"INCOMING CONTACTS, HIGH NUMBER OF ENEMY FIGHTERS!" shouted the radar officer of the "Destined for Glory". The ship limped forward at a low speed, venting air as they went.
"Remove all power from our secondary weapon systems! Power up the engines to full speed!" shouted Kobi 'Inanraree, commander of the ship. How long until the enemy fleet is in firing range?"
"Less than two minutes, they are already warming up their plasma cannons!"
Kobi 'Inanraree watched the screen in front of him flash with warning lights. The ship was venting air, and the reactor was going critical, not far from overloading. The right side of the hull had a hole clean through it, and every occupant was dead in those sections, and all most every Seraph fighter had been in the hangar that was blown away, preventing any real fighter screen protection. He moved his hand to the screen and touched a flashing red icon, and a new picture replaced the last one. He moved his hand to a new icon, a flashing black one. "Seal all airlocks to the right wing, prepare for separation!" There was a short silence as the crew tried to understand what he was going to do, but when it struck them they begun locking down everything. Kobi pressed the icon, and the ship shock violently as it lost several hundred tons of weight.
"Speed increasing!" an officer shouted. "Critical speed, outer shields layers burning away!"
Kobi 'Inanraree pressed an other icon, a green one, and a tactical screen showing the Jiralhane ships apeared. He took a closer look, and noticed an Assault Carrier of the same class as the "Destined for Glory". Set course to the cordinates 19:3:73,3:9!"
"But commander, that will put us on a colision course with the enemy!" one of the officers protested.
"Thats my intention..." Kobi 'Inanraree replied calmly. "Remove all power from the shields! Charge plasma cannons! Prepare the torpedos, look on the escorts surrounding the enemy assault carrier."
As one the shields vanished, of course no one saw it, but everybody noticed the sound of the hull that was burning. "Tell everyone to get to the closest drop ship and leave the ship! The ones trapped in the rear section and the armory, get to the escape pods! Landing zone will be marked on your HUD! Prepare for take off! There was a moment of silence as the crew on the bridge transfered his orders to the squad leaders and pilots aboard the ship. Confirmation sounds became coming in as the squad leaders got the message and prepared to get of the ship.
Kobi 'Inanraree turned away from the screen to see the bridge crew. "You have served well brothers, now, get to the pods! I will trigger the reactor into a critical melt down and fire the missiles, so prepare to leave the ship as soon as possible, we will only get a few seconds to get clear of this wrack before it enters the enemy formation, and then it will be to late!
The crew left their stations and went for the pods located on the back of the bridge. Kobi 'Inanraree turned, and looked at the screen once more. The sensors indicated that most drop ships had already left the ship and were heading for the surface, along with most of the drop pods. Kobi pressed a white icon, and the ships engines begun protesting, then begun losing power. The reactor was over heating. He triggered the weapon systems that were still functioning and the ship fired several salvos of torpedos, followed by an storm of plasma. Kobi 'Inanraree turned and ran for the pods. He entered the middle one, where his senior crew was sitting. No one said anything, and the pilot shut the door. Kobi took a seat at the back of the pod, and closed his eyes.
He barely noticed as the pod left the ship, and begun flying towards the surface of the planet.
