"The Dodo impacted the docking bay doorway, there is substantial damage to the Dodo. It is mission effective."

Desai had misjudged her exit, in an unfamiliar vehicle, complicated by air escaping from the blown docking bay. Skippy judged the Dodo could still accomplish its mission, which was to fly to the front of the frigate and blast the ship's bridge with the Dodo's guns. The Kristang, who were long used to piracy between and within clans, had designed their ships against borders like us, although the designers had been thinking of rival Kristang factions, not primitive humans. The door to the bridge was heavily armored, heavily enough that breaching that door would blow a hole in the ship and expose our people to vacuum. As long as the Kristang were behind that door, they could prevent us from using the ship, they could even disable it or self-destruct it, regardless of Skippy being jacked in. It was almost impossible to seize the bridge of a Kristang warship.

So, we weren't going to seize it, we were going to blast it to pieces from the outside. If the Dodo was still functional, if Desai could fly it effectively with almost no experience, and if she could control the Dodo's guns enough to hit the bridge without blowing apart the rest of the ship. If. A very big if.

There was gunfire forward and aft, people were shouting and screaming someone set off a flash-bang grenade, then the ship shook violently again. And again, and again. "Captain Desai has succeeded in destroying the bridge. Also part of the ship's nose and ten meters of the starboard side aft of the bridge."

"Shit! Is that bad?"

"She did well for her lack of experience. The additional damage will be convincing evidence this ship was struck by a Ruhar stealth mine, and will not affect ship function for our purpose."