“Heavy damage to sections beta-four through gamma eleven. Multiple starboard hull ruptures. All compromised sections have been cut off, and…” Travis hesitated, her tone darkening. “Casualty estimates in excess of eighty, sir…including twenty-four missing in the ruptured sections.” Another pause. “That figure does not include losses already suffered by the fighter wing…”

Barron nodded slowly. “Very well, Commander.” He struggled to keep his voice stern, unaffected. He ached for the hundred plus dead among his crew and fighter squadrons, and for the dozens more wounded. But he had almost ten times that number alive, still fighting. He could save them, bring them through this battle. There was nothing he could do for the dead.

“Captain, the enemy vessel is entering point blank range.”

Barron sucked in a deep breath. The enemy’s lasers would really start to tear Dauntless apart at this distance. The hits suffered so far had been relatively weak, the power of the laser blasts severely attenuated by distance. But now every hit would rip through his vessel’s hull, tearing apart vital systems, and killing more of his people.

He glared forward, a determined scowl onto his face. Everything he had just considered was true…and it worked both ways. His own shots would be deadlier as well. The enemy vessel had escaped any damage in the earlier stages of the engagement, but now his beams were ripping into its hull. He knew he was killing spacers there, as surely as his own people were dying. Barron wasn’t a bloodthirsty man, but now anger drove him, hatred for this invader, attacking his ship, killing his crew. He felt the need to destroy them, whatever the cost. And though he wasn’t proud of it, the thought of his enemies being blown to bits or sucked out of rents in their hull and into space put a small grin on his face. He’d never felt this way before, as though some dark aspect of himself, one he hadn’t known existed, was emerging and taking control.

“Bring us around, Commander. I want the port-angled guns brought to bear.”

“Yes, sir.”

Dauntless’s positioning thrusters were spinning the ship around, moving its battered starboard side from the enemy’s fire arc…and bringing the previously unfired port guns to bear. Barron was protecting his wounded side, and committing fresh batteries while he cooled his superheated guns on the starboard.

He listened as the fresh guns opened fire, sending megawatt-powered beams of focused light toward the enemy. Dauntless’s secondaries were powerful weapons, but he knew they wouldn’t be enough.

If only I had the primaries…

The main enemy lasers were stronger still than Dauntless’s, and now their fire was joined by that of their own secondaries. Dauntless shook as hit after hit slammed into her battered hull, each impact inflicting terrible damage and killing more of his people.