Imperial destroyer class II, ESV262 "Destiny Blade", Port turret S7-31 "Bunker Hill"

The warning siren had sounded in the central saloon. Messages were now passing by without interruption for the last 15 minutes. Haberg had gone up to the technical section to check that everything was going good.

Josse was staring at the screens. He said:

"They're sending us something heavy. They're going to target the command post, that's how they always do it"

Vierbein replied: "You think so?"

"That's what I've already seen"
"And how do we protect the command post?" Asked Hanson, who had just joined the conversation.
"That's the problem; we're not protecting him any more than that. If they get right on top of it, they can drop their bombs undisturbed"
"But we stop them first, right?"
"Yeah, hopefully"
"Hum…"

Hanson questioned: "Do you have an idea?"

"Maybe; but I need your command codes"
"What do you want to do? "
"I need you to remove the turret travel limitations so that I can fire in the direction of the command post"

Hanson flinched.

"But you're out of your mind! You realize what you're asking me! If you miss your shot!"
"First I won't miss and then I'll only shoot if necessary, and lastly I guarantee you that the Reps won't hesitate to do it!"
"Hum…"

Virbein added: "That's not a silly idea. You can frame half the post like that"

Hanson nodded. He was obviously hesitating. Josse continued:

"Go up in the turret with me, I'll explain what I'm going to do"
"Okay, I want to see"

He followed Josse who had just started to climb the ladder. A long time went by, for they had to put on the suits to get into the turret, then Hanson reappeared, went down the ladder and approached the command post.

He took out his badge, placed it in the fire control reader and pressed a series of buttons.

"It's all recorded" he sighed. "Now I'm up to my neck in the troubles…"


Republican flagship RSV115 "Emancipator", Command Bridge.

Admiral Rousseau stood on the bridge with Lieutenant Judd Tyndall, his aide-de-camp. Judd was the admiral's handyman. Rather good-looking, he looked after the comfort of his chief in all areas, while courting anybody wearing a skirt or blouse around him. He had thus acquired a solid reputation as a reveller and Dom Juan. For his military qualities, it was something else, and most of his counterparts said of him that all he had ever heard were champagne corks whistling in his ears. He addressed the admiral in these terms:

"Admiral, you've been in the thick of it for over two hours now. With all the orders you have given, you must be dying of thirst. At least let me bring you a little refreshment to prevent you from becoming dehydrated prematurely"

"Great idea, Judd boy!" replied the admiral with a big smile. "It's a good thing you're here to look after my health; I'm so passionate that I don't spare myself! Come on then!"

Radiant, Judd came down from the bridge, winked at a detection female operator who crossed his eyes, and headed towards the admiral's private apartment.

Rousseau, for his part, looked out over the large bay at the bombing squadrons on their way to the imperial ship. A NCO officer stepped down from the bridge and announced:

"Admiral, the bombing squadrons will be in contact in five minutes"
"Well, well, don't let them ruin it too much, so that I can take it back to Kuat in triumph!"
"We'll pass the pictures to you on the main screen," added the NCO.

Indeed, the large screen above the great bay had just been switched on, and a series of milky waves appeared. Then the focus was adjusted, and all were able to witness the beginning of the engagement.

The two squadrons of B-Wing had adopted a loose formation, in groups of three aircraft flying in a triangle and staggered in relation to each other. There were ten groups approaching their target from the rear. The Imperial Destroyer appeared to be abandoned. No fire, few lights visible even at maximum magnification.

An operator announced: "Contact in one minute!"

No reaction anywhere. The admiral said:

"Maybe they've abandoned their ship?"

Judd, who had meanwhile returned with a jug, couldn't help but add:

"So they fear you that much?"

No sooner had he said these words than the screen began to flash. The destroyer had just started its defensive fire. Tension rose immediately in the station. Things had just begun to get serious.


Republican bomber BW527 "Grim Reaper", crew Sven Anbar, Esan Dirlewanger, Diane Rajai, Mercy Space Engagement.

Sven thought: "A botched deal"

They had left in a hurry. He had managed to wrest the take-off order from the admiral after half an hour of arguing, and then had to run afterwards to get the bombers in working order. The plan of attack had been worked out during the flight, by voice.

He could not help thinking: "If the imperials had succeeded in breaking our code as rumour has it, we are fresh".

Esan, the co-pilot announced: "Ten minutes to contact"

A voice reached them from the lower level of the station.

"Sighting activated!"

Sven replied: "Good, Diane. Line up their command post and don't let go of it"
"Copy that"

He relaxed a little. Diane was an excellent bomber. If he could get her over the target, it would be destroyed. Esan intervened:

"Chief, five minutes to contact. Shall I give the orders to get into attack formation?"
"Not yet. If we do it too soon, they'll have time to adjust their aim"

He added:

"Pass the message to the laser crews. Tell them to concentrate their fire on the rear batteries. We will then make a bombing run up the command tower"

Esan smiled. The good old-time proven method.

Star cruisers were poorly defended from astern, as their designers considered that the thrusters ejection flow made it impossible to approach from that side.

That was not true.

It was possible to pass between the thrusters gas plumes and attack vital parts of the cruiser. In addition, the radiation from the superheated particles would dazzle the aiming systems and make defensive fire less accurate.

Nevertheless, this method was very risky, because if the cruiser triggered its four hyperdrive engines at this time, any attacker was instantly vaporized. In this case, the risk was non-existent because the central thruster of the Imperial ship was out of action.

Sven thought to himself : "A real bomber highway!"

The distance was rapidly shrinking. Esan gave the order to form an attack formation.


Imperial destroyer class II, ESV262 "Destiny Blade", Port turret S7-31 "Bunker Hill"

Hanson was alone in the central square; the others were at their posts. The intercom began to crackle:

"Sergeant Hanson, your parameters are incorrect. What's going on?"

That was the defence centre.

The sergeant thought loudly: "Damn it, what the hell do they care?"

He did the only thing he could do: The idiot.

"What's the problem, Central?"
"Your site and azimuth deflections are incorrect. You changed it 15 minutes ago"
"Did I? I may have gotten tangled up in all these figures..."
"Sergeant, I'm ordering you to restore your settings! Execution!"

Hanson glanced at the main screen. The alert level had just been raised to fire at will. He replied in a panicked tone:

"Central, I've just received orders to open fire! I will restore the values after the alert!"

He cut the intercom. He thought: "If Josse got it wrong, I'm going to get a hell scolding" He thought for a moment and thought to himself: "If we're still alive after the alert of course"


The attack on the rear batteries had begun. Sven and Esan could see the laser hits on the destroyer's rear castle.

For the time being, the bomber formation remained at a distance from the cruiser, within laser range. When the defences were weakened, the formation would advance, lasers first, bombers behind, and carry out the actual bombing. Two concentrated passes were considered sufficient to immobilize a ship.

In this case, the task was made easier by the failure of the central engine and the absence of any on-board fighter.

The captain said: "Esan, that will be enough, give the order to advance". He added to the bomber's address:

"Ready Diane? Bombs armed?"
"Ready chief! Safety removed!"

The imperial ship eventually filled the front ice of the cockpit completely. Sven announced:

"Watch out, resource!"

Pilot and co-pilot pulled the stick together and applied full power. The heavy ship climbed parallel to the rear of the destroyer and moved closer to the command bridge.

The bomber said: "Target not acquired!"

Now the scope had to be exactly aligned with the target. This was the bomber's job, and he had only a few seconds to do it. Diana finally announced:

"Target acquired!"
"Let go! Drop everything!"

The bomb bay was opened. The pilots' job was now limited to keep the trajectory as stable as possible so as not to affect the precision of the bombing.


The order to fire had been given five minutes ago, and Virbein and Josse were standing in the turret in their pressurized suits. Hanson had disconnected the remote control, and the two men had full authority over all movements of the four turbolasers.

Haberg had rigged them a bypass on the ship's video circuit and they could see through the gun cameras the formation of B-Wing firing on the aft batteries. An image disappeared from the screen. A battery had just ceased to exist.

Josse then said to Virbein:

"Placed as I am, I'll shoot blind. You have to give me the signal when the bombers start climbing up to the command bridge. At that moment, I will fire from all weapons"
"You think you would got all them?"
"Not all, but it'll surprise them"

Josse was standing on the local fire control seat. He was aiming his scope at the underside of the command bay, right next to the main mast. It was the heart of his target. He acted on the pointing levers and the mass of several tons went down meekly. He had decided to start shooting from below and climb back up to the bridge.

He thought: "It would still be in my interest to stop in time"
Virbein shouted: "Josse, they're climbing!"

The pointer focused to his scope pressed the firing button. The pulsating panting of the generators filled the turret.