Innumerable points of lights filled the dark space ....

Katharin’s squadron continued to run, with over a hundred thousand enemy vessels on her tail. At last, she saw allied vessels in front. The trap was about to spring.

“Begin preparations for an orderly withdrawal,” Admiral Kadita, premonitions of catastrophe in her mind, gave the orders.

“Er, Commander? Are you sure?” her aide asked.

“Did I stutter?”

“Fleet, hard to starboard!” Katharin ordered loudly. Her fleet made a sharp turn, prompting the enemy to do the same.

Which left them unprepared when forty thousand vessels charged from what was once their fore. “Attack from port! Attack from port!” panicked shouts rang throughout the Republic’s fleet.

“Can you identify the enemy flagship?” Admiral Karl asked his gunners. It had always been his favorite tactic to shoot down enemy flagships and paralyze their commanding chain.

“Enemy flagship Klagenfurt identified!”

“Fire at it.”

Concentrated ion cannons blasted apart the Klagenfurt. Admiral Potiorek’s name was erased from the rolls of the living.

“Attack! Turn to port and—“

Admiral Orban couldn’t finish his words as his flagship, the Uswassa, suffered three hits in the hull and one in the engine. A finishing blow sunk his ship, with him alongside it.

“Turn around, attack!” Katharin’s orders flew as she smirked. “Looks like we’ve won.”

Admiral Kadita, through light signals, had given an order for general retreat. The fleets managed to turn around and began to flee as the Imperials tailed them. The predator and the prey had just changed sides. “Admiral! New enemy forces from above, below, port, and starboard!” her aide reported.

“We have no choice. Ignore the losses and retreat at full speed. Shift energy from weaponry to shields,” the veteran admiral said. “What about the other fleet commanders?”

Her aide took some time to process the reports. “All ... except Battlefleet Datura and Battlefleet Wingfoot, all other fleets have lost their commanding officers.”

“The enemy’s smart. Nevermind. Keep on retreating.”

Things were far more jubilant on the Imperial side, not that it was evident on Karl’s face. “Whoever is taking control now is quite good,” he complimented.

More ships charged in from their initial positions, shaving away the bulk of the Republic’s fleets, until, at last, a mere detachment of six thousand ships turned and made a stand. It fought ferociously, unleashing a storm of neutron beams and missiles at the imperial vessels.

Admiral Falkenhausen, mere months from retirement, perished. Battlefleet Datura had ceased to exist. Unfortunately for him, outnumbered more than twenty to one, he could barely delay the imperial onslaught.

The Republic’s reserve fleet, meanwhile, was plagued with confusion. Yue had ordered a standard square position and sent a number of scout ships. These scout ships had just now returned, though it was unnecessary; the remnants of the Republic’s fleets were already in sight, running away.

“Form the turtle wall formation!” Yue ordered through light signals, while also commanding Abbas’ fleet to maintain an offensive posture.

“Oh no, oh no ...,” Lieutenant Black whimpered. “We just lost, didn’t we?”

“If I say we lose, then we lose. But I don’t want to say it, so it’s not quite over yet,” Abbas said. His heart rate was once again through the roof.

The turtle wall formation saw the turtle ships move in such a way that their “shells” were locked with one another, and the dragon heads attached to the front hull rotated to face fore. Imperial ships began to close in. “Ready the turtle cannons!”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“New enemy forces detected! Numbers: roughly ten thousand!” flew communications to the Illustrious.

“Attack and defeat them. We outnumber them greatly, there is no need for excessive finesse,” came the response.

“Wait,” Karl murmurred as the Illustrious moved further to the front, affording him a clear view of the enemy formation. “That formation—scatter! Scatter into small squadrons, don’t bunch up!”

His orders came too late.

“Fire!” Yue ordered.

An experimental weapon—a destructive heat ray—was belched out from the dragons’ mouths, combining into a beam of unparalleled power. Thousands of imperial ships, too densely packed, were vaporized in an instant. Karl’s orders flew, prompting imperial commanders to start to reorganize their fleets. Even though the turtle cannons didn’t do that much damage in terms of percentage of lost ships, they had struck enough of a psychological blow.

Yue was too smart to think she could rely on this formation for long. “Form the standard square formation, concentrate fire at the spot we just hit!” That in mere minutes her orders were executed was a testament to the discipline that Battlefleet Chiyou’s soldiers and officers possessed.

The jamming signals were finally overcome. A transmission came to Tiangong and Quetzalcoatl.

“This is Vice Admiral Hemanth. I’m the highest ranking officer left in the main fleet. I’ll withdraw, and put the actions of the reserve fleet entirely within its commander’s purview.”

So Admiral Falkenhausen is dead ....

“So many have died,” Abbas said, his throat dry. “What a useless battle.” Even so, with weak hands, he organized his fleet to concentrate fire upon the now loose imperial squadrons.

“Tch. Looks like the enemy has got some good commanders on their side,” Katharin cursed. “Captain! Bring this ship forward. The men will need the morale boost.”

Indeed, the arrival of Regalia dispelled the momentary stun suffered by the imperial commanders. “There’s nothing else we can do,” Yue sighed. “Signal this to all ships: withdraw immediately, before the imperial reorganization is finished.”

“What a shame. I thought we’d at least do something,” Lieutenant Black said as Abbas began retreating his ships.

“Three thousand ships is a small amount in a battle of three hundred thousand ships,” Abbas commented. “Come on, let’s run.”

But if Yue had thought her fleet could leisurely retreat, she was dead wrong. Vice Admiral Valentina’s First Fleet, until now in reserve, commited itself. It charged forth like a leaping leopard, pouncing upon the outnumbered enemy. To counter this, Yue and Abbas split.

“Their slender ships are too fast for us. Pounce at the larger and slower fleet,” Vice Admiral Valentina commanded. The imperial main fleets were not too far behind.

Her aide was a little surprised. He said, “Vice Admiral, the smaller fleet is led by that Commodore Abbas al-Salem. After the events at Alvisa, I thought—“

“Of course I want to avenge my defeat against that snot. But if I compromise our victory out of personal vendetta, I’ll be lucky if I’m dishonorably discharged,” she replied, grinding her teeth. “Don’t bother me with trivialities. Focus on taking down the enemy.”

A sense of relief, coupled with tense feelings, dominated the Quetzalcoatl. “Commander, the enemy is not pursuing us,” Lieutenant Black reported.

“Which means they’re pursuing Rear Admiral Yue’s fleet.”

... is Yue sacrificing herself to save me?

“All ships, ninety degrees starboard. We’ll flank the enemy.”

“What? We—we just escaped death’s jaws, why do you want to go back?” Lieutenant Black prostested.

“I thought you said you wanted some action,” Abbas snarked.

Abbas’ fleet made the maneuver look almost effortless. They swung ninety degrees, crashing unto the flank of the enemy ships pursuing Yue and disarraying the imperial forces.

“Abbas, you brave idiot! All ships, turn around!” Yue ordered.

“You fucking bastard! Are you here just to make my life miserable?” Vice Admiral Valentina raged as Abbas’ sudden attack, coupled with Yue making a 180-degree turn, snapping at her fore, threw the First Fleet into confusion. “Reorganize the formation! Pin them down until the main fleets arrive!”

The main fleets indeed arrived with overwhelming numbers. “Princess, I’ll leave to pursue the enemy. I’ll leave the situation here to you,” Karl transmitted. He brought almost the entire royal fleet with him, as well as Rear Admirals Thompson and Radbruch.

“Extend both wings, form a siege formation,” Katharin ordered.

As imperial ships, exhausted as they were, slowly extended their formation to envelop the remaining republican ships, the two highest commanders remaining on the field were mired in a debate.

“My ships are slow. It’s best that I stay behind while you retreat,” Yue argued.

“Sacrificing a big fleet for a small fleet is unprecedented. The reverse, however, has had many historical examples,” Abbas countered.

Since when ... since when did I become this way?

“Besides, I have a plan,” Abbas insisted.

“What? What’s your plan?”

“The golden ship in the middle ... the Regalia, their princess’ flagship. It’s too far forward. If I can take it hostage, they’ll be forced to cease chasing you ... and the remnants of the main fleet, and my own fleet will be safe as well.”

“It’s an insane gambit.”

“Even if I fail, they’ll be thrown into enough chaos that you can safely withdraw.”

“You’re too young to play hero.”

“And are you not?”

Yue looked at Abbas in the eye. “Don’t die, Abbas. All ships, withdraw as orderly as possible!”

Communications was cut.

Yue’s fleet retreated, purposefully leaving gaps between their formation. Imperial commanders, salivating at the prospect of more glory, unleashed their ships like a hurricane.

“Form the spindle formation,” Abbas instructed. “We’ll take the Regalia hostage.”

Abbas glanced and saw that his aide was gone, but he didn’t pay too much mind to it. Secretly, she had escaped herself with a shuttle, not having any desire to take part in a suicidal charge.

In silence, Abbas’ fleet formed the spear-like spindle formation.

“Attack!”