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So, here we go!;
And lo! Battle is joined! The Orion's shields are faster on the draw than the Apollo's, but will that save it?
Now the Orion's shields are up and the two trade gunfire like an angry couple exchanging insults in an argument.
The Orion's AI recovers from a Frosch blast, and misaligns some of it's deflectors in it's confused state.
Again, the Orion's shielding buckles. The Apollo rakes away with it's megabeams and conventional weaponry, trying to do as much damage as it can.
A pause in the stream of gunnery allows closer examination of the Orion's battle damage. Looks like it's already losing sections!
Once again the shields go down. These momentary drops have, as you can see, allowed the Apollo to make heavy use of it's Lancet Beams, damaging or destroying a significant amount of the Orion's weaponry.
Confused and panicking, the Orion once again powers up it's deflectors erratically, though it still manages to take the brunt of the Apollo's offense.
The Apollo's shields drop, not that it matters much given the Orion's lost most of it's weapons. That said, this isn't the first time the shields have gone down, and it won't be the last. The Orion is also losing more sections.
The Orion loses another section! It's not got many to go before the core at this rate!
Another pause in the gunfire allows close examination of the Orion's hull. Not looking pretty there!
With most of the Orion's weapons gone, the Apollo's railguns are already reaching the Core. The AI does -not- like this.
Not one to let a good battle be cut too short, the Apollo's captain orders all guns to focus on one of the Orion's support struts! What's he planning?
Oh. That's what he was planning. The strut gives way and so does a decent portion of the Orion's port wing plate!
Without proper structural support, debris is thrown clear by the explosion and weapons fly off into space!
And there goes the other one!
Suddenly, an unexpected chain reaction in the Orion's outer starboard engine takes out even more of the wing plate! The AI is left reeling as the damage reports pour in.
More debris is thrown off into space by the rapidly expanding gas cloud from the engine explosion.
A pause in the gunfire reveals an open passage to the core! Uh oh! Looks like it's curtains for the Orion!
The lasers zero in on the core. It's almost over!
Finally, the Orion's core ruptures, and a flash of light blinds the Apollo's optical clusters.
The optical clusters recover. It's done. All that remains of the Orion is a fast-moving shockwave and a cloud of debris.
Our view pans back to the almost entirely unscathed Apollo.
Fortunately for us, that was only a simulation. A Sovereign-class Super Dreadnaught is far too expensive to risk in a to-the-death live fire exercise.
