orange icons flared up and
then vanished.
“Strikecruiser
Taurus is down,” Kevin spoke in a strained voice.
“Bear bombers
under fighter escort are beginning their attack run on the fleet targeting the
space station,” Ariel reported. She was using the Avenger’s sensors to try to
keep track of the entire battle.
“Jeremy,”
Colonel Malen gasped in shock. “Look at the screen!”
The viewscreen
she was pointing at was focused on Careth. Upon the surface the tell all flash
of a nuclear explosion was evident.
“Twenty
megatons,” reported Ariel, grimly. “It detonated above the Carethian city of Presden.”
“Second AI
ship confirmed destroyed,” Kevin reported as he watched another of the orange
threat icons vanish from his screen. It had hurt deeply to see the nuclear
weapon strike Careth. Kevin just hoped there were no others.
“The bear
bombers and fighters are taking heavy losses,” Ariel added in a pained voice.
As she watched
with her sensors, dozens of brave pilots were dying as their fighters and
bombers were blown apart by Hocklyn fighters and heavy defensive fire from
their warships. Undeterred by the losses, the bear pilots continued toward
their targets. They would not turn back until their missiles were fired.
-
In space,
Major Thurman fired his last Hunter interceptor missile. It struck a Hocklyn
fighter, blowing it into a thousand pieces. A red warning light suddenly flared
up on his console indicating a missile was locked on. In desperation, he juked
his fighter through several barrel rolls and dove away at a sharp angle, releasing
a canister of countermeasures, which blew apart, attracting the missile away at
the last second. The explosion rocked his fighter but caused no damage.
Letting out a
deep breath, Major Thurman dropped his Talon fighter in behind another Hocklyn
and pressed the firing button for his thirty-millimeter cannons. Instantly, the
Hocklyn fighter exploded in a brilliant fireball. Taking a second to look
around, Thurman could see numerous explosions around him indicating dying
fighters. Glancing down at his sensor screen, he saw very few green icons still
surviving.
-
Jeremy felt
the Avenger shake violently and for a moment, the lights in the Command Center flickered. A few people screamed in fright. On the damage control console, a
number of new lights turned amber and then red.
“We’re venting
atmosphere,” Colonel Malen reported as she issued orders rapidly to damage control
teams. “A Hocklyn energy beam hit the hull and cut through six decks.”
“Jeremy, the
New Eden has suffered major damage!” Kevin spoke loudly with deep concern on
his face. The New Eden was Admiral Stillson’s flagship.
“Order several
light cruisers to give her covering fire!” Jeremy ordered his face turning
ashen.
On the main
viewscreen, it had changed to show the New Eden. The battlecruiser was under
heavy attack and even as they watched, a nuclear explosion ripped out a major
portion of the ship’s hull.
“Her screens
are down,” Ariel reported as she used her sensors to scan Stillson’s flagship.
“Heavy structural damage to the hull and there is massive internal damage as
well.”
Even as they watched,
half a dozen blue Hocklyn energy beams struck the ship, cutting into the hull and
doing irrevocable damage. Suddenly, four bright balls of energy formed and the
New Eden vanished as its nuclear self-destructs initiated.
“New Eden is down,” Kevin spoke in a shocked voice.
-
Commodore
Krilen felt jubilation as another enemy capital ship died. He was losing far
more ships under the bombardment of the enemy’s deadly sublight missiles but he
had the ships to lose; the Humans did not. On the main viewscreen, he watched
as two more nuclear detonations appeared over Carethian cities. The battle was
going his way and nothing the Humans could do could save the planet.
“Large numbers
of small warships are rising from the planet’s surface,” First Leader
then vanished.
“Strikecruiser
Taurus is down,” Kevin spoke in a strained voice.
“Bear bombers
under fighter escort are beginning their attack run on the fleet targeting the
space station,” Ariel reported. She was using the Avenger’s sensors to try to
keep track of the entire battle.
“Jeremy,”
Colonel Malen gasped in shock. “Look at the screen!”
The viewscreen
she was pointing at was focused on Careth. Upon the surface the tell all flash
of a nuclear explosion was evident.
“Twenty
megatons,” reported Ariel, grimly. “It detonated above the Carethian city of Presden.”
“Second AI
ship confirmed destroyed,” Kevin reported as he watched another of the orange
threat icons vanish from his screen. It had hurt deeply to see the nuclear
weapon strike Careth. Kevin just hoped there were no others.
“The bear
bombers and fighters are taking heavy losses,” Ariel added in a pained voice.
As she watched
with her sensors, dozens of brave pilots were dying as their fighters and
bombers were blown apart by Hocklyn fighters and heavy defensive fire from
their warships. Undeterred by the losses, the bear pilots continued toward
their targets. They would not turn back until their missiles were fired.
-
In space,
Major Thurman fired his last Hunter interceptor missile. It struck a Hocklyn
fighter, blowing it into a thousand pieces. A red warning light suddenly flared
up on his console indicating a missile was locked on. In desperation, he juked
his fighter through several barrel rolls and dove away at a sharp angle, releasing
a canister of countermeasures, which blew apart, attracting the missile away at
the last second. The explosion rocked his fighter but caused no damage.
Letting out a
deep breath, Major Thurman dropped his Talon fighter in behind another Hocklyn
and pressed the firing button for his thirty-millimeter cannons. Instantly, the
Hocklyn fighter exploded in a brilliant fireball. Taking a second to look
around, Thurman could see numerous explosions around him indicating dying
fighters. Glancing down at his sensor screen, he saw very few green icons still
surviving.
-
Jeremy felt
the Avenger shake violently and for a moment, the lights in the Command Center flickered. A few people screamed in fright. On the damage control console, a
number of new lights turned amber and then red.
“We’re venting
atmosphere,” Colonel Malen reported as she issued orders rapidly to damage control
teams. “A Hocklyn energy beam hit the hull and cut through six decks.”
“Jeremy, the
New Eden has suffered major damage!” Kevin spoke loudly with deep concern on
his face. The New Eden was Admiral Stillson’s flagship.
“Order several
light cruisers to give her covering fire!” Jeremy ordered his face turning
ashen.
On the main
viewscreen, it had changed to show the New Eden. The battlecruiser was under
heavy attack and even as they watched, a nuclear explosion ripped out a major
portion of the ship’s hull.
“Her screens
are down,” Ariel reported as she used her sensors to scan Stillson’s flagship.
“Heavy structural damage to the hull and there is massive internal damage as
well.”
Even as they watched,
half a dozen blue Hocklyn energy beams struck the ship, cutting into the hull and
doing irrevocable damage. Suddenly, four bright balls of energy formed and the
New Eden vanished as its nuclear self-destructs initiated.
“New Eden is down,” Kevin spoke in a shocked voice.
-
Commodore
Krilen felt jubilation as another enemy capital ship died. He was losing far
more ships under the bombardment of the enemy’s deadly sublight missiles but he
had the ships to lose; the Humans did not. On the main viewscreen, he watched
as two more nuclear detonations appeared over Carethian cities. The battle was
going his way and nothing the Humans could do could save the planet.
“Large numbers
of small warships are rising from the planet’s surface,” First Leader
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