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#7 - TASK FORCE CHARON

PostPosted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 5:03 pm
by vemlich
Long Ago and Far Away

TASK FORCE CHARON

Task Force Charon was composed of one hundred marauder class “Battle Stars,” each surrounded and protected by a formidable battle group. Half of the combat fighters were intended for defense of the battle group and the other half provided the offensive capabilities. Yet among all the carriers and battle-stars, there were weapons aboard the harvesters that could take out selected cities on remote worlds, could level a mountain range or even disintegrate all carbon-based life forms within a proscribed radius while doing no other damage. The three planet harvesters, could ignite atmospheres with sufficient combustible gasses in them, and literally split planets in two.

One such harvester could wipe out an entire solar system, leaving nothing but debris, gasses, and assorted space junk to orbit the sun, or could, in fact, even explode that sun. There were only six such stations in operation throughout the vast Charon Empire, and three of them were concentrated here in the task force, the largest ever assembled.
The protective battle group was composed of nearly 200 capital ships, marauders, battleships, cruisers, and dreadnauts, and 600 carriers, named after ancient seagoing vessels none could remember at this stage, built along the same lines as the self defense stations. Every vessel was a living mechanical ship with a life spark given by the Imperious Leader CHARON. In the fleet, hundreds of scouts, and fighters, stand ready, capable of taking continuous streams of orders from their base carriers or, in the event the carrier was destroyed, from any marauder, cruiser, or the harvesters themselves. Nothing else was needed; the combined firepower and mobility of a marauder was equal to an entire planetary attack force, complete with combat troops that could land on and occupy a stretch of land and hold it until relieved provided the cruiser’s fighters continued their air and space cover. As well, the assault marines, inside their battle machines they could be so effective that a squad might be able to take and destroy a medium-sized city, even if the city were defended with energy weapons.
In theory the task force was as close to invulnerable as could be imagined. The only trouble was, its powers, weapons, programming, and tactics had never been tested under "real" battle conditions.


The Engagement

A forward cruiser, still more than a light-year off the selected targets, launched a probe module. It sped off, skipping in and out of sub-spacial modes, in a near-random approach to the system, it's next direction determined only after it came out for that brief moment and saw where it was. With no other living organisms aboard to worry about, it made the trip in less than a minute.
Fleet Commanders designed and built for the art of war sat in the center of the battle group, all were watching the probe track on a great battle screen showing the entire probable sector of engagement, while subsidiary screens scrolled data for the observers to see, the data being fed back to the master battle computer was all processed in less than a nanosecond.
In precision drill, the small steely blue-black module arrived off its target system, and closed the distance. It's armament consisted entirely of defensive screens and scramblers for potential adversaries; this probe was the forerunner, the tester of defenses and the data-bearer to the command and control center far off but closing.
“Measuring abnormal large energy flow between the two worlds,” a com-tech reported to the battle room. “Our probe also reports scanning on an unusual band, origin designator The Fegg Home World.”
“Very well,” the fleet commander responded. “Close to minimum safety zone on target. All recorders on, Commence evasive actions.”
As soon as the order was given it was done. The Imperial fleet commander wanted to know how well her hardware could be tracked after it was first discovered.
It could track very well indeed, it seemed, and the odd sensors kept pace with the variations in course and speed; even shields and jamming techniques had little effect, although we thought we had the technological edge…
Approaching within twelve hundred kilometers of the respective planetary surface, not too far above the orbits of the space stations protecting The Fegg's Home World.
All data ceased on all boards simultaneously. Startled com-techs and observers ran every kind of data check they could, to no avail. There seemed no question that, on the target world, something had fired and totally destroyed the probe. Only a single burst had been used, the burst lasting mere milliseconds yet packing enough punch to destroy the heavily armored probe completely.
At 2403 task force Epsilon slowed, then came to a complete stop between the worlds designated Orpheus and Oedipus, next in of the planets, as shown in the total system insert, and the cruisers deployed in protective formations around the main battle carriers. Suddenly buzzers sounded, and they could see a great number of tiny pinpricks. The field, resembling an onrushing meteor storm, was on the big in-system board in a matter of seconds, the Imperious Leader had given the order, destroy all lifeforms, obeying without question millions of fighters were outbound.
Bright flashes occurred all through the field and its breakaway segment, followed by tiny white lights winking out all over the place. But, they were well directed and found their targets. Commander, second wave in sector 3 a tech at a terminal called.

Commander, Special Task Force, Imperial Fleet One, sent this to his Imperious Leader, on the third cycle rotation.

"Over several cycles, The Régimes of the Mutos of Rhatsibahn, The Fegg, Incredibili, and Freeriders have been dealt serious blows by Special Task Force Epsilon, the Gorkonian VII main battle pod, and the Honorable Cyberhive assisting in the last wave of combat over The Fegg Homeworld."

Listed are enemy ships/planets laid waste in the engagement by the 1st Imperial Fleet:

Mutos of Rhatsibahn
Size 9 Mining Pot 17 Planet-Dusted
6 Carriers
30 Cruisers
4 Destroyers
27 Transports, Freighters, Cargo or Auxillary ships
20 Smaller Ships

Kvizier
1 Explorer

The Fegg
113. Carriers
435. Capital Ships
2. Cruisers
45 Smaller Ships
1 Explorer

Consortium
1. Rift Heavy Scout


Freeriders
6 Transports

Incredibili
Size 9 Mining Pot 16 Planet-Dusted
5. Starliners


Gorkonian forces destroyed an invasion fleet of approximately 90 heavy transports, with assorted other ships and carriers for cap. Another fleet of 10 Capital ships was attacked and destroyed. Cyberhive entered the sector and promptly laid waste to 23 Carriers, and several Capital Ships. Another fleet consisting of 40 ships of the line was effectively made non-existent, and two very large missile fleets bit the galactic dust.

It was a day of celebration for the Cyber forces in the galaxy, while The Fegg showed their true squishy colors as they ran from Battle.

Squishy…..Squishy…..Squishy

Fleet 1, Imperial Fleet Commander, ends report.