Liam looked around the boat. It carried the captain, the executive officer, the sailing officer, and the assaulter—and the quartermaster was still ashore. Almost the entire command team was not aboard the ship as it prepared for battle. Chief Butcher would serve admirably to get the crew to their positions, but he had no expertise as an officer of the watch. Sublieutenant Brown was alone, in command, and still required to do her regular job as officer of the watch.
“Ma’am,” Liam said quietly, “we’re still fifteen minutes away. Sublieutenant Brown is very capable, but I fear that this may be too much for her.”
“She’ll be fine,” Riverton replied in a clipped tone. She took the telescope from him and scanned upward. “We’ll be there soon.”
Liam knew his captain well enough to recognize the moment to stop, but he pressed forward with what he knew needed to be said.
“There is someone aboard who could help her until we arrive, ma’am.”
“Don’t start with me again.”
“But another qualified bridge officer would be invaluable right now.”
“It’s not an option, XO.”
When she’d finished her visual assessment, he politely took the telescope back and scanned anew. Daring was already separated from the anchorage and thrusting clear, the first of her masts extending. He widened his search and spotted at least six ships already at full sail in the vicinity. And at least two of them were turning in the general direction of Daring.
“Ma’am,” he persisted, “departing a berth is a full-ship evolution, which usually needs all of us on the bridge to accomplish.” He gestured around the boat. “One sublieutenant is doing it on her own and may very well be under fire within minutes. She needs help.”
“I am not,” Riverton said, turning hard eyes to him, “putting a traitor on my bridge. Especially when we’re under fire.”
Every instinct of naval discipline and noble hierarchy told Liam to shut up and obey his captain. But if he’d learned anything from Amelia, it was to speak up when it mattered.
“She’s not a traitor, ma’am,” he said quietly. “You know as well as I do she was caught in a web of blackmail that she couldn’t escape.”
“Tread carefully, Mr. Blackwood.”
Swift, Sky, and Faith all kept their gazes studiously elsewhere. For a moment the only sound was the hiss of the boat’s thrusters.
“Ma’am,” Liam pressed, “she’s desperate to redeem herself, and she has the ability to help Brown. We need her now.”
“And what if she’s working for Dark Star? Am I just handing my ship to the pirates by setting her free?”
“She was beholden to Silverhawk,” he said, “not Dark Star. She’d have no reason to help the pirates.”
Riverton’s chin rose slightly in a courtly gesture of indignation, but her eyes remain locked on his.
“Subcommander Blackwood,” she said, “I will hold you personally responsible if this goes sideways. Are you willing to bet your career on Templegrey’s loyalty?”
The name had finally been spoken. The name that Riverton had been unwilling to utter since the revelation. And now everyone in the boat had heard that the captain considered Ava Templegrey a traitor. The chill of the upper atmosphere was seeping through the boat hull. Liam thought back to all the times he’d worked with Ava, from court intrigues to boarding battles to daily shipboard life, and he met his captain’s eyes.
“I’d bet my life on it, ma’am.”
“You just might be.” Riverton grabbed the radio. “Soaring Swan this is Swan Actual. Where is Templegrey?”
The reply took several moments to come, and when it did it was a male voice.
“Officer of the watch reports that the sublieutenant is still in her quarters.”
Brown was so busy she couldn’t even answer the radio herself, Liam thought. He watched Riverton’s expression.
“This is Swan Actual,” she said finally. “Sublieutenant Templegrey shall report to the bridge to assist Sublieutenant Brown.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Liam peered through the telescope again. Daring had three masts extended with the fourth in motion. Sheets were already billowing on top and bottom masts as she turned to head for open space. The sky around his boat was almost black as Faith guided them out of Morassia’s thick atmosphere. Liam could see two ships steering toward Daring, and as he watched the starboard mast paused, then started to retract. Even as she maneuvered, Brown was preparing to fire a broadside.
“Come on, kid,” he muttered. “You can do it.”
Daring swung through a broad turn, keeping her starboard side toward the pair of approaching ships. Close enough to see with the naked eye, the first of the pair flashed at the bow as its leading cannon opened fire. Seconds later, the other ship joined in the attack.
The orbital zone lit up as a dazzling line of return fire erupted from Daring’s side. Tufts of smoke clouded the bow of the first attacker. More shots from the pirate bows peppered away at Daring’s hull, but moments later another full blast burst forth from her side. Chunks of outer hull visibly tore off the lead pirate ship. It began to turn, bringing its own broadside to bear, but Daring was already diving, closing the boat on ascent. Another broadside erupted from Daring, but instead of striking the pirate bow it tore through its sails. Brown had switched to chain shot, to slow her pursuers. Another broadside shredded the lead sails of the second pirate. Daring turned again, sails from three masts snapping in the chaotic solar winds of orbit, as she opened the distance from her pursers.
Faith signaled that the boat was on final approach, and Liam heard Templegrey’s voice reply. She steadied Daring on a straight course for Faith to line up on, even as another blast of chain shot harried their foes. The boat swung to place its hull toward the ship, and Liam looked up at the deep green of Morassia far below them. On instinct he scanned for the other boat, desperately hoping to see it rising to meet them, but all he saw was another ship moving into view. It was a hulking brute, slow and heavy. It was purposefully moving to interpose itself between Daring and the planet, and as Liam watched a line of gun ports opened along its hull. He scanned it with the telescope. Not gun ports, he realized. Rockets.
That ship was lower in orbit to ensure a clear line of fire, and Daring was in the crosshairs. She needed to maneuver, to lessen her cross section, but she was holding course for the boat to link up. Liam gasped as the boat thumped against Daring’s hull, heard the hiss of pressurization even as the line of rockets unleashed from the pirate ship. The arrows of death fired across the open space, smoke trails behind them as they zeroed in on their target.
The first rocket exploded in flight as a dazzling beam slashed through it. Liam watched, frozen in his seat, as Daring’s self-defense weapons cut down the barrage. With Templegrey driving the ship, Brown was free to fight. And that clever officer had seen the threat and been ready for it.
“Sir,” Faith shouted at him, “go!”
Liam realized that he was the only passenger still in the boat, and he hauled himself through the airlock. Scrambling to the deck, he caught sight of Riverton ascending the ladder to the bridge, Swift dropping down to sailing control, and Sky barking orders as she ran for the arms locker. Liam followed Riverton.
The deck shook as a pirate cannon broadside slammed against the hull, but Liam hung onto the ladder and continued to climb. He barely paused as he moved through the chaos of the gun deck, slipping past loaders as they brought up more chain shot. A rolling barrage forced him to hang on as the starboard guns fired again. Then he was up the ladder and onto the bridge.
“Repelled,” Brown was shouting. “Beam cannons recharging. Maintaining chain shot broadsides to slow pursuers.”
Riverton was climbing into her chair.
“Very good,” she declared. “I have the ship. Maintain cannon fire and switch to round shot when out of chain shot range.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Brown said, crossing the bridge to confer with Chief Butcher
and the weapons controllers. In full uniform, she moved with quick, precise movements and, except for the flush in her cheeks and a few stray wisps of hair, she appeared the paragon of the naval officer.
Liam strode up to the officer of the watch console. Templegrey stood at the station in her white pants, black boots, and untucked shirt, her golden hair cascading past her shoulders. With a pistol and cutlass strapped to her belt, she frankly could have been a pirate queen. But her face was set in determination as she plotted a course for lower orbit and called out commands to the helmsman and to sailing control.
“You’re taking us down?” he queried.
“The winds are lighter in the planet’s lee,” she explained, barely looking up. “With their shredded sails the pirates will wallow if they try to pursue. And I assume we have another boat to collect?”
“We do,” he said, clapping her on the shoulder. “Well done, officer of the watch.”
He walked over to Riverton, quickly repeating Templegrey’s plan to ensure they kept distance from their attackers. The captain nodded, glancing at the clock.
“That boat should be lifting off. We can hold in the shallows and exchange round fire until then.” She looked up through the canopy toward the dazzling light of the Hub. “But we still have to get out of here, and I suspect there are more than three pirate ships gunning for us.”
“There’s no need to hide anymore,” he said. “Silverhawk has already broadcast our identity and Ms. Brown’s very effective light show revealed our true nature to anyone in visible range. We are HMSS Daring again, ma’am. We might as well act like it.”
“Sublieutenant Brown,” Riverton called across the bridge, “start a record of each of the pirate ships harassing us. I want their identities captured for transmission to the Fleet.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Liam wasn’t sure Riverton was following his line of thought. After so long playing their game of cloak and dagger, her old habits were dying hard. The deck rattled as another pirate broadside slammed into the hull.
“We have a full load of missiles, ma’am,” he said quietly. “We could end this entire battle with three quick shots.”
“And broadcast to the entire system that the Navy willfully destroys civilian ships,” she retorted, “brazenly and in full view of both Human and Theropod witnesses in orbit and on the surface? No, XO, I don’t wish to be known on Morassia as a mass murderer.”
It was well-known that Navy ships had powerful weapons, but they were intended for use only against other warships—Sectoid warships, frankly—and Liam immediately understood her interpretation of public opinion. Daring was His Majesty’s sailing ship, and no Emperor wanted to be known for killing private citizens in cold blood, pirates or not.
“We could argue that it was to avenge Lord Silverhawk,” he offered.
“I’m not doing it, Mr. Blackwood.”
He nodded, unable to muster further argument against her moral stance. But it was frustrating, he thought as he stepped away, to work for a diplomat.
He wandered over to Brown at weapons control, noting that the two smaller pirate ships were nearly out of cannon range, unable to maneuver in the planetary lee and holding off. The bigger ship, which had made the rocket attack against them, was still looming close. It only had a half dozen cannon, though, and its fire was more nuisance than anything. The beam weapons were recharged and ready in case the pirates launched another rocket attack.
“Bit of a stalemate, sir,” Brown reported. “We can sustain this sort of barrage all day. I have all three targets locked for missile fire.”
He noted the gleam in her eyes, guessing he’d had the same moments ago with Riverton. But he shook his head.
“Maintain your lock, but it’s not our intention to use missiles. We’re going to recover the other boat and get out of here.”
“Yes, sir.” If there was any disagreement within her, it was masked under a cool, loyal expression.
Liam walked back to the officer of the watch station, where Templegrey kept the ship steady on a course that maintained cannon arcs of fire on the large, nearby pirate ship. She was speaking on the radio as he approached.
“Captain, ma’am, officer of the watch,” she called. “Second boat has departed her berth and is climbing.”
“Very good,” Riverton replied, not looking back. “Maintain course to recover and plot a heading to clear for open space, putting those pirates behind us.”
Liam gave Templegrey a nod, then turned back to survey the scene. Morassia loomed huge to starboard and ahead, the big pirate ship was closing just abaft the beam. Sparks of cannon fire indicated its hostile intent, but he knew it was little threat at this range. Grabbing a telescope he peered down toward the planet. He could see the sprawl of the town they’d just left behind and the sparkle of movement as dozens of boats came and went from the port.
“Do you have tracking on our boat?” he asked over his shoulder.
“There’s too much clutter,” Templegrey replied. “But most traffic is staying close to the surface so I suspect we’ll see them emerge soon.”
Liam nodded, searching with his telescope again and ignoring the thumping of his heartbeat.
Amelia peered through the boat’s only telescope. She recognized Daring’s bulky form, free of the anchorage and maneuvering with three masts extended. The starboard mast was still retracted, and she knew that meant only one thing. As she watched, another ripple of fire blasted forth as her cannons loosed a broadside. Amelia swept her field of vision to the left, noting another, larger ship. It had only its top and bottom masts extended, suggesting it was firing from both sides. But something wasn’t adding up.
“Hmm,” she muttered.
“What is it?” Bella asked.
“It looks like Daring is under attack, but I’m not seeing a lot of fire from the pirate ship. Just a few random cannon shots—I’d have expected more of a punch from a ship so big.”
“Perhaps your captain has already disabled it?”
“Perhaps . . .”
Amelia climbed aft in the boat to crouch next to Hunter at the controls. She handed him the telescope.
“Get a fix on Daring,” she said. “And keep us clear of that big pirate ship seven points to the left.”
Hunter took a quick look through the telescope.
“With only two masts it’s not going to be able to keep up with Daring. We should be clear.”
Amelia nodded, tapping her fingers against the bench. The sky was turning black as they rose into orbit, and the chill was setting in.
“Can we go any faster?” she asked suddenly.
“We’re at full thruster,” Hunter replied. “It would take time to rig the sails, and here in the shallows we wouldn’t get much wind anyway. This is as fast as we go, PO.”
She nodded, moving forward to the bow again. Daring was holding a steady course, it looked like, but the pirate ship seemed to be turning.
“The nearest pirate is turning toward us,” Brown reported.
Liam looked to starboard and concurred that the great bulk of the heavy merchantman was shifting to a bow aspect. The turn closed off most of her cannon arcs, and if she had any more rockets they would be mounted to fire from the beam. Was she trying to close Daring?
“Give her a full broadside,” he ordered on impulse. “Let her know we’re still dangerous.”
Seconds later, the deck shook as all twelve of Daring’s starboard cannon opened fire. The impacts tufted against the big pirate’s hull, but her turn continued. She settled into a course aimed aft of Daring. Was she trying to climb up to stronger winds? Only her top and bottom masts were extended. Both port and starboard were retracted, suggesting she was still ready to fight.
He heard Able Rating Hunter’s voice on the radio, and Templegrey replied, giving him final course and speed for recovery. Looking planetward, Liam was just able to make out the dark shape of the boat climbing toward them. Amelia was on board, he knew. He wondered i
f the Theropods had shown up after all.
“Pirate ship preparing another rocket volley,” Brown warned. “Beam cannons ready.”
Liam looked at the pirate vessel, at her starboard bow aspect. The ship wasn’t pointed at Daring, and he knew that rockets had to fly straight at their targets. But rocket ports were opening, revealing the weapons. They were a stupider cousin to Daring’s own missiles, unable to adjust in flight, but deadly enough when pointed in the right direction. And the pirates surely knew this, Liam realized. Why else would they have maneuvered such a brute of a vessel into lower orbit when they wanted a clear shot at Daring? He looked again at the pirate boat’s aspect, then scanned forward to figure out their target.
“Oh no.”
Amelia lowered the telescope with shaking hands. “Oh, by all the stars . . .”
Was the pirate ship going to fire its cannon at the boat? Amelia didn’t know naval tactics well enough to know if they were in range, but she didn’t want to find out.
“Alter course to open the distance to the pirates,” she ordered.
Just as the boat hauled to starboard, there was a single flash from the pirate ship’s midships and a plume of smoke that just seemed to grow larger. It was a strange cannon shot, Amelia thought. But as she watched, she spotted a silvery object racing toward them, leading the trail of smoke. No cannonball did that. It reminded her of when Arrow had fired a missile at Red Sun . . . Her eyes widened. She grabbed for Sam and Bella behind her.
“Get down!”
A rocket blazed past the canopy. The boat shuddered with the force of the passing.
“What was that?” Sam roared.
Amelia tore open the stores chest at her feet, pulling out the tightly packed emergency spacesuits within. She threw one to Hunter, then held up two more for the Theropods.
Bella took one in her clawed hand, turning the thick, folded package for inspection.
Amelia saw another rocket launch from the pirates, wincing at the blinding flash seconds later. The boat was still intact, she realized, and she scrambled to unfold and don her own emergency suit.
Dark Star Rising Page 20
