(NERV Game Site – Official DAtS Offline Forums)

Number5Alive, Golddigger, BurtBacharach, CrazyCelt, Blaze, DoYouEvenLyft?, MarcoPolo, MightMakesRight, l33tpally, Bennie, SEA-TAC_Sweetie, Requiesce-in-Pace, MacD, HaveGunsWillTravel, Guardian, GunKitty, Chummer, Inquisitor, Lizard, SemiSolidSnake, ElfMama, Not_the_Face!, Anonymous3, Anonymous4, Anonymous7, Anonymous9, AggregatorOfSorrows, M.Mollen, WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot, Dolcett, Backlog, DarkAvariel, Knocker, Hullu_Kapteeni, GrimDark, BloodForTheBloodGod, Queen’s_Bitch, BackDat@55Up, DoYouEvenDPS?, MajorTom, Parca, and DarkAngel are in the chat.

Lizard: Damn, am I glad I started in the Imperium. Our group was the first to do a full clear on the first dungeon discovered!

SEA-TAC_Sweetie: Ooh, excellent! How was it, hun?

DoYouEvenDPS?: Had to have some good loot, right?

Lizard: Yeah, we got some badass weapons, and because it was a first clear, we got a schematic for a kind of augment.

MajorTom: Make sure you have someone check over the schematic and programming before you got sticking that in someone. Deus used augments to control his minions.

GrimDark: Any other groups managed a dungeon clear? I know there are other dungeons out there.

Knocker: Groups have started on runs on the different dungeons we’ve found, but the difficulty is much higher than the game world.

AggregatorOfSorrows: Groups with Military or Police experience in RL seem to be doing better at clearing the dungeons, but they pull back before clearing.

MajorTom: Smart. Get as much intel, loot, and XP as they can, without death penalties, and map the dungeon until they are ready for a clear.

BloodForTheBloodGod: That is a sickeningly ordered approach. The Chaos Brigade tried to roll the dungeon in the Horus system, but they got wiped by the enemies. They’re trying again to get the first raid dungeon clear.

GrimDark: May the Empress and her Justice fall upon the heretics, and wipe them from the stars.

WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot: Anyone got eyes on the Black Star shipyards at Dimiya? There’s something funny going on there.

ElfMama: You mean the big ass warships that they’re building in the middle of the yards? They already announced publicly that they’d be rebuilding and expanding their fleet.

DoYouEvenLyft?: One is clearly a Carrier, but that other one, from the view I can get with the spy satellites, is the wrong dimensions for a carrier.

M.Mollen: That’s because it isn’t a carrier.

GrimDark: What have you done now?

M.Mollen: Let me begin by saying I have very smart people working for me.

WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot: What does that have to do with that ship going up?

M.Mollen: Well, we agreed that it would be a good idea to have a ship that could anchor a defensive line, should it be needed, when we began pushing through new Gateways looking for fresh opportunities.

WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot: You’re going and hunting the X’thari?

M.Mollen: Eventually. I’d rather give them something to think about, rather than always waiting for them to show up.

Blaze: You’re building a superdreadnought, aren’t you?

M.Mollen: Well, not exactly. It is actually classed as a Battleship, but will have the ability to take on much stronger foes. Modified Imperial plans, using tech we ‘acquired’ over the course of the war and other battles.

Parca: They’re calling it the Wrath of Sekhmet.

M.Mollen: A Lioness Goddess, both vindictive destroyer and protector of those who lead the people in war, and consort of the God of Craftsmen. It seemed fitting, no?

GrimDark: By the Empress. You are becoming a power unto yourself, aren’t you?

Hullu_Kapteeni: He already is, no? He is just making sure that others cannot assault his position.

M.Mollen: Well, yes and no. When the build plan is complete, groups over a certain size will certainly be able to try and take me on, especially in small scale, but if it ever became all in on either side, then things would get far too ugly for them. I might not win, but they would lose too much to be a functioning entity any more.

MajorTom: Mutually Assured Destruction.

DarkAngel: So, getting away from that, are you going to be doing any dungeons? I’ve noticed that Black Star ships haven’t been seen anywhere near the located dungeons yet.

M.Mollen: Well, we’re not against it, but with the beating we took at Nuevo Edo we’re not set up to properly exploit a dungeon, or protect our people there.

DoYouEvenDPS?: What do you mean?

MajorTom: We are a target, and we know it. So ships aren’t going to be sitting around alone and undermanned unless it is a trap to draw in some poor suckers.

DoYouEvenDPS?: That’s evil.

M.Mollen: If you’re not cheating…

Parca: YOU’RE NOT TRYING!

Bennie: YOU’RE NOT TRYING!

Guardian: YOU’RE NOT TRYING!

GunKitty: YOU’RE NOT TRYING!

HaveGunsWillTravel: YOU’RE NOT TRYING!

MajorTom: HAH! Those all came within 3 seconds!

M.Mollen: I may be a tad bit predictable with my maxims, it seems.

Hullu_Kapteeni: Well, it is working so far, no? Keep it going, and see how far it will take us.

GoldDigger: Hey, anyone near the Confederate and Alliance border? There’s been some real strange activity around here lately.

Number5Alive: What kind of strange activity? Mollen, what have you done now?

M.Mollen: It is not my fault! I don’t have ships in that area.

GoldDigger: Piracy is up almost 1000% in this area. I don’t think anyone has seen it this bad since the end of the last war.

M.Mollen: Ok, so that might be my fault, indirectly.

Anonymous3: What do you mean?

M.Mollen: Piracy in the outer areas of the Confederacy is up all over, especially since Black Star typically confines itself to the central part of the Confederacy. We’ve beaten down the pirates here enough that the ones that are still alive ran off to other areas.

GoldDigger: I considered that, but the Alliance border region is especially hazardous now, even compared to other regions.

M.Mollen: And a lot of the anti-pirate work on the Alliance side of things was done by the Kul’tirans, on contract with various groups.

Number5Alive: And you humiliated them, causing them to lose contracts which other mercenary or planetary navy groups picked up, and the pirates are having a field day, I see.

M.Mollen: That’s what my analysis says, yes.

MacD: What are you going to do about it?

M.Mollen: Nothing.

MacD: WHAT?

M.Mollen: Did I stutter?

MacD: But you just said your actions caused this!

M.Mollen: No, I responded to attacks on my people with strength, slapping down the people who did it hard enough that they aren’t going to try that again anytime soon. I’ve also hunted pirates as part of contracts with various companies.

MacD: So--!

M.Mollen: So I don’t have any contracts with companies in that area, and therefore no reason to go there until someone is paying for my services.

MacD: That’s heartless!

M.Mollen: Don’t like it? Write your senator asking for Black Star protection on the borders. Let your local merchants know you support those who have Black Star escorts for their convoys. Convince people to buy contracts with Black Star, or get the money for a contract yourself. I’m running a business, and building a fleet isn’t cheap, even for me.

(Desolace Gateway, Desolace System)

There were eighteen Gateways in Known Space, now that the Black Star Company had released the locations of the Amazon and Nuevo Edo Gateways to the galaxy. Three were located in the Terran Empire, four in the Confederation of Allied Planets, two in the Free Worlds Alliance, three in the Gauz Consortium, two in the Ihm Imperium, and three in independent systems (the Amazon system, Nuevo Edo, and the Shadowgate System, which had severed all ties with the rest of the galaxy very forcefully after one of the wars, to the point where they somehow found a way to block access to their gate). Such a scarcity across the five main groups that made up the governments of Known Space (not counting the little independent systems like Nuevo Edo) ought to make any of the gateways a prime hub of starship traffic, and guarded to make sure that enemies couldn’t slip a fleet past the border patrols.

The truth, however, was that certain gateways were not worth more than a token effort to watch them, given their remoteness or other factors. Still, of the eighteen Gateways, only two were left in what could be called an ‘unguarded’ state. Even the Mabara Gateway in the Gauz Consortium rated a fleet base, despite the fact that the local primary had long gone nova in the past, wiping out most everything in the system except for the gateway itself. The trade routes leading from Mabara to several resource and production worlds were too important not to have a guard there. The Amazon system had by now been clearly marked as a death trap for anyone trying to go down to the planet, thanks to Greenwave, and the Black Star Company was openly rumored to keep eyes on the system and patrol it regularly, to keep anyone from setting up facilities there, despite the dangers of the only inhabitable planet.

This made the Desolace system all the more unusual. Nestled in an odd corner of Confederate space, there were other gateways that were generally more useful for shipping people and cargo through, and the system itself, with its copious debris fields and little else, was no use to anyone. The Confederate Navy only kept a few spy drones in the system, to keep watch on the pirates and other types, and to let them know if a fleet entered the system by that gateway. Of course, they had to replace the spy drones regularly, either from debris impacts or because the pirates would hunt and kill them to keep their safe haven. Except that, recently, the pirates in Confederate Space had been suffering many setbacks, thanks to the Black Star Navy.

It was also known by now that the Black Stars preferred using the Desolace Gate, likely for the same reasons that the pirates used it, which led to many more spy drones getting posted around the gate, not just by the Confederate Navy, but also by independent groups, including more than a couple Nomads who wanted to keep an eye on the Black Stars. Those spy satellites also seemed to get damaged or destroyed on a regular basis. Oh sure, the Confederate satellites were usually damaged and knocked off course by uncharted debris, but it had become quietly known that ships of the Black Star Navy routinely conducted ‘training exercises’ in the empty area around the Desolace Gate, and somehow during those exercises the Nomad satellites, in particular, would often suffer ‘accidents’, and be destroyed during live-fire exercises.

All of this was to explain why a Gateway was left almost completely unguarded so close to the center of Confederate space. When the Gateway opened, the number of observers there to see it could be counted on one hand. Just the way the Black Stars liked it.

(Pirate Vessel Blind Serpent, Desolace System)

“Captain, the Gateway just opened! Address is the Amazon system.”

Captain ‘Butcher’ Nottley smiled as he leaned forward in his chair. “All right, boys, keep it nice and quiet, now, but send word to the other ships, let Captain Sarkas know we got ships incoming. Either we’ll have ourselves a score, or there will be Black Stars, and we’ll get to have some revenge for Booty Bay!”

“The other ships are prepping to jump in now. The base is going dark to keep anyone from finding out about it.”

Captain Nottley smiled. That had been a coup, and no mistake, managing to get Night Station set up and running without the Confeds or Black Stars seeing anything. The system was so full of debris that no one had ever mapped it all. But pirates looking for a safe harbor will look in the most unlikely places. Which is how Night Station came to be. Cobbled together out of a group of asteroids, the whole thing was on the opposite side of the star from the Gateway, so far out of the way that no one bothered even sending probes that way anymore.

The destruction of Booty Bay by the Black Stars had left the pirates in this sector without a base, and most of them were dead. The only two clans with any power left were the Sarkas and the Fenrora, and the Fenrora had been too stupid to run or hide. They’d talked, LOUDLY, about becoming the new Pirate Kings of the sector, and the Black Stars and Confeds had taken turns hunting them down and killing them. The remaining ships had fled to the outer sectors of the Confederacy, where things weren’t as controlled.

Sarkas, on the other hand, played it smart. Even before Booty Bay had been destroyed, he’d started building up Night Station. The former ‘Pirate Queen’, Temptation, had proven that she was too hot-headed for the job, even before she got the Black Star’s attention. Sarkas also wasn’t JUST a pirate. With the Black Stars and the Navy cracking down on pirates, all his ships had been quietly renamed and turned into smugglers. Wasn’t the thrill of the hunt, like you had with raiding, but the money was good, so the crews didn’t complain, especially when the captains were able to squeeze in a raid here or there. Piracy in the central systems might be down to levels not seen in decades, but that didn’t mean there weren’t ships that ‘went missing’. But they were smart, and kept from going after ships that belonged to (or were guarded by) Black Star.

Still, there were some of the boys who were all too eager to try and take a swing at the Black Stars. Sarkas didn’t keep stupid captains around, so no one got stupid, but still, pirates were pirates. Which is why he had ordered one ship to keep watch on the gate on rotation, just in case something tasty came through. The Blind Serpent wasn’t exactly a stealth ship, but she was damned hard to spot when she was lying in wait, making like another chunk of debris.

Plan was simple. If a lone freighter looking to get around certain regulations at different Gateways came through, or one with just one warship as an escort, then they’d spring the trap. More escorts came through, or the escort was one of the bigger ships, then they’d stay quiet and let things pass. It was up to Nottley and his Blind Serpent to make the call on whether the strike would go through. If they were discovered? Well, there were plans for that, too.

“Multiple ships exiting the Gateway! They’re Black Star ships, for certain—Wait one. One freighter, reading as the BSS Starlight Raven, and two Assassins, the BSN Shadowdancer and the… CNS Luvon Gilrie. Captain, we have a Confed Navy crew on a Black Star designed ship here!”

Nottley shook his head. Sarkas would have his head if he ordered the strike with that kind of opposition. The Shadowdancer and Starlight Raven were infamous. That meant the owner of Black Star was out there, with some of his crack crews, and they had Confeds with them. No way was he going to order that strike.

“Send the info along quiet-like to Sarkas. No raid today, boys. We don’t want to be the next Temptation, yeah? But hurry up and see if Sarkas has any extra instructions, before they jump out of here.”

(BSS Starlight Raven, Desolace System)

I frowned as I looked at the empty plot, with no contacts listed on the screen. “You’re sure we have someone out there, watching us?”

Raven nodded from her chair, and said, “Affirmative, Captain. The stealth satellites we placed in the system lost track of a ship near a major debris field in the vicinity of the Gateway. They also detected a pulse transmission when the Gateway opened, and another just after we transitioned through.”

I looked to the screen where the captains of the Shadowdancer and Luvon Gilrie were conferenced in, so we could go over these readings. “Thoughts, ladies?”

Nyna shook her head, and said, “Probably pirates, Master. We’ve kicked them around plenty since Shadowdancer left Jagloth, but we can’t have gotten all of them. The stupid ones are dead, and the smart ones either ran, or are hiding. Desolace is remote enough that anyone who went ‘missing’ in the area wouldn’t be important enough or connected enough to matter.”

Captain Zylna frowned. “True. We haven’t had any reports of missing ships or pirate actions in this system in the last six months. Piracy as a whole is down to levels where you could say it is practically nonexistent. But Intelligence said there was at least one pirate clan that may still be in the area, if only because they haven’t been confirmed dead or spotted elsewhere. The Sarkas clan was one of those believed to have been based at Booty Bay, but they were not caught in the base’s destruction or the aftermath.”

I nodded slowly. “In that case, they probably have been watching the gate, picking out or marking independent traders or other vulnerable ships to attack. The satellites are all focused on the Gateway, and you have to maneuver some before you can jump to lightspeed because of the debris fields. So the first pulse was a warning, letting their friends know that a potential snack was coming through the Gateway. The second pulse was probably warning them off, saying they didn’t want this fight.”

Captain Zylna looked to the side, and then back at the screen. “Analysts agree with you, Captain. But how are these pirates hiding from our scans? They don’t have stealth technology, do they?”

I glanced at Raven, and she shook her head. Taking a breath, I said, “Most likely not. Or not anything that couldn’t be found commercially. But Assassins are designed to do the equivalent of disappearing from sight in the middle of an empty stage with spotlights on them. That’s a far cry from people missing you on a dark night because you crouched down in the bushes next to the road.”

Captain Zylna nodded. “Fair enough. I had not considered the environmental means of hiding from sensors.”

Raven looked up, and said, “Captain, we’re receiving a burst transmission from a relay satellite one light-minute above the ecliptic from the Gateway. Text only.”

Nyna checked her screens, and said, “Captain, that satellite is nothing more than a retransmitter. The actual transmission had to come from somewhere in the system.”

“Probably from the command ship for our sneaky friend here. Likely kicked the decision to someone else, so they could make a call. Raven, what’s the message say?”

Raven cleared her throat (unnecessary since she was in an android body, but a good way to ‘humanize’ her body and move it out of the uncanny valley), and began to read. “Captain Mollen: The Sarkas Independent Trading Company wishes to advise you that there are unscrupulous sorts who are charging for ‘protection fees’ and ‘roaming tariffs’ running from Tietera to Vulsore and the adjacent border regions. As Independent Traders, we thought we would pass that information along to you and your new associate. Those interested in avoiding said ‘bad actors’ would be advised to avoid the Madrigal system at this time. Message ends.”

I clicked my tongue at that. “Cheeky bastard.”

Captain Zylna frowned, looking more than a little upset. “Did the last remaining pirate clan in the area really just ask us to go away and bother someone else?”

I nodded slightly. “More than that, I believe. ‘Independent Trader’ means ‘smuggler’ in this case. I’d guess that Sarkas decided to wait out the crackdown on piracy in this sector by shifting his crews into smuggling. Which is why we haven’t noticed him until now. So he is trying to refocus our attention on pirates in the border regions, where things are getting slightly out of control. And probably taking out rivals while he is at it.”

Nyna nodded. “What will we do, Master?”

“Send this, directional broadcast aimed at the satellite and the approximate location of the hidden ship: Sarkas Co., we register transmission. May your new venture prove fruitful. Regulations in place for your previous field will remain, but may avoid intense scrutiny provided the situation remains controlled. Advise self-regulation to prevent government inspectors. Message ends.”

Raven smiled, and sent the message, but Captain Zylna was obviously confused, so I said, “I told him I knew he was a pirate, I knew he had a ship watching the gate, but so long as he plays smuggler and keeps others from stepping out of line, then I will allow him to exist unless something happens that forces visibility on the situation. In other words, become a syndicate instead of a band of crazies that have to be hunted down. Whether he’ll get the hint or not I don’t know.”

(BSS Starlight Raven, Dimiya Space)

I smiled, and leaned back in my pilot’s chair to stretch a bit once we had transitioned out of FTL and back into ‘real’ space. Being able to cover astronomical distances in days instead of years was amazing, and I did appreciate how it would allow players who weren’t in long-term immersion pods like me take breaks for their real life while they traveled between systems. But for me, it just left me with a lot of time to sit back, relax and… well, have a lot of fun with the girls. So I guess I really didn’t mind the travel time at all.

Raven looked up from the chair where she was monitoring sensors. “Captain, we are being hailed by the heavy cruiser CNS Aepetor. They have orders to escort us to Dimiya for a conference on Netherstorm Station.”

I checked the scanners, and saw the Aepetor about a light minute out, and on an intercept course with us. It was a corvette, like the Assassins, but was a more traditional model. The fact that they sent a ship to escort us was unusual, though. Probably for the best that I had ordered Shadowdancer and the Luvon Gilrie to enter the system under stealth, just in case. I hadn’t been expecting trouble, but the idea was that you practiced like it was the big game, not a scrimmage against the scout team. So even coming into the Dimiya system, where I had a sizeable fleet to back me up, we played it with cards close to the vest.

“Really? And what reason have they given for the escort, or the conference?”

Raven shook her head. “The message didn’t include anything. However, the orbital shipyard’s office just received a message that they’ve forwarded along to us from Lieutenant Maeral Zumrora of Naval Intelligence. Putting it on your screen.”

Captain Mollen,

The ship escorting you to Netherstorm Station has been given orders by Rear Admiral Ayre Sylsalor. Officially, the conference you’ve been invited to is to negotiate the Black Star Navy’s help in rooting out some of the pirate clans working in the Tietera-Vulsore corridor along the border with the Free Worlds Alliance. Unfortunately, the Admiral is a rather proud sort, and the actions of Black Star of late have caused him to get his back up about asking ‘mercenaries’ for help. He wishes to provoke you into some action that would allow him to place legal restrictions on you, or say that you are not negotiating in good faith to allow the Navy to take the lead in this.

As you might guess, the Admiral does not have my knowledge of your capabilities and habits, and since I would rather not have to put together an intelligence dossier on how to survive a fight against your forces, I’m giving you this warning. He will try to bait you. However, there will be others listening in electronically who may lean on him if he goes too far.

In hopes of future business dealings,

Lieutenant Maeral Zumrora

I frowned, and said, “Well, it would seem that Zumrora views us, or at least Black Star, as a valuable asset, and is trying his best to keep the idiot admiral from burning ties. I knew there was a reason I liked that man, even if he was a spook. All right, send to the Aepetor, and tell them that we will rendezvous with them at Netherstorm Station after I’ve had some time to relax and have a hot meal.”

I paused, and then said, “And make the calculations for a microjump to the shipyards so we can get in our security cordon. Have the Assassins ready to jump with us on my mark.”

“Calculations made. Ready to jump. Captain, the Aepetor’s captain is demanding to speak to you, and insisting we comply with his orders to escort us to Netherstorm Station.”

“Jump.”

(Netherstorm Station, Dimiya orbit, Dimiya System)

Five hours later, the First Group of the Black Star Navy entered Dimiya orbit and uncloaked, with the Shinokage at the head. The only non-Black Star ship in the formation was the Luvon Gilrie, whose captain was no doubt feeling quite a bit conflicted at the moment. But there was nothing for that. Right now, I was standing on the main bridge of the Shinokage, watching as Captain Inatumal went about the business of the short in-system run.

The comms officer looked up from his screen. “We’re being challenged by the station.”

When the Captain looked at me, I nodded once, and then looked at the main screen. “Patch me through, broadcast in the clear. Don’t deliberately send it to everyone in the system, but don’t keep anyone who wants to listen from hearing what we say. Main screen, if you will.”

When the controller for the Navy’s section of the station appeared on the screen, I cut him off before he could get two words out of his mouth. “This is Admiral Mirikon Mollen of the Black Star Navy. Rear Admiral Ayre Sylsalor of the Confederate Navy sent a ship requesting my presence for a conference on Netherstorm Station. Unfortunately, I had some items to take care of. Let the Admiral know if he still wishes to have a conference, he is more than welcome to visit the CNS Luvon Gilrie, detached on assignment to the Black Star Navy, and we can have the discussion there. Or I can continue on with my day. I am a very busy man, after all, and do not have time for asinine political games or dick beating contests. Admiral Mollen, out.” I looked to the side, and made a motion for the comms officer to cut the transmission.

(CNS Luvon Gilrie, Dimiya Orbit)

Rear Admiral Sylsalor was NOT pleased. First the damn business man playing naval commander had the gall to refuse the Aepetor’s escort to Netherstorm Station, and then he appeared with half his damn fleet, appearing out of nowhere, proving once again that the Navy couldn’t track his ships if they didn’t want to be tracked! And to top it off, the bastard transmitted his response in the clear, without any encryption at all! His office was already fielding calls from the news outlets, and he even had to deal with that annoying senator who used to be part of the Shining Path faction until she’d been linked to Mollen romantically.

The bastard had too many friends and too much influence. And now that insufferable Nomad had suggested publicly that he was wasting his time and playing political games with him! The unmitigated gall of the man! Fortunately, they were on a Confederate ship now, even if it was just a corvette. The Admiral who had arranged the ‘training program’ was a rival, but he could still order the crew to do what was needed, if it came to that. This Nomad needed to be properly leashed before he got out of control. And then they could nationalize his company and get the benefits of Black Star’s technology without the annoying Nomads.

As his shuttle docked with the Luvon Gilrie, Captain Zylna and her first officer were there, and saluted him. “Admiral Sylsalor, welcome to the Luvon Gilrie. Admiral Adkian has ordered me to remind you that the Luvon Gilrie is currently on detached assignment to the Black Star Navy, answering to Admiral Mollen, and that orders contrary to that must be cleared through him before implementation. I’m also ordered to say that Admiral Adkian wishes to express his displeasure at your conduct with this affair so far.”

It was all Sylsalor could do to maintain his composure. Damn that Adkian! Why was the Admiral in charge of Naval Intelligence interfering with him? And he was the one who had approved the detachment of the Luvon Gilrie to the Black Stars for ‘training’ in the first place! Damn him to the infinite Abyss! Still, he did not let his anger show. It was not correct to act in such a way in front of his subordinates. Zylna had made it clear that these were orders she had received from higher, and not the Captain trying to insult an Admiral. He would save his anger for those who deserved it.

“Very well, Captain. Lead the way.”

Zylna nodded sharply, and turned to lead the way with her first officer. “Unfortunately, the only room on an Assassin-class corvette large enough for the number of people attending is the mess hall. However, Admiral Mollen has provided food and refreshment from his private stores for the meeting.”

Sylsalor said nothing as he and his aide with their two guards followed behind the Gilrie’s officers, quietly fuming inside. When the reached the mess hall, Sylsalor was outraged to see Admiral Mollen already seated at the table, his aides next to him, eating a leg of roast catir. With his hands, no less! Not even with silverware like a gentleman would! As he approached the table, Sylsalor grimaced in distaste as the man simply wiped a hand on a napkin before offering it to the Admiral. Uncivilized barbarian!

Deliberately mistaking the offered hand for an invitation to sit, Sylsalor sat down at the table, and looked at the stuffed up cretin. “Mister Mollen—”

“Admiral. Admiral Mollen. Mister Mollen is who you would talk to if you were making a purchase of new ships or any of the Black Star Company’s other fine consumer and military products. It is my understanding that you are here to try and enlist the Black Star Navy to fight for you. Thus, you will address me as Admiral Mollen, or we don’t have anything to talk about.”

(Mirikon POV)

I had to keep myself from smiling as the admiral’s eyes widened and his nostrils flared at being cut off in the middle of his speech. There were two ways to deal with someone who liked to play power games, trying to provoke you into weakening your position. You either sat back and took it for as long as you could, or you preempted them, and started turning their games on them, so that you undermined how important they were. Frankly, I wasn’t in his chain of command, and I didn’t need this job to continue making money, so I had no reason to simply take whatever he was dishing out.

The Admiral did a good job of mastering his expression, though, and said, “Very well, Admiral Mollen.” (It was amazing how much scorn he put into my title.) “As you may be aware, there has been a surge in piracy of late in the outlying sectors of the Confederacy, well beyond the normal rates. With the Kul’Tiras Mercenary Group withdrawing or being relieved of many security contracts in the Free Worlds Alliance and other companies taking their place, the normal enforcement routines are not enough to dissuade the pirates, and they have been getting bolder of late in that sector of the frontier.”

I pretended as though I was considering what he said, nodding slowly. “Yes, I have heard reports of increased pirate activity along the borders. The Nomad information networks have been positively buzzing with how ineffective the Navy has been at curbing the upswing of piracy in the area. More than one group suggested that I involve myself in that mess, but I told them that, without a contract requesting the Black Star Navy to enter the area for that purpose, the best we could do would be to offer training and advice to the crews of the Assassins the Navy purchased from us while we prepare for our next expedition into unknown space.”

I leaned forward to look at Sylsalor, and said, “Now, since you are here to contract Black Star, what is the nature of the contract that you wish us to take on? That will determine the rates we’ll be charging, naturally.”

Sylsalor said, “It will be the standard mercenary contract, of course. You go where the Navy tells you and shoot those we designate. The fees—”

“No. If you wanted a standard mercenary outfit, then you came to the wrong group. Perhaps you should speak with the Kul’Tirans? I hear that they have a lot of time on their hands and are desperate for credits after the last job they took in Confederate space turned sour on them and had all kinds of nasty repercussions.”

“You! I’ll have you know—”

“Now, if you want the premier mercenary group in the Confederacy to go and solve your problem, then you are not going to get us for the bottom of the barrel prices you typically offer, and it will not be an open-ended contract giving you the ability to order Black Star to commit atrocities for you.” I paused, and smiled, “Oh, I did mention that this negotiation is being recorded, right?”

(BSN Shinokage, Captain’s Quarters, Interstellar Space)

“Captain, the Artemis has reported in. They have confirmed pirates setting up a tarpit trap in the lane between Cadaran and Tietera. Six ships in total, a frigate and five corvettes. Looks like they’re setting up for a strike on the relief convoy for the Bobobo Plague that has been reported there.”

“I’ll – AH! – be right theeeere!”

There was a repressed giggle at the other end. “Understood, Ma’am. Will you take care of informing the Admiral?”

Slave-Captain Inatumal tried to glare, but it was ruined by the fact that the intercom was audio only, and the way she was trying not to moan as I thrust up into her as she straddled my waist, her hips bouncing as lewdly as they could as they met my thighs. “Y-yes. I will take care of it. Inatumal out.” When the comm line was closed, the captain tried to glare down at me, and said, “Master! You could at least let me talk to my subordinates without – EEK!” Unfortunately, her words were cut off by her sister grabbing her breasts from behind and nibbling on one of her ears.

“Now, sister. Why don’t you just forget all about that, and just enjoy the master’s cock? Weren’t you the one who was so happy that he decided to ride on the Shinokage for this run, instead of taking the Raven? I do believe that you were debating on what kind of panties to wear when you welcomed him aboard, weren’t you?”

“W-well I wanted to make the proper impression!”

“You should have just done like I did. No panties, no problem.”

“I’m not a – ahh! – slut like you are!”

“Says the woman bouncing so erotically on her master’s rod. Admit it, you were hoping he would just bend you over and take you in the middle of the shuttle bay!”

I had taken the Perfect Shapeshifting route when advancing my shapeshifting abilities, but that didn’t mean the other options were forbidden to me. The sisterly banter between Aurae and Nimue came to a halt as Nimue gasped as the second phallus I’d just grown stabbed up into her, causing her to pinch hard on Aurae’s poor nipples in surprise. Both Knelfi women moaned in pleasure as I made a two-pronged assault on their luscious bodies, enjoying every bit of the twins’ undivided attention as I ravished them. I would love to say that I kept them there all day, but, well, they DID have work to get to, and the thing about twin penises is that you have double the stimulation. The next time Aurae came, it was too much for me, and I exploded within the twins, which set off Nimue as well. Both knelfi women collapsed onto me as I went back to my ‘base’ form, pleasantly relaxed from their exertions.

When she had recovered enough to speak clearly, Aurae said, “Master, reporting that we have confirmed pirate activity in the transit lanes between Cadaran and Tietra.” She giggled as Nimue smacked her backside for her cheeky tone, and then said, “Shall we reform the group?”

I gave each of the knelfi women a kiss upon the lips, and then said, “Only six ships, and none larger than a frigate? Have Shinokage, Shadowdancer, and Luvon Gilrie converge on the location to work with Artemis. The rest of the group is to converge on the convoy containing the relief supplies, and shadow them in. They are not to reveal themselves unless the convoy comes under assault.”

“As you wish, Master.”

I smiled, and said, “Now, I believe we need a shower before you report to the bridge, don’t you, girls?”

They were all too eager to agree.

(BSN Shinokage, Secondary Command Room)

Six hours after Artemis signaled her sighting pirates, Shinokage and the Assassins were finally into position, and ready to join in the assault. I watched as the countdown dropped to zero, and all four ships hit the tarpit, moving in perfect formation. We dropped our own tarpit so we could keep the rats from running away.

At my command, Captain Inatumal sent her surrender demand to the pirates. While there were female pirates, and even some female pirates who had become leaders, the vast majority of the breed were, shall we say, less than supporters of the idea of gender equality. To put it bluntly, they were rampant misogynists who enjoyed the power and control they got over the females of any ships they took, and were unwilling to put up with anything from a woman who hadn’t shown that she was willing to kill anyone who crossed her in horrible ways. Even then, they only put up with it so long as the fear remained.

Such sentiments would probably have been met with laughs and angry comments by anyone who took a superficial look at my lifestyle in the game, but I liked to think that I had established a clear stance on things. While I owned slaves, and delighted in using them, my organization had quite a fair balance of genders and races in power (OK, so mostly humans and knelfi, since we hadn’t moved into the Alliance or Imperium yet, but still). And they weren’t there because of favoritism. They were there because they had the skills for the position, and they were trustworthy.

The pirates, after being taunted with a surrender demand from a pretty knelfi woman who only had three ships to their six, lost their heads. Raven was able to pick up their ship registrations, and identified them as members of the Fenrora Clan, one of the two pirate clans that had fled the central systems of the Confederacy after our assault on Booty Bay wiped out the primary pirate haven in the region. They should have known better. They HAD to know better.

But bigots allow their hate and need for superiority to override their common sense. ESPECIALLY when the object of their prejudice is calling them out and telling them to submit. THAT pisses them off to no end, and they get a severe case of stupid that makes them go into situations that they know are all kinds of bad for them, but they do it anyway, even if it destroys them, to try and ‘own’ the people they hate. It actually made me feel slightly bad for doing this, since it was like challenging the handicapped to a race… up a flight of stairs.

But war is not fair. Sucks to be them, but that’s how it goes. The pirates turned straight at us, in what might pass as a ‘formation’ only if you applied some chaos math to it. Our only hint at the central location for any pirates in the area was what the Sarkas clan had given us. But going straight to Madrigal without confirming the location and numbers was a great way to get ourselves ambushed and destroyed. And I didn’t like getting destroyed.

So we were going with the slightly more difficult method of trying to ensure that someone with authority survived to tell us what we wanted to know. If we could capture any of the ships intact enough that they could fly on their own power, well, I could think of quite a few uses for an eminently expendable warship. And the slaves would be good additions to the rising work force of the Black Star Company.

Still, I wasn’t going to give pirates a fair fight in open space. There was simply no need for it. Especially when they were stupid enough to try and close with us on straight-line trajectories. Clearly, whoever was on that frigate wasn’t exactly the brightest bulb in the box. We weren’t dealing with the cream of Fenrora’s ships. Three of the corvettes were reduced to so much floating debris as the main weapons of the Assassins obliterated them. It was like these pirates hadn’t learned a damn thing from our campaigns over the time we’d been openly kicking ass in this game.

The remaining three ships were… less than coordinated in their response. One corvette veered wildly to port, trying to avoid any projectiles that might possibly be on their path. The other began turning hard, shedding velocity as quickly as they could to try and run from our little group. That captain was probably the only one with any sense in the pirate flotilla. The captain of the frigate certainly didn’t have a clue, as I saw that they had increased speed, and sensors indicated magnetic grapplers were coming online.

Normally, I would have laughed at the idea of a frigate trying to board and take a cruiser like the Shinokage, because it was clearly a move fueled either by anger or desperation. About the only way the frigate wouldn’t get blown out of the sky was if they managed to somehow get close enough to grapple the Shinokage and could at least board her, if not take her. However, the magnetic grapplers had zero chance of catching the nonmetallic hull of my ships, so I wasn’t worried about that in the slightest.

Looking at the plot, I quickly gave out commands to my ships. “Artemis and Luvon Gilrie to pursue the runner. If he doesn’t surrender, disable him and capture. Shadowdancer, you take out the one that doesn’t know what in the hell he’s doing. Shinokage will take the frigate. First group to take their target, either by securing their surrender or boarding and capturing the ship, will earn a prize next time we hit a port where we can be sure the locals won’t try to poison us and take our ships.”

I chuckled as I killed the line. It was a fairly decent match, I thought. All three of the groups clearly out-gunned their targets, but the question was how much fight the groups would have. The frigate was clearly going to have to be disabled and taken, so I doubted Shinokage would win this. The question was which of the other pirate captains would lose their nerve first. The one doing evasive maneuvers might scare fast and fold, or they might make a fight of it, at least long enough for the runner to drag their conflict out enough before they realized they weren’t going to escape the Assassins. That one was probably going to surrender in hopes of not getting killed. Looking back at the plot before the fight started, it looked like he was deliberately using one of the destroyed ships as a screen. He, at least, knew that there wasn’t any winning this fight.

As the different groups closed, the difference in firepower, shield strength, and general toughness (not to mention regular maintenance) soon proved its worth as the pirates began trying to kill us, while we tried to take the pirates. Unfortunately for them, they were wholly insufficient for the task. A missile from Shadowdancer broke through her target’s shields, impacting the stern. Something important must have been hit, because secondary explosions rocked the ship, blowing out compartments on one deck all the way down the port side of the ship, opening them to vacuum. The runner must have been watching that, because they cut power and surrendered just half a second after Shadowdancer’s target did.

The frigate, of course, was too intent on trying to make the insolent woman who taunted him pay to realize what was going on. When the frigate’s shields fell, and the ion cannons began hitting his hull and disabling his systems, and there was still no surrender, I knew I was right, and this guy was going to need to be taken down in person, rather than just assuming he would surrender. Seeing a chance for some fun, I ordered my team to suit up and join the Shinokage’s tactical team. I hadn’t gotten to go shooting pirates in too long!

By the time the frigate was finally under control, and the last of the pirates captured or killed, we had already confirmed Sarkas’s information that the major pirate base in the sector was in Madrigal. But that just let us know that we were on the right track. Hitting the base and rooting out the pirate network here would take a little more work. However, the captain that tried to run was apparently being very helpful in an attempt to save his worthless life, and we had a location where a money-man would be meeting with a local pirate leader, one of the ones that had been in the area for a while.

We had the beginnings of a plan that was more than just ‘shoot everyone’. Not that ‘shoot everyone’ was a bad plan, but it did tend to get people all kinds of cranky when terms like ‘collateral damage’ or ‘gross negligence’ or ‘slaughter of innocents’ were thrown around. If we could just shoot the pirates without shooting bystanders, that would be much better for our image.

(Seven Star Lounge, Zanchul Station, Tietera Orbit, Tietera System)

Tietera was a busy industrial system. Tietera itself was rich in mineral resources and industry, but the rocky planet was crap all for sustainable food production outside of hydroponics bays. Ziphad, the third planet in the system, was actually an agrarian world that could feed several planets easily, but had little to no mineral resources. During the initial colonization phase, the Knelfi pioneers who founded the system decided to land on Tietera, and build the resources they would need to grow food on Ziphad. That, combined with the fact that most of the industry and economy in the system flowed through Tietera, meant it was the seat of power in the system.

Zanchul Station was a seedy place run by the local crime lords, much like Choson Ring in Sol System. Every system had at least one place for the criminal element to gather. The cops, if they were smart, didn’t bother with it unless something high profile was going on, because it was easier to keep an eye on the illegal trades when they were centered in one place rather than underground and constantly moving. The syndicates knew what was up, as well, and self-policed to some degree, to keep things at a tolerable level.

That was why Aiwan Gilwarin was so confident in walking down the halls of the station’s promenade without constantly checking for cameras or other annoyances. He had no warrants, no bounties on his head. He was, however, the facilitator for a good deal of the pirate fleets in this sector, helping turn stolen goods and credits into something that could be spent without getting law enforcement involved. He paid his taxes as a ‘financial consultant’, plus a few bribes that made it so he would hear about any legal action against him long before it got to the point people were trying to arrest him, and he could have his people quash the trouble or arrange for the investigators to find something that threw them off the scent.

As he walked to the bar he frequented (and owned, though few people knew that), Gilwarin’s thoughts turned towards the reason he was having a meeting tonight. The current state of affairs was getting hot. Too many pirates had come into the area too quickly, and there were calls for people to start getting solid Navy pirate hunters, instead of just the border patrols they had in the area, and start cleaning house. There were even some that were considering bringing in Mercenary groups like that Black Star Company that had been in the news recently.

The Seven Star Lounge was what passed for upscale dining and drinks on Zanchul Station. It wasn’t high society, by any stretch, but it held itself to a bit of a higher standard than the dives that the common pirates went to, and was priced accordingly. The food and drink offered were also of a higher quality than you would find elsewhere on the station, including the real meat in the dishes, from actual animals. It was the only place on the station where you could find vermaw (a beast not dissimilar to the Terran ‘cow’ native to Ziphad) steaks fresh, never frozen. He didn’t usually partake in meat dishes, as there was a bias in knelfi society about ‘barbaric’ practices like that, but he always made sure there was a steak on his plate when he was meeting with pirates. Little things like that made all the difference, after all.

As he walked past the line and to his normal table, Gilwarin smiled, seeing that everything was in order, ready to meet with Aeson “Quickblade” Shaxidor, Captain of the Death’s Shadow, the only pirate battlecruiser in Known Space. Sure, it was an older ship, retired after the last major interstellar war, but he happened to know that Quickblade had been keeping the Shadow in good repair, and upgraded the systems quite a bit over the years. After all, he’d help finance some of those transactions. But Captain Shaxidor was one of the smart ones. Hopefully he could get the Captain to agree to help quiet down the pirates, or at least get them to do most of their damage on the other side of the border with the Alliance.

Hope Walters

Human Female

Level 10

Faction: Terran Empire

A human female dressed in the club’s uniform for servers came up to the table, and smiled at him, asking if he would like a drink and whether he wanted a menu. He ordered his customary drink and something for a ‘friend’ who would be joining shortly, while looking over the woman. She was pretty, in that blonde-haired, blue-eyed way that appealed to so many humans, and the way she was wearing that uniform would be more than a little enticing to many. He didn’t remember her, so she must be a new hire. As she walked away to the bar to order the drinks, he admired her form. Perhaps he should schedule an ‘employee review’ soon, to ensure that the right ‘qualities’ in his staff were being maintained. The Seven Star Lounge had a reputation to uphold, after all. It was one of the perks of being the ultimate boss that he got to be the one doing the testing.

He was enjoying his drink when Captain Shaxidor made his appearance. At least the pirate captain had the good sense to dress appropriately for the venue, though Gilwarin noted the presence of the pistols on each of the man’s hips as he walked. While Zanchul station had few weapons laws (mostly centered around things that would damage the station’s hull), this was not the part of the station where one would typically carry weapons openly. Unfortunately, that was one of the perils of dealing with pirates, and their rather unfortunate tendency to be worse than base animals when it came to social situations. At least the ‘tourists’, as he called the normal patrons of the bar, would have a tale to tell of how they got to have lunch while a ‘dangerous pirate’ was in the room, without being in any real danger, themselves.

The pirate, though, was either ignorant of the fashion faux pas that he had committed, or chose to ignore it, as he he spoke up the moment he got to the table. “Ah, Gilwarin, you penny-pincher! Good to see ya, man. So, what has been on your mind? I know this isn’t about any problems between us, right? Seeing as how you’ve been taking your cut regularly, same as always, and things are going good.”

The waitress appeared again at that moment, setting Gilwarin’s drink in front of him. Turning to smile at the pirate, she said, “A double bourbon, straight up, sir.” She set the drink down in front of Shaxidor, and yelped when she got slapped on her rear by the pirate. “S-sir, is there anything you would like to get from the menu?”

Gilwarin nodded, rescuing the girl for the moment, and said, “Yes, let Gaspard in the kitchen know that I’ll have my usual ‘business dinner’, with the steak cooked mid-well.” Looking over to Shaxidor, “I know you’ve been here enough to have an idea of the menu, my friend. Or would you rather wait and order later?”

Shaxidor chuckled, and looked over at the waitress, his hand resting on her ass. “No, I’ll take the ‘business dinner’, same as my friend here, except make my steak rare, so I can taste it.”

“Right away, sir.”

As the waitress ran off, Gilwarin sighed. “I do wish you wouldn’t do that in the middle of the restaurant, Aeson. The poor girl is new, and doesn’t seem to know the way things work on this station just yet. I’d rather you don’t scare her off before I have a chance to properly break her in. Perhaps, when this is done, I can have a couple girls brought up to your room? You’re staying at the hotel you normally use, yes?”

The pirate laughed, and said, “Fine, fine. I won’t scare away your prey. Never let it be said that Quickblade Shaxidor didn’t know when to leave a fellow man some treasure to plunder for themselves. And yes, I’ll be staying at the hotel again. Does a body good to get off the ship now and then, and this way I don’t have to notice when the boys bring their own party aboard, so long as they clean up the mess before I get back.”

Gilwarin simply laughed, and raised his glass in a mock salute to the man. Seeing that the situation had been calmed down, for the moment, Shaxidor brought up the reason for the meeting again. “So, why call this meet? Things have been going swell, so far. Not seeing any reason to go changing things, just yet.”

The financier sighed, and said, “Yes, things are going swell. Quite a bit too swell, if you catch my drift. I’ve been hearing rumors, and running some numbers, and things aren’t looking good, long term.”

The pirate frowned, suddenly very attentive on the matter at hand. “Something specific going down?”

Gilwarin shook his head. “Not sure, yet. I’m sure you’ve heard that the numbers for piracy are way up recently. The Imperial troubles, Jagloth, new gates, all of it going on and making things chaotic, which breeds pirates, everyone knows that. But the numbers haven’t been up high enough for anyone to consider it a real problem in any sector except ours. Piracy in this sector is up 1235% from the numbers three years ago, while most sectors are only up 100% to 200%! Most of that is in the last year!”

Shaxidor nodded slowly. “Yes, there’s been a lot of new blood in the area. That ‘Black Star’ group blew up or killed half the pirates in the central planets, it seems, and the other half scattered across the Confederacy. I don’t think our corner has gotten more than our fair share of the ‘refugees’.”

“Oh sure, but the other side of the border has had their piracy patrols curtailed because of the trouble those Kul’tirans got into, remember? And because of it, everything’s expanding too far, too fast. Like I said, I’ve been hearing rumors. If you can’t get those newcomers to settle down, or settle them down yourself, then there’s likely to be a whole lot more problems in the future.”

“What kind of problems?”

“There are two main rumors I’ve heard. One of them says the Navy is going to put together a task force to smash pirate bases, fleets, and support networks, and just generally be more annoying than they usually are. Honestly, for your sake, I’m hoping that this is the one that’s true, because even a fleet task force has some holes that can be used to help pay people to look away, and mainly hunt the newcomers.”

“You WANT a Navy task force on our heads? What is the other rumor, that makes you hate living so much?”

Gilwarin took a breath, and said, “The second rumor is that there are people, both ‘natives’ and Nomads, who are petitioning their representatives, trying to pressure them into paying the Black Stars to come down and clean up shop like they did in the core. Not just showing the flag and hurting pirates to make the sheep feel better about things, but actually coming and putting paid to any pirates that stick around, trying to drive your type and mine out of this whole sector.”

To his credit, Shaxidor actually considered that, and what it would mean. “They’d be having to lay out a lot of credits to get those Black Stars, now that they’ve got so much success. And way I heard it, the damn pirates in the core made the mistake of trying to hit Black Star directly, and that’s why they went and smacked them all down.”

“Actually, that would be why we smacked them all down for free. This time, we’re getting paid to go pirate hunting.” The two men turned to view the server they hadn’t noticed returning to the table, especially when she had a dart gun in her hand. Two darts hit Shaxidor in the chest with the barely audible sound of compressed air being released, hitting him directly over the heart. The pirate tried to get to his feet, but only ended up collapsing into the booth, asleep.

“What are you—” Gilwarin’s attempt at getting more information died as he, too, received two darts to the chest, sending him into a stupor, and then unconsciousness. The last words he heard before things went black haunted him, as he knew it was already too late.

“Black Star sends their regards.”

Once the two targets were out, the waitress allowed ‘her’ voice to change back to the ‘normal’ one, and held up ‘her’ commlink. “Black Star Prime to teams. I have two for pickup. No casualties.”

(Holding Cells, BSN Shinokage, Tietera System)

I watched as Captain Aeson ‘Quickblade’ Shaxidor began waking up, clearly having the mother of all headaches. It was a common side effect of the knockout poison on the darts we used. Works like a charm on most species, and twice as fast on Knelfi, but it leaves them with an absolute bitch of a headache when it wears off. Since we didn’t usually sleepy-time anyone we actually cared about, that wasn’t a priority of ours.

The Captain was currently sitting in a chair we’d designed to be uncomfortable, especially since he was tied to it with his hands behind his back, and dressed only in his underwear. The bright white spotlight above his head made it difficult for him to see anyone or anything in the darkened room outside his little circle of light, adding to the psychological pressure of the whole ordeal. Normally, we wouldn’t have stripped the man, but we’d found enough hidden weapons, escape kits, and other nasty surprises that we just stripped him of everything. As a precaution, the doctor scanned him, and found a false tooth filled with poison, an effective suicide pill if he got captured. We also dug out the emergency beacon in his wrist, so that he wouldn’t be able to call for help.

Shaxidor groaned, and finally opened his eyes, blinking and squinting in the bright light. “What the? Where am I? You got no right to be doing this to me!” Ah, it seemed he was lucid enough to complain, which meant that he was lucid enough for us to begin the questioning.

“Aeson Shaxidor. Pirate. Smuggler. Slaver. Thief. Murderer. Oh, dear, you even are involved in dealing addictive pharmaceuticals. You really are a renaissance criminal, it seems. Let’s see, Captain of the Death’s Shadow. Now isn’t that ironic?”

All the while I was speaking, I walked softly outside the circle of light, so my voice was constantly changing position, causing Shaxidor to turn his head to try and track my movements in an attempt to see who he was dealing with. I kept my voice calm, conversational, like I was simply reading something off the pages of a dossier. It was a psychological game, of course. The unknown figure who knows so much already, what else is in their file on him? That was a powerful lever I could use to break Shaxidor.

“What do ya mean, ironic? And who in the hell are you? I got rights, damnit! You can’t be doing this to me! I’m a free trader—”

“Oh, please, Aeson. Can I call you Aeson? Anyways, do give us some credit for our intelligence department’s ability to get to the truth behind the lies. You are no ‘free trader’. You are a pirate, and have been working this area of space for twenty years, now, always knowing the right officials to bribe so that the Navy never troubled you, so long as you kept your activities within an acceptable level.”

“Then why are we having this ‘conversation’? You know that I’m protected, so there’s no point keeping me here. When the people in the Governor’s office hear I’ve been taken…”

“Oh my. You are behind the times. Here, let me play you a little something. I think it will do wonders to show you exactly what your position is.”

A screen popped on in front of Shaxidor, showing the local Tietera News. There was an attractive female reporter standing in front of the Seven Star Lounge.

“Still no word from officials in the Tietera Health Services on the identities of the two men who were taken from the locally famous Seven Star Lounge here on Zanchul Station by emergency medical transport earlier this evening. However, we have received unconfirmed reports that this may have been a case of Morbilor Astsimus poisoning, a condition that is known to be caused by consuming the flesh from infected Vermaw. Sources in the Seven Star Lounge confirm that the two men were eating vermaw steaks sourced from the Sagthad region of Ziphad. We here at Tietera News will work to find out whether this was an isolated incident, or whether our food supplies are at risk of contamination.”

The anchor cut in here, and said, “Taenya, is there any news on when we may learn more about the identity of the two men who were evacuated?”

“Unfortunately, sources in the Medical Service have said that an official announcement will not be made until the families of the victims are notified, if possible. However, we have obtained this footage of the medical teams evacuating the two men from a nearby store’s security cameras. We’re going to show you an enhancement on one of the victims now. Facial recognition gives a 67% match to Aiwan Gilwarin, a local financier and number 454 on the Orbesf 500 list for the Tietera System’s most affluent people.”

I cut the screen off, and said, “So, unfortunately for you, you haven’t been arrested, and no government contacts will be calling demanding you be released. Of course, even if they demanded it, that wouldn’t mean anything. After all, no one on this ship is a government official.”

“What? If you aren’t government, then who the fuck are you? Some spy agency? I got nothing for you backstabbing spooks. Saw how you just like using us and then tossing us aside when it is politically inconvenient.”

“Ah, no. You see, I told you that the name of your ship was rather ironic, didn’t I? Death’s Shadow has such a nice, grim ring to it. The irony, of course, is that the name of the ship you’re currently on translates to ‘Shadow of Death’. But you would probably recognize it better as Shinokage.”

Ah, there it was. Even if I wasn’t in his head, reading his surface thoughts, it would be easy enough to see the fear that just went through him, as the Captain stiffened in response to my declaration. “No way, we haven’t done anything to your group!”

“Oh yes, that is why you are still alive and uncollared. Whether either of those things remain true is something I have not yet decided. Some of it will depend on your attitude, of course. I have this thing about people insulting me or mine. It makes me want to smack them around a little bit until they’ve learned their lesson. Sometimes, though, it involves someone taking a walk outside without a suit.”

Captain Shaxidor grit his teeth, not trusting himself to say anything that wouldn’t get him into more trouble, though he did have some interesting thoughts about what he wanted to do. I continued my little trick of moving around the room, and said, “Don’t bother trying to use the implant to signal your crew. We made sure to remove it after our operative brought you in for questioning.”

“Operative? You mean that blonde bint? She was working for you guys?”

“Oh yes, it was quite easy getting her a job as a server at the lounge. Your friend Mister Gilwarin is, unfortunately for you, a rather bad judge of character. But don’t worry about him. He’s currently being interviewed in another cell. Though I’ve been informed he’s currently working very hard to make a deal for himself that will allow him to go free after all of this is done.”

“What? That rat! What is he telling you?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just all the accounts that he has used to launder money for you pirates over the years, and details on the loans and other financing he’s done as well. I do believe he’s been keeping careful records of all of his dealings since the beginning, just in case a day like this ever came up.”

I paused, and then said, “Now, as you can see, this leaves you in a somewhat worse condition. The more information he gives us, the less valuable any contributions you have may be. Right now, your best-case scenario is… well, I won’t say, but at least you’d be alive. That’s something, right? But right now, you’re looking at death. Maybe slow and painful, as an example to other pirates. Maybe something quicker and more dignified, an easy end, if you keep your attitude in check. But you’re going to have to do a lot of work if you want to keep breathing.”

Shaxidor’s eyes widened, his nostrils flared, as a surge of anger flared through him, but he stomped down on it swiftly, keeping it in check. Promising himself that he’d get revenge in time. Just had to keep it together, give me what I wanted, and then get out of there. Get his crews, and taking them out of the sector until we had finished killing the new pirates, and then returning to pick up the pieces at a more established rate, until they could find a chance to fight back. Too bad it would never work, but whatever little lies he told himself to keep his ego in check were fine with me.

“What do you want?”

“It is simple, really. We had a great deal of success last time we went up against pirates by attacking their bases. We have received confirmation of the location of the main pirate haven in this sector. But your people aren’t as foolish as the so-called Pirate Queen from the Badlands. The reports we’ve gotten talk about all kinds of defenses.”

Shaxidor glared at the empty space where I formerly was. “You’re going after Madrigal Base? That’s madness! Even the Navy isn’t stupid enough to go trying and taking that base! We’ve been building it up for almost a hundred years. The damn thing is as good a fortress as you’ve ever seen!”

“Ah, yes. That was what we have heard. However, you forget who you’re talking to. Black Star has launched successful attacks on some of the most heavily fortified positions in the galaxy, slipping through Defense networks that make yours look cute and antiquated by comparison. If we set ourselves to wiping out Madrigal Base, it will be wiped out. The only question is what will it cost us, and what will it cost the pirates.”

“Then what in the abyss do you want with me? If you’re so certain you can break the Maddy, then why all of this?”

“Simple enough, Aeson. Destroying Madrigal Base and everyone on it would be child’s play, when you have precision mass drivers, and other, even more destructive weaponry. No, we could easily destroy Madrigal Base. But taking it? Capturing the base, complete with all its supplies and personnel intact? That takes more than simply going in and blasting away. And so we come to why you are here. You are one of the senior captains in this sector. Twenty ships answer to you, mostly little corvettes and frigates, of course, with some converted freighters. You’re the third most powerful pirate captain in the sector, which means you would have quite the inside knowledge of Madrigal’s defenses.”

Shaxidor blinked. He didn’t like that I knew about the number and type of ships that answered to him. Worse, I knew things that I wasn’t supposed to know. Someone had leaked the existence of Madrigal Base, and told me enough about the defenses that I decided to get an ‘inside man’. But he knew he was trapped. If I didn’t get cooperation from him, he’d die, or worse, and I’d find some other patsy. There were plenty of pirates out there that would throw the rest of them under the cargo transport to save their own skins. Maybe he could feed enough false information to—

“Oh, I wouldn’t recommend doing that, Aeson.”

“W-what? What are you talking about?”

“You were just thinking about how you were going to try and deceive me, getting me to take out most of your enemies while getting me killed, no? Unfortunately, that plan simply isn’t going to work. No, that plan won’t work either. And really, trying to sell your sister to get me off your case? Tsk, tsk. Very disappointing, Aeson. And here I thought we were going to be able to work together, instead of you just being a corpse.”

Shaxidor’s mouth went dry at the sudden realization that I was in his head, and had been this entire time, even before I started talking. Everything he thought was an open book to me! Gritting his teeth again, he tried to think of horrible things to get me out of his head. Too bad for him, I was able to retaliate with images of my own. A montage of all the pain I’d felt since coming to Dreams Amongst the Stars. Shaxidor screamed, his head already hurting from the drug, and now wracked by even more pain. It only took a moment for him to stop trying to keep me out.

“Now, Captain, we will discuss the defenses of your hidden pirate base.”

(Pirate Vessel Death’s Shadow, Tietera System)

Naturally, one could not simply park a battlecruiser in orbit over an inhabited planet, even a border area like Tietera, and not have someone notice it. Even with space being huge, having a warship in orbit is going to be noticed. Which is why the former captain of the Death’s Shadow had taken a shuttle to Zanchul Station. The battlecruiser had been left in orbit of the sixth planet of the system, a gas giant that was unremarkable save for a few automated gas mining stations in the upper atmosphere.

The Death’s Shadow had put up a decent fight, considering that the ship had been running in a low-power state, trying to be as stealthy as she could. They had, however, been running with the shields charged and up. Normally, that kind of thing from a ship would ruin their stealth profile, but the atmosphere of the gas giant provided enough background radiation that their shields would have been lost in the mix, if we didn’t know exactly where to look. Still, when my ships dropped in right on top of the battlecruiser, all opening fire simultaneously, the pirates didn’t have a chance.

Once the ship was disabled, the Marines got their chance to play. The fighting was fast, furious, and both easier and harder than fighting the Imperial Marines or Deus’s forces that my guys had faced before. It was easier because the pirates were no Marines. They had no discipline, barely any training, and they were certainly not armed and armored like Marines. But ask anyone with experience, and they would rather face ten men with real training than one untrained idiot in a real fight. Untrained idiots are unpredictable. You don’t know when they’ll do something completely stupid that will get you all killed. Case in point, the dumbass who brought out a rocket launcher in an enclosed space, or the one who actually used white phosphorous on a starship.

Once the surviving crew was properly incapacitated, collared, and corralled like their captain was, I had my engineers start going over the ship, preparing it for what was to come. See, the not-so-good Captain Shaxidor had proven a literal wealth of information about the defenses of the pirate base. And, frankly, they were enough that it was easy to see why the local Navy didn’t try and take out this group.

Before you ever got to the base, you had to deal with the asteroid field. This was a particularly dense one, leaving only a few paths through the field unless you were in a ship as nimble (and small) as the Starlight Raven. Fighters would have a field day there, but warships would be limited to only a couple paths. Worse, there was the remains of an old minefield littering the asteroid field, making navigation even more hazardous.

Then you had the defense platforms. The pirates knew the best ways for any big ships to get through, so they had automated defenses set up in the asteroid field, ready to open up on ships that didn’t have the right passcodes. Since ships couldn’t maneuver properly in the field, that made getting through without being blasted to pieces ‘problematic’, at best. At the very least, the mix of asteroids, mines, and weapons would certainly slow any attacking force, and give the pirates plenty of warning.

Which is where you had the third big problem, the drone fighters. The pirates figured that keeping a whole bunch of wannabe fighter pilots around, and training them to fight actual fighter pilots, was too much of a headache, so they had a fleet of armed drones which controllers on the base could use to attack incoming ships. They were half the size of regular fighters, but had the engines and power plant of a full-size fighter, making them lighter, quicker, and still able to hit like a fighter. Apparently, the Pirates called them ‘Piranhas’, since they would basically swarm a target taking lots of little bites until the target died.

Then, of course, you had the station’s ACTUAL defenses. Since the station was originally designed to be a fleet base back during one of the wars, it was big, heavily armored, and armed to the teeth. And by the time a ship could maneuver to get a clear shot at it, you were already within its attack range. So anyone who survived past the mines, and the defenses, and the piranhas, got to deal with dreadnought-level weaponry at close quarters. Oh, and any pirate ships that happened to be in port, as well. If you managed to get on the station itself? Then you had thousands of pirates, all shooting at you.

In short, it was one godawful nasty place to try and take by force. In fact, the multiple layers of defense inspired a comparison to old walled cities in a siege. We couldn’t get ‘siege weapons’ to bear on the ‘walls’, so the only conventional way to deal with the base would be to do a frontal assault, eat hellacious casualties, and still probably fail to take the objective. But then, Black Star hadn’t made its name with frontal assaults. No, we were going to cheat, and the Death’s Shadow was going to help us in what I was calling ‘Operation Trojan Horse’.

Like the ancient stratagem of myth, we would take the Death’s Shadow through the minefield, using the pirates’ own codes against them. The fleet would guard the passages out of the asteroid field, with the fighters from the Vicious Return hunting to take any of the little ships that tried to escape. The real challenge would be for those of us in the ‘Horse’, as we would have to take the base without fleet assistance.

And who was going to be the Greeks to my Odysseus? That was obviously going to be my Black Star Marines. As I’d said before, I have Marines, and I was not afraid to use them for mayhem. And frankly, this was going to be one of the jobs that they were going to love.

But first we had to get through the defenses, so the Marines could play. That was why I was now on the bridge of the Death’s Shadow, dressed in Captain Shaxidor’s clothes and wearing his face. I had to get us in to dock with the station. So far, the codes that the Captain had provided had all worked as we passed through the asteroids.

Coming into view of Madrigal Base, I whistled appreciatively. This was no little waystation. Built and designed as a fleet base, the central core was as large as a superdreadnought, with docks extending out from it in all directions, allowing room for almost a hundred ships to dock at one time, provided they were smaller ships, like frigates. There was an organized ‘graveyard’ of scrapped and wrecked derelicts off to one side, near what was obviously a full-fledged shipyard! Of course, a fleet base would need to repair damaged warships. But with this under Black Star jurisdiction…

This was looking to be a VERY profitable job, indeed.

“Captain,” the communications officer said, with as much venom and disdain as he could put into his voice, “the station is hailing us.”

Looking over at the surly human male, I activated the Stepford protocols on the man’s collar, and said, “Put it on screen, and then go outside and repeatedly punch yourself in your genitalia as hard as you can until a member of Black Star tells you to stop, and don’t make a sound doing it. Make sure you smile the entire time.” The man’s sneer turned to a wide smile, even though his eyes burned with hatred, but he turned the screen on before walking off the bridge all the same. The rest of the crew made VERY sure to be looking away from me, and not saying a word.

“Death’s Shadow, this is Madrigal Base Control. Good to see you again, Captain. Good hunting out there?”

The person on the screen was an acquaintance of Shaxidor’s. Not a friend, or even someone he knew particularly well, but there were only three people that did ‘flight control’, such as it was, for the pirate base, and Shaxidor was one of the big three in the area, and Death’s Shadow was distinctive. My ‘interview’ with Shaxidor had gone over all of this, and how the interactions between him and the controllers normally went.

“Not as much, Control. Managed to hit an arms shipment on the way back from a meet on Tietera, but had to blow the ship as there was enough company inbound that we couldn’t tow it with us. Seems there’s trouble coming this way. Let’s just say that I’m keeping my ships in for the moment.”

“Damn. Enough ‘company’ that you cut and ran, instead of fighting? Felt like it had been going too good, lately. What’s the word? Anything that needs to go on the nets?”

“Yeah, well, I’m no idiot. There were three ships to my one, and the middle one was broadcasting that it was the Shinokage. The local government has called in those Black Star assholes to ‘clean up’ the area. Wants them to do to us what they did to the pirates in the core.”

“Fuck. That’ll wrinkle a few feathers. All those newcomers have been talking up the way the Black Stars rolled up all the pirates in the core for months. Hearing they’ll be coming this way might start a panic!”

“Well, if that’s the case, why don’t you talk to the stationmaster, and get them to lock down the docking rings and the ships, so they can keep any of the rats from fleeing and spilling the beans in order to save their own skins. You know some of these newcomers will do just that.”

“Hah! With what men? You know we only got enough guys to break up the bar fights and keep a few guns on the critical systems!”

“Hah. Tell ya what. You get the stationmaster to send me the right codes, and I’ll have my boys here on the Shadow dress up in that fancy armor that we got off the transport. We’ll spread out through the station and secure everything. While you guys lock it down. My guy on Tietera told me Black Star’s been asking around about Maddy, so you can bet that they’ll be looking for rats to flip, if they haven’t already.”

“Fuck. Wait a sec, Shadow, stationmaster’s here.” There was a pause as the man looked off to the side. “All right, Shadow, stationmaster agrees with your call, but different reasons. Conference of all the captains in port scheduled for two hours from now, to go over what any response ought to be. In the meantime, if you are willing to suit your boys up and have them help secure the station, we’ll put the Shadow at Pillar 4, Dock 2.”

“Good plan, Control. Death’s Shadow out.” He hit the control to cut the transmission, and then looked to Raven, who was standing just out of sight of the viewscreen. “Bring the idiot back in, and let the Marines know to suit up, but remember that we’re supposed to be Pirates playing at being Marines. Keep it loose until it is time to go to work. Trojan Horse is a go.”

Raven smiled, and said, “Oh, I’m sure the Marines are going to be absolutely thrilled about goofing off in armor. The Major will be pissed as all hell, though. I think the only thing that will make him happy after this is getting to run roughshod over all the idiots on that station, blasting anyone who doesn’t surrender. Poor Major hates it when his Marines start doing stupid things.”

I laughed at her words as Raven went to the bridge door. It opened to reveal the crewman from earlier, collapsed in the fetal position, quietly sobbing, with tears running down his face that didn’t match the wide grin he sported, which didn’t falter in the slightest as he got one more good hit in on himself before Raven stopped him. I nodded slowly as I saw the man, and looked to the rest of the bridge crew. “Now, if I hear any more back talk, instead of just punching them, I’ll make you guys go down to the galley and slap them on the stovetop while it is on. Do I make myself clear?” A round of frightened nods came my way. “Good. Don’t fuck up, and you’ll get to live through this. Screw with my operation, and you’ll wish you were dead.”

(Pillar 4, Dock 2, Madrigal Base, Madrigal System)

Stepping off the Death’s Shadow with my team, I looked around, and saw two pirates step up to meet me. The files Raven had been able to access said that one of them (the tall, heavyset guy that was armed to the teeth and looked annoyed as hell) was the head enforcer for the station. The other guy (who looked like he was a stiff breeze from being blown away and was jumpy as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs) was the chief system tech for the station. I stretched out mindread to the two of them, and was happy to see that they had not actually met ‘Shaxidor’ before. That made my life easier.

“Cap’n Shaxidor? Miles Branchaven, Chief Enforcer. Hope you don’t mind me saying that this is a shit move and only reason I’m going along with it is because Admin Mathers is convinced you’ve got some information that’ll have the pirates go fucking nuts, and draw heat on us. Mind telling me what it is?”

I looked the burly man over, and said, “Chief, I’ll be heading up to the Admin center with my team to brief Mathers, but I’m going to tell you and… who are you again?” I turned to look at the tech, questioningly.

The tech gulped, and said, “I’m Bretris Hartra, System Engineer. I keep the computers and stuff like that running.”

I nodded. “Good. Now, I’ll be telling you two early, since I don’t want this shit getting out and causing trouble. Big fence on Tietera has good info that the Confeds have called in Black Star to clean up the area, like they did in the core. Might already be in the sector by now, looking for pirates.”

Branchaven frowned, but didn’t seem to quite understand what I’d meant by that. Hartra, on the other hand, cursed, loud enough to be heard. When Branchaven turned to look at him, the techie said, “I heard it on the nets. The Pirate Queen made the mistake of trying to take on Black Star, so he went to Booty Bay and took the whole place. Blew up all the ships, so that they weren’t even good as salvage, enslaved most everyone except for Temptation and others, who they killed slow.”

Branchaven growled. “So Black Star will be coming here eventually?”

I shook my head. “Maybe. But Maddy is a tough nut to crack. We don’t let any of the little rats scared of the big bad mercs go off running and getting themselves caught, then they’ll have to map out the safe paths themselves, and we can hurt ‘em good. Maybe they’ll get the info from some of the pirates that are already out of port, but no sense giving them extra targets to find. We make it look too tough to take us out to make it worth the effort, then the Black Stars will decide they aren’t getting paid enough for this, and head back where they came from. We just gotta wait them out.”

Branchaven nodded slowly. “That won’t be a popular decision, you know. The newbs from the core are still pissing themselves at night any time they start thinking about Black Star. They’ll be up for running the moment that news hits the net.”

“Yeah, that’s what me and the boys thought, which is why we pitched a lockdown idea to Mathers. Your guys are only enough for a bit of busting heads to keep things clean in the bar fights, right? Not enough to bust up a riot of the little fish start getting scared and stupid. Half of them are already stupid, but adding scared to the mix won’t help any.”

I took a breath, and said, “So, I got people, and I got the kick-ass gear we ‘found’ on a transport running the border. You got, what, ten guys? Fifteen?”

“Twelve, plus me. Why, what you thinking?”

“Right. So we’ll have my people back yours up. Look real intimidating, right? There’s twenty pillars on this station. I figure put one of yours with each squad of mine, and they’ll patrol the pillars, making sure things stay quiet. My techies say they can break the computers the other ships are using, they just haven’t done it before because that’d be attacking people in the Maddy. But if the System techie asked us to help make sure they can’t override lockdowns and the like, that’s not a problem, now is it?”

Branchaven looked to Hartra, who nodded. “I’m good, but I can’t beat the whole fleet all trying different things all at once. Even just shutting the net down would just leave them able to do things to isolated systems without me being able to check and stop them.”

I continued on. “That only works with the pillars, though. The majority of the pirates are in the hub. So we need to keep the sheep from doing anything stupid. I’ll get some of my people to guard the important spots, like the reactor, the drone bays, and main control. Branchaven, you wanna sit with the one on main control? That’ll make Mathers happy, I’m sure.”

Branchaven frowned, and then nodded slightly, before looking over to the techie. “Hartra, you see any problems?”

The tech shrugged, and said, “Well, if their techs are like they claim, then we can work on locking out the individual ships, so they can’t disengage the safeties installed to keep ships from ripping away from the dock or blasting the base. Anyone starts causing trouble in the hub, we can have a fake atmo leak, seal everything up tight as a preacher’s daughter’s virgin honeypot. Then you and the Cap’n’s teams can go clear out the troublemakers.”

I looked at the tech. “They really start causing trouble, can you pump out the air?”

“Make it a ‘real’ atmo leak? Yeah, probably. The systems are old all over, but the maintenance guys are always on top of the atmo systems. I’ve helped them debug the computers a couple times when they were doing maintenance and had to install a new part that was… nonstandard in origin.”

I read that last bit as them taking parts from a captured ship’s life support systems to help repair and upgrade their systems. Not a bad way to go about it, if you had a tech who could work through the code to keep the different pieces from fucking things up. This guy was someone I was going to want to have on my team, when Madrigal became a Black Star property.

I nodded, and pointed to Raven. “Crow, go with Hartra here, and set up in the main office, start logging in and get it set up for the others when they get here.”

Raven nodded, a smile no doubt hidden behind her mask. “Sure thing, Cap’n.” She turned to the tech, and said, “Lead the way. We’ll get set up in a flash.”

I looked over to Branchaven. “I’ll have my people start spreading out as soon as your guys get here. Think they can point out the newbie ships first? Those are the guys most likely to freak when the news hits after the Captain meeting. Be good to have an eye on thing before things get that far, yeah?”

Branchaven nodded, before setting a few commands in his communicator. “All right, the guys will be around soon to take your people to the trouble spots, and drop the guys you are gonna have guard the reactor off. The drone bay and controls are next to Hartra’s techie cave.”

“Good. Nice to be working with someone who knows their shit. You ever consider working someplace other than the Maddy? I might be able to use someone like you.”

“Thought about it, but my sister an’ her kids work at one of the bars here. I’d need a good place for them if I left this gig for something else. Least working here I get to see the kids all the time, y’know?”

I smirked, and said, “Well, who knows. When this whole thing blows over, I’ll maybe get back to ya. Like I said, I value havin’ someone who knows their shit on hand.”

(Pillar 20, Dock 12, Madrigal Base, Madrigal System)

Whurfin Redpike walked with his pulse rifle resting over one shoulder, like he always did when he was walking the halls of the Maddy, looking for trouble. Only this time, the Gauz male had four of the pirates off the Death’s Shadow in some seriously badass armor. Too bad for him that the stuff apparently came from the Empire, and those racist bastards weren’t keen on making their shit fit ‘stubby little space dwarves’. Fucking pricks. If he could afford it, he really wanted to get his hands on the mech-suits that the military types in the Consortium could get. Made for Gauz, by Gauz. Those mech-suits were top notch, and could take as much of a beating as they gave out. Hell, some of the high end ones were even modded to do space combat!

“So, you’re saying that they went and put all the new pukes from the core on this one pillar?”

Whurfin looked over to the armored guy that spoke. “Well, this one, and 19. 18 sometimes has guys who work both sides of the border with the Alliance staying there. The newbs from the core, they were all spooked. Boss talked with Mathers, and after the fifth time with those crybabies whining about how the Black Stars whooped their asses all over the place, they got moved over here. Hell, even the ones that came our way after Jagloth got trashed didn’t whine so much.”

The armored guys turned to look at Whurfin. The one that spoke said in a very calm voice that Whurfin didn’t trust in the slightest. “Jagloth? You did check them, right, make sure they were still them, and not that Legion fucker?”

“Nah, we’re pirates, but that doesn’t mean we’re idiots. These were folk coming from the outer stations mostly, or smugglers and the like who got turned back by the Navy when they tried to get to the planet. That techie, Hart-something? He pulled up this kick-ass way to scan people for nanites. No one new was allowed to dock before they’d been scanned. Don’t care what kind of nanites they were. You had nanites, you went out the airlock, simple as that.”

“Good. That shit ain’t anything to play around with.”

(Tech Suport Room, Madrigal Base, Madrigal System)

“So, um, what is it like being the tech on a ship like the Death’s Shadow? I mean, you have to have some bitchin’ stories, right? You ever get to try and take over someone’s computers in battle and turn off the guns like you see in the movies?”

Hartra was nervous, and not just because he didn’t like guns. Working with pirates, you didn’t see too many women that weren’t either slaves or hardened killers. He wasn’t a virgin (one of the station whores had taken care of that for him years ago), but you don’t see too many female techies on a pirate base. Or rather, he hadn’t seen one, ever, until this Crow showed up.

Crow chuckled, as she looked around his ‘office’ and support center, and said, “Sure, I got stories. But some of them, I’d be needing to kill you, to keep the story from getting out. Too much riding on people thinking they hadn’t been screwed. If they knew what I’d done to their systems, they’d go upgrading things and taking out the back doors I put in. Then I’d have to go and do it again. Lot of extra work, you know?”

Hartra nodded, and said, “So, um, Crow, you want to go watch some movies when we’re done getting ready for things here? I have some good ones from Earth, back in the day. I can get some dinner sent up for us.”

Crow shook her head, and said, “Focus, Hartra. We need to get this set up for when we bring the other techs in to seriously fight the attempts the idiots will make. You can unlock these consoles to allow new users to access the system, right?”

“Ah, yeah, sure. And you can call me Bretris, if you like. Or Bret. I go by Bret a lot, too. Just let me put the admin key in, and I’ll have it ready for you to start doing the setup.”

“That’s great, Hartra. I’ll get to work right now.”

Raven: Captain, I’m in. The idiot is too busy trying to flirt to realize that I stole his admin key. Breaking the systems now to gain control.

M.Mollen: Good work, Raven. Try to keep the idiot unaware as long as possible. If we can keep everything quiet until the Captain meeting, we’ll be set up to take everything over at once.

(CNS Luvon Gilrie, Madrigal System)

Captain Zylna nodded to herself as she went over the latest reports on the Gilrie’s readiness for combat. She was Confederate Navy, through and through, but she had to admit that the concepts the Black Stars had come up with for their ships were extremely innovative. Using tactics that were more like submarine warfare than starships was something that would not occur to most people. But it allowed them to act as a force multiplier. And with the training the Admiral and his people had been putting her through, she couldn’t wait to see what the results would be in the first wargames she participated in after this detachment ended.

Alarms brought her out of her thoughts of victory against her fellow captains for bragging rights, and back to the reality of her current assignment. She turned to look at the sensor console. “Report!”

“Captain, we have incoming ships just leaving warp. Five ships, all heading for the pass through the minefield.”

Focusing on the sensor readouts on the screen, she said, “Do we have identification yet? What types are they?”

“One heavy cruiser, two frigates, and two freighters, captain. The frigates look to have the freighters under tow, so they are probably captured vessels. Freighters register as the Innuendo out of Kul’tiras, and the Bryynore out of Tecrone, both registered as legitimate merchants.”

Captain Zylna nodded. Definitely pirates, then, preying on traffic crossing the border. “I see. And the warships?”

“The frigates are the Curse of the Curse and the Blind Ranger. The Cruiser has two identity codes that we’re receiving. One says it is the Vile Lust, but the other registers it as the CNS Kythaela Daven!”

“What? The Daven was reported missing, feared lost during the last war! She’s been a pirate ship all this time? Who is supposed to be her captain?”

The intel analyst interjected here, saving the poor sensor tech. “This is the first time a Navy ship has gotten close enough to get transponder codes, I believe, ma’am. However, the Vile Lust is the flagship of ‘Fierce’ Deverell Lark. He’s the number one pirate in the area, according to what the fleet’s heard.”

“Comms! Get the Shinokage on line. Tell them that we have a pirate convoy making for the pass, including a VIP. Send our intel and request backup! Then get Lieutenant Daelen and let him know that he and his Marines are to armor up and get ready for boarding action.”

Lieutenant Leoven, the XO, looked over at her, and said, just loud enough that only she could hear, “Boarding, Captain?”

Captain Zylna smiled fiercely at her XO. “One way or another, the Kythaela Daven is not spending one more day in the service of pirates, XO. Either we take her, or she will be sent to the rest she has long deserved. But I would rather take her, so we might be able to figure out what happened to her all those years ago.”

(Pirate Vessel Vile Lust, Madrigal System)

Captain ‘Fierce’ Lark had earned his name over the years as a pirate who took no guff from anyone, and was always willing to give tenfold for anything he got. Well, there were plenty of pirate captains like that, but a lot of his success he owed to his first mate and prime fuckmeat, ‘Cutthroat’ Genny Grissom. The wench was sharp as a tack, and knew she was better off being the right hand and cocksleeve of the best pirate in the sector than trying to run things on her own. But she had a wicked mind when it came to managing the ‘fleet’ which left him more time for planning raids and enjoying the spoils of victory.

Some of those spoils were waiting on him back in his cabin, when they docked at the Maddy. He and Genny were going to enjoy the fresh meat until they broke the girl, same as they always did. The rest of the slaves were ready to be sold and spread around the station, seeing who needed new fuckmeat, new labor, or perhaps some new crew. There were some captains that liked having slaves instead of free crew, as a Stepford crew was utterly loyal. Lark didn’t hold to that himself. Not a moral thing, mind you. Just that Stepfords were never ‘all there’ while the controls were on, making them dumber than the average pirate, and not able to react to things.

“Captain! Sensors picking up an EM pulse. Location just outside the minefield.”

“Well, what is it, Mickey? Bring the ship on screen.” This wasn’t proper procedure for going to the Maddy, which made Lark all kinds of nervous. Fortunately, the pirate had made it a rule that his ships always came out of warp with the shields fully charged. Especially after those Black Star ships started showing up, being all sneaky like. Not much the shields would do against those things, but having them up might be the difference between instant death and being able to get away, or at least fight the bastards in a boarding action. Maybe even get a shot in return, if they were close enough.

“No ship on screen, Cap’n. Don’t know what it was. Doesn’t match a trace for comms that we’ve seen before.”

Lark’s eyes went wide, and he shouted, “SHIELDS TO CONFIGURATION TWO! EVASIVE MANEUVERS! ALL SHIPS TO BATTLE STATIONS!”

The crew reacted fast, as he’d beat into them. ‘Configuration Two’ was a secret he’d gotten from some Impies that they’d ‘acquired’ at the end of the civil war. The only way for a ship to not get wrecked by a Black Star ship was to be elsewhere. But the angled screens might help deflect the shot instead of letting it hit straight…

WHAM!!

The impact physically rocked the ship enough that the inertial dampeners couldn’t compensate, throwing crewmembers who weren’t securely fastened to their seats about the bridge. Even Lark just barely managed to stay in his chair. As the lights flickered and then went to the dull red of emergency power, the captain was once more glad that his crew weren’t Stepfords. They might actually have a chance in hell of getting out of this.

“Damage report!”

(CNS Luvon Gilrie, Madrigal System)

“Good hit on the Vile Lust, Captain! Shields are offline. Sensors indicate they are on emergency power. Reactor must have scrammed automatically in the impact. They’re dead in space, Ma’am.”

Captain Zylna nodded. “Status on the other two targets?”

“Shadowdancer and Simo Hayha have engaged the frigates, aiming to disable. Ghost Squadron is assisting with them and the freighters.”

“Very well. Target the cruiser. Ion cannons fire at will. Keep their systems down. Marines may launch when ready.”

“Marines away, Captain.”

“Give me regular reports on their status. Tell the Lieutenant that I want the Kythaela Daven out of enemy hands, but I’m not sacrificing his team to do it. If he feels taking the ship is impossible, then he is to retreat to the shuttle, and we will destroy the ship.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Zylna looked over to Lieutenant Leoven. The man was studying his console rather intently. Switching to a private comm line, she subvocalized, “Something the matter, XO?”

The Lieutenant glanced over her, and responded on the channel. “Not sure, Captain. Look at our sensor readings just before impact. Three seconds before our shots landed, the cruiser changed their shield configuration and began evasive maneuvers. Two seconds later, the frigates did the same.”

Looking at the data the XO sent her, Captain Zylna looked over to her console, she saw that he was right. “Something spooked the captain of the cruiser, and he reacted like he was expecting Black Star. That shield configuration is similar to the one the Navy techies were testing to use against Black Star weapons. They are able to ‘bounce’ the shots better than the standard configuration, but are worse against conventional weapons.”

Leoven nodded slightly. “Yes, but what alerted them? A ship that old won’t have the latest scanners, even if they’ve been updated somewhat. So what did they see?”

Zylna frowned at the readout. Something about the timing of the ship’s maneuvers… “Light speed! EM radiation goes at the same speed as light. The ‘light’ of our launch would have reached the target before our shot did. We launched at three light-seconds out, while at a relative closing velocity of twenty percent light speed from our combined velocities. The ‘light’ would have reached the ship in three seconds, but impact wasn’t for almost twelve seconds after that.”

The XO was nodding now. “Yes, that makes sense. They had a reaction time of six seconds between registering whatever EM we leaked from firing a rail gun directly at them. Seems slightly slow, but confirming the leak was not coming from a visible ship, and relaying information verbally on the bridge would account for that. Pirates aren’t likely to have expensive neural link technology.”

Captain Zylna nodded. “Write it up, XO, and attach it to our reports to Black Star and the Navy for this encounter. The fact that the ‘Vile Lust’ is only disabled instead of missing a significant part of her hull at the least is testament to that quick reaction when expecting Black Star ships in the area. We may be able to increase response time if we train crew members to respond to it like they do fighter pilots with missile launches.”

Her XO grinned. “Not much of an advantage, but ‘not dead yet’ does beat the alternative, I guess. It probably only helps if you’re directly on the line. Everything we’ve seen says that the leak of EM is very directional due to the construction of the ship and the nature of the weapon.”

“Sure, at the range we launched, it may be the difference between death and disabled, but we were practically in knife range already when we launched. You get an Assassin, or someone using the same railgun technology, since it isn’t that complicated, and shooting from far enough out that the attack takes MINUTES or even HOURS to reach the target? That’s one hell of a warning for static targets, like space stations.”

“Yeah, but what could a Station do to defend against that?”

“Put a ship in the path, XO. What do you think the Admiralty would rather lose, a frigate, or a fleet base with spacedocks? It is the same reason we have fighters that get swatted out of the sky by other fighters or point defense. They exist to take some of the burden off the bigger ships. Everything else they do is just a bonus.”

“Captain! The target managed to restore communications momentarily before they were disabled completely by our ion cannons. Detecting a comm relay satellite that hadn’t appeared on our scans before, probably due to being next to debris in the minefield.”

“Comms! Priority message to the Death’s Shadow, for retransmit to the Admiral! Let him know that he might be made!”

“Aye, Captain!”

(Main Control Room, Madrigal Base)

‘Captain Shaxidor’ looked at the message coming to him over his commlink. It had been a priority retransmit from the Death’s Shadow. Looking through the data, it was clear that the Luvon Gilrie had done well catching a big fish, but this fish had been expecting Black Star to come calling, and had been prepared. But then, rumors of our getting called in had spread, even before we got to Tietera. If Gilwarin had heard the rumors on Zanchul Station, then others may have heard it, too.

Oh well, this ruse was always going to break down quickly. It just happened a few hours earlier than he had hoped. Quickly, he got on the group comms.

M.Mollen: Raven, status on system intrusions?

Raven: 100% on station systems, including offensive drones and weapons. 70% on ships, but I can get to 100% in minutes if you don’t care about being quiet.

MajorTom: Something up, Boss?

M.Mollen: Word from the fleet. Changing to Status: Cassandra. Repeat, Trojan Horse is now Status: Cassandra. Weapons free.

(Main Control Room, Madrigal Base)

“Boss! We’re getting a transmission from one of the relay satellites outside the asteroid field!”

Administrator Mathers looked up from the table where he was going over the information that I’d brought him, while we worked to make the Captain’s Meeting happen. The ‘two hour’ timeframe had already been pushed back to three, because pirates were pirates, and some people had to be talked to just right. Fortunately, Mathers was an old hand at getting the pirates to work together. Well, if not ‘together’, at least he got them working ‘not against him’, which was no small thing.

“Well, what does it say?”

“The Vile Lust was coming back with prizes, and got jumped just outside the field! The transmission broke up fast, but they said it was Black Star ships!”

That news did nothing to ease the Administrator’s state of mind. In fact, he got positively frantic about it now. “FUCK! We gotta lock this place down right now! Miles, we gotta get those drones up and ready to fight!”

Branchaven was about to say something, but the sound of a stunner came out of nowhere, and his eyes rolled up into the back of his head, before he dropped to the floor, completely out of it. Though they looked the same in their Marine armor, I knew that would be Major Khan. Good, single shot to the back of the head, close enough that there was some energy singing on the target’s hair. Two other marines stopped acting casual, and snapped into motion, quickly covering the room with their weapons, while the fourth bound the man’s hands and slapped a slave collar on him.

“What the hell? What is the meaning of this? Shaxidor, you dirty, double-crossing—” The administrator’s rant failed instantly when he turned to see my own stunner held directly in his face.

Still wearing Shaxidor’s face, I smiled, and said “So sorry, Administrator. We would have preferred doing this the quiet way, but it seems uninvited guests came to the party early. As of now, Black Star controls Madrigal Station.” And then I pulled the trigger, sending the Administrator to the blissful oblivion of sleep.

THAT finally caused all the other pirates in the room to start panicking, but the first ones that tried to act like they were going for a weapon or calling for help got shot down with stunshot, and before long everyone that wasn’t Black Star was either lying unconscious on the ground or on their knees, but either way they were now wearing shiny new slave collars. I looked at my bracer. It had been three minutes since the Cassandra order had been given.

Tapping on the bracer, I brought up the comms, so I could get a status report.

M.Mollen: Main Control is secure, all hostiles collared. Report in.

MelMeyers: Engineering locked down, hostiles eliminated.

Raven: Computer Control and Drone Command locked down. Hostiles collared. Infiltration of ship systems 97%. All infiltrated ships have powered down and are on lockdown. Three ships are resisting infiltration, all belonging to the Lark Clan.

BangBang: All sweep teams reporting. Pillars empty, locked down. All hostiles collared.

M.Mollen: Zero atmo on the pillars. Full lockdown protocols. Isolate the pirates from their ships.

Raven: Done.

Wataru: Setting off atmo leak warnings on the promenade. Pirates rushing for the shelters. Looks like they know at least that much of ship drills.

Bagman: Captains and their guards that were on their way to the meeting are trying to run back to their ships. Shots fired!

Yeller: Shit, shots heard on the south end of the marketplace. People are trying to rush back to their ships.

M.Mollen: Weapons free. Stun when you can. Kill if necessary. Boots on the ground make the call.

Yeller: Aye, Sir.

Looking over to the Major, I asked, “You got things while I go slip into something more comfortable?”

Major Khan smirked. “Sure. We’ve got eyes on the cameras, just in case any of the idiot pirates decide to grow a brain and try and take the control room. Most would probably be running to their ships, but with no atmosphere in the pillars, the doors are automatically locked down, and the pirates don’t have suits, from what we’ve seen.”

I laughed. “Ship suits are common as hell, yeah, but they’re expensive to get and hard to repair, especially if you’re likely to get shot or stabbed a few times. Which is why they don’t wear them unless they’re going ‘outside’ or doing maintenance.”

And with that, I stepped into the administrator’s office, and made sure that all the recording devices were off, including the ‘special’ ones that Mathers had for recording his ‘licensing review’ sessions with some of the station’s escorts. He was into some kinky stuff, if the info I got from his mind was any indication. Once I was alone, and not recorded, I stripped off Shaxidor’s clothes, and shifted into my ‘normal’ form. A few minutes later, I was armed and armored in my spec ops gear, ready to take the fight to whoever was trying to ruin my day. A couple of the pirates who weren’t unconscious saw me, and their eyes went wide as they realized the disguise. Let them try and figure out how I’d pretended to be Shaxidor in close quarters.

“Status?”

Major Khan looked up from a tablet, and said, “Lockdown procedures in effect, Admiral. We’ve managed to isolate active resistance to four main areas, and are preparing to use the atmospheric controls to neutralize them if they get too troublesome. Most of the resistance elsewhere is disorganized, with sidearms, and easily dealt with by sweepers. We took down several key troublemakers before the Cassandra call went out, which pleased our ‘guides’ to no end.”

“I imagine they were a lot less pleased when it was their turn, hmm?”

Khan snorted at that. “Yeah, you could say as much. Quite a few very hurtful words were levied at our Marines, before they ordered the idiots to be silent, or just stunned them. All stunned targets are coming around, no complications from the rounds. Marines are using lethal rounds on the rioters, since they won’t have time to collar the targets before stun shots wear off.”

“Boots on the ground make the call. We want the facility intact. Any ships and crews that live through this are bonus points.”

Raven’s voice came over the room’s speakers. “Captain, we have a problem. Maintaining 97% intrusion and nullification of pirate vessels docked to station. Of 100 ships on the pillars, 16 are unmanned, 1 is the Death’s Shadow, 58 are on partial crews and their personnel have been isolated in cabins and nonvital areas, and 22 had crew actively attempting to disable countermeasures, resulting in termination of the crew by various means. Currently, 3 ships are still resisting infiltration, and have cut themselves off from the station datanet. Station cameras have detected airlocks opening and crew exiting the craft in EVA gear with what appear to be explosive devices.”

I sighed. Of course, it couldn’t just go our way. There were fourteen ships belonging to Lark’s clan in dock at the moment, but Raven had managed to get into all but three of them before they could respond to the damn alert from the pirate. Nothing for that, now. At least most of the ships were locked down. I didn’t bother asking how Raven ‘terminated’ the crews that resisted. Probably just vented the atmosphere, or similar. It was a simple and easy fix.

“Launch drones, and see if you can’t take out the engines. If possible, take out the space-walkers before they set their charges. That’ll give people something to think about. The Death’s Shadow is to launch and begin containment procedures, helping to kill or disable any ship that tries to leave without my permission.”

“As you wish, Admiral. Drones are launching. ETA to target, 60 seconds. Estimated time until first ship manages to set charges, 83 seconds. Prioritizing EVA crew as primary targets.”

Major Khan looked over to me, and said, “Admiral, the fighting is contained, for the moment, but three of the sections which had been separated by bulkheads have managed physical overrides, and opened their part of the station up to each other. They’ve also physically disabled environmental controls in those sections. I think they’re going to make a push for either Main Control or Computer Control. Our guys have them out gunned and outskilled, but they’re outnumbered 4 to 1. They can hold a couple choke points, but if the pirates start human wave tactics…”

“Show me the sections on the station map.”

“Here you go, sir.” Major Khan brought up the station map, and showed three sections that had (coincidentally) been located around the primary area for entertainment and shopping (meaning it was mostly bars, brothels, and stores). The fourth section was isolated from those three, but was located near the primary slave market. Hmm. I’d have to check through there for anyone useful when we pacified it. For now, I checked the schematic again.

“Pull back troops back behind bulkhead 13, and have them clear corridor D from bulkhead 15 to the intersection with Pillar 10. The entire run is to be blocked off from the rest of the station, just a clear channel straight to Pillar 10.”

Major Khan nodded grimly, knowing what that kind of order meant, and quickly gave his orders. Like a good commander, he confirmed that troops were moving in the right direction before reporting. “Corridor clear in twenty seconds. Troops pulling back behind bulkhead 13. All troops clear in sixty seconds.”

“Wait until all troops are clear, and then seal bulkhead 13. Once we have seal, Dock 1 on pillar 10 is empty, so open the airlock, and unseal the bulkhead at the base of Pillar 10. While we wait for the atmosphere to evacuate, have the Marines set up the temporary airlock so they can take out anyone who has ship suits or breathers on them once they’re ready.” I paused, and then said, “Raven, when we begin evacuating the atmosphere near the main fighting, I want you to pick some good footage, and pipe it through to the other sections, with the message ‘Surrender or Die’.”

“Understood, Admiral.”

Major Khan nodded. “Do you think the pirates will get the message? I know some of the troops would rather just shoot someone clean than see them suffocate to death. It isn’t a nice way to go.”

I shrugged, and said, “Hopefully, some will. Pirates hate the idea of getting spaced just as much as anyone who lives out in the black, so I really do hope that we’ll have some that will decide not to be stupid, especially in the slave markets and any isolated groups that might be holed up in access tunnels or crawlways and the like, thinking they’ll do hit and run shit. I’m not racking up casualties for this place. I’d love to have the extra workers, but for now I just want this station.”

“But there are innocent people in those sections! You can’t just kill them!”

I turned to look at the man who spoke up, one of the technicians who had been working a communications console before we took control. “This is a black market station specifically providing services to pirates, smugglers, escaped criminals, and all other manner of disreputable figures. Every free man and woman aboard that is not a part of Black Star is either a criminal or complicit. That I am attempting to take this station at all instead of blowing it out of the sky should be considered a grave mercy, and one that none of you deserve. The closest thing to innocents on this station would be the slaves. And I will do what I can to ensure that as many of those are retrieved alive as possible, but not at the expense of my people. You are all pirates, or supporting piracy, and Black Star has been hired to end the threat you pose to this sector.”

“But—!"

“Be silent! All of you are ordered to remain silent unless spoken to.”

Major Khan grunted to the side. “All troops have pulled back. Bulkhead secure. Ready to vent atmosphere.”

“Open the airlock. Don’t restore atmosphere to the sections until after pacification is complete, or the pirates signal surrender unconditionally.”

(Pirate Vessel Nightfall, Vulsore System)

Captain Marcela Stevens, known as the Red Fox to the public, and either ‘Cap’n Stevens’ or ‘that fine piece of ass’ to her crews, depending on whether they thought she was listening in on them, had the dubious distinction of being the first Nomad to become a Pirate Captain. Like many seasoned gamers, she’d chosen the hardest start available to her, to get the points to make herself badass from the beginning. Unfortunately for her, that start had dropped her into the lap of Marcus ‘the Rabid Dog’ Blackmore. She tried fighting, but even being as good as she was there was no way she could take on all the pirates at once. Someone got her with a stunner, and everything went dark.

She was collared and enslaved. She had to endure the tortures and ‘training’ that Blackmore put her through, but her persistence paid off. One day, Blackmore forgot to give her orders not to do anything or to go back to the crew once he was through using her, and fell asleep. After that, escape was as simple as using the captain’s own bracer to release her. A bloody mutiny later, and ‘Captain’ Stevens was the only living soul on the ship, aside from the fresh slaves that had been captured (and the reason the former Captain had been celebrating so hard). The slaves, not having anywhere else to go, joined her as crew, at least until they could make port someplace that wouldn’t shoot them on sight or try and enslave them again.

Madrigal Base was a shithole, but she was able to get some new crew, and her story of how she killed the Rabid Dog brought her to the notice of ‘Fierce’ Deverell Lark, and got herself brought in as Clan. Soon, she had established a reputation as being one of the Clan’s rising stars. And anyone that tried to stop her ended up very, very dead. That led to her being given additional responsibility, which is why her Nightfall was the leader of this group of five ships from the Clan, one of six such groups that made up the thirty ships of the Lark Clan, not including the Leader’s Group of three ships. Only the Shaxidor and Duskspine clans came close to their numbers, if they were all in place at once.

“Cap’n! We just got a message from the Maddy on those automatic transmitters we got put in last year!”

Marcela smirked for just an instant at that. The transmitters were HER idea, after all, a secret that could be used to warn off the Clan if anything happened to the Maddy, or call them together if there was a score too big for any group to handle alone and too tempting to leave alone. But it hadn’t been used since a brief test, to ensure it worked. Something must have happened.

“Well, what does it say, boy?”

“Cap’n Lark’s group has been taken by Black Star and the Confeds! They were waiting at the ‘gate’ to the minefield. We got one other transmission, too, someone’s trying to take control of the Maddy from inside!”

Marcela cursed. Of course, Black Star would have to come to her area. She’d been warning Lark for months that the rapid increase in piracy in the area would cause them troubles if the local politicians decided to call in a ‘fixer’ to get rid of the problem. He’d not taken her seriously enough, and now he was done.

“How much of the Clan was on the Maddy?”

The young pirate she’d put as her comm officer shook his head, and said, “Don’t know, Cap’n. The message got cut off before we could get any details. But there were at least three groups there when we left, with a couple others expected in the next few days.”

She nodded, and said, “And what of the other clans? How many of their ships were out? Who’s left?”

“Cap’n, there were ten Shaxidor ships in port when we left, and seven Duskspine. But we passed ten more of the Duskspine as we left the minefield, coming back after a raid. Can’t be more than fifteen ships from the other two major clans out there, and a good portion of the independents and smaller clans would have been stuck in, as well.

Marcela Stevens shook her head. “So, only twenty ships from the Three Clans are left? There’s no way we’ll be able to get a group willing and able to fight back against Black Star, certainly not and take the Maddy back. Not with those numbers.”

Her Second, Amra ‘Deadshot’ Caitoris, looked over to her. “You thinking that these Black Stars somehow managed to go and take the MADDY? How would they get in?”

“I’m a Nomad, remember? I’ve seen what that leader of the Black Stars has done. Last time pirates became an issue for him, he went straight back to their base, and blasted the hell out of all the pirates in the sector. That’s why there’s so many newbies who piss themselves at the mention of Black Star around here. And during the Imperial Civil War, he somehow managed to infiltrate a NAVY FLEET BASE and take it over from the inside, before ordering the surrender. You think the Maddy is more secure than a Fleet Base in wartime?”

“What’ll we do then, Cap’n?”

Captain ‘Red Fox’ Stevens sighed, and closed her eyes for just a moment. Then, she took a deep breath, straightened up, and said, “We’ll not be standing against this current. With the Maddy gone, every pirate in the sector will be scrambling for a new place, and they’ll be disorganized. Enough that the Black Stars or the Navy can pick them off, a couple at a time. Let the group know, we’re heading across the border to the Alliance, as a ‘mercenary’ group. You think a couple of those Alliance worlds would be willing to pay a bunch of pirates to ensure that no other pirates get a hold in their system?”

Deadshot laughed, and said, “Aye, Captain. Especially with those Kul’tiran snobs getting kicked around not long ago.”

(Pirate Vessel Freeman’s Fate, Madrigal System)

“Well, this is damn peculiar, is all I’m saying. Shax has never called us all in at the same time before. He hates the whole deal of the whole Clan being in one place at the same time, even at the Maddy. Says it makes us vulnerable.”

“Look, I get it, I do. But you heard the message same as I did. The Cap’n is spooked, and he’s needing us back at the Maddy, so we can plan a way to get out of this whole ‘Black Star’ situation without the fleet getting caught.”

The first pirate shook his head. “Sure, Cap’n. But that don’t mean it isn’t damn peculiar. What could have gotten to Shax so bad that it made him act like this? And if I’m saying it, you know the rest of the boys are saying it, or thinking it.”

“I know. And I’m wondering the same thing, myself. But we ain’t going to get answers just sitting around in space. And if Black Star really is out there, I like our chances with the Maddy’s defenses on our side better than if we just see them in open space, you know? But hey, we’re almost there, and we’ll be able to get the answers we need.”

And that was when the alarms began sounding.

(Pirate Vessel Raider of Catan, Zanchul Station, Tietera System)

“Damn it all, what do you mean that Gilwarin has gone missing? What the hell is going on?”

“Cap’n, we got the reports in. Looks like Gilwarin was having a meet with Shaxidor at that restaurant he likes, the one with the real meat. But they both got taken out sick all of a sudden, and disappeared before they reached the Health Center!”

The Captain looked at the footage, and cursed loudly. “FUCK! Gilwarin isn’t missing, you fools! He’s been grabbed! That was a professional hit on him and Shaxidor! Disconnect us! I want to be out of this system as soon as possible!”

“Captain! We’ve got troopers outside the airlock! Looks like they’re going to try boarding us!”

“Shit! Navy just dropped stealth on top of us, saying they’re the Luvon Gilrie. They’re demanding we surrender or be destroyed!”

(CNS Nym Hailana, Interstellar Space)

“Captain, we’ve taken another hit on the port quarter. Engines at 68% and holding, for now. The Engineer isn’t certain how long he can keep this going, however.”

“I know. We just have to keep it together until the convoy escapes from the tarpit. The closest Navy ship is at Tietera, three days away.”

“What would make the Duskspine clan suddenly get bold enough to try and attack a cruiser, though? Even if we are just a light cruiser, we outgun their little corvettes and frigates. If we weren’t forced to cover the convoy, we would have destroyed them all already.”

“I don’t know, but something must have made them desperate. I just wish I knew what it was.”

“CAPTAIN! New ships coming out of warp, at the edge of the tarpit! Seven ships in total, but six of them are barely larger than shuttlecraft! Scanners say that they’re Black Star! That big ship is reading as the Shinokage!”

“Incoming transmission!”

“On screen!”

“This is the BSN Shinokage. We have received your distress call and are willing to offer our assistance as part of our existing anti-piracy contract in this sector. Keep those freighter’s safe, Captain, and we’ll get these flies off you.”

(A private room in a respectably discrete restaurant, Dimiya City, Dimiya)

Alok Paxisys truly enjoyed this restaurant. Whenever possible, he tried to have his meetings here. It wasn’t that it was known for having great food, or even having a reputation for discretion. For those who knew, those things were both true, but the reason Paxisys enjoyed this place was that it was barely known at all. It was one of those little restaurants that never made the news, never ran ads, and never seemed to be completely empty, even at slow times. The majority of the clientele were simply businessmen and women looking for a decent meal and a drink on their break from work, or perhaps something to eat on their way home after. It was so positively normal that it was completely unremarkable to most people.

For a spy, who made a business of blending into crowds, it was like heaven. A couple people in business suits chatting as they ate? No one paid any attention, so long as they kept their voices to a reasonable level. You just had to make sure to talk around any sensitive information, and anyone who might listen in from a couple tables over would simply think you were talking about yet another business deal.

He had just finished his first drink when his companion for lunch arrived, looking quite pleased with himself. “Oh-hoh! Zumrora you dog! Did you get that account you were talking about? Or perhaps that redhead you were eyeing finally fell to your charms?”

Maeral Zumrora chuckled, and shook his head as he sat down. “I’ll tell you about it in a moment, but it’ll keep until the kitchen gets our order.” As if by magic, the server appeared at their table, and once they gave her their orders, they relaxed a bit until after Zumrora took his first sip of his beer. “Ah, I do enjoy the drinks here.”

Paxisys chuckled, and took a sip of his own drink. “So, I take it things have gone well for you?”

“Oh, better than I could have possibly imagined. You know that contractor we’ve used in the past? Well, he’s definitely showing solid work yet again. If I didn’t know he’d refuse, I’d offer to take him on permanently.”

“Ah, yes, that one enjoys his freedom too much to get tied down to any job that someone else gives him. So, he’s gone in and done his troubleshooting routine again, I take it?”

“Yes, somehow he managed to get an invite to that exclusive retreat in the Madrigal System, and started cleaning house before anyone knew what hit them. Efficient work as always. And the intern we sent with him managed a pretty big score, herself, recovering some lost assets that had been missing since the last major reshuffle. Getting to close the K. Daven account is a major feather in her cap, you know.”

“And what about the competition? I know there was some staunch opposition in that area, from at least three companies, right?”

“Oh, they’ve been hit hard by legal action for the stuff they’ve been doing. Two of them are almost completely out of commission, their assets seized. The third had a group that went rogue, and we think they ran for it. There’s some minor players out there, as well, but they’re not anything the local office can’t handle.”

“Excellent! I think this calls for another round of drinks!”

“Ah, Paxisys, I knew there was a reason I liked you!”

(Virtual Room in NERV HQ)

For once, things were actually going according to plan! Isaac sighed contentedly as he watched the virtual screens running through different plot lines and projections that the game’s master AI had been working on. Finally, something happening without everything going insane!

“All right, people, out in the world it is Friday night, and I have a date, so I want to run through everything one last time before heading out.” Looking to his subordinate GMs, Isaac began going through the checklist of known issues. “What is happening with the rebuilding of the logistics network in the Empire?”

“Temporary transfer stations have been set up at the location of the old sites, and things are moving along nicely. Another virtual year, and the logistics of moving cargo across the Empire should be back to pre-war standards.”

“What about the planets damaged in the war?”

“Askao VII is still a viable site for a mining colony. The primary habitation dome has been rebuilt, and new colonists are beginning to settle there. There’s a monument to the victims of the massacre, including the last broadcast of the NPC reporter who was covering the attack on the ground. It isn’t going to be back to pre-war levels for a decade, at least, though, and even that is only because the industrial nodes were relatively unscathed by the fighting.”

“The attack on Katcheka didn’t do much direct damage, but the loss of the station and disruption in logistics networks has caused coffee prices to spike due to scarcity. A replacement station is being constructed, but it will take time. There have been ‘coffee riots’ in three systems in outlying areas of the Empire due to the lack of coffee.”

Isaac shook his head. “Of course. People will ignore a lot of things, but interfere with their coffee and they get hellaciously pissed. What else?”

The subordinate GM flipped a virtual page on their virtual clipboard, and said, “Venus is a total loss, of course. Everything technological there is gone. Actually, it is more like a blank slate, due to conditions on the planet. Unlike Jagloth or Earth, the environmental conditions have quickly destroyed the Greenwave nanites, so Venus would be open for colonization. However, the number of people who would wish to live on Venus when there are hundreds of other worlds out there is not large. There would have to be some new element added to the situation to cause people to want to settle there.”

Isaac turned, and said to one of the programmers, “Get with the Story and Design AIs, and start brainstorming possibilities. Perhaps we can program in a ‘unique reaction’ between Greenwave and the environment, causing a new power source or something like that? See what we can do to make the planet someplace to visit again.”

The first GM flipped another page, and said, “Earth… well, Earth is basically unchanged. Weather patterns are restabilizing after the global weather control systems were eaten, and the ‘sanctuary cities’ that were hastily made in the initial strike are still standing. Outside the initial Sanctuaries, tech is still Industrial Revolution level, at best. Overpopulation in the Sanctuaries is being solved by increasing recruitment for the military to replace losses from the war, and for colonization projects to head out to areas that were damaged in the fighting.”

Another GM chimed in, “Actually, I’ve been watching a group of Nomads who intend to try and start a new Sanctuary in what used to be London.”

Isaac raised an eyebrow. “How are they planning to get the ‘fence’ set up and turned on without it getting eaten?”

“Brute force, apparently. The idea they floated to their investors basically entails setting off several EMPs in the atmosphere to knock out nanites in a wide area, and then rapidly deploy the fence before they can backfill. It is one of those things that will either work, or it will fail horribly. But the people going down are mostly Nomads, and the interests funding it want the acclaim of saying that they are working to help reclaim Earth for Humans.”

“I’m not liking the sound of that last bit. What do we know about this group?”

“Well, they are what we’re calling ‘human supremacists’. Basically, the sci-fi version of your gun-toting militia types. According to the plans the AI’s shown us, this is a small test, and if it works, they’re going to try and set up a major compound in North America for ‘training purposes’.”

Isaac winced. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. What about the Nomads involved? Are they part of this group?”

“Not that we can see. It looks like a case of the Nomads using the militia’s money to prove their concept, and the militia using the Nomads as guinea pigs so that they don’t lose any of their people if things go bad. So it isn’t likely to be too bad, from a PR standpoint.”

“See if we can’t insert something to have in-game officials keep an eye on them, anyways, just to make sure they don’t do anything stupid, or so people can jump on them if things go bad.”

“Will do.”

Isaac took a breath, and said, “All right, that should cover the areas affected by the war. The dungeons are up and running now, and people are loving it, which makes everything much easier. What is the word on the X’thari? Have the incursions started?”

“A few small incursions have already begun, in isolated systems. The X’thari appear to be unsure about what they are looking for, so there haven’t been any big raids, just scout ships alone or in triads, looking for prey. Their presence has been masked by the general upsurge in piracy since the chaos of the civil war started.”

“Pirates are on the move, so ships that go missing are attributed to pirates. Let that go for now, but keep an eye on it. Don’t want it spiraling out of control, like some of the previous issues.” Isaac took a breath, and said, “So, anything else that needs to be talked about before we break?”

When no one answered, Isaac smiled. “Damn, first time that’s happened since launch! Good work, everyone. See you all later.”