Chapter 46

Sit and Kick.

“Downjumping!” Tri called as the newly christened Destiny popped back out of Transit Space and into regular.

“Weapons hot,” Vey called. “Aim for the engines, full spread!”

“Aye, Captain!” Quad acknowledged.

The frigate was dead ahead of them, still accelerating as it ran for the moon, but the microjump had gotten the destroyer in range.

Their laser arrays lit up, stabbing into the frigate's rear shield and draining it.

“Shield burster out!” Quad called.

Vey watched the flat-headed missile appear on his scans and tracked it. At the last second, the frigate jinked to one side, taking the hit on the left shield instead of the rear.

Vey growled and adjusted their course to the left, firing a second round of lasers at the weakened shield. They penetrated a fraction of a second before the ship rolled, putting the weak side out of range.

“They are accelerating!” Tri warned.

“Losing weapons lock,” Quad called.

“Jump us,” Vey told Tri, “I want us ahead of them.”

“Aye, Captain. Jumping!”

They slipped into Transit Space for a couple of seconds before emerging again.

“They anticipated!” Quad called. “We are in weapons range!”

Vey watched the rear shields begin to weaken.

“All hands secure for breach!” Vey called, clipping on his own helmet. He didn’t actually need it but was programmed to do it anyway. He compromised by leaving the visor open.

“We can evade,” Tri called.

“Belay that,” Vey grinned. “All engines full reverse!”

“Aye, Captain!” Tri cackled.

“Oh, shit,” Quad yelped and grabbed on. “All hands, Brace!”

Two of the three straps holding Vey’s large, heavy form into the Captain’s chair failed as the g forces shot up at the sudden braking thrust. A warning creak from the hull sounded through the recently repaired ships, and a couple of warning lights began to flash.

“They are taking evasive action!” Tri laughed. “Breaking over our bow in two seconds.”

“Prepare to fire!” Vey called.

“Aye!” Quad grinned as he punched buttons. “On your order, captain!”

Vey waited until the frigate’s midsection passed over their heads and yelled, “FIRE!”

Laser arrays on the destroyer's bow lit up, searing through the shields of the panicked frigate, weakening them as it fought to counter its own momentum and get out of target lock.

“Shield bursters!” Vey called.

Two more of the flat-headed missiles shot out, both impacting this time, dumping energy into the shield matrix and overloading it.

“Full spread, now!” Vey called.

A shudder passed through the ship as it launched missiles from all batteries. Several hit shielded areas and had their explosive force reflected away and into the void, but six hit home, taking out one of the frigate’s engines and taking a chunk out of the port armor.

“They are shedding speed,” Tri called. “We can keep pace now.”

“Full power to weapons,” Vey called. “I want to finish this and get back to help the Queen.”

“Aye, Captain!” All four Cents yelled as their lasers racked the limping frigate again.

“Approaching orbit,” Tri warned.

“They can’t take much more of this,” Quad replied.

“Wait, are they breaking up?” Prim’s strident tone cut through the excitement on the bridge.

“Shit!” Vey snapped. “Those are drop pods!”

“Targeting,” Quad called. “Permission to fire?”

“Fire at will!” Very ordered. “I don’t want a single one touching down.”

“Frigate has turned away from the moon,” Tri warned. “Do we follow?”

“Negative, pilot,” Vey shook his head. “We go after the pods.”

“Aye, Captain,” Tri replied.

The destroyer chased the armored drop pods into the atmosphere, firing lasers as it fought to take them out. The re-entry burn prevented them from firing missiles, which would detonate from the heat, if not the pressure, but it also made the lasers unreliable.

Two of the drop pods were hit, one burning up instantly as the armor was holed, but the other only took a glancing blow.

“How long till we are clear of re-entry turbulence?” Vey asked.

“Two seconds,” Vey called. “We are almost…. There!”

The turbulence cleared, and they opened fire with everything they had. Three more drop pods were holed and broken into pieces.

Only the one hit with a glancing blow escaped, arcing down toward the moon and away from the destroyer.

“Four out of five ain’t bad?” Tri offered.

“It’ll have to do,” Vey growled. Anything less than total victory would always feel like a failure, at least to him. This was his maiden voyage as a captain, and he intended to make it impressive. “Make orbit and establish tracking on the frigate.”

“Aye, Captain!” The Cents called as the destroyer was engulfed in flame again as it pushed to break clear of the atmosphere.

“It’ll have to do,” Vey grumbled, eyes straying to the sensor echo of the escaped pod.

===<<<>>>===

“Sir, did I just see what I think I did?” Maxton asked as they watched the battle above play out on screen.

“I think so, Maxton,” Carter frowned. “Did that destroyer just micro-jump, Duke?”

“It’s within their capabilities,” Duke acknowledged. “I told you they had done it during their rescue of us.”

“You mentioned their ship was capable of it,” Carter snapped. “Not that they could do it on a captured ship!”

“They’re back!” Brenda yelled as the destroyer appeared again ahead of the frigate.

“Good,” Carter smiled. His frigate was piloted by one hell of a captain. An ex-military man, he had clearly anticipated the move of the destroyer, and weapons fire lit their scans as he unloaded a full salvo with the forward weapons on the frigate.

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“No way they can shake the frigate,” Brenda grinned. “It’s just too fast.”

“Indeed,” Carter turned back to the scan and sipped at his tea. It wasn’t half bad.

“What happened there?” Duke asked. “Is the Destroyer?”

Carter stared as the destroyer suddenly reversed thrust. The maneuver would have turned an organic crew to paste inside their ship suits.

“Oh, shit,” Maxton whispered as they watched the frigate take hit after hit as it scrambled to avoid crashing into the destroyer.

“It’s shedding speed,” Brenda sighed. “One of the engines must be gone.”

Carter said nothing, his cup halfway to his lips as he watched the frigate fight to make moonfall. It got close enough to launch the drop pods and turned back.

He crossed his fingers for the destroyer to follow, but they saw it dip into the atmosphere.

For another minute, they watched, hearing the distant thump of explosions as the drop pods were intercepted. Only one looked to have made it, and it had to divert a great distance away.

Cater remained frozen until the destroyer blipped back into a micro-jump and then smashed his cup against the wall. “Fuck!”

“One made it down, sir,” Maxton said reproachfully. “And we will gain the station once the cruiser has finished with the other sip.”

“True,” Carter sighed. “Nonetheless, it was a costly exercise. I will have to discipline the frigate captain. He should have launched in atmo.”

“Yeah, I don’t think you will get that chance,” Brenda nodded to the scan, where Carter saw the destroyer reappearing on the frigate's stern.

“So it seems,” Carter huffed.

===<<<>>>===

“Tell Vey to keep his distance!” Nellie called over the warning klaxon wailing on the bridge. “And shift more power to the weapons!”

They had been trading blows with the cruiser for the last ten minutes, and it certainly did hit hard. So far, their shields were holding, but they weren’t making much headway on damaging it. Every time a shield weakened, it rolled away, presenting a fresh shield to the Bly as it continued to fire. Its main weapons ran on tracks, able to move to any position and continue to fire. It was a brilliant design that she hoped to copy if they made it through this.

“How long until it is in range of the station?” Nellie asked.

“Less than ten minutes, more if they fire up the drive,” Lucy replied, her voice coming over the comm. “We might have to deploy the beam weapon.”

“Only as a last resort,” Nellie replied. “They can’t see it on scan when it is unpowered. The moment we power it up, everyone will know we have it.”

“I am open to suggestions,” Lucy replied drily.

“Change of plans!” Nellie called. “Remy, get the mines ready and shift the Mark 7 generator to the weapons.”

“Aye, Captain!” Remy called.

“Nellie?” Lucy asked.

“Just gonna put a little grit on the road,” Nellie grinned. “Pilot, prepare to micro-jump off their port side.”

“Aye, Captain!” the Tri unit started to compute trajectories as she took direct control of the ship, pushing their engines to full and arcing in front of the cruiser.

“Mines! Mines! Mines!” Nellie called. “Starburst pattern!”

The Bly shook as they passed in front of the forward arms, several shield bursters causing their first layer of shields to fail.

“Jump!” Nellie called.

The Bly slipped into and out of Transit Space so quickly there was barely a flicker of the multicolored insanity it contained.

“Rolling! Remy, give it everything!” Nellie dove the Bly and spun it through a complete roll as they passed underneath the cruiser. Their arrays fired one after another, the beams twice as thick as before. Several lights turned red, and another warning sounded as two of them overloaded.

Nellie swung the ship to the stern of the cruiser, rolling again as they came up behind it.

“It worked,” Remy reported. “They couldn’t roll fast enough, and their forward shields had to remain powered to absorb the mines. Aft shields are failing!”

The cruiser began to turn away, presenting its starboard side, the strongest shield left to the Bly as they returned fire.

“Shit!” Nellie saw the line of shield bursters launching from the starboard tubes. “Incoming!”

The Bly rocked as power conduits overloaded, two layers of shields falling to the powerful hits. Nellie punched the emergency shield up; the engines cut out immediately as power was diverted.

The Bly continued on its trajectory as the cruiser opened up with everything they had left, all engine power being shunted to the weapons as the two damaged ships traded shots.

“Baz! Now!” Nellie practically screamed into the comm link.

“On your command!” Baz whooped. “Hold on to your buts!”

===<<<>>>===

“Yes!” Brenda leaped to her feet, pounding the table with both fists as the images being relayed from the cruiser and satellite showed strikes against the Bly’s hull.

“Not a fan of the local scrapmerchant?” Carter asked with a wide smile.

“No, I’m fucking not!” Brenda grinned savagely. “I just wish I could see her smug face wh—”

“What’s that?” Maxton yelled, pointing to the sensor ping behind the cruiser.

“What is that?” Carter echoed, zeroing in on the area on the scan. “Some kind of shuttle?”

“Too big,” Maxton insisted, “What is it…. Fuck, that’s not possible.”

“Is that one of the—” Carter fell silent as three more of the things exited jump space in formation.

“Can your ship withstand….” Duke cut off as the four ships blipped away again, leaving behind a mass of small objects traveling at speed toward the unguarded and unshielded rear of the cruiser.

No one spoke as the mass of specks flew into the cruiser's side.

“Send the all points distress beacon,” Carter said quietly as he watched the screen flare as dozens of mines stuck the exposed ship.

A second later, there was a larger flare as the feed from the cruiser went dark.

Maxton moved to the controls and sent the emergency command that would summon the Imperial Line fleet to the system.

“What are you doing?” Duke asked, his shoulders hunched, “What happened?”

“Their backup just got pasted!” Brenda spat. “Did the cow survive?”

Carter looked over at the scan and watched as it cleared briefly before going dark.

“Someone got the satellite,” Maxton sighed. “They must have sensed the distress call.”

“Roll it back to the last readings,” Carter snapped, stepping up to the screen and zooming in on the final seconds of information. “Son of a bitch! Her ship survived, all right.”

“Incoming comm signal,” Maxton noted. “It has to be them, right?”

“Who else,” Carter pulled Maxton away from the pickup range. “Duke, be a pal and answer that, will you?”

Duke, who still looked stunned—which Carter had to admit he could empathize with—pressed the connection, and the woman he had come to know as a Queen, then a scrap merchant, appeared on the screen.

===<<<>>>===

“Duke put him on,” Nellie said into the comm line, “We need to have a little chat.”

Duke blinked and then frowned. “No.”

“Pardon?” Nellie asked.

“I said no. You do not give me orders, Bea. Not now, not ever.”

“God save us from the curse of ego,” Nellie rolled her eyes. “Very well, I kindly ask if you would pretty please put that dickhead on the line.”

“Sarcastic bitch,” Brenda snapped.

“Oh, hey, Brenda,” Nellie waved. “Did Duke let you out of your kennel for the day?”

“Fuck you!” Brenda ground her teeth,

“Not even in your dreams, hunny,” Nellie shook her head. “Very well, I assume that greasy little tool is listening, so here is the message. Take your freighter and get the fuck out of the system. I’ll leave you alone, and you don’t come back. One-time offer. Do we have a deal?”

“I think you might have things backward,” Duke replied coldly. “You are the one who needs to run. They called for reinforcements before you destroyed that cruiser. A whole fleet will come now.”

“That will take time,” Nellie said with a smile. “And in that time, I will be recovering that cruiser. Are they sure the odds will be on their side in the end?”

“Yes,” Carter said, stepping into range of the pickup. “Thanks for the offer, though; sweet of you.”

“What’s the point of all this?” Nellie asked, frowning at the neatly dressed man. He looked almost normal without that stupid hat of his. She could pick up the flush of irritation on his cheeks, no matter how real his smile looked. “How does any of this profit you or the Imperial Line?”

“How does defending the Clutch profit you?” Carter asked in return. “You destroy them; we can call this all a misunderstanding.”

Even if she was tempted by the deal, which she definitely was not, Nellie could see the lie in his words. The visible pulse in his neck quickened, and he blinked just a few split seconds faster. Improved senses and sensors were a powerful combination.

“Liar,” Nellie replied calmly.

“Very true,” Carter grinned. “Still, the next wave will not be so easily beaten.”

“Whatever happens, it is going to cost the Imperial Line a whole lot of money.” Nellie sighed. “Sure you don’t want my offer?”

“No, thanks,” Carter laughed. “But I must offer my congratulations, Captain. You fight well. I hope you die as well as you fight.”

“Sorry to disappoint you,” Nellie replied. “I’ve just got no talent for it.” She cut the comm line and looked over at Remy.

“Orders, Ma’am?” He asked.

“Call the station and get some people out here to help us pull the cruiser in, then we need a staff meeting. It looks like a fleet is due to drop by.”

“Aye, Captain,” Remy replied grimly.

“Damage report?” Nellie asked as she stood and stretched. She never got stiff muscles anymore, but it still felt good to do when she was tense.

“Hull breached in two places, but it is contained. We have significant damage to the weapons, a couple of overloaded shields, and the tertiary generator is all but burnt out,” Lucy replied, “Other than that, everything is peachy.”

“Hey!” Nellie laughed. “Don’t get snippy; I just got you a cruiser!”

“True,” Lucy laughed. “I have scrambled the Destiny and the non-combat shuttles to assist with the tow.

“An Incoming call from the Destiny,” her communications officer called. “Captain Vey requests a word.”

“Put him through,” Nellie replied and saw Vey’s familiar face set into a deep frown. “Well done with the frigate, Captain.”

“Thank you, Ma’am,” Vey said, not meeting her eyes. “I’m afraid I must report that one of the drop pods may have survived.”

“We saw,” Nellie nodded. “Lucy tracked its path, and we sent Crush a warning. You did great, Vey. You and your crew.”

“Thank you, Ma’am!” Vey straightened. “We will arrive at your position shortly to assist.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Nellie nodded. “Bly, out.”