There are easy times in life.\u00a0 There are hard times in life.\u00a0 There\u2019s times of peace, and times to make war.\u00a0 I like peace myself.\u00a0 Always have.\u00a0 But there\u2019s no use in going halfway when it comes to war.\u00a0 Win or lose, live or die, they\u2019re just sides of the same coin.\u00a0 And I will never toss that coin randomly.\u00a0 I will stack the deck, I will use loaded dice, and I will do everything else it takes to make certain that the odds are ever in my favor.\u00a0 Cause if you ain\u2019t cheating, you ain\u2019t trying.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The explosions faded, the wreckage of shattered missiles drifted away, and Jack\u2019s displays cleared, showing him the British dreadnoughts anchoring the heart of Third Fleet\u2019s wall of battle.\u00a0 They were not the largest ships he\u2019d ever seen, or the most powerful, but the British built them tough.<\/p>\n
Jack knew Vanguard<\/em> well.\u00a0 He\u2019d escorted her in battle multiple times during the Alpha Centauri campaigns, and it hurt to see her torn armor.\u00a0 Air and wreckage streamed from her flank, but the displays confirmed she was already beginning to stabilize her deflection grid again.\u00a0 She had power, her point defense grid continued to fire at the main Shang attack, and she continued to maneuver.\u00a0 Jack let out a long breath in relief.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t know Valiant<\/em>, so didn\u2019t care about her wounds as much.\u00a0 But he still winced at <\/em>the pair of dead engines, and the open wound that had been her flank.\u00a0 She\u2019d taken the lion\u2019s share of the missiles, and she must have lost multiple reactors.\u00a0 The displays showed her deflection grid beginning to lose all remaining cohesion.\u00a0 If it kept up like that, the grid would fail completely in less than a minute, leaving the behemoth hideously vulnerable to attack.<\/p>\n Victorious<\/em> and Victory<\/em> were damaged too, but their deflection grids began reforming as he watched, hazy shells of twisted gravity on his displays.\u00a0 They moved to interpose themselves between Valiant<\/em> and the Shang missiles getting far too close for comfort, and he saw their point defense batteries going to rapid fire.\u00a0 They would do their duty, giving their wounded sister time to repair her shattered systems, or die trying.\u00a0 Jack nodded his head in respect towards the two ships before looking back to Vanguard<\/em>.\u00a0 The displays showed she was moving the wall of battle forward into a wedge formation, taking the point herself.\u00a0 That took serious courage.<\/p>\n The punishment those leviathans could absorb and keep fighting was truly amazing, but even they were not indestructible.\u00a0 And their smaller escorts were far more fragile.\u00a0 Five destroyers and eight frigates were dead, including all of Valiant\u2019s<\/em> dedicated escorts.\u00a0 Several dozen close in fighters were done too, though only two pilots had died with them.<\/p>\n He shook his head and scanned the displays concerned with matters a bit closer to home.\u00a0 He was down two Avengers, all of them drones.\u00a0 Thank God for that.\u00a0 The Cowboys in total had lost eleven fighters, but all of his pilots remained.\u00a0 It could have been worse.\u00a0 Much, much worse.<\/p>\n He tore his eyes away from the displays to look at Amparo.\u00a0 \u201cHow are you?\u201d<\/p>\n Durango\u2019s<\/em> cyber winced.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve been better, but I\u2019m alive.\u201d\u00a0 Her smile took on a forced appearance, and a quick glance at the display showed the torn armor down the American battleship\u2019s flanks.<\/p>\n \u201cI like you alive,\u201d Jack said.\u00a0 \u201cIt beats the frak out of the alternative.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt sure does.\u201d\u00a0 Amparo sighed and shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cCan I ask you to do something for me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour wish is my command,\u201d Jack said with an expansive wave of a hand.<\/p>\n Amparo pursed her lips, as if worrying about his answer.\u00a0 \u201cI need you to run away.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack almost growled.\u00a0 He did<\/em> scowl, and his eyes narrowed.\u00a0 \u201cLike hell,\u201d he objected, his tone belligerent.<\/p>\n Amparo smiled at the response and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI hoped you\u2019d see it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack cocked his head to the side in confusion.\u00a0 She was planning something, but he couldn\u2019t even begin to think what it might be.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve localized the center of the gravitic disturbance,\u201d Amparo answered immediately.\u00a0 \u201cIf we can find what is causing it and destroy it, the disturbance should go away.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLike a deflection grid without generators?\u201d Jack asked.<\/p>\n \u201cExactly,\u201d Amparo answered in a proud voice.\u00a0 \u201cIn fact, based on how gravity is working around here, we think that\u2019s exactly what it is.\u00a0 A gravitic generator tuned to destabilize hyperspace.\u00a0 Now the problem is that it\u2019s on the other side of whatever is firing those God-awful missile barrages at us,\u201d she continued in a more serious tone.<\/p>\n \u201cAh,\u201d Jack muttered, sobering as he glanced at a display showing that area.\u00a0 There were a lot of ships there.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019ll be a tough nut to crack.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExactly.\u201d\u00a0 Amparo smiled at him.\u00a0 \u201cNow in about\u2026sixty seconds, the American task force is going to start running.\u00a0 One ship at a time.\u00a0 All of the small ones.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to look horrible, like the task force is abandoning the wall of battle after taking that barrage on the chin.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack blinked, his mind running over the idea.\u00a0 It had possibilities.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you want us to run with you?\u201d<\/p>\n Amparo smiled encouragingly.\u00a0 \u201cIf you are running towards the outer system, they probably won\u2019t fire on you much.\u201d\u00a0 She shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cHopefully.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack pursed his lips in thought.\u00a0 \u201cYou mean they might want to suggest to other ships that running truly is<\/em> an option?\u201d\u00a0 He let out a quick breath and rubbed his chin.\u00a0 \u201cGet us all to break up into little packets they can chew up later?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s our projection,\u201d Amparo answered.\u00a0 \u201cNo guarantee of course, but if you can flank them while \u2018running away\u2019 you might be able to take out the generator.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack frowned, finally catching on to one thing she\u2019d never said.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t help but notice that you never say \u2018we.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Amparo sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI was hoping you wouldn\u2019t catch that until later.\u201d\u00a0 She shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cDurango<\/em>, Arizona<\/em>, and Enterprise<\/em> have to remain in the wall of battle.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t have the acceleration to keep up with cruisers before<\/em> we ate that missile barrage.\u00a0 We certainly don\u2019t now.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack turned a questioning look at Christine.<\/p>\n Enterprise\u2019s<\/em> brain gave him a sad smile, already resigned to her inability to move as swiftly as her smaller cousins.<\/p>\n \u201cI see,\u201d Jack said, feeling like if he left them here he would never see them again.<\/p>\n \u201cI trust you, Jack,\u201d Amparo said in a soft voice.\u00a0 \u201cTake out that generator, and open a route for us to get home.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack nodded slowly, but noting the worry in her voice.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t like it.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd don\u2019t wait around for us when the bubble drops.\u00a0 Just go,\u201d she ordered.<\/p>\n Jack frowned and started to protest.<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Amparo cut him off.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll be right behind you, but we can\u2019t afford to get caught looking for each other in hyperspace.\u00a0 We\u2019ll rendezvous at Serenity in two weeks, real time,\u201d Amparo finished.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t like this,\u201d Jack whispered.\u00a0 \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel right.\u201d<\/p>\n Amparo sighed.\u00a0 \u201cThen ask yourself this.\u00a0 \u2018Is this the best thing you can do right now?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack considered the question, and felt peace fill him again.\u00a0 He still didn\u2019t like it, but nodded very slowly.<\/p>\n Amparo and Christine shared a quick glance.\u00a0 He wished he knew what they were telling themselves.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s what we thought,\u201d Amparo said with another shrug.\u00a0 \u201cSo break that generator and get our people out,\u201d she ordered and waited for him to nod in acceptance.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Jack,\u201d she finished and faded out of view.<\/p>\n \u201cChristine,\u201d Jack said before the other cyber could follow and she met his gaze.\u00a0 There were so many things he wanted to say in that moment.\u00a0 She was a beautiful ship.\u00a0 She was his home.\u00a0 He was about to leave her behind and despite his feelings that this really was the best plan, he still felt that aching feeling towards her.\u00a0 Like he would never see her again if he left.\u00a0 \u201cBe careful.\u201d<\/p>\n The cyber\u2019s smile softened.\u00a0 \u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack knew he should say something profound.\u00a0 Something amazing.\u00a0 Come up with a grand quotation before going to battle.\u00a0 Something memorable.\u00a0 Something school children should learn in the future.\u00a0 \u201cSee yah later,\u201d came out instead.<\/p>\n Christine smiled, her eyes conveying complete and total understanding.\u00a0 \u201cYou too.\u201d\u00a0 And then she faded away.<\/p>\n Jack punched his chair arm in anger.\u00a0 \u201cSee yah later,\u201d Jack muttered in a self-mocking tone.\u00a0 \u201cSee yah later.\u00a0 Of all the stupid things to say.\u00a0 What was I thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou weren\u2019t,\u201d Betty answered, her smile matching Christine\u2019s.\u00a0 \u201cBut she knows what you meant.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d he whispered before sucking in a long breath.\u00a0 It felt like he was leaving their home behind.\u00a0 But he had no choice. \u00a0He breathed out and breathed in, forcing himself to find peace.\u00a0 Then he smiled and looked at Betty again.\u00a0 \u201cAll Cowboys,\u201d he said, forcing his normal carefree tone back into being.\u00a0 \u201cGrab a cruiser and hang on tight,\u201d he ordered, his eyes running over the American formation on his displays.\u00a0 As his eyes settled on each one, it expanded in his view and detailed vital statistics appeared next to it.\u00a0 He finished reading the last field of data and raised his hand to point at one of the cruisers.\u00a0 \u201cThat one.\u201d<\/p>\n Betty nodded.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s a good ship.\u00a0 Good captain too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the cyber?\u201d Jack asked, detecting the reservation in her tone.<\/p>\n Betty sighed, appearing reluctant to blab on a fellow cyber.\u00a0 Still, she answered after only a short pause.\u00a0 \u201cWell, she\u2019s a bit crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack scratched his chin and considered the possibilities.\u00a0 \u201cGood crazy or bad crazy?\u201d he asked and Betty raised both eyebrows at him.\u00a0 \u201cThere is<\/em> a difference, you know,\u201d Jack added in a defensive tone.\u00a0 Betty rolled her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u00a0 Crazy axe-murderer,\u201d he said, placing both hands on the left.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone who\u2019s just a little different from the rest of society.\u201d\u00a0 This time his hands moved to the right and stayed there.<\/p>\n Betty shook her head and sighed.\u00a0 \u201cWell, she\u2019s different, all right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOoh?\u201d Jack asked with raised eyebrows.<\/p>\n Betty turned a wicked smile on him.\u00a0 \u201cShe chose the name of an angel.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh,\u201d Jack answered with a frown.\u00a0 Of course, she was the cybernetic brain of Los Angeles<\/em>, so he supposed it made a certain amount of sense.\u00a0 \u201cShiny.\u00a0 Which one?\u201d<\/p>\n Betty just smiled and stepped to the side.\u00a0 A new cyber appeared on the console, standing next to Betty and Jasmine in the standard white uniform of the United States Navy.\u00a0 Long red hair framed a face that would look at home on any college campus, and inquisitive grey eyes gave Jack the feeling he just might end up liking her.<\/p>\n \u201cCaptain Jack,\u201d he said, placing one hand on his chest.\u00a0 \u201cAnd who might I have the pleasure of meeting?\u201d<\/p>\n An amused smile twisted her lips, and he caught the lively sense of humor under that face.\u00a0 \u201cGabrielle,\u201d was all she said.<\/p>\n Jack pursed his lips in thought, and cocked his head to the side.\u00a0 \u201cAnd here I always thought Gabriel was a he,\u201d he said, feigning confusion.<\/p>\n \u201cThe standard presumption of a male-dominated society,\u201d she answered, grey eyes twinkling in amusement.<\/p>\n Jack laughed out loud, slapping the arm of his flight chair.\u00a0 \u201cTouch\u00e9,\u201d he finally pronounced, granting her a point in their verbal contest.<\/p>\n \u201cMerci,\u201d she returned with a half bow, accepting his point with humility that must have been feigned.<\/p>\n A display flashed for his attention and Jack pulled his gaze away from her to see the display showing each of his five Cowboys.\u00a0 Their fighters and drones held three dimensional flying wedge formations around five cruisers, and one more display showed his fighters doing the same for Los Angeles<\/em>.\u00a0 Jack nodded in approval.\u00a0 He loved it when a plan came together.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I do believe we\u2019re about ready to run away to fight another day,\u201d Jack said, forcing a charming smile back on his face as he turned back to her.<\/p>\n \u201cAgreed,\u201d Gabrielle returned, making a show of looking around at the displays on his fighter.<\/p>\n Jack followed her gaze to see a frigate accelerating away from the American task force, engines at maximum burn.\u00a0 He leaned back and watched as a destroyer followed, another frigate, and then more.\u00a0 Finally, one of the cruisers broke away.\u00a0 Jack focused on it and the name Dallas<\/em> came into view.\u00a0 She was a good ship, one of the Pre-War cruisers, but he\u2019d fought next to some of her sisters and knew she could kill Shang as good as any ship he\u2019d seen.\u00a0 The destroyers Harrington<\/em> and Grayson<\/em> followed the cruiser out, snuggling up close to the ship they were tasked with protecting.<\/p>\n He looked away from those three ships to see most of the American cruisers and destroyers \u201cfleeing\u201d the wall of battle in a ragged line that looked like a perfect panic.\u00a0 Then Los Angeles<\/em> spewed blue fire from her main engines and began to follow her sister ships.\u00a0 The frigates Clark<\/em> and Hammond<\/em>, a dozen Hellcats, and Jack\u2019s Avengers held formation around the larger ship with ease.\u00a0 The wall of battle fell behind, British and Spanish ships screaming a cacophony of orders for the Americans to get back to the wall.<\/p>\n A glance ahead showed another salvo of Shang missiles still moving towards the wall, and Jack smiled.\u00a0 No missiles tracked the ragged task force.\u00a0 The Shang were playing the game the way they\u2019d thought.\u00a0 Well, those aliens were not going to enjoy the end game.\u00a0 He frowned as he noticed several British destroyers and frigates pull away from the wall and begin following them as an organized force.\u00a0 He focused on the lead destroyer, but the display zoomed in on one of the frigates instead.\u00a0 Jack raised an eyebrow in surprise, until he recognized the name.\u00a0 Recovery<\/em>.\u00a0 The British were sending their medical frigates away, along with their destroyer escorts.\u00a0 That was an interesting twist.\u00a0 He wondered what the Shang would think about that.<\/p>\n Jack shrugged the curiosity away, relaxed back into his seat again, and watched as the \u201cfleeing\u201d ships continued to accelerate.\u00a0 The wall\u2019s remaining point defense stopped almost all of the missiles, and the missiles they sent back at the Shang continued to prove almost as effective.\u00a0 The Shang had certainly prepared their defenses well.\u00a0 Minutes went by, and the American ships slowly reformed into a cohesive squadron.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t obvious about it, and the age-old admonition to \u201cfly casual\u201d echoed through Jack\u2019s mind.\u00a0 They were certainly doing that, if anything could be casual about ships running for their lives.<\/p>\n But that appearance was not going to last much longer.\u00a0 An invisible point in space glowed on his displays, telling him when the task force needed to turn.\u00a0 Soon.\u00a0 He glanced at Betty, and she nodded back.\u00a0 They were ready. \u00a0The countdown appeared, and he shifted his view to Gabrielle.<\/p>\n \u201cYou ready?\u201d Gabrielle asked, head cocked to the side in curiosity.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d he answered with a smile and placed his hands on the stick and throttle.<\/p>\n \u201cBreak now!\u201d Gabrielle shouted.<\/p>\n Jack braced and Betty brought their fighter around to face the main Shang formation.\u00a0 Around them, the entire American task force, and the few British ships hanging onto the rear, came around as well.\u00a0 Plumes of blue fusion fire filled space around them, the entire formation coming bow-on to the Shang fleet, and Jack wondered if the aliens were surprised.\u00a0 He knew he would be if he were standing in their shoes.\u00a0 Not that he\u2019d ever wear shoes designed for them of course.<\/p>\n \u201cAll ships, commence bombardment on my mark,\u201d Gabrielle ordered.<\/p>\n Jack smiled at Betty, who looked smug in return.\u00a0 They were still far outside standard weapons range, far enough out that hits were all but impossible.\u00a0 But that wasn\u2019t the same as totally impossible.\u00a0 And as he\u2019d shown earlier, sometimes it worked to let fly early.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure if this was one of those times, but copying someone\u2019s idea was the sincerest form of flattery.<\/p>\n Jack was feeling real flattered.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t look so smug,\u201d Gabrielle said with a wry smile.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack put on act of looking around for someone before shrugging.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s the gentleman?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTouch\u00e9,\u201d Gabrielle returned and Jack chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cNow it\u2019s time to find out what they have,\u201d she added, her tone all business again, and Jack\u2019s displays filled with light codes.\u00a0 For a split second it was total gibberish, and then he recognized the fire pattern.\u00a0 He smiled in approval.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t trying to kill anything.\u00a0 She just wanted to scare whatever was keeping Third Fleet here into revealing itself.<\/p>\n \u201cMark,\u201d Gabrielle transmitted and every weapon in the fleet opened up.<\/p>\n Five-dozen Avengers fired with him, along with an equal number of Hellcats and their Mexican equivalents, and even three-dozen British Harriers.\u00a0 He felt the very fabric of space trembling under the assault.\u00a0 But it was nothing compared to the firepower of twenty American cruisers and destroyers laying down their own salvoes of gravitic might.\u00a0 The British destroyers fired as well, and while their turret-mounted gravitic cannons were smaller, they had far more gravitic turrets than the Americans had spinal gravitic cannons.<\/p>\n The display was truly amazing.<\/p>\n To add to it, the task force missile turrets went to maximum fire rate, gravitic drivers slinging them away from their parent ships.\u00a0 The missiles came to life, riding tongues of blue flame and coming around to fly towards the Shang formation.\u00a0 Then they turned off their drives and became holes in space.\u00a0 It was odd to see missiles go dark like that, and an eerie chill moved up Jack\u2019s spine.\u00a0 There was just something not right about fighting from ranges like this.<\/p>\n Jack finally saw the result of their initial bombardment and nodded very slowly.\u00a0 There was a gravitic hit on the Shang cruiser vomiting air.\u00a0 And the displays showed something that looked like a small space station starting to come apart after a primary capital laser cannon sliced through it.\u00a0 Two hits at this range were enough to impress him.\u00a0 But that small station worried him.\u00a0 He wondered how the Shang could have known they were coming early enough to plant actual space stations in ambush.<\/p>\n And then the Shang stopped firing on the bulk of Third Fleet and the brief chill in Jack\u2019s spine turned icy.\u00a0 \u201cWell, now I feel special,\u201d Jack muttered under his breath.<\/p>\n \u201cYou should,\u201d Betty returned.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve always said you\u2019re special.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n Betty gave him a wry smile.\u00a0 \u201cAre you sure you heard what I said?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEvery word,\u201d Jack answered, his smirk telling her he would return the favor soon.<\/p>\n Betty rolled her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack waggled his eyebrows and returned his attention to the incoming missiles.\u00a0 They were still several seconds out, and he glanced over to see their fighter\u2019s gravitic cannons charging for another salvo.\u00a0 It was time and their cannons opened up again.\u00a0 The very fabric of gravity twisted once more as the warships coordinated another massive salvo around him.<\/p>\n Then he saw the first of the American missiles came back to life, spewing blue flames as they streaked in to attack the Shang formation.\u00a0 Point defense networks came to life, blotting them out of the sky by the dozens, but the survivors dove in and exploded in the midst of the Shang fleet.\u00a0 More accurately, they imploded, becoming miniature black holes sucking the smallest atoms in space into them for the briefest of split seconds, before releasing their hold on gravity and sending the gathered bits of material to rampage through the Shang force.<\/p>\n Deflection grids flared and failed, armor tore away from hulls, and atmosphere poured from wounded warships.\u00a0 The missiles did what nothing else had been able to do in the entire battle.\u00a0 They penetrated the Shang jamming and gave Jack his first clear look at what the Shang had.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t like the look very much at all.<\/p>\n The forty cruisers and equal number of escorting destroyers were bad enough, even if Third Fleet would normally be enough to take them down.\u00a0 But now Jack finally knew how they were throwing so many missiles at Third Fleet.\u00a0 This truly had been a trap all along, and they\u2019d flown right into it.\u00a0 The small space stations were actually a dozen or so small missile platforms, firing their missiles in perfect unison with the Shang warships.\u00a0 He wondered how many missiles they had in the ammunition bays.\u00a0 Then he looked at the display showing the first salvo of closing Shang missiles and let out a long breath.<\/p>\n This was going to hurt.<\/p>\n \u201cHold on tight, people!\u201d Jack ordered.\u00a0 He relaxed, counting down the seconds, and felt the twinge of nerves.\u00a0 Here was a bad place to be.\u00a0 He pushed the throttle to the left and maneuvering thrusters added a port shift to Betty\u2019s evasion maneuvers.<\/p>\n The Shang missiles screamed in, American and British point defense lasers and missiles reaching out to bat them aside.\u00a0 But if the three hundred warships of the Third Fleet wall of battle could stop that barrage cold, the mere forty or so American and British warships didn\u2019t have a prayer of stopping them all.\u00a0 A missile passed by close to starboard, right where Jack would have been if he hadn\u2019t shifted to the side.\u00a0 Two more passed above him, and an Avenger in front of him ate a missile coming straight for his position.\u00a0 The Avenger came apart, and Jack let out a relieved breath on confirmation that it was one of the drones.<\/p>\n And then Jack lost all sense of time as he began dodging and weaving, adding his randomness to Betty\u2019s maneuvers.\u00a0 Fighters exploded around him, missiles tore at warships, and the entire American formation scattered and reformed multiple times a second.\u00a0 A destroyer slid by overhead, gravitic cannon firing in time with the fleet, and three missiles smashed into it, sending it spinning away, spewing debris and atmosphere.\u00a0 A frigate simply disappeared under five missiles, and another Avenger exploded off to the side.<\/p>\n More missiles engulfed a cruiser, and Jack looked hard enough to bring up the name.\u00a0 Washington<\/em>, the only other Los Angeles<\/em>-class in the fleet, writhed under the assault of missile after missile penetrating her point defense grid.\u00a0 Adams<\/em> and Hancock<\/em> threw every missile and laser they had at the incoming missiles, desperately trying to save her from destruction.\u00a0 But one of the missiles must have found Washington\u2019s<\/em> magazines, because one second she was there, taking fire gamely, and the next she came exploded without warning.\u00a0 Jack averted his eyes from the death and destruction, and weaved to starboard without thinking.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was Snake\u2019s ship!\u201d Betty shouted as a missile tore at their port deflection grid, missing them by meters.<\/p>\n \u201cI know,\u201d Jack said, pushing the throttle down to send them under another quartet of missiles.<\/p>\n \u201cSnake\u2019s gone<\/em>!\u201d Betty shouted again.<\/p>\n That got Jack\u2019s attention.\u00a0 He scanned the displays, looking for the right one, and gritted his teeth as he saw it.\u00a0 That empty hole in the squadron display should have had Louise Mattioli\u2019s fighter on it.\u00a0 For a second, he didn\u2019t know what to do, the weight of losing another Cowboy freezing him in place.\u00a0 Then he let out a long breath, sucked it in, and let it out again.\u00a0 This was no time for grieving.\u00a0 And Snake\u2019s cyber was going to need something to keep her going right now.<\/p>\n \u201cJasmine,\u201d he said, and her holoform came to attention on the display.\u00a0 \u201cGet Natalie, and keep her in the game,\u201d he ordered.\u00a0 Jasmine nodded and he looked back to the displays showing their remaining fighters.\u00a0 Another Avenger came apart and he winced.\u00a0 \u201cBetter yet, bring her into our formation.\u201d<\/p>\n He looked at Betty, and she nodded in approval.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m on it,\u201d Jasmine returned and Jack pulled hard to the left, barely in time to miss another missile that would have torn them apart.<\/p>\n A display blinked.\u00a0 He saw five Avengers slide into formation around Los Angeles<\/em> and nodded in approval.\u00a0 They spat death at the incoming missiles, slotting into the point defense network with ease, and he suppressed a worried look as Natalie\u2019s holoform appeared on his console.\u00a0 She looked like she wanted to bolt.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s still bad guys that need killing out there, Natalie,\u201d he said, looking into her eyes and gauging her current mental health.\u00a0 Her eyes didn\u2019t want to meet his, and he felt her desire to leave. \u00a0\u201cI need you,\u201d he added and pulled up on the throttle as he had another vague feeling that he really wanted to move.\u00a0 This time, six missiles passed underneath him, and Los Angeles\u2019<\/em> point defense took them apart.\u00a0 Natalie looked shaken, but she licked her lips in response to his statement.\u00a0 \u201cDo I need to make it an order?\u201d he asked and saw her wince.<\/p>\n Her pilot was dead.\u00a0 She was technically released from her enlistment, though that officially didn\u2019t take effect until the end of the battle.\u00a0 But not all cybers had waited that long in the past, and he had personally seen entire squadrons come apart when the cyber just cracked.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t think Natalie would, but her eyes showed him a nervous terror.\u00a0 Her world had ended with Snake\u2019s death, but she nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m good,\u201d she said in a strained voice.\u00a0 It was a lie of course.\u00a0 She was anything but good, but he was willing to take it one step at a time.<\/p>\n \u201cThen let\u2019s kill us some Shang,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, sir,\u201d Natalie answered, a dangerous anger in her eyes.<\/p>\n That situation taken care of good enough for now, Jack\u2019s attention returned to the larger battle.\u00a0 Point defense lasers and missiles struck out at another wave of missiles, and he dropped them below Los Angeles<\/em> in time to intercept four missiles trying to sneak around them.\u00a0 Then another explosion to starboard caught his attention and he pulled back.\u00a0 An instant later, an armored plate emblazoned with the name Monterrey<\/em> tumbled past his cockpit.<\/p>\n Jack set his jaw against the mounting destruction and glanced at the displays.\u00a0 They were losing ships, but explosions in the Shang formation told the tales of losses on their side too.\u00a0 The range showed one lightsecond.\u00a0 They were still too far away for even cybers to generate hits on anything beyond a random lucky guess, but they were getting closer.\u00a0 If they could weather the missile storm just a little longer, the Shang would be in for a major lashing.<\/p>\n Then hundreds of missiles came to life and streaked in to attack the Shang without warning.\u00a0 The display blinked a travel path back to Third Fleet\u2019s wall of battle, and Jack chuckled as the missiles ripped into dozens of ships and missile platforms.\u00a0 The Shang had allowed themselves to focus on the smaller ships of his force and forgotten that Third Fleet still had some tricks up their sleeves.\u00a0 As the Shang redeployed again to protect them from that angle of attack, he watched the range incrementing down towards half a lightsecond.<\/p>\n \u201cInitiate fireplan delta in three,\u201d Gabrielle ordered and Jack leaned back.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo.\u201d\u00a0 Jack flexed his fingers and shifted his fighter to the side.<\/p>\n \u201cOne.\u201d\u00a0 Several missiles passed by, clawing for his fighter, but his point defense lasers picked them off with ease.<\/p>\n \u201cFire,\u201d Gabrielle ordered and gravity turned on its side.<\/p>\n Every surviving ship in what now looked more like an oversized squadron fired in unison once again.\u00a0 Beams of twisted gravity shot towards the Shang at lightspeed, accompanied by the focused light of massive laser cannons designed to burn capital ships.\u00a0 The barrage lanced out, arriving microseconds after their last wave of missiles washed over the Shang.\u00a0 The gravitic cannons hit the fluctuating deflection grids like the hammers of God, overriding their control of gravity and tearing armor away from their targets.\u00a0 Then the lasers struck, and Shang warships began to melt and burn as armor, interior bulkheads, crew quarters, mess halls, assembly areas, and anything that stood between the most vulnerable parts of a warship and outer space ceased to exist as solid matter.<\/p>\n Shang warships spun away, radiating debris and atmosphere, missile platforms tore apart, and a larger station finally appeared in the center of the formation.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the source of the jamming,\u201d Betty informed him and Jack nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cConcentrate all fire on that station,\u201d Gabrielle ordered.<\/p>\n The remains of their attack force began to spin, bringing the spinal gravitic cannons on target, and Jack flexed his fingers again.\u00a0 It was all coming down to this.\u00a0 The surviving Shang ships and platforms fired more missiles at them, and the fleet\u2019s defense grids met them with every missile and laser they had.\u00a0 Space filled with exploding missiles and dying ships, and even lasers became visible to the naked eye, burning the debris and gases between the two fleets.<\/p>\n Jack jerked his head around as the St. Paul<\/em> took several hits on her forward wedge.\u00a0 At first it looked like the heavy armor there had absorbed the blows, but then Jack realized the Shang had gotten a lucky shot straight down her throat.\u00a0 One of her gravitic cannons lost control and gravity went wild, lashing back and forth.\u00a0 Whips of gravity sliced the cruiser apart, and reached out for her escorting destroyers.\u00a0 Heim<\/em> and Cunningham<\/em> tried to maneuver away, but the wild gravity was too chaotic and too quick for them.\u00a0 One instant, they were gamely firing at the Shang station, and then atmosphere spewed out from decks open to space as the pieces of the two brave ships began floating away from each other.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t even an explosion.<\/p>\n Jack swallowed and shook his head, turning back to the real threat.\u00a0 He just didn\u2019t have time to worry about anything he couldn\u2019t do anything about.\u00a0 His eyes were on the station when it began to come apart.\u00a0 At first, one piece began to drift away, cut off by a laser beam.\u00a0 A second later, a gravitic beam tore a tower away from the station and sent it spinning away into the void.\u00a0 A second after that, missiles began sucking armor off it, leaving behind massive gaps in her protection that the lasers quickly took advantage of.<\/p>\n Explosions shuddered through the station, ejecting debris and atmosphere into space that made the lasers glow brighter.\u00a0 They speared the station, cutting and burning into the station, deeper and deeper.\u00a0 Explosions billowed out, growing until they engulfed the entire station.<\/p>\n It was beautiful.\u00a0 A thrill of power flowed through him, and he luxuriated in watching the Shang die at his hand.\u00a0 He shivered, another chill running up his back, and looked back towards Betty.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure what he should feel now.<\/p>\n Betty smiled in understanding.\u00a0 \u201cThe gravitic interference is fading.\u00a0 I think we got it,\u201d she announced.<\/p>\n \u201cAll ships!\u00a0 Dive!\u00a0 Dive!\u00a0 Dive!\u201d Gabrielle ordered, and Jack watched the first destroyer flash away.\u00a0 He doubted they\u2019d even waited for Gabrielle to stop talking before pushing the button.<\/p>\n Hovering next to Los Angeles<\/em>, atmosphere spewing out of deep rents, Tacoma<\/em> fired off another volley of missiles and gravitic cannons, before initiating her hyperdrive.\u00a0 Then his breath caught in his throat as the entire ship went dark.\u00a0 Something had broken over there.\u00a0 Perez<\/em> and Mendoza<\/em> filled space ahead of Tacoma<\/em> with their point defense networks, but they weren\u2019t quite good enough.\u00a0 A single Shang missile smashed into the helpless cruiser and broke her back, sending pieces of her flying in every direction.\u00a0 Ships flashed out around her, seeking the safety of hyperspace, even as other ships exploded, and the point defense networks that had protected the task force came apart.<\/p>\n Jack saw another cruiser barreling in towards the Shang, her flank on fire.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t read her name, but a single word hovered in the display next to her.\u00a0 Saltillo<\/em>.\u00a0 She was another of the beautiful Mexican State cruisers, but her beauty was gone, her graceful lines torn apart by Shang weapons.\u00a0 He saw space warp around her, and could feel her desperation as she dove for safety.\u00a0 But as other ships flashed out around her, she hung in the firing line, the rainbow lights of hyperspace failing to engulf her.\u00a0 The frigates Salazar<\/em> and Castillo<\/em>, and a half-dozen remaining Mexican fighters doggedly protected her, point defense lasers and missiles standing defiantly against the Shang missiles seeking to destroy their charge.\u00a0 But a massive salvo of missiles consumed them and he doubted any of them could survive it.<\/p>\n The fires and debris of shattered starships surrounding her, Los Angeles <\/em>reached out with her powerful hyperdrive to rip a hole into hyperspace.\u00a0 Energy flowed through the pulsating rent in the fabric of space, and the cruiser glowed.\u00a0 It had to have been an optical illusion, but for a moment it looked to Jack like angel wings engulfed her in a protective embrace.\u00a0 And then she disappeared, sinking the beneath the surface of normalspace.\u00a0 Clark<\/em> and Hammond<\/em> delivered one final volley of point defense missiles before following her into hyperspace on colorful wings of their own.<\/p>\n His eyes snapped forward, watching another incoming storm of Shang missiles.\u00a0 A bare handful of Avengers remained between him and that storm, and his eyes glanced over Natalie and Jasmine to lock onto Betty.\u00a0 She gave him the smile that said there was nothing at all to worry about.\u00a0 She had everything under control right before the Shang and all their works disappeared in a flash of rainbow light.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are easy times in life.\u00a0 There are hard times in life.\u00a0 There\u2019s times of peace, and times to make war.\u00a0 I like peace myself.\u00a0 Always have.\u00a0 But there\u2019s no use in going halfway when it comes to war.\u00a0 Win[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2307-angel-flight-earc","uentry","postonpage-1","odd","post-author-jack"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2958"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2959,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2958\/revisions\/2959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}