“They seem to have some kind of broadside, sir. It looks like ten batteries…from their port side. I think seven of them hit. It looks like we may have gotten lucky.”

Barron sat, listening to his first officer, just glad for the moment that the grav stabilizers had kicked back in and returned the bridge to it normal orientation. Still, he might have suggested a word other than, “lucky.”

“We took several hits near the storage holds, sir. There’s heavy damage to outer compartments, but it looks like the reactor is still operating in excess of ninety percent, and I don’t think they came anywhere near the primaries.”

Barron nodded. That was good news. A bit more speculation than he liked to rely on, but he wasn’t going to interrupt Fritz again for another update.

“Evasive maneuvers, Commander. Randomization plan Delta-four.”

“Yes, sir. Delta-four.”

Dauntless lurched forward, thrusting at ten percent or so for perhaps ten seconds. Then her thrust stopped abruptly as the positioning jets swung the ship around and engaged the engines along a completely different course.

The ship shook again, far more softly this time.

“Just two hits, sir. I think the maneuvers threw them.”

Barron smiled. The enemy captain had proven to be a skillful adversary, one who had gained the upper hand early. But Tyler Barron wasn’t out of tricks yet.

“Suspend evasive maneuvers…bring us around to firing position.” His eyes watched the final seconds counting down.

The bridge was almost silent, just the normal hum of the reactor in the background. Travis’s hands moved quickly over her workstation. Then she turned back toward Barron. “In position, sir. All batteries ready.”

Barron watched the numbers changing. Five…four…three…two…one…zero.

“All batteries…open fire.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

AS Invictus

5,000,000 kilometers from Santis, Krillus IV

Alliance Year 58 (307 AC)

“Laser batteries, Commander. Scanners suggest mostly triple turreted laser cannon. Not as strong as our primaries, but the area of effect appears to be larger, particularly if all three linked beams hit.”

Kat took a deep breath. She’d kept the battle one-sided for as long as she could, used her tactical ability to inflict damage on the enemy while keeping Invictus untouched.

Well, untouched except for my ravaged fighter squadrons…

But now she had bigger concerns. The enemy had opened fire…and damage reports were flooding in from all decks. This fight is going to be a slugfest now.

Fighters existed to take risks, to keep the fight away from the mothership. That was cold math, but everyone who stepped into a cockpit knew they were accepting a level of expendability beyond that of their shipboard comrades. The long term survival rates for pilots were abysmal, and even in a military society like the Alliance, the service attracted a certain type of recruit. Brave, certainly, but also at least a little bit crazy.