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Grass Eaters | 38 | Leadership
🕑 Added 2024-03-29 16:47:01 +0000 UTCEighth Fleet
2 years, 10 months ago
Fleet Commander Raulur peered deeply into her own dark red eyes, reflected in the shimmering glass of the ship’s bridge windows. Her gaze was tired, almost like looking at a stranger’s. The occasional twinkle of far-off stars in the inky void of space seemed to only emphasize the deep exhaustion that weighed down her eyes.
Her crew was as loyal and disciplined as they come, but even they couldn’t hide the shadow of despair that crept into their own eyes. It wasn’t just a fight anymore; they were losing loved ones, entire communities, and whole worlds to the relentless enemy. Years of ceaseless war had chiseled away at them, leaving scars not just on their bodies but on their very souls. Raulur felt it deep within her, this heavy weight of command, haunted by the faces of those she’d lost in far-off systems with names she could barely pronounce.
She was there at Gructons. At Pestra, twice. And then at Grantor.
Now the enemy was knocking at their very door: Gruccud.
Not just at their door, Raulur corrected herself, they’d already kicked it down.
Just a month ago, they’d seized control of the planet’s orbits. Now they were busy making themselves cozy on Gruccud’s lush farmlands and serene beaches. Raulur had vacationed there once, at a luxurious resort nestled near the equator where golden sand met tranquil waters. She’d even dreamed of having her wedding there, in the days before this never-ending war. But the latest report shattered that image. Satellite footage showed enemy troops, garbed in their menacing armor, unleashing a rain of fire on defensive trenches, wiping out the brave souls who dared to resist to the last.
And then there were those massive construction ships, looming ominously as they descended from the depths of space. The Grass Eaters’ plans were to remake the planet, converting it into one of their war machine factories, with her remaining people being used as a temporary, disposable forced labor. She didn’t want to think about their plans after.
And not if she could do something about it.
Shaking off her momentary reverie, Raulur sank back into the plush leather of her command chair. Her eyes darted to the countdown displayed on her console: eleven minutes.
“Eleven minutes to blink exit,” she announced, her voice laced with authority. “All spacers to battle stations.”
Her flag captain glanced nervously at her. “Fleet Commander, I thought Naval Intelligence said the Grass Eater combat fleet has already vacated the system.”
Her eyes narrowed as she locked onto his gaze. “Alpha Leader, I am sure that was roughly what they said to Third Fleet last year and look where they are now. Get the ship ready for combat and don’t make me ask twice about anything ever again.”
---
As expected, there were no Grass Eaters waiting for them at the blink exit. After a chaotic hour of reshuffling and synchronizing, the battle fleet was finally in formation and primed for action.
“Sensors, what do we see?” Raulur asked.
“Just orbital fire support ships over Gruccud, ma’am. Sixteen as far as we can detect. No space combat ships as far as we can tell,” her flag captain reported.
“Good. Navigation, get us in range to fire on them.”
“Yes, Fleet Commander.”
No more than ten minutes later, the klaxons wailed throughout the ship, screaming an immediate threat.
“We just got lit by an Znosian active radar at close range, Fleet Commander!”
“Where is it?” she snapped back urgently.
“Point two four light seconds to our bow, two degrees above the system limit plane…”
“Never mind that. Forget the coordinates, just light it up!”
“Yes ma’am,” the tactical officer replied. A volley of missiles roared out of their launch tubes, streaking toward the mysterious radar source. Then, she frowned at the sensor board. “Fleet Commander, I think that’s not a ship: it hasn’t moved at all.”
“Get me eyes on that thing, Sensor Officer,” Raulur ordered. “It’s almost close enough for us to touch it, I want to see—”
Her command was cut off by the thunderous boom of the ship’s automated point-defense systems.
“What was that?” Raulur barked.
“Fleet Commander, Squadrons 3, 5, and 11 are reporting losses. Two ships lost in Three, three ships lost in Five with two damaged, one ship damaged in Eleven!”
“What?! Losses? What did they get hit by?”
“Missiles, ma’am. Launched from the direction of that active radar. Our sensors didn’t catch them until the last possible second. Patching into the visuals now.”
Raulur watched on her console as the imagery came up: it was a smoothly cylindrical space… station, about the volume of a small racing cutter or a personal transport shuttle, floating eerily in the cold void of space. There were no exterior lights nor any signs that it was operational, except from its active radar pulses that lit up their fleet. She could clearly see the sixteen vacant missile bays that had just wreaked havoc on her fleet.
Seconds later, one of their own missiles made contact, vaporizing the… device… into space dust.
“Have a ship from Five conduct search and rescue on our ships.”
A fresh voice crackled over the communication network. “This is Squadron 6 Leader Uintrei to all ships in the fleet, boost all sensors to maximum range. I don’t know what these are, but there must be more of these out here, acting as some kind of… space… mine.”
Raulur’s fur bristled at the squadron leader. She was irked by the breakdown in discipline, but she knew Uintrei had a point.
“Keep the comms clear,” Raulur cut in through the comms. “But do what the squadron leader said. Scan for these… space mines.”
Sure enough, about five minutes later, one of her ships pinged a confirmation they’d spotted a similar signature.
“Fleet Commander Raulur, our thermal sensors just picked up another one of those things. It’s lurking one light-second away. Projecting it on your screen now.”
“Fire at will!” Raulur barked as her console flickered to life, showing the real-time thermal image of the suspicious object.
Missiles roared out of the launch bays, their radar seekers locking onto what they identified as a Grass Eater space mine. She cringed as the station responded almost immediately. All sixteen enemy missiles visibly ejected from their launch tubes. Her ship’s klaxon blared, signaling the activation of the enemy’s radar seekers.
“Defensive maneuvers, countermeasures out!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
This time, the entire Eighth Fleet was ready for the threat. Their boosted sensors tracked the projectiles as they came in towards their ships. Barrages of chaff and flares erupted, confusing some of the enemy missiles and sending them spiraling into deep space, safely away from the fleet.
As Raulur watched, the mine-like station was hit first. Its active radar guidance no longer assisting, the remaining enemy missiles struggled. Most reverted to their visual sensors for terminal maneuvers. Some lost their targets entirely, exploding prematurely or going dumb. A few came into range of the point defense but met their end under the vigilant fire of the Eighth Fleet’s point defense systems.
“Status report,” Raulur demanded.
“The fleet’s reported in, Fleet Commander. We’re all intact, but a proximity hit took out some systems on a ship in Squadron 2.”
“Ma’am, Squadron Leader Uintrei has sent another message.”
Raulur sighed. “What does she want this time?”
“She’s recommending that we switch to railguns for taking out these mines. That way we don’t light them up with active radar and warn them that that we’re aware of their position.”
Despite disliking the repeated breach in protocol, Raulur knew the annoying squadron leader had another point.
She reluctantly nodded. “Do what she says.”
Her communications officer hesitated before adding, “Uintrei also suggests we back off and try to recon these mines first with recon shuttles before we go further into the system. She says they could be a much bigger danger than we are treating them as right now if the Grass Eaters have more.”
Raulur huffed in disbelief. “What nonsense! We are here to take Gruccud back, not observe from a distance. Tell her to stop making these armchair suggestions, mind her own squadron, and remind her who is the Fleet Commander here.”
---
It soon became abundantly clear that the Znosians had more of those lethal mines. A lot more.
They began to appear in pairs and trios. Then, dozens.
Losses mounted.
“Fleet Commander Raulur, we just lost Squadron 11. We can’t take much more losses like that!” the tactical officer commented, his voice tinged with a hint of panic.
“How far are we to the planet?” Raulur asked, her eyes fixated on the planet.
“We’re not close enough. If we fire now, those orbital ships will just see the missiles coming and duck into the atmosphere for cover. And there’s no way we get close enough for—”
Raulur shot him a dirty look. “I asked how far, not for your commentary, Tactical Officer. If you have a problem with that, you may file a formal complaint, but I can assure you that it will not be pleasant for your career.”
The communication officer reported quietly, “I’ve got another warning from Squadron Leader Uintrei, urging us to back off from—”
Raulur cut her off. She’s had it with the squadron leader. “Order Uintrei’s ship out of formation. If they are so scared of the Grass Eaters, they can sit this one out—”
Just then, the sharp wail of the active radar detection alarm sliced through the tension on the bridge.
“Four space mines to the starboard, right on the elliptical. They’re firing missiles!” the tactical officer reported. “Ma’am, we should turn back now.”
“We aren’t going to give up on our own people, Tactical Officer. That is enough from any of you! One more word and I’ll have you court martialed for defeatism. Countermeasures out for the incoming missiles, and one shot for each of those cursed stations! Forward, we are retaking Gruccud today!”
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Terran Republic Navy After Action Report
Top Secret // ORCON: Task Force Frontier Security // Restricted Data // Special Access Required: Royal Ranger // [Redacted]
Do not remove this document outside of authorized facilities. Unauthorized disclosure or distribution of this document will result in legal penalties, including imprisonment up to life. If you believe you have inadvertently come into possession of this document, immediately notify your nearest Republic information security authority on a secured line. Do not destroy the document unless specifically instructed to.
This report and its contents are not eligible for coverage under the Whistleblower Amnesty Law, the Freedom of Information Act, or the Republic Reform Amendment.
Subject
Observations of the Malgeir Federation Navy attempted counterattack against Znosian-occupied system Gruccud
Opposing Forces
Malgeir: Eighth Fleet (understrength): 1 Husky-class Battleship, 6 Rover-class Battlecruisers, and 104 Shepherd-class Destroyers.
Znosian: Zero combat ships, 16 orbital support ships, and at least 2,804 space mines (full sample acquired, specifications attached, Appendix 1).
Result
Significant personnel and ship losses for Malgeir Eighth Fleet with no strategic gain, including its flagship and presumably its entire fleet command staff, after running directly into a Znosian space minefield.
Zero casualties for the Znosian fleet. Negligible munition expenditure.
Full list of equipment losses in Section 1.
Implications
Complete loss of Malgeir operational capability in “northern wing” of the Malgeir agricultural belt.
Eighth Fleet will take months to years to reconstitute. Communication intercepts (Appendix 2) suggest their Fleet Council intends to blame this outcome on the officer who correctly called for retreat to avert disaster. Officer shows promise, profile attached (Appendix 3). Znosian control of Gruccud will be strengthened in the short term.
Malgeir position at Uidquu (shipyard) has become increasingly untenable and will likely fall within the next year. Simulation results attached (Appendix 4).
Datsot has been uncovered and may be targeted next, depending on which front the Znosians prioritize.
Full impact analysis in Section 2.
Recommendations
Develop options for clandestine assistance of Malgeir Navy to preserve their combat capabilities and territorial integrity to enhance Republic security:
The Republic Navy is retiring two obsolete minesweepers from service next year. The sensitive technologies on the ship have been stripped. Covert transfer of these ships to the Malgeir Navy may be possible with little effort and budget.
Additionally, the Malgeir naval officer corps are in desperate need of additional training and better recruitment. Assistance in this area may also be provided without significant expenditure of resources. Financial analysis conducted by Navy Budget Office attached (Appendix 5).
Full recommendations in Section 3.
Observer
Republic Navy, Rear Admiral Amelia Waters, 2120-12-06
Reviewer comments
Observations have been noted. Atlas Naval Command concurs. Recommendations reported to and rejected by Senate Naval Oversight Committee (vote: 4-8). Vote result attached (Addendum 1).
Good work and congratulations on your upcoming promotion, Vice Admiral Amelia Waters. But apologies in advance to you and your crews about not being able to celebrate the holidays in Sol. Your task force is needed in another system next month, some Malgeir mining backwater named Oettro.
Full coordinates and mission details to follow.
Top Secret // ORCON: Task Force Frontier Security // Restricted Data // Special Access Required: Royal Ranger // [Redacted]
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Meta
Uintrei will return.
