As the Archangels swept back around, they could see a spectacular sight, something straight out of a sci-fi film.

A crackling beam of energy had joined the two massive ships, a scene that Milla would have recognized in an instant had she not been trapped in the embrace of the Drasin weapon. The same weapon had turned the tide of battle against her comrades during their first engagement with the Drasin, and now it wreaked its havoc on the Odyssey.

The Archangels soon found themselves under heavy attack again as their artillery support drifted uselessly past, the enemy fire tripling as they struggled to stay clear of the killing zones.

Commander Stephanos didn’t see any other options, so he immediately kicked the fighter he had strapped to his back up a few more notches. “Archangels, form up on me!”

Around him, the rest of the flight team responded in kind, forming up smoothly behind him as they swept out and around, skirting the edge of the enemy range, just before turning back into the fires.

Stephanos’s voice rang out over the tac-net. “Teams Two, Three, and Four, cover us from the fighters. Team One, you’re with me. Time for a strafing run on the big boy.”

Acknowledgments echoed across the net as the squad broke up into teams and whirled in at the enemy fighters, weapons blazing. Stephanos’s team broke through the enemy formation and centered on the source of the energy beam that was assaulting the Odyssey.

“Team One, fire at will.”

The enemy cruiser appeared larger and larger as they rocketed down toward its surface, pulling up at the last moment as their weapons blazed and skimmed along the armor plates. The three fighters’ missiles, lasers, and cannon fire lit up the local vacuum with a blazing light. They ripped along the surface of the enemy ship, skimming the mottled black-and-violet hull. Semi-spherical explosions erupted in the wake of the four Archangels, shuddering through the big Drasin ship with destructive energy.

“No good! It’s too big. We’ll have to try hitting it en mass!” Stephanos yelled over the warning alarms that jangled in his cockpit.

The Archangels who had been covering Team One broke from the dogfight and accelerated suicidally fast toward the enemy capital ship. They knew that there was no point in holding back now.

Lose this fight and there was no going home.

“We’re with you, Lead. Call the shot!”

The anticipation in Flare’s voice brought a wide grin to Stephanos’s face. Flare was always the first in and the last out. Stupid girl.

“Target the center of that energy disturbance, and give it everything you’ve got!” he snapped, flipping up all the remaining safeties from his firing studs.

No holds barred, the eight remaining Archangels swept in on the enemy energy weapon, all guns firing with desperate fervor. Behind them, the enemy fighters were in hot pursuit, trying to destroy the Angels before they could accomplish their task. As the Terran fighters swept away from the target, it became painfully obvious that they had failed.