[sachmo]

Strike Fleet Dauntless on the offensive

2412.2

RSS Stormfront moved silently through space. The viewscreen on the bridge was locked on the planet Glory, and the shipyards orbiting high above the light blue planet. Commodore Walt Reed watched the image fade into the distance, and thought about his wife and family that he was once again leaving behind. He was thankful for the five months they had been able to spend together, but he longed for more. The war was entering its eleventh year, and he had spent most of that time away from them.
The Navy had seen fit to give him a promotion and five months of shore duty while his new command was under construction, but they needed him back in the war. It was the Navy way, and he accepted it, as did his family. Still, he hoped that they would soon be able to end this war, and that he would be able to go home for good. That was what he wanted more than anything else in the world, and the five months he spent with his loved ones have driven that point home.
With one Last unspoken prayer, asking the Creator to watch over his family while he was away, he toggled the main screen to the bow view. He and his crew would have to conquer what lay ahead before they could return home safely.

Strike Fleet Dauntless, commanded by Rear Admiral Gina Jager, now had the strength to begin interdicting the Ukra-Tal ships in the Lenoltris system. The fleet consisted of the following ships:
RSS Buffalo, a Rochester B class light cruiser and Gina’s flagship. The Rochester was armed with three heavy depleted uranium cannon, four point defense cannon, and two shield generators.
Three Glory C class destroyers, RSS Liberation, RSS Cherek, and RSS Triumph. The Glory C’s were armed with two capital ship missile launchers, one depleted uranium cannon, two point defense cannon and a shield generator.
RSS Firefly, an Olympia C class destroyer. She was armed with three depleted uranium cannon, two point defense cannon, and two shield generators.
Two Nemesis E class frigates, RSS Nemesis and RSS Intimidator. The Nemesis class was armed with two capital ship missile launchers and one point defense cannon.
RSS Melange was the first ship of the Melange class repair ships. She was capable of repairing a large amount of battle damage while the fleet was underway.

Long-range system scans showed a lone Ukra-Tal Hedenso class cruiser within range of the fleet. Jager left the newly arrived Catreus class frigate RSS Tholeus and the Highrock fighter squadron to cover the planet as she moved the fleet to intercept. There were no Ukra-Tal forces that would be able to attack Highrock without her being able to get the entire fleet back on defense before they arrived. In fact, the entire Ukra-Tal presence in system was only four cruisers and one light cruiser.

As Strike Fleet Dauntless closed in on the Hedenso, the Ukra-Tal captain turned to face his enemy. The Hedenso was a ship never before faced by the Remorhaz Navy, and a quick scan of her weapons showed that she was a formidable foe. The ship was armed with three seeking parasite launchers, four anti-missile projectile launchers, and it bristled with electronics. This data was relayed between the ships of Dauntless, and the battle plan was quickly drawn up. They needed to close with the Hedenso and crush it, since it had no close range weapons. Gina deployed the fleet in a standard wedge and closed in on the enemy ship.
The Ukra-Tal captain moved to try and take their flank, but Dauntless maneuvered to deny him the shot. Finally, the Hedenso changed tactics and made for the heart of the fleet. It seemed as if he planned to charge them!.
The Ukra-Tal captain locked onto Buffalo and launched a full spread of the living weapons that they used as seeker. The blobs raced through space, glowing and pulsing with energy as they streaked toward their target. When they entered threat range, Buffalo’s point defense cannons opened fire, knocking out two of the hideous weapons. Liberation opened fire at maximum range with her point defense cannon, destroying the Last of the seekers. The Remorhaz ships chased the Hedenso as he tried to open the range. It was able to launch another spread of seekers before Buffalo was in range to attack her. These seekers were also destroyed by the combined firepower of the fleet’s defense cannons. Then it was Buffalo’s turn. At maximum range, Gina ordered the heavy depleted uranium cannons to open fire. The ship lurched as the projectiles were fired from the heavy railguns mounted in the spine of the ship. All three shells exploded against the Hedenso’s shields, overloading them and knocking them out, but they had done their job. The ship took no damage.
The Ukra-Tal ship launched another seeker spread and it was destroyed. Buffalo scored another hit on the enemy ship’s hull, but the living armor of the ship “healed” the wound. Gina’s skin crawled as she watched it on the viewscreen. It was hard not to personalize the battle when the very ships the enemy fought in acted like living beings. Gina’s brain refused to acknowledge that they quite possibly were living beings.
Finally, the Hedenso fell to the guns of Strike Fleet Dauntless. Liberation scored the killing blow when her missiles slammed into the battered hulk, bLasting it into shards of organic material. With no further targets to engage, Gina turned the fleet to an intercept course for the next Ukra-Tal ships in range. Strike Fleet Dauntless was on the attack, and its commander was determined to take the fight to the enemy. Let them send reinforcements, she though. I’ll keep you occupied here while Hellcat cuts out your heart!

[ June 05, 2003, 18:19: Message edited by: sachmo ]