[oBSG/BT] Mission of Civilization

[LadyTevar]

If the moon (more like a captured asteroid?) had been larger, or had been more than rocks cemented together by dust, this would never have worked. Frankenstein had to be perfect hitting it, too. If the Pirate Point had been a few hundred meters deeper, the Emergence Bubble wouldn't have saved them

[Jawawithagun]

Even so the jumpship might face the problem of rocks breaking loose and doing damage to it. Plus it might just shake the moon apart, disappearing that jump point completely. Then getting to the next one to get out of the system will take enough time for all kinds of things to happen.

[LadyTevar]

Even so the jumpship might face the problem of rocks breaking loose and doing damage to it. Plus it might just shake the moon apart, disappearing that jump point completely. Then getting to the next one to get out of the system will take enough time for all kinds of things to happen.

ooooooooooooo... That's a good point. I'd not though of that

[Eternal_Freedom]

Kind of a one-use-only tactic. And only works going in

[Scottish Ninja]

I never really got into BSG or Battletech, so I think I can safely say that you've done a very good job when I'm not just following the action but genuinely interested in what's going on.

[xt828]

How did they have enough of a charge to jump again so soon?

[Vehrec]

You can force-charge a KF drive-it's just bad for them. Theoretically, you could even boil the liquid helium in them, and so long as you got the temperature back down, it would work just fine.

[Themightytom]

I never really got into BSG or Battletech, so I think I can safely say that you've done a very good job when I'm not just following the action but genuinely interested in what's going on.

He's actually taking cut out stereo typed characters that were hardly fleshed out in the campy superficial 1970's BSG and elaborating on them in a believable manner that makes me care.

It's like the converse of Bladed Crescent's ability to create complex and sophisticated characters that I come to enjoy and kill them in a manner that I... somehow also enjoy...

You two should collaborate...

[Eternal_Freedom]

I never really got into BSG or Battletech, so I think I can safely say that you've done a very good job when I'm not just following the action but genuinely interested in what's going on.

He's actually taking cut out stereo typed characters that were hardly fleshed out in the campy superficial 1970's BSG and elaborating on them in a believable manner that makes me care.

It's quite an achievement for a fanfic. Coupled with the fact that there is a pretty good plot going and the author clearly has a plan of where he's going, I think this could shape up to be one of the epic fanfics I'll still read in at least a year's time

[Themightytom]

and this is before the shooting starts...

[Eternal_Freedom]

If he can grab my attention in a fanfic with only a few training shots fired, he has done very well. I really like the whole "we need to find out where they live do the Grey Lady can go kill them" bit from a couple chapters earlier. Hilarious

[MysteriousDarkLordv3]

JumpShip Nightmare
Frankenstein's Monsters Task Force
Botany Bay System, Coreward Periphery
December 5. 2999 A.D.

Captain Ratliff had prayed to every deity he knew of and a few that he was certain were fictional. It seemed to have worked.

The helmsman called out, "We're - oh god we're coming out of the - I don't believe -"

"The DropShips!" Ratliff barked. "What about the DropShips?!"

"They launched automatically," The First Mate said with chemically-induced calm. "They're headed for the planet."

The Colonel's plan was insane. Appearing at a pirate point that was inside a moon, trusting in the K-F Field to clear their path - Had anyone else suggested it, he would have killed the idiot outright. It was only because of the two decade old habit of obeying the Colonel's orders that he went through with it.

And it had worked. They were sailing out of the glowing cloud of super-heated vaporized rock, with the DropShips zooming ahead at their best speeds.

"Report!" Ratliff commanded. "How dead are we?"

A clamor of voices reported electrical failures, support stresses, heat sink overloads, and partially-melted patches in the armor. Somehow, they were still operational, even if the ship was shuddering like a pudding near a Mech parade. So he set about the next part of the Colonel's plan

The plan counted on the electromagnetic pulse blinding the locals. Before they could recover, the Nightmare was to set out at it's best none-too-good speed toward one of the numerous alien ships in orbit of Botany Bay. The plan called for getting too close to an enemy ship to be shot at, hold it hostage if need be, and possibly take it over with their Mark VII landers.

Captain Ratliff took off his tunic as the temperature went up. "Well, if I wanted a dull lfe, I would have bought that ranch on Sullafat. Deploy greenhouses and radiators - we should be safe for a while, so let's get the temperature down."
----------

Militia Control, Arcology of Singh
Planet Botany Bay, Coreward Periphery
December 5, 2999 AD

The entire arcology was going nuts. Militia Control, however, was filled with professionals. They were merely panicking, but in a controlled manner.

All the satellites were out of service due to the EMP, but during the Exodus the Kobolian ships' sensors had all been linked to the Galactica via a specialized communications system which was still in place. A few minutes had a coherent picture of orbital space.

One particular image filled the holotank - the moon called Hocars, which now resembled a cigar with one end lit and smoking. Seven-tenths of the energy event caused by the emergence had been contained under the surface - the loose structure of the near point of the moon was now molten and collapsing slowly in on itself.

Out of the holocaust flew three huge sparks - the DropShips of the pirates. A slower large spot came out following them - the JumpShip that had recklessly made this transit.

Adama took a microphone and ordered, "All forces - invasion alert. Silver Spar Squadron beta and delta flights are to engage using gamma protocols." He cursed in multiple languages under his breath. "The moon! They used the pirate point generated by the moon!"

"Hocars doesn't generate a pirate point."

"Yes it does. It was inside the moon."

MacRuder suddenly comprehended what had happened. "That's insane! What sort of maniac would risk his command by doing something like that?!"

"Obviously the sort we're dealing with," Adama said. "Our adversaries are desperate for some reason. Reckless. What do we have on those DropShips?"

Lieutenant Harvey Creed stated, "A Union, a Fury, and a Leopard. Markings identify them as Gargoyle, their command ship and main Mech carrier; Nightwing, their troop carrier; and Vampire, an auxillary Mech carrier." The holotank lit up with the information.

"Time to landing?"

"Seventeen centons," Lieutenant Gaia said. "All three headed for Khan. Vipers will intercept in seventy microns."

"Order Strike Commander Sheba to focus a coordinated full strike on the Gargoyle."
----------

Near orbit
Planet Botany Bay, Coreward Periphery
December 5, 2999 AD

Silver Spar Squadron was an elite force. The unit was formed aboard the Battlestar Pegasus during it's epic two-year guerilla campaign in the heart of Cylon space. Their martial tradition was based on the ferocity of the Thousand-Year War, which was in turn based on the centuries of Colonial Service tradition before that.

All that history betrayed the Squadron.

Sheba sent out the orders, and the ten Vipers converged and prepared to direct all their firepower on the Gargoyle.

The Colonial Service and the Cylons both used quantum force field technology, surrounding their vessels with volumes that scattered energy concentrations, preventing active scanning and low-density energy weapons from operating. For a variety of reasons - economics, mass savings, combat utility, and others - the primary weapons of both Kobolians and Cylons were high-density energy weapons.

This resulted in both sides developing tactics that forced closing to point-blank range before firing. The force fields were useless against kinetic attacks and missiles, and the Vipers carried negligible armor.

The Vipers unleashed a salvo, blasting and shredding the Gargoyle's weakened armor.

And the Gargoyle cut loose with every weapon they had.

The lasers were impotent, as were the Particle Projector Cannons; their attacks dispersed into the Viper's force fields without doing much more than warming the Colonials' hulls.

The shaped-charge explosive shells of the autocannons tore three Vipers apart. The swarms of projectiles from the LRM-20 launchers killed two more outright. One Viper was broken in half, another lost two engines, and a third was hit in it's control servos and sailed off into space.

Sheba saw her command begin to disintegrate and called out, "Peel off! Peel off!" As the Vipers executed ninety-degree turns away from the slower craft, Sheba reported, "Frak! Frak! Frak! I forgot about their projectile weapons!" She assessed the situation - two fully operational Vipers, one more that could still shoot.

"Stinger attack, Squadron!" She snarled angrily. "Repeat, stinger attack!"

The Vipers arced away and readied themselves to resume attack from long distance.

Adama's voice came through; "Abort! Return to atmosphere."

"Admiral!" Sheba cried in outrage. At this moment, she wanted revenge.

"Look at them, Sheba! You don't have enough firepower to break them up!"

Sheba realized what Adama meant. With her squadron's reduced firepower, the DropShips could be damaged, but would not fragment; at best they would break into big chunks, including their reactors. At worst, they would crash intact. Either way, it would be Khan Arcology that would be devastated by the meteor-style impacts.

"Pirate modockers!" she yelled. "Squadron pull out!"
-------

Colonel Frankenstein listened in on the engagement from his BattleMech. He had concluded that the unknown's vehicles were high-speed drone fighters, and the attack confirmed it. He was surprised at the amount of damage the unknowns' weapons did, reducing the armor by almost sixty percent in seconds.

He was even more surprised by the ease with which they were blown apart. He was missing something here - weapons that powerful should naturally lead to comparable armor. He would have to analyze the mission record in detail later.

"Captain!" he requested. "Do the readings justify Plan Alpha?" He had whipped up several contingency plans 'on the fly' to deal with a number of guesses about the unknowns' motives. He had little confidence in his guesses - there was too little information - but he knew that the men felt better if they thought there was a solid plan for everything.

Captain Ratliff reported, "Aye, sir. We're reading an EM source at Khan Arcology - looks like a fusion reactor powerful enough to serve an entire capital world. We're seeing a huge blue pyramid that wasn't there on the last operation. And the arcology itself has been built up in pyramids and what look like smokestacks."

"That's the unknowns' base," Frankenstein said with certainty. "Execute Plan Alpha."

Aye, Colonel."

Frankenstein's smile threatened to hurt his face. He had come here for a routine slave raid. What he found instead was a million times more valuable. Even finding Kerensky's Fleet with an attendant Canopan Pleasure Circus would run a distant second to even a few samples of this alien technology.

He braced himself for the high-speed turn.
----------

Militia Control, Arcology of Singh
Planet Botany Bay, Coreward Periphery
December 5, 2999 AD

"Bastard!" MacRuder shouted. He knew that the pirates had aimed their ship in that simple trajectory on purpose, to force the Botaneans to endanger their own people if they shot the DropShips down.

"If anyone deserves an insult," Adama said, "It's me. I underestimated the pirate's kinetic weapons and computron targeting. Now they're effectively holding Singh hostage."

"It'll be more effective when they have BattleMechs crashing through the - hold on -"

The tactical display showed the Gargoyle arcing away from the other two pirates.

MacRuder saw the projected course. "It's heading for Aurora. And our ground forces are focused on Singh."
----------

First Circuit Meeting Room, ComStar Compound
Hilton Head, North America, Terra
December 5. 2999 A.D.

Allen Rusenstein was not a happy man. And if the Primus of Comstar was not a happy man, nobody around him was happy, either. He made sure of that. It was one of the few perks of a generally thankless job.

It had been four days since the Fomalhaut Disaster. Eleven JumpShips and twenty-six DropShips destroyed, an estimated five hundred people killed - the most destructive space battle since the First Succession War. And one completely forbidden by the accepted Rules of Warfare. Fomalhaut Station had been so shocked that they broke protocol and sent an Ultimate Priority message directly to the Primus.

If the word had gotten out that the Fomalhaut Disaster was an assault by a powerful WarShip, the three prominent regional powers - the Federated Suns, the Draconis Combine, and the Capellan Confederation - would all assume that one of the others had done it. That would lead to blind retaliation strikes with JumpShips as targets, possibly destroying all interstellar traffic in half the Inner Sphere. And the Sacred Mission of Comstar required interstellar traffic.

So for nearly ninety hours the First Circuit had been busy trying to obfuscate and confuse the issue with everyone involved. Every Precentor and Adept in half of the known universe did their best to try and make sure the Great Powers had no idea what was going on so they wouldn't escalate the general warfare into a full-fledged apocalypse.

It hadn't escaped Primus Rusenstein's notice that he had spent the last two years arranging Operation Jolly Roger to prevent the Successor States from going to peace, and now he was desperately trying to stop them from going to war. Blake had left Comstar a strange and mystifying fate.

Julius Rondoval, Precentor Tharkad, came in, looking exhausted, and collapsed into a chair. "I think I managed the damage control - all official dispatches from Fomalhaut now indicate a natural disaster. Thank Blake's Wisdom that the proles don't realize there's no such thing as a quantum plasma storm."

The Primus exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "What about the recovery teams?"

William Iblis, Precentor ROM, spoke up; "We've done our best - This is something new for us. Covert Operations has had to borrow experts from the Explorer Corps training staff. But we managed to recover some of the data from the destroyed ships."

"So who did it?"

"Aliens."

Everyone in the chamber was silent in shock, giving the Precentor time to activate the hologram. It showed a ship - or station - of an unusual double-disc design. Various flashes went out from it Then the same ship from another vantage point. "The ship emerged and fired eleven times in eight seconds, each shot striking the fusion plant of a JumpShip. It captured one DropShip - apparently chosen on the basis that it was closest - and proceeded to systematically wipe out any remaining DropShips and lifepods. Traffic Control on Fomalhaut recorded the emergence and departure flares - sixteen hours forty-eight minutes apart. Whether or not this is indicative of their recharge time we don't know."

Another member of the First Circuit asked, "You're sure it's none of the Successor States? Or some Star League secret weapon?"

Julia ffoulks, Precentor Martial, stated, "Nobody in the Inner Sphere could develop or maintain something like that without us noticing. And their behavior only makes sense if you postulate an agency that wanted information but didn't want to be immediately investigated."

The Precentor ROM added, "I would surmise that the vessel arrived so deep in the Inner Sphere due to a misjump. Their logical course of action would be to get navigational bearings and set course for home, trying to avoid further unnecessary contact. Which they seem to be doing."

Primus Rusenstein asked, "What would these aliens do with knowledge of humanity?"

The Precentor ROM mentioned, "All I know is that no species ever got to the top of the food chain by being concerned about the wellbeing of its rivals."

No one else answered. The question was beyond their imagination.

Rusenstein stated, "We can't assume anything. This could be the greatest menace ever to our mission. We need to locate this ship. They might try to trade or plunder supplies. Send notifications to all stations - keep a lookout for exotic ships and unknown technology, as well as ship disappearances and attacks. Anything of that nature is to be flagged Ultimate Priority and sent immediately. Nothing is to be assumed to be routine or unimportant. All Explorer Corps operations areas will keep a ship available in case a lead is discovered in the Periphery. Precentor Martial, bring Comguard to full readiness. Once the alien ship is found, we will have to act decisively and ruthlessly. Whatever their motivations, they must never leave the Inner Sphere."
------------

[S J C]

William Iblis in charge of ROM this is very very bad.

[LadyTevar]

William Iblis in charge of ROM this is very very bad.

Indeed. I got chills at the mere mention of the name.

[RhoOmicronMu]

The KF field from a jump isn't powerful enough to destroy large solid objects like ships let alone a sphere of rock. Hell perfect example. During Kerenskies liberation fleets jump into the Sol system the nose of a corvette jumped into the engine section of a transport. The two ships interpenetrated, the transport blew up, and the corvette suffered considerable damage.

"Aye, sir. We're reading a neutrino source at Khan Arcology

Nothing smaller than a cruiser can mount neutrino detectors and only a few Comstar ships have them during this period.

I like the mention of the Jolly Rodger Affair. Black Jack McGirk was one mean son of a bitch. For those watching at home, Black Jack McGirk's regiment of pirates scored a 2.3 to 1 kill ratio against the 1st Comguard Division in 3004 before being destroyed.

[generalbriggs]

Well, color me impressed. There's more character development in these four pages than most oBSG characters got during the entire run.

Also, if the ComGuard is getting involved, will we be seeing any of their secret fleet? I would especially like seeing the CSV Blake's Strength hammering the Cylons with its entirely ballistic weapons loadout .

Also, regarding that, does anyone know how long the ComGuard would take to bring its old SLN ships out of mothballs? I know most of the issues they had were related to finding sufficient trained personnel to man them, but what sort of physical condition were the ships in?

[Slacker]

The KF field from a jump isn't powerful enough to destroy large solid objects like ships let alone a sphere of rock. Hell perfect example. During Kerenskies liberation fleets jump into the Sol system the nose of a corvette jumped into the engine section of a transport. The two ships interpenetrated, the transport blew up, and the corvette suffered considerable damage.

I think circumstances of awesome and plot demand that this has to work.

[Master_Baerne]

Dude, jumping into a moon is the textbook example of the Rule of Cool. It's too awesome not to work!

[MysteriousDarkLordv3]

In Orbit of Botany Bay, Coreward Periphery
December 5. 2999 A.D.

Nightmare was just a hundred meters off the alien ship. And Captain Ratliff felt no problem with thinking of it as alien. The design was insane; it was laid out like a flat block with a funny cylinder superstructure on the front and a huge open bay right in the front that was almost large enough to accomodate any craft short of a DropShip. It had a tower, for heaven's sake! It made no sense at all!

A pair of Mark VII landers had been sent out and had flown around the ship, getting no answers. The thing was a huge blank on all the active sensors.

Ratliff ordered a message sent, "This is Captain Carlos Ratliff of the Privateer Nightmare. We have weapons trained on you and order your immediate surrender. We will dispatch a prize crew to take over your vessel. Do not resist and there will be no reprisals."

A reply came almost immediately. "This is Commander Damon of the Electronics Workship Celestra. Eat this."

The alarms sounded for a moment, announcing the sudden existence of the Celestra before all the sensors flared in overload. A moment later the ship was blind.

"All sensors overloaded!" the sensor officer reported unnecessarily. "That bitch was putting out more energy than anything I ever heard of! The sensors are melted! Literally!"

A clang sounded and a voice resounded through the ship ...

"This is Commander Damon of the Celestra to the pirates who just tried to take us. The devices attached to your ship are using gravity waves to vibrate your hull so I can speak to you. If I send the right order, they will set up resonant vibrations which will shatter your ship like Nubian web-crystal. It's an old asteroid miner's trick, you know. This wouldn't work on a human or Cylon ship with quantum-field technology, but should work on you just fine. Like so ..."

Everything in the ship began vibrating and creaking. Fatigued metal squealed, and a number of pirates vomited, which in freefall is a disgusting thing indeed.

As suddenly as the hell began, it stopped, and Commander Damon's voice returned. "See? Now flash your signal lights twice to indicate total abject surrender. You have thirty seconds in Thirteenth Tribe time-measures, then we kill you all."

Everyone looked at Captain Ratliff, who felt an ulcer beginning.

The engineering officer asked, "They wouldn't blow up a JumpShip, would they? I mean - you don't blow up JumpShips! Nobody does that!"

"I don't think these people play by our rules, Nick. Flash the running lights as instructed - I won't get my people killed pointlessly."
----------

Outside the Arcology of Aurora
Planet Botany Bay, Coreward Periphery
December 5. 2999 A.D.

The Gargoyle was decelerating as it approached the arcology. And with the threat of a meteor-style crash eliminated, the remnants of Silver Spar Squadron swooped in.

Sheba was furious. This wasn't at all like fighting Cylons. These pirates deliberately put themselves in a position where attacking them endangered civilians. They knew how to take hostages. In a thousand yahrens Cylons had never learned the trick of hostage-taking - it was too alien to their nature.

These bastards did worse than attack the people under her protection and kill her wingmates. They made her feel helpless. And nothing would ever make Sheba forget that.

The instant she estimated that their flight path did not intersect Aurora, she called out, "Stinger strikes! Fire at will!"
----------

Captain Maruyama gritted his teeth as the Gargoyle shook and wobbled. The zippy little drones were making fast strafing runs, blasting with those whatever-they-were, then going past at almost escape velocity, the massive sonic booms slapping them around hard. And at the extremely high speeds and small ranges involved, the tracking systems couldn't lock onto the little bastards.

"Hull exposed in four locations!" a crewman called. "We've lost half our radar!"

"Gyroscope redlining!" an engineer reported.

The helmsman blandly announced, "Thirty seconds to landing."

"Here they come again!"

The Gargoyle shook again with bombardment, then tilted with the shockwave of the alien defenders' passage.

"Landing strut three lost! Hull breach in lower cargo bay!"

"Gyroscope under-revving!"

Maruyama knew they weren't going to make a standard landing with too few landing struts and a stuttering gyro while under fire. And there was no time for going through the Colonel. "Cut engine at three thousand! All Mechs - prepare for combat launch! All hands - crash positions!"

Maruyama remembered the last time he had to carry out a crash landing - the Blackstone operation three years earlier. The two days it took just to secure the landing site so repairs could be carried out, and the three weeks it took to scrounge the resources for the repairs, were among the roughest he ever experienced. They had lost nearly half their mechs on that Foxtrot.

He had a feeling that this would be worse.
----------

The five hundred meters of cleared land between the arcology and the Power Station were a park in all but name and maintenance. The area was popular with children and families and was gradually becoming groomed and civilized.

When the Gargoyle changed course toward Aurora, the Kobolian heavy cargo shuttle sped at hypersonic velocity from Khan to Aurora. Using techniques developed by the Colonial Service to land Colonial Marines on Cylon worlds, the landcruiser Phalanx of the Second Defense Combined-Force Batallion landed in the forests and as the shuttle departed prepared for battle.

Two to the Botanean's Thors and three Colonial Landrams launched from the Phalanx, accompanied by a full company of infantry newly-equipped and checked out in Colonial Marine battledress. And seveal klicks further away, one of the Padillas with it's long-range laser-guided missiles was dropped off by the shuttle.

Several minutes later, the Gargoyle cut it's engines and plummeted toward the ground. At a thousand meters, the Mech bay hatches exploded off and BattleMechs and AeroSpace fighters ejected into the air. The Mechs fired their jump-jets and deployed drag-chutes, slowing their fall.

The Vipers sped in to attack, only to find a wall of flak from missiles and autocannon fire. The intact Vipers managed to swerve away, but the damaged one was unable to turn away and was blown apart.

This proved to be a bad move for the Gargoyle. Because while tylium does not explode, it does burn, and solium - tylium bonded to hydrogen - can actually undergo fusion reactions in an uncontrolled environment. Most of the Viper's solium would burn out before it hit the ground, but microgram quantities of it splashed onto the closest object.

The Gargoyle's internal sensors noted intense heat sources on the hull, then flashes of intense radiation before the EM pulses killed the internal sensors. The tiny blots of uncontrolled solium seared through the armor, the hull beneath, and into the workings of the DropShip. One droplet managed to find a water tank, and a cloud of superheated steam erupted through the mid-decks.

Captain Maruyama lost track of what was happening inside his ship as the controls became dead and com-systems filled with screams.
----------

Sargeant Barry Kelsey had been a raw recruit during the Raid of 2996, and had seen most of his unit slaughtered by pirate infantry with combat lasers. He had a vivid memory of unloading his rifle at a pirate just two meters away and the pirate laughing as the lead rounds failed to penetrate his armor.

Now he was in the alien-feeling cloth that could withstand rifle rounds and possibly - or so they hoped - laser fire. In his hands was the heavy Colonial Marine combator, with an array of deadly possibilities from long-range armor-piercing blaster bolts and solium grenades to the monomolecular-edged artificial diamond bayonet. Behind him was a three-story-tall Colonial landcruiser with it's turbo-lasers and laser-torpedo launchers floating impossibly three meters over the ground. And with one hand he clung to the side of a Colonial landram, surrounded by an invisible force-field.

And in the sky, a pirate DropShip, bombarded by the Vipers, was burning as it plummeted toward the ground.

Kelsey felt his heart sing. His squad broke into cheers, but Kelso listened to the comline and hushed them. "No cheering yet. We got three lances of Mechs parachuting down. Looks like they're trying for the Power Center." He grinned a predator's grin. "And they aren't going to make it!"
------------

Arcology of Singh
Planet Botany Bay, Coreward Periphery
December 5. 2999 A.D.

The alarm had gone out. The children and elderly and pregnant females were finally in shelters. The invaders were coming, and the citizens had busied themsleves with preparations both defensive and offensive.

In the Militia Bunker, Lieutenant Gaia called out the reports from Aurora. "Second Batallion deploying, thirty seconds until positioned. The two remaining Vipers have begun attack run on enemy Mechs ... two killed midair. Silver Spar One estimates that they can make one more attack run before they come to ground."

Lieutenant Creed called out the report from Singh. "Nightwing is approaching for landing, High probability of landing in Central Park. Vampire approaching Militia Spaceport for landing."

"Their heavy force is attacking the Power Center," Macruder said. "They probably think it's a new command bunker. But their entire infantry is focused on Singh - they're going to try to take the city hostage."

Adama nodded. "Have Commander Sheba make one more pass, then return to space. The enemy JumpShip is approaching the Celestra - I want them covered. Prepare for contingency Damocles on command."

MacRuder said, "Status of First Batallion?"

Creed announced, "Green light, finished adjusting deployment for Central Park landing. Hoplite reports ready."

"Begin parry."
------------

The Fury-class DropShip Nightwing swooped in toward the central park atop the Singh arcology.

The Nightwing's Captain had been kept largely in the dark about the problems with the invasion, but she knew something was up from the moment that insane jump was announced. She had no intention of being killed by heaven-knows-what, so she decided that surprise was the better part of valor.

As it flew over the arcology and a barrage of LRM's headed for the park, Nightwing's bays opened and four Heavy Combat APCs were shoved out under cover fire of the DropShip's laser batteries, followed by four Warrior attack VTOLs. The APCs used disposable landing jets and parachutes to slow their fall, but still slammed into buildings with enough force to bring them down in showers of broken concrete.

The Nightwing's surprise release was the only thing that saved the pirate infantry. They had barely released the troops before the landcruiser Hoplite met it in mid-air. She didn't even have a chance to ask 'What's that' before the landcruiser's twin turbo-laser turret blasted Nightwing into vapor. As it passed through the debris cloud of the former DropShip, it's six secondary laser-torpedo launchers opened up on the VTOLs, adding more metallic vapor to the arcology's atmosphere.
----------

The DropShip Vampire strafed the landing field with missiles before performing a low-altitude combat drop.

The Urban Lance, specifically chosen for urban operations, landed in a spray of jump-jets and proceeded to their targets; the two Locusts heading to secure the above-ground hangars and the Urbanmech going to seize the headquarters building. Two landrams moved in from the base entrance and the Firestarter moved to intercept them.

The Firestarter's pilot saw the two little blocky vehicles with a bunch of PBI's (Poor Bloody Infantrymen) clinging to the outside. Chuckling to himself at the stupidity of neo-barbs, his flamers unleashed superheated plasma at the two vehicles. His chuckling stopped when the weapons had no effect. He checked his sensors, only to find out that the vehicles were not on any his active sensors.

He had no opportunity to ponder this as the landrams' blasters opened up on him. The blaster, like many other Colonial weapons, were hybrids of projectile and energy weapons; each shot was a microscopic speck of crystalline metallic hydrogen given a powerful magnetic field that contained high-energy plasma, which was then gravitically accelerated to near-light speed. Not only did the microgram projectile hit with the force of a kilogram of high explosive, but the super-heated plasma envelope underwent fusion and added it's high-temperature blast, shockwave, and electromagnetic effects to the shot.

The Firestarter staggered back as it's armor flaked off under the bombardment. The pilot twitched in pain as feedback from the numerous miniature EMPs fed through his neurohelmet. In desperation, the Firestarter cut loose with it's arm weapons of lasers and machine guns.

The infantry was spreading out from the landrams when the Firestarter began shooting. The lasers faded into uselessness in the Colonial force field, and the machine gun fire dented the hulls of the landrams and only staggered those infantrymen who were hit.

The infantry fired their combators' grenade launchers. The sixteen shaped-charge solium-fusion grenades detonated on impact and blasted through the armor of the Mech, spreading radioactive death inside the machine.

The pilot didn't even have a chance to scream his last as a gout of flame filled the mech's cockpit. The burning mech stood for a second beore the machine gun ammunition exploded and shattered the arms.

The troops and the landrams didn't pause long before they headed for the UrbanMech.
----------

Outside the Arcology of Aurora
Planet Botany Bay, Coreward Periphery
December 5. 2999 A.D.

Colonel Frankenstein was feeling his gut wrench as he listened in on all the reports. Nightwing destroyed, Gargoyle crashed, one of his light Mechs killed by infantrymen(!!), weapons useless, and he had already lost a Stinger, a Hunchback, and his Lucifer air cover before they had even touched down. And the unknowns still had approximately forty of those ultra-high-speed fighter drones, whatever sank Nightwing, and an untouched infantry - and he still hadn't seen any enemy Mechs. Not to mention whatever capabilities those orbital installations had.

His remaining three DropShips - and single light Mech lance and medium ASF lance one of them carried - were so far away that they were as good as dead. And there was no message from Nightmare. This operation was rapidly turning into what was historically known, for unknown reasons, as a Foxtrot. Whoever these unknowns were, they were tough, and he still had no idea of how much they had in the way of resources, while his own resources were being whittled down.

His only chances of pulling off a victory - or at least a tie - would be to capture that pyramid. No one would have put that amount of resources into such a structure on a neo-barb planet unless it was important.

The Colonel's Phoenix-hawk LAM Hyde was already in AirMech formation for the descent, so ihe simply flew toward the pyramid.

[Eternal_Freedom]

YES!. It lives! Thank you, mysteriousdarklord, for another outstanding chapter!

And a surprising ass-whooping for the pirates, especially after the Colonial's setback last chapter. Lols, a JumpShip and escorts captured by and electronics ship! The crew will never live that one down! Go Celestra!

[LadyTevar]

Catching an Urbanmech? *snigger snigger* Yeah, the pepperpot might get a nice AC shot off before it's knocked over, but he's gonna go down. The Locusts are going to be harder, damned road-runners.

P-Hawk LAM? SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! I had a light LAM lance of 2 P-hawk, a Stinger and a Wasp. I got a bit pissy after the Lawsuit, I can tell you.

[KlavoHunter]

Wait a minute, you're saying that Colonial infantrymen in armor can survive being shot by 'Mech-scale machineguns?

[MysteriousDarkLordv3]

Sorry about the delay, I'm trying to speed up.

[Themightytom]

....and Commander Damon is awwwesome...

[syed]

what is the pyramid they are heading for. THey will want the computers so when galactica returns, they can go deal with pirate scum once and for all. THat attack thaat let them capture a jump ship would be great tool, also if they could kill a pirate crew but keep the ship even better. Pirate ships will give them ship to be reffitted do can interact with other without being noticed. ONce galactic has helped set up repair and manufacturing for iIS tech, they could make a fortune, atract a lot of workers.