[b][u]Space near Dacyira[/b][/u] [b]PIRATE TERRITORY[/b] --- [i]"Primary systems green, Mercury-126 has cleared the second Moon without navigational error. Setting calibrations for FTL drive, all hands prep for passage into light speed."[/i] A simple announcement that might seem commonplace on any simple transport vessel, outgoing from Dacyira with a shipment of basic ores and materials. Yet all the same, there was one group of people listening who took great interest in it. The captain of the vessel had no idea what he had done by transmitting this message, as his simple on-board computers could do nothing to alert him of the hidden enemy, listening in on his communications. A few moments pass with only the occasional noise of computers and chatter between the crew, when suddenly, a single light flickers. It was not a particularly ominous or frightening light, just an ordinary one that indicated communications were incoming. Thinking that it was a message from the planet, perhaps some sort of go-ahead for FTL travel, the Captain presses down on the gently glowing button, calling for silence in the bridge as he quickly fixes up his hair for video communication. Suddenly, a face appears on the screen of the Captain's computer, but it wasn't even close to the face he had been expecting. It was the face of a girl. "Yohooo? This is Captain Integra~ speaking! Captain of the Mercury-126, that transport vessel right there...yes, you! We should be showing up on your radar riiiiight...now!" As if on cue, one of the technicians let out an audible gasp, panicking at the sight of what was approaching on his radar monitors. He begins stammering something out, but is promptly interrupted by "Captain Integra". "So anyways, we're here to steal your cargo. Your goods or your life, and such. Although, we'll be grabbing your goods anyways, so you might as well just surrender. See you soon!" As abruptly as it arrived, the communications line closes. The bridge is silent for a few moments while the crew and captain take in what they had just heard, but pretty soon there was no way they could keep silent. One of the technicians, who had been watching the radar vigorously since the pirate ship had appeared, suddenly let out a cry. [i]"S-Sir! They're charging their weapons at us!"[/i] --- [b]Meanwhile, on the Little Princess...[/b] --- "Well, how did I do Pluto? Was I ferocious enough? Do you think I struck fear into their hearts?" [i]"No, Captain, I'm quite certain that it was the cannons that frightened them, not the little girl winking at them over their com line."[/i] If Integra was disappointed by this revelation, she didn't show it. Instead, she laughs loudly at the whole thing, before redirecting her attention to the monitors in front of her. Magnified on screen was "Mercury-126", a transport vessel that they had barely caught trying to pass out of their territory. At first, they had assumed it was just any ordinary transport shuttle, bringing resources out from the mining colonies on Dacyira. However, as she had just heard from Pluto, there was something about these readings that was abnormal. This transport ship was armed. Now, that isn't to say that transport vessels were always unarmed, but it seemed strange to go to such lengths to protect a shipment of petty ore, as it seemed they were carrying. So here they were, leaving their hiding spot behind the moon to descend upon their poor, oblivious victim from above [i](relatively speaking)[/i]. At Integra's orders, their weapons were fully charged and targeting the enemy's engines, to prevent them from escaping at lightspeed. Integra takes in a deep breath, letting her excitement from before calm down as she prepared to give her next command- "Fire on their Engines with the primary guns, take them out before they can try to escape!" Her voice was steady and decisive, a tone that the men had grown to expect from the daughter of [i]that person[/i]. With a unified cheer from the weapons crew, a large indicator appears on Integra's screen, showing her the results of her orders. The main guns had fired flawlessly, carving a brilliant line through the dark sky as they accurately ripped through the Mercury's engines. She could see where the great beams had torn through their target's hull, breaching the vulnerable areas around the engines and disabling them completely. There was another cheer from the weapons crew, this time accompanied by cries of [i]"Direct hit!"[/i], [i]"Nailed 'em!"[/i] and [i]"Yahtzee!"[/i] One person, a woman apparently in her early thirties, looks up from her monitor and calls up to their Captain- [i]"Captain! The enemy is attempting to hail us, but we've jammed their communications!"[/i] "Very good, inform the crew that we are to board momentarily. Weapons crew, use the precision laser to take out the enemy's turrets! Helmsman, bring us into boarding range! Somebody open communications with Lieutenant Lonning, tell him that he and his boys can strip whatever they want from the ship once we've boarded. I want us out of that junk in an hour, tops, before the chumps back at home realize what's going on!" The operation continued as planned, despite the on board resistance. The first pirates to board had been in for a shock, as what they had assumed to be a defenceless transport crew had an organized security force, ready to repel their attack every inch of the way. With a little bit of hacking, however, the crew of the Little Princess managed to subdue the security force with few losses, and quickly took control of the ship. This wouldn't be the last surprise ol' Mercury-126 had for them, however, as they would find out when they finally reached the cargo bay to find- "Ummm...hey Pluto, this isn't Iron, is it?" [i]"No, Captain, I don't believe it is."[/i]