Chapter 14 The Final Piece of the Puzzle

'The hull is holding up, not much damage other than heavy damage to the living quarters." ' Rif, talk to the other captains to see if they can lean over to assist in the defense." Martin said as he returned to his seat, opening his visor and feeling for something on his body, before long he actually fished out a pipe. 'Everyone is already leaning over, except for the destroyer Byron, the fight just now knocked him out of power and he's now sliding forward on his original course." Rif said. 'Hang on everyone! The Commander's tactics are working and victory is at hand." Martin said lighting his pipe. On the bridge of the Lucchese, Edward was shaken by the shock, Winchell held him up as Edward still looked closely at the positional information of the ships on the star chart. 'All existing ships close in towards the vicinity of the Sentinel, three destroyers close together, three cruisers on the periphery of the destroyers, all shuttles, go to their support immediately, cruisers you find an opportunity to release your shuttles." Edward's orders were met with a quick response from all the officers and men, they were as if they were extensions of Edward's hands and feet, the fluidity of this command was exhilarating to Edward. 'We have eight more main guns." Winchell said. 'The other side has twelve more main cannons, there's still a chance." Edward was still staring at the star chart. 'I would like Your Excellency to save the Lucchese if possible." Winchell bowed his head and said, 'I am the former captain of the Lucchese." Edward turned his head to look at Winchell, he didn't expect the burly man in front of him to be the former captain of the Lucchese. 'Replacement of main gun core on 15 complete! Join the battle." Milk's slightly childish voice rang out on the bridge. Everyone's spirits lifted, and three of the commanders said, 'The modules in the area we're responsible for are badly damaged, and we're no longer needed to operate here. We're going to go to the less severely damaged 17th main gun and see if we can restore its combat power!" After saying that they ran towards the hatch at a fast pace. 'Go for it! Good luck!" Edward's faint voice echoed across the bridge. On the bridge of the Tyndall, Serki growled angrily at the series of explosions. 'With a 22:8 disparity in battle they've been completely annihilated! Imbeciles!" His anger spewed out along with his spit at the commanders in front of him. 'Our side was ambushed, we lost a third of our battle force in a single shot because we didn't have time to adjust our formation, those destroyers on the other side each have stellar-class main guns, hitting the cruisers is a hole in one shot." Raphael said. 'Report! Over ninety percent of our ship's secondary gun systems are damaged." 'What the hell are those shuttles doing!" Serki clenched his fist and slammed it hard into the desk. 'By the time our shuttles arrived at the battlefield, the battle over there was basically over, and now the remaining ships on the other side have hugged the battlefield, pull the shuttles back." Raphael was as good as dead by this point, but his military instincts still prompted him to make a suggestion. 'Main gun systems are over forty percent damaged." The commander's reminder felt like a blow to Serki's chest, and he swayed twice, paralyzed in his command chair. 'We need your orders, Your Excellency!" One of the commanders said. 'Another main gun destroyed!" 'Retreat!" Serki grimaced and slowly gave the order. All the commanders ran as if they were amnestied and began to carry out the order, a few more commanders ran out of the bridge, then more commanders followed as if they understood what was going on. 'Asshole, I said retreat not abandon ship!" Serki tried to get up to stop the crowd, only to have the vibration of an explosion coming from the hull of the ship topple him to the ground. A huge crack was torn open on the bridge. The horrific negative pressure reappeared, throwing several of the commanders out of the ship and into the dark, cold space as the repair systems kicked in, despite the robots that were selling out and spraying nanoparticles to repair the crack. But the horrifying sight had already doused all the fighting spirit of the commanders who were on the verge of collapse, and they rushed out of the bridge with a roll, running towards the area where the escape pods were located. 'The rest of the enemy ships have reached firing effective range, the tide is turning." Raphael said to Serki, who was lying on the ground. That continuous vibration hinted that the density of the opponent's fire was getting stronger, Serki struggled to get up and said, 'You go too." Raphael laughed bitterly and said, 'Where to go, there aren't enough lifeboats at all, do you think the gang that ran for the lifeboats first will wait for the others." After saying that he sat down against the wall. On the bridge aboard the Lucchese, Edward's voice spread throughout the ship through the command system. 'Hold on! Guys! Hold on to the Lucchese, Martin and the others will arrive at the attack position soon!" '17th main guns regaining functionality, join the fight!" 'Turbine compartment hit! Power output reduced by fifty percent." 'Provide all power to weapons systems!" Edward said. 'Main gun number fifteen has been hit, temporarily out of combat, repairs underway." Elina's voice rang out from the bridge comms. 'How's Elina doing, hold on! Everyone hold on." Edward's voice changed tone as if he was hissing, he wasn't afraid of his own sacrifice, but he couldn't imagine how he was going to get by without Elina. 'Only main cannons 3, 7, 14, and 17 are still fighting." 'Main gun number 2 is completely destroyed." 'Our ship is 3,000 kilometers from the enemy flagship." 'Sentinel they arrived at the firing position and have begun firing." 'Right full rudder! All ships take care to avoid impact." Edward calmly gave the order. 'Report, several distress signals were received from the direction of the enemy ship." 'Report, all enemy main guns silent." Edward froze, then said with great joy, 'Do not cease fire, prioritize destroying the enemy's main guns and send out marines to prepare to capture the ship." 'We didn't prepare the marines..." said Wenschel with slight embarrassment, "We didn't expect them to abandon ship." Edward slapped his head as he remembered that it was his decision not to bring the marines. Due to the haste of the departure, he hadn't even had time to select the marines. He said, 'Those commanders with ground combat experience step forward! Come with me to capture the ship. Winchell, you're in command for now." Edward was in the troop carrier checking his weapons and equipment in preparation for the upcoming ship capture. He tapped the communicator on his wrist, looked at the ten temporary marines connected to the communication, and said, 'After boarding the ship in a moment, I'll lead Team A straight to the bridge, and Coshawn, you lead Team B to the engine room. Avoid combat as much as possible, and make sure the wheelhouse is not damaged upon arrival." Escorted by several shuttles, the troop carrier landed on the belly of the Tyndall, and several grappling hooks reached out to securely fasten the skiff to the hull. 'According to the probes, this is part of the habitation bay down here, it's a good place to break in!" The pilot of the dinghy said, floating over from the driver's seat, opening the bottom hatch of the dinghy and beginning to cut through the steel plates in front of him with a complex machine. 'How long will it take?" Edward, who was holding the shield, asked. 'Soon your honor, very soon." 'Are the enemy gravity systems still operational?" Edward asked next. One of the crew members pressed a few buttons on the controls next to the dinghy's door and said, '0.8 standard gravity, it should still be functioning properly!" With a bam, a gust of wind came out. 'Quickly! There isn't a lot of time before a repair droid comes to plug the hole." The pilot said and grabbed his weapon as well. Edward was the first to get into the large hole, followed by the crew. 'Alright! To your own task!" He said kicking open the door to the hatch. The corridor was a mix of smoking pipes and flashing lights, wailing alarms and the screams of the crew all mixed together, he activated his energy shields to carefully distinguish the screams of the crew and headed in that direction. 'We're going to the bridge, how do we get there?" Edward asked the wounded soldier. The wounded soldier covered his gurgling thigh and said, 'Give me a shot of morphine first!" The team member stepped forward, pulled out the morphine from the first aid slot and gave the wounded man a shot, followed by a brief treatment with medical spray. The wounded man looked at the team member with a burst of gratitude and said, 'Follow this corridor all the way to the bridge, our commander has given the order to abandon ship, you shouldn't meet much resistance." 'You stay here and wait well for the followers to come and take shelter." Edward said and led the squad towards the bridge.