USS Jemison : "Well, they'd be crazy to follow us, wouldn't
Grant Watson
>
> The Armada swarmed around the Jemison. Beams of energy criss-crossed
>the void, explosions rocked the ships, shields flashed with the strain of
>absorbing these deadly forces. Suddenly the nacells of the Jemison glowed a
>bright blue and she flashed past the Armada and vanished in a starburst,
>leaving the remaining ships to flounded among themselves, for a little while
>at least. One by one the Armada follow the Jemison into warp space,
>streaking past and dissappearing in brilliant flashes of light.
<<<<<<<<<<NEW SECTION>>>>>>>>>>
Von Harlock frowned. "Status report!" he barked, raising his voice over the
hiss of leaking coolant.
"Shields at 39 per cent and falling." came the reply. "I'm attempting to
compensate."
P'Luvik turned slightly in his seat. "Captain, we will reach the asteroid
belt in twenty seconds."
"Is that including standard safety margins?"
A pause. "Yes, sir."
"Good." von Harlock replied thoughtfully. "Wait twenty two seconds." He
attempted to ignore Starseeker's concerned glance.
"Captain?"
von Harlock turned to Gabriel, who leaned over from the science station.
"You have a question, Mr Gabriel?"
"Well, it's all fairly academic now, isn't it?"
Twenty two seconds.
The Jemison fell out of warp.
The first impression was that the viewscreen had failed. As the eyes
adjusted, they noted that the viewscreen was operating fine; it was simply
looking at a wall of rock. In the background someone swore.
"Pull up!" von Harlock shouted, P'Luvik's fingers dancing rapidly over
his control pad. For a single pregnant pause it did appear that the ship
would make it.
It did.
Behind it two Ferengi Marauders and a Bird of prey were not so lucky.
"Captain," said Firesoul, "two ships approaching at seven'o'clock. It's the
USS Othello, plus a Kzinti frigate. They're opening fire!"
"Chased through an asteroid belt by the Kzinti. How pleasant," muttered
Gabriel. Only Firesoul smiled, but then only Firesoul had been there.
The Jemison shook heavily, and a shower of sparks cascaded from the ceiling.
"Mr P'Luvik?"
"Yes, sir?"
"See if we can put a few rocks between us and out pursuers..."
"Aye, sir."
The Jemison veered sharply, twisting itself on a knife-edge around one of
the larger asteroids. The Othello followed, while the Kzinti frigate was
less successful, flailing away in a trail of fire before exploding into
fragments.
Certain minds on the Othello questioned the sanity of navigating a
Magellan class starship through an asteroid belt.
More astute minds might have questioned the sanity of following it.
"Captain, I have an idea."
von Harlock eyed Gabriel carefully. "Go ahead."
"Both Ensign Firesoul and I were in a very similar situation to this in
holodeck training.One of the things that we were able to do then was
reconfigure the transporter to transport smaller asteroids into the paths of
the approaching enemy."
"I read the report of that training session," noted von Harlock, "your
ship was destroyed, wasn't it?"
"Yes," replied Gabriel quietly, "but this time we'll do better."
There was a brief pause.
<<<<<<<<<<END SECTION>>>>>>>>>>
NRPG:
TO ALL: I'm really sorry. I've been incredibly slack with my posts of late,
and promise to improve. Well, we're in the asteroid belt. Cue that funky
John Williams soundtrack, please! <BG>
TO GAETANO: Am I allowed to transport asteroids into the path of approaching
vessels or not? Your choice, but I warn you not to underestimate my powers...
TO ALL: I've got a bad feeling about this...
Who was it who started me thinking on these Star Wars lines? Gabriel will be
telling P'Luvik he's his father next... <G>
Cheers!
Grant.
___________...@iinet.net.au_________________
"You left me at the altar!"
"I was on a ship to Zanzibar... I got cold feet."
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THE MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND