1-3-2157 0300 hours (Alliance standard calendar)
HWS Peace Keeper
Dreadnought
Command Deck
Admiral Adras Servius stood on the command bridge of the dreadnought Peace Keeper and nodded to himself. Like any proud turian, his stance was graceful, yet strong, radiating an atmosphere of patience and authority. He had his talons crossed behind his back, watching the scene beyond calmly, quietly, simply waiting patiently for the journey to end… or begin as it were.
At his command were over a million soldiers, and two hundred combat star ships - all centered around his dreadnought. His purpose: a mandate from the Hierarchy, to deal with the startling situation that had arisen. While it had taken longer than he had expected to assemble the forces necessary for the punitive expedition, the quality of his forces were well worth the wait. All were combat trained from numerous peacekeeping operations throughout Citadel space. He was confident in the professionalism of his troops, and all of them understood the importance of this endeavor. It was a pleasure to have such an experienced fighting force at his talons, though he wasn't pleased about the mission he'd been given, nor was he pleased at how he had to take the trip.
The disappearance of the Hegemony's 16th fleet had sparked great concern among many Hierarchy military leaders, all of them debating behind closed doors. Servius had been surprised when he learned the public had not, and would not, be informed of the crisis. Such actions were rather unusual, but not unheard of. The Hierarchy had undertaken similar actions in the past, particularly when the safety of the Citadel was at stake – although how a rouge batarian fleet consisted as a threat to the mighty station was beyond him. Great measures had been taken to ensure a cover-story for Servius' expedition. Grudgingly, he had to admit the wisdom in that at least; any leaks or public panic would have greatly undermined this operation.
Prior to the fleet's arrival into the system, Servius had ordered a portion of the corvettes, dedicated to scouting, ahead to conduct reconnaissance for the bulk of the fleet. When the corvette flotillas had arrived to the target system two days ahead of the main fleet, they'd immediately begun broadcasting. While the system was vacant of any activity, his corvettes had reported and confirmed the worst possible scenario: a dormant Relay had been activated. The news had briefly surprised the turians before their quick professionalism had kicked in. Once the intelligence had been relayed, Servius had ordered his corvettes to hide until the rest of the fleet arrived. Nothing had occurred for two days until his corvettes had reported an entire batarian slaver fleet dropping out of FTL, proceeding to the now active Relay, and then having the sheer audacity to use it.
The complete disregard for Council law angered Servius greatly, but he didn't allow his emotions to cloud his judgment. Logically, his corvettes could do nothing to such a fleet, and so he ordered them to stand down and not engage the batarians under any circumstances. Following standard protocol, Servius had informed the Council of the situation and had received orders to follow the batarians across the Relay. These were the previous events that had accumulated into the current scenario: a fleet built to punish, travelling into the unknown, facing the spirits knew what.
'Probably not Rachni, though,' he thought. 'Batarians are greedy and manipulative, but not stupid. No batarian would risk himself for an uncertain prize. That means some resource had been discovered, something great enough to warrant a broaching of the Accords.'
Servius looked around the command bridge; it was fully staffed in preparation of the Relay jump. The entire fleet was readied for combat, weapons loaded and kinetic barriers fully charged. It was standard doctrine for every turian fleet to be so prepared for combat at a moment's notice. It was this militaristic and disciplined nature that allowed the Hierarchy to push back the krogans during the Rebellions and what had subsequently earned them a seat on the Council.
"Admiral, we'll be arriving at the target system momentarily. All ships are combat ready and are awaiting further orders." The ship's executive officer reported, looking up from the array of communications. That particular officer had stood out among the rest, despite being seated with the others in the amphitheater styled command room; not because of his expertise or clan mark, but rather because of his lineage, and position.
"Very good, Major Victus. Have all stations stand by for possible attack at FTL deceleration." Servius ordered, momentarily turning his head to address the officer.
"Absolutely, Admiral." Victus replied. He seemed easily able to ignore the usual circumstances.
Servius had to hold back a smile when he eyed his subordinate. Victus was not only a high ranking officer, but he was also in charge of the ground forces, meaning it was all the more unusual for Victus to be performing the duties of a minor naval ensign.
Servius had found the young man to be an exceptionally strong leader, very popular among his men, and above all else a dedicated turian. Victus wouldn't rest unless there was nothing more he could do to serve the Hierarchy. It was for this commitment that Servius had chosen to overlook the ethics of Victus' tactics, described by a turian General to be clever, but highly unorthodox. In Servius' mind, it was this kind of unpredictability that would allow the Hierarchy to obtain an advantage over the Hegemony in more ways than just numbers and firepower.
As Servius' attention was returned to the empty void, he rubbed the railings of his ship with affection. After four decades of serving with the ship, he had thought of it as part of his family. Multiple officers and crewmembers had come and gone, but he and the Peace Keeper had always remained a pair. The ship was a testament to turian military might, being one of the oldest dreadnoughts in the turian fleet. While the design of the massive ships hadn't changed in centuries, the Peace Keeper was special in his eyes. Despite not having the performance, or countermeasures as those of the salarians and asari, the old reliable dreadnought was unmatched in pure reliability.
Measuring at a length of 1.9km, the Peace Keeper was an oddity in every sense of the word. The length barely reached the minimum required to be classified as a dreadnought, but the ship boasted unusually large thrusters for a vessel of its caliber. It gave it an instinctive advantage in speed and maneuvering over its rivals. The weapon mounts were recessed so deep within the armor that they were protected from everything expect for a direct impact from enemy fire. The other critical aspect of the Peace Keeper was its offensive staying power. While it maintained the classic Mass Accelerator Cannon found on all ships, it was among the first to receive a secondary one as well.
Advances in particle accelerator technology, in terms of power management, acceleration, and insulation, had paved the way for the construction of the Mk. 1 Particle Accelerator Cannon in 2120. Using circular accelerators, protons were continuously accelerated until they reach a sufficient speed with high kinetic energy before being projected out of the cannon onto an unfortunate enemy vessel. The Peace Keeper, then a brand new dreadnought, was selected amongst very few others to wield this potent weapon into battle.
Only sixty dreadnoughts were successfully reconfigured to maintain and operate a secondary cannon, mostly due to budget cuts. Unfortunately, like every other reconfigured dreadnought, the ship's range had to be consequently shortened and two new generators had to be installed to provide the necessary power for its additional weapon. The ship also had to discharge much more frequently than a regular dreadnought, limiting its combat endurance.
While the salarians had managed to address many of these problems, managing to outfit their interceptors with a much less powerful partical cannon as their main weapon, they were still horrifically expensive. As things were, the Hierarchy was more than satisfied with the hardware they had. Still these minor issues didn't take away from the ship's destructive capabilities. In fact the Peace Keeper resembled more of a floating fortress than an actual ship. The sheer amount of heavy armor plating on its hull gave off a menacing sight, especially with the scars of multiple disruptor torpedo impacts on her exterior hull, the marks of victories she had earned.
As the Admiral stood and waited, he could feel the slight tension ratcheting up among his bridge crew. The shifting movements, and glances between crewmembers as they waited increased in frequency, eyes glued to the countdown clocks. Servius could sympathize; turians were men of action not slothful creatures like the asari.
"Has the entire fleet signaled their readiness?"
"Yes, Admiral. All ships are prepped and ready. Relay jump in five…," Came the words from the helmsman. His face was pointed at the countdown clock and was announcing what everyone in the command bridge already knew. But it was procedure, no matter how redundant it was at the moment.
The Admiral's thoughts ended as the HWS Peace Keeper dropped out from FTL with the rest of the fleet. As planned, the fleet was in a wedge formation, corvettes and frigates spanning out to form a rear-guard for the fleet while the rest of the ships provided them cover. It was a perfect formation that had been practiced and drilled numerous times. Cruisers formed up in a defensive half-sphere in front of the heart of the formation, weapons primed to engage any fighters or disruptor torpedoes that might be launched.
Within this screening force, the main bulk of the battle line was organized into a massive damaging force. At its center was the Peace Keeper with a clear line of sight in all directions. Its location allowed the massive 950,000 ton dreadnought to be able to pour heavy long range fire in any direction, easily able to disrupt even the thickest of enemy formations. Around the core of his ship, were the battle cruisers and heavy cruisers. These would provide the bulk of the fleet's firepower.
The battle cruisers weighed in at 430,000 tons each, and were at least a kilometer long. They maintained the classical predatory look turian ships were famous for, with their wings providing additional maneuvering, secondary batteries, and defense emplacements. Along with the massive firepower provided by the battle cruisers, the 139,000 ton heavy cruisers brought their own degree of firepower to the engagement. Their vast ordnance of Disruptor torpedoes and Thanix missiles could easily gut heavier vessels, provided they could close range for them to be effective. They formed up in a defensive sphere as well, prepared to maneuver on targets of opportunity that the Admiral identified. It was a formidable strike force, and Servius watched it form in perfect order on the tactical holo-display with extreme pride.
However, despite their immense training no turian could ever be prepared for what was about to unfold. Plunged across over a vast distance, the comparatively small turian fleet dropped out of FTL… and they were met with a shocking sight. Hundreds of vessels loitered in the deep reaches of space, viciously tearing each other apart over what appeared to be a garden world. Servius could see the many derelict husks of destroyed vessels, clear signs of the deadly battle raging on. What was more shocking was how one side clearly displayed the classic designs of the Hegemony while the other… the other did not match any known Citadel signatures.
'Spirits! Just what is going on here!?' Inwardly, Servius was absolutely stunned by the scene. From a legal perspective, the number of laws in violation from one quick glance were too numerous to list. Despite his inner struggle, Servius maintained a composed posture, that of a turian Admiral, giving no indication of his true feelings.
Before even having to ask, his crew quickly got to work. The holographic display in front of him changed status, updating from the initial scans. With knowledge from years of both intensive study and costly field experience, Servius distilled the situation into a manageable sum. Looking at the situation, it was clear the Hegemony was in violation of countless Citadel conventions, mostly egregious the activation of a dormant Mass Relay and morally, the attempted subjugation of a newly discovered race.
"Sir, we have batarian ships inbound. The rest of the fleet is already selecting out targets," Victus announced.
Servius simply nodded. "Excellent. How long do we have before we are in effective weapons range?"
"Approximately fifty seconds if our calculations are correct." Commander Vyrnnus replied.
"That should be more than enough. Follow standard procedure and hail the batarians ships. Warn them to either lay down their arms and surrender or be destroyed." Servius switched focus, scanning the panels before him. While he easily realized the batarians would have no intention of surrendering, it was Citadel policy to give any criminals a chance to surrender peacefully. As a turian, he was obligated to follow the rules and set an example for his men. Still, just because he had to follow standard procedure didn't mean he couldn't make preparations to deal with the approaching threat.
Victus could only nod in response, knowing the symbolic traits his race was known for. "Sir, what of the unknown race?"
"Order all ships to focus fire on the batarian fleet. If they come under fire from the unknowns, they are authorized to return warning shots. If at all possible I want to avoid antagonizing this new race." It was an atypical approach, but one Servius had been able to formulate with an eye to the future.
"But, sir if they open-"
"As far as they know, we – for all intents and purposes – may be allies of the batarians. Keep in mind they wouldn't be a hundred percent wrong with that train of logic," A growl in his voice quieted the room. "While I highly disagree with any rash actions this new race may undertake, the fact remains that they are ignorant of both the Hierarchy and the Council, and by extension its laws. Considering their First Contact was with the Hegemony I cannot fault them for being overly cautious. If we can avoid more bloodshed I wish to do so."
At that precise moment, alarms started ringing.
HSS Superiority
Dreadnought
Command Deck
Admiral Guri' Ban was, unsurprisingly, not having a good day. As he had predicted, the humans had arrived in force. They had emerged with almost the same amount of ships as that idiot Toren, who had finally received his just rewards. While the humans had emerged victorious, they had suffered considerable losses, but still posed a threat, though his mines had performed excellently in slowing them down. Luckily they were more inclined to relief their own kind on their precious colony then pursuing him. Whatever pathetic remains of the pirate fleet were left would give him enough time to escape.
His plan had worked off perfectly, both ridding himself of the unbearable lieutenant commander and delaying the humans long enough for him to mount an escape … or so he had hoped. Unfortunately, the Relay in front of him began powering up without his signal.
Merely seconds earlier, the early warning sensor net had detected a series of emission build-ups typically associated with a ship entering a system-based Relay. Given the high readings, it was clear the numbers of ships was quite large. Ban didn't need to look at his sensors to confirm what his eyes were telling him. His predictions were once again proven correct when a fleet exited through the Relay, the ships showcasing the trade mark designs of the Hierarchy.
Ban growled, this new development would cause ripples in his escape but thankfully he still retained the numerical advantage.
"Admiral! Turian fleet is assuming defensive posture!" Ib-ba reported, verbally announcing all critical information. "They've also issued a warning to surrender or be destroyed."
Ban had to resist rolling his eyes. 'Do those rejects of nature always keep a stick up their arses?' Even in sight of the obvious, the turians were insistent on conducting their mission according to the rules of the Council. It was one of the reasons he was able to routinely evade them, using their sense of honor and strict interpretation of rules against them to gain victory in a naval battle, or avoid one altogether. Turians may have held the reputation for being the single most powerful military in the galaxy, but they were incredibly inept at adapting to different scenarios.
"Send our reply with the main gun," Ban answered. True superiority was taken, not surrendered.
Quickly, he analyzed the turian's fleet composition, noting the incredibly low numbers for such a thing. His ship's sensors could only read one dreadnought, giving him the advantage in 2:1 odds. His fleet outnumbered the turian's in all areas, from dreadnoughts all the way down to corvettes. For the moment, Ban was grateful the turians failed to send anymore ships or else the situation would have been rather difficult.
He turned to his first officer. "Commander! Order the Black Diamond to take position on our starboard side and match our speed. I don't want the turians robbing us of our advantage in the event the worst comes to pass."
"Yes, sir," Gonu replied. Like Garack and many others loyal to the Hegemony, he'd been evacuated from Shanxi, along with their valuable cargo. Thousands of pirates had been left for dead in many parts of the world, left to fend for themselves against hopeless odds. Such was the price of treason against Ban, and especially the gross incompetence they had shown.
As the officer rapidly transmitted his instructions, Ban allowed himself a glance at the main holo-screen. He saw the turians were quickly forming up in front of the Relay, making a formidable blockade.
His observation was confirmed a moment later. "Sir, the turians are moving into a defensive formation. It seems the birds are finally using their nut-sized brain and realize we have no intention to surrender. Intelligent, for a two-eye."
"It appears so," Ban replied. It seemed even the turians were capable of pleasant surprises. "Fire when ready." That simple phrase was enough to cause yet another battle in an already war-torn region of space. Ban's ship jolted backward, the recoil mitigated by the immense power of the ships thrusters as a slug rushed forward to meet the turian blockade.
The round rammed into the turian formation, cutting through it like a knife. The rest of the fleet opened fire, erupting continuous tides of mass accelerator fire from their cannons as they closed the distance. Rather than maneuver, the lead turian ships took the brunt of their attack, letting their strong barriers soak up much of the damage. Already their main cannons flared, signaling the turians' intent to kill.
Within seconds all turian battle cruisers opened fire, sending a storm of fire towards the batarian fleet. Many forward batarian ships turned hard, using their looser formation to their advantage. One battle cruiser lit up the sensors, multiple slugs from the turian fleet easily dropping her barriers and tearing through her armor. Ban thanked the Pillars, that the rest of his remaining battle cruisers had escaped unscathed. The turian response hardly counted as adequate, given that so many of his own ships had reported no structural damage. The turian missile salvo had also been lackluster at best, with many of his frigates and even a few of his corvettes intercepting the majority with no damage. Even with the lack of concentrated point defenses, many batarian ships had seen their barriers failed to drop to three quarters of their initial strength.
"Sir, fleet is reporting incoming wolf-packs and fighter squadrons!" An ensign yelled.
Ban glanced to the tac-screen, the onboard VI verifying the ensign's statement. It puzzled him for a moment … then it became clear. 'The turians don't want to destroy or even land hits on my fleet, they were just giving cover.' He gritted his teeth, he should have seen through the turian commander's ploy. 'He is skilled. Better leave as quickly as possible.'
Ban took his command seat, delivering orders as he did so. "Weapons, concentrate all auxiliary power to GARDIAN batteries. Load all tubes with munitions and disburse the payloads along our course. Bring our main gun to full power and lock in as many possible firing solutions as the computers can handle, but do not fire until I give the command."
The Superiority's deck vibrated to life under Ban's feet as his officers sprang to their duties. As they did so, the first turian fighters closed within weapons range of his ship. The Superiority's lateral point defense turrets flared as they began targeting the Armiger fighters while the GARDIAN lasers were held on reserve. It was easier to deal with the fighters, since Ban's fleet had extensively analyzed the weapons, formations, and speed of the human's spacecraft, creating new tactics for dealing with such pests. Such newfound skills would greatly be put to the test against the turians' spacecraft.
Ban watched the fighters approach, keenly interested in how the newly refined fighter defenses would play out. Turians were the best in the business, but his crew had experience on their side.
The blackness of space was illuminated with pickets of light as the first few squadrons of Armigers were quickly blasted into the void. The remaining flights scattered like moths, each trying to slip past his fleet's defensive fire. Ban watched as a turian squadron managed to dive past the defensive barrage, moving underneath his ship to rake her underside. Through a screen, he watched them deploy their missiles in a barrage worthy of their courage. The ship shook as its barriers absorbed much of the damage.
Ban grabbed the arms of his chair to steady himself. "Damage control?"
"Kinetic barriers are at eighty-five percent and holding," Lieutenant Fenra' Ordak said, looking up from her terminal. Unlike most of the crew, she had been a recent transfer to supplement the Superiority's minor losses. "No breaches have been reported and hull integrity is at peak condition."
"That may change soon," Gunnery Officer Darell Maral stated. Like Ordak, he too had been a recent transfer to man the ship's weapons. "The frigates aren't as lightly armed and we have a wolf-pack coming in on an attack run."
"Activate the decoys and fire one missile volley," Ban ordered.
"Aye, sir."
The pack of turian frigates moved in, ascending vertically to avoid the barrage of death being unleashed by both fleets, before nose diving and hitting the batarian fleet from above. The turian ships began to slow as one, their feathered designs resembling graceful and deadly avian predators hovering over prey. It was a sight that made Ban smile to himself; the turians may have been aggressive predators once, but he was the apex predator on the battlefield. Victory was within reach, if he had the strength to grasp it.
Once in range, the frigates began engaging with fast, light mass accelerators, firing in tandem to maintain a constant stream of fire. Disruptor torpedoes were launched from their forward tubes soon after the light mass accelerators, many being intercepted by GARDIAN defenses, but a few managing to slam against the Superiority's hull. A shimmer of orange lighting demonstrated that the batarian dreadnought's barrier had yet to fall. However, other vessels were not as fortunate. The twenty kilotons of firepower from each turian frigate used in combination with hundreds of Disruptor torpedoes obliterated one already damaged light cruiser, five frigates, and ten corvettes.
In return, the Superiority's defense turrets spat fire while her decoys were activated. Ban could only imagine the look on the turian captains' faces as their targeting solutions were suddenly thrown off. Ban's however maintained a lock. He eyed the tactical VI, watching it as it adjusted the probably trajectory of his payload for the position of the enemy frigates. Once satisfied, he gave the order to fire, his eyes not once leaving the display. Like all batarian dreadnoughts, the Superiority maintained twenty pods, each packing a payload of thirty Javelin missiles, on her top decks just for this type of scenario.
Maral jammed the command switch so hard it was possible he had broken it. Throughout the Superiority's deck, a series of dull thumbs vibrated as sixty Javelin missiles were launched. The missiles speared through the chaff field, the crew watching in suspense as they neared the four frigates. In seconds, the missiles struck. The first two frigates had been hit near their aft, the concussive payloads disabling their engines. The other two had managed to barrel out of the way, utilizing their defenses and speed to maneuver out of the kill box. The change in vector altered their pursuit patterns though, forcing them to fall back in the chaos engulfing the area, leaving their two brethren behind.
"Path is cleared," Ib-ba reported. "Majority of ships continuing to maintain defensive formation, but we are nearing optimal weapons range."
"Sir, enemy is sending another wave of fighters," Gonu reported.
"Divert all weapons power to main cannons and launch our interceptors, I want them to clear those fighters off my screen!" Ban turned to Ordak. "Barrier status?"
"Fully charged and ready to handle incoming munitions, sir!"
"Maral, load all forward launch tubes with Disruptor torpedoes. Have the cruisers do the same." Ban spoke calmly, his hands flicking over the pad provided to him by Gonu. "Give me a firing solution on the nearest enemy ship and prepare the fleet for a union volley."
The bridge crew worked furiously to get the assigned tasks finished, most notably those dedicated to weapon controls. Ban felt a swell of pride in his chest. Despite the many losses they had suffered, his crew remained strong. It was time to show why they were the scourge of Council space.
"Firing solutions laid in, sir!" Maral reported.
"Sir, all ships are awaiting your order," Gonu stated.
"Execute!"
The Superiority recoiled in force as it spat fire from its forward guns. Even the slug fired from the ship's main gun did the Admiral justice, being the first of many, leading a tidal wave of rounds towards the enemy. Torpedoes followed suit, careering through space at a much slower speed. The tsunami of rounds slammed into the turian's lines, their thick defensive formation working against them as they lacked the room to evade. The turian fleet was utterly decimated but far from broken, the lighting on their main cannons providing proof.
"Ib-ba, order all ships to continue course towards the Relay!" Ban realized that many would question his sanity, but he was willing to take a madman's possibility over a sane one's death. He had come this far and was not about to lose.
"Sir, are you sure?" Ib-ba needed to confirm he heard the Admiral correctly. Though they were stuck in the worst possible situation with one enemy fleet behind them and another straight ahead, what the Admiral desired would cause much casualties.
"More than I have ever been," Ban declared. "Make top speed for course."
"Aye sir."
"Maral, fire another missile spread, but aim at the damaged ships. We need to reduce their numbers quickly! Gonu, prepare the fleet to deploy all our remaining fighters and interceptors!" The Admiral kept his voice calm, already in the process of creating a strategy to win the day. Both officers complied, placing immense trust in their leader.
The entire 16th fleet spewed missiles from their pods even as slugs from the turians impacted against their ships' barriers. Ban knew that despite their low number, the turians packed a lot more firepower per ship than his own. He calculated the odds, roughly smashing estimates in place. The best chance for survival depended on quickly closing the distance between both fleets, using his superior numbers to weather the turians before colliding with them head-on. He didn't have the luxury of time to come up with a less draconian tactic. Taking a lesson from his enemy, once his fleet closed the gap Ban would unleash all of his remaining small attack vessels to create a chaotic swarm for his fleet to break through the blockade.
HWS Peace Keeper
Dreadnought
Command Deck
"Sir, batarian dreadnought is firing," Victus warned.
"Have any ships along its projected path get out of there; prepare the entire fleet to return fire!" Servius ordered. He knew what the infamous Hegemony 16th fleet was capable of doing, and it made his mandibles clamp hard. They tightened even further when he saw a heavy slug erupt from the flagship, impacting mere seconds after firing.
Servius obsessively eyed the holo-graphic display, letting his ship's VI filter through the reports to deliver only the most imperative. He took in his losses with controlled anger, hoping the spirits guided the brave souls into the afterlife peacefully. Quickly he ordered his vanguard to retreat under the cover of his heavy cruisers, minimizing the damage already caused. Servius had hoped to quickly destroy or damage one of the batarian's dreadnought to no avail. Such tactic had cost him dearly.
With that in mind he reorganized his fleet, pulling his battle cruisers back to form another wedge formation in front of his own ship. The cruisers advanced, taking responsibility for the battle cruisers' previous positions. Servius held his corvettes back, positioning them along with his remaining frigates. Once the approaching fleet connected with his, he would try the same tactic once more, this time under more chaotic circumstances. In a straight out brawl, as this engagement was quickly turning out to be, the lighter turian vessels held almost no chance of surviving the battle, but if utilized correctly they could cause enough damage to give his heavier ships the opportunity to hold the batarians in this system.
The Admiral turned his attention back to the map, sharply eyeing it. He had learned to be quite self-critical over the years and was more than aware of his strengths and weaknesses. Intricate plans were easy for him to conjure, and his sharps skills had normally allowed him to use anything that could give him an advantage. However, while he was more than capable of adapting to changing tactical and operational scenarios, he could never effectively feel the flow of the battle and seize the moment in a devastating manner.
He pivoted his eyes and checked the engagement distance. The enemy was already within effective weapon's range. The batarian fleet was charging forward with improbable velocity, their heavier ships miraculously maintaining an impressive speed. Then, he saw it; they were scrambling to form a line of battle before colliding, a formation that allowed each ship a chance to hit the same target multiple times in one pass. He turned his attention back to the holo-screen and tapped a few locations on the hologram, creating sparse plans of engagement.
Several formations of spacecraft had been deployed from each of his cruisers, launching from hangars built into the belly of the warships. They were prepared to conduct attack runs on the approaching batarian vessels. The heavy Thanix missiles, carried by the Armiger fighters, would be essential in depleting the enemy's strength while the lighter, smaller Astros Interceptors would provide cover.
Proving he'd learned from his past mistake, Servius ordered the fighter squadrons to circle to the right flank, where the debris of many batarians ships would provide cover, moving as far out of the batarians line of fire as possible. His interceptors took a different approach, accelerating hard against the batarian formation directly, hoping to keep them distracted. As Servius watched, the symbols for his interceptor squadrons accelerated through space to meet the paltry numbers that the enemy was sending forward. He nodded his head slightly, and knew the battle was going to bloody.
The fires started small, a blue light trailing a thirty eight kilogram slug launched from the Peace Keeper. The fire then grew with the ships that had been inflicted the killing blow, blue lights gathering at the prows of dozens of turian ships before being launched off into the void. But the batarians held strong, glittering orange kinetic barriers protecting them from the fires of war, but they would not hold forever.
In response, the batarians rocketed forward, launching thousands of Javelin missiles, a veritable wall of fire and death. The turians tried to evade, maneuvering out of the cross hairs while GARDIAN lasers erected a brief wall of safety with their red beams. Their GARDIANs may have had superior range, but like most defenses, numbers always overwhelmed them. The wall of fire was too hot for dozens of turian ships, their barriers holding for an instant before fires dotted their many hulls spreading death and destruction. Eight cruisers no longer existed, consumed by great explosions of missiles and blue light of mass accelerator fire, replaced by drifting husks of rapidly cooling metal.
The tactician in Servius admired the batarians' bravery and skill, easily realizing they were anything but common cannon fodder. "Guns, get me the battle cruisers. I want the enemy dead!"
Missiles and cannon rounds flashed forward at his order from his battle cruisers, piercing the depths of space. They were meticulous in their nature, like a horde of ants tearing through a massive predator. Each shot, cyan in color, was insignificant; but like the tiny predators, was more than capable of destruction. Orange lights spread across from the batarians fleet as the barriers on many of their ships finally shattered, leaving them open for attack. The armor looked like it would hold strong, but the strain was too great, leaving five ships completely destroyed with hundreds of small holes dotting the hulls, rapidly venting atmosphere.
Then came the turian fighters, numbering in the low hundreds and meeting the batarian menace head-on. They deployed their own ordnance, following the capital ship barrage with their own potent weapons. Thanix missiles fired off first, followed by two Neutron bombs from each fighter.
Red light arched from many ships of the batarian fleet, a dramatic act of defiance in an attempt to reduce the damage they would receive. As much as seventy percent of the missiles were intercepted, the rest colliding straight into barriers. Only two batarian battle cruisers were left vulnerable to the fist of radiation, heat soon engulfing their entire frames. A few more were outright destroyed, their drives cores overloading from both the damages inflicted and from the immense energies scathing their systems.
The batarians were fanatical in their resolve, firing everything they had in response, light streaking down from their barrels straight at the incoming turians. Two turian battle cruisers were downright split in half, while another five cruisers were rendered impotent, personal vented into space as the ships they once manned drifted in the void.
Dozens of rounds were quickly thrust from the screaming barrels of turian heavy cruisers along with over seventy torpedoes and near a hundred missiles. Their secondary defenses painted bright flashes over their hulls, firing interception rounds at the closest of opponents. In this case, the tight packed formation of the turian cruisers allowed them to use their point defense turrets and GARDIAN lasers in unison, essentially creating a shield to protect the fleet. Normally such a job was left to the frigates, but Servius couldn't fault his men for doing what was right.
Of course the batarians didn't just take the incoming firepower laying down, using whatever means possible to either dodge or reduce the barrage's effectiveness. Still the batarians suffered considerable losses, especially amongst the corvettes and frigates they used as a screening force. This allowed the batarian fleet to move still closer, with drastic results. With their distance from the turian fleet cut in half, the batarian cruisers fired every weapon imaginable unleashing a bright flash that seemed to signify the afterlife itself.
"Activate GARDAIN defenses!" Servius ordered. He hadn't expected those cruisers to be carrying that much ammunition considering their cargo space. The sheer number was overwhelming, and their velocity meant more than enough would be able to get through. The missiles impacted the heavy cruisers breaking through the heavy defenses to smite a few of the battle cruisers. Hulls shook and kinetic barriers shattered upon impact, but the worst damage to his own ship was a slight charring of the plating. Around him, the bridge crew gave and received updates on the fleet's status. Unlike Disruptor torpedoes, Javelin missiles released dark energy upon impact on top of the standard effect of creating random and unstable mass effect fields. This allowed Javelin missiles to be a far deadlier weapon than the Disruptor torpedoes at the cost of being exponentially more expensive. The devastating magnified warp fields stripped at the kinetic barrier's molecular bonds.
The enemy was ever relentless in their assault. The concentrated fire of four batarian ships slammed into the Peace Keeper. Her barriers, designed to withstand this kind of onslaught, held strong even as the next salvo impacted directly above her hull. Not a single centimeter of her ablative armor plating was touched, leaving her perfectly capable to respond with fire of her own.
"Ready the main guns! Maximum acceleration on all engines, turn forty degrees starboard!" Servius shouted. "All ships, weapons free and fire at will!"
The Peace Keeper swung through her turn and began to accelerate starboard and away from the enemy's direct line of fire. A new salvo came roaring in, but the sudden turn caused half the batarian's ordnance to miss. Two rounds still managed to slam into her barriers, but again failed to penetrate.
Return fire from the turian fleet reached out toward the batarian formation, mass accelerator slugs scattering over several targets and scoring multiple hits on the batarian ships. The turians' fire increased in effectiveness as they shifted their attention to the enemy's cruisers. Servius saw debris spin away as mass accelerated slugs tore into the hulls of multiple ships, but the entire batarian fleet appeared to be accelerating, almost as if ...
'Spirit, don't tell me.' Servius checked his tactical data, and his worst nightmares were realized. They weren't just interested in bypassing the blockade; they were going to ram it!
"Adjust fire! Engage cruisers and frigates first!" Suicidal as it seemed, the batarians were about to literally ram straight through the turian fleet. "Hold the line, we must cut them off!"
Turian Armigers swept in, trying to disable the enemy vessels by destroying sensors and engines, but the batarian interceptors and GARDIAN lasers were too much. Nearly half of the second wave was annihilated in mere minutes. Sighing, Servius ordered them to fall back; another assault would do little to stop the oncoming fleet. It was here his formation would either hold or break.
On a one to one ratio, turian ships were much better armed and armored then their batarian counterparts. But while Servius's vessels had the advantage in firepower individually, it did not make up for the fact that as a group, the batarians clearly had the edge. No matter where he chose to concentrate his fire, he would have to accept the possibility that at least a few dozen or even a hundred of the batarian ships would be able to escape the system.
Mass accelerator fire flashed back and forth between the two formations. The distance was closing rapidly and the batarian fire was becoming more effective as they scored hit after hit on the turian fleet. They were methodical and ruthless, concentrating their fire on the most damaged ships before switching targets.
And then a large explosion shook the Peace Keeper to its core.
"Spirits! What was that?" Servius demanded.
"Sir, two cruisers on our starboard have been destroyed! Kinetic barriers are holding at sixty percent and recharging," Victus reported.
Servius mentally felt a howl of rage before fighting it down. 'May they find peace in the afterlife.'
"Sir, the enemy's dreadnoughts are targeting our battle cruisers! They're located in the center, none of our ships can get an accurate shot at them," Vyrnnus shouted.
Servius glanced at the display, witnessing the two batarian dreadnoughts burning thrusters and firing mass accelerators. Both of the most-recently fired shots rammed right next to a battle cruiser's hull, the first collapsing the kinetic barriers and peeling meters of ablative plating while the next completely cut through her as if she were made of glass. If there was any chance of victory, he would need those ships alive at all costs, but considering they were outnumbered in the dreadnought department by double, any choice would guarantee death. But turians always fought a battle to the finish, or they didn't fight at all.
"Change ship course to engage those dreadnoughts with a few cruisers. Have our wolf-pack flotillas engage the enemy from above and below." He ordered.
"Aye, sir." Victus replied, having complete faith in his superior.
The Peace Keeper's oversized thrusters soon blared to life as it accelerated to meet the barbarians. The ship pulsed its engines, reaching deep for more thrust. A huge burst of power emanated from its core, accelerating the dreadnought towards the heart of the enemy fleet.
Immediately, batarian frigates and corvettes commenced firing, their missile batteries and point defense lasers bombarding every part of the turian dreadnought that they could. Multiple slugs impacted the large ship's kinetic barrier, but only a few managed to penetrate through the armor. The Peace Keeper shook as the concentrated fire of two batarian frigates slammed into its barriers, depleting it to just under half strength. The turian dreadnought fired off its secondary cannon, the particle accelerated round easily gutting three batarian corvettes. Multiple squadrons of turian fighters swept in, engaging the enemy frigates and drawing their fire away from the Peace Keeper.
Servius felt a fierce surge of pride in his crew. They were turian, dedicated to battle; nothing less would suffice. Not the krogan, not the rachni, nothing would prevent them from victory.
"Admiral, range is close! They're about to pass us," Vyrnnus reported with a hint of anxiety in his voice.
"Standby for broadside engagement! Divert power to all weapons and fire at will!"
It was then the two formations interpenetrated and broadside guns exchanged fire the instant that they could be brought to bear. Under the circumstance, neither force had the advantage, the batarian lighter vessels were unable to survive in the closed ranged slaughter while the turians were unable to match the batarian's combined firepower. Both sides managed to score hits, the batarians eviscerating multiple turian corvettes that had sacrificed themselves to save nearby battle cruisers.
The turian battle cruises, in turn, fired an impressive salvo at the batarian ships, avenging their fallen brethren. The remaining turian frigates further added carnage to the enemy fleet, engaging from above and below and expending all their Thanix missiles into the batarian ships. At this range, Disruptor torpedoes became the preferred ordnance for every other type of ship, being continuously fired by the hundreds. Torpedoes detonated around the hulls of many battered vessels, twisting their frames in unholy ways.
However, the spotlight was concentrated on the dreadnoughts as the battle reached its climax. The moment the two fleets passed each other, each dreadnought began to rotate around its vertical axis, allowing the main thrusters to contribute directly to the deceleration and bringing their spinal cannons to bear.
The Peace Keeper, with its superior thrusters, was able to bare its fangs first. Escorted by three cruisers, they all opened fire as one upon the nearest dreadnought. It was so close, Servius was able to read the ship's name through the cameras, the onboard translation deciphering the batarians words to show Black Diamond.
Mass accelerator slugs, Disruptor torpedoes, and even a particle accelerated round rushed towards the batarian capital ships. The turian vessels poured everything they had onto the batarian dreadnoughts, leaving no chance for the ships to survive.
The Black Diamond suddenly veered off course, its thrusters trying desperately to avoid its annihilation. GARDIAN lasers from the two batarian dreadnoughts came online, red gleams of light swatting at the incoming salvo as they neared the ships. Two of the cruisers' rounds and half of the torpedoes either missed or were intercepted by point defenses, but the rest of the ordnance managed to strike home. With a combined force of over two hundred kilotons, the barriers on the Black Diamond collapsed, her plates stripped from her hull by the torpedoes, leaving the ship more vulnerable to each following salvo. That is if there was to be any.
By now the two batarian dreadnoughts had realigned their formations to re-engage the turian flotilla, the two dreadnoughts firing their own salvo. Two mass accelerator slugs, followed by dozens upon dozens of Javelin missiles and Disruptor torpedoes screamed out of the enemy ships, calling for the death of the turian vessels.
The turian cruisers struggled frantically to reacquire targets. Their GARDIAN lasers fired in continuous bursts, but were unable to prevent their destruction. One of the turian cruisers had a wing sheared completely off as it tried to dodge a mass accelerator slug, sending it spiraling out of control as half of its maneuvering thrusters failed. The batarian dreadnoughts simply passed the helpless vessel, pouring broadside fire into it as they went by. Another cruiser had its barriers completely collapsed and was soon destroyed by an incoming slug. The rest of the torpedoes and missiles were intercepted by the remaining turian vessels' defenses.
With only two ships, one of which only a cruiser, Servius prepared to do the unthinkable, win against two dreadnoughts. Beneath his vision, side-bays opened on both turian ships, exposing their hulls, but at the same time displaying the ferocious fangs they both bore. Before the batarian dreadnoughts had a chance to fire, the turians ships launched whatever munitions they had remaining. Mass accelerated slugs paled in comparison to the number of missiles ejected from the turian missile pods.
Of course they weren't of the Javelin variant, but a special version. Named after the turian spirit of destruction, the Thanix missiles had lived up to their name across numerous engagements and this one was no different. The core of each Thanix payload was a liquid alloy of iron, uranium, and tungsten, suspended in an electromagnetic field powered by element zero. The molten metal was then accelerated to a significant fraction of the speed of light, solidifying the substance into a projectile and hitting the target with enough force to pierce any known barrier. As the processes occurred within each missiles' core, they all accelerated towards the dreadnoughts.
Before the turian ordnance had a chance to connect with the two enemy ships, the batarians managed to fire off a desperate salvo of their own. Slugs ejected from their main cannons guided by the last hundred or so torpedoes and missiles. It was a last ditch effort for either side as their fates truly rested on victory.
Each salvo collided with their intended targets, even as GARDIAN lasers and point defenses tried to minimize the damage. The turian cruiser was easily destroyed in the onslaught as a mass accelerator slug split it in half, while the Peace Keeper shook violently, her barriers collapsing and ablative plating being forcibly ripped off her hull. She held strong, but only just, the ordnance nearly overwhelming her. Still the weary ship pressed on, turrets and broadside guns giving a piercing cry each time they fired. The reinforced front armor had taken an immense beating, whole sections of it melting away, yet the Peace Keeper was intent on avenging her comrades.
It was then the round from the now-deceased turian cruiser, combined with a heavy salvo of Thanix missiles impacted the weakened batarian dreadnought. Servius watched with a sense of satisfaction as the weakened ship's propulsion system utterly failed, rendering her vulnerable to the killing blow. The turian dreadnought fired its particle accelerator at full power, adding another twenty kilotons of pure destruction along with the last of her Thanix missiles, numbering in the low hundreds. The combined attack was more than enough to destroy the weakened batarian ship. The bright sparks that erupted along her hull signaled her end, the ship going up in flames before coming apart.
The other batarian dreadnought received the Peace Keeper's slug, like an angered talon of justice, nearly depleting the barriers of the enemy's remaining flagship. The rest of the Thanix missiles corrected that mistake, untold numbers colliding with the behemoth. Entire segments of the enemy ship's hull were vaporized, but it still continued to move.
Before Servius could order another attack, it was already too late. By now all of the batarian fleet – or what remained of it – was past him, activating their FTL drives. The uncaring Relay anchored their lightning bolts and propelled their ships across the vast emptiness of space, far beyond the range of his fleet.
Servius slammed a talon on the railings, the vibration echoing through the bridge. "No! We let them get away!" The Admiral was never one to lose control of his emotions, much less in the presence of his crew, but no one could blame him for his frustration.
Intellectually, he knew that by now the Peace Keeper was no more than a wreck, trailing debris and venting atmosphere from more than a dozen hull breaches. It was still a harsh blow, seeing his target escape … although the enormous numbers of dead or dying enemy vessels provided some balm for the burning wound.
Servius took a slow glance at the tactical display, following it up with an equally meandering gaze out what video feeds were still up. Hundreds of ships littered the system, their dead crew evicting silent cries.
Across the system, the other fleet – alien in nature – maintained their position, neither firing nor advancing on his weakened position. They've long since destroyed their own batarian opponents, yet maintained a paralyzed stance. The sight made the decision for him; and he made a simple choice, one that would have massive ramifications for the rest of the galaxy.
A/N: And that wraps up the Shanxi arch and we end on a massive cliff hanger. I know many of you may want to kill me when I say this, but my partners and I will be taking a brief hatius in order to polish the next few chapters. I cannot say when they'll be ready or when to expect updates, however be relieved that once you see Dawn of Titans updated you can expect them to be regular ones. Until we meet again my beloved readers, F13D out. Don't forget to fav, follow, and review.
Also feel free to PM me with any questions you may have at anytime or just if you feel like communicating with me or my partners.
Trivia:
1. The turian frigates hitting in a 3-D like maneuver, striking from above and below the batarian fleet was inspired by Radon088s strategies.
2. If you notice, each alien capital ship is tied to its commanding officer's defining traits or fate: Toren like his ship became a Cursed Soul, Ban has showed time and time again why he is Superior to all others, and Servius has displayed that like all true turians he is a genuine Peace Keeper. Even Talal's ship can also fit this trivia, highlighting the Iron Clad will that he posses for his people so much so he wishes to fight the batarians once again. Other moral of the story: Pay attention to small details children, you don't know what surprises they will reveal.
3. Adding onto the previous trivia, each ship is as unique as the characters. We have seen an Alliance carrier with 3 hangars, a large 2.1km long batarian dreadnought, and a slightly smaller, yet notable turian dreadnought with a secondary particle accelerator cannon!
4. Originally we were supposed to have some Alliance ships fire on the turians under the assumption that they Hierarchy was here to help the batarians only to learn that was not the case. Servius would have ordered warning shots, but would have focused on the batarian fleet. In order to create more character development in Servius and focus on his side of the naval battle, the chapter was rewritten to show this.
5. Also the original naval battle was only supposed to be one chapter, be glad that we were able to expand it two and publish both at the same time for your enjoyment.
6. It is lamp-shaded by Ban, that even when placed in the strangest of the situations, the turians still have a stick up their asses.
7. The ship name and class for the Black Diamond is the same one as the one in Spirit of Luna, my other fic, specifically Ch.7. Be warned the quality isn't as great as Dawn of Titans so its best of you just stick to reading this story.
8. The ending is a true testament to Ban's skill, once again he has evaded capture, however what will this mean for the Hegemony? Tuned in next time for the answer.
9. You see some references to some rather non-canon tech. For those of you who haven't read Chronicles of a New Age, primarily the chapters on the Council races, they've managed to create new technologies like miniature and large particle accelerator cannons. The turians themselves, being military focused, focused most of their science teams on weaponry resulting in the creation of Thanix missiles and Neutron bombs, to which they use to devastating results.
10. The format of this chapter is basically an unmovable object meeting an unstoppable force and as you can see both experienced extensive damage.