Battle of the Iron Flower

Belligerents| United Worlds Stellar Navy | * Iron Flower
* Allied Colonial Resistance Fleet

Commanders| * Vice Admiral Felix Covnentr †
* Commodore Raston Tetrark
* Commodore Zvi Chaffee
* General Hiakinthos Tortiss

Strength| * 4 Fleet Carriers
* 1 Dreadnought
* 2 Battleships
* 2 Battlecruisers
* 8 Cruisers
* 16 Destroyers
* 16 Frigates
* ~400 Fighters
* 30 Bombers
* ~60 Agility Suits
* 3 Agility Frames
* 1 Escort Carrier
* 5 Cruisers
* 15 Destroyers
* 1 Anti-Agility Suit Cruiser
* 5 Agility Suit Carriers
* ~99 Fighters
* 79 Agility Suits
* 1 Agility Frame

Casualties| * 1 Cruiser,
* 4 Destroyers,
* 7 Frigates wrecked
* 1 Dreadnought heavily damaged
* ~150 Fighters
* 24 Bombers
* 47 Agility Suits
* 2 Agility Frames
* 2 Cruisers,
* 1 Destroyer
* 3 Agility Suit Carriers wrecked
* 1 Escort Carrier lightly damaged
* 2 Agility Suit Carriers,
* 1 Anti-Agility Suit Cruiser Captured
* 18 Agility Suits
* 1 Agility Frame

The **Battle of the Iron Flower**, also known as the **The Last Stand** and the **Fall of the Iron Flower**, was a naval confrontation on October 10th, 2549 between warships of the United Worlds Stellar Navy, and the joint forces of the Allied Colonial Resistance and the Iron Flower, Chloris' personal military force. The battle took place not far outside the orbital path of Chloris. The battle was a decisive United Worlds Victory, having successfully wrecked one of the Colonial Fleet Carriers, *Benjaminton*, and eliminating the entirety of the Iron Flower. The battle also had a lasting effect on battles to follow, as it proved the importance of Agility Suits in direct battle with naval fleets.

## Background

**Operation Final Act**

An operation put in action towards the end of the colonial war, the operation called for the destruction of over half of the rebel's carrier fleet, with the battle of the Iron Flower being one of the final battles to partake in the operation, despite great efforts, only 3 of the rebel's carriers were wrecked, but a separate incident lead to heightened security over Libertas and saw a significant decline in the presence of Carriers from outside colonial boundaries, and thus the operation was deemed a success.

**The Iron Flower**

Designed to be the separate private defense force of Chloris, the Iron Flower was lead by the revolutionary General Hiakinthos Tortiss, who saw the value of the use of Agility Frames in naval engagements, and sought to spend 60% of war funds for the acquisitions of Agility Suits. Shortly before the battle, the Iron Flower managed to acquire the Agility Frame LyF-03 Lyric Alcaeus, and modified the suit for anti-ship duties, becoming the upgraded Lyric Alcaeus Iceberg.

## Battle

The United Worlds Stellar Navy, in the (at the time) new "Battle Wall" formation split into three main battle formations, two subsidiary battle formations, and 4 long-range formations, lead by the most decorated ship at the end of the war, the dreadnought NSS *Krugis*, set a trap for any rebellion fleets through currently unknown means. The first rebellion ships to show up was the rebel fleet carrier *Benjaminton*, and its escort group. Although the carrier retaliated late, it managed to survive halfway through the battle, having been covered for by its escort group which took straight line formation and engaged the nearest subsidiary formation. During this time, the rebel escort carrier *Saachily* arrived behind schedule with its accompanying destroyers, and before taking evasive action, launched a successful attack on the cruiser NSS *Gwynames*, wrecking the ship from a kamikaze attack. Before the escort carrier force could be engaged in retaliation, the *Benjaminton* fell under heavy fire from the NSS *Krugis*, and the combined efforts of the four fleet carriers, and wrecked when a forward detonation split the hull open and internal explosions decimated the ship's engines. At this time the Iron Flower showed up and allowed the remaining rebel force to evacuate while they covered with a mere specialized cruiser and five "Agility Suit Control Ships". During the retreat, a massive wave of bombers set off to engage the fleeing *Saachily*, but were intercepted by Chlorian Agility Suits, and all bombers were destroyed. During this time a large-scale battle erupted between the ships between agility suits, with the Iron Flower quickly gaining the upper hand by severing a subsidiary force, where two destroyers, NSS *Humboldt Savio* and *Liever* encountered the LyF-03 Lyric Frame Alcaeus Iceberg. After disabling the two destroyers' engines with the Alcaeus' new cryo cannons, and using the frames two harpoon guns, intentionally collided the two destroyers together, single-handedly wrecking the two ships. The Alcaeus proceeded to the frigate NSS *Alisinajir* where it forcefully boarded the ship and destroyed the ship from within, crushing the engines with its bare hands. Shortly after the *Alisinajir* wrecked, it was fired upon by the dreadnought NSS *Krugis*, hoping the ship's destruction would damage or at least entrap the Alcaeus. Unsuccessful, the Alcaeus broke free and plotted a course to intercept the *Krugis*, but not before icing the NSS *Oak Barrens* and ramming the ship into two halves. After the wrecking of the *Oak Barrens*, the Alcaeus took a different, less direct approach, and using the wrecked forward hull of the *Oak Barrens* as a stationary firing point, prepared to open fire upon the *Krugis*' bridge with the Hypervelocity Gun. Just as it was going to open fire, a small anti-fighter gun on the dying hull of the *Oak Barrens* fired and hit the Alcaeus, making the shot miss and striking *Krugis* amidships. In a fit of fury, the Alcaeus, only having one arm at this point, ripped the anti-fighter gun from its mount, and wielding it as a bat, flew towards the *Krugis*. Upon reaching the hull, it received heavy secondary fire, and whirling the dismounted cannon at another anti-fighter gun to open a new window, the Alcaeus kamikaze flew straight into the bridge of the *Krugis*, killing most of the ship's commanding officers. At this point the primary anti-ship weapon destroyed for the Iron Flower, the remaining ships continued to fight, eventually losing three of the Agility Suit Control Ships, IFF *Lily-of-the-Valley*, *Daffodil*, and *Larkspur*. After this, and with the retreating rebel fleet far out of the range of the *Krugis*' fleet, the Iron Flower surrendered its final ships, the AS Control Ships IFF *Morning Glory* and *Snapdragon*, and the Anti-Agility Suit Cruiser IFF *Khloris*.

## Aftermath

**Analysis**

The battle proved the effectiveness of Agility Suits in naval warfare, with a single special-purpose agility frame resulting in the destruction of four escort ships, and the severe damage inflicted upon an *Annosi*-class dreadnought. The battle resulted in the destruction of the *Benjaminton*, the third and final carrier to be wrecked due to Operation Final Act. But for there troubles, the United Worlds Stellar Navy acquired three new vessels, with the AS Control ships being reclassified as "Agility Suit Tenders" NSS *Enryu* (AAS-1) and *Beedle* (AAS-2), after two Agility Suit pilots who died early in the colonial war, and the *Khloris* being renamed NSS *Sevencollis* (CLK-1), the city-state of Quetzalcoatl, and reclassified as a Hunter-Killer Cruiser.