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Selene knew from their battle plans that they needed to get as close as possible to the capital ships before firing and before the crats could bring their point defence cannons online to intercept the rounds. However, the Sable Riders had estimated that because the capital ships were so massive, dodging or turning from the first rail gun volley would not be an option for the enemy.
The timer on the screen ticked down to the last few seconds in silence. Then it slipped to zero. Simultaneously both frigates, now five seconds away from The Technocracy, let their guns rip. Thousands of projectiles poured out like a stream, and in milliseconds, they hit pay dirt.
Selene gripped the arms of her seat as explosions bloomed from both capital ships.
Notus I and II leapt away while the Technocracy’s crafts scrambled to respond, swarming after the frigates.
The frigates responded with more rail gun volleys, blasting the first wave of crat flyers into oblivion.
The capital ships fired again after the exhaust plumes of their unseen enemy. But the frigates were moving too fast and agilely enough. They dodged much of what the crats tried to fire at them.
‘Don’t back down,’ Kainan instructed Notus I and II’s pilots, speaking normally now that there was no need for radio silence. ‘Your stealth kit and hulls are heavy enough that it’ll take numerous anti-fighter missiles to down you.’
After they’d hammered the crat flyers for a few more minutes, Kainan called out to them.
‘Step back, Voids. Now it’s my turn to play.’
The frigates turned and accelerated as fast as they could in real space towards the Phantasm.
Which flung packed missiles and beam cannons towards the crats. Each volley was heavy enough to cut through the capital ships, which cumbrously tried to turn around, their turrets swivelling drunkenly in search of their attackers.
‘I thought The Technocracy was way more efficient than that,’ the Phantasm’s pilot, a pretty young Falasian called Cilia, observed.
‘They usually are. But we didn’t just hit them with any old ordinance.’
‘We didn’t?’ Selene asked from the galley, surprised by yet another new revelation.
Kainan acknowledged her with a stiff nod. ‘Excellency, we laced them with a little of their own medicine.’
‘More secrets,khosi?’ Selene said quietly, her irritation showing in her raised eyebrows and narrowed eyes.
Kainan looked away hotly, clearly pissed off by her open interrogation.
The pilot, Cilia, piped up, saving Kainan from a reply. ‘With what,khosi?’
Mirage entered the conversation. ‘The barrels of our rail guns and handguns have been tipped with an inactive metanoid disassembler device. All our bullets and weapons, supplied by the Sable team, are coated with metanoids. When these bullets leave the weapon, the metanoids inside them reanimate and awaken. By the time they reach their targets, the ‘noids are ravenous. They’re not just smashing through their hull plating. They’re chewing through reinforced armour and their crats like soft candy.’
‘Where did all this tech come from?’ Selene asked, keen to know more.
Kainan shrugged, keen to move the conversation on. ‘It’s just some new toys Mirage and Shadow have been working on. Let’s keep focused -.’
He paused dramatically. ‘- On the mission. And to make this a job well done, let’s blitz the enemy. Bombs away.’
The Phantasm dropped a series of laser missiles towards the lower and faster orbit of The Technocracy fleet. Selene almost whooped as the projectiles smacked into their ships at a frightening velocity, shredding the two capital ships.
One exploded in a fiery mass while the other’s bridge was annihilated, leaving it a husk of molten steel tumbling through space.
The bridge officers pumped their fists at the victorious strike.
Kainan issued more orders. ‘Notus I and II stay in theatre to pick off the few fighters left. Mirage, update?’
‘Reports are coming in that the corvettes are well on their way to their targets. Wraith also reports he’s downed the crats’ sensor array.’
An alarm blared throughout the command deck. According to the 3D holo projection, the third capital ship was tearing back to defend its fleet in range of the planetary defence system.
‘Zulu One,’ Kainan said, speaking to Rina and her team on the planet’s surface. ‘You now have a clear shot of The Technocracy’s third patrol boat.’
Within seconds, Rina sent fire, and they watched on-screen as the incoming warhead crashed into the remaining capital ship. In seconds was torn apart by the crushing force of its orbital velocity, meeting the missile and the resulting explosion.
