Chapter 387: On the Verge of Conflict!
It was only natural for everyone to want to escape as quickly as possible.
However, the sheer scale and mass of the Deep Space meant its acceleration was severely limited, capping out at a maximum of one meter per second squared.
The vessel was forty kilometers long and weighed tens of billions of metric tons. If they pushed the acceleration any higher, neither the hull materials nor the engines would survive the structural stress.
It couldn’t pull tens of Gs like a nimble fighter craft; it could only crawl forward, gradually building speed at a sluggish pace.
While one meter per second squared wasn’t actually slow in a vacuum, it was practically a standstill when measured against the vast, empty backdrop of space.
"Are you saying we still can’t engage the warp drive?" Over this short period, Jason had poured his entire soul into managing their escape. Seeing the massive silhouette of Dige Planet still looming right behind them made him feel as if they hadn’t moved an inch, filling him with a burning, suffocating anxiety.
His heart hammered heavily against his ribs. A profound heaviness, like the crushing pressure of a deep-sea trench, washed over him. It felt like this tension could rupture at any second, dragging everyone on board into the abyss.
"It’s too slow. We’re flying too slowly... Aren’t we just waiting for them to catch up?" Jason slammed his fist on the table, impatient as he once again pressed the engineering team for a miracle.
Deep down, Jason knew that one meter per second squared was already pushing past their safety ratings.
The entire Deep Space was humming and vibrating violently from the strain. Pushing it any faster was physically impossible.
"No, Captain, the warp drive is completely off the table. We haven’t been away from the planet long enough... The gravitational pull is too strong!" On the main screen, a middle-aged engineer tugged frantically at his own hair, clearly buckling under the immense pressure. "The spatial curvature here is too dense—if we engage it, we’ll explode!"
"Or rather... there’s a ninety-eight percent chance we’ll explode! No, we absolutely cannot risk the warp drive!"
The expert shook his head in absolute distress. "Under standard protocols, we need to be at least three million kilometers away from a planetary body to guarantee a safe jump. That means we need twenty-two hours of continuous emergency acceleration!"
Nearby, analysts frantically ran simulations on orbital trajectories and probability models. Another expert chimed in,
"He’s right, the risks are astronomical right now. The further we get from the planet, the better our chances of a successful warp."
Jason’s frown deepened. A ninety-eight percent chance of a catastrophic explosion was practically a death sentence. He couldn’t justify taking that gamble.
With his demands yielding no solutions, he had no choice but to wait in agonizing silence as the Deep Space slowly inched its way into the void.
One hour...
Two hours...
Three hours...
Eight hours had passed since Jason and his crew set off, putting roughly 400,000 kilometers between them and Dige.
Then, the Federation’s long-range sensors finally detected it: hostile targets moving at sub-light speeds! Within twenty minutes, a blinding flash of light erupted six billion kilometers away!
It was the unmistakable signature of a catastrophic engine failure. An unlucky enemy drone had collided with debris in a Kuiper Belt-like region, violently shattering its warp bubble.
That single flash of light plunged the entire bridge into extreme tension. The chilling reality of war had finally arrived.
"The enemy’s velocity is at eighty percent the speed of light! That’s too fast... wait, no, they’re decelerating! The rate of deceleration is insane!"
Professor Thomson, the head of astronomical observations, shouted in disbelief. "No, no, no! That kind of braking maneuver completely ignores all structural safety limits. No matter how advanced their tech is, a ship shouldn’t be able to survive that!"
As he spoke, a dense cluster of brilliant flashes erupted on the sensor feeds.
These bursts of light were warp bubbles collapsing under the sheer force of the emergency deceleration. In just half an hour, two to three hundred enemy ships had exploded!
Of course, a massive swarm of enemy drones remained hidden in the dark void. At such an extreme distance, visual confirmation was impossible; they could only be tracked by the faint infrared signatures of their engines.
Due to their relatively low mass, most of these drones were hard to track even with gravitational wave sensors.
𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
The largest cluster of enemy contacts... had a combined diameter of forty kilometers!
These were all faster-than-light vessels, yet they were intentionally bypassing safety protocols and blowing themselves up just to slow down faster.
It sent a chill down everyone’s spine. This terrifying enemy was trying to crush the Federation with sheer, disposable industrial might.
"Thank god. A huge chunk of their drone fleet just wiped itself out because of collapsing warp bubbles..."
"Are they insane? Decelerating that hard and shattering their own warp fields—it’s a suicide gamble! Their engines can’t take it. Most of their drones will be crippled by the G-forces alone!"
"Even if they survive intact, their warp drives will need extensive repairs before they can jump again..." Several scientists on the bridge discussed the data with morbid excitement.
"...The coordinates... they match! These are the exact coordinates we intercepted!"
Some of the more optimistic crew members thought the distant explosions looked like a fireworks display, a fiery send-off. But Jason saw it differently; his dread only deepened.
A few hours were nowhere near enough time for the Deep Space to reach the three-million-kilometer safe zone to engage their own warp drive! At 400,000 kilometers, they were still too close.
A warp jump now meant certain death. And if the Deep Space was crippled here, there would be no escaping.
To Jason, those distant flashes of light were a declaration of pure, unadulterated killing intent. The suffocating shadow of war had gripped the heart of every soldier on board!
Jason gritted his teeth, a fierce glint in his eyes. If the enemy was willing to take a gamble with such terrible odds, it meant they were absolutely confident in the outcome! A highly advanced interstellar civilization wasn’t stupid.
They produced countless brilliant minds, likely far superior at tactical calculations and cosmic warfare than humanity.
The enemy had definitely scanned the Deep Space beforehand, analyzed the Federation’s technology level, and concluded they could easily wipe them out.
That was the only reason they would execute such a seemingly suicidal, reckless maneuver.
Because even with a low survival rate, some of those ships would make it through. And those surviving drones would become the deadliest threat the Federation had ever faced!
The enemy clearly believed that whatever ships survived the deceleration would be enough to destroy or capture the Deep Space.
Furthermore, this fanatical tactic proved one thing: the value of Elara far outweighed the cost of sacrificing a massive drone fleet!
Jason took a deep, heavy breath, forcing himself to stay calm.
"Have the Titan and the Deep Space spool up their long-range laser batteries! All other vessels remain on standby!"
"Helm, put the Deep Space into an evasive posture!"
The war had effectively begun the moment both sides locked sensors. Scattered light-speed weapons began exchanging fire across the void. Given the vast distances, creating a concentrated network of fire was impossible; it was mostly blind shots hoping for a lucky hit.
But in war, you had to take every shot you could. A single lucky strike could shift the balance of power.
Jason clenched his fists. Hold back. Hold back. It wasn’t time to unleash the railguns just yet!
Railgun slugs weren’t lasers; their speed and ammunition were limited. You couldn’t just fire them wildly into the dark.
Space was far too vast. Firing a barrage of kinetic shells at this range was like throwing pebbles into an ocean. You could never blanket the target area! They had to wait until the enemy closed the distance to ensure the railguns would actually hit their marks.
Patience. You have to be patient! Now that the fight was upon them, panic was the real enemy.
At eighty percent of the speed of light, it would take roughly seven hours for the enemy to cross six billion kilometers. Factoring in sensor delay and the enemy’s aggressive deceleration, the main engagement would likely erupt within two hours, right on the edge of Dige’s three-million-kilometer safe zone.
The opening clash would be a brutal brawl between both sides’ drone fleets. A chaotic, desperate melee!
In a moment this tense, even the most seasoned veteran would struggle to keep their composure. Dozens of tactical advisors were gathered on the bridge, standing in absolute silence, watching the displays and waiting.
Waiting for the enemy to close in. Waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
They had done everything they could. The rest was up to fate.
The great war was on the verge of breaking out!