Free The Inception: The Augmented Human Rebellion - Book 1 by Terry Lefler Page A

illuminates local space, as the Verm vessels try to defend themselves,
with a lumbering response.
    Then Captain Guilles remembers what Captain Nemo had said about
projectile weapons, and she instructs Delphi to target the enemy sensors with
plasma canon fire. While the plasma canon fire partially blinds the Verm
ship’s defensive systems, Captain Guilles orders her Tactical Officer, to
launch missiles and rail gun projectiles.
    One of the missiles gets through the enemy ship’s defensive systems, and
there is an explosion aboard the Verm warship. That explosion triggers
other explosions as munitions ignite, and before long the explosions reach the
FTL drive. When the FTL drive explodes, the warship ceases to exist as an
entity. The ship has transitioned into widely scattered, particle-sized
debris, and noxious gases.
    Liberty’s hiding place is now gone, so Captain Guilles orders the Helm
Officer to get them behind one of the other Verm light cruisers. Both of
the remaining cruisers are attacking the Freedom. Fortunately, those
attacks are largely ineffective because they lack coordination. The
Freedom is ‘holding her own’ and is concentrating her fire on the Engineering
section of one of the ships.
    When the Liberty gets into position behind the other cruiser - where she
is safe from attack by the heavy cruiser - Captain Guilles orders her Tactical
Officer to target the same engineering section that the Freedom is attacking.
    That is more than the defensive systems aboard the enemy cruiser can
handle. The shields in the Engineering section gradually wear down, and
the heat from the plasma cannon begins to melt the armored hull. Soon
there is a breach in the hull, followed by fire in the engine room. Soon
that ship is also ‘dead in the water’.
    Next, both the Freedom and the Liberty turn their fire on the engine room
of the remaining Verm light cruiser. That cruiser should have moved
closer to the heavy cruiser, where it could have gotten protection.
Instead, the ship’s crew panics and tries to run. As the battle moves off
into space, the heavy cruiser’s energy weapons are ineffective.
    The Verm Admiral’s heavy cruiser then begins launching missiles
and rail gun projectiles. The Freedom and Liberty maneuver into position
behind the verm cruiser, so that the missile and rail gun projectiles are now
targeting the Verm cruiser, instead of the human ships. The cruiser isn’t
at all prepared to defend itself from projectile attacks at the stern, and
energy weapons attacks at its bow. The missiles get through the Verm
ship’s defenses, and that skirmish is over. The last cruiser explodes and
disappears – destroyed by ‘friendly fire’.
    Now there are two ‘dead in the water’ enemy vessels. Both are
firing at the Augmented Human Navy vessels, so the Freedom and Liberty move to
hide behind the light cruiser, and then close the distance, to the antagonists.
    The Verm Commander, aboard the Verm light cruiser, understands
that the two attacking vessels can destroy it at any time but they
haven’t. He realizes that the captured vessels want to use his ship
to hide behind. An undeclared truce takes place, between the Verm light
cruiser and the 2 human’s cruisers, with the tacit understanding that: “If you
don’t fire at us, we won’t fire at you.”
    Now, what to do about that heavy cruiser? Captain Nemo is
mulling that problem over in his mind, when he receives a mind implant comm
signal from Danion. “Remember how we got these two cruisers?” he asks.
    Captain Nemo says: “Thank you Danion. How do you propose we do
that?”
    Danion was reminding the Captain that they had captured these two ships
by boarding them, with combat armored Augmented Human soldiers. Captain
Nemo immediately orders 40 of the augmented humans to board the Nemesis, and to
prepare for boarding an enemy ship. He calls Commander Farn, and orders
him to send POW replacements, for the Augmented Human crewmembers.
    (Captain Nemo