The next Covenanter turned in and toward the Alwyn, a straight suicide run.
Before the D.S.S. ship could evade, the shields of the two ships touched—just as another salvo of torps targeted the battle cruiser. The Alwyn’s shields flickered amber, but the second Covenanter converted itself to debris and energy.
Perhaps a third of the Covenanter needles had vanished, but so had more than half of the Alwyn’s needleboats.
The remaining Covenanter needles launched torps— their last, if I’d been counting right—and all were headed for the Alwyn. The three other frigates followed with another salvo.
The Alwyn concentrated its next salvo on the closest Covenanter frigate.
A surge of energy blanked my farscreens. Safety cutouts had desensitized my receptors for a moment. Only a moment, but when blast passed, screens showed that the Alwyn and the frigate were both gone. Two of the Alwyn’s needles remained.
Navigator needles, on my mark, fire on starboard frigate. On my mark, fire at starboard frigate. Mark!
At the mark, I released both torps, then shuttled the remaining torp into the port tube.
Eight needle torps slashed through the darkness toward the Covenanter frigate, preceded by five from the Magellan and followed by another ten.
The frigate went to energy and dust.
The remaining Covenanter frigate turned toward the Magellan, not quite head-on-head. Both shields and drives were flicking in and out of the amber. Covenanter was overloading everything to get enough velocity to hit the Magellan. Another frigging god-squad suicider!
Scanned the farscreens. Five enemy needles were leading the frigate. All of them headed straight for the Magellan. All of them suicide runs. Shields piled in front.
Navigator needles, concentrate on the incoming needleboats, one on one. Tigress, take the one most starboard ... Morgan ordered each needle directly.
Just as he finished, one of the Alwyn’s needles fired a torp that backsided one of the Covenanter needles.
I went head-to-head with the other needle. Wasn’t about to suicide, but Covenanter wouldn’t know that. He wouldn’t suicide against me. He wanted the Magellan.
He’d slewed his shield strengths forward, and I only had one torp left. Ideally, if I dropped, flipped, and fired a torp into his stern as he passed, the torp would hit the weakest section of his shields. Problem was that I couldn’t risk a tail shot from beneath. Torp could angle back and impact the Magellan’s shields. I’d have to drop, then overcorrect, faster than he could react, and aim for his midsection.
Only had seconds by the time I fired.
Torp went where I wanted. His shields went amber and vanished—but only his shields. He still had a torp, and the needleboat was a weapon itself.
I was out of torps. If I’d counted right, so was he—except for the one he wanted to lay on the Magellan at the same time the last frigate salvoed it.
Idiot didn’t even hesitate. Just kept driving for the Magellan’s midshield nexus. My detectors said the Magellan’s shields were taking a beating from the other needles and the frigate. Not obvious yet, but close as I was, I caught the quick flickers of orange from both the Magellan and the Covenanter.
Covenanter needle had a torp, but no shields. I had shields, but no torps.
Checked the screens. We’d lost two needles, but so had the Covenanters. Frigate would impact the Magellan’s shields in less than a minute. I pressed the needle’s drives past max, and aimed at his aft section—or where it would be.
He tried to evade, but my shields clipped him, crumpled the foresection of his needle.
His torp blew. Energy flared all around me. Didn’t know if the torp went in the tube or he’d launched it at the last moment.
Amber telltales appeared everywhere across my displays.
Shields had gone. Fusactor was dying.
Farscreen showed the Magellan had taken out the last frigate, but half the shields were amber.
Turned the needle on an intercept course for the Magellan.
Navigator Control, Needle Tigress, on return course this time.
Tigress, interrogative status. Interrogative status.
Status is amber/red. All systems amber or worse. Amber systems deteriorating this time.
Stet. Report visual.
Checked the screens again. Plot showed I was on closure. Showed two Magellan needles left and two from the Alwyn—besides me. Took a deep breath. Shouldn’t have.
Yellow waves appeared on the farscreen. Came from “behind”—the direction of Danann. Yellow! Never’d seen yellow on a screen. Had to mean more power than I’d want to have hit me, especially in a needle.
Damned yellow waves had to be moving at multiples of light, the way they flashed across the screen toward me. That couldn’t be happening.
The needle bucked—only term for it—and the farscreen flared, then went black. Hat dead. Frig!
Drives were dying, and I was in the middle of nowhere in total blackness. Even the backup power storage was gone. Every detector in the needle was dead. Had suit habitability… and not much else.
Tried transmitting. Emergency burst Control, Needle Tigress, all systems red. All systems red. No nav, no drives, habitability marginal.
Kept listening. No link response.
Looked through the visual port. All I saw was darkness.
Hoped Lerrys could find me. Hoped Morgan or the captain hadn’t changed course. I’d been on intercept. If they’d changed heading, without energy radiation from the needle not even Lerrys would be able to find me.
Swallowed. How did I know if the Magellan hadn’t been blinded by the yellow energy waves? What had they been? Some remnant of Danannian technology? Why now? Why couldn’t it have waited five minutes?
Stared at the board before me. Dead.
Didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I’d survived a battle that had killed all but five of something like thirty needle pilots—and I was going to freeze or suffocate in deep space.
Thought about Liam. Wished I’d done more than hold his hands. Hadn’t thought things would end this way.
Swallowed. They hadn’t ended yet… Wouldn’t end.
My last course changes would get me close enough to the Magellan. They would.
Lerrys would be able to grapple and bring me in. Maybe I could get close enough for a jetpak.
Checked the time. Only five minutes.
Decided on another burst transmission. Hoped it went out. No way to tell. Hoped they could use it to find me. Hoped the Magellan was still there to find me.
Navigator Control, Needle Tigress, all systems red. All systems red. No nav, no drives, habitability marginal. Awaiting pickup.
Didn’t hear any response, but didn’t expect any, not with all other receptors fried.
Could hear my breathing in the suit. Raspy, fast.
Forced myself to take slower breaths. Watched the visual port. Still could only see darkness.
Another five minutes passed. It felt like thirty. All I could see was darkness, inside the cockpit and out.
Thoughts went back to Liam. Wondered how he’d feel if things didn’t work out. Pushed those thoughts away. Things would work out.