Planatae

Targets

Captain Aurrum stood at the Andromeda's helm, with only Erin by his side. He'd worked contracts with the government before, but most of his dealings had always been with stuffy, soft-faced bureaucrats who spent their days wrestling with logistics.

Dr. Ademas was not the first military official who'd stepped on his ship, but there was a tough, weathered edge to her that went beyond the physical presence of your common soldier.

She was a scientist, for Ironsides' sakes, and yet she stared the fighters down, cool as anything.

He did feel for the kid, though. He'd looked stricken by the idea that they were under threat, which was understandable. He'd stumbled out of here with one of his new 'guests' like something undead.

"If you want to go check on your kid, I can hold things down here," he ventured.

Erin's eyes flickered to him, then back to the view.

"Thank you, but I'm sure he just needs some space to calm down. I need to be here in case there's a development."

Sure, leave your kid with a stranger you picked up at a black market station - but then what did he know about children? Aurrum was a die-hard bachelor, and intended to keep it that way.

Then he shook his head with a bout of annoyance. What was he even thinking about right now? They were about to be under attack.

Things weren't so dire as to be jettisoning from the ship, though. These fighters, whatever model they were, surely weren't the latest designs used by the galaxy's bigger factions. Erin was right - they looked a lot like pirate craft in form. The only difference was that unlike the roving bands typically seen, this squad had a cohesive shape and coloration.

"Alright then," Aurrum began pulling from long-ago experiences he hadn't thought about in years, from a time when he was a small-time trader.

"I'm guessing that the main threat here are the fighters. The core ship was probably just a way to get them all here using a single jumper - they're probably nothing more than simple thrusters on the thing. If we can get to Alto II-"

He was interrupted by a flash of light from the view as the nearest fighter took its first shot at the Andromeda. The ballistic projectile went high as his ship banked, still far enough ahead that they could easily dodge. Still, he had to bellow to keep the peace on the bridge, as frantic technicians reacted to the attack.

"Do we have any fighters?"

"No," Aurrrum answered between orders. "This is still a pleasure craft."

"Weapons?"

"Yes. Shields too. We can still put up a fight." Aurrum entered the feed, calling for a team to head to the Andromeda's aft weapons system. The bridge crew rushed to raise the ship's shield layer; a web of energy not unlike the barrier on Oynx that would disperse a measure of kinetic energy from impact.

He also singled out one of the techs on a balcony above, ordering the woman to send out an S.O.S. to the settlement they were currently on a direct trajectory towards: a resort complex owned by Aquatime Corp.

She complied, and Aurrum couldn't help but wince at what he'd just done. The place was little better than a glorified hotel, and he was bringing a battle to their doorstep, knowing they were legally bound to offer support. But he knew the stakes when Erin had approached him for the job, and so he'd long-past decided he'd do whatever was needed.

With that done, Aurrum focused on their weapons stock. The Andromeda had been outfitted with a under-the-table assortment of military weaponry: two high-powered missile weapons on the fore and aft of the ship, and a single, slow-firing railgun that was operated from the center of the ship. Useless against the fast-moving fighters, he'd have to lean on the expertise of his crew in nailing the squadron with a barrage of missiles. The shields would hold, hopefully. If not, the original infrastructure of the Andromeda had been altered to create individual pockets of space throughout the ship. If a section was compromised, they would just section it off and hope for the best - and that everyone could get out in time.