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  Julianna took Pip’s advice and started running, exploding into a mad dash through the hallways. Without the prisoners to slow her down, she moved with lightning speed, able to unleash her full abilities. In under a minute, she was back at the stairwell, ascending to the ground floor, ready to find the one responsible for the unforgivable atrocities she had found.

  Whoever it was, they were about to pay.

  ***

  Eddie and Lars boarded the Q-Ship as soon as it landed. “Welcome back, you two,” greeted Hatch, waving a tentacle at them. “Where’s Julie?”

  “On her way,” answered Eddie, strapping himself in. “Pip, where’s ArchAngel?”

  “Arriving in less than thirty seconds,” said Pip.

  Lars took his seat. “We need to go after them now, before they get away.”

  “Not without Julianna,” ordered Eddie. “She’s—”

  Just then, Julianna came running through the doors of the tower, barely stopping long enough to spot the ship.

  “And there she is,” said Eddie, grinning.

  The Commander moved like she was possessed, leaping from the ground and into the ship with more than her share of urgency. “Sorry I’m late!”

  The second she was in, the door slammed shut and the engines roared, lifting them off the ground. “No need to apologize, Jules,” assured Eddie. “We’re only going after the most dangerous criminals in twelve systems.”

  “Is that all?” she asked, taking her place next to him.

  The ship broke quickly into the upper atmosphere as the stabilizers kicked in, settling the inside of the ship to a soft, calming hum.

  The ship rocketed through the clouds, breaking through and pulling trails of white into the clear sky beyond. In an instant, the blue world faded, replaced by stars and darkness.

  “Pip, activate long range scans and run a sweep for any outgoing ships. Not drones,” ordered Eddie.

  “Already working,” responded Pip. “I’m detecting two, each on the opposite side of the third moon.”

  “Activate gravitic thrusters,” said Eddie.

  “Anyone want to tell me exactly what’s going on?” asked Hatch.

  “You don’t know?” asked Lars.

  “All Pip told me was to bring the ship in,” answered the mechanic. “I’ve gathered since then that we’re after someone, but if you wanna fill me in on the rest, I’m all—”

  “There he is!” snapped Eddie, pointing to the radar on the dash. It showed the two vessels, though one was significantly closer. He clutched the controls. “We need to reach him before he leaves!”

  “Pip mentioned a couple of holograms,” said Julianna. “I take it they were decoys for these two?”

  “You’re right as usual,” answered Eddie. “They thought they could run, but we won’t let them.”

  She nodded with a smirk. “No, we damn sure won’t.”

  Hatch looked back at Lars. “Are you following all this?”

  “It’s as they say. We were tricked by Captain Orsa and a Trid named Vas inside the building. They used a hologram to make us believe they were there while the two of them escaped.”

  “Oh, is that all?” asked Hatch, rather sarcastically. “I swear, nothing’s ever simple with you people, is it?”

  “We like to keep things interesting,” Eddie told him, then ignited the second set of thrusters, allowing him to break planetary orbit.

  He brought their ship to the edge of the moon, passing through its light gravitation pull, setting his sights on the enemy vessel. “Pip, open a channel to whoever that is.”

  “The line is ready,” said the E.I.

  “This is Captain Teach. Enemy vessel, respond. We know who you are. I strongly suggest you comply.”

  “Captain Teach, you say?” asked a voice on the other end. “You certainly waste no time.”

  “Surrender your ship and prepare to be towed.”

  “You have me, sir. I’ll comply.”

  Eddie glanced at Julianna, who gave him a slow nod. She paused, her eyes going a little distant, and then she said, “Pip muted us. Do you think it’s a trap?”

  “I’d bet money on it,” answered Eddie. “Pip, are his engines dead?”

  “They appear to be, but—” The Q-Ship rattled, shaking suddenly. “—it seems his weapons systems are active.”

  “Activate the cannons but don’t destroy the ship!” snapped Eddie. He clutched the controls and took the Q-Ship forward, dodging the incoming fire.

  “Sir, the ship is activating its engines,” reported Pip.

  “Guess we spoke too soon!” Eddie avoided another spread of firepower, performing a horizontal roll and moving away from the moon’s surface.

  “Sir, there’s one more thing,” added Pip.

  Eddie aimed and fired a light shot across the hull of the other ship as it attempted to leave. “What is it now?!”

  “The second vessel is departing.”

  “Tell ArchAngel to move her heavy ass and stop that fucker!” Eddie fired again, this time landing several bullets against the side of the ship. It dipped in the moon’s gravity, nearly falling, but then righted itself and ascended.

  At that moment, several dots appeared on the radar. They were small, the same as the drones they’d encountered upon their arrival, except now there were more of them. “Shit!” shouted Eddie. “Looks like we have more company!”

  Julianna took the controls. “Focus on flying and I’ll handle the guns!”

  “Right,” affirmed Eddie.

  “Captain,” began Pip as the ship dodged several oncoming shots from the swarm. “Might I make a suggestion?”

  “What is it, Pip?” snapped Eddie.

  “Now might be a good time to deploy the Q-Ship’s Combat Assault Mode.”

  Eddie’s eyes widened at the suggestion. He’d completely forgotten about the second mode. Activating it would release the outer shell of the ship, which meant added firepower and maneuverability, but it also meant losing the ship’s cloak. Considering the situation, that seemed like a fair trade. “Do it, Pip! Activate the CAM!”

  A red light illuminated the interior of the Q-Ship as it released clamps on both sides, snapping off large chunks of the exterior hull. The entire ship vibrated as huge metal slabs released themselves, revealing a thinner, rougher interior design. The ship lost its smooth, elegant skin in favor of several more guns and thrusters. In less than a few seconds, the ship had changed into something totally different, and several new options appeared on the dash.

  “Combat Assault Mode has been activated,” informed Pip.

  Multiple drones appeared from the other side of the moon, joining the rest. They flew together like a swarm of insects, so intensely thick that it was impossible to tell their numbers or even differentiate the individual ones from the mob. They fired wildly on the Q-Ship, and it shook violently.

  “Hold on!” barked Eddie, taking the controls.

  The drones came together like a massive wave. Julianna took aim and fired armor-piercing rounds, hitting multiple drones, but hardly making a dent in the mob. “Pip, prime the canons!” she yelled.

  “Acknowledged,” responded Pip.

  Another blast struck the Q-Ship, knocking them off course for a brief second, until Eddie regained control.

  A switch lit up on the panel, creating a soft yellow glow on the dash. Julianna flipped it, readying the canon, leaning forward. “Hold on!”

  The Q-Ship unleashed a blast so bright it illuminated the surface of the moon. It tore through the mob of drones, destroying so many that it left a wide gap in their ranks, sending several dozen of them crashing into the cratered moon.

  As the drones reformed their ranks, Eddie brought the ship around and avoided their incoming fire. “There sure are a lot of them!” he yelled.

  “Too many to count,” observed Lars.

  “I’m not sure if we can keep this up!”

  Julianna unloaded a few hundred rounds into the swarm, knocking down another doz
en drones in a matter of seconds. “We’ll be okay! Just keep going!”

  Just then, a blast of white light, very much like the one from the Q-Ship’s cannon, erupted from nearby, hitting many of the drones. The destruction took Eddie by surprise, forcing him to quickly move the ship out of the way. “What the fuck was that!”

  “The ArchAngel?” asked Julianna.

  “Hardly,” said Hatch, who was busy on his pad.

  Eddie scanned the area, searching for the cause of the chaos, only to see the other Q-Ship floating in the distance, no longer immobilized. “Well I’ll be damned,” he muttered.

  “Is that the other Q-Ship?” asked Julianna.

  Hatch nodded. “I set it to reboot the system after a certain amount of time. When we were close enough, I took control again. Good thing, too, considering how terrible you both are at killing the enemy.”

  A drone came flying directly towards them, only for Julianna to respond with due force. Several rounds broke through the metal and sent the tiny vessel careening away. She looked back and smirked. “Speak for yourself, Octopus.”

  Hatch’s cheeks puffed. “Shall we proceed?”

  “Don’t mind if I do!” answered Eddie, gripping the controls.

  The two Q-Ships pulled away from the moon. Julianna continued firing on the remaining drones, picking them off one-by-one.

  As the enemy ship came into view, Eddie activated the com. “Attention: this is your final warning. Surrender and prepare to be taken into custody.”

  “Go to hell!” returned the voice on the other line.

  Eddie glanced at Julianna, giving her a nod. “Care to give him a nudge?”

  “Knock-knock,” she whispered, sending a spray of shots against the ship’s hull.

  “Enemy vessel has taken damage,” announced Pip. “Engines are disabled. I’m also detecting atmospheric leaks. Suggest extraction.”

  “You heard him,” Eddie said into the com. “Give it up now or you’ll end up suffocating.”

  A few seconds passed without a response. “You win,” the voice finally answered. “I’m giving up. This is General Vas, surrendering myself to your control.”

  Eddie muted the line, then looked at Julianna. “Looks like we got the boss. Now, let’s see about the second guy, Orsa. Pip, where’s he at?”

  “The ship appears to be—”

  The Q-Ship shook as a blast struck its side. “What the fuck was that!” barked Eddie.

  “As I was saying, the enemy is upon us,” finished Pip.

  “Goddammit, Pip!” snapped Julianna. She twisted the control stick in her hand, searching for the source of the firepower. “Where the hell is this guy?”

  “There!” said Hatch, examining his pad. “He’s in the crater!”

  Eddie scanned the moon, quickly rotating the ship. There, just as Hatch had said, a small craft was positioned inside an opening on the moon. “Julianna, take care of that asshole, would you?”

  “Right!” she answered, and immediately returned fire.

  The shots rained down on the enemy vessel, bombarding the surface of the moon with great prejudice.

  The bombs fell and the ship fled, avoiding the crumbling structure around it. “Stay on him!” shouted Julianna.

  Eddie looked at the other ship. “We can’t chase after him without leaving the other one alone. Hatch, can you—”

  “Already on it,” the mechanic responded. In an instant, Hatch had the second Q-Ship moving after the fleeing vessel. He hit the command to start firing, sending shots after the ship. “I’ll try to knock out his engines!”

  Eddie glanced back at the first ship. He couldn’t just sit here, could he? “Wait a second,” he muttered, entering a command on the dash. “Pip, I’m going to try something. See if you can help me out.”

  “I think I understand, sir,” responded the E.I.

  Julianna watched as Eddie played with the controls. “What are you—”

  But before she could go on, the Q-Ship released a grapple, hooking the enemy ship. “Now, for the other part,” Eddie went on. “Pip, let’s anchor this asshole.”

  “Understood,” answered Pip.

  The Q-Ship released the tug, shooting the other end of the wire into the surface of the moon. As soon as it was inside the rock, the anchor extended, like roots in the ground, taking hold.

  “Ship is secured,” informed Pip.

  “Good,” muttered Eddie, and he pressed the controls forward, heading after the second ship.

  It was already on the move, though, and nearing the next planet, with Hatch controlling the second Q-Ship right behind.

  In moments, Eddie caught up to them both, and started firing across Orsa’s hull, the same as he did with the last one. “Orsa, surrender your ship and prepare to—”

  “I don’t think so, Captain,” he answered.

  Orsa’s ship turned quickly to face them, and he let loose a burst of missiles. Eddie reacted quickly, pulling back and avoiding the first few, then releasing a stream of flares to ignite the bombs.

  Julianna held her seat tightly with one hand while keeping the other firmly on the controls. “Want me to blow him up?” she asked. “Just give me the fucking word!”

  “No, we need his ass alive,” responded Eddie.

  The ship settled, once the missiles were gone. Before Eddie could do anything, however, Orsa sent his ship directly at them, firing wildly.

  A spread of bullets hit the side of the Q-Ship as the vessel came forward, no sign of moving out of the way. Eddie had to swerve sideways to avoid a head-on collision. “Is this fucker crazy?!”

  “He must not care if he dies,” said Lars.

  “Well, I care if I die,” quipped Eddie. “We need to find a way to stop him before—”

  The ship came back at them again, taking Eddie by surprise. He reached for the controls, trying to get out of the way, but it was going to be a close one. He might not be able to—

  The remote controlled Q-Ship slammed headfirst into the side of the enemy vessel, partially piercing the hull. Both ships continued sideways. “Holy shit!” snapped Eddie.

  Orsa’s shuttle started firing, but without the ability to properly aim, thanks to the Q-Ship’s nose buried inside its center, the bullets careened into deep space. “That’s what he gets for trying to kill us,” said Hatch.

  “Release me at once!” yelled the voice on the other end.

  “Sorry, but you’ll need to speak up,” answered Eddie. “Maybe if you surrender, we’ll be able to understand you better.”

  There was a short pause, and then a laugh. “You idiots!”

  Eddie and Julianna glanced at one another, curiously. Who did this guy think he was? His ship was disabled. His facility was destroyed. His boss was captured. “Look, Orsa. You can either surrender yourself willingly or not. It doesn’t matter. We’re taking you in for questioning. That’s your new reality.”

  “I’ll show you a new reality,” muttered Orsa. “You humans think you’re so perfect. You think the universe is yours to control. You think the rest of us are beneath you. Well, look how smart you are now! I’m not even on this ship.” He laughed. “And this is hardly an escape shuttle. In fact, it’s something else altogether.”

  “Did he just say he’s not on that ship?” asked Lars.

  “Sir, if I might interject,” said Pip.

  “What is it?” asked Eddie.

  “That shuttle’s engine is beginning to overload. I believe the operator is doing it intentionally with the hope of creating a large-scale explosion.”

  “You mean that ship’s about to blow?”

  “Quite so, yes.”

  “Fuck!” snapped Eddie. He took the controls, backing the Q-Ship away, turning around in a single motion as it continued in the opposite direction.

  “You can try to escape, but this ship is using a Federation-style gravitic engine,” said Orsa. “You’re about to die from your own technology! You humans are so—”

  Eddie cut the line. “
Shut that guy up already,” he said, accelerating the engines. It would take a few seconds to prime the gate. “I could use some options here, people!”

  “I’ll try to move him back with the other ship!” responded Hatch. He tapped the pad, sending the enemy vessel forward. “If I can just maneuver him towards that planet, we can contain the explosion.”

  “I should inform you,” began Pip. “A gravitic explosion of this nature is enough to obliterate a quarter of a star system.”

  “Thanks for the details, Pip!” snapped Eddie. “Goddammit!”

  The ship ignited in a white flash of blinding light, filling the dark space so much it resembled a new sun. The Q-Ship accelerated towards the moon where Vas’s ship was planted, attempting to reach the opposite side. With any luck, perhaps the rock itself would be enough to block the explosion and keep them from harm.

  “It should be noted,” Pip continued, “that even if we escape the blast, there’s still the problem of—”

  Eddie swerved the ship around right to the other side of the moon, right near Vas’s ship, when a sudden burst struck them. The lights inside flickered and the controls went dead, no sign of power.

  Julianna tried to bring the dash online, but there was no response. “What just happened?”

  “Pip? Are you there?” asked Eddie.

  “He says the ship’s power is out,” answered Julianna.

  “I don’t hear him,” said Lars.

  She pointed to her temple. “He’s still here, but the lack of power on the ship means he can’t speak through the computer system.”

  “Ask him why we lost power,” finished Eddie.

  She nodded. “He says there’s a secondary EMP wave whenever a gravitic engine explodes.”

  Eddie leaned in closer to her, shouting, “Thanks for telling us in advance, Pip! You fucktard!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  The ArchAngel picked the Q-Ship up as soon as it arrived, saving the squad from what would surely prove a horrible death. The atmosphere inside could only last eight hours, so it was a good thing the dreadnaught starship was close enough to reel them in.

  “Send whatever ships we have to retrieve the civilians,” ordered Julianna as soon as the team was back aboard the ArchAngel.