Old Friends, Part 14: A desperate plan
Rommie
was still sitting on the deck of the Shoulder of Orion's bridge when she
suddenly stood up, "Dylan, I'm receiving a transmission from Harper!"
The others looked at her, shocked. Beka found her voice first, "How?"
Rommie blinked, "I don't quite know. Hold on a second." She walked
over to one of Orion's control panels and activated her VR-link.
She found herself in Orion's mind: His holographic Avatar appeared before her, "Patch through the transmission, and I'll put it up on the main viewer." Rommie nodded, and held out her hand to Orion. The moment he took her hand, there was a flash of light.
Back in
command, Harper face suddenly appeared on the main screen, "Dylan! Thank
god it worked! Look, I don't know how long we can mask this transmission, so
don't say anything till I'm done: Drago-Kazov pride has taken over the ship.
They've knocked Tyr out, but Andromeda was able to warn Rev Bem before they shut
her down. It's just him, Mary and me at the moment. We think there might be a
way to rescue Tyr, but it depends where they are keeping him." Dylan
nodded, "Understood. Is the slipstream back on line yet?" Harper shook
his head, "No, I'm still calibrating it. They shouldn't be able to get it
online for at least a day."
Dylan
nodded, "I understand: we're in a sensor blind spot behind you. Is there
anyway we can help?" Harper looked worried, "There is a way, but your
not going to like it." Dylan nodded, "I understand. What is it?"
Harper sighed, "The point defense lasers are still of-line: if you fire at
Andromeda, you should be able to disable her sub-light drive." Trance was
shocked, "Isn't that a bit extreme?" Dylan shock his head, "It
may be the only way."
Rommie's
holographic image appeared on the bridge, "I hope you don't mind, but this
is the only way I can join this conversation. Harper, the Shoulder of Orion only
has two ELS missile tubes. Will they be enough?" Harper nodded, "They
should be: with the damage you took from the Balance of Judgment, they should
take out be able to knock the flow-regulators off-line.
Dylan drummed his finger on the control panel, "Ok, we'll do it. But first, rescue Tyr: your need his help to keep the Drago's busy while we board. Contact us again when he's with you. Good luck." Harper laughed, "No problem." He cut the transmission.
Back on
Andromeda, Harper climbed from the Slipfighter, "Ok, we have to rescue Tyr.
Once we've done that, the Shoulder of Orion is going to fire a missile barrage
to disable the Andromeda's sub-light drive, then launch a boarding action."
Mary pulled out her forcelance and extended it, "Sweet. Let's go kick some
Drago-Kazov butt!"