Captain Yargoul rallied his forces.
"The battle has just begun," he exhorted his listeners. "Our surveillance of the enemy fleet shows we are in a strong position. Form up for penetrating the enemy fleet. Destroyers tighten screens. As soon as the enemy gets within range launch fighter-bombers and fighters. Gunships and attack patrollers take the point. Attack. Now."
Optimum range was closing for particle beamers. Fighter-bombers, gunships and patroller-fighters from each side sped and dodged toward firing points.
A Jovian fighter-bomber plunged through a gap in the UIPS shield and came at the bridge of the UIPS cruiser Implacable. Arrayed to fire for effect the Implacable cut loose with successive volleys of its forward laser-quads. From a turret above the cruiser's upper structures a molecular disrupter flashed a cascade of energy that coalesced into twisting, jagged bolts. The fighter-bomber dissolved as its guns fired a short burst. Fragments caroomed off its target's hull.
Two thousands kilometers distant, a Titanian gunboat evaded the UIPS defensive screen and slashed in at Selvin's Ruthless. The flagship's guns set up a withering fire, but couldn't match the lightning speed of the closing gunboat. A raking laser-doubles knifed through the Ruthless amidships, opening ten meters of hull. The vacuum of space sucked at storage bays, shops and wardrooms; dozens of bodies floated through the rupture. The gunboat, caught in a crossfire of laser-quads, exploded silently.
The Ruthless' internal safety doors had slammed shut immediately, isolating the damaged bays and compartments.
Suddenly, the main bodies of the two fleets were within range of each other's heavy weapons. A tangled circus of cruisers, destroyers, gunships and fighters careened through space, sweeping the battle arena with their guns. Battle craft, from both sides, blossomed into clouds of wreckage, shards and debris in the first minutes of combat.
More heavily armed, the INOR forces were nevertheless at a disadvantage. The fleet had not completely recovered from the disruptive effects of the haphazard redeployment that Adari had contrived. Drummer and Brad had deserted them; Hyk and the Dragon were gone. The INOR forces lacked cohesion. Captain Yargoul had barely assumed command of the combined fleet and needed to assess the situation. There was no time for that. They were face to face with a powerful adversary who had appeared without warning. An easy victory had become a struggle for survival.
Two UIPS destroyers made a run at the Jovian cruiser Boulder. Four explosive-decompressors cut loose simultaneously at the cruiser, striking her amidships. A succession of explosions wracked the ship, hurling debris and bodies in all directions. The ship rolled and yawed wildly out of control. The UIPS destroyers cut away.
The Ruthless' damage assessments flashed to the bridge and the ship's Commander informed the fleet command deck.