Sliding Reality: Chapter 6 Part 3 of 5 (Patreon)

“Doesn’t look like they’ve discovered the defensive network,” Leblanc said.

“I’d say, they’re right in the damn middle of them,” Klinsky said.

Hoplite lay at the center of the Legion’s formation, with the ten corvettes creating a half-dome defensive screen along their line of advance.

The enemy hellcats and dropships moved in three formations around the Legion fleet’s weapon envelope, aiming for Sanctorium.

Their warships were arranged in a pyramid, with the two Destroyers and three Frigates acting as the points on the base and the corvettes angled forward into a point.

Maneuuvering will be difficult especially with different guilds working together. This formation will allow them to bring nearly all their weapons to bear along each ‘plane’.

It was a formation meant to destroy ships with overwhelming firepower, sacrificing the smaller ships further up the pyramid for the heavier warships in the rear.

Ever since they took Sanctorium, Mitch had been on a quiet mission to create a defensive network. Dana had agreed with it in principle. I didn’t realize just how many he built.

“Have the remote defensive platforms begin to engage. Thruster deceleration burn.”

“Decelerating.” Klinsky called out.

The main engines on all Legion ships cut out as the thrusters across the front of the ship fired.

Their acceleration is too high for them to stop before reaching us. Every meter per second acceleration she lost meant less time it would take for her to engage the enemy fleet a second time, the more time they would have inside the remote platform’s firing envelope and hold off her fleet meeting the guild’s.

Out in the darkness of space asteroids fired puffs of gas, changing their millennia long path their net nodes feeding them targeting information, bringing them to bear on the invading fleets, firing ports opened to reveal the rail cannons buried at their heart.

Railcannons fired, spewing out plasma, thrusters flaring to compensate for the recoil and correct their aim.

“Here comes the rain, do-da-dooh-dah,” Klinsky sing-songed.

Some of the weapon platforms were within a hundred kilometers. Knife fighting range in space. Firing as fast as they could they laid into any ship that was closest. The shuddered under the impacts, amor spalling off into confetti.

Dropships and hellcats were torn apart like pop cans hit with a shotgun slug.

A Corvette fell out of formation, its engines lamed.

The enemy landing fleets and the main fleet started to target the remote weapons platforms, taking out the ones closest as rail cannon rounds from further afield impacted.

They’d been fired in tandem, creating clouds of rail cannon rounds to bracket the enemy warships or fill the path of the hellcats and dropships, carving a path through them.

The defensive platforms fired as fast as they could, releasing hundreds of rounds. Warships heavy armor broke away under the hammer of kinetic force, the ships shuddering and shaking, as weapon systems were torn off, thrusters broken.

“Frigate, gone.” The ship went up as something went catastrophically wrong. “Two corvettes down, three remaining in action. Another Frigate hit. They’re firing CIWS at the rounds.” Leblanc’s dipping tone spoke of what she thought about that.

Rail based weapons were merciless, a chunk of metal accelerated out along a plotted course. They couldn’t change direction once launched, couldn’t add more acceleration. Though they could be fired quickly, and while CIWS would destroy their missile brethren, they’d be lucky to hit a rail round, even if they did there was no way to tell if they would knock it off course with their ship.

Groups of rail cannons worked together targeting the largest ships in the enemy fleet.

“Destroyers are taking a pounding, coming into long range envelope,” Leblanc said.

“Prepare for missile barrage.” Dana said.

“Enemy are firing missiles.” Leblanc hands played over her armrests, her head moving between screens.

The fleets dumped missiles from their tubes as fast as they could reload.

A fireball went up ahead of Destroyer Alpha, causing it to buck.

“Railcannon round hit a missile, can confirm they’re nuclear. Destroyer Alpha isn’t looking too good. Destroyer Bravo is still in the fight. They’re outfitted with missile launchers primarily. Frigates are heavy on rails and Corvettes CIWS.” Leblanc turned a glance back to Dana.

“They’ve outfitted them for singular roles as if they are part of a fleet.” Dana nodded and returned to her maps.

The dropships and hellcats were on a deceleration burn for Sanctorium, making them predictable and carrying them into the range of more defensive platforms. Out of hundreds of asteroids, a few would arrest their path and fire on the ships. Hellcats and dropships fired on them, unloading missiles. They took them out, but not before they got out a few shots, thinning out their attacking force.

Railcannons hit missiles out of coincidence more than targeting.

Dana clicked onto the fire control channel.

“Fire missiles. Target largest ships down to the smallest. Unload the racks.”

She felt the clank and thrum of missiles loaded and fired, Hoplite’s eight tubes firing as fast as they could, creating a line of missiles from the ships pointing towards the enemy fleet.

“All ships empty.” Ayambe reported.

The missiles crossed one another between fleets. Burning as hard and fast as their engines could take them.

“Defense platforms holding fire.” Leblanc said. “Missiles entering CIWS engaging.”

Enemy missiles disappeared under the CIWS’ fire.

Dana’s eyes bounced between the two missile swarms, warships fighting for their very survival.

“Miss Leblanc, have defensive stations continue firing on the enemy fleet once we pass the intercept.”

“Yes Admiral.”

The defensive rail cannons had stripped and broken many of the enemy weapon systems mounted on their hulls.

Layers, battles in space are about layers, position, weapons, armor, distance, preparations.

All eleven ships of her fleet were fresh, with full ammunition loadouts and working weapons and undamaged armor.

Still they couldn’t catch every missile targeting them.

“All ships begin spin,” Dana used the navigation channel.

Klinsky used thrusters to spin the ship along its acceleration axis, the corvettes doing the same.

Hopefully it would spread the incoming damage.

Missiles started to explode, taking the chance to inflict some damage and blind her ship’s sensors to their brethren.

This was Dana’s base, it was the heart of the Legion’s fleet. Each defensive platform was outfitted with sensors and a hypernet node. Each of her ships was tied into this net, even if their own sensors were blind, the information streaming into them compensated. CIWS didn’t stop as explosions crept closer.

Hoplite shuddered with a near-explosion. Dana focused on the enemy fleet. Missiles detonated around a corvette.

“Scratch another enemy corvette.” Leblanc said.

The Legion’s missiles danced and weaved with the enemy’s CIWS. Exploding among their formation.

Missiles hit the Frigate and detonated, shaking the ship but it kept pushing forward, its engines cutting out as it fell out of formation.

A missile made it into one of the rents in the side of its armor left by is brethren.

The Frigate went up, spewing remnants out into space.

A half dozen missiles struck another Frigate, tearing out chunks, to break through its layered exoskeletal layers, plasma shot out of external ports as the ship went silent, slowly spinning, marked for salvage.

“The Corvette Rasputin reports severe hull damage, power systems are offline.” Ayambe said.

They were too close to the enemy for the ship to escape the battle. Momentum was against them.

“Lets hope her engineers can get them back into the fight.”

The last missile detonated, Dana hadn’t lost a ship, but her corvettes were showing various levels of damage. Their status changed, their engineering crews putting the ships back together as fast as they could.

Ahead of her lay two corvettes, a Frigate and two Destroyers, all with different levels of damage. Destroyer Alpha is still holding most of its missiles. She didn’t like leaving that piece on the board, coming the fire control channel.

“Focus fire on Destroyer Alpha, then shift fire to Destroyer Bravo.”

Rail cannons exited their armored coverings, turning onto their target paths.

“Barrage one.” Leblanc called out, the fleet’s cannons fired a single round, dozens of rounds, their calculated plot converging on Destroyer Alpha. “Enemy are firing rail cannons.”

Dana’s ships fired their thrusters, altering their positions to evade incoming fire.

“Hits on Destroyer Alpha.”

Rounds tore into the ship.

“Engines are dead!” Leblanc called out.

Dana was thrown up against her harness, rail cannon rounds hitting the Hoplite.

“Going auto.”

CIWS Rail Cannons unleashed their fury, clashing between the two fleets in furious seconds, Dana gritted her teeth, holding onto her armrests, thankful she’d mag clamped her feet to the ground. Impacts registering against her hull.

She barely got in a half breath as the fury slowed.

“Flipping!” Klinsky called out.

“Repair crews!” Dana ordered.

“Three corvettes are down, two more require heavy repairs, another with engine issues. Two were largely untouched, remaining corvette will be good soon. Three of our Rail Cannons our out of action, we have hull breaches, small holing in second layer, third and fourth layer are fine. Two missile tubes are out of action.” Ayambe said.

“Destroyer Bravo is listing, engines are dead, weapons are offline. Enemy corvettes are destroyed. The remaining Frigate is still under power but its limping.” Lebalanc said.

It was a lot better than she had hoped.

“Give us ten gravities acceleration mister Klinsky.” Dana watched the clouds of rail cannon rounds that lay in the path of the Destroyers, Frigates and broken Corvettes.

Rounds tore into the already opened armor, gutting them. Broken ships filled the path towards Sanctorium.

“Have standby crews jump into bots on defeated ships to claim them. I want scans of every ship we can’t claim. Send a request to Foster for troops to clear and secure remaining ships.” Dana moved her map to show the asteroid eater and shipyards. “Make sure the defensive systems target any intact hulls. If they start to power up, give them another barrage.”

“Yes Admiral.”

“Enemy has entered the Asteroid eaters turret range.” Ayambe said.

Missiles spat out from the asteroid eater’s turrets and those mounted on several defense stations covering the asteroid eater and shipyards.

Anti-air turrets and anti-armor turrets fired on the incoming ships.

Friendly Hellcats entered the fray, raked the enemy ships, trading blows as CIWS tried to overcome guild missiles.

Detonations bloomed outside the asteroid eater.

“Nuclear.” Leblanc said.

Dana checked her forces. “Send out Jung-Su and the two least damaged corvettes to assist, tell them I want them fighting from range. Don’t get sucked into the fray.”

“Yes ma’am.” Ayambe said.

“Have the remote defensive platforms return to standby mode.”

“Aye aye,” Leblanc said.

In the darkness, remote platforms closed their firing ports firing their thrusters, to create random spins and new paths. Lost among the junk of space. Laying in wait for their next prey.

***