It's a trap!

The Royal Flush's thrust increased by 138 percent, you race towards the jump lane as Kalis continues firing on the Red Fleet scout. The scout fires back, but its weak lasers are easily absorbed by the shields of the Royal Flush. Beams of light continue to pour into the enemy ship as you pass it until it finally ignites into a bright ball of flame-colored decompression. You're about to pass the Lane Station, built ages ago to monitor the lane but housing who-knows-what nowadays.

Suddenly, Vel calmly states, "More hostile contacts. I'm reading 3 ships moving out from behind the lane station. They appear to be two Class B frigates, and one Class D battleship." Your heart begins to sink as you order, "Put it on the main display."

Your worst fears are confirmed as you recognize the towers, turrets, and bulky hull plating of the Red Empress. You push your fears aside and soon you have no time to think at all as you bark out orders.

"Kalis! Concentrate all fire on one of the frigates! Kill it fast! Vel, take us around 180 degrees and cut propulsion, drift us into the jump lane. And launch the decoys. All of them! Osha, if you can somehow boost power to the shields, now's the time to do it."

Vel is a decent pilot, but it's more the effort of the top-notch ship AI that manages to complete the maneuver. The Royal Flush is now turned around, drifting backwards at near maximum speed. Kalis lets loose with everything the ship's got, including a few of those expensive missiles that you wish you didn't have to use. The pulse missile takes down the first frigate's shields in one shot, as two explosive missiles quickly follow to hammer into the hull. The Royal Flush's beam lasers burn holes into the exposed armor while the slug from the Matter Accelerator crashes into the ship's bow, shattering it and sending pieces flying.

The bridge lights go red and warning klaxons sound off as the remaining two ships attempt to lock on to your ship's signature. A massive plasma bolt from the Red Empress narrowly misses the thruster housing, but particle cannon fire from the other frigate hits and depletes some of your shielding.

Decoy drones then launch from the Royal Flush, confusing the Red Fleet targeting systems. The Red Empress is having a particularly tough time with its dated computer systems. However, the decoys won't last forever, and several of them are destroyed within seconds. Kalis launches another salvo of missiles into the second frigate, severely depleting its shields as well as your bank account. Laser fire from your ship takes down their shields completely, and a projectile from the Mass Accelerator slams into the side of the ship, leaving a gaping hole from which jets of blue flame gush out from.

Weapons fire from the Red Empress continues to miss, and it seems very much like a giant trying to squash a fly. You're hard to catch, but it will only take one hit from those massive guns.

"Thirty seconds to the jump lane," Vel says, saying it as if she was reading from an instruction manual. "The last of the decoys have been destroyed." Quickly checking the command display on your chair, you see that your shields have dropped to critical levels, and the Mass Accelerator is in danger of over-heating. You have no hope of destroying the Red Empress, and that second frigate is still in pursuit despite the damage it's suffered. Things aren't looking good, but you're almost to the jump lane, now.

You think you just might make it.