Beka, of course could hear the battle. She wasn't sure what was going on but she felt incredibly frustrated at being out of the loop. Then the doors to her quarters suddenly opened and Rhade was there.
"We need you now."
She was taken aback and just stared at him.
"The fleet. We're battling the Worldship and we're making some headway. But we really only have one chance to totally defeat it and that's you. I was going to have Andromeda tell you but I thought that you deserved to hear it from me."
"Hear what? Just tell me what the hell is going on. You're finally letting me out. Why?" Rhade quickly explained what was needed. Beka didn't hesitate. "I'm on it."
She ran to the Maru, which had already been prepped for launch. Beka then entered the fray. Deftly maneuvering between slip fighters and swarm ships she dodged missile fire and PSPs with skill, if not ease. She did not fire back, instead trusting in the coverage Andromeda was trying to provide. Her whole focus was on the core. Precision timing was everything. And she knew she'd only get one chance. Loading the Maru with Nova bombs was an exercise in optimism. She could only launch one at a time and if the first one failed to hit its mark--there would be no second chances. This was going to take more than skill; it was going to take nerve. Fortunately, Beka had both attributes in spades.
Explosions surrounded her. The Maru shook from the impact of PSPs and missile fire. But he was a good ship and he held his own. Closer and closer she flew. Beka knew where she had to aim. The target was almost in sight. There! Beka locked on and with a deft move of her hand she launched the bomb.
Not stopping to even make sure that it hit its target, Beka began her retreat. She was racing against time. "I've launched it. Pull back. Pull back."
Beka had to take it on faith that she'd hit her mark because there was no going back. She just had to trust her skills.
The re-call order was broadcast. Everyone was fleeing, although no one was sure of anything. If Beka had hit her mark, they were fleeing for their lives. If not, they were already dead.
And then suddenly, with a brilliant flash of light and a most deafening reverberation, the Worldship exploded. It took out swarm ships with it. Unfortunately, it also took out more of the fleet. But it was gone. It was over. Now all that was left to do was the final mopping up of whatever swarm ships were left. That would be easy, compared to what had just transpired.