Page 16 of Black Star

Chapter Six

“Keep heavy fire on that ramp! It’s the only way in or out!” Damon fought through the pain. His right leg and hip hurt, but he’d live. If he didn’t lead his men in this fight, they’d all very likely die. They were a great crew, but they weren’t terribly experienced.

Except for Viktor. And he had to keep the cyborg vampire out of this or he would die. That wasn’t acceptable to Damon.

The men of the Black Star fought fiercely, but they couldn’t afford to lose another man. The Black Star was vastly outmanned, but they still held the advantage in firepower.

“Why haven’t the temporary bulkheads automatically engaged, Captain?” Juanas, a young man from Sword Breaker , fired off several shots, his automatic comm unit keying up when he spoke inside his airtight suit. “If that hole was sealed, we could move away and blast those bastards into oblivion. Not to mention fighting with no atmosphere and no gravity ranks up there with eating yassat turds.”

“Because they’ve stationed two men directly under the breach. The computer won’t engage until they move. A safety feature I could do without right now.” Damon repositioned himself, braced against a support beam and fired again. Juanas was right. Damon thought he’d rather eat the yassat turds.

“Did the women all make it?”

“All but one. Last I saw of her, she had on a mask, but I don’t know if she got a suit.”

Both men fired at the gaping hole in the side of the Black Star . They scored direct hits on the two men, but the energy bolts were absorbed by some kind of force field. Damon didn’t think it surrounded them. The energy the shield couldn’t absorb was bouncing off, sometimes behind the second guy where his shield couldn’t reach. The odds were, they were frontal shield only. Those would be less difficult to maintain.

“What do we do?” Juanas looked at him like Damon remembered looking at his commanding officer when he was Juanas’s age. “They’ve made our numbers. Any attempt to rush them from the flank would be instantly recognized.”

“I know.” Damon looked around him, desperately needing something to give them an edge.

Viktor laid a hand on his shoulder. The look in his eyes said he was ready to sacrifice himself. The thought chilled Damon to the bone.

A female voice with a strange accent commed in. “Lay me some cover fire.” It wasn’t one he recognized. “I can make it behind them through that blow hatch.” Damon looked around to see the one woman he hadn’t accounted for. She had indeed managed to get her suit on and she moved with the grace and efficiency of someone who had worn a suit just like it many times.

“I take it you’ve fought in deep space before?”

“A time or two. The name’s Diamond. Cover me, and I’ll see what I can do to help.”

“That’s suicide,” Viktor hissed. “If they catch you, you’ll be a sitting duck.”

She turned to Viktor. “You have a better idea, vampire?”

Damon saw the tiny tic in Viktor’s cheek. Most likely, it wasn’t that she’d called him “vampire” like he was a bug she’d like to squash, but the fact that he didn’t have a better plan.

The woman nodded her head smartly. “Good. Just keep them focused on you. I’ll do the rest.”

Damon wasn’t sure Viktor didn’t have the right of it, but he didn’t have a better idea, either. Damon threw everything he had into their defense. Three enemy soldiers dropped almost instantly -- another followed a few seconds later. Still, they kept coming.

“Viktor, we need to know how many people they have. Can the Black Star give you any idea of their troop strength?”

“She estimates eighty to one hundred, but there’s another carrier on the edge of sensor range that’s capable of carrying at least a thousand more.”

“If they’re looking for us, that’s a bit of overkill, don’t you think? A thousand men to take one ship?”

“If that ship is looking for us, my guess is their intention is to capture the Black Star . The carrier is designed to transport ships as well as troops. It’s empty.”

Damon winced. “How close?”

“If they follow their present course, they’ll be here in forty-seven standard minutes.”

“Damn.” Damon thought for a second, trying to figure out the best way to help the woman currently saving their asses. “Everyone. Concentrate your fire at the top of the bulkhead. If we can get it hot enough, the laser fire should melt the titanium alloy and give them something else to worry about.”

It didn’t take long for bits of hot metal to start falling on top of the two underneath it. One of them jumped back with a yelp, but another took his place. The new man extended his shield to cover his head, but it left his feet and ankles exposed. Damon fired several shots at the guy’s boots, causing him to jump, but otherwise did little damage.

“Damon.” Viktor gripped his arm. “Have you noticed the firing isn’t as thick from their end?”

“Now that you mention it, yes.”

“Something’s happening outside.” Viktor shook his head slightly. “ Black Star says there’s more than one female outside. The second one’s Phoebe.”

Ranier snorted. “Figures.”

Damon gave the young man a sharp look. “I doubt she knows how to put on a suit, much less walk outside a space vessel.”

“Are you really sure about that, my friend?” Viktor said quietly. “Do you really know anything about her at all? I’ve learned to trust Black Star . If her sensors tell her it’s Phoebe, then it is.”

Damon couldn’t respond. He didn’t know Phoebe. Not like he should have before falling in love. Of course, in matters of the heart, one couldn’t always help the little things. None of it could be helped. At the moment, the only thing he could do was try to protect her as much as he could.

He was about to tell Viktor it didn’t matter -- all that mattered was getting out of this mess and back to Asalian space -- when the ship was rocked by a nearby explosion. Grabbing an open panel door, Damon reached for Ranier but missed. The man would sail straight to the gaping hole in the ship if someone didn’t catch him. Either way -- into enemy hands, or into open space -- would be a death sentence. Damon craned his neck to find Viktor. The vampire had used his cybernetic enhancements to drive his hand into the inner bulkhead and hold on tight as he snagged Ranier before he sailed by.

Once they all regained their equilibrium, the firing continued until one of the men behind the shield, under the bulkhead breach, was yanked off his feet. His tether apparently cut or otherwise disengaged from its anchor, he floated through space, flailing his arms and legs. The second simply slumped over and bumped into the shield from the back. It wasn’t long before he, too, floated off into space.

Damon called a cease-fire and waited. “What’s happening, Viktor? The women? The rest of the attackers?”

Viktor held up a hand while he processed the information. Viktor’s link with the ship wasn’t very strong yet, and it took time to understand what the ship was trying to tell him.

“The explosion was on the enemy vessel. It seems one of our girls planted an explosive device on the outer hull. There’s only a handful of them left, and their ship’s completely disabled.”

“What about the women, Viktor?” Damon gritted the words out. He could give a flying fuck about anything else at this point. He’d deal with it later.

“They’re both alive --” Viktor moved to the compartment beside the hatch where the woman had exited and grabbed two short tether lines, “-- but they’re both injured. Phoebe not so bad as the other woman, but they both need help.”

“I’ll go with you.” Damon moved toward the gaping hole in his ship. “Just let me shut down those force shields and let Black Star make temporary repairs. Has Sword Breaker gotten here yet?”

“Just pulling alongside us now, Sir.” Viktor tossed him a tether when he pushed off in his direction. “ Black Star has apprised them of the situation. They’re awaiting your instructions.”

“Have them ready their medical unit. They’re better equipped than we are.”

Viktor nodded. “Understood.”

“Let’s go.”

“You concentrate on finding the women. I’ll keep us attached to the ship.”

With Viktor’s strength, Damon didn’t doubt for a moment he could keep them both from floating off into space. “Keep me posted on their condition.”

“Will do.”

Once they got around the hull breach, Damon had a chance to look at the vastness surrounding them. He didn’t like being so exposed on the threshold of something that empty. It was strangely peaceful, though. The only thing keeping him grounded with reality was Viktor’s slight tug on the tether every now and then as they moved together.

“There’s one of them!” Damon had to restrain himself from shoving off from the ship in the direction of the body gently tumbling in space. Instead, he gave the gentlest of pushes, floating out to the end of his tether.

“That should be the other woman,” Viktor commed. “Phoebe is near the hull breach just outside the temporary barrier. She’s fine, but running out of oxygen. Tie on to this one quickly and let’s get Phoebe.”

Viktor pulled them back and they went after Phoebe. She had just enough oxygen to keep her conscious until they got back to a pressurized area.

Damon hurried to get everyone to the medical unit and checked out. He was worried about Phoebe -- so much he felt like his heart was going to explode -- but there were many more who had been injured in this attack. All of his crew were important to him.

“ Sword Breaker is opening her aft cargo bay doors for us.” The smaller ship had pulled dangerously close, but the two ships seemed to move like dancers who had anticipated each other’s movements for a very long time.

The four of them floated into the bay and into an airlock. A few seconds later, the airlock pressurized and the crew of Sword Breaker helped carry the two women to the medical unit. Damon lost his grip on Phoebe. He yelled her name, desperate to get to her, but Viktor held him back. She made eye contact with him and gave him a weak smile as they whisked her off. It would have to do for now.

Damon stood there with Viktor. Just the two of them remained. Damon sank to the deck, his knees unable to support him any longer. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“I know, my friend. You love her.”

“Yes, Viktor, more than I’m comfortable admitting to just anyone, but it’s not only that. How many did we lose? I don’t even know. In all my years, I’ve never lost a crewman before.”

Viktor reached his hand to Damon. “That’s why you’re a good commander, Damon. Men the Empire has in command now don’t care about the lives lost, only the power gained.” He pulled Damon to his feet. “We’ve got to get back to the Black Star . I think something’s happening.”

“Like what?” Damon had a sinking feeling he knew. He also had an even worse feeling he knew why. It was the only explanation.

“That carrier is now on an intercept course and will be here in less than ten standard minutes. We’ve got no time to spare.”

The two men got permission to take a shuttle and headed back to the Black Star . It was time for the most feared ship in the known universe to earn her reputation.