Re: [Mission 7.1] Universe at War - Battle of Nataria
The hulls of the enemy vessels were thick.
Either that, or they had not been damaged nearly as much as one would think.
Aboard the squadron's leading ship, the Tivurthrinth, the silent figure who had been monitoring this battle opened Its eyes. The destruction of the defending fleet was nearly complete. It knew this instinctively. It could feel the pull of consciousnesses, spiraling on downward into both the darkest depths of hell, and rising gloriously to the heights of enlightenment. It heard the faint fizzle of communications over long distances. It heard screams, orders, and the pulse of many hearts. It reveled.
One of the Gathering informed It that their shields were down.
It told them; 'Good. Let Them Hope.'
The more comfortable they could make the prey, - for, caught in a net, the squadron in front of It could be nothing else - the more hope they could cultivate, and the more satisfying the act of crushing it would be. The more difficult the victory, the more thrilling. Although one were not supposed to play with dangerous enemy ships like this, the act of doing so was rather empowering, in and of itself.
'Also,' It said. 'Also - Limp a Little.' It smiled, amiably, though the effect was more like a very dangerous carnivore, bearing its teeth. 'Throw Out Some Smoke. Make Like, You Know, One of Those Things That Pretends To Be Dead, And Then Bites You Very Hard Afterwards.'
Metaphore had always escaped its grasp, somewhat.
'Oh Yes,' It also added as an afterthought, the grin never fading, 'Charge The Scalar Array. When You Sense They Have Diverted Power To Their Weapons, Take Them Down.'
---------
There was static gathering now over the communications channels.
The ships behind the Eucharis and her sister ships broke off from their formation and split to deal with the two Yamataian ships that had doubled back.
Although the Nadeshiko and the Aurora had scored multiple direct hits, the Mishhu vessels had been redesigned in recent years with the capabilities of Yamataian ships in mind, and were still almost fully operational. The ocean of stars was once more disturbed by the rush and explosion of missile and torpedo ordinance.
However, a dangerous streak of antimatter had been added into the mix - the two ships that had paired off against the Nadeshiko and the Aurora had brought their subspace cannons online, and were now engaged in an offloading of ordinance that resembled very vigorously colorful, festival-style fireworks. The sort that accidentally blew the roofs off of buildings.
The Tivirthrinth clung to the Eucharis's trail like a dog that had caught the scent of blood.
Energy crackled across the hull. It looked a heck of a lot like an electromagnetic malfunction with its shielding and possibly auxiliary systems.
A visual would also reveal a little bit of a change in the black Tivirthrinth's forward hull design. Several prongs had been extended forward, from within the hull. They did not extend terribly far. In fact, they could have been there all along, and nobody had noticed.
Minor changes were often overlooked, in the heat of combat.
The hulls of the enemy vessels were thick.
Either that, or they had not been damaged nearly as much as one would think.
Aboard the squadron's leading ship, the Tivurthrinth, the silent figure who had been monitoring this battle opened Its eyes. The destruction of the defending fleet was nearly complete. It knew this instinctively. It could feel the pull of consciousnesses, spiraling on downward into both the darkest depths of hell, and rising gloriously to the heights of enlightenment. It heard the faint fizzle of communications over long distances. It heard screams, orders, and the pulse of many hearts. It reveled.
One of the Gathering informed It that their shields were down.
It told them; 'Good. Let Them Hope.'
The more comfortable they could make the prey, - for, caught in a net, the squadron in front of It could be nothing else - the more hope they could cultivate, and the more satisfying the act of crushing it would be. The more difficult the victory, the more thrilling. Although one were not supposed to play with dangerous enemy ships like this, the act of doing so was rather empowering, in and of itself.
'Also,' It said. 'Also - Limp a Little.' It smiled, amiably, though the effect was more like a very dangerous carnivore, bearing its teeth. 'Throw Out Some Smoke. Make Like, You Know, One of Those Things That Pretends To Be Dead, And Then Bites You Very Hard Afterwards.'
Metaphore had always escaped its grasp, somewhat.
'Oh Yes,' It also added as an afterthought, the grin never fading, 'Charge The Scalar Array. When You Sense They Have Diverted Power To Their Weapons, Take Them Down.'
---------
There was static gathering now over the communications channels.
The ships behind the Eucharis and her sister ships broke off from their formation and split to deal with the two Yamataian ships that had doubled back.
Although the Nadeshiko and the Aurora had scored multiple direct hits, the Mishhu vessels had been redesigned in recent years with the capabilities of Yamataian ships in mind, and were still almost fully operational. The ocean of stars was once more disturbed by the rush and explosion of missile and torpedo ordinance.
However, a dangerous streak of antimatter had been added into the mix - the two ships that had paired off against the Nadeshiko and the Aurora had brought their subspace cannons online, and were now engaged in an offloading of ordinance that resembled very vigorously colorful, festival-style fireworks. The sort that accidentally blew the roofs off of buildings.
The Tivirthrinth clung to the Eucharis's trail like a dog that had caught the scent of blood.
Energy crackled across the hull. It looked a heck of a lot like an electromagnetic malfunction with its shielding and possibly auxiliary systems.
A visual would also reveal a little bit of a change in the black Tivirthrinth's forward hull design. Several prongs had been extended forward, from within the hull. They did not extend terribly far. In fact, they could have been there all along, and nobody had noticed.
Minor changes were often overlooked, in the heat of combat.