Battle of Hope Nation
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| Battle of Hope Nation | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Fish War | |||||||
|
|||||||
| Combatants | |||||||
| United Nations | Fish | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Nicholas Seafort | Unknown outrider | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Hope Nation Orbit Station Puter W-30304 "William"
|
984 Fish | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| Commander Vax Holser Orbit Station Brasilia Minotaur Constantinople Bresia |
All forces present | ||||||
The Battle of Hope Nation was a battle of the Fish War depicted in Prisoner's Hope by David Feintuch.
[edit] Prelude
After several months of combat with the alien Fish, and having lost a third of the force assigned to Hope Nation, the UN Fleet commanded by Admiral De Marnay sailed for Earth, abandoning the colony, and Seafort, who had been captured by the local separatist guerillas of Laura Triforth. After defeating the guerillas, Seafort took command of the UN forces remaining in the system, and acted to defend the system against continuing Fish attacks. The initial combat took place at a surface base in the Venturas mountains on the planet's western continent where, after suffering several casualties including the base commander Lieutenant Eiferts, Seafort was able to evacuate the local UN force to the main base on the eastern continent. Upon arrival, Seafort put into operation a plan he had conceived while at the Venturas base to destroy the Fish presence in the system, and save Hope Nation from destruction.
[edit] The Battle
Keeping his plans a secret from all about him, Seafort went aloft in a shuttle with a small group of companions who he either needed to help him execute his plan, or who refused to leave his side. Boarding the planet's orbiting station he first, in his capacity as senior officer in the system, appointed himself Captain of the four ships docked at the station- Brasilia, Bresia, Constantinople and Minotaur, all of which were in some way disabled. Donning a spacesuit and going Outside, he used a laser pistol to burn holes in the Fusion drive shafts of all three ships, rendering their propulsion systems incapable of producing a usable N-wave, but turning them into bait for the Fish- which could not avoid being drawn to the 'caterwaul' of a damaged Fusion drive like moths to a flame. Next Seafort re-boarded Orbit Station, and as the first Fish began to appear set about converting the station's main reactor into a makeshift nuclear bomb- in direct violation of the UN's Nuclear Resolution and a capital crime. As the numbers of Fish mounted rapidly, and Orbit Station's puter, William, fought them off, Seafort discovered to his dismay that his original intentions were unachiveable- but that the station already possessed a nuclear device, intended as a self destruct mechanism to prevent the station from causing serious damage on the ground should it fall from orbit. With the aide of William, Seafort set about converting the device into a weapon. As the device neared completion, and with the Station's defences beginning to be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of Fish, UNS Victoria, under Commander Vax Holser arrived in the system, just as Seafort discovered that the modifications he had made to William's programming to allow the puter to assist him also required him to remain aboard the station while the nuke was detonated. His intention was to do just that, but Vax Holser had other ideas. Taking Seafort's launch aboard his ship, Holser travelled to the station to confront his former commander, and upon discovering Seafort's intentions promtly broke his jaw, placed him aboard Victoria's gig, and took command of the station himself. Seafort watched from the gig as Orbit Sation exploded taking his old friend and 512 Fish, in addition to the 472 killed during the battle, with it.
[edit] Aftermath
With Orbit Station destroyed, Seafort took command of Victoria in Holser's stead, and sailed home for Earth, taking with him William's 'son' Billy -an improved model of puter program devised by the Station's puter. Regarded with disgust by Victoria's crew, both for setting off a nuclear bomb and for his role in the loss of their captain (although the exact details of the exchange between himself and Holser, Seafort kept private, not willing to implicate his old friend in such a heinous crime), the Captain fully expected to be executed for his violation of the Nuclear Resolution upon his return. Upon Victoria's return to the solar system, however, he discovered that the text of the nuclear resolution had been changed before the battle had been fought, rendering his actions legal. Mentally exhausted by the battle, on top of years of war with the Fish, Seafort initially intended to resign, but was instead persuaded to accept the post of Commandant of the Naval Academy- in which capacity he would once more face the Fish in the battle of Home System.
