Humanity has spread out into a massive sprawling empire throughout the galaxy. The edges of the sprawl remain poorly guarded and sparsely settled after all humanity throughout a thousand stars has always been alone save for their own creations which once waged war against them. This is no longer true now an unknown force has begun to attack sector 63 and possibly others and it is up to poorly supplied and desperate sailors to hold them back. You are the Admiral of the naval fleet of sector 63 one of nearly a 100 rimward sectors on the edge of settled human space. The last few days have seen you destroy nearly forty unknown ships piloted by what your men already refer to as birds. Your Escort Carrier the Essex and her escorts have dealt not just one but two serious blows against the enemy and even now your escorts move in to deal the killing blow to the enemy fleet you had ambushed while scavenging a new water purification system for your flagship. The enemy is doing its best to back away from the ship graveyard even as your corvettes and destroyers stalk out of the mess of broken wrecks hunting the damaged and fleeing ships. The enemy does something you think and human officer would probably be executed for doing they lose all cohesion and begin to run leaving the sole remaining battleship to receive the full wrath of your airwings torpedoes, the last of them you have onboard actually. The rest of the enemy force is just meat for your escorts to rip into with their coil gun turrets and the last of the torpedoes the destruction is so total that none of them even make it halfway to the systems jump point before becoming radioactive hulks after being struck by the torpedoes. The enemy fleet now lays destroyed and your did so without a scratch but your ammo is gone and you still need to retrieve the replacement water purification system on the derelict cruiser >Encourage the engineering team to work fast>Take your time
Last thread: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2024/6123499/All my threads because im a dumbass and didn't make a unique tag for this or my last quest:https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=BrinkQM
>>6156388>Take your timeNo more explosions
>>6156388>Take your time
>>6156388>>Take your timeYeah that while explosion thing was pretty less than ideal.We should have a couple of the corvettes check what's left of the Breaker station for survivors.
>>6156388>>>Take your timeWe should have the rest of our ships tow the burb wreckage out of the graveyard and make it look it they died to a brawl than an ambush. Then park our ships back inside the graveyard for another ambush in case this fleet misses its check in time. We have no idea when their resupply ships will enter this system. Gotta keep the burbs on their toes with new tactics as we are still outnumbered, out gunned, and surrounded.Also brinko what is our torpedo, minefield, and fuel counts looking like? Scrapping the barrel or we got enough for ten more fights?
>>6156662Torpedoes are all gone save for a single combat load for your airwing (They are much smaller than your corvettes fish) Your light cruiser is fresh out of mines as you used them all back in Gazelle and fuel is fine for now but a couple more jumps and your going to be eyeing the fuel gauge a bit
>>6156674Oh shit so we are down to just coilgun shells left for everyone else? Can we scrap any fuel tanks or search for any mining weapons or material for makeshift mines? We don't need them to be high quality just an attempt and a small explosive load will be enough for the next fight as I got a plan to get the burbs to come point blank at us.
>>6156388>>Take your time
>Take your timeTurning back to the derelict cruiser you set about scavenging the filtration system carefully while your escorts drag the destroyed enemy ships over to the stations remains to draw and more enemy fleets away from your own hiding spot in the graveyard. Its not perfect but it should give you time to react to anything that turns up while your teams work. The chief engineer while working on the salvage does report what had caused the explosion that gave you away. The last crew apparently when the cruiser had been decommissioned several decades ago had not properly drained the ships battery system and while removing the water filtration system the lost engineering team had pierced one of the high capacity lithium batteries. Your escorts meanwhile also look for any possible survivors amongst the stations wreck but predictably they find none.The filtration system is finally brought aboard after nearly a day and your chief engineer informs you he can install it while in transit. The system is a mess and there might be some things left here to scavenge but you also know the rest of your fleet should be arriving in Cartha sometime soon.>Try to scavenge anything from the system>Jump to the next leg of your journey
>>6156943>Jump to the next leg of your journeyGod knows they're on the way, might as well pass them mid-jump.
>>6156943>Try to scavenge anything from the systemHuge D-mod fleet her we come. (why yes I play starsector)
>>6156943>Jump to the next leg of your journeyLet's not stay here and risk the birbs returning suddenly or sending a reinforcement fleet
>>6156943>Try to scavenge anything from the system
>>6156943>>Jump to the next leg of your journeyWe need to get out of here
>>6156943>Jump to the next leg of your journey
>>6156943>>Write-in: Jump to the next leg of your journey but send only the carrier and two corvettes first with faked stuttering of their power core to look like we were mauled. If enemy fleet is seen limp in system for a bit before panic turning back to the jump point to look like our sensors were damaged and set up another ambush point. I have another ambush plan to think of.If no enemy fleet send a corvette back to get our fleet.Okay so we don't got time to scavenge. So I will adjust my plan.Reasoning: So the burbs know they left a defense fleet behind themselves and seeing the three damaged ships will obviously assume we were mauled and rush us. This should hopefully lower their guard for our follow up ambush.
>>6156943>>Try to scavenge anything from the system
While you would much prefer to jump from here to Cartha directly the distance is too great for your older ships to survive the stress of that long of a jump as jump space can be very taxing on various delicate systems on a starship. With that knowledge you gather your fleet and make your way to the jump point, the salvaged destroyer in tow of your light cruiser.The fleet is secured and prepped for jump and you have to make the decision on where you will make you maintenance stop for a short time before jumping to cartha>Arable a small mining colony best known for probably being a hotbed of smuggling > Delta 846 an empty system home to three gas giants.
>>6157571>Arable a small mining colony best known for probably being a hotbed of smuggling
>>6157571>Delta 846 an empty system home to three gas giants.
>>6157571>Arable a small mining colony best known for probably being a hotbed of smugglingGotta rescue the smugglers as this is an extinction war. Also buy, buy, buy! Get that manpower.
>>6157571> Delta 846 an empty system home to three gas giants.
>>6157571> Delta 846 an empty system home to three gas giants.Seems like a good place to hide
>>6157571>>Arable a small mining colony best known for probably being a hotbed of smuggling
Arable as a name is ironic in nature the sole survivable planet in the system having no atmosphere and was constantly bombarded by solar radiation making surface settlements impossible therefore everything was underground. It had once during the height of the AI war a prosperous mining world for nearly everything to make a warship, the world's mines sending everything it made to the shipyard at Cartha. The end of the war saw the need of ores decline and therefore the population, now only home to maybe ten thousand people the planet's ruling council had not so subtly turned to smuggling to keep the shrinking colony alive. This is not an unknown fact to you or your predecessor but there are far worse things to deal with on the rim than a colony smuggling party drugs in to see to crazy mormons and the odd tech cult. While your sure the colony of arable is self-sufficient its still part of your duty as admiral of the sector to make sure they are ok. The fleet enters the jump and you spend the days filling out an after action report for your engagement in the graveyard. 1d100 best of three please
Rolled 75 (1d100)>>6158282roll 1
>>6158285I hope that's good enough for dc
>>6158295We have 2 more chances so...
Rolled 68 (1d100)>>6158282
Rolled 84 (1d100)>>6158282
>>6158301Oh i meant to roll but after I saw i dumped it, decided not to tempt fate
The only thing of note to happen during your transit to Arable is the water system is finally repaired, which is something you and the crew onboard the Essex celebrate by finally getting to take showers and do laundry. Its finally wearing a clean uniform as you watch as the fleet exits the jump point and honestly you had no real idea what you were going to find on the other side but what you saw was not something you expected.Instead of a calm and peaceful system or one filled with wreckages and corpses from an attack you see a battle in progress when you arrive. There's two what look like heavily modified freighters dueling with an enemy cruise in orbit of the planet, the freighters trading dummy rocket broadsides from modified cargo decks against the cruisers laser batteries. The battle seems relatively even but it seems like one of the freighters is on its last legs, its engines dying and flaring back to life as something goes wrong internally. >let the battle run its course>join the battle against the cruiser
>>6158956>join the battle against the cruiserIt's Us vs Them. If our last encounter with a lone cruiser is anything to go by...
>>6158956>>join the battle against the cruiser no reason not to, even if we just use coilguns. Then maybe evacuate the colony?
>>6158959Oh i forgot to hit enter somewhere
>>6158956>>6158959+1
>>6158956>join the battle against the cruiser
>>6158956>>join the battle against the cruisernow its our turn to jump them
>>6158956>>join the battle against the cruiser
>>6158959+1
>join the battle against the cruiser1d100 best of three please and would you liked to deploy your airwing and use the last of your torps?>Yes>No
Rolled 83 (1d100)>>6159523>Nothe cruiser is already distracted by the freighters
Rolled 99 (1d100)>>6159523>NoIt's only a cruiser.
Rolled 77 (1d100)>>6159523>NoSave the ammo for a fleet.
>>6159551Goodness gracious.
>>6159551Someone got a railgun round up their nozzles
>>6159523>>No
You order your escorts along with your light cruiser forward to help the two freighters as the non crippled one unleashes a full broadside of dummy rockets at the cruiser many of which splash harmless against its armor. The enemy cruiser takes the lull after the broadside to sweep its lasers against the crippled ship sending a wave of secondary explosions across its hull.The enemy cruiser doesn't seem to notice your swarm of escorts at first but they quickly become acquainted when a sheer mass of coil gun rounds begin to impact its armor. The rounds dont do a whole lot until the light cruiser fires a single salvo from its small rail gun turret the round from it slams into the cruisers rear armor and then for a moment its like the ship just hangs there until suddenly theres a spike in radiation and the cruiser detonates in a sudden flash. Rest of post tomorrow
>>6160312Hehehe fried chicken
The irradiated hulk begins to float away from the two freighters one of which is venting atmosphere and very much looks like its in the process of being abandoned by its crew, something you realize for the first time the birds do not do. You file that tibit of information away for later and bring your flagship back under the protection of your escorts before you turn to your comms officer.“Please get me into contact with” You gesture at the image of the remaining armed freighter on the screen “Them”The freighter is not a ship you recognize and you doubt anyone would either considering not only does it not have a nav beacon it also doesn't have any identifying markings at all but you know full well what they are. Its armed freighters like this that make up the backbone of any pirate operation mix that fact with arables more criminal leaning it makes sense that these two ships are most likely pirates of some flavor.>Be cordial>Be demanding
>>6161017>>Be cordialBasically, either they'll do what we want or they'll die, no reason to rub their noses in it or start off on the wrong foot. I mean, we're not going to go after them, but the birds will. We should let them know what we're up against, first contact with an unknown, hostile alien species, and then they can decide for themselves whether to second themselves to our fleet.We also want to make the same offer to the mining colony, the only reason I can see to even be rude to the pirates is if they try to prevent us from evacuating the miners.
>>6161017>Be cordial
>>6161017>Be cordialwe already have an entire alien race as enemies, lets not make more of them
>>6161017>>>Be cordial"Honest has fallen, the outskirts have been breached, and at least one hundred bird ships are roaming the area. We have more ships at Cartha but not enough to stop this invasion."
No post today will post tomorrow
>Be cordialIt takes a few minutes but finally the ship answers your hails and even sends you video feed from their bridge. The captain of the ship gives a nervous smile as the feed blinks on and then he speaks. “Ah Admiral! It's good that you are here, me and my fellow freighter captain were in need of assistance against this dastardly pirate!” You know he's probably a pirate or atleast a smuggler but you have far bigger problems than that currently. “Captain, that's not a pirate, it's an invader and I'd like to know if you have the room to take passengers as that was just a scout and the rest of his kind will more than likely be here soon to destroy the colony.” The captain of the freighter takes a few moments to respond before nodding informing you he can take on nearly four thousand passengers in his suspiciously empty holds. That does leave nearly six thousand people to take on once you get in contact with the colony but you figure if you really pack them in including in your hangar bay you can do it. The real issue seems to be the colony itself as once you get into contact with them the ruling council immediately refuses to evacuate the colony. They claim they will be able to defend themselves from any attackers and seem to need some convincing thats not the case Could I have 1d100 best of three please?
Rolled 71 (1d100)>>6162166Show them the feed of two battleships lasering a colony full of civilians, and then an evacuation ship, maybe?
Rolled 91 (1d100)>>6162166Just show them footage of the destroyed station due to the birds attack.
>>6162180>>6162188Supporting
Rolled 85 (1d100)>>6162180>>6162188also supporting
You know you dont have time for this so with a little bit of satisfaction you show the council footage of the massed enemy fleet in gazelle and then the footage of the birds laying waste to the shipbreakers station. The video plays and you watch as horror dawns on the faces of each of the council members as you show them video after video of the sheer number and brutality of the enemy. Its works almost too well as there's soon a dearth of panicking people trying to get off world. Its while. It takes some time before you finally get them all loaded but your XO Issac brings something up to you. Its navy regulation to not leave anything behind for an enemy force to take which includes the colony you have the time to destroy it but this could greatly anger the former colonists if you do.>Follow regulation and destroy Arable >Refrain to destroy Arable
>>6162946>>Refrain to destroy ArableIts a mining colony, the stuff the birds would want is still usable after we destroy it. Besides, if they have a smelter, those things take like 4 months to shut down properly and this one is going to be destroyed when we leave (the melted metal goes solid, shits FUBAR)So no big deal.
>>6162946>Refrain to destroy Arable>Sabotage the leftover equipment.It's a compromise. The birds can't use it and if we come back (with the rate this war is going it will be a long time) the population can restore their stuff back to old working order.
>>6162946>Refrain to destroy Arable>Sabotage the leftover equipment.
>>6162946>>Refrain to destroy Arable>>Sabotage the leftover equipment.Fucking brass will punish us for not following protocol but that will take years for it to happen when we reach Earth.
