Little Jake was terrified. He didn't know what was going on, other than that his mother was crying and his father looked distressed.
He shrunk further into the corner, and watched with fascination as his mother's tears floated in the air.
She said something to his father, gathered herself and wiped the tears, and turned to him.
"Son, I need you to be brave, okay? Come with me." she said as she tried to steel herself.
She led him to a cargo area, pointed to an empty ore container and told him to climb in. He did.
"Stay there, and no matter what, don't come out until I come back here to get you."
And so he did, crouched inside, he could hear the unintelligible voices and the shouts of the crew as they prepared for what was coming.
Minutes passed, crawling for what seemed like an eternity. Then he heard a bang and the sound of suction. His breath quickened and he could feel the pressure change. Emergency measures sealed the cargo bay.
He was alone.
Against his mother's wishes, he climbed out of the container and floated his way through the cargo bay, he put his ear against the wall like he often did, and listened intently.
He could hear the loud bangs and the screams of pain. Someone shouted something loudly and he heard a loud crack and an explosion.
He heard a lot of sizzling sounds, a scream or two and then things quieted down.
He heard his mother screaming his father's name, weeping.
***
"They must have seen the mining operation and took us for easy pickings." his uncle said.
"Let's assemble the crew, they'll try to board us. Hannah, tell everyone to meet us at the cargo bay." Jake said.
She had a concerned look on her face but did as he asked.
He raced quickly to the cargo bay, as everybody gathered and his uncle made his way through the crowded room.
The atmosphere was tense. Everybody was looking at him and his uncle, even the children, and they looked worried. It looked like rumours travelled fast as they often did on a crowded ship.
"All right, everybody listen up!"
"We've got a ship incoming. It has no transponder ID and is heading towards us fast."
"We suspect it to be a pirate ship, so I need you to listen up and act quickly. Behind you..." he pointed with his finger. "You'll find the weapons lockers, I want every one of you armed and ready for boarding action. Now!"
"We can't outrun them, and we can't shoot them down, but if they come aboard, boy... they'll be in for the surprise of their life. I've got a few presents tucked away for this precise occasion. And they're going to see them with their own damn eyes."
"I want everyone at the bridge. You fortify it, and you stick to it. Nobody goes out until I give the clear." He looked at them expectedly and they all nodded, just as Jake happened to find something else to occupy his attention.
The bridge was the most secure area on the ship, tucked away in the deep bowls of the magnificent beast, it was the best place to hold out and weather the upcoming storm.
"You will fortify the bridge, and you will defend the bridge. No enemy will enter the bridge, and nobody will leave the bridge. Understood?" he said as he unlocked the lockers and allowed them to arm themselves. One of the children tried to reach for a pistol but his mother held him tight.
"I know that most of you have never been in this situation before, some of you have never held a gun, much less shot one. But this time, it's your life against theirs. I want no hesitation. If they come at you, shoot to kill." Jake heard him say as he grabbed a pulse pistol.
The weapon was elegant in its design. Designed to deliver an adjustable lethal/non-lethal pulse of focused radiation that can pierce anything short of steel. Shooting a projectile-based weapon on a spaceship was a big no-no. If the integrity of the hull was compromised, you're as good as dead. Nobody could afford that risk. Nanofoam could surely seal the breach and save your life, but it couldn't disperse widely enough to cover a hole ridden hull.
Even pirates used pulse weapons in lethal mode, they couldn't afford to wreck the ships they were about to loot.
He immediately switched his pistol to lethal. He saw others do the same, while some made a different choice and went for non-lethal instead.
Doctor Lev was with the former group, he was a grim man with steely resolve. "You can bet your life on it." he said with a guttural voice and his thick Russian accent.
***
He could tell it was a pirate ship from the markings on its bow. Now in range for optical sensor to pick it up, he could observe its features. It greeted him with its crude form and rough angles. Fast as it was, it looked more like a pile of junk welded together and fitted with two big thrusters than a ship.
It wasn't very big, and that's probably why it accelerated at an astonishing rate. It approached them with speed rarely matched by anything but police cruisers.
Police... they were never there when you needed them the most. As most space farers would know, they were only there to collect tolls and harass innocent cargo ships. Not that they would ever veer this far away from the Earth anyway.
He gathered his resolve and renewed his vow to never let them hurt him again. He would never allow them to inflict the same kind of suffering he went through on another innocent child. Never.
Siren felt his tension and was tensing up as well. When they first met, she couldn't comprehend the concept of violence against one's own kind. But as she got to know him better and experience his old memories she came about and now understood his fears. She tried to redirect his hatred and calm him down but her efforts proved futile.
His adrenaline peaked when the pirate ship closed in and came to a halt. It extended its docking clamps and attached them to the outer hull. He could hear the banging as they installed the charges to detonate.
Hannah caught his arm as he tried to leave.
"Where are you going?" she whispered worriedly.
"I'm not letting my uncle fight this one alone." he said with fury in his eyes.
"Please Jake, please stay, it's not safe."
"Sorry, but I can't." he shrugged her hand off.
Quietly, he left the bridge and headed for the cargo hold.
Distant childhood memories came back in a flood, a surge of emotions flooded him and he took cover behind a crate. He heard the loud bang as the charges detonated and they came rushing in.
He saw the ragtag group headed for him, dressed in strange motley of varied clothing, bits of armour, and a wide arrangement of tattoos. He heard noise coming from other parts of the ship and knew it was more than one group, but that didn't scare him. Calmly, he lifted his pistol, flipped the safety, and took aim.
***
Little Jake could not understand what he was hearing, was his father hurt? And what were those laughs coming off the other side of the wall?
"Stay down, bitch!" he heard a voice say.
"Please, I have a son. Don't hurt me." he recognised his mother's muffled voice.
"Shut your fucking mouth! Leon, get over here." the cruel voice said.
"Yeah, boss?" another responded.
"Grab this bitch and take her back to the ship, boy, I'm going to have fun with this one."
"Sure thing boss."
"Marcus, get that hatch open. Now!"
He heard clangs and scrapes at the hatch. He hurriedly went back to the crate and went inside.
He tried to hold his breath as they moved in. He could see the group from the tiny crack the crate provided, he had left the lid slightly ajar.
There were three of them, all dressed in some kind of strange clothing he'd never seen.
They came over and inspected the cargo containers. One by one, and as they closed in on him his mind was in shambles, he was terrified beyond reason, and tears were streaming from his face. He caught one before it left the container.
His breathing quickened as they approached him, they were looking intently at some items they'd gathered. Looking over the piles of ore in each container as they went with gloomy eyes and discussed the prices of the various items they were looting.
Suddenly, an explosion sounded and they dropped everything and hastily went outside. He heard the wheezing sounds and the screams of agony that followed.
"That's right you fuckers! You think you can barge in here and take what's theirs and mine?" He heard the shouts of his uncle.
Four more shots sounded and he heard their screams and his uncle's grunt of pain.
Two minutes later he heard his uncle's voice again "Jake... Jake, are you in there?"
He bolted out of the cargo container and hurled himself at his uncle. He hugged him tightly as they heard the sound of decompression and the hull resealing itself with nanofoam.
***
His left shoulder was killing him. He had taken two hits, one grazed his elbow and the other hit him square on the shoulder.
Crouched behind the crate, he ignored the pain and lifted his right arm, he sent two shots in their general direction. A beam missed his hand by a couple of centimetres. Judging by the direction of the beam, he estimated the shooter's position and sent three shots his way. He heard a grunt and a thump as the shooter collapsed.
He could tell that his newfound dexterity had come to his aid, and as they approached him, he felt it was time to put his agility to the test.
Combat in zero gravity was no easy feat. If you got caught moving too slowly you were good as dead. Aiming was difficult as well, with no up or down, you took your shots at targets of opportunity. Luckily for him, moving in zero gee was what he did as a toddler.
He pushed against the wall and came out rolling at great speed, his muscles stringy and taut. His foot pushed against a pipe and his body tilted to the side. He felt everything happening in slow motion as he brought his pistol to bear. It felt like Siren was aiding him as he steadied his aim and took two precise shots that sent an opponent sprawling with sizzling blood streaming out of his head.
He quickly took cover behind another crate. He peered around his cover and saw two more opponents bounding around a corner. He took a shot but they ducked behind cover immediately.
He heard more noises coming from behind him. They were flanking him!
Oh shit
. He thought.
"Don't worry." S
