“A thousand ships,” came Ransome’s angry curse, and Grayell held up an authoritative hand to prevent any further interjections.
“A thousand ships,” he repeated, almost to himself. “And yet we are still alive.
“At first, we assumed the Lumina had interdicted our hyperspace jump intentionally — that we were their intended target. But, so far we have been travelling unharmed amidst their fleet for almost an hour. Remember, the Defiance was created for this exact purpose, to fool the Lumina into thinking that we were one of their own, to travel undetected throughout enemy territory. We just didn’t anticipate testing its effectiveness under such intense conditions so soon.” He paused a while to offer up a grim smile.
“So, it was just bad luck that got us caught up in the suppression field?” asked a rugged officer from the front row. Ryann thought he recognised him as one of the engineering officers from the cargo decks. “It would seem like a one-in-a-million chance.”
“Well, yes and no,” replied Grayell. “The suppression field extends across almost the entire system. It seems as though some of the Luminal ships are acting as relays, amplifying the signal — which may account for the vessels being spread out across such a wide area.”
“So if they’re not looking for us, why are we waiting around?” asked another.
“And go where? We can’t hyperspace while the suppression field is still in place, and we can’t outrun the fleet with our sub-light drives — we’re surrounded. Our only hope is to remain undetected and wait for an opportunity that will allow us to escape.
“The Luminal fleet are all converging upon the old Ophid way-station, roughly ten hours away at our present speed. In eight hours, we pass close to a planetary cluster that may offer up a chance to evade the fleet. Until that time I want us to make every effort to prepare.
“Captain Strauss, your crews have done a heroic effort in recovering so many refugees from New Eden. But if it comes down to it and we are forced to engage the enemy, then we need to get all our fighting ships out of the Defiance. I need a corridor cleared from the launch tunnel to the Hammerfall and the Katana as soon as is humanly possible.”
“Mellarnne has already briefed me,” replied the grizzled old officer. “We’re still fighting fires and pulling survivors out of the wreckage Grayell. My crews are working as fast as they can.”
“Take whatever resources you need Captain, but we need to be able to launch those cruisers or all of this will have been for nothing.”
Captain Strauss nodded his head in weary resignation.
Grayell addressed the rest of the officers: “All combat flight crews and ship defence forces, you should be well underway with your resupply; I want you all launch-ready within the next two hours.
“Let’s sit tight, hold our nerve, and ride this one out. We haven’t been detected yet, so let’s hope it stays that way.
“Eight hours. Eight hours until we reach the planetary cluster. Then let’s pray that we can find a place to hide up and let the enemy pass.
“Meanwhile, good luck ladies, gentlemen, you all know your duties. I will —”
“Pray that we can find a place to hide?”
Carl Ransome’s voice was loud and filled with derision.
“That will be all, any updates will be transmitted to you —” Grayell tried to ignore the taunt but it was no use.
“Is that the best you’ve got? Prayers?” Ransome was back on his feet, his chest puffed out as he turned to address the other officers. “Look around you — you said yourself that we’re the best pilots in the galaxy — and it’s true! We’re fighters! We didn’t sign up to run and hide from one rock to the next!”
“Zip it Ransome,” muttered Mellarnne impatiently. “You have your orders. Try following them with your mouth shut for a change.” Several of the officers were getting to their feet now, ready to return to their duties. They appeared to be all-too familiar with Ransome’s antics and had little time for them. Others however, remained, seemingly interested in what he had to say.
“I’m happy to follow orders that make sense Mellarnne — if I thought it was getting us anywhere. But look at us. We’ve been hiding for months now — we’ve barely gotten out of the damn system! And now, here we are with the perfect opportunity to take the fight to the enemy, and all you two can think of is running away.”
“You want to take on a thousand battleships with a hundred and fifty Ghost-Runners and a couple of cruisers?” scoffed Mellarnne.
“No, no I don’t,” growled Ransome. “There’s no need, not when we’re sitting on the weapon we made for the job.” He looked around the room with a wide grin that revealed his yellow teeth. “I say we use the Defiance.”
Grayell, who had already turned to leave, twisted about in shock.
Ransome continued, a growing confidence in his voice as more officers began to take notice.
“We’re sitting aboard a ship packed with thousands of tonnes of molecular explosive — a ship built with a single purpose: to destroy Luminal ships.
“And here we are, in the centre of over a thousand of them! Just think of it! The opportunity to take out over half the enemy fleet in a single strike!”
Grayell’s face seemed to drain of all colour. It was as though the mood of the officers was palpably shifting towards Carl Ransome as he gave his impassioned speech.
“Have you never listened to a single word I’ve told you about the Lumina?” asked Grayell in disbelief. “Don’t you understand anything about what we are trying to achieve? The only way to defeat the Lumina is to destroy the source. We must travel back to the entity that is creating these ships — that’s what I built the damn Defiance for — to destroy the entity!”
“And just remind us, why was that again?” drawled Ransome sarcastically, revelling
