Read Martial Law 1: Patriotic Treason for Free Online

Alien contact would have been the sensation of the millennium.
     
    “No response, sir,” Muna said. She seemed to hesitate. “I’m sure they can hear us, sir; they’re just choosing not to reply.”
     
    “Understood,” the Captain said. “Attempt to raise the freighter and assess their situation.” He looked over at the tactical console. “Lieutenant Hatchet, fire a warning shot.”
     
    “Aye, sir,” Lieutenant Hatchet said. It hadn’t surprised us to discover that she was the ranking tactical officer as well as the First Lieutenant. Mere Ensigns were not allowed to touch the tactical console except under strict supervision. “Missile away, sir.”
     
    The starship shook slightly as the missile launched, racing towards the enemy ship at a speed no human could stand, even with the most advanced compensators in the galaxy. The missiles weren't as bad a threat as the space operas made them out to be – anyone could see them coming and point defence lasers could take them out pretty quickly – but they drew a line in the sand. The pirate would have to know, now, that the Captain was serious. I found myself making a mental bet. Would they take out the missile with their point defence, assuming they had any point defence, or would they allow it to pass them and detonate harmlessly a few thousand kilometres from their position?
     
    “Enemy ship has engaged the missile,” Lieutenant Hatchet said, a moment later. I watched as the missile icon vanished from the display. “They have destroyed the missile.”
     
    “Helm, close to engagement range,” the Captain ordered. “Lieutenant Hatchet, you are authorised to engage with lasers at will.”
     
    “Aye, sir,” I said. We had been moving directly towards the pirate ship, but now I ramped up the drive and pushed us forward on a collusion course. The pirate would have to be blind to miss our approach now and if they didn’t move, they would be rammed, unless we altered course ourselves. I hadn’t realised how slow and stately space combat actually was until I’d spent hours in the simulators. “Five minutes to prime engagement range.”
     
    The pirate ship seemed to alter course slightly, spinning away from its prey. “They’ve seen us,” Roger exclaimed. “They’ve locked on.”
     
    “Report,” the Captain said. There was a hint of reproof in his tone. “Calmly, if possible.”
     
    Roger sounded embarrassed and I didn’t blame him. He’d probably earned a demerit at least for that unprofessional report. “They just swept us with targeting sensors, sir,” Roger said, carefully. “They’re locking on to us with their fire control.”
     
    “Charge point defence lasers, prepare to engage,” the Captain said, calmly. “Lieutenant…”
     
    “Opening fire, sir,” Lieutenant Hatchet said. The lights dimmed slightly as the starship’s power was diverted towards the laser cannons. The pirate drive field would interdict as much as possible, but a constant bombardment would eventually overload the drive field and send the starship out of control. “Enemy ship is engaging with missiles. Point defence systems online and engaging enemy forces at will.”
     
    I watched as two missiles launched from the pirate ship. The sight puzzled me for a moment. Was it my imagination, or were the pirate missiles moving faster than the standard missiles we carried? They were still picked off by the point defence, but it was apparent that the missiles were heavily armoured against laser fire. One of them got far too close before it was burned to nothing. I saw the Captain exchange a long glance with Lieutenant Hatchet, their faces unreadable, before she redoubled her efforts and continued to burn away at the pirate ship.
     
    “Stay with him,” the Captain ordered, as the pirate ship continued to move away. I kept us right on his tail, despite a growing number of missiles being fired at us. I wondered why the Captain wasn't ordering us to engage with our