Eleven remaining fighters launched simultaneously from Tiberius. Forming squads of five and six, they split left and right, taking up positions before entering standby.
Tiberius advanced, effectively leaving the fighters behind.
(But this is fine. The fighters will high-boost for two seconds, then hold at a distance. We’ll retrieve the scouts, exchange some fire, then fall back… Now, let’s see how you move, Horsehead Nebula Fleet.)
From the enemy’s point of view, the move must seem inexplicable.
Tiberius’ actions would seem erratic—almost incoherent.
“Long-range radar contact! Scouts detected!”
“Prepare for retrieval. The moment it’s done, inform Ares to begin the attack.”
“Understood. Relaying to CIC: Commence attack immediately upon scout retrieval.”
“Enemy predicted course calculated. Four patterns—displaying on sub-screen.”
The flurry of activity on the bridge wasn’t chaotic—if anything, it was smooth.
Maybe because they had combat experience now. But some never improved, no matter how many battles they fought. One of the reasons the old empire fell.
Yet now, there was no sign of such weakness on this bridge.
(They’re all so capable. And past-me wasted all of them. What a curse I was. This time, I won’t let that happen.)
Unconsciously, Lilian smiled at the sight.
“Prepare for enemy short-range warp! Bow torpedoes ready! After retrieving the scouts, we fall back temporarily!”
Weltall’s orders were concise.
Normally, a battleship wouldn’t dart back and forth like this—it invited confusion. And acting alone was unheard of unless you were a destroyer or patrol craft on reconnaissance.
However, the current Tiberius is only one ship, and it does not have any reinforcements. If it is to compete with the enemy on an equal footing, there is no way it can stop and engage in a firefight.
There simply isn’t enough firepowe. If it stopped to trade blows, it would be surrounded, its shields collapsing instantly.
A battleship had to fight with mobility now.
Worse, Tiberius’ warp drive was still under repair.
To escape this crisis, it had to defeat the enemy somewhere.
“If we had our own fleet, they wouldn’t dare use warp tactics so freely.”
As Richard muttered, Weltall gave a small nod.
Normally, warping into the heart of an enemy formation was suicidal—a reckless gamble.
The earlier destroyers were likely drones. That’s why they could afford such recklessness.
(Though there are terrifying individuals who’d do it anyway…) Richard’s mind flashed to a certain girl.
“Exactly. A weakness of going solo. The scouts’ torpedoes might buy us some time, but…”
“Once we retrieve them, nothing will stop the enemy from warping in at their leisure. They’ve already breached our explosive barrier.”
The scouts’ torpedo volley wasn’t meant to destroy. Four fighters alone couldn’t deal meaningful damage to a three-ship fleet—not with their point defense and shields.
If the enemy hadn’t noticed the fighters, they might’ve had a chance, but even then, the risk outweighed the gain.
“Still, it’s strange. Their attacks are oddly weak. Do they have a reason not to sink us? Not that I’m complaining.”
“Who knows? You’d have to ask their crew directly. Maybe they’d even answer.”
“Doubt it. They fired first. Reason doesn’t matter now—we just need to get back to Earth. If they’re in the way, we’ll break through.”
“Right…”
Richard turned his attention back to the main monitor.
Tiberius’ telescopic cameras locked onto the scouts. As acting XO, Richard issued retrieval orders.
“The enemy might close in during recovery. Ares, you hearing this?”
Lilian, also monitoring, added:
[Preparations complete for striking predicted warp exit points. Tell the scouts: If they fly straight, no friendly fire.]
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“Got it. Comms Officer Debonair!”
“Channel’s already open!”
“Thanks. Delan? Just keep coming straight. We’re ready for emergency retrieval.”
Amid the flurry of orders, a dozen torpedoes launched from Tiberius’ bow. Simultaneously, the scouts were hauled back aboard via emergency retrieval—fighters decelerating as the mothership caught them with massive wire nets and cushioning systems.
“All scouts recovered!”
At the same instant, a distant explosion flared ahead—
then vanished just as quickly. Alarms blared through Tiberius.
“Warp distortion detected! Enemy has warped in! Distance: 800,000! CIC—!”
Lilian’s command overlapped with Ares’ actions.
Though still out of effective range, the main guns fired heavy particle rounds while additional torpedoes arced out, curving toward their targets.
Two destroyers and a cruiser emerged from warp. The cruiser type also had the same shape as the destroyer, semi-elliptical hull, its rounded bow lined with parallel-mounted main guns.
At this distance, the destroyers easily dodged the particle fire while the cruiser’s shields deflected it. The torpedoes were shot down by point-defense guns.
“Captain.”
Lilian turned to Weltall, signaling everything was in place.
“Full reverse while firing main guns and torpedoes.”
To the enemy, the movements must have seemed utterly incomprehensible. One moment, the ship charged forward boldly to attack—only to suddenly retreat, as if avoiding a head-on clash.
Of course, fighting multiple enemies alone makes retreat the logical choice.
But then, what was the point of deploying scouts or revealing presence with attacks? It’s practically inviting danger for no reason.
That would be the natural conclusion.
(Though what must have shocked them most was how precisely the scouts pinpointed their location. Too bad for them. I already knew. What luck that they were exactly where I remembered.)
And then, what could be interpreted as a preemptive strike.
They weren’t hunters lunging at their prey—they were dogs whose noses had just been smacked, left to watch their quarry escape.
But if they pressed their numerical advantage, the ship would be cornered.
So it had no choice but to shake off that disadvantage.
“Report from CIC: Delan and Albero have returned. Oh, and apparently Dryad’s with them too!”
Lilian responded in Weltall’s stead,
as he was fully occupied directing combat maneuvers.
“No point recalling them to the hangar now. Tell Delan to standby and await orders for the fighter squadrons.”
Tiberius continued its retreat, swinging its stern like a serpent evading pursuit.
Most of the enemy’s shots went wide, and the few that were on target were too far to penetrate the shields, easily deflected. The only real threat was the guided torpedoes—unaffected by range attenuation—but the enemy fleet effortlessly shot them down with both guns and point defenses.
The explosions and scattered debris made it seem unlikely the enemy could execute a short-range warp so easily.
Warp is a delicate thing. Attempting to warp out amid debris risks catastrophic collisions, and the chaotic magnetic fields from explosions could scramble coordinates. Worst case, they might vanish into another dimension entirely.
Yet the distance between the ship and the enemy steadily shrank. Once the shockwaves subsided and debris was cleared with gunfire, it would only be a matter of time before they resumed short-range warps.
And soon, the enemy’s attacks began reaching the ship.
“Enemy destroyers and cruiser maintaining distance at 700,000 units.”
Though the destroyers had surged ahead, all three ships maintained fleet formation.
At this range, their volleys—like the ship’s—were easily blocked by shields. But Tiberius was still overwhelmingly outnumbered.
The echoes of shield impacts reverberated through the ship, louder than ever before. Like plunging through a thunderstorm, flashes of light and concussive blasts shook the students, primal fear gripping them.
Yet they’d endured this once already. Most clenched their teeth and held firm.
Amid it all, Lilian alone had the presence of mind to monitor the data.
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