All The King's Men

A Star Citizen Short

Author Note - This short is dedicated to all the members of Intergalactic Trading Empire

ITE Headquarters - Hanger

    The hanger was relatively quiet for a workday. Amaul and the other viceroys were in a meeting in the upstairs conference room, discussing plans regarding the Arena Commander virtual training simulator. On the floor, Darkwolf, The Ugly Duckling, and Ultra Iron McNuggies were situated around a card table knocking back synth-ales and Jack and Cokes. Chakrin Vaal was ambling around the hanger, mumbling to himself about the blood of his enemies. Oblivion was looking through advertisements from Robert Space Industries for anything interesting. Sentinyl was over at his ship, using a datapad to holographically put a name on the side of his ship. He would mutter and then type a new name. LegoBatman was nowhere to be found, his locker had "Be back later" plastered on it. PolseBraten was hunched over an ammo crate, laughing maniacally to himself and scribbling notes down on a piece of paper. The words "ITE Takeover plan" could be seen at the top of the paper. Roerx sat in his ship's cockpit, adjusting various settings.

    Every once in a while someone would look towards the glass wall of the conference room. Below it hung a holographic sign that currently showed only Amaul's portrait. When the call went out, sortie orders would appear there and though there were none now...When the order went out, everyone would be ready....

A siren broke the chatter, and Amaul's portrait was replaced with the words "Immediate Sortie". Amaul's voice broke through the scramble of feet and the shouting. "Attention! This is Lord-Emperor Amaul. A UEE convoy traveling through this sector has come under pirate attack. Under Treaty 42, we will intervene. All ready pilots prepare for combat. That is all." There was a mad scramble as everyone rushed to their waiting craft.

Command Deck

Amaul glanced over his shoulder as Ugly entered the room. "Not joining the battle?" Ugly shook his head as he took a seat next to Amaul. "I want to see how LegoBatman handles things." Amaul nodded. "Sir. Strike craft are prepped and report ready for launch." Came a report from the launch officer. Ugly nodded at the launch officer. "Launch all strike craft."

Hanger

"This is Flight Control. Knights are to launch first, followed by ZAAI." Darkwolf smiled and keyed his mike. "Sorry Lego, guess that means we get first kills." "All that matters in the end is the count, wolf boy." Darkwolf smiled at the response. "Darkwolf heading out." Darkwolf moved his craft to the flight line and fired up his engine. "Flight Control to Darkwolf, cleared for launch." With that, Darkwolf pushed his throttle forward and felt his drink settle as he roared down the line and into open space. Reorx and Wynter soon followed. "Flight Control to Knights, maintain holding pattern and await ZAAI." It only took a few minutes for Lego and ZAAI to take up formation in front of the Knights. All pilots heard a crackling in their helmets, "This is Ugly to all craft, listen up!" A holographic map of the sector battle-space then appeared in every pilot's HUD as Ugly continued his briefing.

"A UEE trade convoy headed to the next sector came under attack here just outside our scanning range." A series of arrows and dots marked the location. "In accordance with Treaty 42 of the UEE Council, we will now intervene and rescue the convoy. Here is the order of deployment." Another series of arrows tagged with ZAAI and Knights appeared. "The Knights will make the first pass and disrupt enemy formations. Make contact with the convoy and send them to this station. Continue to engage enemy forces until the convoy reaches Headquarters safely. Move out!" And with that, everyone turned and burned for the battle-space.

Battle-space

"5 minutes out from contact." Lego spoke into his helmet. "Darkwolf to Lego." "Go for Lego." "There sure have been a number of pirate attacks lately, mostly against UEE ships." Lego sighed. The Knights were certainly well-informed. "Copy. Word is the UEE is building up its military strength, and the attacks coincide with known UEE military convoy routes." "We're not involved in any way are we?" They were involved, ITE did heavy trading with the UEE, especially in military components. It was just luck that none of their own shipments had not been targeted. "That's a question for Amaul. We have a job to focus on right now." "Darkwolf copies."

A ping was heard in every cockpit. "This is Ugly, I have a mission update. Custos Squadron is returning from their patrol mission and will be on-station in 15 minutes. That is all." "Lego copies." Lego switched his mike to squadron mode. "Listen up, here is our tactical formation. I will assume command, Darkwolf your going to be my tactical officer." "Darkwolf copies." "Knights will disrupt enemy formations and then provide cover to the convoy. We will engage the main enemy force." "Chakrin to squadron, approaching combat zone." Lego looked up from his screens, he could see the streaks of missiles and the flashes of laser fire. "Lego to squadron, engage at well. Let's get these boys out of here."

Darkwolf turned and swung his craft away from Lego. "Darkwolf to Knights. Engage ATLAS and GHOST systems." After the acknowledgements, Darkwolf keyed in a command to his console and he heard a slight vibration through the craft. Anyone looking at his craft now would see a slight shimmering before the craft vanished. "Wynter to Darkwolf, clock is running. 90 seconds." Darkwolf pushed his thrusters to full and Reorx and Wynter followed. Since no one could see them, the Knights had the advantage. Locking onto one of the enemy fighters, Darkwolf let loose two missiles. They impacted the craft and blew it apart. "Darkwolf, first blood." "Wynter, I got one too." "This is Reorx, two down." Darkwolf glanced at his display quickly and could see the fighters previously targeting the convoy escorts were now looking for them. "Let's keep it up, Knights. 30 seconds."

Command Deck

"Combat has started, Lord Amaul. Enemy formation is falling apart." Amaul leaned back into his seat. "Good, is ATLAS online?" The combat officer keyed in a few commands. "Not yet sir. 30 seconds." Amaul and Ugly exchanged a look before returning their attention to the holo-screens. "Open a channel to the convoy." Amaul ordered the communications officer. "Line is open sir." "This is Lord Amaul of the Intergalactic Trading Empire, to whom am I speaking?" There was some static and the sound of explosions could be heard in the background. "This is Captain Marcus Restin, Lancer Squadron, UEE 81 Delta Fleet." "Situation report, Captain?" There was more static. "FUBAR, sir. I've lost two fighters with six left." Amaul motioned to the combat officer, who changed the main holo-screen to a tactical display of the combat space. "Captain, our forces will handle the main enemy force. Fall back to the station." "Roger. Lancers! we're falling back to the station. Take up positions around the convoy!" Amaul closed the communications channel and looked towards Ugly. Ugly opened a channel to his squadron. "Lego, the convoy is in retreat. Engage and destroy any fighters that approach."

Battle-space

Lego acknowledged the order and keyed in to Darkwolf. "You done yet?" Lego heard static and then a muffled explosion. "These guys are more tenacious than we anticipated and another group just showed up." There was another explosion. "GHOST is out. Come on in!" Lego threw his thrusters to full and ZAAI joined the fray.

Darkwolf swerved around a pirate fighter as his holo-clock hit zero and his craft became visually and radar visible. "Engaging ATLAS!" Darkwolf keyed a command and the squadron's target displays lit up with Identify Friend or Foe contacts. "LAUNCH,LAUNCH,LAUNCH!" Darkwolf shouted as he dodged an enemy missile. "Roger. ZAAI , full weapons release!" Lego radioed back. The space filled with missile streaks as the missiles locked onto painted targets and tore them apart. "All units, engage at will!" Lego ordered. "Wynter to squadron, 12 fighters left." "Darkwolf to Wynter, more contacts on radar. ATLAS targeting." Lego swore as he averted a spray of cannon-fire. "Where do they keep coming from?!" "Command ship probably, Lego." Darkwolf radioed as he took another fighter apart with his front cannon. "Chakrin to squadron, two of the convoy ships aren't moving." Lego looked at his radar and Chakrin was right. Two of the ships were not moving as fast as the others. "Whats the hold-up? You got a death wish?!" Lego shouted into the open channel. "Engine failure! We're moving as fast we can here!" Came the reply. Lego punched his console. "Dark! Cover the stragglers!" "Copy! Knights, disengage." The Knights broke off and headed for the convoy. Lego had an uneasy feeling, they kept seeing more fighters, but they were short-range types. Not the kind to be sector hopping, so where was their mother-ship?

Command Deck

Amaul smiled, the enemy was down to only a handful of fighters. "Ugly, what is our tactical assessment?" Ugly pulled up a set of holo-screens. "It was a tough fight, but we are in clean-up mode now. The Knights are covering the stragglers and ZAAI is clearing the remaining fighters." Amaul nodded. Static came over the radio, "Lego to Command, Area is sanitized. Linking up with Knights to escort remaining ships." Ugly keyed his mike. "Good work, everyone." Ugly motioned to the communications officer. "Get Medical to the flight line. Prepare for casualties." "Yes, sir." Was the reply. Amaul stood. "Get me the local UEE sector chief, I want to discuss our payme...." Amaul was interrupted by two gravity wells appearing on the tactical map. "Sir! Spatial disturbance detected!" Came a shout from the combat officer. Amaul sat back down, "UEE?" "Unknown sir." Amaul and Ugly exchanged looks of concern.

Before they could utter another word, an alarm sounded from the combat station. "Pirate cruisers, dropping out of sub-space!" Amaul turned to the combat officer, "WHERE?!" He shouted at her.The officer put the projected drop point onto the map. "On top of ZAAI and the Knights!" Was the panicked response. Ugly keyed his mike. "Lego! Get the hell out of there! You have cruisers inbound!" Ugly heard static for a moment. "Seriously?!" Came Lego's equally panicked voice. Ugly turned to the combat officer. "How much time?" "None! Cruisers are right on top of them!" Ugly swore as two cruiser contacts appeared behind and in front of his units. "Custos, I need you and I need you NOW!" Ugly shouted into his mike. "Sir. We are five minutes out!" "We don't have five minutes!" Ugly shouted back, slamming his hand on his console as he watched the cruisers tear into his people.

Battle Space

"Holy SHIT!" Lego swore as laser and cannon-fire exploded around him. "The fuck did these guys come from?!" Darkwolf swore as he dodged multiple laser bursts. "We found their motherships." Chakrin chimed in. "Dark! give me something!" Lego dodged another laser burst. "Wait! I'm trying!" "I can't fucking wait! I need a tactical plan!" Darkwolf and Wynter dodged more weapons fire. "How about screwed?!" Reorx offered. "Hey! They're going after the convoy ships!" Chakrin shouted. Lego banked towards the salvage ships approaching them, but was forced to roll away as weapons fire came in. "Damn! They are keeping us out!" "Screw them! How are we supposed to get out of here?!" Chakrin cried out, rolled away from a missile. "Dark?!" Lego demanded. "I got it, sending now."

Command Deck

"Tactical data coming in sir!" The combat officer reported. Amaul nodded and the screens changed. "This....This could work." Ugly got up and manipulated the holo-map, going through a few mental calculations. "UEE ships just landed." The flight officer reported in. "Get me the UEE captain!" Ugly ordered. "Yes sir. Understood sir. Happy to help." Ugly heard the acknowledgements as he relayed the tactical plan. "Flight, arm UEE escorts for anti-cruiser combat. Tell Custos to return to base. Get a marine detachment and transport prepped!" Ugly shouted to the bridge crew. "Sir. Custos has arrived and is hot re-arming. Marines are locked and loaded." The flight officer reported. "Take-off!" Ugly ordered, hoping they made it in time.

Battle Space

Lego heard static on his radio. "Lego, its Ugly. We have Darkwolf's tactical plan. I'm relaying it to all of you now." Everyone's tactical displays changed to display the new plan. "The UEE escort fighters will approach at high speed and draw this cruiser's attention." The cruiser in front of them was highlighted. "Once its occupied, Custos Marines will hot drop and secure the convoy ships and crews. UEE fighters will then cover your escape. Understood?" Lego smiled. "Copy." "Contacts on radar, IFF flagging as UEE!" Darkwolf cheered. "This is Captain Restin of the UEE 81 Delta fleet. I was told you guys need a hand." Lego was going to buy Amaul the best space-ale he could find. "Thanks Captain!" Lego sighed with relief. "Lancers, begin attack run!" Was Restin's radio response. Everyone watched as the Lancers released their anti-cruiser missiles. There were several flashes as the missiles pounded the ship's shields, but a few managed to get through and multiple primary and secondary explosions was the reward. "Okay. she's crippled. Custos its your show." "This is VG-1, we copy. Fighters break off and engage remaining enemy cruiser. Marines prepare for hot drop." Darkwolf dodged laser fire, but he watched Custos roll in and deploy more anti-cruiser missiles against the other cruiser. At the same time, two dropships flanked by escort fighters headed for the cruiser's hanger bay. There was a crash, followed by shouting. "GO! GO! GO! Secure the hanger!"

Gunfire erupted over the radio as the marines battled the pirates to secure the hanger. The pirates were no match for the well-trained and equipped force. "No crew here! Moving to lower decks!" Darkwolf heard the marine commander say, but was snapped out of his fixation by someone shouting at him over the radio. "VG-1 to Knights, fall back now!" "Darkwolf copies, all Knights fall back!" Lego and Darkwolf led their squadrons out of the battle space.

Command Deck

"No crew here! moving to lower decks!" Ugly heard the marine commander shout. "What is the status of our fighters?" Ugly asked the combat officer. "ZAAI and the Knights are falling back, Custos and the UEE fighters are engaging the cruisers." Ugly nodded, the plan was working. "Lt. Robbins here. We've secured the crews, returning to hanger." Gunfire erupted over the radio. Someone shouted, "Grenade!" Then an explosion. "Lt. Robbins! Status!" Ugly ordered. The sound of someone coughing was followed by a shout. "We're good, I have one man down but he will live. We are extracting now." Ugly sighed. "Good. Custos, the marines are returning to the hanger. Get them out." "VG-1 copies." The sound of hurried feet and scattered gunfire kept everyone on the edge of their seat. "Go! Get onboard! Lt. Robbins here. All crew accounted for. We are out of here." Ugly smiled. "Captain Restin, send them our parting gift." "With pleasure." Restin replied.

Battle Space

Waiting for the dropships to clear the area, Captain Restin swung his fighter around and aimed for the hanger of the crippled cruiser. "Goodbye." He said and hit the release trigger. The lone missile came off its rails and roared towards the open hanger. Streaking through the hanger and striking a bulkhead over a 1000 pounds of explosives lit up the hanger. A massive explosion that enveloped the cruiser was the result. 

Command Deck

Shouts and cheers rang out as the cruiser vanished from radar. "Enemy forces are retreating!" Came the gleeful shout of the combat officer, as she hugged her neighbor. Ugly sank into his seat. "I need a drink." Amaul laughed. "We'll have more than a few." he motioned to his communication officer. "Get the UEE sector chief online, we need to have a word about payment......"

Ugly smiled, once again the ITE military proved itself to be a force to be reckoned with.