Page 21 of Pact with the Alien Devil

“Now,” I said.

Korvan fired. Our ship shuddered with the discharge. The blast caught the lead scavenger ship square in its underside. Just as Korvan predicted, its weapons faltered for a brief moment. But that moment was all we needed.

I slammed the ship into a full-power turn that would have torn apart a lesser vessel, using a massive chunk of hull plating for cover.

“Again,” I ordered, and Korvan fired a second time.

This shot hit one of the fuel lines. Not enough to destroy the scavenger ship, but enough to damage it severely. It began to drift, belching flames and debris.

“One down,” I muttered.

The other two ships broke formation, suddenly more cautious. They spread out, trying to catch us in crossfire.

I wove through the debris field, my hands moving on instinct. Korvan and I settled into a rhythm without speaking—him adjusting power outputs and firing weapons as I piloted, anticipating each other’s moves before they happened.

It was unnerving how well we worked together.

“They’re trying to herd us toward that derelict freighter,” Korvan observed as we dodged another volley.

I saw it too. “They think we’ll get trapped between the hull sections.”

“But we won’t.”

I grinned despite myself. “No. We won’t.”

I banked the ship toward the derelict freighter, making it look like their plan was working. The scavenger ships followed eagerly, closing the distance.

“Ready to invert?” I asked.

Korvan nodded. “Weapons hot.”

I waited until the last possible second, then executed a maneuver that sent us scraping along the freighter’s hull before flipping completely around. The sudden reversal caught the scavengers off guard. They tried to adjust but collided with a section of floating debris.

“Now!”

Korvan fired three quick bursts. The first disabled one ship’s propulsion system. The second took out the other’s weapons array. The third was a warning shot across their bow.

“Impressive,” he said.

A rush of heat spread across my skin. The rush of the fight, the close quarters. That’s all it was.

One of the scavenger ships was retreating, limping away with a damaged engine. The other held position, likely assessing whether we were worth the trouble.

“They’re receiving a transmission,” Korvan said, monitoring the comm frequencies.

“Can you intercept it?”

“No need. They’re leaving.”

Sure enough, the remaining scavenger ship was turning away, following its damaged companion.

I released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. My shoulders ached from tension. I slumped back in my seat as the proximity alarms finally silenced.

The sudden quiet felt almost oppressive.

“You’re good,” Korvan said after a long moment.

I glanced at him, too tired for my usual snappy comeback. “I know.”

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