Read For Honor We Stand for Free Online Page A

point, he pulls out of his curve and heads straight toward the line of our course.  As soon as he clears the limb of the moon, he turns on his active sensors and starts sweeping the area where he calculates we will be.  The tail man will do the same thing, sweeping the area ahead of him, with the idea that if we are being painted by the full sensor output from two Cruisers roughly ninety degrees apart, we will show up notwithstanding the ionized particles and the maser radiation.”
    “Won’t we show up?” asked the doctor.
    “We probably would.  But, it’ll never get that far.”
    “Weapons,” Max interrupted.  “Are we clear on the firing procedure and timing for those missiles?”
    “Affirmative, skipper.  Talons loaded in all three tubes.  Missiles are armed, drives enabled, safeties disengaged, targeting data entered, and are ready for firing in all respects, excepting only that the missile doors are closed.  The missiles will be fired by computer when the programmed launch criteria are met, with Chief Wendt in the Weapons Back Room on the manual firing controller just in case.” 
    “Very well.”
    “Why Wendt?”  DeCosta asked the skipper.  “He’s got to be in his 50’s.”
    “He may be one of the oldest men on the ship, but he still tests out as having the fastest trigger pull.  He beats the young guys every time.  Plus, every man on board trusts his judgment—he is the Chief of the Boat.  No one’s going to be distracted worrying about whether he’ll make the fire/no fire call correctly.”
    Sahin could see on the XO’s tactical overview display that the icons for the enemy high cruiser and the Cumberland were now coming very near to the circle that designated Mengis VI’s inner moon, the Cumberland inside the particle stream on a course that would take it past the moon on the right hand side as viewed on the display, and the Krag Cruiser on a course straight at the moon from the left, each screened from the other by the moon.  Even on the scale shown by the console display, the icons representing the ships seemed to be moving very, very fast.
    Max sat down again, the better to see the displays at his console.  “Weapons, open missile doors on tubes one, two, and three.  Stealth, engage all stealth systems.”
    “Opening doors.”  Short pause.  Three lights on the Weapons Console changed from blue to green and Weapons checked three optical feeds.  “Visual verification:  tubes one, two, and three are open and are clear of obstructions.”
    “Stealth systems engaged,” said Nelson. 
    “Very well.  Prepare to execute first maneuver on my mark.”  Max stood watching the tactical plot for nearly half a minute, the icons on the screen moving in a slow motion ballet along geometrically perfect arcs.  “Coming up on it.”  Several of the men in CIC were shifting or fidgeting nervously at their stations.  Max noticed.  “Steady, boys, steady,” he said evenly, the words from the Union Space Navy’s official song.  He felt the men take a collective breath, steady themselves, and steel their nerves for what they were about to do, and go through, together.
    “First maneuver.  Ready . . . ready . . . execute. ”  Maneuvering pulled a hard turn, demonstrating the nimbleness for which this class of ship had already become legendary.  Within only a few seconds, the Destroyer turned through a ninety-four degree course change pointing the ship straight at Mengis VI A.  As soon as the turn was executed, LeBlanc had his Drives man engage the braking drive at maximum.  This maneuver went unobserved by the high Cruiser because its line of sight was blocked by the bulk of the nearby moon.  The low Cruiser likewise did not detect the maneuver, in its case because of the Cumberland’s highly effective stealth systems, interference from the charged particle stream, and because by doing something unexpected the ship had in only 1.84 seconds traveled laterally out of the