Capítulo 51: Interlude: Battle of Bifrost Station
Colonel Erin Stane was doing her usual process of having a glass of rum and going over the paperwork that was required to run an orbital operation of this magnitude. Honestly, when Maria had decided to take them to stake a claim on a stretch of space to call their own, Erin hadn't imagined there'd be quite so much paperwork involved. Still, running Bifrost Station was a cushy little posting, and she was easily able to skim a few C-Bills here and there to pad out her nest egg for when this all eventually went tits up. It was looking like it might any day now, ever since the Poniatowski Kid had shown back up on New Ålborg and started expanding. Traders that normally would've stopped at Gotterdamerung instead decided that New Ålborg wasn't quite so far out in the sticks. That'd meant less money to skim for Erin.
It'd also pushed Maria into a frenzy of activity, trying to expand as well. She'd gotten to Lackhove first, and that'd helped shore things up, but the Poniatowski kid was more organized than they were and managed to beat them to various worlds like Cryfder, Botany Bay, Last Chance, and so on. He must've been working off a plan from his Old Man because that sorta speed was impossible for something that'd been spur of the moment. Unfortunately, it also led to the current predicament with Koskenkorva. The Archon of Koskenkorva, a weasely little shite-stain named Petros Konstantinos had been playing Maria and the Poniatowski kid off each other. That'd prompted Maria to offer the unthinkable to the Archon of Koskenkorva. What was essentially a Ducal Title and free reign to bring in a bunch of systems into the Valkyriate.
Honestly, Erin figured that the Poniatowski kid wasn't gonna take that lying down. She'd warned Maria that the kid might attack, but all Maria'd done was bring in a single Auxiliary Battalion from Lackhove and put the Aerospace Force on alert. Oh, and she'd sent little Susie off to go live with Redjack Ryan on Butte Hold, just in case. Can't have the heiress to the Valkyriate in the line of fire, of course, but all of the rest of them were fair game. Granted the fact that the ASF Pilots of the Station were ready to scramble at a moment's notice and that the Sigrun and Hath No Fury were on a consistent patrol rotation oughtta prove enough of a speed bump for any attacking force that the rest of the Dropships should be able to form up on Bifrost Station to defend against any attack.
Still, Erin Stane had this niggling suspicion in the back of her mind that just maybe, she'd missed her shot to take her nest egg and get out while the getting was good. The Poniatowski Kid's Old Man had been scarily competent, to the point where folks had questioned whether he had legitimate magic powers or something like that Phantom Mech stuff everyone'd heard about by now. If the Kid was cut from the same cloth as his Old Man, well, betting against him might not've been the smartest play anyone could've made, and Maria had bet against him. Bigtime.
It wasn't till the intercom built into Erin's desk squawked to life that she'd realized just how much her intuition'd been right on the money. Samantha Vogel over in the Command Center had told her that the sensors were registering a massive fleet streaming outta the Zenith Jump Point. Long-range scans weren't too accurate while the fleet was two days out from the Station, so it could just be a lost merchant convoy they could bleed of C-Bills, but somehow, Erin doubted it. There were too many ships for that to be the case. Fifteen Dropships and Three Jumpships from the preliminary scan. That suggested that the Poniatowski Kid was tired of fucking around and had sent an Invasion Force. Faced with that, Erin gave the only order she could.
"Scramble all fighters and get the Dropships ready to fight, we're going to Condition Red." She ordered over the intercom. As the lighting on the Station Changed from a reasonable facsimile of daylight to a red glow, Erin Stane stood and downed her glass of rum before heading to the Command Center. At the very least, enemy contact meant that she wouldn't have to finish any of that paperwork any time soon. She supposed she should be thankful for that at least.
Within forty-eight hours, the concerns over paperwork would be the least of her problems. . .
XXXX
Esteban Garcia, Callsign Conquistador, was one of the few Non-auxiliary Male Soldiers in the Valkyriate to not be relegated to infantry or combat vehicle duty. That had been off the strength of his piloting skills in his Sparrowhawk Light ASF. Of course, most of the ASF and Mech Forces in the Valkyriate that weren't part of the Lackhove Auxiliary Battalions tended to have female pilots, the prestige associated with those jobs, plus the matriarchal bent of the initial Pirate Flotilla that Maria Morgraine had commanded had meant that a bunch of those slots had been reserved for those Valkyries who'd shown up with Maria initially. Esteban, though, was a Gotterdamerung Native who learned to fly by piloting ore haulers hauling heavy metals from the Asgard City Refineries to orbit for trade. He didn't fit the mold, but his skills gave him the slot anyway.
"Be advised, we've received confirmation from the Sigrun that those ships are an actual invasion force. We are clear for weapons hot." Came the voice of their Group Commander, Kate Boyle, Callsign Shileighleigh.
"Right, you heard Shileighleigh, if Sigrun's got confirmation, then we're going in weapons hot. Conquistador, you and Coffee are the distraction here, just like we've practiced." Came the Voice of their Squadron Leader, Flight Lieutenant Jessi Kyle, Callsign Clover.
"Copy Clover, we'll light 'em up and draw their attention, you pounce on 'em from behind." Affirmed Esteban's Wingmate, Karin Ofori, Callsign Coffee.
"Roger. Ain't nothing we can't handle." Agreed Esteban.
Ordinarily, he'd be right about that. They'd pulled this kinda maneuver dozens of times before in skirmishes around the periphery against other Periphery Pilots, Pirate Pilots, and even a few LCAF Pilots who got a little too zealous about Periphery patrols. It was a time-tested tactic used in dozens of battles. Unfortunately, it relied on the ability to close fast enough to force the enemy into a split-second decision. Most opponents would choose to follow the attacking craft if they came streaking in and lit up their wingmate from out of nowhere. That in turn would create an opening for the rest of the squadron to really do some damage.
What it didn't count on were enemy forces that not only had extremely long-range weaponry, such as Gauss Rifles, but also the ability to target at long ranges. Unfortunately for Esteban, Coffee, and all the other Valkyriate ASF Pilots, the New Ålborg Baronial Guards Aerospace Forces had exactly that sort of capability. The Vulcan Heavy ASF that formed the backbone of their complements were fitted with dual Gauss Rifles and an advanced RWR Targeting and Tracking Computer that allowed them to fight on par with the SLDF during the Amaris Coup. The Flight Board flashed a warning of a target lock while Conquistador and Coffee were still well outside normal engagement ranges.
"Conquistador, are you getting a target lock warning?" Came Coffee's voice over the comms unit.
It was the last thing she would ever say. A split second later, a magnetically accelerated solid slug of Nickel-Iron Alloy tore into Coffee's Corsair Medium ASF, tearing through the fuselage and splattering her body all over the cockpit in a mess of gore. Immediately, Conquistador janked to the side and it was the only thing that saved him from a similar, grisly, fate. A second slug struck out and tore the right stabilizer fin off the fuselage, damaging two of the heat sinks for the medium lasers and forcing Conquistador to scram the reactor to avoid a catastrophic overload. He was now drifting in space, mission killed for the battle.
It was one of the kinder fates suffered by any of the Valkyriate troops so far. The rest of his group wasn't generally so lucky, as accurate Gauss Rifle Fire from beyond normal engagement ranges chewed up the ASF Forces the Valkyriate threw at the invaders and spat them out before many of them even had a chance to hit back. Somehow, Shileighleigh's Lucifer managed to avoid a hit, firing back with its full array of lasers and taking out one of the Enemy and damaging two more in a strafing pass. She didn't last much longer though, as her Lucifer attempted to boost away toward the dubious safety of the Sigrun only to take Gauss Fire from all sides and practically disintegrate.
As Conquistador watched helplessly as the battle continued, he noted the Sigrun wasn't likely to actually be as safe as Shileighleigh had hoped. The ASF Compliment that had scrambled with her and the Hath No Fury was all gone before they'd even engaged, and all but one of Sigrun's six Anti-Fighter Autocannon emplacements had been turned into smoking wreckage from attacks by some unknown kind of Dropship that was armed practically like a Pocket WarShip. She was only staying in the fight so far thanks to the long-practiced coordination between her and the Hath No Fury. The pair of Dropships managing to stave off destruction from multiple enemy attacks by covering each other's damaged sides with overlapping fire.
That lasted for only five minutes before a long-range missile from a second Pocket WarShip streaked out from far beyond normal effective combat range and slammed into the Hath No Fury causing a massive explosion that ripped the Leopard-class ship apart. With now two of the Pocket WarShips in play, the Sigrun was easy prey. It was torn apart in a flurry of Gauss slugs and PPC Fire, carved up like a roast as the enemy fleet continued on toward Bifrost Station. As it did so, it left Conquistador adrift.
By the time he would be picked up, Bifrost station would have already fallen. . .
XXXX
Commodore Emma Clarke watched from the CIC of the Vengeance-class Dropship Ahlspeiss as the station defense fleet tried to form up, a motley array of Leopard CVs, Leopards, and Unions, backed by the heavy guns of the Defensive Station. Unfortunately, not a single one of those ships was a match for any of her Pentagon or Achilles-class ships, let alone the Vengeance-class fighter carries and their Gauss Rifle-Wielding ASF Complements. This battle was over before it had even really gotten going. On the one hand, that was a good thing, as it kept their own casualties to a minimum, but on the other, would this success only embolden Baron Poniatowski? He was a young man, barely out of the academy, and massive successes early on could sometimes be the worst thing for those sorts. Victory disease, it was called.
"I suppose it doesn't matter. We have a job to do." She muttered to herself.
"Commodore?" Questioned her XO, Captain Aleksander Mikkelsson.
"Nothing, Number One. Let's finish this, you know the plan we worked out with the Baron. Time to put it into action." Sighed Commodore Clarke.
"Right then, you heard the Commodore, begin Attack Phase One." Ordered Captain Mikkelsson.
At that signal, the ASF Fighters advanced like a swarm of locusts, firing volleys with their Gauss Rifles as they closed from out of normal engagement ranges. Accurate targeting disabling or destroying the vast majority of the remaining ASF Forces of the Valkyriate before even entering the effective range of the Valkyriate ASF force. What few squadrons remained after they closed largely were insufficient to run a proper Combat Air Patrol for the enemy Dropships and were soon taken care of thanks to the SRMs and Medium Lasers from the Vulcans of the Baronial Guards ASF wings with only marginal casualties on their end of a few Vulcans getting damaged by lucky shots and only one craft destroyed.
It was a slaughter, right up until the Anti-ASF Autocannons of the Station joined in to try and give some amount of cover to the dropship, forcing several more Vulcans to return to their maintenance bays for repairs and destroying a few others. The overwhelming majority of Vulcans were able to retreat and begin taking further Gauss Rifle shots at the enemy from beyond the range where they could hit back, knocking out several turrets on the Station and crippling a Leopard CV from the weight of Gauss fire. Then the Pentagons engaged.
That turned the slaughter into a total massacre, as enemy dropships weren't used to being hit by PPC fire from Extended Range, or by Long Range Missiles with such accurate guidance systems. Within moments of the Pentagons engaging, two Unions had been destroyed and a Leopard Crippled, leaving a Single Leopard CV left to limp back under the dubious safety of the Station's Guns. Unfortunately, said guns were being systematically demolished as part of the prelude to Attack Phase Two by the Achilles-class Dropships of the Flotilla.
Back in the CIC of the Ahlspeiss, Commodore Clarke watched the Readouts as her sensors piggybacked off of those of the Achilles-class ships as they hammered the Station's Defenses. They were almost ready to send the boarding craft as part of Attack Phase Two, the Achilles-class ships just needed to take out a few more of those Laser Cannons to give the Boarding Craft a perfect landing area. As PPC Fire from the Achilles-class Dropship Hussar raked the Station's Gunnery deck, destroying the last of the Laser Turrets, Commodore Clarke nodded to herself.
"All right, that'll do it. Let Major Murphy know he and his Marines are cleared for boarding operations. Begin Attack Phase Two." Ordered Commodore Clarke.
And with that, the endgame of the Orbital Battle had commenced. Boarding Craft carrying a full Battalion of Marine Troops, equipped in Jump Infantry Gear and with the best training the Baronial Guards could supply streaked out from the fleet, spewing forth from Small Craft Bays and latching onto the enemy station to disgorge their deadly payloads. These glorified pirates and upjumped militia wouldn't even know what hit them.
Of that, Commodore Clarke had no doubts at all. . .
XXXX
Colonel Erin Stane was pissed. She'd known that the Poniatowski Kid had done some sorta build-up, but she'd never figured on a bunch of Aerospace Fighters that could blow up her own ASF from outside normal Combat Ranges. Those two Pocket WarShips had been a nasty surprise too. The Kid's Old Man must've found some sorta ancient base from the Amaris Coup or something, which was just the sorta luck that made folks think the guy'd had magic powers. Clearly, the Poniatowski Kid at least knew how to leverage what he had effectively, even if he didn't share his Old Man's luck.
It was almost enough to make Erin respect him if it wasn't for how that luck and leverage was being used to fuck her forces sideways with a rusty bayonet. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about it at this point. Her Station Marines'd already been pressed back in several areas, and the enemy was close to taking control of the whole engineering deck. If that happened, they could just vent the atmosphere and most've Erin's troops would die. Unlike the enemy, most've her Marines weren't wearing buttoned-up kit. Figures Old Man Poniatowski'd found enough Jump Infantry Gear to equip a whole marine battalion for his Kid.
Erin herself'd been reduced to helping defend the Command Center behind a makeshift barricade of desks and random shite piled up about chest high. The enemy assault'd been so well coordinated, that they were able to push to the Command Deck within the first twenty minutes of the fighting on the Station breaking out. Erin ducked down as a burst of laser fire streaked out at her. Infantry Pulse Lasers weren't unheard of from folks who salvaged ancient SLDF-Era Battlefields and Depots. They were the standard weapon for all SLDF Infantry Grunts back in the day. The amount the enemy had was new, though.
Popping up, Erin fired off a burst from her Combine-Made Subgun that thudded into the body armor of a couple of enemy marines. She even though she caught a splash of red from one of them, though she quickly had to duck to avoid getting shot to pieces by pulse laser fire, so couldn't confirm. Unfortunately, Corporal Jones hadn't been as quick to duck back down and wound up catching a face full of pulse laser fire that cooked his brains and sent him slumping over the barricade, dead. That'd been the cue for the rest of her group to let loose with their weapons.
A literal torrent of lead and laser fire streamed down the hallways as Erin and her group of defenders let 'em have it, forcing the enemy to duck or find what cover there was if they didn't want to catch a bullet or laser beam. Some of the enemy went down, not nearly enough to break their hold on the corridor leading to the command center, though. There was a moment when Erin could picture what'd happen next so fucking clearly in her mind's eye. A split-second premonition of incoming grenades that caused her to duck for cover just a fraction of a second before the grenades actually came in over the barricade. It'd saved her ass. She couldn't say that much for her defenders manning the barricade with her.
When the smoke from the grenades cleared, Erin was the only one left still in any condition to fight. The rest of her group were either badly burned from high explosive grenades or riddled with shrapnel from fragmentation grenades. Some were still alive, but pretty badly wounded. Most weren't, either burned to a crisp or having their guts blown out all over the deck plates. Erin's stomach lurched at the sight, but as a veteran of many campaigns, she was able to push that aside pretty easily by now. As she stood and leveled her sub-gun, she realized that the enemy hadn't waited for the smoke to clear, and had charged up the hall to take the Command Center. She was surrounded now, and there was no fucking point in keeping up the fight.
"I surrender." She said, dropping her Subgun and putting up her hands. Within five minutes of her surrender, Bifrost Station was fully in the control of the New Ålborg Baronial Guards.
The Invasion proper could now begin. . .
XXXX
AN: So yeah, they've got a bunch of Gauss Rifle-equipped ASF and two Pocket WarShips with ER PPCs, Gauss Rifles, ER Large Lasers, LRM-Twenties with Artemis IV Fire-Control, and targeting computers that can handle ranges that most IS forces would be hard pressed to deal with, let alone some Glorified Periphery Pirates. There wasn't really any doubt how this was going to go. Marginal Casualties among the Marine Force and ASF Forces compared to total casualties for the Valkyriate Aerospace Force. Plus the Station and a Leopard CV were captured as well, though the Station has enough damage to its gunnery deck that it's going to need to have its weapons replaced.
Now the actual Ground Invasion can begin, though you'll have to wait until after we see how things are going on Koskenkorva to get to it. The biggest fallout from this is going to be that this operation is likely to put Jozef's Barony on the radar of several IS and Periphery Nations, both for good and ill. Expect Diplomats from the Lyran Commonwealth, Oberon Confederation, and Draconis Combine to be sent to New Ålborg in the future. Especially if he follows up a victory against the Valkyriate with one against Redjack Ryan. That's the sort of thing that people notice, after all. Doubly so when it involves tech like this. Whether he can spin it as a lucky find from a Cache or not remains to be seen.
At any rate, next up will be a look at General Jorgensen's attack on Koskenkorva. Then we'll be back with Jozef for the planetary assault.
Stay tuned. . .
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