60.Sneak Attack

The Bobs execute the first phase of their counteroffensive against the Others, launching cloaked fusion bombs at the approaching armada. The surprise attack partially succeeds, destroying or damaging multiple enemy vessels, but the Others detect the assault and respond with a devastating super-pulse that ends the sneak attack phase and forces the Bobs to transition to their main battle plan.

Riker convenes a moot with two hundred Bobs present and several hundred attending remotely to coordinate the counteroffensive against the Others' approaching fleet. Bill and Thor brief the assembled Bobs on their strategy: cloaked fusion bombs will strike first, followed by hit-and-run attacks leveraging the Bobs' agility against the Others' size and power advantage. Riker reflects on a hundred years since his intervention with Colonel Butterworth and the alienation many Bobs now experience. The operation commences with picket drones detecting the Bobs at two light-minutes distance, but the Bobs gain a two-minute advantage through SCUT and instantaneous communications. However, the Others predict the Bobs' scattering maneuver and destroy half of the bombs with a preemptive zap. Garfield analyzes the destruction pattern and determines the Others are predicting Bob behavior based on the golden ratio, likely influenced by the Chinese probe that previously visited them. Despite this setback, SCUT-controlled fusion bombs penetrate the armada and successfully detonate, destroying ten death asteroids and disabling or destroying twenty-two cargo carriers. The victory is short-lived as the Others emit the super-pulse—a devastating energy burst that illuminates everything within two light-hours. Bill announces the sneak attack phase is concluded and orders the transition to the main battle plan.