As the aft view of the Munificent appeared on the viewscreen, the atmosphere on the bridge darkened.
Lieutenant Lee called out, "The Munificent is 33.7 light years from us, sir."
"Send a message to the Munificent. Tell them that we would be forced to engage if they continue on their current course," Stone said heavily.
The comm officer, Lieutenant Harris, said, "They have replied, sir. Their message says 'We apologise, U.S.S. Bountiful, but we are unable to accede to your request.'"
"Close in to 33 light years and commence long-range engagement," Captain Stone said with regret.
The bridge crew responded with efficiency, casting nary a questioning glance toward the captain. For they knew why the captain had said so. The Munificent's superior sensors allowed it to hit targets up to 46 light years away with its torpedoes, while the Bountiful was limited to 33 light years. Power surged into the warp nacelles, and the Bountiful accelerated to maximum warp.
As the Bountiful pursued its quarry at high warp, the Munificent pushed its drives to their limit, in a bid to prolong the time before the Bountiful caught up. It fired a trickle of quantum torpedoes towards the Bountiful, attempting to discourage its fellow starship from keeping up the chase. But with contemporary regenerative shielding, this was but a piddling show of force; it was not even sufficient to overwhelm the regenerative capabilities of the Bountiful's fore shields. And surely Jaq knew that. Perhaps he retained some sympathies towards the Federation, and was loath to engage a fellow Federation starship. Seeing no reason to change his mindset for the time being, Captain Stone was happy to let his ship be a punching bag. For the moment.