by L Bowers
Trella closed the curtain as she entered. Without a work she began to strip. I knew I needed a good sleep, but seeing those curves unveiled put thoughts of sleep in the backburner. While Trella was lean she had amble hips and breasts.
“I heard about your prowess in this regard and felt I should see if what my cousins say is true,” Trella said.
“I see. Since I don’t know what they told you I can’t speak for them, but I can promise to give it the good olé Marine Corps try,” I said.
“I don’t know what that means, but I will assume it is a good thing,” Trella said.
“Oh it is,” I replied.
Chapter 31
My expectations of being awoken by trouble proved to be false. Trella and I slept until the construction started again in the wee hours of the morning. The buzzing of saws and hammering of nails made any thought of sleeping in moot.
I rose to find Trella up and getting dressed. “Good morning, sweets,” She greeted me. “Last night was divine, but now I have to get back to managing. I slept too long really, I was supposed to be up earlier to make sure breakfast was set up. Oh well.” She grinned a mischievous smile that showed off her long fangs. Her shirt going over her head covered up her smile.
“I need to get up too. I have some work to do before getting back into space,” I said as I sat up.
“Oh really, anything you need help with? I can get some guys to go with you if need be?” Trell asked.
“No, nothing like that. It’s stuff I have to handle.”
“Ah. Well, if you need anything let me know.”
“I will.”
Trella left me alone then.
“Titan?” I whispered.
“I am here.”
“It’s time. Come and get me.”
“Affirmative.”
I dressed and went to leave as my armor activated. The curtain was thrown back before my hand touched it. Francine stood in the doorway breathing heavy. “Foe Hammer is on the way here,” she said.
“I know. So is Titan.”
“Are we leaving?” Francine asked.
“Yes, but before we go we’re going to cause a little trouble. Let’s go get some food and I’ll tell you about it.”
Francine moved aside and I noticed her sister standing behind her. “Good morning,” I said to her.
She looked down and didn’t respond, but that was okay. I couldn’t imagine the horror that was her life. Maybe in time she would open up, or at least I hoped so. I was going to have to look into space-therapists.
Breakfast was simple fair, eggs and roast meat with some sort of sweet bread. The server gave me more than he seemed to be giving anyone else. When I asked, he said Trella had instructed him to do so. Considering how hungry I felt I was not going to argue.
Just as we sat down Trella set a tray down next to mine and took a seat. “The beauty of family is that we can count on each other to take up the slake,” She said. “My brother made sure breakfast was taken care of. He also got the contractors going. It’s good to have family.”
“So I hear,” I said.
Trella paused with a sweet roll halfway to her mouth. “You don’t agree?”
“It’s not that. I … I’ll tell you about it some time. Right now, let’s enjoy breakfast and get this day started right,” I said.
As we ate the tables filled up with people. The contractors kept to themselves and had lively conversations while they enjoyed their meals. The women from the pleasure den sat as far from everyone else as they could. A silent demure haze dominated the area the women sat in. Seeing them made my vision flash red.
The sky split open as something flew by breaking the sound barrier. Everyone stopped and looked up even though there was no view of the sky. The front windows rattled pulling our eyes back down.
Paper, chunks of scrap wood, dust, and rocks were blown around from the force of Titan’s thrusters. A few short minutes after the sonic boom one of his feet became visible as he touched down.
“I have arrived.”
“Yeah, I figured that out,” I mumbled hoping no one heard me.
“What’s that?” Trella asked.
“Nothing, just talking to myself,” I replied. “Well, it looks like my ride is here.”
“That is…” Trella pointed back and forth from the front windows to me. “The big ….” She continued pointing her index finger between Titan and I. “Is yours?”
“More like my partner,” I said. “Though I have to admit that he brings way more into this relationship than I do.”
“Incorrect. Without you I would just be a hunk of lifeless metal. The Masters Gear gives me life. Without your willingness to upgrade my consciousness I would just be an overgrown calculator.”
I paused. That was the first time I considered what my actions could mean to Titan. The first time I was privy to his thoughts on my actions. The two of us were going to have a long sit down once we had a chance. If I was going to continue calling Titan my partner, I need to develop a real relationship with him.
A beeping sound pulled me from my thoughts. The beep came from my arm, more precisely from the device that allowed me to interact with all the space-stuff. The beep was an indicator that I had a message.
Bridget> Tom! I hope you are getting this. We are in trouble and need help. A Champion has found us and brought his fleet to bear. We need you now!
“Are you seeing this message, Titan?” I asked.
“Affirmative. The communications hub the message was routed through is integrated into my systems.”
“Any thoughts?” I asked.
“We must hurry and return to the ship.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“Is everything alright?” Trella asked as she came up to my side with worry etched on her face.
“No, I have to hurry up and leave. On my way out, I’m going to make a few changes. Can you let Tevor know I had to leave without saying goodbye?” I asked her.
“I will.” She wrapped her arms around my left arm and pushed her body against mine. “Thank you for all the excitement, Tom. This place will never be the same.”
I gave her a wink and a smile. “No thanks needed, ma’am. All in a day’s work.”
Trella stood up on her toes and kissed me. It was short but full of passion. I was going to miss this woman I’ve known for a shot minute. Once our kiss broke I headed for the door. There was nothing left to say and way too much to do.
As I walked out Titan bent and lowered his hand for me. I climbed aboard and he raised me up to a hatch in his chest. The pilot seat waited for me and as I sat down Titan closed up and the chair raised to the cockpit. The headgear lowered to cover my head then I was Titan. Or we were one as his body and senses became extensions of my will.
Along with the knowledge brought to me by his sensors, I was privy to what he held in his storage drives. So I knew what he was capable of as per the instruction manual, but I had yet to see most of it in action. I really wanted to experience all Titan had to offer.
“Hey Titan, can you respond to Bridget for me?”
“Affirmative, I will pass a message on to Senator Lorn.”
“Great, let her know we’re on the way as soon as we do a little house cleaning. And ask her to send someone to talk with Tevor about joining up,” I said.
“It shall be.”
There were a lot of details about the new rebellion on this planet Bridget needed, but I knew Titan would relay all of it. As we were connected he knew what I knew. It was cool and creepy at the same time.
We crouched down then leapt high into the air. Our trajectory took us to the Pleasure den where we crashed into and through the tall building. We stumbled but kept ourselves from falling on the adjacent structures. Collateral damage would not help our cause. We needed to leave a good rep behind to help Tevor recruit. We spun around and stomped on the remains of the pleasure den.
Satisfied we leapt once more, this time landing next to the building belongin
g to the crime lord that gave Tevor so much grief. We grabbed the roof of the three story office building and peeled it back with a shriek of metal and crack of concrete. The floor we peered down on was a wide-open space divided in neat rows by cubicles. Even in space companies managed to create a cubicle hell to torture their employees.
Our right hand went in and to the far corner. We dug our fingers into the floor far enough to reach through then yanked back. A third of the floor broke off and we dropped it onto the parking lot next to the building crushing several vehicles. It took two more tugs to remove the rest of the floor.
This was what we w sought. There were five large offices and one really big safe. We balled our right hand into a fist and punched down into the office closest to us collapsing it down onto the first floor. We continued doing so until the floor was no longer sound. The safe collapsed under its own weight bringing the rest of the floor down with it.
Satisfied once more with the destruction we bought, we hefted the safe out and set it on the street. This was what we had Tevor send his men here for. Grabbing the heavy cube with our left hand we applied pressure. Our fingers squeezed in on both sides until the metal warped. The top left corner of the safe door was pushed forward. Once there was enough room we stopped squeezing and wedged our finger into the opening. We gripped the warped cube with our free hand and tore the door off.
The second objective was dive, which left one more. We leapt high into the air. The building we aimed for was too far for a jump so our leg thrusters kicked in for a two second burst. Our feet hit the top of the city capital building. The roof caved under our immense weight. That concluded the morning’s business.
Our intent was to leave the building in ruins. I thought smashing it like the pleasure den would be boring. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. For Our grand finally I had something else planned. I fired our foot rockets on full burn. Titan’s legs were longer than most rockets NASA shot into space but not packed full of fuel. However, we would do far more damage than any earth-based rocket was capable off.
Blue fire shot out of our feet with enough force to propel a giant robot into space. We looked down and watched the fire spread throughout the building and blast the outer walls out. Then the blue flames raced across the ground destroying everything in its path. The show was cut short by the blast sending us flying straight up. We looked up in time t see the cloud we flew into. Grey and white dominated our vision for a split second.
The sky fell away and we were in the black of outer space. We, or maybe for the first time since I climbed aboard I, marveled at the vast emptiness speckled by white, blue and red spots of bright light. We spun in a lazy arc until the majesty of the planet came into view. White clouds swirl across the blue and green of the lush planet.
“Tom, can you hear me?” Francine’s voice crackled through our communications system.
“I copy, Francine. You and Foe Hammer on the ground still?” I asked.
“Negative, we see you and are heading your way now. We’ll leave the atmosphere momentarily.”
Titan zoomed our vision in on the small spot of light burning in the atmosphere. Foe Hammer shot through the sky blowing a cloud to shreds as she passed by. We turned our attention to the stars trusting in Francine to fall into formation and follow us out of the system. Our external sensors verified that she had done just that while we accelerated.
Titan had run extensive scans on Foe Hammer while it was ni his care. He gleaned enough to know she would keep up with us, but he was curious about systems he didn’t understand in the craft. That was a puzzle for another time.
“Engage FTL drive, Francine. On my mark. Three … Two … Mark!”
Chapter 32
We dropped from FTL into chaos.
A large fleet comprised of ships of various shapes and sizes surrounded The Liberator. On the outer edge of the fleet, four ships flew toward us trailing smoke and debris. Ships of similar design to the large fleet gave chase.
“Tom!” Bridget’s frantic voice burst into our comms. “Save those ships, then come and get us, please!”
I heard Titan reply in the affirmative as I changed course to intercept the fleeing ships. I assumed the ships were the folks I was supposed to meet. A moment of guilt ran through me until I remembered the sight of that bastard on top of the drugged girl. I made the right decision and would not apologize for it.
What I would do is tear this entire fleet a new ass hole.
We dove under the fleeing ships and rolled so our bell faced the bottom of the ships. Four boxy and battered looking craft passed us by. The fifth vessel was right on the heels of the others, but looked very different. Where the fleeing ships were square and utilitarian in design the following attacker was all sleek sexy lines and curves. The design reminded me of Foe Hammer.
The first attacker was too close to the rebel ships to dodge when we reached up and grabbed it’s sides. With an explosive burst we poured on the speed pulling the ship backwards. In response the ship pushed it’s thrusters to the max, but it wasn’t enough to slow Titan and I.
We slammed the ship in our grasp into the next oncoming craft. Both exploded causing the remaining pursuers to scatter. We lit the next closest one up with our cannon. We punched holes into the ship and explosive decompression widened the holes and expelled crew and cargo into space.
“That’s a thing of beauty,” I mumbled as I marveled at the colorful results of our handy work.
Left. A thought came to me that wasn’t my own. It belonged to Titan.
We shot left, me making us move without questioning Titan, or how he spoke directly to my brain. A beam of purple energy as wide as we were tall shot through the space we had occupied. The bar of continuous purple energy swung our direction. We reacted by moving left and up.
Through the plethora of sensors my giant robot possessed we were aware of a sphere of information surrounding us. In said sphere we saw the movement of all the ships around us. We also used data from our ship to identify friend from foe. That was how we determined where to go so that the beam following us would miss the fleeing rebel ships.
“Hey, Titan, let’s help them aim that weird gun of theirs,” I said.
That is a great idea.
A green line appeared in my field of vision. I turned us to follow the line. The line moved and I corrected as Titan extrapolated data from his sensors. While we shot around the battlefield like a mongoose on cocaine I opened a small window showing me visuals from behind us. Ship after ship was touched by the purple beam and promptly exploded into dust.
“Ah man,” I said as the beam died out. “They caught on.”
So it would seem.
“Titan, open a line for me to Bridget.”
“Tom, is that you?” Bridget’s sultry voice crackled over the coms.
“It sure is. Tell me, was that our contacts I just saved from certain death?” I asked.
“It was. Thank you for saving them, Tom. You just did more for our argument about this whole venture than my words ever could have,” She replied. “You are amazing.”
“You’re not half bad yourself, Bridget,” I said while smirking.
We have a communications request coming from the battle group flagship.
“Put it through, Titan.” My words were spoken aloud, but I was beginning to wonder if they had to be?
“Unidentified Pilot. You are going to be given one chance at amnesty. If you stand down and willing fly that hardware into the hanger of my ship, you will not be harmed,” A soft male voice said.
“Who am I speaking to?” I asked.
“You have the honor of addressing Gigalance,” He replied.
“Ah, you must be one of those Champion types I keep hearing about.” Could space names be that weird? “Tell me, Gigalance, why I should believe a word that comes out of your mouth?” I asked.
I had no intention of doing what he wanted, but I figured buying time was a good move. Overwhelming forces and all that.
“Tom?” The sultry tones of Senator Lorn said through our speakers.
“Hey, Bridget. I need you and those other hips to beat feet right now. I’ll buy time and get free once you’re far away. Do you understand?” I asked.
“Yes, but you …”
“No buts, just go. We’ll be fine.”
“How will you find us?”
I can track Foe Hammer wherever it goes.”
“Take Foe Hammer and I we’ll be able to find you,” I said.
“Not happening,” Francine cut in. “No way in hell am I going to leave you here to this mess.”
“Think about your sister, Francine. If you stay, she remains in danger,” I said. As I spoke I directed us toward a trio of small fighter class ships. I was going to have to answer Gigalance sooner than I wanted.
“My sister is in Foe Slayer and headed to the airlock of The Liberty as we speak. She is safe and I will ensure you remain safe as well, Tom. I am your shield whether you want me to be or not.”
“Alright, plan B it is then. Bridget, as soon as the Foe Slayer armor is onboard get the hell out of here. I’m opening a window for you now,” I said.
Comms closed to everyone except Foe Hammer.
“Francine, we’re doing a pincer maneuver. Spin one eighty and let her rip,” I said.
The three ships closed in on us while I was talking. I swept out our right arm and knocked them into oblivion. We powered up thrusters to the max, both feet and back, then swung around wide. The enemy ships we skirted sent volley after volley of energy weapons and ballistic projectiles. We moved too fast for the energy beams and the rockets slowly fell behind.
Once we were directly behind The Liberty we kicked our feet forward, and cut back thrusters off. The white hot energy forcefully expelled from our feet slowed us to a stop. Our sensors gave us a clear picture of Foe Hammer’s guns letting loose. I pulled up a window which gave me a visual and let out a low whistle. Foe Hammer had five hard mounted weapons laying down a thick carpet of death. A smile spread on my face at seeing the shear carnage in action.