Quoted By:
Rolled 6, 1, 5, 1, 6, 6, 4 = 29 (7d6)
There is a silence on the bridge as every face turns toward you, breaths held, expressions eager. Awaiting what you say next.
You inhale through the nose, your jaw tightening. Reminding yourself that as their captain, their leader, their kiith'sa, it is your duty to hide your own excitement, tension, fear. To be a pillar of calm and confidence upon which your kiith can lean for support.
"Gunnery section, you're weapons free." you say, surprising yourself with how steady your voice sounds. " "Helm, after the first salvo go to full engine power, begin evasive maneuvers."
"Evasive maneuvers, aye!" Helm responds.
"Remember to keep main guns on target!" the Gunnery officer calls out. "Gunners, choose your targets, confirm weapon locks."
"Five seconds till bombers are in range," Navigation calls out.
"Lock confirmed."
"Lock confirmed."
"Lock... one moment... lock confirmed!"
"Blowing hardpoint covers on mark..."
"Bombers are in range."
"Mark!"
From your perspective, nothing happens when the covers are blasted away - the explosion too minor to even register on the hull.
But you do feel the hum. The subtle vibration that runs through the entire ship as the particle accelerators spring to life, draining capacitors of the vast amount of power needed to create a coherent energy beam.
"Fire!"
On the main display, two blue beams, their core blindingly white, project forward, converging somewhere far ahead in the darkness of space.
And a moment later, at their meeting, there is the flash of an explosion.
"Taidan corvette destroyed!" the declaration is met with a spontaneous roar of approval.
"Plasma bombs incoming!" a sharp cry silences it immediately. And <span class="mu-i">Naqam'Math</span> shudders as Helm pulls it into a sharp, rising roll. Which lets the ship evade the brunt of the initial salvo, but certainly not all of it - not with the far nimbler strike craft able to simply roll their frames to compensate.
Unlike the autocannons earlier, the bombs make no sound as they impact the ship. The noise comes moments later - as the charge's containment fails and superheated plasma bores into the armor, evaporating large chunks of it in explosions that reverberate throughout the hull.
It was an inevitability - the moment you agreed that <span class="mu-i">Naqam</span> would be the bait to draw in the Taidan, you knew the ship would be taking damage. But you still have to suppress a pained wince as the reports start rolling in.
"Breach in starboard storage bay - it's venting atmosphere! Damage to port engine coupling, dispatching repair crew. Multiple impacts across starboard armor..."
