YULAI SYSTEM
SECURITY STATUS 1.0
GENESIS REGION
CONCORD ASSEMBLY
We had all heard the rumour; Kuvakei had declared his intention to eliminate CONCORD. Yulai was one of the few bastions of peace in the galaxy; it didn’t get safer than living in a CONCORD system. As my Rifter cleared entry customs, I felt a strong and surreal sensation looking across the solar system. Despite Aura’s confirmation from my personal tracking logs stating I had never been to the Yulai system, it felt strangely familiar to me. I experienced an inexplicable nostalgia, a homesickness I could not explain.
It was a difficult emotion to rid myself of, even as the tow ships of the Yulai IX – CONCORD Bureau station maneuvered my vessel into a docking berth inside. Traffic within the station was severely congested, as pod pilots from all over New Eden arrived for the impending battle.
I switched on the local comm channel, being immediately flooded with spam, propaganda, speculation, news reports, gossip mongers, rumour mills, and more. I recognized a few names, both friends and enemies alike, and knew without a doubt that this day promised uncertainty for all.
20:57 HOURS
If the intelligence reports were to be believed, the Sansha Nation would strike on the hour. As my Aura unit performed a final cycle of system checks on the Ripsack, I could see the traffic lanes becoming congested towards the station undocking tubes. There was a CONCORD communique across the public channels, encouraging all citizens to remain planet bound, or to exit the system for their own safety; that CONCORD would protect them against any tangible threat today, as they had for decades past. There was no need for alarm or concern. A quick scanner probe to the surrounding system jump gates spoke volumes to the contrary. The gate rings were so flooded with ships eager to escape that there was no movement whatsoever, nor would their be, I wagered.
As I exited the station, I felt a great trepidation overwhelm me. I was nestled within the center of a circle of six Imperial Abaddons, all aligning slowly to one of the in system planets. Inconspicuously, I maneuvered my agile Rifter in a different direction, and headed for planet five of the system.
It was during warp that Kuvakei hacked the comms network of Yulai, greeting every inhabitant of the system. He promised a better future for all that would embrace his vision, a vow of peace and prosperity in the Promised Land, where none would fall ill or perish; where all would live forever. To my surprise, hundreds of capsuleers responded to his message, hailing their Master, welcoming him to Yulai, pledging themselves to the demise of his enemies. Kuvakei continued, scorning the assembled pod pilots, citing us as arrogant hoarders of old technology, denying all the opportunity to experience eternal life. He blamed us for sustaining the impossible divisions between working classes, holding onto power through tyranny.
He was the saviour of mankind. He would usher in the future.
As I dropped out of warp, I commed my small squad to warp to my location: Niko, Rhade, Nathan, all of us in small and nimble ships, all of us here due to our alliance standing with CONCORD. “Remember”, Niko had said during our briefing, “We’re not here to fight. We’re here to observe; to study the Nation and report back with any weakness we find.” I grumbled then, and as I listened to Kuvakei’s monologue, I grumbled again.
I broadcasted across all channels. “To what end is a future without freedom? You set yourself up as the saviour of mankind, and yet you bring nothing but death and destruction to all you touch. You are not majestic, Sansha; you are malevolent and mad. Look around you. There are over fifteen hundred of us willing to show you how much we value our freedoms, our civilizations, our lives. We will not bow to you. We will not be broken. The best you can hope for today is a quick death, which is more than a monster like you deserves!”
I usually felt better after a good rant, but I will admit that I was truly nervous. I had heard reports of the devastation the Nation had wrought across other systems in New Eden; the Revenant supercarrier was a force never seen before these incursions, and it was definitely a force to be reckoned with.
The chatter continued in local comms, some cheering us on, others jeering. I was surprised Kuvakei even acknowledged me, let alone responded. “Ah yes, the disgraced Colonel who dreams of playing hero. You are but one, Wieler; an insignificant speck in the stars. Your actions are independent of those surrounding you; you are all a disorganized nest of hornets that could never understand the intricacies of mounting a united defense. Your individual minds are no match for the Sansha Nation, so please, dear Colonel, do what you will. I’ve had enough. Begin plasma extraction now!”
Plasma extraction? What?
I closed off local comms, only keeping alive fleet and military channels I had access to. Ships were scrambling, responding to sightings all across the system.
“Supercarrier on P2!”
“Anyone got visual confirmation?”
“Roger that”
“Wormhole at P5. We’ve got inbound!”
“Negative on that. I’ve got no visual!” I replied. It was then I noticed that Aura was performing sluggishly, though whether it was due to the sheer volume of telemetry data in system, or some jamming technology Sansha was employing I couldn’t be sure.
“I’ve got visual on P5 wormhole. It is confirmed.” another pilot stated.
I felt like I was flying blind. I could see no enemy ships on my HUD. In fact, I couldn’t see anything at all; no wormhole, no other ships, nothing. Aura, systems check, I thought quickly, needing answers to questions that my survival would depend on.
Before Aura could finish her diagnostics, all hell broke loose around me. My ship’s sensors finished processing all the telemetry around me. Not only could I see the wormhole, now less than 2500 meters in front of me, I could also see the fifty plus battleships, the fifty plus fighters and destroyers with them, and the supercarrier less than 200 meters dead ahead.
I juked the ship to the left, not something you can do in many subcapital ships, and narrowly avoided colliding with the supercarrier. Unfortunately, my little display had drawn the attention of its commander, and a squad of fighter drones were already locking me down, quickly catching up to the Ripsack. I fired my microwarpdrive. It was completely unresponsive. Lovely.
The fighter drones peppered me with weapons fire, and my shields quickly eroded. My armour tanked Rifter would withstand a few more seconds, and I wanted to make every moment count. I focused on the nearest fighter, opening up a full volley from my 200 mm autocannons. After the initial volley I kept the shells cycling, overheating the rack as much as possible. My microwarpdrive activated of its own accord just as the first fighter drone exploded.
“Supercarrier at the sun! They’re gonna blow it up!”
“What? They’re pulling plasma from the sun?!?!”
“All pilots, engage the supercarrier located at the system’s star. That is our top priority!”
My top priority was not getting slagged, as the remaining two fighters continued to hunt me. I received an incoming message, from an ISD reporter. “As a famous war hero, would you give us a quick report on the situation on Yulai?”
“Now is NOT a good time, reporter.” I barked, turning the channel off.
“Supercarrier P11! I repeat P11!”
“Confirmed on P11, pilot. Need help ASAP!”
“It’s warped from P2! Keep at it!”
Three supercarriers in one system. I had never heard of such a large assault by the Nation before. Between the wormholes and the sheer mass of the super capital ships, I was concerned for the balance of the gravity wells of the system. Kuvakei was either a mad despot, or he had something painful up his sleeve.
As my ship avoided weapons lock from a nearby Caldari cruiser, I did have to acknowledge Kuvakei was right about at least one thing: we were definitely a disorganized bunch…
My armour was failing at less than 25%, and I engaged my warp core, aligning for the nearest jump gate. I had no chance of damaging the supercarrier, and had already lost contact with Nate and Niko. Rhade had withdrawn to the dark side of a nearby moon and cloaked, staying close just in case she could assist me.
I exited warp, knowing the fighters wouldn’t be far behind. I was done here, and let Rhade know I was leaving. Jump Gate Traffic Control, of course, had an entirely different plan for me altogether.
“Your request has been denied, due to your recent aggressive activities.”
Great. The entire system had turned to shit, and some minimum wage switch controller was denying access to one of the only ways out of this system?!?
A tractor beam seized my ship.
The jump gate was processing my request. I was thoroughly confused.
“We are currently experiencing heavier than normal levels of traffic. Your request will be processed in 2m42s. Thank you for your patience. We apologize for any inconvenience.”
Three seconds later, the remaining fighter drones emerged from warp, weapons hot. I returned fire as best I could, but with my ship locked down I was a sitting duck. There was no way I would be able to destroy two fighter drones while immobile.
My armour depleted further, dangerously low at 8% after the first pass of the fighters. I watched, helpless, as they circled, coming in for the killing blow.
A brilliant explosion confused me. A moment later, another ball of light and heat appeared where the drones were. A punisher flew past me, but I couldn’t make out any identifying markings, and my HUD was toast.
A double click in the local emergency channel let me know the identity of my rescuer … Veshta Yoshida, my hated Amarr nemesis throughout the war.
Maybe Kuvakei had it wrong. Maybe we could unite ourselves against the greatest evil this universe had yet seen. Maybe pigs could fly outta my arse while we’re at it.
Hours later, I read the reports from other pilots that remained: the supercarrier at Yulai’s star had been destroyed, the sun saved. The remaining forces withdrew back into their wormholes. Yulai had been saved.
There wasn’t a single account of Kuvakei being on the scene. Coward.
The citizens of Yulai would come to call the assembled pilots of that day “The Saviours of Yulai”. Many relished in the glory of that battle, but it was short lived. Kuvakei had a master plan all along, and it was a masterful stroke none of us had seen coming.
ROC'S RAMBLINGS 