his fighter pulled up off the deck.
“Your beam, Cowboys,” Connie said over the speakers as a beam of red light appeared in the middle of the hangar, leading out to the bow. “Good luck with your mission.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Johanson transmitted. “Snuggle up, Cowboys, and stay on my beam.” His fighter’s engines flared to life and he accelerated away.
Jack relaxed back in his seat as Betty took the fighter off the deck, slotting into line just below another Cowboy. Betty accelerated to follow while maintaining formation with the other Cowboys and stayed on the beam. Ahead of them, the other squadrons pulled away from the beam, giving them clear traffic out of the hangar. The fighter passed through the energy curtain holding the air in and the multicolored gravity waves of hyperspace surrounded them.
Jack looked to starboard, where the U.S.S. New Jersey held station two kilometers away, even her kilometer-long bulk almost fading into the background in the multicolored kaleidoscope that was hyperspace. He could barely spot the rest of the task force escorting the Constellation , on the absolute edge of detection range. Detection ranges in hyperspace were so short that only the centermost ships of a standard formation could see everybody in the fleet. In really big fleets, fleet command depended on other ships to tell them where the rest of the formation lay.
“Stay on me,” Johanson ordered and pulled up. Jack and the other Cowboys followed the wake he cut into hyperspace, moving above the carrier. “Cowboy Flight is away, Mom. You are clear to maneuver. Good hunting.”
“Good hunting, Cowboys,” Connie answered and the Constellation turned towards the New Jersey , her engines twisting hyperspace around her. “Commencing surface action in…three…two…one…now.” Her transmission cut out as the fleet carrier flashed and disappeared. The other ships of the squadron flashed and disappeared as well, leaving the Cowboys alone in the sea of hyperspace.
“What are we doing, sir?” Jack asked, his plot still showing the last update of the battle, with the Peloran squadron driving deeper into the Shang flank.
“We’re waiting,” Johanson answered with an amused tone. “The Shang have to have a reserve. This is too small an attack force to punch us out. So we are waiting for them to commit that reserve.”
“Ah…and then we flank them,” Jack said with a smile.
“Exactly,” Johanson transmitted. “So right now, we snuggle up and wait for word.”
A message drone flashed into being in front of their formation. It flashed them a datadump and Jack winced at the story it told. The New Jersey and the Peloran squadron between them had hammered the Shang force into the defending line, destroying several Shang warships in seconds. And ten seconds ago, another Shang force had arrived to surround the Peloran squadron. The data cut, showing when the drone had been sent.
“Or maybe we don’t wait much at all,” Johanson added. A beam appeared on the plot, aiming towards the point in hyperspace that correlated with the new Shang flank. “Cowboy One to all Cowboys. Stay snuggled and follow my beam,” Johanson ordered and accelerated down the beam.
Jack interlaced his fingers and cracked his knuckles, getting ready for action as Betty followed orders, maintaining perfect formation with the other cybers. He watched the display, marking their approach towards their target.
“Check your music,” Johanson ordered.
Jack turned to Betty and she smiled. The jammers were active. The fighter accelerated again, following Johanson’s fighter. He glanced at the displays to confirm that they were as shallow as possible in hyperspace, not moving more than a few meters per second faster than the same speed in normal space. They were approaching full correlation between the two, the point where it would take the least amount of energy possible to
“Your beam, Cowboys,” Connie said over the speakers as a beam of red light appeared in the middle of the hangar, leading out to the bow. “Good luck with your mission.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Johanson transmitted. “Snuggle up, Cowboys, and stay on my beam.” His fighter’s engines flared to life and he accelerated away.
Jack relaxed back in his seat as Betty took the fighter off the deck, slotting into line just below another Cowboy. Betty accelerated to follow while maintaining formation with the other Cowboys and stayed on the beam. Ahead of them, the other squadrons pulled away from the beam, giving them clear traffic out of the hangar. The fighter passed through the energy curtain holding the air in and the multicolored gravity waves of hyperspace surrounded them.
Jack looked to starboard, where the U.S.S. New Jersey held station two kilometers away, even her kilometer-long bulk almost fading into the background in the multicolored kaleidoscope that was hyperspace. He could barely spot the rest of the task force escorting the Constellation , on the absolute edge of detection range. Detection ranges in hyperspace were so short that only the centermost ships of a standard formation could see everybody in the fleet. In really big fleets, fleet command depended on other ships to tell them where the rest of the formation lay.
“Stay on me,” Johanson ordered and pulled up. Jack and the other Cowboys followed the wake he cut into hyperspace, moving above the carrier. “Cowboy Flight is away, Mom. You are clear to maneuver. Good hunting.”
“Good hunting, Cowboys,” Connie answered and the Constellation turned towards the New Jersey , her engines twisting hyperspace around her. “Commencing surface action in…three…two…one…now.” Her transmission cut out as the fleet carrier flashed and disappeared. The other ships of the squadron flashed and disappeared as well, leaving the Cowboys alone in the sea of hyperspace.
“What are we doing, sir?” Jack asked, his plot still showing the last update of the battle, with the Peloran squadron driving deeper into the Shang flank.
“We’re waiting,” Johanson answered with an amused tone. “The Shang have to have a reserve. This is too small an attack force to punch us out. So we are waiting for them to commit that reserve.”
“Ah…and then we flank them,” Jack said with a smile.
“Exactly,” Johanson transmitted. “So right now, we snuggle up and wait for word.”
A message drone flashed into being in front of their formation. It flashed them a datadump and Jack winced at the story it told. The New Jersey and the Peloran squadron between them had hammered the Shang force into the defending line, destroying several Shang warships in seconds. And ten seconds ago, another Shang force had arrived to surround the Peloran squadron. The data cut, showing when the drone had been sent.
“Or maybe we don’t wait much at all,” Johanson added. A beam appeared on the plot, aiming towards the point in hyperspace that correlated with the new Shang flank. “Cowboy One to all Cowboys. Stay snuggled and follow my beam,” Johanson ordered and accelerated down the beam.
Jack interlaced his fingers and cracked his knuckles, getting ready for action as Betty followed orders, maintaining perfect formation with the other cybers. He watched the display, marking their approach towards their target.
“Check your music,” Johanson ordered.
Jack turned to Betty and she smiled. The jammers were active. The fighter accelerated again, following Johanson’s fighter. He glanced at the displays to confirm that they were as shallow as possible in hyperspace, not moving more than a few meters per second faster than the same speed in normal space. They were approaching full correlation between the two, the point where it would take the least amount of energy possible to
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