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“Forward camera,” Commander Keyes ordered.
The view screen flashed: the image changed to show the two alien frigates turning to face theincomingIroquois head-on. Blue lights flickered along their hulls—pulse lasers charging.
Commander Keyes pulled back the camera angle and saw the alien carrier and the destroyer were stillinbound toward Sigma Octanus IV. He read their position off his data pad and quickly performed thenecessary calculations.
“Course correction,” he told Lieutenant Jaggers. “Come about to heading zero zero four point two five.Declination zero zero zero point one eight.”
“Aye, sir,” Jaggers said. “Zero zero four point two five. Declination zero zero zero point one eight.”
The view screen turned and centered on the enormous Covenant destroyer.
“Collision course!” Lieutenant Hall announced. “Impact with Covenant destroyer in eight seconds.”
“Stand by for new course correction: declination minus zero zero zero point one zero.”
“Aye, sir.” As Jaggers typed he wiped the sweat from his eyes and double-checked his numbers.“Course online. Awaiting your order, sir.”
“Collision with Covenant destroyer in five seconds,” Hall said. She clutched the edge of her seat.
The destroyer grew in the view screen: laser turrets and launch bays, bulbous alien protrusions andflickering blue lights.
“Hold this course,” Commander Keyes said. “Sound collision alarm. Switch to undercarriage cameranow.”
Klaxons blared.
The view screen snapped off and on and showed black space—then a flash of the faint purple-blue hullof a Covenant ship.
TheIroquois screeched and shuddered as she grazed the prow of the Covenant destroyer. Silver shieldsflickered onscreen—then the screen filled with static.
“Course correction now!” Commander Keyes shouted.
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“Aye, sir.”
There was a brief burn from the thrusters and theIroquois nudged down slightly.
“Hull breach!” Lieutenant Hall said. “Sealing pressure doors.”
“Aft camera,” Commander Keyes said. “Guns: Fire aft Archer missile pods!”
“Missiles away,” Lieutenant Hikowa replied.
Keyes watched as the first of the plasma torpedoes that had been trailing theIroquois impacted on theprow of the alien destroyer. The ship’s shields flared, flickered . . . and vanished. The second bolt hit amoment later. The hull of the alien ship blazed and then turned red-hot, melted, and boiled. Secondaryexplosions burst through the hull.
The Archer missiles streaked toward the wounded Covenant ship, tiny trails of exhaust stretching fromtheIroquois to the target. They slammed into the gaping wounds in the hull and detonated. Fire anddebris burst from the destroyer.
A smile spread across Keyes’ face as he watched the alien ship burn, list, and slowly plunge into SigmaOctanus IV’s gravity well. Without power, the Covenant vessel would burn up in the planet’satmosphere.
Commander Keyes flicked on the intercom. “Brace for emergency thruster maneuver.”