“Well, you’ve miscalculated this time, Vargas,” said the freighter captain.
“Captain! Another ship just popped up on screen!” said Katy.
“What is it?”
Katy waited for computer to id the boat. “BG cruiser. Coming in fast! It was hiding next to the transport!” yelled Katy.
“Alright,” said Jolo. “Now things startin’ to make sense. Katy, get us out of here!” No sense in taking on a cruiser if he could jump out instead. Katy turned the Argossy and started to run.
But just then a loud BOOM reverberated through the old ship as the Argossy took a hit from an ion cannon. Then two more ear-splitting, bone jarring blasts hit the smaller ship. The thrusters lost power and the nose swung around like they’d hit a meteor. The inertial dampeners couldn’t compensate and everyone hit the deck. The lights in the bridge went out and the air pumps stopped. Jolo tried to call down to engineering but the comm was dead.
“Everyone okay?” Jolo yelled in the darkness. The air inside the Argossy was tingly and electrified and Jolo could smell burned metal.
“Yeah, I think so,” Katy said, scrambling back to her seat in the dark.
“Where’d it come from?” said Koba.
“The cruiser is still too far out.”
“The hauler’s got a cannon,” said Jolo. “Sneaky bastards. Where’s George?”
“He was on his way back,” said Katy.
“Let’s hope he was clear,” said Jolo. “Y’all stay put, I’m going to engineering.” Jolo ran through the corridors of the Argossy in the dark all the while wincing at the thought of another shot from the Fortinbras. His father, Marco, said the Argossy would always bring you home, but could it withstand another hit? How could he have missed the gun? It must’ve been a huge cannon. His shields were up and charged but three blasts had disabled his ship.
He made it down the stairs to engineering, both hands on the rails because he couldn’t see the steps. It was strangely quiet and dark. No sounds from either of the big engines, not even the hum of an air mover, all the control screens were black. “Hurley!” Jolo yelled. No answer. So he crawled on the floor searching with his hands in the darkness until he stumbled upon the thin old man laying on the floor. He gently shook him and Hurley started to moan, then made a few sounds. Jolo sat him up and the old man said one word: “kicker.”
“Yes, yes,” Jolo said. “Can you engage the kicker?”
“Yeah, why haven’t they finished us off?” said Hurley.
“I don’t know.”
The kicker was a self-contained reserve engine that could supply a minimal amount of power and maneuverability while they assessed the damage. Two minutes later and they had just enough power for life support and other critical functions. By then Jolo was back on the bridge.
“Where’s the cruiser?” said Jolo.
“Near the freighter,” said Katy. Her words soft and solemn. The forward screens powered on and they could see the sleek, black ship, small next to the Fortinbras. And there, perched atop the third compartment of the freighter, was a huge, retractable, ion cannon. Jolo held Katy’s hand.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t see it.”
“Not your fault,” she said. “It was hidden.”
“That’s a custom job. The Allesar 405 Class freighters aren’t supposed to have top-mounted cannons,” said Koba.
They all waited for the final shot to take them out. The first volley had crippled the ship, putting them in a slow spin a hundred meters out from the Fortinbras, but still too close. And where was George? thought Jolo.
They all eyed the black ship on screen as it came up to the freighter. It would pass the big ship and pour all of her fire power at the Argossy.
And then a strange thing happened.
The Bakanhe Grana cruiser, one of the ships supposed to be protecting the shipping lanes from pirates, opened fire on the Fortinbras. The first shot took out the huge cannon, the next blew a hole in the bridge. Jolo and the crew watched in horror as debris flew out of the hole into the vacuum of space, most of it indiscernible at this distance, but Jolo could see a few bits of bright yellow streaking out into the blackness, the same color as the UFP Freight Lines jumpsuits that crew members wore.
The BG cruiser took out the rear engines next, completely killing the big ship. Then it slowly, patiently, cut a gaping hole in the central compartment. The main support structure was severed and the long tube of a ship bent into an “L” shape in the middle. Fed containers started spilling out, floating off in all directions. Two BG warriors with jet-packs flew into the hole and a few minutes later came out with a black box.
“My damn box,” muttered Greeley under his breath.
The crew was dumbfounded, but finally Katy snapped out of it.
“Captain, I can get us close enough to take a shot at the BG,” she said.
“Negative,” said Jolo. “If we stick our necks out and a Fed patrol catches us we’ll all be headed to a work planet or hanged.”
“But, Captain—” she said. But Jolo cut her off.
“Katy, not another word. Now give us a quick burst from the kicker that’ll push us further away from the BG boat, but make sure we end up in a slow dead spin.” A few seconds later the Argossy was slowly moving away from the fracas.
“Hurley, shut us down. Go dark!” he yelled into the comm. And the old ship went dark again. Jolo kept one screen going on the bridge and watched the BG boat as
