The Long War
Chapter Two: Armageddon Front
The Klingon Homeworld. A majestic world of massive monuments and ancient buildings, it was capital to one of the quadrant's great powers. A planet soon to wiped from the list of habitable worlds.
"High Chancellor, the fleet is assembled. We await your command." The words were heard on the inner command center of the Klingon flagship Quo'noS One.
"The plan is simple. You will lead the right flank; General Triq will command the left flank. General Kang will command the screen and I will lead the main formation. Do you understand, General Kor?" The Klingon Chancellor was an aging man with a regal demeanor, wearing an imposing suit of dark red. His eyes searched the face of Kor and found no fear or insubordination, only the determination to fight to the end.
The ships of the Klingon Empire had been defeated in battle after battle as the Romulan invaders poured across the border. The decision had been made; they would make one glorious stand and wipe the Romulan invaders off the face of the Klingon Empire or perish trying. It wasn't a subtle plan, but a very Klingon plan, and one that could very well work.
"I understand. Their fleet approaches, I will prepare my ships. Today is a good day to die." With that the battered face of Kor vanished. In the inner reaches of the Klingon home system a massive battle fleet took form. Over a hundred cruisers made up the central formation, with another two hundred frigates flitting among the large cruisers. This was a great sight; rarely was so much firepower gathered in one place. It was a sight to make a Klingon howl with pride. This group was not alone, though; three more fleets of similar composition made up the screen and flanks. Another four hundred winged frigates disappeared into cloak.
The main fleet would proceed decloaked; it was next to impossible to command such a large force when invisible to most sensors. To meet this armada of Klingon war craft were two hundred cruisers to the five hundred of the Klingons'. Four hundred destroyers guarded the flanks to stop a thousand Klingon frigates. The advantage would seem to go to the Klingons, if not for the sixty battleships clustered inside the Romulan fleet.
Across the vastness of space the two foes saw each other and took aim. Commands were given and the two fleets flung headlong at each other, both bent on the complete annihilation of the other. The Romulans made the first move.
One hundred of the small destroyers broke from the main body and dove straight at the tightly packed Klingon ships. The Romulans flew even closer together; those few small frail ships would usually last only seconds against the crushing weight of the Klingon ships. But this time the tight formation allowed them to link shields and create a single giant shield protecting all of the ships.
The possibility of joining the shields together had been known of for centuries, but in practice most considered it next to impossible. The formation had to be of incredible tightness and of perfect synchronization. The training soon proved worthwhile, though, as the tightly massed ball flew onwards. Disruptors and torpedoes snarled in from the outer ships but caused scant damage.
On command the hundred small ships moved almost as one, with the tight professional precision that was the trademark of the Romulan Empire. The ball spread out in to a massive concave disk formation. That formation vastly weakened the shielding of the destroyers, but it also allowed every one of the ships to have a clear shot straight at the heart of the central Klingon ships.
Space boiled with energy; every single ship let loose at once with a massive combined burst of plasma mortars. A hundred glowing mini-stars filled the space ahead of the Klingons. They had no room to maneuver and when the massive blasts hit, three dozen ships vaporized almost instantly, almost fifty ships were disabled and the remainder were damaged, many heavily.
Damage alarms screamed on the cruiser Quo'noS One. The High Chancellor could barely be heard above the din. "Contact General Chang, order him to press the attack, hit this group of ships first, then pick off the rest of the destroyers!"
The message was sent, but no response was given nor expected. The effect was soon seen though as the entire Romulan destroyer group that had just struck such a telling blow exploded in massive fireball as four hundred torpedos came out of nowhere, then another volley, then a third. The third volley was largely overkill; only a few crippled ships were left before they hit. Not a single ship was left alive after the fireballs had cleared.
The fury of that short battle was echoed in the face of High Admiral Jehrt, on his flagship the battleship Avenging Fire. "What happened? We detected no ships. How could they do this?!" Jehrt screamed at his advisors. None were foolish enough to answer. They knew he was only searching for an excuse to vent his rage on someone he could see.
"Lord Jehrt, I have a report from combat central. They believe the Klingons used cloaked ships and were somehow able to fire from within the cloaking field. They do not know how," a timid Centurion said as he delivered the report to the High Admiral.
Before Jehrt could reply, his ship was suddenly rocked from several torpedo explosions. "My displays show no ships. Order all vessels to change to defensive formation and to sweep the surrounding space with torpedos."
"As you order, My Lord, but we don't have enough launchers to saturate such a huge area, and even if we did we'd soon exhaust our torpedo supply."
Jehrt just stared condescendingly down at the young sub-officer before answering. "I know this, you fool. We will maintain the bombardment only long enough for all ships to fire eight salvos. That should get the barbarians thinking. We might even get a lucky kill."
When the main Klingon fleet saw the change in the Romulan formation, they ordered all remaining Birds of Prey to attack, not only just those who could fire from cloak. Kang swept in on the Romulans and vomited fire on the lesser Romulans ship, the cruisers and destroyers. Triq's force swept behind the Romulans and engaged the Battleship protecting the Romulan rear.
Kor hit them hard on the flank, ordering all of his ships to ignore the battleships. His cruisers rampaged among the destroyers as they forced their way through the Romulan fleet, bisecting it and then sweeping away to rendezvous with the primary force commanded by the Chancellor.
The Birds of Prey had made life very difficult for the Romulans, but soon enough they began to fall. Not easily and not quickly, but they did fall. They harassed the entire Romulan force as Triq tried to force his way to the front of the Romulan fleet.
Triq was only a third of the way there and yet two thirds of his fleet was gone. The new fleet lead by General Chang had caused immense damage in the first attack, but there wasn't enough of them to continue the attack. Birds of Prey simply didn't have the firepower or magazines to take out more than a few cruisers or a battleship. So he was ramming his way through the Romulans to meet up with Chancellor Gorkon's fleet.
No one truly believed they could destroy the Romulan fleet advancing on them, boasts to the contrary notwithstanding, but it was hoped that they could inflict enough damage to slow the Romulans enough for the fleets on the far side of the empire to reach the home system. Then the Romulans would face a reckoning.
"This is Gorkon to all ships. Discontinue all attacks and prepare to counter attack at point beta." Gorkon's words flooded all Klingon channels. Triq disengaged first, followed by Kor and Kang. The cloaked ships of General Chang covered the disengagement and then headed for the rendezvous point.
Chang's force was proceeding slowly towards the rendezvous point. His job was to cover the other ships and keep the Romulans from counter attacking. So far, it was working. So far. Then it all fell apart. At point beta, a new fleet of Romulan ships suddenly surrounded the Klingon fleet. Twice the size of the first fleet, there were also six examples of a new type of Dreadnought never seen before. The six dagger-shaped ships led the attack and killed, with the help of the smaller ships, every Klingon vessel.
Chang had no choice now; he ordered his ships to sweep the debris for survivors then to abandon the system. The battle was lost. "Warriors of Quo'noS, we have lost this battle but we have not lost the war. We will meet with the rest of the fleet and soon we will have revenge!" His warriors did not reply with words, but with a single cry. A Klingon cry of revenge, and blood.
"Captain Kirk, I have an incoming message on all subspace channels. It's from the Klingon capital system, yet it seems to be from the Romulans." Uhura trailed off; she knew full well what that meant.
Kirk stood quietly, saying only, "On screen." He sat back down in his command chair.
The screen showed the image of a Romulan male dressed in the uniform of a Romulan High Admiral. "I am High Admiral Jehrt. By order of the Senate and the Praetor, I have conquered the Klingon Empire. It is the destiny of Romulus to rule, and we will do so. But before we can rule we must pacify. I am about to teach the Klingon savages what it means to challenge the Romulan Star Empire." The view changed, showing Quo'noS surrounded by dozens of Romulan Battleships, Cruisers and Destroyers. Jehrt's voice then said one word: "Fire." There was no emotion as he said it; no hate, no anger, no sadness.
Every one of those hundreds of ships fired. Plasma mortars, disruptor beams and anti-matter explosives burned the planet apart. A planet that had been green with life was now black and red, the color of death. Where once ten billion Klingons had lived, now ten billion died. The oceans boiled, and the ground burned and melted. A millennia of civilization disappeared. And a trillion Klingons, on a thousand worlds, vowed vengeance.
Chapter Two: Armageddon Front
The Klingon Homeworld. A majestic world of massive monuments and ancient buildings, it was capital to one of the quadrant's great powers. A planet soon to wiped from the list of habitable worlds.
"High Chancellor, the fleet is assembled. We await your command." The words were heard on the inner command center of the Klingon flagship Quo'noS One.
"The plan is simple. You will lead the right flank; General Triq will command the left flank. General Kang will command the screen and I will lead the main formation. Do you understand, General Kor?" The Klingon Chancellor was an aging man with a regal demeanor, wearing an imposing suit of dark red. His eyes searched the face of Kor and found no fear or insubordination, only the determination to fight to the end.
The ships of the Klingon Empire had been defeated in battle after battle as the Romulan invaders poured across the border. The decision had been made; they would make one glorious stand and wipe the Romulan invaders off the face of the Klingon Empire or perish trying. It wasn't a subtle plan, but a very Klingon plan, and one that could very well work.
"I understand. Their fleet approaches, I will prepare my ships. Today is a good day to die." With that the battered face of Kor vanished. In the inner reaches of the Klingon home system a massive battle fleet took form. Over a hundred cruisers made up the central formation, with another two hundred frigates flitting among the large cruisers. This was a great sight; rarely was so much firepower gathered in one place. It was a sight to make a Klingon howl with pride. This group was not alone, though; three more fleets of similar composition made up the screen and flanks. Another four hundred winged frigates disappeared into cloak.
The main fleet would proceed decloaked; it was next to impossible to command such a large force when invisible to most sensors. To meet this armada of Klingon war craft were two hundred cruisers to the five hundred of the Klingons'. Four hundred destroyers guarded the flanks to stop a thousand Klingon frigates. The advantage would seem to go to the Klingons, if not for the sixty battleships clustered inside the Romulan fleet.
Across the vastness of space the two foes saw each other and took aim. Commands were given and the two fleets flung headlong at each other, both bent on the complete annihilation of the other. The Romulans made the first move.
One hundred of the small destroyers broke from the main body and dove straight at the tightly packed Klingon ships. The Romulans flew even closer together; those few small frail ships would usually last only seconds against the crushing weight of the Klingon ships. But this time the tight formation allowed them to link shields and create a single giant shield protecting all of the ships.
The possibility of joining the shields together had been known of for centuries, but in practice most considered it next to impossible. The formation had to be of incredible tightness and of perfect synchronization. The training soon proved worthwhile, though, as the tightly massed ball flew onwards. Disruptors and torpedoes snarled in from the outer ships but caused scant damage.
On command the hundred small ships moved almost as one, with the tight professional precision that was the trademark of the Romulan Empire. The ball spread out in to a massive concave disk formation. That formation vastly weakened the shielding of the destroyers, but it also allowed every one of the ships to have a clear shot straight at the heart of the central Klingon ships.
Space boiled with energy; every single ship let loose at once with a massive combined burst of plasma mortars. A hundred glowing mini-stars filled the space ahead of the Klingons. They had no room to maneuver and when the massive blasts hit, three dozen ships vaporized almost instantly, almost fifty ships were disabled and the remainder were damaged, many heavily.
Damage alarms screamed on the cruiser Quo'noS One. The High Chancellor could barely be heard above the din. "Contact General Chang, order him to press the attack, hit this group of ships first, then pick off the rest of the destroyers!"
The message was sent, but no response was given nor expected. The effect was soon seen though as the entire Romulan destroyer group that had just struck such a telling blow exploded in massive fireball as four hundred torpedos came out of nowhere, then another volley, then a third. The third volley was largely overkill; only a few crippled ships were left before they hit. Not a single ship was left alive after the fireballs had cleared.
The fury of that short battle was echoed in the face of High Admiral Jehrt, on his flagship the battleship Avenging Fire. "What happened? We detected no ships. How could they do this?!" Jehrt screamed at his advisors. None were foolish enough to answer. They knew he was only searching for an excuse to vent his rage on someone he could see.
"Lord Jehrt, I have a report from combat central. They believe the Klingons used cloaked ships and were somehow able to fire from within the cloaking field. They do not know how," a timid Centurion said as he delivered the report to the High Admiral.
Before Jehrt could reply, his ship was suddenly rocked from several torpedo explosions. "My displays show no ships. Order all vessels to change to defensive formation and to sweep the surrounding space with torpedos."
"As you order, My Lord, but we don't have enough launchers to saturate such a huge area, and even if we did we'd soon exhaust our torpedo supply."
Jehrt just stared condescendingly down at the young sub-officer before answering. "I know this, you fool. We will maintain the bombardment only long enough for all ships to fire eight salvos. That should get the barbarians thinking. We might even get a lucky kill."
When the main Klingon fleet saw the change in the Romulan formation, they ordered all remaining Birds of Prey to attack, not only just those who could fire from cloak. Kang swept in on the Romulans and vomited fire on the lesser Romulans ship, the cruisers and destroyers. Triq's force swept behind the Romulans and engaged the Battleship protecting the Romulan rear.
Kor hit them hard on the flank, ordering all of his ships to ignore the battleships. His cruisers rampaged among the destroyers as they forced their way through the Romulan fleet, bisecting it and then sweeping away to rendezvous with the primary force commanded by the Chancellor.
The Birds of Prey had made life very difficult for the Romulans, but soon enough they began to fall. Not easily and not quickly, but they did fall. They harassed the entire Romulan force as Triq tried to force his way to the front of the Romulan fleet.
Triq was only a third of the way there and yet two thirds of his fleet was gone. The new fleet lead by General Chang had caused immense damage in the first attack, but there wasn't enough of them to continue the attack. Birds of Prey simply didn't have the firepower or magazines to take out more than a few cruisers or a battleship. So he was ramming his way through the Romulans to meet up with Chancellor Gorkon's fleet.
No one truly believed they could destroy the Romulan fleet advancing on them, boasts to the contrary notwithstanding, but it was hoped that they could inflict enough damage to slow the Romulans enough for the fleets on the far side of the empire to reach the home system. Then the Romulans would face a reckoning.
"This is Gorkon to all ships. Discontinue all attacks and prepare to counter attack at point beta." Gorkon's words flooded all Klingon channels. Triq disengaged first, followed by Kor and Kang. The cloaked ships of General Chang covered the disengagement and then headed for the rendezvous point.
Chang's force was proceeding slowly towards the rendezvous point. His job was to cover the other ships and keep the Romulans from counter attacking. So far, it was working. So far. Then it all fell apart. At point beta, a new fleet of Romulan ships suddenly surrounded the Klingon fleet. Twice the size of the first fleet, there were also six examples of a new type of Dreadnought never seen before. The six dagger-shaped ships led the attack and killed, with the help of the smaller ships, every Klingon vessel.
Chang had no choice now; he ordered his ships to sweep the debris for survivors then to abandon the system. The battle was lost. "Warriors of Quo'noS, we have lost this battle but we have not lost the war. We will meet with the rest of the fleet and soon we will have revenge!" His warriors did not reply with words, but with a single cry. A Klingon cry of revenge, and blood.
"Captain Kirk, I have an incoming message on all subspace channels. It's from the Klingon capital system, yet it seems to be from the Romulans." Uhura trailed off; she knew full well what that meant.
Kirk stood quietly, saying only, "On screen." He sat back down in his command chair.
The screen showed the image of a Romulan male dressed in the uniform of a Romulan High Admiral. "I am High Admiral Jehrt. By order of the Senate and the Praetor, I have conquered the Klingon Empire. It is the destiny of Romulus to rule, and we will do so. But before we can rule we must pacify. I am about to teach the Klingon savages what it means to challenge the Romulan Star Empire." The view changed, showing Quo'noS surrounded by dozens of Romulan Battleships, Cruisers and Destroyers. Jehrt's voice then said one word: "Fire." There was no emotion as he said it; no hate, no anger, no sadness.
Every one of those hundreds of ships fired. Plasma mortars, disruptor beams and anti-matter explosives burned the planet apart. A planet that had been green with life was now black and red, the color of death. Where once ten billion Klingons had lived, now ten billion died. The oceans boiled, and the ground burned and melted. A millennia of civilization disappeared. And a trillion Klingons, on a thousand worlds, vowed vengeance.