Pegasus, Metalorn
“Begin the Capture simulation,” ordered the Commodore, standing on the bridge of the Pegasus.
The Pegasus and her consorts of the Confederation Fleet at Metalorn were at the heart of the Confederation’s Fleet’s thickest concentration ever, even surpassing the fortress worlds of Genon and Kashan. Metalorn itself was heavily fortified as well, boasting multiple planetary shield generators and several LNR II planetary turbolaser batteries. But every officer knew that the one of the best defences was an active offence, a job that could only be handled by the Navy and its fleet of ships; and even better in an engagement was to capture an enemy’s weapon and use it against them. Hence the exercise: a simulation of a Seraph Mk III and Redemption-class Assault Transport on patrol.
The silver Seraph Mk III surged forward, its starfighter complement arrayed around it in a typical starfighter screen. Emerald bolts flashed from the cruiser’s long-range turbolasers, lancing out at the piratical formation. Explosions began to blossom as the distant target began to explode, at least as it appeared on the screen. The target was an enemy Assault Frigate, a type of converted Rendili Dreadnaught that was so common of fleets on all sides. Corise reclined in his chair.
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Seraph Mk III Cruiser Steadfast, Metalorn
We’ve been through a lot; we’ve been through hell; and the Steadfast has carried us all through it; the pirates at Budpock, the simulation against the Gestalt Colonies, against the Black Sun, and even against TNO’s Curaisseur-class Heavy Cruisers. Captain Tyrel grunted. That had hurt; getting an engine fire, but it wasn’t as bad as their cruiser loosing its engine block. It’s only right; only right that we get the first upgrade; this ship’s taken the most damage of any Kashan Defence Fleet ship ever. Tyrel’s expression lightened, fondly gazing about the cruiser’s bridge. Little had changed in the bridge from the upgrade of the Mk II to that of the Mk III. Indeed, the only changes evident was more cushioned seats for all of the bridge crew as well as the ship’s crest, a maiden wielding a sword, being emblazoned on those chairs as well.
“Captain,” shouted a crewmember from below, “we’ve been given the go-ahead from the Pegasus to initiate the excersise.”
Tyrel staunchly nodded. “Very well; Let’em have it.”
Steadfast’s guns quickly swiveled to track the distant Assault Frigate and began to fire. The ship’s captain glanced at his chrono; That’s at least three seconds faster to track and fire. It looks like the fast-tracking turrets and their software are at least working right now. Tyrel tapped a few buttons, bringing up a holographic view of the enemy Assault frigate. Brilliant bursts of light continually collided with the piratical ship’s shields, making them appear to opaque. And more opaqueness was beginning to show.
“Switch to quad ion cannons and fire,” shouted the Confederation Captain, leaning forward in his command chair.
A few emerald bolts sputtered out of the turrets to be supplanted by a shear hail of cyan bolts, the trademark color of ion cannons. But unlike most ion cannons, the Seraphs’ traded power for shear rate of fire, and the salvos of the weapons continually overlapped that to the distant observer, it only appeared to be a continuous stream of blue between the distant opponents.
“Captain, the suspect vessel has been neutralized.”
Tyrel nodded.
“Very good; the Redemption should be inbound. Prepare to follow the Redemption.”
“Aye sir. Redemption is making the jump.”
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Redemption-class Assault Transport Redemption, Metalorn
“The assault frigate has been disable ma’am,” drawled the Audacian Sensor’s operator.
“Very good Sub-lieutenant,” replied the female captain briskly, “let’s see what the KIBC II can do. Make the jump.”
“Calculations complete; making the jump.”
The Redemption surged briefly into the realm of hyperspace. Like many other KDI designs, such as the Resolve-class, the Redemption-class was built on the hull of the ubiquitous hull of the Seraph, a reasonable combat ship in its own right. But unlike the Seraph or the Resolve, the Redemption was not designed for space combat, at least in a traditional sense of the word, but rather as transport to disgorge legions of Contegorian troops into the battlefield, whether it be land, air, or space. And it was the last one that had surprised most officers, and even raised objections to the concept itself; until they knew that the ship was backed both the Commodore and the Metalorian Government, which needed a method to get its own vast droid legions into space. And so the Redemption, the first of her class, arrived at Metalorn and was promptly loaded with the most experienced Paladin IIs of the Metalorn Droid Legions. The success of the excersise would be either raise the status of the Redemption and Paladin II, or bring ridicule to their designers and supporters. Commander Kayna Thorin rested her hand on her thigh as the blue lines stopped. And I clearly hope that it’s not the latter; I’d rather not be XO of the Cavalier…again. Oh sweet irony.
“We’ve reverted ma’am.”
Really? I never would have guessed.
“Lock tractor beams onto our target, prepare the drill, and launch the droids,” coldly smiled the woman.
The somewhat large transport bore down on the even larger Assault Frigate. A little large to be called a frigate. She wrinkled her nose. Tractor beams mounted on the fast tracking targets set their aim and tenaciously gripped the disabled vessel, pulling the two craft to a nearly point blank range, upon which the Redemption’s drills rotated and began to carve out delicate incisions into the vessel. That’s a little bright and noticeable; too noticeable. Have to talk to chief about that; if those drills always gleam that light, we might be giving away are intentions to easily. And as the woman thought and the drill burned through the enemy hall, the droids were being launched in the thousands. Most simply walked out of the hangar and ignited their thrusters, slowly moving in their dark ranks to the molten crevices. Most landed with a metallic thud and began their hostile takeover of the unmanned ship; encountering the various droid crews as well as more than a few old CIS battle droids of various makes leftover from the planet’s older legions and from CIS warehouses found on the planet. And those droids stood little chance.
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Remote Operation’s Room, Redemption
“Wow, look at the view,” stated the Metalorn sergeant, leaning over the monitor.
“Switching beam light to on,” stated the console’s occupant, flicking a switch that send a bright shaft of light that pierced the darkness of space and reflected off the metal sheen of the assault frigate’s wall. While most of the Paladin IIs normally operated without a controller, they could be controlled manually from a distant controller; acting as an avatar for the said soldier. And it could well be fearsome; how do fight a thing that feels no pain, that’s sole purpose is to destroy anything in its path; and that is backed by a human will and intellect. The first door appeared in front of the squad.
“Power grid is offline for this area of the ship; initiating plasma torch,” reported the human controller, making some movements on the console.
The left gauntlet of Paladin II Alpha-Blue-152 rose as a fist, as if to pummel the door, which it certainly could with its heavily armored fist and powerful servomotors. But instead, a steady blue stream of plasma seared out, cutting the metal and leaving molten metal in its tracks. A swift punch from another Paladin II droid brought the door done; only to reveal a trio of waiting Droidekas; which promptly fired.
“Encountering enemy fire, returning fire.”
Bolts from the former CIS blasters began to pelt down on the Coalition droids to no effect; for the repeating blasters were not powerful enough to damage the Paladin’s heat-resistant armor; in fact, it would take at least the steady stream of several E-WEBs to effectively put down the droid. Although the droidekas’ blasters could do the job…eventually, but it was not time that they had. The Paladin IIs brought up their heavy railguns and fired, sending 6 kilograms of durasteel and fusing chemicals at speeds well in advance of a thousands meters per second. The impact of the first shell pierced the droid’s shield and impacted; snapping the droid in half as well as spraying superheated plasma in the immediate vicinity, which melted components and would burn through nearly any organic material. Other Paladin II droids fired, sending down a torrent of shells that ripped apart the opposition into shreds. Their enemy vanquished, the squad of Coalition droids advanced, their feet crunching the remains of their foes beneath them. And across the assault frigate, Metalorn’s droid legions advanced relentlessly, decimating larger numbers of inferior machines and making their way to key areas of the ship.
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Flagship Pegasus, Metalorn
“It appears to be a success,” commented Commander Fyre.
Corise gravely nodded while tapping a few buttons on his own console.
“Appears to be,” dryly mused the senior Kashan officer, “but things always go better in practice than in actual use in the battlefield. There are less variables here than on the battlefield and more variables will appear with time.”
“Indeed.”
“Begin the Capture simulation,” ordered the Commodore, standing on the bridge of the Pegasus.
The Pegasus and her consorts of the Confederation Fleet at Metalorn were at the heart of the Confederation’s Fleet’s thickest concentration ever, even surpassing the fortress worlds of Genon and Kashan. Metalorn itself was heavily fortified as well, boasting multiple planetary shield generators and several LNR II planetary turbolaser batteries. But every officer knew that the one of the best defences was an active offence, a job that could only be handled by the Navy and its fleet of ships; and even better in an engagement was to capture an enemy’s weapon and use it against them. Hence the exercise: a simulation of a Seraph Mk III and Redemption-class Assault Transport on patrol.
The silver Seraph Mk III surged forward, its starfighter complement arrayed around it in a typical starfighter screen. Emerald bolts flashed from the cruiser’s long-range turbolasers, lancing out at the piratical formation. Explosions began to blossom as the distant target began to explode, at least as it appeared on the screen. The target was an enemy Assault Frigate, a type of converted Rendili Dreadnaught that was so common of fleets on all sides. Corise reclined in his chair.
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Seraph Mk III Cruiser Steadfast, Metalorn
We’ve been through a lot; we’ve been through hell; and the Steadfast has carried us all through it; the pirates at Budpock, the simulation against the Gestalt Colonies, against the Black Sun, and even against TNO’s Curaisseur-class Heavy Cruisers. Captain Tyrel grunted. That had hurt; getting an engine fire, but it wasn’t as bad as their cruiser loosing its engine block. It’s only right; only right that we get the first upgrade; this ship’s taken the most damage of any Kashan Defence Fleet ship ever. Tyrel’s expression lightened, fondly gazing about the cruiser’s bridge. Little had changed in the bridge from the upgrade of the Mk II to that of the Mk III. Indeed, the only changes evident was more cushioned seats for all of the bridge crew as well as the ship’s crest, a maiden wielding a sword, being emblazoned on those chairs as well.
“Captain,” shouted a crewmember from below, “we’ve been given the go-ahead from the Pegasus to initiate the excersise.”
Tyrel staunchly nodded. “Very well; Let’em have it.”
Steadfast’s guns quickly swiveled to track the distant Assault Frigate and began to fire. The ship’s captain glanced at his chrono; That’s at least three seconds faster to track and fire. It looks like the fast-tracking turrets and their software are at least working right now. Tyrel tapped a few buttons, bringing up a holographic view of the enemy Assault frigate. Brilliant bursts of light continually collided with the piratical ship’s shields, making them appear to opaque. And more opaqueness was beginning to show.
“Switch to quad ion cannons and fire,” shouted the Confederation Captain, leaning forward in his command chair.
A few emerald bolts sputtered out of the turrets to be supplanted by a shear hail of cyan bolts, the trademark color of ion cannons. But unlike most ion cannons, the Seraphs’ traded power for shear rate of fire, and the salvos of the weapons continually overlapped that to the distant observer, it only appeared to be a continuous stream of blue between the distant opponents.
“Captain, the suspect vessel has been neutralized.”
Tyrel nodded.
“Very good; the Redemption should be inbound. Prepare to follow the Redemption.”
“Aye sir. Redemption is making the jump.”
---------------------
Redemption-class Assault Transport Redemption, Metalorn
“The assault frigate has been disable ma’am,” drawled the Audacian Sensor’s operator.
“Very good Sub-lieutenant,” replied the female captain briskly, “let’s see what the KIBC II can do. Make the jump.”
“Calculations complete; making the jump.”
The Redemption surged briefly into the realm of hyperspace. Like many other KDI designs, such as the Resolve-class, the Redemption-class was built on the hull of the ubiquitous hull of the Seraph, a reasonable combat ship in its own right. But unlike the Seraph or the Resolve, the Redemption was not designed for space combat, at least in a traditional sense of the word, but rather as transport to disgorge legions of Contegorian troops into the battlefield, whether it be land, air, or space. And it was the last one that had surprised most officers, and even raised objections to the concept itself; until they knew that the ship was backed both the Commodore and the Metalorian Government, which needed a method to get its own vast droid legions into space. And so the Redemption, the first of her class, arrived at Metalorn and was promptly loaded with the most experienced Paladin IIs of the Metalorn Droid Legions. The success of the excersise would be either raise the status of the Redemption and Paladin II, or bring ridicule to their designers and supporters. Commander Kayna Thorin rested her hand on her thigh as the blue lines stopped. And I clearly hope that it’s not the latter; I’d rather not be XO of the Cavalier…again. Oh sweet irony.
“We’ve reverted ma’am.”
Really? I never would have guessed.
“Lock tractor beams onto our target, prepare the drill, and launch the droids,” coldly smiled the woman.
The somewhat large transport bore down on the even larger Assault Frigate. A little large to be called a frigate. She wrinkled her nose. Tractor beams mounted on the fast tracking targets set their aim and tenaciously gripped the disabled vessel, pulling the two craft to a nearly point blank range, upon which the Redemption’s drills rotated and began to carve out delicate incisions into the vessel. That’s a little bright and noticeable; too noticeable. Have to talk to chief about that; if those drills always gleam that light, we might be giving away are intentions to easily. And as the woman thought and the drill burned through the enemy hall, the droids were being launched in the thousands. Most simply walked out of the hangar and ignited their thrusters, slowly moving in their dark ranks to the molten crevices. Most landed with a metallic thud and began their hostile takeover of the unmanned ship; encountering the various droid crews as well as more than a few old CIS battle droids of various makes leftover from the planet’s older legions and from CIS warehouses found on the planet. And those droids stood little chance.
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Remote Operation’s Room, Redemption
“Wow, look at the view,” stated the Metalorn sergeant, leaning over the monitor.
“Switching beam light to on,” stated the console’s occupant, flicking a switch that send a bright shaft of light that pierced the darkness of space and reflected off the metal sheen of the assault frigate’s wall. While most of the Paladin IIs normally operated without a controller, they could be controlled manually from a distant controller; acting as an avatar for the said soldier. And it could well be fearsome; how do fight a thing that feels no pain, that’s sole purpose is to destroy anything in its path; and that is backed by a human will and intellect. The first door appeared in front of the squad.
“Power grid is offline for this area of the ship; initiating plasma torch,” reported the human controller, making some movements on the console.
The left gauntlet of Paladin II Alpha-Blue-152 rose as a fist, as if to pummel the door, which it certainly could with its heavily armored fist and powerful servomotors. But instead, a steady blue stream of plasma seared out, cutting the metal and leaving molten metal in its tracks. A swift punch from another Paladin II droid brought the door done; only to reveal a trio of waiting Droidekas; which promptly fired.
“Encountering enemy fire, returning fire.”
Bolts from the former CIS blasters began to pelt down on the Coalition droids to no effect; for the repeating blasters were not powerful enough to damage the Paladin’s heat-resistant armor; in fact, it would take at least the steady stream of several E-WEBs to effectively put down the droid. Although the droidekas’ blasters could do the job…eventually, but it was not time that they had. The Paladin IIs brought up their heavy railguns and fired, sending 6 kilograms of durasteel and fusing chemicals at speeds well in advance of a thousands meters per second. The impact of the first shell pierced the droid’s shield and impacted; snapping the droid in half as well as spraying superheated plasma in the immediate vicinity, which melted components and would burn through nearly any organic material. Other Paladin II droids fired, sending down a torrent of shells that ripped apart the opposition into shreds. Their enemy vanquished, the squad of Coalition droids advanced, their feet crunching the remains of their foes beneath them. And across the assault frigate, Metalorn’s droid legions advanced relentlessly, decimating larger numbers of inferior machines and making their way to key areas of the ship.
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Flagship Pegasus, Metalorn
“It appears to be a success,” commented Commander Fyre.
Corise gravely nodded while tapping a few buttons on his own console.
“Appears to be,” dryly mused the senior Kashan officer, “but things always go better in practice than in actual use in the battlefield. There are less variables here than on the battlefield and more variables will appear with time.”
“Indeed.”