Idavoll
Asgard Home World
Andromeda Galaxy
Rising from the surface of the Asgard home world, among lush forests and towering peaks, gleaming towers clawed at the vivid blue sky. Sitting higher in the sky than even the tallest of towers present was the levitating anchorage point for the Asgard fleet. Currently at anchor, awaiting departure, sat a large contingent of the fleet. Hala, flagship of the fleet, and seven sister ships of her class, twelve O'Neill Class vessels, and ten Daniel Jackson Class science vessels stood ready.
On the bridge of Hala, Thor stood at the helm. Taking a moment to look out across the anchorage, serene black eyes took in the sight of the task force around him. The mission to come was one performed at the behest of friends and allies of the Asgard. His mission was clear, and nothing would deter the Supreme Commander from accomplishing that mission.
Hala was the first to release umbilical lines running from her hull to the anchorage point. In turn, the other seven Hala Class vessels also cast off lines, soon to be followed by the O'Neill's and Daniel Jackson's. Individually, vessels large and small, warship and science vessel, silently reversed away from their mooring stations. Leading the assortment of vessels, Hala began her climb skyward, and the others followed suit.
Forming into a long line, the assortment of powerful Asgard vessels climbed higher into the sky. At a speed belying their great size, the string of vessels accelerated as they rose towards the heavens. Moments later, the vessels crossed the atmospheric threshold, and crossed over into space. Two minutes later, at a distance of several hundred thousand kilometers from Idavoll, the formation of vessels jumped into hyperspace.
For eleven minutes, the Asgard vessels raced at incredible speeds matched by few races. As suddenly as they entered hyperspace, the collection of Asgard vessels exited. Remaining in line formation, the vessels engaged their sublight propulsion, with Hala still in the lead. Soaring through the empty space in this area of the Andromeda galaxy, sensors aboard all vessels present register the presence of a black hole in the distance.
Growing larger and larger on the many ships external viewing screens sat a relatively new addition to the Andromeda landscape. Massive in its proportions, the Andromeda super gate stood. One of several emplaced over the last year, this super gate was part of a growing network of such intergalactic portals. Other examples could be found in galaxies near and far.
Turning his attention to the dialing platform on the bridge of Hala, Thor began to input the address of the Pegasus galaxy super gate. Each address icon transmitted saw a reaction from the eighty individual gate modules. Power coursed through each module, and surged to the modules beside it. Power saturation levels from the gate momentarily overwhelmed the sensitive sensor arrays of each Asgard vessel.
Exploding outward, raw energy flowed into empty space as the unstable vortex took shape. Those energy patterns manifesting in physical form soon settled into a stable event horizon. The gateway was now ready. As one, the Asgard fleet engaged sublight drives at low power settings, and began their walk towards the doorway that would carry them to the Pegasus galaxy. Each passed through the event horizon, where vessel and crew alike dematerialized and were transmitted to the active super gate many millions of light years distant. From this point forward, Thor and those under his command had a mission. That mission was to bring the Vanir back into the fold.
Earth
Sol Solar System
Milky Way
Seven hours after the video capture of what was now referred to as the Massacre of Tagrea, footage of the event was seen in the Oval Office of the White House. As the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Jack O'Neill narrated facts pertinent to the scenes playing out on the video monitor, President O'Bannon's anger grew. This was no longer simply defense of a deposed government.
Now, it was defense of innocents from an illegitimate government with the blood of its own people on its hands. At the meetings conclusion, President O'Bannon informed General O'Neill he needed to consult with other world leaders, but assured the General he would get him authorization to intercede. The United States military was about to get a hunting license. Video footage provided the jus ad bellum needed.
In the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and NATO Headquarters in Belgium, the same video footage was shown to parliamentarians and government representatives. At the same time, the footage was also shown to the House and Senate of the United States. In each case, the video was presented in larger than life high definition, in all its grizzly detail, for shock value. Hours later, the governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and the United States issued official authorization for the use of military force against the current leadership of Tagrea.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization in turn offered any and all assistance for the coming conflict. This was done due to the enacting of Article V of the NATO Treaty, covering Tagrean attack on an alliance member, in the form of the Edmund Halley. Instead of mobilizing troops for immediate deployment, NATO member nations other than the US, UK, Canada, and Australia would prepare ground units for deployment should they be needed.
Warning orders from four nations soon went out to each nation's armed forces. Men and women currently on leave from their units were recalled for muster, in the case of personnel assigned to units selected for deployment. Equipment large and small was crated for transport, while vehicles moved to staging areas for loading on transport vessels. From within the bowels of Arkos, fleet units of the four nations fleets departed for the short passage to Earth.
Many of these vessels were of the BC-310 Class of vessels, known in the United States as the Veracruz Class of assault landing and transport vessel. USS Inchon, USS Tarawa, USS Saipan, USS Belleau Wood, USS Wasp, and USS Iwo Jima made their way to the United States. These vessels laded at sites around the country, from Fort Hood to Fort Carson, and Fort Reilly to Forts Bragg and Campbell. HMS Misoa, HMS Bulwark, HMS Hilary, and HMS Boxer laded at Wentworth Barracks, in Herford, Germany. HMAS Balikpapan, HMAS Tobruk, and HMAS Kanimbla came to rest at Robertson Barracks, outside of Darwin. HMCS Prince Henry and HMCS landed at CFB Edmonton in Alberta, and CFB Shiloh in Manitoba.
Once on the ground, the process of loading vehicles began. Aboard United States fleet units went equipment belonging to the 1st Cavalry Division, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Division, 4th Infantry Division, 101st Airborne Division, and elements of the 82nd Airborne Division. Aboard British fleet units, vehicles and equipment of the 1st UK Armored Division was loaded. Australian fleet units loaded war fighting equipment and material of the 1st Armored Regiment, with supporting units in attendance. Canadian fleet units took aboard gear and equipment of the 1st Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group.
Loading the millions of tons of equipment went far faster than at anytime in the past. While vehicles were brought aboard in the traditional manner, transport beaming brought aboard the incredible amounts of containers and supplies each unit and their subunits would need. For three days, the loading continued. Members of each military unit deploying were confined to their respective garrisons, while mentally preparing themselves for the coming combat evolution. As this transpired, other units elsewhere prepared themselves for deployment by different means.
Within the halls of the Pentagon, war planners from four nations formulated plans that would carry men into battle. Fueled by a never ending river of coffee, cigarettes, and sandwiches the ground campaign plan took shape. In other corners of the Pentagon, the Air Tasking Order was built, making use of surveillance data from Tagrea. The offices of Psychological Warfare, Civil Affairs, and Electronic and Cyber Warfare played a part as well.
Lending assistance as a valued member of the NATO Alliance, Russia graciously agreed to a weapons test against several decommissioned ICBM sites within its borders. Though they would not be joining in the battle to come, Russia was thankful to play a part. Very few other nations would have been so readily agreeable to an orbital weapons test aimed at their soil.
Close inspection of radar signals intercept data from Ajax's mission caused somewhat of a stir. Computer simulations did in fact confirm an unacceptably high probability that Tagrea's larger radar sites might indeed detect the B-3 Chimera, or Vulcan as it was known in British service. Consulting several in house low observability experts, a solution was not found that would overcome the powerful Tagrean radar without costly and time consuming modification to each
B-3. Instead, the answer was found with a retired eighty five year old engineer, once employed by North American Aviation. Modifications proposed after speaking with this man were computer modeled for effectiveness, and two days later implemented.
Finally, an overall plan for the coming air and ground campaign was set. In turn, heads of state, and NATO representatives reviewed this campaign plan. Though the allied governments wished to avoid war, actions on Tagrea already transpired made war an unavoidable certainty. The die was cast. This die bore the name Operation Frontier Storm.
Tagrea
Milky Way
Eleven days after massacre
For three das, assets from Earth poured into the Tagrean solar system, and the space outside of the solar system. First, vessels of the Improved Daedalus Class, under cloak, began to patrol space outside of the solar system. Other BC-304's, also under cloak, patrolled within the system itself. This was done not only to quarantine the solar system from unwanted guests, but also to warn friendly vessels away lest they stray into a combat zone.
Each of these 304's employed discrete jamming of radio and subspace communications traffic that might emanate from Tagrea. Calls for help would not be getting out. Luckily, Earth forces used discrete portions of the available subspace communications spectrum, or this jamming effort could have hampered military operations within the solar system.
Twelve hours earlier, in the empty space beyond the edge of the Tagrean solar system, hyperspace windows tore open across a horizon of three thousand kilometers. The Prometheus Class carriers USS Benjamin Franklin and HMS Illustrious, along with their individual Carrier Battle Group accompanying vessels appeared. To the combat power of these battle groups were added Athena Class vessels from the United States, United Kingdom, Canadian, and Australian fleets. Proceeding towards their objective, the cloaked fleet broke into separate elements.
Both Benjamin Franklin and Illustrious took station thirty thousand kilometers from Tagrea's sole moon. Around them both, four much smaller vessels sat. These vessels were the diminutive by comparison Crossbow Class frigates. Athena Class vessels, eight in number, from both battle groups continued towards the planet, establishing orbit. The Athena's once in orbit reoriented themselves into a nose down configuration, with the bow of each vessel staring straight down at the planets surface from geosynchronous orbit. Tagrea's cities were visible on the bridge of each vessel.
During those twelve hours, munitions carts moved between the F-302's, FB-302's, EF-302's, and UCAV's stationary within vessel hangers. The herculean effort to make ready these lethal small craft once complete would leave these small craft ready for the task of war. Ready rooms on all vessels were filled with flight crews who would play a part in the coming battle. Many had taken to calling the opening moves of the campaign the 'misdirection tango', and the name quickly spread.
The appointed jump off time for Operation Frontier Storm was fast approaching. Key to the opening stages of Frontier Storm was timing. Across the fleet, men and women of the allied nations armed forces busied themselves with last minute tasks. This was done simply to bleed stress, calm nerves, and push lingering doubts of what the future may hold out of their mind.
Throughout the fleet, the call for crewmembers to ready for flight operations rang out. In the hanger bays of Benjamin Franklin, Illustrious, and the eight Athena's, flight crews moved quickly to their aircraft. Strapping themselves in, the flight crews went about aligning inertial navigation systems, and performing last minute diagnostics on weapons and aircraft systems alike. In the case of Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles aboard the two aircraft carriers, crew chiefs lovingly rechecked their charges, before patting the unmanned aircraft and wishing it luck. The launch window was but moments away.
Four million kilometers from Tagrea, thirty hyperspace windows tore open. These arrivals would be the first of many to come. From these windows emerged twenty American and ten British B-3 Chimera/Vulcan's. Uncloaked, the interstellar attack craft powered towards Tagrea. Speeding beyond the planets sole moon, the thirty craft charged past the two Prometheus Class carriers. As this happened, Benjamin Franklin and Illustrious begin launch operations, discharging incredible numbers of cloaked small craft. Angling towards Tagrea's southern pole, the thirty B-3's making up Scalp Flight raced headlong into the atmosphere for reentry. As they did, the Athena's in geosynchronous orbit also begin launching 302's of their own.
Coming in over Tagrea's southern pole, Scalp Flight evaded detection and observation by air defense units and casual observers on the planets surface. Maintaining radio silence, the bombers freely exchanged data through their onboard Link 16 data links. Descending through one hundred and forty thousand feet, the B-3's moved into line abreast formation, with five miles of separation between each aircraft. Racing at incredible speeds, the B-3's passed over vast swathes of landmass as it unfurled below. Looking at their sensors, flight crews aboard these craft took note of rapidly rising levels of radar energy radiating towards them.
Aware that the B-3 could not drop munitions while cloaked, the conclusion was reached that long range Tagrean phased array radar sites could possibly detect the uncloaked bombers. Thanks to information passed from the North American Aviation retiree, a workaround had been found. Each B-3 fuselage had been taken in for a last minute repainting. Applied in a layer five millimeters thick, this paint was a medium loaded with the element Strontium-90. Atop this lightly radioactive yet safe paint was put a clear coat sealing the lower paint.
The reason for this was simple, to some. Radioactive material, such as Strontium-90, produces a flux of Alpha and Beta particles and ionizes air, which in turn produces plasma. As the fuselage is surrounded by this plasma sheath, radar waves impacting this plasma are absorbed, and converted to heat, instead of returning to the radar transmitter and alerting enemy forces to an unfriendly aircraft's presence. While this method rendered the B-3's safe from detection at distance from the radar's transmitting towards them, this solution was not without consequences. First, the Strontium-90 emitted radiation levels of ten Curies per square centimeter, which the fuselage could easily shield the crew from. While unable to harm the crew, this radiation served to give each B-3 a visible glow. To deal with this, the cloaking systems aboard each bomber had been modified to compensate for this glow.
Remaining undetected by the Tagrean ground based phased array radar's, the B-3's pushed on. Heading north, towards Tagrea's equator, the bombers began to decelerate. Maintaining line abreast formation, the thirty bombers rapidly shed altitude, before settling at seven thousand feet. Entering the pre-designated coordinates of their launch points, the flight crews verified local position was updated in the stored munitions guidance systems.
Weapons bay doors opened on the belly of each B-3. In rapid succession, objects were ejected from each of the internal bays. This process repeated eighty times on each bomber. These objects were AGM-158E Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missiles. Their internal systems active, the JASSM's, modified to make use of the same propulsion drive as Ancient drone weapons, dove to three thousand feet above the deck. Accelerating to many times the speed of sound, twenty four hundred of the stealthy JASSM's quickly raced away from their launching craft, heading north towards the cities and infrastructure of Tagrea.
As the as yet undetected attack began in earnest, life went on as usual in the cities of Tagrea. As sunset approached, families settled in at home for dinner after a day of work. Penetration of Tagrean data systems made possible use of the planets telephone, email, and internet. Dinners in many homes belonging to individuals friendly to Ashwan not swept up in Kalfas's purge were interrupted by ringing phones. In each case, the individuals contacted were told to remain calm and in their homes, to await later contact.
Holographic generators no larger than a softball appeared in brilliant flashes of light at public spaces in each of the planets closely clustered cities. As these objects rematerialized, powerful transmitters on vessels in orbit covering the spectrum of radio and television on all frequencies activated, overpowering terrestrial transmissions. Springing to life, the holographic generators sprang to life, and begin to project an image eighty feet in height. That image was of President O'Bannon, seated in the Oval Office. Seeing this, crowds turned their undivided attention to the image.
"Citizens of Tagrea, I speak to you on behalf of the people of Earth, and the civilizations of member nations of the United Worlds organization. Your recent change in government stems from an act of subterfuge, perpetrated by a man of dubious character. The Tagrean people choose their government in elections tallying the spoken will of your civilization. The regime now in power is not one chosen by your will, but one that seized power. It is the intention of Earth to restore Chairman Ashwan to his rightful place as head of your government. To achieve that aim, I have authorized military intervention. Please be aware that we mean the Tagrean public no harm, and take upon ourselves this burden to defend your spoken choice of leadership.
Recently, Tagrean Security Forces launched a nuclear weapon at a civilian crewed science vessel on a diplomatic mission to your world. I am putting Kalfas and his regime on notice here and now that further deployment of nuclear weapons against Earth personnel or vessels will be met with harsh retaliation. You should be made aware that the destructive powers of our strategic nuclear weapons dwarf those in your possession.
The people of Earth wish for nothing more than to return Tagrea and the Tagrean people to the governance of Chairman Ashwan, while bringing Kalfas to justice for his crimes. What are those crimes you may be asking yourself? The footage you are about to witness will make those crimes clear. I warn you now; the footage is graphic and shocking. After viewing this footage you are about to see, as yourself if Kalfas is a fair and just leader, and if this is who you wish to lead your people." President O'Bannon's voice boomed.
As the video footage of the massacre of Tagrea played, a hush fell over the growing crowds. Shock, horror, outrage, and anger soon adorned the many faces of the crowds. Gasps and screams pierced the air as those crowds watched government figures well known to all were gunned down at the order of Kalfas. Public sentiment soured as the President's message and video footage replayed repeatedly. The first shot in the battle for hearts and minds had found its mark.
In the Tagrean capital city, Kalfas stood in the administrative support office of his staff. A television in the room suddenly changed from the government access channel, to President O'Bannon's speech. Video footage of the recent massacre pushed Kalfas over the edge emotionally. Blinded by rage and fear, he pushed the television screen down to the floor.
"I want this transmission stopped now!" Kalfas raged.
"It is on all stations Chairman! I cannot stop it!" A staffer argued.
As the sun set on the Tagrean landscape, the sky darkened. From high above, intense green shafts of energy begin to rain down. These green beacons were unlike anything the Tagrean public, now taken to the streets, had ever before seen. Shock and wonder about the meaning and origin of the light show spread throughout all who witnessed it.
Opting for a first strike to negate Tagrean Strategic Rocket Forces, the Athena's in geosynchronous orbit drew first blood. Making use of their Grodin weapons systems, each Athena Class vessel targeted and systematically fired on the Strategic Rocket Force silos outside the capital city. Grodin fire, impacting concrete and steel silo coverings, sheered through these protective enclosures. Heat from the beams caused shattered concrete to glow red. Slicing through the missile bodies at rest in the silos, solid rocket propellant reached ignition point in thousandths of a second, setting off a cascade of explosions. Lung rattling booms carried into the distance from rockets ripped to pieces. Cities in the distance noted the fiery glow in the distance marking the cascading explosions. Tagrea's orbital defenses were no more.
As these detonations rocked the Tagrean evening, the orbiting Athena's activated powerful electronic countermeasures, unleashing intense radar jamming towards the planets surface. Tagrean Air Defense personnel, kept on high alert since reporting sporadic radar contacts eleven days before, stared at their radar screens in confusion. Stress and constant high alert had dulled the effectiveness of these troops to a fraction of their capabilities.
Surprise about the demise of Tagrea's strategic deterrent turned to shock, and shock turned to panic as reports of explosions began to flow in from across the nation. Panicked antiaircraft gun crews immediately opened fire in all directions, despite having no targets in sight. Endless streams of tracer fire coursed through the dark skies above. From gun emplacements atop buildings in cities, and ringing each city, the reports of heavy caliber anti-aircraft guns resounded.
At airfields of the Tagrean Air Force, submunition equipped JASSM's sailed over runways and taxiways. As shroud covers ejected from the cruise missiles, small bomblets sprang away. As runways and taxiways were doused with these bomblet's, popcorn like explosions pitted concrete, and ripped into aircraft outside of shelters. Fuel trucks, aircraft, and munitions carriage carts exploded. Those personnel exposed were ripped to pieces by the shrapnel tearing through their bodies.
Above electrical switching stations scattered about the desert landscape, JASSM's passed overhead and ejected BLU-114/B bomblets. Falling through the air, each of these specialized bomblet's burst open, dispersing large numbers of graphite filaments. These filaments, only a few hundredths of an inch thick, floated down towards the exposed transformers. Making contact with these transformers, current arced through the filaments, vaporizing them, while setting fires and shorting out those transformers. As transformers shorted, cascading explosions rocked switching stations. Tagrea's national power grid began to shudder, and then fell altogether.
At power generation plants, JASSM's equipped with one thousand pound high explosive warheads angled their noses down. In terminal dives, these cruise missiles tore through the plants outer structure before detonation. Though Tagrea's power grid was already silent, the planets ability to generate power was being pummeled. Violent explosions marking the destruction of power planets were seen from the now darkened cities in the distance. Plumes of smoke marked each wrecked power plants location to those in the distance. Explosions at Army bases, railway yards, fuel depots, military logistics depots and factories supporting the Tagrean war machine soon joined the fray.
Dropping cloaks, FB-302's swarmed through the air like locusts. GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bombs rained down on ground targets of large and small importance. Two of these fighter-bombers ran astray of vigilant antiaircraft gun crews, and fell from the skies. The first of these to fall crashed into an apartment building, resulting in a thunderous explosion and a towering funeral pyre. The second FB-302 to fall survived just long enough for its female crew to eject, and parachute to the ground below.
Ground radar sites to the north, south, and east began to go offline. EF-302 Wild Weasel's were plying their trade with ruthless efficiency. Unleashing their AGM-88 High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile, or HARM, against the radiating radar sites, these missiles homed in on radar emissions. Those enterprising radar site operators smart enough to switch their radar's off thought themselves safe, but HARM was designed to continue homing in on radars gone inactive. Detonating, the HARM warhead's shredded radar antennas and in some cases site command and control vans. Joining their smaller cousins, Tagrea's large phased array radars soon joined the now destroyed tactical radar sites.
To the west, ground radar was left relatively untouched. While the Wild Weasel's hunted down and destroyed surface to air missile sites, and antiaircraft gun emplacements, search radars were left unharmed. For the fighter aircraft in the air belonging to the Tagrean Air Force, this was seen as a miracle in their favor. Scanning deeper to the west, these radar sites still functioning were in for a surprise.
One hundred miles away from these surviving search radar sites, a flight of twenty cloaked UCAV's flew at fifteen thousand feet. Following their mission profile, the twenty UCAV's powered down their cloaks and were immediately spotted by Tagrean search radar. Aware they were now being tracked; the UCAV's opened their internal weapons bays and deployed two ADM-160 Miniature Air Launched Decoys apiece. Their payload away, the UCAV's accelerated quickly, and continued on towards their secondary mission objectives.
Free from their launching UCAV's, each MALD unfolded a small set of wings. A small turbojet engine engaged, propelling the decoy along at the speed at which they were launched. Each ADM-160 was equipped with a Signature Augmentation Subsystem, which is made up of active radar enhancers covering specific frequency ranges. To Tagrean search radar, it appeared that their targets had magically doubled in number.
Following doctrine, these search radar sites contacted the Tagrean fighter aircraft orbiting nearby. Providing target vectors, the search radar operators directed those fighters piloted by their countrymen to intercept these enemy inbounds. This the Tagrean pilots did without question or hesitation. Advancing their throttles, the interceptors charged towards the directed radar tracks. Never did the Tagrean's suspect that they were being lured into a trap.
At twenty thousand feet of altitude, the teeth of this trap waited. Tracking the thirty one incoming Tagrean delta wing fighters, the twenty 302's made use not of their radar, but instead the newly added Distributed Aperture System. The thermal imaging picture provided by DAS allowed the 302's to verify the identity of the inbound aircraft. Tying the DAS tracking data into their helmet mounted cueing system; the 302's were rewarded with the growling tone of AIM-9X heat seeking missiles confirming that they were tracking the enemy aircraft.
Cruelly, the 302's allowed the Tagrean fighters to volley fire radar guided missiles of their own at the MALD's believed to be manned aircraft. Excitement welled up within each Tagrean interceptor pilot as they watched their missiles track in on the attackers of their world. Above these fighters, the 302's momentarily powered down their cloaks, and quickly launched twenty AIM-9X Sidewinders. Accelerating, the Sidewinders crossed the gulf between them and their targets quickly. As Tagrean interceptors began to explode, the surviving pilots began to evade their unseen attackers. That the 302's intentionally made sure several Tagrean aircraft would live to escape and tell the tale was something the Tagrean pilots would never suspect.
Those Tagrean pilots who survived, dove rapidly towards the ground, rapidly gaining speed. Urged by ground radar controllers, these pilots were told to scan the skies for a large object currently showing on radar. This the pilots did without question. What they saw horrified the aviators. From the skies a craft of dimensions unimaginable to the Tagrean pilots was seen. USS Ajax, with her shields up, was fast headed for the flat desert plains below. Frantic reports of this sight soon filled Tagrean radio networks still operating.
In the Tagrean Security Force command center, those frantic reports from ground radar stations and fighter pilots to the west flowed in. Further reports from small ground units confirmed the sightings. Standing in the command center with Liptis, Kalfas stood with an ashen face. Never had Kalfas expected the type of bombardment Tagrea was enduring. His nerves were frayed, but he knew the location of the enemy landing area.
Quickly, orders flowed out to ground units from many sectors to rally together. It would take hours before the troops were rallied together, but once they were action would follow. Earth's invading forces would be met on the ground, and put down before establishing a beachhead. Tagrea would be kept safe. Unknown to Kalfas, military commanders in orbit watching the scene on the ground below unfold, knew that the bait was being taken.