Why would he need me to open it?
Surely there were forces far stronger at his fingertips.
Or was this still another part of his game? To crush my spirit and claim my body.
I sat on the edge of my bed, kicking my legs in and out, faster and faster. A few times I banged my ankle against the metal. But I didn’t stop.
A few minutes later, the casualties started to pour in.
Scratches and scrapes at first, a few broken bones. But then heavy lacerations, fullface burns, even someone who’d been impaled by a shard of metal right through their arm.
I sat there on my bed, staring at them, incapable of tearing my gaze away.
This had better be worth it.
We’d better win.
I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if we didn’t. I’d suggested this mission. I’d brought the Ra’xon here.
And now, when it mattered most, I couldn’t rise to her defense.
I hung my head.
…
Annabelle Williams
“We’ve lost hull integrity on deck 12,” I snapped, voice shaking in my throat. “Emergency shielding in place.”
“Keep up the attack. Concentrate on the scout vessel. And at all times keep us between it and the Miracle.”
The Star Forces were concentrating their attack on the Miracle, rightly perceiving that was our weak spot. The Miracle was protecting us with their extended shield capabilities, but if her shields were compromised, she’d be nothing but a big fat target.
I rolled my bottom lip between my teeth, using the pain as a distraction from the tension.
“Fires reported on decks 12, 10, and 21. Suppression systems working, but we’ve received casualty reports.”
“Prep tri-phasic torpedoes,” the Captain began. Then she stopped. She snapped towards the view screen, bringing up a stiff hand and pointing at a vessel that had just pulled out of the Miracle’s hangar bay. “What’s that?”
A pulse of terror ripped through me.
Before my fear could consume me, we received a message.
“It’s Shepherd,” I stammered, “it’s Shepherd.” Relief pulsed through me.
The Captain said nothing. She watched.
We all watched.
…
Lieutenant Commander Nathan Shepherd
I concentrated on the scout ship.
It was quick, darting in and out like a hawk on the wing.
It was a mess out here in space. The Ra’xon had already managed to take out one of the smaller Star Forces’ cruisers, and chunks of debris were littered about in a massive radius. Torn up pipes and shattered sections of hull tumbled in the void, pushed on by eddies of ion pulses like feathers fluttering in a draft.
I focused on the screen, narrowing in on that scout ship.
It was much bigger than the rest and had state of the art shields similar in capacity to the Miracle’s.
It was also armed with ion cannons strong enough to obliterate an asteroid in a single hit.
Beads of sweat slicked my brow, trickling down the side of my face. With a nervous twitch, I yanked one hand from the piloting controls and swiped the perspiration away before it could cloud my vision.
My ship had weapons, sure, but they were like pea shooters compared to that scout vessel. Still, what I lacked in power I made up for in strategy.
The scout vessel was focused on the Ra’xon. It had to be. One wrong move, and the Ra’xon would blast it from the sky.
That left me with the opportunity to flank it from the rear.
Suddenly my comm station beeped, the unexpected noise feeling like a punch to the gut. I jerked a hand over and crammed my jittering thumb on the right button.
“Lieutenant Commander,” came the rattling voice of Captain H’agovan. “I’m not going to ask why you left the Miracle, but now you’re out here, protect our starboard flank. We’re going to concentrate on the SF Venture.”
My eyes locked on the right Star Forces ship. The Venture was a small but sprightly light cruiser. It clearly had weapons mods beyond the standard issue, though. For a ship that should have been as easy to swat from the sky as a fly, the Ra’xon still hadn’t obliterated her shields.
“What about the scout ship?”
“Leave it to last. The Miracle’s shields are protecting us so far. We have to knock out the smaller ships before those shields fail.”
“Got it.” My fingers scattered over the controls and my small ship swung around.
The Venture was on the Ra’xon’s starboard side, giving the heavy cruiser hell. Though the Miracle’s shields were still enveloping her, small shots were making it through, and I could see hull breaches as my ship swung past.
Passing the Ra’xon with my small ship was like walking by the foot of a mountain. Swathes of grey-white hull filled the view screen, punctuated here and there by portals and windows.
I jerked my head down and concentrated on piloting the ship.
A few warning alarms blared around me.
Things were getting close.
I watched three of the Ra’xon’s twenty ion cannons swing around and target the Venture. The Ra’xon was in an unenviable position, being forced to fight on multiple fronts at once. One-on-one she could take on any of those Star Forces ships. But together they were like a wave of velociraptors picking at prey.
The engines of my small vessel thrummed as I shunted them to maximum capacity. We weren’t travelling at light speed, but with all the constant darting and maneuvering, the thrusters were taking a beating.
Strong vibrations punched up through the floor and into the console, shaking my fingers as they flew over the controls.
I wasn’t so sure this was a good idea. While I understood the Captain wanted to thin the ranks of the enemy by concentrating on the weaker ships, I couldn’t help but fear what that scout vessel had in store.
My gaze kept jerking back to it as I followed the tactical orders streaming in from the Ra’xon.
On paper, maybe we had this battle; we had two heavy cruisers, after all. My gut told me it wouldn’t be that easy.
I swung to the left, peppering the Venture with cannon blasts as the Ra’xon lined up a shot with her phase torpedoes.
At the last moment, I swung back, retreating behind the Ra’xon’s shields.
The phase torpedoes lanced out of the Ra’xon and slammed through space, three glittering sparks of pale white light.
The Venture didn’t have a chance.
A second later the torpedoes hit, lancing into the Venture, taking out its propulsion, weapons, and shields, in one devastating strike.
“Direct hits,” Williams spat over the comms. “She’s down.”
I didn’t manage a smile. There was no point. Though there were only two Star Forces ships now, that was two too many.
My stomach sank as my gaze flicked back to the scout ship.
“Alright, concentrate on the remaining light cruiser,” the Captain ordered.
I did as I was told, darting closer to the light cruiser as the Ra’xon reloaded its torpedo bays.
That’s when I saw it. The scout ship darted towards the Miracle, suddenly jerking back from the fray.
My head snapped sideways to watch it as it swung around the side of the Ra’xon to reach the heavy cruiser behind.
“What the hell are they doing?” I spat to myself.
The scout ship shot towards the Miracle.
Theoretically there was nothing it could do. The Miracle’s immense shields, though battered by the fight, would still hold it off.
Theoretically.
My stomach sank.
I knew something was about to happen, the nerves cascading over my back couldn’t lie.
“Captain—”
I wasn’t quick enough.
That scout ship suddenly activated some kind of shield. It wasn’t the usual inertia suppressing field I was used to. It was orange, and flickered around the ship’s hull like a halo.
> “What the hell?”
The scout ship slammed towards the Miracle.
… And punched through her shields with all the ease of a hand swiping through air.
“The scout ship knows the Miracle’s shield frequencies – it’s tunneling through!” The Chief’s desperate cry suddenly reverberated over my comms.
All I could do was watch in pale-faced horror as the scout ship slammed into the Miracle. That orange flickering field was like a spike, and it slammed into the Miracle’s hull, piercing it, hull plating flying out everywhere.
A second later, the Miracle’s shields blinked out.
The Ra’xon replied with a volley aimed right at the scout ship’s tail. The explosion was enough to pull the ship from the Miracle’s hull, but not destroy it. Obliterate the scout ship while it was still sticking out of the side of the Miracle, and it would risk destroying both ships.
The scout ship spiraled away, but quickly regained thruster control.
The Ra’xon moved backwards, and without a word enveloped the Miracle in its own shields a second before the scout ship sent a volley of ion pulses right at the Miracle’s main drives.
The Ra’xon was a massive heavy cruiser and had shields to match, but it couldn’t sustain protecting two ships at once. Not for long, anyhow.
We were now in a battle for our lives.
Perspiration ran so thick and fast down my brow I had to swipe at it every few seconds just to ensure I could see.
“We need to eliminate that scout vessel,” Williams roared. “It’s coming around for another sweep. Our shields are at 35% and falling.”
The scout ship was still ignoring me. I was like a minnow compared to it. Even if I managed to get off a few well-placed blasts with my cannons, they’d barely dent the ship’s shields.
The only thing I could do was lay down cover fire.
“Swing around to the left,” Williams began.
She stopped abruptly.
The Ra’xon had much stronger tactical sensors than my small ship. She was always several steps ahead of this battle.
My spine tingled as every hair along the back of my neck stood on end. “What is it?”
“They’re laying a driver mine!” Williams suddenly blasted over my comms, her terrified tone reverberating around my small cockpit.
I snapped my head to the side, concentrating on the scout vessel.
Christ, she was right. As my rudimentary scanners swept over the ship, I could detect the distinct signature of a driver.
A driver mine was specifically designed to dig its way through a ship and drive right to the center, like a grub coring an apple. Once there, it would explode, usually taking the ship with it.
The mine possessed some of the strongest explosives in the fleet. And considering how many modifications these Star Forces’ vessels possessed, I could bet the mine was even more powerful than the ordinary variety too.
There was every chance it could punch through the Ra’xon’s remaining shields.
“Goddammit!” My voice cut through the room, ricocheting off the walls like a bullet.
“Concentrate attack on that mine,” the Captain snapped.
… It wouldn’t work.
Now the Miracle’s shields were down, the Ra’xon had to protect both ships. The scout vessel would lay down cover fire and draw away her main guns while the mine armed itself.
… There was only one way.
Goddammit. There was only one option.
I hunched over the controls, logging in a new navigation sequence.
I launched the ship right at that mine.
“Get ready to transport me,” I suddenly spat into my comms.
“What?” Williams spat back.
“Just do it.”
“You’re on a moving ship!”
“I won’t be soon.” I lurched up out of my chair, flinging myself at the far wall and fumbling with the compartment that held the space suits.
“What are you going to do?”
“Take down that driver mine.”
“How?”
“By throwing this goddamn ship at it, that’s how.” I grabbed at a space suit and crammed it on, the flexible metal compartments locking into place around my body.
“You’re going to ram it?”
“That’s right.” I heaved up my helmet and crammed it over my head, slotting it into the rivets along the neck of my body suit.
“That’s suicide!”
“Not if I jump out of this ship first. Like I said – be ready to transport me.”
“Nathan, no—”
“Too late. The navs are set. I’m jettisoning in 60 seconds.”
“Nathan!”
I ignored Williams’ ringing voice and threw myself at the back of the ship. This vessel was too small to have escape pods. Instead it had a jettison kit. A small metal frame with a portable thruster drive that you strapped yourself into. It would give you a pulse of speed to throw you away from the ship and any ensuing explosions. Once you were clear, you were on your own.
Williams kept trying to talk me down.
It was too late.
I locked the gloved hand of my space suit on the side of the jettison kit, steadied myself, took a breath, twisted, and slammed my back into it. Immediately a harness shot out of recesses in the sides and locked my body in place.
The jettison gear was lodged right at the back of the ship near a secondary air lock. As soon as I flung myself into it, a safety shield blinked into place, separating me from the rest of the ship. It would ensure the atmosphere wasn’t vented when I escaped.
“Jettisoning procedure initiated. Jettisoning in five, four, three, two, one.”
I gritted my teeth.
“Jettisoning.”
The airlock slammed open, receding into the wall as I was flung backwards.
I didn’t have time to swear, let alone breathe.
The walls of the ship became a blur as I tumbled backwards like a human bullet.
Finally a scream tore from my lips, reverberating around the confines of my helmet.
I could see flashes of the Ra’xon’s massive hull, marked here and there by black swathes of damage. I caught glimpses of debris, too – hull plating, pipes, indistinguishable charred scraps of metal.
Somehow I dodged everything.
The escape gear’s thrusters put on a final burst of speed, and then cut out. Abruptly.
I found myself upside down, relative to the Ra’xon, staring up at the massive ship’s marked and singed belly.
“Goddammit!” My body was still locked in place against the jettison gear, my arms locked over my middle in the Lazarus position.
Suddenly there was a massive explosion behind me. I felt the shock wave as it pushed me forward, and saw the massive blast of light as it lit up space like a firework.
I was pushed this way and that, like a leaf tumbling in a hurricane.
I caught glimpses of the battle behind me, enough to see I’d done it.
My ship had taken down the driver mine.
I’d done it.
I couldn’t become too flushed with success, though – I was still strapped to my escape gear, and there was nothing I could do.
The gear had rudimentary evasion capabilities. If a piece of space junk got too close, the gear’s tiny thrusters would move me out of the way. If shrapnel was moving too fast, however, I wouldn’t have a chance.
The fear drove hard into my gut as I tumbled. Any moment could be my last.
The battle still raged around me. I saw constant flashes of light. My suit’s brightness filters managed to protect my eyes from the searing illumination, but that was it.
I tumbled.
And tumbled.
I had no goddamn idea if we were winning or losing. No idea how long I’d last.
In a situation like that, the mind becomes erratic, jerking from thought to thought like an unsteady hand dealing cards.
There was no point in closing my eyes and p
raying that everything would work out.
Instead I faced death.
… A death that did not come.
I lost track of time, my adrenaline-fueled mind too addled to track the passing seconds. But suddenly the explosions stopped.
No more flashes of light.
Eddies and shock waves from the battle had pushed me until I faced nothing but space. Torn up ship components drifted past me, a few twisted remnants of engine cores and bulkheads tumbling past and catching reflected light from behind me.
I waited.
Waited to find out who’d won.
That’s when I saw her.
The Ra’xon.
She came swooping into view beside me.
I cheered. From inside the confines of my space suit, I cheered.
Chapter 5
Lieutenant Commander Nathan Shepherd
It didn’t take long for the Ra’xon to send a small shuttle to pick me up.
The Ra’xon’s transporters were down, along with most of her shield generators. She’d received a real beating in that battle.
But we’d won.
Repairs wouldn’t take too long. We’d be back on our feet soon.
Speaking of being on our feet, I was currently on mine, shifting forward and back like a tree swaying in a confused gale.
I’d quickly been released from my escape gear. I had to check in with the Doc to ensure I hadn’t received too much radiation while I’d sat outside in the middle of a goddamn battle. Then I’d be cleared for duty and sent to coordinate repairs.
I knew how important it was to get back to work.
So why was I still standing outside the med bay’s grey doors, staring at them like they were about to swallow me whole?
Because Alyssa was inside.
I felt surprisingly nervous. There was no reason for it. I was still flushed with the success of battle. I had that familiar euphoric feeling that fooled me into thinking I could take on the world.
And yet the thought of walking through the door and seeing Alyssa was kind of terrifying.
It shouldn’t be. I kept telling myself that it shouldn’t be, but my damn brain wouldn’t listen.
A crewman with a badly burnt arm suddenly shuffled up beside me, shooting me a confused glance. “You okay, Lieutenant Commander?”
I cleared my throat and nodded, taking a quick stride towards the doors.
The Crucible- The Complete Series Page 51