Unlucky shook his head.

"Crazy to give up on computing. No amount of power worth it in lieu; magic and technology not opposing forces. Better computers mean better magic - better targeting. Divniation only goes so far - you e amazed how many creatures be flat-out immune to divination - and magic also relatively susceptible to disruption. Especially if running into power that has more scientifically advanced magic achieved through application of technology, since part of advanced magic, like all other technology, there is interplay and increasing complexity. Comes a point where... You just can't do sums; have to have computer to do complicated work. You need to be able to understand the maths to make the most refined spells. There a functional complexity limit to what, fundementally, analogue magic can do. Just like Foul Skream, 'bout best engineer and craftslich we have - while really, really good... He still can't make weapons to atomic-level tolerances without having computers - him just doesn't have capability to see or control fine enough.

"It like souls. Most pre-industrial magic societies think souls are things only sapient/sentient - maybe sophont, if you like... People-things have. But... That not true. Everything have soul, ultimately, but non-people souls... It like they be mystical equivalent of atoms. Can't SEE non-person soul without metaphorical equivalent of electron microscope (me assume you must have something that). And if you keen enough into necromancy to actually be [i]looking[/i] for it in first place.

"Lord Death Despoil and Foul Skream both they say ulimately, everything numbers. Even things you think don't have numbers, like feelings, all that mean is that you just don't have way to work out what numbers are.

"Theorhetical exercise. If you could compare all your feelings across all you life to each other, weigh each moment of feeling and compare, like looking between to pages of book. At some point, there would be when you felt happiest and some point you felt unhappiest. And right there? You have a SCALE. A relative scale, but a scale. And ultimately, is that not what all units are? A relative scale decided by somewhat arbitary decision for comparison?

"And if you could manage to make good enough analytical tool, maybe you can start to measure QUANTITY of feeling. How much do [i]truly [/i]love that thing or person compared to the next, when the sum total of all you actual experiences of every moment with them ir thinking about them are weighed against each other?

"That sort of thing still very impossible for us. But, critically, that not mean that those numbers are not still THERE, just because we can't know what they are - or perhaps for most mortals don't want to know.

"So, yes, everything ultimately, come down to numbers. And computers still best things for doing maths. So eventually, you either USE computer... Or you have to BECOME computer. Otherwise... You no better than pre-magic, pre-technology tribesman against civilisation. You left behind, you go extinct. 

"Lichemaster, it quite possible there something... Else, beyond paranatural and mundane that make all our magic and powered technology both as outdated as sticks and fire. There enough outside context problems around - that is remotest possibility of even ONE - that giving up on one way to ascend to that level just, like me say... Crazy."

*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Fleet Admiral Velinkar examined the data. The lich began to prioritise targets. Guns off the field - take out the weakest targets first. In this case, that would be the Corvettes. Aotrs starships were one of the hardier fleets around in the galaxy; so if they could attrite away their offensive capabilities, it seemd quite possible the Aotrs could simply tank the limited damage and whittle away the Azure Skies. Especially with the former's lack of energy weapons. 

He was not overly concerned with the larger vessels design to ram, like the asteroids. Ramming with a capital starship by its very absolute nature, meant that you had to fly on a predictable course, because you had to hit a target. If the target wasn't so much bigger than you (like a missile or GT suicide shuttle trying to ram a big starship) that you couldn't afford to jink and vary your position as much. A fighter or missile could move around many times its own volume and still be on target to be able to hit SOME part of the target. A captial starship trying the same thing couldn't, which meant, perforce, they had to fly on a more predicatble course to make a ramming attempt and that meant you got shot more easily. (And if you missed...)

But if you did hit a starship with another starship, given the enormous velocities involved, the most likely result of two things hitting each other and significant fractions of the speed of light was the instant destruction of both. But the Azure Skies vessels seemed to be able to ram things and not die... Which, by simply laws of physics said they must have some form of inertial compensation which would have to work against the attempt to ram itself. 

Smaller boarding pods, of course, stood much better chances of working - the Aotrs own Fallen Soul was, after all, designed to ram into a starship; but again, to do so the AFVs actually had to do so from comparitively slow speeds, certainly much slower than the ones they used to actually get into relativistic distances. (In the same way fighters couldn't actually strafe a capital ship unless they were fairly close in speed, lest they simply fly past faster than any mortal and immortal could react.)



The first order of buisness, then, was to ascertain what kind of range the Azure Skies had, and how quickly they could adjust it. While the had, by nature, to have speeds greater than the Aotrs to be able to fly FTL in normal space (and arrive between star systems in a non-generational time frame), how able they were to change direction at that speed - especially further out from the gravity well - was a good question.



The admiral ordered four squadrons of fighters to readiness - one Foul Wing squadron and two Crater Squdrons, with a squadron of Apparitions for top cover, all with standard load-outs. He gave order for them to micro-jump to the orbit of Tanshin I. If the the Azure Skies dodn't respond, the fighters would be able to make some close scans of the surface and the source of the distress beacons. If they did respond, what they committed and how would tell him a great deal. For one, if they persisted in fighting in a relativistically close big cluster, like a giant bait-ball of fish, the Aotrs fleet could disperse into packets and snipe from significant distances and retreat while the Azure Skies tried to chase them down. Velinkar didn't expect that, of course, but it was a possibility.

He ordered the fighters to make their Gate jump.