by Jay Toney
I don't know who's shot was more devastating. Jewels missiles penetrated a weak point in the destroyers armor and destroyed the bridge, killing its officers. My missile, detonated when it struck the waiting missile's warhead. The resulting explosion opened up the bow of the destroyer to space. The ship could still be flown from engineering, but it was out of the battle.
The lightly damaged destroyer, fled at max speed, seeking a point it could jump from and escape. We couldn't let it escape. All three of us targeted its engines. We managed to take out two of its engines, slowing the destroyers ability to escape.
Red closed on the enemy cruiser. Natty was still firing on the cruiser, when Red joined her, firing a full salvo from his ships guns. His main guns tore through the cruisers shields, and quickly reduced the cruiser to a dead hulk. There was no time for the crew to reach escape pods, his weapons opened up the hull venting the atmosphere to space. He fired a missile at the disabled destroyer, finishing it off.
Natty and Red turned to pursue the last destroyer. Both ships fired missiles at the destroyer, as Jewel, Amber and I, attacked its defense leaving a hole open in its defenses for the missiles.
The five of us, turned, and headed back to the Persephone. The destroyer was reduced to scrap metal and expanding gases, no longer a threat to us.
"Nathaniel, you were right, the girls did okay, now lets see if they can land without crashing this time."
Chapter 24
Doc and his new assistant were busy treating the injured survivors from the Valley Forge, the Lucy, and the Hedgehog. Mike had told Doc there would come a day, he would be glad he installed the additional autodocs. That day had come. They were able to quickly diagnose injuries, and treat the patients. For critical or severely injured patients, the units deferred to Doc's decision to either freeze them in suspended animation, waiting for more time for treatment, or to go ahead and begin tissue regeneration. This allowed Doc and his assistant to move through the line of waiting patients quickly.
Doc was taking no chances. All of the survivors were aboard the Persephone, and he wasn't going to let any of them return to their ships, without first being medically cleared by him. Even Beverly had to wait, before she would be allowed to visit her sister Amber.
Red, Mike, and I were in the conference room discussing what our next move was going to be. The original plan had us jumping to Draconis next, then moving into the lawless sector, picking up 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 Lorinae, to see if that path was clear for those who took that route. From there we would make our next jump to the Arradin System.
"Mike how fast can you repair, and get the ships going again?"
"If I had a spaceport, and all the parts I needed, about a month."
"There that bad off then?"
"I know you like your old ship, but its been shot up pretty good. The Hedgehog made a good showing of itself. Its shields and armor are gone. Most of its weapons were destroyed, and it only has only one functional drive. I may be able to get another drive working, but its just not worth it, its to badly damaged.
The Valley Forge is in even worse shape. What few weapons it had were destroyed. Its shields are beyond repair, and all of its drives were destroyed. 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 weapons modification and shield upgrade, its 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 to reload the Lucy."
"Take whoever you need, and work them around the clock."
"Nathaniel already has us on around the clock shifts, I'll work with his schedule."
"Nathaniel, what were you doing taking on a group of raiders like that without waiting for reinforcements?"
"I knew you would be coming. I felt I had to try to save as many of our people as possible, and hold them off until you got here."
"It was a foolish thing to do, but I'm grateful for what you did to help our people, especially my sister Beverly. I think this is the first time I ever heard of a couple Marauders taking on and destroying a capital ship."
"It was mostly luck. Jewel got a couple missiles to pierce the armor, and detonate in the bridge. I followed it up with a lucky shot, down a missile launch tube. You know the rest."
"Nathaniel, in my experience there is no such thing as luck. Two lucky shots is more than a mere coincidence. It just doesn't add up. It would be easier to believe if Jewel and Amber were ace pilots, but they are novices."
"Red, I saw those girls pull off maneuvers, that veteran pilots would have a hard time doing. If I didn't know better, I would have sworn they were ace pilots."
"Mike if you weren't there, in person, I'd have a hard time believing it."
"I know it sounds crazy, but those girls can fly."
"I think that's about it for now. Besides, I smell Rosie's cooking, and I don't want to be late for lunch."
With the meeting adjourned, we all left the conference room. Mike and Red went to the officers mess, and I hurried to join Jewel and Amber, in the sickbays small waiting room. Doc made a brief appearance. "Doc, is everything okay with my sister?"
"She is in good health, as are her unborn children. Is there somewhere we can all go to talk?"
"Our quarters would probably be best."
"I'll summon Red and have him meet us there. He will have to hear this as well."
Doc led the way with Beverly in tow. She didn't say a word the whole way to the cabin. We all found comfortable seating in the common area. With everybody here, and seated, Doc started the discussion.
"Beverly is pregnant with 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?"
"Red... . It isn't something I planed on doing."
"Red its my fault. I deactivated my birth control, to make a baby with Nathaniel."
"I suppose you forced him to do it and maybe had him tied up."
"As a matter of fact I did. I had my guards bring Nathaniel and Amber to my chambers. He was stripped, blindfolded, and tied to my bed. It wasn't a very enjoyable experience for him or Amber."
"But why?"
"I couldn't stand the thought of possibly not seeing either one of them again, so I took his seed for my children. They were to be my reminder. He doesn't have any responsibility or claim on my children. It was entirely my doing."
"I'm not sure I understand, but I will abide by your decision, as long as everyone agrees, including Sultan."
"Sultan has already agreed to my getting pregnant by Nathaniel. He has also agreed to help raise the children as his own."
"Beverly, I trust you will talk to sultan about what I have to say privately."
"I promise Doc."
"Nathaniel isn't entirely human. He is half human, half Iniguar."
"How can that be?" I asked Doc.
"Your mother was an outcast from her people, because of her religious position. Amongst her people she was a Priestess of the Sun and Moon. If she had stayed, they would have killed her in a purge. We met, while I was resting from a raid. We fell in love with each other almost instantly.
We did what is known amongst 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 a
certain death. Just like Amber, Jewel, and Nathaniel, we shared certain parts of ourselves with each other. That is where I learned to cook, and enjoy it. I also took from her my medical skills, and my desire for a good mud bath.
When Nathaniel was still a toddler, two years old, the Alliance hunted down and killed my wife. They didn't want any halfbreed children being born. They did not know about Nathaniel's birth, or they would have killed us too."
"Doc... ?"
"Not now I ain't nowhere near done. 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 years old."
"What about my children?"
"I was getting to that. I'm not sure, how much of the Iniguar traits they will have, but I have no doubt that they carry the genes. With males it doesn't make that much difference, their appearance is close enough to ours. But Iniguar woman are different, having 6 breasts. It is hard for them to mix amongst us, as humans, without reconstructive surgery. On the positive side, all their children are born with great beauty and health. There are no deformities amongst the Iniguar and they are resistant to many of the diseases that still plague humanity. Their lifetime 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, you are midway through your second trimester, maybe starting your third. You will have to be monitored closely."
"You and Sultan can move aboard here. 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."
"There is nothing to think about. Sultan can pack your stuff. 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 ordered Beverly.
I contacted Tanya using the ships comm, "Tanya, we are going to need an officers stateroom for two. Beverly and Sultan will be transferring to our ship."
"It will take me a couple hours to get the quarters ready. I have to relocate the cargo we have stored in the cabin."
"Beverly, its not as extravagant as my quarters are, but it is much more room than 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 Nathaniel. It is moments like these that make me glad I am bearing your children. You're so forgiving. I love you as if you were my brother. Maybe if we had met under other circumstances, things between us may have been different."
"Your welcome sis. I understand Sultan can fly?"
"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 been moved to the head of the class. He begins Marauder training tomorrow morning."
Mike's repair crew, and some of Red's workers worked around the clock, transferring cargo from the now derelict Valley Forge and the Hedgehog. The Hedgehog had enough ammunition aboard to reload the Lucy, with ammo to spare. The extra ammunition was divided between Red's battleship, and my ship.
The Valley Forge was completely loaded with cargo of all sorts. Nothing was organized, by cargo classification. Instead the cargo handlers put whatever would fit into the space available, in their hurry to load the ship. This made it much harder to sort out and divide between the three waiting ships.
The cargo was offloaded and flown to my ship, where it was sorted by cargo class. We had piles designated as medical supplies, food stores, spare parts, weapons, machinery, luxury goods, farming equipment and entertainment. As these piles accumulated, they were divided into three groups.
Two of the groups were flown off to the Lucy and Red's ship, the Vengeance. Every ship was already fully loaded with cargo, but the cargo was to valuable to let go. We netted and hung, as much cargo as we could, from the ceilings, utilizing what additional space we could. We also palatalized freight and strapped it down in the hanger decks, fitting it in between our transport shuttles and our assault shuttles. What was left, lined the corridors, strapped to the walls and floors.
The Vengeance, was a lot bigger, but housed more crew, and was built for battle, with less space available for cargo. My ship, and the Lucy could fight, but were also built as luxury craft, with fewer crew. The Lucy, had one functioning cargo bay, already full. The rest of the ship was dedicated to entertaining, and passenger transport.
What cargo David could manage, was loaded into the mostly empty staterooms. The rest, like us, lined its various corridors and passageways. Red had to use, whatever space he could find, most of it on his hanger decks. The corridors, and passageways were much smaller, and could not be used for cargo. His crewmen were also sharing space with cargo in their bunks.
After the Hedgehog, and the Valley Forge were emptied, scuttling charges were placed aboard, to insure they could not be captured and used by the Alliance or Crimson Tide. We moved our ships to a safe distance and detonated the charges. The resulting explosions reduced the heavily damaged ships, to empty hulks, that could only be used for their scrap metal. We turned our small convoy, of three ships, to the jump point that would take us to the Lorinae System.
This would be a long jump for the Lucy, not having an upgraded hyperdrive. Natasha calculated the jump path for the Lucy, and transmitted the coordinates. We would all be jumping together, keeping close. Red hoped that any ships, that took the path through this system, were able to make there way safely to the rendezvous point. We were traveling to Lorinae to make sure.
When our countdown timer reached zero, we jumped to hyperspace.
Chapter 25
We came out of hyperspace into a hellish nightmare. The wreckage of several ships were all over the system, but that was not all. A fleet of Alliance warships were still slugging it out with someone. We couldn't tell who, from this distance.
Turning and running would do no good. The Alliance would just follow us, making it easier to track us to our final destination. We had to stop them here.
"Tanya, open a channel to Red."
"The hailing frequency is open." Red appeared on the main viewscreen, replacing the view of wreckage we found ourselves in.
"What is it Nathaniel."
"I was thinking, we could use the Marauders and attack close up, while our ships hammer them with the big guns. We found two weak points with their ships the last time. Maybe we could use it to our advantage."
"How many pilots do you have?"
"I have six pilots that can fly, the rest are in training. That gives me six additional Marauders, that I can keep on the ready line so we can swap ships, rather than waiting for repairs or reloading, if needed."
"Most of my good pilots are gone. I dispersed them throughout the fleet, hoping to be able to rejoin with them. I might be able to scrape together four decent pilots. Everyone else I have aboard, are only good for transport and cargo shuttles."
"They won't be expecting us, or that we have found a flaw in their design. It may be enough. We can split into two groups, attacking their smaller ships, while our ships attack their cruisers. Hopefully the ships they are attacking are friendly to us."
"We'll do it your way. Nathaniel, I hope it was more t
han luck that took out that destroyer."
"I hope Lady Luck smiles on us today. We can use every bit of luck we can get."
We made our way through the debris field, probing the area with our sensors, searching for survivors. Either the Alliance took the time to pick through the wreckage, or there were no survivors.
Our ships closed with the Alliance fleet, and began firing our energy weapons at them. The other fleet was Iniguar, they rallied together with renewed hope, as we joined them attacking the Alliance warships.
"Natty, I'm going to need your help on this mission."
"Can I bring my sister wife with me. She can be my copilot."
"Yes, of course. This will be a good experience for her."
I explained how we found a weakness in the design of the Alliance ships. "There is a weakness in the structural design of their bridge, at least with their destroyers, directly above the viewport. The overhead armor plating, acts as a wedge, focusing the blast from our missiles, at the seam. There missile tubes are shielded against energy weapons, but are vulnerable to missiles, or gun fire. Even if their missile tubes are unloaded, the missile hatches won't be able to withhold a blast from our missiles. The resulting decompression, will be devastating. Randolph, get our Marauders ready for combat. I need them fully loaded."
"There already loaded and ready to go."
"Are you a mind reader now?"
"There isn't any such thing. We didn't have space for all the cargo, so I had the Marauders loaded to make some room."
"Either way, thank you."
Our group of combat pilots assembled on the flight deck. Someone had painted the numbers 1-12 on the marauders, and marked a destroyer kill on the first two. Marauders one through five also displayed kills for a gunboats. Randolph, would never have done anything like that. It must have been someone from Mikes crew. Mike noticed me staring at the numbers and kills.
