Author’s Warning: This story is non-erotic ‘pure’ Sci-Fi, although it may tie-in with the ‘Sex in Space’ series of ebooks in future…
Phoenix. An insignificant white dot moving against a backdrop of stars and nebulae. Alone in the void. Untold riches. Waiting to be plundered. Drifting lazily at the very edge of known space. Vulnerable. Almost inviting attention.
Other, darker dots appear from the curtains of charged particles and ribboned energy. Converging. A loosely co-ordinated movement. Confident. Phoenix responds. Lumbering onto a course which takes her away from the dots. But they are faster. A silent chase across the stars. Hopeless.
Energy beams cut through the void. Searching, connecting with the slender curves of Phoenix’s hull. Alloys boil into space: savage scars. Again and again the attackers come, edging closer and closer to the nearby star. An explosion briefly lights the dust clouds and Phoenix tumbles. Over and over, twisting with residual spin. Mortally wounded, falling to her doom in the near-by star.
A larger dot shows itself. Moving with eager anticipation to the stricken ship. Capture; to take possession of what is left. Closing quickly. Without caution; for what is there to fear?
Phoenix ignites. Her white hull boiling into space as she drops towards her death. Her pursuer approaches with more haste. Not noticing the subtle change of attitude. The hunger for resources is blinding.
Solidified droplets of Phoenix’s hull blind pursuing sensors. Their moment of glory awaits.
Phoenix’s hull is burnt. But not just burnt; sloughing away. Whites fade to grey and black. Burning from within, unnoticed. Rising through the colour spectrum from black, through glowing cherry reds to white . Material failure. Sleek feminine curves give way to muscular bulges. Uniform grey. Mottled. Almost… camouflage.
Subtle acceleration, course changes. No longer a straight fall to oblivion. Almost as though she is stretching. Awakening. Testing herself.
A decision.
Phoenix curves away from her previous course. Sharply. Twisting. Manoeuvring. Powered flight. Not so wounded after all.
Converging with her pursuer. A futile resistance. Small and insignificant. Her death will be swift… but satisfying.
A pinpoint of light. A laser, joining Phoenix to her pursuer. Laughter. Ridicule as the pointer caresses outer shields. Let her have her fun.
Something else. Plasmas. Untold energies. Focused. The Nebula’s wrath being drawn upon, used as a weapon. Tearing at shields. Clever. Threat. Danger. Insolent child.
Weapons of war are readied. Time to swot this irritant from existence. Dots converge.
End it.
Fearful energies rent from the vacuum. Phoenix glows, shudders and explodes into a fireball of light. Furious non-particles follow the guiding path of the laser. Hungry. Seeking annihilation.
No shields. No hope. Understanding. Admiration. Fear. Acceptance.
Phoenix channels the void’s fury. Malevolence personified. Rage. Revenge for those who went before. A propulsion technology abused as a weapon of war.
Grey dots converge desperately. Too late. The surgeon’s knife cuts into the ship’s core and a second star burns in the nebula. Gone. Shock. Horror.
Phoenix turns. Hunting now. Surprise. Acceleration, nimble manoeuvring. Relentless pursuit. Unrelenting punishment. No quarter given. Extermination.
Phoenix turns. Three thousand light years from home.
Patrolling the Heavens.