Daniel Venata
I sat in the captain's chair, the tactical overview layered over my "eyes." In reality, I didn't need to be in my holographic form, nor did I need to be on the bridge. However, I felt comfortable in my current form. The sense of touch and smell made me feel alive, even if my brain was spread out over hundreds of kilometers of internal wiring.
I had let the Venator slowly approach the Battlecruiser, the range falling into the hundreds of kilometers before I stopped. Ideally, when I dropped stealth, the station commander would confidently order his two Heavies to approach me to detain me for questioning. I planned to let the range fall until my missiles could reach them, then begin the engagement. The assault Drones were in a position to harass the Battlecruiser, and the repair Drone was on standby to receive either of them if they became damaged.
I spared a glance at the Icon that showed the Assault Shuttle anchored to the side of the Station, the ready signal flashing light blue. I took a deep breath, then gave the order. A ripple of energy passed over the Venator's hull, and it felt like a soft blanket had been pulled from my skin. It didn't take long for hail to come from the station, but I ignored it.
It took a few minutes for the Heavies to begin moving, and I watched the range falling from 500 km to just within 150 km, the extreme range of the Perses Missile Launchers. The Heavies arrogantly approached from just below my elliptical, and the tell-tale sign of active shields was missing from my sensors. I was slightly disappointed as I compared their behavior to the other imperial warships I'd faced. Their arrogance in the face of smaller ships was navy-wide.
Just as the range fell to 125 km, I launched. I switched one of my monitors to watch the launchers rise from inactive positions. The solid rectangular metal blocks rose slowly from my hull, splitting into two sections as they reached ready positions. Glowing blue-grey lights flashed along the edges of the firing systems, and a moment later, a blast of blue fire erupted from the rear of the launchers. Six Leon Type-4 Antimatter missiles launched from their tubes, hurtling toward the two Linkols at 25 km a second.
As the range closed, one of the Linkols reacted faster than the other. Their Point Defense Cannons began targeting the three missiles headed their way. Their ECM also attempted to confuse the guidance systems on board the Leon's, but the technology was too different. The PDCs destroyed only one warhead, while the other two connected at the ship's bow only seconds apart. The Antimatter warheads immediately reacted with the armor, dissolving the static panels in seconds and exposing the ECM suite.
The other Linkol didn't react in time, and all three missiles targeting the Heavy Cruiser connected along the ship's spine, disabling the forward Railguns and taking out one of the Sensor Arrays. The range kept falling, although the second Heavy was decelerating hard in an attempt to maneuver under the ecliptic of the Venator. I launched another volley, but this time only one warhead in each target profile connected, both ships ready with their PDCs this time.
As the range fell, I spun up my Railguns. The two Artemis' glowed with blue light as they rose from their inactive positions. A blue light flowed from the firing mechanism along the barrel, ending with an impressive ejection of lighting. Four heavy Type-6A Armor Piercing rounds flew toward the leading ship, impacting the same area as the missiles. The AP shells fell one after the other, penetrating deeper and deeper with each shot.
Finally, the two Heavies realized they could shoot back, and missile volleys began flying from both ships. My ECM and PDCs spun up, taking out each warhead with almost unbelievable precision. Explosions started dotting space as the warheads were eliminated in twos and threes. As the range fell to just about 75km, the two Heavies broke apart, each going for the top and bottom sections of the Venator. Unfortunately, they only provided my targeting systems with a much broader area to paint with its targeting arrays.
The Venator shook as Railgun fire started connecting with her shields. I kept one monitor up to watch the Shield's durability, wincing slightly as chunks started disappearing with uncomfortable regularity. My defenses were good, but it was almost impossible to accurately track the rounds coming from the enemy railguns at this range. The volleys kept coming, but I was doing as much or even more damage. Neither warship was able to bring up their shields, so I was chipping away at their armor and external systems with deadly regularity.
Suddenly, a stray round from the starboard Artemis punched through a hole in the topside Linkol's armor. The ship bucked, and explosions started erupting from the chinks in its weakened armor. Two minutes later, the firing ceased from the crippled warship, and it began floating limply in space. With one out of the way, I felt safe to flip the Venator to be perpendicular to the predicted vector of the remaining ship. With a full broadside, The AP rounds ripped through the ship. It took only two volleys to find the command deck, and the final warship became dead in space, joining its cohort.
The Venator's Shields had remained intact throughout the battle, but it had come within only a few shots of being overloaded entirely. I quickly instructed the shield to power down, allowing it to recharge before contact with the Battlecruiser. The ship was busy swatting at the two Assault Drones with little success. Although, the little Montu Drones had an equally difficult time depleting the bigger ship's shields. Every time they chewed away a larger portion of the Battlecruiser shield, the shield recharged, and all the progress was lost.
I didn't dive toward the ship immediately, keenly aware of the massive missile launchers that were busy trying to kill the Drones. Those big warheads would take massive chunks out of my shields. Instead, I retreated to the extreme range of my missiles. I was about to begin long-range volley fire when a thought struck me. The Battlecruiser could not chase after me since any movement on its part would open the Station to attack. I could retreat beyond its missile range and launch the Leon's on a ballistic trajectory. Once the range closed, my targeting systems could guide the warheads from safety, while the Deimon would have just taken the hits. The battle would undoubtedly be long and tedious, but eventually, the ship would surrender, be destroyed, or close the range with the Venator.
This strategy would be lacking in honor, but I didn't care. As I drifted into position, I began launching the warheads with impunity. At this range, it would take a couple hours for the missiles to reach their range, but I would be busy launching volley after volley. I smiled like a demon at the thought, getting comfortable for what would no doubt be a very interesting next couple hours.