[Suicide Junkie]

2433.1: A major expansion of the shipyards on X100 II has increased their output to almost one component each day, and their work on Avenger's critical components has been completed. Her ultra-heavy armor will require almost a year of additional work, but can be postponed indefinitely. The Valiant has been cleared of radioactive contamination, and lifesupport has been restored to all decks. Engineers estimate a four month job to replace the wings, weapons and shield grid. The StormCloud has finally arrived at the X100 II shipyards for refueling, but will have to remain there for a few weeks of testing for hull damage from the tugs. Over in Curyok, the repairs to the Stalwart will be completed in three months due to a shortage of shield grid elements. The Jreanar and Phong have both attacked our minefields simultaneously, but only the Jreanar used a minesweeper. Two Phong dreadnaughts were confirmed to be destroyed before we lost contact with our mine station. A total of two Jreanar ships and five Phong ships have entered our HomeSystem, so the Avenger has been ordered to X100 IV to join the three remaining ubernaughts. With the Avenger leading the ubernaughts in a flying V formation, they move out to attack a cluster of four Phong ships.

Entering the sector, all the preparation seems to be unfounded. The Phong ships fail to raise shields, and a graviton scan reads low, indicating moderate damage or empty storage areas. Since there is no visible damage on the ships, the only answer is that they have run out of fuel. It is quite clear that the Phong are not going to go quietly, as the charge weapons from some emergency backup system.
As the ubernaughts approach, four HEM beams strike out across space towards the Avenger. One beam glances off the port shields of the dreadnaught, another slams straight into the forward shields. Already glowing a watery blue at 50%, the shields absorb one more bLast to starboard while the Last HEM beam misses.
As its regenerators kick in to boost shields to 40%, the Avenger leads the ubernaughts within range of the enemy. The Protector bLasts chunks of hull out of the nearest Phong ship, splashing molten armor and bits of a shettered HEM crystal into space. The Avenger takes aim and nails another Phong DN with its Heavy-mount Polaron Cannons. One shot bLasts most of the armor from the enemy ship, and another digs through the Last armor to bLast and engine and a shield generator away. More bLasts rock the DN, cutting loose a shard cannon and slicing open an empty supply bay. Shrapnel rises from the ship in sparkling clouds as two more shield generators are shredded by polarons, before the ships Last HEM crystal succumbs to the intense bombardment. The Avenger's Last beam cuts deeply into the Phong ship, and the engine core erupts from the far side sending flame and debris everywhere.
As the Avenger turns back to reach maximum range, the Guardian washes wide beam flames of polaron death across the crippled ship. With massive damage to the outer hull, lifesupport fails across most of the Phong decks and their Shard cannons fall dark. Another hit of polarons removes the Last hint of life aboard the ship, and it breaks up silently.
The StoneWall adds fiery beams to the hull of the first Phong ship, smashing shield generators and PDLs. Purple beams bLast craters in the Phong hull, and the DNs HEM crystals shatter explosively. A final slash of polarons burns into the engine section before catching and vapourizing a shard cannon.
The Avenger loops and zigzags through space, and the four HEM beams from the two slower Phong ships burn past on all sides. Now, with the Phong recharging, the Avenger dives back towards the Phong fleet. Six Heavy polaron Cannons slice and dice, separating one of the Phong dreadnaughts into quarters while the ubernaughts cruise past, stabbing lances of fire into the other ships. The Phong leader disintegrates under the heavy pounding from the Guardian, and the Last DN is stripped to the core by the StoneWall and Guardian.
Feeble Shard cannon fire goes wide, and the Avenger dives into the two disabled Phong, polaron cannons burning a hole right through both ships.

With the defeat of the Phong forces, the Avenger proceeds alone to the wormhole to finish off the Last Phong ship, and the ubernaughts turn to attack the Jreanar forces.
Arriving at the wormhole, the Avenger finds only a severely damaged warship, enourmous bLast holes in the engine core, weapons array and shield grid. The Avenger drives forward, only to detect a distortion of the starfield across a wide swath of sky. A sensor probe is launched, but as it approaches the distortion, it vanishes in an silent puff of fire. The distortions twist space and fade, revealing a minesweeper and eight more Phong warships.
Unable to escape, the Avenger sends a distress signal to inform HomeWorld of the threat, and surges forward to meet its fate. As the Phong ships enter weapons range, closer scans indicate moderate to heavy damage on most of the vessels, but all of the ships are still mobile with weapons and shields. The Phong leader opens fire, nailing the Avenger with its only operational HEM crystal. Shields glow as energy curls around the forward hull, but hold at 75%. The Avenger dips in close enough to unload a barage of polarons into the leader's shields but they withstand the beating. Phong wingmen move into position and fire three HEM bLasts at the Avenger, but it is moving swiftly and slips around them. Firing aft weapons, the Avenger pierces the weakened shields of the Phong leader, bLasting away shields and Shard cannons. Shields climing to 90%, the Avenger speeds ahead, the Phong ships hanging on.
With their leader hit, the Phong ships break formation and begin to swarm. One HEM beam cuts just below the Avenger, who fires back at the attacker, piercing the mine-damaged shields to silence the HEM. Now the sector boarder is approaching quickly, so the Avenger, shields restored, swings around to port in an attempt to reach a less dangerous position. With the Phong weapons recharged, the Avenger dodges and slides as HEM beams come tearing from the fleet. Shields flare from a hit to port but the Avenger dips and bobs to avoid the next two shots. One more slams the Avenger from behind, and two beams quickly follow. Twisting sideways, the Avenger slips past one, but its shields burn brightly from the other. One Last HEM goes wide, and the Avenger shreds 40% from the shields of the nearest, undamaged Phong. Shields down to 30%, the Avenger attempts to pull away, but five Phong ships with full engine capacity are not giving ground. Shard cannons fire blindly, and the Phong ships swing behind the Avenger which rips another devastating hit into the latest target. The Avenger's shields reach 42% as the Phong's drop to 20%. A dip and a slide left avoids three HEM beams, but a fourth catches the Avenger to burn deeply into the shields. Two beams strike out, and dodging the first drives the Avenger directly into the second. One Last beam, aimed perfectly, glances off the shields despite the best efforts of the crew. Regenerators on overload, the Avenger's shields blink and recover to 5%. With another bLast from the Heavy Polaron Cannons, the Avenger's target loses shields and its armor trails polaron fire.
Undaunted as the Avenger's shield regenerators feed emergency power directly to the shields, the Phong spray Shard cannons and pursue. Defences critically weakened by the previous hits, the nearest Phong DN is slammed and shredded. All that remains of the ship is a small chunk of hull with lifesupport, a shield regenerator and emergency supplies. The Avenger's shields approach 35% as the Phong DNs open fire again. Bumping up against the sector border, the Avenger rises to avoid a Hem beam and slips left to dodge a second. Lucky number three strikes true, and the dreadnaught's shields flicker, dangerously weak. A double HEM shot cuts off the Avenger's manoeuverability and one rakes across the port shield. Piercing the Last 10% shielding, the HEM beam scrawls a squiggle across the heavy outer armor of the ship. Only one target is in range, and the dreadnaught returns a stern reply, purple polaron fire ringing the Phong ship.

Without warning, the universe declares "The parameter is incorrect" and time itself grinds to a halt...

Arriving at the wormhole, the Avenger finds only a severely damaged warship, enourmous bLast holes in the engine core, weapons array and shield grid. The Avenger drives forward, only to detect a distortion of the starfield across a wide swath of sky. A sensor probe is launched, but as it approaches the distortion, it vanishes in an silent puff of fire. The distortions twist space and fade, revealing a minesweeper and eight more Phong warships.
Unable to escape, the Avenger sends a distress signal to inform HomeWorld of the threat, and surges forward to meet its fate. As the Phong ships enter weapons range, closer scans indicate moderate to heavy damage on most of the vessels, but all of the ships are still mobile with weapons and shields. Two HEM bursts lance out, but the Avenger swerves sideways, the beams cutting through empty space. The Avenger responds with a heavy bLast from its Polaron Cannons, hammering the Phong ship, but its shields hold.
Phong manouevers carry the Avenger's target out of range, so the avenger turns to port, waiting for a chance to strike. The Phong leader comes into range and fires its only HEM beam just wide of the Avenger, and absorbing a heavy dose of polarons on its shields. With their leader under attack, the Phong fleet breaks up and the ships swarm forwards two HEM beams falling short of their target as the Avenger accelerates away. Crystalline shards bounce off of the Avenger's aft shields, their reflections throwing off the ship's sensors, and a pair of HEM beams slams into the shields. Her defenses glowing bright blue at 45%, the Avenger sprays polarons into the onrushing dreadnaughts while continuing to retreat. Another wave of polarons cuts deeply into the Phong shielding, but the defences hold, and the fleet returns fire with a glittering light show of crytalline shard scattering widely through the darkness.
With the sector border approaching quickly, the Avenger is forced into a tight turn to port, and the Phong close in. With a dip, the Avenger lets one HEM beam sail harmlessly overhead, but a second beam is ready, and slams the regenerating shield back down to 50%. Two more beams lance out, but the Avenger slows just enough for them to pass in front. A heavy surge of polarons washes over the weakened Phong ship, piercing the shields to burn away a large portion of the forward and dorsal sections. With weapons shattered, and engine power failing, the dreadnaught turns to retreat. Shard cannons blaze, but the wide angle fire fails to score a hit. The Avenger drops another polaron surge into the Phong fleet, and turns further to port to avoid another sector border. Making the turn slowed the Avenger, and the Phong fleet takes advantage of the opportunity to close with the ship. A massive volley of HEM shots fill space, but the Avenger slips over, under, left and right slipping between four shots. Two coordianted HEM beams force the Avenger to choose, and it takes a solid hit to the aft shields. Sensors blinded from the clash of energies, the Avenger fails to predict the shot, and is slammed from the port side by another bLast. Shields down to 25%, the Avenger switches targets to bLast through the mine-damaged shields of a nearby Phong DN. With shields down, and its main weapons torn from the ship, the DN turns to retreat. Shard cannons again prove ineffective, and the Avenger's shields rise to 40%, fed energy directly from the auxiliary reactors. Polarons cross space to hammer the regenerating shields of another Phong dreadnaught, but they hold, scattering the beams into a smoky veil behind the ship. The Phong HEMs bite back, and despite the best efforts of the Avenger, they are pinned down by four beams while two more deliver devastating blows to the aft shields. The Avenger's shields dip critically low, and flicker out before stabilizing at 3%. Polarons cut through space past the glittering crystalline shards to slam the Avenger's latest target. Shield flare up and break down, but the ship's armor stops most of the bLast; only a small stream of atmosphere leaks from a crack below the charred armor.
Slowing to keep a lock on the damaged Phong ship, the Avenger bLasts a wall of polarons through its shields, and the Phong dreadnaught catches a crushing blow. Tumbling powerless, the core of the Phong DN burns with the eerie purple glow of a polaron fire. The Avenger slams the nearest Phong ship with another polaron burst, but shields hold, and the phong fleet responds with their own main weapons. A HEM beam scrapes acros the port side of the dreadnaught, but the Avenger's regenerators have done thier work, and the shields hold while the quick moves of the Avenger throw off the aim of three more bLasts. Polarons sweep through the Phong fleet, but their shields still hold out. Two other Phong ships move in with charged HEM beams to stab three shots at the Avenger. Flying a chicane left, the Avenger swerves around the first beam but is hit by the second while the third goes wide. Shields flare again and drop to 20%. Swerving right, a HEM beam sears space beside the dreadnaught. Sliding left then right, another two beams miss, but a fourth beam nails the Avenger dead center. With regenerators unable to compensate, the shields fall to 10%. Polarons sweep through the Phong fleet, and one of the DNs flares up, shields depleted. Awash in flames, the Phong ship falls behind with severe engine damage. More HEMs from the Phong fleet burn towards the Avenger, the first beam strikes the shields, sending them into overload. Another beam slips between the unshielded engine pylons of the Avenger, and the Last scrawls its shaky signature across the heavy armor of the dreadnaught. Polarons strike back, averloading the shields of a Phong DN, but failing to do any damage to the hull. With a burst of speed, the Avenger skips ahead of one HEM, then slows to slip behind the second beam. This time, the polarons smash through the depleted shields of the Phong DN immediately, and the purple fire sweeps through the mine-damaged hull. As fire engulfs the ship, it pauses only to explode into a shower of red-orange fragments.
The damaged avenger is forced to make another slow turn around the fleet to avoid being trapped, and the phong ships close in again. A dip in the flight path sends a solitary HEM beam sailing harmlessly overhead, and the Avenger turns to attack a solitary Phong ship with a devastating blow from close range. The Phong ship opens fire but the Avenger makes a tight turn to get behind the HEM crystal. Two more bLasts from the side distract the Avenger long enough for a fourth beam to find its target. The Avenger's shields burn, but hold at 5%. With the fleet approaching, the solitary Phong ship moves to join the safety of the group, absorbing another wave of polarons as it passes the Avenger. Another phong ship moves in to cut off the Avenger's retreat, but its single shard cannon fires wide, and a single HEM beam from the fleet falls behind. Locking onto the closest ship, the Avenger's polaron cannons rip through the weak shields to gut the ship. Weapons, engines and shield generators spash off into the night, trailing fire, and the DN tumbles away. With the fastest Phong ships all burning wrecks, and its shields back to 25%, the Avenger turns to meet the remaining enemy forces. With a sickening lurch, the Avenger's engines fade out, and the crew reels forward in the artificial gravity. Supplies depleted, and four Phong ships still fighting, the Avenger is in trouble. A HEM beam glances by, but the laboring Avenger, is helpless to avoid the next accurate hits. Her forward shields flare up, wrapping fire around the ship, but holding barely. A second beam breaches the shields and burns fire across the hull. A third beam tears up the starboard armor, and the Avenger's shield grid leaks burning plasma. Return fire sends polarons raking across the shields of the nearest Phong ship, before burrowing in to burn the hull of the ship like a dry leaf. Now trying to get some distance, the Avenger's thrusters hiss, and though they could easily catch the Avenger, the Phong ships wisely stay just out of weapons range. With main power offline, the Avenger is forced to reroute all auxiliary power to lifesupport, and her shields go dark. Shard cannons are still too inaccurate, but one Phong ship moves in to dig into the Avenger with dual HEM beams. The Last shield generators in her grid burning, the Avenger's stealth armor explodes into dark red fragments, but the Last of the HEM energy is refracted from the scattering armor.
Just at that moment, the Guardian and the StoneWall arrive from behind. Weaving between crystalline shards, they sweep past the Avenger and slam quad bolts of polarons into the nearest Phong ship. Sliding sideways, the StoneWall absorbs a HEM beam meant for the Avenger, and the Guardian pierces the shields of the Phong ship, bLasting debris from the surface. Just as the Phong ship fires, a bLast of polarons hits, causing an explosion in the engine core and twisting the ship's aim away. The next Phong ship in line throws a double lance of fire towards the Avenger, but damage to the Phong's targetting sensors and the screening battlecruisers cause the shots to go wide. Polarons break through the dreadnaught's shields, but the HEM crystals refuse to break, reflecting the polarons deep into the crew decks. HEMs recharge, but the Avenger is too distant for a lock, and the beams miss once again. Now defenseless, the Phong DN is hit with the full fury of the ubernaught's polaron beams, and explodes into a flower of orange light. Following the trail of broken ships, the ubernaughts sidestep a crystalline shard and pierce the shields of the next Phong ship. A short second burst of polarons, and the ship breaks up into a ball of plasma. Another ship fires a shard cannon, but the ubernaughts easily avoid it, and hammer through the ship's shields with polaron beams as they rapidly pass, and it too explodes in a fireball. The Last four Phong ships are all unarmed, and blaze brightly for a few seconds before fading out permanently.

With the Phong force defeated, the Guardian and the StoneWall proceed to rendezvous with the Protector again, then attack the Jreanar ships in the system. One Jreanar dreadnaught and a minesweeper are quickly put down, and the Protector returns to cover the Avenger in case of another attack, but the Guardian and the StoneWall have already pushed their engines to the limit and cannot make it in time.