“Damn, you girls are good!” John eximed. “I knew I kept youdies around for something,” he joked with them affectionately, and the girls all grinned back at him happily.


    “OK, let’s take a look at the tactical maps from the Griffon,” he said to Cra.


    The Latina brought up the System map of Chendar, which showed the Gas Mining Facility, as well as the patrol routes of the pirate ships stationed at the base.


    He looked up at the holographic map, studying the pirates thoughtfully, before he said, “If we hit their patrols first, we should be able to take them apart piecemeal. They are pirates, not Elite military crews, so if we smash them hard and fast, we should be able to wipe out most of their picket ships before the rest can react”.


    “Very good, Commander!” Cra said, sounding impressed. “Then we engage whatever’s left, cleaning out the smaller ships first, and finally take on the Stalingrad.”


    “We could always wait, and join up with the Terran Federation patrol,” Sparks suggested logically.”With another four friendly ships, surely this would be a lot easier?”


    “That’s true,” John admitted. “It would be much easier with Flintlock’s assistance.”


    “We would have to wait at least another day to synchronise our attack with the other ships. They are currently repairing the Calypso, and the Invictus has been heavily modified, so we are much faster than they are,” Alyssa informed them neutrally. “However, I can get us there in another three hours,” she added confidently.


    “That’s another day of pirate attacks on innocent people,” Cra said passionately.


    John looked at each of the girls in turn, then said, “This is going to be a nasty fight, and our lives are going to be in considerable danger. I want you to tell me your honest opinion; attack, or wait?”


    “We strike!” Cra said intensely.


    Sparks nced at the brte, and then back up at John, recalling their earlier conversation “Attack,” she said solemnly.


    Alyssa knew John’s thoughts, and agreed with them wholeheartedly “It’s payback time,” she said in a low voice.


    John nodded his agreement as he said, “Unanimous then. It’s judgement day in Chendar.” He then leaned forward as he outlined his n, “Cra I think your original idea is still the best. We sneak in under cover of the asteroid belt, and perform passive scans of their ships. We can disable anything with heavy life readings, just in case those ships are holding ves, and we eliminate everything else.”


    Cra turned to look at Alyssa, and said, “If we go in with minimal power, we won’t have the shields up in the asteroid field. Will you be able to navigate us through cleanly?”


    “Oh please!” Alyssa said boldly, waving away Cra’s concerns with a dismissive hand. “It’ll be like going for a joyride in a mining cart!”


    Theyughed at her brazen confidence, which lightened the mood somewhat.


    “Ok I want you girls to go and rest for a couple of hours,” John said firmly.


    He silenced their chorus of objections with a stern look, and said, “It’s going to be a tough fight, and I want you all well rested. This isn’t up for negotiation.”


    Seeing his determined expression, the three teenagers rose, and headed to the elevator obediently. He came to meet them at the elevator door, and they each gave him a kiss goodbye.


    “Now no mischief, get some sleep if you can. You’re going to need all your energy,” he told them firmly.


    The girlsughed and waved him goodbye as the elevator doors shut. John walked back up to hismand chair and sat down in it, the burden of responsibility weighing heavily on his shoulders. He was going to lead three teenage girls into battle against 20 to 1 odds. He wasn’t exaggerating earlier, the girls were absolutely amazing, but was his confidence in them making him take too big a risk?


    Putting aside his fears for a moment, he contacted Vice Admiral Charles Harris, using a secured channel on the powerfulmunications ry built into the Invictus. Even using a top of the range Hyper-pulsemunicator, it still took a few minutes to establish a connection to his old friend.


    “John! It’s good to hear from you,” Charles’ friendly voice said, as the image of the distinguished military man filled the view screen.


    “Thanks Charles, it’s good to speak to you too,” John replied.


    “Having problems with the Invictus?” Charles asked with a hint of worry in his voice.


    John grinned at him, and said, “Oh no, nothing like that, the old girl has been amazing! Thanks for those extra modifications you made to the Commander’s Quarters by the way”


    Charlesughed, pleased that John had appreciated his gift. “You’re wee. What did your XO think?” he asked, his eyes twinkling mischievously.N?velDrama.Org owns all content.


    “Alyssa liked it very much” John grinned at him.


    “You lucky rascal, she’s one hell of a woman John!” Charles said, whistling appreciatively.


    “Yeah, she’s amazing,” John concurred.


    “Well, I’m sure you didn’t call to tell me about your love life. What can I do for you?” Charles asked curiously.


    “Two things. Firstly, I need to report some damning evidence of criminal activity by Commander Rupert Grant,” John reported.


    Charles looked thoughtful, and said, “I remember that officer from your report a few weeks ago. What’s he done now?”


    “Assisting piracy, corruption, culpable homicide, treason…” John listed the man’s crimes grimly.


    Charles looked grim as he said, “You better send me what you’ve got. What’s the second thing?”


    John paused for a moment, before he replied to his old friend, “We’re about to assault a pirate base. If we don’t make it for any reason, I want you to know all the details.”


    Charles waved a hand dismissively, and smiled as he said, “The Invictus can handle anything pirates can throw at you. You’ll be fine.”


    “They have twenty ex-military vessels and one of them is a Heavy Cruiser,” John told him soberly.


    “Don’t be ridiculous!” Charles scoffed. “No pirate could possibly put together that kind of a fleet.”


    “I’m sending you the details of their full roster of ships,” John replied. “In any case, there’s something else going on; some other group has been funding these pirates, I’m sure of it.”


    “You’re serious?” Charles said, looking shocked. “You can’t face those kind of odds, John, that’s suicide!”


    John smiled confidently, and said, “I’ve got a hell of a crew.”


    “Well I wish you luck John, but I hope you don’t need it,” the Vice Admiral said, his frowning face lined with worry.


    “We’ll see you in a week,” John grinned boldly.


    “You have some balls!” Charlesughed. “Ok I’ll see you then”


    They ended the call and John was left with his thoughts. Two hourster, the elevator door swished open, and the teenage crewmembers of the Invictus walked onto the Command Deck, to take their ces on the bridge. Alyssa gracefully ascended themand podium, walking up the illuminated set of steps to the Commander’s chair.


    “Hey handsome,” she said affectionately, giving John a kiss. “We’ve all just eaten, and I thought you might be hungry too,” she said, presenting him with a delicious smelling te of food, and a bottle of water.


    “What would I do without you?” John grinned at her as he took the te and bottle eagerly.


    John ate as the girl’s prepared themselves for the uing battle, and ten minutester, the Invictus jumped into the outskirts of the Chendar system and left Hyper-warp. They could see nothing on the long range scans but they put all systems on low power except for the engines. Alyssa brought them in closer towards the long deep asteroid belts that orbited the star, and reduced engine power as they approached.


    Thousands of huge rocky asteroids spun and drifted slowly in the field, all that remained of twoary bodies that had collided millennia ago. Ramming any of these moving hazards could prove fatal to the Invictus with the shields down, even with the thick armour ting protecting the hull. Alyssa was confident however and she guided the Assault cruiser through the asteroid belt with an agility that one would have thought impossible in a ship that size. Sparks watched in rm as they seemed to swing perilously close to vast asteroids, but their skilled navigator never wavered and the enormous hunks of rock sailed past harmlessly. She eventually brought them to a stop in an impact crater on a behemoth of an asteroid that spunzily at the edge of the belt.


    “Excellent job, honey,” John said to Alyssa, impressed by her skills. She smiled back at him proudly.


    “OK Cra, passive scans only, what can you see?” he asked the eager Latina.