The following is a story I submitted in a writing contest about fourteen years ago.

by Inviktus

“Warp core output: one hundred and four percent.” the feminine computer voice informed.

“Just a few more jumps, Baby,” Inviktus replied. “Then we’ll shut everything down.”

When he first saw the Blood Raiders several systems back, they were already headed straight for him, dashing all hope of escaping their attention.  His smaller ship was faster and more agile than theirs, but those few advantages would only benefit him if he acted both swiftly and deftly; his well-organized aggressors were quickly blockading all jump gates in the region.  He knew his only hope at evading them was an abandoned mining colony. Two gates later he was there, his pursuers less than two minutes behind.  He visually scanned the environment for a specific item;  a  hollow asteroid the miners had used as a base.  The interior was nothing more than a junkyard now; its deserted mining equipment made it an ideal cover.  The outside had a single large structure with a moderate-sized landing platform.  Engaging his afterburners he entered the void, shutting them off halfway through.  As he exited the other side, he button-hooked around to the exterior structure.  Approaching it slowly, he activated the maneuvering thrusters, rotating the Rifter to orient it to the landing pad, then gently nestled the skids on the stable surface.  With a series of structured thoughts he systematically shut off the ship’s subsystems, modules, lights, and finally the warp core.  Only his radio and shipboard computer were left on.  He quickly pondered whether to cloak.  If he did so while sitting on the structure, the field would form an orb around his ship, causing the landing platform to appear to have an unnatural recess.  Cloaking in space, on the other hand, was what they would be expecting him to do. They undoubtedly had several tactics to employ for that eventuality.  Cloaking worked best when no one expected a ship to be there.  He decided against it.

“Now for the crazy part,” he thought.

As he occupied himself with the near impossible but necessary task of relaxing, his mind drifted back to his SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) training at the Federation Naval Academy.

“When forced to abandon your vessel under hostile conditions,” the Minmatar instructor’s voice droned, “bear in mind that your instinct will be to put as much distance as you can  —  in as short a time as possible  —  between you and your disabled vessel.”  He paused for effect. “RESIST THIS IMPULSE!”  he said emphatically.  “Your pursuer will be expecting such behavior and will conduct his search accordingly.  The easiest way to deceive your opponent is to let him deceive himself.”

The sudden appearance of a Blood Raider frigate brought him back to the present.  Within  a few seconds half a dozen more dropped out of warp.  There was an eerie silence for a few seconds before the hunters got their bearings.

“Latest intel has him in this area,” said a voice he assumed to be the squad leader. “Yanahgi,  go inside that hollow asteroid and scan it.”

“Yes, sir,”  the underling responded as his frigate accelerated toward the gaping hole.

“The rest of you initiate a delta-five grid search.  No unnecessary chatter.”

Within a few minutes Yanahgi gave an initial report.  “Sir, I’m getting moderate readings of afterburner emissions.  It appears he came in here  —  and fast.”

“Everyone look sharp,” the squad leader snapped.  “He’s close.”

He positioned his ship 10,000 meters from the asteroid and faced it, giving him a clear view of both egress points of the rock.  After half an hour of no movement or reports, he broke radio silence. “Yanahgi  —  report.”

“Sir, I’ve meticulously scanned every square meter of the interior of this asteroid   —  four times  —  and I’m getting nothing.”

The squad leader considered the unexpected information.  “What’s your assessment?”

There was a brief pause before Yanahgi responded.  “I’m probably thinking the same as you, Sir;  if our boy is in this system, he’s within a thousand meters of me.”

The lieutenant smiled slightly.  He liked Yanahgi.  He said what he thought and never shirked from responsibility.  This young man would go far in their organization. “Do one more pass for good measure, but it looks like he’s Renfro’s problem,”  referring to his counterpart in the next system.

A quarter of an hour later, the search party was preparing to join Renfro’s squad in the next system.  Inviktus, less than five hundred meters from Yanahgi, stifled the urge to burst out laughing.  He was plainly visible to the naked eye, yet they could not see him.  Then Yanahgi said something that drained the blood from his face.

“Lieutenant…”

“What is it?”

“Got something,”  Yanahgi said in a tone that indicated he was intently focused on his multiple displays.  “Oh, yeah  —  that’s definitely him.”

“Stand fast,”  the lieutenant ordered. “I’m coming over.”

As his ship neared Yanahgi’s, he looked at the asteroid and saw nothing. “Where?” he asked.

“I’ll lase him  —  there.”

“Ah  —  the clever bastard!”

“Rifter pilot,”  the lieutenant said with authority,  “power down your weapons and shields, then prepare to be boarded  —  NOW!”

Inviktus’ blood pressure was so high he could hear his heart pound in his ears and feel his pulse in his temples.  Every cell in his body was preparing to flee.  He knew there was no way he could escape. Fighting was equally foolish. There were only two options:

Surrender or die.

The Blood Raiders were generally classified as pirates by CONCORD, but unlike other pirates, they were not interested in easy profit.  They were a religious blood-worshipping cult that believed putting their victims through unimaginable anguish strengthened their spirits.  Opting to live was not necessarily the best choice.  He shuddered at the very thought.  Death seemed his only viable option.

To an ordinary man, death would be preferable to the plans of his salivating captors.  But he was no ordinary man;  he was a capsuleer.  An elite pilot in New Eden that was revered as a demigod.  In several medical facilities around the galaxy were replicas of Inviktus;  clones insuring his immortality.  Dying would be little more than an inconvenience.   He’d never died before today;  never made that transference of his soul into a fresh, new body.  He’d heard it was relatively pain-free.  Still he hesitated.

“Pilot, this is your last warning: surrender or your ship will be destroyed.”  He could hear the whine of their weapons charging in the background.  In his mind he brought up the ship’s self-destruct panel and set the countdown to zero.  His next thought poised to activate.

His Minmatar instructor’s voice reverberated in his mind.

“Most people are lazy.  Your opponent will be no exception.  He will tell you to come out from hiding;  that he sees you and the game is over.  Hear me well, cadet  —  until you feel the muzzle of his weapon behind your ear,  he does not see you.  Don’t do his job for him.”

“Fire,”  the squad leader ordered.

Inviktus’ eyes shut involuntarily.

Nothing.

The  Blood Raiders scanned their instruments for signs of movement.  When none occurred,  Yanahgi asked,  “Shall we warp to the next gate,  Sir?”

“Yes,”  he said with a bit of regret.  “He’s crafty  —  I’ll give him that.  Looks like he zipped through the asteroid with afterburners to leave a trail.  He probably thought doing so would buy him some time  —  not realizing that we’re not the only squad looking for him.”

As his aggressors left the system, Inviktus tried to make sense of the events.  He didn’t know what he should do,  but he was fairly certain that doing nothing at the moment was the prudent choice.  He was concerned one of them might have stayed behind to monitor the area  —  and he was right.  The last Blood Raider left the next day  —  convinced there was nothing to find there.  He waited on the asteroid a few more days to allow his pursuers the opportunity to find something else to entertain them.  He would miss a few appointments, deadlines, and ultimatums  — which was fine with him.