Friday 28 June 2019

Rise and Fall

Preparing
As the days passed before the Aslan fleet arrived the palace became more and more tense and there was palpable nervousness among the citizenry. The travellers kept themselves busy as best they could, including choosing what they would wear. As Arch-Dukes they would be expected to show the Aslan delegation the pomp and finery of the new empire.

When the fleet was finally detected jumping in, the travellers were summoned to the royal chambers where Empress Rao was getting dressed in the robes of state. Her clerks and advisors were there, polishing speeches and noting negotiation points for the upcoming talks.

Arrival 
As the fleet arrived in orbit Rao was heard to mutter "let's do this!".

Suddenly a messenger ran in to say that the fleet had transmitted a message. As it was being played another messenger ran in shouting that the Aslan had fired missiles.

The message was as follows:

THE FOLLOWING ACTS HAVE FORCED THE ASLAN HIERATE TO DECLARE A STATE OF WAR EXISTS BETWEEN DRINAX AND THE HIERATE. THE WAR WILL BE PROSECUTED WITH UTMOST FORCE TO BRING A SWIFT END TO THE CONFLICT, LIMITED TO THE PLANET OF DRINAX AND TO THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTS.
  1. Drinax sponsored and supported piracy, sending out citizens in military ships to disrupt trade.
  2. King Oleb and his daughter Princess Rao were kept informed of progress at all times, extending their sponsorship over many years.
  3. Drinax sent people to look for a Sindalian space station where planet buster torpedoes had been stored since the days of the empire.
  4. These Drinaxians talked to Peter Vallis, a notorious pirate and anti-Aslan racist, just before they jumped there.
  5. The Drinaxians kept the torpedoes safe until they were needed later, not destroying them like anyone who wanted peace would have done.
  6. Drinax also infiltrated the highest levels of the pirate world Theev, befriending pirate lords and themselves gaining position.
  7. Drinax also harboured fugitives from Aslan justice, including Kaisyl, wanted for treason.
  8. Drinaxians freed legitimately captured pirate prisoners, killing the crews of civilian ships in the process.
  9. Drinaxians kidnapped the ruler of Salif, in an attempt to sow unrest in the Reaches.
  10. Drinax is now militarising at a rate greater than at any time in history, at the same time as declaring a New Sindalian Empire.
  11. The Sindalian Empire was famous for destroying planets with huge torpedoes and waging war on Aslan planets.
  12. Peter Vallis, known to meet with Drinaxians, and carrying their torpedoes for them, was apprehended attempting to destroy an Aslan planet.
  13. He was captured alive and when asked about his crimes implicated Drinax and people they associated with.
  14. Peter Vallis was executed for an act of war, and Drinax now shall also be ended for acts of war and before it can do more harm.
  15. The Sindalian Empire shall not rise again. The warlike aggressive Drinax shall not be allowed to spread its insanity.
SIGNED BY THE FOLLOWING CLANS
AHROAY’IF, TOKOFEAHR, YERLYARUIWO, TLAIOAWAHA, SYOISUIS

Rao turned white, turned to Slayed and said "Wrax is hopeless. You have to save Drinax!"

Orbital Ballet
Running to the ship the party launched to find that the Aslans had destroyed most of the missile platforms and had deployed fighters.

The Drinax defenses consisted of the Sorrowful Maiden, a dozen system defense boats, some other spacecraft belonging to Drinaxian nobles and royalty, as well as a number of fighters and the weaponry on the floating palace itself. Arrayed against Drinax were four capital ships, many smaller ones, and now swarms of fighters. Drinax was outnumbered and outgunned.

As soon as the defenders rose from the palace the missiles and lasers from the Aslan took their toll. Slayed shouted encouragement and orders over the comms channels of the defenders, giving Lord Wrax suggestions but being careful not to antagonise the Head of the Star Guard.

As the Sorrowful Maiden, thrusters at full power, manoeuvered around the battlefield Nitrane and Unter quickly identified targets and directed marines and other ships to perform boarding actions to disable some of the enemy.

The battle raged on. By now debris was raining down on the surface of the planet.

Emerging from the shadow of the palace Lord Wrax and half a dozen system defense boats swarmed the largest Aslan capital ship, disabling it by crashing their ships into it. Unter and Nitrane picked another capital ship and led marines on board with scuttling charges and it too was taken from the battle.

The Drinax forces were now dwindling. Someone on the bridge shouted and pointed and tiny figures were seen streaming up from the palace. The Winged Warriors, battle dress gleaming and grav belts pushed to the limit, approached a third capital ship with nuclear mines. They detonated, taking all warriors with them, leaving just one capital ship remaining.

This last enormous ship was clearly identifiable now as it slowly, ponderously, approached the palace. It was the Eikhoifiruah - the very ship that had bombed the surface of Drinax in the last war. It was coming in for a final approach to finish off what it had started two hundred years earlier.

Slayed swooped, initiating a desperate boarding action to try to stop it. At the same time, incredibly and awe-inspiringly, the Floating Palace rose from the surface of Drinax. It's gravity engines howling and pushed beyond their limit, and with atmosphere venting from a hundred unsealed cracks and hatches, the palace directed its weapons on the Eikhoifiruah. A combination of the boarding action and the additional weaponry disabled the Aslan ship. With the attackers retreating back to the Sorrowful Maiden the Aslan super-heavy bomber passed below the palace, breaking up to bombard the surface for the last time.

The Floating Palace was not a spaceship, and not even airtight. This last action was to be its last. The palace started breaking up, helped by exploding engines and by pockets of air bursting through doors and walls not designed to work in vacuum. As the Eikhoifiruah fell to the surface so did the palace.

The remaining dozen or so Aslan ships left orbit and headed away from the planet, leaving the Sorrowful Maiden, battle scarred but unbroken, as the only surviving defender.

Thinking fast, Nitrane shouted to be on the look for survivors, and while they turned their full attention to the search, the travellers only found one survivor from the palace; a young woman who had donned a vacc-suit and been blasted away from the palace by escaping gasses. Other bodies were reached before they fell back to the planet surface but none were alive.

Silence. Far below light flashed on the planet surface as large pieces of debris sparked as they hit the metal remains of the cities destroyed two hundred years ago. There was no radio chatter, there were no other ships around the planet. Drinax the Kingdom was no more. Drinax the planet would continue, but it would not have a civilisation worthy of that name again.

Slayed said some quiet words and the crew, moving automatically, checked for damage, plotted a course for Torpol, and headed to the 100 diameter limit to jump away. Nobody knew if they would be back.

Torpol
Arriving at Torpol the travellers immediately made contact and were given priority landing permission. Demanding as fast a turnaround as possible the ship was refuelled while the travellers went to visit Falx, who by now was in a position of seniority. He welcomed them and asked how they were. They answered slightly evasively, not that he noticed, and just told him that there'd been something happen that would be made clearer in the coming days and weeks.

Slayed gave the lone Drinaxian survivor 1MCr and left her on the holiday planet.

Thebus
Jumping nest to Thebus they repeated the demand for as fast a turnaround as possible. They stayed on the ship in case another Imperial patrol arrived, but left before they detected one.

Space Station
Arriving at the space station they were warmly greeted and the hangar doors were opened to let them dock. They immediately called a meeting of the senior crew on the station, including Goff, Dai'Kinnear, Rachando and Kaisyl. This group were told in detail what had happened. Dai'Kinnear and Kaisyl, as the only Aslan on board, assumed postures of submission and offered their heartfelt apologies. Slayed accepted them, as was Aslan custom, and said that he held them utterly blameless for the actions of their fellow Aslan and that would be the end of it. They visibly relaxed.

Setting crew to repair the ship the travellers pondered what to do. Next they would go to Theev to inform the rulers there of what had happened. They were also interested in trying to crack the security on the datachips that they had acquired when collecting Admiral Darokyn's private possessions and thought Theev would be the best place to start.

Beyond that they didn't know what to do. Would they return to piracy? Or become merchant princes? What would GeDeCo do? After all, the mega-corporation has promised to "take care of them" but now that sounded more like a threat than a promise. And what of the Imperium?

Suddenly Lady Nitrane then swore under her breath. "Crap! I'm the heir to Drinax!".

To be continued.

2 comments:

  1. Also Nitrane captured an Aslan ship but too little too late;)

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  2. I was going to add that but it seemed trivial when compared to the destruction of a capital ship and the end of the Floating Palace which happened in the same round.

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