Annihilation
Annihilation
Written by Simon Withers.
The events in this story take place at the end of the continuum, after Rightful Vengeance.
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On the Vindicator, the officers making up the bridge crew were all in a tense silence.
"Stone, report." Dunham snapped.
"No evidence of any stealth shielded vessels, sir."
Dunham gazed at the screen in front of him. The other ship couldn't have left, but there was no sign of it being there. "There she is!" Stone cried, as an image faded into existence on the viewscreen.
"Lorton, fire cannons now!" Dunham grinned with satisfaction as the shots hit his opponent's shields, making them flare violently.
"Enemy is returning fire! Damage to fore and upper shielding. They're coming about for another shot!"
The pulses stabbed into the shields of the Vindicator, and the beams raked the surface of her hull.
"Main power is failing. We've lost shields and weapons."
Dunham stood up, the sadness clearly visible in his eyes "Hail the Avenger, Mr. Daniels, and congratulate Mr. Rodgers. He won, this time."
This was the fifth war-game exercise the Vindicator had run in the past day, and the second she'd lost in a row. The young Commander Rodgers was apparently a very good tactician, and Dunham was getting hard-pressed to think of new ways to beat him. On top of that, the crew was tired. Even Tom Aspel, who was acting as first officer, was showing clear signs of fatigue.
Still, Dunham thought as he checked the schedule Earthfleet had drawn up for him, there was only one more battle today, and then he could get some sleep.
"Mr. Stone, reset practice protocols. Mission six calls for us to be the aggressor, so Mr. Lorton, keep focused on any easy targets they give us, and Ensign Davies, be ready to do some fancy manoeuvres. It needn't be textbook, just so long as it keeps the Avenger off our tail." Dunham again referred to his schedule. "This time, our goal is not to destroy the Avenger, but to get into a good firing position on that asteroid. And we're not allowed to use stealth mode."
All of the officers on the bridge sighed wearily. Aspel leaned hard on the weapons console. "Didn't someone say that we'd have an easy life with the captain away?" he rumbled, as he checked Lorton's auto-targeters for him.
Dunham gripped the arms of the centre seat, and sat back. "Well, I for one would gladly change places with him."