as she grappled with the imperatives of her situation. She had Defender, one heavy cruiser, and three destroyers against four capital ships and five light cruisers. As long as she remained astern, she was safe, for the Trollheim had expended her aft MDMs and the Ogre mounted no stern battery . . . but if she stayed behind them, she gave them every defensive advantage there was.
"Captain Onslow," she said calmly, "we'll have to get ahead of them."
"Understood, Ma'am," the captain's voice was harsh but level. "Going back to over-boost now."
She closed her ears to the keen of the multi-dee as it rose once more, but she could not close her thoughts. If she lost the ship now, there was no hope, for Defender was her only remaining dreadnought. Her chance of stopping the enemy was horrifyingly slim, but without her flagship, BatDiv Ninety-Two's escorts had none at all.
"Scan reports they're trying to crank their translation fields up a bit, Ma'am," Miyagi said quietly. She opened one eye and gave him what she hoped was a confident look. "They're not getting very far; we're level-reaching on them now."
"Good." She inhaled. "What's their formation?"
"The heavies are moving into translation lock, and the cruisers are closing up to cover the rear of their formation, Ma'am."
"I see." She glanced d