They covered two levels when the ship's alarms rang out. The mechanical wine echoing through the hall seemed to intensify with every step. At least they got that part of the system working. Perhaps it might be enough to give us a chance.
As they made the final turn, they noticed the pair of pilots standing guard at the doorway below. Each man was wearing their full flight suit and armed with a blaster.
The one on the right stepped forward, putting himself in front of the open doorway. "Sorry sirs, I can't let you down there. Radiation levels are through the roof."
Vaughn stepped forward. "And because of the device throwing out all that radiation, we don't have access to the comm. Which is why we're going down there to fix it."
"Without a suit?" the pilot questioned.
Tegan stepped forward and peered into the pilot's domed helmet. The face inside looked familiar, but she couldn't pin the pilot's name. "I'm not sure if you're aware, but I'm the acting CAG. I order you to step aside and let us through."
"Sorry sir. I can't do it. The risk to your life is too high."
"Then give us your suits," Vaughn replied. "They'll give us some protection down there."
"Then what will we wear?"
Vaughn sighed. He had a point. No matter how much he wanted to get down there, he didn't want to risk anyone else by doing so.
"Fine, then just let me past. My room is down this hallway. Let me retrieve my suit so he can go the rest of the way."
Vaughn grabbed Tegan's arm and pulled her to the side. "Are you sure about this? I'm confident that we can find another way."
"Not in a couple of hours. If you don't install a shutoff switch on the anomaly, we don't stand a chance in hell once we catch up to the ship. Even something as trivial as the scavenger can do a number to us if we're unable to coordinate our attacks."
"Fine," Vaughn agreed, reluctantly. "Move out of her way so she can get by."
The pilot stepped forward, holding his ground. "I'm sorry sir, I can't let anyone pass. Not even you."
Tegan's face lit up with anger as she stepped into the pilot's face. "I don't know who the hell gave you that order, but I can guarantee it wasn't your commanding, fucking, officer. Step out my way now or I'll have you put in the brig."
The pilot gasped. But held his ground. "I'm sorry, but no."
"Fine. Have it your way." Tegan took a few steps back up the stairs before turning to face the pilot one last time. "You want to stop me, you'll have to shoot me."
Before the pilot could react, she burst at him at a full sprint. The force of their collision sent him reeling into the other pilot, allowing her to duck through the doors before they could stop her. For good measure, Vaughn stepped up and blocked the door with his body to buy her some time. At least enough to get back to her quarters.
Chapter Sixty
Lebrea Sector
Bridge, NECS Endeavor
Winded, Tegan made it to her room after nearly a minute at full sprint. She bent over at the waist struggling to catch her breath all the while hoping the pilots wouldn't give chase.
Surely they wouldn't bother with her now. She was at her door, mere seconds away from her flight suit and helmet. All she needed was to get inside and retrieve it.
She spared a glance down the hall and found it empty. If they were chasing her, they were going the wrong way. That or they were trying to sneak up on her to force her back out.
Tegan reached into her pocket and pulled out her key card and held it up to the access terminal. The device buzzed, flashing red. She wiped the card clean on her shirt and tried again, figuring maybe the dirt was corrupting the scan, but the device rejected it again.
Out of all the damned times for you not to work.
Angrily, she slammed the key back into her pocket then reached into the other and pulled out Richards' datapad. The anomaly was turning the whole damned place mental. It was enough to drive anyone mad, her most of all.
She reached for the terminal, to pull out the wire to attach the datapad. Her fingers brushed against the wire as she tilted forward, slamming her head into the wall.
What the hell is going on? She ran her hand across her forehead, noticing the slight bump that had already formed. She pulled her hand away and stared at her fingers as the room spun.
Immediately she regretted pushing past the pilot without a suit. What the hell was I thinking? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before forcing her eyes to focus on the terminal and its wire. She leaned against the wall, using it to help hold her up as she connected it to her datapad. Within seconds the display lit up and worked through the program unlocking the doors. During that time it took everything she had to keep from passing out.
She'd dealt with radiation a few times in her life, but nothing had made her feel so horrible as fast. In fact, she thought it was odd it was impacting her so severely this fast. Surely it took a few days for the full effects to settle in.
Shit. If it's this bad now, she didn't want to think about how it would be when the radiation had a few days to run its course. The terminal beeped as the datapad entered the new password and the door opened with an audible click. She pulled the datapad free and shoved it into her pocket before stumbling inside.
The room was darker than she remembered. Perhaps she'd forgotten to turn on the lights when she stepped inside. No, they should've turned on automatically when she entered the room. She didn't have time to worry about it now. Let Vaughn send down a tech once the current threat was over.
Using the walls to guide her, she made her way to her closet and opened the door and found the suit hanging where it was supposed to be. Pushing through a bout of dizziness, she pulled the garment off the shelf and draped it over her shoulder then pulled the domed helmet off an adjacent shelf.
This was everything I needed right? She thought she had everything, but it was getting hard to remember. All she knew is she was running out of time. Something about an attack and needing to fix the ship.
The ship.
Her mind seemed to snap back into place. She needed to bring back the suit to save her ship. And she needed to do it fast as they were running out of time.
Fighting against the sickness, she darted out the door and into the hall. On her way back to the stairwell she managed a pace that was faster than a walk, but not quite a jog as the sickness fought to take hold.
Just a bit further. Then you can sleep. But not until you get Vaughn the suit.
She turned around the last corner, the open archway of the stairwell was in her view. Knowing these were the final steps seemed to energize her. Enough, she risked a jog.
She was only twenty meters away when another round of sickness took hold, doubling her over in an instant. Something in her chest popped as she slammed hard into the floor, the effect sending the domed helmet skittering ahead.
Compared to feeling like her insides were being torn apart, the pain in her chest was nothing. She'd taken harder hits in her fighter over the years. Enough times to know the familiar feeling of cracked ribs.
A head poked around the corner. Vaughn's familiar form pushed past the protective pilots and the radiation to kneel at her side. He said something to her, words she couldn't understand, but it didn't matter. He was here, and he had the suit. The rest of the ship would be fine.
And with that, she allowed her eyes to shut as she drifted into darkness.
Chapter Sixty-One
Terivar Sector
Bridge, Infamy
Vice-Imperator Kretch studied the layout of the New Earth Shipyards on his console. With just four clutches of Scavengers left in his fleet, he needed to ensure he struck the base where it was weakest unless he wanted to risk a prolonged encounter. Nothing short of the shipyard's complete destruction was acceptable. He had to ensure the humans weren't capable of putting up a fight when his masters arrived.
A knock at his door broke his concentration. He flipped the screen off and ordered the intruder inside.
"
I take it our scavenger has arrived?"
The servant bowed. "It has, my lord. They are requesting permission to dock."
Kretch nodded. "Send them to the upper shuttle bay. Have a few Klyptons meet them there in case the humans decide to try anything."
The servant stood there for a moment, silent.
"Is there something else?" Kretch grew irritated at the servant. Why they couldn't tell him everything without being dramatic was beyond him. He couldn't wait for the war to be over, so humanity could return to their rightful place at the bottom of the chain.
"The scavenger is being followed by another ship, the NECS Endeavor."
Kretch smiled. "The Endeavor? Seems luck is on our side. Prepare the ship for battle and prepare a pod, I wish to take that vessel as my own."
"A pod won't be necessary, my lord. The Endeavor is traveling using the sacred tech. By our reports, they should arrive in the next ten minutes."
"Impossible." Kretch slammed his fist into his console, shattering the screen. "Your reports must be mistaken."
"I thought so as well, but I assure you it is true. Come, see for yourself."
Kretch reluctantly stood. He didn't like following the suggestions of the humans, or even being around them. As it was, the servant's presence was making him sick. Regardless, if the report was true…
Kretch followed the pilot back to the bridge. The human crew sat up in their seats as the door opened and started to work. It took every ounce of restraint to keep him from lashing out at them or punishing one as an example. If it weren't for the imminent arrival of the Endeavor, he would have. But that would have to wait.
"Show me this scan," Kretch demanded. Within seconds the image popped up on the main screen. "And you are positive they are using the sacred tech?"
"I am, my lord. There's no other explanation for their sudden appearance."
As much as his masters desired the ship, if the reports were true, he had no choice but to destroy the Endeavor. They couldn't risk the sacred tech falling into human hands. How they came across a pod was another matter entirely. One he meant to investigate once his job was through. He had to make sure they didn't make the same mistakes next time.
"How close are our clutches?"
"Two sectors out, my lord. Scouting NEC activity around New Earth as you ordered. Shall I recall them?"
Kretch bit his lip. "No. The battle will be long over by the time they arrive. We must do this on our own."
Klaxons blared as the Endeavor materialized onscreen. The sight of the ship removed any doubts in Kretch's mind. They were using the sacred tech. For that, they had to die.
"Open fire on the ship. Leave no survivors."
Chapter Sixty-Two
Terivar Sector
Bridge, NECS Endeavor
The ship rocked as another round of gauss cannon fire from the York ripped into the Endeavor. The wall nearest the hallway cracked open, revealing the rooms beyond.
"Damage report," Bremerton barked.
"Massive damage to the lower decks. Registering atmospheric decompression on decks thirteen through seventeen. Emergency bulkheads are being deployed to seal those sections off." Wilson worked on his terminal, swiping away the list of casualties to focus on the status of the ship. As grim as it was to say, the dead were no longer their concern.
"Very well. Focus all fire on the forward section of the York. Target their gauss cannons and laser batteries where possible." Bremerton shifted to bring the new sets of reports in view.
"Sir."
Onscreen Bremerton watched as the opening round of laser fire lit up the darkened space. The focused yellow beams lashed out wide, missing the York by a few kilometers while Wilson worked to focus the beam. It was better than nothing, he supposed, but unless they could fix the communications issue, they were fighting a losing cause.
The beams swept to the side, slamming into the York's starboard side until they focused on a single point on the ship. The hull erupted in a display of fire and sparks as the beam ripped into the York's armor."Sir, the scavenger is moving to intercept the beam. Expect contact in sixty seconds," Ritter said.
"Wilson, how fast can you achieve a positive lock on the scavenger."
"Depends. Am I aiming to kill or only to maim?"
Bremerton opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words. As much as he needed that ship out of the way, he couldn't do it at the risk of the away team's lives.
Then again, it was moving into position to take the beam itself, meaning they might well die anyway. Either way, he was in a lose-lose situation. Best to up their chances the best he could.
"To maim, ideally. Focus the gauss cannons on the rear portion of the ship. We need to knock out their thrusters once again."
"At this point a hit to the thrusters would still put the ship into our beams," Wilson replied.
"Then what do you suggest?"
"Turning the ship. Put our nose right in the path of the scavenger."
"That would force them to move," Bremerton mused.
"Or slam into us. Either way, we get to keep the focus of the weapons on the York for a while longer."
"Ensign Price, you heard the man. Turn the ship hard port. Put our nose right into the path of that ship."
"Aye."
The ship lurched as Ensign Price punched the controls, sending the Endeavor hard to port with as much thrust as she could manage. In response, the scavenger seemed to slow as if its crew was contemplating its next move. Each passing second brought the ship ever closer to a collision with the Endeavor. Within seconds the proximity alarms blared, their incessant beeping a stark contrast to the wailing of the klaxons.
"Sir, the scavenger is altering its course. Should miss both the lasers and the ship." No soon had Ritter said the words, the proximity alarms grew silent to punctuate her remark.
An explosion erupted on the side of the York where the combined beams of the Endeavor tore into the ship. Secondary explosions erupted near the main blast, each resulting in a miniature fireball that was muffled by the vacuum of space.
In response the York turned, forcing Wilson to adjust the beam to keep it focused in the hole. But compared to Wilson's response, the York was too fast, allowing the beam to rake the side of the hull as the York swung away.
"What we need is a way to disable its thrusters. Keep the bastards from getting away."
One of the pilots guarding the bridge stepped further into the room, stopping feet away from Bremerton.
"Sir, what about us? We should be out there doing that, not in here protecting the bridge."
"Normally I'd agree, cadet, but radiation levels are far too high on the flight deck. I'm not about to risk your lives, or long-term health, by sending you through that mess."
"What difference does it make if we die to the radiation or here on the bridge? In both cases, we still die."
He had a point, but he wasn't about to throw away the lives of his pilots unless there wasn't a better way.
"What we need more than the fighters is our communications back. If we could focus our attention on multiple points on the enemy ship, we'd have a fighting chance." Bremerton turned to face McRee. "Any word from our teams below?"
"Nothing but static."
"I could go down there and check," the pilot offered.
"No, I believe it's best if you remained up here. The last thing we can afford is another ambush on the bridge. Now least of all."
The pilot nodded before moving back towards the door, to take his spot just inside the room.
Bremerton brought his attention back to the screen. The Endeavor's laser batteries were doing a number on the side of the York, but the damage was superficial as the beam couldn't focus on a single point on the ship for more than a few seconds. As much as he hated to do it, they needed to do more significant damage to the York before the ship could return the favor.
"Wilson, seeing as how the York wants to expose its broad side, let's fire everything we can into i
t. Try to punch as many holes as we can."
"It may take a few seconds to line up the cannons, we'd be wasting ammunition in the meantime."
"We waste ammunition, or we waste time. Fire the cannons and adjust course like you are with the lasers. Forget the weapons, just hit what you can."
Within moments the screen lit up as thousands of tracers raced off towards the York. As expected, the opening salvo missed wide, but to Wilson's credit they were on track and ripping into the York within seconds.
"Good work, Wilson. Just keep raking them like…" The word lingered on his lips as he watched all the Endeavor's weapons go silent at once.
Chapter Sixty-Three
Terivar Sector
Bridge, NECS Endeavor
The bright light of the hallway caused Tegan's eyes to water and vision to blur as the sounds, and rumble of combat woke her from a dead sleep. Working against the intense throbbing in her head, she pushed herself up to a sitting position using a nearby wall for support.
How long have I been out?
The ship rumbled as another round of fire pelted the Endeavor from the battle raging outside.
Looking around she saw she was in one of the main stairwells, near the entryway to a floor as far as she could tell. But which floor was another question entirely. She rubbed her eyes, trying to remember what she'd been doing and why she was here.
Another blast caused plaster to rain on her head as she sat. The intense rumble forced her mind to think of one thing. If the ship was in combat, it meant she should be out there in one of the fighters.
That was where she was supposed to be, right? Surely the captain wouldn't go into combat without using the pilots for support. Her brain was a foggy haze, making concentration difficult, but it made sense. That meant she needed to get to the flight deck before it was too late.
Tegan used the wall as support to get to her feet, noting how weak her legs were from the effort. Even worse was the constant churning of her stomach as if she'd eaten something that had gone bad. Perhaps she'd come down with the flu. It would explain her symptoms, but not why she woke up on the floor.
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