• Date: January 23, 2183


  
• Time: 1:30 AM


  
• Location: UGS Yorktown Bridge


  

  ''Luck update, please.''

  [One hundred Kaynian vessels came out of slip space two hundred fifty thousand kilometers from us.]

  ''That's good, meaning they got the bait. Just need to bide our time until they examine the abandoned derelict before firing on them...''

  ''...Luck put the entire battlegroup into combat status. I want every H.E.L. cannon, torpedo, drone craft squadron, and laser armaments prep for our engagement.''

  [Understood, my dear.]

  As time went by, the entire battlegroup prepared their armaments and courage for the battle that was to come. Crews in the hangars of each equipped ship worked to load missiles and torpedoes onto the bomber drones. Yorktown, in particular, housed an impressive number of drone craft within her thirty hangars—totaling seven hundred twenty drones divided into three types. Her heavy cruisers carried one hundred ninety-two, light cruisers held one hundred forty-four, and destroyers had forty-eight.

  [All ships are ready for combat, my dear.]

  ''Alright, now we wait.''

  [Understood, shall I-]

  The A.I. paused, and Gaft saw this as strange. He knew his wife well enough, and her stopping before finishing a sentence is never a good sign.

  ''Luck, you good?''

  [My dear, there has been an activity.]

  ''What activity?''

  [Presenting live feed on your terminal.]

  However, as they prepared for battle, something unusual happened. The live feed displayed the Kaynian Galleon and several other vessels positioning their broadsides while charging their weaponry. Seconds passed before a barrage of energy beams rained down on the lone frigate, reducing it to fragments and vaporizing its hull. This new activity raised red flags for everyone present on the bridge of Yorktown. Instead of investigating their fellow Kaynians, the flotilla that arrived blasted the derelict with everything they had.

  ''What the!''

  Blurted the Vice Admiral as he was shocked as to why the Kaynians fired on one of their own without even sending a hailing. His plan revolved around luring them into rescuing any survivors present on the derelict, not executing them.

  ''Luck, are my eyes deceiving me, or did the entire Kaynian Flotilla open fire on the frigate?''

  [They did, my dear...]

  [...What shall we do?]

  The A.I. executive officer asked, clearly at a loss on what they should do. Never had she or anyone, for that matter, anticipated the Kaynians doing this, but here it was. They underestimated their opponent this time, and they may have to pay the price for it.

  "Have our battlegroup hold position. The flotilla hasn't detected us yet, but that will change soon. However, before that happens, we figure out why the Kaynians reacted violently."

  [Very well, shall I send a drone craft squadron to investigate?]

  ''Yeah, do that.''

  With permission granted, Luck immediately got to work and informed hangar bay three of their mission. The fighter drones designated for the mission could achieve speeds of Mach one thousand. Each drone measured ten meters in length and was armed with a S.O.E.L. cannon mounted on its nose with several missiles in its missile bay.

  [Fighter drones are about to launch, my dear, and by the speeds they should be going, they will probably reach the derelict in about twelve minutes, give or take some obstacles in their path.]

  ''Well, we're only mortal, Luck. It's the best we could do. We have to wait until-''

  Cutting the Vice Admiral were ten nuclear explosions erupting from the Kaynian Flotilla, specifically, the galleons. This sudden development sturred alarms within Yorktown's bridge as officers and crews figured out what had happened.

  ''Luck! What was that?''

  [High-yield nuclear detonations on ten Kaynian Galleons, my dear...]

  [...Wait, I'm getting an encrypted message from the UGS Howling Knight.]

  ''Please tell me it explains what the hell happened?''

  As Luck reviewed the message, the situation quickly became apparent. It read: [UGS Yorktown; if you are receiving this, we have begun executing a plan to board and deploy nuclear mines aboard the lead vessels of the Kaynian Flotilla.]

  [My dear, it seems that the Ghost Teams decided to infiltrate the lead vessels of the Kaynian Flotilla and plant nuclear mines.]

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  ''So, it was their doing. Good, and I assume ten detonations means all Ghost Teams have participated?''

  [Yes, my dear...]

  [...Shall we press on the initiative?]

  ''That we shall. Scratch the order for an investigation. We're launching all of our drone craft and firing all of our weapons.''

  [Understood, orders away.]

  Once the Vice Admiral's orders were transmitted to the battlegroup, weapons and drone crafts were quickly prepared. Recognizing the need to confront the Kaynians, each ship shifted to condition one, ensuring that every offensive and defensive weapon system was primed for immediate action.

  [My dear, the entire battlegroup has weapons ready. Awaiting your orders.]

  ''Solutions?''

  [Had them ready when the Kaynians arrived.]

  ''Alright, we shot first this time...''

  ''...Weapons free!''

  Commanded the admiral, and as a follow-up to his word, the Yorktown's super-type H.E.L. cannon hummed as it fired a potent laser at a Kaynian Frigate. Immediately tearing its shields apart before slicing through its hull, creating secondary explosions that ripped it to shreds. The alien frigate never stood a chance as it burst from within as radiation spread throughout space. Meanwhile, the rest of the battlegroup followed suit, firing their H.E.L. cannons. The heavy-type H.E.L. cannon managed to crack a frigate's shielding and damage its hull but not outright destroy it as the Yorktown did. Following the attack, the heavy cruisers fired their light-type H.E.L. cannons, destroying the frigates. Two heavy cruisers had downed two Kaynian Frigates in just two shots.

  [Yorktown instantly downed a frigate near the lead galleon with our two heavy cruisers managed to down two frigates in two shots.]

  ''Good hits!''

  Four light cruisers immediately followed the attack of their heavy counterparts and fired on three Kaynian Frigates. Two of the four cruisers would destroy one by shattering its shields before following up with another H.E.L. cannon strike, with the other two selecting their targets and shattering their shields. Meanwhile, destroyers and corvettes fought their corvette counterparts. Six of the eight destroyers opened fire on three Kaynian Corvettes and hammered their shields down. Afterward, the two remaining destroyers would damage one of the unshielded corvettes. Seeing as how their alien counterparts managed to soak up H.E.L. cannon fire. The A.F.E. Corvettes lined up on the unshielded frigates and corvettes, setting their hulls on fire as explosions burst from within and destroyed them. However, the battlegroup's primary weapons require a minute to recharge before they fire another, which leaves them open to counterfire from their adversaries.

  [My dear, four of our light cruisers managed to crack two Kaynian Frigates and destroy one. Meanwhile, our eight destroyers aren't doing too well. They crack the shields of three Kaynian Corvettes while destroying one of them...]

  [...Fortunately, our twelve corvettes eliminated the unshielded enemy corvettes and frigates. In total, we destroyed nine in our opening attack. However, there's bad news—the Kaynian Flotilla is repositioning its broadsides toward us.]

  ''Well, that's to be expected. What about our drone crafts and torpedos; how close are they?''

  [Torpedos and drone crafts are several minutes out before they close in.]

  The torpedoes and drone crafts flew side by side, simultaneously encountering the formidable point defenses of the Kaynian ships. Multirole fighter drones equipped with missiles escorted their larger counterparts, the missile and torpedo bomber drones, from the hail of energy beams impacting their energy shields. Together with torpedos from the cruisers, destroyers, and corvettes, they would engage in close combat relative to the distance between the Kaynian Flotilla and the battlegroup.

  [My dear, the Kaynian Flotilla is in range of our nuclear mines.]

  "Good. Looks like the Kaynian Flotilla's weapons are overheating, which could set off a chain reaction and take out multiple ships..."

  ''...Quick, before they fire at us, detonate the mines!''

  [Understood, activating nuclear mines.]

  In total, there were one thousand invisible nuclear mines currently in the position of the alien vessels. Each stealth craft carried a hundred on their hangar bays. Now, they were set to detonate on the remaining frigates and corvettes of the Kaynian Flotilla. Upon activation of the mines, six frigates and ten corvettes were immediately destroyed by the sea of invisible nuclear mines while shattering the shields of twenty others. The total number of ships destroyed resulted from the Ghost Teams' infiltration and the planting of nuclear devices on the lead ships, the galleons. In addition, the surprise attack by Battlegroup Yorktown, combined with the detonation of one thousand invisible nuclear mines planted earlier by the stealth ships, resulted in the Kaynians losing thirty-five vessels and leaving twenty others without shields, possibly damaged.

  ''How many we got?''

  [Sixteen Kaynian ships were destroyed, and twenty had lost their shields.]

  ''In total. How many did we get?''

  [Well, we destroyed thirty-five Kaynian vessels.]

  ''That's- That's honestly more than what I was expecting.''

  Gaft admitted. For his battlegroup to destroy, thirty-five ships would require a fleet. Yet, here he was doing the impossible, and he liked it. A smirk would come to his face, knowing he did something that no admiral could, except for the Fleet Admirals.

  [My dear, I'm reading energy signatures on the Kaynian Flotilla. They're lining up on us.]

  ''Have our shields at maximum and inform the other ships to do the same!''

  The remaining sixty-five Kaynian vessels presented their broadsides and fired upon the battlegroup. The immense firepower of the Kaynian Flotilla hammered the hulls of the A.F.E. warships. One of the two heavy cruisers took the brunt of the bombardment, its shields collapsing before it detonated from internal explosions. The second heavy cruiser sustained multiple direct hits, pushing its shields to the brink of failure. The light cruisers fared no better—three were obliterated instantly, while another suffered critical shield failure and hull damage. The corvettes struggled under the assault; eight of the twelve were annihilated, their energy shields unable to withstand the relentless bombardment. The remaining four, though damaged, remained combat-effective. Meanwhile, five of the eight destroyers were wiped out, while the survivors suffered catastrophic shield failure and extensive hull damage. Fortunately, the Kaynians diverted half of their firepower to intercept the incoming drone craft and torpedoes, their point-defense systems overwhelmed by the relentless swarm.

  ''Luck, status!''

  [We have lost one heavy cruiser, three light cruisers, five destroyers, and eight corvettes.]

  ''What about Yorktown?''

  [Our shields are holding but-]

  Cutting the A.I. off was a shockwave that traversed the entire hull of the Yorktown as she sustained heavy bombardment from the Kaynian Flotilla. While the energy shielding had diminished to fifty percent, that was primarily the extent of the damage, as the formidable armaments of the Kaynian Frigates proved insufficient to penetrate the robust shields of the mighty battle carrier. However, the state of the entire battlegroup lost up to seventeen ships. The survivors had their shields cracked and their nulls sustaining heavy damage. The accompanying auxiliary ships were positioned at the very back of the battlegroup but still maintained damage. All three ships would have their shields crack, and their hulls would sustain minimal damage from the broadsides. None were destroyed, but that would soon change if the Kaynians fired another bombardment at the battlegroup. The status within the battle carrier's bridge was rampant with red alerts and warnings. However, the brave officers and crew on board did not falter in their duties as they performed them.

  ''Damage report!''

  [Yorktown managed to shrug off the incoming energy beams, but her shields had suffered. Current shield strength is at fifty percent...]

  [...It seems the Kaynian Flotilla had diverted half their firepower at the incoming drone crafts and torpedos.]

  ''H.E.L. cannon charge?''

  [One hundred percent, battlegroup-wide.]

  ''Then let's return the favor...''

  ''...Fire!''

  The remaining ten A.F.E. warships retaliated, successfully taking down six Kaynian vessels. Three of the four surviving corvettes concentrated their fire on a frigate, destroying it, as the fourth corvette, alongside a destroyer, took down a corvette. Two destroyers worked together to destroy a frigate while the light cruiser set a corvette ablaze with sustained fire. Meanwhile, the Yorktown and the surviving heavy cruiser, the Amagi, obliterated two more frigates, further crippling the enemy fleet. As the engagement intensified, the drone crafts and torpedoes reached their targets. However, the enemy's point defenses and incoming bombardments took their toll, cutting the attacking force in half and significantly reducing the number of torpedoes that made it through.

  [My dear drone squadrons had made contact.]

  ''Good...''

  ''...Tell them to make it count.''

  [Of course, my dear.]

  Despite the losses, it was time for retaliation. The drones unleashed their payloads, launching either missiles or torpedoes that struck the shields of multiple alien vessels. Some had their shielding collapse entirely under the relentless barrage. Following up on the drones' attack, the battlegroup fired another wave of torpedoes, targeting the now-exposed hulls of the unshielded Kaynian ships. Explosions tore through their structures, vaporizing large sections of their hulls upon impact. Despite the devastating assault, the flotilla remained resilient, using its point-defense systems to intercept some of the incoming torpedoes.

  'It's not enough. We got some, but not all...

  '...I may need to get the rest of the fleet out of hiding and finish them.'

  Vice Admiral Abraham Gaft thought that, although his battlegroup's counterattack was devastating, it had failed to completely annihilate the Kaynian Flotilla.

  [My dear, the drone crafts and torpedoes have taken out several Kaynian ships, but they are determined to finish us off...]

  [...They're charging for another bombardment. They're in a perfect encircling position. Much like your plan wanted, my dear.]

  ''Good, give the signal to the Fleet Admiral. Let's teach these aliens why you shouldn't mess with Earth and Her People.''

  [Understood.]

  To Be Continued.