The elevator swished open quietly and John, Alyssa, and Calara darted into their respective positions on the bridge. Sparks turned to face them as they arrived on the Command deck.
"We're getting an incoming distress call from a freighter. They've been disabled by pirates and are being boarded!" Sparks said with alarm.
"Alyssa, plot a course to their location. Calara, shields up and weapons armed, we're going to need to strike quickly," John ordered decisively.
The girls sprung into action as they responded to his commands. Holographic images sprang into existence in the middle of the room, as Alyssa rapidly charted a new course in the system map to the scene of the battle, and Calara activated the Invictus' weaponry. The rotating image of the assault cruiser showed the armoured hull sliding back, revealing the formidable arsenal at their disposal.
"Weapons hot Commander!" Calara reported, as the Mass drivers, laser cannons, beam lasers and point defence all glowed menacingly on the weapon loadout display for the Invictus.
"Two minutes until we're in range," Alyssa stated calmly, as the assault cruiser swung in a smooth arc to adjust to the course change.
Sparks turned her attention back to the long range scanners as it began to display the information it had gathered from the initial sensor sweep.
"I'm picking up five ships John," the redhead called out. "Only one has an active transponder. That's the freighter Calypso. The rest have their transponders switched off."
"See if you can hail the freighter, Sparks," John asked.
Calara activated a couple of controls on her console, and the weapon loadout of the Invictus disappeared, replaced by a glowing hologram showing the local system map instead. John leaned forward to study the image as more details were revealed, the ship scans becoming more revealing the closer they got. The Calypso had suffered damage to its engines, and a sleek looking corvette had sidled alongside it, now attached by the docking collar to the freighter's starboard flank.
A shocked gasp interrupted the quiet focus of the bridge. "That's the Griffon!" Calara exclaimed.
"Are you sure?" John asked. There were hundreds of Corvettes in the Terran Federation Navy and they looked largely the same to him.
"Yes, there's no question. It's a Marlin class Corvette, and look at the rear stabilisers! They were upgraded just before the ship left Port Heracles!" the Latina insisted.
Before they could react to this startling bit of news, the vid-feed crackled, and an image of a panicked woman filled the screen.
"We're being boarded!" the brown haired, middle-aged woman shouted as gunfire echoed in the background, followed by shrill screams. "Please help us!"
John leaned forward and replied in a steely voice, "This is Commander Blake of the Assault Cruiser Invictus. We'll be with you in just over a minute, so try and hold out as long as you can!" More gunfire drowned out the Calypso Captain's response and the line went dead.
The three remaining ships, two battered looking Lexon class frigates and a blunt nosed corvette, were providing cover for their pirate colleagues who were performing the boarding action. The pirate vessels had picked up the incoming Assault cruiser on their scanners, and the worn looking ships were turning to engage.
Sparks watched the unfolding engagement with awe, the pivoting pirate craft looking menacing as they turned in their direction, with many weapon barrels being brought to bear. On the other side of the holographic map, the Invictus surged forward with deadly purpose, looking like a sinister predator as it descended on the smaller vessels.
"Thirty seconds until we're in range!" Alyssa announced.
"Lieutenant take them out fast, so we can save the freighter!" John urged.
Calara's eyes narrowed in concentration, as she focused on the holographic targeting matrix floating in front of her face. "Yes, Sir!" she responded grimly.
Sparks watched the tactical map with bated breath, as their assault cruiser bore down on the weaker enemy vessels. The long cones displaying the fire arcs of their weapons brushed over the approaching Pirate ships, and Calara sprung into action. The map illuminated brightly as the ship's vibrant coruscating beams blasted out, caressing the frigates lovingly. Three beams hit each craft squarely, overloading their shields in a crackling instant, and followed through to gouge glowing trenches in the thick armour on the front of the pirate ships.
"Firing main guns!" Calara called out a second later and the ship trembled with the recoil, as the 200 metre long magnetic rails of the Mass drivers launched their shells at Hyper warp into the burning frigates.
The first frigate shuddered as both shells slammed into its port side, knocking it sideways. The shells detonated a second later, and the entire left side exploded outwards, showering the area with debris. The second frigate was hit head on, the Impact from the shells devastating the bridge and instantly killing their command crew, even before the enormous explosive force obliterated the front half of the frigate.
Sparks could see icons showing that the Mass drivers were reloading and that the beams were cooling, as the Invictus finally closed to laser cannon range. Now in range to fire back, the blunt nosed frigate opened up with its two pairs of three laser cannons as it charged in bravely. Half the incoming laser fire sailed past harmlessly as Alyssa half rolled the Invictus but the other three blasts of energy all hit squarely, and were harmlessly absorbed by their shields.
"Shields at 97%, John!" Sparks said excitedly, and John glanced at her, smiling at her enthusiasm.
With Alyssa's skilful roll, the Invictus now faced the passing corvette with its bristling top deck, sixteen turreted laser cannons now able to track the target as it appeared in their firing arcs. Calara opened fire with a ferocious broadside, and the corvette's weaker shields shorted out after the first few impacts, leaving the lightly armoured hull exposed to a blistering barrage. The hull lit up as laser cannon fire tore it to pieces, ripping the ship in half with explosions.
"Nice work ladies," John congratulated them both, as they neutralised all active pirate ships in just under ten seconds.
