Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:59 am Post subject: STORY-Apoc's HW2 story
The Fall of Hiigara
Prologue
The war with the Vagyr had left hundreds of scars across the galaxy. Whole systems had fallen before the Vagyr onslaught. The attack was swift and without warning but the Hiigaran navy fought back with honor and passion. However they were soon overwhelmed by the Vagyr's superior numbers and were driven back. It was before the Hiigaran homeworld, on the very doorstep of the Hiigaran people that hope began to fail leaving only the resilience of the Hiigaran defense fleet. The Vagyr were relentless, fighting with confidence and arrogance yet this was their undoing. They failed to recognise the unusually long absence in communication from their beloved leader, Makaan. They did not know of his destruction at the hands of the second Hiigaran fleet, commandeered by Karen S'Jet aboard the Pride of Hiigara. They did not know of his failure to capture the galaxy's most powerful prize. It would soon become clear that such confidence was highly unjustified. The fighting continued around the homeworld, the defense fleet was starting shrink as vast numbers of ships were destroyed. Hiigara couldn't hold on any longer and the Vagyr were about to make a final push to break the lines. Unable to offer any more resistance, the Hiigaran people resigned themselves to the destruction edging ever closer to them. Then a most unexpected turn of events occurred. The Sajuuk had arrived. Bringing with her the second fleet. Startled but not dismayed, the Vagyr fought on knowing they had one last act of mischief left to play. They unleashed the Planet Killers in their anger at the Sajuuk being in the wrong hands but it was in vain. Even as the huge platforms of death launched their deadly missiles the Sajuuk came to bear her might on them, inevitaby destroying them. Leaderless and broken by the current events, the Vaygyr fleet retreated and scattered. The Vagyr onslaught had ended but the war continued. Minor skirmishes endured across the galaxy as the Hiigaran fleet tried to end the threat of the Vagyr and drive them from the home systems.
After a while, peace descended on the galaxy.
The Hiigaran people turned their attention back to the ways of the older generation and looked towards the stars. Homes were rebuilt, cities regenerated and planets fortified. It was through a general recon mission that the Sajuuk came across the greatest find of all time. The Eye of Araan. Revealing what appeared to be a vast network of hyperspace gates of varying designs and power, the Hiigaran council were at a loss on how to proceed with this new information. The problem being that during the war against the Vagyr, the Hiigaran fleet had been decimated and would take months if not years to rebuild. Only half of the shipyards remained and resources were becoming thinly spread with the rebuilding of the planets and cities. If they re-opened this ancient network, who knows what would come through, would they be prepared? Months went by without a decision until Karen herself persuaded the council that it was too big an opportunity to miss. The council agreed to the Sajuuk with a small escort, would be able to explore some of the network and only for a brief time while the fleet was restored.
And so it was decided Karen would once again link up to the Sajuuk and explore the unknown. Meanwhile the fleet would be rebuilt under a new name, a name to bring in the new age of S'Jet and signify the start of a new chapter in time for the Hiigaran people. The Pride of Hiigara was to be resurrected and refurbished. Surrounded by the vast gravity wells and accessable only by the Gate of Balcora, it would make the perfect base of operations. It would be renamed LoneStar Command and would act as both Command centre and shipyard. Here the fleet would be reborn. Bigger, Better and stronger than any other fleet that had gone before.
The Hiigaran people would be safe.
Chapter 1: Begging for Scraps
Gazing out into space, the ageing man marvelled at the goliath vessel idling in dry dock. Looking closer he could see a squadron of fighters performing a flyby before flipping end over end and going back the way they came. Like flies buzzing around a whale, he thought to himself. He became aware of another man coming up behind him through the reflection of the viewport. "I'm not suited for this, Tom" he said as the other man came closer, "I didn't get to where I am today just so I could sit in an office"
"Still needs to be done, sir" The man replied. A younger man but not by much. He pulled his gaze away from the Sajuuk and turned to look at his desk. Datapads and scripts covered the entirety of the surface. Looking down to his chest, he noted soberly his own insignia rank. Admiral. And here he was, sifting through paperwork or at least attempting to sift through the paperwork that threatened to overload the weight capacity of his desk. "Tom, what happened to the good old days when we just used to be at war with enemies and not ten tons of paperwork?" The Admiral asked.
"We won the war, sir" the other man said with a note of scarcely contained amusement.
"In this office, I don't expect my friends to call me sir, Tom. I reserve the formalities for those I don't like" The Admiral said dryly.
"True but I know it can bug you sometimes, Mike" came the reply.
Admiral Mike Brandt, Chief commander of the LSC naval forces. He had been with the military through all three major campaigns. Against the Taidan, Beast and the Vaygr. His Tactical awareness and superior strategies had earned him promotion after promotion until he now stood at the highest level. Following in his wake was Commander Tom Fitzwater, who had actually refused the last promotion of Admiral status. He had been content with his current standing and had no desire to leave the battlefront. Still he remained Admiral Brandt's second in command and most trusted advisor. They had been working together as a team since the days of the Beast war, they endured the seige of Hiigara while holding back the Vaygr forces long enough for Karen S'Jet to return. Now they were trying to rebuild the fleet. With resources becoming ever more limited, it was proving a difficult task and the paperwork was becoming ever more ruthless.
The Admiral found himself wanting some strange species to try and invade just to break the tedium of office chores. Not for the first time.
"OK, Tom. Lets do the numbers, How does our fleet stand so far?" he asked, not really wanting to know the answer. Tom picked up one of the datapads nearest him and started to reel off the numbers. It didn't look good.
"Nine Fully functional Battlecruisers, a further two still being repaired from the last skirmish we had with the Vagyr remnants. Twenty-seven Destroyers, five of those out of commision too. Four carriers, the Crossfire which is out on patrol, Torlan, Dria and Dawn which is almost repaired and due back into service. Several Flack, Ion, and Torpedo Frigates but we have more of them turning up all the time, those we previously thought lost. We only have two Marine frigates left and they are aboard the Crossfire. The only good news we have is Fighter and Bomber squadrons are at optimal numbers. All in all, Mike, we're in bad shape. The Vaygr cost us dearly" Tom finished.
"Too dearly" Mike said soberly "So what are our options?"
"Few. The materials we need are becoming hard to come by, with all the higher ups spreading our resources to build shinier cities. Seems we are second place to the voters in the minds of the poiliticians" Tom said. It was true, since the end of the war the politicians and beurocrats were scrabbling over themselves to secure their votes. The easiest method was to spend resources on building better facilities for the people. Resources that would have normally gone to the military. Over the past few months the military budget was practically halved and ship production has suffered immensely. Tom pulled a seat over and sat down, "Lets see, if we put a considerable amount of effort in getting the mining fleet up and running again, we could get ourselves self sustained. So that should be our first plan of action"
"Meanwhile the size of our fleet is worryingly small, we know the Vaygyr haven't died out. If there was an insurgence we'd be handing the galaxy to them on a silver plate" Brandt added "We need more ships, we'll have to fill our ranks with vessels from home defense forces. Send out requests to all planetary governers, Make sure they know it's a request but make sure they understand it's not" Brandt winked at Tom raising a sly smile from the younger man.
"Will do" Tom vacated his seat and as he turned to leave the room he took vision of the Sajuuk sitting outside in space. "Karen will be leaving soon, You know I think this is a bad idea with the state we are in" he added.
"We don't have any choice in the matter, I can only hope all goes well" Brandt said. If not we are going to find ourselves in serious trouble.
"Comms, anything to report?"
"No sir, all's quiet here" the ensign answered.
Commander Hill looked around the bridge, checked his watched and sighed. He was supposed to meet up with two frigate captains at the rendevous point. They were an hour late. He looked back in the direction of the comms station as if some signal would magically come through. Nothing. He looked to his second-in-command. "Captain Weeks" he said in a commanding voice "Have the marines prepare for inspection in ten minutes, you have the bridge" He got up out of his commander's chair and left the bridge as Weeks relayed the orders. Hill knew the marines would be ready in the hanger by the time he got there, they always was when a sudden inspection was called. He knew they would all pass with pristine colours. They always did. They were after all the most Elite marines that LSC forces had to offer. Trained to the highest standards in covert operations, they were the silent threat that would be most feared if only people knew about them. He didn't need to call an inspection but complacency never won a war, besides he needed something to do. He reached the lift and pressed the button to call it when his personal communicator beeped. Reaching into his Officer's tunic, he retrieved it and thumbed it on. "What is it?"
"Commander, we have just recieved a distress signal from one of the captains we are due to meet. They have come under attack from a Vaygr task force" the small comms device crackled.
Ignoring the lift doors opening, Hill turned around and headed back to the bridge at a brisk pace, "Do we have a location?"
'Yes sir, just setting co-ordinates now'
"Jump when ready, Have the ship brought up to red alert and have the pilots on standby, I'm coming back to the bridge now"
"Yes sir" the comm clicked off. The vaygr filth just don't know when to crawl under a rock and die, do they? He thought to himself as he continued his way back to the bridge.
Weeks thumbed off his comlink and looked over at the nav station "Set course and jump when ready, Comms have our pilots report to their ships and prepare for immediate launch on hyperspace exit" he thought for a moment before adding almost as an afterthought "Oh, cancel the inspection too"
"Yes sir, Aye sir" came the replies. Weeks could feel the vibrations through the floor build up as the engines began to compress energy needed for the jump. "Crossfire ready to jump, sir" The nav's officer waited for the word from his superior. Weeks waited just a moment. Lights all around the ship began to dim and sirens started wailing across all sections. The Carrier had stepped up to red alert. Commander Hill had entered the bridge now and was making his way to his seat. Weeks walked over to the comms station, reaching for a switch and flicked on the ships internal speaker system "This is Captain Weeks speaking. We are about to enter into an engagement with a Vaygr task force of unknown numbers. Do your jobs and we'll come home. All Hands prepare for jump" He flicked off the internal comms and gave the nod to the navigation officer "Make the jump"
"Sir"
Weeks just managed to sit down in his own officer's chair as the engines released the massive stockpile of energy it had built up. The Gravity compensators kicked into life to adjust the sudden shift in force as the carrier shot towards it's destination in a blaze of light.
Captain Platt was nervous, unusually so. His assault frigate, Flack class, had moments before been pulled out of a jump along with Captain Higgins Ion class frigate. In the distance was a Vaygr assault carrier looking like the guilty party for pulling the frigates out of their jump. A Vaygr carrier wasn't a vessel that normally struck fear into Platt but there was something going on here. The sensors had picked up the vessel along with two fighter squadrons and one bomber squadron. The thing that struck Platt was, they weren't engaging. The carrier was just sitting there and the fighters were slowly moving around the vessel but were also not engaging. Something was wrong.
'Transmission sent, captain'
Snapping out of his thoughts he acknowledge the young comms ensign. "Put me through to Captain Higgins"
"Yes sir" the ensign got to work pressing a number of keys at his station before looking back at the captain "Your linked up, sir"
"Captain Higgins, seems we are in a pickle here. I've sent word to the Crossfire although I don't know when to expect a response. Those fighters aren't engaging, can we make this an advantage?"
"Negative, we are picking up odd readings about that carrier. Higher power levels than the standard Vaygr carrier" The sharp voice of Higgins came back.
Platt had noted the confusion in Higgin's voice "I'm sorry, Standard?"
"Appears to be a modifed vessel, most likely has more weaponry than it's letting on. A lot of signal traffic too, I think we can expect company. My advice? Put as much distance between us and that carrier now"
"Understood, set your course. we'll follow"
Onscreen the Ion Frigate began to rotate to the right, as the glow of the engines increased the frigate began to pick up speed. Platt was about to order the crew follow the frigate in escort formation when he noticed something. A small ball of light had appeared on the carrier's right hand side, the side facing the two frigates. "Evasive maneuvers NOW!" He shouted. The ball of light suddenly lanced out and struck Higgins' vessel, topside of the engines. The whole frigate was pushed forward by the force of the impact. "So the Vaygr have developed Ion technology now, wonderful' Higgins" voice came over the comms again. "They could at least learn to aim, all systems still intact. Platt, we need to get away from that carrier now"
Platt looked onscreen again to see the Vaygr carrier power up engines and begin to move in their direction. The fighters were still holding back, presumably because of the Flack frigate's impressive anti-fighter weaponry. The carrier was now in pursuit of the two frigates. The Ion frigate hadn't sustained much damage, a few dented hull plates but nothing severe, the carrier must have fired at maximum range.
"Another ship jumping in, sir"
"Do we have an id? Is it the Crossfire?" Platt barked.
"Negative, another vaygr carrier, they are trying to cut us off"
Looking at the sensors screen again, Platt could see the new vaygr ship moving to head them off. New targets started to emerge from the second carrier. Laser corvettes! Damn it.
"Higgins, we're in trouble"
"I know"
Laser corvettes had been the Vaygr's choice of ship when dealing with enemy frigates. Only small but packing enough power to punch through an entire frigate fleet, Laser corvettes had decimated countless Hiigaran vessels.
The crew started to panic. Multiple voices started shouting at once
"I count 6, no wait 8 corvettes undocking"
"They are on an attack vector"
"Sir, we have a new target jumping in"
Platt was visibly sweating now, trying to run through as many options that was available to him. A destroyer. It had jumped in just behind the original carrier. Higgins voice came over the comm system, the strain showing. "This is a bit of overkill for two frigates, Platt, what the hell is going on here?"
Platt carried on running a checklist of possibilities when a thought struck him. "Only the first carrier caught us in a gravwell, why didn't it attack the moment we were pulled out of our jump?"
Higgins couldn't follow where Platt was going, "I'm not sure" was all he could manage.
"They weren't expecting us! This isn't an ambush, of all the bad luck..... " he trailed off. A plan was forming now, they might not make it out of here intact but they had to get another message out. The Crossfire had one hell of a reputation but it was going to need far more support to get through this one.
"Navs, set quickest course to get us out of that damn carriers shadow, as soon as we are clear, Comms, send an open transmission requesting immediate assistance. We've found a Vaygr staging point and heavy support is urgently required. That carrier infront of us will catch on and try to jam us so we have one shot to get the transmission out" He ordered "Once transmission is sent, we'll need to launch a jump marker beyond the gravwell's boundaries or any reinforcements won't get close to us"
We're gonna have a whole load of company!
Story taken a bit of a new direction
Need to use more writing styles - Im not too keen on the way I have wrote it so far
More detail and accuracy needed.
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