"Yes, that is the promise."
"Ayan, look," Victor directed her to look through the hallway window.
The Triton was positioning itself in front of the station, drifting at speed to cover their escape. The torpedo tubes all along the edges of the hull came to life, the sleek projectiles turning as soon as they were launched towards some obscured foe. "That's a lot of firepower, they must be in some serious trouble."
"A Caran Enterprises fleet has arrived, they're staking a claim on the station since our highest ranking officer is only a Forewoman, not even a real controller."
"You couldn't have told us this a few minutes ago?" Victor replied at Bradley.
"I'm sorry, I was-" he was interrupted as a flash of light flared through the wide porthole.
"They just landed a focused nuclear strike against the Triton’s shields. Thank God it struck the opposite side," Ayan said as many of her companions stared in shock. "Run, the sooner we get to the Cold Reaver, the sooner we can try to blast our way out of here. We don't have much of a choice."
"I'm getting a message from the Reaver now," Alaka said as they started running. "They say that someone is cutting through the hangar door from the outside. The metal is white hot and they've almost breached."
"All right, tell them to stay tethered to something in case it opens to vacuum, and get the people we have in stasis bags ready to travel. No one takes more than their kit with them."
Alaka relayed the message as quickly as he could. "Chief Vega wants to confirm; we're abandoning the Cold Reaver?"
"I'm afraid so."
Chapter 18
The Clever Dream lowered itself into place over the squad, covering them with her main airlock. The embarkation collar sealed around the hole they were drilling through the large hangar door and the air began to pressurize. "How long?" Asked Jake.
"Less than a minute. I'm just glad the ship is here so we don't open the space inside up to vacuum when we break through."
"All our people are in vacsuits, that was never a worry." Captain Valance plugged into the small airlock interface panel and opened a channel to the Clever Dream's cockpit. "How is the Triton?"
"Our live relay just went dead, but she was holding up just a few seconds ago. Oz kept them busy with negotiations as long as they could then they sent five destroyers. From what we could tell they managed to tear one to pieces, Ronin is keeping another very occupied," answered Lewis. "One more thing, it looks like the Palamo is starting a suicide run on the biggest of the Caran ships."
"What kind of weaponry are they bringing to bear?"
"Particle beams and self propelled torpedoes. Each of the vessels are heavily fortified, even the first Commander McPatrick managed to nearly disable is still firing."
The fusion powered cutter burst through the hangar door and Jake watched as his squad removed the clamps securing the device in place and hauled it clear. The gravity between the Clever Dream and the station equalized, followed by the air pressure and the inner airlock door opened. He looked through the freshly cut hole and saw Ayan, Alaka, two squads and several other people rushing towards the Cold Reaver. Everyone from the drop ship had already realized that someone was cutting through to rescue them and they were tethered to the rear embarkation ramp of the Cold Reaver just in case the air was about to rush out the circular hole forming in the hangar door.
"We don't have much time, come through in single file!" Jake ordered.
Alaka remained closest to the main hall leading into the hangar, keeping watch with a canister in one hand and his beam cannon in the other. The armour plates of his vacsuit rose into place and sealed over his face.
The group at the rear of the Cold Reaver were the first to climb through the hastily cut exit leading into the Clever Dream in single file. As the first group were through Jake stepped out and surveyed the situation. The crew and squads stationed on the Cold Reaver had done everything right. The majority of them had only taken their kits, a few had strapped on extra packs filled with food, medical supplies, extra power cells and survival gear. The weeks, and in some cases months of simulations the crew had undergone had paid off. For most of them it looked like they were quickly running through the motions. Even the technicians they'd brought moved as though they knew exactly what steps had to take place in order to evacuate to the Clever Dream.
"Are you sure we have to leave her behind sir?" Stephanie asked as she was about to pass into the Clever Dream's airlock. "She's a solid ship."
"As long as we have the Triton, that's just a glorified longboat," he answered flatly.
"Aye," she nodded, moving on.
Ayan's group put the mismatched station staffers first, and they eyed Captain Valance as they passed.
Jake strode to meet Ayan half way, she held her rifle at the ready, walking backwards and looking towards the hall leading to the rest of the station. "They came out requesting asylum. Most are carrying medical gear, no weapons," she reported.
"They have friends coming after them?" Jake asked.
"There's a Forewoman here who wants to show she can control the station, I think they're undermining that."
In a flash of light and sound gunfire erupted from the hallway at Alaka, who started walking backwards at an even pace. He fired several short streams of deadly energy from his beam cannon, cutting into the sides of the hallway and scorching bare cables tied against the walls.
Ayan, Victor and a few other soldiers stepped forward and laid down cover fire with their pulse rifles so Alaka could turn and run. The shooting from the hallway ceased, and the tall nafalli took the opportunity to make a run for the makeshift exit. They withdrew in seconds, closing the airlock behind them.
Jake hit the control panel's intercom button. "Time to go Lewis, I'm on my way to the cockpit."
"I call it a bridge, for future reference. It may be small, but it has all the features one would expect on a proper starship, which I happen to be," Lewis replied over the speakers as Jake ran through the cargo area where the soldiers were settling in. Ayan was right behind him.
He arrived on the bridge as the Clever Dream skimmed along the hull of the massive station, weaving between the lattice work and docking arms. Lieutenant Garrison got out of the pilot's seat and invited Jake to sit down. "Not like Lewis let me fly much anyway," he said with a smile. "I'll go help get the wounded into recovery chambers."
"Good idea. You're trained?"
"Lewis insisted since this is my third time on his bridge."
"All right, keep me informed on their condition."
Ayan took the secondary control seat and brought up the tactical and copilot's screens.
"All right Lewis, get us clear of the station so we can communicate with the Triton," Jake ordered mildly.
"As you wish. Would you like to take the controls?"
"Not right now, just keep us clear of danger. Have you managed to get your cloaking systems back on line?"
"There was no time to finish connecting the secondary field generator to my computer systems before I was called to this retrieval mission."
"Could we do it right now?" Ayan asked.
"Hello Ayan. No, I'm afraid not. My shields would have to be down."
"All right, I promise I'll get to it as soon as I can."
"Personally? Well, I'm honoured."
" Triton to Clever Dream," addressed one of the communications officers through the communications systems.
"Clever Dream here. We have everyone. Ready to land," Jake's breath caught in his throat as the Triton came up on his tactical display. The energy readings on their shields were dangerously low and they were open to space on the aft dorsal section, right below the gunnery deck. Several of the gunnery turrets were seized due to heat damage and their far port side had a through and through breach that effected six decks.