Laceeya had always liked fog. It provided a cozy, private atmosphere, and held a sense of mystery and beauty. Though the clouds of the nebula weren’t composed of microscopic drops of water, it emulated the same sensation.
But it didn’t feel nearly as cozy here. Not with a group of enemy warships following the Ethereal like a pack of hungry nighthunters, and some monstrous creature skulking in the clouds.
The Ethereal continued driving onward through the haze, carefully navigating between the expansive asteroid field at the best speed it could manage given the countless obstacles. Starfighters returned to the hangar, docking with the racks that they hung on. At the bow of the ship, the large doors to the hangar slid shut, locking together and sealing the fighters safely inside.
Minutes crept past, with the creature showing up at the edge of sensor range a few times. Yet in none of these instances did it approach close enough to be visible. Laceeya took a deep breath, anxiously rubbing her fingers over the seam of her uniform pants. It was eerie, she thought, some huge creature lurking in the fog of the nebula. Was it hunting the Ethereal? It was a frightening thought. Her eyes flicked around the bridge. Though it was subtle, Laceeya could tell some of the bridge crew were on edge.
Stepping away from the viewport, Laceeya walked to the rear of the bridge, where there were a number of consoles for secondary systems and various other operations. She stopped beside the console of a young man, who was fidgeting uncomfortably in his chair.
“Commodore.” He said as he noticed Laceeya, straightening in his seat.
“Ensign Xerlain,” Laceeya said, inclining her head in greeting. “Engines looking okay?” She gestured at the console in front of him, which displayed detailed readouts of the thrusters.
“Starboard main engine took some damage, and is running at 89% efficiency, the other two are both at 99%.” Xerlain reported. “The engine crew is working to see if there’s anything they can do to increase efficiency.”
“Good, thank you.” Laceeya said, pausing for a moment before continuing. “We’ve been through much worse than this, Ensign. That Grysk destroyer was three times longer than whatever this creature is that’s out there. And it’s not armed to the teeth with spectrum lasers and missiles. Though it is likely armed with teeth.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Xerlain replied, somewhat reluctantly. “I suppose you’re right.”
“Do you trust all of the bridge crew?” She asked him.
“Of course, Commodore,” Xerlain said, a puzzled expression on his face. “They’re all incredible officers and crew members, and I trust each of them with my life.”
Laceeya nodded in agreement. “They are. Which means you’re an excellent officer as well, I wouldn’t have a bridge full of great crew members with one poor one. So trust in yourself, and trust your fellow crew to get us through this.” She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
“Yes ma’am,” Xerlain said more confidently. “Thank you, Commodore.”
“Good. Keep it up, Ensign.” Laceeya said.
“Yes ma’am, I will.”
There were still no signs of the creature, as Laceeya strolled around the rear of the bridge. She offered reassurance or encouragement to crew members who she thought looked on edge. It was completely understandable to be afraid, she thought, after all she was afraid herself. A huge serpent-like creature hunting them among the murky clouds of the nebula was terrifying, and unlike almost anything they had faced.
After completing her trip around the bridge, Laceeya returned to the front. Her words of support had helped her feel a bit more confident herself. She stopped by the weapons console.
“Commodore.” Shyka said. She gestured to the viewport. “As dangerous as it is, the nebula sure is pretty. But being chased by the Kwenast and Grysk and hunted by a giant serpent thing kind of ruins it.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure, Shyka?” Laceeya asked sardonically, lifting an eyebrow.
Shyka patted her pants as if to look for something in her pockets. She lifted her hands and shrugged. “Must’ve left it at home, ma’am.”
Laceeya smiled and rolled her eyes. “Maybe you can remember to bring it next time we get chased through here.” Laceeya suggested.
“I’ll be sure to do so.” Shyka replied with a sideways smirk. She surveyed the display in front of her. “We’re having some problems with the front portside dual heavy turbolaser. I got confirmation that techs are checking to see what they can do.”
“Understood,” Laceeya acknowledged. “Let me know if you receive any updates on that.”
“Will do, ma’am.” Shyka responded. She tapped her lower lip in thought. “What do you think the Kwenast fighters are holding back for? They still have at least two squadrons, and they’re fast enough to catch us. A few of their gunboats could catch us too.”
“I assume they’re not confident that they could defeat us without capital ship support,” Laceeya explained. “They’d definitely do some damage but we’d be able to destroy the fighters and gunships by themselves. And most of their capital ships appear to be similar in speed to the Ethereal, so unless we slow down they’ll remain out of range.”
“That makes sense,” Shyka said thoughtfully. “So they’re probably waiting for a situation where they can bring their capital ships in on the fight.“
“Probably,” Laceeya agreed. “And last we saw that Grysk frigate is still part of the group. So the Grysks are probably thinking up some scheme to slow us down.”
“Right.” Shyka sighed. “And the Grysk frigate has the gravity well generator?”
Laceeya nodded. “Seems likely.” She confirmed sourly. “I doubt they’d trust the Kwenast with it. You know how secretive they are about their tech.”
Captain Harax wandered over to where they were conversing. “Commodore, Senior Lieutenant.” He said, inclining his head to both of them in greeting.
“Captain.” Laceeya said in response, nodding in return.
“Commodore!” Frenara spoke up suddenly, his voice strained. “That creature is back.” As he finished speaking, the monster appeared out of the haze, charging straight at the Ethereal.
“Shyka, fire!” Laceeya snapped, as the huge creature moved through the clouds of the nebula, snaking between asteroids towards them. “And take evasive action.”
“On it.” Shyka said. Turbolasers and laser cannons lanced out at it, but the creature shrugged them off, reaching the Ethereal and opening its huge mouth wide.
The Ethereal initiated a turn, but it was too late. The monster’s jaws stretched open and clamped around the port side of the ship between the two broadside heavy turbolasers, ramming it with a huge jolt. Laceeya was thrown to the floor, managing to catch herself. She hastily stood back up, the ship shuddering as the creature thrashed. Thankfully the Ethereal’s armor was strong and thick, and with the assistance of the shields was withstanding the immense pressure of the creature’s bite.
“Fire everything you can at that thing,” Laceeya said to Shyka, her voice slightly shaky, as she gave Harax a hand as he got up from where he’d been thrown. Throwing a quick glance around the bridge, she surveyed to confirm that everyone else had been seated and seemed okay. “Aim for its eyes if you can. And load proton torpedoes.”
“Yes ma’am,” Shyka replied tightly, swallowing. “Should I try launching the torpedoes?” She asked, remaining faced towards her console as she frantically keyed in commands.
Laceeya shook her head. “No,” She decided. “It’s right on top of the launch tubes and we can’t risk them detonating that close to the hull.”
“Yes ma’am.” Shyka repeated.
The massive creature wriggled as it tried to bite into the ship, an indentation forming in the hull metal where its teeth and mouth had dug in. Green laser bolts shot out at the animal, targeting its eyes. Flashes of light where the bolts impacted scorched its skin, the barrage concentrated on the creature’s head.
Laceeya chewed her lower lip anxiously, clenching her fists in helplessness. She watched the creature’s tail thrash back and forth as laser blasts struck its body and head. She swallowed nervously in a futile effort to quell her suddenly dry throat.
With a smaller jolt the animal released its bite and turned, thrashing in anger from the hailstorm of laser bolts. It’s long body snaked around behind it, whipping its tail into the side of the Ethereal. The end of the huge tail slapped the body of the ship, hitting the front broadside turbolaser on the starboard side, crumpling one of the barrels like a twig. Green laser fire rained down on the creature as it dove out of sight, fleeing into the fog.
The bridge was left in stunned silence.
“That was…intense.” Shyka finally muttered.
“Agreed,” Laceeya managed, her voice wavering slightly. “Shyka, be ready to fire those torpedoes the moment you have the shot, if that thing returns.”
“Will do ma’am.”
Peering out at the Ethereal’s bow, Laceeya could see the indentation in the shape of the animal’s mouth. “Captain, how extensive is the damage from that thing’s attack?” She asked.
Harax had pulled out and was studying his datapad, his brow furrowed and eyes narrowed as he reviewed the status of systems on the ship. “Thankfully the shields took the brunt of the attack,” He reported. “No major casualties. As I’m sure you saw, Commodore, the hull took significant damage, but it held and was not punctured. The starboard side sustained additional damage, with the front broadside dual turbolaser having received a hit, leaving only one of the barrels functional.” He paused, glancing down at his datapad. “A couple targeting sensors were knocked out as well.”
“Understood,” Laceeya said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Captain.” The most important thing was that the crew was all okay. Sometimes she wondered if she was too attached, too close, to those under her command. She knew the answer was yes, and she understood that was a major reason for why she struggled so much with any of their deaths. Many commanders distanced themselves from those they commanded, to try and prevent pain when someone inevitably died.
Laceeya didn’t seem to be able to do that, nor did she want to. Unfortunately, the result of that was that she personally felt each and every death. It was hard to cope with. But she always did her best to make sure that didn’t impact her ability to command.
“Of course, ma’am.” Harax inclined his head toward her, and returned to the rear of the bridge.
Laceeya took a few deep breaths, looking around the bridge. The crew was displaying some of the same fear and anxiety she currently felt, but they seemed focused and determined. As she expected of course. She couldn’t ask for a better crew. Each and every one of them was diligent and loyal.
Over the years they’d worked together, fighting in the grueling depths of the Chaos, they’d formed powerful bonds and immense loyalty to each other. Laceeya’s attitude and command style supported camaraderie. The crew possessed unwavering trust in each other, in their fellow crew members that had transformed to be their brothers and sisters and siblings.
However, they needed their commander to remain resolute and steadfast.
“Whatever that thing is,” Laceeya called out, raising her voice so the whole bridge could hear. “We’ll be ready if it comes back.” She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. “It’s okay if you’re afraid. I’m afraid too. In fact, I’d be worried if you weren’t at least a little scared of a 500 meter space serpent. But look around you and remember that we’re all fighting for each other, and we’ll get through this together.”
Outside, a few small asteroids bounced harmlessly off the hull, sent to drift lazily away.. The Ethereal continued its arduous trek through the nebula, navigating between the seemingly infinite sea of asteroids. Laceeya stood before the viewport, staring out into the murky clouds at the asteroids that appeared to materialize from them.
“Commodore,” Frenara called out, getting Laceeya’s attention.
Walking over beside his console, Laceeya clasped her hands behind her back, and looked over Frenara’s shoulder at the sensor display.
“Still picking up a couple of Kwenast fighters to our rear, ma’am,” Frenara told her, a small frown on his face. “Just at the edge of sensor range. But I’m getting new readings on fighters moving to either side of us, keeping the same distance.”
“Understood,” Laceeya said, grimacing. The fighters carefully positioning themselves around the Ethereal was concerning. “I guess they’re still tracking us and waiting for the opportunity to bring their capital ships into play, but they must have something planned if their fighters are on the move. Do we know how long this asteroid field lasts?” Laceeya asked.
Frenara shook his head. “Things are always shifting in the nebula,” He explained. “So there’s really no way of mapping something like this. Plus the nebula is essentially unexplored in the first place.”
Laceeya nodded in understanding, pressing her lips together. “I assume they’ll try to cut us off with their starfighters and hope their capital ships will be able to catch up.” She said grimly, an ominous feeling settling over her. It felt like they were walking into a trap, but they didn’t really have any other option.
Sure enough, the specks of starfighters and gunships on the display could be seen moving ahead of the Ethereal, matching its path as it methodically twisted its way through the maze of the asteroid field.
“Captain,” Laceeya said, raising her voice so Harax could hear from his position in the rear of the bridge. “Go ahead give the order to launch fighters. The Kwenast and Grysks are planning something, and I want them out there and ready.” She bit the inside of her cheek. The energy required to navigate through the asteroid field would eventually wear on the pilots, and a particularly extended period of doing so could hold the potential for them to tire and lose their edge in combat. It was an unfortunate risk that had to be taken.
But the same could be said for the Kwenast, and their fighters had remained active since they initially deployed from their mothership.
“Understood, Commodore.” Harax confirmed, passing the order down to the fighter commander.
The bow hangar doors glided open on their tracks, exposing the blue glow of the magnetic containment field. One by one the seven remaining starfighters launched, the tracked system of racks rapidly sliding to line one up at a time. In 20 seconds, all seven fighters were in space.
A feeling of dread filled Laceeya watching the TIEs form up outside the Ethereal. The fighters were faster and more agile than that huge animal, but still…all it would take was a flick of the tail to smash a fighter to scrap if it returned.
The Ethereal was plowing on through the haze when the marks of enemy starfighters began to appear at the edges of the sensor range. “Commodore, enemy fighters are closing in all around us. ” Frenara warned, his face tense.
Cursing internally to herself, Laceeya examined the display. “Stand by with turbolasers and laser cannons,” She said. Looking at the display, she could tell the fighters were attempting to cut them off, coming in from all angles. “Apoyarp, angle us down.”
They gave confirmation of her orders, and the Ethereal dove, heading straight down from its previous path. The asteroids were more tightly packed in this area, Laceeya noticed, likely the reason the enemy had chose this time to attack.
In the sensor display, Kwenast starfighters began approaching from the red and purple fog, circling widely around the Ethereal. “Shyka, open fire when they’re in range,” Laceeya ordered. “What are they waiting for?” She murmured to herself, as the fighters continued to circle around the light cruiser, remaining out of range.
Answering her question, the ring of fighters began opening fire with spectrum lasers, and each of the small craft fired a pair of missiles. Other ordinance streamed from the couple remaining heavier assault fighters, adding to the barrage. All of it was aimed at the closely packed asteroids, precisely targeting them in a sphere around the Ethereal, breaking off chunks of rock. Laceeya realized their goal, an ominous feeling settling over her like a stormy cloud.
The fighters were spread out precisely to encompass the area, with groups of them focusing their fire to blow apart asteroids, causing the debris to fly out into the already relatively narrow gaps between them. Fragments of asteroids careened wildly into each other, slamming together and ricocheting. A rough shell of chaotic tumbling rock enclosed the Ethereal.
They were cut off, with no clear exit.
“Slow us down, Lieutenant,” She said urgently, as the Kwenast starfighters formed up and began closing in, swapping their target to unleash their spectrum lasers on the Ethereal and its TIE escort. Laceeya had to admit, she was very impressed by the coordination of the Kwenast, getting and keeping themselves in position and springing their trap, all while navigating through the asteroid field.
It was surely the Grysks who had devised such a devious trap, Laceeya thought. They must have planned it and sent the Kwenast to carry it out.
“We’ll be a sitting avian in here, Commodore,” Harax said tightly as he walked up beside Laceeya. “We have to blast a path out.”
Laceeya grimaced, knowing that if they focused all their firepower on breaking through the wall of rock that bound them in and tried to make their escape, the Kwenast warships would catch up before then and pound the Ethereal’s aft where it had less defenses.
Compressing her lips together, Laceeya nodded. “I agree,” She said. “But we can’t spare diverting enough lasers from defense and present our engines as a target. It’s far more difficult and will take much more time to blast our way out of here than it was for them to block us in. Apoyarp, bring us around and follow the edge of their net.”
“Yes ma’am.”
A bright ball of fire marked the destruction of a Kwenast fighter as a blast from one of Ethereal’s quad laser cannons found its mark.
“Picking up Kwenast warships entering sensor range,” Frenara spoke up, his voice tense. “They’re heading in our direction.”
It was as expected, Laceeya thought, she’d assumed the whole purpose of the elaborate plan was so they could bring their capital ships against the Ethereal.
“At least there’s some cover in here,” Shyka muttered.
“Way to be positive, Shyka.” Laceeya said absently, focusing on the view outside. A pair of TIEs were approaching a group of Kwenast fighters in a head to head pass. A burst from a TIE Avenger shot from its wingtip laser cannons, hulling a Kwenast fighter and ripping it apart. The Avenger rolled to the left, dodging spectrum laser fire. Another enemy ship burst as lasers found it, and the TIE Defender that destroyed it juked around a return blast. It was hit, but its strong shields soaked up the damage. Then the pair of TIEs were past the enemy ships, heading towards a second group of Kwenast fighters as the few left alive from the first headed towards the Ethereal.
Seated in the snug cockpit of his TIE Defender, Major Safiram glanced over at the Kwenast warships that were approaching, grimacing beneath his helmet.
Bright flashes of laser fire streaked by either side of his cockpit as he piloted his ship towards a second group of Kwenast fighters in a head to head. Safiram jerked his ship to port to dodge a volley of laser fire, the Defender responding instantly to his inputs. Juking and jinking around more blasts, he danced the ship around to avoid being hit. As he did, Safiram centered his sights on one of the fighters, waiting for the precise moment. Achieving a targeting lock, he unleashed a burst of brilliant green bolts of energy from the wingtip laser cannons of the TIE Defender. They lanced out and struck a Kwenast fighter dead in the center, first knocking down the electrostatic barrier and then ripping the craft apart with an explosion, sending shrapnel flying in all directions.
Safiram rolled his TIE on its center axis to starboard to miss a laser blast, a half circle that left his ship upside down from his previous position. One of the Kwenast fighters had dodged around the shrapnel from its destroyed comrade. Safiram predicted the pilots reaction, and the ship slotted right into his sights. Squeezing down on the firing trigger, he again let out a short yet precise burst that pierced the cockpit of the fighter. The craft didn’t explode, but it drifted lazily off course, its pilot killed.
“I’ll go to the left, you stay straight,” Safiram ordered as he twitched his ship around a small asteroid that would simply glance off the Ethereal’s hull but could shatter his Defender. The fighters raced towards each other, and Safiram let off a quick shot, but the enemy starfighter dodged out of the way just in time. With a striking explosion, a third Kwenast fighter exploded as a blast from his wingmate penetrated the ship’s barrier and armor to hit the engines.
“Got it.” The voice of his wingmate, Lieutenant Katani, responded over his helmet’s comm.
And then the opposing fighters swept past each other, and Safiram immediately twitched his yoke hard to bring his Defender into a tight turn to port. The Kwenast fighters were also turning, trying to get into position behind their enemies. The group seemed focused on Katani in her TIE Avenger, the remaining three fighters turning to follow the seemingly easier target. Safiram smiled confidently beneath his helmet.
“Bringing them to you.” Katani said. Her Avenger turned, laser bolts flashing by it on all sides. The fighters followed closely, scoring a glancing blow on the ship’s shields. They determinedly remained tight on the TIE’s tail, closely matching its movements.
However, they were so focused on their quarry that they didn’t notice where Safiram had positioned himself. His TIE Defender headed perpendicularly towards the group, and he carefully lined up the TIE Avenger in his targeting brackets. Right once the TIE swept through his sights, he launched a concussion missile and pressed the trigger to fire all the Defender’s laser cannons. The pursuing Kwenast ships unknowingly flew into a storm of laser fire, the first fighter exploding spectacularly as the concussion missile ripped into it and detonated. The second jerked to avoid the explosion only to be assaulted by a burst of plasma bolts that battered down its electrostatic barrier and shredded the body of the craft, leaving it as a mangled chunk of metal drifting dead through space.
The last Kwenast fighter of the group was quicker to react, and it immediately dove down, catching a bolt on the edge of its wing. Safiram had been racing towards the procession of starfighters and threw his TIE into a steep dive to follow. The enemy craft jumped around in his sights, then swung into a hard starboard turn.
Safiram narrowed his eyes, throwing a quick look at his sensor display as he followed. The fighter was heading for the sanctuary provided by a Kwenast corvette.
The fighter bobbed and twisted, making itself a difficult target. Safiram tried to line it up in his targeting brackets, letting out a concise burst. He was rewarded to see one of the laser bolts punch through the Kwenast vessel’s barrier, scoring the hull. But it was almost in range of the corvette now.
Grimacing, he broke off, letting the wounded fighter escape. He wasn’t bloodthirsty enough to allow it to lure him in like that. Pointing the Defender back towards the Ethereal, Safiram reconnected with his wingmate, and went hunting for the next group of Kwenast starfighters.
The Ethereal was running alongside of the cage the enemy had created, its weapons blazing as it fired at starfighters and small asteroids in its path. Laceeya’s muscles tensed as the ship swerved to narrowly avoid colliding with a tumbling massive stone.
“Enemy warships approaching, Commodore.” Frenara stated.
Sure enough, the large forms of Kwenast warships were emerging from the haze, around the side of a huge asteroid, with their spectrum lasers intermittently firing at smaller chunks of rock to clear their entry.
“Get a tractor lock on this asteroid,” Laceeya ordered Shyka, pointing out a small asteroid ahead of them. “And load three salvos of proton torpedoes in the bow launchers.” She finished explaining her plan to Shyka, who acknowledged her orders and set about grabbing the small asteroid with the tractor beam.
”Got it!” Shyka hissed triumphantly as she caught the asteroid with the tractor beam. She sent the rock on its way, sailing toward the Kwenast cruiser.
Wetting her lips in expectation, Laceeya observed the misshapen rock drift towards the enemy ship, waiting for the timing to be just right. “Fire torpedoes,” Laceeya said. “And get ready to follow up with a full turbolaser salvo aimed at the bridge of the cruiser.”
The pairs of proton torpedoes jetted out of the bow launchers, following in the wake of the asteroid Shyka had sent. As the asteroid neared the Kwenast cruiser, it opened fire with its spectrum lasers, vaporizing the stone into tiny harmless fragments.
Revealing the hidden torpedoes that had been invisible to the cruiser. It was a technique Laceeya often used to great success, obscuring missiles or torpedoes behind an object that could hide them until they were close enough to reach the target unimpeded. Too distracted by dogfights and incoming laser fire, or unable to communicate quickly enough, the Kwenast fighters weren’t successful in warning the cruiser of the threat. The torpedoes were now too close and moving too quickly for the Kwenast to react in time, and they slammed into the bow of the vessel.
Brilliant explosions blossomed, overcoming the electrostatic barrier and vaporizing hull. The explosions dug deep into the ship, oxygen flooding out from exposed compartments further fueling the flames.
“Great work, Shyka,” Laceeya complimented her, as blasts from the enemy warships began to strike the Ethereal’s shields. “Hit the same area with all the turbolasers you can. Lieutenant Apoyarp, prepare to turn us to port.”
Green bolts erupted from the turbolasers, raining down at the wounded bow of the Kwenast cruiser. Explosions racked the area as all of the Ethereal’s turbolasers concentrated their fire there, bursting through the glowing lights that appeared to be the bridge of the ship, and penetrating deeper into the body of the vessel. The cruiser continued to drift forward, with a few of its cannons ceasing to fire and its bridge destroyed, its crew likely frantically in the process of taking over control from secondary command.
A moment later the bow of the cruiser began shifting to move away from the Ethereal, the injured vessel turning ponderously to hide its chewed up face and lick its wounds. With the destruction of its main bridge, control of the cruiser must have been obtained by secondary command.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Shift aim to the other ships,” Laceeya said, as the Ethereal shuddered slightly under an intense barrage. “How are the shields holding up?” She called out to Asmaril, seated at his place at the defense station. Laceeya was thankful for the deflector shields that gave the Ethereal a significant advantage over the Kwenast ships’ electrostatic barriers, providing much stronger protection.
“Shields are dropping but still holding for now.” Asmaril stated. Laceeya nodded to herself. The Ethereal’s shields were strong, but she knew they would only hold out for so long against the numerous enemy warships.
The Ethereal began swinging around to port, presenting its starboard face and unleashing a full broadside salvo on the Kwenast warships. Laceeya winced, feeling the deck rumble beneath her feet as spectrum lasers splashed across the deflector shields. Point defense laser cannons picked off a few incoming missiles, and caught an enemy fighter on its wing, causing it to spin off wildly before smashing across the surface of a nearby asteroid.
“Watch that incoming gunship,” Laceeya pointed out in warning. Weaving as it approached, the Kwenast gunship, guarded by a group of fighters, fired its spectrum lasers and a round of missiles.
“On it.” Shyka said. Managing to avoid a burst of turbolaser fire from the Ethereal, a second spate of missiles sped from the 70 meter vessel’s launch tubes. Riding trails of flame, they drew a line through the hazy gas of the nebula towards Laceeya’s ship.
Laceeya’s fiery red eyes swept across the battlefield, taking notice of the incoming ordnance. Opening her mouth the speak, streaks of green light intercepted the projectiles before she could provide a warning. Exhaling, Laceeya consciously attempted to relax her taut muscles, her heart pumping blood and adrenaline through her body.
Driving relentlessly towards the Ethereal, the Kwenast gunboat continued pouring white spectrum lasers into the Imperial vessel, twisting around the bolts of retaliating energy. Laceeya gritted her teeth as the deck vibrated beneath her.
Though it proved to be a difficult target, the Ethereal’s gunners fired persistently, chipping away at the gunship’s electrostatic barrier.
Breaking off as its electrostatic barrier was weakened, the gunship tried to seek cover behind a nearby asteroid. It didn’t quite make it, a volley of turbolaser energy blasting into its exposed engines. The thrusters sputtered out, leaving the disabled gunship to drift lifelessly along on its previous path.
Ahead of the Ethereal, the enemy warships were turning to match its new vector. Further back, difficult to spot thanks to the haze, Laceeya spied the Grysk frigate. She’d deduced that it was likely the ship carrying the gravity well generator, and it was clearly content with sitting back and letting the Kwenast do the fighting for them.
Feeling a jolt shake the ship beneath her feet, Laceeya anxiously bit her lower lip, rubbing the side of her pant leg as she often did when she was nervous. They’d managed to deal significant damage to the Kwenast cruiser, but there were still a lot of enemy warships out there. Her thoughts raced. Had she doomed them all by bringing them into the nebula?
No, Laceeya thought, clenching her fists tightly and forcibly relaxing them. There had been no other choice. And though there were a lot of enemy ships out there, they’d faced large forces before and gotten through it. She inhaled deeply, holding it and letting the breath out slowly. She needed to keep herself together.
Laceeya wet her lips, surveying the scene outside the Ethereal’s bridge. She paid careful attention to a large asteroid that was about to drift between the Kwenast frigate and the Ethereal.
“Shyka, ready breachers in the starboard launchers,” Laceeya said, turning to walk over to her. “Aim for these three weapon clusters on the Kwenast frigate. Right once we’re past this next asteroid, fire.” On the targeting display, Laceeya pointed out the areas she had specified.
“I’m on it.” Shyka confirmed, her hands rapidly moving across her controls with practiced confidence.
A large asteroid momentarily blocked the Ethereal from the enemy’s view. As its nose peeked out from behind it, the breacher missiles successively fired from the starboard launch tubes, three pairs each heading for the main weapon clusters of the frigate.
The missiles were finally intercepted near the body if the frigate by spectrum laser fire, dispersing the acid payload. Globs of acid spread apart, carried by their momentum they splashed across the ship, enveloping the weapon clusters. The acid was able to bypass the electrostatic barrier, and burned through the spectrum laser cannons and sensors and ate into the hull.
“Concentrate all turbolasers on the frigate.” Laceeya ordered, hoping to take advantage of the ship's vulnerability. Bolts from the Ethereal rained down on the frigate, its barrier soaking up the shots initially.
“Commodore Laceeya,” Asmaril called out. “Shields are dropping in sections 5 and 9. Redistributing power from the port side.”
The Kwenast frigate’s electrostatic barrier was beginning to collapse under the onslaught, and it began to turn to hide its injured port side. Laceeya noted that instead of rolling to conceal the damaged side, which would have been quicker, the frigate had instead opted to perform a yaw turn. In space combat, she’d noticed that many seemed to treat space like a two dimensional battlefield, not thinking or taking advantage of the unique aspects combat in space provided.
“Keep at the frigate.” Laceeya said. If they concentrated all their heavy weaponry on the 250 meter Kwenast ship, they could dish out damage much quicker than if they spread their firepower throughout the various ships.
Around the Ethereal, the TIEs continued to courageously battle the Kwenast starfighters, despite their numerical disadvantage. They were keeping the enemy fighters occupied, whittling away at their numbers while screening the Ethereal.
Laceeya heard Harax say something into his comm. “Commodore, we lost a fighter.” He reported grimly. Laceeya just nodded, biting down on her lower lip and refraining from asking who it was. Thoughts swirled through her mind, wondering who it was, whether she’d lost another friend. A feeling of guilt hung over her like a dark cloud, knowing she’d led them into this mess.
Laceeya took a long deep breath. Right now, knowing who had died wouldn’t help to bring them back or save others. But she knew each of the dozen pilots of the Ethereal’s TIE squadron. Not a dozen anymore, she thought darkly. Due to the recent and current battles, close to half of the squadron remained now.
Turning her attention from the fighters to peer out the side viewport, Laceeya surveyed the formation of the Kwenast warships. The vessels were all spread out in a flat formation, same as they had been previously. And, the fighter attacks generally appeared to be carried out in similar arrangements, with the fighters arranged side by side in flat wedges. Maybe that’s a weakness that can be exploited, Laceeya considered. Something about the way the Kwenast thought seemed to favor the two-dimensional formations.
That was true for many people and species, but if her observations gave any clues, the Kwenast had a particular blind spot in that regard.
“Apoyarp, on my mark dive straight down,” Laceeya decided. “And turn towards the Kwenast, then we’ll come straight up underneath them.” It was risky, charging headfirst at the Kwenast ships. But if she’d read them correctly, an attack from below should confuse them long enough to deal a beating to them.
“Ready…now.” Laceeya commanded. The view of the red and purple fog speckled with asteroids shifted as the Ethereal dove straight down at a 90 degree angle from its previous position. Steering around an asteroid as it descended, a couple smaller rocks bounced off the hull. Compressing her lips together, Laceeya hoped silently that her plan would have the desired outcome. “Level out…now.”
Coming out of its dive, the Ethereal traveled forward a moment. Looking at the sensor display, Laceeya could see that the Kwenast ships were holding their positions.
“Bring us up,” Laceeya said to Apoyarp. “Straight toward them, full speed. Shyka, ready three rounds of proton torpedoes in the bow launchers, followed by two of breachers.”
“I’m on it.” Shyka responded with a tight smile.
“Yes ma’am.” Apoyarp also confirmed, working his controls and maneuvering the Class-546B cruiser up towards the underside of the Kwenast ships. Something Laceeya had noticed was that the Kwenast warships appeared to be severely lacking in weapons on their ventral side.
Hence why she was hoping an attack from underneath would confuse them. From their attack formations and ship design, Laceeya had gathered that the Kwenast had a bias towards thinking on a more two-dimensional axis, to an extreme degree. As the ship approached, the number of weapons firing at the Ethereal decreased as it slipped beneath many of the weapon emplacements' line of fire. The brief respite from their assault was a relief.
“Hit the cruiser with all those torpedoes, then send a salvo of breachers to the frigate and light cruiser.” Laceeya told Shyka. The Ethereal was driving hard up towards the Kwenast vessels, with turbolasers blazing brilliantly. Laceeya waited until they were just a bit closer…
“Fire.”
Streaking away from their launch tubes, the torpedoes arrowed in on the belly of the Kwenast cruiser. Thrown off by the Ethereal’s rapid approach from below, the limited number of weapons on the underside of the cruiser proved insufficient to intercept the torpedoes.
Colliding on the hull of the cruiser with a flowering explosion, the electrostatic barrier soaked up the initial pair. But the rain of turbolaser fire had softened the defenses, and the yield of the capital ship grade proton torpedoes was extremely powerful. The successive torpedoes burst the barrier like a bubble and exploded across and into hull panels.
Explosions dug into the belly of the ship, targeted near the rear by the engines. Laceeya watched intently through the fog as hull panels were vaporized or torn apart, and she saw as compartments were opened up to the void of space. The tiny form of a body was sucked out as atmosphere rushed out of the compartment, before it vanished in a following explosion.
Laceeya felt a pang of guilt. The Kwenast had never been the Hand’s enemy, until the Grysks established a hold over them. She wished she didn’t have to kill them, but they were now servants of the Grysks and helping to perpetuate their conquest.
Laceeya clenched her jaw. They’d attacked her ship, attacked her people, leaving no choice but to fight them. The second someone put the lives of her people at risk, they became a threat.
The Kwenast, whatever they’d been like before, had taken the lives of people under her command. Friends. She couldn’t allow them any sympathy at the moment.
“All turbolasers focus on where the torpedoes hit.” Laceeya ordered. The hole in the cruiser swallowed the green bolts as they bit through layers of the ship. A huge internal explosion rocked the Kwenast cruiser, bursting out through the engines as the rear of the cruiser broke apart. Laceeya sighed in relief; the 600 meter long cruiser was the largest of the enemy ships, and taking it out of the fight represented a big chunk of firepower removed from the equation.
The other Kwenast ships were finally repositioning in response to the Ethereal’s sudden blitz, turning downward to face the Ethereal, bringing more guns to bear. Two of the corvettes moved forward toward the 546B cruiser, hoping to catch it between them. Lasers flew all over, green bolts from the Ethereal and the TIEs, and the rainbow tinged white spectrum laser blasts from the Kwenast ships.
A hit jerked the ship, coursing through the deck as laser fire pummeled down the shields. “Shields down in sections 1 and 4, Commodore,” Asmaril reported, his voice taut. Shots scored the armor at the bow where the shields had been knocked down.
“Shunt power from wherever necessary, we need those shields back up.” Laceeya snapped, gritting her teeth. Even with the Kwenast cruiser a smoldering mess, they were still outnumbered by the enemy.
“Yes ma’am, I’m working on it.” Asmaril replied, his fingers flying across his control board, looking for any way to transfer energy to the lowered shields.
“Apoyarp, bring us hard to starboard,” Laceeya ordered, running options through her head. Turning to starboard should help to get the vulnerable bow of the Ethereal out of direct view from most of the Kwenast warships. “We need to find a way out of this cage they’ve got us in.”
Curiously, Laceeya noticed the Grysk frigate was still sitting back, just visible through the purple and red haze of the nebula. Apparently the Grysks didn’t want to risk damage when they could have the Kwenast fight their battles for them. Perhaps their recent defeat at Nyar Three was causing them to be more cautious. Or maybe the gravity well generator contained inside the frigate was too valuable an asset to be worth risking.
Fortunately for Laceeya, the Kwenast warships weren’t as formidable as Grysk vessels, nor were the Kwenast themselves as dangerous and cunning of an opponent. She could imagine the Grysk commander’s frustration at the Kwenast’s inability to destroy a lone light cruiser and fighter squadron.
She turned her attention over to Shyka. “How long will it take to blast a path through the asteroids?” Laceeya asked.
Shyka looked at her display. “It takes a lot more firepower to clear a path than it does to block it…” She said slowly. “But I can probably clear a way out in a couple minutes if we concentrate all our turbolasers on it.”
“Probably?” Laceeya replied, raising an eyebrow.
“I mean I can clear a path in about a minute. Ma’am.” Shyka corrected, giving her a small smile.
The Ethereal shook as lasers splattered across its hull, jolting again as a small asteroid bumped into it.
“Damage sustained to some of our sensors, Commodore.” Asmaril spoke up.
Laceeya nodded in acknowledgement, biting her lip nervously. She watched as A flaring golden-red explosion caught her eye briefly as a Kwenast fighter went up in a roiling ball of flame. The Ethereal’s gunners and the TIEs were slowly but surely continuing to chip away at the numbers of Kwenast fighters. The Kwenast had a significant numbers advantage, but the TIEs deflector shields, combined with their superior speed and agility gave them a huge step up over the Kwenast fighters. Laceeya was thankful that they hadn’t taken heavier losses. But no matter if only one life was lost, it cut deep regardless.
“Shyka, focus all your fire on the rear of that corvette,” Laceeya said. One of the Kwenast corvettes had moved and was running parallel alongside the Ethereal, firing its spectrum lasers.
“On it, ma’am.” Shyka replied promptly. A flurry of green blasts shot out toward the corvette, the gunners shifting their aim to converge on the corvette’s thrusters. The concentrated fire punched through the electrostatic barrier, impacting the hull and engines. Metal was scorched and then vaporized as the turbolasers ate into the corvette, and with a bright explosion the glow from the corvette’s engines flickered and then went dark.
The corvette’s guns stopped firing as the ship continued to lifelessly drift along. Shifting its direction to slip between two large asteroids, the Ethereal skirted closely to the surface of the huge slab of rock. Unfortunately for the corvette, with its reactor offline it was unable to maneuver, slamming into the uneven face of the rock. Its bow crumpled from the impact as it smashed across the asteroid’s surface.
Another enemy ship down. Laceeya pursed her lips in thought. With the largest Kwenast capital ship out of the fight, along with a few of the smaller warships and numerous fighters, she hoped they could now make their escape. The Ethereal was taking a beating, and though her ship was strong, Laceeya knew it couldn’t hold out indefinitely. Red and orange sections on the defense display showed where shields were down or low. They’d either need time to recuperate and recharge the shields, which they wouldn’t get trapped in here with the Kwenast, or they needed to escape.
Laceeya swallowed as she gazed absently out the viewport, her thoughts elsewhere. Another burst of laser fire coursed through the ship. She could feel it beneath her soles. The option of attempting to get the shields up certainly didn’t seem likely.
Laceeya stepped over beside Shyka at the weapons console. “Can you ready breacher missiles, but just drop them out of the launch tubes unpowered?” Laceeya asked as a plan coalesced in her mind.
“Yes ma’am, I can,” Shyka replied confidently.
“Good,” Laceeya said, nodding. “A pair each out of the port and starboard sides, on my mark. I want you then ready to hit the breachers with lasers when I give the signal. Got it?”
Shyka gave her a tight smile, cocking her head minutely to the side. “Of course, ma’am. I know the drill.”
“Good,” Laceeya repeated with a nod, a faint grim smile across her face. “Apoyarp, hug the surface of that big asteroid.”
“Will do.”
Observing intently as the Ethereal approached the massive rock, Apoyarp carefully modulated the thrust, steering the ship tightly around the asteroid. Laceeya could feel and hear her heart beating as another shudder ran through the deck. She glanced back at her crew, at the focus and determination on their faces.
“Ready Shyka…” Laceeya called out, eyeing the sensor display and the view ahead closely. “Now.”
Rather anticlimactically, the missiles slowly drifted out of their launch tubes. They fell quickly behind the Ethereal as it passed them by. Following the curve of the huge chunk of stone, the Kwenast frigate came into view. Naturally, it took the quickest route to stay on the tail of the Ethereal, sticking close to the asteroid.
However, the frigate unknowingly had lined itself up to fly straight toward the drifting missiles. “Fire.” Laceeya ordered, and as the Kwenast ship neared the missiles, lasers lanced out from the Ethereal’s point defense cannons to strike them. Acid was released from the four breachers, spreading out like the formation of a dark stormcloud. Due to the precise timing, the frigate didn’t react in time. It tried to veer to the side, but at that point it plunged into the spread of acid, washing across its entire bow.
The caustic payload adhered to the vessel and soaked into hull panels and viewports, melting sensors and weapons. Lasers blazed out from the Ethereal’s weapons as the gunners promptly targeted the vulnerable bow of the frigate. Weakened metal gave out or disintegrated from the unrelenting storm of laser fire, tearing into the Kwenast ship.
Explosions from the turbolasers ripped through the bridge of the frigate, beheading the vessel. Its engines faltered as its command was lost, and it continued drifting forward on its previous trajectory.
“It’s time to get out of here,” Laceeya said, exhaling heavily.
Out of the thick purple and red fog, the densely packed field of rubble materialized into view. Laceeya was again impressed at how quickly and effectively the Grysks’ plan to trap the Hand’s forces had been carried out.
“Okay Shyka, get ready to put all our weapons into blasting through those asteroids,” Laceeya said. “Once we’re in range, fire.”
“Got it,” Shyka confirmed. Through the swirling clouds of the nebula, the tightly packed barrier of asteroids loomed, standing between the Ethereal and escape.
Lasers shot from all of the Ethereal’s weapons, saturating the rough barrier of asteroids ahead of them. Rocks shattered into smaller and smaller fragments as the gunners worked away at breaking through the shell.
“The remaining Kwenast ships are coming up behind us, Commodore.” Frenara reported.
“Understood.” Laceeya acknowledged, squaring her shoulders. “Apoyarp, you’ll need to slow us down and keep the ship close to the target location.” She told him.
“Will do, maam.” Apoyarp confirmed tightly.
“With our shields in their current state, we don’t want to be sitting here for too long, ma’am.” Harax warned as he examined his datapad, scowling at status readouts of the Ethereal’s defenses.
Retrothrusters burned, and Laceeya felt the Ethereal slow significantly. In order to remain in a position where it could continuously bring all its weapons to bear on the same section of the tightly packed asteroid debris, the ship needed to keep close to the targeted area. Laceeya chewed her lower lip anxiously, restlessly tapping her fingers on the side of her leg as she silently urged the path to clear faster.
“We don’t have much choice,” Laceeya said grimly. Harax was right, with their ship remaining mostly stagnant in order to clear a hole, and with the stern and engines presented to the enemy, they were a sitting avian. “Asmaril, divert all power from other sections of the shields and put as much as you can into the stern.”
“Yes ma’am.” He called back.
The remaining Kwenast ships, the light cruiser, a couple corvettes and a few gunships were entering range, a flurry of laser blasts striking at the Ethereal’s vulnerable rear. The ship shook, but Asmaril had managed to strengthen the stern deflectors at the expense of those covering the rest of the ship, and the shields were just holding out.
For the moment, at least.
“Shyka, how’s it coming?” Laceeya asked, drumming her fingers against her thigh as she anxiously waited. Time felt as if it was passing incredibly slowly, the seconds creeping by. The Ethereal had been battered, its shields weak and hull damaged, and although they’d put a big dent into the Kwenast forces, the light cruiser and corvettes that were firing at them were fresh and mostly undamaged. The Grysk frigate had seemingly noticed the Kwenast’s inability to destroy the Ethereal, and was coming up behind the light cruiser, maneuvering to where it could join in the assault on it.
“Almost through…” Shyka replied, her voice tense but focused. Out the viewport, small explosions were dotting the wall of asteroids, and Laceeya could see a hole beginning to clear.
“Losing shields in the rear!” Asmaril called out, as a jolt ran through the ship.
“Apoyarp, get us moving.” Laceeya ordered.
“On it, Commodore.” Apoyarp promptly responded, as the ship began to move forward into a hailstorm of small splinters of rock. The thrusters rose to full power, driving the Ethereal ahead and through the path that had been cleared. Laceeya winced as small chunks of rock continuously clattered off the hull.
“Start hopping from asteroid to asteroid again,” Laceeya said urgently. “We need some cover.” The deck shook under her feet as lasers found their way to hit the hull. Laceeya gritted her teeth. They’d slipped out of the Grysk and Kwenast’s elaborate trap, but it wouldn’t matter where they were if the Ethereal’s engines got knocked out. They couldn’t keep presenting the engines to the enemy. But the Ethereal would need time to recharge its shields, and with them down it wasn't likely it could handle a prolonged head on battle with the enemy.
An idea came to Laceeya. It could work, she thought, narrowing her eyes. It’d be risky, and would put a lot of strain on the ship. But it could give them just enough space to slip away into the haze. They didn’t need to get too far to be lost in the sensor obscuring clouds of the nebula.
“Okay, Shyka,” She said, getting her attention. “I’m going to have you lock on with the tractor beam, full strength, to a big asteroid. Apoyarp, what you’re going to do is take us in at high speed, fast as you can manage, and bring us into a tight turn around the face of the asteroid. We’ll use the tractor beam to pin us to the asteroid, allowing us to pull off a tight turn around it as fast as possible and head off in the opposite direction. Got it?”
“Yes ma’am.” Shyka confirmed with a nod.
“Understood, ma’am.” Apoyarp acknowledged as well, his eyebrows knit in determination. Laceeya felt a swelling of pride in her crew at how they took such a complex and unconventional maneuver in stride.
Peering through the haze, Laceeya saw a particularly large asteroid coming into view. The huge rock was long, but relatively narrow and would work perfectly for what she had planned. They didn’t have time to hold out for a better location regardless. Vibrations rumbled through the deck as lasers splashed across the stern, and near missed streaked past. “That’s the one we’ll use,” She said, pointing it out. “Get ready, Shyka. Apoyarp, this is going to take some fancy flying.”
“I can do it, ma’am.” Apoyarp said confidently.
Laceeya nodded as the Ethereal skimmed closely along the side of the gargantuan asteroid, laser fire again flashing by.
She drew in a long breath. “Apoyarp, can you tell Shyka when to lock on with the tractor beam?” Laceeya asked. “You should have the best idea of when she needs to do it.”
“Understood, ma’am, I will.” Apoyarp said, as another big hit shook the deck. Warnings flashed on consoles, and blood pumped through Laceeya’s veins to rapidly propel her heart.
“Shyka, on Apoyarp’s signal, lock the tractor beam on to the end of the asteroid.” Laceeya told her. She chewed her lower lip nervously. They couldn’t hold out much longer against the enemy. This needed to work, or else…
Laceeya shook off the thought. She needed to focus.
“Got it, ma’am.” Shyka acknowledged, her face coolly determined.
Laceeya watched in anticipation as the asteroid passed by on their port side. Off to starboard, the remaining TIEs were following alongside the Ethereal.
“Starboard main engine is taking damage, Commodore,” Asmaril called out from behind. ”Running at 77% efficiency. Center one is running at 86%, port is at 94%. Secondary thrusters are taking some damage as well.”
Biting her lip, Laceeya nodded to herself. Almost there. This had to work. The Ethereal groaned under the punishment it was receiving. She knew they were moments away from sustaining some serious damage if they couldn’t escape.
“Stand ready,” Apoyarp voiced, as the ship neared the end of the huge asteroid. “Now.”
“On it.” Shyka confirmed immediately. The ship lurched as the tractor beam caught, and Apoyarp’s hands worked his controls, putting the Ethereal into a tight turn. Tractor beams were designed for pulling objects in, but with the beam locked onto such a massive object, it had the opposite effect. Using the beam to anchor the ship, it held the vessel close and allowed it to pivot around the asteroid at a far higher speed than would normally be possible thanks to the limitations of physics. It had to be an incredibly precise maneuver, with the tractor beam latched onto the exact location at the right time, with the perfect amount of input and turning from the pilot.
Laceeya observed intently, swallowing heavily as she rubbed her fingers nervously over the side of her pants. She could hear and feel the ship strain beneath her, as it swung tightly around the huge rock at full speed.
She inhaled sharply as the bow seemed like it was going to keep rotating and send the ship crashing into the asteroid.
“Release!” Apoyarp exclaimed at the last second, as the Ethereal completed its turn. A jerk ran through the ship as the tractor beam released its hold. Laceeya exhaled heavily, catching herself on the viewport frame as the inertial compensators lagged behind momentarily. They’d done it. The ship was now heading at full speed in the opposite direction, shielded from the enemy ships by the huge rock.
“Frenara, what’s the status of the enemy capital ships?” Laceeya asked.
The sensor officer was examining his displays. “They’re starting to make the turn, Commodore, but it appears they’ve had to slow significantly in order to do so,” He reported. “We’re gaining significant ground on them, and by the time they come around and come up to full speed we should be out of range.”
“Understood,” Laceeya said. “Let’s leave them a going away present just in case. Shyka, load and fire proton torpedoes from the port side launchers at the asteroid.”
“With pleasure, ma’am.” Shyka said, giving her a tight smile. A moment later the pair of proton torpedoes was streaking away toward the asteroid. The Ethereal drove forward, and behind it two big explosions sent fragments of rock and debris flying out into the path of where the pursuing ships would be traversing. Now they’d have to contend with the chunks of rock that littered their path, hopefully slowing them further.
Laceeya took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, and turned around to face the crew at their consoles. “Amazing work, both of you,” She complimented them with a smile. “That was some precision flying on your part, Apoyarp. And Shyka, perfectly done with getting that tractor lock on just the right spot.”
“Thank you, Commodore.” Apoyarp said, inclining his head in thanks and returning her smile with a brief glance, while still keeping his attention on navigating the ship..
“Thanks, ma’am, it was a great plan on your part.” Shyka replied. “That really was some incredible flying, Lieutenant.” She nodded her head in Apoyarp’s direction.
“Thank you, ma’am.” Apoyarp said again.
“We should be able to get out of sensor range now, and lose them in the clouds of the nebula.” Laceeya said. “Asmaril, go ahead and shunt all power from weapons to recharging the shields, just in case.”
“Yes ma’am.” He acknowledged.
Laceeya stepped over behind Frenara to look at the sensor display. The enemy ships were no longer appearing, as they fell behind. She was hesitant to get her hopes up, but it seemed that the Hand’s forces had finally managed to make their escape. Laceeya glanced back out the viewport. The mottled purple and red clouds really were beautiful, though now they would always hold the memories of this journey.
Laceeya’s mind went to the brave pilots who had been lost. Their faces flashed before her. The image of her close friend, Joak Cartova, haunted her. She swallowed, doing her best to push the dark thoughts to the back of her mind. A numb sensation had settled over her.
Shyka was surreptitiously watching her. ”Commodore,” Shyka called to get her attention, beckoning her over. She knew Laceeya well, enough to know that her standing still and blankly staring forward in a situation like this meant her thoughts were probably rushing to dark places. “I wanted to give you an update on weapon statuses. The number 3 quad laser cannon took damage and only has two of the four barrels working. The number 5 quad light turbolaser has three functional barrels. Some of the others have taken damage as well, but seem to be fully functional for the most part.”
Laceeya nodded. “Thanks for the update, Shyka.” She said with a faint smile.
“No problem, ma’am,” Shyka said. “Great job getting us out of this.” She smiled warmly.
“Thanks, Shyka,” Laceeya replied. “Now we just have to find our way out of the asteroid field and the nebula. But we know roughly which direction to head, it’ll just take a bit.”
“Yes ma’am,” Shyka looked up at her. She tilted her head slightly in the direction of the viewport, glancing in that direction with her eyes.
“Will you accompany me to the viewport, Senior Lieutenant?” Laceeya said, furrowing her brow slightly.
“Yes ma’am.” Shyka replied, standing up. They walked together up to the front viewport, standing side by side.
“Just wanted to check and see how you’re doing.” Bren asked softly, and swallowed. “I’m still comprehending that Joak is gone. Just the other night we were all playing Sabacc together.”
Laceeya compressed her lips together. “Yeah,” She murmured hoarsely. “If I’m not careful, my thoughts will just run off thinking of what I could have done differently, to prevent his death. To prevent the death of everyone who’s died under my command.” She took a deep breath, letting it slowly out. “I run over scenarios again and again and again. Wishing I could’ve saved them.”
“I know,” Bren said softly. “I say it a lot but I’ll say it again. It’s not your fault, Laceeya.” She turned to look at Laceeya, staring into her glowing red eyes. “The times you give an order that costs someone’s life, it’s always to save more lives. And I know you, just like you run through scenarios about how you could have prevented death afterwards, you do the same in battle. You care about the people under your command more than anyone, and don’t let your thoughts trick you into thinking otherwise.”
Laceeya stood there silently for a moment, gazing into Bren’s brown eyes. Bren gave her a tentative smile, and reached over to touch her shoulder. Staring at her, Laceeya thought how thankful she was for Bren. Their bond was inseparable, they’d been through so much together over the past few years. She was Laceeya’s rock, she grounded her, and kept her going. Without her…Laceeya couldn’t even imagine living without her now. She didn’t think she could handle it.
“I know.” Laceeya finally said. Bren was right, she knew that. Her words were reassuring as always, but they didn’t take away the hollow feeling in her stomach, and the numb emptiness that had washed over her after Joak’s death. “Thanks, Bren.”
“There’s risk with everything in war,” Shyka continued. “People will die, and it’s horrible. But we do this to make the galaxy a better and safer place, so that others can live, and not suffer and not have to go to war themselves. You make it so the least number of people under your command have to die to achieve that.” She cocked her head to the side. “And in the terrible cases where people do die, they at least served under a commander they trusted and who treated them with the most respect and care as possible.”
Laceeya nodded, turning to look back out at the view of the purple and red haze. “I know you’re right,” She murmured. “I just have trouble getting myself to really believe it.” She paused for a second. “Thank you for checking on me. I really do appreciate it.”
“Hey, that’s what I’m here for,” Bren responded, smiling. She placed a hand on Laceeya’s waist. “That, and making stuff go boom.”
“Oh right,” Laceeya said with a sardonic smirk. “I was wondering why I kept you around.”
Bren snorted softly. She leaned in closer to Laceeya with a sly smirk on her face, whispering softly to her. “I think there’s another reason or two as well.”
Laceeya felt her face warm. “Maybe one or two.” She conceded. She appreciated Bren’s humor, as always Bren did everything she could to help Laceeya feel better. She was amazing. Laceeya leaned over to wrap her arms around Bren, hugging her tightly.
She probably wasn’t supposed to be hugging other officers on the bridge. But Laceeya honestly didn’t care at the moment. She wanted to feel the reassuring touch of Bren’s body against her own, to feel the person she loved more than anything in the world.
They parted from their hug, and Bren glanced back over her shoulder. “I’d probably better get back to my station,” She said, somewhat reluctantly.
“Probably a good idea,” Laceeya agreed. “Thanks again for checking on me. Really.”
“Of course.” Shyka said, giving her a warm smile. “I’m always here.”
“I know you are.” Laceeya returned her smile, and Shyka turned and walked back to the consoles, sliding into her seat. Watching her go for a moment, Laceeya looked back out the viewport.
Laceeya still felt the numb hollow pain from the loss of her friend and the other pilots. But she felt a bit better than before, at least for now. She truly had no idea what she would do without Bren.
Hearing footsteps approaching from behind, Laceeya turned to see Harax step up the two stairs to join her, clearing his throat. “Shall we load the fighters shortly, Commodore?” He asked.
“In a few minutes, yes.” Laceeya answered. “Hopefully it’ll go smoothly from here.”
“Let’s hope so, ma’am,” Harax agreed, a sour expression on his face. “It’s been plenty eventful already.” He said darkly.
Laceeya nodded in silent agreement. Yes, it certainly had been more than eventful enough. She could only hope they’d make it back without any further loss of life. Her thoughts continued to wander as she stared blankly into the nebula.
War had been a constant in her life since leaving the academy. In the Chaos, you saw a lot of action fighting the seemingly endless threats. Could she ever have peace? She longed for the death of her friends and the suffering of innocents to stop.
But there would never be peace in the Chaos, and Laceeya wasn’t sure she could walk away, knowing she had the skills and ability to help protect people. She longed for peace, yet it was difficult to imagine. She certainly couldn’t envision a life outside of the military.
Laceeya had no idea what she would do if she wasn’t in the military. Would she go back to the Chiss Ascendancy, taking Bren with her? She’d always desired to see more of the galaxy, experience the unique and diverse worlds. See mountains, dense jungles, tall rock spires, moving plants, rivers, all the incredible beauty and wonder that the galaxy held in store.
She’d been to countless planets and systems, yet Laceeya almost always ever saw those from space, or perhaps the upper atmosphere. It was particularly rare for her to have the opportunity to experience a planet from the surface. It was a shame, she thought, that she’d traveled to all these worlds, spending the time traversing the Chaos, without getting to truly see them up close.
She glanced over her shoulder at Bren. Laceeya knew she had similar desires. She bit her lip, sighing wistfully. If only…if only all the death would stop, the Grysks defeated, and she and Bren could follow their dreams together. They could get a small ship as their home, travel the galaxy and see and do whatever they wanted.
Right now, that seemed like nothing more than a fantasy that would never come to fruition. And could Laceeya leave behind all her friends and comrades that she served alongside? She didn’t think she could, not if they were still fighting. It wouldn’t be possible for her to relax, to be happy, knowing that they remained fighting a war while she wasn’t.
Laceeya sighed tiredly to herself, closing her eyes for a moment. Was she doomed to fight a war for the rest of her life, however long that ended up being? There would always be evil in the galaxy, somewhere that she was needed to help eradicate it. How could she live with herself knowing that?
