“Vessel ID confirmed,” the sensor operator said. “We have confirmed the position of Innocent Bystanders generator ship Doctor Fred. Twenty klicks off from Twin Arcs Gate.”
“Thank you Sensors,” Aero said. “Helm, approach to two hundred meters of Doctor Fred then match speed.” Aero''s new Aoshima class frigate, Electra, was nearly identical to the previously destroyed Celaeno. Minor improvements were visible, with the new ship sporting recent upgrades to processing power and system usability.
April sat at the first officer''s seat looking at the view screen. By Sinn''s judgment, April was best positioned as an observer for the duration of their first dominion war, thus leaving her in Aero''s bridge for the action. “Whoa,” she said, “I''ve never seen so many warships in one place before.”
Twelve medium sized ships, between two and five hundred meters long, assembled in the Bastion system by the Twin Arcs Gate alongside the dozens of frigates and innumerable fighters. On the bridge holomap, the allied ships appeared as a cloud of blue on a hazy backdrop.
<By scale... this is about average,> Mayto said, <Most dominion wars are fought by orgs trying to break out of their first system, so they wouldn''t have this many ships or ships of this size. But with bigger dominions, come larger fleets and ships. Black Hole Legion and Star and Bars each have dominions of about ten systems, so they can each field about this many large ships and massive support fleets.>
“These are just medium size ships? How big do they get?”
<Umm… large ships are between five hundred meters to about two kilometers,> Mayto said. <You might see some of those patrolling Confederacy space every so often. Oh, and the dev''s design notes mention titan class vessels even bigger, but no one''s confirmed it in game yet.>
<Damn,> Jake said, <these dominion wars are a bigger deal that I thought.>
<Are we really doing this?> Guinea asked. <There''s another fleet this size across the gate. Can we really take them on?>
<We''ve got sixteen fighters and four frigates… I''m not even sure we can make a difference,> Ducks, the third frigate captain, mumbled.
<Hey Ducks, news flash for you,> Legs said. <We''re here too you know.>
<Fine, and sixteen guys with rifles. Still doesn''t make a difference.>
<Come on guys! What happened to your confidence from yesterday?> Sinn asked. <We proved at Elaris that our fleet is worth four times its size.>
<Well the enemy fleet will be five times that at least…> Stevie said.
Wow, Aero thought, these guys are more nervous than I expected.
<Guys, we''re acting in an alliance,> Ice said, <we aren''t taking everything ourselves this time.>
<Thank you Ice, tell them,> Sinn said. <We just have to do our jobs, get the money, and fly home.>
<So our job is just guarding this space priest?> Paws asked.
<Not ''just'' Paws,> Sinn said. <Doctor Fred will be powering their forward fleet, so it''s the most likely enemy primary. We''ll have plenty of targets to pick from.>
Affectionately called space priests or priest ships by players, generator ships served as support vessels for more heavily armed ships, supplying power through high flux cables akin to modern mid-air refueling. At the cost of armament and maneuverability, they equipped multiple power cores and could restore and maintain shields for up to five other mid-size ships or a single large ship. Also, they were typically the highest priority targets on the battlefield.
<Umm… Sinn? That means taking on their entire fleet...> Nova said.
<Not you too Nova...> Sinn sighed.
I have to admit, I''m a bit nervous myself. Can''t say that aloud though...
“Doctor Fred at one klick Captain,” the helmsman said. “Now on final approach, slowing to match speed.”
“Wow, it so much bigger up close,” April said, eyes glued to the view screen. “I''ve only seen pictures before.”
<That''s what she said!>
“Oh, for Christ''s sake Alf! Can a girl not say anything when you''re around!?”
Aero snorted as April struck her armrest with an open palm. Chuckles, giggles, and outright laughter drowned the comms. With perfect timing, Alf''s crass joke and April''s overreaction provided the perfect trigger to dissipate their worries. “Thanks April, you''ve already done what Sinn couldn''t.”
“You''re welcome… I guess?”
“Captain,” the communications officer reported, “incoming comm link from Bystanders assault cruiser Spearmint.”
“That''s their flagship,” Aero said. “Close org channels, then patch the link to Wraith Leader and open it.” He stood to face the view screen.
“Yes sir,” the NPC said. Two images appeared side by side with Sinn''s face on the left. On the right sat a blonde man with a mischievous grin.
<Hello there Temple Wraiths, and nice of you to join us today. I''m Twain Zeff, the commander for this assault.>
<I''m Sinn Omon, Temple Wraiths Leader.>
“Aero Rayne, Wraiths second and fleet commander.”
Twain smirked, eyes piercing the screen. <So you''re the one responsible for Elaris? You look different from what I expected.>
“I do what I can. Are there any changes to the operation plan you sent us yesterday?”
<Nope, but I need your load-outs if things turn sour.>
“Sixteen interceptors, half Vipers half Rattlers, most with plasma cannons primary and assorted missiles secondary. Four Aoshima frigates, each with one railgun, interceptor missile pods, and anti-ship torpedoes. I''ll transmit a detailed list shortly.”
Twain stroked his chin. <That will do. As planned, we''ll begin traversal at twenty-one hundred, and you''ll defend Doc Fred until I say otherwise.>
Aero glanced at the time. Five minutes remained until the fleet moved.
<Sounds good,> Sinn said.
“Roger.”
<Don''t let me down now, Twain out.> With a wave, Sinn''s picture took over the view screen.
<Fun guy,> Sinn said. <I wonder where their leader is.>
“Doesn''t matter, but that attitude makes me want to show off a bit.”
<Two hundred million is still the goal.> Sinn smiled. <Can you do it?>
“We''re too small to be noticed. So probably.”
<Good. Lets have some fun then.> His face vanished.
I still need comms with the priest ship, Aero thought. “Comms, open link to Doctor Fred.”
“Link request sent, awaiting handshake.”
A new figure appeared on screen, that of a petite female seated with her head tilted and a curious stare. <Do you need something?>
“Yes, I''m Aero Rayne, fleet commander of the Temple Wraiths and responsible for your escort. I thought we should keep an active comm link during the op.”
<Oh!> Wide eyed, the girl jumped from her chair, <You''re the ones everyone''s talking about.>
“I suppose.”
<Are you really going to be okay with just four small ships and fighter flights?>
“We''ll do our best. If more escorts were needed, then Twain should have assigned them.”
<Hah… > the girl sighed. <Twain overestimates his allies too much, and still underestimates his opponents. This battle won''t be easy on us… the enemy is Phalanx after all...>
“I see…”
<Ah! Devil''s calling me, gotta go.> The screen went blank without warning.
“Wait, the comm link?”
For an instant, the screen flashed to life again. <I forgot! I''m Lily Parks by the way. And the comm link''s fine too. Later Aero!>
“What just happened?” Aero slumped in his chair. Two minutes remained until the fleet entered the gate.
An enemy with unknown waited beyond the gate. The first three destroyers and their escorts were to establish a foothold before the generator ship arrived. The critical moment occurred when the priest arrived, when all focus lay on Doctor Fred. At that point, the Wraiths had to establish a defensive perimeter and thwart all small fighters. Following that, two assault cruisers, including the flagship, will emerge to fortify the position. With the arrival of the second fleet, numeric advantage should shift, and the battle would be decided.
Time to get started, Aero thought. Refocused, he reconnected to the Wraiths'' channel. With chatter flowing through his ear, he announced, “Attention Wraiths, attention Wraiths, one minute until operation start. Repeat, one minute until operation start. The three destroyers and their escorts will take point. We are to traverse Twin Arcs Gate after them. Anyone not clear?”
Only static trickled into his earpiece.
“Okay then, all ships form up on Electra. Its time to move out.”
On his holomap, Aero watched the green Wraiths markers arrange themselves around his ship. The frigate commanded by Myles moved forward, while those commanded by Ducks and Chase trailed behind. On schedule, the Bystanders destroyers lit their main engines and advanced towards the black void of Twin Arcs Gate. Countless blue glows appeared on his viewscreen, crossing the backdrop of stars towards the abyss.
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“Helm, start engines and set course for Twin Arcs Gate. Maintain distance with the nearest Bystander destroyer. On arrival, initiate gate traversal procedures.”
“Yes sir, setting course for Twin Arcs Gate. Thirty seconds until gate entrance.”
“This part always excites me,” April said. “''cause who knows what we''ll find on the other side?”
“You''re definitely still an explorer,” Aero grinned, “but we know it''s the combat org Phalanx on the other side of this.”
“But... you don''t know what they''ll send against us.”
“Fair enough.”
They watched as the black hole grew on the view screen, and ship after ship vanished into its depths as they traversed. In moments, their own view screen turned entirely black.
“Entering gate, two minutes until we complete traversal,” the helmsman said.
The endless void gave way to a cyan-white vortex, and the combined fleet came into view once more. Strobes of white danced across the tunnel walls as the frigate crossed the rift near light-speed. Like a roller coaster, the tunnel warped and turned with unpredictable frequency. Without existing nav data, most the war fleet would have crashed into the maelstrom walls.
<Alright guys, keep an eye out for bugs once we pass through,> Sinn said.
“What do you mean by bugs?”
<Fighters, April,> Mayto explained. <Thanks to the odd shield mechanics in PG, medium sized ships are vulnerable to attacks from close range.>
<Yup,> Nova said, <if a torpedo bomber enters a ship''s shield radius, it can easily disable that ship''s weapons or engines with armor piercing weapons.>
<So that''s where we come in,> Sinn added. <We''re to shoot down whatever gets close before it gets too close.>
“The priest will emerge after us, but they''ll be looking for it,” Aero said. “If Phalanx is smart with planning, those fighters will float right at the gate.”
<Get ready boys,> Sinn said, <twenty seconds until emergence.>
“Helm, countdown from five,” Aero said. “Sensors, I want high power scans running upon emergence. Flag all torpedo bombers within ten klicks then expand search radius to full.”
“Yes sir.”
“Copy captain.”
“Emergence in five… four… three… two… one… Entering Twin Arcs System.”
The view screen bathed his bridge in white light an instant before normal space snapped into view. A field of shrapnel greeted the Wraiths upon their arrival. A fragmented engine, thirty meters long, whizzed by Electra on the view screen.
<Holy shit! They''ve already sunk a destroyer!>
<Bombers got ''em, find them fast!> Sinn said.
<Fucking gate campers!> Chase yelled.
“Comms, comms, we''re in an op now,” Aero said, “save it for later.”
“Initial scan complete, beginning wide area scan.” A swarm of red dots filled Aero''s holomap. Among them, groups yellow dots marked torpedo bombers identified by the initial scan. Blue dots centered around two points. Twenty klicks away, the destroyers and their escort fleets shrank under heavy siege.
Two destroyers, four assault cruisers, three priests. This is not good, they won''t last three minutes without support, Aero thought. “All flights displace two klicks from gate. Sinn, straight north. Nova, down west, Mayto, down east, Icepop up south. Primary any approaching flags, save your missiles for the bombers. Confirm, over.”
<Roger, moving straight north.>
<Down southwest, roger>
<Down southeast, wilco.>
<Roger, up south.>
The sixteen fighters dispersed to their intercept positions. Blow after blow struck the Bystanders destroyers as Phalanx continued their unending assault. Their foothold shrank with each passing second.
“Frigates form up on the priest once it emerges, distance one klick. Myles point, Chase top, Ducks bottom starboard. Use laser guidance for your missiles, hit anything within four klicks.”
<Roger.>
<Acknowledged.>
<Got it.>
“Doctor Fred emerging,” Sensors said.
<I knew it! Twain messed up again!> Lily whined. <Gotta move fast Aero!>
“Helm, move to one klick below and port of Doctor Fred,” Aero said. To the Wraiths, he announced, “We''re moving forwards guys, time to get busy.”
The swarm of red reacted instantly to the new arrival. Over fifty fighters launched themselves towards the Wraiths and the doc. The Bystanders escorts gave chase, and their destroyers retreated to rendezvous.
“All Wraiths, shift forwards. All Wraiths shift forwards.” Aero said. The enemy assault focused on their front, and the Wraiths adjusted to counter. “Eight bomber flights flagged Able to How. Target assignments, Sinn, Able, Nova, Baker, Mayto, Charlie, Icepop, Dog. Secondary is closest red, secondary is closest red.”
The flight leaders confirmed and flew off while the Wraith frigates presented a defensive front ahead of the larger ship. Blue destroyer escorts picked off approaching enemies, but the wave of red advanced regardless. Their distance closed to eight klicks.
<Here they come, good luck!> Lily said.
Was that necessary? I thought Bystanders would have better comms discipline.
<Wings, watch for bomber escorts,> Sinn said, <all units target missiles. Launch in two… one… NOW!>
With one action, each interceptor launched two missiles each. Flares sprayed out from the approaching bombers. A mere ten missiles found their mark, stripping the shields of the struck bombers. The distance between sides closed to four klicks.
<Lock again and launch! Follow with plasma guns!>
Another fourteen missiles hit home. Eight bombers disappeared into clouds of dust and now six bombers were shieldless. The Wraiths unleashed a storm of plasma onto the remaining. Of the targeted flights, two surviving bombers shot past the Wraiths flights at a relative velocity well over a kilometer per second. Another sixteen bombers flew by them within seconds.
“Frigates, fire at will, fire at will.” Aero ordered. “Flights switch to secondary.”
Each frigate launched a heavy salvo of missiles. Their missile pods held greater payloads than the interceptors and their laser guidance provided better accuracy. Eleven more bombers vanished from Aero''s holomap. Five yellow markers stayed on the map, their closing speed at two klicks per second.
“Use plasma cannons!” Aero shouted.
With their automated close-in weapons systems, four frigates peppered the approaching bombers with plasma. Shields already low, the first bomber shattered, followed by a second, then a third.
Plasma fire killed the fourth bomber fifty meters before Electra. The fifth blew past, shields gone, at fifteen hundred meters per second.
“Fuck! Hit it!”
At the last moment, the kamikaze assault on Doctor Fred ended in failure. Immediate danger gone, the wave of Phalanx fighters crashed against the frigates.
“Helm! Kill engines and set shield power to maximum.”
“Yes sir!”
<That was close! You''re even better than they say! How did you do that!?>
“Ask me later, I''m busy,” Aero said. I''m starting to regret opening a link with this chatterbox.
“Captain! Assault cruisers Spearmint and Peppermint have arrived. The first fleet emergence complete,” the sensor operator reported.
Aero checked his holomap. The assault cruisers and their supporting cast finally arrived. The second destroyer detonated before linking with Doc. Fighter fleets clashed in a wild dance, herds of red and blue wove together before they blinked out of existence, and another wave of blue fighters approached from the gate. He caught sight of eight green markers.
“April! How are the others?”
“What? Oh! Icepop lost two of his wingmen, Nova and Mayto both lost one, so they rearranged their flights. They''re down to about half their missiles I think.”
“Wraiths flights, Wraiths flights,” Aero said, “focus evasive, focus evasive. Return to Doc when you are able. Ships, keep your shields up, Doc''s not going anywhere.”
<How are we doing Aero?> Sinn asked.
“Situation''s stable for now, just stay alive until the second Bystanders fleet arrives. You can go wild after that.”
Torpedo bombers gone, only the Phalanx medium ships threatened the priest ship. With enemy frigates at arms length, Doctor Fred and the first fleet could survive for at least five under sustained fire, long enough for second fleet''s arrival.
“Captain,” the comms officer said, “incoming transmission from Bystanders flagship.”
Twain Zeff''s visage materialized on the view screen, malicious smirk clear on his face. <So you''re still alive,> he said. <I need you to do something for me.>