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The To Seek Glory In Battle is Glorious, or just "Glory" for short, was an important Kristang asset in the conflict around the planet Pradassis. She was in constant opposition in orbit of Pradassis. She harassed Ruhar ships in orbit, and attacked human settlements on the surface. The Glory was part of the Kristang Pradassis Task Force. Along with the We Are Proud To Honor Clan Sub-Leader Rash-au-Tal Vergent Who Inspires Us Every Day, she had gathered vital intelligence about Ruhar defense tactics and capabilities. The Glory and the Vergent emerged above Lemuria, about twenty three thousand kilometers apart, on either side of the unlucky Ruhar frigate Tolen Grathur. Because there was a place the Grathur returned to reliably every eleven hours, she and the Vergent came in with weapons hot and fired missiles, maser cannons and the destroyer launched railgun darts at the Grathur. A maser beam from The Glory hit a missile from the Vergent just as that missile evaded the Grathur's point defenses. Instead of a devastating direct hit, the explosion of the missile warhead twelve hundred kilometers away only severely damaged the Grathur, allowing the hapless Grathur to perform a short emergency jump away.[2] For a time, the Glory evaded the Ruhar frigates Mem Hertall, Tolen Grathur and Toman after the Pradassis Task Force was escorted away from Pradassis. The Glorywas supposed to retrieve the 39 Commando team who were attempting to activate and use the last buried maser projector on Tavalen Island. She was unable to complete that task since the 39 Commando team were killed when Shauna Jarrett blew up the island. The Gloryeventually surrendered to Ruhar forces and her crew interned by the Ruhar.[3] The Glory was being prepped for a short voyage out to a Jeraptha star carrier just beyond the edge of the Pradassis system, alone and with only a skeleton crew of four Ruhar technicians. The Merry Band of Pirates needed the Gloryto fake an attack on a Ruhar negotiating team because the Kristang Fire Dragon clan were negotiating with the Ruhar for a ride to Earth and back to collect leaders of the Kristang White Wind clan. During the engagement, the submind Skippy the Magnificent had installed in the Glory evaded the maser fire from the Kristang and Ruhar ships, so Skippy instructed the submind to fly more like a Kristang-operated frigate on Col. Joseph Bishop's suggestion. The Glory began taking heavy fire from one of the Ruhar destroyers and it scored a direct hit with a railgun penetrator that went right through her hull. She staggered, then thrusters flared and the little ship righted itself and continued to desperately burn toward the cruiser, which was accelerating to get away. The Glory took two Kristang maser cannon hits at the same time as a Ruhar railgun dart ran through her from bow to stern. The Glory suddenly flared white hot as her reactor exploded. The To Seek Glory in Battle is Glorious, the unlucky little frigate that had survived too long against the odds, was finally gone.[4] |
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