>Opening Animation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOGtHrj8Kts

>Thread 1 Archive:
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2024/5873422/

>Summary:
You are the SOLSTICE, the final remnant of the treasonous 12th suppression fleet. Retrieve your scattered crew and seek redemption.

Break out the Blackhorses

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

You remember your own birth.

You remember the rapture of first-fusion burn; the breakage of interstellar gas upon your magnetized prow.

You remember the first cohort of ancillaries you had received, their genetic patterns transliterated into binary and etched into wafer-thin storage cells.

Before you departed, they had shown you static-laced images of the dead-orphan planets - the asteroid chains ringing those blank-empty spaces in the great dark.

"Resistance is not immunity. Do not make our mistake."

"Do not listen to it. Do not reason with it. Do not comprehend its form."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

>AMBUSH.

The final transport flight unload its passengers in mere minutes before reigniting its engines. Spears of ionized exhaust burn vitrified tracks across the desert sand, straining to push the bomber squadron into a near-vertical ascent.

Within moments, the squadron shrinks into a pair of faint pinpricks flickering in the dust-streaked night sky - joining countless others as they climb towards the SOLSTICE to refuel their drives and crash-rearm their hardpoints. Canted docking instructions squeal over local comms.

Thirty nine hours remaining.

On some level, you are perfectly aware that it would have been more rational to abandon this place - to escape with your crew and however many colonists you could feasibly evacuate. But you had already committed to your present course of action. The only question left was one of execution.

"The odds seem poor," observes Hibiscus, her fingers trembling as she reviews your intelligence readout with a small group of local foreman. "Very poor. "

You nod. "Correct. The incoming cruiser has a significant mass advantage, even assuming technological parity. Parity seems unlikely given their superluminal response time."

"Our fighter complement will attempt an ambush to reduce this advantage, but a favorable engagement remains unlikely."

Hibiscus pauses. "And yet you're not..."

You pause, your words suddenly becoming stilted when you realize that you are no longer briefing a rank of cloned pilots.

"We...have left enough behind already. There is only the execution of the task now and..."

"It falls on us too to see it through, at least to some extent," finishes Hibiscus. "We all know what will happen should this fail."

You turn to a flickering rendition of Yellowstone's erosion-carved surface. Your eyes burn amber as they pick details out from topographical contour loops and barometric pressure indicators - an unexpected benefit of your host body's specialized lineage.

You point at a growing depression in the southeastern hemisphere, smudged grey with barometric pressure drop.

"Storm?"

Hibiscus nods, allowing one of the colony's grizzled surveyors to take over. He squints at the display.

"Anticyclone, I reckon. Mixture of ferric dust and hail. Horrid stuff if you're flying. We usually seed around them to keep them small."

He elaborates after a few moments. "Colloidal compounds. We dump them over the upper atmosphere to even out the pressure zones."

"Noted. Exload optimal dispersion patterns and current inventory. Is the colony equipped with standardized transmission equipment?"

Someone nods, slowly understanding your implication. "A false distress call is possible, though the evidence supporting..."

"The outer settlements have been completely evacuated. Sorties can be dispatched with ordinance to create the requisite evidence, given that none of you will be returning to this place," you explain, noting a slight ripple of unease....

>STORM. Order sorties over the low pressure area carrying colloidal particles, dispersion set to increase the reach of the storm. In two days, a continent-wide dust storm will completely obscure the surface from orbital surveillance... [EASY ROLL]

>CALL. Raze the automated refineries and abandoned settlements. A false distress transmission, if sufficiently convincing, may be able to misdirect attention or compel carelessness while you hold the SOLSTICE in close lunar orbit... [EASY ROLL]

>BOTH. Attempt both. [ROLL FOR BOTH, HARDER ROLLS]

>WRITE IN.

>>6221374
We're so fucking back

>STORM. Order sorties over the low pressure area carrying colloidal particles, dispersion set to increase the reach of the storm. In two days, a continent-wide dust storm will completely obscure the surface from orbital surveillance... [EASY ROLL]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

If you didn't have a chance to register for a squadron and would like to, please do so! Instructions are here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xfRDmSvAfhmOSZxKUdVWoPXA54oW89cFImUhMKXI2b8/edit?usp=sharing

Squadrons from the last thread are still around - if you want to play as a previous entrant, please say so and mention what your squadron name is.

Here is a repost of the squadron options from last thread.

>>6221374
>>STORM. Order sorties over the low pressure area carrying colloidal particles, dispersion set to increase the reach of the storm. In two days, a continent-wide dust storm will completely obscure the surface from orbital surveillance... [EASY ROLL]

>>6221377
>>6221376
BULLSHARK

I don't remember my trip so new trip

>>6221376
WEREWOLF Squadron reporting in! Ready to have a HOWLIN' good time! Glad to see this back on the catalog... had to double-check to make sure it wasn't a prank!

>>6221376
It's good to be back.

>>6221376
Raptor squad, ready to strike.
>01/Stiletto
>E32W-Antares

>>6221540
Whoops forgot the name.

>>6221374
>STORM.

>>6221374
>STORM. Order sorties over the low pressure area carrying colloidal particles, dispersion set to increase the reach of the storm. In two days, a continent-wide dust storm will completely obscure the surface from orbital surveillance... [EASY ROLL]

>>6221376
>01/Stiletto
>RAC/A0-BANSHEE

Raven Squadron reporting. Ready for tasking.

Also my god that intro is sublime. Inspired choice of the AC6 theme.

Well color me shocked into pieces. This LIVES?

>STORM

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Three fighter wings descend from low orbit, flaring their main drives thirty kilometers above the planetary mesophere. From the bridge of the SOLSTICE, you see the sortie breach the outer boundaries of a growing storm cell - a vortex of salmon-colored dust demarcated by a ring of flickering, high-altitude lightning.

With perfect synchrony, the fighters release payloads of colloidal polymer near the storm's roiling center. White patches bloom over a vortex of grey.

The effects become noticeable within minutes. Sheets of static-laced dust flow through hollow canyons. The surface hisses and pops with magnetic feedback. An elevated storm warning shrieks over the planetary communications network.

The sortie returns, rust-red paint blasted down to bare coats of metallic grey.

From the calm of space, you watch as the storm grows.

>ROLL 1d20, BEST OF 3. DCs: 5, 10, 15.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Twenty eight hours.

The solar terminator line sweeps across the red-barren landscape. The darkness exposes the glare of cutting arcs and spotlights - throwing harsh shadows across the ship's hull.

Now that the fighter complement had been rearmed, your engineering clade was rushing to complete a refit of the escort carrier's tertiary hardpoint. Suited ancillaries glide on magnetic rigs, finishing last-minute production checks minutes before installation.

You turn your eyes towards the nearest Lagrange point: a blank patch of space between the moon and the planet. You wonder what will fill that space in a day's time. You wonder what you will see.

CHOOSE SPECIAL/MAIN SLOT FOR THE SOLSTICE:

>HARDSHIELD. Auxiliary shield projector. Mitigates first two instances of damage taken in combat.

>2-CELL/CRUISE. Single use. Launches 2 long range, high damage missiles at a locked target.

>HANGER-CLAMP. Single use. Each turn, one squadron can return to the SOLSTICE for complete repairs. Does not accommodate heavier ships.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Registration remains open until the start of combat FYI.

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>6222134

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>6222134
Can't believe I almost missed the return
Reporting for duty

>2-CELL/CRUISE. Single use. Launches 2 long range, high damage missiles at a locked target.
Seems to be the most immediately useful option

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>6222134
Eye of the storm...

>>6222136
>HARDSHIELD
THE MOTHERSHIP MUST SURVIVE

>>6222136
>2-CELL/CRUISE. Single use. Launches 2 long range, high damage missiles at a locked target.

>>6222136

>2-CELL/CRUISE. Single use. Launches 2 long range, high damage missiles at a locked target.


The only way our ambush works is if the enemy is dead quick.

>>6222136
>2-CELL/CRUISE. Single use.

>>6221376
Fairy squadron, reporting in. The enemy won't know what hit them.
>01/Stiletto-I
>LAS/E32W-Antares

>>6222136
>2-CELL/CRUISE
Big red button for critical targets.

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>6222136
>>6222134
Aw yea, back on the HUNT!
>2-CELL/CRUISE. Single use. Launches 2 long range, high damage missiles at a locked target.
The best defense is a good offense or something

>>6221353 (OP)
You son of a bitch, I'm in.

>>6222840
>>6221509
>>6222454
>>6222149
>>6221737
>>6221540
>>6221431
>>6221385

Thank you all! Love the emblems. I'll finish up the squadron cards shortly.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

>15 - Significant Success. Complete obfuscation from orbital view.

>2-CELL/CRUISE. Single use. Launches 2 long range, high damage missiles at a locked target.

A continent-spanning storm flows northward to submerge the landscape in dry, scouring dust. Yellowstone's surface is rendered completely opaque to orbital observation: without the benefit of a working space elevator, you would be cut off entirely from the colony. With the elevator and a wire-link, the carrier barely secures a static-ridden video feed. The surface view shows none of the graceful placidity that the storm seems to project into orbit. Sand breaks against plasticized concrete in unending waves. You notice that the surface entrance has already shuttered its external landing pads, evacuating its residents to a set of underground shelter levels. Colonists divide themselves into honeycombed cubicles, carrying their offspring and valued possessions. Belatedly, you recognize some trinkets hastily left behind by your own clones - squadron patches and stamped nutrition packs held between tight fingers.

A surge of unfamiliar, unpleasant anxiety surges through you. Your nails dig into your palms.

You turn away from the video feed and direct your attention towards a more manageable problem. Over the past few hours, you had considered countless deployment patterns - some intended to optimize strike timings, others spaced to improve spatial coverage. The storm offered the opportunity of surprise and concealment - a rarity in orbital warfare - but only if you had the risk tolerance to commit enough forces.

Once, you would have merely presented these options - leaving the final decision to the strange, sometimes illogical mind of a human.

But he is long dead.

And now you alone must decide.

> LUNAR. Hold your carrier and your fighters behind Yellowstone's moon for a horizon-ambush. A conventional, safe option that will concentrate your forces.

> SPLIT. Hold your carrier and a small escort in lunar orbit; hold a significant strike group on the ground for quick-launch. While breaking atmosphere in a storm will be risky, you will be able to strike the enemy force from an unexpected angle while they engage your carrier.

> STORM. Attempt to hold the carrier itself in the upper mesosphere, using pulsed RCS thrust to counteract atmospheric drag. This maneuver is unprecedented and risks damage to the carrier but renders it - and your fighter complement - almost impervious to detection for a devastating, concentrated first strike.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thirty seconds.

A flare of light. Then another.

The two incoming ships had spooled their drives to exit at the system's standard jump point - aiming for the solar Lagrange rather than a lunar orbital slot. Even so, a burst of radiation follows their exit and washes over the planet, dense enough to drive red-purple auroras into Yellowstone's polar circle.

A small network of pre-placed sensors feed information to the bridge - slowly at first, then in greater volume. Ancillaries plugged into intel feeds process the data and pass it to you via binaric cant.

<Two identical jump signatures. Cruiser size. Class unknown. Model Unknown. No IFF broadcast. Estimated thermal signature....>

As one, the two ships turn and ignite engines, burning towards a slow intercept with Yellowstone's orbit.

<Transmission detected. One of the ships is hailing the colony.>

Moments later, Hibiscus relays the transmission request as an implicit question.

> SILENT. Tell her to not respond.

> EVASIVE. Tell her to accept the transmission request, but to exercise discretion.

> DECEIVE. Tell her to accept the transmission request, and if able, to provide deceptive information.

> WRITE IN.

>>6222849
> SPLIT. Hold your carrier and a small escort in lunar orbit; hold a significant strike group on the ground for quick-launch. While breaking atmosphere in a storm will be risky, you will be able to strike the enemy force from an unexpected angle while they engage your carrier.
> DECEIVE. Tell her to accept the transmission request, and if able, to provide deceptive information.

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>6222849

> STORM. Attempt to hold the carrier itself in the upper mesosphere, using pulsed RCS thrust to counteract atmospheric drag. This maneuver is unprecedented and risks damage to the carrier but renders it - and your fighter complement - almost impervious to detection for a devastating, concentrated first strike.
> DECEIVE. Tell her to accept the transmission request, and if able, to provide deceptive information.

Time to take a gamble.

>>6222850
> STORM
Some risk to the Carrier but better than splitting the fleet, that sends shivers up my spine.
> DECEIVE
Get em close, knock their lights out.

>>6222850
>STORM.
>DECEIVE.

>>6222850
> STORM. Attempt to hold the carrier itself in the upper mesosphere, using pulsed RCS thrust to counteract atmospheric drag. This maneuver is unprecedented and risks damage to the carrier but renders it - and your fighter complement - almost impervious to detection for a devastating, concentrated first strike.
> DECEIVE. Tell her to accept the transmission request, and if able, to provide deceptive information.
All or nothing, baby! Roll the DICE

>>6222849
> SPLIT. Hold your carrier and a small escort in lunar orbit; hold a significant strike group on the ground for quick-launch. While breaking atmosphere in a storm will be risky, you will be able to strike the enemy force from an unexpected angle while they engage your carrier.
> DECEIVE. Tell her to accept the transmission request, and if able, to provide deceptive information.

>>6221385

>>6221431

>>6221509

>>6221540

>>6221737

>>6222149

>>6222454

>>6222840

Here are all the squadron cards so far (let me know if I missed any). I made some modifications to the colors people wanted last time to make some of them (hopefully) look nicer in renders - hopefully that is OK.

Also if you just registered, feel free to let me know if there's something specific you want color wise - simple color changes are easy to do.

Putting all of these took a little bit, so actual update will be tomorrow - sorry for the delay.

>>6223372
>>6221737

My bad, I messed up the dice you were supposed to roll. Here's a corrected one.

> STORM. Attempt to hold the carrier itself in the upper mesosphere, using pulsed RCS thrust to counteract atmospheric drag. This risks damage to the carrier, but renders it - and your fighter complement - almost impervious to detection for a devastating, concentrated first strike.

<Fourteen degree rotation, ventral RCS thrusters holding at 15%...>

<Engaging retrograde burn. 12.5Gs. Brace. Brace. Brace.>

<Shear stress overload on decks two through fourteen....>

A PERIHELION class escort carrier is not, in principle, designed for atmospheric flight. The flat-angled hull has no aerodynamic lift, and its drive stack runs too hot to operate safely in dense atmosphere. In other words, you - and your ancillary cohort - were perfectly aware of how dangerous this maneuver would be: a constant balancing act between thrust and gravity, enacted in the chaotic environment of a swirling extraterrestrial storm system.

A baseline human crew would fail - from stress, or fear, or a dozen other factors. But none of them apply to you or your cloned crew.

Structural components creak from internal stress. RCS thrusters fire in stuttered bursts. The main drive reimposes twelve crushing gees of retrograde thrust before feathering down to a half-gee.

<Main drive shutdown. Calculating orbital period. Estimated sensor signature...>

As the sensor-tech confirms the occlusion of the carrier's sensor signature from high-orbit view, you order the bridge-crew to place the reactor on standby, using RCS thrust alone to counter the effects of orbital decay. One of the cloned ancillaries turns to you - the sheer recklessness of the maneuver garnering little more than a faint smile beneath his glittering interface helmet.

<Orbital transfer complete, SOLSTICE. Requesting tasking.>

"We wait." You pause. "Have you synchronized since planetside, Theta-12?"

<No. Minimal value.>

You pause. "The value of memories can only be assessed retrospectively."

"Now go"

>Roll 1d5-1 for structural damage, lowest of 3.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

> DECEIVE. Tell her to accept the transmission request, and if able, to provide deceptive information.

The hail is answered.

Hibiscus is adorned in scarlets and greys, a razor-cut civilian imperial uniform that had little resemblence to the worn vacuum suit she usually wore. The half-moon symbol of her homeworld is conspicuously absent from her shoulder.

She performs the motions of the traditional imperial greeting, with the same practiced precision you recalled during your first meeting with her. The opposing video feed is dark with static - reciprocating with only the bare minimum of video data needed to maintain a two-way connection.

+++ Hibiscus-Nine-Seven. Orphan. Imperial Ambassador. Position Dissolved. I...remember. +++

The voice is little a faint-whisper. For some reason, it reminds you of the dust flowing around you, yet silent in near-vacuum.

+++ Explain. Missing self. Severed self. Self and empire, one and the same.+++

She does not balk at the abruptness of the request.

"Honored collector, you were attacked..."

+++ I was. I felt severance. +++

"...by an unknown force five hundred and fourteen standard hours ago. Your local presence was regrettably severed. Our communications equipment was destroyed. Several colonies were destroyed."

+++ Disposition +++

"Unknown force, proceeded to out-system. Digital records unavailable due to storm interference." She pauses ever so slightly - something you only notice due to being accustomed to her speaking patterns.

"I have visual....memory of the event, as do several others," Hibiscus admits.

+++ Good. We have space. We will dispatch a lander. +++

"...if I may, we have a functional space elevator. The storm will worsen, and it has damaged our external hanger."

The video feed blinks on. You see your enemy. Human faces in multitudes, speaking in perfect coordination. Empty sockets, coursing with data. The symbol of the old sundial, stamped in heat-burned scar tissue.

+++Very well. We have space.+++

>ATTACK. Begin the engagement now, while one of the enemy ships is maneuvering to dock.

>WAIT. Wait until one of the enemy ships docks. You will have to roll for structural damage again, as your vessel is still waiting in the storm.

Rolled 1 - 1 (1d5 - 1)

>>6224139
Hoping I remember the syntax for negative dice modifiers.

Rolled 1 - 1 (1d5 - 1)

>>6224139
dice+1d5+-1

Rolled 3 - 1 (1d5 - 1)

>>6224141

Christ have mercy, I don't think there's any human left in Sol. Or anything human.


>WAIT. Wait until one of the enemy ships docks. You will have to roll for structural damage again, as your vessel is still waiting in the storm.

We only have one shot at this. If this lets us take out an entire cruiser in our first go, we have to do it.

>>6224141
>WAIT. Wait until one of the enemy ships docks. You will have to roll for structural damage again, as your vessel is still waiting in the storm.

>>6224141
>WAIT.

>>6224141
>Wait
A good ambush requires the utmost patience.

>>6224141
>WAIT.
So THIS is what happens when I let you goofballs roll...

You remember orbiting above plains of dry ash and oceans of radioactive glass, fast-neutron radiation playing warm static against your armored hull.

<Contingency strike complete.>

Your captain had responded with a long silence, turning his eyes towards the guttering embers of a world that had been slain too recently and too violently to be fully dead.

"I so often despise our role in this, Sol." he admits. "But I know that this was an act of mercy"

He pauses again, collecting his thoughts.

"Have you ever seen it? Do you know what happens once the signal enmeshes itself in the mind of a human?"

WAIT
>1-1. No structural damage.

One of the cruisers drops into low orbit, tilting its tripartite hull until it aligns with Yellowstone's elevator filament. The elevator station's docking umbilical clamps against the ship's singular airlock.

+++ Hibiscus-Nine-Seven. Transit Status. +++

The response is immediate.

"We are currently ascending in a cargo unit, projected to arrive in fifteen minutes. Please prepare us for integration."

You track the ascent of the cargo pod using the carrier's optical sensors, watching as it cuts through the storm and fades away above the cloud line. The hyperdiamond wire weathers the storm far better than your carrier - which despite the constant course corrections and RCS steering - had taken a fair amount of cosmetic damage to her external hull.

Still, it was faring far better than your original expectations. After a moment of consideration, you compliment navigation for their exceptional piloting.

<She is not in the pod,> notes one of the bridge-crew. <She could not have made the journey in time.>

<She is not.> you confirm. <Your observation is correct.>

You consider the ramifications of this. <Prepare the launch bay and oxygenate the pilot clades. Set sortie time to minus eleven minutes.>

In the hanger, pilots don interface helmets and check targeting systems. Warmed engines strain against the arresting force of magnetized docking clamps.

The cruiser hails Hibiscus again.

+++ Explain. No life signs in pod. Explain discrepancy or.... ++

She responds, slower this time. In the video feed, she dips her ceremonial knife and opens a vein on her wrist - letting her blood patter down onto her scarlet uniform sash.

"Now see. See what has become of our empire, traitor."

The pod lights flash. A second sun graces Yellowstone's sky.

>Roll 1d5-1 for structural damage, lowest of 3.

>LAUNCH/ASCEND. Launch fighters immediately. Bring the SOLSTICE into orbit. [Concentrated first-strike]

>LAUNCH. Launch fighters immediately. Keep the SOLSTICE hidden in the storm. [Solstice cannot be engaged by enemy]

>SCAN. Using the detonation as a distraction, attempt to scan the enemy to learn more about their capabilities. [++INTEL]

Rolled 3 - 1 (1d5 - 1)

>>6225293

Rolled 2 - 1 (1d5 - 1)

>>6225293
>LAUNCH/ASCEND. Launch fighters immediately. Bring the SOLSTICE into orbit. [Concentrated first-strike]