The lord of Ashes

For the sake of her own safety, Athena decided to reside aboard the Ravager and had the pirate ship positioned a long distance away from the set of coordinates where the messenger ship would be expected to jump in. This kept her mostly safe while allowing her to still deploy Terran units if the need arose.

Viktor's P-34, on the other hand, was placed much closer to where the fighting was expected to break out. Athena once again took over the body of one of the marines aboard the P-34 and observed the situation using the sensors on the starcruiser. That was where she was when the first of the Kiara's Legions ships jumped into orbit over R-241.

When the messenger ship, a 40-meter-long luxury yacht that somehow ended up in the hands of the Legion and was given severe modifications, jumped into the designated area as expected, it didn't even have time to try to contact Captain Hector of the Lawbringer before finding itself staring at a full squadron of 12 unknown starfighters.

This was, of course, concerning. The captain of the yacht immediately tried to flee the obvious trap. To its credit, the yacht was exceedingly agile thanks to its powerful sub-light engine. Its small frame meant it didn't take too much energy to maneuver. Athena suspected that was why the yacht was chosen for its role. Unfortunately for the yacht, the Vikings were almost right next to it when it first jumped, and the elite pilots of the Vikings didn't hesitate to lock onto the yacht and open fire.

Athena's Vikings had yet to be tested on starships in this universe. After the yacht refused to surrender, Athena's original plan was to knock out the yacht shield and force it to yield. This was why she only ordered two of the twenty-four Vikings to open fire. Even a yacht should be able to tank four Lanzer torpedoes, right?

What she didn't expect to see was a dozen MT50 Lanzer torpedoes being launched in quick succession from the missile pods next to the cockpits of the pair of Vikings and began closing in on their target with a speed that far exceeded that of the yacht. Before Athena could react, the first handful of the 12 torpedoes slammed into a single point of the deflector shield of the yacht, exploding upon contact. The series of explosions were enough to rip apart the layer of barrier in mere seconds, opening the path for the remaining torpedoes to tear into the frame of the yacht before unleashing even more explosions.

A larger vessel would be able to remain intact and maybe buy some time to recharge its shield, but the 40-meter-long yacht had no such luxury. Half of the yacht, including both of the ship's engines, was immediately torn to pieces. The other half was completely tossed off its previous path by the blast as well. If anyone was still alive in the wreckage, they wouldn't be soon.

As what remained of the yacht drifted into the depth of space and around 2,000 more units of resources reached her bank account, Athena was still speechless about what she just witnessed.

"What the hell was that?" She quickly posted her question to the Viking pilots, who produced an answer as quickly. Vikings could launch up to six torpedoes in a single volley in order to achieve maximum damage in the shortest amount of time. Without an explicit order from Athena not to do so and lacking detailed knowledge about how tough the ships in this universe truly were, both Viking pilots used their maximum firepower when ordered to attack.

Athena could only sigh at the answer. It seemed like the Vikings in real life had become even more deadly than she anticipated. This was good news for her, of course. It was just a shame she had accidentally destroyed a ship that could've ended up as hers.

Either way, this accident didn't really hurt her overall plan. The messenger ship was still destroyed, and it wouldn't be long until the Kiara Legion send additional forces over to investigate what happened. And when they arrived, she would be waiting for them.

---

A few standard hours later, as Athena had anticipated, three additional ships belonging to the Kiara Legion jumped in. This time they used a different set of coordinates, first exiting warp space a safe distance away from R412 before approaching the planet carefully in order to find out what was happening and why the first messenger ship never returned.

"They're all warships. One light cruiser and two corvettes. We are not sure of their classes yet." Viktor reported to Athena's marine avatar as the P-34 and the three cruisers both caught each other on their scanners. "It's a shame they didn't jump right into our trap the same way the yacht did. We could've blasted them into pieces with ease."

"They're not fools, so don't treat them like fools. The messenger ship might have gone dark because of accidents or mechanical issues, but they were not going to bank on that and risk jumping right to the same set of coordinates and potentially losing everything to an ambush." Athena glanced at Viktor before tapping her earpiece linking her to the Viking pirates. "Pilots, do you see the enemy ships on your scanners?"

"Yes, Commander. One light cruiser and two corvettes." One of the Viking pilots replied, his voice muffled by the helmet on his face. 'Permission to engage?"

"Permission given. Both squadrons, engage the hostile ships."

The two squadrons of Vikings, a total of twenty-four of them, began heading for the light cruiser and its pair of escorts. As they did so, Athena recalled the full strength of the Kiara Legion.

"They have 8 light cruisers in total. According to the officers we interrogated, five of them should be scattered across the various assets of the Legion, and the three others are kept on reserve. We brought down the Lawbringer. That's one down. If we bring down this one as well, it is likely the Legion will consider this location lost and cut their losses."

She whispered gently, more so talking to herself than to Viktor or anyone else on the bridge. This small squadron of one light cruiser and two corvettes made up around ⅛ of the fleet of the Kiara Legion. It was by no means an insignificant force. If it still went down without even a chance to flee, the Legion would likely give up on the colony. After all, colonies like R412-1 were dime a dozen.

In fact, Athena suspected the Legion only sent this small fleet here to investigate what happened to the Lawbringer. A threat that could take down an entire light cruiser without giving it any chance to run was a grave one that must be addressed if possible. The colony itself was likely hardly a priority for them.

She glanced at her resource count again. She had just over 8,000 units. Enough to make one Liberator or eight more Vikings if she absolutely needed to. She could deploy more reinforcements if that became necessary, but for now, she simply sat back, put her trust in the Viking pilots, and waited to see how the first real battle between the Terran aerial units and the locals of this galaxy would turn out.

---

Aboard the light cruiser the Lord of Ashes, Lord Darrin sat in his captain's seat and listened with closed eyes as his bridge officers reported the status of the ship. Most of the ship's functions were undamaged, with the sole exception being some minor issues with one of the three shield generators. Even that minor issue was currently being addressed by the ship's mechanics.

"Lord," One of the lieutenants sitting in front of the scanner array warned, addressing his captain by the title he insisted others call him. "We have caught the presence of a ship of moderate size in the orbit of R412. It is less than a hundred meters in length."

"Category?" Lord Darrin demanded.

"Unknown, Lord, but scanners suggest it is a civilian vessel rather than a combat frigate or corvette."

"Check again, Kal. A civilian vessel can't make a light cruiser disappear. Hector may be green compared to some, but he is good at his job." Lord Darrin said thoughtfully. Despite his love for fancy names and titles that some of his colleagues found childish, he was still a veteran captain who has had many brushes with dangerous situations. He was prepared for trouble during this mission.

"Lord!" As Kal turned to listen to Lord Darrin, another lieutenant sitting beside Kal pointed at the scanner array in front of Kel. "Lord, we have detected around 24 energy signatures coming toward us! Judging from their sizes, they may be starfighters or starbombers!"

"The civilian vessel has yet to approach!" Kel snapped back to the scanner array as well. "I don't see any other signatures on here! It's only two squadrons of spacecraft!"

"Two squadrons? Comms, contact Sentinel One and Sentinel Two and order them to form the Thundercloud Formation. Helmsman, bring us into the formation. Hangar command, launch two starfighter squadrons, and have them patrol our formation and repel the hostile squadrons when necessary."

Order after order left the lips of Lord Darrin. In an instant, the attendants on the bridge sprung into action as they carried out the orders. The Thundercloud Formation was a fancy name for an anti-spacecraft formation where the escort ships and starfighter squadrons would position themselves to shield the larger vessels against enemy starfighters and starbombers. It was simple but effective. Given how bombers were one of the main threats to any warship, this formation was a common one in any self-respecting naval force.

Soon, the light cruiser reversed its thrusters and slowed down, allowing the two corvettes, Sentinel One and Sentinel Two, to take up positions between the light cruiser and the incoming squadrons as if they were, well, sentinels. Twenty-four assault fighters of various classes were shot out of the twin hangars of the Lord of Ashes and rushed to the flanks of the pair of corvettes in anticipation of the incoming foes.

The Lord of Ashes was a Chariot class light cruiser produced by shipyards of the Kiara Empire over twenty years ago. It was known by a different name during its age serving the Kiara Empire, but Lord Darren decided to replace that boring designation with a much fancier name after claiming the vessel for his own.

Unlike what its new name might suggest, the Lord of Ashes, like all Chariot class cruisers, was in fact a carrier whose main strength resided in the 5 squadrons of assault fighters it carried in its twin hangars. Its artillery array, in comparison, was much more moderate due to the need to give space to the hangars.

His men were as swift as ever, but even as voices filled the bridge and he felt the ship around him come to a stop, Lord Darrin didn't feel his comfort fade away. Something was wrong. There was likely more to the picture here than just two squadrons. After all, even if both squadrons were heavy bombers, they would have trouble threatening his fleet unless he made serious mistakes.

"Kal, scan for the Lawbringer again. There is no way it just vanished. Even if it had been destroyed, I want to see its wreckage!"

"Yes sir!"

Lord Darrin turned his eyes to the display again and watched as the hostile squadrons closed the distance. The squadrons alone should be a piece of cake. That was what his experiences told him. Yet his instincts suggested otherwise. No commander would make a decision like this without knowing something he didn't, and that concerned him.

"Stay on guard, ladies and gentlemen. There's something odd going on here…" He said quietly, knowing this would be useless but speaking those words anyway.

---

As both Athena and Lord Darren kept their eyes on the scanners on their respective vessels, the 24 Terran Vikings closed the distance with the pirate flotilla. Their main target was the light cruiser the Lord of Ashes, but to get to that, they had to cut through its pair of escorts and squadrons of assault fighters first.

The artillery units on the three pirate ships opened fire first. Each of the two Blade class corvettes wielded 4 light railgun turrets, an impressive amount for ships of that category. The Lord of Ash soon joined in with its ordinance array, consisting of 2 medium railgun turrets and 8 light railgun turrets. Metal rod after metal rod, accelerated to the speed of over ten kilometers a second, were shot out of the barrels of the turrets at their targets. These rods contained no explosives within, and they didn't need explosives. Their kinetic energy was their greatest weapon.

In reality, railguns often find themselves in an awkward role. On one hand, it was so much cheaper to fire a railgun than to launch a guided missile. On the other hand, even when going up against the largest enemy vessels and with the most advanced fire control systems at their service, railguns often had trouble hitting their targets due to the sheer distance of the battlefield. Even if the computers did their jobs perfectly, there were still many interferences that could completely toss the railgun munitions off their mark, especially when the enemy targets were fully capable of moving and dodging. Still, if they could hit their targets, the railguns could often do significant damage, and the issue of accuracy would become less of a problem if the distance could be closed. This was why the railgun turrets were still adopted by navies in the galaxy as a supplement to guided missiles and bombers.

The Viking pilots, having been briefed on the basic weaponry of warships in this universe, were already taking evasive actions. Railguns were absolutely deadly to the Vikings…if they could hit their targets. Vikings, as starfighters, were simply too small for the railguns to score any reliable hits. It was more of a spray and pray than any precise killing shots.

Several seconds went by, and the two squadrons of Vikings had yet to take a single casualty. More importantly, they were getting closer.

The additional weapons of the pirate vessels sprung to life as well. 4 multi-purpose missile launchers began unleashing Vigilance class guided anti-fighter missiles at the Vikings. These missiles had moderate range due to limitations to fuel storage and tracking systems, but they were cheap and could often be fired by the dozens if necessary.

The two squadrons of pirate assault fighters hovered around the two corvettes and began firing on the Vikings with their twin autocannons. Assault fighters were a category of starfighters that leaned toward the interceptor class. They often got rid of the more expensive missiles in exchange for additional maneuverability. Instead of diving into the horde of Vikings for a dogfight, these assault fighters acted as additional firepower as of now. If the Vikings tried to run, their job would be to go after them and make sure none would survive.

At long last, the Vikings began taking casualties. A pair of Vikings were directly hit by the two medium railgun turrets, which finally had a chance to show their prowess now that the Vikings were within their effective firing range. The thick armor of the Vikings contributed little to the defenses when going up against the insane kinetic energy the metal rods contained. A third Viking went down to an anti-fighter missile that managed to score a direct hit despite the best efforts of the Viking pilot. The Viking's armor had already been weakened by several other blasts and the final missile was the last straw.

Still, their sacrifice wasn't in vain. As the Vikings approached, all three pirate ships gradually activated their reverse thrusters and began backing off. It was a wise call, but the Vikings were much faster, and it didn't take long before they were close enough. Their weapon systems quickly locked onto their target, one of the two corvettes.

With a single command, the remaining 21 Vikings unloaded an entire volley of 126 Mt50 Lanzer torpedoes at Sentinel One. Their objective was simple. Instead of spreading their damage output across multiple targets and injuring many, they wanted to remove one of the major threats in one single fatal strike.