“But this strategy minimizes the number we lose.”
Nodding, I can see she is impressed with our fighting skills.
“Sir, we’ve drawn down our drone count by fifty percent.”
“How close are we to bringing down their shields?”
“Their shields are down to forty percent.”
“Release the fighters and then pull us back just enough to provide cover fire.”
“Yes, sir.”
In my mind, the real battle starts now. We have to lower our shields for three microns to allow my fighters to move through the barrier. This normally does not cause a modicum of anxiety for me. However, now I have a beautiful brooder to consider and I do not like leaving her vulnerable. Emf'phet is an older captain, clearly well versed in the art of war. Not only is he aware of our weakness, he immediately exploits it with a sustained burst of fire from his plasma cannons directly into my primary loading bay.
“Gods of chaos, we’ve sustained a direct hit. He’s damaged a third of our fighters and isn’t letting up.”
“That’s a lot of damage considering that only half of his fire power is penetrating our shields. Pour everything we’ve got into a concentrated burst right above his primary weapon.” To use his most effective weapon, he’s had to lower his shield as well. We’re almost equally matched and hoping the Pax will misstep. If not, the success of this battle will rest upon who can hold out longer.
I realize a moment too late that victory will not be mine today. Our ship’s back up shields come down in spectacular fashion with white energy conducting along the walls and ceiling of the vessel. The energy overload doesn’t reach our control panels. Anticipating this day, we protected our consoles with a special coating to protect against conductivity long ago. With any luck, we might just have enough maneuverability left to jump to lightspeed. My mind is already formulating a strategy to get us clear of this battle so that we might live to fight another day.
16
Carissa
White tendrils of electricity crackle along the interior of the bridge, bathing the entire control room in bright light. Unable to move as vibrations ripple through the command center, my heart comes to a shuddering stop as I watch the jagged lines of electricity jump away from the computer consoles and engulf the captain’s chair.
For a brief second my eyes play tricks on me as Tarion’s face morphs into something unrecognizable. Tearing off the safety belt that he so tenderly clicked into place earlier, I scramble to his side. Unaware and uncaring of the danger, my body moves without conscious thought. Though my heart is pounding in my chest and my feet stumble, I reach him moments before his crew.
He’s about to fall to the floor when my arms wrap around him in a protective embrace. His breath is hotter than usual on my skin. It’s obvious by his scent and the dry scaly skin under my hands that he’s seriously unwell. My big, handsome, irritatingly brazen dragon is hanging on by a thread. I shout for a medic as the bite that he left on my shoulder roars to life, adrenaline radiating out from the wound and rushing through my veins.
Suddenly, there are healers converging on us. He needs more than just my love and concern to aid him in the life and death battle he’s now engaged in.
When they lift him onto a hover board, I fight back tears at the sight of one of his wings hanging limply to the side. The board isn’t high enough to keep his tail from dragging along the floor. It seems like an indignation my proud warrior should not have to suffer, even under these circumstances. While they connect a monitoring unit to one arm, I rush over and gently lift his caudal and place it alongside his unconscious body. Strange guttural noises sound off around the room. The healers and several members of the crew are staring at me in what can only be described as awe. I realize it has something to do with a woman tending to her fallen warrior.
Bending, I move a strand of hair out of his face and whisper words of affection before allowing them to take him away. Without stopping to think, I take several steps behind them before I realize the battle is not over.
Lehar is commanding as best he can, but it’s clear that with several members of the bridge crew down, he could really use a second set of eyes on this dodgy situation. My feet come to a stop as the reality of our situation hits me full force. Though I want to run to the healing unit and hover, I can’t justify hanging out there and doing nothing if my time could be better served staving off another attack. Tarion will definitely end up dead if we lose this battle.
Doing an about face, I walk over to Lehar. “What’s our status?”
Surprise registers on his face a split second before he explains in words I can understand. “Both ships’ systems overloaded at the same time. Our fighters and remaining drones are engaging the four remaining Pax vessels. With Emf'phet’s ship out of the fight, we’re close to evenly matched though the odds are in their favor.”
“I don’t like those odds. Let’s see what we do to even them out.”
“Though Emf'phet’s ship is clearly out of commission, he’s still calling the shots.”
“His shield is failing, and his weapons are offline. Have the drones converge on his ship and focus on the communications array. If my memory is correct, it’s located on the underbelly of the ship.”
“They won’t be expecting us to pull fighter drones away from an actual battle to take out Emf'phet’s communications.”
“It’s a low priority area. He’s using most of his remaining shield strength to protect his weapons.”
Lehar shouts orders
