Meeting again.

In your opinion the Chintoth system barely deserved the name or the tiny notation it had in the Galactic Chart; the system usually consisted of nothing but a single, incredibly average G2 type star and the single sun baked, barren orb that orbited it. Now however it held something else, a single shuttlecraft hung patiently in the depths, its black painted hull was almost invisible against the blackness of deep space as it orbited the single planet.

Inside the shuttle your fingers beat an impatient tattoo on the flight console before you, you had sent out a single comm. pulse when you had arrived at the edge of the system and another when you had first taken up orbit of the planet. However, you have been in orbit of the unnamed planet for almost four hours now and are beginning to lose confidence in your plan as you had been expecting Doe to have contacted you before now.

“What is taking you so long?” you mutter angrily “It’s not like there is anything else here to look at”

It’s nearly an hour later when the comm. screen before you gives the soft chime of an incoming message and as you activate the communication systems. There is a moment of static before Doe’s face resolves on the screen before you; her single poison green eye sparkled with amusement though it was half hidden behind a waterfall of dark red hair and her deep red lips were curved in a wicked smirk.

You feel a burning stab of rage race through you at the sight of her face and (thankfully) out of sight from the view screen, your hands clench into tight fists for a moment before you can **** them open again. Pasting what you hope is a sultry, welcoming smile onto your face

“Hello there, my red haired pirate” you murmur “What took you so long?”

Her smirk widens even more “Hello back, my Space Fleet Admiral” she teases you mockingly “Did you grow impatient waiting for me to come?”

Even as you open your mouth to reply, the space before your shuttle begins to ripple and distort; strange flashes of colours and ripples of light appearing for a moment before disappearing and re-appearing elsewhere. The tell-tale shimmer and glow is a sure sign of a ship dropping out of a Warp Jump, and sure enough there is a coruscating flare of light, a flicker of pseudomotion and suddenly there is another ship orbiting the planet there beside your shuttle, dwarfing it the way an shark dwarfs a minnow.

The hull of John’s ship has been painted a deep, forest green and the ship possesses a design that is sleeker and more angular than any of the Space Fleet vessels of comparable size; the pirate ship is built somewhat like a reverse manta ray; long, and sleek, possessing a long, slender bow that gradually grew into a wide, semi-circular stern.

You study the other vessel with the eyes of an experienced sailor and naval officer, taking in its strengths and weaknesses; you immediately spot both the impressive array of high energy weapons mounted on the nose and the number of oversized engine exhaust ports at the stern.

The former meant the ship possessed a bite more serious than its size would lend one to believe and the latter meant it would both accelerate and turn faster than anything in the Fleet; however it’s smaller size meant it would hold less cargo, food stores and of course less crew and thus would be at a disadvantage in a boarding action or a battle of attrition.

“I’m having the port cargo bay opened for you; you can bring your shuttle aboard and I will meet you there” Doe’s voice draws you back to the view screen and you shoot her another wide smile before nodding and signing off.

Your fingers dance across the console before you and the shuttles engines flare a brilliant red before settling into their characteristic dull orange throb; the shuttle is fast and the trip to the pirate vessel does not take long, within a minute you are setting the shuttle down on the deck of the cargo bay.

You can see Doe through the cockpit window, watching the shuttle land and accompanied on her left by a tall voluptuous woman, thick honey gold hair falling almost to her waist, on her right was a massively built male with skin almost as black as pitch, oddly though, while his head was as hairless as an egg, he possessed a long thick beard that covered much of his chest.

You also cannot help but notice that Doe and her two companions all have an energy pistol and a bladed weapon on their hips; with the dark skinned man carrying a wicked looking axe and the women seeming to prefer long, slender swords.

You nervously touch the homing beacon in your hidden pocket; if you activated it now it would send out a pulse beacon on an obscure comm. frequency, alerting your three ships to your location and calling them to you; but is now the best time to use it? You did not know what Doe was planning or if she had any allies but the longer you wait, the greater the chance of you being discovered…