Quickly on the screen appeared a picture of the engine room, half black with many disturbances and background sparking noises and shouted orders... [ fix this thing NOW!!!]... and in seconds person in helmet appears on screen. Bridge, this is commander Ferox, engineering deck number 3, we lost auxiliary AC Power Node from engine 1 to 3. Generator works at 42% efficiency and dropping. I still have some juice from engine 1, left in booting capacitor so I think I can reroute power to rest of engines or to laser turret at you disposal. Ferox out.
Strapped to his shuttle seat, Wesley was checking damage control on one of the shuttle computer. He had linked those computer to the Desoto internal system, without telling the captain of course, thinking it could be useful to have an secondary command post if thing were to go bad.
He was Taking a closer look at each of the data that was going on the bridge when suddenly an energy spike came out of the enemy ship, shortly followed by the clash of lightning. Even tough he wasn't shaken much, Wesley did put his arm in front of his face as if he expected to be punched in the face. After a few second that hit didn't come. He removed his arm from his face to look up at the damage controls. Blinking red light were almost every were. ignoring the various "atmosphere breach" warning, he focused on the Critical system for this situation, that is the engine and the turret.
He was interrupted in his tough by Kam. He tried to not let the new of the captain death distract him then replied on the same channel If we get a hit to the Shuttle bay i wont be the only one in trouble.
Going back the the ship "status report" he noticed that the fuel leak was a real danger, not only could it ignite and destroys the whole ship, like he saw on the Bellarmine Report but it also caused the ship to spin out of control.
Switching to the engineering bay comm Earl said Were loosing fuel by the second, ill advice that you to switch the hydrogen from the damaged reservoir to the undamaged one and vent the surplus. I also see that emergency valve 3-7 and 8 are undamaged, that wont stop the plasma leak on engine 2 but that should reduce it enough for Kam to have some chance to stabilize the ship.
Now he would focus on the other problem, weapons, Turret two was out of service, no way to fix that in time, Turret one was leaking some coolant
yelling on what ever frequency he forgot to close: Is there something on this ship that isnt leaking? that what you get for going to a plasma fight with point defense laser
Taking a deep breath and calming down, he would then say: Ok ok, maybe i can use the drop shuttle coolant to give the turret a few more shot
His tought were quickly interruped by some blinking appearing on Desoto sensor. Shit shit SHIT!
He quickly browsed thought the Desoto "undamaged system" looking for storage system then a particular item was highlighted by his cursor [...automated probes...] Bingo! he then quickly unstrapped himself from his seat then he quickly went to the Shuttle bay controls. The sensor array was mostly undamaged maybe he could launch the probe toward the enemy ship, forcing him to direct fire on those instead of the ship, with some luck maybe the torpedo would impact the Probe instead of the ship.
He quickly tried to remote launch the probe with as target not a planet but the enemy ship
Donna glances down at the ship's status screen once again following Commander Ferox's report, weighing up options, wishing that the screen said more than just that something doesn't work anymore. The damage to the Aux Power Node is a problem but the primary is still functioning, giving DeSoto a little over 4 G's acceleration. The damage to the lasers is another matter: Laser Two's problems could stem from meters of blasted power conduit, a loose connection or anything inbetween. Making a decision, Donna activates the comm, "Commander, make your way to the lasers and get them going, the drives'll have to look after themselves for now. What about the reactor and the hy—"
"Were loosing fuel by the second, ill advice that you to switch the hydrogen from the damaged reservoir to the undamaged one and vent the surplus. I also see that emergency valve 3-7 and 8 are undamaged, that wont stop the plasma leak on engine 2 but that should reduce it enough for Kam to have some chance to stabilize the ship." Westley's voice crashes over the comm circuit, Donna is left speechless for a moment: Torn between thanking Westley for answering her question before she can ask it and annoyance that he'd use the command frequency to do it. Earl then adds another thought, perhaps after forgetting to turn off his comm, "Is there something on this ship that isnt leaking? that what you get for going to a plasma fight with point defense laser" Dona finds her voice after this second outburst and snaps, voice cold, "Thankyou for your thoughts Cowboy, now get off this damned freq."
Taking a deep breath, Donna speaks to Ferox once again, "Hadrid, do what you or a subordinate can for the hydrogen leak but your priority is the lasers. And, before you go, how's the reactor holding up, is it stabilised?" While waiting for the Commander's response Donna comms the tactical officer, "We've got repairs en-route to the lasers so once the coolant levels on One get to critical levels cease fire, we can't risk further damage."
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas
[A] book need never die and should not be killed; books [are] the immortal part of man. - Robert A. Heinlein
To an outside observer, it might have seemed an elegant dance, as the trio of dots in the night sky fluttered about ever so slightly back and fourth like fireflies in some elaborate ritual. But as graceful as their motions seemed, any mastery over their situation was entirely illusory.
Onboard the DeSoto, the entire ship creaked and groaned under stress as Kam opened the throttle as wide as it would go. Hoping to gain an edge in acceleration the wounded ship struggled to comply, but even with the remaining three engines pushing beyond their intended specifications, she was couldn't even keep up with her original pace. Temperature gauges in engineering pegged into the red and high tech composite materials began slowly melting away as the engine bells left bits and pieces of themselves behind in a long, sparkling trail. On the bridge, Lt. Chu relays a frantic message from the chief engineer.
"Command, engineering. You are strongly advised to throttle back as soon as possible. They're not sure how much longer they can hold this pace."
The fuel pumps were thankfully still in one piece, and began pumping the remaining fuel from the damaged tank. A small blessing at the moment, but a brief cheer could be heard over the engineering channel as the capacity gauges began to stabilize. No help in the current situation, but should they survive the next few minutes, it gives some reassurance to know there will be enough gas to turn around and head for safety.
A telltale electric buzz accompanied the laser battery as it opened fire. On the tactical display one of the incoming torpedos neatly winked out of existence. However, tactical officer Gupton's expression darkened even further at the sight.
"That torpedo just detonated itself when we hit it... Looks like our friends have cooked up something new. We'd better..." She stops mid sentence as her eyes go wide. "Comm, tell those interceptors they need to back off!"
-----
One and a half light seconds away, Tenoin Arrir Flint is entirely focused on destroying the incoming torpedos. It had seemed terribly ironic to her earlier that the tables should be turned as they were. Perhaps it was a weakness, she had thought, that they had gotten used to the technological upper hand. Their plan to charge the Umiak bandit in close range was pragmatic though risky, but with an unexpected torpedo launch the game had suddenly changed for the worse. She couldn't afford to miss a single shot in a joust. Every second mattered far too much now.
The pair of interceptors charged inward from their flanking position to engage the incoming torpedos at close range, but while Tenoin Narrat Shawl kept enough situational awareness to read the warning message coming across her AR display, Flint was staring through a tunnel at her target. With a gentle squeeze of the trigger, the colored dot in front of her exploded into a brilliant light. Too bright.
The hull of the interceptor flash expanded with a bang as the burst of radiation heated its surface. It was luckily far enough away to leave the light craft intact, but in the cockpit, Flint knew she had a problem. She recognized the symptoms of radiation sickness before she even had a chance to remember the meaning of the big flashing-red radiation-danger symbol on her display. As she corrected her course towards the next torpedo, she wondered how long it would be until the exposure incapacitated her, she wondered if she would make it back in time to receive treatment, she wondered if treatment would even help; but she knew for certain she would keep fighting as long as she could still move her hands on the controls.
-----
Back on the DeSoto, the damage control team reached the laser turret in record time, and tying themselves down with safety lines, stepped out through the breach in the hull to inspect the damage. The pressure gauge on the laser coolant spiked wildly after the first shot. As the temperature of the weapon increases, so does the pressure in the coolant system, and what had been a slow leak was now a spewing geyser. When the turret fired a second time, ensign ballard cried out in pain and went limp. Lt. Cdr. Vance cursed to himself, but when his voice went over the comm, it was its usual carefully measured tone.
"Everyone watch yourselves, there's a loose circuit connected to that girder. We don't have time to lock it down though, so we'll have to make the repairs inbetween shots. Don't just stand there, get moving! We can't let the coolant reach vaporization pressure. I'll start a count down from ten before the recycle time is up, you'll need to be safe and away before I reach zero." Only after giving his immediate orders, does he switch to the medical channel. "Man down on deck 1 aft, please send help."
Running across the deck of the hangar bay was a strange sensation for Cowboy, as the inertial dampeners didn't quite keep up with all of the rapid velocity changes. The coolant from the drop shuttle would make an acceptable replacement for the laser turret, but there just wasn't enough time to jerry rig a transfer pump. The autonomous probes on the other hand, could be launched almost immediately. With the kilometers ticking down like seconds, a quick look around the hangar showed all hands tied down and ready for depressurization.
The probes scattered into the vacuum of space in a haphazard spread. Their acceleration not much greater than the DeSoto's, they seemed to hover nearby for a moment until a course correction sent the DeSoto on a different trajectory all together.
The enemy target's output spiked again as they unleashed another volley of weapons fire. Due to Kamielle's expert piloting, the shots went wide. However, the Pure Wind was not so lucky. Closing the gap and a much more rapid pace, she was already in mid range when the bandit rolled and discharged the other half of its armaments for a solid hit amidships. Whatever the damage they sustained though, they don't bother to update the DeSoto of their situation and continued climbing forward with a reckless abandon. Her auto-lasers targeting the incoming torpedos, there wasn't any time to return fire on the enemy itself.
Kamielle listens to the reports coming in from the various crew stations, warning messages blaring across his console. His brow knits in concentration... {Ok. Let's get... creative.}
Speaking out Kam yelled over the bridge ruckus, {"Acknowledged Engineering. Will be cutting main drives back to 75% main maneuver thrust in 20 seconds."}
Then addressing the the engineer and tactical officers on bridge, "Trust me on this... Send warnings to all personnel to stay away from ALL airlock access hallways, near their pressure doors sections, and give me security override on all airlocks. Engineering be ready to re-pressurize those locks as fast as I blow them. Tactical lock the starbord laser turret bow-on aim forward only please. Trust me... we need to change the balance of this conflict or we're all going to die!"
Not explaining further Kam pressurizes the airlocks and counts down over the engineering comm {"Main drive powering down in ...6-5-4-3-2-1 'mark' main maneuver drives to 75%!!!"}
Kam yells a warning, "Hang on folks this is going to be bumpy!!!"
With that Kam puts the DeSoto into a vector that he keeps adjusting main drive output fluctuating between 20 to 75% thrust for maddeningly unpredictable vectors spinning the ship's bulk as needed to jink the DeSoto's vector and change her direction seemingly at random! To add to the lessened drive output Kam intentionally pressurizes and blows airlocks on the various sides of the ship to alter DeSoto's course dialing the inertial compensators down as far as just under safety standard as he can for the needed inertia - adding added 'kick' to the maneuvering verniers as they fire in succession! His hands flying over the controls and brow wet with sweat he manhandles the maneuver and life support controls to trigger the airlocks, verniers and main engines firing in an orchestrated pattern as needed to make the DeSoto bounce and jump like a jinking aerospace fighter interceptor! Altering the pattern of his jinks Kam turns the bow of the DeSoto lining up occasionally with the enemy vessel and firing the Laser Turret locked bow-on at the enemy ship in 2 minute intervals in a fashion akin to a Interceptor dogfighter... on a grander scale - almost... "feeling" by instinct the target vessel lining up on the DeSoto's bow as precision pulse after pulse is unleashed at the target.
He seems to be flying the DeSoto like a very large and unwieldy space interceptor most of his efforts being realigning the ship when a series of explosively depressurizing airlocks with firing verniers throws the ship into what seems a random spin but he quickly adjusts bringing that laser turret in line to fire ...
... OF COURSE system warnings scream out as the DeSoto, rebels against such punishing abusive piloting that she was DEFINITELY not designed to endure...
[ooc: Going out on a limb here folks, hope you don't mind too much; but it seemed something Kam would do... he is a little impulsive and his gut reaction is to return to what he knows...DOGFIGHTING... Interceptor style!]
Donna's stomach quietly rebels as DeSoto's artificial gravity field struggles to compensate for the many and varied inertial effects of Kamielle's antics at the helm. Shoving the discomfort to the back of her mind, Donna keeps an eye on the damage control screen which has become a more-or-less permanent fixture on her console as well as a sensor screen showing, among other things, Cowboy's volley of probes. Damn...how many Government Property, Inappropriate Use Of forms am I going to have to fill out at the end of all this? Even as the errant thought brings a smile to her lips, another takes it away, We have to stop reacting to them, if we can't get the initiative we're toast. Looking at the crisp sensor returns gives Donna an idea however; she keys the bridge comm, "Sensors, I want a detailed scan of the gunboat. I'm looking for any unlaunched torps or anything else that looks like it might explode nicely if we put a laser shot through it." That done she comms Lt Cdr. Vance leading the Damage Control teams, "Commander, any word on the lasers? We could do with some extra firepower about now."
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas
[A] book need never die and should not be killed; books [are] the immortal part of man. - Robert A. Heinlein
Answering Dona call Lt. Cdr. Vance appeared at screen. Commander Ptak, Ferox reported that his team is at the site and are making necessary adjustments as we speak. They need few more moments to finish it. You must realize that such power flow can damage our main power nexus and leave us incapacitated?
And after few more moments new screen pop up.
Bridge, this is Ferox, we are ready for power transfer however I advice to remove unnecessary personnel from turret room.
Kam gets on the Comm system, {"Hey 'Cowboy'... you any good with a gunnery station as you are with 6-guns? Cause I'm gonna need someone a damn good shot to fire that turret for anti-missile fire... which I'm sure is about to start coming our way. I can't play dogfighter, keep up the attack and play 'wack-a-missile' all at the same time. I'd really appreciate some cover fire... or my flying this bucket-o-bolts apart at the seems ain't gonna amount to a hill o' cowchips if one of those torps detonates anywhere near us...!!! If you can... make your way to the bridge... we'll have a bridge-station for you to mann."}
Replying to Kam on the same frequency just as the hangar door closed. Allrighty-O Kam, im finished with the "decoy" here i'll be on my way to the bridge.
He then took a quick glance at the ship status. Between the hit and the various maneuver there were no way to be absolutely sure that the quickest way to the bridge would also be the safest. Puting his helmet back on his suite Earl would take the best path to reach the bridge in time.
Commander Ptak, Ferox reported that his team is at the site and are making necessary adjustments as we speak. They need few more moments to finish it. You must realize that such power flow can damage our main power nexus and leave us incapacitated? Donna nods, "I do realise that Commander, it's a risk, but if we can't get that laser operational we'll be risking worse than incapacitation. And I am confident in Ferox's abilities." As she finishes speaking a new screen appears, Bridge, this is Ferox, we are ready for power transfer however I advice to remove unnecessary personnel from turret room."Good work Ferox, wait one while I tell Vance to get clear." Donna switches back to the Damage Control Chief's comm, "Ok Kojiro, Ferox is ready to begin the power transfer, you need to get your people out of the area. Comm Ferox once you're clear." Switching channels again Donna tells Ferox, "Commander Vance is clearing the area now, he'll comm you once he's done. You can begin the power transfer after that."
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas
[A] book need never die and should not be killed; books [are] the immortal part of man. - Robert A. Heinlein
5... The damage control team is welding a piece of scrap over the coolant leak while trying not to touch the scalding droplets of liquid themselves. Hot enough now to cause damage to their pressure suits, it is at the moment, just one of many dangers.
4... Several members disengage their carabiners from the nearby girder and kick off towards the corridor. Ensign Kozlov curses under her breath and continues to weld the seal on the scrap metal.
3... Time is running out, but she knows that if she doesn't get this sealed off now, they might have to start over from scratch, so she keeps going.
2... The damage control chief is yelling something over the comm, but she isn't listening. Deep in the pit of her stomach, she knows she isn't going to make it in time, but there is something holding her in place. She knows she has to try.
1... Thats the word she was waiting for. Out of time... A flash of the wrist and her carabiner is disconnected even as she is pushing away from the surface.
0... She can't hear the hum of electricity through the vacuum of space, but she can see the panel she'd been welding closed burst loose as though someone had kicked open a door. A misty spray of superheated coolant flies in her direction, and she pulls hard on her safety line. The rest of the team is already in motion, climbing back out onto the damaged turret assembly, though it takes extra precaution now that some of the components are glowing red hot. While she waits to reach a solid surface to push back off from, she opens a her comm line to the rest of the damage control team.
"The pressure is too high, even with the patch. I think there must be something wrong with the flow regulator too. If they put that extra current through, it'll probably be our last shot."
Vance, who'd been shouting at her a moment ago was back to his usual tempered self. "I think you're right, but there's no way we can repair it with the coolant temperatures as high as they are now. I'll signal command and tell them to make this shot count."
----
Cowboy feels a certain sensation of falling as he traverses the corridor to the bridge. The long gaping hole in the bulkhead, stretching down the long axis of the ship as though it had been sliced open by a blade, was a literal bottomless pit. The stars on the other side of the threshold seemed suspended in place, though they were obviously traveling very fast. Still, it was only a few flights of ladder before Cowboy found himself on the bridge.
----
The enemy craft continues its mad dance through the heavens, faster now that it is unburdened by its payload of torpedos, and it begins to pull away from its attackers. Perhaps emulating the tactics of the Loroi, it seems to hesitate to move into close range, while the Pure Wind struggles to close the gap. Her auto-lasers chew through the incoming torpedos, though a couple of them detonate a little too close for comfort. She switches targets as soon as there are no more torpedos homing in on her position, while the two remaining torpedos still headed for the DeSoto are completely ignored.
In turn, the enemy craft completely ignored the two interceptors as they tried to flank in close. The interceptors were only just faster than their target, but they took full advantage of its apparent disinterest and pushed in as close as they could before launching their remaining AMMs at the gunboat directly. Unconcerned by the incoming projectiles, the gunboat Instead yawed towards the Pure Wind and opened fire for the third time. Perhaps they though she was the bigger threat, perhaps the DeSoto's erratic movements made them pick the easier target, whatever the case, it seemed as though they had a vendetta now.
The first two shots fired aimlessly into deep space, but the third shot found its mark. A direct hit on the Pure Wind's port engine pylon separated it completely from the primary hull. Still under its own power, the engine veered off to the side before steadily twisting into an uncontrolled spin. The Pure Wind limped away under half power, but didn't quite make it clear when the errant engine exploded.
It took a second for the DeSoto's sensors to reset after being assaulted by the burst of gamma rays, but they quickly locked on to what remained of the Pure Wind. The explosion had caused massive damage to her aft quarter, knocking the starboard engine out of operation. Mangled sections of hull plating drifted lazily behind the ship. Blasted free in the explosion, now they were simply accompaniment for a sitting duck. A sitting duck moving at over one percent the speed of light, but sitting all the same. Defiant until the last, her auto lasers were still firing at the enemy target, scoring a few glancing hits here and there while peeling away layers of armor.
The AMMs tore into the gunboat's starboard side a few moments too late for the Pure Wind. It made for a spectacular burst metal and gasses, blown away by incredible kinetic forces, but there was no uncontrolled annihilation reaction. Even with its entire starboard side missing, the gunboat continued climb ahead under full power. Now though, it was turning away from the Pure Wind and back towards the DeSoto, attempting to keep its wounded side facing away from its attackers as best as possible.
----
Back on the DeSoto, the damage control and engineering teams moved away from the turret assembly. Two incoming torpedos, one badly damaged gunboat, and nobody knew just how many shots they had left before the turret gave out entirely. Over the comm, Lt. Cdr. Gupton spoke, the excitement obvious in her voice. "You've gotta ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky?"
Kam gritted his teeth thinking, {ok. Crunch Time!}
Kam spoke, "Tactical. What are the odds those torpedoes are heat seeking... cause I got a plan... sort of."
Catching the movement from the corner if his eye Kam saw 'Cowboy' enter the bridge.
Gesturing to a console slaving the only remaining turret in operation, "Take a seat Cowboy, you have only got a few bursts left in her... but I think I can make it so you won't need any on the torpedoes, cross your fingers... Turning the turret over to your control ...now."
Then Kam fires the ship's verniers and turns the DeSoto nose away from the enemy ship as if going to make a run for it... leveling out her flight path instead of jinking and twisting he takes a seemingly suicidal straight course for running - which wounded as the enemy ship is the DeSoto has NO CHANCE of outrunning it! To add to the seeming madness he burns the engines to 75% but opens her engine ports to maximum creating twin engine flares but with no serious thrust - speed drops! Then slowly he begins spinning the DeSoto slowly letting the oncoming torpedoes get a solid lock on the twin engine flares... hoping the lock is good and solid as they move in for the kill. He watches the rear view of the oncoming torpedoes watching them spiral closer to doom.
He comments, "If you think you can hit them both with a single shot 'Tex' I'm not stopping you... but your not gonna get a better shot on the Gunboat than NOW!!!"
At seeming the last critical moment of the torpedoes approach Kam's eyes widen and he blows the ALL portside airlocks thrusting the DeSoto off course and firing her maneuvering verniers to the maximum while closing the DeSoto's engine ports to high thrust aperture pushing the engines to 100% for a few desperate seconds to put on as much speed as possible! Kam veers the DeSoto HARD jinking at the last moment hoping the torpedoes try to adjust their approaching spiral to slam into each other as the DeSoto twists out of their way... and rockets away at full speed... Unfortunately the explosion ...is still very close...
Not to scale: DeSoto in Blue - Pure Wind and Interceptors in Green - Gunship in Red - Torpedos in Orange. ))
The Pure Wind tumbles helplessly though space, a field of debris and venting gas hangs around her like a patch of fog in the early morning. Though her hull still practically glows with heat, to the naked eye it looks as though her light just blinked out of the night sky. In spite of the massive damage, however, her auto lasers continue to fire away at the enemy target and garbled radio traffic can be overheard as she tries to communicate with her interceptors. A couple bursts of radio traffic even seem to be aimed at the DeSoto, but with all the damage she's sustained to her outer hull, the radio transmitters have undoubtedly been damaged as well. Already past perigee, the Pure Wind's fire becomes less accurate as she drifts rapidly away from the target.
----
On the bridge of the DeSoto, a lull comes over the comm channels as everyone seems to be holding their breath. Two little orange dots on the tactical display with a string of numbers rapidly counting down to zero are foremost on everyone's minds, though the estimated cooldown timer underneath the big red dot is not entirely forgotten. And while they look like they are lazily moving into the DeSoto's path on the little display, every second that passes shaves more than 3000 kilometers off of their distance.
As Cowboy slides into his seat, the gauge hits 60,000 kilometers... 20 seconds until impact. They had been fired in a starburst pattern originally, but now they are converging again right into the DeSoto's path. Only moments left to decide: use the extra power from the engines for one final shot at the gunboat, or hope the point defense holds out for the last two torpedos, leaving the enemy gunboat alone? Whatever orders have been given up until now, the final decision rests on the shoulders of one man with his finger on the trigger.
The decision was quick to make, it was no use to finish off the gunboat if they ended up dead too, and earl had no idea of the current state of the point defense. He couldn't take that risk.
A drop of sweat was rolling down his forehead. Taking a quick look he estimated the time he had remaining to do THE shot so that the DeSoto wouldn't get caught in the blast. He knew he had to wait for the torpedo to be as close of each other as possible. Looking thought the targeting hud he set the turret in position.
SpoilerShow
Ok come on cowboy, it just like shooting from the hips... except those are torpedo and not tin can, and the six shot only had one bullet left and is way bigger than you. Oh and if you miss we are all dead, no pressure at all! he mumbled as if people could hear him
For what seemed like an eternity Earl kept his eyes fixed on the consol. looking at the number counting down. he was so focus about this shot, this unique shot but yet one of the most important in his life, that he barely hear Kam yelling to hurry up and something about "god"
There were no more time left to wait for those torperdo to converge, he had to take the shot now.
SpoilerShow
All channel closed he said Here we go, once this done, drink are on me just before firing
His finger softly hit the fire button. The soft humming of the condenser suddenly discharging could be felt, a bright light could be seen from the hull breach. at this point cowboy could do no other thing than wait...
The targeting display went white for a moment, then dark as the DeSoto's optics shielded themselves from the burst of radiation. A low vibration was felt throughout the ship as the laser turret burst apart at the seams, but there was no kaboom. No searing flash of light followed by nothingness either. It was only afterwards that Cowboy's perception unfocused enough to see the big picture. Various alarms were buzzing and flashing, all vying for someone's attention, but the tactical display showed the promising sight. Both torpedoes had been destroyed, one by a well placed laser, the other had met face to face with an autonomous probe only moments prior.
Lt. Cdr. Gupton was turning off the collision alarm, and while the radiation alarm had been tripped, the console was displaying only a mild interior exposure. Lt. Chu was doing her best to keep comm chatter directed, but in spite of her efforts there was still plenty of spill-over, especially from engineering and damage control. They had managed to stop the fuel leak and were working on a patch for the main reactor. The scattered reports coming in from the laser team were less encouraging. The whole assembly had taken serious damage when the coolant hit boiling, nobody was quite sure which components had melted and which ones were still intact, or whether or not the lens would even be able to focus.
Still, even with the torpedos destroyed, there was the immediate problem of the gunboat itself. As the DeSoto hit perigee with the gunboat, it fired once again, but Kam's expert piloting undoubtedly saved the day. Still jinking and wheeling about, the already wounded DeSoto began to pull away from the enemy with her significantly higher initial velocity. It seemed as if the tactical readouts of the past two minutes were now being replayed in reverse as the gauges and counters started rapidly climbing back up.
The gunboat still managed to fire at the DeSoto two more times before they pulled out of weapons range. The first shot was little more than a glancing blow, clipping off the DeSoto's ventral fin and antenna, but the further away they got, the more inaccurate the incoming fire became. It almost seemed as though the enemy craft was having an increasingly difficult time holding their own course, let alone giving chase, though it didn't stop them from trying.
It had only been four minutes when Lt. Chu's voice came over the general comm.
"All hands, we have left enemy weapons range. Set condition two and report to repair and recovery stations."
The message was immediately followed by a roar of cheering and even a few prayers of thanks, but as the cheers died down, the reality of the situation began to settle in cold and hard. The ship was still in grave danger, and for some, it seemed as though it would take a miracle to survive to see the next day.
-----
Lt. Cdr. Gupton was still going over the tactical situation with Ensign Toshio when the medical team reached the bridge. She paused for a moment and watched them approach Captain MacRae's body, but she closed her eyes and turned away when they began extricating him from his seat. She tried to focus instead on the enemy's course, waiting to see if it would break off its pursuit or if it would continue chasing the DeSoto down. She didn't even notice the med technician walk up behind her, though she noticed when he put his hand on her shoulder.
"Lieutenant Commander... are you listening?" He'd been trying to get her attention over the comm, but she hadn't been paying attention, "Your suit has measured a dangerous dose of radiation, I'm going to have to insist you come with me to the med bay for treatment."
Her station had been on the far end of the bridge when the last torpedo ignited, and it was one of the few places that, by chance, was in line of sight through the gash in the bulkhead. Unshielded by the ship's hull, she'd taken a larger dose than anyone else on the ship.
"I'm sorry, but I'm a little busy right now. I'll stop by later."
"No can do Sir, you need to get treated right away." The medtech said with authority, then, softening his voice, "come on, don't make this any harder on me than it has to be."
The medtech offered his hand, and she allowed herself to be helped out of her seat. She walked off the bridge along with the captain, but she still kept her gaze fixated elsewhere.
Kamielle looked over the console still blinking out the atomic flash glare from his eyes... though he had averted his gaze at the blast he was still seeing spots with the hull of the ship breached overhead to open space...
Kam smirked at 'Cowboy', "Nice shooting 'Tex'... you saved all our assess!"
Then turning his attention back to the console and began applying thrust to change the DeSoto's course. A long safe turn well clear of the gunboat that nearly killed them and its planet.
Kam speaks up without thinking, "Captain, permission to set course to intercept the 'Pure Wind' and render aid...er...ah hell..."
Kam looks over at the XO, Commander Ptak, his expression one of... remorseful appology...
"Er... permission to match courses with the 'Pure Wind' to render assistance Commander Ptak?"
The icy clarity which had sustained Donna through the battle abandoned her as the danger passed, leaving her with an inner turmoil that threatened to crack the calm exterior she presented to the crew. The thought of how close they had come to destruction in the last few minutes chilled her to the bone and she dared not linger on the thought of the crew members who hadn't survived. Training kicks in where adrenalin fails though, and Donna harshly shoves those thoughts into a quiet corner of her mind; sadness, remorse and guilt can wait for time when the ship and everyone on it isn't depending on her to make the right choices...or at least not make the wrong ones.
Donna looks up from her console as Kam speaks, "Captain, permission to set course to intercept the 'Pure Wind' and render aid...er...ah hell..." Looking apologetic he continues, "Er... permission to match courses with the 'Pure Wind' to render assistance Commander Ptak?"
"Yes, let's go do what we can for them." Donna then surveys the ragged bridge, the simple act of speaking having done much to clear her mind, she spots Earl at the weapons controls, "An excellent shot Cowboy, we owe you a drink or two, hey?" A moment later Donna turns her attention back to the console, trying to find out what still works aboard the battered ship.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas
[A] book need never die and should not be killed; books [are] the immortal part of man. - Robert A. Heinlein
Nobody know how much time passed while engineering group was resting idly next to laser turret's inners. Hadrid sat at extent of stairs towering above others. He looked around seeing Cathy, Simon, Peter sitting around .... we all got enough for today... he thought.
Alright guys! Let's get out of here, we will regroup at main engineering room, besides we need rest.
In moments whole team stood up and went towards central hub.
Donna catches herself staring at the flashing crimson of the FTL unit on the damage control screen again and berates herself for dwelling on matters that cannot be changed in the here and now. Activating the comm, Donna orders the engineering crew to focus on fixing the damage to the fusion reactor and the damage control teams to investigate the extent of the hull breaches. It'll be a lot easier to repair the ship once most of it can be repressurised. She also schedules a comm conference with all of the senior officers or their seconds in twenty minutes. That done, Donna has Lt. Chu inform the Pure Wind that they are coming to aid them on the off chance that the Loroi can still recieve transmissions.
Ptak then turns her attention to Lt. Lynn, "Kam, we should ease up on engine three as much as possible to balance the ship. It seems we might be here a while."
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas
[A] book need never die and should not be killed; books [are] the immortal part of man. - Robert A. Heinlein
Kamielle's hands fly over the helm console setting the course that is most safe to rendezvous with the 'Pure Wind', a course giving a wide birth of any planetary weapons arrays or interceptor launches.
Kam re-balances the engine thrust for the most efficient uniform output possible with the reduced functionality of only two engines as he completely shuts down engine #3...
Already at work when 'acting' Captain Ptak gives reminds Kam to go easy on engine #3 he replies, "Aye Ma'am. I'm shutting engine #3 down completely so the Engineering crews can find out how damaged she is... and if she's repairable. I'll be gentle this time on the remaining two... best safe speed possible to intercept the 'Pure Wind'... 1 to 3.5 hours... depending on how direct you want to get there. My current course is set to maximum safe intercept... but I can cut it to a third of that if I get closer to the planet, risky but more direct. Your call ma'am."
))