Jonny gasped. His own barge had come out of warp just short of the carnage and the scanners showed seven blips; Reavers. There were never this many at the belt. He fumbled about at the controls to his pod.
"Tai" he shouted into the coms "...what the hell is happening?"Static was the only response and he quickly auto-launched his entire bay of hammers.
"God, please don't be too late" he uttered with a deathly tone.
The drones streaked toward the cloud of reaver ships, unleashing fire and vengence just as the coms burst into life.
"...Jonny, that you?" came a crackled voice. "Shields gone... Lost plating too... trying to warp....".
"Hang in there darlin" he barked, trying to sound calm. He knew her barge was beginning to break up, she hadn't got long. He watched with panic as his own drones fell under attack, the first vaporizing in seconds. A wash of fear swept over him as he realised it wasn't just Tai in trouble here.
"Damn you reaver bastards!" he shouted "Not today!"
With a sudden flare, the retriever's engines fired up. The ship entered warp. She was safe away.
The reaver vessels, robbed of their pickings, altered course; directly for him. Several violent impacts on the hull made his decision easier; he abandoned the hammers and slammed his hand down on the warp controls. He needed a few seconds, time that would be bought with his expensive drone contingent.
"Warp, dammit!"
The emergency alarm sounded as the shields failed. He felt the ancient hull creak as several missiles exploded against the armor plating. Jonny was not a god-fearing man, but he found himself praying silently. It was like an eternity before the ship lurched, the drives firing up and the warp tunnel formed.
He sat back in the capsule chair and took a deep breath, his heart still pounding.
"not today.." he whispered
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