A smattering of Sir Uram’s vessels made it past the Gor Ark’s fleet, and the Stalwart’s gunners let loose with the plasma quarrels. Orange balls of molten heat slammed into the tiny ships, and they exploded like little bombs. The massive flames startled me a bit since I’d only seen ship battles outside of a planet’s atmosphere, but my surprise didn’t last long because some of the skiffs evaded the gunners and started firing at the starboard hull.
I adjusted my left hand, and the monitor shifted to display a view of the incoming enemy fire. A red light pulsed between two plates on the hull, and I moved both arms so the prot-field I was controlling shifted over to that section. At the same time, another light flickered to my right, and I pulled my hands apart to divide the shields in two. More hot zones showed from all over the screen, and I constantly needed to adjust my arms until the prot-field was stretched thin. The slightest deviation from the predicted pathway would mean there would be no shields to absorb enemy fire.
The Stalwart was a Beluga-class starship, designed for transport and not warfare, so the shields were limited. Still, I caught the first energy blasts without any getting through, and then the gunners made short work of the blood-ships. But more kept coming, and the guns on our side did their best to stop them before they could attack the Stalwart.
“Captain Cross, sir,” Matthias’ robotic voice rang through the general comms. “A timed malfunction drill has been triggered.”
“Timed malfunction?” the captain answered.
“Yes, sir. It appears someone has infiltrated the Stalwart’s weapon systems. I do not know how, but I can make an educated guess as to why.”
I heard the squires curse from the gunner terminals as they unplugged themselves and stepped around the stations to inspect them.
The Star Spear immediately came to my mind, and I wondered if he’d done it while the Stalwart had been docked inside the Den Ark. But how would he have entered our starship while the rest of the crew were still inside? Even though the command team, the knights, and the squires had stayed inside the Ark, the artillerymen and yeomen had remained on the starship.
No, it wasn’t Sir Uram. Prime Minister Treyin must have tampered with the Stalwart’s systems and scheduled this malfunction. I was almost sure of it even though I didn’t see a clear motive.
I didn’t have a chance to think on the question long because the enemy blood-ships started hammering our starship’s hull. Without the squires manning the gunner terminals, there were only rune lances from the primary gunnery to shoot down the skiffs. Those weapons were intended for much larger and slower targets, so they were having a hard time taking down the agile hostile ships.
My hands darted from left to right as hot spots appeared all over the screen. The gunnery rocked as we were pounded on all sides, and alarms blared from the overhead. The squires screamed at each other while they tried to get the gunner terminals online again. I turned my head for half a second to see Olav deep in concentration, and his hands moved in a delicate dance as he protected the port side hull.
“We’ve got two online,” I heard Neville say as I blocked another five energy blasts.
Then I saw the plasma quarrels join the fray. The gunners made up for the terminals that were out of operation, and soon the enemy blood-ships were down to single digits. My arms ached from the constant movement across the controls, and the shields had dissipated to the point where I could only block a few more attacks. They would regenerate in time, and we’d just bought ourselves a lot of it.
At least until we faced the Dax fleet.
I didn’t know whether they’d come through the portal yet, but there’d been no announcement from Captain Cross via the general comms.
The final enemy blood-ship went down, and the crew inside the gunnery roared as we left our terminals and clapped each other on the backs. The Den Ark was still in Sir Uram’s hands, but he was mostly hamstrung now that we’d taken care of the ships he was controlling.
Olav removed the beer drum from his prot-belt and handed it to me. “Not bad for your first time on a shield station,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said as I sipped the beer. It tasted sour, and I guessed it was the brew from the Bix Ark.
“First battle is out of the way, crew,” the captain said over comms. “Let’s hope we can leave Ecoma’s atmosphere and close the LR portal so it’s our last.”
While the Stalwart left the debris floating among the gas, what was left of the Gor Ark’s blood-ships remained behind. There couldn’t have been more than a few of them dotting my monitor as we moved through the atmosphere.
The long-range portal showed on the view screen, a swirling concoction like a cosmic whirlpool comprised of blue and purple hues.
“You will be pleased to hear I can close the portal, Captain,” Matthias said over general comms. “Unfortunately, I cannot do it before the first few Dax ships slip through. I can set up a rune beacon afterward which should keep the Ecomese safe for—”
“Tell me about the weapons situation,” Captain Cross interjected.
“They are back online, sir. However, I could not recover them all. I have not yet discovered the identity of the culprit, but I can assure you I—”
“How many ships will come through the portal, Matthias?” The captain’s gravelly voice sounded frustrated by the machina’s deliberations.
“Three warships, sir.”
“That’s three more than we can take with our shields and weaponry so low. Well, let’s see what you’re made of, crew.”
Chapter 20
I watched the view screen as three midnight-black warships emerged from the rippling portal. Unlike Triumvirate starships, these vessels weren’t shaped like marine animals. They were taller than they were wide, and their form shared a strange resemblance with a human skull. Thrusters spouted blue energy at the stern of the skull-ships, and the cannons on the bow looked like two glowing embers.
They were absolutely terrifying, and I felt fear like a choking mist inside the Stalwart’s secondary gunnery. Everyone stared at the view screen like we were watching the agents of our deaths.
Everyone except Olav.
“Ugly fucking starships,” he said. “What the hell are they supposed to be, anyway?”
No one laughed at the berserker’s retort, nor did they answer his question. They looked like three warships with fully operational weapons.
The view screen stopped presenting the three enemy vessels, and it split into two sections. The bottom half showed Captain Cross inside the Stalwart’s bridge, seated on a pod-chair with Commander Cross, Leith Manzo, and the yeomen behind him. A broad-shouldered man in a high-collared coat was displayed on the bottom half. His head was shaven and tattooed with dozens of runes, and he wore a stoic expression.
“I am Captain Atticus Cross of the RTF Stalwart,” the captain said. “And Ecoma is under the protection of our starship.”
“Salutations, Captain Cross,” the man replied in accented Caledonian. “I am Captain Jenu Bokori of the DS Death’s Champion. I do not look forward to doing battle with you. Nevertheless, a battle shall come to pass. Ecoma is a planet registered to the greatest kingdom known to mankind, the Dax, and you are in our way.”
Captain Cross stared into the camera for a few seconds, and then he nodded. “So be it. May the vanquished take their places among the furthest star.”
“And may the victors pray for the souls of those they have slain,” Captain Bokori answered.
I felt a sense of awe as I watched the Dax captain’s feed vanish.
“Prepare for battle, crew,” Captain Cross said. “Yeoman Nolan will brief you on what we’re about to face.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Yeoman Nolan’s plump face appeared on the screen. “These Dax vessels are not as threatening as our Triumvirate Cachalots, but they are still warships. Each is equipped with twenty-six plasma quarrels and two laser cannons. Their shield generators are located on the base of the skull, and they’re protected by a c
arbon nanotube composite. It can be destroyed, but only through constant impact. A big blast won’t do it.” Nolan nodded before his feed turned off.
“Alright, crew, you heard the yeoman,” Captain Cross said. “We’ll handle one ship at a time. Gunners, you need to work the plasma quarrels to take out the shield generators. Those on the rune lances will aim for a successful strike to scramble their navigation systems. As soon as we know they’re down, Matthias will start jumping us through short-range portals. The aim is to keep moving so they can’t pin us. Shielders are to use the force fields sparingly and only block attacks most likely to breach the hull. We need to save as much energy as possible so we can fire the rune-cannon. This old girl can probably weather the strikes from the plasma quarrels, but laser cannons will need to be blocked. Let’s show these Dax bastards what the Caledonian spirit is all about!”
Everyone in the gunnery suddenly cheered, and I added my own voice. With a detailed plan, I didn’t feel so terrified at the thought of facing three enemy warships.
The three skull-ships appeared on the view screen, and our starship’s thrusters engaged to move us forward. I thrust my hands into the holsters and stared at the starboard hull on the monitor. My focus was completely on providing cover for the Stalwart, and I tried to ignore the grunts as the squires behind me fired upon the enemy warship.
Purple hotspots pulsed on the farthest point of the starboard hull, and I brought both my hands to the right so the shields covered the position. Red circles flashed elsewhere on the monitor, and I ignored them because they indicated incoming plasma quarrels. A blue laser beam pounded into the shields, and I wrestled with the impact. As soon as the force field absorbed the attack, I split the shields to deal with two more lasers on opposite ends of the hull.
Without any notice, the gunnery shook, and sparks showered from the overhead.
“Damn it!” Olav roared. “My fucking shields are too low! They’re all aiming their fire on the portside hull.”
“We’ve taken down the navigation systems, Captain,” Flanagan said over the comms.
“Roger,” the captain responded. “Matthias, I’m patching through coordinates now for a SR portal.”
“Coordinates received, sir,” the machina said. “Initiating SR portal.”
I felt a little torque as the Stalwart entered the portal, and we appeared at the skull-ship’s stern. When I glanced up at the view screen, a prot-field missile burst from the Stalwart’s rune-cannon and shot toward the enemy vessel like a spear. The blue energy beam unfolded before enveloping the skull like a massive hand. The black bulkheads crumpled beneath the pressure, and then the enemy ship exploded into bits of metal.
“That’s one down,” Captain Cross’ voice echoed in my helmet. “Initiate second SR portal.”
“Initiating,” Matthias said.
“Uhh . . . I don’t have any shields left,” Olav muttered as we passed through the portal. “Captain! The shields are down! We won’t have enough energy for another prot-field missile.”
I peered at my screen, and my shields were registering as 8%. Whoever had fired the rune-cannon must have used too much firepower. The percentage was ticking up at a rate of 1% every three seconds, but the recharge rate wouldn’t be enough to keep up with the incoming fire.
The monitor started flashing with dozens of red and purple hotspots. I scrambled to divide the shields to handle the incoming laser cannons, and I missed at least two spots. The screen flared, and the Stalwart rocked.
“Shields are completely down, Captain,” Olav said on the radio.
“I can’t squeeze anything out for another rune-cannon blast,” Zac reported.
The gunnery was now a cacophony of alarms, sparks, and smoking terminals. I glanced at Neville behind me, and he was working furiously at firing plasma quarrels at the skull-ships. Nathan and Richard were staring blankly into their weapons terminal, and I realized that their weapons were down.
For a moment, I wondered whether this was the end. I stared at the view screen as orange plasma quarrels shot toward our starship.
Then I saw a massive red cloud leaving Ecoma’s atmosphere.
“Blood-ships,” Olav whispered. “Fucking blood-ships!”
We were still under heavy fire, and I squatted a little lower to prevent getting thrown to the ground. I watched the blood-ships move into the enemy fire, and a good chunk of them went down as the Dax’s plasma quarrels pounded into them while the heavy lasers caused them to explode into tiny red specks.
“We have just received a message from Senator Rovin of the Bix Ark,” Captain Cross said. “He has provided his ships to defend against the Dax. He wants to reward two ‘great warriors’ for their assistance.”
My chest swelled with pride at hearing I was somehow responsible for these new arrivals.
“I knew clearing that portal was the right thing to do,” Olav said to me from his shield station, and he dodged a bundle of wires as they dropped from the exposed overhead.
“You didn’t know it was important until now, sir,” I said with a smirk.
“I had a hunch,” Olav said. “Now quit tongue-wagging and man the shields!”
“Yes, sir!” I said.
The starboard force fields had slowly ticked upward, and now I could actually defend against the enemy lasers. I only moved the shields toward the largest of the purple hotspots since they indicated enemy fire directed at the most vulnerable sections of the starboard hull.
Matthias jumped us through another SR portal, and we appeared in front of a skull-ship’s bow. Its red laser cannons heated up like giant coals, and then a blue-prot-field bubble encased them. The effect was like a firearm plugged at the end, and the lasers caused the skull-ship to shatter. The red laser energy dissipated as the shards of the Dax vessel shot in all directions.
“One more ship left, crew,” Captain Cross reported.
“The rune-cannon requires repairing, sir,” Zac cut in. “All our enchanters are still on the Den Ark, so it won’t be able to fire again.”
There was silence on the comms as I moved my arms to absorb the remaining Dax skull-ships lasers. Minutes passed in silence while I concentrated on keeping the starboard hull from serious damage.
“I have spoken with the commander of the Bix Ark blood-ships,” the captain finally said. “They will take out the skull-ship’s shields. They’ll come online again in seconds, so we’ll need to blast them with everything we have. This is our last shot.”
The Stalwart moved through another SR portal, and we appeared on the starboard side of the skull-ship.
“Give it everything you’ve got!” Captain Cross yelled.
A burst of orange, blue, and purple projectiles shot toward the enemy’s hull, but they dissipated on the skull-ship’s shields. There was no enemy fire in response, and our two ships stared at each other in a stalemate.
We had just emptied all our weapon caches to fire at the enemy, and somehow their shields hadn’t been destroyed.
“Damnit!” Captain Cross yelled into comms. “What the hell happened to their shields being down?”
“I have spoken with the Bix Ark’s translator,” Commander Reynolds said. “It seems there was an error in translation. They thought you wanted to destroy their weapons systems.”
“It’ll take at least an hour for our gunner terminals to replenish, Captain,” Moses reported.
“The Dax skull-ship will have their weapons online in half that time,” Yeoman Nolan said.
“Anyone have any ideas?” Captain Cross said.
“The bull,” Leith said.
“It is too risky,” Commander Reynolds responded. “Enacting ‘the bull’ will mean certain defeat if the maneuver is not performed correctly.”
“Well, I know for sure it’ll be performed without a single error,” Leith said, and I could tell he was grinning. “Because you’ll be the one to do it, Commander Reynolds.”
For what felt like a full minute, but was probably only a few secon
ds, silence reigned over comms. I didn’t know what ‘the bull’ involved, but it was sure taking the commander a long time to respond.
“Crew, prepare for the bull maneuver,” she said finally.
My shield station’s monitor was replaced with a view of the starboard hull to the Stalwart’s bow.
“What’s the bull maneuver?” I asked Olav.
“All the limited shields available will surround the lance on the bow,” the berserker responded. “And we’ll ram the skull-ship with it.”
“There isn’t a lance on the—” I stopped as a circular hole appeared on the hull, and a pointed spike emerged from it.
“It’s a tusk from a Beluga-class ship,” Olav said proudly. “Ain’t she a beauty? You’ll need to maintain the shields assigned to your station. If they break, then the lance won’t pierce the enemy’s hull.”
I thrust my hands into the shielding arms, and I moved our starship’s prot-field to the lance’s sharpened point. The Stalwart’s thrusters picked up, and we propelled through an SR portal to appear directly on the portside of the Dax warship. Our starship kept moving forward, and I wrestled to keep the shields covering the tip as the lance struck the enemy’s hull.
The Stalwart lurched, and my eyes filled with white noise. The force of impact threatened to separate my arms, but I squeezed them together while my biceps screamed in pain. I felt like my muscles would tear out of my skin and my bones would snap.
The skull-ship’s hull snapped in two like a wishbone. A blue nova erupted from the wreckage as the runes inside the vessel were broken.
We had done it.
Somehow, we’d destroyed three Dax warships with a rickety vessel put together like a mad builder’s shipyard project.
Cheering erupted from inside the gunnery, and I removed my arms from the holsters.
“Nice work, Squire,” Olav said as he removed himself from the shield station.
The squires rushed over to me, and we grabbed each other in a group hug.
“You did well on the shields,” Richard said to me. “I thought we were goners for a second there.”
Space Knight Book 2 Page 32