Responsibility

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Kaile couldn't only blink in surprise. Talk about having a good amount of firepower on hand for any situation. It took her a moment, struck in a half daze before she registered what Mai told her.

"Stun gun." she said. That promptly gave her a glower in turn. Hey, she was well used to using a blaster and such, but she preferred using a non-lethal method of neutralizing opponents. Kaile had never killed a soul in her life; she wasn't about to start now.

"Ain't no worry, I've my own." the very same one that had saved Asmus from getting his head an extra hole in it to be exact. Right. "Okay, scatter blaster, pistols and a carbine for Asmus." hands went to pluck the arms, checking for a powerpack with enough juice. The fact that she knew how to brought a bit of redemption to the Lorrdian in Mai's eyes, but barely.

"I'll take these up." then she'll get her own. Her eyes grew wide. Bobo! She'll have to check to make sure he is safe in his nutrient tube!

"Thanks Mai!" she called out, already moving past her. She'll drop these off, then rush to Asmus's room.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kairon got to the galley before Kaile returned, moving to take his favoured scatterblaster. "Mai, get the twins to find some small containers for cover and get them by the ramp ready. Kaile, put this on," he said, passing her a small bracelet. "Stops the autoblaster on the Quin from shooting you."

The ship shook. Asmus could be heard arguing on the comm." Kairon!" he called. "That was the last warning. Ice got to set her down. I'm heading for the landing point, get ready."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Kaile would blink a few times, taking the small bracelet that Kairon gave her. "I ah --" a short nod and she would slip it around her wrist. "Thank you, Capt'n." she said, swallowing hard as her head went snapping towards the cockpit.

"Go on, here." she gave him Asmus weapons as well. "I gotta go check on somethin'." like Bobo and get her stunner. She wasn't going to be without it. In it held major classified information that while heavily encrypted, she couldn't risk.

"I'll be back!" she told Kairon, who gave her a brief befuddled expression before turning back. They had to get ready for whatever was coming.

Her boots went pounding on the grate, breath coming in and out in short pants as the Lorrdian came to a skidding halt by the ladder well. She hooked her palms around the edges, locking the sides of her boots in place along the railing then went sliding down. She hit the deck hard, knees bending as the thud echoed down the corridor. Getting to Asmus' cabin didn't take long. She burst through the door, eyes wide and adrenaline pumping hot in her veins.

"Bobo!" the critter had already snapped his head at her direction. He wasn't too pleased, what with the sudden back and fro they were moving in. "Gotta get you in you in the pack." she told him, grimacing in the stunning sensation of the Force being neutralized as she stepped into his bubble. Her hands went rushing to cup the tiny lizard, moving him away from the shelf back towards her pack. Coaxing him inside the nutrient tube, she made sure it was secured. "Go on... can't have you out here." everything that mattered was in the pack. Didn't matter that some of her clothing was here and there. Securing him inside, Kaile settled him in the pack. The Morp gun was next. She checked it's powercell. Still good.

Looping the pack over her arms, she settled with it on her back. It might look odd, that she was carrying her satchel, but she couldn't risk losing Bobo if things went south. Stunner ready, she gave one last glance at the cabin that had her tangled in Asmus's arms not hours prior.

Lips thin, she shook her head. Had to think of other things. Like saving their skins.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

A few moments ago

The laser beam cut a path over their heads, leaving an arc burnt into his retina for a few seconds. That one had been close. Being half laden actually made it tricky to fly the Quintessence in such confines. Under the influence of gravity, and with the odd weight distribution affecting her reaction to maneuvering thrusters, Asmus was starting to worry he'd bitten off more than he could chew.

"Set her down!" came the call over the comm.

"Just looking for somewhere," Asmus replied. He had to buy more time. He couldn't shake the preceeding few minutes from his mind. After realising Kaile was looking out for his wellbeing so, it had almost been watching her through a new lens.

Dying was never good news. He knew all too well that feeling cheated that they might get blown out of the sky so soon after finding each other was illogical. Didn't change out he felt.

"Stop stalling. Have another warning sh..." came the reply. With a determined grimace on his face, Asmus rolled the Quin and used her thrusters to turn hard into a winding raving, robbing the gang fighters of a clear shot. He allowed himself a small, satisfied grin.

It didn't last long. The agile fighters found his trail and the next warning shots took the shields down to half. Asmus eased off the power and raised the ship up from the ravine, arcing towards the landing site gradually.

"Kairon!" he called. "That was the last warning. I've got to set her down. I'm heading for the landing point, get ready."

He backed the ship into the cave and set her down suddenly, leaving the fighters to pass overhead. There was a gunship close by, perhaps ten gunmen close by, and another shuttle en route.

The ground looked good. The rocks were tight to the Quin, forcing Kanjiklub to land a distance away. A narrow approach down a little crevice just a few metres wide, the crew of the Quin would have cover.

Asmus activated the autoblaster, which dropped from the saucer section of the ship. He caught up to Kairon as he headed down onto the ground, catching the carbine in the air with one hand.

"Kaile and Mai?"

"Mai is going to snipe from the deck of the ship, if it goes bad she'll head back inside and use the lower quad laser. It ain't got the firing arc for this but might put the karks up them. Kaile went to get some things? Look lad, I can ask her to stay in the ship, but if things go down..."

"Better to be out here fighting, I know," Asmus reply. Slavery or worse.

"Take cover behind those rocks on the right, I'm going forward on the left. Taking some grenades with me. Twins are going to bring down some containers as fall back cover. We converge there if forced back. Also, they've got some small containers of fuel and damaged parts. They're going to chuck them at Kanjiklub as they come."

"I HAVE A GOOD THROWING ARM."

"IT'S THE SAME AS MINE."

"IS NOT."

"LITERALLY THE SAME PART NUMBER."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Kaile caught up to Kairon and Asmus not a few seconds after the Twins were prepping small containers of fuel and damaged parts to throw. There was mild confusion in her eyes, but she didn’t mind them. With what was going down, there was precious little time to think -- just act. If anything, she was sure they knew what they were doing.

A sharp whistle caught her attention; Kairon pointing at her where to go. She barely got a glimpse of him before the sound of blaster fire whizzed through the air.

“Chit, chit, chit!” she cursed, catching the huddled form of Asmus by some rocks as the Lorrdian went crouching down to get to him. She sent off a few pot shots back, the bright orange stun bolts whizzing down range. Scrambling onto her knees, she picked up a bit of dust and grime just as she managed to press herself against the pile of rocks she was sharing with Asmus.

“... I guess they ain’t in a mood to talk off the get go?” she managed to wheeze out. The air was thin here, making it hard to breathe. Gravity was also higher than others, rather startling for a moon. It made movement all the more off, what with trying to get used to it and all. But what affected the crew of the Quinn meant that it also affected the Kanijklub.

Just then, the blaster fire came to a halt.

“Come on down nice and proper and we won’t need to get physical here.”

Lies.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"What do you propose?" Kairon called back, bouncing his voice off the rocky walls that surrounded the landing site.

Asmus looked to Kaile and offered her a smile. "He'll delay them as long as he can, knows what he's doing." He said it with far more conviction than he felt because it upset him to see her like this. This was his fault. If he'd left her on that station she'd have been delayed, not dead.

"Guns down, slither out and we'll drop you on Bimmissari on the way out."

It was illogical, Asmus knew. Most of then time the encountered nothing more than some virtual particles on their trips.

Asmus took a quick look. "Three trying to sneak closer. Two right ahead of us, Kairon won't talk long."

"Get your men to back off and I'll talk." Kairon raised one arm.

"No more delays...that ship..."

Kairon's arm came down. The gang member making a threat was suddenly silenced by Mai. Asmus took a breath, tried to gather his resolve. At the cockpit he knew what he was doing, this was Jarrick's profession. He could shoot, but not hold his nerve with ease.

The folding stock of his carbine found his shoulder and he fired. He prayed his hands wouldn't shake and betray him now. First two shots kicked up dust, third shot found his man. The bolt cut through his thigh and left him screaming in open ground. Good, might take another gang member out of the fight dragging him back to safety.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

This was not what she pictured three days ago.

Then again, three days ago Kaile had been wallowing in her misery in a cantina trying to drown her sorrows and forget. Now she was in the middle of a firefight between smugglers and -- honestly she wasn't sure who they were. Only that they were bad news. This situation was bad news.

It was such a drastic contrast from the easy going manner Asmus and she had been in not half an hour prior. Now the scoundrel was kneeling beside her, carbine at his shoulder, a little worse for wear but managing to somewhat hold himself together. This was part of Kairon's world that Asmus wasn't too comfortable with. Wasn't used to. He was trying to keep a brave face, but in the wake of the inspection, Kaile wouldn't be surprised if he was still a bit shook up.

When the first man hit the ground with a thud and a yelp, Kaile mentally kept tabs. Asmus had said there had been three. Two had come their way, that meant --

Movement caught her peripherial, and Kaile brought up the Moph. Her bolts wouldn't bring pain. They would simply numb the intended appendage. A high enough setting and it would knock them out. Higher still, death. But death wasnt' what Kaile was after today. She just wanted to knock them out.

Kaile pulled the trigger and sent a few pot shots down. He moved too fast, but she managed to nab him on the right calf. That leg went numb, prompting a startled cry from the Gand from his resperator as he too stumbled to the ground. However, he wasn't done yet, as he went rollin onto his side, sending a volley of blaster fire at their direction.

Ducking back down, the bolts managed to fly over their heads. But now things were a bit more grim.

"There's two more." she told Asmus, darting to glance at his profile.

 

[Asmus Janes]

"Clockwork!" Kairon shouted.

Asmus pressed himself more firmly into their cover. "Stay down a second, that's means draw them in a bit," Asmus whispered. Not that he could get back up. Bolts lined overhead, the heat of their passing wafting over his face.

A few tense seconds later and the reason become obvious. The autoblaster dropped from its compartment and opened up. The air was filled with the screams of the gang members caught out in the open. Up above them, they had little cover.

"Twins!" Kairon shouted. As Asmus peeked out a barrel of fuel waste went flying overhead. The boom as it exploded shook the ground.

"Fething kark, Kairon's turning this into a war zone," Asmus exclaimed. He pushed himself back to crouching and took aim. The tiny crevice that gave access to the landing field was burning. There was no one left moving nearby, at least not after kairon fired two shots.

"Want to negotiate now?" Kairon called loudly. No one reply. "Shore up, they'll be back in a few minutes. Just have to hold them here."

Asmus turned to Kaile, looking a little pale. He swapped his power pack for a fresh one but had only discharged a handful of shots.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Kaile’s ears were ringing from the autoblaster. Good thing Kairon had given her that bracelet. Her head came ducking in close to Asmus’s shoulder, her own shoulders scrunching up close to her neck as if to protect herself.

When the boom shook the ground, nothing but the arid stench of smoke, dust, and flickering flames could be seen up ahead. That didn’t mean that whoever was still out there yet standing was done. Odds were they were taking stock of their own situation and trying to come up with a way to outsmart the crew of the Quin.

Unlikely.

Swallowing hard, Kaile gave a brief glance over at Asmus. His face had blanched a shade or two, and even the motions of adding a new powerpack did nothing to hide the faint tremble there.

“It’s alright.” she tried to reassure him, not really sure how honest of a statement that was. Kaile was no seer, and with Bobo in her pack, there was no touching the Force for her. She was as stock as the rest, with only her skills to keep her skin safe.

Nothing but the sound of fuel burning and a few distinct cries of pain could be heard from those that had been hit. That’s when the whiff of burning flesh came. Rather nauseating to be honest, but Kaile was trying her best to keep a stiff upper lip.

Instead of an answer, the thud and click click click of three small grenades came scattering at their direction. Ion grenades, set to send out an electromagnetic pulse to knock out the automated turret and anything electronic within its radius.

Kaile’s stun bolt wouldn’t do anything to stop it. Eyes wide, they watched as the first of the ion grenades went off.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Asmus didn't know to recognise an ion pulse grenade. It wasn't the kind of weapon he tended to see in the odd bar kosherised bar brawl and shoot out they got themselves into. All he saw was grenades. Probably too far to catch them in the explosion, but not by much.

The scoundrel grasped Kaili by the upper arm and dropped, pulling her back down into cover on top of him. The comm in his ear screamed with white noise and then cut out. The ships hull was well shielded against EM threats, both natural and artificial and a few handhelds would affect her, but the exposed autoblaster came to a halt.

Asmus checked his blaster. Still working. "Sorry," he apologised as his disentangled himself and came to rest on the rocks before them. The sound of Mai's long rifle suggested the gang members were back. They needed to hold. A renewed sense of determination fell over Asmus. Fight or die, no other choice.

He managed to look at Kaile in his peripheral vision before seeing motion ahead. As the flames petered out shapes started to move. Asmus depressed the trigger. A three round burst of bolts into the narrow gap Kanjiklub had to attack through. Surely that cruiser couldn't be too far out.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

“Omph!” eyes wide, Kaile barely gave Asmus a small shake of her head to say it was okay. They had other things to worry about. A small pant and she crawled back up on her hands and knees, moving up to peek over the rocks. Asmus’s three round burst struck one body, the shadow of it falling onto the ground.

Kaile barely caught sight of the figure leaning up, when she aimed in and sent a stun bolt in that direction. It struck at an arm, numbing it completely so that it simply began to flop. There’s one more.

“What are we goin’ to do?” Kaile uttered over to Asmus, brown eyes wide. She had no clue that Asmus had called out for aid. For all she knew, they were stuck here trying to keep the Kanijiklub at bay.

“Turret’s down.” pretty obvious, but what else were they going to do? The cruiser in question was about a good five minutes out.

If they could only hold out a bit longer.

That’s when a shadow seemed to sneak up by Kairon’s side. How he managed in the chaos was unknown, but with Bobo on her, Kaile couldn't register the Forcer had cloaked.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"All we can do is hold. There's a cruiser heading this way now, they got dropped out of hyperspace..." Asmus went silent, taking his aim. The next burst missed, but the one that followed hit his target: legs. The gang member dropped to the ground and two more grabbed his arms and started pulling him into cover. Less people advancing or shooting.

"...a few minutes behind us. If they get too annoyed they'll pull back and bomb the Quin. So we need to hold them. Nothing else to do."

Asmus saw more shapes in the dark. The fires had burned out and the smoke was now acting as cover for Kanjiklub. They hadn't thought of that. Blaster bolts came their way, hitting the rocks and forcing them down.

"INCOMING" called two voices in unison. A length of broken pipe, a few hundred kilos worth came crashing down. Asmus heard it rolling and tumbling away. Screams followed.

Then came a yelp from Kairon. Asmus looked across to see him down on one knee, blood streaming from his left arm. A shadowy figure loomed over him, some kind of blade in hand. But the stubborn pirate wasn't done yet. He dropped back and used his knee as a prop for his blaster, firing at close range. The figure darted away and leapt behind rocks, blaster bolts following.

"Shoot it!" Asmus called to Kaile as he fumbled changing his power pack.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Things were escalating quickly. She could see the difference in the attacks. The way that shadowy figure darted in and out. He was quick. Too quick. How he managed to come up and strike at Kairon was almost unnatural. Eerily so.

That was no average joe shmo pirate.

Asmus yelped near her ear about stopping the guy. Unbeknownst to the smuggler, Kaile had a bit more training in dealing with these types. Thing was, dealing with them in training was a bit more different than doing it out in the real ‘verse.

“Chit.” A few of her stun bolts were sent to hopefully strike at the new threat, but he was moving too fast. Damnit! Biting her lower lip, she wondered what to do. Another series of bolts came their way and she ducked down, the bolts ricocheting off the boulder.

Okay… Okay… Eyes wide, she went scanning their surroundings. There were the Twins at their back; who might have been hit by those ion grenades. To their right was Kairon, to their left…

Well it was a smaller stack of rocks. An idea popped up.

“Get ready to aim for him.” she told the scoundrel, shimmying in a low crouch next to him to head to the other side of their rocky cover. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out what Kaile was going to do next. They needed bait to figure out where the shooter was at. Kaile was going to be that bait.

Heart thumping to the point Kaile was sure it would stop, she swallowed hard. Okay, okay. Just… run as fast as you can.

Without further ado and before anyone could stop her, she went for it.

As soon as she darted out from the safety of the pile of rocks, the volley of blaster fire focused straight at her strafing figure.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Ah...kark!" Asmus called after her. If he'd realised what she was about to do in time and had a hand free, he would have grabbed her. Instead he rapidly had to bring his carbine around. A string of bolts on rapid fire send the men shooting at her back down. A loud crack followed. Mai had struck again with her long rifle and for now the enemy blasters were silenced. It wouldn't be long before they either started to advance again or came back with more heavy weaponry.

For a clapped out old Space Master, these guys are really going for it. What Asmus didn't know was that the group of Kanjiklub they'd met at the spacestation had told the members in this part of space that they were carrying some exquisite cargo. Just to get the Quin brought down for the embarrassment they'd inflicted on the men who'd tried to stop them leaving the station.

Fortunate for Kaile that you needed exceptional peripheral vision to be a pilot. Asmus caught the sign of movement as soon as the shape darted towards the mechanic. She must have been in some serious scrapes before.

He could barely track the shape, but Asmus did understand momentum. Gently pressing the trigger he fired ahead of the target. It slowed its pace to avoid them and he altered his aim. A double-tapped what he hoped would be two more precise shots.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

The body fell, but it wasn’t for naught. A hiss of pain came from Kaile, who suddenly rocked back against the pile of boulders holding her arm. The scent of charred flesh and the black singed stain on her upper arm said that she’d been hit. Nothing serious, but she was in for a hell of a hurt.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Kaile brought her good arm back up. Breathing out, she tried to get as level as she could despite the sharp sting of the blaster bolt that had struck her. At least it hadn’t been anything vital.

Two more shots burst from the Moph, striking at the wounded Forcer to ensure he was out cold. Chit, she thought, ducking back down to press her back against the rock.

Just a few more minutes and that cruiser would be here. A brief glance at Asmus was spared to let him know she was okay. A little worse for wear, but okay. If they survived this, they’d all need some patching to after.

“We can do this all day and end up with nothing. Or you can give yourself up now and leave with your lives.” came a voice from behind the smoke and fire.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

It took all of his willpower to take his eyes from her and looked back forwards. He could almost perceive movement through the smoke, but no one advanced towards them. Perhaps they were preparing something even worse to mount an assault with. Poison gas or bringing one of their fighters down close. That would be the end of them. Kairon was wrapping a cloth around his arm, using his teeth to tug it tight. There was no sign of Mai, hopefully still up on the hull of the Quin with her rifle.

"How can we know we'll get out of it?" Asmus called back.

"It's trust we'll drop you off or die here for sure!"

That sounded like one of the men he'd spoken to over the comm. "Yeah but I reckon we'll go down either way. At least this way we take a few pirates with us."

There was a pause. Kairon waved for the boy to stay calm and let him talk. Asmus let his eyes flick to the readout on his carbine. Thirty seven shots in the power pack. He dared not take his aim off the gap in the rocks.

"Drop your cargo bays and leave. We'll let you take off without them," came the counter offer.

Kairon and Asmus shared a look across the battlefield. One pirate was dragging another back towards their allies and the crew of the Quin were just letting them get on with it. Asmus knew what Kairon was thinking. Their cargo wasn't worth all that much. Might actually be a deal with taking. Kairon had explained to him once how they used their men in the big outfits. The 'meat' was mostly comprised of captured men, thrust forwards into a boarding action with a casualty rate of around half. Then the hardened pirates came and finally the ones who ran the outfit. Asmus got the feeling they were talking to one of the brains behind the outfit now and he was keen for a quick resolution.

"We take off nice and slow and no one shoots," Kairon shouted back.

"Yes!"

"I'm sending my pilot and another crewmember back inside to get it prepped. Don't shoot, don't come any close. Any funny business and I point a quad-laser on you boys!"

"Got it!"

Kairon waved Asmus over. It made his heart pound to rush across the open ground, but he did it. "Get in there with Kaile. Take your time getting reading to drop off the cargo bays. Empty one first. Keep an eye on that cruiser if you can, but no signalling or active scanning to give the game away. Got it?"

Asmus nodded quickly. The pause left him with far too much adrenaline surging through his veins. He turned and headed for the ramp, waving Kaile after him. "Come on, there's a medkit on the cockpit."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Could the just go back to the ship now? Would they actually follow through with the agreement? All these questions and more went drifting across Kaile’s face, catching as Asmus anxiously gestured for her to follow him. There was a nagging suspicion in the back of her mind, one that sent the tiny hairs rising in anxiety. She didn’t like this. Not one bit.

Flicking over to Kairon, the Lorrdian caught the silent nod and direction he made towards his nephew. Follow him, that look said. Go on now. It ordered. Biting her lip, Kaile hesitated for a second. Yeah, something about this didn’t sit right with her. None the less, she did as she was told. Every second that they dawdled was another hitch in risk.

Scurrying forward, the clammy faced Yum Bunny waitress gave a small grunt and grimace. Keeping a low profile, she managed to come to Asmus’s side, her arm still stinging like the Nine Hells. She didn’t lower the Moph, if a bit held in a tremble, she kept it up. Walking backwards up the ramp ensured that both would be able to have a measure of cover.

She briefly caught a dark form at the corner of her eye. It was Mai, where she’d been perched to sight in.

“I don’t like this.” she whispered, barely managing to get into the Quinn and leaving the rest of the crew to the mercy of the standstill.

“I’m alright.” She wasn’t, but she didn’t want to spent time dawdling when they could do their best to help out the Captain and such.

 

[Asmus Janes]

"You're not," Asmus stated. His eye brows came up and together as he looked down at the black streak across her arm where the blaster had struck. "I reckon if we disengage the cargo hold and take off they'll try and jam us and shoot us down before we can call the authorities," Asmus added.

They ran between the cargo holds for the cockpit. Asmus immediately went for the white box on the wall and pulled it down. "Kairon said to take out time. Either he thinks the same as me, or he knows better."

They was a pop as the medical case opened up and he waved for Kaile to take a seat, though he doubted she was about to let him fuss over her. He idly flicked a few switches which made some of the power networks come online. Kanjiklub would read that on their scanners and probably hear it too. Would at least make it seem he was doing something. There was a fair chance they'd picked up the signal of something dropping into realspace behind the Quin, but he'd opened up a high power point-to-point channel to talk to the Cruiser and have it identify itself. Passive scanning showed nothing, but the cruiser could well be coming around the moon.

That or it wasn't coming at all.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

The slash of black and seared red across her arm was throbbing, but Kaile was trying her best to keep a chin up. Having Asmus give her a look that said that he knew she wasn't okay made the young woman thin her lips. He was right, even if she wasn't too keen on it. They had to try and bide some time.

Unfortunately, there was no cruiser nearby to help.

Biting her lower lip, Kaile sat down, her knee jittering as it came up and down. Asmus drew near, those slender hands attending to peeling back the charred fabric off her arm with the same exquisite care he had traversed her body with earlier.

"They'll be scanning us.. to see if we do call the authorities..." that was the issue.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Asmus did what he could do tend the wound. As much as seeing her wounded was perturbing, it wasn't as bad as the lack of a military cruiser overhead. There weren't adverse weather conditions in space, you could predict the arrival of a two month sublight journey to within a few seconds.

He needed to think. They didn't have the firepower to attack the gang on foot. That same narrow crevice that stopped them being overwhelmed would be their grave if they attacked. Couldn't run. Not with those...

"Kaile, can you man a quad laser?" he asked. The bacta patch was applied. Better to be covered and have healing stimulated than nothing.

Asmus reached for the controls. Both cargo bays were modular and could actually maneuver themselves over short distances. Good for small stations the quin couldn't land on. The empty one detached and set itself down besides the ship.

Now this wasn't a stock space master. Not any more. Engines, sensors and weaponry had been upgraded over time. A stock would take maybe two minutes to go from warming up engines to lifting off. He could do that in twenty seconds.

Those fighters weren't in the air right now. The quad laser could fire automatically, but not ay ground targets. That wasn't exactly legal for a civilian vessel.