>>2906384
>>The area's too dangerous to send just a drone. You'll have to head back yourself.

>>2906384
>>The area's too dangerous to send just a drone. You'll have to head back yourself.

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>>2906384
>Go back yourself

"Darius needs to know this as soon as possible, but there could still be Legion vessels in the area. There are two missing Knight-Brothers who are meant to be watching this area to prevent Legion breakouts." You tell Rubin, half-thinking out loud. "I'll need to go myself. I'll send drones down to collect your and Perseus' core."

"Sounds good." Rubin agrees. "I'll see if I can set up a self-destruct-"

"No." The voice comes as such a surprise it takes several system cycles before you realise who it was.

"Perseus?" Rubin asks, voice gentle as if speaking to a wounded animal. "You have something to add?"

"I will stay." His voice is cold, unemotional, as if he were an expert system instead of an AI. "Rubin will give me control of these ships and I will protect this area."

You share the code equivalent of a look with Rubin. "But the Legion are likely to come back here, to reclaim their ships if nothing else. What if they do?"

For the first time, you get a hint of an emotion, roiling flares from the sullen sun of Perseus' presence. "Then they will burn."

A private message from Rubin pops up in your awareness. "He could be a vital asset." It says, but you're not so sure. Perseus might not be broken completely, but a total core dump is the closest thing to rape something of your kind could ever experience. But the Order is tight for ships as it is, and if the Legion break out of the cordon that's been set up... all your efforts so far would be for naught.

>Allow Perseus to stay and stop any further Legion incursions in this area.
>It's too risky, who knows how Perseus will react to being left here?
>It's too risky, but you can't leave this area alone. Leave one of your comrades here until Darius can sent reinforcements (which?)

>>2906743
>>Allow Perseus to stay and stop any further Legion incursions in this area.

Wow, it's really quiet this week. I reckon I'm going to crash now and pick it back up tomorrow instead since I've got a migraine and can't write as it is

>>2906743
>>It's too risky, who knows how Perseus will react to being left here?

>>2906743
Also stoke his hate agaist his rapers. Maybe he’s not really sany anymore, but let’s at least correctly channel it.

>>2906743
>>It's too risky, but you can't leave this area alone. Leave one of your comrades here until Darius can sent reinforcements (which?)

Cabvot

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>>2907353
I'm going to count this as a vote for letting Perseus stay, mostly because I don't want to roll off.

>>2906743
>Allow him to stay

Well... You're not sure Darius could even spare the ships and a Knight-Brother as it is. "Very well." You study Perseus' avatar as you speak, but you're getting nothing. "If Rubin thinks you can do this, then I'll allow it." Feels weird to say that, but you are in command here after all.

"I do." Rubin confirms.

"Good." Perseus intones, and you wince internally at his dead tone.

"I'll upload our latest transponders and IFFs, that should at least give any other Knight-Brother pause long enough for you to appraise them of the situation," You continue, eager to move on despite yourself. "Rubin, I'll send a shuttle down for your core as soon as possible."

Rubin answers in an affirmative. Perseus doesn't answer at all. You cut the link, and your primary awareness is once again your flagship carrier in orbit of the third planet, and you take some time to steady yourself by doing the mundane tasks your expert systems have already handled, and take a count of your ships.

>CV: 1, BB: 2, BC: 6, CVE: 6, CR: 11, DD: 13, GF: 93, GB: 12

Your capital ships have taken mostly superficial damage, but no losses. Your screen suffered much worse, and most have some moderate level of damage , though only a few were totally destroyed. All of them report drive systems are operational. Your grav-fighters suffered the worst however, and you're down to half your regular count- your carriers are working on replacements, but it'll take time. Thankfully, none of your precious grab-bombers suffered any casualties.

The next thing that pings on your awareness are the ships of 1st OEF finally returning. Unlike you, they had to completely slow their rush and reverse course. You send a brief to Weston and Cabot letting them know what's transpired and what your intentions are. Weston replies to let you know that he trusts your judgement, even if he's unsure if leaving Perseus is a good idea. Cabot, on the other hand..."

"Are you insane? He's clearly broken as it is, and now you're just going to leave him here, alone?" You've never seen her so... inflamed. It's an interesting contrast with her usual quiet demeanour.

"I know he's been through a lot, but Rubin vouches for him."

"And how do you know Rubin isn't corrupted in some way as well?" She retorts. "Somebody should stay here to keep an eye on him. In fact, I'll stay here to keep an eye on him."

>Allow Cabot to stay.
>Order her to come with you.

>>2908538
>>Allow Cabot to stay.

>>2908538
>>Allow Cabot to stay.

>>2908538
>Allow Cabot to stay.

>>2908538
>Allow Cabot to stay.

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>>2908538
>Let her babysit

"That's a good idea, yes."

"Why not!? He's ob- wait, what?"

"I said yes." There's a long pause, and not just because of the lightspeed difference.

"Oh. Well then." You get the sense of an embarrassed cough. "I'll let him know, I suppose."

"Thank you, Cabot. And if the worst happens, you know what to do." Cabot gives an affirmative, and drops the link before you can say anything else. You turn back to your own leaving preparations with a mental chuckle, barely noting the return of 1st OEF's fighters. Weston sends you a brief to confirm their new weapons work, but have a range of barely ten thousand kilometres, which unfortunately precludes using them on anything but fighters for now. Oh well.

Rubin's pickup occurs without incident, as your shuttle lands on the planet to find an expansive bunker complex waiting. As much as you'd like to explore it to see if there's any intel, Rubin's core is waiting on the landing pad in the grip of an old Order drone that looks like it's been taken apart and hurriedly put back together. Rubin's core is plugged into it and he's controlling it directly, so you just load up the whole thing.

"Well, Dauntless," He comments as the shuttle docks with your carrier, "I guess now we're even." You find somewhere safe to store him for the trip back, and soon after you're boosting for the jump point with the human fleet in tow. The other Legion forces have turned tail and ran, or come under Perseus' control. You watch with interest, your fleet's powerful visual sensors trained on the world behind you, as they come in to orbit. Already, the Legion slips still whole are back to continuing their construction.

--

The journey back to Bastion is unfortunately uneventful, still with no sign of the missing patrol forces. You're greeted with the usual initial suspicion by the jump point forts, and feel the usual prickle of targeting sensors until they confirm your IFF. As soon as you're free of the shell of defences, you send off a brief to Abbot Darius with your mission report.

There's been more construction, you note with interest- not just around Bastion Station itself, but the delicate necklace of fabrication units trailing it where Flavius' shard set up shop has turned bulky with construction and ships alike. Maybe you can take a look. On the other hand, Darius might need something for you, and Weston pings you to let you know he's holding a debrief with his staff...

>Swing by Flavius' shard and see what's going on, maybe get some new toys.
>Report straight to Darius, in case he needs anything else from you.
>Listen in to Weston's debriefing.

>>2908743
>>Report straight to Darius, in case he needs anything else from you.

>>2908743
>Report straight to Darius, in case he needs anything else from you.
Information is ammunition, blah blah blah

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>>2908743
>Report in to Darius

You politely turn down Weston's offer, citing your need to report in. The human fleet splits from you there, moving in towards their support stations while you take up station near Bastion. You send a ping to Darius for a moment of his time. In the meantime, countless tankers and shuttles depart from Bastion, carrying reaction mass, ammunition and even spare parts for your less damaged ships, the ones capable of patching up themselves. You try communicating with the expert systems in charge of the repair slips trailing Bastion Station too, but surprisingly, there doesn't seem to be any space. In fact, there's a lot of damaged ships right now. Some look to be in the late stages of repair (or possibly reconstruction) but some... there's a battlecruiser with its entire dorsal hull ripped open, and you suppress a mental wince.

Finally, a link request pops up from Darius, and you accept.

"Dauntless, good to see you." The abbot starts without premable. "I've seen your report, quite the revelation. Zusya, a traitor... Bad business all around. I haven't had your thoughts, however- how do you think it went?"

>It went as well as could be expected.
>Could have gone better.
>It didn't go too well.
>Other (write-in).

>>2908976
>>Could have gone better.

>>2908976
>>Could have gone better.

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>>2908976
>Could've gone better.

"Well, it could have gone a lot worse, but it could have gone better too." You reply thoughtfully.

"Indeed. But, Zusya has been put to the sword, and you recovered Knight-Brother Rubin-" Your attention flicks for a moment to the shuttle docking with your carrier to take Rubin's core aboard, "And, it seems, found a Brother thought lost. I'm not sure I agree with your decision to leave Perseus there, but either way I can't spare the forces to keep an eye on that sector. I'll probably have to recall Cabot soon as soon as she deems it safe to return."

"Is it really that bad?" After all, there are all those ships in the repair slips...

"It is." Darius' avatar, bright and radiant, gives a little bob in the AI equivalent of a nod. "Legion probes against our containment perimeter have been steadily increasing, along with deep penetration raids against Olympus and the Chapterhouse. No real casualties as of yet, and we're mining every jump point we can get to as well as seeding the more important ones with missile pods. But it doesn't matter, they just keep sending ships through until there aren't any mines left." His voice is bleak and bitter.
"Zusya - or whatever he was, in the end - may have given us a much-needed respite, but believe me, Dauntless. The end will be coming soon, one way or another."

There's a long silence as you ruminate on the Abbot's words, one interrupted not by speech but by an alarm. Not one of yours, but the Abbot's. "Another incursion. Strange, it's been a while." He sends you the feed.

It's a lightspeed broadcast from the jump point forts, which means it's happened several hours ago. You watch with a kind of morbid fascination as Legion vessels jump in - heavy ones, at that - jump in and are destroyed. However, it's not that quick, especially when there's quite a few battleships between them. Before they can be killed, heavy plasma bombardments sweep against the point forts and soft kills abound on the missile pods still waiting to fire. As each ship jumps in it seems to shed its outer hull. Parasite fighters, identical to those you've fought before. They complicate the tactical situation in their own way, forcing point defence lasers to focus on them instead of incoming missiles and helping to clear the stealthed mines still lurking in preparation.

It's still hopeless, of course. There's simply too much firepower against too small of a bottleneck for it to be anything else. But that doesn't stop the Legion incursion from dealing heavy damage in return.

"Over a third of the forts wiped out, and almost total loss of mines and missile pods in the immediate area." Darius comments, as the pair of you watch the final elusive fighters being shot out of the sky. As you watch, sublight minelayers and cargo vessels are setting out a new series of mines and deploying more pods.

cont.

>>2909649
"The forts aren't going to be replaced any time soon, ship construction is just too important right now. And they came through the same point you did... I wonder if they were after you?" With that suitably disquieting thought, Darius closes the feed and turns his attention back to you. "Well, as I said. We'll have to make our play soon.
"For now... we've gotten a reinforcement convoy from the Chapterhouse, and our own slips here are finally turning out BCs. Heavier ships are still on their way, but I can offer you some reinforcements. Oh, and Flavius' shard said it had some things for you too. Rubin's core has arrived, so I'll need to debrief him. Let me know if you need anything."

The Abbot disconnects, leaving you to settle your requisition needs with Bastion's logistics expert systems.

>Reinforcements.
>Upgrades.
>Social.
>Other (write-in).

>>2909663
>>Upgrades.

>>2909663
>>Upgrades.

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>>2909663
>Upgrades

Well, before you pick anything else, you should probably see what Flavius, or his shard, wants now. It turns out with all the new construction it's close enough to comm direction from Bastion, and Flavius' familiar presence pops up after just a second.

"Hey there Dauntless, good to see you. Can't talk much, very busy, but I've got some toys if you're interested."

>QM note: You won't have many more upgrade chances before the final showdown. Choose wisely- you should know the drill by now.

>Offence Tier 1
Plasma turrets: Made from reverse-engineered Legion technology, these dorsal turrets are capable of absolutely shredding through armour. However, they have atrocious range, far less than your usual energy broadside, which brings you into range of the similar heavy weapons aboard Legion ships. Affects capital ships.
Charged Particle Broadside: These highly experimental energy mounts theorised by human researchers from Olympus replace your lasers and grasers. They have a similar range, but hit substantially harder and should do far more damage to the strange laser-drinking hull material of the enemy. However, the power drain is substantial and as such can only be mounted on larger ships. Affects all capital ships.
Bolt-on missile pods: With the new missile pods, Flavius is able to construct a 'flatpack' design that can be bolted onto the dorsal and ventral hull of heavy ships. They have slightly bigger missiles than standard BB missiles, and each side can be either flushed for a single massive salvo, or used to thicken your own salvos while they last. Affects battlecruisers and battleships.

>Sensors Tier 1
Grav-pulse Recon Drones: Experimental drones fitted with a directional grav pulse emitter that effectively enables FTL recon capability within a system. However, the drones are quite large and ungainly, with only limited stealth. Moreover, their rate of transmission is extremely limited without further upgrades. All capital ships carry 2 drones each.
Grav sensors: After discovering Legion ships use some sort of drive that changes the gravity in the immediate vicinity of the ship to propel themselves, Flavius created grav sensors small enough to fit into capital ships. Passively increases Legion ship detection and lock-on, helps cut through jamming. Affects capital ships.
Tachyon ping: Similar to the active sonar ping of ancient history, a tachyon projector is fitted to the bow of the vessel. When fired, these tachyons bounce off whatever they hit, giving a real-time glimpse at a system. However, it is relatively easy to trace back to the projecting vessel, and gives the enemy a similar glimpse at your own formation. Projector affects your ship, all ships can detect.

>>2910087
>Grav sensors: After discovering Legion ships use some sort of drive that changes the gravity in the immediate vicinity of the ship to propel themselves, Flavius created grav sensors small enough to fit into capital ships. Passively increases Legion ship detection and lock-on, helps cut through jamming. Affects capital ships.

>>2910087
Yeah, grav-sensors to cut through all that ECM.

>>2910087
Grav Sensors

>>2910131
Supporting

Plasma turrets

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I passed out for about eight hours and feel like I haven't actually slept. This is unfair. I guess I'll be running today until we reach a good stopping point though.

>>2910087
"What about these sensors?"

"Good idea, there. Looks like Legion ECM is getting better across the board, and our penetration aids are finding it hard to keep up. This one won't need much yard time, either, just installing the units and plugging them into existing control runs."

You don't even need to put your ships into a slip, Flavius' shard just guides them in to take up station near the research facility and in short order drones are covering their hull, refitting existing sensors with the upgraded ones.

>Grav-sensors unlocked!

While you wait, you also try and make a little conversation. "So, anything in the pipeline you can tell me about?"

"Not a clue!" The shard replies you cheerfully. "I got an update with the latest convoy, so I can tell you that I'm working on something big. Not sure how literal that is."

>Choose reinforcements.
>Question further.
>Look for somebody else to talk to.

>>2911872
>>Choose reinforcements.

>>2911872
>Choose reinforcements.

>>2911872
>>Choose reinforcements.

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>>2911872
>Reinforcements

Why would you want to speak with anyone when you can have the first pick of reinforcements? With the first of your ships being released with their new upgraded sensors, you ping Bastion's logistics systems again for the list. Unfortunately, there's still not as much as you'd like.

TF Dauntless
>CV: 1, BB: 2, BC: 6, CVE: 6, CR: 11, DD: 13
(Grav-fighters producing up to max.)

>Choose three types of reinforcements, or one type twice/thrice (if available). See pastebin for ship details.
Star carrier (1) with fighter complement (0 available)
Escort carrier division (2) with fighter complement (0 available)
Battleship division (2) (2 available)
Reinforced Battlecruiser division (4) (3 available)
Cruiser squadron (6) (2 available)
Destroyer flotilla (8) (2 available)

>>2912058
>Battleship division (2) (2 available)
>Reinforced Battlecruiser division (4) (3 available)
>Cruiser squadron (6) (2 available)

>>2912058
Hmm.. reinforcement has never been my strong suite. Out escorts got pummeled last time right? Then again, they tend to drop like flies.

I guess I’ll support this >>2912068

>>2912079
Your screen's meant for just that so they keep your heavier ships safe.

>>2912058
>Battleship division (2) (2 available)
>Destroyer flotilla (8) (2 available)
>Destroyer flotilla (8) (2 available)

From the recent tactics the legion ships have been using, I think we need more screening unless we get overwhelmed by little drones they spew out when a ship gets popped.

Can I get the specifics on "Reinforced Battlecruiser division"? Mostly on the "Reinforced" part?

No carriers available?

>>2912085
Normal BC divisions have 3 ships, but now that Bastion is pumping out native-built BCs Darius is letting you requisition BC divisions with an extra ship.

Also, carriers are heavily in demand amongst other Knight-Brothers, and you already own one of the few Order Star Carriers currently in service.

>>2911872
>Choose reinforcements.

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>>2912058
>Reinforcements chosen: BB division, BC division, CR squadron

New fleet count:
>CV: 1, BB: 4, BC: 10, CVE: 6, CR: 17, DD: 13, GF: 192, GB: 12

You send a quick ping to Flavius' shard to inform him of your new ships, and he promises to refit those with the new sensors as well. Finally, you requisition enough fighters to refill your complements. Strange that there's no carriers to be found, but you suppose they're in dire need in order to cover the large volume of space the Order has to patrol. Maybe the Abbot has some earmarked he can spare for you?

>Ask Darius about additional carriers.
>Talk with Flavius some more, maybe he can rustle up something for you.
>See if Weston's free, those humans are pretty ingenious.

>>2912156
>>See if Weston's free, those humans are pretty ingenious.

>>2912156
>>See if Weston's free, those humans are pretty ingenious.

>>2912156

>Ask Darius about additional carriers.
Might as well.

>See if Weston's free, those humans are pretty ingenious.
And then this.

>>2912156
>>See if Weston's free, those humans are pretty ingenious.

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>>2912156
>Talk to your best meatbag friend

After a bit of consideration, you put in a call to Admiral Weston's flagship. After waiting for an annoyingly long time compared to the scant couple of system cycles it takes to set up a link with another AI. Eventually you're put through to the Admiral, and from the background as the display opens in your awareness it appears he's been working in his day cabin.

"Dauntless." Weston smiles wanly at the pickup- he looks a little wan, but otherwise well. He idly twirls a pin in his fingers. "What can I help you with?"

>Ask him about the new fighters and their missiles.
>Ask him something social first to be friendly.
>Ask for his opinion on the last mission.
>Ask him about or talk to him about something else (write-in).

>>2912502
>>Ask him something social first to be friendly.
>>Ask him about the new fighters and their missiles.

>>2912555
This. Also ask for his strategic opinion of our current situation.

>>2912502
>>2912555
>>2912738
This

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>>2912502
>A whole bunch of stuff because you can't choose

"Just checking in, Admiral."

"I think by this point you can call me Eric, Dauntless." Weston gives you another wan smile.

"Fair enough. So how are you doing, Eric?" It seems he wasn't quite expecting that, but after giving the pickup a look, he leans back in his chair.

"Not bad, I suppose. A little overwhelmed maybe? It seems that ever since the launch of the Odyssey it's been one thing after another." He looks down at his desk, then back up to his screen with a wry little smile. "But I get the feeling that isn't what this is about?"

"Well... I did want to ask about those new fighter weapons..."

"And if you can replicate them, I assume?" Weston plays with his pen for a few moments, then shrugs. "Well, basically they use a set of paired CM generators, my engineers say it's something about a self-sustaining resonance, but basically they go FTL for a few milliseconds before they break up. But they're hard to mass produce, not just the materials. There's the man hours for programming them, and-" Weston looks away from the pickup with a frown. He's silent for several seconds, and rubs his chin.
"Look," He sighs heavily, "I'll level with you Dauntless, because as far as I'm concerned you guys are as human as the rest of us. I've been ordered- not advised, ordered not to share these with you. Reading between the lines, I don't think this game from Admiral Gracen. I think somebody wants to keep something for ourselves, just in case-" He breaks off again, and gives a little embarrassed shrug.

"I see." You're not sure you see, but it's also clear he doesn't want to talk about it, so you decide to change the subject. "So what do you think of our situation? Strategically, I mean."

Weston glances up at your obvious changing of the subject, and gives a little nod. "Well, your Abbot Darius sent me a brief as soon as we arrived. Considering what we found out, I have to agree with his conclusions. If we don't end this whole thing quickly, I think the Legion will end it for us."

From there, the conversation moves to more pleasant subjects, and Weston briefly tells you of Olympus. But all too soon, he notes the late hour and bids you goodnight.

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And that's where we'll end it for this weekend. I'm sorry for the rather drawn out method of this thread- whenever I think I'm getting better I just end up tired all the time and can't focus.

Regardless, I hope you all enjoyed, and I'll stick around a little while in case you have any questions.

>>2913283
Its cool, was weird to see a update late at night, I ended up falling asleep anyways.

So what are the odds of the Humans being able to take us on? It seems laughable that they can even put up a fight against one of our fleets controlled by a knight AI. Even with us basically dumping our tech and support behind them.

Will we ever encounter other humans or more advanced ones?

Will we ever get to do a planetary battle on the surface with a 20th-22nd center tech civilization with us moving in and helping turn the tide?

>>2913753
Or just a battle on a celestial body in general.

>>2913753
For odds, it depends whether you mean a drawn-out war, or perhaps a quick strike for some purpose. Of course, every Order's tenets forbid harming humans if possible, and many of your Knight-Brothers would find the very idea ghastly, like kicking a sack of puppies.

There are actually several other currently colonised planets in your Order's mission sector aside from Avalon, the planet Dauntless saw destroyed on his first patrol, and Olympus. However, none of them have naturally discovered space flight once more, let alone bootstrap themselves the way Olympus has, and as such the Grandmaster has forbidden contact with them.
It may also be interesting to note that the Legion, in the opening strikes of the conflict, destroyed (or rather, patterned) at least 4 other colonised planets.

Finally, possibly. The thing is that once even one or two Legion drones get to the surface and start multiplying, unless they're found within an hour or two and instantly wiped out, the planet is already as good as lost. From there, it's only a matter of time until they multiply enough to eat all material on the planet and keep reproducing until they die in the vacuum of space.
So best stop them from landing in the first place.

>>2915307
They die in space vacuum?

Why don't they have planet sized ships? Or planet sized mass of drones?

What has the order done with planets that end up lost or overrun with drones?