"Get us out of here," Anna said.
I activated our dimensional drive, but the ship simply lurched.
"Much like you, our drive doesn't seem to be doing anything useful," I said.
One of the enemy vessels pointed itself at us and engaged thrusters. The Powerhungry shook again as it rammed us.
That was a foolish strategy for aerial vehicles. It was also effective, the nose pierced through our armor and split open to reveal a hatch through which rushed several soldiers. Their armor was green and white, and they wore helmets in the shape of a falcon's head.
"We've got boarders," I said.
Anna was up from her throne in an instant with her own BioArmor springing up around her in place of her gown. "Keep Hot Stuff on the gun, but get me Mechos and Ophelia."
Anna teleported away. My cameras briefly caught her in the armory grabbing a rifle and a sword, then she was at the site of the hull breach and firing off shots.
The invaders had powers of their own. Their reaction times and speed were well above normal. I teleported Diana and Candice to grab some rifles too, then fetched Ophelia, Mechos, and some of Hot Stuff's other lieutenants to assist. The attackers might be fast, but the same basic principle as the concussion drones applied—fire enough rounds and it doesn't matter.
Having Anna out of the way almost freed me up to try and resolve the outside threat to the ship. Perhaps because of what had happened at our last stop, she’d seemed very intent on no harm coming to the people of this city. I had no such concerns when the health of this ship and crew were on the line.
I aimed at one of the engines keeping the city aloft and took the shot. Under the effects of the beam the metal vaporized, the city dipping for several long seconds before stabilizing as the other engines compensated.
The other ship fired on us, it was ineffective against our armor. In time they might bring us down that way, but the city wasn’t so well protected and I would win this race. I took a second shot and another engine melted.
The ship broke off its attack to hover protectively between us and the city. I shifted my attention back to the boarding party.
38
It was more challenging to get a gist of the battle inside than expected. Candice and Diana were down, which meant I had to shift my focus to the camera feeds instead. Ophelia was down too, although it wouldn't last, and Anna was in the Medbay recovering from what looked like a shotgun blast at close range.
Mechos was still up. With his intense heat they hadn't been able to do much to harm him, but they'd simply responded by leaving him behind. Now, the boarding party was over halfway towards the Command deck.
I started by opening a comm to Mechos. "When you are a living embodiment of fire, and the enemy leaves you behind to go wreck havoc on our ship, you go aboard theirs and burn everything you find."
I didn't need Hot Stuff in the weapons chair anymore. I teleported her into the middle of the enemy formation. Unlike Mechos, she knew how to make full use of her destructive gifts.
The boarders seemed prepared for it. The instant she appeared they were moving away with dizzying speed and by the time her flames roared to life they were out of range.
I'd dealt with Runner, who had similar abilities, by deploying high friction surfaces. If I'd known these particular attackers were coming I'd have prepared something similar.
I could construct some in their path, but not in the time it would take for them to reach the Command deck and my core.
Teleporting was likely my best solution—I could teleport them somewhere. I could try for a holding cell although I wasn't sure they wouldn’t get out before I could seal the field. Alternatively, I could open the ramp on the bottom deck and teleport them to the edge to be sucked out of the ship.
That was tempting, but their speed might save them there as well. It would also deny me corpses to test later. I would like to have a look at their particular power set.
Ratticus, he was my answer to this particular problem. With his ability he'd be able to redirect their speed into something else, and I could use him as my anchor to teleport them to Engineering where the electricity could kill them.
"Rat. You're about to be useful," I said, opening a comm.
"Oh merciful and ever brilliant mechanical overlord of all she surveys, am I not usually useful?" Ratticus asked.
He was, really. There were not many members of the crew I could say that of. I still hadn't made a cookie to properly appeal to rat taste buds. I really must.
"For vermin, you have your moments. You're going to be useful at killing people. They are high speed and wielding shotguns. I'm going to teleport you onto their backs and then to Engineering. Just dampen their velocity and keep yourself from dying, and I'll move you onto the next one,"
"Shotguns?" Ratticus asked, in a voice that was more a squeak.
That didn't really need an answer. I teleported him to the first enemy.
They were running in the moment Ratticus' claws dug into their back, and that forward motion carried over after the teleport to Engineering. Instantly electrocuted, the man’s twitching body plowed into a wall and Ratticus bounced off with a squeak. I didn't detect any physical damage, so I teleported Ratticus to the next.
We took them one at a time. A shotgun blast got fired at a wall once, but otherwise they never really had a chance before they were killed.
By the time I was done I was detecting greatly elevated heat levels inside of their ship. Mechos walked out of the hatch with flames flickering behind him. I teleported Hot Stuff to join him and between them they were able to melt the clamps securing their ship to ours.
In flames, it tumbled away into the tornadoes below.
Anna had been mostly put back together by the time it was done, and I manufactured her another dress before she made a return to the throne room.
Any discomfort from her injuries was hidden as Anna leaned back in her throne once more and had me open a comm channel to the city. She called, "As I was saying, this is Anabella Besari. Queen of the world and one now very pissed-off monarch with a lot of Falcon Guard blood on her hands. I suggest you talk or there will be a lot more."
I got an incoming visual and I put it up on a display. It was a woman with traces of gray in her hair and a quirk to her lips that gave her a permanent, disapproving look.
"Besari, you know you aren't welcome here," said the woman.
"Matron Griles. You haven't withered away yet? How unfortunate. Aefwal, what do you know?" Anna asked.
"Historical city. Lost to the ages. Not here," Matron Griles said. "Or do you think we parked our city on top of it?"
"The rumor is that Lady Sylax has found it."
"Good for her. Another crazy youngster with delusions of rising above her station," Matron Griles said.
"You're quite aware I can kill you all, right?" Anna asked.
Matron Griles sniffed. "If you were going to do that, you'd not have engaged in so much theater. You didn't target us at first, and the name-dropping merely baits a hook. Consider your message passed on, girl—and spare me more of this unpleasant and tedious charade."
The comm link closed.
Anna stared at it. "She hung up on me. She actually hung up on me."
"Well, it can hardly be the first time it has happened, although I suppose it is expected to happen earlier—perhaps as soon as you introduce yourself," I said.
"Get us out of here and send a drone to Reevesport. I need to know if we destroyed it or not," Anna said.
"No killing spree here?" I asked.
"Oh so tempting, but no, I think we've killed enough of them today. Let's move on."
39
We made a brief flicker of an appearance near Reevesport, just long enough for me to deploy a drone before we returned to hovering in the air above Aelfwal.