War Fleet: Resistance

surely penetrate the Tapper’s weakened shield and hull with their next volley.
“Kota,” Olsen called over the intercom. “Are you anywhere near the escape hatch?”
“Yes sir,” Sergeant Elise Kota, the leader of the mining ship’s Marine squad, replied. “Following standard procedures.”
“Good. Pull out the pod and fill the hatch up with ore. You have a minute.” He didn’t wait for a reply. “Cadinouche, turn the ship starboard forty-five degrees, and edge her down a little.”
“Aye, Captain.” The ship began to turn. “Smart move, by the way.”
“Glad you approve, Lieutenant,” Olsen said to his outspoken pilot. “I just hope it works.”
Olsen also hoped that his Marines were strong enough to fill up an escape pod with ore in a minute flat. Otherwise, they were toast.

5
Marine Sergeant Elise Kota increased the intensity of her mag-boots to jerk her to a halt just outside the shuttle bay’s escape hatch. It was always disorientating entering from zero-G into an artificial gravity field, but she shook off the confusion and focused on the task at hand.
Lieutenant Edward Nathan, her boyfriend and the shuttle’s loyal pilot, had already dumped the ore out of the shuttle bay right next to the pod, which he’d just finished pulling out when they arrived. He picked up a shovel, and Kota turned to the rest of the squad: Riley, Connery, Singh, and Turgin, all male and built like girders. Kota wasn’t as strong as them, but she made up for it in physical toughness and endurance.
“Boys, we have forty seconds,” she said. “Establish a system, don’t clash shovels, and get to work.”
The four Marines surrounded the pile.
Kota pushed Nathan out of the way. “Don’t get cocky, babe,” she said. “We need maximum strength for this operation. Time is slipping.”
Nathan huffed, then swung his hands down by his sides and walked back to the ship. He stared up at the screen in the center of the launch bay and lit a cigarette. If that man was to go down, he would do so smoking.
Meanwhile, the Marines had already gotten rid of half the pile, attacking it like they were possessed. They moved with a speed regular humans wouldn’t usually be capable of, but these guys worked out in the gym four hours a day.
“Ten seconds, boys,” Kota said, glancing at the display on her wrist computer. “Let’s put in as much as we have.”
She took hold of her shovel, too, and joined in getting that ore into the hatch. Soon, the captain’s voice came over the intercom, as Kota had expected.
“Kota, I hope you’ve filled that hatch. Release the ballast.”
“Yes, sir.” Kota thumped the button on the side of the hatch, and she knocked Riley’s shovel away before it got caught in the shutting doors. Inside, Kota heard the rock clank around before the racket was replaced by a soft hissing sound.
Riley gave his sergeant a cocky smile. “You said not to clash shovels, sir.”
Kota winked back at him.
Then she turned to see Nathan fling his cigarette onto the floor and storm out of the shuttle bay, without saying a word. She’d hear about this one later, how she’d shown up a Navy officer in front of the Marines and made him look a fool, and he’d probably accuse Kota of flirting with her own squaddies. He could be such a snob sometimes.
She turned back to her troops and high-fived them. Then there came a rumbling from beneath the ship.


6
Captain Olsen watched the display eagerly as the ship turned around, making space and the asteroid belt seem to spin around them. The seconds were ticking, and his chest thumped with adrenaline.
“Schmidt, don’t lose sight of that asteroid. How long we got?”
“One minute until we can fire,” Schmidt said.
“And around ten seconds until the ships fire their ion-cannons,” Rob said.
“Kota, I hope you’ve filled that hatch. Release the ballast.”
“Yes, sir,” Kota said.
Ion-cannons worked by discharging negatively charged super-heated and magnetized matter towards a target. The aim didn’t need to be too accurate, as the beam would automatically seek out anything containing iron in range. A beam could curve to home in on a ship taking evasive measures.
Generally, it went for the closest target. The fact that the particles were electrolyzed also meant the weapon worked against shields and could short-circuit electrical equipment. Luckily for Olsen, just about all the rocks out here contained significant amounts of iron. Until this very moment, it had been a daily source of annoyance with every load they picked up. Now it might save their lives. “Santiago, switch us to starboard view.”
The display on the screen changed so that they were looking down the side hull of the ship. All of a sudden, the hatch on the side opened, and it ejected a whole load of heavy rock into space. At the same time, massive beams of white light shot out from the distant ships. But the timing had been perfect, and the rocks were still huddled tight together. The beam curved upwards and most of the ion energy dissipated into the rock, which disintegrated into a swirling cloud of dust. A little energy reflected off onto the ship, but not enough to do any major damage.
“Kota, give your squad each a cigar tonight. Schmidt, coilgun?”
“What the—” The weapons officer sounded surprised. “It’s ready, sir, but the right gun needs another thirty seconds.”
“I found a little more power,” Chang said.
“Get out of there,” Olsen said. “Schmidt, fire on five.”
He had no idea how long the ships would take to fire up their cannons again, and he didn’t want to take any chances. Soon, the ship ejected a massive hulk of blue molten lead into the asteroid, propelled at intense speed from a fission explosion. Once upon a time, nuclear weaponry was the most powerful humans had, but now it was just a regular part of the arsenal.
For a moment, nothing happened, and Olsen worried that they’d shot a dud.
But then, the asteroid began to glow red and a massive explosion blossomed out of it. It engulfed