As the bridge shuddered under the impact of multiple hits, Velinkar scowled. There didn't seem to be much option. If hitting the flagship was the only thing they COULD hit, then, really the only chocie was to focus-ifre with everything they had an hit it harder, If they couldn't damage it with the combined firepower of the largest portion of the Aotrs fleet - then what could they do?

He knew that the spell protecting the fleet likely had some mitigating effect of the amount of fire going in, because that was fairly typical of damage-transfer magic. How much effective power were they losing? 20%? 50%? More? Who knew.

But there wasn't anyway they could break it. Killstorm was good, but even with the runecores on one of Velikar's [i]Liche's Wraths[/i], she wouldn't be able to to do it. Even if she did, would they be able to re-establish it again instantly?

He breifly contempalted trying to scour runes away with repeated energy beam strikes. But the energy beams were their weakest again such heavy armour and they probably wouldn't be able to sustain an attack long enough to actually disrupt the runes.

Velinkar considered trying to remove the flagship from the fight via Gate. With a concentration of power his [i]Terror[/i]-class heavy drradnought might be able to open a Gate big enoguh to fit it through... But the chances of them letting him do that, especially with their thrice-damned prognostication seemed small. They could try tractorbeaming it, but they'd need prpobably need a lot of ships to get very close and try it, and all the while completely exposed to the functionally-invincble Azura, a clear invitation to ram. and even if he could get it through a Gate and there was any kind of distance function to the magic, where would he send it? This kind of situation would mean it would have to be in the system, so where? Into the sun? No, they'd likely be able to stop in time. Even if he closed the etnry point of the Gate so they couldn't come back through and were sedately ejected out of the far end by the collapse, they'd be able to se it coming and evade. By divination if nothing else. Damn it they had the Aotrs beat on magic and they didn't have anyone str-

Wait.

[i]Wait.[/i]

[i]Killstorm wasn't the strongest caster in the system.[/i]

"Open a channel to Lord Foul Skream [i]now![/i]"

Without even an acknowledgement, his comm officier responded, and Lord Foul Skream appeared seated in his command chair on the Doomskreig on Velinakr's screen.

"Milord! We need a massive dispel on the enemy command ship now! It might be our only chance!!

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Velinkar's plan was risky, but two-fold.

First, Lord Foul Skream had assented to th requested. For one of the High Command, a simple insystem Gate to a ship involved ina fericous starship battles was of no moment, so even as Velinkar frantically made the last calculations, the lich-engineer was seated in the ritual chamber of the [i]Liche's Wrath Kreella-Kar[/i] and preparing himself for the biggest dispel he could manage (possibly the biggest he'd ever done). A grand dispel that would (Lichemaster please) dispel or disrupt the damage-transfer spell, but also any other active spell on board the [i]Misericordia [/i]- including the divination spells.

And in that moment, the Aotrs fleet would hit the [i]Misericordia [/i]with everything they had, all at a single point. 

To do that, they'd have to slave the fleet's entire firecontrols to one person.

Of course, the best shot in the fleet was Lord Foul Skream, Veliner reflected. But even he couldn't do two jobs at once.

[i]Dammit[/i], he'd have to take the shot himself.

He issued the orders. 



If this failed... 

Velikar looked out towards the sun, for the briefest of moments. Then he finished the [i]other [/i]program he'd been working on.

Then there was Phase Two.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

"Foul Skream to fleet: initiating [i]now[/i]."