5tar
Active Member
It was the thirty-first year of the Yamataian Star Empire. The eternal morning sun was just passing over the edge of the lush green planet of Nataria, casting its golden light against the Aries starbase. The morning activities went as normal, there was a high traffic of imperial ships were coming and going through the docks, but nothing else to note. No one was aware of the historic day they were going to be a part of; they would be recorded forever in the logs of this fate changing event. In the station, floating vigilant above the planet a sensors operator saw it first. A few scout ships with old ID numbers from the Useu fleets appeared just in long range scan reach. He didn’t quite know what to make of it, so the Yamataian reported quickly to his Neko superior. She did a double check, it did appear that the ship was indeed friendly but the ship number according to logs was long confirmed MIA, thought to be downed along with the rest of the fleet.
Rapidly the information climbed up the chain of command, all the way to the station’s Chujo. But before they could properly react to the true gravity of the situation--- an alarm went off and as long range ordnances burst out from FTL to clear the way for the first wave of attackers; a mass of old Yamataian ships armed to the teeth with weapons. The escort fighters and defence vessels sent out first from Aries to react to the ships were all but wiped out at this point. The attack was so sudden that it sent the whole station into shock, and all the ships in the area.
The intel burned the ears of all around, catching the station like wildfire. In an organized chaos the ships docked in Aries were quickly deploying to react to the pre-emptive attack. At this point the Useu fleet had already split into operation divisions. One half was descending upon the planet to launch it’s assault on the depot, burning into the atmosphere in numbers so great that the planetary defense guns spitting flack into the air were useless, only really aggregating the invasion force. Those defenses were wiped away in mere minutes after the first blasts, and all that was left to combat the attacking ships was a small division of the 1st XF, with the legendary Ketsurui princess Hanako to lead the forces into a glorious battle from the bridge of her pocket battle ship.
However the main section of the fleet remained in orbit, fighting the advance defenders from Aries and protecting their invasion force way below. Their objective was clear, don’t let anyone pass, and take the space station. The first part was going flawlessly, and the second part was underway. The strangely formed up fleet was an intimidating sight for all, but something about the way their formation was like a cluttered mess of ships stuck out. By this time most of the Neko veterans who had been fighting the SMX since their birth had figured out just what kind of attack this was--- this was no rebellion. It soon became very obvious just who they were facing when the enemy ships burst open and began spitting out a mix of Yamaitian armor and fighters, alongside a mess of rippers and attack pods. The calm was over--- the Mishhu were back--- and the wolves were hiding in sheep’s fir.
The battle raged on, ships were rising and falling in a bloodbath of warfare. But one thing was clear; the enemy was back--- with a vengeance. Somehow in the chaos a spearhead of capitol sized vessels and battleships burst through the Yamataian lines and were speeding on a crash course collision with the station. Someone commanded over the open communications to shoot them down, but even with most of the fleet’s fire, and the station’s defenses, it was too little too late. The hulks of metal slammed hard into the station’s side, causing it to shift in orbit. In the blow, an invasion force of mindless brutality began pouring by the hundreds into the station in an attempt to take it over. The forces inside were overwhelmed, there was just not enough ready manpower to push back the attackers, Aries starbase was soon to be lost. But not all hope was gone, prepared to make the choice to sacrifice those left on the station, down on the planet the battle princess Hanako was made aware of the situation. With her decree and a password granted by lineage she gave the order to self-destruct the station.
Only a few seconds were given for those just on the edge of escape. The irreversible command was given, and the destruction of Aries was put into motion. In only a matter of seconds, a blinding light burst in a prismatic brilliance and littered the battlefield with debris, but that wasn’t the only explosion. A chain reaction of the invasion ships went off as their power cores ignited and created an even bigger force wave causing all the ships in the area to be sent off axis. It was all so sudden, the attack, the station and now the losing battle.
High up above the planet the fight raged on, countless ships twinkled in the sky as the attackers were coming with a force of unseen power. More and more the Yamataian numbers began to dwindle, the remaining ships in the stage of operations were outnumbered, and standing to fight now was only a death sentence. Through the communications an order was issued by another famous captain of the first XF. The Red Lion, commander of the YSS Senbu, the Anri repair ship turned carrier. The Taisa’s words were sincere, and simple. “This is Taisa Endo Shizuka, of the YSS Senbu. This battle is over, we are defeated. I hereby issue an order of full retreat, to those who are afraid to leave this fight; I will take full responsibility for the actions carried out. There is a time to find your glorious end in battle, and a time to come back another day. Today we leave, so we can come back and avenge our fallen comrades, don’t let their deaths be in vain.” With that, the carrier led the remaining ships away from the enemy. There was little they could accomplish at this point, being able to survive and fight again was all they could hope for.
Their escape was not without loss however, courageous ships of the Empress’ star navy turned to face the pursuers and hold off the storm for the fleet to escape. The group that did make it was lucky to be alive; the handful of ships remaining could be barely be called a battle group, let alone a fleet. It took some time for them to realign their sensors and their own senses. The insurmountable loss of life was unbelievable. A wave of anxiety swept through the survivors, and it didn’t help that they were far from out of trouble.
The first issue at hand was the many damaged ships, there were only two remaining Anri repair ships left and even then most of the ships including one of the Anri were without instant fabrication capabilities. Most of the ships were so badly damaged that they could not make another FTL jump even if they needed to. But getting the repairs was going to be tough; organizing the efforts at this point was a struggle. There was no immediate commander of the fleet. Only a few Taisa were left remaining to discuss those matters, in the end it came down to a diplomatic vote. The result was surprising; the leadership position was given to the Senbu captain; Shizuka, the Red Lion. The choice for the other Taisa was simple, they needed someone willing to make tough decisions on a grander scale than just the limits of their bulkheads, and they entrusted that to the one who was brave enough to take responsibility to call a retreat in such a dire situation, in one sense, she was their savoir.
Fleet commander Endo’s first order of business was to arrange repair teams from all the ships, and have them sent out to restore FTL capabilities. She knew that they were far from out of the woods yet, and the wolves from before would be coming after them, smelling for the blood they were leaving along their way. She was never before more right, just as the repairs were going along great; the first of many attacks to come was launched on the fleet. Shizuka reacted quickly this time, and had already planned a clever counter attack. They fought toe to toe with the fast scouting party, keeping them away from their wounded allies. They were successful, as those ships with damaged FTL drives were jury-rigged to make another jump.
This vicious cycle would continue for quite some time, months in fact. The fleet of survivors however learned from this situation, Shizuka would lead them into guerrilla warfare against the enemy forces. Limiting communications to keep them hidden from their hunters. Jumping around from asteroid field, to debris clusters with ships still damaged. They never left anyone behind, forever carrying on the Red Lion’s motto of leaving no soul lost or forgotten. They slowly made their way to the galactic southern reaches of the empire, just outside the boarders of the FTL dead zone of the Samurai Sector. A few more ships were destroyed in combat, but every time they would lose more souls, their own would become invigorated with a burning sense of justice and instead of moral sliding, it would swell with fury as they fought for all their fallen comrades, the ones who passed on for their survival.
