The Stinksoup Pirates
by Andrew Laye

Chapter 1: Briefing

    Captain Kyle Neekburn sat down at the conference room. He faced Admiral Bluntphang and Captain Quirk.
    "Captain Neekburn, Captain Quirk," the Admiral started, "I have a special assignment for you two. As you know, there have been recent attacks on our convoys by the 'Stinksoup Pirates'. I want both of you to escort a convoy carrying a very high powered reactor for a new space station".
    "Let me guess. We wait until the pirates show up, then we kick their butts, right?" Kyle asked.
    "Well.....yes," Bluntphang said.
    "That should be easy as Keronian pie with the Goliath. Why do we need Kyle's piece of scrap he calls a ship?" Quirk snapped. Kyle stood up.
    "Hey! The Simpson is a great ship! I know it's not as big and fast as yours, but I've never run from a good fight!" Kyle snapped back.
    "SHUT UP!" Bluntphang screamed "I won't have you two fighting on such and important mission! The Simpson will provide the Goliath with backup and support, as well as fighters."
    "Hey! It's not my fault the Goliath doesn't have a launch bay!" Quirk butted in.
    "If the pirates show up, you two take care of them. Got that?"
    "Yes Sir!" Kyle and Quirk responded at the same time.
    "Ha!" Kyle laughed and turned towards Quirk "Jinx! Got ya!"
    "Oh shut up." Quirk mumbled.

Chapter 2: The Battle of Peyuu

    The Simpson was a beautiful ship. It was one of those new Aries class Patrol Cruisers, but it was nothing compared to the huge wedge shaped Goliath that Captain Quirk commanded. The two ships hid in an asteroid field several parsecs from the Convoy. On the Goliath's Bridge, Quirk was flirting with one of the female crew members when his sensor officer turned and told him that some ships had come out of warp and were attacking the convoy.
    "All right, tell the Simpson to follow us in," Quirk turned to the weapons officer. "Set weapons to full power and arm shields. Mr. Blassforg, take us in." The navigator put the engines to full and they were away. Through the main view screen, Quirk could see the Simpson open its launch bay. About 15 fighters poured out and got in formation. A moment later, they were in the middle of the battle.
    "Sir!" the sensor officer yelled "I'm picking up 10 skullfighter on intercept course!"  The Goliath's 50 heavy laser cannons lanced out. In less than five seconds, 4 of the pirate fighters were destroyed. The rest broke off and engaged the Starcon fighters. The Simpson headed towards the 10 huge bulk freighters that made up the convoy. It positioned itself between the pirates and the ships. Captain Kyle Neekburn opened a channel to the Goliath.
    "Quirk!" he yelled into the microphone, "We'll make a barrier. If the fighters get any closer, let us handle them!" Quirk acknowledged. Suddenly, another group of ships appeared out of nowhere behind the Goliath. In one quick motion, they disabled its aft shields. The Goliath quickly rerouted more power the them. On the bridge, the Communications officer, Luke Highbutter, picked up a coded message coming from the Simpson. He alerted Quirk, and decided he would decode it after the battle. Soon, most of the pirate fighters were destroyed, and the convoy was safe. Suddenly, one of the fighters rammed the Goliath Bridge.
    "Damage Report!" Quirk ordered to engineering. Chief engineer Buzzuku came up on the intercom.
    "Extreme damage to sector 22-46!" Just then, all of the fighters decided it was time to leave, so they did.
    "Captain, are you OK?" Kyle asked.
    "Yeah, but I think we should go in for repairs." The head navigator set course the nearest Monolith Burger once they were sure the pirates were gone and the convoy was safe.

Chapter 3: The Plot Thickens

    Captain Quirk sat in his office. On the way to the Monolith Burger, Captain Kyle changed course for some reason. Quirk was enjoying his Jumbo Burger when suddenly, the Com Office, Luke, burst in. "Sir! I just decoded that message that we got during the battle! You really need to see this!" Luke Handed Quirk a sheet of No-Rip-Paper. It read:

Dear Captain Butpause,
I order you to pull off this instant! The Goliath is to powerful! The Crew and I will meet you at BOB STARBAR. We will discuss more raid plans there.
Your Commander,
Kyle Neekburm

    Quirk looked at Luke.
    "This s real?" he asked.
    "Yes. It came from the Simpson" Luke replied. Quirk swaggered on to the bridge. He showed the message to Admiral Bluntphang on the Com. Then the Goliath went into Warp.
    Kyle looked out the window of the Simpson's Command center. Off in the distance, BOBS STARBAR floated in space. Several skullfighters with the Stinksoup Pirates Logo on their hull were docked at the bar.
"Sir!" his sensor/communications officer said "The SCS Goliath is coming out of warp! Its ordering that we surrender and stand trial before the Starcon High Command! What should we do?" Kyle gripped his chair in anger.
    "They must have decoded our message! But if they want a fight, they'll get one," he turned to his weapons officer. "Arm all lasers! Raise shields! Launch all fighters!"

Chapter 4: The Final Battle

    Captain Quirk stared out the window of the Goliath's Bridge. Far in front of him, the SCS Simpson floated. The Goliath's first attack had given it some damage.
    "The Simpson is bringing its plasma cannons into range! Incoming fighters!" one of his officers yelled.
    "Fire forward Photonic Discharge guns at the Simpson, set the lasers for defensive. Arm the Xoton Torpedoes!" Quirk yelled. Four bright red beams shot out of the Goliath's forward hull. 50 hatches on its hull burst open, and laser turrets came into view. The Simpson pulled off, avoiding the P.D. cannons. A large hole appeared on its bottom, and 20 fighters glided out. Several skullfighters flew towards the Goliath from the Bar.
    "Were taking heavy fire, but the shields are taking most of it."
    "Keep firing!" Quirk commanded. He turned to Luke Highbutter. "Hail Starcon, tell them that we might need reinforcements," Luke did the rest.

    Kyle grabbed a handrail as his ship shuddered.
    "Shields holding at 37%" someone yelled.
    "Damage to sector 2-Q-6!" Alarms beeped all over the Bridge. The Goliath fired again. 3 torpedoes slammed into his ship.
    "Shields at 18%,"
    "Prepare for Warp speed" Kyle ordered.
    "Sir, our Warp Motivator is damaged!"
    "Well fix it!"
    "Aye sir,"

    Quirk sighed as the last of the fighters was destroyed.
    "Put lasers into Offensive mode! Go for the Simpson," he said while another blast shook him.
    "I'm registering warp signatures from the Simpson. It's trying to escape.....Wait," the sensor officer said,
    "What?" Quirk asked.
    "Another ship is coming out of warp. Its the SCS Lollypop! Its cutting off the pirates escape route." The Lollypop's plasma cannons hit the Simpson. A huge explosion appeared as its shields dissipated.
    "Its shields are down!"
    "Fire torpedoes," Quirk ordered. The torpedoes sailed towards the Simpson.

    Kyle gasped as the shields failed. He saw the torpedoes coming at his ship from all angles. He did a silent prayer as the hull collapsed and he was sucked out into space.

THE END

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