30 days second Cylon war
Valkyrie class Battlestar Cerberus
Commander James Thomas watched in shock as the small UNSC corvette exploded the nuclear fireball, swallowing the closest eight cylon controlled Firestar frigates and setting another adrift heavily damaged.
"Lieutenant Casters" he called out "plot us an intercept course for the carrier Aethon."
"Aye sir." Lieutenant Samual Casters replied. As the ships thrusters tilled the battlestar towards the besieged Atlas class carrier.
As Thomas watched the flakk field intensified around the carrier as its half dozen heavy and four medium guns switched to flakk rounds instead of the armor piercing as the cylons relentlessly pointed it with missiles from their basestars, and the small 90mm cannons of three Manticores and Firestars.
"Target the Basestars first if we can stop the incoming missiles Aethon can go back on the offensive." Thomas ordered
Ensign Erica Torrez got to work as she said "yes sir."
A few moments of relative silence as the battlestar entered weapons range and its eight forward-facing 210s and smaller 110mm batteries opened fire on the closest of the three basetars facing the carrier. Dozens of vipers that had come in for resupply rocketed out of the launch tubes heading towards the cylons.
The heavy 210s punched craters into the cylons armor allowing follow up rounds to barrel right through the ship severing it into three parts as the smaller rounds slammed into the pieces
"First basestar is down sir shifting targets." the weapons Ensign Torrez called out her voice savage.
The cylons turned towards the unexpected attacker and began firing its missiles towards the approaching Cerbrus. Redirecting fighters to intercept the approaching human warship.
The carrier's assaults lessened and they started throwing the occasional AP round through its flakk field scoring a direct hit on a Manticore with one of its medium 110s severing an engine from the hull.
The battlestars' heavy guns lashed out at every cylon operated ship in range. Scores of Vipers and missile laden Raptors flew sorty after sorty around the gathered human warships. Everywhere Commander Thomas looked enemy ships were being hit and either shattered into pieces or completely disabled unable to maneuver or fire. But the problem remained they were vastly outnumbered. Thomas looked at a tight cluster of Cylon controlled ships pounding The nearby Virgonese battlecruiser Imperator Typhon. "Release of nuclear weapons is approved. If we don't use them now I have a feeling we won't get the chance."
Ensign Torrez swallowed as she replied "yes sir."
The Cerberus fired its last three nukes surrounded by dozens of conventional missiles at the cluster of cylon ships.
Two of the cylon controlled firestars stopped firing on the Typhon and fired flakk at the incoming missiles. The exploding shells throwing chunks of metal in an expanding sphere. Three of the conventional missiles detonated as they fell to the flakk field followed by one of the nukes. Before the shells could hit any others a pair of two megaton suns blossomed against a Berserk and a gunstar in the center of the cluster.
The ships hit superheated and vaporized under the momentary heat of a star the immense heat blasted out through the void ripping the closest enemy ships apart; the further ones simply shattered their pieces flung outward at high velocity damaging or destroying more mechanically operated ships.
Across the vast battlespace other colonial officers apparently had the same idea, as they launched their remaining nukes and missiles against clusters of machine operated colonial craft or single cylon base ships and battlestars. Dozens of smaller cylon escorts went up in nuclear fire as did several base ships and battlestars, their massive hulls fractured and blackened.
Looking around Commander Thomas saw isolated human ships consolidating their lines making safe corridors for human fighters to refuel and rearm. However Cerberus wasn't lucky enough to be close enough to other human ships as dozens of cylon ships fell on him and dozens of other isolated human ships.
Commander Thomas slammed against the display table as the first cylon missiles slammed into the Cerberus. Wiping the blood from his chin he barked out "do what you can to intensify flakk barriers."
"Yes sir." came Ensign Torrez's shaky voice as she worked to get the guns targeting better to stop some of the incoming missiles.
Sparks flew from the navigational station as a cylon nuke penetrated the flakk and detonated against the Cerberus's hull.
A damage control officer called out "we have lost portside maneuvering thrusters." followed a moment later by another DC officer "we can't take anymore hits portside we are looking at explosive decompression…" another flurry of missile strikes knocked him off balance and he continued…" in sections 28 through 39."
Another heavy hit this time from a 210mm shell from a cylon gunstar sheared the forward half of the portside hanger off the ship starting multiple high intensity fires that were quickly snuffed out along with any crew as the vacuum pulled the atmosphere into the void.
"We just lost half the portside hanger sir." an officer called out as some medical personnel arrived on the bridge to see several of the wounded crew.
Alarms continued to blare as missiles and slugs from the cylons continued to hit the heavily damaged Cerberus.
Commander Thomas watched on the Dradis as the distant Colonial and UNSC forces, seeing isolated ships being picked off one by one, tried to push through but there were too many of them. The cylons are actively maneuvering to impede their process. As the isolated ships continued to fight Thomas watched the DRADIS transponder for the closest human ships the Berserk Peitho and several Minotar gunships blink off the air one by one until they were gone.
The last five of the Cerberus's Vipers launched trying to intercept missiles and raiders but their attempts were meaningless as hundreds of cylon ships opened fire on the little fighters.
"Set main and secondary batteries to auto fire programs D and E. We have to keep fighting." Thomas called out over the ring of alarms and stuttering sparks as the battlestar continued to be hit on all sides.
Looking around Thomas's head dropped picking up the intercom "This is Commander James Thomas." he looks around as the bridge crew continues to fight the ship "it has been an Honor to lead each and everyone of you into battle Abandon ship i repeat Abandon ship report to any remaining Raptors or FTL shuttles and tugs jump clear."
The bridge crew hearing his words tried to protest but stopped them "this is a direct order to get out of here." He forcibly lifted Ensign Torrez from her weapons station "Go, all of you." he sat at the weapons. "I'll cover you the best I can." the XO Colonel Tanya Rivers holding a broken arm stepped forward only to stop as James drew his pistol and aimed it at her "follow your orders Colonel."
The bridge crew helping their wounded comrades headed towards the hangar casting glances back at their commander."
Commander Thomas sighed as they left holstering his pistol he set about slaving the ships controls exclusively to the weapons station. Looking over the weapons he reprogramed them to concentrate all fire on any cylon ships forward of the sole operational hanger.
The jolting got worse as weapons shifted to cover the hangers allowing more and more missiles to impact the now undefended portions of the ship,
Looking over the DRADIS he saw an undamaged Jupiter class battlestar Hermes written proudly along her flightpod. And felt a flash of utter calmness wash over him as he overloaded the engines and plotted a direct intercept to the battlestar.
The Cerberus's four operational engines burned bright as thrusters pushed the heavily damaged battlestar onto a new course. He watched as a dozen Raptors and Octopus tugs launched and disappeared in a flash as they jumped away carrying the surviving members of the crew.
With a savage grin he shifted ammunition from flakk to AP and opened fire on every ship he could target. Firestars and Manticores exploded under the hammers of Cerberus secondary guns as the primaries target Berserk after Berserk.
Seeing the letters HERMES growing quickly in his operational cameras Commander James Thomas closed his eyes "lords of Kobal hear my pr…."
The Cerberus slammed into the Hermes skipping of her flightpod and into the main body of the ship as the overstressed reactor and engines went critical and swallowed both ships in a titanic halo of fire and high speed debris cutting a swath through the tightly packed cylon fleet.