War Angel: part eighty-one

“Are you absolutely certain that the Angel’s shields can protect us from the close quarters?” Gina asked.

Sarah pulled some numbers up on the nearest screen. “Obviously, this isn’t quite what I had in mind when I designed the biogel packs. Those were meant to disperse energy more than physical hits. But between the shields and the hull – the original designers of the Revenge-class ships overbuilt – I do believe that she can take the pounding. It won’t be comfortable for us. It’s going to be seriously bumpy and unpleasant as we ride out the damage.”

Jack smiled and nodded. “The ship will be unprotected for a minute or so if you wind up having to pick me up, because the shields will have to drop in order for me to get into the ship. But even assuming that some of their crew manage a few shots at us, small arms fire isn’t going to hurt this old boat.”

“Guess we’d better hope they don’t have anything larger, then,” Richard muttered.

Kate fired over her shoulder as she and the doctor ran through corridor after corridor.  The pattern was consistent; a few blasts would fly past them, Kate would retaliate, and around twenty seconds later, another barrage would come from behind them. Their pursuers seemed no closer, which was a gift, but they weren’t going away, either.

“Keep running, Doctor, we’re getting close!” Kate yelled above the sound of laser fire. “They’re firing wildly, so they aren’t going to catch us!” Her voice directed itself inward, adding a silent “I hope.”

They sprinted around the next left-hand corner, and the two women brightened. Ahead of them was the door to the landing bay. At the threshold, they stopped running, walking through the door and shutting it. Wilma looked around at the bay and was stunned at what she saw. Dead Omegans laying everywhere, the remnants of a B-class cruiser sprayed around the area, and a fully functional War Angel floating above the deck, waiting for her crew complement to be complete. Kate looked over at the doctor as they made their way to the ship and saw the look on her face.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Kate asked.

“In the most appalling way possible,” Wilma replied. Suddenly, they caught movement out of the corners of their eyes. Looking at the far end of the landing bay, they saw a B-class cruiser coming around the edge of the Kan’Tar and preparing to enter the landing bay. The two women turned and sprinted toward the War Angel. They ran into the landing bay and Kate slammed her fist into a comm. unit, activating it.

“F.A. to bridge! We’ve got company coming!”

Richard switched the main viewscreen to show the Serr’Donn entering the landing bay. “B-class cruiser entering the bay, Commander,” he said, studying the suddenly very quiet Sarah as she sat forward in the captain’s chair. “Orders?”

“Give me a reading on them, full go. They’ll have all they need to know in a heartbeat,” she replied.

His fingers danced around the console, pulling up data. “They’re doing a full sensor sweep of the ship. Not just ours, but the Kan’Tar, too. Weapons are cold. No, wait… weapons powering up! They are slowing their engines to take up a position blocking us from leaving the landing bay.” He looked down for a moment. “They have us in weapons lock.”

The bridge door opened, and Kate ran in. Sarah swiveled around. “Tactical, please, F.A. Our company has us in weapons lock.”

Kate assumed her position at the weapons station. “But they haven’t fired? Weird.”

Sarah turned back to face the viewscreen. “I think they’re trying to figure out what’s going on. Our weapons aren’t hot, we aren’t trying to run. They’re expecting the opposite.”

Gina held her hands steady on the helm. “What’s the plan?”

“We need to maneuver the ship around in order to execute the plan, anyway, so let’s do it really gently. Use the thrusters and swing us so that she sees our flank.”

“That gives her a bigger target, Commander,” Kate chimed in, concerned.

“I’m aware of it, Lieutenant Commander,” Sarah responded. “But at this range, she’s got us no matter what.”

A slight tremble passed through the War Angel’s flooring as the ship slowly made a ninety degree turn, settling in a position directly in front of the entrance to the interior of the Kan’Tar. As Gina finished the maneuver, sweat dripping from her hairline, Richard’s voice cried out in alarm. “Incom—“

Before he could finish, the blast from the Serr’Donn impacted the War Angel’s shields, shoving the ship backward and bouncing it off of the interior hull of the landing bay. Alarms rang out across the bridge. The crew bounced out of their seats, and the old warship drifted out of control for a moment.

“Gah!” Sarah screamed, half in pain, and half in anger. “Tactical! One cannon for them, the other three need to start carving us a path out of here. Helm! Once she fires the initial barrage, swing us the rest of the way around and make the move! Sensors! Continual feed to helm and tactical. Keep giving them a path and a target. Go! Go! Go!”

Kate eyeballed the tactical display carefully. She punched in coordinates for all four cannons and set them to full power. “Here we go…” Her fingers brushed the firing mechanisms and the War Angel’s laser cannons blazed to life.

Cannon four erupted in a fiery red blaze of destruction three times, punching the Serr’Donn across its nose, knocking that ship’s front end hard enough so that it drifted backward towards the landing bay entrance. It was a crisp, beautiful shot, one that would give the War Angel valuable time to execute its escape plan.

Cannons one, two and three were pointed the other direction.

Each weapon sent a cascade of death and destruction through the interior walls of the Kan’Tar. Nine total blasts tore through the bulkheads, doorways, walls, and equipment in their path. A gaping hole now existed in the Kan’Tar’s insides, and debris and pieces of the ship drifted downward toward the lower decks. Richard switched the viewscreen’s point of view, and the crew got a good look at what they had just done.

Gina used the thrusters and maneuvered the ship around so that it had its backside facing the landing bay. She then looked at the data Richard was feeding her and engaged the engines. “Helm ready. Taking us in… three… two… one… go.” The War Angel lurched forward and entered the hole it had just created. “Tactical, commence surgery.”

“With pleasure,” Kate replied. She focused all four cannons forward and opened fire.