'Aye sir' replied the helmsman, his right hand pulling back on a lever, coaxing power from the misbehaving drive, while the other kept the helm steady.

'Any second… there we are Mister Raldi, station keeping if you will'

The Oceanid slowed to a near dead stop as she came alongside the alien vessel, the starboard portholes entirely filled with its slab-sided bulk. Lucian clasped his hands behind his back as he cleared his throat and then nodded to the communications servitor.

'Alien vessel, this is Oceanid. Please acknowledge this signal'

'Oceanid, Vior'la'Gal'Leaih'Shas'el acknowledges. 'Please state your business'

'My business' Lucian smirked ever so slightly as he spoke, 'is to receive your immediate and unconditional surrender, in the name of the Arcadius Grand Fleet and the Emperor of Man' He turned and nodded to the servitor at the ordnance station, who activated the controls that would raise the weapons ports on the Oceanid's flanks. He shoved to the back of his mind any doubts that the aliens would not fall for his bluff, counting on them not being able to take the risk that, as he had implied, his was the lead vessel of an incoming, and yet to be detected, fleet.

'Oceanid, please confirm your last transmission. the reply came from the alien vessel. 'Did you state that you expected to receive our surrender?

Lucian's smirk now turned into a dirty grin. He really did enjoy his work too much sometimes, he thought. 'That is correct' he replied. 'I expect you to heave to, power down and prepare for boarding' Lucian glanced across at the holograph, seeing that the outermost of the alien vessels were coming around, as he had expected they would.

'Do you surrender? he asked.

A momentary delay, and then the terse reply, 'No, Oceanid, we do not surrender'

'I had a feeling. replied Lucian, crossing to his command throne and sitting, 'that you would say that'

'Fire!

The Oceanid's starboard weapons banks opened fire as one, their mighty roar filling the ship, their report vibrating through the decks.

'Hard to starboard, Mister Raldi, cross the T' ordered Lucian without even looking to see what, if any damage the broadside had inflicted upon the alien vessel.

'Aye sir' called back the helmsman, hauling on the wheel as he brought the Oceanid around.

'Damage? called Lucian.

'Significant, sir' the officer at the operations station called back in reply. Lucian glanced at the banks of screens all around his command throne, seeing that, indeed, the sucker punch of a broadside had inflicted fearsome damage upon the alien. The other vessel was listing to its port, thick, oily smoke billowing from its mid-section, flickering plasma fire lighting the clouds from within.

'Ordnance, prepare a second volley.

Lucian watched as the view from the forward viewing port showed the alien ship's drives to starboard. Wait, he steadied himself, sensing a kill if he timed the volley exactly right.

'Lined up sir! Raldi called, struggling with the mighty wheel of the helm.

'Thank you, Mister Raldi. replied Lucian, waiting one, two, three seconds more before ordering. 'Starboard batteries, fire!

The Oceanid was once more filled with the mighty roar of the cannons' discharge. This time, Lucian watched the other ship as the broadside slammed into its rear section. A handful of the projectiles exploded prematurely as they were swallowed in the superheated wake of the vessel's vast engines, but the majority struck the superstructure, smashing through the metres-thick armoured engine casings and exploding deep within.

For a moment, the two vessels continued to glide past one another, the Oceanid having crossed the T and carried on past. Then, as Lucian watched, the alien ship's drive section was rent asunder as a mighty split appeared along its length, blinding white, atomic fire lancing out of the crack. A second later the entire drive section came away from the spine connecting it to the bulk of the vessel, jettisoned, Lucian judged, by the ship's captain in a last ditch effort to save his crew.

The effort was wasted, though, for the damage to the drive section was such that it entered a critical chain reaction before it could entirely separate, disappearing as it was swallowed in a rapidly expanding ball of the purest, most blinding white light. Lucian turned his head away as the viewing port dimmed to compensate for the blast, bracing himself against the blast's wave front that buffeted his vessel less than a second later. He was shocked, for a moment, at me violence of the alien vessel's death.

He glanced at the holograph, which was still recovering from the interference created by the vessel's demise. The outer ships were completing their manoeuvre, and he quickly chose his next victim, reading off its coordinates to the helmsman.

'What next, sir? called Raldi. 'They're closing on us!

'Now. Lucian called back, 'we make for the Rosetta and pray that Korvane has the good sense to take advantage of the little distraction we've just created, and gets back to his ship'

'And then, sir?

'Then it's just a small matter of fighting our way clear'

'Of all six alien ships, sir?

'Stop asking awkward questions and do your job, Mister Raldi. All power, on previous heading, if you please'

Lucian leant back in his command throne, inwardly still quite shocked at the manner of the death of the alien ship. Despite the power of its primary weapons batteries, its class was evidently incapable of withstanding a couple of good broadsides. He knew, however, that the scales would soon be evened, as the other alien ships were inbound and scarcely likely to allow him to get as close to them as he had to their flagship.

'Four minutes, sir' said the helmsman, Lucian seeing from the holograph that the alien vessel onto which he had locked was coming around, attempting to bring its forward weapons batteries to bear on his ship.

'This is going to sting' Lucian said, addressing no one in particular. 'Shields to full, helm, bring us in on our port. Port weapons, stand by'

The Oceanid lined up its prey, the gulf between the two vessels closing rapidly. At ten kilometres, the alien ship opened fire, its forward weapons flashing as they threw hyper-velocity projectiles across the void.

The first volley went wide, thanks to the fact that the Oceanid was prow on to the other ship, but mere seconds later it unleashed a second, this one far more accurate, and deadly.

Lucian felt the Oceanid stagger beneath him as the enemy weapons hit home, blasting great chunks out of her armoured prow. The bridge was plunged into almost total darkness, lit only by the strobe of a third volley fired by the closing ship.

This volley struck the port superstructure a glancing blow, an entire fin tearing itself free of the hull and spinning crazily into space. A series of secondary explosions sounded through the deck, and Lucian judged that these were the forward conversion plants. We can survive without them, he told himself, if we can survive this.

'Helm! Full retros, ten second burn. Cut mains to fifty per cent. Lucian ordered, as the distance between the two vessels passed the one kilometre mark. He knew he would get only one salvo in against this enemy, and even that might be bought at too high a price. He would not sit idly by and abandon his son to an alien invasion of Arris Epsilon, however, he would do all he could to afford Korvane the opportunity to escape.

The Oceanid shuddered once more, the retro fhrusters struggling to arrest her forward momentum. As the bridge lights sputtered back to life, Lucian saw from the read-outs that the alien vessel's second volley had damaged one of the thrusters, and felt his ship veering to port under the uneven thrust.