Star People

Chapter 54

Show of Force

July 1^st, 15 AE…

0630 hours, New Pearl Harbor…

“Captain and Commander on the bridge!” Harken announced as he stood up and saluted Mark and Reelan.

“As you were.” Mark said as he and his spouse took their seats. The Third-in-Command also sat down.

“Have all the preparations been made for the World Gathering?” The Kyteeri First Officer asked.

“Yes, Commander!” Harken responded. “The Yorktown and its defense fleet are ready to move out with us. Captain Vikes and the Johnston are also ready to move out with the rest of the destroyers selected from the 110^th Flotilla.”

“Good.” Mark said as he accepted a cup of coffee from an aide. “I think what have with us should be enough to impress Naran and the other nations at the Gathering.” He then turned to his communications officer. “Lieutenant, contact the other ships in the delegation. We are to move out immediately!”

“Aye, Sir!”

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Watching the main holo-viewer in the Conference chamber, the Council of Prime Directors observed the Missouri move out from its usual docking port and head towards the open ocean. It was followed by the the Yorktown, Johnston and several heavy cruisers and destroyers. As they cleared New Pearl Harbor, each Star Alliance vessel lifted out of the water and began gaining altitude.  When they reached a mutual altitude of 10 km above the ocean surface, each ship accelerated past the sound barrier and left multiple sonic booms in their wakes.

The delegation from Free Land was on its way to the World Gathering.

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From nations all over the world, ships and aircraft were making their way to the Vados continent. Unlike Free Land, many of those countries had to send out their fleets much earlier in order for them to arrive on time for the World Gathering.  Some countries needed to send out their delegations days or even weeks in advance. For those who were still using oars and sails, distance was a major factor and some nations needed a whole month to get to the Kingdom of Naran.

For the Empire of Sath, since they had switched to steam-powered ships, it was much easier for them to send a fleet to attend. And they would be showing their greatest achievement to date. After developing the Corsair fighter, they had come to realize that mechanized air power could be utilized to great effect at sea. Therefore, they had built their first aircraft carrier, the Sath Avenger.

Previously, they had constructed wyvern carriers in order to bring the flying beasts out to sea. Unfortunately, wyverns had the innate fear of flying over great expanses of water. If they lost sight of land, they began to become irritated and uncontrollable. As a result, wyverns were trained to see the carriers as islands, which helped alleviate their fears. However, with the adoption of the Cosair, there was no need for such measures and created the largest seagoing vessel in their nation’s history.

The Sath Avenger was about the size of an Essex-class carrier. It was 270 meters in length and was driven by 4 steam turbines; powered by 8 boilers that were modeled after the Babcock & Wilson boilers that originally powered the Missouri. It could carry up to 100 aircraft, and had a crew of 260 officers and 2,300 enlisted men. For defense, it had twelve 5-inch guns, seventy 40mm guns and sixty 20mm guns. The entire ship was capable of up to 30 knots and was equipped with radar systems equivalent to what was found in Atlans.

Though the Dwarf Nations were now part of the Star Alliance, they still wanted to display their latest advancements in technology. As a result, they decided to send their most advanced achievement, the Dwarven Battle-Mech carrier, Batarra. It was about 210 meters long and sported twin, retractable turrets, which were high-energy, psion-driven maser guns. It also possessed dozens of point-defense weapons such as electron-pulse machine guns, along with small missile and torpedo launchers. It even had the ability to submerge itself underwater, making it a submersible carrier. Of course, the ship was driven by a huge, neo-psion reactor.

Unlike the standard aircraft carrier which had a flat surface to act as a mobile airfield, Clurke’s people had taken inspiration from the Yorktown and Lexington, and equipped the craft with hyper-accelerator field launchers to send their machines into battle at a rapid pace. In addition to the newly-developed Diaraga walking tanks, the dwarves had come up with small, flying craft called Ariatols, in which the carrier can hold up to sixty of them.

The Ariatol was again a name taken from dwarven folklore. It was about the size of a small civilian airplane like a Cessna Skyhawk, but was shaped like a bat. It was driven by two, electrically-powered, low-density plasma engines and could reach a top speed of over 700 mph. It was armed with two high-speed, miniature mass-driver guns, one rear-mounted electon-pulse machine gun, and two guided missiles. It had a crew of two, which consisted of a pilot and an observer/rear gunner. It was surprisingly nimble and could compete with the best that Atlans and Naran could offer.

Not wanting to be outdone and still trying to achieve Star Alliance Membership, the Kingdom of Atlans had also come forward with an aircraft carrier of its own. Based on the Nimitz-class, it was equipped with steam catapults and dragwires. Their new jet fighters, the F-86 Sabres, had reinforced landing gear and tailhooks to handle the increased stress of taking off and landing on the deck. Inspired by its Earth predecessor, the Kingdom of Atlans had named their new carrier, the Enterprise.

The Atlans carrier had a compliment of 40 jets and 5 of their newest helicopters, which were modeled after the Sikorsky H-34. What was most innovative about the Enterprise was the fact that it was powered by a nuclear reactor. This caused some concern with the Council of Prime Directors, though the government of Atlans assured them that the reactor was only a means of propulsion and not as a weapon.  The Council was still quite skeptical over the whole affair and decided to keep a close watch on the Enterprise. Even if Atlans had no intention of using that power as a weapon, a mobile nuclear reactor meant the potential for nuclear disaster anywhere on the planet.

Due to the fact that they were still recovering from the war, Zedan would not be attending. Since it was considered as defunct, the Empire of Euracon would also not be present at the World Gathering. As for the rest of the major nations of the world, they would make their way to the Kingdom of Naran as best as they could. Many had to make do with sailing ships or flying beasts. The country of Gillenside had actual airships, which were filled with magically-enhanced airbags and powered by simple, propeller engines. For the Academy of Sages from Circel, they were happy to show off their latest innovation; an anti-gravity flying transport platform that actually utilized the newly-developed Binary Rune System, courtesy of Free Land.

The only country that did not have to make the journey to the World Gathering was of course the country that hosted it, the Kingdom of Naran. For well over a thousand years, all the other nations had to make the trip to Shenshirine’s domain. Little did anyone know that this would be the final World Gathering that would be held in Naran.

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Kingdom of Naran, Capital City….

1150 hours…

The ruler of Naran smiled as he stood on the balcony to his chambers and gazed upon the majestic form of Deriaton One. The crystalline battle-cruiser was currently hovering 3 kilometers above the city and was facing towards the northeast coastline. That was where the delegations of the other nations were to arrive at. Already, the fleets of several countries had already arrived. Most were from the lower-level nations and were barely past the hand-forging pre-industrial phases of their technological development.

Finally, one of the major superpower nations, relatively speaking, appeared. Surprisingly, it was the Empire of Sath. It seemed that the other higher nations had decided to let Empress Lexina’s ships come in first. The daughter of Garres wanted to show everyone how the Empire had recovered from its crushing defeat from Free Land and had actually grown in both strength and technology.

Even her family thought so as they watched the Sath Avenger and its support fleet sail into port.

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At a secret location…

“Look at that Father!” Vexor exclaimed as they viewed the proceedings from a long-distance magical viewer mirror. “Lexina actually managed to have an aircraft carrier built!”

“Hmmm… impressive… I have to admit that your sister has been quite busy.” The former ruler of Sath remarked as he considered the possibilities. “Once we take back the Empire, I will put that carrier to good use.”

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The next of the superpowers was Atlans as the Enterprise and its defense fleet came into view. The fact that it was able to travel the furthest distance without stopping to refuel was seen as a great achievement by Naran and all the other superpowers. With technology that now reached the late 1960s to early 1970s, the Kingdom of Atlans was regarded as a country of great advancement and the future in which all others wished to aspire to attain.

Then Free Land and the Dwarf Nations came into view, getting everyone’s attention. Virtually all eyes were focused on the lead vessel in the skies, the Missouri.

On the bridge, Mark Delan nodded as he gave the order for Ensign Gatsbu to set the ship down into the water. The Velor helmsman worked the controls like a master musician and the star battleship gently came down to float on water’s surface without swamping any of the surrounding vessels. The Dwarf Nations ship Batarra surfaced from below and came up beside the Missouri. The other Free Land ships followed Mark’s lead and set themselves down in formation.

With all the nations of Istaria present, the World Gathering was complete.

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Over the course of the next two days, the nations of the world would interact with each other as politics and ideas were exchanged, as well as merchandise and manufacturing techniques. The World Gathering was like a gigantic market and merchants of all types and levels saw it as an opportunity to show off their wares, make deals and get a hold of the latest technology. Naturally of course, the most sought-after products were from Naran and Free Land.

For the lesser-developed nations with poor food production, getting a hold of the Instant Ration Packets was a priority, and the Star Alliance was inundated with various offers and requests have them shipped to other countries. Though the Council of Prime Directors was not against aiding other nations in times of need, they also did not want them to be totally dependent on Free Land. Such a situation would cause the countries’ development in agriculture and food production technology to stagnate.

Coincidentally, the country of Gillenside was eager to show Free Land the latest advances in their Super Seed Project. New fertilizers and harvesting methods were displayed and did pique the interest of the ambassadors who had come to attend the Gathering. The methods were innovative and could increase agricultural yields by at least five times, but they still fell short of the terraforming technology that the Star Alliance would be interested in. However, the developments were of interest to the other countries that needed to improve on their food production. If they could not obtain enough Instant Ration Packets, then enhancing their farmlands would be a viable alternative.

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July 3^rd, 15 AE…

0530 hours, in a secret location…

“Number One, all the preparations have been made.”

“Excellent! And Shenshirine does suspect anything?”

“No, he does not. Today will be his final day as ruler of Naran… and being alive.”

“And what about those Sath fools?”

“They will follow Shenshirine on his journey to oblivion. We don’t need them anymore.”

“Free Land and the other nations might get involved once Shenshirine is removed from power.”

“Hmph! They won’t be able to do anything once we take control of Deriaton One. Furthermore, I have two more surprises, in case they do interfere.”

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1300 hours…

A hundred miles off the northeastern coastline, the nations of the world began participating in displays of their military might as they showcased the power of their weapons and armed forces. All their actions would be televised to the delegates and the rest of the world via magical, long-range viewers.

On the bridge of the Missouri, the third-in-command let off a sigh before addressing his superior.

“Captain, must we participate in these… pseudo-war games?”

Mark sighed as well as he replied. “I’m afraid that it is expected for Free Land to showcase its military capabilities as a superpower nation. I know that it’s just a glorified display of gunboat diplomacy, (quite literally in our case), but it would be considered rude if the other nations showed us their hands while we don’t show ours.”

“I trust that you’re not planning on firing the anti-proton beams or the Neo-Proton Wave Gun, are you?”

“Certainly not! We’re only expected to hit and destroy some targets composed of some derelict ships. A few kinetic shells at low power will do fine. I’ve also got word from Admiral Tarhesse that she will send a few fighters to demonstrate their capabilities.”

“It looks like the Kingdom of Vereles is almost finished with its military showing.” Reelan remarked as they all looked at the main holo-viewer.

After the Empire of Sath was defeated, the Kingdom of Vereles had revamped its medieval forces with more powerful equipment, weapons, vehicles and tactics. Their War Bird squadrons were now composed of biplane fighters, which were sold to them by the Kingdom of Atlans after adopting the Warhawk and Mustang fighter planes.

At the World Gathering, the Vereles pilots put on a display of acrobatics and precision flying, much like the one done by Atlans when Free Land sent their ambassadors during the first year of contact. After doing a few loops, dives and rolls, the planes all headed out to sea and aimed for a group of decommissioned destroyers that were slated for destruction.

The lead planes dove towards the closest ship and opened fire with their machine guns. They were able to pepper smaller targets on board, representing crewmembers, with dozens of holes. The bullets did negligible damage to the metal ship itself. After the lead planes pulled up from their strafing runs, the larger, slower planes came in. The bombardiers looked through their targeting sights and manually calculated the trajectory their ordinance would mostly take. A few seconds later, they dropped their payloads, which was a total of 36 bombs. Each bomb was about the size of a claymore mine and held about 10-15 pounds of high explosive apiece.

More than half of the small bombs exploded harmlessly in the water around the lead derelict, but the rest did manage to hit on target, damaging some of the ship’s superstructure and forward deck. One bomb managed a lucky strike and went down a smokestack, exploding near the bottom of the ship and opening a hole in the hull. Slowly, but surely the ship began to fill up with water. When the forward observers detected the ship beginning to sink, they used their magical communication devices to report to everyone that the lead ship was considered as destroyed.

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1330 hours…

The Corsair fighters screamed through the skies as they headed toward a trio of decommissioned vessels. Some of the planes had 500 pound bombs under their wings, while others sported ten 5-inch rockets. Every plane let loose with their fifty-caliber machine guns, shooting out the smaller targets and even doing some moderate damage to the superstructures since their ammunition was a higher caliber. And then the planes made another pass, this time letting loose with their HVAR and causing substantial damage as several hit the hulls and managed to penetrate. Four ships starting sinking. Then the remaining Corsairs dropped their bombs. Their accuracy was a little better than Vereles’ pilots but a few still missed. Those that did hit managed to send two more ships to the bottom for a total of six.

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1400 hours…

Now it was Atlans’ turn as it launched a squadron of twelve F-86 jets into the air. Moving faster than their propeller predecessors, the jets quickly attained much greater altitudes and homed in on their targets. In addition to greater speed and maneuverability, the F-86s were equipped with radar-ranging gunsights, making them far more accurate than the Warhawk or Mustang. They also had a new addition to their arsenal, Atlan’s first guided missiles.

After letting loose with their machine guns, all twelve jets fired off their new air-to-ground missiles at the targets. Each Sabre had two missiles. Based on the AGM Bullpup, but more slender and having a rectangular fins, the new Air-Hammer missiles streaked toward the decommissioned ships, adjusting their trajectories on their own to ensure a direct hit. They were a bit slower than their Earth counterparts, but they still hit hard and had enough power to punch through the armor and caused massive explosions. The five ships were nearly broken in half as they sunk beneath the waves.

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1530 hours…

The five ships that were designated as the targets for the Dwarf Nations suddenly blew up and sunk without warning. The observers were confused as to how that happened. A minute later, the submersible battleship Batarra came to the surface like a gigantic, metal whale. The new dwarf vessel had sunk its target with torpedoes.

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1545 hours…

“Well, I suppose it’s our turn.” Mark said as the Missouri moved into position some fifty miles from the targets.

“The Yorktown has just launched one Sky Hawk and one Byatta to take out two of the targets.” The communications officer announced.

“They only launched two Starfighters?” Reelan asked.

“Considering their targets, any more would be overkill.” Her husband stated. “And the Council decided to show off the latest in Battle-Mech and Starfighter technology, so they sent in a Valiant as well.”

At that moment, the main holo-viewer depicted two blips fast approaching their position at Mach 1.5. This was the husband-wife team of Lieutenant Kojiro Tanakato and his mate Lieutenant Nicela. Last year, they had just celebrated the birth of their first child, a little Kyteeri named Yuriko.

The Star Hawk and Byatta split up and chose their targets. The Terran fighter let loose with two blasts from his particle cannons which sliced through the derelict’s armor like hot knives going through butter. The Kyteeri fighter fired off its positron cannons that punched holes in the hull with ease. Both fighters then fired off one missile apiece and sank both ships with no effort whatsoever. The two ships exploded and broke apart as if they were fragile plastic models.

After destroying the two targets, Kojiro and his mate departed, just as a new craft came onto the scene. This was Free Land’s latest weapon, the transforming Battle-Mech known as the Valiant.

Inside the cockpit, Captain Samuel Yaeger was given the go-ahead to sink the third vessel with whatever tactic at his own discretion. As he sped towards the defunct battle-cruiser, he triggered the transformation to Battle-Mech Mode.

In front of the astonished eyes of all the viewers of the other nations, the Valiant shifted its form and became a flying, robotic giant. Yaeger then engaged the Mech’s Beam Saber and sliced clean through the length of the hull, leaving an enormous gash that quickly caused the ocean water to pour in and the ship sank. Yaeger transformed the Valiant back into its Fighter Mode and zoomed away, leaving a sonic boom in his wake.

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Aboard the Missouri…

After seeing the Valiant sink the cruiser in a very flashy manner, Mark decided to finish off the last two targets in the most efficient way possible.

“Ensign Gatsbu, set kinetic rounds at 10% power…  and take out the last two targets with a single round each.”

“Aye, Sir!” The Velor said as he took aim. “Both targets are locked in.”

“Fire.”

The Missouri’s foremost main turret swiveled about and let off a thunderous roar, followed by another as two kinetic shells were sent hurtling into the air. At a range that was thought to be impossible by most of the nations, both shells slammed into their targets dead center and caused the decommissioned ships to break in half and disappear beneath the waves.

“Targets destroyed, Captain.”

“Good shooting, Ensign.” Harken said with a bit of pride.

“Thank you, Lieutenant Commander.”

“Now let’s see if Naran can top that.” Mark said.

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Watching from a monitor in his throne room, Shenshirine and some of the nobles were a bit astounded at Free Land’s display. They had heard rumors and read the reports on the Missouri’s capabilities, but to see it easily destroy two outdated battleships at such long range was quite unsettling. And the fact that it only took two Starfighters to sink a pair of heavy cruisers was also disconcerting. What amazed them the most was Free Land’s latest innovation of combining a Battle-Mech with a Starfighter.  They had never even considered such a notion.

The Naran Emperor quickly reassured himself that his country’s technology was still superior and was about to prove it as Deriaton One began moving into position to take out the last of the targets. He had instructed the crew to destroy all five of the ships in one attack and was confident that display would prove to all that Naran firepower could not be matched.

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Deriaton One’s bridge…

Captain Retora nodded as her ship’s targeting system aimed towards its targets.

“Set the Kraister Guns to full power. The Emperor has ordered us to completely annihilate the targets in a single attack!”

The helmsman named nodded. “Aye, Captain. Kraister Guns are being set to full power discharge.”

“Lock on and prepare to fire.”

“Aye Captain. Locking onto to target.”

The two Kraister Guns began to swivel around towards the group of derelict ships… and then continued to rotate.

“What’s going on? I told you to lock onto the target!” Retora cried out as she noticed that the guns were turning toward the coastline.

“The guns are not responding, Captain! I can’t bring them about! They seem to be aiming towards some alternate coordinates!”

“Initiate counter-spell override! Those guns are aiming towards the capital!”

“I can’t! The controls are not responding!”

“Initiate emergency shutdown of the guns!” Asra shouted out.

“Emergency shutdown controls are nonresponsive! The guns have now locked onto new coordinates!  Oh dear gods! They’re aiming at the Royal Palace!”

“Send word to Emperor Shenshirine! Initiate Heaven’s Journey!” Retora screamed.

“The Kraister Guns are firing!”

Two concentrated and highly destructive beams of psion energy lanced toward Shenshirine’s palace. In less than a second, the beams struck the castle and enveloped it in a ball of total annihilation. Shockwaves from the impact point rippled outward, shaking the entire capital with a massive earthquake. Buildings nearest to ground zero were knocked down like houses of playing cards. Chaotic energy rippled out and incinerated hundreds of innocent civilians. A small mushroom cloud started to rise, signaling the start of a disaster that would shake the entire Kingdom of Naran and bring it to its knees.

The chaos had begun.

To be continued…