"There is an incoming transmission from the Planetary Defense on the planet Jarco." The Communications Officer explained as he put the message on the main displays for all of us to see.

Abort your heading. Any attempt to dock at the Folkar docking station will be met with opposition.

I muttered, "Gee, what a surprise."

Everyone on the Starsong was aware of the situation as well as that Starsong planned to dock anyway, regardless if he had to go through several warships to do so. The most surprising part was that most of the crew members weren't even nervous about the potential fight. Once they knew there was no chance of the shields failing, they were unperturbed by the situation. Some were uneasy, and a couple were nervous, but none were really scared.

The Communications Officer inquired, "Shall I send a response?"

"It is only fair to give them a warning. Please relay this message: We are peaceful traders who will not take sides in this fight. No trade request was received from Jarco, while Folkar was on our original trading route, so we are not showing favoritism. Any attempt to attack us will be met with retaliation."

"The message has been relayed."

The Weapons Officer spoke, "They must not have liked that response. All four Jarco warships between us and the Folkar docking station are powering up their weapons. Some warships from Folkar are on their way to try to help us, but we will reach the Jarco warships before they will."

I watched the map as the four warships moved in our direction. Small boxes appeared near them showing the status of their weapons, shields, hull, and more information.

"They will likely fire small warning shots that they know will not harm our shields. Do not return fire in response to these as they are not meant to damage or harm."

I relayed Starsong's decree, "If they fire light warning shots, ignore them. If the attack is something designed to do damage, then we can return fire."

"Yes, Captain."

I ignored the Weapons Officer's use of my title in this situation. He was very focused on his console and the data there, so he likely hadn't even noticed. Then again, all of the Officers were alert and focused as we closed the distance between us and the warships.

We had slowed down as we entered the solar system since it was standard policy, but it wouldn't be more than a few minutes before we were within their firing range.

Silence reigned as we waited. Red flares around the icons showed that the ships' weapons were fully charged and ready to fire. Purple lines showed that those very same weapons were pointed at us.

The Navigations Officer, Tanya, had us heading along our original route. The warships were not in our direct path, but were spread around it as they tried to intimidate us. Unfortunately for them, we were not scared to run this gauntlet.

"They will be firing a warning shot in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..." Apparently, Starsong had hacked into their communication systems...

The Shields Officer had been waiting for this moment. "They are firing warning shots."

The strikes hit our shields and didn't even pass through the outer ones meant to stop asteroids. It was clearly a very weak warning shot, probably the weakest the warships were capable of.

The Communications Officer spoke, "The Jarco warships sent a message. 'Change your course or the next shots will not be a warning.'"

My eyes never left the main displays. "Please reply: I repeat, we are peaceful traders, but we will retaliate if attacked. The Starsong is a Starship."

They would likely have no idea what the last sentence meant, but Starsong had asked me to include it. They would likely have to learn the significance of it the hard way.

"The message has been relayed."

"They are debating and trying to determine what you meant by your last sentence. They do see that I am noted as a Starship in the main spaceship database, although they are unsure of what it means. There is nothing in the database's definition section other than a description of the physical characteristics of the exterior for identification purposes."

'In other words, they are completely clueless?'

"To put it bluntly, yes."

If they were clueless, then they wouldn't be aware of the consequences - and that meant a true strike from them was imminent. My palms were slightly sweaty even though I knew Starsong's shields were capable of stopping anything these warships could throw at us. If I had been on anything other than a Starship, this sort of bluff would have been madness.

"One ship is planning to fire and damage our sensors with a broad and shallow attack."

I warned the others. "Stand by; one ship is preparing to fire."

The Shields Officer confirmed that Starsong was correct. "One ship is firing."

It took just seconds for their more-powerful strike to hit our shields. I watched the shield readings, but the warship's attack was easily stopped and barely even registered as a blip on the shields' output power.

The unprovoked attack lit a spark in my mind which rapidly turned my indistinct nerves into a smoldering anger. We had done no wrong and they still attacked us with the intention of causing damage.

My voice was level, even though my eyes stared piercingly at the display. "Return fire on that ship. Take out their weapons and shields."

It only took two taps from the Weapons Officer for precision strikes to take their weapons and shields offline. Their shields weren't sufficient to stop our attacks, and our strikes struck true. Our retaliation caused serious damage to those two key systems while leaving the hull intact and the crew safe.

The other warships weren't aware of that fact and swiftly opened fire as they tried to protect their comrades on the damaged ship. All of their weapons were focused on us as the three ships directed a barrage of powerful attacks upon Starsong.

I kept a close eye on our shields, but even with three warships trying their best, our shields were only showing a strain of forty percent. They would need a lot more firepower to get past our main shields, let alone the second set of shields just above the hull or the ones within the hull.

Had we been a normal trade ship - or even another warship – the attack would have destroyed us and killed all of the crew. They could have attempted to incapacitate us, but instead, they went way overboard with attacks that would have killed the entire crew. That triggered my temper. I was mad now - and they were about to realize it. I wanted to show them their wrong, and I wasn't going to mess around either.

"Incapacitate them completely."

The Weapons Officer tapped his screen in several swift motions to carry out my order. Our own weapons launched numerous simultaneous attacks upon the attacking ships. The warships probably didn't even know what hit them as their shields, weapons, navigations, sensors, and engines were all rendered inoperative.

Their attacks stopped since their weapons were so badly damaged that they were physically incapable of returning fire. I was quite impressed with the Weapons Officer's ability; the light shields designed to protect them from small asteroid strikes were undamaged, but the heavier shields that they were connected to were useless.

They were unable to move, and their few remaining sensors were very likely only able to tell them our rough location. I could only imagine how many red lights and sirens were sounding inside those ships at this particular moment.

"We have a lot of cheering in our own corridors and rooms. Most work has stopped while they watch the video feeds and data outputs."

I grinned slightly, amusement at my crew's behavior surpassing my anger at the warships. "It sounds like we have quite the party on the lower decks. I wasn't aware that this was supposed to be a morale booster."

The Weapons Officer glanced back at me. "Those warships will be out of commission for at least a month."

The Communications Officer was more curious about my comment and pulled up a live feed showing the dining area as she posted it on one of the large wall displays. Crew members were clearly celebrating our victory by cheering and clapping as the cook passed around some sort of small dessert. Alcohol wasn't allowed on or before duty, so they were substituting with sugary treats.

The Communications Officer chuckled at the sight. "A trading ship beating not just one, but four warships is a huge achievement. If that isn't a morale booster, then I am not sure what is."

I shook my head in faint disbelief as I replied, "Well, it wasn't intentional. As much as I am dreading how the staff at the docking station are going to react to our presence, we should probably dock."

We hadn't slowed our pace during our fight, so the Navigations Officer picked up a bit of speed as we passed through the gauntlet of warships without any additional problems.

The fourth warship remained where it was, even though its engines were undamaged. Its weapons and shields were offline, but it was otherwise intact and could assist the three damaged ships. It would give the ship and crew something useful to do while they tried to figure out what had just happened.