Vol 5. Chapter 17: Penetration
“Titan has taken a hit.”
“Titan has begun damage control!”
“Gnnn...”
Because of the Wyvern’s breath attack, several of Titan’s own missiles had exploded at point-blank range just after launch. The Vertical Launch Systems and the surrounding outer hull plating had been blown away.
Fortunately, the sweeping stroke of the breath itself had not caused any major destruction.
The missiles that had taken a direct hit had had their warheads and fuel detonated by the heat.
“Confirming secondary fires from dispersed fuel.”
“Activating fire-suppression systems! Forcing emergency purge of missiles inside the launch tubes!”
Missiles loaded into the adjacent Vertical Launch Systems were discharged in their locked state. It was a measure to prevent sympathetic detonation from the fire. In addition, the carbon nanotube wires strung throughout the ship’s interior adjusted their tension, reinforcing the structures around the breach.
“Fire extinguished. Damage-distribution mechanisms are operating normally.”
“Wire tension within tolerances. Emergency repair units are commencing response!”
Naturally, they were not simply leaving the Wyvern to do as it pleased in the meantime. Oceanus, still untouched, continued firing at full power, and Titan poured out shells from any mounts that had not been affected by the damage.
“Well, a few missiles going off isn’t going to bring a Titan down, at least...”
Commander Eve was fully aware of the robustness of the Titan-Series—and of their damage-control technology.
For structural reinforcement, carbon nanotube wires were laid throughout the interior of the ship. By adjusting the tension in those wires, they could disperse localized damage.
Carbon nanotubes did have the weakness of being vulnerable to heat, but the ship was, by its very nature, crammed full of combustible material.
Fire-suppression systems had been installed in ample quantity.
There was also a grid of truck rails that allowed repair machines to move freely in all directions throughout the ship, giving them a rapid repair posture. They could not exactly replace entire expanses of outer hull on the spot, but they could at least reinforce damaged structural members.
Even if they took a certain amount of damage, they could still prevent structural failure leading to midair breakup.
“Titan’s offensive capability on its current course has dropped by 36%. It will alter course to secure lines of fire.”
“...Ugh, this is rough on my heart...”
Shellfire that did not slacken in the slightest, and missiles darting in from time to time.
Driven about by that offensive, the Wyvern was weaving back and forth through the sky.
Even so, its basic flight speed was not dropping, and it had taken hardly any real wounds.
It was an extremely troublesome opponent.
On top of that, given the power of that mysterious breath attack, a direct hit would likely put even a Titan-Class in serious danger.
“That last breath had enough power to vaporize Titan’s heat-resistant structural layers. If it is subjected to continuous irradiation on the same spot for 0.3 seconds or more, it will penetrate the outer hull.”
The Titan-Class outer hull was coated with heat-resistant paint to cope with onboard fires. It appeared that the breath attack had vaporized that heat-resistant coating. Beneath the coating were thin plates of aluminum alloy, which had no heat resistance whatsoever. Once the coating was gone, penetration would be easy.
“Precisely because it’s a flying type, its defenses against long-range attacks might be particularly strong, Commander Sis-ter.
If it can fly at that speed and also cope with long-range attacks, it’s practically invincible.”
“...So, environmental adaptation? Though, yes, <Rain Croyne> was nothing but tough all the way from outer shell to internal tissue—but this Wyvern did take damage from those missiles earlier.”
“<Rain Croyne> was extremely tough from its outer skin all the way to its internal organs, but based on calculations from the missile yield, we assume this one does not have that level of strength.”
At <Ringo>’s report, Eve nodded. The Wyvern might be shrouded in an annoying defensive membrane, but what lay beneath was a hardness they could cope with.
In that case, if they could just strip off the defensive membrane, the rest would be theirs.
“Fighter Group B has reached designated distance. All units have launched AAMs—air-to-air missiles.”
“At this distance, their terminal velocity will reach Mach 6! They’re going to nullify the defensive membrane with successive missile impacts and then hit it with the Multi-stage Electromagnetic Cannons (Coilguns)!”
Asahi was, as always, enjoying herself.
Thanks to the tactical data link, she was watching the battle in real time. The sense of presence compared to watching through displays inside <The Tree> would be on a completely different level.
Their Commander Sis-ter in charge, meanwhile, had her heart pounding with nerves, which made Asahi’s nonchalance all the more galling.
On the feed, missiles were slamming into the Wyvern one after another.
Into the trajectories predicted from its prior evasive maneuvers, armor-piercing rounds from Titan and Oceanus poured down in a torrent.
“Confirming loss of defensive membrane. Oceanus has fired its Multi-stage Electromagnetic Cannon (Coilgun).”
A single streak of light pierced the Wyvern.
“Confirmed penetration.”
The shell, white-hot from aerodynamic heating, left a trail in the air.
“Looks like the firepower was too high...”
The Wyvern twisted its body in pain.
Ideally, you wanted to hit with just enough power that the shell barely stayed inside the body or just punched through. That produced the greatest damage. However, if they reduced the initial velocity any further, the hit probability would drop off sharply.
That limitation would not apply if they moved in closer, but the local Strategic AI disliked closing the distance any more than this.
“As expected, the defensive membrane is reconstituting in about one second. Compared with the records for <Rain Croyne>, both its durability and recovery are superior.
Confirming a penetrating wound.
Near the root of its right leg. No damage to internal organs. It appears the shot that had been aimed at the torso went slightly wide.”
“After all those shells and missiles, and we’ve scored one solid hit...”
Once more, the fighter groups unleashed their missiles.
Missiles separated from their hardpoint suspension racks and accelerated on pillars of flame.
“Titan’s emergency repairs to its Multi-stage Electromagnetic Cannon (Coilgun) are complete. Targeting solution acquired.”
Titan’s main gun, which had been knocked out by the breath attack, was restored. It trained its barrel on the Wyvern, ready to fire. Together with Oceanus, it would target the instant the defensive membrane vanished.
“Second wave of missiles: five seconds to impact, four—Wyvern altering course, beginning descent.”
The Wyvern, apparently having noticed the approaching missiles, finally took a descending trajectory. Up until now it had been doggedly pursuing Titan, but it seemed to have finally given up.
It twisted its body in a wide contortion—and then roared.
“Presumed sonic attack. Eight missiles lost.”
A massive sonic wave slammed into the cluster of missiles pursuing the Wyvern.
From the sheer physical shock alone, the three lead missiles prematurely detonated. Bathed in the fragments they scattered, another five missiles were damaged and careened off in random directions.
And the remaining forty missiles went straight on toward the Wyvern.
Silver scales scattered through the sky.
“Impact confirmed. Penetration of right shoulder. Penetration of left abdomen.”
The silver dragon lost its posture. Either vital muscles had been damaged, or the strength had gone out of its right wing-arm.
The scream the Wyvern let out rang through the airspace.
“D-Did we get it?”
“Commander Sis-ter!?”
At the line she let slip without thinking, her perceptive little sister Asahi immediately snapped back at her.
Reconstituting its defensive membrane, the Wyvern converted the impact of the shells being driven into it into yet more acceleration and dropped its altitude further.
“The Wyvern’s flight speed has exceeded 1,200 km/h.”
A speed that had already surpassed 1,000 km/h was being further boosted by its descent. The barrage could not keep up with the abruptly altered velocity, and the curtain of fire was swallowed uselessly by the empty sky.
And the Wyvern did not let that opening go to waste.
For the third time, it unleashed its breath.
This time it was not an ultra-long-range shot, nor a desperate, flailing attack, ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) but a clean, deliberate strike.
From below to above, the breath carved a path at relativistic speed.
In the command room, Commander Eve’s scream rang out.
“Titan has taken a hit.”
The air plasma that slammed into it took 0.3 seconds to punch through the outer hull. Then, searing through the internal structures, it burst out the other side.
As the breath’s line of fire wavered ever so slightly, it enlarged that breach even further.
The massive radiant heat scattered catastrophic damage through the surrounding structures.
Flames roared up from both Titan’s back and its belly.