Chapter 23: Virginia: Grim Glory

Summary

• The book chapter begins with a depiction of Lysander’s charge into battle against the protagonist's forces, using new destroyers that prove to be effective initially.
• Lysander’s fleet, led by his flagship the Lightbringer, advances as his destroyers are destroyed one by one due to concentrated fire from the protagonist's weapons.
• Lysander's tactic becomes clear; he is willing to sacrifice his destroyers by using them as kinetic battering rams to crash into the protagonist's shields and disable them, paving the way for an infantry invasion.
• The protagonist, managing the defense, chooses to lower the shields in anticipation of the impact from a crashing destroyer to avoid a catastrophic shield overload, despite protests from her officers.
• The impact of the destroyers results in significant damage to Phobos’s infrastructure, but the protagonist calculates this will force Lysander to adjust his attack to a less advantageous position.
• The protagonist prepares her ground forces for the impending infantry assault, anticipating that Lysander's Praetorians will now have a more difficult landing zone filled with debris.
• Lysander's ship, the Lightbringer, releases fighters and bombers for the assault, as well as clawDrills designed to penetrate the moon’s surface and allow for an infantry infiltration.
• The protagonist orders her forces to focus on destroying the clawDrills to prevent the enemy forces from gaining ground and reaching critical areas of their defense.
• There is tension among the protagonist’s officers and engineers about reactivating the shields due to the risks involved, but they ultimately agree to a hazardous procedure which will take the lives of those reactivating the shield.
• The chapter ends with a sense of grim resolve, as the protagonist's allies brace for the intense combat to come, and she is faced with the possible loss of her companion Kavax, who ventures forth to meet the enemy.