It’s odd how natural it felt to command with my mind. The Bio-droids couldn't be given complex commands, but I found, like typing without looking. As long as I knew where each key was. I could make them do anything I wanted. My maximum capacity is six, but I used only five, as it gave me more control. Also, with Mabena out of commission, I felt safer leaving the others in the general trial area. Also, speaking to the Bio-droids made my commands clearer to me.

“Beast, please attack.” I didn’t need to explain what attack style I wanted, as it’s redundant. Missiles rumbled individually as they unloaded. Then a small rattle followed the more guttural thud I had now associated with the turrets.

The shields are thick and multi-layered when one dropped, another covered. Also, according to the sensors. I had dealt no direct damage, so the Seed ship kept on collecting resources.

I ordered, “Switch to a more aggressive fire pattern and support with defensive particle lasers and Willow, don't fire the main cannons. No amount of E.C.M. will prevent that from being seen.” Willow removed her hands from the console. I turned the ship, moving at maximum combat. Speed added power to the kinetic shots of the turrets.

The Seed ship responded this time, however, given that it was slower than my ship. It couldn't hope to keep up and that was before I started using the cloak. The Seed Ship had powerful shields. It took almost ten minutes to take the shields out, which was unacceptable.

I retreated to think and observe. The reaction of the Seed ships informed me that the Nydolyns didn't see me as a threat at all. The Seed ship had returned to resource gathering as soon as I was out of its range.

With a wave of my hand, we slipped into stealth mode. We headed in the direction of the Maker ship. “Suri, please deploy a few drones. I wanted to know what they were doing.” Three Slip drones that looked like tear drop shaped asteroids flew out of the concealed hanger under the ship.

On the primary display, I saw them activate. The Slip drive and a shimmer in space put them back in normal space. There I waited, looking at Beauty as we processed the sensor telemetry coming from the drones. Machine code from a Symbiont is more dense, but it’s not something I couldn’t handle.

The Maker ship stationed itself in front of the planet, and every time a Seed ship docked, it expanded. “Suri, please try to land a drone on a Seed ship. I want to know what they have gathered and see what the inside of that ship looks like.” I formulated many ideas, but I needed more information. The Slip drones were designed for up close reconnaissance.

The reflective materials and embedded thrust profile all contributed to making it hard to observe. Even its communication was linked to a dimensional tether that allowed it to send information via a directed laser. I understood most of the materials via the chemical analysis, which mercifully was in proper Lungala.

The Seed ship gathered a lot of materials and some of them were volatile, most of the common materials I didn't know. At least I think it didn't. The consoles are all in Korigana, which was not a language I knew existed. However, in all symbiont ships, some things, like in aviation, were standardised.

What I needed to do was to destroy a Seed ship. The reaction of the Maker Ship would help me plot. “Suri, can you use your drones to put some mines on the Seed Ship?” The convoluted plan required the drones to pick up mines made by Sam and place them in the path of the Seed ship.

The current missile load-out was a Shirek heavy missile. No competent commander would have carried only one type of missile, but I chalked it up to parameters of the Trial room. These missiles were ship-busters but only after the shields had been taken down. The Urdant's Salvation had sixty! Missile ports. On second thought, I didn't want to do anything that would make them take me seriously just yet. I was outnumbered. Plus, I was laying the groundwork for as many solutions as possible.

Yeah, I thought of it. Of course, who didn't? However, the simulation that Sam ran of turning the asteroids they are mining into missiles, would also destroy the planet. Which was the main point. Nor, can I just negotiate as the Nydolyn refused to engage in diplomacy, after all, the best war is one where nobody dies. The Symbiont system delivered me to a point where it was do or die. I am here to do something statistically impossible.

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The range of all my weapons is around one hundred kilometres limited. This is absolutely tiny in space, but this is only if I want them to hit all at the same time. A Predator can be a sniper boat, but this one isn't. As much as this was a fight, I knew it's a smart fight. I couldn't destroy my ship either. Given that they operated in a fifty-kilometre box around the Maker ship. I thought maybe a self destruction would kill the Maker but without one hundred percent certainty I could not risk it.

The main weakness is the Nydolyn Maker ship. It was a single point of failure that if broken would end their entire operation. It was also the single most heavily armoured and shielded ship here. When I fired a single shot from my eight turrets. I couldn’t get the shield to so much as flicker. The gas was the only thing I had found so far. But I didn't have any scoopers or anything. My two large parasite crafts on the ship are being used as troop transporters. They are heavily armoured sub-light ships.

I went back to the Seed ship furthest out. I wanted to take it out and see at this point. I was frozen with indecision, and as Master says, "You can recover from a bad decision." Any action is better than inaction. When I tried to explain that to Batz, my master meant that make a decision even if your decision is not to fight, a decision must be made even if it turns out poorly. The intention is critical in forging one's will. I know what I intend to do and that is to win.

The Seed ship was deconstructing the remnants of a station, and I began with a turret barrage to whittle down the shields. At this point, I needed to do something that might change the battlefield. Losing an asset should trigger a response. The ship can't overcome my countermeasures, so its defensive fire, fired uselessly around my ship. I retested the missiles. It took fifteen missiles fired at once to take it down.

The Maker ship vibrated and a new tendril appeared above it and it fucking made another ship. I went full blast at the Maker ship. The Maker ship, couldn't move when it was constructing. My conjecture was supported strength levels. We have to divert a majority of the power to undertake primary ship functions. All Symbionts are fighters first but there was no symbiont in all the heavens without a non combat function.

I hoped it's extended shields or the new tendrils were sensitive and thus easy to damage. If I focused on another Seed, it wouldn't solve the problem because the Maker ship could create more. I would be better served trying to destroy the Maker Ship until I run out of time. I know what the key is to break this operation.

I unleashed everything! All my forward faced missiles, which was forty of the sixty fired three salvos. Which was one hundred and twenty sherik heavy missiles going at the newly expanded small shipyard. My turrets were focused at the exposed tendrils. Sam pinged me and I ignored him.

The plan with the mines won't work.The Seed ship moved too slowly. I hoped to hit something sensitive and critical, which was highly unlikely but sometimes we don't have a choice but to leave vital equipment exposed. Even Supreme ranked ships aren't invincible.

The missiles flew forward supported by blue laser fire and my main guns still pumped out shot after shot all at one point of the Maker ship. The Maker ship responded with point defences and its own laser turrets.My ECM were powerful but with extremely convoluted methods. Understanding all the benefits properly without extensive experience was extremely difficult. THe Maker ship can't move though, so I gunned it. I concentrated all my fire. The turret thuds were like a counter for the ammo count that was dropping like crazy.

The bright explosions started as the shrieks exploded! Created plums of vibrant purple and blue lights. The massive Maker ship twisted because of the force. As I got within two kilometres. I fired another Slavo. Dodged a rail gun that thumped past my bridge. I shivered as Beauty linked the Electronic attack that had created the misalignment in the targeting software of the Maker Ship. The twist brought me in line with the massive main weapon. I redirected! missiles and a cannon to the rail gun. Shierks twisted in the space between us. I pushed my engines even more, hitting the maximum of 130 ms in less than a second. I slipped, hiding my ship a kilometre away.

Predators were designed for knife fights Nydolyn Maker ship weren't. I slipped out giving my myself three kilometres as flak fire is a common defence to what I am doing. I use the cloak to disappear and come out close enough to unleash another round of salvos. My problem is that a dimensional shift has no way to observe the previous dimension. So I am flying blind. But appearing within a kilometre would give me no wiggle room. I am not sure of how much damage I have done.

My ship slips out three kilometres facing the Nydolyn maker above the bridge. My main cannons are almost ready. I am peppered by mine pellets.

My ship creaked as I stressed the engine and thrusts again, spiralling as I set my all the turrets forward to concentrate the fire. With a simple delay, each turret will hit the exact same spot on the bridge. The sensor returns some information that there is minimal damage to the Nydolyn maker ship. The production of the new Seed ship is more than forty percent done.