“You’re risking our men!” Kivda stared at him with wide eyes. “What’re you doing?”
“Testing their compassion,” Renz replied. “Seeing what they’ll do.”
“There’s nothing they can do short of trying to rocket in front of us!” Kivda checked their positioning. “And there’s no way they can catch up in time to do that!”
“Then I hope your people have yet to land.”
Kivda scowled, keeping his mouth shut. Renz made up his mind, there was no point in arguing. All I can do is pray we’ll have a few moments before he obliterates the entire region. Even though all the evidence we need might be down there. He sighed. This won’t win a fight. But it very well might lose us one.
The thought of going back home without anything worried him. Renz’s father would look for someone to blame. Kivda may be the best choice. And I’ll suffer for something my friend caused. Wonderful. He had half a mind to take command somehow. I need to give him another few moments, but then… well… self-preservation may require action.
***
“Ha!” Violet clapped her hands. Rhys cleared his throat, drawing her attention. “Sorry, sir. I’ve got to use a scan technique in context. They are targeting the surface of the planet. ETA to firing solution, ninety seconds. And given their firepower, they can easily obliterate three square miles.”
“Enough to kill everything down there,” Rhys said, “correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
Rhys considered the situation. He watched the enemy ship as it performed evasive maneuvers, dropping and climbing, veering to the left and right. They desperately struggled to keep out of range of the main cannons and so far, they succeeded. The Triton’s turrets kept their shields from charging too quickly but that wasn’t victory.
As long as they can keep this up, we’ll be at a stalemate.
“I feel like I should recall our soldiers,” Rhys said. “Captain?”
“We’ll stop them from firing,” Titus replied. “I want those people aboard. We didn’t come all this way to let them die.” Medics came on the bridge, helping Ronin from his seat. They took him out of the room, muttering to one another. “Jane, what can you do for me here? What’ve you got?”
“Pretty crazy maneuver,” Jane said, “but it won’t be pretty or comfortable. Permission to free fly?”
“Go for it.”
Jane tapped the center console, gripping a lever that she shoved forward. The ship lurched to the side as their tail spun. It lined them up perfectly with the side of the enemy vessel. Their main cannons blasted it, a solid blow that brought a dance of electricity across the hull.
She let them have it three more times before their engines burst to life, turning them abruptly in their direction. Violet shouted something but Rhys missed it as they were struck with some weapon, a powerful blow that jostled him in his seat. Once again, they found themselves in a slugfest, knocking each other with dozens of beams.
Jane held her ground, not flinching even for a moment. Rhys felt like they were playing chicken with the most advanced weapons in the galaxy, neither side willing to move away but both taking a real beating as it went on. Mounting tension in the bridge made him tense up. He turned to Titus, watching the man sit on the edge of his seat.
“Shields?” Titus called out.
“Forty percent and dropping,” Violet said. “Enemy is at fifty percent.”
“How the hell did we get lower than them?” Titus sighed. “Jane, disengage. Evasive maneuvers. Pull us away and out of their range.”
They veered off, taking another series of shots to the belly before getting up to full speed. On one hand, it worked out because they saved the surface. The enemy ship gave chase. The bad news involved the fact the tides had turned. The Kahl had them on the run, looking for that elusive rear firing solution.
“What happened?” Rhys asked Violet. “Did their weapons somehow start doing more damage?”
“Negative,” Violet replied, “we finally felt the full brunt of all their weapons. The other ships we faced had guns at every point along the hull. This one doesn’t but rather channels all that energy toward the front. When we took up position in front of them, they were essentially using more guns than we were.”
Titus added, “Not to mention the fact we just exchanged over fifty blasts with them. That was still impressive.” He tapped his comm. “Huxley, how’re things down there? Any damage to speak of?”
“A few shorts,” Huxley replied. “Shields are recharging. I wouldn’t want to take that kind of beating again right way. If you can avoid it, that would work best for everyone involved.”
“No promises.” Titus tapped the comm. “Rhys, let the people on the surface know they don’t have a lot of time. I want them topside fast.”
***
Kyle sat up suddenly, gritting his teeth as a wave of pain rushed through his skull. Pain in his stomach mirrored muscle cramps in his legs and arms. He stretched then looked around, finding Lysa nearby. She was curled on her side, legs drawn to her stomach. The sun beamed down through the trees, indicating they’d been out for at least a couple hours.
How the hell did no one find us? Kyle nudged Lysa with his foot. “Wake up! We must’ve passed out or something. I want to know why we’re not prisoners.”
“What?” Lysa stirred. “Oh my God… are we…” She sat up, slapping her mouth to cover the fact she cried out. Her free hand rubbed the back of her neck as she spoke. “Did they leave? What happened? How did we… how are we not prisoners?”
“Best guess?” Kyle gestured over his shoulder. “The explosion killed them all. They haven’t had a chance to regroup and send another detachment. Couple that with I’m sure this area has been
