Chapter 4: What We're Trained For

"What the fuck just happened?" Tarant Shank demanded from what remained of his entourage as he struggled to stand up. Pain surged through his ribcage as a consequence of the beating he took from flying debris.

"I don't know, Boss," Trevik replied, limping sluggishly toward Shank. "It's like… the window just exploded. I didn't see anything hit it."

There on the bridge of the ship, only Shank, Trevik, and Gungja remained. The rest of their group were presumably floating somewhere within the infinite drift of space.

Gungja stumbled out of a corner, holding his head. "Geez, I think I have a concussion. My head hurts so damn bad…"

"Quit your whining, Gungja," Shank ordered. "You're really sounding like a bitch right now."

"But I think my skull might be fractured."

"I said shut up!" Shank raised his hand to strike Gungja but was interrupted by the chime of the communicator on his wrist. "Come in," he answered, speaking into the device. Screams of pain and terror could be heard from the other end of the transmission.

"Captain, this is Barjeet! We're under attack!"

"What? By who?"

"I don't know, Sir! It's happening from the inside. We're taking heavy damage!" An explosion sounded off in the background. "W-wait a minute. I see it… it's… it's a person! He's ripping through the—" Communications were severed abruptly before he could finish.

"Barjeet! Can you hear me?" Shank turned to Trevik, his face twisted with frustration. "Switch on the emergency viewscreen function!"

Trevik ran over to the control panel and pressed a few keys. An image of the ship's surroundings filled the space across the viewport shutters. An explosion could be seen bursting through the hull of one of the ships belonging to the pirate fleet followed by another explosion in a different part of the hull. This continued on in sequence in random quadrants of the vessel until finally, its exterior lights sputtered out as the ship let out a long mechanical sigh, signaling the failure of its engines.

"Come in!" Shank shouted into his communicator, panicked. "Barjeet, are you there?" There was no response. "Shit!"

"D-did you see that?" Gungja said, spiraling into panic. "We're all gonna die! And my head… my head hurts so bad!" He grasped at his skull. "I gotta get out of here! I gotta get out of heeeeere!" He bolted toward the central corridor. Just as he neared the doorway, Mihoshi entered the room with a flying leap, pounding an empty food tray down on his dome. A high-pitched yelp escaped his throat before he collapsed to the floor, twitching and drooling.

"Hii-yah!" Mihoshi let out a battle cry. "I came in like a ninja on that ass!"

Kiyone rushed in behind her, snatching up the gun from the incapacitated pirate's hip.

"Kill these pests!" Shank ordered as he and Trevik opened fire. Kiyone and Mihoshi split off, evading laser bolts. Mihoshi dove behind a chair as Kiyone took cover behind a navigation console and fired a few rounds at the pirates. Shank and Trevik ducked behind a small partition at the center of the bridge. Laser fire volleyed back and forth through the room.

"I can't get a good shot, Boss!" Trevik shouted.

"Then run out and get closer!" Shank commanded.

"No way, I don't wanna die!"

"That one over there doesn't even have a gun, you moron! Just run up and blast her in the face!"

"Ok…" Trevik sat down for a moment with his back against the partition. He closed his eyes and let out a long, nervous sigh of air. "Here I go…" He sprung up and started dashing for the chair Mihoshi was huddled behind.

"Waaahh!" Mihoshi panicked as she spotted him sprinting toward her. On reflex, she tossed the food tray she held in her hand at him. It fell short and landed on the floor in front of him. He stepped on it mid-dash and went sailing through the air as his foot slipped out from under him. His back hit the floor with a bone-wrenching thud.

He sat up, dazed and disoriented, groaning in pain. His vision locked onto the gun he dropped on his way down and he immediately scrambled to his feet to retrieve it. Kiyone used the opportunity to fire a few shots at him and Trevik took two to the chest before collapsing on his face.

"Nice one, Mihoshi!" Kiyone cheered, which her partner acknowledged with an awkward chuckle, out of guilt for her dumb luck.

Shank let out an angry growl through his clenched teeth after witnessing the folly of his fallen henchmen. Mihoshi retrieved Trevik's gun and now both officers sent a rain of fire at Shank. Ducking shots, he spoke into the communicator on his wrist again. "Attention all ships! This is Captain Tarant Shank…" He paused, reluctant to let the next words out of his mouth. "Prepare to retreat!"

He reached into a pouch on his vest, pulled out a small cylindrical device and tossed it in the air. It exploded, filling the room with a vibrant, blinding light.

"Ugh! It's a flash-bang!" cried Kiyone, guarding her eyes with her sleeve. After a few moments, the room dimmed to its normal brightness. She peeked around to find that Shank had evacuated the scene. The hull of the ship shook slightly, signaling the undocking of his ship. On the viewscreen, battleships were taking off into hyperspace one after another, save for the one that was put out of commission.