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The mines were left anchored in voidspace, the Undervilde task force spread out in twos and threes, the carrier hanging back, ready to deploy its wing of starfighters. Even though they were safely hidden within voidspace, everyone was tense, waiting for the Temlesarians to get closer. Their own task force was ten minutes out and they were holding their attack line formation, their sensors sweeping the area as they searched for their elusive enemy. Venomspite was banking on them to do something unpredictable as they had been so predictable since the start. He had ordered one of his corvettes out on a scouting mission accompanied by a pair of frigates to search out whatever secret the Temlesarian commodore had stashed up his sleeve. He had recalled a portion of his sensors drones, setting them up as a sensors network within voidspace and the nearest anomalies. The newly established network fed directly into the Deymarii and the Opal, relaying fresh information in perfect realtime. Those drones already knew the kinds of things they were looking for; they had been deployed some time ago as recon beacons with thousands of others alongside the Sterwil Federation's own beacons to gauge what was going on inside Thymion. Unlike the Sterwil drones, Undervilde's drones worked solely within voidspace, allowing them to go undetected by everyone but other Undervilde ships and the creatures that lived within voidspace.

The Temlesarians knew they were there, but they didn't know where or what they were going to do. Venomspite steepled his fingers as he watched his readouts, the Tems creeping closer to the minefield.

''Three minutes until mine release.'' Junior Grade Lieutenant Greenvale announced.

The man had barely taken a break since this whole operation started and had done an admirable job of maintaining contact with the various gunnery crews and quartermasters. He had managed his job so well under the stress of task force manoeuvres, that if they all survived this encounter - their last one, Venomspite hoped - he would put the man in for a well-earned recommendation. Venomspite's gaze was glued to his tactical readouts. The Tems were almost in position. His breath caught in his throat, his hands clenched into fists. The Tems outnumbered his task force by an uncomfortable amount, but Venomspite's people had technologies that no one else had developed. He could see the Tems from voidspace, but the Tems couldn't see Undervilde from realspace. Venomspite could launch a devastating offensive from voidspace to wipe out the Tems in one fell swoop, but that required time he didn't have. That was okay though. The Tems may outnumber them with their hulls, but Undervilde outclassed them with their weapons.

''Release the mines!'' He snapped.

Greenvale sent out the order and the first wave of mines broke anchor and popped into realspace in small coronas of violets and golds. They had emerged amidst the Temlesarian task force and the moment they had breached, they detonated. 1,420 anti-matter mines ripped the Temlesarian ships apart. In no more than a second, the Tem commodore had lost three quarters of his corvette, frigate and freighter forces and his carrier had suffered critical hull damage. The leading cruisers fell back to protect the carrier with what was left of their smaller ships. Starfighter drones poured out of the wounded carrier, 200 A.I driven ships swarming the killzone, with orders to seek out and destroy.

''Positive hit on the small fry! Cruisers and remaining small fry have fallen back. They've taken up a defensive posture around their carrier, Sir.'' Maya announced.

''All guns are ready and the next lot of mines remain stable.'' Greenvale iterated as he worked.

''They're not moving, Captain. They've come to a full stop just outside the killzone.'' Maya said.

''Time to expand that killzone. Katlan, have we any news on their nasty little surprise?'' Venomspite asked. Sending his starfighters out there would be suicide, especially if he was forced to deploy what was left of his mine field.

''Not yet, Sir. The Migora's still looking- wait, no. She's reporting a detection of two stealthed ships, Sir. She can't get a proper look at them without giving herself away, but those two ships are looking to be perfect matches for stealthed destroyers.''

''How do you want to approach this, Captain?'' Furromoore asked.

Venomspite thought about it. Two ships launching an ambush against him from stealthed positions as he was fighting with the rest of the commodore's task force was not an appealing option. His ship had already taken a beating as had his others. Once this was all said and done, half of his own task force had to go back on picket duty at Undervilde's newly established mining colony, so risking any more damage than they had already taken - even if it was from a pair of ankle biters - did not sit well with him. He was thinking of the ways he could bait the Tems into stabbing distance when a nasty thought occurred to him. His gaze strayed across his screens and came to rest upon the nearest anomaly. A small, grim smile played his lips. What was a few more anomalies among thousands?

''Re-purpose the vortex cannons across half the task force. If they won't come to us of their own free will, then we'll bring them to us.'' Venomspite said.

Furromoore stared at him, her eyes wide. What he was suggesting was rarely done and the last recorded incident of a Vortex Well being utilised in combat was little more than five hundred years ago. Vortex Wells were mostly for defensive uses, not offensive uses. What would happen to those ships would be horrific and to their crews, infinitely worse. She swallowed the dry lump in her throat and relayed the orders to a selection of ships she knew would be the most open to the idea.

''Orders have been sent out, Sir. Twenty-four of our ships are re-purposing their vortex cannons for Vortex Well generation. Everyone will be ready within the hour.'' She said, her tone remaining carefully professional even as an icy horror slid slowly through her veins.

''Excellent.''

~~~~~~

Starfighter drones vanished from space, leaving anyone who actually saw them disappear with the impression that their fuselages convulsed and twisted in on themselves like snakes writhing in their death throes. Faint gravitic shockwaves faded to nothing in their wake and eventually no starfighters remained, leaving the captain of the captured Thymion carrier bewildered and angry with his ship's starfighter control personnel. No one could produce an explanation for what had happened and so every Temlesarian commanding officer in the task force started pointing their fingers at each other.

The arguments and threats ground to a halt when a corvette at the edge of their formation screeched binary across all bandwidths as its hull warped and fractured, the ship caving in on itself and vanishing from sight and sensors. Another corvette followed suit, then two freighters and a frigate followed simultaneously. It was as if, for the want of a better description, the ships were being pulled down a drain. Two at a time, then three at a time, the smaller ships were picked off, wrapping around themselves in agony before vanishing or simply being dragged out of existence. Eventually, all that remained was the carrier, the seven cruisers and two stealthed destroyers that lurked, hidden at the very fringes of the combat zone.

The lead cruiser broke formation and drifted cautiously forward, deeper into the killzone, its sensors sweeping every inch with every bandwidth and mode available to it as it searched frantically for its lost sisters. After an hour of searching, it drew a blank. Frustrated, the captain opened up a comms channel of all frequencies and started uttering threats, calling the invaders godless cowards. A ripple of amusement fluttered among the hidden Undervilde ships and Venomspite gave the order for the dreadnought Tyrana Lys to destabilize space around the nearest cruiser. The Tyrana Lys powered up her vortex cannons to full and fired a full broadside of Vortex Wells into a single area of voidspace no bigger than two feet by two. A large sinkhole in the fabric of reality opened up and the cruiser slid inexorably to its death within voidspace, the tear sealing up slowly behind it like glue oozing into a hole to seal it up. The trapped cruiser started shearing armour, the golden hull convulsing violently in the maelstrom the ship had been dragged into. Chunks of hull whipped away from the frame, the ship's superstructure groaning and shuddering hard under the immense stresses until it finally buckled. The Temlesarian crew was sucked out into voidspace as their ship was torn asunder, their bodies undergoing spaghettification in the darkness of voidspace. There was a frantic burst of static containing the screams of the dead and dying and then silence.

The Thymion built cruiser and its crew had come apart like damp tissue caught in a hurricane, its remains fractured into pieces small enough to carry. The debris scattered far and wide, caught in the remorseless turbulence of un-reality, vanishing into the depths of the universe. A moment later, another cruiser sank through the infinite layers of space-time to be shredded into nothing by the cosmic violence. Then another and another and another. Soon all that was left was the commodore's cruiser and the carrier, both ships left in a state of panic as their back-up vanished with a burst of terrified chatter and never resurfaced.

Venomspite ordered a temporary cease fire, letting the last four Temlesarian commanders stew for a moment longer whilst he went over his next move. He tapped out some fresh orders, dispensing them across the task force. One of his dreadnoughts along with four of his destroyers surrounded the two oblivious stealthed Thymion destroyers. Another of his dreadnoughts set up alongside the carrier, sitting alongside its position in voidspace, ready to pounce. Venomspite had the Opal repositioned so it was facing the remaining captured cruiser head-on, its weapons hot and ready to fire. He wanted to deliver the commodore an ultimatum.

''Take us into realspace, Chief Yuven.'' Venomspite ordered, ''Mister Katlan, hail that cruiser. Spears, blind its sensors and tactical suite.''

The Opal surfaced gently in a rush of violets, gold and silver to face the Temlesarians, her flank to the Tems. Both ships powered up their weapons, but the moment the Deymarii started broadcasting, those weapons slid off the opposing cruiser as the Tems struggled to get a proper lock. There was a brief, silent battle of wills and ECMs between ships and finally the Temlesarian commodore answered the hail.

''This is His Majesty's Warship, Opal. You have a choice: abandon your ships and surrender all four of your captured vessels to the star kingdom of Undervilde, or be destroyed along with it. The choice is yours.''

A look of surprise flickered swiftly across the gnarled, scaley face of the lizard that was staring down its nose at Venomspite. The void elf noted that he wasn't actually the commodore. He was just the acting commodore. The pips on his hastily thrown-together uniform was the universal standard for the rank of captain, with the universal standard silver bar of a commodore stapled on. A pleasant warmth filled Venomspite's chest. At some point, they had nailed the real commodore. Judging by the Tems's ego, he had most likely chosen one of the dreadnoughts as his flagship, sticking his Second on a cruiser. A cruiser gave him enough power to do his job, but not enough to overthrow his superior. A compliment and an insult wrapped in a golden hull.

''Not only are you bold waging war on your superiors with our ships, you are also intolerably stupid! Why would we surrender to a thieving slave race? You are are heretics and must be purged from our realm!'' He snarled, his nostrils flared, eyes wild.

Calmly, Venomspite made a gesture with his right hand off-screen. He wanted to cut the comm, but he also wanted to see if the Tem was so full of himself that he would leave the line open long enough for the Opal and her back-up to tear the captured ship apart. Venomspite wanted to see the look on the Tems' face as he died. A low chuckle vibrated up his throat as the Tem started spouting his religious drivel along with a tirade of insults.

''Enemy vessel has launched missiles. Tracking... The Ruby and Sapphire have taken them out.'' Ensign Fletcher announced calmly. The other two cruisers had surfaced either side of the captured ship, their weapons trained intently on it.

Venomspite gave the Tem a withering look as more missiles were launched under the cover of a hail of gauss cannon shells. The Opal, Ruby and Sapphire dealt with them together. The commodore snarled in anger, spittle flying from his mouth as he snapped orders at his subordinates. It was apparent that he was not pleased with the sloppy targeting and Venomspite's sensors panel pinged with the strained effort of a full scan. The scan didn't manage to touch the Opal, nor any other Undervilde ship present in realspace thanks to the Deymarii's interference. The commodore was searching frantically for the sensors corvette that was jamming his tactical suite and was coming up short.

''I do believe he won't ever relinquish command of his own accord. Greenvale, relieve this raving lunatic of command.'' Venomspite purred.

The Opal's guns opened up, gauss cannon shells hammering against the golden hull of the opposing cruiser, the disruptor point-defences making good progress in keeping the badly aimed retaliating fire at bay. When the commodore realised that none of the gauss cannon shot was breaking through his hull, he laughed, long and hard, mocking Venomspite and his ships. His laughter stuttered to a stop as the Undervilde cruiser's vortex cannons went to full-auto continuous fire. His eyes went wide, his mouth forming a surprised O as his ship's armour started warping and tearing away in chunks. The cruiser started venting precious gasses, power conduits were sheared and bodies cartwheeled into open space as compartments depressurized explosively. The other two Undervilde cruisers flanking the Tem commodore joined in. The comm-link flickered then failed, the Thymion cruiser's drives breaking down under the onslaught. The drives ruptured under the vortex strikes and the ship ballooned, fire belching out of the tears and holes that littered its body, its guns splitting and vomiting fire and shrapnel into the black.

''Sensors, check for life signs.'' Venomspite ordered once their guns had ceased firing.

''Nothing, Captain. That cruiser's dead in every sense of the word.'' Fletcher replied after a moment of intense interrogation, ''The Deymarii confirms. No life signs detected aboard the cruiser.''

Behind the hollowed out carcass of the cruiser, the last carrier listed as quarter of its flank was sheared off by a Vortex Well, spilling flailing Temlesarians and debris into voidspace. It had been a quick bite, courtesy of the Yujaan Isten, that left the carrier too damaged to do much except deploy its escape pods.

''They've cleared, out Sir. The carrier's empty of Tem life and the Deymarii confirms it.'' Fletcher said, his eyebrows raised. He tried hiding his sigh of annoyance, ''Those two destroyers are de-cloaking and broadcasting a message of surrender.''

''Ignore their message. Tell them to shut down their drives and surrender those ships to our custody or we'll tear them apart, too. Any attempts at sabotage will be met with extreme hostility.'' Venomspite said. He was tired and hungry, and wanted nothing more right now than a good meal and a long sleep. It was a sentiment shared by the rest of his crew and by those on the other ships, too.

''Message sent. They've received. They're not happy, but they'll comply... I think they're afraid of you, Captain.'' Katlan said, amused.

''Good.'' Venomspite said cooly.

He watched his tactical monitor as the two de-cloaked destroyers launched their escape pods in all directions. After an hour, they scanned the two drifting ships, confirming that there was indeed, no life aboard the powered-down vessels. A quartet of frigates set about tethering them together and dropping disposable buoys that started broadcasting the presence of the wrecks and the abandoned ships. A brief letter was composed explaining the situation and sent off to Rosemary aboard the Caliban and informing her that Undervilde was pulling out now that their task had been completed. The holotac was now displaying a severe lack of enemy ships, with only occupied space stations and outposts left. There weren't many of those left either and without ships to supply and their main breeding facility online, they would soon fade away in one way or another.

Three days had been passed within the Thymion Empire and Venomspite had dealt the Temlesarians a severe blow, crippling their supply chain, destroying their biggest breeding facility and making a mockery of their naval capabilities. As far as he was concerned, his job was done. The Temlesarians had been warned and whatever that fleet was that was surrounding Thymion, the rest could be dealt with by them. Venomspite wanted to get his people back home and rested, his ships repaired and restocked.

He ordered the retrieval of the remaining mines and stopped short of ordering his weary task force home. Someone was hailing them. He checked his read-outs. One of the ships that had been detected parked around Thymion had dropped out of FTL. He brought up an image of it now it was close enough to see with the ship's external feed. It resembled a pyramid and the lettering across its flank was unknown to him and its guns were tracking the Opal as the unknown ship cruised closer. He sighed, sent out the order to recall all of the Undervilde drones back to their bases of origin and gestured for Katlan to open the line.

''Unknown ship, this is the Jakeel dreadnought, Silvered Claw. We have been observing your attacks as best as we can and we thank you for your interference on Thymion's behalf. However, now that your little war seems to be over, I require you to state your next intended move.'' A deep voice said in fractured Basic. It was audio only, the Opal's sensors array being partially offline for repairs, but the intent behind the curious tone was clear; answer now or die.

''Silvered Claw, I am Captain Arguso Vulwen Venomspite of His Majesty's Warship, Opal. The Temlesarians were causing trouble beyond Thymion's borders and kicking hornets nests best left un-kicked. They needed dealing with, so I dealt with them.'' He said simply, ''With their forces severely crippled and their operational black navy rendered to a squadron of armed freighters, I am taking my forces home for resupply and repair. You can deal with what is left.''

There was a pause, then ''Who's orders brought you here?''

''My own. We picked up a distress call, found a wreck containing Thymion survivors and realised that things had finally come to a head. The Tems wanted war, so they got a taste of war. There is also a dreadnought called the Caliban back under Thymion control off investigating surrendered Temlesarians. I suggest you see to your people, Captain.''

''They are not our people.'' The voice replied sounding a little nonplussed.

Venomspite and Furromoore exchanged glances. That would explain why the parked ships hadn't made any effort to help mop up the Tems. Whatever they wanted, it didn't appear to be much aligned with Thymion's best interests.

''Then what are you doing here? Spectating the death of a civilization?'' Venomspite asked irritably. Three days these people had been watching Undervilde popping in and out of realspace, mauling the Temlesarians and not once had the other task force offered up any aid. There was no reason for Venomspite to have to answer these questions. He and his captains had done 95% of the legwork since arriving, Rosemary and Damian the rest. This lot, whoever they were, had simply sat back and watched the punches be thrown. There was an angry pause from the other ship. Venomspite added by way of a dismissal ''Good day to you, Silvered Claw. If you so much as threaten what's left of the stability of this sector, I will come back and I will not be so kind.'' Venomspite slashed a hand through the air and the line cut off. He then composed another quick message to Rosemary, letting her know about the ship and that his job was done. He informed that he would come back to Thymion at a later date to discuss trade for hydroponics. He also promised her the return of the Shield of Light and those of her people that he had picked up.

He then ordered his ships back into voidspace, leaving the Silvered Claw behind. He checked that their mines had been collected and that their beacon drones were leaving. He sent out fresh orders and a large portion of the task force split away, heading home to Undervilde for repairs. He took the Opal back out onto the borders of Sterwil space.

~~~~~~

The Opal surfaced in realspace 12AU from Thymion's borders.

''Well Captain Spears. It's been good working with you again. Are you sure you don't want to hang around?'' Venomspite said over the comms.

The Deymarii was still tucked away safely in the cruiser's auxiliary hold having her pantry restocked and her medical supplies topped up.

''Appreciate the offer, Lord Venomspite, but I'd rather be as far away from this quadrant as possible.'' Trillian replied, ''Thanks for the refill, though. It's much appreciated.''

Venomspite nodded. The tiger looked around at a low rumbling sound. Jorst was speaking to him and whatever he said, it seemed to light a small fire under him. Venomspite got the message loud and clear without a word having to be said. He ordered the hold's doors to be opened, bade one last farewell to Trillian and Jorst, and settled back in his chair, sipping a mug of pale blue fruit juice that glittered tantalizingly in the glare of the overheads. He studied his ship's readouts, watching the reports coming in from the auxiliary hold. The chamber had depressurized without a hitch and the Deymarii was drifting downwards on her grav-plates, exiting the larger ship with care. Then the doors sealed up and the hold was repressurized. He looked up at the wrap-around view screens and everyone watched as the Deymarii burned hard for open space, winking out in a flash of blue as she vanished into the slipstream.

''Take us back into voidspace and make best speed for our new mining colony. It's time to see whether the rumours surrounding Lieutenant Junior Grade Porson's ineptitude is true or not.'' Venomspite ordered and relaxed into his chair as the lighting dimmed and the witchlight studded mist rolled throughout the ship once again.

It was time to go back to his original task, file battle reports and update his commanders all the while making sure Undervilde's new temporary colony remained safe and waited on Rosemary to signal when it was safe enough to send her people home.