The viewscreen goes blank as Brevon terminates the connection.

"Red Alert! Battle stations!" Shankara declares. "Commander, weapons status."

"Missiles online, laser turrets offline," Aquila reports.

"Lieutenant, report engine status," Shankara continues.

"Thrusters online, impulse engines reinitialising," the lieutenant reports.

"Lieutenant, evasive manœuvres," Shankara commands. "Commander, target Brevon's shields and targetting systems, and fire at will."

"Aye-aye sir," Aquila and the lieutenant chorus.

Thrusters burning at maximum, Genso No Seishin banks hard to starboard just in time to avoid another pair of missiles, which glance off the shields and explode harmlessly. Moments later, Aquila returns fire, but Dreadnought's shields shrug off the missiles without even a flicker. Dreadnought then begins to move, using its impulse engines to try and outmanœuvre Genso No Seishin, in order to attack the more vulnerable tail of the Ryusekai starship.

Shankara opens communications to Engineering. "Get the impulse engines working now!" he demands.

"I'm tryin'!" comes the reply. "The first hit hurt us bad!"

"I don't care!" Shankara barks. "Do whatever you have to, JUST GET THEM WORKING!"

"Laser turrets online!" Aquila reports. "Brevon's launched fighters!" he adds a moment later.

"Are the turret autotrackers working?" Shankara asks.

"No," Aquila answers.

Shankara curses violently. "I'll take the turrets," he decides.

As Brevon's fighters close in on Genso No Seishin, Shankara tries to pick them off with the turrets while Aquila focusses on firing missiles at Dreadnought. Shankara gets a few lucky shots, but the swarm is too large for a single person to track, and within minutes, Genso No Seishin is surrounded. The fighters pummel the starship's shields, probing for a weak spot. In contrast, Dreadnought's shields shrug off all the missiles Aquila can fire with barely a flicker.

On the bridge of Dreadnought, Brevon smiles wickedly as he watches the battle unfold on the viewscreen. "Prepare Absolution," he commands as he stands. "I wish to obtain the Crystals in person."

The two starships continue to exchange fire. Genso No Seishin's shields flicker and weaken with every hit, but Dreadnought's hold firm. Eventually, the shields on Genso No Seishin can take no more: they fail with a brief yet spectacular flare as the generator overloads. The fighters waste no time in taking out the thrusters, turrets, and missile tubes, then ensure the impulse engines cannot be brought online. With Genso No Seishin crippled, the fighters return to Dreadnought.

On the bridge of Genso No Seishin, silence falls.

"Report," Shankara requests quietly.

"All weapons destroyed, and the shield generator has burnt itself out," Aquila reports solemnly. "Fires have broken out across the ship, and the emergency containment systems have sealed most of the crew in the lower decks."

"Can we move?" Shankara asks.

"Hyperdrive, impulse, and thrusters are all out of commission," the lieutenant adds.

"So we're drifting unarmed and defenceless," Shankara concludes. "Activate the distress beacon."

"Another ship is approaching," Aquila reports, spotting a new blip on the ship's radar. "It's not a fighter… It looks like a shuttlecraft."

"Lock down the hangar," Shankara commands.

"Already done," Aquila confirms.

Shankara opens communications to Engineering. "Estimated time before the engines are repaired," he requests.

"The damage is too great," comes the reply. "I cannae repair it. We have no choice but to wait for rescue."

"How's backup power and life support?" Shankara asks.

"It'll last eleven days if we turn off all non-vital systems."

"Then do that." Shankara cuts communications a second before every system on the ship shuts down except life support, artificial gravity, and emergency lighting.

Suddenly, the ship shudders violently. "Hangar breach," Aquila reports. "We've been boarded."

Shankara stands, unholsters his pistol, and checks it's fully loaded. "I'm not going down without a fight," he declares in resignation. "Anyone who wants to stand with me, you're more than welcome."

"I'll stand by you, father," Aquila decides, standing and checking his own pistol.

"I thought you would," Shankara smiles. "Lieutenant, you have the bridge."

"Aye-aye, sir," the lieutenant acknowledges.

The captain and commander leave the bridge in silence, and make their way to the hangar for their last stand.