Byron launched flares for countermeasures to try to throw off the missiles, but too late.
The whole ship rocked as two explosions rang out through the Icarus, followed by red lights and blaring alarms.
Xana ran to her console, still naked, and tapped keys. "We're losing containment pressure! Shield generators are down!"
"Without shields," Scarlett yelled, "We're officially fucked!"
3Runner screamed. "I warned you!"
The Death Wing launched another round of missiles.
Byron couldn't stop the missiles coming at him, so he released flares. Some of the missiles exploded in mid-air, but one got through and slammed into the left wing of the Icarus.
Smoke and flames gushed over the left side of the ship, and the whole starship lurched to one side.
Xana gripped her console. "We've lost port engines. We're going down!"
Scarlett bared her teeth. "Come on, baby. Just hold on--"
More laser blasts rocked the starship. With the missing wing exposing the hull, Byron watched the armor on the port side tear apart.
The side of the bridge exploded outwards. Winds tore at the cabin from a rapped tear in the ceiling, sucking 3Runner out of the hole left behind. His scream was cut short by the howling air.
Khloe reached out for him. "Runner, no!"
Part of the ceiling collapsed with a boom. A metal girder fell in, directly on LostHobbit. He vanished under an avalanche of metal and dust.
The ground outside the window came rushing up to meet it.
Byron heard a boom like thunder, felt something slam into him, and everything went black.
Chapter 11
GENERAL MORBIN Deth paced the briefing room of his battleship as Lieutenant General Yorin Decai spoke. Decai stood at the far end of the room before a hologram of the Galaxy, focusing on a portion of the Eastern spiral arm.
The lieutenant general faced a long table of other lieutenant generals as he spoke. "After completing our sweep of the Korbin sector and Ghamak sector, all units report no activity by the fugitive Byron Jones. For this reason, I would say our search will continue, but I do not believe Jones is in my division's patrol area."
General Deth drew his pistol from its holster. He shot Decai in the forehead.
As the lieutenant general collapsed, and the other lieutenants jumped out of their seats while shouting and screaming, Deth slipped his gun back into its holster with a sigh.
"Ladies and gentlemen, put yourselves in my position." He placed his hands on the table. "I have to report to Lady Necralia in three hours with the results of my search, which has been well over twenty-four hours. I simply cannot come to Lady Necralia with news of more failure."
The lieutenants returned to their seats, slowly and carefully as two Death troopers dragged Decai's body out of the room. Their fear pleased Deth, since he liked to keep underlings on their toes. Nothing motivated better than fearing for your life, at least as far as Deth was concerned.
Lieutenant General Magott raised her hand. "General, sir, I believe I speak for all of us when I assure you we have searched as best we can. It's simply not possible for us to search the entire Galaxy to find a single man in twenty-four hours."
When Deth turned his eyes onto her and smiled, she flinched.
Deth bowed his head. "I appreciate your efforts. But it is not good enough!"
He picked up a chair and hurled it at the hologram, which flickered as the chair flew through it and crashed into the wall.
Deth clenched his fists, taking deep breaths to calm himself. He knew that his commanders were correct, and he felt like a fool for agreeing to take the mission to find the Outsider. Of course, that assumed he had a choice. His position as Lady Necralia's favorite general was tenuous, especially with General Worr and General Rath'kil waiting in the wings. He couldn't allow them to take the mission and succeed. Yet now he found himself in this position.
Deth held out his hands. "If I do not have results, Lady Necralia will have someone's head, and I can assure you, it will not be mine. Besides, we don't have to search the entire Galaxy."
He tapped the console beside his chair at the head of the table. The hologram switched to show footage from the latest news broadcast.
The news anchor, an insectoid Acarid, spoke. "And we'd like to return to our earlier story. The Galactic Enforcement arm of InterStel has confirmed that the notorious space pirate known as Captain Wikona Jokah is dead. Her body was found in a pit of lava by archaeologists who excavated the famed treasure of Dark Storm. While there have been no official reports, rumors are still continuing to spread that Jokah was killed by the so-called Outsider--"
Deth tapped the console again to freeze the scene and pointed a finger at it. "The Outsider is out there. He is not hiding in a cave on some forgotten world. We know where he was, and we should be able to track him."
Another lieutenant spoke up. "By the time our ships reached the moons of Exatrixa, he had already been long gone. We traced all the hyperspace routes, but he's--"
The door to the meeting room opened, and a Death Trooper marched in. "General, we have a report from Nikor."
General Deth settled into his chair. "Go ahead."
"A ship came through the blockade on an Imperial code as a supply freighter, but the system detected a carrier mismatch. It turned out to be an independent frigate. Preliminary scans show it was the one belonging to the Outsider, the Icarus. It seems to have been Byron Jones."
Deth leaned forward. "What happened to the ship?"
The Death Trooper looked down at a tablet in his hands. "Our fighters have engaged. We have visual confirmation that it's crashed. Shot down."
The lieutenant generals around the table began to smile at each other.
Magott leaned towards Deth. "It seems our problem has been solved, General."
Deth sneered at her. "Not at all, you idiot. Even if Jones is dead, Lady Necralia will not be satisfied with anything less than his head on a stick to decorate her torture chamber. And that's assuming he really is dead. He can be quite resourceful."
General Deth rose from his seat. "I want the crash site searched thoroughly. Until we have his body in my hand, we will assume he's still alive. And I want this fleet to set course for Nikor immediately. If Jones is dead, I want to personally deliver the corpse to Lady Necralia."
He smiled. "And if he's not dead, I will kill him myself."
Chapter 12
BYRON WOKE up to searing pain across his chest. The screaming came to him next.
He opened his eyes to see the control panel of the Icarus smashed against his face. It seemed like the impact had crushed the nose of the ship into itself and almost thrown him right through the window, but his seatbelt had stopped him. He felt like a truck had slammed into him, but he still lived.
Seatbelts save lives, his mother's voice said in his mind. She was right.
MISSION SUCCESSFUL
+3000 XP
+250 CREDITS
Byron knew the game was technically right, but it didn't feel like a success.
Above the Icarus' controls, the shattered window showed smoke and flames, but through it all, he could see the grassy plains of Nikor. The ship had crashed, but he had survived.
He heard more screaming, and turned to see the bridge in ruins. Sunlight pierced through the hole in the roof onto Khloe who screamed while trying to lift a metal beam. Princess and Xana held onto the same end of the beam, pulling as well. Chetaara had her hands out, pouring a wavy energy at the beam, probably trying to use her TK power to move it.
Byron saw LostHobbit underneath the metal beam. It impaled him in the chest.
Byron remembered his Strongman code and pulled up his NRG menu. It would take all his NRG reserves, but he switched it on.
He felt a surge like something hot flooding through the veins in his arms and legs. When he checked his strength stat, it went up twenty points.
When he got up, he forgot to unbuckle the seat, but tore
right out of them. That confirmed he had become much stronger.
He ran over to the metal beam and grabbed it.
With a grunt, he lifted the beam as if it weighed nothing at all. Everyone else gasped as the metal groaned, bending and lifting it off of LostHobbit.
When the beam had been raised up enough, everyone crowded around LostHobbit.
Blood pooled around the hole in his chest. He didn't move, and didn't open his eyes.
Princess touched LostHobbit's neck before she bit her lip and shook her head. "He-he is dead."
As she said the words, LostHobbit's body flickered and disappeared. It left behind a gun and some silver coins.
Khloe started crying. "Runner's dead and now Hobbit? Half our clan, gone."
Byron felt something thick in his throat as he swallowed. He felt sick to his stomach, knowing his decision to take on the fighters had led to the deaths of two people. These weren't NPCs, but real people who had been killed and lay dead in the real world. 3Runner had tried to warn him, but the truth was that Byron had gotten cocky. Things had been easier for him so far, but now things had taken a turn for the worse.
He started, "I-I'm sorry, I thought--"
Princess stood up and cut him off with a wave of her hand. "No, Byron-san. They knew the risks when they joined the clan. We all fought together. Maybe 3Runner had second thoughts, but LostHobbit agreed to take this mission. We all did."
She still had to brush away a tear running down her cheek.
A pile of rubble in corner shifted before Scarlett came crawling out from under it. Her metal skin seemed to have protected her from being crushed. She looked at the others crying. "Heard what happened. Sorry. I liked those guys. Even the racist asshole."
She looked around the smoking ruins. "Shit. Look what they did to my baby. And we just got her upgraded, too."
Khloe wiped her face with her hands. "Can we fix it?"
Xana's hands trembled as she got to her feet. "Um, yeah. Eventually. I'll get the repair spiders on it. But it'll take a while, like days."
Byron nodded. "Then we go ahead with the original mission. We find Accolade."
Princess widened her large eyes at him. "Yes, but we need a new plan. Since they already know we are here, they will be sending troops. We need to get moving before they get here. How far to Camp Alpha-Seven?"
Chetaara winced as she twisted her tail in the air behind her. "I would say perhaps nine miles."
Byron felt the heat running through his body begin to fade. The strongman code had worn off. "Then we can go on foot to the camp. Should get there in a few hours if we keep up a good pace."
Chetaara limped over to the door of the bridge. It wouldn't open, so she had to lean on it to force it wider. "I will gather supplies."
Xana reached under the engineering console. "I'll get the spiders programmed."
Scarlett looked down at one hand that bent the wrong way. She twisted it back around. "And I'll get our shit together."
Princess, Khloe, and Byron looked at each other.
Khloe smiled. "I don't know about Princess, but I say you're a part of the Powerhouse Clan now."
Princess nodded. "Yes. If you want to be."
He looked down. "After everything you two have given up, I'd be honored. But we'll worry about that later. We need to move."
Minutes later, they all stood outside of the Icarus. After using medpacks on each other to heal themselves, they watched metal spiders crawling over the wreckage. Sparks flew from the mechanical legs and mouths as they began working on the hull.
Chetaara turned to point off towards a mountain in the distance. "That way. We must move quickly."
Before he could ask why, he heard a distant roar of jet engines. "Right. Uh, let's go."
They all began to run across the high grass towards a cluster of trees nearby.
They reached it just as a large Imperial shuttle came over the hills to the site of the Icarus' crash. Before the shuttle's legs had even touched down, a door on the side opened and Death Troopers jumped out.
The soldiers charged up to the boarding ramp of the Icarus. They paused for one to shine a flashlight inside before nodding, and three others followed him up into the belly of the ship. The rest stayed outside, moving in circles around the wreckage, and expanding outwards.
Byron dropped to his hands and knees and crawled through the grass away from the trees. The others followed. Chetaara crawled quicker through the brush than the others.
When they traveled far enough, they could get up without being seen, and began to walk.
Chetaara turned to them. "Before we go too much farther, I must ask you all to remove your clothing."
Khloe leaned forward. "Say what?"
Chetaara clasped her hands and bowed her head in a gesture that made her look like she prayed. "Wearing clothing is not our way on Nikor. In my religion, it is considered an insult to the gods who have created our bodies."
Khloe wrapped her arms around herself in a hug. "Well, your gods didn't make my body."
Chetaara narrowed her eyes. "The gods made all bodies."
Princess waved her hands. "Please, do not make this into a theological debate."
Byron shrugged. "I'm sorry, Khloe, but this is the way Chetaara's been since I met her. She only wears clothes as a courtesy. She's told me this before, and I respect her wishes."
He followed that by unzipping his jumpsuit. Princess and Khloe's eyes widened as he peeled off the top, exposing his broad chest, and shrugged it down his powerful arms. He pulled off his boxers as he worked down his legs, leaving himself naked. He felt like cringing inside, but tried to remind himself he had a better body than in the real world. The two clan girls didn't seem too repulsed by it. Quite the opposite, from the growing smile on their faces.
Chetaara went next, unsnapping her bikini top to peel it off and expose her heavy striped breasts to the sun. When she slipped off the bottoms, he took a moment to admire her body before turning back to Princess and Khloe.
Xana tapped her necklace, causing her bodysuit to melt off, and reveal her teardrop-shaped breasts and scaled pussy. She gave a little shrug.
That left Princess and Khloe looking at each other.
Princess shrugged and unzipped the back of her schoolgirl dress. It fell away, leaving her in a lacy bra and panties. She unhooked the bra and let it fall, exposing small but firm breasts with thick pink nipples. She peeled down her panties, revealing a patch of hair shaved into a heart shape, which Byron found surprisingly sexy.
When she was naked, everyone looked at Khloe, who rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, fine."
She peeled her top up over her head and threw it onto the grass. Her bra strained to hold her until she unsnapped it, and Byron knew his eyes widened at the sight of her enormous breasts. They were big enough to reach her stomach, but didn't sag or droop, and the areolae spread several inches. He remembered she said that she made her virtual body match her real body, and wondered if that was true as far as her boobs were concerned.
She moved quicker to peel off her tights. She wore no panties, leaving her thick thighs and smooth pussy exposed.
Khloe turned in a circle with her arms spread. He admired the glimpse he had of the round globes of her ass before she faced him again with her hands on her hips. "There. Everybody get a good look? Everybody happy?"
Scarlett raised her chrome eyebrows and winked. "Absolutely."
Chetaara clasped her hands in front of her and bowed. "You honor our gods with your bodies. Let the sun and wind nurture us all."
Khloe reached up to wipe sweat off her brow. "Well, I could use a little less sun and a little more wind nurturing me right now."
They all hid their clothes under some bushes before continuing their walk.
They began to walk again. He became more aware of the sun as it beat down on him, making sweat prickle on his face and neck. The next patch of shade trees seemed like miles away, even though it was only a few feet.
Wi
th the women walking ahead of him, Byron couldn't help checking out the parade of bare asses. Of all of them, Khloe had them beat with the way her huge butt swayed and jiggled, but he admired the round but hypnotic movements of the others as well.
Scarlett looked over her shoulder at him and gave him a wink.
He looked down to see his cock starting to swell and bounce against his thigh.
He quickly looked away from the naked butts in front of him, and tried to think about the chances of the Yankees going to the World Series.
Before they could walk further, Chetaara let out a gasp and ran ahead of them to the trees ahead. She ran her fingers down the bark of one of the trees before waving to the others.
When they got close, she said, "This symbol carved into the tree is a tribal sign. It means this area is under their protection."
He looked down at the circular carving in the tree's surface. "So what's that mean for us?"
She cupped her hands over her mouth and let out a high-pitched cry so loud they all had to cover their ears.
Before he could lower his hands, four Nikora rose up from the grass around them. All of them were naked, and two were female, the other two male. They all held rifles pointed at him.
The tallest of the females growled. "We saw your ship crash from here. What tribe do you come from?"
Chetaara held out her hands with the palms up. "I am from the tribe of Tr'owl, daughter of Pynthra, a High-Born priestess of the goddess P'rrshala."
The four Nikora immediately dropped to their knees and bowed while they all said in unison, "May we have P'rrshala's blessing."
Chetaara made some sort of symbol with her hands. "May the goddess protect you." She also said some words in her language, which sounded like a cat meowing.
It reminded him that Chetaara wasn't just his friend, crew member, and lover but a high-ranking member of Nikora society.
The Nikora rose up to their feet again, and moved towards her. One by one, they gave her a deep kiss on the mouth.
Mine Shaft: A LitRPG Sci-Fi Harem Adventure (Venus Online Book 4) Page 8
