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RotV Mission 02.5 – Battle of the Kobyashie Maru:

Pt 2- Desperate Measures

“My God, Bones, what have I done?"

“What you had to do; what you always do: turn death into a fighting chance to live."

~Kirk and McCoy, Star Trek 3: Search for Spock

“Attention All Non-Essential Personnel, Report to the Shuttle Bay. Prepare to Evacuate Ship. Repeat. All Non-Essential Personnel, Prepare to Evacuate Ship"

The speakers blared as multiple cadets made their way through the corridors of the damaged ship. Shuttle pods were filled to capacity and launched for the cadets to seek shelter on the other disabled ships. Meanwhile those that were staying did what they could to repair and bypass the damaged systems and focus on their task.

“What's the status of the weapons systems?" Lynnette asked. Due to the severity of the damaged systems and the other injuries of the crew, no one could be spared to come up to the bridge to free the feline from her chair or administer first aid beyond what Marus was providing with the medical kit available. Leaving Lynnette stuck at her station.

“Majority of the weapons are a no-go." Anoixi said as she entered commands into the computer. “There's no power to our main guns, more than half of our PDTs (Point Defense Turrets) are also offline and I'm getting nothing but errors from the forward torpedo launchers that are responding."

“So..." Marus said with a frown. “We have no offensive weapons?"

“From the damage report, we have nothing that could even put a dent in that cruiser."

“Maybe if we can get close enough we can throw rocks at them?" Rayne asked jokingly, not really expecting a response from the crew that was left on the bridge.

“What about the aft torpedo launchers?" Lynnette asked as she turned her head towards the rabbit. “What's their status?"

Anoixi turned back to her console and started to speak through the comms, Marus turned to regard the snow leopard as she waited for the weapon officer's response. “What are you thinking?" He asked out of hand. Lynnette waited for Anoixi to speak up before answering the wolf.

“Torpedo control room reports that the rear tubes are operational and can be loaded to launch shortly."

Lynnette nodded and keyed her comms. “Bridge to Engineering." It was several seconds before a familiar feminine voice answered.

“Engineering."

“What's the status of the sub-light and fold drives?"

“Stand by." The line went quiet for several seconds before the comms clicked again and the voice spoke. “Engineering to Bridge, Ion Pulse Drives are operational at approximately seventy percent efficiency. However Fold Drives are currently offline."

“Can they be brought back online?"

The line was quiet again before the voice answered again. “Yes, but we need time to do it."

“Get to it, we need the engines operational if we're going to pull this off."

“... Understood." The line went dead.

Silence fell over the bridge as Lynnette put the Linus display on the main screen, showing everyone where all the ships were relative to each other. Currently, the display was focused on the SSG Kobyashi Maru and the CCF Cruiser identified as the Vengeance. While the Maru was trying to run with the distance growing rapidly, the CCF cruiser was also slowly gaining on the freighter. One thing that was apparent to those on the bridge was that there must have been something wrong with the Kobyashi Maru's fold drives. The freighter has slip-space capabilities, but yet was running away at sub-light speed instead of folding away. Where if the Vengeance had one of the more modern FTL drives, the cruiser could have easily made a micro fold to overtake the freighter instead of slowly perusing the freighter.

“I have a plan," Lynnette finally said as she turned to regard the rest of the bridge. “But I doubt anyone will like it when I tell you. So if you don't like it, which I don't blame you, you can either join the evacuation now, or make your choice after I tell you." The bridge fell into silence as she waited to see what everyone's actions would be, what she wasn't expecting was for Rayne to speak up.

“I missed most of the action last time when we were at the academy, there's no way I'm going to abandon you this time."

Lynnette smiled at the white vixen. “Thank you Rayne."

“I think most of us want to hear what you have in mind before we simply walk away." Marus said, Anoixi and the others on the bridge nodded in agreement.

Lynnette nodded before taking a deep breath. She explained the outline of what she had in mind to the rest of the bridge. It was a straight forward plan, but a lot of it hinged on their luck holding out.

“You do realize," Marus spoke up after the bridge crew fell back into silence to process what the Caushae told them. “That if we fail, we're as good as dead?"

Lynnette's ears pinned back as she hung her head down. “I know... there's too many variables to get wrong. But..." She lifted her head up to look at everyone. “We're still good as dead if we do nothing. There's nothing stopping that cruiser from swinging around and finishing everyone off or simply abandoning us after they're done ransacking the Maru. The fact is that we need the Kobyashie Maru intact if everyone's to survive and the CCF Vengeance is slowly gaining on the freighter."

Everyone thought about what Lynnette had said, they were in a catch twenty-two situation. If they acted, they'd be putting themselves in harm's way. If they did nothing, they'd be simply waiting to die. It's very much a damned if they do, damned if they don't.

“You can count me in." Anoixi spoke up from her station. “You're going to need as many hands as you can get to pull this off."

“And I already told you my answer." Rayne chimed in.

“Val-ruah..." Marus muttered under his breath. “This is just crazy, but I'll be damned if I just sit on my hands and wait for the end when I had the chance to do something."

Lynnette smiled as she turned towards the rest of the bridge crew. She soon made a ship wide announcement, stating what their intent would soon be and giving everyone that was left a chance to join those that had already left. In the end, those that were not already slated to be evacuated stayed. Choosing to stick it out till the end, whether they're successful or not. After the last of the evacuation shuttle had launched from the hanger, the ion pulse engines flared to life. Soon the LCS Mimosa was underway at full thrust and gaining speed as its momentum increased.

“Fortune favors the bold..." Lynnette muttered to herself.

The speakers crackled alive as it gave off a soft alert whistle. “Engineering to Bridge." A familiar voice said. “We're close to getting the Fold Drives operational, but we need another thirty minutes to get them online."

Lynnette frowned as Marus turned to his station, second guessing what she was thinking. Before the snow leopard could ask, the wolf spoke up. “We will be in range of the CCF Vengeance in sixteen minutes."

“You have fifteen minutes, Engineering."

The com-line was silent for several seconds as the engineer gauged her response. “You'll have it in ten."

The line went dead and Marisa inhaled a deep breath and let it out as a long sigh. Her remaining staff were going to have their work cut out for themselves, especially since the Engineer Trainer had to be evacuated due to having their leg crushed and nearly amputated. Making the brown Lykain the senior cadet and in charge of those who stayed behind. A human that had overheard her conversation to the bridge walked over to her before he spoke up.

“Ten minutes? Are you mad? There's no way we can make that deadline with the engines in the state they're in."

Marisa just looked at the male human before pulling out another lollipop. “Most of the issues with the engines are overloaded power relays that had overloaded when we were hit."

“But that's still over two hundred relays, not to mention multiple conduits." He gulped as he quickly crunched the numbers. “And there's only eight of us, including you. There's no way we can make it."

“That's by the book." She said with a bit of scorn in her voice as she walked over to a . “There's no time to go 'by the book.' In case you couldn't tell, we are in a combat situation and there are lives on the line."

“I know, but..."

Marisa turned on the spot and glared at the human. “But nothing. If you didn't want to face this situation, you should have left with the others. Not stay behind and question orders. Now we have a job to do and we BETTER get to it. Clear?"

“Clear..."

The bridge crew held their breaths as the minutes ticked by and they closed on the old human cruiser. Everyone there knew that they were now easily in range of the torpedoes of the CCF Vengeance, but it seemed that either the warship was either too preoccupied on catching up to the Kobyashie Maru or didn't care that they were approaching.

“No reaction from the Vengeance yet." Marus called out from his station.

“It's almost eerie." Anoixi commented. “Its like they don't even see us."

“Uhm... Maybe they can't?" The human cadet said skeptically.

The rest of them turn to look at the cadet. “What do you mean?" Marus asked as he got up to walk over to the human.

“Well," He started as he pointed to the readings on his monitor. “About a minute after we started moving, one of the ships started to broadcast... Something. Ever since then my equipment has been doing this."

Marus leaned over the human's shoulder to have a look for himself. At first, nothing quite made sense but after studying the readouts the wolf gave a laugh.

“What is it?"

“The LCS Sartine is broadcasting a jamming signal."

“They are?"

“Yes" Marus stood up. “They're basically providing us cover so we can approach the CCF cruiser."

“That's good news."

“It is," Anoixi said as she made a few calculations on her station. “But we'll leave the jammer's effective range three light minutes from the CCF Vengeance."

“It's still better than no cover whatsoever." Marus said as he sat back down at his console. “Remind me to thank them for doing it for us if we make it out of this alive."

The six engineers had broken up into pairs and had begun to work on getting the fold drives operational again. “Forget checking the relays through the computers." Marisa said loudly to the other two pair of engineers as she put her wrench on a discolored relay and started to twist it loose. “Just do a visual inspection of the power conduit between the generator and the Fold Core."

“But won't we miss something if we just do a visual inspection?"

“It's a risk that we have to take." Marisa jammed the new component into and used her wrench to lock it into place.

“But if we don't make sure, we might have feedback that could cause a core breach."

“I know." the wolfess grunted as she rolled out of her spot and followed the conduit to the next relay. “But we need the slip-space drive operational for one, maybe two folds that will last for a few seconds. There's no way that we can correctly repair the damage done to the fleet to get us back to safety. We need the Kobyashie Maru if anyone is going to survive."

The engineers continued to work as diligently as possible while also hurrying to the best of their abilities. Marisa cursed herself mentaly as she didn't get back to the Engineering Control Room till the twelve minute mark.

“Ready to run power diagnostics." One of the engineers called from a nearby console.

“No time." Marisa interrupted. Running the diagnostic would only take a few minutes, five tops, but right now she knew that every minute was precious. She pushed the lever forward, sending power through the conduits to the Fold Core. There was a god awful screech from the core as power was fed into it that made everyone wince at the sound. Marisa was worried that their work was all for naught till the screeching was slowly replaced by the pulsing sound of internal components spinning as the core lifted off its resting cradle.

“The FTL is now showing operational." Rayne announced from the helm. Everyone instinctively looked over to see that the section of controls were now lit up. Before anyone could ask anything the com-line chimed and a familiar voice spoke up.

“Engineering to Bridge. Fold drives are now online." Marisa called out through the comms. Some of the bridge crew gave a small cheer. “But the thing is bypassed like a Christmas Tree, so it's best not to jolt the ship too much. We also have a bad feedback loop that we're mitigating by sending it into the engines so they're now running at eighty-five percent."

“Thanks and no promises." Lynnette said back. “Now get everyone to the Escape Shuttle and wait there." There was a bit of confusion that made its way over the com-line before Marisa said that she understood. Lynnette then turned towards Marus. “Marus, I think you, Ryan, and Wallace better get down there too. It's not that I think that anyone will take off without the rest of us, but I think you should be down there just in case something unexpected happens."

Marus looked at her skeptically before nodding in acceptance. “Alright." He said hesitantly. “But how are we going to get you off the bridge if something goes south?"

Lynnette looked over at Rayne. “We'll figure something out."

Marus glanced over at Rayne who's ears folded back when she looked between the two before turning back to the helm. His eyes narrowed at the snow leopard, not liking the feeling he was having. But time was of the essence and he had his orders. He quickly got up and followed the other two off the bridge, leaving the three girls there.

“Anoixi," Lynnette called out, getting the rabbit's attention. “Load four torpedoes into the rear tubes and make sure that they are set on remote activation."

“On it."

“Then have your team equip the auto loaders with any decoys we have and have them evacuate to the shuttle once they're done."

The white vixen swiveled her chair around to face the snow leopard. “You're not secretly planning on ramming this ship into the Vengeance right?"

Lynnette didn't say a word which made the vixen frown and glare at her friend. Rayne might not have known her for very long but there were a few tells that the snow leopard had when she wasn't telling the whole truth that the fox had started to pick up on and she was noticing some of those tells now.

“Four minutes till we are in range of the Vengeance." Lynnette said, ignoring the look that Rayne was giving her. “Anoixi, status of the torpedoes?"

“Almost done." The three sat in silence as the seconds ticked on with nothing but the rumble of the ship for noise. The girls nearly jumped out of their seats when a chime went off at the rabbit's station. “There," Anoixi announced. “Torpedoes loaded and ready."

Lynnette nodded and checked her instruments. “And none too soon." She muttered. “We're leaving the jamming coverage. Anoixi, set the torpedoes to lock on the nearest large electronic signature and deploy them. Wait till my order to activate them."

“Wouldn't that mean that…"

“Yes."

Anoixi was silent a moment before turning back to her station, soon four light thunks were heard vibrating throughout the nearly empty ship as the four cylinder weapons drifted out lazily from behind the ship as it continued its course. The three sat there watching their instruments as the distance between them and the cruiser that had crippled them and their fleet diminished. It wasn't until warnings that sounded from their stations that they reacted.

“Rayne," Lynnette shouted to the vixen helmsman. “Punch it! Flank Speed!"

Rayne gripped the control lever and pushed it as far forward as it could go. The engines groaned as more power was fed to them and the ship slowly accelerated faster. The Vengeance, having now noticed the approaching frigate, released six more torpedoes that arced and sped towards the wounded ship. Before Lynnette could call out, Anoixi launched the four decoys from the rear launchers. Despite having to reorientate their trajectory, the decoys quickly overtook the frigate and sped off towards either side of the Mimosa; drawing the deadly ordnance away from the already battered ship. The torpedoes detonated once they got close to the decoys, creating two deadly blooms in space. The CCF Vengeance tried again and launched four more torpedoes, which the LCS Mimosa deployed more decoys to cause the torpedoes to veer off course and detonate barely a safe distance away from the frigate.

“Damn that was close…" Rayne muttered loud enough to be heard by the other two.

“No kidding." Anoixi agreed. “Next one will probably be even closer as we only got two more decoys left, then we're sitting ducks."

“Get ready to fire them anyway." Lynnette announced. “We're going to need the distraction because we're getting targeted by ranging lasers."

“Ranging lasers? You mean that…"

“They're targeting us with their big guns." Lynnette confirmed.

“Things are going to get really bumpy…" Rayne muttered as she flexed her fingers.

While they couldn't see it at the distance that the two ships were at, two of the cruiser's large turrets that were mounted towards the back swiveled to take aim at the approaching frigate. Four oversize flashes came to life briefly at the end of the barrels as the turrets fired their deadly ordinance. Rayne cursed as she tried to make minor evasive maneuvers with the already sluggish frigate, such smaller ships were faster and more maneuverable than their larger counterparts. However, the small capital ship was no fighter and there was nothing in the way of cover to hide behind. The cruiser's aim was thankfully poor with as far out as the Mimosa was, overshooting the frigate by several meters but some of them were close enough to still be effective when a handful exploded into heavy flack.

The three girls let out a surprise yelp as the ship shook around them.

“I told you it was going to get bumpy." Rayne bit out from the helm.

“Nothing we can do about it." Lynnette said as she held onto her console as the ship jolted from another close hit. “Two minutes till impact with the CCF Vengeance. Anoixi, get ready to activate the torpedoes. The target is us." Anoixi made a hard swallow as she looked at the snow leopard. Lynnette nodded reassuringly that the rabbit was still a little worried but turned to her task. “Rayne." She said getting the vixen's attention. “Spin up the Fold drives. We need them to make the last minute jump."

“Spinning up." Rayne said as her fingers flew over the controls. “Where should our exit coordinates be?"

“Anywhere that's not in front of that cruiser's guns or in the path of our torpedoes."

“Got it."

“Anoixi, Activ..."

Lynette couldn't finish because of how sudden events happened on the bridge. The Mimosa shook violently from the impact of one of the shells from the Vengeance, threatening to throw everyone like rag dolls around the bridge despite them being strapped into their seats. Anoixi screamed as her console exploded, throwing sparks in her face even though she tried to shield herself with her arms. Rayne made a growl as she suddenly fought with the controls to keep the frigate steady. Several more stations overloaded and exploded in a display of sparks that went flying every which way.

“Report!" Lynnette called out from her station, flustered more than ever now at their situation.

“My station's dead." Anoixi growled as she tried to get something to work. “I have no controles of anything."

“Helm is barely working." Rayne said as she worked her controles. “But that's the least of our problems."

“What now?" Anoixi sighed as she looked at the Lykain.

“The controles to the Fold Drive have been knocked out." The vixen grimaced. “And the Drives are now locked on build up and I can't stop it."

Anoixi thought for a moment. “If the drives are locked in build up mode…"

“Then they're building up to an overload." Lynnette finished.

“And I can't stop it."

Lynnette bit her lip as she thought quickly, the situation was quickly spiraling out of control. There was very little that they could do, and they were already committed deeply. In her mind there was only one course of action.

“Rayne, transfer helm control to my station. Then you and Anoixi get to the escape shuttle and launch."

Rayne looked over at her friend with a bewildered look on her face. “And what about you? We need to get you off the ship too."

Lynnette just shook her head. “There's no way for me to get out of this chair. The pipe that's pinning me here is impossible to move out of the way without cutting me out and we are now out of time. Get a move on!"

“But…"

“GO, Now!" Lynnette barked. “There's no time! I'll hold off till you get to the shuttle and use the Mag-Locks to propel you guys to safety."

Lynnette could see the tears in Rayne's eyes as she swiveled in her chair and input the commands to transfer the helm control to the Caushae. However, instead of joining the marble rabbit at the hatch, Rayne went over to the trap feline and bent over her, wrapping the snow leopard in a tight hug. “I'm sorry..." She whispered in Lynnette's ear. Hesitantly, Rayne backed away and looked Lynnette in her eyes. There was no sorrow or fear, but determination and acceptance.

Lynnette gave her friend a smile. “Go."

Rayne nodded and walked away. She was slow to cross the bridge to the exit hatch from a combination of the ship shaking and not wanting to abandon her friend to the fate she seemed to have reserved herself to. She stopped just before the hatch to look back at the feline. Lynnette was focusing on her console, going over the helm controls. She jumped a little when she felt a hand on her shoulders. Rayne had nearly forgotten about Anoixi standing there.

“Lets go..." The rabbit said solemnly.

The two made their way through the ship as quickly as they could, they couldn't go the most direct route due to the bulkheads sealing off dangerous and exposed compartments as the battle raged around them. More of the enemy's fire was now finding their mark on the badly damaged frigate, making the journey treacherous as the ship shook from the impacts and various conduits and components overloaded into multiple explosions and showers of sparks. One impact rocked the ship with enough force that the two girls yelped as they were thrown off their feet. Anoixi was lucky in that she had fallen backwards and landed on her back, while Rayne had the displeasure of falling headfirst into the nearby bulkhead. The Almedhas was shaking the daze from her head as she sat up, when she felt a hand on her shoulders.

“Are you alright?" Marus asked as he quickly looked her over.

“Yeah..." Anoixi muttered, getting back to her feet with Marus's help. “Rayne, are you okay?"

“Ow..." Was the only thing that Rayne said before the two quickly helped her back on her feet.

“What's going on? Where's Captain Wilkes?" Marus said over the rumble of another hit.

“The Fold Drive is on a build up to critical," Rayne said as she tried to steady herself as the corridor shook again with a rumble.

“And Lynnette stayed behind to ram the ship into the cruiser." Anoixi chimed in to which Marus let out a low growl at the news.

“You two get to the Evac-shuttle but don't close the hatch until you hear from me."

The two girls looked at each other confused. “What are you going to be doing?"

“Going back for the captain." The wolf said before making his way down the corridor.

“Come on…" Lynnette muttered to herself. She was currently watching a side monitor that had a static filled image of the docking bay, waiting on Rayne and Anoixi to arrive. “Where are you guys."

She was starting to get antsy as that last major hit took more systems offline and it was at the point where every second counted. In the few minutes that she was left there, she had set the controls so with a press of a button the ship to funnel all remaining power into the engines and laid in the frigate's last course that she'll ever take. Despite the shaking from the impacts, showers of sparks flying around her, and the near hopelessness of her current situation; her thoughts drifted to Reg.

'Hopefully, I will see you soon Reg…'

“Captain Wilkes!" Hearing her name was like a slap to the face and she turned her head to see Marus standing at the Bridge hatch.

“Cadet Marus!" Her eyes were wide with realization as she looked at him. “What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be on the shuttle!"

“Disobeying orders." He said as he made his way to her. His first thought was to try and move the pipe in her leg again. Which, like before, caused the feline to yowl in pain every time he tried to free it. Even attempting to bend it back into shape so he could pull her off was fruitless.

“It's pointless, get out of here before it's too late!"

“No sir." He said as he took a step back. “Never again…"

With leverage of a nearby console, Marus kicked forward and struck her chair, making her yelp from the jolt. He could see that the chair was now leaning off center, giving him a bit of hope. He kicked it again, knocking the chair further over.

“Marus, Stop! Get to the shuttle!"

“Not without you!" He practically shouted as he kicked the chair more.

He barked a cry as he put all of his force that he could muster behind his next kick. Lynnette cried out as the chair came loose from its mounting and fell sideways to the floor. She very nearly howled and passed out from the pain as her wound was agitated from the movement. Marus quickly stepped into her station, careful not to cause her any more grief as possible and began typing commands into the computer. When he was done, the computer made an announcement over what was left of the intercom.

“Attention, Collision Course Set, Four Minutes Before Engine Activation. Warning: Fold Drive Core Nearing Critical. All Hands Abandon Ship."

Marus quickly grabbed the straps from Lynnette's chair, picking her up as if she was an overstuffed duffle bag and moved with all the haste that he could muster at that point. He did his best to carry the complaining feline through the corridor as the ship was battered and jostled by more enemy rounds.

“Damn it, Marus. Just leave me behind."

“Shut up, sir!"

He made his way with her in tow and was near where the airlock to the hanger was when he was swept off his feet when the ship suddenly jerked and accelerated, causing him to fly forward after losing his grip on Lynnette.

“Attention, Collision Course Set, Engines Activated. Warning: Fold Drive Core Nearing Critical. All Hands Abandon Ship."

Marus shook the daze from his head as he lifted himself off the floor, noting that he was slowly drifting towards the ceiling. The sudden acceleration and the loss of gravity had thrown him within reach of the airlock but had also thrown him away from the Caushae that was now floating weightlessly behind him, drifting back the way they had come. He grabbed the handle to the hatch and used it to reoriented himself. Looking down the corridor, he could see that Lynnette's free limbs were now drifting lazily around.

'She must have passed out when I lost my grip.' He thought as he planted his feet on the hatch and pushed off.

He was able to reach her easily and he quickly checked to make sure that she still had a pulse, he let out a relieved sigh after feeling it but also took note of how weak it felt. He maneuvered himself around her limp form and started to guide her down the corridor. Without gravity, he was having an easier time of carrying the feline. His ears twitched when he heard a click from the airlock and saw the hatch opening up, revealing Marisa floating there.

“What the hell is taking so long?" She yelled, nearly losing her lollipop that she had in her mouth. “We need to get out of here, NOW!"

“No Kidding!" Marus shouted as he pushed his charge towards the female Lykain.

Marisa was confused at first as to why he was pushing the broken chair her way till she noticed the limp form of Lynnette and the little droplets of blood that she was trailing from her leg. She quickly pulled the Caushae into the airlock and sent her into the hanger before reaching out for Marus. Being a few seconds behind Lynnette, Marus reached out and grabbed Marisa's hand, using the new leverage to pull himself inside. The two quickly made their way through the double door system and into the hanger. Marus was glad to see that a few of the waiting crew had taken action and was pulling the acting captain into the shuttle, leaving Marus and Marisa free to maneuver themselves to the entry ramp.

An alarm sounded just as they reached the shuttle. “Attention," The computer announced over the hanger speakers. “Hanger Doors Cycling, Please Evacuate Hanger Area And Seal All Hatches."

“Hurry and get in." Marisa said as she pushed the black wolf in.

She looked back and watched as one of the engineers exited the hanger command booth on an upper level and made his way over the railing, launching himself towards the waiting Lykain. Marisa held out her arm to the approaching engineer when an odd sound hit her ears. It sounded like a loud pop off to the side and a slow screech of bending metal which was making both the wolfess and human engineer very nervus. Just as he was close enough to reach out for her, another loud bang was heard and both were suddenly whisked off her feet. Marisa was saved only because she had already had a firm grip on the hydraulics of the shuttle's ramp, where the engineer was immediately blown out the new gaping hole.

She could barely hear the screams from those inside the shuttle over the strong blowing air in her ears as the oxygen was sucked out of the ship. She could feel her grip slowly loosen on the smooth metal as her body was pulled towards the human size hole. A strong grip grabbed her arm, looking up she could see Marus had put a restraining rope around his waist and several of the remaining crew were doing their best to hold onto the wire. When he managed to get her into his embrace, the crew that had the rope pulled them in like a fish on a line.

The two barely made it inside when the ramp started to raise up and sealed them in. The main hanger hatch cycled open and finished evacuating the air that was left in the hanger that wasn't sucked out by the gaping hole in the side of the hanger. The doors opened up and released the shuttle where they quickly made their way out of the hanger under the now fiery ship. The Mimosa passed them over head trailing fire and debris of armor that was being blown off as the CCF Cruiser threw everything it could to stop the frigate's death charge. The interior mood of the shuttle was very somber as the survivors made their escape from what was left of the battle. None really paid attention to what was going on outside till a bright flash filled the shuttle from the cockpit viewport and everyone had to hold on tight from the resulting shockwave from the Fold Drive Core detenating...