Chapter 4-Capture the Flag (sort of)



Ducky sat back. She had persuaded Copper to go her bedroom, and to let her take over.

She loved piloting, and was good at it. "Ducky?" Grath poked his head around the corner.

"Y'want a copilot?" Ducky grinned. "I didn't know you could fly, Grathie," she said.

"GRATHIE? I can fly, though. Huh. Pretty sophisticated compared to some of what I've

flown before," he added. Ducky nodded. "Kazooie bein' difficult?" she asked

sympathetically. "Nah, just bein' himself," he sighed. He slumped into the chair. "Which

means ridiculous. Where're we headed?" "Tubelectric, Sector #314." "Sounds good to

me," he commented. "I hear they've got great Nuts and Bolts Snacks." "No, just

frenchfries," she quipped. Then he looked at her questioningly. "Really, though, Ducky,

why are we going there? I mean, what's there that attracts Copper and Shinyso so

much?" "No turtles, I suspect," Ducky said absently. "Tubelectric isn't under Devan."

Suddenly, Ducky and Grath were jolted as the Assassin jerked and bucked. "Whoa! What

the heck is goin' on?" Grath yelled. Ducky growled something in response. "Darn

turtle-spawn! They've swiped us again!" Grath stared at Ducky. "Wow, I didn't know you

were capable of such name calling, Ducky! Who is that?" Ducky growled again as she

fought to keep the ship under control. "Dunno, but buckle up! I need Coppertop!" Grath

nodded, and sprinted down the hall to get Copper as the lurching ship sped up. "C'mon,

Copper! Get out here!" Coppertop was strapping on her blaster and Shale when Grath

called. She raced out the door and motioned for him to lead on. The Assassin righted

itself suddenly, and they sped away from their attacker. "How fast can this thing go?"

Grath hollered. "Just below lightspeed! We'll escape in good condition, but I wanna show

these dolts that no-one messes with me!" She ran down the hall to the cockpit, and

mounted the torpedoes and heat-seekers. Then she wheeled the Assassin around and

flashed back the way they had fled.



Claw gripped the controls in determination as the black warship turned. This was gonna

be harder than he'd thought, but the Vortex Crawler was pretty good. Kroys IS payin'

alot if I get this job finished, he thought grimly. But money ain't gonna do me anythin' if

I don't get back in one piece. His attention was snagged by the black ship firing. He

pulled the Vortex Crawler to one side, but the lasers followed. Heat-seekers! Darn, he

thought. He'd have to lose them, and if these were the caliber that he thought, he had

a job ahead. He peeled off, and headed for the Belt of Saghan, about 5 miles behind him.

The black ship persued, and now he could see the name-plate. Assassin! Not many had

tangled with that ship and lived. Another mercenary, the pilot Coppertop had a

reputation for hard play and no mercy. She'd follow him to the end of the galaxy and

further if he fled. Well, he had a knack of choosing his own fights, and he'd gotten

himself in deep. But he'd faced worse. A flash behind him showed that the ship had fired

on him again; torpedoes this time. He wrenched the Vortex Crawler around and returned

fire, but the Assassin dodged and sped down. She's a better pilot than I'd thought, he

reflected. Suddenly the Vortex Crawler shuddered, and he realized he'd been hit. A

glance at the damage bar alarmed him, for the ship had taken more damage than he'd

counted on.

A flash of green caught his eye, and Claw turned to deal with this new foe. That was a

mistake. The Assassin fired again, and the warning sign flashed. Enough, he decided,

money isn't as important as my own skin. Kroys can go to conquer the galaxy on his

own. He turned his crippled ship around and flashed the 'surrender' signal, and was

relived when the Assassin pulled off. Then the Vortex Crawler shuddered again, and he

saw the Assassin draw closer. He had been caught in a tractor beam!

A bay door opened on the side of the ship, and the Vortex Crawler was jolted as it was

drawn inside. Then it slowed and stopped, and a slight bump showed the landing. He

heard the sealed cockpit door open, and then he saw three rabbits standing by the

door, waiting. One could only be Coppertop, he could tell by the nochalant way she

leaned against the doorpost with her arms crossed, watching him. He didn't know the

other two, but he had a feeling he was about to find out what Copper had in mind for

him. . .