Hassan and Jorg

Jorg was overwhelmed and nearing exhaustion. It had taken them nearly three hours to walk the short distance to the dwelling of Malik Khattab from the Lam Spacedock, although the word walk was not correct. Pushed, pulled, might be more appropriate, for hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic people had gathered to greet them on their return. All Jorg could see were happy, smiling - often ecstatic, sometimes tearful - faces: of men, young and old, bearded and unbearded, of children of all ages, of women who were mostly swathed in black with a headscarf to cover their hair. Jorg had found himself being embraced by complete strangers, and his right hand, arm and wrist ached from the hundreds of hundreds of handshakes he had been given. One very elderly man, his back bent from age and illness and his eyes full of tears, had even kissed Jorg's hand.

The learned scholar they had rescued from Earth had tried to briefly speak to the crowd, but his words were unheard except by the few of the huddled, tightly-packed throng around them, and a semblance of order was only restored when, over two hours after their landing, over a dozen men in military uniforms - all smiling - surrounded Jorg, the scholar, Hassan and Malik and slowly - very slowly - ushered them through the tumultuous crowd.

Jorg had never experienced anything like this, and he was pleased when they finally reached a cool flower-scented courtyard in Malik's dwelling. But even there a small crowd greeted them until Malik, with the help of two soldiers, gently gestured for them all to leave. They did, except one: a young woman, swathed in the traditional black with a scarf covering her hair, who stood by one of the fountains intently staring at Jorg. He turned, saw her and for a few seconds they stood looking at each other until she lowered her head to swiftly move out of sight.

Then Jorg was being thanked by the learned scholar they had rescued, with Hassan translating his words. Jorg heard them both speaking, but the words seemed far away, and he was about to say something in response when a soldier entered the courtyard, spoke briefly to Malik, and left.

Malik conveyed the expected news of the quickly approaching Earth invasion force. Then, speaking to Jorg, he said:

"I expect you will wish to leave as soon as possible. For Eridani."

"Well, " Jorg replied, still overwhelmed by the crowd scenes but most of all by the beauty of the young woman's face, "maybe I can help. I've got an idea."

"Yes?"

"Maybe I can persuade some members of our Guild to fight against EarthForce."

"Well - "

"I know it's a wild idea, but I'd like to try. You could surely use any allies you can get."

"That is most certainly true."

"So, I take it I can take the Siwa?"

"Most certainly!" Malik replied. "It is your ship, now."

"Just checking!" He turned toward Hassan. "I expect you've got other things to do."

Before replying, Hassan looked at Malik, who smiled, and nodded his head in answer to the unspoken question. "In your ship?" Hassan asked Jorg.

"Sure!"

"If I may interrupt, " Malik said. "Hassan, there is another ship available, should you wish to use it. Although the Khan 2 is an old ship, it's recently been modified. Synchron-drive, of course."

Hassan was amazed. "But isn't that your own vessel?" Hassan knew it was: a veteran of earlier Lam-Earth conflicts.

"I'm needed here. So, that is settled then. I shall make all the necessary arrangements."
 

The flight to the Space Pirate port in the Eridani system was uneventful, except for the constant space chatter on most communication channels concerning the advancing Earth forces, and the imminent invasion of Lam.

The Khan 2 was an impressive ship: space black and five times the size of the Siwa with superior weapons. Designed for at least a crew of three - not to mention a troop of Space Marines - Hassan was fully occupied in piloting and monitoring it. He had not expected to be offered any crew, and was not, for he knew all available personnel would be needed to staff the fleet of starships and fighters which would soon be dispatched to defend Lam. Desperate times, he knew: a thought which blunted his pride in piloting Lam's most renowned starship.
 

In complete contrast to Lam Spacedock, the docking facilities on Eridani 3 were large, and apparently chaotic. Ships landed and ascended without any permission, often weaving out of each other's way at the last moment. There was also no central control or even security of any kind, and the gangways, gantries, and numerous landing pads and loading bays seemed haphazadly placed, which indeed they were, having been built when needed and wherever possible. In addition, almost half of one side of the Spacedock was given over to facilities for rest and recreation, it being well-known that most kinds of recreation - forbidden or illegal elsewhere and especially on Earth - were available, which undoubtedly accounted for the noise, mayhem and hundreds of people who, gathered in groups, or alone, thronged in, out and around the various establishments densely packed together behind a vast open concourse seething with people every hour of the planet's thirty-hour day.
 

Outside the Spacedock, it was raining, as it often did on Eridani 3: droplets of purple-black rain bringing back to the ground the often noxious material spewed regularly forth from the many active volcanoes and land-ruptures which riddled the planet.

Whatever Hassan had imagined or expected would happen on their arrival, it was not what actually did. Jorg stood in the centre of the concourse, atop a small metallized container, and fired the blast rifle he was carrying, several times. A small crowd gathered, which steadily enlarged.

"Most of you know me, " Jorg said in what Hassan found was a surprisingly loud and resonant voice. "You - Nils," and he pointed at a large, muscular man, whose face was festooned with tattoos. "And you - Deneb, scourge of the Ponderlings."

Deneb laughed, showing her Khursum-capped sharpened canine teeth. Most people near to her also laughed, some out of nervousness. For she had a fearsome reputation as a fighter, which reputation her shaved head, military style clothing and grim if beautiful green eyes certainly enhanced. Not to mention the two blast pistols she always carried, in holsters hung from a waist belt, and the small fighting sword slung over her back.

"As you all know, EarthForce is heading our way."

"No they're not!" someone shouted. "They're going to Lam."

"Yes, Lam first. Do you really expect them to stop there? Do you really expect the authoritarian government of Earth to let us continue to trade in the manner we have become accustomed to?

"Have any of you being watching their news channels recently? The statements about 'making Space safe for ordinary citizens'? EarthForce wants all this," and he dramatically gestured toward the landing bays behind him. "

"What's your point?" someone else shouted.

"We join forces with Lam and fight EarthForce. You - Nils: you're always going on about wanting to fight, large-scale. Well, here's your chance!"

"It's not our problem," someone said. "Let those Lamian lamies fight their own battle."

"Don't you understand? It will be our problem, and soon."

"There's nothing in it for us," the first objector said.

"Yes there is! If we help them, they will help us. Synchron-drive mean anything to you? Now, how would it be if you all got ships with them? Imagine the difference! Imagine the trade, the profit, the possibilities! You all know Lam, its people. We may not trust each other - at least not much! - but you can trust them."

"Just suppose, " Deneb said, "some of us agree. What's your plan?"

"Join up with the Lam forces - now! Wait for the Earth invasion fleet; ambush them. Start battle. Simple really. So, it's warriors this way: cowards and the tame to stay here." He stared intently at Deneb, and then at Nils. "I take it you two won't be staying here then."

Deneb slowly walked toward him, her face betraying no emotion. The whole crowd waited, expectant. Then she laughed and in one swift movement pulled him down from his makeshift podium and briefly embraced him. Then she laughed again. And most of the crowd laughed too, or cheered, or made not quite human noises.

Deneb turned round, and addressed the crowd. "Get word out that we're going. EarthForce is our enemy, well all know that. As Flyer Jorg said, warriors this way; cowards stay here!"

"You'll have to marry her, now!" Nils joked as most of the crowd dispersed to follow Jorg and Deneb toward the docking bays.

Quickly, Hassan caught up with Jorg. "About what you said - "

"Ah yes. I shall leave that in your capable hands. You can securely contact you friend, Malik, I presume?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"But - "

"Only option."

"Maybe. By the way - Ponderlings?"

"Ah yes! One of those recreation places back there. She only goes there to pick a fight. Your type of woman, maybe!"

Hassan smiled, awkwardly and tried not to look at Deneb. He failed. She was slightly ahead now of Jorg and seemingly eager to get to her ship.

The small Pirate fleet was soon on its way, although - once in Space - it took nearly an hour for the Pirates to agree among themselves which way, and where, they should go and what tactics they should use once they were within range of the invasion force. Everyone on the small Pirate fleet of seventeen ships had their own opinion, and Hassan, although initially amused by this, was beginning to get slightly annoyed. Twice he had tried to get them to use secure communication channels, and twice he was ignored. So they argued, and he was about to turn them all off to watch the latest news broadcasts from Earth when Deneb's face appeared on one of his communication screens.

"Now listen here, you lot!" she shouted, grim-faced again. Instantly, the ship to ship chatter stopped. "No debate! We follow Flyer Jorg. Only way this is going to work! Every battle force needs a chief. Anyone who does not like this - " and she paused, for what seemed a long time but it was only a few seconds - " can go back now." Then she smiled. " Although if he fails us, he'll have me to answer to!"

Hassan saw some of the Pirates smile, and heard some faint laughter. "You got that, Hassan?" she said directly to him. "Bet you were getting a bit worried there, right?"

"No," he lied. Again he tried to avoid looking at her.

"I'm switching over to secure," she said. "Sending you the codes now."

"Got them. Secured. Go ahead."

"You've made the arrangements then?" she asked.

"Synchron-drive ships?"

"Yes."

"The deal is agreed."

"Superb! Heard about your fighting prowess, by the way."

Hassan was surprised. "Really?"

"Few secrets in Space."

"So it would seem."

"We'll get together - you and me - when we get back," Deneb said.

"Yes," he said, without thinking, and was about to correct himself when she closed the comlink.

He thought of calling her, then decided against it; then changed his mind, then changed it again. He settled the matter by switching links to watch the broadcast from PlanetEarth News.

 
"Today's news is brought to you by MarsCorp: Developers of the Mare Sirenum Homesteads. Dreamt about starting a new life? Well, now you can, courtesy of MarsCorp.

"Breaking news: the President of EarthGov speaking at the FiftySecond Conference held in memory of the victims of the Alexandria massacre, said that those terrorists intent on destabilizing Earth and its allies would not succeed."

"Fellow Citizens of Earth. Today may well be a turning point in our history. As Earth President I have today issued a Presidential order authorizing our military forces to take whatever action they consider necessary to find those responsible for the recent attacks on Earth.

"In the latest terrorist incident, a military base in the Egyptian Protectorate was attacked by off-world terrorists. Over one hundred and thirty military personnel were killed. The terrorists responsible escaped back to their base on the planet Lam where they were accorded a hero's welcome by the Khattab regime.

"We must be under illusions. Our very way of life is under attack. The people responsible for these attacks must know that they will find no hiding place. We will hunt them down, wherever they are, and bring them to justice."

Angry, Hassan turned the broadcast off. He had no time to dwell on the matter further.
 

"Warning. Hostile ships on intercept. Weapons lock detected. Warning. Hostile ships on intercept. Weapons lock detected."

His scanner confirmed the alarm and he opened a comlink to Jorg. "EarthForce recon ships," he said to Jorg.

"I know. Four in total. No, make that five."

"They're slowing."

"They're no match for all of us," Jorg said, and smiled.

"Seems they agree. They're heading back. Anything on your distance sensors?"

"Not yet. Guess we've lost the element of surprise."

Hassan thought of making a comment about secure communications but - knowing the defiant individuality of the Pirates - decided to keep quiet. He was calculating the time to intercept of the Earth invasion fleet, based on their last known position, when his own distance sensor alarm sounded. Jorg was the first to respond, calling on all the Pirate fleet to switch to secure communications, which - to Hassan's surprise - they did.

"Right," Jorg said using an open secure comlink to the small band of Pirate ships, "they know we're coming. I'm sending the attack plan. May Fortune favour us."

"Looks like, " Hassan said to Jorg, "they've got a few reinforcements since we engaged them last. I count 23 Intercept class fighters, 3 Empire Destroyer Class, 5 Class 2 Troop Transports. Not to mention the 15 Fighter Attack class and 8 Heavy Cruisers."

"My kind of odds! You ready? And did you remember to reprogram your ship?"

"Yes. InshaAllah. Engaging synchron-drive - now!"

The Siwa and the Khan2 quickly left the small Pirate fleet behind, and it was only a few moments before they were close to their prey.
 

"Weapons lock detected. Khan2 within weapons range of EarthForce vessels in sixteen Earth seconds, our flight time."

"All navigation controls reset for manual control."

"Warning, " Khan2 replied, " disengaging ship gravitational field is not a recognized procedure."

"Ship gravitational field disengaged.  Khan2 now within weapons range of EarthForce vessels"

Wave upon wave of enemy fire came toward them, from all directions, but to no avail, prompting the return of the Fighters and Interceptors, and Hassan hardly had time to target his weapons and launch his disrupters at the large Earth vessels so engaged was he in avoiding their weapons fire.

Then the Pirates joined the battle. Ship chasing ship. StarCanon after StarCanon firing. Ship-seeking Disrupters seeking targets to destroy. Disrupters to evade. Counter-measures launched, with disrupters destroyed in brilliant, multi-coloured displays that illuminated the dark ships twisting, turning, accelerating. Calm, on-board automated alarms; human sighs, cries of relief, victory. And within it all, human death, EarthForce and Pirate.

Hassan was in trouble. Five EarthForce ships - three Fighters and two Interceptors - had targeted and locked onto him. Whatever he did, they pursued, relentlessly, forming their attack patterns in an attempt to trap him, anticipating as they did his own pattern of attack and evasion. Even his superior velocity seemed to be working against him, for one or more of the ships would seem to withdraw only to move to where they expected his next acceleration would take him. His only option seemed to be to attack them one by one, but even this failed. They were learning fast, twisting, decelerating, forming defensive patterns that left him open to attack if he closed close enough to target one of them and lock his own weapons.
 

Suddenly, his ship spiralled out of control, hit by a burst of EarthForce fire.

"Warning. Helm control lost."

But Hassan was adrift, and could only watch, and listen, as the Khan2 sailed helplessly and fastly away from the battle. No one, nothing, followed. Once, twice, he heard Deneb shout a warning, and once he thought he heard Jorg's voice among the babble of voices, as he saw one section of one of the Earth Destroyers explode to leave the whole vessel tumbling, tumbling and spewing debris into Space. He watched as - at last - the ships from Lam joined the battle, and explosion and implosion, one after the other, signalled the death of another ship whose Space-cold memorial fragments would endure for thousands upon thousands of years, drifting as they would through the almost empty darkness. Twice, three times, he tried to communicate, with Jorg, Deneb - anyone - and twice, three times, he failed. Only his life-support seemed to function correctly, and the ships' momentum had carried it far away from the now invisible battle when he began the task of trying to restore some sort of communication or helm-control.

But he was no engineer, and he was wondering what to do next when a still functioning alarm sounded.
 

"Warning. Hostile vessel on intercept course. Weapons lock detected."

He remembered nothing else, and awoke to find himself lying on the bare floor of a brightly lit bare room composed from some sort of metallized material he did not recognize.
 

There was nothing left to do but leave. The battle had been ferocious, and deadly, but the Pirates - and even the fast ships of Lam - were no match for the heavily armed Earth Cruisers. Not one of the attacking forces got close, so dense and accurate was their returning fire. And Earth re-inforcements kept arriving. One, two, four Fighters destroyed, and two would arrive to replace them, launched by a heavily protected Imperial Carrier safely distant from the battle. Neither the Pirates nor the Lam forces had any reserves.

It had become clear to Jorg, even before the few Lam ships that remained announced their departure, that the Pirates must retreat. Or rather, what remained of them. Jorg counted five ships and he did not expect the invasion Fleet to follow them as they did not. Instead, they carried on toward Lam to face what he felt must surely be a desperate attempt to stop their invasion. For a moment, he thought of his new friend Malik Khattab, then of the beautiful young woman he had seen in the courtyard, and then of Hassan, scouring the massive battle debris with sensor probes for any traces of Hassan's ship. But it was a hopeless task, with so much advanced technology reduced to shattered fragments, large and small. He scanned ahead and around for the slight traces made by an synchron-drive ship but could find only those heading back toward Lam and contented himself with believing Hassan was there, among the few Lam ships heading back toward their home. Several times he sent a coded message to the Khan2 and each time there was no reply.

He, like the other survivors, did not want to talk and the five remaining Pirate ships made their quiet way back to the Spacedock on Eridani 3. There, there would be questions, he knew, and accusations, and he, expecting the worst, made sure when he landed that his blast pistol was fully charged and ready. They were waiting for him, as he disembarked: Nils, Deneb, Loz and Lacus. Behind them, on the concourse, a crowd was already forming and he caught sight of several people holding blast rifles.

But before he reached them the sound and sight of five other ships landing caused everyone - Jorg included - to turn around. His concern they were EarthForce ships, somehow undetected by him and others, dissolved the moment he saw them. Everyone waited, expectant, for their pilots to disembark.
 

"You must be Jorg Nansen,"  the tall, bearded leader of the group said. He, like his companions, wore the green military uniform of Lam.

"Yes, I am."

"I am Hussain and those - " he gestured toward the sleek, black synchron-drive ships, "are for you."

"Me?"

"Our bargain with you. You remember your deal with our leader, Malik Khattab?"

"Yes, yes of course. But the invasion. Won't you need them?"

"A word of honour is a word of honour." Unexpectedly, he turned toward what had become a large crowd. "These, " and he gestured toward where Jorg was standing beside Nils and Deneb, "are brave people. Warriors. Stories shall be told about the deeds they did today." Then turning back toward Jorg, he said, "Now, if you will excuse us, we must get back. Our leader has asked me to convey to you our sincerest thanks, and our apologies that he could not offer you more ships. But considering the circumstances, I am sure you understand."

"Yes, of course."

"Here, " Hussain said as he handed Jorg several data-crystals, "are the activation codes. Now, I must return."

A sixth ship had landed and the other Lam pilots walked toward it.

"And Hassan?" Jorg asked Hussain. "Any news? I presume he went back to Lam."

"No, we have not heard from him."  Hussain turned to go.

"May Fortune favour you."

Hassan smiled, said something in reply that Jorg could not hear, and rejoined his companions.

"What do we do now," Nils asked as the ship departed.

"I for one," Loz said, "am taking my ship and getting out of here."

"And I," said Lacus, "am taking mine to the highest bidder."

"Would that be EarthForce, by any small chance?" Deneb asked, stepping between the two men. Lacus was slightly taller than her, but not as grim-faced, and in imitation of the Earth Pirates of legend, wore a large gold earring as well as a colourful bandana. In contrast, Loz was shorter but more muscular and had been known, on occasion, to smile. Both, like most of the Space Pirates, carried blast rifles.

"Any objection?" Lacus said.

"Yes!"

"I've earned it!" Lacus replied. "I can do what I like with it." Slowly, he unslung his blast rifle from his shoulder.

"True," Deneb said. "But if you do that, I'll  kill you."

Lacus laughed, but it was a strained, nervous laugh.

"And," Jorg interrupted, "if she doesn't, I will."

Lacus looked briefly at Jorg, then at Deneb, whose right hand was poised above one of her blast pistols.

"Hey, come on!" Loz said as he stepped between Deneb and Lacus. Turning toward Jorg he said, "What's the objection?"

"EarthForce!" Deneb replied, almost spitting the words out.

"There are just, " Jorg said, "some people you do not deal with, especially after what happened today."
 
 "Yeah, whatever you say," Loz replied, trying to smile first at Jorg and Deneb, and then at Lacus. "We won't, but we sure are getting out of here. Aren't we Lacus?"

Lacus was already walking toward one of the black synchron-drive ships, and Jorg did not have to say anything for Deneb to understand what he meant. She looked at Jorg for a second before slightly nodding her head in silent agreement to his thought.