Evangeline Anastasia McDowell

[Bazza]

Entry#: 064
Date: 25 - 01 - 818 AS @ 08:56 SUT
Title: IT HAPPENED AGAIN

Well, it's been a few days since I last put something in here. Had a rather interesting encounter with a Liberty Gunboat of all things in the Magellan system on the way back to Vieques.

I was piloting the Maelstrom all by myself; Alsatia, the bomber and the White Devil all in convoy. We were cruising across the expanse of space across the edge of the Barrier Nebula when something popped up on the radar right in front of us - a Navy gunboat - unescorted, well and truly outside of their zone of operation.

"The hell is that doing out here"? I thought to myself. We closed in on the ship in a matter of seconds. It passed us on the right side, did an abrupt U-turn and came up behind us. At that point it dropped out of cruise speed and fired a disruptor at the arse end of my cruiser.

Really bad idea.

The ship's engines shuddered to a halt as the EMP wave swept over them. I quickly ordered the others to stop and give me cover.

The gunboat's commander asked me rather haughtily: "What the bloody hell do you think 'yer doin' in that thing headin' for Liberty?"

As I sat there in silence the gunboat positioned itself right in front of me. He thought he was blocking my path. In reality he was putting himself directly in front of an artillery gun and four EMP-pulse cannons.

Really bad idea. (Where do they get the crew of these ships? The special-ed class?)

By this time I had relocated from the flight console to gunnery command.

I trained all four EMP pulse cannons on the stationary gunboat. A quick transmission to the other ships secured an additional 8 pulse cannons of varying strengths. Then I replied to the commanders' query.

"What I am doing out here?..... YOU BETTER THINK REAL FAST MATE! OPEN FIRE GIRLS! YEEEHAAAW!!"

The Maelstrom's new weapons systems were put to their first real use along side the tried-and-tested guns of the other ships. The first volley decimated the Navy's shielding almost in an instant; and before he could even gain his bearings the second fried all his electronics.

These gunboats, of course, have mechanisms to protect against EMP disruptions. But they were utterly and totally overwhelmed by the combined power of the Maelstrom, Alsatia and Eva's Vengeance. In just a few seconds the gunboat had been rendered useless.

The crew were all still alive, so there was no blood on my hands. We skedaddled for the Kansas jumphole and left the commander and his crew to their own devices. They would no doubt be recovered by the people who sent them out there.

The rest of the voyage was uneventful. My harrowing story of unmitigated humiliation on the part of the Liberty Navy became the center of attention on Vieques that night.

The moral of the story? Don't pick a fight with a destroyer, an armoured transport, a bomber and a fighter in a gunboat. It's a really bad idea.

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