Battle of Betelgeuse

> The Battle of Betelgeuse was the climax of the Arrival Arc.
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## Overview

The Battle of Betelgeuse was the final Naval conflict between the Dom'Kavosh and the Free Human Alliance's Shield Fleet during the Dom'Kavosh Incursion, resulting in a human victory and the disappearance of the Dom'Kavosh from the galaxy. The Battle of Betelgeuse is the largest, and longest, continuous fight in the history of human space warfare, lasting almost an hour and a half.

## Background and Preparations

With the attack on an Eosapian ship in the Betelgeuse Binary System, Admiral of the Center Tylar Noche reactivated Captain Daffyd McKay, who was on reserve status, promoting him to the rank of Commodore, and giving him command of the defense of the autonomous Betelgeuse Defense Force, as well as providing him with the survivors of other battles with the Dom'Kavosh, most notably Lieutenant JG Vanessa Schaefer and Lieutenants Tobias Winters and Jason Nesmit. Three hours after their arrival, Captain Senior Grade Antoine Carr, CO of Battlecruiser Squadron 27, arrived and informed the BDF that Shield Fleet was taking charge, citing the Alliance's State of Emergency Act.. Assigned to the command of BatCruRon27 was Commodore McKay, and the BatCruRon was merely the first wave of reinforcements. Along with BatCruRon27 was *ACS Shadowknight*, flagship of Shield Fleet, carrying Admiral Noche, who requested to speak with Commodore McKay.

Aboard the Prowler, Noche and McKay almost came to blows, but eventually settled down and Noche informed Daffyd that 7th Fleet was on their way to reinforce and that the fleet would still report to McKay, effectively making him a Fleet Admiral in authority. It was then that Noche informed Daffyd that a Dom'Kavosh ship had made a visit to Sol, though it was destroyed before it could cause any damage, making it the first, and only time, and enemy ship has entered the Sol system.

## The Battle

### Defense

14 hours after BatCruRon27 arrived, a single Dom'Kavosh Battleship came out of hyperspace and launched fighters. As *ACS Komodo Dragon* and *ACS Broadsword* moved to intercept, along with 12 Reliant BCs, 25 more Battleships came out of hyperspace and launched fighters, six apiece. Daffyd ordered his armed merchant cruiser, *SS Free Catachan*, into the fray, due to her extended range and missile heavy armaments, as well as the planetary shield of Betelgeuse V be activated. The missiles and grasers from the defenders took out 14 battleships and numerous fighters, leaving only 12 battleships and 75 fighters left, as the fighters kamikazed into missiles to prevent them from hitting larger ships, preventing a full wipe. *ACS Shadownight* moved forward into the formation to provide ECM and EW support, granting the defenders better missile lock times and accuracy. Lieutenant Schaefer took over targeting for some of the BCs, showing them the best spots to hit, using her knowledge from her earlier run in with the Dom'Kavosh.

Twelve more battleships came out of hyperspace, pulsing from rear to front. Schaefer, remembering the destruction of *ACS Longsword*, ordered every Battlecruiser to roll, presenting their impenetrable gravity wedge to take the blow. One of them, wasn't quick enough and was torn apart by the unknown beam. Fighters raced to the bow and stern of the BCs, realizing they were exposed, allowing them to fire directly at the hulls as more battleships came out of hyperspace.

### Reinforcements

80 minutes into the battle, a massive hyperfootprint was detected as over 100 Shield Fleet warships entered the system, every one of them a new design not yet on the databanks. 7th Fleet had arrived with 50 Invictus-class podlaying superdreadnoughts, 10 Nike-class Battlecruisers with off-bore missile tubes, and various other new models of gravitc ships. Fleet Admiral Stephanie Harrington ordered the defenders to back off so she could fire her new missiles into the fray, to prevent collateral damage. The Dom'Kavosh, realizing the massive force was a greater threat, started to retreat, though at slower speeds than they had shown. Fleet Admiral Harrington didn't take the bait, but some of the BDF and Reliant's did, chasing after the invaders, until they reached the hyperlimit. There, the Dom'Kavosh turned and fired as the rest of the force entered the system. BatCruRon27 was down to three ships, *ACS Warspite* lost with all hands. The Nikes, though larger than the Reliants, were much faster, and were able to take their place, allowing the damaged ships to limp away. Though the Dom'Kavosh fired everything they had and launched more fighters, 7th Fleet's ships were fresh and had more firepower. The Invictus-class was able to roll six pods of ten missiles every 12 seconds, equaling 300 missiles per ship, per minute. The Dom'Kavosh Battleships and fighters stood no chance, being annihilated before 7th Fleet got into energy range.

### Aftermath

Gravitic tech, though incredibly powerful, had enough flaws that Shield Fleet, and later the Solarian Navy, determined that it was less useful than normal shielding and scrapped it. Fleet Admiral Harrington officially retired, and 7th Fleet was officially designated as War Fleet from then on.

Betelgeuse V was devastated and left barren after the power grid for the planetary shield overloaded and destroyed the planet's surface, supposedly killing everyone on the planet. *SS Free Catachan* was close enough to be caught in the explosion.

## References

1. ↑ BatCruRon 27 consisted of 12 Reliant-class Battlecruisers, gravitc ships no longer in service. *ACS Warspite* was the flagship.
2. ↑ The State of Emergency Act allowed Shield Fleet to commandeer every warship and orbital in any privately owned or autonomous world, for the defense of humanity as a whole. This was only ever enacted three times before.
3. ↑ 7th fleet technically didn't exist on record, as it was for experimental warships, led by Fleet Admiral Stephanie Harrington, who was in line for Admiral of the Fleet before Tylar was appointed.
4. ↑ During the days of the Free Human Alliance, reserve Naval Officers in good standing could arm private ships with military-grade weaponry. Commodore McKay was the only one given gravitic tech.
5. ↑ Battle of the Corrin System
6. ↑ Though it was considered a Fleet, Fleet Admiral Harrington's force was smaller than a Task Group, as it was supposed to be experimental, to test new technology.
7. ↑ In reality, as was discovered later, the overload caused the planet and ship to switch places with it's counterpart in another dimension.