T2 Bee Queen-class Heavy Carrier Starship · Bridge
"Report, the first echelon of Interstellar Drones has successfully returned and landed. It is estimated that re-arming will take 60 seconds."
"The combat report for the first batch of Interstellar Drones has been compiled. Losses include seven T2 Killer Bee-class Medium Interstellar Drones and one T2 Bumblebee-class Heavy Interstellar Drone. Destroyed two enemy T1 Blue Sparrow-class Medium Interstellar Cruisers, four T1 Vulture-class Interstellar Frigates, and two T1 Scythe-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers."
"Report, the enemy fleet has detected our starship's position and is approaching our starship at full speed!"
The female crew members on the Bridge stood ready, continuously reporting the latest information to the captain and the vice captain.
Charlotte stood nearby, looking at Wendy Chase, who was seated in the captain's chair.
Before this battle, Zachary Chase had secretly contacted her, instructing her to fully entrust Wendy with combat command once the battle began. She had the right to intervene only if Wendy issued an incorrect order, or if the battle went out of control, she had the right to take over command.
So far, the orders Wendy had issued were excellent.
And this young girl, currently sitting in the captain's chair, had a calm expression, showing no signs of panic or tension. She didn't resemble a student who hadn't graduated yet at all, but rather a professional soldier seasoned by many battles.
"Begin deploying T2 Young Bee-class Light Interstellar Drones to intercept the enemy fleet. The starship will begin moving, heading toward the preset direction at full speed, and the Star Shield system will activate simultaneously. The resupplied Interstellar Drones are preparing for their second round of attack." Wendy issued combat orders word by word, her eyes continuously scanning the data panels.
Facing the approaching vicious pirate fleet, the T2 Bee Queen began to accelerate and move away. However, as it was a Heavy Aircraft Carrier Starship, its maximum speed was only 30 knots. It was impossible to shake off the pursuers behind.
At the same time, holes appeared on the T2 Bee Queen's underside, and then T2 Young Bee-class Light Interstellar Drones were deployed one by one. In less than ten seconds, all three hundred T2 Young Bee-class Light Interstellar Drones had been deployed.
The dense swarm of T2 Young Bee-class Light Interstellar Drones began to rush toward the pursuing pirate fleet.
At this point, the battlefield was divided into two sides: one was the Blizzard Zero, and the other was the T2 Bee Queen.
But the Blizzard Zero showed no intention of supporting the T2 Bee Queen. Instead, it began to change its course, sailing in an arc to the right, which brought the Blizzard Zero within the enemy starship's firing range.
Several pirate starships immediately prepared to open fire, but the enemy starship's speed was too fast, requiring some time to lock on. Changing direction was Captain Zachary's order. Otherwise, with the Blizzard Zero's speed, these pirate starships would never catch up, even if they pursued it for a lifetime.
"Activate the T2 Heavy 1200mm Devil Crocodile Cannon," Captain Zachary gave the order.
"Understood. Activating the T2 Heavy 1200mm Devil Crocodile Cannon. It will take ten seconds… 10… 9…" The Bridge crew member executed the order.
The main cannon on the bow of the Blizzard Zero was now revealed.
"Shut down the right starship engine. Full power to the left starship engine. Turn in place. Aim our main cannon at that T2 Ishtar-class Heavy Interstellar Destroyer!" Zachary gave the order.
"Right starship engine shut down, complete!"
"Left starship engine at full power, complete!"
The Blizzard Zero, which had been sailing in an arc, suddenly performed a 'brake turn,' its bow directly turning toward the pursuing pirate fleet. This sudden maneuver completely caught the pursuing pirate fleet off guard.
Zachary stared at the target acquisition window for the main cannon.
Just as the red target acquisition circle overlapped with the T2 Ishtar-class Heavy Interstellar Destroyer, he shouted, "Fire!"
Instantly, the entire Blizzard Zero shook.
Zachary didn't bother to check the result of the shot. He immediately followed up with another order: "Restart the right engine. Have the Blizzard Zero circle the enemy fleet at 70 knots, adopting high-speed maneuver hunting mode!"
"Understood!" the starship helmswoman confidently shouted.
The so-called "circling the enemy fleet" and "high-speed maneuver hunting mode" is a tactic where, with one's own starship having a superior high speed over the enemy starship, it relies on this absolute advantage to continuously circle the enemy fleet. While circling, it keeps its own starship and a small number of one or two enemy starships within firing range. This way, it avoids its own starship simultaneously taking fire from all enemy starships, greatly reducing the risk of being hit.
This demands extremely high skill from the starship helmsman. Fortunately, the Blizzard Zero's speed was terrifying, giving it an absolute advantage!
The Blizzard Zero once again moved at high speed. The entire process took less than ten seconds, demonstrating the terrifying maneuverability of this starship!
At this point, Zachary finally had time to check the result of that previous shot.
He was somewhat surprised.
And some people at this moment were terrified.
The entire bow of that T2 Ishtar-class was gone. The whole bow section was a massive explosion crater, as if it had been decapitated.
The surrounding pirate starships witnessed the entire process firsthand. The starship they had been pursuing suddenly turned around, followed by a main cannon attack. Unexpectedly, one of the only two T2 Ishtar-class starships in their fleet was directly destroyed with a single shot!
One must know that this was a Heavy Interstellar Destroyer. "Heavy" meant a larger hull, more powerful weaponry, and thicker hull armor. Yet, such a T2 Ishtar-class Heavy Interstellar Destroyer was instantly destroyed by the enemy with one shot.
"That's… that's a 1200mm caliber cannon!" Suddenly, the captain of a pirate starship exclaimed in the internal shared communication channel.
The other pirate captains quickly used deep-space telescopes to check the situation. They clearly saw a terrifyingly large cannon at the bow of the Blizzard Zero, their pursuit target! It was this massive cannon that had just destroyed the T2 Ishtar-class with a single shot.
"How… how can a T2 starship mount such a large-caliber cannon? What kind of monstrous starship is this!" The captain of a T1 Scythe-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer felt a chill down his spine.
A higher-tier T2 Ishtar-class starship couldn't withstand that shot. A T1 Scythe-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer, which was one tier lower, would fare even worse. If it were to take a shot, one could imagine the outcome.
"One shot every five minutes. Let me count how many there are. One… two… three…" Zachary chuckled sinisterly, counting the enemy starships as if counting beans.