The order went out.
The missile groups that had been cruising outside the swarm immediately changed their orientation, cutting through the gaps exposed in its formation after the bugs were wounded.
Some missiles remained on the perimeter to keep the swarm occupied, deliberately exposing their heat signatures to draw the Close-In Defense Beams into sweeping sideways.
Others seized the brief cooldown after local close-in defense organs fired continuously, charging in at high speed from the other side.
"The third missile group has broken through the first interception layer!"
"The seventh missile group has lost forty percent!"
"The eleventh missile group has locked onto the target's Energy Sac!"
A missile skimmed along the flank of a wounded Plasma Bug, dozens of Plasma Beams sweeping after it.
At the last instant, the missile maneuvered sideways. The beams grazed its tail, blasting part of its casing apart.
It did not lose control. The Penetrator Warhead at its tip abruptly accelerated.
The translucent shield rippled incessantly under repeated kinetic impacts. The missile slammed through it, its warhead detonating directionally inside the fleshy sac in the Plasma Bug's midsection.
Boom!
A dark red flash erupted inside the bug.
The Plasma Bug, over a thousand meters long, violently arched its body.
Large sections of its midsection carapace split open, spraying thick, blackish-red tissue along with high-temperature particles. Its tail thrusters immediately went out.
Deprived of propulsion, its massive body began tumbling, crashing toward two others beside it.
"The first target has lost propulsion!"
"Confirmed disabled!"
"The second target's propulsion chamber has been destroyed!"
"The third target's Energy Sac has ruptured! Its energy readings are plummeting!"
Reports of success came one after another.
This kinetic salvo finally inflicted substantial damage, leaving dense craters across many Plasma Bugs.
Over a hundred targets suffered varying degrees of injury.
Thirty-eight