As the Wasps closed in on AOR's ship, three more of his swept forward to defend; pummeling the minute fights with full powered anti-ship weaponry and rending them apart before they broke formation and partially pulled back only to consolidate later.
The Bladian fleets concentrated their fire upon the nearest and largest Tamarean vessel; it amazingly took a considerable bombardment before the forward-assault shields finally crumbled, the heavy bombardment ripped into the ancient hull and ruptured fuel and energy-lines, causing it to explode into several pieces.
(AOR asked me to do this as he's doing a paper or something that's keeping him from playing for the near-future...)
The loss of the venerable vessel only proved to strengthen the Tamarean resolve as they swept forward to avenge the loss of one of their oldest ships; The Might of Tamara...
Outnumberd and vastly outgunned, the Bladians cut their losses and withdrew in the interst of preventing a massacre.
"Commander, the enemy retreats like the cowards they are!" called the chief helmsman.
"I don't believe that it was cowardice... but maybe a type of strategy we are not customed to seeing. We shall watch our flanks as i suspect they will return. All ships of fleet Redemption; cut engines and engage inertial anchors then we shall sirt through the Elkerlinelk (the Might) for survivors."
"We will then wait for reinforcements as our fleet may not be enough to press onwards; once segments of fleet Absolution meet with us then we will advance upon the central mid-rim systems for our path onwards towards the false Republican homeworld!"