Free Black Legion: Gates of Cilicia by Michael G. Thomas

were able to hurl great chunks of material at super high speeds. Each strike blasted chunks of armour away and created a series of terrible breaches. What looked even worse was the incredible number of Laconian warships. He gave up counting after reaching thirty heavy ships, and there would be hundreds more cruisers and smaller. Beams and pulses of light hurtled towards the scores of docked ships, resulting in blasts and flashes as far as the eye could see.
    “You, you’re a gunner, right?” asked a half-dressed Lieutenant.
    “Uh, yes, frigate gunner.”
    He considered his words for a short moment before indicating to a lower deck. Xenophon stepped towards it and noticed the rest of the group taking up their positions. It was much like the gundecks on the frigate, but there were only eight seats. He sat at the first available space and strapped himself in.
    “Right, this is a Mark IV heavy laser setup. These are not cutters, and they fire in pulses, not too different to the frigate plasma weapons. Okay?”
    Xenophon and the others nodded.
    “Good. Your job is to help clear a path through the fighters and escorts as we break out.”
    “What?” demanded one of the volunteers.
    The Lieutenant didn’t need to explain any further as the amplified voice of the commander of the ship instantly drowned out his voice.
    “I have just received a distress signal from Fort Plymouth. Laconian ground troops have boarded the base. This sector is lost, so the only question is, how much of a fleet we can escape with? In the meantime, a general evacuation has been ordered.   The Titan Prometheus is providing a rearguard for the rest of us. We are the last of the grand cruisers. Over sixty percent of the fleet is gone already. If we’re lucky, we’ll be leaving the Aegospotami Nebulae in one piece.”
    As if to emphasis his point, a volley of plasma cannon rounds smashed into the heavy warship. The vessel shook slightly, but there were no other obvious signs of trouble. The Commander continued.
    “Fighters are already in position to escort us out of here. Man your guns, and watch for pursuing ships. We get one shot at this. The jump beacon is seven minutes away, good luck!”
    He checked the screen. It was similar to the model used on the frigates but with a handful of changes. The first was that he had no crew around him. The status indicator showed seventeen men in the weapons deck, but he simply queued up requests, and they would deal with them in sequence. It was a more automated but distant approach. He reasoned it must be because the larger weapons needed more crew and that they served more than just his guns. The end result was that only the more senior crew were present in this part of the ship.
    Better than being with the rest of the midshipmen, he thought wryly.
    The second big change was that he controlled a battery of four separate turrets, each one equipped with quadruples heavy lasers. It was more firepower than all of the plasma cannons on his frigate put together. He tapped the connection button, and in a few seconds the communication node implanted in his skull connected to the fire system and communication network. He was immediately hit by a number of orders from the command crew.
    “Cruiser unit blocking the beacon, right let’s sort them out then,” he said confidently though only to himself.
    A quick scan of the gun system showed his systems were fully operational. The capacitors were charged and the guns set to short-ranged fire by default. As he watched the raging battle on the bank of screens, a number of diamond shapes appeared on the targets. He looked down but couldn’t find the fire control system.
    The trigger, where is it?
    “Why aren’t we firing?” shouted the XO.
    Xenophon turned around, embarrassed to ask but more concerned with the battle.
    “The trigger, Sir?”
    “Your head, son. This is a Grandcruiser. You’re controlling a quarter of the heavy weapons on the ship. Select targets with