by Gun Brooke
"They've been on standby since we arrived."
Rae opened communications to the admiral's five ships and was relieved to hear they were all ready to launch immediately. On the major screen, she saw flashes from the exchange of fire and debris scattering among her vessels and the Onotharians.
"Any news of the Red Dragon!" she asked through gritted teeth.
Jeremiah shook his head. "No, ma'am. I'll keep trying."
"Good."
"Where's Kellen?" Armeo said from behind Rae. She hadn't seen when he had come into the mission room and wondered how much he'd noticed of what was going on. Rae turned around to face the boy and cringed at the look in his dark eyes. "Is she in our quarters?"
"No, she's not. She had things to take care of, but she'll be back soon." It stripped her soul bare to see how quickly he panicked when he was separated from Kellen. All she could come up with was to hug him close, and to her surprise he wrapped both arms around her waist and buried his face against her.
"Why don't you go with Ensign Y'sak here and sit in my office?" she suggested. "I'm going to be very busy for a while, but I'll be right here where you can see me. So will my father. All right?"
Armeo nodded against her, then withdrew and quickly wiped his cheeks. A young man in his early twenties placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Come on, kiddo, we can play a game on the computer while we wait."
After she watched Armeo go into her office, knowing it was reinforced with impact-resistant shields and one of the safest places on the station, Rae focused on the screens before her. "Report."
Owena moved over to her console next to Rae, furiously punching in commands. "The Infinity is doing well. The Ajax sustained some damage to its starboard nacelle, but is still functioning well enough to fight. The second wave is in play."
"Casualties?"
Jeremiah scrolled down the screen. "No mortalities. Twenty wounded. Uncertain of the Onotharian ships' condition."
Suddenly a blinding light on the screen exploded, making Rae flinch. "What the hell was that?" she exclaimed, dreading the news.
"We took out the weapons array of a frigate, labeled Onotharian 3 by the computer. From what I can see, it destroyed half the ship, ma'am," Jeremiah reported. "We have another five Onotharian frigates on long-range sensors. God, Onotharian 1 and 2 must be huge, if they carry vessels that big in their belly. I'm scanning as much as I can of them."
"Excellent," the admiral murmured from behind. "Let's take care of them. Admiral Jacelon to Captain Doromar." He hailed his own vessel. "Go in from grid four-two-six, attack pattern Dahlia Six."
"Aye, Admiral."
Rae snapped her head around and stared at her father. "You named an attack pattern after my mother?" She was incredulous.
The admiral had the grace to mimic a guilty look. "Six of them, actually. It seemed appropriate at the time. She can be infuriating."
"I'm receiving a faint signal from the Red Dragon," Owena interrupted. "They're at the outer perimeter of the battle zone."
"Can they hear us?"
"I'm not sure. If I trust the signal, they're dead in the water, ma'am." Rae detected an undercurrent in Owena's voice that made her look inquisitively at her tactical chief. She thought Owena's features were even more rigid than usual, but she didn't have time to ponder it now.
"They're on their own until one of our frigates can lock a beam on to them and reel them in."
Hoping Kellen and Leanne were masking their signal and only playing dead, Rae focused on the task at hand. The admiral's ships had surrounded one of the massive Onotharian ships, now firing at it in intricate patterns, the frigates moving like arrows while avoiding enemy fire.
Another searing light hurt her eyes, when what looked like the front of one of her frigates imploded before them. "Damn," Rae whispered.
"Jeremiah, casualties?"
"Four dead, sixteen wounded. Life support intact in the aft compartments. Detecting biosignatures coming to the wounded crew members' aid."
"Four..." Rae felt as if her blood transported ice to every part of her body. "This ends now." She slammed her hand on the control to the secure communication system. "Commodore Jacelon to all vessels. Deploy remaining assault vessels. Attack pattern Omega Twelve. Fire at will."
"Aye, Commodore." Captain de Vies acknowledged the order. "Omega Twelve in place."
Looking like small deadly beetles, the assault craft swarmed the remaining three Onotharian vessels, firing nonstop. The admiral stood close to Rae, who found his presence a source of strength. "I won't allow them to destroy this station or get their hands on Armeo."
Not aware she'd spoken out loud, she jumped when she felt her father's comforting hand on her shoulder. "Damn right."
"The Red Dragon is moving," Jeremiah exclaimed. "Shi'cht, what's going on out there?"
"Enhance their signal on the screen," Rae ordered. It was usually a bad sign when Jeremiah swore in his Iminestrian mother's native tongue.
A bright red circle identified the small ship where it entered the battle zone, moving in on the largest vessel.
"Hail them! Get them out of there! What the hell is she doing?" Rae barked.
"Their communication system is down." Lieutenant Grey had taken over the console to Rae's left.
"She had orders to return to the station," Rae said. "I should've known better than to trust her."
"Perhaps she knows something we don't," the admiral mused. "You're right in your assessment. Kellen's a loose cannon, but she's not stupid. Nor is she suicidal."
"Damn it, Kellen," Rae muttered to herself, pressing her lips to a fine line. "You gave me your word." What are you doing? I never should've let you go out there. What was I thinking? Fear and remorse wrapped themselves like a cold, slippery entity around her heart.
"Make sure you stay on the calculated trajectory," Leanne yelled. Friendly fire had taken out both internal and external communications.
"Yes, Lieutenant." Kellen grabbed the stick and pushed it forward, while she blinked sweat from her eyes not to miss any of the coordinates flickering in the eyepiece attached to her helmet.
Watching the mark appear in the corner of her eye, she threw the Red Dragon into a roll, flying belly up against the massive ship above them. She knew they were called Devil Class ships, and the Onotharian fleet possessed only three of them. Her father had managed to obtain blueprints of the prototype, and Kellen was now betting not only her own life, but also Leanne's, that they had been correct.
Seeing a familiar pattern appear in her eyepiece, Kellen yanked the controls toward her, moving in closer to the ship.
"Damn it, Kellen, we're too close," Leanne shouted. "We're going to hit their shields. Our own are down to fifty-five percent."
"I know. Trust me." Kellen scanned the information, feeling a jolt of exhilaration mixed with dread when she spotted what she was looking for—a flaw in the design. I must be right. It's our only chance. "Leanne, it's coming up," she yelled. "Hold on!"
The Red Dragon might not be able to sustain the blast, but Kellen knew this was it. Firing her two torpedoes at the target, a barely visible node, she shoved the controls as far to the right as they would go. "Let's get out of here!" Kellen punched in commands to take full control of the small ship away from the computer. There was no room for any autopilot safety net now.
"Will the other Gamma vessels make it?" Leanne shouted. "We don't have any way to warn them!"
"Rae must be monitoring us from the mission room. She'll alert the other ships, and their shields will protect them." Kellen prayed she was right. A blinding light lit up behind them. "Hold on, Leanne! We can't outrun the shock wave. We have to ride it!"
"They're firing at Onotharian 1!" Lieutenant Grey exclaimed. "Now they're turning away from the enemy ship like a bat out of hell."
"What the hell did she... Damn! Jacelon to all Gamma vessels. Stay clear of Onotharian 1.I repeat, move away from Onotharian 1!"
"Aye, ma'am," Alex de Vies's calm v
oice sounded over the comm system. "Are my readings deceiving me, Commodore, or do I have one assault craft too many out here?"
"You're correct. The Red Dragon has gone maverick on us. Lieutenant D'Artansis is navigating." She couldn't disclose Kellen's presence on the Red Dragon, in case the Onotharians were monitoring the comm channels.
During the brief pause, Rae knew Alex's mind was scrambling to understand.
"Got you, ma'am."
As he spoke, another blast lit up the space between the station and the battle zone. The shock wave traveled toward them and rocked the station enough for the klaxons to go off. "Shut down the damn noise," Rae yelled over the blaring alarm. "Report!"
"Minor damages, no casualties aboard the station." Jeremiah seemed relieved as he read from his screen. "As for Onotharian 1... They're dead in the water, ma'am. I don't know what the Red Dragon fired at, but it turned the ambassador's ship into a sitting duck."
"What? What about the fleet?"
"Minor damages from the shock wave. Two assault craft are incapacitated. The crews weren't injured."
"The Red Dragon?"
"Still operational, it seems. Making its way to the Ajax, ma'am."
Rae steeled herself, trying to control her fury. "Commodore Jacelon to Ambassador M'Ekar. I think this is a suitable moment for me to accept your surrender. I see on long-range scanners that my remaining frigates are only minutes away. Now that we know what to look for, we don't see any other cloaked Onotharian vessels about to come to your aid."
"Commodore Jacelon, this is Deputy M’Indo. The Ambassador requests you allow him to transfer to one of our other ships."
"Our readings show your ship has functional life support. Request denied. I will now tend to my own fleet first, making sure the people you injured through this violation get the care they need before I allow you to move a muscle. Take your weapons off-line, lower your shields, and prepare to be boarded. Jacelon out."
Leaning against the console, Rae drew a trembling breath. Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure the ones standing next to her could hear it. The thought of Gamma VI's losses were still too fresh to really have an impact. "Final verdict, Jeremiah," she asked in a low voice. Count the dead, gather the wounded. Notify next of kin. Mourn again. Staccato words simmered in her mind. She'd been here before. Gone through this more times than she cared to remember, and still she handled it badly.
Outwardly, she stood ramrod straight, full of sympathy for the people who had lost a loved one, always the leader, the fearless commodore. Inside, she bled for every one of them. I'm never as lonely as I am now, when I have to face my responsibility. She tried to keep the feeling of utter desolation from her voice. "Jeremiah?"
"Eight dead. Twenty-four injured. Among them, four in critical condition. One frigate, the Emerald, is severely damaged and needs towing. The Ajax has deployed medical aid to the frigates." Jeremiah stated the facts professionally, but his hollow voice gave him away.
"Eight dead." Rae turned around and looked at the admiral. "I failed to keep them safe." What could I have done differently? What did I miss? Damn it, eight of them. Eight! Repressing a shudder, she stared at the handheld computer Jeremiah gave her. The numbers and names scrolled across the screen, and she placed a hand over it for a moment. They were under my command, and I sent them to their deaths.
"Don't, Commodore." Her father looked stern, but his eyes held a soft expression that she knew was meant just for her. "You have work to do."
Trust Father to be to the point. Still, Ewan's words, spoken with a completely new tone of compassion, helped Rae get a grip on herself. "Hail the Ajax."
"Captain DarTancor here, ma'am," the Raggazarorder captain responded.
"You have the Red Dragon crew aboard. What's their condition?"
"The navigator is in the infirmary for minor burns. The pilot is there for a checkup but seems uninjured."
Relieved, Rae turned to her father, coughing to clear her voice. "I'll go to Armeo and let him know his mother is all right."
"Of course. I have the conn while you talk to him."
"Lieutenant Grey, could you..." Rae faltered. The tall woman standing next her stood motionless, as if she had not heard her commanding officer. "Lieutenant? Owena?"
Owena jerked. "Ma'am?" To Rae's surprise, she saw tears in the other woman's eyelashes. I've never seen her cry before. Ever,
"Owena? Are you all right?" A chilling sensation pierced her midsection. "Did you lose someone in the battle?" Please, no.
"No, ma'am. I heard the captain. She's in the infirmary." Owena's stark voice betrayed her distress.
Leanne and Owena? Of course. Normally oblivious to such signs, Rae realized she should have known. They always sat together in the officers' mess hall, and Leanne's face was usually an open book. I'm so oblivious sometimes. The way Owena looks this instant...like someone given reprieve from certain torture. "Just minor burns, Lieutenant. She'll be fine." Rae wanted to place a reassuring hand on Owena's arm, but the stark look on her face didn't permit such familiarity.
Rae was still numb. She still hadn't fully realized in her heart that Kellen was all right. It still pounded out of control, the only sign of her fear.
Straightening up, Rae walked toward her office. Armeo stood instantly, his hands flat against the desk. Ensign Y'sak snapped to attention, only relaxing when Rae motioned for him to do so. "As you were, Ensign." Turning to Armeo, she saw he was trembling but kept his chin up, meeting her eyes without wavering. "Kellen's all right. She's safe aboard the Ajax."
"You promise?" Blue tears rose in Armeo's eyes. "Is it the truth, Rae?"
"It is absolutely the truth. I wouldn't lie to you."
Armeo held his own for another five seconds. When the first tear ran down his cheek, he threw himself at Rae, wrapping thin, wiry arms around her waist. Holding the boy tight, Rae let her own tears flow as she rocked him. She knew up till now she'd managed to convince herself that her heart wasn't involved. Witnessing Kellen risk her life to save Armeo and Gamma VI, and now, holding this boy who clung to her like a child in need of his parents' consolation, had changed everything.
Port 1 was buzzing with activity. Kellen strode toward the gates, eager to find Armeo and let him know she was safe. She saw several security guards stand at attention and guessed correctly that she had a welcoming party. At the end of the walkway, arms folded in front of her, stood her wife.
"Rae." Kellen tried to read the expression on her face, but Rae seemed restrained.
"Kellen. Walk with me back to the mission room." She spoke in precise sentences with short, clipped words.
Uncertain what to think, Kellen lengthened her stride to keep up with Rae's pace. She blurted out an explanation, wanting to get the tension out of the way. "I disobeyed your orders out of necessity."
"It was not your call to make." Rae's anger flared for a second.
"People were dying, Rae! We couldn't communicate with the mission room, but I couldn't sit idly by and play dead when I knew I could help. I'd seen blueprints of this vessel and knew its greatest weakness."
"You what?" Rae's voice sank an octave. "We can't have this conversation here." She gestured to the passing crew members. "You will be debriefed at the mission room immediately."
Kellen opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. Her actions had ended the battle, but they had also betrayed the trust of her wife.
"I know everyone at the station is safe," Kellen tried, "but Armeo...is he very upset?"
"He was. Right now, he's with Ensign Y'sak and Lieutenant Grey in our quarters. It was getting late, and he needed something to eat in familiar surroundings. Lieutenant D'Artansis will join them there as soon as Gemma allows her to leave the infirmary. Her burns were worse than we initially thought. Second degree and quite extensive."
Kellen shuddered. "They happened when the blast hit us. The console behind her exploded and burned through her suit. I'd disengaged the autopilot and couldn't let go of the contro
ls to help her. She screamed for me to just get us out of there."
"Gemma assures me the lieutenant will make a full recovery."
Kellen already knew this, but it didn't erase the memory of the diminutive lieutenant's muffled cries of pain when the flames began to consume her flight suit. Leanne had ordered her to fly, her voice a growl of anguish that would stay with Kellen for a long time, as would the odor of singed flesh that had nauseated her when she carefully released Leanne from the harness.
After carrying the lieutenant to the Ajax infirmary, Kellen had stayed with her until the doctor assured her she was out of danger. Just before the physician had sedated Leanne, the pilot squeezed Kellen's hand and asked over and over for Owena. Kellen realized Leanne meant Lieutenant Grey and assured her she'd get word to the tactical chief. Relieved, she had watched Leanne fall unconscious, finally escaping the pain when the medication kicked in.
The security officer on guard punched in the code to open the door as Rae and Kellen reached the entrance to the mission room. "Commodore. Ma'am." He saluted them both.
Rae shot her a knowing glance as they passed him. "Word is spreading."
"What word?"
"Oh, don't underestimate the grapevine. Soon the whole base will know how you saved the day."
They walked through the mission room, where everybody stopped what they were doing for a moment. Eyes followed Kellen until she entered Rae's office and the commodore switched the aluminum walls to zero transparency. The admiral sat in one of the visitors' chairs, and Todd stood by the far wall.
"Kellen," the admiral said. "Have a seat. You must be exhausted."
"Thank you." Kellen gratefully sank into a chair, her body aching all over. Determined not to let her pain show, she dug deep for strength.
Rae sat down behind her desk and pulled out a handheld computer. After punching in a few commands, she looked at Kellen, her face stern. "Now, return to what you said before. You once saw the blueprints of this vessel?"
"Yes, my father managed to obtain the blueprints for the prototype before he died, and I hid them and all of his other possessions in a secret vault on our estate. He showed me the ship's weak spot—the node that, if hit by a torpedo, would relay the impact to wipe out their weapons and communications arrays. It stuck in my mind because it was one of the last conversations we had." She remembered how she'd leaned over the table in the vault, looking with keen interest at the blueprints. Her father's hand tenderly cupped the back of her neck, as was his habit when he expressed his love for her. He had noticed her interest in the blueprint of the new Devil Class ships and shown her what he regarded as their biggest flaw.