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"How can anything be chasing us?" he demanded. "There were no warships in all the system. We checked."

"See for yourself, Redbeard," his second in command said, and indicated the screen. "There it is."

Together they watched the blip in the scope grow larger and more distinct.

"It’s far too fast for a warship," Redbeard said at last. "I’ve never seen anything that could move so fast, not even a racer."

"It’s too small for a warship, too," the second in command observed. "Let’s see if we can get a look at it." He pressed a couple of buttons and the blip in the screen grew larger and yet larger, until it wasn’t a blip any longer.

"I can’t believe it," Redbeard said at last, looking at the grey ovoid object on the scope.

"It’s a drop tank." The second in command peered at the screen unbelievingly. "We’re being chased by a drop tank."

"How can a drop tank even move by itself?" Redbeard asked. "It’s impossible."

But it was clearly not impossible. The object grew and grew, until it filled the screen. It was so close now that every dent and ripple in its metal hide was clearly visible to the two pirates.

"All rear laser turrets," Redbeard ordered, "open fire."

"We can’t possibly miss," the second in command said, and pushed the firing button.

He was perfectly right. They didn’t miss. But even as the turrets bathed the pursuer in their lethal beams, its grey surface changed instantly. One moment it was rough, pitted metal; the next, brilliant silver, a perfect mirror which reflected the lasers harmlessly away into the void.

"Rail guns!" Redbeard yelled. But the rail guns fared no better than the lasers, their pellets glancing off the smooth surface of the pursuer. In fact it was so close that some of them ricocheted off and struck the Jack Sparrow herself. 

"Full speed ahead!" Redbeard screamed. But even he could see it was too late. The silvery object behind was already upon them.

And then it happened. From the bright mirror-surface came snaking metal tentacles, tipped with hooked claws. They crunched into the back of the Jack Sparrow. The claws cut into the hull as though it was made of cardboard, and then they closed tight.

Then the drop tank reversed direction and began dragging the giant mothership back towards the system it had just left.

"Full power!" Redbeard yelled. "Full power, by the moons of Mercury!"

It didn’t help. It didn’t even slow down the rate at which the pirates were being dragged back towards Enterprise.

The intercom was filled with panicky pirate voices, demanding to know what to do. The second in command, too, looked helplessly at Redbeard. "Captain?"

Grand Captain Redbeard swallowed. "Abandon ship," he said. "Let’s take to the longships and get the hell out of here."

"But," the second in command argued, "the longships don’t carry enough fuel to take us back home, us and the cargo..."

"To hell with the cargo," Redbeard snapped. "Let’s get out of here while we still can. Abandon the cargo!"

So it was when Moolora returned to Enterprise, she was towing behind her not just the Jack Sparrow but all the captives – the entire population of the planet, every single one of them. And with the departure of the pirates, they had begun to recover from the effects of their mindbombs. By the time they were down on the planet, they were all fine.

Nobody knows what happened to the pirates. Presumably they managed to get home and resume their criminal activities, but they never returned to Enterprise. And shortly afterwards, shatnerium was discovered, so Enterprise had money enough to afford protection. It never had to fear pirates again.

Moolora’s drop-tank spaceship is still there, outside Spock City, preserved to this day as an honoured relic. If you ever go to Enterprise, it’s the one place everyone will insist you visit. It’s almost holy to them, and no wonder, since they owe their existence to it.

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