“They're still nearly two hours away,” Belokas said. “We could postpone the battle a bit by pushing our compensators right up to the red line, but it wouldn't be enough for them to get here before we have to fight.”
“What about Bogey Two?” Heissman asked.
“Nothing since their last course adjustment,” Woodburn said. “Depending on where in the plot cone they are, they'll probably reach sensor range within the next ten to twenty minutes.”
“So no allies, but probably more opponents,” Heissman said. “In that case, I see no point in delaying the inevitable.” He keyed his com. “All ships, this is the Commodore. We've been challenged to a fight, and I intend to give them the biggest damn fight they've ever been in. Gorgon, maintain current course and acceleration—your job is to get the records of what's about to happen back to Manticore. Hercules and Gemini, stand by for a coordinated one-eighty pitch turn on my mark.”
Travis frowned. “A pitch turn?” he asked quietly. Most turns he'd seen had been of the yaw variety, where the ship rotated along its vertical axis, instead of a pitch flip that sent the ship head over heels and briefly put the stronger but more sensor-opaque stress bands between the ship and the incoming threat.
“A pitch turn,” Woodburn confirmed, an edge of grim humor to his voice. “We can launch a salvo of missiles just before our wedge drops far enough to clear their line of sight, which will keep them from spotting the booster flares. By the time we've turned all the way over the missiles will be clear and ready to light off their wedges once Commodore Heissman decides which target he wants to go after first.”
Travis nodded. Casey herself had electromagnetic launchers that didn't betray themselves with such telltales, but both Hercules and Gemini had the standard boosters on their missiles, vital for getting the weapons far enough from the ship that they could safely light up their wedges. If Janus could launch without Tamerlane spotting the missiles it would give the Manticorans at least a momentary advantage.
“Pitch turn: mark,” Heissman called. “Stand by two missiles from each corvette and four from us, again on my mark.”
Travis looked over at the tac display. Casey and the two corvettes were turning in unison, their loss of acceleration sending Gorgon toward the edge of the field even as the invading formation seemed to leap forward .
And the enemy would unfortunately have plenty of time to work on closing the remaining distance. Pitch turn or yaw turn, either type of one-eighty took a good two minutes to complete.
“Missiles on my mark,” Heissman said softly, his eyes on the tac.
“Missiles ready,” Belokas confirmed. “Target?”
Heissman watched the tac another moment, then turned to Woodburn. “Suggestions, Alfred?”
“I'd go with all eight on one of the cruisers,” Woodburn said. “The way they're deployed strongly suggests the battlecruisers have opted for extra missiles instead of carrying their own countermissile loads, which would mean they're relying on the cruisers to screen for them. If we can kill one of them right out of the box, we may have a shot at doing some damage to one of the big boys.”
“I'm sure Admiral Locatelli would appreciate us softening them up a bit for him,” Belokas said dryly. “I'll go with Alfred on this one.”
Heissman looked at Travis. “Mr. Long?”
Travis looked at the tac display. Three small ships against six . . . “I'd throw four at each cruiser, Sir.”
“Reason?”
“If those are mercenaries out there, they may be running a nonuniform mix of ship types and classes,” Travis said. “Watching their defenses might give us some clues as to what types of ships they have and how to more effectively attack them. By attacking two at once, we'll get that data a bit faster.”
“Alfred?” Heissman invited.
“We'd still do better to saturate one of them,” Woodburn said. “Frankly, Sir, we're not going to get a lot of shots off in the time we have. We should concentrate on doing as much damage as possible.”
“You may be right,” Heissman agreed. “But Mr. Long is also right. Information is what we need most, both for ourselves and for Admiral Locatelli. I think it's worth the risk.” He keyed his com. “Hercules and Gemini: one missile from each of you at each of the leading cruisers. We'll throw an additional two at each one.”
He favored Travis with a small smile. “Let's see how well Admiral Tamerlane can dance.”