forward tubes,” Cameron reminded him. “Be ready for singles from our port plasma cannons.”
“Forward tubes locked on target,” Luis announced, ignoring his captain’s not-so-subtle reminders. “Firing triplets, one away… Two away…”
“Combat jump two, ready,” Mister Jakoby announced.
“Three away…”
“Impacts!” Ensign Kono reported with excitement.
“Four away…”
“We caught them by surprise, sir,” Ensign Kono exclaimed.
“Execute jump two,” Cameron ordered, paying little attention to her sensor operator’s exclamation.
“Jumping in three……”
“All of them! Direct hits!” Ensign Kono continued.
“Two……”
“Target is breaking up!”
“One……”
“Well done, Ensign,” Cameron congratulated.
“Jumping.”
Nathan watched the main view screen as his first target broke into several large pieces. Explosions from deep within broke those pieces up even further, sending debris out in all directions along the frigate’s original path of travel. Nathan felt a rush of adrenaline as the Aurora made its first kill of the day.
“Frigate one is destroyed,” Mister Navashee announced.
“Jump two in five seconds,” Mister Riley followed without missing a beat.
“Very well,” Nathan said calmly. The first kill had gone according to plan. He imagined the Celestia on the other side of the Alpha Centauri B system, executing the same maneuver and tearing apart their target with similar ease. The jump drive had always given them a significant advantage over the Jung, but now, with the addition of their new weapons, their advantage was even greater. Frigates and gunboats were no match for the Aurora or the Celestia. Neither were cruisers if they were caught by surprise, as they fully intended to do this day.
The jump flash washed over the Aurora’s bridge, dissipating as quickly as it had come.
“Jump two complete,” Mister Riley reported.
“Contact, cruiser one, seven kilometers to starboard and one point five down.” Mister Navashee’s voice was calm and professional. “Transferring track to tactical.”
“Firing solution in three seconds,” Lieutenant Eckert reported, “locking all forward torpedo tubes and plasma cannons on the contact.”
“Second contact, cruiser two, one hundred and fifty-eight kilometers ahead, it’s on the same orbit as cruiser one,” Mister Navashee added.
“I have a firing solution,” Lieutenant Eckert reported, “firing all forward tubes.”
Red-orange flashes of light illuminated the Aurora’s bridge as twelve plasma torpedoes, in four groups of three, streaked over their heads on the main view screen.
“Firing all plasma cannons,” the lieutenant added.
Nathan glanced slightly to his left as larger balls of red-orange plasma left what were once the forward openings of the Aurora’s port-side fighter launch tubes. “Execute jump three,” Nathan ordered. It was a waste of breath, as his crew knew the battle plan inside and out, having rehearsed it repeatedly over the last twelve hours.
“Jump three, in three……”
“Arming aft tubes for triples,” Lieutenant Eckert announced.
“Two……”
“Pitching up,” Mister Chiles added.
“One……”
“Torpedo impacts,” Mister Navashee reported.
“Jumping.”
“Locking aft torpedoes on target,” the lieutenant said as the jump flash dissipated.
“Jump three complete,” Mister Riley added.
“Maintain visual on the aft track.” Nathan watched the main view screen as the image suddenly shifted to the feeds from their rear cameras and instantly zoomed in on the first Jung cruiser that now lay behind them as the shots from their forward plasma cannons broke the ship apart.
“Cruiser one destroyed,” Mister Navashee announced.
“Stand down aft torpedoes,” Nathan ordered, “execute jump four as soon as possible, Mister Riley.”
“Jump four, aye. Three seconds.”
“We’re off to a good start, people,” Nathan said.
“Forward tubes locked on target,” Luis announced, ignoring his captain’s not-so-subtle reminders. “Firing triplets, one away… Two away…”
“Combat jump two, ready,” Mister Jakoby announced.
“Three away…”
“Impacts!” Ensign Kono reported with excitement.
“Four away…”
“We caught them by surprise, sir,” Ensign Kono exclaimed.
“Execute jump two,” Cameron ordered, paying little attention to her sensor operator’s exclamation.
“Jumping in three……”
“All of them! Direct hits!” Ensign Kono continued.
“Two……”
“Target is breaking up!”
“One……”
“Well done, Ensign,” Cameron congratulated.
“Jumping.”
Nathan watched the main view screen as his first target broke into several large pieces. Explosions from deep within broke those pieces up even further, sending debris out in all directions along the frigate’s original path of travel. Nathan felt a rush of adrenaline as the Aurora made its first kill of the day.
“Frigate one is destroyed,” Mister Navashee announced.
“Jump two in five seconds,” Mister Riley followed without missing a beat.
“Very well,” Nathan said calmly. The first kill had gone according to plan. He imagined the Celestia on the other side of the Alpha Centauri B system, executing the same maneuver and tearing apart their target with similar ease. The jump drive had always given them a significant advantage over the Jung, but now, with the addition of their new weapons, their advantage was even greater. Frigates and gunboats were no match for the Aurora or the Celestia. Neither were cruisers if they were caught by surprise, as they fully intended to do this day.
The jump flash washed over the Aurora’s bridge, dissipating as quickly as it had come.
“Jump two complete,” Mister Riley reported.
“Contact, cruiser one, seven kilometers to starboard and one point five down.” Mister Navashee’s voice was calm and professional. “Transferring track to tactical.”
“Firing solution in three seconds,” Lieutenant Eckert reported, “locking all forward torpedo tubes and plasma cannons on the contact.”
“Second contact, cruiser two, one hundred and fifty-eight kilometers ahead, it’s on the same orbit as cruiser one,” Mister Navashee added.
“I have a firing solution,” Lieutenant Eckert reported, “firing all forward tubes.”
Red-orange flashes of light illuminated the Aurora’s bridge as twelve plasma torpedoes, in four groups of three, streaked over their heads on the main view screen.
“Firing all plasma cannons,” the lieutenant added.
Nathan glanced slightly to his left as larger balls of red-orange plasma left what were once the forward openings of the Aurora’s port-side fighter launch tubes. “Execute jump three,” Nathan ordered. It was a waste of breath, as his crew knew the battle plan inside and out, having rehearsed it repeatedly over the last twelve hours.
“Jump three, in three……”
“Arming aft tubes for triples,” Lieutenant Eckert announced.
“Two……”
“Pitching up,” Mister Chiles added.
“One……”
“Torpedo impacts,” Mister Navashee reported.
“Jumping.”
“Locking aft torpedoes on target,” the lieutenant said as the jump flash dissipated.
“Jump three complete,” Mister Riley added.
“Maintain visual on the aft track.” Nathan watched the main view screen as the image suddenly shifted to the feeds from their rear cameras and instantly zoomed in on the first Jung cruiser that now lay behind them as the shots from their forward plasma cannons broke the ship apart.
“Cruiser one destroyed,” Mister Navashee announced.
“Stand down aft torpedoes,” Nathan ordered, “execute jump four as soon as possible, Mister Riley.”
“Jump four, aye. Three seconds.”
“We’re off to a good start, people,” Nathan said.
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