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PREVIOUSLY: The only thing the pirates learned from confronting Red Klaw's agent, Laurine, is that he is not aboard the marine space station. Now, with the whole station after them, their only escape is on WHISPER...
It is a long tense moment while WHISPER'S engines warm up. As systems come online, soft lights around the bridge turn on. One by one, dim safety lights light up the stairs in front of the captain's chair. They illuminate a path down to the gunnery deck, then on into the pilot's cockpit. A warm glow comes from the cockpit, the systems are now active everywhere.
Val watches the stair lights come up curiously, wondering what's down there. But he doesn't have time to find out now, they have to get away from the station before the marines rip a hole through this magnificent ship. He fires up the engines, "Get ready!" He warns the others.
Fay and May cling to their seats at the navigation and engineering stations. Rue and Garr move to grab onto the railing that runs along the front half of the upper deck.
Inside the station's docking bay, General Goddard steps over the commanding officer's headless body. He barks orders at the troops flooding around him. "Get a welder down here on the double. I want every available pilot in the launch tubes now! Make sure they have the visors!
"Dubaal! Take Hannon back to the ship, tell the pilot to start the engines, we'll take that prototype back ourselves if we have to! You, where is the command center?"
A lowly marine nods nervously. "Th-this way." Goddard follows him back into the station.
Marines cram into the access tube to WHISPER, Laurine pushes against the flow, out of the tube. She secures her gun back into its hiding place under her jacket. Without a word to anyone, she stalks off the docking bay. She hurries to the private landing pad hidden at the top of the station where her own ship is.
Outside the docking bay WHISPER'S engines rumble up to full power, it doesn't look like much as heat waves ripple off the back edges of her invisible wings. Val angles the ship so that her nose points down and away from the station.
When he has a clear shot he guns the engine! They twist and jerk; the torque rips through the access tube tethering them to the station. Hapless marines spill out into space as WHISPER jumps away from the station.
Half of the access tube still clings to WHISPER'S belly. With the naked eye that's all that betrays her presence. It bounces back and forth as the ship comes to a jarring stop.
On the bridge everyone slams forward. Val nearly tumbles out of the captain's chair. "I thought you said you could fly this thing!" Fay snaps angrily at him.
"Lady, I can fly anything!" He snaps back, forgetting for the moment that she could kill him in the blink of an eye. "But that doesn't mean I was born with the control lay out for this ship already on my head!"
She doesn't respond, taking his outburst for what it is, nervous frustration.
"Why, are we stopping?" Rue asks carefully as Val tries to sort out the controls.
"The hyperspace engines on this ship aren’t like anything I've seen before, I'm not exactly sure..." He trails off as he looks down the stairs. "I wonder..."
He hops out of the captain's chair and trots down into the cockpit. The others watch him curiously. They can't see the station behind them, but they all know marines in fighter ships will soon be speeding after them.
The cockpit is breath taking; it's a glass bubble on the very tip of the ship. It's as if you were floating freely in space. There is a very comfortable looking chair in the center of the bubble surrounded by controls. Everything is well within arm's reach for some one exactly Val's size. With multiple controls at his hands and feet, it's apparent this was designed with his species in mind.
For a moment Val just stares at the cockpit in awe. Behind him the others come down the stairs to peer over his shoulder. They are impressed, Val looks back at them and grins! He's home.
He slips easily into the pilot's seat and pulls on the safety harness. He touches the controls, the ship gently pitches and yaws at his slightest touch. From here the engine configuration is much easier for him to read. "Okay, I think it's gonna' take a moment for the hyper drive engine to come online, you guys might want to man the guns." He tells the others.
"Okay...?" Rue prompts, not exactly sure how to do that.
"Yeah, ah, the seats along the window up there? Sit down and stick your arms in the tubes, there should be a trigger inside." Val explains as he turns the ship around to face the station. "Let's see what this thing can do!"
Fighter ships are already pouring out of the space station. The others hurry back up the stairs to the gunnery seats. As they sit down and put their arms into the firing tubes, the seats automatically slide forward close to the window. The view is almost as complete as in the cockpit. Inside the tubes there is a solid handle to grasp and a distinct trigger button, the tubes help move the cannons in sync with the gunner's arms.
The fighters stream toward them, with their visors the pilots can easily track WHISPER. Val loops the ship around in a tight arc, he throttles up the engines for a run at the fast approaching marines. Rue and the girls let loose a barrage of cannon fire. Garr struggles to fit his large arms into the average sized firing tube. He manages to get a shot off every now and again.
With the remains of the access tube dangling from the bottom of WHISPER they are easy to spot with the naked eye. Val slips the large ship around them so quickly they can't get a clear shot on her. Her cannon fire rips the fighters to shreds.
From the cockpit Val lets out a hoot of excitement, this is awesome!
They speed through the onslaught of fighters toward the station--guns blazing. Val dives close to the station while WHISPER'S cannons tear massive chunks out of it.
Fighters struggle to keep up. Despite her larger size Val switches direction to and fro easily, keeping them away from the bulk of the fighter fire. The shots that do hit, bounce harmlessly off the shields.
From the top of the station a sleek, mean looking ship streaks out of a hidden hanger bay. It's Laurine, she too wears one of the visors. She curves around after WHISPER and angrily pushes her ship to full throttle behind the stolen stealth battle cruiser.
In the command center lights flash and alarms scream. Goddard barks orders as marines scramble to follow them. He's furious that these pirates have stolen his ship, although he can't help but be impressed at the demonstration of her power. "Dubaal! Get out there and get my ship back!" He shouts into his com.
In the main hanger bay the General's transport lifts up and moves toward the open hanger doors. As their ship heads out to join the battle, WHISPER arcs around the station toward them. Laurine is still behind them, barely matching their every move, she is getting closer.
At WHISPER'S gunnery stations, Rue sees his busted old ship still clinging to the side of the station.
"Hit the ship, it should seal off the hanger!" Val calls up from the cockpit.
Rue hesitates, he and that ship have been through a lot together...
Garr leans into his firing tubes and unleashes the full furry of WHISPER'S cannons on the old ship. The explosion is spectacular! Not only is the hanger bay sealed off in flames and debris, but several of the fighter launch tubes are completely wrecked.
Rue looks at Garr a little surprised at the outburst of emotion. Garr just shrugs.
Val steers WHISPER quickly away from the explosion. "Okay hang on everybody!" He punches the hyper drive.
Laurine is almost underneath them as WHISPER'S tail coils up, then SNAPS out behind her with a massive surge of energy! There is a flash of light and they are both gone...