Logbook entry

LOG 11NOV3037: First Capital encounter

12 Nov 2021Lancer_Lupercal
By chance or by divine design, I've never faced a capital class ship before in battle.

Make no mistake. I am not one of those commanders so green, whose flightsuits still reeks of industrial fiber and heat-resistant surfactants.

I've faced my share of enemies in battle. I've fought against dozens of enemies alone and came up on top. I've stared at Death in its cold, empty void of eyes and told him: "Not today."

But these victories did not prepare me against a Capital Ship.

During my service with the Federal Navy, I've seen plenty of Farragut class battlecruisers docked near space stations, or standing sentry above celestial bodies of great importance.

I've always thought to myself: "Is this what all capital ships are like? They look so... Puny."

This arrogant misconception vanished the instant I faced one in battle.

The cold warning of capital class ship's arrival did not immediately register in my ear. What first alerted me of its presence, was an unnatural vibration that shocked me through the core.

The bone chilling scream hit me like a blast wave, as the battlecruiser tore through the fabrics of reality. And then, I saw it. On my six high, an Ominous black cloud of lightnighting emerged from nothing and out of it exited a black steel and red stripped ship that is a Farragut class battlecruiser.

For an instant, the battle field stood still. The singing of missiles and weeping of lasers are no more, as if drown out by the ship's sheer commanding presence.

And then, it fired.

The battle was going well for my Squadron. We were stacking up kills without taking losses. But as soon as the capital ship started firing, the tide of battle turned almost instantly.

The Battlecruiser's broadside guns thundered. Laser as thick as a two men stacked burned through shields like air and shells the size of a small vehicle hammered the hulls into twisted burning wrecks.

Panicked screams filled the comms as one by one my comrades were downed. The enemies pushed on with renewed vigor and but we were forced to pull out of the battlecruiser's gun range, in the process taking on even more casualties.

The few more experienced pilots pulled themselves out of the initial shock and started rallying the troops, while tanking as much guns as possible inside the battlecruiser's firing range.

They began rallying the troops. But no one wanted to take the risk.

Maybe not no one. I saw a single brave Eagle pilot attempting to join the larger, heavier ships in the frontline, trying to draw away enough fire power by evading the shots with its superior skill.

One second it was there and It wasn't the next.

After that, only ships of large tonnage are willing to approach the deadly line of fire.

Whoever remained quickly devised a plan to disable the battlecruiser's heat vents in order to route it (Not destroy, route). Since my ship was the fastest, I drew the short straw of finding all the heat vents and destroying them.

Honestly, I did not know how I made it out alive. Everything was a blur as intense light and vibration filled my Anaconda's bridge. For more than once I accidentally rammed into enemy ships or flying pass my target.

But eventually, I did it. I forced the ship to retreat.

By the time it left the battlefield, more than half of our forces were destroyed. Nearly all of them were unable to eject on time.

My heart is still throbbing as I write down this log.

How could men make such magnificent, terrifying beast? How could we master the crafts to bring such monster into existence?

I close my eyes and there they are, the burning traces of guns and laser still streaked across my sight.
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