Countdown, John Walker [online e book reader txt] 📗

buoy may not last long when the enemy arrived either. The ervas understood how to invade Gold Empire territory. They’d done it plenty of times. They hit satellites, buoys, anything they could to cause havoc within the ranks and to prevent meaningful retaliation. Which is why I had to prepare our message before we needed it.

“They’re here!” Daisy shouted. Five ships appeared on the viewscreen: ervas warships. Their silhouettes showed up on the HUD, identifying them as battleships. “Oh my God… sir, this is the most powerful battle group we’ve encountered. I’ve never read a report of that many large vessels coming at us at the same time.”

“Yes, I know.” Sasha cursed under his breath. Part of him wanted to turn tail and run from the threat. But they had to slow them down and put up enough resistance to prove they weren’t going to lie down in the war to come. This is definitely a declaration of war. We can’t win this fight. As long as I’m smart about it, we can survive.

“They’re deploying fighters,” Daisy said. “Shall we launch?”

“Negative,” Sasha replied. He tapped the comm, reaching out to his two destroyers. “Attention, move to the enemy group’s flanks. Hit them as soon as they are in range. Have your helms plot courses to get you out of here on my command. We’re not staying long. Just enough to give them a bloody nose.”

Which might be wishful thinking. Sasha didn’t know why the ervas might’ve stopped there. Alden hadn’t given him that information but had simply sent him to that point specifically. Nothing in the system seemed worth the time for the enemy to bother with. What did they want? Is this a staging area?

He’d already checked star charts when they arrived. Nothing stuck out as being of specific interest. It was in good proximity to other Gold Empire holdings, specifically some of the outlying colonies. But why not jump directly to them and attack? Unless they don’t know where our places are specifically.

Sasha thought for a long moment.

I get it. The buoy in that system had been deployed to make long-distance communication with the remote areas easier. If the ervas had some idea of how to hack it or gain control, then they’d have up-to-date information on current events. So they’re here for that. The question is… why didn’t Alden have me destroy it? And what would it mean if they did so?

Sasha leaned back in his seat.

That’s a risk I’m willing to take.

“Daisy, shut down the comm buoy after our message gets through,” Sasha ordered. “Then Marston? Target the thing. I want it taken out before we leave the system.” He peered at their time to target. “Looks like we’ve got just under a minute to make that happen before you need to open fire on these dirtbags. Get ready.”

Both destroyers reported in position and prepared for the fight. Sasha issued orders for them to withdraw once they went through three cycles of fire. That would be all they could get off before risking serious damage from their opponents. Intelligence suggested the ervas ships could pop off twice for every one shot the Gold Empire got off.

Which is why we usually go at these fights with overwhelming force. Of course, the Broken Light didn’t suffer from the same limitations. Which is the only reason why we’re still here.

“We are in range,” Marston said, “permission to open fire.”

“Granted. Hit them hard.”

The cannons discharged; the main ones first. Four wide beams struck the middle battleship’s shields half a second before the secondary weapons opened fire… ten additional attacks. The reaction from the enemy’s defenses caused a flash that probably would be seen two systems away as some sort of strobe effect.

Their destroyers opened up next, tearing into the flanking vessels. Their assaults came from the traditional Gold Empire weapons with a vastly inferior response. But their presence after the initial attack meant the outer ervas had to make a choice. Ignoring them meant giving up their flank so they could attack the Broken Light.

However, if they went that route and those destroyers packed a real punch, they’d be in real trouble.

Ruses. Sasha clenched his fists in anticipation of their move. The Broken Light’s weapons would be back online within forty seconds… not enough time to get a shot off before the ervas returned fire. His goal was to have two of their five aim away. I can take three of them for a bit more, but if all five come after me, we’re getting out of here.

The two outer battleships pivoted, turning to face their attackers on the outside. Sasha felt the tension in his shoulders lift even as they took a full barrage from two of the ships. Marston got them moving upward at the right moment, evading one of the assaults.

That buys us a little more time.

A second attack required them to move, sapping energy in the process. Turrets from the Broken Light blazed at the enemy; pinprick shock devices that were little more than an annoyance. They kept the battle going, showing they had full commitment. Energy drain from smaller weapons didn’t affect their maneuverability.

As the ervas pulled back to gain a firing solution, Marston fired again. Their main cannons kicked the front of their target, ripping through the shields this time. Bits of their hull broke away, not enough to be a serious breach but certainly the bloody nose he intended.

How much more can I safely risk?

“Shields are suffering from continuous drop,” Daisy said. “Engineering is compensating for the lingering effect. They estimate we’ll be at eighty percent on the port side. Emitters are struggling to keep up though.”

“How many more hits can we take?” Sasha asked. “Before we lose shields in that section completely.”

Daisy sighed. “Uh… three more full barrages. If the ones we’re dealing with can