‘I told the newest developments to Claire, who was clearly shocked and also very thankful for my quick thinking. She even gave me a big hug to express her feelings. Well, I didn’t expect less. After all, saving someone’s life was a kind of big deal, even if my life also depended on it.’

‘We were heading towards the space station. It was still a long way to go.’

‘Few minutes ago, me and Claire became aware of a growing commotion around us on the bridge... Something was clearly not right. We decided to look for Ayelfita and ask what was currently happening.’

‘I soon found her in front of the holo communicator. She seemed to be very troubled at the moment. As we approached her, she also realized our sudden arrival. There were no more signs of her previous sarcastic mood. Claire also seemed to sense the unusually tense atmosphere, yet she still decided to ask.’

“Ayel, could you tell us what is going on? Everyone seems to grow more and more stressed by the seconds.”

“Sigh, well, there is no reason to hide it, for one reason or the other, we are unable to communicate with the station... Taking into consideration our memorable encounter just a few minutes ago, I am quite sure that they are in the middle of a battle.”

Seldibo joined the conversation, choosing that exact moment.

“Yeah, the only question is, who is the enemy that decided to attack us? We are trying to decide what we should do at the moment. If we go back to base, there is a possibility that we enter into a battle that we could not win. On the other hand, the enemy most likely thinks that we perished in that explosion.”

“Which means…” — Continued Ayelfita. — “that we will have a chance to take them off guard, and maybe we can make some credits, and if we even save Hondo, he will surely reward us for our actions.”

“Yes, my dear, you are right, but I think I had to remind you about those supposedly massacred people on that ship. I know that we don’t have any actual evidence that it has happened except the girl’s words for it, but I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt since she just saved our lives.”

“Yes, I suppose. That is indeed a good argument.”

“So what now?“ — ‘I asked, growing tired from their continuous banter.’

“I guess we should go back, at least into radar distance. If there is something off, we will simply jump away. We should not enter into a space battle with this ship. There is not even a proper weapon system on this trashy ship.” — Stated Claire.

“Than it is decided. Continue back towards the space station.” — Said Ayelfita with finality.

‘The nearby pirates nodded, just like Seldibo did. Meanwhile, I still had a bad feeling about this.’

‘In the end, I decided to not say anything else. Nothing was certain yet, and it looked like a solid plan. I didn’t feel any obvious threat, but I just knew that something was wrong with this whole situation, and I didn’t like it.’

~oOo~

‘Half an hour later, we reached the place where the pirate space station was located. Of course, we didn’t park next to it. We carefully circled around the station in a long distance, searching for any sign of an ongoing battle. Our suspicions soon turned into reality. There was a lot of new debris flying around in randomised directions. There was a battle here, a very fast and vicious one of that.’

‘I watched as Seldibo’s forehead started to sweat profusely. There was a terror in the air, as we soon realized that the debris was from the space station we were meant to go back to. It was entirely destroyed... We could only hope that some of the people were able to escape in time.’

“What could have done this in less than an hour of time?” — Asked an unknown pirate standing somewhere nearby.

‘I personally was too focused on searching the debris for any potential survivor or a clue explaining what happened here to care about that question. It was clear to me that someone had planned for our demise. What I was not certain of was the reason behind it.’

‘If I followed my instincts, I would suspect that the culprit was the same assassin that attacked me previously. She most likely called for reinforcement, too... Yet if that was the case, then why did she decide to kill me? She seemed to be adamant on capturing me alive before... Maybe she thinks that it’s too risky... But after the life siphon I attached to her body, considering how much I healed from stealing her life energy, she should be in a weakened state right now... If that is true, then who is the cause of the destruction of this pirate base?’

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

'Suddenly, there was a flaring alarm on the control panels and monitors of the ship.

“What is it now!?” — Shouted Ayel. Clearly frustrated by the sudden noise.

“There is a squadron of unidentified predictively hostile starfighters coming towards our direction.” — Shouted someone in the momentary confusion.

“Well, it seems that it is time to rescue our own asses. Instead of saving Hondo’s, he must have been able to escape in time, anyway. If not, then it was time for a change in leadership, I suppose.” — Said Ayelfita.

“Yes, it is time to go. Seldibo and Claire were nodding furiously, to that proposal.”

“Ejj, Jedi, why did you not sense these guys before they began their attack?”

“I don’t know, something is wrong about this situation... I am not sure what, but I sense a disturbance... There is a warning, but clouded, my senses are weakened... from an outside interference.”

“Well, maybe it is warning you about the starfighters that are gaining on us with every second. They seem to be adamant on blasting us apart.”

“No, there is something else, under the surface of this attack, that I am not able to see. It keeps disappearing every time I try to focus on its presence. I think we should escape as fast as possible.”

“Well, be my guest. I was just about to do that exact thing. Activate Hyper-drive in three, two, one, now!” — Commanded Seldibo.

In response, there was only silence. We waited for a few more seconds, but the ship didn’t move.

“What are you doing, idiots? I said activate hyper-drive, now!”

“We can’t. It doesn’t work... there are numerous errors. The explosion before, it must have had some level of EMP effects... More than a few of the energy cells are damaged. It is a minor problem, but it takes a long time to replace them... We don’t have enough time...”

“Then what should we do? We can’t fight them off with this unarmoured transport ship!”

‘There was no answer to the troubled question of that weequay... I think I saw him before, but I find it hard to differentiate them... I mean, Claire and Hondo are kind of easy, since both of them are wearing one-of-a-kind unique gear. Hondo has his red long coat, while Claire wears a bright blue T-shirt and a red bandana over her head...’

‘She also has a single braid in her hair instead of the multiple ones that the other weequays seem to prefer. What I mean to tell you is that she stands out from the crowd... but the others seem to have less unique outwear. Of course, they are not the same. Everyone here basically wears a different gear, but their faces are not that different from my perspective... I of course asked most of their names... Which I almost immediately forgot, but even when I remember it I can’t connect it to any face... Ugh...’

While I was thinking about questionable fashion choices, Seldibo seemed to take over the conversation...

“I have an idea...” — Seldibo looked over at the enemy ships. — “Each of the three fighter ships are old models and pretty run down... I think that they are mercenaries. Because of the transport ship we are currently in, I don’t think they know that we are actually pirates.”

“Yes, but what good would that do for us?” — Questioned the same weequay who asked the other question a few seconds ago.

Seldibo gave him an evil smile.

“We will let them board the ship, act as if we are simple lost merchants, while most of the crew hides in the ventilation system. Then, when they least expect it, you come out and give them a big surprise. How about that?”

‘There were exactly ten members of the pirate crew here. Seldibo, and Ayelfita will play the part of the rich merchants, while I will play the part of their daughter, since we are already dressed up for the act.’

‘Claire will be our bodyguard, so she will also remain on the bridge... The others have hastily run away and began to climb down into the unusually large ventilation system. It was purposefully made that way to make smuggling easier, so the six other weequays could easily hide in there. Oh, I realized that Jack was also on the ship, but I didn’t see him the whole time... He must have been pretty occupied with something...’

‘A few minutes went by. This much time should have been enough to climb down to the ventilation system at least three times. Oh, there it was. Finally, the central holo communicator signaled for an incoming call.’

‘As Seldibo activated the channel, a trandoshan appeared before us as a hologram.’

“My name is Seldibo. I am the captain of this meager merchant ship. I don’t have much value with me, but I will happily give it to you if you let me and my family go without harm...”

“Silenceee... stupid prey... you are not in a position to make any demands here. You will follow us to our command ship, or my friends will simply blast you apart. Were you able to comprehend my words with your retarded brain tails?”

“Oh yes, my lord, please have mercy. At least let my family go; my little girl is so young she needs her mother...”

“Ohhh... We will release them, have no fear, ke-ke-kekeke...”

The connection ended abruptly...

‘I couldn’t help but praise Seldibo’s acting skills. They were quite good.’

“That was a nice act... I have to say...”

‘He smiled at me. Then turned the ship around and began to follow the mercenary ship. While the other two were positioned behind us, in a way that they could open fire at any moment.’

“So, what is your plan now? If I am not wrong, we will be outnumbered back on their command ship...”

“And how do you know that? Those fighter ships are single pilot ships. That means they have, at the minimum, three people plus one at their mother-ship. They don’t expect a fight, just a fearful family of lowly merchants... That means we will catch them off guard.”

“Everything depends on the size of their command ship.” — Added Ayelfita.

“Let’s wait and see then.” — I finished the conversation.