Chapter Two Nineteen Dance of the Maiden (Patreon)

September 22nd, 008 SDE:

The Admiral set the report down, it was another report to come out of the Lodge. Taking the lodge had cost them two battleships, that was more firepower than he had expected to lose. Unfortunately, they had underestimated the Phantoms, they were better equipped and deadlier than he’d thought. He’d heard about the Phantom battleship fighting a two-on-one gun duel at the Lodge. Now while the ship had ultimately retreated from the duel, she did so after sinking one of his battleships, and a few weeks before a mere dozen fighters had ambushed and sunk one of their most powerful ships. Losing the Fang of Li’aous was not something they would easily recover from, but it wasn’t a fatal blow to the endeavor.

The Yurifa had managed to hold her own, but he felt the need to reinforce that section. With that in mind, he’d set course for the Lodge. This new report merely reinforced his belief in that decision. Thankfully the Phantoms hadn’t shown up at Amber Harbor and the Yurifa’s battlegroup had managed to seize the port. Unfortunately, losses were heavy, the Yurifa was still there but she was the only large capital ship able to give battle. The other warships were either too damaged or sank. Thankfully they had taken out two drifter battleships at Amber Harbor, something that he felt helped make up for the losses.

Yet he found their position at the Lodge and Amber Harbor weak. If the Phantoms or the Drifters launched a counter-assault before they were ready, they could lose both locations. The Admiral doubted it would happen too fast, the Drifters would need time to repair their ships and rally for another launch. Travel times would further slow the response, that would give him time to reinforce the position. With that in mind he was taking his own ship that way, counting on the Dregari to keep the Cooperative on the backfoot.

More importantly, he was quite worried about the Phantoms, which is why he had ordered the Yurifa battlegroup to send scouts to locate their base of operations. He already knew their rough territory lines, but the exact location of their base wasn’t known. This vital recon would need to be completed by the time he arrived. Not to mention it would be untenable to leave a force that dangerous on his flank, they would have to be dealt with sooner rather than later.

Suddenly an alarm blared, “Combat Alert! All hands to Battlestations, repeat all hands report to your battle stations.”

The Admiral blinked then rushed out of his office and down the hall to the bridge. Rushing into the command center he was met by his first mate, and the man who fought his vessel during a battle. “What do we have?”

The other man grinned, “Cooperative cruisers, no battleships but one of their battlecruisers is present. In addition we think this is merely the vanguard of a larger fleet”

“The Felkar?”

“Afraid not, it's a different one.”

He turned to the tactical display and noted they still had a few minutes before they were actually in combat range. That gave him a little time to get up to speed and make a plan, but they were going to have to be quick. Based on the rate they were closing, they would be in torpedo range in less than four minutes. “Shame, the larger fleet?”

“We can barely see them on long range sensors, several large vessels are present but we can’t identify them yet.”

“Well then we better give them a fight,” he replied while tallying his assets, he’d taken a small battlegroup. He’d had his reasons but it seems the Cooperative spies must have picked up his route. The Vanguard here was likely part of a net to locate him, now that he was spotted they’d pin him down and converge which meant the main fleet likely had a battleship or two in it. This was going to be quite the fight, the Maiden was a battleship and he had two heavy cruisers and half dozen light cruisers for escort, along with two drone carriers and a dozen destroyers. For once in this war he was actually outnumbered.

He glanced at the clock then spent the next two minutes hashing out a quick battle plan and getting what information he could on the ships he was fighting. Then the range was gone, and the enemy was in torpedo range. It was time to fight.

Turning to the tactical station he double-checked the plot and their positioning, “All ships open fire!”

Almost immediately the hull thrummed as the starboard torpedo batteries opened up, his tactical officer having already selected targets. 1200 torpedo launchers fired, each one opening with a full burst. The Maiden was a powerful ship and her alpha strike showed that each launcher had multiple tubes and was capable of firing a salvo of 35 warheads at once, unfortunately after firing a full salvo it would take three minutes to reload the launcher fully, but you could fire a single torpedo after that roughly every five seconds. It was actually slightly longer than five seconds between shots, but that was close enough. Naturally, The Maiden could chew through warheads surprisingly fast, especially if she used conventional missiles; she didn’t. They were basically guided energy projectiles, not plasma like many races used. Rather, instead they were phase coherent bolts of exotic particles suspended in a spatial projection matrix. Special energy projectors along the hull were used to guide the warheads, and the energy bolts would detonate on contact with matter or energy fields, like a ship’s shield grid. Not only that but they unleashed high levels of ionizing particles, neutron radiation and even a highly concentrated gamma burst with each impact.

His first mate waited a few seconds then ordered a roll of the ship, then they fired the second full salvo. An act that gave them an impressive first strike, and he was sure the enemy would be overwhelmed by the sheer number of warheads. 84,000 torpedoes was no joke, and that was from his ship alone.

The Admiral watched the screens as the salvo closed and the torpedo launchers reloaded. The Cooperative response to the salvo was quick, mere seconds after the torpedoes were in the storm, they were launching counter missiles and conducting evasive maneuvers. The seconds ticked down and missiles collided with the torpedoes, reducing the number. Then flak batteries opened up while drones and more missiles were deployed. Even more torpedoes detonated in brilliant displays of color and light but it wasn’t enough, the first torpedoes found their mark slamming into ships one after another. The first ship to go down was a destroyer, she took three hits, the first one was amidships, the second one struck her in the engineering spaces, the third penetrated her armor belt to detonate near one of her magazines.

The resulting detonation was spectacular as the entire ship was torn apart by a brilliant fireball that lit up the swirling gasses of the storm in a multi-color display, even as other warheads streamed past. Shortly after that a cruiser was torn to shreds, she took nine hits to her starboard ventral, three of which penetrated the armor belt before exploding with destructive force. The plating ruptured as plasma fires ignited within the hull, a secondary detonation tore open the spine of the ship seconds later, followed by a second mere moments later. The fires must have burned through to the magazine or something. Whatever the cause, the ship was split in two by the violent detonations as her crew abandoned the dying ship.

More ships were struck, but a fair number of warheads also streamed harmlessly into the void, the combination of maneuvers and countermeasures ensuring they had missed their targets. Regardless, the first blow had been effective. At the same time, the first enemy salvo was entering his own defensive envelope and they were firing a second with their remaining ships. The enemy warheads closed quickly even as they blinked out. Moments later the ship rocked as several found their mark, but the shields held.

“Shields are holding, minor damage to the fleet, one destroyer has sunk.”

That was a good result for the first exchange. His first mate gave the order for the second, while he focused on identifying the larger group that was now close enough to get a good look at. He picked out several large ships, three of which were battleships; there was even a battlecruiser present as well, along with a number of heavy cruisers. It seemed they’d pulled out all the stops for this engagement. He would do the same.

The distance gradually shrank as each force exchanged numerous torpedoes and missile volleys before engaging in a vicious gun duel, yet he kept his eye on the heavy ships in the larger second force. Even as the battlecruiser leading the first group challenged him, the admiral was waiting for a moment to fire another large volley at the incoming ships.

The shields flared under a mix of heavy disruptor and plasma cannon fire, when he gave the order. A shudder ran up the deck plates as a torpedo penetrated a weakening shield arc, just moments before the launchers fired, and then they rolled to bring the starboard launchers to bear and fired again. It would be a bit before there was any impact, so in the meantime they focused on the immediate threat, the enemy battlecruiser.

The Tactical officer looked up, and reported the main batteries were ready to fire. In moments the order to fire was given, while the Admiral focused on adjusting their formation, making sure no ship was out of place.

The Ion Disruptor batteries hummed as they discharged heavy ionic bolts intended to disable. The torpedoes were more to kill but the Ion Disruptors were flexible weapons able to kill or disable. Each round struck quick and fast, the swirling golden-green bolts tore into the large warship. Her shields flickered and failed as the energy bolts rippled over the hull, she fell silent.

They’d have to dispatch boarding parties later but for now the ship was no longer a threat. With one target dealt with, he could focus on the next. A cruiser was coming at them, her forward gunports glowing as they discharged high energy particle streams. The shields flared and the ship rocked. A shout to return fire was given and the batteries opened up on the cruiser and she went dark as well.

In the distance the torpedoes were finding their marks. The Admiral watched the other cooperative battlecruiser take multiple hits, her shields flared and failed but her armor seemed to take the worst of the impacts. Leaving behind shattered and ruptured plating. Nothing truly crippling, but it was enough to convince the crew to turn tail. The enemy capital ship turned about quickly and broke formation. The Admiral didn’t pursue, he had other worries. One fleeing capital ship meant one fewer to deal with.

He was not so lucky with the battleships, all three of them took multiple hits but their plating absorbed it all. Sensors picked up some surface damage but nothing truly threatening to the ships. Glancing at the displays, he noted that with the current rate of closing the distance, he wouldn’t have a chance to fire another full volley at them, but he could shoot a partial if he fired now. The admiral gave the order.

The ship thrummed as the warheads fired in quick succession, then the ship rolled to get more rounds out. A deadly volley of over forty thousand warheads sailed toward the targets, who responded instantly with counter missiles.

Seconds ticked by and distances closed as the storm lit up with deadly flashes. Then the rounds found their marks with less effect than he would have hoped, several cruisers went down, but the battleships weathered the storm just as well as the first strike.

The admiral gave his next order, “Set course to intercept those battleships. All other ships cover us.”

They were quickly acknowledged and the Maiden charged into battle, all guns blazing. The Enemy returned the favor. Beneath his feet the ship rocked as heavy plasma shells, high-energy particle streams and heavy laser bolts tore into the shields. The shields flared brightly with each hit but they held. The admiral let his first mate fight the battle for a bit, his only order being to reserve the torpedoes.

__________Three minutes later, the ship shook, “Shields breached! Multiple hits port side!”

“Auxiliary power to shields, return fire secondary batteries. Bring us about to one one zero mark two eight, increase speed”

The Admiral interjected, “Lock torpedoes on that battleship to starboard.”

“Torpedoes locked!”

“Fire!!!”

The ship thrummed as the launchers fired, at this range there was almost no time to deploy countermeasures and many of the rounds found their marks. The storm lit up with explosions as fiery light filled the space between the ships. From here the admiral had an excellent view as his warheads smashed the heavy armor plating and ruptured the hull. Her massive plasma guns fell silent as several torpedoes penetrated the enemy turrets.

For a second she seemed like she might survive but then one of the torpedoes penetrated to her core. The internal armor buckled and failed, plasma fires erupted inside the hull and secondary detonations tore through the ship’s citadel. In seconds the ship was a fractured husk. It was a shame, but they didn’t have the luxury to disable the ship, not in a one against three gun duel.

The sudden loss of a battleship took the wind of the cooperative sails and he watched the other ships break in a disorderly retreat. It seemed they had won this battle. Now to see what prizes they could take.