[X] Plan: Simple and Sweet
-[X] Orbital bombardment on the Zebebelgenubi Hyperpulse Generator, to hopefully delay Amaris reinforcements
-[X] A raid on Ulsop Robotics with the Colossus and RCT within, assigning an M-5 drone to provide orbital fire support
-[X] A direct attack on the hostile M-11 and M-7, crippling enemy SDS coordination if successful but leaving them hostile unless otherwise disabled
Speed would be the deciding factor in this engagement. Kearny knew that for all the genius of the ATAC system, it was fundamentally a planner meant to defend entire solar systems from attack. It was specifically
not made for the judgement calls of civil war and infighting, and the entire SDS drone system was hard-coded to completely avoid operations in atmosphere.
Meaning that while the M-11 and M-7 ATACs near-instantly came up with firing solutions and attack plans on formerly friendly assets, they were sent to the onboard human handlers for approval, causing a large delay as inexperienced Amaris officers deliberated on the situation.
Too slowly, as it turned out. With lightspeed lag making micromanagement impossible, the two Star Lords at the system's edge instead fired their next Faster-than-Light Hyperpulse bombardments on the M-11 and M-7 as preplanned, the advantage in delaying enemy leadership obvious regardless of the specific situation. No time was wasted on Kearny's end as the order for friendly M-5 Caspar drones to destroy the M-11 Yardship and M-7 Station had already gone out.
In a more standard military deployment, or even just a more standard colonized star system, there would be more time to react. The rebooting speed of an ATAC is rather fast by strategic scales in a system. But the Amaris forces were not in a standard deployment nor did Zebebelgenubi's position at the farthest from its star require one. The lack of farther planets mean there were no pirate points 'behind' Zebebelgenubi that local forces needed to defend, allowing the Amaris forces to focus on orbital defense of the planet, which would be more effective against the enormous fleet numbers of the SLDF than allowing ships to be taken apart piecemeal.
Which is why the first stage of the battle would last barely fifteen minutes. Before the M-11 and M-7 ATACs could come back online, precision Naval PPC fire cut into them, shattering the M-7 entirely and taking a 'bite' out of the M-11 consisting of not only the ATAC but the SDS central computer as well, leaving the ship dead in space. With no more ATACs left on Amaris's side, beyond a few Howdah dropships whose ATACs were slaved to specific fighter squadrons, each SDS drone was left acting independently. The advanced SDS drone AIs are by no means simplistic, being more comparable to humans than they are to more basic drones, but despite their effectiveness and brutal agression, they stood no match for the coordination and cunning of ATACs.
Relentlessly aggressive AI met aggressively relentless AI as ships accelerated towards each other at rates that would impair or kill human crew. But while Amaris drones simply headed to the nearest targets with all guns blazing, the inhuman willingness for SDS drones to charge into certain death found itself more than made up for by simple M-3 drone dropships being guided by ATAC to take killing blows while Elysian M-5 Caspar warships used the transmitted targeting data to shred incoming craft from otherwise impossible ranges. Warships, dropships, and aerospace fighters are quickly obliterated by the overwhelming firepower, even despite the few Howdah ATACs correctly recognizing the M-9 and M-8 stations as the greatest threat and sending dozens of squadrons to destroy them or die trying. The Battlestations met the attack with batteries of small-scale weapons, quickly proving that even basic LRMs, PPCs, lasers, and LB-X autocannons are devastating at extreme range when given precise targeting data.
By the end of the AI war, the entire Amaris SDS fleet was shattered at the cost of only 2 full warships with a dozen more damaged. 2 hostile M-5 drones remain in a disabled state, targeted and disabled by now-continuous Star Lord HPG attacks. They are currently flying with some speed out of the system, but can be captured and reset to friendly status if boarded, though if HPG bombardment ends before that they will reactivate and resume hostilities.
The 24 manned Amaris ships are only now entering proper formation, the brutality and intricacy of the respective sides of drones leaving them in confusion and unsure where to place themselves in the fluid battle. Seeing the potential, Kearny identifies himself as:
[] A Vice Admiral of the SLDF
[] The Prime Minister of Elysium
[] A concerned citizen of the Hegemony
[] A human being who takes exception to Amaris
[] Just a individual who saw an opportunity
[] Other
before:
[] Demanding their unconditional surrender
[] Demanding their surrender under exceedingly generous terms promising travel to another system
[] Demanding their surrender under exceedingly generous terms promising travel to another system but leaving their warships behind
[] Demanding their surrender so they and their ships can be ransomed
[] Demanding their surrender so they and their crews can be ransomed
[] Demanding they leave the system
[] Informing them of their imminent execution by warship
[] Other
Planetside, SLDF Castles Brian did not prevent an M-5 Caspar drone from obliterating the planetary HPG with Naval Autocannon fire. It's unclear whether the bases were permanently damaged during fighting in the Amaris Coup, or if the local garrisons were simply unprepared. In either case, the drone doesn't stick around to find out, as it is ordered back into the ATAC network once the HPG damage is confirmed. It is also proof to Kearny that the abandoned legacy code for SDS drone orbital bombardment still works, as otherwise he'd have needed to assign a boarding party to fire weapons manually.
Ulsop Robotics proves a more challenging issue. While no anti-orbital fire or aerospace fighters have contested a landing, Grey Valley City is clearly fortified, including a wall, watchtowers, and no doubt a garrison to resist attack, or at least persecute locals. Nothing less that a small army could expect to break in, so it's fortunate that the Colossus is design specifically for carrying small armies. Over a hundred vehicles and battlemechs along with hundreds of infantry pour out of the dropship, while a pair of Arrow IV missile launchers hide on top of the ship beyond armor plates, waiting to provide fire support.
Fighting has only just begun by the time the space battle wanes, but it's clear the city won't be a pushover. What it lacks in dedicated vehicle support it makes up with fortifications and infantry. At least double the number of Elysian infantry are garrisoning the city, and the urban environment gives them opportunities to fire from all sides and elevations. Limited artillery support seems to be of little use against skyscrapers and fortifications. Most concerning of all is time. Elysian forces have superiority for now, but it's unclear how long it will be until other planetside Amaris forces respond, and any aerospace attacks at all on the Colossus could make for a quick mission failure.
Listening to the Captain's report, Kearny:
[] Dedicates an M-5 warship to provide orbital bombardment on request, clearing a path for friendly troops and distracting enemy aerospace fighters
[] Orders a direct assault, guaranteeing high losses to achieve the objective even if successful, but sparing the civilian area
[] Gets to work on reconfiguring drone fighter software to work in atmosphere, hoping that it's done in time to protect the Colossus
[] Other
