Eight Months Ago
An ancient Corsair gunboat, long since repurposed as a Junker salvage vessel, was fighting in a desperate bid for survival against numerous foes. Fleeing, really. She'd been two turrets short to begin with - having been found by the two fugitives as a wreck, they'd never quite been able to get her reactor up to full, and even if they had, they couldn't afford or scavenge a full gunboat fire-control suite - and the running battle had reduced the original six to a paltry three...and two of those were badly damaged. Shields were down. The cruise disruptor launcher had long since been blown off. Ghostly trails of atmosphere streamed freely from several scorched holes in the vessel's flanks, but like a bleeding whale in a sea of sharks, she sped onward.
Not that the asteroids helped. At all. Tau-23 was chock full of them, and while Katashi was a superb pilot, the wounded gunboat's reaction thrusters were operating at well below half their intended power. Simply not running into the giant rocks took all of the pilot's concentration, and Ren was rather preoccupied with shooting the Red Raven's remaining guns at their pursuers, to little effect. All she could do to the capital ships was try to keep their shields down-ish to force them to take extra care in the rocks...and she could scarcely do anything at all to the bombers. At least the rocks help shield us from their torps, or we'd be dead already, she thought to herself.
"How the hell'd they find us, anyway?" her pilot demanded, as much to himself as to her. "We didn't bother anybody, just puttered around the border systems for over a year, then we enter house space and BAM!"
"You know Liberty and Bretonia've always been cozy...guess they share wanted lists." They'd both been suited up when the battle began, and it turned out to be fortunate, as leaking atmosphere had rendered the interior uninhabitable several minutes ago. It also allowed them to talk to each other in spite of being in different parts of the ship.
"But siccing the BHG on us? I me-THERE!" Katashi exclaimed as he beheld what he believed to be their salvation. Engine kill, turn, and thrust...the battered hulk groaned in protest at the maneuver, but held, and the thruster lasted just long enough to reach the jump hole he'd spotted off to one side. He reactivated the cruise engines the very second the jump was complete, amazed that they worked at all.
Except, they didn't.
Scowling, he jabbed the button again, and the four huge engines roared to life...sort of. One was out, one was damaged, and only two were providing full thrust. They'd been fine until he cut power for the turn to make the jump - a jump he prayed the bounty hunters would be unable to make on their first pass. As the minutes passed, it became apparent they hadn't. A lone bomber popped out, but waited on its comrades before resuming pursuit. By then, the barely-operable gunboat was well out of sensor range.
Ren floated back onto the bridge - the shipboard gravity having gone the way of the dodo two systems ago - and together with her pilot, surveyed their damaged nav instruments. "Orkney?!"
He groaned. "Great. A dead-end system..."
"But it has a minefield."
"Feeling suicidal, Ren?"
"No. We'll cut off some damaged hull plating and make a sharp turn before we reach the mines. Our momentum will carry them into the field and explode...we'll fly to one of the planets or something, cut power, and wait until they give us up for dead."
"Thought you weren't feeling suicidal."
"Got any better ideas?"
"..."
"That's what I thought."
There was plenty to keep the pair busy on the long flight to the minefield. Katashi cut loose a few large pieces of hull that were about to come off anyway, securing them to the ship's damaged frame with tethers that would snap under the strain when they turned. Ren busied herself trying to restore their shield generator...while they were busy, the system-wide communication channel barked at them in the voice of the BHG cruiser commander.
"Attention Red Raven, as you may or may not be aware, there is absolutely no way out of this system. It's Orkney - a dead end. Your end. Surrender yourselves peacably, and I just might forget about the fighters and gunship you blew up in your escape, in addition to your other crimes, and let you live. Don't, and we'll hunt you down and kill you. Unless you prefer to simply keep cruising out of the system and let the cold void claim you once your life-support runs out. Whatever, we collect either way."
* * * * *
They were approaching the minefield - having never responded to the hunter's demands - when a hail came to them over a local channel, in a strange accent. "Bonsoir! Unless I miss my guess, it seems you two need something that I will be happy to provide, should you agree to my demands. Which are, as I am, reasonable."
Katashi and Ren exchanged glances, and the former keyed the local comm. "Not that we're in much a position to refuse, but...what demands? And who are you? Our sensors aren't in top shape at the moment." Actually, they were completely out. Ren had been firing her turrets using visual cues only.
"Information. I will help you two fake a convincing death, and in return, you will come with me to my base. I am very curious about the state of Sirius - we, ah, don't get out much - and while I know a pair of fugitives might not be the best source of information, I have my own reasons for avoiding contact with your, ah...friends with the guns. So you will don spacesuits if you haven't already, set your ship to collide with the mines, and disembark. I will tractor you in and take you to a safe place." In silent response to their other inquiry, he strafed his fighter around to flank them. It was a strange little thing, a gull-winged brown ship reminiscent of some of old Earth's atmospheric designs. Three engines mounted on the tail section emitted a steady amber flare as he cruised alongside, awaiting their response.
"Are you saying we'll be prisoners?"
"Of course not! You will be honored guests. But, it may be in your best interests to stay awhile, lest your enemies catch wind of the deception by your resurfacing. Choose quickly! We must do this before they come in range."
This time, Ren answered. "We'll do it."
Aboard the light fighter, a man with a peppered beard smiled. "Tres bon! I will see you soon."
