On the farscreen, I saw that the Alwyn fired five torps, almost point-blank. Except point-blank in space combat was something like two hundred kays. Sunni cruiser didn’t return fire.
Sunni cruiser’s shields stopped the first torp salvo. Thought I saw a flicker of orange when the fourth and fifth impacted shields. Less than fifty kays separation when the second salvo went. This time the third salvo went on top of the second.
Sunni’s shields went amber, vibrated green-amber, then dropped through the amber to red.
Attacking cruiser, your shields are gone. Surrender and decelerate, or be destroyed.
That message went out on all bands and was repeated in all of the major system languages. Recognized some, but not the others. Sunni piled on acceleration.
Alwyn fired another spread of torps.
I shifted screens to check the frigate, coming in faster, burning drives and systems. Clear suicide run. Looked like that, anyway. A good ten torps blew out from the frigate. Ten? Half were torps, and half were needleboats.
Torp spread flared out from the Magellan, five headed toward the frigate. Another five followed.
Ten torps? More than half the total load of a corvette.
Launching needles this time. Null grav in bays four and five. That was lower command band.
The frigate’s shields went into the amber, but held, through the first salvo, and even the second. The Sunni torps didn’t even cause the Magellan’s shields to flicker. Five Sunni needleboats spread—small targets for torps.
Lead needleboat from Magellan targeted the middle Sunni needle, one that looked larger on the screen.
Bandit one destroyed. Hold rear shields for debris. Another expanding energy globe appeared where the Sunni cruiser had been. Could make out chunks of matter going in all directions, but most of it was headed toward the area aft of the Magellan. Made sense, laws of motion and energy. Sunni cruiser had been accelerating toward us.
Turned concentration back to the port screens. White energy appeared on the screens where the two needle-boats had been. When it cleared, both needleboats were gone. Sunni had triggered antimatter torp—or the D.S.S. needle-boat had.
Four needleboats against four.
Both the Magellan and the Ahvyn sent a salvo of torps toward the Sunni frigate, the Atwyn’s first. Salvos were synched so that all would impact the frigate’s shields at the same time. They did.
This time, Sunni frigate’s shields went amber and red, and then the frigate went from mass to scattered mass and energy all at once.
Left four Sunni needleboats still headed for the Magellan.
Torp from the Magellan took out one more Sunni needleboat, but the others missed, and kept traveling. Might hit something someday millions of years in the future. Probably wouldn’t.
Ahvyn was moving up on the trailing Sunni needleboat. Sunni didn’t see soon enough. Alwyn’s shields crushed the needleboat—another energy flare from antimatter.
Thing was that when the mag containment went, no matter how, you got all that energy—enough that the Alwyn’s screens flickered amber, just for an instant.
One of our needleboats drilled one of theirs, then twisted behind the Ahvyn’s shields. Wasn’t sure how the pilot managed that. Good thing he did. More antimatter combining with matter and lots of energy flaring everywhere.
I’d missed some of the action, because all the Sunnis were gone, but one of our needles was drifting. No propulsion. No debris around it, though.
Didn’t wait for orders. Navigator Control, this is Porter Tigress, request null grav, bay two, this time.
Porter Tigress, Control, stand by for null gray bay two.
Control, standing by.
Going from full grav to null gee gave my guts a jolt, then passed. Checked all the boards, and pressures.
Porter Tigress, Control, bay doors opening, atmosphere barrier in place.
Control, Porter Tigress, understand bay doors opening. The nanite barrier that kept most of the atmosphere in place was transparent. Meant that everything out beyond the doors was visual black. Switched to enhanced farscreen through the links.
Porter Tigress, Navigator Control, bay doors open, cleared to uncradle and launch.
Control, Porter Tigress, uncradling this time.
Released the cradle blocks, then pulsed the steering jets, just enough, and we were clear.
Porter Tigress, you have one pickup. Needle Four. Navigator Control has no comm with Needle Four.
Control, understand one pickup and no comm. I have Needle Four at two eight one, plus nine.
That’s affirmative.
Screens showed three needleboats returning. If the pilot of the disabled needle survived, we would only lose one needle and one pilot.
Once I was clear of the Magellan’s shields, I cut in the AG drives and boosted toward the drifting needle. Pilot had been disabled while accelerating, and I’d have to overtake, capture, then make a powered return that amounted to an acceleration to catch the ship, and then a decel rendezvous with the Magellan. Needle’s habitabil-ity and power wouldn’t last long enough for a more gradual return.
Tried comm two-three times on the out-run. No response. Still took almost half stan to catch the needle.
Finally shifted to closescreens as I eased the shuttle up aft and alongside the needle. It was tumbling end over end. Had grapples and nanite-sticktights ready.
Figured I’d try with my comm. Could be her direction-als had been fried. Up close she might hear.
Needle Four, this is Porter Tigress. Approaching for recovery your port side. Interrogative status.
… Tigress…no attitude control… suited… hab-itability negative…
After that, I got nothing.
Matched relative velocities with the needle, close enough for what I needed. Planted the first sticktight on the fuselage aft of the cockpit, second went farther aft. Dropped the needle’s end-over-end rotation to half what it had been before the lines parted. Good thing the shuttle massed so much more than the needles. Second set almost stopped the rotation. Biggest problem was that we were still bat-assing away from the Magellan. Couldn’t do anything about that until I had the needle grappled and secure. Checked the return calcs. Had less than twenty before return went negative.
Timed the grapples—and clamped. Slight grinding, and amber flash off on the aft clamps, but I had the needle. Tightened up and ran the return numbers. Then began the turn and power accel. Tried to keep it at two gees. Needles didn’t have internal grav systems, and there was no way to tell what shape the pilot was in. Two was as low as I could go if we wanted to make it back.
Navigator Control, this is Porter Tigress, recovery green. Returning Navigator this time.
Porter Tigress, understand green. Interrogative pilot status.
Navigator Control, limited comm, believe status is amber.
Stet, Tigress, will have med unit at bay.
Tried to get a comm link, even with direct contact. Nothing. Had to hope, but couldn’t do anything but get back to the Magellan.
Took almost a standard hour before we were stabilized off bay four. The last part of the approach had been tricky. Screens were showing fuzz and junk aft of the Magellan, just beyond the shields. Remnants of the cruiser that had plowed into the shields and piled up there. Laws of motion again.