The Brakian Gambit - Chapter Three
#4 of The Brakian Gambit
This took a long time to actually get done, and I blame my job for that. Along with a lack of motivation to keep going. This is the longest chapter yet, clocking about 9,300 words. My third chapters, I notice, have this tendency. Either way, this picks up where the last chapter left off.
Chapter Three
March 12
Operation Enterprise +1
Orbit of Chara II
ODV Ambassador
Command Deck
The mere mention of Alliance warships caused Luca to visibly shudder. It wasn't that she didn't want to deal with the Alliance, it's that they didn't have a place in the Chara System. As per treaties with the Brakian government, no Earth based government could have warships within the Chara system. The wording said governments, a fact that every corporation so daringly pointed out with every moment they moved ships into the system and the government attempted to call them out on it.
"Captain, what is your call?" Harun asked while Luca stared down at her strategic map.
There was no easy answer to that. The task force was already at code red, they could only stand against the Alliance... if the Alliance was there to fight them. Luca had no doubts about that much, but she couldn't confirm that. She actually had no idea how many ships the Alliance sent in, only that they sent ships into the system. As far as that went, she knew there'd be problems if there were any more than a handful.
Luca pressed a button on the strategic map, opening an intercom to the bridge. "Adjust active sensors toward the newly arriving ships. I need a number." She flipped the switch again and shook her head. "Commander, what do you recommend?"
_ _
"It's rare to suggest this, but perhaps a retreat?" Harun said firmly, but when Luca looked at him she knew that he wasn't fully behind that idea himself. Tesgnov tended not to run just because of uneven numbers, and less so when a glorious death was possible over a coward's survival.
"We will not retreat. The Alliance does not rule these worlds." Luca said just before the sensors picked up all of the Alliance ships.
Despite saying she would not retreat, she was already questioning that. Aligned in a standard Alliance battle formation, there were about 74 warships approaching Chara II. Long range scans showed one Unification Class Dreadnought, five battleships of varying classes, eight battlecruisers, 15 heavy cruisers and another 15 light cruisers, and a mix of 30 other destroyers and frigates.
Her biggest fear was the Unification Class, as it was an Alliance variant upon the Ambassador Class. Generally speaking it had far better defensive measures and slightly higher power energy weapons. Aside from that, and the coloration - the Ambassador_being a steel grey and the Unification Class surely being Alliance blue - the ships were almost identical. And that scared her. The _Ambassador could take on most of that fleet and deal heavy losses before being destroyed, but not now.
The AI made a remark about relaying communications to the command deck, a remark that Luca ignored, until the heavily Russian accented voice was heard. "Attention Omniwatch warships, this is Admiral Kuznetsov of the Alliance 1st Fleet. By order of the President and with the approval of the Senate, you are found in violation of the Treaty of New London. Failure to stand down will result in your destruction. You have five minutes to respond."
"Surrender?" Harun said.
"Never." Luca switched on bridge communications again. "All hands, we know of the Alliance now. Move us into a firing position, target the Unification Class Dreadnought, and fire everything that we have at that ship. Make it clear what we think of their demands. Bring me into Command mode."
The AI activated the mode, the walls "disappearing" into a projection of space around the Ambassador with sensor overlays. Now that the 1st Fleet was confirmed, the direction toward the ships showed the emblem of the Alliance 1st Fleet to signify all the ships there. She also saw logos for her other ships scattered about. With a single thought, she could get estimated system statuses for her ships and determine roughly how much more fighting the ships could withstand.
It took a few minutes for the bridge to turn the ship to get all weapons able to fire upon the Alliance dreadnought. The Ambassador could only truly bring half its heavy laser emplacements to bare, but its spinal railgun could fire at the very least. The nuclear torpedo tubes could launch, with minor adjustments made during the flight. All of this was going through Luca's command deck. The Ambassador is the only ship in the Omniwatch fleet that carries this prototype deck, testing a new series of the neural implants that all naval officers receive in which the deck interacts with thoughts the commanding officer has to distribute orders during a large conflict.
"Admiral Kuznetsov, this is Captain Trovato." Luca said. "By entering Brakian space, you are in violation of the treaties your government signed. I highly recommend that you leave now before the Braki-"
"Ambassador Munroe has received government approval to bring Alliance peacekeepers in." Kuznetsov responded, enjoying the fact he cut Luca off. "So, last chance. Gather your ships and depart the system or report to the newly assigned location to stand down and be boarded."
"Captain, he believes this could be an honorable option. Perhaps." Harun said. He never left the command deck, wanting to stay with his Captain for the duration of the conflict.
Luca sighed. She didn't want to surrender, but this wasn't exactly a surrender either. She could tolerate boarding so long as the corporation itself was not in danger. That was always subjective, but that was how she had to operate. She couldn't fight the Alliance this time, and a bloodless standing down was better than a violent death. "Thank you Harun." Luca said to him. "Very well Admiral. We couldn't win this fight. Proceeding to location for boarding."
"Smart move Captain. I will see you on the Ambassador shortly." Admiral Kuznetsov said as he cut communications.
"All ships, this is Captain Trovato. We're outnumbered more than ten to one. As such, we are standing down." Luca said as she switched to fleet communications. "Alliance forces will be boarding the Ambassador soon and I will be speaking with their commander. We likely will be able to come to a mutually beneficial agreement."
_"Do you truly believe that?"_Harun asked as the slightly larger feline placed an arm around Luca's shoulders.
"Not at all, but I can at least pretend to hope." Luca said as she turned off the command deck. She had to change uniforms anyway. Her service uniform was rather dirty after wearing it the past two days, and being awake that long as well. "I will be heading to my cabin. I expect that you will greet the Admiral for me?"
_ _
"For you, anything, captain." Harun said with a smile, an actual smile, as he left the command deck, leaving Luca slightly confused.
About an hour passed before the Ambassador moved to the instructed position along with its escorts and the Alliance fleet was on approach toward the task force. The ANS Unification moved very close, by stellar scale, to the Ambassador. During the hour, the Omniwatch ships were reduced to blue alert though the marines on each ship never came down on alert. If the Alliance decided to attack while on the ships, disarmed marines would serve no use. For that reason, Luca gave the order for all but a handful to get into the light combat armor, rather than the large battle suits. She did move a dozen of those to the CIC though to support her when dealing with the Admiral and probably a squad of Presidential Guards.
Despite the name, the Alliance's Presidential Guard protected various high level government officials, military officers, and VIPs within the Alliance. They were similar to Omniwatch's Special Protection Division in that sense, though the Guard was far better trained than the SPD. Admiral Kuznetsov was certainly one of those. Had the current Alliance Fleet Admiral not gotten a variety of regeneration treatments to keep them alive longer, Kuznetsov would have his fifth star.
As expected, as the Admiral stepped onto the CIC under armed guard from the Presidential Guard, and Luca protected by a squad of battle suited Marines, there was a very obvious tension as the two officers stared each other down. Luca had clashed with Kuznetsov before, and it was just as bloody then as it could have been here.
"Admiral, let's make this quick shall we?" Luca finally said, never even thinking of giving him a salute. The fact he was aboard the _Ambassador_almost without her blessing was enough of an insult as is. "You are interfering in Omniwatch combat operations. The government of Braka has illegally begun seizure of corporate assets. Not just Omniwatch's. Obviously we can't trust the Alliance to look out for its citizens, so we're doing that ourselves."
Technically, because the Alliance laid claim to all of explored space, those born in corporate systems were considered citizens of the Alliance. Those born to Alliance citizens outside the borders, such as on Chara, were citizens. For Luca, she was born on Mars. Being the capital, she was a citizen. Most Omniwatch employees were, and only on technicalities did that not happen. Klara's a citizen, but her mother is not, but she was born in the Alliance after her mother fled Tesgnov territory.
Kuznetsov stared down Luca for a time before he nodded. "I can understand the situation. However the Treaty of New London, which Omniwatch signed of course, prohibits the corporate interference in the internal affairs of non-human species and states. Ambassador Munroe stated that the corporation was planning to take on the government directly."
"Omniwatch has been fighting a defensive war for the last several days, Admiral." Luca said. "Diplomacy failed and the Brakian government turned their guns on our corporation. That's unacceptable and you know it. By law, we have full freedom to fight back. We're just the first corporation to shoot back, but I know it won't be long before Canis shows up and Silverdyne will be right behind them. What are you going to do Admiral?"
The admiral sighed and shook his head. "My orders are to make sure the conflict doesn't expand or escalate. Simple as that. Can you ensure that the engagements, at least in space, will be limited?"
"I can do that." Luca said without any hesitation, but knowing full well it was her lying just to keep him off her back. "Can you make sure that we don't get excessive interference from the Alliance government?"
"I can do something, but I expect the Senate will pressure intervention." Kuznetsov said with a sigh. "If that happens and the high command signs off on it, I am forced to act."
"Understandable." Luca said, nodding slightly. "Now, get off my ship."
With a slight bow, Kuznetsov walked off the CIC and was escorted by the Marines down to where his shuttle had landed and ushered off the ship with Luca's encouragement to the Marines. The arrival of the Alliance was definitely not planned on, and that worried Luca, if only just. She wasn't concerned about the Alliance so long as Kuznetsov stayed in check, but she was going to find ways to block his communications before a major strike.
Luca retired to her quarters rather than the command deck this time. She hadn't slept since the combat on the ground began and especially since Enterprise began. The crew expected as much as she waved her third officer into command. On an Omniwatch vessel, the Captain was, of course, the commander, and the first officer was usually a special role. Third officer and beyond went down major ranks on the ship. In this case, it's the ship's Chief Medical Officer. Not too pleased with having to assume that duty, the role of the third officer was minimal anyway.
The captain's quarters on the massive Ambassador were equally spacious. Luca had a sitting area, for more informal meetings of staff, a sleeping area, and a kitchen and dining area for the rare times she'd use it. The ship was clearly built for a peacetime deployment where the cabin would get used more often for all purposes, but Luca hadn't had the chance to see it during peacetime operations. As far as she seemed to be concerned, there was no such thing as peacetime.
It didn't take long for her to get out of her uniform, take a quick shower, then fall onto her bed, asleep in minutes. She didn't stir for another day.
March 17
Operation Enterprise +8
A week passed since the arrival of the Alliance and there was a ceasefire in place, forced by Ambassador Munroe against the will of both the Brakian government and the corporations that were taking up arms against Brakians. Canis Interstellar's cargo ships were grounded at the start of the fighting, and a part of the Merchant Navy had arrived a few days later, supporting the Omniwatch task force.
The Canis Merchant Navy is a mercenary force of sorts. The ships are under Canis contract to move cargo throughout known space, but what the pilots do with the ship is at their discretion. Some add weapons and upgrade the various internal systems. Some of the better equipped ships are capable of taking on actual warships in hit and run strikes. Those ships form the unofficial "Merchant Navy". There's about 400 of those armed cargo ships moving throughout known space at any given time.
A few days after the Merchant Navy arrived, a portion of the Silverdyne fleet arrived, followed shortly after by the Omniwatch fleet. Trickling in slowly were small numbers of the minor corporations, bent on getting some revenge for what the Brakian government was doing. In all, the corporate combined fleet numbered over 105 warships. In addition to those, about a dozen Omniwatch troop transports carrying 2,400 Marines were mixed within the formations.
Knowing full well that if the ceasefire was broken he'd possibly be first on the firing line, and knowing that the inner planets were under Omniwatch control anyway, Admiral Kuznetsov pulled the fleet back to beyond the orbit of Chara IV. Meanwhile, because he commanded the largest of the corporate forces, Omniwatch's Admiral Aylmer assumed fleet command from aboard the ODV Diplomat, the second of the three Ambassador Class dreadnoughts Omniwatch operates.
With the peace in the system, though a temporary one, Luca got caught up on her sleep fully, having few obligations outside of standard shifts and making sure the Ambassador ran smoothly. Commander Harun was fully capable of making sure that happened anyway, and Luca felt comfortable leaving him in command when she was busy in her office or quarters. Nonetheless, her new orders were less than pleasing.
Apparently Admiral Aylmer and various other commanders and executives had decided on an evacuation from the planet. Canis Interstellar's cargo ships and transports on the surface were ungrounded but couldn't move freight without government approval. Passengers, not being freight, were obviously exempted from that, and the corporations were about to take advantage of it. Evacuating the representatives and executives from a capital was, by protocol, a sign of escalating conflict. By extension, that meant the ceasefire was going to broke fairly shortly.
Luca's orders were also very simple. She was to ensure that all cargo ships from the surface to orbit, until all were evacuated, were properly protected. The _Ambassador_was not built for atmospheric operations, but its point defense was accurate into the atmosphere. All the ship had to do was get into position over spaceports and, if the Brakians attempted interception of the cargo ships, blast them away in the name of self-defense. Unless the idea was to give the corporations reason to fight back and justify the renewed conflict.
Chara II
Surface
Landgate
Over the past week, since the Brakians pulled out, the Terran Quarter was under the total control of the corporations that set up their headquarters within. Omniwatch armored vehicles were roaming the streets, supported by Canis and Silverdyne security forces. Entrances and exits to the Quarter have fortified checkpoints that are turning away everyone, and killing those that refuse to leave. As part of the takeover, the Alliance soldiers were forced off the planet or back into the Embassy.
The Special Protection Division received a few additional agents to make up for the total loss that the 1stForeign Division inflicted. With Halstein's direction, a new plan was underway to bring this conflict on the ground to an end. To carry it out would require reconnaissance across Landgate, and that is where Klara had to do her field work. The group of humans and Tesgnov would be obvious in the streets of the city, but it was a necessary risk now.
Despite considering the 1stForeign Division a terrorist organization, Omniwatch learned something from its failed assault on the Regional Headquarters. Among the division's dead scattered among the grounds of the headquarters, there were no Brakians. According to intelligence reports, the division had 14,500 combat capable soldiers. There were about 12,000 bodies scattered. As far as the corporation could tell, since Brakian forces elsewhere on the planet took about one tenth those losses across every facility. More humans died fighting for the Brakians than fighting against, and there was no mention of their sacrifice. That wouldn't go unpunished.
Klara's SUV passed through the checkpoint set up at one of the main roads into the Terran Quarter. A pair of Omniwatch IFVs and a handful of soldiers stood watch over the avenue and made sure that nothing entered or left without the proper authorization. Klara had the authorization, and the soldiers were aware ahead of time that she was coming through. Inside her SUV, she had an additional three SPD agents, and all four of them were in plain clothes. That was slightly less likely to arouse suspicion for a time. The vehicle at least was Brakian made and that may help the cover a bit.
Beyond the Terran Quarter, Klara got to see just how the rest of the planet was faring. As the vehicle drove into the Central District of Landgate, the streets were as active as ever despite the conflict all around them. Brakian Army soldiers were out and about, but they were few and far between. Wherever they passed, however, the citizens were cheering them on. Klara paid no mind to that, but she did like that the city was active despite the war.
Situated along the coast is their destination; one of the premier hotels for foreign tourists to the city. Omniwatch is paying for their stay through a false account, and their mission has the possibility for major long term profit, so they are getting one of the larger suites for their supplies and what not. Their covers are far from perfect, but they were essentially a group of executives that want to get a feel for the planet and scout locations for their small startup company. In some sense, it had a bit of truth to it.
Klara stopped the vehicle in front of the hotel and assisted the rest of her agents in getting their luggage out. While it did have spare clothes, several bags also contained their armors and broken down weapons for when they are given the authorization to move. For that reason, when their bags were offered to be taken for them, they all politely declined that and headed into the hotel. The last thing they needed were for the bags to be opened by a curious Brakian and their covers being blown instantly.
In only a few minutes of talking, and then moving to the upper levels, the group reached their suite with all bags kept close to them. It'd take about a day still to get everything set up, but that was far more than enough time.
March 18
Operation Enterprise +9
Chara III
ODV Ambassador
As expected, the Brakians made a move to attack the cargo ships departing the planet. All Brakian interceptors that were launched were destroyed not long after by the ships in orbit after an interceptor fired upon the cargo ships, destroying one and killing all on board. With the ceasefire violated by the Brakian government, Admiral Aylmer gave Luca authorization to continue Operation Enterprise, and the corporate military leaders agreed.
That wasn't to say the operation would be bloodless. Under Captain Trovato's direction, a large portion of the combined fleet and the Omniwatch marine transports moved on Chara III. In all, there is the Ambassador, a pair of Omniwatch battleships, a group of four - two Omniwatch, a Canis, and a Silverdyne - battlecruisers, and a complement of cruisers, destroyers, and frigates from various other corporations.
Luca stood on her Command Deck, as usual, as the AI registered the start of combat operations. As many times before, the walls faded away to give Luca the all-around view relative to the location of her deck on the dreadnought. Various blue and green symbols showed up, the green being allies and blue Omniwatch. All of them far outside visual range, but all of them labeled as they transmitted.
Before Luca, and the fleet, stood the ever approaching daylight side of Chara III. To starboard, Chara IIIa was passing at close distance on its dark side, the moon an unimportant target as it hadn't been used yet by the Brakians. An oversight that the combined fleet would correct. Using the sensor cover of the moon, the fleet was able to get close to the planet, only now moving around it to get into position for their strike.
"Captain, we already have detected frigates detaching from the space station to intercept." Luca heard over her ship communications. "Frigates detected as well as battleship grade vessels."
"Understood. I trust you all know what to do." Luca said as the red diamonds came into view within the Command Deck, along with the far larger red box that indicated the military space station in orbit over the world. "Commander Harun, make sure that everything is run smoothly." Obviously different from the human voice, the feline voice she heard was a simple acknowledgement of the order.
The hologram map showed the escorting warships of the task force, the frigate and destroyer screen moving far ahead of ships. The cruiser escort of the battlecruiser and larger core ships kept a large distance from those, aligned in such a way that the point defense weapons will have total coverage over the core ships. The fact that a combined corporate fleet could manage an actual formation impressed Luca as she had expected the corporations to do their own thing, and thus die.
Luca didn't notice the front of the Ambassador aligning toward the red diamond. While the targeting module is on the bridge and the angle would look wrong from the Command Deck, the spinal railgun of the dreadnought lined up slowly with the space station. The large structure, the largest space station in the Chara system, served as the pride and joy of the Brakians. Quite literally, it was about to be shattered.
Upon firing the gun, the entire dreadnought shook from the amount of energy being used and the speed of the projectile sending shockwaves through the ship. It was built to handle that, but it couldn't help but be felt that the entire ship was ripping itself apart with each time it fired the gun.
The projectile, moving at 17 percent the speed of light, slammed into the space station less than a minute later, shattering the majority of the station under the impact and going straight through with only some momentum lost. On the surface of the planet, the projectile struck the ground far from any settlements, but with enough force to cause an earthquake felt around the world, at least according to the dreadnought's sensors that scanned the planet continually, monitoring for weapon launches. And, of course, the remains of the station already started to deorbit, with projected reentry and impact within the next five hours, and also in the rural areas of the planet, rather than on top of a settlement. That was for the best, as Luca's collateral damage standing order is still in place.
"Chara III has been hit fairly hard, Captain." Harun said. "The spinal railgun likely handled most resistance on the surface for us already."
"I see the result of that. Well done. Our path to the planet is clear." Luca said. On her strategic map, Luca tapped the marine transports that had stayed behind and gave them the order to approach the planet with intent to land. It'd take some time for them to get into position to start the landings, but once they did the marines on the ground could secure the main settlement, then spread out from there. 2,400 marines can do a lot, especially against a less advanced defensive force.
Elsewhere on the display, the last of the Brakian Navy engaged the smaller escorting ships for the corporate fleet. While the corporate frigates were taking losses, due, Luca suspected, to underestimating what the Brakians are capable of, the Brakian ships were already beginning a fighting withdrawal, especially as the cruisers drew closer. Once the cruisers were able to fire without fearing a miss, the Brakian ships would be destroyed.
OTV Liberator
Assembly Point
When the marine transports arrived, Staff Sergeant Chernikovo was relocated from the Pacesetter_to the _Liberator. She despised the reassignment, because at least the _Pacesetter_was a comfortable assignment, but it also meant, she knew, that she'd be seeing more intense combat than what the outpost offered her and her squad. That is, of course, both a blessing and a curse. Heavier combat meant more casualties but more recognition.
The entire ship shuddered as the powerful engines started - more powerful than a normal ship this size needed, but this ship needed to get into orbit faster than others. Norina couldn't help but watch outside as the moon steadily moved from the viewport of the ship. Flashes of light out in space indicated various explosions of ships, be it corporate or Brakian. That didn't matter to her, as that is what the Navy is for anyway. What matters is that she lands and gets off the planet with minimal casualties and, preferably, herself not among those.
Omniwatch only fielded a force of 6,000 marines at any given time across all of known space, split into five regiments of roughly 1,200. The powered battle suits gave them the distinct advantage that they needed to make the small numbers possible, as does the various heavy weapons they all carry, but they were also usually backed up by regular security forces. Among the military forces within human space, the Omniwatch Marines are the second most widely feared. The Alliance Marine Corps is generally considered the most feared, as they are better equipped than the Omniwatch Marines and almost always more disciplined.
It took about an hour before the ships made it to position to strike the planet, the whole time Norina watched out at the battle, which steadily tapered off as the bigger ships got into an effective range. Aside from a few flashes of ships exploding every few minutes, the battle in space appeared to be over. Now came the marine drop onto the surface. Norina moved into the one of the several drop bays on the ship with her squad, now a part of the 1st Marine Regiment, 4th Company. In some way it felt good to be a part of a proper regiment, rather than the scattered 5thregiment that had a handful of marines on every Omniwatch naval vessel. The additional organization was welcomed, but it also meant that she had an actual Marine as a superior officer rather than the Captain and first officer of a ship.
All of Norina's marines, and herself of course, already had their battle suits on and, obviously, operational. Norina's armor got an upgrade, however, to a new version of the NCO battle suit. She has an improved suit AI, enhanced communications, and it registered her rank and placed her within the chain of command properly. If commanders start dying, the communications shuffles the command frequency, authorizing it as more die. It's not uncommon for a Corporal that only had squad frequency to end up with platoon and higher frequencies if their superiors are killed. This system was an Alliance innovation which the corporations adopted. She hadn't received this upgrade before because the 5th Regiment was always last to get upgraded equipment.
"All Marines, prepare for drop." A voice said through the ship's intercom and speakers. "Five minutes to board before we are in position for insertion. Do not be left behind."
Norina moved her marines into the assigned drop shuttle as soon as the order came through. The shuttle could hold ten marines at a time. While her marines were trained in this sort of insertion, none of them had had to do it before. It was one thing to land on planets with no atmosphere, but another entirely to land on a planet with one and one that is breathable. The doors slid closed on the shuttle as soon as all of the marines strapped in. Now it was just a waiting game, and one that Norina had never experienced before, and, if she were asked to answer honestly, never wanted to experience.
The five minutes between the doors closing and the shudder as the shuttle dropped from the ship seemed like an eternity, but soon enough the viewport was filled with the sight of the planet below. Flying on autopilot to designated locations, the pod followed the others down toward the surface. Once the shuttle turned toward the settled areas, Norina got a true look at the conflict below.
Laser and missile batteries fired upward from the planet, the latter being disabled by the warships in low orbit, and the former causing significant damage to those warships when the lasers cut through the shields of the ships. It didn't take long for most of the ships to enter a higher orbit or evacuate the planet all together. Bombardments on the surface from orbit tried to target all the surface to orbit weapons, but as each was hit, more seemed to open fire.
Entry into the atmosphere was almost exactly as Norina expected, the heat giving a glow to the shuttle as it passed through, only to fade away as the shuttles approached the ground level. She almost expected the shuttle to burn up, but she knew that that was a misplaced fear anyway. Along with the rest of the shuttles, Norina's passed through to the ground, skimming over the surface for a time before they slowed and set down in a clearly suburban area of the planet's main settlement. Being an NCO, Norina could see the deployments around the city, and saw that both regiments were deployed to encircle the city immediately, then push into the city center. They had the manpower to do it, if nothing else.
A green light turned on from a corner Norina had never noticed, and the side doors of the shuttles opened immediately after, allowing the sound of the shuttles engines to filter through the suits. Norina was first out of the shuttle. With the dust being kicked up by the engines, she couldn't see anything beyond the door. She stepped out... and fell the twenty feet to the street below. The suit AI activated the micro-thrusters on the suit, setting her upright and landing her without injury. Even at that height a fall would hurt the road far more than it'd have hurt her. The rest of the marines jumped from the shuttle and once it was empty, the shuttle began the autopilot back up to the transports in orbit.
Omniwatch regular security forces would be right behind Norina with artillery. They inserted to the north of the city, on the plateau which housed the wealthier individuals of the planet. While the standing order remained about minimizing civilian casualties, the smart artillery would cause some, but focus destruction on the military emplacements. In about an hour, according to the planners, the marines should reach the city limits and the heaviest defenses. Orbital scans showed partially covered defensive weapons that would pose a threat, if well aimed, to the marines.
Norina received her objective right on top of where she landed, with the orders to move out and secure a roughly one mile radius around the drop site. The artillery would land in the nearby park and set up there with security forces setting up their own defenses. Norina's forces were packed up by two more platoons, making such a large area to secure significantly easier. Of course, her orders were to secure the primary highway leading into the plateau and hold it until the operation concludes.
The plateau was a rare formation on this part of the planet, but its steep sides save for the highway's side prevented anything other than airborne forces from moving onto it. Orbital insertion, therefore, gave instant control over the high ground once the plateau is cleared. That would be a simple task though.
"We know what to do." Norina said as she made her first jump toward the highway incline about a mile and a half away. "We'll move in and close off the road. Simple as that."
With no resistance on the move, the squads reached the highway and found it completely clear. Unlike what war movies from Earth would have the citizens of the Alliance that never saw a war believe, there were no abandoned cars on the side of the road, no debris, nothing that indicated it was anything other than a normal day... other than the Marines in hulking battle suits patrolling the streets.
The city below was in plain sight, and it definitely looked interesting from the hillside. A few plumes of smoke were already visible from where the Marines advanced from. Norina looked over her highway and had to come up with a tactical solution for the four lane road. That didn't take long. The concrete barriers forming the median were perfect for what she had in mind.
She pointed at two of her new soldiers, "You two, move the barriers across the roadway. Block it off entirely." Another rather useful feature of this suit was a point toward her soldiers would specifically designate them and they'd receive a ping stating that they were one that they meant. Norina was still trying to learn the names, which made the ability useful.
While those two soldiers began to move the barriers, Norina looked out over the city and set the tactical visor of the suit. The various companies showed up, with their relative positions visible with a blue highlight. Spotted enemy forces received red marks. Of course, that covered much of the city due to orbital scans. Where the towers dominated, nothing was clearly visible by satellite.
"Sergeant, they're in place." One of the marines said.
Norina turned around and saw the barriers spread across the highway, blocking most traffic. That was that, then. All that was left was holding the ground. She could see down the road, as could all the other marines. The upside of this position was reinforcements would be fighting an uphill battle. With the superior firepower and protection, Norina's marines had a distinct, overwhelming advantage. She enjoyed this greatly.
ODV Ambassador
Command Deck
Luca watched over all her consoles at the command deck. She transitioned it back into a regular command center rather than the projected space around her. The consoles were less than pleasing in space, but the surface battle was already showing signs of victory, even only a few minutes into the attack. The marine landing was flawless, and they maintained some degree of surprise despite the scale of the landings.
Other combat operations across the system were primarily contained around Chara II as the other corporations continued to protect their assets. Omniwatch had the Chara III invasion to itself after the other corporate warships broke off once the naval fight was complete. They were almost alone, at least. Just a few minutes ago, an Alliance frigate jumped over to them, watching from afar, but still on sensors. Whether that was intentional or not, Luca truly did not know. It still was not a good sign. If the Alliance interfered here, she wasn't entirely sure if she could fight them off.
If they did strike, Luca took solace in knowing that the Alliance would be met by the other corporations to support Omniwatch. A combined fleet would fight off, or completely eliminate, the Alliance fleet in the system. But there was something more to this frigate. Luca knew this just by scanning it. It was by no means an Alliance scout frigate, and it showed multiple powered missile launchers on it. Luca presumed the launchers were just due to the possibility of Alliance interference in combat operations.
"Captain," Harun said over Luca's headset, "we have detected an active sensors pulse frrrom the Alliance Frrrigate. This was prrrreceded by a priority Alliance communications pulse."
"How can we determine it was priority?" Luca asked. This was the first she ever heard of being able to determine if it was priority or not, but she suspected that it had a very simple explanation.
"The speed and lack of communications silence." Harun said.
"Of course. Any idea of-" An alarm went off in Luca's command deck, focused on the Alliance frigate. She quickly shifted over to zoom on the ship, seeing multiple projectiles turning from the ship. A quick trajectory calculation placed the objects on course for the settlement on the surface of Chara III with impact in about ten minutes. "Give me a direct connection to Kuznetsov." Luca said as she watched the projectiles - now identified as missiles - streak toward Chara III.
As the missiles drew ever closer, Kuznetsov showed up on Luca's projectors. "Admiral, one of your ships has fired missiles. Explain." Luca said before the admiral could say anything.
"Orders from above." Kuznetsov said without a hint of emotion. "If that's the only question, I have work to attend to." Before Luca could respond, the connection was cut short.
After a moment of shock, Luca opened fleet communications. "This is Captain Trovato. The Alliance has initiated hostile actions against us. They are now given the green light to target. Drive them from this system."
Chara III
Surface
Norina's squad continued to hold the ever deserted checkpoint they set up. It didn't take long for civilian vehicles to form a line in front of the barriers in the hopes of being able to get behind the checkpoint, out of the primary combat area, and to relative safety. The squad had orders to prevent anyone from passing. That of course made things very interesting, as the desperate rarely took no for an answer, or understood what 'no' meant in the first place.
One such example was approaching the concrete barriers. A larger Brakian specimen, easily seven feet tall and very physically imposing, was clearly angry at being forced behind the barriers and looked ready to do something about it. Norina was going to handle this one herself. Brakians had a particular disposition against females, and a human female commander was a triple insult.
The implants all the marines had quickly got to work translating. "You will let us through."
_ _
As the implants translated, it also came out in Brakian. Norina approached the barrier and laughed a bit. "Or what? We have orders dog. Get back in the car and wait."
_ _
The Brakian laughed at that, and it made Norina smile under her helmet. "Or I can just smash through."
_ _
_"I will give you the first punch then."_Norina said as she slung her rifle. Not long after the powerful punch from the Brakian struck her helmet, and her head moved just a bit under the force, but she heard the crunching of the bones against the helmet. As soon as he did that, Norina returned it. The powered fist slammed into the Brakian's head, and under it, the skull shattered, and skin broke from the bone fragments. The Brakian collapsed immediately to the ground, dead almost instantly.
That, of course, caused an uproar from the Brakians that were gathered around the barrier, and outside their vehicles. It didn't take long for the yelling to escalate into objects being thrown over the barrier at the marines. That of course was just funny. In the battlesuits, even the concrete blocks that were thrown at them were just taken and shrugged off. However, even that grew tiresome. Norina finally fired a round into the air, which silenced the Brakians and made several recoil.
"Back up or the next shots go into all of you." Norina said as her headset crackled.
"Attention Marrrrines," it was Commander Harun, "we have a Code Gamma situation. All forrrces fall back to inserrrrtion points. Estimated time to impact is five minutes."
Code Gamma was, unsurprisingly, the code used to denote immediate or imminent use of thermonuclear weapons. The corporations only followed the Treaty of New London when it came to those weapons, which meant no corporation launched. That left only the Alliance. Regardless, the orders came down. Norina gave her command to the squad and they immediately jumped out of the area.
In five minutes, the squad was just reaching the insertion, and the skies lit up around them. The simplest order would be to not turn around, and that went without saying. Even though the sound dampeners in the helmet were working, it didn't take long for the roar of the blast to reach them, followed by the shaking of the ground below. While the shockwave died off some time before, a cloud of dust and debris blew through the streets.
Norina tapped into the ship feeds from orbit, and saw two detonations within the core of the city, both several megatons in yield if she had to guess. The complete destruction of the city proved it wasn't corporate. No one would willingly break the standing order against civilian casualties.
New reports quickly filtered through Norina's helmet as entire sections of the marine units were wiped out, commanders killed, and radiation took their toll. The Omniwatch battlesuits were hardened against radiation, but not completely. While Norina's squad slowly moved toward insertion, it was becoming quickly clear that, as a Staff Sergeant, Norina was the most senior person on the ground.
ODV Ambassador
Command Deck
"Marine units are showing roughly seventy percent losses. Over the next twenty four hours, we expect that to increase to ninety percent." One of the bridge officers said to Luca's Command Deck. "Radiation has blanketed most of the city, civilian losses likely are in the millions."
This was, needless to say, a disaster. The Alliance ship that fired the missiles was destroyed, but the missiles themselves could not be intercepted in time. It meant Chara III was a total loss, and the radiation on the ground and overall unsafe environment would make evacuation of the marines difficult, if not impossible. The transport ships were on standby to begin evacuation, but if the shuttle pilots failed, then the marines would be trapped for an extended duration.
"Captain, Alliance warships detected. The Unification is among them." The officer said again. Had just the first half been stated, Luca would not be as worried. With the second half, it meant there was going to be a fight.
It also meant that despite the successes of the past days, that was about to come to a violent, bloody end. The Unification and the Alliance fleet positioned themselves behind the corporate warships at about 2 AU distance. "We are at condition red, bring the _Ambassador_around to fire. All other ships, reposition and assume defensive formation. Prepare for missile intercept and target their escorts."
Not long after the order was given, the corporate fleet broke apart and scattered. In only a matter of minutes, the Omniwatch warships were all that were left of the fleet that could have taken on the Alliance. Luca stared down at her display, and strategies ran through her mind. She had four other ships, two battleships and two battlecruisers. Big ships, but also problematic for that reason. Risking the ships and especially the_Ambassador_ risked her career. Running risked her career as well.
"Harun, send priority message to Central Command." Luca said as her sensors detected firing from the Alliance ships. "We are under direct attack from Alliance ships. Corporate assistance has faded, Omniwatch is alone. We're going to fight to our deaths."
"Is this wise Captain?" Harun asked. There was no hesitation in that voice, however, and seemed to be more of a second in command making sure the commander was thinking properly.
"Harun, I trust you. If you have a better idea tell me." Luca said as she analyzed how he asked the question.
"We move to the surrrrface of Charrra III and begin total shutdown." Harun said. "Heat of the forrrests will mask our prrresence."
"Surface scans would not." Luca said.
"We have about 20 minutes before their scans rrreturn our non-presence. They would reasonably assume we fled. Why scan anything of the planet other than the impact sites?" Harun added.
Luca's sensors continued to detect the various weapons approaching the fleet, mostly missiles, signatures of laser weapons, and multiple plasma weapons. Time to impact with the lasers was about 15 minutes, missiles around 30, and plasma would impact somewhere between those two. There was nothing appealing about this situation Luca found herself in, but Harun did offer a possible solution.
"Take us to Chara. Spread all ships out on the surface, none grouped too closely, keep us on the opposite side of the world for now." Luca said over Omniwatch fleet comms. She switched back to the Ambassador command channel and said, "Harun, send the report to Central without the fighting to the death. Tell them we are in a tactical withdrawal to allow reinforcements to arrive or something. Tell the marines something too. They need to know what is going on. Withdraw the transports as well. We don't need to lose them."
"He will do this Captain." Harun said. "Surrrrface scans of the planet show a mountain range rrrich in iron. It could mask us. We will land in there.
There was a certain feel to defeat, and Luca hated it. She had beneath her feet one of the galaxy's most advanced warships, and when she had to put it to use, she could not. It would be destroyed long before the Alliance ships fell. That wasn't the worst of it. Other allies abandoned the ships as soon as conflict with the Alliance came. Now five capital ships of Omniwatch were forced to run from a fight and hide. Hundreds of marines, among the finest in known space, were killed and the remnants broken on the ground.
And in the back of her mind, after days of successes across Chara, it became blatantly clear: Operation Enterprise was now an abysmal failure. The Alliance saw to that. Luca's operation had fallen apart with this failure at Chara III. Admiral Aylmer would not be pleased, if he ever saw fit to do more than sit aboard the _Diplomat_and talk to Dumisani, Munroe, and the Brakian representatives. Two Ambassador Class Dreadnoughts along with the rest of the corporate ships could have ended this fighting.
As the warships began the quick move to Chara III, and completely out of Alliance sensor range by the time they began orbital entry, Luca began to really question if working for Omniwatch was worth it. She earned her dreadnought, but the corporation seemed very intent on making her regret it. From promotions being passed by in favor of Tesgnov as part of a new wave of "integration", to the fact that the admiral assigned to lead Omniwatch forces was rather hostile toward her.
The former didn't bother her too much, Luca loved the Tesgnov and wanted them to succeed, but it was annoying. The real issue is the admiral. Aylmer and Luca were never on good terms. Aylmer was a gentlemanly sort of admiral, which Luca respected, but he saw her as a gung ho young officer that rushed into problems. He saw Enterprise as a foolish gambit, and in some ways, it was. He didn't even give a commendation for the efforts Luca made to minimize civilian casualties - there was only a remark on how this would be a PR mess for the corporation.
Despite never having been built for it due to the size of the ship, the Ambassador_was capable of emergency landings on low gravity worlds. Those would be about three quarter Earth mass or less. Chara III was just barely able to hold the _Ambassador without breaking it under gravity. Reentry was still difficult, and Luca watched it all from her command deck. She shut it off as seeing the ship land like this was unusual to say the least.
With a shudder, the Ambassador landed safely within a small valley, barely able to actually hold the ship. Luca was leaning over one of her consoles as Harun entered the Command Deck. He was far better dressed than Luca. During the course of the landing, Luca had gotten rid of her uniform tunic and her dress shirt, leaving her in the black undershirt, uniform pants, and jackboots. The stress of this failure was already getting to her.
"Captain, arrrre you alrrrright?" Harun asked as he approached Luca. Luca looked up at him as he did so, and noted that his dark brown, almost black, fur was particularly well groomed. Luca chuckled to herself that he had more time for that than running the ship.
"I am fine, Harun." Luca said mostly dismissively of the question. "Do the marines have their new orders to regroup with the ships?"
"Yes Captain." Harun said as he leaned over the other side of the consoles. He tapped Luca on the cheek with a claw out, not hurting her, but definitely making her head snap up from the consoles below. "Captain, speak to him."
"Harun, we have work to do. Let's get the Marines home then we'll talk." Luca said as she looked Harun in the eyes.
There was a slow nod from Harun. "Verrry well Captain. He is available for anything you need. We need to worrrk together after all."
"I know Commander." Luca said as she nodded back. "Get those marines home."
Chara III
Surface
Orders came from Commander Harun as the Ambassador had begun reentry to Chara III. They were given the waypoint from the city to the landing areas of the warships. That was, however, several thousand kilometers away from the remains of the city. It was a manageable distance given enough time. The speed the marines could move in the suits was quite fast, but there was still a supply issue. Rations would only last a week at best, and that's even rationing those out. It was not a pleasant situation.
Even as far as that went, the marines were still scattered even with the new objective given and with a still active network showing location of all surviving marines in the city. The suits were hardened against most radiation. Even passing through the ground zero of the nuclear detonations, only small amounts would leak through the suits. Hours in the area would give a lethal dose, but only a short period would be treatable with proper medical facilities.
Communications in the area were completely down, due in part to the atmospheric interference and lack of orbital communications relays now that the troop transports left. There was local communication, but the marines couldn't speak to each other, even across the city. The communications darkness made this ever more treacherous, especially as night approached from the east.
Norina's marines had fallen apart as they progressed toward their objective. Half were already dead or dying from the radiation poisoning. That left Norina, a corporal, and a private. Both were human, and both were relatively new to the Omniwatch Marine Corps. For the private, at least, this was his first combat deployment. Norina's first was an intervention on Alpha Centauri when the citizens attempted to revolt against the Alliance government. It was one of the corporation's public relations moves to get support for the company among the Alliance.
The city was silent as Norina led the two through the streets. No one was out. Lights were completely out due to the power plant suffering damages as a result of the nuclear detonations. The almost total silence was eerie. There were sirens in the far distance, but nothing more. No gunfire, no explosions, no talking or movement, nothing. The three walked down the road, and even the steps caused only small thuds. They'd be jumping and running, but the power core needed to recharge the suit's capacitors for all three of them.
Their silent walk was interrupted by a roar of engines above. Norina only got a glimpse of an aircraft speeding by, and then setting down at least a mile away. She didn't want to waste the time to find out just what that was. With a quick move into the alleys between buildings, Norina continued toward their objective. Only a few things would have engines like that now, and she didn't want to know what they would do at this point.
Static filled Norina's helmet as the group moved, and a garbled transmission made it through, though entirely unintelligible. It slowly cleaned itself up, Norina assumed because they were getting closer to the Ambassador. Her assumption was proven very wrong. "Attention Omniwatch forces, this is Admiral Kuznetsov. Alliance Marines are deploying on Chara III. Surrender to the marines and you will be taken prisoner, but you will live. Fight and you will die. That I promise. Make your choice quickly."
Norina came to a complete stop and looked back at the other two. They didn't seem to be questioning this mission, but Norina couldn't be sure through the helmets of the battlesuits. She said to them, "We're going to keep moving to the Ambassador. I believe most of us will keep going and fight as we go. Let's move."
Chara II
Landgate
As news came in about the nuclear detonation on Chara III, Klara was quick to find out what happened. The fact Luca didn't order it eased her mind a bit. The Alliance forces landing on Chara II now and arresting corporate forces, however, only made her job more dangerous. This was a plan that Omniwatch had in place in the event that the situation in Chara escalated to this point. It was meant as a decisive, destructive, and crippling move that would show Omniwatch resolve and make the Brakians submit. The Alliance assisting them complicated this, but she was moving on nonetheless.
Klara's team set up on the various buildings around the Brakian Capitol under the guise of business opportunities. Klara herself was positioned on the ground, very close to the Capitol. Increased security presence made her be more cautious and act like she belonged there. The Brakian soldiers would think nothing of it, but Alliance marines seeing a Tesgnov on the ground in the Brakian capital would treat her with suspicion.
Above, her team was activating their scanners of the capitol, getting rough estimates of where all the hallways were, the structure, the supports, and other necessary information in order to handle the capitol building in the coming days. Small deliveries were being brought into the hotel and to Klara's room, along with the rooms for the other SPD agents. All those deliveries would add up to a single device that would both start, and end, the operation Klara was working on.
Only a matter of time. And patience. Klara had plenty of the latter, but as the Alliance closed in and the corporations were on the run, she wasn't sure she had enough time. With communications silence, she had to keep going unless she gets a very specific special message.