With the agent work completed, The Bleeding Rose, under command of Captain Ga’len, heads back to his home. He and his crew have worked hard, made a lot of money and are eager for a rest.
“Captain, scanners have detected a mining ship nearby. The ship configuration and transponder code match those of a ship that was seen stealing loot from us a few days ago!!”
“Mr. Jemelson, I think you know what I am about to say?” Captain Ga’len mumbles under his breath, “Mr. Jemelson, set course for that target, YARR!!!”
The Bleeding Rose thunders down into the belts and they soon locate their prey. It’s just sitting there, oblivious to the world around it, mining away.
“Captain, scanners are picking up a jettison canister nearby. ID transponder shows it belongs to Kayson Corporation, same corporation that owns that Hurricane class battle cruiser directly ahead.”
“Hmm, time to return the thieving favor? ” Captain Ga’len thinks to himself.
“RED ALERT!!! Move in and recover the jet can, prepare all drones for launch and ready all weapons. Standby damage control, that class ship will pack one hell of a punch!!”
The EVA crew recovers the jet can and calls the bridge. “Captain, our cargo hold is full, we can’t take on any more ore. We are preparing a new jet can and will have to move this ore from the old jet can to the new one as the old one was damaged. You know, we just can’t add anymore litter to space, Concord will fine us again!!”
“DAMN!!! We can’t take on any more ore. Oh well. Set course for the station for docking and engage as soon as…..”
BOOM!!!
“Captain, we are taking fire!!! Incoming missiles!!!!!”
Captain Ga’len orders, “Lock all weapons and release the drones!!!”
BOOM!!!!
“Captain, we have lost all shields and are taking armor damage!!!”
Gritting his teeth, Captain Ga’len quickly considers his options and decides to stay in the fight.
“All crew, continue fighting. Damage control, do what you have to. Pull crew from the galley, from the brothel, from anywhere, keep this ship together!!! Coms, hail any friendly vessel in range, request assistance immediately!!!”
The Captain hears two different responses:
“Sir, the coms are down”
“SIR!!! His shields have failed and his armor is almost gone!!!”
“Recall any damaged drones and launch the reserves!! Reload all weapons and continue firing!!” shouts Captain Ga’len.
The Bleeding Rose continues to take a huge amount of damage but the damage control crews and able to keep up. In fact, they are making headway.
“Sir, our armor is holding at 75%, drones continue to press the fight. We may actually win this!!!”
As the weapons officer announces that the blasters will need to reload soon, a familiar bright flash fills the view screen and then, silence.
“Sir, drones are docking, all weapons are reloading and damage control is standing down as armor is at 100 percent. Sir, we have won?!?!?!”
“Captain, the EVA crew reports that they are filling the jet can with all the ore from the cargo hold and are loading the salvage from the wreck, unless…, you wish to leave the booty behind?”
Captain Ga’len sits down and lets loose a sigh of relief. “No, take all usable salvage aboard and then fill every nook and cranny in the cargo hold with what ore we can take on. Destroy the jet can once we are finished, we don’t want to leave anything behind to be stolen again. Mr. Marklin, You mean to tell me that through all of that, we were actually holding our ground?”
Mr. Marklin stands proudly, “Yes sir. Our enhancements to damage control and armor repair as well as our newly enhanced weapons allowed us to do more damage and absorb more damage than we have every before.”
“Captain, EVA crews report that all salvage has been taken aboard as well as a nice take of ore.”
Captain Ga’len orders, “Destroy the jet can and head for the nearest station so that we can celebrate. All of you have earned a respite, we will get back underway tomorrow.”
More of The Bleeding Rose
