A Starship Called Starsong

Chapter 54

"There is an incoming transmission from the Planetary Defense on the planet Jarco." The Communications Officer explained as he put the message on the main displays for all of us to see.

Abort your heading. Any attempt to dock at the Folkar docking station will be met with opposition.

I muttered, "Gee, what a surprise."

Everyone on the Starsong was aware of the situation as well as that Starsong planned to dock anyway, regardless if he had to go through several warships to do so. The most surprising part was that most of the crew members weren't even nervous about the potential fight. Once they knew there was no chance of the shields failing, they were unperturbed by the situation. Some were uneasy, and a couple were nervous, but none were really scared.

The Communications Officer inquired, "Shall I send a response?"

"It is only fair to give them a warning. Please relay this message: We are peaceful traders who will not take sides in this fight. No trade request was received from Jarco, while Folkar was on our original trading route, so we are not showing favoritism. Any attempt to attack us will be met with retaliation."

"The message has been relayed."

The Weapons Officer spoke, "They must not have liked that response. All four Jarco warships between us and the Folkar docking station are powering up their weapons. Some warships from Folkar are on their way to try to help us, but we will reach the Jarco warships before they will."

I watched the map as the four warships moved in our direction. Small boxes appeared near them showing the status of their weapons, shields, hull, and more information.

"They will likely fire small warning shots that they know will not harm our shields. Do not return fire in response to these as they are not meant to damage or harm."

I relayed Starsong's decree, "If they fire light warning shots, ignore them. If the attack is something designed to do damage, then we can return fire."

"Yes, Captain."

I ignored the Weapons Officer's use of my title in this situation. He was very focused on his console and the data there, so he likely hadn't even noticed. Then again, all of the Officers were alert and focused as we closed the distance between us and the warships.

We had slowed down as we entered the solar system since it was standard policy, but it wouldn't be more than a few minutes before we were within their firing range.

Silence reigned as we waited. Red flares around the icons showed that the ships' weapons were fully charged and ready to fire. Purple lines showed that those very same weapons were pointed at us.

The Navigations Officer, Tanya, had us heading along our original route. The warships were not in our direct path, but were spread around it as they tried to intimidate us. Unfortunately for them, we were not scared to run this gauntlet.

"They will be firing a warning shot in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..." Apparently, Starsong had hacked into their communication systems...

The Shields Officer had been waiting for this moment. "They are firing warning shots."

The strikes hit our shields and didn't even pass through the outer ones meant to stop asteroids. It was clearly a very weak warning shot, probably the weakest the warships were capable of.

The Communications Officer spoke, "The Jarco warships sent a message. 'Change your course or the next shots will not be a warning.'"

My eyes never left the main displays. "Please reply: I repeat, we are peaceful traders, but we will retaliate if attacked. The Starsong is a Starship."