+++ Jonathan Jones +++

Lubola System

“SYS, run the analysis. Give me a rundown on each of them.”

“Copy. Contact analysis reports are being compiled.”

One by one, the hostile contacts, all of them broadcasting the famous “Black Flag” identification codes appeared on the screens. I had already made multiple run-ins with these pirates before in the Inner Sector, as this nonsense was rampant both in the fringes of system real space and in hyperspace. Running from them, so long as there wasn’t much of a presence of their ships, wasn’t exactly anything more than trivial.

The fact that the Jukebox was my only ship (and a fast and stealthy one at that), meant that I could effectively just run and hide in areas where sensors would have a harder time detecting me. Planetary rings and asteroid fields would come into mind (though, you would have to slow down a lot in those places). And the same was true now.

I could simply bolt into the other direction as I’ve always done, hide in an asteroid field, go dark, wait for my opportunity to jump back out into hyperspace, and return to the Inner Sector…with nothing in tow.

Which means it would be pointless. And, I made a vow. She was counting on me. To run now would be a betrayal of the highest order. She had done nothing but help me since I met her. Nothing else. My fears of her being a dangerous AI had no bearing. And she’s currently knocked down. Defenseless and vulnerable.

I moved the Jukebox forward, just behind the protective formation that Juliett’s two frigate drone ships were taking. My Licht PD Lasers were already powering up, and I ordered SYS to begin diverting power to shields.

“Can we remove the safeties?”

“Of the what?”

“Engines…and reactor. I want us to be moving around like some maniac.”

“The Jukebox is not rated for those conditions. That would be dangerous for humans like you. I advise otherwise.”

“Overheating?”

“And the possibility of long-term reactor wear and tear. The worst-case scenario is system overload if the energy generated is not properly managed. Normally, safeties are only turned on at the last minute, to prevent shield system collapse for a few seconds.”

“Well…” They were really coming close. Already, pings from the VSS Shine and the VSS Glisten appeared on my screen. The two were alerting me of “hostile contacts” and they were requesting me to join their formation. “Can you manage it, SYS?”

“For a while, this system can manage it.”

“Then do it.”

Juliett…you better turn back on now. I sat down at the controls. Immediately, the transmissions from the pirate fleet arrived. It was garbled at first before their voices became apparent. They were angry. They were out for blood.

“He who trespasses our turf, he shall perish!” The sounds of his voice were almost painful to hear. I didn’t bother to look at his hideous face, also filled with so many implants and surgeries, that he barely even looked human anymore. “You will pay!”

“Spare me the theatrics, Mr. Nobody.” I spat back. “Identify yourself. You are approaching a peaceful expedition, but we will not hesitate to fire back if you do not back off.” I couldn’t believe I was saying those words. Dealing with the police and the Kingdom’s Army certainly trained me well at copying authorities. “Let’s not do anything hasty today, that could lead to unexpected results.”

Slowly, I followed the VSS Shine and the VSS Glisten as we panned out forward, away from Juliett’s ship to give her some distance from the fight. Our advance was almost slow, methodical, yet threatening. For the pirates, they were closing in at full burn, but we were moving for a steady intercept.

Two frigates and one corvette, against…whatever that is. The final results of SYS’ contact analysis finally showed up on the screen. Four frigate-sized ships, two destroyer-sized ships, and what appeared to be a jury-rigged Vanguard-Class Light Cruiser. SYS scanned its weapons and conditions, and it didn’t seem to be faring well either. It was more like a hulking rustbucket that saw a hundred battles and repaired a hundred times.

Yet it was still a light cruiser hull. And it had a considerable escort force. Unless Juliett’s frigate drone ships, the VSS Shine and the VSS Glisten packed something more special than their current weaponry, we would have no chance against a determined punch from these goons. We would only be able to delay them, and maybe pick off a few of their frigates and destroyers.

But…if that’s the only thing we can do. If I was in a terrestrial setting, I would have looked back at Juliett’s form. Then we’ll do it as best as we can. VSS Shine and VSS Glisten, I have not known you two, but damn it, let’s buy your big sister more time.

She certainly was taking her sweet time with her mid-expedition beauty sleep. But whatever.

“I would not have preferred this, but you, you rascal, you killed my boy!” Their leader said over the comms. “You and your…companions. Whatever they are!”

“I did nothing of the sort.” I lied. “Back off now. You have no business being here.”

“Your lies don’t work! Go talk to our missiles!”

“Fuck…SYS, contact the VSS Glisten and VSS Shine and coordinate at shooting down those missiles. Here they fucking come.”

+++

Engagement Commenced…

Your Ships:

ISS Jukebox (Reaper-Class Corvette)

Allied Ships:

VSS Shine (Exalt-Class Drone Frigate)

VSS Glisten (Exalt-Class Drone Frigate)

VSS Radiant (Void-Class Phase Cruiser) - Disabled

Hostile Ships:

ISS Vagrant (Bungaloo-Class Frigate)

ISS Contrarian (Bungaloo-Class Frigate)

ISS Jersey (Spearhead-Class Frigate)

ISS Onslow (Spearhead-Class Frigate)

ISS Bucketlist (Puncher-Class Destroyer)

ISS Covenant (Ripper-Class Converted Freighter)

ISS Driscoll (Vanguard-Class Light Cruiser)

Difficulty Experience Bonus: +25% Base Rate!

+++

We lunged forward. Immediately, a swarm of probably twelve to sixteen missiles came howling forward toward us. It was their opening barrage, meant to suppress us, force our shields up, and be a preliminary drain on both our reactors and weapons. One after another, my Licht PD Lasers opened up, detonating and disabling six missiles headed on my way. Around me, I watched as the VSS Glisten’s point-defense mounts opened up with energy pulses, downing their missiles one after another.

Two however slammed in front of the VSS Shine, but its shields were up, and thus, it didn’t do much of anything. Immediately, we lowered our shields to vent out extra hits as they came closer in front of us.

“Alright, SYS. Turn on the anti-ship configurations of our weapon mounts. Those point-defense lasers should shoot them down well. If we break the weapons, so be it. Just get it on.”

“No problem. Configuring Licht PD Lasers into anti-ship mode. I’ll pretend that these are Stable Dynamics’ High-Intensity Beams.”

“Heh, sure, go on.” Already, their Bungaloo-Class Frigates lumbered first forward, their ballistics opening up against us. One after another, their light railguns lobbed slug after slug on our ships, and I had to keep a close watch on the reactor heat capacity as it rose. Already, I placed my helmsmanship to the test, maneuvering the Jukebox left and right and using its maneuverability to dodge some of the incoming slugs.

“How the hell are we dodging forty-two percent of their shots, SYS?” If I was on the other side, I would definitely be pissed. “Are their targeting acquisition software in the stone age?”

“That would be a most likely explanation.”

“Well, I guess being a pirate is tough then.” I continued dodging them while keeping myself close to the VSS Shine, all while its Photon Lance opened up in rapid intervals, almost only four seconds per shot. The two Bungaloo-Classes in front of us, hellbent on firing their railguns at our face, found themselves suppressed, and they fell back.

In the distance, on our right flank, the VSS Glisten found itself in a close-quarters duel. One of their Spearhead-Class, sensing opportunity at the drone ship’s somewhat isolation from the Jukebox and the Shine burned like a maniac forward, its heavy PD guns and railguns opening up with a hail of ballistics on the Glisten.

“Fuck, we need to help the Glisten. SYS, order the Shine to turn a bit and help the Glisten out. We’ll cover this side.” I lunged the Jukebox forward a bit, as the Shine turned around and fired its Photon Beam on the Shine’s current foe. Immediately, its shields were overloaded, and it shut down cold, its reactor temporarily dead. Multiple missile pods opened up on the Glisten’s port side, and suddenly, the pirate frigate in front of it was pummeled one after another with explosions.

In moments, it was cold and dead.

[ISS Onslow disabled!]

“Alert! Incoming hostile missiles!” I immediately flew the Jukebox closer to the VSS Glisten, which was already backing out under heavy ballistic fire from the enemy frigates ahead of us. The Licht PD Laser was good, shooting down their second missile barrage, and our proximity with each other allowed us to maximize the pinata shoot. Their missiles didn’t get through.

“Fuck, forty-eight percent?” In no time, I would definitely have to initiate the emergency cooling protocols and vent out that heat. “SYS, how long would it take to vent that out?”

“Approximately eight seconds. The reactor is operating at fifty percent over its normal energy production parameters. The stress on the reactor is higher, thus, more time for coolants is needed for it to work.”

“Well, better put that sacrifice to work then.” I pushed forward a bit, as the VSS Glisten took the opportunity to cool down and vent out its superheated gasses. The VSS Shine took over the point-defense job, shooting down the occasional missiles headed toward the VSS Shine. I, on the other hand, pushed the Jukebox forward again, taking care to avoid their hail of autocannon fire and railgun slugs. Comically, due to the speed of my approach, they were missing like morons.

Alright, time to up this nonsense. In an almost perfectly synchronized manner, the Shine’s Photon Lance opened up at one of their Bungaloo-Classes, which was coincidentally, where my ship’s weapons were locking into. The split-second moment of the beam overloaded their shields, and I feasted on the opportunity.

“SYS! All weapons free! Take that dipshit out!”

Angrily, the Jukebox’s four forward-facing turrets that carried my Licht PD Lasers went hot as the reactor heat capacity jumped to seventy percent, and four red hot beams from my ship sliced the front of their disabled frigate. I waited for six seconds, as the tiny explosions detonated one after another inside, all while the Bungaloo-Class beside it desperately tried to fire its railguns on my raised shields, raising up the reactor heat capacity to a burning ninety-three percent, before the enemy detonated.

[ISS Contrarian disabled!]

“Fuck yeah!” Rapidly, I pulled back, as a hail of missiles from the VSS Glisten forced the other Bungaloo-Class back, preventing it from chasing my tail. However, I lowered the shields, having no choice as the reactor was already practically overheated. Three railgun slugs slammed toward the Jukebox’s armor plates, and I heard the loud alerts as the affected compartments of my ship locked down and the automated drones activated to contain the damage.

“Alright, SYS, we’re backing off. Prepare the emergency coolants. Good job.” As we pulled back and commenced emergency cooldown, the VSS Glisten and the VSS Shine moved forward to cover me. If I were to look back at the days when I left Loran, I would never have imagined that I would be fighting in space with AIs. And damn good AIs at that, they knew how to fight and react in the best possible way as the situation developed. They were well-cooled. If these were the weaker versions of Juliett, I could only scarcely imagine how she would fight.

Looking back, the sensor readings on Juliett’s ship were still cold as dead. She had not booted up yet. And while their remaining frigates were already backing off in fear, I could see that their two destroyers and their lumbering Vanguard-Class were pushing forward at us…and I could only gulp in fear.

Fuck… I pushed the Jukebox forward, reforming our formation with the Glisten and the Shine, and I took the center position, facing the enemy cruiser head-on. I faced their boss directly, and its guns were aimed straight at me.

I shook my head as I adjusted the control sticks to keep up with our formation.

“Juliett, you better wake up soon!” I shouted over the comms. “Because I and your underlings wouldn’t last any much longer!”