fire. If his pursuers even detected the other
ship, it was doubtful. North's fire was pinpoint, and vaporized the
destroyer with only two volleys. His bottom thrusters pushed him
violently to the side, as his bolt projector released its shimmering
rod of death.
27 Somehow one of the destroyers managed to maneuver away, but the
cruiser and the destroyer on its side were not so lucky. The bolt hit
the cruiser just behind its engines, and the ship blew apart in a
blinding flash of white light, its forward section spinning off and
striking the luckless destroyer and seconds later it, too, exploded
into a brilliant gas ball.
28 The negative plasma spread out instantaneously in all directions.
Some of it reached the shields of North's ship and was eaten up by the
positive beams. But some got through, spread out along his hull, eating
away the paint and the micro meteorite shielding down to the shiny
metal before it finally disappeared. But North and his crew knew
nothing of this. They were far too busy.
29 They had decelerated, spun around, and were now after the fleeing
destroyer. Its crew was good, but not good enough. With a well-placed
beam North's ship knocked out their star drive. Before they could come
around again, they dropped their shields and shut down their weapons.
30 "We'll come back for them," cried North. "They can't outrun us on a
system engine! Where's the other one!"
31 "In a lot of trouble," said Firing Control. "The Son's Pride
reversed thrust after it dropped away and got on his tubes. They may
have only two beams functioning forward, but they're chopping his rear
off! They got him! They got him! He vaporized!" Everyone on the command
deck was cheering wildly.
32 "Signal the destroyer we're picking it up," ordered North, "and
they're to be ready to surrender. We'll split them up between our brig,
their own, and The Son's Pride. Tell Medical to get ready to receive
The Son's Pride's