Chapter 39: Overwhelming Force

Commander Venata sat still within the virtual reality, watching the three imperial destroyers scramble into a combat formation. His gamble that the Task Group commander wouldn't risk attacking the Assault Shuttle that was currently hanging onto the side of the Merchie had paid off. He hadn't been 100% sure that they wouldn't, but if it was him, he wouldn't risk the cargo the Merchie was carrying.

A small alert he'd set prior to the engagement let him know that two of the escort destroyers were now angling along a vector that would take them 45 degrees below the elliptical. That particular positioning would allow the two destroyers to fire all of their weapon systems at once. No matter how much armor he had, Daniel knew that if he allowed them to get within railgun range, his beautiful ship would become a VERY expensive wreck.

However, neither ship would be able to reach such a range. Daniel sent a silent command to the two Assault Drones that had been silent following the convoy since they had jumped into the system. His firing plan was a bold one, but he doubted his prediction of the convoy commander's tactics was going to surprise him.

He watched silently, switching between the tactical overlay and the live feed from the Marines. They were making slow, but efficient progress, finding and marking all sort of Weapon Components, Sauveterre Engine Components, Horvath Drive Components, Shield Components, and Armor Components. They would likely find enough component on the Merchant alone to upgrade the Venator to Heavy Cruiser Rank, which made the quick raid on the Imperial Outpost all the more worth it.

That particular battle had been Lt. Lincoln's idea, and Daniel looked forward to promoting the Lieutenant once the upgrade he had working was finished. The description of that particular upgrade had been revealed after the raid, and Daniel looked forward to the payoff.

Another alarm sounded in his head, letting him know that the two destroyers had reached missile range. Daniel grinned, glas that his prediction had so far been accurate.

His plan was simple. One of the staple technologies in the Imperial Navy was their Modifiable Shield. Basically, the ship commander could adjust the intensity and strength of their shield at any point on their ship, as long as they sacrificed the difference somewhere else.

As the Destroyers approached, he launched two missiles, one at each destroyer. It was unlikely that either of them would impact, since the point defence on the destroyers would take them down easily. The point of this exercise was to draw the two destroyers into shifting their shield toward the bow, weakening their defenses at their stern.

For the next 10 minutes, he steadily pounded the destroyers, adding two missiles to the salvo halfway through. They had begun to return fire, but his own point defense was eating their missiles for lunch. As the range continued to drop, Daniel was watching their energy output. His Sensor wouldn't be able to see the shields shift, but any major bloom in energy usage could indicate such a shift.

Another 5 minutes passed when an absolutely massive energy wave rippled over the destroyer on the right. Daniel nearly rose from his imaginary seat.

"SAI, clip that energy wave from the recording and store it for later. I bet the Feds will pay handsomely for this."

"Yes, Commander."

Daniel sat down, still tense, as he watched the energy ripple. He had not expected such a massive use of energy when moving the shielding, but the more he thought about it the more it made sense. Destroyers massed in at just around 5 million tonnes, and the surface area of such a ship had to be equally impressive. The way shields worked was that there were arrays that peppered the hull of a ship that kept the shields close. Moving the output and intensity of such a large construct would no doubt use a lot of energy, and also explained why the Feds hadn't implemented such an apparent technological advantage into their own ships.

Daniel took a breath, focusing again on the tactical overlay. He looked past the two red triangles toward the two blue circles that represented the Drones. He mentally instructed them to drop out of stealth and bring their weapons online.

As soon as they reached the range of their small rail guns, he sent a huge salvo consisting of every missile he had in order to lure the left destroyer into shifting their shield as well. A moment later, another wave of energy rippled over the destroyer, and he gave the order.

It wasn't fair at all.