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On board The Reaper, the Navcom detected a direct hit, and automatically put up it's shield surrounding the entire ship with invisible energy. Several more would-be direct hits were deflected in this way.

"What do you think?" J.D. said to Pete and Dan. "Shall we let them chase us?"

"How long will those shields hold up?" asked Dan.

"Well, they're showing ninety-nine percent intact," replied Pete. "I love this ship, even one direct hit like that on our old girl and she'd have been ****** like a drunk in a brothel,"

"Take that as a yes then I think," Dan said to J.D.

"Right you are," J.D. spoke into the Com. "K, open her up, we're going flying," Fresh from his Slingshot high, J.D. knew that he would have no problem out-running the Planetary Alliance ship that seemed set on destroying them, but he wanted to have a little fun along the way. He weaved this way and that way, feigning damage to the ship before finally putting the hammer down a little, going fast enough to stay out of range, but close enough to keep them interested.

"Do we give chase Sir?" Roberts asked Captain Jenkins.

"That is what they want of us Roberts, but I see we have no other choice," and as an afterthought. "It may do us well to request back-up, put in the call Roberts."

"We have the asteroid belt coming up J.D.," Pete shouted across the bridge. "You OK with that?"

"Only one way to find out," replied J.D. as Trixi came onto the bridge.

"What's going on?" she demanded.

"Nothing Ma'am, just a little game of cat and mouse," said Pete. "Only this time, the mouse is going to come out on top, there's no way they'll follow us through the belt."

"Your right, they won't," said Trixi, indicating four fast moving objects on the scanner. "But I'm sure that these guys have different ideas."

"Oh **** what are they?" Pete knew the answer before he had finished asking the question, he looked at Trixi and together they mouthed the words 'Bounty Hunters'. "Get us out of here man," Pete yelled to J.D.

"Dan, I want you and K on the guns, now!"

"Yes Ma'am," replied Dan as he ran towards one of the two gun stations. "K I need you now," he shouted into the Com. It was all Dan and K could do to shoot missiles destined for The Reaper out of the sky, the bounty hunters getting ever closer with their much smaller ships able to navigate the belt much more effectively.

"They have a lock, I can't break it," Pete was punching at screens furiously, trying to decipher the lock code.

"Let me try," said a voice behind Pete, and Lemmy pushed him out of his chair and took his place. Within seconds, she spoke. "This is a simple code," she said turning to Pete. "Look, what do you see now?" she asked as she tapped away. Pete stared for a few seconds.

"Damn girl you're good. The Pi sequence," The Lock Code deciphered, J.D. accelerated away narrowly avoiding multiple collisions with asteroids.

"Easy J.D., easy," Trixi said.

"I'll take it easy when we have some breathing space," barked J.D. "Now let me concentrate." Trixi remained silent, making a note to herself to have a word with J.D. when he'd got them to safety.

The bounty hunters did not give up easily. They were on a promise of a huge pay-off for the capture of the Svensson girls. Trixi had her suspicions as to why they were being chased, and she was absolutely correct. Lemmy was indeed Trixi's younger sister, Janey. For whatever reason they had both wound up four hundred years into the history of their own time, Janey with apparently no recollection whatsoever. That would of course explain her intelligence, Janey was two years Trixi's junior and was almost as clever as Trixi herself. She found herself feeling a little jealous.

The asteroid belt navigated without incident, J.D. could really open up The Reaper and give her a good run. Flat out she could outrun anything, her only problem was maneuverability, but this wasn't an issue in open space.

"J.D. this course is gonna take us straight into the Inner Ring, we should be on Parliament radar any second now," Pete looked at J.D., his face like stone as he concentrated.