“Yes!” Nathan exclaimed.
“The two groups are now engaged,” Jessica reported.
“What about the Yamaro?” Nathan asked. “Where is he now?”
“He’s trying to run behind Corinair, sir,” Kaylah reported.
“Josh,” Nathan started.
“I’m after him,” Josh interrupted as he changed course.
“Captain, if he gets too close to the planet, we won’t be able to jump in close any more,” Abby reported. “The planet’s gravity will make it too risky.”
“And he’s still got guns, so we can’t just run up to him at sub-light.”
“But he doesn’t know that, does he?” Nathan asked, not really expecting an answer. “Abby, plot a jump to put us behind him again. Let’s take advantage of his blind spot once more.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Comms, hail the Yamaro. I want to speak to Captain de Winter.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What are you going to say to him?” Jalea asked.
“I’m going to offer him a chance to surrender,” Nathan said.
“Nathan,” Jalea said, “I highly doubt he would even consider-”
“She is correct, Captain,” Tug interrupted. “His honor is at stake, as is the honor and security of his family.”
“So, he’d rather die than be dishonored?”
“Death before dishonor. It is the way of the nobleman,” Tug explained.
“Well, you may be right. But offering someone an opportunity to surrender is our way. It’s something that we consider honorable. In fact, we consider it just as honorable to surrender against inevitable defeat, rather than sacrificing your forces needlessly.”
“Also a noble sentiment,” Tug agreed.
“I’ve got the captain of the Yamaro on the comms sir.”
“On screen,” Nathan ordered. A moment later, the pompous image of Captain de Winter filled their main view screen once more.
“You’ve done surprisingly well for yourself thus far, Captain Scott. I congratulate you.”
“I’m offering you a chance to surrender, sir. There’s no need for you or your crew to die in the cold of space.”
“My, but you are an overconfident young man, aren’t you?” he said with a laugh, after which his transmission ended.
“I’m the overconfident one?” Nathan muttered.
“Jump is plotted,” Abby reported.
“Rail guns ready, Jess?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Josh, when we come out of the jump, flip us over and pull us in over the top of him. We’ll linger there as long as we can before jumping out.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Jess, concentrate fire on his guns. We need to remove his claws. Maybe that will deflate his ego a bit.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” she answered.
“Abby, I’m going to need a really fast escape jump. Even a few light seconds will do.”
“Yes, sir.”
“All right then. One more time. Jump.”
“Jumping,” Abby reported.
Again the flash filled the bridge. Suddenly, the main view screen was filled with the image of the Yamaro, not more than a few hundred meters away, and the planet Corinair, which was now filling nearly half the screen.
“Whoa! Up and over, Josh!”
Josh pulled the nose up and rolled the ship over as they pulled up over the top of the Yamaro, matching her speed as he did so.
“Open fire,” Nathan ordered calmly.
The Aurora’s rail guns again began ripping apart the exterior of the Yamaro. Targeting her main guns, which were of no use to her at such close ranges, the rapid strikes of the explosive projectiles shredded the enemy’s weapons in seconds.
“She’s lost most of her main guns, Captain. Only about six of them left on her forward half,” Jessica reported.
“She’s launching more fighters!” Kaylah announced.
“Helm, back us away. Jess, re-target all guns on the fighters. Try to pick them off as they launch.”
Josh began shaving off speed in order to slowly back away from the enemy ship. Fighters began shooting out of her sides. The rail guns were able to pick of the first few fighters, but their pilots quickly caught on and began ducking down under the Yamaro for cover immediately after launch.
“It’s no good, they’re too fast,” Jessica admitted. “I can’t track them all.”
“Raise the Yamaro again,” Nathan ordered.
Again the main screen displayed the image of Captain de Winter from the bridge of the Yamaro. However, this time, the visual was distorted, as was the audio.
“You have one more chance to surrender, Captain.”
“I am a nobleman. Better to die in space than in a prison cell. You’ll have no surrender from me,” he responded before ending the brief transmission.
“Ready to jump, sir,” Abby reported.
“Captain,” Jessica said, appearing somewhat puzzled. “The fighters. They’re breaking off. They’re not coming after us.”
“Where are they headed?”
“Out into space, apparently.”
“What the-”
“Uh oh,” Jessica interrupted. “I’m detecting multiple missile launches on the surface.”
“From Corinair?”
“Yes, sir,” Jessica answered, just as confused as Nathan.
“Are they targeting us?”
“I don’t think so. At least I’m not detecting any weapons locks on us.”
“Incoming message from the Yamaro, sir,” the comm-officer reported.
Nathan looked at Tug, another puzzled look on his face.
“Put him on,” Nathan told him.
The image of a different man came onto the screen. He was standing on the bridge of the Yamaro. He was younger and not as spit and polished as Captain de Winter had been. Although Nathan did not understand the Ta’Akar rank insignias, it seemed obvious that this man was of a subordinate rank.
“To whom am I speaking?” Nathan asked.
“I am Ensign Willard. I offer our immediate surrender.”
Nathan had to fight to keep his jaw from hitting the floor. “I thought noblemen didn’t surrender,” he said. He knew it was probably not the best response as it left his lips.
“The nobles who previously commanded this vessel have been forcibly detained. I am now in command of the Yamaro. Again, I offer it to you in unconditional surrender.”
Nathan could tell that the man was very nervous about something. “Very well. We accept your surrender. Power down everything except your flight deck and life support. A boarding crew will be on its way to you shortly.”
The Ta’Akar ensign on the screen nodded respectfully just before the transmission ended.
“Now what do you think prompted that?” Nathan asked.
“It could have something to do with the dozen or so nuclear missiles that are currently locked onto them,” Jessica smiled. “Impact in three minutes.”
“Comm, contact the Corinair leadership, and ask them to abort those missiles. Let them know we are taking possession of the Yamaro, and we will be delivering her captain to them to face whatever charges they deem fit.
“Yes, sir.”
“Jess, prepare a boarding team.”
“You want us to fly them over, Captain?” Josh asked.
“If you guys leave, who the hell’s going to fly this ship?” Nathan said with a smile. “Tug, can you fly the shuttle?”
“Of course.”
“Kaylah? Are they complying?”
“Yes, sir, I’m showing systems shutting down all across their ship. Weapons were first.”
“Very well. Jess, collect their command staff. We’ll hold them in our brig for now. Once you get that ship secure in orbit, lock their crew up on their ship until we can figure out how to get them to the surface.”
“Yes, sir,” Jessica said. A smile started to creep onto her face as she left the bridge. She finally felt like she had a captain.
“She is seriously injured.” Doctor Chen paused to check the readings on the monitor display above Cameron’s bed. Nathan looked down at his friend. She was still unconscious. Her face was swollen, her head bandaged, and she was intubated, her breathing controlled by machines. She had a multitude of tubes and wires coming out of her, and there was a considerable amount of padding around her pelvis to stabilize her. Despite the fact that she was stable for now, she looked a hell of a lot worse than Captain Roberts had right before he had died.