Six months have passed since Caine and Jupiter settled down at the farmhouse as an unassuming married couple. Yet there are still some unhappy about their union and seek to destroy all they've built--together. Can this unlikely couple survive what's...
An alarm sounded onboard the bridge of the Aegis. "Captain!" Lieutenant Tomlin shouted from his station. "There's another signal emanating from the planet, and it's powering up."
"Scan it and confirm," Tsing demanded. "Is it a weapon?"
"The signature is different from the first, but it reads as plasma-based."
"Plasma? A Pulse Cannon!"
"It's powering up!"
"Phylo, deactivate all electrical systems onboard, except life support."
"Aye, captain."
"Hurry!" The weapon fired. It hit the ship, causing little damage and barely any movement.
Phylo checked his screen, reporting, "That was a direct hit to the stabilizers. We're drifting out of orbit, and into the planet's gravity well."
Tsing exhaled. "And that's how the rebels brought down Lord Titus's Space Cruiser."
"If we don't fix those stabilizers, we're next."
"Gemma, what's the status on the engine repairs?"
She listened to the internal com chatter. "Reports are coming now and... there's a coolant leak within engine three."
"Dammit!" The captain swore. "Can he keep us in the sky?"
Gemma listened closely to what was being said, then repeated, "The pulse weapon has knocked out the fire suppression system. At present, Lieutenant Scots has every man fighting the flames."
"Understood."
"Captain, the weapon is powering up again!" Tomlin exclaimed.
"Phylo, set a Warp Portal bubble," Tsing barked.
"To where Captain?" he asked.
"Nowhere. We're going to fight plasma, with plasma."
"Aye," Phylo activated it, surrounding the ship in an iridescent pearl of pure energy. The weapon fired. Its beam dissipated within the shielding. "No damage to the ship," he announced.
"Excellent. Gemma, what's this one's rate of fire?"
"About four minutes," she reported.
Tsing faced her second in command. "Mr. Phylo, turn that thing into a crater!"
He smirked. "With Pleasure."
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"What?" Jupiter shouted. "No!"
The captain turned to the queen's sim companion. "Bob. Get Her Majesty to an escape pod! Now!"
"Yes, captain." Bob reached to take Jupiter by the hand.
