“Very well, Optiomagis. All batteries are to maintain maximum fire.”

She glanced down at the scanning reports on her screen. The mines were big, probably multiple warhead devices that would send out short-ranged sprint missiles when a target ship moved close enough to trigger them. And Invictus was heading right into a thick cluster of them. Her ship was decelerating, trying to pull back, but Kat had already done the calculations. Her engine output just wasn’t enough to bring the giant vessel to a halt. Not before it plunged through the heart of the minefield.

“Energy readings, Commander…from multiple contacts.”

“Prepare for evasive maneuvers.” There was no way to meaningfully change Invictus’s vector, but even a slight blast of thrust to the side could evade an incoming missile.

“Evasive maneuvers.”

Time passed, feeling like an eternity, though Kat realized it had just been a few seconds. Her eyes were on the display, watching Invictus move through a cluster of small red circles…watching as half a dozen of the icons disappeared, each of them replaced by eight small dots. All moving toward her ship.

“Mines activating, Commander.” Wentus was just reporting what she already knew. “Multiple objects inbound.”

Warheads.

Damn.

“Cut forward thrust now! Prepare to implement full evasive maneuvers!”

“Yes, Commander.” All of the earlier arrogance was gone from Wentus’s voice. “Scanners confirm approximately thirty-eight sprint-mode missiles incoming. Gunnery stations transferring targeting to approaching warheads.”

Kat just sat at her station, watching as her crew went about their duties. She was proud of them, of their efficiency and courage. They were scared now, all the more so because just a few moments before they’d expected certain victory, not a fight for their lives. Now the only question was a stark one: could they could shoot down enough of the enemy mines to prevent Invictus from being crippled or destroyed?

Even if they did, she wasn’t ready to discount this Confederation captain. He was out there, waiting. He’d baited her into the minefield, and now she wondered if his ship was as crippled as her scanners led her to believe.

Her eyes settled on the display, watching as her gunners desperately targeted the incoming missiles. They’d taken down ten so far, which was outstanding performance, but far from enough.

“Evasive maneuvers…now.”

“Initiating evasive maneuvers, Commander.”

Invictus lurched hard as it swung around on its positioning jets, angling the main engines and blasting hard at a sharp angle from its current vector. She could see the ship’s course shift, almost imperceptibly, and as it did, clusters of missiles zipped past. The warheads were sprint missiles. They aimed right at their target and accelerated hard. But once they went past the target, they were expended. They weren’t guided units like the missiles the fighter used. There was both advantage and disadvantage in that. The sprint units were able to attain velocities far beyond those available to their guided cousins.