Post by itsthatoneguy on Mar 4, 2014 22:38:14 GMT -5
Okay, so this story is about the Imperial Navy. Kind of a loose interpretation of Imperial Guard fluff, I know, and if the mods see fit to delete this then fair enough, but I didn't know of anywhere else to share this.
So yeah, here goes.
Jibrail (Part 1)
It's a good day to be alive.
That had been the exact thought floating through commander Havershm's mind the second before his small system's defence fleet saw the light from a warp event fifteen light minutes on the other side of Fortia Major, the primary world in the Fortia system.
“Warp event, sir,” one of his watch standers said. “Archenemy ships. Fifteen. Twenty. Thirty.” The watch stander stopped trying to keep pace with the arrivals and waited for the screen to stop updating. “Seventy four ships, sir.” He did a poor job of keeping the fear from his voice.
“Come about. Maximum thrust. Aim us at that fleet.” Commander Havershm's orders were clear, but no one really wanted to obey them.
Havershm had under his command three cruisers and seven destroyers. A small force by most standards, but enough to discourage random pirate raids on outlying worlds. This was not a random pirate raid.
Havershm had known about this Archenemy fleet for some time, every sailor in the sector had. They'd been hopping from system to system, planet to planet, burning and killing and pillaging. Every time the Navy had managed to bring them to battle, the Navy had been soundly beaten. Scuttlebutt declared the flotilla indestructible, but Haversham knew anything made by man could be unmade. He also knew his tiny battle group wouldn't be the ones to unmake this flotilla. He would do what he could for the people of Fortia, and pray to any deity as would listen that the Imperial fleet wasn't far behind.
* * *
“Two minutes to real space transition, sir. Fleet reporting in. Fleet status green across the board, captain Connors.”
Connors nodded thanks to his XO and returned to his brooding.
It jarred in the worst possible way for Gregory Connors to be given a fleet update. A reminder of just how badly they'd been kicked about in the last three months. A few skirmishes with the Archenemy fleet poetically dubbed alpha flotilla had gutted most of the senior command staff from the fleet, leaving a gulf between Admiral Horatio and the captains like Connors. Their last battle had been a total disaster. Horatio was a capable but unimaginative commander. He'd never lost a battle when the odds were in his favour, but he wouldn't try something that might win when the odds were against him.
For the last three months, every time the fleet emerged from the immaterium the odds had gotten longer and longer. And bullheaded old Horatio had formed a battle line and slugged it out with the numerically superior enemy, taking more losses for less gain every time.
Until this. Captain Conners trying to fulfil the standing orders of the fleet. Trap and destroy the Archenemy flotilla. His ship, the Jibrail, a battlecruiser, the flagship of the fleet. There were a handful of battleships left in the fleet, but all commanded by captains slightly junior to him in length of service.
Just fifty three ships.
“Real space in three... Two...”
And then nothing.
And then. Real space. Black and cold.
“Janet, report,” Connors said.
Lieutenant commander Janet Frazer was Connor's executive officer and she was damn good at it. She'd been good at kicking Connor's butt into motion during the time they spent in the warp, too. He could easily have hidden from his duty, and with a worse XO behind him he might have.
“The flotilla is definitely here, sir,” she said. Then, after a moment, “They're split up, sir. There's a group of sixty ships ten light minutes away, heading for the primary world. The rest appear to be chasing a small group of Imperial ships.”
Too good to be true.
Connors checked his own display.
The bigger group still outnumbered him, but this was a better situation than he could possibly have expected.
He hit his comm control. “Accelerate towards the main body of the Archenemy flotilla, using Jibrail as guide.” Then just to his helmsman, “Take us in as fast as possible while keeping the fleet together.”
He studied his display. The main body of the Archenemy flotilla was made up of their heavy combatants, anything with a fair turn of speed was chasing the defence fleet. The main body still outnumbered and outgunned him, but he did have a speed advantage. He'd have to find a way to use it.
Janet poked him in the ribs. Connors was fairly certain that was against several regulations, but she wouldn't have done it without good reason.
“Sorry, I did try talking to you, but you were in a world of your own,” she said.
“Sorry,” Connors said.
“The defence fleet, sir, you should send them a message.”
“What should I say?”
“If you were them,” Janet said, “what would you want to hear?”
* * *
“Sir!” Havershm's sensor watch stander seemed on the edge of going into shock.
For a second Havershm had the irrational notion that another group of Chaos ships had dropped out of the warp a light second in front of his ships. A quick check of his display proved that wrong though. Thankfully.
“We've got light from a warp event, sir. Imperials, sir.”
Havershm checked his display again, and sure enough there they were. Twenty light minutes away on the other side of the Archenemy flotilla.
We might get out of this yet.
The Imperials started accelerating towards the main body of the Chaos fleet. Of course, it had happened twenty minutes ago, but the light was only just reaching Havershm now, which meant it had reached the Chaos forces pursuing him too. The seconds ticked by in his head, waiting. Hoping.
Then he saw it.
“Sir, they're breaking off pursuit.”
The fast elements of the Chaos fleet that had been slowly gaining on Havershm for a few hours were falling back to support the rest of their fleet. It would be a close run thing, they had to turn, and they had a lot of momentum to bleed off, but they might make it back in time.
Even if they don't get back in time that Imperial fleet is still outnumbered.
“We've got a message coming in, from an Imperial battlecruiser identifying as the Jibrail. Audio only.”
“This is captain Gregory Connors, commanding officer of the Jibrail and acting fleet commander. You are to be commended for staying alive and breaking up the Archenemy fleet. I'm not going to commender your ships, you retain command of them. Do what you think best. The Emperor protects. Connors out.”
Even if they don't get back in time that Imperial fleet is still outnumbered.
Havershm took a deep breath.
Then said, “Bring us about. Follow that Chaos fleet into the engagement.”
Three cruisers. Seven destroyers. Can we make any difference at all?
So yeah, here goes.
Jibrail (Part 1)
It's a good day to be alive.
That had been the exact thought floating through commander Havershm's mind the second before his small system's defence fleet saw the light from a warp event fifteen light minutes on the other side of Fortia Major, the primary world in the Fortia system.
“Warp event, sir,” one of his watch standers said. “Archenemy ships. Fifteen. Twenty. Thirty.” The watch stander stopped trying to keep pace with the arrivals and waited for the screen to stop updating. “Seventy four ships, sir.” He did a poor job of keeping the fear from his voice.
“Come about. Maximum thrust. Aim us at that fleet.” Commander Havershm's orders were clear, but no one really wanted to obey them.
Havershm had under his command three cruisers and seven destroyers. A small force by most standards, but enough to discourage random pirate raids on outlying worlds. This was not a random pirate raid.
Havershm had known about this Archenemy fleet for some time, every sailor in the sector had. They'd been hopping from system to system, planet to planet, burning and killing and pillaging. Every time the Navy had managed to bring them to battle, the Navy had been soundly beaten. Scuttlebutt declared the flotilla indestructible, but Haversham knew anything made by man could be unmade. He also knew his tiny battle group wouldn't be the ones to unmake this flotilla. He would do what he could for the people of Fortia, and pray to any deity as would listen that the Imperial fleet wasn't far behind.
* * *
“Two minutes to real space transition, sir. Fleet reporting in. Fleet status green across the board, captain Connors.”
Connors nodded thanks to his XO and returned to his brooding.
It jarred in the worst possible way for Gregory Connors to be given a fleet update. A reminder of just how badly they'd been kicked about in the last three months. A few skirmishes with the Archenemy fleet poetically dubbed alpha flotilla had gutted most of the senior command staff from the fleet, leaving a gulf between Admiral Horatio and the captains like Connors. Their last battle had been a total disaster. Horatio was a capable but unimaginative commander. He'd never lost a battle when the odds were in his favour, but he wouldn't try something that might win when the odds were against him.
For the last three months, every time the fleet emerged from the immaterium the odds had gotten longer and longer. And bullheaded old Horatio had formed a battle line and slugged it out with the numerically superior enemy, taking more losses for less gain every time.
Until this. Captain Conners trying to fulfil the standing orders of the fleet. Trap and destroy the Archenemy flotilla. His ship, the Jibrail, a battlecruiser, the flagship of the fleet. There were a handful of battleships left in the fleet, but all commanded by captains slightly junior to him in length of service.
Just fifty three ships.
“Real space in three... Two...”
And then nothing.
And then. Real space. Black and cold.
“Janet, report,” Connors said.
Lieutenant commander Janet Frazer was Connor's executive officer and she was damn good at it. She'd been good at kicking Connor's butt into motion during the time they spent in the warp, too. He could easily have hidden from his duty, and with a worse XO behind him he might have.
“The flotilla is definitely here, sir,” she said. Then, after a moment, “They're split up, sir. There's a group of sixty ships ten light minutes away, heading for the primary world. The rest appear to be chasing a small group of Imperial ships.”
Too good to be true.
Connors checked his own display.
The bigger group still outnumbered him, but this was a better situation than he could possibly have expected.
He hit his comm control. “Accelerate towards the main body of the Archenemy flotilla, using Jibrail as guide.” Then just to his helmsman, “Take us in as fast as possible while keeping the fleet together.”
He studied his display. The main body of the Archenemy flotilla was made up of their heavy combatants, anything with a fair turn of speed was chasing the defence fleet. The main body still outnumbered and outgunned him, but he did have a speed advantage. He'd have to find a way to use it.
Janet poked him in the ribs. Connors was fairly certain that was against several regulations, but she wouldn't have done it without good reason.
“Sorry, I did try talking to you, but you were in a world of your own,” she said.
“Sorry,” Connors said.
“The defence fleet, sir, you should send them a message.”
“What should I say?”
“If you were them,” Janet said, “what would you want to hear?”
* * *
“Sir!” Havershm's sensor watch stander seemed on the edge of going into shock.
For a second Havershm had the irrational notion that another group of Chaos ships had dropped out of the warp a light second in front of his ships. A quick check of his display proved that wrong though. Thankfully.
“We've got light from a warp event, sir. Imperials, sir.”
Havershm checked his display again, and sure enough there they were. Twenty light minutes away on the other side of the Archenemy flotilla.
We might get out of this yet.
The Imperials started accelerating towards the main body of the Chaos fleet. Of course, it had happened twenty minutes ago, but the light was only just reaching Havershm now, which meant it had reached the Chaos forces pursuing him too. The seconds ticked by in his head, waiting. Hoping.
Then he saw it.
“Sir, they're breaking off pursuit.”
The fast elements of the Chaos fleet that had been slowly gaining on Havershm for a few hours were falling back to support the rest of their fleet. It would be a close run thing, they had to turn, and they had a lot of momentum to bleed off, but they might make it back in time.
Even if they don't get back in time that Imperial fleet is still outnumbered.
“We've got a message coming in, from an Imperial battlecruiser identifying as the Jibrail. Audio only.”
“This is captain Gregory Connors, commanding officer of the Jibrail and acting fleet commander. You are to be commended for staying alive and breaking up the Archenemy fleet. I'm not going to commender your ships, you retain command of them. Do what you think best. The Emperor protects. Connors out.”
Even if they don't get back in time that Imperial fleet is still outnumbered.
Havershm took a deep breath.
Then said, “Bring us about. Follow that Chaos fleet into the engagement.”
Three cruisers. Seven destroyers. Can we make any difference at all?
