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Bodeccia,
or Bowdie as Gammon referred to her, was watching a screen on her panels when
she speaks up, "Say Gammon, did you notice those two objects
emerge from that debris field?"
"About 20 microns ago," Gammon answers.
"With this civil scanner outfit, I can't identify
them," Bodie states.
"And they are on a converging couse from both the port and
starboard sides," Gammon figures.
"I'll try to contact them," Bowdie decides.
"Maybe you'd better not until we can see what we are up
against,' Gammon half-suggests, "There is always the chance that they
cannot identify us any better than we can them."
Both Bowdie and Gammon watched their perspective scanners as the
objects closed in. However there was something luggish about thier speed and
movement. Had the objects not had the angle of intercept initially, they
would never had been able to overtake the SpaceBus in the first place.
And just as the trajectories intersected on the path of the
SpaceBus, the intercom comes on from the passenger department. It is
Philobuster.
Philobuster asks, "Is this part of the ride?, pretty
neat."
Both Gammon and Bowdie look out the side windows to see two
vessels, not much more than scows, painted up in orange and black with skulls
and other assorted threatening symbols painted on them. The scows
are laboring to keep pace with the SpaceBus.
"They think it is part of the prize," Bowdie says to
her self.
Just then, the ship-to-ship com comes on and a highly scrambled
and distorted voice croaks out, "Civilian vessel, surrender and prepare
to be boarded."
Bowdie looks over to Gammon.
Gammon is looking over the competition and is calculating the
odds, "Tell the passengers to buckle in," he instructs.
Bowdie relays the passengers, "Buckle in, we're going for a
ride."
Gammon waits until the scows are pacing him, and then throws the
bus into full acceleration and steers hard to starboard.
The starboard Pirate scow is surprised by the unexpected move
and overshoots the SpaceBus and barely avoids colliding with his partner. By
the time the scows recover and make course corrections, the SpaceBus has
gained a small lead.
Gammon watches his perspective scanner. The scows are unable to
make up any lost ground on the bus.
Bowdie is watching too, "If they divert any power to fire
on us, they risk losing speed."
"We're beyond the range of any weapons those frak-barges
would carry anyways," Gammon growls, "I'll bet we keep going and
those barges will either blow up or run out of fuel before they can regain
us."
"Yes," Bowdie agrees, "Say, any chance that we
could make it to Tri-Rocks?"
Gammon checks the scanner quickly, " "Sure, the escape
manuveur puts us headed in that direction, and we're fueled," Gammon
hesitates, "but why Tri-Rocks?"
Bowdie smiles only slightly, "Let's just say that our new
friends will be not very welcome there."
Bowdie picks up the headphones, "I'm sending out the
distress beacon, maybe there is a friendly patrol in the area."
But then, as if from nowhere, a fast-moving object appears on
the scanner from behind. The object closes extremely fast and lines up and
lets loose one shot. The SpaceBus shakes vilolently from a near hit on the
top.
Bowdie and Gammon watch the rear of the dark colored vessel disappear into
the distance.
"No communications!" Bowdie yells.
"He took out most of the stabilzers too!" Gammon yells
back. He is fighting to hold the vessel together.
Bowdie is fighting to keep the life-support systems online,
"Why doesn't he come back and finish us off?"
Gammon answers back, "Doesn't want to, that was a target
load, if he'd hit us with combat power, we'd be smithereens."
"Fast enough to be a starfighter," Bowdie comments as
she secures the life-support.
"Never saw that motor arrangement before," Gammon
decides, "The angles on the triangle are wrong."
Gammon cuts the power and the SpaceBus slows. Then the Scows
move up on either line and fire snag cables that grapple onto the back of the
space bus. Then each scow sends a current down the snagline that locks the
cable on magnetically. There is a moment of slight static shock.
But the electric field stays on the outside of the bus.
"Pretty advanced technology for a couple of scows,"
Gammon observes.
Then the scows pull ahead of the space bus and dock side-to side. The
combined scows start to tow the SpaceBus slowly onward.
The, a large freghter sized ship looms into veiw. The scows slow
to match the freighters speed. And a door slides up on the rear of the
freighter. The Scow-ships pull up and land into the slow frieghter.
Apparently, the snaglines are attached to a mechanism, and the Spacebus is
towed slowly into the freighter. A magnetic charger pulls the space bus onto
the deck. The door slides back down to close. All is dark.
One voice speaks up. It is Philobuster. He asks, "Does this mean that
the ride is over?"
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