The Long Road to Gaia by Timothy Ellis

ordered to target the jump point, and to fire as soon as
they have a target."
    "Acknowledge," said Jon.
"Guns, get us pointed. Helm, bring us around so all batteries can
fire."
    There were two versions of "Aye
sir", one after the other. The ship turned, and all turrets aligned on the
middle of the jump point.
    The fleet waited. The gunners had their
fingers on the triggers. Everyone else seemed to hold their breathe.
    A red dot appeared on the HUD, quickly
followed by a lot of them.
    The fleet fired almost immediately. The
German fleet began firing at almost the same time.
    "What have we got?" bellowed Jon.
    "Eight Battleships," yelled Helm.
"Twelve Cruisers behind them."
    "How the hell do they have eight
Battleships?" demanded the Captain.
    No-one answered. No-one knew.
    "Fighters and bombers jumping in
behind them as well sir. They must have a Carrier on the other side."
    I stopped time again.
    The Germans had the most mass, but they
were jumping in, so only their forward turrets could fire. The Americans on the
other hand, had every turret firing at them.
    Nineteen appeared next to me when I called.
    "Good question I thought," I
said. "Is there an answer?"
    "The Germans have been building ships
in secret for decades," she answered.
    "Germans in general?"
    "No. Business groups pretending not to
support the Nazis have been funding ship building behind everyone else's back.
This has been coming for a long time. How have you not seen this?"
    "I haven’t been looking. My focus is
specific, and it’s a long way from here. I've no real interest in what the rest
of humanity has been up to."
    "Perhaps you should have."
    It was a thought. But one I wasn’t sure was
actually productive in terms of my mission.
    "What do you reckon about the outcome
here?"
    "They are pretty even. Germans have
more and bigger ships, but the Americans have the edge in firepower, and
training. Also experience, since they've been dealing with a pirate problem for
quite some time."
    "Well we better let them have at
it."
    She nodded, and vanished.
    I restarted time.
    Boston shuddered, as a full broadside from
one of the Battleships hit her shields.
    "Move us!" yelled Jon and his
Captain at the same time.
    The ship dropped below the line quickly,
and most of the next broadside aimed at them missed. But the shots which hit,
took their shields down.
    "Evasive!" ordered Jon, and the
ship changed position again.
    Boston shuddered much more violently this
time, even though only a few shots hit them.
    "Hull breach!" yelled someone.
    The doors were all airtight, and all of
them were closed, so only the compartments opened to space had casualties.
    Boston hadn't stopped firing, but now, only
slightly more than half of her guns fired.
    The next hit blew down their recovering
shields again, and the compartment above the bridge was destroyed. Debris
crashed through the floor, and crushed the Captain. The air blew out through
the ceiling for a few seconds, before the hull sealant systems were able to
seal the hole. Boston lost position in the line, and found herself closing in
on the center of the battle.
    Major, now Captain Jon Hunter, surveyed the
wreckage of the Bridge. Coms was also gone, as were half the gunnery positions
and the engineering station.
    The Lieutenant at Helm was still moving the
ship around, still trying to keep them clear of the main shots directed at them.
It was a guessing game, and he had average luck.
    Boston staggered under the next hit,
throwing Jon right out of his chair. He picked himself up, idly noting the
blood dripping down the left side of his face. He pulled himself over to the
Helm, which still worked, although the ship wasn’t answering very well now.
    "What's left?" he asked Helm.
    "Nothing sir. We can move with main
engines, but that’s about it. Going forward is about our only real option right
now."
    "Enemy?"
    "Holding the line sir. They've all
turned to bring all guns to bare. It’s a slugfest. Both sides are taking a