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Harvest Campaign Chapter 7
Posted By: Fleet Admiral<fleetadmiral4@yahoo.com>
Date: 16 August 2004, 10:49 PM
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1100 Hours February 3, 2527 (Military Calendar) /
UNSC HQ, Lambda System/
UNSC Yamato- class Cruiser Tyrant, Flagship of Rear- Admiral Kennedy
Only a few hours ago his fleet engaged the Covenant in battle, and lost. Only a fleet of eight ships remained. That against a fleet of nine Covenant warships was bad, plus the fact that they probably were receiving reinforcements.
His fleet would not last long in a fight, only three of the eight ships were at full combat readiness; and that was an assault frigate, a frigate, and his flagship. His flagship was not in the best of shape though.
In the battle she was hit by a plasma torpedo and now has hull breaches on ten decks. The armor on those decks was gone, along with the armor three decks above and below each. One lucky shot would gut them. They were still at combat readiness though.
The only thing that might save them though if the Covenant attacked the station was the six portable MAC platforms that helped protect the station. Each one was half the size of a frigate and could lob a heavy round. They have their own generators and a crew of 25. Plus the station has 30 Archer missile pods, but that wouldn't too much in the long run. What he needed was reinforcements, but they just didn't have the ships in the sector.
Worse of all, since they had to get out of their fast, an estimated six squadrons of fighters were left behind. He had to check if they were still alive, but couldn't spare a ship at the time. All ships were being repaired and readied for the imminent attack on the station by the Covenant. If they lived through that, he would go back. He swore it, like he swore to destroy the damn Covenant fleet.
He looked at the casualty report again, and then picked it up and, as hard as he could, through it across the room. The data pad broke as it hit the bulkhead of his ready room.
Klaxons blared. He stood up, buttoned the top of his collar, and walked out of the ready room onto the bridge.
"Report," he asked as he neared the command chair.
"Sensor station Wilmore has picked up Covenant ships heading toward the station," Captain Lauber reported. "Lt. Shepard reports that it is all the Covenant ships in the system since they have no more on the scopes in the system."
"How many," he asked.
"Eighteen sir," Lauber replied.
"Update Admiral Cole of the situation," Kennedy ordered. "Tell him we'll fight to the death, and take as many of those bastards with us."
Lauber looked at him with a smile, glad that they were not leaving a good fight. "Yes sir," he said. He stopped smiling and walked over to the comm station.
Kennedy turned to see some of the bridge crew staring at him. Most of them were the younger ones, and he could tell that they were afraid. "ETA to Covenant fleet," he asked.
"One hour," Lt. Commander Flaud reported.
"Very well," Kennedy replied. "Captain, put the fleet in a broad formation at rally point Beta. You have the bridge."
"Aye, aye sir," Lauber replied, puzzled as the admiral walked off the bridge.
***
For 45 minutes Kennedy walk all around the Tyrant. It was a curse that commanders did before a battle that they probably won't win. Sometimes though, the battle turns out differently.
On Earth in the very early 1800's when the Napoleonic's War was raging against England and France, Admiral Nelson; the commander of the British fleet, walk around the HMS Victory just before the Battle of Trafalgar.
Nelson inspected his ship, and talked to some of the men under his command. The British Fleet was much smaller then the French Fleet. When the battle was over, the British were victorious, but Nelson was killed. Shot in the heart by a musket on a French ship that tried to board them.
Maybe there is a lesson there, but in alluded him. Try not to get shot, perhaps. If that is the case, then why in the hell was he doing this job! Maybe it was something else.
He pondered this as the lift doors opened onto the bridge and he walked out. This was his Trafalgar, ether that or his Alamo. As he sat in the command chair though, his mind went strait to the thought of the battle.
He looked at the tactical screen. His small fleet of eight ships faced the Covenant fleet of eighteen.
"Liz, prepare to fire," Kennedy ordered.
"Timer activated," the woman AI said. "Firing in ten seconds."
He watched the timer as it hit zero. He felt the four thumps as the MAC rounds left the ship toward their targets.
The rounds blew into the Covenant fleet and only four ships went up in flames. He had to even the odds. He activated the outermost of the nuclear mines. Three white flashes appeared, and the covenant fleet was gone. When they dimmed, two more Covenant ships were burning. That still wasn't enough to matter.
As the fleet fired again he kept trying to think of a way to even the field. He looked up in time to see two more Covenant ships to explode. That was eight, only ten more to go. Only now the Covenant were in range to use their plasma weapons.
"Break and attack," Kennedy ordered.
As they broke he saw fighters fly out of the two cruisers and four destroyers.
***
Gearhart through his fighter up as the blue lasers sizzled past his fighter, barely missing. He came in around the fighter that just shot at him and pulled the trigger. The 120mm rounds hit the shield and bounced off. He still held the trigger as the shield popped and then the fighter exploded from the hail of rounds.
He came around again to take down the bombers headed for the capitol ships. He had just taken out three when his copilot, Lt. Jacobs, shouted, "I have six squadrons of fighters on an inbound vector sir. Coming in fast."
"Shit," Gearhart said. "Prepare to enga..."
"Sir, I am getting a FOF tag from them," Jacobs said. "Their ours."
"Contact them," the captain ordered.
"I have them," he replied. Jacobs switched on the speakers.
"This is Lt. Commander Lewis. Have we missed the party?"
"No commander, the party has just started," Gearhart said. "Come and join it."
***
Things were starting to look up. Sort of. Only five capitol ships remained.
"Pull back to rally point Alpha," Kennedy ordered.
Now they had their backs against the wall. Only eight Covenant warships remained, but those eight could easily destroy them.
"Sir, I have more slipstream exits," Flaud reported. "There ours!"
The holotank came on with the face of Commodore Gerabagi. "Thought you could use some help."
"Defiantly," Kennedy replied.
Gerabagi's fleet of ten ships moved in. The Covenant fleet turned to face the new threat, seeing that this fleet was fresh. As they turned, the MAC platforms fired, hitting their backside.
The two Covenant cruisers fired their three plasma torpedoes. Five ships, three frigates and two destroyers, exploded into balls of fire.
"Shit," Kennedy said. "Get me the New Jersey on holotank two."
Gerabagi's face came up on the tank. "Yes," he asked.
"Let's go for the cruisers," Kennedy said. "Their tearing our ships apart."
Gerabagi nodded and the tank cut off. "Come to course 431.7," Kennedy ordered. "Bring reactors to 130%, and prepare Archer missiles A through E to fire. Liz, get me a MAC gun solution."
"Already on it," the woman AI said.
The Manhattan- class cruiser New Jersey moved toward the nearest cruiser and opened fire. Her three MAC rounds hit the cruisers shield, but didn't penetrate. As her missiles went in the cruisers blue pulse lasers fired and took down almost half before they hit.
As the last one hit the shield popped and went out. Four pulse lasers fired at the human cruiser and sliced into the armor, then the hull of the ship.
Kennedy saw the three red molts of light collect on the hull of the Covenant cruiser. As they became scarlet, readying to fire, three MAC rounds launched from the New Jersey. The rounds blew into the hull of the cruiser, blowing it in half; but the torpedoes were already tracking their target.
He watched in horror as the red balls of fire made contact with the ship, burning all of its crew alive in a matter of seconds. A friend he went to the academy with, had been XO of his first command, had known since eighth grade; was dead.
Anger filled his thoughts. "Blow that Covenant son of a bitch out of space," he yelled.
The four MAC rounds and 150 missiles flew toward the Covenant cruiser. The first three knocked out the shield. The last one blew into the nose of the ship, making her spin out of control. Unable to bring her lasers to bare, the missiles blew into the hull.
The hull turned white hot, and then she burst in half and exploded. The remaining Covenant ships, a destroyer and two frigates, had been pushed back into range of the MAC platforms.
The platforms fired and the two frigates exploded, the destroyer floated; disabled in space.
"Prepare the marines," Kennedy ordered.
"Sir," Lauber said. "Look."
He turned to see explosions emanating form the hull of the disabled destroyer. Then she exploded, not willing to be taken by the UNSC.
"They self destructed," Lt. Hugo remarked. "Rather die then taken prisoner."
***
Cole looked at him through the screen. "Admiral Kennedy, you won I guess?"
"Yes sir," Kennedy replied. "But with heavy losses. Of them is the New Jersey and Commodore Gerabagi."
"I see," Cole said. "Well, take the remaining forces under your command and head back to Harvest."
"We have taken the system, but who will protect it," Kennedy asked.
"The Lambda and Colons Systems have asked the CMA for a garrison," Cole said.
"Yes sir," Kennedy replied. "I'll be there tomorrow."
Fleet Admiral- Please Make Comments
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