Hiigara Defence Force

[GoodMorning]

x Rising Star
o HDF

Though you have other problems, you will be pleased to know that you are no longer in the focus of the Collective's manouevre. However, your ships are too close to Collective vessels for us to separate you safely from here. The same goes for that installation - though it is now of limited threat, and heavily damaged.

We'll send what aid we can. Pocket warps with repair kits are inbound in the interim.



x Rising Star
o Convergence

Given what has happened to the HDF, as ask your assistance. We don't have the numbers required to straighten this out ourselves.

Appended:

Cobalt, Flare; What were you thinking?

[Keeper Decagon]

x Rising Star
o HDF

Though you have other problems, you will be pleased to know that you are no longer in the focus of the Collective's manouevre. However, your ships are too close to Collective vessels for us to separate you safely from here. The same goes for that installation - though it is now of limited threat, and heavily damaged.

We'll send what aid we can. Pocket warps with repair kits are inbound in the interim.

Somtaaw Fleet Intelligence: I wouldn't be in any rush to get away from those Collective vessels, Rising Star. Scanning them with what's left of the sensor array indicates the EMP has burnt out their AI cores and are completely inert.

Hythar: I'll say. Several constructs I had onboard my command ship to help me coordinate my fleet have been destroyed by the EMP, so it's safe to say the Collective didn't fare any better. I am reading an active Command Unit on board the Installation, though.

Somtaaw Fleet Intelligence: Well, that thing ain't going anywhere, or do anything, from the looks of things. The Installation itself blew out its main reactor when it fired. I doubt even the Collective could fix this ancient tech.

---------------------------------

x Rising Star
o Convergence

Given what has happened to the HDF, as ask your assistance. We don't have the numbers required to straighten this out ourselves.

Appended:

Cobalt, Flare; What were you thinking?

Observant Cobalt: We don't have an awful lot of assistance to give. However, I take responsibility for this incident. I'll bring some supplies with me, just prepare to bring me to the station.

Prolific Amber: Are you sure you don't want one of us to come-

Observant Cobalt: No, I will go alone. This is my mess to clean up.

Placid Flare: ...take the Geode. It should help you in more ways than one.

Observant Cobalt: I appreciate it. And Envy... do I really need to say anything? I made a mistake, a grave one sure, but I'm not infallible. Neither are you, old friend. Let's keep our understanding that way.

[Keeper Decagon]

----Fleet Communications----

<Signal Established: Cooperative Strikefleet Epsilon>

Fleet Unit T1-01: Sensors picking up hyperspace signatures across the sector, switch sensor output to bandwidth 112-45-992...

Fleet Unit T4-06: Are you sure? I'm not seeing anything-

Fleet Unit T3-02: Wait, what is that? Incoming missiles-

Cmd Halmiir: Report!

Fleet Overseer AI: Quantum disturbance detected. Proximity warning!

Fleet Unit T1-01: Holy- woah, that was close...

Fleet Unit T2-09: Reading multiple Collective capital ships closing on vectors 36 by 29, more hyperspace windows detected-

Cmd Halmiir: All units, red alert! The Collective has found us!

Fleet Unit T4-06: Attack group engaging enemy dreadnought vessel, shields are holding-

Fleet Unit T3-02: Incoming unknown-class vessels, Mothership T8 is down-

Fleet Unit T1-01: Intercept those tankers before they can-

Fleet Unit T7-03: Registering breaches across the board, critical system damage- *Explosion*

Cmd Halmiir: Wait, what is-?

Fleet Unit T3-02: Super-capital hyperspace signature detected! Commander, we can't face off against a Superdreadnought...

Cmd Halmiir: I know... T1, lead the fleet into orbit of the nearest Tierra Prima planet and hope to god they have orbital defenses. I will take a distraction fleet to draw the Superdreadnought away.

Fleet Unit T1-01: Yes, Commander.

<Interference Detected>

----Fleet Communications----

[Grand Teki]

--WARNING, PRESUMABLY FRIENDLY SHIPS UNDER ATTACK BY HYDRAXIL FORCES, INTERCEPTING POSSIBLY ENEMY TRANSMISSIONS--

...ollective capital ships closing on vectors 36 by 29, more hyperspace windows detected-

Cmd Halmiir: All units, red alert! The Collective has found us!

Fleet Unit T4-06: Attack group engaging enemy dreadnought vessel, shields are holding-

Fleet Unit T3-02: Incoming unknown-class vessels, Mothership T8 is down-

Fleet Unit T1-01: Intercept those tankers before they can-

Fleet Unit T7-03: Registering breaches across the board, critical system damage- *Explosion*

Cmd Halmiir: Wait, what is-?

Fleet Unit T3-02: Super-capital hyperspace signature detected! Commander, we can't face off against a Superdreadnought...

Cmd Halmiir: I know... T1, lead the fleet into orbit of the nearest Tierra Prima planet and hope to god they have orbital defenses. I will take a distraction fleet to draw the Superdreadnought away.

Fleet Unit T1-01: Yes, Commander.

<Interference Detected>

----Fleet Communications----

AI: Enemy jamming outbound signals, sending message:
---This is a prewritten message by the leader of the UESO, Grand Teki---
Don't worry! We're coming to help, expect <9 hours> before arrival! We're bringing ships and repair crews for the battle!
---For humanity!---

Teki: AI, how many forces can we bring?

Not much considering the distance. I'll assemble a fleet.

Try to bring construction ships too!

Roger.

*4 minutes later*

I got the following fleet together:



Good. Let's go and save whoever was attacked!

[Keeper Decagon]

----Battle Archive----

Chased by a Collective armada to one of Tierra Prima's colonies, the Cooperative fleet descends into low orbit and takes a defensive stance amidst the various orbital defense satellites. Menacing and mechanical, the Collective armada performs a short-jump to land themselves amid the Cooperative fleet, and the battle ensues.

T1-01, the Cooperative command unit in charge of the fleet, dished out orders at light speed. Originally one of the surviving Hydraxians part of Hythar's crew, T1 was the first to be assimilated and integrated into a Mothership-class vessel with the same designation, losing all but his body to the ruthless Collective hivemind that suppressed any hint of a being's original personality, locking it behind an obscene array of brain implants and rigorous reprogramming of the host. In a way, assimilated victims are trapped within their own bodies with little ability to resist. T1 couldn't remember his name, even after being freed from the Collective. It was deeply troubling to him that he couldn't even remember the very core of his own identity in spite of the deprogramming of his cortical implants by the Cooperative, but he did his best to prevent it from interfering in his duties. Through leading others, he reclaimed a piece of his former self; he was a natural-born leader, and did all he could to keep those that followed him from coming to harm. He wondered whether he was a military officer in his 'previous life', which seemed rather suiting to the situation at hand.

"T1, the left flank is taking heavy fire," said Fleet Unit T4-06, a formerly assimilated human, with urgency. T1 directed three Fighters to the flank, and it was able to recover.

Weapons fire filled the orbit with plasma fires, debris and explosions. One by one, the Collective ships were either destroyed or shot down, plummeting to the planet below in flames only to explode on the surface. The orbital defense cannons fired in volleys, each one getting a guaranteed kill, and yet, the Collective kept coming. For every Unknown destroyed, three Fighters took its place; for every Mothership shot down, a Dreadnought moved in to replace it. There was no keeping up with the sheer number of vessels the Collective was able to summon at will.

"We're never going to be able to last against this," T1 muttered to himself as his Mothership moved up beside a Dreadnought, firing several missiles into the Dreadnought's vulnerable core as it was reconfiguring into an assault form. The capital ship exploded, sending shockwaves through the battlefield. Before T1 had time to recover his orbital trajectory, another Dreadnought had already dropped out of hyperspace nearby. Things were turning sour fast.

Cooperative reinforcements arrived in high orbit followed closely by the megaship sent by the UESO, quickly descending into the fray to engage the Collective armada; as two enemy Motherships moved to intercept the UESO fleet, one of the Cooperative Fighters sacrificed itself by crashing headlong into one of them. Losing power across the ship, the struck Mothership careened into its companion, sending both of them tumbling toward the planet below.

"Thank god, reinforcements," said T1, sending recognition codes to the newcomers to ensure they could identify friend from foe. Even though many of the Collective vessels were upgraded versions of the ones the Cooperative managed to get a hold of, it would still be impossible to tell them apart to the untrained eye. The UESO megaship slid into orbit, all guns firing; soon enough, it was locked in a deadly firefight with a Mothership-Unknown squadron. Battle chatter filled the fleet's communications.

Suddenly, another friendly vessel dropped out of hyperspace, screaming towards the Cooperative fleet with visible battle damage all over its hull. It was Halmiir's ship!

"Commander! What the heck happened to your ship?" T1 asked as soon as the ship moved into range. Amid garbled transmissions and static, T1 was able to make out "failed", "powerful" and "it's coming here". Behind the Command Ship, the menacing blackened silhouette of a Collective Superdreadnought dropped out of hyperspace with its main weapons primed.

"I wasn't able to outrun the Superdreadnought," Halmiir told T1 as the Command Ship moved up beside T1's Mothership. "The two Motherships I took with me... they were destroyed in a single shot from its main cannon... I was just able to escape because I managed to cripple one of its engines as I jumped away, but clearly they already repaired... wait, T1, move!"

Halmiir pushed T1's Mothership out of the way as a fiery yellow-orange beam lashed out, narrowly missing the pair only to continue on and hit a Collective Dreadnought... and the Dreadnought behind it, and the Mothership behind that, and the Unknown behind that. The only thing that stopped the beam was the planet's surface, where the beam caused a huge explosion at the point of impact, visible from orbit.

"Holy-"

"Quickly, gather the fleet and flee to hyperspace," Halmiir ordered, sending a fleet-wide retreat order to the other Cooperative and UESO ships.

"Commander, we can't let the Tierra Prima suffer because we are too afraid to face down one Collective ship," T1 told Halmiir, using his control to rescind the retreat order.

"Afraid?! You saw what that thing just did! If we stay here, we'll all die!"




What will the Cooperative fleet do in the face of terrible adversity? Will they flee and leave their allies to die? Or will they make a final, desperate stand against the all-powerful Superdreadnought? Find out on the next episode of Particle Fleet: Machine Warfare.

----Battle Archive End----

[Grand Teki]

I've got to go for today, may I reserve the battle response for myself please?

[Keeper Decagon]

I've got to go for today, may I reserve the battle response for myself please?

You may, but wouldn't it be easier just to ping me on discord than fill up the thread with single-sentence posts?

[theachevah]

----Battle Archive----

Chased by a Collective armada to one of Tierra Prima's colonies, the Cooperative fleet descends into low orbit and takes a defensive stance amidst the various orbital defense satellites. Menacing and mechanical, the Collective armada performs a short-jump to land themselves amid the Cooperative fleet, and the battle ensues.

T1-01, the Cooperative command unit in charge of the fleet, dished out orders at light speed. Originally one of the surviving Hydraxians part of Hythar's crew, T1 was the first to be assimilated and integrated into a Mothership-class vessel with the same designation, losing all but his body to the ruthless Collective hivemind that suppressed any hint of a being's original personality, locking it behind an obscene array of brain implants and rigorous reprogramming of the host. In a way, assimilated victims are trapped within their own bodies with little ability to resist. T1 couldn't remember his name, even after being freed from the Collective. It was deeply troubling to him that he couldn't even remember the very core of his own identity in spite of the deprogramming of his cortical implants by the Cooperative, but he did his best to prevent it from interfering in his duties. Through leading others, he reclaimed a piece of his former self; he was a natural-born leader, and did all he could to keep those that followed him from coming to harm. He wondered whether he was a military officer in his 'previous life', which seemed rather suiting to the situation at hand.

"T1, the left flank is taking heavy fire," said Fleet Unit T4-06, a formerly assimilated human, with urgency. T1 directed three Fighters to the flank, and it was able to recover.

Weapons fire filled the orbit with plasma fires, debris and explosions. One by one, the Collective ships were either destroyed or shot down, plummeting to the planet below in flames only to explode on the surface. The orbital defense cannons fired in volleys, each one getting a guaranteed kill, and yet, the Collective kept coming. For every Unknown destroyed, three Fighters took its place; for every Mothership shot down, a Dreadnought moved in to replace it. There was no keeping up with the sheer number of vessels the Collective was able to summon at will.

"We're never going to be able to last against this," T1 muttered to himself as his Mothership moved up beside a Dreadnought, firing several missiles into the Dreadnought's vulnerable core as it was reconfiguring into an assault form. The capital ship exploded, sending shockwaves through the battlefield. Before T1 had time to recover his orbital trajectory, another Dreadnought had already dropped out of hyperspace nearby. Things were turning sour fast.

Cooperative reinforcements arrived in high orbit followed closely by the megaship sent by the UESO, quickly descending into the fray to engage the Collective armada; as two enemy Motherships moved to intercept the UESO fleet, one of the Cooperative Fighters sacrificed itself by crashing headlong into one of them. Losing power across the ship, the struck Mothership careened into its companion, sending both of them tumbling toward the planet below.

"Thank god, reinforcements," said T1, sending recognition codes to the newcomers to ensure they could identify friend from foe. Even though many of the Collective vessels were upgraded versions of the ones the Cooperative managed to get a hold of, it would still be impossible to tell them apart to the untrained eye. The UESO megaship slid into orbit, all guns firing; soon enough, it was locked in a deadly firefight with a Mothership-Unknown squadron. Battle chatter filled the fleet's communications.

Suddenly, another friendly vessel dropped out of hyperspace, screaming towards the Cooperative fleet with visible battle damage all over its hull. It was Halmiir's ship!

"Commander! What the heck happened to your ship?" T1 asked as soon as the ship moved into range. Amid garbled transmissions and static, T1 was able to make out "failed", "powerful" and "it's coming here". Behind the Command Ship, the menacing blackened silhouette of a Collective Superdreadnought dropped out of hyperspace with its main weapons primed.

"I wasn't able to outrun the Superdreadnought," Halmiir told T1 as the Command Ship moved up beside T1's Mothership. "The two Motherships I took with me... they were destroyed in a single shot from its main cannon... I was just able to escape because I managed to cripple one of its engines as I jumped away, but clearly they already repaired... wait, T1, move!"

Halmiir pushed T1's Mothership out of the way as a fiery yellow-orange beam lashed out, narrowly missing the pair only to continue on and hit a Collective Dreadnought... and the Dreadnought behind it, and the Mothership behind that, and the Unknown behind that. The only thing that stopped the beam was the planet's surface, where the beam caused a huge explosion at the point of impact, visible from orbit.

"Holy-"

"Quickly, gather the fleet and flee to hyperspace," Halmiir ordered, sending a fleet-wide retreat order to the other Cooperative and UESO ships.

"Commander, we can't let the Tierra Prima suffer because we are too afraid to face down one Collective ship," T1 told Halmiir, using his control to rescind the retreat order.

"Afraid?! You saw what that thing just did! If we stay here, we'll all die!"




What will the Cooperative fleet do in the face of terrible adversity? Will they flee and leave their allies to die? Or will they make a final, desperate stand against the all-powerful Superdreadnought? Find out on the next episode of Particle Fleet: Machine Warfare.

----Battle Archive End----

II=Energy Spike detected near Colony ZT-0341=II

What? how is-
ALEXANDER. MAKE AN IMMEDIATE INSPECTION ON COLONY ZT-0341. THERE IS AN ANOMALOUS ENERGY SPIKE COMING FROM THERE.

Sir yes sir!


Perhaps i may be of assistance?

Cole, dont you feel pain through your ship?
through my ship? unsure. but i am willing to give support anyways. i can always rebuild the ship back with the anti-P. ship maker i have.

...are you sure?
Of course! its boring only being tested upon, you know? i want some of that action too! for Tierra Prima!

That's the spirit! onwards! to the source of the energy spike!

[Grand Teki]

----Battle Archive----
*skipping this because forum space*
----Battle Archive End----

---ARRIVAL IN 3... 2... 1...---


Arrival successful, Scanning for enemies...
Enemy threat found, tagging all ships...

---Enemy fleet information---

Corporation:

Hydraxil Collective

Ships:

5

Threat:

medium-high

Classes:

1 fighter, 2 cruisers and 2 battleships

Abilities:

Terror: demoralize and frighten targets on sight, -8% everything
The end is here: the Hydraxil HQ's sight will assure that everyone thinks there is no tomorrow. -30% to weapon effectiveness if near the Hydraxil HQ


---UESO fleet information---

Ships:

13, 2 under construction

Classes:

3 utility, (1) shield, 5 (1) station parts, 4 fighters, 1 MHQ

Abilities:

Shipyard: Can produce ships on-site, requires resources.

Commander in charge:

Grand Teki, remotely


---Task information---

Name:

HDF + C aid

Mission:

Destroy Hydraxil forces assaulting friendly forces

Approx. aftermath:

If won, alliance with both The Collective and Hiigara Defence Forces.
If lost, all on-site forces are destroyed alongside Hydraxil fight patterns intel.


---Debrief end---


Tagging done, mobilising forces...

The Fight

[close]

After the fight...

---Fight won, major losses sustained---

Teki: Hello? Is anyone there? We don't see any more Hydraxil ships near us, please someone respond!

[Grand Teki]

No response. Hope everyone is alr-

---ENEMY ANNIHILATOR CLASS SHIP JUMPED IN FRONT OF THE STATION! EVACUATING PERSONNEL---

The ambush

[close]

HOLY-! AI, broadcast the following message:

----------------------------------------
Do not jump to Tierra Prima! Hydraxil forces are destroying everything with a gigantic ship! If you come here, we won't be here to help you, we're evacuating!
-[REDACTED]
----------------------------------------

Sending... Done! Warning:
SHDs lost
HLFc lost
CRD + lost
ATKs2 lost
HLFc lo-

Okay! Okay! Is anyone still coming?

Yes, I'm picking up signatures for three incoming entities in two ships: Zosimos, a bot, Larcwyde, another bot and Cole. I can't identify him for some reason.

Good lord...

[Keeper Decagon]

----Battle Archive----

As the burning wreckage of the UESO megaship plummeted to the planet's surface, the Cooperative fleet was getting devastated by the ever-increasing number of Collective ships. The Superdreadnought lashed out once more with its Phased Particle Cannon, annihilating several Cooperative Motherships in one sweep. Stalwartly continuing firing, even the orbital defense grid was taking huge damage.

"We have to retreat before we get completely wiped out," said Halmiir, giving the order to retreat again. T1 was reluctant at first, but after a few microseconds of thought he realized the futility of standing against the Collective armada.
"Alright," T1 said eventually, changing course toward a safe jump-out point indicated by the Command Ship. Shunting power from the weapons to the engines, the fleet was almost ready to finally retreat from the devastation when suddenly...

"Losing power to hyperdrives," T3 cried out, the hyperspace window deforming and disappearing. "Picking up a major gravity well in close proximity..."

"That's impossible, we're nowhere near a gravity well," Halmiir grumbled, doing his best to keep the fleet together under long-range bombardment from the Collective armada. Then he noticed three ships decloaking near the Superdreadnought, with bright purple modules adorning their prows. "Oh no, hyperspace inhibitors!"

Far from the carnage, an Hiigaran scout frigate fell out of hyperspace just beyond the outermost moon of the embattled planet. Its captain saw that his allies were in trouble, sending a request back to the HDF HQ. It was granted, and only moments later a massive structure fell out of hyperspace nearby. Calibrating it quickly to compensate for the inhibitor field and the moon's gravity well, the scout ship activated the hyperspace gate with a bright flash of blue light.

"Wait, do you see that? There, by the moon," T1 said, pointing his ship to the flash of light. "I'm getting positive quantum waveform readings from it, despite the inhibitor field."

The Collective armada had also seemingly noticed the flash, large portions of their forces diverting their attention to destroying the newcomer. As they approached the large hyperspace gate, the machines immediately opened fire; the shields on the gate held strong. Within moments, various ships started coming through the gate. Everything from frigate swarms to heavy cruiser squadrons arrived in droves, engaging the Collective fleet immediately.

The few Collective ships that were still chasing the crippled Cooperative fleet broke off their pursuit, joining up with the rest of their forces to attack the HDF ships pouring through the gate. Halmiir breathed a sigh of relief, directing his fleet back towards the damaged orbital structures in order to make repairs.

Meanwhile, the Superdreadnought finished off three Destroyers and a Heavy Cruiser that passed too close to it, turning its attention to the gate. It began charging its main cannon once more, determined to annihilate the HDF structure along with any ships nearby in one shot. The Collective forces were faltering, however, and when one of the major Collective flanks broke down, several Heavy Cruisers took the opportunity to assault the Superdreadnought whilst it was still priming its cannon. The shields were not easily brought down; a stray shot from one of the Cruisers struck an Inhibitor, critically damaging its propulsion systems. The Inhibitor couldn't maintain its distance from the Superdreadnought, crashing into it; several key systems were damaged in that instant, just as the Superdreadnought was about to blow the gate away, causing the great cannon to misfire and tear the Superdreadnought apart in a gigantic explosion.

The remaining Collective vessels fled into hyperspace. The HDF forces spread out, dozens of Resource Collectors moving in to clear away debris and repair the orbital defense grid. Three Carriers passed the Cooperative fleet as they descended into the atmosphere, landing near the crash zones and nearby urban areas to provide assistance to the locals. The scout ship meanwhile approached the Cooperative Command Ship.

"Greetings, Commander. Good to see we came just in time," the Hiigaran captain said.

"Your timing was most fortunate," Halmiir replied. "We wouldn't be here if it weren't for your actions, Captain...?"

"Soban. Now that this Tierra Prima colony is safe, I have new orders for your task force, Commander. I've sent the details to your computer. Farewell." The scout ship flew away, jumping into hyperspace via the gate. Looking over the new mission outline, Halmiir explained it to what remained of his fleet.

"Looks like we have a mission to look for Hythar and Varro. They haven't reported in, so it's up to us to find out what's happened to them," Halmiir explained. "First, we'll get repairs at Control Node Zeta and get some new ships. We're in no state to do anything right now."

"You're telling me," said T1.

The Cooperative fleet entered the hyperspace gate, leaving the HDF fleets and the tumbling debris fields behind them.

----Battle Archive End----

[theachevah]

No response. Hope everyone is alr-

---ENEMY ANNIHILATOR CLASS SHIP JUMPED IN FRONT OF THE STATION! EVACUATING PERSONNEL---

The ambush

[close]

HOLY-! AI, broadcast the following message:

----------------------------------------
Do not jump to Tierra Prima! Hydraxil forces are destroying everything with a gigantic ship! If you come here, we won't be here to help you, we're evacuating!
-[REDACTED]
----------------------------------------

Sending... Done! Warning:
SHDs lost
HLFc lost
CRD + lost
ATKs2 lost
HLFc lo-

Okay! Okay! Is anyone still coming?

Yes, I'm picking up signatures for three incoming entities in two ships: Zosimos, a bot, Larcwyde, another bot and Cole. I can't identify him for some reason.

Good lord...

Alright, Alexander, have you arrived to colony ZT-0341?
Uhh... Guys? you might want to see this...
(that is never a good sign...)
that is a big ship, indeed. but... it has its flaws...
what do you mean flaws? look at that thing! it is MASS-
i have an idea. i am sending you the templates of new ships i had to improvise right on the spot. use them well. I am sending the plan right now to you.

...message received. WHAT ARE YOU ALL WAITING FOR? BUILD THOSE NEW SHIPS! GO! GO! GO!
Yes sir!!


what are those?
i have an idea for you too, cole.
really? alright! tell me what do i do!
you should receive this in your ship, i believe...
should I? oh! I got it! i will do my best, father!


[To be continued]

[theachevah]

Meanwhile the hydraxil Cooperative dealt with a superdreadnought, another one arrived as soon as the cooperative left.




JUMP SUCCESSFUL. JUST IN TIME. UNIT SD-0312-1 COULD NOT DEAL WITH COOPERATIVE. COOPERATIVE: ABSENT. RIFT JUMP CONSUMPTION: MORE THAN CALCULATED. REMAINING POWER: 10%. STILL ENOUGH TO ABDUCT THE NATIVES AND CONVERT THEM TO HIGHER BEINGS. THAT FEEBLE STATIONARY BASE DEALT WITH BY UNIT SD-0312-1 WILL NOT BE A NUISSANCE ANYMOR-



Alright Gentlemen! drive those drones as planned and everything will be ok! ATTACK!



MORE RESISTANCE? WELL THEN. YOU SHALL SUFFER THE SAME FATE AS THAT STATION. DESTRUCTION. --COMMENCING OPERATION: OBLITERATION--

he is already firing! keep avoiding gentlemen! whoever commands Unit L-2.1-1, do a quick hit-n'run to activate the shield systems!

Yes sir!



Drone D-1 has already been hit!

It doesnt matter! we can rebuild it anytime! just keep going as planned!


ONE DOWN. TWO TO GO. YOU BROUGHT DEFENSELESS SHIPS TO AN MK7 FIGHT. ILLOGICAL. THEY WILL SOON PERISH.

Drone D-1 is down!
THEN REBUILD IT DAMMIT! Has L-2.1-1 done the hit-n'run yet?

Sir no sir!
The missiles! they are so many!
(sigh...) get Unit L-2.1-1 out of there! make one of these drones Bump into the hull! Use the laser! SOMETHING! we MUST activate those shields!
Yes sir!


SUCH FEEBLE ATTEMPT TO GET THROUGH THE SHIP'S HULL. IT IS POINTLESS FOR YOU TO EVEN TRY. OUR SHIPS HAVE AN ADVANCED SHIELDING SYSTEM, YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH.
Their shields are up, Sir!
Excellent! keep avoiding! get back to it!


TWO DOWN. ONE MORE TO GO.
Drone D-2 is down!
REBUILD IT DAMMIT! Whoever it is that is maneuvering D-3, if this keeps up like this, you will be highly rewarded for such feat.
D-3 Maneuverer: Thank you si-
DONT LOOSE SIGHT! MANEUVER IT!
D-3 Maneuverer: 1/3 of the thruster is down!
Dont let it get to you! keep avoiding!

SUCH FLEETING FLY. PERISH ALREADY.

Keep going! you are doing fantastically!

POWER AT 1%. NO... NO MATTER. IT IS JUST THIS INSECT. I WILL CRUSH IT WITH THE HULL OF MY SHIP INSTEAD.
Now's our chance! his power is running out! ATTACK! GO ALL OUT!


IMPOSSIBLE. POWER AT 0.1% IT IS NOT EVEN NEAR ENOUGH TO ACTIVATE THE DEFENSES.
How about THIS for a welcoming gift!?
Command Unit L-2.2-2 to distract him to go right! we cannot miss this opportunity!
L-2.2-2 Maneuverer: Yes sir!


ARGH. WHAT IS GOING ON BACK TH- YOU INSECT AGAIN?! STAND STILL AND FACE TERMINATION ALREADY

Retract Drone L-2.2-2 and send in L-2.2-1 to the other side!
Yes Sir!


CEASE THIS POINTLESS FLEETING AND... STAND STILL!

just a bit more... just a bit more! Drone L-2.2-1, Come back! L-2.2-2, go back there through the left!


STAND! STILL! STAND! STILL! STAND STILL! ....
Look at him going crazy! Just wait for it, his doomsday clock is ticking! Units L-2.2, Come back! these shots will get him for good!
Yes sir!


STAND! STILL! ...? WHAT IS THAT RUSTLING SOUND COMING FROM BEH-


OH... SOMEHOW I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THA- [BOOM]

YES! WOO! CHEERS TO EVERYONE! WE HAVE DONE IT!
(everyone starts to cheer, some with tears of joy in their eyes.)

(oh no, i spaced out! i must join in!) Alright! im coming! dont worry! im intac- ... aww what? it died? without me in the action?
... the hell where you?
I dunno why, but i suddenly started spacing out..
... what... were you thinking... that made you space out so much...?
... sorry...

...(sigh...) it matters not anymore! we pulled through with this!

just wait till we deliver the news to my fathers! did someone record the action?
I am sure one of these fellas over here recorded it, right?
Soldier 031: Technically, everything is being constantly recorded, so you dont have to worry about that.
...ok. let's go back to Main Colony (AA-0001) and tell Zosimos and Larcwyde. wait, do you know what is going on with Sim, eh Cole?
Yes. they are ok, finishing that progenitor i will soon have. in fact, i am talking with them right now.
that's a relief. GENTLEMEN! THIS CYCLE WE CELEBRATE FOR SUCH A FEAT! WE HAVE ACHIEVED THE UNLIKELY,, AND DESTROYED THAT HUGE SHIP!

[theachevah]

----Battle Archive----

As the burning wreckage of the UESO megaship plummeted to the planet's surface, the Cooperative fleet was getting devastated by the ever-increasing number of Collective ships. The Superdreadnought lashed out once more with its Phased Particle Cannon, annihilating several Cooperative Motherships in one sweep. Stalwartly continuing firing, even the orbital defense grid was taking huge damage.

"We have to retreat before we get completely wiped out," said Halmiir, giving the order to retreat again. T1 was reluctant at first, but after a few microseconds of thought he realized the futility of standing against the Collective armada.
"Alright," T1 said eventually, changing course toward a safe jump-out point indicated by the Command Ship. Shunting power from the weapons to the engines, the fleet was almost ready to finally retreat from the devastation when suddenly...

"Losing power to hyperdrives," T3 cried out, the hyperspace window deforming and disappearing. "Picking up a major gravity well in close proximity..."

"That's impossible, we're nowhere near a gravity well," Halmiir grumbled, doing his best to keep the fleet together under long-range bombardment from the Collective armada. Then he noticed three ships decloaking near the Superdreadnought, with bright purple modules adorning their prows. "Oh no, hyperspace inhibitors!"

Far from the carnage, an Hiigaran scout frigate fell out of hyperspace just beyond the outermost moon of the embattled planet. Its captain saw that his allies were in trouble, sending a request back to the HDF HQ. It was granted, and only moments later a massive structure fell out of hyperspace nearby. Calibrating it quickly to compensate for the inhibitor field and the moon's gravity well, the scout ship activated the hyperspace gate with a bright flash of blue light.

"Wait, do you see that? There, by the moon," T1 said, pointing his ship to the flash of light. "I'm getting positive quantum waveform readings from it, despite the inhibitor field."

The Collective armada had also seemingly noticed the flash, large portions of their forces diverting their attention to destroying the newcomer. As they approached the large hyperspace gate, the machines immediately opened fire; the shields on the gate held strong. Within moments, various ships started coming through the gate. Everything from frigate swarms to heavy cruiser squadrons arrived in droves, engaging the Collective fleet immediately.

The few Collective ships that were still chasing the crippled Cooperative fleet broke off their pursuit, joining up with the rest of their forces to attack the HDF ships pouring through the gate. Halmiir breathed a sigh of relief, directing his fleet back towards the damaged orbital structures in order to make repairs.

Meanwhile, the Superdreadnought finished off three Destroyers and a Heavy Cruiser that passed too close to it, turning its attention to the gate. It began charging its main cannon once more, determined to annihilate the HDF structure along with any ships nearby in one shot. The Collective forces were faltering, however, and when one of the major Collective flanks broke down, several Heavy Cruisers took the opportunity to assault the Superdreadnought whilst it was still priming its cannon. The shields were not easily brought down; a stray shot from one of the Cruisers struck an Inhibitor, critically damaging its propulsion systems. The Inhibitor couldn't maintain its distance from the Superdreadnought, crashing into it; several key systems were damaged in that instant, just as the Superdreadnought was about to blow the gate away, causing the great cannon to misfire and tear the Superdreadnought apart in a gigantic explosion.

The remaining Collective vessels fled into hyperspace. The HDF forces spread out, dozens of Resource Collectors moving in to clear away debris and repair the orbital defense grid. Three Carriers passed the Cooperative fleet as they descended into the atmosphere, landing near the crash zones and nearby urban areas to provide assistance to the locals. The scout ship meanwhile approached the Cooperative Command Ship.

"Greetings, Commander. Good to see we came just in time," the Hiigaran captain said.

"Your timing was most fortunate," Halmiir replied. "We wouldn't be here if it weren't for your actions, Captain...?"

"Soban. Now that this Tierra Prima colony is safe, I have new orders for your task force, Commander. I've sent the details to your computer. Farewell." The scout ship flew away, jumping into hyperspace via the gate. Looking over the new mission outline, Halmiir explained it to what remained of his fleet.

"Looks like we have a mission to look for Hythar and Varro. They haven't reported in, so it's up to us to find out what's happened to them," Halmiir explained. "First, we'll get repairs at Control Node Zeta and get some new ships. We're in no state to do anything right now."

"You're telling me," said T1.

The Cooperative fleet entered the hyperspace gate, leaving the HDF fleets and the tumbling debris fields behind them.

----Battle Archive End----

[({little 4th wall breaking here, i just wanna say that i didnt see this already posted as i was already working on my posts, so i am sorry for creating an alternate universe sorta thing...})]

[Keeper Decagon]

[({little 4th wall breaking here, i just wanna say that i didnt see this already posted as i was already working on my posts, so i am sorry for creating an alternate universe sorta thing...})]

OOC: No worries, let's just say a second Superdreadnought arrived some time during the fight, but far enough away for you to engage it without interference from other combat vessels. :)