Hostile Spike (Battlegroup Z Book 2) Daniel Gibbs (classic book list txt) đ
- Author: Daniel Gibbs
Book online «Hostile Spike (Battlegroup Z Book 2) Daniel Gibbs (classic book list txt) đ». Author Daniel Gibbs
âBut we still get looked down on by the rest of you. Howâs that work, mate?â Martin chortled. âBombers get no respect.â
As Justin turned his craft, he slashed back toward the enemy formation, which was down to three fighters thanks to the attentions of his wingmen. He lined up the nearest enemy and squeezed the firing trigger the moment he heard the missile tone. âAlpha One, Fox three.â The LIDAR-tracking warhead dropped out of his Sabreâs internal stores bay and raced away. Simultaneously, he sent bolt after bolt of neutron-cannon fire at the unlucky Leaguer. They connected, and coupled with the impact of the Vulture, it was enough to destroy the opposing pilot.
The work of defeating the fighter escorts, while necessary, masked a more significant problem. No matter how many of the single-seat craft Justin and his fellows downed, more always came. And when that Rand gets here in a few minutes, thereâs going to be a lot of dead merchant spacers in this convoy. With the sobering thought rattling around in his brain, Justin picked another target and engaged his afterburners.
âConn, TAO. Master Three shields have failed. Sheâs turning away and accelerating.â
Tehrani scanned the tactical plot and grinned wolfishly. The enemy frigate had taken a gamble by staging a high-speed firing run on one of the freighters on the convoyâs outer sphereâa bet they were about to lose. âTAO, firing point procedures, forward neutron beams, Master Three.â
âFiring solutions set, maâam.â
âCoordinate with Sierra One for a time on target attack. I want them to match up with us perfectly.â
âAye, aye, maâam,â Bryan replied. A moment later, he turned around. âTime on target confirmed, maâam.â
âMatch bearings, shoot, forward neutron beams.â
First, the Marcus LutrellâSierra Oneâlet loose all the mag-cannon turrets she could to bear on the fleeing vessel. As the destroyer added its neutron beams to the fray, so did the Zvika Greengold. Bright-blue spears of death erupted from the carrierâs bow and bored through the League shipâs brittle hull. Explosions blossomed across its surface, while crew close enough to the escape pods made use of them. The final death blow came from the Marcus Lutrell. Several large anti-ship missiles with fusion warheads exploded within the doomed frigateâs exposed bowels. They hit something big, either the primary reactor or a missile magazine, and blew up in a massive fireball. The shockwave destroyed many of the escape pods before they got far enough away, leaving chunks less than a meter across in its wake.
âScratch another Leaguer escort,â Wright said quietly. âIf I were keeping score, Iâd say weâd have quite a few kill marks on our hull.â
Despite everything going on around her, Tehrani chuckled. âOnly fighters get kill markings, Major.â
âMaybe we should get that regulation changed.â
Too focused on the tactical plot and the ongoing battle to answer, Tehrani zoomed in on the four up-armed freighters sheâd deployed on the Leaguersâ attack vector. âSignal Captain Shikoba, nowâs the time. Have them target Master Two.â
Wright nodded. âAye, aye, maâam.â
A few moments later, the ships altered course. A collection of weaponryâpurple plasma cannons, xasers, and even projectile-based point-defense turretsâfired on an unsuspecting enemy frigate. It had already taken significant deflector damage, and the unexpected barrage hammered them down. The red shield effects disappeared, and merchant-vessel fire hit home against the Leaguerâs hull.
âTAO, designate Master Two as the primary target,â Tehrani barked. The Zvika Greengold was out of arc, so she couldnât send her weapons into the fray. âImmediately.â
âAye, aye, maâam,â Bryan replied.
On the tactical plot, the Marcus Luttrell arced back around and accelerated toward Master Two. Magnetic-cannon shells spat from its turrets along with bright-blue neutron beams. They raked the enemy vessel from bow to stern and neatly sliced off a portion of the hull superstructure near what appeared to be the bridge or command center. One of the Mauler bombers from Gamma element got off an anti-ship missile, which avoided all point-defense fire the frigate could throw at it. A moment later, the warhead blew up in a flash of blinding light. The enemy ship broke in two, atmosphere trailing both sections, while secondary explosions spread.
âDamn. Those League ships blow up real good,â Wright commented.
âWeâre taking candy from a baby right now, XO,â Tehrani replied tightly. âThat will change the moment Master Four gets into weapons range.â
The remaining League frigate began another attack run. Its forward cannons flung red balls of superheated plasma at the freighter with the weakest shields, while red beams lashed out. The friendly vesselâs deflectors failed, and one of the beams pierced the hull, going clear through the ship and out the other side.
Tehrani saw it happen on her tactical plot, and her eyes flashed. âTAO, can you obtain a firing solution on Master One?â
âNegative, maâam. Sheâs too far away, and Sierra Sixteen is blocking our shot.â
While Tehrani ran different tactical scenarios through her mindâcomplicated by the Marcus Luttrell being out of position for an interceptâone of the freighters turned tightly out of formation and accelerated toward the enemy vessel.
âWhat the heck does he think heâs doing?â Wright asked with a grumble. âCivilians canât take on warships.â
âThis one thinks he can, apparently,â Tehrani replied dryly. âWhatâs the make of that ship? I donât think Iâve seen it before.â
âHolden-Nagata Mk II. Sweet little freighters. Fast for their class too,â Wrightâs said with admiration.
âYou seem to know a lot about civilian ships, XO.â Tehrani flashed a smile. âI didnât realize it was a hobby of yours.â
âOh, I figured Iâd get a job as a freighter captain once I finished my stint in the CDF. You know me⊠born spacer.â
Tehrani addressed Singh, âCommunications, warn that ship off. Order them back into formation.â
âAye, aye, maâam.â The Sikh lieutenant paused. âMaâam, they sent a text-only message back. âWeâve got this.ââ
Wright snickered. âWell, theyâve got balls. Iâll give them that.â
Tehrani barely refrained from rolling her eyes. She didnât care
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