Nova Wars tie in, part 35

Greetings all! I was able to get some typing in, and got the combat-lacking portion of the refit out of the way, which means I now have to worry about creating enticing combat for you, which means I need to think tactics again. Be that as it may, I present you this little gift!

As always, this is a tie in to the long story of Ralt’s universe. If you missed the First Part, or the last part, I suggest going back and reading it. Also, I’ve updated the Fleet makeup spreadsheet ,so make sure to go take a peek!

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The fleet’s training finished ahead of schedule, which was good news for us, even if it meant we wouldn’t get any new vessels aside from a few Minotaurs and a Valkyrie. The rest of the Terran army finally showed up a week before we had decided to head back out, which delayed us while we sorted which of our vessels would stay as support vessels and which would rejoin the fleet proper. All of our Atlas carriers were quickly returned from their troop carrier layout to their original heavy carrier layout, being able to carry the same amount of fighters and Raptors as a Columbia, even if they didn’t have the protection or firepower. They would still be greatly used as mid to high altitude fighter carriers, allowing Vipers to operate in pure atmosphere for entire flights, greatly extending their sortie times.

As we wrapped up our training and replenishment of numbers, I decided to hold a ceremony for those that were staying to teach more new pilots. We created a makeshift stage in a recently harvested field, and I lead the ceremony. Even for me, it was hard to keep it from being boring. I did my best, announcing the many heroic deeds of the training pilots that had been put in their service record, providing medals, and personally thanking them for all the assistance they provided the fleet during their tenure. On top of that, we had some major medals I needed to provide, each medal order originating from Terra itself. Space Navy crosses, Silver Stars, Distinguished Flying Crosses, and many more were handed out, with many of our ex-civilians receiving a Defense Distinguished Service Medal for their continued action from the beginning of the conflict. In total, the service ended up needing rest breaks, food breaks, and ended up taking a few days to fully complete thanks to the massive backlog of medals.

After that, it was finally time to prepare for departure. Thanks to the arrival of the Solarian fleets, the advance of Mar-Gite was stunted, but still they came. Fleets in need of repair still streamed into the system, and it was time we provided our firepower once again. We decided to regroup the fleet above the captial planet, but instead of a parade exit, we’d jump out from orbit to our first exit point before continuing the journey to the battle zone. It was a beautiful sight to behold, even from the holo-table in the Poseidon’s Ops room. Atlas carriers became the base of the backline formations, with Janus, Loki, Defense, and Manticore vessels forming up around them. Freighters formed up in their own formation beside them, with the smattering of the now beleaguered landing frigates splitting off to stay home as new vessels jumped in from the shipyards to replace them. All ex-civilian vessels were finally released from service as fresh make Stalwart frigates replaced them in formation. Then a formation twice the size jumped in next to them. The Solarian army vessels amassed quite a force, but combined our numbers were still only enough for a delayed action.

Finally, it was time for the combat line ships to form up. Six Columbia Battlestars, twelve Artemis Battlestars, twenty Valkyrie Battlestars, the Heracles, Twenty four Minotaur heavy cruisers, Twenty eight Orion missile cruisers, fifty Adamant light cruisers, sixty Berserk light carriers, and all sixty four Demeter class light cruisers formed into a massive Phalanx formation, with the other formations taking up the wings. The fleet still had to grow, but as it was, it was a massive formation. Admiral Bannon, Admiral Hanson, and myself all listened into a speech that the Governor had prepared, and we responded with thanks, before Admiral Hanson got the honor to order the fleet’s departure. On his cue, the entire fleet jumped at once, creating the impression of a massive amount twinkling stars as we began our journey to combat.

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(Next chapter link)

Fleet makeup spreadsheet

Take a peek! I want more Captains!