Note:
① Since the fleet is a space fleet,'sea area' will hereafter generally refer to areas in space.
② ETM (Earth to Moon) unit.
The distance between Earth and the Moon is approximately 400,000 kilometers.
Given the vastness of the universe, using kilometers as a unit is no longer suitable, but light-years are a bit too large.
Therefore, in the Umbrella Fleet, 1 ETM equals 400,000 kilometers, 0.5 ETM is 200,000 kilometers, and so on.
——————
...
Inside the cockpit;
"Boss, that giant saucer-shaped spacecraft stopped after reaching a distance of 0.25 ETM from our fleet.
Should I try to communicate with them?" Serena asked.
Upon hearing Serena's words, William's face was no longer the extremely serious expression from before; instead, he smiled, his lips slightly upturned:
"Communication is definitely necessary, but not the kind you're imagining."
Saying that, William ordered her, "Notify the Second and Third Fleets to conduct a synchronized bombardment in three minutes.
Also, tell the commanders of both fleets to have the frigates equipped with electromagnetic railguns perform precise strikes on the same point."
"This..." Serena said with a hint of worry:
"Boss, the other party hasn't shown their intentions yet. If they are a friendly species, our preemptive strike could trigger an interstellar war."
"I know," William said, his expression unchanged. "But I can confirm that the opposing species is definitely not benevolent. They are harvesters of Earth-like planets. Don't ask for the specific reasons.
Listen to my command: have the carrier-based aircraft prepare, and have all Spartans board their Mjolnir armor and stand by.
Launch simultaneously with the bombardment to catch them off guard."
At this point, William re-established a neural link with his Mjolnir armor, gently patted Serena's head, and smiled:
"Didn't you want to communicate with them? We'll launch together in this specialized craft, directly rushing into their ship's interior.
Then, we'll invade and crack their system, how does that sound?"
In the movie "Independence Day," the 'Harvesters' had all their defenses bypassed by a computer virus, indicating their weakness in software, let alone against Serena, whose technology surpasses current human technology by over four hundred years.
And when Serena felt the warmth of William's finger, she no longer questioned the order to strike first, and immediately revealed her usual confident expression.
She nodded and said, "Yes."
——————
...
During the standoff, the Umbrella Fleet slowly closed the distance with the saucer-shaped spacecraft, finally stopping at a distance of ten thousand kilometers.
Neither side initiated any communication.
The Harvesters on their side evidently hadn't expected a civilization capable of FTL jumps in the Solar System, so they were caught between advancing and retreating.
They might have been considering retreating, or perhaps waiting for 'reinforcements' to arrive before taking action.
However...
Whoosh-! (x N)
Swish-! (x N)
However, William, who understood the malicious nature of their species, didn't want to waste any more time. In an instant, the Umbrella Fleet unleashed a synchronized bombardment.
Twenty-four electromagnetic railgun shots, flashing with dazzling blue light, converged on a single point. The Harvester saucer's energy shield system did activate.
But...
Thirty-ton tungsten slugs, instantaneously accelerated to one percent of the speed of light, especially when subjected to twenty-four such impacts on the same point.
The result was predictable.
Their shield abruptly failed, and the remaining slugs directly penetrated the seemingly intimidating saucer, which had a diameter of twenty-five kilometers.
Synchronized with the bombardment, countless carrier-based aircraft detached from the fleet and flew forward at extreme speed.
At the very front were various F-X fighter formations, followed by Viking fighter formations, and finally, dozens of Vulture gunships.
Mixed within the fighter swarm was the Spartan Mjolnir armor formation, centered around William's specialized craft.
Since Red Team remained with the First Fleet in the rear, only Blue, Black, and White Teams were deployed this time.
Taking Blue Team's three Spartans as an example:
A-007 John's Mjolnir armor had six detachable drones mounted on its left side, and he held a standard Gauss rifle in his right hand.
A-003 Myron wielded a rotary Gauss cannon with both hands, and had mechanical arm-like shields on both sides of his back to enhance the Mjolnir armor's defense.
A-004 Karl still carried his usual electromagnetic sniper rifle.
The three members of Blue Team circled William, jointly advancing towards the increasingly close saucer.
.
Inside William's Mjolnir armor cockpit;
"Boss, we've detected that the Harvester species' spacecraft possesses some kind of energy shield technology, but it cannot defend against concentrated electromagnetic railgun strikes.
In the recent volley, their energy shield only intercepted the first projectile; the remaining twenty-three projectiles directly pierced their spacecraft."
"Only intercepted one projectile?" William said with slight surprise.
"Yes, they only stopped one," Serena shrugged, continuing her report: "But they were quite lucky; the other projectiles only caused penetrating damage. It seems the recent bombardment didn't hit the ship's vital points."
"Serena, quick!"
Upon hearing this, William hastily ordered, "Quickly notify the fleet to cease fire! Otherwise, the spacecraft will be destroyed by the fleet before we can complete the invasion."
"Yes, Boss."
"Phew..." William finally let out a sigh of relief.
He had intended to test the defensive capabilities of the Harvester shield.
He thought that since it performed so impressively in the movie, it should be very sturdy, after all, that was the only outstanding aspect of the Harvester civilization.
Who would have thought...
Their energy shield could only withstand a single projectile...
Just one.
This meant that two Paris-class warships, working together, could easily destroy these twenty-five-kilometer-long behemoths.
They truly were all show and no substance...
"Boss, we've detected the enemy ship releasing at least a thousand carrier-based aircraft," Serena reported calmly again.
"Good, I understand," William's face regained its serious expression. He raised his voice on the public communication channel: "Everyone!
What we are facing is a rogue alien species, the Harvesters. They plunder the cores of Earth-like planets to advance their technology and energy.
In other words, Earth is their target.
This mission is simple: I will lead the Spartans to infiltrate their vessel, and then Serena will be able to obtain all information about their species.
So everyone, remember not to attack their ship again until we complete our mission, remember!
As for those 'little flies' released by their ship, there's no need to show mercy.
Also, their carrier-based aircraft are also equipped with energy shields, but our aircraft-mounted Gauss cannons should be able to inflict effective damage.
But!
But everyone, be careful! Don't lose your lives due to carelessness, do you hear me?!"
"Woo-ah!" (x N)
"Hmm," William nodded with satisfaction.
Looking at the increasingly close enemy aircraft ahead, he couldn't help but smile, "Everyone, get ready for an introductory interstellar battle."
"Yes, Boss!"
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