by Jay Toney
The last destroyer, accelerated away from us at maximum acceleration, in an attempt to reach a jump point and escape into hyperspace. We couldn't afford to let it escape. The bridge officers and the data the ship's sensors contained could be used to identify us and provide our last known location. All three of us targeted the destroyer's engines. Our missiles hit, disabling two of its engines, but it wasn't enough. The Crimson Tide warship escaped into hyperspace before we could stop it.
Red's weapons struck the cruiser amidships. Natasha fired a full salvo of missiles at the warship, and the Persephone's gunners fired the ship's particle beam cannons at the enemy warship. The Vengeance's main guns tore through the cruisers energy shields and blackened the ship's armor plating. The missiles Natasha fired struck the cruiser amidship, breaking through the damaged armor. Several explosions from the cruisers ammunition detonated caused even more damage to the dying warship. Red discharged his ships primary guns again. The cruiser's crew didn't have enough time to reach the escape pods or lifeboats before the energy from his weapons caused the ship's main reactor to lose containment and explode. Red fired a pair of missiles at the crippled destroyer, finishing it off.
The battle was over, with us as the victors. We didn't have much time to celebrate. The destroyer that escaped was sure to meet up with other members of the Crimson Tide or the Alliance and report our location. Before it could return with a fleet, we had to make repairs and salvage what we could. The sooner we left, the better our chances of escaping the Alliance would be.
"Nathaniel, you were right. Amber and Jewel fly better than most experienced pilots I know. Now let's see if they can land without crashing this time."
****
Doc, Jane, and the rest of Doc's medical staff were kept busy treating the injured survivors from the Valley Forge, the Lucy, and the Hedgehog. Jane took care of the minor injuries, treating them with nanites and sealing the wounds with dermaplast. The dermaplast provided pain relief and sealed the wounds with artificial skin to prevent infection.
Mike told Doc that there would come a day when he would be glad that he installed the additional autodocs. That day had come. The autodoc units were able to diagnose and treat illness or injuries quickly. They were able to perform procedures that would take Doc hours to do, in minutes.
For patients that would take longer to treat than we had time for, the autodoc units would repair the critical injuries then place the patients into suspended animation until there was enough time for tissue regeneration. It took weeks to regenerate nerves and large areas of skin for burn victims, and longer to regenerate lost limbs.
For those who were beyond Doc's or the autodoc's ability to heal, Doc did what was necessary to relieve the patients suffering and to help him or her pass.
Doc and his medical staff weren't taking any chances. All of the survivors were brought aboard the Persephone and weren't allowed to leave until after they were examined to ensure that there wasn't anyone with an infection or illness that could spread throughout the fleet. Even Beverly had to wait for her turn to be examined in sickbay. She was stuck there until she was given medical clearance before she would be allowed leave and visit with her sister.
Red, Mike, and I were in the conference room planning our next course of action. The original plan had us jumping to the Draco star system next, then heading outbound to the star systems on the galaxy's fringe, picking up any stragglers on the way to the rendezvous point. Our recent encounter, with the Crimson Tide, had Red rethinking his plan. Instead, we would jump to the Lorinae star system to make sure that the route was clear, for those who traveled through that star system. From there we would make our next jump to the Arradin star system.
"Mike, how much time do you think it will take to make repairs to the fleet?"
"If I was back aboard San Paulos space station and I had access to all of the parts I need, I might be able to make the starship's spaceworthy again in a month, maybe a little longer."
"We don't have that luxury any longer. How long will it take to make the Hedgehog and the Valley Forge flyable and to repair the Lucy? "
"I know you would like to see your old ship in fighting shape again, but it is just not possible. It's been shot up. The shield generators are beyond repair, and the ships armor is all but gone. The Hedgehog made a good showing of itself. I'm sure it gave as much damage or more than it received. As well as the shields and armor being destroyed, most of its weapon turrets were also severely damaged or destroyed. The ship only has one functional drive left. I might be able to salvage enough parts to get another engine working, but it's just not worth it. The ship is too badly damaged to repair and hardly worth the effort to salvage.
The Valley Forge is in even worse shape. What few weapons it had are beyond repair. Its shield generators are useless slag, and all of its drives were destroyed in the battle. There is nothing I can do with it. Our best bet is to offload as much of its cargo as possible."
"What about the Lucy."
"She's not in bad shape. Between Amber's additional bracing, when she rebuilt her, and your weapon modifications and shield upgrade, it has made her a tough nut to crack. Damage is minimal. I can have her repaired in a few days. We can offload the unused ammunition from the Hedgehog and use it to reload the Lucy's guns."
"Take whoever you need and work them around the clock."
"Nathaniel already has us on a three-shift rotation."
After the meeting ended, Amber, Jewel, and I headed to sickbay. Amber was worried about her sister, even after everything she did to ruin our lives. We sat in the small waiting room hoping it wouldn't be much longer before we were allowed to see Beverly. Doc entered the waiting area. Before he could say anything, Amber asked, "How is my sister? Was she hurt? Is she going to be alright?"
"Beverly is in good health, as are her unborn children. Is there someplace a little more private we can all go to talk?"
"Our quarters would probably be the best place."
"Natasha, send a message to Red. Tell him to meet all of us in Nathaniel's quarters."
Doc led the way to my cabin with Beverly in tow. She didn't say a single word the whole way to our cabin. We all found comfortable seating in the common area. When Red arrived, and we were all seated, Doc started the discussion:
"Beverly is pregnant with fraternal twins, a boy, and a girl. My examination found their DNA closely resembles Nathaniel's. I know of only one way that could have happened."
"Nathaniel, how could you do this to Amber and me?"
"It wasn't something I planned on doing."
"It is not Nathaniel's fault. I could lie, and everyone would believe me with his reputation. He didn't have anything to do with my getting pregnant by him. It was all my doing aside from a donation from him. I deactivated my birth control implant and made sure I was ovulating and would conceive before switching places with my sister. He thought he was making love to Amber, not me. He was already drunk from celebrating with my sister. It didn't take much to convince him that I was Amber.
"Why would you do such a thing?"
"I couldn't stand the thought of not seeing my sister or Nathaniel again, so I took what I needed from him as a keepsake. He doesn't have any responsibility or claim on my children. It was entirely my doing, except for obtaining his seed. He had to help with that. Besides I owed him one more night with me."
"What about your husband?"
"He already knows about my getting pregnant by Nathaniel and has agreed to help raise the children as his own. Later I will have more children with him."
"Beverly, I trust you will talk to Sultan about what I have to say next."
"I promise Doc."
"Nathaniel isn't entirely human. He is half human, h
alf Iniguar, a high-bred."
"How can that be?" I asked Doc.
"Your mother was an outcast from her people, because of her religious position. Among her people, she was known as the Priestess of the Sun and the Moon. If she had stayed, they would have killed her during the purge. We met, while I was resting after a raid. We fell in love with each other almost instantly.
We did what is known among her people as a re-bonding. She was slowly dying, undergoing what her people call the slow death, having lost her bond mate. The rejoining saved her from certain death. Just like Amber, Jewel, and Nathaniel, we shared certain parts of ourselves with each other. That is how I learned to cook and enjoy it. I also acquired my medical skills and my desire for a good mud bath from her.
When Nathaniel was still a toddler, two years old, the Alliance hunted down and killed my wife. They wanted to be sure that we didn't have any halfbreed children. The Alliance did not know about Nathaniel's birth, or they would have killed us too."
"Doc?"
"Not now. With Elaunae's bloodline comes certain innate abilities, such as Nathaniel's natural ability to fly. I don't know what all he can do from her bloodline, but he will manifest different abilities as he matures."
"Isn't he mature already?"
"For a human he is, but for an Iniguar he is not. They don't reach maturity until they reach 50 Terran years old. He probably won't either."
"What about my children?"
"I'm not sure how much of the Iniguar traits they will have, but I do not doubt that they carry the genes. With males, it doesn't make much difference with their appearance being close enough to ours. But Iniguar woman are different, having six breasts. It is hard for them to mix among us, as humans, without reconstructive surgery. On the positive side, all of their children are born without congenital disabilities. There are no deformities among the Iniguar, and they are resistant to many of the diseases that still plague humanity. Their lifespan is also significantly longer."
"It sounds more like a blessing than a curse. Either way, we will love our children. Why are you telling us now?"
"Mostly because you are pregnant with his children and should know. Also, because the gestation period is only half as long for them and you are already showing. I would guess that you are midway through your second trimester, maybe even starting your third. You will need close monitoring."
"You and Sultan will have to move aboard the Persephone. That way Doc can keep an eye on you," Amber suggested.
"I will have to think about it. I don't want to leave my new home. I love living aboard the Lucy. I can make regular shuttle visits if need be."
"There is nothing to think about. Sultan can pack your belongings. Captain Jenkins, from the Valley Forge, is in need of a new ship. He will be assuming your responsibilities. You can advise him on his duties from here," Red told his sister.
I contacted Tanya using the ship's comm, "Tanya, we are going to need an officer's stateroom for two. Beverly and Sultan will be transferring to our ship."
"It will take me a couple of hours to get their new quarters ready. I have to relocate the cargo we stored in the cabin."
"Beverly, it is not as extravagant as my quarters are, but the suite is still larger than what you are accustomed to. The furnishings are Iniguar and of much better quality than you would otherwise have. Amber and Jewel can help you decorate your new quarters."
"Thank you."
"You are welcome. I understand Sultan is a pilot?"
"He is certified to pilot class four ships, like the Lucy and scout ships. He can also fly cargo and transport shuttles."
"Tell him he has just jumped to the head of the class. He begins Marauder training tomorrow morning."
Maintenance & repair specialists, cargo handlers, gunners and shuttle pilots worked around the clock under Mike's supervision unloading and transferring cargo from the now derelict Valley Forge and the Hedgehog to the Persephone and the Lucy. The Hedgehog had enough ammunition remaining on board to reload the Lucy's guns with a little ammunition to spare.
The Valley Forge's cargo holds were filled with a mixed assortment of freight. The ship was hastily loaded before it left San Paulos. There wasn't any organization with the way the cargo holds were filled other than the perishables being stored in a deep freeze. The cargo handlers didn't even bother to palletize the cargo. They merely put whatever would fit into the space they had available to maximize the freight they could bring aboard.
My cargo holds were full, and I was already using empty staterooms for cargo storage. The Lucy didn't have much room for freight having sacrificed its cargo holds to put in a brothel and passenger suites. What space she had was already full. The Vengeance, a military battleship, didn't have space for extra cargo. Its cargo holds were devoted to storing spare ammunition, food, medicine, and spare parts. Red didn't have a full crew and had empty crew berths that could be used for temporary storage but getting to them was impractical with the narrow passageways and hatches. The shuttles continued unloading their cargo in my portside shuttle bay. As they were unloaded, the freight was sorted by type, palletized, and inventoried. I wondered what I was going to do with all of the additional crates of cargo. The lack of a solution became the solution. The pallets would be stored in the portside shuttle bay for now. The starboard shuttle bay was already crowded with stacks of silver, but not so much that the Marauders and shuttles couldn't be used. The port side shuttle bay wouldn't be able to be used until we were able to offload some of the cargo.
After the Hedgehog and the Valley Forge were emptied and stripped of valuable parts, scuttling charges were placed aboard to ensure they would not be claimed as salvage and put into service by the Alliance or Crimson Tide. We moved our ships to a safe distance and detonated the charges.
The explosions weren't big enough to destroy the hulls, but they were strategically located to cause critical damage to the ship's systems. The ships could be repaired, but it would be impractical. The salvagers that claimed the wrecks would most likely cut the two starships apart and sell the metal as scrap as well as any parts that they could salvage. We set our course to the jump point for the Lorinae star system.
The trip in hyperspace would be a long jump for the Lucy, not having an upgraded hyperdrive and navigation computer. It was beyond the ability of the Lucy's Navigation computer to calculate the coordinates, but it could use the calculations that Natasha calculated for it. We would all be entering hyperspace together, using a synchronized jump. We wouldn't be able to see each other or communicate with each other while we were in hyperspace. Each of our ships would exist in a different pocket of bubble space.
Red hoped that any ships that took the path through the Lorinae star system made it safely through to the rendezvous point. Our detour to Lorinae star system was to make sure the route was clear. We could be flying into an Alliance trap. When we reached the jump point, we entered hyperspace together.
Alliance
We came out of hyperspace into a hellish nightmare. Wreckage from several ships was scattered all over the area, but that was not all. A fleet of Alliance warships was still engaged in battle. We couldn't tell who they were fighting, from this distance. Turning and running wasn't an option. The Alliance would just follow us, tracking us to our rendezvous point. We had to stop them here.
"Tanya, sound condition red, all hands to battle stations!
Natty, raise our shields and secure all bulkhead doors.
Amber bring our PDC online and activate our ECM."
Red's image filled the main viewscreen, replacing the view of the wreckage that surrounded our small fleet. "What are you planning on doing?"
"We have to attack. There isn't any other option. If we don't defeat the
Alliance here, they will track and follow us to the rendezvous location. I have six Marauders that I can use to attack the Alliance destroyers and frigates, while the Lucy, Persephone, and your ship attack the cruisers."
"Most of my Marauder pilots were dispersed throughout the fleet. I thought it was wiser to disperse them then regroup later when we were able to rendezvous. I wished I kept them aboard the Vengeance with me now. Including myself, I only have four Marauder pilots. The rest of the pilots I have aboard the Vengeance are transport and cargo shuttle pilots."
"The Alliance won't be expecting reinforcements so soon. We have the advantage of surprise. Also, they won't be expecting us to attack their capital ships with assault shuttles. The Alliance hasn't had to deal with attacks from Marauder and Viper squadrons since the last war. They won't have a strategy or gunship pilots trained to defend against us. It may be enough of an edge in our favor to win. Hopefully, the ships they are attacking will be friendly towards us."
Our ships traveled through the debris field, probing the area with our sensors, searching for survivors while closing the distance between our fleets. Either the Alliance took the time to pick through the wreckage and pick up the survivors, or there weren't any left alive.
Our small fleet closed the distance with the Alliance warships, and we fired our energy weapons and missiles at their ships. The starships that were battling with the Alliance warships belonged to the Iniguar. The Iniguar fleet changed course, maneuvering to enter formation with our three starships and combine our firepower. Both my ship and I were well known to my Iniguar friends. I aided them in the past, and after learning of my heritage, I had even more reason to help my friends. The unborn children I fathered on their homeworld shared their ancestry with both the Iniguar and the human races. With Beverly aboard my ship, I had unborn children here too. I felt obligated to protect them from the atrocities of the Alliance.
"Natty, I need you to fly a Marauder into combat with us as well as fighting the Alliance warships with the Persephone."