"Take the hand of the stranger, take no first impression on the alien... But if they prove unworthy, may they pray forgiveness from the Khe'val..."
- Hel'va'sall, Honourable Captain of the Khe'val 28,224Anum
At the bridge of the Kha'van'aar, Captain Hes'tel clutched at a long railing that ran around the edge of the room. The ship itself had only ten crewmen, with almost all the weapon systems being either automated or controlled by gunners at the bridge. The bridge itself was state of the art Khe'val technology, shielded and covered in thick armour, it sat just behind the bulk of the ship's armoured prow...
"Captain, we don't have the point-defence systems necessary to win this... Our Phaze cannons are missing with almost every shot!" Hes'tal looked across at her gunner, a young female Khe'val with braided hair, who was furiously tapping across her touch-screen, trying to gun down the fast moving pirates.
Suddenly the ship rocked again, tilting even further over to the starboard. Several stray shell had smashed into the Kha'van'saar's hull, shells that had not been launched by any pirate... "Look, Captain!" Hes'tel looked to where the operator was pointing, at the hulking form of Icarus 9, guns blazing as it manoeuvred towards them... Hes'tel punched the air, the day was not over yet... "Pilot, put all power from the weapons to the engines, and head for those ships!" She pointed towards the two stingray frigates, a plan already forming "All ahead full, ramming speed!"
The Kha'van'saar lurched, engines suddenly roaring into life. Phaze-generated ion streams pulsed and the bronze-armoured ship righted itself, now heading directly for the pirate frigates. It gained speed at a phenomenal rate, far exceeding it's appearances, armoured prow gleaming... The stingrays split formation, easily dodging aside the lumbering ship... "Now, operator... Switch all power to port and starboard weapon batteries, gunner, blow them out of the sky!" The space around the Khe'val ship burst into light and flame, hundreds of explosive rounds pumping into the surprised pirates...