RidOv Chpt-17

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==Ridiculously Overboard!! (A Captain Roberts Tale!!)Chapter 17 - Unusual Rescuer==
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Larry Nichols was...
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...looking into the face of a lifetime of bad decisions that led him to this god-foresaken system, under attack by the Sons of Plunder, a bandit group he'd made the mistake of carrying an arms deal for.
Larry had done a LOT of foolish things in his career. From a drunken involvement with the daughter of a noble in the Federated Suns that cost him his commission, to bankrupting his family and losing a landhold buying a ship, to registering that ship in the Outworlds Alliance in order to rook his note, to agreeing to a deal with people who often kill their business partners rather than pay their bills.
Case in point, today. Today is not a good day for Larry Nichols. His manifold sins and mistakes were coming down, and there was nothing he could do-not even escape.
He couldn't even have his people abandon ship, because nobody lives out here and the Sons-a pastiche of broken merc units fleeing the Jihad only a generation ago, they weren't looking to recruit.
Then, the Pirates' Leopard CV exploded only a few thousand Kilometers off his port bow.
One of their Unions was next, and it was like he could see the harsh line of the Naval Laser slicing the spherical DropShip down the middle like a grapefruit,right before THAT ship's fuel bunkers erupted.
The third one, and the fighters his guys were failing to repel?
Well, the third one tried to turn, and was carved in a spiral...
Finally! The damned pirates who'd already taken his cargo and set out to kill his people?
Their JumpShip was carved down the spine, blowing helium tanks and splitting the jump core.
"Snow Ravens?" Lori asked, hoping.
"I don't know..."
The bandit fighters turned on their assailant, and Larry brought up telescopic.
"Is that..?"
"That's a... dude, that's a Bonaventure and she's got Outworlds Alliance Colors!"
"I didn't think any of those even still existed...never mind in OWA colors. Didn't they make a treaty with the Snow Ravens, shouldn't that be a Snow Raven boat?" Sam asked.
"I don't know..."
The corvette's smaller guns lit up the skies as she went from thrusting, to drifting.
The Lasers lanced out, making a triangle on one of the bandit Stukas, followed by the bandits' Chippewa.
Both popped like soap bubbles.
"hailing signal from the warship."
"Put it on." Larry said.
"I am the GREAT PIRATE ROBERTS!! you will all stand down Before MY MIGHT!!"
'Shit. Frying pan, meet fire." Larry groaned. "Anybody heard of this...kid?"
"Kid?"
"Either a preteen boy, or a teenage girl, you can tell by her tone. Anybody?"
'We're gonna die..."
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