*
Few on board the Shikkeron believed they’d survive this last maneuver. Never had anyone attempted a full turnabout at attack speed with a ship the size of an imperial brigantine and survived to tell of it. The ancient vessel screeched and groaned as it yawed hard to port. Machinery ripped away from anchor bolts and securing harnesses. Even some galley tables tore loose from the floor. Bulkheads threatened to come apart, snapping cables, splitting ductwork and spraying the decks with jagged shards of metal and glass. Unsecured objects became deadly missiles, hurtling across rooms and cabins.
As if moaning in labor pains, the Shikkeron twisted around in its suicidal maneuver. Despite its five hundreds years of stalwart service, the old brigantine refused to surrender to the forces attempting to tear it apart. Completing its turn, the ship headed toward the advancing enemy at near attack speed, a giant iron asteroid plummeting through space.
Bedan shouted for the engine room to fire main thrusters. In an explosive gasp, two powerful rockets lit the sky with their angry flames. The Shikkeron gradually skidded to a halt, its powerful engines fighting against the ship’s hurtling mass, threatening to tear away from their mountings and plunge up through the ship that grudgingly resisted them. They gradually succeeded stopping the thousands of tonnes of steel and began pushing the Shikkeron away from the opposing armada.
When the ship picked up sufficient speed, Bedan called down to his ordnance officer, “Plant some seeds, Leftenant! Spread ‘em wide and long.”
“Aye, Captain!” The officer cheerily replied. He radioed aft to the rear battery, “Lay the mines. Spread ‘em wide and deep! Give ‘em all you have!”
Four hatches near the stern of the Shikkeron opened, pouring hundreds of tiny disk-shaped bombs into the brig’s wake. The aft battery reported back to the ordnance officer when the mission was completed. The officer looked up, smiling. “We gave gravity, magnetic, contact, and heat-sensing to ‘em, Sir. Even threw in a couple of timed, thermo-static ones, just in case.”
Bedan acknowledged, satisfied, returning to examining the gages and readouts. With Darla, he watched the command screen to see Salak’s navy scattering to avoid the barrage of mendelevium-tipped missiles that tore into their ranks. At least half a dozen white puffs on the screen gave evidence that some found targets. The destructive force of such weapons could easily cripple vessels like those found in the Stasis armada. It would take Salak a little while to regroup, allowing the Shikkeron precious time to gain needed distance on him.
Bedan called to his bridge, “Push it to the west. Keep up the speed.” He had turned back to Darla and was about to compliment her on an outstanding battle maneuver when a violent shudder racked the ship. The steerage officer shouted into the intercom, “Engine room! Engine room! Give us a status report!”
There was an agonizing wait before the engine room responded. The news wasn’t good. “Bridge, this is the engine room. We have an emergency! The starboard cooling pump exploded, killing or injuring most of fire crew! We are leaking ammonia-cyanide into the number three boiler..! Must shut it down! Repeat, must shut it down!”
An aching pain rushed through Bedan’s chest. His eyes searched Darla’s face for guidance. She sadly nodded her head, knowing his question. He turned to his officers. “Slow to the engine room’s mark. Put the fighter pilots on stand-by.” He then ordered his ordnance officer, “Man all battle stations and charge the defensive batteries!”
Darla called down to the communications officer, “Tell the Marine ready room we are under attack and that Captain IrrStellia is to deploy her company to repel boarders. Also tell her that Captain Bedan has the bridge. On his orders...”
Bedan turned to his bridge officer. “Ready a homing drone with ship’s history and logs. Release it as soon as you’re finished.”
After sending a coded distress signal, he and Darla looked up at the screen. There was little now to do but wait…watch the screen and wait…