Neither side was willing to give the other any more time to prepare. At first light the Alliance attacked the bridge. The Libertines were already dug in, waiting for them.

The Libertines opened fire with their rifles, taking immediate advantage of the superior range and accuracy. The Alliance soldiers charged forward in a mad rush to get within range of their own weapons. Every few seconds an alliance infantryman was picked off.

Commander Gibson skulking along the side, waited until the precise moment of greatest tactical advantage and flipped the mental switch that served as his detonator.

The stun bombs Gibson had planted under the bridge instead exploded tens of meters in front of it, right in the middle of the massed Alliance soldiers. The concussive force of the explosion knocked dozens of them off their feet while the electrical discharge caused their muscles to seize.

"Hey Commander!" yelled Mitzner.

Gibson turned around to find Mitzner standing on a hill to one side of the bridge.

"We decided you can keep them!"

Atop the bridge the best sharpshooter among the Libertines aimed an elongated trigger-pulling device. The modified ion pistol had been inserted into a hollow wooden tube with a few mechanical parts attached to the trigger. This allowed for aiming and firing the weapon without physically touching it. This device was mounted on a turret which allowed it to be swung into position and fired into the Alliance infantry.

The explosion from the unrestrained ion beam was spectacular and loud. The combined effect of the artillery fire and the stun bombs caused the Alliance formation to begin to break apart as it's center was ground up like hamburger meat.

The sharpshooter fired a second time, and the housing device immediately caught on fire. The sharpshooter was forced to jump from the bridge to avoid being burnt.

Gibson folded his index finger into his palm, so that it was held against his circuit-shaped tattoo. Activating the electromagnet housed within his hand he caused his index finger to rip free of his hand as the magnetic force sent it firing straight at Mitzner with a "thump" noise.

The projectile hit Mitzner and exploded, knocking her back behind the hill and out of Gibson's line-of-sight. All around him his allied soldiers were panicking. The Alliance was on the brink of a route.

"They're out of tricks!" yelled Gibson, running into the fray "We have the numbers, they're finished!"

Gibson was able to rally enough Alliance soldiers for a first volley of fire. Through sheer volume of fire they were able to score several hits. The sight of Libertines falling from their fortifications on the bridge caused a surge of morale and the Alliance infantry began to form back up.

Both sides fired at one another, and each side lost several more soldiers. They fell to the ground and the wet noises they made as they bled to death were drowned out by the gunfire.

There was a sound like a thunderclap, and the air became electric like the eye of a storm. A cracking hollow cylinder of light descended from the sky like the accusatory finger of a god.

The fighting stopped immediately. It was so quiet that one could hear the gentle hum of a pulsor engine as the glistening, freshly repaired Foundation shuttle Vostok carefully and deliberately lowered itself to the ground.

The door thunked open and its pilot emerged.

"Commander?" Ensign Takahashi asked, incredulously.

Gibson, in his muddy uniform, was standing among a group of slack-jawed Alliance soldiers, holding one of their primitive firearms.

"What in all the stars in all the galaxies is going on?"