At the Confederate base, the personnel were making their rounds, ensuring its security. Patrols were sweeping through the immediate area, ensuring that there were no intruders. They continued doing their duty, staying true to their training and discipline. Major Robert Sawyer smiled as he watched this happen from the command post, scrolling through the feeds.
"Sir, was raising the base so soon such a good idea? With our shield generator not fully online yet, we are exposed," one of his subordinates, a lieutenant, told him, his voice laced with worry.
"While you make a solid point in being exposed like this, our scanners show that the picket ships are on their way down planetside. While it is an unprecedented move, it is also one that could be tactically advantageous to our enemies. How, I do not yet know," the Major told his cohorts.
"Then how can you be certain that the natives plan to get one over on us?" he queried, still failing to see the point in the move.
"They could be bringing the ships down to dismantle them and set their weapons to optimal firing positions. Or they could be rigging them for a suicide detonation, to charge in and devastate our fleet for when the ships arrive. There are several such scenarios which could see them gain the upper hand," the man explained, with several of the other officers nodding in agreement.
"Since we do not know who their commander is, nor their intention, the best response is to get into position to gun them down. Their picket ships are already in a full descent, so they can't change trajectory fast enough before they are in range of our weapons," the Major went on.
"Shooting them down and turning them into slag will remove any potential advantage they could hope to gain. Risky, but rewarding," another officer, a captain by his insignia, agreed, seeing the logic behind the move.
"Well, since we have some excellent weapons on hand, I would say the advantage is ours! Do we have those picket ships in range yet?" another officer, a striking brunette, questioned one of the radar techs milling about the consoles.
"Ten seconds, ma'am!" one of the techs replied, answering her question.
"I want our cannons set to full power! I don't want them to just crash. I want these ships obliterated!! Show the residents of this world that they are better off under our rule!" Sawyer called out, flexing his authority.
"Yes, sir!" one of the gunnery sergeants called out.
"Weapons in range, sir!" another gunner called out.
"Open fire!!"
They all felt the slight tremor of cannons firing, along with the launch of missiles, all of them screaming for the incoming ships. They all smugly watched as the picket ships flew headlong into the projectiles. Suddenly, several of the shots stopped tracking, like they had been shot down or destroyed. More and more were falling off the scanners, each one becoming nothing in seconds.
"What—what the fuck is happening?!?" one officer cried out in disbelief. His answer came in the shape of a contact that was on an intercept course with each projectile. The contact moved fast, much faster than anyone there had dared to believe.
"That must be that new ship in the town! The
Darkrunner
!" one of the officers said, the answer coming to him.
"The
Darkstrider
," Major Sawyer corrected the man.
He'd heard that this frigate was supposed to be some sort of state-of-the-art warship. Robert discounted those rumors as hearsay, but now was forced to conclude that there may have been some veracity to these rumors. The Major continued to watch on the radar holo how the
Darkstrider
continually brought down each shot. Those that couldn't be hit, the
Darkstrider
put itself between the picket ships and the projectiles, absorbing each hit.
"That can't be right! No way such a small ship has such a powerful shield system!" the brunette gasped. She was astounded that not only had the
Darkstrider's
shields held, but how their weapons had barely even dented them! Their disbelief then melted into panic as several projectiles were fired from the
Darkstrider
, heading straight for them!
"Focus on defensive fire!! Don't let any of those missiles hit us!" Major Sawyer bellowed. He hoped and prayed that these gunners were as good as their reputations suggested.
The gunners went to work, trying to catch the salvo of missiles that were screaming in on their positions. Most of them were destroyed, but several of the projectiles were cluster missiles, which separated from the main projectile and tracked the original target, which was them.
"Brace for impact!!" one of the gunners screamed, trying to shoot down the small missiles, but failing to do so. Several detonations rocked the base and the command center rattled like they were experiencing an earthquake. As soon as it had begun, the shock waves subsided, allowing them to breathe again now that they all knew they would survive.
"Any further attacks incoming?" Sawyer barked, seeking an answer.
"Negative, sir!" one of the radar techs replied. "The
Darkstrider
appears to be breaking off, escorting the picket ships to the town!"
"This is Major Sawyer. I need a damage report! Anyone out there?" the man called out as he dialed out the base wide loudspeaker.
"Sir! Senior Engineer Raimes, here!" came a voice a few moments later.
"Talk to me, Raimes! What kind of damage did we sustain??" the man questioned.
"Several of our missile turrets and lascannons were hit! The turrets suffered the worst of the damage, with some of the ordinance detonating the moment they were hit! The cannons fared better, but not by much!" the man reported.
