Seventeenth Year of the Nomads
Eight Hundred and Forty Seventh Year After the Battle of the Sol System
Admiral Supesu found it hard to keep from smiling as the satisfied growl echoed around the Solar Wind’s bridge. The human Nomad Fleet had achieved its primary objective in the TRAPPIST-1 system without having to fight the Twisted Fleet. But now they had a new decision to make. Or more precisely, Admiral Supesu had a new decision to make. The shipyard had fired on the Twisted Fleet, which had returned fire. She did not know the inner machinations of the Twisted Empire, but that looked a lot like either a revolt or a revolution in the making. And that meant she needed to keep the Twisted fleet alive.
“Guns, Admiral. Hammer that shipyard. I want its weapons destroyed before they can chew up our new friends. Communications, Admiral. Pass orders to Raptor Wing Lead and Crane Wing Lead. They are to provide missile defense for the Twisted Fleet.”
“Admiral, Guns. Wilco. Retargeting now.”
“Admiral, Communications. Raptor Wing Lead and Crane Wing Lead acknowledge orders, but request rules of engagement clarification.”
“Communications, Admiral. they are free to engage the shipyard, but are to only fire on the Twisted Fleet in self defense. If the Twisted Fleet does fire at them, I want then to fall back on the Nomad Fleet in good order.”
“Admiral, Communications. Raptor Wing Lead and Crane Wing Lead copy rules of engagement.”
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“Kokko’Liekki, BIC. Human light attack craft detected. Estimated two five zero ships at minimum. Projected vector has them passing between the Fleet and the shipyard.”
“Cryer, proclamation to all ships. Do not fire at human light attack craft unless fired upon!”
“Kokko’Liekki, Cryer. Proclamation issued.”
“Scopes, Kokko’Liekki. BIC, Kokko’Liekki. do we have any indication of the human fleet presence? Where are their carriers? And where is the titan?”
“Kokko’Liekki, BIC. Nothing on record since the FTL arrival signature. Estimate titan, one two capital ships and three zero plus escorts. Meteor cannon strike did not come from the same location as the FTL transit. In summary, the humans are in system, undetected, and mobile.”
“Kokko’Liekki, Scopes. I have faint, very faint, scope ghosts at the edge of active scope range. Plotting on your tertiary display now.”
“Scopes, I see them. What are they?”
“Kokko’Liekki, Scopes. If I had to guess, I would say that they represent the human fleet. The scope ghosts are about where the human light attack craft came from.”
“Kokko’Liekki, BIC. I concur with Scopes’ guess. The scope ghosts appear to be massed returns from light attack craft screens. If the titan or the capital ships are in that mess, we can not spot them.”
“Scopes, Kokko’Liekki. Heard and understood. BIC, Kokko’Liekki. Heard and understood. Continue to refine data as it becomes available.
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Overseer Typerys’Kielen’Sanahaku hissed and spat as he stared at the schematics of his shipyard and refineries. The traitor Fleet had left him defenseless before the guns of the Fanatical Purifiers, and because of that the Empire was going to be short crucial resources. His hatred overflowing, Typerys’Kielen’Sanahaku howled nearly incomprehensible words to the commander of his weapon platforms. In response to his orders, or rather because the weapon platform commander was wise enough to ignore the proclamations and fight his own battle, missiles were launched.
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“Crane WIng Lead, Raptor Wing Lead. We have missile defense, you swat the launchers.”
“Raptor Wing Lead, Crane Wing Lead. Affirmative. Consider the launchers swatted.”
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“Kokko’Liekki, Scopes. The shipyard has launched missiles. Estimate two zero zero incoming. Human light attack craft already firing in missile defense mode.”
“Scopes, Kokko’Liekki. Heard and understood. Steersman, Kokko’Liekki. Fleet movement. I want to move away from the shipyard towards the human fleet. Maintain defensive formation against the shipyard.”
“Steersman, Kokko’Liekki. By your will.”
“Cryer, try to re establish the missive channel to the human fleet. I want to let them know that we do not intend to attack them.”
“Kokko’Liekki, Cryer. By your will.”
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Of the two hundred missiles launched at the two hundred and eighty eight human strike craft, not a single one made it past the outer defensive perimeter. Twenty eight were actually struck by stray mass driver rounds, while another nine malfunctioned and detonated prematurely. The remaining one hundred and sixty three missiles met their ends in a hail of two kilogram ‘scatter shot’ mass driver rounds fired by the Raptor’s strike craft wing.
The strike craft wing from the Crane was unconcerned with missile defense, trusting their brothers from the Raptor to handle the threat. Instead, they targeted the weapon platforms that had launched the missiles and returned fire. It took a full squadron several full broadsides to reduce a single weapons platform to orbiting debris, but the Crane’s strike craft wing accomplished the task with precision and panache.
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“Kokko’Liekki, BIC. Space station has no remaining operational weapons platforms. Human light attack craft are withdrawing to the human fleet.”
“Kokko’Liekki, Cryer. I have that missive channel to the human fleet. They are repeating their question about the events in the yellow star system.”
“Cryer, Kokko’Liekki. I am composing a response now. Stand by to send a text only reply.”
“Kokko’Liekki, Cryer. Heard and Understood. Standing by.”
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“Admiral, Communications. Incoming message. Text only, human standard. Message begins: ‘Under the light of the yellow star, mistakes were made. Sapients died before shots were fired. I have no intention of shooting now’ Message ends.”
“Thank you Communications, stand by to transmit my reply.”
“Admiral, Communications. Standing by.”
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“Kokko’Liekki, Cryer. Incoming human transmission. Text only, Empire common, machine translation. Message begins: ‘We did not kill on purpose until screens were raised and hostilities were declared by actions. But the past is past. What will you do now?’ Message ends. Attached datafile includes a large volume of text documents. Passing them to BIC for analysis.”
“Cryer, BIC. Good copy of your data transfer. Beginning analysis now.”
“Cryer, Kokko’Liekki. Stand by to send my reply, I need to think on this.”
“Kokko’Liekki, Cryer. Heard and understood. Standing by.”
Kokko’Liekki Laiska’Vanha’Verta slumped down in his command throne. What was he going to do about this? What choices did he have? The humans had not killed the overseer, that much was obvious by the shipyard’s raised screens and intact civilian sectors. The overseer had fired first, which made him they betrayer. The problem was who would believe whom. The Bureaucrats would believe the overseer, who was related to the Heir’s principal advisor and thus had the ear of the Emperor. The Fleet would believe his scope recordings, but they too answered to the Emperor.
Laiska’Vanha’Verta owed the Fleet and the Emperor an attempt at a peaceful resolution, but if that failed, he had no desire to die for a corrupt system run by balance watchers and number eaters. In the end, he really had only one option, and one likely outcome.
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“Admiral, Communications. Incoming message. Text only, human standard. Message begins: ‘I owe my former masters an attempt at a resolution by words. If that fails, as I expect it will because of who owns whom, then it will mean war. I would not choose to stand alone. Where might I find your messenger to discuss our alliance should my words fall on bought and sold ears?’ Message ends.”
Admiral Supesu sat upright in her chair, hardly believing the words she had heard. The Twisted Empire did have a dissident problem in its war fleet. And if a Vice Admiral or Admiral was discussing an alliance with her against his own ruler after he was forced into exile…
“Communications, stand by to transmit a response.”
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“Kokko’Liekki, Cryer. Incoming human transmission. Text only, Empire common, machine translation. Message begins: ‘The red star closest to this star. Blood for freedom. Raise the banner, fight your war. Break the silence, have no remorse.’[6] Message ends.”
“Cryer, Kokko’Liekki. Heard and understood. BIC, Kokko’Liekki. Plot that star system and send the star chart reference to my personal terminal before cleansing the search and the results from the records.”
“Kokko’Liekki, BIC. By your will.”
“Steersman, Kokko’Liekki. Set a Fleet course for the Toinen’Maailma system. We have something to discuss with the Valo’Haltija.”