Chapter 3

Tim woke to Irene wetting his cock and getting it ready. The other two sat beside him and smiled, seeing that he was awake. Sarha’s voice came over the intercom. “Tim, could you come to the bridge?”

The four of them exited the bed and moved to the bridge. Tim sat in the Captain’s seat with Irene kneeling and sucking him off. He was watching an ongoing fight on the other side of this system. A small ship escorted by two corvettes was attacked by a larger vessel. The small ship was not firing, but the corvettes were using their energy weapons.

“Sarha, what weapons are those, and how powerful are they?” Tim asked as he looked at the unfolding battle. At the same time, he placed a hand on Irene’s head and let out a moan.

“They are pulsed laser beams and can only be used in space as the beam would spread too much if used in an atmosphere. The amount of power delivered by the beam is dependent on the proximity to the target and the ship’s power supply, and the corvette’s power is less than ½ of the cruiser.”

The attacking ship remained outside the effective range of the lasers. The attacker used their lasers to disable the smaller ship’s engines and destroy the protective escorts.

“That larger ship is using great tactics. I’ll bet. He has been in several fights.” Tim said while he moved forward, allowing his balls to hang over the seat’s edge. He wanted Irene to play with them.

The pilot of the small ship did everything in their power to avoid their fire. The escorts did their best, concentrating on the attacker’s flight deck and engines. Occasionally, they scored a few hits but did minimal damage.

Detecting Sarha’s ship, the small ship headed toward it, broadcasting a distress signal.

Seeing the same vessel on its scanner, the attacker stepped up its fire on the small ship to stop it before it could reach the new, larger vessel.

The two corvettes proceeded straight toward the attacker. It appeared to Tim that they were hopeful that the small ship would have more time if they could draw the attacker’s fire and closing also allowed them to intensify their attacks.

It only took the cruiser a few minutes to destroy the corvettes. The attacker then turned its full attention toward the escaping ship.

The ship changed its course to reach Sarha’s vessel more quickly. However, their shields were too weak to stop the attacker’s fire, and their hull and engines were being degraded. Sarha’s long-range scanners continued to monitor the one-sided battle, displaying it on the bridge screen.

A distress call came over the speakers, with Sarha translating the message into English for Tim. The message said they were under pirate attack and were requesting help.

Tim stood and signaled Irene to stop her sucking, walked to where Sarha was standing, and stared at the big screen.

He looked at the screen and listened to the emergency call. “Sarha, will you see what is going on with those two ships? Two of them were destroyed.”

“No, I leave everything as it is. This doesn’t have anything to do with me.” Sarha replied.

“But the same pirates took the ship I was on. Can we be of assistance? Can you contact the pirate ship and request that they stop firing?”

“I can’t do it myself because I have no right to intervene. I am an AI from another time and another galaxy, and I do not have the right to intervene unless instructed,”

“Does this mean you can take action if I order you to?” Tim asked.

“Yes. Since I have granted you temporary authority as acting Captain of this ship, do you wish me to open a communications channel to the ships for you?” Asked Sarha.

“Yes,” Tim said. “If you can, I need you to scan each ship while talking to them. Tell me how many individuals are on board each vessel, what type each ship is, and their weapons, and check on their shield’s status. I also need to know our options for engaging the pirates.”

“I have opened a channel to the ships. While you are talking, I will check on the other things you requested!”

Tim spoke to the ships, “This is Captain Tim Bodge of The Star Gladiator 1; cease firing, lower your shields, and cease maneuvering! Now.”

“This is Regal 1, please! Help us!” Tim could hear the shakiness in the voice and the fear and stress in those few words, and he thought the voice sounded like a female.

“Fuck you. Once we’ve finished, we’ll take your ship and your cargo! It was the reaction of the pirate who kept firing on the smaller ship.

“Sarha, do you have that information I requested?” Tim asked. The individual that replied must be the Captain. Tim became angry with the pirates, who ignored his request to cease firing. He detested individuals who believed they were better than anyone. He sounded like many of the men he had run into while fighting.

“Yes, I have most of the information, and I’m still getting more. The small ship is a transport class belonging to the Kota-Carinae star system. It is about .75 km long. Weight 625,000 tons, Shields are light plasma and are at 20 percent. Two warm-blooded beings are aboard who may be part of the royal family. The only weapon was a single small pulse laser. Their ship has taken a lot of damage and will not last much longer!’ Sarha reported.

“The other ship is a Light Cruiser class, and it is about 2.6 km long, five hundred meters in height, about 2.4 wide, and their transponders are off. I scanned it and found ten beings, seven were throughout the ship, and three were inside a dropship. The weapons are eight heavy pulse cannons, ten twin beam cannons, forward-pointing, three-particle beam turrets, right, left, and a top-mounted. Shields are Quantum flux shields at 100% now. The dropship has no weapons; the crew may have pulse rifles.

“Thank you, what are our weapons?” He begins to develop a plan, hoping that it will work.

“Since we are in battle conditions, I can tell you. I have two heavy-power pulse particle beams for medium-range, forward-mounted. They fire approximately one second differently from each other. One high-power rail gun for long-range and one long particle beam cannon for more massive ships and sixteen beam cannons in a defense grid.” said Sarha.

“Sarha, please raise our shields and ready the heavy power pulse particle beams,” said Tim. He stood next to the screen, watching the distance between the two other vessels close.

The Attacking Corvette:

“Josh, take two others and the drop ship and board the Princesses’ ship. There are only two of them, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble. Take control and meet us back at base.”

“What can we do about the nosiest things?”

“That new ship is too far away to stop us. Just get the princesses and head back. Now get going before it’s too late.”

Josh turned, pointed to the two crewmembers, and said, “Follow me.” The three of them headed toward the dropship.

“Let me know when they launch. I will keep my attention on the new ship.”

The pilot notified the Captain, “They are away on an intercept course.”

“Change of plans, we just scanned the incoming ship, and it is too large for us. We wouldn’t stand a chance. Let’s get out of here.” The Captain said.

The Star Gladiator 1:

“Tim, the cruiser has stopped firing and is on a trajectory to leave the system. But the dropship is still heading toward the transport ship.”

“Sarha, is the cruiser still in our firing arc?”

“Yes, for another five minutes, Why?”

“These may be the pirates that kidnapped the ship I was on. Anyway, Pirates are on the on-site kill list.”

“I want to destroy that ship. Can we fire on both ships at the same time?”

“Yes, I am setting up the firing sequence, Now.”

Regal 1, please maintain the course. The pirate ship has launched a boarding party, and we need a stable approach from you before we can engage,” Tim said. He hoped the pilot would last a bit longer, recalling other battles.

“We will maintain our course. Please do not miss it; we cannot fight any boarding party. Regal 1, out.”

“Regal 1, stay on course, and we’ll take care of the dropship before it gets to you,” Tim said. He turned to Sarha.

“Sarha, tell me when we’re ready to fire,” Tim said.

“We will be inside the firing arc for the smaller guns in one minute. Shields are up, and pulse beams are online at full power.”

“Sarha, Fire whenever you’re ready,” Tim said, sitting in the Captain’s seat.

“All the information is in the system; the system has calculated the firing arc ... Firing,” said Sarha.

“Tim, I have fired the railgun toward the leaving ship, and it will hit just before they enter hyperspace.”

Tim saw the first shot from the particle cannon hit the dropship in the rear, destroying the engine. The second pulse struck it in the middle, causing the vessel to disintegrate.

A few seconds later, Tim saw a bright flash of light.

“Tim, the cruiser no longer exists as the same as the dropship.”

The pilot of the Regal 1 observed the action outside and saw the dropship destroyed. Now with a smile and feeling safe, sat back, and waited.

“Open the channel to Regal 1, please, Sarha,” said Tim, feeling better about what just happened.

“Channel open,” Sarha said.

“Regal 1, what’s your status?” Tim asked. He sat in the Captain’s chair, figuring out what to do next.

“We are uninjured; thank you for rescuing us. But we’re in a lot of trouble and have little power and minimal life support.”

“Sarha, can we bring them on board?” Asked Tim

“I can bring the whole ship on board. Do you wish to do that?”

“Yes, that sounds better,” Tim said.

He wondered how she would bring the entire vessel onboard. But since she’s the AI, she knows the ship’s capabilities.

“Regal 1, we’re bringing your entire ship into the shuttle bay. Please stay on your ship until we verify everything is safe.” Tim requested.

“OK,” responded, “let us know when it’s OK to leave our ship.” Said the pilot.

Tim, hearing the calm voice, couldn’t make up his mind. Was the pilot a female?

“I will use a tractor beam to move the ship to the side next to shuttle bay one. Then I’ll have another tractor pull it inside, and I’ll start the decontamination process,’ said Sarha.

On the side of Star Gladiator 1, a bay door begins to spiral open. As Tim watched on the monitor, a blue tractor beam reached out to move the transport next to the open shuttle bay door. The tractor beam positioned their ship to line up with the bay door. A second beam from inside the ship’s bay brought it into the vessel, gently placing it on the Deck in the middle of the shuttle bay, where several large clamps rose from the Deck to lock the ship in place. The bay doors spiraled closed, and a light decontamination mist began to spray all around the ship. It only took about 10 minutes for the entire process.

Sarha and the women guided Tim to the cargo bay since he had never been there. While walking, Sarha asked, “How will we handle this?”

“What are you talking about?” Tim responded as he turned to look at Sarha.

“Since this is the first time in over 1,250 years that someone has boarded in this manner, what should we do?” Sarha replied.

“Do you have hand-held weapons? Just in case I need something!” Tim thought, ‘Yes, I need a weapon. I have no clue who these people are, and they might be more of a problem than pirates.’

“I have a clone bringing you a handgun from the armory,” Sarha said.

In a matter of minutes, a clone came in with a gun. Tim looked at the unfamiliar weapon and started to figure out the operation. He turned to Sarha and, pointing, asked, “Is this the safety?”

Sarah replied, “Yes.”

“It is amazing. This must be a case of parallel evolution. A gun from a different world operates the same as I am used to. Does this use a chemical propellant?”

Sarah replied, “No, it is an electromagnetic field that propels the solid projectile, just like the ship’s rail gun.”

Tim helped the weapon down to his side. They continued into the bay. Tim looked around for the first time and saw a vast area; there was sufficient space to place two escorting corvettes side by side.

Tim began checking the vessel. All around the ship were marks where the pirate’s heavy weapons hit.

“Sarha, rescan the ship, checking the same items as before?” Tim asked. He turned to Sarha, ensuring she was behind him as he needed to know where everybody was. Even though she was a hologram, he still needed to know.

“Tim, the readings are unchanged,” Sarha said after completing the scan.

“Sarha, do you have clones in the area? Could you line them up along the wall to the right? That way, it looks like we have more than enough personnel to manage everything that happens on the ramp.” Tim asked while pointing his finger at where he wanted them to assemble.

“Ten clones are on the way. They will each hold a small laser pistol. Will that accomplish what you want?” Sarha replied.

Tim directed them to line up against the wall when the clones arrived, and they did look like soldiers with weapons.

“Thanks. Now open the channel to the ship,” Tim said, and he turned towards the vessel.

“The channel is open,” Sarha answered.

“Regal 1, your ship is secure, and the decontamination is completed. You may exit your ship, but please do not bring weapons and come out with your hands where I can see them,” he instructed. He stood safe from the Regal 1’s ramp, in a position to see anyone coming out of the ship.

Tim and Sarha watched the hatch open and saw two individuals in spacesuits. Their face shields were opaque, but they held their hands right before them. They descended the ramp to the end and stopped there, waiting for further instructions.

Tim knew Sarha was still translating over the communication signal. “Please remove your helmets?” Tim ordered. He paid close attention to their hands to ensure they had no weapons.

Each of them removed their helmet and placed it beneath their left arm. Tim saw fear in their faces as they smiled at him. From what he could see of them, their faces looked almost human.

Both just stood there looking at Tim, not believing their eyes.

“What the Hell! These are cats! Not only that, but they look like women.” He remained in an air of surprise, not knowing what to say.

He turned to Sarha and asked, “Sarha, I know you translated over the communication signal. But how will we communicate with them while on the ship?”

“Tim, the way the former crewmembers did it. They had a translator that they placed into their ear. It was only temporary because other species were prohibited from staying on the ship. Suppose you allow them to stay. We will have to work out the procedures.”