“Message sent, ma’am.”
Wright asked, “We taking bets on somebody trying to jump from inside the Lawrence limit rather than accept they're going to jail?”
“I see Hodges is rubbing off on you,” Tehrani replied archly. “Or do you not remember his little betting pool on whether or not the reactor would explode when we restarted it in League space?”
“Touché, ma’am.” Wright’s cheeks reddened ever so slightly, an effect made difficult to see thanks to his darker skin. “Please don’t compare me to the chief engineer again.”
“Don’t act like him, then.”
They both chuckled.
“Conn, TAO. Aspect change, Master Twelve. She’s powering up her Lawrence drive, ma’am.”
Tehrani stared at the monitor above her head. Don’t do it. You’re throwing your lives away. Whatever she thought, whoever was in charge of the pirate vessel seemed to believe they could defy the laws of physics. Within the Lawrence limit, ships trying to open a stable artificial wormhole required massive amounts of power, which current-generation fusion reactors couldn’t provide. Barring that, there was a nearly ninety percent chance of failure.
“Conn, TAO. Master Twelve’s vortex disintegrated, ma’am. Sensors show the corvette destroyed.” Bryan turned to her. “No life pods.”
As the red dot disappeared, Tehrani felt a pang of regret. Not that the enemy deserved it, but she had remorse for any vessel lost to the void in that way. A person caught between reality and the mind-bending dimensional portal generated by the Lawrence drive could exist simultaneously across multiple dimensions, neither alive nor dead, or so it was speculated. To her, it was one of the worst fates imaginable. Grant them forgiveness, Allah. Increase their good deeds and overlook their evil deeds. May the mercy of Allah be upon them.
“Conn, Communications,” Singh interjected, breaking her train of thought. “Remaining vessels and small craft are transmitting surrender notices.”
“Weapons power-down confirmed,” Bryan said. “Remaining enemy contacts have ceased maneuvering and lowered their shields.”
Allowing herself to relax a hair, Tehrani leaned back in her seat. “XO, get VBSS teams to each of those vessels. I want the prisoners brought back to the Greengold for processing and prize crews transferred over. We’ll fly them back to Coalition space.”
“Maybe the CDF will convert them into picket ships for the border,” Wright replied with a snicker. “What about search and rescue, ma’am? We’ve got a lot of pilots out there looking for a pickup.”
She nodded. “Scramble them as well. Save the ejected pirates from their fighters for last. They can wait.”
“Aye, aye, ma’am.”
Time seemed to speed up. It didn’t take long for Marine units to move out, with an assault shuttle headed toward each corvette. Tehrani watched Nishimura’s progress from her monitor, noting the professionalism of his teams. They’re almost as good as some tier-one operator units I’ve seen video of. She began to mentally compose her after-action report and dreaded the paperwork to come.
“Conn, Communications. Ramires would like to speak with you, ma’am,” Singh said with mirth in his voice. “He appears quite agitated.”
“Put him on,” Tehrani replied. She smirked as Ramires’s face appeared on the screen above her. I can’t take his garb seriously. Who dresses like that?
“This is Shipmaster Sabastian Isais Nilo Ramires. Is this Colonel Tehrani?”
She could only take so much before some sarcasm came out. “No, it’s her twin sister. I’ll be happy to take a message for you.” Tehrani presented what she hoped was a dazzling smile.
Ramires’s face turned bloodred. “Do not mock me, Terran!” His eyes glinted, and he gritted his teeth. “Your foolish actions cost the lives of many of my fellow employees, not to mention billions of credits in company resources in the two ships lost. Without your meddling, we could’ve kept the situation from going this far!”
Tehrani counted to three and let out a deep breath. “Without us, you’d all be dead. I might add your security forces showed extraordinary bravery and tipped the scale against the enemy. Now, if you wish to make a formal complaint, you may do so with Coalition Defense Force command. Good day, Shipmaster Ramires.”
The screen blinked off.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you hang up on somebody before, Skipper,” Wright said quietly.
She shook her head. “I don’t appreciate odious people with no concept of sacrifice.”
“That’d make two of us, Skipper.”
“Communications, get me Sentinel Ohmedov. If he's still alive.”
“Aye, aye, ma’am,” Singh replied.
A few moments later, Ohmedov’s face appeared. The bridge of his ship was heavily damaged. Pieces of the overhead hung in the background, while smoke was visible along with damage-control teams. “Colonel, we meet in victory.” Even though his face was covered in soot mixed with blood, the man still wore a smile.
It brought one to Tehrani’s lips too. “There is no substitute for it, is there?” The grin faded. “I’m sorry for your losses.”
“And I, yours. One favor, if I might be so bold?”
Tehrani tilted her head. “Anything within my power.”
“We could use some medical assistance as well as search-and-rescue teams. My sensor officer tells me there’s survivors in a floating hulk that was once one of our ships, but I have no way to get at them.”
“I’ll send a shuttle with supplies and medics. If you have extensive injuries that your facilities can’t treat, the Greengold has a sizeable medical bay. As for S-and-R, send us the coordinates, and they’ll be added to our list.”
“Thank you, Colonel.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you for your assistance. I doubt we would’ve won without it.”
He touched his finger to his brow. “Good luck out there, Colonel. Ohmedov out.”
As the screen went black yet again, Wright cleared his throat. “Can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I’ve got to give respect where it’s due. Those megacorp fellows saved our bacon.”
“As strange as it sounds, I agree.” Tehrani closed her eyes. “Too close today, XO.”
“Always.”
Tehrani stood. “I’m going to get started
