Ravens of Eternity

444 Ragnar?k, Pt Heavy plasma lances from some of the defending de Jardin fleet converged onto one of the last few Imperial battleships left on the field. The powerful arcs of energy ripped through the heavily-damaged chitin and decimated whatever was left.

It was surrounded by the debris that used to be the rest of its fleet, while whatever few that were left had turned tail and ran from the fight.

Which left only the Federation to continue the assault.

High Admiral Tarvanos grimaced heavily at the damage that his fleet had suffered. The reports flashed alarmingly on his main screen, though he quickly moved them aside. He knew just how many casualties he was going to suffer during this attack, long before he even showed up.

Instead, he had to focus on why he came in the first place. Now that the Empire no longer had a real presence, it was up to the Federation to capitalize on everything happening here.

Just as he was reformulating his strategy, High Admiral Pavir flashed on his comms MFD with a stern look on his face.

“I’m authorized to extend you new terms of surrender,” he said. “Stand down now, and we’ll make sure that you and your people are treated well. But if you insist on your foolish advance, we will be forced to use Typhon on the Sol system.”

A wave of alarm swept through Tarvanos as the Hegemony literally threatened the destruction of humanity’s home system. But he quickly brushed it aside as a heavy-handed bluff.

No-one was stupid or brash enough to destroy Helios or Gaea. The very idea was preposterous. No human being could possibly pull that trigger. It was home to all of humanity’s ancestors. Destroying it would be akin to destroying one’s own childhood home.

.....

“Stand down?” Tarvanos scoffed. “Whatever for? This fight’s far from over.”

“In case you haven’t realized, your Imperial partner in this attack is dead,” Pavir countered. “His fleet is in tatters, and yours is heavily damaged. There’s no way you’re making it out of this on top.”

“You and I both know that the Imperials weren’t our partners. They were just convenient allies. And now that they’re gone, the path is opened up to me and me alone.”

“You’re a fool. Your numbers are dwindling, and Hegemony forces in the system far outnumber your own. It’s only a matter of time until we overrun your lines!”

“I might be a fool, but I’m not blind! A third of your forces are fighting the other third. The only thing in my way is your fleet. And since my fleet still outnumbers yours, I say I’ve got a solid shot at the prize!”

This time it was Pavir’s turn to scoff. It was clear that his opponent had been utterly blinded by the promise of controlling their superweapon.

“Let’s assume for a moment that you can get past a technologically superior de Jardin fleet,” he began. “And let’s also assume you somehow manage to gain control of this station. How do you expect to fend off whoever’s left?”

“I’ll deal with it when I get there,” Tarvanos replied. “And besides, my numbers aren’t dwindling. I’ve still got plenty on reserve, with many of ‘em on their way over. It won’t take long until I control this base.”

As Tarvanos spoke, space flashed brightly around his devastator off at the edge of the whirling battlespace. Ships appeared just as the flashes faded – more naval warships as he had promised.

Small subfleets had been trickling in throughout most of the fight, usually a hundred or so destroyers and frigates. This one came with a handful of cruisers and a battleship.

All of the newcomers adjusted their bearing and descended down towards the swirling front lines. Many of them fired furiously at the de Jardin defenders just as they got into firing range. The squadrons of fighters that accompanied them also got into a loose formation, then dove into the fray without hesitation.

More death and destruction followed them in their wake.

Back at the Control Room, High Admiral Pavir cursed loudly at the sight. The Federation was bringing in more and more with each passing moment and almost outpaced the damage they were doing.

Worse, the Federation was whittling away the de Jardin fleet. Slowly, but surely.

It meant that Tarvanos very likely wasn’t bluffing, and that he had the numbers to ultimately overtake the base. The Einherjar were engaged with the Discordians, and so they couldn’t count on them for immediate support.

“We have to consider self-destructing Typhon,” Pavir said aloud.

His words rang across the entire Control Room and left it in momentary silence.

“Absolutely not!” protested the Grand Parliamentarian. “We spent an ungodly amount of time and money on this blasted thing! We can’t just sink it!”

“And we can’t let our enemies get a hold of it, either!” Pavir said.

“Keep your head, Pavir,” said the Matriarch. “Barbarians may be at the gates, but they aren’t inside. Not yet, anyway.”

“Don’t worry, Matriarch,” interjected Anali de Jardin. “The Einherjar are here to help with the defense!”

Anali flashed on their comms displays and holographic projectors as the officers watched her ships appear on their tacmap. There, her ships joined the rest of the circling de Jardin fleet and immediately got into the fighting.

“Wha… why are… what about the Discordians?” the Matriarch stammered. “Aren’t you going after them?”

Anali shook her head.

“The Imperial-designed ships in the Einherjar are more than capable of handling them on their own,” she replied. “Meanwhile, the rest of us have come here to to tough things out with you. Hope you don’t mind.”

Her holoprojection was joined by High Admiral Halbrecht, who saluted the officers.

“Glad to see there’s still some spirit left in House Felrahn,” said the Grand Parliamentarian. “Welcome to the defense.”

Outside, the Hegemony designed ships of the Einherjar wove expertly into the defensive lines. Or, rather, the defensive circle. They quickly integrated themselves right into the front edge of all the fighting and got right in the mix.

There, their omnitronium-laced armor plating absolutely shined.

They were practically untouchable, especially with the Federation’s comparatively weak weapons technology. It didn’t matter how much power they poured into their heaviest cannons, the best they could do was leave dings and scratches.

Emboldened by Freya’s energies and Raijin’s technological optimizations, Anali took her devastator front and center. She had the ship practically park itself on the Federation’s side of the whirling line and soaked up all of the damage they could bring to bear.

Everyone aboard the ship couldn’t help but laugh as the Federation’s munitions bounced off the hull. It sounded almost like a vast hailstorm that continually smashed against their heavy plating. Many began to feel all but invincible under the seemingly relentless assault.

“Is that all they’ve got?” Anali said.

A great deal of incredulity was laced in her voice. After all, they had fought some of the toughest battles in the entire war thus far. Not just against top-of-the-line experimental Imperial ships, but the high-tech automated fleet of the Engineer and his Administrator.

In comparison, the Federation fleet seemed like child’s play.

“Let’s not drop our guard,” she continued a moment later. “Maintain defensive system energy levels throughout the subfleet. Ready a single barrage on my marks…”

On the TacMap, Anali painted numerous Federation targets in the swirling mass around them: a devastator, some battleships, and a dozen or so cruisers. She focused the targets specifically on their power plants and storage units, and hoped that they could cause a great deal of damage in a short amount of time.

“Fire at will,” she said after finalizing her targets.

The ships around her immediately went to work. They lined up their broadsides, angled their turrets, charged up their weapons, and fired as their enemies came into range.

Deadly streams of various weapons fire raked the Federation ships with unfettered power. Heavy plasma lances tore through the relatively flimsy titanium armor plating with ludicrous ease. Their arcs of raw energy quite literally overpowered whatever energy shielding the ships had, then chewed into the armor’s alloys without restraint.

Massive swaths of the armor were literally torn into their base molecular components as the lances raked across the surface. The lances were so efficient that it only took a single pass to obliterate every layer of their armor.

All that was left after their initial swipe was the blackened and charred remains of the carbon lattice that held it all together. And of course, sections of the ship’s structure and various modules and systems beneath.

When the Einherjar’s tungsten spikes hit, there was absolutely nothing that could even stop them. The spikes punched through the structure as though it didn’t even exist. They all tore through the middle of the ships, perforated numerous decks and passageways and rooms.

Each one eviscerated countless machines and modules and people. Sparks and blood were flung in every direction in their wake. More than that, each of the spikes released their electrical charge as they passed through the ship.

Arcs of electricity poured out in waves after the spikes and utterly fried everything they passed. Circuits and people alike were blown apart from the sheer amount of electricity that coursed through them.

The spikes then punched right through the armor plating on the other side of the ship, and slammed into any Federation warships hiding behind.

The destruction they left was absolutely staggering. Countless crew were liquefied or burned to ash by the spikes. Many others suffocated to death as their decks were breached and exposed to the void. Countless modules and systems were completely neutralized from the barrage.

Each of the few dozen ships that had been perforated listed slightly as their power systems shorted out, a result of the electrical discharges that the spikes left behind.

But the Einherjar were far from done.

Their emplacements erupted as each of their ships launched missile after missile at their targets. Hundreds of them screamed towards the crippled Federation ships, who filled the air with defensive antiarmor fire.

Black clouds of red-hot flak filled the space between in an attempt to screen the missiles, some of which succeeded. A handful of Einherjar missiles burst open just as the aa shells erupted in front of them. They were certainly neutralized long before they could do any damage.

The rest however wove around the black clouds. They spun with preternatural evasiveness and arced over and around in wide angles. Then, the missiles quickly realigned themselves with a burst of speed, and straightened their paths towards their targets once again.

Each of the hundreds of remaining missiles then burst open prematurely and released countless bomblets waiting inside.

Tens of thousands of the volatile orbs peppered each of the damaged Federation ships. They struck the ravaged exterior, and exploded violently on contact.

Because the previous attacks had already worn away the armor plating, nothing blunted the force of the blasts. Entire sections of the ships were wrenched wide open. Sheets of structure and decking were literally ripped away and exposed more of the ships to open space.

Each of them ripped apart whatever they hit, whether it was the structure or decking or people.

Anyone just inside the impact zones were thrown off their feet and into any walls opposite. Then they were thrown out into space as the walls themselves collapsed and crumpled and were torn away.

A hundred or so Federation ships were completely annihilated in a single barrage. The devastation was so severe that Anali and Halbrecht themselves were overwhelmed with awe. Neither were prepared for Yggdrasil’s optimizations in the slightest.

“Weapons free,” Anali croaked out after a moment.