The Belt Round One
Deep Space, Inner Belt, Alchibah
“Ghost to Reaper, what do you think Cuz?”
“Reaper to Ghost, how can you tell if a Redmond is lying?”
“Ghost to Reaper, according to Dad and you…His Lips are moving!”
“Reaper to Ghost, just so. BREAK. Cold Steel, I assume you disobeyed the ACHE drive order; how close are you?”
“Steel to Reaper, we are there. I need one minute for some of my crew to clean the puke out of their helmets then we are ready.”
“No problem Al, give them five to clean up and let the other side think they have us cowed down. When you are ready give us a five second count down and then we go.
“Steel, Main Battery fire on the left hand warship. Pour it in till she blows, drain the cap banks if you have to. BREAK.
“Ghost, when the left hand ship blows I will go play target for the right hand ship. Get in their six while they are worried about me and put the boot to them.
“Everyone else, when we blow that right hand sucker go for the converted Transport.
“Do Not Kill IT, disable the drive and leave it on a ballistic trajectory. We can come back and deal with it later. The slaves who don’t want to be here are on that bad boy, we take that one!
“Capt Steel on your count Strike Force attacks. CLAN ALCHBAH SHALL NOT FALL!”
Bridge of the Dancer
Corrine Williams turned in her seat as she was wiping the front of her suit, “Is he for real Boss?”
Al Steel had to grin as he watched her mopping up. “That He is girl, that’s the guy that RJ Hamilton picked to defend Alchibah. Because of that in four minute’s we are going to take the most heavily Armed Warship ever built right into the Bad Guy’s face. You might want to keep a Diary, it could be a real history find one day.
“Me, I just want to end this and chase a Redhead over Martinis at Hanna’s Place.”
LT Williams continued mopping her front until a thought hit her, “The only Redhead he knows is me!”
Any thoughts were broken by the transmission, “Cold Steel to Reaper, we go in five, four, three, two, one, SHOOT!”
Strike Force
Everyone waited on the results of Dancer’s first strike and the results were both visible and informing.
They had put in some kind of particle shielding, a Goonie ASRS would never have stopped the first crowbar. This thing stopped the first two cold; the third caused the shield to glow in the visible spectrum. The fourth caused black spots in the outline of the shield, numbers five and six went home.
Number Five expended it’s entire load of kinetic energy against the heavily armored Anti-Meteorite Shield blowing it to molten metal.
Number Six drove straight through until it encountered the fuel tanks and engines. The resultant explosion was a short lived sun.
Seven and Eight were an afterthought into a cloud of gas.
“Ghost Now!” Andy Stuart threw his fighter into full ACHE drive and began a dance across the front of the right hand warship as Mariana fought to hold consciousness.
Strike Force 6
Marina fought the G forces, even with her brain slowed by two Jumps she knew she had to keep her left hand on that grab bar and her left thumb above the button. The ship was lurching in three dimensions as Andy used the acceleration rates of the ACHE drive to confuse the enemy gunners.
When he grunted “Shoot”, she slammed down her thumb. The problem was they were only getting two shot’s in per firing pass. If this thing could take four 5 CM’s, then two 2 CM’s were but a pinprick. We just kept ranging across their front stinging them. As we did so, I suddenly felt awareness coming back.
The longer we were in the heightened adrenaline state of Combat, the faster I recovered. Metabolism was the key to BOD drain. “Get Em Shooter!”
Strike Force 5
“Now Love,” came the voice of Ghost. Digger slammed down her thumb and the string of 2 CM crowbars went home on the stern of the last Warship. Without thinking she slammed down her left thumb and sent the stream of 100 MM’s in also. As the two projectile streams poured in and impacted the engines and fuel tanks the ship blew into another small sun that Ash had to dodge to avoid joining it in destruction.
Strike Force 6
“Hot Damn Ghost, give Digger that Kill Pin. To All, disable that damn freighter.”
Strike Force 3
“Oh Natasi, put me on his tail. I have something for Him”
Natasi wrapped the Fighter in a 7 G perceived Immelman right on the tail of the freighter. She noticed that everything that She could pull did not even phase the veteran Spacer Glendai.
“That perfect Natasi, we screw him now!” Glenda was grinning as she sent a stream of 100 MM’s right up the open aft aspect of a Dee-Hee drive. Glenda shooting only HE rounds and at an angle, merely created a normal explosion as the engines departed the realm of the working.
“Natasi to Reaper, He be ballistic. He has no drive left. Tell Monroe I am a better shot than He is!”
Strike Force Six
“Glenda, if you have the guts, tell him yourself. The growing tradition of the Female Half getting the bad guys continues. BREAK
“To All, ACHE for the Mayflower at best speed. Whatever you think your crews can handle, Firebird needs help! BREAK.
“Enemy Commander, this is Andrew Stuart. You just keep on coming on your ballistic trajectory. We will be back to deal with you later.
“Redmond, I hope you are alive. I so want to do you myself! BREAK”
“Strike Force, ACHE now!”