It was a silent and uneventful day in the Edinburgh system, as Oliver and the other officers made the last preparations for the planned relocation outside of the Armed Forces' reach. The movement to the Arran Ice Cloud was known only to the crewmembers of the Majestic, while the others were not informed of what will happen later that day.
The fleet had a small number of snubcraft, specifically two wings of fighters and one wing of bombers. There were also two "Churchill"-class gunboats that were tasked with escorting the battlecruiser at all times.
Meanwhile, on board the HMS Majestic
"Sir, all systems show green. The rest of the task group is ready as well. We informed them that we are going out on a regular patrol. How shall we proceed now?", asked an officer on the bridge. "Good. I am most impressed by how fast our task force mobilizes. It would be a shame to lose them now. The standing orders are to regroup around our ship and proceed to the destination.", Oliver answered. "Understood. I will communicate the new orders to the rest of the group. What is the first destination?" "The first waypoint is sector Echo Three, just a short way off Gaia itself. Once we reach that waypoint, set course towards the Arran Ice Cloud and order the task force to follow. When we enter the nebula, launch all fighters and prepare to take direct control over the rest. Should any resist, eliminate them." "We will do as ordered, sir! The fleet will begin to move at once." "Very well. Make no mistakes, we cannot afford to lose the element of surprise. Dismissed, now.", Oliver said with an authoritative tone.
As the preparation were done and the orders issued to the group, they slowly began their journey towards the planned destination. Little did the others know that this would be an expedition that none would return from.
The hours passed, and the fleet was getting closer and closer to their destination. The relative silence on the bridge of the battlecruiser came to an abrupt end shortly after as Oliver ordered the officers to hold position and turn towards the Ice Cloud, now visible from behind Gaia itself. The moment they would reveal their identify was approaching. At the same time, the crew of the Majestic was deployed to battlestations, much to
the confustion of the rest, as no hostile forces were spotted in the area.
"Sir, we are now en route to the location you chose. The primary weapons are charged and their gunnery crews awaiting orders to fire if the others will oppose us. The rest of the crewmembers are prepared into boarding groups and will proceed with the standard boarding procedures once at the destination.", one of the officers said.
The task force began movement yet again, this time with the gunboats remaining behind the battlecruiser while several snubcrafts lead the way. The region was clear and no hostiles appeared, yet the wrecks of several Gallic cruisers left from the Invasion of Edinburgh months prior forced a slight change of course.
All the crew on the Majestic now patiently waited for the perfect moment to launch their surprise attack once they reached the chosen area.
The hours passed slowly as the task force made its way through the Edinburgh system. Although without incidents so far, the atmosphere on board the ships was tense. Yet they continued their patrol into the ice cloud, according to the orders given hours prior.
After entering the nebula and moving a short way to the destination, the snubcrafts leading the way reported no signs of hostile forces and that their are awaiting further instructions. However no response was given from the Majestic, as it too arrived with the gunboat escorts. Thinking that something must have happened on the battlecruiser, the two gunboats approached and sent squads of marines to check what has happened on the warship.
"Now's the moment! Give out the signal to fire at will and concentrate all firepower on the gunboats. Disable them and then order the marines to begin boarding procedures. As for the rest... all snubcrafts not belonging to our unit shall be destroyed.", Oliver gave the order.
"General quarters! All hands to battlestations. Gunnery crews, permission is granted to open fire. Support fighters are to protect the Majestic from the rest of the group.", an alarm sounded on the warship, as everyone mobilized for the upcoming battle.
Wasting little time, the guns of the battlecruiser laid waste upon the unexpecting fleet and in a matter of minutes the two gunboats were disabled. Marine crews began their planned boardings of the nearby warships, a task which was made significantly easier by their approach to the battlecruiser. At the same time, the fighters took down the majority of the remaining units.
Unfortunately for the others, they realized what is happening far too late to save themselves from the onslaught brought upon them. There was no time to send out a distress call to the other Armed Forces units, which went according to plans. Nevertheless, the short battle caused the majority of the strike group to lose a good part of its combat capabilities, and as such was a pyrrhic victory for the infested forces.
"Sir, we have succesfully destroyed all hostile snubcrafts and taken over the gunboats, as ordered. But I am afraid they will not be of much use as they have both suffered damage to weapon systems and engines. Our support wing of fighters reports a loss of 60% of the total combat abilities. Those are most concerning, as we will require them to make patrols in case the Armed Forces start to look for us. " "The battle has indeed cost us a lot. But that does not matter now. We have succesfully escaped detection and can proceed onto the next phase of our tasks. The last order for this operation is to cut all communications with the rest of the Armed Forces. We do not want them to be aware of our location. Dismissed."
With the ambush ending as a relative success for the infested forces, they could now focus on less-important tasks. As soon as possible, they would begin their attacks upon all vessels passing through Edinburgh and the nearby systems.