The emperor's Ghosts started with three thousand young men willing and eager to serve. We were not sworn in as normal, we gave oaths of fealty to the emperor. We started basic training and that was when they gave us the drugs and other chemical treatments. That was when we began to die.

Three thousand started and twelve weeks later three hundred graduated, the rest died. We were stronger, faster and smarter. We began the advanced training; flight, weapons, martial arts, intel and reentry insertions and things you could not image. That was also when they gave us the self replicating nanites.

With reactions to the nanites and training accidents only thirty survived. At first we were considered failures since the only thirty out of three thousand survived. Because of our training we were sent to the combat front. The systems that were rebelling had resources and had managed to hold against the fleet.

Colonel Nathan was in command of us and he was a cruel, blood thirsty asshole. Our first mission we went in dark for two weeks and did a reentry insertions and freefall to under a thousand feet before opening anti grav shrouds. Our target was the command and staff meeting in the middle of a full division of assault soldiers.

We lost one man during reentry but took out the target before slipping away. Besides the command and staff we killed close to ten thousand men and wounded another twenty with a tac fusion warhead. I was promoted with several others and by the end of that first year ten more of us were dead.

I had been wounded a couple of times and awarded the Emperor's Cross before the Emperor ordered my promotion to lieutenant junior grade. Over the years we continued to loose men but Nathan, now a general refused to provide support or men to replace those lost. I was promoted all the way to Lieutenant Colonel after a last mission that left me the last man in the group.

I was planning a solo insertion when the rebels surrendered. After five years, sixty combat missions and the deaths of those I had come to think of as brothers, the war was over. While I received permission from the emperor to retire, fleet general Nathan returned to Central. He had been one of the few named to replace the fleet Sky Marshal, which meant he would command the whole fleet.

I took a job with the new sector governor as she worked out a new treaty with the rebel systems. I was with her in a closed meeting when a sniper killed Nathan entering the fleet headquarters. As much as I hated the man they could not point a finger my way. During the investigation of the assassination the secret of the Ghosts slipped out including many of the missions.

It was another six months before they discovered only I was left. I finished my check of the huge freighter before stopping on the bridge and nodding to the captain, "I found a couple of trackers and destroyed them so we are clean."

He grinned and turned to the pilot, "Mr Adams, move us away from the station."

The Rainbow's Heart went through the outer systems where a lot of pirates had sprang up. I watched as we headed towards the heliopause and turned to leave. I was the ship's security officer and only the captain knew who or what I was. Captain Edwards turned, "Johnny?"

I stopped and turned to look at him, "yeah?"

He looked at me, "a fast courier is leaving the station to catch us."

I waited and he smiled, "it is registering the emperor's personal seal."

I turned and walked to the scan station and moved the man to bring up the rear scan. I looked at the ship moving fast to catch us before turning, "have them use the starboard, stern airlock."

I left and went to my sparse quarters before changing and leaving. I was wearing Ghost undress which was a soft black. The pistol, fighting knife, sonic wrist stilettoes and the slim laser were all matte black with the Emperor's crest. I waited inside the airlock as the courier docked. Several minutes later the outer hatch opened and one of the emperor's guards stepped in.

He looked at me before turning to help a girl out of the boarding tube. She smiled as the guard accepted a trunk and set it down. I looked from her to him and he grinned before diving back into the tube and closing the hatch. I looked at the girl and she held out a data stick. I accepted it and looked out to see the boarding tube pulling away.

I reached for the trunk leash and led the way out of the airlock. I was not sure what was going on and led her through the huge ship and to my quarters. I closed the door behind her and left the trunk to cross to my small data terminal. I put the data stick in and a second later the holo of the emperor appeared.

He smiled, "I just finished reading the sector governors report Johnny. She said you helped a lot more than her assistants."

He glanced down and sighed before looking at me, "I know you have been following the news and all the wild stories about you and your unit. The girl is one of my nieces."

He snorted, "one of many. Anyway she convinced her father to open your file. My brother has always been a little soft where his daughters are concerned. Anyway she thinks you are lonely and insisted her father arrange a union between you and her."

The emperor grinned, "since you are my vassal he could not oblige her and she began working on me. Now I am working on you. If you accept, she will belong to you, her rights and her body, protect her and perhaps love her. Send me a note to let me know how you do."

The holo shut down and I pulled out the stick as it began to smoke. I dropped it in the recycler and turned to look at the girl and smiled slightly, "lonely?"

She smiled as she began undressing. She crossed to me and pulled me up and started pulling my clothes off and dropping weapons on the desk. I waited until she was done before backing her to my bed. I pushed her back and down on the bed before caressing her smooth thighs. I rubbed her pussy and then her clit when she shuddered.

I kept fingering her pussy and rubbing and caressing her clit. It was a few minutes before she was panting and shuddering. I smiled when she started jerking and spasming. I moved and slowly forced my cock into her before pulling her up. She wrapped her legs around me as I held her impaled.

She groaned as her pussy clenched and tightened around my cock. I rubbed her back and looked into her eyes as she began to shudder again. I turned and backed to the bed before sitting and then rolling. She was under me when I began to fuck her slowly with long thrusts. It took her two minutes before she was thrashing around and wailing.

I buried my cock and began to hump, press and jab. Taira bucked and screamed as her tight pussy rippled and squeezed my cock. I kissed her and smiled as she continued to jerk and convulse. It was another fifteen minutes before I slowly pushed into her and kissed her softly just as I spewed cum.

She jerked in surprise and lifted her hips as almost hot cum gushed through her cervix and flooded her womb. When I finished she sighed and I pulled out before rolling her onto her stomach. I moved over her and pushed back into her cummy pussy, "thank you Taira. I have never been with a woman."

She shuddered as her pussy clenched and pushed back, I fucked her six times before I stopped. I washed and dressed as she lay asleep on my bed before heading to the bridge. The captain was humming and reading a book as the second shift pilot sat at the pilot console. I stopped beside the chair and captain Edwards turned, "what did his nibs want?"

I smiled, "would you believe a niece felt sorry for me and thought I was lonely?"

He grinned, "what did she send you?"

I looked at the scan operator watching a news vid about Nathan, "he sent her to me. She begged and begged until she was collared and leashed."

His mouth fell open but the scan tech turned, "the newies are saying that if someone else had not killed Nathan that man left from the Ghost program would have. They should space him."

I looked at him calmly, "Nathan was a cold, back stabbing asshole. Someone should have killed the bastard years ago."

I glanced at the captain before turning to the hatch. The scan tech jumped up, "how dare you! General Nathan was a hero!"

I snorted as I looked at him, "tell the soldiers he sent to die while never leaving his safe ops room."

I took a step as he started for me, "you LIE!"

My pistol came out and up to point between his eyes, "I do not lie. The rat bastard never once went into combat. He did not care how many men died as long as he got what he wanted."

He stood frozen with his eyes wide and licked his lips. Captain Edwards stood and reached out to touch my arm, "he does not know Johnny."

I glanced at him, "teach the pup manners."

I holstered my weapon and left. I had my own gym and stripped to my pants before beginning exercises. Several crew members came in a little later but I ignored them as they stood along the wall. I stopped when Taira stepped in and glanced around. She smiled and stripped before bowing, "may I join you?"

I gestured and she moved onto the mat before starting her stretches. I watched carefully and had to smile at the almost elegant smoothness she displayed. A few minutes later she bowed and slid into a stance. The fight could have been over quickly but I worked with her. More crew came in until captain Edwards finally entered.

I stepped back as Taira panted, "stretch and cool off."

She grinned, "you are not even sweating."

I gestured and she nodded while I turned, "you told them?"

The captain nodded, "you pulled me and many others out of hell but they are family."

I smiled, "putting me off at the next station?"

He snorted, "not hardly."

He looked around, "family, this is my friend and savior, Jonathan Edward Diamond. The last emperor's Ghost."

I glanced at the crew which were part of his clan, "do not believe what the newies tell you."

They grinned as the captain smiled, "I told them the whole truth about how we were taken, including general Nathan's part."

I nodded to the first officer, "that is past, you even have a promised wife now."

She laughed, "after what we were told you might have one or two clan brides bidding for you."

Taira grinned as she walked to me, "if he does, they go through me first. I am his now."

They looked at her and I looked at the captain. He shrugged, "your secret."

I turned Taira and caressed her face, "this little demon wanted the emperor to force a bond between us since she was his niece. Instead he gave her to me, her rights and her body."

They grinned as the first officer laughed, "silly bitch got what she wanted though."

I glanced at her and then at a blushing Taira, "perhaps."

I sighed and looked at the scan tech, "look behind you."

He turned and frowned at a two dimensional picture of thirty men. I moved to the picture and touched the frame, "three thousand volunteered and only these men lived to go to war."

I looked at the tech, "your general Nathan sent us after the rebels alone. As we died he refused to replace those that fell so more fell trying to complete the missions. We were refused any support."

I looked at the picture, "he even told us once that we should just kill ourselves."

I sighed and turned to look at the crew, "so you know, I only ask that you do not spread it beyond the clan."

I went to dress as the captain sent everyone out, "are we okay Johnny?"

I nodded, "I knew you would have to tell them."

Taira slipped under my arm after he turned to leave and I glanced at her, "hungry?"

It was just over two weeks to the heliopause and then we opened a wormhole and jumped. We emerged and the captain maxed the acceleration. This was the most dangerous part, pirates hung around the heliopause because after taking a ship they could jump away. The primary scan tech was on station and looked back, "we have a ship to our stern and it is closing fast."

I glanced at the captain before turning, "head straight in."

I headed towards the stern airlock and my insertion suit. Taira ran to catch up but I kept going, "go to our quarters."

She looked at me as I slipped into a intership car and gestured, "go!"

She spun as I hit the override and headed aft. I stopped close to engineering and headed to the airlock I stored my suit in. I hung weapons up before quickly climbing into the suit. I began replacing weapons after hitting the intercom, "I need the baring and range captain."

"We are jammed on the system comm Johnny. They are closing baring one eight zero relative at just over twenty five kilometers."

I settled everything, "speed?"

"One hundred kilometers relative to our speed."

I hit the airlock vacuum, "maintain comm contact on the secondary encrypted comm Bravo six freq."

I opened the outer hatch and stepped out into the darkness of space. I moved onto the hull and jumped to break contact before turning to face the ship's stern and hitting the suit thrusters. I accelerated as I counted down and when I reached zero shut the thrusters off and watched my suit scans. Unlike many other suits this one had stealth technology.

I finally saw the pirate ship closing extremely fast. I flipped the suit and hit my thrusters and began braking until the ship was barely closing. I shut down the thrusters and shifted the suit until I was in the ship's path. It was a minute before they were close and I opened the comm, "I will be boarding in a second, stand by."

The ship started to pass by and I moved as I used the suit thrusters to slid to the far side airlock. I used the suit grapple to catch the ship and set the drag. The ship pulled away before the line settled and I began reeling myself in. I touched the airlock and moved to the controls before using a device one of my brothers had created. The hatch slid aside and I walked aboard.

I closed the hatch and overrode the oxy alarm as I dumped air into the airlock. I bypassed the notification and opened the airlock before walking towards the bridge. I opened my comm, "I am on board and heading to the bridge."

I moved through the ship and stepped into the bridge hatch as I pulled my laser. I shot the captain, gunner, pilot and scan tech, all within two seconds. I walked to the pilot's seat and yanked his body out and onto the deck before touching the controls. I slowed the ship and turned it slightly, "bridge secure."

I headed for the port airlock, there was a couple of dozen men around the hatch as I walked up behind them. I used both pistols and began killing, I put a rail slug through one man's head and a laser beam through another's. I shifted as they spun and killed two more and then four. I had killed eight before they reacted and tried to run.

That was the wrong reaction, I stood and shot each man through the head or heart as they frantically tried to escape. When I was done they were all spread out on the deck and I turned calmly and headed towards engineering, "boarding party terminated."

Two men were looking at the hatch when I opened it and stepped in. I used the laser and shot the first through the left eye and the second through his mouth as he opened it to scream. The last man turned in time for me to shoot him between the eyes. I moved to the engineering board and put everything on bridge remote, "ship secure."

"Are you sure Johnny?"

I headed back through the ship towards the bridge, "yeah."

I smiled to myself, "how much you think we can get for this bucket?"

The captain laughed and I could hear the crew through the open comm as they laughed with him. I walked onto the bridge and sat in the pilot seat, "slow to half speed so I can park this bucket."

"Standby."

The freighter slowed and I matched speed before slowly moving towards the starboard stern airlock, "any volunteers to toss the bodies in an airlock?"

"Waiting for you at the airlock."

I moved the ship until we were almost touching, "I could use some help with grapples and a boarding tube."

A couple of minutes later the ship shivered as it was pulled closer and I sat back before moving to the captain's chair and yanking his body to the deck. I quickly moved through the sequence that put the systems on standby. I headed towards the airlock and found five crewmen from the Rainbow's Heart.

I nodded, "we need to move the bodies to the other airlock and put them in vacuum."

I looked at two more crew coming through the boarding tube, "let me get out of this suit and I will give you a hand."

I swam through into our ship, "captain? Would you send someone to my quarters and tell Taira she can meet me."

He laughed, "I will use the intercom since she was not happy you went alone."

I started removing weapons and struggling out of the suit. I put it to one side so I could take it to my quarters to clean and recharge it. I was helping move bodies when Taira found me. I smiled as she hesitated, "it is what I was trained for. Love me after I finish, when I need to feel human."

The first officer laughed as she dropped out of the boarding tube, "all men need that after they go into combat."

Taira looked at her before grinning, "I will keep him in bed until he is drained."

She laughed as I turned to lift another body, "I need to check quarters after we finish."

The first officer smiled, "I can do it."

I stopped and looked at her, "wait, pirates sometimes leave traps."

She looked surprised before nodding. After the last body was put in the airlock I sucked the air out and locked the hatch. I headed towards the crew quarters with the first officer and the crew following. I was right to have warned her, the captain's quarters had a door trap that would have killed anyone opening it.