[01N] Valhallla System

[Omni]

The Valhalla system; Home to nearly sixteen billion. The star at it's core is nothing special. It's the planets that are interesting. First of all, second planet to Valhalla, is Forge, the Valhallan 'homeworld'. Forge, while the closest planet to the Valhallan sun, is still within the habitable zone for Valhalla. Closely orbiting around it is Yin, a medium-sized moon. Next, comes Valhalla III, a dwarf planet not unlike Ceres or Pluto of Sol; it is of little interest, save for an abundance of precious minerals and metals trapped below it's surface. After that Valhalla III's sister world, Valhalla IV. After that, an expansive asteroid belt, and past that, last, but certainly not least, lies the gas giant Jotun, the Valhallan's primary source of fuel.



The source of the name 'Forge' comes from how the early colonists saw the planet; it was not the ideal place to live. It didn't coddle them. It 'forged' them into who they were. It's thin atmosphere not only makes it very difficult to breathe, but also does a poor job filtering out radiation from Forge's sun, Valhalla. It has roughly the same orbital period as Earth. Many of the native flora and fauna have some sort of exoskeleton to protect themselves from the radiation. Massive impact craters and gashes cover the planet's surface- many of which are now believed to the sites of major battles and warhead detonations millenia ago. In fact, some of these are over a mile deep. While mostly arid, the coasts manage to support a staggering array of life- most of which is dangerous. Surprisingly, it has polar ice caps, albeit small ones. The capital lies in the southwestern hemisphere- Valeria. Valeria lies in the deepest trench on the planet, the Serrenas Crevasse. Believed to actually have resulted from a 'near miss' from a massive energy weapon, It's almost a mile and a half deep at parts, and three miles wide at it's widest. The city is built into the crevasse and the surrounding rock; it's a vibrant (if a bit dark) metropolis. Once a horrific, barren wasteland (hence the name), Forge is now a metropolitan word rivaling many others; it has been described as 'the beating heart of a thriving people' by alien traders.

The system's asteroid belt has been densely developed; it's probably one of the most inhabited non-planetary objects this side of the galaxy. Many of the larger asteroids have been completely hollowed out to make space for colonists. A great deal of them, instead under control of the VSC military, have massive accelerator cannons running their lengths, cannibalizing the asteroids for use as ammunition. These defenses line the exterior of the asteroid belt; in the event of an invasion the VSC would actually be able to blockade access to their inner worlds without so much as a single ship. An unprepared enemy fleet would likely be turned to shreds by these emplacements.

Jotun is the primary source of fuel in the system, and the Valhallans have taken great advantage of the gas giant's abundance of Helium-3. It has many moons, and nearly all of them are colonized in some fashion. There is some lasting resentment on these moons towards the inner systems- during the Kisari invasion, they were more or less left to fend for themselves when the Valhallans fell back to the asteroid belt. And still, to this day, protocol is that, in case of an invasion by an overwhelming enemy force, VSC forces are to fall back to the asteroid belt.

[Hades]

Multiple sensors around Hel would pick up a massive inbound jump signature, followed by the detection of an active nuclear weapon... Or rather many of them.

[Omni]

Within moments of the capital ship's arrival, the entire Valhallan navy is on high alert. The planet's orbital defense stations soon target the vessel, and, within a few minutes, every ORION defense battery on the facing side of the planet is directed towards the capital ship. The The Dreadnought 'Siege', nearby, charges up it's main gun, coming to bow, the massive's vessel's titanic main gun charged and ready to fire. Every ship in orbit - ie, some of the most powerful ships in the Valhallan navy - directs their attention towards the alien vessel. As it turns out, jumping a single ship, even a dreadnought, into the heart of a potentially hostile star system alone isn't always a fantastic idea. A message is transmitted, originating from the VSV Siege. The voice is female, though it's clearly synthesized.

<:: Attention, unidentified vessel. You've entered the territory of the sovereign Valhallan Republic. We've detected active nuclear devices aboard your ship. State your intentions, or you will be destroyed.

[Zombiedude101]

// Hate to make an OOC post in an IC thread but it isn't a USC Vessel, p obvious about that

[Omni]

// Hate to make an OOC post in an IC thread but it isn't a USC Vessel, p obvious about that

// oh i assumed that it was USC

[Hades]

The dreadnought seemed to ignore all transmissions, instead continuing to load the nuclear missiles into their tubes. Soon enough, the tubes opened, revealing the myriads of ground strike nuclear warheads housed within. If the Valhalans had the technology to intercept target packages, they would find out that the nuclear missiles were being aimed at the primary city centers.

[Omni]

Bridge of the VSV Siege

"Sir, they're not responding." The synthesized female voice astutely observed.

High Executor Nolan rubbed his facial hair, chewing on his lower lip. "I noticed." This was.. worrisome. An armed, alien vessel of unknown origin had not only entered the Valhallan system- they had dropped out of FTL within orbit of Hel. While he had to admire the sheer audacity of the move, he, obviously, didn't admire the intentions. He lightly tapped the holographic interface on the arm-rest of his captain's chair, looking to his Weapons Control Officer. "Open fire."

Hel, High Orbit

And.. It's like something out of legend. Brilliant flashes of orange and blue streak across both earth and sky as, more or less, every weapon within range fires at the vessel. Slugs travelling at relativistic speeds scream towards it, painting the space around Hel with light. And then- The VSV Siege fires it's main gun. A projectile the size of a minivan slams into the side of the Capital Ship at a significant fraction of the Speed of Light.

[Hades]

The beast did not even have time to retaliate. Within seconds of the barrage being started, it succumbed to the massive amounts of firepower that were thrown at its hull. Both of its power cores, weapon controls, bridges, FTL drives and hangars were destroyed in the first barrage, and the massive siege gun only served to seal its fate. The nuclear detections disappeared as the nukes were harmlessly crushed by the metal corridors above them, and at last, there was silence.

The massive capital ship remained adrift above Hel, and one may witness disfigured exoskeletons being ejected from the hull breaches around its carcass.

[Omni]

Bridge of the VSV Siege

"Any life signs?"

"None, sir."

He paused, looking to the holographic display of the adrift behemoth. He folded his arms, tilting his head. That had gone far quicker than he expected. The fleet had performed better than anticipated. His Comms officer turned, frowning. "Sir-" Nolan sighed. "What?" The Comm officer inhaled deeply. "We just received word that this is not an isolated incident. We've lost contact with Malen, Saht, and Ganymede. The rest are reporting in."

The High Executor blinked a few times, looking to his comm officer. "Contact the Nightfall. Have them search the ship. Every last inch. I want them to find out who these aliens are and why they're here." He paused. "Initiate Shadowguard protocol." Shadowguard Protocol was the Valhallan's wartime protocol- it hadn't been in effect since the Kisari invasion. "Open an emergency quantum channel with the rest of the Orpheus Pact." He stood up from his chair, turning to the door. "I'll take it in my quarters."

Orbit around Hel
Valhallan System

Soon, the VSV Nightfall, a Heavy Cruiser, moves up alongside the Alarei dreadnought. Several gunships are dispatched, searching the titanic craft for an entryway.

[Hades]

The entrances to the massive dreadnought would be quite obvious: the devastating hull breaches that had been caused by the fleet's combined firepower.

[Omni]

Music and light dance across the crowded room. The beat pumps loud enough to rumble the windows across the way. One might say it's impossible to hear oneself think in a place such as this. But that's the point, isn't it? War had been declared on the Alarei, and many of the men and women would be heading off-planet tomorrow. It was an honour, yes, but that did not mean this would be the last time that many of them would be able to ignore their cares and duties and live on a whim like this again. Even among Valhallans, who reveled in combat, the realities of war hit hard.

So, they drank and they danced and they fought - they lived without consequence one last time. Because every Valhallan, from the poorest pauper to the wealthiest CEO, hears the call of duty. Not all of them will be on the front lines, of course. Some will bandage wounds. Some will build ships and tanks and fighters. Some will build weapons. Others will analyze intel. Draw up battle plans. Among all Valhallans, man or Kisari, all will fight. In one way or another. All will fight. Because the Alarei must be made to pay for their sins.

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