Book 3: Chapter 68: The Battle
Riker
April 2257
Sol
I popped back into the command center, to find a scene not unlike an ant’s nest that had been stirred with a stick. Bobs yelled back and forth in a tone just barely short of panic. Several groups stood in front of display walls, arguing and gesturing aggressively.
I found Bill quickly. “What happened?”
Bill closed his eyes for a moment, a gesture of weariness and despair. “They pulled a fast one. The second super-pulse must have hidden a quick sortie by a couple of squads of drones and missiles. We got blindsided. We’re having to drop back and regroup.”
A sudden thought made me check my reminders. “Bill, we’re coming up on the Jokers squad arrival. Will they be able to adjust course, or are we going to miss cleanly?”
“Shit.” Bill looked down and rubbed his forehead. “Give me a moment.” Bill’s avatar froze. I took a moment to be mildly scandalized. Bill very rarely let himself go off-character like that. Then I smiled to myself in a bemused way. If ever there was an excuse, this was certainly it.
Bill came back to life, and his expression was slightly more hopeful. “It’s kind of a good-news bad-news thing. The good news is the Jokers can still make interception. The bad news is the Others have launched their own countermeasures. More than enough to stop anything the Jokers can throw at them.”