Four interstellar missiles slammed into four streams of bio-plasma fire and detonated, rippling out in concentric waves.
The 16 medium pulse-laser secondaries fired with equal precision, their beams catching 16 far thinner threads of bio-plasma. Those were plainly the work of a T1 Hive Mothership — set beside the fire of a T3 Hive Mothership, the difference was a toothpick against a bottle of cola.
At the same time, 72 medium close-in guns blazed at full output, cutting down a great mass of the incoming bio-plasma. Even so, a few streams broke through and struck the hull armor of the T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser.
"Warning — the star shield is under attack—"
"Warning — port armor under attack! Port hull integrity at 93%!"
"Warning — starboard armor under attack! Starboard hull integrity at 98%!"
"Warning—"
Against the Blizzard's armor, those toothpick-thin strikes were no worse than a light drizzle. On the bridge, Zhao Chen didn't feel so much as a tremor.
"Interception rate, 93%." Zhao Chen glanced at the figure a crew member had tallied beside him, and an approving look crossed his face.
Charlotte, though, shook her head, vexed — clearly the number didn't satisfy her.
Then Zhao Chen checked the star shield's energy reading. After that single wave it had dropped to 56%. That was the gulf between the attacks of T1 and T2 Hive Motherships and those of a T3: all that fire together still couldn't match the terrifying force of just two shots from a T3 Hive Mothership.
"Report — the swarm has breached our warning perimeter, and it's blocking our course ahead!" a crew member reported tensely.
Ahead of the Blizzard now lay all but a wall of darkness. The brief gap the hive-race's own stray bio-plasma had torn in their ranks had already, within a few breaths, been filled again by the black, seething mass. The Blizzard's firepower alone simply could not fully suppress a swarm this vast. From outside, it looked like a great black maw of the abyss, poised to swallow the warship whole.
Hangar
"It's over! It's over! The worst has happened — not enough firepower! Not enough firepower!" one of the instructors cried, stamping his feet.
Another loosed a long sigh. "The one thing you never want against the interstellar hive-race is to run short on firepower. You need guns enough to suppress them — to hold the engagement line and grind the hive-race down, bit by bit. The moment your fire thins and the swarm closes to point-blank, for a warship that's annihilation."
A girl huddled in the corner and broke into sobs. "We fled the planet, and we still can't escape these damned bugs… I want to go home… I want my mama…"
The grief spread through the students — friends comforting friends, close companions clinging to one another and weeping. The two boys who'd earlier been startled into carrying each other bridal-style, with no one else to lean on, now found their eyes meeting…
"Senior Su Lan… are we… really not getting out of this?" Xue Xiaoxiao wrapped both arms around Su Lan's waist, frightened.
Su Lan thought back to the battle amid the wreckage on the planet — the way that man had planted himself in front of her against a T2 hive-race spider without flinching, and the sight of him dropping from the sky atop the shoulder of a black mecha. An inexplicable sense of safety settled over her. She stroked Xue Xiaoxiao's hair and said firmly, "I believe in Zhao Chen… he'll get us out of here. I know it."
Beside them, Zhao Wan'er held Xue Xiaoxiao's and Su Lan's hands and said, just as firmly, "I believe in my big brother."
"Heh… however strong your brother is, is he stronger than the bugs out there? Don't make me laugh. We're all just waiting to die — we only swapped one place to die for another." Slumped in a corner like a beggar, Zhou Min laughed emptily.
Instructor Qin took in the fraying mood of the hangar and found herself helpless. All she could do was look again through the viewport at that pitch-black sea of bugs outside. That young man… could he really carry them through it?
Bridge
Charlotte and Zhao Chen swept their eyes over the weapons panel in almost the same instant, where every shipboard gun's status was displayed. The top two entries glowed red: the Blizzard-class Heavy Cluster-Laser Bow Cannon, and the 2500mm Medium Electromagnetic Railgun.
Blizzard-class Heavy Cluster-Laser Bow Cannon — recharge: 200 seconds.
2500mm Medium Electromagnetic Railgun — reload: 20 seconds.
Charlotte's face went taut. Fixing her gaze on the sea of bugs, she gave her orders without hesitation: "Release the engine limiter — take us to 300 star-knots! Close-in guns, full fire! Drones, all-out intercept on the T3 self-destruct beetles and the T3 Corrupted Wyverns! Interstellar missiles — four points along our heading, one every 10 seconds! 16 secondaries, hold for my command! Four main railguns, stand ready!"
Beside them Lilith clenched her palms, tense; in that moment every spotlight on the stage seemed to fall on Charlotte alone. Now the T3 Blizzard seemed to have merged with this White Tiger commander — ship and warrior fused into one.
The four missiles fired first, bursting at Charlotte's marked points and sweeping open a clear stretch ahead of the Blizzard. The close-in guns kept up their full barrage, holding the surrounding swarm at bay. The drones wove tirelessly around the hull, escorting it — any bug that latched on and bit down was scoured off, fast and precise, by a drone.
Then, without warning, several blasts bloomed around the ship, their shockwaves striking the hull hard enough that Zhao Chen heard the impact and the whole bridge shuddered — though, mercifully, not badly. Those were T3 self-destruct beetles.
At the same moment, on the display, Zhao Chen watched a T3 Corrupted Wyvern slip through the intercepting fire, spread its maw, and clamp straight onto the hull armor, meaning to eat a hole through it with corrosive acid. The next second, an interstellar drone that had been on its way back to the hangar to rearm dove straight down and rammed the Wyvern — detonating, flinging the creature's green fluids across the ship's paint.
"Report — four main railguns ready!" a crew member called.
Charlotte's pupils dilated. "Four main railguns — target the space dead ahead of the bow, timed detonation, five-second stagger! Fire!"
The four 2500mm railguns loosed their shells one after another, and ahead of the Blizzard four blasts swirled up in sequence, carving out — by sheer force — a lane for the ship to run.
And now—
Blizzard-class Heavy Cluster-Laser Bow Cannon — recharge: 120 seconds.