Chronicles of Sol: The Fall

September 28th:

Red pulses of plasma raked across the hull of a Chi’ran frigate. The ship was an escort to a larger cruiser and part of a battle that had been raging for the better part of a day. Her shields were strained under the latest barrage with several plasma rounds breaching the shields. Thankfully the armor held, but it was clear the ship’s defenses were failing.

Elsewhere the Chi’ran flag made for a break in the Valorian formation. Her hull was marked with breaches and scorch marks. The ravages of several fires could be seen as well, the results of previous hits. Two cruisers moved in on the ship, their pulse batteries firing. Numerous rapid fire red plasma rounds raked the shields of the Chi’ran cruiser just before she returned fire. Several disrupter bolts slammed futilely into the shields of an attacking cruiser. Bright light flared as they shed energy into space and the Valorian ships continued to press the attack.

Several rounds of fire were exchanged between the ships before distance began to grow again. The cruisers pursued, maintaining their weapon locks. Neither side seemed to make much progress against the other, their weapons lacking the stopping power to effectively penetrate the other’s defenses. At least while their shields were up.

The poor frigate on the other hand was not doing so well. Her shields flickered and failed allowing more rounds to tear into her armored hull. The armor did its best to protect the more vulnerable sections beneath, but it was a losing battle. Moments later several torpedoes slammed into the hull with explosive results. The superheated plasma flared out explosively, melting through plating and starting fires. A fuel line ignited and several massive plasma flares erupted on the hull as the fireball grew. Then something internal exploded, just as escape pods started launching into the void. The hull fractured under the barrage of several Valorian ships, the plasma pulses now tearing into the ship’s vulnerable vitals. Finally, the stricken hull gave her last, sections were aflame and venting into space, and it broke apart under the barrage. Twisted burning metal floated off into the void, as escape pods made for a safe distance. Some sections exploded as containment of volatile reactants failed. Creating an impressive display of fireworks and scattering bits of wreckage everywhere.

It seemed clear that it was only a matter of time before the Chi’ran fleet was broken, they were down most of their escorts. Only the flag and two small frigates remained. All of which were now low on fuel, and munitions. Arrayed against them was a superior force of Valorian warships.Yet that soon proved to not be the case, when suddenly a barrage of blue lights slammed into several Valorian cruisers. Shields flared and hulls disintegrated as three ships made an explosive entrance onto the scene.

The captain watched the screens. He had known they were coming but a moment ago he had been wondering if they would ever arrive. Now they were here. A dozen cruisers sinking the instant they came out of warp. A perfectly executed attack by any playbook and one that not many would be able to execute. Most ships were vulnerable coming out of FTL, be it hyperdrive, warp drive or even Krall Inversion Drive, all of them consumed massive amounts of power to function. That meant shields and weapons were often not on the table immediately after coming out of warp. Most warships however did have enhanced power systems able to quickly bring those systems to operational status. Something that seemed to be the case with the Refuge ships, as not only were they able to fire torpedoes but they were already firing those beam weapons of theirs.

He watched as four focused blue energy beams lanced off of the Refugee flag and tore into the shields of a Protector Class Heavy cruiser. There was very little apparent effect, but he noticed them flaring brightly. The ship attempted to maneuver and returned fire with equal apparent effect against the armored hull of the Enterprise, as heavy plasma pulses splashed against the armor. The glow of the Valorian shields started to grow just as the beams underwent a phase shift from blue to a vibrant purple.

An officer exclaimed, “By the gods, that went through!”

He saw what the officer was commenting on. The beam was now tearing into the unarmored hull of the Valorian cruiser. Punching through entire sections, plasma fires erupted as atmosphere was vented through the growing rent in the hull. It only lasted for a few more seconds after the beam phase shifted before all four cut out. Leaving behind a deep wound in the side of the Valorian flag. Then the Enterprise opened up with her own heavy cannon. Vibrant purple energy bolts slammed into the shields of the stricken cruiser one after the other in rapid succession. Each one caused the shields to flicker and flare brighter but some of them went through to tear into the hull.

“Yes, she appears to be quite outmatched,” he noted aloud as the Valorian ship fired her torpedoes. A staggered volley of heavy plasma warheads sailed across space. Only to slam into a web of red light. Several energy bursts marked their pre-mature detonation, as some of the plasma washed over the alien hull with little effect. It was clearly hardened against plasma warheads. No surprise there, the Cathamari made wide use of plasma weaponry as well and the Refuge were known to have been at war with them.

That volley proved to be the Valorian flag’s last gasp as moments later her shields flickered and died. Heavy particle rounds tore into her hull ripping it apart like wet tissue paper. Then several sustained blue beams lanced out, slicing through her hull like very warm butter. Entire sections were vented in moments. Several explosions ripped through the hull as well. There were no survivors, the ship went down with all hands and not a single escape pod launched. He was somewhat surprised to see a Protector go down so fast, their shields were notoriously strong. Only they failed far too quickly.

His engineer commented, “It seems the Refuge intelligence net should be commended, they knew exactly where to hit that ship.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“That first strike that went through? It knocked out several systems and weakened their main shields. After that they didn’t stand a chance.”

That seemed to be a good thing, and he mentally took notes on how they did it. He didn’t have a focused beam weapon, but perhaps he would be able to find some other weapon to do the same thing. It was certainly a useful trick, in case he ever got into another skirmish with the Valorians.

The flagship going down seemed to take the fight out of the remaining warships, as several frigates and the few surviving cruisers broke off. Several flashes of light signaled their going to warp. The battle was over now and he felt the tension drain. The battle had lasted for the better part of a day, while the Valorians fired upon him. Long enough that he was out of plasma missiles and torpedoes.

Knowing that the new arrivals were friendly, he felt comfortable taking a moment to recharge his shields. They were a potent form of protection. Absorbing incoming energy and protecting the ship from damage, but all that energy had to go somewhere. It was why they glowed when struck. Most shields radiated away energy as EM radiation, some of which was in the visible spectrum, but the rest of that energy not radiated would be absorbed. The shield could only hold so much energy before collapsing. Once a shield reaches maximum saturation it would have to cycle before it could be raised again. While his shields weren’t fully saturated they were pretty heavily drained. They needed to shed absorbed energy and recharge. “Cycle the shields and open a channel with the Enterprise.”

Countryman shifted in his seat as he regarded the other captain. Rescue operations were underway to locate and return any surviving Chi’ran crews to the remaining ships. In the meantime, he had things to discuss. “That aside any idea...”

“I have a feeling what you are going to ask and Valorian incursions have increased as of late. I’ve read a few reports regarding a recent political shift in the Confederation. There have been other skirmishes like this one, throughout the sector.”

“Hmm, I see. We had an encounter recently ourselves, a rather large fleet.”

“As I said, this Skirmish isn’t an isolated incident.”

“Noted, now would you require an escort to port?”

“Thanks for the offer, but we can manage. There is an outpost only a few lightyears from here, worst case I can have them send tugs.”

“Understood, in that case I’ll help you collect your survivors and we will be on our way.”

“Much appreciated and thank you for the assistance. If you ever need help, look me up. I might be able to help and would like to return the favor later.”

He smiled, “I might just take you up on that offer. I’ll let you know if we ever need anything.”

“Now if you excuse me, I have to attend to my ship.”

“Of course, captain. Good luck.”

The channel closed and Countryman stood up. Nearby Greyman commented, “I think we should look into this recent political shift. It might be important.”

“Agreed, I guess we need to recruit a few spies. Hmm, or we could try tapping their communications.”

“That second sounds like an idea, any thoughts on how you will do that?”

“I do. Meet me in Lab 12 after shift and we can discuss it in detail at that time.”

“Certainly, I should have some time. Although I also have a date with my wife to prepare for, so we can’t take too long.”

“Shouldn’t take more than an hour. Have fun with your wife.”

“That should work and thank you.”

With the conversation done, the two turned to bridge work. There was plenty that needed to be done. Thankfully it was simple enough and the next couple of hours passed smoothly. Numerous pods were recovered intact, and even a few survivors were found in wrecked modules. Those rescues were a bit more tricky, but they went smoothly enough. About as well as could be expected given the circumstances.

Once all the rescues were complete and the Chi’ran task force was underway. The Enterprise and her two escorts departed the area as well. Heading on a course out of the Lantaro sector. In a few more days they would be out of the sector, but it remained to be seen if that would change anything.