Lancelot Flight - 2669
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The Lancelot Flight was a covert mission conducted by the Terran Confederation in 2669. Its main objective was the destruction of the Kilrathi homeworld of Kilrah, and would come to be the final major combat operation of the Terran-Kilrathi War.
Prelude
By 2669, the Terran Confederation had been fighting the imperialist Kilrathi Empire in a galactic struggle for survival for nearly forty years. However, in the aftermath of the Battle of Earth on 2668.365, humanity was on the brink of defeat as its fleet had been decimated and billions of lives lost across the galaxy. Through the year 2669, the Confederation was suffering numerous defeats and its territories on the frontier were being rapidly absorbed by the Empire. The situation had become so dire that the Confederation High Command predicted total defeat by the year's end, if not sooner. Desperate to end the War, the Confederation fielded numerous plans to destroy the Kilrathi homeworld, which would lead to the total collapse of the Empire.
The first plan implemented by the Confederation was the TCS Behemoth, a massive dreadnought with the ability to destroy an entire planet. Unfortunately, this ended in disaster when Colonel Ralgha nar Hhallas, a Kilrathi noble sympathetic to the Terrans suddenly turned traitor and exposed the vessel's weak spots to the Kilrathi, leading to its destruction. With time running out, the Special Operations Division revealed its plans for the launch of the Y22A-1 Temblor Bomb, a tectonic frequency warhead that could destroy planets by destabilizing its tectonic makeup. Such an assault had been in development for years and in 2669, Colonel Jeannette Devereaux infiltrated Kilrah and before she was executed by the Kilrathi revealed the fragile nature of Kilrah's surface to the Terrans. Realizing how truly unstable the planet was, and after a successful test of the Temblor Bomb in Hyperion, the Confederation prepared for a last-ditch assault on Kilrah, codenamed the Lancelot Flight.
Preparations
The Lancelot Flight was to be launched by the Terran fleet in the Freya System, a Kilrathi system whose key jump point led directly to Kilrah. After a successful offensive in the system, the Terran Confederation Navy occupied the system and secured the jump point. The Terran fleet was also to draw the attention of the Kilrathi Home Fleet to prevent its interference in the forthcoming battle.
The operation itself was to be overseen by Brigadier General James Taggart of the Spec Ops Division, and the flight was to be flown by the elite pilots of the TCS Victory. Its Wing Commander, the legendary war hero Christopher Blair was to command the flight and his choice of three wingmen. The flight was to consist of four F-106 Excaliburs, the most advanced heavy starfighter yet produced by the Confederation. They would be specially-equipped with the first truly-effective cloaking device ever fielded by the Confederation, and Blair's starfighter was modified to ferry the Temblor Bomb to Kilrah. The four pilots were to jump into the Kilrah System while cloaked and then make their way to the first of two Theta-Class Supply Depots secretly operated by the Spec Ops Division, where they would resupply and then resume their flight towards a second depot closer to Kilrah. It would be at the second depot where Colonel Blair and his team would acquire the Temblor Bomb and then finish their flight towards Kilrah, dodging imperial patrols all along the way.
Upon reaching the surface, Blair would deploy the Temblor Bomb on a pre-designated fault line on the planet, which would trigger a super-earthquake that would literally shatter Kilrah. If the operation succeeded, it would effectively cripple the Kilrathi war effort.
The Flight
By the time Freya was captured, the Kilrathi were preparing for a final assault on the Terran homeworld at Earth, with Crown Prince Thrakhath nar Kiranka overseeing the assembly of a vast armada that would smash through Earth's defenses and crush humanity. With untold hundreds of vessels in this fleet and less than forty-eight hours until the attack, the War was closing in on its final hour.
On 2669.267, the Lancelot Flight was launched, led by Colonel Blair and Lieutenant Robin Peters, Lieutenant Winston Chang, and Major Todd Marshall. Upon departing the Terran fleet at Freya, the wing cloaked itself and jumped into the Kilrah System, de-cloaking to engage the numerous Kilrathi patrols in the system. Among the warships encountered were Ralarrad and Ralaxaths, and several wings of starfighters, among them Strakhas. Despite massive opposition from the Kilrathi, Blair's wing managed to fight them off and proceed to the first depot in a nearby asteroid belt. With the flight wing reduced to three, the Terrans refueled and re-armed at the depot and soon afterwards departed for the second facility near Kilrah. After again being met with fierce enemy resistance, Blair broke through to the second depot, albeit with the loss of another wingman. The Temblor Bomb was then loaded onto Blair's Excalibur, and he and his final wingman departed for the final strike on Kilrah.
Blair and his wingman eventually reached Kilrah Orbit, encountering the most elite of Kilrah's pilots and numerous capital ships. These patrols were also destroyed by the Terrans, but soon Colonel Blair had lost his final wingman, and was forced to descend to Kilrah's surface alone.
Upon reaching Kilrah, Blair was met by his archenemy Prince Thrakhath, flying his personal Bloodfang. Eager to kill his foe once and for all, Thrakhath engaged Blair in a deadly duel, with Blair harassed by other enemy patrols. After a long and heated standoff, Colonel Blair finally killed the Crown Prince, and made the descent to Kilrah's surface.
On the surface, Blair hovered over the highly volcanic landscape and dodged numerous Kilrathi patrols and facilities, making his way towards the target fault line. After trekking across the volatile surface and coming face to face with numerous Kilrathi fighters, Colonel Blair reached the fault line and launched the Temblor Bomb. With the warhead deployed, Colonel Blair fled to outer space.
The Destruction of Kilrah
As Colonel Blair fled the planet at top speed, the Temblor Bomb detonated in a brilliant explosion, setting off massive shock waves of energy across Kilrah. In the wake of the blast a cataclysmic earthkquake raged across the entire planet, killing billions of Kilrathi on the surface. The Imperial Palace was also destroyed, killing the Kilrathi Emperor inside and the last remnant of the royal family.
In Kilrah Orbit, the Kilrathi fleet fell into total chaos as the planet below tore itself apart. The vast majority of the Kilrathi forces were destroyed by the continued shock waves, and the survivors were forced to flee. Kilrah's two moons were also consumed in the explosion. After the Colonel finally cleared the planet, Kilrah was finally destroyed, consuming everything within its range. Blair himself barely survived when a wave of energy damaged his starfighter stranding him in enemy space.
The Colonel and his fighter were captured by the KIS Hvar'kann, the Crown Prince's former flagship which barely escaped Kilrah's destruction. On board, Blair was brought before Thrakhath's retainer Melek nar Kiranka, who wished to take revenge on the "Heart of the Tiger". However, seeing nothing but shame in killing the one Terran who could destroy the Kilrahi, Melek personally surrendered to Colonel Blair, declaring that the Kilrathi were "a beaten race".
Aftermath
In the immediate aftermath of the Lancelot Flight, the surviving members of the Kilrathi Empire sought to establish peace with the Terran Confederation, and in a momentous signing in the Torgo System, Terran and Kilrathi representatives, among them Melek and Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn signed the Treaty of Torgo, formally ending the thirty-five year Terran-Kilrathi War.
The Lancelot Flight was a tremendous victory for the Confederation and has secured humanity's survival after decades of galactic struggle. However, much of Terran space still lay in ruins and billions of humans killed during the course of the conflict. With their their fleets, their infrastructure, and their economy in ruins, the Confederation initiated a long rebuilding process to restore humanity to an era of peacetime.
Colonel Blair was released by the Kilrathi and retired from active service after the War. It was later found that two of his fallen wingmen had survived, Todd Marshall and Winston Chang, both of whom were soon sent home. Tragically, Robin Peters was killed during the mission.
The loss of Kilrah effectively ended the Kilrathi Empire. With the imperial family and billions of Kilrathi dead, and their armaded annihilated, the Kilrathi were forced to submit to the Terrans' demands that they adapt to an era of peacetime rule, and thus never again achieved galactic dominance. The remnants of the Empire instead fell into civil war as the quarreling clans fought for control, leading to years of in-fighting in Kilrathi space. The Kilrathi Empire was eventually succeeded by a moderate body known as the Kilrathi Assembly of Clans.
