The scanner's wave once again swept across the galaxy, and in contrast to the previous scan, this one detected twelve hundred fewer bioships. Yet the size of the Hive Fleet hardly seemed diminished. After a staggering loss, they still maintained a relentless encirclement around the human fleet.
Regardless of a ship's position within the fleet, every crew member could see the swarming horde of insect-like creatures surging forward like an unending tide, mirroring the overwhelming numbers often seen in terrestrial swarms. But unlike terrestrial insects, the vast numbers of these bioships did not signify a lack of strength. Just as a single warrior bug could slaughter mortal soldiers if not confronted by a Space Marine, each of these bioships held formidable power in its own right.
Standing on the bridge, Quarlen watched as the mass of bioships stormed toward them. In his line of sight, an outermost ship—a Storm-class escort vessel named the Heavy Cannon—was locked in combat with a Vespid Strangler, a creature classified as an escort ship by the Empire, yet its size dwarfed any Imperial escort.
The Vespid charged forward under the barrage of the Heavy Cannon's fire, with colossal tendrils reaching out. Only at a range of five hundred meters did the ship's artillery manage to inflict real damage, with one volley piercing the Vespid's back. But by then, the Heavy Cannon was already ensnared by its tendrils.
Void shields proved useless; the hull endured the brunt of the assault, its adamantium plating groaning under the straining tendrils' grip. Soon, the hull began to crumple, the upper decks splitting as hundreds of crew members were sucked into the vacuum. The damage reached perilously close to the void shield generator, which flickered and then collapsed, leaving the ship vulnerable to corrosive projectiles.
A Corroder bioship lurked beneath, waiting to strike. Quarlen's view of the Heavy Cannon was soon obscured by more bioships that flooded the battlefield.
The Heavy Cannon's plight was far from unique; similar scenes played out across the fleet. Yet soon enough, the Heavy Cannon reappeared within Quarlen's field of vision. A Tyran cruiser surged forward, plowing through bioships in its path before ramming the Vespid Strangler that held the Heavy Cannon. The energy shields flared brightly upon impact, warping the bioship's form. Moments later, a Devourer—a creature classified as a cruiser but towering over any human equivalent—latched onto the Tyran cruiser with gaping jaws.
The energy shields held, though the cruiser was immobilized, slowly dragged backward by the Devourer. Just as it slipped from Quarlen's view, his own heavy cruiser maneuvered directly above it, tilting downward as macro-cannons and laser arrays unleashed a devastating salvo. The Devourer was punctured by several gaping wounds, and the Tyran cruiser seized the moment, firing at full force, its particle lances piercing the creature's flesh and breaking free.
"Send your escorts to the orbital dockyards for repairs," Adam's voice sounded from the screen.
Quarlen immediately relayed the order, directing all critically damaged ships to make for the docks. The Heavy Cannon's position was promptly filled by another Storm-class ship, which made its way to within three kilometers of the dockyard, where tractor beams guided it into one of the repair bays.
From the bridge of the Heavy Cannon, the captain could see Tyran technicians, with their advanced technology, rapidly patching the fractured hull, layer upon layer of adamantium sealing the 700-meter breach.
"Can these escorts be fitted with energy shields?" Quarlen inquired of Adam.
Adam hesitated, having thought Quarlen a staunch traditionalist, resistant to Tyran innovations. Their earlier collaboration in the Nebula Sector had revealed Quarlen's aversion to using dimensional engines.
Quarlen, sensing Adam's thoughts, gave a resigned smile. "I am the admiral, the master of this fleet, but there are some matters beyond my authority."
"Install the energy shields," Adam ordered.
The Heavy Cannon's damaged void shield was removed, replaced by an energy shield generator, and within half an hour, it emerged from the dock, rushing back to the front lines.
Quarlen had previously analyzed the Tyran fleet's arsenal, anticipating a day he might be compelled to use dimensional engines, though he'd vowed never to rely on energy shields. He had deemed them too costly in terms of energy, prone to collisions with large objects in space, and likely less durable than void shields. Yet in this encounter with the Tyran Swarm, the energy shield proved invaluable—a solid, impenetrable barrier against the bioships' weaponry and projectiles.
Soon after, the Heavy Cannon, now shielded, was again targeted by a Strangler, but this time the tendrils merely adhered to the energy shield, allowing the Heavy Cannon ample time to sever them one by one. Yet the ship was not invincible; as it grappled with tendrils, a Devourer suddenly lunged from behind. Its massive jaws clamped down, shattering the shield into a thousand glimmering blue fragments that scattered in the void, exposing the hull to the creature's crushing bite.
The Heavy Cannon's final act was a full-power salvo, unleashing a torrent of shells and torpedoes into the Devourer's gaping maw. The creature lost its grip, its abdomen splitting upward, but without its shield, the Heavy Cannon's destruction was inevitable.
A cruiser attempted to ward off several Devourers but was soon overwhelmed and torn apart.
Quarlen listened to the reports of battle, observing from his position near the viewport. It was now clear that the Hive Fleet's strategy wasn't simply to overwhelm them by sheer numbers; instead, the bioships were focusing their assault on the center, attempting to break the formation and scatter the fleet.
Yet the situation swiftly shifted as the vanguard came under intensified attack. Just as Quarlen began doubting his assessment, the fleet's mid-section was suddenly bombarded from both flanks by torpedoes.
These torpedoes, launched by the bioships, were odd—they did not travel in a straight line but adjusted their course, like living entities homing in on their targets. And indeed, they resembled living creatures.
Fortunately, five Storm-class and seven Tyran standard-class escort ships intercepted, weaving between the bioships and intercepting the torpedoes with point-defense guns, swiftly neutralizing the swarm of homing projectiles.