Mass bullets of the enemy battleships grazed the defensive field of the Ajax during the rescue operation. The field transformed the collision energy into light which sparkled and spread out magnificently like fireworks.
A stray shell drifting through space crashed into a deserted Alliance battleship. The little armour that remained was blown away and the warship’s bow caved in. The large hole just made is deathly quiet. Neither air nor fuel began leaking from it like a normal warship. It’s empty.
The abandoned ship of hundreds of years ago faintly moved.
To my surprise, it seems that part of the driving system is alive. The warship’s A.I. has continued to last due to the restoration conducted by it’s troops.
The crew are running around inside me. Everyone leapt into a nearby escape capsule including the assault boat in the hanger.
The popularity of the bridge had already diminished. The consoles of each department from navigation, investigation, tactics and the like were in the middle of work with holograms floating quietly. The hologram on the front row had 『Escape Ship』written across it which flickered furiously.
The captain’s seat is also empty.
「I wonder if it will work?」
Again, I heard a voice.
From the depths of my memory, something floats up like a bubble and touches my consciousness before bursting.
「I wonder if it will work?」
I replied to Sohaira’s question. 「We can only believe in it. We just need to reduce their numbers enough.」
The Alliance battalion thrusts forward at full speed. The Imperial fleet is also at maximum speed. If this continues, we will collide head on. This is the brave fight the captains of the Empire are good at. However, the number of the enemy’s main warships is more than double ours.
I instructed the Imperial fleet to drop the speed by 0.0 increments per minute.
Contrariwise, I, Asagaya/Ajax raised the speed slightly. Because the original speed exceeded human perception, which is one-twentieth of the speed of light, I pulled away a friendly ship in front of me.
The cone’s thorn with me as its peak extends.
When I signaled Sohaira, she addressed the Imperial fleet over her intercom.
「Glory to the Empire!」
The Alliance warships also knew that image in front of them originated from the vanguard warship. Furthermore, some time ago, the princess of the Empire who insulted their God is on board.
When I revved up the auxiliary engines, the breaks were suddenly applied. The crew of the bridge, infantry hanger, engine room and everywhere else are pressed against their seats from the G-Force. The hull creaked and the force that could not even be canceled by the inertia compensation equipment rampaged.
I turned the bow upwards, forcibly changing course.
Likewise, the main body of the Imperial fleet also changed its course. It curved in the same way as a fork ball.
The movement of the enemy fleet dulled. Most of the enemies are trying to pursue the main body of the Imperial fleet, but one third from the top of the enemy’s conical formation is pursuing me.
In short, It was a good hit.
Although the Alliance fleet is dense, the distance between the ships are considerable due to the void of space. Ships on the front row of the formation catches sight of my movement and decides to pursue the Imperial fleet upward.
From there, the ships in the front row, the middle row and the back row will follow after paying attention not to disturb the formation. However, intelligence states that the greater part of the Imperial fleet moved below. The rest of the ships ignore me to chase the main army.
Of course, those who followed me probably noticed the mistake, but rather than turn back and arrive at the tail of the Alliance fleet, they chose to make the commander of the hateful Imperial fleet into scraps of seaweed. It seems that the commander of the Alliance fleet also approved.
At present, things are going according to our strategy.
When I thought this, the sensor picked up abnormal behavior from a consort ship.
I peeled my eyes reflexively.
The super high performance lens on the outer shell focuses on the heavy cruiser Goliath.
The Goliath aimed at the enemy fleet and thrusted something into it. Do you intend on showing the imperial soul?
From the enemy’s main army, some ships changed their orientation in correspondence to the Goliath. As a result, The Goliath dove between the four heavy cruisers and the three Battlecruisers.
When entering the range of the mass bullets, the Goliath fired like crazy. The enemy ship’s shield glowed intensely then one shell slipped through the crevice of a heavy cruiser’s shield and struck the ship’s stern. It vibrates violently and multiple turrets were silenced.
The Goliath’s turn ended there.
An enemy’s battlecruiser moved to wrap up the Goliath. The field of the Battlecruisers aren’t as strong as those of the battleships, but it is still powerful. Goliath’s shells and missiles won’t reach the enemy’s armor.
From one side, a hail of shells rained down incessantly from the enemy. Immediately, Goliath’s field generator burst in energy in an attempt to withstand the load. With the field disabled, they faced the shells directly. The mass bullets sink through the armour and into the ship. The vaporized metal became gas and blew out from the wound. The Goliath’s armor on the starboard side swelled and burst out with fire as if a shot from a shell took out an important pipe. My lens caught the image of the crew being thrown out into space.
The engine blew up and the Goliath’s hull lost control and they begin to spin. The Alliance ships continued to shoot mercilessly and finally the Goliath reactor signal ceased. The remnants of the Goliath floated in space, approaching a group of scrap ships lined up at the end of the system.
「My god.」Sohaira muttered in the captains seat. She moved her finger to her chest. It is a gesture to send the souls of warriors to the gods.
I agree. How many of the crew were killed under the command of that foolish captain?
The other me gives me an answer in an instant. The crew of a standard heavy cruiser is about ninety seven.
I have no time to mourn.
The Alliance fleet was divided into two according to my prediction. Pursuing me is a unit centered on a fast-paced cruiser. The main force is roughly 17 ships and the rest are following the Imperial Fleet.
The Imperial Fleet is descending at full power as instructed in advance. It is an acceleration that can overheat the reactor. Even the slow battleships are producing destroyer-like speeds. It will take a while for the Alliance fleet to capture them within the range of the cannon.
A group of battlecruisers pursuing me took up a military formation and each ship loosely draws near. Preserving the formation can only go as far as the highest speed of the slowest ship. There are individual differences in the engine output of every ship, so in each attack those who are fast paced can make full use of their abilities.
In fact, three battlecruisers and five light cruisers are approaching.
The guns were in range of one another.
The fight has begun!