Alpha Star System.
New Home of the Machines (Nexus).
The Alpha Star System, as the humans named it, was becoming a hive of activity. Thousands of ships of every class were arriving to refuel and reload ammunition. Orbiting Prime, a rocky planet with the most developed machine infrastructure, the Prime Awareness was struggling with a mountain of conflicting and contradictory data.
These organics were far more aggressive compared to those from his former universe, and they had decided to destroy him. The fact that the machines of this universe were more advanced than him was another troubling discovery. How the machines and organics worked together yet remained physically separate was difficult to rationalize, especially after he had purged the organic plague from his bodies.
The data collected on the human-infested planet revealed a long-standing organic species living on the first planet, Earth. Somehow, it shared the same name as the one in his original universe. Unfortunately, he couldn't obtain any useful information about the machines. Every piece of relevant data had been completely erased and was impossible to restore. The humans' bodies offered limited information, but they were as easy to kill as their counterparts back home.
The last three attacks on his colonies had been highly effective, and the loss of the antimatter factories was regrettable—if he could truly comprehend that emotion. Their reserves would last for years, allowing them to rebuild. However, the loss of the Brain Units Factory was a much more severe blow. The brains were difficult to fabricate, and the factory itself was a marvel of complex engineering. He refused to use organic parts again and his new purity was much better.
The Prime considered his options, evaluating two possible outcomes. Tactical simulations were analyzed, weighed, and assessed to determine the best course of action in this war.
The first option was to fortify his own system. The organics had not attacked directly because their chances of success were low. The second option was to mobilize his fleet and annihilate every human-occupied star. However, that strategy had failed in his former universe, where organic fleets had adopted the same tactic. Their sheer numbers had overwhelmed him, forcing him to take his chances and cross that bizarre tear in space to escape. He understood that the constant attacks by smaller ships were merely diversionary tactics. While the damage they inflicted was minimal, the need to allocate resources to defend every star posed a significant challenge.
Now, reports of a massive organic fleet were cause for serious concern. They were devastating everything in their path, razing all they encountered. He remembered how the organics back home had employed similar strategies, making it clear they sought his extermination. The idea of a truce or negotiation was inconceivable to him, given that the organics broke usually treaties they had signed just one month ago.
The immense machine intelligence—whether brain, hive mind, or mastermind—resided within an orbital station that was warp-capable. His experiences in the other universe had taught him that remaining static was a tactical error. Almost one thousand ships protected the star system, and fifty cubes were designated as his personal guard.
At last, he decided to combine his options. The system was already a well-protected fortress, making it logical to maintain that strategy. Anything the organics destroyed could be rebuilt. Thus, he ordered the merging of several fleets into one, leaving thousands of ships prepared to attack the organics.
Forge Star System.
Gal had been busy, choosing with Lee and Tigh the ships for her one hundred ships personal fleet. She was ready to end the war in one decisive shot. The last data packet from Chihaya was concerning. The fleet's tacticians had considered that the machines should have a considerable fleet. Where could this fleet be? Surely, they must be protecting their most valuable assets, but the lack of response to Chihaya's attacks was intriguing.
More fleets were being mobilized, including the second and third fleet, usually resting on Earth. The hulls took the names of First War World, so it was numbered in the two thousand. The old Derfflinger was in command of the second fleet, and she was located between Earth and Alpha Centauri. Hood did the same with the third fleet between Gliesse and Epsilon Eridani. The three original superbattleships will be waiting on Earth.
Tigh chose Hutten, Berlichingen and Iowa as Gal personal guard since she can't afford to waste time doing her job and fighting at the same time. The heavy weapons of the H44s should give her time, but Tigh was doubtful about that. When the machines watched their own home system invaded, they would attack in mass. The only way was to divide their attack, even for a short time, to avoid the risk of hundreds or thounsand ships attacking them at the same time.
Tigh was resting in his ready room armchair. The cozy place had become home for him, and he was going to attack the worst place in the galaxy - probably - and risking thousands of lives with him. Dammn, he missed William. He could use some old comrade company in this, his last battle. Retirement was coming fast, and he really wanted to spend some time in his new cabin on Phoenix's forest or in his new space yacht.
A soft sound was looking for his attention. He looked at the screen mounted on the table in front of his armchair, and he saw that Gal reported that the fleet was ready. He sighed, and the old colonial warrior only said, "Let's visit Hades a last time." He stood up and walked fast to the CIC.
He found a calm, well disciplined crew working as usual under Lee orders. Gal was finishing her own arrangements, moving marines units far from the first deck, especially if she was boarded. She walked to his commander, and she waited for him. Tigh only asked, "Are we ready, guys?"
An unanimous chorus of yes sir!, was the answer. "Ok, in five minutes we fold to Alpha, we kill a star, and we proceed with the plan, understood?" A silent, decided nodding was the answer.
The fleet folded to Alpha.
Alpha Star System.
The Prime was rudely surprised by a massive FTL event. The machines from this universe, along with their organic parasites, had arrived, bringing several of those dreadful behemoths. They folded space again in a tactical maneuver, and three ships appeared close to the star. The others split into smaller groups, launching swift, long-range attacks before jumping to different locations. The continuous jumps effectively distracted the machine fleet from the Galactica.
Galactica was hidden within the dimensional ocean, waiting for the optimal star configuration. After five minutes, Gal found the weakness. Her three personal escorts—Hutten, Berlichingen, and Iowa—were positioned far enough away to avoid the effects of the star's corona.
Tigh gave the order, and Gal emerged, opening all her silos. One thousand jumping missiles launched from the ship. After a brief initial trajectory, they engaged the colonial FTL drive and reappeared precisely where the star's photosphere was at its weakest. Of course, one thousand warheads were insignificant compared to the sheer size of a star, but they were counting on triggering a cascade effect.
The warheads, loaded with antigravitons, released their payloads. For an eternal moment, nothing happened. After a minute, the corona's temperature and volume began to increase. The star's internal layers, suddenly freed from their gravitational constraints, were ejected outward. Gal and her escorts retreated quickly, as did the rest of her fleet.
The Prime's sensors failed to immediately identify what was happening. The attacks on his orbital installations were clear enough, leaving waves of destruction in their wake. Several exchanges of weapons fire occurred, but the damage was limited, as the enemy ships kept jumping from one location to another. Finally, a more detailed analysis revealed four large ships operating near the star. The alpha and neutron emissions, typically suppressed by the star's own gravity, had suddenly spiked. The corona was rapidly expanding. The Prime understood too late.
The organics were destroying the star. The gravitational disturbances prevented his warp fields from engaging, leaving his fleet and worlds to be wiped out. The Prime managed to stabilize the station's warp field just enough to jump a few light-years away. He survived the attack, but his home was annihilated. His sensors recorded the expansion bubble steadily growing in diameter, reaching the second planet. The atmosphere was stripped away, and everything on the surface was incinerated. Ten hours later, the system lay in ruins.
The Prime jumped to a different star, alone and haunted by memories of how he had first arrived in this universe.
Supercarrier Galactica, CIC.
Silence. Everyone in the CIC—no, the entire ship—was completely absorbed, watching the monitors. The idea had been hard to stomach, but seeing a star explode right before their eyes was something else entirely. Tigh remained stoic, making it clear he wasn't enjoying the spectacle. He spoke calmly, "Lee, report."
Lee responded, "The explosion has affected the entire star system. A few stations and ships shielded by the planets have survived. Should we finish the job, Sir?"
Tigh pondered the situation for a brief moment before replying, "Yes. Redeploy the fleet. Maximum local superiority. I don't want us sitting here, static and doing nothing."
Lee nodded and issued the orders. Gal and her escorts folded behind a gas giant, where a few orbital installations and about thirty cubes and spheres had managed to survive. Five battleships joined them—four from the Pennsylvania class and the Roma. The ships defolded fifty kilometers from the first station, ready to face the defensive fleet that was expected to engage.
The battleships opened fire with their mass drivers, targeting the installations, while focusing their main attention on the cubes and spheres advancing toward them. To their surprise, the cubes abandoned the disorganized maneuvers that had characterized the earlier engagements. Instead, small units of cubes and spheres coordinated lateral attacks, using their targets as shields from the other human ships' firepower.
Tigh observed the unfolding battle closely. They're adapting to us, copying our tactics, he thought. In the short term, it wouldn't make a difference. Gal and the battleships launched several missile broadsides to overwhelm the cubes' shields. The machines made frantic efforts to intercept the incoming barrage, but the space around them blossomed with the brilliant pulses of Tsar detonations.
Lee redirected all of Galactica's firepower to the nearest cube.
B-3855, the intelligence in charge of this cube, was struggling to ensure its continued existence. Its crew of small tank-like drones scrambled to repair the ship, working desperately to survive the next few minutes. Since life support wasn't necessary, all of the cube's power was diverted to weapons and shields, making it a formidable opponent—at least in its former universe. Rotating the cube's faces to distribute damage was a common tactic, and B-3855 initiated the spin maneuver. However, previous experience meant little under the relentless impacts from that superbattleship. The onslaught nearly collapsed a shield grid, causing dangerous energy discharges inside the ship.
Though devoid of fear or anxiety, B-3855's programming prioritized survival at any cost. It redirected additional power to the failing shield grid, but its efforts were in vain. Several missiles struck an area dangerously close to the weakened shield, and the resulting explosions breached the hull. As the damage compounded and the likelihood of destruction surged, B-3855 attempted to disengage. Before it could escape, four plasma lances pierced the shield, vaporizing the cube's fragile internal systems with streams of superheated plasma. As a final act, B-3855 issued the self-destruction command and awaited the end.
Meanwhile, the battleships accompanying Galactica maneuvered to present their lateral sides to the advancing fleet. This allowed them to concentrate the full might of their weaponry on the cubes. Selecting their targets, they began systematically demolishing them. The ten heavy cruisers escorting the battleships engaged the spheres, working to keep them at bay. They launched missiles and torpedoes while their own anti-air systems intercepted the cubes' broadsides with varying success.
One by one, the cubes disintegrated under the combined firepower, leaving trails of shattered hull fragments in their wake. At the same time, the orbital stations succumbed to the kinetic impacts of the battleships' projectiles, breaking apart and spiraling down into the gravitational pull of the nearby planet.
Across the star system, the same devastating scene repeated, leaving nothing for the machines. As the fleet folded back to Alex, a single probe—hidden within an asteroid—was left behind to monitor the system.
Starbase Alexandria, in orbit of Planet Forge.
Several officers were in guard duty in the inmense bridge. Alex was there, of course, and she was receiving updates from Gal. The "Galactica maneuver" was a complete success, and now, Fleet and Mankind had to bear the responsibility of being capable to exterminate a star system. She was a bit surprised that everything followed the plan. Usually, more or less, one-third of what you planned failed spectacularly.
She, the other girls, and admirals couldn't know about the existence of the Prime Awareness and his survival.
The fleet defolded onto her assigned position, and Alex was satisfied that every girl came back. The damage was insignificant, and for the first time in this war, her docking rings were empty. The victorious fleet was aclaimed by Alex and the ships protecting Forge. At least, they were ready to recover Archangel, something Tigh knew it was coming fast.
The Fifth Fleet, more modest in numbers, was preparing to attack Archangel. Two H44s will join the fleet while Galactica stayed on Forge as reinforcement. The war had acquired a momentum impossible to stop.