HMS Valediction

Chapter 35.2

ARC9 strikes ARC10 again. The ship wavers as fire breaks out from its starboard side.

Fire back, I scream in my head as the flames burst from the ship's interior and continue blazing outward in beams of orange and blue light. The fire breaks into balls of light that disperse through the darkness, increasing the star count surrounding the ships. Fire back. Please. Protect our people.

But ARC10 can't hear me from here.

"The civilians," I say instead. "They'll die in there."

Nuna raises her shoulder and touches her chin to the blue button communicator on her jacket. The little device glows as she makes her commands. "Code two-three-three-four. I repeat, code two-three-three-four. Send evacuation carriers to friendly ship ARC10—"

The Guilded soldier swings the back of his spear against Nuna's exposed neck. The whack cracks through the hall.

Moon stomps over, grabs the communication button from Nuna's collar, and crushes it between his fingers. "Haven't we lost enough for this pathetic cause?"

Out the window, with the focus honed in on ARC10, ARC9, and the HMS Valediction, I watch shuttles released from HMS Valediction's side zoom to my ship's destruction zone.

I tap the communicator on my PAHLM to open a line, but before I can speak, a Guilded soldier rushes toward me, his spear aimed at my heart. Behind him, the others have regained their composure and have moved into formation for a new attack. Juno has already retreated to the top of the dais with a row of Guilded soldiers making a golden wall of flesh between the battle emerging between us.

The soldier spins, arcing his spear around to slice my neck. 

I dodge it and duck when he whirls it around again."Commander Lorn to HEL-HAWK-one, friendlies are oscar mike to home base for civilian egress. Cover them."

"Roger," Moyra's grim voice cracks. "Will cover friendlies for civilian egress."

I duck again as the soldier relentless pursues me. We spin across the room, him charging me as I retreat and dodge.

I keep the channel open in my ear and listen as the evacuation proceeds. Whenever I spin around, I can watch it from our window with the zoomed-in view.

Moyra commands her Hawks into formation. Her squadron checks-in from wherever they were hiding. She orders them to follow the HMS Valediction's shuttles as they speed toward my people.

With the butt of my pistol, I bash in my opponent's helmet, enough to rattle him. With the seconds I have while he regains composure, I attempt to decipher SCOPE's emergency evacuation directions to the militia presence still aboard the ship. They begin procedures.

They report fires burning in Quads 2 and 3. They don't call for Fire Team.

A Guilded soldier thrusts his spear at my side. I weave around it and swipe my leg under his. He collapses.

"SCOPE Ground to NEST. Initiate emergency lock-down procedure code A-two-two-oh-one of quadrant-two. Confirm lockdown."

"NEST Confirming lockdown, SCOPE ground. Quadrant-two is clear. Initiating lockdown in three-two..."

When my enemy returns, I press my glucker on his thigh and pull the trigger. He convulses and drops.

Nuna battles two Guilded while Teeno and Coodi face a line of gold cronies rushing toward them. Umpire shoves himself between the civilians and the soldiers marching their way. The unarmed civilians huddle together as he fends off each assailant.