Each hyperspace jump for the Screaming Eagle went smoothly, but in the Clotho system, pirates waited. They weren't waiting for any particular ship, but the Kestrel that jumped in looked very good.
Commander David Jackson looked at the three pirate Corvettes grimly. He could attack, run, or make a jump to the Satori system and go straight to Palshife. He decided to run. The Kestrel had an engine upgrade for more speed, and it sported twin afterburners. He could outrun them, he hoped.
A phone rang in the captain's quarters. The captain turned in his sleep, then reluctantly woke up. He rubbed his eyes, got out of bed, and picked up the phone.
"Hello?" the captain drawled.
"Captain, we have three pirate Corvettes on our tail, what should we do?"
"Go faster, and wait for me."
A few tense minutes passed as the commander ordered the engineers to do whatever they could to cool the engine and get it up to full working order. Finally the captain entered the bridge. "Gimme some data, man, c'mon."
The information officer responded smartly, "Shields and armor are at 100%, same with the Corvettes. Our engines are 20ş hotter than normal."
The last bit of news hardly phased the captain. "Get all weapons systems online, go to backup lighting, and put the extra power in the shields." The captain knew that Corvettes can be killer in groups. He had to be careful. "Turn around on my mark."
The captain waited a few seconds to make sure everything was ready. "Now."
The ship spun, rather sluggishly, the captain thought, to face its aggressors. He needed that RCS upgrade. The turning rates are atrocious in ships this size.
Three angry Corvettes, armed and dangerous, loomed onto the screen. They were too close for comfort. "Arm the space bomb. Ready the engines. I think you all know what to do. Omega Maneuver, now."
The Kestrel's engines flared, disintegrating micrometeors, and the ship stopped, then lurched forward. A single bomb dropped out of a small compartment near the rear of the ship. It drifted forward while the Kestrel sped forward, dodging the Corvettes and heavy rockets. The Corvettes turned quickly, and started to catch up to the Kestrel. Too late. The bomb hit one square between the four engines, incinerating them. Shrapnel flew everywhere, intensely damaging the other two Corvettes. The first one was neatly disabled, and the other two continued the chase. They fired all of their missiles, and the Kestrel took several hits on the wings and engines.
The Kestrel dropped another bomb, but the Corvettes dodged it. This was expected this time. The captain just needed a distraction. One hell of an expensive distraction. The Kestrel started to fire its torpedoes, and four hits destroyed the second Corvette.
The third had gotten close enough to fire its heavy rockets. One whizzed passed the wing, and got dangerously close to the bridge, but sped on into space. A second completely missed, and a third was another near miss. Proton fire erupted from the Kestrel's turrets, ripping the shields from the third Corvette. It fired another heavy rocket. Direct hit. It destroyed the port engine, and knocked out the starboard one. The Kestrel floated to a stop.
The captain called the engine bay. "Is there anything you guys can do?" There was no response. They were gone. Forever. The captain tried the marines' quarters next. "Is everyone ready back there?"
The boarding commander hailed back. "Yes, sir, everyone's ready for a battle. We won't let you down."
"Thanks, it's reassuring to hear your voice. Let's not them in without a fight!"
"Yes, sir!"
The commander switched off his communicator. He was not about to lose.
(This message has been edited by moderator (edited 09-23-2002).)
