(Outer Sector Outpost 7, Imperial periphery )
The command center was a cacophony of controlled panic. Alarms blared, damage reports flooded the comms channels, and the deck plating shuddered almost continuously under the relentless bombardment from the Scorpion warships. Smoke curled from overloaded consoles, adding a acrid tang to the recycled air.
"Sector Delta-9 reporting hull breach! Emergency force fields activated!"
"Main shield generators overheating! Efficiency dropping to sixty percent!"
"Platform Alpha is offline! Repeat, Platform Alpha is non-responsive!"
Losing the orbital platform was a major blow, significantly reducing their long-range firepower. The 'Crimson Fury' and its escorts pressed their advantage mercilessly, concentrating fire, searching for weaknesses.
Valerius stood amidst the chaos, his face a mask of intense concentration. Sweat beaded on his brow despite the armor's climate control. Directing the defense under this kind of pressure was immensely taxing, even with the System processing data at superhuman speeds. He constantly shifted power between shield sectors, prioritized targets for the remaining batteries, and analyzed incoming fire patterns, trying to stay one step ahead of annihilation. His Wargod energy churned within him, a potent force demanding release, yet he kept it leashed, channeling it into enhanced perception and lightning-fast calculations.
<
Valerius saw it on the tactical display and felt it through his Spatial Sense – one of the frigates, weathering the outpost's defensive fire, was making a daring run, aiming to cripple their primary shield generator. If it succeeded, the outpost's defenses would collapse catastrophically.
"All batteries, concentrate fire on Frigate Two!" Vorlag roared, seeing the same threat. "Stop that ship!"
Pulse lasers and kinetic slugs converged on the frigate, but it jinked erratically, its shields flaring as it absorbed the hits, continuing its suicidal approach. It was too close, too fast. The remaining outpost batteries couldn't guarantee a kill shot before it reached point-blank range.
Forty seconds. Thirty-five.
Valerius watched its approach, the System feeding him firing solutions that showed decreasing probabilities of success for conventional weapons. Panic began to fray the edges of the command center's discipline.
<
This was it. A critical failure point. He saw Kaelen across the room, directing internal defense teams towards the potentially compromised sector, his face grim but resolute. Vorlag gripped the command console, his expression stark.
In that split second, Valerius made a decision. Exposure was a risk, but destruction was certain. He needed to intervene, subtly but decisively.
'System! Target Frigate Two's primary maneuvering thruster array! Access external atmospheric vents near Battery Complex Gamma! Initiate focused environmental manipulation: Rapid, localized pressure spike via nanite particle ejection! Mask energy signature as secondary weapon discharge feedback!'
<
Valerius focused his Wargod energy, channeling it through the nanite interface, directing it outwards towards the designated atmospheric vent on the outpost's hull nearest the frigate's path. He didn't create a visible blast, but rather instructed the nanites released through the vent to cause a sudden, violent pressure expansion in the vacuum just beside the frigate's primary thruster.
To external sensors, it would hopefully appear as a near-miss explosion from the outpost's own weapons fire, or perhaps a secondary detonation from the frigate taking damage. But the effect was precise.
The rapidly expanding pressure wave slammed into the frigate's maneuvering thruster assembly at close range. Already stressed from evasive maneuvers, the delicate mechanisms buckled. On the holographic display, the frigate suddenly lurched violently off course, its controlled approach dissolving into an uncontrolled spin. It tumbled past the Shield Generator Complex, missing its target entirely, its own momentum carrying it away from the outpost as its pilot fought for control.
A collective gasp went through the command center.
"It missed! It's tumbling!" the sensor chief exclaimed, disbelief warring with relief.
"What happened?" Vorlag demanded, staring at the display. "Did Battery Gamma score a lucky hit?"
"Negative, Commander," the weapons officer reported, confused. "Our shots impacted its shields, but trajectory analysis doesn't show a direct hit causing that kind of instability. Maybe internal damage?"
Valerius remained silent, his face impassive, though he felt the drain from the sudden, intense energy expenditure. He subtly checked the System.
<
Kaelen had registered something, but classified it as noise. Close, too close. Valerius felt a cold sweat despite the nanites' regulation. He had intervened, saved the outpost from immediate shield collapse, but the risk was immense.
He forced himself back to the tactical situation. The tumbling frigate was attempting to recover, but it was temporarily out of the fight. The 'Crimson Fury' and the remaining frigate continued their relentless assault, seemingly unfazed by their consort's mishap.
The immediate crisis was averted, but the razor's edge remained. They had bought precious minutes, nothing more. The shields were still weakening, the reactor struggling, casualties mounting in damaged sections. And the Sector Command fleet, their only true hope, was still hours away, an eternity under the fury of a Scorpion cruiser.