hologram. “Can we fight a sustained battle with them?”
“No,” Hal answered with a definitive shake of his head.
Aneerin turned back to Charles, all calm business. “Will you fly with us?”
“Of course,” Charles said without hesitation, before aiming a sly smile at Aneerin. “I have been to many parties on the Isle of Man and would like to do so again.”
Aneerin’s eyebrows rose at the admission. “Yes. I have been there myself.” He paused for a second, his eyes glossed over as he remembered. He shook his head and returned to the present with a swallow. “That was some time ago though. Walk with me please,” Aneerin said and began to follow his men towards the hatch.
Charles waved the other Cowboys over and followed Aneerin towards the hatch. Jack shadowed Charles and Aneerin.
“How long does it take your fighters to recharge after a hyper transit?” Aneerin asked.
“Four minutes.” Aneerin gave him a disbelieving gaze. “But we have capacitors that hold up to four charges,” Charles added.
Aneerin let out a breath as he considered the information and followed his pilots out of the hatch. “It’s a hack,” Aneerin said to Hal as he turned left to walk towards the hangar bay. Jack frowned as he noticed that the Peloran pilots had turned right, wondering where they were going. “They didn’t put in a generator powerful enough to transit, they filled them up with batteries with enough charge to do it. Now I understand how they managed it.” He turned back to Charles. “After a transit, how quickly can you transit again?”
Charles grimaced. “Thirty seconds.”
Aneerin winced at the answer and looked up as Hal’s body walked into his hologram. Jack’s practiced eyes noticed when the hologram faded away, leaving behind the real body as the cyber shook his head. “What is the absolute minimum?” Aneerin asked.
Charles cocked his head towards Dorothy and she gave them all a tight smile. “Ten seconds,” Dorothy answered in a cultured voice that chief advisors to powerful and rich families had perfected over the millennia. “But that is with a ten percent failure rate due to overloading the capacitors during the energy transfer. We’d be losing a fighter on average with each dive if we did that.”
“How about fifteen seconds?” Aneerin asked, pursing his lips in thought.
“Failure rates go down to four percent.” Dorothy said and gave a slight shrug. “Probably survivable, if we take time for repairs between attacks.”
Aneerin turned to Hal. “Can we do it?”
“Fifteen seconds is a long time,” Hal said with a pessimistic shake of his head. “We will take heavy damage. Are you certain they are worth it?”
Aneerin gave an unhappy sigh. “Ten heavy fighters, designed for anti-warship action. Considering our losses in that category, they are heavy reinforcements. They could guard one of your flanks.”
“True,” Hal said with a frown. “We can make do. Perhaps we can even use it to our advantage. If we stay longer than usual, the Shang may believe we are there to stay and shift their battle line to face us.”
“Indeed,” Aneerin returned with a nod and walked into the main hangar. “I will leave the particulars to you.”
Jack followed him in and looked around. It was as large and imposing as before, the massive tree on one end and the flickering energy curtain looking out into a black sky filled with stars on the other. The great white bulkheads gleamed, and against one of them the Avengers sat, powering up again for battle. Jack frowned and looked around, realizing that none of the Peloran fighters were still here.
Aneerin turned towards the American pilots as they filed into the hanger. “Gentleman. Ladies. I believe it is time to fight again.” As if on cue, the lights dimmed for a second and Jack swallowed as he looked out on the crazy quilt of colors that made up
“No,” Hal answered with a definitive shake of his head.
Aneerin turned back to Charles, all calm business. “Will you fly with us?”
“Of course,” Charles said without hesitation, before aiming a sly smile at Aneerin. “I have been to many parties on the Isle of Man and would like to do so again.”
Aneerin’s eyebrows rose at the admission. “Yes. I have been there myself.” He paused for a second, his eyes glossed over as he remembered. He shook his head and returned to the present with a swallow. “That was some time ago though. Walk with me please,” Aneerin said and began to follow his men towards the hatch.
Charles waved the other Cowboys over and followed Aneerin towards the hatch. Jack shadowed Charles and Aneerin.
“How long does it take your fighters to recharge after a hyper transit?” Aneerin asked.
“Four minutes.” Aneerin gave him a disbelieving gaze. “But we have capacitors that hold up to four charges,” Charles added.
Aneerin let out a breath as he considered the information and followed his pilots out of the hatch. “It’s a hack,” Aneerin said to Hal as he turned left to walk towards the hangar bay. Jack frowned as he noticed that the Peloran pilots had turned right, wondering where they were going. “They didn’t put in a generator powerful enough to transit, they filled them up with batteries with enough charge to do it. Now I understand how they managed it.” He turned back to Charles. “After a transit, how quickly can you transit again?”
Charles grimaced. “Thirty seconds.”
Aneerin winced at the answer and looked up as Hal’s body walked into his hologram. Jack’s practiced eyes noticed when the hologram faded away, leaving behind the real body as the cyber shook his head. “What is the absolute minimum?” Aneerin asked.
Charles cocked his head towards Dorothy and she gave them all a tight smile. “Ten seconds,” Dorothy answered in a cultured voice that chief advisors to powerful and rich families had perfected over the millennia. “But that is with a ten percent failure rate due to overloading the capacitors during the energy transfer. We’d be losing a fighter on average with each dive if we did that.”
“How about fifteen seconds?” Aneerin asked, pursing his lips in thought.
“Failure rates go down to four percent.” Dorothy said and gave a slight shrug. “Probably survivable, if we take time for repairs between attacks.”
Aneerin turned to Hal. “Can we do it?”
“Fifteen seconds is a long time,” Hal said with a pessimistic shake of his head. “We will take heavy damage. Are you certain they are worth it?”
Aneerin gave an unhappy sigh. “Ten heavy fighters, designed for anti-warship action. Considering our losses in that category, they are heavy reinforcements. They could guard one of your flanks.”
“True,” Hal said with a frown. “We can make do. Perhaps we can even use it to our advantage. If we stay longer than usual, the Shang may believe we are there to stay and shift their battle line to face us.”
“Indeed,” Aneerin returned with a nod and walked into the main hangar. “I will leave the particulars to you.”
Jack followed him in and looked around. It was as large and imposing as before, the massive tree on one end and the flickering energy curtain looking out into a black sky filled with stars on the other. The great white bulkheads gleamed, and against one of them the Avengers sat, powering up again for battle. Jack frowned and looked around, realizing that none of the Peloran fighters were still here.
Aneerin turned towards the American pilots as they filed into the hanger. “Gentleman. Ladies. I believe it is time to fight again.” As if on cue, the lights dimmed for a second and Jack swallowed as he looked out on the crazy quilt of colors that made up
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