Dead Star Dockyards
Life will eventually come to an end. This is a truth born from the laws of entropy. But the life of 'Humanity' will not come to an end from something so boring as the universe's heat death. But what would happen if this was no more than a simulation, not a digital, or even psychedelic hallucination. What if it was the result of something's curiosity about sentient life and the conditions that invoke it's creation? If it was interested about the possibility of life in the complete absence of something that it possessed in abundance? What if we have been working with a universe that is incomplete, missing an important element or piece that augments and sustains life in perpetuity? What if, in spite of this entity's power, it is unable to save us from a quick and painful end borne of our own progress, but which we could have never seen coming. What would happen to a humanity reduced to but two individuals if they were thrust into an ancient intergalactic society, constantly warring with itself over such minor inconveniences as spilled milk? Groomed from a young age to perform this task without his knowledge or his permission, our protagonist must figure out how to safeguard the future, and he has an idea as to how.
Preemptive Strike 5
"Hey Beacon! How much of a shitstorm are we running into?" Blue Zero, Captain Thompson, greeted him on a secured line.
"They don't even know you're here. I'm not even picking up sensors radiation from their arrays. I'm willing to bet they hadn't even considered that they would be attacked here."
"That's what I'm talking about! Do you have addresses for us to mail our packages to?"
"Indeed I do. I'm already sending priority targets to each of the squadron leaders. Keep in mind that the central cluster will become a death trap once their point defense systems come online. Focus on the soft targets there and then move out, our friends above will have the clear to rain fire once you clear that area."
"Roger that. Do you have a recommended strike path? Sounds like we have free reign."
"I'd say popping up to about 15 degrees above the ring and striking through the hole the dockyard makes is probably the most optimal path. You'll have uninterrupted shots coming in and you will only have to adjust your trajectory up a little bit to use the ring as cover."
Putting debris fields between you and enemy guns was a tried and true tactic for disengaging. The properties of 'shit in the way' had a way of blocking sensors and incoming fire, perfect for strike craft who were fresh out of ordinance.
"Got it. What should the fighters be doing?"
"What do they normally do?"
"The best description is loitering. They kinda swarm in an area and shoot whatever comes inside of it." Static positioning is not exactly suited to a strike mission.
"Just have them fire their missiles at some of the docks or something. I'm already having issues finding targets for the rest of you."
"Will comply, best of luck."
"Best of luck."
Go-time was mere minutes away, and finally Don found himself with some free time. He zoomed in his vision on the Thomas's strike craft, wanting to see it in action.
The Domino Class of strike craft was something of a strange design. It departed from the standard aerodynamic hull-form of deployable craft, instead opting for a block shape that would more compactly fit within a carrier's hull.
With this came a host of issues that were naturally solved by the standard aerodynamic hull, including the increased sensor cross section and the effectiveness of armor facing towards targets. Having a flat 'face' made it vulnerable.
The Domino's designers solved this in a rather abstract way.
Most main thrusters were casemate with the hull, changing the direction of thrust by way of changing the orientation of the hull. The Domino did not conform to this design philosophy.
The primary thrusters were mounted on a rotating cylinder centered on the center of mass. When engaging into an attack run, the front of the ship tilts down to a 25 degree angle to the thruster's plane. The thruster, focused on the center of mass, doesn't produce any rotational issues, while the armor is now at a sufficient angle to induce ricochets in most small caliber fire from point defense systems.
This layout also allows for more ordinance as the now obscured underside is protected from direct fire.
The moniker 'Domino' originated in test trials when one of the damage analysts remarked that the blast pockmarks looked like the dots on a domino. It stuck.
Now, he watched this rotating engine in action. As the jarringly boxy craft rapidly approached, they tilted into their strike mode, gaining a bit of altitude for the prime attack run.
Just as ARC had guaranteed, there was no response from the ships at dock. Not that this would have helped them at this point, the ships were mere moments away from unleashing their payloads.
His focus on the raiding party was interrupted by an non-stealth communication.
"This is Bunker, we have received notice of active attack runs and are almost within firing range. Open to fire at whatever you deem fit Beacon."
"Understood Bunker, target solutions inbound. Be prepared to fire, on my mark of course."
"Granted. What is the first course for tonight's meal?"
"I decided to start us off with something lighter, as an appetizer. It's a large cruiser, estimated to be of the area defense role. It is blocking the way of our wait staff, so I politely ask that you finish it off so they may leave you to dine in peace. I take it my payment of self propelled explosives will be adequate?"
That large cruiser at the end of the strike craft's path had all of the markings of one centered on point defense and area denial. The bombers could go around it of course, but that would reduce their forward momentum and leave the possibility of pursuit.
"We will be more than happy to take that burden off of your hands, we are a full party after all. Don't worry about the payment of fissile matter, its quality has been checked before hand and the delivery method is made to guarantee safe delivery. Would you mind taking a video of our delicious feast? We are unfortunately blindfolded as we have been told it enhances flavor, but we would love to bear witness to the fruits we are partaking in for later consumption."
Don scoffed at 'blindfolded.' That meant that they weren't even bothering to deploy their sensor arrays. Given ARC's accuracy with solution-crafting it made sense, but it still felt careless to not have some degree of a backup plan.
Signaling ARC to begin recording he ordered a salvo on that cruiser, Thompson was beginning the strike on the opposite side, so they would be outside of the railgun's cone of potential error by the time 3 minutes had passed.
"I have started recording. Please sink your teeth into the provided appetizer, all at once if you'd please."
"Wilco, firing in three."
Seconds later, the full force of he task force's main battery ripped into the sleeping giant.
The result was mortifying.
ARC only counted 23 hits, yet the cruiser was nothing but a significantly above the average temperature hunk of metal.
Without a steep armor angle to fight against, the rods tore into the somewhat lightly armored hulk's hull. Each rod tore a ten degree cone straight through the ship.
The sensors showed it breaking up into thirds, with a sizable amount of it's original matter exiting the area at a rapid pace. A symbol of strong naval power was rendered unsalvageable in a single instant.