Z
Zack
ON> Necromancer, in orbit around 188604
"LOOK ALIVE BROTHER!" Hazel called out, letting herself onto the bridge. She was in the middle of zipping up her flight suit, pistol on one side, helmit on the other. "We've got new orders and we need to move quick. Shit is going down and we already have ground-elements moving. We need to take out some initial targets and be ready to provide fire support."
She would make her way over to the nearest console, once her flight suit was on she started keying in commands, uploading the basic data. The current targets being the ships sitting at the starport on the planet below, along with a request to capture the Dove and the Pilgrim once those two ships returned from their excusion at B7R604.
Werner had been in his ready room. His ship was put on alert as soon as they had left the system, but he wasn't expecting to have to act. "Comm, what the hell is going on?" He said as he strode onto the bridge.
"Sir, Uso and company have been attacked on B7R! Orders are coming in from Vier." The Comm officer replied.
"Shit, CAG, deploy all drones and get hound ready for launch. Comm, get in contact with the ground team. Tactical, prime all...
"HOLD OFF ON THAT," Hazel said, "Our backers are coming to a seperate deal with Vier. And the ground team just relays targets IF they need it... Our targets are USO's and Van Banning's ships. We're dealing with the situation here... not on B7R."
Werner was cut off mid sentince and froze. "What?" He almost whispered. "We are targeting USO's AND Van Banning's ships?" He asked.
"Too much is on the line to let this game play out. We're stepping in." Hazel said. "... don't pretend like you didn't know this was coming. Lets disable their ships while they are on the ground and be done with it."
Her brother looked speechless. "That makes absouletly no sense sister..." he replied. "This is blue on blue damn it!" He added.
"I need to get to my ship." She said, starting to put on her helmet, "You better decide if you still want to be a captain of a ship. Our backers helped me pluck you of that sad appartment and stick you here. They are the ones that keep these things flying. I don't know about you, but I don't want to stop flying....It'll take me a minute to get to my fighter" With that she would turn to leave, her communicator going off for a moment as she fiddled with her helmet.
Werner paused as she stormed out, the bridge crew watched their captain with apprehension. He turned and faced them. "Comm... get Vier on the horn..."
"Aye aye." She replied trying to get a connection.
. . .
The communication channel seemed to hover there, moving painfully slow as it tried to connect them. The few seconds it took seeming like hours.
"Werner." Vier replied, finally popping onto the screen.
"Vier what is going on?" He said as she appeared, he decided to hold off on devulging to much information.
"I will need you to be more specific," She replied, as short and to the point as ever.
He sighed. "I have been given two sets of attack orders. I am verifying yours." He replied.
"I see." she replied. "... it is likely Uso will need assistance with leaving the B7R Area. However I am unable to relay additional attack orders to you at this time."
"Roger, over and out." With that, the link was severed.
"Sir... you have a decesion to make." Kovac said walking up to the CO. "It is your decesion boss..." Even as he spoke, it seemed that others were making their choices. The freespacer ships were starting to head out of the system... and Vier's own drones were breaking orbit.
"For all those who don't want to defy the orders of the company, leave now. Take a shuttle and getgoing before shit hits the fan. It was an honor to serve with you all." He looked to Kovac, "That goes for you to my friend. I am doing what I think is right... what Aashi would think was right..." Werner said softly to his friend.
"I'd follow ya to the end Captian." Kovac replied.
There were a handful of crew that did just that.... nearly a third of the bridge crew heading for the door.
"Well... I never liked them anyways," The sensor officer called out from his station.
"We'd never leave our Captain high and dry! Aint that right?" The helmsman called out to the remaining bridge crew.
"YEAH!" The crew yelled in unsion.
"....Sir, Hound squadron is launching. We have three more contacts inbound from deep space. All three ships look to be in our weight class."
"Hail them..." Werner replied sitting down at his command chair.
"Necromancer, this is Lich actual," Came the reply, "Are you in need of assistance?"
"Werner," Hazel came up on the command display as well, on a seperate channel. "Don't throw this away. You won't get another shot at a captain's chair."
Werner looked to his sister. "Hazel... I am doing what I know in my heart is right. If that costs me my command than so be it... I love ya sis, I hope you know that." He replied sadly.
"Werner..." Hazel said sternly.
"Understood. Lich out." ... When the lich cut the transmission, Hazel's com lines also went out. All three ships started accelerating towards the Necromancer, launching their own swarm of small fighter craft similar to the ones piloted by hound squadron.
"Open the all hands channel." He said to the comms officer. She nodded when it was open.
"This is Captian Ulysses S Werner of the Escort Carrier Necromancer. I can not stand by while underhanded politics force me to fight those I once called friend. I am offically defecting to the U.S.O effective immideatly. I will defend this planet to the end. For the U.S.O!"
The systems officer smirked. "Designation has offically changed. USOS Necromancer reporting for duty."
"Tactical prep torpedo tubes for snap shot, and fire all missiles at those incoming fighters..." He said, his voce catching in his throat. "Try and disable hound squadron if possible." He said to Kovac. "Systems! get those shields up and see if we cant send a few of our own toys at them."
The three ships would turn off to one side, their fighter escort fanning out ahead of them. Each launching a hail of their own point-defense missiles, the fighters starting to follow suit... as Hound squadron dissapeared into the opposing force's grouping of ships. They seemed content to stay at out of projectile weapon range... working on depeleting the Necromancer's supply of torpedoes.
Werner watched as the ships began to fan out. "Sir we are way out gunned." Kovac said from his station. At that moment the ship rummbled with the firing of the quad railguns, and dual railguns.
"Fire the torpedos and load the anti matter torpedos for snap shot. Let's thin out the swarm." Werner replied. "Systems, reroute all non essential power to the sheilds. Helm, begin flanking manuevers, get us to maximum range and begin kiteing."
Each time the Necromacer would fire its torpedoes, their oppoents had dozens of small missiles ready to intercept them, quickly taking them down before they got close. The amount of small fighters making the overall point defense capability overwhelming.
Then the Necromancer brought itself within weapons range of the fighters. They were certain hard to hit at extreme range, but the Necromancer was able to pick off three of the dozens that had been deployed... After a few seconds of firing, the three ships started their counter attack. The furthest one out started launching large anti-ship missiles. Then the next nearest ship did the same... then the closest one. Three streams of missiles several times larger than the fighters started closing in on the Necromancer, followed by a large volley of smaller missiles from the fighters.
"Incoming!" The senors operator reported.
"Tactical! Fire all mini missles at the inbound missiles and get those point defenses going! Helm! Take evasive action! Task the drones to protect the ship! Keep up the railgun fire! We can not fail!"
The enemy ships stayed at maximum range, while their fighters closed in on the Necromancer. As the Necromancer's drones and point defenses started chewing through the large anti-ship missiles and the fighter's smaller missiles... the fighters themselves started pairing off, each group of two picking out one of the drones proecting the necromancer and pouncing on them while the drones were busy with shooting down missiles.
"Set the rail guns to shrapnel fire and begin firing into the enemy fighters." Werner ordered as he watched another drone explode. "We have to get this under control now." He added. The massive cannons loaded fragmintation rounds and began firing them int tohe swarm of fighters, detonating when they got close and laying down a wall of flak.
The enemy fighters would start to back off a bit, continually firing more and more missiles. However for each enemy craft the Necromancer destroyed... they were able to take out two drones. The drone swarm rapidly thinning out. The enemy fighters would then move out to medium range again, putting some distance between themselves and the flack cannons to reduce their losses, firing a barrage of missiles at the Necromancer itself!
Werner scowled. "Return the drones to the ship, they are getting chewed up out there. Deploy the stone fish mines from the torpedo bays, see if we can slow them down. And continue firing the flak funs!"
The fighters continued to back off, and while the Necromancer's weapons lost accuracy with range... the fighter's guided missiles did not.The mines seemed to start absorbing a few of the missile hits, but the Necomancer itself was rapidly losing shield strength.
Werner growled as the ship shook beneath his feet. This wasn't good. He was going to lose if he didn't think of something fast. "Engineering! I have an idea. How fast can you get an emp device into a cargo contanier and up to the flight deck?"
"I'll be there in 3!" someone shouted, the sound of someone running away from their computer console could be heard in the back ground as the shields of the Necromacer started flickering. The missile barrage slowing to a stop...
All of the fighters would then take position, firing another volley, this one targeting the guns on the port side of the ship!
"Helm roll the ship! Show them our underside! Protect those guns just a little longer! Engineering! Find as much debris as you can and pack it around the flight deck!" Werner ordered.
The missiles would head right towards the necromancer for a moment longer... before breaking off and heading out into space, some slamming into the forward gun batteries, others avoiding the ship entirely as to not cause too much damage.
The fighters would carefully select new targets... and fire again, aiming for the ship's engines.
"Come on..." Werner muttered angrily. "How is it going engineering?" He asked impatiently. "Helm! Fullburn and 45 degrees up angle! Tactical, fire all mini missles at those fighters." He ordered. "And keep laying out as much flak and Mines as we can." He added.
"We're ready!" Engineering called out, as tactical did as asked, firing off the remaining missiles of the Necromancer, causing the enemy fighters to start pulling away, trying to build space so that they could reduce their losses from the mini-missile swarm.
"Good! Comm, broadcast this ship wide." As the Comm operator nodded Werner began to speak. "All hands! Evacuate the port flight deck immidealtly! I repeat alll hands evacuate the port flight deck!" He watched the tac map as the fighter's started pulling away. "Helm, when the next round of missiles comes in, I want you to make sure it hits the port side flight deck. Systems, seal all hatch ways and over load the sheilds in that sections so nothing is a miss. Tactial, make sure to let some of those missiles through." Werner smirked. "We are going to deliberitly depreesurize the hull in that section of the ship, and our EMP will get sucked out into space with the debris. They won't think twice about debris floating by, and when it gets to their ships... Crippled."
Kovac winced... "We're gonna die...."
---
Nearly half an hour later, the Necromancer was crippled. The three enemy ships had begun cycling out their fighters, pulling back ones low on ammo and restocking them. Each ship starting to match speed with the Necromancer herself.
Once at close range, they started to deploy their own transport craft, bringing a large number of combat robots towards the crippled ship.
The bridge was illuminated in red emergency lights as the bridge crew waited in a dead silence. "Sensor, how close are the ships to our trap." He asked.
"We can get two of them... maybe...." She responded, "... I think that is the best we are going to get."
"Engineering detonate the device! Tactical fire at will! Helm take evasive actions! Lets kill the bastards...."
"LOOK ALIVE BROTHER!" Hazel called out, letting herself onto the bridge. She was in the middle of zipping up her flight suit, pistol on one side, helmit on the other. "We've got new orders and we need to move quick. Shit is going down and we already have ground-elements moving. We need to take out some initial targets and be ready to provide fire support."
She would make her way over to the nearest console, once her flight suit was on she started keying in commands, uploading the basic data. The current targets being the ships sitting at the starport on the planet below, along with a request to capture the Dove and the Pilgrim once those two ships returned from their excusion at B7R604.
Werner had been in his ready room. His ship was put on alert as soon as they had left the system, but he wasn't expecting to have to act. "Comm, what the hell is going on?" He said as he strode onto the bridge.
"Sir, Uso and company have been attacked on B7R! Orders are coming in from Vier." The Comm officer replied.
"Shit, CAG, deploy all drones and get hound ready for launch. Comm, get in contact with the ground team. Tactical, prime all...
"HOLD OFF ON THAT," Hazel said, "Our backers are coming to a seperate deal with Vier. And the ground team just relays targets IF they need it... Our targets are USO's and Van Banning's ships. We're dealing with the situation here... not on B7R."
Werner was cut off mid sentince and froze. "What?" He almost whispered. "We are targeting USO's AND Van Banning's ships?" He asked.
"Too much is on the line to let this game play out. We're stepping in." Hazel said. "... don't pretend like you didn't know this was coming. Lets disable their ships while they are on the ground and be done with it."
Her brother looked speechless. "That makes absouletly no sense sister..." he replied. "This is blue on blue damn it!" He added.
"I need to get to my ship." She said, starting to put on her helmet, "You better decide if you still want to be a captain of a ship. Our backers helped me pluck you of that sad appartment and stick you here. They are the ones that keep these things flying. I don't know about you, but I don't want to stop flying....It'll take me a minute to get to my fighter" With that she would turn to leave, her communicator going off for a moment as she fiddled with her helmet.
Werner paused as she stormed out, the bridge crew watched their captain with apprehension. He turned and faced them. "Comm... get Vier on the horn..."
"Aye aye." She replied trying to get a connection.
. . .
The communication channel seemed to hover there, moving painfully slow as it tried to connect them. The few seconds it took seeming like hours.
"Werner." Vier replied, finally popping onto the screen.
"Vier what is going on?" He said as she appeared, he decided to hold off on devulging to much information.
"I will need you to be more specific," She replied, as short and to the point as ever.
He sighed. "I have been given two sets of attack orders. I am verifying yours." He replied.
"I see." she replied. "... it is likely Uso will need assistance with leaving the B7R Area. However I am unable to relay additional attack orders to you at this time."
"Roger, over and out." With that, the link was severed.
"Sir... you have a decesion to make." Kovac said walking up to the CO. "It is your decesion boss..." Even as he spoke, it seemed that others were making their choices. The freespacer ships were starting to head out of the system... and Vier's own drones were breaking orbit.
"For all those who don't want to defy the orders of the company, leave now. Take a shuttle and getgoing before shit hits the fan. It was an honor to serve with you all." He looked to Kovac, "That goes for you to my friend. I am doing what I think is right... what Aashi would think was right..." Werner said softly to his friend.
"I'd follow ya to the end Captian." Kovac replied.
There were a handful of crew that did just that.... nearly a third of the bridge crew heading for the door.
"Well... I never liked them anyways," The sensor officer called out from his station.
"We'd never leave our Captain high and dry! Aint that right?" The helmsman called out to the remaining bridge crew.
"YEAH!" The crew yelled in unsion.
"....Sir, Hound squadron is launching. We have three more contacts inbound from deep space. All three ships look to be in our weight class."
"Hail them..." Werner replied sitting down at his command chair.
"Necromancer, this is Lich actual," Came the reply, "Are you in need of assistance?"
"Werner," Hazel came up on the command display as well, on a seperate channel. "Don't throw this away. You won't get another shot at a captain's chair."
Werner looked to his sister. "Hazel... I am doing what I know in my heart is right. If that costs me my command than so be it... I love ya sis, I hope you know that." He replied sadly.
"Werner..." Hazel said sternly.
"Understood. Lich out." ... When the lich cut the transmission, Hazel's com lines also went out. All three ships started accelerating towards the Necromancer, launching their own swarm of small fighter craft similar to the ones piloted by hound squadron.
"Open the all hands channel." He said to the comms officer. She nodded when it was open.
"This is Captian Ulysses S Werner of the Escort Carrier Necromancer. I can not stand by while underhanded politics force me to fight those I once called friend. I am offically defecting to the U.S.O effective immideatly. I will defend this planet to the end. For the U.S.O!"
The systems officer smirked. "Designation has offically changed. USOS Necromancer reporting for duty."
"Tactical prep torpedo tubes for snap shot, and fire all missiles at those incoming fighters..." He said, his voce catching in his throat. "Try and disable hound squadron if possible." He said to Kovac. "Systems! get those shields up and see if we cant send a few of our own toys at them."
The three ships would turn off to one side, their fighter escort fanning out ahead of them. Each launching a hail of their own point-defense missiles, the fighters starting to follow suit... as Hound squadron dissapeared into the opposing force's grouping of ships. They seemed content to stay at out of projectile weapon range... working on depeleting the Necromancer's supply of torpedoes.
Werner watched as the ships began to fan out. "Sir we are way out gunned." Kovac said from his station. At that moment the ship rummbled with the firing of the quad railguns, and dual railguns.
"Fire the torpedos and load the anti matter torpedos for snap shot. Let's thin out the swarm." Werner replied. "Systems, reroute all non essential power to the sheilds. Helm, begin flanking manuevers, get us to maximum range and begin kiteing."
Each time the Necromacer would fire its torpedoes, their oppoents had dozens of small missiles ready to intercept them, quickly taking them down before they got close. The amount of small fighters making the overall point defense capability overwhelming.
Then the Necromancer brought itself within weapons range of the fighters. They were certain hard to hit at extreme range, but the Necromancer was able to pick off three of the dozens that had been deployed... After a few seconds of firing, the three ships started their counter attack. The furthest one out started launching large anti-ship missiles. Then the next nearest ship did the same... then the closest one. Three streams of missiles several times larger than the fighters started closing in on the Necromancer, followed by a large volley of smaller missiles from the fighters.
"Incoming!" The senors operator reported.
"Tactical! Fire all mini missles at the inbound missiles and get those point defenses going! Helm! Take evasive action! Task the drones to protect the ship! Keep up the railgun fire! We can not fail!"
The enemy ships stayed at maximum range, while their fighters closed in on the Necromancer. As the Necromancer's drones and point defenses started chewing through the large anti-ship missiles and the fighter's smaller missiles... the fighters themselves started pairing off, each group of two picking out one of the drones proecting the necromancer and pouncing on them while the drones were busy with shooting down missiles.
"Set the rail guns to shrapnel fire and begin firing into the enemy fighters." Werner ordered as he watched another drone explode. "We have to get this under control now." He added. The massive cannons loaded fragmintation rounds and began firing them int tohe swarm of fighters, detonating when they got close and laying down a wall of flak.
The enemy fighters would start to back off a bit, continually firing more and more missiles. However for each enemy craft the Necromancer destroyed... they were able to take out two drones. The drone swarm rapidly thinning out. The enemy fighters would then move out to medium range again, putting some distance between themselves and the flack cannons to reduce their losses, firing a barrage of missiles at the Necromancer itself!
Werner scowled. "Return the drones to the ship, they are getting chewed up out there. Deploy the stone fish mines from the torpedo bays, see if we can slow them down. And continue firing the flak funs!"
The fighters continued to back off, and while the Necromancer's weapons lost accuracy with range... the fighter's guided missiles did not.The mines seemed to start absorbing a few of the missile hits, but the Necomancer itself was rapidly losing shield strength.
Werner growled as the ship shook beneath his feet. This wasn't good. He was going to lose if he didn't think of something fast. "Engineering! I have an idea. How fast can you get an emp device into a cargo contanier and up to the flight deck?"
"I'll be there in 3!" someone shouted, the sound of someone running away from their computer console could be heard in the back ground as the shields of the Necromacer started flickering. The missile barrage slowing to a stop...
All of the fighters would then take position, firing another volley, this one targeting the guns on the port side of the ship!
"Helm roll the ship! Show them our underside! Protect those guns just a little longer! Engineering! Find as much debris as you can and pack it around the flight deck!" Werner ordered.
The missiles would head right towards the necromancer for a moment longer... before breaking off and heading out into space, some slamming into the forward gun batteries, others avoiding the ship entirely as to not cause too much damage.
The fighters would carefully select new targets... and fire again, aiming for the ship's engines.
"Come on..." Werner muttered angrily. "How is it going engineering?" He asked impatiently. "Helm! Fullburn and 45 degrees up angle! Tactical, fire all mini missles at those fighters." He ordered. "And keep laying out as much flak and Mines as we can." He added.
"We're ready!" Engineering called out, as tactical did as asked, firing off the remaining missiles of the Necromancer, causing the enemy fighters to start pulling away, trying to build space so that they could reduce their losses from the mini-missile swarm.
"Good! Comm, broadcast this ship wide." As the Comm operator nodded Werner began to speak. "All hands! Evacuate the port flight deck immidealtly! I repeat alll hands evacuate the port flight deck!" He watched the tac map as the fighter's started pulling away. "Helm, when the next round of missiles comes in, I want you to make sure it hits the port side flight deck. Systems, seal all hatch ways and over load the sheilds in that sections so nothing is a miss. Tactial, make sure to let some of those missiles through." Werner smirked. "We are going to deliberitly depreesurize the hull in that section of the ship, and our EMP will get sucked out into space with the debris. They won't think twice about debris floating by, and when it gets to their ships... Crippled."
Kovac winced... "We're gonna die...."
---
Nearly half an hour later, the Necromancer was crippled. The three enemy ships had begun cycling out their fighters, pulling back ones low on ammo and restocking them. Each ship starting to match speed with the Necromancer herself.
Once at close range, they started to deploy their own transport craft, bringing a large number of combat robots towards the crippled ship.
The bridge was illuminated in red emergency lights as the bridge crew waited in a dead silence. "Sensor, how close are the ships to our trap." He asked.
"We can get two of them... maybe...." She responded, "... I think that is the best we are going to get."
"Engineering detonate the device! Tactical fire at will! Helm take evasive actions! Lets kill the bastards...."
