Disclaimer: Please read the first entry (Prologue) for the full disclaimer. This chapter is still a work in progress, and will be updated as time goes on. As always, I welcome any feedback and criticism from readers and other writers. Thank you for reading my writing, and I hope you have a great day!
The three have exited a hyperspace jump, and entered the Tyrmid system to deliver the first bulk of cargo. No dangers seem to oppose at the moment.
"Okay girls, we're in the system," Damen says. "You remember where we're delivering the load, right?"
"Of course we do. Fervus Dock, about two hundred light-seconds away from us." Olivia said confidently.
"Olivia," Liara speaks up, "it's actually two thousand light-seconds away." She said.
This correction caused Olivia to blush a little, but it's not like the others could see that.
"R-right! I was just testing to see if you'd notice that small mistake." Olivia chuckled nervously after making that comment, causing the others to share a chuckle of their own.
"It's okay, Via. Not everyone's good with numbers." Damen tries comforting Olivia.
"Right. And you're great with numbers because of the time it spent selling goods in the market." Olivia comments with a sarcastic tone, laughing softly.
Damen also laughs at this. "Probably so." He agrees.
Liara chimes into their lighthearted conversation. "I don't mean to change topics, but are we heading to the starport soon?" She asks.
"Oh right. Sorry." Damen says. "We're heading there shortly. You two ready?"
"Have been this whole time." Liara says kindly.
"Just waiting on you." Olivia says.
"Alright. Activating supercruise assist now." Damen tells the two.
"Supercruise assist activated. Maintaining designated speed and course." An automated female voice calls throughout his cockpit.
Soaring at light-speed to drop off the first shipload at Fervis Dock, Damen leads the wing as Liara and Olivia follow.
"I should mention that security in this system hasn't been great lately. Pirates have been coming around, steal cargo and even take out civilians." He informs the two about the danger. "Sorry I'm only now bringing this up."
"That's okay. We're meant to be your protection, aren't we?" Olivia says with a chuckle. "I'll be ready in case anything comes our way."
"And I'm watching the radar closely. There's nothing out of the ordinary so far." Liara tells them.
"Good. Maybe this trip won't be so bad after all." Damen says with relief.
As Damen began getting closer to the station, the more he relaxed he becomes, letting his guard down. He's so at ease that he doesn't notice two ship signatures on the radar, trailing suspiciously behind him and his wing.
Liara notices this, and alerts the two. "I've spotted two ships on the scanner! A Krait Phantom and an Eagle!"
"What?" Damen exclaimed, checking his panel for the vessels. "They could be traveling to the same place as us, but keep your guard up." He tries to believe those words.
"What're the chances of that?" Olivia asks.
"I'm not certain, but the last thing I want is--" Damen's words are interrupted as his ship jolts off course. He's being interdicted by the Krait Phantom.
"Son of a bitch! They're interdicting me!" He shouts, grunting as he tries to steer his ship with no luck of escaping. Liara and Olivia tries staying by his side as his ship sways around.
"Think you can break it?" Olivia asks.
"Most likely not. Dammit! The best option seems to be submitting, so that's what I'll do. Drop on my wake and be ready for anything! Okay?" He says.
The twins give their affirmation in near synchrony. Damen throttles down and gives up to the interdiction, and he's left alone with the Krait Phantom.
"Well well well." The pirate established voice communications with Damen. A male voice with a cocky manner speaks from the vessel. "Didn't expect a big ship to give up so easily." He says.
"What do you want?" Damen asks bluntly. He currently plays it off like he's calm, but deep down he's worried.
The pirate laughs like this is just a game to him. "Depends on what you have." He replies. Damen's voice assistant notifies him his ship is being scanned.
As the scan finishes, the other pirate in the Eagle drops into their space. "Find anything, Ian? What loot do they have?" The second pirate says eagerly with greed. He can't wait to get his hands on something valuable.
"Easy, Walt. We're looking at superconductors." The cocky pirate says. "It ain't gold, but it ain't worthless either. How about we lighten the load for you a little?" He says. The lust for valuables can be heard through his "offer".
"That'll be a 'negative'. This is not yours to take." Damen says sternly. He tries flying away, but is halted by the flash of a railgun blasted in front of his ship by the commanding pirate ship.
"We're not here for entertainment. You give us what we want, or we'll take it by force!" The Phantom pirate demands with arrogance. His partner laughs and deploys hardpoints as well to show they mean business.
"C'mon girls, where the hell are you two?!" Damen thinks to himself in panic.
Just as his mind begins to stir with despair, hope is restored to Damen as he sees Olivia's ship appear in front of him. Liara's ship joins her shortly after, and they both deploy their weapons when noticing one of the pirates have done so already.
"Sorry we're late!" Liara says quickly with an apologetic tone.
"Don't be. You two are a joy to see right now!" Damen says appreciatively, regaining his composure. He flies quickly towards them.