Out in the middle of the Nine-World Space Highway, the cosmic traffic jam was complete chaos.
One thousand Blood-Skull Star-Destroyers were wedged together bumper-to-bumper in a ten-mile pool of sticky black space-tar. Every time a pirate captain tried to wiggle his ship free, his iron hull scraped against the ship next to him with a horrible screech, setting off another round of flashing white cameras and robotic ticket announcements.
“Beep! Leaving the scene of a minor fender-bender without exchanging insurance cards! Additional fine: 2,000 Spirit Stones!”
Up on the bridge of the crimson flagship, Pirate Queen Hong Ye was so angry that dark red flames were actually puffing out of her hair.
“Cut those yellow iron boots off our thrusters!” Hong Ye roared into the fleet command pipe. “All ships, activate your defensive Spirit Shields and charge your main laser cannons! Even if our engines are stuck in this cursed black mud, our thousand warships still have enough firepower to blast that purple moon and their toll booths to dust! Aim at the toll plaza and fire at will!”
“Yes, Big Sister!”
First Admiral Hu Bao, Second Admiral Lie Feng, and Third Admiral Yin Sha scrambled to their gunnery consoles. Across the tangled pile of crimson warships, thousands of heavy cannon hatches groaned open, and red destructive light began gathering inside the muzzles of their cannons.
