Unwelcome news

"You must awaken, John. You will be needed soon."

You hear those words just before you open your eyes. Did you dream them? Turning your head, you see that Osha is still next to you in the same position. Her eyes are open and staring at you without blinking. She smiles as soon as you look at her. You are enjoying the warmth and softness of her body, and you can feel yourself growing erect.

"You will be needed soon," she says.

Still groggy from just waking up, you only manage to mutter, "huh" before you hear the loud beeping of your comm unit. "John, you'd better get to the bridge. We've got trouble." It's Vel's voice.

Acting more on reflex than by conscious though, you bolt upright and quickly get off the bed. You quickly throw on some clothes and immediately head towards the bridge. After a short run you enter the ship's command center to see Vel and Kalis seated at two of the control consoles.

Vel quickly turns around to face you. "John, I have a hostile contact on sensors. It's a fighter with pirate markings. Red Fleet, I think." She brings up an enhanced image of the contact on the main display, and it is indeed a Red Fleet fighter.

You're still not completely awake, but you know that this is bad. If the pirate ship is within comm range of other Red Fleet ships, they'll have a fix on your position and can find you within minutes, long before your trans-light drive can complete the launch sequence. And while the Royal Flush is fast, she still can't outrun a squadron of interceptors. "Vel," you bark out, "find out if that fighter is broadcasting! If it is, try to jam his transmission! Kalis, get a lock on him and arm the forward battery!"

"Already done," Kalis says. "The enemy is currently out of effective weapons range."

Vel exclaims, "No transmissions sent from the fighter." Good, you may still have a chance. "It looks like he's turning around and accelerating. He's moving away from us." Shit, you'll never catch that fighter...

"Perhaps I can be of assistance." Turning around, you see Osha standing in the doorway in her pink dress with a very nervous looking Holten beside her.