[ROUGHLY FIVE HOURS BEFORE ALEPH ENGAGES JOAN]
Five ships were each soaring through a blanketed abyssal sea of stars, sub-light speed in the great expanse of the void of space.
Each engines flame was a low saturated purplish hue
The shape each engine was attached to each ship was strictly angular, spherical with a noticeable point in direction, circling down the thicker part which would lead to the base, holds in that point where thrusters lie.
Each ship was colored purple, with segmented plating, miles upon miles of deep groves where hundreds of lights shone. Sensors, cameras, periscopes, and lights of variety faced and pointed all around.
Derelict guns untouched with lingering frost occasionally broken by occasional rotation.
A fleet with an interior thermal signature that bordered on non-existent, the only heat provided was that of the reactor, a manufactured Vecta-Reflux deep within the ship, bordering a room next to its own containment chamber, where a stabilization anchor was relayed, locked into a perfect surface, a weak point, an aft where a portion of the ship opened by hinges so these anchors could be replaced or installed whenever necessary.
The Stabilization anchor had cameras, and monitoring, and the visual feed relayed to a bridge on each ship.
The interior of the one ship bridge was the same as any other, twin sans for one where the Kommandant held himself in a chamber flooded from his view the tiny glass window peering in was to them a very large room to which they peered out into darkness.
A catwalk ten feet off the ground room control floor is where Krul stood, a circular portion with railing and control panel was in front of him, an input to intake Q-Disks, square floppy disks containing vast amounts of data for processing.
From the perspective of a man they were like monsters, the ship held its own gravity, large enough priority sections were partially in disconnection, and a powerful rotation revolved them, yet all this was amongst the ceiling.
Krul looks around those below his catwalk, a powerful dose akin to nicotine in between his fingertips, as a vaguely man-shaped mask slips from atop his lips, and he pursues his own around the cigarette between fingertips.
His eyes look to those beneath him whilst he eagerly confides in his decision to feel something anything, the heat of the cigarette allowing him to focus on those in the dark with him…
Those with him in darkness, friends within pregnant silence and occasional click, or beep of machinery and controls.
The dark coffin-like sterile interior gave no smell save for whatever Krul burned between his lips, and there was not a breath formed in this cold air safe for the one smoking.
They hardly moved, they hadn’t breathed for what was possibly days or a month in their time.
Not a soul twitched or fidgeted more than necessary. The hovering panels projecting LED screens were displayed in front of every man or woman.
Figures suited in their armor sat or stood
Helmets worn with a view of their red iris flashing in a beady dotted glow through blackened visor if they wore helmets at all, facing tall, outstretched screens with long mechanical necks, and terminals.
Before them each screen was blank, the readout analog and archaic compared to what the Empire should be able to provide post-scarcity,
the font and lettering were angular cubic, and shapes and symbols were blocky and rough geometric shapes, there was nothing else on each terminal save for gnobs, levers, and switches, each with corded v-phones slotted onto the top right if they were overseer of row or section within the massive bridge interior
digital images on screens of various non-complex shapes without sacrifice of unique identification, asteroids, wreckage, destination, fleet.
They were heading straight for Fracturia.
He sighs as his eyes roll, glancing over the tubing lightly illuminated by the heat of his cigarette.
His eyes glanced at the tubing that piped blood through the glass…
And after thinking of divining himself on that thoughtfully provided blood from the banks in New Persia, he instead focused hard on managing the fleet.
He leaned forwards over the railing and termina, the screen was displayed in square sections, routinely updated by several of the “crew” below, the vallschrimjagers, good replacements for the crew, handy in a pinch but he’d need to multitask to get full effectiveness just out of his command ship let alone managing all five other ships.
It was just five destroys at worst, and at best their only job in a fleet was dealing out damage, so he knew how to use a pure hard aggressive but vulnerable and weak composition…
“Your reading says we are on a steady approach to low-medium-range, in the next few minutes sub-light movement will cease, and we’ll be within 144,000 Kilometers.”
he saw the readout and 144,000 Kilometers was bordering out of the range in which medium-range itself ended. It was on purpose.
After a thought of how risky it was giving him an idea, Krul focused on doubling down.
“Yes sir I know you wanted close with confirmation we had from drones of hostile fleets still in orbit-“
“Cut it we’re going into close-range, squeeze us in, adjust all readout on my terminal, we are going to maintain 32,000 kilometers,” Krul commanded curtly
“Aye.” The Vallschrimjager currently in charge of navigation spoke a woman very tall like the rest of them still in her purplish knightly shaped armor, and reached over, the metal of her armor shifting, a sound of occasional clattering like plates hitting together,
Krul wasn’t going to argue against that. Mechra boarded often enough for that to often be a rare feeling in his heart.
Fear.
-
He’d seen many KKV’s rip through hulls, awful things, they are small man-sized spiders albeit since he exited New Persia word around is that got larger variants, with drills at bottom..dreadful….
-
He waved his fingers and pointed to the off-hand at darkness yet his gaze pierced the darkness, born of it…allowing him to point to someone made his own XO of this mission.
“John how is the status of weapons across our detachment?”
John shook his head “Green but doubtful we should continue this we in this singular ship have enough firepower to manage in your desired range, but if went as far as closer.” John waved his hand after he spoke
“Relatively about 22,000, from what I understand knife-fighting range? Or near it…–we’d be vaporized, the last fleet ahead of us was two times larger and I know that–“
“That what? They died? Range, and numbers mean nothing to me…a machine is a machine, I am no longer a man, but I still carry the image of God, what is a machine to the dead, what is that which is soul compared to that which lacks soul?”
Krul suddenly snapped and John’s head uptilted taken aback at his sudden rant as He clipped at John sharply.
“Now give me the damn status I requested to hear…”
“We’re all green, ammunition, omni-cannons are going to be our primary method of dealing damage, but the last drones sent this way into the system were unable to observe any method relativistic projectiles being able to reach that unknown vessel,” John stated
“Status of our countermeasures, Directed energy weapons and other??” Krul asked
“Sir I don’t think they’ll be using missiles, you said to me years ago, but yes they–“
“They will, I said newer, newer models wont, but even that which is new will be furnished with it John.” He focused his eyes narrowing into the stars
“I know we’ve fought them together for years but I want you to understand–“
“The machines are adaptable; we’ve had a similar conversation before.” John started and looked in pause from under his helmet to see Krul clenched his fist at being interrupted
“No…they’re not wasteful, if they have enough of something they’ll use it until its depleted…or worse they learn to improve what remains of them.” Krul spat at David
Krul waved John off “But it Doesn’t matter weapons are prepared and I’m at the helm today, no young lion is leading you to death.” Krul started to them, and looked around, as this got some heads to turn and listen
to the ship slowing, forward thrusters emerging from silos and burning, killing velocity fast!
The stars slowed to a crawl no longer racing in window view as Krul began to speak
“Have some faith, I know you’ve seen all the young predators those too fat on human blood have been extinguished, and as a result now I only have you soldiers to crew five ships.” Krul started but laughed
“But do not worry…” Krul was about to finish smiling with pride, his expression hidden under a vast plated helmet.
John began to smile at the rousing speech
“An old worn-out hammer is going to strike just as hard the day it was forged let me teach you children how we fight against the odds in my generation,” Krul stated simply
Krul accessed the terminal “I’ll be manning the helm, I want all of you to adjust to my actions, John, contact Ada and have teams ready to overload the reactor, push it past the threshold, and evacuate the room.”
John gave a startling wonder at what exactly Krul was going to do, but the ship was launching, they were exiting at sub-light speed.
Suddenly! Their feet snapped to plating beneath, all safe for Krul’s who called upon that natural predatory nature as a vampire to remain grounded, fangs bared as he bit the cigarette down as it turned to ash in his mouth, letting it drift onto the catwalk, stamping the residue of it.
They got into the range, their screens lit up, it was short notice, and in mere moments they exited sub-light and entered the desired range, they were thirty-two thousand kilometers out from the targets.
After they were targeted immediately, surges of radiation indicating lock on, immediate waves washing over electronics indicated a variety of radiation-based detection techniques that activated albeit late but relative to the delay caused by distance instantaneously
More massive surges of electromagnetic radiation appeared on terminals instant indicating lock-on from barbaric conventional kinetic missiles.
[TERMINAL READOUT OF HOSTILE FLEET COMPOSITION, FIVE LARGE VESSELS, FIVE MEDIUM SIZED VESSELS, TEN HOSTILES UNKNOWN CLASS *NEW*]
“Kommandant Krul–” One Vallschrim started but was unable to finish
Krul swept his hand fiercely at the air “Focus on Projectile defense, maintain strafe without breaking current range, no further than 32,000 Kilometers, no closer than 29,000 Exactly!” He screamed out to them.
It is all or nothing, they’re outnumbered and outgunned, they play aggressively, stay mobile, Strike monstrously, enough distance to evade enough yet still! distance to hit should the Vallschrimagers impress!
The Vallschrimager turned her head, she was in awe at his response to the question she hadn’t been able to t…he was fast, even predicting what his crew would ask of him…
he had guessed what order and clarification was to be asked of him on a dime, this allowed her to quickly channel his words into terminal communication between ships in an instant and snap the order
Alarms began to blare and finally, the darkness was filled with magnificent red lights indicating danger
The mecha acted too fast, unnaturally fast and to think this is their outdated waves from how long it takes their more updated units to reach Triangulum.
Time for hell- Is all the thought Krul can spare for himself, Krul took the helm from his place, the controls were archaic, it provided them protection… from what?
Screens flickered and the ship was unnaturally barraged with distorted screens “My terminal just went out!”
“I lost control of the radar; it’s zoomed in on the wrong sector!”
The mechra was now defying reason with how they seemed even to return too swiftly to perform countermeasures on the archaic design, even with automation they still found a way to hamper technology itself
They could see dots rapidly appear, thousands of them, sourced from far away targets, massive signatures with energy readings consistent with that of a star.
It made it hard to differentiate from the star already in the system if it weren’t for that object's distance, the analog devices clicked as they kept up reading on hostile projectiles.
“FIFTEEN WAVES FIFTEEN HUNDRED MISSILES FAST-MOVERS!”
“Prepare countermeasures, and counterstrike with two waves of our own ASM’S, priority dump left flank of their formation!”
Yet as he gave that command There were plumes of lights far different than the stars or the glowing enemy ships, he could see something from the direction of enemy ships… The enemy missiles shouldn’t move that fast…but they were! –
--
He may not have been able to see but these were different in design than the ones he had encountered in the past few years they were of different design,
Each one was no longer the size of a car but the size of a small light cargo vessel, designed to impact with tremendous speed and then explode, sharp like a pointed arrow.
After the tailed first wave exited the silo, the secondary wave was reloaded and fired in an instant, ejecting more than could be measured or sighted, the ships charged so much energy they were utilizing excess as the primary charge for their main weapons batteries aligned along the hull.
streams of energy poured out from batteries, striking through most of the projectiles sent by the vampiric ships that headed for them, neutralizing them and in addition taking no damage themselves
Each battery itself was protected due to the design simply being skeletal exposed emitters covered in dense metal plates that folded and unfolded over them
These monolithic Mechra ships were as tall as they were wide, albeit very much shaped like a monolith, with finger-like protrusions out the side, each with arced cannons where the overcharge of energy was poured into each tower-shaped end that glowed brightly, forming a near hexagonal line together.
Each of the protrusions was littered in silos mechanically flung outwards, bursting the ice grown over it. The Surface Radiators on key points of the vessel were already growing as bright as a star
Yet near one of these radiators, as the silo opened, it was not a missile that emerged.
Legs clicked, servos whirred, and a tall triangular body sharp attached to four limbs with a drill at the bottom of its body arose.
A KKV (Kinetic Kill Vehicle)…different from the definition usage and style of how vampires and humans had imagined it…they were very different
They approached nearly silently propelled without the plume of fire each of the massive missiles emerged with, trailing behind them with tremendous speed alongside the standard fleet of missiles they…. they were mistaken for the rest of the-…
--
“Anti-Ship-Missiles!” The woman startled spoke and remembered herself “ASMS!! Too many,
“They’re closing in at terminal velocity! Evasion capability lost! Fleet is engaging countermeasures!”
Krul gave the point “DOWN THEM!” He screamed.
He could see in peripheral the boxes that were displaced, by support structures, box-like armor extruding up from newly made shafts, angular rectangle turrets on swivels, that spun up.
He noticed their ship had a lighter load compared to others.
I recognize this tactic! Krul’s subconscious screamed
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
He switched to John “Command Ship Alpha to divert half countermeasures, blind sweep our nose!” He screamed amongst the sporadic silence and voices in the ship.
John hesitated then quickly called it, worrying for the ship–
It was a good decision, it was moments and Krul saw what looked like a massive spider come into view, it was with the many sightings of missiles they could see like misshapen white splotches, but some were gray.
Kill-Vehicles, terrible dreadful things that moved with missiles, they would hook and latch to a ship, each was the size of a small dropship. But they were thankfully swept before they reached.
Suddenly! A column of purplish-hued light extended through the dark and diced them, the metal around each bubbled possibly for nanoseconds, sections vaporized and split up, broken mass bodies
Turning them into half shapes, each had four legs that now drifted with them as their broken forms continued toward the ship and harmlessly bounced off the hull.
Mighty crashes heard as they did, and likely sparks at the sheer velocity they impacted.
“Those weren’t missiles what were they–“ John went to speak but was tuned out by Krul, as his eyes went back to his terminal..
‘That was short thinking I didn’t even know for sure they would do ‘that’! Again…but they’re targeting me, do they know I’m the command ship!?..’
The first wave made it, they were projectiles that
“John, relay Coordination command with the fleet! Adjust! Strafe Right until we circle in 90’degree arc and reposition to a 3-3-5 Bearing relative to their position around the planet!” he shouted to him. John gave a nod and began to shout.
-
[EXTERNAL VIEW]
The ships began to move, and adjust as Krul seemed to give another order relayed by John, their twin batteries each on every destroyer raised up, and began to open as they strafed,
Each batteries arrangement was a Vhatin Cannon, Vampiric Plasma kinetically propelled at 14.5% the speed of light.
Each Vhatin Cannon had a coaxial laser on the angled top of it, barrel allowing it to engage fighters should primary anti-missile-anti-fighter countermeasures be too hassled.
The lasers shot out like tracers in short bursts, bolts of light slung into the air at stray missiles still lingering as each ship strafed.
In in depth, and put into a more digestible view, the terminal screens of each ship read the view in simulated overhead display.
The vampiric ships were incrementally adjusting above and low, lowering and raising whenever possible.
Krul dexterously commanded this fleet, their directional cannon on more fine tuned demand covered the bridge, from top or bottom as they randomly changed on what could be measured a z axis, raising or lowering.
In tandem the hostile ships lowered or raised with them, the lack of pure direction in space allowing this dizzying evasion, targeting, evasion.. the range between both fleets allowed slim evasion with their slower weapons and with some prediction of targeting.
But the Mechra ships predicted all the better.
[Internal]
The readout on one of the screens quickly identified another wave–
“SECOND WAVE ON APPROACH INTERCEPTION WINDOW OPENING IN TWO MINUTES!” A females shrill cry sounded as she steadily worked hard to get her systems back on at full 100%
Slamming a fist into the analog screen that was on a dizzy, until it flashed back to normal, doing that to a Vallschrimjager nearby her.
Krul sighed Even they know the interception window.
Mechra missiles were unlike anything ever seen, they have a long delay before they hit terminal, relativistic speed but before that, they all have a variety of RCS thrusters on sides to change course and evade countermeasures.
‘Damn machines hardly have a worry on being economical they’d dismantle so of our damned worlds already.’….
“FIFTEEN ENERGY SURGES, HOSTILE BATTERIES! AIMED FOR BETA AND CHARLIE” One of the vallschrim yelled his voice adding as the other meant to monitor was busy helping others fix the electronic disruptions with her fist
“John Fleet collective power status!?” Krul shouted frantically to John, they had barely a second before a beam came at light speed faster than they can react
“Green!” Johnr replied quickly “They were waiting on when they would utiliz–“
“Order them to dump all power, focus on directional shielding!” Krul Commanded sharply.
“Sir we had these cannons prepared, by your order! They’d be limited in ability for critical offensive option!”
“Irrelevant!” Krul clipped at John and waved his hand at him.
It was painful he could visibly see whatever respect John had for him in past encounters leave that helmet, but this was so much more important, he hated to admit it, but this was a key operation, he’d have to in short time likely kill any honor he had here…and sacrifice it like he may have to sacrifice them
John reluctantly gave the command and order through that corded telephone device to the other ships
His eyes set upon the glass window into a blank abyss, see unnatural stars among the natural stars.
One of the women ahead yelled out “FIFTEEN MORE WAVES OF TWENTY-FIVE MISSILES, HOSTILES ARRANGING IN LINE FORMATION.”
She was shouting over John as he was informing his XO on the other ship
Krul watched over John as he took deep gulps of breath the few even allowed on these ships so they could bother speaking to one another.
John snatched a corded communication device and barked orders over it, the brick-like phone humming back a garbled voice came out as if traveling through the trail of crumpled cording.
Krul set his eyes forward on the howling dark and mechanical beasts slinging attacks within, his countenance holding no expression other than disdain
They learned fast, he could see them working like a machine, but now the projectiles were coming in fast, faster than they were learning, these were dummy projectiles.
The Mechra were never wasteful even keeping many outdated weapons, why their ships even on the readout he was given on his terminal showed what he self-determined to be frigates as massive,
Otherwise, they long ago stopped using missiles as a weapon but more as a countermeasure and tactical feint save for
times like this to overwhelm point defenses, if even they weren’t using them to in priority cause damages, he knew many a crew and captains ignoring a barrage of them often witnessed this more situationally effective weapon turn the tide
clenching his jaw at that tense feeling of impending doom
Accompanying anxiety was the sight of more missiles than any report given had told him
Sacrifice is required, they are damaging all our systems, the dummy projectiles are heading for them, and they’re sending something else to me… Krul inhales deeply, and it all begins to slow as danger closes in…
‘Will we win with all five?’ He thinks…
his head and considers it for a moment, time for himself albeit not a caste known for speed, and reaction seems to slow.
He considers the weapon of this ship, the omni-cannon that releases positively charged energy, In the last few years Mechra has indeed been using standard charged weapons, pure beams of energy enough to nearly glass half a star system with just one.
Knowing a ship was important. And in this moment...He recalled all he learned, dissected how he was there when ships of this kind were built albeit an outdated variant…This destroyer's omni-cannon was a varied weapon switching from projectile to energy….
The energy of the omni-cannon was negative as anything powered by VCE was…. inherent.
The First few missiles entered within 10’000 Kilometers
They were like dotted spears scattered across the expanse, arrows that cut through the darkness, that slipped through the night of the void.
They were white-arrows solid with fiery tails, and on the terminal, they looked sized to dropships due to it mistaking them for such and some for boarding-pods.
The bastards are huge! Krul can think to himself, each new wave of machines got stronger, got bigger they have none of the issues they had, they have no accommodation for life aboard vessels only weapons, only armor, only progress…
We’ll adjust then…sacrifices be damned... Krul’s mind immediately was recalculating in the subconscious
Amidst rising temperatures, the more the undead in the room began to speak, murmur, and feedback data.
The repetitive sounds of their work at stations become very frequent.
Yet the repetitious sounds hadn’t driven Krul insane, in what may have been a few moments the hostile missiles were yet to strike
He was simply letting it fade like the wind; it became ambiance like rain… but it became slurred sounds became drawn out… slowed significantly and then… there was just the hum…
The Reactor he had set to turn on was for a plan
And after, it was in that moment thinking of what he planned Krul entered a cruel deaf to frantic communication of his own fleet.
He could see out the windows cannons of light turn…Each quickly engaging, but there was so many, each ship was undoubtedly covering for itself…
That made him think.
Of course, they obviously know what the command ship is…..They’re isolating! Krul’s mind snapped
It was in that moment he undoubtedly made his damning play decision in suddenly without warning, it was afterall Krul was often called ‘Cruel’…his thoughts….were evidence…
‘That’s it…. We’ll make it with one ship, four sacrificed for 144,000… It’s a gamble but if their weapon utilizes positive energy, if it is like a particle beam, not only would it likely deflect I can neutralize the powered lances that are directed for us.’
As he deduced the arrangement and timing of deaths necessary for them to break through…to Reach Fracturia in one piece. Everything came back.
And the sound exploded in his ears all at once, yet his voice rose above it all, shouting, terminals, alarms, the vibrations of weapons
“NEW COMMAND ALL SHIPS PRIORITIZE MY DEFENSE;” Krul shouted drew many heads at the audacity of what he commanded
“YOU ARE NOT PRIORITY TARGET LET THE MISSILE WAVES STRIKE FOCUS ON MY DEFENSE!”
Krul was smart enough to know that wasn’t going to be the only waves of KKV’s if they were sending them they wanted to breach They wanted whoever was in a ship to not be vaporized…they wanted intel, flight records…anything..
John relay my order Again! And again!” He shouted at John “All ships prioritize defense of ours!” He emphasized turning his head in a glance toward John “My ship, no question.” He curtly started.
He knew of the four excluding himself that needed to die in this order for this planning to work.
ALPHA
BETA
CHARLIE
DELTA
Krul saw something disgusting in John the moment he gave that order humanity..
John shouted “Sir we’re asking them to take waves of damage from a missile barrage! That’s inadvisable even from my lack of– “
“Irrelevant execute order!!” Krul stated almost robotically…
John’s disgust was palpable his hand almost hesitated, and the idea of killing Krul came to mind…something, this was all something Krul knew was going on to a long-time subordinate friend’s mind, but it was worth it…they were going to clear the enemy…
Only humans are so weak to fear sacrifice…Sacrifice is everything! Krul clenched his fists…
‘Albeit we are damned to have to lose so many in the gamble for those stupid bastards planetside!’
that were intercepted, all that went for him. Well… he could see flashes in the corner of his vision and when he bothered to listen again, he heard screams over broadcast, it was unlike a vampire to scream when they’re dying, but a heat death was a heat death….
He could hear the thumping of his own ships coaxial-laser guns channeling immense amounts of power with a hum before flinging it through space, hitting another excess wave of missiles, all the ships were focusing on them.
Krul quickly predicted they were going to overwhelm his ship with KKV’s and he was right but when they did the other ships point-defenses that would’ve been too busied with their own defense kept charge and covered his, taking out far more of them than would’ve been possible but..–
“Ships are reporting considerable damage, half the crew was struck, they were devastated…...” John paused and Krul waved his hand aggressively as the rest of the crew frantically tried to respond to further attacks.
“But we received zero damage.”
“Then fire the main cannon, straight ahead– “Krul went to point immediately “At nothing sir!?” The man operating the main gun spat out, beside John looking over in confusion.
“Straight ahead, they were counting on the other ships being overwhelmed for what comes next….” Krul narrowed his eyes.
Krul gave a startled jump as he heard a sound from outside the ship “Damn!–“
FWOOM
There was indeed a sound he wasn’t hallucinating cause the crew reacted…they shouldn’t of heard it but they did… Unnaturally the weapons of the Mechra were reaching a critical point they were mastering terrorspace…and with it, were at a point where they defiled the very stars.
It was like space altered itself, energies swirling, and in a piercing moment, they saw a piercing blue sky then…darkness….
The cloud of blood drifted in place of Bravo evidence of a horrific loss, in the form of a bright darkish column…. stripping the ship, it was too far away to properly see, each of them spaced 11,000 Kilometers apart.
But he could just vaguely sight–“
John announced dead weight in his voice “Bravo gone, that was the vessel containing all of our vehicles…”
Krul announced “They’re going to fire in approximately ten seconds.” Ignoring that significant loss, this put a wrench in his plans, a sacrifice, and it was a blow that almost had Krul wince, as if the mechra knew taking out a key part of his plan planned to die later would hurt.
‘It does hurt..I’ve lost them..’ Is all Krul can feel as he pockets his hands, stomping his foot on the metal plating
His gut twisted until it bled… at the pain of such a loss for nothing….
He couldn’t dare to look but was made to by his curiosity of his failure…
And he could see that vague dark cloud appear near the completely vaporized distant light that was all that was left of Bravo….
He failed them, they weren’t meant to die so worthlessly..
Ten….
Externally they all knew what it was, all the blood stored within the ship to feed them…gone…. drifting in a massive dark cloud…
Seven….
Krul lanced his right arm forward, pointing “Four…”
“Fire early!” Krul shouted
John didn’t question Krul this remaining time and the overloaded omni-cannon fired a straight beam, cursed energy emerging.
The Vecta-Reflux within the ship was pushed to the brink but was now stable…
[Reactor.]
Ada had been exposed to something emitting enough radiation to kill ten-thousand men, a bright hued light, her regeneration was pushed to an absolute brink managing this tight source of power…
And worst of all it just unnaturally stabilized…
They fired…
[….]
Krul’s plan worked, and in a short moment, the beam of his weapon fired in just enough time to catch the powerful charged beams aforementioned of the mechra ships, in the massive array of space and darkness, white and purple emerged, around the base of the column of purple light, a blank abyssal black sandwiched between whitish color as the beam went at light-speed.
As did the other pure energy fired at it, yet they were all poised to hit the command ship as the others were unable to provide support.
All aimed for the bridge but with the placement of the omni-cannon above the frontal deck of the ship, it was pointed at its targets…projecting the beam that intersected...
The negative energy hadn’t obliterated the mechras beams but caused them to fully reflect, the powerful emitters on the mechra ships seemed to in a moment rather than simply overload, due to the overcharged shot that nearly melted the internals of the omni-cannon firing, had a devastating reflect.
A danger resonation occurred that caused the mechra ships aligned in formation to have their main cannons not only disabled but full damage occurring internally…
Krul saw that it worked, what he just did required timing inhuman and relied too much on his own heart, but now he felt excited….
“Sir. I’ve never seen that happen when beams collided shouldn’t they have neutralized eacho-“
“Relay this!” Krul shouted to John “Charlie-Delta, utilize batteries! Aim for their primary cannons!”
‘We’re going to win but it’s going to be costly! The usual!’ Krul faintly thought within himself
All this for some children I hate but this is different…than Delara or Yervandal…I may as well have raised the bastards….so I’m coming for them…
Krul almost laughed thinking on it, and the sacrifice Bravo made for his pride.
[EXTERNAL]
The batteries of his fleet began to open and struck true, one of the mechra ships already heavily weakened by a one-time attack was struck.
[The chances of the counter-lance maneuver and shot Krul pulled off had been read within the machine mind as approximately 0.000001% of ever being encountered, it was a chance always present with the way their ways of projecting energy as a weapon differed…Yet it has happened for the first time...…The Mechra take this loss reasonably]
The mechra ships which had reflected energy thrown back into them not only were scrambled by the devastating counter, but their internals were nearly fried entirely, their silos locked up and couldn’t reopen, and some mechanisms.
ocular organs within the vessels were burnt out providing damaged visual.
They didn’t competently avoid battery fire from several heavy batteries.
Energies enough to melt through a moon albeit projected through a small beam struck the metal, it struggled to beat the mechras incredible ability to disperse heat, the beam's weight on the Vecta Reflux reactor could be measured in the radial meters.
[1.35 million Gigajoules of energy at maximum output efficiency]
In itself it was just a light strain on the reactor but in itself it struggled to get through the armor without concentration.
but several of these shots were met with additional battery fire from Krul’s vessel itself
It struck thermal points, Krul coordinated with the interior crew to see points with the highest read, these points were targeted, weakened and now struck by those already utilizing batteries to melt through into hostile ships with less capability to avoid.
Krul quickly concluded.
They scored three kills, whilst his primary intention was to reflect, the beam he shot did eventually reach a target, scoring and a shot on an already overloaded target, the second was killed by concentrated fire but all ships. Yet the third was still in action despite being split in half, the dots of repair drones vaguely reported on the reestablished radar.
Among all Mechra ships was still the massive vessel that dwarfed the moon.
That will be our final target! Krul thought.
Aleph below was unaware of the help that was coming, and the sacrifices being made….
[EXTERNAL]
Command ship Despina remained, and with it there was.
Alpha-Heavily damaged.
Bravo-Destroyed
Charlie-Remaining, heavily damaged near critical.
Delta- Heavy damage, superficial, critical crew lost in pierced shot, slow repairs.
-
They fought like monsters, Krul changed up the command, he knew the Mechra were a machine and a machine was literal, they were adaptive, he wasn’t totally ignorant the mechra though itself nearly alive, they held human forms and even now despite having some practicality their ship appearances were more ceremonial….
But Krul believed a machine could only imitate the ingenuity of a living being so far, and that the image of a creator is far more inventive even in undeath than the cold-steel pretending to ‘live’ ahead of them…
[EXTERNAL]
Yet he is to prove that right…..
The ships adjusted, Krul adjusted the command, Alpha moved out of formation and closed in, making itself a juicy target with less evasion, it wasn’t targeted, it was obvious feint.
Krul got a bit wicked and ordered Alpha to keep closing the gap, it was a gamble on whether the machines would realize the feint or not.
The Mechra forgot to calculate the rashness of unliving or living beings, the feint powered up in this time its main omni-cannon.
And fired.
Of course the Mechra were slightly prepared to adjust if needed but that directed full attention to obliterating Ship-Alpha.
[INTERNAL]
“Alpha has been lost…” Was the only cold words spoken by John he didn’t need to say it, the light flashing upon them of it being vaporized before it could make off a shot was obvious
The light of its destruction shewn upon them, and the crew had heads turned if possible, toward Krul with disdain and disgust at what they saw as just a completely barbaric moronic tactical decision…
Krul knows the one thing a machine can’t do, the one thing nothing in the universe can do ‘is read a mind’.
[EXTERNAL]
The Mechra quickly deduced desperation as a reasonable cause, they neglected to put forth full effort to hit the extremely vulnerable and even smaller and split hostile arrangement.
Instead focusing on Alpha who they believed was a twice multiplied trick to get them to ignore a trojan horse bait that seemed to obvious but really was going to be a key target
They held half fire on the other ships, melting the light plating surrounding the other ships, but still bloodied Alpha badly with focused fire..
Two ships had to immediately respond to the lead ship, but by the time they gave heed, they intercepted 25 of 50 of the weapons launched by Despina.
The weapons damaged the enemies batteries, disallowing counter-battery fire, Krul helmed Despina and with quick suddenness sent the fleet sans Charlie into sublight speed charge and close of distance
with the two other remaining ships Charlie and Delta.
Charlie split off, and maintained support, now they were about to be entering melee distance, the sublight speed allowed them to dangerously close a gap.
There was little room for evasion as they got closer.
Charlie remained further back and with constant strafe evaded the the targeted columns of light and batteries that fired toward it, twisting itself, it twisted onto its side and overloaded several of its
own batteries to land hits on two different ships at once which would’ve focused on Alpha and Despina.
The mechanisms that allowed the weapons on Charlie to cool burst as they were pushed to complete destruction almost just leaving it with its primary armament.
Despina closed in on the two ships, focusing directional fire of batteries, Krul charging what appeared to be the ship furthest in the hostile formation for his plan on using the main gun.
The gamble that will be everything we dream of!
taking glancing strikes which stripped armor, and spalled the metal, as it bubbled up, several sections penetrated entirely
But as Despina took hits, it dished them out considerably enough to weaken one.
With a quick charge, the omni-cannons primary arrangement switched to the singular projectile, and emitted a charge.
Sparks ejected around the place it was shot from and a projectile exited as they were now 10,000 KM in knife-fighting range.
With no opportunity to evade the targeting and for a clear shot to be made on the heaviest point of mass, it struck through the hostile vessel, and into a second based on the spacing of the hostile wedged formation and the immense size of vessels, already some points melted and weakened for the piercing blow…
Charlie further back utilized its main cannon with a swift turn and engaged heavily, its main cannon and additional weapons pelting hostiles with everything they had facing minimal resistance from the collective strike.
Delta scored two critical hits with Kruls adjustments to their engagement methods over communication.
They scored seven kills but by then even Charlie had nearly been wasted, almost a drifting melted wreckage…It couldn’t make landfall like this….
But the enemy ship dwarfing the moon made no moves…it was a ground game now…because it wasn’t a military ship…it was opening….
It appeared to be some sort of massive habitat…that doubled as a supercarrier…
as millions of dots and signatures poured out of its opening maw… and what looks to be a massive habitat inside is opened and revealed inside…
