Yet this crippled ship, seemingly clinging to its last breath, suddenly began to flash violently at its stern, its main thruster array spewing dazzling, incandescent-white ion exhaust far beyond safe limits!
Captain Consgett's voice continued to ring out, drowning out every sound in the background. Each word seemed forged from steel.
"We have observed a crisis in sector α-7. The Mountains has lost seventy percent of its primary weapons systems. Shield generators are overloaded. Hull integrity stands at only forty-one percent... but we can still move."
He paused, seemingly drawing a deep breath, or checking one final parameter.
Then his voice rose sharply, carrying an almost fanatical calm and an unquestionable resolve to meet his death:
"I order all nonessential systems shut down!"
"Including the last reserve shields, life support, and damage-control isolation doors!"
"Divert all remaining reactor output, along with every reserve in the emergency power capacitors!! Regardless of consequences! Regardless of losses!! Send it all to the main thrusters and the Attitude Adjustment Engine!"
"I repeat, divert all power to the engines! Now!"
On the bridge of the Mountains, Consgett's voice never wavered. Over the fleetwide channel, and seemingly to himself as well, he gave his final and only battle cry.
"For the Emperor! The Mountains will fight one last battle!!!"
"Target: the enemy vanguard warship. Coordinates locked! We will buy time for the Seventh Gun Position! The Imperial Navy does not retreat!"
"For the Emperor! Mountains, all hands!! Accelerate!!!"
BOOM!!!
The already overloaded thrusters at the stern of the Mountains seemed infused with one final spark of soul, their radiance instantly multiplying severalfold!
The once deep-blue ion streams turned into almost pure-white lances of destruction. The tremendous thrust made its already shattered hull groan under the strain, a teeth-grating shriek of metal. Great slabs of armor and