//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: The Republic's Finest // Story: The New Lunar Republic: Leviathan // by RedWinter //------------------------------// The Republic’s Finest Winter Reverie made a quiet promise to himself to personally find the scientist who had discovered the arcano-tech that allowed ships in jump space to communicate with one another, and strangle them. “Yes, Captain Pertinent, I am well aware of the gold patterns on my hull. As I’ve stated previously, the Vengeful Omen has had to make due with jury-rigged refits barring docking with a proper naval repair station. I appreciate the concern for proper hull coloration protocol.” “Well, in addendum section five of the-“ started the aristocratic naval officer. “I am quite conscious of the proper naval guidelines citation, Captain; you’ve quoted it to me several times. I assure you I’m very capable of locating the proper paragraph and addendum myself.” Before the stallion could respond with some other bureaucratic bylaw or consideration, Winter hastily cut the connection. “Thank you, that will be all for now.” The Commander let out a sigh of relief and quietly asked Luna for the patience to deal with such subordinates. While limited conferencing was possible between ships in relative jump position to one another, the capability of interfacing with the outside communications network had yet to be found. Liquid crystal routing did allow faster-than-light communication through the extensive communications networks found in orbiting satellites and planets, so oftentimes fleets would jump to the assistance of nearby systems only to find the battles already over or drastically changed by unexpected developments while reinforcements were in transit. For that reason it was standard procedure to perform jump exit at full combat readiness. Winter Reverie and his combat team were already shrouded in their power armor. More than a few times the Vengeful Omen had taken lax merchant vessels by total surprise, lying in wait within striking distance of the jump point. Minefields were another concern, so hopefully the Rakus defense force had not decided to lay one down prior to the battlegroup’s departure. One of the watch-standers counted down their time until jump exit. There was a slight lurch that could be felt in the pit of one’s stomach at the transition between jump space and real space when a ship became once more governed by traditional physical law. Commander Reverie waited anxiously as the first sensor scans were announced. “Communicating with local traffic control buoy. Control buoy has been destroyed.” “Enemy forces engaging system defenders.” Winter felt his jaw tighten in anxious anticipation. “Distance and composition?” He asked. “Hostile flotilla is currently chasing friendly forces around the fifth planet. Signs of recent battle indicate heavy losses for both sides, Commander. Composition still being determined.” A few basic geometric shapes popped up on his display, showing where the two fleets were engaged around the uninhabited fifth planet of the system. A few smaller flags tagged what the system resolved to be ship wrecks still floating through space and tinnier pings of escape pods among the debris. “Enemy fleet pinged, eight battleships, seven battlecruisers, five cruisers, twenty destroyers.” As the small battlegroup’s sensors and internal processers calculated and analysed the data the image became clearer and clearer, slowing resolving the smaller details. In a few minutes, a vast wealth of information had been collected and was available for Winter’s purview. The display slowly added minutiae such as ships class, projected torpedo paths, and individual fighters among immense spatial field. “Republic forces are four heavy cruisers, five HuKs, and… one dreadnought! Reading one Republic dreadnought in the flotilla!” Winter Reverie’s eyes snapped to his display in shock. “Get me confirmation on that now! Transmit emergency handshake protocols with that ship.” He commanded, fighting to keep the frenzy out of his voice. “Yessir! Confirmed, it’s the Deimos.” Winter Reverie had served in the Lunar Navy for a long time, had battled alongside many of its finest commanders, but had never personally fought alongside the Deimos before. The grand ship was in a bad way however, having had most of its escorts stripped away by the merciless assault of the Imperial flotilla. However mighty, however powerful, a single large ship on its own could be brought down without smaller ships for protection. Like a pack of wolves bringing down larger prey. The New Lunar Republic dreadnought was an engine of destruction, a living avatar of war crafted of metal plates and weapons that could raze cities. Over six kilometers long, it dwarfed everything other than another ship of the same class. The supercapitals were of such megalithic proportions that they were easily visible planet side when in close orbit. In large scale fleet engagements they were the unstoppable force behind any charge and could soak up enough punishment to shield an entire flotilla with their bulk. The Imperial’s had taken severe losses of their own, battering away at the massively outnumbered Lunar forces in a grueling slugging match. Based on the harrying, almost taunting manner the Deimos and her escorts were maneuvering it was clear they were trying to bait the golden ships away from the inhabited second planet. Such a prize was irresistible to the Imperial commander and they foolishly followed every bank and turn. It seemed to only be delaying the inevitable however. Even as Commander Reverie watched, two more of the heavy cruisers fell away, unable to keep up due to engine damage and propulsion loss. The ships in his battlegroup were already accelerating at maximum to try and avert the fates of their comrades. Winter Reverie punched the command to accept the signal from the Deimos with great relief and trepidation. A rather haggard looking purple pegasus with a bright red mane appeared in a window. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, sailor. This is captain Dream Breeze, and we could sure use a helping hoof here.” Reverie responded with a quick, smart salute. While she technically held the same rank, an unspoken level of respect was given to captains of dreadnoughts. “You appear to have a bit of an Imperial problem ma’am.” She smiled weakly. “Aye, been on our tails for some time now.” Her face fell and tone took a more serious turn. “They were on us with barely a whisper of warning. The Deimos was here to escort the relief force for this system. It would have been a slaughter if we hadn’t been here. What you’re looking at now is a fraction of the attacking fleet.” Captain Dream Breeze had done an incredible job of whittling away the vastly numerically superior Imperial forces. Not without grievous loses of her own though. A lesser commander would have cut and run, trying to save as much of the fleet at the expense of the orbital instillations and the inhabited planet to punitive bombardment by the enemy. “We’re happy to help, Captain.” Winter Reverie said with a nod. “I must warn you though, we’ve got some company on our own tails. And there’s something else. The purpose of this battlegroup’s mission is the Foehammer Protocol.” Dream Breeze’s eyes widened. “I had heard the call for a Foehammer had gone out. That’s what you’re carrying? Do you think the Imperials could have gotten word of your path and sent this force to intercept you?” “It’s entirely possible. There’s a Wonderbolt in pursuit of us. Perhaps that’s why he’s held off on engaging us, rather waiting for us to fall into the trap and pick through the pieces afterwards.” “Then it’s of even greater importance that you do not stop and help us. You must carry this onward. The princess must be told.” Winter Reverie paused, recalling hearing once that Dream Breeze’s mother was a personal aide to the princess. He remembered because there had been rumors of favoritism. The Commander was not envious of Dream’s position, having to defend herself externally from the Imperials, and internally at those seeking to undermine her reputation. He could see the logic in her argument, but his honor demanded he stay and help. “I can see your point, but what’s to stop the Wonderbolt from ordering that force in direct pursuit of us once he enters the system? Or that they don’t already have orders to destroy this battlegroup at all costs? I think it would be a wiser decision to merge our forces and crush the Imperial flotilla currently in this system. The Wonderbolt only has his battleship and escorts, hardly a threat if we destroy what’s here before he arrives.” The Vengeful Omen and her sister ships were of course already accelerating at maximum on a course for the beleaguered republic naval forces, but could just as easily turn away from their present course towards the next jump point. It would take them within easy intercept range of the Imperial forces however. Dream Breeze seemed momentarily torn in her duty. She understood the importance of the Foehammer and what it implied for the entire Republic, and it warred with her dedication to the defense of the system and its pony inhabitants. She could find no fault in Winter Reverie’s logic and conceded with a nod. “Very well Commander, I’m altering my course for fastest possible unification of our forces. Make ready.” Bloodlust at the prospect of the coming battle shined in Winter Reverie’s eyes. “I’m always ready, Captain Breeze. For the Republic.” Not quite sure what to make of the snow-white unicorn, the pegasus saluted with a wing. “For the Republic.” She said, finishing the formal reply, and broke the link. Shifting slightly in his command throne, Winter turned to Crystal Flourish, waiting diligently but politely pretending to be out of range of the conversation. “Assessment, how are we looking if we join up with the Deimos?” The pegasus ruffled her feathers in thought before replying. ‘It would go a little ways towards evening the odds, but those ships are pretty torn up already. I’m not sure how much offensive capability the Deimos still has. It’s a dreadnought, but it still has limits. Are you sure it wouldn’t be a better idea to just cut and run?’ “I know the Foehammer is bigger than all the ships in that fleet, even all the ponies on that world, but I think it’s our best bet of getting it out of this system in one piece. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense that the Wonderbolt would have sent word ahead for that fleet to cut us off. It may have already been nearby, but it getting here before us like that is too much to be a coincidence. Too convenient.” ‘Well, then as long as their engines hold out, and we hold present course, we should meet up with them in about fourteen hours. We’ll see what happens then.’ “Very well, that’ll have to do.” The bane of all commanders who sailed the abyss lay ahead of the massively armored unicorn. Torturously awaiting the arrival of battle was an unfortunate reality of void warfare. Despite countless years of research and power core advancement, there was no way to break the light barrier while subject to the gravity well of a star. And so the incomprehensible gulfs between solar bodies had to be bridged with traditional thrust and acceleration. Fleets could see each other, race towards one another, and still be forced to wait for days before actually engaging. It took years of mental conditioning and an indomitable will to ease down from the adrenaline rush of combat and get the rest the mind needed with a deadly foe in the scopes. Winter Reverie managed by snoozing in his command throne. It was much easier than many ponies took it to be. Being in full body joint cushioning powered armor helped. He practically lived in the suit, and had long ago adapted to spending weeks if need be in it. And so he closed his eyes, and let his waking mind become unanchored. *** Fourteen hours, and several million kilometers later, Winter Reverie’s battlegroup was about to link up with the besieged Republic fleet. The pursuing Solar Empire forces had poured on as much speed as they could without breaking up their formation, but could not prevent their enemy’s consolidation. The enemy flotilla had formed up into a box and had made a few probing motions to try and exploit the Republic ships as they came together. Dream Breeze and Winter Reverie had put together a basic plan to try applying the concentrated force of their guns against the smallest point possible of the Imperial formation. The Deimos would feign engine damage in her turn, which was only half true, while the smaller ships would form in front as a screen. Then, when the time was right, the escorts would break and reform beside the dreadnought to focus their firepower. That was the plan anyway. “The Deimos is beginning her turn. Simulating engine difficulty.” The massive ship was already ponderous in its turn, but as the behemoth vessel cut the output of her port thrusters, the arc widened, prolonging the predictability of the path of her broadsides. The Vengeful Omen and the remaining handful of ships acted as if they were surprised by the loss of maneuverability and messily reformed in a protective screen. The Imperial flotilla took the bait, lunging forward with the scent of blood in the water. The box formation was a simple one. Battleships anchored each corner and formed a solid core along with the battlecruisers while the smaller ships formed up around them. It was designed to minimize the chances of the Republic fleets evading fire, guiding them to be within range of at least three quarters of their capital ships no matter which way they turned. It would have decimated the republic forces had the two fleets met in such a manner. But, at the last moment, the Deimos kicked its thrusters into overdrive, turning the superstructure of the massive prow in a desperate arc. “Incoming torpedoes.” Cried the watch-stander. The wave of munitions passed through the position the Republic ships were supposed to have occupied and passed harmlessly to the starward side. The Vengeful Omen and all her fellow ships responded with a volley of their own torpedoes. They held nothing back, because it was uncertain if they would get another such chance. Using their one opportunity for surprise, the Republic ships rocketed past the upper left corner of the Imperial formation. Every passing warship poured their fire on the ships anchoring that corner of the box. The Vengeful Omen poured out its prodigious fire, loosing a full broadside into every target of opportunity, smashing smaller destroyers and lashing energy beams against the shields of the larger ships. The Heavy Cruisers and Hunter-Killers added the fury of their weapons as well. Vengeance for their fallen comrades. The Indomitable focused fire on the enemy battleships in that corner, hurling its own weight into the fight. It was the Deimos though, that truly made its presence known. It unleashed enough energy in its attack to decimate a continent. Cannons the size of frigates shattered smaller ships and punched through the weakened shields of the capital ships. Hell lance turrets seared the void with their superheated spears of magical energy. The ship was a veritable wave of rolling death, shattering space the silent roar of its anger, in retribution for her wounds. As the Republic formation swept by, one of the battleships suffered a complete core overload, leaving nothing but an expanding ball of debris while another floated, all systems dead. The battlecruiser was a smashed wreck, and nothing but wreckage remained of the smaller cruisers or destroyers. Local superiority had allowed the Republic ships to even the odds somewhat. They did not emerge unscathed however. One of the system defense HuK, already badly damaged, finally fell to the enemy fire. Another of the system’s Heavy Cruisers was barely able to keep up, and had only a few functioning weapons left. The Deimos had done as best it could to shield her fellows with her shields, but they had still incurred damage. The ships in the Vengeful Omen’s battlegroup were fresher, and had only taken hits they could easily absorb with their renewed shields. “Minor damage, two Void circuits blown.” Winter Reverie nodded. “Make ready for another pass. Turn us about,” His horn glowing, the Commander tapped a few keys with his magic to pass on orders to bring the entire formation around. For the Deimos it was more of a suggestion, but the mighty ship followed through with the turn. It was a difficult thing to manage, so many ships moving on so many different arcing paths with variable engine outputs. The internal navigational processors were able to handle the minute details, but the major paths still had to be drawn out in a three dimensional imaging display. That was what made the purple pegasus by Winter Reverie’s side so deadly. Crystal Flourish was a master of fleet maneuvers and the artful use of the path mapping tools. Once, during one of their longer jumps, Winter had compiled data taken from the Omen’s flight and combat recorders and compared them to a stored database of fleet statistics and had conclusively decided that Crystal was born to fly starships. The Deimos had the tonnage of many battleships, and was only slightly less agile. It swam the stars with the heavy elegance of a deep ocean whale. The formation swung wide while the Imperial formation tried to compensate for the ragged chunk the Republic forces had torn out of it. Winter knew they needed to use the time to weigh the odds further in their favor before things got close, brutal, and dissolved into the inevitable slug match larger fleet engagements became. There were only so many passes two large formations could make before one tackled the other, mashing into the enemy ships, necessitating all involved to slow their movement to avoid collision. That’s when the single fighters came out, and the void became a local area of death. Boarding actions occurred in droves, the crews and their ships drawing blood and melting steel. A battlefield where up and down didn’t matter; only where the enemy was, and how many guns he had. At the last moment, the republic ships accelerated at maximum, once more throwing off the aim of the guided munitions. Once more they aimed for a corner of the box in a loose wedge with the Deimos at the center. The principle of maximizing local superiority once again served the beleaguered forces of the Lunar Republic. The wrath of their guns once again leaped with deadly intent across the void, the space between the many ships filled with crisscrossing magical beams, hard slugs, and torpedoes. Shields lit up and failed as accelerated metal and energy splashed against them. The Imperials were not silent, and repaid the casualties inflicted upon them thus far. Two more Hunter-Killers were knocked out of the fight, and the Indomitable took a serious pounding, but endured it with the stubbornness of its namesake. The dreadnought at the formation heart took yet more damage, more layers of its Voids being peeled back and failing in spots. Another Imperial battleship, battlecruiser, and a handful of destroyers were taken out of the battle, floating dead in space. A few other ships were nicked by opportunistic fire, but it was mostly superficial. The Vengeful Omen was struck by its fair share of fire, a lucky torpedo strike impacting a spot failure in her shielding. The Commander felt the blow shuddering through his ship’s superstructure and frowned in quiet anger. There wasn’t time or room for another such pass, as they had already bled off too much speed from their rapid acceleration and deceleration to properly engage. The Imperial commander was no fool, and launched his ships forward, the box with its now ragged corners coming to full contact with the Republic wedge. Combat in space was long periods of waiting interspaced with moments of nerve-shattering intensity. The moment was at hand, and the Republic’s finest showed their mettle. The two formations collided and the space around them all became filled with death and doom. The Republic ships kept their formation tight so as better to support each other from the marauding Imperials. Broadsides opened up on both sides of every royal purple hulled ship. There was no shortage of targets. “This is Corsair One through five requesting permission to launch.” The familiar voice of the Vengeful Omen’s fighter lead spoke into Winter’s ear. “Permission granted Corsair One, you have permission. Priority is protecting the Deimos, engage targets of opportunity.” Five points of light raced from the Omen, each a tiny spark of deadly might, each a guided missile with guns and a mind. Clusters of other lights launched from both the Republic and Imperial ships, forming a morass of friend and enemy signatures on every scanner in the system. “Enemy torpedoes incoming five o clock low, ten o clock high, eight o clock left, interceptors launched, estimated impacts across shielding five-“ “Void circuits eight through twelve are blown-“ “Hostile battleship directing fire towards-“ Crystal Flourish worked rapidly, tagging enemy vessels for priority fire based on strength, threat, position, and firing envelopes. As quickly as she tagged, her Commander approved them and sent the firing solutions to the other ships as well. The Vengeful Omen’s guns worked in a tireless stream, churning through mountains of ammunition and charging crystals. Her gun crews worked like oiled cogs, feeding her the munitions she craved, clearing spent shells, and guiding fresh torpedoes into her tubes. “Enemy destroyer neutralized, all systems dead in the water-“ “Friendly HuK taking heavy fire!” “Solitaire reports stern explosions, eighty percent loss of propulsion-“ Anti-torpedo chaff, interceptor missiles, and point defense turrets sliced thickly enough to make the space strobe with lights and explosions. Deadlier still than all this, were the assault pods streaking across the void. The Republic conserved its boarding ships, waiting to receive the assault from their numerically superior foes. “Imperal boarding forces heading towards the Deimos! Contact in sixty seconds. Second team inco- scratch that third… wait… reading five waves of assault boats heading towards her!” It made sense, the dreadnought was at that moment the only thing keeping the Republic ships from being annihilated by the firepower pouring out of the Imperial ships. If they could take such a vessel out of the equation then the battle was over. The massive ship was a rock in the storm of battle, dealing out retribution threefold for any strike against it. Gun batteries the size of building complexes hurled destruction in all directions. Her shields flared and rippled. She already bore scars in her plating that a frigate could sail through, and still she soldiered on. “Get me a line through to the Deimos now!” Winter Reverie shouted through the din of inflicted and incurred damage reports. Once again Dream Breeze appeared before him, looking even more stressed as she waged the battle around them. “I’m a little busy here, Commander.” She said rather crossly. “Well you’re about to have some unwelcome company. You have half a minute before Imperial boarding parties hit your deck galloping. Is your power armor team prepared?” Her attention turned fully to Winter for a sad second. “We don’t have a power armor team. They were stripped for frontline duty. We were here on route patrol, and then we were going to go back for a new team.” Winter Reverie processed this information in an instant and became aware of his own armor encasing his body. “Do you have a teleport chamber?” The pegasus mare raised her brow in question. “What? Of course not. Do you know how expensive those are?” The Commander felt a facial muscle give an involuntary twitch in anger. With the exorbitant price of constructing a dreadnought, the manufacturers had to find ways to cut corners any way they could. And why add something only a third of the race could use? “Very well, using the Omen’s battle rider clamps will take too long, so I’m going to launch a torpedo at you. Lower the transmitted portion of your shield long enough for it to get through.” He punched a series of commands and transmitted the plan to Dream Breeze. “That’s ridiculous, there’s no way that’ll be faster than…” She began, but it was at that moment the first wave of Imperial boarding pods slammed into her ship. “Do what you must, Commander.” And she cut the transmission to deal with the defense of her bridge. The armored unicorn nodded to his second and punched the approve command the moment Crystal sent the plan to his display. He waited with baited breath as his own pair of Pylon torpedoes raced against the other waves of boarding parties for a point near the prow of the Deimos. When the warheads had successfully latched onto their target, Winter magically shifted himself to the teleport chamber aboard the Omen. His team was already waiting for him, kitted out and ready to go. “Alright, when we get aboard, we’re splitting into three teams of two. Acrylic, I want you and Viola to get to the bridge as fast as you can and defend it. Not one Imperial is to so much as stick his nose past that threshold do you understand me?” The two nodded. “Nightingale, you’re with Rosethorn, cover each other’s backs. You’re our rapid response pair. If something goes wrong or someone needs backup, I want you two there.” The Commander turned to the smallest of his team, and the youngest. “Circuit, you’re with me. I need you patched into the Deimos’ systems running every search subroutine you’ve got.” The diminutive tech specialist nodded his understanding. Without any further delay, Winter Reverie closed his eyes and fell into his magic. His horn began to glow, enveloping him and his team in its phosphorescence. With a crack, they shifted through space and appeared with a flash in a hall near the outside of the dreadnought they had teleported into. Well-drilled, and disciplined, they broke into pairs and headed to do their duty. The Commander and Circuit Board waited a moment while the tech’s special search programs routed through the dreadnought’s systems, picking through different data inputs to determine enemy locations throughout the ship. Red dots began to propagate Winter’s internal map of the Deimos. He checked Acrylic and his sister’s progress towards the bridge, made sure that the two pegasi were on their way to an internal distress call, and nodded to the younger unicorn next to him. They went straight to the closest breach. Three red dots resolved themselves to be Imperial shock troopers in gold combat armor. 20mm high yield cannon shells exploded in three quick bursts, shredding the hapless ponies where they stood. Winter’s gun beat a rhythm that was as familiar to him as his own heart. It was a throaty boom, and a solid reassurance. Right behind the trio, another pair emerged from the hole in the hull their breaching charge had carved. Bright green energy beams sliced them apart. Circuit Board’s weapon of choice was almost a Hell Lance in miniature, utilizing the same mechanics of magically supercharged energy particles. The young unicorn wielded the complex weapon with ease, the long prongs that contained the energy discharge floated in his telekinesis and thick cables connected the focusing chamber to his armor’s internal reactor. Together, the unicorns advanced, covering each other as more and more troopers came out of the assault boat. A few even managed to return fire, but the bullets reflected harmlessly from the plating of the juggernauts bearing down on them. In only a few moments, Winter Reverie stood before the mouth of the pod and hosed the interior with explosive death. The rest of the Imperials died clustered near the entrance. Their taste for Republic blood would go unfulfilled. The Commander had no remorse for his killing. He was a soldier, and it was his duty to defend this ship. He did not relish it, knowing all too well the tactics of the Solar Empire to instill fanaticism in its soldiers. “Clear!” he called to Circuit. The other unicorn nodded his helmeted head and checked the progress of his other programs. “Sir, I’m reading major hostile elements heading for the bridge from all directions. The Deimos is just too big. It takes three full power armor squads to cover a ship this big, there’s no way we can be everywhere at once.” The Commander considered Circuit’s assessment and could find no flaw in his argument. “Yes, we’ll have to go help Acrylic and Viola defend the bridge, but we need to keep them from reaching the reactors as well.” He switched comm channels. “Rosethorn this is Aegis, head to the reactors. Can’t help a ship that’s gone bang.” “Rosethorn acknowledges.” That taken care of, Winter nodded to his subordinate and they set off at a gallop towards the bridge of the Deimos. The smaller pony was able to keep up without difficulty, the artificial muscle bundles threaded through his armor providing the usual boost to strength and speed. It never ceased to amaze Winter how various the users of power armor ended up being. Physical power alone or even natural athleticism was enough to manage the advanced suits. He had seen many meatheads think that all it took was a strong back and stubborn legs to manage. In fact, the opposite was true, one had to relax their body and have immense fine motor control and self-awareness. A pony had to be in peak physical and mental condition to manage all the different aspects of its use. Training in boarding actions, zero gravity, even combat in the vacuum was part of the regimen. They were thrust into the most mentally demanding situations and roles on the battlefield. A power armor user had to be intelligent enough to use the suit to its full capabilities, but also disciplined enough to not think about all the horrible things that could occur to them in all possibilities of catastrophic failure of one or more systems. The void was the most hostile environment in the universe and offered some of the most horrific manners of death as well. The unicorns galloped to the main corridor linking to the entrance of the bridge, the emergency bulkhead already in place. Imperial troopers were already assaulting the crew that were entrenched behind hastily pulled together metal debris. Acrylic and Viola stood before the ponies in the purple uniforms of the Deimos, shielding them with their armored bulk. Viola hefted her weapon of choice; a belt fed rotary machine gun. The hum of her gun sent over a thousand rounds a minute in a bright stream of tungsten. Imperial troopers were literally cut in half under the metal rain. The musician worked her instrument with finesse and poise in spite of its weight, guiding the purring gun in steady back and forth streams. Winter and Circuit came at the flanks of a squad of gold clad ponies and felled them with quick controlled shots before moving into the main chamber proper. The Deimos was a massive ship, and had been designed with something resembling thought of enemy boarding parties. The huge bulkhead separated the bridge from a large intersection of hallways that opened into a rather large area that could be very easily turned into a killing ground by defending crew. The two unicorns formed up next to the earth pony siblings and added the weight of their guns to the fusillade holding the tide of gold at bay. Even in the face of certain death, the Imperials came heedlessly on. Some ponies, even after they were filled with holes still came on, their wide eyes and distended, foaming jaws showing clear signs of combat drugs, custom tailored to whip a pony into a frenzy. One stallion charged straight at Winter, his gun chattering. Bullets pinged off the power armor like drops of rain, and the Commander’s gun responded, striking the stampeding of his hooves. Even bleeding out his life, the crazed pony tried to raise his gun again. Without shifting his autocannon off the hallway full of yet more emerging targets, Winter Reverie floated out his sidearm and but one anti-matter charged shell into the stallion’s head. From the purr of Viola’s machine gun, the heavy boom and ka-chunk of her brother’s cannon, the fizzle cracks of Circuit’s energy weapon, and Reverie’s steady autocannon, the four of them put up a wall that no Imperial could breach. Their aim was true, drilled to perfection in so many other battles just like this one. They covered each other, bringing down ten times their number in that many volleys. Outside the hull of the dreadnought, the Lunar Republic fleet was doing much the same. After an hour of unceasing carnage, the metal floor was littered with torn bodies and spent shells. The last echoes of gunfire died away, leaving only the moans of the wounded. The four power armor soldiers of the Republic stood defiant, their armor scored and blackened, but unharmed. Behind them, the regular crew of the Deimos stared in awe. The ship had stopped shuddering a few minutes ago. “Rosethorn, status?” Winter Reverie questioned. “All good here, Commander. A few squads came this way, but most of ‘em headed to you. Are we clear?” Circuit Board gave him a nod. “Aye, we’re all clear.” Then he connected to the Vengeful Omen. “Crystal, how we doing?” The pegasus responded with text that scrolled across his helmet’s internal display. ‘I’m glad we didn’t get that paint job. Would have been ruined already.’ Winter chuckled. ‘All Imperial ships are disabled or destroyed, our HuKs are doing mop up now. Spirited, Solitaire, and the Indomitable report serious damage. They’re still going, but need a good long dock in a proper shipyard. Only the heavy cruiser and the Deimos are left of the local forces, and two of our HuKs were knocked out too. The Omen is pretty good all things considered. There were bigger targets to shoot at in this engagement. Going to need quite a few replacement Void shield crystals and we made a serious dent in our ammo bunkers. We lost Corsair two, four, and five. They successfully ejected, but we’re still three fighters short.’ “No helping it. Like you said, things could have been a lot worse all things considered. Has the Wonderbolt shown up yet?” ‘No, still no sign. He’s likely waiting at the jump point on word of how this fleet did.’ “That’s what I would have done. It makes sense. Then he doesn’t have to get his hooves dirty. I have a feeling that we’re going to be continuing on our own. We can’t leave this system in such a state. Alert the planetary government to get as many tugs, repair, and salvage vessels up here.” ‘On it. You sure it’s wise to go on alone?’ “The Deimos isn’t going anywhere for a long time. You don’t want to see the inside.” ‘You don’t want to see the outside.’ “Alright, I’m going to talk with Dream Breeze about our next move.” Winter Reverie sighed deeply in relief. The Republic forces had driven nearly to the edge of destruction, but he supposed they could call it victory. He had a quiet conversation with a rather shell-shocked chief petty officer and the emergency blast bulkhead was raised. Winter Reverie walked firmly across the threshold, leaving his team to do what they could to help the wounded and take care of the casualties. The bridge of the Deimos was in a rather frantic state, with ponies running to and fro, trying desperately to take stock of all the damages the mighty ship had incurred. Dream Breeze alternated between shouting orders and flicking things across her console. The Commander waited patiently for a lull and tapped the haggard pegasus on the shoulder. “What?!” She whipped around to stare into a blank visor. “Oh, it’s you, Commander. You’re tracking blood on my bridge.” A slightly smeared set of ruddy hoof prints tracked all the way back to the door. “I’ll be expecting the bill later. How’s the Deimos?” Dream Breeze sagged back into her command throne, looking like she had lived in the same uniform for a week. “The old girl’s taken a helluva pounding, but she should pull through with a little TLC. We’re gonna be camped out here until a major relief force comes.” “The Omen is going to continue on.” “I figured as much. No sense sticking around here. You should be safe the rest of the way. The Foehammer takes priority. Even over all this. Make sure it gets there.” “It was a pleasure, Captain Breeze.” “Hey, Reverie,” The unicorn turned back for a moment as he made to leave. “Next time, the party’s on your boat.” (Whew! Long time no see guys and gals! Tell me what you think! The next chapter should be up... possibly today!!!)