Into the Void

to get in anyone's way. He squatted down, his back against the sloped metal wall of the turret. He looked out into the flow in the direction that Aelfred's glass and the ballista were pointing. It didn't take him long to spot the neogi vessel. It was still too far away to show as anything other than a black dot… but wasn't that dot looking bigger?

'She's still closing,' Aelfred was saying. 'She's fast, faster than the Probe.' He lowered the spyglass and glanced over at Estriss. 'No,' he responded to a silent question from the illithid. 'Vila's on the Helm. Thorn just got off duty, so he can't do anything.' A pause-obviously another question. Aelfred frowned and shook his head. 'No,' he replied definitely. 'We'd be faster if Vallus took the helm, but not much. Probably not enough to make a difference. Plus we'd lose ground during the changeover.' He bared his teeth in an expression that mixed smile with snarl. 'And finally, I want Vallus's spells. They're the only equalizer we've got.'

Even through his fear, Teldin was able to notice-and be fascinated by-the dynamics of power that occurred between Estriss and Aelfred. The illithid was captain of the Probe, and everyone including Aelfred treated the creature with deference and respect,… but it seemed as though the captaincy might be in name only. Certainly, Aelfred seemed to have taken over the reins of command at the moment, and Estriss appeared unconcerned and uninclined to challenge his authority. Why is that? Teldin wondered. Because the crew would rather follow a human master? No, that didn't make sense. When Estriss issued orders, all the crew obeyed them willingly.

Wasn't it more likely that Estriss knew his own limitations and was acting within them? After all, by his own admission, the illithid was a scholar. What would a scholar be expected to know about ship-to-ship combat, particularly in this alien environment? Aelfred, on the other hand, was a mercenary, a warrior by trade and inclination. He'd be much more likely to respond correctly in a combat situation, more likely to give the correct orders, and to give them in a manner in which they'd be instantly obeyed.

He returned his attention to the group by the mainmast. Aelfred was speaking again. 'All right, we have no doubts. The deathspider can outrun us. So what do we do about it? Turn and engage?' He looked one by one at the other officers.

Liono, the Probe's tactician, answered. 'No,' he said resolutely. 'We run, as fast and as long as we can.'

Why? The illithid's question formed in Teldin's brain. In discussions like this, Estriss must broadcast his thoughts to everyone nearby, he concluded. Why run? Estriss asked again. They will catch us eventually. You have said so.

'That's so,' Liono agreed, 'but think. Most of a deathspider's weaponry aims aft. If this is a standard configuration, all they've got that fires forward are two ballistae. Aft, they've got two ballistae plus a heavy catapult and a heavy jettison.'

'Lot of firepower,' Bubbo rumbled.

Liono nodded. 'The only way to keep us out of its arc of fire is to stay ahead of the deathspider,' he said, 'and the only way to guarantee that…'

'-is run,' Aelfred finished.

'Right,' Liono confirmed. 'When they draw closer, we can fire on them.'

'And they on us,' Aelfred reminded the tactician. 'Bubbo, can we hurt them?'

The huge man looked doubtful. 'Some,' he grumbled through his beard. 'Maybe not enough. Big ship. With the forward catapult, we'll hurt 'em more.'

Teldin understood what the huge weapons master was getting at. In a chase, the forward heavy catapult was masked by the rest of the hull and couldn't fire on an enemy approaching from astern. If the Probe had its bow to the enemy, on the other hand, all three heavy weapons could be brought to bear.

Aelfred was silent. He didn't look happy with what he'd heard, finally he squared his shoulders and announced, 'We're going to turn and close, hit 'em with everything we've got on tie way in, and try to disable their grappling rams in case that's what they've got in mind, I want to get in close enough for Vallus to do what he can.' He gripped Liono's shoulder. 'Your points were well taken, old friend,' he told the small tactician. 'We'll do our damnedest to stay out of their rear arc, but we've got to hit 'em hard. Who knows? Maybe they haven't got the stomach for a foe that wants to fight.'

Echoes of Horvath and the Unquenchable, Teldin thought uncomfortably,

Liono didn't seem convinced either. 'Neogi?'

Aelfred slapped him on the back. 'There's a first time for everything.' Now that the decision had been made, the big first mate-acting captain?-was in much better spirits. He raised his voice and yelled, 'Weapons forward! Prepare to come about!'

From the main deck,, crewmen clambered into the rigging, while others pulled on ropes to trim the ship's small sails. The hammership turned. As before, there was no sensation of movement, but the black dot of the neogi vessel swung through the sky until it was almost directly ahead of the Probe. With the vessels now speeding toward each other, the death-spider seemed to jump closer. Within a dozen heartbeats Teldin could make out the spindly 'legs' that made up the vessel's grappling ram.

Aelfred was speaking quietly to Estriss, giving bearings and small course adjustments. Presumably the illithid was mentally relaying these to the helmsman two decks below and to the crew still in the rigging. The neogi ship shifted, then finally settled down off the port bow.

The forward turret rumbled as the ballista crew turned their weapon around. The same was happening with the aft turret's heavy catapult. For the first time, Teldin saw that the old man, Shandess, was part of the five-man catapult crew. Corded muscles stood out in his thin arms as he threw his weight against the massive weapon.

'Bubbo,' Aelfred barked, 'the weapons are yours. Fire as soon as we're in range. Aim for the head. If you can damage the helm, we've won.'

Bubbo scowled. 'I think gnomes messed with the ballista,' he grumbled.

'Too late to worry about that now,' Aelfred pointed out. Then he grinned. 'Maybe they've improved things.'

The big man didn't look reassured, but he nodded. He squinted into the flow-light, estimating the distance to the enemy. 'Soon,' he growled.

'Estriss,' Aelfred went on, 'get Vallus up here.'

'Already done.' Teldin turned at the soft but carrying voice. Vallus Leafbower stepped off the ladder that led to the main deck and joined the others on the forecastle.

'What can you do to that?' Aelfred stabbed a finger toward the deathspider.

The elf thought silently for a moment, then answered slowly, 'I have several spells that should help the issue. The fact that we're in the flow limits me considerably, you understand.'

'I understand. How close do we have to be?'

Vallus appraised the distance, a frown creasing his brow. 'Closer than this,' he replied.

Aelfred chuckled mirthlessly. 'Oh, we'll get closer,' he told the elf mage. 'You're on your own, Vallus. You know better than me how to handle the magic side of it. Do whatever you can to give them trouble. If you can take out their helmsman, do it.'

The elf nodded. 'I'll do what I can.' The first mate turned away to study the approaching enemy.

The deathspider was nearer, and Teldin was able to make out more details. Multiple round ports were set into the vessel's head. They glowed a sullen red, like inhuman eyes filled with hatred and blood-lust. Rigging was strung between the upper two pairs of legs: diaphanous sails that could almost be made of cobwebs, linked by silvery ropes. The ship's bulging abdomen seemed to have taken on a dull red tinge. Perhaps it was just the flow-light reflecting off it, or maybe it was light from within transmitted through the deathspider's crystalline hull. The overall effect was horrific, threatening. Even if Teldin hadn't known what he did about the neogi, there was no way he could picture any race using such a ship as anything but rapacious and evil.

To Teldin, it seemed that the rate of approach had slowed somewhat. Perhaps Aelfred was right and the horrors aboard the spidership were hesitant about dealing with a vessel that turned to the attack rather than fled. Or, more likely, the creatures were just being cautious. Why rush into something when there was little or nothing to be gained through speed?

It was difficult to judge the range accurately, both because of the shifting background and because the head-on attitude of the deathspider gave precious little detail from which to judge distance. Nevertheless, Teldin guessed the enemy was now less than ten thousand paces distant.

Bubbo had borrowed Aelfred's spyglass and had it trained on the approaching vessel. Now he lowered it and