54 Rangdan Xenocides Pt.3
(Took off for Christmas so here is a chapter and I'll produce some more later for the Holidays)
With their initial victory over the Rangda secured and the 500 Rangda ships as well as 3 of their Mouns destroyed, the Imperium had made the first step in wiping out the Rangda. But they did not stop there.
Once they were able to wipe out the fleet that stood in their way, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Fleets all moved to the nearest planet before performing an orbital bombardment on the surface. The Rangda and slaves who were on the surface of that planet were not prepared for the sudden attack, sure that their defensive fleet would protect.
Their planetary shields were not even activated which allowed for the Imperium to kill everyone, taking out hundreds of millions of slaves and several million of the Rangda. Even though the slaves were all humans, Baldur was unwilling to risk the safety of his people to try and free them, considering them all a lost cause.
The three fleets were able to destroy 3 of the planets in the system before another fleet of the Rangda were finally able to meet them and prevent any more destruction on the scale that the 5 Legions were delivering it.
The Rangda fleet that met Baldur's was much smaller but they brought out another Moun along with them.
The Imperium Fleet had few issues dealing with most Rangdan fleet but it was the Moun that was the issue. It had powerful shields that caused all the weapons fired upon it to detonate across them, preventing the Moun from getting damaged in the slightest.
"Send in 6 of the ships to near the Moun and see if they can move past its shield," Spencer gave the order to the Imperium ships that acted as the shields.
6 of the escort ships began to move out of formation and toward the Moun. They got into a defensive formation where 5 of the ships surrounded one, one on each side except the rear, in order to protect the core ship and ensure that it reached the target. This was due to the Moun concentrated fire on the ships as they got closer and closer to it.
The powerful blasts of the Moun's weapons were very dangerous to all those on the ships. The Rangda used some type of energy that was green and highly radioactive. Even as the shields and armor of the ships were able to hold back a few shots from directly damaging the people aboard the ships, the radiation was another story. It was able to leak through the metal and caused those who were near the locations struck to immediately feel sick as their skin turned red and black, oil-like substance seeped from their eyes.
This radiation and the powerful weapons were able to take out the ship at the front of the formation and on the top portion but the other ships were able to reach the shields.
Once they got close enough, the ships attempted to breach the shields with their bodies, allowing them to pass through it without issue. Once they were on the other side, the ships began to open fire on the Moun. Their attacks were able to strike, damaging the weapons and surface of the Moun without issue.
"We have word that the ships have breached the shields," the communication officer told Spencer
"Good. Send in another 50. Keep them on this side on the Moun but make sure they are spread out as well," Spencer passed on his next order
When he got the confirmation that the shield was able to be breached by the ships, Spencer ordered another 50 of their ships to move toward the Moun from different directions, spreading out the firepower that it would be able to unleash while also limiting how many weapons it could use since the weapons all across its surface couldn't be used.
Of the 50 ships, 48 were able to reach the Moun and breach its shields before opening fire on it. Without any shields and having its weapons quickly destroyed, the Moun was soon on its last legs but an issue occurred. The attacking ships could not destroy the Moun without being caught in the following explosion as they were far too close.
"How are we to proceed, Warmaster?" Spencer turned to Baldur and asked the Warmaster
"Have the ships there gather and form a beachhead. Tell Fist of Iron that this Moun is theirs to take and to bring as many men as they needs to do it. The 1st and 5th Fleet shall move on to the next target while the rest of his fleets are to remain on guard."
Once he noticed this, Baldur quickly made his plans. He reached out to his brother and told him the same information Spencer would pass on to his ships as well as some additional information and orders.
"You are excellent with technology. I want you to analyze that Moun and find out its weak spots. Where we can send in elite teams to take out the shield generators so we do not have to launch entire invasions against these things."
The shields were still up which prevented anyone from firing at it from afar and destroying it from a distance like they had done during the first battle and also what would determine the length of this campaign.
If they were unable to perform quick strikes, the number of battlefields would double or even triple since they would have to invade planets and Mouns. Baldur was entrusting this important task to Ferrus as he had a unique ability that allowed him to easily understand how pieces of technology worked.
"Of course, Brother. My eyes are best for that," Ferrus responded with a small grin
He had only seen a Dragon once but was able to recreate and improve on it. Luckily, Ferrus swore to never share this information as he knew just how valuable STCs were and to simply take it from Baldur would be an insult to his 2nd brother.
The Moun was much larger and made of Xeno tech so it was not as easy for Ferrus to understand it from a glance but if he infiltrated it and explored it as he and his men battled, that information could be passed on to all the fleets, saving the number of men they would lose and time they would spend fighting.
Baldur nodded to himself and thanked his brother before ordering the 1st and 5th Fleets to start spreading out, careful of getting attacked by the Moun's other weapons while all the ships of the 3rd Fleet moved in close to launch the first ground battle of the campaign.
