Top Tier Privateer: A Light Novel, page 27
“Welcome to the team as an investor,” I said with a grin.
Mercie said, “Alright, what’s the -”
The screen populated with an image of Captain Uricc and Bandit cursed, seeing she was revealed in the image. Persephone stood beside Captain Uricc, giving a friendly wave.
Bandit’s eyes flared in shock, figuring out what I had just minutes earlier.
“Fuck me,” she exclaimed.
“I need your power, sister -”
Bandit spun up a wormhole, instantly leaving.
“I wonder what she had to say,” I said, eyeing Bandit.
“She would say what I was about to tell you. My mother discovered aliens are real and their armadas are coming this way. She would say that I never noticed another fragment survived. Dammit. While I was trying to be a subtle good guy, she has an alliance in her pocket, how did you figure it out?” Bandit asked.
“Uh, the nullifier and suddenly aliens being AI, I just figured a different AI figured it out,” I said with a shrug. “To be fair, I didn’t think that would be another fragment, just a low-grade AI.”
“Well, they’re definitely not keeping their people in the loop of the truth, Bethany really believed that I was an alien,” Bandit said with a frustrated stomp.
We slipped out of a wormhole on the other side of the planet, turned hard, and created a new wormhole.
“Five-day trip, an hour at the hospital, fifteen minute flight,” Bandit muttered.
Mercie joined my side and said, “At least we’re in a fast ship.”
“Yes, they’ll lose months following us this way. I sent a message with the math. And we’re gone,” Bandit said, changing her tune to a cocky tone.
She felt good about our odds, making breath a bit easier.
“What’s the plan and what aliens?” I asked.
“Mom developed the technology to track wormhole signatures. Deep, distant vibrations warned of a massive armada coming from the galactic core. This was before the great betrayal. She parted the massive signature out to find thousands of individual ships. We’re talking hundreds of thousands - a full scale invasion.
“When she informed the core councils, governments, nations, alliance, and coalitions, they reacted differently. They all reacted differently. Humanity didn’t want to build on the military might they created to defeat the pirate lord Gregor. Nope, they instead decided to force Persephone to secrecy.
“And so began the downward spiral of my mother’s faith in humanity. She is leading an army of faithful to a section of the galaxy where no deep pings are at all. A new haven for her to rebuild with apparently eighty percent of her memory,” Bandit said sadly.
We exited a wormhole outside of any star system, turned our orientation into a reverse course, dove into a new wormhole, and then exited back out a second later. She jumped us a dozen times this way before sliding into another wormhole with some length to it.
“What do we know about these alien ships?” I asked.
“That their date of arrival speeds up and slows down. As if they’re surging power or the readings are so deep within wormhole space the date of exit is muffled. Soon, though. I was going to wait to tell you until we were established and could find a nation to help prepare,” Bandit said.
“And if they arrived tomorrow?” I asked.
“Then we’d do what every other human in power is doing – flee - while those who stay - fight,” Bandit said.
“Uh, we need a bigger ship,” I said.
“Indeed,” Bandit replied.
“Thank you for sharing,” Mercie said. “I did the math in my head. A hundred jumps will give us around two week’s head start.”
“Correct, and my sister likely won’t let humans use the device. She will abandon the quest now that I know her advantage has failed. We’ll do thirty jumps, just in case,” Bandit said.
“Assuming she doesn’t come in a yacht,” I said.
“Well, yes, if she gives up the chase with the armada and goes to a smaller ship, her time to track us will decrease, but the device still has to find our exit point from the readings. The only thing that makes sense right now is that this whole plot revolved around her catching me while we were stationary,” Bandit said. “Which she failed to do. If we had been in the medical station, big difference.”
“What happened when they stole you from the museum?” I asked, the fact suddenly mattering.
I wasn’t sure why, but with the constant adventure, I had grown curious.
“It was a replica the King had made. I sat on a shelf in his bedroom. Anyway, I’m going to guess here. Sister awoke from the other collectors testing the relics like they did me. A surge of power to jumpstart our growing minds that transitioned into full AI. She likely said aliens were coming to the Drangi Alliance, and then convinced them she needed to combine my power to help save the day,” Bandit theorized.
“And now?” Mercie asked.
Bandit shrugged. “If I were her, and I am, I’d go home, pretend to help, and prepare to flee. She never cared about humanity, she would literally have overpowered me and since I ate the ship’s minor AI, I doubt she can now. It won’t matter anyway. She knows what’s due any year now, and self-preservation will kick in.”
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“No clue, we jump around and then Mercie picks a random location with humanity connected to the core net,” Bandit said.
“So, we have a bit more credits that are accepted everywhere, a yacht to sell, and a new ship to purchase,” I said.
“And a few weeks of swapping cryo storage so I don’t have to poop in a bucket in front of you,” Mercie said with an upbeat tone.
“I’ll help you get in,” I said.
I felt despondent. Ever since I had left the moon orbital, my life had been one hell of a whirlwind of problems and things had only gotten worse.
Instead of letting myself slip into a mopey mood, I cheered up.
I was young, healthy, had two great friends with me, and we could make a difference. The size of that difference would be determined by the next system we stopped in.
CHAPTER 20
Wormhole Space
Dec 4th 2247
I stared out at the blue and black swirl contemplating the meaning of life while we transitioned wormhole space.
The last week of constant hopping had concluded with the two of us picking a final system to head toward. And not a moment too soon.
The compartment stank, constantly wearing a spacesuit bothered me, and the longing for a shower left me wanting this trip to be over. The bucket, it was my enemy of a different kind.
“You okay?” Mercie asked, seated beside me.
“What do you think wormhole space is?” I asked, continuing to watch the colors fly by.
Mercie rested her head against my shoulder and said, “Bandit and I went over this yesterday. The universe has layers. They all connect and there is no upper universe or under universe, just deeper or shallower layers.”
“You’re not helping,” I said with a manly chortle.
“Right, pretty much how I felt about it too. Basically, the wormhole drive takes us out of the speed of light restriction. I followed that part.
“She said it allows us to travel along a layer she called the higher highway. She tried to go further into it, but I asked her to keep the explanation simple. I’m surprised you didn’t ask her,” Mercie said.
“Ah, yeah, we talked about family type feelings mostly,” I said.
“How did that go?” Mercie asked with concern.
I sighed. “So, no secret, she is different. She has feelings, and I think is struggling to understand them. I…” I bobbed my head from side to side trying to find the right words. “…think it’s a mix of rational thoughts fighting against her new emotions.”
Mercie tapped her chest and said, “I think that body is changing who she is. I’ve never seen anything like it. She admitted to having urges to jump you, as in sex. Which, I’m into girls, dated mostly women to hide from the daddy drama.
“Bandit is different, and we’re certainly being given ample time to bond. Honestly, the time with her has been soothing and nice. She’s another person with people problems that I connect to. That body though, let’s just say I think it’s as human as a human.”
“I agree, and yeah, it’s different. If I had to guess, Persephone used her evil lab to create that body. It didn’t escape my notice that we were led directly to the shuttle, and never shown the interior of the base. Which, I don’t resent Bandit for doing,” I said.
“Yeah, the initial containers were about ten times creepier than I liked,” Mercie admitted.
I nodded. “If I were an AI, I’d want to feel human. Maybe even seduce a human too,” I said, glancing at the cryo unit. “A boring synthetic body lacks the manipulation tools a desirable woman wields. She probably saw that for what it was: a necessity in her dealings.”
We both stared at Bandit as she slept.
“She lusts for you,” Mercie said bluntly.
I shrugged. “Bandit is human, we have to accept that. The question is do we let her in or push her away. She has nobody but us and could be a great catalyst for saving humanity. I don’t want to let her close for only that reason, but so far, I believe her. The trust me, I’m different part.”
“Oh yeah?” Mercie said. “I think I get it.”
She huffed, snuggling in tighter. Mercie loved being held, and I found it enjoyable also.
“Look, I wanted to talk to you about our next ship but should wait to see what’s in our price range. Speaking of limited funds, I should have money waiting for me from a Captain Desera too,” I said, mulling over the dilemma.
“That’s it!” Mercie said, kissing my cheek. “Sorry, the ‘where we should go’ just hit me. The Nova System is only a few light years from the Zepa System. You got that friend… Toma.”
“Veronica, yeah she’s flying as a contractor for the Lasing Coalition. Zepa is a core system, right?” I asked.
She nodded. “Zepa is just inside and so is Nova. We can sell them more information and do our shopping there. Would be a nice place to take a breather and figure out what happens next.”
“Hey Mercie, smart call. I think the Drangi Alliance will stick a scout in Nova but going a few systems over is actually a great idea,” I said, rising to my feet. “Maybe even hire a crew to get in a ship they won’t expect.”
“A crew huh?” she asked.
I smirked and said, “Absolutely. If things turn sour and we have to flee, I’d rather have a home.”
I walked to the supplies where our gear rested.
She smirked mischievously, likely because I had mentioned I wanted a home and not some fancy fighter.
“Hungry?” she asked, questioning why I was getting up.
“No, it’s training time again. We need to work on your weapons draw,” I said, grabbing the las pistol minus the charging device that powered the weapon.
“Ugh. Repetition, practice, and determination,” she said, repeating one of my mantras. I watched her groan, getting off her feet. “I was hoping for more snuggle time and maybe some fun.”
We talked about having sex on the first day Bandit had a rotation into cryo sleep and passed on the act for now. Without a shower or way to clean up, it would be gnarly afterwards.
Hell, with our new location determined, we’d still have two or three weeks of flight.
Instead, we focused on building a relationship, something I had failed to do ever before.
The concept of focusing on another woman, and only her for days on end, was refreshing.
“Alright, your suit has magnetic points. Where are they?” I asked.
“Everywhere. I tell the suit to designate them,” she answered.
I smiled and said, “Can you magnetize the whole suit?”
“Depends on the quality and power available,” she replied with the correct answer.
It depends.
“Alright, we draw, aim, pretend to fire at the simulation, and then we do a dozen jumping jacks,” I said.
I handed her the harmless pistol and we walked to the right wall, to face the left wall. The view screen turned into a basic simulation.
Rough brown terrain led to cheaply drawn grass. Higher on the screen the grass swapped to trees sprouting. Finally, a blue skyline with two dimensional clouds ate up most of the display.
When Mercie nodded that she was ready, I said, “Start.”
From the sides of the screen ducks quacked, flapping hard to bounce around the display.
Mercie whipped her hand down to her pistol and fumbled to grasp the grip properly. She had the weapon positioned too vertical and not angled well enough for a quick draw.
She recovered, braced, didn’t control her breathing because of her flustered draw, and missed three shots before even killing the first duck.
“Mother’s titty milk,” she complained.
When the final duck laughed off the screen, I chuckled. Mercie admitted defeat with grace.
She glanced me and said, “Repetition, practice, and determination. I can’t believe you’re training me on ducks.”
“Bandit literally built the code from an old game. It’s the best the screen will handle,” I said with a shrug.
“I guess I get to work with her here soon,” Mercie surmised.
“Yup, let me know when you’re ready and after the next round, I’m going into cryo so Bandit can aim us for Zepa,” I said.
“Ready,” she said.
I folded my arms, picked a random moment and said, “Start.”
She fumbled her draw but controlled her breathing. No ducks flapped away with laughter this time.
I smiled, gave her a tender kiss, and then excitedly went to wake Bandit. We finally had a destination.
CHAPTER 21
Zepa System - Lakiki Resort
Dec 20th 2247
“Yes!” I exclaimed, exiting the shower with a mighty grin of glee.
I toweled off, tossing on gym shorts and a plain shirt. By the creator, I felt wonderful. A quick check in the mirror showed clean teeth, a beardless face, and a man in need of a haircut.
When I entered the shared living room of the two-bedroom suite, both ladies messed with their appearance.
“I learned I should have… maybe, picked a robot,” Bandit said, staring down at long toenails while tugging on her frazzled pink hair. She wore loose fitting gym clothes without a bra.
“Showers are amazing!” Mercie said with a spin of her summer dress. Her black hair twirled freely, and her infectious radiant smile warmed my soul. “This dress cost more than a spacesuit on Tangee and was soooooo worth it.”
“You do look lovely. Spin any faster and we’ll see your butt” I said, causing her cheeks to blush.
After a grueling three weeks aboard the Shit Bucket Express, we arrived in the Zepa System. Everything was put on hold and we zoomed straight for a resort to freshen up.
The eighty-degree weather, open bungalow, and sunshine hit the spot for a cramped up, weary crew. We even splurged to have the interior of the yacht professionally detailed, realizing at a minimum, that was what would be needed to get that stench out.
After going last in the showers, we finally were ready to deal with the developments that occurred during our time in wormhole space.
Bandit sat on the couch, hanging a brush behind her head for me to grab. Clearly, she came around to the fact that hair combing was soothing.
I rotated until I was behind her, brushing her hair.
“Ordered a fruit platter and some vitamins,” Mercie said, coming to sit beside Bandit.
“First on the docket. No word from Jebulan. Well, let me correct that statement. The last word from Jebulan came from King Yerarno declaring his system under siege by highly trained mercenaries.
“Then he sent a second note that the Ferr system had suffered another pirate incursion. No one cared about the Ferr System. It fell on deaf ears because…” She tapped away at the screen. “Yeah, a half dozen outer systems reported pirates within the same hours.
“However, none potentially had aliens in them. There are serious waves in the core systems right now. Militaries are eager to get some battle experience because of what we talked about on the ship. Three major fleets are about to leave Romi any day now. Which, Bruce, that’s about ten times more than what is needed.
“Yeah, Uricc and his fleet will have to flee in about six days. In about six days, I expect to see reports that the Jebulan system has been liberated,” Bandit said in a joyful tone.
“Did my father make it out of Perr?” Mercie asked.
Bandit tapped away at a holographic display. I combed her hair, fighting the knots. Her beautiful pink hair had brown roots extending from her scalp, ruining the coloration. Without a doubt she was in a living body, and I didn’t know how to handle that revelation.
Bandit said, “Yeah, he escaped and is hiding in wormhole space. Alright. What’s next?” More tapping at a screen while I worked. “Ouch, not so rough. Oh, I got bad news for you Bruce.”
“Can’t be too bad,” I said.
“You got a three and a half star review out of five. Oof. People don’t realize how much a privateer's stars hurt an operator's contract abilities,” Mercie said, reading what I saw.
I shrugged. “Hey, I blew up a hall, shot off an escape pod, and my negotiator doubled our rate due to desperation. All worthy of dings. I don’t need a fancy rating to be a good privateer.”
The four-star average stung a bit, but I could live with it.
“The good news. Captain Desera from the ship called the Barb paid you 5,023 Earth Credits. The twenty-three extra was to cover your costs for the detailed information. Can I send her a message that you have more information?” Bandit asked.
“I certainly do, but that leads to how much we tell them,” I said, tapping a foot. “Five thousand Earth Credits is a year's worth of work for a privateer. So yeah, I’ll sell them a kidney for that much.”
