Stardate: 23.4.2258
Location: Onboard the D.I.S. Star Mauler, J’kal Mauler Squadron, Drengin Imperial Hunter-Killer Force 2, Jessuin System, Drengin Northern Conquest Zone
Admiral Go’kar clicked his canines restlessly as he sat in his elevated command couch, looking at the view screen…waiting.
Outside, the massive Vor’tak Battleship was in formation with the other four ships of the J’kal Mauler Fleet, two Kri’Vak Battle Frigates and two Korcha Missile Escorts.
Only a few hours ago, sensors aboard the Star Mauler had detected an approaching Alliance Combat Squadron, consisting of six of the new Nexus Torpedo Cruisers. A quick search of recorded IFF transponder frequencies showed that this was the famous Wolf Squadron, which had destroyed the Drengin ships in the Battle of Theta Iota. It was time for revenge!
Reacting to this news, Admiral Go’kar had requested for backup from Imperial Command, but there were no warships nearby, which would be able to reach the system in time.
“Never mind”, Go’kar thought. “Our fleet is enough to crush those fragile Alliance ships, just like we crushed those Torians and Altairians. After all, with more than 10 kills in its record, the Star Mauler was THE most battle-hardened ship in the known galaxy. Even in its damaged state the Mauler was a mighty warship.”
In the front of the Bridge, one of the Lower Class stirred.
“My Lord…sensors are showing a disturbance at heading 43 degress to starboard. Enemy ships phasing out into normal space.”
“All ships…Red Alert!! Activate weapons and shields. Prepare to fire missiles on my command. Destroy those human scum!”
The Alliance ships would get a nasty surprise when they entered real space.
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Back in space, the T.A.S. Courageous and her sister ships phased back into real space, their weapon systems charged up and ready.
Onboard the Courageous, things were getting hectic.
“Sir…incoming missile wave consisting of Psyonic and Kra’tak missiles! Sensors also detect one damaged Vor’tak Battleship, two Kri’Vak Battle Frigates and two Korcha Missile Escorts.”
“All ships target the Vor’tak and fire torpedoes. Battle Plan D. Evasive action!”
Having been caught by surprise, the Alliance ships were not ready for dealing with such a huge missile wave. Would they be able to successfully ward off this attack?
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As the missiles came closer, the Alliance ships started jinxing in a complex series of maneuvers. The Drengin missiles would lock onto a ship, only to find it make an abrupt turn and another ship appear in its view. The missile would then speed after this target only to find the trick repeated, again and again.
Three more missiles were fooled and veered off into space, narrowly missing their targets.
The remaining seven missiles homed in on two of the Cruisers that had been a little too sluggish.
The explosion lit up space. The other ship moved on, venting plasma and listing slightly to port.
-----
Meanwhile the wave of Photonic Torpedoes came ever closer.
The Vor’tak was a very powerful ship, but its large size meant that it was slightly sluggish and not very maneuverable. To compensate for these deficits, the Admiral had instead settled for a more insidious strategy.
Under his orders, the two Missile Escorts ships, the D.I.S. Talon and the D.I.S. Raptor activated their engines and flew at full speed towards the approaching wave. When close enough, the ships turned abruptly and moved towards each other, across the path of the torpedoes.
The plan worked as anticipated. The torpedoes veered off course and headed towards the Escorts As they came closer, the two ships intersected and one of the Escorts moved behind the other, turned on its wing and raced back towards the remainder of the Drengin fleet. The torpedoes went after the one target in their scope.
The resulting explosion sent the fleeing D.I.S. Talon tumbling, leaking plasma venting from its damaged starboard nacelle. But it had survived, as had the Star Mauler.
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Back on board the Courageous, Commander Valorus shook his head in disbelief.
He hadn’t seen that coming. For a moment a fleeting sense of admiration for the ingenuity of the Drengin Admiral fought with disgust for the reckless disregard shown by Go’kar for the lives of his own people.
Then he was back to his usual calm self again as he dispassionately watched the two fleets converge.
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The Courageous dukes it out with a Kri'vak Battle FrigateSpace exploded as the two fleets opened up again on each other. The battle soon degenerated into a fierce knife fight, as the ships weaved around each other, firing as they maneuvered.
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The bridge was shaking with the numerous impacts.
Admiral Go’kar slammed his claws down on the handle of his command couch in frustration; as yet another impact shook his ship.
“My Lord…Missiles are ready to fire.”
“Fire! Destroy those vermin!”
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The battle continuesOnce again space erupted as yet another Nexus exploded.
Commander Valorus gritted his teeth. They were losing.
The Drengin had lost one Frigate and both the Escorts, but the Vor’tak Battleship had still survived and was pouring murderous fire into the Alliance ranks. A total of 3 Terran Cruisers had been destroyed and the Virginia was badly damaged.
They had to destroy the Drengin battleship, but every time they fired, some other ship came in front. Some of the missiles got through, but not enough. It was time for a more desperate strategy.
The commander turned to his navigation officer.
“Mr. Kane, take us in close to the Star Mauler – full speed. Mr. Kumar, lock weapons onto the Vor’taks rear engines and prepare to fire torpedoes with a one-second interval between the first and the other two – firing pattern Theta. Mr. Chad, signal the Coyote and Virginia to concentrate fire on the Battle Frigate.”
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The T.A.S. Courageous takes on the Star Mauler“Execute maneuver Epsilon-5…now!!”
As the Nexus class Cruiser approached the large Drengin Vor’tak Battleship from an oblique angle, in a maneuver similar to a Klingon Sabre Dance (a classic maneuver from the same Star Trek science-fiction series), the proximity detectors started screaming as another salvo of missile laced out.
“Hold on…people. We’re almost there. On my mark…”
As the missile wave came closer, the T.A.S. Courageous slowed down, until after almost a minute, the ship almost came to a stop.
“Emergency turn – port 140 degrees.”
As reserve energy from the ship’s capacitors coursed through the ship’s ventral thrusters, they came alive, turning the large ship around with amazing speed. Although the reinforced polybdenum hull groaned in protest, it held together.
“Engage 2/3rds thrusters. All hands…brace for impact!”
Outside in space, the large ventral thrusters fired as the Courageous moved suddenly, executing a steep dive towards the incoming Kra’tak missiles, fired from the Star Mauler’s 3 remaining launchers.
The missiles came ever closer.
When they were only a few hundred feet away…
“Full burn! Barrel roll!”
The large cruiser zoomed ahead on a sudden burst of speed, as it turned in a spiral of loops.
The missiles arrived…
Foxed by the sudden burst of speed and the maneuver, the missiles narrowly missed and hastily turned to re-acquire target. As they did, the rear end of the large Drengin Battleship ship started filling their view screen, as the enemy ship desperately maneuvered to prevent the missiles from having a lock on its relatively vulnerable top hull. But it was too late.
One of the missiles fell for it and impacted on the Star Mauler, further damaging its hull.
The other two sped towards the running Courageous.
Weapons Officer Kumar’s board gave a chirp and the Target Locked LED started flashing.
“Sir…we have a lock.”
“Initiate firing pattern Theta in 3 seconds! Level ship up by 20 degrees and change course to starboard 45 degrees!”
Exactly 3 seconds later Ashok Kumar slammed his hand down on the red firing button.
The first Photonic Torpedo slammed into the rear of the Drengin Battleship, dropping its already much-weakened aft shield, and causing extensive damage to one of it’s engines. A few seconds later the other 2 torpedoes smashed into the already mangled rear, destroying all the engines, and causing wild power surges to course through the entire length of the enemy ship.
It was over…the Drengin Battleship was dead in space.
A few seconds later a brilliant explosion tore through space, as the power surge reached the central power core. The explosion lit up space for miles around. On the surface of Jessuin II, a second sun was visible for a few seconds. Then the huge cloud of debris surged forward destroying the 2 incoming missiles.
On board the Courageous…
The bridge shook violently, and the lights dimmed somewhat as consoles exploded and damage warnings blared incessantly. The emergency lights came on, and an ominous red glow lit up the interiors. Fortunately everyone had been strapped in.
“Damage Report.”
“Sir, hull integrity down to 75 %. Medium damage to decks 3 to 7. Sensor ability has degraded to 10 % of optimum performance. One of our port launchers has been badly damaged. No fatalities.”
“Status of the other Drengin ship?”
“Destroyed sir. One of the Virginia’s torpedoes apparently sliced through the bridge, destroying the bridge crew. This allowed the Coyote to move in and finish the job without any damage. But we lost the Virginia, sir, though most of the crew made it out safely.”
The Virginia scores a direct hit on the Drengin Frigate's bridgeCommander Valorus fought to keep his face emotionless.
“Very well. Good job people! Stand down. Send in the repair teams. Scan for any survivors. Mr. Kane…take us towards the nearby Jessuin homeworld. We can repair our ships there, under the protection of the Jessuin fleet and the nearby Altairian ships. Mr. Chad, please inform the Jessuins and Altairians of our intentions. Mr. Wilson, you have the bridge.”
As he headed to the nearby Turbo-Lift, a deep sense of tiredness was enveloping his mind. They had survived the encounter with some of the Empire’s most formidable ships…but only just.
It wasn’t over yet.
