The battle raged on, and the Eagle's Talon was in the thick of it. The once pristine black hull of the ship was now pockmarked with burns and scratches, its shields barely holding under the constant barrage of fire. The asteroid field had become a chaotic dance of death, with mechs twisting and turning between the rocks, avoiding fire and launching attacks of their own.
Dominic gripped the controls with white knuckles, his mind razor-sharp despite the sweat beading on his forehead. The Eagle's Talon was a small target compared to the massive warships that drifted in the distance, but it was still a target—and the enemy was relentless.
He'd managed to take down the lead mech, but that victory had come at a cost. The remaining CMC mechs were quick, and their firepower was overwhelming. The Eagle's Talon couldn't keep dodging forever. The crew was pushing their systems to the limit, and Dominic knew they didn't have much time left before the ship would be nothing more than space debris.
"Target lock on second mech!" Zara's voice cut through the tension in the cockpit. "It's charging up for a missile strike!"
Dominic didn't need any further instructions. He pushed the ship into a hard roll, the engines screaming as the Eagle's Talon shot forward, narrowly avoiding a barrage of missiles. The explosions rocked the ship, but the evasive maneuver had worked. For now, they were safe.
"That was too close," Dominic muttered, gritting his teeth. "We need to break this ambush, or we'll never make it to the main fleet."
The asteroid field was beginning to thin out, and Dominic saw an opportunity. The mechs were still in pursuit, but the narrow confines of the field made it difficult for them to close in quickly. The Eagle's Talon was agile, and Dominic was a skilled pilot. If they could draw the enemy into a more open space, he might just be able to hit them with a decisive strike.
"Zara, prep the torpedoes," Dominic ordered. "We're going to take the fight to them."
"Prepping now," Zara responded. "It's gonna be risky. If we don't hit them first, we'll be sitting ducks."
Dominic's hands moved over the controls, aligning the ship with the open space between two massive asteroids. His heart pounded in his chest. The next few moments would decide everything.
The CMC mechs were closing in fast now, too fast. They had split up, flanking the Eagle's Talon from both sides. The weapons fire was constant, and Dominic could hear the ship's shields protesting with every impact.
"Now!" Dominic shouted.
He flipped a switch, and the Eagle's Talon launched two torpedoes in quick succession, their engines trailing behind them like shooting stars. They streaked through space, cutting through the void toward the enemy mechs.
The first exploded in a burst of energy, sending debris flying through space. The second hit its target dead-on, punching through the armor of one of the mechs. It staggered, trying to regain its balance, but before it could react, another blast hit. The mech disintegrated, its cockpit detonating in a fireball.
One down.
But the remaining three mechs were already responding, firing volleys of high-energy plasma at the Eagle's Talon. The ship's shields were beginning to flicker, and Dominic could feel the heat from the blasts even through the cockpit.
"Get us out of here!" Zara screamed. "We're not gonna last much longer like this!"
Dominic's eyes darted between the monitors. He needed to think fast—he couldn't let his crew die here. The Eagle's Talon was fast, but it was being worn down. They needed a way to turn the tide, and he knew just the way to do it.
"Initiating Phase 2," he muttered to himself.
With a series of rapid commands, Dominic flipped the controls and sent the Eagle's Talon into a sharp dive. The ship plummeted toward a nearby gas giant, its massive size looming in the distance. The CMC mechs followed suit, not realizing the trap Dominic was setting for them.
"Set course for the gas giant's outer atmosphere!" Dominic barked.
The crew worked quickly, recalibrating the ship's trajectory. They couldn't take the mechs head-on anymore, but they could use the planet's massive gravity well to their advantage.
As the Eagle's Talon hurtled toward the gas giant, the enemy mechs were too focused on the chase to notice that they had just walked into Dominic's trap.
"Ready the EMP pulse!" Dominic commanded.
Zara was already working the controls. The ship shuddered as it entered the planet's outer atmosphere, the thick layers of gas beginning to disrupt the incoming fire from the enemy mechs. Dominic pulled the ship into a hard left, diving deeper into the atmosphere, and the mechs followed—still firing, still eager to bring the Eagle's Talon down.
The time was now.
"EMP pulse, now!" Dominic shouted.
The Eagle's Talon released a massive electromagnetic pulse, its shockwave spreading out in all directions. The mechs' systems faltered, their targeting systems glitching. The ship's weapons activated immediately, firing on automatic. The first enemy mech was caught completely off-guard as a barrage of missiles and plasma torpedoes ripped through its hull. It exploded in a blinding flash, its remains scattering like confetti in the gas giant's atmosphere.
Two down.
Dominic didn't stop. He kept the ship in its downward spiral, now using the planet's gravity to slingshot them into a position where they could finish the fight. The remaining two mechs, still dazed from the EMP, tried to reposition themselves—but it was too late.
Dominic gritted his teeth. This time, he wasn't going to let them escape.
With a final, calculated blast of the Eagle's Talon's main cannons, he struck the second mech, causing its core to implode in a cloud of sparks and debris.
Only one remained.
But this mech wasn't running.
The final CMC mech turned to face the Eagle's Talon, its weapons charging, ready to take one last stand. Its pilot's face, or what could be seen of it, was visible in the cockpit—fierce and determined. This wasn't just a machine; it was a person, too, someone who had likely lost everything in the war.
Dominic hesitated for just a moment. It was brief—just enough to register the humanity in the eyes of the pilot. But then, the last remaining mech fired.
Without thinking, Dominic fired first.
The shot hit the mech square in the chest. The explosion lit up the dark expanse of space, turning the mech into a cloud of wreckage.
The battlefield went silent.
For a long moment, there was nothing but the hum of the Eagle's Talon's systems.
Dominic exhaled sharply. The fight was over.
"Mission accomplished," Zara said, her voice soft but weary. "We did it."
Dominic didn't answer. He kept his eyes locked on the space around them, the wreckage of the CMC forces floating like debris.
They had won, but at what cost?