“There is no response from Fidelon,” Mal said. “And I am no longer able to detect his ship.”
“He must have already jumped away,” Grady said, his tone grim. “Not what I would call ideal timing.”
“At least it answers one question,” Zoe remarked as her fingers flew across the weapons holo. “We now know for sure that his transport has FTL capability. I wonder if it can also travel between dimensions, like his mothership?”
“An important question for a different time,” Grady said. “When we’re not outnumbered and fighting for our lives.”
Adventurer dodged another fusillade as Grady shoved the joystick sideways. The thud of booted feet and the flash of a striped furry shape in his peripheral vision announced the arrival of Tara and Gizmo. The latter slunk into the space beneath the copilot’s console with a rumbling growl. “He’s not happy at having his after-supper nap interrupted,” Tara said with a rueful glance at her brother.
“Tell him to take it up with our over-zealous pirate assailants,” Grady said, motioning to the large screen. “They seem more inclined to blow us to pieces than seek booty by boarding us and claiming Adventurer as a prize.”
“Rude.”
Grady jogged the control stick from side to side, the ship jinking as he evaded another onslaught. “Weapons free!” he yelled. “We need to break off from this engagement and get the hell out of here.” The hull bucked as Zoe unleashed a stream of laser and ion cannon fury at the nearest hostile craft, forcing it to peel away, its shields flickering.
“I thought the plan was to avoid action, since we haven’t yet found a repair facility to fix the fusion drive, let alone any additional damage that might transpire,” Tara said. “And why isn’t our alien buddy joining the fray?”
Grady told her about the message from Fidelon and his abrupt departure, adding, “I’m guessing one of his primary responsibilities as sentinel is to investigate any loss of contact from his monitoring outposts.”
Tara grunted as she cinched the seat harness around her torso. “Even so, he could have waited and helped us out before disappearing off to who knows where.”
“I don’t disagree. We can take it up with him when we eventually rendezvous with Epsilon,” Grady said. His gaze seared the tactical holo as his mind ran through various combat scenarios, seeking a way out of their perilous predicament.
“That’s if we ever see him again,” Zoe interjected. “What if he’s not keen on finding himself in the middle of a war that has nothing to do with him and has bugged out for good? Like you mentioned, he’s got his own duties to attend to.”
“There you go again,” Grady said, angling the ship to evade a further flurry of laser bolts. “What did I say about rampant pessimism on my vessel?”
“Hey, it’s a legitimate question, Bro,” Tara chimed in before Zoe could respond.
“Busy here,” Grady said, waving his hand. “Let’s revisit this discussion when we’re out of danger.” With a grimace, he eyed the tactical display as the pirates tried to maneuver and surround Adventurer to catch her in a crossfire. They were now between the ship and the asteroid belt, robbing Grady of the possibility of gaining potential cover. Besides, even if he did manage to dodge their onslaughts and reach the relative protection of the asteroids, the outlaws could just wait them out while summoning reinforcements.
He swore under his breath, not wanting to risk attempting to jump to FTL while under attack, especially since the fusion drive was unstable. Instead, he wanted to fend off the attackers, break free, lose any pursuers, and find a bolt hole where they could regroup. Except, the cluster of enemy ships meant he was hemmed in. Leaving him no alternative but to stand and fight.
Which was the last thing Grady wanted. As much as he would have loved to incapacitate or destroy all six assailants, he was keenly aware of the risk to his home galaxy if what Fidelon told him about the energy vampires was true. For that reason alone, he couldn’t afford to take more damage that might prevent Adventurer from returning to their own reality so they could warn the IC about the potential threat. On top of that, he knew his crew and passengers had friends and loved ones they wanted to see again, as did he. He owed them, and himself, that opportunity. An all-out battle in the enemy’s backyard, risking capture or destruction, was the outcome he had most feared when setting the trap to capture a pirate.
Zoe clenched her fist as Adventurer disgorged a fresh barrage, forcing another of the assailants to veer off, its shields all but drained. With two of the six hostile craft now out of action, the odds were looking more favorable.
The grin died on her face as Mal declared, “Detecting more incoming fusion tunnels.” A heartbeat later, as Zoe let loose with a lurid string of swear words, he added, “Four additional vessels have joined the fracas. Looks like this jamboree is just getting started!”
“Party crashers,” Tara said as she scanned the sensor readout. “Seems everyone wants a piece of us. I’d be honored if I wasn’t peeing in my pants right now.”
“Ew,” Zoe said. “Too much information, girl. I hope you were speaking metaphorically.”
“I second that,” declared the AI. “As do my cleaning bots.”
Tara gave a mischievous grin, her hand resting on the copilot’s flight stick. “A woman never tells.”
Grady waved them to silence. “Mal, identify the newcomers.”
“Aye, aye, Matey. I’m trackin’ three Starcaster fighters of a design similar to the Mark-Twos from our reality. They are escortin’ what appears to be an armed, converted freighter. If you don’t mind my sayin’, this here neck of the space woods is a mite crowded and unfriendly. Somethin’ tells me we’re not welcome here. Arrr.”
Zoe swore again as more fire lanced from one of the initial attacking craft, before sending a blistering torrent in return, peppering the pirate’s shields. “Right back at you, asshole!”
With a muttered curse of his own, Grady eyed the tactical board. His brow creased in confusion. He’d expected to see the newly arrived vessels join formation with the four others that remained functional, in preparation for launching a combined strike against Adventurer. He leaned forward and pointed at the holo. “Mal, the tac display isn’t glitching, is it?”
“Negative, Matey. Why do you ask?” said the AI, sounding puzzled. “Ah, I see what you mean. How intriguing.”
No further blasts hammered Adventurer’s shields. Instead, as Grady watched the screen with his mouth hanging open and forehead crinkled, the four newcomers positioned themselves between his ship and the first group of attackers. One of the latter attempted to slip past the barrier, only to be targeted by two of the latest arrivals. The interloper backed off and retreated after its shields took a beating.
“A falling out among thieves?” Tara said, gazing at the holos. “Maybe the new arrivals aren’t in a sharing mood and want to keep us all for themselves?”
“Could be,” Grady replied. “Doesn’t improve our situation any. Either way, I don’t plan on sticking around to find out.” He eyed the pilot’s holo and tapped on the screen. “We’re out of options. While our enemies are bickering among themselves, we’ll have to risk engaging the fusion drive.”
“Are you sure that’s such a smart move?” Tara said. “It’s not what you’d call reliable. What if—”
A shrill alarm resounded from the console, cutting her off, and a large red icon strobed on Grady’s display. “Crap, main propulsion failure.” He toggled the internal comm. “Engineering? What’s happened to the drive?”
“The temporary workaround has failed, Captain,” came Lian’s agitated voice over the speakers. “Probably because of extreme stress on the engines from the evasive maneuvers we’ve been conducting. We’re working on a fix.”
“Sublight?”
“Still operational. But take it gently, in case it blows too.”
Watching the tactical holo as two of the newcomers came about to face Adventurer, Grady said, “I’m pretty sure gentle isn’t a word often used in the Badlands. But I’ll be as tender with the engines as the situation allows. Switching to sublight.”
Tara slid Grady a worried look. “They’ll outpace us without cracking a sweat.”
“Yeah, but better to fight on the run than be a sitting duck,” Grady said, hands grasping the flight stick. “There’s only so much punishment our shields can absorb. We’ve already shown we’ve got the firepower to make them regret taking us on. We’ll do so again, even if it means a broader engagement than I’d intended.”
