StarDestroyer.Net BBS

After a few minutes spent fighting, the capital ships took their fighters back in, and leapt back into the fracture point. However, the swarm of dropships and light gunships still pressed forward towards Pinnacle with a suicidal mindset.

The Jardanian Admiral looked at the fleeing Covenant cap ships.
"I'd say we've met our objective, we make an appearence, and it looks like we helped. Now......"
He leaned back in his chair.
"To get our REAL objective. Ensign, tell one of the light carriers to break on and try and shoot down some of those transports. Then set course for Edean. Engage."

Sans 1 carrier, the fleet vanished.

--

4 squadrons of Jardanian fighters began their strafing runs on the Covenant dropships.

Forces in-system:

Fifth Fleet, in its entirety.
2 Venture class carriers
3 Claymore class battleships
6 Carnegie class cruisers
4 Merovingian class carriers
3 Warhammer class cruisers
16 Starlight class destroyers
20 Dawn Raider class frigates
16 Sun Striker class carriers
14 Nova class destroyers
10 Solar Flare class destroyers

All the carriers' fighters, plus about a hundred planet based squadrons.

Orbiting Current class gun platforms, many in the planetary ring.

Tycho, you die. That about sums it up.
_______________________________________________________

"Enemy ships entering system, looks like Covenant forces."

"Send to Commodore Kensington aboard the Warrior: Begin Crimson Dawn."

"Uh... Yes sir."

Aboard the Warrior

The commodore nodded to him comms officer. "Helm, bring us about. Prepare to engage hyperdrive to these coordinates."

The helmsman nodded. The ships handpicked for this flotilla had drilled this strategy for a long time. All the ships came around and engaged their hyperdrives for just a split second.

They vanished and reappeared directly behind the Covenant armada, playing the hammer to Pinnacle's anvil, and opened fire. Several tons of steel flying at .2c lashed out at the Covenant battle group.

[Tycho, never, ever, assume that you can just get away like that. ]

The Cebren swallowed out of her wormhole at the fringes of the system.
The battle was well underway, but all she was tasked for was to observe and assess.
Her sensors observed what happened and Datanet greedily took the information in and processed it.

***

From: Grand Empire of Gladsheim, Imperial Foreign Affairs Ministry
To: All players
Subject: Covenant attack

The Grand Empire deeply deplores the unprovoked attack the Covenant launched.
In the name of galactic peace, we urge all powers to help de-escalate this situation before it gets out of hand.

Using the same holo-survailance technology that had so offended the diplomats at the conference, the battle was being transmitted back to the Deep Space installation that was the heart of the Krell Combine. Adar Krell was suspended in the middle of a holo-globe. Around him in all directions, he was watching a real-time holo-feed of the battle that was going on hundreds of lightyears away. His face registered no emotion as he noted casualties, tactics, and formations. He hadn't joined the conflict yet, and perhaps would never join. But his mantra had always been "knowledge is power."

And so he watched, noted, and calculated, as images of ships exploded all around him.

Covenant Open Channel Broadcast
High Priest Jenurax stared ahead into the camera, his obsidian black eyes unblinking. "Most of you, undoubtedly, have heard of our unsuccesful attack. To them I say, you are not safe. We have demonstrated that we can reach any world we wish, and bring about the full might of our power on them in an instant. Any nation wishing to be left unharmed, you must profess your faith to God, or, as He commands, you will suffer. This was merely a demonstration of our tenacity and will-power. Many soldiers sacrificed themselves to have a chance simply to spread our way, as it should be. Know this; no one will be left untouched. Confess now, or suffer."

Gladsheim Prime, Imperial Plaza

"...Confess now, or suffer."
Empress Elana nearly chocked on her wine.
She could instantly feel the data througput rise as several billion people were instantly discussing the matter.
<<They're crazy, right?>> She datavised her immeadite advisors. <<Religious lunatics? Why in heavens...>>
<<Your Highness,>> the data-voice of Admiral Farshaw made itself heard, <<I doubt they will be able to carry through with this, shall we say, threat. They have to find us, and would have to face our military. They certainly can't be that stupid...>>
<<I sure hope so,>> she answered. <<I'll schedule a Privy Council meeting in 10 seconds. I would like you to attend. We'll meet in Datanet.>>

President Major looked up from the after-action reports to the screen on his office wall. He snorter. "Demonstration of your tenacity and will to kill yourselves against superior forces, I'd say." He looked back to the reports. "I still can't believe they came against Pinnacle with such a paltry force compared to the Fifth. They must have known it'd be effectively suicide. After seeing the force in orbit, they must have known they'd never make landfall..."

:::::::Emperor's command bunker, Carulan::::::::


"They hit Pinnacle four hours ago, it looks like the Jardanians and the Republic of..."

General Gravion was cut off as the emperor walked in

"Switch to channel four-two-five"

"Yes emperor"

The Covenant's message was relayed in full to the assembled generals and the emperor.

"Ready the fourth fleet, I want them ready to respond to any attack made by the covenant, anywhere. And signal the fifth fleet to stand by to jump to the Pinnacle system and provide assistance"

The Floater colonist walked into the emperor's chambers

"Ah, Freeman Davion, It is good to see you again"

"Always a pleasure Reinhasshu, why have you called me here?"

"We're trying to put together a coalition against the Covenant"

"Yes, I heard about their attack on the Jardanians, terrible tragedy. What does that have to do with me?"

"I was hoping you would be willing to carry my offer to the Ousters"

"The Ousters?"

"Well, you are one of their long lost ancestors, and the leader of what is perhaps, the last surviving major floater space colony"

"I see, and you think the offer would sound better coming from me than from an earthbound?"

"Exactly. Don't worry old friend, i'll send a couple of cruisers and a battleship as escort"

"Alright, i'll do it, when do I leave?"

"As soon as you can, i'll have the escort ships deployed to the edge of the system immediatley"

FROM: Astinius Malastraral; Diplomat, Arcane Empire
TO: All Nations
RE: Declaration of war

An illusory image of Astinius popped up in the embassy of each nation at the appropriate levels of command and information. He was a bit more.. prudent than Lord Alden

Greetings all friends and galactic neighbors. The recent aggressive actions of the Covenant of God toward the Republic of Nashtar have proved to us that they are a danger to galactic security. Therefore, our nation will take the following actions

Firstly, all diplomatic staff hailing from the Covenant are hereby declared Persona Non-Gratta and have 24 hours to find transport out of our space. Afterwhich time, they will be arrested and charged with espionage.

Secondly, we are declaring war on the Covenant of God. They are a danger to galactic security and need to be removed. We will not allow them to put our people in danger.

Any that wish to join us in a coalition to remove the Covenant from power need only contact our Embassy.

::::::Emperor's command bunker:::::

The Image of Astinius faded

"Oh hell...."

"It looks like we have less time than we anticipated emperor, what course of action should we take?"

"Inform the Arcane Empire that we will send the fourth fleet to assist them"

"Oh, and tell Freeman Davion that he'd better move fast"

:::::::KSN flotilla, edge of Krytos system:::::

Freeman Hanse Davion watched the KSN's Third and Fourth fleets jump to hyperspace

"Open a Channel to the battleship."

"Channel open freeman"

"What the Hell just happned?"

The reply came through quickly

"The Arcane Empire just declared war on the Covenant, we're on a tight schedule now"

The Freeman's ship, along with a battleship, and two cruisers jumped to hyperspace

Third Fleet (En route to help secure Pinnacle sysetm
1 Wrathfull class dreadnaught
4 Glory-II class battleships
8 Krytos class cruisers
10 Defender Class frigates
25 Guardian class patrol destroyers

Fourth fleet (En route to assist the Arcane Empire)
2 Dreadnaughts
8 Battleships
10 Cruisers
20 Frigates
50 Patrol Destroyers

Gladsheim Prime, Imperial Plaza

<<I start to find those magic people ridiculous,>> Nethington said, as he saw the replay in his mind. Hovering over one of the few manned outposts near known-space was the image of Malastraral. <<And *this* person is just naturally annoying I guess. He could have sent it like any other nation does, but no...>>
<<Well, well,>> the Empres sent a digital chuckle, <<We still have to deal with it. I rather won't enter ourselves into a war so short after our emergence on this political stage. But we'll draft a message.>>

***

From: Grand Empire of Gladsheim, Imperial Foreign Affairs Ministry
To: All players
Subject: Re: Declaration of War

We do recognize the Covenant actions as dangerous, but we don't see how they warrant an immediate declaration of war. They have not harmed us, and we should consider other options before getting actually hostile.

Alyrium Denryle wrote:Any that wish to join us in a coalition to remove the Covenant from power need only contact our Embassy.

Reply from Ysevelod I:
It appears that the situation is well in hand, and the Realm feels that an offensive move on it's part at this moment would be unnecessary. However, we request that observers be allowed to accompany the Arcane fleet during it's maneuvers, and our fleets will be mobilized for any contingencies that may occur. We will be ready should the situation worsen.

"Permission for your observers is granted... We really should at least aqcuire the technology for standard transmissions... We shall be sending our sixth fleet very soon"

A hologram of the Emperor appeared in the Arcane Empire's Embassy

"Whom do I speak to about joining this Coalition?"

Alyrium Denryle wrote:"Permission for your observers is granted... We really should at least aqcuire the technology for standard transmissions...

It makes it difficult for the others to reply to you, anyway. We could provide you with the necessary equipment and personnel for a communications station for the purpose of diplomatic communication. We would cover the cost, since it would be negligable.

The Military Prince, General Fedayn, commander of Monacoran Special ops, and General Drevail, the highest ranking officer in the army (and also a Kellman) were standing over a holo-projector, probably running through some obscure military scenario over and over again, when the Political Prince entered the room. Merely nodding at the other officers he handed the fellow prince a sheet of paper and said, "About to release this regarding our stance on the covvies. Want your approval first."
The military prince glanced over the paper, nodded, and gave it back.
____________________________________________________________________


From: Monacora
To: The Covenant, and all nations.
Subject: The Covenant

Monacora respects your ability to appear in our skies, and your command of space. But the full might of your power does not faze us. We hereby declare our neutrality in this coming conflict, we will not fight except in self-defence or in defence of Earth. If you, or any power, wish to remain as potent a threat as you are now you will head this warning.

Pablo Sanchez wrote:

Alyrium Denryle wrote:"Permission for your observers is granted... We really should at least aqcuire the technology for standard transmissions...

It makes it difficult for the others to reply to you, anyway. We could provide you with the necessary equipment and personnel for a communications station for the purpose of diplomatic communication. We would cover the cost, since it would be negligable.

"Such would be benificial. Though we can cover the cost, gold is in short supply and high demand. There are advantages to using it as a form of currency"

House Chamber, Republic Capitol Building

The holoprojector stopped at the ragged remnants of the Covenant armada jumping out, quickly followed by the Jardanians. The lights came up and President Major took the podium.

"As you can see, gentlemen, Pinnacle has been attacked by the Covenant of God in an act of naked aggression. Although the attack was easily repulsed and our defenses grossly underestimated, this still cannot be tolerated. Today I ask that this body declare war on the Covenant of God. It will not be easy to wage a war against another major power. It could be long, it could be brutal. But we cannot sit and take this aggression upon our possessions -- nay, not even that, our home territory -- sitting down. Mr. Speaker, I am done and herewith ask that you call the vote."

There was only one vote against in the entire joint session of Congress.

Joyous Gard

The news was relayed to Sixth Fleet Command. While the bigger fleets would take time to gear and supply before heading out, Sixth was designed for two reasons: Frontier defense... And as a raiding force. Though the smallest fleet, Sixth had a third of the Republic's Dawn Raider class frigates, designed for quick antiship strikes. Their torpedoes would soon be felt in the Covenant navy, the crews vowed.

A group consisting of one Merovingian carrier, two Sun Striker carriers, and ten Dawn Raider frigates pulled away from Joyous Gard, heading for a jump point...

Darksider wrote:A hologram of the Emperor appeared in the Arcane Empire's Embassy

"Whom do I speak to about joining this Coalition?"

"Oh you can go through me." Said the mage in the embassy

The Emperor stood before the senat

"The Covenant has attacked a neutral power, and has threatened to attack any other power that does not conform to their insane religious belief system. We cannot allow their actions to go unpunished. Our fleets have already been launched into international space, with orders to defend any system that is attacked by these fanatics. I ask this council to stand by the republic of Nashtar, and the Arcane Empire by helping them to wipe this Scourge from the face of the galaxy."

One hour after the emperor's empassioned speach, the Senate voted to authorize military action against the Covenant

Alyrium Denryle wrote:

Darksider wrote:A hologram of the Emperor appeared in the Arcane Empire's Embassy

"Whom do I speak to about joining this Coalition?"

"Oh you can go through me." Said the mage in the embassy

"Oh, hello. I will give my speach to the senate in twenty minutes. I expect them to authorize military action to remove the Covenant from power. Our Fourth fleet has already been dispatched with orders to assist any colony world attacked by the covenant. Once offensive action is allowed, they will move to support your advance. Good bye and have a nice day."

The hologram dissapeared.

Covenant Open Broadcast channel
Again, the stoic face of High Priest Jenurax appeared. "You may repulse our efforts, but know this-if you invade the holy lands, you shall pay for every foot with the livs of a dozen men. We are only doing as our Lord commands us, and we find it unnerving that men can be so blind, simply to preserve their own folly beliefs. Simply profess your faith, and *no harm shall come to you*. Citizens, I urge you to make your goverments see the truth. Or else no one shall be spared, and death will reign on both sides of this war."

The Covenant's message was almost certainly heard by the Ousters. No responses were given, no action was taken. It was as if the events over Pinnacle had no effect whatsoever on the ever-advancing Hajr fleet.

The Hajr warships continued, seemingly silently. Their chatter was quite undetectable to all but the few floater nomads left with functioning Freecasters. The orders were relayed from vessel to vessel, a subspace chatter emanating from the three massive Fleet Tenders which acted as mobile bases for the invasion.

The intial attack against Jomungandr was merely an opening maneuver, a strike against the largest military power in the region. The Ouster fleets seperated into smaller units, squadrons of strike cruisers and escorts. The vessels swept through a half-dozen systems. Most of them were uninhabited- systems without habitable planets. Many of them held small enclaves of freelance pirates or miners.

Two larger fleets struck out at two more of the fortified worlds in region. Attack Carriers began harrying the edges of the systems, tying down local fleets while the raiding squadrons did as much damage as possible.

The attacks were widespread and rapid. By the end off the day, Hajr forces had attacked a dozen systems.

Over Hudson, the first colony clusters were arriving from the Elysium Sector. The Diaspora had come to Known Space.