The screen shifted to an image of the ship, sighted along the front panel, split in two to give as much of an image as it could.The screen shifted to an image of the ship, sighted along the front panel, split in two to give as much of an image as it could. The pirates swung around again. Pirating was a duel to death- the victim's ship had to be completely disabled before any looting could begin. Any maneuvering jet still functional that was capable of moving the ship was capable of tearing airlock seals. David fired. The pirates released glitter into the space ahead of them, an explosive cloud moving at a higher velocity, blocking energy weapons fire. The next time I have the money, I'm going to a Pendorian drive, he swore. Using Jump drives made him a prime target for pirates, and he knew it. But they were so much cheaper to buy and operate, and the Terran model Stream drives were notoriously prone to breakdown. "We're losing pressure!" Tasha shouted. "David, I'm showing a hole in bottle three!" "Damn!" he shouted, launching another rack of missiles. "Compensate! That's what the extra fusion plant's for!" The pirate ship came around again, this time from the underside, and in one small second the entire battle was over. Chico managed to get a hit on a maneuvering drive and the pirates careened wildly out of control, disintegrating in their own spin-induced destruction. |