[Moon]
The random chance that a Commonwealth Frigate would come across them in the depths of space was near zero. There seemed only one reasonable explanation. Moon swung his head around toward Mihra, narrowing his eyes. Before he could ask, she answered. "I told no one of this trip and came alone."
A twinge of guilt came over him for his thoughts. There was another more likely explanation. "They must have been watching and followed you here." He made his way to the bedroom hatch and turned back. "Come to the bridge. This might get rough — we should strap in." He turned toward Nanny-bot. "Sai, help Celeste."
As he sat down in the captain's chair, he called out. "Sai, set the fusion thrusters at twenty-five percent, heading directly away from that frigate. They will likely drop out of quantum space along-side. When they do, adjust our course to keep them behind us as best you can."
"Yes, sir. May I ask the rational for this action?"
"Two reasons. First, the stern is more heavily shielded and will provide us some protection from a direct attack. And second, the wash from the thrusters will interfere with their sensors."
"I see, sir. What will be your plan of action after that?"
"Still working on that, Sai. We'll have to stall them until the quantum drive is ready and then somehow get away."
Celeste, Mihra, and Nanny-bot paced onto the bridge, each cradling a baby. Gabriel opened his eyes for a moment to survey his surroundings. Then, with a tiny stretch, joined his sisters in oblivious slumber while the women buckled them into the row of reclining restraint seats under the control panels, facing the chairs. Moon took a moment to gaze at them in wonder and silently thanked Sai for having the foresight to construct the little seats.
So innocent. They trust us — me — completely to protect them.
Moon called out. "Sai, go to conflict readiness."
"Yes, sir." The bridge hatch swung inward and sealed closed with a clunk. Across the ship, other hatches closed and sealed as well. Maintenance robots activated and stood ready.
Celeste asked, "What are they going to do?"
Moon kept his eyes on a holographic tactical display showing the approaching ship. "We will know soon enough."
True to his words, the frigate popped into existence as it dropped out of faster-than-light relative velocity. On the magnified visual display panel, it appeared as if conjured by a magician. Boxy in shape with twin fusion thrusters attached on opposite sides, it bristled with attachments, the most ominous ones being turreted pulse cannons and missile launchers. In size, the frigate was nearly the same as Moon's hauler.
The ship appeared two kilometers astern to the starboard side, but dropped back to three kilometers until it could match velocity with its thrusters for a closer approach. A swarm of drones emerged from the underside like angry wasps from a nest and took up surrounding positions.
Moon muttered to himself, "This is not good."
Celeste gasped. "How will we fight that?"
"We don't. Frigates were built for close-range combat. It would tear us apart. And we can't run." With the point of a finger, he highlighted a red circle on the tactical display. "See that drone?" She nodded. "That is a quantum field disrupter. This ship is faster, but we won't be able to initiate our quantum drive as long as that thing is near."
Celeste's face paled. "So, what do we do?"
"The good news is that they haven't blasted us to little pieces yet. So I'm guessing they want to talk. We hear them out." He looked up. "Sai, is the quantum drive ready for action?"
"It will be in approximately three minutes." Sai paused. "The frigate is hailing us, sir."
"Put it on screen, but no response yet."
A gray haired man wearing a blue officer's uniform appeared on the screen. The high tight collar matched the stern expression on his face. "Raven Sky, this is the Commonwealth Frigate Resolution. You are ordered to power down and prepare for boarding."
Moon muttered. "I'll be damned..." He turned toward Celeste and grinned. "I have an idea."
Celeste tilted her head up. "Another wild-ass plan?"
"Oh yeah." Moon said, grinning wide.
Mihra wrinkled her forehead. "What be this wild-ass plan?"
Celeste sighed. "Usually, it is best not to ask."
Moon called out. "Sai, I rebuilt the power system on the Resolution years ago. There should be a back door to the control matrix, see if you can find it. My genetic scan will be the entry code. Use the carrier signal on the com band when we respond."
"Yes, sir."
The face on the view screen drew a deep frown. He wore the blue uniform of the Commonwealth military. "Raven Sky, this is the Commonwealth Frigate Resolution. You are ordered to power down and prepare for boarding. Respond!"
"Okay, Sai. Open a channel, tight view on me only. But put some static on our com signal, enough to hide your intrusion."
"Channel opened, sir."
Moon straightened up in his chair and spoke in an even measured voice. "Resolution. This is Raven Sky. Please repeat last transmission."
"Raven Sky, this is the Commonwealth Frigate Resolution. You are ordered to power down and prepare for boarding."
"Resolution. This is Raven Sky. Can you hear us?"
The officer scowled, baring his teeth. He shouted. "Raven Sky, I said power down and prepare for boarding! Comply now or you will be fired upon!"
Moon pushed a button on his chair arm, muting his transmission. He shook his head. "Wow, he's grumpy. Sai, cut the thrusters. But leave the fusion reactors output at full and stand ready for full thrust on my command. Oh, and target that disrupter drone with the laser, but don't swivel the turret just yet."
"Yes, sir. Cutting thrusters now."
Moon unmuted the transmission. "Commander, what is the justification for this action?"
"We have an arrest warrant for Celeste Ciel and the Captain of the Raven Sky."
"Commander, please transmit the warrant for inspection and legal review."
Instead of a verbal response, the frigate moved closer alongside the ship. Moon jerked as three bright pulse cannon bursts flew past his bow. He muted the transmission again.
Muttering, he said, "Well, that was rude." He looked up. "Sai, status!"
"Still searching for the power system connection, sir."
Moon turned in his chair. "Mihra, do you know this commander?"
She shook her head. "We only met briefly at the port."
"I need you to talk to him. Tell him our situation, anything. Just buy us some time."
"Very well."
Moon said, "Sai, shift the transmission view to the Priestess only." He pressed a button to unmute.
Mihra narrowed her eyes. "Commander Barne, what is the meaning of this?"
The commander widened his eyes. "Priestess, I did not know you were on board."
"I find that unlikely. You followed me here. I am on official Sol Empire business. The Raven Sky is under my protection."
"I have my orders, Priestess. They were approved by the Prime Minister himself."
"I would like you to meet someone, Commander." Mihra leaned forward to retrieve Faith from a baby seat, placing the sleeping baby in her lap. "This is the true Empress heir. She be the direct genetic daughter of Empress Iona. I have confirmed it. Celeste Ciel is her surrogate mother, not a terrorist."
Stunned, the commander dropped his jaw and stared. He tried to speak but no words came out.
Moon felt his body tingle. Well, if they didn't know there was a new Empress, they do now.
She stood up, staring at the officer on the view screen while cradling Faith in her arms. "You do not want to be on the wrong side of history, Commander. There be those in power who wish the line of the Empress to end and you be a pawn in their game. Your arrest of Celeste Ciel would result in the death of the Empress heir."
The commander scowled. "My orders are clear, Priestess. I will not accommodate a terrorist. Docking sequence will begin at once. If there is any resistance, we will open fire."
The transmission abruptly ended.
Mihra mumbled with a frown. "Hardass..."
Moon turned his head up. "Sai?"
"I had established a link with the Resolution's power systems controller, sir, but lost it when the com link was terminated."
Moon leaned forward. "Okay, here's the plan, Sai. When I reestablish coms, link with the controller and enter action code one-zero-zero-eight to initiate emergency shutdown."
"Your birth year, sir?"
"Yeah. When they go dark, we'll only have a minute or so to get away until their battery backup resets. Take out the disrupter drone with the laser and push the fusion thrusters to full output. Once clear, initiate the quantum drive and get us out of here."
"Yes, sir. And don't spare the horses again, sir?"
Moon grinned. "You got it, Sai!" He glanced at both women. "Buckle up, ladies and babies. The fun is about to begin."
Mihra turned to him as she fastened her chair restraints. "Is this going to work, Moon?"
He shrugged. "Yeah. Probably. No worries."
Mihra gaped her mouth. "No worries, say you?"
Celeste shook her head. "It is his standard response. I just go with it."
Moon called out. "Ready, Sai?"
"Yes, sir!" Sai's voice sounded with excitement.
Moon checked the tactical and visual displays. The Resolution continued to move closer for docking. He said, "Hail them."
He had thought it not possible, but the commander's face looked even grumpier, resembling one of the hideous old-world gargoyles that Moon once saw in a museum. He stifled the urge to laugh out loud.
The commander growled, "What is it?"
Moon composed himself, putting a neutral expression on his face. "Commander, I think we got off on the wrong foot, so to speak."
"Get to the point!"
Moon glanced down at the display panel, reading a text message from Sai. He grinned. "It would be rude of us to leave without saying goodbye. Sooo... Goodbye."
With eyes still narrowed to slits, the commander opened his mouth. A sudden termination of the com channel stole his words. Moon's grin widened as the power readings for the frigate shown on the telemetry data window went to zero.
Sai announced, "Targeting the disrupter drone now, sir."
On the visual display, the drone glowed in white light, then disintegrated in a bright flash.
"Initiating thrusters now, sir. Brace for acceleration force."
Celeste and Mihra clutched the arms of their chairs and glanced down at the babies, who slept, oblivious to the unfolding drama. Nanny-bot stood, locking one arm to a door brace. The ship shuddered. A deep bass hum from the depths of the ship swelled until Moon could feel it in his bones. Forces, those beyond the capability of the inertial dampening system, pushed them back into their chairs, compressing the seat padding. Mihra let out an airy gasp.
A voice announced, "Thrusters at one-hundred percent, sir."
Moon gazed at the tactical display, watching his ship accelerate away from the Resolution and its menacing weapon drones. A certain amount of separation would be required before the quantum drive could be used. His eyes widened as the display showed several objects originating from the weapon drones and the frigate, all racing toward the Raven Sky. The Resolution had recovered from the power failure faster than he had anticipated.
"Missiles! Sai, now would be a good time. Bootstrap the drive if you have to."
Moon turned his head and locked eyes with Celeste. She drew her lips together and nodded her head as a show of optimism, but a quiver of her chin revealed a mother's fear. He winked at her and turned back to the display panels.
Being able to accelerate to a much greater extent than the Raven Sky, the missiles drew nearer.
Moon drew a deep breath. "Umm... Sai!"
Sai's voice contained none of the alarm Moon felt within. "Initiating the quantum drive now, sir."
No inertia, nor even the faintest vibration or movement, indicated the transition to faster-than-light travel by the quantum drive. The frigate Resolution and its drones disappeared from the visual display as if by the flip of a switch.
A satisfied smile grew on Moon's face as he watched the relative velocity climb, displayed in green numbers on a transparent data panel to his right. "Sai, maintain relative velocity at seventy-two C."
"Yes, sir."
He swiveled to cast his eyes on each baby. They had slept through the whole ordeal.
Mihra raised her eyebrows. "So, this be over?"
Moon leaned back in his chair with a wide grin and put his hands behind his head. "Yup. That frigate will not be able to keep up. Like I said, no worries."