Battle of Jump point T-06

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Star Hunter

Prologue

Due to the dangerous nature of space over the decades various jump points were set up to make travel across the various asteroid fields and clusters easy and safe. However during times of war these jump points would become prime locations for fleet movements and other militaristic operations such as minelaying and convoy raiding. One jump point was jump point T-06, a point relatively close to terran orbit and where many REC convoys would pass through to get to various other parts of REC controlled space. A task force consisting of the Polaris class cruiser “Antares II” as well as the Draconis class destroyer “Draco” and an escort fleet was sent along with the two capital ships, however, the carrier “Warden”, a Vindicator class assault carrier, was diverted to check out a ping from a nearby beacon. This fleet was sent to jump point T-06 to lock down the area in case of an LKF attack, which as they would find out, would come soon.

Prior to knowing of the fleet at the jump point LKF sent out the brand new heavy cruiser “Serenade” and 2 of the new Dynasty class light destroyers along with some other support ships to attack and destroy any REC or TFK convoys near or at the jump point. A mere 6 minutes before LKF arrived, the Warden would arrive with it’s fighters, which would prove quite the asset in the coming battle.

The Attack

LKF jumped in, and were taken by surprise at the presence of REC capital ships in the area, but pressed on and began moving to engage them. On board the Antares II, a call for reinforcements was sent out, the captain knowing that none of their ships had any real chance at taking out this new heavy cruiser, and that their only chance of victory was if reinforcements made it to them before the enemy heavy cruiser could get close enough to destroy them. All fighters were launched and ordered to attack the thrusters of the heavy cruiser to prevent it from getting close to the REC fleet. Despite initial fighter losses the Serenade lost a large portion of its thrusters, but despite this it would slowly move towards the REC fleet throughout the battle, but it was of no immediate threat. However it’s escort ships would pose quite a challenge, and chaos began to ensue. Any semblance of an organized fleet from either side would be lost as it became a vicious knife fight between ships. However, just as the Serenade began to get within range of the Draco, a Stanton class arrived, and began to run the heavy cruiser down, itself destroying two frigates on the way. Seeing the arrival of an enemy ‘dreadnought’, LKF knew that they had decided to cut their losses and retreat before any more ships were lost.

The Aftermath

Despite heavy losses on both sides it was clear who won. LKF had been beaten back, and suffered heavy losses to boot. This also would be the end of most attacks directly above Terra, freeing up many ships and allowing a counteroffensive to begin.

However in the wake of the battle another discovery was made. Whilst investigating the wreckage of the Warden to see if it should be repaired or scrapped, a fully intact Alto Mk.IV fighter was found. According to the ship's log they had received a ping from an abandoned mining outpost, and found the Alto and it’s pilot at the derelict station. Initially the pilot was taken prisoner before the Warden rejoined the fleet at jump point T-06, and managed to escape during the ensuing chaos of the battle.

The discovery of the Alto Mk.IV and all of it’s onboard equipment and data was a goldmine for the REC fighter command. Despite knowing that LKF had better versions of the Alto, finding it proved to be crucial for training pilots on how to properly handle a fight against one. This information would be critical in the upcoming counteroffensive against LKF as well…