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Chapter 1
Setting: Four months after the fall of Char.
* * * * *
General Jonathan Freeman stepped into the war room and saluted, "General Jonathan Freeman reporting as ordered, sir."
Admiral Joseph Steiner, the commander of the Terran Dominion Armed Forces, turned from the map table he had been studying, "At ease, General. Come in."
Freeman moved to the map table, "Sir, I would like to apologize for-"
"For what?" Steiner asked. "For holding out against the Zerg on Char for several months without reinforcement? For surviving the longest of any Terran base on Char? For taking on the combined might of the Jorgumand and Tiamat Broods and still managing to withdraw with a sizeable amount of your command left? No, General. No apology is needed. Your stand on Char bought us time, valuable time that we needed to salvage our situation. Still, the Zerg have taken several key worlds."
Steiner turned to point at several worlds on the map, "In their first wave, the Zerg took Köln, Avon, Sierra, and Bremen. Avon and Bremen are crucial mining and manufacturing worlds. We need you to take them back from the Zerg. I am placing you in command of the Third Fleet for this task. Avon will be your first target, as it is less heavily defended. You will then use Avon as a staging area to attack Bremen. You are authorized to use all available force to achieve your objectives, buy try to keep as many of the mining and manufacturing facilities intact as possible. Good luck. Dismissed."
Freeman saluted, "Yes, sir," and left for the spaceport.
* * * * *
A knock sounded at Thomas Blake's door. "Come in," he said, looking up from the report he was writing at the desk.
The door opened and a soldier walked in and handed him two envelopes. "Mail for you, sir," he said, then saluted and left the room.
Blake looked at them. Both letters were from General Freeman, his commander on Char. The first envelope contained a letter of commendation for his actions on Char, a promotion to Lieutenant, and new rank insignia. The second envelope contained documents for Blake's transfer to the Third Fleet's ground forces, to command a combined-arms platoon. It also contained orders to report to the Third Fleet's ground forces' staging area as soon as possible.
* * * * *
During the dropship ride up to the Third Fleet's massive command ship, the Mjollnir, Freeman had a good chance to look over the Fleet's impressive manifest. The Third Fleet consisted of twelve of the new Archangel-class battle cruisers, thirty-two of the standard Behemoth-class battle cruisers, fifty-six Talon-class frigates, sixteen Explorer science vessels, twenty-four Leviathan-class troopships, seventy-two squadrons of CF/A-17G wraiths, forty-eight squadrons of valkyries gunships equipped with the new seeker rockets, and sixteen squadrons of the brand-new Aesir interceptors.
The Archangel battle cruisers were a new design only recently put into battle. They were nearly three times as large as Behemoth battle cruisers and fairly bristled with laser cannons, missile launchers. They were equipped with new Yamato Gun technology, allowing them to select the power and spread of each shot, and even target multiple enemies at once. The power banks for the Yamato Gun had also been improved, allowing for a much greater rate and duration of fire. The Archangels were also equipped with shields, enabling them to take an incredible amount of punishment.
The Talon-class frigates were also a new ship, designed for both space and atmospheric combat. The Talons were designed with the Zerg in mind, and so were very nimble and well shielded. They were armed with arrays of pulse lasers, flak cannons, and fragmentation missile launchers to cause great damage among the masses of Zerg warriors and fliers.
The Leviathan troopships would transport the men, machines, and equipment of the Third Fleet's ground forces. Each one had enough space to carry a Terran combined-arms division, approximately four thousand soldiers, one hundred siege tanks, four hundred goliaths, and five hundred vulture scout bikes. They could land on a planet to disgorge their troops and machines, or they could ferry them down by using their five squadrons of dropships nestled on docking racks on the outside of the massive troopship.
Aesir interceptors were another new design. They were incredibly fast and maneuverable, were cloaked, shielded, and had modular weapon hardpoints, allowing for an incredible variety of weapons to be attached. They also had a massive pulse-emission fusion engine, allowing them to travel at blinding speeds for short periods of time.
Freeman finished reading the manifest as the dropship settled in one of the Mjollnir's auxiliary landing bays. A marine sergeant was waiting for him as he walked down the dropship's ramp.
"Welcome aboard, sir. Please follow me to the bridge. Admiral Moore has been expecting you."
"Lead the way soldier," Freeman replied, and followed the marine to the bridge.
* * * * *
"Welcome to the Mjollnir, General," Admiral Alan Moore's big hand engulfed Freeman's in a viselike grip. "I hope you'll find yourself at home for the next week or so as we travel to Avon."
"Thank you, Admiral," Freeman finally freed his hand. How soon will we be able to depart?"
"The last Leviathans are being loaded up now, they should join the Fleet in orbit in several hours."
"Good. So, you're going to be commanding the space forces while I direct the ground operations?" Freeman asked.
"Yes, that's correct. I'll try to give you mud-runners a little bit of help from above when I can spare it, though."
"Excellent. I look forward to kicking some Zergs' asses with you, Admiral.
* * * * *
Two hours later, the last Leviathans joined the Fleet. The entire Fleet immediately set course for Avon, the first counter-attack since the Zerg offensive.
Chapter 1
Setting: Four months after the fall of Char.
* * * * *
General Jonathan Freeman stepped into the war room and saluted, "General Jonathan Freeman reporting as ordered, sir."
Admiral Joseph Steiner, the commander of the Terran Dominion Armed Forces, turned from the map table he had been studying, "At ease, General. Come in."
Freeman moved to the map table, "Sir, I would like to apologize for-"
"For what?" Steiner asked. "For holding out against the Zerg on Char for several months without reinforcement? For surviving the longest of any Terran base on Char? For taking on the combined might of the Jorgumand and Tiamat Broods and still managing to withdraw with a sizeable amount of your command left? No, General. No apology is needed. Your stand on Char bought us time, valuable time that we needed to salvage our situation. Still, the Zerg have taken several key worlds."
Steiner turned to point at several worlds on the map, "In their first wave, the Zerg took Köln, Avon, Sierra, and Bremen. Avon and Bremen are crucial mining and manufacturing worlds. We need you to take them back from the Zerg. I am placing you in command of the Third Fleet for this task. Avon will be your first target, as it is less heavily defended. You will then use Avon as a staging area to attack Bremen. You are authorized to use all available force to achieve your objectives, buy try to keep as many of the mining and manufacturing facilities intact as possible. Good luck. Dismissed."
Freeman saluted, "Yes, sir," and left for the spaceport.
* * * * *
A knock sounded at Thomas Blake's door. "Come in," he said, looking up from the report he was writing at the desk.
The door opened and a soldier walked in and handed him two envelopes. "Mail for you, sir," he said, then saluted and left the room.
Blake looked at them. Both letters were from General Freeman, his commander on Char. The first envelope contained a letter of commendation for his actions on Char, a promotion to Lieutenant, and new rank insignia. The second envelope contained documents for Blake's transfer to the Third Fleet's ground forces, to command a combined-arms platoon. It also contained orders to report to the Third Fleet's ground forces' staging area as soon as possible.
* * * * *
During the dropship ride up to the Third Fleet's massive command ship, the Mjollnir, Freeman had a good chance to look over the Fleet's impressive manifest. The Third Fleet consisted of twelve of the new Archangel-class battle cruisers, thirty-two of the standard Behemoth-class battle cruisers, fifty-six Talon-class frigates, sixteen Explorer science vessels, twenty-four Leviathan-class troopships, seventy-two squadrons of CF/A-17G wraiths, forty-eight squadrons of valkyries gunships equipped with the new seeker rockets, and sixteen squadrons of the brand-new Aesir interceptors.
The Archangel battle cruisers were a new design only recently put into battle. They were nearly three times as large as Behemoth battle cruisers and fairly bristled with laser cannons, missile launchers. They were equipped with new Yamato Gun technology, allowing them to select the power and spread of each shot, and even target multiple enemies at once. The power banks for the Yamato Gun had also been improved, allowing for a much greater rate and duration of fire. The Archangels were also equipped with shields, enabling them to take an incredible amount of punishment.
The Talon-class frigates were also a new ship, designed for both space and atmospheric combat. The Talons were designed with the Zerg in mind, and so were very nimble and well shielded. They were armed with arrays of pulse lasers, flak cannons, and fragmentation missile launchers to cause great damage among the masses of Zerg warriors and fliers.
The Leviathan troopships would transport the men, machines, and equipment of the Third Fleet's ground forces. Each one had enough space to carry a Terran combined-arms division, approximately four thousand soldiers, one hundred siege tanks, four hundred goliaths, and five hundred vulture scout bikes. They could land on a planet to disgorge their troops and machines, or they could ferry them down by using their five squadrons of dropships nestled on docking racks on the outside of the massive troopship.
Aesir interceptors were another new design. They were incredibly fast and maneuverable, were cloaked, shielded, and had modular weapon hardpoints, allowing for an incredible variety of weapons to be attached. They also had a massive pulse-emission fusion engine, allowing them to travel at blinding speeds for short periods of time.
Freeman finished reading the manifest as the dropship settled in one of the Mjollnir's auxiliary landing bays. A marine sergeant was waiting for him as he walked down the dropship's ramp.
"Welcome aboard, sir. Please follow me to the bridge. Admiral Moore has been expecting you."
"Lead the way soldier," Freeman replied, and followed the marine to the bridge.
* * * * *
"Welcome to the Mjollnir, General," Admiral Alan Moore's big hand engulfed Freeman's in a viselike grip. "I hope you'll find yourself at home for the next week or so as we travel to Avon."
"Thank you, Admiral," Freeman finally freed his hand. How soon will we be able to depart?"
"The last Leviathans are being loaded up now, they should join the Fleet in orbit in several hours."
"Good. So, you're going to be commanding the space forces while I direct the ground operations?" Freeman asked.
"Yes, that's correct. I'll try to give you mud-runners a little bit of help from above when I can spare it, though."
"Excellent. I look forward to kicking some Zergs' asses with you, Admiral.
* * * * *
Two hours later, the last Leviathans joined the Fleet. The entire Fleet immediately set course for Avon, the first counter-attack since the Zerg offensive.