Thedrew: 1 revision imported

2020-04-19T19:14:04Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 19:14, 19 April 2020
(No difference)

Thedrew: 1 revision

2014-12-21T06:52:38Z

1 revision

New page

The Battle of Deridous IV was a space and land battle fought between the [[Zarnac Empire]] and the [[United Federation of Planets]] (with assistance by the [[Klingon Empire]]). In mid-2380, a [[Zarnac]] task force of fifteen ships launched a massive offensive against the [[Starfleet]] garrison on [[Deridous IV]] in the hopes of incapacitating them - allowing the Zarnac free reign to anihilate the exiled [[Forty-ninth House]] at their leisure. They were forced to withdraw when a allied force of forty-two Starfleet and fifteen [[Klingon]] vessels arrived.

==Prelude==
In late 2379, [[Starfleet Intelligence]] (in cooperation with the [[Klingon Defense Force]]) implemented an audacious plan to place [[Lieutenant Commander]] Drakt on [[Zarn]] to gather data on the [[Zarnac Empire|Empires]] intentions toward the [[Alpha Quadrant]]. Drakt would be captured by Imperial forces after only a few weeks, but not before gaining detailed plans regarding a planned invasion of [[Deridous IV]].

After a few weeks spent recuperating from his injuries on [[Earth]], Drakt was sent to the USS Hyperion-D to serve as acting [[Executive Officer]] during [[Captain]] Hannah O'Halloran's maternity leave. Unbeknownst to Drakt, this assignment was meant to serve as a test of his command abilities. Once [[Starfleet Command]] was satisfied, Drakt was transferred to Camp Lancelot - the [[Starfleet]] garrison on [[Deridous IV]]. He would have three months to bring the [[planet]]s defenses up to the point where they could stand against the [[Zarnac]] invasion force.

As it turned out, he wouldn't have that much time...

==The Battle==
===Phase One: The Invasion===
On stardate 57504.0, a force of fifteen [[Zarnac]] warships crossed into [[Federation]] space. Despite being hidden behind their [[barrier field]], the fleets commander - [[Sadoloth]] Athon - ordered the destruction of a small Federation convoy (consisting of a [[Nebula class]], an [[Intrepid class]], and an anti-matter tanker). With one salvo lobbed at the tanker, both it and the Intrepid were obliterated, with only the Nebula's saucer section surviving. It was destroyed with a second volley. The Zarnac were just over nine days away from their target.

Back on Deridous, it seemed that rivalries would tear the [[Starfleet]] forces apart. The local [[Marines|Marine]] detachment took an immediate disliking to Drakt - who replaced a popular base commander (who happened to be a Marine). This disagreement wasn't helped by Drakts authoritarian management style. Despite this, Drakt still ordered the relocation of an entire regiment of Marines to the [[planet]].

Over the course of the next few days, the local garrison continued to drill in earnest, still thinking they had but a few months to prepare. Others worked tirelessly to find a way to break through the [[Zarnac]] barrier field technology. Drakt even went so far as to travel to the [[Forty-ninth House]]s settlement to warn them. After this meeting, he resolved to give his own life to protect them.

===The Assault Begins===
As the [[Zarnac]] task force quietly entered orbit, everything was peaceful on [[Deridous IV|Deridous]]. Seeing it as the perfect opportunity for a combat drill, Drakt ordered the base and colony to alert - including raising the shields and powering the [[planet]]ary defense batteries. As it turned out - this proved to be the only stroke of luck for [[Starfleet]] in the opening hours of the battle.

In orbit, the still concealed [[Zarnac]] positioned their three capital ships - the [[Sustegaria class]] battleship [[IZS Resatalia]] and [[Winaria class]] heavy cruisers [[IZS Winaria|Winaria]] and [[IZS Trasella|Trasella]] - to bombard Camp Lancelot and the [[Federation]] colony (Guinevere Township). With the order given by Athon, the three ships began pummeling the base and colony shields with [[Phaser technology|phasers]] and missiles. At the same time, Zarnac fighters attacked the [[planet]]s spaceport - destroying nearly all the [[Starfleet]] fighters while still on the ground. Destroyers crippled the three civilian freighters in orbit (including the [[MII Nessie]]).

Because the shields had been raised, [[Starfleet]]s forces were able to escape by runabout into the jungles. Drakt remained behind, wiping Camp Lancelots [[computer]]. [[Commodore]] Michael Brandel - the colony administrator - likewise wiped the colony's main system before ordering the [[civilian]] populace not to resist the invaders, and promising that Starfleet would return to rescue them.

The [[Zarnac]] wasted no time landing Marines to capture the base and colony. They entered Camp Lancelot without firing a shot, and recieved only token resistance from the colony police. Within hours, the entire [[planet]]ary population center and the space around the [[planet]] were under Zarnac control.

===The Resistance===
As Brandel marshaled his forces deep within the jungle, the civilian residents of Guinevere launched an underground resistance to the invaders. Some simply followed the principles of non-violent resistance. Others, like Charlie Gibson and [[Pioneer Metallurgical and Mining Corp]] [[security]] chief Harry Wong, took a more proactive approach. Gibson waited for [[Zarnac]] Marines to enter the FNS building - then blew it up. Wong took a similar approach, destroying the lobby of the Pioneer building.

Drakt carried out a similar guerilla war within Camp Lancelot - posing as a simple Marine, he gleaned data on troop deployments while sabotaging the enemy at every turn. He would be captured while transmitting this data to Brandels forces, and subsequently brought aboard the [[IZS Resatalia|Resatalia]] for interrogation.

In the jungle, several groups of [[Starfleet]] forces found themselves isolated. Brandel and the bulk of the troops had transferred their headquarters to an abandoned farm. Elsewhere, [[Major]] Pontowski - the Marine commander - and a small force linked up with civilian pirate tour guide John Teech aboard his river boat, the Queen Anne's Revenge III. Another small group of Marines found themselves under the command of Camp Lancelot's [[Chief Medical Officer]] [[Lieutenant]] Danielle Hadema.

Aboard the Nessie, the civilian crew (many of them former [[Starfleet]]) plotted to fight back against the invaders, but first had to repair their weapons and propulsion systems. By the time they returned the phasers and [[warp drive]] to operational condition - intending to fight their way out of the system and run toward [[Starbase 83]] for help - the battle was over.

The most effective resistance in this early stage came on the part of a group of civilian engineers under the command of Pioneer Mining division chief Dr. Jim Stuart. This group was aboard a small base found carved into an [[asteroid]] several months prior. Over the time before the invasion, this base was being upgraded to [[Starfleet]] standards for use as a docking and defense facility. When a [[Zarnac]] ship wandered too close while persuing the civilian [[Miranda class]] transport Minerva, it was destroyed by the powerful phaser cannons which had been mounted on the [[asteroid]].

The [[Zarnac]] meanwhile - now in virtually uncontested control of the [[planet]] - set to work finding out the location of the [[Forty-ninth House]]. While Drakt was beaten and tortured on the [[IZS Resatalia|Resatalia]], Gibson was equally brutalized on the surface.

Drakt held out until the bitter end, only breaking when the interrogator brought Drakt's pupil - Rhe'la, Daughter of the Forty-ninth House - into the room and threatened to kill her if Drakt did not give up the data. In an effort to buy some time, Drakt gave false coordinates. As the two were brought back to their cells, they faked an argument, distracting their guards enough to allow them to kill the guards and escape.

Gibson seemed to have equal luck when he escaped and fled to the location of the Forty-ninth's settlement. Unbeknownst to him at the time, he was allowed to escape because Athon knew Gibson would go to warn the exiles.

Rather than making an immediate escape from the Resatalia, Drakt and Rhe'la instead proceeded to a radio room to alert [[Starfleet]]. They only just got a message through before being recaptured.

===Marshaling Reinforcements===
Word of the invasion spread quickly after Drakt's message was recieved at [[Starbase 83]]. [[Vice Admiral]] Custer - the sector commander - immediately ordered all [[Starfleet]] vessels within the vicinity of [[Deridous IV]] to proceed at emergency warp to the starbase. By the time these ships set out from Starbase 83, there were forty-one Starfleet vessels (including Custers personnel flagship - the [[Nebula class]] USS Aurora) and fifteen [[Klingon]] ships. Also, the USS ''Boyington'' - on a training cruise in the area - bypassed the base and went directly to Deridous. The Boyington would arrive three hours ahead of the fleet, forcing it to stand virtually alone against the [[Zarnac]].

A [[Sabre class]] ship, the USS Winfred S. Hancock, was sent ahead of the fleet to scout, but was quickly destroyed by [[Zarnac]] fighters. But not before the ship sent valuable data back to Custer's forces.

Additionally, the 92nd [[Marines|Marine]] Rapid Reaction Force perfomed an emergency drop on the [[planet]]. The survivors performed several rapid strikes on the [[Zarnac]] forces in proximity to the colony, acting completely independant of the other forces on the planet.

Pontowski also performed strikes against the invaders, leading his troops in blitzkreig attacks against the occupied colony. They were assisted by the last two surviving [[Starfleet]] fighters (both of which were lost in the engagement). At the same time, Brandels forces attacked Camp Lancelot, but quickly withdrew.

Drakt, having been recaptured, was once more beaten for his insolence. He was taken before Athon and shown the true destructive capability of the [[Zarnac]] - a [[mass driver]] capable of wiping out the [[Forty-ninth House]]s settlement in one shot. The driver was fired once as a show of force, at which time Drakt was thrown back into shackles.

By this point, the [[Zarnac]] had learned the location of the settlement. Athon, seeing his chance, ordered the base and colony abandoned and the Marines redeployed against the settlement. As it happened, [[Mapratel]] Drant, Eldest Son of the Twenty-forth House - the commander of the Marine forces (who had been the subject of great distrust on Athon's part following his conduct in the [[Battle of Dayos IV]]) - made the decision to defect.

===The Final Solution===
Athon's forces immediately deployed against the settlement, forcing the various [[Starfleet]] continegents to race around the [[planet]] to defend the exiled [[Zarnac]].

But the Forty-ninth didn't intend to go without a fight. Behind the protection of their [[barrier field]], the warriors turned farmers took out the weapons they never thought they would use again and prepared to fight alongside their saviours from the [[Federation]].

The battle at the settlement was fierce, [[Starfleet]] and [[Zarnac]] forces firing on each other from behind minimal cover and within point blank range. Casualties were heavy on both sides.

Up on the [[IZS Resatalia|Resatalia]], Drakt and Rhe'la were released by the ships first officer - a member of the [[Zarnac]] resistance. While Rhe'la fled to the [[planet]], Drakt plotted revenge against Athon for the atrocities committed on [[Dayos IV]] two years previous. After disabling the Resatalia's engineering staff (many of whom were resistance fighters who simply feigned unconsciousness), Drakt called out Athon - threatening to blow the [[warp core]] if he didn't face Drakt in single combat.

The two fought it out furiously in a corridor outside engineering, with the tide turning several times. Finally, Drakt gained the upper hand, brutally beating Athon to within an inch of his life. But, just when he had the chance to kill Athon - avenging the deaths of his parents and mentor - Drakt stopped. Declaring;

:"No... you aren't worth it. You deserve to suffer in dishonor, knowing you were bested in single combat by a 'rebel', not go join your precious [[Spirits of Emperors Past]]. Go home to [[Zarn]]. Never darken the [[Federation]]'s doorstep again, or I WILL finish what I started."

With that, Drakt took his leave of Athon, leaving the [[Zarnac]] commander with missing scales and a shattered jaw. Boarding an escape pod, Drakt returned to the [[planet]].

===Starfleet's Counteroffensive===
By this time, Custer's fleet arrived in the system. In the face of these overwhelming odds (the [[Zarnac]] were outnumbered nearly four to one), Athon's subordinate D'jar (the same resistance operative who freed Drakt) surrendered. Custer gave the Zarnac one hour to remove their forces from the [[planet]] and leave the system. If they did not comply, they would be anihilated.

Orders quickly filtered down to the Marines. The Zarnac surrendered and - under the watchful eyes of Brandels forces - boarded their drop ships and boosted back to their motherships.

The [[USS Tripoli]] (a [[Defiant class]] ship modified for use as a Marine troop ship) - under the command of former Camp Lancelot commander [[Lieutenant Colonel]] Ethan Roberts delivered news of the fleets arrival and the Zarnac surrender to Brandel and his senior staff. But the question remained - what had become of Drakt? All contact with him had been lost shortly after the fall of Camp Lancelot.

As the Tripoli delivered Camp Lancelots command staff to the base, they found Drakt - naked and wounded - wandering the jungle after his escape pod crashed into a tree. Taking him aboard, the ship resumed its course, setting down at Camp Lancelot a short time later.

==Aftermath==
Though [[Starfleet]] won the battle, it was a phyrric victory at best. The 92nd Marine Rapid Reaction Force (which had dropped in during the battle) suffered nearly one hundred percent casualties. Of the 128 Marines, 100 were killed and 20 were wounded. The local Marine detachment suffered nearly fifty percent casualties, and the 506th Tactical Fighter Wing (the local Starfleet fighter force) was completely wiped out, with only a few of its five hundred personnel surviving the battle. Additionally, dozens of civilians were wounded and hundreds killed, most as a result of errant fire.

It took over a year for Guinevere and Camp Lancelot to be fully rebuilt and for its defense forces to be fully replenished. Drakt was promoted by Brandel after the battle, but was subsequently demoted by [[Starfleet Command]] for "mishandling" the invasion. [[Starfleet]] permanently increased its presence in the area, deploying more ships to [[Starbase 83]] and keeping at least two ships on permanent patrol within three hours of the Deridous system.

The [[Federation]] officially condemned the [[Zarnac]] for their invasion, but made no other moves toward retaliation. An attack on the [[Zarnac Empire]] was just too imposing a propsition, as it would require most of [[Starfleet]]s assets and supply lines stretching hundreds of light years.
[[Category:History]]

Battle of Deridous IV - Revision history

Thedrew: 1 revision imported

Thedrew: 1 revision