It's called Star WARS for a reason.
There has rarely been a period of 10 years without some form of galaxy-wide conflict.
I get to conquer the Federation (SW and ST Crossover/SI)
- Thread starter Jaenera Targaryen
- Start date
It's called Star WARS for a reason.
There has rarely been a period of 10 years without some form of galaxy-wide conflict.
liberty90
Evil Neoliberal Cat
It's called Star WARS for a reason.
Yeah, these "faults" of the Star Wars galaxy are sensible to create an interesting story. But if I was an inhabitant of the setting, instead of the reader, these things would feel like problematic issues.
And it feels interesting to point it out. Not out of disrespect to the setting, but as a curiosity. Both Star Trek and Star Wars seem to be not without faults, even though the nature of their problems is practically... reversed. Like the radical "left" and radical "right" of the political spectrum.
American-style economic progress (at 3%, something normal for the XX century US, your production basically double after every 23 years) would mean that after 30 000 years galaxy would be composed out of Dyson spheres with absolutely all resources mined out and absolutely all energy used industrially. Though, humph, when I now think about this... Actually, that could have it's own problems and conflicts... But it would be an entirely different story.
It's interesting that there evidently were always things that caused the Star Wars galaxy to basically stagnate, or reverse economic gains, after a while. More ancient/medieval feel to the economic and social order. More human than the Federation, but not exactly "modern" patterns.
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D
Deleted member 88
Guest
This isn’t really true?It's called Star WARS for a reason.
Local conflicts aside, galaxy wide wars aren’t always happening.
Knowledgeispower
Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
Notably the thousand years of relative peace after the Russan reformation
It's certainly in the history, but its a history I find EXTREMELY suspect, especially considering the rest of the Star Wars timeline.
How much of that time was rewritten or just ignored because it didn't fit the Russan narrative? -- I'm not speaking from the reference point of the SW writers.
D
Deleted member 88
Guest
This is such a misconception.
Wars happened, a lot in SW.
To name some relevant eras of peace-about a thousand years of peace from Ruusan to the clone wars.
The Inter Sith wars period which was between the time of vitiate and the beginning of the new Sith wars.
IIRC 10,000 BBY to 7,000 BBY was a time of peace.
The Alaskan conflicts lasted intermittently for 17,000 years. With the Pius Dea era being a period of a thousand years.
The early expansion era.
Then the period from 45 ABY to 127 ABY was a period of peace. Reminder everything from ANH to Crucible takes place in a little more than half the time between Crucible and Legacy.
A period without war.
6900 BBY to 5000 BBY being another.
It’s better to say there are intervals of war and peace.
Wars happened, a lot in SW.
To name some relevant eras of peace-about a thousand years of peace from Ruusan to the clone wars.
The Inter Sith wars period which was between the time of vitiate and the beginning of the new Sith wars.
IIRC 10,000 BBY to 7,000 BBY was a time of peace.
The Alaskan conflicts lasted intermittently for 17,000 years. With the Pius Dea era being a period of a thousand years.
The early expansion era.
Then the period from 45 ABY to 127 ABY was a period of peace. Reminder everything from ANH to Crucible takes place in a little more than half the time between Crucible and Legacy.
A period without war.
6900 BBY to 5000 BBY being another.
It’s better to say there are intervals of war and peace.
Jaenera Targaryen
Well-known member
It looks that way because the galaxy actually went through a millennium-long Dark Age between 2000 BBY to 1000 BBY, i.e. the New Sith Wars. It then took another 1000 years, from the Ruusan Reformation to the Clone Wars, to regain the tech level at the start of the New Sith Wars. And even then, certain technologies are still lost, like effective personal shield generators (the ones used by droidekas emit dangerous amounts of radiation and the ones Stormtroopers have can only block 1 shot at full power before needing to recharge) for one. In some areas like ship design, things are more advanced, but in most areas, the galaxy's only really just recovered from the legacy of the New Sith Wars.
Prior to the New Sith Wars, progress was evident over 3000 years of history.
Prior to the New Sith Wars, progress was evident over 3000 years of history.
Do you know ow hard it is to police a planet with trillions of people on it? PLus socially? Besides the Empire they are very open to various races and the like!
One would need to go to each planet and compare, because every planet has a veriety of diffrences, some more like the Federation, some more like Klingons so on and so forth
PeliusAnar
Well-known member
The cities are all very vibrant in terms of population and life in Star Wars. Even out of the way places like Tatooine, have more life to them than a Federation city. By life I mean people on the streets and walking about. Doing things. Even in Coruscant there is a huge amount of foot traffic. There are also constant air cars moving about. The Federation cities just have a couple people walking about, like in a park. Holodecks and transporters really changed the culture.
Star Wars also has so many different jobs for someone. Be it a simple moisture farmer on tattooine, to a bar owner on Coruasant, to a hired guard on Nar Shadaa. There is a job for everyone and anyone on almost any planet, and it doesn't involve joining the Military to travel to other planets
Chapter 10
Jaenera Targaryen
Well-known member
Rear Admiral Japla Kala’myr looked on as the starlines stretched out to infinity, and then resolved into the billions of sparkling lights that were the stars of space. And in the distance, visible only as a slightly-brighter and bigger speck, was a space station, bigger than a Golan-II, but less formidable, at least in terms of gunnery.
That was their target: Starbase Epsilon, in the Kalandra Sector, on the far side of the Federation from the Imperial beachhead in the Orion Sector. Here, significant numbers of ships could be resupplied and repaired relatively-quickly. Though overall time depended on how many ships the starbase was expected to support, the crux of the matter was that Starbase Epsilon was a major link in the Federation supply chain.
And this, in turn, made it a viable target for Operation Typhoon.
A glance at the tactical display confirmed to Kala’myr that his fast attack force had come out of hyperspace without incident, with two Victory and Venator Class Star Destroyers each, the latter including his flagship, Thunderer. There were also six Carrack Class Light Cruisers and sixteen CR90 Corvettes providing screening for his fleet.
A solid force, if slightly-dated given the age of the Venator Class. More than enough to fulfil the orders given to them, of course. And as the recent Battle of Earth had shown, Venators for all their age were still Star Destroyers. Undergunned by modern standards, but still packing firepower and endurance worthy of their designation.
The grizzled veterans of the Clone Wars could still fight for the Empire, and even teach the next generation a few more lessons yet.
“Enemy launch detected.” Lieutenant Magnus Monsula said. “Com-Scan indicates twelve Miranda Class Frigates, moving to surround us.”
“Intelligence indicated that Starfleet was stripping their border outposts given the virtual annihilation of the Home Fleet.” Kala’myr mused. “Twelve frigates seem a bit much, considering this sector’s distance from the frontline…then again, the Miranda Class is supposed to be an old and outdated model like the CR70…”
“…the enemy has jumped to light-speed!” Magnus interrupted.
“They ran…?” Kala’myr began to say before the Thunderer shook. “What was that?”
“Torpedo strikes!” Magnus said, before the Thunderer shook again. Then in the distance, a CR90 exploded as its shields failed and photon torpedoes blew it apart. “Admiral…the torpedoes seem to be coming out nowhere!”
“Could those frigates have a cloaking device?” Kala’myr asked, even as the fleet began opening fire with its point-defense guns, and the Carracks launched their TIE Fighters to try and intercept the incoming torpedoes. “Wait…no…damn, they’ve wised up!”
“Sir?” Magnus asked, looking and sounding confused.
“It was in an intelligence debrief about the Federation’s FTL drives.” Kala’myr said. “Warp, they call it. It’s slower than hyperdrive, very much so, taking nearly a century to traverse the galaxy where our hyperdrives would need only years at most through uncharted space, but it does allow for battles in and through light-speed.”
“Through light-speed, sir?” Magnus asked a moment before his mind caught up. “It can’t be…they’re launching their torpedoes while at…warp?”
“They’re probably running circles around us right now,” Kala’myr snarled, clenching his fists in frustration at being made sport of like this. “And launching torpedoes at us while we can’t fight back. Impudent bastards…!”
A flash of light briefly lit up the bridge, and the Thunderer shook again and harder this time, enough to floor several officers. “Direct hit on the bridge shields!” the shield officer warned. “No damage to the hull, but reinforcing our shields regardless.”
“More enemy ships launching from the starbase.” The sensors officer warned. “Reading another six Miranda Class Frigates, and two Excelsior Class Heavy Cruisers. They appear to be escorting a convoy of eight unarmed transports.”
“Should we target them?” Captain Robert Devin asked. “They’re well within…”
Magnus shook his head as the flag captain trailed off. “The enemy convoy has jumped to light-speed.” He said.
Kala’myr set his jaw, staring through the windows as photon torpedoes exploded across the shields of the Victory Class Star Destroyer Superb. “And still their rearguard attacks us.” He growled. “Fine…no matter if they’ve taken their crew, supplies, and removable equipment with them…just by destroying their infrastructure, we’ll still achieve our goals here regardless. Signal all Star Destroyers: target the enemy space station with turbolasers. Full barrage!”
The order went out, and even as torpedoes continued to rain down on the Imperial Fleet, turbolaser batteries traversed their turrets and aligned their gunbarrels towards the target in the distance. Power conduits hummed as power was diverted from the main reactors of the Star Destroyers to their main guns, allowing more firepower to be brought to bear with every salvo.
“All ships report firing solutions plotted,” Devin began. “Target locked, and ready to fire on your command.”
“Fire.” Kala’myr gave the order.
“Fire!” the gunnery officer relayed the order, and the order was in turn repeated by gunnery chiefs on all four Star Destroyers in the fast attack force. Emerald lances burned through space, smashing against the shields of the space station in the distance. They held out for just over a minute, and then collapsing, allowed the turbolaser to pummel the station itself.
Molten metal sprayed out into space accompanied by bursts of vapor and jets of plasma. Then the fusion reactor at the heart of the space station went critical, blowing the space station apart from the inside.
“Enemy space station destroyed.” Devin triumphantly said. “Congratulations, sir.”
Kala’myr stayed silent though, hands held behind his back as he watched the afterglow of the station’s destruction fade away in the distance. And then they all noticed that the torpedo attacks had stopped. The enemy had retreated, it seemed.
“Recover all fighters.” He finally said, “And then signal the fleet: jump to light-speed, and proceed to the next target.”
“Yes, sir.” Magnus said with a nod.
“Also,” Kala’myr continued. “Send a priority transmission to expedition command. They’ll want to know about this shift in the enemy’s tactical operations.”
The adjutant nodded his understanding. “Yes, sir.” He said, before hurrying off.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“…virtually all antimatter production and storage facilities in the Terran Sector have been destroyed.” A harried-looking lieutenant reported to a staff meeting between what was left of Starfleet Command, held in a conference room in a bunker buried deep beneath the Planum Boreum colony on Mars. “The Empire has also largely-destroyed antimatter production and storage facilities in the Vulcan and Andorian Sectors. We predict both sectors will also have no antimatter production and storage capabilities left within the next standard week at least. And based on reports through what’s left of the subspace communications network, the Empire is also doing the same to antimatter production and storage facilities across most of Federation space.”
“Most of Federation space?” the scratchy hologram of Admiral Ross asked.
It was Fleet Admiral Alynna Nechayev, newly-appointed head of Starfleet Security, who answered. “The Empire has refrained from attacking antimatter and production facilities in two sectors.” She said. “Specifically, the Bajoran and Orion Sectors. In fact, they’re avoiding the former as far as we can tell.”
“Why?” Ross asked.
“We don’t know.” Nechayev answered. “But we and Starfleet Intelligence are working on it. With regard to the Orion Sector though…we have circumstantial evidence to suggest that the Empire may attempt to open negotiations with the Orion Syndicate soon.”
“…criminal scum!” one admiral spat, and slamming a fist against the table angrily. “Like rats fleeing a sinking ship, is it?”
“We should deploy a force in strength to Orion immediately!” another admiral suggested. “Officially it could be just to reinforce our position immediately facing the enemy beachhead…”
“…but in reality to put the Orions back in line.” Nechayev said before glancing at Shanthi, still the Commander-in-Chief of Starfleet despite the destruction of the Home Fleet in the Battle of Earth.
“That is out of the question.” Shanthi firmly said. “Don’t think the Orions or indeed, any Federation member race, won’t see through such a pretense. By taking such a reactionary action without strong evidence backing it up, we give the impression of desperation, that of heavy-handedly putting an otherwise loyal member race under effective military occupation to discourage others from taking such a course of action.”
“But fleet admiral,” one admiral began. “Can we really afford not taking strong action to demonstrate our strength and resilience in these trying times?”
“Yes.” Shanthi said, and shocking everyone. “We can afford not taking strong action, because we are strong. We do not need to prove anything.”
“…that said,” another admiral said after a moment. “Even if shouldn’t act strong, we should take decisive action regardless.”
“Meaning?” Ross asked.
The admiral adjusted the holographic display, and expanding it to show a star map of the whole Federation. Further adjustments highlighted engagements with the Empire over the last few days, then Earth, and finally, the Imperial Occupation Zone across the Orion and surrounding sectors.
“Over the past four days since the Battle of Earth,” he began. “We’ve engaged the Empire a total of fifty-six times. Our losses from those skirmishes stand at one thousand, three hundred and forty-four ships, more than what we lost at Earth. Lost antimatter production and storage facilities have been listed down already, and need not be reiterated. And on top of those losses, in the past four days alone, we’ve lost twenty-four starbases, all the while our subspace communications network continues to remain under attack.”
“In short,” Ross said, eyes narrowed and the static shooting through his hologram seeming to punctuate his words. “The enemy is destroying our ability to fight the war in the long term.”
“Precisely,” the admiral said with a nod. “Our ability to communicate and coordinate with each other is compromised. Our ability to fuel our ships for extended periods of time is crumbling. And we are losing the ability to project power beyond major planetary bases, such as in the core worlds of Mars, Vulcan, and Andoria, or the capital worlds of the various sectors.”
“And so we come to the point of your reasoning.” Shanthi said.
“Yes, fleet admiral.” The admiral said with another nod. “I believe we should gather all our remaining offensive capability while we still have it, and use it to defeat the enemy while they’re still recovering from their losses in the Battle of Earth.”
For several long moments, silence hung heavy over the table. Then the commander of the Second Fleet, Admiral Matthew Townsend, slowly nodded. “Between intelligence provided by the Klingons during their failed attack on the Orion Wormhole,” he began. “And our own observations from the Battle of Earth and other skirmishes before and since, the Imperial Expeditionary Force only numbers between two thousand and three thousand ships.”
“In contrast,” Admiral Joshua Hart of the Third Fleet added. “Between our remaining fleets, we should have some four thousand ships, bigger by half assuming the upper end of our estimates for the Imperial Expeditionary Force’s size.”
“It’s not an overwhelming numerical advantage,” the admiral who brought up the notion said with a nod. “But that is the bare minimum number needed for offensive fleet action. Even more so, as we know from prisoners that Admiral Targaryen has withdrawn the greater part of her force to repair and reinforce after the Battle of Earth. I think this is an excellent opportunity to seize our side of the wormhole, and then attempt to seal it!”
Agreeing murmurs went up the table…
…and then silence, as Ross’ hologram vanished. “Communications…?” Shanthi asked after patting her communicator. “What’s happened?”
“…sorry ma’am,” a communications officer replied after a moment. “But the network connection with Admiral Ross has gone down. We’re attempting to get it back up, but the network degradation is such that we can’t give you a reasonably-accurate estimate of when that’ll be.”
“…acknowledged.” Shanthi said with a sigh. “Keep me posted.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The communications officer said before signing off.
Shanthi sighed again, as the admirals began aggressively talking with each other. Ideas on how to engage the Empire were thrown around, along with proposals on how to close the wormhole, even speculation on the potential use of various weapons of mass destruction, ranging from subspace weapons, to the Genesis device, and even the so-called Doomsday Machine. Shanthi pinched the bridge of her nose, mentally counting to ten to bring the side of her incensed and roaring for vengeance for the destruction of the Home Fleet and the Lacus Somniorum Catastrophe back under control, and forcing herself to think calmly and rationally.
Raising her head, swept her gaze across the increasingly-bellicose and aggressive admirals, before meeting Nechayev’s eyes. The two women locked gazes, and then after a long moment, nodded as one.
Nechayev rapped her knuckles against the table, and drawing everyone’s attention to her. “While it is a tempting opportunity,” she said. “And the reasoning behind it is sound, I cannot support such an attack at this time.”
Mixed sounds of surprise and confusion went up at that. “And why not?” Townsend asked.
“Admiral Hart mentioned we have some four thousand ships.” Nechayev said. “But like he said, that represents all our remaining combat strength. It would mean exposing all our space to attack, and the Federation has more enemies than just the Empire.”
“But,” Townsend began. “Surely they can see how the Empire is a threat not just to the Federation, but to every sovereign race in the galaxy. Much like against the Dominion, isn’t this a time to stand together against a common enemy, instead of turning on one another, and allowing the Empire to pick up the pieces?”
“I assume you refer to our alliance with the Romulans during the Dominion War.” Nechayev began. “But you must remember that the Romulans were perfectly-content to sit the war out should the Dominion simply recognize their interests, and required active interference in Romulan internal affairs plus outright deception on the part of Starfleet Intelligence to actually join the coalition against the Dominion.”
“…whatever happened to the Prime Directive…” one of the admirals present mutinously muttered, though no one responded beyond eyes turning his way.
“And even then,” Nechayev continued. “Ours was an alliance of convenience, lacking in real substance beyond a common enemy. Once the Dominion had been brought to terms, Romulan-Federation relations have returned to status quo ante bellum.”
Nechayev paused, and then brought up an update to the holographic map that had Starfleet’s admirals gaping in shock, disbelief, and betrayal. “Ladies and gentlemen,” Nechayev said with a smile that did not match the cold fury in her eyes. “As of twelve hours ago, we have confirmed that the Romulan Star Empire has occupied the Neutral Zone.”
Uproar erupted across the table, with Shanthi’s shouting failing to quiet the admirals’ outrage. It took the fleet admiral getting to her feet and slamming a fist against the table to get them to quiet down and pay attention.
“Thank you.” Shanthi said with veiled sarcasm and a note of warning. Then she turned to Nechayev. “Fleet admiral, you were saying?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Nechayev said with a nod. “While the Romulans have so far refrained from sending their warbirds into the sectors adjacent to the Neutral Zone, I think the intent is clear. They have no intention of standing with us, and indeed, may be keeping an eye out for any gains at the Federation’s expense.”
“And that is why I will not agree to strip our borders of protection.” Shanthi said. “It’s not just the Romulans to be concerned about, of course. They are simply the most visible, and possibly not even the most formidable. The Tholians may seek to expand their claims at our expense, and the Breen are no friends to us. The Cardassian nationalists may also see this as an opportunity to regain power and influence in the Cardassian Union, and even use the prospect of gains in the bordering sectors to distract their citizenry from social and economic difficulties at home.”
Shanthi paused, and raised her hand. “Rest assured, honored colleagues,” she said. “I am not advocating inaction. I simply stand against thoughtless reaction. Even if we win against the Empire, it means nothing if we can only stand by and watch in the aftermath as our other enemies cut us to pieces.”
“Well then,” Hart said with a deferent nod. “What should we do, fleet admiral?”
“I am deploying the Fifth Fleet to the Beta Sector,” Shanthi said. “And from there, they will deter potential Romulan incursions to the Beta Sector and the adjacent Yadalla and Omicron Sectors, as well as the Typhon Sector on the other side of the Omicron Sector.”
“What of the Antares, Omega, and Archanis Sectors?” an admiral asked.
Shanthi sighed. “Antares and Omega are too close to the Empire for us to risk substantial forces therein.” She said. “Archanis though…the president will be making contact with the Klingons to see if they can spare the strength to deter the Romulans from entering the Archanis Sector.”
Nods and agreeing murmurs went up around the table. “Speaking of the Klingons though,” Shanthi continued. “I have also spoken with the president, and we have agreed that in order to take offensive action against the Empire without leaving ourselves defenseless, we must join our fleet strength with the Klingons to obtain the weight of numbers needed. The details to be presented and discussed have yet to be determined…and that is our task here.”
“I suggest we place the Fourth, Eighth, and Ninth Fleets on strategic reserve.” Nechayev immediately said. “That’s around one thousand and five hundred ships, about the same number of Imperial ships which attacked the Earth. With that same number of ships from the Klingons, we can match the predicted upper bracket of the Imperial Expeditionary Force’s numbers.”
“…not an ideal tactical situation,” Townsend said. “But we could do worse. What of the remaining fleets?”
“For the time being, the Second and Third Fleets will remain here at Sol.” Shanthi said. “The Sixth Fleet will support the Vulcan Defense Force in the Vulcan Sector, and the Seventh Fleet will do the same for the Andorian Imperial Guard in the Andorian Sector.”
“I see.”
Shanthi nodded. “It’s far from ideal.” She said. “But that is the reality of things. We must face and accept that fact, because only then can we really begin to work to overcome this situation. And that is what we must decide here and now: a proposal for a joint strategy between ourselves and the Klingons, as well as how to best mitigate the worsening circumstances on Earth.”
A silence briefly fell over the table, one soon broken by whispers and murmurs.
“…over three hundred million dead, injured, and missing…
“…that number rises by millions at the least every day…”
“…the electrical and communications infrastructure is all but nonexistent…”
“…transportation infrastructure is collapsing with the round the clock meteor strikes…”
“…geological and climatic upheavals are getting more common by the day…”
Shanthi closed her eyes in sympathy, and then taking a deep breath, rapped her knuckles against the table to draw attention her way. “My thoughts go out to the people of Earth,” She said. “As do yours. But our thoughts can only do them so much good. Our actions will do so much more.”
Agreeing nods went up around the table, and Shanthi smiled. “Right then,” she said. “Let’s all take a twenty-minute break to collect ourselves, and on our return, put together concrete plans of action for both Earth and against the Empire. Any questions…? None…? Then dismissed.”
That was their target: Starbase Epsilon, in the Kalandra Sector, on the far side of the Federation from the Imperial beachhead in the Orion Sector. Here, significant numbers of ships could be resupplied and repaired relatively-quickly. Though overall time depended on how many ships the starbase was expected to support, the crux of the matter was that Starbase Epsilon was a major link in the Federation supply chain.
And this, in turn, made it a viable target for Operation Typhoon.
A glance at the tactical display confirmed to Kala’myr that his fast attack force had come out of hyperspace without incident, with two Victory and Venator Class Star Destroyers each, the latter including his flagship, Thunderer. There were also six Carrack Class Light Cruisers and sixteen CR90 Corvettes providing screening for his fleet.
A solid force, if slightly-dated given the age of the Venator Class. More than enough to fulfil the orders given to them, of course. And as the recent Battle of Earth had shown, Venators for all their age were still Star Destroyers. Undergunned by modern standards, but still packing firepower and endurance worthy of their designation.
The grizzled veterans of the Clone Wars could still fight for the Empire, and even teach the next generation a few more lessons yet.
“Enemy launch detected.” Lieutenant Magnus Monsula said. “Com-Scan indicates twelve Miranda Class Frigates, moving to surround us.”
“Intelligence indicated that Starfleet was stripping their border outposts given the virtual annihilation of the Home Fleet.” Kala’myr mused. “Twelve frigates seem a bit much, considering this sector’s distance from the frontline…then again, the Miranda Class is supposed to be an old and outdated model like the CR70…”
“…the enemy has jumped to light-speed!” Magnus interrupted.
“They ran…?” Kala’myr began to say before the Thunderer shook. “What was that?”
“Torpedo strikes!” Magnus said, before the Thunderer shook again. Then in the distance, a CR90 exploded as its shields failed and photon torpedoes blew it apart. “Admiral…the torpedoes seem to be coming out nowhere!”
“Could those frigates have a cloaking device?” Kala’myr asked, even as the fleet began opening fire with its point-defense guns, and the Carracks launched their TIE Fighters to try and intercept the incoming torpedoes. “Wait…no…damn, they’ve wised up!”
“Sir?” Magnus asked, looking and sounding confused.
“It was in an intelligence debrief about the Federation’s FTL drives.” Kala’myr said. “Warp, they call it. It’s slower than hyperdrive, very much so, taking nearly a century to traverse the galaxy where our hyperdrives would need only years at most through uncharted space, but it does allow for battles in and through light-speed.”
“Through light-speed, sir?” Magnus asked a moment before his mind caught up. “It can’t be…they’re launching their torpedoes while at…warp?”
“They’re probably running circles around us right now,” Kala’myr snarled, clenching his fists in frustration at being made sport of like this. “And launching torpedoes at us while we can’t fight back. Impudent bastards…!”
A flash of light briefly lit up the bridge, and the Thunderer shook again and harder this time, enough to floor several officers. “Direct hit on the bridge shields!” the shield officer warned. “No damage to the hull, but reinforcing our shields regardless.”
“More enemy ships launching from the starbase.” The sensors officer warned. “Reading another six Miranda Class Frigates, and two Excelsior Class Heavy Cruisers. They appear to be escorting a convoy of eight unarmed transports.”
“Should we target them?” Captain Robert Devin asked. “They’re well within…”
Magnus shook his head as the flag captain trailed off. “The enemy convoy has jumped to light-speed.” He said.
Kala’myr set his jaw, staring through the windows as photon torpedoes exploded across the shields of the Victory Class Star Destroyer Superb. “And still their rearguard attacks us.” He growled. “Fine…no matter if they’ve taken their crew, supplies, and removable equipment with them…just by destroying their infrastructure, we’ll still achieve our goals here regardless. Signal all Star Destroyers: target the enemy space station with turbolasers. Full barrage!”
The order went out, and even as torpedoes continued to rain down on the Imperial Fleet, turbolaser batteries traversed their turrets and aligned their gunbarrels towards the target in the distance. Power conduits hummed as power was diverted from the main reactors of the Star Destroyers to their main guns, allowing more firepower to be brought to bear with every salvo.
“All ships report firing solutions plotted,” Devin began. “Target locked, and ready to fire on your command.”
“Fire.” Kala’myr gave the order.
“Fire!” the gunnery officer relayed the order, and the order was in turn repeated by gunnery chiefs on all four Star Destroyers in the fast attack force. Emerald lances burned through space, smashing against the shields of the space station in the distance. They held out for just over a minute, and then collapsing, allowed the turbolaser to pummel the station itself.
Molten metal sprayed out into space accompanied by bursts of vapor and jets of plasma. Then the fusion reactor at the heart of the space station went critical, blowing the space station apart from the inside.
“Enemy space station destroyed.” Devin triumphantly said. “Congratulations, sir.”
Kala’myr stayed silent though, hands held behind his back as he watched the afterglow of the station’s destruction fade away in the distance. And then they all noticed that the torpedo attacks had stopped. The enemy had retreated, it seemed.
“Recover all fighters.” He finally said, “And then signal the fleet: jump to light-speed, and proceed to the next target.”
“Yes, sir.” Magnus said with a nod.
“Also,” Kala’myr continued. “Send a priority transmission to expedition command. They’ll want to know about this shift in the enemy’s tactical operations.”
The adjutant nodded his understanding. “Yes, sir.” He said, before hurrying off.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“…virtually all antimatter production and storage facilities in the Terran Sector have been destroyed.” A harried-looking lieutenant reported to a staff meeting between what was left of Starfleet Command, held in a conference room in a bunker buried deep beneath the Planum Boreum colony on Mars. “The Empire has also largely-destroyed antimatter production and storage facilities in the Vulcan and Andorian Sectors. We predict both sectors will also have no antimatter production and storage capabilities left within the next standard week at least. And based on reports through what’s left of the subspace communications network, the Empire is also doing the same to antimatter production and storage facilities across most of Federation space.”
“Most of Federation space?” the scratchy hologram of Admiral Ross asked.
It was Fleet Admiral Alynna Nechayev, newly-appointed head of Starfleet Security, who answered. “The Empire has refrained from attacking antimatter and production facilities in two sectors.” She said. “Specifically, the Bajoran and Orion Sectors. In fact, they’re avoiding the former as far as we can tell.”
“Why?” Ross asked.
“We don’t know.” Nechayev answered. “But we and Starfleet Intelligence are working on it. With regard to the Orion Sector though…we have circumstantial evidence to suggest that the Empire may attempt to open negotiations with the Orion Syndicate soon.”
“…criminal scum!” one admiral spat, and slamming a fist against the table angrily. “Like rats fleeing a sinking ship, is it?”
“We should deploy a force in strength to Orion immediately!” another admiral suggested. “Officially it could be just to reinforce our position immediately facing the enemy beachhead…”
“…but in reality to put the Orions back in line.” Nechayev said before glancing at Shanthi, still the Commander-in-Chief of Starfleet despite the destruction of the Home Fleet in the Battle of Earth.
“That is out of the question.” Shanthi firmly said. “Don’t think the Orions or indeed, any Federation member race, won’t see through such a pretense. By taking such a reactionary action without strong evidence backing it up, we give the impression of desperation, that of heavy-handedly putting an otherwise loyal member race under effective military occupation to discourage others from taking such a course of action.”
“But fleet admiral,” one admiral began. “Can we really afford not taking strong action to demonstrate our strength and resilience in these trying times?”
“Yes.” Shanthi said, and shocking everyone. “We can afford not taking strong action, because we are strong. We do not need to prove anything.”
“…that said,” another admiral said after a moment. “Even if shouldn’t act strong, we should take decisive action regardless.”
“Meaning?” Ross asked.
The admiral adjusted the holographic display, and expanding it to show a star map of the whole Federation. Further adjustments highlighted engagements with the Empire over the last few days, then Earth, and finally, the Imperial Occupation Zone across the Orion and surrounding sectors.
“Over the past four days since the Battle of Earth,” he began. “We’ve engaged the Empire a total of fifty-six times. Our losses from those skirmishes stand at one thousand, three hundred and forty-four ships, more than what we lost at Earth. Lost antimatter production and storage facilities have been listed down already, and need not be reiterated. And on top of those losses, in the past four days alone, we’ve lost twenty-four starbases, all the while our subspace communications network continues to remain under attack.”
“In short,” Ross said, eyes narrowed and the static shooting through his hologram seeming to punctuate his words. “The enemy is destroying our ability to fight the war in the long term.”
“Precisely,” the admiral said with a nod. “Our ability to communicate and coordinate with each other is compromised. Our ability to fuel our ships for extended periods of time is crumbling. And we are losing the ability to project power beyond major planetary bases, such as in the core worlds of Mars, Vulcan, and Andoria, or the capital worlds of the various sectors.”
“And so we come to the point of your reasoning.” Shanthi said.
“Yes, fleet admiral.” The admiral said with another nod. “I believe we should gather all our remaining offensive capability while we still have it, and use it to defeat the enemy while they’re still recovering from their losses in the Battle of Earth.”
For several long moments, silence hung heavy over the table. Then the commander of the Second Fleet, Admiral Matthew Townsend, slowly nodded. “Between intelligence provided by the Klingons during their failed attack on the Orion Wormhole,” he began. “And our own observations from the Battle of Earth and other skirmishes before and since, the Imperial Expeditionary Force only numbers between two thousand and three thousand ships.”
“In contrast,” Admiral Joshua Hart of the Third Fleet added. “Between our remaining fleets, we should have some four thousand ships, bigger by half assuming the upper end of our estimates for the Imperial Expeditionary Force’s size.”
“It’s not an overwhelming numerical advantage,” the admiral who brought up the notion said with a nod. “But that is the bare minimum number needed for offensive fleet action. Even more so, as we know from prisoners that Admiral Targaryen has withdrawn the greater part of her force to repair and reinforce after the Battle of Earth. I think this is an excellent opportunity to seize our side of the wormhole, and then attempt to seal it!”
Agreeing murmurs went up the table…
…and then silence, as Ross’ hologram vanished. “Communications…?” Shanthi asked after patting her communicator. “What’s happened?”
“…sorry ma’am,” a communications officer replied after a moment. “But the network connection with Admiral Ross has gone down. We’re attempting to get it back up, but the network degradation is such that we can’t give you a reasonably-accurate estimate of when that’ll be.”
“…acknowledged.” Shanthi said with a sigh. “Keep me posted.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The communications officer said before signing off.
Shanthi sighed again, as the admirals began aggressively talking with each other. Ideas on how to engage the Empire were thrown around, along with proposals on how to close the wormhole, even speculation on the potential use of various weapons of mass destruction, ranging from subspace weapons, to the Genesis device, and even the so-called Doomsday Machine. Shanthi pinched the bridge of her nose, mentally counting to ten to bring the side of her incensed and roaring for vengeance for the destruction of the Home Fleet and the Lacus Somniorum Catastrophe back under control, and forcing herself to think calmly and rationally.
Raising her head, swept her gaze across the increasingly-bellicose and aggressive admirals, before meeting Nechayev’s eyes. The two women locked gazes, and then after a long moment, nodded as one.
Nechayev rapped her knuckles against the table, and drawing everyone’s attention to her. “While it is a tempting opportunity,” she said. “And the reasoning behind it is sound, I cannot support such an attack at this time.”
Mixed sounds of surprise and confusion went up at that. “And why not?” Townsend asked.
“Admiral Hart mentioned we have some four thousand ships.” Nechayev said. “But like he said, that represents all our remaining combat strength. It would mean exposing all our space to attack, and the Federation has more enemies than just the Empire.”
“But,” Townsend began. “Surely they can see how the Empire is a threat not just to the Federation, but to every sovereign race in the galaxy. Much like against the Dominion, isn’t this a time to stand together against a common enemy, instead of turning on one another, and allowing the Empire to pick up the pieces?”
“I assume you refer to our alliance with the Romulans during the Dominion War.” Nechayev began. “But you must remember that the Romulans were perfectly-content to sit the war out should the Dominion simply recognize their interests, and required active interference in Romulan internal affairs plus outright deception on the part of Starfleet Intelligence to actually join the coalition against the Dominion.”
“…whatever happened to the Prime Directive…” one of the admirals present mutinously muttered, though no one responded beyond eyes turning his way.
“And even then,” Nechayev continued. “Ours was an alliance of convenience, lacking in real substance beyond a common enemy. Once the Dominion had been brought to terms, Romulan-Federation relations have returned to status quo ante bellum.”
Nechayev paused, and then brought up an update to the holographic map that had Starfleet’s admirals gaping in shock, disbelief, and betrayal. “Ladies and gentlemen,” Nechayev said with a smile that did not match the cold fury in her eyes. “As of twelve hours ago, we have confirmed that the Romulan Star Empire has occupied the Neutral Zone.”
Uproar erupted across the table, with Shanthi’s shouting failing to quiet the admirals’ outrage. It took the fleet admiral getting to her feet and slamming a fist against the table to get them to quiet down and pay attention.
“Thank you.” Shanthi said with veiled sarcasm and a note of warning. Then she turned to Nechayev. “Fleet admiral, you were saying?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Nechayev said with a nod. “While the Romulans have so far refrained from sending their warbirds into the sectors adjacent to the Neutral Zone, I think the intent is clear. They have no intention of standing with us, and indeed, may be keeping an eye out for any gains at the Federation’s expense.”
“And that is why I will not agree to strip our borders of protection.” Shanthi said. “It’s not just the Romulans to be concerned about, of course. They are simply the most visible, and possibly not even the most formidable. The Tholians may seek to expand their claims at our expense, and the Breen are no friends to us. The Cardassian nationalists may also see this as an opportunity to regain power and influence in the Cardassian Union, and even use the prospect of gains in the bordering sectors to distract their citizenry from social and economic difficulties at home.”
Shanthi paused, and raised her hand. “Rest assured, honored colleagues,” she said. “I am not advocating inaction. I simply stand against thoughtless reaction. Even if we win against the Empire, it means nothing if we can only stand by and watch in the aftermath as our other enemies cut us to pieces.”
“Well then,” Hart said with a deferent nod. “What should we do, fleet admiral?”
“I am deploying the Fifth Fleet to the Beta Sector,” Shanthi said. “And from there, they will deter potential Romulan incursions to the Beta Sector and the adjacent Yadalla and Omicron Sectors, as well as the Typhon Sector on the other side of the Omicron Sector.”
“What of the Antares, Omega, and Archanis Sectors?” an admiral asked.
Shanthi sighed. “Antares and Omega are too close to the Empire for us to risk substantial forces therein.” She said. “Archanis though…the president will be making contact with the Klingons to see if they can spare the strength to deter the Romulans from entering the Archanis Sector.”
Nods and agreeing murmurs went up around the table. “Speaking of the Klingons though,” Shanthi continued. “I have also spoken with the president, and we have agreed that in order to take offensive action against the Empire without leaving ourselves defenseless, we must join our fleet strength with the Klingons to obtain the weight of numbers needed. The details to be presented and discussed have yet to be determined…and that is our task here.”
“I suggest we place the Fourth, Eighth, and Ninth Fleets on strategic reserve.” Nechayev immediately said. “That’s around one thousand and five hundred ships, about the same number of Imperial ships which attacked the Earth. With that same number of ships from the Klingons, we can match the predicted upper bracket of the Imperial Expeditionary Force’s numbers.”
“…not an ideal tactical situation,” Townsend said. “But we could do worse. What of the remaining fleets?”
“For the time being, the Second and Third Fleets will remain here at Sol.” Shanthi said. “The Sixth Fleet will support the Vulcan Defense Force in the Vulcan Sector, and the Seventh Fleet will do the same for the Andorian Imperial Guard in the Andorian Sector.”
“I see.”
Shanthi nodded. “It’s far from ideal.” She said. “But that is the reality of things. We must face and accept that fact, because only then can we really begin to work to overcome this situation. And that is what we must decide here and now: a proposal for a joint strategy between ourselves and the Klingons, as well as how to best mitigate the worsening circumstances on Earth.”
A silence briefly fell over the table, one soon broken by whispers and murmurs.
“…over three hundred million dead, injured, and missing…
“…that number rises by millions at the least every day…”
“…the electrical and communications infrastructure is all but nonexistent…”
“…transportation infrastructure is collapsing with the round the clock meteor strikes…”
“…geological and climatic upheavals are getting more common by the day…”
Shanthi closed her eyes in sympathy, and then taking a deep breath, rapped her knuckles against the table to draw attention her way. “My thoughts go out to the people of Earth,” She said. “As do yours. But our thoughts can only do them so much good. Our actions will do so much more.”
Agreeing nods went up around the table, and Shanthi smiled. “Right then,” she said. “Let’s all take a twenty-minute break to collect ourselves, and on our return, put together concrete plans of action for both Earth and against the Empire. Any questions…? None…? Then dismissed.”
ConfusedCanadian
Well-known member
Your thoughts go out to them but not your prayers? Anyway Looks like the federation is planning a counterattack not surprising given they can't stay on the back foot forever. Only question now will it be successful enough to give the federation time to rearm and learn from there mistakes to give themselves a fighting chance?
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Knowledgeispower
Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
Honestly the best bet Starfleet has is massing a sizable chunk of their fleet in deep space in an apparent preparation for a counter attack and then letting the Imperials discover it and then once the inevitable large Imperial fleet arrives to attempt to destroy it fire a couple dozen Genesis torpedoes at it. Given how Imperial survivors would be...unlikely it should give them the opportunity to do the same to the defenders of the wormhole linking the two galaxies and then they can hopefully use their B.S. science capabilities to destabilize said wormhole and thus ensure no Imperial reinforcements are going to arrive within a couple decades(assuming the Empire bothers to send them which they probably won't) which should buy them and the Klingons enough time to retake their territory and then rearm like fucking mad plus ya know start rebuilding.
Alternatively if Voyager has gotten home another viable plan would be that every ship in both Starfleet and the KDF is getting armor emitters and transphasic torpedoes. That should level the playing field and then some. After all if a transphasic torpedo can one shot a Borg cube and the armor can resist the attacks of mutiple cubes for a decent length of time....yeah I don't think things will be going well for the Imperial navy. Honestly it never made sense to me how at least the armor emitters didn't become standard issue within a couple years of Voyager returning home especially with the memories of the Dominion War fresh on Starfleet's mind. Sure I could totally understand the torpedoes being reserved for use only in the most dire of circumstances so as to limit the risk of either the Borh adapting to them or other powers getting their hand on them, but why in heavens name would the armor emitters be limited. After all Starships, Starbases and their crews are expensive resources.
Alternatively if Voyager has gotten home another viable plan would be that every ship in both Starfleet and the KDF is getting armor emitters and transphasic torpedoes. That should level the playing field and then some. After all if a transphasic torpedo can one shot a Borg cube and the armor can resist the attacks of mutiple cubes for a decent length of time....yeah I don't think things will be going well for the Imperial navy. Honestly it never made sense to me how at least the armor emitters didn't become standard issue within a couple years of Voyager returning home especially with the memories of the Dominion War fresh on Starfleet's mind. Sure I could totally understand the torpedoes being reserved for use only in the most dire of circumstances so as to limit the risk of either the Borh adapting to them or other powers getting their hand on them, but why in heavens name would the armor emitters be limited. After all Starships, Starbases and their crews are expensive resources.
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Jaenera Targaryen
Well-known member
The Romulans smell blood in the water, though, and potentially made even worse by the passive Federation response to the occupation of the Neutral Zone.
Knowledgeispower
Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
Hey wait a second doesn't the Romulans occupying the Netural Zone mean that the Federation can legally use cloaking devices again? Because if so why I could totally see a phased cloaking device being combined with a perfect cloaking device to make for Starships that can fire while out of phase and also cloaked and thus totally untouchable....yeah at that point GG Imperial navy and our SI since they wouldn't have a counter. After all I highly doubt that section 31 hasn't continued research into both and how to combine them and at this point I rather doubt Starfleet will care where said devices came from
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Jaenera Targaryen
Well-known member
So...the answer to Operation Typhoon, is wunderwaffen and overengineered machines. Those...didn't really work the last time they were used against an enemy with overwhelming material superiority and the ability to knock out your own industrial base.
Knowledgeispower
Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
Well unlike said wunderwaffen Starfleet actually has the R@D for them already done and pretty much any Starship with an industrial replicator can make them. Besides the only real hope the Federation has is to end the ability for the Empire to use the wormhole be it with replicating mines or destroying it.
You are right that the ludicrously overpowered phased perfect cloaking device Section 31 almost certainly has designed is probably not the most reliable nor easy to build thing in the history of Starfleet but hey not every ship needs them just the ones parked around the wormhole(after the defenders meet either a thalaron pulse or genesis torpedo, both which again would be delivered by ships equipped with said cloaking device)ready to murder anything that try's to force it's way past the replicating mines or attempts to remove on the Milky Way side
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Jaenera Targaryen
Well-known member
The Mandalorians aren't especially friendly to the Empire, outside of professional jobs by outliers here and there, like Boba Fett who shared a mutual, professional respect with Dark Vader. In fact, that whole 'no disintegrations' is pretty much the closest to Vader telling Fett that he knows what the latter is capable of too well.
Because right now, Mandalore is under Imperial occupation, after the Mandalorians joined the CIS towards the latter part of the Clone Wars.