From the Bridge...

[Koolmo]

Bridge, RACS-Terra III
Sirius Sector
Dublin System

The M'zav'koh swung up and above Terra III, hugging the topside forward of the Inferno battery. Sheilding the movement, Intrepid sped forward, sheilding the larger ships movements. As the opening BAF salvo swept towards them, lifepods erupted from the far side, leaving the cruiser, now crewless, to complete the turn on autopilot. The BAF flack batteries tore through the lightly armoured cruiser, gutting the interior, and spraying molten metal out the other side. The hulk of The Intrepid carried forwards however, and the second salvo merely blew the wreckage into dusty ruin.

The Gunners of M'zav'koh and Terra III hadn't been idle in their respite, and as the wreckage cleared a massive slavo of flack shells, missles, and energy weapons decimated the Bretonian lines. Terra III had focussed all its power upon the bridge of BNS-Desnoyer, and as the command deck exploded into ruin, M'vaz'koh's missles shredded the smaller craft of the attacking squadron.

"Three Minutes until the batteries come online Sir!"

"Right. Weapons, knock the cannons off those battlewagons, and pass the same to the fighters. I don't want any offensive capability left within one minute!"

"Sir, what about the Desnoyer? She's ceased fire, and is falling out of formation."

"Ignore it for now, we'll need to hold the other ones off for the moment. She can be finished later, or taken as a prize."

M'zav'koh was equipped with half a dozen out-of-date missle turrets, two small flack cannons, and a set of light chainguns. The rig was workable, but seriously innefficient, and drew far more power than it was worth. Also, the frigate's shield was closer to cruiser class then it shouldn've been, and the armour was about half the thickness it should've been. Terra III on the other hand sported state of the art Razor and Inferno batteries, paired flack cannons, and assorted secondary weapons. The fighters were armed with a motley mix of weapons, depending on both the former affiliation of the pilot, and the ship being flown. The Spatials sported Nova Cannons and extenvie shielbusting capability, they were frequently used as auxiliary bombers, and the others covered them expertly as they made their runs. Cannon after cannon erupted into gobs of slagged iron, but losses mounted. Three Titans, one Spatial and one Eagle were disintegrated before the ad-hoc unit withdrew to the comforting support of the capital ships.

"Sir, this is Totenkopt. We've given it the best we'll get, and the rest of us won't be able to do any damage for awhile."

"Alright Commander, and extend my thanks to your pilots."

"Totenkopt out."

Nearly all of the BAF ships had been disarmed, and only one still appeared to be fully under power, and was moving to escape the killzone. Flack shells and missles sprinted through the wreckage, seeking living guns with a vengance. The Templars, however, had moved out of missle range and were massing for the attack. With his pilots spent, Mcintosh would have to turn to his valiant Frigate one more time.

"Captain Breddly, can you stop them?"

"We'll sure as Hell try sir."

Bridge, RACS-M'zav'koh

"Yessir, out."

"Weapons, try for the flight leaders first. I want a screen of shells in their way at all times, and guns picking off any wounded ones. Jump to it!"

As the Templars swooped in, a magnificent storm of projectiles sprayed from the Frigate. Fighter after fighter blossomed into fire, killing the luckier pilots immedialtey, leaving the rest to spin in the graveyard of space. Not one reached the SCRA ships, the two rearguards peeled off at cruise, leaving their comrades to die.

As the ships drifted through the battlefield, the Desnoyer, assumed guttet, sputtered to life and emitted a final shell. Straight it swept, zipping over the hull of the Terra III, and right through the bridge windows of the M'zav'koh. Flames erupted, and the ship veered violently upwards, the engines dimming, beggining to slow, to stop.

Bridge, RACS-Terra III

"Feck! XO, get recovery crews over there NOW!"

Mcintosh's face, although slightly flushed, had remained calm throught the battle. Now though, veins pulsed in his temple and spittle dotted his display.

"Yessir, they're on their way!"

The Comms officer, who'd sat silent throught the destruction, twitched upright and uttered:

"Sir! Sir, I think I have something... yes, its from the Frigate! Amplifying now!"

"...Commander Kohlman he... ...aken command from the... ...requesting immediate assistance, we're lo... ...rimary engine functions, control fee... ...please Si..."

"Commander Kohlman! Can you hear me? We're sending recovery crews now. Just hold on for a few more minutes son!"

Mcintosh was gripping the edge of his console with white knuckes, glaring intentely at the full-spectrum analysis of the Frigates condition. Red markers highlighted the engine feeds and control bays, spreadiong throught the ship, but centered on the bridge.

---

<span style="color:#FFFF00">&quot;General Solo, is your strike team assembled?&quot;
&quot;Barely, they're pretty drunk.&quot; </span>
SCRA Recruiting--SCRA Feedback--SCRA Message Dump--SCRA Faction Status

I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.