Outer Rim - Engagement
[Ah. Ah! You there, cargo ship—stop nice and easy.]
The silence of the space debris zone shattered with the rough voice over open channel. Five red dots rapidly closed in on the radar scope.
[Wait, hold up. Ain't those the guys?]
[Ship looks a bit different, but check the classification code... yep! Night Raven!]
[Hey! I saw it first! You know that means we give me the bigger cut, right?]
Voices dripping with greed. Third-rate pirates and bounty hunters lying in wait at the Outer Rim entrance for prey.
Their ships came into view through the viewport. Three stripped-down pursuit craft, armor ripped off for speed, leaving just skeletal frames. Two armed freighters, cargo bays modded with missile pods slapped on everywhere. Crude weld marks and rusted plates made them ugly, but those gun barrels screamed purpose.
[Stop right there! Kill the engines and hand over the girl—we'll let you live!]
[Don't make me laugh! Kill the man and the girl... aw hell, just blow his head off!]
No warning shots—they fired missiles straight away. Four tracking missiles streaking in on white smoke trails. Textbook hunt: overload the shields and neutralize.
But we'd survived too many battlefields to fall for something that obvious.
"Hold on tight!"
I yanked the stick hard. The Night Raven's hull screamed as it whipped right in a sharp turn. I slammed the engines to max output. They roared with a deep thrum, exploding forward with acceleration.
The missiles grazed past by inches, slamming into a massive debris pile behind us. Explosion flashes lit the dark. Shrapnel rained down, but we'd already cleared the blast radius.
First move deflected. But these weren't the type to back off.
Radar alarms blared again. Pursuit craft wheeling around to tail us. The freighters were slow, but those modded hunters had speed. Straight flight wouldn't shake them.
Space combat wasn't just about speed. It was who used the environment better.
I kept velocity high and pointed the nose straight into a dense debris field.
> SHIELD SYSTEM ON.
Blue shields enveloped the ship to guard against debris damage. Standard Federation protocol so far.
But then—
Weeeeng—.
The Nahibi-shaped figurine embedded in the hull exterior, and purple crystals dotted across the frame, all resonated in unison, glowing brightly. Over the thin, transparent blue shield layered a violet hexagonal lattice energy barrier.
"What the hell is this."
"Sparkly sparkly!"
Eve, buckled in beside me in the cockpit, clapped her hands.
[Ooh! Lady Eve had it all planned out!]
Nahibi, stuck to the ceiling, exclaimed in awe.
"Don't keep it to yourself—what is it."
[Can't even sense this basic energy flow? Special training for you later, lowly human. Simple explanation: Lady Eve's energy resonated with the shield generator, amplifying output.]
I dodged incoming missiles and debris as I replied.
"You got time for chit-chat right now? Amplified the shield? How tough is it now."
[Lady Eve knows best.]
"Eve does?"
I glanced at her. I looked at Eve.
[Yes. Since it's matter she made herself.]
"Matter! I made it for Kal!"
Honestly, grasping the full principle right now was beyond me. But our one-trick cutie of a crewmate had done something impressive—that much was clear.
Time to captain up. I issued the order.
"Good work! Eve, check the shield status and report!"
"Yup! Holding at 100%!"
Her chipper reply came just as—
Tudududuk!
Autocannon rounds hammered the hull like rain. Normally, the main system would've screamed shield warnings. But the violet lattice didn't even ripple—it bounced the shells away.
[What the—why's the shield purple?!]
[No fluctuations on the shield readout!]
Their panicked voices leaked over open channel. Gave me my read.
Our turn.
I pulled the stick, spinning the ship 180 degrees. Inertia dampeners howled, but she held. The fleeing Night Raven now charged the pursuit craft head-on.
[Crazy bastard—he's coming back!]
[Fire! Blast him!]
Debris choked their big maneuvers; in the narrow gap, no room to dodge us. Distance closed in seconds.
I calmly hit the missile launch. Small interceptors spat from both wings. One pursuit craft ate a direct hit. Its paper-thin shield shredded instantly. Pummeled by micro-debris, it belched black smoke, then blew—chipping nearby shields.
The other two closed fast. They twisted desperately to avoid collision. But I used our bulk to the max. Yanked the stick sideways, banking the ship 90 degrees flat. The Night Raven's broad hull became a wall blocking their path.
No escape—they smashed straight into Eve's violet shield. Barely a vibration reached the cockpit. Like flies splatting on glass.
"Nice shot."
Now just the two lumbering armed freighters trailing behind. Radar pinged them; no others. Lucky break. They hadn't broadcast our position—too cocky they'd snag us solo. If they had, every hyena in the Outer Rim would've swarmed.
Of course, they were rabble. Easy pickings. But no time to waste. Apex wouldn't stop at one pursuit team. They'd sniff our trail off these hyenas.
One clean sweep.
"Frontal breakthrough."
I shoved the throttle full. The Night Raven hurtled between the two hulks like a wedge.
[Insane! He's ramming!]
[Evade! Shields up!]
Too late for them to scatter. Ignoring debris on faith in our shields, our acceleration was unreal. Time to trust Eve's violet barrier and crystals—tougher than Federation alloys.
"Brace for impact!"
Massive shudder—the bow plowed into the first freighter's side. Normal ships would've both crumpled. But the violet shield resonated fiercely with the crystals, shimmering brilliantly. Their thick armor crumpled and tore like paper.
Kigigigik!
Metal screeched, vibrating through the shields into the hull. We punched clean through.
Momentum carried us into the second. They tangled like billiard balls, ricocheting apart. Trailing flames erupted into massive fireballs.
[...Monster bastards...]
[That ain't a transport—it's a warship!]
Their final screams cut off over comms. Survivors too terrified to follow.
But no mercy. I manually slaved the rear turret, putting confirmation kills into their engines. Explosions bloomed behind.
Total silence.
We slipped deep into the debris field, flames fading astern. Only after a long run did the radar clear of other blips.
I leaned back in the seat, steadying my ragged breath. My back was soaked. Cold sweat.
Just the entrance. This was the welcome the moment we crossed the Outer Rim threshold. With a 2 billion credit bounty, the road ahead would be ten times worse.
Hiding wouldn't be easy.
[For a lowly human, your piloting's decent.]
Nahibi floated by.
"Zoom zoom, whoosh whoosh! Bouncy and fun!"
Eve stomped excitedly.
"Thanks, but can't body-check every time."
Still good to go. But sustained fights like this? Resupply issues incoming.
And intel was priority. Accurate routes to cut through the Outer Rim fast. And whatever means Apex used to tag this bounty on us.
"Gotta hit a station."
Checked Outer Rim nav data. Nearest neutral zone popped up.
Gray Market.
Territory run by the Gray Pirates, big players even here. Pay the entry fee, anyone's welcome. Massive black market mixing pirates, smugglers, mercs, even crooked Federation brass. Credits over law, bullets over morals—but their rules offered a breather.
"Risky, but no choice."
I turned the nose. Tiger's den or another wolf pack? Only one way to find out.
For now, just run. I pushed the Night Raven harder.