War Angel: part sixty-six

Alarms and claxons roared across every deck of the Rea’Cerb. J’rwa R’ybt leapt forward from his command seat and began barking commands of his crew. “Report! I want to know what just happened and I want to know right now! Send to other ship to go to all stop!” He took a breath, and whispered to himself. “Did we open fire without my permission?” Shocked Omegan faces did their best to concentrate on the tasks at hand, each warrior focused on the data being retrieved by their instruments, not a soul wishing to turn and face the commander with potentially life-ending news. Finally, a single brave warrior spoke up.

R’ybt cast his steely gaze at the young warrior. The commander made note of how the young subordinate was taking the time to steady himself and calm his nerves. “My commander?”

“Speak!” R’ybt began to feel his patience slipping away. “I await answers!”

The young warrior coughed. “My commander, indications are that their port side cannon mechanism exploded. They caught fire and ventilated atmosphere for almost a full minute, but it stopped.”

J’rwa R’ybt paced the bridge slowly. “You are certain, warrior?” He nodded assent. “What is your name?”

“R’kah K’darl, commander.”

The Rea’Cerb’s leader strode to the warrior’s side and clasped a hand to his shoulder. “You have done well. It will be noted.” R’ybt turned to face the rest of the bridge crew. “What are they doing now?”

Each of the Omegans doubled their efforts with their instrumentation, all hoping to find a way for them to join R’kah K’darl on the list of commendables from this mission. The main screen flared to life, and suddenly the damage to their foe was easily seen. A four-foot gap in the War Angel’s hull was readily apparent. A closer look revealed a figure moving within the enemy ship, and R’ybt realized that the earthers were making emergency repairs.

“Fascinating,” he muttered to himself.

One of the other warriors spoke up. “My commander? Should we not use this opportunity to destroy them? They are weak. Their defenses will not hold against us.”

R’ybt waived him off. “Bah. As if they would have at full strength. No, we are charged with bringing them to the Kan’Tar, and that is what we will do. Supreme Commander M’isti wants this ship and this crew in his grasp. Our glory lies within his plan.” He frowned. “Still…” he tailed off… “Hail them.”

“This is Captain Jack Keys. I’m a little busy at the moment, commander.”

“We can see that,” R’ybt replied calmly. “Do you require assistance?”

The face on the screen looked sad and puzzled for a moment, and R’ybt felt like he had caught the young earther off-guard. “Huh. Umm, no, I don’t think so. The fire is out and we’re working on plugging the hole.

A wide smile crossed R’ybt’s face. “Yes. A cannon-sized hole. Most… unfortunate.”

Keys scowled. “The cannon was unimportant.” His face sagged. “But the man we lost was our friend.” He wiped sweat from his brow. “Anyway, we’ll… be patched soon and be ready to get back underway. I know we’re due at the Kan’Tar.” He paused. “We’ll mourn on our own time, not yours. Keys out.”

The channel closed, leaving the screen on the Rea’Cerb empty and its commander intrigued. “I want a scan of that ship for life signs immediately!” he barked.

“My commander, I show six life signs.”

R’ybt lifted an eyebrow. Indeed, there were seven around Saturn and seven as they approached. He had just watched his enemy become crippled before his eyes and lose a member of its tiny crew in the process. As his crew noted, there would never be a better time to remove them from the board.

He swiveled and headed for the bridge exit. “Keep an eye on them. I will be in my quarters.” The bridge crew saluted him. “I need to talk to the Kan’Tar.”

As the door closed behind him, the crew exhaled with relief, and each smiled at the other. Perhaps the Kan’Tar would change the nature of their mission after all.