Dawn of Titans

by F13D

There is nothing fair, just, or honorable about war. There is only winning and losing, the living and the dead. Humanity has learned this truth and has ascended to the stars. What effect will this have on the rest of the galaxy, one that has experienced millennia of peace? Will it be able to maintain the peace or will it be ushered into a new age of war? Let the end begin. A/U

16. Chapter 16 - Between two fires

1-3-2157 0000 hours (Alliance standard calendar)

SSV Tesla

Super Carrier

Command Deck

The first thing that often struck new-comers to the age of space travel wasn't its vastness nor the freedoms it promised with its billions of star systems to explore, but it was rather how absolutely mind-numbly empty it was. All that empty space to see, to explore and yet not a single sentient race to share it with. Or so it was said. The past few weeks had changed that belief. Science fiction had become reality and for a brief moment it could be wondered if humanity truly wished to return to its ignorant past and avoid the horrors that came with awareness, but the truth was humanity was a fighter and like a fighter it was often too stubborn to back down.

It was because of this reason that Fleet Admiral Michael Spencer now stood at the helm of his ship, the SSV Tesla, watching the numbers on his screen scroll downward; Shanxi drawing ever-closer, and yet being tantalizingly out of reach. As the newly commissioned de facto leader of all Alliance fleets, he steeled himself for the single largest military offensive that the Systems Alliance had ever undertaken … the liberation of a human colony from alien invaders.

Two hundred ships, ranging from small medical transports ships to several examples of the mighty super carrier filled Spencer with strong pride in mankind's capabilities, who was more than willing to show them as well. The sheer number of spacecraft and combat troops marshaled for the liberation of Shanxi numbered in the millions, an action unheard of since the previous millennia. The last military action of that magnitude had been a world-shattering event and mankind's most destructive war, World War Two, often remembered as World at War. Spencer took a moment to pray the current conflict wouldn't be quite as devastating to mankind.

This large collection of ships, troops, and supplies made up the total composition of the 5th fleet's quick response force. The fleet's initial construction dated back to 2127, after a group of pirates had stolen a cruiser from a ship yard and began conducting raids on merchant ships; resulting in a chase that lasted for six months. In response, the 5th fleet had been envisioned as a massive striking force. Unlike other fleets, the majority of the 5th fleet's vessels were never parceled out into small detachments or even tasks forces used for scouting and security. By somewhat contentious agreement, they were largely kept homogeneous. The anticipated result was that in the case of hostile contact, the Alliance would be able to pour a heavy concentration of ships in any one area in a short amount of time. Another reason was that the 5th fleet was responsible for guarding Arcturus Station, the capital of the Alliance and gateway to humanity's core worlds. Now, it had been mobilized and were about to show the true might of the Alliance.

Spencer could feel the excitement, even from his current position. Everyone was both prepared and committed. It was hard not to. Every crewmember of the fleet was more than aware of how every day spent preparing for the assault was another day the defenders at Shanxi had to endure.

It wasn't often that navy crews or pilots felt solace for their ground side colleagues, but knowing that soldiers were dying because you were crawling to their rescue wasn't something easily stomached by most. The fleet's complement of marines and army troopers, both Alliance and sovereign, were even more keyed up than the sailors, each one seeing Shanxi as an example of both pride and sadness. What made it worse for them than their naval compatriots is that without ship preparations to keep them occupied, most of them could only wait and think about what they were going to be facing.

As he sat in his command chair on the bridge, Spencer was reviewing the notes and findings on the batarians. Their tactics on the ground and in space were very similar, utilizing firepower supremacy from long range before committing to close encounters. It would be rather simple to find a counter to their methods, ideally through forcing them into close combat or endure his ship's ECM screens. But what greatly tore at Spencer, was the alien's heinous culture.

Thanks to Commander Dain, the Alliance was now aware of the legal slavery practiced by the batarians. Judging from their unprovoked attack, it was clear what their motivations were. How many had been taken? He didn't know, but what he did know was that once the Alliance had liberated Shanxi, not one more human being would be subjected to slavery and that was a promise he was willing to take to the grave.

Unfortunately for him, the immense stream of bad news only seemed to make the tactical situation much worse. Since Shanxi's comm. buoys were destroyed in the initial assault, the colony had been completely isolated from the rest of the Alliance. No one at Arcturus had any idea what was going on; at least not until Dain's daring escape. What they now knew was that the batarian fleet numbered at just over three hundred. The 98th had given them a bloody nose, but it wasn't enough to completely deter the batarians from ransacking the planet.

Now, even with a proper response prepared, the batarians still held the advantage, outnumbering the Alliance by at least a hundred more ships. The only edge the Alliance held was that the batarians wouldn't be expecting the 5th fleet and two full army groups to come to the rescue. Even so, everyone knew they would have a fierce fight on their hands in space almost as much as the ones on Shanxi's surface.

But Spencer couldn't concern himself with ground combat. It simply wasn't his job. His orders were to sweep the batarian fleet from orbit surrounding Shanxi so that ground forces could move in and relieve the defenders. He knew he had more than enough combat power arrayed to deal with the enemy, though a blunt direct assault on the batarian fleet would guarantee needless casualties. He could do better. Years of experience had taught him how to utilize force and finesse to create a lethal combination. He nodded. 'Yes, we can do this.' Looking around the command bridge, Spencer could see the determined expressions on his crew. 'Or die trying.'

"Estimated contact with Relay in approximately two minutes sir," Ensign Cruz stated as the ship cruised alongside the fleet.

It was routine procedure common during exercises, but now - for the first time - the 5th fleet of the Systems Alliance Navy was jumping into combat against another galactic power. Admiral Spencer held his head high, proud of both the powerful collection of ships and the brave sailors operating them. They were ready and they knew their arrival wouldn't be a moment too soon.

Spencer leaned against his chair and surveyed the blue traces of FTL at the distance. He wished the circumstances of his command were more auspicious, but Shanxi needed to be relieved. And he had his orders.

He scanned the structure of his ship and relishing in the shared pride of human industry. The Tesla had rolled out of space dock at Arcturus – one of the Alliances primary naval yards - just the previous year. Her AI was of the newer models, and required a bit more maintenance than its predecessors. Despite that minor handicap, the Tesla was fast, well armored, and carrying a full load of ships, spacecraft, and other assets.

Unlike the battleships that Admiral Spencer had toured on before, the Telsa was a super carrier. When fully loaded, she weighed more than any battleship, and was just about half if empty, despite being an entire kilo-meter longer. Some politicians had believed the massive ships to be unwieldy in combat - too slow, cumbersome to maintain, and completely vulnerable to any attack since it lacked a main gun. What Spencer had longed to remind those critics was that super carriers had never been intended to be used on the frontlines, but rather maintain a strong rear position to rearm and refuel smaller craft. While it was true that the Tesla lacked a main cannon like all carriers, their attention might be directed to the super carrier's vast ordnance, ranging from the 12 foot long kinetic rods armed with a heavy payload to the modest interceptor missiles. The hundreds of vehicles and thousands of troops the super carrier carried only made her even more useful in relief operations. To any whom would wish to highlight the carrier's vulnerability, Spencer would kindly remind them of the solid 6.1 meters of Ablative armor plating covering the ship from stem to stern.

"Sir, dropping into real space in 3…2…1."

The admiral's thoughts ended as the SSV Tesla dropped out of FTL, with the rest of the QRF force surrounding his ship. However the fog of war was a cruel thing, for Spencer had made one critical error in his judgment. In the belief that he held the advantage of surprise, he had ordered his corvettes and light frigates forward to both provide screens of fire, and have a few additional minutes to make a mad dash for the planet while the rest of the fleet engaged the batarians.

So it was much to Spencer's surprise and shock when his forward elements were met headlong by over a hundred vessels, all of them frigate class or above. To make matters worse, they were all lined up in a thick defensive formation with clear line of sights and fully charged weapons.

---

HSS Cursed Soul

Dreadnought

Command Deck

"Commander, we have human vessels approaching…"

"…they just appeared along vectors three nine mark three near the relay!"

"Our frigate screen is moving up to flank their positions, and we have two cruiser battle groups requesting orders."

"Ground combat operations have been recalled! Total evacuation of batarian soldiers is at seventy percent."

"Sir! Readings indicate their largest ship measures at three kilometers! That's larger than any dreadnought!"

The command bridge of the Cursed Soul was one of pure chaos. The crewmen on duty were dashing around, trying to handle what was happening, while the higher ranking officers were rushing in, drawn by the battle alarms and trying to obtain additional information. Somehow, the humans had struck at the worst possible time. Ban's fleet was conducting evacuations of all ground troopers and slaves while the pirate ships had been ordered to stand guard. To make matters worse, the most experienced commanders were off shift, getting some rest of their own.

Lieutenant Commander Toren strode into the command bridge and surveyed the turmoil, a faint sneer building. He stood in silence for a moment, taking in the panic with some shock of his own before speaking so loudly that he was practically screaming.

"Calm down! Are you not the bane of the Terminus?" He bellowed over the din of the command bridge. The officers sitting in their command stations and surrounding the map table looked up at him. Under his gaze, the Cursed Soul's third officer hung his head in shame and stepped away from the map showing local space and gestured to it.

Toren walked closer and glared at the officer in silence, his gaze accusing. The young officer had panicked and lost control of the bridge, failing to maintain discipline. The commander said nothing, but turned away from the younger man in disgust, instead focusing on the map table. Without a doubt the situation was bad, but not hopeless. His forces held a serious advantage, if the attackers wanted to engage at long range with mass accelerators, they would risk hitting their own colony while his own forces were free of any such restrictions.

He took a moment to scan the human fleet, and what he saw sent a shiver down his spine. The largest human ship was as long as the Destiny Ascension was tall. Thankfully from, what Toren could see, that particular ship lacked a main gun, its escort surrounding it in a protective screen. It was easily a command and control ship, mostly likely used for logistical purposes.

Toren grunted. 'What race would willingly make such a large ship and not use it for combat?' He shook his head, these primitives were beyond foolish. But six new contacts froze the words in his mouth. He was no stranger to interstellar combat, even among forces of roughly equal strength, but those six new arrivals paralyzed him with fear. Across the galaxy he'd seen the various space faring races field countless models of ships, with equally innumerable variations of appearance. Among all that diversity, there was one shape that was universal, and it was unmistakably here.

'The humans have dreadnoughts…' Toren thought, trepidation overriding any sense.

Worse than that discovery was that only one of the massive death-dealers maintained a similar design to his own; the other five …. He swallowed hard. The other five were far more heavily armored, displaying their armor plating with menacing vigor. In a fashion he couldn't recognize, the sensors clicked a new warning, showing that somehow those five ships wielded two mass accelerator cannons.

'How?' Was all Toren could think as he stared at the menacing ships.

"Sir, what are your orders?" An ensign called out.

It was only then, that Toren realized that his crew was eyeing him expectantly. Quickly, he regained his composure, and began delivering orders.

"Have all interceptors mass at our position and recall any of our ships providing over-watch on the planet's surface. I want them to regroup on our location as soon as possible. Have the fleet move into combat formation and keep the planet behind us!" Toren's voice was as cold as ice and steady as granite. It was just the kind of thing that was needed for the crew to regain confidence, moving with gratifying speed to relay the commander's orders.

Toren leaned on the map table and fixed his attention on his forces. While they were still more than enough to obliterate the new human arrivals, he was adamant of losing any more of his ships, especially the ones carrying the valuable cargo. But, the thought came to him; he still had the remainder of Ban's fleet.

The odds of the battle were eerily similar to the first, his forces greatly outnumbering the humans, though he doubted Ban's fleet would be of much help other than be used as cannon fodder. While a good portion of the enemy fleet consisted of vessels he'd already witnessed in battle, the humans were now fielding their own battle cruisers and dreadnoughts. That wasn't even taking into account the massive three kilometer juggernaut in the center of the enemy formation that was even now practically spewing wave upon wave of lighter craft ranging from small and nimble drones to entire wings of fighters. It was then Toren realized the massive ship wasn't just a command and control ship, but a much larger cousin of the same vessels he had previously faced that carried nothing, but fighters and heavy bombers. He would have to make eliminating that ship his top priority. Still he was confident of the outcome of this bout.

"I want our forces massed into a standard battle line; battle cruisers will mass fire with our dreadnought and begin rapid bombardment of their screening force, followed by targeting of their capital ships. I want our interceptors to stay close to our formation; point defense should be ample to deal with their fighter threat." Toren ordered. He watched the tactical display, noting the ships that were already moving to engage on his order.

"Sir, what of Ban's fleet?" a slaver asked.

A smug grin plastered itself on Toren's face. "Have the good Admiral witness the coming battle, so he can see how a real commander leads a fleet into battle."

For a split second the bridge became deathly quiet, too fast for Toren to notice the slight hesitation in his crew. It was no secret of the love-lost between the two leaders, but to question Toren would guarantee great risk to one's own personal health. Despite knowing it was not wise to antagonize the currently erstwhile Hegemony admiral, the ensign nonetheless complied. "As you wish, sir."

Toren turned his attention back to the map table, watching the fleets maneuver in the void, his own forces lining up their mass accelerators against the human threat. Formations of enemy spacecraft were bearing down on his position, his opponent seeming to have limitless supply of them like an angry hill of stinging insects. He smiled as he felt the Cursed Soul vibrate, sending the first round down range along with a ripple of fire from his battle cruisers. He watched the rounds tear through space, each one moving at a hundredth at the speed of light and striking with at least 90 kilotons of force and blasting a hole in the human's formation. Contently, Toren watched as the human support craft were hit by the massed volley and torn to shreds. He ignored the fighters assaulting his fleet. They were mere pests for his own interceptors and point defenses to deal with.

---

SSV Tesla

Super Carrier

Command Deck

"Dewa, order all vessels to disperse!" Spencer commanded, the petty officer frantically issuing the orders amidst the chaos.

"Weapons discharged!" Mikhailovich snarled. "Mass Accelerator slugs and torpedoes inbound!"

"Raise shields to full power, and have all available ships prepare to return fire!" Spencer turned towards the weapons console. "I want Disruptor torpedoes and Seeker rockets targeting their engines. Follow up with an active ECM screen. All hands brace for impact…"

"They're not coming at us!" Lieutenant Yeol shouted. "They're shooting at our screen!"

Spencer changed tactics immediately, the altered scenario shifting the numbers in his head with little strain. The battle was barely beginning with a simple enough start. "Stratus, order our frigates and corvettes to fall back and have our heavy hitters move forward!" Spencer ordered. "I want our electronic countermeasures online immediately!"

Within seconds, the holographic algorithm of the Tesla's AI displayed the avatar of a blue cube. "Affirmative admiral. Reorienting ships to specifications and alternating combat priorities."

However, the moment the batarian vessels had fired, three corvettes and four frigates were condemned to death as the ordnance struck their prows and hulls. The first few rounds went straight through the SSV Mississippi's hull, eviscerating her completely, rending the frame in half. The Mississippi bucked like a startled animal, venting atmosphere as explosions consumed the ship.

A few others struck the Vienna and El Alamein right in their engines, penetrating their hulls and eezo cores while nicking the fuel cells. The highly volatile mixture of eezo and liquid fuel coexisted for a mili-second before combusting in a chain reaction. They were consumed by the burning angry beast of fire, flaring only briefly in the cold vacuum, but enough to disintegrate the ships' hulls and their crew. Fortunately, the rest of the fusillade were either dodged or intercepted by GARDIAN laser defenses. The Alliance screening fleet quickly broke formation, maneuvering hard to avoid any further hits.

"Redirect ship to heading zero three zero, declination one eight zero," Spencer ordered. "Arm Kinetic pods one through twenty and give me a firing solution."

"Aye," the navigation and weapon officers snapped in response. They furiously tapped away on their keyboards, precious seconds ticking by.

"Pods one through twenty armed. Firing solution ready, sir." Mikhailovich reported.

"Fire."

"Pods one through twenty firing!"

The Tesla maintained an impressive one hundred and twenty pods, each loaded with twenty high-explosive kinetic rods. The ship, massive as it was, lurched as four hundred kinetic rods screamed out of its ports. On screen huge plumes of missile exhaust traced a path from the Tesla to the enemy ships. Those were quickly followed by thousands more as the entire fleet opened up. Repeated volleys followed soon after, targeting the larger battle cruisers and anything else that might be a threat.

The batarians responded, defending with GARDIAN lasers. Red flashes flicked off of the hull of their ships, the linear arcs emitting a bright glow in the darkness of space. The larger ships held their positions and returned fire while the smaller ones maneuvered out of the danger zone. A few kinetic rods altered their trajectory to track the maneuvering ships, but half of their number streaked past the target, clean missies. The others impacted. Fire covered the skin of the alien ships. Three were immediately damaged with only two being destroyed, their kinetic barriers absorbing much of the blast.

The batarians ships started to rotate slowly in space – although their momentum continued to carry them on their inbound trajectory toward the Alliance formation. But it was a hazard affair; instead of moving as a single powerful formation, the batarians ships were somewhat disorganized. The individual flotillas attempted to reform themselves into some sort of formation on the fly, but more than a few dozen ships found themselves changing courses multiple times due to new salvos being launched by the Alliance fleet. Still, motes of light, indicating charging Mass Accelerators collected along the alien ships' lateral lines.

"Time until those slugs impact the fleet?" Spencer asked Yeol.

"Twenty two seconds, sir. Our own heavy ships are moving into formation to respond with their own guns."

The starboard screen showed the Alliance battleships and battle cruisers moving into position to launch their own opening salvo. Despite the immense damage both classes of vessels could absorb, there were only ten of them in total, and they simply were not enough to take on thirteen battle cruisers and nearly thirty cruisers.

It wasn't long before the batarian salvo impacted several Alliance ships, weakening their barriers and eating away at their ablative armor. Two light cruisers took the brunt of the attack, their hulls shattering like glass. They were unable to withstand the force of the three slugs fired by the batarian's dreadnought. Spencer realized he would have to take that ship out, but it was out of range from every ship's main cannon save for the McKinley's of course. Noticing a shot from the McKinley claiming an unfortunate target, he was struck with an idea.

"Dewa, have the McKinley alternate its fire between the batarian's battle cruisers and dreadnought."

The petty officer gave a nod, disseminating his orders to the Alliance dreadnought. Within fifteen seconds of the order being broadcasted, the McKinley switched its targets and engaged in a long range duel with the batarian flagship. Thanks to a small flotilla of frigates to provide ECM protection, the Admiral didn't have to worry about the enemy scoring hits.

'Good that will keep that ship of our backs for a while,' Spencer thought. He returned his attention to his fleet, watching as they immersed themselves in the heavy fighting that enveloped the void.

"Ensign Cruz, take us out of the skirmish line and have the carrier group deploy third wave of fighters." Spencer ordered.

"Yes, admiral." The ensign's fingers swooped along the board, tapping a command sequence almost faster than the eye could follow.

The fleet began to move to engage the batarian vanguard. Five squadrons, each centered on a battle cruiser with five destroyers as their escorts, charged forward. Alliance cruisers moved in behind them, firing suppressive salvos to keep the enemy off balanced while the strike force closed in. The Alliance frigates quickly formed up to screen the fleet once again with both their weapons and ECM networks. The fleet's fighter arm, over two hundred in number, moved with the screening force to provide an immediate reserve. Finally, the fleet's three carriers and single dreadnought followed the squadrons from the rear alongside their corvette escorts, making sure to keep out of the enemy's line of fire. The small number of raloi ships attached to fleet remained at the rear to protect the few auxiliary craft available. The majority of repair ships and mobile hospital stations were holding position on the other side of the Relay with the rest of the raloi battle group. The reason being Spencer didn't want them to become easy targets, especially since they would be vital in the relief effort on the ground.

The vacuum between the two opposing forces filled with hundred lines of fire and smoldering metal seemed to tear through the fabric of space. Like gods clashing for dominance, the fleets met each other in combat. As they approached the seven hundred thousand kilometers line, the Alliance heavy hitters unleashed their barrage. There were no intricate maneuvers to be seen only a slug fest. A web of trajectories traced the darkness of space as the two sides were exchanging fire like a line of Redcoats and colonial militia in the Revolutionary War, tactics that could best be described as bloody…or suicidal. Alliance battle ships fired their dual mass accelerators, hammering into the batarian lines. Kinetic barriers flickered before overloading under the incredibly light, yet powerful projectiles as they rammed into the formation; several batarian ships were spun out of position by the impact alone.

However, the batarians were now beginning to regroup and responded to the Alliance formation. The minutes ticked by as the Tesla's bridge crew watched the batarians fleet get closer and closer. With every hundred kilometers closed, the batarians tightened their formation to cut off any escape route. Their frigates and light cruisers activated their FTL drives, propelling them to the Alliance's flanks. The Admiral could see that the enemy was attempting a 3-D envelopment maneuver; a fairly basic stream-rolling tactic based on surrounding the enemy while bringing the maximum number of guns upon them. In addition, the batarians were holding a massive formation of interceptors near their fleet, baiting the Alliance fighters into another duel on their home-turf.

Spencer grinned. Though simplistic, the tactic wouldn't work for two reasons. First, the tonnage disparity between the two fleets gave the Alliance the advantage and second the envelopment would only work if the target remained in a fixed position, something Spencer had no intention of doing.

"Guns?" Spencer called out. "Enemy status?"

"Multiple hits on batarians fleet, sir," Mikhailovich replied. "Salvo two firing…now."

The entire human fleet opened fire with their mass accelerators. A handful of the shots from the cruisers were clean misses. Spencer winced; each mass accelerator slug off-trajectory meant one more enemy ship would survive to return fire. The vast majority, however, slammed into the shielded alien vessels. The lead batarian battle cruiser took a direct hit form a heavy round, sending the alien ship into a lurching port spin.

Spencer saw the battle cruiser's engines flare as her pilot struggled to regain control-just as a second mass accelerator round struck the ship's opposite side. For an instant, the batarian vessel shuddered, held position, and then flexed as the hull stresses became too great. The battle cruiser disintegrated and scattered debris in a wide-arc.

A second batarian ship, a cruiser, shuddered under the impact of multiple mass accelerator rounds. One round from a heavy battle cruiser went right through the ship to starboard and rammed the next cruiser in the enemy formation. Sparks and small explosions flared from the ships as a gray-white plume of vented atmosphere exploded into space. The ships' running lights flickered, and then dimmed as the pair of dead spacecraft-locked in a deadly embrace-tumbled into the heart of the batarian line. A moment later, the wrecked ships hit a batarian frigate and they exploded sending tendrils of debris through space. A dozen of their ships vented atmosphere and fires flicked within their hulls.

It was then Alliance fighters finally closed to optimal range, meeting their batarian counterparts in a head on attack run. The heavy Slamhounds, Stingers, Tridents, and Hailstorms broke their formations and went after their assigned targets. What had once been solely a capital-ship fire exchange became a swarming mass. Dots of light, starlight glinting off mass accelerated rounds, rattled in a bewildering number of directions. Missiles, slower than their more simplistic kin, adjusted their courses, homing in on their marks with single-minded intensity.

With the Alliance fighters occupied engaging enemy interceptors, the batarians deployed their fighter/bombers. Pouring out from their hangars in swarms, the batarian fighters commenced their strikes. Over two hundred in number closed in on the Alliance fleet, unleashing a barrage of Disruptor Torpedoes at close range. Since these weapons were cold launched, having to basically drift out of their firing tubes before activating, their range was greatly reduced. With the speed of a fighter, however, the torpedoes had a smaller distance to cover and if used in large numbers proved to be lethal. Once they fire their munitions, the batarians fighters immediately peeled away in perfect synchronicity, returning to their ships to rearm. Only handfuls were shot down by Alliance defenses, a greater majority being destroyed by Tridents and Hailstorms.

"Incoming projectiles! Enemy fighters are breaking off!" Yeol shouted, tracking the vast amount of projectiles heading towards them.

"Activate defenses now!" Spencer shouted.

With immediate urgency GARDIAN lasers sprang to life, targeting the incoming torpedoes while other defenses attempted to destroy the fleeing enemy fighters. The multilayered defenses onboard Alliance vessels had the phenomenal effect of greatly reducing the overall damage the fleet would have suffered, rendering the batarian barrage nearly null. A few still managed to graze a few ships, but their kinetic barriers remained strong.

The batarians retaliated with force, a great beam of blue light being casted from their lines and straight towards the Alliance. The fore view screen of the Tesla was now filled with incoming weapons fire. GARDIAN lasers once again sprang to life, trying to swat the incoming ordnance away from crucial areas. Alliance frigates deployed their ECMs to amplify the effect, preventing additional target-locks on the human fleet. Unfortunately, the ECM screen was not large enough to save four Alliance cruisers from destruction. The batarian's sole dreadnought claimed an additional two cruisers that had been severely damaged and a destroyer that had sacrificed itself to save a third.

"All ships: break and attack!" Spencer bellowed. "Pick your targets and fire at will. Take as many of these bastards out as you can! Weapons free."

The Tesla moved away at a near-right angle from the protective formation guided by a small corvette escort. The other Alliance ships scattered across all vectors. One Alliance destroyer, the Sphinx, accelerated straight towards the batarian line with the intent of distracting them.

As the Alliance ships scattered, their salvo reached the batarians ships. The Admiral's firing solutions had prioritized the enemy frigates, hoping to bleed out their numbers. Their barriers sparkled, rippled, and then flickered out of existence. Frigates shattered under the impact, armor plates disintegrating as if they were made from ice. Holes ripped through their bulkheads, exposing everything inside to the cold, uncaring vacuum. Wrecked spacecraft drifted lazily through the battle area. GARDIAN lasers, Disruptor torpedoes, Javelin missiles, Kinetic rods and every other type of ordnance were fired as every ship accelerated to one-another.

Admiral Spencer watched the battle rage through the starboard camera. The Nile took a salvo of Disruptor torpedoes and her foredecks burned. One batarian ship collided with the Alliance destroyer, the Medusa, ramming the superstructures of the two craft together until both ships opened fire at point-blank Medusa was turned into a nuclear fire that engulfed the batarian cruiser. Both ships faded from the tactical display.

As that occurred, a flotilla of batarian frigates had moved as one towards the Telsa, using their FTL drives to quickly cross the vast distance. Their lateral lines warmed before releasing a salvo of torpedoes and Mass Accelerator rounds against the super carrier. They also appeared to be targeting the few auxiliary vessels at the rear, which were practically defenseless. The raloi ships in charge of guarding those vessels were unfortunately pre-occupied with a squadron of enemy cruises on their left flank, leaving the auxiliaries completely vulnerable. To compensate for their smaller number, the enemy frigates were being escorted by seventy interceptors and about a hundred fighters. The Tesla's escort, having no other option, moved in to engage the enemy frigates; firing off their laser cannons at full power.

Bright violet lances of light filled the void between his corvettes and the alien frigates, forcing their attention to the combat craft rather than the defenseless auxiliaries. Spencer turned to face the more pressing engagement, and felt his ship give the faintest of shudders as Harpoon missiles were fired, sending a salvo towards each alien frigate.

He glanced at the tactical display and saw that the corvettes weren't doing so well. Their rods hadn't cracked the batarian's point defenses and their torpedoes were being intercepted. The corvettes were then forced to fire their laser cannons at close range, greatly exposing themselves to enemy fire. While kinetic barriers could not deflect energy weaponry, the ablative armor was designed to boil away and negate the full effect of DEW, but the Alliance corvettes' laser cannons wielded much more power than simple GARDIAN lasers.

The corvettes' beams collided with the enemy frigates' armor, boiling any material strapped onto the hull. Their fire carved clean into the sides of two frigates, completely making their hull glow and bubble before the ships spontaneously combusted in flames. It appeared as if the corvettes managed to strike a critical hit as the ships were effectively destroyed.

Batarian fighters then targeted the corvettes, launching torpedoes and missiles. The munitions slammed against each corvette's barriers, draining them to a significant margin but still managing to hold. Their defenses easily downed two squadrons in retribution. Despite having early success and calming two kills, the Alliance corvettes were beginning to drop like flies.

One of the corvettes exploded as a batarian frigate fired a mass accelerator round into its hull at point black range. The corvette's barriers had been knocked down somehow. The ship had tried to maneuver and avoid fire…but it had presented itself as a perfect target, exposing her prow to the other batarian frigate's torpedo salvo. Another had been struck by main cannon fire; her barriers and armor too weak to prevent the ship from detonating.

Ominously, two particularly large concentrations of enemy cruisers were forming up on both flanks of the Alliance fleet. The combined cruiser and frigate formations were continuing to become a larger threat. Already Spencer had lost three cruisers and another eight frigates to the flanking enemy.

Before he could deal with them, Spencer had directed his attention to the more immediate threat. The Admiral recalled the two remaining corvettes, unwilling to sacrifice them in vain. His ship then began deploying hundreds of UCAAV drones and a few squadrons of fighters and bombers. Immediately he set up them upon the attacking the remaining frigates, turning them from the hunters to the hunted. A good number of the drones were quickly dispatched by GARDIAN and point defenses, but they allowed the Tridents and Xians to accelerate undisturbed. As the smaller craft engaged in dog fights, the Telsa began realigning itself to meet the two frigates head-on.

Despite evidence to the contrary, the batarians still continued to believe that the Tesla was defenseless and a perfect prey. They fired off two shots from their main cannons, their slugs accelerating to the large ship. A small salvo of torpedoes followed soon after as a precaution, however the result was not expected.

The Tesla amazingly reoriented itself a full 90 degrees, a maneuver never before having been seen. The large ship managed to dodge the torpedoes, but the two slugs managed reached their target. Unbeknownst to the batarians, the Telsa did not have kinetic barriers, instead wielding something much better and stronger, shields; a blue field briefly flickering off the ship before once again becoming invisible. Panicked, the frigates continued to fire on upon the large ship while a few squadrons of their fighters began conducting bombing runs.

Admiral Spencer then played his next trick. All over the ship, a hundred beams of light began to flare that seemed to be infinite. Broadside guns mixed with point defense turrets glowed in the empty void before being unleashed. The Admiral then deployed a sixth of his ship's own Interceptor missiles, small self-propelled precision guided munitions employed extensively by the JSF. The large number of Interceptor missiles soon cut a large swath through the enemy's fighters, eliminating them almost completely while the rest continued onwards towards the pair of frigates. Their barriers flared in defiance, saving the two ships from obliteration, however this was not Spencer's intent nor was this meant to be the final strike.

Spencer held no illusions that the Interceptor missiles, meant for fighters and bombers, would do any damage. In fact he was surprised when they actually managed to significantly weaken the batarians' kinetic barriers, but he would not curse the good stroke of luck. As the frigates struggled to regain cohesion, large hangar doors soon began opening from the Telsa, exposing her, but at the same time unleashing its trump card.

Emerging from the large beast's bowels were eight ships in total, five corvettes and three frigates, each flourishing with destructive weaponry ready to be fired. The SSV Tesla's personal complement of ships had joined the battle, fury igniting at the barrels of their cannons. The batarian vessels scattered like flies in both fear and shock, unable to comprehend the scene unfolding before them. Shocked because they had just witness an event deemed impossible by the laws of physics as much as stopping time was. Fearful because as they witnessed the impossible occur, they realized with dread that it was the last thing they would ever see. Their assumptions were proven correct when ten ultra-violet lasers and three slugs erupted from the Alliance ships. Such firepower could be considered overkill, but anything that dared touch a carrier always had to deal with the wrath of its personal escorts. An enormous fireball engulfed the two batarian ships, more due to the firepower igniting upon their hulls rather than their actual detonation. As the blast cleared, hardly any debris was left behind, a sign that the ordnance did its job.

He checked the status of the raloi ships, relieved that they managed to hold the enemy cruiser squadron and were converging on the auxiliaries. With the threat dealt with, the super carrier began to reorient itself to its former position. Spencer immediately switched his attention to the ships that had continued to flank his own, never even having the luxury of taking a moment's breath.

The Admiral turned to his aides. "Split the fleet into three attack formations. The carrier group will launch against the center force with spacecraft and battleships providing the bulk of the firepower. Have the destroyer squadrons under Dresher move in to provide support for the cruiser taskforce on our starboard side. The rest of the fleet will engage the enemies forming on our portside." The strategy was bold and risky. He would basically be mirroring the enemy's envelopment formation, meeting him on all three points and trying to hold off the beast. As the aides disseminated the admiral's order, Spencer looked at his cards that had yet to be played.

For now, he could do little but watch his fleet split off to engage the two batarian formations on his flanks. The Telsa, along with the fleet's two other carriers, opened fire with missile batteries and Disruptor torpedoes. The distance between both fleets kept the Alliance munitions from doing any damage, instead being easily intercepted by GARDIAN lasers. He nodded, approvingly; he'd expected this and welcomed it; the more distraction the better. The batarians were arrogantly using their defenses to intercept rather weak and avoidable ordnance, foolishly degrading the accuracy of their defenses as they continued to overheat.

Spencer checked his board, bringing up the division surging to the Tesla's starboard flank. Under the torrent of torpedoes and missiles heavily occupying the point defenses of the batarian frigates, Alliance destroyer squadrons quickly advanced in a wedge formation and began laying an abysmal quantity of firepower on the batarians. Their dual Mass Accelerators allowed them to increase their rate-of-fire beyond standard safeties, maximizing their effectiveness despite their small numbers. Their combined fire began to crush the individual pickets while three squadrons of Alliance vessels, consisting of three battle cruisers and six cruisers, closed in to engage the batarian's heavier vessels.

He sighed in mild relief; no major issues had suddenly blocked everything … so far. Spencer frowned as the board showed what was happening on the other flank. Meanwhile the portside formation seemed to have finally made it through the hail of enemy fire at the cost of seven frigates and five destroyers. Four cruisers had been forced to fall back due to heavy damage and were ordered to rendezvous with the Repair and Retrofit vessels at the rear. While field repairs were risky, the enemy would have to get through a large concentration of Alliance ships before being able to get a clear line of sight on the auxiliary craft. The rest of the attack group clashed with the bulk of the battle cruiser formation, resulting in a furious exchange of fire. Two Alliance destroyers were quickly annihilated, but not before taking three batarian frigates with them to the grave.

With his flanks secure, Spencer turned his attention to the rapidly closing batarian formation in the center. "Dewa, order second wave of bombers and UCAAV drones forward. Have them escorted by some of our fighters."

"Yes, admiral."

Soon the Tesla's three hangar bays opened to reveal one hundred and fifty Xians and Tridents, accompanied by seven hundred UCAAV drones. While small, UCAAVs were incredibly maneuverable, inexpensive, and horribly numerous. With the massive swarm, hostile interceptors would be forced to either engage their multitude and ignore the Xians, or allow their larger ships to be rendered vulnerable to the drones.

While not powerful enough to destroy a corvette, much less anything larger, the drones were incredibly effective in draining the enemy's ordnance, harassing them just enough to cause a distraction, or slowly siphon the enemy's kinetic barriers. Either way, Spencer still gained something in exchange for an easily replaceable robotic machine.

The fleet's two other carriers also deployed their complement, this one a mixed force of JSF and SGB spacecraft. Spencer had originally been reluctant to have two opposite factions confined to a single ship, but figured they would save their aggression for the enemy. Thankfully for him, and quite possibly the entire human race, both forces had indeed set aside their differences in order to concentrate on a mutual enemy. The Admiral had played a card, but it would not be his last.

Another card up his sleeve was the elite H.A.W.X squadron leading the Alliance fighters. Originally created as an internatinoal response force by the UNAS, the H.A.W.X program soon morphed into a special operations unit within their Air Force. While they officially didn't exist, H.A.W.X pilots were some of humanity's best flyers. Spencer was glad that such an elite unit was spearheading the Alliance fighter strike force. From what he could tell they were wielding a new type of air craft, nearly invisible to the Tesla's sensors, which meant they were even more advance than their trademark F-57 Stingers.

In the case of the worst possible event, the human pilots would greatly reduce the batarian's point defenses enough to for his bombers to swoop in and wreak havoc among the enemy. Spencer didn't like using his fighters as a sacrificial screen, but it was a necessary action. He knew that to give his bombers a chance, he needed to get the batarians point defenses to overheat, or otherwise degrade their ability to shoot down his fleet's attacks.

---

5th Fleet, QRF

JSF 24th TES

Reaper Flight

Captain David A. Crenshaw operated the experimental Razorback as part of the elite H.A.W.X squadron, and he was more than pleased if he could say so himself. The Razorback had improved titanium nano-composite armor, an internal 25mm cannon with a lower acoustic signature, and even a revolutionary auto-repair and bypass nodes for increased survivability. The high tech-spacecraft was meant to keep its roots as an interceptor, using light armaments, improved durability, and raw speed to blast through or evade enemy strike formations. Their M.O. even made them useable against light combat vessels.

While deployment to Shanxi was highly debated and controversial, President Caldwell finally relented and gave the go-ahead for their deployment. Now, along with his wingmen Casper and Talon, Crenshaw was blasting apart the batarian interceptors. Thankfully for his squadron, batarian ship design philosophy had chosen to believe that anti-fighter missile launchers were not a major option, believing GARDIANs would be enough. Such a belief seemed to postulate that simple Mass Accelerated turrets and light missiles on their inceptors were more than enough to cover the gap.

"Reaper-lead, we have enemy in our sights," Casper reported.

"I kind of feel bad for them. They actually think they have a chance," Talon chastised.

"Don't get cocky, Talon. The enemy has the numerical advantage," Crenshaw countered.

"We'll let's take care of that problem," Talon replied.

"Agreed."

A warning on Crenshaw's panel went off, alerting him to an enemy lock on. He palmed the sound off. "Be advised, I just got a ping on the sensors. Break formation and engage enemy bogeys."

"Roger that." Talon snapped before breaking off. Casper clicked acknowledgement before following in a similar fashion.

Crenshaw flicked on his fighter's electronic countermeasures, obscuring his exact vector and velocity from the enemy's tracking systems. The countermeasures had the added benefit of hiding Reaper Flight's numbers from their enemies, which was good considering they were less than a dozen strong. For armaments, aside from the 25mm cannon, the Razorback also carried one hundred and forty Joint Strike Missiles and another forty-eight All Aspect Missiles. The JSMs were smart missiles capable of defeating all but the best electronic measures and could destroy a bare-bone Slamhound in seven hits. The JSM's were incredibly light, translated into faster traveling speed. Secondary missiles, the AAMs, were multi-purpose munitions to add versatility to the fighter not that they would need it in this scenario.

Crenshaw focused on the enemy fleet ahead; it would not do to engage the enemy while distracted. He gave his orders: "Attention Alliance squadrons, this is Reaper-lead. Hold your current speed and remain behind us until we've delivered our barrage. Standby to engage."

"Copy Reaper-lead. Begin your barrage at your discretion."

He checked his flight board. "Reaper flight, Mark primary targets for long range missile barrage. Switch auto-cannons to standby; let's make the first run hurt."

The Razorback's auto-cannon began to spin, signaling its preparation for fire. Crenshaw locked on the lead batarian interceptor. "This is Reaper-lead, I have missile lock on the lead interceptor."

"Acknowledged, Reaper-lead, awaiting your signal."

The batarian interceptors twin mass accelerators heated up, apparently ready as their anti-missile scramblers. They seemed determined to force the humans into one-on-one combat … where the odds were stacked. On the opposite side, the Razorbacks opened up their missile bays and readied to fire.

"Targets locks confirmed. We're in range. Reaper-lead committing. Fox one. Fox three." Crenshaw stated. His Razorback fired off four JSMs and six AAMs. The other eight Razorbacks unleashed their own barrages, launching twenty missiles at the interceptors.

According to the information stolen from batarian hard drives, the batarian Sharads would have immediately opened fire with mass accelerators to shoot down as many missiles as possible … under normal circumstances. This time the JSMs countermeasures rendered their sensors useless by giving off a false reading, as if they were still racked on Reaper flights' weapon bays. The only countermeasures the interceptors could rely on were the organic visual, and attempts to maneuver as best they could. Thirty interceptors opened fire en-masse, but managed to strike only a couple of missiles; the rest struck home, tearing into the batarian formation as twin missile volleys claimed ten of the leading interceptors.

The Razorbacks heavy shields easily absorbed the feeble blows of their counterparts and even the long-range GARDIAN lasers from nearby enemy frigates. As both sides entered close range, the nine Razorbacks of Reaper flight pushed their engines to full burn, breaking off from the engagement and attempting to circumvent the batarian interceptors while the Alliance Tridents and UCAAV drones surprised the batarians with their proximity, and opened fire.

"All fighters, weapons free." Crenshaw announced over the comm..

The space between the two fighter wings filled with the ejection of both mass altered and rail accelerated rounds, interspersed with the missile exhaust, vapors writhing in sinuous patterns that distracted the eye. The surprised batarians couldn't concentrate their fire well enough to breach the Razorbacks' shields, due partially to the electronic interference, but also due to the Trident's Harpoon missiles coming right after a short barrage of 25mm auto-cannon fire to weakened their kinetic barriers. The failing shields allowed VI guided projectiles to gut the batarian interceptors, crushing the denuded vessels under their power. The two sides smashed into each other and the battle degenerated into a fireball.

Crenshaw was as deep in the fight as he could get. His XA-20 Razorback wheeled about, working the evasion protocols to their very limit, preventing the batarians point defenses from getting a bead on him, and smashing him with fire. The angular fighter moved with a predatory grace, erratically dodging and wheeling like a bird of prey as the veteran pilot twisted his craft around. The melee wasn't something that could be controlled or predicted, and once contact was made, the leading echelon of fighters had torn into their batarians counter-parts with gusto. Even though the pilots of both sides were experienced, the training and technology at Crenshaw's disposal created a huge gap between him and his opponents.

As part of the vanguard, the entirety of Reaper flight had emptied their own Joint Strike Missiles racks, reducing the first-wave of the batarian interceptors to scrap metal. The rest of the alien number were struggling just to survive the face of overwhelming stealth technology being employed by the UNAS pilots; failing miserably on an almost two-to-one scale. Not that Crenshaw had taken the time to actually count the numbers of his opposition. His duty was to cut down the batarian fighter screen coverage and they had accomplished that task spectacularly. Right now, the job of he and his fellow fighters was to mainly draw fire from the batarian point-defense systems. In his opinion, it was a waste of expensive craft and highly trained pilots to use them in simple harassment maneuvers like this.

Crenshaw pulled his fighter around in a sharp turn, firing the craft's internal rotary auto-cannon against a batarians frigate's prow, aiming to perforate the cockpit of the craft. He watched with satisfaction as the armor plating split apart, tearing from the impacts. Unfortunately, there was no venting atmosphere, and the frigate continued to maneuver. Crenshaw snarled and hugged close to the upper hull of the enemy vessel, close enough that had his craft possessed a canopy, he could have reached out and brushed the hull of the enemy ship with his finger tips. He darted within the defilade of the point defenses and rocketed out past the exhaust ports unmolested, deploying his M.O. to damage the vessel as best he could. As explosions began to illuminate the batarian ship's hull the pilot roared away, once more searching for batarian interceptors to engage. He was already a highly experienced Ace, but like any good pilot he knew to never to stray from his assigned task.

---

5th Fleet, QRF

SGB 26th Heavy Bomber Aviation Division

3rd Combat Wing

"Well its looks like the North Americans finally decided to get up from their couches." Colonel Denisov remarked. "Looks like it's up to us to do the heavy lifting again."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Captain Dimitri Ivanovich Sokov replied, sitting in the cockpit of his Su-49 Halal. An entire squadron of bombers followed his craft to their targets. Their formation blazed through space, escorted by a full wing of UCAAV drones, a massive quantity far out of proportion of anything he'd ever heard of in history. He knew they wouldn't need them, between the batarian interceptors being heavily distracted and the heavy armor on his Halal, their target couldn't escape. Fortunately, their task was simple: engage any batarian frigate that they could find, destroy if possible. Of course if they came upon anything larger, the SGB pilots would take the liberty to engage them as well.

To that end, he guided his flight in a long arc, attempting to avoid the wild melee that the UNAS and Alliance pilots had gone through. Sokov ran his fingers over the internal controls of the bomber while his backseat pilot searched for targets.

"Alright, I have a force of six batarian frigates moving to flank our fleet. They're moving at maximum thrust. Good enough for target?" Denisov asked with a growl in his words. Sokov gave a thumbs up.

"Aye… let's spool up the squadron, I think we're going to collect our first kills." Denisov stated. Nimble fingers deftly touched the control stick to bring the craft towards the unsuspecting batarian vessels. The communications VI relayed targeting information among the other members of the squadron; without hesitation, each oriented to a particular mark and indicated a readiness to fire.

Sokov smirked. The unchanging course of the batarian frigates indicated they were oblivious to the impending doom; each batarian ship was about to receive a total of two thousand Myriad rockets, two hundred and fifty fired from each bomber. It was a heady sensation, being the man behind the trigger, giving death to the monsters that had destroyed so many lives. It was almost like being a god, pointing a finger and nodding at a lesser servitor. Heady stuff indeed.

Denisov made a few course corrections while Sokov made the necessary adjustments to the rockets. In Sokov's mind, he started a silent countdown after he felt pair of thuds clunked against the bomber's hull, the rockets dropping free from his craft. He pulled back hard on the control stick, moving the heavily armored bomber away from the multiple blips that had no doubt appeared on the batarian sensors.

Heat swelled in his heart, the fierce joy of combat he'd always felt; it would be paid for later, but now it was a sensation of victory, another attack successfully launched. It wasn't just rockets that had fired. Optimized for space combat, the largest nuclear weapons ever developed by man were heading toward the batarian vessels, hidden behind the massive rocket screen, the dozens of plumes of sensor-defeating chaff covering the multiple warheads. In ten seconds the Tzar warheads had crossed the fifteen kilometers separating the launch point to the ships. While the batarian's overwhelmed their GARDIAN lasers, trying to take out the more numerous Myriad rockets, the Tzar warheads approached their target undisturbed; a deadly mistake on behalf of the batarians.

The iconic bright light of the warheads going off soon illuminated the sensors of Denisov's Halal. Combining with the space-borne inferno caused by the other warheads, it created forca e of hundreds of megatons, all pressing against the skin of the batarian frigate. The force was to penetrate the hull plating all the way to the center of the ships, ripping them apart, smashing the entire top deck and rending armor. Internal systems were crushed and two whole decks were blasted opened, exposed to vacuum. The frigate was reduced to scrap in seconds, a lifeless husk of its former glory.

"Positive kill," Sokov deadpanned, expecting nothing less upon seeing the staccato nuclear fireballs and the destruction of six hostile vessels. It was a fact he accepted with good cheer, that his squadron had claimed their first kills. Although each Halal bomber carried only two Tzar warheads, it was more than enough firepower to eradicate plenty of batarian targets. Sokov's eyes soon began checking the local sensor data, searching for more targets before checking for updates from command. Until he was told otherwise, his squadron would continue hunting.

"Good effect on target," Denisov replied. "Third Combat Wing form up on my bomber, we have more targets to find." A series of compliance rang through the bomber's crew headset as they soared in a tight formation.

---

SSV Tesla

Super Carrier

Command Deck

A high-definition map showed how the batarians were making obvious attempts to catch the Alliance fleet in a cross-fire, but the Alliance had countered spectacularly. Spencer had reorganized his fleet, which was why eighteen Alliance ships, including all of its battle ships, were now staring down a small flotilla of batarian ships right at the edge of the debris field. As with previous engagements, Alliance frigates were at the very front of the battle line, forming an ECM screen to protect the larger ships.

That being said, there were two big differences between the current battle presenting itself and the previous engagements. One key difference was how the batarian fleet had taken up a formation with nineteen lighter ships protecting heavy cruisers, and the second being their now unusual activity.

"Well it looks like they are learning. That's not a surprise after what we did to them. With enough experience, even a dog would learn not to stick its nose into electrical outlets." Mikhailovich said.

Spencer simply nodded. He didn't like it but it was the case.

The holo-graphic display flared red as it sounded out another warning. "Alert batarian cruisers are firing!" Yeol shouted.

"Turns us towards them, bow first, and fire emergency thrusters!" Spencer shouted at his helmsman. Every ship in the group did the same while activating standard countermeasures, making themselves as difficult a target as possible. It turned out to be unnecessary as the bright lances of mass accelerator slugs were more than a dozen kilometers off their target. Still, it was a lot closer than it had any right to be.

"All center ships this is Admiral Spencer. Concentrate on the batarian screen ships. Stand by for cruising formation update."

The holo-graphic shifted under his command, showing the new formation Spencer had in mind. All the ships were to spread out with the battle ships to maintain a distance of roughly twenty eight kilometers from each other. The new cruising formation was meant to create the maximum overlap between each of the ECM capable ships to increase the number ghost signatures that the batarians would have to filter. The cost was in how the ships' point-defenses would be lacking in mutual support; but that didn't matter for now, considering the range and nature of the incoming fire.

'This is not going to work forever, it'll only buy us some time.' Spencer concluded.

"Targeting solution locked, admiral."

The Admiral lifted a single finger. "Fire!"

All eighteen Alliance ships opened fire, sending missiles and mass accelerator rounds towards the batarians lines. The batarian ships immediately turned hard, the extra power from their offline defense turrets giving them a boost. One of the batarian cruisers lit up on sensors as mass accelerator rounds gutted the ship. The remaining ships escaped unscathed, however. Hardly a good kill ratio for the number of rounds fired. The missile barrage also proved rather lackluster as the batarian GARDIAN lasers glowed in the dark expanse, intercepting many of the missiles fired. With the concentrated sensor and point defense density, the remaining batarian ships saw hits on their barriers and even a few onto their hull, but survived to fight again. Left with no other option, the Alliances ships fired again.

As the two line of ships exchanged fire, the batarians second formation began to move in a long arc around their screens to put them at an oblique angle against the Alliance formation. They continued firing their Disruptor torpedoes as they went. Even with the overlapping ECM screen, each shot drew closer and closer until the inevitable happened.

"Alert the New York is hit!" Dewa announced.

The Berlin class battle cruiser took a shot right through her bow, severing the entire front fourth of the ship. Now flaring clearly on everyone's sensors, the New York became an easy target for the batarian frigates as more Disruptor torpedoes proceeded to slicer her into pieces. Escape pods quickly flew out of the New York's hull but it was too late for most of her crew as the battle cruiser split in half with secondary explosions ripping the decks opened.

"Alert S&R corvettes. We can't do anything more to help them now." Spencer said quietly, forcing himself to look away and turn back to the holo-display. As the New York met her end, the majority of the batarian ships began to move themselves closer to the Alliance fleet. They were definitely trying to restrict the Alliance's ability to maneuver while they gained the maximum arc of fire for themselves.

Their enemy had learned well.

He had to reorganize his ships once again. With the ECM blanket and their numbers, they could win in an outright clash with that formation. But the fact that the cost for such a tactical victory would effectively be an operational defeat, caution was the best mind-set.

As one, the Murphy-class battleships charged straight towards their target with the force of their engines propelling them at top speed faster than an Everest-Class dreadnought. Soon the distance between the two sides quickly closed. Their course took them parallel to the bulk of the batarian firing line, almost tauntingly exposed to their flank. It was this flaw that Spencer hoped to exploit. By deploying most of their screening force to encircle the Alliance ships, the batarians had weakened the line that stood between the battleships. Only a small force of cruisers and battle cruisers now protected the batarian's lone dreadnought. Of course the additional quantity of open space would have normally given those ships ample time to shoot down any normal attackers crossing the distance, however the Alliance battleships were anything but normal.

The battleships weren't designed for relief efforts, or conveying supplies between colonies, although they could do that in an emergency. Battleships were designed for one purpose and one purpose only: war. They were the offensive punch of the fleet, designed to pound targets into submission with heavy firepower, while having enough armor to withstand the enemy's onslaught. Speed was a distant third consideration. And now these dogs of war were unleashed upon the batarians. Despite mass accelerator fire pounding their hulls, the battle ships barriers refused to give in. They merely absorbed the punishment that other ships could only dream of enduring. The enemy continued in vain to try and destroy the behemoths, not realizing that such resistance was futile. In contrast, each shot fired from the battleships produced casualties, damaged ships becoming critically in danger of detonating.

As Spencer had hoped, not only had the sudden charge by the five battleships surprised the batarians, but they had ignorantly transferred even more power to their weapons, ever increasingly overheating their guns. It wouldn't be long before the batarians ships would have to discharge, and while they were vulnerable - the battleships would strike in one massive decisive blow.

Batarian fighters dashed to intercept the attackers, but Spencer unleashed his own fighters and drones in an attempt to halt the would-be blockers. The only ship Spencer now cared for was that batarian dreadnought and anything between it and his fleet.

As the battleships closed with the exposed section of the batarian line, their formation became fluid as the AI, Stratus, began adjusting each ship's position - constantly re-randomizing the flotilla's ECM configuration. All attempts to get a target lock on the battleships became far more difficult as they moved in and out the formation.

"Targeting solutions confirmed!" The AI announced.

"Then have them fire already!" Spencer bellowed.

The battleships' main guns flared to life, propelling multiple slugs forward towards the batarians. Like titans of ancient Greek lore, they smashed any ship in their wake. The two kilometer vessels ploughed into a few batarians ships, bringing all traffic to a halt as the Alliance ship simply smashed through enemy ships. Ten mass accelerated rounds spat out from the battleships accompanied by hundreds of Seeker rockets and Disruptor torpedoes. The lone batarians ships had no chance, almost disintegrating under the barrage. Spencer's battleships had forced an opening in the batarian lines, but the batarians were now rushing to head them off and seal the breach.

"Admiral, six battle cruisers and twelve cruisers are moving towards the battleships from both sides." Stratus informed.

"Understood. Send the retreat."

Snapping their maneuvering thrusters, the troop of battleships spun on their axis before blasting straight towards the carrier group at an oblique angle. The enemy battle cruisers and cruisers that had been hot on the battle ship's tail suddenly found themselves overshooting their targets, in fact they nearly came close to hitting each other. The sudden distraction and disorientation of the batarians ships allowed the five battle ships to gain forward momentum and allow all non-essential power to be transferred to the engines. The Alliance heavy hitters began doubling back on their original course.

"What is the range of the enemy ships?" Spencer asked.

"Just over a hundred kilometers, sir." Yeol reported.

"Give me a firing solution on the batarians ships. A mix of Harpoon missiles and Disruptor torpedoes."

"Admiral, those missiles aren't going to work. The enemies GARDIAN lasers will shoot them down before they get anywhere near." Mikhailovich argued.

Spencer wasn't deterred. "I don't need them to hit anything, just need to keep those ships off balance for a few more seconds. Launch torpedoes ten seconds after a volley of Harpoons."

"Aye, sir." Mikhailovich replied.

A wave of missiles left the massive ship, inducing it to lurch from the ordnance. As the missiles were almost crawling to meet them, given the range, batarian GARDIANs began shooting the ordnances down with ease. The torpedoes didn't succeed any more than the missiles had. However, they had distracted the batarian ships long enough for his battle ships to make it out the blast radius. An overlapping field of 85 megaton blast radius, to be precise.

It was exactly what he was hoping for. Amidst all the enemy fire, the missiles and mass accelerated rounds, three of his battleships had deployed a Tzar bomb during their retreat. Onboard the warheads, passive sensors scanned the space around them, tracking the targets as they neared ever closer to their destruction.

"Detonate the warheads!" Spencer ordered.

Inside the nuclear weapons, the computers received the detonation command and three massive nuclear explosions flooded the area with radiation and pure blinding heat. Anything within sixty kilometers was instantly vaporized by the destructive bombs. It also flooded the local area with immense radiation, leaving a general EM haze that obscured the five battleships from any retaliation as they finally reached the carrier group. Spencer sighed. His ships were safe, at least for a while, but they weren't out of the woods yet.

"Stratus, have the ships discharge their heat and vent coolant if they have to."

"Aye sir."

"Update on the fleet, sir. Battle groups on our left and right flanks have held the enemy ships in place. Orders?" Dewa asked.

Spencer smiled. 'Only one play left in the playbook.' He readied himself for another charge, this time with his own carriers as well. "Tell them to continue holding the batarians back. If by chance our ships manage to break through the batarian blockade, have them regroup sixty kilometers ahead of us." Spencer turned his channel to the other ships. "All ships, continue weapons free status. Set course for Shanxi, full speed ahead. Loose formation, then close up as we approach." He gave a brief smirk at the irony. He was about to use his enemy's strategy against them.

The powerful engines of the Telsa pushed the super carrier into battle. The ship shuddered as it seemed to be set ablaze, GARDIAN lasers and defense turrets meeting the dozens of torpedoes now flying towards the Alliance formation. The holo-display became littered with new signatures too numerous to count, well beyond human eyes. Already, the shields flared with every GARDIAN laser strike. With the batarian interceptors too busy intercepting the inbound Kinetic rods and Harpoon missiles, the dozens of Alliance bombers finally made their attack run, tearing into the cruisers that had been so critical in guiding the batarian fleet's mass accelerators. With the battleships at the lead and drawing the most fire, the Alliance fleet weaved through a storm of mass accelerator rounds like a pack of hunting wolves chasing a gazelle.

Even with the inertial dampeners, Spencer could feel every powerful yet precise twist and turn that Stratus was putting the ship through. As big and heavy as the ship was, the AI and helmsmen were flying her like a competitions space yacht. The emergency thrusters fired again and again, almost tossing Spencer out of his seat several times. And if that was not enough, Stratus was still communicating with her brethren on other Alliance ships. With her sensors, she was helping them process the inbound Disruptor torpedoes' vectors, speeding up their reaction time with her own processor speed to give them a better chance.

"Cruz…?" Spencer muttered with a hint of fear in his voice as he saw forty Disruptor torpedoes barreling straight for the Tesla. They were coming in a column one after another. With the ECM, the Tesla slid past the first six while GARDIAN and Point defense turrets took out another nine.

"Don't worry Admiral, you are in good hands." The helmsmen responded with a slight optimistic tone. Spencer would have had more faith if it was Stratus that was flying the ship herself considering her rapid reaction times. He only hoped that Cruz was as half as competent as the AI.

The next thirteen struck into the shields, all but draining away the protective fields. It was the next ten torpedoes that tore into the Telsa's armor. The Ablative armor rippled instantly, sending shockwaves into the hull and tossing crew and equipment into the bulkheads. The remaining torpedoes dispersed as incoming Mass Accelerator rounds from the SSV Nimitz took out the battle cruiser that had fired them, ending the guidance and turning them into a dumb-fire variety.

"The shields are down; the forward power converters are damaged. Kinetic pods one through five are down. Hull breach in section A3 to A5. Emergency response teams are en route." Stratus said as she rolled the ship's damaged section out of the line of fire.

"Seal off those sections. Take us back closer to the formation. We should be through the worst of it by now."

The Telsa drifted back closer to the trailing corvettes, taking cover behind their combined point defense screen. This freed the remaining frigates to fire upon the approaching torpedoes and missiles, destroying the hundreds of the enemy's ordnance with their GARDIAN lasers. Alliance fighters took positions near the frigates, keeping the enemy fighters from attacking them. Since they were too busy taking out the enemy's incoming volleys, the GARDIAN lasers on the Alliance frigates heated up, preventing them from targeting the enemy fighter squadrons.

Alliance bombers took a particularly heavy loss, the enemy's fighters and interceptors both being more maneuverable and faster than them. While bombers carried a heavier payload perfect for targeting enemy vessels, their specialization prevented them from effectively engaging the lighter batarian fighters. It wasn't long before they were called back, leaving only human made fighters and UCAAV drones to hold the line against the batarian spacecraft. Missiles were briefly exchanged between both sides, inflicting a few more losses.

But, battles, even those in space, were rarely a continuous affair. With the batarian attack utterly broken and the Alliance fighters having expended their ordnance, the Admiral knew that this battle phase was over. That's not to say that the battle itself was over, not by a long shot. The batarian fleet still held over 300 ships… ah. Witnessing the enemy fleet over Shanxi fleeing; only one thought came to mind.

'It's finally over.'

Spencer sunk into his chair, the adrenaline in his system finally releasing its grip on him. After a few moments, Spencer finally turned to taking stock of the situation. He saw that though the Telsa was the worst hit of the carriers, she was not the only one wounded. The Hawking and King had each taken a torpedo to their aft and had one of their engines damaged. The Shanghai, though not hit by torpedoes, had been raked with GARDIAN laser fire and mass accelerator slugs, costing her to lose some kinetic pods and broadside guns. Only the McKinley had escaped relatively unscathed. Still forty six ships had been lost. The batarians however, had not fared nearly as well. The battleships' charge and the subsequent engagements had left fourteen of their ships floating wrecks.

It was as if natural selection had eliminated the overzealous and incompetent officers of the batarian fleet who were stupid enough to attack the Alliance fleet.

As Spencer saw the retreating batarian vessels, he made his decision. "Stratus, reorient our ships into two columns. Our carrier group with a frigate and corvette escort will make way for Shanxi while the rest of the fleet engages the batarians. But first, have all ships target the enemy vessels closest to us. They're retreating which means they can't fire back. Have them concentrate on the dreadnought."

"Affirmative, Admiral. Sending target solutions to all ships."

"Sir, I am getting an incoming transmission from the Nagasaki," Yeol cried.

"Patch them in!"

"This is Commander Hackett of the SSV Nagasaki, it's a pleasure to see reinforcements have arrived."

"Commander, it's good to see you in one piece, but I am afraid you are late to the party."

"We'll manage with the leftovers, orders?"

"Regroup with Admiral Drescher's ships and assist them in any way you can."

"Affirmative."

---

HSS Cursed Soul

Dreadnought

Command Deck

The pirate fleet was in complete chaos, more than fifty maneuvering on random vectors, barely avoiding collisions with one another. Toren looked at the tactical display with mounting dread. He had lost too many frigates to a series of nuclear explosions. Primitive. Bombs. He knew that the humans made ample use of nuclear weapons, but his point defenses could swat those from space rather handily … but these were something entirely different … a large bomb of incredible power, launched from a spacecraft. Toren growled angrily. His dreadnought was firing constantly, discharging a round every two seconds, each one lancing through the distance between the fleets and ripping apart a human craft. It wasn't enough though; their ships were strong enough to withstand more damage than his own.

"Commander, we've lost another ten cruisers and two battle cruisers to the human bombers. They are getting slaughtered." The fleet ops officer reported anxiously. Toren let out a hiss and slammed his fist on the edge of the map table. These damn creatures were cunning and he was against the wall, his fleet couldn't fire much longer, the human ships were stronger than his own, and he had little fighter cover left.

"Commander, the enemy fleet is altering its formation."

Toren looked up and saw lighter craft screening the human dreadnoughts as they shifted their positions, maneuvering to give the heavy craft a clear opening. Toren felt his guts lurch… the ships were as large as his, but much much thicker. He had no doubt these would be dreadful opponents.

"I want fire on those ships now!" Toren ordered, deadly quiet in the din of the command bridge. The Cursed Soul shuddered as its main cannon spat another omen of death. Toren gained the small satisfaction of seeing another human battle cruiser destroyed by his hand before his ship turned to meet the more dangerous incoming threat.

"Commander, five of our cruisers just went silent and are drifting. Sensors detect external explosions on their hulls and a massive amount of radiation flooding the decks. No life signs." The comm. officer looked horrified at the thought.

Toren looked at the screen himself. He swallowed hard and looked back, ordering the remaining cruisers to open fire with the Cursed Soul on the human dreadnoughts. As he did, the slightly smaller human battle cruisers fired, glowing projectiles cutting through space. Their rounds impacted three separate cruisers, making their kinetic barriers flare for a few moments. Toren looked at the tactical readouts: each cruiser's barriers were gone.

His eyes locked on the human fleet…advancing relentlessly. Then he remembered. 'Ban's fleet, of course!'

"Someone get me a line to Ban now!" Toren shouted.

Within seconds Toren was connected to Admiral Ban. "Lieutenant Commander Toren, how nice to see you. What appears to be the problem?" The senior batarian appeared as calm as if nothing of significant importance had happen or was happening.

"The problem!?" Toren shouted, full fury in his eyes. "The problem is that we're being beaten back and you've yet to make yourself useful."

"I would like to remind you that thus far I've been busy conducting evacuations of the planet to prepare for our withdrawal." Ban reminded the batarian. His tone made it clear he did not take too kindly to being yelled at, especially by someone of lower rank … and competence.

"Hovadina, you have over three hundred vessels and I order you to send reinforcements!" Toren screeched, ignoring the veiled threat from Ban, or possibly missing it altogether.

"Those three hundred are all that remain of the four hundred I originally had, and whose losses are solely your fault." The Admiral growled.

Toren was completely baffled at the sheer disrespect from Ban. The Admiral may be one of the Hegemony's best naval officers, but Toren believed he had rightly proven himself during the war multiple times. "How dare you-"

The Admiral's face turned furious, a cold fury that eclipsed any mere emotional expression of anger. "No how dare you! How dare you cost me a of my hundred ships, how dare you neglect to conduct reconnaissance on this species before attacking them, and how dare you be incompetent enough to allow a measly fleet best your own, especially after receiving reinforcements above and beyond your competence," Ban barked. The man was far more terrifying than any demon in that instance, his fury capable of shattering weaker men. "So no Lieutenant Commander, I will not be following your orders nor will I save you this time."

Rage. Complete undeterred rage was plastered over Toren's face. "I will not stand for this INSUBORDINATION BAN! The Hegemony will know of your betrayal!" He bellowed, repeatedly slamming his fists on his own terminal. The scene was more akin to a tantrum than anything else.

"No I don't believe they will." The anger had vanished from Ban's face, leaving only a smug satisfaction, mingled with something that looked like … regret?

Before Toren could question the Admiral, a series of large explosions illuminated the space all around him. Many ships, both his and the humans, were caught in the massive blast. The combatants of both sides saw their sensors overwhelmed by a series of radiation bursts emanating from an unknown source. The closest ships to the blasts were torn apart on an atomic level, while the rest found their systems disabled by the massive overload, forcing them to restart their main systems. Some ships were outright crippled and left venting atmosphere, quickly suffocating their crews. It was then Toren realized what had occurred. He hadn't remembered the minefield set up during the invasion, a minefield set in place by – Admiral Ban. Unbeknownst to him, both the enemy and his own ships were located in that dense minefield … a dark-matter minefield invisible to any and all sensors.

However, the situation merely got worse.

"Sir, the enemy's dreadnoughts have been largely unaffected. They're targeting us!"

Fear gripping his heart, Toren started at the holo-screen, watching as the remaining functioning human ships advanced upon his. Even amidst the storm of shouts and yells of junior officers, the main guns of the human ships glowed blue and fired with unnerving silence. The vacuum of space took away the banshee wail of priming and the thunderclap of discharge. The effects were no less devastating. Ten Mass Accelerator rounds bombarded the Cursed Soul, punching multiple holes into her hull and completely eviscerating it.

As the crew stumbled over each other in a vain attempt to escape death, Toren stood on the bridge, utterly wondering how it had all come down to this.

He knew exactly who to blame for this failure, for such an ignoble death.

"BAAAAAAANNNN!" Toren bellowed, cursing the batarian to the deepest pits of hell. Merely seconds later he was engulfed in a massive blast that covered the entire bridge before the Cursed Soul was consumed by white-hot fire and flames. The former crew soon lived up to the ship's name; they were completely vaporized with no chance of a proper funeral or records being recovered, just hundreds of cursed souls being erased from existence.

---

Trivia:

1. If you remembered during the first ground battle, Ban had secretly ordered his ships to lay mines in front of the Relay the Alliance and Confederacy had used to escape and we now see his plans coming to fruition.

2. For those H.A.W.X fans out there rejoice! We get to see Reaper-flight in the fight along with their new experimental Razorbacks. Let's now forget the SGB's own Sokov and Denisov either, two major in H.A.W.X 2.

3. The extra slaver fleet Toren has is due to Ban. It's the same slaver fleet Ban requested in Ch.14 during the SGB battle. They gave the Alliance trouble, but they were no match for the superior foe.

4. The Tesla reorienting 90 degrees was inspired by the crazy maneuvers done in Halo. It's exactly something Captain Keyes would do himself.

5. We get to see Hackett once again, though merely in a cameo appearance unfortunately.

6. The first naval battle is referenced numerous times, one less known example would be the destruction of Shanxi's comm. buoys, which is one reason why the Alliance was unable to receive proper intel.