"Okay this does not look good" observed Mathea while looking at the damage report
"I like how we are still using positive words though" observed Prim
"I don't know how positive words are going to save us and until I do, can you stop talking" intervened Tal over the coms
"Well, if you want an explanation I did major in the impacts of certain words on morale and problem solving" said Lon from the bridge, "It just so happens that using positive words helps troops and the common people to stay hopeful in terrifying situations"
"It's incredible, but that was just an effort on my part to have some silence while I work on something that is definitely not in my credentials"
"Well now it is, good for you" joked Skott
The five of them were currently working on the shields, Mathea and Lon had stayed on the bridge, Lon was monitoring the progress, Mathea was evaluating which parts of the hull were critical to repair or reinforce, Skott, Tal and Prim were trying to get the homemade hyperlink to actually work. Perifel was pacing back and forth giving out orders to the rest of the crew, everyone was wearing a suit, to protect them in the event of a critical hull breach and a vacuum event.
"You know what I find rather incredible is how troubles is a universal problem, unluckiness seems to be the most widespread effect in this universe"
"Prim, I will have to advocate Tal argument there, what does that even mean" observed Lon
"I am trying to regulate my stress a healthy way" she replied
"I think that at this point I'd rather listen to you sing Bohemian Rhapsody like a teenage girl high on helium"
"Thanks for your undying support Mathea, it warms my heart"
"Prim remember the repairs we made on the first ship, how we were all shaking at the implications of having found our lost brothers and sisters in such a wide universe. When we couldn't concentrate because the emotion was so high. How Charle broke down crying when I came to ask him for a screwdriver. Things are not so different here, we are shaking because of emotion, and we feel like breaking down crying but cannot. We are living history once more, and it's awfully demanding, but I trust you, I believe you can do it. And it goes to the rest of you lot, we can do it"
"I'll admit, I needed that"
"We all did, Tal push it back toward me a little" Prim heard a distinctive "click"
"We got it? it's in place?"
"It is, good job!"
"Let's finish the wirering then" they immediatly got to it and a short time after everything was connected
"Skott I don't know what your team did but the we are receiving a steady energy flow on our end, it is stable!"
"I confirmed a second ago that the capacitors are indeed recharging, shield at 5% already. Captain they did it!" announced Mathea a genuine smile painted across her face
"Suddenly this looks feasible." The Captain hesitated for a second before issuing his last order "Everyone to their stations"
"Blow incoming!" Everyone reached for a steady anchorage point and braced themselves for the impact.
*****
"It dosen't seem that they have seen us leave!" Arion panicked after seeing the Medra take a hit.
"Shit! How should we get their attention?"
"Build up speed and start flying around the Medra! They wont be able to ignore us then!"
"What's the big plan Commander?"
"I'm working on it, just do it!" Arion took the commander's place at the navigation deck while Kossav got up to check their sensors and cameras
"Commander, can we even take a hit of their cannons?"
"That's left to be discovered officer Jack" the later swallowed with difficulty
They picked up speed and went back to the Medra's vicinity, somewhere inside, bathed in blinking red light Perifel could be heard saying "What the hell are they doing now?"
Kosav's plan was absolutely mental. So much even that he was scared to expose it to the two aliens. From his point of view it was crazier than anything the two humans could ever come up with. He took deep breath and tried his luck.
"The plan is bad but that's all I can come up with"
"Alright hit us!"
"We are going to fly into their sensors, and annoy them so much that they will have to deal with us. Then we will engage them in a chase"
"Dog fight style, yeah I can work with that "
"David and Goliath, this time they are in space. Commander, shall we engage? "
"Yes...we must if we want to give the Medra a chance!"
Arion plundged under the giant ship and came back up in front of their bridge. Immediately cannon turned around to target the small vessel which felt ridiculous in front of the giant.
Arion took it upon themself to show the empire how flying is actually done and began to do barrel rolls and other overly dramatic evasive maneuvers.
Kossav understood one more thing about the humans : no plan is ever too crazy, if anything a plan can never be too crazy and they will always find a way to make them worse.
The commander found that it didn't bother him one bit now, who would dare say that they could predict the human's moves? He smiled and gave Jack green light to fire at will to make the act more convincing.
The enemy lost patience and finally engaged in their crazed voltige. Perifel didn't lose a single second to celebrate he immediately turned the ship and asked the it was pushed to the fastest they could manage without making things worse. They were going to that planet no matter what.
If Kosav's crew survived long enough the Medra could get a good distance away and then use the proto star as a shield to avoid the sensors. If Arion was any good at flying a foreign scout shuttle the empire was going to learn a valuable lesson.
The asteroids and the incandescent clusters were truly a sight to behold. It was really too bad they weren't here for sightseeing. In any case the empire helped reshuffle the building blocks of the nascent system by blowing a lot of the asteroids.
*****
"Captain we are approaching the target."
"Thank you officer..."
"I have activated long range scanners, it seem that whatever the situation was back when we first discovered the planet, it has gotten worse, much worse. "
"We will be careful, Officer Mathea and Prim, care to join me on another field trip?" The women exchanged glances
"That's the best offer I heard all day Captain."
"Then it is settled, go get ready, I'll be joining you shortly, bring all the tech we could need."
"Roger that"
Prim and Mathea jumped inside the lift. Perifel turned back to the big screen in front of him. They still hadn't gotten any news from the scout vessel and its crew.
"Captain...do you think they'll be alright? "
"All I know, officer Lon, it's that if they are still out there, they will eventually find their way back to us."
*****
Kossav and his team were still neck deep in troubles back in the cluster.
Navigating through the asteroids field was a demanding task and Arion's arms were getting tired. The empire was still following, not showing any sign of fatigue.
Obviously the monumental ship had a hard time navigating through the cluster, sometimes they would just buff their shield and go through the rocks without bothering. Other times they would blast the asteroids, destroying potential cover for the alliance vessel and disrupting the current balance creating more trouble for them.
They had made no breakthrough concerning their own potential escape. Unless they managed to vanish from the empire sensors for long enough to throw them into a blind chase, they'd had no hopes of getting out.
It was left to fate to see what the outcome would be. The empire could give up on the chase, the scout vessel could blow up, from a crash or from a rocket was not a distinction anyone was willing to make, and many other things could happen, none of which seemed clear at the moment.
"Here we are... the Medra has left sensor range, we're alone for good now" Kossav turned away from the screens for a second, allowing himself the luxury of processing that information
"So...we are stranded? But they manged to escape?"
"Exactly. Officer Arion what's our status on fuel?"
"We are good commander, should we make it out of this system, we'll have enough to rejoin with the Medra on target"
"First good news of this gods forsaken day!"
"Shall I try to get us away from the empire?"
"Officer Arion, hop into the red zone, dangerous strategy, but even if their filters and sensors are any good, they will lose sight of us."
"We will lose them too" observed Jack
"They won't have time to lock onto us if we slingshot our exit"
"Slingshot? "
"An oldy but a gody commander, we will make a few loops around the protostar to gain speed before breaking free of the attraction, it should give us a reasonable boost during which our engines will be turned off. Before they understand that manoeuvre we will be blasting away."
"Haven't heard about this king of manoeuvre in a long time,if we turn off the vessel just before we leave the red zone, we'll just be like every other asteroids the protostar is blasting. Kossav smiled "You would have given my flight instructors nightmares, back at the academy, even years after!"
"I'll forever consider that the best compliment I have ever gotten!"
*****
"Emissary Kyne, I have a message for you, straight from the council," said Or hurriedly walking towards him, trying, and almost failing, to not look like like he is running
"What is it?" Kyne put down his paperwork, although only the name lingered for it was not paper but rather a tablet
"I haven't read it, how could I know? But they seemed eager to get it to you I came as fast as possible"
"Thank you very much, what could this possibly be about?"
The message was short and straight to the point "The Medra has disobeyed orders and is not coming back. Coveted lock down procedure have begun, do not communicate this information to your people or anyone else's. " Kyne swallowed with difficulty.
"I have a bad feeling about this"
"What is it?"
"To tell you would be disobeying orders from the council but...The Medra is not coming back, things have started moving."
"For better or for worse...I'll stay on the Panarella even if it goes down." Or sat heavily on the chair next to Kyne, abandoning the behaviour expected of an official.
"Ambassador, you should get your loved ones to safety"
"My loved ones are so far away from here, Emissary, and as for my father...You'd have an easier time stopping a star from going supernovae than to change his mind. He will die on the Panarella if war befall us, he won't run away."
"Then I supposed there is nothing more we can do."
*****
"Captain, if the distraction team get back, they'll want to communicate in a safe way, so, with directing from officer Mathea, I rewired an old radio. If they get within range..."
"Good initiative, when this is all over the entire crew is getting a raise I swear that on my honor"
Perifel left the bridge, in his and the commander's absence, the highest ranking officer was the Head medical officer, an alien woman from Pviit, Oola, with the swearing habit of a sailor. She was an exceptional doctor who had won many awards but she was also a warm person who cared deeply about her patients and crew. She never let fame and success get to her head and many among the Medra admired her for that.
"Don't die out there old fart" she told him with a tap on his shoulder
"There would be no one left to annoy you at night with stupid questions! I can't die!"
"Good because you were always the most challenging part of my job"
Perifel met up with Mathea and Prim in the docking bay after a short stop at the armoury. He had left with a gun on each thigh.
"Ready ?"
*****
"Ready."
"Breaking through. Turning all computers offline, the vessel is in the dark"
"That has been one hell of a bad day" said Jack quietly
"We'll survive, somehow, we always do..." Kossav reassured him from the shadows
*****
"Breaking through the atmosphere, hull temperature critical, brace for impact in 5...4...3...2...1..."
*****
"Commander? We make a really good team, eh?"
"We sure do officer "
They were suddenly thrown back against their seat, the vessel shot out through space and with life support online the sheer amount of force generated by the speed blurred their vision.
*****
The away team crash landed on the planet surface leaving a crater in the soil. Perifel opened his eyes, weary of what he would find, Mathea was shaken up and Prim seemed alright.
"Another happy landing"
"I love when everything goes according to the plan" added Prim while cracking her knuckles
"I just wish that for once we could land smoothly on a planet" cried Mathea
"Don't be ridiculous everyone love the feeling of their neck almost snapping in half" Perifel got up from his seat "Let's see what kind of headache this planet is"