The Nausicaan cruisers had regrouped, and were joined by three more Mulluran vessels. "Don't these guys know when to give up?" Johnny asked himself. Sharpe gave him a stern glance, then Johnny remembered that he was dealing with a far different officer than Wallace.
"Targeting solutions laid in for Nausicaan bogeys, sir. Firing torpedoes now," Johnny said as he tapped the firing command on his console. A spread of photon torpedoes shot forth from the Hornet, finding their way rapidly across the expanse of space toward their targets. Two of the Nausicaans were destroyed immediately; the third turned and ran but was blocked by the Mullurans.
Johnny didn't need to wait for the command from Sharpe to take advantage of the confusion. "Phasers at full power!" he ordered his fire control team. A light on his panel glowed red to indicate that the phaser bank was charged to full capacity. Johnny fired the forward phasers and cut the Nausicaan in half.
"Direct hit! Engineering and command sections of enemy vessel have been severed!" Johnny announced.
"Very good. Helm, take us about 022 mark 4. I want an intercept course," Sharpe replied. "Tactical, what's the best cyclic rate you can give me on the phasers?"
Johnny checked a readout. "I can give you 0.4 seconds from full discharge to full charge," he replied. Then, he tapped a few other controls. "I can reduce that to 0.2 seconds if I draw power from life support."
"Do it!" Sharpe ordered. "When we get within effective range I want you to pump out as many shots as you can against those Mullurans."
"Aye, sir!" The Hornet dove into the Mulluran formation. Johnny fired the phaser banks as fast as he could, before a buzzing sound stopped him. Damn!
"Forward phaser array is overheating, sir. Damage control teams are already at work. Aft phaser array is running at 110% maximum recommended temperature."
"How about torpedoes?" Sharpe asked.
"We're already tapping into our reserve, sir. We use any more and we'll have nothing with which to cover our withdrawal."
"I am open to suggestions, Commander," Sharpe responded acidly.
Johnny explained his plan to Sharpe. "Risky, but it might be our best opportunity. Get about it."
The Hornet immediately cut its engines, temporarily going adrift. "The lead Mulluran vessel is hailing us, sir," the communications officer said.
"Maintain silent running," Sharpe commanded.
"Temperature reading on forward phaser array within acceptable limits," Johnny said. "Range to attackers has closed to 10,000 kilometers."
"Engineering, stand by. I need everything you can spare, as soon as you can spare it. Tactical, target all three vessels, passive sensors only."
Johnny switched his targeting sensors over to passive mode. No emissions from the Hornet beyond background radiation would be detected by the Mullurans. "Five thousand kilometers."
"Engineering -- Warp Factor 10 immediately! Tactical, unload everything we've got on them!"
The Hornet jumped out of the formation, leaving behind a visual image of itself as Johnny fired rapid phaser bursts into the ships. The ships targeted on the image and began barraging it.
"Helm! Hard about!" Sharpe barked.
Johnny locked the phasers on the ships and began firing as soon as the forward array came about. The ships were reduced to atoms.
"The Picard Maneuver," Sharpe said. "Good thinking -- always liked that one!"
"Thank you, sir," Johnny said, wishing not for the first time that he'd been sent planetside instead of being stuck behind a console.