Holding Action at Khan

[Guest Blond_Knight]

Holding Action at Khan

"Status report."

"It could have been worse Captain. Backup life support has been restored as well as

the shuttle craft reactor chargers."

"What about the weapons?"

"Forward PTA turrets are still offline. We should have the main guns repaired within

a half hour."

"And the hyperdrive?"

"Most of the fuel vented into space before we could get the fires in engineering

under control. Two jumps no more."

Captain Davout took one last drag off his cigarette before grinding it into the

wristlaser-become-ashtray. A joke presented by comrades in happier times. The smoke drifted

up and blended with the general haze from the extinguished fires on the bridge. His eyes

stung, when was the last time he'd had some sleep? He glanced around his Ready room like it

was the first time he was seeing it. God what a mess. The emergency lights went out and the

main lighting flickered on a moment later.

"Damn. The girl took a hellova lot of damage Chief...I hope it was worth it."

The Chief stood as rigidly as possible, Davout could see and smell the Chiefs burned

coveralls, must have been a hell down there he thought. Chief Kohl was a good man to have

when your ship is a wreck, Davout thought wrly. I put my faith in him while the crew puts

their faith in me. He reached for another cigarette.

"DO you think the Fleet was able to withdraw Sir? To Antis?"

"There is uh was a secondary rally point in the Herin system. Provided those damn

Devils dont get there first." replied Davout.

"What was Command thinking? How could we hold the gate against the Gammulan fleet?"

asked the Chief bitterly.

"THAT was not their fleet!", snapped Davout back,"THAT was their forward

reconaissance."

The plasteel door leading to the bridge was wedged open, a young woman with

disheveled blond hair hurried in. "Sir, we're receiving a transmission from the Crazy Horse.

They were cut off Captain!"

Davout's cigarette ejected and rolled across the conference table."Christ!"

They were moving through the door to the bridge.

"The Crazy Horse is a cruiser isnt it Sir? How could they be outrun?" Kohl asked

anxiously.

"They were'nt alone, they were escorting Credian refugees."

Backup life support had begun to clear the smoke from the bridge, medics were moving

around treating bridge personnel. Flickering screens cast a surreal glow on the exhausted

faces of the crew. The garbled audio made the bridgecrew come to a complete stop. Except for

the static the silence was total. A warbleing frantic voice cut in.

"..say..gain..his..is..th..G.V..Cr..y..Hors...We are cu..off in the Ly.an .ystem and

c..nt retr..t. Main Gam.al.. f.eet....here. .hields down...we are hea..ily dam.ged Will

figh.t th.os.....Dev.il..s........ell!"

Silence reigned again on the bridge.

"Commander!" Davout barked to the woman, Elliot his Second.

"The signal is gone Sir!" Elliot replied headset to her ear in one hand while she

manually searched the band for something, anything from the Crazy Horse with the other.

Davout immediately noticed a change in the bridge crew. This was worse than anything

they had been through before. Their little cruiser, Borodino, crippled. Those poor

bastards on the Crazy Horse had been trapped behind enemy lines...and now...so were they.

"Commander, go to emission control one, and bring the marines to readiness."

[jilks131]

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