Doc Roberts: Space Pirate

by Jay Toney

  "It is a good thing that they didn't. I don't come here often. If you had come sooner, we might not have met, and you would most likely be in the arms of another woman," Loretta laughed.

  "If I were, I would leave whoever I am with for a chance to be with you," Nathaniel told the young lady. She isn't just beautiful, the smell of her perfume and the sultry sound of her voice also attracted Nathaniel to the young lady.

  "I know a place nearby, a secluded hot spring where we can be alone and get to know each other a little better," Loretta suggested to Nathaniel.

  An invitation? There was no way that Nathaniel is going to refuse a chance to be with such a beautiful woman. He took her hand and together they walked out of the bar. The other pilots and patrons applauded, whistled, cheered, and wished him luck.

  Loretta drove the two of them up the mountainside in a ground car. She stopped on the side of the road and urged Nathaniel to follow her into a wooded area. After a short walk through the trees, they came to a clearing. A rocky shore surrounded a small pond with steam rising from its water. "The water isn't as hot as it looks." Loretta unbuttoned her dress. Then she slid its straps off of her shoulders and let it fall to the ground. Then she stepped out of it. Her body looked better, more voluptuous than Nathaniel imagined. "Coming?" Loretta asked. She eased her way into the pond until she stood slightly deeper than waist deep. "The water feels good. Hurry," Loretta urged Nathaniel.

  Nathaniel didn't need any more urging. He hurried out of his clothes and entered the hot water to join Loretta. It isn't long before they are kissing and exploring each other's bodies. Then they are doing other things; things that he hadn't experienced with Natasha. Love, lust, whatever; Nathaniel found the perfect woman for him and didn't want to ever leave her.

  They spent the next two weeks together getting to know each other a lot more. The longer Nathaniel was with Loretta, the surer he is that they love each other. On the last night before Nathaniel had to return to the starship, Loretta proposed, "Marry me. Then we will never have to say goodbye."

  Nathaniel wanted to marry her. He never wanted to leave her side. "I have to ask my father first. I'm sure that he will approve of our marriage once he has had a chance to meet you. I love you and want you to be my wife." Nathaniel is an adult now. He can make his own decisions, but he knew that if he pissed his father off, he could be stuck here on Antares, possibly for the rest of his life. Nathaniel didn't want that. He belongs in space flying starfighters.

  Nathaniel left in the morning. He promised Loretta that he would return soon and then they would get married. His father might even be kind enough to perform the ceremony himself. That is if he approves of the young lady that his son loves. Why wouldn't he? She is everything Nathaniel could ever want in a woman.

  ****

  Doc's shore leave on Antares was disappointing. It wasn't Jane's fault. It was his and Thornton's. Doc dreamed of the day that he would return to Antares to desecrate Thornton's grave. Even thinking about the vile deeds he would do when he found the Alliance captain's grave gave made him feel happy.

  One of the first things that Doc did when he got to the capital city was to search its archives. There are no records of a legless body being found or any other unidentified body parts for that matter. Doc and Jane took a trip to the exact location where Doc and Captain Thornton fought their duel and afterward where Doc mutilated the Alliance officer's body. There was nothing there, not even bone fragments from his legs.

  Thinking back, the Ajax's escape only made sense if somehow Captain Thornton survived and was back aboard his warship. Most Alliance officers would never have come up with ejecting escape pods filled with nuclear warheads for improvised mines. Only someone as cunning and devious as Captain Thornton could have come up with the plan in such a short amount of time. The next time that Doc met up with Captain Thornton, he would make sure that he is dead and buried in an unmarked grave before leaving him.

  Jane did her best to cheer up Doc. She even treated him to a mud bath at the health spa that Doc and Elaunae used to visit. Later, they visited the nearby hot springs and soaked in its soothing waters.

  Doc is sure that Jane loves him, and isn't with him because he is the Captain. The problem is, he doesn't love her. Doc likes her, but he doesn't have the same feelings for Jane as he did for his late wife. Doc isn't sure if he will ever feel the way that he felt about Elaunae towards another woman again. Doc knew that his wife would disapprove of his not loving the engineer. Elaunae would want him to marry again and be happy, but he couldn't. When Elaunae died, she took a part of him with her.

  Doc isn't leading Jane on with promises of what could be. He frequently told her exactly how he felt. Each time that he did, Jane told him to shut up. Afterward, she did things to Doc that made him regret the way that he felt. He should love Jane or at least pretend to do so for her benefit, but Jane would know it is a lie. Besides, she made it clear that she is satisfied with their relationship the way that it is.

  They left early in the morning. Nathaniel is scheduled to meet them at the shuttlecraft in one hour. Doc has mixed feelings about leaving Antares. He should have had a good time. Jane is a great companion. She did her best to make Doc happy, but Captain Thornton spoiled any happiness by somehow surviving the duel.

  Doc suddenly felt old and tired. Fighting the Alliance in a one-man war against them caught up to him. He needed to find a way to make his son abandon his dream of being a hotshot pilot in the Alliance military. He also needs Nathaniel to understand what the Alliance government is really like. Then Doc could rest and let his son take over for him.

  ****

  Nathaniel is waiting at the shuttlecraft for his father and Aunt Jane. He can't wait to tell them the good news, but his father insisted that they wait to talk until they were back aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge. He wanted off of the planet and away from the ghost of Captain Thornton.

  Doc and Jane rode as passengers in the transport shuttle. Nathaniel was told to pilot the shuttlecraft back to their home. That gave his son something to do other than asking the multitude of questions that Doc isn't prepared to answer. It also gave Doc some time to think.

  It only took 10 minutes for Nathaniel to get them back to the starship. He landed inside of the topside shuttle bay. The hangar doors closed and the hangar began pressurizing as soon as Nathaniel shut down the shuttlecraft's engines.

  Doc is trapped. There is no place to go until the hangar pressurized. His son cornered him in the shuttlecraft's passenger compartment. "Dad, I met the most wonderful girl planetside. I want to marry her, and I want your blessing. You and Aunt Jane will love her when you meet her. We can go back planetside after you have had a chance to rest. Then I can introduce her to you and Aunt Jane."

  This is Nathaniel's first love, really more of a crush. There would be many more before Nathaniel is ready to marry. This is the type of trap that Doc wanted his son to avoid. First love and sex could compel a young man to make rash decisions. That is why he had Natasha sleeping with him. He wanted his son prepared to deal with at least a part of the feminine wiles young women use on men to get what they want. At least Nathaniel retained enough common sense to talk to him before doing something rash and stupid.

  "Give it 30 days. After 30 days if the two of you still feel the same way about each other, I will give you my blessing. I will even perform the ceremony myself," Doc told his son.

  "What am I going to do for the next 30 days? The repairs aren't complete, and we can't go anywhere until they are," Nathaniel told his father.

  "Get with Jane in the morning. She will get you started working on the damage that still needs work. You helped break the ship. The least you can do is help fix it," Doc told his son.

  The next 30 days seemed like they took forever to Natha
niel. He often worked 14 to 16-hour shifts just to pass the time. When he wasn't working time slowed. He is sure that time outright stopped just to defy him. Nathaniel often stared at the chronometer in his room to make sure that time is still flowing. There were times that he nodded off and woke to see the same time showing before he fell asleep. He felt like the universe had it in for him.

  The time finally passed, and Nathaniel hurried to the shuttle bay. All of the transport shuttles are in use. Nathaniel boarded the nearest Marauder and called for clearance. The traffic controller cleared him for takeoff. The port side forcefield snapped on, and the hangar door opened.

  Nathaniel didn't waste any time leaving the Queen Anne's Revenge. As soon as he cleared the hangar doors, he advanced the throttles and dove towards the planet. This isn't a combat mission so as soon as the planet's gravity started pulling at his starfighter, Nathaniel pulled back on the throttles and let gravity take over.

  The nose of his Marauder and its wing leading edges glowed red. Then plasma and flames covered the windscreen. The starfighter left a trail of glowing red contrails in its wake as it descended through the exosphere and thermosphere. The starfighter slowed from hypersonic to supersonic speed and the flames cleared from his view. Nathaniel changed his heading to take him to the capital city spaceport.

  Nathaniel pulled out of the dive at a sensible altitude and started the repulsorlift engines. He slowly spiraled downward and landed smoothly on the landing fields tarmac. He shut down the engines and left the Marauder in a hurry to tell Loretta the news. Doc finally agreed to let them marry.

  When Nathaniel arrived at Loretta's apartment, he heard laughter coming from inside of her unit. Nathaniel knocked on the door. The laughter stopped. Moments later the door opened. Loretta is wrapped in a short robe and the arms of another man. Nathaniel knew him, not personally, but enough to know that he is a Nighthawk pilot. He looked at Nathaniel and said, "Sorry kid, she is already taken." The door closed and the laughter started again.

  Doc was right. Loretta played him like a fool. The moment he was gone she suckered another pilot and married him. Nathaniel swore he would never let another woman get the best of him again. He headed to Frenchies to find a strange woman to give a little of what he got. Love them and leave them. That is his new motto, and that is just what he planned on doing.

  By the time the repairs to the Queen Anne's Revenge were complete, Doc had decided on his next course of action. He is returning to the Alliance. It is the only way to complete Nathaniel's education.

  Doc made an announcement, "All hands, this is the Captain. We are returning to Alliance territory. All but key personnel for minimum operation are urged to depart within the next 24 hours. The department heads will be paying out severance pay based on how long you have been a part of the crew. I don't know if or when I will be returning. Antares is a good planet. Make the best of it."

  "You are not going to get rid of me that easily," Jadsia told Doc. "I am staying."

  "Good. I need you, Randolph, and Jane to stay with me. I want everyone off the Queenie other than the minimum number of crewmen necessary to keep the starship running. Anyone remaining aboard will be dealt with harshly, maybe even executed when we return to the Alliance.

  Devon, you are wanted by the Alliance government. If you return, you will be captured and executed. Antares can use a good comm tech. You are dismissed.

  Natasha, begin plotting a course for our return to Avalon."

  Bill and Angel entered the bridge. "Captain Roberts, Angel and I aren't leaving."

  "I'm sorry, but I am ordering you two to leave," Doc told his friends.

  "You can't order us. We quit. We are working passengers now. We are staying," Angel defied Doc.

  "That is twice you have violated my orders. I will have to do something about that.

  Natasha pay Bill and Angel a bonus so that they can at least have one night of fun before we leave.

  I expect the two of you back aboard by 10:00 local time. Have fun. It may be your last chance," Doc told them.

  The Queen Anne's Revenge left orbit at noon, Antares local time. It felt like the end to Doc and the few people that remain aboard the starship. Harsh treatment is the very least that they could expect. The Alliance would want blood for what Doc did to their rising star, Captain Thornton. Doc has a plan to deal with that, but for his plan to work they had to get to Avalon alive. The closer they got to Alliance territory, the more Alliance warships they will encounter. The Alliance military doesn't want Doc or his crew anywhere near the Alliance capital. It is easier to deal with him in Commonwealth space where he is wanted for piracy.

  "Natasha, silence our transponder. We won't be using it until we reach the border," Doc ordered.

  It is going to take at least six months to reach the Alliance territory, and then another few weeks to get to the Avalon star system. Most of that time will be spent traveling in hyperspace. Captain Roberts only intends to stop at waypoints long enough to recharge the jump capacitors and calculate the next hyperspace jump.

  Journey To Avalon

  The Queen Anne's Revenge entered the Cinnabar star system. It is the last star system in Commonwealth space, the starship is passing through, before entering Alliance territory. Most of the star system's trade is done across the border with Alliance merchants. Its government sides with the Alliance giving them unrestricted access to its planets and space station. After the next war, Cinnabar will most likely fall to the Alliance hegemony.

  The starship's velocity dampers extended to slow the ship, but its sublight engines only operated at minimum power. Doc isn't planning on stopping in this star system, so deceleration to enter orbit around one of the planets of the solar system isn't necessary. If he slowed his starship, the citizens of Cinnabar would try to capture Doc and his crew to collect the bounty on him from the Alliance military.

  "We have been detected. My sensor scans show two starships on an intercept course with us. Whatever they are, they are big and burning hard," Jadsia informed Captain Roberts.

  "At our distance, it will take three hours for their transponder signals to catch up to us," Natasha said. Natasha and her avatar are doing double duty. The synth went back and forth between the helm station and the comm console as needed piloting the starship and replacing Devon at the comm station.

  "Alter out course 12 degrees to starboard and inclination 1.5 degrees. Then cut our drives," Doc ordered Natasha. He didn't need to tell her to silence the transponders. They have been turned off since departing Antares.

  Without their drive plumes and transponder broadcasting, finding the Queen Anne's Revenge would be difficult, but not impossible. This area of space is empty. There are no asteroids or other debris to hide among. Whoever is after them, Pirates, Alliance, or Cinnabar Military are going to have a difficult time finding Doc and his starship. It isn't going to show up on regular scans or optical sensors, but it could be detected and tracked using old-fashioned radar. His ship would be the only object on its screen to track.

  "How long before we can jump again?" Doc asked the AI.

  "The jump capacitors will take at least another two hours to charge," Natasha informed Doc.

  The starships pursuing the Queen Anne's Revenge are burning hard. The tactical display information has them approaching at .25c. If they maintained that rate, they would be in missile range in 90 minutes and on top of them in two hours unless, of course, they took the time to decelerate. Doc wouldn't, and he didn't think that his pursuers would either.

  Doc stared at the tactical display shown on the main viewscreen. The two blue icons are still closing in on them. The ruse didn't fool them for long. They altered their course to pursue the Queen Anne's Revenge, but the starship gained valuable minutes before they
were detected.

  "I am receiving their transponder codes. The starships pursuing us are the Chimera and the Badger," Natasha said to Doc.

  "Announce battle stations," Doc ordered Natasha. Alarms sounded, and bulkhead hatches closed automatically. What is left of the crew, only 74 people including Doc and Natasha, are all that is left aboard to defend the starship. It isn't enough crewmen to load the warship's missiles, man its gun turrets, or make emergency battle damage repairs. The missile tubes are already loaded so Doc could get off at least one salvo from the front launchers and one from the rear. The gun turrets can be remotely operated with automation software. It isn't as effective, but it is all that he has to work with.

  "Full power to the engines. How long before we can enter hyperspace?" Doc asked Natasha. "We can't make the jump to Avalon on this vector." Natasha brought up another screen with the starship's course projection. All of the solar systems planets, moons, and other bodies are clear of the course projection. That is all but one, the star. The Queen Anne's Revenge's heading didn't take the starship directly towards the sun, but it took it through the outer bands of the coronasphere. It is way too close to the star, even at light speed. The star's gravity would pull them off course and into the sun ending their escape.

  The Alliance warships are getting close. Natasha ignored the Alliance commanders attempts at contacting Doc. She is too busy with the helm and recalculating the hyperspace coordinates. The enemy fleet is minutes from weapon range. "What if we change our destination?" Doc asked Natasha. He activated a hologram of this region of space and used a stylus to mark an empty area of space.