Ravens of Eternity

351 The Drums of War, Pt And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

– Revelations 6:8

The 5th Hegemony Fleet, or what was left of it, flashed into the Rylaren Gamede system with a bright flash. They were joined by the remaining mercenary fleet, evacuee ships, and whoever else they could get out of Conflict Sector 2.

With them was every member of the Corvus Republic, along with the Federation cruiser and crew they had captured.

In the space surrounding the beleaguered fleet were tens of thousands of ships of all sizes, from battleships all the way down to fighters and mecha. Though most were cruisers and smaller, there were dozens and dozens that were much larger, most of which seemed to be the epicenter of the armada.

Numerous carriers were scattered all throughout, each one as large as the Star Dragon’s carrier. Though, perhaps, not quite as heavily armed.

Many in the Republic were overawed at seeing all of the ships on their terminals and datapads. Especially the five devastator-class ships that loomed over everything.

Most thought that the carriers themselves were large, but they were nothing in comparison to the devastators. Though they were of different sizes, and seemed unique in their design, all of them were at least three times larger than the Star Dragon’s carrier.

Their destructive intent was obvious – they were warlike powerhouses with impossibly thick armor, and were armed with numerous and varied weapon systems. Those systems went up and down the entire range in terms of size and power, from fighter-sized category 1 weapons up to battleship-sized category 4 weapons.

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Not only that, but those myriad guns, turrets, and emplacements were scattered all over, and could fire in any direction. It was clear that each of them had zero blind spots, and could face entire fleets by themselves.

But those weapons paled in comparison to their main armament. Each of the Hegemony’s devastator-class ships also had a single massive gun on them, similar to Terra Nach Mar’s rail cannon cruisers and destroyers.

Their imposing barrels often ran above, alongside, or inside of the devastators themselves, and were large enough to allow entire wings of fighters to fly inside.

Hell, they were large enough to fit frigates.

These massive ships loomed so large that they made the frigates and corvettes flying alongside them practically invisible. Not just visually, but on sensors as well. Their energy and signal outputs were so strong that they overshadowed all others.

They were owned by each of the five Great Houses within the Hegemony, and acted as physical symbols of their wealth, might, and power.

Truly, few in the galaxy could face up against them.

Most, but not all of the ships gathered in the area seemed to be flying with each of the five massive devastators, which seemed to indicate that the Great Houses were taking charge of the fight ahead. Likely, all of them combined made up the People’s Defensive Armada, which technically the Republic was supposed to report to.

They were soon hailed by Hegemony Emergency Controllers, who indeed guided everyone who came with the 5th Fleet to wherever they were supposed to go. And as they all split off towards their destinations, they were joined by smaller repair ships and drones, which stitched any damaged hulls back together.

Many converged around the Star Dragon’s carrier, and struck its battered topside with nanoparticle repair beams. Though High Admiral de Jardin insisted that they focus on the other ships that came with him first, as they were most in need of help.

Everyone heard his utterly exasperated tone over comms, a result of them having to retreat like they did. Certainly the others with him shared that sentiment, the Republic especially. After all, they were forced to leave the entire Conflict Sector completely exposed and undefended.

That didn’t sit right with a single one of them, even if the reasons were justified.

And as they drew closer to the massive Armada, a looping emergency message spilled into their comms, across every ship in the fleet.

On their comms displays, a relatively tall and dark-skinned young man came on. He was well groomed, and wore a pristine set of officious clothing. Though his face was plastered with a sour and serious look.

His name and title were prominently displayed under his image.

–

Alain Duraeyeon

Chief Voice of the Grand Parliament

–

“To the sons and daughters of the Hegemony,” his message began. “First of all, the Grand Parliament thanks you for your loyalty and dedication to The People, and for arriving in our collective defense. We gravely understand the difficulty of leaving what you did in order to respond to our summons.

“Especially those coming from the Conflict Zones. We know that many have, in only the past few hours, lost their loved ones, or their homes, or their wealth. Their entire lives. Senselessly, violently, and chaotically.

“Know that our regrouping is for the best of all who belong to the Hegemony, and we will take back what has been taken from you. However, before any of that can happen, there is much we need to accomplish, as dark times lie ahead.

“As many know, the Hegemony of Free Peoples has been viciously attacked along two fronts, by both of our neighboring galactic nations. The Sol Federation and the Drogar Empire have individually and collectively declared war against our galactic nation, our Union of Free Peoples.

“They struck us with such force that much was lost even in the first hour of their invasion.

“Whether they are united in their assault on us is unimportant, however. All that matters is that they are tearing away at the Hegemony, House by House, system by system, planet by planet.

“We’ve all come to coordinate our defenses as a whole, so that we may push out the invading Imperials, and also prepare to meet the incoming Federation. Our fight will be long, and it will be grueling. But we will prevail.”

As he spoke, public data of the invasion was transmitted to every ship, and the galactic map was updated to reveal all changes in real time. Many were shocked at what they saw on their screens or holographic projectors.

On them, the Hegemony sprawled across over 40% of the northern quadrant of the galaxy. It was flanked on multiple sides by a handful of conflict zones. Though the zones were marked as neutral, it was clear that they were vast buffer zones that separated the Hegemony from the other two galactic nations, and from lawless sectors of space.

The largest, Conflict Sector 2, was situated towards their southwestern edge, where they fought against the Sol Federation. The second largest zone, Conflict Sector 1 was on their southeastern edge, and acted as the demilitarized zone that separated them from the Drogar Empire.

While the Federation took the opportunity to spread all across Conflict Sector 2 – their self-named Colonial Territory, the Empire skipped the demilitarized zone altogether and went straight into Hegemony territory. Boldly.

And the reports that accompanied the live map data confirmed that they had already taken hold of multiple systems with their blitz. Some sectors simply folded without a fight on seeing the Drogar’s devastating ships.

Many watched with shock and horror as they saw planets fall one by one by one.

“Now that our unity itself is in jeopardy,’ the Chief Voice’s message continued, “it is absolutely critical that we all pool our defenses together in order to preserve it. It is by our collective strength that we shall endure the violent hardships we’re facing on all sides, and only together can we ensure our continued survival.

“To this end, the Grand Parliament has issued Emergency Decree 545 as a matter of internal safety and security. The Hegemony hereby declares that all Sponsored nation-states awaiting their Founding are, as of this date, approved and accepted without condition.

“All now have access to the full array of benefits that the Hegemony can provide. The Prime Market, full currency exchange, social funding, and most critically, defense budgeting. Though congratulations are in order, I fear they may be short-lived due to our pressing circumstances.

“The Grand Parliament thanks you all for your service, and your sacrifice. We welcome you to the Hegemony.”

The holographic projection of the Chief Voice smiled, but with a slight grimness to it. He sat still for a few more seconds before the message looped to the beginning and started over.

Many civilians were shocked on hearing it, at what had happened. Or rather, what was still happening. Some were so thrown off by what they were told that they had to listen again, just to make sure it was real.

A few shut off their screens and grumbled or sighed or wept or screamed. A handful laughed, as though something had broken inside.

The First Feathers of the Corvus Republic didn’t get the chance to do any of that. They were hit by an incoming comms alert from the Ministry of Clandestine Operations. And when they accepted, Mathilde de Jardin came on their screens.

“There you all are,” she said, with some concern in her tone. “I’d congratulate you on nation-statehood, but I don’t think we’ve got the time for that. And I’m sorry it couldn’t come in more pleasant circumstances.”

“At least we don’t have to worry about doing any paperwork,” Freya joked.

Though she was met with a few chuckles, the heaviness in the air fell back down on all of them as quickly as it lifted.

“Speaking of work,” Mathilde said. “I’m going to claim you all before some Parliament Liaison decides to recruit you for some idiotic assignment somewhere. Or worse, for the front lines.”

“That’d be a disaster,” Lucifer intoned.

“That’s definitely good for us,” said Xylo. “But wouldn’t it be better if we worked with Parliament? They kinda are the ruling class in the Hegemony.”

“Oh, that’s the beauty of working with the MCO,” Mathilde replied. “We answer to no-one. Sort of. Parliament might give us direction, but never orders. How could they? Their expertise is in the handling of society, not the handling of secrets.”

“Isn’t that treason?” asked Claire. “Or at least stepping real, real close?”

“Maybe, maybe not. Hegemony security doctrine states that intelligence compartmentalization and independence is critical to our continued existence. Especially during times of emergency, such as now. What keeps us in check is that threat of treason, which kicks in the moment we attempt to harm the Hegemony, instead of protecting it.”

Though Lucifer nodded sagely in approval, Freya pursed her lips in doubt.

To her, that much unchecked power was always open to corruption. And the definition of ‘harm’ could be stretched out infinitely. Eris and her Discordians were the perfect example of that.

In fact they didn’t seem to be present, despite the summons.

“Now,” Mathilde continued, “tell me about this Fed cruiser you’ve captured. I’ll trade you for it, and all the juicy intel buried inside.”

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