its tail, again turned to head in-system. But
Morn was waiting. He came in fast as the mechanical sped by, the
devastating cross point of Morn's forward beams found their target, and
one of the mechanical's star drive engines disappeared in a bright
flash, its leap pod with it. Angry beams shot out from the mechanical
and it, too, found its mark.
46 One of Morn's stern beam tubes vaporized, taking the surrounding
decks with it. One of his system engines took a near miss and began to
go critical. In moments the crew ejected it. It exploded safely, beyond
the ship's shields.
47 The mechanical sped in-system, while Morn and North limped off
dealing with their damage. Hours later they rendezvoused with Gray
Mountain, who had completed his mission and successfully escaped with
all ships. Morn's crew quickly yanked a system engine from one of the
orbiting wrecks, and in a couple of hours had it fully functional and
calibrated with their own; an incredible feat without the heavy
equipment of a shipyard!
48 They could do nothing about the beam tube. It would take weeks to
tear out the surrounding decks and rebuild.
49 North's problems were merely a matter of recalibrating the engine
controls and replacing some wiring. He was fully functional even before
Morn. From in-system came a horrid screeching and wailing sound, on
every communication's frequency, that made communications between the
ships difficult. "Is that damned thing trying to jam us?" asked North.
50 "No," Morn replied, "it's crying; wailing for its children we
destroyed. It hasn't even tried to attack our remotes, it just ignores
them, and lets us take pictures. It's sitting there by the planet where
it knows it's safe, building something on its star drive