«Yes, sir, I know.»
Speaking as soothingly as he could, Hazard went on, «I doubt that they’ll fire all eleven lasers at us at once. And as our altitude decreases, there will be fewer and fewer of their satellites in range of us. We have a good chance of getting through this without too much damage.»
Stromsen turned her whole space-suited body so that she could look at him from inside her helmet. «It’s good of you to say so, sir. I know you’re trying to cheer us up, and I’m certain we all appreciate it. But you are taking my attention away from the screens.»
Yang giggled, whether out of tension or actual humor at Stromsen’s retort, Hazard could not tell.
Feeney sang out, «I’ve got a satellite climbing on us!»
Before Hazard could speak, Feeney’s hands were moving on his console keyboard. «Our beasties are now programmed for automatic, but I’m tapping in a backup manually, just in—ah! Got her! Scratch one enemy.»
Smiles all around. But behind his grin, Hazard wondered, Can they gin up decoys? Something that gives the same radar signature as an ABM satellite but really isn’t? I don’t think so—but I don’t know for sure.
«Laser beam … two of them,» called Stromsen.
Hazard saw the display screen light up. Both beams were hitting the same lifeboat. Then a third beam from the opposite direction lanced out.
The station shuddered momentarily as Stromsen’s fingers flew over her keyboard and one of the orange dots shifted slightly to block the third beam.
«Where’d it hit?» he asked the Norwegian as the beams winked off.
«Just aft of the emergency oxygen tanks, sir.»
Christ, Hazard thought, if they hit the tanks, enough oxygen will blow out of here to start us spinning like a top.
«Vent the emergency oxygen.»
«Vent it, sir?»
«Now!»
Stromsen pecked angrily at the keyboard to her left. «Venting. Sir.»
«I don’t want that gas spurting out and acting like a rocket thruster,» Hazard explained to her back. «Besides, it’s an old submariner’s trick to let the attacker think he’s caused real damage by jettisoning junk.»
If any of them had reservations about getting rid of their emergency oxygen, they kept them quiet.
There was plenty of junk to jettison, over the next quarter of an hour. Laser beams struck the station repeatedly, although Stromsen was able to block most of the beams with the heat-shielded lifeboats. Still, despite the mobile shields, the station was being slashed apart, bit by bit. Chunks of the outer hull ripped away, clouds of air blowing out of the upper level to form a brief fog around the station before dissipating into the vacuum of space. Cartons of supplies, pieces of equipment, even spare space suits, went spiraling out, pushed by air pressure as the compartments in which they had been housed were ripped apart by the probing incessant beams of energy.
Feeney struck back at the ABM satellites, but for every one he hit, another maneuvered into range to replace it.
«I’m running low on fuel for the lasers,» he reported.
«So must they,» said Hazard, trying to sound calm.
«Aye, but they’ve got a few more than fifteen to play with.»
«Stay with it, Mr. Feeney. You’re doing fine.» Hazard patted the shoulder of the Irishman’s bulky suit. Glancing at Stromsen’s status displays, he saw rows of red lights glowering like accusing eyes. They’re taking the station apart, piece by piece. It’s only a matter of time before we’re finished.
Aloud, he announced, «I’m going to check with the damage-control party. Call me if anything unusual happens.»
Yang quipped, «How do you define ‘unusual,’ sir?»
Stromsen and Feeney laughed. Hazard wished he could, too. He made a grin for the Chinese American, thinking, At least their morale hasn’t cracked. Not yet.
The damage-control party was working on level three, reconnecting a secondary power line that ran along the overhead through the main passageway. A laser beam had burned through the deck of the second level and severed the line, cutting power to the station’s main computer. A shaft of brilliant sunlight lanced down from the outer hull through two levels of the station and onto the deck of level three.
One space-suited figure was dangling upside down halfway through the hole in the overhead, splicing cable carefully with gloved hands, while a second hovered nearby with a small welding torch. Two more were working farther down the passageway, where a larger hole had been burned halfway down the bulkhead.
Through that jagged rip Hazard could see clear out to space and the rim of the Earth, glaring bright with swirls of white clouds.
He recognized Varshni by his small size even before he could see the Indian flag on his shoulder or read the name stenciled on the front of his suit.
«Mr. Varshni, I want you and your crew to leave level three. It’s getting too dangerous here.»
«But, sir,» Varshni protested, «our duty is to repair damage.»
«There’ll be damage on level four soon enough.»
«But the computer requires power.»
«It can run on its internal batteries.»
«But for how long?»
«Long enough,» said Hazard grimly.
Varshni refused to be placated. «I am not risking lives unnecessarily, sir.»
«I didn’t say you were.»
«I am operating on sound principles,» the Indian insisted, «exactly as required in the book of regulations.»
«I’m not faulting you, man. You and your crew have done a fine job.»
The others had stopped their work. They were watching the exchange between their superior and the station commander.
«I have operated on the principle that lightning does not strike twice in the same place. In oldfashioned naval parlance this is referred to, I believe, as ‘chasing salvos.’»
Hazard stared at the diminutive Indian. Even inside the visored space suit, Varshni appeared stiff with anger. Chasing salvos—that’s what a little ship does when it’s under attack by a bigger ship: run to where the last shells splashed, because it’s pretty certain that the next salvo won’t hit there. I’ve insulted his abilities, Hazard realized. And in front of his team. Damned fool!
«Mr. Varshni,» Hazard explained slowly, «this battle will be decided, one way or the other, in the next twenty minutes or so. You and your team have done an excellent job of keeping damage to a minimum. Without you, we would have been forced to surrender.»
Varshni seemed to relax a little. Hazard could sense his chin rising a notch inside his helmet.
«But the battle is entering a new phase,» Hazard went on. «Level three is now vulnerable to direct laser damage. I can’t afford to lose you and your team at this critical stage. Moreover, the computer and the rest of the most sensitive equipment are on level four and in the Combat Information Center. Those are the areas that need our protection and those are the areas where I want you to operate. Is that understood?»
A heartbeat’s hesitation. Then Varshni said, «Yes, of course, sir. I understand. Thank you for explaining it to me.»
«Okay. Now finish your work here and then get down to level four.»
«Yes, sir.»
Shaking his head inside his helmet, Hazard turned and pushed himself toward the ladderway that led down to level four and the CIC.
A blinding glare lit the passageway and he heard screams of agony. Blinking against the burning afterimage, Hazard turned to see Varshni’s figure almost sliced in half. A dark burn line slashed diagonally across the torso of his space suit. Tiny globules of blood floated out from it. The metal overhead was blackened and curled now. A woman was screaming. She was up by the overhead, thrashing wildly with pain, her backpack ablaze. The other technician was nowhere to be seen.