30.Armageddon

Bill coordinates a desperate military operation to stop Medeiros from using metal ingots as kinetic weapons against the colonies. After a combined assault by busters and mosquito killers cripples Medeiros' vessel, Bill orders a boarding operation to capture him—but Medeiros destroys his own ship rather than be taken alive, leaving his fate uncertain.

Bill receives an emergency report from Captain Richards that Medeiros has been spotted attaching busters to metal ingots at the Lagrange points, creating improvised asteroid movers capable of devastating the colonies. Bill orders a strategic shift in printer allocation to produce small busters for greater flexibility and effectiveness. When Medeiros begins moving an ingot toward the colonies, Bill coordinates with General Kiroshi and Captain Richards to launch a preemptive strike. Fourteen of their busters engage Medeiros' busters while two hundred mosquito killers, accelerated from Takama orbit, rain down on Medeiros' vessel with enough impact to breach its hull and disable propulsion. Medeiros begins drifting helpless. Rather than waiting for the slow return of the mosquito killers, Richards suggests using drones to land roamers aboard the Brazilian ship to extract Medeiros' replicant matrix. Two cargo drones laden with eight roamers approach the damaged vessel. A fierce close-quarters battle erupts between the boarding roamers and Medeiros' defensive roamers, which the boarding party wins through superior numbers and the use of industrial-sized units as impact weapons. However, as the roamers close in on the replicant matrix, all video feeds suddenly cut out. Garfield determines that Medeiros has deliberately destroyed his own ship, tearing the vessel in two and exposing its interior to vacuum rather than surrender. Bill expresses frustration at Medeiros' continued defiance even in defeat and notes concern about what secrets Medeiros may have taken with him. Later, Mack is restored from backup and learns of his capture and restoration. Bill and Mack discuss the need for increased defenses at both colonies and plan a long-term strategy involving busters, new vessels, clones, and additional printers, while acknowledging the continued threat Medeiros may pose.