Battleship Furiosa (33 page)

"Get Quorra behind us, now!"

"Watch out!" shouted an officer.

Commander Higgins ducked back and
spotted the rebel Byotai cruiser appear on their starboard flank.
It was little match for Furiosa, but either intentionally, or by
accident, her captain had activated her cruise engines and was now
heading towards them on a collision course.

"Engines, all ahead full!"
Captain Krammer cried.

* * *

Nate held onto the sides of the chair as
the cutter rolled to the right. An enemy civilian ship lightly
modified and bristling with weapons tried to hit them, but
Cassandra rolled them around so fast that only a handful of shells
struck their hull. With such a small vessel it shuddered with the
impacts, but showed no immediate signs of damage. As they moved
back into position, they found themselves behind the vessel.

"Billy, hit them with everything we've
got."

"Uh...got it."

There
was a momentary pause and then the two large-calibre bow
guns erupted with greats gouts of flame. Holes appeared in the rest
of the ship, and one engine exploded before they rolled to the
left.

"Good work. Move under and bring
us around to the flank of Furiosa."

Cassandra showed her skills once
more using the same sequence she'd used in a bomber simulation
three months earlier. They avoided two more ships, and then popped
up behind a fourth to see the huge battleship under heavy
bombardment.

"Now, where was that shuttle that was
causing us so much trouble?"

Billy tagged the part of the ship
just behind the torpedo bulge. The image magnified and showed the
spacecraft that had crash-landed. It was still there.

"Any life signs?"

Captain Sobiex answered him.

"Looks like they've taken the
passageway, and they're fighting their way inside."

"Damn it,
" grumbled Nate.

He looked back to
Valdis.

"Get me on with Krammer."

She nodded, and to Nate's
pleasant surprise the video image of the officer appeared in front
of them and on the lower part of the forward view.

"Ensign?" he said with
surprise.

"Yes, Sir. We are on your flank,
aboard your cutter. We show troops moving to the command
deck."

"We know. Get out of here. We've
lost lateral engine control. Furiosa is dead in space. It's time
to..."

Nate lifted his hand and cut off
the Captain, much to his amazement.

"Sir, pull your troops back to
sector six on the command deck and seal the doors."

"What? Are you insane?
W
e've only just recaptured
them."

A familiar shape moved alongside
the Captain.

"Ensign? Good work. I think I
understand. Can you do it?"

"Yes, Sir, just get everybody out
of there and fast."

He turned and spoke to Captain
Krammer for several seconds. Finally, Krammer relented.

"Very well, thirty seconds, and
be ready."

The image vanished
and was replaced by a squadron of enemy fighters
that must have just launched. They rushed along the one side of
their ships, each being harried by the turret fire coordinated by
Matilda and Fletcher. Billy glanced to Nate for a
second.

"Can
you believe this?"

Nate shook his head.

"Uh...what do you
think?
"

"Time's up," said Captain
Sobiex,
"We need to hit them,
now."

Nate swallowed and
pointed at their side of Furiosa.

"Okay, only in the designated
zones. Fire!"

All of the forward guns opened
up. The heavy mass drivers punched deep holes through the armoured
plating, but it took just a short burst to destroy the shuttle. The
effect was modest until finally a number of plates pulled away, and
dozens of combatants drifted out from the breach hull. Nate blinked
uncomfortably and looked away.

"That's enough. Bring us
about."

They moved away
, and as Nate started to relax, he tried to assess the
situation. The more he looked, the worse it seemed to get. The
ships still fighting were now massively outnumbered, and Furiosa
was completely surrounded.

"Look!" said Billy.

Nate looked up as a formation of
ships disappeared through the Rift.

"Wow, that was fast."

"No, I meant that!"

H
e
pointed ahead to the line of frigates, cruisers, and civilian
ships. They were heading for Furiosa and firing continually. What
stood out more than any other was the armoured cruiser heading to
the battleship's flank.

"They mean to ram her."

Before Nate could give another order,
the last remaining escort for Furiosa rammed bow first into the
flank of the armoured cruiser. Both ships jammed together like some
grotesque monster, and then slowly ripped apart by a growing number
of terrible explosions.

"Nate, a
message on the open channel. It's their commander, Legate
Catecahassa."

He nodded, and with the flick of
a switch, the translated voice of the alien filled the cramped
interior of the small cutter.

"... time for this little engagement to
come to an end. Accept this death as a gift, from one general to
another."

Nate pulled back his head in
surprise.

"What? Where are they?"

Cassandra tagged the ship and pointed
to the forward view.

"There. It is a captured heavy cruiser,
and it is coming directly for Furiosa. Their other ships are
already at her flanks. It's over, Nate."

The young pilot rose from his
chair and watched as more missiles struck the majestic ship. Few
seemed to paying any attention to him and their little ship. He
walked back to his seat, sat down, and pointed to
Furiosa.

"Engines full, put us between
them."

Cassandra started to argue, but Nate
ignored her and looked over to Valdis.

"Get me an open channel.
I want their entire fleet to hear
this."

"Translated?"

Nate shook his head.

"No. If this is it, they can hear my
own voice."

For the first
time
, Nate felt his voice carried some
weight, even if he still sounded like a teenager. The forward view
shifted as they dodged so much wreckage before they could form up
in front and slightly above Furiosa, just five kilometres
away.

"You're on. Audio and video."

Nate smiled as confidently as he
could manage as they focussed all of their weapons on the
approaching armoured cruiser. It was little contest, and made much
worse by the dozens of more ships at the cruiser's flanks. Still,
Nate licked his lips and then spoke.

"This is Captain Lewis, of the
Alliance Navy. I order you to stand down, or you will face utter
annihilation here today. My father fought against the enemies of
the Alliance, and I will do the same."

He stopped,
blinked
, and glanced to Cassandra who
gave him a subtle nod.

"We fight alongside our allies, the
Byotai Empire, and we will not stop fighting until you're ash...or
we are..."

He took in a final breath before ending
his transmission.

"I call on all loyalist warriors of the
Empire to fight for Makos, and for your Prince, Kratha!"

A crackle of audio was the only
response, and then a moment later the sound of thickly accented
English.

"Very well, child, if that is your
wish."

The audio cut, and in its place
just the bright light of dozens of ships firing. Furiosa joined in,
and even the pitiful volley from the cutter added to the battle,
but it could never be enough. Something struck the flank of the
cutter, and the ship spun around before Cassandra could maintain
control.

"What is it?"
Nate asked.

Captain Sobiex moved his hands
about on his engineering controls, doing his best to
help.

"Engine three is gone.
W
e took a big hit from their
fighters."

Cassandra rolled them back into
position, and as the view steadied, Nate gulped. The enemy armoured
cruiser was a kilometre away now, and he could see every detail
without the need for magnification. More flickers of light erupted
around her hull, and he tensed up.

Here it comes.

The explosions started along her
flank, and then a single white light rippe
d her apart from the centre. As the flash faded away, the
eight ships of Makos' divisions broke through, each firing as they
came. At their flanks were even more of his fleet, many still
burning from the damage they'd sustained.

"Understood, Captain Lewis. We are with
you."

Nate's eyes narrowed in
confusion. He looked to Valdis and Captain Sobiex, both of whom
looked elated.

"Who is that?"

Valdis
spoke first.

"That is the sound of a hurt, and very
angry General Makos."

She shook her head.

"They've rallied!"

When Nate looked back, he found a
very different battle. All but a handful of the Byotai ships had
turned to join in the battle. And if he was not mistaken, a few of
the enemy ships had also turned on their masters. Three enemy ships
exploded in quick succession, and in a matter of minutes, the enemy
were fleeing, some heading for the Rift, and many more rushing to
the Martos III.

"Did we win?"
Cassandra asked.

Nate shook his head.

"I...uh...I think we did."

His expres
sion changed to a wide smile as he watched Furiosa put a
broadside into an enemy cruiser. It was so close that several of
the projectiles actually burst through the hull on the other flank.
Before Furiosa could fire another, the enemy ship's gun ports
closed.

They've surrendered. It really is a
victory!

* * *

Byotai Imperial Battleship
'Furiosa'

One Hour Later

The line of officers from Furiosa waited
in silence on the bridge deck of Furiosa. They were jammed in
tight, but that didn't bother Nate. He waited there in silence with
Billy, Valdis, and the others. Even better was that they'd found
Dogg, Svana, and Lilija safely aboard the ship, too, albeit with
more than a few cuts and scrapes. Though many of the ship’s
officers were there, the human contingent had been given the most
prominent position near to Captain Krammer and General Honorius.
Even Valentine and the marines were there and standing in silence.
Nate caught the attention of Valentine, and she gave him a nod. It
was a modest thing, but to Nate it meant the world. It was the
respect of one warrior to another, and he was nothing more than a
gamer.

"Here he comes,
" said Valdis.

Nate glanced to his right and
spotted Makos and his entourage moving past the first of the
officers. It didn't take long before he was at his own group, and
when he appeared directly ahead, Nate found he was
speechless.

"Captain Lewis, or should I say, Ensign
Lewis?"

Nate was surprised to
h
ear him speak, but even more surprised
that his voice had vanished. The General's mouth had widened into
an impossibly happy looking smile.

"You must have used up all your courage
in the battle."

H
e
reached out and grabbed Nate's arm.

"Thank you. I was incapacitated when
you arrived. Nothing would rally my ships, not even the urgings of
the grand old General Honorius."

He nodded behind Nate
where the old officer waited in silence, and
then leaned in close.

"You shamed them into action, by
showing them that even a young man, barely old enough to serve as
an Ensign, could stand his ground."

He bowed down and actually
lowered himself to one knee, even though it clearly pained him to
do so. Several of the other Byotai gasped at his action, and then
did the same. As they rose, Nate's face blushed red.

"Thank you, General."

"Ah," he said in reply,
"You have returned to me. What do you have to
say now that the battle is over?"

Nate glanced to Valdis and then to
Billy, but both had their eyes locked forward refusing to move even
their retinas. He instead turned back to the General and leaned in
closer.

"Well, Sir. Wh
at do we do now?"

General Makos
grinned.

"Human. We have won a victory here, but
this system is still contested. We will have to leave this fight
for another day."

One of his officers stepped in to
interrupt him, and he snapped back under his breath before
continuing to speak to Nate.

"There are times when one must
risk all for the chance of victory. That is why we will leave this
place and move to Kratha's aid."

Nate's eyebrows rose in surprise.
The fleet was shattered, and he dreaded to think how many had died.
His eyes glanced to the nearby clock, and only then did he realise
they were only hours away from the twenty-fifth.