Free phil jones2 by J. R. Karlsson

like that and we'll be blown apart. We need to get out of here!'
    He didn't know how the thought struck him but he didn't care given the circumstances. Swivelling in his chair yet again he stood up and with an authority he didn't even realise he possessed he demanded RJ's attention.
    'Yes Captain?' RJ said, still frantically steering the craft between bolts of light whose sound echoed over the hidden speakers of the ship to let him know how close these shots were getting.
    'How far to the nearest star from our current location?'
    It was Smith that answered, punching up a screen that showed them on the edge of a system, being harried by the giant Battle Cruiser. 'We're on the very rim of a system now Mr. Jones, why do you persist in asking questions?'
    'Agent Smith that's enough from you!' shouted Phil, seemingly silencing the man in shock. Though with Smith's expressionless face it could well have been rage.
    'RJ, set shields to reverse and fly us directly at the star in this solar system, if we can't out-gun them we can surely out-run them.'
    The now-flickering image of Hanniman came up once more. 'Captain this vessel wasn't designed to keep up with the larger Battle Cruisers, I'm not sure we have the necessary speed to out-run them.'
    Phil glared at the screen, he knew exactly what to do here. 'Then you will find the speed, Engineer.'
    'If I reinverted the...' Phil stopped listening there, he knew he wouldn't understand it anyway. '...then perhaps I could give our speed a temporary boost.' Hanniman finished.
    'Make it so.' Phil demanded, turning his attention to the cockpit once more.
    'Captain, it's going to take me at least five hours to reconfigure the...'
    'You have twenty seconds, Engineer.'
    'Twenty seconds?' Hanniman replied in disbelief. 'Captain there's no way that...'
    'I said make it so! Twenty seconds, starting from now.'
    The screen blinked off, Phil just hoped that was Hanniman trying to do his job as quickly as possible and leaving no time for courtesy.
    With the shields remodulated and concentrated to the rear to deflect any parting shots the Voravian Battle Ship aimed at them, they hurtled toward the sun of the system. Phil just hoped his gut instinct was right on this one, otherwise they were doomed. Phil really didn't like being doomed.
    At first it seemed to be working, the loud whirring noise of the engines at full speed had given them a brief spurt of distance between themselves and the Voravian Battle Cruiser. Then a shot from their opponents thudded into them and the whole vessel shook.
    'Shields are down, Captain.' Annika supplied, looking scared.
    'Evasive manoeuvres RJ, keep us on course for that star.' Phil responded, trying to keep the note of panic out of his own voice.
    Smith remained ominously silent.
    The terminal winked open once more and Hanniman's flustered features greeted him. 'Captain I'm ready to give the engines every boost that I can, there's no guarantee that it'll work though and it could burn them out entirely.'
    Phil nodded. 'On my mark Engineer.'
    The crew seemed to pause then, as if waiting for their ship to come to pieces in this final attempt at flight.
    'Mark!'
    The engines were deafening now, scaling upward in pitch and rocketing them forward directly into the star. It was a huge white orb that now dominated the view screen and made it impossible for them to see anything outside of its blazing brightness.
    'RJ I want you to get as close to that star as you possibly can. Skim the surface and avoid any eruptions.'
    For once, Phil Jones had overestimated the technology surrounding him.
    'Captain, we can get within a few thousand kilometres of the star but any closer and the systems will overload, what is it you have planned exactly?' Hanniman asked.
    'Wait and see Engineer, wait and see.' Phil said, wondering where this surge of confidence had come from.
    As they grew closer to the star the temperature rocketed up, Phil found himself sweating profusely and hoping that these