The stygian space behind Starfort Almus was left empty. Admiral Black did not believe the Armada had anywhere near enough strength to launch such a pincer attack, and would pay a high price for his carelessness.

In a mere hour since striding so bravely into the scene, Abbas' elite boarders have infiltrated the cubic hull of that dreaded fortress. Another hour later, great energy dissipated from Almus' main gun. The tide had completely turned.

With skill befitting of their stations, the commanders of the RNS Armada pulled back all their fleets, constructing a siege formation. "Fire at will!" Marshal Tang ordered to the turtle ships.

Densely packed warships of the Aten fleet fell victim to the concentrated fire of the turtle ships. Chaos reigned supreme. Assailed from fore and aft, their starfort disabled, Aten's morale broke. Some surrendered on the spot by disabling their engines. Some made disjointed attempts to escape, but these were shot down quickly.

Fighting was initially fierce inside Starfort Almus as its guards were deployed to its defense, but as soon as the main gun was brought down, it became a one-way slaughter. As ships tried to escape on their own, the Vistula-Oder’s escort ships became loosely positioned.

"There we go, an opening," Abbas remarked. "We'll go in and take Admiral Black's head ourselves."

A decisive charge by Battlefleet Tristan was the coup de grace of the battle. Almost all order dissolved when the Vistula-Oder was shattered by Quetzalcoatl's main guns. All that remained was Battlefleet Tempest, commanded by Admiral Agnarsson. Yet even this speck of light was snuffed out when Koo and Anand hurled their warships at this last organized unit, scattering it. Admiral Agnarsson fell in battle, and second-in-command Vice Admiral Bugo took over. Officers of the Armada breathed a simultaneous sigh–of relief and of somberness.

A few hours later, Vice Admiral Bugo gathered all the strength he could spare, and broke through one of the siege formation’s weaker spots. All that remained from a fleet hundred thousand strong was a hobbled collection of damaged ships numbering barely ten percent that.

Abbas' lightweight body slammed against his chair. There was one person he had to inform personally.

Ever since her meltdown, Alice had never been the same. Initially held in prison, she had been transferred to a mental health facility abroad the Quetzalcoatl after wardens reported of her mental instability. The facility was usually used to treat soldiers’ PTSD. Doctors reported that she often looked into the horizon emptily, and once tried to take her own life.

"Lieutenant Commander Alice."

"Commander?" a hazy voice answered.

"I have to inform you ... your father was killed in battle."

Alice's unstable eyes turned to Abbas'. "His flagship sunk, and he went down with it," he informed. "If it matters to you, my ship was the one sinking it."

Seeing Alice practically catatonic, Abbas beat a hasty retreat. Tears fell down her eyes, but he couldn't see it.

“W-wait!”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Abbas turned his body around. “Yes?” he asked.

“After I recover,” Alice said, her voice suddenly stable and strong, “can I be your aide again, Commander?”

“That’ll depend on Joint Headquarters’ decision ….”

Abbas’ own feelings was conflicted. Even if Joint Headquarters were to order him to take Alice back as aide, would he just accept it? This could-have-been murderer?

What a farce. How many men have he killed, when he ordered those grand charges and feint retreats, those flanking pushes, those close combat maneuvers?

“My loyalties were conflicted,” Alice said. “My father ordered me to kill you.”

“But now that he’s ….”

“Now that he’s dead, I only have you, Commander.”

A cold silence, amplified by the atmosphere of the mental hospital, hung in the air. “Once you recover, I’ll be glad to take you back,” Abbas said finally. A light flamed in Alice’s eyes.

“Thank you, Commander. I’ll be sure to recover quickly.”

After the victory, a banquet was held. Marshal Tang was not fond of it ('we haven't won yet'), but Chairman Abodemi overruled her.

"So, how's that girl Black?" Yue asked at the banquet. "I heard you went to tell her personally."

"She seems better. She said she wants to be my aide again," you said. "Though I’m not sure if she'll ever recover."

"Hmm. We shall see.”

Back in the capital world Lephelia, panic slowly spread across Aten's governing body. Their fleet had been defeated, and morale was at rock bottom.

Admiral Cadorna mustered all the fleet strength he could for a final, decisive battle. Unlike the others, he remained supremely optimistic. In fact, this was precisely the reason he allowed Admiral Black to take control earlier.

Marshal Tang and her merry band of democratic loyalists have done him the favor of deposing his chief rival. His gambit had worked, but not to the extent he’d have liked. He hoped for the mutual annihilation of both Admiral Black and the Armada, clearing the way for him to seize full authority.

Nevertheless, all he had to do now was engage and take the Armada down at Lephelia. Luckily, he had mobilized Starfort Bassano, the twin brother of Starfort Almus. He put Vice Admiral Bugo in charge of it, alongside ten thousand ships, survivors from the Third Battle of Welstra.

But then disaster struck.

Vice Admiral Bugo absconded into unknown space, bringing with him Starfort Bassano and ten thousand warships. After a short investigation, it came to light that he had dealings with unknown third parties, who promised protection and compensation in exchange for bringing Starfort Bassano and his fleet to a certain location in ‘wild space’, unexplored space unclaimed by either the Republic or the Empire. The only human existence there were explorer outposts and ships, criminals, and pirates. Admiral Cadorna panickedly sent a fleet to the coordinates; the fleet was lost.

This news spread uncontrollably, even to the ears of the Abodemi government’s armada, prompting a meeting by Joint Headquarters.

“… what the hell just happened?” was the opening statement by the usually calm, flat Vice Admiral Koo.

Admiral Anand’s back firmly stuck to his seat. “This is certainly a first,” he noted, to the general agreement of others. “In total, they lost, what, a starfort and about 15,000 warships?”

“I don’t know what he’s thinking, sending 5,000 warships after a fleet twice that size, plus a starfort,” Yue added.

“He’s an idiot. That is well-established,” Marshal Tang said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m more worried about this ‘third party’ thing. It implies someone is rich or powerful enough to compel a starfort and at least 10,000 warships to join them.”

“Could it be the Empire?” Yue suggested.

“That would be very irregular,” Admiral Anand replied. “That is not the Imperial Navy’s MO at all.

“Agreed. But they’re the only faction capable of pulling this off,” Yue countered.

“I wonder if that’s true,” Abbas commented. “What about corporations? Some of them are very rich.” It was pure conjecture.

“Sure. But what would they use the fleet for? It’s not like one fort and 10,000 ships can stand against either us or the Empire,” Marshal Tang answered.

“There’s a possibility Vice Admiral Bugo simply ran away, intending to be some sort of pirate warlord.”

Although there were suggestions for the Armada to locate and capture Starfort Bassano and the absconded ships, a consensus was eventually made to focus on the coming battle against Admiral Cadorna.

And so, the final act of the Aten Uprising began.