Disclaimer – Everything either does belong to Joss or it should. I’m just borrowing his shiny ‘verse for a while.

The 21st Lancers belong to the British Army so I’m borrowing them too. I hope they don’t mind.

Thanks to my regular readers for making it worthwhile to continue the story and special thanks to my Proof-Reader Landry

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AI Warship Shadow – Under Full Burn – 2520AD

Thoughts of glorious attacks aside, there is still always a place for misdirection and the AI was well enough versed in the philosophies of warfare to know the battle is won as much in the mind of the enemy as it is your own.

By hitting all seven orbiting ships simultaneously Shadow had not only obtained the high ground, he had also made it look like that the Reavers were facing multiple opponents. The fact that none of the vessels had detected anything before their destruction also meant the Reavers on the ground would know they were facing opposition with very good stealth capabilities.

It was likely they were now imagining themselves facing a horde of radar-invisible enemies and this was a misconception Shadow was only too happy to reinforce.

Shadow began broadcasting on multiple frequencies. Not just static but dozens of different conversations between the members of an entirely imaginary ghost fleet. Each conversation was distinct, each character with a different voice and accent all running simultaneously with plenty of ECM induced interference to really liven things up.

Down on the planet Reaver commanders could hear Squadron Leaders plotting attack runs and fighter-bomber pilots vying amongst themselves to be the first to drop their payloads. A Frigate Captain was asking when he should begin planetary bombardment and being answered by a Commodore on the Aircraft Carrier that had launched the fighters.

It sounded like somebody had sent an entire taskforce against them with craft inbound on their location from multiple vectors.

Some of the grounded vessels were not badly damaged a