Chapter 13

The Second Space Battle of Samshan opened with me ordering the Xiaotian Quan forward to assault the Lead Ha'tak of the enemy fleet, the Mũi Tên Vàng, which was the flagship of Bà Đen. Meanwhile, the Chuāncì Jiàn would move against the Liềm Lúa, the flagship of Lieu Hanh, and the Opele went after the Lũ Lụt Lớn, the Flagship of Xích Lân. With our remaining Al'kesh as well as the Tiānlóng and Hēilóng taking care of the eight enemy Al'kesh.

I honestly expected this to be a fairly easy win for me. The Ha'taks of the enemy fleet didn't have my modifications, and the Al'kesh were all Default Models which were optimized for Ground Attack as Bombers instead of being the Gunship Models. The difference was largely in the power of their armaments, their twin staff cannons were shorter ranged than normal, and instead of carrying launchers for Plasma Warheads, they instead carried bays for plasma charges, which could only be fired in one direction, down.

"Once the Tiānlóng and Hēilóng finish with the enemy's Al'kesh, they should be able to swing around and help us finish the Ha'taks. I do not expect this to take long at all." I mused.

"My Lord?" Questioned Shun, the Prime that Chen had left in charge while he led forces down on Samshan.

"All we need do is hold the line until then. It will be as if our Ha'taks are the anvil and the Tiānlóng and Hēilóng the Hammer, with the enemy caught between us both and beaten accordingly. I assume we can handle holding the line till then?" I queried.

"Of course, My Lord." Nodded Shun.

"Excellent. Proceed." I intoned.

As we engaged the Mũi Tên Vàng, however, their shields held up surprisingly well under bombardment from our modified weapons. Not nearly well enough to avoid being popped, but longer than the default shielding on a standard Ha'tak would. That piqued my interest long enough to order a scan of the enemy shields. We were able to get one and the data was sent through to my command throne in the Pel'tac.

What I saw interested me greatly. Apparently, Bà Đen had been dealing with smugglers because that was the only way she would have been able to acquire Hebridian Power Conduits for the Shields. That was insanely clever of her, and if she had the modifications that I'd gotten down for my Ha'taks on top of that, I doubted that I would have been able to punch through the shields of the Mũi Tên Vàng in an appreciable time frame. Hebridian Power Conduits were already insanely efficient, and when hooked up to the Naquadah reactors seemed to get even more so, allowing further power to be funneled into Ship Systems.

I wanted those conduits, no scratch that, I needed those conduits. If I could reverse-engineer them, then it was likely that any ships I created with the combination of my Ha'tak Modifications and the Power Conduit Technology would be an order of magnitude more sturdy than they were even now.

"New Plan. We are boarding and seizing control of the Mũi Tên Vàng. Shun, you will be in command of the Xiaotian Quan while I go to effect a change of management on the enemy." I commanded.

"My Lord? I've not had this much responsibility before. Surely it would be better to send me with the troops to deal with the enemy on board the Mũi Tên Vàng?" Asked Shun.

"Bà Đen is aboard that Ha'tak. Unless you believe yourself capable of dealing with her, I am still better suited to leading the attack." I insisted.

"Of course, My Lord. Do you have any orders that I should carry out?" Questioned Shun.

"Stay the course, Shun. And if the Tiānlóng and Hēilóng take care of the enemy Al'kesh while I am aboard the Mũi Tên Vàng, ensure they know of the change of plans and to target the Liềm Lúa and Lũ Lụt Lớn instead." I ordered.

"Of course, My Lord. I shall see it done." Saluted Shun.

And with that, I headed off to my quarters to suit up in my armor. Of course, as soon as I reached them, I received an incoming message from Chen on the Ground. Sighing, I answered the message on the Voc'uume in my quarters as I began to don my Armor for battle.

"Chen? Do you require something?" I queried.

"We saw the incoming enemy fleet on the Scanners. Do you require General Yan or myself to return to aid you, My Lord?" Asked Chen.

"No, I have it handled. There is no change necessary to our battle plans. You and General Yan are to take your men to finish the conquest of the Kim Loại Mining Region before moving to join General Kuo in the reduction of outlying fortifications in the Pu Si Long Mountain Region. The noose must be completely tight around the neck of Âu Cơ before we storm it." I answered.

"Very well, My Lord." Responded Chen.

"I will call you on this frequency once I have finished my business in Orbit. When I do, I will likely want to hear a status report. Until then, keep to the plan." I commanded before cutting the feed.

Five minutes later, I was armored up and headed for the Transport Bay, where a Battalion of Troops would be waiting for me. As soon as I arrived, we began to transport over to the Mũi Tên Vàng, though as per our usual protocol, it wasn't troops we transported over first, but Neser Grenades. We did so, waiting a few seconds after that for the grenades to go off, and then I began hustling Jaffa into the transports to take advantage.

I transported over with the second batch of Jaffa Platoons to find the Transport Bay of the Mũi Tên Vàng in the midst of a major firefight. Enemy Jaffa bearing the stylized mountain and wave crest of Ba Chua Xu's Alliance on their foreheads. Already, I could tell that the enemy had been caught largely by surprise by our attack. The Transport Bay was in chaos as Jaffa fought all over the place. Including near the actual ring transport section where I had materialized.

Two Enemy Jaffa charged me from nearby and I lashed out with my Tianyue Staff Rifle, the spike punching through a weak point in one of the Enemy Jaffa's armor and goring him. He collapsed as I withdrew my rifle's spike just in time to block a strike from the Second Enemy Jaffa's Ma'tok Staff with my Rifle. A kick sent that Jaffa staggering backward and I fired a bolt from my Rifle that punched through his breastplate and torso alike, killing him.

I waded into the fray, calling out over comms to try and badger my Jaffa into a more orderly formation so we could begin to push the enemy out of the Transport Bay. I would move to a clump of my Jaffa, help them overcome the clump of Enemy Jaffa they were fighting, and then move on to the next clump of my Jaffa to repeat the process. It took a few minutes, but eventually, I managed to link up the disparate groups of my Jaffa who had been forced to separate to go after individual groups of a disorganized enemy. Then we began to push up.

Within twenty minutes, we had complete control of the Transport Bay of the Mũi Tên Vàng. Once that had been accomplished, we began pushing up on the engineering deck. It wasn't hard to find it, after all. It would be the place with the glowing energy conduits lining the walls like some sort of hyper-advanced, macro-scale, circuit. That was a sharp contrast to the normal gold plating that the rest of the Ha'tak's internal corridors were lined with.

We found that deck easily, however, it was guarded by yet more Enemy Jaffa. One of which seemed to be one of the Primes of the Vessel from the way he was barking orders. Unfortunately, that simply made him a target. I pulled my Diàn Jiàn Model Zat'nic'tel from its holster and fired an electric-looking bolt right into his breastplate. The Prime Crumpled to the deckplates unconscious as I gazed out over the rest of the Enemy Jaffa.

"Your Lady is going to lose, as is her Lady. I offer you a chance to surrender. I will find places for you in my forces and administration once all has been said and done. You have my word." I tried.

"For the Lady, no Surrender!" Cried out one of the Enemy Jaffa. Others took up the cry shortly after and it appeared I had my answer.

"Oh well, it was worth a try." I shrugged.

Then the fighting resumed with intensity and all thoughts of anything beyond breaking through to the engine room were shunted aside. . .

XXXX

Bà Đen frowned as she watched corridor after corridor and deck after deck wink out on the tactical display of her Pel'tac. She was no fool, she knew she was losing. However, she also knew what losing would likely result in. This was the Empire coming after her and her sisters, after all. Were it some other Exile whose Abnormality had forced them to flee to the Border Worlds to try and carve out some sort of domain, like she and her sisters, then Bà Đen could entertain the thought of losing. However, this was the Grand Chancellor of Lord Yu. There was no way that Erlang Shen was like her or any of her Sisters.

Should she be captured alive, she would likely be forced to serve as a Queen for Erlang Shen. She would likely be forcibly divested from her host and forced to pump out more and more Prim'ta for Erlang Shen to create more and more Jaffa with. She would be naught but a broodmare if that happened, and so she fought on. Even after the Shields were battered down, even after the engineering deck fell. She would rather be killed than suffer that fate.

Unfortunately, now, an hour and a half into the fighting, she was contemplating committing suicide. Every deck had fallen to the enemy except the parts of the Command Deck surrounding the Pel'tac. Looking over at her First Prime, Duc looked worried himself, though likely for a different reason than she was. Unlike his Jaffa, Duck wore no armor, instead preferring his robes and a fine Trinium Alloy mesh that could be worn underneath more normal robes. Such an outfit had served them both well on numerous occasions when Duc had been tasked with infiltration or assassination missions, or when he had been required to function as a bodyguard for Bà Đen during diplomatic functions.

Now, however, they were in heavy battle, and suddenly, that mesh seemed woefully inadequate protection. Duc must be worried about such scant protection not being up to the task. Either that, or he was worried for her. Bà Đen's mind was made up, however. She would not be transporting down to Samshan using the Pel'tac's command Transport Rings. Even if she were inclined to, the fact was that she had already locked down most of the Mũi Tên Vàng's systems from her Command Throne to prevent the enemy from using them against her forces from the Engineering Deck's Terminals. Those Transport Rings currently had no power.

"My Lady, I do not believe we can hold much longer. I must insist you transport down to Samshan. Surely there is some location that you can arrive at that has not already fallen to the enemy. You should go now while you have the chance." Implored Duc once more.

"No. I will make my stand here with you and the rest of My Jaffa. Besides, even if I wanted to flee to the Planet, it would only be delaying the inevitable." Refused Bà Đen.

"Very well. Then I shall die within sight of you, My Lady. That has to count for something in the afterlife." Mused Duc.

Bà Đen was about to say something to reassure her first prime, but just before she did, a large section of corridor flashed red on her tactical readout. The Enemy now had a straight path to the Pel'tac and there was no time for more pleasantries.

"Prepare yourselves. They are coming." Cautioned Bà Đen.

The Jaffa of her Pel'tac did so, nodding grimly or checking their weapons. Bà Đen's own grip tightened on the haft of the Ma'tok Staff she clutched in her hand as she waited for the inevitable. She would not be waiting for long, as the sounds of battle grew ever louder outside the blast door of the Pel'tac. Taking a deep breath, Bà Đen steeled herself. She reminded herself that she refused to be captured and made a broodmare, so this was what must happen. She would fight, and she would die.

She could only hope that she died well. . .

XXXX

As my forces neared the Pel'tac, the enemy resistance grew even stiffer. Enemy Jaffa with Neser Grenades in their hands rushed clumps of my Jaffa, hoping to explode and take some of my forces with them. There were also booby traps by Jaffa who were less suicidal, Neser Grenades jury-rigged with tripwires around corners, hoping to cause enough destruction that a counterattack in the aftermath could throw my Jaffa back.

Unfortunately for the enemy, neither suicide bombing nor cunning traps would stop us from carrying the day. My Jaffa swiftly learned to target the Enemies with grenades first in any firefight, while the Tianjia Armor HUD provided enough active scanning capability to spot tripwires. Oh sure, the enemy got us a few times while we adjusted, but that was all.

Soon, we found ourselves staring at the Trinium-Alloy Blast Door leading into the Pel'tac, the very brain from which the Mũi Tên Vàng was commanded. Of course, it was in lockdown mode, but that wasn't saying much given my enhanced intellect and genetic memory. I moved to the door panel and slid out the control crystals. I was able to fairly easily bypass the lockdown on the Blast Door and even found a way to shut off the lights in the Pel'tac. True, that might not do much if the enemy's armor had Infrared or any other way to see in the dark, but most Jaffa didn't bother with the full helmets normally. I was willing to bet that that would buy us a few moments of confusion.

I got the blast door open first before switching off the lights and ordered my Jaffa to fire into the Darkness using the Infrared Sensing Mode on their HUDs. The crack of Tianyan Rifles and the zapping sizzle of Diàn Jiàn Model Zat'nic'tels firing echoed out. We were rewarded with pained screams before I led my Jaffa to rush into the Pel'tac. Almost immediately, I was assaulted by a Woman in Armor swinging her Ma'tok staff at me. I parried with my Tianyan Staff Rifle and Discharged my Diàn Jiàn Model Zat'nic'tel into her torso. At this close range, I was actually able to shove the emitter of the weapon into the less-armored armpit section before firing.

The Woman slumped to the deckplates just before I was blasted back by a close-range bolt from a Ma'tok Staff Weapon. I stumbled into the wall of the Pel'tac as my HUD screamed at me that it detected sudden motion from the right. I pulled my Tianyan Staff Rifle around in a parry just in time to parry a thrust from a Ma'tok Staff Weapon, bringing it out wide so that the emitter fired into the gilded Trinium wall instead of the chestplate of my Armor. A kick to the leg was parried by a kick of my opponent's own as I finally got a good look at who I'd been attacked by.

It was a Jaffa in Orange, Blue, and Red silk robes. His conical Nón Gõ Hat was pushed up higher on his head, revealing the Jaffa Tattoo of Ba Chua Xu's Alliance on his forehead. His face was covered in a thin, wispy, beard and mustache and was currently pulled back into a rictus snarl. He tried to bring his Ma'tok staff around in a sideswipe at my head, forcing me to duck and ensuring I had no time to take in any other details about the Man. I brought my Tianyan Staff Rifle up to swipe at him with the spike only for him to plant the butt of his Ma'tok Staff Weapon into the Deckplates in a parry that knocked my Rifle out of my grasp.

Unfortunately for him, I had another weapon. As he leveled his Ma'tok Staff Weapon to fire, I brought up my Diàn Jiàn Model Zat'nic'tel. We fired at the same time, the plasma bolt of his Ma'tok Staff Rifle catching me in the chest and knocking me back into the wall at the same time the arcing electric bolt of my Diàn Jiàn Model Zat'nic'tel struck him. We both fell to the deckplates. I got up, but he didn't.

"My Lord! Are you all right?" Questioned Zhang, one of the Primes I had brought with me on the assault.

"I am unharmed. It will take more than two hits from a Ma'tok Staff Weapon to pierce my defenses." I reassured.

It was true. The Two Hits were just enough to just about eat through the Kara'kesh-style shield I had installed on my Armor. One more hit would have stripped it, but then it would have had to contend with the layer of Shielded Plating, before contending with the ablative layer, and then the Trinium-Alloy mesh underneath that. I was incredibly well-protected even compared to a System Lord, at least in terms of personal armor.

"The Pel'tac is yours, My Lord. Enemy resistance in the Mũi Tên Vàng has been neutralized. We have captured the ship." Informed Zhang.

"Excellent. Let's get the systems back online so we can see how the rest of the battle is progressing." I ordered.

My Jaffa did so, removing any unconscious Jaffa from the Pel'tac as well. It turned out, that the Woman I stunned was none other than Bà Đen, and the Man who had attacked me was her First Prime, Duc. I would figure out what to do with them when the battle was over, for now, I had them carried to the Transport Bay and Transported to holding cells on the Xiaotian Quan. About five minutes later, we had the Ship's Systems back online and could get a better picture of how things were progressing.

It seemed very well was the answer to that. The Liềm Lúa was dead in space with boarding parties crawling all over it, while the Lũ Lụt Lớn had put up more of a fight. The Opele had been damaged in the fighting and was forced to withdraw, in need of yard time to repair the damage, but the Lũ Lụt Lớn had been effectively sandwiched by the Xiaotian Quan and the Chuāncì Jiàn. It had somehow managed to deal with that by rotating to present undamaged, and then less damaged, sides to enemy fire. Then the Tiānlóng and Hēilóng had struck it from the rear.

I watched on the tactical battle plot as my fleet literally blasted the Lũ Lụt Lớn apart. I did register a small energy spike just before the superstructure finally gave up the ghost and failed, however. Someone had just used the Transport Rings to transport down to Samshan just in the nick of time to avoid dying in the destruction of the Lũ Lụt Lớn. The smart money was on that having been a last-ditch plan from Xích Lân to avoid death. That was fine by me since it just meant we'd capture her later on-planet.

All told, we managed to Capture Two Ha'taks and three Al'kesh and destroy one Ha'tak and five Al'kesh for the loss of one Ha'tak damaged and requiring Yard Time, one Al'kesh Crippled, and one Al'kesh destroyed. We also managed to capture both Bà Đen and Lieu Hanh, though Lieu Hanh's First Prime had been killed as a result. Unfortunately, it seemed that Thanh Vân was killed when the Al'kesh she'd been commanding the Enemy's Al'kesh Forces from had been bracketed between the Tiānlóng and Hēilóng and torn apart by rotating staff cannons on both flanks.

By any metric this was a major victory, we had killed or captured three out of the five enemy rulers, along with all the ships we had captured or destroyed, and the remaining two enemy rulers were down on the planet as we speak, with no way out of being captured or killed in the fighting to come.

I needed a nap and some food, but then I needed to check in with the Ground Assault and see how things were going. I probably also needed to check in on my two Captives and see if they wouldn't mind joining the winning side. If I could make my sales pitch, hopefully, they'd come around. But first, food and a nap.

I'd do all the other stuff when I woke up. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we have the next chapter. It's another major victory for Erlang Shen. Of course, his space forces are looking a bit ragged now, but that's nothing that yard time won't fix. Besides this, it's not exactly like his opponents have any more ships left to throw at him. He's effectively won the war, it's just a matter of how long it drags on for after this point.

A note on the Hebridian Power Conduits being more efficient. Hebridian Tech is actually really good at efficiency, it just lacks the oomph of the other, more powerful, races. However, when you marry that efficiency to the power a Naquadah reactor gives, you suddenly see a massive spike in capability. This happened in Canon when the Sebrus got hooked up to an Earth-made Naquadah Generator, so that's what I based that on.

At any rate, the next chapter will have Erlang Shen giving his sales pitch to Bà Đen and Lieu Hanh as well as a report from the ground.

Stay tuned. . .