Yugumo Cluster – Five Light-Years South of Yuujou
Eagle-Class Battleship 'Mihi'ruda' – Xiaah Harr'ikke's Convoy
Time, even with all the technologies of the universe, with all the power to manipulate and tinker with the fabric of what is, time persisted to be something that was ever present, ever nagging. Sometimes, it was like a stone upon one's shoulders, a nagging hindrance, at others, it was a dimming fire that begged to be permitted to burn a little longer. In times of urgency though, time almost always took on two forms; a churning slow-moving landslide that would inevitably wash away what was, and replace it with what is to be, with every second marked in a twisting agony, or, it comes on like a windstorm, set to tear away anything and everything, in the blink of an eye. Futility though, it made the embodiment certain, the slow twisting landslide, that was what futility brought about when combined with urgency, and that feeling, was ever present for the crew of the Mihi'ruda as they approached the besieged convoy at the best speed in which their engines could manage.
As time ticked by, preparation was made; ships were put on alert status, weapons were charged, shields were brought online, armor units were manned and outfitted, evacuation shuttles were put on standby. There was plenty of activity, though on the bridge of the Eagle-Class Battle-carrier which comprised the core of the group, time loomed ever present, as data transmitted from the evacuation ships they were en route to save made the situation clear, they had to get there as soon as possible, as the situation was made clear by the slowly dwindling living crew and passenger counts, which would occasionally plummet as ships disappeared from the displayed roster of ships still active.
Sounds of pen against paper continued to mark the passing seconds as the Lorath Xiaah arranged a series of orders and communications There was work to be done, even with the approaching conflict, and issues which needed to be addressed. Golden eyes looked to the ornate clock which was perched upon her desk, her time to address matters was complete, she had a much more pressing duty to take on as she closed her electronic-book. Rising from her seat, Harr'ikke moved to a rack upon the bulkhead, her eyes looked upon the fine sash of leather, polymer threads, and braided silver. It was an ornate baldric, one made just for her, for times such as the one which she was to face. Her fingers traced over the woven surface before grasping the length of heavy material, and placing it upon her shoulder, latching a series of clasps at her hip. Her hand then seized a weapon of brutal elegance, a traditional 'Searing Blade', nestled in its scabbard, which she secured to her baldric. Her fingers traced over the grips of another weapon, a formidable revolver, which she took in hand before slipping it into a holster which nestled the weapon between her belly and the baldric. With that, she felt collected, like she had completed some sort of elaborate cleansing ceremony, one that prepared her as she stepped onto the bridge of her ship.
"Status?" Harr'ikke asked, as she strode upon the deck, looking at the central view-screen, before connecting to the ship data server with her cybernetic implant, allowing her to keep track of the whole battle group as she took her seat in the command chair.
"Thirty seconds until our groups meet, thirty one seconds until we are in firing range of the NMX." Spoke the navigation officer.
"Maintain formation, inform the convoy that they are clear to pass through our formation, and once past us, one of our Zahl-Class ships will provide a hyperfold which they can piggy-back on." Harr'ikke ordered, as she felt the surging heat of eagerness building inside of her.
"Transmitted, acknowledged... dropping out of fold in five... four... three... two..."
"Begin suppressing railgun fire. Missiles on standby! Launch fighters and armor!" Harr'ikke ordered, as she anticipated the delay between order and action.
"Yes Xiaah!" Spoke the tactical officer, as the navigation officer spoke one word; 'Zero'
Hyper-folded space around the Xiaah's convoy fell away, revealing stars, blackness, and the burning flickering and shimmering of ships which screamed at the group at faster-than-light speeds, only able to be seen by the Lorath crew thanks to computer imagery and subspace sensor overlays. Like a stampede of animals through a forest, the various evacuation ships weaved through the Xiaah's convoy, passing through as a lone Zahl-Class joined the formation, providing a stable hyperfold to the group, as they made their retreat. Close behind the fleeing ships however, was a mass of NMX ships.
It was like looking at a swarm of wasps, there must have been fifty enemy ships, mixed between true NMX ships with their putrid brown-green coloration, and former Yamataian ships which were quite familiar to the Lorath which looked upon them. They came to an abrupt halt, as they lost their prey, and came eye to eye with the Matriarchy's group as battle-pods swirled around in the space between ships. It was only a momentary 'skip' between knowing and doing, as the Matriarchy group drew first blood.
As Harr'ikke had ordered, the Xiaah's escort group had opened fire the moment they were exiting the hyperfold, carefully placed ordinance had been fired past the fleeing convoy which at the present became an afterthought. Thousands upon thousands of rounds had been spilled into space, streaking through the vacuum, only to meet with the NMX. Shields flickered, battle-pods exploded, as the Lorath ordinance exploded into a dazzling spectacle of antimatter explosions. None the less, it was mere suppressive fire in the grand scheme of things.
"Begin bombardment, maintain point defense barrage, route fighters and bombers to attack run positions with Raptor-Class units three through nine. Secure the flanking positions with Amaterasu and Zahl groups and maintain centralized fire!" Harr'ikke ordered. She knew full well that the NMX would try to encircle her group, which would lead to heavy losses. What she needed to do, was to bottle them in before they could make their move.
Everything moved swiftly at that point, as Lorath ships peeled into four advances, establishing their positions around the NMX group, as they laid down suppressive fire. It was surely enough to make things difficult for the battle-pods, but not enough to deter the larger combatants, as Yui-Class ships fell back upon their Yamataian-style methodology, while NMX ships fell upon their methods. It was a combined flurry of turret, cannon, and aether shock array fire. NMX ships focused on sheer volume of fire, while the NMX-controlled Yamataian ships focused upon heavy weapons fire.
So began the exchange, as the Matriarchy ships took the brunt of the blasts, shields held firm as countermeasures were brought online. Aether dampeners were put into use by the Matriarchy, as jamming ordinance was flooded into the space between the groups, fired by both sides. It was a heated exchange, as Hawk fighter-bombers and Cardinal-Class fighters, and Wayfarer-Shuttles tore into the NMX formations, delivering ordinance on larger ships, weaving through point defense fire, as battle-pods moved to swarm the Lorath small craft, as Cardinal-Class fighters worked to neutralize them.
Somewhere in the mess of weapons fire, somewhere between a Ionoche carrier being torn in half by an aether beam, somewhere between a white-beam gutting one of the NMX cruisers, one of the Yui-Class scouts slipped out of the confrontation, fleeing in the direction of the Jiyuu system, as another ship, one of the NMX scouts, peeled off in the vague direction of Hici'emi.
"We've got runners!" Announced the Lorath tactical officer aboard the Eagle-Class' bridge.
"Focus on the enemy at hand! Status?!" Harr'ikke exclaimed, as a focused aether shock array discharge tore into the front shields of the Eagle-Class, before scorching near the hull of the starboard section, and tearing out the other end of the shields.
"Retuning the shields of the group, aether beams... being deflected or blocked. We've lost a carrier, Raptor-Class and Zahl-Class units are taking moderate fire, Amaterasu-Class ships are taking heavy fire but are enduring. Enemy ships are being forced into a tighter formation." reported the tactical officer,
"As expected. Continue to suppress the group." Harr'ikke ordered, as the battle stretched for a duration. It took time to breach the shields of the NMX-Yamataian ships, while the NMX ships were also quite resilient. Only the efforts of the high-mobility portions of the Matriarchy group kept the NMX forces from laying down heavy enough fire to cause heavy losses. For minutes the exchange continued, as the NMX group dwindled slowly.
Ten Minutes Later
There was only one direction which the Lorath ships did not cover, and that was the direction which led away from the battle group, and it left the NMX the option to flee, which they seemingly began to do, as they dodged and weaved around the Lorath weapons barrages. Their numbers were down from fifty, to a mere twenty. Mostly small-fry ships in the grand scheme of things; scouts, and patrol ships, a few Yui-Class as well. Though... sensors did detect something 'odd' ahead of the NMX retreat as quantum, gravitic, and subspace sensors went wild.
"Report?" Harr'ikke asked, as the science officer spoke from the back of the bridge in reply to her.
"Detecting signs of a fold cannon... mass detected... power signatures... Xiaah! The enemy has folded in a group of ships!" Exclaimed the science officer.
With the report from the science officer, Harr'ikke's jaw clenched before she looked to the tactical officer. "Assessment!"
"Full NMX battle-group.. Scouts, patrol ships, destroyers, cruisers, battleships, battle carriers, Ayame-Class, Chiharu-Class, and..." There was an uncertainty in the tactical officer's voice. "Confirming."
"Confirming what?" Asked Harr'ikke.
"Confirming readings... confirmed, detecting one SMX... correction... NMX Flagship! Total one-hundred-sixty-six ships."
"Bring us about! Full power to engines! Close ranks!" Harr'ikke quickly ordered, through both words and cybernetic commands as the Lorath battle-group scrambled to try to get away from what had been dropped upon their laps.
"Incoming ordinance!"
"Type?!"
"Subspace detonating missiles!"
"Shoot them down!" Harr'ikke ordered firmly.
"Missile status... ten of fifty destroyed... twenty... forty... detonations detected! We are unable to establish a stable fold!" Reported the tactical officer, with a truly grim tone.
At that point, the implications were clear, there was no way in which they'd be able to outrun the NMX battle-group Their ships were slower than the enemy's in non-fold travel, even if they were to try to flee, their FTL-drives would be severely hindered by the effects of the missiles. "Assume 'Dod'ci' formation! Deploy shield projector units! All non-essential personnel to escape vessels! Prepare to launch support Raptor-Class ships and all ships in our launch bay to support our defense!"
"Issuing order! Launching in thirty seconds!"
"Xiaah Harr'ikke to all ships, we are assuming a defensive formation, take targets of opportunity. Fighters, bombers, power armor units; allow point defense to handle incoming small combatants, focus on hindering the efforts of the enemy ships. We do not have the capability to retreat at this time as a group, thus, I have ordered all non-essential personnel to escape vessels, which will be launched as our engagement begins. We will work to defend them, as they move to range to fold out and back to home. You have all been trained well, and I know, that we will fight as we are meant to. Goddess bless us this day, for we will be gifted with her embrace by the time this battle is over. Xiaah, out."
"Xiaah..." Came a timid voice of one of the bridge guards.
"Yes Soldier?"
"I... I would like to ask that you be on one of those evacuation ships... please." Spoke the Soldier.
"I can't do that."
"Why? We... we can't lose you now."
"Mmm... but if I run, I'll be lost here none the less."
"I..."
"Shhh..." Spoke Harr'ikke as she stood up from her command chair, as she did, the view-screen flashed and flickered with shield contacts, as the NMX began to rain weapons fire down upon the ship, and the rest of the Lorath battle-group Calmly, Harr'ikke placed her hand upon the Soldier's cheek. "Loyal Fyunnen, you do your job well." Harr'ikke spoke with a kind smile, before presenting the soldier with the book she carried upon her wrist. Opening it for but a moment before scribbling one last note into it, before fully handing over the tome. "You have a family if I recall?"
"Yes Xiaah."
"They're on-board are they not?"
"Yes, my husband and my eggs, he is a civilian."
"Go with them on one of the shuttles, and take this message with you, deliver it to the High Priest." Harr'ikke spoke softly, before dismissing the Soldier, who sprinted from the bridge at the order of the Lorath Queen.
"This is the way I understand the situation..." Harr'ikke spoke to her bridge crew. "We are here, today, set before this enemy, with the capability to perhaps prevent something far worse than my death, or the deaths of everyone in this group. That ship, we know what it can do, we've seen it first hand... we can kill it, we can destroy it and break the back of their offense against us. If I were to run now, I would be betraying my history, my heritage, which tells me I must ensure that we protect our kin." Harr'ikke spoke, as she again took her position in the command chair.
"Yes Xiaah, we do this for you and our kin." Came the words from the navigational officer.
"Yes, for our kin, for our the lives of those we love." Spoke the tactical officer.
Similar sentiments came from all those which were on the bridge, before Harr'ikke raised her hand. "Then let us focus on the battle at hand, situation report?"
"Enemy ships encircling our position, we've lost fifteen ships, severe radiation and subspace interference in the area."
"Launch the evacuation ships, move the two Ayana-Class escorts to cover them."
"Acknowledged, launching and issuing orders."
"Now..." Harr'ikke spoke, as she bared her fangs. "Let us provide some distraction, shall we? Trans-aetheric cannons! Dual-Targeting Mode!"
"Dual-targeting mode on-line!"
"Targets... Chiharu-Class units, two, three, four, and five. Sweeping fire!" Harr'ikke ordered. "Remaining weapons systems, multi-target, cascade fire on the Ayame-Class units, Battle-Carriers, and Line Battleships!"
"Orders confi---" There was a sharp whine, before a capacitor blew out behind the tactical station. What happened next was a gruesome fate, as shards of the tactical station became shrapnel, ripping the tactical officer's head clean off, and sending a shard of console through the ear of the communications officer seated on the other side of the bridge.
"Computer! Route tactical commands to secondary station!" Harr'ikke ordered.
Harr'ikke's vision went to the cybernetic link-up which she had with the ship and battle-group On her display, she could see the IFF indicators of all the ships in the group, they fared well, considering, as aether beams raked their shields and hulls, torpedoes tore away hull plates, and fighters, power armor, and shuttles were whisked out of existence. There were still things that could be done however, and she knew it, as she completed the commands which the now-dead tactical officer was in the process of executing.
With a ship-vibrating 'Ka-CHUNK!' the trans-aetheric array aperture moved into firing position, as the array split open to reveal the full width and height of the unit. When positioned, the array glowed brilliantly for but a moment, before massive beams of aetheric energy rushed from the weapon, and seared through the space between the Eagle-Class and the targetedNMX ships, which were promptly bathed in aetheric energy, which eroded shields, and caused exterior hull fixtures to be melted away in a conflagration pure energy. As the aether energies washed over the target ships, and even those which happened to stray in the way, the other thirty-two heavy-hitting energy weapon systems brought on their assault, as they fired in a succession that maintained a constant stream of fire upon the various large combatants which comprised the backbone of the NMX battle-group, it was enough to make them flinch, as they moved to evade.
Filling the void however, came the rush of small starships and a plethora of small craft. They plowed past the defensive barrage which the Lorath ships laid down, as they moved to engage the Eagle-Class and the other ships in close-range combat... it would be their doom, as the point defense weapons of the Eagle-Class, and the assorted other Lorath ships took to action, as railguns hailed unrelenting flurries of fire upon the enemy, missiles filled the space between ships, and armor units took to engaging the enemy ships directly, cutting into hulls, and carving up the enemy as they came close. There were losses though, as Lorath ships were torn into by close range aether blasts, and well coordinated bombardments from the swarms of battle-pods breached shields, and ripped into hulls. Then, there was the steady stream of aether fire which came from the NMX Flagship, each shot made shields fall, what came next was disaster for ships unfortunate enough to be hit. They could only be thankful that gravitic instability was high enough to prevent the beast of a ship from firing its transposition cannon.
As the battle raged on, losses became very apparent, as half of the carriers which comprised the Matriarchy group were gutted by aether fire, four of the Amaterasu were rendered inoperable or destroyed, while the remainders were under heavy fire, the Raptor-Class ships were nimble, but not nimble enough to escape some of the heavier weapons of the NMX, which promptly turned a half dozen of the ships into clouds of scrap, while the Zahl-Class ships were oddly under-targeted... though, it could easily be attributed to their old design, seemingly making them less of a threat. Though, there was some relief, as the launch bays of the Eagle-Class gave rise to a slew of ships, Raptor-Class, Zahl-Class, and Ayana-Class ships ventured beyond the launch bays, as their weapons surged to life, tearing into NMX hulls.
As the battle raged on, there was quite the commotion which came about, as one of the Raptor-Class ships had begun to have an uncontrolled antimatter reaction take place somewhere in the middle of the Lorath battle group. There was only one thing they could do, as they quickly flew out from the 'safety' of the defensive formation, their engines were brought to full, as subspace fields and plasma-thrust interacted to give the ship a massive burst of speed, as it flew directly into the front end of a NMX Line-Battleship... then, what was left of it came out of the other end, as it tumbled through space, a burning trail of plasma and antimatter, as it collided with one of the aether-scorched Chiharu, pancaking against the Zesuaium hull, before exploding in a ball of an uncontrolled reaction, which ripped through the Zesuaium, and created a crater in the behemoth's hull plates.
There was a frown on Harr'ikke's lips, as the implications of the event gave her an idea, it was a terrible one, as she sent communications to the fighter-bomber group. "Hawk units, maintain targets on large enemy combatants. Isolate targets with reduced shield capacity. Deliver all ordinance on targets of opportunity. When munitions are exhausted, permission is granted to conduct ramming runs. Maximum speed."
It was an act of desperation, but in truth, they were desperate. They were outgunned, and out-manned. There was another matter which became apparent... they were not going to do a damn thing while in a defensive position. "All ships, fan out, engage skirmish maneuvers. Use the enemy as cover. Fire at will, all armors, fighters, and shuttles, targets of opportunity, do what you can when you can." simply, Harr'ikke wanted to turn the battle into a mess, a full on mess, enough to put the NMX off-balance for what she knew she had to do.
"Navigation! Set course for the Flagship! Begin advance! Forward weapons on full!"
"Course plotted, Xiaah, there are several large combatants in our path, we can not reach the Flagship directly."
"Then we will kill them before we get there, yes?" Harr'ikke spoke.
"Yes Xiaah, beginning advance!"
What was once a battle of formation versus overwhelming odds, became a melee in vacuum, as the Lorath ships quickly darted into the NMX ranks. Their point defense systems were well suited to the task, as they raked the NMX shields and hulls with steady streams of fire. Ships of Yamataian design were hard pressed to counter, as NMX ships with turrets were quick to adjust, though, they encountered a problem which was unique... overcrowding. As target locks were established on Lorath ships, they dipped behind other NMX ships, in come cases, they even moved to evade fire, only resulting in NMX fratricide.
As the Eagle-Class advanced, there were several squadron-sized formations of escorts, patrol ships, and scouts which moved to conduct attack runs on the Lorath made Battle-carrier Aether beams tore into the formidable hull as shield generators overloaded, and others tried to compensate. There was a rapid response from the Eagle-Class, as L-Mark-Two fire filled the vacuum, and crashed against the shields of the small starships, and as antimatter explosions took place, the hulls began to take fire, as one of the Yui-Class ships plowed into the space between the hangar section and port wing module.
"Severe structural damage to mounting struts and clamps!" Reported an engineering officer.
"Jettison the port wing module, allow it to function separately!" Harr'ikke ordered.
"Confirmed! Ejecting module!"
With the order, the entire port section of the Eagle-Class split away from the central section. The large structure peeled away under its own power, as its engines continued to roar, and its weapons continued to fire. It was an independent unit now, and Harr'ikke intended to use it as such, as she commanded the unit to square off against the nearest Chiharu-Class, as the trans-aetheric emitter on the section roared to life, sending an aether beam clear through the center-line of the warship, crippling it. As the separated section fired, so did the remaining section attached to the remaining whole of the Eagle-Class, as one of the NMX Battle-carriers was gutted by the aether cannon... it was enough to prompt a response from the Flagship.
Pods, thousands upon thousands of pods, they flooded out from the flagship, as they blotted out the stars, and advanced upon the 'Mihi'ruda'. Some fired upon the ship, as others advanced and threw themselves against the shields, then the hull, as they began to burrow into the structure. With the pods in play, the Eagle-Class 'Mihi'ruda' began to look like some sort of creature covered in ants. Among the pods, there were also an assortment of true Mishhu, which slipped their way into the ship, some, even carrying NMX Nekovalkryja.
"Reports from exterior sections! Melee engagements with enemy within the ship!" Spoke the replacement tactical officer.
"Engage security response! Bring internal defenses online! Use force-fields to contain the enemy and seal the hull breaches!" Harr'ikke ordered.
As the enemy poured into the ship, weapons came online within corridors, as plasma vents and machine-gun turrets roared to life, splattering and ripping apart as much as they could, before enemy weapons fire simply overwhelmed the emplacements, before they would push deeper into the ship. Though, their advance became a full on struggle, as Lorath infantry groups quickly responded to the boarding parties in a valiant struggle which caused explosions to surge throughout the exterior sections of the Lorath Battle-carrier
In the space outside of the ship, the chaos of combat continued, with a small touch of order, as a pair of Zahl-Class, and a pair of Raptor-Class took positions alongside the 'Mihi'ruda'. From the Raptor-Class ships came hails of small-scale point defense fire, ripping into the Pods which were skittering along the hull, while the Zahl-Class ships launched their missile payloads, which exploded once... then twice... before clouds of miniature missiles filed the dark of space, as mini-missiles packed with antimatter slammed against Battle-pods and Mishhu, turning them into glittering bursts in the vacuum.
"Xiaah." Spoke one of the captains of the Zahl-Class ships. "We will cover your advance, press onward!" While the message was short, it was all that needed to be said, as the Zahl-Class ship split off and went after a nearby Line-Battleship. White beams tore into the shields, before positron bursts delivered what was needed to make a breach. What came next, was the Zahl-Class slamming nose-end first into the formidable NMX ship, not with the loss of the Zahl, but with the ship cutting into the hull, before a docking arm slammed out from the Zahl, ripping into the Battleship, as an infantry platoon poured into the NMX ship, before the Zahl-Class tore away, and began to make a run at one of the remaining Chiharu... before it was slammed into by positron cannon fire. As the ship exploded, a pair of Whirlwind tore away from the belly of the ship, before continuing their advance on the Chiharu, weaving past positron beams, before landing upon the hull of the ship, and beginning to lay into the craft as Mindy units began to swarm about, firing on the Whirlwind units, and also pelting their own ship with fire.
Lorath ships closed in upon the Flagship, with the Eagle-Class still pushing onward, as they advanced though, the NMX Flagship was quick to respond, as it turned to face the aether-quills upon its hull at the advancing ships. Beams lanced out from the quills, vaporizing one of the Raptor-Class ships, grazing the other, and cascading against what was left of the Eagle-Class' shields.
"Return fire!" Harr'ikke ordered.
In a tit-for-tat gesture, the 'Mihi'ruda' opened up with fire from the trans-aetheric cannon, blasting the Flagship with a coherent beam of energy, which danced over the shields of the ship, and a moment later, another beam followed from the ejected section of the Eagle-Class, hitting the same spot, and tearing past the shields and into the hull, scorching the thick plate, and even cutting into the ship some. Soon, a blistering barrage of weapons fire poured from the Eagle-Class, into the shield breach, slamming against the NMX ship as it rotated, facing a new section of shield against the fire, before returning fire with the quills, resulting in a beam ripping into the hangar section of the Eagle-Class, bathing the interior with energy, and cutting through and out of the bottom of the ship, destroying the central STL engine assembly.
"Severe damage to central section! Primary engine off-line!"
Harr'ikke scowled, the enemy was not going to fall without a struggle. "Route power to the secondary engines, continue to fire! Load repeating launchers with jamming missiles and fire!"
"Loading..."
Again, the ship was rocked by fire, as regenerative shield systems continued to juggle the incoming damage between their taxed systems, it was not enough to keep the ship entirely safe, as the hull was torn into by one of the blasts, then another, and another. It was a gruesome throw-down between the gargantuan ships.
"Loaded!" Exclaimed the tactical officer.
Harr'ikke nodded firmly "Fire! Full spread! Shield disruptive burst!"
With the order, the launchers unleashed a barrage of missiles, which detonated against the NMX Flagship's shields, before the entire shield bubble collapsed, leaving the hull of the ship vulnerable. It was a distinctive step in the right direction... that was, until it opened up with another burst from the aether quills, which tore the starboard wing section from the central module.
"Eject the hangar module!" Harr'ikke ordered. "Engage the hangar module FTL field generators, and full engines!"
"Confirmed, executing!"
There was a ship-shaking blast, as the command module separated from the hangar module, before the hangar module accelerated rapidly, an unstable FTL field formed around the section, as the engines of the unit blasted plasma wash in its wake. A quarter of the speed of light, half, three fourths, and before it could break the light barrier, the section of the Eagle-Class slammed savagely against the hull of the NMX Flagship. There was a catastrophic reaction, as the sheer force of impact, combined with the ordinance stored in that section of the 'Mihi'ruda' produced a blast which shook the entire structure of the Flagship, enough, to cause the heavy plate exterior to actually lose anchoring to the interior portions, resulting in the exterior of the ship cracking like a nut, with a portion of the outer hull being torn away, revealing the weaker interior hull. Along with damaging the NMX Flagship, the blast produced enough of a magnetic and gravitic disturbance to throw the remaining sections of the 'Mihi'ruda' away from its target, as one of the wing sections exploded into a horrific display of antimatter ordinance being prematurely detonated somewhere within the structure, as the hull splintered, cracked, and erupted in a devastating explosion, the other wing section, was quickly picked at by a NMX Line-Battleship and the last untouched Chiharu, which made short work of it.
Within the command module, Harr'ikke had been thrown to the deck, as the bridge was lit a harsh violet as plasma fire arced between conduits. Most of the bridge crew was alive though, as Harr'ikke tried to get back to her feet, only to have one of her legs twist beneath her, at a gruesome angle. "ANNH!" she screamed in pain, as she crawled her way back into her command chair, and looked upon her leg, which had one of her bones sticking grossly out of her flesh, staining her clothes with her blood. "D-damage... report!"
There was a long pause, before the engineering officer spoke; "Xiaah, my eyes, they're... I can't see."
"Calm... be calm... switch to your cybernetics."
"They're damaged, but... yes, we've lost the starboard, port, and hangar sections... we still have primary functions intact in the command module." Reported the Engineer with shaky breath.
"Enemy target status?"
"Which one?" asked the engineer, the tactical officer being unconscious or dead somewhere out of sight.
"The Flagship!" exclaimed Harr'ikke, out of pain and frustration.
"Their hull is severely damaged, their shields are down, their engines are online however... they're moving to retreat it... looks like?"
"I'll take charge of this for now, as for you... I recommend you pray." Harr'ikke spoke, as she opened up additional links to the remaining portions of the 'Mihi'ruda', and the communication lines.
Her augmented gaze could see the condition of the situation. Only a meager two dozen Lorath ships remained out of the hundred which the Xiaah's group had at its disposal, and they were busy evading fire from the remaining seventy NMX ships, and returning fire... notably though, the Line-Battleship which the Zahl-Class had impacted earlier and deposited infantry into, seemed to be firing on NMX ships. It brought a smile to Harr'ikke's face. How proud she was, how utterly proud she was of her people, it made her heart swell within her chest, as she spoke to the navigation officer, which she could see was back at their post. "Reset the course to the Flagship, catch us up to them."
"They have a bit of a lead, it will take us a few minutes to close the distance."
"Noted, now take us there..." Harr'ikke spoke, before she looked to her leg, and took firm hold of it before grasping the dislodged bone, pulling it firmly with a sickening slurp from her flesh. Through sheer will over her flesh, she shifted the bone that remained, and muscle, to make up for the loss. She shook her head, it was not like it would matter for long if she was missing a bone.
There was a moment, where it seemed, all that there was to do was to wait and catch up to the enemy... that was, until, a shrieking of metal came from the door hatch, along with the hurried sounds of the Yamataian language which flooded through a breach that was torn into the door by a power armor.
"Defensive postures! Prepare to fend them off! We have to reach the Flagship!" Exclaimed Harr'ikke, as she stood up from her command chair. She wobbled for a moment, before shifting muscle and bone again to a proper position in which she could function. Those which remained alive, and able, of the bridge crew drew their sidearms, while the guards that remained readied their rifles.
There was one more shriek of metal, before a Mindy armor ripped through, and plowed into the room, slamming a guard against a bulkhead, splattering them in the process. A trio of khaki-clad Nekovalkryja rushed in after, as they began to exchange fire with the bridge crew.
In the chaos, Harr'ikke had enough time to draw her revolver in one hand, and her sword in the other, her gaze going to the Mindy, as it turned to face her. It was quick to snap its aether weapon into a firing position, though Harr'ikke was just as quick with the revolver as she placed a shot on target, destroying the scalar focusing system within the projector, rendering it inoperable. She was not about to try to repeat her luck, as she leaped at the Mindy, without hesitation she brought her sword down upon the shoulder of the machine, as plasma rushed over the EM-guides of the sword, resulting in a vicious heated blade, which cut into the shoulder cannon of the armor, and even cleaved deep into the shoulder of the machine, causing the arm to hang limp.
A sharp and savage sound came from the scuffle though, as the Mindy threw a punch square at the chest of the Xiaah, cracking ribs and rupturing a lung. Gasps rushed through Harr'ikke's lips as she tried to compose herself, before she was kicked and slammed against the ceiling of the bridge. Her wings produced an audible splintering crack as they absorbed the blow. With a thud, Harr'ikke hit the deck of the bridge, before the Mindy began to close in, in preparation to deliver a devastating stomp.
There was a moment of inactivity from Harr'ikke, before she clenched her teeth and released a barbaric roar, as blood spilled out from her lips, enough of a roar to give pause to the Nekovalkryja which were exchanging fire with the bridge crew, enough to make the Mindy pilot pause mid step, as she surged to her feet. Her sword was out of her hand, knocked away when she was kicked, same as her revolver, though she did not care. She grasped onto the Mindy's damaged shoulder, lifting and turning the machine, before grasping onto the front of the helmet, pulling it up and back with a brutal strength, removing it, and revealing the NH-29 pilot's head. She looked afraid, deathly afraid, that was until the Xiaah grasped the top of her skull, gripping firmly, as her middle and forefinger plunged into her eye-sockets. With one vicious motion, Harr'ikke ripped the head of the pilot clean off her shoulders, before with one last surge of blood-lust, she picked up the armor, and threw it at the khaki-clad Nekovalkyrja.
Spurred on by their Xiaah's savagery, the Lorath bridge officers closed in, as they unloaded their weapons upon the Nekovalkryja. During their disposal of the Nekovalkryja, Harr'ikke stumbled, and fell to the deck, before the blinded Engineer took hold of her, and dragged her to the command chair, sitting the Xiaah where she belonged.
"T... thank you." Harr'ikke spoke, as blood poured freely from her lips, as her gaze went to the cracked and flickering view-screen, which indicated their position... they were closing in on the Flagship. "S...stat--" she coughed, a wet and guttural cough, before she composed herself; "Stations."
Quickly, the bridge officers moved back into position, as Harr'ikke looked to them, with blood stained lips she gave them tender smile. "That... that made it a bit less impersonal... didn't it?" She said, before letting out a small laugh, which some of the Fyunnen personnel which remained alive joined in with. "Communications... still active?"
"Yes Xiaah." Spoke the communications officer, as the status of the station was checked.
"Send... message. Matriarchy... Tell them, I... I love them all... and that I pray for... their glory." Harr'ikke spoke, as her chest heaved. There was more damage than just a lung, that was for certain.
"Message sent." Spoke the communications officer, her voice heavy.
"Navigation... full engines. Communications... last message... tell my family; I died with my blessings to them on my lips." Harr'ikke spoke, as she felt a calm over her body, as she watched the view-screen, until she closed her eyes one last time. She did not feel the impact, she did not see the explosion as the bridge was torn asunder, she was dead before the 'Mihi'ruda' even impacted against the NMX Flagship's hull.
There was a greater explosion which came about, as the Eagle-Class' command module slammed into the damaged section of the NMX Flagship, it plunged deep, as the hull remained strong and sturdy, until its antimatter storage systems destabilized, and resulted in a catastrophic explosion, which tore the NMX Flagship apart, sending bits of it in every direction. Though, it would be impossible to call the confrontation a victory for the Matriarchy, nor was it a defeat, as the remaining Matriarchy ships in the confrontation carried on, to the last man, to the last ship. There were no survivors, no prisoners, the Lorath made sure not to let themselves suffer such an indignity.
NMX ships that survived the confrontation were scarred and damaged, their crews shaken by the ferocity of the Lorath combatants, the undisciplined Nekovalkryja aboard the spacecrafts had much to say, but the thing spoken most was "Karera wa eikō nodatta."
One Day Later – Nyli System – Royal Palace
There was silence, complete silence in the palace, as the entire civilization of the Lorath Matriarchy, and even a majority of the Helashio were in mourning. Their loss was beyond calculation, beyond comprehension, and they knew that they would not have much time to grieve, but they did while they could. As the High Priest sat quietly in the garden, where he nearly lost his sister before, a lone Fyunnen clad in a Lorath Self Defense Force uniform strode to him, before falling to one knee.
"I bring this for you." She spoke, as she held out the chain bound tome which the Xiaah had given to her.
"Thank you..." Velor spoke, as he took the tome in hand, and unwrapped the chain from around it, before opening the cover, and turning the pages until the last which was written in. He read the writing of his sister, and as he did, he took in the words before a soft smile crept over his lips, followed by a laugh as he looked into the sky above and knew that there was one thing that he must do from that point on; he must live.
