Chapter 7

The outer door opened Logan peeked out to see that the transport's door was closed. Ebony had chosen the docking door instead of the airlock so that the boarders would only have to worry about getting through one door. Logan grasped his PDWs and slowly stepped into the small corridor between the two ships. As he fully exposed himself, the far door was flung open and several AK-47s filled the corridor with bullets.

Logan dropped to the ground firing, glad that armour-piercing rounds were not widely available; he had felt at least twelve impacts on his torso and three on his helmet. He wasn't sure about his arms and legs. Behind him, he heard the sound of several automatic weapons as the girls returned fire. Logan fired until his guns emptied and then reloaded them, grabbing a stun grenade while he was at it.

"Girls, I'm about to throw a stunner, get ready," Logan said over his radio.

"We're ready," Christine replied. Logan waited for the fire from the transport's side to slacken off before he lobbed the grenade through the door. It exploded a second later and Logan was grateful that combat armour was hardened against stunners. He got to his feet and with Christine right behind him, advanced on the transport.

Logan jumped through the door and dropped into a firing stance facing down the corridor towards the bow of the transport, Christine doing the same for the other direction.

"Clear," Logan said when he saw no one moving and seven bodies on the ground, two with bullet holes in them.

"Clear," said Christine behind him.

"Airlock secured. Double time it girls," Logan said and a second later, Danielle and Ling were at his side. "Christine, with me, Engineering first." Christine nodded and they started off towards the stern. They cleared out four empty cabins on the way.

Entering Engineering, Logan swept the room and finding no one, turned to leave. Just as he did, something moved out of the corner of his eye and he found himself being knocked to the floor. As Logan grappled with his assailant, Christine charged at five others, throwing her guns away and drawing a pair of knives. What followed was the scariest thing Logan had ever seen.

Christine dived at her adversaries and stabbed one on them through the throat as she impacted him. Finding her feet, she swung out and sliced another's throat clean open before she threw her knife at Logan's attacker, imbedding it in the back of his head. Using her other knife she killed her third by stabbing up into his head.

Leaving the knife where it was, she ran at the last two and in a complex jump, flip and twist that Logan thought impossible for a human, grabbed one with her hands and the other with her feet and twisted around, all three flying through the air. As she released them and landed on her feet, the two pirates landed on the ground in a heap, their necks clearly broken.

Logan rolled the body off of him and stood to face Christine. He couldn't see her eyes but just looking at her, he could feel the killing intent in her. She just stood there, as if waiting for the next attacker.

"Thank you Christine," Logan said and it was as if something changed then. Christine completely relaxed and looked around.

"We still have the bridge to clear," she said and set about retrieving her knives and guns. Logan mentally shrugged and did the same. Once both were rearmed, the set off back towards the bow.

Passing the airlock, they informed Danielle and Ling of the six dead pirates in Engineering leaving out the details. He did notice that the five still living pirates here had been secured with cuffs. Without further pause, Logan and Christine continued on towards the Bridge.

The cleared out a further two cabins on the way, killing a further five pirates, bringing the total to 18 dead or captured. That left possibly another seven on the bridge. They had found the bodies of five crewmembers on the way, which left possibly five more on the bridge. The passenger complement, if any, was unknown. They would have to be very careful; the remaining pirates had to know that they had been boarded.

As soon as the door to the bridge opened, Christine and Logan went through with guns raised; they were met by seven pirates covering one man that appeared to be the captain and four women who were bound and kneeling on the floor.

"You move and they die," said the largest of the pirates, waving his gun over the captives to make his point. Both Christine and Logan said nothing, preferring to remain faceless and silent. This did not help the pirate's mood. "You destroyed my ship, killed nearly all my crew, either on my ship or here and now you are going to surrender. I will take your ship and these captives and leave you here to die."