"Our warship has been boarded!"
"The human Army is aboard!"
Alarms and crew reports erupted over the communications channel.
"Of course I know! Where are our troops? Get in there and engage!"
The destroyer's captain immediately roared, finally quieting the channel, though faint explosions, the thunderous tearing of metal, and the hiss of escaping gas could still be heard.
"That human cruiser seems to be designed for boarding actions. They fired some unusual cables that hooked onto our ship," the first officer analyzed.
"So they did! Are we just going to sit here and watch? Who's at the helm? Shake them off!"
The captain braced one hand against the console as he issued orders.
"We can't, Captain. We'll need another five minutes."
"Approved! Once you've shaken them off, pull away immediately and prepare for a second bombardment."
The communications alert sounded again. The captain opened the channel from his superior and stood straight. "Commander, what are your orders?"
"All three of our destroyers have been boarded by the United Nations of Earth. Your combat assignments are canceled. Prioritize clearing the human Army troops from your ships."
"Understood."
The captain opened his mouth to relay the commander's orders, but just then, a violent explosion erupted behind the bridge, shaking the entire destroyer.
The blast hurled the captain to the floor. He grabbed a handrail and struggled back to his feet, still dazed. "What happened?"
"An explosion... aft!"
"No, it's the ammunition depot! The ammunition detonated!"
The first officer climbed off the cold metal floor of the bridge, returned to his station, and swiftly reported, "It was the human Army! They broke into the ammunition depot and blew it up!"
"HUMANS!!!"
The captain roared in fury.
That single ammunition depot explosion had cut the destroyer's combat capability in half!
The explosion would