The Rebel Faction

Damn thought Ion Why don't they attack?

"Sir, this is as close as we can get without entering the debris field. The enemy is continuing to put space between us and them."

"Our fire is still ineffective, sir. We've got a 5% hit ratio going on."

Ion sighed, this wasn't working. "Cease fire. We'll wait them out."

"Why do they run, sir?" croaked his lieutenant "Their orbit is bringing them perilously close to the planet, and their class doesn't look very able for atmospheric flight."

"I guess they're hoping they can outmaneauver us. Get away with their cargo and never face us in battle." It was then that Ion got another idea. "Wait, you see how the debris retains our energy? When they do that, they heat right up and glow like light... Follow them into the field!"

This startled the crew. "Sir, follow them? Into the debris field?"

"If it's not killing them, it won't kill us. Follow them into the field, use our tractor beams to push as much of the junk as we can in front of us - between us and our target."

Confused, the men followed out his orders.

"Double check that our pilots and shuttles are ready to launch - tell them we've got a fool-proof plan this time. Tell the soldiers onboard to prepare to recieve orders, and have the pilots read my encrypted message with their orders in it.

"Go after them, and have our guns fire - I want it to be practically impossible to see the space between us for the exploding and glowing of these rocks."

Ion smiled. The plan was a risky one, but it was now or never.

"All right, have the pilots and shuttles enact their sealed orders. The ship is to go into full reverse, but keep up the barrage - The asteroids we're blowing up will continue to be closer and closer to the enemy, making it look like we're advancing, since they won't be able to see us. Open the hangar, lower shields, launc the fighters and shuttles - have them raise sheilds and prime their weaponry - then once they're out close the hangar and raise shield again.

"The pilots and shuttle pilots have their own orders. All we need to do is to keep up this blinding ball of light, and draw them to us."

The ship complied with his orders, and as it did so, the fighters and shuttles launched - this time, hitting no shield or closed door. The pilots had been pissed, but they weren't about to mutiny now - not with the survival of the whole crew in question.

Keeping low, to remain out of the way of their own fire and to dodge the debris, Gold squadron and the remains of Red squadron flew tightly around a flight of Assault shuttles. Red Squadron were the remaining six Kris fighters, but Gold Squadron...

...Gold Squardon were twelve Mechanoid Space Superiority suits. Piloted by a unit aboard the 003 through simulation, the suits were humanoid in nature and were a towering twenty feet tall Armed with a missile launching hook-up on one arm, and a laser cannon on the other, they were meant for space combat and built to face enemies in an unexpected way. Each mounted an ion-engine 'backpack' capable of propelling them through space, as well as point maneauvers.

The squadrons under the ball of light, and found that the enemy captial ship was heading towards them - it intended to pass through the continous explosion of debris towards the 003. Yet, for some reason, it had not given it's fighter support orders to attack 003, meaning they were still hanging back.

"All right, keep it tight and keep it careful. We have one objective - open up the hangar bay for our shuttles. All forces, open fire!"

The sensor officer squinted. "Sir, it... it looks like... it looks like they're inside the ball of explosions!"

Ion grinned. I have you now!

"Reverse speed, all ahead full! Angle the ship down below them! Keep firing, but only so long as we have a clear shot at the area just in front of them - for Gods's sake, don't shoot directly under them! That's where our own ships will be! And while we're at it, someone go reactivate the fighter missiles - good thing we took those out - and stick them in the airlocks for later."

As the 003 changed directions and barrled ahead, the signal strength to Gold Squadron strengthened. Suddenly coming online - appearing as if out of the blue - The twelve suits engaged their Ion packs, that brought them both closer to their target and their control ships. Guns blazing, the twelve of them tore into the underbelly shields of the Judicator.

The Kris fighters began hanging back to make sure the shuttles were kept out of danger, as the twelve suits continued their savage attack. The shields began to flicker and shimmer, as the damage began to show.

It had cost them dearly, but there was finally a chance. As 003 took a beating, and Ion struggled to remain on his feet, he gave out as concise orders as possible. "We've got a clear shot! Draw their fire away from the shuttles and fighters by keeping your fire focussed on their nose! As for the shuttles, get them in there already!"


The remaining Kris fighters fell back to the 003, trying to stay out of danger in case they were needed to chase off enemy fighters. The shuttles, however, had other plans. Passing through a hole in the ventral shields, they maneauvered right into the hangar bay itself, passing the thin field that kept the air from pouring into space, and coming crashing down into the hangar bay.

Confused crew turned to look at the shuttles - were they returning Capricians? No.

Knight Yakabe was the first to leap from a shuttle in all his Azguardian Glory, decked out in a vaccum-sealed battle armour suit complete with rifle and sword. Out of each followed scores of Coalition soldiers, pouring out of the shuttles like a tide.

"Charge!"

The battle had begun.

Yakabe cursed as his men began to float in confusion around the hangar bay - besides him and the two other knights present, these soldiers had very little training in conditions like zero-G. He knew, however, that staying here was a death-sentence, as once the enemy reinforcments arrived it would be shooting fish in a barrel.

"Everyone" he said, over the boarding-forces channel "push off of something towards the blast door next to the open panel - the one sparking - and if possible be ready for gravity's return at any moment."

Satisfied that at least the Coalition forces would have something to do to keep them from panicking, Yakabe pushed off his own shuttle towards the door. A sergant stood ready to resist, but the full hurled force of an armoured Azguard in zero-g is quite a thing, and he was knocked clean off his feet - an effective way to transfer the energy of the push to someone else, bringing Yakabe to a stop as his opponant drifted away.

Elsewhere in the hangar, Knights Ulric and Gurda stationed themselves on a shuttle each, using it's bulk to get some stability and absorb the recoil from their rifles - which were occupied in picking off the few armed crewmen they could see. Although everyone was floating in confusion, it was still technically a battle, and although the crew and the soldiers were struggling in this environment simply to move, nevermind shoot, the Knights at least knew enough to find a stable object and prop up to it. Though several others were trying to fire, at this time only they had enough stability to hit.

Yakabe held tightly on to the edge of the open panel, and saw the spanner stuck in the energy current. "Everyone, ten seconds until gravity's return - make sure you're close to the ground with, and this is key, nothing floating over you! If anyone needs more time send a message."

He began counting under his breath, hoping dearly no drifting crewman would get ahold of a blaster and find something big enough to absorb the recoil so they could shoot him. "Ten!" He shouted, and immeadietly at least five men shouted "Wait!"

"Oh, for the love of -" Yakabe began to say, but a shot suddenly earthed itself too close to his head for comfort. The Sergant was trying to get back. "Hurry it up there, guys." he muttered.

"Clear" said one, as he touched down on the ground. The sergant drifted against a bulkhead.

"Clear" said another, as she grabbed on to a jutting part of the lower wall. The sergant had managed to find his pistol in zero-g.

"Clear""Clear" two more landed roughly near the door, where the majority currently clung. The sergant steadied himself to fire.

"Clear" said the last one, as he rolled out from under where the shuttle would land. Yakabe didn't have time to think as he yanked up the wrench which gut-wrenchingly restored gravity - sending him, the sergant, the crew, the shuttles, the troops, and all the stuff clattering to the ground in a sound akin to a bridge collapsing.

Luckily for Yakabe, for him it was a short fall. He stood up, raised a pistol, and reduced the Sargent's hand to a blackend nub - leaving him to scream in pain on his own.

All around, his men groaned as they lay scattered around the door. "On your feet!" he shouted, as the sudden clatter of approaching enemy boots could be heard. "The enemy is coming! I want a door breach this instant! There'll be plenty of time to lie around when you're dead, which might be much sooner then you wanted if you all don't get to your feet and set up a door breach, pronto!."

In space, the battle still raged, but it was a different kind of rage. The six Kris fighters had returned to stay close to the underbelly of 003, where they would stay and watch for enemy fighters. Even the suits, who once again awoke as the 003 moved closer and the enemy moved away, began to make their way towards the safety of 003 to fight a defensive action.

Ion, on the command bridge, paced anxiously. "This part of the battle is key to our entire plan. Keep the enemy distracted, keep their attention split, but by gods don't get our own men killed. Bring us up alongside the enemy ship, and prepare to harry them with broadsides. Any and all auxillery power should be directed to the shields, and I want the whole crew on alert for possible combat-damage scenarious - none-essential crew away from the ship's 'surface areas', and so forth. If the enemy fighters attack, have our forces engage them only as long as they stay within our own gun's range."

The 003 moved to comply, striking an upward path that brought it alongside the enemy's ship - albeit facing opposite directions. Punishing salvos went to and fro between the two ships, but damage wasn't their main purpose - distraction was, keeping the ship's attention and manpower split.