Free A Greater Interest: Samair in Argos: Book 4 by Michael Kotcher Page B

ships showed up… Well, FP was done. 
                  “I didn’t expect easy, boss,” the tactical officer said, pressing a few keys and firing on the approaching corvette with all the weapons they had left.  The pirate ship took the hit on their starboard side, rolling to try and spread the damage.  A second later, the ship turned away, managing to avoid taking any serious shots to its aft shields.  She smiled slightly at the good hit on the other ship, but then her eyes narrowed in concentration as another of the corvettes angled in to attack, with one of the gunboats in support.
                  Eridain fired her thrusters, slipping around and over Cavalier ’s position, adding her own weight of fire to Alys’s and the gunboat tried to bob and weave around, to no avail.  A blistering salvo caught the smaller vessel amidships, punching through the shields and breaching the hull.  Cavalier ’s own salvo hammered the forward section of the pirate corvette, forcing it to veer off.  But the ship didn’t veer off before unleashing with all their active weapons.  But whoever was in command of the pirate ships’ guns made a mistake on this attack run, splitting their fire between the two FP ships instead of concentrating it like they should. 
                  “We’re getting heavy spotting on the portside shields,” one of the watch standers called.  “We can’t take too many hits on that side.”
                  “Very well,” Nazan replied.  We can’t really take too many more hits on any side.  “Helm, bring us to port, ten degrees, three degrees down.”  He turned to the comms officer.  “Comms, make sure that Eridain stays with us.”
                  “Aye, sir,” the officers chorused.  A second later, the comms officer turned to her captain.  “Sir, I’ve got Leytenant Rujarrik on the line for you.”
                  “Put her through to my chair display,” he ordered.  The officer acknowledged and his display activated, showing the lupusan.  “Leytenant.”
                  “This is getting intense, Captain,” she told him, her voice dripping with understatement. 
                  “I know,” he replied.  “But we’ve got to hold them off as long as we can.”
                  “What’s our endgame, here, Captain?” she asked firmly.  “I mean, we’re barely holding together as it is, Eridain can’t take too much more of a pounding and I’m guessing Cavalier can’t either.  And those cruisers will be in range in only a few minutes.”
                  “I know.  We won’t be able to hold them off, certainly not with our engine damage.”
                  “So then, I repeat, sir, what are we doing?”  It was unlike a lupusan to show fear or indecision.  “We can’t stand here.  We’re doing nothing but delaying our deaths.”
                  “No, we’re holding the pirates here, out away from the mine.”
                  “For only a few minutes longer, sir,” she pointed out.  “And then either those corvettes will get us or the cruisers will.”
                  “I have no intention of staying put,” Nazan replied.  “Can you keep with us?”
                  “My hull integrity is getting lower with each battering we take, but Eridain isn’t finished yet, Captain,” Rujarrik told him defiantly.
                  “Good!” 
                  “Where are you taking us?” she asked, her defiance bleeding off into confusion.
                  “Around the gas giant,” he said.  “You’re right.  We can’t hold out against those cruisers, but maybe we can lure the corvettes and gunships to either try and tangle with the fighters, or get them in range of the orbital turrets around the mine.”