Lucien winced as another heavy blast shook the Skater, trying to ignore the pain from his ribs. That would heal in time. The immediate worry was the damage the ship was taking.
The jump engines had been destroyed by his crash exit, which meant he wasn’t going to be able to jump away from trouble. Now the ship as a whole was taking a pounding from the very place he’d been hoping to find help and sanctuary. A pirate base should be the last place to be sympathetic to the Empire.
Well, he’d proved that wrong already. Damn it. How could he have been so unlucky in his choice? Or had it been luck? Was there really nowhere left in the region that wasn’t either overrun with Limited or destroyed?
Several more jolts struck, and the shields dropped yet further. Lucien shook his head. Ther
