through yet on the destroyer’s half meter thick armor. But it was clear a large part of the hull’s adaptive optics lenses had been crisped by the lightning bolts.
Daisy pointed. “Captain! The middle Dart is hurt!”
“But it’s still moving,” called Aaron the Marine. “There! Our three Darts are moving to hide behind the destroyer’s hull. All four are heading fast for the wasp ship!”
“Closing speeds are 300 klicks a minute,” called Louise Slaughter from Navigation. “Range between the two is down to 1,917 kilometers.”
Jacob gripped hard the ends of his armrests. He wished so badly he could be there with the Battlestar, providing supporting laser fire to Jefferson and her people. In the true space image, five yellow-white stars blossomed.
“Yes!” cried Daisy. “One of the missiles she launched has detonated five thermonuke warheads! They’re forming a plasma haze between her ship and the wasp ship.”
The battle actions on his wallscreen were similar to what Joy had shared with him before she left to race after the wasp ship. But it was not identical. The move of the Darts behind her ship had happened due to their thin hulls. Two or three laser hits on a Dart’s body would cut it in half. Only the cone-like block of titanium that was the Dart’s nose could long resist incoming lasers and lightning bolts.
Jacob watched as brave people followed his orders.
♦ ♦ ♦
Richard watched the holo in the middle of Dart Two’s cargohold as he and his four Marines sat locked into their accel seats. Which rocked now as Howard the pilot jerked the Dart into hiding behind the bulk of the Philippine Sea . Darts One and Three did the same, though Three was leaking air from its top hull thanks to the laser hit by the wasp ship. At least it had not been one of the electrifying lightning bolts.
“Range decreasing,” called Howard over the hard shell comlink frequency. “Chief, when do we go for penetration?”
“Once we get within nine hundred klicks of the wasp ship,” he said, knowing the Dart’s neutrino signaler was carrying his words to the pilots and Marines on the other Darts. “Or when Captain Jefferson blows her nuke warheads. Her ship is taking loads of incoming. Our strike will ease some of the attack beams.”
“Maybe we can penetrate through the middle ring of laser tubes,” called Jane Diego from her hard shell. “Chief, what say?”
He wanted badly to hinder the ferocious beams coming from the wasp ship. They were hitting the top and sides of the Sea . Even though the destroyer was spinning to reduce beam impact time, he could see from the holo that his ride home had lost half its adaptive optics, leaving black streaks across much of its hull. Three spots showed deeper wounds. No air or water leakage yet, thank the Goddess!
“We will enter at the middle of the wasp ship, but Howard, do not try to crash into their weapons ring.”
“Understood,” called the middle-aged pilot who hailed from New Jersey. “I’ll add our spine laser to the fight though, once we come into the clear.”
“As will every Dart,” Richard said. “Soon. Pretty soon we—”
Five yellow-white stars bloomed in the holo.
“Heading out!” called Howard.
Richard watched as his Dart and the other two Darts swung out from behind the Sea and headed at full blast for the wasp ship. The shield of the thermonuke plasma haze was a help Jefferson had promised him to help his Darts approach without being blasted by the wasp ship’s lasers and lightning bolts. The haze diffused incoming lasers and bolts. It also made pointless any laser firing by the Darts or the Sea . While the rads would be high when they passed through the haze, exposure time would be limited. The metal of their hull plus the rad absorption layers of their hard shells would reduce rad exposure to several full body x-rays. Not good, but not harmful.
“Range is 1,200 klicks,” called Howard. “Clear of the
Daisy pointed. “Captain! The middle Dart is hurt!”
“But it’s still moving,” called Aaron the Marine. “There! Our three Darts are moving to hide behind the destroyer’s hull. All four are heading fast for the wasp ship!”
“Closing speeds are 300 klicks a minute,” called Louise Slaughter from Navigation. “Range between the two is down to 1,917 kilometers.”
Jacob gripped hard the ends of his armrests. He wished so badly he could be there with the Battlestar, providing supporting laser fire to Jefferson and her people. In the true space image, five yellow-white stars blossomed.
“Yes!” cried Daisy. “One of the missiles she launched has detonated five thermonuke warheads! They’re forming a plasma haze between her ship and the wasp ship.”
The battle actions on his wallscreen were similar to what Joy had shared with him before she left to race after the wasp ship. But it was not identical. The move of the Darts behind her ship had happened due to their thin hulls. Two or three laser hits on a Dart’s body would cut it in half. Only the cone-like block of titanium that was the Dart’s nose could long resist incoming lasers and lightning bolts.
Jacob watched as brave people followed his orders.
♦ ♦ ♦
Richard watched the holo in the middle of Dart Two’s cargohold as he and his four Marines sat locked into their accel seats. Which rocked now as Howard the pilot jerked the Dart into hiding behind the bulk of the Philippine Sea . Darts One and Three did the same, though Three was leaking air from its top hull thanks to the laser hit by the wasp ship. At least it had not been one of the electrifying lightning bolts.
“Range decreasing,” called Howard over the hard shell comlink frequency. “Chief, when do we go for penetration?”
“Once we get within nine hundred klicks of the wasp ship,” he said, knowing the Dart’s neutrino signaler was carrying his words to the pilots and Marines on the other Darts. “Or when Captain Jefferson blows her nuke warheads. Her ship is taking loads of incoming. Our strike will ease some of the attack beams.”
“Maybe we can penetrate through the middle ring of laser tubes,” called Jane Diego from her hard shell. “Chief, what say?”
He wanted badly to hinder the ferocious beams coming from the wasp ship. They were hitting the top and sides of the Sea . Even though the destroyer was spinning to reduce beam impact time, he could see from the holo that his ride home had lost half its adaptive optics, leaving black streaks across much of its hull. Three spots showed deeper wounds. No air or water leakage yet, thank the Goddess!
“We will enter at the middle of the wasp ship, but Howard, do not try to crash into their weapons ring.”
“Understood,” called the middle-aged pilot who hailed from New Jersey. “I’ll add our spine laser to the fight though, once we come into the clear.”
“As will every Dart,” Richard said. “Soon. Pretty soon we—”
Five yellow-white stars bloomed in the holo.
“Heading out!” called Howard.
Richard watched as his Dart and the other two Darts swung out from behind the Sea and headed at full blast for the wasp ship. The shield of the thermonuke plasma haze was a help Jefferson had promised him to help his Darts approach without being blasted by the wasp ship’s lasers and lightning bolts. The haze diffused incoming lasers and bolts. It also made pointless any laser firing by the Darts or the Sea . While the rads would be high when they passed through the haze, exposure time would be limited. The metal of their hull plus the rad absorption layers of their hard shells would reduce rad exposure to several full body x-rays. Not good, but not harmful.
“Range is 1,200 klicks,” called Howard. “Clear of the
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