Three Square Meals Ch. 055

"Save that for the Nova Lances," Irillith said in a quiet, but eager voice.

Calara nodded, and glanced up at the Command Podium with anticipation burning in her eyes.

"Thirty seconds until you're in range," John informed her, having checked the System Map for the distance. "You may fire when ready, Lieutenant."

The Latina started looking at each of her potential targets, and the optical targeting kicked in, tagging each of the asteroids in her targeting globe. Most of these asteroids hung lifelessly in space, any kind of momentum arrested centuries ago when the belt was intensively mined for minerals. She pressed a button on her console, and the Tactical Map replaced the local System Map in the centre of the Bridge, giving the rest of the crew a clear view of what she was tracking in her targeting globe. As they drew closer, they could see that all the larger hunks of rock were scored and marked by evidence of mining, the Maliri having efficiently stripped the field of usable resources.

The crew were expecting Calara to unleash a devastating initial volley, but instead she forced herself to show restraint, and when they were in range, she fired only a single Beam Laser. The blazingly bright beam of blue energy lashed out at the massive chunk of rock she had selected, and the stream of energy pulsed vibrantly for a couple of seconds as she slashed through the asteroid. The beam was wider than the old Terran variants they had used before, and it bored straight through, then slashed to the side, neatly cutting the enormous rock in half.

"The new Beams are extremely powerful," she noted, her voice calm and professional, but her gleaming eyes betrayed her excitement. "They're hitting about twice as hard as our old Beam Lasers, right Dana?"

"Same range, and triple the strength of a standard Terran Beam!" the redhead agreed, staring up at the Tactical Map eagerly. "I'm pumping twice the power through, but the Beam Laser looks good, no signs of the barrel warping."

Jade had continued bringing them closer, and the Invictus was right on the edge of the asteroid belt, with enormous rocks floating peacefully in space before them. The Nymph brought them to a gentle stop, waiting patiently for further instructions.

"Alright, let's see what these Maliri weapons can do," Calara grinned. "Jade, take us in, I'll clear the path!"

Jade nodded, her emerald eyes sparkling, and she swept her left hand forward, causing the Invictus to surge forward. All at once, a solid stream of blue energy lashed out from the assault cruiser as the front twelve Beam Lasers went to work. Pulsating azure beams dismembered and cauterised the asteroids, cleanly cutting them into smaller pieces. As the Invictus plunged into the asteroid field, Calara opened up with the turrets on the port and starboard sides, burning searing gouges through the smaller rocky chunks, and ripping them apart into smaller glowing chunks.

The destructive power they now possessed was frightening to behold, with twenty-four Beam Lasers, sending incredibly powerful shafts of energy in all directions. Just as they were reeling from that, Calara opened up with the Pulse Cannons, and they watched in awe as a bright blue curtain of laser bolts surged outwards in an annihilating wave of devastation. The Pulse Cannons fired in rapid, three short bursts, but with the advanced heatsinks they possessed, the cooldown time before they could fire again was practically nonexistent. A relentless cascade of blue energy pulsed out, blowing apart larger chunks of rock, or completely obliterating the small pieces.

There was an awed silence on the Bridge as Calara went to work, scything a wide, uncompromising channel through the asteroid belt, laying waste to everything in her path. Jade headed straight for the centre of the field, and the derelict mining facility at its centre, while Calara continued to obliterate every asteroid within range. The moment the long fire arcs of the Nova Lances overlapped the outer edge of the station, Jade brought them to a halt, while Calara finally ceased firing, with nothing left in range to destroy. She had obliterated every asteroid in their path, and all that remained was a dimly glowing field of gravel in the newly sliced channel through the belt.

The Latina turned in her chair, looking up at the Command Podium, and making eye-contact with John. "These Pulse Cannons are nearly as powerful as our old Laser Cannons," she told him in a hushed voice, barely able to believe what she was about to say. "We've got more firepower than a battleship."

"Engage with the Nova Lances," Irillith urged her, "and you'll see just how much more."

There was a soft chime from Dana's console, and she checked the results quickly, before turning to look at them, and saying in a rush, "I've finished the active scan, there're no life signs on board that station."

The Maliri mining facility was constructed from the same golden hued material as the other space stations they had visited. However, this one was showing its age, and the outer hull was pitted and scarred from minor asteroid impacts and general corrosion.

Calara turned to look out over the targeting globe, and making sure that the mining station was squarely lined up in her targeting reticle she held her breath and pulled the trigger. The lights dimmed and there was an ominous thrumming sound, that started at a low bass, and gradually began to climb in pitch. A bright nimbus of radiant particles began to coalesce at the front of the Invictus, as the Nova Lances throbbed with power, charging the vast amount of energy needed to fire. Everyone held their breath as twin white orbs formed from that light, growing brighter and larger as the sound intensified.

"Almost there..." Dana murmured distractedly, staring transfixed at the spiking power readings. She had funnelled all the spare energy from the Power Core, and she watched the charging bar almost afraid to blink. With an excited gasp she finally cried out, "Fire!"

Calara pulled the trigger a second time, and a scintillating azure beam roared out to slam into the mining station. The facility was unshielded, so the enormous column of energy was able to blast straight through the huge station, melting a hundred-metre-wide hole through the structure. The lance of blazingly bright laser fire throbbed for several seconds, spearing straight through the base, and blasting out the other side. It finally winked out in an instant, leaving a trail of blue particles that slowly faded and dimmed in its wake.

John blinked a few times, his eyes struggling to adjust to the incredible searing intensity of the Nova Lance's beams. There was a deathly silence on the Bridge as they all stared at the utter devastation wrought on the derelict facility. The converging shaft of incandescent light had cut through the armour plating and superstructure of the base like a hot knife through butter.

"It's just like 'The Warning'," Alyssa whispered sounding shocked to the core.

John nodded, his face grim as he said, "Take us out of here Jade. It's time to return to the Dragon March."

***

The room was dark, lit only by the glow from the monitors arrayed around his throne. The largest one had swung into position before him, and the heavy set face of his agent scowled at him in annoyance.

"What did you expect me to do?" Degory Milligan snarled in anger, his jowls quivering. "Your intel on the target was hopelessly inaccurate! You told me he was some do-gooder type, so I set the trap, luring him in with some sob story about engine failure."

"You tipped your hand, alerting him to danger," the brooding figure suggested in a cold, dangerous voice, his temper barely held in check.

"Absolutely not! He basically told me to fuck off, and stop wasting his time," the fat merchant insisted stubbornly. He snorted as he added, "He actually reminded me of you..."

Letting out a roar of anger, the assassin surged forward and slammed his fist into the centre of the view-screen, right in the middle of Degory Milligan's fat face. There was a resounding clang, and the mighty impact ripped the screen straight out of the supporting frame, sending it flying across the room to crash into the wall opposite in a shower of sparks.

His chest rose and fell rapidly as he tried to control his rage, before he eventually managed to subdue his temper. He slowly sank back onto his throne, placing his hands on the armrests. His left index finger began to tap away again, but when he darted a glance at it this time, he couldn't gather the focus necessary to stop the furious tapping.

He had one last option left, and it was going to be very difficult to arrange, located as the site was, deep in the heart of the Terran Federation. It looked like he had no choice though. Already his reputation was in tatters, with other operatives insinuating that he'd lost his edge. He knew he'd have to get involved personally now, and that was something he hadn't had to do for decades. Still, the anger felt good after all this time, the surge of adrenalin making him feel alive for the first time in more years than he could remember.

John Blake would die, and the brooding figure planned to choke the life out of him with his own two hands.