One Roll Of The Dice...part 1

[Witchking]

One Roll of the Dice
part 1

“Event Horizon” lurched drunkenly to port, Geiger’s head smacked into the bulkhead and he shook it to clear the sparks that danced in front of his eyes. This was not good, not good at all. Outside the plasma bolts slammed into the shields with increasing ferocity, followed by the electronic hiss as the energy dissipated across the grid, at least the shields seemed to be holding, for now but a quick glance at the rear monitor revealed the Mandelay veering away, as the Bayamon drifted into view and lined up to attack. S***, it looked like it was packing PSG’s and if they opened up while he was in range it was game over.

Geiger threw himself over to starboard, hauling the control column with both hands, willing the ship into a tighter turn, he started jinking, trying every evasive manoeuvre he could think of, but each time, any distance gained, would quickly be reversed as the Bayamon slipped back in on his tail and closed the gap between them. Without pausing to consider the consequences, Geiger slammed on the reverse thrusters and held his breath as the Bayamon screamed past him it’s lower nacelle passing within inches of his cockpit.

He switched on the afterburner and slammed back into his seat, thanking the fates that he had purchased the upgrade before he got into the card game on the Pirate Station. Up ahead the nebula beckoned, the shadowy outlines of massive asteroids drifting in and out of view. With some luck, he’d be able to lose them in here and as long as he didn’t run into a Khaak Cluster there was a chance, a small chance that he might live to enjoy the proceeds from his winnings, tucked safely in his cargo hold was 20 units of weed he’d won from the pilot of the Bayamon, who was right now desperately trying to close the gap behind him.

It was going to be close, damn close. The afterburners had shut down and the pirates would be upon him before he could use them again. The Mandelay was closing fast, already firing, although it’s shots were going wide, too wide to be accidental. The plasma bolts slammed into a medium-sized Asteroid dead ahead knocking off several large chunks of rock that spun crazily directly into Geiger’s path. Brace for impact, klaxons went off, warning strobes kicked on, the ship stopped dead and screamed while Geiger was thrown violently forward against his harness, all the air was knocked out of his body.

“Shields 40%…….Strafe Drive damaged….” Droned the computer. Sparks flew from the damaged panel as current arced across the controls shorting out dials and switches. A pall of smoke drifted through the cabin. Consciousness returned, as did the remorseless thud of PAC fire striking the grid. “Shields 20%…….Ecliptic Projector Destroyed”. Geiger tried to clear his head, ignore the pain in his side, and assess the damage to his ship all at once. It felt like he’d dinged a couple of ribs but that was the least of his worries right now. “Shields Critical…..Hull 86%”. He finally got it moving again, although something was wrong, no healthy ship would make sounds like this one was making. He targeted the Mandelay and launched a couple of Mosquito’s to keep it busy and moved deeper into the nebula.

The Clouds closed in around him, comforting, yet claustrophobic at the same time. The pirates couldn’t see him but he couldn’t see them either. Up ahead a massive asteroid appeared momentarily, pock marked and scarred from millennia of collisions, a deep crater, which looked large enough, to hide in appeared as the rock slowly rotated in front of him. Targeting a smaller asteroid nearby, Geiger launched the last of his mosquitoes and jettisoned his emergency flotsam pack, a collection of junk, spare parts and a couple of units of whiskey. Enough to convince his pursuers? Maybe, if lady luck smiled on him twice this tazura. As the missiles exploded against the asteroid, he nursed the Event Horizon into the darkness of the crater to wait and see if this gamble would pay off.

Chapter 2

[Witchking]

27 views and no comments thanx for the support people

[veelad]

I read it

so

get on with it man

does his ploy of acting like a hunted submarine work, he's gonna have to be quiet, or they will hear him in a very quiet universe (rig for silent running)

[Hans Vandebos]

muhahahaha

tell yer pilot to look out for space worms in them craters on asteroids...

May the force be with you, and plz keep on writing this story...

[xxl_and]

I think tou should continue...

[Malcolm (Cyteen)]

Interesting ploy, jetesoning cargo to detract the incoming death. I like. Please continue Im intrigued to know what will happen to this dude. Why the fight after a fair gamble? Something in the weed?

Cyteen out

[Soulrage3]

Wicked beginning. Moooooooooorree.

[veelad]

OY WITCHKING....WAKE UP

[Witchking]

OY WITCHKING....WAKE UP

alright already, my muse has temporarily abandoned me mid-sentence, I'm currently chasing it around the house when I catch it I'll get back to you

[FourFingers]

hope ya catch that darn pesky muse and get back to the next chapter!

I'm hoping ya and RJV carry on this flip side story thing ya have started, it is definately interesting idea..

Lets hope the nebula is the right choice and not one of them damn hull eating ones!

[Witchking]

Thanks for all the comments so far everyone below is some cover art for the story


[ external image ]

[Gnavpot]

27 views and no comments thanx for the support people

I might buy it when it comes in paperback.

Well, I might even buy it earlier than that, but for some reason only the paperback versions of books in English make their way to Denmark.

[Sagan]

<cough> Part 2 Please <cough>