The other cruiser was far enoughaway to pin Bismarck before she had righted herself.
John had watched for her responseas soon as they dived. A second’s full sweat knew they’d be hit before theywere clear. “Hard to port! Full shields!”
Bismarck was clobbered and sentspinning out of control. The impact knocked the crew from their seats. Instead of hitting the floor as they all expected, it took a few seconds torealise they were floating helplessly around the bridge.
“Sick bay, now!” Red’s voiceripped through John’s communicator against a background of screaming. “Sorry,sir,” he apologised. “We lost gravity.”
“Everyone all right?”
“Get that welder off!”
“Got it,” Crocker’s voicefiltered through.
Red’s breath blurred thecommunicator for a second before he answered, “We’ll manage, sir.”
The bridge crew were desperatelytrying to get back to their consoles, arms and legs flailing everywhere inswimming motions. John was close enough to Giacomo to give him a shove in theright direction, the resultant reaction sending him towards the roof.
Giacomo grabbed his seat, somehowmanaged to turn himself the right way up, and sat down. His legs were tightlyscissored around the chair leg to keep him there. He pulled the ship backunder control.
They had lost sight of thecruiser. She could have been anywhere. He spun three hundred and sixtydegrees on all planes and picked her up on the main screen. She hadn’tfollowed, stopping for the other cruiser, which was now nowhere to be seen.
McReidy was floating within reachof Giacomo. He avoided getting kicked as he grabbed an ankle and dragged herdown beside him. She wrapped her legs around the seat and clung to herconsole.
“Thanks.” She was out of breathfrom her own fruitless attempt to get back.
Gillespie hit the roof and pushedhimself back down in the direction of his console. Tan tried to do the same,without success. John was two thirds of the way above the floor with nothingaround him, blocking Giacomo’s view of the screen.
“Will you get out of the wayplease, sir?”
“Just as soon as I can figure outhow to.” He wasn’t having any success in getting anywhere.
Gillespie set himself from thetop of his console and propelled himself at John with enough force that theyboth crunched into a wall. John took most of the impact, cushioning it fromGillespie.
“I’ll bet you enjoyed that.”
“This would be fun if it wasn’tso serious,” was Gillespie’s only reply. It was as much confirmation of John’scomment as was his grin.
With the wall for propulsion,they both made it back to their positions.
Tan was upside down, just out ofreach of his console. The earphone had pulled free from his ear. Stillattached to the console, it snaked around with a mind of its own. Gillespiegrabbed his arm and jerked him down.
Tan grabbed his console and triedto swing himself up the right way, nearly booting Gillespie in the head as helevelled out horizontally. Gillespie grabbed Tan’s foot and yanked it down,turning the man upright.
Tan kicked his seat beforewrapping his legs around it and pulling himself into it. He let go the consolewith one hand and retrieved the earphone.
“Thanks,” he grinned to Gillespieas he pushed the earphone back in.
“Everyone all right?” John asked.
They all nodded.
“Engineering, how are weholding?”
“Gravity or shields, sir?” Redanswered. “You can’t have both.”
“Shields.” The crew answeredbefore John had a chance to.
“You heard them, Red.”
“Yes, sir.”
The cruiser was coming in hardand fast. John was right about her being the stronger one, although at thatmoment he wished McReidy had been right. At full strength, they could havematched it. Currently? He didn’t know.
“Giacomo, keep away from her. Gillespie, find a weakness.”
“She doesn’t have one.”
“She has to!” John’s desperationwas coming through in his voice. He had to check himself. He couldn’t affordto pass on his anxieties to the crew.
“Commander.” It was Kowalski. “If you can buy us some time, we’ve almost got this starboard engine back online. It’ll only make fifty percent, but it’ll make a big difference.”
“You’ll get it,” John answered. He thought for a moment. It was hard to think clearly. He was becoming lightheaded. “Mister Tan, open a channel to the cruiser.”
“Yes, sir.” Tan changed thefrequency and switched the translator on. “Channel open, sir.”
John called the Andromedans. They answered. The translations were adequate.
“To whom am I speaking?” Johnasked politely.
“That is not important,” came thereply.
“Slow it down,” John whispered toTan. The words were being translated a bit too quickly. A few seconds delaywould be helpful.
“What do you want?”
This discussion was not going tobe drawn out with trivialities. “I wish to discuss terms of surrender,” Johnstated.
“We will not accept yoursurrender.”
“I was meaning yours.”
The words were untranslatablebefore the communication cut off, but the answering fire was indicationenough. Even though Giacomo reacted immediately, a direct hit somewhere aroundengineering was felt throughout the entire ship.
“Mister Kowalski?”
“That was just great, sir.” Thesarcastic tone was noted. “We’ve lost life support. That’s a few more hours’work.”
“Leave it. Get that enginerunning.”
“But, sir –”
“If we get clobbered again, itreally won’t matter.” John switched Kowalski off. “How many torpedoes have wegot?”
“None,” McReidy answered.
It was not the answer Johnwanted. Without life support, the ship had twelve to fifteen hours supply ofoxygen.
The view on the main screen spunand the incoming phaser fire passed harmlessly out of view before Giacomo’shead rocked forward.
“Sir, I don’t feel well.”
John propelled himself at thehelm. Giacomo had lost all colour. His eyes were glazed and blinkingheavily. His breathing was shallow and rapid. The affects of being weightlesswere starting to tell on him.
John looked to the others. Theywere all starting to suffer varying degrees of fatigue.
There was no sense of internaldirection or balance on the ship or in their bodies. Only the view on thescreen not spinning gave them any sense of stability.
“Incoming,” McReidy warned.
John glanced to the screen andsaw the torpedo. Still floating, he grabbed the console with one hand to braceagainst the equalising momentum, put his other hand over Giacomo’s and rippedthe ship to one side. The torpedo skimmed the shields, the ship vibratingthroughout.
Giacomo was rocking and beginningto lift from his seat
