Sabotaging an Imperial squadron wasn’t mere military treason but was considered high treason against the crown. Nonetheless, the act had occurred in the past. Offhand, he couldn’t recall anything as simple as atomics being used, but there was always a first time, he supposed.

The timing issue, however, could not be easily surmounted.

Her face darkened. “If so, I’ll personally end their lives. For now, however, we are committed to this engagement. Stand your station, Captain.”

“As you command, Navarch.”

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 23

AEV Hood

► Ian Shepherd stretched as much as his restraints would allow as he watched the telemetry feeds they were receiving from the Odysseus. The implications were disturbing, to say the least, and he was working to figure out how best to use his Hood given the new information.

“Adjust our course,” he ordered. “Increase thrusters to full military power, and bring us to bearing One Thirty-Eight Mark Nine, negative to the system plane.”

“One Three Eight Mark Nine. Negative, aye sir.”

His first officer looked over at him. “That’s going to bring us close, Captain.”

“I know, but pounding them with t-cannons now seems pointless,” Ian admitted. “We don’t have near the magazine capacity of a Heroic, and they barely scratched the enemy.”

“Yes sir. What’s the plan?”

Ian looked over the scans and telemetry. “Let’s get a passing engagement, get in close, and hammer them with torpedoes instead. See how they like a face full of antimatter.”

►►►

► The Hood was maneuvering primarily on thrusters and counter-mass, which meant that it couldn’t reach the same acceleration potential as its larger brethren, but that didn’t make the smaller ship slow by any means. With CM to full power, and burning reaction mass at military levels, the Rogue Class destroyer shifted course from the planned flanking maneuver and put itself on an interception tangent.

Ian’s reasoning was simple enough: his pulse torpedoes didn’t have near the overtake needed to intercept the enemy from a flank shot, to say nothing of trying to get them from the rear. When your target could accelerate at speeds that made light look over its shoulder, conventional weapons had certain limitations that had to be considered.

He laughed slightly, drawing looks from his crew, but he didn’t bother to explain. He didn’t think it was the time to reveal to them just how ridiculous it seemed to him to consider antimatter, of all things, to be a conventional weapon.

“We are on interception vector, as ordered, Captain.”

“Get me a firing solution, Weps,” he said. “Passive lock only.”

“Aye Skipper, passive lock only.”

Ian leaned over to his first officer. “Break the news to the magazines. I want the munitions out of containment and ready to fire.”

“Aye sir,” the young officer confirmed, not looking the least bit happy about it.