Page 131

Zane swung a hand about in nonchalance. ‘They flapped, that was for sure.’

The resulting snarl was what he’d been expecting, and his lips curled with an arctic smile at his mastery in ruffling the Katánian’s fine feathers. ‘What if she doesn’t want to come with you?’

‘We will rain down arms on this tiny planetoid until we find her.’

Zane smirked. ‘An attack on Devansi will not be tolerated.’

‘Your refusal of the Tempest of Light’s wishes will not be sanctioned.’

The holo screen went dark.

Mirage stared down at their controls. ‘They’ve cut the channel and are powering weapons.’

‘They’re turning on their defenses, too. They’re going to fire,’ Xion looked up from his station, flicking the battle scene onto the central holo for all to see.

‘Battle stations,’ Zane grated. ‘Shields up.’

‘Arms away,’ Mirage announced as flashes rushed at them from the Katánians’ initial rail gun volley.

‘Let it rip, Mirage.’

Thousands of metanoid projectiles poured out like a stream from the Phantasm. They screeched from the cruiser’s state-of-the-art hypersonic missile tubes and mounted torpedoes at supersonic speeds.

In milliseconds, they hit pay dirt.

Explosions bloomed as the Katánian’s bombardment met the noid-powered weapons and exploded into a roiling combustion of white-hot heat.

More metanoid missiles parsed through the clouds of explosions, aiming for the Katánian ships.

The enemy’s raptors tore through the explosive bloom and winged through the air towards the single Edenite ship, sending volleys of missiles ahead.

‘Never seen projectiles track thatfokkin’ fast,’ Zane murmured. ‘They’re quicker than ours.’

Mirage demurred. ‘They might have speed on their side, but we have a ‘noid payload. We may have to take a few hits before we can land any of our weapons. However, it’ll be over for our Katánian friends by the time we do.’

The enemy’s weapons roared towards the large ship. Mirage maneuvered it to its broadside, so the projectiles missed any core sections, instead impacting the Phantasm’s lower hull.

‘Mirage report,’ Zane commanded as the ship shuddered under his feet.

‘Hull breach on Levels 4 and 5, but its decks were cleared with the earlier alerts. No one has been harmed, and there’s some damage, but not much. Airlock doors have been activated to seal off those sections of the ship.’

‘Have you hit them already?’ Zane rasped.

‘Firing now, as they’re regrouping.’ Mirage sent out a shower of rail gun missiles laced with metanoids.

‘In the ready room, Riv leaned over to Killen and Élisa. ‘The metanoid storm will work its way into each ship. Their encoders are spreading malware as we speak, leading to eventual failure or engine self-termination in milliseconds.’

It didn’t take long before the raptors shrieking towards the Phantasm faltered mid-air, oscillating in drunken circles as they wheeled through space.

The Katánian’s lead craft fell victim to the Sable Riders’ attack. Lights all over the vast battleship flashed off and on. Small explosions bloomed all over the surface of the vessel.

‘Status?’ Zane called out.

‘I’m reading multiple system failures throughout their ships,’ Mirage replied. ‘Their shields are obliterated. Thrusters are gone, and station-keeping is now inactive. As a result, they can’t dodge any debris, nor can they maintain their orbit for much longer. A few hours at the most. The malware is also spreading to the rest of the attacking fleet, but mind you, they’ve got over eighty ships in this wave, so this may take a while.’

Without warning, some Katánian vessels untouched by the metanoid storm broke formation and zipped away.

‘They’re headed to the planet,’ Mirage announced.