CHAPTER VII
The Great Battle in Space
The sixth division, under Admiral Enham, was ordered to advance and commence the attack. As they moved forward in a long line a powerful division of the enemy advanced to meet them. When they were within two miles of each other the sixth division opened fire, and the Sirian ships immediately replied. Long jets of white fire some hundreds of yards in length leapt from the sides of every ship, and were followed by great clouds of white vapour that rushed through space with the speed of a tempest. These rolled along until they hit against another ship, when they were shattered to pieces and filled the space around with a dim mistiness. Every now and then a column of vapour burst forth from the side of some vessel when the metal sheathing was pierced and the imprisoned air rushed out. The two long lines of flaming vessels gradually drifted nearer to one another, until they were about a mile apart, vomiting out sheets of fire, while the space between was swept by a storm of shot and shell. Neither side dared to approach any nearer, for the concentrating reflectors were ready to liquefy any vessel that came within range. The space all round the contending lines was soon filled with clouds of vapour and pieces of exploded shells and fragments of metal that had been torn off the outsides of the ships. Most of the vessels were slowly turning round about their longitudinal axis, discharging a terrific broadside from each deck as it came within range, the discharged guns being loaded while they were turned away from the enemy.
Both sides soon began to show the effects of the terrible fire to which they were exposed. Many of the ships had large dark-coloured rents in their hulls, from which masses of twisted and broken metal-work protruded. The fittings on the exteriors were severely damaged. The balustrades were shot away, the muzzles of the guns were cut off and blown into space, and the protection apparatus on the outsides was soon pounded into a useless mass of wires and rods. Dismounted guns, mangled bodies, and reddened limbs were floating about everywhere, some of them suddenly vanishing as they were struck by a passing shot. Great pieces of metal with the guns and other machinery attached to them were blown off wherever a shell from one of the largest cannon hit its mark. The scene was sublime, but awful. The sides of every ship soon became a seething mass of flame and smoke, in the midst of which its form could be barely distinguished. Every moment long white flashes leapt outwards, being varied at intervals by columns of purple and green flame when the great guns were discharged. When the ships were close together, flames clashed against flames, leaping up and tossing high into space like a tempest-raging ocean, and the smoke columns dashed against one another, forming walls of white vapour that quivered under the shock. Sometimes the projectiles and torpedoes clashed together, producing brilliant flashes of light.
For hour after hour the two lines continued to pound away at one another. The torpedo-nets of every vessel were soon completely torn to pieces. Then the torpedo-boats advanced and clustered like bees round the larger ships, seeking to fire their torpedoes against the most vulnerable parts. But although the nets were gone, the torpedo-men carried their lives in their hands. Directly they approached a hostile vessel the guns were levelled at them, and several boats were blown to pieces before they had time to fire a single torpedo. But some did good work before they perished. Vast columns of smoke belched forth from the side of some mighty war-ship, and when they had drifted away showed a gigantic rent where the honey-combed air-tight compartments and dismounted guns were clearly visible, while showers of blood and masses of metal fell on the surrounding ships. Then more torpedo-boats would dash into the chasm, but the guns on the yet intact part of the ship destroyed many of them before they could effect another explosion. Many of the first-class battleships were almost cut in half in this manner, but still the remainder kept on fighting with undaunted courage.
Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet had not been idle. At the commencement of the engagement the enemy's fleet detached nearly a hundred vessels, which began to drift slowly away to the right. The Anglo-Saxon Admiral-in-Chief sent a considerable part of his fleet to observe these, in order to avoid being outflanked. Thus, both fleets became divided into two parts, the greater being actively engaged, while the other was occupied in manœuvring. The Sirian divisions that had been detached then began to make directly for Neptune, and the Anglo-Saxons pursued them vigorously, keeping up a running fight all the time, but little damage was done on either side. Soon the main body of the fleet was quite out of sight, and nothing could be seen of the fight but an occasional faint flash of light in the distance. The Anglo-Saxons still kept up a hot pursuit, firing continually, but, to their surprise, they noticed that they did no damage whatever to the enemy. Whenever one of their shells reached its mark, it appeared to go through the side of the ship as if it were made of some elastic substance, and did not do any damage at all. When the heavier guns were fired, the same effect was observed. The pursuit was kept up for some days; and then, mad with fury, the Anglo-Saxons turned on the full power of the engines and charged the enemy with their rams. They rushed through the ships without shock or jar, as if they did not exist at all. Then one of the officers suddenly started the idea that an ingenious trick had been played on them by the enemy, and that the appearance of the ships which they could not destroy was only an optical illusion. Tests were immediately made, and this was found to be the case. They had been deceived by a number of reflections which had been thrown into space by a dozen ships some hundreds of miles in front of them. A cry of rage and despair went up through the whole of the fleet when they discovered how they had been duped. But there was no time to give way to these feelings of useless rage; the mistake must be remedied as soon as possible. The ships of the enemy that had been throwing the reflections were allowed to go where they pleased, for they were not numerous enough to break through the strong lines of defence which were by this time formed about the orbit of Neptune. The fleet put about and made for the spot where the fight had commenced, but they did not get there for some days. While they were dashing along, one ship was struck by a wandering projectile that had been thrown hundreds of thousands of miles from the field of battle, and serious damage was done to it. At last they reached what was, as nearly as they could judge, the place where they had left the main body of the fleet; but there was nothing to be seen of either of the contending armaments. They scoured space in all directions. Sometimes the needles moved, indicating the approach of a mass of solid matter, but it only turned out to be the disfigured wreckage of what was formerly a magnificent war-ship. Some of these wrecks belonged to the Anglo-Saxon, others to the Sirian fleet. Sometimes they saw the disfigured and mangled bodies of human beings drift slowly past the windows, the limbs and flesh being torn into horrid shapes and blackened by the flames of battle. But they could find no war-ship with living beings on board; either one or both of the fleets must have been totally annihilated. They remained for days wandering hither and thither, endeavouring to find out what had happened to their compatriots; but they were disappointed: not a living being could they see. Then sadly and reluctantly the admiral gave the order for the ships to concentrate and give up the search, for it seemed useless to waste any more valuable time. There was not enough ammunition left to make it safe for them to proceed to Kairet, so they turned about and steered for Neptune. When they arrived at that planet, they found out what had happened to the rest of the fleet. It was a tale that filled every man in the fleet with horror and awe.