such complex computations under pressure. The original jump plots had taken her nearly a week to complete and even longer to verify. And now she was having to do them in minutes-a task she would’ve considered impossible only a few days ago. She cursed to herself in her native tongue, as she waited for her algorithms to process, unable to continue with each step until the previous step had been completed. The computer systems used at this station were not designed for the kind of multi-spatial algorithms she was running.
“The rebel ships have begun alternating fire,” Jessica reported, sounding a bit surprised.
Nathan looked to Jalea for an explanation, which she offered without having to be asked. “They have expended their primary loads. They will have to reload often from this point forward,” she explained.
“How much longer can they keep this up?”
Before Jalea could answer, Jessica offered an update. “The first ship is withdrawing! She’s backing away!”
Nathan jumped up from his seat, bounding the few steps to the tactical station to stand beside Jessica so that he could see the displays for himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her interpretation of the data, he was just so excited at the idea of the rebels defeating one of the enemy ships that he had to see for himself.
“The rebels are staying with her!” Nathan exclaimed. He watched with Jessica as the rebel ships continued to pound their target, taking turns firing as the other reloaded their flechette pods.
“One minute until the second ship joins the battle,” Jessica said.
“Right.” Nathan stood up straight, taking his attention away from the tactical display and leaving it to Jessica. “Helm, prepare to get underway,” he announced as he returned to the command chair.
“Yes Sir,” Cameron acknowledged.
“Second Takaran ship has engaged the rebels,” Jessica reported. “The rebel ships are breaking off their flechette attack and are maneuvering wildly.”
With both the Takaran ships engaged by the rebel decoys, they finally had as much of a diversion as they were going to get. And while there was a remote chance that the rebels ship could beat one Takaran ship, it was doubtful they could defeat two of them. Nathan knew that despite the risk in revealing their location, this was their only chance at escape.
“Take us out, Cam,” Nathan ordered. “All available speed,” he added, knowing it would not be much.
Cameron tapped a few buttons on her console, “Mains coming online, thrust at ten percent.”
The Aurora began to slowly move forward, her two remaining rebel escorts keeping pace beside her. Inside, without the inertial dampeners operating at full efficiency, the crew could feel the ship begin to accelerate. The force was not enough to knock anyone off their feet, but enough to cause a slight misstep for anyone not expecting the sudden shifting of the decks beneath their feet as they walked.
For the last few hours, the bridge crew had been looking at the surface of the asteroid in front of them as it slowly rotated. Now, as they flew up and over the massive rock, light from the system’s red dwarf star spilled over its jagged horizon, lighting up the interior of the bridge with its reddish-amber glow. The rock quickly passed under them as they left it behind, the distant red star glowing in the distance. Cameron immediately dipped the nose of the Aurora down slightly and dove under the next asteroid in their path, rolling slightly to starboard as she did so in order to better hug the service of the massive rock as they passed under it. She knew that the closer she stayed to these rocks, the less chance the enemy had of detecting them. And she wanted to make sure that they did not show up on the enemy sensors until the last possible moment.
Although ten percent thrust was considered a slow speed, in a dense asteroid field it still required intense concentration. Cameron had piloted the ship through far more difficult simulations, but that had been with Nathan at her side offering constant navigational assistance. And as poor as she had always felt his navigational skills to be, at that moment, she wished he was there, just in case.
“That’s it, keep us tucked in close,” Nathan encouraged. She wondered if he could tell how tense she was at that moment.
“Those rebel ships are coming awfully close to us,” Cameron reported. Every time one of the rebels moved too close to the Aurora, a proximity warning light would flash on the helm display. She knew that the rebel pilots were not going to inadvertently smash into her, but it was distracting nonetheless.
“Don’t worry about, it, Cam. They’re just trying to maintain a single contact profile in case we’re spotted.”
“I know, they’re just irritating me.”
“You’re doing great,” he reassured.
A few minutes and about a dozen dodged asteroids later, the Aurora exited the asteroid field into open space, headed on a course directly away from both the field and the conflict still raging between the Takaran ships and the rebels ships acting as decoys.
“We’re clear,” Cameron announced proudly, an obvious relief in her voice. After tapping a few buttons, she added, “Ten minutes to safe jump distance.”
“Captain!” Jessica yelled in shock, causing Nathan to spin around to face her. “One of the rebel ships was just blown apart! A single shot, right in her reactor!” Nathan’s heart fell as he looked at Jalea and Marak. Jalea showed no emotion, just the same cold, determined eyes. Marak was muttering some unintelligible commands into his communicator.
“The second rebel ship just changed course and is accelerating!” Jessica continued. “I think he means to ram them!”
Nathan continued watching Jalea, but there was no change in her demeanor. Marak however had begun muttering some sort of chant, over and over, in a rhythmic fashion, as if he were praying. “He’s making a suicide run,” Nathan realized.
Both ships are targeting him! They’re firing! The rebel ship is breaking apart! I’m not sure if he’s going to…”
The bridge filled with a bright white flash of light reflecting off the forward sections of the ship that were visible through the main view screen. It only lasted a moment, but it was sudden and blinding during its brief presence.
“I’m reading a nuclear detonation!” Jessica announced. “At least ten megatons!”
“Why would they fire a nuke?” Nathan asked, baffled at what had just happened.
“I don’t think the Takarans fired it, sir,” Jessica warned.
All the pieces fell into place in Nathan’s mind. He turned back to Jalea, who stood unwavering, unaffected. “Do your ships carry nuclear weapons?”
Jalea looked at Nathan for a moment, contemplating her response before she spoke. She could no longer hide this fact from them. Our ships do not carry nuclear weapons, Captain. They are nuclear weapons.”
Nathan stared at Jalea again. “You mean to tell me, that all your ships are basically nuclear missiles? Even the one still in our hangar deck?”
“Yes. But it is only used as a last resort. And it has proven effective on several occasions.”
“It makes sense, Sir,” Jessica told him.
“Are you kidding? How in the…”
“…No seriously,” Jessica tried to explain. “I mean, when all else fails, use yourself as a nuclear torpedo. At least you won’t miss.”
“What is the disposition of the Takaran ships?” Jalea asked indignantly.
Jessica looked at her tactical display. “I’m only picking up one ship, Sir. And it’s sustained quite a bit of damage as well.”
“Is it still a threat?”
“I’m not sure. We’re way out of her range at the moment, but if her main propulsion is still operable, she might still be able to catch us before we jump.”
“They will not be able to prevent our departure,” Jalea insisted.
Nathan turned halfway back toward Jalea and Marak. “You know, I’ve got half a mind to shoot the both of you once we get out of this mess!” he stated angrily, turning to completely face them. “You both knew damned well that this was the way it was going to play out from the beginning, didn’t you?”
“New contact! Off our port beam!” Ensign Yosef interrupted. “Just dropped out of FTL! Transferring track to tactical!”
Jessica began analyzing the new contact as Nathan turned back around to look for himself. “Crap,” Jessica
