Meanwhile in the military base:
"To all the staff: take the battle station", it echoed through the corridors of the base filled with soldiers.
The soldiers ran down the hallways, all dressed in the greenish Alliance military uniform. The standard uniform included armor for arms and legs, a helmet, and a bulletproof vest.
"Come on! Come on!” Shouted a lieutenant, lashing at the soldiers who hurried to their individual stations and groups.
"Unit four to me!" a soldier gave the signal to a group of other soldiers.
Another stood next to a weapon depot set into the wall and gave the soldiers their rifles.
The hangar, with its gates facing the sea, was also very busy.
“Dock seven open! Ready to go!” Reported flight control before the message was drowned out by the roar of the ship's engines.
An extension of a crane drove aside as a cruiser, inferior in size to a battleship, began to move. The fortifications of the containers kept in the hangar trembled under the launch of the cruiser.
The brackets that held the cruiser in the hangar moved back.
Technicians waved their glow sticks and signaled the start of the cruiser. The hangar was already mostly empty, only a few support fighters were on standby. Most of the frigates and interceptors had taken off before the cruiser for tactical reasons.
The waters below the hangar gates reared on all sides as the cruiser flew over it. With a sharp turn, he turned towards the city and flew over the base. Several jets caught up from the stern of the cruiser and positioned themselves in front of him, accompanying him into the operational area.
Leaves flew through the woods, blown up by the low-flying ships. The trapezoidal ships of the Teikoku had managed to jump just before the city. Jumps in the atmosphere were complicated. Coordinates and the jump path had to be known or one would jump through a mountain range. Jumps into the cities were also mostly avoided. The danger of colliding with the shields that protected most of the major cities was ubiquitous. But the collision with skyscrapers or other buildings, as well as the danger of getting caught in the crossfire, had to be avoided as well.
Therefore, the ships usually jumped in front of the city's shields in a surprise attack to give the defender little reaction time. It was the most effective way to win and it kept the losses low. The enemy had to mobilize the majority of their fleets and troops first, while the attacker had the initiative.
Several frigates, cruisers, and a Teikoku battleship flew in front of the city, just before the defensive perimeter outside the second wall. As soon as they arrived, fighters and transports took off from the cruisers and the ships began to fire on the defenses of the city.
At the same time, several tactical missiles were launched from the combat stations and from the military base. They raced across the city toward the Teikoku ships. Many of the missiles exploded in mid-air, hit by the ships' defense lasers. Only a few reached their destination, the frigates, and cruisers. However, the cruisers' shields were too strong for the tactical missiles to penetrate, so the only effect of the pressure waves from the explosions was to detract the ships from their trajectories for a brief moment.
Firing the missiles should bring in time. Time to launch their own ships and defenses before the Teikoku ships passed the first ring.
The defense forces behind the first ring immediately opened fire. Automatic and manned guns fired at the attackers for as long as they could. But the subsequent bombardment of the cruisers destroyed one defensive position after the other. Undeterred by the defense efforts, the ships slowly pushed their way through the city's shields, modulating their own shields.
"Enemy has passed the first ring," it rang through the military network as the first Teikoku ships passed the shield. Immediately some of the ships began to fire on the walls of the first ring.
The shields of the cities were usually determined by junctions, with walled cities like Halsion it was mostly the towers in the walls themselves. One tower went up in flames under the fire of the frigates and the section of shield running through the junction became weaker.
The sound of incoming ships filled the sky over the city. It was the defense garrison ships that had launched from the base. Cheered on by civilians and soldiers on the streets, they flew over the city.
"Target sighted, begin the attack," began the vanguard jets to fire their missiles at the Teikoku.
The missiles shot through the air, and the Teikoku ships' battered shields vibrated under the impacts. Some of the shields collapsed and opened up, which gave the ships no chance to evade the subsequent missiles and ground fire. The Teikoku jets did not stand idly by and engaged the Alliance jets in combat. A game of cat and mouse began, competing for who could shake off whom first to be shot down in the end.
The guns of the cruisers and frigates hammered on the shields of the opposite side, while the jets tried not to fly into the crossfire. The Teikoku battleship took up a defensive position within the breach above the first wall as it repulsed the attacks of the cruisers.
While the battle was raging in the sky, the battle on the ground had only just begun. One by one, the anti-aircraft cannons at the defense posts had been shut down by the frigates to clear the way for ground troops to land. There would be urban warfare soon.
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