"Sensors just detected a battlecruiser just outside the asteroid cluster," Agameg announced, bringing up a hologram of the grouping of moving asteroids and planetoids the Triton had taken shelter in. There was a ghostly outline of a battlecruiser following just outside.
"Chief Grady,"
"Yes Commander."
"You're out of time. Get everyone to damage control stations immediately."
"Yes sir. It'll take a minute to finish getting my people out of the thruster pods."
"Will the pods be useful?"
"Start slow, I'll try to keep them together down here but if we have a blow through you could lose an entire main thruster."
"Noted, send your recommendations to the helm," Oz closed the channel.
"Frost reports his people have a clear firing solution on the battlecruiser," Agameg announced, monitoring his department from his command and control unit.
"Tell him to keep his systems powered down but to load with the heaviest non-nuclear munitions he's got. He'll be firing at their engines."
"I'm going to patch Minuteman into our helm. It should help them calculate a faster than light course when the time comes," Jason informed him.
"Gotta love a supercomputer without an artificial intelligence. No risk of it going rogue on us."
"That's why he only links to one or two systems at a time," Jason agreed. "What's your plan if they block our escape Oz?"
To Agameg's surprise the commanding officer didn't pause for a second. "We initiate the ghost ship strategy."
Agameg looked it up in his command and control unit and skimmed the summary. "That's drastic. If you'll pardon me saying so," he whispered as he finished reading.
"If we lock up the Botanical Gallery and evacuate everyone we can we'll have a real chance of making it work," Oz replied. "Flight Command, ready all fighters and keep power emissions to an absolute minimum. I want everyone to be ready to run at a moment's notice. When the punters are loaded, start moving the rest of our ships into launch position.”
“Sir, only a few civilians in the upper berths have reported to the main hangar. They’re mostly former raiders,” replied Chief Vercelli.
“I was going to tell you about that, Oz,” Jason interjected. “About seven hundred of the slaves we liberated have volunteered to remain aboard to help defend the ship.”
“You didn’t think it was important to bring that up a little sooner?”
“Well, you were busy, so I just accepted their offer. David Penton is speaking for them.”
“All right, have someone from security work with him to get them organized.”
“We don’t have many Officers left, mostly Aucharian grunts and a couple bridge staff, like Agameg.”
“Ever want command of a small army, Agameg?” Oz asked.
The issyrian’s eyes flexed suddenly, at first becoming as round as saucers then narrowing down until they were two thin, mischievous slits. “How did you know my birthday was coming up?”
“All right, then as soon as things die down in tactical I want you to take whoever you can from security and get those people organized. You know what the ghost ship tactic requires, so put them where we need them.”
“Yes sir.”
“All right, Chief Vercelli, what are your plans? I’m hoping that you’ll stay aboard, we’ll need someone in the hangars.”
“Aye, I’m staying with the ship, Commander. I didn’t help get her in shape to see her get taken.”
“Understood, thank you Chief. Just get most of your deck crews into ships and stand ready to launch with the evacuees. Those fighters will need ground support. Everyone should have their personal kit and trade tools. Understand?"
"Aye. Are you sure we've gotten to that point?" Deck Chief Angelo Vercelli asked. Through the blur of the privacy field and the semi-transparent floor of the bridge Oz could see the greying Chief looking up at him.
"Not yet. Just be ready. I'm sending you encrypted coordinates, pass them on to your most trustworthy FTL ticketed pilots."
"Aye.”
"Where are you sending Paula?"
"She won’t go with the evacuees. With the look she’s giving me, we’d have to sedate her if we wanted to pack her off."
"We might need her spirit. Let's hope none of this is necessary."
Jason deactivated the scrambling field surrounding the command seating, assuming instant communication to all bridge stations was going to be essential.
Oz nodded at him and stood. "All right, everyone who just got a notification on your command units telling you the ghost ship tactic is in play should know what to do. If you have an order to report to the botanical section, report to Junior Lieutenant Kameri. Everyone else should have orders to bring emergency evacuation via the launch deck. Do not use escape shuttles. Make sure you take a survival kit on the way to the hangar for yourself and do not take side trips to your quarters or storage areas. You won’t have time to pick up personal possessions. Go now."
Half of the thirty-one officers on the bridge stepped away from their stations and took a moment to say goodbye to the people sitting beside them before leaving the bridge. They knew there wasn't much time.
Oz ignored the questioning glances and looks of uncertainty that came his way as people departed.
"Commander, the battlecruiser is sending probes into the cluster," Agameg announced as he made haste to his tactical station.
Jason stood and strode to the field control station. Laura glanced up and was shaking her head before he was half way there. “I saw the order, but I’m not leaving.”
“You’re on that list for a reason, the abandoning crew need a certain number of officers and you’re part of that pool.”
“I’m not leaving you Jason,” Oz could barely hear her say. The two were in a deadlock, and he couldn’t afford to have a couple’s spat on the bridge, no matter how serious it was.
“We don’t have a choice,” Jason said.
“Why do you think I came here? We’re here because we weren’t happy in the lives we had, we couldn’t make the choices we wanted to,” she shouted, locking her station and getting to her feet. “This isn’t Freeground, you’re not in Fleet Intelligence, and we don’t have to do anything but survive!”
“You know that you’re not needed in the ghost ship strategy, not as an energy field specialist, not aboard the Triton. We need you to help control the evacuees, and I need to know you’re safe. Especially with what you know is coming. With what you know we’ll have to do to survive here.”
“I need you on the Samson, Laura. I’m putting you in command of the Evacuees,” Oz interjected.
“Stay out of this!” Laura burst.
Jason took Laura by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. “You know this isn’t some chauvinistic or sentimentally driven thing. We need you out there.”
Laura was close to tears and red faced, but nodded. “I’m sorry, I know. I wish I didn’t, and I could just argue until it was too late.” She shook her head and took a breath. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
He kissed her briefly and said something Oz didn’t need to hear. She was off the bridge by the time Jason rejoined him at his side.
"Frost, tear that ship to pieces," Oz ordered. The reaction time was so fast it was as if he had pulled the trigger himself. All the able railguns across the top of the ship fired at once, hurling thousands of rounds at the enemy ship just outside the cluster of drifting rock. The blue tracers trailing behind the rounds told Oz that the first load were sink rounds, designed to absorb incredible amounts of energy. That old gunner's planning on taking out her shields before digging in. I'm starting to see why Jake kept him aboard. Oz mused.
Engineering Chief Grady's holographic representation appeared in the command seat behind him. "All my people are out of the new thrusters."
"All right, send anyone you don’t need to the main hangar so they can evacuate.” Oz turned towards the helm, “Get us out of here Panloo. When we're clear of the asteroids take us right past that battlecruiser."