C68 Old and New.
Old and New.
Oldran System. ( Currently under Military Blockade. )
Aboard the TMS Silencer.
“ Cap, Incoming notification from the TMS Bluebird, we’ve got a group of ships heading into system. “ Communications announced.
Alber Tell, Captain of the Silencer, would have his attention withdrawn from the tactical view by this information. He had been watching the countdown for the current probe feed from Lanwer, but now furrowed his brow as he briefly wondered what the hell was going on.
“ Who’s ships ? “ Alber demanded, his voice somewhat hoarse from the years of service and past injuries.
“ It’s-. “ The communications officer uttered, obviously struggling with the system.
“ Got it. Database did not recognize the IFF at first. They belong to Sovereign, a faction classified as yellow at current.
They demanded entry so they could assist against the Xa’Leen, with the declaration that they intent on protecting their trading assets. The blockade fleet told them to stop, but they simply entered the phase lane anyway. “ Communications then reported, seeming a little put off by the contents of the message themselves.
“ And they let them pass, just like that ? “ Alber demanded.
“ By the data included, it appears to be a fleet of 53 frigates, mostly heavily armed. “ Tactical chimed in.
Yellow, so Alber recalled, that was part of the threat classification that was given to forces outside of the Commonwealth. It ranged from blue, which was harmless, to green, yellow, orange and red.
Yellow would equal a watch with care suggestion. While the use of a color coding itself, instead of numerical classification, suggested that too little was known about them to assign a proper thread class. This would usually range from one to five, with one being the highest risk ranking.
That amount of frigates, it was not to be overlooked in their current situation. Still, there likely was more to this story.
“ What do we know about them ? “ Alber requested, trying to wrap his head around why they were permitted to simply pass through a Military blockade, basically unhindered.
“ Unknown alien species that recently entered a trade agreement with the Commonwealth. They refuse closer relations and are marked down as not to be approached. There is nothing else available on them, other then their currently known ships used in Terran space. “ Tactical informed him.
“Communications, how long ago ? “ Alber just demanded, while inwardly wondering what High Command was thinking.
“ 6 Hours 27 minutes. They should be in system. “ Communications responded.
“ Have optical sensors look for them between us and the Allistor phase point, and notify me once there is confirmed contact. “ Alber ordered, while inwardly wondering if perhaps he was getting to old for this after all.
He was soon to hit 120 years of age, and he was one of the oldest serving members in the current military body. A man that refused to act his age and the expectations for him to simply retire and rest on his achievements.
Some would call him Captain Ahab behind his back for this reason, only that his white whale was his work. Some would even understand, as Alber served the Commonwealth since he was 19, and in command of his own ship ever since he was 25, with no family to speak of.
The only one decidedly older within the Military then him, was perhaps the TMS Silencer. A Battle-Cruiser, over 2000 meters long and armed with an impressive amount of turrets, missiles, and even hangar bay’s, which once had her fill the role of a heavy fire support ship, though these days her role could be best considered as a command vessel.
She was built 256 years ago, and had since seen many upgrades. But like Alber, she was way past her prime, with little that could still be done to extend her lifespan. And though he had been offered other commands on multiple occasions, he had remained the Captain of the Silencer for the last 70 years now.
“ Aye Cap. “ Tactical and Communications both responded, Pulling Alber from his contemplation.
He would return his gaze down to the private info screen that currently still showed static, a countdown suggesting that it would be another 35 minutes before he would receive a video feed from Lanwer.
By now, that drone was probably already destroyed, but Alber simply had to know what was going on in there. The Xa’Leen within the Badlands had not bothered to spread out by what they knew, and they seemed unable or unwilling to use the phase lane network, which worried Alber personally.
The Commonwealth was actively trying to attack within the other three invaded boarder systems to regain control, as those were active and successful colony systems, but nothing has been heard of them yet either.
“ I don’t like it. “ He muttered under his breath, for as how aggressive the Intelligence department described them to be, things were too calm.
25 minutes later on Anthony’s side…
“ How much longer, Hope ? “ Anthony asked from his position within the psykic plane, watching how the ships were coasting through the Oldran system, approaching the frost giant around which Oldran Station was located.
“ They should have noticed us by now. Considering distance, I suspect we’ll get a communication any moment now. “ Hope reported.
Anthony nodded to himself then, the alterations to Ludwig’s suggested plan had worked so far, and it saved them the need to reveal the Jump-ship. The downside was that they wasted 1 1/2 days gathering ships in Allistor, before approaching the blockade.
And doing so within a gas giants shadow assured they still could use the Jump-ship and save a lot of time.
The alternative would have been to utilize the phase lane network, which would have taken them around 8 days, and aside from possibly revealing the Seltran jumper, it would have looked rather suspicious if they simply appeared within Oldran.
Using a higher number of available ships was both for intimidation, and a suggestion that cooperation may be more useful for both sides.
Though that was covering over half his combat ready ships of those that had remained in Weldor, with much of the currently active vessels still running trade routes together with the Dawn types within the Commonwealth.
But that wasn’t all, the Haunt MK II, those that had been build additionally, they had gathered them all up, depraving them of part of their mining efficiency, only so they could bring more to the battlefield, if there would be any.
Anthony near hoped there would be no combat in the end, but after all these preparations, he had to be ready to loose the majority of his ships and Haunt’s, as none of them were under the influence of his ability.
“ Huh. Do you guys see that ? “ Miriam, one of the Sirens uttered with open surprise.
Anthony would switch to her view then, to see what she had spotted, soon to see the zoomed in optical sensor info of the ships that had gathered in Orbit around the Frost giant.
“ I am counting 25 Destroyers, 15 Frigates, and what appears to be a Battle-Cruiser. “ Hope reported before Anthony could fully grasp the picture himself.
“ Oh dear. That is an old Soul Crusher design. “ Kira then chimed in.
“ Do you know anything about that ship ? “ Anthony asked.
“ Yeah, we seen one in Merag a few times. That is a tough ship, slow and unwieldy, but it can take quite a beating. Usually pulls out before things get to troublesome, but you don’t want to get in front of it.
That main cannon was supposed to crack entire planets. Never did quite reach that level of firepower, but the projectile is large enough to make you reconsider your life choices. “ Kira responded.
“ Do they even still produce ammo for that caliber ? “ Nana openly wondered.
“ They don’t, not the original anyway. They dumped it down to just taking large metal blocks from local asteroids. Long as the magnetic rails can bring it up to speed, and it can be shaped into a roughly suitable shape, it’s good enough.
The Cruisers and Battle-cruisers they build today mostly use Large laser calibers, or smaller rail-gun main cannons to give increased rate of fire over the massive destructive power of the Soul Crusher’s main cannon.
I don’t think they even build a lot of ships that size anymore. Only the Vorden are crazed enough to do that, and you don’t want to meet any of those guys on the battlefield. “ Kira corrected.
“ The amount of ships seems dangerously low for what you told us about the Xa’Leen, Kira. “ Hope then observed.
“ Yeah. Still don’t get why they turned so aggressive. “ Kira admitted.
Anthony withheld his commentary about this subject. He had a chat with Kira about the Xa’Leen, the name was familiar to her, and the rough description that Ludwig could provide seemed to match what she knew.
But what was strange was that Xa’Leen, as Kira knew them from her predecessors memories, were a docile species of somewhat intelligent plants. That bug like creature that was described by Ludwig was, by Kira’s explanation, apparently a shell made from a form of Bio-metal they excreted.
But they used to be pacifists with no weapons to speak of, which opened a whole box of new questions.
Granted, she admitted that the knowledge was about 200 years old, which was when Marianna had last encountered them. But by what Ludwig stated, they were devouring metals and biological matter like plants and people, which did not quite seem to fit what Kira knew of them.
The one detail that had sparked Hope’s observation was the fact that Kira suggested Xa’Leen to always move in swarms of least a few hundred of them.
“ You are sure they can’t cross systems easily ? “ Anthony asked Kira, just to make sure again.
“ Yes, with their mode of travel, it would take them a few hundred years to cross from Lanwer to Oldran. “ She assured, which was the one piece of info that bugged Anthony.
To him it sounded more like this may be an offshoot from the Xa’Leen, or someone posing as them. If her knowledge is from 200 years ago, and they traveled slowly between systems, then things were clearly not as simple as they appeared to be.
“ Then let’s hope that it is actually the Xa’Leen you know. “ Anthony uttered.
“ We have a ping from Oldran station. It seems they detected us. “ Hope interrupted.
“ Communication ? “ Anthony asked.
“ Negative, it appears to be an active scan. There is a high likelihood that the Commonwealth Military is using the stations scanners to confirm our heading. “ Hope reported.
“ To be expected. “ Anthony uttered.
“ How long till orbital insertion maneuver ? “ He then requested.
“ 2 hours, 18 minutes. “ Hope reported.
“ Good. Inform me if anything happens. Try contacting the Union contact via the decrypted channel. Kira, you and the girls take control of the transport vessels. Head straight for the stations and coordinate with Hope to get the Psyker Union on board. “ Anthony instructed.
“ Will do. “ Both Kira and Hope responded.
Anthony then leaned back, looking over the field of androids and ships on his plane before he would check his current value’s. Right now, his max control value was at 602.4, and the idle value of his controlled ships and androids had reduced to 141.2.
It made him wonder if he should perhaps take over some of the frigates and have them head into Lanwer, just to have a closer look at the situation himself. Realistically he could indirectly control twenty of the dusks himself that way, and keep them alive in a prolonged battle if need be.
Was there even a point to it though ? He’d increase his idle value again, with little to gain in return for possibly revealing his ability. For now he was simply doing a favor for Ludwig, and he had too few ships right now to go beyond that.
“ Anthony, we got incoming communication from the lead vessel, the TMS Silencer. “ Hope interrupted him.
“ That was way faster then I expected. “ He admitted in response, opening the corresponding screen to play the message received.
“ This is Grand Admiral Tell Speaking. Under normal Circumstances I would warn you that your entering a restricted area under Military control, but clearly you have no intention to listen. So, instead, I hope that under the current circumstances, I can at least count on your cooperation with us.
I do not expect your ships to follow my orders, but I would prefer if we coordinate to the level that we do not enter each others line of fire. “ The Grand Admiral spoke.
“ Huh, that went smoother then I expected. “ Anthony admitted.
“ Seems you left quite the impression on the Commonwealth. “ Hope remarked.
“ Perhaps. Well, long as it get’s the Union safely out of here. “ He responded with a satisfied smile.
“ Anthony ! The Battle-cruiser just opened fire. “ Kira suddenly announced.
“ What ?! On you ? “ Anthony demanded, opening a connection to her tactical view to have a look at the situation.
“ No. I don’t see any contacts yet, but they are firing away from us. It appears the destroyers are shifting position as well. “ Kira reported.
“ Crap, I jinxed it. Should have kept my mouth shut. “ Anthony cursed.
“ How far out are we ? “ He demanded then.
“ 2 hours. We can reduce it to 30 if we accelerate and go for hard maneuvers with the Mark two, the mark one engine drive and structural integrity are not up to the task however. “ Hope responded.
“ How many mark two did we bring ? “ Anthony asked.
“ All 9 of them. “ Hope answered.
“ Go for it, aim to join the Commonwealth fleet. If it’s the Xa’Leen, adjust course to intercept, worst case, I take them over so we can keep them operational. “ Anthony instructed, and then briefly paused as an Idea came to mind.
“ Understood. “ Hope responded while Anthony paused.
“ On second thought. Nana, switch over to one of the MK II’s androids. I am going to prepare a response to their communication. If able, I want you on that ship, the Silencer. Lets frame it as easy means of communications for now. “ Anthony then instructed.
“ Received. “ Nana responded with the Eden defense force response, which briefly had Anthony wonder if they would need their own unified system too, eventually.
Meanwhile, on the TMS Silencer…
“ Number of targets increased to 26. “ Tactical announced.
“ All fusion reactors off, switch to backup systems. Strikers, coordinate attacks to mid and rear targets, Tanks, primary cannons only, aim for their front-line. Brawlers, stay behind the tanks and assist if the enemy gets to close for comfort. “ Alber ordered.
His fingers were meanwhile dancing over the screen before him, which held a three dimensional representation of the tactical map. Swiftly adjusting the formation of their available ships, and then forwarding it to tactical which would do a last adjustment, to open appropriate firing lanes for the ships, in line with his spoken orders.
“ Aye cap. “ Tactical responded.
Alber would then watch his own screen, observing how the corvette sized creatures were slowly adjusting their heading towards them. Working out tactics for possible situation changes to try and counter them. A necessity based on the fact that they had simply appeared out of nowhere.
They were still tens of thousands of kilometers out, and based on the intelligence report given to him, they had some means to circumvent detection to a degree. But honestly, he had not expected them to get quite this close before sensors found them.
What was more concerning, they had yet to see any active armament being used, the described projectile bypassing physical structures was not being used, and these creatures blindly approached his fleet without any sign of any further aggression.
“ Sovereign fleet appears to split their formation, 13 of their ships are staying on course to Oldran station, rest is adjusting course to follow us. 9 of whom seem to be accelerating. “ Tactical announced, interrupting Alber in his planning.
“ Accelerating ? “ Alber asked, checking the current course the Sovereign ships took, and he did not like their heading, or the fact that they accelerated.
It could just mean that they were trying to make haste to join up, but as an unknown variable, it could also be the knife that was about to be thrust into his back.
“ Message from the Sovereign fleet, Cap.
They are requesting permission to have one of their representatives come aboard the Silencer. They claim to have a means of instantaneous communication through their representative, and offer to place 31 of their ships under our direct command. “ Communications announced then, which gave Alber more reason to consider their ships reaction.
“ Enemy is opening fire ! “ Tactical called out, with one of the view screens focusing on various of those worm creatures forming green orbs within their now opened maw.
“ Warn the Sovereign vessels about those projectiles, and give them permission to have one of theirs come aboard. “ Alber finally relented.
The enemy vessels visible were few at the moment, but their sudden appearance made it a likely assumption that more might still be out there. So Alber considered that, every available ship may yet come in handy.
“ Do keep an eye on their movements too an-. “ Alber wanted to order, but then Tactical interrupted again.
“ New Enemy contacts at 260 to 83. Counting 12 new vessels, 2 corvette’s, 6 frigate’s and 4 destroyer’s by size. “ Tactical warned, just when the first group of these creatures finally released their projectiles.
“ Track projectile heading. And Request the Sovereign vessels to actively search for more vessels. “ Alber ordered, cursing inwardly about his assumption to have been proved right.
They still had the advantage by ship numbers alone, but there was still to many questions about these creatures.
“ Sovereign vessels have adjusted heading. One of the lead ships still approaching us, remaining lead vessels seem to redirect towards the new contacts. “ Tactical advised.
Alber would then check the predicted flightpath for those ships. At current pace they should reach the new contacts in about 25 minutes, and perhaps even open fire before then. The single ship heading towards them was still 20 minutes out and crossing the distance at a neck-breaking pace.
The ships in the rear however, it looked like it still be two hours before they could effectively join up. There was obviously some difference between those ships, though there was, from his perspective, no visible difference aside from their speed.
“ Confirmed hits on multiple enemies, 6 kills. “ Tactical announced as the first wave of projectiles finally crossed path with the corvette sized creatures.
Alber would remain silent though, the current orders should suffice, unless anything unforeseen happened. And with Sovereigns ships moving to intercept the new group, it would be interesting to see how competent they actually were.
But something else then grabbed his attention. The yellow blinking light on the upper right on his screen, suggesting that the drone feed from Lanwer was available, had been for at least 10 minutes at that. So, given the current situation, he dared to open it, just to find no movement on that side.
There were no creatures, none of the two supposed gas giants that should have appeared within the system, nor any other life signs. The local colony was silent, and the gravimetric measurements from the system suggested that the planetary bodies had lost mass.
“ That can’t be right. “ He uttered under his breath.
The report suggested that it should be swarmed with these creatures. But even pushing forward within the available feed’s timetable, the drone was not being attacked, nor was there even a hint of those creatures being in system.
Either they were able to not only cloak their own presence, but that of those Gas Giant’s as well. Or, they were on the move again, and that second assumption left Alber worried as there was no information available, about how fast they could cross from one system toward another.