Over twenty Krenaran vessels had been decimated in the initial attack alone, their crumpled, wrecked hulls floating aimlessly through the battle site. Nearby Krenaran ships had to jink and weave to evade the wreckage in order to get to grips with their hated enemy.
On any other day humanity and their Solarian allies would have celebrated the devastation being wrought upon their enemies, however this was not any other day, and was but the tiniest of scratches compared to the sheer numbers of Krenaran ships that fell upon them.
Stealth ships returned fire with their deadly particle beams, targeting the larger, clumsy, and more importantly un-shielded E.D. F ships. The beams smashed home into the hulls of the vessels, causing devastating breaches and massive fiery rents and gouges in the armoured hulls of the vessels.
Several unfortunate Solarian vessels were caught in the withering hail of fire, the green haze of their energy shields lit up, but even these defences could not withstand the onslaught forever, several blinked and died under the barrage, their shield generators simply overloaded.
The Liberty banked around the scorched, blackened hulls of several damaged E.D. F and Solarian ships, its turning thrusters bathing the other ship’s hulls in a bright electric blue hue. Two high energy torpedoes from its twin upper launchers caught and blasted apart a stealth ship it was chasing, the explosion wreathed the outside of the Liberty in flame as it then dived low under the gargantuan hull of a Danitza class battleship; its huge starboard mounted rail-cannons thundering above as the small vessel passed by.
The Liberty unleashed the fury of its own fusion cannon. The shot slammed into another stealth ship about to fire on the huge battleship it had just flown past, sending it spiraling out of control by the sheer force of the impact and straight into the path of another, the two craft collided spectacularly sending out a bright fireball that lit up the hulls of the ships all fighting nearby.
One of the enormous Krenaran command carriers launched its deadly salvo of H.O. T rockets, three Solarian ships were utterly decimated by the multiple impacts of the torpedoes, their bright silver crescent shaped hulls torn, smashed and bleeding fire. Everywhere now ships were trading enormous firepower with one another, splintered, devastated vessels floated lifelessly through the void of space.
Towards the rear of the fleet, the E.D. F flagship, the giant Jupiter class assault carrier Hermes was nestled. Its two newly upgraded long range laser batteries picking off Krenaran ships that came too close, however these were not its main weapons, it was a gigantic carrier and its launch doors three and four gradually opened as an entire wing of Peregrine fighters and another wing of God-hammer bombers took flight. Their mission was to eliminate one of those deadly command carriers, thereby making things easier for the fleet to concentrate on the other carriers and ships.
The fighters were to escort the bombers to the target, forming a shield against any Krenaran fire they would attract.
The majority of the Krenaran fleet ignored the smaller bombers and fighters however, instead concentrating their fire on the bigger supposedly deadlier capital ships.
This small formation of twenty four craft flew past the comparatively enormous wreckage of several enemy stealth ships and E.D. F vessels, their hulls torn and shredded, flames licked out of large ragged breaches. To the tiny fighters and bombers it looked as though they had stumbled upon a clash between feuding titans.
Larger ships flew past and around the fighters as they closed on their target, trading fire with nearby Krenaran vessels. Some Stealth ships would take an occasional pot shot at the escorting fighters, blasting a few of them apart in small fireballs. The shrill death screams of the pilots could be heard over the communications they shared with their wingmen.
As the giant flat topped enemy carrier came into view, they readied their weapons. Those gigantic H.O. T rocket launchers were larger than the fighters themselves, its vast shape loomed before them, dominating everything around it. The small force was down to just six fighters and eight bombers, barely above half strength, but the target was now in sight. And they were resolved to complete their mission; no matter the cost.
The formation increased speed, jinking past yet more devastated shipping, and floating debris fragments. At last they closed with the enemy carrier, it looked as though it was reloading its launchers after expending a salvo earlier in the battle.
The enemy carrier realized its peril too late, as the remaining Peregrine fighters dived upon the colossal ship at full speed, their wingtip mounted short range laser cannon shots raking the deck of the huge vessel. The puny weapon fire barely cut through the thick armour of the Krenaran ship, two of the fighters couldn’t break out of their dive fast enough and slammed headlong into the ship, crashing through its hull and sending fires blazing out into space.
As the carrier reeled, the remaining god-hammer bombers seized their chance. Each launched their deadly cobra anti-ship missiles at the Krenaran vessels command super-structure, multiple warheads surged towards their target, their specially modified shape slammed through its thick outer hull armour and then detonated in terrifically bright explosions, sending huge gouts of flame blossoming across the entire command centre of the enemy carrier.
The few surviving fighters and bombers veered away and re-formed ready for the return journey back to the Hermes. Behind them the devastation caused by the missile strike was plain to see, explosions continued to burst apart the command hull of the beleaguered carrier, before the entire structure tore itself apart in a bright fireball, sending a miniature shockwave and debris scattering in all directions, the damage was finally too much for the stricken Krenaran vessel and in an almighty explosion the devastated remains of the ship tore itself apart, a gigantic blinding fireball erupted flinging wreckage in all directions, some of which colliding with nearby ships. A shockwave burst forth which threatened to engulf everything around it as well as the fleeing fighters and bombers.
Two nearby stealth ships were caught by this massive conflagration and they too were torn asunder by the impact of the giant shockwave and their own carrier’s huge hull fragments smashing into them.
The Krenarans reeled; one of their prized carriers had been destroyed by the terrans. The entire fleet seemed to hesitate for a few seconds, suddenly unsure of themselves.
The newly upgraded Danitza class battleships Defiant and Vengeance seized upon the brief opportunity and opened fire with their punishing long range high power laser batteries, decimating half a dozen stealth ships unlucky enough to be caught in the withering firestorm.
The Krenarans fought back after their devastating loss, as a multitude of torpedoes smashed into another Danitza, tearing apart its sloped fontal section and ripping its docking arm and delicate plasma drive emitters to pieces. Flames burst out from the multiple breaches, and the massive lumbering battleship looked stricken with the damage it had taken.
The flow of battle ebbed to and fro for what seemed like an eternity to Michael, explosions lit up areas of space everywhere, the ruined and drifting hulls of destroyed vessels now littered the area and were a deadly hazard. Several times Eldathar had to bank the ship sharply to avoid incoming debris or the drifting hull of an E.D. F, Solarian or Krenaran vessel as the casualties mounted on both sides.
The fractured hull of a Jefferson class heavy destroyer listed as the Liberty swooped below it, another Danitza class battleship burned brightly in the distance, its hull pock marked with the blackened craters of torpedo impacts and the deep gouge marks of particle cannon hits.