Omega Force: Rebellion (OF11), стр. 73
"Just over open broadcast channels," the com operator said. "All of our known frequencies and protocols for Imperial Navy ships aren't working."
"Keep trying. Captain Essel, please move the Defiant into position to protect our destroyers."
"Yes, Admiral," Essel said. He was clearly unhappy with her actions, but he still did his job.
"Admiral, Captain Edgars of the Eagle's Talon is asking permission for his force and take down the last battleship before it's able to reach the damaged Luex."
"Permission granted," Kellea sighed. Her human captains were aggressive and eager. It was too much to hope that they'd be willing to sit out the conflict. They were still flying the Cridal flag, so their actions wouldn't necessarily reflect back on Earth, but once everyone saw what the Victory-class ships were really capable of, there would be some effort to figure out where they came from. So far, humans were a little-known oddity in the quadrant. Edgars was about to demonstrate that what they actually were was a young, determined species with a high aptitude for making and using weapons of war.
"Terran cruisers breaking formation now, Admiral."
The human ships raced away from her lines, falling upon the ConFed boomer like a pack of starving wolves. At first the battleship seemed content to keep pursuing the Luex and letting its defensive systems hold off the cruisers, but when the first shots from the Victory-class's main cannons started slamming into the shields, all bets were off. The humans didn't even bother with missiles, deciding instead to just make lateral attack runs at the ship's dorsal and ventral surfaces where intelligence indicated the shielding was weakest.
Kellea watched in awe as the cruisers wheeled about and hammered into the beleaguered battleship again and again, shrugging off hits and delivering crushing blows with each pass. The ConFed ship's captain seemed to understand that he was in real danger and broke off his pursuit of the Imperial ship completely, instead fleeing for the outer system and abandoning the rest of the 405th as the combined strength of the Eshquarian and Cridal fleets turned the tide of the battle.
"Admiral, we're getting a message from a ship in orbit over Miressa. It's the same DL7 we were tracking earlier. They're giving us the com protocols the Imperial ships are currently using."
"Update our protocols and get me in contact with the Imperial commander, now!"
It was a few more minutes before Captain Mavog responded to the channel request.
"Cridal fleet, we thank you for your assistance," he said.
"We're not exactly Cridal right now, Captain," Kellea explained. "My actions weren't sanctioned by my government. It looks like your forces are able to disengage and escape. Might I suggest we continue this conversation in a more neutral setting?"
"We are transmitting coordinates for a safe rally point we will be falling back to, Admiral," Mavog said. "You are welcome to join us there so that we may regroup and discuss what we do next."
"I accept your offer, Captain," she said. "We will continue to cover your withdraw, but it looks like the 405th is just as eager to end this as we are."
"Indeed," Mavog said. "I again offer my thanks, Admiral. I had intended to go out in a blaze of righteous vengeance, but I would much rather spare the lives of my crews."
"Channel closed," the com operator said. "We also received another message from the DL7 saying they wouldn't mind a pickup and that their slip-drive is currently inoperable."
"The ship is currently in a high transfer orbit over Miressa Prime," the sensor operator spoke up. "It's flying on plasma thrust engines only, not grav-drive signature detected at all." Kellea bit back the sarcastic, caustic comment about the ship's captain that came to mind. She was almost temped to just leave him here. Almost. Whatever Jason Burke might be, he didn't deserve to be left for dead or worse when the ConFed finally ran him down. She would actually feel guilty about Twingo's fate as well. Kage and Crusher…not so much.
"I don't want that vessel or its crew aboard the Defiant. Please have one of Captain Edgars’ ships recover them on their way out of the system," she said. "Captain Essel, issue the general withdraw order and tell all ships to make their way to the rally point Captain Mavog provided. Once we've regrouped, we'll discuss how we're getting people back to Cridal space who had no part in this decision."
"At once, Admiral," Essel said, clearly relieved to be leaving a situation he never wanted to be in.
Kellea ignored the bustle about her and watched on the main tactical hologram as the fleets untangled themselves and flew away from each other at best possible speed. The dreadnaught still hung over Taus, dead in space but with power for life support. There was the temptation to take it out while it sat there, defenseless, but that crossed the line from combat to murder. She may have crossed a line today and would be disavowed by her government, but she wasn't quite yet ready to be declared a war criminal.
During the chaos and at her orders, her com operators had been ignoring incoming channel requests from Miressa Prime, the ConFed High Council, the Office of the Grand Adjudicators, Cridal Fleet Control, the Cridal Cooperative, and Seeladas Dalton herself. Once the ship was safely away and in slip-space, she'd have to sit and parse through everything and answering some uncomfortable questions. She felt a bit detached at the moment, as if what had just happened had been done by someone else, not her.
Was this how Jason Burke felt all the time? Just jump into situations without any forethought or fear of consequences? While it was very exciting, it also just came with a heavy price. There is no way she would be able to return to the Cooperative and not be arrested as the criminal she technically was. If she kept the Defiant, which she intended to, she'd be listed as not only a criminal, but a traitor.