Rise of the Remorhaz Society

[sachmo]

Consequences

2406.6

“Grand Admiral, Commandant Hunter is on com for you, sir.”
The Grand Admiral hoped that Hunter had good news. The destruction of Lapzooli II had effects that he had not been prepared to deal with.
“Ok, put him thru.”
Commandant of the Marine Corps Shawn Hunter appeared in the com unit.
“Marcus, they’ve finished the design for the assault craft. I can’t wait to show it to you. This baby is going to make the Space Marine Corps the most lethal attack force in history. With a ship full of assault craft, we can land a division of Marines in a matter of hours, and they will be hot and ready to go on landing. When can you come down? Oh yes, an unexpected side effect of the project…the eggheads in the Design Bureau believe that the miniaturization which was done on ship components for the assault craft will also be applicable to the construction of space mines and fighter craft! Can you imagine, Marcus? We could launch a wave of fighters at a Rage fleet before they could even deploy! Entire systems could be blocked off with defense satellites behind huge fields of space mines! This is going to give us the edge we will need to win this war!”
The Grand Admiral had to laugh. Commandant Hunter was still very new to this level of command. He was able to get excited about new things. A few years of the war would squeeze that out of him, but it was a refreshing change.
“Well, Shawn, when were you thinking about holding the test? I’m sure that the Chairman and the Field Marshal would also like to be there.”
Hunter looked off screen and yelled out the question to someone.
“Next week? Damn.” He looked back into the screen. “They say the prototype won’t be able to run the tests until next week.” He frowned. “Actually, they think it will take about five months of testing and design changes before they are ready for mass production.”
“Shawn, you still need to raise an army. We need some brave Space Marines to fill your assault craft” the Grand Admiral kidded.
“Yes, I know. I just want to get out there, you know? I’m ready to show everyone what we can do!”
“I understand, Shawn. We will be at the trial next week. Shall we have dinner soon? Now that you aren’t going to be lording over those poor scientists every minute of the day, maybe you can come and relax with me?”
The Commandant nodded. “Yes, Marcus. I’ve drawn up some preliminary plans for a troop transport design. I know it’s not exactly my jurisdiction, but I’ve figured out how to get the maximum number of assault craft based on the existing transport design…”
Marcus laughed again. “Ok, Shawn! Ok! We can discuss it at dinner tomorrow night.”
Someone off-screen call out to Hunter. Absently, he said, “Good deal. We’ll see you tomorrow night. For dinner.” The connection went dead.
Grand Admiral Urian shook his head. Yes, after the first time his Marines go into combat, he will lose a lot of that enthusiasm. It was sad really, but that was the burden of command.
With a sigh, the Grand Admiral went back to his reports.

As the speeder slowed for a vertical landing on the roof of the Senate in the city Turin, Chairman Sachmo looked out of the window. Crowds of civilians ringed the Senate, carrying signs and placards, and shouting. The Chairman could feel their anger even here, 500 feet above the crowd. This is going to be rough, he thought. All of those people are looking for answers, and the truth might be too much for them. The protests had begun as soon as the news of the destruction of Lapzooli II had been leaked by someone in the government. An “unidentified source” had handed the classified videos of the bombardment to Remorhaz News Network. Rather than checking the accuracy of the vid, they decided to run it. The resulting backlash was incredible. Ordinary citizens weren’t ready to see entire planets being glassed on their vids during dinner hour. Also, the people felt their honor had been besmirched. They thought that this was a cowardly way to fight a war. Lastly, they believed that if we could do that to them, then the Norak had every right to do it to us. The average citizen could easily see himself on the other end of that bombardment dancing across their vid screen.

Senator Harris was waiting for him at the elevator. “Good day, Chairman! How was the flight?”
Sachmo looked at him with a sour face. “Well, the trip from my residence was excellent. It’s amazing how fast a speeder can make a fifteen mile trip.”
If the Senator heard the jibe, he didn’t show it.
He talked as they walked. “Chairman, the citizens are restless, which means the Senate is restless. I know that you will placate them, but it’s important for you to know that your supporters are ready to come to your aid should you need it.” His smile was as big and fake as his hairpiece.
Subtle, Senator. If you think I’m not going to get thru this, you are sorely mistaken, the Chairman thought.
They made the ride down in silence. Well, to the Chairman it was silence, but Senator Harris was babbling about anything and everything.
As they stepped into the cloakroom of the Senate, Harris and his people split off to find their seats.
Yarboro cleared his throat. “Shall I get the disinfectant out now, Chairman?”
Sachmo chuckled. “No, don’t bother, Yarboro. Senator Harris has a few surprises in store today. Actually, I almost pity him.”
“Yes, sir, he probably has no idea.” Yarboro quipped.

The Chairman stepped into the entrance to the rotunda. The Crier nodded to him, and walked down the aisle, tapping his staff fashioned in the shape of a winged serpent, the symbol of the mighty Remorhaz. When he reached the platform he stopped and faced the gathered Senators.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present the Honorable Chairman of the Remorhaz Society, Chairman Sachmo! May God preserve us all!”
The rotunda was filled with applause. At least they aren’t throwing rotten eggs, Sachmo mused.
As he walked briskly down the aisle, he tried to read the mood of the Senators. Some of his supporters looked at him, with genuine smiles on their faces, or so it seemed to him. Many of his detractors were also smiling. Sachmo spied Senator Harris grouped with a knot of his cronies. It would be interesting to see who stood with him at the end of the speech.
He walked over to the flag, touched the hem to his forehead, then to his lips, and Lastly to his heart. The ritual over, he turned and approached the podium. He paused a few seconds before speaking. Ok, you better make this good, he reminded himself.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Senators and citizens, I greet you. I am here before you today not to defend my cabinet, or myself but to bring to light the situation in which we find ourselves today. I also wish to make clear the heroics of our armed forces, and the exceptional job they have been doing protecting us all from Norak and Rage aggression.”
The Senate was on it’s feet, cheering.
Keep it together, Sachmo. As they old saying goes, the truth shall set you free. The Chairman smiled. The applause died down.
“Only six years ago, we of the Remorhaz society launched our first spacecraft. We all had theories as to what was out there, but we did not know exactly what we would find. The wonders that we have beheld since that first step are hard to put into words which would do them justice. We have discovered how to colonize other worlds, and how to navigate wormholes that take us across huge distances in space in an instant. We have witnessed stars being born, and even other races.”
Sachmo looked up. Well, I have their attention, now I have to give them the truth.
“As we all know, the contact with these other races offered us the opportunity of a lifetime. We would learn from the Norak about their ways and religion. From the Rage, we would learn how to view the universe from the eyes of a living machine. They, in turn, would learn of our values and customs, our history and dreams. It was hoped that we would all benefit from this, and each race would be richer for it.”
“This was not to be, however. No sooner had we begun to exchange ideas when both races declared war on us. There was no warning, or no rattling of swords, only a terse communication informing us that we should prepare to meet our doom.”
The crowd outside had fallen silent. Sachmo continued.
“In the early days of the war, some of our people did meet their doom. The crew of RSS Hawk arrived in the Fezzran system just in time to intercept the Last pleading cries of the colony on Cirius as the Rage fleet bLasted them from orbit. Justice met her doom on Tudran V. We hung on, and continued fighting. Eventually, our forces turned the tide on the Norak and Rage. We captured the Tudran and Wurtuy systems from them. We chased them into their home system. The difference between them, and us however, is that the entire time we were attempting to make peace. They chose to refuse. We destroyed many of their people. Still they refused to negotiate. We advanced to within one planet of their homeworld. They would not end the war. Finally, our fleet took up orbit around Lapzooli II, the homeworld of the Norak. They were blockaded. Our ships destroyed some of their key installations, and deflected the attacks that came at them. We tried to make peace, but they refused. The choice then was clear. We cannot continue to wait for the enemy to attack our colonies; our worlds. We cannot continue to hold out hope that they will eventually come to their senses and negotiate peace with us. Citizens, neither I nor anyone in the military wish to wipe out an entire species. We want peace as much as our people do. Everyday, the ships of Gamma and Delta Fleets risked destruction in the space over Lapzooli, trying to bring the Norak to the table. We have lost many people in this war, and will lose more before it is thru. I tell you now, I will do whatever is necessary to preserve our Society and our way of life. The tasks that have been required so far have been horrible. Billions of innocents died on Lapzooli II, and countless others in the engagements we have fought. If this is what it takes to secure peace, then it will be done. The enemy is leaving us without a choice. If they do not come to the table, we will destroy them. As distasteful as it sounds, it is what must be done.”
The Senate was on its feet again. The applause thundered through the rotunda, but even louder were the cheers from the citizens outside. They really understood the price that must be paid. Absently, Sachmo wondered if Senator Harris understood the price, too.
“Ladies and gentlemen, even with this resolve, we must still not abandon our efforts to negotiate peace. I have organized a new mission, lead by Senator Harris, that will approach the Rage once more, but this time from a position of strength. They will try to organize a cease fire.”
Sachmo looked up at Harris. The man had gone white as a ghost. Perfect.
“Will also attempt to get the Norak to end their fight against us. Citizens, we will win this war. It is a war that we did not ask for, but we will not waver in our resolve. If the enemy will not take the olive branch we have offered, we will take up the sword and slay them. Thank you.”
Sachmo stepped down from the podium. The applause and cheering was deafening. He made his way down the main aisle, with senators and staff alike looking at him in awe, and trying to touch him. Senator Harris pushed his way thru the crowd.
“C-Ch-Ch-Chairman, I received no word of this mission! I cannot possib…” Harris shouted. The crowd pressed in all around them.
The Chairman held up his hand, instantly stopping Harris’ stammering. He leaned in and spoke in the senator’s ear, “Harris, the next time you try to discredit me or my administration with a leak, make sure you understand the stakes. I have to thank you , though.. The leak upset our citizens, but my speech has won them back more strongly than it would have had they had been told the entire situation at once. Also, I have always suspected that you were playing against me, and now I know for sure. You see, you were the only one I allowed to learn the information about the destruction of Lapzooli II ahead of time. Now you are exposed. You are finished in the Senate, Harris. I will offer you this Last mission to parley with the Rage, though. At least this way, you will die a hero, right?”
With that, the Chairman released the senator, who stood there, motionless, as the crowd rolled past him, following the Chairman…the protector of the Remorhaz Society.

At the moment when Chairman Sachmo was holding Senator Harris and telling him that he had been undone, someone had snapped a holopic. It was the Last known holopic that showed the senator alive.

2406.6

The second Glory Class Destroyer, RSS Triumph was launched from the Glory Shipyards. She was sent to join the fleet in Lapzooli.

At Fort Justice, the Xillantha Defense Fleet watched as the Rage fleet turned course and headed to the wormhole leading to the unknown system Eagle was sent to explore before her demise. Rear Admiral Sakazawa had a meeting with the commanders of the fleet. Between them, they decided that after a few more ships bolstered the fleet, they would risk another recon run into the unknown system, unless the Lapzooli Fleet was able to make a run sooner. Fort Sachmo began constructing a Space Port.
The colony ship was originally ordered to colonize Lapzooli VII was rerouted to Lapzooli II, in the ruins of the Norakian homeworld. Since this world had a breathable atmosphere, it would be idea for colonization. The colony ship should arrive in a month. By that time, all of the fires should have stopped burning.

To be continued...

[Atrocities]

Have you ever read Brotherhood Of War series? If not, you might want to consider it. By the way, excellent chapter "Consequences" was.

[sachmo]

Originally posted by Atrocities:
Have you ever read Brotherhood Of War series? If not, you might want to consider it. By the way, excellent chapter "Consequences" was.

By W.E.B Griffin? Sure have, but I liked the Corps a little better.

[Ragnarok]

Taking a break here Sachmo? No new storys lately so I'm guessing that's it. Which is totally fine since you put out excellent storys. Just thought I'd post and check it out. Which if you read around on different story threads you'll see that I do that alot. I can't help it, I'm addicted to the storys on here! Help me!!

[sachmo]

Originally posted by Ragnarok:
Taking a break here Sachmo? No new storys lately so I'm guessing that's it. Which is totally fine since you put out excellent storys. Just thought I'd post and check it out. Which if you read around on different story threads you'll see that I do that alot. I can't help it, I'm addicted to the storys on here! Help me!!

Alas, two days of my daughter having colic, and my wife needing a break(!) have kept me busy. I was able to put a few thing together, though, and so I was raring to go tonight. Story to follow...

[sachmo]

Consolidation

2406.7

Governor Luciano Raillo looked out over the surface of the planet Norak. The world that the Norak had once called home was a bLasted, shattered land. Fires from the orbital bombardment still burned over the horizon. Great craters could be seen from low orbit, the only remaining indicator of the previous existence of a Norakian city. The scale of the destruction made him shiver. Maybe we should have named this planet Cinder, he thought.
It was his job to establish this planet as a Remorhaz colony. He was determined to rebuild this world, but on the bones of two billion Norakian corpses. How would that sit with the colonists? It was a good thing they had a larger than usual Army compliment with them. That should help keep everyone in line…for a while. He looked up into the night sky, and could see the bright stars that were actually Remorhaz ships. They needed Norak as a forward supply base, and so that was the priority. Raillo turned back to his work, and tried not to think about what the future held.

On the edge of the Lapzooli system, Nemesis and her fleet raced to intercept the Norak Ampara destroyer that was trying to run for the wormhole to Wurtuy. It would be three frigates against one destroyer. Gina wanted to take this ship down to atone for her defeat at The Battle of the Rocks.
As they approached the quadrant where the Ampara was, Gina worked out the battle plan with Captain Jennings and Captain Reed. Nemesis would try and hold the destroyer’s attention while Hyperion and Furious took up positions on his flanks. The Norakian had longer-range missiles, and flanking him might be their only hope of getting a hit in on him.
The Ampara fired first, locking up Hyperion at extreme range and firing off a salvo. Captain Reed kept his ship out of harm’s way as Nemesis and Furious closed range. The Norakian captain fired and moved, targeting whichever ship was closest. Gina got a wonderful surprise, as a flight of missiles from Furious approached the Ampara were knocked out of the sky by some type of point defense laser mounted on the ship.
We need get some of those! Gina thought. Suddenly, the Ampara fired at Nemesis. Gina moved the ship out of range while the other two Remorhaz ships closed. Suddenly, the Norakian closed within missile range of both Nemesis and Hyperion. Both ships emptied their tubes, and the Ampara now had four missiles streaking toward her. The flight from Nemesis struck first. The point defense weapons knocked one of the missiles down, but the other streaked in for the kill. Before the missile could hit the hull, there was a tremendous bLast as the missile struck some sort of shield surrounding the Ampara.
“Son of a *****!”
“Captain, the missiles from Hyperion are closing on the target!…Captain, direct hit with both missiles!”
Gina watched the tactical display that hovered before her eyes. The two shots from Hyperion had hurt the Norakian destroyer. She could see two holes in the ship where the engines had been, and a large hole in the starboard “wing”.
She watched the missiles from Furious bypass the remaining point defenses and slam into the destroyer, shredding her port side. The Ampara was crippled. Gina watched in horror as Hyperion turned into the Norak missiles and headed for her position.
She stabbed the com link. “Reed! You still have two missiles homing on you!” She came in on the middle of a frantic conversation on the bridge of Hyperion.
“Belay that turn, Helm! Damn it, Mr. Douglass, what were you thinking?”
The com went dead as the two Norakian missiles struck Hyperion on her starboard side. One missile crashed thru the thin hull and continued into the rear of the ship before exploding in the engine room. All but two ion engines were vaporized in the explosion, along with the entire engineering crew. The second missile exploded right outside of the hull next to “broadway”, the main corridor stretching the length of the ship. Ten crewmen were killed instantly in the explosion, and another two were sucked out into space before the section could be sealed off. Hyperion was out of the fight.
It didn’t matter much. One Last salvo from Nemesis finished the Ampara. The missiles must have struck the engine core, because an explosion started in the aft of the destroyer and tore thru the ship, finally splitting her into pieces before the fireball burned out in the vacuum of space.
Gina sat back in her command chair. “Nice shooting, Weps. Get yourself a cup of coffee. Sensor, let me know if you see any sign of survivors.”
She keyed the com unit again. Both Captain Reed and Captain Jennings faces appeared on screen.
“Walt, how is Hyperion?”
Walter looked haggard. “Most of the fires are under control, and the exposed areas are sealed off. I would like it if you could take my wounded, Gina?”
Gina nodded. “We’ll come along side, Walt. What happened?”
Captain Reed got a concerned look on his face. “My XO made a bad decision. He was trying to open up the range from the missiles, but didn’t get the intercept angle correct. Ahhh, I should have been watching closer. I take full responsibility.”
Gina shook her head. “Walt, we’ll get it straightened out back home. Right now, let’s get you to port, ok?”
Captain Reed managed a weak smile and nodded. He broke the link.
Gina looked at the com unit. “Rita, I need you to cover us while we transfer the wounded, alright?”
Rita nodded. “Anything else you need, Gina?”
“How about a month of shore leave and a nice bath?”
They both laughed. It would be a while before that would be a reality.

Remorhaz sent a colony ship to colonize the Yukra system. There was a large rock planet with an oxygen atmosphere there. Admiral Urian dispatched Falcon to escort her.

2406.8

Commandant Shawn Hunter looked over at his staff. They had been working at this for months now, and he believed that they had all of the kinks worked out. Since pretty much everything up until now regarding space to surface invasion had been theory, everything that they were working on was groundbreaking. Hunter and his officers had been up in orbit, dropped from a modified berth in the Space Yard that simulated a troop transport (none had been built yet, but Hunter had a design), and simulated a hot landing in the one prototype assault carrier that had been built. They had been running computer simulations and writing documents. They had been observing the training of the new Space Marines, ensuring that the Space Marine Corps doctrine was being instilled into these new recruits. Over the Last few months, these men had earned their pay, to say the least. All of that hard work seemed to be paying off, however, as it seemed that they had covered most of the bases.
Hunter picked up his data unit and glanced at the final unit structure. They would raise one complete division to start. The troops would come from all over the society, and each planet would have a training base established on it. The basic Space Marine Corps unit outline was as follows:

Platoon-the basic fighting unit of the Corps. The platoon could actually be divided into two squads, but most of the time would fight as a cohesive unit. The platoon was structured around a manpower goal of 20 men, as that was the troop capacity of the new assault carriers. A Sub Lieutenant commanded this unit.
Company-5 platoons made up a Company. A Captain or a Major commanded this unit. It consisted of about 100 men and the company staff.
Battallion-4 Companies made up a Battalion. This unit was 400 men and was commanded by a Major or a Lieutenant Colonel. This formation was the smallest formation to have heavy artillery integrated into it.
Brigade-4 Battalions made up a Brigade. A brigade consisted of 1600 men plus the commanding Colonel and his staff. The Brigade would have a complete staff and be capable of operation as an independent entity for extended periods of time. Most planetary assaults would be carried out in Brigade strength.
Divison-3 Brigades made up a Division. This was the largest Marine unit, and was commanded by a Brigadier or higher-ranking General. This unit would hardly ever be gathered in one place. It consisted of around 5000 men and a total of 330 assault craft. Also assigned to it were multiple transport shuttles, speeders, and other transportation mediums.
In an operation, the ranking Space Marine Corps officer would be in charge of the planetary assault. The basic doctrine for an assault was the assaulting of key points on an enemy planet by Battalion side units, or smaller. Only on rare occasions would an entire Brigade be dropped for an assault upon one objective.
The assault craft were an integral part of the Space Marine Corps fighting unit. Not only did it serve as the drop ship for the troops, but also once on the surface its guns would provide fire support at the platoon level. It’s high speed and rough terrain maneuverability made the Space Marine platoon a force to be reckoned with.
Some of the officers were toying with the idea of assigning Space Marines to ships, allowing them to act as boarders or become an extra security force for the ship. There was a lot more research to be done before this was even attempted.
Hunter wanted to instill esprit de corps into his men, and train them mainly in assault operations. At times the Space Marine Corps would act as garrison troops, but their primary mission was planetary assault.
The Space Marine Corps was coming together. Hunter listened as his staff gave him figures on the various training operations going on throughout the Society. It looked as if the officers and non-coms brought over from the other services were really building a team spirit, and believing that they were becoming an elite fighting unit.
As night approached, Hunter sent all of his officers home for a night of well-deserved rest. For him, there was no rest. He had to write up his findings for the Chairman.

2406.9

The Repair Ship Icelus moved into position to begin repairs to Hyperion. The fleet had been creeping along at a snails pace, but some underway repairs should get them to Norak sooner. Captain Jager watched in wonder as the ship mounted repair bay went to work on the damaged frigate. I sort of looked like a giant insect was feeding on Hyperion with all of the arms from the repair ship moving about, cutting something here, removing something there. Well, the Admiral was right, she thought. The fleet is definitely becoming self-sufficient. It was a good thing, too. They had to find out where the rest of the Norak worlds were, and eliminate or capture them. It made Jager uneasy to thing of Lapzooli as Remorhaz space. She kept expecting the Norak to come charging thru a wormhole with an armada which they had no chance of stopping coming to claim their birthright. Then again, maybe they were on the edge of extension.

In the Xillantha system, RSS Hawk jumped thru the wormhole where Eagle met her fate. Lieutenant Commander Harry Norton was expecting to find the Rage home system there, but instead was greeted by an empty system populated with asteroid fields. This system looked to be another key junction in the galaxy. If they could hold this system, they might be able to eliminate any Rage threat to the Lapzooli system. Commodore Lu requested a satellite field be laid in the wormhole as soon as possible. The more early warning, the better.

2407.0

Governor Kalashnikov woke to the sound of his com unit ringing. A full nights rest is all that I ask for, he thought. Every night for the past year it seemed as if something required his attention. Couldn’t anyone handle things by themselves? Imitative! That’s they key, boys! He told them that time and time again, and yet here he was, wiping the sleep from his eyes. Whoever it was had better have a good reason for waking him. He pushed the button to answer.
He was greeted by the face of Rear Admiral Shiro Sakazawa. “Sorry to wake you, governor, but I’m issuing a Class One alert for the colony. Sensors picked up a large Rage fleet, and it looks like they are headed our way at full steam. I think you should get your people under cover, as much as possible.”
“Thank you, Admiral. Shall I switch production to defensive systems again?” Honestly, Kalashnikov was getting a bit tired of this. He had been governor of Fort Justice for a little over a year, and he had put his colony on alert three times before. Each time, the Rage fleet turned away. This time, he honestly didn’t care.
“Do what you think is best, Governor. We will be up here protecting you throughout.”
Kalashnikov shook his head. More of the same non-committal chest thumping. These Navy types had a flare for the dramatic. Life didn’t work out that way, in his experience. Life was messy. It wasn’t some heroic epic to be sung for eons.
“Thanks for your help, Admiral.” With that, Kalashnikov broke the connection. He considered going back to bed, but decided against it. If the Rage did attack, hopefully some of his people would survive. He doubted very much that the “grand fleet” would.

On Norak, the resupply base was finished. Commodore Lu ordered an expeditionary fleet be organized to check out the wormhole thru which the Norak destroyer had appeared. For this mission he detached Nemesis and Furious. They were to check the system for Norak presence. If they did detect the Norak, they were to gather as much information as possible and await further instructions.

To be continued...

[CW]

Well done sachmo! Keep it coming!