Dubious Honour

6. A Distant Image of Home

"Where are you going?" Neidia responded with incredulity.

"To get our ship back, I guess."

"Who's going to operate the Core?" Norlyss protested.

"I set it to give half to weapons and half to thrust. If you need anythin' different, Ollin can make adjustments." She gestured at another Darax, who started in surprise, mouthing "me?"

Before anyone could raise any further objections, she was flying out of the bridge at full speed.

Norlyss shook herself, then turned to Elya. "Get the opening as close to the Honour's airlock as you can."

"We're gonna be vulnerable!"

"I know."

Neidia, who had remained in stunned silence for several moments, emitted a groan, then took off in pursuit of Delton. Elya obliged the new captain and carefully aligned the two openings. He vectored the Supernought, itself rotating like a tidally locked moon, to move around the SDU ship at the same rate it was spinning, so that the same sides continued to face each other as the two ships revolved. A red giant orbiting a disproportionately heavy neutron star. 

"I think I'm finally getting the hang of this thing," he muttered.

Then Exodus was upon them, driving at the Supernought en masse from every direction. Since it couldn't fire through the Dubious Honour, the Avatars were approaching from that vector, hoping to get into the safety of the craft's shadow. As the Honour was pointing to the asteroid, they had to cross the Supernought's line of sight to get there, and were as yet unsuccessful. But once the Honour span so that it was between the Supernought and the horizon, an Avatar would easily slip into its cover.

"Delton and Neidia, let us know when you're aboard." said Norlyss with more than a hint of anxiety.

"Neidia? What do..."

***

Neidia tapped Delton on her shoulder as he sailed past. 

"Didn't think you were going to violate the sanctity of the buddy system that easily, did you?"

"Neidia," she said seriously. "This ain't gonna be safe."

"I know. Almost to the openings, lieutenant!"

***

"There will be nanites on the Dubious. Please take care of them before they eat us," said Delton.

"Oh, stars, yes. Elya, can you purge her from here?"

"No problem," said the one-armed pilot. A wave of energy passed over the disabled salvage craft, knocking a fine dust of broken machines from the air. The Avatars took quick advantage of the gap in weaponsfire to close in.

"I'm aboard!" came Delton's voice.

"About time!" Elya didn't need to wait for an order. He sped up the Supernought and dove around Honour to open fire on the Avatars that were sheltering behind it. He then took up a faster holding pattern around the vulnerable ship. Although smashing to pieces against the waves of gravity from the Supernought, honed into laser-like beams, the front lines of the Avatars were creeping steadily closer. Exodus must have done the math, calculating that it could take the Supernought before it exhausted its numbers. Casualties were of little matter to the superior intelligence.

***

"Home, sweet home," muttered Delton as they flew toward the cockpit. Although perhaps not the most intelligent design choice, SDU bridges tended to be at the fore, unlike Nullartus craft, where the control centre was couched far within the layers of the ship. Her painkillers were just starting to wear off, so she manoeuvred her leg carefully.