Retros burn all over space as the<em>Alexander</em>attempts to slow and let the pirate ship careen past it, and the pirate vessel likewise attempts not to lose its stern-chasing position on the fleeter sloop. A small cloud of projectiles vomit forth from the raider - initially, they appear to be macrobattery fire, but when they alter course under power, it is clearly a boarding attempt. They dodge through the majority of the defensive turret fire, but their evasive maneuverings combined with the Alexander's own evasive patterns cause the raider boats to be split up and scattered as they forcibly dock with the sloop, clustered around the ship's engines at the rear. It is a tight-fought battle for some time, but Sarah's shouted encouragements over the intercom drive the<em>Alexander</em>'s crew to ferverous defense, and the disorganized attackers are defeated in detail, with only a fraction of the assault boats successfully retreating to their parent vessel.<br/><br/>(Hit-and-run foiled.<br/>Pirate vessel is 2 VU ahead, speed differential +10 in the pirate's favor.)