Meirav grimaced as her hands slipped again on the control board. It was a hopeless mess. The entire power train was out of alignment from a hit just beneath the cannon’s mount, and the cannon itself had been battered from the outside in.

Another blow rocked the ship from side to side, wrenching the cannon loose from Meirav’s grip and spilling her across the deck. She got to her feet and looked at the ship’s status board. It was blinking red.

In the last few minutes the alien gunner had hit the ship in all the major damage areas. He knew exactly how it should be attacked to take it out.

Meirav could only swear in frustration. The ship was doomed. They were already being towed toward the nearest dreadnought.

Meirav yelled to one of the crewmen nearby, "Can you give me some cover? They're hitting us pretty hard."