A few cheers crackled through the comms in James' helmet, but he paid them no heed. He was too focused on the remaining attackers, now only 6,000 kilometres from the Lusaka, arming their weapons.

"Don't get cocky, people" the captain said warningly, also still focused on the problem at hand. "Moore, bank to port. Gideon, have all spinal and starboard batteries ready to fire on my mark." He then twisted around and locked his eyes on another nearby human; Sandra Kuon, the ship's chief engineer. "Kuon, have all remote emergency systems on standby."

A chorus of 'Aye' filled the comms. Moore twisted the controls to the left, and James felt pressure yank against the right side of his torso, his seatbelts slicing into his neck. Everyone else did much the same as the ship turned sharply to port. Gritting his teeth through the pain, James armed every weapon the Lusaka had, the main screen revealing the fruits of his labour as the guns rotated into position.

4,000 klicks. The Lusaka continued to turn, and the closer corvette rotated to meet them while the other angled itself downwards. It was then that James glimpsed the captain's plan. At the current angle of attack, the corvettes were blocking each other from firing, forcing them to break formation to avoid a fight in which they stood no chance.

Soon, no more than 2,000 kilometres stood between the ships. Close-quarter combat range.

The closer corvette fired, one of its railguns hurling a tungsten slug at the Lusaka's midrim. Speeding forward, the projectile slammed against the frigate's hull, ripping through their armour. Gideon's legs snapped sideways under his desk as the impact shook the ship, his legs smacking against each other and send a raw jolt of pain through his bones.

But he held strong. He wasn't dead. At least not yet.

"We have a breach, Captain!" One of the bridge's ensigns called out. "Hull integrity compromised on port side, decks 10 and 11, but systems are still operational!"

"Kuon, get those sealed at once!" Captain Ward yelled, his shout crackling the comms. He then turned to Gideon and said "Fire everything!"

At the push of a button, a flurry of plasma and tungsten rocketed forth as the Lusaka went full attack. James' eyes flicked back and forth between the main screen and his tactical display, his mind absorbing information like a sponge as the battle raged on.

The Sentinel-class frigate traded fire with the rugged corvette, the two vessels pounding each other with everything they had. Multi-ton metal shells flew from heavy railguns, gauss cannons spewed gouts of white-hot plasma from their red-hot barrels, and point-defence lasers intercepted incoming projectiles by blasting them into pulp.

The bridge shuddered like it was in the midst of an earthquake, the instruments shaking and some lights flickering as power was siphoned to keep the systems running. Thankfully, the various screens and controls remained unhindered, and the ship responded perfectly to James' every command as he programmed and co-ordinated weapons and targets.

"Armour's holding, Captain." Miss Kuon raised her voice to give a status update. "Hull integrity undamaged."

"What's the enemy's hull like?" Captain Ward barked.

James scanned the corvette again, and half-smiled as his sensors showed their enemy's armour flanking off in chunks. "Breaking apart, sir." The Earther then looked at his display to see that the second corvette was increasing speed, slowly orienting itself underneath the Lusaka. "Captain, the second target is moving to flank us from below."

"All ventral PDL's, standby for incoming fire. Moore, bear right. Gideon, prepare to volley all railguns at the first corvette." He leant forward in his chair, watching the main screen with unblinking intent. "Target their fuel tanks, and have all plasma batteries ready to fire on my mark."

Without a word, James went to work. Sweat sped down his face, and then swept horizontally across as the frigate turned to starboard, its bow hurtling near to the first corvette's engines. But more importantly, its stern was sweeping away from the flanking ship beneath them, protecting their engines from attack. If they lost manoeuvrability now, they were doomed.

With a single button press, James locked all four of the Lusaka's railguns on the same point; the enemy corvette's fuel tanks, buried behind several metres of protective hull plating. His display registered 'target acquired', and his gloved hand hovered over the fire control.

"Volley ready, sir" he announced.

The captain smirked. "Let 'em have it, Lieutenant."

A single button was pressed, and all at once, the four railguns let loose. A massive projectile of hardened metal blasted from each of their electroconductive cores and hurtled forwards at insane speed, covering the 2,000 klick distance between ships almost instantly. The enemy corvettes tried to halt them with point-defense, but it was too little too late. All four rounds slammed against the hull, piercing through what armour remained as though it were paper and blasted through the Cartel's fuel tanks, rupturing the steel containers like soft tendons as it ripped all the way through the ship.

Fire ballooned out from the first corvette, burning its exterior to ash as it burst into flaming pieces, its armour rendered useless.

Two down, one to go. The final corvette, now passing underneath the Lusaka, was opening fire at extremely close range, ballistic shells blasting against the Union ship's hull and shaking it like an earthquake shook a skyscraper. Even their point-defence was on the attack, firing directly up at their target, the light-based weaponry carving red-hot scars into the frigate's hull plating.

Kuon twisted around in her chair, her display blinking red behind her. "Ventral armour and hull taking damage. Remaining integrity at 98."

Captain Ward remained calm. "Full axis rotation to port. Gideon, fire all plasma batteries at will."

Onscreen, as the corvette continued to pass underneath, the Lusaka twisted to the left, putting the strongest of their remaining armour between them and the enemy. But then, just as James finished programming their next attack, the Cartel vessel began to pick up speed, its engines going full-burn and pushing the ship to a dangerous level of acceleration. So much so that, as it powered away from the Lusaka and got out of firing line, pieces of its exterior began to rip off and glow red-hot as leaking radiation and battle debris wore away at the outer layers of the unorthodox craft.

Then, James saw the incandescent aura around the ship begin to warp, shifting shape glowing with a pale, smoky light. His heart pulsed in his chest as his display beeped an alert.

'Enemy wormhole travel imminent. Enemy wormhole travel imminent.'

"Captain, they're making a break for it!" he cried into his helmet.

"Gideon, fire all loaded torpedoes! This ends now!"

Smashing the fire control switch, James watched as three high-explosive warheads rocketed from the Lusaka and turned towards the corvette. As the enemy ship continued to gain distance, the torpedoes sped onwards, their massive thrust capacity letting them slowly gain on their target. Still, the Cartel had a big lead, and the area around their ship grew more warped and distorted with each passing second.

The torpedoes rocketed onward. The crew of the Lusaka held their breath. A bright, swirling light began to form in front of the Cartel ship...

Only for three jets of crimson flame to burst from their engines, blasting debris in every direction and send shattered metal plates to slice through the ship like a butcher's knife cutting flesh. A the main screen zoomed in, James saw that the torpedoes had struck true. In complete silence, the opening wormhole began to zip shut, leaving the corvette to splinter and melt into hot slag.

Several whoops and cheers echoed over the comms, a few silent claps filling the vacuum of the bridge, only for Captain Ward to yell "Quiet! This isn't over yet!" and open the priority channel inside his helmet.

"Captain Ward to brig. Is the cargo still intact?" he said with his hand pressed to his helm's side.

There was no answer.

"Captain Ward to brig. Answer me!"

A faint crackle sounded... and then a gruff voice replied.

"Aye, sir. Petty Officer Bremner reporting. The brig is undamaged and both prisoners are still alive."

James saw the captain's look of seriousness wane as he heard those words. "Thank you Bremner. Over and out." Then, smiling broadly in the face of victory, he turned to Ensign Elitra. "Repressurise the ship, EE. Let's get some air flowing in here." He stood up and scanned the room. "Nice work, all of you. And Gideon, nice shooting."

James half-smiled at his commanding officer. "Thank you, sir."

"You haven't lost your touch while you were with the Cartel, I see." Ward said.

James glanced down humbly. "Space battles were an occupational hazard there too, sir."

The captain nodded at him. "I'd take notes of my tactics if I were you, son. You'll be commanding your own ship soon enough at this rate."

James would be lying if he said he wasn't enticed by that offer. But thoughts of commanding his own warship were swiftly swept away when he turned back to the main screen. As the air hissed back into the cabin, the bridge's crew began to pull off their helmets, he was silent as the grave, his eyes narrowed and pensive.

Amidst the drifting wreckage on screen, he noticed something that made him uneasy. The blasted hulks of two Cartel boarding craft, nicknamed 'Lampreys.' Both had been blasted apart... but they were there.

Carried by ships that were outside the Cartel territory and attacked when the Lusaka was pre-occupied with flipping, when their manoeuvrability was compromised.

Coincidence, or the Cartel trying to get back what they'd lost?