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The Drums of War, Pt 1
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.
– Revelations 6:8
The 5th Hegemony Fleet, or what was left of it, flashed into the Rylaren Gamede system with a bright flash. They were joined by the remaining mercenary fleet, evacuee ships, and whoever else they could get out of Conflict Sector 2.
With them was every member of the Corvus Republic, along with the Federation cruiser and crew they had captured.
In the space surrounding the beleaguered fleet were tens of thousands of ships of all sizes, from battleships all the way down to fighters and mecha. Though most were cru
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Orbital Defensive Array, Feron System, Planet Alosine, Minor House: Ballistics, Inc.The array of defensive orbital stations hovered above Planet Alosine in all its glory. Numerous defensive platforms floated in space near each of the stations, which were patrolled by swarms of defense drones.More impressive than those however, was the large fleet near the center of the sprawling array. Though some of the ships were still re-equipping and refitting, the vast majority of cruisers, destroyers, and frigates were waiting patiently just to the side of the massive array.They were accompanied by a heavily armed and armored battleship, which was designed and outfitted by Ballistics, Inc itself. Powerful, deadly weapons were scattered up and down its hull, which easily reflected the House’s wealth, power, and status.
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The Hegemony admiral was absolutely awestruck by the destruction that was heaped on his fleet. He was even more awed by the seeming chaos that enveloped all around him, and could only watch haplessly at the Empire’s expert use of their fluid swarm.It was nothing like he had ever experienced, certainly nothing like any Hegemony or Federation navies he had fought against. Every ship in the fleet was hit on every side, and whittled away as every moment passed.He could hardly see a tactical way out of their predicament, and had no way to reverse their positions.Worse, they were beaten out technologically, on every level possible.He cursed loudly to himself at the disparity between their forces. He knew the Empire was more advanced than them, but didn’t know i
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Outside, the heavily ridged chitin plating on the topside of the Imperial battleship began to slide open in long sections. As they drew back, they revealed further chitin plating beneath, which also opened up.Once the final layer had been drawn back and out of the way, massive hovering guns floated out of the pockets that the chitin revealed. Each one was about the size of a frigate, and looked to be a deadly pair of insectoid-like mandibles.They spun in space towards the Hegemony battleship, which was still recovering its position. Similar to the rest of Imperial beam weapons, the very tips of these mandibles began to glow, and a bright orange ball of energy began to gather in between them.Each of the energy balls grew brighter and larger as they charged up. And right when they seemed to reach an absolute peak,
Ravens of Eternity The Drums of War, Pt 5
NeutroDrive Prime, Vaar’torin System, Great House de JardinThe First Feathers walked into the cruiser’s cargo bay along with Minister Mathilde, a few of her aides, and many ship engineers. They walked through and inspected every millimeter of it and made sure that everything was up-to-spec.Behind them were clusters of citizens of the Corvus Republic, who were coming in to move themselves from the Raven’s Refuge into their new cruiser.“You’re all absolutely sure this is the ship you want?” Mathilde asked. “That Federation cruiser was worth a great deal more than this.”“It’s perfect, Minister,” Claire answered her. “Of the three cruisers available, this one has the best city deck. Plenty of room for us to expand i
Ravens of Eternity Search & Rescue, Pt 1
Planet Rinoria, Trefanus System, Minor House OlessaThe Fleet of the Corvus Republic flashed into the Trefanus System through a secured, and obscured, Omega-Tau beacon over Rinoria. With all their signals low and heavily muted, they quickly advanced to the dark side of the planet, and began to orbit alongside.At the very center of the Republic fleet was their new cruiser, which they were still in the process of naming. It had taken the role of their flagship from the Ravens’ Refuge, and in doing so shifted the roles of the other ships in the fleet.The Ravens’ Refuge’s role transformed into a dropship and rescue ship combined. They were staffed with dozens of power armored assault marines, support units, and well-equipped civilian rescue squads.And because Raijin, Azrael,
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The first enemy squadron was immediately alarmed when the first two were picked off without any warning. They attempted to perform active scans all around them, even as a few more were shot down.But all they saw were vague signals coming from the distance.It was only when the two Oni cores were within 3500 meters that they even came on their targeting lists and sensor reports. Even then, the information seemed warped and garbled and hard to completely pin down.Surprise filled each of the pilots - Imperial sensors were top of the line in the entire galaxy. How these ships were able to scramble them was beyond their ability to accept.“Yunsza squadron! Intercept!” cried their bladechief. “Now, now!”
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As Freya and Lucifer tore apart the second Drogar squadron, the first flanked them widely on both sides. They watched as the two of them ripped through their forces with relative ease, and without taking much damage at all in exchange.A sense of fear swept through a few pilots, heightened by the fact that their sensor sweeps revealed precious little data. Certainly nothing that they could exploit for an advantage.All the data revealed was that they were faster, tougher, nimbler, and deadlier than their own ships. And on realizing that they wouldn’t be getting more intelligence, their bladechief could only harrumph in annoyance.He slammed a fist on his controls, irritated by the two ships’ impenetrability.“Fine,” he growled. “Time to laun
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With the Imperial frigates and fighters completely occupied by other Republic forces, Freya and Lucifer were able to engage with the mecha on the ground.They were stationed at the base of the cliff, near the center. There, they guarded a massive siege piston pointed at a large and incredibly thick armored bay door set into the cliff itself. The piston charged up with a long whine, and once it hit its peak let all its energy loose.The heavy ball head on the piston itself shot forward and smashed into the bay door with a resounding VHONG. And further dented the door right in the middle.Shockwaves of energy rippled across the ground as it struck, and caused loose dust and debris to jump up in the air. Even the cliffside itself was shaken deeply by the strike, and numerous rocks and stones tumbled down as they
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