Ep.#14 - "The Weak and the Innocent" (The Frontiers Saga) by Ryk Brown Page B

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    “ We’ll execute a fifteen second decel burn at fifty meters, ” the commander ordered. “ At twenty-five meters, we power down then power back up after we’ve made contact. ”
     
     
    “Jump complete,” Mister Riley reported as the jump flash faded and the interior of the Aurora’s bridge returned to its customary, red-tinged alert lighting.
    “Bring us along her starboard side, in line with her breach,” Nathan directed. “Nose in to keep our forward tubes on her aft propulsion section.”
    “Aye, sir,” Mister Chiles acknowledged.
    “Lock all weapons on her starboard guns, Lieutenant,” Nathan continued. “One for one. If she so much as flinches, I want those guns taken out.”
    “She’s got more guns than we do, Captain. I suggest we target her biggest ones first.”
    “Agreed, Mister Navashee. If that ship shows any signs of powering up her engines, don’t hesitate to let us know.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “If she tries to run, blow her fucking tail off.”
    “Locking forward tubes on target’s propulsion section,” Luis replied. “Helm, give me a forty-five degree roll to starboard for a better firing angle.”
    “Rolling forty-five to starboard, aye.”
    “I’ve got Commander Telles and his forces on opticals,” Mister Navashee reported. “They’re one hundred meters from the breach, closing at five meters per second.”
    “Put them on the screen,” Nathan ordered.
    “Switching to midship topside cameras.”
    The image of the aft end of the Jung battleship disappeared, replaced a moment later by a close-up view of the enemy ship’s starboard midship area. He could barely make out the black figures of the twenty-six Ghatazhak soldiers as they coasted toward the breach on the side of the target.
    “Seventy-five meters,” Mister Navashee updated. “Still only minimal internal power, batteries I’d say. Not enough to run anything other than emergency lighting, maybe some internal comms. Fifty meters. The Ghatazhak are firing their deceleration thrusters now.”
    “Any chance the Jung know they’re coming?” Nathan asked.
    “Not unless they’re looking out the window at them, sir. I’m barely picking up anything from them on sensors. Just a tiny amount of electrical energy. They’re stealthy as hell.”
    “How’s it looking, Lieutenant?” Nathan asked. He couldn’t help but feel nervous sitting less than a kilometer away from an enemy ship that was three times their size with twice as many guns.
    “Nothing’s moving, Captain.”
    “Jump flash,” Mister Navashee reported. “Five kilometers astern of the target. It’s Scout Two.”
    “Comms, tell Roselle to keep his tubes on the target’s main drive. Fire if they light up.”
    “Aye, sir.”
    “Another jump flash, Captain,” Mister Navashee added. “One hundred kilometers off our port side. Falcon Four.”
    “Incoming message from Falcon Four,” Ensign Souza announced. “They’re just back from Porto Santo, refueled and reloaded. Porto Santo control received your message, they’ll have a couple hundred Ghatazhak and a few more Falcons here shortly.”
    “Decel burn is complete,” Mister Navashee stated. “Captain, they’re powering down.”
    “Why would they power down?” Luis wondered.
    “I’m sure the commander knows what he’s doing,” Nathan replied.
     
     
    Despite what his tactical display had told him prior to powering down, Commander Telles wished he had burned his deceleration thrusters a few seconds longer. The jagged, torn-up decks of the damaged battleship were still coming toward them quite rapidly.
    Without comms and tactical display, the commander felt very much alone. No comm chatter and no radio static. No beeps, tones, or alarms from his tactical display as data readouts changed. No whirring of fans blowing fresh air into his suit and sucking out the bad. Just the sound of his own breathing, and the occasional rustling of the inner lining of his suit as he moved his arms. He