When my vision cleared, I found myself in a familiar environment. The bridge of the ship that I saw in my dreams…no, memories.
"Hmm?"
Now that I had a good look around, I saw that there were differences. While the spread of consoles, holographic screens and layout was similar, and the armored glass viewport expanded in front of me to afford a panoramic view of the void beyond, as well as the beautiful sphere that was Earth, the space was noticeably smaller. Tighter, with less stations.
"Welcome aboard the Templar class cruiser, Crusader, Commander."
Aegis was hovering next to me, and if she could salute, she would have. I pushed my glasses up my nose and smiled before taking a seat. The captain's chair was the most obvious one, the biggest station that was surrounded by the largest consoles that arced around the front like a semicircle, and also occupying the central space from which the other stations radiated from, almost like courts of nobles circling from a king's throne.
"Thank you, Aegis." Once I settled down in the luxuriously comfortable chair, I nodded toward the viewport, where the marble-like image of my home world was rapidly growing. I assumed we were speeding toward the planet. "I didn't expect to be so close to Earth. I was expecting the Crusader to be further out in the solar system."
"The Crusader has always been stationed nearby so that we can rapidly mobilize in case of an emergency." A holographic screen flickered in front of me, overlaying across the image in the viewport. The floating window fixed into position before magnifying a speck of space, revealing three crocodilian ships. "That is the Saurian battlegroup, consisting of two Raptor class destroyers and a single Tyrant class battlecruiser."
"A battlecruiser, huh?" I mused and stared at the biggest ship, which had taken up the central position between what appeared to be twins. They resembled the enemy fleet I had seen in my dreams, the prow stretching forward like an elongated snout, and the aft tapering off to a reptilian tail. The surface of the ships was sectioned and compartmentalized, making them appear as if they were encrusted in scales. Jagged claw-like protrusions stabbed outward from four locations, and if viewed from a distance, they could be mistaken for talons.
Hence, I had arbitrarily described them as crocodilian when I first saw them.
"So not only are we outnumbered, their capital ship outweighs us too." I pursed my lips. "Aegis, any tactical recommendations? Do we have any advantages? Like speed, for example? Can we outmaneuver them?"
"Unfortunately, Saurian ships are faster and more maneuverable than Terran ones," Aegis replied calmly. "However, our Terran ships are more heavily armored and durable."
"Correct me if I'm mistaken," I said, thinking back to my dreams. "But I imagine our weapons have longer range. We also make use of torpedoes, laser lances and plasma cannons. Saurian ships might have more destructive heat rays, but they need to get closer in order to hit us. They do have smaller sized torpedoes that aren't as powerful as ours."
"The Commander is correct on all fronts," Aegis replied, actually sounding impressed despite her monotonous voice. "You appear to be familiar with the armaments of both parties."
"So as long as we keep our distance and stay out of range of their weapons, we might be able to win." I nodded thoughtfully. "However, it will be difficult because they are faster than us and can catch up more easily. Worse, there are three of them against our one ship."
"Affirmative."
My brow furrowed as I reached out to the holograms and widened them with my fingers. For some reason, I intuitively knew they were touchscreen. There were no keyboards or analog controls, and instead the holographic windows responded to my touch despite not being physically solid. One window displayed several simulations, and another provided me with an overview of available armaments and ammunition. Still, we had hundreds of torpedoes and an infinite amount of shots for the laser and plasma batteries.
"We also have one other advantage," Aegis said. "Me."
"What do you mean?" I asked, raising my head to stare at her.
Her reply was to drift over to one of the stations before inserting herself into a console. A machine opened up for her to slide into, and then it closed and tightened around her frame, linking her to the ship through cables and other esoteric means. Her glowing lights adjusted to match the faint blue tint that suffused the bridge.
"As a relic of the Holy Terran Empire, I am compatible with all Terran ships. By integrating myself into the system, I can upgrade the Crusader by enhancing its energy shields."
One of the windows came to the fore, displaying the entire length of the Templar class cruiser. A darker field enveloped the ship, indicating its remarkably improved resilience. I felt a slight sense of relief. This meant we could absorb more punishment if necessary.
"Launch torpedoes and force them to scatter," I ordered, coming to a decision when I saw that the Saurian ships had veered away from their approach toward Earth, swinging about to face us. Despite their mass – and their lengths were kilometers long, if I could trust the data being provided on the multiple holographic screens that were flashing and revolving around the bridge.
"Firing torpedoes from launch bays 1 to 4," Aegis replied. A window notified me, illustrating the trajectories of the projectiles that streaked from the ship and across the void. On the other side, the red icons signifying the enemy ships blinked as they approached rapidly. The Saurian commander had apparently thrown all caution to the wind and were burning hard for us.
A reckless, hotheaded commander, huh? Perhaps I could make use of that.
"Full speed ahead," I ordered. "Straight at the enemy."
"Full speed ahead, aye." To her credit, Aegis didn't question my orders despite how suicidal it sounded. The Crusader began accelerating forward, and the enemy ships appeared to grow in size, to the point where they almost filled the entire viewport.
Two destroyers and a single battlecruiser. They were forced to evade the torpedoes, and I saw tiny blossoms of explosions that erupted across the void as defensive laser turrets shot down any that stubbornly dogged them. The Saurian battlecruiser that served as the central anchor was forced to swerve away as it struggled to avoid the sheer volume of torpedoes heading for its mass. Despite its speed, it wasn't able to evade all of them and had to rely on its defensive turrets to throw up a curtain of fire to blow up the torpedoes before any could hit.
Even with the sheer output of ruby rays, a few torpedoes got through the laser screen and slammed into its hull, causing it to list to the side as they detonated within. Not deep enough, though. Shallow wounds to a behemoth that sailed the void.
The destroyers were far more fortunate, having formed the flanks and thus not being hemmed in by the dozens of torpedoes tracking them. Their laser batteries destroyed several persistent ones, but the swift hunters dodged the rest, arcing around the sides.
That left the battlecruiser temporarily alone for now, isolated from its escorts by the hail of explosives.
And right behind the tide of torpedoes, my cruiser closed in like a predator. Smaller in tonnage, perhaps, but no less deadly.
"Fire all prow lances," I commanded. "And as we pass underneath the enemy battlecruiser, roll about to bombard its keel with our broadside plasma batteries."
Aegis didn't reply, though I felt her telepathic acknowledgement. Temperatures spiked, the holographic windows displaying the rise through intense red colors at the now glowing front of the Crusader, and the front view was suddenly engulfed by ruby spears of superheated lights that punched the Saurian battlecruiser's snout. Colossal chunks of debris were sliced away, moisture turning into ice crystals immediately as the interior atmosphere was vented into vacuum. I also thought I saw bodies tumble into the void, sucked out of their suddenly opened compartments. I wasn't sure what kind of physiology the Saurians possessed, but I was certain that even a hardy alien species like them would die from the decompression, their organs ruptured from the sudden change in pressure.
The battlecruiser reeled, trailing pieces of its prow. Its front magma cannons had been obliterated in the exchange, the barrels melted and fused to the hull or spinning away from the still speeding ship. Taken out before they could get within range of their target.
I smiled. This was the advantage of having a longer range.
Yet, we still weren't done.
Our two vessels passed by each other, and though the data scrolling across the holographic screens informed me that we were over a hundred kilometers apart, it still felt like a knife-fighting engagement in terms of space naval warfare. As if to emphasize that point, the broadside plasma batteries opened up and gutted the already wounded battlecruiser, eviscerating its keel with superheated matter. Though they did little more than leave massive glowing craters in the hull, it appeared that my bold salvo managed to hit something critical, for the battlecruiser shook violently from what appeared to be an internal explosion and slowed down considerably.
"Combat data analysis suggests that the enemy battlecruiser's engine has been damaged," Aegis reported.
As if in retaliation, the stern magma lasers of the Saurian ship vented their fury on us, the molten lances glancing the aft of our ship. The Crusader shuddered from the blow, but the shields held. Though the once dark color had dimmed significantly.
"Bringing shields back online," Aegis said. She didn't say it out loud, but I sensed her pride. If it wasn't for her upgrade, the shields would have collapsed completely from the battlecruiser's vengeance. "Complete restoration will take approximately ten minutes. No other damage sustained."
That might sound like a short time in a battle, but for a naval engagement in space, it was an extremely short time. Now that our ships had passed each other, we would have to circle about for another confrontation. Despite our advanced technology, we were still beholden to the laws of physics, unable to halt the inertia of such gargantuan vessels.
The battlecruiser was limping now, though, the damage to its engine severely reducing both its speed and maneuverability. Instead, it was now the twin destroyers that were the threat. The two Raptors had turned about, making use of their superior speed and agility to get back into the game faster. Even so, I saw that their trajectory had taken them round a massive arc, causing them to overshoot the moon. It would take over thirty minutes before the next clash.
And neither of them had taken a scratch.
Right now, they had adjusted their courses to approach from opposite flanks, presumably to catch my cruiser in a pincer attack. Even if I were to move toward one of them for a one-on-one engagement, its twin would hit me from the rear. Despite needing to take a longer route and having more distance to cover, the destroyers' faster speed meant they could still catch up. Not only that, I wasn't sure if I would be able to leave the next engagement unscathed. The Saurian captain of the battlecruiser had been taken by surprise when I charged at him on the tail of torpedoes, and we took off his bow magma lasers with a lucky salvo, reducing his firepower by half.
I couldn't rely on the same advantage against the destroyers, whose captains would now be wise to my tricks. They would be wary of another torpedo barrage and head-on charge, and they also had the advantage of attacking from different directions as opposed to approaching me together from the front like earlier.
Even so, I couldn't help but smile as I watched the limping battlecruiser pull away while its vengeful escorts closed in. Regardless of what happened later, it couldn't change this single fact.
I had drawn first blood.