Alex targeted a missile, then stabbed laser fire back. The energy spread over the Cobra's screens like a bright yellow flower.
It accelerated towards them. Alex accelerated too, but rose over the killer, and over the space station.
We can't fight it! We've not got the weapons, nor the defences. Not yet.
Damn! What should we do?
On the rear screen, Alex saw the sombre shape of the killer rising above the Coriolis station. A flash of light presaged the warning INCOMING MISSILE, and Alex targeted the ECM to destroy it. As he did so, he turned.
The two ships tore past each other, majestic metal galleons, raking each other with fire before turning and approaching again.
Twice they duelled in this way. The Nemesis groaned beneath the weight of the laser strikes on its hull; the energy in its storage cells began to drain away. In Alex's mind there was only confusion. The Cobra knew him, and wanted him, and wouldn't let go. And this was the ship he wanted to kill…
But he wasn't equipped to kill it… Not yet. Not yet!
So despite Elyssia's objections, Alex turned and ran for the sun.
The Cobra followed. The two ships manoeuvred and looped, slowed and speeded up. Whenever possible, Alex rear-lasered, and this had the effect of driving the pirate back a little. It targeted and dispatched three more missiles, and Alex shot them down. He was tempted to think that that represented the full missile load of the Cobra, but he wisely avoided such complacency. His own missile remained targeted, ready to fly, but he imagined that it would meet a quick and pointless fate.
The sun edged closer. It grew in size and majesty. The cabin temperature of the Nemesis rose.
Immense arms of plasma curled out from the surface, like weird creatures rising above a molten sea. Alex flew towards one, fuel-scoop ready.
The Cobra fired at him. Shields screeched.
The duelling ships entered the realm of the Inferno…
Alex said, 'It's working. Look…' The fuel gauge was edging up as the scoop sucked in raw plasma and converted it to the energy form needed for Witch-Space transit. He skimmed the Nemesis along the edge of the great ocean of fire. The arms of the corona was millions of miles long, thousands wide, and curling round, like a whirlpool. At its centre, then, there was a calm place, a place away from the heat and danger.
Alex headed towards it. The cabin filled with an eerie brilliance in which shadows seemed to writhe and beckon. The sun was an unbearable glare. The temperature of the ship rose dramatically. Fire played about the hull, and the shields moaned and creaked.
'Not long,' Elyssia said. At last she too had come to realise that they were just not ready to fight the Cobra. They had to get out of here, and fast. The nearest star was six light years distant, their fuel gauge showeda jump capability of four, and rising…
In the calm sea, wrapped around by sunfire, the Nemesis hovered, and waited. Somewhere in the brilliant glow of the plasma arm the Cobra searched for them, but perhaps they were safe, now, safe from scanning, or from probing, since no electronic eye or ear could pierce the intense radiation field of the corona.
'Five light years and climbing. Get ready to go, we're already targeted…'
'I'm ready,' Alex said. He tried not to think of the consequences of such a long, unsupervised jump… in the first instance they would just jump small distances, but the hyperdrive mechanism wouldn't tolerate too many such feeble movements.
Alex turned the Nemesis so that it gently span in a circle, searching the flickering, shadowy fire for danger.
'Five point five light years. A minute more. Just sixty seconds…
'Just thirty seconds… we're filling up lovely…
The ship hummed. Alex dripped with sweat.
'Just twenty seconds more, Alex, and we can fly like star seed…'
On the scanners the merest flicker of light hinted at the presence of the Cobra. It was on the other side of the strand of plasma; a curtain of fire separated them. Nemesis and killer stood motionless in space, facing each other through the great erupting wave of sunfire.
'We're ready to go,' Elyssia said. 'Alex. Go! Now!'
Alex Ryder shrugged her off. 'No,' he said. 'Not yet…'
'Alex! '
He pushed the ship towards the fire. The flickering, ghostly image on the scanners moved too.
Closing.
And with a sudden cry, Alex stabbed speed into the Nemesis' engines, and raced towards the veil of flame and plasma. All vision had gone. All he could see was his father's face; and the white ball of flame that had been the Avalonia…
All he could feel was grief, and anger, and hate…
All he knew was that he had a missile targeted on the Cobra, and that he had one last, desperate chance…
The ships closed. The distance between them was the distance of the plasma veil. It played on the hull of the Nemesis, and the shields screamed and complained. He could not go too deep…
Not too far in…
Too dangerous…
He fired the missile.
The tiny vessel sped into the sunfire, weaving and ducking as it homed on the Cobra. It didn't show on Alex's scanner. It didn't show on the Cobra's scanner. Not until it was too late…
The Cobra triggered its ECM. Alex saw the burst of brightness, the sudden detonation… and then he saw the great fireball that gyrated around the destroyed missile.
Momentum, heat, plasma, fire… all gathered together into a ball of death that swept from the corona and engulfed the Cobra.
No shield known could stand against such intense energy, the raw energy of the sun, stung and screaming, blown into a great tidal wave of explosive terror.
The Cobra bathed in light and fire. Alex watched the scanner, and suddenly.
The light was gone.
The Cobra was dead. Destroyed. Gone forever.
The Nemesis slowed and turned, went back to safety.
No-one on its bridge said a word. But in the bright light of the ageing sun, tears glistened on two faces.
Chapter eight: Coda
The holoFac of Rafe Zetter gleamed and shimmered on the bridge of the Nemesis, as if with pride. Behind it, the full face of Lave was a welcome and relaxing sight. The last of the Mymurth and their precious parasites had been off-loaded into two Navy Asp-type ships. The final payment had not yet been agreed, but the figure would not be less than one hundred credits per creature.
'I knew you could do it,' Rafe said, chewing happily and stroking his wispy sidewhiskers. 'Had to be sure. But was confident enough to get you to Cirag before you were ready.'
'We could have been killed,' Alex muttered. 'That system was crawling…'
'But a good combateer, even an йlite combateer, knows when to run, and how to run. I'm proud of you… you ran and scored.'
And as he spoke, so on the screen a message came through from the Galactic Police HQ on Lave Coriolis 6.
Congratulations to Alex Ryder, and thanks on behalf of the Galactic Co-operative of Worlds for your efforts and skill in destroying pirate vessels as documented by you, and verified by on-board V-film. We have pleasure in assigning to you the Combat Status of 'Deadly'. Your legal status of 'Offender' has been negated. Your new rating as Deadly will be lodged in the GalNetwork within a standard day.
