“Aim for their turrets and jet thrusters. Can you do that?” asked Lafier.
“Yes, I’ll do my best,” answered Gnomboch.
Lafier figured she’d give him this one opportunity. If he proved incapable, she planned to wrest back control of the mobile turrets. This was war, and this battle zone was extremely exacting. Granted, this was the ideal place to toughen up a starpilot, but she had no intention of giving him that trial by fire at the expense of her crew’s lives. Besides, she had a feeling she had plenty of room for improvement herself.
The two ships passed each other while trading fierce volleys of lasers. Gnomboch adjusted the turrets’ field of fire, aiming for the jet thrusters on the enemy’s side. Two of them were blown away, much to his credit. But they couldn’t make out the extent of the damage from here. Were the thrusters totally down for the count, or did they just give them a dent?
“Nice job!” said Arbohf.
The ship distanced itself and fired its stern-side EM cannon. The shot missed.
“How long until space-time fusion?” asked Lafier.
“13:30 by ship’s time, give or take eight minutes,” replied Ecryua at once.
“Make it 13:40,” she commanded.
“Can’t be done,” stated Ecryua, quite to the point.
“Did you hear that, Vanguard Arbohf?” Lafier asked the Gunner.
“Yes, loud and clear,” said Arbohf. “How I curse these ears of mine.”
It looked as though the Gunner still had room to breathe.
“Then hurry it up.”
“Roger,” said Arbohf, even as he struggled to reach a new position.
The two ships were trying to face each other’s flanks. The enemy certainly seemed comparatively sluggish. Lafier decided to let Gnomboch control the mobile turrets for the remainder of the battle.
The main engine system roared, and the distance between them and the enemy closed rapidly once again. After firing the EM cannon, Arbohf clicked his tongue loudly enough for the Ship Commander to hear, and he blasted propulsor flames from the portside jets.
Nuclear fusion shells glanced past the Flicaubh’s left side. The shells must have judged they could still deal considerable damage at this distance, so they simultaneously detonated, rocking the ship.
Gnomboch read off the list of damaged laser cannons. “201, 202, 205...”
“There’s no need to report that,” Lafier cut in. “Just focus on the enemy’s thrusters.”
“I apologize, ma’am.”
Lafier cast a cold stare at the temporary Gunner.
Gnomboch straightened up. “I mean, roger.”
“The damage is widespread,” said Grinshia. “The Mechanics Branch is looking overloaded. Please tell us the highest priority.”
“The ship’s maneuverability,” said Lafier instantly. “I refuse to let my ship fall.”
“Understood.” The Inspector Supervisor clung to the console and issued a series of complex instructions to her crew. If she had been Samson, they would no doubt have been treated to an earful about Star Forces’ regulations regarding overwork compensation.
All the while, the two ships were approaching each other again. Attitude control could not be completed in time, so they passed each other by, though not without a heated laser exchange.
Lafier’s eyes were on the planar space map as she listened to the damage report. Enemy Bubble 211 was too close for comfort. If they were inclined to engage in a one-on-one clash, then this would be their last chance.
But there was hope—
“The Marscaubh is approaching,” said Ecryua.
The Marscaubh, which had destroyed an enemy, was coming to their rescue. It was humiliating, but there was no helping it.
“Let’s take the ship closer to the Marscaubh,” ordered Lafier.
Alas, the enemy was faster. Lafier didn’t need to point that out to Arbohf, who understood full well.
“Ship Commander,” said Arbohf, his voice tinged with a measure of impatience. “I’m going to settle things.”
“Right. I expect only the best.”
Fortunately, it seemed the novice Starpilot’s efforts were somewhat rewarded, as the enemy ship’s maneuverability was considerably reduced.
The Flicaubh fired its bow’s EM cannon. The trajectory of the three nuclear fusion shells zoomed straight for the enemy ship. These shells also housed engines, but since the output was lower than the initial speed, keeping their course only slightly bent was the best they could do. Yet that was enough. One of them bored into the ship’s hold.
“Bull’s-eye!” shouted Arbohf.
Moments later, the enemy ship was converted into energy by its own antimatter fuel.
“Conduct space-time splitting at once,” ordered Lafier.
The more mass inside a space-time bubble, the slower it was. To move nimbly required shedding excess mass. The bubble containing the Flicaubh expelled the mass that was once the enemy ship, causing waves of space-time particles to ripple outward.
“Steer us towards the Marscaubh, Vice Captain. Communications Officer, send out an identification signal. The Inspector Supervisor and the Clerk are to apprise me of the damages.”
At the bridge, which was beginning to buzz with activity, only Arbohf, who had finished his task, wore a blank expression.
“If you’re tired, I can do it for you,” said Lafier, out of pure goodwill.
“No, Ship Commander, I couldn’t let you do that.”
“I see,” said Lafier, crestfallen. She looked into the screen of the captain’s control console, which displayed the damages as summarized by Grinshia and Jint. Luckily, the maneuverability hadn’t diminished, but their combat potential had taken a sizable hit. They might be able to be accompanied by the Marscaubh, but that depended on that ship’s current status.
“Send the flagship an inter-bubble communication,” Lafier ordered Yatesh. They would be relaying the damage report to the squadron flagship, the Chetucaubh.
“The Chetucaubh has replied,” reported the Communications Officer. “‘The Flicaubh and the Marscaubh are to strike Enemy Space-Time Bubble 211. Over.’”
“So they aren’t about to let us take a rest,” Lafier smiled. And they would have to wait until later to mourn the dead, too. But that was fine. She may not have been steering the ship herself, but her blood was still seething. “Communications Officer, send an inter-bubble communication to the Marscaubh.” Then she picked up the transceiver and made another announcement to the whole crew. “This is your Ship Commander speaking. The ship will be engaging in combat again shortly.”
The war between the Humankind Empire of Abh and the Three Nations Alliance had entered its seventh year. At present, the Empire had the upper hand. The Imperial Star Forces had begun with Operation Phantom Flame, which was three years in the making, and successfully cut off about a fourth of the United Humankind’s star systems from it. That mission was followed by Operation Hunter, which aimed to mop up those areas and take them over. Upon that mission’s completion, the Empire recovered all of the territory that had been seized from them at the beginning of the war and secured new territory besides.
Planar space had been tranquil for some time afterward. The Empire assumed control over the planar space adjacent to the territories it acquired (or re-acquired), but that was not to say it had their respective landworlds in an iron grip. It was the Abh way to simply wait patiently until they subjected themselves to the Empire — so long as Landers didn’t venture into planar space. That being said, if a given landworld was actively hostile, the Empire was forced to commit some forces to surveil it. While the Abh amassed their troops and firepower in anticipation of the next big operation, they observed turbulent landworlds and applied coercive pressure. In addition, after the long-term operations, the soldiers needed a break.
Traditionally, the Abh saw the battlefield as the ultimate setting for love to bloom. On the other hand, the overwhelming majority believed it was not a suitable place to foster that love. That was one reason many soldiers left their warships in favor of their home of Lacmhacarh, or small trading ships.
To the Abh, war was everyday. And while their lifespans were long compared to Landers’, they were still mortal. The Abh didn’t view their own lifespans as long. Quite the opposite — in the face of the stars, they considered themselves extremely short-lived. As such, war was no excuse to neglect the important things in life.
Naturally, the Empire was wary of a Three Nations Alliance attack. The enemy had stuck to a defensive strategy throughout both operations, so logically, their main forces were still intact. Yet the Three Nations Alliance was clearly slow to act. There was no sign they were launching an offensive.
In the meantime, newly constructed ships and newly trained recruits were joining the ranks. Moreover, the ships that had overseen the surrender of landworlds and the soldiers that had failed in romance returned to the zone of war. The Empire was prepared.
The Empire held the fact that the enemy hadn’t shown any aggression in high suspicion, but they couldn’t exactly wait for the Alliance to make the first move, either. The Abh were tetchy when it came to the state of affairs in 3-space.
A new operation was hatched. They would take over space from the new territory acquired between the Raseess and Syoorgzedeh Monarchies, to the Milky Way Portals Central Disc Sector. At the same time, they would reach the Central Disc cutting across the border between the UH and the People’s Sovereign Stellar Union (from the Barkeh Monarchy starting point). This would leave the UH isolated and alone. Some suspected the enemy had some way to escape to their allied nations without passing through planar space, but that was next to impossible.
The mission was named Borperh (Twin Thorns).
As was customary, the one in charge was the Crown Prince-cum-Imperial Fleet Commander-in-Chief, Imperial Admiral Ablïarsec Néïc Lamsarr Larth Barcœr Dusanh. Nevertheless, the Crown Prince was scheduled to stay in Lacmhacarh along with some reserve forces, as he needed to keep up multiple distant battle fronts at the same time. The two who were de facto heading the fleet were the Vice Commanders-in-Chief. Roïglaharérh Byrer Borperr (Twin Thorns Fleet Vice Commander-in-Chief), Star Forces Admiral Cotponic commanded the New Territories Fleet, while the other Star Forces Admiral, Lecaimh, commanded the Barkeh Monarchy Fleet.