The ship pulled hard astern, unfurling her great sails. She needed to harvest the wind to boost her speed but was being harried by a pirate ship. It was up ahead performing a hard about that would have made “The Pride of Nu-Urth” groan.
The smaller ship passed down the length of “The Pride” and open fire. Small explosions ripped the larger ship, steam streaming as air leaked from the chambers below.
There was an unspoken agreement with most pirates – never attack civilian ships.
Which meant someone knew what “The Pride” was carrying.
***
“Captain on the Deck”
“Report.”
The first officer stepped from the captain’s chair. “It came out of nowhere, ripped up the starboard side, turned impossibly tight and raked the port side.”
“Damage?”
“Hull breaches port side are being sealed. No casualties.”
“And the cargo?”
“Perfectly safe.”
Captain Browning took the bridge.
The tactical officer spoke. “Sheilds and weapons finally online. Sails unfurled. The winds will give us some speed should we need to leave.”
“I want that ship scanned.”
“It appears to be a scout class, but the weapons and shields have been upgraded. 3 occupants.”
“Warp capability?”
“None.”
The Captain stared at his personal screen. Why was it attacking? It couldn’t hope to bring them down. And even if it did cripple the ship, they couldn’t board. “Helmsman, pull down the mainsail. Engineering – how soon can we gate?”
A voice over the ships comms system answered “That depends if you need shields and weapons, captain.”
He smiled. “Assume we do.”
“Once you’ve sunk that one, we can go in about 60 seconds.”
The captain reasoned with himself – “They don’t know what we’re capable of.” – before issuing his commands. “Tactical – Target that ship. Take down her shields.”
***
The Pirate Scout had their orders. Disable “The Pride” for the main fleet to deal with. That should be arriving in a few standard minutes. It should be a simple enough task. Once the shields were gone the liner –
The three watched with amazement as the mainsail was pulled back in. “The Pride’ was going to be a sitting duck
The Ship’s computer announced, “Weapons Systems Ready.”
The Pirate Captain spoke “Attack Vector Alpha.”
The helm plotted the course. It would hit the shield generators with missiles followed up by forward guns, passing overhead, the aft guns would hit the same area and they would finally take out the generators with the aft missiles. After that they could take their time.
***
“Scout targeted.”
“Let them have it.”
Silently the scout approached. There was no movement, no sound, no lights – not even a course fluctuation.
Inside, however, alarms were screaming. Terminals were smoking, sparks burning the faces of the small crew.
“What happened?” Screamed the Pirate Captain.
“Sir.-
On board the Pride, Tactical reported, in a dull monotone. “Shield down.”
“- We’ve lost –”
The Captain of the Pride spoke. “Finish her. No one can know.”
“Aye Captain.” The Tactical officer hit a button. The ‘click’ was the only sound that marked the scouts passing. Outside there was a flash, and then the vacuum of space rushed in, snuffing out the fires.
“Engineering. Gate, please. The Better Part of Valour wins the day.”
“Aye, aye Captain.”
90 seconds later, an attack fleet arrived to discover the remains of a small scout craft, but no indication of what could have destroyed it and no trace of “The Pride of Nu-Urth.”
