Her launch and engineering alpha trials complete, the crew of the USS Trenton (CA 1) puts the astrodynamic cruiser through her combat paces for her bravo trials. In a defensive broadside to port, in orbit over the darkening Earth, the Trenton fires six diode-laser emplacements and two railguns at a distant virtual target. Should this phase of the trials prove successful, the cruiser will launch her Excalibur missiles on an asteroid target, and confirm her place as the flagship of the growing Earth Defense Fleet.



From my perpetual novel-in-progress, "A Sword Into Darkness", a sample chapter of which can be found on SFM in the Writers' Forum. Many thanks to the visitors and contributors to the "Astrodynamic Cruiser" WIP! Done in C4D and Photoshop.