For the first time since the start of the Red War, the Red Association and the first-rate superstates had finally deployed their first ’superweapons’. Human High Command had made the deliberate choice to escalate the scope of warfare. Although these superweapons mostly came in the form of mysterious space fortresses that were stuffed with large-scale high technologies, their power and capabilities far exceeded the scope of other space stations of the same size! Stories and rumors about these vaunted fortress-type superweapons had always circulated across the galactic net. Nobody could say how many of them existed, but there was no doubt that every Star Designer had built at least a handful of them. It was practically tradition in their circle. Everyone knew that Star Designers were the ones responsible for developing god mechs, but they were not limited to designing mechs anymore. It was not unusual for them to be able to design powerful gadgets and structures of exceedingly high quality and performance. However, there were very few opportunities for Star Designers to showcase the power of their superweapons. The masses had no chance of witnessing them in action. The most they could enjoy was the use of fictional superweapons in unrealistic action dramas. Even though few people possessed a clear understanding of the power and the capabilities of these vaunted technological miracles, they still knew to fear their usage. Their effects surpassed that of regular warships. While Star Designers were capable of designing warship-type superweapons as well, they rarely did so in practice. Most people believed that they wanted to avoid contributing to the development of warships as much as possible. There was no reason to develop advanced tech that could subsequently be used by the CFA or RA to improve their own warships! If Star Designers developed their own super warships, the hulls were always exclusively made for their own usage. In any case, Star Designers developed so many fortress-type superweapons over the years that they possessed a few traits in common. Their mobility was relatively limited. Most of them possessed sub-light propulsion capabilities that enabled them to fine tune their orbits, but their acceleration was so low that they were not expected to rely on thrusters to move from one location to another. What they did possess were FTL travel capabilities. This was solely reserved for moving them to the star systems where their protection and deterrence were needed the most. Smaller super fortresses tended to be more mobile than larger ones, though this was not an absolute rule. Many fortress-type superweapons actually possessed limited teleportation capabilities, though this could also vary. There were super fortresses that could only reach other star systems by relying on portals generated by mecher or fleeter warships. There were also other super fortresses that could generate portals of their own that were large enough to transport them to neighboring star systems. Whatever the case, they were never designed to be fast or nimble. They instead relied on their considerable size and mass to fend off all incoming attacks. No one wanted to lose their precious superweapons! For this reason, Star Designers always made sure to make their fortress-type superweapons tough enough to potentially withstand hits from other superweapons! What truly caused them to stand out was that each of them were built to exacting quality standards. This was one of the main reasons why they performed so much better than regular space fortresses. The less important ones tended to come in masterwork quality. They required significant effort and resources to make, but they were always worth the considerable cost. Star Designers usually tended to make these masterwork superweapons to experiment with new technologies or try out special applications. The masterwork fortresses tended to match the scale of a small to medium-sized space station, as making them larger cost a lot more high-end resources. It was difficult to justify so much spending on ’mere’ masterwork-grade superweapons. The Obsidian Orb that the Rubarthan Pact chose to transfer to the Kayana System was one such masterwork-grade superweapon. However, what people truly yearned for were grand works. These were so much better and stronger than masterworks that there was no competition. Grand works could come in the form of anything, but Star Designers had to overcome a radically different set of challenges to build them at the scale of a large space fortress. Designing a grand work in the form of a god mech tested the limits of how Star Designers could work with limited capacity. Designing a grand work in the form of a kilometers-long space fortress tested the limits of how Star Designers were able to acquire enough high-quality resources and maintain impeccable quality at an enormous scale. Whatever the case, there were relatively few known grand work-grade fortress superweapons in existence. Everyone and their mother could easily guess that the major powers most definitely obscured the existence of a lot more of these supremely powerful super fortresses, but nobody could come up with a number. Regardless, these were among the most powerful human trump cards in existence. Even if they were less powerful than god mechs, the disparity shouldn’t be too great! Saint Stark did not know whether Human High Command had deployed the more powerful grand works as well. "There has been no mention of them as of yet." Saint Alo informed Stark after checking the news through his exclusive channels. "The deployment of our most important strategic superweapons is highly classified. Even if I know where they are deployed, I am not able to tell you. I can say that none of them have appeared at the frontlines yet, but that can change depending on how the battles unfold." Saint Stark did not look too surprised. "I think that the higher ups are probably keeping them in their capital systems or central star nodes in order to guard against enemy deep strike operations. So is the Obsidian Orb the only one that we will work with, alo?" "That is the case for the time being. I will brief you on some of its capabilities so that we know what to expect on the battlefield. Once the Obsidian Orb takes action, it will either hinder or promote your performance to a significant degree depending on where you operate. Have you made a choice yet whether you wish to stay close to my Lamia Kailamassu or prefer to maintain a position at the rear? If you choose the latter, you can stay close to the Obsidian Orb and take advantage of its formidable bulk and other defenses to remain protected against enemy attacks. On the other hand, the native aliens will become more determined to assault your position." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢 Nobody witnessed the Obsidian Orb in action, but considering that it was made by the Plasma Shaper, it was bound to contain at least one huge plasma cannon! Once this enormous weapon started to open fire and produce results, the native aliens would definitely prioritize its destruction! Sticking too close to this massive but impressive work of craftsmanship would constantly put the Amaranto Mark III in danger. However, it was not safe to accompany the Lamia Kailamassu either. The powerful dual-pilot ace mech possessed excellent speed, maneuverability and defenses. It also possessed a relatively short-ranged teleportation device that may be powerful enough to speed up its return to the Obsidian Orb in case it came under attack. The Amaranto Mark III was impressive in her own ways, but she lacked the ability to escape a dangerous location in an instant. "Before the arrival of the Obsidian Orb, I may have felt tempted to shadow your ace mech." Stark told Alo. "Now that you have told me that its continued safety and existence should be our highest priority, I believe it would be better if at least one of us remains by its side." "There are other ace mechs and many expert mechs stationed in this star system." Saint Alo responded. "We are not alone." "That is true, but I think you would appreciate the added insurance. We have been sparring against each other for almost a week. You should know me well enough to entrust me with holding back any aliens that manage to get close." Both Ali and Jeri stared hard at Saint Stark, but they eventually decided to accept the proposal. "Very well. I will primarily be needed to hold back the alien phase lords. We will have to remain in a forward position and attract as much ire and firepower as possible. We can still extricate our Lamia Kailamassu and return to the rear in an emergency, but you must mind the delay." It was not ideal for the Lamia Kailamassu to clash directly against the enemy phase lords at the front, but its combination for excellent mobility and defenses enabled it to function as a space knight to a degree! No matter what, the Rubarthans could not allow a single phase lord to get close to the Obsidian Orb. "I hope that the Obsidian Ob produces a powerful enough warp interdiction field to prevent phase lords from punting it straight into the nearby gas giant." Stark said. "Not to worry, Davia. The Obsidian Orb is equipped with a specially developed Zeta-70 Super Warp Interdictor that is far more effective than the more common Zeta-65 versions. Its interior and surface is also embedded with a large amount of space suppressors, mainly to prevent enemies from teleporting directly inside or on top of the super fortress." The mention of a Zeta-70 Super Warp Interdictor reassured Venerable Stark somewhat. Explore stories on freewebnovel The Spirit of Bentheim came equipped with the Zeta-65 and it had always worked great at protecting the factory ship and the rest of the expeditionary fleet from alien interceptions. The Zeta-70 version which was evidently exclusive to superweapons must definitely be able to inhibit teleportation and all kinds of other spatial shenanigans in a wider radius! Operating at a close distance from the Obsidian Orb should also make it harder for enemies to approach the Amaranto Mark III. However, the Stewards Siamesia warned him about getting too close. "The Obsidian Orb will run hot when it starts to take action." Jerivern Chevor warned. "It is equipped with at least one main gun that is enormous and almost certainly capable of launching immensely destructive plasma bolts. It is equipped with smaller but still deadly plasma cannons as well. Finally, it protects itself against damage with its powerful and large-scale plasma shield. Your Amaranto Mark III will most certainly get affected by collateral damage if you stray too close." "Thank you for the reminder, Jeri. I will make sure my Amaranto Mark III keeps a certain amount of distance." "If you are willing to remain in the rear, then do not stay far enough away that you will be unable to come to its rescue if the native aliens still manage to get close enough. The loss of the Obsidian Orb will make it much harder for us to defend our other star systems in the future." As the discussion about the Obsidian Orb came to an end, Saint Stark asked one more important question. "Will the native aliens deploy superweapons of their own?" "Nobody can tell." Saint Alo shook his head. "We have chosen to escalate first. This should come at a surprise to the Red Cabal. They may choose to reciprocate, though we are unclear whether their fortress-type superweapons measure up to ours as they do not have any Star Designers of their own. Without makers of this caliber, the performance will never catch up. The closest the native aliens have come to matching our superweapons are their Tide Stations." Davia Stark could argue that the full collection of Tide Stations were the most powerful fortress-type superweapons in the Red Ocean. After all, their lack of masterwork or grand work quality did not hinder them from teleporting an entire dwarf galaxy 50 million light-years away! This was a feat that could only be replicated by a god, and a very powerful one at that!