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Chapter 36 - The Wind at my Back, Stars at my feet[]
Colleen Star System
Deep Periphery
overview...
As the Mila Wientraub leapt for a five second point almost at the middle of the Haven's L1 formation, other jump signatures erupted near scraped together burrows full of despairing civilians. They read the same tea-leaves Captain Daimh had, and they knew they were going to be easy meat, with no defense worth the name...
...and then, jumpships appeared, crossing into being at points too temporary, too small, for Clan computers to accept the data on.
Smallcraft deployed from these jumpships, and wrapped each free-floating burrow in a golden net, before vanishing back into hyperspace, taking bites of ten or twenty thousand refugees in their temporary shelters with them.
Others closed with dropships and allowed them to dock, before disappearing. dozens, upon dozens of these mysterious vessels popped into being and popped away almost too fast to be seen, as the Cutter appeared within the very heart of the Star Adder formation, and opened fire.
Everything forward of CIC was gone, most of the CIC was gone too.
She heard the choirs as a massive battlewagon rolled into position for another salvo at the cleat-kicked carcass of the Mila Weintraub...but she had a trick left, "i-in..th-three...two..."
A Clan OmniFighter slashed across her vision, and she slammed the rocker switches with numb, vacuum exposed fingers.
Golden light wrapped around her and the remains of her ship as a missile passed through and all was colorless beauty.