Commonscape
By: Griffin
Copyright notice: All characters belong to their respective owners, all
original characters and plot elements belong to me.
Note: Most of the Andromeda crew is current as far as about 2 months ago. Farscape crew is quite a bit older.
Summary: The Coalition strikes back at the Scarrens for the Battle of Jeris.
Counter-Strike
High Fleet Admiral Jerin Orais, Chief of Naval Operations for the Peacekeeper fleet, frowned as he watched the clock count down to the launch of Operation End-Run.
The plan was a combination of plans hatched by himself and Ivar Nirant during a brain-storming session.
It was a rather simple plan when one looked at it, but that simplicity was the key to its success.
He accessed the operational plans on his tactical grid and frowned as the operation played out on his screen.
He had deployed 4th fleet to attack the Scarren Empire. But instead of hitting at the front door, where the patrols and pickets would be heaviest, Jerin had directed the fleet to the edge of Scarren space, over two weeks away from the nearest Peacekeeper base.
Task Forces four-point-one, four-point-two, four-point-three, four-point- four and four-point-five were all targeted at a different, frontier system. The result would be that they would each have enough ships to overrun the estimated pickets, but still spread their attack wide enough to make a dent.
If all went as planned, the ships could regroup and hold off any counter attacks while reinforcements from 7th fleet made the trip. A base on the edge of Scarren space would force the Empire to reshuffle their defensive plans to protect another side of their territory.
That was, of course, assuming that everything went as it was supposed to.
* * * * * *
Vice Admiral Chang Tasri leaned back in her command chair and frowned deeply.
As Commanding Officer of Task Force Four-Point-Two, Chang was in charge of the attack on the frontier mining colony of Mipar-Eleven. The picket in the Mipar system was estimated at as a squadron of battle cruisers and the accompanying light warship escorts.
Her task force, lead by her Command Cruiser flagship Rising Sun, consisted of two squadrons of battle cruisers, seven squadrons of heavy and light cruisers, two flotillas of destroyers and a squadron of Mark-Nine troop transports, each carrying a battalion of one-thousand Peacekeeper marines.
The Mipar-Eleven colony was notorious for its guerilla militias and the large number of Charrid soldiers positioned on the planet to keep the natives in line.
The colony consisted of ninety percent native Miparans, a race that seemed to be born to mine from the earth. Their stout black bodies could carry well over three times their weight, making them perfect haulers, and their extremely good night-sight allowed them to see in even the darkest mines.
The planet was not devastatingly important to control, but the flow of Miparan minerals would be a boost to the Peacekeeper economy and shipyards.
A chime sounded somewhere on the bridge and Chang looked up to see the face of Admiral Mercedes Varin, Commanding Officer of Fourth Fleet. The screen split to show Vice Admiral Ashan'Is of the Scorvian task force Four-Point- Three and the Nebari Admiral Terison Klias, leading TF Four-Point-Four. Lord Admiral Erisar Reilon of the Hynerian task force Four-Point-Five was the last face to appear.
"Admirals, estimates put us thirty arns out from our targets. We will be entering patrol range in twenty-five arns. By that time you should be rigged for silent running and ready to launch your attacks." The admiral paused. "This Operation should be rather simple, and when we complete our objectives, we will likely be tapped to lead the attack further into Scarren space, so have your fleets ready at a moment's notice. Good luck."
The screen went black and Chang nodded. Good Luck indeed.
* * * * * *
At the outbreak of war, the Scarren Fleet Command had deployed its border fleets across the face of the Empire.
The 5th Frontier Fleet had been deployed to the space in which the Coalition was attacking.
Admiral Perin split his six dreadnaughts, three squadrons of battle cruisers, eight squadrons of heavy and light cruisers and flotilla of destroyers across five systems. Each system had one destroyer and a half squadron of battle cruisers. His flagship, the Mighty Predator was on a constantly rotating patrol, moving from system to system.
The Predator was in transit when the attack from the Coalition came.
All four Coalition fleets hit within an hour of each other. The result was devastating.
* * * * * *
Admiral Mercedes Varin smiled as her ships crossed from deep space into the system of Ilitar, a mid-sized commerce planet that was the hub of activity for the sector. The Ilitar system was the seat of the Sector Governor; extra funds had been diverted to the system to build better space fortresses.
But there wouldn't be nearly enough ships to protect the system from her attack.
"First readings are coming in," Commander Alestar Retel reported from Flag Tactical.
"What've we got?" Mercedes asked as she steepled her fingers under her chin.
"Looks like a single dreadnaught and five battle cruisers. Even lighter than we had estimated."
"Good. Communications, order the fleet to precede with battle plan Ango- Three and activate defense screens." The com officer nodded and passed the orders.
Ango-Three was a limited engagement that tried to prevent large amounts of damage to the fleet before it completed its mission. The ships would move within range of the Capitol frag cannons and remain at the edge of range to lessen the damage the Scarren plasma cannons could inflict.
"All ships acknowledged," the com-officer nodded.
"Good," Mercedes said, mostly to herself, as the fleet moved in-system.
* * * * * *
Commodore Arnas frowned as her tactical officer reported the numbers of enemy ships.
A command cruiser with two-and-a-half squadrons of battle cruisers, eight squadrons of cruisers, two flotillas of destroyers and a half squadron of troop transports.
Arnas growled as she paced the command deck of the dreadnaught Fury. She knew that she had very little chance of surviving if she attacked, but she would be executed if she just retreated.
Her only option was to attack and hope that she got lucky.
"All ships, prepare to attack enemy fleet. All ships will make best speed to boarding range. I want some Peacekeeper heads on my desk by morning."
Arnas frowned as her ships formed up for the suicide charge. At least this way they would do some damage before they died. Their plasma cannons would be spitting fire as soon as they hit range, and Arnas intended to have her guns firing as many rounds as she could manage without overheating the barrels.
Her dreadnaught and battle cruisers would target the Coalition's flagship as they attacked; a Peacekeeper Command Cruiser was a huge investment of resources, time and personnel. She just hoped that the armored behemoth would succumb to the damage her ships hoped to lay upon it.
* * * * * *
"Admiral, the Scarren forces are turning," Alestar reported on the Virtuosity's bridge.
"Course?" Mercedes asked with a frown.
"They seem to be turning for a charge," Alestar reported as data flowed into his console.
"Order all ships to prepare for such an event. As soon as they enter weapons range, I want every possible frag cannon brought to bear. Order the battle cruisers to focus fire on the Scarren capitol ships."
"Aye, ma'am," Lieutenant Commander Frena Vargray said from her position at Flag Communications.
"I'm going to go get into my vac-suit," Mercedes said as she stood and stepped into her briefing room.
As she put on the vacuum suit, Mercedes tried to decide what she was going to do with the Scarrens if they tried to charge and ram her ships. Hopefully her ships would destroy the Scarrens before they reached that point, but it was always a possibility that one of the Scarrens would have enough power left to hit one of her capitol ships.
Mercedes pulled back her long red hair into a ponytail; her helmet wouldn't fit right otherwise, and stepped back onto the Flag Bridge.
"Status?" She asked as she retook her seat.
"Quarter-arn until we enter weapons range. Scarren ships are charging their plasma cannons. It looks like they are going to try to do as much damage as they can before we take them out," Alestar reported with a slight frown.
"Order all ships to double their energy flow to forward defense screens. I want to make sure we take as little damage as we can manage. If any ships begin to lose their screens, I want them to pull back behind someone who still does." Mercedes frowned. "And I want all frag cannons loaded with armor-piercing rounds."
Heads nodded around the Flag Bridge as both sides prepared for battle to be joined.
* * * * * *
What seemed like an eternity later, but in reality was only about fifteen minutes, the first fire flashed from both sides.
Scarren plasma cannons had a slightly greater range than Peacekeeper frag cannons, but Commodore Arnas knew that at extended range, the plasma would do very little to the defense screens of the Peacekeeper ships.
So both sides opened fire at the same time.
Because of the nature of their weapons, the Scarren ships scored the first hits. Plasma rounds traveled at just below light speed, frag cannons did not.
Lightning flashed along the defense screens of the Peacekeeper fleet as plasma rounds exploded. Defense Screen generated groaned as they redirected energy to compensate for the damage.
Another volley erupted from the Scarren ships, the plasma bolts flashing across empty space and slamming once more into Defense Screens. Circuits flashed aboard several destroyers as portions of their defense screens went off-line momentarily.
And then the frag shells hit.
Armor-piercing Peacekeeper frag shells were a powerful foe. Their tips burrowed into the armor of their targets, exploding only after the sensors on their tips met atmosphere.
Explosions marked the Scarren picket as dozens of frag shells burrowed into armor and detonated. Scarren ships trailed atmosphere and debris, but the damage was lighter than expected. And none of the ships had lost any of their plasma turrets.
Another volley of plasma flashed from the barrels of the Scarren guns and Mercedes growled as several of those rounds slammed through defense screens and into armor. A light cruiser bucked as a plasma round slammed into her side, destroying one of her frag cannons and tearing a gaping wound in her side.
Scarren warships heaved as another volley of frag rounds slammed into their armor. Only this time, the rounds were standard, and every single round exploded on contact. Scarren cruisers and destroyers trailed debris and atmosphere as holes were torn into their sides.
The Scarren dreadnaught Fury bucked and shuddered as over two dozen frag shells impacted on her hull. A pair of plasma cannons exploded brilliantly as frag shells slammed into their unarmored barrels.
Commodore Arnas was thrown from her command chair as a frag shell found a hole left by a predecessor and buried itself in the hull of the dreadnaught. The shell exploded and tore an even greater hole in the side of the ship, forcing one of the four power plants to go into emergency shut down.
Captains throughout both sides tried to maneuver their vessels to minimize the damage done by the other side's attacks. But when the forces were so large, there wasn't much room to move.
It was only a matter of time before ships starting exploding under enemy fire.
The first such ship was a Scarren heavy cruiser, the Dominant Hand, which had the misfortune of being targeted by four Peacekeeper battle cruisers at the same time. The result was a barrage of forty frag shells hitting the ship at the same time.
Scarren heavy cruisers were tough ships, built to be the work horse of the fleet. They were constructed of the best materials and could withstand a fair amount of fire before the collapsed. But forty capitol sized frag shells were more than the Hand could deal with.
The pair of fusion reactors the powered the cruiser went into emergency shut down. But before all of the reactor mass could be jettisoned, half a dozen frag shells exploded in close proximity.
The result was a brilliant flash and an expanding cloud of fury.
Other ships soon followed suit as armor was torn away and defense screens were overloaded.
* * * * * *
"We just lost the Sanctus!" Alestar reported as the Virtuosity shuddered with another frag volley.
"Frell!" Mercedes growled as she looked her holo-grid over.
The Sanctus was one of her leading battle cruisers, one of the new class warships built for fighting Scarrens. The battle cruiser joined a dozen and a half other Peacekeeper vessels in destruction. And more would join them soon.
The two fleets were almost within pulse cannon range, where the battle would be even. But the Scarrens were hurting, more so than she was. They had lost four of their battle cruisers, the two that remained were heavily damaged and their dreadnaught was trailing atmosphere and debris from over two dozen points on her hull. Their lighter warships were being torn apart by Peacekeeper frag shells and there were few that remained active.
There were, however, enough ships to make Mercedes life hell if she didn't take them out before they reached pulse cannon range.
"All ships, new fire plan. Focus all fire on battle cruiser alpha. When alpha pops, go for beta and then for the dreadnaught and then spread fire on the lighter warships," Mercedes ordered with a growl. "Maybe those captains will run without their heavy guns."
The Peacekeeper frag cannons turned in unison to target the most damaged of the Scarren battle cruisers. In a single moment hundreds of frag shells leapt from the barrels of their cannons and into space. And moments later those frag shells reached their target.
The ripple of hundreds of explosions shook the battle cruiser. Dozens of rounds slammed through the crumpled armored hide of the warship and exploded inside, tearing the vessel apart from the inside out.
The three power plants exploded in unison, leaving nothing of the battle cruiser to be found.
And in that moment, Commodore Arnas knew that there was no way her ships would reach pulse range. They would be decimated long before that.
And in that split second, she made a decision that would perhaps change her forever.
She gave up her warrior heritage. She knew it would not serve her in this fight. It would only get her killed.
"Transmit surrender, and order all ships to stand down!" She ordered, and the communications officer acted with trained efficiency.
And in that moment, the battle for Ilitar ended.
* * * * * *
The battle for Mipar-Eleven had gone even better than the fight for Ilitar. The Scarren commanding officer did not have the foresight to surrender. Neither did he have the intelligence to attempt a charge into pulse cannon range.
He had kept his ships at maximum range, trying to avoid the damage that a close-range battle with frag cannons would do. The result was that his ships were torn apart by frag volley after frag volley, all the while his plasma rounds were absorbed by defense screens and not a single shot got through to hit the Peacekeeper armor.
But the battle for space had been expected to be easy in the Mipar system. It was the battle for the planet itself that was to be the hard part.
Twelve thousand Peacekeeper marines, four regiments of the best trained ground soldiers in that part of the galaxy targeted at the Charrid fortresses and the Miparan bases that supported them.
The natives, in general, supported their masters. The planet had been run by the Scarrens for over five hundred cycles, and no one had challenged that rule in over four centuries.
There were a few isolated pockets of Miparans that rose up and took control of their fortifications, but they had to focus on holding those positions. The Peacekeepers would have to do the fighting.
* * * * * *
Sizer Regiment was the first group to hit the surface of Mipar Eleven. They had located one of the resistant Miparan bases and used that location for a landing point.
The Miparan leader welcomed the Peacekeeper forces with open arms, and was very eager to get them moving on the nearby Charrid fortress.
The Charrid had artillery batteries that would open fire on the Miparan base as soon as they realized that the base was not under their control.
General Orias Ilmarae frowned as she looked out over the plains that separated the two bases. There were trenches cut into the terrain and more than a few foxholes.
Orias looked out over the space between the two bases with her monoculars and frowned.
"All right," she said turning to her battalion commanders. "Ango will take the lead up the center. Bekar will take the left flank and Canor with take the right. We're going to have some trouble with their fox holes up front, but I think that once we get our artillery in place we will be able to pound some holes."
"Ma'am," Ango Battalion's Colonel frowned as her looked over the terrain.
"Yes, Bikal?" Orias asked with a matching frown.
"I'm seeing quite a few locations where we are gonna get bogged down. It looks like they have dug several of those trenches to create kill boxes. They lead straight into enemy foxholes," Colonel Bikal Urint reported.
"I saw the same thing. That is why you are going to be taking blasting charges to dig your own trenches. It will keep them off guard. And besides, they are Charrids, not Scarrens. They are not nearly as hard to kill."
Heads nodded and Orias frowned.
"If there are no other questions, let's get to work. Artillery is expected to land in about an arn, once we have a perimeter established. Talis and Predan regiments are expected to land soon after that at two other resistance locations. Vice Admiral Tasri wants this planet under control inside of six arns from now."
The colonels saluted and hurried off to direct their companies to battle. Each battalion had four companies of trained marines. And each of those companies would face the heat of enemy fire before the day was up.
* * * * * *
Officer Tiam Polas smiled slightly as he looked down the field at his objective.
Ango Company, Ango Battalion, was ordered to take a pair of foxholes right in the middle of the battle field, halfway to the Charrid fortress. The location would be the site of an artillery team once the heavy guns landed, used to fire on the fortress to help cover the advance of the marines.
But he had to take the foxholes first.
His four sub-officers, each leading a platoon of his troops, had already received their orders. Second and Fourth platoons would lead, Third and Fifth would flank and First would move in reserve, out of direct fire of the enemy.
"All units in position," Sub-Officer Nirea reported from her position as Second Platoon's commanding officer. "We are ready to roll."
"This is Ango Company to Battalion Command; we are in position and ready to roll. Do you copy?"
"Copy that, Ango. Boss says to roll 'em up."
"Roger that, we're rolling." Tiam switched to the company com-band. "All right, grunts, let's hit it!"
Two-hundred-and-fifty Peacekeeper marines moved forward, carefully keeping out of sight of the Charrid gunners. Once the first rounds were fired, all hell would break loose on the battlefield. And Tiam fully intended to be the one controlling that hell.
* * * * * *
Soldier Granis ti-Larnas looked down the field from his position in the foxhole. He pressed his eye to the scope on his long-range pulse rifle and nodded to his commander.
There were Sebatians moving toward their location. But they were being smart about it, keeping out of sight as much as they could manage.
"Sebatians," he hissed. "Many."
"Kill them," Granis' commander ordered.
Granis nodded and looked down the sight of his gun. The gun was a special model, meant to be used in such a situation. Granis could take out a target at twice the distance of the other Charrids.
It was an honor to be given one of the sniper posts in any Charrid detachment. It was a sign that you were an excellent shot and could be trusted to make decisions on a moment's notice.
Granis looked for stripes. A mark the Peacekeepers used to mark officers. Over the years he had come to recognize what the different marks meant. He searched for the four stripes that would be the leader of the troops. But all he could see were two three-stripes. They were the next level of officer. Sub-officers, the Peacekeepers called them.
He looked down his scope again and took one of the sub-officers into his sight.
His target was wearing heavy body armor, meant to protect against Charrid pulse rifles. But Granis' weapon had a much more powerful round than standard rifles; it had to because of the range at which it could be used.
Granis brought the Sebatian into sight and followed the crest on the man's chest. It was the mark of his regiment, where he belonged in the Peacekeeper military. And it was a perfect target.
* * * * * *
Sub-Officer Temas lead Third Platoon across the ugly terrain that separated the Charrid fortress from the Miparan base.
It was a rocky, uneven terrain that did not lend itself to a charge en masse.
Perhaps that was the point.
"Let's go, Ladies," Temas growled over his com to his platoon. "We aren't going to bust Charrid skulls if we don't pick up the pace. Ferin, why don't you."
Temas was interrupted by the crack of pulse rifle. The force of the round slammed him to the deck, mud splashing as he hit.
The platoon medic scrambled down the trench and hit the mud beside the Sub- Officer.
"He's okay!" The Medic reported. "Armor took the hit."
Temas frowned as he felt the chest plate of his armor and put his finger into the still warm hole that the pulse round had created.
"This is Temas, we have sniper fire!" He snapped as he stood up in the trench. "Estimate it to be from the fox holes."
"Copy that, Second Platoon," Officer Polas reported. "Get as close as you can through the trenches and then start digging your way into mortar range. Maybe you can take them out before you have to use your rifles."
"Acknowledged," Temas said as he cut the com.
"Use the trenches to get as close as we can and then dig our way to mortar range," Temas told his troops. "Let's get moving."
* * * * * *
Mortar shells rained down on the pair of foxholes that had been dug to protect the outer perimeter of the Charrid fortress.
The Charrid troops inside fled as high explosive rounds slammed down on them from Peacekeeper Marines.
Peacekeeper artillery rolled into the trenches, using the paths widened by the marines to reach their firing positions.
Four thirty millimeter cannons were anchored into the hard soil and heavy explosive rounds were loaded into their barrels.
The crack of artillery fire echoed across the field and moments later the distinctive thud of rounds hitting home could be heard.
Explosions rippled along the Charrid artillery batteries as Peacekeeper rounds found ammo stashes and tore them to pieces.
The battle for Mipar was over. All that was left was the clean up and the counter-attack from the Scarrens.
Note: Most of the Andromeda crew is current as far as about 2 months ago. Farscape crew is quite a bit older.
Summary: The Coalition strikes back at the Scarrens for the Battle of Jeris.
Counter-Strike
High Fleet Admiral Jerin Orais, Chief of Naval Operations for the Peacekeeper fleet, frowned as he watched the clock count down to the launch of Operation End-Run.
The plan was a combination of plans hatched by himself and Ivar Nirant during a brain-storming session.
It was a rather simple plan when one looked at it, but that simplicity was the key to its success.
He accessed the operational plans on his tactical grid and frowned as the operation played out on his screen.
He had deployed 4th fleet to attack the Scarren Empire. But instead of hitting at the front door, where the patrols and pickets would be heaviest, Jerin had directed the fleet to the edge of Scarren space, over two weeks away from the nearest Peacekeeper base.
Task Forces four-point-one, four-point-two, four-point-three, four-point- four and four-point-five were all targeted at a different, frontier system. The result would be that they would each have enough ships to overrun the estimated pickets, but still spread their attack wide enough to make a dent.
If all went as planned, the ships could regroup and hold off any counter attacks while reinforcements from 7th fleet made the trip. A base on the edge of Scarren space would force the Empire to reshuffle their defensive plans to protect another side of their territory.
That was, of course, assuming that everything went as it was supposed to.
* * * * * *
Vice Admiral Chang Tasri leaned back in her command chair and frowned deeply.
As Commanding Officer of Task Force Four-Point-Two, Chang was in charge of the attack on the frontier mining colony of Mipar-Eleven. The picket in the Mipar system was estimated at as a squadron of battle cruisers and the accompanying light warship escorts.
Her task force, lead by her Command Cruiser flagship Rising Sun, consisted of two squadrons of battle cruisers, seven squadrons of heavy and light cruisers, two flotillas of destroyers and a squadron of Mark-Nine troop transports, each carrying a battalion of one-thousand Peacekeeper marines.
The Mipar-Eleven colony was notorious for its guerilla militias and the large number of Charrid soldiers positioned on the planet to keep the natives in line.
The colony consisted of ninety percent native Miparans, a race that seemed to be born to mine from the earth. Their stout black bodies could carry well over three times their weight, making them perfect haulers, and their extremely good night-sight allowed them to see in even the darkest mines.
The planet was not devastatingly important to control, but the flow of Miparan minerals would be a boost to the Peacekeeper economy and shipyards.
A chime sounded somewhere on the bridge and Chang looked up to see the face of Admiral Mercedes Varin, Commanding Officer of Fourth Fleet. The screen split to show Vice Admiral Ashan'Is of the Scorvian task force Four-Point- Three and the Nebari Admiral Terison Klias, leading TF Four-Point-Four. Lord Admiral Erisar Reilon of the Hynerian task force Four-Point-Five was the last face to appear.
"Admirals, estimates put us thirty arns out from our targets. We will be entering patrol range in twenty-five arns. By that time you should be rigged for silent running and ready to launch your attacks." The admiral paused. "This Operation should be rather simple, and when we complete our objectives, we will likely be tapped to lead the attack further into Scarren space, so have your fleets ready at a moment's notice. Good luck."
The screen went black and Chang nodded. Good Luck indeed.
* * * * * *
At the outbreak of war, the Scarren Fleet Command had deployed its border fleets across the face of the Empire.
The 5th Frontier Fleet had been deployed to the space in which the Coalition was attacking.
Admiral Perin split his six dreadnaughts, three squadrons of battle cruisers, eight squadrons of heavy and light cruisers and flotilla of destroyers across five systems. Each system had one destroyer and a half squadron of battle cruisers. His flagship, the Mighty Predator was on a constantly rotating patrol, moving from system to system.
The Predator was in transit when the attack from the Coalition came.
All four Coalition fleets hit within an hour of each other. The result was devastating.
* * * * * *
Admiral Mercedes Varin smiled as her ships crossed from deep space into the system of Ilitar, a mid-sized commerce planet that was the hub of activity for the sector. The Ilitar system was the seat of the Sector Governor; extra funds had been diverted to the system to build better space fortresses.
But there wouldn't be nearly enough ships to protect the system from her attack.
"First readings are coming in," Commander Alestar Retel reported from Flag Tactical.
"What've we got?" Mercedes asked as she steepled her fingers under her chin.
"Looks like a single dreadnaught and five battle cruisers. Even lighter than we had estimated."
"Good. Communications, order the fleet to precede with battle plan Ango- Three and activate defense screens." The com officer nodded and passed the orders.
Ango-Three was a limited engagement that tried to prevent large amounts of damage to the fleet before it completed its mission. The ships would move within range of the Capitol frag cannons and remain at the edge of range to lessen the damage the Scarren plasma cannons could inflict.
"All ships acknowledged," the com-officer nodded.
"Good," Mercedes said, mostly to herself, as the fleet moved in-system.
* * * * * *
Commodore Arnas frowned as her tactical officer reported the numbers of enemy ships.
A command cruiser with two-and-a-half squadrons of battle cruisers, eight squadrons of cruisers, two flotillas of destroyers and a half squadron of troop transports.
Arnas growled as she paced the command deck of the dreadnaught Fury. She knew that she had very little chance of surviving if she attacked, but she would be executed if she just retreated.
Her only option was to attack and hope that she got lucky.
"All ships, prepare to attack enemy fleet. All ships will make best speed to boarding range. I want some Peacekeeper heads on my desk by morning."
Arnas frowned as her ships formed up for the suicide charge. At least this way they would do some damage before they died. Their plasma cannons would be spitting fire as soon as they hit range, and Arnas intended to have her guns firing as many rounds as she could manage without overheating the barrels.
Her dreadnaught and battle cruisers would target the Coalition's flagship as they attacked; a Peacekeeper Command Cruiser was a huge investment of resources, time and personnel. She just hoped that the armored behemoth would succumb to the damage her ships hoped to lay upon it.
* * * * * *
"Admiral, the Scarren forces are turning," Alestar reported on the Virtuosity's bridge.
"Course?" Mercedes asked with a frown.
"They seem to be turning for a charge," Alestar reported as data flowed into his console.
"Order all ships to prepare for such an event. As soon as they enter weapons range, I want every possible frag cannon brought to bear. Order the battle cruisers to focus fire on the Scarren capitol ships."
"Aye, ma'am," Lieutenant Commander Frena Vargray said from her position at Flag Communications.
"I'm going to go get into my vac-suit," Mercedes said as she stood and stepped into her briefing room.
As she put on the vacuum suit, Mercedes tried to decide what she was going to do with the Scarrens if they tried to charge and ram her ships. Hopefully her ships would destroy the Scarrens before they reached that point, but it was always a possibility that one of the Scarrens would have enough power left to hit one of her capitol ships.
Mercedes pulled back her long red hair into a ponytail; her helmet wouldn't fit right otherwise, and stepped back onto the Flag Bridge.
"Status?" She asked as she retook her seat.
"Quarter-arn until we enter weapons range. Scarren ships are charging their plasma cannons. It looks like they are going to try to do as much damage as they can before we take them out," Alestar reported with a slight frown.
"Order all ships to double their energy flow to forward defense screens. I want to make sure we take as little damage as we can manage. If any ships begin to lose their screens, I want them to pull back behind someone who still does." Mercedes frowned. "And I want all frag cannons loaded with armor-piercing rounds."
Heads nodded around the Flag Bridge as both sides prepared for battle to be joined.
* * * * * *
What seemed like an eternity later, but in reality was only about fifteen minutes, the first fire flashed from both sides.
Scarren plasma cannons had a slightly greater range than Peacekeeper frag cannons, but Commodore Arnas knew that at extended range, the plasma would do very little to the defense screens of the Peacekeeper ships.
So both sides opened fire at the same time.
Because of the nature of their weapons, the Scarren ships scored the first hits. Plasma rounds traveled at just below light speed, frag cannons did not.
Lightning flashed along the defense screens of the Peacekeeper fleet as plasma rounds exploded. Defense Screen generated groaned as they redirected energy to compensate for the damage.
Another volley erupted from the Scarren ships, the plasma bolts flashing across empty space and slamming once more into Defense Screens. Circuits flashed aboard several destroyers as portions of their defense screens went off-line momentarily.
And then the frag shells hit.
Armor-piercing Peacekeeper frag shells were a powerful foe. Their tips burrowed into the armor of their targets, exploding only after the sensors on their tips met atmosphere.
Explosions marked the Scarren picket as dozens of frag shells burrowed into armor and detonated. Scarren ships trailed atmosphere and debris, but the damage was lighter than expected. And none of the ships had lost any of their plasma turrets.
Another volley of plasma flashed from the barrels of the Scarren guns and Mercedes growled as several of those rounds slammed through defense screens and into armor. A light cruiser bucked as a plasma round slammed into her side, destroying one of her frag cannons and tearing a gaping wound in her side.
Scarren warships heaved as another volley of frag rounds slammed into their armor. Only this time, the rounds were standard, and every single round exploded on contact. Scarren cruisers and destroyers trailed debris and atmosphere as holes were torn into their sides.
The Scarren dreadnaught Fury bucked and shuddered as over two dozen frag shells impacted on her hull. A pair of plasma cannons exploded brilliantly as frag shells slammed into their unarmored barrels.
Commodore Arnas was thrown from her command chair as a frag shell found a hole left by a predecessor and buried itself in the hull of the dreadnaught. The shell exploded and tore an even greater hole in the side of the ship, forcing one of the four power plants to go into emergency shut down.
Captains throughout both sides tried to maneuver their vessels to minimize the damage done by the other side's attacks. But when the forces were so large, there wasn't much room to move.
It was only a matter of time before ships starting exploding under enemy fire.
The first such ship was a Scarren heavy cruiser, the Dominant Hand, which had the misfortune of being targeted by four Peacekeeper battle cruisers at the same time. The result was a barrage of forty frag shells hitting the ship at the same time.
Scarren heavy cruisers were tough ships, built to be the work horse of the fleet. They were constructed of the best materials and could withstand a fair amount of fire before the collapsed. But forty capitol sized frag shells were more than the Hand could deal with.
The pair of fusion reactors the powered the cruiser went into emergency shut down. But before all of the reactor mass could be jettisoned, half a dozen frag shells exploded in close proximity.
The result was a brilliant flash and an expanding cloud of fury.
Other ships soon followed suit as armor was torn away and defense screens were overloaded.
* * * * * *
"We just lost the Sanctus!" Alestar reported as the Virtuosity shuddered with another frag volley.
"Frell!" Mercedes growled as she looked her holo-grid over.
The Sanctus was one of her leading battle cruisers, one of the new class warships built for fighting Scarrens. The battle cruiser joined a dozen and a half other Peacekeeper vessels in destruction. And more would join them soon.
The two fleets were almost within pulse cannon range, where the battle would be even. But the Scarrens were hurting, more so than she was. They had lost four of their battle cruisers, the two that remained were heavily damaged and their dreadnaught was trailing atmosphere and debris from over two dozen points on her hull. Their lighter warships were being torn apart by Peacekeeper frag shells and there were few that remained active.
There were, however, enough ships to make Mercedes life hell if she didn't take them out before they reached pulse cannon range.
"All ships, new fire plan. Focus all fire on battle cruiser alpha. When alpha pops, go for beta and then for the dreadnaught and then spread fire on the lighter warships," Mercedes ordered with a growl. "Maybe those captains will run without their heavy guns."
The Peacekeeper frag cannons turned in unison to target the most damaged of the Scarren battle cruisers. In a single moment hundreds of frag shells leapt from the barrels of their cannons and into space. And moments later those frag shells reached their target.
The ripple of hundreds of explosions shook the battle cruiser. Dozens of rounds slammed through the crumpled armored hide of the warship and exploded inside, tearing the vessel apart from the inside out.
The three power plants exploded in unison, leaving nothing of the battle cruiser to be found.
And in that moment, Commodore Arnas knew that there was no way her ships would reach pulse range. They would be decimated long before that.
And in that split second, she made a decision that would perhaps change her forever.
She gave up her warrior heritage. She knew it would not serve her in this fight. It would only get her killed.
"Transmit surrender, and order all ships to stand down!" She ordered, and the communications officer acted with trained efficiency.
And in that moment, the battle for Ilitar ended.
* * * * * *
The battle for Mipar-Eleven had gone even better than the fight for Ilitar. The Scarren commanding officer did not have the foresight to surrender. Neither did he have the intelligence to attempt a charge into pulse cannon range.
He had kept his ships at maximum range, trying to avoid the damage that a close-range battle with frag cannons would do. The result was that his ships were torn apart by frag volley after frag volley, all the while his plasma rounds were absorbed by defense screens and not a single shot got through to hit the Peacekeeper armor.
But the battle for space had been expected to be easy in the Mipar system. It was the battle for the planet itself that was to be the hard part.
Twelve thousand Peacekeeper marines, four regiments of the best trained ground soldiers in that part of the galaxy targeted at the Charrid fortresses and the Miparan bases that supported them.
The natives, in general, supported their masters. The planet had been run by the Scarrens for over five hundred cycles, and no one had challenged that rule in over four centuries.
There were a few isolated pockets of Miparans that rose up and took control of their fortifications, but they had to focus on holding those positions. The Peacekeepers would have to do the fighting.
* * * * * *
Sizer Regiment was the first group to hit the surface of Mipar Eleven. They had located one of the resistant Miparan bases and used that location for a landing point.
The Miparan leader welcomed the Peacekeeper forces with open arms, and was very eager to get them moving on the nearby Charrid fortress.
The Charrid had artillery batteries that would open fire on the Miparan base as soon as they realized that the base was not under their control.
General Orias Ilmarae frowned as she looked out over the plains that separated the two bases. There were trenches cut into the terrain and more than a few foxholes.
Orias looked out over the space between the two bases with her monoculars and frowned.
"All right," she said turning to her battalion commanders. "Ango will take the lead up the center. Bekar will take the left flank and Canor with take the right. We're going to have some trouble with their fox holes up front, but I think that once we get our artillery in place we will be able to pound some holes."
"Ma'am," Ango Battalion's Colonel frowned as her looked over the terrain.
"Yes, Bikal?" Orias asked with a matching frown.
"I'm seeing quite a few locations where we are gonna get bogged down. It looks like they have dug several of those trenches to create kill boxes. They lead straight into enemy foxholes," Colonel Bikal Urint reported.
"I saw the same thing. That is why you are going to be taking blasting charges to dig your own trenches. It will keep them off guard. And besides, they are Charrids, not Scarrens. They are not nearly as hard to kill."
Heads nodded and Orias frowned.
"If there are no other questions, let's get to work. Artillery is expected to land in about an arn, once we have a perimeter established. Talis and Predan regiments are expected to land soon after that at two other resistance locations. Vice Admiral Tasri wants this planet under control inside of six arns from now."
The colonels saluted and hurried off to direct their companies to battle. Each battalion had four companies of trained marines. And each of those companies would face the heat of enemy fire before the day was up.
* * * * * *
Officer Tiam Polas smiled slightly as he looked down the field at his objective.
Ango Company, Ango Battalion, was ordered to take a pair of foxholes right in the middle of the battle field, halfway to the Charrid fortress. The location would be the site of an artillery team once the heavy guns landed, used to fire on the fortress to help cover the advance of the marines.
But he had to take the foxholes first.
His four sub-officers, each leading a platoon of his troops, had already received their orders. Second and Fourth platoons would lead, Third and Fifth would flank and First would move in reserve, out of direct fire of the enemy.
"All units in position," Sub-Officer Nirea reported from her position as Second Platoon's commanding officer. "We are ready to roll."
"This is Ango Company to Battalion Command; we are in position and ready to roll. Do you copy?"
"Copy that, Ango. Boss says to roll 'em up."
"Roger that, we're rolling." Tiam switched to the company com-band. "All right, grunts, let's hit it!"
Two-hundred-and-fifty Peacekeeper marines moved forward, carefully keeping out of sight of the Charrid gunners. Once the first rounds were fired, all hell would break loose on the battlefield. And Tiam fully intended to be the one controlling that hell.
* * * * * *
Soldier Granis ti-Larnas looked down the field from his position in the foxhole. He pressed his eye to the scope on his long-range pulse rifle and nodded to his commander.
There were Sebatians moving toward their location. But they were being smart about it, keeping out of sight as much as they could manage.
"Sebatians," he hissed. "Many."
"Kill them," Granis' commander ordered.
Granis nodded and looked down the sight of his gun. The gun was a special model, meant to be used in such a situation. Granis could take out a target at twice the distance of the other Charrids.
It was an honor to be given one of the sniper posts in any Charrid detachment. It was a sign that you were an excellent shot and could be trusted to make decisions on a moment's notice.
Granis looked for stripes. A mark the Peacekeepers used to mark officers. Over the years he had come to recognize what the different marks meant. He searched for the four stripes that would be the leader of the troops. But all he could see were two three-stripes. They were the next level of officer. Sub-officers, the Peacekeepers called them.
He looked down his scope again and took one of the sub-officers into his sight.
His target was wearing heavy body armor, meant to protect against Charrid pulse rifles. But Granis' weapon had a much more powerful round than standard rifles; it had to because of the range at which it could be used.
Granis brought the Sebatian into sight and followed the crest on the man's chest. It was the mark of his regiment, where he belonged in the Peacekeeper military. And it was a perfect target.
* * * * * *
Sub-Officer Temas lead Third Platoon across the ugly terrain that separated the Charrid fortress from the Miparan base.
It was a rocky, uneven terrain that did not lend itself to a charge en masse.
Perhaps that was the point.
"Let's go, Ladies," Temas growled over his com to his platoon. "We aren't going to bust Charrid skulls if we don't pick up the pace. Ferin, why don't you."
Temas was interrupted by the crack of pulse rifle. The force of the round slammed him to the deck, mud splashing as he hit.
The platoon medic scrambled down the trench and hit the mud beside the Sub- Officer.
"He's okay!" The Medic reported. "Armor took the hit."
Temas frowned as he felt the chest plate of his armor and put his finger into the still warm hole that the pulse round had created.
"This is Temas, we have sniper fire!" He snapped as he stood up in the trench. "Estimate it to be from the fox holes."
"Copy that, Second Platoon," Officer Polas reported. "Get as close as you can through the trenches and then start digging your way into mortar range. Maybe you can take them out before you have to use your rifles."
"Acknowledged," Temas said as he cut the com.
"Use the trenches to get as close as we can and then dig our way to mortar range," Temas told his troops. "Let's get moving."
* * * * * *
Mortar shells rained down on the pair of foxholes that had been dug to protect the outer perimeter of the Charrid fortress.
The Charrid troops inside fled as high explosive rounds slammed down on them from Peacekeeper Marines.
Peacekeeper artillery rolled into the trenches, using the paths widened by the marines to reach their firing positions.
Four thirty millimeter cannons were anchored into the hard soil and heavy explosive rounds were loaded into their barrels.
The crack of artillery fire echoed across the field and moments later the distinctive thud of rounds hitting home could be heard.
Explosions rippled along the Charrid artillery batteries as Peacekeeper rounds found ammo stashes and tore them to pieces.
The battle for Mipar was over. All that was left was the clean up and the counter-attack from the Scarrens.
