by Jay Toney
"Aye, aye Cappy."
"Tanya, check long rang scan."
"Scans indicate all clear."
"Natasha how long until we are able to jump?"
"12 Hours Cappy."
"Natasha maintain sensor sweeps, and alert me if there is any trouble, you have the
con."
"Aye, aye Cappy."
"Ladies, we have some time to kill. I think I'd like a hot bath, and I need someone to scrub my back. Any volunteers?"
Tanya and Natasha jumped out of their seats and started pulling me to our quarters, undressing me along the way.
"Cappy, wakie, wakie." Natasha said, while nudging me awake.
Natasha and Tanya were already dressed wearing jump suits, ears and tails. They each had their blasters strapped to their sides, and Natty had her energy lance clipped to her belt. I chose a pair of blue pants with red piping, a white ruffled shirt, a lizard skin vest, and tan boots to match the vest. I strapped on my new blaster on my right and saber on my left.
While we were still in our cabin Natasha said, "Time to jump Cappy." Then she engaged the hyperdrive.
This was going to be a short jump, and wouldn't take long. Doc and Jane were at their stations, when we stepped onto the bridge. Over the comm Randolph said, "Will someone please warn me before we jump. The sensation is... odd and not the least bit pleasant when you're in intimate contact with someone."
That caused laughter to erupt from everyone on the bridge. There was nothing to do but wait, while we traveled in hyperspace to the nearby system. Our anticipation grew as we neared Nueva Zelanda. Soon we would be the hunter, turning on the Crimson Tide.
"Dropping out of hyperspace now," Natasha said.
The dampers extended fully bringing us back into real space and decelerating us to
.1C, when they would retract. The ships sensors were coming alive, but it would be a
few minutes before any useful data was available.
"Captain, we've come out of hyperspace almost on top of a freighter. Transponders indicate that she is the Vargus and she is Crimson Tide," Tanya reported.
"All hands battle stations, condition red." I announced over comms. "Doc and Jane, take weapons, disable only."
"Captain, we are being hailed, they wish terms of surrender. Several of their escape pods are jettisoning," Tanya said.
"Natasha dock with the Vargus port side."
"All hands stand down from battle stations, condition yellow. Boarding party assemble at the port side airlock." I announced over comms.
"Doc, take a team and check cargo and smuggling holds. Jane, your team is responsible for securing the ship for towing. Randolph take some people and sweep the ship for prisoners. Have any prisoners brought to me. Natasha, link with the Vargus's Al and access their command functions. We will be taking the Vargus home with us."
It didn't take long to search the ship. It was nearly abandoned with three officers remaining on the bridge. Doc liberated 5000 credits, and 20 bricks of gold weighing 600 pounds. The cargo holds were full and Doc sent a complete manifest to me on comp. Jane and Doc escorted the officers to our bridge wearing shackles and chains.
"l ain't gonna say nothing," the person I presumed was the Vargus's captain said.
"Why did you surrender and abandon ship so easily? Why didn't you even put up a fight, or try to run?" I asked the captain. When he didn't answer, I pulled my blaster and shot him where he stood defiantly before me.
"The same question," I said waving my blaster at the remaining two prisoners. They were quick to answer, not wanting to join their captain. I had earned a reputation for what they were told about my dealings with the late Captain Hunt. They were told that after Captain Hunts surrender, I had him tied to a mast, in our cargo bay, and I tortured him in front of his surviving crew. I personally killed him by repeatedly slicing him with my saber and cauterizing his wounds, with my blaster set on a low setting. I continued his torture until he finally died, an agonizing death. They referred to me as the Dread Pirate Roberts.
I didn't do any such thing, but I wasn't going to deny it, to them. It was good for my reputation, and kept members of the Crimson Tide in fear of me. After killing their captain in front of them, they wouldn't believe me anyhow.
"Doc, have them dispose of the captain's body, then lock them up in a holding cell."
Chapter 17
We arrived back at Planet San Paulos, nearly three weeks after our departure. The space station hailed us as we approached it. They gave us instructions to disengage from the freighter at white section, dock 4. They would grapple the unmanned freighter and manually dock it there. We were then given clearance to dock at white section dock 1, next to the Lucy.
As soon as the docking clamps were locked, Amber opened the airlock and hurried to the bridge. Stepping onto the bridge, she burst into sobs and tears, grateful that her friends were unharmed.
"Amber is sad," Natasha said. "We must make her happy again. Come Tanya and Cappy, we must hurry. I do not like seeing Amber cry."
"l'm not sad Natty." Amber said as she was dragged to our cabin, by Natasha. I'm just so happy to see that none of you were hurt."
"Natasha hold all calls, any business can wait until tomorrow."
"Cappy, call me Natty, Tanya and Amber do."
The next morning, Nathaniel left the girls in bed, and went to see the station master. Both the station Master and Red were waiting patiently, on dock for me. I transferred a copy of the freighter's cargo manifest to the station masters comp. He quickly scanned the list of items, performed a few calculations, and said, "I'll take it all. I can offer you 330,000 credits for the entire shipment. I need goods of all kinds, with workers and traders coming back, to reopen the station. There are several traders scheduled to come up from San Paulos with their family's and merchandise. We have shops to fill, restaurants and taverns to open, and we need entertainment of all sorts."
"Your offer is accepted. l have two prisoners on board in our holding cells."
Red said, "I'll take care of the prisoners. I know a mining company who will pay good for slave labor. What are you plans for the freighter?"
"l haven't really thought about it."
"l got some people who can crew it and I have a few modifications in mind for it. What do you say to about 200,000 credits for it?"
"Are you aware that most of the escape pods are missing?"
"Who needs the pods? That means less work mounting gun emplacements in their launch tubes."
"I'll buy any escape pod you don't need." the station manager said to Red.
"200,000 credits isn't going to work Red. figuring in your cut of the booty, I can't ask for more than 150,000 credits."
At first Red looked confused, then shocked at my generosity. "Your a good man Nathaniel."
"Red, I have acquired about 600 pounds of gold. Do you know of some place that could handle a purchase of that size?"
Red pulled his comp and ran the figures for that amount of gold. "Nathaniel, you are looking at about 22,000,000 credits for all that gold. The governor is the only one I know of who manages enough money to make that kind of a purchase."
"Can you make the arrangements? I would like the money equally divided into four separate accounts for Doc, Tanya, Randolph, and myself. They are going to be for our future retirement."
"I'll make the arrangements. One of his representatives will be by in a couple of days to pick up the gold, and transfer the funds into your accounts."
Before the stationmaster left I had one more piece of business I needed taken care of, "l have a some small modifications I need to
have done, in my cabin. Do you have a ship repair crew available to do the refit?"
"Most of them are working on the Lucy. I'll have the maintenance chief contact you."
With business concluded I went to the bridge. It was empty, but all I needed was Jane's workstation, and a little help from Natasha. With her help I was able to put together a rough set of plans for modifying my quarters. The cabin adjacent to mine was empty. It was rarely used for VIP passengers. I wanted the hatch removed and the wall sealed. I also wanted the bulkhead removed between our two cabins, enlarging mine. Next l wanted the galley enlarged, as I was taking a lot of my meals their lately. I also needed the pantry enlarged to accommodate more food storage. We all needed a lot more storage space, with Tanya and Natasha sharing my cabin. We also needed a vanity large enough to accommodate Tanya, Natasha, and Amber who frequently visited. The shower needed to be made large enough for the four of us. It had enough room for two, but it didn't leave any room to wiggle with four of us in it, and I liked to wiggle. Last on my list was a bathtub that had lots of room for all us. It also had to have plenty of water jets and bubbles for the ladies.
I had the plans downloaded to my comp, so I could provide the chief with the plans the next time I saw him. After finishing the design, I headed to the cabin to see what the girls were up to. Tanya and Natty were dressed in slinky dresses that I hadn't had the chance to see yet. They were low cut in front showing plenty of cleavage, and open in the back. It looked as if the dresses were made of tiny diamonds. Every movement caused flashes of light. All three girls rushed me jumping up and down with excitement. "Thank you Cappy." they all said hugging and kissing me.
"l couldn't wait," Natasha said, "I told Tanya and Amber about your plans for the cabin, as you were designing it."
"l still have to give the plans to the repair chief, so he can get started. Natasha."
"Call me Natty cappy. I like it when you call me Natty."
"As I was saying Natty, lets pay the crew their share of the booty. Pay each crew member .1% with a daily draw over the next 10 days, so they don't go crazy and spend their pay all at once."
"l set it up and made an announcement over comms. The crew are very happy, and they haven't even had sex yet," Natty said, confused.
"Believe me they will. The Lucy is going to have a lot of business over the next 10 days. Oh, and speaking of pay days, Natty transfer 50,000 credits to Amber's account. Its her share of the booty."
"Nathaniel, I don't know how to thank you," Amber said, hugging me. Her eyes were starting to tear up again as we kissed.
There was a knock on my door. I opened it to admit the maintenance chief. He saw my problem right away with three women in my cramped quarters.
"l got a wife of my own, its hard enough keeping her happy, and you got three?" I wasn't going to tell him we were not married, at least we weren't married yet. Let him think what he wanted, I thought. It was good for my reputation. I transferred a copy of the room changes to his comp. He looked over them then said, "The shower and bathtub are going to be a problem. The modules aren't available yet, and you wouldn't be happy with them anyhow. I can have some rock slabs shipped up from San Paulos, that I've used in custom homes. They are black, waterproof, and have a non slip surface. I can build a custom shower that you will enjoy, leaving it open, without any doors. I can also make a sunken bathtub to match, there should be plenty of space between the decks for me to do it. I'll use the same stone for the floor and incorporate floor drains, so you can splash as much as you want, without worrying." He gave me a price for the modifications, which I gladly accepted.
"When can you get started?"
"Tomorrow morning first thing. You may want to move to another cabin today. We start early."
"They will be my guests aboard the Lucy," Amber said.
"Amber?" the repair chief asked.
"Its Amber Roberts now," she answered the chief teasing him.
"Natasha assign some crewmen to pack our belongings and bring them to Amber's suite aboard the Lucy."
"Cappy, call me Natty," she said, stomping her feet in a tizzy fit.
She looked so cute when she got angry, I thought.
Chapter 18
The girls and I were having a meal aboard the Lucy, in one of its restaurants. Amber's brother Red came over and joined us.
"Modifications are nearly complete, but I am having problems with programing the automation software."
"What modifications?" I asked.
"l pulled all the escape pods from the Lucy, leaving her two lifeboats and a shuttle. I had a mix of 30mm and 40mm cannon installed as well as particle beam weapons in the empty launch tubes. They work great for weapons emplacements, being nearly a perfect fit. I also had her shields boosted a bit.
The maintenance chief seeing Red came over and said, "The modifications are complete, but you will have to find someone to reprogram the weapons automation."
"Natty, contact Randolph on his comlink, explain what is needed, and ask him and Kim to help Red with the Lucy, and later the Vargus."
"They are on the way. They will meet Red here."
"Are you sure they can help?"
Natty told Red, "Randolph is a geek. He made me, and Kim is even geekier than he is."
Red roared with laughter. After he was able to compose himself enough to talk he said, "I'm sure I'm in good hands."
"Amber why is Red modifying your ship?"
"Red wants me to be safe when i'm traveling. l'm not letting you leave me behind again, so I expect that will be often. He came up with this plan to help me be able to go along with you. When you sold him the Vargus he already new what modifications he was going to have done to it, after planning his refit for the Lucy."
"Nathaniel, I got one more surprise for you," Red said. "l have some of my mercenary friends coming. Two modified torpedo boats are already here, docked in green section. There are also a few support craft docked in blue section, and two destroyers are in route. I expect a few more of my friends will show up, answering my call. All we need now is a fleet commander, Commander. l have a couple of questions I need answering though. When did you marry my sister and why wasn't I invited to the wedding?"
Amber answered, "He hasn't married me. I was just teasing the maintenance chief, when he thought we were already married."
Finishing our meals, we left Red to meet with Randolph and Kim.
"l'm tired of wearing jump suits all the time," Amber said. "I need a new wardrobe."
"l ... have to go somewhere..." I said trying to get out of it.
"Not on your life," Tanya said. "You have a tendency to stray and get into trouble, when you are left alone."
I followed them, feeling doomed. She entered one of her ships boutiques saying, "This is where my working girls get most of their outfits."
The clerk took us to the back of store, where she seated us. It was nothing like Trixy's back on San Paulos. This viewing area was more like a waiting room. It was missing the runway, the spotlights, and the ambience that Trixy's had. Amber selected five slinky dresses: black, white, red, pink, and emerald green. She tried these on each in turn walking and doing a series of turns and twists, in front of us. The girls clapped with each dress she tried on. I tried not to yawn. Next she selected two harem pants with matching bikini tops. The first one she modeled was a sheer pink. She had my complete attention now, with her legs showing through the fabric. The next was a sheer white pair. Now I was salivating, thinking how fun it will be to take them off. Then she selected four babydoll outfits: black, red, pink and white. She modeled these, while the girls clapped and whistled. It was contagious, and I found myself clapping with them. She bought four pairs of heels,
and stood staring at something I couldn't see before selecting it. She got one more out fit to wear for the finale. She was in the changing booth for several minutes before she emerged. She was wearing a neon green thong and a matching bikini top. She also wore a pair of bunny ears and a tail. She walked out doing the same series of turns and twists, stopping to wiggle her tail at me. Tanya and Natty stood giving her a standing ovation. I collapsed in my chair speechless, my sexual excitement grew visible for the girls to see.
"Cappy, I see you like Amber's outfit as much as I do," Natasha said, licking her lips in anticipation.
"Yes, the ears and tail really compliment the outfit," Tanya said.
It was not the ears and tail that had me salivating. I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into Amber's new outfit.
Amber paid for her clothing, while continuing to wearing her last outfit. Then handed her packages to me. We walked back to her quarters. Amber was not in the least bit embarrassed by her outfit. In fact I think it excited her, and turned her on. The girls stopped periodically as a trio to wiggle their tails teasing me.
Amber's quarters were much smaller than mine. It was confining, but fun to visit. I couldn't wait to see my remodeled cabin. I was assured it would be ready tomorrow. I dropped Amber's packages on her lounge, then turned to Natasha.
"Natty, contact Red and ask him to set up a ship's captains meeting in two days 08:00 station time aboard the Revenge, in the officers galley."
"Message sent Cappy," Natasha said.
"Do you like my new outfit Cappy?" Amber said, wiggling her tail and sliding her thong down.
"She has bunny ears and a tail just like us," Natasha said.
I started removing my clothes saying, "Leave your thong on, I want to remove it myself. You look so sexy, I can hardly wait."
"Nathaniel, no hands allowed," Amber teased.
The smell of her perfume drove me wild as I slowly removed her thong. My excitement peaked, as I embraced Amber, ready to make love to her, Natty and Tanya.