“We should keep that thing on standby at all times,” I snapped.
“We have been through this, Captain,” Elyek said calmly, “You can’t have it charged until you’re ready to use it. There is around a 30-minute window…”
“I know that, Elyek. Not now. Can we escape with our standard engines?”
Before Elyek got the chance to answer, Ember shouted, “We have an incoming communication. Shall I let it through?”
“Shit, shit, shit!” I said.
Ember took that as a yes, or didn’t care and wanted to hear the message herself.
A gruff voice came over the communications panel, “Uprising, power down your engines now. This is the Commander Gerdu of the Galactic Empire’s military police. We have reason to believe you are transporting a large number of Torax on board your ship, and that you intend to use them in military endeavors. This goes against article 42837, section 185 of the Galactic Law Mandate. Again I say, power down your engines. Surrender the Torax for re-habitation, and yourselves for questioning.”
“Someone must’ve sold us out,” Ember said, killing the communication.
“It’ll have been my father. An attempt to regain his power, no doubt. He’s already sold his race out once. He absolutely would do it again,” Calegg added, in a state somewhere between panic and sadness.
“None of that matters. What matters is that we stall them long enough for the folding drive to charge,” I said, then pressed the comm to talk, “Hey, Commander Gerdu. We only have Suldr. And one Torax crew member, who’s our pilot.”
“It is not your pilot of which I speak, as well you know. You have exactly 30 Torax warriors on board. Now, power down your engines and prepare to be boarded.”
I switched the comm off. “Elyek, or Calegg. Same question as earlier; can we outrun them?”
“We can outrun their ships, but we cannot outrun their weapons,” Elyek answered, dejectedly.
“Shit! Then if we can’t outrun them or stall them, can we at least fight?”
“They have military ships, Shaun,” Elyek explained, like they were talking to a child. “They are built specifically for space battles. Uprising is an explorer class. While it does have an impressive array of combat systems and could potentially take out one of these juggernauts, it definitely couldn’t take out all four of them. That would be simply impossible.”
“What should we do, then?” I asked the room loudly. There was a part of me that was just furious that all my newfound Mental Clarity didn't give me any help whatsoever in this situation.
I was surprised when Koparr offered what I thought was a good solution, “Let them onboard the Uprising and we will kill them all.”
I was so used to there being just Ember, Calegg and Elyek with me on the bridge, I am embarrassed to say I forgot he was even there. I looked to the others to gauge their response to Koparr’s plan. Ember shrugged, Calegg looked hopeful, while Elyek shot the plan dead with their usual knowledgeable cool head. Unfortunately, I didn't hear what they said, because they spoke at the same time as Havok made his thoughts known, and I couldn’t concentrate.
“Yeah, let all those motherfuckers on. Let’s kill us some Galactic military guards.”
I sent back an acknowledgement to Havok to wait a minute before asking Elyek to repeat themselves.
“If we kill the borders, they will just destroy us. And if we let them attach their anchors, we won’t be able to jump. This is not a viable plan. Sorry, Koparr.”
Sighing, I opened up the comm again, “Commander Gerdu, we’ll allow some of your men on our ship,”
“Excellent. I’m glad you have seen sense. Prison is, after all, still better than death. Now you need to stop your ship first so we can anchor to it.”
“You’ll have to give us a little time, Commander. My crew are at odds with my orders. A few minutes please.”
“You have five minutes to stop, then we will open fire. I hope you understand, we will not be giving you the 15 minutes it takes to warm up your folding drive.”
The comm went dead after that bombshell, and I paled. “For fuck’s sake! They know our plan,” I ranted, “We're totally fucked.”
No one had anything to offer, until Calegg piped up, “Can we board their ships?”
“No. They will kill us as we cross,” Elyek said, and I had to agree with their assessment.
“We’ve no choice to either surrender or fight on the run, then,” Ember summarized for us.
“Which aren’t choices at all. But we haven't come this far by surrendering,” I added.
“Captain! Another two ships have appeared,” Calegg announced, “They’re just up ahead and advancing straight towards us.”
“Fuck… shit… double fuck… Bastard!” I screamed in frustration, “Well, we’re really fucked, now. Aren't we?” I seethed to no one in particular, “Get them up on the screen, Calegg. Let’s see if there’s a way we can get past them. We only need to evade death for… How long now, Elyek?”
“Nine minutes, Captain.”
“Nine minutes,” I repeated, “We need to wait until the last possible minute to bolt any which way the coast is clear. And make this ship dance like it’s high at a rave.”
I received some uncomprehending looks from everyone, apart from Ember, who smirked but shook her head. She never liked my metaphors.
Calegg shifted the view to directly ahead of us to encompass the two large, fast-moving ships coming to join the fuck-the-Uprising party. They were familiar. Hope soared within me, but Ember shouted first, excitement tinging her words, “No fucking way! Shaun, is that…”
“I bloody hope so! If it's the Fystr we’re double fucked with a cherry on top. See if you can contact them, Ember.”
She smiled in return. “No need. They’ve just contacted us. Here,” she said, pressing a button.
“Uprising,” came a familiar voice over the radio, “if you attempt to escape again, we will shoot without hesitation. Please hand over the criminal known as Elyek, and you can be on your way.”
She quickly jabbed
