[color=a2d39c][h1][center][u][i]Captain Maria Thorne[/i][/u][/center][/h1][/color]
[hr]
[i]"Lass! Tha' latest blast was from th' bridge! Git down t' the engine room, backup controls are 'ere an' ready! Ah'm on damage control! Doc, meet me t'ere! Everyone else, stand clear!"
[/i]

Maria cursed loudly, quickly setting the turret on automatic firing and literally sliding down the ladder, barely touching the ground before she started bolting through the ship. Automatic wasn't nearly as accurate as having an actual person man the gun, but it would keep the pirates busy until she got down to the engine room. Every fiber of her being wanted to run in the opposite direction to the bridge. Kev and Andrea had been up there, and to say she was worried was an understatement. Your crew was the closest thing you had to family out here in the black. They were the ones who patched you up when you got shot, who kept you fed, watched your back, and gave you a hand when you needed it. They were the few people that Maria trusted, and if anything happened to them, it would break her heart. 

But they didn't have time for sentiment right now. The captain knew that Ansgar would update her on anything important, so she just focused on keeping them all alive. She reached the backup controls as quickly as humanly possible, and almost immediately the ship lurched, dodging a bolt fired from the opposing ship. The Veritas was back in motion. Without the aid of the glass shield of the bridge, Maria was having to rely completely on sensors and radar as the eyes and ears to the battle outside. It was different, but she adapted quickly, and soon had them firing shots back at the pirates from the Veritas' canons. 

[i]
"Lass, th' bridge is shot. Complete loss without dry dockin' th' boat. Andrea's down, reckon fer good. We'll know w'en doc gets 'ere. I'm movin' back t' t'e engine room after doc gets up 'ere. Ain' nothin' I can do 'bout this rig't now."[/i]

Well, that answered that. Maria clung to a small whisper of hope that maybe Andrea would be fine once Kai tended to her, but Ansgar was no fool, and no doubt had a realistic assessment of things. With no hope of having the bridge back in time to finish the battle, Maria decided it would be best to get familiar with the backup controls real fast. They were going to need all the skill and precision the crew had to offer if they were going to survive this. 

"Understood," she replied simply. Hopefully Ansgar would be able to do something to get their shields up and running again once he got down here, but for now she was going to have to do her best to keep them from taking any more damage. They already had one hull breach; they didn't need another to worry about. Not to mention the opposing ship was moving to board them. 

Maria abruptly remembered the small fighter that had dropped into the battle before all hell broke loose, and searched on the scanners to see where they were. If the pirates had a fighter, it was possible they had more ships standing by as well, which was a thought that Maria rather wished she didn't have since it practically doubled her current stress level. They couldn't survive anymore ships. They were [i]barely[/i] going to survive these two. It took her a couple of moments, but she did eventually manage to spot the tiny dot that indicated the fighter. Much to the captain's surprise, it wasn't circling the Veritas. It was circling the [i]pirates[/i], and as Maria watched, it began to fire on their canons, draining their shields and managing to take out one canon. She took this opportunity to fire the Veritas' canons, aiming for the pirates' remaining big gun. Maria also simultaneously hailed the fighter. 

"Unidentified vessel, this is captain Maria Thorne of the Veritas Lux Mea. Please respond." 

A moment passed, and then a female voice crackled over the link. 

"Hiya captain!" the voice said. "This is the Bygul. I was passing by, heard some chatter, recognized the name of the ship, and noticed you seemed to be in a bit of a predicament. I thought I'd lend a hand." 

"Glad to hear that you're friendly," Maria answered. That was the understatement of the century. "We've taken quite a beating so far. How's that tiny fighter of yours holdin' up?" 

"Oh... You know. It's a bucket of bolts, but it hasn't fallen apart yet. Imma try and take out their docking clamps for you guys, since it looks like they're trying to board. Some cover fire would be nice, if you don't mind." 

"I've gotcha." 

Maria did her best to keep her promise, firing heavily on the enemy and trying to miss the Bygul. Thankfully, the pilot of the Bygul seemed to be fairly experienced, and did a good job of keeping out of the way of the canons while still getting her part of the job done too. The turret too was doing better than expected. Now that the pirates' shields were down, the playing field was leveled, and the fighter being on their side was starting to change the balance of this battle. The captain wasn't exactly optimistic, since their new "friend" could easily turn on them any second if the pirates bargained with her, but they definitely stood a better chance now than they had a few moments ago. Slowly but surely, the Veritas was starting to win.