Eight Hundred and Thirtieth Year of the Exodus, Fifth Year of the Splintering

Eight Hundred and Thirtieth Year After the Battle of the Sol System

“Soihtu’Liekki, Scopes. This system is inhabited. Scopes are showing multiple orbital habitats, a large shipard, multiple small ships, and two titan-class ships.”

Soihtu’Liekki Laiska’Vanha’Verta froze in utter disbelief. “Soihtu’Liekki, Battle information Center. Confirm classification of titan-class vessels.”

“Soihtu’Liekki, BIC. BIC confirms Scopes report. Marking as Titan one and Titan two on your tactical display. Highlighting now. Titan one is emerging from the shipyard, possibly an emergency launch in response to our arrival. Titan two is already mobile, but moving away from the Squadron.”

Laiska’Vanha’Verta rubbed his graspers along his lower limbs, nervous and trying not to show it. “So we have a First Meeting, but I see no reason to take unneeded chances. Cryer, proclamation to all ships. They are to raise screens, arm missile defense, and ready weapons but not to fire at unknown ships unless fired upon. Let me know when all ships have acknowledged and compiled.”

“Soihtu’Liekki, Cryer. By your will.”

“BIC, while that proclamation is being sent out, start working on a full scope sweep of the system. I’m interested in anything particularly out of the ordinary. I do not wish for the Flotilla to be ambushed.”

“BIC, Soihtu’Liekki. By your will.”

“Soihtu’Liekki, Cryer. All ships report compliance.”

“As it should be. Cryer, Set First Meeting Principles. Let us see if these sentients will yield to the Empire.”

First Minister Abby Bain stood in the situation center, a room buried sixty meters below ground in the rock of TRAPPIST-1d, and stared at the oversized display on the wall. It showed the blinking lights of each ship, station, and planet in distinct colors, along with their projected paths.

Solar Wind was headed away from the newcomers and towards the system edge, exactly as Colonizer Command Actual had said she was going to do. Now the question was reigning in Militarist Command Actual before he did something terminally stupid…

“Communications, get me The Third World. I want to speak to Militarist Command Actual as soon as possible.”

“Aye ma’am. Trying now.”

“Tracking, where is The Third World headed do you think?”

“Now that she has cleared the shipyard you mean ma’am? With an Black Hole drive she is capable of near-Inertialess movement, so she can change her vector rather quickly. At the moment, she looks to be heading for the newcomers.”

“Communications, ma’am. I have The Third World on link four. Militarist Command Actual is waiting to speak with you. He sounds right pissed off.”

“Thank you communications, I’ll take it in briefing two.”

“Transferring it now ma’am.”

Abby strode into the small alcove of a room that was briefing two. Intended for private teleconferencing, it was equipped with a desk, three chairs, and a computer terminal. She keyed the terminal alive and opened the link. “Militarist Command Actual, you’d better be heading for the orbitals to load up your colonists.”

“I have neither the time nor the patience to talk with fools Ms Bain. I’m heading for the foe.”

“You stupid sack of gods be damned testosterone! Stand down and get your ass to Orbital Habitat four! I’ll have the first freighers already waiting for you by the time you get there. The faster you load up, the faster you can get your ass out of here and start you damn war in someone else’s backyard.”

“You are not in my chain of command, nor do you have the firepower to stop me Ms. Bain. Good day.”

Abby stared in shock at the ‘no link’ message on terminal screen.

Admiral Musume Supesu, Human Nomad Fleet, stood on the bridge and waited for hell to unfold. The Twisted ships were closing with The Third World, almost into extreme missile range, and they had not yet fired. She did not know if it was because the Twisted were simply waiting for better missile locks of their own or if it was something else. She got her answer soon enough.

“Admiral, Communications. Incoming transmission from the Twisted. Translator is chewing on it now. Text is on your tertiary display.”

“Thank you Communications, I see it now.”

“To [all?] sapients of [this] system, hail and met well! Empire of (untranslatable) greets you! [We?] are having first meetings, and come in [peace?] See the might of the Empire of (Untranslatable) and know you are help[less?]! Yield and become (untranslatable) or face [our?] wrath!”

Admiral Musume Supesu shook her head, “Guns, get our gravity shields online and prepare point defense. We may be running for the exits, but that is no reason to get shot in the back!”

“Admiral, Guns. Wilco.”

“Good. Communications, does that translator work both ways?”

“Admiral, Communications. Yes, although the output has never been tested.”

“That’s alright Communications. Record a message for the twisted if you please.”

“Admiral, Communications. Recording for translation and transmission.”

“Message begins. Twisted, this is the Solar Wind, Human Nomad Fleet. Eat our thruster wash. Message ends.”

“Admiral, Communications. Clean recording. Transmitting now.”

“Good. Helm, get us out of here.”

“Admiral,Helm. Aye aye ma’am.

“Soihtu’Liekki, Cryer. Incoming missive from Titan two. Text-only, broken Empire common. Looks to be a machine translation. Message begins: ‘Spinners, this is the Star Breeze, human wandering fleet. Swallow our ship leavings.’ Message ends. Apologies for the language Soihtu’Liekki.”

“Heard and forgiven Cryer. BIC, keep a track on Titan two. She seems to be running away, but alert me if that changes.”

“Soihtu’Liekki, BIC. By your will.”

“Soihtu’Liekki, Cryer. Incoming missive from the third world from this system’s primary star. Text only, Empire common, machine translation. Missive begins: ‘Large ships not, repeat not, part of system government. Large ship leaving shipyard is pirate. Respond please.’ Missive ends. New incoming missive from Titan one. Text only, Empire common, machine translation. Message begins: ‘burn in (untranslatable).’ Missive ends.”

“Soihtu’Liekki, Scopes. Missile Launch! Titan one has launched at us! Estimate six hundred, I say again six zero zero missiles inbound! Time to Impact one tuhan!”

“Weapons, missile defense free!”

“Weapons, Soihtu’Liekki. By your will. Missile defense firing now.”

The Empire had long since learned from the Battle of the Sol system, and other wars besides. Their screens were well hardened against simple projectiles like mass driver rounds. A large enough round could punch through and do damage, but the real threat was a large number of simultaneous impacts. The screen generators could only handle so many incoming projectiles from a given vector in a given time span before they overloaded or overheated. Missiles were the most effective way to overload and burn out a screen generator, on account of all of the projectiles they generated in a very short timespan, so the Empire had lavished missile defenses on their capital ships, and outfitted their destroyers as missile defense ships.

The Third World’s salvo allocated an average of twenty four missiles at each Empire ship. All fourteen of her fusion warheads were aimed at the Viimein’Laiva’Elossa. Empire destroyers opened up with meteor cannons firing cluster submunition projectiles as the missiles crossed the outer intercept perimeter. The hit chance for a given projectile was not very good, but the destroyers were putting a lot of projectiles into space. Three hundred and twenty missiles, including seven fusion warheads, made it to the middle intercept perimeter.

The Emmpire light cruisers and the Viimeil’Laiva’Elossa added thier defensve fire to the mixture, sweeping space with ten thousand kilogram cluster submunition projectiles. Only one hundred and fifty eight missiles, including three fusion warheads, made it to the inner intercept perimeter. Empire close-in defense batteries went to rapid fire, spewing out streams of ten kilogram ferrous slugs, endeavoring to build a wall of iron in space. None of The Third World’s missile made it into attack range of Soihtu’Liekki Laiska’Vanha’Verta’s Fourth Squadron of the Twenty Seventh Scout Flotilla.

“Admiral, Guns. All missiles intercepted and shot down, estimate zero effect on targets.”

Admiral Korekage Supesu slammed his fist into the arm of his command chair. “Acknowledged Guns. Ready mass drivers and engage at will.”

“Admiral, Guns. Wilco.”

“Admiral, Tracking. Missile Separation! Estimate one three zero zero missiles inbound!”

“Admira, Guns. Gravity shields online.”

The Empire, in addition to adapting their defenses to deal with a missile-heavy threat environment, had also accepted the missiles as the primary first strike weapon of its Fleet. Improving on directional attack ship killers first copied from human designs after the Battle of the Sol system, Empire missiles were fast weapons, intended to swarm targets under and saturate missile defense systems. Empire destroyers carried no missiles of their own, using the tonnage and space saved to mount very heavy missile defense systems. But the Empire Light cruisers each launched a hundred and thirty ship killers, with the Viimeil’Laiva’Elossa adding three hundred heavy ship killers of her own to the salvo. In total one thousand three hundred and four missiles roared down on The Third World, who activated her gravity shields and then ignored them utterly.

Human gravity shields, unlike Empire screens, did not attempt to deflect or break up individual projectiles. Instead, they wrapped the ship in a five meter thick sheath of intense gravity set a hundred meters away from the hull. The effect was to impart five hundred gravities of deceleration to anything caught in the field. Against mass driver rounds, it would slow down large projectiles and break up smaller ones. Against Empire ship killer missiles, which need direct hits for maximum damage, it was as good as impervious.

Empire missiles slammed nose-first into the gravity shields and simply shredded themselves. The space around The Third World was lit up by failing warheads and ruptured fuel supplies, but none of it can within a hundred meters of The Third World’s armored hull.

“Soihtu’Liekki, Weapons. Missiles have detonated. Damage estimate… null damage. I say again, null damage, null effect of weapons on target. Entering meteor cannon range. Requesting permission to fire.”

“Weapons, Soihtu’Liekki. You are hereby authorised to return fire with meteor cannons. Cryer, relay that to all ships in the Fourth Squadron please.”

“Weapons, Soihtu’Liekki. By your will.”

“Cryer, Soihtu’Liekki. By your will.”

“Soihtu’Liekki, BIC. Particle-merger warhead residue detected. Analysing at this time.”

“BIC, Soihtu’Liekki. Please confirm last.”

“Soihtu’Liekki, BIC. Foe missile salvo contained particle-merger type weapons. Analysing quantity and size at this time. Will advise if foe’s weapon use approached the thresholds set down in the Maail'Man'Loppu Diktat.”

“BIC, Soihtu’Liekki.Heard and understood.”

“Admiral, Engineering. Gravity shield generators operating in the green at normal power levels. Will advise if this changes. Out.”

“Admiral, Guns. Enemy is in mass driver range. Opening Fire.”

“Affirmative Guns. Target priority is the escorts. let us whittle their numbers down some.”

“Admiral, Guns. Target priority is Twisted escort ships. Wilco.”