Asteroid Belt Exploration (5)
"What?!"
The detection team leader, who had been monitoring the radar, spotted a faintly detected unidentified fleet and immediately began calculating the coordinates with urgency.
The enemy's final revealed scale consisted of eight high-speed corvettes measuring 50 meters in length, four destroyer-class vessels at 150 meters, and one unidentified ship stretching 310 meters.
"Vice Commander, this matches the pirate force size that the battalion commander mentioned previously."
At the operations officer's report, Dmitry let out a small groan.
"Shouldn't we report this to the battalion commander?"
"We should. We definitely should…."
The problem was that Freesia was absent. While each of the battalion commanders searching the asteroid belt had their differences, they all took turns resting. Yet the youngest and sturdiest of them, Freesia, had stubbornly pushed through until yesterday—after nearly a month and a half—when she finally collapsed.
According to Petricia's diagnosis, there were no abnormalities in her mana circuits. It was simply physical and mental exhaustion, and she would be fine after a full day's rest. They hadn't been overly worried, but of all times, the enemy had to appear while the commander needed rest.
"Is there any chance the enemy hasn't detected us?"
If the pirates hadn't noticed the search battalion, avoiding engagement was the correct choice. But the technical officer shook his head firmly, as if the idea were absurd.
"That's impossible. We're already within detection range for vessels anchored in the asteroid belt. There's no way they could have missed a fleet of this size moving through."
"Furthermore, the enemy is positioned directly along our current route. If we suddenly change course, they'll immediately realize we've detected them."
The operations officer offered the same negative assessment. Dmitry wanted to buy time until Freesia woke up, but none of the options looked promising.
The enemy's force was slightly below four companies in strength, plus one unidentified vessel. The unidentified ship was larger than a destroyer but smaller than a cruiser. Ultimately, everything hinged on that unidentified vessel. If its output was close to a destroyer's, they could handle it. But if it approached cruiser levels, a single search battalion would struggle to manage it.
The current combat strength of the search battalion consisted of one cruiser, three corvettes, and nine high-speed boats. If the corvettes and high-speed boats each engaged the pirates' destroyers and corvettes in a one-to-one matchup, the enemy would be left with one unidentified vessel and one destroyer, while the battalion would have its cruiser and one high-speed boat remaining.
Even assuming the cruiser could handle the unidentified ship, each side would still have one destroyer and one high-speed boat left over. A high-speed boat facing a destroyer was out of the question, which meant the cruiser would have to simultaneously engage both the unidentified vessel and the destroyer.
While the cruiser suppressed or held off the enemy, the high-speed boats with any breathing room would need to support their allies and eliminate the lower-class ships first. The critical question was whether the cruiser could endure that long.
Dmitry analyzed the situation with cold precision. The worst case was if the enemy's unidentified ship not only matched a cruiser's size but also its output. In that scenario, they would have to fight a peer vessel while burdened with an additional destroyer. The first and second adjutants, who had yet to experience real combat as primary vessels, were insurance for emergencies—they couldn't be trusted with command in a situation like this.
Honestly, while Dmitry possessed outstanding talent as a commander, his abilities as a ship captain left much to be desired. After all, when headquarters had formed the Second Search Battalion, they had selected him primarily for his administrative capabilities rather than his mana sensitivity.
He could demonstrate two or three times Freesia's efficiency in administrative work, but in combat situations like this, he inevitably fell far short of her.
In the end, with Freesia unavailable, Dmitry's options were severely limited.
"Tsk… The timing is terribly inconvenient. Right when Lieutenant Colonel Vermilion is absent."
Lieutenant Colonel Francia pressed firmly on her temples, frowning as if suffering from a headache.
The Second Search Battalion now faced a force that could arguably be considered stronger than their own. Moreover, since they were continuing straight ahead to avoid alerting the pirates that they'd been discovered, there wasn't much time left.
After quickly confirming the allied positions on her radar, Lieutenant Colonel Francia, as the commander of the search operation, issued rapid orders.
Dmitry pondered for a moment before shaking his head. Under optimistic assumptions—that the unidentified ship's output fell short of a cruiser and the enemy captain's abilities were mediocre—they could hold for four hours and still have some margin. But reality was rarely so kind.
Especially since their opponents were not mere rabble pirates, but the infamous Golden Horn Pirates, whose name struck fear across the entire universe. If the unidentified ship's output approached cruiser levels and the enemy captain was highly skilled, they might not even last two hours, let alone four.
"Lieutenant Colonel Francia, wouldn't it be better to maintain distance and conduct delaying operations rather than engaging directly?"
When asked why they should choose engagement when all battalions were already aware of the situation and forming an encirclement, Lieutenant Colonel Francia shook her head decisively.
When the answer came back that holding would be difficult, Lieutenant Colonel Francia gave the order to wake Freesia without a moment's hesitation.
As soon as Lieutenant Colonel Francia's orders came down, the Second Search Battalion halted its advance and began reorganizing its fleet formation. They moved the nearly combat-incapable supply ship to the rear and adopted a standard, reliable formation centered around each flagship.
The pirates, realizing from the battalion's movements that they had been discovered, also began maneuvering their ships and forming up. These were the Golden Horn Pirates, the most dangerous pirate organization in the entire universe, not just the Federation. According to known intelligence, their full strength rivaled that of a major power's task force. Yet even as a regular military battalion-level fleet moved against them, they showed no sign of retreating.
In fact, when viewed objectively, the pirates held a slight edge in raw power.
"Vice Commander! The enemy is advancing!"
Having apparently decided they stood a chance, the pirates charged aggressively. Dmitry had no choice but to wake Freesia.
A short while later, Freesia arrived on the bridge with an expression heavy with exhaustion and stepped up to the command dais. Having already been briefed on the entire situation, her orders came without hesitation. The bridge crew sprang into action at the sight of her, showing no trace of inexperience when it came to combat.
"All ships, prepare for battle as of this moment."
At Freesia's command, the formation tightened and full-scale battle preparations began in earnest.
"All ships report fighter launch preparations complete."
"Main battery ready. Shield output raised to maximum."
"All missile silos and anti-aircraft guns ready."
Reports confirming battle readiness poured in one after another. The Second Search Battalion finished its preparations to meet the slowly approaching enemy fleet.
They waited tensely while carefully monitoring the radar. Finally, the enemy began forming ranks as well, clearly preparing for engagement. The movement was visible beyond the radar display.
Then, dozens of red dots multiplied in an instant. The Second Search Battalion possessed a total of forty-four fighters of various types. Currently, thirty-five pirate fighters were showing on the radar. Unlike most pirate groups that barely managed to operate ships from several generations prior, the Golden Horn Pirates used relatively modern vessels even by pirate standards, which allowed them to carry a correspondingly large number of fighters.
For ordinary pirates, a fleet of that size would be lucky to deploy around twenty fighters at most. Some of the bridge crew swallowed hard at the display of power from a pirate organization whose reputation spanned the entire universe.
"Should we launch the fighters?"
When the operations officer asked, Freesia nodded. Countless blue dots began to bloom across the radar. As modern tactical doctrine dictated, the opening phase would be a contest for air superiority between the fighters.
"Five minutes until we enter effective firing range!"
The massive unidentified vessel was now visible on the main forward panel. The destroyer glued tightly to its side suggested the pirates intended to overwhelm the battalion's flagship cruiser faster than the excess high-speed boats could eliminate the lower-class vessels.
Freesia stared at the unidentified ship with cold eyes before issuing her command.
"All ships, prepare main batteries! The enemy unidentified vessel and one destroyer will be handled by this flagship! The first salvo will be coordinated by the flagship. Afterward, each company will be granted free fire authority. Everyone, do your utmost in your assigned roles!"
Freesia's orders were transmitted throughout the subordinate fleet. Blue light began gathering at the main guns of every ship. The enemy fleet ahead was doing the same.
During the Nehilem Star System battle four years ago, it had been her first real combat, and she had been desperate simply to survive amid countless misfortunes. The situation now was completely different. They were neither numerically nor qualitatively inferior to the enemy, and the fleet had already completed all preparations. If she could successfully pin down that unidentified vessel and the destroyer, victory was entirely possible.
If I just do my part!
Etching deeply into her heart that her role was the most critical, Freesia poured every ounce of her strength into activating the ship's mana circuits.
The five minutes felt like an eternity. The moment both fleets entered engagement range—
"All ships, fire main batteries!"
At Freesia's icy command, every vessel in the search battalion unleashed destructive beams simultaneously.
The enemy fleet responded in kind. However, they clearly hadn't expected a main battery duel to begin so abruptly at the very edge of maximum range. Their reaction lacked the flawless coordination of Freesia's fleet.
BOOM!
BOOOOOOM!!!
With a slight time gap, two streams of light struck the cruiser's shields. The heavy impact caused the bridge to shake violently.
Such tremors were commonplace in fleet engagements, so the bridge crew remained completely calm as they gathered information and delivered their reports.
"Shield loss at fifty-one percent. No hull damage."
"Estimated shield loss on the enemy unidentified vessel is forty-six percent. No hull damage likewise."
Listening to the various reports, Freesia's brow furrowed slightly. The enemy's shield loss was far lower than she had expected.
"Is the enemy shield loss estimate accurate?"
"Yes, ma'am. Within a two percent margin of error."
Considering the higher-than-expected shield depletion on their own cruiser, the unidentified vessel's main battery performance was indeed significantly higher than a destroyer's, as anticipated. However, it still fell short of a true cruiser. Pirate vessels and captains varied wildly in capability, making precise calculations difficult, but it was certainly a threatening ship.
The fact that it had taken a direct hit from a main battery Freesia had fired slightly above standard output and only lost forty-six percent of its shields meant its shield performance was approaching that of a cruiser.
"Do we have any information on the unidentified vessel?"
"It appears to be based on a Helium-class civilian ship used by the Drakan Empire about seventy years ago…"
At the intelligence officer's report, Freesia gave a light nod, indicating that was sufficient.
Even if they identified the base ship, extensive illegal modifications would have left almost none of the original traces beyond the skeleton. They had probably scavenged discarded main guns from somewhere, jury-rigged them on, then picked up engines from elsewhere and slapped those on too.
As blue light began gathering once more at the cruiser's main battery, the enemy destroyer that had briefly emerged quickly ducked back behind the unidentified vessel.
It was an annoying maneuver, but without dealing with the unidentified ship first, there was little they could do. Freesia ordered strict surveillance to ensure the destroyer didn't target any other ships, then continued raising her output.
In modern times, main batteries utilizing mana circuits typically fired at standard output. However, captains with exceptional sensitivity could occasionally unleash even more powerful shots.
The most important factor in fleet main battery duels was maintaining firepower greater than the enemy's shield regeneration rate. Therefore, how much mana a captain could draw up during the five minutes required to recharge the main guns was one of the key measures of their ability.
Before long, the unidentified vessel's shields had fully recovered. Freesia, as if daring it to try blocking again, furiously activated the mana circuits once more.
The first shot had carried 5.5 million onyx of energy—roughly 110 percent of a Carnelian-class light cruiser's standard output. This time, she deliberately pushed the output higher, loading approximately 150 percent, or 7.5 million onyx.
The fact that there was no difference in charging speed from before proved that Freesia's sensitivity far exceeded the norm.
Let's see if you can handle this one too.
At Freesia's firing command, a beam containing tremendous energy tore through space.