"Damn!" I shouted and toggled us out of the way of incoming shots. "What the hell do they think they're doing!"
"They think they're firing at a were craft that escaped the bay just before -- watch out!"
We ducked a shot from one of our own, and then I took out a hunk of debris that sent pieces scratching over our shell. More human fighters headed our way, as well as were ships who realized we were not one of them. Great.
"Take out every were craft you two can target." Like I had to tell them to do that part. "I'll do my best to keep us from any fatal impacts. Sure wish I could see better, though."
"You give us such hope," Lisel said with a sigh.
I didn't have time to answer him. We plowed our way through pieces of the ship, and I realized that the larger were craft still moved outward, trying to escape. Limping, at least. I could see the surge and ebb of power on the screen as the engines labored. I wanted to go back and take one more swing at it, but I wasn't that crazy.
Yeah, that would have surprised Lisel and Krisin. It surprised me. I thought about heading home -- heading toward the Belgium -- but then I decided the station was less likely to shoot at us.
Our own people finally stopped firing at us, but we'd taken a couple hits. The craft had been hard enough to handle before half the controls died. Now even the toggle didn't want to work. I snarled and pounded it with both hands.
Our stolen craft made some sudden odd moves, and I barely stayed in my seat.
"Well done," Lisel praised. I looked up to see a piece of debris our own size slip past, barely yards away.
I didn't tell him I'd never noticed it.
The humans had stopped firing at us, at least. The enemy still tried, but the fighters from the Belgium held them off, and except for the stopping part, we didn't have much trouble making it back to the bay on the station.
At least we didn't do much damage.
We climbed out amid shouts of joy. Brick raced up and hugged me. He almost hugged Lisel, too -- but came to his senses in time. He did slap Krisin on the shoulder. I couldn't clearly hear what he was saying above the other shouts.
Befly had a screen up showing the battle still being fought beyond the station. There wasn't much to it once the Belgium turned on the were's mother ship. The final explosion of that larger ship filled the screen with light, and I held my breath -- but the Belgium had come through fine.
There was a lot more cheering.
I just found a quiet corner to sit down and rest for a few minutes...
"There you are," Lisel said.
I sat up, reaching for the controls. "Just shoot the bastards down! Do I have to do everything?"
Not on a ship. Oh.
"We've been looking all over for you," Krisin said. He pulled me to my feet. "Captain Dundas was starting to get worried."
"I just sat down a few minutes ago."
"We've been back on the station for six hours. The Captain is here. Come on."
I wanted to deny the timeline, but just glancing around, I could tell things had changed. Besides, I looked a lot more alert than Krisin and Lisel. I almost felt guilty. Almost.
We passed something odd in an open area just beyond the bay. Children playing -- Catchin, station, and even some from the Sailfour. They laughed and chased each other. I couldn't remember the last time I'd heard any children laughing. A Catchin woman sat close by and gave us a nod of thanks.
"I am one of ten scouts sent to find us a new world of our own," Lisel said suddenly. "That's why they know me -- and the two of you. The catchin on the Belgium are, in essence, my personal crew and staff, who will take up the work of making certain a world is viable. I have not given up the search, but I realized that the Catchin would not be safe with the enemy still attacking worlds. Once the war is over, I will go back to the search."
I nodded, feeling a distant hole in my life. I'd gotten used to my crew.
"I would be honored if the two of you would help in the search."
Krisin and I both grinned with delight.
The station looked well on the way to recovery already. I hadn't thought they'd be this resilient, but it reminded me of the children. They wanted their lives back.
Belgium crew guarded the door where Krisin led us. I ran a hand through my hair, but that was the best I could do. I feared I smelled like were ship still.
Captain Dundas had taken over a large office near the bay. The three of us were ushered into a room filled with ship captains, station people, and Belgium crew. They all looked up and stopped talking when we came into the room.
"We came back sooner than expected, and I think that a good thing on many levels," Captain Dundas said with a wave of her pocket comp, as though we could read the screen from across the room. "We picked up a message about the Sailfor and her involvement with the enemy. It had been punched through to the relay at our first jump point. Before we had turned around to come back, we caught an echo of the Mother Ship. We returned as quickly as we could manage. Tana, we were gone for hours, not days -- and we came back to find this chaos and madness." She stopped and took a deep breath, putting the pocketcomp on the table in front of her. She looked up at us. "Well done."
The End
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