[Starhawk]

2419.9 Another Step on the Long March:
“Scopes show ten enemy light cruisers, most of them look like the new Stargazer class of theirs, a single shield generator and rather weak armor, but they pack a little more punch then the previous models of Phong warships.” Lin looked at the faces around the briefing room making sure the command staff of the fleet knew what they were up against before she continued.
“It is my belief that the Yu Hing Pe could take on all ten of those ships by herself with confidence of victory, our weapons and shields are light years beyond anything the Phong Federal Navy possess, and it would be a good opportunity to test out the Royal Navy’s newest warship under live fire circumstances instead of taking the Bureau of ship design’s word based entirely on simulated battles.” Captain Yu again glanced at the officers in the room, looking from face to face to see if she was hooking them.
“Captain, I am not sure it is the best idea to risk one of only three currently existing super dreadnoughts based entirely on the theory that she can take on ten enemy warships by herself.” Captain Fowler said skeptically as she looked over the schematics of the newest Phong warship again.
“With all respect Captain Fowler your dreadnought has taken on and destroyed eight enemy ships in a single battle by herself, my ship is larger and militarily superior to yours, it is my belief that whatever your ship can do a super dreadnought should be able to do better.” Lin shot a cockeyed glance toward Fowler, who had a seriously sour expression on her face as she was reminded of her ship’s “inferiority”.

Ross rolled his eyes, Fowler had seniority and probably saw receiving a smaller command as an insult by the Admiralty especially since she had been the prestigious Flag Captain, now she was just a squadron commander like the other two in the fleet and Yu who was several years her junior had been given priority for the newest flagship just because it bore her father’s name…..of course Ross knew that the ship’s name was not the only reason they gave her to Lin instead of another captain but at the moment neither Fowler nor Yu needed to know why the Admiralty gave Lin the super dreadnought over her seniors. As the two captains stared each other down Ross began to wish he had just put his flag aboard [/i]Warden[/i] instead.

“Captains Please we all know that the Shadowclaw and her crew have earned a magnificent record for themselves and that she has over 30 kills to her name, but we do have to face the facts, the Yu Hing Pe is a larger more heavily armed warship which does make her innately superior to the dreadnought, however we all know that the ship’s technical superiority does not reflect poorly on the crew of the Shadowclaw any more then it did when the dreadnought replaced [/i]Hawkwing[/i] as the flagship unless of course you see an older ship as inherently inferior?” Captain Bradford of the Hawkwing tented his fingers and grinned at the two captains wickedly. Though he had not come right out and said it he had almost dared the two Captains to continue their arguments over “technical superiority“-which they could not do without implying dishonor to the captain of the Heavy Cruiser by saying his ship had proven inferior to theirs (which in Naval tradition was a big no go for a ship with the Hawkwing‘s battle honors)- his grin grew all the more wicked as the two Captains simply looked at one another and nodded.
“So do we have a decision Admiral?” Yu looked at Ross expectantly, she knew that he could just as easily send Warden to carry out the intercept if he decided too, and she also knew that he would not base that decision on their personal friendship.
Ross whispered to his squadron commanders before returning his gaze to Yu, “Captain We will proceed with the intercept, however I will have Shadowclaw standing by close to support us should something go wrong, understood?” It was not a question, and Ross stood up, shook the hands of the other officers in the room and left quickly. The room cleared rather quickly, except for Fowler and Yu who hung back.
“Miss Fowler do you really have that much doubt about my ship and myself?” Yu asked straightforwardly as she leaned against the holo tank’s shut down control panel.
“What ever gave you the idea I lack confidence in you and your ship Captain?” Fowler had taken on the same impersonal and icy tone she used during a battle and the implication was not lost on Yu.
“Ma’am with all due respect my super dreadnought is well, that is to say she was designed for heavier combat then your ship, still you seemed absolutely confident when your ship faced down eight enemy warships yet you openly criticize my ship’s ability to face down a mere two ships more, this tells me you either doubt my ship or myself.” Yu paused a moment, swallowed hard before she continued with what could easily be considered an open (slap in the face) “So which is it ma’am do you doubt me or my ship?”
Fowler looked honestly taken aback by such a blunt wording of such a dangerous question.
“Captain Pe.” she began in a tone that was surprisingly friendly considering her previous icy one, however Yu’s guard remained high as she fully expected a political “pat on the hand” to cool the tension “I neither doubt you or your ship, in fact you have proven your skill time and again aboard Lenin even after all the beatings she took. To be honest captain I just don’t like the thought of this ship and Admiral Ross going into battle alone and not being able to do anything but watch….Ross is a friend of mine, and I know he and you are friends as well and that even if you weren’t you would do everything in your power to fulfill your duty and protect the fleet commander and carry out your mission, but I just don’t like having to sit on the sidelines and watch, do you understand?” Fowler leaned back in her chair and gazed into the eyes of the younger woman, watching the wheels churning in her mind.
“Yes Ma’am I understand what you are saying, however I do request that next time you not question the abilities of my ship in front of others until I have at least had a chance to prove her in battle.” Yu’s own icy tone had dissolved and her typical soft tone returned, Fowler nodded thoughtfully before rising.
“Very well Captain Pe I apologize for my earlier remarks and any insult you may have taken.” Fowler’s tone was neither bitter nor submissive but instead it was formal and polite.
“Thank you Captain Fowler, no hard feelings and I look forward to serving with you.” Yu smiled as she took Fowler’s hand and shook firmly.
Captain Fowler turned about to leave, but stopped and turned around as she heard Lin clearing her throat.
“Oh and Miss Fowler, it’s Captain Yu not Pe, I am of Chinese extract and in many parts of China it was tradition to put Clan name first followed by family and then surnames.”
“Really? I’ve never heard that before?” Fowler cocked her head with curiously.
“Yeah, not many people do as most of the Chinese extracted Populace of Icara still lives on Brandenburg, in New Beijing where they were found about 200 years ago since old traditions of not mixing the bloodlines dies hard.” Yu smiled at the other woman and was genuinely surprised by her interest, Fowler was like the bulk of the Icaran populace, over millenia of intermarriage had made it so that it was impossible to tell her direct decent just by looking at her, but unlike the bulk of the Icaran population she seemed interested in learning about the more ancient and “multicultural” portion of the Empire.
“Fascinating, I’d like to hear more about your decent some other time if you wouldn’t mind.” Fowler actually cracked the first genuine smile of the day.
“Of course Captain Fowler, I’d be honored, but first I’d like to apologize for implying your ship was inferior to mine.” Yu lowered her gaze to the floor (much the way her mother did whenever she was apologizing),
“Don’t worry about it Lin, we both acted like ****wits if you ask me so I suppose we sort of canceled each other out in the needing to apologize department.” Fowler smiled again as she turned around to leave.

Two days later the massive super dreadnought sped across the stars on her intercept course with the ten enemy warships, Ross and Yu spent hours on end watching the tactical displays as the light codes indicating enemy ships and the light code indicating Yu Hing Pe began to come closer and closer.
“Sir ETI (Estimated time to Intercept) is 15 minutes for us, Shadowclaw is still eight hours away at maximum speed.” Commander Styles said cheerfully as he idly drummed his fingers on his control station.
“Thank you Commander, continue countdown every five minutes please.” Lin’s demeanor was icy but Ross knew her well enough to know that she was tense, it was the first combat deployment of this class of ship and no one knew if it would really work in battle.
After a seemingly endless closing time and three more time counts the tactical readouts finally showed only a few seconds till intercept range.
“All gunnery crews have acquire target locks on the leading four enemy ships.” Chief Gunnery officer Chen’s voice sounded like music to Yu after such an agonizing wait.
“Bring us to broadside and fire as she bares mister Chen, let’s turn those four ships to ash.” Lin clenched her hands into nervous fists as her ship turned about to execute her maneuver, she was amazingly fast for a ship of her size which startled the bridge crew, most of which were veterans of the older Midwinter class heavy cruisers which were slow to maneuver and unwieldy at the helm, she rapidly came about as her broadside came to life with an amazing roar of energy and light.
Four Phong warships vanished in a number of expanding balls of plasma and wreckage, yet the other Phong continued to advance, seconds later another salvo from the Icaran super dreadnought reduced two more Phong warships to rubble and sent another spiraling into space, it’s control surfaces, weapons and engines totally destroyed.
“Weapons, switch to slicing mode, helm take us straight in at them, I don’t want to give them a chance o retreat.” Lin sounded venomous and dangerous as she gave the order to move in for the kill.
With equal speed and grace the Yu Hing swung herself around to charge into the remainder of the enemy force, her beams sliced out in wrath cutting one of the enemy cruisers clean in half neutralizing the reactor, which prevented the remnant’s explosion. A second cruiser’s entire forward hull vanished as the slicing beams of the Icaran’s secondary batteries sliced through her shields and armor like a knife, it’s reactor went critical seconds later causing it to vanish in a brilliant flash of light.
The third enemy ship actually managed to bring it’s weapons to bare and fired defiantly into it’s vastly superior foe, the shots were exploded on the heavy shielding doing absolutely no damage, the same could not be said of the Icaran’s return fire however, the Phong crew didn’t even feel what killed them as the heavy I-lasers sliced through their ship.

“Admiral Ross, I’m reading survivors aboard the crippled vessel and that other ship that we cut in half, should I open fire?” Every face on the bridge turned to Ross, thus far in the war Icara had taken no enemy Naval personnel alive, not through any act of mass murder or the like but very few people survived the destruction of even an Icaran starship and the Phong’s were far less advanced in the technology required to increase survival, the little bastards hadn’t even invented a proper vacsuit and were still using the bulky astronaught type suits that humans used back on earth during the nineteenth century, which could hardly be donned in an emergency.
“Send over marines, take the crews and destroy the ships.” Ross felt Yu glaring at him and he completely understood her hatred of the Phong but he was not about to turn the crew of an Icaran warship into butchers.

Mestra System:
The entire 1st fleet was forming up to make the warp jump out of Mestra, the entire system had finally been deemed conquered as the Last Planet fell a week ago, every world had a full State Security brigade on it, and the navy was ready to advance the war into the Ogoth Tir star system.
Admiral Babcock sat n his day cabin smiling as he watched his fleet forming up, it always amazed him how such beauty could wield such deadly power, earlier this very year he had been forced to destroy an entire Phong world with 350 million Phongs on it simply because his troopers were occupied elsewhere and his deep range scans showed the world fortifying it’s self it only took two dreadnoughts to do the job, two ships with a total of 10,000 people killed 350 million so easily. Babcock hated the Phong but he also hated this damn war and the fact that it had turned him and those under his command into mass murders, or heroes it all depended on who ended up writing the history books.

Well a new system a new beginning, Ogoth Tir would fall to the first fleet, and the system after that and the one after that too until there was not a single Phong stronghold left in the universe, but it would take time and cost lives, there was no option of peace now, no chance what so ever but to continue on until the end even though intelligence had sent him several communiqués informing him that the Manti Star Kingdom had begun to apply a great deal of pressure on the Icarans to stop their war with the Phong. Whether or not the Manti’s would attack was still an up in the air issue and the 4th fleet and Home Fleet had been put on high alert just in case the Manti warships traveling through Icaran space were to attempt an assault on Icaran assets.
Babcock downed a shot of whisky and continued to stare out of his window at the beautiful killing machines that made up his fleet, he looked down, remembering the paperwork he had been neglecting, shrugged to himself and returned to the monotony of life between the battles.

2420.0
The very next month the Yu Hing proved herself again and decimated an eight ship taskforce of light cruisers carrying supplies and satellites to the colonies in the Cortina system, with the confidence in this class spreading throughout the navy the old Reliance class cruisers began being retired out of service and scrapped as their resources were desperately needed to prop up the currently struggling Icaran economy.