gearshift48
Stormi_chan
Catplayz
Fort_Master_Gustav
Ten
KrankysFirebrand48
The maneuver by which the ships of the unknown fleet shortened the distance was not a surprise for the Irri naval commanders. Such actions were obvious, and Irri had ways of countering the enemy advance.
The surprise was that the enemy covered the distance instantly, leaving the commanders of the Blessed Nation not a single second to retreat.
Volleys of frightening scarlet projectiles also proved to be an unpleasant surprise - the distance between the firing ships and the Irri ships was now not enough to completely redirect. Most of the shots did hit Irri ships and then... and then something strange began.
One of the battleships went down at once. Volleys of the enemy quickly reached the engines and reactors - and then the ship literally began to crumble to pieces. Two other ships had sustained considerable damage and had attempted to escape the attackers using gravity well generators - but the alien projectiles appeared to cause a bizarre chain reaction that, even if hit indirectly, reached catastrophic proportions in a matter of minutes. One of the fleeing ships had failed to complete the jump correctly and had exploded while it was in motion, while the other had broken down after the jump and was now drifting helplessly somewhere nearby, rapidly losing precious air supplies through numerous through holes in the hull.
The last ship only narrowly escaped critical damage. The shields had deflected most of the first volley's projectiles, but some of the shots had grazed the hull, and now the holes in the ship were widening rapidly, forming red, bleeding-like lacerations. After the rapid destruction of the first three vessels, the fate of the fourth was virtually sealed. His shields were almost completely depleted, and under no circumstances could he have survived the simultaneous fire of all the enemy's guns.
•••
Dusk.
Long, thin fingers gracefully picked up an even longer and thinner stick, exuding a subtle aroma of something bitter and fragrant.
A faint flash. Hiss.
•••
The officer carefully reloaded pistol and, setting the safety on his weapon, put it back in its holster. The dozen Irri who had been present throughout the hologram conversation stared at him in silence. The officer still carefully adjusted his uniform and smoothed the ruffled feathers on his head.
The door to the room opened noisily, and several soldiers rushed in, rifles at the ready. Behind them trailed two Irri from the heavy weapons squad. They were busily dragging a disproportionately large plasma cannon across the floor.
-So...
The officer began to speak, then stopped only for a dramatic pause.
-I thought I heard we were attacking her fleet?
•••
Small Irri ships, which were making a gravitational jump towards the enemy ships, suddenly found themselves out of business. The enemy used an even faster method of movement and were already smashing defenseless Irri battleships somewhere far behind.
This part of the battle could be considered hopelessly lost. The main group had been destroyed, and the cover ships would not be able to make the next jump for another twenty minutes - which meant they would have to return to battle at standard speed, and the idea didn't look very good. The moments of these little ships were numbered.
•••
The commander of the "Empress's Eye" watched the three-dimensional map of the system, which occupied several large monitors. The FDF was in a hell of a bad situation right now.
•••
The plasma, transformed into a radiant beam, was able to partially destroy the protective barrier. The door behind the barrier had been heated to a tremendous temperature and had also partially melted, forming an opening large enough for human.
The shock wave created by the woman's mind power had done its work. Almost all Irri fainted on impact or broke enough bones to refrain from further attempts to detain the prisoner.
Iv'ieu was sprawled against the wall, balancing on the edge of consciousness. The bright flash and the nearness of death stunned him, and after the blow he apparently broke his right arm.
The pain that accompanied the intrusion into the elder paladin's mind sobered him somehow. His first thought was to draw his pistol from its holster and fire at the alien - but his broken right arm responded to this attempt with a mad pain, and the paladin was now lying on his left arm, so the alien would surely have noticed his attempt to get the weapon stored in the holster on his right side. However, if this indeed was invasion in the mind, pilot certainly already have observed these thoughts of Iv'ieu.
The paladin grinned maliciously. If it hadn't been for the nightmarish sensation of the ice blades in his head, he might even have felt hurt.
-I almost believed you, alien monster.
•••
The artificial stream ran briskly along the winding channel, licking gently the large smooth stones of faint colors. From the outside it seemed that these stones were randomly scattered along the banks of the stream, but their optimal location was almost mathematically calculated and each of these stones occupied exactly the place that was destined for him by the wise plan of the gardener.
The most titled and the most feathered gardener in the galaxy.
Hiss. A faint flash.
•••
After a series of identification procedures, communication between headquarters and the gravity telescope was restored.
The commander of "Empress's Eye" was prepared to receive order to face military tribunal immediately. He'd made a lot of mistakes, and most importantly, he'd been the first to open fire on the aliens, which contradicted almost every first-contact instruction.
But he was in for a pleasant surprise. The headquarters officer stated that the enemy was already going to attack Sacred Cradle-Planet. Commander of the telescope was promised to be rewarded for his insight and initiative.
•••
The stream flowed into a tiny lake, descending there by a small artificial waterfall. The stream of water broke into separate streams and cascades of sparkling spray, and then joined together again, on the way down hitting a perfectly calibrated number of stones. Their sequence, location, and origin were also perfect. Everything in this waterfall was perfect.
Everything was thought out, calculated in advance and optimally arranged, and it was thanks to this that the stream sounded exactly as it should have been sounded.
This melodious murmur always calmed the Empress. It reminded her that the universe was ultimately ruled by harmony.
A faint flash. Hiss.
•••
The last surviving ship of the four, which had been attacked by the forces of an unknown fleet, could not expect to be rescued. Nor could he return fire - his guns were still reloading, and this ship would have been destroyed in any time.
In a matter of tens of seconds remaining before the death, the captain of the ship took the only tactically correct decision in this situation.
Irri ship, already riddled with holes, turned its bow toward the largest ship of the unknown fleet.
And then the commander gave the order to use the gravity well.
At about one-quarter the speed of light, the Irri ship rammed into the main alien ship.
•••
In the end, everything will come to a predetermined outcome. We can only lengthen or shorten this path, make it easier or more difficult.
The stream will not overflow its watercourse. It is doomed to run along the paved channel, then to go down the rocks and create a melodious noise.
That's not bad. That's correct.
Hiss. A faint flash.
•••
In the center of the lake, the surface of which was always in a barely perceptible rhythmic movement due to the falling streams of the waterfall, swayed a miniature raft. The raft would have fit comfortably in the palm of a human hand; on it were neatly arranged small vases of white material, no larger than a thimble, covered with tiny paintings of sacred texts.
Hiss. Flash. Hiss.
Delicate fingers gently dipped the smoking incense stick into the last empty vase on the raft. Even the glow of smoldering incense in the semi-darkness of the artificial garden was enough to make the scales of the two silver fish at the bottom of the lake shine with all the colors of the rainbow.
Then a bright light came on.
•••
The signal received from another unknown vessel belonging to some aliens was recorded and sent to the planet. As always.
The FDF commanders no longer hoped to destroy all the alien ships in the system. The two ships that had fired at the MISE ship changed their position and prepared to fire at the unknown vessels, which had already destroyed one group of Irri ships. Analogically will act two ships shooted and destroyed a merchant Corporation vessel. Two ships firing at the gray-purple ship were temporary disabled due to EMP pulse.
"Group 3" was a masked squad of four standard AI'urri'va ships and eight small unarmed vessels together with them. All of them have now taken off their disguises.
In addition, near the gravitational telescope appeared three ships, which, apparently, are spacecraft carriers.
This is all the power of Irri in the system. There are no more masked ships left.
•••
The Empress, lying on the shore of the lake, shuddered and hastily rose to her feet. Someone had changed the time of day in the artificial garden to noon. Vai Uirv's anger, however, was replaced almost instantly by an impenetrable mask of calm and benevolent curiosity.
A black-and-gray-robed figure strode toward her. A little behind it, at the entrance to the garden, two other dark figures stood motionless.
The Empress's eye twitched visibly as the figure stepped directly on a sapling of fragrant bonsai-spruce. The crack of the fragile, barely formed trunk caused her almost physical pain.
•••
An anomaly that occurred in the system and strangely affected the operation of sensors, was taken by the command of the FDF for another wormhole through which enemy forces arrive.
•••
-Your Holiness...
-Yes, grandmaster?
The Empress's brow arched, capturing an expression of friendly concern on her delicate face.
-I have urgent news. Something unexpected has happened. At the headquarters...
-Oh, I already know. Thank you for your promptness, grandmaster.
The Empress smiled sweetly at the superior commander of the Imperial army, and for some reason he suddenly wanted to be as far away from this place as possible.
-... oh... glad to hear about your knowledge, but... that's not all. FDF was engaged in battle with a large force of the enemy...
-I know we're already suffering losses. Is that all?
-May I ask?..
-No. You may go, grandmaster.
-Well, maybe...
-Have a good evening.
The grandmaster bowed silently and left.
•••