Chromium

13.7

First draft

For a brief instant the bridge went dark, then a blue light spread throughout the room when Reyes shouted, "Battle stations!"

There was a flurry of movement as the members of the crew watched the approaching battleship with unconcealed apprehension. Its size was much smaller than the Collective cruisers, but it didn't make much difference in this case. They were completely outclassed.

"They are powering up their weapons, captain." Mitchell informed them.

"Raise shields to maximum!" Reyes tapped on his commlink. "Omen, ready to..."

"Omen's vitals are elevated, captain!" Sarah shouted. "He can't use the chair!"

The bridge fell silent. Dia looked at the red moving dot on the radar, and then at ship outside the window. It was closing the distance quickly. They were almost within cannons range.

Reyes clicked his tongue. "Hail them, Mitchell."

Mitchell fiddled with her console for a while. "They are not responding, captain. Their weapons are..."

The ship's floor shook when a stream of light hit the Nostromus like a huge hammer. Dia's body was thrown forward, and she had to grab the chair before her to break her fall.

"Shields at forty-three percent." Mitchell briefed in that computerized voice. "They are launching torpedoes, captain."

"All engine, reverse full!" Reyes shouted. "Ready to launch countermeasures!"

"They are chasing us, captain." Mitchel said. "Impact in thirty-two seconds."

Reyes ground his jaw. "Sound collision."

The Doppler effect of the siren echoed through the ship.

"Impact in fifteen seconds. Should we launch countermeasures?" Mitchell asked.

"Not yet." Reyes replied, his lips drawn in a taut line as he observed the radar.

The torpedoes were close, incredibly close, the radar pings reverberating through the walls of the bridge.

"Impact in ten, nine, eight..."

"Launch countermeasures!" Reyes ordered. "Full left rudder!"

The Nostromus swerved violently and two small drones, expressly devised to confound the torpedoes' targeting system, were expelled from the tubes. They were so close to the ship that they worked exactly like they were designed to, their energy signatures confounding with the Nostromus'.

"All hands!" Reyes said. "Brace for impact!"

Four large warheads reached the drones simultaneously, and when the internal magnetic field separating matter and anti-matter collapsed on impact, a bright flash of light followed. The Nostromus was just at the edge of the blast radius, but it was still affected. The entire ship teetered, the shockwave pushing it off course.

"Shields at twenty-two percent." Mitchell said. "Captain, according to my analysis, they'll switch to ion torpedos this time."

Reyes cocked an eyebrow at her, regarding her silently for a second, and then shouted. "Full stop!"

The ship came to a halt. The dazed crewmembers glanced at Reyes, their startled gasps causing Dia's gut to tighten.

"Reyes, why are we stopping?" She asked the question on everyone's mind. "We're faster than them!"

"Incoming torpedos, captain." Mitchell added.

However, Reyes didn't answer them. His gaze was locked on the radar, his eyes blinking fast as he muttered something under his breath.