Book 4: Chapter 163: Flight Sims

Book 4: Chapter 163: Flight Sims

USD: One day after returning to MIL-1A

Location: Meltisar, Mil-1A, Naval Academy, Instructor Housing BLKA, Alexs Room

Im going to be late! Alex exclaimed, her voice filling the apartment. She hopped on one foot as she struggled to pull on her gray cadet boot, while her bag wobbled precariously atop her head.

As she slipped out of her room adjoining the kitchen, Elis handed her a bento box that had just finished being packed. The faint aroma of freshly cooked rice wafted through the air as Alex grabbed it with a grateful smile. Thanks!

One day back and youre already uncontained chaos, Elis commented, laughing at the sight of her disheveled sister. Her red hair and eyes shimmered in the kitchens soft lighting.

Sorry! I overslept! Alex replied, acutely aware that she had no time to stop and chat. Thea had already left for groundside, which meant that she didnt have a minder todayboth a blessing and a curse. On one hand, she could sprint freely through the stations labyrinthine passageways without having to slow down; but on the other hand, it could be helpful to have someone clear a path through any crowds.

Feeling the pressure of her mounting tardiness, the corridors seemed to stretch endlessly before her. Alexs journey through the Academy courtyard turned into a frantic sprint as she nimbly weaved between well-manicured shrubs and expertly employed parkour techniques to vault over the glistening water cascading down the central fountain. Thankfully, no crowds stood in her way, as all other Officer Candidates had already made it punctually to their destinations.

Upon reaching her classroom, Alex discovered another hand simultaneously moving toward the door control alongside hers. She offered a warm yet apologetic smile, hoping it would soften the irritated lieutenant who shared her tardiness, but he remained tight-lipped in response. Both of them were five minutes late, a fact that hung heavily between them.

He shot her a stern glare before opening the door and ushering her inside. The room was arranged with tables and chairs separated into two groups that faced each other, each seat outfitted with its own monitor and console.

Alex noticed Rachel sitting at one of the tables, shaking her head disapprovingly at Alexs tardiness. Her brown hair framed her face, and her eyes seemed to silently scold Alex as she scurried over and took the seat Rachel had saved beside her.

The training officer introduced himself as Lieutenant Bridges, their instructor for the day, and announced that he would oversee their exercise. His gaze fixed on Alex once more as he skewered her with a question. Cadet Myers, can you please remind everyone why we are here today?This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

Panic bubbled up inside Alex as she realized that she hadnt read the days curriculum and therefore didnt know why theyd gathered for this session. She glanced at the way the tables were arranged, searching for clues. Swallowing her apprehension, she stood up and said with as much confidence as she could muster: Opfor Uhm

Just as panic threatened to overwhelm her, Nameless came to her rescue, speaking inside her head with a calming certainty.

[Informative: This class assignment is to engage the class in an adversarial competition, with each part of the class commanding a simulated warship. Each team member will lead one scenario for their team.]

Alex quickly relayed this information to the classroom, relief washing over her face. Lieutenant Bridges nodded, satisfied with her answer. He proceeded to explain the structure of their exercise in more detail. Theyd be fighting through various scenarios with randomized order-of-battles and ranks assigned to each cadet. Each one of them would have a chance to have at last one chance at fleet command.

Lieutenant Bridges eyes scanned the class before asking them what they were waiting forthey should put on their headsets.

Alex slipped hers on, only to find that nothing happened. The silence was unnerving, and she furrowed her brow in confusion before mentioning her problem aloud.

Lieutenant Bridges approached her console, his expression a mix of concern and impatience. Whats the issue?

Its not activating, she replied hesitantly.

[Notice: This unit will translate the simulation and stream it directly to Avatar, since the hardware is expecting a standard human neural net.]

Suddenly, Alex found herself engulfed in an unusual fluid space that seemed to defy physics. She felt suspended between dimensions, as if floating in a comfortably warm pool of water. A screen displaying Lieutenant Bridges appeared before her, hovering like a hologram. Its fine now, she told him quickly. Its working. He nodded in response before his image vanished from view.

She felt like she was being sucked down a drain before landing on a starship bridge. Taking stock of her surroundings, she realized it was far smaller than Aegis but vaguely reminiscent of Shrikes bridge. The consoles surrounding her hummed with energy, and the scent of ozone lingered in the air. She dusted herself off and confidently took her seat at the captains chair just as other crew members materialized around her AI NPCs, according to her HUD.

The main screen flickered to life, revealing Rachel with an impressive Rear Admiral title under her name. Alex couldnt help but feel a twinge of surpriseand maybe just a hint of envyas she prepared for the simulation to begin, taking note of the intricate details on Rachels uniform that signified her new rank. One of the largest drawbacks was that she didnt get to design their uniforms, but she quietly asked Nameless to store a copy of the Rear Admirals uniform in a file folder for her for later examination when she had a chance to update her Starlight Revolution uniform designs.

As Rachel took command of the blue teams fleet, a basic text order appeared on Alexs command console. The message instructed the Cadet-Captains to familiarize themselves with their ships and move to specific locations around the Flagship. Alex confirmed that she had a small corvette and pulled up the ship schematics on her main screen.

A tangle of metal and engineering sprawled across her display, revealing every nook and cranny of her vessel. She took a deep breath, savoring the challenge ahead as she examined the vessels systems in detail. Its top-rated speed nearly matched that of the Shrike minus the maneuverability factor, and its weapon systems left much to be desired: no missiles, only light PDC-K and PDC-L turrets, an anemic EWLS electronic warfare launch system that made her wince, and a single pair of light railguns.

Disappointment surged through her, but she quickly fought it down; this was only their first match, after all. There would be time for commanding better ships in future rounds.

Reading off the coordinates for her designated location to the helm, the NPC helmsman diligently plotted their course. The ship hummed beneath her feet as they began their journey towards their assigned position.

[Interrogative: Would you like this unit to assume full control of the ships functions?]

Her fingers danced across illuminated buttons as she reviewed all the tactical information available to her. But ultimately, their movements and orders came from the flagship; So rather than focus on the big picture, Alex focused on her own four ships tasks.

As the fleets engaged, battleship missile volleys were exchanged. Two massive salvos targeted each others heavy elements, a deadly dance of destruction in the simulated low orbit of the massive blue gas giant. Alex focused her picket group on sniping as many missiles as possible, her crew working tirelessly to intercept and eliminate the incoming projectiles.

Despite their best efforts, several missiles made it through, causing substantial damage to the battleships and heavy cruisers on both sides. The virtual impact points of the projectiles tore into hulls and shattered critical systems, leaving once-mighty vessels crippled and barely operational.

The simulation demonstrated the devastating consequences of such a conflict, with each damaged ship now struggling to maintain its position in the fleet. But there was no time for damage control and both groups of ships hurtled directly towards each other rapidly.

As the distance between the two fleets narrowed further, a heavy exchange of laser fire erupted. Though the beams themselves were invisible as they flashed through the vacuum, their devastating impacts on targets became evident with each strike. Ships shuddered as their hulls were seared by concentrated energy, marking the darkness of space with bright flashes like artificial stars where they connected.

Alex and the light elements pulled to the rear of the fleet to avoid being primary targets for the accurate laser fire. They danced around larger ships while still providing support where possible, their own light PDC-Ls adding their own contribution to the momentous energy being unleashed. The battlefield was chaotic and unpredictable, but offered opportunities for her team to showcase their skills.

Her eyes remained fixed on her command console as she directed her ship in executing precise maneuvers and coordinating with other units. With every decision she made, Alex knew that livesalbeit virtual oneswere at stake.

Damage mounted on both sides, and two of Alexs squadron were destroyed outright as lasers burrowed through their hulls. Her display, showing the individual status of every vessel in the fleet, flared from mostly blue to mostly yellow, and finally to an alarming array of reds.

A laser cut into her Silverflash, shaking the ship and filling the bridge with acrid smoke. Unlike the Shrike, there were relatively few self-repair units on board, and all of them were simulated damage control personnel.

Alex cursed under her breath as she discovered that her entire starboard PDC array had shut down, along with one of her two railguns.

The enemy fleet seemed to be faring much the same way. From what she could tell, the overall firepower in space was gradually dropping off as both fleets lost more and more units. There were no untouched ships on either side, and the joust appeared to be on course for being a decisive engagement, one way or the other.

Seeking cover, Alex maneuvered her ship behind Rachels flagship, which had already sustained significant damage. Despite the damage, the dreadnoughts hull remained armed with an impressive array of weaponry. Its D-field flared defiantly, employing a non-standard multiple layer array for extra protection against concentrated enemy laser fire. However, its limits were starting to show.

Railgun shots streaked through the vastness of space, and Alex marveled at the skillful captains attempting to land critical hits by pushing their typically short-range weapons to their limits. The daring display unfolded before her eyes as fellow Captains sought opportunities for success, even if it meant stretching beyond usual operational distances.

Timing and precision were crucial in such high-stakes maneuvers, and Alex could picture captains carefully observing enemy vessels' movements, accounting for minute shifts in trajectory and velocity as they lined up their shots. Tension filled each command center's crew as fingers hovered over firing controls, waiting for the perfect moment to unleash a devastating barrage.

From her command console, she watched enemy ships scrambling to evade or intercept incoming projectiles. Skilled Captains adjusted course while defensive systems whirred into action, desperate to prevent catastrophic damage from befalling their vessels.

Determined, Alex nudged her ship just out of the Flagships shadow and fired her single railgun toward the remaining enemy capital ships. Alongside her attack, two dozen high-caliber turrets on Rachels flagship fired in unison. Anxiety gripped Alex as she knew the enemy would be returning fire in equal measure.

The counterattack came swiftly and brutally; dozens of railgun shells penetrated the flagship, tearing through the amplified D-field with ease, each shell carving deadly paths through the hull. Massive exit wounds ejected v-shaped sprays of debris outward, forcing Alex to quickly flip her Silverflash around and initiate a hard burn to escape the expanding debris field. On her monitor, half of the remaining ships in both fleets disappeared as devastation rippled through their ranks.

A cruisers heavy laser slashed across the hull, prompting Alex to execute the most aggressive evasive pattern she could manage. She rotated the ships port side and fired off a railgun round that miraculously punched through another cruisers bow, detonating a missile magazine and sending the front half of the ship tumbling through space while its rear continued to unleash laser fire at her.

The Silverflashs D-field blinked out of existence, followed by a pained whine filling the ship as generators overloaded and a torrent of unmitigated energy carved a hole through one of their linear drives. A second later, a railgun round punched through her shipand suddenly, everything went black.

Fuuuck, Alex groaned as she stood up. The pitch-blackness faded into the gray of a dimly lit room filled with other cadets all wearing blue armbands. Her heart sank when she spotted Rachel at the front, speaking with another cadet.

Hey, Alex mumbled as she approached her friend.

Rachel nodded to Alex before a small smile appeared. I think you won it for us, she said. Alex blinked, confusion on her face; the shot to the cruiser had pretty much wiped out the larger vessel, but it was hardly a strategic coup.

Eh? Alex said, as she turned to look at the monitor.

Excitement filled her as she watched the screen; both fleets had been utterly devastated by the engagement, neither side having any effective large units remaining. The hulks that were still operational could barely maneuver to adjust their orbits; reorganizing and redeploying to take out the other fleets stragglers would take days.

Except there was a small pack of four corvettes that Alex recognized as her detached squadron.

Cadet Fields had kept them out of the heavy fighting, and now they were flashing between the piecemeal wreckage, chasing after the remaining enemies and pelting them with small PDC lasers before following up with eight-round volleys from their light rail guns.

Oh. Fields, looks like hes mopping up. Alex realized.

Shed forgotten about him entirely during the engagement, and apparently, that had been the right choice.

I always end up with the best subordinates you can hope for. Alex mumbled, trying to suppress a grin.