Reincarnation of the Eternal.Bha

[jdftheman]

Reincarnation of the Eternal.Bha

Omnicron Minor----811 A.S.

A large battle group, existing out of 4 nepthys fighter wings, 2 gunboats, the Phaket and the Mnevis followed by the Eternal .Bha, an Osiris battleship are slowly maneuvering through the asteroids. Their destination, an unknown space anomaly recently discovered by an order patrol wing, which disappeared only seconds after reporting the anomaly in.

On the bridge of the Eternal.Bha, commander Kerack is looking out of the windows, to the ballet of ships moving through the asteroids. Sir, Kerack turns his head and looks at his first officer, Lieutenant Meyer, who stands next to the sensor officer, Ensign Anderson. What is it lieutenant? Do you see any enemy contacts? Kerack hopes not, because even though he has seen his own share of battle many times over, this would be the first time he would see action as the commanding officer of an entire battle group. We have the anomaly in sight sir, but as far as I can tell, there are no enemy contacts near it, nor are they anywhere else to be seen. Meyer looks to the screen, and then turns his attention to Ensign Anderson. What do you think Ensign; see anything out of the ordinary? Not right now sir, but that anomaly is interfering with our sensors, from what I can tell, it has to be some sort of gravity well. Commander Kerack turns around and walks up to the communications officer, Ensign Reyas, sitting on the other side of the bridge.Give me the entire group ensign. Right away sir Reyas pushes a series of buttons, and then turns to the commander to signal him the OK. This is Commander Kerack to all ships of the battle group Eternal, in one hour we will be arriving at the target destination, however we believe there is a gravity well nearby, so all ships proceed with caution, That is all. Kerack moves back to his chair, and then pushes the button of the ships intercom. All hands, this is the captain speaking, we are approaching a gravity well, so make sure all loose object are secured, and double check all your stations. He hadnt released the button fully yet, or all over the ship, people start securing everything that may come loose near the well, like a well oiled machine the crew didnt question the order of their commanding officer.

In the meantime, Kerack returned to the windows of the bridge, looking down on the hull of his ship. He closes his eyes, as he starts thinking back to the first time they left the dry docks with this mighty ship.


Omnicron Minor----Planet Toledo----809 A.S.

In one of the many rooms on the planet Toledo base, the newly promoted Commander Kerack awakes, he cant remember much of last night, only that he had a little bit much to drink. Still hung over he looked at his watch. Damn he said and jumped up from the bed. He cleaned up his uniform and ran out the door, straight to the briefing he had with admiral Beates. After a short run, he arrived at the military headquarters of Toledo, where he was searched and then brought to the admiral.

aaa commander, not really a good impression, to be late on your first briefing.Kerack didnt know what to say, terrified that he would only make his situation worse he froze up still saluting to the admiral. add ease Commander, youre not in any trouble, just sit down, relax and read that letter on the desk. Kerack did what he was told, and while reading the admiral continued. Our corsair friends have finally completed the latest Osiris class battleship, really nice ship, state of the art with the best technology our scientists have to offer. She will be your first command.Kerack looked at the admiral in disbelieve. Ill be commanding an Osiris?He asked. Yes, you have proven your worth more than enough to be given the command of the Eternal.Bha. If I may be so rude admiral, but what does it stand for, Eternal.Bha? Kerack asked. The Bha, is what ancient Egyptians saw as the sole of a person, something that contains everything that makes a person unique. We thought it would fit the ship, as its new technology and design not only make this ship unique, it will also be used as a reference to all future ships to be built. There will most likely be allot of glitches and problems with it in its first months of operations, but I am confident that you and your crew will make the best of it. Youll attend a briefing for the whole crew in 4 hours in the main briefing room, after which you and your crew will board several transports that will take you to Tripoli shipyards in omnicron gamma. Once there, youll get further instructions. So do you have any questions? No sir replied Kerack without any hesitation Fine then, good journey commander, and Godspeed.


Omnicron Minor----vicinity of the unknown anomaly----811 A.S.

Kerack looked how his battle group entered a clearing with in the center of it the unknown anomaly; all asteroids that used to be there were probably sucked into the anomaly, with its powerful gravitational pull. All around him he could hear how all bridge personnel were awed by the awesome sight visible from the bridge windows. In all his years in space he had never seen something so beautiful. Yet something about him made him get cold shivers over his back. Ensign Anderson, could you please determine the strength of the gravitational pull? The ensign immediately started up the powerful scanners of the Eternal.Bha, and after a few minutes he responded Sir, I suggest that all ships stay at least 20k from the centre of the anomaly, and well be safe. Ok, ensign Reyas, relay that info to the group, and tell them to start looking for that lost patrol, the sooner were out of here the better.

Several hours past without any reports on the lost wing, and the majority of the clearing had been swept by the many ships of battle group. While the Eternal.Bha didnt actively join the search, it was conducting research on the anomaly. Status report lieutenant? asked Kerack as he entered the bridge after returning from his quarters where he had some much needed sleep. Still no sign of the lost patrol sir, both the Phaket and the Mnevis are returning to our position, just like alpha, Charlie and delta wing, bravo wing is just making one more sweep of the region after which they will return, ETA for all ships 1 hour. Kerack turned to the scientists near the sensor console how long will you need to complete your work doctors, I would like to get out of here as soon as all ships have returned. Were as good as done commander, by the time everyone has returned; well have completed our work. Lieutenant Meyer concerned about his commanders unrest, turned to Kerack and whispered to him sir, do you think there is any risk of an attack here? Do you want me to conduct tests of the FCS and guns? Kerack looked at Meyer and nodded But do it as quiet as possible, I dont want to disturb the crew over a mere hunch. Meyer walked up to the tactical consoles and silently gave the order to the crewmembers manning them. They didnt hesitate a second and started the required procedures. They knew that when the commander had a hunch, the chance of it being correct were allot bigger than the chance of it being wrong, for that they had served long enough under him. In the mean time Kerack moved uneasy in front of the bridge windows, hoping that his hunch was off, although he feared the worst.

Kerack was still walking uneasily over the bridge. Looking out of the window, he sees the Phaket and the Mnevis flanking the Eternal.Bha, while fighters are buzzing around the three ships like flies. Whats the ETA on bravo wing? Everyone on the bridge could see that there commander was on edge, and they all knew that there would most likely be trouble up ahead. Sir, K.A. just reported that they will most likely arrive within 15 minutes.

Katsumoto Aginoagi, know to everyone as K.A., what a former Kusari naval officer, who turned to the order during the nomad war, where he has been ever since. He is one of the finest pilots around, and his loyalty and devotion to the cause of the order was unmatched. He got his nickname at the bar of Toledo where his drunken colleagues had so much trouble pronouncing his name, they just called him K.A., which they still use even today.

Good Kerack though If K.A. says hell be here, we can be sure hes going to be on time.Kerack turned around ensign Reyas, tell everyone to make ready for departure, were going home. He hadnt finished saying that, or the master caution alarm went off. Kerack immediately turned to Ensign Anderson. What in hells name is going on ensign. While still looking at his monitor, Anderson responded Sir, I have multiple Nomad signatures emerging from the anomaly, though there is much interference, I am convinced there are atleast 2 battleships and dozens of fighters. Kerack ran to his command chair where he pushed a button on one of the consoles. All over the ship red lights started flashing, and a computerized voice kept repeating All hands level one battlestation, this is not a drill. Meanwhile Kerack started barraging his men with orders: bring main weapons online, reroute all power to primary systems, order all bombers to move out, After a few minutes barraging on, he finally turned to Ensign Anderson. Get me a direct link with Toledo, now!

Omnicon minor ----Planet Toledo----811A.S.

The Order high command was in the middle of a meeting, when a young sergeant rushed through the door, straight to Admiral Beates. While the other admirals looked in disbelieve about the brutality of the sergeant, they immediately knew something was wrong when they saw the Beates face turning white. By all means man, get him on the main screen! Beates shouted to the sergeant. He pushed several buttons, and the face of commander Kerack appeared on the main viewing screen that dominated one of the walls of the conference room. This is commander Kerack of the battle group Eternal to the Order high command. We are currently being engaged by a large Nomad force, which appears to be trying to establish a beach head in omnicron minor. The unknown anomaly found by Patrol kappa 9 appears to be some sort of jumphole, allowing nomad forces to enter order space. Please advice. A young admiral stood up what are you facing their commander? Currently we have confirmed 2 battleships and atleast 40 fighters, possibly more. Beates looked at Kerack and said: Commander, battle group Seth is close to your location, with several battleships and a carrier. We will order them to come to your aid, but until they arrive, you must try and hold those squids off as long as you can, do you copy? Kerack nodded Roger that admiral, Kerack out.

Omnicron Minor----vicinity of the unknown jumphole----811 A.S.

Kerack watched as the viewscreen turns black, and then directs his focus back to the battle ahead. He turns to one of the scientists still on the bridge how close can we get to that jumphole before its gravity rips us apart? Well he said Technically its not a jumphole, though it has many of the same characteristics, there are some definite differences. As for your question, I would suggest not getting closer then 15K, or the chance of not coming out will be significant. Kerack looked at the nomad ships still floating closely to the, in his eyes, jumphole.

Hours passed by, and the nomads still hadnt moved from their original position. Kerack knew he couldnt hit them with conventional weapons, as that would mean they had to get much closer to the than was advisable. Then he shouted Order all fighters to get as close as possible and then drop as many mines as they can. While the order was given, the fighter and bomber wings started engaging there cruise engines, rapidly covering the distance between the group and the set limit around the anomaly. Once there they carried out the order given by their commander, dropping all mines they had within their holds.

Several more hours passed, and everyone was holding their breath, until finely large explosions were visible as the Nomads, who believed they were save so close to the anomaly, were surprised by the rain of mines plunging down on them. All over the communication channels cries of joy could be heard, as the nomad fleet sustained heavy damage and losing allot of their fighters. Though this victory was small lived, only seconds later, a second, even larger fleet entered Minor, and this time Kerack feared they wouldnt stay near the anomaly this time. With battle group Seth only minutes away, the newly formed nomad fleet, 5 battleships strong, started heading for the Eternal.Bha and its escorts. Kerack decided to address his crew and escorts for one last time, now that he still had the time. Friends he started today, it doesnt look good for us, were heavily outnumbered by a force that wont show us any merci, but neither will we show them any merci. Battle group Seth can arrive here any minute, but until they do, its up to us to defend our homes, our friends and our cause. Well show those squids that no one messes with the order, so ARE YOU WITH ME! Again the communication channels were filled with shouts, only this time it were shouts of support. Well then Kerack continued Lets show these were not afraid, all ships AHEAD FULL SPEED.
Under Keracks watchful eye, battle group Eternal moved in closer to the nomads. No sooner were the 2 fleets into range, or all hell broke loose. As the first wave of nomad bombers and fighters tried to break through the order fighter wings to take out the Eternal.Bha, they were shot down like flies, only strengthening the moral of the vastly outnumbered order pilots. Seeing their first plan failed, the nomad and order fighters clashed right between the battleships. Both the Phaket and the Mnevis moved closer in to assist the fighters against their overwhelming enemy, leaving the Eternal.Bha to deal with the battleships. Even though it used to be the pinnacle of order technology, the Eternal.Bha still didnt stand a chance against 5 battleships.

After several minutes, it became clear that if battle group Seth didnt arrive soon, there wouldnt be much left of the Eternal.Bha, or other members of its group. The Mnevis was already destroyed, and the Phaket wouldnt hold out much longer anymore, now that one of the battleships had targeted him. The Eternal.Bha had done pretty well for itself, having destroyed one of the nomad battleships, with a second one heavily damaged. Suddenly, Kerack was startled by a lone nomad bomber, right infront of him. Before anything could be done about it, it launched its torpedos, which headed straight for the bridge. With only seconds to the prior to impact, Kerack closed his eyes, waiting for the unavoidable dead that awaited him. He heard the blast, but he didnt feel any heat of the explosion, nor did he feel it. When he opened his eyes, he could just see the remains of a nepthys bouncing off the hull of the Eternal.Bha. Only its cockpit appeared to be intact, its engines and most of its weapon systems were blown off. He could hear his first officer, Lieutenant Meyer, say my god, he he sacrificed himself for us. Who was it? Ensign Anderson replied It was K.A. sir, I could see his IFF just before the torpedo hit him. Is he alive? Kerack asked. But before Anderson could reply, all over the bridge speakers, the sound of relief could be heard. This is Admiral Torres on the carrier Seth, well cover you guys so you can safely retreat and regroup. Kerack feld a big burden fall off his shoulder. And for a moment, he could relax again. But then he though back to the sacrifice K.A. made. He turned back to Anderson, who responded Sensors indicate he is still alive sir, but hes being pulled into the anomaly by its heavy gravity.

With the main bulk of the nomad fleet now focusing on the newly arrived order reinforcements. Kerack gave a remarkable order. Head towards the wreck of K.A.s fighter, well see if we can bring him in with the tractor beam. The now slightly damaged Eternal.Bha fired up its engines, trying to reach the fighter and the man that saved its live. This proved more difficult than originally thought, as the combination of both the powerful explosion and the high gravity gave the wrecked fighter an enormous speed. With its engines running at maximum, the damaged battleship managed to get within 1K of the downed fighter. But then, the unthinkable happened.

A third nomad fleet jumped through, only 3K away from the Eternal.Bha. Soon it was taking heavy fire again, and nomad fighters swirled around the ship like flies to a garbage can. The damage to the ship was pilling up rapidly. With hull breaches all over the ship, and its engines badly damaged, the demise of the once glorious battleship became inevitable. Kerack realized this and saw only one possible way out, the jumphole. His ship might be severally damaged, but he was convinced that it was still strong enough to make it through. Lieutenant, get us into that anomaly if you can, it might be our only way out. Lieutenant Meyer understood the plan of his commander and started making the preparations for a system jump. Meanwhile K.A.s wrecked fighter came close enough to the Eternal.Bha to tractor it in. Kerack ordered it to be trackored in, but ensign Anderson had bad news sir, the tractor cant get a fixed lock on the fighter, those nomad fighters, combined with the damage to the sensors make it impossible for us to get a lock on it. Kerack didnt hesitate one second and shouted All batterys open fire on every ship within a 500m radius of the ship.

In the mean time, battle group Seth had annihilated the first 2 nomad fleets, and could see how the Eternal.Bha, suffering from the nomads relentless bombardment, was steadily heading for the anomaly. Admiral Torres knew there was nothing he could do to help them, and it angered him that he was so powerless.

The Eternal.Bha was, even with all its sustained damage, still giving everything it got. All the nomad fighters that came to close were turned into dust by the powerful battleship turrets. Finely Anderson said the words everyone was waiting for We have a lock sir Kerack was relieved as he said the words Very well, bring him h

On board of the Seth, Admiral Torres watched in horror as one final volley of the newly arrived nomad battleships blew a massive hole into the bridge of the Eternal.Bha. As the massively damaged ship slowly moved closer and closer to the anomaly, the nomad fleet turned to face battle group Seth. As they slowly moved closer, the people onboard the group could see how the once mighty battleship Eternal.Bha slowly disappeared into the swirling gasses of the anomaly. And just as it was completely engulfed by the gasses, the entire anomaly disappeared, without leaving a single trace but the large open clearing it had created

Omnicron Minor----last known location of the unknown anomaly----Several weeks ago

An Order fleet, comprised out of several battleships and carriers all aligned themselves in an honorary formation. Onboard the Hathor, admirals Beates and Torres stood side by side, looking into the clearing where the Eternal.Bha met its demise. They both had just spoken to the fleet, and are now both ready to push the button that will release a special buoy, to mark the final resting place of the Bha. Looking at each other, they slowly move their hands to the button, when suddenly, right in the centre of the clearing, a bright light becomes visible. Everyone watches in horror as the unknown anomaly, which disappeared so many years ago, suddenly reappeared.

It took a few hours for it to completely return to its former form, but there is was, with one exception, there was no gravity well, and on all the ships, sensors started to act up. Admiral Beates decides to take no chances. He orders the fleet to combat readiness. What happened next, no one would have believed if they hadnt seen it with their own eyes. Out of the gasses, slowly the bow of a ship appeared, all personnel that could see it, thought that what took place there in only a small minutes, took more than an hour.

The bow was soon followed by the midship, and as more and more of the ship became visible, so did the damage it appeared to have. Gaping holes made the ship look more like Rheinlandish cheese than a battleship. Everyone looked at each other, wondering if this ship could really be the Eternal.Bha. That answer was soon answered when the bridge became visible. Admiral Torres immediately recognized the hole that had destroyed most of the bridge.

When the entire ship had left the anomaly, it disappeared again, just as quickly as it did so many years ago. Suddenly all speakers turned on, and a voice could be heared. Delta lead, please come in, whats your status? Beates responded: Kerack, Kerack is that you, what happened out there?

But no answer came. Soon after, the Eternal.Bha flew away, at speeds that it should never have been able to fly at. Straight into the asteroid fields, where is disappeared from the eyes of the Order fleet.