Battleship Thebes

CLASS: Thebes

CREW: CLASSIFIED

ARMAMENT: CLASSIFIED

Battleship Thebes is the Order's flagship. Its main function is to serve as a mobile command post and to deal with threats that the smaller Osiris-class warships are inadequate against. Fortuitously for the Omicron organization, its production was safely cloistered away until the vessel's unveiling. As the Core pushed for the final confrontation over Toledo, the Thebes achieved full combat readiness and was prepared prematurely for deployment before construction could have been finished and tests run. Arriving late to the Battle of Omicron Minor, encountering Nomads assaulting both fleets alike; The Order made the decision to evacuate all personnel from Toledo and a full retreat to Omicron Epsilon.

The Thebes escaped from Omicron Minor through a destabilizing wormhole leading to Omicron Mu, a tentatively mapped star system with a habitable planet. However, the gravitational forces of the unstable wormhole damaged the Thebes' systems and she was forced to offload any surviving refugees from the planet Toledo to the planet Akabat. The Thebes had to spend several long months in a specially constructed dry dock before it could be fully repaired again and become the iconic protector of the Omicron Mu system, and more importantly, of planet Akabat and its inhabitants.

Although the Thebes enjoys the reputation of being the most dangerous ship in conventional combat in Sirius, it has several critics even within The Order, pointing mainly to its vulnerability in the event of enemy superiority due to its lower speed, poorer maneuverability as well as more limited stealth capabilities compared to the older Osiris.

## News

Moreover, our potential support for the Corsairs' endeavors in Omicron Theta confronts hurdles of its own. The loss of Lisbon Station in Omicron Beta has rendered our northern border increasingly vulnerable to Outcast intrusions, compared to more secure times. Adding complexity to the equation, the Corsairs' acquisition of Freeport 9, a move perceived by some as indiscriminate, has strained cooperation prospects with certain Order agents and supporters. While the Order maintains no formal allegiance to the Zoners stationed on Freeport 9, these developments have been troubling for those of Zoner origins among our ranks.
As traditional alliances within the Omicrons continue to wane, our age-old nemesis, the Core, shows unmistakable signs of strategic preparations. Though the accuracy of these forewarnings remains uncertain, the Order stands resolute, ready to confront any eventuality that may materialize in the imminent future.

Initial attempts to explore this mysterious realm via long-range sensors faced a formidable hurdle—intense electromagnetic interference emanating from a local gas giant. Consequently, Order agents were compelled to resort to conventional reconnaissance methods, deploying Onuris-class reconnaissance fighters equipped with interference-resistant short-range sensors.
While conclusive evidence of Nomadic presence within the Tau-61 system remains elusive, the series of vanished patrols and perplexing sensor anomalies persist, necessitating sustained commitment on the part of the battleship Amenta and its diligent crew.

As Crete demanded the Zoners of Theta turn over any Hunters aboard their stations and surrender docking control, the Freeport 9 administrators were confident that some kind of compromise could be found. A delegation from Gran Canaria was requested to assist with negotiations, due to the close ties between Zoner and Corsair communities on the planet.
Tragically, the Corsairs interpreted this delay as refusal, and launched a surprise attack while the delegation was en-route. Many of Freeport 9's crew are now being held as hostages while the Corsairs pillage the station. An urgent conclave has been called on Gran Canaria to discuss the Zoner response, while militias on Pygar have taken up arms in case the violence spreads.

Ageira disputed this finding in their own press release, calling EFL 'fantasists' and countering that their own scientists had narrowed the cause to a rare 'hypernova' stellar event that originated outside the Sirius sector. Both corporations claim that network-wide hardware safeguards have been implemented that would prevent a similar occurrence in the future. Independent researchers have sharply criticized the corporate announcements, accusing both of self-interested misdirection.
Professor Sophia Nagel from Heisenberg Research Station called EFL's accusation 'incoherent' and the hypernova explanation 'nonsense' that did not explain the characteristics of the 'Blackout Pulse'. Despite multiple different Pulse recordings being widely disseminated across the neural net, public efforts have so far failed to triangulate its source.

Professor Nagel and her team are certain the Pulse originated from outside Sirius, but are otherwise no closer to identifying its source or mitigating a future Blackout event. "Following the Blackout, we began to see immediate signs of jump hole destabilization in multiple different regions, with many ultimately falling out of phase alignment altogether", she commented. The dramatic upending of Sirius' jump hole network has already prompted many groups to abandon stations and withdraw from systems that appear to risk being cut off.
While months-long trips between the stars are possible thanks to the Liberty Engine and many centuries of innovation, few ships are designed or provisioned to make such arduous journeys. Those who were displaced by Sirius' redrawn map hope that system connections will return, while adventurers and explorers rush to discover new routes.

For decades the Zoners of Freeport 9 have kept themselves safe from Corsair reprisals by offering useful services, with their biodomes providing Crete with respite from the famines that once ravished it. Despite this, outrage has swept Omicron Gamma after a flight of Hunters killed Commander Juan Garcia, before retreating back to the No Fire Zones of Omicron Theta.
The Council of Elders have ordered the administrator of Freeport 9 to attend Planet Crete to hear their demands. Elder Garcia has vowed that the station's halls would "run red with blood" unless the Zoners turned over all BHG aboard the Freeport. The Zoners are yet to respond, likely trying to anticipate how the Corsairs will react.

The Corsairs see the Pygar colony as a direct competitor for the region's scarce resources, with Elder Garcia warning that there would be "dire consequences" should Freeport 9's biodomes reduce or divert their exports to Planet Crete. Whispers of alien ruins and Artifacts discovered below Pygar's surface may also antagonize the Corsairs, who rely on the Artifact trade as a source of wealth. The hardship of Pygar's extreme conditions and the uneasy relationship with the Corsairs has already led many colonists to consider a return to the now liberated Gran Canaria.

However, this triumph was not without its share of setbacks. During the battle, critical issues surfaced concerning the Horus's system reliability. These problems reached their zenith when the Horus's primary weapons systems inadvertently disabled its primary drive during a combat engagement with a formidable Core patrol in the Omicron Minor system. In a daring rescue mission, the battleship Thebes swooped in to save the imperiled Horus.
While the primary power supply was eventually restored, the Horus was recalled to the shipyard for a comprehensive examination and necessary repairs. In light of these reliability concerns, the decision has been made to withhold the deployment of this advanced, yet temperamental technology for the time being.

## Rumors

* So many dead...I just can't believe it. There were well over a million people on Toledo, and between the planet being destroyed and the attacking nomad fighters, I reckon no more than a hundred thousand made it out in the evacuation transports to this system. What the hell do we do now? This is just too big for us to handle alone...too big for all of us.

* As if the invasion of the Taus and Bretonia by this so-called kingdom of Gallia weren't bad enough, now the damn aliens are attacking us again! We're having to recall most of our forces that were scouting Gallia, in order to bolster the defences here after our horrendous losses at Toledo. The timing of all these events seems far too convenient, and I'm wondering if the Nomads haven't been planning this for years. Regardless, the Order will be a long time recovering from this...that's if we ever do.

* Hey man, I lost a lot of buddies out in Omicron Minor during the battle. I reckon at least some of their ships are still out there, or bits of them, maybe. Either way, if you find any of them, can you return their bodies to the nearest Order outpost? It'd be a personal favour to the families of those killed. You can keep whatever you salvage if you must, but please return the bodies. The last thing I want is to leave them out there drifting through space, alone in the dark.

* You want to know what happened to Toledo? It got blown up, that's what happened! I was a technician on a surface base, but I was lucky enough to be assigned to the same damn cruiser that Dr. Kendra Sinclair and her research staff were evacuated on! Lucky her, she got VIP clearance on the evacuation lists! My wife didn't! So how about instead of bothering me with your bloody questions, you actually go out there and see for your own damn self!

* Yeah man! We're gonna kick those Nomad bastards back into the fetid pit they crawled from! Sure, they may have beaten us back, but it's just a temporary setback, that's all. Once Orillion and the brass decide on The Plan, they'll be sending us fighter jocks right back at 'em! That's right, you're talking to Flight Lieutenant Manny Vargas, certified ace in the Order fighter corps! Me and my buddies destroyed dozens of those tentacled squid ships during the battle of Toledo! They die funny, too! Why, one of them exploded and splattered blueish white globs of stuff all over Pilot Officer Lewinsky's cockpit. Man, but that stuff doesn't wash off!

* Go away...I really don't want to talk to anyone, and that especially includes you. I lost a lot of good friends out in Omicron Minor. Not that I'd expect you to understand. You look like the fistful of credits type, if you ask me, so how about you go bother the Bounty Hunters over in Delta? I'm sure they'll be more accomodating.

* You know, a lot of guys around here don't like to admit it, especially in light of our truly horrendous losses, but we were losing the battle anyway. Those damnable Bounty Hunters brought in so many ships that we were hard pressed to hold them from the start. They were landing ground troops and heavy vehicles even as their main forces launched a frontal assault. Sure, they were taking losses, but they'd have won if the Nomads hadn't turned up. As it is, we were too busy killing each other in the tens of dozens before we noticed the alien fighter squadrons bearing down on us, and by then it was too late. They tore us up real badly, but the Bounty Hunters took the brunt of it, being trapped as they were between the Order and Nomad battle groups. I doubt many, if any, of them made it out alive. And so, the aliens used our petty human squabblings and divisiveness against us, and destroyed us both. Kind of stupid, huh?

* I fought at the Dyson Sphere in the First Nomad War, you know. It was a brutal battle, one in which I lost many friends. A Freelancer, Edison Trent, destroyed the generators powering the energy shield around the Daam K'vosh hypergate while we fought to cover him against the swarms of alien fighters. When he activated the hypergate network, we thought we'd dealt the Nomads a decisive blow, one that they might never recover from. But now...I have to wonder, did we really win after all? Perhaps activating the hypergate also activated other things that had lain dormant for eons, such as the weapon they used to destroy Toledo. If that's the case, we are all in for a rough future.

* Leave me alone! Can't you see I'm busy? That's right, I'm busy drinking this bottle of scotch, and I'd thank you to leave me alone until I've finished it! Is that too much to ask? Is it? Just get the hell out of my face!

* The Order needs to get its act together if we're going to take the fight back to the Nomads. I know we just took heavy losses, but so did the Bounty Hunters. And surely, between the two of us, those damn aliens took enough losses to make them think twice about engaging us again in open battle! I mean, I was in the fighting around Toledo and I definitely saw one of those Nomad battleships get destroyed, and the explosion took out an alien cruiser too...and I'm pretty damn sure that we took down a couple of hundred of their fighters also. We just need to strike back now, when they least expect it!

* Man, when the general order came over the comms calling for us to retreat, I was in shock...the Order have never retreated before, never! But I did what I was told and ran for the Omicron Mu jumphole. As I fired up my cruise engines, I noticed the Battleship Isis pulling out of orbit, back towards the same jumphole. Suddenly, a beam shot out from one of those damned alien warships, followed by a blinding flash of light, and then the Isis wasn't there any more. Just...just a slowly expanding cloud of debris...it must have hit the main fusion reactor dead on, because that ship was just...gone. After that...it seemed like our forces just fell apart...it wasn't a retreat...it was a bloody rout.

*NOTE: Page generated on the 28/10/2023 at 17:59:46 UTC*