The Mech Touch

Ever since the Dark Zephyr managed to draw out the hidden enemies and expose them to the sight of the Bluejay Fleet, Ves and the others immediately started to analyze their opposition.

Several facts immediately stood out. The enemy composition was anything but normal.

"There are not a lot of warships in the enemy fleet, but all of them appear to be stealth capable." Ves immediately noted. "All of them are sub-capitals, which makes sense as it is much harder for them to smuggle capital ships past our monitoring network."

Admiral Tensen nodded in agreement. "It becomes exponentially harder and costlier to apply active stealth to larger hulls. Any capital ship that can enter into stealth is a strategic asset that is almost as important as a dreadnought. It is unthinkable for the cosmopolitans to be able to secretly build or steal such an extravagant vessel, especially in the Red Ocean where they do not enjoy several millenia's worth of material accumulation."

"The native aliens also cannot afford to build such large stealth vessels." Professor Vector Loban noted. "The native alien contingent consists of 5 archeships of different sizes, but none of them are larger than light cruisers. There are likely more archeships in this star system, but may currently be hiding under active stealth. The native aliens have probably dispatched larger and more formidable ships to other star systems, but it is unlikely. The risk of losing them as soon as they cross into human-occupied space is far too great. The threat posed by these archeships are not that great as long as they are operating in the open."

Ves smirked. "Archeships are quite strong due to their reliance on archetech, but their modest sizes also limit the caliber of weapons that they can carry. Archeships often tend to compensate by carrying weapons of mass destruction, which they often like to launch on unsuspecting targets under stealth. We need to increase our anti-stealth measures to prevent the arche from bombing us to smithereens."

"We are already in the process of diverting resources as soon as we have received confirmation of a sizable presence of archeships."

The mechers and fleeters were already familiar with the devious nature of the arche. The turtle-like aliens and their special archeships had been infiltrating human-occupied space for a long time. The vast majority of alien stealth vessels never got detected because the powerful equipment necessary to uncover their presence at longer ranges were very limited in quantity.

"What is the probability that the cosmopolitans and native aliens have brought more warships, and whether those hulls are more suited for open combat?" Ves queried.

"We cannot rule out the possibility that our enemies have additional battleships of fleet carriers hiding inside an asteroid belt." Admiral Tensen stated. "The probability that this is the case is low. We are deep in human-controlled territory. Squadrons of patrol vessels dispatched by the Red Association and the Red Fleet have been patrolling this entire region. None have detected the typical traces that denote the passage of a large number of capital ships that we have not accounted for. I also believe that the two greater phase lords are unwilling to travel aboard sub-capital archeships when there are larger and more prestigious alien homeships available. The fact that a proud greater phase lord such as the Arena Lord of Ya'gwasa has deigned to travel on a small and cramped vessel signifies that he does not have a better choice."

The only way these phase lords manage to cross the border and sneak so far into human-occupied space unnoticed was if they took advantage of the excellent stealth capabilities of those handy archeships.

The Larkinson Clan already retained possession of a small archeship of their own for a while now, so Ves was much more familiar with their stealth capabilities than most people.

So long as these archeships did not drift too close to any bases and warships that were on guard against stealth infiltration, they could easily roam across all human colonies so long as their development level has not reached an advanced stage!

It was only in highly developed star systems such as the Yernstall and Vulit Central Star Nodes that the Red Two deployed more advanced long-range detection systems that could catch these sneaky bastards.

Although the tech was highly effective at making sure the arche did not sneak into the most important strongholds of human civilization, the tech and materials were so expensive and high-end that it was not feasible to install them everywhere.

The Bluejay Fleet did not possess the capability to deploy these powerful sensor systems. The ones installed on Fort Rock were much inferior and could only guarantee detection at fairly close ranges.

That was still better than what the starships of the Bluejay Fleet had at their disposal!

Ves and many others thought about all of the anti-stealth measures they prepared in the past and did not entirely feel confident about their solutions.

The scarcity of high-grade resources limited their options. There was not much they could do to detect hidden archeships at longer ranges.

"At least our preparations are much more effective at countering the abilities of the Distance Shaper." Jovy Armalon said with a smile. "His abilities are famed for being able to affect large areas, but that also indicates that his power applications are dispersed. The lack of power concentration means that our spatial countermeasures should be especially effective at dampening his spatial abilities. The space surrounding Fort Rock should be especially resistant against his manipulations. If we had not invested in this temporary space fortress, then our Bluejay Fleet would have been much more susceptible to the orven greater phase lord's spatial manipulations."

"That doesn't mean we should underestimate or dismiss the threat posed by the Distance Shaper." Ves noted. "He can still do a lot of crazy stuff further away from Fort Rock. Aside from that, I am sure he has other means of attack that doesn't rely on widespread battlefield manipulation. We need to be on guard on what he will do. We can't forget about those 5 arche lesser phase lords. I think it is safe to assume that the enemy warships are not really that impressive as long as they are not hiding in stealth. Our opponents are clearly relying on their greater and lesser phase lords to get the job done. They are the main fighting force that we need to worry about."

That was a good deduction. The cosmopolitan sub-capital ships were physically fragile, making them much less suitable for direct combat. The archeships did not suffer as much from this problem, but their lack of big guns severely limited their ability to wear down the defenses of human starships.

Their weapons of mass destruction were a big problem, but they could easily be intercepted if they remained at a distance. It was when the archeships snuck really close that their powerful bombs inflicted the most damage.

The gathered leaders and officers continued to analyze and strategize in the virtual meeting room. Time was of the essence, so nobody spoke anything that they deemed less relevant to the conversation.

Their ultimate conclusion was that the enemy stealth ships posed a certain threat, but not as much as the phase lords.

There were 5 lesser phase lords, each requiring the equivalent of a junior ace mech to fight back with confidence.

There were also 2 greater phase lords, which could only truly be defeated by senior ace mechs.

The Dark Zephyr alone could not possibly defeat or fend off all of these phase lords by themselves!

The only other way to defeat them was to rely on the superior firepower and technology of the Bluejay Fleet and Fort Rock.

"We have no other choice but to make a stand." Ves spoke. "We need to use Fort Rock as our bulwark and force the enemy phase lords to break their backs onto it. We need to reduce their numbers as soon as possible, which means we have to blow apart the lesser phase lords with concentrated firepower. The new Rosfield Cannons built by Lord Richard Brownstone should help a lot with that, but it might not be enough."

Multiple people directed suspicious glances at him. They already had an inkling of what he had in mind.

"We cannot be the first ones to deploy weapons of mass destruction." Admiral Tensen spoke in an admonishing tone. "You may not fully appreciate it, but we have long maintained an implicit contract with the native aliens not to destroy the dwarf galaxy that we live in by recklessly throwing around weapons powerful enough to ruin planets. There are occasions where both sides have broken this rule, but it has happened infrequently enough that neither side is willing to escalate. Your decision today may tip the advantage in our favor, but it may lead to a large amount of destruction in the future. The fourth defensive band may very well collapse ahead of time as a consequence. Your life is important, but I cannot permit you to put the survival of the human race in the Red Ocean at stake."

Most of the other gathered officers nodded in a clear show of support. Ves knew that he would have no chance of getting through their stubborn minds that a preemptive strike was the best possible course of action.

He inwardly grimaced. This was the problem with relying on others for protection. The Bluejay Fleet did not officially belong to him. Admiral Tensen and his subordinates may be willing to defer to him during normal times, but as soon as the Red Association's core interests were at stake, they would instantly remember where their true loyalties rested!

Fortunately, Ves had already anticipated this sort of response.

He coughed. "We do not necessarily have to strike the first blow. The cosmopolitans are murderous terrorists, right? The arche also have a habit of throwing nukes in order to destroy shipyards and facilities in one blow. Isn't it reasonable to expect that they will definitely launch their weapons of mass destruction at us first? This is especially the case when they want to claim my life so much."

"You are correct that they are not above resorting to these measures, but they do not do so consistently." Jovy responded in a measured tone. "The cosmopolitans and the arche are likely not in charge. It is the Arena Lord of Ya'gwasa that is likely in charge. He will not favor this solution as it will cheapen his victory."

Ves shook his head. "I doubt that they are all aligned, though. The cosmopolitans want me dead a lot more than the native aliens since my kinship network is ravaging their infiltration plans. Let me make a prediction. The cosmopolitans will defy whatever instructions they receive from the Arena Lord. They will attempt to eliminate me right from the start by launching a salvo of weapons of mass destruction at my location, most likely from a ship in stealth. We won't see a vessel coming, but we may have a brief window of opportunity to intercept the warheads in flight."

The looks of numerous officers changed. Subtle expressions overcame their faces. These were all clever people, so they instantly deduced his actual plan, which he could never voice in the open.

It was a good sign that the officers did not shoot down his 'prediction' right away. The threat posed by the 7 phase lords was so great that they did not see a good way to vanquish them unless they pulled out all of the stops!

"As much as I believe in the strength of our first-class multipurpose mechs, we only have 325 at our disposal." Major Jankowski spoke up. "Together with the firepower of our warships and Fort Rock, we may be able to defeat the 5 lesser phase lords at a cost, but I fear the 2 greater phase lords are still beyond us. If the 'prediction' made by Professor Larkinson comes true, we may turn the tables against our adversaries and show them that we are the true masters of destruction."

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