The battle begins

A full carrier complement consisted of 300 fighters and 50 bombers. Unlike their predecessors that fought inside the atmosphere, the current models could engage at ranges of greater than 50,000 km. In space that was still knife distance but if you could get the bombers in range that would be an almost guaranteed kill on at least one of the capital ships. The best case scenario would be if they could hit the enemy carrier but like your own, it was behind the main line of battle, ready to retreat if it looked like it was at risk. The bombers likely wouldn't reach the enemy at all, they were big targets and a threat that the Directorate would try to hit as quickly as possible. If the admiral in command decided to try something tricky however they might just be what tipped the edge.

The edge was currently in your favor. The ships were currently dueling at the edge of each other's range. Darting in to check exposure or to try and cause some damage. A Directorate frigate had committed too far and had been hit hard by one of the battleships, its weapons and engines suffering severe damage before it managed to pull back out of range. For all intents and purposes, it was out of the fight and could no longer flee. You switched your view to battle mode which showed a graphic representation of how it would have looked if the damage had been real. The CGI was great. It looked like the frigate had been almost gutted and the fires burning were a nice touch. It reminded you of your first battle. You'd panicked after a particularly cruel squadron commander had switched that view on without telling you and made you think you'd really killed a ship. They'd gotten demoted for that.

"All squadrons keep it loose. We've got a bit more flack waiting for us out there than usual but our big sisters are covering. We've spotted the enemy trying to go low. I want Red, Star, and Lotus to keep them in check. Blue, Hammer, and Rooster I want you covering our top. Green, Fox, and Danger you're on babysitting for the big girls. Everyone else get ready to move in. Diamond formation to protect the bombers. The real fun is going to start soon." That was the CAG, she would be on the bridge of the carrier with the admiral. Her name was Chizu and you'd been serving under her for the last three years. The squadrons she'd named acknowledged their orders and broke off to do their tasks while you looked at your display showing you where your squadron was meant to go. You were in Vice and the battle map put you under the bombers. When fighting in space it was important to keep all angles covered.

It was obvious when the real fun started. The smaller combatants led the way and the battle began in earnest as batteries and counter batteries began firing.