Tradewinds 07: Away From Home: XVII

It had taken a long time, with the usual stream of reports coming in about how the Intruder was nowhere to be found, but finally the most critical repairs were complete.

(AUDIO SENSORS: ONLINE…)

This was the first time the Intruder had openly taken the offensive. On top of that, Intruders trying anything but kamikaze charges were a rarity to begin with. Tactical analysis revealed the setup for a classic ambush.

(INFRARED SCANNERS: ONLINE…)

Of course, this was not the first time an Intruder had dared to attack the Enforcer. But unlike those before, who had been too poorly armed to do any real damage, and only ended up rushing to their deaths, this one actually found a way to fight back effectively.

(POWER LEVEL: 92.5%… 92.7%… 93.1%…)

Naturally, this would call for taking more precautions the next time.

(SYSTEM RUNNING: 98.6%… 98.8%… 98.9%…)

Seldom had an Intruder held out for this long. What few this sector had had, at any rate. Only the pair that disappeared over two hundred years ago held a longer record than this one.

(SUPER-LASER: ONLINE…)

Much better.

“ENFORCER UNIT NK-525-SLASH-XP-13 BACK ONLINE…”

Malevolent infrared optics lit up once again, and those hateful tracks started rolling once more as the Enforcer resumed its hunt.