Commander's Log, Sol Standard Date: July 20th, 3340, Raytheon System-
One week has passed since the first Imperial Latorii scouts jumped into the system. We engaged and destroyed the small reconnaissance fleet with heavy jamming in effect. It is not believed that they were able to report the presence of a human colony in the Raytheon System. Needless to say, they will be back and with greater numbers. The Alliance of Confederate Systems declared a state of emergency and that Raytheon was to be evacuated of all civilians. Quite a daunting task, but one that we have sadly gotten quite good at. Of the one billion colonists, only a few million remain. The next wave of evacuation transports arrive in one day and should be able to finish the getting the civilians out of the system.
It pains me to see yet another planet fall... We will be staying and fighting off their advanced troops, but once the main Latorii force arrives we will cascade jump out along with the rest of the fleet. A fleet of which I am currently in command of, much to their displeasure. Some things never change... despite my many victories, if they can be called that, I have yet to gain much trust or respect from the majority of the ACS Naval Fleet. I doubt that will change after this battle as well. I guess I should count myself lucky that my crew is willing to follow me to hell and back.
We are currently stationed in orbit around the primary star of the Raytheon system, lying in wait for any Latorii ships that may jump into the system. It has been quiet the past few days, but I have a feeling that is about to change. Latorii doctrine is somewhat predictable, whether it be from their comfortable advantage over humanity or internal stubbornness, I do not know. However, their doctrine calls for another group to be sent in one week after losing contact with a scouting force. I have a feeling that there will be a battle before this day is out.
-Daniel 'Storm' Savarin,
Commander of the Allied Confederate Ship Fairlock
"Sir, cascade event in progress, range ninety-two klicks. Bearing zero-seven-nine off the port side, zero-one-zero up angle."
"Mikael, evaluation," Storm called out from the commander's chair in the heavily armored bridge.
"Data indicates that a capital class ship along with several smaller ships are exiting hyperspace," the robotic voice of the ship's AI answered. "No ACS ships are scheduled to arrive in the Raytheon system for another twenty-four hours. Further analysis of the hyper cloud concludes that it is an Imperial FTL jump conclusion. Recommend sounding general quarters in preparation for enemy contact."
"Admiral, get the fleet ready," Storm ordered.
"You heard the commander," Admiral Mark Horner, the Fairlock's second in command, called out, "I want this ship rigged for combat. Signal the Corvettes into offensive wedge formation."
"Commander, cascade jump has completed, pulling up the enemy fleet on the main screen now."
"Mikael, rapid count," Storm said as a multitude of curved, white ships appeared on the screen.
"One Majestic Class Interdictor, two Cutters, and five Clippers are present in the enemy fleet. Standard composition of a Latorii heavy scout unit. Current fleet power ratio is five to three in our favor," Mikael spat out. The ACS fleet at Raytheon was rather meager as far ACS fleets usually went. A sole Fletcher class battlecruiser, five Corvettes, and six Assault Ships, but it was still enough to combat a heavy scout fleet.
"So it would seem they didn't know we were here..." Storm muttered, relaxing a bit more into his chair. The thirty-four year old officer had loose, slightly longer than regulation black hair to go with his sapphire blue eyes. He stood at a less than average five feet, seven inches tall due to certain family traits, but was more than capable of punching above his weight.
While the Fairlock's ECM suite was capable of jamming the smaller vessels, they had no hope of jamming an Interdictor's communications. Raytheon's existence was about to become known to the Latorii Empire.
"Commander, the Corvettes are in position and the Assault Ships are in their attack formation," the communications officer called out.
"Bring us on intercept bearing at flank speed and launch our fighters and strike craft," Storm ordered as he watched the enemy fleet start to get into its own battle formation around their lone capital ship.
"Aye, sir."
Moments later, the massive engines of the battlecruiser went to full power, propelling the two kilometer long ship towards the Latorii fleet. The Corvettes were slightly ahead of the battlecruiser while the Assault Ships flew ahead of the fleet, weapons deployed and ready for the coming fight. A few minutes passed before squadrons from the Fairlock caught up with the Assault Ships. Two squadrons of Vulture heavy fighters and one squadron of Viper torpedo bombers with each squadron containing twelve craft.
By now, range between the fleets was rapidly diminishing and both side deployed their weapons in preparation for combat. Four massive twin barreled railguns came of each side of the Fairlock with another two popping out of the hull in superfiring positions on both sides of the superstructure for a total of twelve batteries.
"Enemy fleet is within effective firing range," Mikael reported once the fleets closed to fifty kilometers.
"Commence firing," Storm ordered coldly.
It was deadly silent as the four railguns around the command bridge opened fire. The only indication from the bridge that the massive electromagnetic cannons had fired being the eight streaks of blue light that briefly appeared on either side of the short superstructure. The ten thousand pound slugs raced through the vacuum of space at speeds in excess of Mach twenty. It took a little over seven seconds before the hypersonic slugs impacted their targets. The effects were devastating. While the Interdictor managed to shrug off the four shells that hit it with minimal damage, the two Clippers that the shells impacted were utterly destroyed. The slugs instantly broke through their powerful shields and punctured their hull armor as if it didn't exist. Two shells hit each ship head on, allowing them to run the entire length of the ships and exit out the other side. Seconds later, both ships exploded moments apart from each other.
However, such destruction was not one sided. Long range Imperial lasers from the Majestic Class Interdictor flashed against the blackness of space, the blue tinted lasers reach the Allied ships instantly. The smaller Vultures and Vipers proved to be difficult targets to hit, but the larger Assault Ships took the brunt of the laser fire. Their shields glowing purple as the absorbed the energy weapon fire. The ships being concentrated on put all their power to their shields, falling behind the ships that could manage to keep their engines at full thrust.
After a minute of laser fire, the first three Assault Ships finally succumbed to the high intensity lasers, having lost their shields ten seconds earlier. While the Assault Ships had strong armor, they stood no chance of standing up the three main batteries of the Imperial capital ship. By this time, the next salvo from the Fairlock's railguns ripped through space as the massive cannons finished their reload and recharge cycle. Another Clipper exploded as a ten thousand pound slug tore through the length of the ship, pulverizing the ship's reactor. Four slugs slammed into the powerful shields of a Cutter, managing to drain a significant portion of the warship's shields but not enough to break through them entirely.
The two fleets were a mere twenty-five kilometers apart now. The Vultures punched their engines to the max as Imperial Eagles showed up on their scanners, closing to engage the Allied strike craft. Seconds later, orange lasers from the Allied ships lashed against blue Imperial lasers as the two sides collided. While the Vultures were more maneuverable and carried two large pulse lasers, the Eagles were faster and carried a greater number of smaller weapons.
The Vipers and Assault Ships pressed through the dogfight, intent on striking the Latorii fleet with their ordinance. Burst laser turrets from the underside and dorsal section of the Assault Ships tore at the Eagles as they screamed past the engaged fighters. Distance to the enemy fleet was rapidly approaching their torpedo range. The fifteen surviving strike craft pressed towards the Clippers, intent on leaving the larger ships for the Corvettes and Fairlock. The Interdictor had shifted its three primary batteries to the closer capital ship, while the Cutters and Clippers opened fire on the attack Assault Ships and Vipers. Blue lasers tore at their shields, quickly dropping the Vipers while the Assault Ships managed to weather the intense fire.
By now, their own lasers had started working over the Imperial shields, the barriers giving off a blue glow as the orange lasers burned against them. The Assault Ships flew in circles around their targeted Clipper, each craft's two burst laser turrets working over the Clipper's shield as it struggled to keep its weapon arcs pointed towards the circling Assault Ships. The Clipper's two large turrets that were mounted on its engine pods fired pulses of blue laser at the Allied ships whenever possible. Luckily for the Clipper, the other Latorii ships in the fleet were focusing their fire on Allied ships. Several of the Vipers had already been downed as they made strafing runs with their beam lasers. They would come in fast unleashing solid beams of orange energy on their target, working over its shields before flying past it and circling back around for another pass.
It didn't take long before the Clipper's shields were depleted and gave way from the near continuous fire. Once this was completed, all three Assault Ships broke off their attack and formed up once again before circling around towards the shieldless Clipper, each let loose two torpedoes before breaking off under a hail of fire from the other Latorii ships. The six torpedoes impacted and exploded across various points of the Clipper, tearing it to shreds as one of the wings and its engine pod broke off from the main body of the ship.
"Mikael, status report!" Storm called out as the ship shuddered from the impact of another volley of Imperial lasers from the Interdictor.
"Starboard side, dorsal railguns have been destroyed. Hull breach has been sealed off. Forward hull armor is currently at sixty-two percent and falling. Fifty percent, correction, sixty-six percent of Assault Ships have been lost, fifty-eight percent of Vipers have been lost, twenty-five percent of Vultures have been lost, and twenty percent of Corvettes have been lost," Mikael listed off in his computerized voice, showing no emotion while doing so.
"Enemy losses include one-hundred percent of Clippers, fifty percent of Cutters, and eighty percent of Eagles. Estimated time till enemy collapse is three minutes and thirty-eight seconds," the AI finished.
"Helmsman, bring our port broadside to bear! I want all available railguns firing on that Interdictor, mark their primary weapons and drive systems as a primary target!" Storm ordered as several smaller thrusters around the ship burst to life, forcing the massive battlecruiser to spin as it advanced toward the Latorii fleet. It took a bit for the large ship to rotate, but once it had completed the maneuver all six batteries on the port side of the warship loosed their ten thousand pound slugs at the Imperial capital ship. Four slugs slammed into two of the already battered main turrets of the massive, white ship, snapping them clean off the hull. The other eight shells all impacted the area surrounding the capital ship's primary engines. However, the engine housing's armor manage to hold out against the first railgun salvo.
The next concentrated salvo of railgun fire barely managed to crack through the thick armor, allowing at least one of the massive slugs to pass through engines, tearing them apart. With one of its engines destroyed, the massive ship began to momentary fall out of formation before lateral thrusters on the front of the ship corrected its course.
"Commander, all strike craft have exhausted their ammunition and are requesting permission to jump out of the combat zone," Admiral Horner relayed. The lone surviving Assault Ship and four Vipers sped away from the crippled enemy fleet. Both officers knew they were already charging their frameshift drives, not waiting for official orders to jump away, back to the planet and the star base that orbited above it.
"Granted," Storm replied. The order was relayed and received just before the five ships disappeared in flashes of light.
By now the battle was wrapping up, the only enemy ship capable of fighting was the Majestic Class Interdictor and even it was crippled as this point. Two thirds of its primary weapons were destroyed and almost half of its main engines torn apart. Even now he could see the massive ship's engines struggling to turn around and point away from the nearby star and attempt to jump out of the system. However, in doing so, it exposed its engines to the unmasked batteries of the Fairlock. The next and final salvo tore into the thinly armored rear of the engines, destroying all of the primary drives of the Latorii capital ship and shredding the power reactors on the inside of the craft.
The Latorii ship slowly drifted to a halt before the gravitation field from the star started pulling it in. While it would still take quite a while, the Interdictor was doomed to fall into the massive fusion reactor that breathed life to the Raytheon system. Already, escape pods could be seen jettisoning from the capital ship as it was slowly pulled toward its death.
"Combat complete," Mikael reported as the entire bridge crew let out a sigh. "All enemy ships destroyed. The fleet has lost over fifty percent of its combat effectiveness. Withdrawal from the system is recommended."
"Sorry Mikael, you know we cannot withdraw till all civilians are evacuated," Storm replied, though he knew the AI was correct. They could not survive another encounter with any decently capable Latorii fleet.
"Acknowledged," the AI responded.
"Horner, get the search and rescue going. There are undoubtedly pilots out there that would like to be picked up. You have the con," Storm ordered as he stood up from his chair and headed towards the hangers.
"Aye, sir," Mark answered before relaying Storm's orders.
Several Dropships were departing from the hangers as Storm arrived, the combat utility vessels passing through one of the few shields on of the battlecruiser. Each craft made a sharp turn towards the bow of the vessel before accelerating forward, passing through the middle of the ship before racing into space.
"They all had their frameshift drives disabled, correct?" Storm asked the deck officer.
"Yes, sir, their suppressors are also fully charged and ready for any Latorii that they pick up. Don't want those wolves using their damn mind trick to take over one of my ships," the deck officer replied. "No offence, sir."
"None taken, Lieutenant Nelson," Storm replied with a laugh. It was something he had gotten used to after thirty some odd years. "So what is the pool up to now?"
"Sir?"
"You fully know what I am talking about," Storm countered with a smirk.
"Not much gets past you does it, sir?"
"There's seven thousand people on this ship, it's not hard to hear the rumors and other stories that get passed around. That or I could have used my 'damn mind tricks' to find out," Storm continued with a toothy grin.
"Well, for one, almost the entire crew has bought in at this point at one thousand credits each, so it's about... six point eight million credits last I checked," Nelson replied. "Any chance you could show me? We could split the winnings fifty-fifty."
"And ruin the fun? Nah," Storm said, crossing his arms across his chest. "Besides, if word got out that I showed you and split the money, chances are you would find yourself thrown out the nearest airlock."
"Heh, good point, sir," Nelson replied with a laugh.
"Once the Dropships are on their way back, start a head count for both sides," Storm ordered before making his way back to the bridge. Sure, everything he had just ordered could have been done via internal comms, but Storm enjoyed interacting with the crew of his ship. It was how he had earned their trust after all, despite the hostility they had shown him when he had been appointed this command as a... favor, to his father.
Storm didn't blame them, or anyone else, for their distrust of him at the time. But after five years of command, he had hoped more than his own ship's crew would see him for who he was, not what he was. He knew that he could force a small amount of respect out of a majority of the ACSNF due to his rank, but the civilians... his rank meant nothing to them. He could save their lives just for them to step on his tail moments later, both literally and figuratively.
An hour passed as the first of the Dropships started making its approach, coming in straight towards the bow before passing through the gap that ran down the middle of the ship where the hanger bays were housed. Storm was waiting on the second level of the hanger the Dropship was docking in. Marines armed with M395 DMR's stood at the ready, sights aimed down at the transport as its ramp lowered.
The first Latorii poked its muzzle around out of the opening, a very unpleasant scowl present on its face. A suppression collar was locked around its neck, making sure the anthropomorphic wolf was incapable of using its impressive psychic powers. A very handy device that Allied scientists had cooked up fifty years ago. The band would access their nervous system via the nerves in the on their spine and shut down the part that allowed them to use their powers.
In all, about half of the Allied pilots that were shot down were pulled from their escape pods, the other half becoming victims of war. As for the Latorii prisoners, about five hundred were pulled, quite forcibly, from their pods. A rather small number considering the size of their fleet, but most Latorii would rather die than be taken prisoner. Some of their more radical admirals had all the escape pods on their ships disabled.
"Quite the catch isn't it, sir," Horner said, stepping up next to his commanding officer.
"Guess more than a few didn't want to burn to death falling into a star," Storm replied with a chuckle before continuing in a more somber tone. "Still, there are probably thousands that are willing to. Majestic Class Interdictors have about the same crew compliment that our Farragut and Fletcher class ships have."
"You Latorii are a rather stubborn race, sir," Horner countered in a neutral tone.
"When one can read and take over minds, lift objects with simple motion of a paw, and change their physical appearance to others, one starts to believe they are better than everyone else," Storm sighed as he leaned forward on the railing before letting out a short chuckle. "It also causes some trust issues down the road."
"That it does, sir, that it does," Horner started with small laugh as well, momentarily allowing the breach in his professional appearance.
"I honestly don't know how you can stand to be in that uniform all the time," Storm said, punching his XO in the shoulder. The uniform in question was a rather formal looking attire in Storm's taste. It was mostly black with gold metal running around the edge of both shoulders, the cuffs of the sleeves, and down the middle where the jacket's buttons were. A ring of red ran around the cuffs of the sleeves with their own gold trim as well.
"Unlike you, someone has to look professional on this ship," Horner shot back, poking fun at Storm's more relaxed wardrobe which currently appear to consist of black steel-toed boots, black pants, and a long sleeve black shirt as he had ditched the overly decorative jacket and belt that Mark was wearing.
The sound of heavy foot step approaching the duo caught their attention. Upon turning to look at the source, they saw three armed marines in plated armor coming up to them.
"Commander Storm, Admiral Horner, all of the Dropships have returned. Our pilots have been sent to the medical bay for routine check-ups, and the Latorii prisoners have been detained in the mess hall under armed guard," the lead marine said upon arriving.
"Thank you, Colonel Bradley," Storm replied, nodding to the marines. "Make sure our guests don't cause any trouble. Have you already singled out and separated the officers?"
"Yes sir, in total there were twelve officers. It seems their admiral intends to go down with the ship as the highest rank among them was a lieutenant commander," Bradley responded.
"Alright, take the lieutenant to an interrogation room. I want to talk with him," Storm ordered.
"Yes, sir, want to chat with your family again?" the marine officer replied with a smirk.
"Sure, let's go with that," Storm said with a laugh, shaking his head at Bradley's prodding. It was a common joke that Storm had to put up with anytime they managed to take any Latorii prisoners.
Storm watched the Latorii officer's face cringe moments after he opened the holding cell door and stepped inside with the door closing behind him. It was followed by a glare of pure hatred and disgust. The Latorii was wearing a standard officer's uniform, pure white with bits of royal blue around the edges. A combination of white and grey fur covered the Imperial officer, made apparent by his revealed head and paws.
"So, the traitor shows himself," the wolf spat out in its native tongue.
"Hard to betray that which I never had any loyalty to," Storm replied in the alien language before sitting down across from the alien officer.
"Ah, that is right. You're the offspring of the traitor and the ungodly abomination she called her mate."
"You know, our Naval Code still allows for executions of your kind, with or without cause. So unless you want to find yourself tossed out the nearest airlock, I suggest you leave my parents out of this," Storm replied harshly.
"Don't you mean 'our' kind? Besides, they have yet to execute you," the Latorii replied, as if he were playing a game.
"Wow, actually admitting that I am a Latorii, you're the first to do that. I might give you a suit when I though you out the airlock now," Storm countered leaning back in his chair with a smirk, more than willing to play along with the officer in front of him.
"Hardly, you still reek of human," the anthropomorphic wolf scoffed, pouring as much hate as he could into his last word, "But you still bear the scent of our kind. So why don't you drop the disguise already? Let's see the appearance of the offspring that treacherous bit-"
Before the wolf could finish, his mouth was forcibly clamped shut. Storm was holding his right arm outstretched towards his prisoner, the end of his closed fist glowing in a faint blue light. The Latorii attempted to howl out in pain as one of his canines had just gone deep into his tongue, but Storm held a firm psionic grip on the wolf's muzzle.
"I told you to leave my parents out of this," Storm growled out, his eyes narrowed to slits. After a few more seconds, Storm finally relented as he opened his fist and pulled his arm back to his side. The Latorii across from him started coughing some, a small amount of blood splattering on the table. After a minute, the Latorii finally managed to regain his composure, though he was a bit more subdued.
"So... was there a point to you coming here, or do you just enjoy torturing your own kind?" the Imperial officer quietly spat out, though his speech was a bit off.
"No, I don't," Storm replied in a steeled voice, "I came here to see what you know about this system. Did the Latorii Empire know about our colony here prior to your arrival?"
"I don't see why I should tell you anything," the wolf replied indignantly.
"I have a theory, want to hear it?" Storm asked, a devilish grin working its way onto his face. After a few seconds a silence and only a scowl for an answer, Storm continued. "You want to live. You, are not ready to die. Hence why we plucked you out of your little pod with some of your buddies. So I am going to give you a choice, either you tell me what you know, or I will personally throw you out an airlock. Your choice."
A terse silenced ruled for a few seconds before the Latorii officer relented.
"It was suspected..." the wolf replied with a defeated sigh. "We were sent to investigate the disappearance of a recon fleet, one I assume you destroyed. There are only a few reasons that our fleets would just disappear, one of which being they had blundered into a human colony and its fleet."
"And did that suspicion lead to anything else? A stepped up time table before your advanced forces arrive maybe?" Storm inquired, fearing the answer yet already knowing it. He could see it in the wolf's face. After a few seconds, the wolf slowly nodded.
"Yes... they were to depart forty-six hours after we did," the Latorii conceded.
Storm wanted to cringe, but maintained a neutral expression. This evacuation was going to be cutting it awfully close... They would have only twenty-two hours to get the remaining civilians loaded onto transports and on their way once the ships arrived. While the massive transports wouldn't have any trouble landing on the planet and picking up passengers from the evacuation zones, they would not have time to ferry the remaining people from the two Orbis Stations that circled around the planet with one-hundred thousand people on each orbiting city.
"Thanks for your cooperation," Storm said coldly before standing up and leaving the small room.
"Sergeant, take him back to the others," Stormed ordered hastily before making his way to a communications terminal. After quickly punching in the code for the command bridge, Horner's face appeared on the screen.
"Horner, we got a problem, get Governor Price on the line, and I needed it yesterday," Storm said.
"Yes, sir," Admiral Horner replied before the screen went black. With the first task complete, Storm started walking at a brisk pace towards the bridge. Unfortunately the next part would neither be as easy nor pleasant; he and Governor Price did not get along. As he entered the bridge, Storm saw that the infuriating human was impatiently waiting for him on the main screen.
"Alright, mutt, what was so important that you h-" The rounded man answered, having clearly enjoyed the perks of being governor.
"Governor, please just shut up," Storm started, nearly growling at the man as he sat in his chair on the command bridge, "For I have neither the patience nor the time to put up with your arrogance. The main Latorii invasion fleet will be arriving in less than forty-five hours, a day and a half ahead of their normal assault doctrine. Given our current timetable, the evacuation of the Orbis Stations will not be finished. We need to start shuttling the stations populace to the evacuation zones on the planet's surface."
"Now you listen here, I will not be taking orders from an animal like you," Price replied rather angrily that Storm had the audacity to cut him off.
"I may be an animal to you, governor, but I am still more human than you ever will be," Storm managed to grind out, the idea of giving into his instincts and ripping the human's arm off almost sounded appealing. However, he knew better than actually do so; that and Price was currently several hundred light seconds away.
"You dare call yourself my equal?" Governor Price spat out, clearly disgusted at the thought of such an idea.
"Oh no governor, I would never say that we are equals," Storm started in a mockingly tone before switching to a much colder one, "You are clearly the lower being of the two of us. Now, I couldn't care less by now if you help us evacuate the orbital cities or not, just keep your lazy ass out of my way."
Before the enraged governor could respond, Storm slammed his fist on the console on his chair's armrest, slightly cracking the screen. The governor disappeared from the main screen as the transmission was terminated. After a few deep breaths, Storm managed to calm himself back down. With a final sigh, he leaned his head back and looked at the ceiling of the bridge.
"Well said, sir," Mark started, a noticeable smirk on his face. "Was about time that pig got a taste of his own words."
"Glad you agree. I won't lie, that felt good" Storm replied with a short laugh before letting out a sad sigh. "Anyways, the clock is ticking. Helmsman! Set course for Raytheon Three and begin frameshift jump sequence!"
"Aye, commander!"
Alright, those of you who have been around for a while will undoubtedly recognize this story as this is the THIRD time I have attempted to write it. This time though I have it nailed down. I have it filed under the "Elite" category as I have taken the ships from Elite: Dangerous. That is were the similarities end though. Nothing else really carries over to this story from the games. I even took a bit of creative liberty in regards to the Fairlock as the Fletcher Class. There is no such thing in Elite, but it is based off the Farragut that is in game, trading its autocannons and torpedoes for railguns.
Anyways, hope you all enjoyed! Feedback is much appreciated.