Chapter 6

Man Your Battle Stations


"Turn that thing off!" Akashi shouted over the screeching air raid siren. One of the Bulins fumbled with her console, before finally silencing the alarm. "Take us to full ahead!" She gestured to another member of the bridge crew.

"Buli!" The crew member ratcheted the engine order telegraph to it's maximum speed. A few moments later the ship's engines changed pitch to match.

"What's the situation?!" Shiranui ran onto the Crimson Gem's bridge, followed closely by winded looking Yuubari.

"Siren Cruiser, escorted by two... No, make that three Destroyers. They're approaching rapidly from our ten o'clock." Akashi informed them. "Their CAS fighters are directly ahead of us."

"Any bipedal units?" Yuubari asked

"No, only production ships." Akashi answered.

"Well, at least that's something." Shiranui grumbled.

"I need you both in the water, keep them off us!" Akashi ordered. "We'll sail right past them and into the Gulf of Oman!"

Her compatriots nodded with determination, before turning and leaving the bridge. Akashi watched through the window as her friends vaulted the railing on the side of the ship, and dropped to the ocean below.


Yuubari summoned her rigging midair. Her custom control stick appeared in her right hand, it's red cord snaking behind her and attaching to the torpedo tubes on her hip.

In her left hand she carried her turrets, their familiar weight reassured her as she went into battle.

She hit the water with a small splash, but her feet remained on the surface as if it was solid. Shiranui landed beside her with her own rigging deployed. The two of the skated across the water in the direction of the enemy formation.

"Get in line formation with me!" Yuubari ordered. Shiranui complied, taking position directly in front of her. As she did so the whimsical inventor fiddled with her control stick, loading one of her guns with a special payload. "I have to time this carefully..." she thought to herself, calculating the enemy formation's speed and estimating their range. "Wait for it... wait for it... NOW!" She fired the special canister in a high arch towards the enemy.

The Sirens weren't content to simply wait for Yuubari and Shiranui to approach however, and quickly set about organizing a barrage. The three destroyers fanned out in front of the cruiser, and all for ships trained their guns on Shiranui. They fired as one, their shells forming a wall of death that flew straight at her.

CA-CHING! Yuubari's special canister deployed mid-air, about halfway between the Sirens and Shiranui. A curved shield of blue energy appeared from within, deflecting the Siren's salvo.

"When we reach the shield, break formation and show them the power of our oxygen torpedoes!" Yuubari shouted.


"Prepare to engage!" Purin shouted. "Target the fighter that's farthest to the right!"

The crew of Anti-Aircraft gun four sprung into action. The dual 40mm Bofors guns swung their barrels towards the enemy, and the Bulin in the gunner's seat careful adjusted for the enemy's range and altitude. Spirit quickly slotted a four round clip into the magazine.

"Loaded!" She shouted.

"Loaded!" Her roommate echoed.

"Ready to fire!" The gunner called out. Several tense moments passed as the watched the enemy squadron approach. Just before the Siren fighters entered the Crimson Gem's AA range, they split their formation and two of the fighters banked hard to the right and broke off their attack run.

"Let them go!" Purin ordered. "Shift aim to the lead fighter and open fire!"

"Buli!" The gunner acknowledged as she adjusted her aim once more. The ship's forward AA began their attack, and moments later gun four joined in as well.

BOAF, BOAF, BOAF, BOAF! The gun's report resonated through Spirit's body. She clenched her teeth and prepared to load another clip. Soon enough, all six of the ship's AA emplacements were firing on the attacking planes. The lead aircraft shuddered under the assault, belching oily smoke as it began to lose altitude. The black and red fighter's right wing was soon torn off by the storm of flack and the vehicle dropped into the sea.

It's wing man flew on, lining itself up to strafe the ship. The Crimson Gem reacted accordingly and poured AA fire into the attacking craft. Just as the strafing run seemed imminent, the plane exploded. It's flaming wreck spun out of control and impacted the water just off the port bow, shooting a pillar of water into the air.

"Targets down, we got em!" Purin cheered. "Good shooting!" She congratulated the gunner.

"Buli!" The crew of gun four cheered and pumped their fists in the air.

"Wait!" Spirit cautioned "where did the other two..." she turned to her right as she spoke, only to freeze mid-sentence. The other two Siren fighters were right on top of them. While their compatriots had sacrificed themselves to draw the Crimson Gem's AA fire, they had circled around to straf the ship's midships house from the side.

"GET DOWN!" Bulin screamed, tacking Spirit to the deck. The Siren fighter's roared past overhead, their Dual cannons dealing death and destruction as they went.


"Oh, will-o'-wisps, join me for this strike..." Shiranui danced between the enemy's torpedoes before launching a spread of her own. The Type 93 torpedoes raced towards the Siren Destroyer's exposed broadside, detonating amidship. Several secondary explosions rang out as the Destroyer's engines detonated and effectively tore the ship in half.

Shiranui didn't have time to celebrate, as the Cruisers secondary guns took aim at her. She spead forward, ducking behind the burning aft section of the sinking destroyer. The ghostly destroyer paused to reload her torpedo tubes while the Cruiser's line of sight was broken. The Siren Cruiser seemed to forget about her after a few moments, and returned it's full attention to firing on Yuubari.

"Poor fool, you shouldn't just forget about your enemies!" Shiranui shouted as she burst from cover. She wasted no time firing off a second spread of torpedoes at the distracted cruiser.


"Anyone get hit!?" Purin yelled as she picked herself up. "Sound off!"

"Loaders are ok!" Bulin answered for both of them.

"I'm here!" Spirit made sure her voice was heard anyway.

"Spotter is ok!" Another Bulin called out. And then... no one. Two voices remained silent.

"Gunner, Pointer, what's your status!?" Purin ran to the Pointer's seat on the opposite side of the gun from Spirit.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Spirit stepped forward to check on the gunner, and found the girl slumped forward in her seat. "Say something!" She pleaded, pulling on the Bulin's shoulder. Doing so revealed the crimson mess that was once the gunner chest.

"No..!" Spirit let go of the gunner's shoulder, and the girl's body slumped forward once more. "Gunner is down... they killed her..." She felt her roommate's hand slip into her own, it's gentle squeeze providing a sliver of comfort.

"Damn! Pointer is gone too." Purin cursed. "Is the gun intact?"

"Negative! It looks like the elevator is smashed." The spotter reported.

"Alright! Gun three looks intact, but they've taken casualties too!" Purin observed. "We're combining our crews! Get to gun three, Move!" She ordered.

"But... we can't just leave them..." Spirit couldn't help but look back towards the Gunner.

"We can't help them." Bulin pulled gently on Spirit's hand. "But we can still do our part to help keep the ship safe." The surviving members of gun crew four left their position behind and dashed across the deck to the opposite gun.


Akashi's mouth and nose felt wet. Worse, she couldn't seem to clear her throat no matter how much she coughed. Some part of her was vaguely aware that she had taken some shrapnel, but she ignored the pain in her chest. She had to keep the ship on course.

"Status report!" She cried weakly, before falling into another fit of coughing.

"We've been strafed, buli!" One of the Bulins reported. "It looks like they only used their cannons! There's no significant structural damage."

"Our sonar operator is down!" Another shouted. "There must be multiple other casualties within the midships house!"

"They must've only been equipped for air interception." Akashi thought. She wiped her nose and mouth with her sleeve, only to have it come away stained bright red. "The Crimson Gem is all we have left. I will not lose her here!" She clutched the wheel with bloodied hands and the ship sailed on.


"Situation Report! Is the gun intact?" Purin vaulted into the pit of gun three, followed by the rest of her crew.

"We've lost our gunner and our spotter! Our Purin got grazed too, it's bad!" One of gun there's loaders answered. The girl's front was died red as she desperately tended to her Purin's wounds. "The gun's still ok!"

"Spotter! You have gun experience right?" Purin asked.

"Buli, that's right!" The spotter answered.

"Then you're the new gunner!" Purin pointed to the gunner's seat. "Spirit, you shift to the spotter position! Let's get this gun operational!" She rallied her crew.

"Roger-roger!" Spirit caught the binoculars the now gunner tossed her, then ducked under the guns barrels and moved to the side of the position. From there she could see a fog of oily black smoke in the distance, lit by obscured muzzle flashes and burning smoke. The two fighters that had strafed them were nowhere to be found.

As Spirit watched, a black ship materialized out of the smoke. A lone Siren Destroyer, unscathed by the battle, sailed towards the Crimson Gem. It's red lights glowed brighter as it prepared for it's attack.

"Contact! We've got a Siren Destroyer bearing down on us from our nine o'clock!" She shouted.

"What!?" Purin rushed to Spirit's side. "How did it get through!" She fumbled with her command whistle before blowing a collection of shrill notes. A pair of whistles answered from the bow and stern as the Crimson Gem's 4 inch deck guns prepared to join the fight. They weren't fast enough. The Destroyer's gun let out a thunderclap as it hurled a shell towards them, and Spirit stumbled from the shock wave as it whistled by her.

The deck guns sounded muted as they fired back. The first missed entirely, sending up a spray of water several dozen feet to the Destroyer's right. The second hit the shield of the Destroyer's main gun and deflected into the distance in a flash of sparks.

"They got us... we're completely outmatched." Spirit realized. As soon as the Siren Destroyer released it's torpedoes it would be over. "NO! Don't let them die! Don't just stand there and watch them be killed like your sisters!" A voice from deep inside Spirit screamed. "THINK! SAVE THEM!"

Spirit clenched her eyes shut as she desperately searched her memories for a solution. "Blast it! If only I had my ship!"

A bright white line suddenly bisected her vision, despite her eyes being closed. Glowing white letters appeared above and below it.[RIGGING ACTIVITED. INITIALIZING HEADS UP DISPLAY] An unknown but somehow familiar weight pushed down on her body, and a deluge of readouts cluttered her vision. However, one peace of data jumped out at her.

[Dual Heavy Turbolazer Cannons: Fully Charged, Fire When Ready.] It read. Spirit opened her eyes and found the large guns extended into her field of vision from their mount on her right shoulder. She ignored them and focused on the Sirens Destroyer. As she did a targeting reticule appeared in the center of her vision.

"Blast'em!" Spirit screamed. The first turbolazer shot punched through the shield of the Destroyer's main gun like a light-saber going through an unarmed B1's chest. It's ammunition cache ignited, launching the gun's shattered remains skyward. The second shot was higher, impacting just above deck level on the Destroyer's superstructure. It seared through the deck armor and gutted the compartments beneath.

[Warning: Incoming Fighter Class Ships. Make: Unknown. Allegiance: Unknown. Awaiting Input.] A message pinged Spirit's display. She quickly spotted the contacts, the surviving Siren Fighters returning for round two.

"I won't neglect my air defense a second time!" Spirit shunted power into her light point defense lazers, before unleashing a blistering barrage of red lazers. The fighters were cut apart in seconds, her turrets even vaporizing the shattered remains of the fighters completely before they hit the water.

Spirit scanned the area for targets, but none remained. A flaming oil slick spread out from the broken wreckage of the Siren destroyer, further obscuring the area. She turned back to the gun crew and found them all frozen in place, eyes wide as they stared at her.

"Wow..." Bulin stepped forward, practically drooling over Spirit's rigging. "You're so advanced... I've never seen anything like it. Amazing!" Spirit's roommate reached up and gently ran her fingers along one of Spirit's curved doonium pauldrons.

"I'm nothing special..." Spirit shifted uncomfortably, embarrassed by everyone's attention. "I'm just another Munificent... there's nothing special about me."

"Oh!" Bulin hopped in place. "Your ship! Summon your ship, buli!" She pleaded with excitedly.

"Um, ok... how do I do that?" Spirit asked. "I've never seen Bulin so animated."

"Now that you've summoned your rigging, you can transform it into your ship." Bulin explained. "Think of your ship, buli. How it looks, how it feels, it's true essence. You'll feel a tugging in your chest, concentrate on that and let the cubes do the rest."

"Alright, I'll give it a try!" Spirit closed her eyes. She envisioned her ship in her head. It's 825 meter long skeletal body, protected by curved armored plates. Four centrally mounted communication arrays extended out like wings. It's bridge rose diagonally from the superstructure, it's wide panorama windows providing a superior view of surrounding space. This was her ship. The ship that had stood beside Procurer, and held the blockade to the bitter end.

Spirit felt the tugging Bulin mentioned now. It was a tightness in her chest, like something pulling on her heart. She focused on the feeling and it intensified. Then it kept intensifying.

"Gah!" Spirit dropped to her hands and knees, gasping for breath. "Something's wrong!" Pain shot through her body, and her vision was tainted red. "H-help!"

"Despawn your rigging!" Bulin could only watch in horror. Blood began dripping from Spirit's nose, ears, and even her eyes. She collapsed to the deck with a whimper and her rigging faded away.


"System, bring up black box footage for Pawn class destroyer I.O.P.F.3-G.8-P.14738." Observer recited the ship's design from memory. "Play final 30 seconds of recorded footage." They system complied, playing the last moments of the Destroyer's experience on screen.

The Destroyer faced a Liberty class cargo ship, with the name "Crimson Gem" painted on the bow. A shell deflected off the Destroyer's gun shield, spinning into the distance. Before the Destroyer could return fire a red lazer landed out from atop the Crimson Gem's midship house, obliterating the Destroyer's gun with a single shot. A second lazer followed, cutting the feed to static.

"Back up footage 12 seconds, then pause." Observer ordered. The on screen image reversed, then stopped. "Enhance the top of the midships house." The image shifted, focusing on a lone figure silhouetted on top of the ship.

A skinny looking Kansen with short, bone white hair stood defiant. Observer could tell at a glance that she wasn't an approved Kansen. Her rigging was far too advanced. A large cannon, likely the source of the lazers that sank the destroyer, was mounted on her right shoulder. She wore curved gray pauldrons that extend past her elbows, and matching knee length armored plates on her hips.

"Gotcha!" Observer smiled to herself. "System, upload this image to Purifier and attach the Destroyer's last recorded coordinates."


Author's Note:

So, there's my first attempt at combat. How was it? I jumped around a bit in an attempt to try to show all the important parts of the battle, while still primarily following Spirit through the battle. I hope it didn't end up being too confusing. Maybe I'll rewrite it later on.

As a note, Spirit's "Bone White" hair color is the color of your standard B1 battle-droid. That's what that light sandy color they have is called, according to wookipeadia. Her curved "pauldrons" are meant to be the Munificent's hull armor sections. I initially considered giving Spirit an E-5 blaster to represent the Munificent's spinally mounted guns, but ultimately decided to give her a shoulder mounted gun (that's attached to her spine).

This is the last of Spirit and the Crimson Gem's chapters for a while, the next chapter introduces our last starship, the Venator class Star Destroyer, Defender.