Birds of A Feather

A small child slid to the front, deep brown eyes full of fright, wonder, and curiosity. “Grandfather? Can you tell us of a fight you saw?” The old man shook his head no and smiled wider. “I can tell you about a recent fight, I heard it from a Raven battleship pilot that was passing through a few weeks ago...” The old man settled, taking a sip of his fresh ale, before leaning forward, towards the small boy, capturing the child's gaze with his eyes, speaking like it was only the boy there, the rest leaning in closer. “His ship was out in unsecured space, through the newly opened gates, deep into the black. There they were battling the hordes of rogue drones that inhabit the area, carefully watching their scanners for any intruders, or ships of any kind. There was two of them, two Ravens clearing those belts, firing string after string of torpedoes into those Drones. Clearing out a swath of destruction ahead of them, pulling in the loads of minerals out of space behind them, only taking the most valuable... Then, out of nowhere a single Zealot came roaring in!” The man's hands coming together with a loud clap, made louder by the nearness of the crowd, most in the room jumping at the sound, edging back in after it. “Just like that it's lasers roared fire in on the Ravens, the nearest one focused on first. The pair turning to engage the faster than usual intruder, their torpedoes pounding into the stout armor of the pirate, calling in local for help... Begging their corporation for assistance from a friendly group just one jump away. Aid was on it's way they said, but the pirates, they were faster.” His voice drew them in, getting softer and softer. “Another ship appeared, a Vagabond!” A gasp came from a child a few feet away, spurring the story on, the man's eyes narrowed, “it locked down the other Battleship, the Zealot pounding away in tandem... But the Battleship pilots were not worried. No! They almost had the first pirate into structure, just when they thought they had the upper hand, the Zealot turned, driven off by their intense fire, Raven drones swarming around it, sending it back into warp away from the battle. Their fire shifted to the other intruder.” The man's voice getting softer as he loomed above the child, curious brown eyes still staring up into the old man's eyes, mouth slightly agape, the battle playing out inside his mind. “The Vagabond darted in and out, scrambling alternating targets, first one battleship, jerking it from emergency warp, and then the other, holding them in place. The Ravens missiles splashed off the shields of the pirate, chewing closer and closer to the fragile ship under the shields...” The storytellers hands raised again, one darting about the other, imitating the Heavy Assault Ship's dance with the two Ravens and their drones. “The drones were taking their toll as well mind you, hammering at the pirates shields see, trying to tear it into pieces. Then the other pirate was back, his armor repaired, into combat, finishing off the last part of the shields.” Pausing slightly, “then armor and then," another pause, "it's structure! The blue glow of the Ravens explosion reflected off the attackers, only one Raven remaining, desperately trying to escape. He begged for mercy, but the pirates remained silent, circling and destroying his ship around him, stripping it apart!" The man's voice was a deadly whisper now, sharp and cruel. "Soon it was his ship, crew and money exploding into a bright blue flash. Stunned to find himself suddenly in a pod, the man said he had almost made it away, the Vagabond stopping his escape at the last second, SQUISH!” The man yelled, everyone jumping back and then after a short pause laughing, a silent nervousness filling the room as the laughter fell away. People started to drift away from the man already, his thrall on them lost when his story reached it's end. “Fortunately, the man had a clone nearby he said, lucky for him he is rich enough to afford one, his crew was not as lucky I bet.” The crowd had lost interest now, drifting away, hiding their fear deep in the pit of their stomachs. The child was one of the last to leave, amazement written on his face, his hand tugged, pulling him away at his father's lead. The boy turned to his father as they walked away, big brown eyes glowing with fright now. “Dad? Are there really men like that hiding deep in space waiting for us?” The father managed a strained smile, shaking his head no. “No! Of course not Son! That old man just wanted to scare you. Now come on, we wasted a lot of time in there, we have to get to our ship, our captain is very particular about leaving, to avoid... traffic.” The father tugged his son along, the boy's head still filled with soaring Ravens, and pernicious pirates.