“Tactical, you are clear to execute auto-mag firing sequence,” Celesta said as she authorized the tactical station to take over helm control from her own terminal, pressing her thumb to the screen for a biometric reading.

“Initiating auto-mag sequence, aye,” Adler said. “Helm, zero thrust and stand by to relinquish control.” The auto-mag was an enormous rapid-fire rail gun that ran almost half the length of the ship. The barrel emerged from the prow along the centerline of the ship and just under the pointed nose of the composite radome that covered the sensor antennas. Unlike the preceding class of destroyer operated by Black Fleet, the Starwolf-class only had one cannon and it wasn’t mounted on an articulated turret. The entire ship had to be maneuvered to aim it, which wasn’t ideal, but the gun was a late addition to the design at the insistence of Jackson Wolfe.

“We’re clear to fire, ma’am,” Adler said, wanting the final confirmation before unloading with the first of five, five-shot salvos she had programmed.

“Stand by,” Celesta said, taking in the tactical picture on the threat board now that all the players were getting within close range of each other. She waited until the range to the forward target ticked just under seventy-five thousand kilometers to ensure the cruiser wouldn’t have much room to maneuver while it focused on the four Hornet missiles.

“Fire!”

The deck shook as one-thousand-millimeter tungsten shells with depleted uranium cores were hurled out of the Icarus at just over fifteen thousand meters per second. The gun was hard-mounted to the ship’s hull so each shot reverberated through the destroyer and the hull rang like a bell. The auto-mag could fire twenty-five rounds before it had to be reloaded, the coils cooled, and the capacitor banks recharged. By breaking that up into five smaller salvos, each correcting aim slightly to make a dispersed pattern, Celesta hoped to catch the cruiser flat-footed and maximize her chance at a direct hit as they were near the weapon’s maximum effective range.

“Shots away,” Adler said. “Safing auto-mag for a reload and releasing attitude control to the helm.”

“Helm, come starboard ten degrees, ahead full,” Celesta said.

“One Hornet got through!” Accari called out. “Minor damage to the dorsal surface of the target.” They needed no confirmation when the auto-mag shells arrived as close as they were. While the optical sensors couldn’t quite pick up the cruiser itself, the brilliant flash of the penetrators ripping through the ship shone briefly like a new star before winking out.

“Target is … destroyed!” Adler called out. “She’s breaking up into four distinct pieces.”

“Were they able to get a shot off before our shells impacted?” Barrett asked.

“No, sir,” she said. “Course ahead is clear all the way to Epsilon jump point.”

“OPS, what are the remaining enemy ships doing?” Celesta asked, standing up.