For that he desperately needed the navarch, or at least her second.

►►►

IBC Shion Thon, Flagship, Third Reconnaissance Squadron

► Rescue teams braved evacuated compartments in the navarch’s ship, throwing hot patches over what holes they could find just so they could push people through and to the Cohn as quickly as possible. No one knew what had happened to cripple the ship, but everyone was terrified that it was something that would destabilize the core.

The command deck was buried deep in the superstructure of the ship, and that was their primary goal as they worked inward. Anyone rescued along the way was strictly a bonus, though there were other teams spreading out to clear as much of the ship as they could.

Portable lights were necessary. Whatever had taken the ship out of play had effectively cut the power more cleanly than most had known possible without collapsing the core itself. By the time rescuers reached the command deck, smoke and powerful flood lamps turned every step into a nightmarish ordeal.

They forced the portal to the command deck open. Thankfully, the security doors hadn’t been closed or entry would have been impossible in the time they had. The rescue team broke into the large open area that served as the nerve center of the squadron.

“Navarch!” called the team leader.

Without a response, the team leader waved everyone in. “Check for anyone living, give them air, and get them out of here. I’ve got the navarch’s station.”

He found her slumped over her console, fingers bloody, the displays where she’d been working smeared. A check found her alive, which was a relief, and he slapped an oxygen mask over her face.

“Navarch! You must awake!” He grimaced, then smacked her sharply, living out the fantasy of more than a few of his fellow lower-deck comrades. “She’s coming out of it, but I need a healer here!”

The closest healer called out and stumbled his way through the smoke and darkness, immediately getting to work.

“I don’t recommend it, but I can wake her with a stimulant,” he said finally.

“Do it,” the team leader said. “We need her awake. Captain’s orders.”

“Right. Very well. I’ll stay with her then, in case,” the healer said as he administered the dose.

The navarch’s eyes opened wide as she gasped in a deep breath through the mask, limbs flailing as the stimulant hit her nervous system. The men held her down until they felt her calm a bit, then the team leader waved them off and helped her to her feet.

“Navarch, you must evacuate the vessel,” he said. “The healer will see you back to the Piar Cohn.”

She nodded, trying to speak, but nothing came out.

“Your voice will return shortly,” the healer said. “Come with me.”

The team lead watched them go and keyed his comm. “Navarch coming out. Rescue One will clear the command deck.”

►►►