Dynamic Patrol: Gel Squad! Episode II

Chapter 47: West

The Eclectus was being pursued by an outdated but colossal cargo ship. The vessel had now been chasing them for three days straight, with no apparent end in sight. Kai was at the helm, constantly evading them. Fortunately, their small shuttle could take a punch, and Kai could devise certain maneuvers that would be considered unorthodox. Many the likes of which the crew had never seen. Kipp never really left the engineering station. Because he was the best engineer, but at the same time, he trained other members of the crew to operate all stations in the event something happened to them. Kai did the same. Cross-training was mandatory on a vessel with only five people on board. Because the genuine threat of dying while on this underway lingered in the air the more these stray pirates attacked them.

Kai was the most trained in space fairing operations, so it made sense that he was in command of the mission concerning space flight while Cam did things on the ground. Maxion was an effective co-pilot and relief helmsman because he could chart the course directly from the controls. Cal was becoming something of a weapons person. He seemed to be able to remember the essential elements of fire control— and Russell gave him a quick crash course on how the weapons worked, basic firing patterns, and techniques. He was a quick study, but weapons weren't his forte. It was an unorthodox crew, but they made it work. Gauge was an auxiliary man; he'd been talking to Kipp about the time machine... and the two were hitting it off suspiciously well. Gauge's tinkering personality made it so that he and Kipp were compatible. Of course, Kipp was vastly superior as the chief engineer.

If the rapid maneuvers weren't enough to signal that Kai needed help avoiding trouble, he tapped the communications relay. "Kai to aft cabin— I could use some help up here." Kipp's voice crackled over the comm. "Are our pirate friends back?" Kai didn't respond immediately; his attention fluctuated between the battle and the comm as he took the Eclectus into a series of twists and turns, hoping that would be enough to shake them. "Yeah, they're trying to lock a tractor beam on us. Again. I could use you and Cal up here."

"On our way." The line closed, and about thirty seconds later, Cal and Kipp came through the rear hatch. Taking their respective stations. "D1 status report," Kipp asked immediately, taking his chair; he fell into a routine every time the ship was attacked, which first meant checking in with D1, who was getting better at managing the ship's systems as the onboard computer. The speakers chirped as D1 responded. "The vessel has been pursuing us since quadrant two; we have taken damage to the secondary command processors, power distribution relays one and two, and secondary systems; our shields are down to 67%. I am unable to shore them up."

"Fine. Let's ignore the processors. They'll take days to rebuild. Why don't we just retaliate?" Kipp looked toward Cal, who was trying to decipher his display. "Well, remember what you said about the secondary processors? Well, automatic targeting is offline." Cal confirmed. "Well? Keep firing until you hit something!" Kai barked. The Eclectus took another hit, and a plasma conduit ruptured and filled the main cabin with smoke. Kipp jumped out of his seat and grabbed the emergency kit behind his console. Using his tools, he started to seal it. Maxion joined the festivities. It was a little crowded here now. He approached Kai and stood beside him, bracing himself on the edge of the consoles as he moved to assist. "I don't suppose you have any ideas?" Kai looked toward his raccoon friend.

Maxion looked at the sensor readings. "Well... that looks like a frigate, definitely a pirate ship. They keep coming back for more, so we're marked."

"Marked?" Kai asked, briefly making eye contact before returning to the battle. "Well... when pirates mark you. They won't stop chasing you until they get what they want. Which in this case would be our ship because their hunk of junk could obviously use an upgrade." Kai nodded along, "Ah. I see. So how do we become unmarked?"

"We can't... they're going to keep following us and attacking us... but there's an old trick I saw a helmsman on my last ship do. And in quadrant three, every old trick is new again. Just get ready to cut engines on my mark." Maxion smiled as he said that. Sometimes, they forgot that Maxion was a 'scavenger.' But he obviously viewed space in a different light than Kai did. Kipp completed his work on the conduit and sat as Maxion approached. "Can you make the power grid go all... erratic on sensors? And Cal, I want you to blow out the dorsal phaser emitters. Make it look like they've got us in serious trouble."

Kai observed what Maxion was doing. "You're making us look like we're out for the count..?" Maxion nodded; once the pirates came in close enough, they would inevitably drop their shields for docking, at which point the Eclectus would attack and disable them. "We only have one shot," Maxion added. "I understand," Kai confirmed.

"Cutting engines," Kai said first. Kipp reported that he'd executed the program to make the power grid look damaged. Cal blew out the phasers from the outside. The Eclectus looked like she was under fire; her internal lights were flickering, and the phasers being blown out made her look like she was leaking fuel or something worse. Like fools, the pirates took the bait. Moving in for what they thought would be an easy capture, Kai held his nerve, waiting for the opportune moment to re-engage engines. "Not yet, Kai." Maxion persisted, sensing the bunny's eagerness to retaliate. "They're engaging docking clams," Cal reported. Their shields weren't down, so Maxion continued to wait.

And the millisecond they disengaged shields, Maxion pounced over to the helm, "Now, Kai!" The crew sprang into action. Kipp restored the power grid and Kai the engines; he expertly maneuvered the Eclectus out of harm's way. At the same time, Cal unleashed a precise volley of shots, targeting the pirate ship's vulnerable systems. He didn't even need automatic targeting because the pirate ship halted to a complete stop, making it a big red target.

The pirate ship, caught off guard by the sudden counterattack, was left crippled and defenseless. With their engines disabled and their weapons offline, they were at the mercy of the Eclectus. "Open a channel. Let's see if they want to talk now." Kai smiled triumphantly; D1 made it so, the low tone indicating that two-way comms were now available. "This is Kai of the Omeocoon vessel Eclectus."

"As you can see, we've disabled your ship. I suggest you leave us alone. And if you come across anything bearing the insignia of my home world. I suggest you turn in the other direction. Eclectus out." Kai pressed a button on his keypad before the pirates could respond— they'd been given a warning and were disabled. So Kai took the Eclectus to warp three, the stars slipping by quickly until they jumped to a stable FTL.