Pay Me, Bug!

Chapter 02

WHEREIN Our Hero, Noting the Woods' Triumphant Return, Desperately Casts About for an Axe

"Centurion is hailing us," Morgan reported.

"Damn the Centurion!" Grif snarled. "Ktk, engines! Morgan, get me the SL Beacon. Better yet, get me one of those warships!"

Grif felt a sudden release as the grav plates deactivated, then a slight tug above and aft from the Centurion's gravlock. That cut away as the nullifier plates kicked in, preventing the gravitational pull of the beam from crossing the hull into the ship.

Over the intercom, Ktk reported that it was a bad idea to try and push the fusion drive at this point in time.

"I don't care if it's a bad idea," Grif said. "Until we're presented with a good idea, we're going to go with the only idea I have at the moment. Get on it!"

"This isn't fair," Doma whimpered.

"For once," Grif said, "I agree with you."

They no longer felt the initial jolt of the gravlock, but the tactical display showed that the Fool's Errand was slowly being pulled toward the much larger ship. Ktk announced, somewhat reluctantly, that it had managed to boost the fusion drive, and Grif wasted no time.

"Get ready for a rough ride," Grif said. "Amys, I need slingshot patterns now." He keyed in a command and the ship shuddered as her engines opened up.

Escaping a gravlock wasn't an easy process, but it was possible. Unlike planetary gravity, which came from a source so much larger than a ship that precision wasn't necessary, a gravlock was a single beam that was aimed at its target. When the target moved, the beam had to follow, and if the pilot was creative enough it was possible to use the gravlock as a slingshot to increase the force and speed of a ship to break free of the artificial gravity well. It was a difficult and risky maneuver, but the more power a ship had to put into it the better its chances.

Grif saw a flash of blinding white energy streak across his viewplate. "They just fired a warning shot," Morgan announced.

"How do you know it was a warning?" Grif was only half-aware of what he was saying as he set in the courses Amys fed him. "They could just be really bad at it..."

"No, they sent a message saying 'That was a warning shot. We encourage you to answer our hail.'"

"I don't want to talk to them! I want to talk to the Tylaris warships!" Grif uttered a few choice curses against the Centurion as he saw warning lights flash on his console. Ktk was right; pushing the fusion drives had been a bad idea. They wouldn't last long. He abandoned his attempt to escape the gravlock, and settled for resisting its pull just long enough think of something else.

Even if we got out of the gravlock we wouldn't be in any condition to fight. If those bastards from the Barony would just--

"One of the warships has responded to our hail," Morgan announced.

"Put it through!" Grif ordered. I hereby rescind and apologize for any comments or insinuations I may have made concerning your familial status.

A small screen on Grif's station blinked, and the image of a heavyset man in the green-and-gold uniform of the Tylaris Royal Navy appeared.

"Captain Vindh, yes?" The man stared at Grif politely through the screen.

"Captain," Grif said, "we are in desperate need of assistance here."

The captain nodded gravely. "What is the nature of your emergency?"