"Did we send them bad navigational data?" Ellsworth wondered, looking stricken. "Either the wrong planetary alignment of the wrong reference perspective?"

"Admiral, CIC is saying the Jericho will need to bear to starboard and get at least eight-point-four million kilometers away from the planet before attempting a warp transition," OPS said.

"They'll never make it," Ellsworth sighed.

"He knows that. He also knows what the ESA does to escape pods after the Odmena slaughter," Jackson said. "They have him pinned down, and there's nothing we can do to help. I can now only spare two ships in a direct engagement thanks to what we've pulled off the surface, and two destroyers won't turn the tide of this battle. Declaring a broken sword and not asking for rescue was a heroic move."

"The Jericho isn't a ship to be trifled with," Ellsworth said. "Asher will make them regret this."

"Coms, open a channel to the Jericho," Jackson said.

"Open, Admiral."

"Broken sword received and acknowledged," Jackson said, not sure how to say what he wanted. He'd lost ships under his command before but always in the chaos of battle, never after having one announce its own demise. "Your courage and honor in the face of the enemy will never be forgotten…the name Jericho will go down in legend as will all who serve aboard her. Wolfe out."

"Channel closed, sir."

"Fuck," Jackson ground out angrily, just loud enough that Ellsworth heard him.

"Here they go," the captain said. "Enemy missiles are away."

Jackson watched the Link data from the Jericho's sensors as the ESA dumped more than a hundred anti-ship missiles into space to try and take down the monster. It was less than ten minutes later when the Jericho emptied her launchers as well.

A battleship carries a lot of ordnance, and the big ship was able to spit out almost one hundred and fifty missiles in a span of minutes, but only sixty of them were Shrikes. The rest were Hornet non-nuclear missiles that wouldn't do much damage to a ship whose armor plating was still intact.

"Admiral, I just went down and spoke with Petty Officer Munoz," Barton said quietly near Jackson's ear, startling him. "Trapp is in custody in a secure area, not in the brig. All the stuff we pulled out of her quarters is down there as well, and she's under guard and restrained so she can't try anything. They gave her a scan to make sure she didn't have any last-resort tricks like a poison cap to bite down on."

"Keep her on ice for a bit," Jackson said. "I can't leave the bridge right now. She'll keep until we're out of this system. Make sure she isn't able to reach out to anybody else."

"Yes, sir."

The next eight hours were grim. The Shrikes from the Jericho were more advanced and carried more velocity than the Alliance missiles, so they got to see the devastation from Asher's full broadsides first. Quiet cheers went up around the bridge as eleven ships were destroyed outright and nine more were crippled so badly they were adrift and burning in space and two more took damage but seemed to be still under power.