A Viper's Nest Ch. 12

As the rotation of the claw increased, the glow intensified, and it started to produce a high-pitched whine. Seconds later, a concussive wave blasted out as bolts of turquoise lighting struck the armour fragment. Tilting the gun-like device backwards, the Maintenance Bot slithered back as it picked up the debris. Turning around, Bravo Two Three aimed and fired the piece of armour through the atmospheric shield. Arcs of turquoise lighting hit the deck plating as the device powered down.

"Make sure those pieces stay clear of my turret," Helki warned as Bravo Two Three fired at another piece of debris. The interior of the room flashed turquoise once more.

"I have already calculated their trajectories," replied the Maintenance Bot.

"I am sure you have," the Gunnery Sergeant said while trying not to sound annoyed.

*****

Helki watched the Maintenance Bot work as she rotated her turret to the right. She was glad to know that it was rare for the gunnery crew to see one of them at work. The Gunnery Sergeant was also impressed with how quickly and efficiently it performed its assigned tasks. From what an Engineer had told her, the Maintenance Bot's device emitted deadly radiation. Thankfully, it had a short half-life, and her cabin had sufficient shielding to protect her from exposure.

"Starboard heavy laser turret to Bridge," Helki said after pressing the comms button.

"Go ahead," replied Tactical Officer Altsiah.

"The Maintenance Bot has arrived and started to repair the damage," reported the Gunnery Sergeant, "any news on how we are going to deal with the rest of the Ericius ships?" she asked.

"We have been formulating a plan," replied Altsiah, "you should receive your new orders shortly," she said.

"Understood," replied Helki.

A shadow appeared to the left of her turret, and the Gunnery Sergeant saw another Maintenance Bot fly into the room. It briefly looked at her before slithering over to where Bravo Two Three was. Helki switched one of her monitors to the room's surveillance feed and watched.

*****

Alpha Seven Four approached Bravo Two Three as it was busy picking up another piece of armour. The turquoise light emitted by the device in its hands created strange shadows within the starboard side turret room. Alpha Seven Four slithered over to the other side, and after a quick tap of its wrist-mounted pad, Nanos rushed out of its bulky backpack. Once an identical gun-like device had finished being built, the Maintenance Bot fired it at a nearby piece of debris.

"When the debris has been cleared, we shall commence repairs to the door," said Bravo Two Three.

"I concur," Seven Four replied as turquoise lighting struck the deck plating and nearby wall.

"Assist," ordered Two Three.

The two Maintenance Bots fired in unison at the heaviest piece of hull armour. As the two Bots attempted to lift it, their sensors detected that the task required more power. Adjusting the power output from their bulky backpacks, the spinning claws on both devices sped up, and the high-pitched whine disappeared from the hearing range of anyone in the room, save for the Bravo Two Three and Alpha Seven Four.

Lifting the piece of armour, the two Maintenance Bots carefully led it over to the atmospheric shield and waited for the Gunnery Sergeant to pause in her firing. Shortly after the heavy laser turret stopped firing, both Bots overcharged their gun-like devices and fired the debris into space.

"Now that you have cleared the place of debris," Helki said, her voice echoing inside the room, "get that door fixed before I need to use it," she ordered.

"Commencing repair work of the access door," replied the Maintenance Bots in unison.

*****

"Captain," Comms Officer Oatshul called out, "the fleet is ready to commence the attack, and our weapon teams are ready," she reported.

"Very good," replied Captain Thazha.

"Report coming in from Engineering," said one of the bridge crew, a noticeable tone of concern in her voice.

"What does it say?" asked the Captain. Lieutenant Tektla walked over to the crew member and read the report.

"It is a report about the attack plan," she said, "they are recommending that we set the Gravitic Accelerator to fifty per cent," Tektla reported.

"Fifty?" Tactical Officer Altsiah sounded surprised.

"Due to the stresses imposed upon the ship, Engineering believes irreparable damage might occur if we set it to one hundred per cent," the Lieutenant said as she read the report.

"Damn," replied the Captain, "helm, set Gravitic Accelerator to fifty per cent," Thazha ordered.

"Aye, Captain," replied the Viper.

"Comms, contact the Frigate and tell her to fire all remaining missiles at the Ericius Cruiser to their left," Captain Thazha ordered, "make sure they fire when we start moving toward the surviving enemy vessels," she pointed out.

"Understood, Captain," replied Comms Officer Oatshul.

*****

"Captain, power surge detected!" one of Astet's bridge crew called out, a mixture of surprise and alarm in her voice.

"Location?" the Captain asked.

"Scanning for its location," replied the female Ericius, "found it. The Matriarchy Destroyer, they appear to be charging their Gravitic Accelerator," she reported.

"Charging?" Astet was confused. Gravitic Accelerators allowed the more advanced races to traverse space without needing a deceleration burn. In contrast, the majority of Ericius ships had to perform them. "Bring up the sensor logs from the point we ambushed the Vipers," Astet ordered, "we must have missed something," she said.

The monitor to the Captain's right lit up as her crew transferred the Cruiser's sensor logs to it. Looking at the feed as it scrolled past, Astet scanned the records, looking for something they missed.

*****

"Captain, Gravitic Accelerator is charged to fifty per cent and ready to engage," reported Lieutenant Tektla.

"Oatshul. Send the signal to the Frigate," Thazha ordered.

"Sending now, Captain," replied the Comms Officer.

"Helm, engage the Gravitic Accelerator and increase engine output to maximum," the Captain ordered as she pressed a button on her command chair. "All hands, brace for deceleration," Thazha warned.

Moments later, The Matriarch's Blessing slowed to a halt. Several crew members either fell over or bumped into things. The Engineering team watched their monitors for any signs of stress to the ship's hull or engine damage. They were thankful when the data return for the Gravitic Accelerator showed that it was all in the green.

"Our speed is increasing," reported Tektla, "Engineering reports we should be able to increase power to the Gravitic Accelerator in ten minutes," she said.

"Good to hear," replied the Captain. "Tactical, commence the attack run," Thazha ordered.

"With pleasure, Captain," Altsiah grinned as she sent the order.

*****

The Matriarch's Blessing headed directly towards the surviving ships of the Ericius fleet. As it flew past the damaged Frigate, great plumes of smoke billowed forth from its many missile launchers. Standard fleet doctrine dictated that a ship's Engineers clean a missile tube before loading the next missile. However, due to their current situation, the Frigate's Captain had instructed them to forgo the cleaning.

As Captain Thazha's Destroyer headed towards the middle of the two Ericius Cruisers, the first volley of missiles from the Frigate veered to the left. Defence batteries along the hull of the Cruiser opened fire. Explosions rippled across space as each missile's guidance system attempted to avoid the incoming fire.

Moments later, the bolts of laser fire from the Blessing's turrets struck the Cruiser's shields with such force that their shields almost failed. Noticing this, Tactical Officer Altsiah commanded the two heavy laser turrets to switch firing mode. The second volley of laser fire stripped the Ericius Cruiser of its shields.

The wireframe representation of the Cruiser displayed multiple missile impacts as the remaining missiles from the Frigate's initial volley struck their target. Altsiah's face glowed green as the Tactical Display Table lit up her face. With its shields down, the Tactical Officer hoped the second volley would fare better.

"Port laser turrets," Altsiah called out as she pressed one of the buttons before her, "target enemy defensive batteries," she ordered, "we need those missiles to get through," Altsiah said as she brought up the attack plan.

Atop the Destroyer, laser turrets one to four targeted the Cruiser's batteries and opened fire. Their targeting computers displayed a lead reticle, enabling each Viper to target the enemy vessel's defensive batteries accurately. The first few volleys reduced the Crusier's defences by fifty per cent. Noticing that her fellow gunners were running out of time, the Viper inside laser turret nine joined in.

When the second wave of missiles reached the Ericius Cruiser, only twenty per cent of the defensive batteries on the vessel's left were intact. Each missile could find its target and hit the Cruiser thanks to the gunnery crew's combined effort. Explosions rocked the enemy vessel, and after two of the missiles hit its centre line, the ship was torn in half. Seizing the opportunity, the Viper manning laser turret nine opened fire. Shortly afterwards, the Ericius Cruiser's reactor detonated. The explosion vaporised the ship and the approaching third wave of missiles.

*****

Captain Astet picked herself up off the floor and winced. The last attack by the Matriarchy ships had caused several explosions inside the bridge. Astet had been standing in front of several monitors when they exploded. The force of the blast had caused her to break her right arm when she hit a nearby bulkhead.

"Damage report!" she shouted while patting dust and debris off of herself.

"Reports are coming in now, Captain," replied one of the female bridge crew. She had a cut on her forehead, and blood ran down her face. "Minor damage to our shields and a few blown generators," she reported.

"What about the Viper ships?" Astet inquired as she headed for her throne. The Captain was pleased to see her assistant was unharmed.

"Their destroyer is now behind us, and it appears the remaining Matriarchy ships are turning around, heading back towards the enemy station," replied another crew member.

"Bring us about. I want all remaining ships firing at that damned Destroyer," the Captain ordered.

"At once, Captain," replied the helmsman.

*****

"Increase power to the Gravitic Accelerator," Captain Thazha ordered, "once it reaches one hundred per cent, turn the ship around to face the enemy," she said.

"Aye, Captain," replied the Viper manning the helm.

"Order the starboard laser turrets to keep firing," Thazha said to Altsiah, "there's no need for them to stop, as we will be turning right," she pointed out. All the bridge Officers and the Captain were standing around the Tactical Display Table.

"I will also give the order to turret nine as well," replied the Tactical Officer, "thanks to her three hundred and sixty-degree firing arc, she will be able to keep up with turrets five to eight," Altsiah pointed out.

"Agreed," replied Thazha.

"We can also have the Gunnery Sergeant and her Second open fire on the Cruiser once we have finished the turn," Lieutenant Tektla pointed out.

"True," said the Captain, "Altsiah. Send the next volley of missiles towards the smaller Ericius ships," Thazha ordered. "The ship's sensors indicate they are too damaged to survive any more hits," she said while adjusting the TDT.

The Tactical Display Table adjusted its projection to include The Matriarch's Blessing's current course, friend and foe markers for all ships within the Destroyer's sensor range, and an estimated route for the next volley of missiles.

*****

"Keep an eye on your heat generation," Gunnery Sergeant Helki warned over the open comms.

"Turrets one to four," Staff Sergeant Naltla called out, "if you need to change barrels or replace your heat sinks, do it now!" she said, "you have a few minutes before the ship has finished turning," the Staff Sergeant pointed out. Cabin doors opened for two laser turrets, the Vipers hurrying to make the changes.

"It appears the Cruiser's shields are down," Helki said, "I think we should aim for their engines first," she suggested.

"Agreed," replied Naltla, "once we are facing them, I doubt we will have any difficulty destroying the ship," she said.

*****

Laser bolts and missiles flew through space and impacted against the hull of the Ericius Cruiser. Armour sections melted under the barrage of laser fire as entire hull sections exploded outwards as the missiles detonated against the ship. Both heavy laser turrets opened fire as The Matriarch's Blessing faced directly at the enemy vessel. Their first volley knocked out one of the four engines at the Cruiser's rear. The second volley caused an internal explosion which detonated the nearby fuel stores. A ripple of explosions shot along the left-hand side of the ship from the left-most engine and ended one-third of the way along the hull.

The Ericius Cruiser started to list as the Matriarchy Destroyer continued to fire. A few of the smaller Ericius vessels attempted to aid their larger compatriot. However, a surprise attack by a Matriarchy Corvette stopped them. Its Captain had chosen to power down and await the approach of the enemy ships. Laser fire and rockets flew through space and crippled or destroyed what remained of the Ericius fleet.

A lucky shot by the undamaged Matriarchy Frigate destroyed the Cruiser's bridge. Its Captain had copied Thazha's battle plan, setting her ship's Gravitic Accelerator to fifty per cent to minimise potential damage before spinning the ship around. With the ambush fleet preoccupied with The Matriarch's Blessing, the Frigate could engage the enemy as they saw fit.

Bringing her rail gun online, the Captain of the Matriarchy Frigate ordered the ship to the rear of the enemy Cruiser. Once there, the railgun opened fire, destroying the last of the ship's engines before punching a hole into the ship's reactor. Within seconds it went critical, and the Ericius Cruiser exploded. Fortunately, the Frigate's Captain had given the order to reverse before the reactor detonated. They had also diverted all available power to the shields preventing the ship from being severely damaged.

Looking at the projection above the Tactical Display Table, Captain Thazha was pleased to see that all remaining enemy ships were either disabled or destroyed. She ordered the fleet to commence eradication procedures before returning to Border Station Five.

"Well done, everyone," Thazha said as she addressed the bridge, "it was a hard-fought battle, but we prevailed. Have all sections report in before we return to the station," she ordered.

"I think we should thank the Corvette Captain," Lieutenant Tektla suggested.

"Agreed," replied Thazha.

"Clever move," Altsiah chimed in as she replayed the battle on the TDT, "I wish I had thought of it," the Tactical Officer said.

"Considering Fleet failed to spot the blind spot," Oatshul said as she rolled her shoulders, "I am not surprised our attack plan did not include an ambush of our own," the Comms Officer placed a hand on Altsiah's shoulder as she finished speaking. The two Vipers smiled at each other.

"I suggest everyone get some rest," Thazha said, "the journey back will take several hours. I want everyone rested before we arrive," the Captain ordered.

"Aye, Captain," replied the bridge crew.