Vol 4 Chapter 4 (1/2)

Chapter 4: Stronghold

“Incoshi+p” Yateshu raised his voice on the bridge

“What does it say?” Lafiel asked in his direction

“All stop and be on standby Over” – Yateshu

“Reply with a confirator, put our time-space bubble on standby” Lafiel ordered

Lafiel looked at the Plane space e squadron has all stopped in a line Nue squadron and proceeded forward They are the guard shi+p squadron that was on reserve and now heads to protect the fleet Next, there seems like some other shi+ps that broke away fro forward

The Twin Thorn's 24th fleet is currently sending waves and waves of attacks toward the Keh the battle is so intense that it cannot be described by words, it looks like the battle is now finally ress

The enee has started to become sparse This is evidence that the enemy’s consu production

But this could also be a deception tactic by the ene ondown on their use This looks like it could be a trap

Even so, this is not soh she has the potential to eventually sit on the throne one day, she is never-the-less just the captain of a shi+p for now For a person in her position, giving their life for their duty is their greatest joy

Indeed, the duty to decipher the eney is left to HQ and HQ has decided that the ene their full capabilities

This last tie was extremely sparse and the Flicaubh fused with only three mines Not only that, they expected to encounter no enereet the Star Force were long range autonomous mines

It was the same with the wave before that, and the enemy hasn’t sent any additional shi+ps into Plane space However, the Kee shi+pbuilding workshop so their production capabilities should not be underestie in any large scale battles, the enemy vessels that were destroyed should be easily replenished But even though the vessels could be constructed in a short time, their creould not be so easily replenishable In other words, the reatly decreased

If this is so, then our best strategy is to let them wear thes are not required for Lafiel to worry about For as soon as the enemies show their face, she will attack head on: her duties are just this simple

In short, her current task is to guard the guard shi+p squadron: a dull and mundane task

In addition, Lafiel has yet the opportunity to display her abilities because the enemy fleet just won’t come out

“Incoo into active uard shi+p squadron at a distance”

Upon hearing what Yateshu reported Lafiel nodded and immediately issued the relevant orders

A long and boring trip is about to begin

When the guard shi+p squadron reached the edges of the sord, the coain

It is finally time for the shi+p-of-the-line squadron to appear on the frontlines Fully loaded with anti-matterthe enemies inside But even after this wave of the attack has ended, the assault frigates and the cruisers still would not go into combat

Another squad of shi+p-of-the-line seeate one by one These shi+p-of-the-line do not carry anti-matter mines but instead anti-ned for normal space and pack just as much of a punch as the mines However, since they do not have the tienerator, they are quite a bit smaller So each shi+p can carry much more anti-matter missiles than they can with mines

Lafiel wonders if HQ sending these vulnerable shi+p-of-the-lines up to the front is really the best option Although her heart feels unsettled, all she can do is quietly watch froe into the Kemal Sord

Command finally issued orders for the cruisers and assault squadrons to proceed

“Distance to the Kemal Sord: 5 minutes”

“Attention, this is your captain” Lafiel spoke on the shi+p-wide intercom, “This shi+p will enter Normal space soon, and we can expect an intense battle ahead Everyone be well prepared”

Next, she orders the engines to max and does a final check on weapons Other officers are reporting in one-by-one of nothing abnorate is done with final combat preparations

“One minute until we enter the sord,” Ekuryua said

“Start the countdown at 30 seconds” – Lafiel

The countdown began shortly

“…25, 24, 23…” Ekuryua’s cale The nervousness of the crewsteadily

Lafiel concentrates her attention on her spatial sensor device

“…5, 4, 3, 2, 1, passing through” – Ekuryua

The area grasped by her spatial sense rapidly expands, as if the world had suddenly expanded infinitely in all directions This iddiness, in fact, every time that Lafiel has exited Plane space to Normal space, she has felt this and does not dislike it

But now is not the time to focus on such sensations

Her previous worries are confirmed because the current battlefield situation is very bad

Given that Point A is the gate and Point B is a location in Plane space, then those two points would not have any relationshi+p regarding their positions In other words, when a shi+p exits a sord, they cannot predict where that shi+p will exit from

Of course, even if a squadron tightly charges into a sord, unless you are extremely lucky, you will not be with your squadron when you arrive and will still be scattered about when they exit

On the other hand, the defensive side can arrange its fleet in an orderly manner beforehand, and can position their mobile space fortress For them, this is closer to a hunt than a battle and perhaps it isto think of it this way

Although the mines and missiles fired from the shi+p-of-the-line will have a certain impact, this doesn’t mean that the battle will be in Star Force’s favor

Originally, Lafiel wanted to head for the fleet rally point, but she suddenly realized right now is not the ti their way, and most likely they are nuclear fusion warheads fired fronetic cannons

“Evade!” Lafiel shouted

Movement occurred in Arubofu’s control interface attached to his left hand

Although he did not respond, Lafiel would not fault her Gunnery Officer for it She only gave the crew this warning: “All hands, prepare for sudden acceleration!”

At the saht) side of the Flicaubh suddenly fires and the assault frigate begins to drift sideways The lasers on the shi+p also begin to fire upon these projectiles sent by the enemy

A huge blast occurred near the shi+p and the shockwave shook the Flicaubh

Although Lafiel has avoided the first wave of attacks, but she has still yet to take a breath

“Three enemy vessels have fired unknown objects at our shi+p!” Yateshu reported

Lafiel is still atterasp the current battlefield conditions

Looks like the shi+p-of-the-lines that went in first did indeed get excellent results, but their losses have been also quite severe

The battlefield is further coe of warshi+ps from both sides and clusters of antimatter which have not yet diffused

Lafiel lightly closed her eyes and concentrate on her spatial sensors Ae and debris, she found a route to the rally point However she is unsure whether she should proceed to the rally point or should she stay and fight off these three shi+ps that are rapidly approaching the assault frigate

Those three shi+ps looks like are all defense shi+ps which just enerators and are purely for Nor these defense shi+ps, these shi+ps are actually a defining characteristic for the arn Stellar Union This is a difference between the Abh, whose knowledge is of Plane space as the main battlefield and who did not adhere to the defense of star systeround worlds to be their whole focus

Moreover, these three shi+ps are heavy defense shi+ps equipped with electronetic cannons Their arate, but because they don't have space-tiher After all, this is Norenerator for any shi+p is no more useful than a useless limb

Although it would hurt Lafiel’s pride a bit, she knows that she has little chance in a three-versus-one fight But even if the Flicaubh were to head straight for the rally point, they netic cannons of the enemy

There is no more time to further consider her options as everyone on the shi+p is waiting for Lafiel’s orders

“Arubofu,” Lafiel finally issues her orders, “Turn and fire once upon the eneht for the rally point”

“Understood” – Arubofu

Both the prian to roar as the Flicaubh began to gradually face the eneh the shi+p cannot unner unsatisfied; Arubofu still pull the trigger to fire the electronetic cannons

The assault frigate fires a salvo of nuclear fusion warheads fronetic cannons

The enemy shi+ps have already launched their second wave of attacks, but Arubofu was still able toattacks

In order to evade the Flicaubh attacks, the three ene this opportunity, the Flicaubh made their way pass the eneht for the rally point

“What is the status on coshi+p?” – Lafiel

“Currently, the signal is extremely poor and unsteady” Yateshu reports

“Can we make a connection?” – Lafiel

Even if they can’t get a direct uplink, they could still coh there may be some noise from interference, Lafiel’s ears would not mind such inconveniences

“I will try my best” – Yateshu

The rally point changes moment by moment If there is no command shi+p for direct uplink, then you would be as lost as a child in a departst the countless number of shi+ps around, with spatial sensors alone, it was be nearly impossible The spatial sensors are limited in their capabilities in this respect The on-board sensors can also be restricted due to interference and is also nearly incapacitated Lafiel has seeh objects near can be discerned with clarity, anything beyond is irasp

The eneht up

“Make acceleration the top priority” Lafiel said to Arubofu

“Do I have pernetic cannons?” – Arubofu

If the two rear electroatively impact the acceleration of the shi+p

“You have perunnery officer permission