Explosions rake the dorsal hull of the SES Fortunate Son as stray plasma shots from a flanking Automatons squadron miss their intended target, the Super Destroyer SES Legislator of Supremacy, and hit the Assault Carrier instead. Still, the Automatons has achieved its objective for the most part, and that is to cripple Assault Carrier's screening force, leaving them dangerously exposed to the rest of the Automatons Fleet.

"SITREP!" Fleet Admiral Hackett shouted as he slammed his fist on the armrest, frustration evidenced in his voice. All around the grizzled war veterans are bridge officers and crew scrambling to compile reports and send out orders everywhere.

"Fleet combat readiness is down to 47%! Escorts Judge of Innocence and Shepherd of the Free, lost! Cruiser Agent of Authority is disabled! Destroyer Legislator of Supremacy reports heavy damage!"

"Flight deck reports Runway 1 is disabled! They're trying to get the catapult back online!"

"Fires in Deck 1 and 2, we're venting atmosphere in the upper deck!"

And the stream of unfavorable reports keeps piling in, much to the Admiral's consternation. Squeezing his hand into a fist, the man starts dolling out orders, hopefully enough to not try and win the battle, but to survive for as long as possible. "Damage control to the upper decks! Put out the fires and seal the breaches! Have our remaining Liberty Escorts move to fill in the gap in our point defense! Move the rest of the fleet to cover the Agent of Authority until she can recover! And I need that enemy enemy Shrike squadron eliminated ten years ago!"

As the new string of orders is being passed down the line, Hackett starts operating the MFD screen by the right side of his chair. A second later, he pulls up a planetary map, one that is denoted as Malevlon Creek. Hackett frowns heavily as the territories painted in red, signifying Automatons' control, heavily overshadowed the territories held by the Helldivers, painted in blue. Even with dozens of thousands of boots on the ground, they have thus far been unable to secure a proper beachhead. Rather, the Helldivers are slowly being whittled down by the mechanical horde. Their situation is not dissimilar to what's going on in space right now, where the Automatons vessels outnumbered the Super Earth Navy 4 to 1.

Suffice it is to say, things are bleak. At first, things had been going quite well with the Malevelon Liberation Fleet swiftly destroying the stationed Automatons flotilla, thus clearing the way for waves of Helldivers to be dropped onto the jungle planet. The initial landings of the Helldivers had been met with some resistance, which was to be expected and accounted for. After an hour of fighting, a secure landing zone had been cleared for more and more units to touch down. It's expected that by the next twelve hours, a proper FOB will be set up. To facilitate the process, Hackett's fleet had positioned itself in a geosynchronous orbit above Malevelon, with the support vessels and Super Destroyers dolling out everything that is required by the Helldivers. With half of the fleet locked in a planetary liberation roll, Hackett was ill-prepared for when a huge Automatons fleet arrived in the system. Now, Hackett wasn't a stupid man, he had planned for a potential counter-attack from the Automatons space force. The man even worked under the assumption that with the manufacturing capability of the Automatons, his original fleet would be outnumbered 3 to 1. Yet, the Automatons jumped into the system with a fleet six times Hackett's. Despite the obvious disadvantage, Fleet Admiral Hackett isn't a man to back down from a challenge, nor are any members of his fleet. With an already sizeable Helldivers force on the ground, retreat in the face of such an odd will spell their doom.

Thus, the second space battle for Malevelon Creek commenced in earnest. It has to be noted that with pure skill and grit, Hackett's fleet has managed to destroy a significant part of the Automatons' counter-attack fleet, shortening the gap to a 4 to 1 ratio. Still, while the Automatons fleet has received a punch and a half to their metallic noggings, Hackett's fleet is also down to a mere 21 battle-damaged vessels from their original 43. If it's any consolation for Hackett, his fleet has managed to stop any new orbital incursion by the Automatons, thus giving the Helldivers some leeway on the ground, emphasis on some.

But the man knows full well that a stubborn defense will not do Super Earth any good here. Help is still a long way out, and it's not like Hackett can just retreat and leave the Helldivers to their death and possible conversion to become those damnable machines. Thinking through all of his options, Hackett decides that the most important thing right now is time. Buy enough time, then the Helldivers below can further consolidate their forces and dig in. Buy enough time, then reinforcement can arrive and end the Automatons on Malevelon Creek for good. If that cost the entirety of his fleet... Then so be it.

"Pass my orders! All remaining vessels are to deploy all of their Helldivers and ground assets planetside!"

"But sir! That will make our fleet into a sitting duck!"

"And that will give the Helldivers the fighting chance they need! I don't care if some of them got blown up halfway there! As long as a portion of the wave gets through the flaks, then they will be kicking asses and taking names in our stead!"

Hackett then continues. "Our fleet has always been the foremost shield of liberty, democracy, and freedom! I will be damned if that shield breaks before it can leave behind any meaningful impact! Am I right, sailors!?"

The short encouraging speech elicits a chorus of positive affirmation from the bridge crew. Soon enough, Hackett's fleet reorganizes into an orbital liberation formation.

"Helldivers to Hellpods! Helldivers to Hellpods!"

"Dispatching Shuttle 1 through 10 planetside! I don't care what the fuck you are hauling, just go touch grass and kick ass!"

"Fighter bombers standby for retasking for atmosphere reentry and CAS sorties. Status on Runway 1? Good! Prepare it for immediate use!"

Waves after waves of Hellpods are launched from the remaining Super Destroyers, Liberty Fast Strike Cruisers, Adjudicator Heavy Cruisers, and the SES Fortunate Son. Following right behind them are flights of shuttles and fighter bombers, poised to drop supplies, heavy weapons, and ordinance to aid the Helldivers in establishing a stronghold. Understandably, this maneuver leaves the Malevelon Liberation Fleet very exposed to the Automatons' flanking attack. And the damn machines know that too, hence it doesn't take them long to capitalize on the opportunity, sending numerous cruisers to overwhelm the limping Super Earth fleet. Hackett won't go down without a fight though.

In an impressive showing of a last stand, the remaining primary batteries of Hackett's fleet open up, sending out countless shells tracers, missiles, and energy beams to greet the gleaming obsidian fleet. Rather than spreading out the damage, specific instructions have been made to prioritize the targeting of the Automatons' drive cores. By eliminating their mobility, Hackett's fleet will be able to lessen the immediate pressure on themselves, and if they manage to cause a reactor meltdown on the Automatons' ships, lucky them. And while Super Earth's kinetic weapons aren't as damaging as the Automatons' plasma weaponry, they make up for the sheer number they have aboard a vessel. Meaning they can easily tear through any threat if given enough time.

Still, time is what they don't have in abundance. Because of this, Hackett has the kinetic weaponry and missile tubes focusing on the easily eliminate threat first and foremost, and that means the Automatons fighter swarms and Shrike destroyers. The machines' heavier Oppressor cruiser will be a prime target for the energy beam from Hackett's own cruisers. The only downside for this tactic is that the Oppressor cruisers have modular, external armor plates. By using those plates, an Oppressor can dissipate the heat from Hackett's beam weaponry before promptly purging the damaged plate. The lightened weight then gives the Oppressor a higher top speed and acceleration, making it an even greater threat in this situation. And due to the nature of energy weapons being an immature technology, there's a long cooldown between shots before an Oppressor can be taken out for good. It's why Super Earth vessels always employ a mixture of kinetic and energy damage against the Automatons' navy. Their kinetic weapons are able to perforate the armor platings and render it useless against a beam attack.

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Despite the obvious threat posed by the Automatons cruisers, Hackett still chooses to eliminate fighters and destroyers first, unwilling to let them sneak past the blockade and assault the Helldivers that have barely been able to seize a foothold after the desperate dive earlier. This may very be his last stand, here, above this jungle planet. The man can't stop himself from caressing a ring on his finger, proof of his happily marriage life with his beloved wife back on Super Earth. Still, what will be, will be.

An alert instantly grabs his attention as two Liberty Escorts receive critical damages, with one suffering from a reactor meltdown. An immediate order for evacuation of the vessels is given, but unfortunately, one has already exploded before a single escape pod managed to launch. These two Liberty Escorts have been providing Hackett's ragtag fleet with an impenetrable wall of flaks. With them gone, a gap has been made, one that the Automatons' destroyers seize and utilize by sending out a large wave of missiles. The remaining CIWS aboard the fleet try their best to intercept the incoming projectiles, painting a marvelous picture of tracers and explosions in the space around them. But it isn't enough.

Slamming heavily along the dorsal hull of the SES Avenger of Proxima, an Adjudicator Heavy Cruiser, the Automatons missiles cake the vessel with numerous explosions, big and small alike. The hits have been extensive enough, covering most of the dorsal hull of the cruiser and destroying the dorsal missile launcher turrets and beam cannons of the heavy cruiser. Soon after the debilitating strike, the Avenger of Proxima falls behind the formation. The missiles have critically damaged her drive core, leaving her being pulled down by Malevelon's gravity. Already, there are escape pods being launched from the sinking Avenger. With a mainstay of his fleet gone in a flash, Hackett must now grimly face a renewed Automatons assault with one-third of his firepower gone.

Unable to contest or delay the approaching Automatons fleet adequately anymore, the firsts of the enemy Oppressor cruisers have reached point-blank range. By this point, even the Liberation Fleet's CIWS has to chime in and do as much damage as it can on the Oppressors. One enemy ship, and another, before another one got disabled, but there are still four of them. And now, those four have leveled themselves a stone-throw above the Fortunate Son, Hackett's flagship.

Opening their hideous underbelly, the four Oppressors deployed their abominable boarding crafts with almost certainly host hundreds of those walking machines. It doesn't take a genius to know that the Automatons want to capture the Fortunate Son, and along with it, her crew. Most probably, the machines will want to harvest their organs and brains to further bolster the Automatons' force.

Hackett will not let it happen. He would rather die a man than a machine. His service pistol which never once leaves his side is a cold reminder of that mandate.

As the enemy boarding crafts approached ever so closely to the Fortunate Son and under intense covering fire by the Oppressor cruisers, Hackett's fleet didn't stand and watch. Even with the near-crippling damage it suffered before, the Legislator of Supremacy braves forward in a suicidal maneuver. With its dorsal weaponry destroyed, the Super Destroy turns its body, giving its ventral turrets are clear line of sight at the four enemy boarding crafts. With righteous fury and indignation, its cannons and CIWS unleash a hail of metals and death at the boarding crafts, completely shredding and destroying them midflight. This happens all the while the Oppressors are struggling to hit the fast Super Destroyer, which has pushed its ten sublight engines to critical failure threshold on a desperate dash to save the flagship.

Knowing that their death is inevitable, the Super Destroyer captain hails Hackett's ship one last time. "Admiral Hackett, sir," A tired, but stalwart female voice can be heard on the other end. "It has been an honor."

Punching their RCS thrusters to overdrive, the Legislator of Supremacy drifts into space before speeding toward an Oppressor cruiser on a crash course, all the while firing off its remaining weapons on another one.

"This is a last huzzah of brave, human souls!" A scream can be heard across all comms channels. "UP! YOUR! ASS!"

With a mighty crash, the suicidal Super Destroyer rams its intended target. A bright flash happens in outer space, with the only sounds everyone can register are those of hyper-velocity fragments hitting the hulls of their ships. In her final run, the Legislator of Supremacy has taken down one enemy cruiser while disabling another one. That still leaves two relatively intact enemy cruisers in the heart of Hackett's fleet. And they are fully intending to finish the job.

Knowing that they cannot capture the Fortunate Son, the remaining Automatons cruisers go in for the kill. By taking out Hackett's ship, harvesting the rest of the humans would be much easier. While it's not as good as capturing the Super Earth Admiral alive for his ingenuity, the Automatons would still be able to regain some of their losses while getting a foothold in the system.

Even with Hackett's explicit order to concentrate fire on the two cruisers, most of the fleet doesn't have a good angle to engage them, thus leaving the Fortunate Son hopelessly exposed. Being a Planetary Assault Carrier, the Fortunate Son has little ship-to-ship combat capability. A weakness that is now being exploited by the heavily armored Automatons cruisers.

That is until...

"Detecting massive space-time fluctuation! It... It's right above us!" A bridge crew shouted, alarming Hackett while also instilling him with a forlorn sense of hope.

Suddenly, faster than one can blink, a ship is already there... No, can you even call it a ship anymore?

What has arrived, with its blue screen of energy smashing into the two Oppressors and crushing them into mere fragments and debris, is something that probably dwarfs the largest Super Earth Fleet in total tonnage. Its shadow casts over not just the remnant of Hackett's fleet but also a sizeable portion of the landmass on Malevelon Creek itself. Its very presence alone causes an undeniable lull in the battlefields, both ground and space alike, as man and machine alike gaze into the object with awe, reverence, and fear.

Gulping dryly, a crewmember struggles to report the readings on his screen. "A-Admiral... This is probably a mistake but... That thing! It's... It's 12 kilometers in length! Height of 2 two kilometers, Width of 5 kilometers! The energy level reading is off the chart! It's an entire city!"

Even Hackett struggles to shake his head. Still, he explains as he gazes at the underbelly of the beast. "Your doubt is understandable, sailor. But believe it or not, it's a vessel. The dead giveaways that it is a vessel, albeit ludicrous in size, are those humongous engines and the letters bearing its full names on the ventral side. Can you perform a deeper scan?"

"N-Negative, sir! Whatever the thing is made out of, it is scrambling out scanners!"

"Then it is safe to say that the vessel is also dwarfing us in the technological sense too." Even the Automatons ships can be scanned by Super Earth technologies, Hackett thinks to himself.

But unbelievably, or perhaps unsurprisingly, to them all, it's the Automatons that make the first move, and it ain't friendly. The still numerous machine vessels unleash bolts of red plasma on the new arrival. But shockingly, a blue film of energy intercepts the incoming attacks before it can even get near the physical hull of the unidentified vessel. It appears to be an energy shield of sorts, one that Hackett knows for sure that Super Earth still hasn't mastered to be used on space-faring vessels.

Hackett watches on as the plasma bombardment lasts for a full five minutes, the man and everyone else soon grow numb to the fact that the energy shielding seemingly takes no damage whatsoever. It would seem that the Automatons finally meet their match in terms of technological prowess.

Suddenly, a public broadcast appears on every single receiver, Super Earth and Automatons alike. Hackett quickly gives the words to hear it, an action that is mirrored by pretty much everyone else.

An imperial female voice can be heard on the broadcast. "This is Marshal Yukia Rosetta de Venusian on the ERS Tirpitz of the Eternal Reich. Aggressive mechanical lifeforms that are participating in hostile acts on our ship, stand down immediately or face immediate termination. This is your first, and only warning."

Hackett has the mind to ask while the others can only stare dumbly at the now-identified ERS Tirpitz. "Do we even have any data on those names?"

"Negative, Admiral!" More questions arise that Hackett swiftly stomps them down.

Despite the warning, the seemingly dumb machines still continue on with their attacks. Hackett immediately orders on a fleetwide channel. "ALCON, ALCON, do not engage the ERS Tirpitz! I repeat, do not engage the ERS Tirpitz under any circumstance! All units are to reform around the flagship immediately!"

The Marshal's voice can be heard scoffing at the blatant ignoring of her words by the Automatons. With a dismissal voice, she orders. "Ship to combat status. Charge up all weapon banks and lock weapons on all of the hostile vessels. Deploy our escorts and wings, I want this entire airspace locked down tight. Leave no survivors, we will extract data from their fried motherboard if we have to."

The Super Earth sailors, Hackett included, watch in muted shock as the Tirpitz opens up its many hangars, both large and small ones. From the large hangars, ten other vessels are deployed from the belly of the beast, with each and every single one of them dwarfing a Super Destroyer in size. Not stopping there, countless spacecraft continuously fly out from the Tirpitz, the sheer number of them is enough to overwhelm the sensors of the Fortunate Son. Then, the Tirpitz glows! The ship with its hull of spotless white and gold, glows as wings of golden light appear around the vessel. Hackett can barely see on the visual feed of retractable weapon banks being deployed on the Tirpitz.

And then the Automatons fleet is no more.

They are just... gone in the blink of an eye.

With heavy breathing, and still in disbelief, a crewman reports. "Sir... All enemy vessels... They're gone."

"No... They got evaporated after that burst of light."

Suddenly, everybody hears an amazed whistle. "Nice! Though I guess it was a bit overkill to set the output at three percent, don't you think so, Tirpitz?"

"It is as you have said, Marshal."