Three Square Meals Ch. 078

The Drakkar's answering shots were poorly aimed and inaccurate at such long range, the purple coloured beam lasers from the cruisers at the forefront of their charge largely missing their targets. A few struck home on one of the larger Ashanath saucers, but the extensive shield banks barely flickered at the impact. However, as more of the Drakkar ships approached to within range, the volume of purple beams intensified, slashing through the Ashanath lines and taking a greater toll.

John and the girls watched in silence as the lead elements of that reckless charge closed on the Ashanath formations, the black-hulled cruisers at their forefront striking with impunity. Drakkar cruisers were equipped with an abundance of retro-thrusters to aid with manoeuvrability, which allowed them to stack sixteen Beam Lasers in the front arc. Those cruisers focused on the picket line of Ashanath destroyers, blasting one small disc-shaped ship after another with massed banks of purple beams.

Both sides fully engaged, with the slower-moving Drakkar battleships finally able to bring their long-range beam weapons to bear. Sizzling purple and red lances of energy scythed between the opposing armadas, forming a spectacular display of light as the two forces blazed away at each other. While the crossfire might have appeared as a beautiful tapestry of rich colours on the holographic map, the spectators knew how terrifying it must feel to be on the receiving end of those devastating salvos.

As if to emphasise the point, "The Defiler" bore down on one of the unsuspecting Ashanath battleships, scores of weapons focused on their prey. It unloaded with a ferocious barrage of beam laser fire, which was immediately followed by a storm of missiles launched from the racks atop the gigantic Drakkar dreadnought.

The powerful shield protecting the Ashanath capital ship was struck in scores of locations, sending rippling purple waves over the shimmering surface. Although the battleship's shields were strong, it still wasn't capable of withstanding such overwhelming damage. The protective field collapsed with a flicker, leaving the silver disc critically vulnerable. Some of the beams went on to carve into the thick silver armour, but the real threat was from the swarm of missiles that swept in afterwards.

The battleship opened up with its grid of laser point-defence weapons, but even with the supporting destroyers assisting where they could, they only managed to take down less than half of the incoming missiles. There was a rippling wave of explosions across the broad topdeck of the battleship, detonations blowing apart armour plates and leaving thirty-metre wide craters in the pockmarked surface of its hull. When the last of the missiles had struck the saucer, the battleship was left a ragged ruin, every square metre of the upper surface a blackened mess or a charred crater. The starboard power relays had been destroyed in that salvo, along with all the weapons on the topdeck, and the battleship listed helplessly to one side, all the lights on one half of the ship having gone dark.

The Drakkar battleships escorting the dreadnought now opened fire too, but this time the mortally wounded Ashanath vessel had no shields or armour plating to protect it. Throbbing purple beams carved through the superstructure, burning glowing canyons straight through the stricken battleship. Not known for their mercy, the Drakkar continued hitting the wreck with one beam salvo after another, until one of the shots slashed through a power core and triggered a reactor breach. The Ashanath battleship ripped itself apart in a massive explosion, leaving behind a huge field of debris where the imposing silver spacecraft had once stood.

***

"Dropping out of hyper-warp in five seconds," Alyssa said quietly, but her voice sounded loud in the numbed silence of the Bridge.

The Invictus surged into the Ashana system in a blue cloud of Tachyon particles, the field dissipating harmlessly into space as the ship left hyper-warp. As soon as the seven-hundred-and-fifty metre battlecruiser appeared, its six Trankaran engines powered up to full, with Alyssa launching the ship directly towards the intense firefight. At the same time, the bay doors for the Secondary Hangar began to open, just as the Launch Bay doors opened at the bow of the ship.

Jade gave them a confident smile as she said, "Launching the Raptor."

"Yeah!" Dana whooped, as her glossy white mech blasted clear of the front of the Invictus, two bright orange flares from the orbital rocket pack launching it clear. They could all see her excited grin through the clear-crystal faceplate of her Paragon armour as she added, "Valkyrie ready to kick some ass!"

John had been carefully watching the unfolding battle and he said to them both, "A group of six cruisers has broken away from the main Drakkar force and is going after the Ashanath carriers. I want you two to intercept them. You should be able to cut the Drakkar off before they can start their attack."

Jade banked the Raptor and nodded, saying, "Moving to intercept."

"Leave some for me!" Dana said with a sparkle in her eyes, the slower-moving mech adjusting course to follow the gunship.

"We'll be in Nova Lance range of the closest Drakkar battleship in two minutes, fourteen seconds," Alyssa declared, gazing up at the extremely long fire arcs that stretched away from the Invictus on the overhead map.

Calara's fingers darted across her Tactical Console as she informed them, "Beginning the ignition sequence for the Singularity Generator."

Sakura grimaced as another Ashanath battleship was blown to pieces, and she muttered, "The Greys are being decimated!"

John nodded, his face bleak as he watched the Drakkar armada surging into short range with the Ashanath. The accuracy of fire for both sides increased at such close quarters, which only intensified the terrible damage the Drakkar ships were inflicting on the Ashanath. Darkened wrecks of silver discs littered the otherwise neat formations, the glowing lights around the rim of each vessel having been extinguished just like the lives of the poor Greys within.

Suddenly Jade gasped, drawing all eyes to her holographic image. Her cat-like eyes were open wide with shock and she exclaimed, "John! Look at the planet, something's taking off!"

John turned to look at the Ashanath homeworld and he gaped at the titanic ship that was clearing the upper atmosphere of Ashana. "What the fuck is that?!" he swore, staring aghast at the immense black and silver behemoth.

***

*Initiating power scaling, generators charging,* Councillor Rathus stated, his mind working in harmony with his team of engineers as they worked frantically aboard the Legacy.

In the Astral Conclave, the Ashanath High Councillors stood in a circle around a psychic projection of their forces, the silver discs clashing with the brutal Drakkar fleet at close range. The telepathic command network rippled with painful echoes as more Ashanath ship Captains were slain, their vessels torn apart by the Drakkar. The High Council flinched with each psychic convulsion, sharing the fleeting moments of agony before those brave souls were gone forever.

*We must hurry,* Councilor Talari pleaded, his astral projection showing his distress. *Our fleet is suffering terrible losses!*

Rathus remained impassive, his mind totally absorbed with the coordination of the engineers under his command. *Targeting grid activated, Quantum Flux Cannon ready to fire on your mark,* he advised them, huge black eyes staring unfocused ahead of him.

*Target selected for obliteration,* Senior Councillor Ularean stated, the foremost black-armoured battleship now highlighted in a bright red hexagon. Turning to Rathus, his voice was firm as he ordered, *Open fire!*

***

Built into the silver bow of the ancient vessel, the long barrel of the Quantum Flux Cannon began to throb with energy, purple lightning crackling along its length. It had not been fired in ten-thousand years, but the ageless black metal was still just as pristine as the day it had been forged. The power surged to a crescendo and a long beam of eerie purple energy shot through the battle lines, seeking out a massive Drakkar battleship. The vessel's shields quivered as though in fear when the targeting beam locked on, that thin stream of light blazing brightly a moment later as six purple bolts blasted towards the target.

The first two bolts vaporised the shield in the space of a second, the third and fourth then striking only glancing blows, but still tearing hundred-metre-long gouges down the battleship's hull. The fifth smashed directly into the prow of the Drakkar vessel, hurling it backwards with the impact and carving through the armour like it was made of tissue paper. It bored a broad channel through the ship, ploughing through everything in its path. The final bolt followed the same trajectory as the first, coring deeper through the vessel and ripping through weapon magazines and setting off internal explosions. The black hull of the battleship bulged obscenely as it was rocked by successive detonations, before the Drakkar craft tore itself apart in a storm of debris.

***

*Quantum Flux Cannon recharging, ready for reactivation in twenty seconds,* Councillor Rathus informed them, his previously impassive mask now long gone.

The High Council stared at the psychic projection of the battle, all their faces filled with grim resolve as they observed a temporary lull in combat. The exchanges of beam laser fire between both sides came to a halt and it seemed every ship in the system was now frozen in stunned disbelief.

*Target selected for obliteration,* Senior Councillor Ularean stated, a second black-armoured battleship now marked as the other had been...

***

"Holy fuck!" Alyssa blurted out, voicing what they were all thinking. "They've got a Progenitor ship!"

"I knew they were hiding something important!" Calara exclaimed, staring at the enormous ship in wonder. "All those planetary defence lasers weren't there just to protect stone tablets!"

Shaking his head in astonishment, John exclaimed, "I can't believe they kept that a secret for all this time! No wonder they were so jittery when we turned up on Ashana last time."

They all recognised the sinister-looking profile of the Ashanath's Progenitor ship, with its angular superstructure giving it an evil, menacing appearance. However, after seeing Dana's detailed schematic of a Progenitor vessel, it was obvious there was something not quite right about this ship - aside from the fact that a significant bulk of its hull was silver rather than black.

"It doesn't look right," Dana stated, a frown on her face. "When they rebuilt the thing, they fucked the design up somehow!"

"It's still lethal though!" Calara gasped, brown eyes staring at the System Map in awe. "Whatever that weapon is, it tore that battleship to-"

The Latina didn't get to finish her sentence as another beam shot out from the Legacy and locked on to another black-hulled battleship. There was a bright series of pulses that lit up the map, and three seconds later they were watching the once-mighty Drakkar warship tearing itself apart with a reactor breach.

John whirled around to look at Rachel and exclaimed, "Put me through to the High Council!"

***

Grand Overlord Vekrok stared in horror at the Ashanath super-weapon as it eviscerated a second of his battleships, blowing it apart with contemptuous ease. The rest of the Drakkar on the Bridge were petrified by the display of raw power and sat there in stunned silence. Vekrok recovered first and he lurched from his broken throne, before slapping a burly hand down on the interface panel on his command table. Images of the Captains of his shocked retinue sprang to life in front of him and he roared, "Keep killing their battleships! Leave that big fucker to me!"

"You want to go closer to that pod-burster?!" Grukig quailed, bulging eyes staring at his Commander in terror.

"You dare question me?!" Vekrok raged, cuffing his fearful second-in-command over the head and sending him flying. He then pointed an armoured finger at his Helmsman and growled, "After them! Full speed ahead!"

The Drakkar at the Helmsman's station knew his life depended on following Vekrok's orders to the letter, so despite his fear, he grabbed the throttle control and rammed it forward. The Defiler's enormous engines blazed with power, the colossal Drakkar flagship gaining speed as it left the six escorting battleships behind. Those ships opened fire again, purple beams slashing into an Ashanath battleship and carving it to pieces with glowing rents in its hull. That prompted the rest of the vessels to commence battle once more and the Defiler plunged through the chaotic close-range fighting that raged all around it.

The Legacy opened fire a third time and Vekrok winced as Overlord Glunigruk's ship was raked by a barrage of those blistering purple bolts. The Ashanath caught the battleship mid-turn, and after knocking out its shields, the remaining four bolts slammed into the black-hulled ship, effortlessly skewering it through and sending it crashing backwards with the impact. One of the bolts from the Quantum Flux Cannon even ploughed on and struck an unlucky Drakkar cruiser, which had been trying to evade Glunigruk's turning ship. The formidable power of that impact punched straight through the cruiser's shields, leaving a massive crater in the shattered starboard flank of the ship.

Vekrok cared little for his ally's fate, simply glad that it was Glunigruk's battleship that had been struck instead of the Defiler. His dreadnought rammed an Ashanath cruiser and smashed it aside as they barged through the battle formations, the disc sheared in half by the impact and spinning apart in two lifeless pieces. Vekrok had been counting down the seconds between shots from the Ashanath's secret weapon and he knew he still had a few seconds left before it could fire again.

"OPEN FIRE!" he roared at the top of his lungs. "FIRE EVERYTHING!"

His tactical officers hurried to obey his orders, aiming every weapon aboard the monstrous dreadnought at the terrifying silver and black Ashanath ship.

***

*We are being hailed by JohnBlake,* Councillor Talari announced, tearing his eyes from the battle map to look at Ularean. *How should we respond?*

*We have been hit!* Councillor Rathus suddenly blurted out, fear bleeding through his telepathic voice.

Staring at the gigantic Drakkar flagship that was breaking through the lines to strike at them, Ularean watched as nearly one-hundred Beam Lasers slashed across the Legacy's shields. Despite the terrifying firepower unloaded on their ship, the Legacy's shields managed to stay strong, dozens of enormous shield generators defiantly holding firm against that onslaught. With their shields still intact, the incoming hail of massive calibre shells bounced away harmlessly, ringing the ship with a halo of fire as the explosives in those shells detonated.

*Target selected for obliteration,* Senior Councillor Ularean stated, placing his hexagonal telepathic mark on the incoming dreadnought.

***

"They aren't responding!" Rachel said urgently, turning in her chair to stare at John. She glanced at the Legacy and added, "Do you think they're on that ship?"

He watched as the Ashanath Progenitor vessel turned to face the incoming Drakkar flagship, painting the front of the vast dreadnought with a purple beam. "If they are, I suppose they're a bit busy at the moment," he noted wryly, nodding to her in gratitude.

A moment later the map flashed purple as the Quantum Flux Cannon opened fire again, those searing bolts slamming into the dreadnought's shields. The curved surface bowed inwards with the impact, concussive ripples just starting to spread when the fourth bolt caved the shields in completely. With that defensive field stripped away, the last two bolts were free to gouge huge holes into the dreadnought's hull, penetrating deep into the front of the vessel. The ancient cannon wasn't the only weapon in the Legacy's arsenal though and banks of red laser beams carved into the shuddering dreadnought, the Defiler dramatically slowed by the brace of unstoppable shots to its prow.

Sakura shook her head in wonder and said, "With that ship on our side, the Drakkar don't stand a chance!"

Alyssa could only nod her agreement as she said, "John, shall we help finish them off? We'll be in range in thirty seconds."

Shaking his head, he grinned at her in relief and replied, "The Ashanath have got this - it'll be good for their morale if they take out the opposing flagship. We'll hit that group of six black battleships instead."

"I'll hack that one on the right," Irillith noted, highlighting a Drakkar vessel that was savaging a crippled Ashanath battleship at point-blank range.

In the meantime, the Legacy and the Defiler were preparing to fire on each other once again and the space between them lit up with a latticework of purple and red beams. The Drakkar struck first, its beam arrays finally taking out the Legacy's shields, just in time for a vicious hail of explosive shells to slam into the Progenitor ship's armour plating. The Ashanath had constructed the huge ship with multiple layers of silver armour and even though the blistering shellfire gave the Legacy a brutal pounding, when the clouds of debris cleared, the armour was still intact.

That was when the Ashanath fired the Quantum Flux Cannon again, six bolts slamming into the Drakkar dreadnought, one after the other. The damage they inflicted was terrifying to behold, coring through the Defiler and shearing off over half the topdeck in a series of detonations that set off one of the magazines. More explosions rocked the devastated vessel, with large sections of it going dark as Power Relays were destroyed. It still remained intact, but was left a gutted shell of its former terrifying presence on the battlefield.

John grinned at Rachel and said, "Try hailing them agai-"

Calara cut him off, gasping, "The Drakkar launched torpedoes!"

They looked on in horror as the Legacy fired its Beam Lasers at the incoming heavy warheads, blazing away in an act of pure desperation. The Ashanath gunners were not a patch on Calara though, and the beams of red light sailed high or low, the weapons too slow and inaccurate to target the fast moving and relatively tiny torpedoes. The point defence grid was weak and ineffective on the rebuilt Progenitor vessel, leaving it terribly vulnerable to just this sort of attack.

A dozen torpedoes slammed into the Legacy, tearing savage chunks from the prow of the doomed ship and obscuring it from sight with the sheer scale of the explosions. One after another the torpedoes punched into the silver vessel and when the Legacy was finally visible again, the onlookers could only gape at the terrible ruin that was left behind. The entire front third of the Legacy had been completely ripped apart, leaving a forlorn tattered wreck in its stead.

John watched spellbound as the two interstellar behemoths tore each other apart, both now lying still, having destroyed one another with their final defiant acts of vengeance. "Jesus..." he breathed, shaking his head at the calamity he'd just witnessed.

"Were Councillor Talari and the rest of the High Council on that ship?" Alyssa asked, shooting John a worried frown.

"I hope not," John replied, staring at the broken remains of the Progenitor vessel.

Rachel looked grim as she replied, "I'll keep trying to contact them."

He nodded to her in gratitude, then shared a tense glance with Calara, saying, "It looks like we're not out of the woods yet, Commander."

The Invictus raced past the two fallen titans as it bore down on the jubilant Drakkar fleet, who were celebrating ecstatically now that the Ashanath's battleship-busting super-weapon had been destroyed. Unfortunately for the four-armed aliens, they had no idea what new nightmare was about to be set loose on their forces.