Starcrossed - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,47

carefully to herself.

“Coming up on microburst window, Captain.” Krysta watched her screen, as did Ginny.

“Henny, I want you to come out shooting when we burst through the middle of their formation. I’ll line you up for a simultaneous port and starboard shot. Can you handle the jit controls?”

“No sweat, ma’am.” Henny was as calm and professional as always, though her eyes glittered with battle fire. “Get me close, and I’ll fry their asses.”

“Disable if possible,” Ginny instructed. “Kill only if necessary.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

“All right then.” Ginny looked around at her crew—her friends. “We get one shot at this. Let’s make it count. Krys, count us down.”

As they’d done many times before, the women of the Sarasota acted in unison to save all their lives. Krysta gave Ginny the signal, and she hit the afterburners for a hop into the midst of the three-ship formation. The moment they were clear, Henny hit the guns. Port and starboard broadsides took out half the weapons arrays of two of the ships and knocked gaping holes in their hulls. They were out of the fight for at least as long as it took to stabilize their hulls, which would most likely take hours.

Henny could easily pick them off now, and if they’d still been at war, Ginny would have given the order, but as things stood, she didn’t want to take any more lives. There would be justice for these men, but it would be Tigh—God willing—who meted it out. All Ginny had to do was disable them long enough to get her own ship to safety, but there was still one fully functioning warship now powering up for a counter-strike.

“We’re clear. Henny, track weapons. I’ll try to give you a vector to the third ship’s engines.” The two disabled ships weren’t going anywhere fast, but they still had a few weapons. Ginny would have to keep clear of what they had left while engaging that third bogie.

But this one was craftier than the other two. Or maybe, it was just because this captain had a few minutes to prepare. Ginny had lost the element of surprise, but she’d also evened the odds—as long as she stayed away from the functional flanks of the ships they’d already disabled. It took some tricky flying, but this ship handled like a dream. The more she flew it, the easier it became, and she started to enjoy the feeling of almost being one with the ship as she maneuvered after the leftover ambusher.

She chased him away from the other two, trying to get him out into the open so she wouldn’t have to worry as much about those semi-functional ships. He was crafty though. The other captain refused to blink when she played chicken with him. Ginny was forced up and over, taking strafing fire to her belly as she sailed past.

But then, Henny pulled one out of her magic hat and sent a torpedo up the tailpipe of the enemy ship as they passed.

“How in hell did you manage that trajectory, Hen?” Ginny was so surprised, she voiced the thought even as she dove past and out of range of the enemy beam weapons. She had to get into his blind spot to avoid projectiles.

“Captain,” Henny was grinning, “this ship has a few unexpected abilities. Rotational and extendable weapons pods, for one thing.” She flicked a few switches. “Sorry I didn’t figure this out before. I’ll have that third bogie down in just…” They all watched a flight of torpedoes speed out from their ship at an impossible angle toward the retreating enemy. “…about…” The torpedoes were going to make it, though the other captain did his best to turn. His ship was too slow. “…now.”

Screens lit with the explosion as multiple targets on the enemy ship went up in flames quickly extinguished by the vacuum of space.

“I think that’s done him, Captain.” Henny checked her screens, as did the others.

“Confirmed, Captain,” Krysta said with satisfaction. “All three bogies are dead in the water.”

“Com?” Ginny asked as she kept back from the battlefield. She had a few choices for what to do now. She pondered what the wisest course of action would be, but much depended on what the enemy captains did next.

“Signal tones only, Captain,” Tiggy replied, “but on a sub-channel. They’re looking for their man.”

Ginny thought through her options, deciding on a course of action.

“Signal them back.”

“Ma’am?” Tiggy turned to look at her.

“You heard me, Tig. Put us on wide lens. I want them