The Asian Dungeon

The Hades hung in the void like a ghost of a forgotten era, her ancient hull scarred by time, her engines growling with a ferocity belying her age. It was a warship older than many of the crew who called her home, yet despite her creaky joints and worn systems, Captain Nathan J. Gingerbread trusted her with his life. He had no choice. She was all they had left.

The galaxy had changed in the last few years, and not for the better. First, the mysterious alien fleet, the Xh'kaar, arrived from the depths of the Draco Rift, like predators slipping through a fence. 

 Their ships were sleek, lethal, and they attacked with brutal precision, overwhelming entire worlds within weeks. By the time the Coalition could respond, it was too late. The war was lost. Hundreds of billions of lives had been snuffed out in the blink of an eye. 

But Nathan wasn't going to let the Xh'kaar win.

He was the youngest captain in the fleet, but he’d already seen more destruction than most men saw in a lifetime. His face, angular and unscarred, held an intensity beneath the usually cheerful smile he wore. He carried his grandfather’s watch on his wrist, —it no longer worked the face of the watch replaced by what he had held closest a picture of his fiance River.

 A reminder of times when things were simpler when he wasn’t fighting to save humanity from extinction.

It was ironic, really, that a man with such a bright disposition had to command a crew aboard one of the oldest warships in the fleet, a relic from an era long past.

 But when the Xh'kaar invaded, the government had no choice but to scrape together whatever old vessels they could find. And so the Hades, a battle-worn dreadnought of the ancient Artemis class, was pulled from mothballs, reactivated, and sent to hold the line.

And hold it, Nathan would. Or die trying.

The Situation

It was the end of the line, a system on the edge of Coalition space—Eldris VII. If the Xh'kaar forces pushed past this outpost, they would have access to the heart of human civilization. The system wasn’t important strategically, but it was the last obstacle before the full force of the alien armada could sweep across human space with little resistance. It had become a desperate, symbolic last stand.

And Nathan J. Gingerbread was the one left to hold it.

The coalition's fleet had been decimated in the last major battle, leaving only a handful of ships in the area. The Hades, along with two destroyers, the Hammer and the Wolf, was all that remained. 

The Hammer was a vicious, agile warship that specialized in close-quarters combat, while the Wolf was a stealthy and deadly cruiser, designed for ambushes. Together, they made a formidable trio, but they were still outnumbered.

"All right, team," Nathan said, his voice steady but heavy, as he addressed his crew. The bridge of the Hades was quiet, save for the soft hum of the ancient systems and the occasional beep of incoming messages. The crew, mostly young men and women, stared at their stations, trying to make sense of the swirling red iconography of enemy ships on the tactical display.

"Status report, Lieutenant?"

Lieutenant Aurelia Voss, his second-in-command and a seasoned officer, looked up from her station. “The Xh'kaar fleet has arrived in the system, Captain. Five destroyers, two carriers, and at least twenty smaller support ships. They’re moving into formation, and they’ll be within firing range in about ten minutes.”

Nathan’s fingers tapped rhythmically on the edge of his command chair. Ten minutes wasn’t much time to figure out a way out of this.

"Can we fight them off?"

"No, sir," Voss replied, her voice tinged with a realism that made Nathan's heart sink. "Even if we concentrate all firepower on the destroyers, we don't have enough ammunition or firepower to do more than slow them down."

Nathan’s eyes flicked over to the tactical display, where the red icons loomed like a swarm of locusts descending on a field. He would have to rely on something other than firepower.

"We can't win this fight outright," Nathan muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "But we don't need to win. We just need to survive long enough to slow them down."

The Plan

A few minutes later, Nathan stood at the front of the bridge, his mind working rapidly. He had a plan—an insane one, but it was the only shot they had.

"Lieutenant Voss, I need you to get on the comms and coordinate with the Hammer and the Wolf. The goal is to make them think we’re stronger than we are. If we can make them hesitate, we might buy ourselves enough time for reinforcements."

He turned to his weapons officer, a no-nonsense woman named Kiera. "Kiara, I want every last missile we have prepped and ready to fire. Focus on the enemy carriers first. If we can take out their command ships, they’ll be blind."

Kiara nodded, her fingers moving quickly over her console. "Aye, Captain. All launchers are armed and ready."

"And for God’s sake," Nathan added with a grin that was almost a challenge, "make sure the Hammer and the Wolf don’t do anything stupid. We need them alive for as long as possible."

"Understood," Voss said, the tiniest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Nathan turned back to the viewports, watching the approaching Xh'kaar fleet. He was used to these moments, to the waiting, to the anticipation of knowing that the end could come at any second. But now, more than ever, he felt the weight of the responsibility. He wasn’t just fighting for his life or his crew’s—he was fighting for the survival of humanity itself.

The Battle Begins

The first shots were fired as the enemy closed in. A burst of green energy lit up the dark expanse of space as the Xh'kaar’s massive plasma cannons unloaded. The Hades shook violently, but Nathan barely flinched. The ship was old, but it could take a beating.

"Return fire!" he shouted, and the ship's cannons erupted with force. Massive energy blasts streaked through the void, striking the enemy destroyers and carriers. The Hades, despite its outdated systems, had the firepower to hold its own against the smaller ships.

On Nathan’s command, the Hammer and Wolf dove into the fray, launching a barrage of missiles and disrupting the enemy’s formation. The two destroyers were fast, and they danced through the battlefield with practised ease, creating chaos and confusion among the Xh'kaar fleet.

But Nathan knew this was just the beginning.

The Xh'kaar were relentless. They pushed forward with brutal efficiency, cutting through the space between them and the human ships like a hot knife through butter. The Hammer took a hit, its shields collapsing under a concentrated barrage. The Wolf darted in, deploying evasive manoeuvres, but it couldn’t keep up the pace forever.

"We’re taking heavy damage!" Lieutenant Voss shouted from her station. "Shields are at thirty percent and falling!"

“Hold them off for just a few more minutes!” Nathan ordered, his voice filled with grim determination. “We can’t afford to lose this position!”

The minutes dragged on. The Hades shuddered with each new hit, her ancient hull groaning with the stress. The Hammer was badly damaged, its engines sputtering. The Wolf was holding on, but just barely.

And then, in a last-ditch effort, Nathan gave the order: "All weapons, fire on the lead carrier! Target their command centre directly!"

A final volley of missiles screamed from the Hades’ launchers, and Kiara's calculations were perfect. The missiles hit the Xh'kaar carrier’s bridge directly, piercing its shields and sending a fiery explosion rippling through its structure. For a moment, everything seemed to freeze.

Then, the Xh'kaar fleet hesitated. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. The carriers staggered, their command systems disrupted. The destroyers faltered, unsure of their next move.

Nathan saw the chance. “Now! Emergency power to the engines! Let’s make sure they remember us!”

The one thing the hades had was her thick heavy armour designed for taking fire but now Nathan had other plans “ Ramming Speed! All hands brace for impact “

The Hades surged forward, its ageing engines roaring with newfound life. The Hammer followed suit cutting in behind.

The aliens ships caught off guard scrambled to evade but some didn't move quickly enough and the hades smashed through there sleek designs renting her body with each collision….the hammer blazed away in her wake until the energy banks were spent and the missile bays were empty…. 

Nathan stood looking at his watch as the bridge burned and the claxons wailed. The room bathed in red emergency lights .

“ That i think , is enough time …..”

Published: 2024-11-12, viewed 17 times.