Month 238, Pedise System, Theban Empire
Fifth Lay Magician watched as his fleet assembled around the warp point to Nebertcher, where last month the survey fleet had perished against a measly three light cruisers from the red fleet. All the ships send to this frontier sector to assist the Cannon Cartell had been withdrawn and united into one strong fleet, consisting of six battleships, three battlecruisers, nine heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, a carrier, nine destroyers and three escort carriers. And the second Theban fleet was in its way to this sector, bringing with it all the might the empire was able to project. The Theban strategy of strongly fortifying key systems and known points of contact was not so fortunate now, leaving the empire with fewer mobile assets than one could wish for against such a formidable and technologically advanced foe. But still, in six weeks the most powerful battle line of the known galaxy would stand together with his fleet and defend the system, if supplies allowed it. But by the second week of the month, a war bulletin forwarded by the Cartell showed him the error of his assumption. The Theban Second fleet, even united with his ships, might not be the heaviest battle line after all. United with the first fleet, yes, but by its own it was that no longer. Anyway, freighters were busy moving mines from one warp point towards this one, and mine control bases where shaking down and ready to be towed over, and the first two Apis emergency bases finished assembly and had been emplaced alongside his ships. Then the eighteenth day came around, and the warp point spit forth six battleships. The enemy was probing already, and in force. Unfortunately, despite their arrival vectors wildly scattering the only one to present its rear aspect was the first ship and quickly turned about before the Theban weapons could respond.
Intense laser fire flashed between the invading battleships and the six Amon class destroyers holding station three light seconds away, leaving two battleships with light armour damage and two destroyers with breached armour and damage to their engines. Theban missile fire was absorbed by the battleships shields, but the ready squadron of fighters was quick to react and eighteen fighters raked the ship with laser fire from a distance, ripping away huge swaths of armour. Then the battleships turned about and vanished back into the warp point, leaving the defenders high strung and waiting until general quarters had to be abandoned.
Silence reigned for barely 37 hours. Then the wrap point agitated again, spitting forth six dreadnaughts which launched 96 gunboats. Another 162 flashed into existence just on the heels of the last dreadnaught. 26 of them immediately vanished in the glaring annihilation of matter which proved that despite all wishes atoms cannot exist within each other. Nor can larger objects. The first dreadnaught fired five hetlasers and two missiles, and despite transit hit with all of them. By happenstance his target was the already damaged Amon class destroyer and it just winked out into a spreading cloud of incandescent gas. In a pattern already well known the Theban close in defenders at three and four light seconds distance where slow to activate, and thus only two destroyers and a Urt-hekau CA responded and scourged furrows into the thick armour belt of a dreadnaught.
Unwilling to go out in a blaze of glory against that many gunboats, the CAP stayed away from the warp point for now and tried bringing its squadrons up to readiness, staying out of range for fire from capital point defences. The Theban destroyers and heavy cruisers in the close range group moved forward by a half light second, modulating their engines, but for the two crippled destroyers. The red fleets dreadnaughts swung about, facing now the way the Thebans would sooner or later go, while another six dreadnaughts materialized and spat out gunboats. 232 gunboats raced from the warp points and within three quarters of a light seconds from the Theban ship group. The Theban CAP was next to discover an unwelcome surprise, as three dreadnaughts used two Dcx each to swat one squadron completely from the sky, while sending their combined firepower into an Urt-Hekau cruiser. But these were assault ships and it weathered the fire well, losing only a third of its armor and two thirds of its shields. The Theban destroyers turned their fire against the closing gunboats, killing five in total in a display of imperial marksmanship...not. In contrast, another squadron of Theban fighters was burned out of the sky by the second data group of Demolisher class dreadnaughts, even while they burned away the remaining passives on the Urt-hekau. Lasers and the six CAM of the two active Urt-Hekaus killed another six gunboats, then the newly arrived dreadnaughts started to fire and revealed themselves as Catapult class ships. The Theban light cruiser, who held their fire before, now send a swarm of sprint mode missiles into the advancing gunboats from 1.5 ls away, accounting for another seven. Then two Theban Dua class cruiser ripped away half the armour on a Demolisher with their X-ray lasers. In return, a catapult send five missiles into Archeron, one of the two Aten class light cruisers, eliminating its passive defences and the first engine room. While the last Dua joined its brethren in scourging armour of the Demolisher, another catapult punched two more missiles past Archerons defensive fire and crippled the old and proud ships ability to flee anymore. In response, the three Candace class cruisers, Calvacade, Claude Auchinleck and Candace herself send a withering storm of 42 sprint missiles towards the gunboats, killing 12. Then a Catapult took Nekbeth, the lead ship of the CL Nekbeth class under fire, and destroyed her passive defences. While the five active Osiris class battleships and the three Busiris battlecruisers reduced the demolishers armour further with laser torpedoes, the last catapult crippled Nekbeths engines. Then a blizzard of fighter lasers reached out to the close range defenders, but due to the range, two of the heavy cruiser survived, even though but for one crippled the destroyers did not... and one motorized laser... ( xxxx(I)L ).
The 96 gunboats on the warp point lunged forward, coming within three light seconds of the motorized laser. The 215 forward ones flew onward, to swarm over the two slowed light cruisers, but only within a light second of the six heavy cruisers and the remaining undamaged Aten CL, who all had moved away from the warp point now, only turning to engage their pursuers. The six Demolishers moved from the warp point in pursuit, while the catapults turned around in order to follow the defenders soon, and six battleships appeared on it. First to fire again where the crippled light cruisers, spitting defiance at the gunboats and taking five of them along into the darkness. Then three Demolishers fired at the more damaged Urt-Hekau, who while trying to keep the gunboats in sight had allowed the heavies to slip into its blind spot, and paid dearly, being reduced by missiles and lasers to a floating engine room. The last remaining Urt-Hekau took four gunboats down, but the other three demolishers ignored it, instead sending their fire into the last undamaged Athen, Absolution, which got hit by five missiles and eleven lasers, leaving it wide open and burning. It took out two gunboats with its sprint missile, and then its crew braced for the soon coming end. Next to face fire was Claude Auchinleck, but with two EDM deployed all but one missile was shot down, and thus her shields held out. In return she and her sisters removed thirteen gunboats from space. The other data group of Catapults then ravaged Claude Auchinlecks armour with seven second generation laser torpedoes, reducing it to a sliver. The two still inactive apis class bases got ripped apart by the six battleships on the warp point. Then the swarming gunboats removed the light cruisers except Aten, a Dua and all Candace class heavy cruisers from the line of battle, leaving them crippled or even drifting clouds of gas. Theban long range fire from the Busiris and Oiris class ships removed the armour of the damaged catapults and two engine rooms, ending that vessels pursuit.
The intense fight continued. Even though one carrier was not yet active, the Theban carriers launched their fighters towards an intercept while turning to move away. The Theban heavies moved further away, turning to keep the Demolishers out of their blind spots and keeping out of range of the gunboats, but with them slipping just into their blind spots also not able to engage them. The Duas raced onwards, and turned a bit to engage the Demolishers, while keeping out of range from the smaller gunboat group. Six battlecruisers joined the ships on the warp point. The Catapults also moved in pursuit, while the battleships turned. First to fire were the two Demolishers, but they failed to do more than scratch the armour of a Dua. The two Duas retaliated and removed a sizeable portion of a Demolishers armour. In return, the damaged Dua was reduced to it last engine room. The surviving Urt-Hekau killed three gunboats, while Absolution died from laser torpedoes launched from the demolishers. Next the Catapults fired at six light seconds upon one of the Busiris class battlecruisers, Banshee. Unfortunately, she had not yet received the latest in Theban armour technology, but her passive defences just held against that salvo. In return she and her squad mates damaged the Demolisher already targeted by the Duas further with laser torpedoes. Then the other Catapults managed to send seventeen capital missiles on target with seven penetrating her point defences and crippling her. In return, the Osiris class battleships engaged the Demolisher further and reduced her shields to a third.
The red fleets ships advanced further from the warp point. The Theban ships maneuvered adroitly and managed to keep the enemy ships out of their blind spots, but this allowed the gun boats to close to just short of a light second. The first Theban data group of Osiris BBs fired, and whiped 22 gunboats from the sky, and reduced the shields on the second damaged Demolisher further. The Catapults answered, with their missiles streaking towards a Busiris BC and their capital energy beams engaging the last Dua who had sneaked up to them, taking out most of his engines by ignoring that ships thick armour belt. Benedict Arnold managed to shot down all but two incoming missiles by a combination fo point defence and EDM, only loosing her shields. South Dakota ripped away a quarter of a Catapults armour, but then was targeted again by those capital energy beams, and was left a drifting ghost ship by the electricity playing havoc inside its hull.
Benedict Arnold was unable to repeat her earlier feat and six CM-a smashed into her, taking out her armour and four engine rooms. Her combined salvo with Bangladesh failed to penetrate the Demolishers point defence, but two more gunboats died to their beams. Four laser torpedoes from the complete demolisher group hit home on her after that, while their hetlasers sought out the remaining Urt-Hetau, burning through its armour and into its engines. In return, it took out another gun boat. Even well protected industrial age lasers are not really weapons for this age anymore. Then it got targeted by the two other demolishers, and melted but for some rudimentary systems and a solitary laser. In return, the other Osiris data group managed to send six missiles through the Demolishers defences, and ripped away its passives and killed another 17 gunboats, leaving only 120. The red fleets Daiku battleships cleared up crippled destroyers and cruisers while chasing after the Theban fleet.
Things now came to a conclusion. The gunboats caught up to the Thebans battleships, and the Theban fighters closed to them at a quarter light second, while the various ships moved further in-system. As luck would have it the Theban crews where quicker of the mark, and the Osiris class BBs fired first. 17 gunboats died, a few evading at the last moment. And six more missiles crippled the Demolisher. Then 14 fighter missiles slammed home into October, not quite enough to kill her but she only had four advanced missile launchers left to defend herself, killing two gunboats. Octopus and Ovango accounted for another 15, and send one missile home into the demolisher. Another FRAM salvo rocked home, then the Theban fighters reaped seven gunboats, while loosing four of their number to the gunboats point defences. After the intense exchange cleared, 74 gunboats and 38 fighters had died. Almost as an afterthought, the catapults cleaned up the remaining Busiris battle cruiser and the crippled ones, aided by long range fire from the Demolishers.
The remaining gunboats of this wave turned back and sought cover near the red fleets ships, daring the fighters to come after them. But the 96 of the second wave set out to pursue the Theban carriers which now were in full flight.
An attempt by the fighters to intercept ended badly, with the fighters taking down some gunboats but perishing afterwards, leaving the carriers defenceless to be chased down.
It has been black day for the Theban navy. Several days later, 9 million Thebans ceased to exist in Pedise, alongside the yards and stockpiles of prefab bases..