Chapter 2: Battle for Vermire

                 Gordon Malik stood over the map of the Galaxy. His thoughts dwelling about Ammit and the possible confrontation. Why now, at the pinnacle of war with the Darkness. What was Anu Mau up to? He rubbed his chin with his left hand and stared at the Galaxy map. “Where would you strike? Would you for us or for someone else?” he said as he glared at the map. The door to his room opened and the sounds of footsteps filled his room. He slowly turned his head as he glanced at the three Warrant Officers that entered his office. “Sir, Vermire is under attack by Asmodian Forces!”. That move was indeed interesting,” Curious that they would make such a bold move. Have the armadas responded to equalize the threat?” he asked as he turned to fully face the Warrant officers. “But sir! The Asmodians are at the door! We must protect…” Gordon Malik raised his hand to silence the Warrant Officer. He had a calm look upon his face. “Patience, we cannot risk running into conflict when we aren’t composed. It could mean to difference between life and death. We must think things through and be careful about our choices.”. He turned back towards the galaxy map. He narrowed his eyes. They attacked Vermire first, but that made no sense. Why make a strike at the station is that obviously guarded well? His thoughts filled his mind. He turned off the map and motioned the Warrant Officers to follow him. “We will be on our way to Vermire. It’s time we faced these Asmodians and beat them at their own game. Ready my ship!”
 
                Vermire had slowly turned into a conflict zone. Hundreds of ships were in deep conflict. The sounds of war surrounded the station. Vermire had closed all of its docking bays and other methods to enter the space station. Orders had been received by Gordon Malik. They were to hold positions and set up a defensive line and don’t let the enemy dock at the Station. The ships on both sides were covered in passing energy based weapon fire and flashes of different colors. The fleets fighters flew out of their respected ships and grouped up. The Asmodians fighters were completely golden. The armor reflected the lights of the war around them. The Nypherian fighters were solid black with grey markings on the side. Each marking had a serial number and each represented the ships AI code. Each Nypherian fighter is its own AI. They think for themselves and receive all information from their respected ships. Like a cloud, each side flew towards each other. The Asmodians flying their ships screamed as the charged towards their most hated enemy. As the cloud of ships collided. A flash of color erupted as they opened fire on each other. The battleships on both sides shot past the fighters and at their targets. A group of Nypherian MC2B23’s is focusing on one Asmodian battle cruiser. The large concussion from the weapons echoed in space. The massive red bolts fired along the side the Asmodian ship. The shields could hold against that kind of fire power and the bolts began to rip in the side of the ship. Large chunks of metal began to explode off the ship. Trails of smoke began to billow out from the ship. Within moments, the ship began to drift to the left as they had lost power. A large explosion erupted from the ship. A massive concussive wave followed the explosion.
                A massive ship entered the system of Vermire. It had Nypherian markings and bore the name, “Malik” on the side of the ship. Malik stood straight as he is in the control room of the ship. Officers and Warrant Officers alike were working frantically with the ships systems. “Sir, our line is still holding and the enemy is taking more hits than we are.” “Sir, forces are asking for next orders!”. The room is filled with demands for orders and battle updates. Gordon Malik closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opens his eyes. “Hold the line but send orders to prepare for a push. Send orders to the MC 1013’s to move in and support the fighters. Now, send orders to the MC2B23’s to keep the enemy’s focus away from the Frigates and for the Assault Cruiser MC 3B10’s to fire upon the larger ships!”. Everyone jumped onto their assigned tasks and got right to work. The fleets around Vermire began to move to Gordon Malik’s plan. The Frigates begin to move forward as they release ion missiles towards the swarm of enemy fighters. Red bolts erupted from the Frigates as well, a combination of missiles and energy fire were being focused upon Asmodian fighters. The cloud of fighters had become swarmed with Nypherian MC 1013 support fire. A missile curled around friend fighters, it began to look for enemy signatures. The missile struck a Asmodian fighter that tried to escape the missile. A large blue explosion struck the ship on the side, causing it to rip apart. The pilot had been tossed into space from the explosion and slowly began to die from the freezing temperatures of space.
 
                Within the capital ship, Ammit and Thoth watched from their control bridge. Ammit angrily tapped his fingers in rage and Thoth had more of a calm look. “We’re losing ships faster than we’re doing damage. The readings about the Nypherians have changed. They have upgraded since our last conflict 20 years ago,” He growled in frustration. Thoth said nothing as he just watched the battle in front of him. He watched as the Nypherian fleet began to move. “Gordon Malik is here…” those words made Ammit stand up and glare at Thoth. “You better be joking!” he snapped at Thoth. Thoth only pointed to the screen as the system focused on the large ship hanging in the back and expanded the photo of the ship. The Words “Malik” rested on the side of the ship. Ammit clenched his fists as he has always hated Gordon Malik. “That bastard is still alive. What annoys me is that he use to serve the Black Spade and now he was “saved” by Seyfer. Given eternal youth and that kind of crap.” He punched the chair in rage. He had never been able to beat Gordon Malik in a fight. Thoth stepped forward, “Focus your fire upon he larger ships. Don’t let them move any closer. We can’t let the enemy flank us.” Ammit stopped and glared at Thoth, “I am the ranking officer of this fleet and I give the orders!” Thoth only glanced at Ammit. A sneer formed on his beak. “You’re busy punching chairs and you offered no palpable change in strategy. Just let me do my job and get beat some slaves…” he retorted with his own form of sass.
               

                The Asmodians fired and focused on the moving Assault Cruiser MC 3B10. These actions caused them to stop. They held position and they kept firing as well. Their shots were landing hits on the larger Asmodian cruisers. Upon the capital ship, Gordon Malik watched. The steams of information and the 3D map of the battle rested in front of him. His right arm rest across his chest, his hand is grasping his left elbow. His left hand was upon his chin. His thoughts swirled within his mind. He studied the Asmodian movements. He took note at how far their ships were and how quickly they were being destroyed. “It’s is obvious they never bothered upgrading their ships. A pity to be honest. I was hoping for more of a challenge. However, they will soon upgrade after this conflict and comeback even stronger. We must do as much damage as possible. Push the attack. Move all ships forward and have some go on the left and right side of the enemy. Keep some of the fleet in place, defend Vermire.” He crossed his arms behind his back as he looked up from the map and out at the battle in front of him. He walked away from the map and walked up to the windows. He peered out at the battle in front of him. He glanced over the things and rested his eyes upon the enemy capital ship. He knew that ship and who was on it. “Ammit, you do have courage in attacking us. Specifically, on Vermire. However, we have been growing since our last conflict. You will find out that things will not go your way.”
 
                The ships moved as they begun to follow the orders that were given by Gordon Malik.  A line of ships sat in front of the station. They held their positions and kept firing at the Asmodian fleet. Most of the fleet split apart and began to flank the left and right sides. They concentrated their fire and began to cause more and more damaged. The colors of the conflict began to escalate as smoke, fire, and energy bolts flashed around. The Asmodian fighter squadrons had been defeated and the Nyhperian fighters pushed up. The MC 1013’s also pushed up with the fighters as they began to focus on the small Asmodian ships. Thoth could see that this battle is lost. He snorted in annoyance at how much the Nypherians had upgraded their ships. “Sound the retreat. We will teleport to a system outside of the Nypherian territories. Send the orders now.” Thoth said as he walked away from the Control Bridge. Ammit had been silent the entire time as he too knew how lost this battle is. The door to the control bridge closed.
               

                The Asmodian ships magically teleported away. The Battle for Vermire had ended. Gordon Malik stood and watched them leave. He nodded to everyone within the control room. “Good work everyone. This battle is ours and it’s because of your hard work and dedication to our Empire. Take this time and follow protocol. I expect a report on my desk within the hour.” He left keeping his hands folded behind his back. This battle had been easy but with some loss. He expected to see the result on paper. He wasn’t done with the Asmodians, he wanted to hunt them down.