Chapter Forty-Seven

Breaking the Rules

“Downjump complete,” Morton yelled over the blaring warning klaxons. “Ten seconds and counting!”

“Prepare micro-jump!” Nellie called, getting a confirmation from Erikson that she was ready. The scan around them showed almost fifteen capital ships, with many more cruisers. It was what she had expected, but it was still something to see as the weapons signatures lit up and the largest three capital ships closed in tight formation, their shields overlapping to cover each other. It gave them a shield strength almost equal to the Carrier Sparklight, but it wouldn’t be enough.

“The fleet is firing, Admiral!” Cabot warned, and the scan filled with hundreds of signatures from missile warheads.

“Two seconds,” Morton called.

“Jump!” Nellie called.

The Harbinger vanished as a second flash heralded the arrival of the specially prepared asteroid. It barreled into the enemy fleet just as the Harbinger dropped out of the micro-jump behind the Line ships, who all had shields on Max forward.

“I have received the backup code,” Morton told her. “Crush has the hostages already and is just leaving the system.”

Nellie pressed a button, transmitting the pre-recorded message to let her friend know she got his warning.

The asteroid shattered against the combined shields of the trio of capital ships, scattering the mines inside in a wide arc before they activated, the explosion rocking through the fleet, holing several cruisers.

“Our turn. Cabot, weapons free.” Nellie grinned. “Erikson, weave us through their lines.”

“Aye, Admiral!” They answered, and the low rumble of the rail gun turrets began as the ports on the bow of the harbinger rolled back. The Beam weapons were lit and ready.

Nellie targeted the rear of the three large capitals, firing a pair of XL Beams at each of the rear pair of capitals. The port one holed, but the starboard one detonated as she had hoped. The explosion crippled the largest capital ship and finished the job on the other, causing another explosion. The resultant damage was too much for the remaining Captial in the trio, sending it up as well.

“Launch the torpedo drones,” Nellie ordered, and twenty Orb craft launched from the ship, each one packed with explosives and formed into a quick and agile dart shape.

In seconds, they had picked their own targets, finding weakened shields or damaged ships and slamming into the gaps before detonating.

An enemy Beam weapon sparked against their shields, but Engineer He and Cartier shifted power from the drives that were only operating at around twenty percent to cover. The shields held.

Two more hit and the shields began to suffer, but they were in chaos now; their command ships had led the attack and were gone, ships were detonating from the torpedo attacks, and the Harbinger was still firing constantly.

“Coming up on more capitals!” Morton nodded as Nellie’s board went green again.

Nellie smiled and opened fire with the Beams once more, taking out two and severely damaging a third. None detonated, but they were dead in space.

It was enough.

“Maya, head for the Jump point,” Nellie called as she stood. “Cabot, focus on damage, not kills, for now. I want them suffering.”

“Aye, Admiral.”

“We might have a problem,” Morton called. “Admiral, I think they are breaking!”

“What?” Nellie asked.

Nellie’s mind blurred as she tried to figure out her options. This had always been a diversionary attack, not a serious one. She had expected to do damage and hoped to set them back on their heels a bit, but never in her wildest dreams did she think they would run.

As a result, she had no plan to deal with it.

All she could do, as Crush would say, was the best she could with what she had.

“Morton, open a system-wide broadcast.”

“Aye, Admiral.”

“N.S.S. Harbinger to all Imperial Line ships. Stand to and abandon ship. Do so, and you will be allowed to leave in peace. Do not expect this offer a second time.” Nellie called, improvising madly.

“Fuck me, they’re complying!” Cartier said and then winced. “Sorry, Admiral.”

“Don’t be,” Nellie laughed. “I don’t believe it either.”

It wasn’t all of them or even half, but several ships came to a stop and sprouted escape pods by the dozens that fired off toward the station.

“Despatch the destroyers to install nanite controls on those ships. Once they are done, jump them back to the Imperium,” Nellie commanded.

She had Maya Erikson plot a course into the middle of the abandoned ships and began recovery operations, still not quite sure this was happening.

The remaining Line ships were headed for the nearest jump points, but several did turn back, flying in wide formation as they attempted to swoop on the abandoned ships.

“Target the lead ships,” Nellie said with a grim smile. “Fire!”

The rail guns raked the armor plating, split seconds after the laser arrays had done the same to the shields. The leaders tried to hold, but after two capital ships were left drifting, they turned away.

“Bring us to bear,” Nellie said, determined to make a point. As soon as the Harbinger had turned, she fired the Beams, taking out two more capital ships.

That was it, and the last of the fight left this wing of the Imperial Line Fleet.

They had broken.

The next couple of hours felt like years, as Nellie and the Harbinger sat in space and waited as the conversion of the three capitals and half dozen cruisers and heavy cruisers continued.

It wasn’t just being out here alone, which was bad enough, but not knowing what was happening back in the Imperium or with the other attacks. She would have happily ignored the wreckage, precious as it was, and returned immediately, except for one thing.

Fear could not stop everyone.

It was insane, but true.

Having the biggest, nastiest, most powerful ships around would stop many other groups from attacking them out of fear. The problem was that others would be tempted to try it merely for the reward of getting one of these ships for themselves. It would make a tempting target, and it wasn’t their only one. The highly configurable Orb ships, the Liberty-class cruiser designs, the jump ring technology… they had a lot of tasty morsels to attract predators.

So, she would sit here in the open, where the Sagacity could record it all and take these ships from the Imperial Line.

The message was simple.

You come for us, everything you lose, we will take.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

It would considerably change the risk/reward assessment for anyone who wanted to attack them, and now everyone would know.

Without the attacks by the Line, the Imperium would have had nearly the same fleet now as when the blockade started. Instead, it had three massive powerhouses, in addition to a baker’s dozen more cruisers, the Jump-Ring system, and more.

The blockade had not weakened them, not at all. It had given them the power they needed to stand against the universe at large.

“Recovery of the abandoned craft is complete, Admiral,” Morton reported.

“Good,” Nellie nodded. “Lock grav tow lines onto as many of the derelict capitals as possible and take us home.”

“Aye, Admiral!” Morton stopped and looked back at her. “They’ll remember this, all of them. Whatever happens, they will remember this.”

“I hope so, Morton,” Nellie sighed. “I really do.”

Nellie sat back in the Captain’s chair as they transitioned into Transit Space and tried to convince herself she would not arrive back to find the Imperium destroyed in her absence. The entire battle and recovery operation took less than three hours, yet it felt like a lifetime.

This was the last time she ordered radio silence during a battle in which they were all in different systems. It was just too tense.

“Downjump in three, two, one… We’re home!” Morton called, and every eye in the place turned to the scan displays.

“I’m seeing the Emissary, the cruisers but a couple of the automated ones are missing…” Maya spoke to herself as she scanned. “Where are the Charge and the Bly?”

Nellie felt her blood freeze in her veins, immediately breaking her own orders and calling her friends.

“Harbinger to Charge, Harbinger to Bly, respond!” Nellie called urgently.

“Let me just say this,” Baz’s voice came in reply immediately. “Absolutely none of this is my fault!”

“Baz, what happened? Is everything okay?” Nellie called.

“That depends—” Baz started, but Dar cut in.

“Stop it, you drunken moron, she’s worried!” Dar snapped. “Nellie, we are all fine, but we seem to have accidentally taken over a star system.” He cleared his throat. “On a not unrelated note, I want to report Baz for being drunk and in charge of a capital ship.”

“Dar!” Salem cut into the line. “He is not in charge; I am.”

“Are you drunk?” Nellie asked, laughing in relief.

“I may be tipsy,” Salem admitted. “But Dar shouldn’t talk, considering this is entirely his fault!”

“I’m going to need a full report on all of this,” Nellie said. “But for now, what do you mean about taking over a star system?”

“There is only one habitable planet in this system,” Salem explained. “It was not a huge fan of the pirate station, but they were unarmed. When Dar destroyed the station, the planetary government transmitted their total surrender and ceded the system to the Nanite Imperium.”

“Back up a moment,” Nellie said. “Dar blew up a station?”

“It was a warning shot!” Dar grumbled.

“With an XL Beam weapon?” Baz giggled. “Ziiip…Booom!”

“Not my fault their damn station was made of shit,” Dar grumbled.

“Okay,” Nellie sighed. “Give me a few hours to sort out everyone else, and I will come over and see what we can do about you three taking over a system while I was looking the other way.”

“One more thing, Queen Bonne Chance,” Dar said quickly. “Can you please tell Baz to stop calling himself the Pirate King?”

“Baz, you are not the Pirate King,” Nellie groaned. “We are not pirates, remember?”

“I can have a hobby if I want to—” Baz started before Salem quickly cut the comm line.

“Emissary to Harbinger,” Boone called in a few moments later. “Clear to report, Admiral?”

“Go ahead, Captain,” Nellie said. “How did it go?”

“We faced strong opposition and were forced to disengage after a few minutes of battle when our shields failed completely. I regret to report we will require extensive repairs. The Line forces suffered the loss of five capital ships and several large cruisers before the main force moved to reinforce them.” Boone looked flushed. “I regret I failed to break them, Admiral.”

“The mission was to test them, Boone,” Nellie told him. “A distraction, nothing more. You were supposed to make it look real and bring your ship and people home. You did both and more. Excellent work.”

“Thank you, Admiral.” Boone said, “We heard the news about the break of the Ninth, Ma’am. I have to ask, how?”

“I wish I knew,” Nellie admitted. “The fact is, they just broke. We must have gotten lucky and taken out their lead ships early.”

“I would appreciate a copy of the action recording and after-action report for my crew to study, Admiral,” Boone said gravely. “If there are improvements to be made, my crew will make them.”

“First, Captain Boone, congratulate your people and celebrate your win. Then, after, we will all learn from each other.” Nellie said severely. “You need to appreciate the victories when they come. Trust me on this.”

“Of course, Admiral,” Boone visibly relaxed. “We will, thank you.”

“Someone get me some HyperDrive,” Nellie sighed as she slumped back in her chair. “We have a lot to do before we deal with the system our friends just annexed.”

“Aye, Admiral!” Morton nodded.

Equipped with a mug of HyperDrive, Nellie pulled up the list of damaged ships, seeing the Emissary was indeed badly damaged. While it could consume the derelicts she brought back, it would be preferable to… The conversation with Lucy came back to her.

“Bunny, is Lucy connected to the network?”

“I am,” Lucy replied. “How can I help?”

“That repair dock you mentioned, is it ready for use?” Nellie asked.

“It is,” Lucy replied. “I have orders for the Emissary, Banjo’s Heart, and Cix-El’s Reunion all ready to go. I just wanted to wait for you to give the okay first.”

“Please, that would be a great help,” Nellie said.

God, this was so awkward. The whole thing felt like they were walking on eggshells. This would get easier over time, right?

“Orders issued,” Lucy said, “Anything else?”

“Any suggestions for the new system we seem to have acquired?” Nellie asked.

“I don’t want to overstep,” Lucy said carefully, “But I would recommend using the Sparklight to collect all the inevitable scrap while we use a pair of automated cruisers to ferry nanite cubes to the site, establish a link to our network, and start on a new station.”

“Sounds good to me, thank you, Lucy,” Nellie winced at how stilted she sounded.

“Happy to help,” Lucy sounded almost as bad as she did, Nellie realized.

Baby steps.

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

“Happy to help,” Paren said in a sarcastic tone. Honestly, it was worse than listening to one of Salem’s boring speeches on efficiency.

“Pardon?” Edwards asked, turning from his focus on his first solo project.

Paren sighed and replayed the conversation for him, with much-added commentary, before sitting back and waiting for his take on things.

“Good for them,” Edwards said and turned back to what he was doing.

“Excuse me?” Paren glared. How dare he!

“They are going through a rough time, but they are both trying to fix it.” Carl brushed aside a lock of his blue hair as he spoke, but Paren hardly noticed. Really. It wasn’t cute at all. “I hope they make it.”

“She betrayed us!” Paren hissed angrily. “She abandoned us!”

“She got caught up in an idea and then got carried away,” Edwards offered pointedly. “It can happen to the best of us. Still, she’s trying to fix it, right?”

“She’ll just do it again!” Paren said, jabbing a finger into his irritatingly attractive back.

“Maybe, but maybe not,” Edwards said.

“I do not forgive,” Paren crossed her arms, determined to end the conversation on her terms.

“I do,” Edwards said happily. “Which is why the woman who used me as a lab rat is now the woman I love.”

“Oh, you massive fucking cheat!” Paren shouted. “That is cheating!”

“What is?” Edwards asked. “I was illustrating a point, that is all.”

“Not that,” Paren waved a hand in front of him, “Saying you love me for the first time to win an argument is just cheating!”

“That wasn’t the first time,” Edwards said, frowning.

“It wasn’t?” Paren said uncertainly.

“Exactly how often do you ignore me when I’m talking?” Carl laughed. “I’ve said it about a dozen times!”

“You-you have?” Paren froze.

This was all wrong. She was the angry one. She was the smart one. She was right! So… how did she end up being wrong?

“Of course,” Edwards said with a smile. “I love you, so I tell you that.”

“Even though I didn’t say it back?” Paren asked, feeling a horrible twisting in her stomach.

“Even though you didn’t say it back,” Edwards said, standing up and giving her a peck on the end of her nose.

“But…” Paren growled in frustration. “The man with no big goals is better than me in a relationship. That is irritating.”

“Oh, I have a big goal now,” Edwards said slyly. “The biggest.”

“Mine’s the biggest!” Paren laughed. “I’m going to take over the universe!”

“I believe you,” Edwards nodded. “Mine’s still bigger.”

“Go on then,” Paren challenged. “Tell me!”

“I’m going to steal your heart,” Edwards winked.

Oh, fuck that was corny.

Like, curl up in a hole and hide forever corny.

Unfortunately… it also worked.

“Fuck!” Paren growled. “I love you too! Happy?”

“I really am,” Edwards smiled.

And that was the problem, wasn’t it? He really was happy. Sitting in a lab that most people would consider a living—in some parts literally—nightmare, with a messed-up girl who wanted to rule the universe one horror at a time… he was happy. Just to be with her. Even if she did get vicious and murdery occasionally.

And he made terrible puns and said corny things with total conviction, and… oh, boy, she was really in love with this idiot.

“Okay, that’s it,” Paren sighed. “Take your clothes off.”

“What?” Edwards asked.

“Look, those clothes are coming off one way or another. For the record, I gave you a chance,” Paren said, leaping on him as he laughed.