The engines of the ten thousand pirate ships roared with furious black antimatter flame.
In a sweeping, disciplined maneuver that no ragtag group of ordinary outlaws could ever pull off, the pirate armada peeled away from surrounding the Sovereign Aurora.
Their thrusters fired at full burn, pivoting three sectors to the north.
High in the rear, aboard the golden diplomatic shuttle, Envoy Kraal watched the tactical screen with bulging, bloodshot eyes. He slammed both his fists against the console in hysterical fury:
“Kui! You insubordinate traitor! Where are you going? That is a civilian beggar barge! If you let Lin Mo escape, Sovereign Harkon will peel the skin from your skull and hang your body from the gates of Citadel Prime!”
Admiral Black-Beard Kui grabbed his heavy communication horn. His roar shook the comm channels like an exploding artillery shell:
“Harkon can kiss my starboard exhaust! Thirty years ago, I took an oath to protect the Silk Road! We are coast guards, you fat parasite, not child-killers!”
Kui severed the link with a sharp twist of his wrist, turning to his bridge officers. “Maximum acceleration! Intercept that passenger liner before the meteors reach terminal velocity! Prepare kinetic deflection grids!”
