Captain Smit grimaced as the EAS Stackpole shuddered with the latest impacts, checked his damage readouts and was relieved to see that while the damage was critical, it hadn't taken any systems offline. He was scanning the screens himself, which allowed the XO to replace his helms officer, who had dislocated his shoulder during some of the worst fire.

"Quite a view, if I do say so myself," the XO quipped, hands hitting the engine controls with quick precision. The main viewscreen showed the scarred engine section of EAS Coeus, far closer than Captain Smit ever wanted to be to an enemy ship, especially an Omega. The Loyalist ship had major fires in her afterdecks where the oxygen hadn't been totally sealed off, and both of her main rear batteries were non-operational. And that was the only reason Captain Smit had ordered the Stackpole so close.

The Captain's comm demaded attention, and he responded to the call to hear the voice of his Medical Officer. "Captain, we've checked the escape pods as ordered. Three of them showed signs of tampering, as you suspected. Security apprehended two members of the crew sabotaging a fourth. We think they're Nightwatch."

Captain Smit's free hand clenched at the armrest. What kind of loyalty was this? What kind of government condemned fighting men, of all sides, to death? Grimly he reminded himself of the kind of man who was in control of Earth, and pushed that aside. "Ben, have you checked the other pods?"

"They appear fine sir. Pods 7 through 11 are loaded with wounded per your orders. 4, 12, 17, and 18 are filling with nonessentials as we speak. They'll be ready to eject in less than two minutes."

"Doctor, I'm holding you to that. Make sure that those Nightwatch goons get out too. And yourself... We'll get everyone else to the remaining pods under our own power. Captain out." He didn't wait for an acknowledgement and composed a quick message which was immediately sent out broadband.

--"To all ships, I advise your crews to check escape pod mechanisms for tampering. We have discovered attempts to sabotage our escape pods which may explain the poor crew survivability during this battle. Captain Smit, EAS Stackpole."--

"Gives those Loyalists more than they deserve," observed the XO.

"Wrong. They're human, and they deserve to live. It's Clarke who is the monster, and he should be tried and sentenced by all humanity. It's always those in power who need to be punished, but those who follow orders who pay the price of justice in blood."

Captain Smit checked the ready state of the escape pods, and started entering the commands that would enable the ejection procedures. "XO, prepare for maneuvering. Has the targeting system been locked in?"

"Yes sir," the XO reported as klaxons started blaring the warning for radical maneuvering for the Hyperion class vessel. "All defensive systems report their new threat axis has been configured and they're ready to go. Sir! Damage Control reports that the battery on deck 12 has been repaired, the gun is now active!"

"Add it to the mix, then. Start the count. Synchronize systems..."

The XO muttered under his breath, "I can't believe we're going to do this, I hope they don't think we could either..."

"This is Captain Smit. I want to thank and commend all of you for being the best possible crew to serve as captain for in all of Earth Alliance." He tapped some more last second corrections into the battle computer. "Should the EAS Stackpole be lost in this battle, it will be lost in the battle for freedom, and fighting for all the ideals of the Earth Alliance Constitution. Remember the most direct path to your assigned escape pod, and watch the person you're beside. Captain Smit, out."

Small shudders began as escape pods began detaching themselves from the ship. "XO, prepare to execute..."

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