Federal fleet crushes Imperium

The Federal Fleet have delivered a decisive victory for the forces of freedom in the system of Hussaria. The battle occurred as the Imperial forces withdrew from the major world, but despite repeated appeals to end the bloodshed with an orderly withdrawal from the system as a whole, the fanatical Novgorod forces have refused to evacuate or surrender. To put an end to the stalemate, the admiral of the Federal Expeditionary fleet aboard the flagship Haskell, set out to blockade the small barren planet the forces of the corpse emperor still clung to, all the while imploring them to see reason.

 

Unfortunately the Imperial high command, rather than accept defeat, sent in their battlefleet under Admiral Cardale to intercept the federacy forces. Admiral Khanna was ready for them, and deployed her forces in two divisions. Haskell, escorted by the Pride of Tallax and Peacemaker formed the van, while the dominator class Liberator led a second group of three cruisers on the right flank.

 

Predictably the Imperial fleet, smaller but fielding a large number of escorts, charged their enemy without regard for the casualties, a feature of Novgorod "strategy" which seems to be incessant slaughter on both sides until whoever has one soldier left "wins". The federal fleet was well equipped to deal with this, utilising massed nova cannon fire followed by waves of torpedoes and attack craft. Nevertheless the Imperium fought hard, but it seems faith in the emperor is not enough to guarantee victory. Our fleet caused heavy damage to the closing Imperial vessels, and despite concentrating on Haskell, the flagship proved up to the taks of weathering the storm.

 

Faulty torpedoes on the part of the imperium may have played a part, as the viper squadrons were ineffective, their torpedoes detonating prematurely amongst celestial gas clouds. The failure of imperial weaponry ended any hope of their victory, but the Novgorod fleet refused to give up, despite having lost a cruiser  and several escorts destroyed, and all of their ships heavily damage. This fanatical prosecution of their "duty" led to the unfortunate loss of the crew of Peacemaker, which bore the brunt of the imperial fleet as it continued its failed attempt to drive the federacy from the system. After this tragedy Admiral Khanna ordered her fleet to reform and charge the remaining damaged imperial vessels, who then fled the system, leaving the alliance in full control of the Hussaria system, isolating the remaining outpost and paving the way for the full liberation of the new alliance world.

 

Please spare a thought for the crew of Peacemaker, who sacrificed their lives in order to bring freedom and tolerance to the people of Hussaria.