[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]By the time he got to within range of the melee it was going to be too late. That was obvious, as it was also obvious that there was nothing to be done about it. In sheer desperation he fired off his heavy bombard cannon, making sure to aim well away from the fray. (He didn't want to accidentally hit the wrong ship.) He was hoping it would act as a distraction to the attacker, stuck to the ass-end of Ma'areol's Barafaer like super glue. It didn't work. But, looking at his console, he found that he could get a good reading on the radiation signature of her assailant now. It came as no great surprise to find out that it was indeed Pam-sae. Ryan growled deep in his throat and lunged toward the swirling silver maelstrom.
Just as he came within range of the enemy vessel, she slammed home a devastating barrage of plasma that clove clean through Barafaer like she was nothing. The aft third of the ship spun off into the void, the restsuddenly darkenedpirouetted drunkenly in the direction of her momentum.
Ryan screamed into the dead air of the bridge and, finding himself in range now, launched a series of wicked salvos at Quang, knocking sparks violently from Pam-sae's rear shield. The fresh assault caused an immediate reaction; Pam-sae went into a rapid series of maneuvers, trying desperately to evade her angry pursuer. Ryan would have none of it; he stayed with her through every turn, dove into spitball range and began to seriously chip away at her shields with a steady staccato fire. He had never known where the old adage, he was so angry he saw red, came from... until now! Ryan saw red... and he wanted blood! Blood cries for blood, you bastard!
Unfortunately his rage had unbalanced him somewhat and as a consequence he now paid the price, overshooting his target slightly. This effectively gave Master Liu the opportunity to reverse the roles on him. The wily ninja neatly capitalized on the error and it was suddenly Ryan that had the angry tail! But he had already managed to damage the other ship enough that she could no longer hold her own in a turning fight; her trim was off. And so before Quang could gain a vantage point from which to fire, he had missed a turn. Ryan saw it, slipped left, pointed his nose high and then completed the maneuver with a half twist. As Pam-sae's profile hove into view, he unleashed the full fury of his hatred through a long sustained burst of plasma. Two things occurred as a result: His guns overheated, effectively shutting them down along with much of the ship's systems; and a gaping, smoking ruinous breach appeared along Pam-sae's port side. Belching atmosphere and debris from her wound, she limped off in the general direction of Hei'a 12.
Ryan fought with his ship to contain the damage the overloading guns had caused. Saar'floe was obstinate when overloaded, Charlie had warned him of that. Now here he was, once again, paying the price for not listening to one of his master's warnings. By the time he regained control of the vessel, Pam-sae was well outside of range. Hitting her where he had, in the port beam, had apparently done nothing to damage her engines. It was obvious, however, that Master Liu wished to disengage from the fight, so there must be serious shipboard damage of some type. Well, disengaging was no part of Ryan's plans. But, first things first, he swept the sensors over the forward section of the stricken ship, Barafaer. There were no life signs aboard, no signs of a body; Ma'areol had been swept out into the void. Ryan screamed againa long, horrid cry of anguish mixed with a desperate yearning for revenge. And with his ship now firmly back under control, he pointed her at the fleeing ninja. Let's finish this, he thought, blood cries for blood, you bastard!
[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]Ryan followed Quang's busted crescent to the surface of the frozen moon, back to the scene of the original crime, in fact: the ruins of the archaeological facility. There he watched as the man exited Pam-sae and, armed to the teeth, ran into the ruins. It was an obvious challenge for Ryan to disembark, follow him and finish the game. Ryan shook his head, Charlie's words coming back to him. “Quang knows every combat technique known to your world...”
For an insane moment he almost considered it. Then an old World War II newscast came to mind. He saw marines on Iwo Jima tossing grenades into a cave full of Japanese soldiers, a flamethrower spewing its fiery death in afterward. The narrator explained that, because of their tenacity and stubborn refusal to surrender the marines were forced to take drastic measures. Ryan grinned wickedly.
Moving to a position convenient for firing on the other ship, he activated his bombard cannon. Casually he played the beam across Pam-sae until she melted into smoking slag. Next he trained his fire on the entrances to the ruins, there were several due to his previous work in excavating the survivors of the Szearfetti assault. When he finished closing up all but one, he stopped. Facing the entrance he had seen the murderer race through, he activated the universal communications system. His voice reverberated through the chill air of Hei'a 12.
“Master Quang Liu. Blood cries for blood. But I will give you a chance to surrender, to stand trial. Exit the ruins and throw your weapons down. You will only be allowed one opportunity to comply. I give you ten minutes.”
[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]Ryan Manniks of Saar'floe... requesting permission to dock.
Permission granted Saar'floe, please proceed to docking gate three, came the immediate response. The procedure did not take long and upon opening the docking hatch, he was welcomed by a group of three naval officers of various races.
Captain Cellarre will see in his stateroom. One of the officers stated. Please follow me.
Ryan did as instructed and very quickly found himself deep in the bowels of the immense ship. Now he was standing before an open doorway, which the officer motioned toward, turned and left. The two other men stationed themselves either side of the doorway.
Cautiously Ryan entered. Seated at a desk was a grizzled man, tall, grayinga Daalj'n, one of the three original starflyer races. He motioned for Ryan to be seated before him. Ryan complied.
I am Captain Cellarre. I was instructed to meet with you before assuming my post here, enforcing the quarantine of Pella'agre.
Yes, sir. I was made aware of that by Ma'areol before she... he stumbled for a moment over the words.
... before she what...?
She was murdered... ambushed on the way back to Urtyre by an Exeonas... my prior master: Quang Liu.
I see. The man's icy gaze fell heavily on Ryan for several long seconds then he continued. What can you tell me about where to find this murderer?
I can tell you exactly where to find him, Ryan grinned in spite of himself. I can also tell you that unless someone goes to fetch him fairly quickly that he might catch a bit of a cold... The other man narrowed his eyes at that. Ryan chuckled to himself and continued. He is trapped in the ruins of the old archaeological facility on Hei'a 12. I sealed him in after damaging his ship enough to force him down there.
The grizzled warrior before him grinned widely then broke into a series of guffawed laughs, stood and offered Ryan a drink. He accepted and they both toasted the life and accomplishments of a mutual lady-friend.
Three some odd hours later Saar'floe left docking gate three of the gunboat Kogeera. As he spun the ship around and pointed her bow toward the brilliant planet in the foreground, Ryan idly wondered what Laura was making for supper. (She had promised him his favorite: geesole stew.) He smiled, anxious to get back home.