helm!”
“Sure,” she answered, resigning herself to the situation. As unbelievable as it was, Nathan Scott was legally in command of the Aurora. At least until a more senior officer from elsewhere on the ship assumed the role. “What do you want me to do?”
“Can you back us away from them?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted as she started checking to see what was working.
“Engineering! Bridge! Respond!” Nathan called.
“Da! Engineering here! Nathan! Is that you?”
“Yeah! Vlad! It’s me!” Nathan could hear all manner of commotion coming through the comm from engineering. People were yelling in the background, alarms were sounding, and he was pretty sure he heard the sound of portable fire suppression equipment being used. Above it all, Vladimir was yelling instructions to someone.
“What are you doing on the command channel, Nathan? You can get in big trouble for this!”
“I’m in command!”
“Shto?”
Nathan had learned a few words in Russian just from sharing a cabin with Vladimir for a few weeks, and he knew that ‘shto’ meant ‘what’. “I’m in command!”
“Oh bozhe moi!”
Nathan knew what that meant too.
“Listen, Vlad, can you get maneuvering back online?”
“I don’t know, Nathan! Everything is crazy here! Let me call you back!” Suddenly the line went dead.
“All I’ve got is braking thrusters, Nathan!” Cameron announced. “And docking thrusters! But nothing else!”
“Master Chief!” Nathan called over the comm.
“Yeah, go ahead!”
“What side of the primary forward bulkhead are you on?”
“Aft side!”
“Damn it!” Nathan cursed.
“Can you drive them back behind the primary forward bulkheads?”
“With a few more guys, maybe!”
Nathan spun around to face the marine guarding the port exit. “You two go down and help. I need them pushed back behind the primary forward bulkheads. Then lock those hatches and I’ll flush the bastards out into space!” he ordered.
“Yes Sir!” the marine acknowledged, stepping forward and handing Nathan his weapon. “You might need this, Sir.”
Nathan was a bit stunned, but he realized why the marine was offering it to him. “What about you?” he asked.
“There’s a weapons locker at the bottom of the ramp, Sir. We’ll load up there on our way.”
“Very well, good luck.” Nathan watched them leave, the second marine handing him his weapon as well. For the second time in less than an hour, Nathan was amazed at the bravery of the people he served with, unsure if he was worthy of being in their company.
He looked over at Cameron, and after making eye contact he tossed her one of the weapons. “Just in case,” he told her. He looked at the science officer to the left of the flight console. She was obviously shaken, but looked like she could still function.
“Master Chief!” Nathan called out over the comm again. “Two Marines are headed your way, and they’re bringing an armory with them!”
“Yes Sir!” the master chief answered.
“What’s your name, Ensign?” Nathan asked the woman at the sciences station. He felt a little embarrassed that even after a full eight hour bridge shift with her the day before, he had yet to learn her name.
“Yosef,” she answered a bit shakily. “Ensign Yosef, Sir.”
“What’s your first name?”
“Kaylah.”
“Okay, Kaylah. Is it possible for you to take over the sensors from your station there?” He needed someone on sensors more than he needed a science officer right now, but the sensor station was covered with blood.
“Yes Sir,” she answered. “But it will take a few minutes to reconfigure the console and displays.”
“Great, because I need someone on sensors more than I do sciences right now.”
“But I’m not a sensor operator, Sir.”
“But you’re all I’ve got, Kaylah. Besides, you’re a science officer, which means that you must be pretty smart. I’m sure you’ll figure it out quick enough,” he assured her.
“Yes, Sir,” she answered, turning back to her console to begin reconfiguring it to control the sensors.
“Master Chief!” a heavy male voice bellowed from down the corridor behind him.
The master chief spun around, ready to fire at anyone coming up from behind their position.
“Check your fire! Two Marines! On your six!”
“Well come on up and join the party, boys!” the master chief called out.
The marines sprinted down the corridor, keeping low, falling in behind the master chief to take cover.
“Glad you could join us, fellas!” the master chief thanked them.
“Weatherly!” the first marine called out, identifying himself to the master chief.
“Holmes!” the second marine added.
“Pleasure to meet ya, I’m sure.”
“The lieutenant said you needed help pushin’ them back?” Weatherly asked.
“Yeah! We got about a dozen Jung bastards hunkered down just this side of the primary bulkhead!”
“Them ain’t Jung, Master Chief!” Holmes corrected him.
“Of course they’re Jung, dumbass! Who the hell else would they be?”
“I dunno, Master Chief! But I’m pretty sure they ain’t Jung! They came from that big-ass warship we rammed! Through a breach in the bow!”
“What big-ass warship?” Jessica asked, overhearing the conversation.”
“Orbiting Jupiter?” the master chief added, a bit baffled.
“We ain’t orbiting Jupiter any more, Master Chief!”
“What the fuck are you talkin’ about?”
“Shut your yap, Holmes!” Weatherly warned. “It’s supposed to be classified, remember?”
“Doesn’t matter much now, does it?” Holmes argued.
“One of you better tell me what the fuck is going on, before I shoot you myself!” the master chief threatened.
Sergeant Weatherly decided that his fellow marine was probably right, and decided that given the circumstances, it was better to share what he knew with the master chief. “We’ve been on the bridge for the last hour, Master Chief, and some crazy shit has been goin’ on! Shit you wouldn’t believe!”
“Try me!” the master chief demanded, as an energy bolt bounced off the wall just above his head, causing him to duck reflexively.
“They got some new kinda engine or something! Can jump the ship ten light years in the blink of an eye!” Weatherly explained.
“Bullshit!” The master chief didn’t believe a word of it.
“No, Master Chief! He’s tellin’ ya straight! They’ve already jumped the ship twice! First out to the Oort! That’s when we tangled with those two Jung patrol ships. Then they had to jump again real quick! To get away from that antimatter explosion!
“No shit?” the master chief asked, turning to look at Jessica. She nodded confirmation to him, since that last part she had seen for herself. She just hadn’t been aware of their actual location until now. “Then where the fuck are we now?” the master chief asked.
“Dunno! Shit, I don’t think anybody knows just yet. We came out in the middle of some big space battle somewhere! Got pounded by this huge warship! Twice the size of anything we’ve got! Put four torpedoes into her
