Cpt. One Eye had his helmsman flying like a drunk spacer. He was doing everything he could think of to keep that Corvette from blowing his ship to atoms.
The tactical officer of the Warhammer was a veteran. He knew the crazy acrobatics would eventually bring the gun boat where he wanted it. Flying like that didn’t make the gunboat much of a offensive threat either. He linked the bow and starboard laser cannon together. The gunboat turned and flew right where he wanted it. He fired and both lasers hit a single point on the ship, overpowering the shields and obliterating the ship.
Cpt. Rolo on the third ship thought there wasn’t enough of anything on that freighter worth dying for. He turned his ship and made to run. His ship was hit hard. Alarms were going off. He shut them down and it was quiet, except for moaning from some of his bridge crew. His helmsman got up and sat back down to his post.
“We’re dead in space, Cap.”
“Captain,” the XO told O’Shaughnessy, “the last ship has been disabled.”
“Thank you, XO,” the captain replied. “Let’s arm the grapple and bring that ship in.”
Ben heard the captain’s order.
“Captain, may I make a suggestion?” he said.
The captain looked over to him. “Yes Reaper?”
“We may want to send a team over to that ship and secure it first. The pirates may decide they would rather die than be captured and sent to prison. They may try to blow up their ship and us once it’s in the cargo bay.
“Good point,” the captain said, frowning. “Major, would you be willing to take your team and secure the gunboat?”
“We would be glad to.”
The major sent a com to the Sgt. Major and Gunny to meet them in the hangar bay in combat armor. Ben heard that and sent a com to the chief to see if he had any of the armor ready. The chief answered immediately that he had a suit ready for him, as well as one for Ensign Aok.
The first stop was at their quarters, where Ben grabbed his katana and combat knife. The major changed into her issue combat suit and put on her side arm. She had a class five laser pistol on her right hip and a combat knife on her left Her suit was a off-white, with her rank laser engraved on the neck guard.
Ensign Aok went to her quarters. She had three weapons in her locker: two short swords and the other a retractable baton. She had not shown the swords to anyone on the ship. She didn’t want to answer any questions about them. She did not want to talk about all the years of training with her father and uncle. By the time she was ready to leave for the academy, it had been hard for her father to find her sparring partners. She had beaten everyone who would step into the arena, as well as all of the city guard. The baton was something she could practice with without drawing attention to herself. She walked out and met them in the hall.
The major, Ben and Ensign met the chief near the fab shop. He turned and took a set of armor off the table and motioned to her. She had the thermal suit on under a generic uniform. She also nodded to Ben to take the other set on the table. Ben picked his up and noticed the weight. What was more impressive was the highly polished gun metal grey-black color of the plates. Ben was very happy. The thigh, forearm, and bicep plates were all curved and shaped like the part of the body they were to cover. They didn’t completely wrap around, but covered 75 percent of the area each piece was designed for.
“Where can we change, chief?” Ben asked.
“There’s a storage room around the corner.” The ensign grabbed her swords and baton and followed Ben. Ben stripped down to his thermal suit. The suit had two zippers on either side of the chest plate that zipped down to the waist. He checked his thermal suit battery and it was 75 percent charged. He stepped into the suit and pulled it up. He put his arms in and pulled it over his shoulders. The top of the suit had a high collar at the neck and covered the top of the shoulders and neck. The suit had a small power pack. The material had fibers that would contract or expand. This allowed the wearer to adjust it to his or her body.
The ensign watched Ben get dressed. He was a handsome man who was in excellent condition. She slowly looked him up and down. If the major ever tired of him, she would make a play, she thought. She saw the suit shrink to fit his body. She stepped into hers as he looked up at her.
Ben knew he couldn’t think anything with her standing right in front of him. She was stunning, he thought. If the major ever kicks me to the curb I might have to ask her out. The ensign was looking down, smiling as she worked the suit on. That answers that, she thought.
The helmet and metatarsal boot covers were both a good fit. The helmet came down inside below the collar. The gloves even had a plate on the back of the hand and three small discs on each finger. Ben strapped his katana over his back and put his combat knife on his thigh. Just for effect, they both switched to the blacked out laser lens. They walked out to meet the major and the chief. Ben’s chest had the grim reaper laser etched into it and yellow-orange flames burning in its eyes. The ensign had her short curved swords across her back and her baton hanging on her belt.
“Holy shit!” the chief exclaimed. They looked very menacing to him. The major was quiet.
“Let’s go,” Ben said. They walked into the shuttle hangar bay and everything came to a stop. The XO was there to meet them.
“I will be flying you over,” he said. The sergeant major and Gunny were in the same issue combat suit as the major. They walked around Reaper and the ensign, admiring the suits.
“Major, we are ready to depart,” the XO announced. He was still shaking his head. The bridge gave him clearance to depart and the shuttle lifted off. The Sgt. Major got the XO to unlock the armory on the shuttle, and he handed out laser rifles. Ben asked for a pistol and another for the ensign. The major, sergeant major and Gunny took rifles.
The captain was shaking her head on the bridge. She had watched Ben and the ensign walk into the hangar bay and saw the reaction. They looked like two combat ninjas. When Reaper turned to look around the hangar she could see the grim reaper on his chest. She turned the large vid screen on. The bridge crew were in awe. She kept barking out her orders.
“Tactical, would you bring every gun to bear on the gunboat and lock on target please. Com, get me the shuttle.”
“Shuttle two, go ahead bridge.”
“XO, put me on ship wide.”
“Major Andersen, please do not forget I want a couple of prisoners to question.”
“XO, Major, we have our laser cannons locked on the gunboat and active. I hope they are noticing this and cooperate.”
The XO started hailing for the ship to lower its shields and prepare for boarding.
“Major,” he said after a few moments, “the gunship is hailing us.”
“Captain, please have your port side airlock ready. I want all your crew with their hands on the back of their heads. You will work the airlock then put your hands on your head as well. I’ll give you two minutes to get the crew and yourself ready.”
“Gunny,” the major said. “You go first and secure the airlock. If he doesn’t let you in, set up your pick.”
Captain Rolo followed half the order. He was happy to let them on the ship, but his people were armed and ready for them.
Gunny got through the air lock and set it to cycle again. But Gunny didn’t send the captain back with his people. He made him lie face down with his hands behind his head. Gunny placed his laser rifle on his interlocked hands. He held the rifle with one hand and worked the airlock with the other. Ben and E’Aria came through next. Gunny now was standing over the captain with Ben at his back facing the other way and E’Aria worked the airlock. The major and sergeant major were in.
“Gunny, would you help the captain up.” the major said.
It was obvious to Reaper that Captain Rolo had never been in a position like this before. The captain straightened up with a feral grin on his face. “Look, you little blue-eyed bitch.” was all he got out of his mouth as before the sergeant major put his lights out with one punch and Gunny
let him fall face first onto the deck. Blood and broken teeth pooled around his face.
“Cuff him,” the major said. “There is our first prisoner.” Gunny moved him over to the hull and sat him up.
Gunny was happy. The crew was all hiding in the cargo hold. They had a assortment of weapons — lasers, clubs, knives, swords, but no night vision.
“Sergeants, how did the ensign do in hand to hand?” Ben said suddenly, turning to Gunny.
“She’s fast, but needs some boxing and martial arts training,” he answered. “We didn’t get as far as using weapons yet.”
“Okay, fair enough,” Ben said. “Major, can we shut down the lights and go in with night vision? Disarm every one with a laser then turn the lights back ok.” He turned to Aok.
“You up for some hand-to-hand, Ensign?”
“Lead the way, Reaper,” the ensign said. “Gunny, get the lights.”
They all went in. As expected, laser shots started flying. They provided cover fire. Gunny got the control panel open and shut down the lights. They switched their visors to thermal night vision. This way they would see bodies and the heat signature from any laser weapon. It didn’t take long to disarm the crew.
Shuttle 1 arrived back at the Warhammer with the captain and first officer of the freighter.
“Lt. Chavez, escort the captain to my day room and join me on the bridge,” the captain said. The lieutenant arrived a few minutes later.
“Lt. Chavez has the bridge. I will be in my day room.”
“Aye, aye,” the bridge crew said in unison. The captain received a com from the major.
“We have the pirate captain and are about to apprehend his crew,” Andrea said. “Reaper wants to use this as a training session for the ensign, would you like to watch? I can send you a live feed from my helmet recorder.”
“Major, that would be great,” O’Shaughnessy answered. “I’m about to meet with the captain of the freighter and his first officer. You mind if they watch also?”
“We don’t mind. Ask them if they recognize anyone; it may help in deciding who to bring for interrogation. Turning feed on now.”
The cargo hold appeared on the wall vid in the captain’s day room.
“What is this?” the freighter captain asked.
“It’s the surviving group of pirates, who are about to be taken into custody if they live,” the captain answered.
On the screen, the sergeant major put on his best training instructor voice and started yelling.
“All right, you useless bags of shit. Get up here where I can see you all. If you are not all out here in two minutes we’re gonna space all your asses. We really don’t want to be here, so how we do this doesn’t matter to me.”
Pirates stared moving to the open area. They had been hiding behind crates and things that looked like junk.
“Come on, come on I don’t have all damn day.”
The pirates filled the clearing where the marines were waiting. Ben knew they had a ranking system, but there was no way to tell who was the first officer or helmsman or anything just looking at them. He could guess by verbal or body language. They were a little confused, scared, and angry, but no less ready to fight.
The major stepped forward to address them. “Your captain isn’t here to tell you what to do and will never be telling you what to do again.” That got their attention. Ben turned to E’Aria.
“They may come at you two or three at a time,” he said. “You and the major need to pair up with the sergeants.” The major and ensign both nodded. The pirates each at different times had looked at a woman, who was standing next to the biggest pirate in the group. He was tall and strong-looking, while she was short, with cropped hair and a muscular body. She had a tattoo covering the left half of her upper body. It looked to be a snake or dragon. She wore a sleeveless shirt and cargo pants with boots. She had a assortment of weapons. It looked like she was calling the shots.
The major looked at her team. Everyone including the ensign was calm. This looked like it would be a good old-fashioned brawl.
The pirates didn’t look like they were going to back down.
“Ensign, why don’t you take a few steps forward,” the major said. “Let’s see if we can get this party started.” E’Aria took six steps forward into the middle of the space between the groups. The woman said three names and three men made a dash at E’Aria. Ben had expected something like this. She must have thought three would be able to do the job and give her crew some inspiration.
There was no strategy to the attack; they just thought to stab and beat the ensign with whatever they were carrying. She moved forward to meet the closest attacker and caught his arm in the downward motion. She grabbed his wrist and turned sideways, sending him sailing right into Gunny’s big fist. She dropped low, pulling her short sword and kicking the legs out from under attacker number two. She caught attacker number three on her short sword, and while pulling her baton with her left hand, she swung fast and caught him in the side of the head. Attacker number three went down screaming. Attacker number two crab walked backwards and stood back up. He had a knife in each hand. Behind her, Gunny lifted the pirate he had punched by the collar and punched him again. There was a satisfying thump and thud as the punch landed and he let the pirate fall, head hitting the floor.
Attacker two came at E’Aria with both arms slashing and stabbing. She danced around him, blocking and dodging every attack. He seemed to have some training, but not much. He was already tiring. His next stab fell short and she smacked him across the hand with the baton while blocking a roundhouse swing from his other arm. She stepped in and head butted him with her new helmet in the face, breaking his nose and front teeth. He dropped the knife from the hand that the baton had hit while taking two staggering steps back. His face was a mess.
Ben watched E’Aria and smiled. He had darkened his visor when they entered the cargo hold so no one could see his face. She had many surprises and would be a great asset to the team.
Attacker number three moved his way back to the group with a red welt across the side of his face. Attacker two was furious. He was cussing through broken teeth with blood and saliva running down his face.
The major chuckled at the lisp the man now had. The woman in charge took offense and sent two more pirates out to help.
Ben watched as her two choices moved out on the floor. E’Aria took a couple of steps back, not in fear but to give her more room and distance from their group. It was three on one again. Her choices this time were a tall pirate who was probably close to 300 lbs. carrying a meter-long piece of pipe in his big hand. The other pirate was skinny and shorter. He was probably fast.
Ben was watching the leader. He walked out and up to E’Aria. The leader was about to send the giant standing next to her when Ben shook his head. She stopped what she was saying. He pulled his katana out of the sheath and gave it to E’Aria. She retracted her baton and hung it on her belt. She now had Ben’s katana in her right hand and one of her swords in her left Ben walked back and stood by the major. Ben had just given E’Aria two more feet of reach. He could tell the pirates facing E’Aria didn’t feel as confident as they did a minute ago.
E’Aria was ready. She stood on the balls of her feet. She had decided to go on the offense instead of waiting on the three of them. She picked the big man as her first target. As it turned out, he wanted to be the first one to attack. He moved fast. He must have thought he would frighten her when he yelled and charged, but his eyes got wide as she ran at him. She ran under the swing meant to take her head off and buried the short sword in the back of his thigh. It went through fat and muscle and came out the front. She let go of it and left it buried in his leg. She turned took two steps and tried to kick the skinny pirate in the chest, but he saw it coming and ducked under the kick and out of the way. This left no one between her and the broken-nosed pirate, who had been standing behind them. She used her momentum and spun like a dancer, jumping in the air. The move and her el
evation gave the katana plenty of force to take his head off mid-sentence. She landed facing the other two pirates.
The cargo hold was quiet as the head rolled across the floor and the body fell over. E’Aria worked her way back to stand in front of the marines, both hands holding the katana. The fat man was bellowing and crying. His pant leg was soaked in blood and it ran out onto the floor at his feet. Ben knew she had cut the artery and was bleeding out. He collapsed to the floor a second later. There would be no medical help.
The major was impressed. She was feeling better about her new recruit. She would keep the captain and the woman; the rest, if they lived, she would give to the freighter captain to take back for trial. She stepped forward next to E’Aria and addressed the band of misfits in front of her. The skinny pirate took a couple of steps back.
“Anyone who wants to lay down his or her weapons and surrender, now would be the time to do it.” E’Aria had not changed her stance or relaxed one muscle. She held the katana with both hands pointed down and away from the major. Blood still covered the last foot of the blade.
The captains and first officer sat in the day room watching.
“Captain, tell the major to kill them all. I don’t want them on my ship. I don’t want to feed them or have to waste time with the courts later,” the first officer said.
“I can’t order them to be murdered if anyone of them surrenders to the major. You can hold them ‘til help arrives to repair your ship.” Aisling looked at the captain and his first offer. “Captain, there are two important things you need to remember,” she said with ice in her voice. “First, you are a guest on my ship. Don’t ever tell me what to do, and second, depending on how they respond, you may only have two prisoners to keep a eye on. Let’s just watch and see what happens, shall we?”
“What reassurances do we have that you won’t kill us when we lay our weapons down?” the female pirate said.
“If you surrender I can assure you the Colonial Military present here will not harm you,” Andrea said. “I cannot promise anything after that. You will be detained and sent to jail awaiting your trial. You already know what crimes you have committed in the past and how ‘the court will rule if they can prove you committed them.”
The Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison: Call Sign Reaper Page 14
