Sam stood at the command platform on the "bridge" of the station. The Evoknight ship that had been disabled by the arrival of the ROS floated several ten kilometers away from the station; having already been salvaged for scrap and equipment, there was nothing to do with the hulk other then test the station's defenses. An alert flashed on the weapons bulkheads and some other areas of the station, had it been an actual attack, the alert would have been broadcast throughout the entire station but as such, it was only a drill.
"Alright! All stations prepare for engagement, on my mark. Targeting! I want the first set of asteroids targeted." Sam said across the command platform. "Etrius, sit rep! Now."
Etrius, down in the main engineering room, tapped away at some buttons while using an interface plug to analyze the station. "Everything checks out, the entire station is green across the board. Loading munitions now ... munitions loaded. We are ready to fire at any time."
"Copy that, first set is loaded, testing AFLHAWK launchers on set 1 asteroids."
Sam checked with all the other stations and flipped open a small cover on a button and pressed it. The button actually didn't fire the missiles as that would be silly an inefficient, the button was actually the main weapons free button used to allow all the weapons on the station to be used. There were two backups that could also be used, one was situated in the armrest of Lenina's throne and the other one was a software app downloaded into Sam's neural interface.
"Fire first volley in three, two, one! Engage at will." He said and there were flashes of light all across the station. Missiles zipped past the window and the viewscreen triangulated what target the missiles were going to hit. Streaks of ionized particles showed through space as the missiles flew in for the kill.
Flashes of light flared up as the missiles impacted on the Asteroids, exploding like a chain of firecrackers in a pan. The tactical display marked off each and every one of the targets that got hit, which was each and every one.
"Sir, set 1 targets are confirmed hit and destroyed, accuracy tests show an upgrade of 15% for type two thrusters and 20% increased powered range for type three engines."
"What about type three and four?"
"Three shows 3% increased maneuverability and four shows 18% higher explosive yield with the experimental C-9 warheads."
"alright, that's good, send the data to the engineering techs and see what they do with it. Begin targeting set 2 asteroids, we need to test anti-ship capabilities of the station. Have the AFLHAWK gunners stand down and start loading nukes, also start charging up the Terrawatt laser."
He radioed down to the Munitions room and after he got a good to go from Etrius, he let weapons free.
"Sir, nuclear warheads are now online, targeting set two targets. Alright, we are good to go on the firing."
"Alright, fire when ready, I already dealt with the international political stuff for testing nukes. I want the Ghost Riders firing staggered, stream not volley, i want as clear readings as possible. Isolate the type 2B semi-fission fusion warheads and isolate the energy signature. 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... FIRE."
The ghost rider missile system was the upgraded and bastardized version of the SMBHAWK Capital ship missile. The warhead on the SMBHAWK had counted as a tactical nuclear device but the warhead on the Ghost rider missile was considered strategic. The inevitable shockwave and the flash of light were considered normal.
The blinding light was soon blocked out by the darkening of the view screen, turning the brightness down until it was bearable to stare into. The sensors switched around to try and confirm any hits on the targets. To some avail, they used the visible light sensors to confirm the hit and destruction of the target asteroids.
As the flash died down and the viewscreen brightened up again, Sam gave a nod of approval. "Well that was more entertaining then the SMBHAWKS, did you get get any reads on the warheads i wanted to track?"
"No sir, theres too much plasma and radiation, we can't get any good reads. All targets have been confirmed destroyed though."
"Excellent, shame we couldn't get the signatures, oh well what is the charge on the laser?"
"laser reads at 10% charge, it's gonna take at least an hour to charge it up fully."
"Great, that's just about enough time for lunch."
