Sins Of A Solar System - Chapter 16

For a moment the Hercules resembled all the other debris behind Starchaser, but suddenly it bustled with glowing light. A few seconds later the lights passed the hunted ship like angry fireflies as the projectiles sought their prey. A couple met the hull of the alliance ship, sending shivers thoughout the craft. The turrets on either side of the ship turned halfway around to aswer the fire, but the small calibre could do next to nothing against the incoming battleship.
    "How far to the survivours?" Accolon asked, surprising even himself by the calmness in his voice.
    "Are you even considering…" Guinevere began, but her voice trailed off. Another round of projectiles hit home and activated a flashing red light on Pauls controls.
    "First membrane reached," he announced, thowing his ship into a new series of break-neck maneuvers. None in the cockpit could do anything but amire the pilot skills of the trekker.
    "How far to the survivours?" Accolon asked again, this time more forcefully.
    "We cant stop!" exclaimed Starlance, "If they hit us with their big guns we are lucky to even notice our passing."
Accolon switched his own screen to the signal tracker, finding the distress call in their close proximity. What did it matter? Paul was right. They would need dazzling luck to rescue anyone, let alone get away alive.
    The following moment, dazzling luck appeared.
All of a sudden, the forward camera screens turned completly white, until the focus adabted to the strong light. They were heading directly towards the illuminators in the front of a huge ship. Paul pulled the Starchaser upwards to avoid the newly arrived obstacle, and when they had left the intense beams of white light, the ship behind it became clear. It was a battleship carrying the huge orange triangle of the federation. Salvation! As the small vessle passed the front batteries of the larger, the battleship began returning fire to the Hercules.
    "CFS Wodden to alliance vessle, it looks like you need a bit help here," a voice boomed from the speakers in the cockpit. Before anyone could act, Accolon opened a channel and spoke:
    "Federation captain Accolon to Wodden, glad to see you. Can you hold the line while we salvage the survivours at these coordinates?" He transmitted them as he spoke.
    "Thats partly why we are here, captain. Get in there swiftly. Well hold them off."
    "Understood, Accoon out." A simple nod form the captain made Starlance move his ship directly towards the wreck signalling for help.
    Outside, the Wodden turned about a quarter, blockading the futher pursuit of Hercules and presenting her starboard broadside to the enemy. The advantage of allignment was godsent, for the Hercules fairly outclassed the Wodden, despite them both being battleships of the line. While Starchaser came to a halt near the borken hull, Wodden began pounding her foe with the heaviest of guns her arsenal could provide. Normally she would have launched ships the size of Starchaser to intercept missiles and wreck havoc, but the chance of having to leave some behind was too great.
    "Touching the hull in 3… 2… 1…" Starchaser shook a bit as she grapped the grey metal wall. A tube was lowered onto the raw surface, sealing itself with an expanding gell.
    "We are ready to cut." Paul informed, and Accolon left the cockpit with guinevere and Harwyn. The admirals would probably like to know what was going on, but at this moment they could go to hell for all Accolon cared. A latch in the main corricor of the ship lead to a small airlock chamber, conveniently equiped with cutting tools. Apparently, these operations werent that uncommon in deep space. Harwyn shut the latch above them, and as they waited for the floor to open, they equiped themselves with oxygen masks, sealing them at the collar. A hiss announced the opening of the floor, revealing the bare interior of the tube below them. At the bottom of the well like compartment, a rough grey metal surface was visible. Bursts of light entered the tube through the transparent gell sealing the gap between wreck and ship.
    "Lets go." Accolon encouraged and pushed himself off down the tube towards the broken hull. If they were lucky they would find the marooned crew on the other side of the metal armour. If they were unlucky, the Wodden would break line before they could get back from a search.