Gabatrix: The Pirates of Palora

Chapter 14: The Ambush of Paradiso Two Part 1

Five days would pass....

The Lifen's bridge carried a form of tension that filled the air. Even with the time allotted to prepare, the fact remained that Javier knew that this could be a battle that would end in everyone's lives. Perhaps the pirates wouldn't show up at all. Maybe they knew the Ajusco was just a trap.

The XO sat strapped to his main console seat in preparation for the maneuvers that were to take place. Shira wasn't going to be there to stand beside him. Her location was elsewhere. The same could be said for the rest of the marines that resided in the lower decks of the Lifen lander. The rest of the crew had assumed battle stations.

The gate ring in front of the Lifen was powering up. The spinning vortex was developing.

"Sir," Patterson reported from his console. "The Ajusco's distress beacon is fully active. Reports at least two ships closing in on her."

"Alright," Javier replied. "Marcelle, status of the gate?"

"About 15% completion and forming," she replied from her station.

Javier turned to look at Amelia. "I hope that door is working alright."

"I checked it twice, sir," the engineer replied from her station. "It'll work."

"Bridge to Hangar Deck," Javier called on the comms. "Are the missiles ready?"

"The missiles are ready to launch," Ramirez said.

Javier looked at the status of the Lifen. It was set in an unusual position where its rear engine thruster was pointing toward Valradena's gate ring. Technically, space didn't care how a ship traveled. As long as it didn't meet a solid object or a gravitational well, the Lifen was free to travel the way it wanted. It would be the only way the ship would be able to deploy its missiles without the threat of flooding the bay with fast-moving meteoroids.

"Marcelle, you ready for possible evasive maneuvers backwards?" Javier asked her.

"Don't worry, sir," Marcelle said with a smile. "The nice thing with these controls is that they're reversible. Our butt might as well be our face."

Patterson shook his head. "Our first actual battle, and we're heading in with our ass pointed at the bad guys," the officer said.

"Gate is at 25% and climbing. We'll be ready to fly in at about four minutes."

Javier looked over at Seaman Orlando. He was the least experienced of the bridge crew operating the weapons console beside Marcelle's station. However, the XO knew that the man was ready for this. Javier looked down, took a deep breath, and tapped the main communications panel. The ship's speakers activated on all decks.

"Attention, all onboard the Lifen," Javier said. "In about a few minutes, we will jump into Paradiso Two. The Ajusco is already under attack by two unknown vessels. It looks like the pirates have taken the bait. We will head in at our best acceleration and close into weapons range. I don't need to remind everyone that this won't be like the training drills. They'll either cut and run, or they'll try to engage us. The pirates may seem disorganized, but they've survived this long. We can't underestimate them, but I also know that all of you have worked your way up to this point. You've done an admirable job in past trials and even played a role in defeating a simulated Itrean attack fleet." The XO held back for a moment before finally saying it. "In the name of the UHN, let's kick some ass. All stations, I want your final status before we head in."

"Yeah....," Orlando said with a nod and smile while briefly looking at the XO.

"Flight deck, all systems green," Ramirez replied back on the console.