He sighed, thumbing open the comm channel. “We’re standing by, Control. New coordinates.”

“Coordinates follow. Confirm receipt.”

Hiller checked the incoming codes, putting them up against a map, and scowled. “Receipt confirmed . . . are you sure about this, Control? There’s nothing out there.”

“That is affirmative, One Two. Please encode your ordnance for ground penetration and launch at your discretion.”

Hiller and his copilot shared a glance, both mouthing the word “ground penetration” with wide eyes.

Sure, the missiles they were carrying could do that, but only because it was a modular chassis. No one used nukes as bunker busters. That was insane. It was also dirty. Ground and underground detonation of nuclear devices tended to irradiate far more material and leave it hot for decades.

“Say again, Control. Did you say ground penetration?”

“Affirmative, One Two. Confirm and execute.”

Hiller shook his head slowly, but nodded, “If you say so. Configuring for ground penetration and launching in three . . . two . . . Missile away.”

The BBU modular munitions frame was the go-to workhorse of the Confederacy Air Force, and had been for several decades. It was simple, modular, and damn near foolproof, which made it incredibly popular with pilots and quartermasters alike. In effect it was a smart airframe that could be configured to carry anything from a cluster of ten-pound bomblets to a single fifty-megaton warhead.

Each warhead could be configured to airburst or ground burst, or, in the case of an enemy gone to ground in a fortified position, for a ground-penetrating deep detonation.

The missile launched by Shiva One Zero hit the target ground straight on, going Mach Five. Designed to slam into and through armor-reinforced bunkers, the missile simply blew through the soft dirt like it wasn’t there. It burst out into the mine tunnel below, then kept on going through to the next level.

Fifteen levels down, the bodies and limbs of Drasin drones strewn behind it like some kind of gory wake, the nuclear core detonated.

On the surface, everything was quiet for a moment, then a low rumble shook everything, and finally the dirt just blew straight up. Fifty megatons of power tore the mine to shreds, pulverizing everything inside it that it didn’t incinerate, and finally leaving a single deep crater where once there had been nothing but flat scrubland.

“Shiva One Two, I need a flyover of the target site,” Lyssa calmly asked. “Please ensure that your recon pack is fully activated.”

“Roger, Control. Stand by for recon,” Shiva One Two answered.

Lyssa watched as the imagery stabilized, sweeping back over the target zone. She flicked over to the infrared and began examining the scene.

“How does it look?” Marion asked softly.

“Imagery is still stabilizing,” she answered. “Heat profile of the nuke is messing with things. Give it a minute.”

They stared and waited, watching as the thermal spikes evened out. Finally Lyssa reached forward and opened the comm.