuel B. Roberts. One of the gunnery crewmembers could have sworn that the weapons were pointed at his head.

The Star Destroyer starts firing its turbolasers. The Samuel B. Roberts has moved so close and at a low angle that Turbolaser crews can't depress guns enough and the first plasma bolts pass above the Samuel B. Roberts. The Samuel B. Roberts then fires six anti-ship missiles they score a direct hit on the Star Destroyer and crippling it. The young crew of the Samuel B. Roberts started cheering like it was a baseball game. Then the Samuel B. Roberts lashes out with its beam guns. The Samuel B. Roberts started dueling with the Star Destroyer. Samuel B. Roberts gunners were aiming for the upperworks. For twenty minutes the Samuel B. Roberts slugged it out with adversaries over ten times their size. The Samuel B. Roberts shudders after serval devastating hits. The Samuel B. Roberts had lost several gun turrets and it was at this point the crew knew this was a fight to the finish.

The Samuel B. Roberts in furious last stand last few beam turrets fired and managed to set another Star Destroyers bridge on fire and knocked out a shield generator. Moments later more plasma bolts hit the Samuel B. Roberts opening a 10-meter hole in its side, causing several members of the crew to fly out into the vacuum of space. The ship was venting atmosphere and the reactors were going critical. Five minutes later the ship exploded.

The Tin Cans of Taffy 3 are succumbing to the withering firepower of Empire's armada. The battle to protect the Zentradi 33rd Naval/Marine Fleet base on Ghardaka II has been going on for two hours. Despite the heroic NUNS missile attacks the Empire manages to inflict heavy damage to one of Taffy 3's carriers. Now the Empire now turns its attention to the crippled carrier. The only ship in position to challenge the Imperial destroyers is the battered Johnston.

The Johnston open fires with its few remaining guns. Captain Evans orders the Johnston full speed ahead. Attempting to cross the T on the Imperial column. Crossing the T is a classic warfare tactic in which a warship crosses in front of a line of enemy ships, allowing the crossing ship to bring all their guns to bear while receiving fire from only the forward guns of the enemy.

But before Johnston Can cross the T the lead Star Destroyer turns sharply to starboard and the rest of the Star Destroyers follow. Captain Evans realized they were trying to take a shot with their Turbolasers at the carriers but their attack angle was bad. The Johnston had forced the Star Destroyers into a bad position and their shots had missed their mark.

Again the Johnston had saved the carriers again she pays the price. The Star Destroyers bare down on the Johnston. The Johnston staggers her fire against her attackers in a desperate but futile attempt to stave off the inevitable. A deadly barrage racks the Northampton Class Stealth Space Frigate. Finally, Johnston's damage engines falter and quit. She' dead in space. Enemy Star Destroyers incircle the ship and fire relentlessly. 2 hours and 45 minutes into the battle the Johnston explodes. But incredibly the Johnston and Taffy 3 had achieved the impossible.

Grand General Cassio Tagge ordered all but one of his Star Destroyers to return to the gate. That one Star Destroyer was to head planet side to support the invasion. Grand General Cassio Tagge was taken off guard by the damage his fleet had taken and wondered even if the Operation Dejarik was still viable.

Thanks to the courage of Taffy 3, the Empire's fleet had been repelled. The battle is over and David has felled Goliath. Taffy 3' victory had come at a terrible sacrifice, Guantánamo Class Stealth Carrier, two Northampton Class Stealth Space Frigates, and two Stealth Cruisers. More than 3,000 crewmen and pilots lost.


Author Notes


This battle is based off Battle of Leyte Gulf

This going to be a two-parter the next battle will be planetside


Northampton Class Stealth Space Frigate (2059)

Ship Type: stealth space frigate

Government: New U.N. Spacy

Manufacturer: unknown

Ship Class: Northampton

Ship Name: Bluenose, Macross 7 Fleet; Bolognese, Macross 7 Fleet; Bolognese 003, Macross 7 Fleet; Bolognese 005, Macross 7 Fleet; Bolognese 006, Macross 7 Fleet; Carla 009, Macross 7 Fleet; Lucy, Macross 7 Fleet; Stargazer, Macross 7 Fleet (destroyed February 2046); Glendale FFM-805, Macross Frontier Fleet; Amagi FFM-860, Macross Frontier Fleet; Century FFM-796, Macross Frontier Fleet; Eden FFM-810, Macross Frontier Fleet; Arc Broom FFM-832, Macross Frontier Fleet; Furious, Macross Frontier Fleet; Bluewhale FFM-866, Macross Frontier Fleet; Starline, Macross Frontier Fleet

Commission Date: unknown

Number of Class Commissioned: (large numbers) 9,000 as of 2045 (Macross Chronicle 2E Frontier Mechanic Sheet NUNS 06A)

Complement: unknown

Dimensions: length 252.5 meters; width 85.6 meters; height: 64.5 meters

Mass: standard operational displacement 1,200 metric tons

Structure: stealth composition; concealed hangars; sensor dome

Power Plant: General Galaxy impulse drive system

Main Machinery: main engine nozzle (circumference of main center aft hull); OTEC/Shinnakasu Fold system (gravitational field control system attachment); OverTechnology vernier thrusters

Max instantaneous acceleration during combat: 1.95 G+

Armament:

2 x 72mm Beam Gun Turret (one turret mounted front dorsal amidships, one turret mounted dorsal aft)

4 x Twin 58mm Beam Gun Turret (three turrets mounted dorsal/ventral prow, one turret mounted ventral aft)

18 x 20mm Twin Beam CIWS

4 x Anti-ship missile launcher

Space planes: unknown

Variable Mecha: approx 37 x VF-171 Nightmare Plus variable fighters


Stealth Space Cruiser

Ship Type: stealth space cruiser

Government: New U.N. Spacy

Manufacturer: unknown

Ship Class: unknown

Ship Name: unknown

Commission Date: unknown

Number of Class Commissioned: unknown

Complement: unknown

Dimensions: approx. length 250 meters

Mass: unknown

Structure: stealth composition

Power Plant: thermonuclear reaction engine

Main Machinery: OverTechnology main engine thruster; OverTechnology vernier thrusters, OverTechnology gravity control system; OverTechnology fold system

Armament:

5 (approx) x 72mm beam gun turrets

6 (approx) x twin 58mm beam gun turrets

24 (approx) x 20mm twin beam CIWS

6 (approx) x anti-ship missile launchers (mounted within three ports per port/starboard sides of the forward bow)

Space planes: unknown

Variable Mecha: unknown