Sap Core Legion: The Thargoid Wars
29 Jul 2020The_prop
Sap Core Legion: The Thargoid Wars*For universal clarity for all persons viewing this document, it has been collated and published using the Earth Calendar as a point of reference so as not to confuse readers. Please use the correct conversion method to localise the dates printed within it.
Before November 3304, Thargoid activity was mainly documented in the Pleiades cluster. This area of the galaxy was seemingly inhabited due to it being believed to be a 'farming' ground for the much sought after Meta-Alloys within their "Barnacle sites".
However, it became fairly evident that the intentions of these highly territorial beings was to push further afield in an attempt to further seed other planetary bodies with favouring conditions.
Whether it was a conscious strategy to move toward human inhabited space or merely unfortunate coincidence, conflict it seemed, was inevitable.
It would be fair to say the insectoid species are extremely hostile by nature. History, both recent and ancient, suggest that any resistance obstructing their goal is dealt with by force and extermination is merely a means to an end.
There has been no evidence that communication of any kind has been attempted to resolve issues, and at the time of writing, confrontation is met with aggression from two types of ship class of which there are a number of variants.
The Scout Class are of a similar size to the Lakon Type-6 and reportedly use a swarm-like strategy to their attacks.
The Interceptor class are much bigger in size, somewhere between the Imperial Cutter and the Beluga Liner and possess the ability to regenerate hull mass using what the Anti Xeno experts refer to as "The Hearts".
Interceptor Classes have a number of deadly abilities at their disposal including a self sufficient swarm of thargon drones, caustic missile like projectiles and the capacity to entirely shut down all systems on board human ships for a length of time.
What was to ensue was going to live in the minds of those involved forever.
November 18th 3304
The call came. Thargoids had pushed a little too close to home for it to be ignored.
All available AX capable ships were summoned to help bolster Alliance forces in the Ross 129 system. The inter-Alliance emergency response transmitter had signalled a threat from non-human invaders to all of the Alliance Navies.
The AX capabilities within Sap Core Legion were fairly limited at this point with very few ships outfitted and engineered appropriately and a small number still in the process of undergoing the necessary upgrades, but nevertheless the intrepid pilots headed out to do what needed to be done.
December 21st 3304
"We have Tharg Scouts in Jormbu".
"No incursion state at the moment".
The news nobody wanted to hear, and it hit like an ice blast!
The request for extra reinforcements was sent across the Alliance communications bot, and extra aid was requested to the anti xeno specialist groups and independent Cmdrs. Over the course of the week this call for support seemed to fall upon deaf ears, and the extra support that was needed during this time of uncertainty seemed unresponsive.
Against the odds but undeterred, the Sap Core Legion pushed toward their goal of repelling the Thargoids from this Federation system for not just their own citizens within Jormbu, but for every lifeform that called this their home.
December 27th 3304
The continued onslaught was relentless, and before long, the infestation of Scout Class Thargoid vessels were appearing ever more often and the sheer numbers were overwhelming. It was inevitable that the gargantuan Interceptor variant was witnessed in Jormbu after the Scouts had secured passage.
These huge behemoths made the situation even more dire and the threat level was increased from "Infestation" to full on "Incursion". Nobody could deny, an already difficult situation had become monumental.
Cmdrs fought harder than ever before during this extremely difficult week. The weariness and fatigue showed on every face returning from battle. Sleep deprivation, malnutrition and bearing witness to life changing experiences all wore down the brave pilots and the enemy finally breached the last line of defences and decimated the Orbis Starport. Countless lives were lost and the Federal station left in ruins, a chaotic inferno.
It was time to recuperate, reassemble and reassess.
The coming week saw extra efforts from The Black Watch Squadron patrolling Jormbu and assisting with the attempted repulsion, it also brought unwanted criminals, engaging with Anti Xeno ships returning from areas of conflict.
In a recorded flight log Cmdr RedivivusCrowd reported on an instance in particular which backfired on an opportunistic attacker.
"Silent lured one to a hydra and got him instakilled", "Feels like there's poetic justice in that".
January 1st 3305
The official news came in over the factions comms channel that the Alien threat within Jormbu had been neutralised. On what is known on Earth as 'New Year's Day' will, in Jormbu, forever be remembered as 'New Beginnings Day'.
The celebrations were short lived, as the realisation of loss, both human and material had been summarised.
Those that survived and evacuated Mendez Terminal were offered housing, medical aid and emotional counselling from Sap Core Legion ambassadors, despite the station being under federal jurisdiction. It was, and remains to be, the "right thing to do".
A single phrase remains ever important within all that live within the system and passed with it, the stories to future generations.
"Remember Jormbu. Remember Mendez"
January 4th 3305
The S.C.A.R.F unit, or The Sap Core Alien Response Force, was formed and commissioned by Cmdr RedivivusCrowd. After the gruelling battle of Jormbu it seemed the most obvious initiative to form up a group of Anti-Xeno operatives with capable equipment and weaponry to take down any other Alien attacks on ourselves, our neighbours or our allies.
Originally designed as a training program to ensure pilots were competently knowledgeable in this specific skill set, it quickly developed into a 'learn on the job' defense unit once the word got out that Nian, a system close to the borders of Sap Core space had now seen reports of a number of Thargoid craft in the area.
It seemed that other AX groups were unwilling to offer any help in repelling the infestation due to there being no orbital station within Nian to be damaged. There was even rumour that some of these groups actively discouraged Nians defense to test whether the Thargoids would attempt to destroy outposts. This just drove the SCARF pilots on, with an extra determination to not only defend the innocent but also to spite those hoping the system fell 'for science'.
January 9th 3305
The infestation had been eradicated before it could fester into a full blown incursion.
This brought a huge lift to SCARFs pilots after the devastating events of Jormbu.
Parties were thrown in the civilian outpost of Bujold Settlement until very late. The much needed downtime was willingly accepted and the locals gave the SCARF pilots a night to remember, but with heroic celebrations, came heroic migraines and hangovers the following day.
January 10th 3305
Aspirins aside, the biggest headache was not the result of the festivities, but of the news that the Thargoids had retreated from Nian to a system close to Sap Core HQ, called Madrus. What was to follow was the longest battle SCARF were going to face against the thargoids.
By now, Sap Cores AX setup had raised quite a few eyebrows. What started as a recruitment program had, in a number of high profile opinions, progressed from a plucky band of Cmdrs fighting for humanity to a well organized and efficient force to be reckoned. The creation of Thargoid kill tracking software developed by Cmdr Gol Senz was revolutionary in as far as it tracked the number of Thargoid vessels that had needed destroying before infestations were cleared. This gave access to data that could then be used going forward to see if any trends could be drawn between different systems in the infestation state. It didn't take long before other Alliance factions requested access to this software/bot to track their own systems.
Madrus took a total of 23 days to completely be rid of Thargoids, although a second infestation occurred midway through in a vital SCL system. Unfortunately for Madrus, Muracing was a technological stronghold and under no circumstances could be lost, so a number of Cmdrs had the unenviable decision to vacate the system so that the latter could be protected with the promise that they'd return to finish what they'd started.
January 18th 3305
"Muracing is under threat". The words of Cmdr Evaldo Evanstar.
Halfway through the Madrus conflict and the already stretched forces were to prioritise Muracing, a system rich in tech, with an encoded material trader and technology broker that worked with Guardian upgrades. This was vitally important if SCL were to remain actively combatant against the Thargoids.
Reluctantly leaving a skeleton crew behind, the majority of SCARF headed out to Bethe Station to fortify the system.
With what they were leaving behind in mind, the fight was pushed at an incredible pace. The pockets of ships were quickly quenched within seconds of being reported. The Thargoids simply could not keep up with the reaction times and failed to gain any kind of foothold within Muracing.
January 22nd 3305
It took a mere 4 days of fighting to completely clear out any evidence that the Thargoids had been there at all.
What had been a monumental task upon its creation, the SCARF pilots had become well versed in dealing with the threats quickly and efficiently before moving on to the next.
Just one thing remained, the situation in Madrus needed finishing, and after successfully defending Muracing, SCARF headed back to complete the task they'd started, buoyed by the belief that they were winning this war.
February 2nd 3305
"Madrus is clear" Cmdr Gol Senz
"I'm right there now. Was gonna kill some bugs but they ran away!" Cmdr Tarburz
"Well done guys!!!" Cmdr The Prop
Radio transitions from Madrus on the final day of conflict in Sap Core space.
This welcomed an emotional finish to a part of our history that could have quite easily taken a devastating turn the other way.
The War was won. 4 Systems, 76 days, 1 damaged station, innumerable lost lives and a story for the generations.
The rest of human space followed Sap Cores lead in their own respective areas of the bubble, and eventually the Thargoids retreated back toward the Pleiades cluster on July 11th 3305.
Mendez Terminal was fully repaired on July 5th 3305, just under 1 week before the Thargoids retreated from the bubble.
A grand opening took place, with a representative of each surviving family invited to a special audience with Vice President Gustavo Tran where they got the opportunity to tell their recollections of the events and were each presented with honours of bravery.
The names of the sadly departed have all been etched around the 'Entry Bowl' surrounding the mailslot at Mendez Terminal and New Beginnings Day was celebrated for the first time there in January 1st 3306 but it has been promised to be an annual fixture to remember both those that perished in the station and those that died trying to defend it.
Remember