* Date: January 23, 2183

* Time: 1:25 AM

* Location: UGS Yorktown Bridge

''Luck update, please.''

[One hundred Kaynian vessels came out of slip space two hundred fifty thousand kilometers from us.]

''That's good, meaning they got the bait. Just need to bide our time until they examine the abandoned derelict before firing on them...''

''...Luck put the entire battlegroup into combat status. I want every hell cannon, torpedo, drone craft squadron, and anti-ship laser prep for our engagement.''

[Understood, my dear.]

As time went by, the entire battlegroup prepared their armaments and courage for the battle that was to come. Crews in the hangars of each ship that has them went to work loading missiles and torpedos on the bomber drones. Yorktown, in particular, had an impressive amount of drone craft stored in her thirty hangers; in total, she had seven hundred twenty drone crafts divided into three types. While her heavy cruisers had one hundred ninety-two, light cruisers had one hundred forty-four, and the destroyers had forty-eight.

[All ships are ready for combat, my dear.]

''Alright, now we wait.''

[Understood, shall I-]

The A.I. paused, and Gaft saw this as strange. He knew his wife well enough, and her stopping before finishing a sentence is never a good sign.

''Luck, you good?''

[My dear, there has been an activity.]

''What activity?''

[Presenting live feed on your terminal.]

But as they readied themselves for battle, something odd occurred. Present on the live feed was the Kaynian lead ship and several other Kaynian vessels presenting their broadsides and charging their weaponry. Seconds passed before a barrage of energy beams rained down on the lone frigate, reducing it to fragments and vaporizing its hull. This new activity raised red flags for everyone present on the bridge of Yorktown. Instead of investigating their fellow Kaynians, the flotilla that arrived blasted the derelict with everything they had.

''What the fuck!''

Blurted the Vice Admiral as he was shocked as to why the Kaynian fired on one of their own without even sending a hailing. His plan revolved around luring the Kaynians into rescuing their fellow Kaynians, not executing them.

''Luck, are my eyes deceiving me, or did the entire Kaynian flotilla open fire on the derelict?''

[They did, my dear...]

[...What shall we do?]

The A.I. executive officer asked, clearly at a loss on what they should do. Never had she or anyone, for that matter, anticipated the Kaynians doing this, but here it was. They underestimated their opponent this time, and they may have to pay the price for it.

''Have our ships stay in position as far as we're aware. They haven't turned their sights or noticed us. But that would all change, although before that happens, we find out why the Kaynians did what they just did.''

[Very well, shall I send a drone craft squadron to investigate?]

''Yeah, do that.''

Giving the permission, Luck immediately went to work and informed hangar bay three of their mission. The fighter drone crafts that would be sent on the mission are capable of Mach 1000. The drones were twelve meters and armed with a low-power laser cannon on its nose and several missiles on its missile bay.

[Fighter drones on launching, my dear, and by the speeds they should be going, they will probably reach the derelict in about twelve minutes, give or take some obstacles in their path.]

''Well, we're only mortal, Luck. It's the best we could do. We have to wait until-''

Cutting the Vice Admiral were ten nuclear explosions erupting from the Kaynian flotilla, specifically, the Galleons. This sudden development sturred alarms within Yorktown's bridge as officers and crews figured out what had happened.

''Luck! What was that?''

[High-yield nuclear detonations on ten Kaynian Galleons, my dear...]

[...Wait, I'm getting an encrypted message from the UGS Howling Knight.]

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

''Please tell me it explains what the hell happened?''

Reading through the information in the message. It immediately made sense to Luck what had happened. The message entails, ''Yorktown; if you're receiving this, we have initiated a plan to board and plant nuclear mines within the leading vessels of the Kaynian Flotilla.''

[My dear, it seems that the Ghost Teams decided to infiltrate the lead vessels of the Kaynian flotilla and plant nuclear mines.]

''So, it was their doing. Good, and I assume ten detonations means all Ghost Teams have participated?''

[Yes, my dear...]

[...Shall we press on the initiative?]

''That we shall. Scratch the order for an investigation. We're launching all of our drone craft and firing all of our weapons.''

[Understood, orders away.]

Sending the Vice Admiral's orders to the battlegroup, it didn't take long for weapons and drone crafts to be ready. Recognizing the need to confront the Kaynians, each ship shifted to condition one, ensuring that every offensive and defensive weapon system was primed for immediate action.

[My dear, the entire battlegroup has weapons ready, awaiting your orders.]

''Solutions?''

[Had them ready when the Kaynians arrived.]

''Alright, we shot first this time...''

''...Weapons free!''

Commanded the admiral, and as a follow-up to his word, the Yorktown's hell cannon hummed as it fired a potent laser cannon at a Kaynian frigate. Immediately tearing its shields apart before slicing through its hull, creating secondary explosions that ripped it to shreds. The alien frigate never stood a chance as it burst from within as radiation spread throughout space. Meanwhile, the rest of the battlegroup followed suit, firing their hell cannons. The heavy-type hell cannon managed to crack a frigate's shielding and damage its hull but not outright destroy it as the Yorktown did. Following the attack, the heavy cruisers fired their light-type hell cannons, destroying the frigates. Two heavy cruisers had downed two Kaynian frigates in just two shots.

[Yorktown instantly downed a frigate near the lead galleon with our two heavy cruisers managed to down two frigates in two shots.]

''Good hits!''

Four light cruisers immediately followed the attack of their heavy counterparts and fired on three Kaynian frigates. Two of the four cruisers would destroy one by shattering its shields before following up with another hell cannon strike. The other two would select their targets and shatter their shields. As their bigger sister ships took on the frigates of the Kaynians. The A.F.E. destroyers and corvettes fought their corvette counterparts. Six of the eight destroyers opened fire on three Kaynian corvettes and hammered their shields down. Afterward, the two remaining destroyers would damage one of the unshielded corvettes. Seeing as how their Kaynian counterparts managed to soak up hell cannon fire with ease. The A.F.E. corvettes lined up on the unshielded frigates and corvettes, setting their hulls on fire as explosions burst from within and destroyed them. However, the battlegroup's hell cannons require a minute to recharge before they fire another one. Leaving themselves open to counterfire with their alien adversaries.

[My dear, four of our light cruisers managed to crack two Kaynian frigates and destroy one. Meanwhile, our eight destroyers aren't doing too well. They crack the shields of three Kaynian corvettes while destroying one of them...]

[...Luckily, the unshielded corvettes and frigates were destroyed by our twelve corvettes. In total, we destroyed nine Kaynian vessels in our opening attack. But I've got bad news: the Kaynians are repositioning their broadsides at us.]

''Well, that's to be expected. What about our drone crafts and torpedos; how close are they?''

[Torpedos and drone crafts are ten minutes out before they close in the Kaynian flotilla.]

The mentioned torpedos and drone crafts were launched simultaneously and met the potent point defenses of the Kaynian ships. Multirole Fighter Drones equipped with missiles escorted their larger counterparts, the Missile and Torpedo Bomber Drones, from the hail of energy beams impacting their energy shields. Together with torpedos from the battlegroups, cruisers, destroyers, and corvettes, they would engage the Kaynian ships in close combat relative to the distance between the Kaynian flotilla and the battlegroup.

[My dear, the Kaynian flotilla is in range of our nuclear mines.]

''That's good, their weapons are heating up that should cause a chain reaction and knock out several of their ships...''

''...Quick, before they fire at us, detonate the mines!''

[Understood, activating nuclear mines.]

In total, there were sixty-four invisible nuclear mines currently in the position of the Kaynian vessels. Each stealth craft carried eight on their hangar bays. Now, they were set to detonate on the remaining frigates and corvettes of the Kaynians. Upon activation of the mines, six frigates and ten corvettes were immediately destroyed by the sixty-four invisible nuclear mines while shattering the shields of twenty Kaynian vessels. The total of destroyed Kaynian vessels from the infiltration of Ghosts Teams and planting nuclear devices on the lead ships, the galleons. The surprise attack conducted by Battlegroup Yorktown and from the sixty-four invisible nuclear mines placed earlier by the stealth ships had caused the Kaynians thirty-three lost and twenty shieldless, possibly damaged vessels.

''How many we got?''

[Sixteen Kaynian ships were destroyed, and twenty had lost their shields.]

''In total. How many did we get?''

[Well, we destroyed thirty-five Kaynian vessels.]

''That's- That's honestly more than what I was expecting.''

Gaft admitted. For his battlegroup to destroy, thirty Kaynian ships would require a fleet. Yet, here he was doing the impossible, and he liked it. A smirk would come to his face, knowing he did something that no admiral could, except for the Fleet Admirals.

[My dear, I'm reading energy signatures on all remaining Kaynian vessels. They're lining up on us.]

''Have our shields at maximum and inform the other ships to do the same!''

The remaining sixty-five Kaynian vessels would present their broadsides and fire on the battlegroup. The potent weaponry of the Kaynians would slam head the hulls of the A.F.E.s warships. One of the two heavy cruisers would be targeted with bombardments and would explode from the inside when its shields crack. The other would sustain multiple hits and had their shields go critical; their light counterpart didn't fare any better. Three were immediately destroyed, and one had its shields cracked and sustained damage to its hulls. Eight of the twelve corvettes would meet their end as their energy shielding wasn't durable enough to sustain multiple hits. While the remaining four would be damaged, but still maintain combat capabilities. Meanwhile, five of the eight destroyers met their end, and those that survived had their shields crack, with their hulls sustaining heavy damage. Luckily, the Kaynians diverted half of their attacks at the incoming drone craft and torpedos as their point defenses were being swarmed.

Lastly, Yorktown sustained heavy bombardment from the Kaynian flotilla. While the energy shielding had diminished to thirty percent, that was primarily the extent of the damage, as the formidable armaments of the Kaynian frigates proved insufficient to penetrate the robust shields of the mighty battle carrier. However, the state of the entire battlegroup lost up to seventeen ships. The survivors had their shields cracked and their nulls sustaining heavy damage. The accompanying auxiliary ships were positioned at the very back of the battlegroup but still maintained damage. All three ships would have their shields crack, and their hulls would sustain minimal damage from the Kaynian bombardment. None were destroyed, but that would soon change if the Kaynians fired another bombardment at the battlegroup. The status within the battle carrier's bridge was rampant with red alerts and warnings. However, the brave officers and crew on board did not falter in their duties as they performed them.

''Damage report!''

[We have lost one heavy cruiser, three light cruisers, five destroyers, and eight corvettes...]

[...It seems the Kaynians had diverted fifty percent of their firepower at the incoming drone crafts and torpedos.]

''Great, hell cannon charge?''

[One hundred percent, battlegroup-wide.]

''Then let's return the favor...''

''...Fire!''

The remaining ten A.F.E. warships returned fire and downed six Kaynian vessels. Three of the four corvettes downed one frigate, and the fourth corvette, with a destroyer, destroyed a corvette. Two destroyers downed another frigate, with the light cruiser setting ablaze a corvette. The Yorktown and the surviving heavy cruiser, the Amagi, had obliterated two frigates. Meanwhile, the drone crafts and torpedos reached the Kaynian vessels. Suffering a fifty-percent loss due to the point defense and incoming bombardment, which dwindled the number of torpedos headed to the Kaynians. However, it was time for payback. The drones launched their payload of either missiles or torpedos and scored multiple hits on the shields of the Kaynian vessels; some would even have their shielding shatter due to the number of torpedos the drones had launched. The following torpedos fired by the battlegroup scored hits on the hulls of the unshielded Kaynian ships and instantly vaporized parts of their hulls. Despite the attack, the Kaynian flotilla resisted, intercepting some torpedoes sent through their point defenses. But it wouldn't be enough to deter the upcoming bombardment, which would destroy all the ships on the battlegroup without issue.

[My dear, the drone crafts, and the torpedos had taken out several of the Kaynians, but it seems they are determined to finish us off...]

[...They're charging for another bombardment. They're in a perfect encircling position. Much like your plan wanted, my dear.]

''Good, give the signal to the Fleet Admiral. Let's teach these aliens why you shouldn't mess with Earth and her people.''

[Understood.]

To Be Continued.