\u201cToo many, sir,\u201d Brenner said, his voice choked and hushed as he reported on what he was seeing beyond the atmosphere.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s too damned many.\u00a0 They\u2019re running completely silent\u2014not even broadcasting any IFFs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you patch us through some visuals?\u201d\u00a0 Windsor asked one of the technicians nearby.\u00a0 \u201cI want to see what we\u2019re up against.\u201d\u00a0 He cleared his throat and then spoke to his pilot again.\u00a0 \u201cBrenner, I need a rough count and a shot in the dark on the classes of ship we\u2019re looking at.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve deployed two squadrons of bombers so far,\u201d he said, the comm crackling and distorting his voice.\u00a0 \u201cA carrier, three frigates, two heavies.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got nothing but the orbitals and one of the frigates is closing on the nearest one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Windsor grimaced and cut the voice pickup on his headset again, turning to Tomasi.\u00a0 \u201cTry to raise the Mission Systems installations.\u00a0 Make sure they\u2019re still in one piece.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if they\u2019re not?\u201d she asked, her expression slack even as she started to try to bring up a line.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we start beaming the feed of whatever the hell\u2019s about to happen here back to their corporate HQ live and let them avenge the loss.\u201d\u00a0 His stomach soured as the words left his lips but he knew as well as everyone else in the room that there wasn\u2019t much else they\u2019d be able to do.\u00a0 \u201cIf they\u2019re in one piece, tell them to stay the hell out of this until the enemy\u2019s gone.\u00a0 Then they\u2019re welcome to sweep in and help pick up the pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n
A carrier, three frigates, and two heavy cruisers.\u00a0 Someone\u2019s here to make a damned point, aren\u2019t they?<\/i><\/p>\n
He turned to the first tech he\u2019d spoken to.\u00a0 \u201cDo you have visuals for me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking on it, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n
Windsor nodded slowly and toggled the voice pickup back to active.\u00a0 \u201cHave they spotted you yet, Brenner?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think so, sir.\u00a0 Are you scrambling some backup for me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re getting intercepts in the air to deal with those bombers,\u201d Windsor said.\u00a0 He could hear his flight controllers getting two squadrons lifting from this base and another pair at two other bases elsewhere on-planet.\u00a0 \u201cHold position unless they\u2019re going to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if they spot me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRun like hell,\u201d Windsor said softly.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s all you can<\/i> do until your backup makes it there.\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed bile.<\/p>\n
We need some kind of bleeding miracle right now or else everything the Foundation\u2019s built over the years dies here today.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cToo many, sir,\u201d Brenner said, his voice choked and hushed as he reported on what he was seeing beyond the atmosphere.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s too damned many.\u00a0 They\u2019re running completely silent\u2014not even broadcasting any IFFs.\u201d \u201cCan you patch us through some visuals?\u201d\u00a0 … Continue reading