ISD-Blackstar (Bridge)
Captain Lorrange fidgeted with the end of her ponytail with one hand, twirling it in between her fingers.
The fighters are busy with each other, that means we’re safe for now, but we can’t tip the balance like this. Should I send out bombers anyways?
“Ma’am, Warhead just sent out bombers and fighter reinforcements!”
Merril grimly smiled to herself.
Is it inexperience or something else?
“Alert our fighters, standby bomber crews!”
Physically, the Blackstar and the Warhead were the exact same, and neither were fast enough to outmaneuver the other; at least not in the way a starfighter could. A prolonged fight between the two could result in her victory, but with heavy losses, and she can’t just wait and hope for the fighters to cripple the Warhead.
What about Arbya, what does it offer?
“Sensors, tell me about this system.”
“U-uh, one moment ma’am.” The sensor officer looked puzzled and then started working her console, the ship shook slightly.
“A tropical planet, hosting a few small resorts, occasionally universities host a field trip here for the wildlife related professions, or as a diversion for their students.”
“If it’s so nice, why isn’t there more civilization?”
“There’s a system wide hazard warning in place. There are pockets of trionomic gas that escape the planetoid near Arbya, easily avoidable, but highly volatile in contact with weapons fire.” It didn’t quite answer her question, but she was starting to birth an idea, a plan even. She twirled the ends of her hair through her fingers again, and then turned towards the commsman on the right side.
“Launch reserve fighters and bomber squadrons. Tell them to meet us on the other side of the planet Arbya. Then evacuate the ventral hangar and lower decks, tell them to proceed deeper into the ship.”
“Ma’am? Um, Aye!”
“Readjust course, towards the planetoid. Reroute weapons power temporarily, maximum engines, deflectors double rear.”
“Ma’am, are we running?” The helmsman turned and asked, looking troubled.
Is he worried about the fighters, or about being a coward?
“I swear on my honor to you as your Captain, we will never run from a fight, but I will win this one. Now carry out my orders.” Merril said in short fashion, burning her determination into the young man’s eyes.
The next few moments were suspenseful, they were no longer fighting back, appearing every bit as cowardly as her helmsman seemed to think she was. The insides of the ship continued to shake as turbolaser fire crashed into their rear shields, creating a sea of plasma as it splashed off the hemispherical barrier outside.
The planetoid was getting closer and could be seen clearly through the viewport, there were dozens of red splotches across its surface, likely a result of the gas and natural planet activity.
“Ma’am, we’re nearing the planetoid now.”
“Cycle the environmental systems for the ventral hangar and lower levels, we’ll siphon the gas into the ship. But we won’t make it obvious, begin venting drive plasma until I say stop. We’ll get as much as we can on our way around it to the dark side of Arbya.”
“Ma’am, if just one of their weapons hits that gas…”
“That’s what the deflectors are for.”
“Ma’am, if we lose too much plasma, we’ll start to lose engine power.”
“Noted.”
“Captain, I’ve agreed with your decisions thus far. But wouldn’t the Captain of the Warhead see through this? He has the same information you do.” Her executive officer, Mantelli Rousten, who usually stood in the back, had suddenly approached her with a protest.
You too?
“He likely can have it, but I’m counting on his character forcing him into this. He seems to want to use intimidation as his primary tactic, so his bridge crew isn’t likely to interrupt with information.” During her time as a junior officer she had seen Captain’s like that too, even the former captain of the Blackstar had a habit of shutting down his men; which happened to be the lead up to his violent demotion.
“He fired on us first, if we slugged it out our mutual destruction is nearly guaranteed. This tells me he’s arrogant, he believes he can sink us first, or that his fighters can do it for him. He won’t bother to ask, believing this natural phenomenon to be harmless.”
Although, the latter is the same for me regarding damage.
“Lastly, he shot at us for a reason, he wants us. I’ll use that and let him think he has us.” She concluded, her face and posture were confident, but inside she was worried. A mutiny was the last thing she needed.
“Any more concerns?” Merril gazed around the bridge, doing her best to project that confident image she desired. Mantelli seemed to think for a moment, then backed off to the corner, near the defensive station, and nodded. The bridge remained quiet, aside from the beeping of various consoles, and the muffled hum of the environmental systems, until the woman manning the sensor console spoke up.
“Ma’am, gas collection complete, we are now passing the planetoid.”
“Understood, bring us towards the dark side of Arbya.” Merril reiterated her orders. With the additional power from their weapons and lower deck support going into shields and engines, they were faster, and tougher than the Warhead; and those were what they needed to see this through. The ship shuttered, and sparks jumped from some of the consoles around the bridge.
Damage is bleeding through now..
“Shields at thirty percent, ma’am.” The defensive officer in the back said, never taking his eyes off his screen.
“Distance between us and the Warhead?”
“We’ve gained distance, about two kilometers outside their range, but we’re losing speed. We’ll only have a few seconds to ourselves once we’ve reached the dark side of Arbya, Ma’am.” The helmsman replied, with more resolve than he had before.
Looking through the viewport, a large mass had been ‘approaching’ for the last few seconds, plentiful masses of blue and green, with several groups of misty gray blobs adorning the upper hemisphere. It was a pleasant sight, giving Merril the idea of stopping somewhere for shore leave, until a shadow slowly started swallowing the planet. They were losing the light, now hiding behind Arbya.
ISD-Warhead (Bridge)
The Blackstar had turned with its tail between its legs, leaking drive plasma, all the way towards Arbya. They were undoubtably trying to lose the Warhead, but their ships were evenly matched, and whatever lead she had gained she was now losing due to damage. That first unguarded volley had been the key in this battle.
The captain of the Warhead stood right in front of the viewport, his hands crossed behind his back, in a thoughtful pose, and his face held a slight smirk. Confident of his victory.
“It seems the Blackstar’s captain is every bit as cowardly and unworthy as I thought she was. The captain of a star destroyer is no place for an unexperienced woman.” He mused to himself. A couple officers in the data pits looked at each other, and then back down at their computers.
The Blackstar’s leaking drive had been an annoyance, he would have liked to have seen their damaged and smoking body as it ran, but at least he would be able to witness their death when their engines dried up.
“We are now approaching firing range, Sir!” The weapons officer in the back of the bridge announced.”
“Maximum firepower, all guns ahead.”
“Aye, sir!”
