Chapter Three- Test of Skill

Captain Black watched the computer intently. He waited, waited, then, they were in range!

"Fire the main gun!" Black called to his weapons officer.

The ship shook for a second. Black kept his eyes glued to the computer screen. He had fired, and the other cruisers had fired.

"Incoming communication from the Myoko!" cried Black's comm officer.
"Transfer it to my station."

Then, a Kusari male wearing a crisp Naval Forces uniform popped up on the screen.

"What is the meaning of this? Why are you shooting at us?"

"Haven't you heard? We are at war with you captain! Brace for impact!"

Black laughed. It was right at that moment when the shots from the cruisers' main guns impacted on the hull of the Myoko.

"Damage report! Man all stations! Launch fighters!" cried the Kusari captain. "You'll pay for this!" he added, then clicked off the screen.

Black then called to his fighter squadron. He informed them of the situation, then told them to engage the Myoko and its fighters. Black then checked the damage he had done to the Kusari battleship. Not a lot, but he did hit what he was aiming for; the battleship's reactor room. The reactor hadn't exploded, he wasn't that good, but it had put the battleship's engines offline, which meant he had the ability to attack a standing target. That would improve his odds greatly.

"Sir, we have an incoming wing of Kusari torpedo bombers!"

Black called to his fighters, and told them to destroy the bombers.

"Sir, main gun is ready for firing!" cried his weapons officer.

"Very good. Fire at will."

Another shaking. Black watched the computer as it showed the shot moving through space and finally hitting the Myoko's hull. He was getting closer to destroying the enemy ship. The other cruisers fired. Their shots hit their marks. One more volley should complete the job.

Then, another shaking, this time it was violent.

"Report!"

"Torpedoes sir. One of the flak turrets has been lost, and hull integrity is failing."

"See what you can do to fix it."

"Aye-aye sir."

He heard the screams of one of his pilots. The battle out there was not going too well.

Defenders were no match for the Kusari heavy fighters.

"Sir, another wing of Naval Forces fighters just came through the trade lane!"

They were not going to survive much longer.

"Any convoys?"

"Yes sir, three have gone safely through to the gate."

Good, they were getting closer to accomplishing their mission.

"Sir, main gun is charged!"

Those were the words he wanted to hear.

"Fire main gun!" he cried.

The other ships fired right after his.

Two seconds later, the shots connected with the hull of the Myoko. A huge explosion came out of the ship. The once great battleship broke up into a few pieces, then, one by one, those pieces were destroyed. A huge cheer resounded throughout the bridge.

"Calm down, there will be time for partying back in Liberty. Right now, we've got a job to finish."

Everyone got back to work.