'Five. he counted, watching the huge form of the torpedo as it dived into space.

'Four. He saw manoeuvring jets flaring into life across the flank of the tau ship, less than half a kilometre distant.

'Three' The suits turned, to race for their mother ship. He knew they would never make it.

'Two. The pressure on the bridge dropped suddenly as the attacker breached the glass.

'One. Emperor bless you, Crew Chief Kaerk. The torpedo detonated, scouring the space between the Rosetta and the tau vessel, burning the surface of Korvane's vessel, instantly vaporising every last one of the tau battlesuits, raking the Rosetta with the cleansing fires of oblivion.

'Try again, damn it! Lucian paced the length of his bridge, desperate for any response from his son's vessel. His earlier elation at having outwitted Luneberg turning to helplessness as he saw the Rosetta flounder, wracked by internal explosions.

'Helm! Lucian called. 'Bring us alongside the Rosetta. Operations, all available hands prepare to receive survivors'

The Oceania* ploughed on, the helmsman bringing her about to approach the Rosetta from astern. The manoeuvre would bring Lucian's ship into close proximity with the alien fleet, but he had no choice.

Meanwhile, he looked on as the alien vessels turned their attention from the first of the two Chasmatan cruisers to the Borealis Defensor. Luneberg's flagship was attempting to escape, but the aliens were evidently not about to let that happen. Four of the five tau vessels began a slow turn to starboard, their intention obviously to bring their prow-mounted weapons to bear against the Borealis Defensor's rear section. The fifth alien vessel, Lucian saw, veered off to port, closing on the Rosetta.

'Best speed, Mister Raldi, the Rosetta needs us. he said, willing, if it were required, to put his own vessel between the tau ship and his son's. 'Port weapons, prepare for firing.

As the Oceanid closed on the Rosetta, Lucian watched as the four alien ships caught up with Luneberg's flagship.

Prow turrets spitting blue flame, the invisible, hyper-velocity projectiles lanced across space and slammed through the vessel's shields. A second salvo tore a ragged line of punctures across her armoured drive section, breaching a secondary plasma conduit at a dozen points, superheated gases venting into space.

The tau vessels closed in for the kill, their turrets locked on their target's wound. Lucian held his breath, scarcely able to believe the destruction wrought this day.

However, the coup de grace was never delivered.

A searing, white light erupted to the fore of the Rosetta, Lucian throwing his arm across his face before the viewer even reacted by dimming automatically. Caudously, he lowered his arm, and saw the remnants of a detonation of stunning magnitude, roiling energies spreading out in a searing bow wave.

The Rosetta was scoured by the explosion, the mighty vessel propelled away by the blast wave and spinning slowly clear. The tau vessel too was caught in the explosion, its entire starboard side erupting in secondary explosions as it was pushed by gargantuan energies across space. Lucian watched as the tau vessel spun clean through its four sister ships, each veering desperately to avoid it. At the last, the tau vessel collided with the Borealis Defensor, the two ships grinding inexorable together, twisting and melding together to form a terrible amalgamation of human and tau starship. Incredibly, neither vessel exploded outright, although plasma fires danced crazily across the surface of both, welding them together for all time, making a blackened tomb for thousands of men and aliens even as they perished within.

Lucian wasted no time mourning the xenos tau or the treacherous dogs of Luneberg's crew. He was more concerned for his son. The Rosetta was drifting, her drives clearly dead, and a hundred fires had erupted across the side of her hull that had borne the brunt of the explosion.

Worse, she was drifting across the bows of the remaining tau vessels. Lucian weighed the odds, immediately deciding upon his course of action.

'Helm, cross the Rosetta's stern at ninety' he ordered.

'Aye, sir' Helmsman Raldi replied, a savage grin on his face, and Lucian saw that his helmsman had understood the order fully.

The Oceanid powered on, Lucian seeing that the remaining tau vessels were coming around for a salvo against the Rosetta's aft section. Within minutes, his vessel was drawing across the Rosetta's stern, crossing the T with the other ship's drive section.

'All stop! Lucian bellowed. 'Starboard batteries, prepare to fire on my order'

Lucian crossed his hands behind his back, counting off the range to the tau vessels. He knew they would open fire any second.

'Sir! the helmsman shouted, collision-warning sirens screaming into deafening life across the Oceanid's bridge. The ship pitched beneath Lucian's feet, throwing him to one side as he fought to keep his balance.

'Report! he shouted.

'It's the Fairlight, sir' Raldi replied through gritted teeth as he wrestled with the Oceanid's helm. 'She's crossing our starboard bow'

Lucian turned to see that the sight of the Fairlight coming alongside, entirely filled the starboard viewing port. He turned, looking to the holograph, to see that the alien fleet was veering off.

Thanks to Brielle's untimely and inexplicable manoeuvre, the aliens had escaped the wrath of the Oceanid's broadside. Lucian fumed. His daughter might have thought she was aiding him, but she had cost him the potential opportunity to catch the entire alien fleet in one, devastating volley.

She would have some explaining to do, once he had seen that his son was safe.

'All stop. Brielle ordered, the Fairlight coming to a stately halt two hundred metres to the Oceanid's starboard. She stretched, catlike, in her command throne, and turned to the hooded figure standing beside her.

'One good turn deserves another, eh Naal? she said, crossing her legs across the arm of the throne.

'Indeed, my lady' the man replied. 'My masters will have much for which to repay you'

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

'Shall we, then' Lucian said, standing centre stage before Droon's throne, flanked by his son and his daughter 'discuss payment?

'Payment? replied Imperial Commander Zachary Droon, his courtiers and advisors fussing around him. 'I think you will find that the terms of the contractual arrangement between your son and me-

'I think. interrupted Lucian, a finger held out before him to silence the Imperial Commander, 'that you will find that I have decided to, alter, the terms of that arrangement.

Droon's advisors erupted into outraged splutters of indignation, the reason not entirely lost upon Lucian. He chuckled inwardly, savouring the irony that, once again, a partner had altered terms on them.

'Now. continued Lucian, 'this is how we are going to set-de this. He waited for any sign of dissension from Droon, continuing only when he saw the Imperial commander sit down upon his fhrone, resignation on his ascetic features.

'My son' he placed a hand upon Korvane's shoulder, his son standing to his right, 'pledged the service of the Arcadius in the defeat of the traitorous forces of Mundus Chasmata. That pledge has been delivered upon, has it not?

Droon nodded in reply, Lucian continuing before he could go any further. 'For that service alone I judge that you are in my, not inconsiderable, debt. However, there is the matter of the harm done to the person of my son. he turned to Korvane, whose face and body bore the dreadful wounds done as, Lucian had since discovered, the family torpedo had detonated. Korvane's wounds would heal, of that Lucian was certain, but they would leave behind severe scarring, even disfigurement. 'Not to mention. he continued, 'the large scale damage inflicted upon the Rosetta and the Oceanid during the course of the action.