Chronicles of Sol: The Fall

Captain’s Log April 4th, 002 SDE

Its been several months since our encounter with the Harbinger. We have made good speed for the Cantra system, and are now on final approach. I’ve ordered several long-range scans of the system, but nothing concrete has been detected. The system does seem to be quite busy, and we have picked up a few high-energy signatures. Nothing that resembles weapons fire. Thankfully enough. Unfortunately, that does mean the situation is largely unknown. We can’t be sure if the Cathamari are already in the system, or if we beat them there.

Regardless of the case, we are set to find out in just a few short hours. In the time that we have left until arrival, I have ordered preparations for full combat readiness. Already I have crews searching the ship to secure any lose items, while engineering is conducting last minute diagnostics of all combat systems, making sure they can operate at peak performance. Just in case, the system is already a host to a hostile force, I plan to go in with weapons on hot standby, and all tubes loaded. At this very moment, the main weapons are currently charging, albeit slower than they would otherwise given the heavy demands of the warp drive. Not to much slower though, since we have a fair amount of energy to spare since we aren’t running the drive at full power. Both the Coto, and Umikaze were ordered to do the same. This means if we are attacked the instant we drop out of warp, we will be able to fight back.

The warlord shifted. They recently arrived in the Cantra system, and he had made contact with allies in the system. Already a small fleet of cruisers were coming out to meet his ship, they were bringing with them key supplies and personnel required to finish his new flagship. Unfortunately it seems he had arrived sooner than expected, and the mooring for his ship wasn’t quite ready. Not entirely unexpected, ships as large as the Grand Warlords Throne weren’t exactly common. Outside of carriers and some dreadnought lines it was rare for ships to exceed ten kilometers.

His ship was the largest ever built by the Empire, and it was a kingdom unto itself. As things should be. Tactically it was a force to be reckoned with, and once it was finished his ascension to the throne would be assured. He smiled to himself as he had little doubt that his rise to power was just about to begin. Soon he would unite the empire under him, and then his enemies would tremble before him.

One of her more valued subordinates walked up to him, a report in her hands. He gave her his best smile. Most men would have just taken one as cute as her, but he wanted to break her down and get her to come to him. Deep down he knew it was working, “Something to report?”

“Sensors detected a small task force drop out of warp in grid 78,” she reported as she handed him the pad.

He frowned, that didn’t sound unusual. “I see, doesn’t sound weird. Many ships come out of warp in that grid. Why mention it?”

“Three of them appear to be human, preliminary scans indicate their armor as it full power, and all weapons charged.”

He figured than answer was no, but decided to ask anyway, “Any sign the Valorians have noticed that they are ready for battle?”

The aide quickly replied and confirmed his suspicison. Not much surprise there. Human ships were hard to detect, and it was even harder to scan through the interference generated by their powered combat armor. Armor that was quite impressive in its own right, to the point that he had spent considerable funds producing a working system based off it. The armor of his new flagship was basically an inferior version of theirs, but that made it no less impressive. His tests found his plating to be quite resiliant, and combined with the shields he very much doubted any power could bring down the Grand Warlord’s Throne. Especially once the final installations were completed.

He glanced out the humans, and let out a breath. The warlord felt that the last grand warlord had seriously mishandled the war with them. Their homeworld never should have been destroyed, nor should a battle have come to pass there. The first few engagements of that war proved that they were adept warriors. Their technology alone did not explain their ability to last for two years against the might of the empire. They were cunning, and naturally adept at warfare. Ingenious in their use of even outdated arms or weapons previously dismissed to inflict considerable damage on Cathamari fleets.

Personally he would have offered them a position in the Empire after those first few battles. If they had rejected that, so be it. It was their funeral, but no such thing had been done. Now it was far too late for any such thing to happen. It was a shame, but any surviving human fleets would have to be destroyed. If humanity was allowed to rebuild they would surely strike at the Empire and given their skill in battle they could inflict considerable damage.

However he was a guest of the Valorians at the moment. That meant he had certain considerations to keep in mind. It was quite rude to start a firefight in your host’s backyard. “Bring our defense systems online, and bring all weapon banks to standy by. DO NOT FIRE at the humans. Keep an eye on them.”

Confusion shone in her eyes, “That doesn’t...”

“I don’t need to explain my orders! Carry them out!”

“Yes! My lord!” she replied rushing off to do his bidding.

Reia shifted in her seat, as she monitored the readings. So far it seemed that the Cathamari in the system were not making a move, but it didn’t escape her notice that they were getting ready for battle. There was a feeling of tension in the air.

At the moment she was also mulling over her recent conversation with her science officer. The question had been on her mind for days, but she had only consulted her science officer a few hours ago. Reia had not been able to work out how so large a projectile could have been useless against infantry armor. Against shields the answer was obvious, the size of the round mattered little in that case. A shield would either destroy the projectile on contact or harmlessly redirect it. Often with negligible impact on the shield itself. With armor, she wasn’t so sure. Armor could bounce a projectile thereby protecting what was beneath, but what physics were at work to stop a large high velocity round she couldn’t imagine.

Her science officer suggested the answer lay in the hull plating protecting the human starships. Their new friends apparently didn’t have a deflector, and their hulls while at warp were practically vibrating with energy. It was weird since normally only the frontal quadrant of a ship needed to be protected from translight particles, and ships that forwent deflectors usually relied on shields. In such cases, only the forward shields would be taxed by translight particle impacts. Deflectors usually only covered the frontal quadrant, but some ships had more expensive omnidirectional ones. Regardless at warp she wouldn’t expect the entire hull to show such energy fluctuations. It suggested that the energy was being transferred across the surface of the entire hull. Where it soon vanished. The exact mechanics at work were unclear, but it showed they had an understanding for redirecting energy. Where they were redirecting it? They hadn’t answered that one, but she did agree it suggested an answer for how infantry armor could resist such a weapon.

Thinking on that problem just didn’t bring a definitive answer. Not to mention it wasn’t realy the time for it. She glanced at her communications officer just as the younger woman looked up. “I managed to raise the starbase, but they are quite skeptical of what we have to say.”

Reia blinked, “I would too, but that Harbinger had the humans real spooked. I have no reason to believe they would lie about something like that either. Not to mention I don’t think they would have hurried us here unless they had reason.”

The officer pointed out the giant Cathamari ship, “Maybe they saw that vessel, and wanted to fight it?”

Reia scoffed, she had been on the Enterprise bridge, and while the language was unfamiliar she could understand enough from their consoles to glean what they could see. “Their long-range sensors aren’t any better than ours. I think they spent a few more credits to get a higher degree of resolution, but not enough to see the Cantra system in any kind of detail. Not at that range anyway.”

Her officer opened her mouth to reply, but before any words could be spoken several alarms went off. The proximity alarms. “Multiple inbound Cathamari warp signatures right on top of us!”

“Helm! Evasive!” she shouted. Not even using time for a proper order. Seconds later several flashing lights signaled the arrival of twenty Cathamari battlecruisers in close proximity.

Before she could properly register that, the ship shuddered. Lights turning purple. It took her a moment more to register that they were under attack, but her training had kicked in already. She was already shouting orders.

“Auxiliary power to the shields. Increase speed! Bring us about to heading one eight zero mark two four. All pulse batteries return fire!”

“Sir! The capacitors aren’t charged! We can’t return fire for another two minutes!”

She growled, “Take power from life support if you have to, but I want those batteries firing now!”

A moment later she heard the familiar whine of several pulse batteries firing. She took a glance at her screens. Noting the other ships in the group were already engaged. The Enterprise seemed to have drawn most of the attention, her own ship was only under fire from four of the ships. She also noted that there were ships warping in all over the system. Often right on top of military vessels. Not all of them were lucky to have had their shields up like she did.

She didn’t focus on that. Just as she was about look away from the sensors, she watched the Cathamari fire torpedoes at the Enterprise. Before any of them could make contact, the alien capital ship seemed to shimmer moments before it teleported above the cruisers that fired upon it. Its beam weapons firing. Powerful blue energy streams tore into four cruisers from above simultaneously. Their shields flaring brightly as the sustained beams ripped into their shields.

Reia turned away, she had her own problems. As the most recent shout emphazised. “Sir! Port shields Failing!”

“Roll the ship! Protect our flank!” she responded. Part of her was worried the other shields would start failing soon as well. Her shields were good, but Cathamari plasma cannons were powerful. Able to drain shields in very short order, thankfully their range was quite limited. Unfortunately she had the misfortune of a battlegroup warping in on top of her.

The ship shuddered. A new alarm blared, and someone reported, “Hull breach! Deck seventeen section four. Emergency force fields holding.”

She noted that, as her eyes once again scanned the tactical plot. The four battlecruisers firing on her were still far too close to comfort, but she saw something. “Tactical! Aft torpedos! Full spread!”

An instant later her aft launchers roared, spitting out fiery death. The deadly plasma spread out, and slammed into two cruisers at once. Light flared as the plowed into the weaker energy shielding of the Cathamari ships. Moments before burning into the hulls. Her ship rocked as the rounds exploded unleashing shockwaves.

As the figurative dust cleared, she was treated to the sight of one kill. The other cruiser she hit had lost shields. Her tactical officer anticipating her orders concentrated fire on the wounded cruiser. Numerous plasma pulses raked the armored hull of the battlecruiser. Vaporizing chunks of armor and surface mountings with each impact, yet the armor did its job. Keeping the unshielded ship protected. Just long enough for it break off, and reposition behind another cruiser whose shields were still up. Allowing the shields to reset.

Not getting the kill might bite her later, but she sighed in relief. That one ship dead, and the other moving off had dropped the presurre considerably. Moments later they were able to put some distance between them, and the battlecruisers. Enough that she felt like she could relax. Cathamari ships weren’t that dangerous at range, only up close where they could use their superior firepower to its full effect.

She glanced back at the sensor screens. The system was in chaos, thousands of Cathamari ships had warped in. They were even engaging the Cathamari ships that had already been in the system. Worse, she notice Valorian ships firing on Valorian ships as well. It was complete chaos. Closer to her own ship, the Enterprise had already destroyed four Cathamari battlecruisers. Both of her escorts had scored one kill as well. As for her sister’s ship? Despite the damage her crew had managed to score two kills and her sister wasn’t even onboard. Neira was still on the Enterprise, she had recovered mostly, but the doctors were still keeping her for observation. In her mind that made the Enterprise the most important ship here. Still she was feeling good about their little group. Of the twenty ships that had attacked them nine had already been destroyed leaving eleven ships against their five which was much better odds.