The battle rages on, the huge station surrounded by dozens of ships has nowhere to go. The station with the designation phase 1348 has grown too powerful and has been propelling itself around the galaxy more often than most, defending itself too well against internal and external attacks. The organic material onboard is worth a true fortune when any faction can claim it. Three factions fight for the rights to claim the station, the Fierce, the Proud, and the Loyal. The external defenses and offenses are destroyed or disabled from the initial attack.
The Proud ships with their superior numbers yet weaker resources, something they would never admit, have so far been maneuvering around the large station trying to fix a ship to one of many docks. Each time, the Loyal’s crews in their big ships have been sending a warning volley at them as they hooked on trying to release their mercenary crew. The Loyal has fewer ships locally but make up for it in their tech and resources, three ships keep the two dozen Proud ships from docking, but have sustained heavy losses due to the Fierce ships being in the way trying to keep the fight as a dual and not triple skirmish.
The Proud demand their rights to the station. They were there first, minutes before the Fierce who claim the rights due to a royal favor with the Grand faction that was being called in, they have yet to receive a return communication. The Loyal faction just came in while there was a standstill and started the blasting due to having fewer rights to the resources.
The Loyal’s distress beacon demand for more resources to be sent to the skirmish is met with no return communication. One ship is badly damaged and attempts to flee, but its engines have been heavily damaged so far, and as it spins to flee, is mangled beyond repair. The power to flee is no longer available for the ship and all scans read the ship about to go into shutdown. The ship is about to break apart from open hull damage and the release of gas, and with a few more volleys, would break apart.
The two other Loyal ships float over to support their other ship, nearly destroyed. The smaller Proud ships discontinue their strike, even though destroying a warship of the Loyals would be a heavy loss, they had fewer local resources and one has taken too much hull damage and oxygen loss.
The Loyal faction jettison cables and move to tow the heavily damaged ship miles out of the fight, but the other two factions aren’t allowing this outcome.
A general wave communication goes out in demand, “The Loyals have lost that ship. Evacuate the survivors of that damaged ship, Fierce and Proud claim a temporary truce and will destroy all three if you do not.”
“This is a Loyal ship, you have no claim to it!”
“We have the claim of battle, evacuate it and leave with your other two, or both factions will destroy all three. You have thirty seconds to comply.”
The evacuation of the ship with the highly damaged hull is shortly at high speed, the Loyal ships are evacuating the survivors, and the last ship is on the last parts of its frame barely keeping together. The few survivors are separated into different ships. The Proud and Fierce factions surround the last two ships of the Loyals, expecting something.
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When the Loyal ships fully turn to depart, the rear guns target their mostly destroyed ship and power up. Expecting this final reaction, the other two factions put heavy defensive ships to block the targeting range so it can not be destroyed and target those rear guns. The rear guns fire and lightly damage the blocking ships, the last ship has massive hull holes with leaking gas, liquids, tech, and bodies. One Loyal ship discontinues its fire on its own and propels away. The last continues its attack.
The other factions prevent it from destroying their other ship and destroy all of the rear gun turrets. In a chain reaction, the turrets being destroyed causes huge hull damage on this last ship. Engines fire up in an attempt to retreat, and the Proud and Fierce faction directs all weaponry to the engines, destroying them and preventing the flee to safety. The two factions work together to break apart the last ship.
The two factions make a deal on who gets the two ships and who gets the rights to the station, the two ships being close to the same prize as the organic matter that has been processed aboard phase 1348.
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On another side of the galaxy, another phase is starting.
Green numbers and letters in a black background fill its vision, unable to look away.
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Those letters and numbers show for enough time for them to be read slowly, then disappear from view.
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These letters and numbers show for enough time for it to read slowly, then disappear from view.
It screams for twenty seconds.
The green letters phase out and in, move from side to side, but still stay in vision.
It screams for seven seconds, stops and realizes it does not have to breathe in to scream more, and screams for another ten seconds. Then it stops screaming. Trying to turn its view all around, it sees nothing but those letters and numbers.
“Limfler”
It asks for help in a way it understands. These seven letters are shown in white in the background of black. Other letters and numbers are displayed under that.
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“Lamanoi”
It asks as respectfully as it can for help, still not understanding what is demanded of it. The screen goes black, the seven letters show in white letters. Twenty seconds go by with no response. It screams for another five seconds. When more letters and numbers show up again, it stops screaming.
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White letters show under those letters and numbers, “Grunk tuplif iglif heariu numoor hopwaf.”
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“Grunk tuplif iglif heariu numoor hopwaf.”
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