— 6 —
On the bridge of the Inverness the officers and crew watch with horror as the blips representing Golden State, Windemere, and Charleston wink out. Whatever is out there is either tough or lucky. And good men have died.
"Shit!" Emerald mutters, then issues the command. "Chase it down. Course change for Discovered Check and the five escorts in the Check's sector. Pull back the tugs, move in the cruiser Brooksville. Blast the shit out of it."
The seven vessels go through the slow process of deceleration, course adjustment, and blastoff. The pirate tries to radio someone ahead, but the ECM officer nods, smiling: jammed. The revenging ships overtake the pirate and unload their firepower and anger. The pirate has turned to escape and has therefore effectively disarmed itself, as its forward guns are the only powerful weapons it carries. Soon there remain only the USJ ships and an expanding sphere of space debris. But precious time has been lost, as well as men and vital firepower. It is already 0230.
Mark off 2 1/2 hours on your time chart.
Subtract 2 points from the entire fleet's Morale Value.
Turn to section 8.