In A Starship's Wake

Chapter 25: Running Out Of Everything

Just like the Temorran Kindred fighters less than two weeks earlier, the pirates gradually drew closer. It was just as frightening this time around. The circumstances were so similar Joseph was having deja vu. Once again he was sitting at the guns, waiting for an enemy of unknown strength to come close enough for him to shoot at.

Once you thought your way past the similarities, this situation was actually worse. They'd known something about the other ships. The three pirate fighters didn't look as powerful, but appearances could be deceiving. Neither Joseph nor the computer could identify them, so he had no real idea what they were capable of. They could easily turn out to be a fatal threat.

"How long until they're in firing range?" Tyrone asked.

"I don't know. I have no idea how far they can fire." Joseph's answer wasn't satisfactory to either of them. Tyrone gave a resigned grunt, but offered no further comment.

Joseph knew how far Garden Variety Animal's guns could shoot, and right now he wished it was a larger distance. They would be close to entering the dwarf planet's gravity well before he could fire with any reasonable expectation of hitting the pirates.

Technically the potential flight distance of a projectile in space was unlimited, but practicality brought in other factors. One important one was how far the guns could be accurately aimed, and a smaller target was always harder to keep in the sights. Another was the travel time of their rounds. With enough time, the pilots could detect incoming fire and use lateral thrusters to avoid at least some of it. Tyrone would be using that same method.

The distance to the dwarf planet dwindled, as did the gap between them and the fighters. It came as no surprise that the trio were faster. Fighters were individually weak due to their small size, but it gave them speed and maneuverability that larger ships just couldn't match. It was what they relied on to stay alive, and it also helped a lot with pursuing other ships.

The tactical system chirped at him as it detected incoming fire. Joseph held his breath, waiting for his first certain assessment of the ships. They were still too far back for him to hit reliably. If he had to start firing now he could, but the magazines might well go dry before he could shoot down all three.

Fortunately the fighters' guns were no more suited to the distance than theirs. Most of the fire just whisked past them, off to every side. Joseph sighed, holding his fire and waiting nervously. The tactical computer analyzed the pattern of the bullets it was detecting and gave a rough estimate of the fighters' effective range; it was about the same as the Animal's.

"Should I be worried?" Tyrone barked. A few rounds were impacting on the shields, and he was too preoccupied to watch the whole tactical system.

"Not yet. They aren't close enough to hit us very much, most of the shots are going wide. I wouldn't even try to dodge yet, just let them expend ammo." It didn't take long for the fighters to come to the same conclusion. They had been able to determine that the fighters' weapons were gauss-type, so they would have a hard limit on their ammunition. After about thirty seconds of intermittent fire, the bullets stopped coming.

"You were right. They didn't get much for that."

"No." Joseph looked at the indicator for shield strength and saw it had barely moved. "Unfortunately they're only getting closer."

As Joseph expected, they were only a few minutes from orbit when the fighters drew close enough for him to fire on. The targeting computer had already been focused on the lead fighter. Joseph squeezed the trigger again and felt the comforting rumble of their cannons.

Joseph's plan was to start with several seconds of continuous fire at the leader, in the hope of taking one fighter out quickly. That plan went rapidly through the airlock, as the ship darted out of the line of fire almost as soon as the first round landed. He'd been hoping for a slower reaction to his first shots, but the pilot was good and the little ships were even more nimble than he'd anticipated.