Destroyer Imperial II, ESV262 "Destiny Blade", command bridge.

Inside the command post, the atmosphere was so concentrated that even the air seemed to have become viscous. There was a gravely silence, briefly crossed by a command from the bridge or a crackling keyboard. Breaths were measured, as if the slightest noise could break the spell.

At least that's how Crebs felt as he passed through the airlock. He and Isse climbed onto the bridge without a word, and sat behind the admiral, who didn't even give them a glance.

Louchké had changed the ship's course about twenty minutes ago. He had watched for the change in gravity, and when it had appeared had ordered the ship to turn hard to starboard and to proceed at full speed perpendicular to the channel.

The helmsmen had not hesitated for a second.

"The admirals pass, the fleet remains" said the admiral for himself a little proud in his heart of the traditions of space navy discipline.

This was the decisive moment, as the destroyer had to break its speed and expose itself to the fire of its pursuer during the rotation. All the starboard batteries had been put on alert and had fired an intense shot, more to mask the manoeuvre than to inflict damage on the pursuing destroyer.

Once this phase of the plan was completed, the danger had simply changed in nature. The ship was now racing at full speed, flush with the radius of attraction of the gigantic black hole that formed the lateral limit of the channel. The corrections ordered by Louchké were counted in degrees, then in minutes, then in seconds.

The ship, despite its size, trembled and vibrated like a podracer at full power.

Crebs thought: "He uses the black hole as a slingshot. That's a good point, but it won't be enough to make us lose the fleet..."

After ten minutes, the trajectory stabilized, the orders became less frequent, and the tension dropped several degrees. The spectacle offered by the large panoramic window was simply extraordinary. Contemplating a black hole at this distance was a unique experience, even though space travel had long since become routine. Crebs and Isse, earthlings after all, were fascinated by the landscape.

It was the Admiral who broke the spell. He took out of his pocket an object which the two men did not recognize, took a quick look at it, and said, turning his head towards Isse:

"Colonel, contact is scheduled in one hour"

Isse understood the implicit order. He nodded his head, gave Crebs a brief glance, and left the command post without a word.

Once Isse left, Crebs called upon his memory and eventually remembered that he had seen this kind of thing in museums or private collections. He addressed Louchké:

"Is this an old timepiece?"
"A marine chronometer to be precise"
"Where did you get it? These pieces are extremely rare"
"By family heirloom. I have no idea how my ancestors obtained it. It is engraved"
"Did you get a chance to read the inscription?"
"It was difficult. It's protohistoric writing. A specialist at the Imperial Conservatory finally deciphered a name and a date"
"Which ones?"
"Trafalgar bay. October 21st, 1805"

Destroyer Imperial II, ESV262 "Destiny Blade", fourth port side artery.

The order came in about five minutes ago. Hanson read it and was startled. He forced the light on and shook Haberg, who snored beautifully. The other two, who were dozing on their benches, had already got up and were waiting for instructions.

"Everyone up! We have to evacuate the station!"

Josse asked in a pasty voice: "Where to?"

"Rallying point, fourth artery on the port side!" replied the sergeant.

He added: "Get Quackin! We have to bring back all the suits and oxygen, turret equipment included!"

The four men got up, Josse and Virbein quickly climbed the ladder to put on the suits and bring back the oxygen tanks stored in the turret. Meanwhile, Haberg started the decommissioning procedure. He sighed:

"I feel as if I'm being euthanized"

Hanson replied, putting on his suit : "Blah, it's like going on leave"

"I've got a bad feeling about this. I think I see my technical bays for the last time..."
"Stop that, your next firing post will be in a captured Republican frigate, latest model, all options included!"

The engineer smiles.

"Yeah, you're right. But I still want to take a souvenir with me"

He took a screwdriver out of one of his pockets and started to remove the station's ID tag, just above the main screen. Hanson rolling their eyes. He thought:

"I really got command of a strange platoon"

Josse and Virbein then appeared at the top of the ladder. They came down, each carrying three bottles.

"We took all we could" said Virbein. "Josse blew out the accumulators and placed all the locking pins"

The aimer asked both the sergeant and the engineer: "Where are you?"

"It's over" replied Haberg.

The lights had just gone out, only the phosphorescent marks still providing a semblance of visibility for a while.

Hanson added, helping Haberg put on his suit: "Don't drag. Decompression will start in two minutes"

Once the suits were tested, the sergeant opened the airlock and everyone entered. Hanson was the last one out. They walked down the dark side corridor that led to the rally point. They passed another airlock, then cut off the oxygen to their suits and took off their helmets, the fourth port traffic artery being pressurized.

The wide corridor was almost crowded. They recognized a few gunners from nearby turrets, and then realized that the entire port side of the ship had been evacuated. Haberg grumbled after sitting on the bottles they had laid along the wall:

"What does that mean? They want to cut half the ship apart to go faster?"

An NCO from the Internal Security Regiment then appeared at the end of the corridor, followed by two soldiers each pushing a cart. Josse relieved:

"A dog with plate? What's he doing here?"

Hanson motioned for him to be quiet. Although the members of Homeland Security were not appreciated by the crews, this was not the time to add more.

The NCO stopped in front of him and asked:

"Your assignment?"

He replied in a salute: "Sergeant Hanson, port battery S7-31"

"Ah, you're the queens of the day" replied the NCO with a smirk on his face.

He added, turning to the two soldiers who had remained behind him: "Well, well, you'll soon be able to continue to shine"

Hanson stepped forward and saw that the first cart was filled with rifles while the second was carrying a mixture of energy clips and grenades.

At a sign from the NCO the first soldier handed Hanson two rifles and the second soldier gave him four clips and six grenades. Hanson asked:

"What should I do with them? We're artillerymen, not infantrymen"
"I don't know and I don't care" replied the NCO. "The orders are: two rifles and six grenades per turret crew. You will receive the orders in due course"

With these words he signalled to the two assistants and proceeded down the corridor to the next group.

"Well, that's something!" Haberg exclaimed. "Are we going to have to make the shot now?"

"That'll remind you of your classes" replied a somewhat mocking Virbein.

Only Josse said nothing. Hanson noticed it and hailed him:

"Hey Josse, what do you think?"
"It only means one thing: there's going to be a collision"
"You're joking!"
"I am? And why do you think the admiral evacuated half the ship? That's where it's going to collide"
"Don't you think the Reps are going to storm the ship?"
"Maybe. But I don't think so. So far they've acted more to collect our reissue, not to attack us in force"
Haberg hazarded: "This kind of operation is rather rare"
Josse replied jokingly: "You can say that! We're going to write a new glory page in space history!"

While he was saying that, he couldn't help thinking that there was little chance that they would all be alive in two hours.