Hi guys. I've been a longtime lurker on these forums and, I have to say, the fiction here is topnotch. All that reading made me try and write a bit of fiction of my own, hopefully it'll be half-decent. This is a story about a jump-point assault into a hostile star system which I recently undertook around 20 years into my campaign.
January 7, 2120
FNS Kuznetsov, Alpha Centauri, Sirius Jump Point
Admiral Berry had been planning this excursion into Sirius for well over a week now, and the excitement in his crew, as well as there rest of the 1st Battle Fleet, is almost palpable. The operational specifics have just been announced to the whole fleet, to much excitement after the January 2 announcement by Chancellor Addler that the fleet would avenge the loss of the Thor Heyerdahl during a gravitational survey 3 days prior. The announcement was received well by most citizens of the Federation, but not among them was Admiral Berry. First off, they had no intelligence as to the numbers of Droid ships in the system. Second, they would probably exit phase space straight into weapon range of the Droid ships, and due to their systems being scrambled after their jump into the system, they would have no way to defend against such an attack. Third, seeing their preference to target the sensor-bearing, as well as phase drive-bearing, command cruisers, they might take out most, if not, all command cruisers during the engagement, possibly leaving the fleet stranded. A grave conundrum indeed, yet Admiral Berry cannot object to the Chancellor's orders. He slinks down in his chair, looking down at the bridge below him, and the video screens showing the fleet around him. He feels a sense of dread, hoping this doesn't turn put to be a repeat of the Alpha Centauri Incident, where and entire squadron was lost combating the Droid menace. Anxiously, the Admiral looks down to his command screen on his desk, and selects the detailed plan for Operation Clean Sweep III.
The entire operation is divided into two steps. Phase One is the Kuznetsov jumping into the systems along with 3 Oracle-class Reconnaissance Frigates. The 420 milllion kilometer range of the 4 ship's active sensors will grant a picture of what the fleet can expect in the system. Phase Two involves the rest of the 1st Battle Fleet jumping into Sirius and eliminating any threats spotted during Phase One. An optional Phase Three is taking down any Droid PDCs on Sirius VI, a future colony due to the fact it has a colony cost of 1 and an easily terraformable atmosphere, or any other planet in the Sirius system. A good plan, in theory, but, as he learned in the Volgograd Naval Academy, no plan ever survives contact with the enemy.
Admiral Berry closes down the screen and is push back into his chair by the force of his ship going 5000 km/s to meet up with the Oracles. He notes the time until they jump into the system, roughly 15 minutes. The minutes tick by, with the crew scurrying around to ensure all is well in the ship. The phase drive on the Kuznetsov begins to charge, which takes roughly two minutes. The hum of the phase drive can be heard throughout the ship, and probably in the Oracles as well, if sound could pass the vacuum of space.
One minute to phase jump. Lightning-like threads of light being coalescing around the Oracles and the Kuznetsov. Phase Jumps are often called "riding the lightning", due to the lightning-like formations that surround each ship as they prepare to jump.
30 seconds. The lightning intensifies. Most electronic systems are either turned off or scrambled by the phase drive charging.
10 seconds. The Admiral straps into his chair, like everyone else in the ships and in the Oracles. Being strapped by duranium braces ensures that you aren't smashed to subatomic particles and cause a nuclear explosion inside the ship. The phase drive only converts items covered by duranium shells into tachyons, and, while the armor and outer skin is made of duranium, the crew isn't taking and chances.
5 seconds. The lightning gets more intense. The crew braces. The Admiral bites down on his lower lip.
0 seconds. The Kuznetsov and the Oracles disappear from Alpha Centauri and reappear in the Sirius system. Federal Jump Drives work by converting the target mass into tachyons and then accelerating them to the speed of light squared via tachyonic acceleration by a Tachyon Engine. They can only function at jump points since this is the point where the tachyonic pull of the target star system is strongest, allowing for a phase jump to take place.
The Kuznetsov confirms that they are in the Sirius system, and all 3 Oracles confirm that they have successfully transited into the system with the Kuznetsov. Roughly ten seconds pass before the first sensors in the fleet come back online, and to a startling discovery: 18 strength-7 thermal contacts fast approaching towards the recon force. Admiral Berry restraps himself into his chair and sends back a message to the rest of the fleet in Alpha Centauri: Do not transit.
10 seconds pass and the Kuznetsov is rocked by 18 nuclear explosions, each roughly six megatons in strength. Her armor is penetrated in two places and internal damage has been taken, taking out half her engines. Knowing that his command cruiser won't last another salvo, he orders his crew to the life pods. 10 frantic seconds pass before another salvo of missiles are detected on the thermal scanners. Admiral Berry was the last to the life pods before another set of explosions obliterate the Kuznetsov. Only 26 make it out alive, the admiral included. By now the active sensors of the Oracles still haven't come online and the recon force is effectively blind. 40 seconds pass before Oracle 006 takes 18 hits, causing massive internal damage through her paper-thin armor. They scramble towards the jump point, hoping that the Admiral told the fleet back home to save them. Another salvo hits home and Oracle 006 is destroyed.
From his cramped lifepod, which, fortunately, was equipped with a comms array, Admiral Berry tells his fleet to transit into Sirius. While his second-in-command Commodore Hunt countered the order, the Admiral reasoned that the enemy fleet's fire would be directed at the active-sensor emitting recon frigates. A gamble, but it just might save the lives of those left in Sirius.
Back in Alpha Centauri, the 1st Battle Fleet prepares to jump into Sirius. Comprised of the five Battle Squadrons of the Federal Navy, the fleet has been successful in clearing out Droid-controlled systems. While the only one to be cleared to date was Alpha Centauri, it's still a 100% success rate. Each squadron is composed of one Commander-class Command Cruiser, equipped with battle management sensors and the squadron phase drive, two Sword-class Missile Destroyers armed with S-4 ASMs in 15 launchers, and 2 Shield-class Destroyers armed with 2 Triple Gauss Cannon turrets. As a group, each squadron has proved to be capable in combat.
Each phase drive of the Fleet begins charging their phase drvies. A total of 20 ships will transit into Sirius, while the 1st Battle Squadron, lacking a command cruiser, which was the Kuznetsov, stays behind to watch the jump point. The phase drives begin charging, crews ready and brace themselves. One ship, thinking that it very well maybe be the last time they conduct a phase jump, play Metallica's "Ride the Lightning" throughout their PA system while the phase drive charges, quite fittingly to the events taking place. Who knows how many Droid warships are in Sirius, maybe a squadron, maybe an armada. The best they are hoping for is to save as many of the poor souls left in Sirius from the Droid menace, and maybe, to advance the Federation and humanity along with it.
At roughly two minutes to midnight, January 7, 2120, the 1st Fleet transits into Sirius to face the unknown.
