OOC: I'm going to try a slightly different path here; finish the Starfortress battles one scene at a time, Galactica first. Please, unless you intend to spare ships to the battle or make communications, don't post until myself, RMA and BattleDoctor have done some killing. As for this battle's title, BD can change it if he wants. : )
Proving of the Phoenix
The G.S.S Nemesis, pride and joy of the Galactica Imperium, made it's arrival in Sol even as the twin Starfortresses began to break through the defences of Jupiter Base, and hope was fading.
The Nemesis was one of the most powerful vessels ever built in the Milky Way. It was larger and more powerful even than the United Earth's Paladin or Excalibur supercruisers, which had both been lost thirty years past in the Battle of Pokoren. It could have gone toe to toe with the Sephiroth , and even stand up to the Garland itself, after having been upgraded with the spoils of war.
The Prylak had never expected the power of resistance that they had met in the Milky Way, beginning from the Gadzair, and then against the Merc. Alliance, Galactica, the Azdgari and others. They had expected their bio-weapon to end the war for them once and for all, and yet it had not. And then, again, in New Sol the Andromedan Prylak had tasted their worst defeat - the death of their Emperor and flagship, at the hands of two majestic vessels, the Equinox and the Paradox, built by a dying race.
And now, the Prylak were about to face a worse loss. They were about to learn the resistance that the Voinians, the humans, the Azdgari, the Igadzra, the Zidagar, the Miranu, the Skraine, the Haorn, the Sijak, their brothers the Raiek, and even the apparently insignificant Hinwar could put up in their will to live.
----------------------
And thus, the G.S.S Nemesis made it's entry into Sol amid the enormous match between the Andromedan Prylak and Jupiter Base.
With that signal, every thoron beam, missile silo and ion battery within the system pinpointed the same target - the A.S.S Xe'ls, Starfortress and seat of command of Second General Riose.
And the Nemesis charged, it's charged thoron beams bathing it in unbelieving bright light. Three seperate points of white light from three seperate beams grew and grew, as the beam charged almost to overload.
Fleet Admiral Havanna, captain of the G.S.S Nemesis, stood at the bridge, looking out towards his target. "Time until weapon's range?"
"Fourteen seconds, sir!" replied the same lieutenant who had informed him of their impending arrival.
"Can the beamers sustain until them?" Havanna asked.
"If we want to do this, they'll have to," replied his second-in-command with a grin.
He was about to make a second comment, when the lieutenant shouted out "Now!". A split second later, an ensign professionally tapped three large holo-points in front of him, discharging the beams.
Havanna blinked as the streaks of light reached out to encompass the Xe'ls. "Status!" he demanded when the impressive display was over.
"We can't break their jammers," replied the lieutenant. "There was a definite shield ripple, though."
"And still is," the second-in-command noted, watching as hundreds of missiles crashed into the Xe'ls' shield bubble.
"Continue. Fire everything we have at the Xe'ls," commanded Havanna, still staring out towards the Xe'ls. He had not expected it to be so large - so titanic.
------------------------
Second General Riose swore in language so foul it made several Prylak cringe. "Get the dreadnoughts on that ship!" he spat at one Prylak, quickly turning to another. "Charge the temporal disruption beam."
"It's already charged, Master."
"Lock the Nemesis in. Destroy."
------------------------
The Nemesis was now upon the Xe'ls, concentrating all it's fire on it despite the dreadnoughts that were attempting to engage it with anti-spacial beams and such. The Nemesis, however, was quite simply dwarfed by the massive bulk of the Xe'ls, and Havanna realised that unless Phoenix Command had some trick up their sleeve, things might become difficult here.
The irregularities were what gave it away. The entire space-time continuum seemed to shiver. No energy readings were given out, but instead, the energy readings that came from every other weapon in the system were suddenly all blocked out from the Nemesis, as is neutralised.
After that, some hint was given away when the officer in charge of engineering noted that Havanna appeared to be speaking very slowly. Havanna was confused, not entirely sure what was going on, but he realised it's source.
"Evaasiive maaanoueevrees!" he shouted in a surreal slow motion, but it was already too late. The full brunt of the Xe'ls' most powerful struck the Nemesis head-on. And time collapsed, and space collapsed, and everything that was there was no more.
Or so it seemed.
Time and space repaired themselves, the tear disappearing as it normally would. But to the immense shock of Riose of the Xe'ls, the Nemesis remained.
And a signal went directly to the Xe'ls and nowhere else, and the Prylak were frightened at what they heard. "You may have doomed the Gadzair to their death five thousand years previous, but you will never doom our children, or destroy our memory."
Then, perhaps under the perfectly understandable attack from Jupiter Base, or perhaps because of something else, the shield bubble around the Xe'ls collapsed, leaving the Starfortress vulnerable, as Andromedan ships never armoured their vessels.
Havanna was smiling a grim smile then, as he had the Nemesis open fire with every weapon it was equipped with.
The poor, undefended Xe'ls could not withstand that.
Aboard the T'akara, the viewscreen became white, and the sensors almost overloaded from the explosion that occured so close to it, and on the proud bridge of the T'akara, the captain screamed a heart piercing scream for the death of his brother.
------------------
Word.
I wanted Tribunal from the start, after all.