variable such as wind, air pressure and projectile velocity she is an unerring
shot. She nods, raising her blaster. You press the button and as soon as the
door slides open, you hear a bloodcurdling battle cry from within which is
immediately cut short by a single shot from Vanessa’s blaster.
“Nice shot.” You tell her, stepping over the dead pirate’s body and
entering the vessel.
Illuminated only by the strobing red beams of the emergency lighting,
the interior of the pirate vessel is gloomy and full of constantly shifting
shadows as you stalk down the corridor towards the hold.
“Main generators must have been damaged.” Vanessa murmurs,
sweeping her blaster to and fro, wary of any ambush.
“And I was thinking it was mood lighting.” You reply sarcastically, your
own blaster held out in front of you.
You cautiously make your way through the bowels of the ship,
expecting an ambush at any moment, but as you stand before the door to
the hold, none has materialised.
“Maybe they’re all dead.” Vanessa suggests.
“Maybe they’re all waiting behind this door.” You reply.
“Ever the optimist.” Vanessa grunts, raising her blaster as you reach for the door control. You hesitate, your finger hovering over the button.
Vanessa glances at you questioningly.
Press the button and open the door
Abort the salvage
“I don’t like it.” You tell Vanessa.
“What?!” She asks.
“Sometimes discretion is the better part of valour.” You mutter,
turning and making your way back along the corridor.
“Sometimes you just need to grow a pair!” Vanessa shouts from
behind you. “What if Valerie Zeng had landed on Mars and rather than put a
footprint into that red soil, she’d thought the same and launched back into
space?”
“I’ve made my decision.” You bark irritably. “We don’t know what was
behind that door.”
“Probably a hold full of riches.” Vanessa mutters before falling silent as
you trudge back to the Eclipse.
You patch up the hyperspace coil as best you can and a couple of
hours later, you slip into your seat in the cockpit. You can feel Vanessa
glaring at you as you release the docking clamps, retract the docking tube
and continue your journey. You glance at the battered pirate ship shrinking
in the rear view screen and wonder what you have passed up in abandoning
your search? A violent death or riches beyond your wildest dreams? You
shrug, pushing it to the back of your mind as you contemplate the journey
ahead. You press the hyperspace button and hold your breath as the
hyperspace engines spool up, the low whine building to a crescendo before
the stars vanish to be replaced by the swirling crimson vortex of hyperspace.
You breathe a sigh of relief and even your morose co-pilot cracks a smile.
Continue
You nervously press the button and the door slides open. It is gloomy inside and you both peer cautiously into the darkness but no one seems to
be lying in wait. You step inside the cavernous interior of the hold, your feet clanking on a metal gantry high above it, but even under the dim emergency
lights, you can tell it is all but empty.
“Well, what will we do with all these riches?” Vanessa replies
sarcastically.
“Shit.” You exclaim bitterly, kicking the railing in anger, the clanging
sound echoing around the huge hold. You grasp the railing and let out a
deep sigh. “Well, we’re here now, so we might as well check it out properly.
Stay up here and cover me with the rifle just in case any of our friends are
hiding in the shadows down there.” Vanessa nods and you clamber down a
ladder, dropping onto the deck with an echoing thud. Pulling your torch
from your belt, you move across the hold, sweeping the beam into the
gloom, on edge in case any of the pirates are still lurking.
“Anything?” Vanessa shouts down at you.
“Just empty hold space.” You reply, deflated. As you turn to leave, you
notice a cargo container in the far corner of the hold. “Just a second.” You
move towards it and pull open the door. It swings open and initially you
think it is empty. Then you hear movement at the far end, a figure moving in
the shadows. You move cautiously towards the figure, shining the torch with
one hand while you train your blaster on them with the other.
“Get that light out of my eyes, you dog.” The figure shouts defiantly.
You pause, surprised by the well-spoken feminine voice rather than the
rough drawl of a common pirate. The woman is perhaps in her early
twenties with long, dark hair and pale skin. Her brown eyes blink in the light
of the torch, turning her head away. You realise that her hands are tied
behind her back and she is secured to the rear of the container. You drop
the torchlight out of her face. She is dressed in a long, fine teal coloured
dress, which though now grubby, is obviously expensive.
“Found a captive.” You shout out to Vanessa. “Looks and sounds rich.
Might not be a wasted trip over here after all.” You move towards her and
pull her away from the wall, untying her bonds. She gets gingerly to her feet,
rubbing her wrists and eyeing you suspiciously.
“Who are you?” She asks.
“I could ask you the same thing.” You reply.
“I am Princess Elektra of Antares Prime,” She tells you grandly. “And I demand you return me to my homeworld.”
“Do you?” You smirk. “Well, pleased to meet you your royalness, and
we’ll return you to your homeworld just as soon as we agree an appropriate
reward.”
“You mercenary vermin.” She replies, her eyes blazing. “You’re as bad
as these pirates.”
“Just making a living.” You shrug, grasping her arm and leading her
from the container.
“Unhand me pirate!” She snaps, twisting out of your grip and running
from you. A single shot echoes in the cavernous hold and a burn mark
appears on the deck plate just in front of her. She freezes on the spot,
glancing up to the gantry where Vanessa looks through the rifle sight at her.
“The next one goes through your leg.” Vanessa shouts down. “We’d
rather return you undamaged, but that’s up to you.” At that moment an
explosion rocks the ship.
“We’re under attack!” You shout, grabbing the princess. “Get back to
the Eclipse.” Vanessa darts back through the door just before a second
explosion booms out followed by a loud creaking from above. You drag the
princess back just as the gantry collapses, the heavy metalwork crashing
down onto the deck before you.
“Trent!” Vanessa shouts down from the doorway above you.
“Shit.” You murmur, looking at the twisted wreckage before you and
the doorway high above.
Grab the length of rope that the princess was tied up with and throw it up to
Vanessa
Send Vanessa back to the ship and search for another way out
“Wait there.” You shout up to Vanessa. “I’ve got an idea.” You hurry back across the hold to the container and grab the length of rope, running
back across the hold
as more explosions rumble about you. You throw the
rope up to Vanessa, who unravels it and dangles it over the side. The rope is
short, but just within reach.
“You first.” You bark at the princess. “Quickly!” You help her up and
she grasps the rope. With a grunt of effort, she tries to pull herself up,
Vanessa easily anchoring the other end with her mechanical strength above.
Princess Elektra’s feet slip and slide on the wall of the hold, but she simply
doesn’t have the strength to pull herself up. More explosions make the deck
beneath your feet tremble.
“We don’t have much time!” Vanessa shouts. There is a deep rumble,
following by a creaking sound and all three of you look up at the source of
the noise. The whole ceiling of the hold rips apart, the air rapidly venting
into the vacuum of space. You all scramble for some kind of hand hold, but it
is a futile effort. Princess Elektra, still clinging to the rope which is now
pulled taut towards the fissure above you, screams as she loses her grip, her
shriek of terror abruptly silenced as she disappears into the freezing depths
of space. Your hands grip tightly to the wreckage of the gantry, but the
ripped edges slice into your fingers. You lock eyes with Vanessa, who is
gripping the sides of the doorway, her green eyes full of regret. Your
bloodied fingers finally give way and you are sucked through the air and out
into the vacuum of space where you meet a quick but unpleasant death,
your body rapidly frozen solid before spinning into an engine housing and
shattering into thousands of pieces.
THE END
Go back a few moments and rethink your actions
“Get back to the ship!” You shout back. “Try and take whoever it is out.”
“What about you?” Comes the anguished reply.
“We’ll be ok, now go before it’s too late. We’re sitting ducks down
here.” Vanessa reluctantly nods and disappears through the door. Another
explosion shakes the ship, knocking both you and the princess to the floor. A
heavy supporting beam crashes down from the ceiling, smashing through
the deck plates just yards away.
“We’re going to die aren’t we?” Princess Elektra asks fearfully.
“Not yet we’re not.” You reply, spotting a circular hatch in the wall of
the hold. You grab the princess and pull her back to her feet, more
explosions echoing around the cargo hold as you drag her across the deck
towards the hatch. She screams in fright as a gantry gives way, crashing
down to the deck behind you. You wrench the hatch open and
unceremoniously throw her inside before climbing in and pulling the hatch
shut behind you. You turn, your eyes scanning the cramped cylindrical
interior of the escape pod. Six seats line each side while a pilot’s seat is
placed in front of controls mounted beneath a narrow window at the far
end.
“Sit down!” You shout at the princess, who quickly climbs into one of
the seats, her eyes wet with tears. A large red button labelled “EMERGENCY
LAUNCH” is placed in the centre of the control console and you throw
yourself at it, thumping it with your hand. There is a deafening roar as
boosters fire and the escape pod is hurled away from the disintegrating
pirate vessel. You glance through the small window in the hatch, spotting
another vessel starting another strafing run across the dorsal side of the
pirate ship. You have launched from the port side, so you cannot see if
Vanessa made it away in the Eclipse.
“What’s happening?” Princess Elektra wails.
“Your guess is as good as mine.” You mutter, turning back and
studying the limited controls and instruments before looking up and noticing
a small white disc growing slowly but steadily larger in the centre of the
forward window. “Looks like we’re locked on to the nearest planet. You’d
better strap in. These things weren’t designed with comfort in mind. It’ll be a rough landing.” She looks fearfully at you, tears in her eyes, but does as
she’s told.
Reassure her that everything’s going to be ok
Ignore her
“It’s going to be ok.” You reassure her, turning in your seat to face her.
She dries her tears with the back of her wrist and straightens, regaining her
composure. For the first time, you really look at her. Though her hair is
dishevelled, her face covered in grime and her dress torn and grubby, she is
a beautiful woman. Despite her sullen demeanour, she has a pretty face and
her brown eyes sparkle with life. She is slim, but with curves in the right
places, the low cut dress revealing a tantalising glimpse of her cleavage
while her hips are wide and her legs long and slender.
“This isn’t exactly the style of travel to which I am accustomed.” She
replies haughtily.
“You should have spoken up earlier.” You reply with mock disbelief.
“The luxurious first class escape pod was just next to this one.” She snorts
derisively and petulantly folds her arms. You roll your eyes and turn your
attention back to the controls.
You watch in silence for the next hour as the planet grows nearer,
gazing at the surface and wondering what it is like. The white could be
frozen wastes or perhaps the white sands of a desert planet. Either way, it
looks like you’ll have temperature extremes to contend with. As the escape
pod hits the edge of the atmosphere, it shakes and jerks until you feel sure
the pod is about to rattle itself to pieces. The princess cries out with each
jolt as you endure a turbulent descent. Soon enough, you break through and
fall towards the surface.
“Ice.” You comment to the princess as you gaze down at the
featureless expanse below you. No, not featureless. You spot a dark shape
on the surface. As you plummet towards the ground, you notice it appears
to be square in shape. Too square to be a natural phenomenon. It has to be
a structure. Before you can examine it further, the retro rockets fire, pulling the pod out of its headfirst dive and righting itself before plunging into the
ice. The landing is jarring and you are violently shaken about before the
escape pod settles down. You glance over your shoulder at the princess,
who looks traumatised by the whole experience.
“You ok?” You ask her gently. She takes a breath and nods meekly. You
climb out of your seat and look out of the window. Steam rises all around
the crashed escape pod as the ice sizzles off its hot shell, but you can just
about make out a dark shape on the horizon. There definitely seems to be
some sort of structure out there.
“Well, what do we do now?” Princess Elektra asks, recovering from
the shock of the landing and resuming her frosty demeanour.
Go out into the freezing conditions and make your way to the structure
Stay inside the escape pod and wait for rescue
You hear her sniffle and sob behind you, but you have better things to do than pander to a spoilt, petulant princess. You watch in silence for the
next hour as the planet grows nearer, gazing at the surface and wondering
what it is like. The white could be frozen wastes or perhaps the white sands
of a desert planet. Either way, it looks like you’ll have temperature extremes
to contend with. As the escape pod hits the edge of the atmosphere, it
shakes and jerks until you feel sure the pod is about to rattle itself to pieces.
The princess cries out with each jolt as you endure a turbulent descent. Soon
enough, you break through and fall towards the surface.
“Ice.” You comment to the princess, glancing at her over your
shoulder. She seems to have regained her composure and for the first time,
you really study her. Though her hair is dishevelled, her face covered in
grime and her dress torn and grubby, she is a beautiful woman. Despite her
sullen demeanour, she has a pretty face and her brown eyes sparkle with
life. She is slim, but with curves in the right places, the low cut dress
revealing a tantalising glimpse of her cleavage while her hips are wide and
her legs long and slender.
“Oh.” She replies gloomily. You turn back and gaze through the
window at the featureless expanse below you. No, not featureless. You spot
a dark shape on the surface. As you plummet towards the ground, you
notice it appears to be square in shape. Too square to be a natural
phenomenon. It has to be a structure. Before you can examine it further, the
retro rockets fire, pulling the pod out of its headfirst dive and righting itself before plunging into the ice. The landing is jarring and you are violently
shaken about before the escape pod settles down. You glance over your
shoulder at the princess, who looks traumatised by the whole experience.
“In one piece?” You ask her abruptly, climbing out of your seat. She
nods and glares at you, but you ignore her and look out of the window.
Steam rises all around the crashed escape pod as the ice sizzles off its hot
shell, but you can just about make out a dark shape on the horizon. There
definitely seems to be some sort of structure out there.
“Well pirate, what do we do now?” Princess Elektra asks.
Go out into the freezing conditions and make your way to the structure
Stay inside the escape pod and wait for rescue
“We’ll stay here.” You tell her. “We’ve got an emergency beacon transmitting. Someone should intercept it and respond.” She nods, but looks
Lure of the Sirens: A Sci Fi Choose Your Own Erotic Story Page 10
