From the moment the enemy fleet signal appeared, Admiral Kalanswo realized that things were no longer developing as he had imagined.
From first impressions, it seems believable that the Chaos fleet may have just passed by by accident or came to search for their lost warship, but an hour after the initial warp rift was detected, and the size of the enemy increased to
When there were 13 enemy ships, this speculation was immediately proven to be extremely wrong.
On the Revenge, the great flagship, Admiral Kalansworth had to admit that he had made a miscalculation.
All the high-ranking officers came to the bridge and discussed the continuous appearance of enemy ships. Only Admiral Kalanswo remained quiet.
"This is undoubtedly a deliberate attempt to eliminate us."
The fleet chief of staff made a grimace and looked away from the screen to speak to his colleagues.
"Look at their layout, running straight through the shortest route to the edge of the asteroid."
"I bet as soon as we start moving in any other direction, there are other ships out in the system ahead of us, and they're trying to herd us together like ducks on a hunt."
"We need to spread out."
The first mate looked shocked by the chief of staff's conclusion, but the chief of staff put an end to any protest before he could express it.
"We are far from matchable."
"We have time to call in more ships."
The deputy chief of staff suggested:
"It's not that far from the star of Gaia."
"The question is, how much power does Gaiya have? It is still unknown whether the Reliable Servant will return, and the base also needs defense forces."
"If we are destroyed, even those frigates will not be able to protect the base."
The chief of staff took a step back and took a deep breath.
"No way...how on earth did we run into them?"
"More importantly, how did they find us? All our ships must have complied with the correct communication security protocols. No one can detect our signals after setting off from the base."
"Ah, of course, base, maybe our vulnerability lies here."
"Sir, are you saying there are heretical spies in the base?"
"Yes, the most dangerous thing about heresies is that they confuse people's minds. Wherever they appear, lies will also exist."
The chief of staff rubbed his forehead, feeling disturbed by the turn of events.
"Just a little bit of dissatisfaction can lead to betrayal, perhaps from someone hoping to profit from heresy."
"Alas, there is no point in guessing anymore, but we can still fight. If they think they can drive us to the slaughterhouse like docile Grox, then we will give him a taste of unpleasantness! A coordinated attack,
Directly attack their main fleet and let us see if they have the courage to fight a real battle."
"we do not have."
The chief of staff said calmly, his statement once again shocked all the officers.
"At least, not here, not now... We are unprepared, have insufficient troops, and have no intelligence. We cannot throw the fleet into a gamble. If we lose, the Pandora galaxy will completely become a sore.
, as long as we can withdraw to the base, maybe-"
"And that's exactly what our enemies want."
Finally, Admiral Kalanswo, who had been silent for a long time, spoke, and everyone fell silent instantly, looking at the officer.
"They think we are weak and we will prove them wrong."
He looked at the officers in the strategy room and lowered his voice.
"The enemy's surprise attack is intended to break our morale and let us throw away the opportunity in a meaningless gesture of resistance. We may not have an overwhelming advantage, but we are not as weak as the heretics think. Since these traitors
Since pointing their guns at the Pandora galaxy, they have been able to achieve small victories most of the time, which makes them confident, but it will also be their weakness..."
General Kalanswo saw the desire to argue further in the eyes of the Chief of Staff. He knew that his old friend had always been cautious, but caution could not win the war.
Bravery, resourcefulness, and no hesitation at critical moments are the keys to victory in war.
"Perhaps this is not a winnable war."
Recalling clearly the stubborn young man he once was as the Chief of Staff, Admiral Kalanswo put a hand on the other's shoulder.
"But we have no choice."
The chief of staff looked at his old commander, then sighed softly, straightened his chest and raised his head.
"Sir, waiting for your order!"
All officers immediately stood at attention and waited for orders.
Admiral Kalanswo nodded, turned around and walked to the side of the communicator, and said in a deep voice:
"Order the fleet to prepare for the enemy! For the sake of the Emperor, we will not hesitate to die!!"
As the order was issued, the Imperial fleet quickly changed from a massed posture to a single column.
In this battle, the Pandora battle group was fully equipped. Except for the Dictator-class cruiser [Reliable Servant], which did not participate in the battle due to escort, all main battleships joined the battle, including the Emperor-class battleship [Vengeance], the Dominator-class battleship
Cruiser [Anvil], Lunar-class cruisers [Leviathan] and [Lord of the Solar System], in addition to 2 Dreadnought-class light cruisers, 1 Endeavor-class light cruiser, and 3 swords of the Gamma Squadron
Class frigates, five Scimitar-class frigates of the 89th Guard Division, a total of fifteen battleships.
When the Empire took up its stance, the Black Legion's fleet was also in place. This time they also used their main force, including the fleet's flagship Desolation Herald-class battleship [Endless Wrath], the Ugly-class large cruiser [Holy Corrosion], Styx
The heavy cruiser [Ruthless Destroyer] and the murderer-class cruiser [Grudge] were all present, as well as 4 Imagebreaker-class destroyers and 5 Believer-class plunderers, for a total of thirteen battleships.
The person commanding this fleet is Chaos Lord Eighta Irongraspeer. He is also the leading naval combat master in the Black Legion. He was already famous as the Eye of Terror before joining the Black Legion.
From a numerical point of view, the Imperial side has the advantage, but Admiral Kalansworth is well aware of the dangerous situation he is in.
Although the small ships of the Pandora battle group will be able to match the Chaos fleet in terms of numbers, they are extremely disadvantageous in terms of firepower of the main ship. The Vengeance is a modified aircraft carrier and cannot compete with the opponent's Ceaseless Fury in terms of firepower.
The only advantage that Admiral Kalansworth has is that the fighter jets carried by the Revenge have an absolute numerical advantage over Chaos.
Revenge has 4 flight launch platforms, each platform has 2 sets of flight decks, which can take off 8 flight squadrons at the same time, and its hangar can accommodate 32 flight squadrons, that is, 320 carrier-based aircraft!
In order to maximize this advantage, Kalansworth decided to keep the Vengeance behind the battle line and let other ships attack the Chaos fleet.
When the fleets of both sides begin to exchange fire, the multiple attack planes taking off from the Revenge can cross the battle line, swamp the escort fleet of the Chaos Fleet, and ultimately cause as much damage to the Chaos Fleet as possible.
As long as the attack aircraft can cause enough damage, it can make up for the unfavorable situation in the fleet artillery battle.
Moreover, Admiral Kalanswo decided to focus the carrier-based attack on the enemy's flagship. He prepared a formation of 4 squadrons of Starhawk torpedo aircraft for this purpose. When other carrier-based aircraft attracted enemy anti-aircraft firepower, this would
Become a deadly dagger.
Unfortunately, Karanswo's plan, while feasible, lacked the pretense of tactical intent.
And he didn’t know that the other party had far more information than he imagined——