The explosion jarred Lauryna out of her seat and onto the ground. It sounded as if someone had dropped a building on the bridge, one laced with heat and light and sound and anguish and pain. Lauryna bounced off the floor of the bridge twice, and she felt very much like staying there, but she knew, somehow, that she had to get up. That to stay on the ground was to die.

She pulled herself up, and turned to the bridge.

It was no longer intact. A metal beam had fallen from the ceiling, cutting the larger part off from her. She had a path to the lift, but not much else. An electrical fire had started in the wiring that had been pulled with it. She could see Crewmate Glennon…no. She could see his head.

His body was not attached to it.

Lauryna felt like vomiting, but she walked over to Drrntr, who was now moaning in obvious pain.

“Captain, are you all right?” a voice called. “Captain, are…oh, gods.”

“Commander!” Lauryna called.

“Are you all right, Crewmate Gwenn?”

“I’m alive. Crewmate Drrntr is with me,” she said. “She’s hurt. Crewmate Glennon….”

“Crewmate Glennon. And the Captain,” Ammera said, moving to the one functional terminal on her side of the bridge. She began tapping on it furiously. “We’re going to lose force field protection in about two minutes, and there will be an explosive depressurization at that point. You two need to get to the auxiliary bridge and get us the hell out of here. I’ll buy you some time.”

“Commander?”

“Crewmate Drrntr, you are in command. Crewmate Gwenn, you are the XO.”

“Ammera,” Lauryna said, as she realized with horror what Commander Tam – Captain Tam – was saying.

“There’s no time. I’m cut off from the lift, and I’m not getting through to it. If you honor the sacrifice of the Captain, and Crewmate Glennon…and me…you’ll get your arses down to the aux bridge now,” Ammera said.

Drrntr straightened herself. “It is an honor to have served with you, commander! And if we die today, an honor to die with you!”

“Agreed, Drrntr! Now get going! And Lauryna….”

Lauryna was helping Drrntr into the turbolift. “Yes, ma’am?” she said, huffing.

“Get Thio to Avalon.”

Lauryna looked through the flames and wreckage to her friend, and nodded. “I will, captain. I promise,” she said, and saluted.

Ammera returned the salute, and turned back to her station.

She turned the ship into what appeared to be an uncontrolled spin. It would look like they were disabled. Yes, that would bring the two corvettes in…and that cruiser.

It would take them three minutes to get to the aux bridge. Ammera laid in the program, and sighed. “Computer, deliver message, personal, to Thiosmit. Thio, I’m sorry, but this is the last thing I get to say to you, or to anyone. In a few seconds, I’ll be dead. But I want you to know how glad I am that I got to know you, not as a possession, or a pet, but as a person, and my friend. So my friend…live a long and happy life. And tell Lauryna I wish the same for her. Goodbye,” she said, simply, and closed the connection.

She hit the button, executing her last command, and closed her eyes.

The force field flickered out.

* * *

“Drrntr…Captain…are you all right?” Lauryna asked, as the doors to the turbolift finally opened.

“No,” Drrntr said. “But I will manage long enough.” The acting captain said this softly, with effort. If anything would convince Lauryna that Drrntr was injured, that would be it.

“Ms. Riases, Mr. Florem, Mr. Icarta, this is…the XO, report to the auxiliary bridge immediately,” Lauryna called into her commlink. She reached the door of the aux bridge, and input her command codes; Drrntr did the same.

Drrntr pulled herself into the helm – not the seat reserved for the Captain – and said, softly, “Lauryna Gwenn, I have ruptured my poison sac.”

Lauryna gasped. The Ler had poisoned darts in their neck – they rarely used them, but they could be effective in a pinch. “Is this…are you….”

“I will be fine,” Drrntr said, noting their heading. She bared her teeth. Captain Tam had been a worthy and mighty leader. Her brief time in command would not be forgotten. “We have a reaction to prevent the poison from spreading.”

“What’s that?”

“We fall unconscious for two to three days. It is a reflex. We cannot control it. It will slow my metabolism, and allow the poison to dissipate. But it will keep me from my duties. Computer, voice authorization Drrntr, Senior Crewmate First Class, Ona-Alpha-Ishaytan-Gimmel-Niner-Three-Seven-One-Zhe. Acknowledge.”

“Recognize Drrntr, Commander, Breveted, Acting Captain.”

“I have become incapacitated,” Drrntr said. “Transfer command of this vessel to the acting executive officer.”

“Acknowledged. Command transferred to Gwenn, Lauryna, Senior Crewmate Second Class, Breveted, Acting Captain.”

“Get us home, captain,” Drrntr said, now clearly struggling to remain awake, “or destroy the ship if you must. But do not surrender to them. You are mighty.”

“As are you, Captain Drrntr.”

The door opened, and Riases, Icarta, and Florem entered the room. “What’s going on, Crewmate?” Niseu Florem said. “We were ordered here by Commander – Crewmate Drrntr!”

“Ms. Riases, get Captain Drrntr into a good resting position, then take comms. Mr. Icarta, take weapons. Mr. Florem, take the helm.”

“Captain Drrntr?”

“Captain Thop, Captain Tam, and Crewmate Glennon are dead,” Lauryna said. “If we do not wish to join them, we’re going to have to work fast.”

Florem slid into the helm, and Riases carried Drrntr a short distance, laying her down gently.

“So…who’s in command?” Florem asked.

“I am,” Lauryna said, walking to the captain’s chair – it took her just a moment to sit down. “You’re XO. As soon as I have two seconds, you’ll be breveted to SC3C. Congrats.”

“Gorram.”

“Exactly. Sitrep.”

“We just righted ourselves – it looks like we’re executing a programmed course…Captain! We just fired every missile in the tube, and disruptors full!”

The Tez shuddered as three shockwaves roiled it. Lauryna checked weapons, and smiled. “Thank you, Captain Tam,” she said, as she saw that two corvettes and a cruiser had just taken half the Tez’s arsenal at point blank range. This could prove problematic later, of course, but they had to be alive for it to become a problem.

“Crewmate Florem, there’s a system about four light years distant, System 58-Rho- One-One-Four-Seven. Lay in a course at whatever our best speed is and engage.”

“Aye, captain,” Florem said. The Tez shuddered and groaned, but she got going, and pulled away and out of the blast zone.

“Captain, the fourth vessel is stopping – it looks like they’re conducting rescue operations,” Icarta said. “We’re in the clear.”

“For the moment,” Lauryna said. “They know where we’re going. It’s really our only move. But at least we’ve got a chance.” She sighed, and looked at the chair she sat in. There was nobody to relieve her. Nobody to lean on. It was hers. “Mr. Icarta, contact Decanus Thynesi, have him put together a security team, I want every member of this crew accounted for – alive or dead.”

“Aye, captain.”

“Captain, Dr. Krktll reports at least four injuries, he’s asking….”

Riases paused, and swallowed hard. “Captain, he’s asking to talk to Captain Thop to see if there are any more.”

“Tell him to stand by, that the captain will speak to him in a moment,” Lauryna said, wishing that meant someone – anyone – else. She hit a white button, one she’d never had occasion to hit before. “Attention all crew, this is Acting Captain Gwenn speaking. As you all know, we have been attacked by a group led by the Drazari officer we accompanied here. In the attack, Captain Thop, Acting Captain Tam, and Crewmate Glennon were killed. Acting Captain Drrntr has been incapacitated. We have taken serious damage, and I know there are more of you who are hurt.

“We do not have time to mourn,” Lauryna said. “Not yet. The Drazari are still pursuing us, and we have a difficult journey ahead of us. We are alone, we are battered, and we are a long gorram way from home. But we are Captain Thop’s crew. We are the best in this fleet. And one way or another, we will get this ship back to Imperial space. Damage recovery teams, begin sweep with priority on securing systems. All department heads or their representatives are to report to the Auxiliary Bridge at their earliest convenience. Gwenn out.”

Lauryna Gwenn took a deep breath. And Captain Gwenn turned to her executive officer.

“Crewmate Florem, time to the system?”

“Two hours, twenty-nine minutes.”

“Do we have cloaking?”

“It’s very limited,” Icarta said. “Probably won’t hide much.”

“Better than nothing. Engage it.”

“Captain, there’s a personal call for you,” Riases said. “It’s…it’s Thiosmit.”

Lauryna closed her eyes. She really wanted to head straight for him. She knew how it felt, to have someone you care for ripped away. And at least she might see Izzy some day.

But she had a job to do.

“Tell Thio I am sorry, I truly am. But I cannot talk to him now. But tell him that Ammera told me to take care of him, and on my life, I will.”

“Yes, captain.”

Lauryna leaned back in her chair, and pulled up the chart on the system they aimed for. She felt the weight of the entire ship on her back; she feared it would get heavier before long.

* * *

System 58P1147 had little to recommend it to anyone with a desire to live.

Oh, there were resources in the system, one supposed – eight planets and several more moons were bound to have them. But there was nowhere in the system for life to really establish itself, nowhere for it to grow.

The Tez Magilna was grounded on the innermost moon of the sixth planet from the star, and under different circumstances, Lauryna might have paused to enjoy the desolate beauty of the place. The rocks and ice that made up the landscape were almost pretty; clouds of carbon dioxide drifted through the tenuous atmosphere. The huge blue giant, its rings catching the faint starlight, was beginning to rise over the mountaintops. It was achingly beautiful in its alien way, despite the temperature, which hovered about 100 degrees above absolute zero.

“The good news,” the chief engineer, Lorm Jacint, was saying, “is that the damage to the engines is not as bad as we’d feared. It will take fifteen, twenty hours to get the parts replicated and installed, but once they’re done, we’ll be able to hit warp 6.2. Can’t get us all the way to seven with the structural damage to the ship – that’s more severe, and we aren’t going to be able to improve it much until we reach base.”

Lauryna nodded. She was outside the ship, looking at the damage herself. The Science Officer, Crewmate Nenca, had the bridge – he wasn’t a line officer, and had always endeavored not to be, but there weren’t many options right now. Besides, she’d ordered Florem to get some rest – they’d been here forty hours, and that meant the Drazari had forty hours to get ships into the system. Every minute more was a minute the noose tightened. The second the engines were online, they would lift – and at that point, she needed her XO at the helm.

She hadn’t broken down. She wanted to. She wanted to weep for Ammera, for Captain Thop, for Crewmate Glennon – she wanted to weep for the others who were injured, not just Captain Drrntr, but Ms. Crere, who had lost a leg below the knee, or Ms. Eng, who had severe burns that couldn’t be properly healed until they reached base, or Mr. Diophon, who had head trauma so grave that Dr. Injury-Healer thought he would probably not make it, or Ms. Itul, who had refused surgery on her compound fracture, demanding the doctors simply set it so she could get back to duty. She was gritting her teeth in pain, but she was a weapons officer, and she knew that they needed her to get as many missiles replicated and loaded as they could.

The lone shuttlecraft they had, the Drennon, came in for a landing. Lauryna nodded to Jacint. “Good work, chief. Keep me posted. And grab a bit of rack time once Crewmate Gdioro is back.”

“I will. She’s due to relieve me in an hour or so. You do the same, Captain.”

Lauryna nodded, and walked toward where the shuttle’s pilot was disembarking. She had debated trying to ask people to call her “Crewmate.” But she’d given up, in no small part because she knew why they did; it was the same reason Drrntr was “Captain Drrntr” in her mind, or Ammera was “Captain Tam.”

A ship needs a captain, and so does its crew. She’d served with these people, they knew and trusted her. They didn’t know if she’d be a good captain, and hells, neither did she, but it didn’t matter. She was the captain. And they knew, all of them, that she would either lead them safely home, or die trying. They didn’t know what the odds of either was, but they could accept that, all of them.

If she insisted she wasn’t a captain, they would be rudderless. It would encourage others to question her. They didn’t have time for questions. Her orders might be right or wrong, but they had to be firm and unquestioned. If she showed doubt, if she showed fear…they would too.

She owed them what Captain Bass and Captain Thop and Captain Tam and Captain Drrntr had always demonstrated: They had never shown fear, even when she knew they must have felt it.

She may lead them to their doom, but she would lead them.

“Ms. Alyias, what’s the situation?”

The young science officer stepped down, and nodded. She was barely qualified on shuttles, and Lauryna had already reassigned her as a relief pilot. She wasn’t qualified on capital ships at all, but it didn’t matter – if they were in a situation where Ciar Alyias was the only one left to take the helm, they were dead anyhow.

That didn’t mean she couldn’t be useful in that role, however; she could help with weapons and navigation, keep an eye on the enemy. Lauryna had reassigned all the science and academic officers. They didn’t need to study right now. They needed to survive.

“Captain, best estimate from what I could see was seven ships, one in this planetary system. Good news is that the one in this system appeared to be just a shuttle with a couple probes, and they were focused on the other moon. They must figure three Archavias’ worth of gravity would dissuade us.”

Lauryna nodded. Using gravitic dampeners didn’t come without a cost, but hopefully the misdirection would be worth it. “Good news. Did you see any sign of how long they’ll take?”

“Looked like a random-walk survey by the shuttle. Probably 5-10 hours per world, maybe less depending on the probes and their algorithm. But that’s for a 97 percent survey, not the full data analysis.”

Lauryna didn’t have to do the math. That wasn’t enough time. “We need to improve our cloak.”

“Not much we can do, ma’am. Our biggest issue will be our heat signature, and a cloak can’t adequately screen that, not for long.”

Lauryna sighed. “Well, we’ll just have to hope we can fix the ship in time. Nice work, Ms. Alyias.”

“Thank you, captain.”

“Come on, let’s get you aboard,” Lauryna said, stifling a yawn. She led the junior crewmate to a gangplank. “Permission to come aboard, Mr. Jorstin.”

“Granted, Captain. Crewmate,” the security officer said.

Lauryna led them through the airlock, and unsealed her helmet. “All right, get out of your flight gear and report to Crewmate Nenca on the aux bridge.”

“Aye, ma’am.”

Lauryna turned, and headed for engineering proper, when she was interrupted by her XO. Crewmate Florem had put on a new uniform.

It was red.

“Done with your rest already?”

“Yes, actually, six hours, on the dot. And, I know, captain,” he said, apologetically. “I requested a new uniform, fed the old one into the recycler, it spit out a red one. Did for you, too, ran it for you to save you the time.”

Lauryna gave him a slight smile, one reserved for a captain’s XO. “Well, Niseu, it looks good on you. Hopefully we live long enough for someone to see it.”

“That bad, huh?”

“It’s gonna be close,” she said, checking the hallway. It was empty, so she said, quietly, “Based on Ms. Alyias’s report…she estimates they’ll be looking at this planet in 5-10 hours. Repairs to the engine should take at least 15.”

“Sounds about right,” Florem said. “Captain, you gonna sleep at any point?”

“No,” Lauryna said.

“That’s a terrible answer. As your XO, ma’am, I advise you at least go rest for an hour, take a quick shower, get changed out of your pressure suit. If we’re gonna be attacked in five or six hours…you deserve just a little time.”

Lauryna thought about fighting, but Florem was right. “Thank you, Crewmate Florem,” she said. “I should change. I’ll meet you on the bridge in an hour.”

“Aye aye,” he said, with a warm smile.

Lauryna headed for her quarters, but stopped halfway. Instead, she made a right turn, nodding to a few people she passed along the way.

She reached the door, and hit the buzzer.

She knew he was in here; knew he could open the door by voice, Ammera had set it up.

She took a deep breath. “Thio, it’s Lauryna. Please open the door.”

When she heard nothing, she typed her code into the pad by the door. A sharp klaxon sounded, and the door slid open.

“Thio? You in here? She said, poking her head in. She thought she heard Ammera, for a second, and dismissed it, until she realized she actually was hearing Ammera.

“…know how glad I am that I got to know you, not as a possession, or a pet, but as a person, and my friend. So my friend…live a long and happy life. And tell Lauryna I wish the same for her. Goodbye.”

“Repeating Message,” one of the standard computer voice interfaces said.

“Thio, I’m sorry, but this is the last thing I get to say to you, or to anyone. In a few seconds, I’ll be dead. But I want you to know how glad I am that I got to know you, not as a possession, or a pet, but as a person, and my friend. So my friend…live a long and happy life. And tell Lauryna I wish the same for her. Goodbye.”

“Repeating Message.”

“Thio, I’m sorry, but….”

“Computer, halt playback,” Lauryna said, as she saw Thio, curled on on Ammera’s desk, laying next to the speaker, crying. “Thio,” she said, as she knelt down by the tiny human. “Oh, Thio, I’m so, so sorry.”

The person did not reply. But he did move; Lauryna took that as at least something.

“She asked me to take you to Avalon,” Lauryna said. “The last thing she asked me to do. And I will. Or if you don’t want to go there…I can take you anywhere else you want to go.”

“I want to be with her,” Thio said, softly.

“I know,” Lauryna said. She laid her finger against his back. “Thio, I want to tell you it’ll all be okay, but you and I know that’s a lie. I’m never going to get over Ammera, and neither are you. But I’m here for you, okay? If you need me, you know where to find me. If you want to stay with Izzy and me….”

“Do I have to leave? Are you clearing her quarters? I know, there’s…there’s gotta be a new XO, I can leave….”

“Someone else can clear Captain Tam’s quarters. It won’t be me. You shared them with her; as long as I’m in command, this is your room.”

“And how long will that be?” Thio said.

“Honestly?” Lauryna said. “Maybe a few hours. I don’t know that you and I won’t be going with Ammera very soon.”

Thio rubbed his eyes, and looked up at Lauryna. “It’s that bad?”

Lauryna smiled. “We’re not giving up. Ammera gave her life to give us a chance. We’ll play it out until we have no choice.”

Thio nodded, and stood up. “Lauryna,” he said, softly, “I want to stay here for now. But…maybe later, if things aren’t going to work out…I know, you’ll probably want to be with Izzy, but….”

“If you want to be with us, you can,” Lauryna said.

“Thanks,” he said. “I’m gonna lay down, just for a bit. You should too. You’re tired, I can tell.”

“Captain doesn’t get to be tired,” Lauryna said. “Sleep well, Thio.”

“Good luck, Lauryna. And thanks. Thanks for being Ammera’s friend. And mine.”

“Thank you, Thio,” she said, “for being mine.”

She walked back to her quarters, each step heavier than the last. In a way, death would be easier than surviving. She knew that when she finally had a chance to uncork her emotions, they would overwhelm her. If they died, she would never have to.

And they were probably going to. If found, she had every intention of trying to find any way out possible, and if there wasn’t one, she would destroy the ship. She was damned if she’d give Aurrol the opportunity to hold them prisoner.

And by that decision, she would consign her entire crew, plus Thio and Izzy, to death.

She walked into her room, and looked at Izzy, dozing peacefully in cryosleep. “You don’t have to tell me,” Lauryna said as the door closed. “I know I’m in over my head. Iz, I’m captain. I’m making life and death decisions, and it’s stupid. You know it, it’s stupid,” she said, stripping off her pressure suit and filling the sink with water. “What the hell chance do they have with me in the captain’s chair? None, that’s what.”

She sighed. “I know, you’re right, I don’t believe that, but I damned well do believe they’d have a better chance if it was Captain Thop and Ammera who survived, and me who’d died. Yes, I know I wouldn’t have a better chance, Iz, but frak, so what? The ship would, and that’s what matters. And no, I’m not going to eject the warp core. That’s your answer to everything, isn’t it?” Lauryna said, chuckling.

She flopped down on her bed, wearing just her underwear; she winced as a gash she’d been ignoring on her right arm opened back up just a bit. She covered her eyes, and wished she could sleep, like Izzy.

“We don’t have a chance,” Lauryna said, finally. “Not because I’m in command, but because we’re one ship and they’ve got their whole fleet looking for us. And the damage to our ship was too great. They’re gonna find us before we can complete repairs, and once they do, I’ll have no choice. We all probably have about ten hours to live. Just like you,” she said, remembering what Dr. Geen had said, long ago, before she put Izzy into suspension.

Lauryna sat up. “I could have you with me for those last ten hours,” Lauryna said. “Don’t know as you’d forgive me, but…we could die together.”

She walked over to Izzy’s cryotube, kissed the top of it, and looked at it for a hard moment. She splashed some water on her face, and came back to it.

“I know, it’s stupid,” she said. “But you always made me stupid. In a good way, Iz. In the very best way. I love you so much. And I need you. I need you to tell me goodbye. And I need to tell it to you.”

She wiped her eyes, and shifted her hand ever-so-slightly to the controls of the tube. She laughed. “You remember our first kiss? It was at full-size for you…or with me shrunk, whichever way you want to think the holos work. You were beautiful, you know. You’re beautiful at any size, but Avalon’s holos were so perfect…I remember you finally tackling me, and me kissing you back, and Iz, I just want to kiss you once more before we….”

Lauryna trailed off. She looked down at Izzy in shock. “Gorram,” she said. “That just might work.”

She stood up, pausing just a moment to kiss the top of the cyrotube. “Iz, maybe that right there was our last kiss. But I sure hope not.” She pulled on her new red tunic, with three bronze pips on the chest; pulled on her duty pants and boots, and headed for the corridor.

“I love you, Iz. I’ll be back,” she said, as she hurried to engineering. There wasn’t a moment to lose.