On the evening of the second day, Max and Nico were on high alert as the besieged planet began to enter their sensor detection range. They were still too far out to pick up any individual ships, but they were close to that point, and there was no telling what the Cathedral Ships could do.
At the moment, there was no sign of anything in this layer, enemy or otherwise. That was a good sign in Max's mind, and he hoped that they weren't watching for an approach of this fashion so his small fleet could attack undetected, the way that the Arisen had for so long against the other species in this region.
[We are coming up on sensor range to the attack. Display screens are now available.] The ship's computer informed them a few hours later.
Nico switched all the displays in the main sitting room to show different sensors and camera angles, just in case something was trying to sneak up on them, while Max checked the responses of the Cathedral Ships for any signs that they had detected his fleet and were on high alert against ambush.
Every movement and ship placement, every deployment of their troops was carefully analyzed as they fought against the resistance forces that were already there in orbit.
From here, it looked like the planet hadn't taken the full brunt of the attack yet, and the force was mostly a mortal one, as there was no strange barrier around the region. The defenders wouldn't be able to hold out forever, as they were heavily outnumbered and outgunned. The only thing they had in their favour was heavier shielding, which kept them in the fight for the moment while they sent requests for more support from nearby systems.
How much they could hope for was very dubious when every planet was afraid that they would be the next ones in that position but without their own defence fleet. They had received some token forces from their allies, just not enough for the scale of attack that they were receiving.
They hadn't informed anyone that they were on their way yet, so if another planet took a sudden attack, Max could go to their aid instead, but it looked more like this was the spot to be, with all of the firepower that had gathered for round two of the space battle.
"Nico, what do we have that's more than the standard Fusion Torpedo but not antimatter?" Max asked.
"There really isn't anything. It's Nuke them into oblivion or annihilate everything. There is no in-between. Why, what are you thinking?" She asked, excited that Max might have something fun in store.
"Just the basic ambush. You know, maximum first strike capability and get rid of as much of the enemy firepower as humanly possible before they have a chance to react." Max shrugged.
"Well, let's see what options we have with the gear we're working with. If they don't detect us, we could portal in the Android Mecha at point-blank range with ten thousand Nuclear Torpedos, one per Mecha. If they do detect us, we can fire a full barrage at the closest ships, and I can almost guarantee a dozen instant kills.
What do you want us to prioritize? Taking out their orbital firepower?" Nico asked.
Max shook his head. "No, maximum casualty rate. If they still have troops on them in reserve for the landing, I want them gone. If they're a repair ship stocked with staff, I want them gone. We can deal with their orbital firepower later. The manpower will be the hardest part for them to replace."
Nico hopped on top of him and smothered Max's face in kisses as she laughed.
"See, everyone says that women are hard to understand, but you get me so well. Fear not; I will find us just the right weapon for the job, and you can use your fancy targeting skills to find us just the right targets."
Max picked out twelve targets that looked to their sensors to have the most people still on them and waited to see if the enemy was going to detect them before they could spring the trap.
[We are within the solar system. Torpedos are in range.] The computer informed him.
"No sign of response from the enemy. Begin positioning ships for the assault." Max ordered.
That brought a response, but not from where they expected. Five alien Destroyers in a pattern that Max had seen during the first battle suddenly appeared in front of them, with energy weapons charged and ready to fire.
[All shields to maximum intensity.]
[Fire All Torpedos and shift Layers.]
Max and Nico's orders came at the exact same time, and the shields were overcharged just as the Torpedos were fired and the portal generators began to charge. The shift between layers had a two-second lag time as the portal was stabilized, and it was just long enough to see that their tactic had worked.
The aliens' weapons nearly depleted the shields of Max's fleet while the Torpedos tore their vessels apart and threw the remains out into the unforgiving energy currents. Then, they were back in their home layer, and the Torpedos were rearmed for the main assault.
[Fire on the designated targets.] Max ordered.
The Cathedral ships began to turn to face them, attempting to avoid a barrage against their broadsides by the human fleet, but the Torpedos were already away. They had fired from much further out than Max had hoped, but he wasn't going to waste any more time, and he began targeting the Mass Drivers for the fleet while the Torpedo tubes reloaded.
They were created as they were used, so it took a few seconds to custom-build each one, but the torpedo arsenal was only one of the three major weapon systems on each ship.
Only Max's Cutter didn't have an Orbital Lance, but that was not a major loss from this distance. The slower-moving energy weapons were better used up close, while the Warp Capable torpedos were best for this interplanetary range.
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