UGT (Unified Galactic Time): 12th Revol (July) 280 a.G.A. (after Galactic Armistace) / 1:24 p.m.

  Location: KF Battlecruiser Kaiseradler, Grenzmark-Heiligenwacht system (yellow dwarf), (Outer-)Noran Principality, Kingdom of Ferron, Milky Way

  Admiral Johann von?Kr?henfels stood in the center of the KF?Battlecruiser Kaiseradler’s bridge, his hands resting lightly on the edge of the command console, eyes scanning the screen with the precision of a surgeon. 47 Ferron ships now stood under his command, everything he had managed to gather in time for the Federation's arrival.

  Every Frigate, Destroyer, and Cruiser was spaced to prevent the enemies Super Battleship, the FSF?Aurora apparently, to simply slice his fleet apart in single blow, as well as to keep his own fleet flexible. The Admirals mind ran through the numbers, the probabilities, the predictions, each one a carefully calculated step toward his ultimate goal in the coming engagement. He needed more information.

  The Federation had shown up to the system with 23 ships in total. Three battlecruisers, five cruisers, four destroyers, six frigates, and four corvettes. A pitiful number if not for their priced Super Battleship. A ship that was clearly the anchor of their entire formation. They were utterly relying on the FSF Aurora to pull them through each battle. Admiral Johann von Kr?henfels allowed himself a small smile at that.

  "Bridge, report," he demanded, his voice calm but commanding.

  "Herr Admiral, all of their ships have by now started accelerating towards us. They hold a tight formation, clustered around the Super Battleship," the CN reported, fingers flying over the console.

  "Very well," Admiral von Kr?henfels replied coldly. "Deploy the micro-screen units. May God have mercy on their soul."

  A squadron of Corvettes and Frigates peeled away from their main formation, forming a probing forward line. Johann’s attention never left the screen in front of him. Every move, every adjustment, every reaction of the enemy ships was noted, analyzed, and logged. Not just by him, but by most Captain's of the K?nigliche Flotte as well. It was also recorded for later reference and further study.

  "Corvette squadron alpha advancing," the Lookout officer reported. "We see no engagement yet and are awaiting Federation response."

  "Good," Admiral von Kr?henfels said, leaning back slightly. "We observe first. Maintain rhythm. Maintain discipline." His eyes flicked two towards the Combat Navigator. "Status on Aurora and their escort line?"

  The CN swallowed once but kept her tone steady. "Enemy flagship holding steady bearing. No thermal spikes. Their escorts are repositioning… triangular wedge, heavy-forward. Standard FSF configuration. Regarding Aurora signatures..." She hesitated, because this part was guesswork. "High-energy capacitors spiking across multiple hardpoints. Readings are inconsistent with any plasma sequence known to us. The closest we have is First Federation and even that doesn't fit. Possible long-range directed-energy array. Possibly several even. Shield harmonics… Herr Admiral, those are far beyond anything we’ve ever catalogued. Their hypershield is extremely staggered, and seems to have an entire support network based around it?"

  "In other words," Admiral von Kr?henfels said dryly, "we don’t know what they’re preparing or even what they have available. Even while they are clearly activating their systems."

  "Correct, Herr Admiral."

  Of course it was. Nobody in the entire damned Kingdom would be able to properly classify First federation technology. And he became surer of it by the minute that they were dealing with exactly that. The most they could do against it however was reading the distortions, the way subspace folded strangely around the Aurora’s hull, how its hypershield behaved like sixteen overlapping barriers instead of one unified field. Even their best analysts could only hazard a few educated guesses, none of them comforting.

  "Keep tracking all charge patterns," he ordered. "Even if we don’t understand what they are, we will at least document what happens before they fire for future reference."

  That was when it happened, unexpectedly early as well. A pulse erupted from the Aurora, not a laser, not plasma, not disruptor fire. It looked like someone had ripped open a single, perfect line of non-existence and then slammed it shut again, green light perfectly creeping at incredible speeds, though far slower than the speed of light, towards them. A matter-disintegration beam, though nobody on the KF Kaiseradler could have named it correctly.

  When the beam hit, the eyes of pretty much everyone looking at the event went pale. The Ferron Corvette that was the target of the beam tried to pivot, but it was far too slow. When the beam hit it, the ship simply vanished, as if erased from reality itself, nothing left behind. Not even survivor pods.

  The bridge went silent in that special way that meant everyone was screaming internally. "...Corvette F-12 lost," the CN said, voice carefully controlled but slightly shaking, nonetheless. "Hull signature… Herr Admiral, there is no debris. There is nothing left."

  Admiral von Kr?henfels didn’t allow a single muscle to tighten. "Log all telemetry. I want a full spectral breakdown."

  "Yes, Herr Admiral."

  He turned his gaze slightly, just enough to signal a demand without raising his voice. "What's the cadence analysis?"

  The Lookout Officer worked furiously, sweat visibly forming along her hairline. “Energy spike from the Aurora dropped sharply post-discharge. Rebuild curve… extremely steep. Estimate refire in-" he stopped, cutting himself off. That alone was worrying. But he continued speaking moments after. "-in an interval we cannot reliably predict. The capacitor architecture is… Admiral, it’s folding energy in patterns we don’t have models for. My best estimate is anywhere from twenty to sixty seconds. And that was just one gun of what must be hundreds of weapons. And I confirmed at least 13 more of these... beams."

  Admiral von Kr?henfels nodded slowly. So, the Federation had some kind of 'beam' designed to cut apart armor or outright delete mass. That alone was incredibly worrying. And Ferron weapons were… decidedly conventional by comparison to something like that. "Escorts?" he asked.

  "Two Destroyers shifting to flank positions," the CN replied. "Their own emitters are warming. These signatures match known SHF plasma cannons and proton launchers, but the flux coming from the Aurora mostly overshadows everything else."

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  The Lookout Officer spoke up again, more hesitant. "Herr Admiral… I'm also detecting massive magnetic flux fluctuations along the Aurora’s hull. Could indicate railgun batteries preparing to fire. Or at least something similar."

  Admiral von Kr?henfels allowed himself a humorless exhale. "At that size and speed, consider them ship-killers." Not that they actually had any idea what it truly was just yet. Not from only that impossibly large magnetic distortion.

  "And something else, Sir," the Lookout Officer said, voice dropping another register. "Multiple guidance nodes have seemingly activated. Small, scattered… antimatter signatures contained within each. Could be torpedoes or missiles."

  Admiral von Kr?henfels tapped the armrest once softly. No panic, just confirmation. He inhaled calmly through his nose. "Very well,” he said. "All stations and ships, keep profiles tight, keep reactions precise. We will not allow their unknowns to dictate our tempo." His voice stayed steady, anchored. "Record everything. Every capacitor surge, every hull reaction, every harmonic shift. If they wish to show us what this weird Super Battleship can do, then we will gratefully accept all intel they are willing to give us."

  Not even a second after he spoke these words the Aurora fired again and another Corvette was disintegrated. He did not flinch, instead giving further orders. "Fire control prepare the kinetic probe signals. Launch the corridor sequence. We disengage. Further advances would prove too costly as the Aurora is seemingly unwilling to show us more than their weird eraser weapon for now."

  The Gun Commander hesitated. “Admiral… the debris field? Doing so now already might prove risky to some of our own ships."

  "We have no time to waste. Do it. Now," Admiral von Kr?henfels replied. The inert metallic cloud, placed days earlier, was ready. Simple fragments, slag, and hidden kinetic charges lay in wait at the edge of the system. Due to their simplicity the Federation wouldn't be able to sense anything until it was too late.

  The Federation pursuers, seeing how they clearly tried to disengage and leave the system, surged forward to stop them, the ASF Aurora right behind them. Johann watched as their third Frigate trying to escape was caught in the corridor. The sensors flickered as shields overloaded. Kinetic fragments collided, molten slag fused to armor, and short-range sensors went blind. Contact detonations crippled subcomponents. On the holo-map, red alerts marked system failures and shield degradation.

  "Frigate critical," the Lookout Officer said, voice tight. "Hull integrity failing."

  Johann remained composed. "Alpha Wing, divert spare shields to cover wing-two. Fire suppressive volleys."

  Beams arced from the KF Kaiseradler and the other Battlecruisers, precise and measured. They were not meant to destroy, only to freeze pursuit, to hold the enemy in the corridor while the trap took effect. More and more kinetic explosions went off around the SHF fleet, all of them too weak to kill a ship, but nonetheless enough to drastically slow their pursuers down.

  The KF Kaiseradler maintained her position, engines humming steadily, as Admiral von Kr?henfels' officers relayed damage reports, shield status, and enemy reactions. The Federation formation staggered, disrupted, trying to stabilize as their Frigates and Destroyers staggered under the unexpected interference. The trap had worked wonders.

  "Herr Admiral, micro-screen reporting minor losses," the Guns Officer noted.

  "Accepted," he replied. "Continue our withdrawal. Maintain our retreat but stay within observation range. I want to see the Aurora's reaction."

  Bridge chatter increased as the crew reacted in real time. "Forward Frigate under heavy energy drain!" "Escort Battlecruiser adjusting arc!" "Enemy Destroyer shields fluctuating!" Admiral von Kr?henfels absorbed it all, noting patterns, timing sequences, and the energy management of the Aurora’s escorts. He could predict their moves before they happened. Unlike the enigmatic Super Battleship, the Federation was predictable.

  The debris field continued its subtle work. Sensor readings flickered, damage reports trickled in. Johann studied each in turn. Minor shield failures, partial power loss, damaged communication arrays. Enough to create chaos, confusion, hesitation. The Aurora itself was constrained as well, it could not fire without risking collateral damage to its own fleet within the debris cloud. And following them was also hard for a ship of that size so closely surrounded by multiple ships whose curse was everything except stable right now. They had to do their utmost to at least not crash into each other.

  "Herr Admiral, Federation Frigates are attempting to regroup," the Lookout Officer warned. "They’re adjusting formation, but seemingly for now only to leave the debris cloud behind, not to attack."

  "Excellent," Admiral von Kr?henfels said. "Maintain course and continue to monitor damage. Prepare our jump sequence. Engines to full pre-charge. We want to get out of here soon before the Federation does manage to untangle themselves and follow us."

  Bridge crew kept up a steady stream of reports. Each moment was observed, each action logged, each pattern noted. Johann could feel the orchestra of war unfold before him, forward probes drawing the enemy in, their overconfidence playing directly into the trap, his heavier ships maintaining pressure and illusion, the debris field crippling their pursuit. All elements synchronized perfectly.

  "Admiral, all jump vectors aligned," the CN said after a few minutes. "We are ready."

  Admiral von Kr?henfels allowed himself a slow breath. "Execute jump on my mark." He paused, scanning the bridge, ensuring all officers were ready. "Mark."

  The KF Kaiseradler shuddered as engines pulsed, the stars stretching into long streaks. Hyperspace swallowed them. Silence returned, broken only by the hum of systems stabilizing. Admiral Kr?henfels eyes scanned the screen in front of him once more. The Ferron fleet had exited the system cleanly. Federation pursuit was fractured. The Aurora was trapped within a web of her own limitations.

  "Report on losses, Bridge," he ordered.

  "Three small ships, one Corvette, one Frigate, possibly a Destroyer from the Association fleet wing due to technical meltdown of their internal systems," the CN replied.

  "Acceptable," Johann said. "It was for the greater good. Federation losses?"

  " A Frigate destroyed, several vessels with heavy internal damage, formation fragmented," the CN continued.

  Admiral von Kr?henfels nodded slowly. "Good. They think they have the advantage. But the real advantage belongs to us."

  Bridge chatter subsided as the crew processed the post-jump reports. He remained at the center console, reviewing every detail, shield fluctuations, energy cadences, escort behavior, damage patterns, all meticulously logged. Each officer had their assignments, their post-jump checks, their ongoing analysis.

  "Prepare Logbuch entries," Johann ordered. "Every observed pattern, every calculation. Forward it to the K?nigliche Admiralit?t." His voice softened, almost reflective. "Let them hold the system. Let them think they have won. Knowledge is our true prize."

  As the bridge settled into post-jump routines, Admiral von Kr?henfels allowed himself a small, private smile. The Aurora had dominated the field in raw firepower, but he had dominated the engagement. He had orchestrated a trap that cost minimal losses and yielded maximal intelligence.

  He glanced at his crew, each officer calm, focused, executing their duties. The human element, the crew’s discipline and training, was as important as any weapon or sensor array. Without them, even the perfect plan fails.

  Admiral von Kr?henfels allowed himself a final thought, whispered under his breath as he surveyed the slowly stabilizing holographic map. "May Lunaris… bold, aggressive, predictable. We will see her patterns, exploit her reliance. One day, the game will turn fully in our favor. And when it does, she will not see it coming."

  The stars beyond the viewports were cold and indifferent, yet each carried potential, each a vector for opportunity. Admiral Johann von?Kr?henfels would be ready to seize every single one. Victory in war was not measured by flags or territory, he reflected. It was measured by precision, patience, and the intelligence harvested in the quiet moments between battle cries. He had ensured all three.