...
The Celestial Engine descended.
Within the planetary structure, Grey and Yawn stood amidst the bridge-like expanse, surveying the holographic projections. The satellite structure of the Celestial Engine rotated, sending probing waves across the galaxy, transmitting the collected information to a massive holographic projection device. Crew members dashed through the bridge on hover trains, relaying the status of the Celestial Engine's various structures and armaments to the relevant departments.
Though AI or Stone Men could perform this task, their computational capacity was currently directed toward more critical operations.
"Report, Marshal: the ground forces are fully prepared."
"Weapons array and shield systems are operational."
"The Celestial Engine has entered stellar orbit."
…
Numerous reports streamed in for Grey. In this operation, he was assigned the rank of Marshal, though he barely knew the identity of his adversary. Still, he was aware that compared to the ancient warband leaders who had fought for millennia, he was but a novice. Yet, among the Talon Galaxy's warriors, he was the most battle-hardened, trained extensively through simulated warfare.
Fortunately, Grey knew that the entity maintaining the Celestial Engine would devise the optimal battle strategy; all others needed only to execute it.
More commanders arrived by train, gathering around the holographic display. Once over a thousand commanders were present, the war was formally underway.
"It's clear that we can't deploy ground forces directly to the surface of the Forge World—not until we've secured orbital control," Grey stated, eyes fixed on the holograph's auto-generated strategic plan.
The others nodded, continuing to watch the holograph.
Throughout the galaxy, fleets took note of the Celestial Engine's sudden appearance. Emboldened by its lack of immediate aggression, enemy fleets attempted a proactive assault. Orbiting the Forge World, the hostile fleet fired as they closed in, maintaining maximum range as the first warship was drawn into the Celestial Engine's gravity. The combined firepower of over two hundred warships was a formidable sight: countless torpedoes, macro-cannons, energy lances, and peculiar ship-mounted weapons launched supernatural attacks.
Fleshy maws along hulls expelled plague viruses and unleashed psychic lightning, each weapon with its own bizarre force.
As the tidal wave of assaults neared the Celestial Engine, a satellite accelerated, positioning itself between the planetary structure and the fleet, deflecting most energy lances and cannon fire with its shield. Psychic attacks vanished mid-air, failing to reach even half distance to the shield.
A few stray attacks struck the planetary shield, but it remained impenetrable.
The torpedoes arrived next, only to be intercepted by the satellite's close-defense network, which deployed a fiery web across space, neutralizing the threat.
Despite the onslaught, the Celestial Engine continued its orbit, accelerating, with two metallic satellites turning their weapons arrays toward the fleet.
"Why don't they retreat?" Yawn asked, puzzled. If he were the enemy fleet commander, he'd have fled at the first sight of the Celestial Engine.
Fleet-to-fleet battles often resulted in a disadvantage—didn't they notice the satellites' charging weapon arrays?
The arrays glowed with particle lances and colossal energy beams, illuminating the satellites like brilliant beacons.
"They must have a reason to stay," Grey mused, frowning as he pieced together the enemy's intent. "I suspect their ground forces are fully deployed on the Forge World's surface. If our forces were fighting on a planet and our fleet encountered a stronger enemy, could we abandon them immediately? Surely, we'd engage in some diversionary tactics first."
Yawn pondered, eventually nodding in agreement. Reason dictated a hasty retreat, but who could remain purely rational?
As they spoke, the weapon arrays unleashed their full fury. Particle lances, kinetic projectiles, and advanced arc weaponry pummeled the enemy ships. A lance struck a void shield, scattering it; more lances followed, overwhelming the frigate's shield in under a second and piercing its hull. Arcs of electricity leapt from ship to ship, "stunning" those without void shields, with shielded ones only managing brief resistance.
As the first satellite exhausted its barrage, it accelerated behind the planet while the second satellite orbited forward. The weapons aligned, unleashing a second volley, annihilating a substantial portion of the enemy fleet.
After the two volleys, a report materialized on the holograph.
Firing complete.
Efficiency rating: Poor.
Grey raised an eyebrow, pondering the low rating. On reflection, he realized that the enemy's failure to switch from bombardment to combat formation meant their ships were too tightly packed. The first strike had destroyed much of the fleet's forward vessels, but the second volley struck debris, weakening the lances' impact on rear ships.
Yet such ratings were relative. The dual salvo had eradicated nearly 40% of the enemy fleet.
In a battle between a Celestial Engine and a fleet, individual ship losses were irrelevant; losses were counted as a whole.
The Celestial Engine continued its orbit, its satellites' weapon arrays recharging. Meanwhile, the captive Nightbringer Fragment, caged within the Celestial Engine's core, not only supplied power for regular functions but also for weapon recharges—a ruthless extraction.
Had the Fragment not been sealed within a hypercube labyrinth, its tormented wails would have echoed across the galaxy.
As the Celestial Engine closed in on the Forge World and its fleet, another weapon lay in wait.
The transporters deployed a swarm of bombs from the Celestial Engine's storage, dispersing them amidst the enemy fleet. With too many bombs to calibrate precisely, there was a margin of error, yet still, several enemy vessels collided directly with the explosive payloads.