The ship shook once more as Robin stumbled out of his cabin into the dimly lit hallway. The door to his right opened at the same moment and Landom came out, dressed only in his sleepwear.

“What’s happening?” He asked with a shaky voice.

“There is a high chance that we are under attack, enemy unknown. No breached hull for now, the atmosphere remains stable…”

* Distance in hours from Rucasur: 06:12:33

“...We aren’t that far from Rucasur. Someone must have waited near one of the moons to catch us after passing. There are means to force someone out of the early stages of superluminal travel, right?” Robin added after getting more data from ROMAS and he couldn’t sense the high energy output from the QVT in the rear anymore.

“I do think so, yeah.. But how should I know? I’m only here as a representative for the officials, that’s my first off-planet trip, too!” Landom growled, clearly annoyed at the mess they were in, “We need to get to the pilot!”

Together they made their way through the still occasionally shaking ship. Robin’s innards clenched and sweat began to drop down his face as he became aware of the fact that he was trapped in this ship like an animal. If there was someone trying to break open the hull from the outside, he could only stand here and put his fate in some stranger's hands.

‘No, that’s not how this will go… get your shit together, Robin!’ He suppressed the dark thoughts as they reached the cockpit and saw the door already open. Outside of the window everything was dark, which didn’t help to get a grasp on things at all.

“What is our situation?” Landom asked while stepping into the small room.

“Uhm… we… ahmmmm… there was… and then… uhmm…” Fengo stammered, clearly overwhelmed by the sudden happenings.

He sat behind a console for manual piloting and was frantically jerking at a joystick. However, the ship's inertial dampening smoothed out all movements and Robin couldn't tell whether the ship was flying zig-zag or not.

* Emergency protocol suggests:

* Calm the individual

* Short, clear questions

* Priorities:

* Are we still in superluminal travel?

* Are we under attack?

* Is the ship damaged?

* What systems are broken?

* What/Who is attacking us?

* Is communication still available?

Well, at least one of them seemed to have enough situational awareness to focus on the right questions. Having fed some of the UAS books on basic protocols for space travel to ROMAS already paid out.

Robin pulled himself together and began to work through the list.

“Keep calm, Fengo, everything will be okay. We just have to solve this mess and whoosh... we will be back on track, alright?”

“W..whoosh?” The young man asked, confused but at least he was distracted.

“Is the QVT still online?”

“The QVT? N-no, I don’t think s-so.”

“Okay, no problem. I sensed some impacts, are we under attack?”

Before the man could even answer, they all saw an energy projectile fly past them close to the right.

“Shit!” Landom cursed from behind.

“Fuck… Well, that answers that!” Robin muttered and had to focus really hard to not lose his shit right here and now.

“Is the ship damaged? Do we have shields?”

“Shields are down to 23%, two more hits at most.” Fengo replied, somehow a bit calmer now.

“Great shields are holding. We cannot go back to superluminal speed and outrun them, I assume?”

“No, we must have hit some anti-matter field. That’s the easiest way to disable a QVT.”

“Anti-what? Forget it, …later! Do you know who is attacking us and are the communications still working?”

“I have no idea who that is, I didn’t even see their ship. Communications… I-I don’t know?” Fengo stammered again.

“No problem, just keep up with the evading maneuvers, okay?” Robin looked over to Landom, “Check the comm station and see if you can open a channel, I’ll try to figure out which asshole is shooting at us.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

The man nodded and hunkered down beside Robin, who took the only other seat in the small cockpit, and began to work on a screen to the left while Robin skimmed through the menus on the right.

“Ah, there it is!” He exclaimed and initiated a broadcasted hailing request.

“Long-range communications are offline, probably jammed.” Landom updated them moments later.

For a moment there was silence as no one knew how to proceed. However, before Robin’s hailing got any result, they heard a loud bang, accompanied by massive shaking of the ship, immediately followed by another impact.

Robin didn’t need Fengo to tell him that their shields winked out just like that. His passive sense made him more than aware of the fact that the Jingur had not much energy left.

“Burn in plasma!” He cursed and was just about to ask the pilot about their remaining options, when Walzor suddenly made him sit up and take notice.

“We have an incoming call!”

All three passengers looked at the small display and Landom tapped some buttons to open a comm channel.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

“Hello little research-rats!” A mechanical, obviously heavily distorted voice could be heard, “We would like to invite you to enter our ship. The hangar is about to be opened and we await your arrival. Please remember that your shields are already gone and we only hold fire as long as you are behaving.”

Landom gave Fengo a sign to turn their ship around, so they could at least see what they were dealing with as scans and hailing were still pending without any response. At the same time he took over the conversation.

“This is Landom Walzor, team leader of Seka Security, Rucasur. This is a UAS vessel on an official mission for the united government. Are you sure that you want to persist in your course of actions?”

“Well, I do hope that you are who you claim to be! You have some artifacts aboard that we want to borrow. Come to our ship, surrender your cargo and you can be on your way again. We have no interest in antagonizing the UAS more than necessary.”

Landom muted the comm and looked at Robin who could only shrug.

At that time they also could finally see what had chased them. After turning the Jingur around, a big rectangular ship came into view. It was probably half the size of a Cradle and while quite bulky, it had huge VTOL-thrusters attached to its sides that seemed more than capable of moving such a clunky piece of metal around. The red and black chassis was covered in retrofitted metal panels, giving the ship both a menacing appearance and a clunky feeling.

They all inspected the ship for a moment, before Landom returned to the topic at hand.

“A custom build model. I have no idea what they are looking for…”

“The crew that was planned for this transport got reassigned to another ship at the last moment. They take some of the museum's artifacts to Gaunus. Maybe this is a misunderstanding?”

Fengo chimed in from the side and Landom frowned in contemplation.

“Seems plausible, but they will never believe us until they search the whole ship. Not sure if they will just let us leave - however I don’t think we have many alternatives…those are pirates after all.”

Robin gasped in shock… elated shock.

“You are right, those are pirates… real, frickin’ space pirates!” He yelped, “That is so awesome! Holy shit, I’m getting raided by space pirates!”

Landom and Fengo looked at Robin, pondering if he was a madman or an idiot - or both.

“Yeah… well, Fengo, take us to their ship. The Jingur has no noteworthy weaponry and as they got us in ambush and shields are down already, fighting back isn’t an option. Maybe after we boarded their ship… I go and put on my gear.” The officer set things in order and made way for his cabin, “Come on, adventure-boy. You’re with me.”

Robin heard the pilot giving a confirmation on the comms and followed Landom back to their rooms.

“You know what to do?” He asked the officer again, who had put on his stern look again and definitely wasn’t as excited to be raided by pirates as him.

“A bit…” He replied, “As I told you, this is my first time off-planet too and definitely the first time to be in such a situation. This powerlessness, to be helpless and at the absolute mercy of some criminals, really leaves a bitter taste. However, if we get off our ship after landing in their hangar, I’ll feel a bit more comfortable. Did you bring a weapon and armor?”

“A weapon and armor? Mate, you are the Security-dude, what would you have said if I entered the ship packed in armor and with a weapon on my shoulder?”

“Yeah… right. Well then, just stand back when the door opens after we have landed.” Landom grumbled and went into his cabin.

Robin also went into his room and rummaged through his big backpack. He pulled out a huge drill-like thing and gave it another proper inspection.

“ROMAS, any idea how this thing works?” he asked the AI.

* No data available

* Cross-referencing suggests: find the power switch, the safety button and the trigger

* The pointy end should be aimed at the enemy before shooting (97%)

“That… wow! I’m so glad you’re sharing your unlimited wisdom with me.” He said and thought back to the asshole-AI he met before, “I’ll file another complaint after I restore your old self!”

A few minutes later, Robin was already waiting in front of the ship’s exit when Fengo and Landom joined him.

The officer now wore an armored suit in the colors of Seka Security, blue and white. It was like Robin’s spacesuit he got from Apex, only with thick patches that had a metallic gleam attached here and there. He also wore a helmet that looked like it really could take some hits. In his hands he held an energy rifle and his mutation told Robin that he had more than a few extra charges on his body.

“Wow, now you really look like someone that works in the field of security!” Robin exclaimed, “Kick those pirates' asses!”

“What is it with you and pirates? Is there something I should know?”

“Come on, really? Being raided by space pirates is like an accolade for adventurers!”

“Uhm… shall I open the door now?” Fengo awkwardly asked, clearly more uncomfortable by their bickering than fearful of the impending fight with some criminals.”

“No, wait a moment. Let me check out what we have to expect out there.” Robin dropped the happy facade and sent out an Echo-Pulse, immediately his mind was flooded with information and he needed a moment to regain his focus. He activated the skill once more and inspected the area outside of their ship. He saw a few energy weapons seemingly hovering in the air and tapped into his main skill to get a more detailed image of those spots.

“One person with an energy weapon directly on the other side, to the right of the door, another one to the left. That one is trying to stay hidden and hunkered down. 10 meters straight in front of us we will be confronted with three more people, two of them also having weapons in their hands. The last dude has his one still holstered. Also…” Robin hesitated and gnashed with his teeth for a moment before he continued, “Also to my senses they glow like a shop that’s selling lamps… they are Cetro.”

“Ugh…” Landom sighed, clearly understanding Robin’s thoughts, “This will be a challenge for us if it comes down to a fight. I don’t think I can hold back in hope of leaving one alive…”

“I… I know. Our safety comes first. Maybe we are lucky and there won’t be a fight.”

“Sure…” The officer gave him a look that told Robin exactly how much he believed that this would come true. It was also when the man noticed the drill in Robin’s hands.

“What’s that?” He asked with a nod.

“Well, hopefully a weapon. It’s called Disruptor and I have no idea how it works. Nothing we can bet on, if shit hits the fan.”

“I thought you didn’t bring a weapon! What’s a Disruptor? That’s no human tech, where did you get that?” Landom questioned with a frown, “Did you steal that from the Drel outpost?”

“Hey! I didn’t steal anything, the AI gave it to me as a gift. Hutton knows about it, the UAS will do some tests later.”

“You are carrying an unknown weapon around in your backpack?”

“It said ‘It’s a weapon for self defense in case of emergency and can destroy…most other things’ - maybe it can be of help, right?” Robin argued and Landom’s eyes went wide.

“Damn, Tulward! You got a weapon, created by the race when talking about weaponsmithing, and their own AI vaguely described it as ‘it can destroy most other things’.” He cursed, “I don’t wanna be anywhere near you, when you pull the trigger! Do you really think it is a good idea to try that thing out, when we are surrounded by the endless void of space?”

“Fine!” Robin conceded, “I only wanted it as a backup plan anyways. Also, I checked it with my mutation and the energy it holds is only slightly more than what one of your weapons charges contains. How much damage could one do with that?”

Landom threw him another skeptical gaze, “Did you turn it on?”

"Fuck you!" Robin grumbled in offense and motioned for Fengo to put his helmet on. While Robin and the pilot didn’t have an armored version, it was better to wear the normal space gear than nothing at all.

After they all finished their preparations, Fengo hit the button to his right and the door slid open with a hissing sound.