Chapter 14

"So, you want us to go out there?" I nodded towards the unknown space beyond Starbase 22.

"Yes, that's the idea," said the base commander." After all, you do have a starlight and that's what they were designed for."

Well, I couldn't argue with that.

"We don't want you to go searching for that Corsair unless you run into him, of course," he expanded with a laugh. "There are seven systems that we can see within a ten day flight and we want to know all about them."

"So, it's out into the unknown then," said Lila.

"Yeah," I agreed.

I wasn't that happy, after all, this was the first time I had actually been in uncharted space and the thought unnerved me just a little.

"So, I want this ship ready to fly tomorrow," I said sternly. "Strip down our two cannons and clean them out. And I want those engines in tip top order."

"Yes, Sir," came three voices.

I decided to go to the furthest system first, then spiral our way back to SB22 for no good reason really other than we would be on the way home for most of the time. Most systems are the same with rocky planets nearest the star and gas giants further out. If one of the large rocks was just the right distance to have liquid water then there's usually life of some sort.

We had just finished system number six with just two systems having any life at all and all below 5 on the evolutionary scale. Suddenly, a phaser burst hit us. To survey these systems we had to use our full sensor array so, for once, we were visible to anyone who cared to look and our friendly Corsair took the opportunity to have another go at us.

"He's back," shouted Lila quite unnecessarily. "Piddling little 10 gigger again."

"To your stations, girls," I ordered. "This time I want his arse."

"Where is he, I can't see him?" shouted Lila.

"He's coming up from behind," shouted Rachelle.

Again, the ship shook as his phase cannon found its target.

"I can't get a shot," shouted Lila. "Surely you can, Rachelle?"

"No, it's moving too fast," she replied.

Hearing all this I swung the ship around hoping to get Lila a clean shot when the ship shook again but this time it was followed by a loud scream and then all my warning light on my dashboard started to flash.

"Fire," screamed Lila.

"What the fuck," I mumbled and swung around in my seat and headed for the door.

"I've got it," shouted Rachelle as she flew by me. "Get us out of here."

Without getting back into my seat, I pushed the throttles fully forward and our engines stared to scream, too. I had just had time to sit down in the pilot's seat when the door opened and there stood a smouldering Lila.

"What the hell?" I asked.

"We are safe now, captain," said Rachelle from behind Lila. "You can pull back on the power before you blow the engines."

"Yeah, right," I said in somewhat of a daze but the engine note died to its normal levels returned.

"Sorry, Captain," said Lila. "Its all my fault."

"What is?" I asked.

If it weren't so serious she would be a comical sight what with her hair still smoking.

"It was an oil can I left in my turret," she explained. "With that last jolt it fell across the bus bars and melted and the burning oil exploded all over the place.

"Holly shit," I said.

"Rachelle arrived just in time to pull me out of there," said Lila.

"What's going on?" asked a breathless Candy. "You've nearly blown my engines up. Shit, what have you done to your hair?"

"Go and have a shower and cut your hair and get changed," I ordered.

"That was a near thing," sighed Rachelle, once Lila had left for her room.

"What was?" asked Candy. "What happened?"

"Lila's turret exploded," explained Rachelle. "A can of oil left from the maintenance fell across the bus bar and the burning oil exploded everywhere."

Candy's mouth opened and closed a couple of times.

"Where's the Corsair?" she asked after a few seconds.

"Left behind," I said.

"So, what now?" asked Rachelle.

"Now, we set course for SB 22 and report our findings and get this ship back to normal," I said.

I held Candy's shaking body close to mine.

"What is it, babe?" I asked.

"I-I couldn't have done it," she stuttered. "I couldn't have faced that fire and pulled Lila out."

"You didn't have to," I soothed.

"But if Rachelle hadn't have been here," she said her body shaking some more.

"But she was here," I said.

Don't they say that death and sex are linked, well near death and sex are for sure for my cock was painfully hard. Candy gripped my thrusting body so tight that I found it difficult to breath.

Lila looked funny with her short hair cut even shorter, a military cut almost.

"You ok?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "I've got a few splash burns but I was lucky."

"Good job for you that you were wearing some clothes," I said.

"Yeah, and a good job Rachelle was on hand to pull me out," she said looking across the table a Rachelle.

"That's what crew do for each other," Rachelle said.

"Yeah," agreed Lila.

"So you were attacked, again," said the Base Commander. "That's the second time he's got the better of you."

I didn't like his tone but I smiled and tried to ignore it.

"I got the survey details on six of the systems," I said. "We'll go back and do the seventh, once my ship is space worthy again.