This time a shorter chapter

2 Days After the Civilian Ships Departed from Shanxi
CMA Bulk Discount

"You think they'll send reinforcements to Shanxi?" Jacob asked, leaning back against the bulkhead.

The captain took a bite of his sandwich, chewing slowly, his eyes distant. "Probably. They've got a frigate and a few corvettes stationed there, don't they?"

Jenkins gave a short nod, arms crossed.

"Then yeah." The captain gestured vaguely with his sandwich. "If Shanxi's fleet couldn't take the aliens down, what chance do those ships have on their own? Better to keep the fight at Shanxi—hold the line there. At least it's contained."

He paused, brushing crumbs from his uniform. "Out here, what would a couple of ships even do? It's not like pirates are…" He waved a hand toward the viewport, his voice trailing off. "Anywhere, anymore."

Jenkins smirked. "Not since Fleet Admiral Cole cleaned house. He didn't just scare 'em off—he wiped them out."

The captain chuckled, shaking his head. "Exactly. So a frigate out here? It's useless. Their best bet is sticking to Shanxi and praying they hold."

Jacob shifted off the bulkhead and sank into his chair, staring at the floor. "And if they don't?"

"Then we run to harvest"

4 Hour After the Fight

"As we speak, Resolute and Ironclad are being towed to the ODP for repairs. Maybe they'll make it, but it's not looking good. And we lost the Horizon with all hands when an unlucky round struck the reactor," Nova reported.

Captain Sarata nodded, his expression grim.

"Okay, Nova. Get us in contact with every ship in the fleet and update them on what we've learned about the attackers," Sarata said.

It took a few seconds, but soon 12 small holographic faces from all the fleet's commanding officers appeared on the table.

"Everyone's here. Do you want to start, Captain?" Nova asked.

Sarata straightened, his voice steady. "First things first: I'm proud of all of you for a job well done. You handled yourselves admirably under extremely difficult circumstances." He paused briefly, his tone becoming more serious. "Now, as you've probably guessed, we're not here for me to hand out praise. Let's begin with what we've learned about the alien ships. Nova?"

Nova materialized a hologram of the smallest alien vessel, along with its specs, above the table:

Hawk-class Light Corvette

Length: 150m

Weapons:

1 Super Light MAC (fires every 5 seconds)

4 Laser PD Guns

Speed: Extremely fast

"The smallest ships—and the first ones to arrive. They're scout ships, and that's all we can really confirm for now. Sure, the eggheads will have a field day with the tech, but for us, it's unimportant. Nova, next one."

The hologram shifted to display a larger vessel.

Falcon-class Heavy Corvette

Length: 300m

Weapons:

1 Super Light MAC (fires every 5 seconds)

10 Laser PD Guns

4 Missile/Torpedo Banks

Speed: Extremely fast

"As you can see, this is essentially a larger, better-armed version of the Hawk-class. However, we're still unsure what the banks carry. Since we don't have any eggheads specializing in Mass Effect technology, we likely won't find out until they fire it at us. So be cautious."

The hologram changed again, displaying the largest vessel encountered so far.

Spearhead-class Destroyer/Frigate

Length: 550m

Weapons:

1 Super Light MAC (fires every 5 seconds) (likely more powerful than the others)

5 Laser PD Guns

6 Missile/Torpedo Banks

2 Unknown Fighter-like Craft

Speed: Extremely fast

"This one is a little different," Sarata said, gesturing to the hologram. "It's got fewer PD guns but more missile banks. And during salvage operations, we discovered what appear to be fighter-like craft in its wreckage. We believe this is their equivalent of a destroyer—or at least something close to it.

Sarata stepped closer to the holotable, his gaze fixed on the holograms as he continued. "Now, let's talk about their MAC guns. They have roughly three times the range of ours, and every ship we encountered fired once every five seconds."

He paused for emphasis, scanning the room. "Now, that sounds bad—but it isn't. Sure, they have better range and a faster fire rate, but the damage they deal is minimal. They're firing AP shells at us, and the rounds themselves are extremely small."

Sarata nodded toward the hologram representing CMA Sunlight's commander. "The Sunlight was hit multiple times by shattering rounds. It looks like the aliens switched tactics after realizing that their AP rounds did little to no damage. But even those shattering rounds did nothing beyond cosmetic damage. A Scholte-class corvette's armor was strong enough to tank them. A frigate or cruiser? Same story."

He straightened, his expression hardening. "But don't get overconfident. If you do, you'll end up like Group Resolute." His gaze swept across each of the holographic faces.

"Understand?"

A chorus of acknowledgments came through, the commanding officers nodding gravely.

"Nova, do you want to add something, or can I continue?" the Captain asked.

Nova nodded, and the holotable shifted to display footage of a missile striking an alien vessel. At the moment of impact, a faint golden shimmer appeared in front of the ship.

"As you can see," Nova began, gesturing to the projection, "the missiles triggered something on their ships. I can't say for certain what it is yet, but I believe it to be some sort of kinetic shield. It appears to use mass effect technology to either make the incoming round weightless or somehow negate its momentum entirely."

She paused, her tone thoughtful. "I believe it's the first option—making the round weightless. And you're probably wondering why nothing happened when our light MACs struck the shield."

Nova turned back to Sarata, her expression serious. "My theory is that the MAC rounds were simply too heavy to register with whatever system they're using to activate the shield. In other words, their defensive tech doesn't seem capable of handling projectiles of that mass effectively—or at all."

The holotable changed again, playing a short clip of Longswords launching a missile barrage at damaged corvettes. None of the alien ships used their laser defenses to intercept the missiles.

"As you can see," Nova continued, "their PD guns were either destroyed or, more likely, overheated."

She let the clip play in full, the barrage striking the corvettes unopposed. "The chance that every ship's PD guns were destroyed is minimal to none. That's why it's more likely that their systems overheated under pressure."

Nova gestured toward the hologram as she spoke. "As you can see, it's a massive design flaw. And on that note, we can make an educated guess about the purpose of the banks on their ships. Based on the type of PD weapons we've seen and their limited numbers, those banks most likely carry their version of a nuke—delivered in the form of a torpedo."

The Captain winced at her words, his expression darkening.

"Yup," Nova said, her tone laced with grim humor. "I know, right? So, for the love of all that's good, don't close the distance too much. And remember, we still don't know how strong their lasers are, so watch out for that too."

"That all, Nova?" the Captain asked.

"Yes, sir. If you need me again, just say my name," Nova replied, smiling before winking out of existence, her hologram fading from the table.

John leaned in closer to the Captain, speaking quietly. "Is it just me, or is something… off with her? She seems so… happy, I guess."

"Hell if I know," the Captain replied, leaning back slightly before turning his attention to the commanding officers. "Do any of you want to add something?"

"Sir," one of the officers said nervously, their voice breaking the brief silence. "We haven't discussed their speed."

The Captain nodded. "Good point. What we do know is that they're fast—extremely fast—but we don't have enough data on their maneuverability, like their dodging or turning capabilities."

He paused for a moment before continuing, his tone growing more serious. "And one last point: their FTL. Nova and I believe they're traveling in real space by somehow decreasing their mass to zero. We don't know how fast this lets them go or how frequently they can use it, but for all we know, they could FTL right next to us and fire their nukes."

"Now, let's talk about our tactics," the Captain began, his tone firm. "Before we start, let me make one thing clear: we were lucky that they underestimated us in the first fight. They won't make the same mistake twice. So, let's start with the missile swarm."

He leaned on the table, his gaze sweeping over the officers. "It won't work as well this time. Nova?"

Nova materialized on the table again, her posture animated with excitement. "Do you mind explaining it to them?" the Captain asked.

Nova nodded eagerly. "Yes! As the Captain mentioned earlier about their FTL, they'll most likely use it to evade incoming ammunition. That means you should never fire all your missiles at once—unless you're absolutely sure they won't be able to evade."

"Exactly," the Captain said, picking up where she left off. "Next, let's talk about our MACs. Do you mind if I handle this one, Nova?"

Nova shook her head. "Go ahead."

The Captain straightened, his voice serious. "Our MACs are going to be mostly useless. The only reason they worked so well in the first engagement was because we overloaded their sensors with the missile swarm. They won't let that happen again."

He gestured toward the officers, his gaze sharpening. "They'll likely keep us at a distance, far enough that we can't close in to fire them effectively. And since we still don't know how good their maneuverability is, you need to forget about relying on MACs and focus on missiles instead."

"And lastly, let's talk about the Bastion's fighters. Nova, bring up the alien fighter on the screen," the Captain ordered.

Nova nodded, her holographic form flickering briefly before a model of the alien fighter materialized above the table. The ship spun lazily in mid-air, every angle displayed in crisp detail.

"Now, that the fighters we found in the wreckage," the Captain said, gesturing at the hologram, "we believe we have a significant advantage when it comes to fighters. The alien craft are equipped with two quad autocannons, but their rounds are ridiculously small—barely a threat to our ships."

He pointed to the hologram, highlighting key areas. "No visible hardpoints for missiles or torpedoes, and…" He smirked faintly, his tone bordering on dismissive. "They're tiny. Honestly, they're not even in the same weight class. If they're interceptors, they're undersized, even for that role and our fighter can be mounted with anti-fighter missiles,"

He straightened, returning to his usual stern demeanor. "That's all for now. Good work, everyone—you're dismissed."

Six Hours after the fight

"Sir, reports just came in on the Resolute and Ironclad," John said, his voice low and grim. "And it's bad."

Sarata stiffened. "How bad?"

"The Resolute is a total loss—it's going to be scrapped. The Ironclad… its MAC is destroyed. Four Archer silos, three Ramparts, and two Bulwarks are gone. The hull's riddled with holes."

Sarata winced, his shoulders sagging. "At least it can still function as a missile boat," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

He straightened, his voice hardening. "Tow it into the middle of the ODP grid and begin repairs there. It's staying put as a missile platform in case more aliens show up."

John nodded and stepped away, relaying orders to the repair crews.

Sarata turned to the tactical table, rubbing his temples, only to notice Nova's smug expression as she materialized above the display. Her arms were crossed, and her grin practically radiated self-satisfaction.

"So, Nova," he said cautiously, "why are you so…" He waved a hand, searching for the word. "Happy? Not that it's a problem—I'm just curious."

Nova tilted her head, her grin widening. "I believe the term is 'adrenaline junkie.'"

Sarata raised an eyebrow, but Nova wasn't done. She clasped her hands behind her back and continued, her tone light, almost playful. "The thrill of the danger, the chaos, the unknown—it was exhilarating! And watching enemy ships get obliterated? Absolutely beautiful."

Sarata's jaw tightened, his thoughts racing. Shit. We've got a crazy AI.

He glanced at the rest of the crew. Judging by their uneasy glances, he wasn't the only one thinking it. Oh well, he thought with a sigh. Could be worse. At least she's not trying to kill us… yet.

Author's note

Sci-Fi Guy 22

1Halcyon-class Light Cruiser (1170m):

Weapons:

20x10 M58 Archer pods (200 missiles total)

4 M66 Sentry autocannons

4 Mark 33 Spitfire naval coilgun batteries

40x M810 Helixes

1 Light MAC (15-second fire rate)

I know they have corvettes, but I wasn't sure if they had destroyers. How would their armaments look?

Sorry for not including a Council date earlier—I completely missed it. The story takes place during the same timeframe as the Systems Alliance First Contact War. However, I couldn't find a specific date for the Citadel Council's perspective