To Sit in Solemn Silence.
This voyage was starting to feel cursed, Ruth thought, looking back. Five minutes earlier the Hilarity had been calmly continuing her journey back to her home planet of Bognor when a blip had appeared in the ship's scanner. Looking at it, Zoe had discovered that they were being followed. There was no way of knowing why, but it didn't seem likely to be good news, and so they had accelerated off as fast as they could.
They had no wish to meet more pirates, or anything that might stop them reaching Bognor as quickly as possible. A two week journey had already taken three, and there was still a long way to go.
This voyage was starting to feel cursed, Ruth thought, looking back. Five minutes earlier the Hilarity had been calmly continuing her journey back to her home planet of Bognor when a blip had appeared in the ship's scanner. Looking at it, Zoe had discovered that they were being followed. There was no way of knowing why, but it didn't seem likely to be good news, and so they had accelerated off as fast as they could.
They had no wish to meet more pirates, or anything that might stop them reaching Bognor as quickly as possible. A two week journey had already taken three, and there was still a long way to go.
But it was no good. Their pursuers had accelerated too, and were already catching them up. Will and Zoe were peering closely at the image of the ship which was coming through from the Hilarity's scanners. It looked fast, sleek, dark, and somehow threatening.
"Pirates again?" Ernest had asked. Will shrugged his shoulders, while Zoe shook her head.
"I don't think so," she said. "It's too expensive looking, a vessel built for speed and stealth, not for carrying a lot of provisions and staying out in space for a long time, which is what you expect from a pirate."
"Then what could it be?" Tom asked. Will shrugged again. "Who knows? But somehow I don't think it's anything good."
It wasn't. The ship sped up and continued to gain on them until it was so close that the prospect of a collision began to worry Will. With the Hilarity's defence systems still not fully operational it was unlikely she would survive a collision intact. The black ship drew level.
"Look," Tom said, pointing. A small hatch had opened on the side of the ship and a figure emerged. It was followed by another, then a third. Soon there were five humanoid figures floating in space between the two ships. They were wearing what appeared to be black spacesuits and helmets, but the oxygen tanks on their backs seemed to Ruth to be far smaller than you would think sensible for a spacewalk- or in this case a spaceswim, as the five of them made their way towards the Hilarity.
"Astroninjas!" yelled Zoe suddenly, darting over to the control panel and pressing keys. "Quick, get the shields up!"
"It's no good," Will said desperately. "I've tried. The shields still aren't working properly. We can't stop them."
"Then we must get ready to fight," Zoe said, grabbing a firearm. WIll shook his head. The others looked on, afraid and uncomprehending. Who were these opponents, who had now almost reached the ship?
Will tried to hold Zoe back. "Don't be stupid! You can't fight astroninjas!"
"Are you going to give in without a fight?" Zoe said. "I'm not!"
"Who are they?" Ernest said.
"Mercenaries," Will said, trying futilely to swerve the ship away. The black ship shadowed the Hilarity's every move, and the floating black-clad humanoids were not delayed for long. One reached out and took hold of the outer door of the airlock.
"Think of your martial arts experts," Zoe said, "but in zero gravity." She crouched down in front of the airlock's inner doors and raised her weapon.
All five astroninjas were in the airlock now. Ruth and the others looked at them fearfully. Clad in black spacesuits that looked more like divers' wetsuits, Ruth thought they must be tough and well adapted to cope with low temperatures and all the other discomforts of spacewalking in something that offered so little protection.
"Zoe, you can't-" Will began but it was too late. The airlock's inner doors opened. They strode forward, walking as if there was gravity even though there was none. "You will surrender," the first one barked in a loud voice.
"Never!" yelled Zoe, firing. But before she even pulled the trigger all five had lept into the air. The foremost one did a double somersault above her head, kicking the gun from her hands during the first somersault, and sending her sprawling with a kick to the head on the second.
"Zoe!" Will cried, hurrying forward. She didn't reply- she was unconscious.
"So- do you surrender?" the astroninja said. He had drifted to the ground behind Will, and drawn a curved sword that reflected the flickering coloured lights from the bridge. The other astroninjas had spread themselves out around the sides of the room. Will looked up at him, an arm around his sister's limp body.
"We surrender," he said.
"I tried to stop her," Will said later, sitting on air next to the hammock they had put his sister in. Once again they were prisoners, locked in the green room upstairs. Zoe had woken up briefly, been sick, complained of a headache and gone back to sleep.
"She'll be ok," Emma said. "But who are these astroninjas? You said they weren't pirates. So why attack us?"
"They're mercenaries," Will explained. "Astroninjas train to be the ultimate space warriors. They can live for hours on only a small tank of oxygen, they can withstand huge extremes of temperature in their spacesuits, and they're the best low-gravity fighters in the galaxy. Either armed or unarmed, and they're not bad where there is gravity either. If you're just a private ship like us you really don't try fighting them, because it's just pointless."
"But what do they want with us?" Tom asked.
"Like I said, they're mercenaries. Anyone who wants a dirty job doing and can afford their prices hires them to do it. That'll be why they didn't fire on us- their ships are some of the best armed in the galaxy, they could destroy the Hilarity in seconds." He looked at Zoe again. "It must be because of us," he said. "With our father ill, there could be political chaos at home. One of the factions that are looking to take control could have given orders for our kidnap, hoping to use us to bargain with. Or perhaps they just want us out of the way. Something like that. I'm sorry, we've dragged you into something that's not your fault again."
The others looked at one another.
"You couldn't help it," Ruth said. "You didn't ask to be kidnapped."
"Now I know how you guys felt," he said, staring hopelessly out of the window as the ship, now under the control of the astroninjas, sped off away from Bognor.
The story continues...
It wasn't. The ship sped up and continued to gain on them until it was so close that the prospect of a collision began to worry Will. With the Hilarity's defence systems still not fully operational it was unlikely she would survive a collision intact. The black ship drew level.
"Look," Tom said, pointing. A small hatch had opened on the side of the ship and a figure emerged. It was followed by another, then a third. Soon there were five humanoid figures floating in space between the two ships. They were wearing what appeared to be black spacesuits and helmets, but the oxygen tanks on their backs seemed to Ruth to be far smaller than you would think sensible for a spacewalk- or in this case a spaceswim, as the five of them made their way towards the Hilarity.
"Astroninjas!" yelled Zoe suddenly, darting over to the control panel and pressing keys. "Quick, get the shields up!"
"It's no good," Will said desperately. "I've tried. The shields still aren't working properly. We can't stop them."
"Then we must get ready to fight," Zoe said, grabbing a firearm. WIll shook his head. The others looked on, afraid and uncomprehending. Who were these opponents, who had now almost reached the ship?
Will tried to hold Zoe back. "Don't be stupid! You can't fight astroninjas!"
"Are you going to give in without a fight?" Zoe said. "I'm not!"
"Who are they?" Ernest said.
"Mercenaries," Will said, trying futilely to swerve the ship away. The black ship shadowed the Hilarity's every move, and the floating black-clad humanoids were not delayed for long. One reached out and took hold of the outer door of the airlock.
"Think of your martial arts experts," Zoe said, "but in zero gravity." She crouched down in front of the airlock's inner doors and raised her weapon.
All five astroninjas were in the airlock now. Ruth and the others looked at them fearfully. Clad in black spacesuits that looked more like divers' wetsuits, Ruth thought they must be tough and well adapted to cope with low temperatures and all the other discomforts of spacewalking in something that offered so little protection.
"Zoe, you can't-" Will began but it was too late. The airlock's inner doors opened. They strode forward, walking as if there was gravity even though there was none. "You will surrender," the first one barked in a loud voice.
"Never!" yelled Zoe, firing. But before she even pulled the trigger all five had lept into the air. The foremost one did a double somersault above her head, kicking the gun from her hands during the first somersault, and sending her sprawling with a kick to the head on the second.
"Zoe!" Will cried, hurrying forward. She didn't reply- she was unconscious.
"So- do you surrender?" the astroninja said. He had drifted to the ground behind Will, and drawn a curved sword that reflected the flickering coloured lights from the bridge. The other astroninjas had spread themselves out around the sides of the room. Will looked up at him, an arm around his sister's limp body.
"We surrender," he said.
"I tried to stop her," Will said later, sitting on air next to the hammock they had put his sister in. Once again they were prisoners, locked in the green room upstairs. Zoe had woken up briefly, been sick, complained of a headache and gone back to sleep.
"She'll be ok," Emma said. "But who are these astroninjas? You said they weren't pirates. So why attack us?"
"They're mercenaries," Will explained. "Astroninjas train to be the ultimate space warriors. They can live for hours on only a small tank of oxygen, they can withstand huge extremes of temperature in their spacesuits, and they're the best low-gravity fighters in the galaxy. Either armed or unarmed, and they're not bad where there is gravity either. If you're just a private ship like us you really don't try fighting them, because it's just pointless."
"But what do they want with us?" Tom asked.
"Like I said, they're mercenaries. Anyone who wants a dirty job doing and can afford their prices hires them to do it. That'll be why they didn't fire on us- their ships are some of the best armed in the galaxy, they could destroy the Hilarity in seconds." He looked at Zoe again. "It must be because of us," he said. "With our father ill, there could be political chaos at home. One of the factions that are looking to take control could have given orders for our kidnap, hoping to use us to bargain with. Or perhaps they just want us out of the way. Something like that. I'm sorry, we've dragged you into something that's not your fault again."
The others looked at one another.
"You couldn't help it," Ruth said. "You didn't ask to be kidnapped."
"Now I know how you guys felt," he said, staring hopelessly out of the window as the ship, now under the control of the astroninjas, sped off away from Bognor.
The story continues...
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