Lather's six ships
shot through the sphere of guard ships without being detected or even
shot it, but none of the freighters had exploded. Lather cursed when he
saw that the damage he had inflicted was not crippling.
The Space Command warships were immediately aware of the attack and
began to scatter the freighters by remote control. Some freighters
decelerated, others accelerated, still others moved away from the
center. Now the pirates would have a more difficult challenge to
destroy the NME ships.
As his fleet circled, Lather waited to see what Bolcher's ships would
do. He knew where Bolcher was supposed to be but could not communicate
with him without revealing his position to the warships of Space
Command. Lather could only watch the screen.
Suddenly one of the freighters exploded into incandescent fury. The
detonation destroyed the two freighters closest to the one that
Bolcher's ship had hit. Within seconds a fourth freighter erupted into
flame as its fuel system ignited. The three remaining freighters began
to weave in a random pattern, and the Space Command warships began to
close in, reducing the window of access to the center of the field.
Crass' ships began to zoom toward the remaining freighters, laser
cannons ready. Being the most experienced pilot, Crass was confident
that his team could eliminate the last three ships.
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