Post by Cabel on Jan 31, 2015 15:21:16 GMT -6
This profile is the Copyright and Property of Cabel, Guardian on Yappas Halo RPG. Characters, names profile, story, concept, and NPC's are © 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 to Cabel.
Read more: yappashalorpg.proboards.com/thread/9173/unscs-passchendaele-captain-galina#ixzz3QRA7ABo6
The following events pertain to an assignment earlier in the career of Captain Matvey Daniilovich Galina prior to being granted the command of the UNSCS Passchendaele. These events pertain to an engagement in a backwater Outer Colony System between the Diligence Class FAST Destroyer UNSCS Alsatian DDG-963 and a Covenant Patrol:
[Fall 2529: Norva System: Norva III: Norva III‘s Parking Orbit: 0120 Hours] (34 Decks of the Alsatian)(NOTE: The engagement lasted from 0120 Hours to 0200 Hours)
The bridge lay silent broken only by the occasional beeping and steady tapping of controls from the various consoles, as the bridge’s skeleton crew endured the hours of Gamma Watch. The Alsatian’s commanding officer, Captain Matvey Daniilovich Galina had organized the orders of the Watch within the first two months after his transfer aboard the Diligence Class FAST Destroyer much to the dismay of some of the Alsatian’s crew resulting in the transfer of twenty personnel to other ships of the Fleet. The transfers hadn’t surprised Matvey as he’d always believed even back on the Orca discipline weeded out the lazy officers among the crew, as it had worked both on the Narwhal, the Alsatian and the Norva System Garrison Fleet 4th Squadron. Whether some of his superiors and those in his charge approved of the measures, the discipline and combat drills had raised the morale among the crew. It hadn’t escaped him there were some in the higher echelons that hadn’t approved of his harsh methods, but on the other hand there hadn’t been any actions from FLEETCOM. Someone within FLEETCOM seemed to have approved of his harsh measures approving his posting to the Norva Garrison Fleet.
“I can‘t wait until Gamma Watch is over. There‘s a warm bunk waiting for me…” the Ensign at the Helm station said, yawning before rubbing his tired eyes.
“You mean you have a date with the Admiral‘s Wife…” another Ensign at the Navigation station began.
“No, her bed‘s too cold. I keep getting freezer burn after having a date with her…” the Ensign from the Helm began.
“Quiet!” Lieutenant Alice Qelar called out, from the Weapon’s station. “Long range scanners have detected Cherenkov Radiation on the far side of the planet…and the dimensions are the same as a Covenant SDV corvette. It slipped in on the far side of Norva III‘s moon Zephyr,”
“The Covenant…a corvette here?!” the ensign at the Helm station replied, obviously shaken by the revelation.
“Yes. A Covenant corvette,…stay at your station and do what you’ve been trained for, Ensign. I’m alerting the Captain and bringing weapon systems online,” Lieutenant Alice Qelar said before opening the shipwide intercom and the Captain‘s quarters. “Captain Galina, Captain Galina…report to the bridge. Captain Galina, report to the bridge. All Senior Officers, report to your stations. I repeat, all Senior Officers report to your stations,”
“Bridge, this had better not be another rogue asteroid…” Captain Matvey Daniilovich Galina called out, over one of the smaller monitors on the tactical console. He’d been in his quarters enjoying a fairly good book, Tolstoy’s War and Peace a fictionalized account of another war in Earth’s history when the call had come through from the bridge. He’d never been able to sleep well without at least reading a heavy book, and had still worn his duty uniform save for the jacket.
“Negative, Sir. Long range scanners have detected a slipspace rupture on the far side of Norva III’s moon of Zephyr. The readings match the dimensions of a Covenant SDV Class Heavy Corvette…” Alice began.
“Bring the ship up to combat readiness and send word to the squadron of your report. Before I reach the bridge, send an encoded transmission to the Norva Garrison Fleet HQ,” Matvey ordered.
“Aye, Sir,” Alice replied, encoding a transmission with the coordinates of the slipspace rupture, the presence of the Covenant in-system. Before the lieutenant sent the transmission, the location of the Alsatian with the rest of the 4th Squadron were included in a hopes it reached the Norva Garrison Fleet HQ before the Covenant arrived in numbers. The soft-duty lights of the bridge were replaced by the haunting hue of the amber running lights as the ship’s condition was raised to combat readiness, but even the senior officers that filtered onto the bridge hadn't made the order for any of the TAC CON alerts. The authorization had been reserved for the ship’s commanding officer alone, but as the Captain had been in transit to the bridge the bridge crew could only man their stations.
“Situation report,” Commander Donna Leslie asked, from the corridor emptying onto the bridge.
“The long range scanners detected a surge of Cherenkov Radiation on the far side of the moon Zephyr, and the measurements came back as those matching a Covenant SDV Class corvette. They haven’t seen us yet….” Alice began, from her station.
“Have you alerted the Captain?” Commander Donna Leslie asked.
“I’ve already briefed him on the situation, Ma’am. I’ve sent an encoded transmission to the rest of the squadron and to the Norva Garrison Fleet HQ, as per Captain’s orders,” Alice reported.
“Very well,” the Commander replied, knowing Matvey would make his way to the bridge shortly. “Bring weapons online. Charge the main cannon, MLA and HLA batteries online and key the ARCHER Pods,” Donna ordered, as the bridge crew ran through the procedures to bring the onboard weapon systems online.
“Lieutenant Qelar, where is that corvette and what are they doing?” a voice with a heavy eastern Slavic accent rang out from one of the corridors leading to the bridge. Captain Matvey Daniilovich Galina had been an imposing man, of nearly two meters in height and came in at eighty kilograms. He’d served within the UNSC Navy for twenty years including the eight years spent at the naval academy and the OCS Academy at Mare Nubium to culminate to that moment. It had taken him that long to achieve the rank of Captain as master of his own vessel. The Alsatian may have been assigned to a frontier system, but compared to the frigates he’d served on before the destroyer had been a change. It had been a blessing in some ways with the Diligence Class having been faster, but had far fewer onboard weapons than a frigate.
“The corvette hasn’t seen us yet, and is holding position. It’s strange, the corvette hasn’t launched any of its fighters….” Alice began, as the scanners detected something unexpected. “Slipspace rupture forming above us at bearing two-seven-zero by zero-nine-three. I’m detecting a single large object, a second corvette and two dozen smaller contacts. Impact imminent…”
The deck bucked violently jarring consoles as plasma raked along the port-side of the Alsatian, the side facing the planet leaving flames in the wake of the tear-drop shaped Seraph-fighters of the Covenant. Several of the bridge crew that had been too slow to grab onto anything bolted to the deck had been thrown hard on their sides or backs, but Matvey along with Lieutenant Qelar had managed to grab onto a handhold built into the bridge ceiling in time.
“Report,…Lieutenant, what‘s our status?” Matvey asked, turning to face the young lieutenant manning the tactical station. The rest of the bridge crew, those that had been launched to the deck regained their balance before sliding back into their chairs. “Engineering, operational status? I want every station to sound off,”
“The Port Bow fifty mike-mike MLA turret’s been destroyed, along with two ARCHER pods being blown clear from the hull…” Alice began. “The second SDV Class corvette’s moving off at too high a velocity to come about, and the Seraphs are moving off with it,”
“Engineering, Sir. The engine banks and the maneuvering thrusters are in the green,” the Lieutenant at the Engineering station reported.
“Helm, Sir. We’re still on course,” another Lieutenant at the Helm station reported.
“Operations, Sir. I’m not reading any additional damage to the ship, other than the Port Bow fifty mike-mike MLA turret and the two ARCHER Pods,” the Lieutenant Commander at the Operations station reported.
“Communications here, Sir. It’s the Baiji…” Lieutenant Tim Bowers at the Communications Station began.
“The Baiji?” Matvey asked, having hoped the strafing damage had been isolated to the Alsatian. Though he knew by the tone of the Lieutenant’s voice the Baiji, one of the two frigates assigned to the squadron hadn't remained unscathed.
“The Baiji’s reporting damage to four of their forward pelican bays, venting two forward compartments and two fifty mike-mike MLA turrets destroyed by Seraph fire. The Captain of the Baiji is wishing to know what your orders are,” the lieutenant reported, relaying the information he‘d heard from the damaged frigate.
“Inform Commander Avril to maintain the Baiji’s current position and shore up the damage as much as possible. Let the Angel Shark know to come up beside the Baiji to provide cover if one of those Covenant corvettes swings back around,” Matvey replied, knowing the damaged Baiji would slow down the squadron with two Covenant SDV Class Heavy corvettes in-system. “Contact the Vundu to have them fall in behind us at bearing one-eight-zero by one-seven-eight to provide cover with their main cannon. I want them to come in behind us at bearing one-eight-zero by one-seven-eight below our engine baffles to shield them from those corvettes. Tactical, tell me the location of the first corvette. Is it still on the far side of Zephyr?”
“The first corvette hasn’t changed course on its heading towards Norva III. I don’t think they see us as a threat, Sir,” Lieutenant Alice Qelar reported from the tactical station, after checking the long range scanner feeds. Normally, Matvey would have been able to have checked the external cameras to determine if the corvettes were within close range or at a distance except the external cameras had been knocked out during the strafing attack. “The second corvette appears to have stopped for…if I had to make a guess, engine problems or…” she began.
“Or, they’re deciding how best to wipe out the population on Norva III. Either sending ground forces, glassing it from orbit or cracking the planet with a new Covenant superweapon no one’s seen before. We’ve got to do something, Captain. We can’t just sit here while the Covenant glass another planet…” Lieutenant Edward Grainer at the Navigation station began, having let his fears get the better of him.
“Remember restraint, Lieutenant Grainer…” Matvey began.
“Restraint? Restraint?! We’re out here in the middle of nowhere guarding a backwater planet while we’re losing one world after another to the Covenant…” Edward snapped.
“Lieutenant Grainer, get back to your post. One more outburst and I will relieve you…by force if necessary,” the Captain stated, hoping the young lieutenant would willingly return to his duties and saved the emotions for later. He hadn't minded the occasional emotional outburst from any of the crew as many had families in the Outer Colonies, but there had been a time and a place for it.
“Aye,…Sir,” Edward replied, reluctantly before returning to his post.
“You need not fear, Lieutenant Grainer, for that corvette has stopped only long enough to rearm its fighters,” the ship‘s Second Generation “Smart“ A.I. said appearing in the bridge’s holopedestal. The Alsatian’s A.I. otherwise known as Absolan named after the Danish Archbishop of the twelfth century was eccentric, to say the least and had an odd tendency to start preaching in the middle of a battle. For reasons unknown to Matvey and the crew, the A.I.’s preferred avatar had been that of a twelfth century Archbishop, complete with a sweeping blue cloak, the mitre, the other pontifical vestments and a crosier.
“Absolan, how pleasant of you to join us,” Donna replied, standing near an Auxiliary Weapon’s console.
“I do apologize for not being more punctual, but I was busy overseeing the damage sustained from the strafing runs of the Seraph Fighters. The damage was superficial, but the Port Aft MLA turret will have to double its rate of fire to cover that arc …” Absolan began.
“We can work out solutions later, Absolan. For now, we need to deal with the two Covenant corvettes. What are the chances they were able to get out a call for reinforcements?” Matvey asked, not wanting the four ships of the 4th Squadron to face down two Covenant corvettes and whatever larger force would arrive.
“The odds are they haven’t, as the Covenant probably believe the presence of four UNSC vessels isn’t that much of a threat. The Covenant have shown an increasing propensity for arrogance, and their weapons are alarmingly accurate at close ranges…” Absolan began.
“That’s enough. If the Covenant believe we aren’t a threat, let’s not shatter that image. Lieutenant Qelar, you reported the first corvette is on a direct course for Norva III, correct?” Matvey asked, the synapses in his brain formed an idea that might increase the Alsatian and by direct association the ships of the 4th Squadron.
“They haven’t changed course,” Alice, at the Weapons Station replied. “They’re holding steady and should reach Norva III’s high orbit in roughly twenty minutes,”
“Set course for interception. I want to meet that corvette with a full-bombardment of our guns before they have time to bring their batteries to bear. Have the Vundu charge its main cannon and have ARCHER batteries ready to accompany the first salvo. Lieutenant Qelar, what is the charge rate of our main cannon?” Matvey asked, knowing they may only have one chance at taking down that corvette before it deployed troops to the surface.
“MAC Capacitors are at forty-percent and rising. We should have full charge in six minutes,” Lieutenant Alice Qelar reported.
“Six Minutes? We‘ll have to let it charge on the way. Engineering, coordinate with the Vundu‘s Chief Engineer and set the port reactor to eighty percent capacity and channel it through to speed up the main cannon’s charge. Set the Starboard reactor to sixty percent. Helm, put us on a direct path with that corvette. Keep the Vundu below our engine baffles, and make an effort to keep them in our shadow. I don‘t want that corvette even knowing that frigate‘s there,” Matvey ordered, knowing the main cannon or MACs in this case were going to be the deciding factor in the engagement. The Alsatian and the Vundu had to be positioned precisely if they wanted to get in a salvo before the covenant plasma batteries burned the squadron to molten wreckage. The nearly fifty-year old officer descended from a Russian aristocratic family dating back to the days of Peter the Great, and nearly two decades of experience as a front-line officer had given him reason to commit to the service though if he died here stopping one more planet from being glassed by the Covenant he wouldn’t make it easy. “Raise to TAC CON Alpha Two, and execute acceleration on my mark,”
“Are you certain, Captain? Once we accelerate, it will be difficult to evade any incoming plasma barrages,” Absolan asked, calmly.
“I understand the risks, Absolan. Do it. Helm, accelerate now,” Matvey ordered, taking a seat in the commander chair. “Tactical, what’s the status on the MAC charge?”
* * * * * *
The thrusters of the Alsatian and the Vundu, the frigate hiding beneath the Destroyer’s shadow flared white hot before both vessels surged forward. The two vessels passed the curve separating the nocturnal and diurnal cycles over the planet’s surface of mottled-brown, blue and green passing beneath them. The two vessels had shifted to the planet’s high orbit on an intercept course with the one of two Covenant corvettes making a run for the planet, as the inhabitants of the world below awoke to a world oblivious to what unfolded above their heads. The two UNSC vessels maintained a fairly perfect formation, with the Vundu remaining in the Alsatian’s shadow as the crews of both vessels stood steady at their stations as the distance grew less.
* * * * * *
“Lieutenant Qelar, what‘s the status of the MAC charge?” Captain Matvey Daniilovich Galina asked. “What‘s the status of the first Covenant corvette?”
“The MAC Capacitors are at eighty…eighty-five…ninety…ninety-five. The main cannon is at a hundred percent charge, and the Covenant corvette‘s ETA is roughly eleven minutes. We should be in visual range in three minutes,” Lieutenant Alice Qelar reported her findings.
“Tactical, when the corvette is within the medium range of the MAC target it with the HLA turrets both ventral and dorsal bow. Rotate the nearest MLA turrets on that corvette and open fire covering the MAC salvo,” Matvey ordered, glad the weapon‘s station wasn‘t that far from his command chair and that the bridge was laid out with stations encircling the command pit. It meant Matvey had easily been able to relay orders to any of the bridge crew, and receive reports almost simultaneously which had proved crucial in an engagement. “Communications, inform the Vundu to angle up at bearing zero-five-zero by one-seven-five when we‘re within medium range for the main cannons and have them open fire on a delay,”
“What‘s your plan, Captain?” the A.I. asked.
“With the Vundu firing in rapid succession of the Alsatian, it‘ll split the corvette in two. With luck, the MAC rounds will destroy their bridge, and whatever type of reactor they use,” Matvey replied.
“You do know the chances of striking both the bridge and their reactor are….” Absolan began.
“I don‘t need to know the odds. I only want to know if it will work,” the Captain snapped.
“The plan will work. With both the MAC rounds from the Alsatian and the Vundu, the corvette‘s hull should buckle. I can‘t be absolutely certain, with our two ships and the targeted corvette moving at too high a velocity. The MAC rounds may not completely disable the vessel, and it may have an auxiliary control room our people haven‘t quite figured the location of,” the A.I. explained.
“That‘s why you‘re going to correct any adjustments on the main cannon before opening fire, as we can’t afford for that corvette to send a transmission to the other corvette within the system,” Matvey said. “Lieutenant Qelar, you will coordinate with Absolan in bringing the main cannon to bear,”
“Captain, we can‘t fire the main cannon while in motion. I advise we use the breaking thrusters to come to a full stop before operating the main cannon…” the A.I. began, beginning to grow flustered with how Matvey hadn't been listening to him.
“We don‘t have the luxury, Absolan. You will make the corrections on the way, as I am certain that corvette‘s crew will not be so kind if we take your advise into consideration,” the Captain interrupted.
“We‘re within visual range, Sir…” the lieutenant at the communication‘s station reported.
“We‘re within medium range of the main cannons, Sir,” Alice said, from the weapon‘s console.
“Main Cannon, fire first salvo. Forward turrets and ARCHER Pods three through six target that corvette and fire,” Captain Matvey Daniilovich Galina issued, giving the order while imagining the bulbous, almost organic hull of the corvette passing into view.
* * * * * *
A mixed barrage of roughly four hundred ARCHER missiles with their low yield nuclear warheads, fifty-millimeter depleted uranium shells, tungsten carbide solid slugs weighing in at twenty-five kilograms from the HLA turrets and two six hundred ton solid tungsten carbide slugs marked the position of the two UNSC vessels. The Covenant corvette had swung around the planet using both Norva III’s high orbit and it’s momentum to carry it into an ideal drop zone, but unlike its larger CCS Class Cruisers and Assault Carriers the SDV Class corvettes lacked energy shielding. The lack of an energy shield made the covenant vessel vulnerable to the two UNSC vessels swinging in from the dark-side of the planet, and despite the effort of the alien crew to turn the massive vessel to port to bring a broadside of plasma batteries to bear the incoming barrage impacted against the curved hull.
A wave of ARCHER missiles with depleted uranium shells slammed into the corvette’s hull, blinded the onboard targeting sensors before two six hundred ton tungsten carbide slugs the size of a bus followed by two twenty-five kilogram tungsten carbide sleeves wrapped around a depleted uranium core made their mark. The first of the two six hundred ton slugs punched through the unshielded hull demolishing the corvette’s command center along with any crew unfortunate enough to have remained before it continued along the ship‘s keel, as the remaining slug sliced through the corvette’s engine block.
* * * * * *
“The corvette’s engines have been destroyed along with their command center, and the vessel is venting atmosphere. Short range scanners are detecting multiple fires along the entire length of the keel, with hundreds of life readings flat lining,” Lieutenant Qelar reported, almost feeling sorry for the corvette’s crew even if they were aliens.
“Recharge the main cannon and HLA turrets. Prepare a firing solution for ARCHER Pods seven through ten, and plot a course to set us behind that corvette’s wreckage…” Matvey began, before the proximity alarm blared over the intercoms.
“Incoming. It’s that other corvette, the one we lost track of. It initiated an inner-system jump, to come up over the planet’s curve…” Commander Donna Leslie began before the deck jarred again. This time it had been far more severe as even Matvey had been thrown from the command chair to the deck, as sparks flew from a few of the consoles sending the crew manning them to the deck with second degree burns. “Get those consoles locked down!” Donna shouted.
“Locking them down is good…” Matvey muttered in Russian, trying to regain his balance using the arm of the command chair.
“We’ve lost the Port Aft fifty mike-mike MLA turret, and both dorsal HLA turrets are gone,” Donna reported, after taking over the weapon’s station following Lieutenant Qelar snapping an arm after having struck the deck hard. “We’ve burned through the thirty-centimeters of Ablative Composite armor,”
“Damn…” Matvey began.
“Reports from the Vundu. They’ve taken damage to their port-main thruster and two hanger-bays amidships,” Lieutenant Bowers from the communication’s station reported.
“Damn it…I will not be hunted down like a bear in winter. What is the Angel Shark’s condition?” the Russian Captain demanded, after securing himself back in the commander chair.
“One moment, Sir,” Lieutenant Bowers said, while trying to raise the squadron’s escort corvette left to protect the Baiji. “The Angel Shark’s undamaged, and still holding station with the Baiji. The Baiji’s shored up the damage and is prepared to engage,”
“Good. Transmit an encrypted transmission to the commanding officers of the Angel Shark, the Baiji and the Vundu for an impromptu briefing,” Matvey explained. “Operations, open some vents and rid this smoke from the bridge,”
* * * * * *
“Captain, what you suggest is suicidal. The Baiji and Vundu will be perfect targets for that corvette’s batteries and fighters,” Commander Avril of the Baiji said over the video-unit in Matvey’s quarters. He'd understood the Commander’s reluctance towards his plan, as the two damaged frigates would hold station in the open while the Covenant corvette only had to take aim.
“What of the Angel Shark? We’ll be racing away from the rest of the squadron, and if your plan doesn’t work our onboard HLA, Hummingbird rockets and single shot one-oh-two’s won’t stand a chance against the combined firepower of a corvette,” Commander Kevin Leonard asked, over another of the video monitors. Matvey had requested an impromptu conference more a briefing over the video channels with the respected commanders of each ship remaining aboard their own vessels for the sake of brevity.
“I have considered the risks. The Baiji and Vundu will sit in the open, appearing to have suffered more extensive damage while the Angel Shark undamaged and with its Helicon double-layered thruster will set course for the dark side of Zephyr. The Angel Shark will remain on station, powered-down for only necessary systems while the Alsatian will hide behind the wreckage of the downed corvette. This plan is for our survival, as much as it is to make a stand. I implore you, to understand my position and your own survival. When the remaining corvette spots both frigates and reaches the planet‘s high orbit, I want every ship to open fire with everything. The Angel Shark will arc above the moon at heading zero-zero-zero by two-eight-zero and will conduct a sharp bank to starboard with full burn angled down on the Covenant at bearing zero-nine-zero by zero-zero-zero to fire from above at extreme range of the Covenant. The Angel Shark will open fire with every onboard weapon except for the MLA’s and HUMMINGBIRD Countermissiles, while the Baiji, Vundu and Alsatian will open fire. Commander Leonard, if your ship starts to experience damage you are ordered to open throttle and execute full burn to get your crew to safety,” Matvey explained, seated behind the titanium desk set in his quarters.
“Are you certain this will work, Captain?” Commander Avril asked.
“If I told you it would, I’d be fooling myself,” Matvey stated.
* * * * * *
“Are we in position?” Matvey asked, seated back in the command chair facing the front of the bridge and the blacked out external camera screens.
“Yes. We‘re in position, and holding station as per your orders. Our engine output is negligible with brief adjustments from the maneuvering thrusters to keep us from slipping into the planet’s atmosphere,” Absolan explained.
“Deploy one Clarion spy drone, and set it on the far side of the corvette we’re parked behind. Its cameras will be our eyes, and keep a live feed open at all times. That drone will let us know when that other SDV Corvette’s making another pass,” Matvey ordered. “We’ll wait here. Prepare to power down everything except for Life Support, Helm, Operations and Engineering. That corvette will roll right by us without even bothering to check, and we’ll use the ventral thrusters to rise up from behind our cover to open fire,”
“Downloading the instructions into the drone now, Sir,” the Lieutenant Commander at the Operation‘s Station reported having been tasked with launching the drones. “Commencing with the launch now, Sir. The Clarion Drone is now clear of the ship‘s hull, and is on its way to the far side of the wreckage. It will remain on station powered down except for its camera viewers and thrusters. I‘m patching you into to the Drone‘s live feed,”
“Good,” Matvey said. One of the large display screens along the front bulkhead of the bridge slowly illuminated, replacing the stark bulkhead with a fuzzy view of the system and stars beyond Norva III’s high orbit. The natural satellite that orbited Norva III, the moon of Zephyr while fairly visible lay off in the distance and beyond it somewhere lay the remaining covenant corvette within the system.
“Operations, what can you do to clear that image up?” the Captain asked. While he had been glad to have been able to have had a view of the battlefield, it hadn’t really improved their position or their chances if every shadow could have been mistaken as the corvette stalking them.
“My apologies. I‘m clearing it up now, Sir. The Drone‘s lens must not have been calibrated right, and you should be able to have a clearer picture,” the Lieutenant Commander at Operations replied as the quality of the feed improved.
“Well done, Commander,” Matvey complimented. “Absolan, are the other ships in position?”
“The Baiji and the Vundu are holding position. Captain Avril of the Baiji says to tell you if this doesn’t work, she’ll call for your court martial and the Angel Shark is fast approaching its position at full burn. It should be in position within one-hundred-twenty seconds,…or roughly two minutes. Your plan may just work, Captain,” Absolan replied. “Your persistency is very similar to mine at the Conquest of the Fortress of Arkona in eleven sixty-eight Anno Domini…”
“You weren’t there, Absolan and the bones of the Archbishop you’re named after have long since turned to dust. I understand you get a thrill out of it, but could you spare us your namesake’s list of accomplishments,” the Russian officer sighed. The Alsatian’s A.I. had a tendency of fraying Matvey’s nerves not because his habit of preaching, but his habit of regaling of events in history the A.I. could never have taken part in. It seemed a failing of the majority of A.I.’s that modeled themselves after historical figures regardless.
“I was there, and the spears brandished glinted in the sunlight…” the A.I. continued.
“If you continue, Absolan, I will be forced to block your holopedestal here on the bridge,” Matvey said, obviously kidding. He wouldn’t pull the plug or block the A.I.’s access to the bridge, especially in an engagement when the A.I’s capabilities were invaluable where a human’s hand would hesitate.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Absolan said.
“You’re right, but keep it up and I might consider it,” Matvey replied.
“We’re receiving a transmission from the Angel Shark,” Lieutenant Bowers reported from the communication’s station. “Audio only,”
“Put it on the speakers, Lieutenant,” Matvey replied.
“Feed from Clarion Drone Two has detected the SDV Corvette having executed a one-eighty turn on at bearing one-eight-zero by zero-zero-zero to face Norva III. The target corvette’s current sublight velocity should allow them to pass Zephyr’s high orbit within fifteen minutes,” the voice of the Angel Shark’s communication’s officer came over the Alsatian’s bridge speakers.
“Position the drone deeper inside the moon’s dark side, and switch the camera to a wide view. Let’s keep an eye on that corvette without it being able to see us,” the Angel Shark’s commander ordered, over the bridge speakers.
“Transmitting new coordinates to the drone…” the communication’s officer began.
“A spike in Cherenkov Radiation, from an in-system jump!” the Angel Shark’s Tactical officer reported.
“Power down the drone and power down all non-essential systems to make our energy profile as small as possible,” the Angel Shark’s commanding officer ordered, his voice coming in over the Alsatian’s speakers.
“Power down complete, and the drone’s nothing more than a floating piece of cosmic debris,” the communication’s officer replied.
“Powering down ship’s computer, systems and reactor in five…” the Angel Shark’s operation’s officer began, before the connection between the Escort Corvette and the Destroyer was severed after a few seconds.
* * * * * *
“Any word from the Angel Shark?” Captain Matvey Daniilovich Galina asked, staring forward at the feed from the Clarion Spy Drone being relayed over the only working display screen on the bridge.
“Negative. If the Angel Shark’s out there and if they didn’t fall to that corvette we’re hunting, they’re keeping quiet,” Lieutenant Bowers, the communication’s officer reported.
“Let’s not start thinking that, Lieutenant. The Angel Shark is still out there under radio silence, but where is our SDV Corvette?” Matvey asked, trying to calm any fears the 4th Squadron’s corvette had been destroyed. The Russian commander knew fear had been the worst thing other than a fire that could unravel a naval crew, and it had been his position to lay those fears aside. He'd needed the entire crew to work as one if they held any hope of making it out of this engagement alive, and if the colonists of Norva III were to remain off the list of glassed colonies.
“Passive scans are coming up clear. The SDV Corvette has not dropped out of slipspace yet…” the Lieutenant Commander at the Operation’s Station reported from the operation’s station. Shortly after the commanding officers of the 4th Squadron had agreed to Captain Galina’s ambitious plan, the order for passive scanner sweeps had been issued and now the Alsatian’s onboard scanner equipment had only been able to detect radiated energy given off other objects. It had been up to the keen eyes of the trained tactical operator to distinguish between naturally occurring cosmic objects and artificial constructs. The main difference between passive and active scanners lay solely where the active scanner sweeps projected their own magnetic waves to light up objects while a passive scanner only detected the emitted radiation.
“Maybe the Covenant overshot and wound up in another system…” the Lieutenant at the Internal Security station began.
“I’m reading a spike in Cherenkov Radiation! There’s an in-system Slipstream rupture at bearing five-four-zero by one-five-zero. It’s the other covenant corvette,” the Lieutenant Commander at the Operation’s station interrupted. The SDV Class Heavy Corvette that had committed strafing runs on the ships of the Norva System Garrison Fleet 4th Squadron, and the ship the squadron’s two frigates had been bait for emerged from the inner system slipspace rupture. The alien double hulled vessel, with two outriders flanking a single bulbous hull appeared magnificent even at this distance, or so Matvey mused. The corvette had emerged from slipspace a distance from the destroyed corvette the Alsatian hid behind, but every crewmember in the squadron knew they’d only have a single shot to end this deadly game.
“Distance?” Matvey asked.
“The corvette’s twenty-five thousand meters off our port bow at bearing five-four-zero by one-five-zero and closing at sub-light velocities. The corvette will cross the Alsatian’s bow at six hundred meters, and will be well within the concussive force of the main cannon,” the Lieutenant Commander at Operation‘s reported, checking the distance and condition of the incoming covenant corvette.
“Prepare firing solutions on the remaining ARCHER Pods, MLA and HLA batteries, but standby for my order. Keep the weapons at minimal power levels, and be ready to bring them fully online at my command,” Matvey ordered, remaining on his feet. In order for him to get a closer view of the corvette hunting them, the Captain had pushed from the command chair and stood a few feet from the base of the chair. “Absolan, prepare to charge the main cannon. You’ll need to take into account the readjustments for drift and the corvette’s acceleration,”
“Aye, Sir. Preparing firing solutions for the ARCHER pods and other batteries,” came the reports from the Operation’s station. As a primary station, Operations had minimal control over the onboard weapon suites and could at least prepare firing solutions while the weapon stations were offline
“The main cannon will be fully charged in minus ten minutes, and taking into account the drift of the Alsatian with the close proximity of that corvette I’d say we’ll have a very low miss ratio,” the Alsatian’s A.I. said.
“Can’t you speed up the charge, Absolan? With the rate that corvette’s moving, they’ll pass us and destroy both frigates,” Matvey asked.
“I warn you, if I speed up the charge on the main cannon we may only be able to fire a single salvo. The coils will possibly be irreparably fused in the process….” the A.I. began.
“Let’s hope all that is needed is one salvo,” Matvey muttered before looking over his shoulder at the A.I,’s pedestal. “Do it, Absolan. Double the charge, and let me know when you’re ready to fire,”
“I’m making a note in the report how I do this under protest,” Absolan replied, before briefly closing his eyes. “The main cannon will be fully charged in minus five minutes,”
* * * * * *
The faces of the crew lay cast in scarlet from the emergency running lights, as they stood at their posts waiting for the given word. The ship that had until now attacked them with impunity from reprisal had yet to cross into the Alsatian’s line of fire, but the crew kept their eyes glued to their display screens. Some of the bridge officers couldn’t stop sweating despite the life support systems keeping the bridge at twenty celcius, but Matvey took it as a sign the crew were on edge about the trap they’d spring. Their Covenant counterparts may have had superior firepower and could make precise in-system slipspace jumps, but they had underestimated the battle.
“What‘s the status of the main cannon?” Matvey asked, quietly from his command chair.
“The main cannon is at seventy-percent charge and rising. Taking into account the corvette’s current velocity, I doubt the main cannon will be fully charged before our counterparts pass into our line of fire,” Absolan explained. “We may only be able to reach eighty to eighty-four percent charge before the target comes into range,”
“It’ll have to do,” Matvey replied, quietly while watching the display screen channeling the drone’s live feed onto the bridge. “After we’ve fired the first volley, begin charging the capacitors for the main cannon and ready to fire a second time,”
“Quiet. I’m picking up launches from the corvette…two drones. The corvette’s spotted us, and if I’d have to make a guess they’re trying to decide if we’re floating wreckage or a greater threat,” the Lieutenant Commander at the Operation’s station reported, quietly. “They’re several hundred meters off, and probing with active sensors,”
“Maintain radio silence and don’t do anything rash. Let them think we’re floating debris, and that we’re all dead,” Matvey replied, quietly and without moving from the command chair. He didn’t like having the Covenant even in the form of a pair of drones that close to the hull of his ship, but with the Covenant’s plasma batteries capable of homing in on the hull the Alsatian had to appear as having rammed a covenant corvette.
Silence fell on the ship as each crewman listened for the telltale signs of drones conducting scanner sweeps pierced the hull, but with the Alsatian’s systems powered down and the crew standing still at their stations there hadn’t been anything to set the scanners off. The nearly two meters of titanium-A battleplating bolted to the superstructure and the hull bracings seemed the only thing that separated the crew from the stars, and the Covenant drones with each crewman from the marine private to the command crew felt as though the Covenant could see them standing at their stations. It had been the reason why no one had moved, and banished even the remotest inkling of a thought their ruse would fail.
The dull wailing of the Covenant drones passed over the seemingly lifeless hull of the UNSC destroyer more than a few times, sweeping every angle from the bow plates to the cowlings of the engines while transmitting live feed to operators aboard the Covenant corvette. Even the systems that pumped fresh recycled air through the Alsatian’s interior vents had been powered down if not outright shut down in an attempt to fool the Covenant’s ears, and it seemed to fool the drones until a loud almost foghorn-like rumble emanated from the lower decks. The beans the cook had recently finished devouring leftover from the crew mess late-dinner only hours ago decided to make its presence known. A result of the pumps being shut down, the vents leading throughout the ship had been left open for a cold restart of the air pumps and allowed a stream of foul-smelling methane to channel into each compartment aboard including the bridge.
It hadn't been long before the bridge crew, even Matvey began smelling the foul smelling gift from the lower decks and they had to fight to keep from hurling on the deck plating for fear of being detected. Commander Leslie at the primary weapon’s station attempted to stop breathing through her nose while the rest of the bridge crew either stuffed their noses with tissue from nearby tissue boxes at the consoles, or as Matvey had to try and bear through the stench. The dull wail of the Covenant drones passed by overhead as the crew struggled not to pass out from their cook’s poor gastrointestinal choices, with most pondering ways of getting their ship’s cook back yet despite the distress of the crew the Covenant drones passed by. The drones were content the UNSC destroyer was a lifeless hulk, that had decompressed violently after ramming the Covenant’s sister corvette.
“The Covenant Drones have moved off…” the Lieutenant Commander at the Operation’s station reported quietly, after what had seemed an eternity of waiting. The crew had remained quiet until the scanner drones had moved off, knowing the Covenant were content the Alsatian hadn’t remained a threat.
“Good. Keep an eye on them, Commander and let me know if the Covenant come about again,” Captain Matvey Daniilovich Galina said. “Restart the air pumps, and open the vents fully…”
“Target is acquired. The Covenant Corvette’s in our range of fire,” the Lieutenant Commander at the Operation’s station reported quickly.
“Absolan, what’s the charge on the main cannon?” Matvey asked.
“The main cannon is at eighty-three percent charge, and rising,” the A.I. replied.
“It’ll have to do. Absolan, fire one round through our makeshift barricade,” Matvey ordered, as a heavy thud passed through the Alsatian’s bulkheads before the hull of the wrecked corvette was reduced to molten metal.
“MAC Round is away,” Absolan replied.
“Recharge the main cannon,” Matvey said, before the lone covenant corvette that had written the Alsatian off as a lifeless hulk exploded amidships.
“Direct hit. The target has sustained heavy damage to their superstructure amidships…” the A.I. began.
“Emergency blow of the dorsal thrusters to bring us below that corvette, and give me a three second burn with the port thrusters for a thirty degree roll to starboard. Bring all systems back online, and cycle through the onboard weapons. When we’re directly below the corvette, I want weapon’s free on all weapons,” the Russian Captain ordered.
“Emergency blow of dorsal and port thrusters are five-five. We should be in position within three seconds,” the Engineering officer reported, as the rest of the systems onboard were brought back online.
* * * * * *
Thrusters along the dorsal and port sides of the Alsatian fired propelling the massive destroyer below their makeshift barricade, while the port thrusters rolled the nearly five hundred meter long vessel into position to bring its remaining turrets into range. The Covenant Corvette with fires amidships from where the MAC round had impacted angled above the destroyer where the plasma batteries couldn’t hone in, and before the thrusters quit firing the Alsatian’s main cannon with its remaining turrets and ARCHER pods opened fire. With such a close range, the MAC round slammed into the SDV Class Heavy Corvette with enough force to cause the alloyed hull to ripple before two other MAC rounds slammed into the bow. The two frigates Vundu and Baiji had opened fire with every weapon aboard the moment the Alsatian’s first MAC round tore through the corvette amidships, and amid the hundreds of ARCHER missiles three tungsten carbide sleeves wrapped around a depleted uranium core slammed into the corvette from above and below. Hundreds of ARCHER missiles detonated across the alloyed hull of the Covenant corvette lighting the alien vessel while the larger impact craters formed by the larger rounds were aggravated by the missile strikes, before the alien vessel split in two. The corvette’s superstructure having taken a tremendous beating couldn’t withstand the stresses and ripped the front end of the ship clear from the aft containing the hanger bays. The corvette’s main thrusters fired in a futile attempt to take the corvette safely from the ambush, but as communication from the bridge had been severed along the spine of the ship the thrusters sputtered as the reactor failed. Hundreds of alien bodies, those of the Grunts through the Elites poured out of the dying ship through breaks in the hull only to suffocate in the oxygen-less environment.
* * * * * *
“The Covenant ship is lifeless with reports of fires raging out of control, and hundreds of life signs flat lining,” the Lieutenant Commander at Operations reported.
“The scanners aren’t detecting any spikes in onboard weapon systems, or auxiliary craft having been launched. The Covenant ship is by all account destroyed, Sir,” Commander Leslie at the Primary Weapon’s station reported, with a sigh of relief the colonists of Norva III had been saved even for a little while longer and that the 4th Squadron hadn’t been destroyed. “You did it, Sir,”
“We did it, Commander. The crews of the Alsatian, Vundu, Baiji and Angel Shark were the deciding factor in this engagement,” Matvey said, in relief. “Lieutenant Bowers, contact the other ships to assess the damage. Send word to the Norva Garrison Fleet HQ and request politely if they could spare a repair cradle at least. Would someone find the cook and load him in with the next MAC round?” he asked, obviously joking.
:END:
This profile is the Copyright and Property of Cabel, Guardian on Yappas Halo RPG. Characters, names profile, story, concept, and NPC's are © 2014 to Cabel.
Read more: yappashalorpg.proboards.com/thread/9173/unscs-passchendaele-captain-galina#ixzz3QRA7ABo6
Read more: yappashalorpg.proboards.com/thread/9173/unscs-passchendaele-captain-galina#ixzz3QRA7ABo6
The following events pertain to an assignment earlier in the career of Captain Matvey Daniilovich Galina prior to being granted the command of the UNSCS Passchendaele. These events pertain to an engagement in a backwater Outer Colony System between the Diligence Class FAST Destroyer UNSCS Alsatian DDG-963 and a Covenant Patrol:
[Fall 2529: Norva System: Norva III: Norva III‘s Parking Orbit: 0120 Hours] (34 Decks of the Alsatian)(NOTE: The engagement lasted from 0120 Hours to 0200 Hours)
The bridge lay silent broken only by the occasional beeping and steady tapping of controls from the various consoles, as the bridge’s skeleton crew endured the hours of Gamma Watch. The Alsatian’s commanding officer, Captain Matvey Daniilovich Galina had organized the orders of the Watch within the first two months after his transfer aboard the Diligence Class FAST Destroyer much to the dismay of some of the Alsatian’s crew resulting in the transfer of twenty personnel to other ships of the Fleet. The transfers hadn’t surprised Matvey as he’d always believed even back on the Orca discipline weeded out the lazy officers among the crew, as it had worked both on the Narwhal, the Alsatian and the Norva System Garrison Fleet 4th Squadron. Whether some of his superiors and those in his charge approved of the measures, the discipline and combat drills had raised the morale among the crew. It hadn’t escaped him there were some in the higher echelons that hadn’t approved of his harsh methods, but on the other hand there hadn’t been any actions from FLEETCOM. Someone within FLEETCOM seemed to have approved of his harsh measures approving his posting to the Norva Garrison Fleet.
“I can‘t wait until Gamma Watch is over. There‘s a warm bunk waiting for me…” the Ensign at the Helm station said, yawning before rubbing his tired eyes.
“You mean you have a date with the Admiral‘s Wife…” another Ensign at the Navigation station began.
“No, her bed‘s too cold. I keep getting freezer burn after having a date with her…” the Ensign from the Helm began.
“Quiet!” Lieutenant Alice Qelar called out, from the Weapon’s station. “Long range scanners have detected Cherenkov Radiation on the far side of the planet…and the dimensions are the same as a Covenant SDV corvette. It slipped in on the far side of Norva III‘s moon Zephyr,”
“The Covenant…a corvette here?!” the ensign at the Helm station replied, obviously shaken by the revelation.
“Yes. A Covenant corvette,…stay at your station and do what you’ve been trained for, Ensign. I’m alerting the Captain and bringing weapon systems online,” Lieutenant Alice Qelar said before opening the shipwide intercom and the Captain‘s quarters. “Captain Galina, Captain Galina…report to the bridge. Captain Galina, report to the bridge. All Senior Officers, report to your stations. I repeat, all Senior Officers report to your stations,”
“Bridge, this had better not be another rogue asteroid…” Captain Matvey Daniilovich Galina called out, over one of the smaller monitors on the tactical console. He’d been in his quarters enjoying a fairly good book, Tolstoy’s War and Peace a fictionalized account of another war in Earth’s history when the call had come through from the bridge. He’d never been able to sleep well without at least reading a heavy book, and had still worn his duty uniform save for the jacket.
“Negative, Sir. Long range scanners have detected a slipspace rupture on the far side of Norva III’s moon of Zephyr. The readings match the dimensions of a Covenant SDV Class Heavy Corvette…” Alice began.
“Bring the ship up to combat readiness and send word to the squadron of your report. Before I reach the bridge, send an encoded transmission to the Norva Garrison Fleet HQ,” Matvey ordered.
“Aye, Sir,” Alice replied, encoding a transmission with the coordinates of the slipspace rupture, the presence of the Covenant in-system. Before the lieutenant sent the transmission, the location of the Alsatian with the rest of the 4th Squadron were included in a hopes it reached the Norva Garrison Fleet HQ before the Covenant arrived in numbers. The soft-duty lights of the bridge were replaced by the haunting hue of the amber running lights as the ship’s condition was raised to combat readiness, but even the senior officers that filtered onto the bridge hadn't made the order for any of the TAC CON alerts. The authorization had been reserved for the ship’s commanding officer alone, but as the Captain had been in transit to the bridge the bridge crew could only man their stations.
“Situation report,” Commander Donna Leslie asked, from the corridor emptying onto the bridge.
“The long range scanners detected a surge of Cherenkov Radiation on the far side of the moon Zephyr, and the measurements came back as those matching a Covenant SDV Class corvette. They haven’t seen us yet….” Alice began, from her station.
“Have you alerted the Captain?” Commander Donna Leslie asked.
“I’ve already briefed him on the situation, Ma’am. I’ve sent an encoded transmission to the rest of the squadron and to the Norva Garrison Fleet HQ, as per Captain’s orders,” Alice reported.
“Very well,” the Commander replied, knowing Matvey would make his way to the bridge shortly. “Bring weapons online. Charge the main cannon, MLA and HLA batteries online and key the ARCHER Pods,” Donna ordered, as the bridge crew ran through the procedures to bring the onboard weapon systems online.
“Lieutenant Qelar, where is that corvette and what are they doing?” a voice with a heavy eastern Slavic accent rang out from one of the corridors leading to the bridge. Captain Matvey Daniilovich Galina had been an imposing man, of nearly two meters in height and came in at eighty kilograms. He’d served within the UNSC Navy for twenty years including the eight years spent at the naval academy and the OCS Academy at Mare Nubium to culminate to that moment. It had taken him that long to achieve the rank of Captain as master of his own vessel. The Alsatian may have been assigned to a frontier system, but compared to the frigates he’d served on before the destroyer had been a change. It had been a blessing in some ways with the Diligence Class having been faster, but had far fewer onboard weapons than a frigate.
“The corvette hasn’t seen us yet, and is holding position. It’s strange, the corvette hasn’t launched any of its fighters….” Alice began, as the scanners detected something unexpected. “Slipspace rupture forming above us at bearing two-seven-zero by zero-nine-three. I’m detecting a single large object, a second corvette and two dozen smaller contacts. Impact imminent…”
The deck bucked violently jarring consoles as plasma raked along the port-side of the Alsatian, the side facing the planet leaving flames in the wake of the tear-drop shaped Seraph-fighters of the Covenant. Several of the bridge crew that had been too slow to grab onto anything bolted to the deck had been thrown hard on their sides or backs, but Matvey along with Lieutenant Qelar had managed to grab onto a handhold built into the bridge ceiling in time.
“Report,…Lieutenant, what‘s our status?” Matvey asked, turning to face the young lieutenant manning the tactical station. The rest of the bridge crew, those that had been launched to the deck regained their balance before sliding back into their chairs. “Engineering, operational status? I want every station to sound off,”
“The Port Bow fifty mike-mike MLA turret’s been destroyed, along with two ARCHER pods being blown clear from the hull…” Alice began. “The second SDV Class corvette’s moving off at too high a velocity to come about, and the Seraphs are moving off with it,”
“Engineering, Sir. The engine banks and the maneuvering thrusters are in the green,” the Lieutenant at the Engineering station reported.
“Helm, Sir. We’re still on course,” another Lieutenant at the Helm station reported.
“Operations, Sir. I’m not reading any additional damage to the ship, other than the Port Bow fifty mike-mike MLA turret and the two ARCHER Pods,” the Lieutenant Commander at the Operations station reported.
“Communications here, Sir. It’s the Baiji…” Lieutenant Tim Bowers at the Communications Station began.
“The Baiji?” Matvey asked, having hoped the strafing damage had been isolated to the Alsatian. Though he knew by the tone of the Lieutenant’s voice the Baiji, one of the two frigates assigned to the squadron hadn't remained unscathed.
“The Baiji’s reporting damage to four of their forward pelican bays, venting two forward compartments and two fifty mike-mike MLA turrets destroyed by Seraph fire. The Captain of the Baiji is wishing to know what your orders are,” the lieutenant reported, relaying the information he‘d heard from the damaged frigate.
“Inform Commander Avril to maintain the Baiji’s current position and shore up the damage as much as possible. Let the Angel Shark know to come up beside the Baiji to provide cover if one of those Covenant corvettes swings back around,” Matvey replied, knowing the damaged Baiji would slow down the squadron with two Covenant SDV Class Heavy corvettes in-system. “Contact the Vundu to have them fall in behind us at bearing one-eight-zero by one-seven-eight to provide cover with their main cannon. I want them to come in behind us at bearing one-eight-zero by one-seven-eight below our engine baffles to shield them from those corvettes. Tactical, tell me the location of the first corvette. Is it still on the far side of Zephyr?”
“The first corvette hasn’t changed course on its heading towards Norva III. I don’t think they see us as a threat, Sir,” Lieutenant Alice Qelar reported from the tactical station, after checking the long range scanner feeds. Normally, Matvey would have been able to have checked the external cameras to determine if the corvettes were within close range or at a distance except the external cameras had been knocked out during the strafing attack. “The second corvette appears to have stopped for…if I had to make a guess, engine problems or…” she began.
“Or, they’re deciding how best to wipe out the population on Norva III. Either sending ground forces, glassing it from orbit or cracking the planet with a new Covenant superweapon no one’s seen before. We’ve got to do something, Captain. We can’t just sit here while the Covenant glass another planet…” Lieutenant Edward Grainer at the Navigation station began, having let his fears get the better of him.
“Remember restraint, Lieutenant Grainer…” Matvey began.
“Restraint? Restraint?! We’re out here in the middle of nowhere guarding a backwater planet while we’re losing one world after another to the Covenant…” Edward snapped.
“Lieutenant Grainer, get back to your post. One more outburst and I will relieve you…by force if necessary,” the Captain stated, hoping the young lieutenant would willingly return to his duties and saved the emotions for later. He hadn't minded the occasional emotional outburst from any of the crew as many had families in the Outer Colonies, but there had been a time and a place for it.
“Aye,…Sir,” Edward replied, reluctantly before returning to his post.
“You need not fear, Lieutenant Grainer, for that corvette has stopped only long enough to rearm its fighters,” the ship‘s Second Generation “Smart“ A.I. said appearing in the bridge’s holopedestal. The Alsatian’s A.I. otherwise known as Absolan named after the Danish Archbishop of the twelfth century was eccentric, to say the least and had an odd tendency to start preaching in the middle of a battle. For reasons unknown to Matvey and the crew, the A.I.’s preferred avatar had been that of a twelfth century Archbishop, complete with a sweeping blue cloak, the mitre, the other pontifical vestments and a crosier.
“Absolan, how pleasant of you to join us,” Donna replied, standing near an Auxiliary Weapon’s console.
“I do apologize for not being more punctual, but I was busy overseeing the damage sustained from the strafing runs of the Seraph Fighters. The damage was superficial, but the Port Aft MLA turret will have to double its rate of fire to cover that arc …” Absolan began.
“We can work out solutions later, Absolan. For now, we need to deal with the two Covenant corvettes. What are the chances they were able to get out a call for reinforcements?” Matvey asked, not wanting the four ships of the 4th Squadron to face down two Covenant corvettes and whatever larger force would arrive.
“The odds are they haven’t, as the Covenant probably believe the presence of four UNSC vessels isn’t that much of a threat. The Covenant have shown an increasing propensity for arrogance, and their weapons are alarmingly accurate at close ranges…” Absolan began.
“That’s enough. If the Covenant believe we aren’t a threat, let’s not shatter that image. Lieutenant Qelar, you reported the first corvette is on a direct course for Norva III, correct?” Matvey asked, the synapses in his brain formed an idea that might increase the Alsatian and by direct association the ships of the 4th Squadron.
“They haven’t changed course,” Alice, at the Weapons Station replied. “They’re holding steady and should reach Norva III’s high orbit in roughly twenty minutes,”
“Set course for interception. I want to meet that corvette with a full-bombardment of our guns before they have time to bring their batteries to bear. Have the Vundu charge its main cannon and have ARCHER batteries ready to accompany the first salvo. Lieutenant Qelar, what is the charge rate of our main cannon?” Matvey asked, knowing they may only have one chance at taking down that corvette before it deployed troops to the surface.
“MAC Capacitors are at forty-percent and rising. We should have full charge in six minutes,” Lieutenant Alice Qelar reported.
“Six Minutes? We‘ll have to let it charge on the way. Engineering, coordinate with the Vundu‘s Chief Engineer and set the port reactor to eighty percent capacity and channel it through to speed up the main cannon’s charge. Set the Starboard reactor to sixty percent. Helm, put us on a direct path with that corvette. Keep the Vundu below our engine baffles, and make an effort to keep them in our shadow. I don‘t want that corvette even knowing that frigate‘s there,” Matvey ordered, knowing the main cannon or MACs in this case were going to be the deciding factor in the engagement. The Alsatian and the Vundu had to be positioned precisely if they wanted to get in a salvo before the covenant plasma batteries burned the squadron to molten wreckage. The nearly fifty-year old officer descended from a Russian aristocratic family dating back to the days of Peter the Great, and nearly two decades of experience as a front-line officer had given him reason to commit to the service though if he died here stopping one more planet from being glassed by the Covenant he wouldn’t make it easy. “Raise to TAC CON Alpha Two, and execute acceleration on my mark,”
“Are you certain, Captain? Once we accelerate, it will be difficult to evade any incoming plasma barrages,” Absolan asked, calmly.
“I understand the risks, Absolan. Do it. Helm, accelerate now,” Matvey ordered, taking a seat in the commander chair. “Tactical, what’s the status on the MAC charge?”
* * * * * *
The thrusters of the Alsatian and the Vundu, the frigate hiding beneath the Destroyer’s shadow flared white hot before both vessels surged forward. The two vessels passed the curve separating the nocturnal and diurnal cycles over the planet’s surface of mottled-brown, blue and green passing beneath them. The two vessels had shifted to the planet’s high orbit on an intercept course with the one of two Covenant corvettes making a run for the planet, as the inhabitants of the world below awoke to a world oblivious to what unfolded above their heads. The two UNSC vessels maintained a fairly perfect formation, with the Vundu remaining in the Alsatian’s shadow as the crews of both vessels stood steady at their stations as the distance grew less.
* * * * * *
“Lieutenant Qelar, what‘s the status of the MAC charge?” Captain Matvey Daniilovich Galina asked. “What‘s the status of the first Covenant corvette?”
“The MAC Capacitors are at eighty…eighty-five…ninety…ninety-five. The main cannon is at a hundred percent charge, and the Covenant corvette‘s ETA is roughly eleven minutes. We should be in visual range in three minutes,” Lieutenant Alice Qelar reported her findings.
“Tactical, when the corvette is within the medium range of the MAC target it with the HLA turrets both ventral and dorsal bow. Rotate the nearest MLA turrets on that corvette and open fire covering the MAC salvo,” Matvey ordered, glad the weapon‘s station wasn‘t that far from his command chair and that the bridge was laid out with stations encircling the command pit. It meant Matvey had easily been able to relay orders to any of the bridge crew, and receive reports almost simultaneously which had proved crucial in an engagement. “Communications, inform the Vundu to angle up at bearing zero-five-zero by one-seven-five when we‘re within medium range for the main cannons and have them open fire on a delay,”
“What‘s your plan, Captain?” the A.I. asked.
“With the Vundu firing in rapid succession of the Alsatian, it‘ll split the corvette in two. With luck, the MAC rounds will destroy their bridge, and whatever type of reactor they use,” Matvey replied.
“You do know the chances of striking both the bridge and their reactor are….” Absolan began.
“I don‘t need to know the odds. I only want to know if it will work,” the Captain snapped.
“The plan will work. With both the MAC rounds from the Alsatian and the Vundu, the corvette‘s hull should buckle. I can‘t be absolutely certain, with our two ships and the targeted corvette moving at too high a velocity. The MAC rounds may not completely disable the vessel, and it may have an auxiliary control room our people haven‘t quite figured the location of,” the A.I. explained.
“That‘s why you‘re going to correct any adjustments on the main cannon before opening fire, as we can’t afford for that corvette to send a transmission to the other corvette within the system,” Matvey said. “Lieutenant Qelar, you will coordinate with Absolan in bringing the main cannon to bear,”
“Captain, we can‘t fire the main cannon while in motion. I advise we use the breaking thrusters to come to a full stop before operating the main cannon…” the A.I. began, beginning to grow flustered with how Matvey hadn't been listening to him.
“We don‘t have the luxury, Absolan. You will make the corrections on the way, as I am certain that corvette‘s crew will not be so kind if we take your advise into consideration,” the Captain interrupted.
“We‘re within visual range, Sir…” the lieutenant at the communication‘s station reported.
“We‘re within medium range of the main cannons, Sir,” Alice said, from the weapon‘s console.
“Main Cannon, fire first salvo. Forward turrets and ARCHER Pods three through six target that corvette and fire,” Captain Matvey Daniilovich Galina issued, giving the order while imagining the bulbous, almost organic hull of the corvette passing into view.
* * * * * *
A mixed barrage of roughly four hundred ARCHER missiles with their low yield nuclear warheads, fifty-millimeter depleted uranium shells, tungsten carbide solid slugs weighing in at twenty-five kilograms from the HLA turrets and two six hundred ton solid tungsten carbide slugs marked the position of the two UNSC vessels. The Covenant corvette had swung around the planet using both Norva III’s high orbit and it’s momentum to carry it into an ideal drop zone, but unlike its larger CCS Class Cruisers and Assault Carriers the SDV Class corvettes lacked energy shielding. The lack of an energy shield made the covenant vessel vulnerable to the two UNSC vessels swinging in from the dark-side of the planet, and despite the effort of the alien crew to turn the massive vessel to port to bring a broadside of plasma batteries to bear the incoming barrage impacted against the curved hull.
A wave of ARCHER missiles with depleted uranium shells slammed into the corvette’s hull, blinded the onboard targeting sensors before two six hundred ton tungsten carbide slugs the size of a bus followed by two twenty-five kilogram tungsten carbide sleeves wrapped around a depleted uranium core made their mark. The first of the two six hundred ton slugs punched through the unshielded hull demolishing the corvette’s command center along with any crew unfortunate enough to have remained before it continued along the ship‘s keel, as the remaining slug sliced through the corvette’s engine block.
* * * * * *
“The corvette’s engines have been destroyed along with their command center, and the vessel is venting atmosphere. Short range scanners are detecting multiple fires along the entire length of the keel, with hundreds of life readings flat lining,” Lieutenant Qelar reported, almost feeling sorry for the corvette’s crew even if they were aliens.
“Recharge the main cannon and HLA turrets. Prepare a firing solution for ARCHER Pods seven through ten, and plot a course to set us behind that corvette’s wreckage…” Matvey began, before the proximity alarm blared over the intercoms.
“Incoming. It’s that other corvette, the one we lost track of. It initiated an inner-system jump, to come up over the planet’s curve…” Commander Donna Leslie began before the deck jarred again. This time it had been far more severe as even Matvey had been thrown from the command chair to the deck, as sparks flew from a few of the consoles sending the crew manning them to the deck with second degree burns. “Get those consoles locked down!” Donna shouted.
“Locking them down is good…” Matvey muttered in Russian, trying to regain his balance using the arm of the command chair.
“We’ve lost the Port Aft fifty mike-mike MLA turret, and both dorsal HLA turrets are gone,” Donna reported, after taking over the weapon’s station following Lieutenant Qelar snapping an arm after having struck the deck hard. “We’ve burned through the thirty-centimeters of Ablative Composite armor,”
“Damn…” Matvey began.
“Reports from the Vundu. They’ve taken damage to their port-main thruster and two hanger-bays amidships,” Lieutenant Bowers from the communication’s station reported.
“Damn it…I will not be hunted down like a bear in winter. What is the Angel Shark’s condition?” the Russian Captain demanded, after securing himself back in the commander chair.
“One moment, Sir,” Lieutenant Bowers said, while trying to raise the squadron’s escort corvette left to protect the Baiji. “The Angel Shark’s undamaged, and still holding station with the Baiji. The Baiji’s shored up the damage and is prepared to engage,”
“Good. Transmit an encrypted transmission to the commanding officers of the Angel Shark, the Baiji and the Vundu for an impromptu briefing,” Matvey explained. “Operations, open some vents and rid this smoke from the bridge,”
* * * * * *
“Captain, what you suggest is suicidal. The Baiji and Vundu will be perfect targets for that corvette’s batteries and fighters,” Commander Avril of the Baiji said over the video-unit in Matvey’s quarters. He'd understood the Commander’s reluctance towards his plan, as the two damaged frigates would hold station in the open while the Covenant corvette only had to take aim.
“What of the Angel Shark? We’ll be racing away from the rest of the squadron, and if your plan doesn’t work our onboard HLA, Hummingbird rockets and single shot one-oh-two’s won’t stand a chance against the combined firepower of a corvette,” Commander Kevin Leonard asked, over another of the video monitors. Matvey had requested an impromptu conference more a briefing over the video channels with the respected commanders of each ship remaining aboard their own vessels for the sake of brevity.
“I have considered the risks. The Baiji and Vundu will sit in the open, appearing to have suffered more extensive damage while the Angel Shark undamaged and with its Helicon double-layered thruster will set course for the dark side of Zephyr. The Angel Shark will remain on station, powered-down for only necessary systems while the Alsatian will hide behind the wreckage of the downed corvette. This plan is for our survival, as much as it is to make a stand. I implore you, to understand my position and your own survival. When the remaining corvette spots both frigates and reaches the planet‘s high orbit, I want every ship to open fire with everything. The Angel Shark will arc above the moon at heading zero-zero-zero by two-eight-zero and will conduct a sharp bank to starboard with full burn angled down on the Covenant at bearing zero-nine-zero by zero-zero-zero to fire from above at extreme range of the Covenant. The Angel Shark will open fire with every onboard weapon except for the MLA’s and HUMMINGBIRD Countermissiles, while the Baiji, Vundu and Alsatian will open fire. Commander Leonard, if your ship starts to experience damage you are ordered to open throttle and execute full burn to get your crew to safety,” Matvey explained, seated behind the titanium desk set in his quarters.
“Are you certain this will work, Captain?” Commander Avril asked.
“If I told you it would, I’d be fooling myself,” Matvey stated.
* * * * * *
“Are we in position?” Matvey asked, seated back in the command chair facing the front of the bridge and the blacked out external camera screens.
“Yes. We‘re in position, and holding station as per your orders. Our engine output is negligible with brief adjustments from the maneuvering thrusters to keep us from slipping into the planet’s atmosphere,” Absolan explained.
“Deploy one Clarion spy drone, and set it on the far side of the corvette we’re parked behind. Its cameras will be our eyes, and keep a live feed open at all times. That drone will let us know when that other SDV Corvette’s making another pass,” Matvey ordered. “We’ll wait here. Prepare to power down everything except for Life Support, Helm, Operations and Engineering. That corvette will roll right by us without even bothering to check, and we’ll use the ventral thrusters to rise up from behind our cover to open fire,”
“Downloading the instructions into the drone now, Sir,” the Lieutenant Commander at the Operation‘s Station reported having been tasked with launching the drones. “Commencing with the launch now, Sir. The Clarion Drone is now clear of the ship‘s hull, and is on its way to the far side of the wreckage. It will remain on station powered down except for its camera viewers and thrusters. I‘m patching you into to the Drone‘s live feed,”
“Good,” Matvey said. One of the large display screens along the front bulkhead of the bridge slowly illuminated, replacing the stark bulkhead with a fuzzy view of the system and stars beyond Norva III’s high orbit. The natural satellite that orbited Norva III, the moon of Zephyr while fairly visible lay off in the distance and beyond it somewhere lay the remaining covenant corvette within the system.
“Operations, what can you do to clear that image up?” the Captain asked. While he had been glad to have been able to have had a view of the battlefield, it hadn’t really improved their position or their chances if every shadow could have been mistaken as the corvette stalking them.
“My apologies. I‘m clearing it up now, Sir. The Drone‘s lens must not have been calibrated right, and you should be able to have a clearer picture,” the Lieutenant Commander at Operations replied as the quality of the feed improved.
“Well done, Commander,” Matvey complimented. “Absolan, are the other ships in position?”
“The Baiji and the Vundu are holding position. Captain Avril of the Baiji says to tell you if this doesn’t work, she’ll call for your court martial and the Angel Shark is fast approaching its position at full burn. It should be in position within one-hundred-twenty seconds,…or roughly two minutes. Your plan may just work, Captain,” Absolan replied. “Your persistency is very similar to mine at the Conquest of the Fortress of Arkona in eleven sixty-eight Anno Domini…”
“You weren’t there, Absolan and the bones of the Archbishop you’re named after have long since turned to dust. I understand you get a thrill out of it, but could you spare us your namesake’s list of accomplishments,” the Russian officer sighed. The Alsatian’s A.I. had a tendency of fraying Matvey’s nerves not because his habit of preaching, but his habit of regaling of events in history the A.I. could never have taken part in. It seemed a failing of the majority of A.I.’s that modeled themselves after historical figures regardless.
“I was there, and the spears brandished glinted in the sunlight…” the A.I. continued.
“If you continue, Absolan, I will be forced to block your holopedestal here on the bridge,” Matvey said, obviously kidding. He wouldn’t pull the plug or block the A.I.’s access to the bridge, especially in an engagement when the A.I’s capabilities were invaluable where a human’s hand would hesitate.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Absolan said.
“You’re right, but keep it up and I might consider it,” Matvey replied.
“We’re receiving a transmission from the Angel Shark,” Lieutenant Bowers reported from the communication’s station. “Audio only,”
“Put it on the speakers, Lieutenant,” Matvey replied.
“Feed from Clarion Drone Two has detected the SDV Corvette having executed a one-eighty turn on at bearing one-eight-zero by zero-zero-zero to face Norva III. The target corvette’s current sublight velocity should allow them to pass Zephyr’s high orbit within fifteen minutes,” the voice of the Angel Shark’s communication’s officer came over the Alsatian’s bridge speakers.
“Position the drone deeper inside the moon’s dark side, and switch the camera to a wide view. Let’s keep an eye on that corvette without it being able to see us,” the Angel Shark’s commander ordered, over the bridge speakers.
“Transmitting new coordinates to the drone…” the communication’s officer began.
“A spike in Cherenkov Radiation, from an in-system jump!” the Angel Shark’s Tactical officer reported.
“Power down the drone and power down all non-essential systems to make our energy profile as small as possible,” the Angel Shark’s commanding officer ordered, his voice coming in over the Alsatian’s speakers.
“Power down complete, and the drone’s nothing more than a floating piece of cosmic debris,” the communication’s officer replied.
“Powering down ship’s computer, systems and reactor in five…” the Angel Shark’s operation’s officer began, before the connection between the Escort Corvette and the Destroyer was severed after a few seconds.
* * * * * *
“Any word from the Angel Shark?” Captain Matvey Daniilovich Galina asked, staring forward at the feed from the Clarion Spy Drone being relayed over the only working display screen on the bridge.
“Negative. If the Angel Shark’s out there and if they didn’t fall to that corvette we’re hunting, they’re keeping quiet,” Lieutenant Bowers, the communication’s officer reported.
“Let’s not start thinking that, Lieutenant. The Angel Shark is still out there under radio silence, but where is our SDV Corvette?” Matvey asked, trying to calm any fears the 4th Squadron’s corvette had been destroyed. The Russian commander knew fear had been the worst thing other than a fire that could unravel a naval crew, and it had been his position to lay those fears aside. He'd needed the entire crew to work as one if they held any hope of making it out of this engagement alive, and if the colonists of Norva III were to remain off the list of glassed colonies.
“Passive scans are coming up clear. The SDV Corvette has not dropped out of slipspace yet…” the Lieutenant Commander at the Operation’s Station reported from the operation’s station. Shortly after the commanding officers of the 4th Squadron had agreed to Captain Galina’s ambitious plan, the order for passive scanner sweeps had been issued and now the Alsatian’s onboard scanner equipment had only been able to detect radiated energy given off other objects. It had been up to the keen eyes of the trained tactical operator to distinguish between naturally occurring cosmic objects and artificial constructs. The main difference between passive and active scanners lay solely where the active scanner sweeps projected their own magnetic waves to light up objects while a passive scanner only detected the emitted radiation.
“Maybe the Covenant overshot and wound up in another system…” the Lieutenant at the Internal Security station began.
“I’m reading a spike in Cherenkov Radiation! There’s an in-system Slipstream rupture at bearing five-four-zero by one-five-zero. It’s the other covenant corvette,” the Lieutenant Commander at the Operation’s station interrupted. The SDV Class Heavy Corvette that had committed strafing runs on the ships of the Norva System Garrison Fleet 4th Squadron, and the ship the squadron’s two frigates had been bait for emerged from the inner system slipspace rupture. The alien double hulled vessel, with two outriders flanking a single bulbous hull appeared magnificent even at this distance, or so Matvey mused. The corvette had emerged from slipspace a distance from the destroyed corvette the Alsatian hid behind, but every crewmember in the squadron knew they’d only have a single shot to end this deadly game.
“Distance?” Matvey asked.
“The corvette’s twenty-five thousand meters off our port bow at bearing five-four-zero by one-five-zero and closing at sub-light velocities. The corvette will cross the Alsatian’s bow at six hundred meters, and will be well within the concussive force of the main cannon,” the Lieutenant Commander at Operation‘s reported, checking the distance and condition of the incoming covenant corvette.
“Prepare firing solutions on the remaining ARCHER Pods, MLA and HLA batteries, but standby for my order. Keep the weapons at minimal power levels, and be ready to bring them fully online at my command,” Matvey ordered, remaining on his feet. In order for him to get a closer view of the corvette hunting them, the Captain had pushed from the command chair and stood a few feet from the base of the chair. “Absolan, prepare to charge the main cannon. You’ll need to take into account the readjustments for drift and the corvette’s acceleration,”
“Aye, Sir. Preparing firing solutions for the ARCHER pods and other batteries,” came the reports from the Operation’s station. As a primary station, Operations had minimal control over the onboard weapon suites and could at least prepare firing solutions while the weapon stations were offline
“The main cannon will be fully charged in minus ten minutes, and taking into account the drift of the Alsatian with the close proximity of that corvette I’d say we’ll have a very low miss ratio,” the Alsatian’s A.I. said.
“Can’t you speed up the charge, Absolan? With the rate that corvette’s moving, they’ll pass us and destroy both frigates,” Matvey asked.
“I warn you, if I speed up the charge on the main cannon we may only be able to fire a single salvo. The coils will possibly be irreparably fused in the process….” the A.I. began.
“Let’s hope all that is needed is one salvo,” Matvey muttered before looking over his shoulder at the A.I,’s pedestal. “Do it, Absolan. Double the charge, and let me know when you’re ready to fire,”
“I’m making a note in the report how I do this under protest,” Absolan replied, before briefly closing his eyes. “The main cannon will be fully charged in minus five minutes,”
* * * * * *
The faces of the crew lay cast in scarlet from the emergency running lights, as they stood at their posts waiting for the given word. The ship that had until now attacked them with impunity from reprisal had yet to cross into the Alsatian’s line of fire, but the crew kept their eyes glued to their display screens. Some of the bridge officers couldn’t stop sweating despite the life support systems keeping the bridge at twenty celcius, but Matvey took it as a sign the crew were on edge about the trap they’d spring. Their Covenant counterparts may have had superior firepower and could make precise in-system slipspace jumps, but they had underestimated the battle.
“What‘s the status of the main cannon?” Matvey asked, quietly from his command chair.
“The main cannon is at seventy-percent charge and rising. Taking into account the corvette’s current velocity, I doubt the main cannon will be fully charged before our counterparts pass into our line of fire,” Absolan explained. “We may only be able to reach eighty to eighty-four percent charge before the target comes into range,”
“It’ll have to do,” Matvey replied, quietly while watching the display screen channeling the drone’s live feed onto the bridge. “After we’ve fired the first volley, begin charging the capacitors for the main cannon and ready to fire a second time,”
“Quiet. I’m picking up launches from the corvette…two drones. The corvette’s spotted us, and if I’d have to make a guess they’re trying to decide if we’re floating wreckage or a greater threat,” the Lieutenant Commander at the Operation’s station reported, quietly. “They’re several hundred meters off, and probing with active sensors,”
“Maintain radio silence and don’t do anything rash. Let them think we’re floating debris, and that we’re all dead,” Matvey replied, quietly and without moving from the command chair. He didn’t like having the Covenant even in the form of a pair of drones that close to the hull of his ship, but with the Covenant’s plasma batteries capable of homing in on the hull the Alsatian had to appear as having rammed a covenant corvette.
Silence fell on the ship as each crewman listened for the telltale signs of drones conducting scanner sweeps pierced the hull, but with the Alsatian’s systems powered down and the crew standing still at their stations there hadn’t been anything to set the scanners off. The nearly two meters of titanium-A battleplating bolted to the superstructure and the hull bracings seemed the only thing that separated the crew from the stars, and the Covenant drones with each crewman from the marine private to the command crew felt as though the Covenant could see them standing at their stations. It had been the reason why no one had moved, and banished even the remotest inkling of a thought their ruse would fail.
The dull wailing of the Covenant drones passed over the seemingly lifeless hull of the UNSC destroyer more than a few times, sweeping every angle from the bow plates to the cowlings of the engines while transmitting live feed to operators aboard the Covenant corvette. Even the systems that pumped fresh recycled air through the Alsatian’s interior vents had been powered down if not outright shut down in an attempt to fool the Covenant’s ears, and it seemed to fool the drones until a loud almost foghorn-like rumble emanated from the lower decks. The beans the cook had recently finished devouring leftover from the crew mess late-dinner only hours ago decided to make its presence known. A result of the pumps being shut down, the vents leading throughout the ship had been left open for a cold restart of the air pumps and allowed a stream of foul-smelling methane to channel into each compartment aboard including the bridge.
It hadn't been long before the bridge crew, even Matvey began smelling the foul smelling gift from the lower decks and they had to fight to keep from hurling on the deck plating for fear of being detected. Commander Leslie at the primary weapon’s station attempted to stop breathing through her nose while the rest of the bridge crew either stuffed their noses with tissue from nearby tissue boxes at the consoles, or as Matvey had to try and bear through the stench. The dull wail of the Covenant drones passed by overhead as the crew struggled not to pass out from their cook’s poor gastrointestinal choices, with most pondering ways of getting their ship’s cook back yet despite the distress of the crew the Covenant drones passed by. The drones were content the UNSC destroyer was a lifeless hulk, that had decompressed violently after ramming the Covenant’s sister corvette.
“The Covenant Drones have moved off…” the Lieutenant Commander at the Operation’s station reported quietly, after what had seemed an eternity of waiting. The crew had remained quiet until the scanner drones had moved off, knowing the Covenant were content the Alsatian hadn’t remained a threat.
“Good. Keep an eye on them, Commander and let me know if the Covenant come about again,” Captain Matvey Daniilovich Galina said. “Restart the air pumps, and open the vents fully…”
“Target is acquired. The Covenant Corvette’s in our range of fire,” the Lieutenant Commander at the Operation’s station reported quickly.
“Absolan, what’s the charge on the main cannon?” Matvey asked.
“The main cannon is at eighty-three percent charge, and rising,” the A.I. replied.
“It’ll have to do. Absolan, fire one round through our makeshift barricade,” Matvey ordered, as a heavy thud passed through the Alsatian’s bulkheads before the hull of the wrecked corvette was reduced to molten metal.
“MAC Round is away,” Absolan replied.
“Recharge the main cannon,” Matvey said, before the lone covenant corvette that had written the Alsatian off as a lifeless hulk exploded amidships.
“Direct hit. The target has sustained heavy damage to their superstructure amidships…” the A.I. began.
“Emergency blow of the dorsal thrusters to bring us below that corvette, and give me a three second burn with the port thrusters for a thirty degree roll to starboard. Bring all systems back online, and cycle through the onboard weapons. When we’re directly below the corvette, I want weapon’s free on all weapons,” the Russian Captain ordered.
“Emergency blow of dorsal and port thrusters are five-five. We should be in position within three seconds,” the Engineering officer reported, as the rest of the systems onboard were brought back online.
* * * * * *
Thrusters along the dorsal and port sides of the Alsatian fired propelling the massive destroyer below their makeshift barricade, while the port thrusters rolled the nearly five hundred meter long vessel into position to bring its remaining turrets into range. The Covenant Corvette with fires amidships from where the MAC round had impacted angled above the destroyer where the plasma batteries couldn’t hone in, and before the thrusters quit firing the Alsatian’s main cannon with its remaining turrets and ARCHER pods opened fire. With such a close range, the MAC round slammed into the SDV Class Heavy Corvette with enough force to cause the alloyed hull to ripple before two other MAC rounds slammed into the bow. The two frigates Vundu and Baiji had opened fire with every weapon aboard the moment the Alsatian’s first MAC round tore through the corvette amidships, and amid the hundreds of ARCHER missiles three tungsten carbide sleeves wrapped around a depleted uranium core slammed into the corvette from above and below. Hundreds of ARCHER missiles detonated across the alloyed hull of the Covenant corvette lighting the alien vessel while the larger impact craters formed by the larger rounds were aggravated by the missile strikes, before the alien vessel split in two. The corvette’s superstructure having taken a tremendous beating couldn’t withstand the stresses and ripped the front end of the ship clear from the aft containing the hanger bays. The corvette’s main thrusters fired in a futile attempt to take the corvette safely from the ambush, but as communication from the bridge had been severed along the spine of the ship the thrusters sputtered as the reactor failed. Hundreds of alien bodies, those of the Grunts through the Elites poured out of the dying ship through breaks in the hull only to suffocate in the oxygen-less environment.
* * * * * *
“The Covenant ship is lifeless with reports of fires raging out of control, and hundreds of life signs flat lining,” the Lieutenant Commander at Operations reported.
“The scanners aren’t detecting any spikes in onboard weapon systems, or auxiliary craft having been launched. The Covenant ship is by all account destroyed, Sir,” Commander Leslie at the Primary Weapon’s station reported, with a sigh of relief the colonists of Norva III had been saved even for a little while longer and that the 4th Squadron hadn’t been destroyed. “You did it, Sir,”
“We did it, Commander. The crews of the Alsatian, Vundu, Baiji and Angel Shark were the deciding factor in this engagement,” Matvey said, in relief. “Lieutenant Bowers, contact the other ships to assess the damage. Send word to the Norva Garrison Fleet HQ and request politely if they could spare a repair cradle at least. Would someone find the cook and load him in with the next MAC round?” he asked, obviously joking.
:END:
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