Privateer's Commission -ch 18- (Patreon)

“I… see,” Eun murmured, staring at the still sleeping drunk woman. She was laid out on a medical bed.

Handcuffed to it, in fact.

There was dried vomit on her bikini top, though Marionette had scrubbed the rest of it out of her hair and off her face.

Looking at her, Ralph couldn’t deny she was actually rather pretty.

“The corridor station owner will get a letter from the Calesat,” Eun murmured, then looked to Ralph and smiled at him. “We will likely need to operate in the corridor so it would be good for them to understand that their behavior is unacceptable considering we already made arrangements with them.”

“Ha. Are you going to rush in and defend my honor?” Ralph asked, grinning at Eun. “Whatever shall I do for the Warrior Eun to repay her favor?”

Eun grinned back at him, raised her eyebrows, then looked away from him to the sleeping drunk. With a soft huff she then turned away and faced him once more.

“We must put to engine and leave. The war has begun and we have immediately encircled several of their high value planets,” Eun stated. “We need you to move to the shipping lanes that they’re likely to use. I have charts for you.”

“Certainly, certainly. Sounds fine. I’ll review it and decide what to do from there,” Ralph murmured and gestured to the door. “I assume that’s all?”

“Yes. We’re not foolish enough to try and tell you what to do, other than to point out a shipping lane we’d like hit.”

“See? Smart and beautiful. You can be my pilot. I bet you’ll look great in the harness,” Ralph threw as an offhand comment.

He was somewhat distracted as Marionette had been toying with him before Eun arrived in her transport. His libido was turned up higher than he wanted it to be since she hadn’t been able to carry out with her sweet promises.

Eun laughed at that after catching up to him.

“You’ve a ship full of women, one who is likely the most attractive Confed woman I’ve ever met in person. You’ve also a new ships-mistress and a third woman in a bikini,” Eun chided him. “You need not court me so.”

“Court you? I just want to see you strapped up in a seat. You can admire beauty without ever trying to lay hands on it,” Ralph countered and sat down in the co-pilot seat.

At the same time he gestured to the pilot’s seat.

Eun was a pilot who had earned her Warrior’s status through such work. Believing he could do more than her was silly.

“Wait, you really want me as the pilot?” Eun asked somewhat in shock.

“You’re a Warrior. Warrior Eun. A pilot. Your life lies with the rest of us,” replied Ralph with a laugh. “So strap yourself in, smile so I can take a picture of it, and get to work, Pilot.”

Eun blinked, stared at him for several seconds, then quietly buckled herself in, tightened up the harness, and put her hands to the controls.

“Xas go ahead and flip the controls over to ‘miss hot in straps’ over there. Make sure you take like fifty pictures of her, too,” Ralph said and only buckled his lap belt.

Reaching out he opened up the navigational charts, then pulled open what Eun had pushed over.

“Done,” Xas reported. “I made sure they were really tasteful. Mostly.”

Ralph laughed at that while reading over the charts.

“Eun, just these three planets?” he asked, looking over the data. Trying to figure out where to be to get the best loot.

Because while Eun had requested him to hit shipping lanes, he planned on doing it in a different way than she asked. Attacking where the Calesat wanted him would put him in a cross-hair.

Because if Calesat wants it hit, then the enemy wants it defended.

Smuggling has taught me a lot when it comes to being where they want.

Go where they don’t want me, but not where they expect me.

“Yes. Here, here, and here,” Eun indicated on the chart in front of her which was the shared screen of his. The alright highlighted planets, were highlighted further.

“Nowhere else? Just there? Is there any military movements that are public knowledge that you could give me?” he asked, spinning the charts around several different ways.

The Vanah Blood was four different systems.

Three of them were based around a star and one was just a dead system with a bunch of stations around it.

All three planets hit were in one solar system and it was closest to the station based system. Which was where a great deal of their space borne materials and products came from.

Cheap to move things around when it’s already expensive.

Horribly expensive to operate a space-elevator and otherwise.

Yet… that is likely where the best targets to hit will be for now.

“The planets are all under siege and invasion forces are currently under way,” Eun confirmed. “Multiple defensive lines are in place in orbit and at a distance. They won’t want to lose the planets, but they can’t afford to glass them either. Same for us.

“We want the planets, resources, and peoples. It’s a standard invasion.”

Ralph nodded his head.

It lined up with his thoughts.

Flipping through previous traffic reports he saw that a great deal of military hardware was indeed coming out of the station system.

This had been where Eun wanted him to go.

Instead, Ralph turned his attention to the shipments that’d been going to the station from the other systems.

I can help strangle the stations without ever putting a hand on them.

One system stood out to him. It was labeled Anah and it seemed to be exactly what he wanted. A number of commercial ships moving to the station regularly, rather than anywhere else.

Looking at the ship designations, he could guess that it was a lot of materials to continue work there, rather than needed resources.

Like food.

Grinning, Ralph put in a navigational request for charts listing proposed shipping routes between Anah and system Statos-Two, which was the station system.

In no time at all, the on board computer fed him a response and he threw in the request. Then piped it in to Eun.

“I decline your request as to where to strike and have a much better idea,” Ralph said, smiling at her.

Eun didn’t actually look as good as Marionette did in the straps, but she didn’t look bad either. Marionette just looked good in anything and everything.

“This is only a day or two away and will give us better results. Thank you for the suggestion however. That might be a good target in a week or two,” Ralph continued, then gestured at the monitor in front of Eun. “Xas, I’ve already put in a navigational. If you don’t mind putting it in and getting us moving that’d be swell.

“While were in transit, put out our communications that are pending then hold the rest. Transmit our intent to run silent, then do so. We’ll be heading into hostile space after all.

“Let the crew know we’re going to be moving if you don’t mind as well.”

“Certainly,” Xas agreed. A curious noise escaped her in the next moment. Almost like a sigh. “This isn’t that hard now that I’m doing it. I don’t know why so many AI complain about being ship-borne.”

“I’m not complaining, it’s your ship of course, I’m just curious,” Eun murmured, reading over the navigational plot he put in. “Why not the targets we suggested?”

“I don’t want to be where they think we’re going. I want to go where they don’t think I will, and hit what they don’t want,” Ralph answered with a shrug of his shoulders. He could feel the ship starting to move around. “We’re going to hit the shipping lane you want me to, just not directly. If the Statos-Two system doesn’t get supplies to keep doing what they’re doing, they won’t be sending anything off into their shipping lane.”

Ralph continued to read through the shipping manifests, trying to figure out what to expect, where, and who to hit.

***

“Can I be let out today? Maybe?” asked Winnie from inside her cabin. Ralph had put her inside of it and locked her in. She was currently wearing some of Ralph’s old clothes since she only had a bikini.

She’d been incredibly upbeat about being tossed off the station though quite unhappy about being locked in a room.

The incessant whining and complaining had started the moment she woke up, but she hadn’t been insufferable about it.

Just annoying.

For the past several days she’d been nothing if not insistent about being let out.

“I can be helpful. I uh… I was a Confed officer you know,” offered Winnie, her tactics suddenly changing. “You’re clearly on a combat mission or something. Right?”

Ralph frowned, looking at the monitor she was on from his co-pilot station.

“Why would I need a Confed officers?” he asked after thumbing the transmit button.

“Cause, you know… combat mission. I can tell we’re on a slow crawl, haven’t been stopping anywhere, and the speed changes direction and velocity,” Winnie answered. She sighed and pressed her forehead to the doorframe. Most of her was now unable to be seen by the camera in the room.

There really were cameras in every room but the captain’s quarters.

Ralph had quickly notified everyone of where the camera was so they could cover it up. He didn’t want them thinking he was peeking after all.

“I did a lot of time just watching space looking for targets. I was in gunnery. Long time,” Winnie mumbled. “I could be useful.”

“She doesn’t know what you’re going to do with her,” Eun remarked after closing the open microphone. “To be fair, you’ve told her nothing at all. Other than she was kicked off the station and put in your ship without your permission. She doesn’t even know your name.”

“Eh… she doesn’t need to know more. There’s no point in talking to her,” Ralph countered with a shake of his head. “We’ll just be kicking her to the curb at the next station or port she wants off at.”

“What if she really is a Confed officer? She could be useful,” Eun countered. “She’d look better strapped in the seat than me.”

Eun had gotten a bit sour about how she looked in the seat after Marionette had strapped in once to help with the piloting while Ralph handled Winnie.

Apparently the incredibly built woman had left Eun feeling quite inadequate.

“Warrior Eun, have you decided to flee the field after having gone up against Lady Siren?” Ralph teased as he scanned their passive sensors. “She’s a formidable opponent, I admit it. You have your own weapons though.”

“Even Lady Toll looks better strapped in than I,” Eun hissed.

Unfortunately for Delilah, Eun had decided that she was Lady Toll, rather than Delilah. Marionette also tended to refer to her as Lady Toll.

While it wasn’t her role, it seemed she would be wearing the moniker at least.

“Warrior Eun, would you say that it’s suitable to compare a Warrior who fights with a ship to a Warrior that fights with their hands?

“Why compare yourself to a Warrior who fights with their looks, like Lady Siren. As far as Delilah goes… I think the Calesat beauty is different and unique. You demean yourself. It’s not flattering for such a grand Warrior.”

Eun grunted, hissed, took in a breath, held it, grunted again, then let it out in an explosive rush.

“You scold me. Rightly. I am… whining,” Eun muttered, then laughed. “Lady Siren is a Warrior of her looks. She is impressive. I like her. She does not make me feel down for being inferior to her.”

“I mean, she wouldn’t even think you’re inferior to her. If anything, she likely thinks you’re superior to her,” Ralph argued. “Have no fear that I’ve secured away all the photos of you strapped down for my personal collection.”

Eun chuckled at that and then froze.

Ralph had seen what she did at the exact same time. There was a trio of ships moving through the sector they’d put themselves in.

A trio of ships that Ralph had expected to arrive yesterday, but were indeed here in the end.

“You were right,” she whispered as she pushed several buttons on the panel. He could feel the ship shudder as it began to carefully fire off rockets to maneuver themselves around.

Mostly compressed gas rockets so that there wouldn’t be any heat signatures facing their targets. The ship spun lazily around until the broadside of the ship was lined up with their targets.

They were also now slowly moving in the same direction as them.

“Xas, internal announcement. Everyone into their suits. Might get a breach so it’s not worth risking it,” Ralph ordered as he stared hard at the small convoy of ships moving through space.

As far as he could see, there weren’t any escorts.

Smirking, he plotted out which one to hit first. Looking through the previous shipping manifest to figure out the right ship to hit just in case they blew up in that opening salvo.

Then he nodded his head, got up, and went off to his bedroom. He needed to get into his space suit. Just in case there really was a breach, he could keep working as if it hadn’t happened at all.

On reaching it, he opened the door to find Marionette struggling to get herself into her own suit. Her impressive assets were making it difficult.

“Oh! Just in time. Help me, my captain?” pleaded Marionette while pouting. Her hands gestured at her suit which was stuck at her bust.

“Anything for my Lady,” promised Ralph and then shut the door.

A few minutes later, a lot of kissing, heavy fondling, and Ralph was back in his seat with his suit on.

“There’s an escort,” Xas said no sooner than Ralph got his belts on.

“That’s fine, we were expecting it. We just didn’t see them yet. What kind are they?” Ralph asked, pulling up the sensor information.

“A destroyer. A very old looking destroyer,” Xas replied.

“It seems you were right again. I should just listen to you going forward. My apologies, Captain,” Eun apologized from behind him.

Ralph turned his head, his helmet shifting with the movement.

Eun was moving his way wearing a personalized suit just as he was.

It was tight at the waist, snug at the crotch, and made her lithe figure seem more chest-heavy than it was.

“Hell woman, you’re not allowed to wear anything other than a suit on my bridge going forward,” cursed Ralph, looking back to the monitor. “That’s a damn order as your captain.”

Eun laughed, sounding nervous as she sat down at the pilot’s seat.

“We’ll be within their sensor range in about a minute,” she said instead.

What she really means with that statement, is do I plan to abide by Blood rules of combat.

Surprise attacks and sneak attacks are well and good.

They’re expected and welcomed.

Doubly so against the Confed as they’re not truly viewed as being human in general.

However… ship combat is generally regarded differently.

Those who own ships, pilot them, are typically regarded as being above most castes. Not quite nobility but above many.

More so than the military than one would expect since there is no true formal federal military. The military was made up of many different factions.

Fighting for the Confed as a Privateer is surprisingly a lot less rule filled than the Blood.

“We’ll drop our sensors, declare our intent, and engage them directly,” Ralph ordered. “Let’s get ready for a full broadside on that escort unless they’re willing to wave off and surrender their charges.”

Eun made a happy sounding noise at that and began inputing commands into the console.

“Aye,” Xas replied. “Orders distributed, sensor drop in thirty seconds. Uh… Marionette reports that the batteries are ready.”

Marionette, huh?

I knew she was helping but that’s surprising.

She’s probably working there with the droids to help her.

“Where’s Delilah?” he asked.

“With Marionette, though she’s there because it’s a central location for repairs,” Xas responded. “I’m handling firing plots. I’ll do my best but I’m not well versed in it.”

“I can do firing plots!” called a voice from behind.

Flinching, Ralph hunched forward and looked to the speaker.

It was Winnie.

She was stark naked and currently shuffling into one of his suits. Pulling it up past her hips.

“Really, I can do firing plots. Its what I used to do,” Winnie declared, pushing her boobs into the suit while pulling it up over her shoulders. No sooner than she got it over herself than she pushed her palms against her breasts. “Ah shit, this rubs my nipples in a bad way. Need a bra or something.”

“If she really was a gunnery officer, it’d be better to have her do it,” Xas put in unhelpfully with a frustrated tone. “Hire her as a ships-mistress, pay her in dick, buy her a bra, I don’t fucking care. I’m a weapons designer, not an armorer.

“Hey, drunk fox-ear girl, get to the damn gunnery station. Ignore captain Puke. I’ll hire you personally. I’ve got more than enough to hire you on for fucking three years.

“I’ll pay you double the rate. Ships-mistress gunner. Ass in seat. Now.”

“Hell yeah, money. I love money. I can buy a lot of alcohol right? My gunner rate is pretty high. I was a god-damned captain in rank you know.”

“Captains pay! Ass-in-seat! Captains-dick later!” Xas demanded, speaking over Ralph as he tried to but in. “You’re hired! I have my own ship coming. You’re the Lady Armory.

“Dropping our black-out. We’re getting painted immediately by the destroyer. Sending our intent as a Privateer.”

Running up the jolly-roger.

“Ships-mistress gunner, huh? Never done that before. Never anything like it. Only worked on Confed ships,” Winnie said and slapped herself on the breasts twice. “Ahhh shit that hurts. But hey, it doesn’t itch anymore.

“Job, yeah, whatever. Lady Armory it is.”

Winnie slammed herself down into the gunners seat and pulled on the small bubble like helmet that came with the suits. Rotating it into place it locked with a pop and she turned to look at Ralph.

“Okay, Captain Puke. Your Lady Armory is ready to fire. Maybe,” she said and looked to the display. “This is kinda fucked. The fuck? Fuck.”

Shaking her head, Winnie began to tap rapidly at the screen.

“Also, the fuck is there an actual cockpit for. If we get hit here we’re gonna be fucked,” Winnie grumbled, stabbing away at the panel.

“Because there’s a thruster as big in the front as the back,” Ralph muttered. “Also nearly as big on every side, too. We can move pretty nimbly.”

“Oh shit, really? Well. Maybe we’re not as fucked as I thought. Just maneuver around and keep our nose out of their guns.

“Uh, well, actually, I might be as fucked just as much as I thought we were. Ships-mistress means I’m your personal barracks bunny, after all,” Winnie mumbled, her fingers moving back across the console. “At least I’ll have a source of getting laid regularly. I like my hair getting pulled by the way. Make sure you do it.”

“Yeah, thanks. No thanks,” growled Ralph. “I’m already satisfied with what I’ve got.”

“The fuck you say? Bitch! You’re my Captain!

“You’re going to pull my hair while riding me around in a bed and you’re going to like it,” yelled Winnie her face deforming into an agonized scowl. “If I tell you to slap my face and drill me, then you slap my face and drill me! If I want you to choke me, then choke me! Got it Captain? Do I need to have Lady Armory property of Captain Puke tattooed on my as and mail it off to the Confed!?”

“Xas I swear I didn’t… you didn’t… Xas—” hissed Ralph under his breath.

“They’ve responded,” Xas interrupted, sounding somewhat remorseful now. “They’re unwilling to surrender. The ship is breaking away from the escort and moving toward us. We’re not in a direct line with the commerce vessels but we can intercept within about half an hour.”

God fucking damnit.

This is just becoming more and more like Rio’s stories.

She’s going to be giggling insanely at the idea of a pirate with three ships-mistresses.

Well, so long as I remind her she’s the only one I actually want.

Then again, she didn’t seem as concerned or defensive when we talked about Delilah.

“Run out the missile covers, close the hatches between decks and rooms. Prepare for combat,” Ralph ordered.