Chapter 399: Fighting With An Unknown Enemy

The twenty-one ancient machines did not rush forward in a single group.

That was the first thing Lysara noticed.

They spread out almost immediately, leaving enough space between one another that a concentrated attack would not catch several at once.

Six moved toward the front while the rest separated into smaller groups and began approaching from different angles.

Selvarin watched their movement from her cruiser.

"They are using fleet spacing."

Veylora looked over the new sensor readings.

"Not just fleet spacing. Their formation is old Directorate doctrine."

That made the situation more complicated.

These were not oversized maintenance machines that happened to have weapons attached to them.

They were behaving like warships.

Aurelian stood beside the tactical display at Sanctuary Ardent and watched the delayed feed update every few seconds.

"Can you identify the class?"

Lysara shook her head.

"Not exactly."

The nearest machine finally moved into clearer sensor range.

Eirenne enlarged the image.

It had probably started life as some kind of strategic maintenance construct, just as Veylora suspected, but there was almost nothing left of the original design.

The central body was long and heavily armored.

Extra engine housings had been attached along the rear.

Several weapon sections had clearly come from destroyed Vhaloric ships.

One side carried what looked like a cruiser-grade laser assembly.

The other had three smaller kinetic cannons mounted at different angles.

Armor plates overlapped across the hull without matching one another.

It looked less like something built properly and more like something that had kept repairing itself with whatever parts remained available.

Rhoswen stared at the image.

"That thing is ugly."

Veylora answered through the channel.

"It probably does not care."

"That makes it worse."

Aurelian ignored both of them.

"Power level?"

Eirenne processed the readings sent by Lysara’s expedition.

"Comparable to a strong Tier IV combat vessel, though the output is unstable. Some sections appear far weaker than others."

"Shields?"

"Unknown."

They received the answer seconds later.

The lead machine opened fire.

A wide pale beam crossed the distance toward Selvarin’s cruiser.

She was already moving.

The attack missed the center of the ship but clipped the edge of her shield, causing a hard flash across one side of the cruiser.

Selvarin’s expression changed slightly.

"Heavy laser. Output above what the frame should be able to support."

Lysara immediately gave the order.

"All ships, return fire. Keep formation loose."

Selvarin and Veylora fired first.

Their weapons struck the lead machine almost together.

A dull field appeared around its hull.

Not a normal shield.

The surface looked uneven, almost like several weaker fields overlapping one another.

The first laser hit spread across it.

The second attack made one side flicker.

But the shield remained.

Lysara joined in.

Her cruiser’s precise fire struck the same section Selvarin had already damaged.

The outer field finally failed there, and the next shot cut into the machine’s armor.

Pieces of old metal spun away.

The machine did not slow down.

Instead, it changed angle and moved closer.

Veylora stared at the reading.

"It is redistributing power around the damaged side."

"Can it regenerate the shield?" Aurelian asked.

"Not quickly."

That was useful.

The problem was that twenty more machines were now entering weapons range.

The Mournveil darkness lit up.

Old lasers, kinetic rounds, and several weapon types Eirenne could not immediately identify crossed between the two formations.

Lysara’s expedition had only three proper combat ships.

The support vessels stayed farther behind while the scout cutter remained close to them.

Against twenty-one large war constructs, the difference in numbers was obvious.

But the ancient machines had their own problems.

Their weapons were powerful, but badly mismatched.

Some fired too early.

Others took too long to recharge.

Several machines could not keep the same speed as the rest.

Whatever command system connected them was still working, but centuries of repairs had left every frame slightly different.

Lysara recognized it quickly.

"Do not spread damage," she ordered. "One target at a time."

Selvarin understood immediately.

"Lead frame marked."

The three cruisers concentrated their fire.

The machine’s shield failed again.

A kinetic strike hit its central body.

Then Lysara’s laser entered through the damaged armor and cut through the engine section.

The rear of the machine broke apart.

For a moment it kept moving forward from momentum alone.

Then its power readings collapsed.

Rhoswen leaned closer to the display.

"One."

Aurelian looked toward her.

She raised both hands.

"I am only counting."

The second target was harder.

It had thicker armor and moved behind two other machines whenever its shields weakened.

That confirmed another concern.

"They are protecting damaged units," Astra said.

"They are thinking tactically," Aurelian replied.

Eirenne nodded.

"At minimum, they are operating through a high-level combat control system."

The ancient formation pushed closer.

Lysara refused to meet them directly.

Her three cruisers began moving away from Annex Seven, using their better speed to keep the machines at a useful distance.

That helped immediately.

The old constructs were fast for their size, but not as fast as modern cruisers.

Their formation stretched.

Several weaker machines fell behind.

The stronger ones continued forward.

Lysara marked the gap.

"Selvarin, take the rear pair."

"Understood."

Selvarin changed course.

Her cruiser swung wide, then fired into the machines that had fallen behind.

Veylora supported her.

One ancient frame raised its strange layered shield just in time.

The second did not.

Its side armor broke open after several hits.

What happened next surprised everyone.

A group of smaller machines emerged from compartments inside the damaged hull.

Dozens of them.

Maintenance drones.

At least they had once been maintenance drones.

They moved across the damaged area and immediately began pulling loose armor plates back into place.

Veylora watched them work.

"They are repairing it during combat."

Eirenne enlarged the feed.

"They are not repairing it properly. They are sealing openings and restoring structural support."

"Still annoying," Rhoswen said.

Aurelian agreed.

It also explained how these machines had survived for so long.

Annex Seven had probably lost whatever proper maintenance system once supported them centuries ago.

So they had learned, or been programmed, to repair one another using wreckage.

That was why no two frames looked the same anymore.

The battle continued.

Lysara’s group destroyed a second machine.

Then a third.

The ancient constructs managed to damage Selvarin’s shield badly enough that she had to fall farther back.

Veylora moved forward to take her place without being told.

That was another sign the Thornwake sisters were finally returning to proper service.

They were not ready for a major fleet battle.

But they remembered how to work together.

Aurelian watched Selvarin’s shield recover.

"Any hull damage?"

"Minor," Eirenne answered. "Nothing serious."

Good.

He had no interest in trading restored Thornwake cruisers for ancient machines he did not understand.

Lysara seemed to feel the same way.

She continued increasing the distance.

The machines followed.

That was when their formation finally made a mistake.

Or perhaps it was not a mistake.

The first four constructs suddenly accelerated much harder than before.

Their engines overloaded visibly.

They charged toward Lysara’s cruiser.

"Ramming attack," Veylora warned.

Lysara immediately turned.

The first machine fired at close range while trying to cross in front of her ship.

Her shield dropped sharply.

The second approached from below.

Selvarin fired into it.

The ancient frame ignored the damage and continued forward.

"Destroy the engines," Lysara ordered.

Veylora’s kinetic cannons struck the rear section.

The machine lost most of its thrust and passed beneath Lysara instead of hitting her.

The third was more dangerous.

It moved directly toward the support vessels.

Aurelian’s expression hardened.

"They are trying to break the weak part of the formation."

Astra nodded.

"They understand which ships matter less in combat."

Lysara saw it too.

She turned away from the first group and accelerated toward the support vessels.

That gave one of the ancient machines a clean shot at her rear shield.

The hit landed.

Lysara’s shield dropped below half strength.

But she reached the support ships first.

Her cruiser placed itself between them and the charging machine.

"Veylora."

"I have it."

Veylora fired from the side.

The machine’s shield failed.

Selvarin followed with a heavy strike into the damaged engine housing.

The construct lost control and began spinning.

Lysara finished it with one precise laser through the center.

Four destroyed.

Seventeen remained.

But the others’ behavior changed.

They stopped pressing forward.

For several seconds, the ancient machines simply held position.

Then they started pulling back.

Rhoswen frowned.

"They are leaving?"

"Maybe," Aurelian said.

Lysara did not chase.

That was the correct choice.

The old constructs returned toward Annex Seven in several groups, covering the damaged machines as they withdrew.

The three cruisers remained outside the station’s outer perimeter.

Nobody fired.

Then one badly damaged ancient frame slowed.

Its engines were failing.

Several smaller repair drones moved around it, but they were not enough to restore full movement.

The other constructs continued toward Annex Seven.

They did not turn back for it.