Patrol in the triangle was like every patrol everywhere in the history of patrols. Mostly boring, with small episodes of excitement that turned out to be nothing more than space-dust and sensor ghosts, but all with the tension that something could happen at any moment. Something that the ship would have to respond to instantly.

Raan was on the bridge again, mostly because the big chair was far more comfortable than the office chair in his ready room. Whoever had designed the interiors for the Rhode Island class had obviously designed everything around the frame of an average human male. Which meant that the desk was just that bit too low for Raan, a fact his bruised knees could attest to, and the chair creaked every time he moved. He’d have gotten Bennett to weld and reinforce it if he didn’t know that such a request would be a) met with laughter and b) cause an endless stream of abuse about his ass getting fat. Which it wasn’t.

He sighed as he leaned back in his chair, scrolling through performance reviews. Sometimes he didn’t know why he put up with Bennett’s attitude. An ensign walked by with a coffee mug, complete with sprinkles, and he did know why. Bennett was the kind of officer who would blow up bits of his own ship if it gave him a tactical advantage. He was a wildcard and the ace up Raan’s sleeve should the proverbial hit the fan.

“Sir, you wanted to know when we were coming up on the Nalorian asteroid belt?” One of the ensign’s currently on bridge duty spoke, making Raan look up from his reports.

“Yes indeed, thank you Ensign.” He closed down his reports and stood to pay attention to the main viewscreen, currently displaying the view of the system in front of them and other operational information. “Please call Kovash and Harrow to the bridge.”

“Aye sir.”

Raan’s eyes narrowed as he studied the asteroid field before them. It was one of the chokepoints on their patrol route that concerned him. Recent reports had several ships going missing in this area, but for some reason, no one had investigated the asteroid belt. He wasn’t yet sure whether that was a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ or if the authorities in the area really were that inept.

“Bring us in nice and steady,” he ordered, nodding as Kovash and Harrow walked onto the bridge. He wasn’t surprised at the speed both officers appeared. They were both experienced officers and would know they’d be required for a situation like this, exactly why he’d chosen them for his crew.

Tension mounted on the bridge as they made their way through the asteroid field, Kovash’s steady hand on the helm. Boulders the size of starbases tumbled past them slowly, the ‘landscape’ around them changing every second. Raan clasped his hands behind his back, rocking slightly on the balls of his feet.

Something was going to happen soon. He could feel it in the way the hairs on the back of his neck rose slightly like someone had blown across his skin.

“Contact on sensors, sir. We’re under attack.”

“Red alert, all hands to battle stations!” Raan ordered, his gaze locked on the viewscreen as he searched for any sign of the attacking ships. He spotted them moments later, a group of sleek and nimble pirate vessels darting between the asteroids towards them.

The ship was rocked by phaser fire, the deck rocking and rolling beneath Raan’s feet. “Bring us about and return fire,” he ordered, watching the viewscreen as the Resolute unleashed its weapons in response. “How are our shields doing?”

“Seventy percent and holding!”

He grinned. “Good enough. Kovash, gets us in the middle of them. Harrow, give ‘em hell.”

A chorus of ‘aye sirs’ reached his ears, and then the Resolute launched into a deadly dance, weaving and dodging between the enemy ships and the asteroids, dodging incoming blasts as they tried to land their own hits on the enemy. Two fell prey to Harrow’s precise targeting, lighting up the darkness with fiery blooms of destruction. No one had time to pay attention, their destruction marked only by the Resolute’s sensors as the ship sped by, turning to barrel between two asteroids tumbling toward each other.

Raan couldn’t help breathing in as the Resolute just made it through. The ship that had been following them wasn’t quite so lucky.

“Kovash, if you just ruined my paint job, you’re repainting the hull when we hit base again,” he warned.

“Just one left sir,” Harrow called out. “But it’s coming in on a direct collision course. Heading straight for us.”

“On screen,” Raan ordered. And sure enough, one of the enemy raiders was heading toward them at full speed. Sheer suicide, which made no sense. “Evasive manoeuvres. Harrow, spin them out.”

“Aye sir.”

As they watched, a volley from the Resolute’s phasers struck the incoming ship, catching it on the starboard side. It spun out of control, crashing into the side of an asteroid lumbering by. Several escape pods jettisoned like seeds blown in the wind.

“Any more on sensors?” Raan asked after a moment.

“Negative, sir. They’re all gone.”

He nodded. “Okay. Then haul in those escape pods, and let’s see why they decided that attacking us was a good idea.”