Brim banked slightly, and five big 155-mmi's answered the challenge in a welter of return fire. The incoming rounds stopped abruptly.
Moments later, a terrific explosion to starboard pulsed the Hyperscreens. As they began to translate outside again, Brim could see that the big transport flying in hub position of number-four wheel had just exploded in a great ball of radiation fire and sparking Drive-crystal parts. The hub ship of wheel five ploughing along behind had to dodge violently to avoid the cloud of tumbling debris that remained.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a Gorn-Hoff flashed past high and off to port. She was clearly after something up ahead and too much concentrated on her intended target to notice Defiant-presently throttled back to an easy cruise and leaving only minimal glow in her wake. Once the Leaguer was completely past, Brim called up full speed, and-as usual-Ursis was ready with maximum thrust. Instantly, the light cruiser's wake turned brilliant green and she took off like a frightened Corconian Gogen'shoat, passing nearby merchantmen as if they were at rest.
"Let's get that one," Wellington ordered quietly as Brim turned into the enemy's wake. "All disruptors prepare to engage red eighties apex."
"Red eighties apex it is, ma'am," one of the gunlayers responded. "He's just coming on the bearing...."
"Watch 'im, he's veering to nadir," another warned.
Brim adjusted course accordingly, and Defiant soon began to bob in the 380's wake while unshielded clocks all over the ship cycled slow and fast, slow and fast, slow and fast....
He took a moment to check his proximity instruments and scan the surrounding skies for another enemy craft. It required only moments of carelessness to find one's self in real trouble-as the Leaguers in front of him were about to discover....
"Back off to about eighty-five percent, Nik," he ordered suddenly- Defiant was getting just a bit too close to the fleeing enemy ship. His lips silently mouthed a word of thanks to Margot Effer'wyck, who, more than a year ago-as a behind-the-lines operative-had captured the secret tables that Leaguers used to set their proximity-warning systems. It was because of her bravery that he knew Gorn-Hoff 380A-A8s could be approached to within 1.75 c'lenyts before their Leaguer Helmsmen received any kind of warning. He listened to the gunnery crews setting up their disruptors-all bow shots, straight ahead with minimum deflection. He let her fall off a few points.
Target bearing red four five, range three thousand...."
"Very well," Wellington said. "Set your wave charges to one-fifty-three, K-force to three hundred-just to give our friend something to wake him up."
"Aye, Commander Wellington, charges one-fifty-three, K-force at three hundred."
Brim glanced ahead to a large crippled merchantman, on fire in two places moving out of its place in wheel two and starting to fall behind the convoy. That's where the Gorn-Hoff had been heading. He imagined what the Leaguer Helmsman must be thinking: a fat, easy target, ripe for the taking. He laughed grimly as he checked Defiant's proximity indicator again. He was about to change that perception-permanently, if he could.
The Gorn-Hoff veered slightly, setting up for the final kill. Brim let the helm fall off a few points more, then deftly pulled up just outside the Leaguer's zone of proximity. Still they hadn't spotted him. Warily, he checked his own proximity indicator, then peered around Defiant's general vicinity with his own eyes. He wasn't about to fall victim to the same mistake.
"Disruptors are ready when you are," Wellington said finally.
"Ready," Brim answered. "Stand by on the bridge for maximum acceleration."
"Standing by," Calhoun acknowledged.
"Maximum energy is available," Ursis said.
"Combat velocity," Brim ordered.
"Combat velocity," Ursis grunted, moving Defiant's thrust controls into overload.
Suddenly, the light cruiser surged ahead with a vengeance.
Brim could imagine the consternation in store ahead when the 380's alarms began to sound. With the head of speed he'd built up by the time he crossed the threshold, it would be far too late for the Leaguers to react.
"Bearing red. Range twenty eight hundred and closing."
In moments. Defiant was well within the 380's zone of proximity and bearing down on her stern like a blazing wraith. Brim fought the controls as powerful mass waves from the enemy's Drive threw his bow in all different directions and sent the console clock into wild oscillations..
"Twenty four hundred and closing."
Suddenly, the 380's Drive outlets exploded in brilliant emerald plumes, but the Leaguers were far too late to save themselves. Defiant was now bellowing down on them so rapidly that Brim had to order a speed decrease to keep from running up her stem.
"Steady..." the gunlayer said.
Brim forced himself to check the proximity indicator once more. All clear. Now he focused his concentration on the Leaguer. Any moment...
Two thousand and closing...."
"Shoot!"
Defiant's deck bucked violently as all nine of her powerful 155s split the darkness in a single blast of raw light and primal energy that rumbled through her starframe like a great, rolling peal of thunder. Clouds of angry, glittering radiation streamed into her racing wake.
Wellington and her crews simply couldn't miss.
Instantly, the Leaguer's starboard side erupted in a roiling cloud of fiery destruction. Her starboard turret and its mounting pedestal flew off into the wake in a shower of hullmetal plates and ice particles from within the ship.
"Sweet Almighty!" someone gasped. "Look at that!"
"Properly nailed the bastard!" People were cheering all over the bridge.
The Gorn-Hoff staggered crazily for a moment, then steadied and skidded off to starboard with Brim following close on its tail. Moments later, its three remaining turrets began to index around.
"Watch those!" someone shrieked, but Wellington's gun crews were more than ready.
This time, a welter of independent shots thundered out from Defiant's disruptors and exploded along the Gorn-Hoff's starboard side, reducing the ship's vertical gun pedestal to a ragged skeleton and spinning its turret like a child's toy-the disruptors swinging lifelessly.
The devastating salvos also ignited a big radiation fire midway along her hull and threw the ship violently off course-just in time to spoil the aim of her two remaining turrets, which discharged spasmodically off to port nadir.
"Going to need the gravity brakes, Nik," Brim warned through clenched teeth.
"Gravity brakes are energized, Wilf Ansor," Ursis reported calmly.
Brim smiled as two green indicators began to glow in the otherwise darkened portion of the antigravity control panels. His hand moved to the landing controls....
Suddenly, the Gorn-Hoff skidded into a steep bank, then slowed as if she had smashed into a great Sodeskayan ice wall. It was the Leaguer's normal evasive tactic when things got out of hand, but both Brim and Ursis had been ready for it.
Instantly, the Carescrian slammed his own Drive back to idle and smashed the gravity brakes to full detent. Defiant's bow pitched up while her spaceframe creaked and groaned in the massive deceleration, but she did not overshoot her target, and Wellington's heavy disruptors continued to blast away at their target with devastating accuracy. In the next moments, the Leaguers were able to hit Defiant twice, tearing away an unoccupied docking cupola on the starboard bow and scoring a direct-but ineffective-hit on the massively armored A-turret directly beneath the bridge. Soon afterward, however, both enemy turrets fell silent as the blazing radiation fire amidships evidently severed their energy sources.