Jack of Harts

“Ready?” Betty asked.

“Launch,” Jack ordered.

“Launching,” Betty announced and their Avenger shuddered as it fell away from Vagabond at the maximum burn their maneuvering thrusters could manage. He looked up to see the long train of their Privateer-class freighter come into full view and he saw the damage they’d taken with his eyes for the first time. The engine section was torn apart completely, individual engines hanging off the end of the ship by stray cables or less. And Vagabond’s main wedge-shaped body was peeled open from just behind the bridge to the rear hatch where she linked to the cargo pods. Those had been two very well targeted shots. Somebody knew what they were doing over there. They just didn’t know enough to realize how deep they’d stepped into it.

Jack smiled and placed his left hand on the throttle and his right hand on the stick. He slammed the throttle forward, and four fusion torch drives sent them screaming towards the enemy freighter on tongues of blue flame. Their enemy recognized the danger too late, but Jack gritted his teeth as it launched far more missiles at him than a peaceful freighter had any business carrying around. But they’d already proven that they were no peaceful freighter.

****

The Gemini Affair is a short story written for An Atlas to Time, Space, and Bonfires. There’s a kickstarter for it right now in case your interested in seeing a couple dozen stories by different authors. And this one, of course. ?

An Atlas to Time, Space, and Bonfires Kickstarter