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The Shadow of Old Transgressions (Homeworld/Mass Effect Crossover Quest)

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Arcanestomper said:
So is anyone going to vote?
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Uh, fuck. I clocked the post you made and thought 'okay, I'll get back to that in a few minutes' and then proceeded to memory-hole it. >.<

I think I'm going to vote for splitting the fleet. We have our shooty friends jump to Bentus immediately, while we have Iuno and Aurora run to get the Sentinels. I don't like the idea of leaving them completely defenseless though, and there was that note of Bentus' location being secret, so we can send the flicker fleet along with our support ships to give them cover, while Valerius, Laverna, and Ulysses rush to the fight.

With Valerius' free dice, we can have a total of 10 military dice, and so we'd be sending 3 of that to escort the support contingent.

[X] Battle Plan - Bentus calls for aid
-[X] Contact the Sentinels
--[X] Write In - Iuno and Aurora will run to get reinforcements, with our flicker friends providing them with an escort.
-[X] Perform a Tactical Jump
--[X] Write In - Valerius, Laverna, and Ulysses rush to Bentus' side. While the jump drives are charging, we'll consolidate our fleet's reduced Acolyte numbers to these three ships, since Aurora can produce more during her phase of the mission.
 
Scheduled vote count started by Arcanestomper on Jul 18, 2023 at 11:41 PM, finished with 8 posts and 4 votes.
  • [X] Battle Plan - Bentus calls for aid
    [X] Contact the Sentinels
    [X] Battle Plan - Bentus calls for aid
    -[X] Contact the Sentinels
    --[X] Write In - Iuno and Aurora will run to get reinforcements, with our flicker friends providing them with an escort.
    -[X] Perform a Tactical Jump
    --[X] Write In - Valerius, Laverna, and Ulysses rush to Bentus' side. While the jump drives are charging, we'll consolidate our fleet's reduced Acolyte numbers to these three ships, since Aurora can produce more during her phase of the mission.
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Just for the record what do you want the Shepherd to do?
 
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Book 2: The Cradle Aflame
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    • The Heartlands

    Cradle Nebula
    The Great Harborship, Bentus

    Your fleet quickly splits in two. Streams of small craft move back and forth as you, Laverna, and Ullyses send your resource drones to Iuno in order to make room for as many acolytes as possible. As many dervishes as possible cram into the shepherds hangars.

    Oracle-13 leaves first. It forges forward with its driving burning creating a wake of dust as it pushes through the thick clouds. Its sensors are on high alert for any more fighters or other potential hostiles. Iuno and Aurora follow while the Irunese frigates and remaining Dervishes hover around them in a protective sphere. Their task is to look for Sentinels to find what is going on and possibly offer what aid they can.

    For a non Bentusi it would be almost impossible. The Sentinels are based out of hidden bastions shrouded in the thickest dust clouds and equipped with the best stealth technology that the Bentusi can build. They are where the ancient warfleets sleep to hopefully never be used again, and the modern Sentinels hone their minds and weapons for the worst possibilities. They are the last resort of the Bentusi.

    But the purpose of the bastions is protection not vengeance. It would be a tragedy if any Bentusi was lost when aid was so close. So from a young age Bentusi are taught the shifting routes to reach the Bastions. Iuno and Aurora aren't searching for a refugee, but this is still an emergency if there ever was one. Hopefully there will be at least one Sentinel still at the bastion for them to link up with.


    Four quantum gates open and your attack squadron makes the briefest of journeys of hyperspace before being shunted back into real space. It's a short sharp discontinuity. In fact shorter than you were expecting. Your emergency overrides dropped you back into real space early. It seems there is a massive hyperspace inhibitor on Bentus's location. A very bad sign.

    You automatically launch acolytes and quickly clear your sensors from the static of hyperspace. What you see is just a series of terrible scenes culminating in a horrible choice. First of all the space nearest to your flotilla is swarming with the jagged fighters. Opposing them are more acolytes than you've ever seen in one place. But even in their thousands they are still outnumbered and an enormous dogfight is underway that your own fighters are quickly drawn into.

    Further out you see the transponders of sentinels. Cruisers and frigate bodies alike plowing through the dust and wreaking havoc on the enemy fighters, but they are not unopposed either. Facing them are long ships with domed tops and massive protruding cannons. From what you can see they are armored even beyond Bentusi standards and their cannons are wreaking havoc on friend and foe alike as they fire indiscriminately through the melee at their targets. In a single salvo you see a dozen acolytes and eight enemy fighters destroyed before the beam slashes a jagged rift across a Sentinel cruiser's armor.

    Even worse, the Sentinels are not the only Bentusi transponders you are reading. A flock of Chrysalis and Pilgrims are desperately burning towards a thick gas cloud at the edge of the battle attempting to seek cover from the raging battle. These are the youngest of all Bentusi and they are not unprotected. Two sentinel juggernauts are fighting to cover them. But they are clearly the last of a long line of defenders as the children's back trail is littered with burning hulks, and a trio of the enemy ships engage their protectors. Even as you watch one of the juggernauts sacrifices itself to intercept a salvo of cannon fire. You can hear the desperate cries of the chrysalis's as the sentinel falls.

    But if the children were sent away instead of nestling in the safety of the great harborship, then it implies there is worse yet to come. And indeed as your sensors finally resolve Bentus you can see that the great harborship is battered. Bentus's armor is cracked and several of its fins are missing. Facing the eldest Bentusi is a monster. You thought the Wraith flagship was enormous, but this thing matches Bentus in length and its angular hull is far more bulky. Small shuttles keep landing and taking off and the true scale is made clear as your sensors resolve them as being the ships fighting the Sentinels on an even footing. Ancient databank entries make their way to your mind as a positive match is found. This is a T-Mat reef ship. The eighth of its kind, Ninhursag.

    The battle is not wholly one sided. There are rents in Ninhursag's armor as well. Bentus is lashing out with ion beams as wide as a frigate. Acolytes are flying into the gaps along thus created. And Bentusi corvettes of a type you've never seen before are unleashing cascades of what look like plasma bombs on the massive T-Mat mothership. A reminder that for all you've seen and done you are still young by Bentusi standards and not privy to all of the elders' secrets.

    Compared to the ongoing battle your flotilla seems impossibly outgunned. But you remind yourself that you have trump cards of your own. Your dervishes are scything through the T-Mat fighters. Ion cannons designed to destroy Wraith armor punching through multiple fighters at a time. Laverna is flying your drone swarm with an elegance that belies their ferocity as they converge their fire to destroy entire fighter squadrons. Ulysses is literally smashing through the nearest fighter squadron. Their T-Mat pilots unable to account for his uncharacteristic speed and their frames no match for his golden armor. A small ping over the fleet network alerts you. Ulysses has charged his siege cannon and wants your input on the best target. And of course there is yourself. You turrets are downing fighter after fighter even as your main cannons punch into the nearest T-Mat frigate. Your journeys have left you a match for any of the Sentinels.

    But what should you do?

    [ ] Prioritize the Children
    The Bentusi have very few children. Each one is a precious gift for the whole race, and now they are in grave peril. Your flotilla must rendezvous with them as quickly as possible and escort them out of the battle.

    [ ] A Parting Shot
    Your flotilla will rendezvous with the flotilla of young Bentusi, but you'll curve your path to bring you close enough to Ninhursag for Ulysses to fire his siege cannon at it. It will leave him slightly depleted and you might need that energy later, but you can't leave Bentus completely unsupported.

    [ ] Sacrifice the Drones
    The Shepherds, the Dervishes, the acolyte swarms. The fruits of your clashes with the Wraiths. You'll use them now against the T-Mat. While you, Ulysses, and Laverna move to support the children your drone fighters will burn to Bentus's aid. You'll see how well Ninhursag's armor compares to a Wraith's when a dozen dervishes focus their fire.

    [ ] Prioritize Bentus
    The children are important, but there aren't that many ships chasing them. Between their current guardian and Laverna they should be safe. Especially if you send one of the shepherds as well. Meanwhile you and Ullysses will take the dervishes and directly support Bentus. You can't let the eldest Bentusi fall.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Prioritize the Children
    The Bentusi have very few children. Each one is a precious gift for the whole race, and now they are in grave peril. Your flotilla must rendezvous with them as quickly as possible and escort them out of the battle.
     
    [X] Prioritize the Children
    The Bentusi have very few children. Each one is a precious gift for the whole race, and now they are in grave peril. Your flotilla must rendezvous with them as quickly as possible and escort them out of the battle.
     
    [x] A Parting Shot

    @Arcanestomper how long would it take the bentusi to make a siege cannon if we sent them the schematics, massed siege cannon fire would probably kill the enemy quickly
     
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    Thorgon said:
    [x] A Parting Shot

    @Arcanestomper how long would it take the bentusi to make a siege cannon if we sent them the schematics, massed siege cannon fire would probably kill the enemy quickly
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    We do not have the schematics. No one has the schematics, it is archeaotech from a prior civilization of unmatched power.

    Though the presence of a reefship does at least tell me this probably isn't our fault, so there is that.
    Hm... I guess the choice here is guessing whether the entire enemy force will reposition to ensure their irreplaceable ship is not put under further risk.

    @Arcanestomper so when our character says "sleeping war fleets", is there a reason we aren't seeing a flush of forbidden designs protecting the race from the ancient foe?
     
    DaLintyGuy said:
    We do not have the schematics. No one has the schematics, it is archeaotech from a prior civilization of unmatched power.

    Though the presence of a reefship does at least tell me this probably isn't our fault, so there is that.
    Hm... I guess the choice here is guessing whether the entire enemy force will reposition to ensure their irreplaceable ship is not put under further risk.

    @Arcanestomper so when our character says "sleeping war fleets", is there a reason we aren't seeing a flush of forbidden designs protecting the race from the ancient foe?
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    didn't we repair the damn thing? and even if we don't know how it works the futuretech Bentusi sensors should tell us what its made of the manufacturing methods we use should copy things just fine
     
    Thorgon said:
    [x] A Parting Shot

    @Arcanestomper how long would it take the bentusi to make a siege cannon if we sent them the schematics, massed siege cannon fire would probably kill the enemy quickly
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    As DaLintyGuy said you don't actually know how to make more siege cannons. Or Ullysses would have multiple of them.

    DaLintyGuy said:
    We do not have the schematics. No one has the schematics, it is archeaotech from a prior civilization of unmatched power.

    Though the presence of a reefship does at least tell me this probably isn't our fault, so there is that.
    Hm... I guess the choice here is guessing whether the entire enemy force will reposition to ensure their irreplaceable ship is not put under further risk.

    @Arcanestomper so when our character says "sleeping war fleets", is there a reason we aren't seeing a flush of forbidden designs protecting the race from the ancient foe?
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    Sleeping is not quite accurate. They are mothballed and no Bentusi cores are currently piloting them. It would take time and volunteers to spool them back up.

    Thorgon said:
    didn't we repair the damn thing? and even if we don't know how it works the futuretech Bentusi sensors should tell us what its made of the manufacturing methods we use should copy things just fine
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    You built better energy systems to supply the siege cannon. Plus there is a difference between repairing things and knowing how they work. You could reverse engineer the siege cannon if you wanted. But that would require taking it apart. Which means there would be a period where it wouldn't be available, and a risk that you wouldn't actually be able to figure out how it worked.
     
    The problem with a parting shot by Ulysses is that his siege cannon isn't exactly what you'd call a precision weapon system. Those projectiles don't have some poor bastard's name on them, they come stamped with 'to whom it may concern.'

    There's a non-zero possibility that even an ideal shot will disable or destroy a not-insignificant number of the acolytes and corvettes currently doing Death Star-style trench runs on Ninhursag and within that monster of a ship's superstructure. Now, I don't doubt that it's within Ulysses's capability to calculate a firing solution that will maximize damage and minimize risk to Bentusi assets; I also don't see him firing that off without first sending a warning through the local Bentusi tacnet either.

    However, it may be a better tactical decision for him to keep that round in the proverbial chamber. And, for the time being, Big Pappy Bentus is very obviously grittin' those teeth, spittin' out a mouthful of blood and going in for round five. There's no sign that Bentus is obviously losing. Taking a beating? Sure. But so is Ninsurhag.
     
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