"Win."
He awoke with a start. He'd been having the nightmare again. He groaned to indicate his wakefulness.
"Win, we think we've got the Lume back on line. Zia's running a diagnostic right now. I figured you'd want to know ASAP."
The light from the corridor backlit Jedidiah Kosmenko to the extent that Durwin Reid couldn't make out his features, but he knew that voice, and as the words registered, he came wide awake.
"I'll be up in five," he said.
The bridge of the Phoenix was a shambles. The battle had taken its toll on the ship as much as on the crew. By the time Reid made it to the bridge, the rest of the senior bridge crew was already present. This is going to take a lot of getting used to, he thought. "Report," he said aloud.
"Jax says she's all set for a test of the engines," said Kosmenko. "No guarantees, though. Those missiles were pretty nasty."
"Understood. Val, let's try for a jump," ordered Reid.
"Yes, Mr. ... Captain," replied Valkyrie Swan from the recently reconstructed pilot's console. Reid winced. He wasn't the only one who had to get used to this.
"Lume engaging in three, two, one..."
Nothing happened; Kosmenko swore from the upper deck.
"Engine room, this is the bridge," said Reid. "What's going on down there, Jax?"
Zia Jax was up to her elbows in machinery.
"As soon as you tried engaging the drive, the power relays blew. I'm going to need a few more hours to patch this up before we can try again."
"Do your best. Rahim is on his way down to help," said Reid. With a nod, Rahim Hanai left his sensor console to assist with the repairs.
"Captain," said Dr. Luana Fernandes Monte, somewhat exasperatedly. "I must insist that you return to your quarters to rest while repairs are being made. You are not yet fully recovered from your injuries."
"You're the boss," said Reid, rising wearily from his seat and heading to the lift. "Jed, you're in charge. Try not to blow anything else up, OK?"
"I'll see what I can do. Rest well, Cap'n."
Back in his quarters, Reid stripped off his uniform and sat on the bed, head in his hands. He knew Doc Monte was right, but he also knew that if he went back to sleep, the nightmares would be waiting for him. He wasn't ready for that again just yet. From his desk, he picked up the mission report he'd been working on. Realizing that wasn't really any better than tormented sleep, he put it back down with a sigh. If he was going to have to relive it, he might as well get some rest at the same time.
Four days prior:
Captain Tabor Schelling looked concerned. Reid had never seen such an expression on that face. The old man was always unflappable, no matter the situation, no matter the stakes. The crack in that normally impassive face sent a chill down Reid's spine. This was not going to be good.
"Shields up, ready weapons," said Schelling. "Mr. Green, evasive maneuvers. Dr. Monte, prepare to receive casualties. All hands, this is the captain. Prepare for battle."
The two approaching unidentified ships grew larger on the viewscreen.
This was not going to be good at all.
The lead vessel opened fire, while the second veered off to get another angle of attack on the Phoenix. Soon, both were targeting the United Earth vessel and firing with impunity.
"Shields are offline," said Kosmenko, "we won't last long against this kind of punishment."
"Jax, any chance we can get the shields back?" asked Schelling over the intercom.
"Not if you want to keep the atmosphere breathable," squawked the overhead speaker.
"Understood," said the captain. "Atmosphere isn't all that useful if we aren't around to breathe it; let's keep cutting life support as a last resort. Bridge out."
Hanai's sensor console beeped insistently.
"Sir, they've launched some sort of missile," he said, his voice cracking slightly. It was never far from Reid’s mind that the kid was only 19.
"Those ships shouldn't be equipped with missiles," said Reid. "Where did they—"
"Brace for impact," said the captain urgently.
They may as well have not bothered. Reid thought it felt like the deck had dropped out from beneath him, and then he felt himself plummet to the unforgiving metal. He lay there for a moment, not sure if he was even capable of moving. As he opened his eyes, he realized that his hearing was returning as well. Something must've blown on the bridge.
Sure enough, the pilot's console was a charred mass of twisted metal and sparking wires. Damien Green lay motionless a few feet from it. Reid crawled over and pressed his forefinger to Green's neck.
Nothing.
Damn.
Slowly, he managed to stand and survey the wreckage. He was the first one back on his feet, but he could see movement in several places. Instinctively, his eyes went to the viewer, but all it showed was static. He walked over to the sensor station and helped Hanai back into his seat.
"Let's figure out what's going on out there, shall we?" Reid said as gently—but firmly—as he could.
"Yeah..." Hanai replied, clearly dazed.
"Rahim!" Reid said. "We need to know what's happening, and we need to know now. We can figure out how we feel once we've gotten out of this mess. Right now, I need you to focus, so we can survive this."
"Yes, sir!" said the younger man.
By now, Kosmenko had managed to get back to his tactical station. Valkyrie Swan had taken over piloting from a secondary station. Reid froze. His eyes flew to the center of the bridge. The captain lay crumpled at the base of his seat. Reid rushed over, noticing as he did a sharp pain in his side. He knelt down by the captain's still form and rolled him onto his back. There was no need to check for a pulse. The whole left side of his head was crushed in.
"Uh-oh," said Hanai.
Reid couldn't get his voice to work, but he turned to the sensor officer.
"Those ships are coming around for another pass," the young man elaborated. "The shields are still offline. No way we'll survive another hit like that."
"Weapons? Engines?" croaked Reid.
"We have one rail gun and two operating missile tubes," said Kosmenko.
"Lume is down, but I should be able to give you some limited sub-light mobility," said Swan.
Right. Green is dead. Reid tried to abide by what he'd told Hanai, but the truth was, he didn't feel ready for this.
"Uh..." he started. No, he had to take charge. What would the captain have done?
"Val, bring us in as close as you can to one of those cruisers. Crowd him so his weapons can't track us, and with any luck, the other one won't fire for fear of friendly casualties. If we can't take them out, let's at least see if we can make a good standoff out of it."
"On it," said Swan.
"Engine room, this is Reid. What's your status?"
"Jax here; it would be faster to tell you what isn't damaged, but I think I can get the Lume to give us at least one good jump, if you can give me ten minutes or so."
"I don't know if you've got that long, but give it all you can," said Reid. "We need to get out of here. Then we can take stock. Bridge out."
"Sir," said Swan, "We are in as close as we can get to the lead cruiser."
"Let's hope the fact that they haven't fired again means they won’t," said Reid.
Several tense minutes passed with status updates and course corrections until the overhead speaker came alive.
"Bridge, this is Jax. If we go right now, we should be able to make a break for it with the Lume."
"Good work," said Reid. "Val, get us out of here. Doesn't matter where, as long as it's not here."
"Yes, sir," said Swan. "Engaging Lume in three, two, one... jumping."
They managed three minutes at faster-than-light speed before they abruptly dropped out.
"Any sign of pursuit?" asked Reid.
"None," said Hanai.
"Okay people, let's see what we can do about getting this ship functional," said Reid, now acutely aware again of the sharp pain in his side, not to mention the one in his head.
Dr. Monte arrived on the bridge at that moment. After checking with each officer briefly, she ordered a nurse to take care of removing Green and Schelling from the bridge, and then insisted that Reid accompany her back to the infirmary.
"You have a concussion and at least two broken ribs," said the doctor. "You'll be no good to anyone in this shape. Leave Kosmenko in charge for the time being and come with me."
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