Cardinal Zhander Forth stood at the helm of the flagship Deus Sanctus Mori. His hands clasped in prayer as he surveyed the dark expanse of space before him. Behind his ship, was a fleet of battleships. All were emblazoned with the sigil of the Holy Lucid Church. And as their acting Fleet Admiral, they awaited his command. They were on a holy mission. A part of their cause to cleanse their sectors of heretics and pagan believers who dared to defy the teachings of the Church.

"Prepare for battle," Cardinal Zhander Forth intoned. His voice echoed through the bridge. "We shall not rest until the heretics are brought to justice and their vessel is reclaimed for the glory of the Bright Almighty."

He step aside and let his assigned helmsman, steer the ship with his orders.

The crew of the Deus Sanctus Mori sprang into action. Their movements swift and purposeful as they readied the ship for combat. Across the fleet, cannons were armed, shields were raised while humming its full integrity, and prayers were whispered but echoed across the ships as the faithful prepared to face their fated enemy.

"Cardinal," came the voice of Minister Rodri, the helmsman of the Deus Sanctus Mori. "The heretics' ship has come into visual range."

Cardinal Zhander Forth narrowed his eyes, his jaw set in. And true to the information they gained, the heretics have created themselves a massive ship that was already on the size of a moon. His gaze fixed on the humongous ship looming before them like a dark specter against the backdrop of space. The vessel was a Colossus Class ship. A technological marvel rumored to be manned by heretics who defied the teachings of the Church. It was probably three to four times larger than their Seed Ships. It had a rectangular silhouettes on its sides. With the ship hull, coated in devilish black, proving their stance in standing for the beliefs of their pagan gods.

"We shall not be deterred by the size of their vessel. Our faith is our shield, and the Lucid is our guide. Prepare to engage the enemy." the cardinal said with confidence. This statement was not unfounded as he had a fleet of 162 battleships under him. A number that could wreck even their own powerful and enduring Seedships.

As the fleet moved to intercept the heretics' colossal ship, Cardinal Zhander Forth felt a surge of great motivation and confidence coursing through his body. It energized his mind and spirit. For everyone on his fleet, this was no ordinary battle; it was a holy war, a clash between the forces of light and darkness, good and evil. And for the sake of humanity and with the blessings of their God, they will win.

"Open a channel to the heretics' ship," Cardinal Zhander Forth commanded. He started the procedure on handling heretics. The communication officer nodded, her fingers flying across the console.

"Channel open, Cardinal."

"This is Cardinal Zhander Forth of the Church of the Holy Lucid Light," Zhander Forth declared, sending over his aura of authority. "Surrender now, and you may yet find redemption in the eyes of the Bright Almighty."

There was a moment of silence and then a harsh, mocking laugh filled the bridge.

"Redemption?" came the sneering voice from the other side. He can’t make out the gender of the voice owner also as it sounds like several people talking together in unison. "We have no need for your false gods and saints, cardinal. We served only one and when he disappeared, you acted like vuranic vultures, scouring for the legacy he left behind and will claim it as your own. Yet you will never ever comprehend such things even if they fall to your hands."

Cardinal Zhander Forth felt a surge of righteous anger at the heretic's words.

"Your blasphemy against the Almighty shall not go unpunished, heretic. Prepare to face His judgment."

With a wordless cry, Cardinal Zhander Forth gave the order to attack, and the fleet of battleships unleashed a barrage of energy blasts upon the heretics' ship. But even as their cannons blazed, the colossal vessel seemed to shrug off their attacks, its thick armor plating remained unscathed as the massive ship’s shields protected it from the onslaught with ease.

"We need to find a weakness," Minister Rodri said, his brow furrowed with concern. "That ship is unlike anything we've ever faced before."

The cardinal could see that the enemy ship’s shields were far superior than to their own firepower. But Cardinal Zhander Forth refused to give in to despair. He knew that they just needed to have faith and persevere. With renewed determination, he raised his voice in mental prayer, calling upon the Almighty to grant them strength in their hour of need. Asking for his blessing and guidance.

And as the battle raged on, the faithful of the Church of the Holy Light fought with a fervor born of righteous conviction, their hearts filled with the certainty that they were fighting on the side of righteousness.

Suddenly, inspiration struck. Cardinal Zhander Forth then opened his eyes. His mind still racing as he mouthed the solution.

“The Almighty have given me an insight!”

“Cardinal?” his helmsman was surprised with his outburst.

"Target their engines" He commanded. "If we can disable their propulsion systems, we may yet have a chance. Divide the fleet into three, we will take the brunt of their attacks while send the other two in a pincer. No matter how big it is, it is still a single ship. A floating big target for our fleet."

The fleet adjusted their tactics with his words, they quickly dispersed to three directions. And as he had said, the two groups on both side of the enemy ship started focusing their fire on the engines of the heretics' ship as they drew nearer. With each volley, they hope to chip away the integrity of the enemy ship shields, drawing closer to their target with each passing moment.

But the heretics were not content to sit idly by and let themselves be destroyed. With a roar of defiance, they unleashed a barrage of counterattacks. Their weapons tearing through the ranks of the fleet with deadly accuracy.

"Ordained Shields at fifty percent!" Minister Rodri shouted in urgency. "We can't hold out much longer, Cardinal."

"Send in the boarding parties," he declared. His order was executed immediately, as countless boarding pods were launched from the fleet. Their hulls bristling with soldiers ready to do battle in the name of the Bright Almighty. This will tire and exhaust the defense system of the enemy ship. And if their gods wills it, their soldiers could penetrate and commandeer the vessel from within.

Cardinal Zhander Forth waited with bated breath, his heart pounding in his chest as he watched the pods suffer from the incoming defense turrets of the heretic ship.

As the boarding parties went closer to the hulls of the Colossus Class ship however, the boarding pods were destroyed by the shields of the enemy ship. He watches as countless of the boarding pods that he sent had burned or exploded, adding to the countless floating space debris. Something that he didn’t expect. He now realized that the shields of the enemy ship was also superior and dangerous than they had assumed.

“Cancel the boarding pods delivery!” the cardinal barked, his voice cutting through. His eyes fixed on the viewscreen displaying the swirling chaos of space. Around him, officers and crew members were shouting orders and relaying status reports as their battleship alongside its fleet, engaged in the brunt and heaviest of combat in exchanging volleys of firepower with a colossal enemy vessel. "Status report!"

“We lost 79% of the boarding pods we sent cardinal.” one of the acolytes in the consoles replied.

With each passing moment, the fighting grew more intense, the air filled with the sound of clashing ship armaments and the cries of the wounded on the com lines. But through it all, Cardinal Zhander Forth remained steadfast in his faith, knowing that the Almighty was watching over them and guiding their hand.

Then he received an opening of a comms channel from another cardinal, Jensen Ludwig, his vice admiral of this fleet. The man was on the bridge of his own ship Borealis. And was also on the same situation as he led the right wing of the pincer attack. His ship holo was showing sparks and fires around, displaying internal damage.

“Cardinal.”

“Yes Jensen?” the cardinal was obviously worried about the state of the ship of his vice admiral.

But before Jensen could reply, he was interrupted by an alert from one of his crew on the bridge.

"Ordained Shields holding at thirty-five percent, sir. Enemy weapons are targeting our starboard side." a loud voice rang over from the side of Jensen.

"Redirect power to shields! Maintain the formation!" Jensen ordered.

“Yes your excellency!”

Jensen turned back to Cardinal and saluted.

“Cardinal, request permission for-” once again he was interrupted but this time, it proved to be fatal as the entire ship rocked from the massive blast of explosion that damaged most parts of their bridge.

“Jensen!” he yelled in obvious worry.

The connection was still stable but it let him see the gravity of the situation on the other side of the display.

“Sitrep!” the cardinal commanded as he could only see burning, floating bodies and coughing as the crew quickly contained themselves in their Sanctified Suits. A coughing crew appeared before the cardinal and reported their status. It took several minutes before he got an answer.

“Cardinal, we lost Cardinal Jensen!”

“I will takeover command!” he immediately said as he connected himself to the Drog Quasifier that was deployed on the bridge for such purpose.

“Yes cardinal!”

The view of the cardinal then switched on the floating Drog Quasifier, acting as his eyes, ears and mouth. Then he saw the body of Jensen that was cut in half by a flying debris that flew from inside of the bridge. He closed his eyes to let himself mourn for a friend even in just a moment, then took a deep breathe as he had to focus himself on the current situation.

“Proceed with my previous orders! Find its engines and destroy it! For the Eternal Light of Lucid!” with raised voice, he echoed their mantra.

“May darkness cower in its Radiance!” the crew of the Borealis answered as morale improved on him, taking command of their ship.

As the Borealis unleashed a volley of energy blasts at the enemy ship, the cardinal glanced at the tactical display. The enemy vessel was a behemoth. It was bristling with weapons, very strong shields and probably protected by thick armor plating. He just realized the real scale of the massive ship, even some of its main guns were as large as half of their largest battleship on their fleet and in comparison it dwarfed their armaments and strongest main cannons.

"Cardinal," Deacon Pvatel called out from her station at communications ship, Greater Guidance. "We're receiving a distress signal from the ship St. Germoia. They're under heavy fire and requesting immediate assistance."

Cardinal clenched his jaw. The St. Germoia was one of the few sister ships of the Borealis, and he knew they couldn't afford to let it fall.

"Helm, set course for the St. Germoia. Maximum speed." he commanded.

"Aye, sir," replied the helmsman.

The Borealis banked sharply, maneuvering through the chaos of the battle as it raced to aid its beleaguered ally. As they drew closer to the St. Germoia, Jensen could see the enemy ship raining down fire upon it. Its massive cannons tearing through the St. Germoia's shields with ease.

"Open a channel to the St. Germoia," the cardinal commanded.

The communication acolyte on the bridge nodded, her fingers flying across the holographic control panel display.

"Channel open, sir."

“Cardinal Jen-” The captain, Bishop Bausserant was shocked to see the Drog Quasifier, floating on the holo instead of Cardinal Jensen.

"This is Cardinal Zhander Forth." Yhe cardinal said, sending his voice through the floating tool. "Hang on, St. Germoia. We're coming to help."

"Cardinal! Thank the Almighty!" Came the strained voice of the St. Germoia's captain over the comm. "We've taken heavy damage, but we're still holding on. Your reinforcement will be very much appreciated."

"Help is on the way, Captain," Cardinal Zhander replied. "Just hold on a little longer."

The Borealis surged forward, its cannons blazing as it unleashed a barrage of firepower against the enemy ship. The St. Germoia, emboldened by the arrival of reinforcements, returned fire with renewed vigor. The combined assault of the two battleships seemed to have taken some sort of effect on other ships as it followed suit in their barrage of attack.

But the battle was far from over. As the enemy ship suddenly changed its color and deployed more turrets on its hulls. It replied and unleashed devastating volley of missiles, targeting the vulnerable engines of the St. Germoia. Its shields were helpless to protect the vulnerable part of the ship and broke once its limit was reached. The cardinal watched in horror as the St. Germoia's engines erupted in a fiery explosion, sending debris hurtling through space. The effects were felt by the surrounding ships nearby who was struck by the flying pieces and fragments of the ship.

"Bishop Bausserant!" the cardinal shouted, his heart sinking as the St. Germoia's signal vanished from the tactical display.

The bridge fell silent with the loud sounds of static, fires and explosions around the ship echoed through the quick mourning of the recent casualty. The gravity of the moment weighing heavily on everyone present. But there was no time to mourn their fallen comrades. The enemy ship was regrouping for another assault, its weapons primed and ready to unleash hell upon the remaining fleet.

"Status report!" The cardinal demanded, his voice tensed.

One of the acolytes looked up from his console, his expression grim.

"Shields are holding, but we've taken significant damage. We can't sustain a hit like that." Then he also added. “Our group lost forty-two battleships cardinal with twenty five disabled and combat ineffective... we only have sixteen ships left.”

The cardinal clenched his fists, his mind racing as he considered their options. They were obviously outgunned, facing an enemy unlike any they had ever encountered. He checked the display back on his own flagship and realized that the group assigned to take the left of the enemy ship wasn’t doing much better also.