Legroeder answered, Nothing I can explain easily. But it’s the lightning and thunder. Somehow I have a sense—
Before he could finish, there was another flash, like heat lightning in the clouds ahead of them. As he listened to the rumble of thunder, he felt that there was something not quite natural in the sound. He felt the recognition as a tightness in his chest. To the left and astern, he saw a fleck of darkness moving against the underside of a cloud. His stomach dropped. Mother of stars…
Legroeder, Palagren said, what are you sensing? It does not seem—
Legroeder interrupted. It’s behind us, port side and thirty degrees above! Prepare for attack. This is it!
He felt Palagren’s puzzlement as he sent the message on to the captain. The Narseil didn’t feel his certainty; but then, they had never rigged with pirates. Expect a lot of light, and a lot of—
I hear it. Coming now—! Palagren called.
A second later: B-D-DOOM-M-M! B-D-DOOM-M-M!
The sound crashed through the net with a dissonant rumble, as if reverberating from all directions at once, a hundred echoes arriving out of synch with each other. The Narseil riggers looked jarred and confused—too many inputs funneling through the tessa’chron. Legroeder called, This is the beginning of an attack! Don’t let it shake you!
Palagren, recovering, called back, I’m all right. Captain, we are under attack!
Audio attack only, so far, Legroeder added. No sign of weapons fire yet.
Very well, came Ho’Sung’s voice. Let’s act like victims, until we determine their intentions. His voice became more distant, probably directed elsewhere on the bridge. Let’s have that hail ready.
Act confused but don’t be confused, Legroeder thought.
B-D-DOOM-M-M! B-D-DOOM-M-M! B-D-DOOM-M-M-M!
The reverberations shook the net, making it harder to steer a level course. They were hitting turbulence, as waves of sound crashed over them like a pounding surf. The fleck of darkness that Legroeder had spotted was gone. It was impossible now to localize the direction of the sounds.
The pattern was familiar enough to Legroeder—did all raider bands use similar tactics?—but it also felt different enough to reassure him that this pirate ship was from an outpost other than DeNoble. It was not his former captors.
The captain’s voice rang through the net: All weapons and stations are on full alert. Is the attacking vessel in sight?
Palagren answered, Not yet. Legroeder—do you see it?
Negative. He’d lost it in the clouds. The pirates could make their approach from any of a dozen directions. The terrain of the Flux was so convoluted here, the number of places to lurk almost limitless.
Sending our hail now, Ho’Sung said.
A moment later, a recorded voice echoed into the Flux. THIS IS NARSEIL STARLINER H’ZZARRELIK. PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELVES. REPEAT, PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELVES. The message repeated, in five different languages.
Legroeder waited, holding his breath.
B-D-DOOM-M-M! B-D-DOOM-M-M!
The sounds were growing louder and more frightening. Legroeder shut his eyes, trying to suppress the memories of countless raids that were welling up in his mind. He felt himself begin to shake. He thought of all those weapons hidden within H’zzarrelik’s structure and imagined them coming to life. He thought of the weapons carried by the pirate ship, and began to shake harder. He had never gotten used to combat, and his stomach was knotted. (Calm… calm…) he whispered to himself.
// Use an image to quiet yourself, // one of the implants suggested, vibrating to life. It offered an image of waves lapping on a shore.
He seized on it gratefully; even as more thunder shook the net, he felt his trembling abate slightly. He scanned the shifting mists of cloud. There it is! he shouted, spotting a flicker of light ahead of them and off to the left.
Moving this way, said Palagren.
The object turned toward them with a flare, and accelerated toward the Narseil ship with remarkable speed—either riding a powerful sideways draft of turbulence, or using internal fusors to drive it across the streams of the Flux. As it flew toward them, a great curtain of red fire lit up the clouds behind it. The fire grew into an enormous canopy of flame spreading outward and forward like great outstretched wings. In the space of half a minute, it curled around H’zzarrelik as though to engulf them. It seemed to shout a warning: Fire… death… destruction…
Steady, Legroeder murmured. It’s just an effect. Slow and steady as we wait. His heart was pounding, and he had to remind himself that the effects were not nearly as powerful as they seemed. Their greatest power was to frighten.
The thunder was now an incessant din… DOOM-M-M… DOOM-M-M!… making it hard to think or communicate. The Narseil crew and Legroeder kept H’zzarrelik on a steady course, turning neither to flee nor to attack. Steady, steady, like an unarmed ship…
With a blast of static, the net suddenly came alive with a yammering of voices, crying in a cacophony: SURRENDER! SURRENDER! THERE IS NO ESCAPE! THERE IS ONLY DOOM-M-M… DOOM-M-M… DOOM-M-M! From the clouds there came an enormous, rumbling thunder like the sound of a tornado passing; and the nose of the oncoming ship spat half a dozen bursts of neutraser fire, which lit up the clouds on all sides of H’zzarrelik with dazzling green light.
Multiple thunderclaps followed each of the firebursts. The net of the Narseil ship shook and sizzled with energy. Legroeder gritted his teeth. If one of those bursts had truly connected with H’zzarrelik, they might all be gone now in a blaze of energy. But the pirates didn’t come out to destroy; they were here to capture, to pillage.
Legroeder, what’s your assessment? Ho’Sung asked quietly through the net.
Legroeder drew a harsh breath. Captain, I don’t think they’re out here to talk. They’re trying to frighten us into submission. This is a standard attack pattern. And damned effective, even against those who knew the strategy for what it was.
You don’t believe this is a pretense? Ho’Sung asked.
Hell no, I—
Protect yourselves! cried Palagren.
Their words were cut off by the flare and crackle of a fresh neutraser burst, directly in front of H’zzarrelik’s bow. Fire blazed through the net. Legroeder cried out in pain. It felt as if they had passed through a wall of fire. The Narseil net was sputtering and crackling with energy. It took several seconds for the energy to dissipate, leaving the net tight and sluggish. That was more than a warning shot; it was intended to disable.
The pirate ship was coming into full view now. It was a menacing-looking frigate—not the largest Legroeder had ever seen, but powerful enough to challenge even a naval cruiser. Ripples of fire danced through her net, outlining the ship, and flashing at node points that probably represented the positions of her riggers. Legroeder imagined the crew of H’zzarrelik targeting those rigger-stations with their concealed weapons, and for an instant, he felt a pang. Those riggers who were attacking him—how many of them were captives as he had been? He drew a sharp breath and forced the thought away.