**BACKGROUND DEVELOPMENT
The Return to Mira**
Carnotaur looked at the latest report. As work proceeded on repairing the damage caused by the Edien Battlecruiser which crashed, the Red October was ready. Carnotaur sent out a message to Rima and Admiral Nahar and told them to head towards Mira immediately.
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The Voinian/Miranu fleet jumped into the Mira system. Seconds after looking over the scene, however, Fleet Admiral Nahar ordered the Miranu and Voinian fleets back to the edge of the system immediately. Rima was forced to comply, and once they had gotten to the edge of the system, Nahar explained on a comlink to the Savior, Rimas personal SilverHawk Warship. Why did you do that? Rima asked him.
This system is littered with dangers. Sub-space ruptures are the main threat, caused by heavy weapons fire. Theres also gas clouds, also caused by heavy weapons fire and exploding ships, as well as over 40,000 tons of debris and wreckage, and 21 damaged and disabled vessels. Scattered radiation fields also dot the system.
Rima was saddened at what had happened to Mirava. She wondered whether or not Mirava, or any of the other coreworld systems. She also felt anger towards the Ediens for what they had done. If she could, she would make them pay for it. To add to all these emotions, she felt guilt, as if she could have done something to stop all this. She didnt know what she could have done, but she couldnt help but feel the guilt. How do we get past them?
Nahar looked over a report. Well, the radiation we dont really have to worry about. Our armor can stop it, and so can your shields. The wreckage can be avoided, but the gas clouds must be avoided as much as possible. When we do go in, we must go in fast or else well get destroyed. As for the sub-space ruptures, well have to do some tricky maneuvering and scanner work to make sure our ships dont get destroyed. But, on the whole, I think we can do it.
Rima nodded and turned towards her helm operator. Move 2/3 of the fleet forward, keeping as far away from the gas clouds as possible. Follow the Voinian fleet and keep a constant look out for sub-space ruptures.
The Voinian fleet slowly moved forward cautiously, with the Miranu fleet in tow. The lead Voinian ships pushed wreckage out of the way to make way for the rest of the fleet. Larger chunks were pushed out of the way, while smaller chunks simply bounced off the hulls of the Voinian warships, making an eiree clunking and thuding sound throughout the ship. The lead captain Vernek Darknen, in his Voinian Cruiser V.E.S. Hellbound, looked around nervously at his crew as the eiree thunking sound reverberated through the ship. He could sense the nervousness and tenseness of his crew. This was a dangerous yet extremely important mission.
Sir! Sub-space rupture dead ahead! an ensign yelled.
Turn to starboard sharp! Full emergency turn! Darknen yelled.
The helmsman clutched his controls as he struggled to maneuver the behemoth of a ship out of the way as other ships in back of it scattered outwards to avoid the danger. One frigate, unfortunately, went a little too close, and had its shields and weapons systems overloaded. This forced a Voinian Cruiser to move forward and tow the frigate away and back to the edge of the system while the rest of the fleet moved ahead.
Suddenly, out of a light gas cloud (non-hazardous, only the larger and thicker clouds are), loomed the scorched and blasted remains of the mainframe of a Miranu Courier. However, instead of evading it, Darknen turned to the helmsman. Ahead full!
The Hellbound shot forward, crashing into the large chunk of debris. However, due to the old age of the vessel, the fact that it was just the inner structure, and that it had been heavily damaged, it just broke up upon impact. The Hellbound shuddered, but its thick hull held easily.
Soon, the Voinian and Miranu fleet was nearing the planet, but they still had one obstacle to go; a large gas cloud which they couldnt get around safely. Darknen looked at the large, intimidating looking gas cloud as electrostatic discharges exploded throughout it and tons upon tons of tons of wreckage floated inside. The Voinian commander gripped his chair, gulped, and gave the order. Ahead full. All availible power to shields. Emergency power to engines.
The Hellbound shot forward, followed by the rest of the Voinian fleet. Darknen gripped his chair even tighter as the Hellbound shuddered as it entered the gas cloud then began to shake as debris bounced off its hull, and electrostatic discharges hammered at it and the rest of the fleet. The helmsman had to maneuver carefully around larger chunks of debris while at the same time trying to evade the discharges. Suddenly the Hellbound shook and a consol in the back blew out as a discharge hit the cruiser head on, severely damaging its shields.
Finally, the Hellbound exited the cloud with its shields nearly gone and its structural integrity holding but slightly down. The rest of the fleet soon followed, with several ships getting disabled. But overral, both fleets got out okay.
Rima gasped at what she saw as the Miranu fleet cleared the cloud; Mira.
But it was not the same Mira that she had left 6 years ago.
Instead of being beautiful, with large and majestic oceans and wonderful forests; it was covered in a thick, grey and black clouds which obscured the surface entirely. In several areas the atmosphere glowed red due to the heat given off by the large pits of molten magma, exposed by large scale bombardment in a small area. Wreckage still dotted the area as the Voinian and Miranu fleets moved into orbit.
Suddenly, one of the Voinian sensor operators looked at the long range sensor scans. Sir, im detecting the Federation fleet entering the system. Approximately 900 vessels, with 700 of them are breaking off and heading in our direction.
Very good. Once they arrive, we can begin the landing. Nahar turned to his lieutenant. Move the 22nd and 23rd Fleet Divisions in position.
Two sections of the Voinian fleet moved away from the main section and got set up in their positions. The 23rd was to work on salvaging all the debris, while the 22nd moved into a lower orbit and began to fire off small atmospheric converters in a 20 mile radius around the main Miranu city of Kenra, which in an ancient Miranu dialect means Joy. These converters were a simple filtering device that the Voinians and Federation needed if they were ever going to be able to land on Mira without an enviromental suit.
Several hours later, the Federation fleet finally moved into orbit and began to fire off their own atmospheric converters in a 5 mile radius around Kenra. Carnotaur, on the Red October, hailed Nahar. We should be ready in a few days for the away mission. We have to wait till the atmosphere around Kenra is breathable enough to land there without dying within 5 minutes. And once we do get ready to land, well have to fire off some thermolicic pulse charges to heat up the atmosphere to a suitable level. With the sun being blocked out its much colder than normal.
Nahar nodded. Ill relay the information to Rima. My ships will continue work on the atmospheric converters and picking up as much debris as they can.
Carnotaur nodded and switched off the comlink. Sensors, scan the city of Kenra, as well as its four outlying sub-cities. What condition are they in?
The sensor lieutenant looked at the display for a moment. Three of the outlying sub-cities are gone, completed blasted apart and flattened. The other one is heavily bombarded, though not totally flattened. The lieutenant looked closer at the screen. Kenra has been heavily bombarded. Several sections of the city have been completely flattened, but the rest of it is pretty much the same; over 25% of the buildings have been destroyed. Another 25% of the buildings have been severely damaged, and only 10% of all the buildings have survived well. Im detecting firebombing damage, standard weapons fire damage, and a lot of other damage caused by natural wear and tear.
Can you figure out the status of the main capitol palace? Carnotaur asked.
Hmmmmm... the lieutenant adjusted his scanners. I cant tell precisely, but at least some of it has survived.
Carnotaur nodded and sat back in his captains chair. He looked back at the big, grey ball of Mira which used to be a paradise. If we ever get this planet cleaned up, its going to be the largest terraforming project in history.
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ThetaCon 5, we are approaching the upper atmosphere, the Azdara pilot reported to his command ship as the fighter approached the upper atmosphere of Mira. The Azdara, along with two wingmen, were making a test descent through the atmosphere to make sure that it was completely safe.
The forward shields began to glow red as Azdara screamed forward. The pilot reduced speed then continued on, keeping a constant lookout for any possible dangers. As the three Azdaras were jolted around by some wind currents, the pilot reported back to his base ship. ThetaCon 5, we are entering the inner atmosphere. Encountering some turbulence. So far, nothing to be afraid of.
The Azdaras continued along, until finally they exited the black and grey clouds which obscured the planet itself and emerged into the lower atmosphere. The piloted just stared at the landscape. No longer did wild and graceful animals roam across the surface, nor majest trees and grass cover the surface. Instead, this place was a wasteland. Wreckage dotted the surface, acompanied by masses of craters and blast holes, and large fields of garbage dumped there by Edien warships. The seas had been turned a greyish, black color, filled with oil, wreckage, dead bodies, and garbage. Every single living creature had been annihilated except for the most resistent bacteria and micro-organisms. What were once rivers, were now tried up river beds, clogged with all kinds of junk and debris. The sun barely shone through the thick, black clouds. In some areas there had been so much bombardment that it now was just a pit of red hot magma, stemmed by a tide of ever present magma, rising from the surface, which had been released by the planetary bombardment. Flying over some spaceports, the Azdara pilots could seek the burt out hulks of wrecked spacecraft. He could see massive Miranu frieghters which had crashed right there six years ago and had been untouched since. Once awed by all, Miranu couriers and aradas littered the area, filled with dead Miranu who had been trying to escape, and almost untouched by time. Entire mountains had been flattened, and entire cities had been decimated. What remained of Mira was a burt out, blasted, polluted planet, totally incapable of supporting any kind of life or settlement. The lead pilot almost felt like he could hear the sounds and terror that had happened on this very landscape six years ago, as the massive Edien armada moved into orbit and began to unleash their incredible firepower. He could almost hear the screams of millons of Miranu as they tried desperately to escape their doomed planet. He could almost hear the massive explosions as quantum torpedoes streaked down from above and destroy building after building, ship after ship, life after life. He could almost see how the sky turned red and black, as explosions raged through the atmosphere, and smoke clogged the sky. The scene was overwhelming.
Azdara Omega 05 what is your status? the command ship asked twice. Finally the pilot responded. Azdara Omega 05 here. All ready for you, you can land as soon as your ready.
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Rima walked through the halls of the Savior on the way to the bridge. It had been three days since the converters had been deployed, and now the atmosphere was finally good enough to land and walk around the main city.
The plan called for 7 Voinian, 21 Federation, and 9 Miranu vessels to land. Carnotaur and Rima would then try to figure out the status of the main Miranu palace and see if they could get in. The mission would only take about 2 and a half hours at the most due to the fact that the atmosphere was still not that clean, and there was also a dangerous level of radiation in the area. That would be more of a problem if the Federation hadnt devised a method using the shields from starships to set up a protective perimeter to defend against most of the radiation. That was why they were landing a lot more ships than the others.
As Rima entered the turbolift to the bridge, she felt overwhelmed by emotion. Last time she had seen Mira was six years ago as she barely escaped the Edien onslaught. When she left, it was a jungle paradise. When she had last looked at it, it was under heavy planetary bombardment. Six years later, it was a blasted, cratered, uninhabitable world of debris, wreckage, garbage, and waste.
The Miranu walked out onto the bridge of the Savior and looked at the viewscreen. All of the ships were in position, and awaiting the final clearence from Rima. Taking a deep breath, she gave the order. Ahead full. Lets see our home again. The helmsman smiled and then started to move the Savior forward, followed by the rest of the Miranu fleet.
The large fleet moved ahead, starting to streak through the atmosphere. As the vessels were tossed around a bit by the turbulence, the crews tried to see through the thick black smoke which clogged the atmospheres of Mira. Suddenly, it all cleared as the fleet entered the lower atmosphere, and the hundreds of Miranu stared at their homeworld. Or what was left of it.
Rima just stared. She didnt think anything, she just stared at the blasted remnants of a once great and reveered planet. It was hard to think that this chunk of blasted rock was once the center of trade in the Milky Way galaxy. As tears welled up in her eyes, Rima looked around at the pale faces of her crew. Her sensor officer, a young Miranu named Kirok, looked quite afraid as he looked across the landscape. Rima put her hand on his shoulder and smiled, trying to reassure him. Kirok faintly smiled as the fleet continued on through the atmosphere.
The Voinian ships, which went in first, began to move ahead and began to circle Kenra, scanning for a place to set down. After a moment, the fleet dispersed as some ships moved around the city to form a perimeter while two frigates and a cruiser landed down closer to the city and began to deploy their troops. Admiral Nahar was staying up in orbit on his command ship, the Dreadnaught V.E.S. Dark Templar.
Next came in the Federation fleet, who immediately set up a perimeter with their ships and activated the radiation shield. Meanwhile, four other ships (two frigates, one battlecruiser, and Carnotaurs flagship the Red October) landed near the Voinian vessels and also unloaded their troops. Next came the Miranu fleet, which also landed their ships near the Voinians and Federation. Rima walked down the loading ramp, and set foot on the scorched soil of Mira for the first time in six years.
As Rima walked around, overwhelmed by the scene and emotions, Carnotaur walked towards her, followed by over three dozen Voinian and Federate troops. The Federation president showed Rima a map of the city. Some areas were greyed out, showing that they had been destroyed. The main capitol building was circled, and Carnotaur pointed this out. We still arent sure of the overral status of the capitol building, but we know it hasnt been completely destroyed. So theres only one way to figure out the status of it, is just to go over there and take a look for ourselves. The Serasota, a battlecruiser, is now offloading some equipment which should allow us to get there quickly, which includes a hovercraft.
Within a few minutes, several hovercraft had been offloaded. Carnotaur, Rima, and a few soldiers got in one and headed off through the broken, blasted, and twisted remnants of Kenra, followed by several other hovercrafted loaded with equipment and more soldiers.
As Rima looked around, she began to remember old buildings that she had visited frequently. She saw the Department of Biological Scientific Research building, now only a burnt out hulk. She saw other buildings, restaurants, and places which she used to visit before the war. Before the battles which tore the Miranu people and this galaxy apart. All of them had been heavily damaged, others had been almost totalled, and still others had been completely annihilated. The roads had also changed. Instead of sleek pathways through which hundreds of hovercars used to travel through, now it was littered with debris, garbage, junk, wrecked hovercars, and the remnants of bodies left over from the bombardment. It was also covered with craters which the hovercars had to avoid, and some roads were just completely blocked by fallen structures and buildings.
After several minutes travelling along, the hovercars finally approached the scorched and blasted remnants of the palace. Carnotaur got out and surveyed the palace. Well, though the west wing has been flattened, the rest of it seems to be pretty much intact.
Rima and the other soldiers got out and walked towards the main gate. Carnotaur walked ahead and kicked open the door and cautiously entered. His feet crunched on broken glass and chunks of metal and wreckage. The rest of the Voinian, Federate, and Miranu soldiers spread throughout the building, examining the area. Carnotaur and Rima walked through the palace, looking at burnt out offices and hallways. Carnotaur was able to find and open some emergency hatches, allowing him and Rima to get up to the 11th floor, the target floor.
Carnotaur kicked through several doors as the two of them worked their way towards Rimas old office. Coming up to the silver-plated doors which lead into the office, Carnotaur was spared the task of kicking open the doors because they had been designed differently than the others, and could be opened fairly easily even after six years and a heavy planetary bombardment.
Rima walked in first, and looked around the room. All of the glass except for the extra-strength glass through which you could look out at the city and the horizon. Her desk had somehow survived, if not badly scorched. The safe in which held many military and top secret documents had survived. The same could not be said for the furniture and carpet, all of which had been badly burnt, and both of the sofas had been destroyed. On the far side of the room, near the meeting desk, the ceiling had collapsed and a lot of wreckage from the upper floor had come down.
Rima suddenly noticed something on her desk. She walked over to it. A picture frame? Yes, it was. Rima picked it up, and began to cry as she looked at it; it showed a picture of her, six years earlier, along with a picture of Kenra, glistening in the setting sun. It was so beautiful, and now it was completely ravaged.
Carnotaur, which had been working on trying to open the safe, turned around and looked at Rima. He moved over to Rima and put his arm around her. She looked up at him as he smiled. Dont worry. Well get this all fixed up someday, and itll be just as beautiful as it was six years ago. Trust me.
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If at first you don't succeed...Hit it harder! - Me
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Millennium. Its coming, prepare for it.
Coming to the (url="http://"http://www.ambrosiaSW.com/games/ev/chronicles.html")EV Chronicles(/url).
(This message has been edited by Captain Carnotaur (edited 09-21-2001).)
