The ships from the UNW, pelsagon, and the Greystar combine meet at a deep space location over several days before proceeding as one to the NMC designated rally point. Tensions are high as this promises to be a brutal conflict, and there are fears that the 100+ ships making up the task force might still not be enough to turn the tides

Captains from different polities radio each other as the fleets arrive in pieces over a handful of days

Billy steps up to his command center on the Vox looking over the field of ships. He beams as he takes in each one as it darts across the landscape in awe of engineers across the galaxy. “Beautiful...” He whispers to himself. He activates his own broadcast as the UNW Fleet drifts onto the stage. “Admiral Rigers reporting aboard the Vox Finalis, UNW Fleet in tow. It’s a beautiful thing to see such an incredible force come together. You all fill me with hope and admiration. Who wants to bet on who cleans the most shapers though?”

Svenka holds the bridge of her nose and exhales, nodding to comms "Yes Admiral, It is good that we could come together to help in this very critical endeavour. perhaps we should not be focusing so much on glory as on working together to drive the shapers back. We don't need personal ambition to guide our hands."

“Svenka. Your sense of humor is always impeccable. Pleasure. That battleship of yours is gorgeous. I’m truly impressed! And she’s right, everybody.” He chuckles to himself trying to keep it off coms. “God damnit, you’re a good engineer.” “This is certainly set up to be the largest battle I’ve ever been in and I’m looking forward to surviving it and being victorious alongside all of you wonderful men and women. I’d love a briefing.”

From the bridge of the Thunder Child, Kelvin Bell stares in awe at the array of ships “Greetings all, and no bets from me. Just looking forward to a joint celebration once we all survive this one.”

Standing on the bridge of the CSS Bastion, Eisheru doesn't even need to connect with Svenka to sense her current mood. He sighs briefly before broadcasting his message. "Greetings UNW fleet*, while I wish we could be meeting under better circumstances we are here none the less. I agree with the Admiral, a briefing would be a good place to begin." Eisheru reaches out to Svenka telepathically, 'Remember why we have come. And no diplomatic incidents if we can avoid it, okay?' (edited)

(They’re not there yet. This is you guys meeting up I. Deep space before arriving at benavides together)

On coms broadcast. “Comrades! Who do I speak to on the Pelgason side. I’ve heard great things from our engineers and I’m happy to meet you.” (edited)

(I also like to think that Svenka just sees message from Billy Accept/Reject on there because we aren’t friends and if we were at some point, she definitely deleted him.)

(reading comprehension is hard when you first wake up. Updated my message) (edited)

Admiral Kozkov leads the pelgason fleet , aboard the heavy cruiser Worker’s Resolve. It is not distinct from the other cruisers in the formation, aside from some extra communications boosters to better coordinate with the rest of the fleet

Seung comes on comms as well. "This is Seung on the WS Cantor. It's good to once again see the Greystar fleet out here fighting to help, and it's good to make acquaintance with all other captains out here. I hope for a swift victory and bloody defeat on the side of the Flesh Shapers that we can use to hopefully pull together and use as a catalyst to their destruction in the near future."

“Gods that ship is beautiful. Feels good to finally have a Titan Class vessel on our side rather than destroying our fleets while we Hail Mary.... This will certainly be one of the largest shows of force I have ever seen and I will be proud to fight alongside each and every one of you. Yes even you, Captain Svenka. We are all stronger together.”

"Governor Seung, I am overjoyed to see you here. Hopefully Agata doesn't see fit to launch you into another moon. Shall we meet aboard the Vox or the Cantor for our briefing before we spike into Benavides?"

“Either works for me if we’re to meet in person together.”

“Are we to be meeting with the NMC as well or would you like to speak with those of us present before we join them?”

(NMC isn’t there right now , but if you guys want to wait to talk until everyone’s together we can)

(who else is going from the UNW side? Greystar has: Kelvin, Svenka, Rin, Eisheru)

(For the UNW, it’s Billy and Seung. Maybe Cayne?)

(Cayne s is exploring the l gate

(We can move to the meeting if planning this now is premature

(update rin is not coming) (edited)

(so Kelvin Svenka and i)

The ships of the three nations assemble into some kind of loose formation and as one, their jump to benavides commences (7 days for the new rutter) There are over 100 new moon cooperative ships in formation near the dead world spinning below. Most of the vessels are lighter, fifth or six rates by NMC ship classification standards, though there are nine First Rates, each of them armed with dozens of guns each. Solar sails showing the moon phase emblem of the dying polity shine in the bright red orange sun of this region The flagship, Firm Resolve , is the size of the remnant colossal, fitted with sails, dozens of broadside cannons, and a crew compliment of over 1,000 naval infantry.

Billy is at the command center standing stone jawed. His uniform is immaculate today, face freshly shaven and hair pulled back in a tight bun as he opens coms. “Firm Resolve, this is Admiral-Governor Rigers with the heart of the UNW Fleet, Vox Finalis. Accompanying fleets can introduce themselves but we have been at work getting our feet wet with the shapers in our own territories and building and forging alliances. Many thanks to the work of Trivedi and Pelgason for so rapidly upgrading and joining the frey and to Greystar Engineer And Diplomat Vilnovha, Seer Tidecaller and Mr. Bell for their invaluable work putting all this together in extraordinary time as well. Your fleet is terrifying and beautiful. I hope we may be of assistance.”

"Greetings New Moon Cooperative. While the Greystar Confederation is saddened that this is the situation we may make our acquaintance we are glad to be able to offer our assistance. The CSS Veles, CSS Bastion and the CSS Thunderchild are here to answer your call." (edited)

"Hello there. This is Seung Whitaker Governor of Terenzinho and leader of Whitaker Solutions. It's good to meet you all out there and to fight along side you in the protection of the galaxy. I come with the WS Cantor and hope that it along with our other ships will be able to bring a speedy and painless, for us at least, victory." (edited)

Billy looks around. “Ok so unless anyone has more formalities to perform, can we get a briefing? Where would you like us to be?”

(Is everyone good? I didn’t want to cut anything off)

(am good)

(Not trying to rush anyone either.

(Svenka is silently brooding while steepling her fingers in anticipation)

(so... a normal tuesday for Svenka?)

(Quite)

The Firm Resolve’s captain invites you all aboard , dispatching a shuttle to collect you from the various ships making up the task force

“What we are going to discuss is a bit sensitive. I would rather this be done in person” she says, sending over some scant operational details. “When we engage , there wont be much hiding the truth but I don’t think the common sailor will have a true idea of what we are up against. Id rather keep it that way for morale purposes”

“See you momentarily, Captain.” Billy flips off coms and turns away from the command center to prepare to board the shuttle.

“En route”

As you board the large NMC capital ship, you’re met by a dozen naval infantry in white waistcoats, black frogging and high boots reinforced with extra patches of tough leather. Each of them has a metal breastplate on and carries a single shot void carbine with long bayonets fixed

Their captain stands in the center of the group

She is fairly young but the endless losses against the shapers have seen her rapidly promoted

Gulp “Hai.” Billy says, voice cracking. “Ahem, excuse me. Admiral-Governor Rigers.” He nods before turning a slight pink color avoiding Svenka’s gaze at all costs.

Svenka stands behind Eisheru in her Greystar uniform, watching the scene and stifling a laugh with a cough. “Sorry.”

Eisheru raises an eyebrow but no other reaction is forthcoming except his usual warm and charming smile. "Captain, greetings from the Greystar Confederation. Agent Eisheru Tidecaller." he gives a generous bow of his head. "This is Agents Svenka Vilnovha and Kelvin Bell. While we wish we could meet under different circumstances we are here none the less to lend our aid."

Seung steps up to the rest of the UNW and Greystar captains taking a single step forward passed them. "Hello there it's good to meet you captain." Seung puts a hand forward for a handshake. "My name is Seung Whitaker, and likewise with Eisheru I do wish we could have met in less trying times."

“Captain Malditis , welcome aboard. We don’t have much time. The freaks are coming , but I want to show you what they’re expecting to come with. The latest images from our recon probes have just come back. Please accompany me to my stateroom and I will give you the information you need”

(Ship looks something like this but in space)

Seung looks down at his hand pulling it back. "Then lead the way I suppose."

Svenka follows, eyes wandering down Malditis’ uniform. We could use more colour

Billy finally glances at Svenka checking out the Captain and raises his eyebrows slightly. ...OH God damnit “Lead the way. Let’s see what the monsters bring this time.”

Heading up a staircase to a guarded set of armored double doors you’re led inside to a well appointed suite. The carpet is a rich red with dark furniture, golden ivy leaves worked in where tasteful and appropriate. A projector that looks like an old film reel projector is mounted upside down to the ceiling

I wonder if they’re hiring? Svenka thinks to Eisheru, getting off to one side where she can see where the projector is facing. (edited)

“Can I hire you to design one of these for me? Everything about this ship is gorgeous.” Billy says, spinning slowly taking in the room as he enters. Eyebot zooms upward to inspect the projector buzzing happily.

There are a number of flickering starts and shudders as the lights go down and the projector begins. “I’ll keep this as brief as possible. We all have ships to prepare for battle. I mentioned the shapers are expected to arrive within a day or two. They’re bringing something truly terrifying with them, taken from their ancient enemy the slyth

“Does the term star forge mean anything to any of you?”

“Yes. The Slyth ship we repaired was seeking the Star Forge... this, doesn’t look good.”

"I'm not familiar if you could give us some info on it. I know the Slyth had much going on around the galaxy. If it wasn't for travel time of messages I wonder if Ghiest or anyone would know something."

“The shapers have found it and corrupted it for their purposes. It’s how they’ve been making the battle moons”

“So are we planning to retake or destroy?”

“I don’t see a way to cleanse corruption that runs this deep. “

“It’s too entwined with the station itself and they’ve had months to complete their hold over it. As far as we can tell they’ve only managed to rekindle it’s heart to a low level, not enough for stellar engineering, but enough to make it a powerful shipyard for shaper warriors and ships

Svenka nods, gravely. “a challenging thing to kill a planet builder.”

“We... may have an option, but we shouldn’t rely on it as our only possibility.”

“Please expound.”

“The planet killer. The weapon we used to deal with the battle moon once we killed it. We implode the star forge, or at least weaken it and then press the attack. And we keep firing shells at it until it is nothing but cosmic radiation.”

“How many shots do you have on board?”

“Or are you talking about Suha?” (edited)

(Talking about suha. It can’t hit anything that isn’t planet sized with any degree of reliability . The forge is big but not nearly that big. It’ll also kill everyone when it goes off, they only had one sub munition shell and it has been used.)

(Svenka’s a dum dum)

(It’s Kinda nuanced. Plus it’s not like suha is out there just sharing sensitive information like that )

“If we fail it is a last minute option, perhaps we can destroy the entire system. However, I think we can avoid that if we focus fire on it. What I wonder is, does it just pump out ships or does it have weapons? If it just pumps out ships, maybe we can save it for last but I don’t want to stick around and find out what weapons it has either. Captain Malditis, if the Vox, Veles, and Cantor focuses on this... star forge perhaps we could prevent it from pumping out and overwhelming us with more ships. Could yours and the Pelgason fleet hold off their fleet until we can rejoin by your calculations?”

“Or would the better option be for our larger ships to focus on clearing the field so more ships can focus on the forge?”

“My greatest and most decisive victories have been when we focus and eliminate the largest threats immediately, but even the battlemoon and accompanying Cruiser and capital size ships were already terrifyingly destructive and they are extremely good at boarding active ships faster than anything I’ve seen. I’d like to keep as many ships up and firing for as long as possible. What are your thoughts?”

(Neko I don’t intend on going out and just killing every ship and be everywhere. To clarify. I’m assuming that our mission will be to go beat the big giant thing and we’ll have to fight through their accompanying ships as well.)

I guess that was a bad idea. Svenka sighs and steps back. “Is the solitary goal to take out the forge, or are we looking to take out their forces as well? I would... agree that our main ships could be best used to punch through to the Forge, hopefully destroying it quickly and decisively. Although preparing for a protracted battle.” (edited)

Kelvin has been deep in thought, listening carefully and taking in all the new information “I assume the moment any attack is launched against the forge their forces will swarm like hornets protecting a nest. I don’t think we’ll have a choice but to have some ships focused on thinning them out or we’ll be quickly overwhelmed.”

“The rest of the battlegroup , except for the ships you’re commanding , will form a protective screen around you, and will keep the rest of the shaper fleet back. “

“I can’t guarantee we will stop them all, and the forge has been known to deploy its own picket ships, but we will do everything we can”

Kelvin nods “That seems like a reasonable plan. Thank you. If any get through and become a problem, our smaller ships - like mine - could focus on them while our larger ships continue to barrage the forge.”

“One of our tacticians has a theory. It’s dangerous. Suicidal even, but it’s something a nimble ship with a skilled pilot might accomplish” She lets the words hang

“Please, continue. I was going to ask if you’ve discovered any potential weaknesses we may be able to exploit.”

“Yes. I like where this is going. Go on.”

“If a sufficient breach is made in the stations armor, a small ship can make its way inside and cause far greater damage. It stands to reason the internal compartments would be large enough and thinly walled enough.

“We don’t know the exact floor plan of course. You could run out of room or become trapped quickly”

“Seung and Svenka, it looks like we are going to be the fleet busters on the outside of this, will you all will go internal. A boarding party if you will. I would be more comfortable with you all in there rather than out in the battle anyway. Your corvettes could be smashed in the opening salvos of battle and I think we all agree that you’re much to valuable alive... I’ll throw you a bomber drone if you want Incase you have to actually land on the thing. It seems to be a theme. What do you all think. I’m for it.” (edited)

“I’m confident in my pilot and the rest of the crew. The Thunder Child can fly into that thing and see what we can do from inside.”

Eisheru perks back up from his brooding silence. Thinking about his brother Tidecaller back home he shakes his head to rejoin reality, "I would say that I am worried that it is a suicide mission for you, Kelvin. However I think we all knew, and accepted, the risks when we answered the call to muster." Eisheru coughs once to clear his throat. "The Bastion should be able to adequately deal with any lighter picket ships that break through the lines to harass our big guns" (edited)

“I... want to make sure I am understanding. The 3 large ships, the Vox, Cantor, and Veles focus fire on the forge. The Bastion , NMC and CBSS forces will run interference, keeping vessels off of the 3. The Thunder Child either stays docked or close to the Veles, keeping safe until we manage to punch a hole in the forge. At that point a single ship can get inside and unleash hell. That would be the Corvette, Thunder Child. There is no squad to board, there is a single brave man, his ship and crew, Kelvin Bell.” She pauses “The Thunder Child catastrophically damages the forge and gets out while we provide covering fire and work on the remaining fleet.” She looks around the room “Is that accurate?” (edited)

(Nailed it Svenka. You’re a gem)

"I think that sounds just crazy enough to work. And I promise to stick to the plan this time it's a good one. Kelvin, you're going to come out the hero on this one. Thank you Svenka." He nods. "I would add that once Kelvin is inside, it might be a good idea for the larger ships to help clear the field whenever we start getting overwhelmed, especially if one of us is boarded. I would expect them to swarm. Keep coms open. These battles are long fought."

"They do indeed look to swarm out of place targets. Sticking together to cover each other while the battle rages should help some." Eisheru stands and hands a compad to Captain Malditis "I am sure you have plenty of combat data from your encounters with the Shapers. This is combat data from the Slyth precursors. They waged a very successful campaign against the Shapers due in no small part to solid tactics and strategy. If any of this data can help keep more of our ships in one piece you are more than welcome to it." (I had planned to transmit the data to UNW and Pelgason as well. Don't know if it mechanically will help anything.) (edited)

Kelvin looks around to the group “I know this is risky. And I wouldn’t send my crew into this if we thought we had a better chance another way. But it sounds like that’s not the case. Captain Malditis, anything else we should know that might up our odds?” (edited)

"A noble volunteer..." Eisheru opens the very practiced connection with his Friend, 'Even though i cannot follow you in the Bastion I will be with you the entire way' "Are there any more aspects of this plan that we need to discuss?"

(It might come into play for some behind the scenes checks for the fleets as a whole)

“It’s relatively simple. You’ll be in the middle of the battlegroup and we are going to move to Englobe the forge, and then once around it alternate between punishing it’s defensive weapons and keeping shaper ships off your back.

“I wish we could have recovered this. Used it even, but our enemies were too fast. We can at least ensure if it can’t be used for good, it won’t be used for evil.

“We wish the same. One of the chief movers from our side up here got caught up in an MES storm and then went and nuked himself on a planet two star maps east of here. I think the plan is sound. All we have to do is execute it.”

Kelvin looks over to Eisheru and smiles before responding through the telepathic channel. ‘I know you will be buddy. Looking forward to celebrating when this is all over.’

"Unless there is anything, we had best get some rest and prepare for the assault" (edited)

(Everyone satisfied?)

(Yes. Whelp.)

The briefing ends, with photos of the station distributed to the ship crews, along with comms for the smaller battle group leaders. Ships begin taking formation in the void, the first sections of the battle sphere beginning to form. The shapers are expected within the next handful of hours

(I'm not sure if the grid will be needed for this, since your slice of the battle is much smaller)

(Aok with a narrative approach over here)

(I’m with Svenka)

(Going to establish a unity of thought between Kelvin, Svenka and Eisheru. There is no mechanical benefit except for instant communication between the three of us. Will do an rp write up in my channel as i don't want to hold anything up)

(you can do it here, we have nothing but time)

(:+1:)

As the meeting is dismissed Eisheru quickly walks up to Kelvin and Svenka. "Would you two care to join me on the Bastion? There is something that I would like to share with you."

Svenka nods and will follow with

“Of course. Lead the way.”

The trio board a shuttle back to the Bastion as they walk the halls Eisheru briefly explains what it is he is sharing, "So this is an ancient ritual from Terezinho and my people. The best translation from Merlonian that I can come up with is ''Seperate minds, Together.' It allows for a small group of people to be brought into a gestalt-like joining of minds with the help of a telepath." People rush by in the corridor as the ship has been placed into a yellow-alert with the impending Shaper attack. "It will be similar to how I have connected with you both in the past except in that we will all be connected to each other instead of you both to me. It is a rather... intimate experience and connection. I would only do this with your full consent as this bond is far deeper in some respects than what I have been able to do in the past." (edited)

Svenka takes a deep breath. “Well... then I should be up front. I am scared, terrified. I want to run final checks on the Thunder Child. It has never seen battle. I am worried about both Seung and Billy breaking from plan and trying something heroic. I... wish I had their bravado and bluster to shield all of this. I care deeply for my new family and I will do everything I can to keep them together. But... I know that this is far bigger than Greystar and we need everyone working together on this. Kelvin, you have taken on a very brave and important position. I do not like the label of Hero, I really don’t, but I have a great deal of respect for your decision and I look forward to seeing you after this battle is over... There, now that you know my feelings, I would be honoured to be joined to both of you in this way.” She smiles, a worried look behind her eyes.

“I’m an open book. Can’t say I’m not afraid either, but I’m ready.”

Eisheru leads both Svenka and Kelvin to the captain's readyroom aboard the Bastion. The interior is dimly lit with simulated candles. The air is smoky with hints of various incense being burned in the center of a circle drawn in the middle of the room. At three different points on the circle, all equidistant from each other, there is another smaller circle with a sitting pillow placed within it. Resting in front of each pillow is a small glass of water. Eisheru walks over and sits down on one of the three pillows and gestures for Kelvin and Svenka to do the same, "Please, sit." His tone is welcoming but there is an air of seriousness to it.

Kelvin looks around the room. His nerves are still there, but the incense, the pillows and the candles do help to calm him. “Wow Eisheru, this is... really nice. Thank you.” He takes a seat on a pillow, a sip of water and one long, deep breath. (edited)

Eisheru was about to start speaking again when he sees Kelvin take a drink, "That... Was uh... Meant for the ritual... You know what don't worry about it. One second." Eisheru quickly leaves the room to grab the water jug in the XO's ready room and comes back with an extra cup. "Here drink from this one." he refills the cup in front of the pillow and he mutters to himself. "Should have put it in a bowl... Told myself someone would drink it if it's in a cup...bowl next time..." Eisheru is smiling as he is excited to show others how he exists as a Telepath.

Kelvins eyes go wide “Oh my god. I am so sorry. I should have... oh god. Svenka, I really appreciate what you said earlier - it does mean a lot - but look at me. I’m no hero. I make awkward faux pas on a daily basis. I can’t remember things people said to me five minutes ago. A few months ago I was running a tiny repair shop on Acastus. It’s only because of you all that I’ve found some kernel of courage to do something with my life. Anyway, I’m sorry to have interrupted the ritual - Eisheru, please, continue.”

She smiles and gives a short nod to Kelvin. Then focuses on the ritual.

Eisheru shakes his head. "Don't he sorry. This honestly works better if we are all relaxed and comfortable with each other... And thank you both... The typical reaction to Telepaths is generally not so kind and welcoming. Even among my people, abilities like mine are not talked about the same as the other disciplines. So from my bottom of my heart, thank you."

“You’ve been in here before, Eish. I trust you both.”

Eisheru gives a nod and a warm smile to Svenka, "Before we begin, I must inform you that this experience can be a little disorienting at first. All I can say is try to keep your thoughts clear and your mind open." Eisheru begins forming shapes with his hands and the smoke seems to swirl around the room "Focus on your breath. Feel the pull of air as your lungs are filled with the breath of life. Follow the flow as it courses through your body and provides the oxygen necessary for life. And exhale, push the breath out into the world." Eisheru moves his arms around in a circle and the lines of smoke begin settling into distinct lines. The trails of incense seem to form a direct connection between the three of them. "This ritual is about the melding of minds. While you will still be you, our thoughts will be shared. One's fears will be felt by the others. One's courage will grant the others strength." Eisheru makes a closed fist and the lines of smoke become almost solid and a trickle of water rises up from each glass to wrap around the smoke and connect in the center of the larger circle.

"Many minds, one unity. Many bodies, one connection..." and the next line is heard only in Svenka and Kevin's mind. 'May the one unity be greater than it's parts.' It's not hearing the words that startle you, it's the fact that Svenka, Kelvin and Eisheru all know instinctively where the other is in relative space. Each can almost feel the heartbeat of the other. And it almost sounds like the beats are syncing together. The smoke dissipates and the water falls to the floor. 'It is done. We are bonded so long as we remain in the same gravity well.'

(effectively this is a group DM that is an instant action to talk in. I'll message you guys there mechanical stuff)

Kelvin breathes deeply, and a rush of thoughts and emotions floods his brain, startling him at first but eventually settling as he and Svenka quickly learn to selectively tune their perception of them. Through his mind, he says to Svenka and Eisheru, “Wow... this is... this is incredible... Thank you Eisheru.” (edited)

It’s... wow. That’s a lot to process. (edited)

Svenka smiles. This will give us an edge, now and in the future. A surge of pride and Hope washes through the connection. Lets get to the Thunder Child and prepare to send those bastards packing.

'The Bastion is not leaving your side.'

With that, Kelvin is suddenly reminded of the mission ahead. The nerves come back, the self doubt, and he realizes Svenka and Eisheru can likely sense it, but he’s OK with that. “Alright then. It’s time.”

Eisheru places a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get through this." and nods giving a reassuring squeeze. "You had best get to your ships."

Svenka rushes back and does a slightly obsessive pre flight checklist of the Thunder Child alongside Kelvin, precious moments spent running through the systems with no problems found. She puts her hand on his shoulder and pulls him into a hug. Do Greystar... and all of us proud. “I’ll be in the Veles’ bridge.”

Eisheru stays in the ready room and continues to form different shapes with the remaining water. Getting a feel for his new telekinetic abilities is an excitingly new process. He clicks the comm channel to his executive officer, "Ms. Cameron, I'll be in my ready room should have need of me." Eisheru settles in to wait for the coming storm.

Svenka continues, doing a thourough check of all systems, the power levels understood and balanced and the calm voice of the Slyth computer now well-understood. She stood at her command position on the bridge, no need for jury-rigged black slabs or make-do conduits. He was ready, the old god was primed, ready and desiring a fight and Svenka was ready to coax the eldritch energies out of his gullet. She nodded to Belobog, manning the pilot's chair and Lena on systems. "Bring up comms and video to the Greystar and Pelgason fleets." She stands in her pressed uniform, awkwardness fallen away some hours ago. "We stand on the precipice of a pivotal point in our collective histories. I won't restate the importance, you all know it and you all know your role in the moments to come. This will not be easy. This will be one of the toughest things you will ever face in your life, but I know your hearts. I have seen them. Working in places that didn't want you, doing things that were hard every day. Both our polities have accomplished much through work that would crush lesser people. We stand together against this menace, alongside the UNW. We will put in hard work. We will succeed. I believe in all of you." Eisheru and Kelvin feel a surge of pride and an overwhelming push of emotions that Svenka is working to hold at bay. Fear becomes resolve, hope and tenacity.

Aboard the Vox, Billy closes his eyes and breathes deeply, satisfied with his administrative communications should he perish. He sits in a moment of personal silence and clarity as the sound of combat boots rush past his quarters outside. It’s not all on you. he thinks to himself, standing to adjust his uniform and equipment. Billy walks calmly to the bridge in a strange prebattle clarity, noting the soldiers on the Vox rush to complete their practiced duties. You are not alone. Everything seems in slow motion as he steps onto the bridge, soldiers hurrying to and fro completing diagnostics checks and even double checking unusual parts stressed by the coming power surges. We have been here before. He runs his hands softly over the polished metal at the command center. “Men and women of the Vox,” He says over ship coms. “You are one of the finest crews I’ve ever had the pleasure to fly with...We have been in many battles together but in this one we are not the most seasoned. In this battle we are by far not the biggest or well armed.” He chuckles. “But the Vox will shine today because each and every one of you have the the bravery, the knowledge, the instinct, and the unmitigated grit it takes to serve with me. I’ve brought us all into some dangerous and stupid situations and I’ve been lucky not to get you all killed. It is not through me but through each and every one of you that we will survive today. Mark my words we will eliminate our target and defend our allies. Most importantly, I want you to look out into the beauty of this view screen. We are fighting alongside some of the greatest ships and captains that I’ve ever seen. Be comforted my friends. We are not alone.” Billy can’t help but stand in beaming appreciation as ships of war zoom past in formation, the megalithic ships standing as bastions in the distance. He switches to all coms. “Sure picked a nice battle to test your new ships. Anyone care to do a speech?”

Admiral Rigers receives a personal comms message. "All you Admiral"

"If you can stand to listen to me for a moment or perhaps the NMC would like to since it's their people behind us." Seung says over all coms.

“Please, Seung. Proceed. I just spoke to my own men and it will be nice to hear from you both.”

"By all means, Governor."

Seung sighs keying the mic. "Then I guess it's me." He pauses a moment before continuing. "What comes to us now is likely the worst enemy to face our known section of the galaxy. The Flesh Shapers systematically stripping planet after planet bare, spreading like a disease if not a cancer taking over innocents and those that we love and cherish. No more! This battle has a chance to cripple them after their two previous defeats at the hands of the UNW and Greystar we can possibly pause them if not stop them in their tracks. Let's have this be the battle that is looked back in the history books as a turning point where all three of our forces finally gathered together rather then staying separate and trying alone to fight. NMC, UNW, Greystar, and Pelgason let this be the final stand against the Flesh Shapers that begins our advance! Today we protect Benavides tomorrow we strike at their heart and finish this." Seung pauses thinking of Ivanna and the talk of children they might possibly have. "Fight for the future!" (edited)

(Don't forget Pelgason)

(I didnt )

(I did!)

On the Vox, Billy leads a cheer, flicking on and off the lights harking back to the battle cries of old, they stomp rhythmically till some low rank Engineer puts immigrant song by the ancient Led Zeppelin across the PA.

“Death to the shapers!”

(I'm ready to kick this off whenever you all are) (edited)

(Same)

On the bridge of the Thunder Child, Kelvin Bell addresses the crew. “Alright. This is it. Some of you volunteered for this crew because you want to save humanity. Some of you want to be heroes in war stories that will be passed down for generations. Some of you... some of you are fucking crazy.” There are laughs and whoops and cheers. “But for whatever reason, you all volunteered. You know the risk here. I told each and every one of you we could very likely die today. And of all the ships out there, this one - this aptly-named corvette - has the worst odds of survival. I wouldn’t blame a single person that backed out of this. In fact I encouraged some of you to do just that. Not one of you did. And I can’t tell you how proud of you all I am. I’m not one for speeches. I can never end them well. All I can say now is... let’s go blow that piece of shit into forty billion worm bits!” The crew erupts in cheers, and everyone rushes to man their stations (edited)

There is a small black circle, perfect in dimension, millions of kilometers away at system edge. Then there are two. Then four. Then dozens, as the shaper fleet begins to arrive and form into battle formation

Smaller escort ships form a defensive ring , screening what passes for shaper cruisers and battleships. Buzzing , lamprey mouth fighters flock between the bone battlements of the larger ships like birds between rookeries.

The star forge rips its way into real space with a displacement of cosmic dust and ice crystals. The metal is overgrown by ochre flesh, protruding with red cilia and spikes of ivory. A heaving, pulsing Tumor the size of several city blocks is nestled deep into the core of its many decks, the overgrowth pushing out though broken viewports and ruptured bulkheads (edited)

More escorts form up behind and below it, the shaper fleet forming a few wide but thin lines of defense around their stolen precursor machine.

“It’s almost beautiful once you get over the unnatural fear. Extraordinary terrible creatures. On your mark, Captain Malditis.” He turns to his crew. “Cut the music. Party time’s over. Let’s cook this goose. Battle stations.”

“Battlestations, we knew they were coming and we will show them exactly what we are made of, Together.” Together

Eisheru comes out of the ready room as the general red alert is given aboard the Bastion, "Department Heads, final ready check. Mr. Javik do not leave the Veles wing." Eisheru calls out as he takes the Captain's chair. Over the next 20 seconds the 'All Readys' come in. 'Together' he says to the unity.

Seung stands walking to the front of the bridge on the Cantor. "So this is our enemy this time." Louder to the bridge he says. "Look there men that's our target. We're going to make sure that thing falls along with it's allies." He goes quiet again. "We're going to save these innocents and I'm going to make it home to you Iva." Thinking of that promise of the future to Ivanna again Seung stares out over the fleet coming in before turning and walking back to his seat. "Red alert, and all hands to battle stations let's get ready to end this." (edited)

The Firm Resolve hangs back, as the smaller ships of the assault force begin forming up into their own squadrons in response to the shaper formation. The pelsagon fleet, far smaller , moves into guard positions around places in the line where heavier NMC ships could not be spared or would not make it in time.

(Lets get initiatives so I can organize myself here)

(7)

(9)

(Not sure mine matters yet but 3)

(wooo 1)

(4)

The shapers move into a double line in front as the two fleets come together. The less powerful NMC sixth rate ships race out in front of the pack, so they have time to run abeam of the enemy formation and present their powerful broadside guns. The double column of NMC will split into two long gun lines, one running to each side of the shaper formation, to hopefully entirely encircle them. Pelgasons ships keep back with the heavier NMC vessels, more powerful broadsides and prow weaponry primed for battle. The pelsagon ships launch their first wave of unguided torpedoes , as the enemy formation is so dense it’s hard for them to miss

A knot of ships close to the star forge is the most immediate threat to the UNW/Greystar formation, consisting of five escorts and two cruisers.

(Svenka up)

(confirming we start with base 5cp?)

Pinned a message.

(Military ships , 5cp base plus whatever you generate or get due to foci )

(sorry, that took a while - will be out for a while after this)

Svenka pushes the ship's systems to squeeze more power out of the reactor - ((0) - Above and Beyond - fix/Int-15 = +5 CP) "Okay, keep it together, we move as a unit, we fight as a unit, we win as one." "Fire on that cruiser - full force, give it everything you have, Belobog, keep it nimble, evasive maneuvers!" (edited)

(Fixed above - final)

Torn to pieces by the repeated singularity gun hits, the shaper cruiser begins to break apart as fires burn inside of the pieces.

Crew are sucked into the void, and vapor crystals begin to collect around the open rents

The remaining cruiser and it’s escort squadron move past the remains of their comrade, firing a spread of high density calcium slugs at the Veles in reply. (23/10 26/20 ap25 , now billy )

“Alright, pump some extra juice to the guns, but leave some for the thrusters, we’re going to mirror the Veles here. They have the right idea. Clear the field and leave that cruiser to the Cantor.”

Three of the escorts are destroyed outright while two more are damaged. One sails through the storm of fire coming from the vox with relative grace.

They push on , heedless of casualties , meant to slow, not stop

(Two damaged escorts, one healthy escort and the healthy cruiser remain)

(Seung, when you’re back from work)

(escorts are about the size of heavy Frigates?)

(No they’re like reinforced patrol boats)

Seung watches as the fighting begins the shots going out. "Let's finish off that cruiser as well as those escorts." Seung says giving orders to the gunnery to try and get better hits. (Above beyond 14v9 so +5 cp) (edited)

(No fighters right now. They’re in the battle but not engaging your formation)

The combined fire of the capital ships lays low the rest of the first picket sent to delay you from the star forge. Radar begins to chirp as another group of hostiles launches from the forge itself. You expect you’ll be in range to begin engaging it directly in a few moments. Two very large shaper warships of a class you haven’t encountered before break free of their capillary like moorings and begin to drift up toward you. (Kelvin )

(Do I have any options here to help from the Veles if I’m not yet launching towards the forge?)

(The combat rounds are 15 minutes for space combat. Reasonably you should be able to do something. I think the comm officer abilities from the skyward steel book are something you could do to help the Veles while still docked inside)

(Ok, with CP counting towards the Veles’ or drawn from Thunder Child?)

(Counting toward Veles

Kelvin sees the advancing hostiles and orders his pilot to drop from the Veles and begin attacking. (If I can start to hit the smaller advancing ships from here I’ll do that, otherwise doing this at one of the warships while staying close to the Veles)

(Only the two battle cruisers are eligible targets right now)

They plow ahead, the small ships fire causing superficial damage , but nothing preventing them from fighting

(Eisheru)

(at grocery store will post soon)

(No rush. About to go see birds of prey)

"Open a ship wide channel. Everyone we need to protect our flag ships. Things are likely to go sideways. Damage control teams to your assigned sectors. Fire Control, confirm valid firing solution. Mr Javik, take us in. Do not let them get a good shot on the Thunderchild. Mr Oestricher... Fire!." The grav cannons explode with a thunderous roar as the Bastion speeds out from the shadow of the Veles. The former flagship of the Greystar fleet cuts a perpendicular flight path to the incoming shaper ships. 'Kelvin, be careful. Hang back and watch for smaller picket ships. We need the Thunderchild in tact' (edited)

The battlecruiser takes a pair of strong hits, but continues to sail onward. It’s port wing shears off, leaving it behind in a trail of sinewy blood and icy fluid

(Svenka, round 2)

(are we still out of range of the forge?)

(For now)

Svenka contuinues to push the ship's systems to squeeze more power out of the reactor - ((0) - Above and Beyond - fix/Int-14 = +5 CP) "Focus fire on the undamaged big one that broke off, let the other ships work on the swarm. Same again-full force!"

(fyi cloud weapons are only effective against fighter hulls)

(Yeah no fighters have come at you yet)

(I know, I was just being all complete-y in case they come charging in)

(weapon qualities are on page 102 of the phb)

(You’re good Svenka. I’ll resolve in a minute)

The healthy battle cruiser is crushed into dozens of pieces as the Veles ravages it with countless close range unlesshments of its singularly Gun and secondary armament. Dozens of small pings show up on radar as it begins falling apart, its savior pods serving as assault boats, descending on your small formation

The battle at large has already turned against the human and allied forces here, many of the NMC sixth rates reporting boarding actions by shaper assault corvettes. Distantly, shaper fighters strafe one of the CBSS corvettes to shredded ribbons of metal , and descend on the savior pods to devour the unlucky sailors within.

(7 vs 10, shapers have a minor advantage) The NMC is working rapidly to deploy their heavier second and first rates to block spaces in the englobenent sphere where smaller ships have been lost in number.

The firm resolve, sharing its tactical calculations with the fleet, still reports that the sphere may buckle if casualties continue to mount

The limping shaper battle cruiser focuses fire on the bastion, loading its racks of torpedoes and preparing to unleash shaped shots of digestive acid

(20/19 ap20 for the torpedo, other one misses, crit/18, ap22 for the acid shots , billy up)

(9 and 10 damage gets through, 41/60)

“Alright, this is getting a little hairy up their. All power to guns. I want you to keep that smartcloud buzzing as we pass by those boarding vessels and let’s blow through this ship on to our target now, we can’t wait.” ```Vox Finalis VTI’s Ring AP 20 (29/28) (20/40) (30/15) Miss (28/12) (23/38) Miss (19/24) (14/13) (19/26) Miss (19/36) Miss (24/33) (16/34) (22/20) Smart Cloud (Only targets smallcraft that attacks but for story purposes they’re going off in the ether 7 times.) “Burn a hole to the target, Vox ready to peel off should the dome get breeched. Just give the command.” (edited)

The second battle cruiser comes apart under the relentless volley fire, as expected. The pods have not yet made their runs on you , but are getting closer and are joined by survivors of this second ship.

(Seung)

(The pods have a diminishing profile. They can be targeted by weapons and whatnot even if they’re not anti fighter. )

Seung watches the pods pull closer on a monitor tapping at them he says. "Target all weapons onto these pods let's stop them before they get here." (edited)

The assault pods fly down into a storm of anti aircraft fire between the Veles, cantor, and the vox, with 80% of the formation slamming into projectiles or being atomized by the dense clouds. Gunners can hardly load shells or spare batteries fast enough to keep the guns going, and the remaining pods hurtle on, heedless of casualties

(Kelvin)

(Since I’m right next to the Veles, would I be able to some actions and dock same turn?)

(No, docking would be the only thing you can do especially under fire like this

(Ok I dock. Need to keep Thunder Child intact)

(Eisheru

"Mr. Javik skirt those assault craft. Ms. Cameron get engineers to make emergency repairs on Deck 2 Aft. Weapons clear those craft from the void." (edited)

The remaining assault boats vanish at the jail of gunfire streaking out into space from the bastion. For now the boarding assault is over.

(Going to update this when I get home with some narration of where we are at )

(Since it’s about to be a new round)

Momentum begins to swing the way of the human coalition in this battle but the danger is far from over. A group of mixed NMC and CBSS escort craft have punched far in advance of the englobing formation and are at risk of being encircled and destroyed by a trio of shaper battleships. The cannons of the star forge also begun cutting into the void, the enormous mass driver slugs and more esoteric shaper weapons lashing out at any ship foolish enough to get to close. An overconfident NMC second rate is torn to pieces by a pair of gun towers savaging it at close range

(And back to svenka)

(We can choose to assist one of the Two trouble areas I mentioned and we don’t all have to do the same one , or if you guys want to continue on, we can risk that but the shapers will have a better modifier to their combat resolution next time)

(So take on the 3 battleships, the mass drivers or push on to the forge?)

(We can split it up, I think.)

(Veles can work on the battleships - split focus or just try to blow one up?)

(If you focus you’ll be able to even the odds better I think.)

Svenka contuinues to push the ship's systems to squeeze more power out of the reactor - ((0) - Above and Beyond - fix/Int-15 = +5 CP) "Fire the singularity 4 shots into that battleship, followup all remaining on the 2nd along with the Spinal Beam Cannons" (edited)

The first battleship limps along, heavily damaged and bleeding from dozens of stress fractures in its armor. Most of its organic battlements have been broken or torn away, but a few cannons on the prow look to be intact The second takes a pair of hits from the spinal beam cannon, and continues to sail, now planning to divide its fire between the encircled task group and the Veles. A disorganized handful of boarding pods, sure to miss their mark now, are mopped up by the smart cloud

(I’ll do the shapers once im in from training, before work)

The three battleships turn their guns on the approaching Veles, (Crit/42 , 21/30 for battleship 1) (All missed battleship 2) (24/16 rest miss battleship 3, all ap20) The Veles is the first to interfere and they turn their guns away from their trapped victims long enough to try to halt its advance. A buzzing fighter squadrons from each streaks forward from their rookery battlements like swooping hawks (20/5, rest miss. Ap20 Squadron 1 Squadron 2 missed 21/2 squadron 3, Rest miss )

They streak over the Veles superstructure, firing bolts of energy across the surface of the capital ships

(And billy up)

“Good call, Svenka. Do you need help with those ships or do you want me to work on these mass drivers?” He looks over his consoles as the battle unfolds, moving target reticles looking for weak points and keeping an eye on enemy movements.

(Blocking the Crit with Burst ECM) - Currently at -21HP - miscounted on the first attack) “If you could, would be good to finish them off. We’ve taken some hits, but nothing catastrophic, yet. That one shot barely missed us.”

"The Bastion was planning to break off and support Svenka. Your call, Admiral"

“Together. One thing at a time. Battleships, Mass drivers and then we unload and punch a hole in the tumor. On my six, Tidecaller.” Billy signals his crew and banks the Vox hard, pitching and rolling to gain a better angle on the assailants. (Rolls inc shortly)

(Should have been more obvious here and specified targets for each shot. Mimicking Svenka so split pretty evenly but use your own discretion as I screwed up. I expect overkill in this kind of thing anyway.)

(I was going to group them up the way she did. Just need to get outta work so I can math)

The first battleship is handily finished off by the close range gunfire , as the vox joins the Veles in a formation. The second battleship is crippled, barely holding on, and the third takes moderate damage , forced to break off from an attack run on the fleeing escort squadron to cope with the damage

(Seung)

"Gunnery let's get those cannons. Hopefully they can finish off those battle ships. We're going to hit those cannons so they won't tear into us as we get closer." Seung says giving direction via his chairs computer to the Gunnery on where to target. (Above and beond Lead 9v9 Almost missed one.)

(edited)

Each gun tower recurved a pair of strong hits from the VTI, and again , a hit in each from the spike inversion projectors. Organic matter and metal plating shears off from the damaged gun towers. Their two large cannons begin to pivot toward the Cantor in response

(Kelvin)

Kelvin watches the battle intensely through monitors, still waiting for the right time to rush towards the forge... (Pass - still waiting)

(Could bolster AC on the Veles if you want? - Sensor Ghost?)

(I’d just be using your CP, per Neko, so no benefit from me doing it vs you I don’t think)

Eisheru looks at the tactical display showing the enemy Battleships that Svenka and Billy are assaulting. As one red blip blinks out of existence and another one shows status of heavy damage, Eisheru changes his mind. 'I'm sorry, I cannot leave Governor Seung alone to face those guns.' he sends to the unity with Kelvin and Svenka "Belay that order Mr. Javik, plot complimentary course to the Cantor. Full burn! Mr. Oestricher, I want guns one and two on that first mass cannon and gun three on the second cannon. Things are likely to get hairy folks, make sure your ship suits are on in case of hull breech. Ms. Cameron ensure fire suppression units are still operational." (edited)

There is a breach in the superstructure made as the first gun tower collapses. This isn’t the core shot you’re looking for, but a nimble craft may be able to undermine a good number of the surface defenses before the forge proper begins firing

(You can make a go for that if you want Kelvin., that’s why I changed the order for this round)

Kelvin scrambles to get on the comms “Everyone, this is Kelvin Bell. I think the Thunder Child has a good shot at taking out some of the surface defenses on that thing. I’m undocking and heading in.” (Is my move there free? Likely to be under fire?)

(You have a full turn. They fired slready this turn)

(Ok I’d like to go in and see what I can target)

The thunder child slips from the Veles launch bay and back out into the swirling melee of clashing ships. The ruined defense tower has exposed a twisting underlay of organic ducts, tubes and passages large enough for your ship to fit inside. (Think like Death Star 2 reactor run)

As the ship barrels towards a narrow opening Kelvin yells to his gunner “Alright just blast the hell out of anything that might look important! Some kind of generator, reactor, anything! I’ll help spot targets. (Support Department - Gunnery) “Everyone, buckle the fuck up!” (Just going to launch an all out attack - I would be flying in as far as possible looking for some kind of power core or shield generator. If we don’t see anything like that, just trying to wreck shit)

Heading inside the forges superstructure , the thunder child begins firing at everything around it, knocking out supports, cutting internal hallways and supply tubes, and damaging more sensitive systems as it passes through the breach. An extra thick bulkhead looms ahead, preventing a quick way out (which will be dealt with next turn) A daisy chain of explosions ripples across the most outward of the forge’s surface.

(And Svenka

Svenka runs a subroutine designed to maximize output of the targeting and power supply to the weapons onboard, lines of code running quickly across the connected black slab. - ((0) - Above and Beyond - Program/Int-11 = +4 CP) "Focus the main gun on the damaged battleship, full force! Use the spinal beam cannon to break up the crippled one - lets show them who they are messing with!" (edited)

(Above and beyond can't use the same skill check twice btw, otherwise everyone will just spam their best skill with no chance of failure)

(But that’s all I’ve been doooooing)

(i believe we have all been doing it) (edited)

(This was brought up last time during the fleshshaper invasion)

(i dont see anything in #the-battle-of-acastus) (edited)

(Fixed - and yeah, first I had heard of that)

(Is that a house rule? Or are you confusing that with Do Your Duty? I don’t see anything about not being able to do it more than once in the book.)

(Thought that was the ruling.)

(Dax is interpreting correctly )

The two remaining battleships break apart at the concentrated fire. The remaining escorts of the trapped formation send messages of thanks. The battle continues to go well, though the shapers numbers are beginning to tell. Fierce close range duels between entire squadrons sees only handfuls of ships limp away from crippling broadside runs on each side. Dozens of fighters from both sides swarm, twisting and driving in giant dogfights. The chatter of the pilots is almost constant

The englobement of the forge is as complete as it can get, and the second phase of the attack begins. Dozens of large cannons begin firing into the void, along with smaller point defense guns

It’s own hangars open and ships begin drifting out, newly created from the immense reserves of biomass within

(Gonna write more specifically for your area in a minute)

On the forge itself, with the thunder child inside a non critical space, the defensive armament comes online. (We will use the star forge as a whole at this point, once it takes enough damage , you’ll be let know the thunder child has a way in assuming his current run ends well)

The closest small vessels from CBSS and NMC formations are savaged, destroyed, or forced to disengage by the sudden furious fire

(I will post the math here on break from work as it fires)

(25/24 20/18 ap 20 on Veles ) (24/11 20/14 ap20 on cantor) (21/8 21/13 28/25 on vox, ap25) Weapons battery fire lashes out at the heavy ships , mass drivers corrupted to fire discs up ultra hard calcium shells, while a volley of stringy acidic dragnets are fired at the Vox, the shaper crew hoping to cause some lingering damage to the heaviest ships in the fight.

Sensors on all combined fleet ships begin warbling or howling , as launch bays all over the surface of the vessel begin opening and lofting bombers. It will take several moments for them to organize into attack formations

(Billy was next I believe)

(correct billy next)

(-12 to Veles)

(Resolving damage first. Hardened polyceramic overlay -5 inc ap and 30 armor leaves 10 damage threshold per hit. Vox takes 18 damage total.)

The Vox pitches to one side as it takes a direct hit from the acid. Billy and the crew brace themselves from the all too familiar battering. “Hold firm. We need to punch through and end this. Let’s see if we have enough juice. Shut off overrides and reroute all power to guns, just like we practiced.” (Success 9v9: gunnery actions 1cp) (Can I target the weakpoint to open it up for Kelvin?)

(In Cali atm May be able to post tomorrow if not tonight when I come up.)

(Only he can see it, he’s inside. And there will be a spot opening once the forge itself takes enough damage)

(The second one is the one I was talking about. Ok cool. I guess what picture popped in my head, and tell me if I’m close, is like one of the most terrifying images I’ve seen. It is of the back of the Suriname Toad photoshopped onto human flesh when you described the bombers coming out. [Ill post a gif in art of the toad and let your imagination fill in the rest bc I can’t find the original.] I basically just want to say fuck that whole area and blow it to smitherines in a pray n spray/whackamole kind of way. I have a ton of shots coming and a ton of targets so I’m just shooting at that whole area and I’ll let you interpret it if that’s cool. Art and rolls inc.)

(Tell me if that’s a thing I can do. Lol)

(That’s exactly it and yeah it’s not a distinct separate series of targets. It’s just to whom it may concern)

“Engage volley capacitors and destroy.... that fucking shit...” he commands in awe. (edited)

(Hey let’s subtract 8 from all those to hit rolls. I don’t have Vothe Gunning (for classified reasons) for me and if I’m captaining/admiraling and doing those actions I’ll need an NPC to actually fire. There’s been an ongoing misunderstanding here and it’s been overlooked until now. The Vox should be hitting a lot less by the book so let’s get this right. Billy is already an over the top Captain. Although, I will say, if I can get one of you warriors in the gunny seat, then we’d be in business.)

(We should repurpose Archimedes for the UNW navy if he’s still in storage or something. )

(13, 15, 7, 22, 7, 21, 12, 18, 10, crit, 21, miss, 20, 16, 14, 8, 12 are the hit rolls adjusted now, neko)

(Maths)

(I thought NPCs couldn’t be in those roles? We don’t use our to hit on the guns?)

(You can do one station yourself, the NPC's do the others)

(Only if we take the assist gunnery action or command the gunnery from my current understanding)

(assisting the gunner reduces the CP cost, i don't think it allows you to use your attack bonus, unless neko has ruled differently)

(You'd have to do the gunnery station, not just lower the CP)

Damage spreads across the outside of the starforge, its heavy armor soaking some of it in. Plates of metal and hunks of organic matter are knocked free in some areas, exposing more armor and latticework supports underneath. A number of bombers, slow to launch from their berthing cysts are also caught in the crossfire

Dozens more are swarming, and the remaining defensive armament continues firing on smaller CBSS and NMC ships that get too close

(Seung, when time allows)

The shots splash against the Cantor sensors showing green that armor was not penetrated (no dmg). “We got those bigs guns let’s hit the rest of this damned thing!” Seung says as all weapons level on the forge.

(edited)

A handful of plating and a hunk of what was once a spread of hangar bays is ripped into the void, cut free by the intense bombardment of the capital ships.

(Eisheru!

'Hold on Kelvin, we are trying to crack this thing open. Stay alive in there.' "Ms. Cameron, begin acquiring locks on those bombers, we are going to need to deal with those soon. Mr. Oestricher, target any cracks in the plating you can find and fire for effect."

A fault in some of the armor begins to appear as a spreading crack, not yet wide enough for a ship to enter.

(All AP20, sorry for omitting that)

Kelvin and then thunder child wreak havoc inside a tertiary area of the star forge and ahead, the armored walls of the opposite side of the forge loom, along with a falling section of gantry that will absolutely crush the ship if not dealt with or avoided

(Am i up?)

(Yes)

(So I’m basically barreling towards a wall and am about to get crushed by this gantry?)

(If you issue no orders at all and don’t take any actions whatsoever yes)

(Ok, if I can, I would like to avoid the thing that’s going to hit the ship, and blast the shit out of the armored wall to try to crack it open. If I can’t bust it open, will I just crash or could the ship make a hard turn to avoid it?)

(Still using ship orders. Evasive maneuvers Or shooting the falling stuff could work depending on what check is being made. Depending on how much cp is left we can move on to how to handle the wall

Kelvin sees the massive structure starting to fall. Still with the gunnery and with only a split second to react, he makes a call “Blow that thing up before it hits us!” (Support department - Gunnery) (Fire all weapons - 1CP, 6 remaining) (15/13, AP20) (7/17, 20/15 both AP 10)

(If that doesn’t work my pilot is going to take evasive action)

The weapons snap fire and enough of the tumbling wreckage is knocked aside and away, the ship bursting through the large fireball unscathed. The wall looms ahead through a gently twisting maze of pipes and cables

(Before I commit all of my CP - how far am I from this wall and could the ship conceivably stop or turn before hitting it?)

(It would be able to stop in time with a skilled check and the tunnel is too tight to turn )

(Ok fuck it) The wall approaching at speed, explosions around the ship, everyone is acting on instinct at this point (Fire all weapons x2, at the wall) (Grav Cannon x2 - 22/17, 23 crit / 32) (Plasma beam x4 - 17/11, 16/9 and two 1’s) (edited)

(Eisheru just reminded me my attacks are +3 not +2 - edited above) (edited)

The weapons punch through the armor and the ship jerks violently as it rams through the weakened superstructure (5 damage, ignored armor) The thunder child emerges from the back of the forge, haloed in a ring of burning wreckage and debris, shooting away from the wound like a snipers bullet. Several forge weapons previously lashing out at the encircling coalition fleet fall silent as their power or other vital needs are cut off

(Svenka, assuming kelvins cp are all used up)

(They are)

"All firepower on the forge" She punches in a command (using Volley Capacitors for +4 CP to Guns) & Support Department-Gunnery

The Veles unleashed its powerful main and secondary armament on the forge, capitalizing on the damage already done by the thunder child and covering its return to the formation as defense towers along its flight path are taken out. Cracks begin to deepen and widen, close to something Kelvin can work with, but for now, not quite there yet.

The battle around the forge is going well, but further beyond the tide swings drastically against coalition space forces (5 vs 3 for shapers vs fleet) The Firm Resolve takes its first hit as a snub noses hive ship rams it , taking it low across the keel and knocking several of its engines out of alignment. The ship itself never stops firing its dozens of mass driver cannons and deck mounted multi spectral lasers, cutting apart anything that gets too close. The captains ship rune has an impressive kill tally of 14 enemy vessels next to it so far, just an hour into the fight

Heavier shaper ships in a wedge formation are pushing down heavily from the top of the globe formation, covering raptor packs of lighter ships set to pounce when the coalition formation is breached

———- The forge itself begins to bubble and thrash as the outer layer of flesh armor begins to shift, revealing a 50m long object in the main tumor that resembles a cross between some sort of turret , and an eye. The eye gazes at the mixed UNW and Greystar formation causing it such pain. (Pilot checks everyone, and add ship speed to it. You can take the checks personally if you’re trained in pilot)

(8)

(9)

(14)

(12)

(Just need Kelvin)

(12) (edited)

(dc was 10, those that pass are missed entirely those who didn’t take 34 damage, AP 30. I’ll narrate shortly when I’m in from training

A massive beam of energy fires from the eye toward the formation of UNW ships and beyond. The bastion and cantor are both hit with the shot, too slow to come about and avoid the sudden attack. The beam continues, carving a path of destruction through the west side of the formation

Energy continues to crackle around the eye

It’s secondary batteries fire on the ships missed by the beam (24/9 ap15 on bastion (22/9 on vox ap15) (edited)

(And billy up)

(Bastion is taking a crisis for that 34 damage, rolled 6, Haywire Systems)

(Damage glances off the Vox’ armor.)

(and that second shot also does no damage to the bastion)

(The bombers are going to go at the end of the round. I’ll count your anti air shots toward what gets through since they shoulda gone already and I forgot

Billy knows the limits of this ship that’s been his baby for so long. He knows exactly how long it takes for each capacitor to recharge, how to boost and reroute power from systems at just the right time to reach near theoretical limits of the ship. He starts a timer from the last round and counts milliseconds, reengaging power in different parts of the ship. (Above and beyond failure 7 v 9 -1 cp) CP 6 The Vox shudders as Billy has pushed it to its absolute limits and beyond and has to go back and stall as the ship’s systems stabilize once more. “Evasive actions. Let’s not get hit by that thing.” (Success 12) -2cp +2 AC “Great. Good keep it steady, looks like we can get those VTIs and cloud up and running. Just in time too.” Fire all Guns -3cp VTIx2 - The eye (18/50) (18/31) Smart Cloud (Cloud 3d10) 25 damage (have to roll against each target?)

(everyone else seems to just do a roll per gun, don't forget the -4 for the clumsy tag. I'm thinking Neko is going to treat the bombers like a swarm but he may correct that)

(Yeah didn’t know what the rulings going to be)

(Is the cloud clumsy? I forgot)

(pretty sure if it's the smart cloud)

(10 to hit)

(I’m going to treat them like a swarm. I can resolve total hits/damage at round end)

"Gunnery I think that thing's finally pulled out the big guns I think it's about time we do the same. Run the Volley Capacitors and follow my lead on this shot." Seung says pulling close to his terminal and watching the eye. "Right for the center of it on my mark fire every thing we got let's make sure we don't miss and don't hit any debris." (Shoot/dex 19v9 got a perfect roll.) Seung watches for a few moments waiting for the perfect time focused on his target pulling from past encounters such as Kingbreaker. Suddenly he sees the moment where the debris and ships will line up and clear and shouts, "Fire!" to his bridge.

The eye scabs over and weeps large crystalline tears of Burned meat and puss into the void. It’s surface is scarring over as the forge works to try to seal the worst of the wounds. It’s hard to tell if it will still fire or not with the web of scar tissue forming over it Secondary fire from the inversion projectors pepper the surface of the sealing wounds. The charge mantle surrounds the cantor with a hail of electrical energy

This combined with the fire from the vox, assaulting the other side of the eye, and widening the gap needed for entry. It looks as though kelvin can literally thread the iris and slip inside

(Eisheru)

(Can I use talk/cha or Lead/cha to direct people to reset certain systems to deal with my Haywire Systems crisis?)

(You have to deal with it yourself in terms of the cp distribution but yes, you can maintain calm)

As the blast of energy washes over the Bastion half of the screens on the bridge go from black to blue then to a wall of text. Someone curses in the background, "Fucking BSOD!" Eisheru tries addressing the crew, "Everyone stop talking and..." Bridge members start losing their cool and panicking as systems come back online only to restart once again. Eisheru stands up from his captain's chair and his voice booms across the bridge, "I SAID EVERYONE LISTEN UP!" The uncharacteristically loud shout from their otherwise even toned Captain brings everyone to a halt while chaos rages outside the ship. "We cannot fix this if everyone loses their head in the process. Stop and take a second to breath so we can work through this together. Ms. Cameron, initiate hard restart of ships systems on my mark. Everyone power down your work stations if you are able." Eisheru waits for department heads to give the the thumbs up that systems have been powered down* before turning back to Ms. Cameron, "Go ahead, Number 1." At that point all lights go dark for 2 minutes*, then one by one all the systems begin their normal boot operations and function as normal. Departments around the ship begin reporting full operational status as his command console lights up showing all systems working as intended. "Mr. Oestreicher, would you do the honors of wiping those fighter-bomber scum from the void?" (edited)

(I’ll resolve for the bomber squadron at round end. But all seen. Kelvin up)

Kelvin sees the opening in the eye “They’ve made an opening - there! Go now!” (The Thunder Child jolts off, aiming to fly right into the eye) (edited)

(Do i have to use ship command actions here or can I fly in and see what’s what?)

(Fly in first and then I’ll describe things and you can decide. I didn’t want to just throw you in there

(Ok I’m flying in!)

(Okay, so we will need an evasive maneuvers to thread the challenging entry, but assuming that goes well, ) inside , there is a disgusting mass of hanging tissue, optic nerves the size and length of freight trains and a horrific looking pulsing tunnel of ochre flesh that twists and turns to a glowing light up ahead. Something dark seems to meld out of the shadow at the bottom of the tunnel , as an antibody the size of a patrol boat begins to rise up and investigate the intruder

(Fail on evasive maneuvers - 7) (edited)

(Will post rest of move a bit later when I get off work)

(5 damage ignore armor as the ship takes some damage coming in, everything else described happens

The crew jostles from the impact but everyone remains calm. Kelvin sees the moving shape approaching the ship “Yavin, hit whatever the fuck that thing is coming toward us! Then we can focus on this eye shit...”

The plasma beam ends up being enough to crack the thick armor of the patrol boat like craft. It begins breaking apart with powerful jets of fluid gushing out of several fractures in its form. Navigating the tunnel will be careful work and your pilots settle in for the challenging series of maneuvers ahead

(Bombers for me , resolving now)

(22/3 , 25/14, 27/6, 21/8 ap 30) The bombers dive through the flurry of anti aircraft fire, reduced from a swarm to just a handful of craft and its then the crew of the Vox begins to realize they are the target. The handful of craft power whatever passes for their engines and their small but considerably dense mass collides with the spine of the ship

Acid sprays down armor and the sheer force of the impact alone buckles armor plating.

Drifting clouds of debris shed from the Vox’s flanks as it continues moving forward (Svenka up)

(Vox takes 13 damage... 90/120? I’ll doublecheck)

(I’ll be a bit )

(No rush. It’s almost my bedtime too)

"Keep the pressure up with all we have! Support Department-Gunnery

Damage continues to spread across the surface of the forge and a second launching wave of bombers is partially engulfed by the spreading explosions and weapons. The diving shaper ships from the weakened top of the formation enter the fight , firing on targets along with the forge

(Rolling shortly)

The forge guns open fire , with more savagery than ever as the tide of battle shifts once again. The vox is struck (25/ 34 26/23, 18/27 ap30) by a hail of beam energy from a part of the eye without scab, hardly the full power shot it was before. Secondary torpedo batteries split fire between the remaining three ships The Veles is missed, the launchers meant to target it out of position. The bastion is struck (18/8 ap20) amidships As the hardened calcium tipped torpedo strikes home. The second shot meant to ripple fire with it missed, running under the ship close enough to scrape paint off the hull. The cantor is struck port side twice (24/9, 26/18 ap20)

(Bastion takes no damage)

The descending shaper ships take the passing CBSS and NMC ships with weapons fire, and aim their prows down to dive bomb the UNW formation. Boarding pods fire from housings on each ship and a thick cloud of glittering spears arcs out in front of the diving formation. Their trajectories have them making contact with all ships in the next several minutes

(Billy)

(Crisis for the 34, 18 misses, the Vox takes 23 and 1 crisis)

(No dmg to the Cantor.)

(D10 for Crisis billy)

(4)

(Engine lock. No bridge actions can be taken until resolved )

“Damnit the engine locked. Reset all overrides to default and let’s start her back up. We pushed her a bit too far but we can fix her. Engineers, while the engines are down, let’s to fixing some of this damage. We want to stay in this fight. All hands on protecting the Vox.” Deal with crisis (Can I use my fix or computers to address this, or do I have to use crew skills or do I back out of the ship control menu and run over there as a “scene”) (Cp7) Engineering Damage control (cp 3) (11v7 success +12hp to Vox) Coms: Sensor Ghost (cp2) (8v9 fail)

(You can handle the crisis with your own skills but the npcs will use their own skills for everything else since you’re focused on handling the crisis)

The ship is a hive of activity, as the Vox’s guns fall silent for the first time this fight. Inside, a different war is being fought against damaged systems and spreading deck fires from weapon hits

(Seung is next)

(are the ships that are coming in for boarding actions, targetable?)

(Solve crisis fix/int 12)

(Yeah they are)

(And the bombers were destroyed between the actual swats by AA guns and the kamikaze runs of the survivors)

"Good job! I'd say and eye for an eye but we're going to take much more from that son of a bitch. Let's clear the way for everyone and make none of our ships are boarded aim for those oncoming pods." Seung says as the ship gunners take aim."

A handful of shots strike true and hit the pod swarm, vaporizing whatever they can come into contact with. A diminished and spreading blanket of boarding craft continue to descend. The cantor is haloed in weapons fire, striking everything that comes near it.

(Eisheru)

"Clear those boarding craft! Have to make sure the Veles can keep firing on that eye! Oestreicher, maximum spread... Fire!”

A small spread makes it through the gunfire and descends on screaming organic whistles. Inside the forge, the metal begins giving way as the light gets closer, Kelvin now seeing cobwebbing neuron networks and nodes rather than metal pipes and tubes.

The nodes light up as electrical current rushes between them as colored light

(Can I get through them and see the light source? How far away is it?)

The maze twists and turns too much to easily pilot through. The light source is buried deep inside this massive network of organic cabling and pathway neurons. It’s difficult to see just how far down this goes. Sensors are confused by the strange mesh of materials in this room

“Yavin, fire all the guns once at that stuff and see what happens before we fire more.” (Fire all guns - 3 CP, 4 remaining) (Grav Cannon - 22/12) (Plasma Beam x 2 - 5/12, 10/6)

Some of the hit neurons begin to burst into flame. The forge seems to shake it its entirety and groan as the superstructure shivers. Two more of the antibody like craft begin to slowly emerge from the twisting neural network in response to the intruder

Kelvin and the crew watch the neurons burn, then see the strange crafts approaching. “Yavin, two plasma beam shots at each of those things, then two grav cannons into that nerve shit. I’ll help with the aiming coordinates.” (edited)

Each of the antibody craft are hit with a beam, the second of each salvo slightly short in accounting for the drift of the enemy ships. The two ships continue closing in, trailing sprays of fluid and fan tails of sundered tissue

The neuron cluster crushes under the effects of the grav cannon, the double shot pulling banks of connections out of the walls of the forge creature and sending tangled balls of the strange neuron material hurtling to the bottom of the chamber.

The forge shakes again, violently this time

(Svenka)

The battle had reached a cadence and Svenka glanced down at the systems readouts - damage, but nothing concerning, yet. Keep it up Kelvin, and get out of there when you need to. I'll keep the pressure up and the lights on. "Keep at it Belobog - wear that horrid thing down, Power is still diverted to your station." (Support Department-Gunnery)

The scattered and surviving boarding pods make it through the hail of fire , as the Veles lashes the star forge with another devastating salvo. Large pieces of metal and flesh tear free this time and the final shot acts as a doctors metallic scalpel against the tumor in its back, lancing it. Freezing ichor squirts into the void and the forges secondary cannons fall silent. (Rolled a d5 with everyone’s ship in initiative order, which is kelvin. He’s inside the forge so moving down one place it’s the Veles) The boarding pods, ten of them out of a swarm of dozens latch on to its dorsal armor and begin to chew through the tough exterior plates.

The NMC flagship has not been spared the wrath of battle and is reporting a similar boarding action , as the ships passing through from the top of the engagement sphere send another spread of boarding craft toward it.

—————— The forge itself fires whats left of its eye, trying to hit whatever is closest in its way, this time hitting the cantor as it drifts at the edge of the formation (Crit/25 ap30 20/9 same ap)

A pair of surviving point defense guns try to land hits the armored underside of the Vox, (25/12 ap25 and a miss) And a pathetic spread of two torpedoes makes its way to the bastion (18/7 22/10 ap 25)

———— The forge is weakening and the defending fleet is stretched thin trying to hold back the encirclement of its capital vessel, but the human coalition fleet is likewise suffering heavily , their formation hammered from within by the forge, and without from the shaper fleet. Dozens of ships of all classes have been lost in this furious close range engagement

(Billy up once everyone’s caught up)

(Vox @ 76/120)

(Bastion takes 7 damage, 38/60)

(I’ll do the ships inside facing off against kelvin before he goes. Not really part of the big fight out here

(Billy up)

(Cantor at 161/220 now.)

“Ok, boys. We’ve given her a second to cool down and charge up. Let’s try this again. Power the VTIs. Let’s plot a course of fire and thin out some of that fleet. Kelvin needs just a bit more time. They’re disabling two of our best ships right now so let’s sweep up before we’re all overwhelmed.” Billy coaches the Gunnery to help them aim through the growing field of debris and picking out the most critical targets as the other departments work their magic. (Above and beyond: shoot 10 v 9 success +4cp) (11cp) On the Bridge, the Vox crewman work as a team to take evasive actions. -2 cp (Success 11v9) +2ac Meanwhile engineers scramble across the ship with tools and spare parts, putting out fires across the ship. - 3cp (Damage Control Success 9 v 7) +12 hp (Vox 88/120) Fire all Guns X2 VTIx4 (Hits all low: 12,10,12,14)

Four hasty shots ricochet off armored surfaces of the forge. The vox is a beehive of professional chaos as deck hands, engineers, damage control teams and fire suppression teams move to various damaged points of the ship for rescue and repair. Several bridge stations have fared little better and the departments are doing everything they can to work around blown terminals and shorted out systems. Things seem to improve somewhat after about fifteen minutes of work.

(Seung)

(not to be a stick in the mud billy but the DC for damage control goes up by one every time. It still is a success but next time the dc is 9)

(just an fyi for next time)

"Damn it!" Seung yells as the ship is rattled by the eyes shot. "I need a damage report on where we were hit lock down any sections opened to the void. We're going to fire everything we got back at it again. We're finishing that damned weapon. All gunners aim for this point and fire on my mark!" (Above and beyond shoot again. 13v9)

The eye blows out in a shower of gore, the vast ovular fluid clouds billowing free. The entire structure of the forge shudders and the tumor is bleeding heavily into space. More of the foul lights inside shut down, and large cracks appear in key places of the superstructure

It’s turrets are sluggish to track and arcing purple lightning tries to cauterize the wound but it seems ineffective

(Eisheru)

"Mr. Oestricher, follow up on the Cantor, mimic their spread pattern! Fire!”

The shots hit close to where the cantors did but cause no significant damage on the already broken sections of the station. Inside the vessel the two patrol boats squaring off with the thunder child fire their primary weapons

(22/12 ap15 15/11 ap15, not sure if that second one hits)

The purple beams streak toward the Greystar corvette as they desperately try to defend the brain of the corrupted forge

(Sure does. I had 30hp left)

(You can take a crisis for one of those hits if you want to)

(Going to take a crisis)

(D10, then your turn)

(That’s a Fuel Bleed)

(Will post my turn in a bit)

The ship is rocked with fire and heavily damaged, but somehow the crew is still alive and the ship intact. Lights flash indicating a major fuel leak. They are ignored. Kelvin braces himself and yells out. “Yavin, same plan! Stick to the plan!”

The first antibody ship falls as a burning wreck, exploding amid a dense cluster of neurons. Jagged bone shrapnel flies out in all directions, severing more. The second ship is heavily damaged and drifts out of position from the kinetic impacts of your weapons. The grav cannon fires twice into the clusters it can find, compressing what it can. It doesn’t seem to have the far reaching effects that happened last time.

Aboard the Veles, the first of the boarding pods makes its way through and shapers begin to enter the ship from@their entry point near the bow

The general quarters alert begins flashing as the sergeant at arms begins organizing counter boarding teams

(We can roll it out or Svenka can get personally involved. Your choice )

(Um... power armour... soooooooo - faster fleshshapers kill kill kill?)

Veles has a round of actions and we can move to your thread for the boarding

"We have boarders! Kade, you have the bridge, keep the pressure on!" Svenka stepped in to her newly completed power armour, the legs and then body hissing shut. "Time to slap some flesh."

(sorry for the wait)

(I’ll do the shaper turn in a minute)

The forge takes heavy damage as it’s rocked by more singularity gun hits. Virtually no section of its external surface is without damage of some kind. The forge itself is barely in the fight and both fleets have suffered a severe mauling in the two hour battle so far. The two formations have been reduced into scrapping packs of ships, all semblance of tactics and order lost but for the barest bones battlegroup maneuvers. The guns of the Firm Resolve have stopped firing as shaper boarding teams gain control of the cannon decks. The NMC captain fights a valiant counter boarding action to try to clear the rampaging shapers.

(The forge itself is too weak to continue damaging your ships. There’s three smaller engagements you could assist, while kelvin does what he needs to do inside, or we can aid the boarding actions on the Veles or NMC flagship)

(Vox has no way to counterboard. It’s just a big gun.)

(do we need a specific fitting to help with counter boarding?)

(Boarding tube’s or shuttles or you can just open the airlocks and have everyone jump into space)

(Or teleportation) (edited)

(i got life boats but that's about it. If that isn't an option then I'd go assist smaller nmc engagements)

(Lifeboats would not work, those are like escape pods)

(figured. Cool ready to continue when everyone else is)

(I've got teleport pads.)

(Seung could help, sounds like the other two ships are going to try to even the odds )

There are three current engagements where the coalition forces are suffering heavily. A frigate flees a pair of looming shaper battleships. Aboard, the NMC battle psychic coterie is trying desperately to keep their fifth rate together. A carrier sends bombers and boarding craft out to harass a pair of CBSS cruisers that are both heavily damaged and the only survivors of their respective battle formations. A devourerer ship bites down hard on an NMC first rate, beginning to compact and digest decks from the bottom, in an attempt to chew the ship in half

(Billy)

“Alright, Kelvin! It looks like it’s working! Alright ladies, let’s clean up. Move to position. Engage Shaper battleships.” (Billy supports the Gunnery department. 1 gunnery action costs 2 less cp) (7cp) Fire all Guns x3 (-7cp) VTI x6 Shaper Battleship 1 (18/30) (19/38) (19/41) Shaper Battleship 2 (Miss) (Crit/96) (Miss) (Smartcloud buzzing through debris 3 times) (Sorry for the delay. A friend I hadn’t seen in 3 years was in town.)

The shaper battleships are both heavily damaged and the odds in that engagement begin to swing toward an even match. Grateful NMC psychics message their thanks and begin focusing on evasive maneuvers and damage control is Jai de their limping vessels.

(Seung)

“Agata I think most of the fighting has quieted down, but we need to help those ships who got boarded. Defending the NMC means nothing if they have no defenders after this. I’m going to jump via teleport to the firm resolve. I expect the ship to still be here when I get back and those shapers gone.” Seung says getting up and heading for the teleporters. (So Agata was gunnery for a while it’s gunna roll to commander so I don’t think I can really take any actions right?)

(Agata can take actions as though he was captain)

(Since you’re going elsewhere

(Then Seung is gunna tp out via the pad.) "Agata monitor if anyone else is trying to get to the Firm Resolve. It may be quicker if we teleport them on ship and then wait the 5 minute recharge time and send them." Seung says as he leaves the room. Agata now captaining assess the situation moving to aid the ship being bitten. "All guns target and fire at will." It says interfacing with each gunners console directly and pointing out targets. (Damn crits all over the place.)

Several strong hits tear gouts of flesh from the devouring vessel. It’s teeth are barbed and stubborn and even as it Howls in pain it tears huge chunks of synthwood steel and rigging from the decks. Entire gun batteries are ripped out by grappling fangs.

(We can do the actual boarding in your thread. Eisheru is up, the devrouting ship is badly hurt

(putting kid to bed. Will post in a little bit)

"Mr. Javik, keep up with the Vox. Take one of those ships out. Maximum spread!” (edited)

The worst of the two ships is finished off I. A pair of swift execution shots. It drifts lifelessly onward away from the battle and off into deep space under what remains of its inertia.

Inside the starforge, Kelvin is still face to face with a limping patrol antibody.

(Kelvin)

(Sorry guys will get my post up shortly)

(no worries dude. Don't rush on our account)

The crew on the Thunder Child is tense. The fuel leak alarm continues, lights are flashing, the image of the remaining alien ship looms on multiple screens and is visible through the front window. “Again! Do it again!” Kelvin shouts from his position next to Sgt. Yavin, the ship’s gunner.

(All fuel jettisoned except what I need for local system at the end of this round - only local drives anyway so that’s not really relevant) (edited)

The second antibody explodes in a shower of gore and bone fragments that scythe through the surrounding nerve clusters. Your own shots destroy a critical component of neuron and you see a shortcut through the now very open wound to an enormous, pulsing mass of brain matter. Sky blue light plays over the ridges and folds in it, and bolts of energy move from clusters to others as the horribly wounded forge tries frantically to keep itself alive

(You’ve got another round of stuff here kelvin. Let’s bring this home)

(Oh damn. Ok I’ve got dinner guests then kid bedtime - will post round 2 as soon as I can!)

“It’s weakening. It’s dying. Hit it with everything we have! This is it!!!” The Thunder Child launches a dramatic, simultaneous volley of fire, it’s guns lighting up the space inside the forge

The forge howls and large pieces of it begin to collapse inwards as you make a mess of its malevolent brain. It shrieks, shaking the ship (6 damage) and blowing out several systems with its high pitched death scream. The comms officer falls to the deck, blood pouring from their ears at the sound amplified dozens of times through the directional headset

You see a gap forming where armor plates have begun to buckle inwards, and open space beyond that.

(Yikes 9/40)

(gogo get back to the veles!)

(Come back to the safety of the hold!!!)

(Veles is up, but with the boarding action I'd say most of its attention is focused on that right now. Those smaller engagements have all decisively swung in coalition favor, and the forge is now dying, so I think resolving the boarding assaults and we've got this wrapped up in a nice bow)

(Do I need to take any action or waiting for something next turn?)

(You can keep on going buddy, I think we're done with initiative here now)

Kelvin picks himself off the floor, as do others who’d been knocked off their feet by the quaking ship. He braces himself, finding a grip on the captain’s seat and throwing himself into it. “Get us the fuck out of here!” The ship immediately takes off towards the gap as huge chunks of the forge collapse

Flying through the gap, and just in time, the Thunder Child roars back into real-space, clearing the collapsing forge, and trailing burning fuel in droplets and trickles, before rejoining the Greystar/UNW formation. The engagement in space has been won, though boarding actions occur on both the Veles, and the NMC flagship

(9xp, 50,000 xp all)

(50,000 xp? Welp I guess everyone is gunna be 2080ish something now.)

(credits)

(my bad)

(haha was looking forward to having every skill at 4)

(Hahaha - well done all!)

(Woo! Thanks Neko!)

(Yay! Nice job everyone and thanks Neko! That was a blast)

(I’ll do the post battle once the boarding action on the resolve ends

aside from the waning boarding action on the Firm Resolve, the shattered coalition fleet triumphs over the shapers. The handful of remaining shaper ships begins powering to system edge; as coalition fleets, too damaged or concerned with post battle recovery choose to consolidate rather then put the foe to rout

Most of the lighter vessels in each fleet have been lost, and virtually every single ship has sustained moderate damage of some kind. Even the heavier ships weren’t spared. The NMC from a fleet of dozens now has a mere sixteen ships remaining including their flagship. The CBSS fared little better, with two cruisers and the six strong remnant of various escort groups surviving. Several entire squadrons had been lost to a ship

The forge is dying and it’s clear to everyone observing, though the process itself is likely to take hours on an organism that large. Ships keep their distance and move out of weapons range to avoid its dying flails

(We don’t need to stick around if we don’t want to be tied up)

(Things here are largely tied off )

(Do the NMC want to debrief?)

(Maybe we should send them an invite to the Galatea party)

(GS wants to start talks with them if they're up for it)

(I’d like to call on my ships with mobile shipyards to come assists with repairs and yes I’m down to talk as well.)

(Right now there’s not much to say aside from helping the wounded and whatnot. There will be a debrief in the news and probably further talks for everyone later on)

(The Bastion will stay another day and after helping where he can with wounded and taking an evening to allow people to mourn and celebrate they would make the spike journey back to Acastus)