Shambah
The fleet was ready.
The rest of the fleet, arriving throughout the last twenty-four hours, had secured Shambah. All that remained, however, was to see how the Rajrowlian Stellar Imperium would react.
Fendamar
Four Mishakurs jumped into the system. Alongside them, eight Jashakars and eight Ochlavitas formed four pentacans, the base unit of the Dilgar Imperium. As they all arrived, the Mishakurs launched their Thorun heavy fighters.
Ahead, a small Rajrowlian base had been set up. A Kraken-class war station, it served as the base for the occupation forces on Fendamar itself, and also was an anchor for the Rajrowlian fleet--two Emperadors, eight Duques and twenty-four Condes. Yet the Kraken, despite her size, was a formidable opponent. Dorsal and ventral turrets bristled with the barrels of fusion torpedoes, and the six limbs equidistant from their neighbours each bore the characteristic markings of a heavy plasma slicer. Defensively, she was weaker, but a Kraken would never be without at least a squadron of Condes to help defend her.
The Ochlavitas fired a long-range shot at the Kraken. Vortex torpedoes, a Shadow-Dilgar hybrid weapon, opened hyperspace portals. The shearing force exerted on any nearby objects would slice a vessel in two. That is, however, if the torpedoes could hit. The massive point defence stations on board the Emperadors swiveled around, and particles accelerated to an appreciable fraction of the speed of light slammed into the torpedoes five hundred kilometres away from their targets.
As they did so, however, the Kraken launched her assault corvettes. Each one only 50% the size of a Conde, but with roughly the same firepower, these Catapaz-class corvettes mounted two heavy fusion torpedoes, four particle cannons and no defences, for they were essentially computer-guided multiple-use missiles. Sixteen of them screamed out towards the Dilgar raider squadron, the Condes racing after them.
The Mishakurs then fired their long-range batteries. Energy mines, similar to the Narn weapons but with slightly better accuracy, headed towards the oncoming horde of Rajrowlian vessels.
They detonated close to the forward Catapaz', and they bucked in agony as the immense energy released at only forty metres slammed into the hulls. Each Catapaz was the target of one energy mine apiece, and they were badly bruised, battered...but their computer brains ignored the damage, heading onwards into a malestrom of fire.
The Condes engaged the Thoruns, hoping to destroy them before they could get too close to the Kraken. But over a quarter of them mounted light molecular slicers, and the boom that sixteen of them made was almost audible to the inhabitants of the colony. But the remainder, wary now, sent barrage after barrage of torpedo fire into the oncoming fighters, and there was only so much armour could do. Almost half of the Thoruns died in that passing engagement.
The fleet was ready.
The rest of the fleet, arriving throughout the last twenty-four hours, had secured Shambah. All that remained, however, was to see how the Rajrowlian Stellar Imperium would react.
Fendamar
Four Mishakurs jumped into the system. Alongside them, eight Jashakars and eight Ochlavitas formed four pentacans, the base unit of the Dilgar Imperium. As they all arrived, the Mishakurs launched their Thorun heavy fighters.
Ahead, a small Rajrowlian base had been set up. A Kraken-class war station, it served as the base for the occupation forces on Fendamar itself, and also was an anchor for the Rajrowlian fleet--two Emperadors, eight Duques and twenty-four Condes. Yet the Kraken, despite her size, was a formidable opponent. Dorsal and ventral turrets bristled with the barrels of fusion torpedoes, and the six limbs equidistant from their neighbours each bore the characteristic markings of a heavy plasma slicer. Defensively, she was weaker, but a Kraken would never be without at least a squadron of Condes to help defend her.
The Ochlavitas fired a long-range shot at the Kraken. Vortex torpedoes, a Shadow-Dilgar hybrid weapon, opened hyperspace portals. The shearing force exerted on any nearby objects would slice a vessel in two. That is, however, if the torpedoes could hit. The massive point defence stations on board the Emperadors swiveled around, and particles accelerated to an appreciable fraction of the speed of light slammed into the torpedoes five hundred kilometres away from their targets.
As they did so, however, the Kraken launched her assault corvettes. Each one only 50% the size of a Conde, but with roughly the same firepower, these Catapaz-class corvettes mounted two heavy fusion torpedoes, four particle cannons and no defences, for they were essentially computer-guided multiple-use missiles. Sixteen of them screamed out towards the Dilgar raider squadron, the Condes racing after them.
The Mishakurs then fired their long-range batteries. Energy mines, similar to the Narn weapons but with slightly better accuracy, headed towards the oncoming horde of Rajrowlian vessels.
They detonated close to the forward Catapaz', and they bucked in agony as the immense energy released at only forty metres slammed into the hulls. Each Catapaz was the target of one energy mine apiece, and they were badly bruised, battered...but their computer brains ignored the damage, heading onwards into a malestrom of fire.
The Condes engaged the Thoruns, hoping to destroy them before they could get too close to the Kraken. But over a quarter of them mounted light molecular slicers, and the boom that sixteen of them made was almost audible to the inhabitants of the colony. But the remainder, wary now, sent barrage after barrage of torpedo fire into the oncoming fighters, and there was only so much armour could do. Almost half of the Thoruns died in that passing engagement.