The
Brutal Niagara cut all engines. She was venting aft, engines raw against the
near dark. Her heart was wired, humming from the prayers of the acolytes. Captain
Druthfal stirred, the medics withdrawing as his eyes flickered open.
"Shall we withdraw", asked Alcion, first officer and wife.
"Status", mumbled Druthfal.
"You are hurt, my dear", she said, unable to hold back her fears.
"No, the ship"
"Grievous but repairing, we have the upper hand my love", she said,
still firm, still the officer in his majestic Emperors service.
"We must repair more", her husband whispered, before his eyes closed.
She hugged his broad figure, her husband and captain. Briefly she stilled, feeling his warmth. Then she straightened, turned away and told the juniors over the comm net to head for Piper IV. The gravity well would be deep, they could repair and grow the heart at the same time. Rather than prepare the way with scramblers, she ordered one last DarkLight emboldened drone at their attacker.
No sooner had the order been given than explosions lit up the aft engines of her ship, she felt the gravity fail, twisting her insides, bending her to reality.
"Status", she shouted, swarming away from the med bay back to the
command center, the lack of gravity was normal when in combat.
"60% engines online, crew to repair stations", came the harried response
in her ear piece.
"Two drone racks ready", came from engineering, and "Gravwell
approaching", from nav.
She stopped by some grabpoints, stilling herself and flicked the organic sensorium over her face. Trusting to the sensorium, rather than the over excited shadows of the AI.
"Contact, contact, 90 degrees to port." Her beholders had pinned
the target, while her husbands orders had made her move the Brutal into the
unseen. They had the advantage again. "Fire maximum warheads and payload
at the target, we want instant damage", she said, "Overload the drone
as much as we can."
More rumbles came up from the mid decks this time, attack nano consuming some
part of the vessel.
"Fired attack drone", came the response. Followed by "Gravwell entered, Darklight charging" from nav.
The target was from some gas giant race, one of the multitude. Unknown, but obviously not a supior power. "Target has stopped, looks like we got it's engines", the report sounding flat in her earpiece. She unlatched the sensorium, paused and swarmed back to the medical bay in the hab. There she found her husband's eyes open, blue eyes squinting, his breath rasping.
"Shush my love", she leaned forward, stroking his hair. The gravity settled back in again, auto repairs kicking in, raising the field gradually. She grabbed a chair floating nearby before it fell, and sat, flicking the sensorium on again. She twisted her head about, viewing the smudged, augmented gestalt that the sensorium showed her from all angles. She saw something from the blind side of Piper IV. A small blot, she focused and then spoke to her neck mike, "Sensors, do you see a contact, behind Piper IV". Even as she spoke the sensorium image firmed up, more of the ships sensor techs focusing, their sensoriums inputs to the command crew gestalt. There was a presence, a ship emerging from the blind zone behind Piper IV.
She held her breath, hoping for allies, and then the confirmation came in. "It's the Meph",came from scan, relief evident in his voice, part of their own fleet entering the fray. A short pause and then another report, "Multiple hostiles against her, she is drawing their fire", from nav.
Alcion let her breath out, her husbands ship had drawn first blood and needed repairs, then they could rejoin. She issued the orders and then handed command to Tor, 3rd officer.
Only then did she bend her head over her badly hurt husband and weep. For a little while.