But, sweat aside, it was a turkey shoot. Even at three mile range, the DU penetrators didn’t ablate enough to lose any significant impact. The turrets’ auto-loaders were working at full speed now, since there was no need to track the target, slamming the rounds into the chamber and igniting the liquid propellant. Ten rounds a minute, from each of four turrets, and Aille was able to keep them on target for almost two minutes.
Rafe estimated that something over sixty rounds had hit the Ekhat ship, before the already collision-damaged enemy vessel simply began coming apart. The heat and shock of the DU penetrators was igniting everything flammable aboard it, and he was sure the intensifying heat was spreading on its own throughout the vessel. A chain reaction of explosions, in temperature ranges where almost anything would burn.
Suddenly, in at least a dozen places, the central pyramid ruptured. As it did, the outer lattice began separating and disintegrating. It was like watching a gigantic and grotesque flower slowly unfolding—until the structural damage finally caused the ship’s forcefields to collapse. Thereafter, the photosphere’s own heat and pressure and turbulence completed the destruction within seconds.
“And that’s that,” Rafe murmured. More forcefully, into the throat mike: “Ed, you’ve done all you can. Get yourself and all your men out of those turrets. Now.”
Kralik didn’t argue the point. Courage was meaningless, under these circumstances. The turret crews were willing enough to die fighting, but the environmental conditions were now so bad that they’d simply die pointlessly if they stayed much longer. As it was, Aguilera was sure that at least half of them would need immediate medical attention.
For that matter, the sub’s own environment was now starting to degrade badly. Aguilera hadn’t noticed before, he’d been so engrossed in watching the enemy’s destruction, but he himself was drenched in sweat and having a hard time breathing.
Jeri Swanson was her usual charming self. “Hey, Rafe, if we’re going to parboil can I start peeling yams to go with the long pig? Too bad we don’t have any pineapple.”
I’d ‘ve divorced her in two weeks, myself. But he kept the thought to himself, turning instead to address the back of Aille’s head. Even the two Jao in the control center seemed to be wilting a little.
“Ah, sir, if I might recommend—”
“No need,” interrupted Aille. “I am taking us out of the photosphere. We have done what we can.”
Done plenty, Rafe thought, with considerable pride and satisfaction. Two dead ‘uns, and . . . we’ll call it one assist. No, two—we riddled that second ship some too, even if we don’t know what happened to it afterward. If the rest of the subs did as well as we did, this Ekhat task force is toast.
* * *
The others hadn’t done as well, they discovered once they emerged far enough from the chromosphere to regain communication. Several of the subs, in fact, had never managed to get close enough to the Ekhat to fire off a single shot.
Aguilera was not really surprised. Now that he had experienced it, he understood the kind of superlative skill it took to maneuver a converted submarine in those hellish conditions. Only Aille and one other pilot had really been good enough—one of the old retirees that Wrot had dug up, by the name of Udra krinnu Ptok vau Binnat. Between the two of them, they’d accounted for four of the six Ekhat ships destroyed.
Six destroyed—out of eight. In the holo tank, Aguilera could see the two surviving Ekhat ships hurtling toward Terra like comets.
Damn. I was hoping we could get them all.
Still . . . He leaned closer, peering at one of the images in the tank.
“There is something wrong with one of those ships,” Yaut stated firmly. “Look. The plasma ball is fluctuating and uneven.”
The fraghta had put into words Aguilera’s own half-formed thoughts. “We must have damaged it some. Do you think?”
Some part of him was amused to see Yaut shrug. Yet another piece of crude human body language which the fraghta had unconsciously acquired.
At least, he thought it was unconscious. But, maybe not. Rafe now understood enough about the role of a fraghta to realize that anyone who occupied that position for one of the great kochan would be expert at many things. One of them being what the Jao called “association.” Was this part of it?