The ship's thrusters give one final push before easing off as the vessel escapes Planet X7-U’s gravitational embrace. Jak remembers the feelings of awe and terror that he associates only with entering the endless void of space. It’s easy to feel exposed here. Leaving the safety of one’s home isn’t to be taken lightly; the vast expanse is notoriously prone to attacks by anarchic renegades.

The distinct city lights below soon become a homogenous glow. A tranquil mood falls on both of the crew members once the ship’s engines quieten. Ryker concentrates, inputting a series of commands into the navigation console. 

"Plotting a course to Ōmikam. It’s an old ship but it still shouldn't take longer than a week with the ion thrusters. I just hope that we…"

Ryker freezes mid-sentence as a surge of adrenaline and amphetamine cocktails are pumped into his bloodstream. The ship's sensors are integrated to his suit, transforming the spacecraft into an augmented extension of himself. 

The ship has sensed something. In a fraction of a second Ryker scans through the incoming data. He is alert, awake; time is slowed.

A ship is fast approaching them from the rear.

Incoming projectile.

Before even thinking, Ryker sends commands to thrust and roll the ship.

Bank left.

A missile streaks past, narrowly missing them.

"Strapping you in Jak! We're being attacked!” 

Jak’s seat extends and a harness is deployed to ease the burden of extremely high g-force. 

More alerts are sent to Ryker’s heads-up display, signaling a critical emergency.

He looks into the rear-view camera. The unknown vessel has come out of nowhere.

Two more projectiles from behind.

Ryker is forced to initiate an evasive maneuver. It's not going to be enough to avoid both. 

One of the missiles hits, instantly breaching the ship’s shield.

With the shield down Ryker diverts all power to the engines. More rockets are coming now. 

Ryker analyzes the data, realizing that they have to take a hit for a chance to escape. He calculates a move to get the enemy ship in view for a counter attack.

“Brace yourself!!!”

The moment before the missile hits them, Ryker steers into a defensive position, shielding the core of the ship from the blast. The projectile explodes into the ship’s rear left thruster. Instantly it is rendered useless, but the damage is contained. All of the ship’s sensors are working overtime, generating a constant stream of data. The ship veers off course violently, but Ryker had calculated this. 

Using the angular force generated by the missile hit, Ryker nimbly rotates the spacecraft, managing to flank the attackers. Suddenly they have the aggressors in clear view for the first time. The vessel is an ugly assemblage of hijacked hardware, mashed together in such a way that it resembles a grungy cyclopean entity. Despite its speed and brawn, its unwieldiness means it lacks the agility of their smaller craft.

Ryker locks onto the enemy ship, aiming for the central fuel cell. Without that their life support systems will be compromised. Wasting no time, he initiates the launch of two high-powered artillery rockets. It’s all they have onboard.

Direct hit.

The enemy vessel is left incapacitated, hurtling sideways and abruptly disappearing from their sights. 

Jak and Ryker are safe. The ship has been damaged and is losing fuel. But they are alive.