Piracy and Power Plays - KeeXeyn/AlluringEnigma

[KeeXeyn]

Ajax sat in his cabin, relaxing. It was a roomy cabin, but messy. Clothes all over the place, a disassembled plasma pistol lying on his desk, and a semi-organized toolbox in one corner. He had his own fridge, looted from a passenger ship, a coffee machine, a minibar, and a small oven. Dominating another corner of his room was a VR machine, with a dogfight simulator plugged in. That was how Ajax normally relaxed, by practicing.

He was too busy dodging hardpoint fire in his simulation to notice someone entering the room. It was a girl - ragged, gaunt, recently bruised. She was wearing naught but a frayed skirt, a pair of shoes, a shirt that was two sized too big, and an apron. She was one of the on-board slaves, and had probably failed to satisfy one of the crew earlier that day. She watched Ajax in his simulation, and considered going for the plasma pistol on his desk. Ajax was undefended, unaware of her presence, and one of the most brutal men on board. Last week, he had knocked five teeth out of another slave because she hadn't dried off the controls of his VR station properly after cleaning it. And the other kinds of physical abuse... This slave girl had already been on the receiving end of Ajax's sadistic brand of lust more than once. It was inhumane, it was humiliating...

But she didn't want to die.

And so she proceeded to clean up his room, collect his dirty clothes, and leave fresh ones. While Ajax keep flying in his simulation, making the occasional grunt, she cleaned the floor, his desk, his chair, and changed the sheets on his bed. Please don't finish yet, she thought to herself, hoping to be out of the room before Ajax finished his practice session. She was just about to leave the room when she heard a hissing noise from the VR station - the hydraulics decompressing. Damn! She thought to herself, as Ajax stepped out of the machine.

The pirate looked around, steel grey gaze scanning his cabin. He didn't pay any attention to the slave girl at first, just walking around the room to inspect her work. He'd known of her presence all along, of course; Unbeknownst to the slaves, he kept watch over his room through a hidden camera, even while practicing. Had she tried to assemble his pistol, she would've been dead in seconds. Luckily for her, she didn't.

He checked his desk and chair for dust, inspected his bed, looked at the floor. The slaves knew better than to leave his room messy, but they still fucked up on occasion, and he made a point of inspecting his room each time, so they wouldn't get lazy. This time, though, everything was satisfactory. He walked over to the slave girl, towering over her. His merciless steel gaze locked on hers, and he frowned. "Clean the VR station, then get the fuck out," he said, with a soft voice. He loved using that voice; there was something deeply satisfying about even your whispers being obeyed, as if he was a god among men. The girl immediately complied. Ajax smirked, and went over to his desk, reassembling his gun.

Fifteen minutes later, the slave girl staggered out of the cabin, with a hand over her abdomen. She was limping from the pain. Why can't I ever learn to keep my mouth shut, she thought to herself. When she was done with the VR station, Ajax had demanded pleasure. She had been stupid enough to protest, saying she was in a hurry. In truth, she was lucky that Ajax had been as quick as he had, instead of taking his sweet time to punish her. One one bad day, he'd taken his pleasure with a girl that did not survive the encounter.

Ajax sat in his cabin, relaxing. He had just gotten dressed again. Only two things in life gave him any real pleasure: Killing men, and breaking women. If only they spotted a ship to raid, it would be a good day, indeed.

 

[AlluringEnigma]

Vanessa Aerins was on standby for the next raid. For some that consisted of solitary confinement in their chambers while they gathered their thoughts and said their prayers. For others, it was obsessing over taking apart and cleaning their gun, only to repeat the action over and over again, as if the gun had managed to pick up some unseen dirt in the few seconds after its reassembly. For Vanessa, it meant drinking copiously with the boys.

"CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!" came the thunderous roar of her crew. Vanessa was busy downing a large tankard of black rum - even in space pirates followed their roots. She loosened her throat and tilted her head back as she allowed the last few gulps of the stinging liquid to burn through her esophagus and settle into her toned belly, a slow-burning fire now nestled in her stomach as she slammed the tankard down on the grey mess hall table. "WHOOOOOOOOOO!" she shouted out, shaking her head from the stiff drink and sending a firm punch towards the man to her left. "Pay up, Eric, you bitch!" she shouted again, her words slightly slurred.

It used to be that Vanessa would have to remain perfectly sober when the raiding party was on watch; that had changed quickly once she was put in charge of it, however. The first raid she had gone into absolutely blitzed, she had no doubt that her comrades had expected her to end up hurt or dead by the end of it. Instead, she had rushed into battle with a fervor that seemed inhuman. Any thoughts that her newfound confidence as leader was from drink was quickly put to rest when she had dove to tackle one of the under-supplied security guards and fish-hooked him in plain view of the rest of the small security force. It had been the first time in a while that the Aurora's Vengeance had received such a quick act of surrender from their prey.

Now, it had become near tradition for her inner circle to spend the time in preparation of raids getting absolute blitzed. Sometimes, they would compete amongst each other to see who could get the most combined drinks and kills. Vanessa rarely lost. She thrust out her tankard at the slave behind the counter of the bar, expecting another refill. The girl eagerly topped off the tankard. Unlike some of the crew, Vanessa rarely abused the slaves of the ship - she saw too much of her own upbringing in them.

Vanessa took a long swig of the beverage, coughing a little at the strength of the alcohol, before putting down the tankard. As if she had some sort of innate sense of timing, the intercom on the ship crackled across the spacious mess hall, the Captain's voice purring across the ship "Target in range. Fighters to your station. Raiding Party on standby".

Vanessa cracked her knuckles, a bloodthirsty grin on her face as she looked to her left and right, roaring out "Ready to get some fresh blood, boys!" Her voice seemed to fill the room with its confidence. She had done this near a thousand times now, but the excitement never seemed to die for the young raider. Every raid was like Easter, Christmas and Halloween all rolled into one for her, and her circle of raiders could swear they could still see her Cheshire-like grin through the bandanna she had pulled up over her mouth. "To the boarding craft, boys" she shouted, pulling out her pistol and holding it aloft in the air excitedly as she strutted towards the craft, her loud and rowdy crew tightly in tow.

 

[KeeXeyn]

As if the gods of fortune themselves had heard Ajax's thoughts, the captain's voice rang across the PA system mere minutes after Ajax was done with the slave girl. Perfect timing, he thought to himself. While the fighter pilots were usually the ones that needed to be ready first, Ajax had an advantage. His cabin was directly connected to the hangar. And so, he began preparing. He changed out of his usual shirt, in favour of a pressurised shirt that prevented blackouts during intense manoeuvres. His trousers were similarly changed. He didn't use a pilot's helmet - the suit could control his blood flow well enough, and he didn't want to limit his field of vision. He was a practised man, so the change took less than three minutes. Then, clad head to toe in black flying gear, he put his brown, fur-lined coat back on, and stepped out of his cabin.

He was immediately met by the hustle and bustle of engineers, flight controllers, and other pilots, all rushing to get to their stations. Ajax didn't run. It was beneath him. Instead, he kept a brisk pace, walking with a mix of swagger and discipline. It was the mark of a man who was used to buying power through violence, and victory through skill. As per usual, his wingmen joined him on his walk, one by one, walking to their spacecraft. They walked in the same formation in which they would fly - a sharp V with Ajax on point, and two heavier fighters in the middle. Not a word was exchanged between them; they all knew their job.

On his way to his fighter, Ajax spotted the landing crew, loudly making their way to their boarding craft. He called out to their commander, lieutenant Aerins. "Try not to blow up their hyperdrive before we arrive," he yelled out, with a self-satisfied smirk. "We need the parts, remember!" He was usually more disciplined than this, but he couldn't help himself. He'd had too much fun with the slave a few minutes before, and the prospect of a good fight had gotten his heart pumping. He was worked up, ready for battle, and eager for blood.

 

[AlluringEnigma]

As Vanessa and her crew made their way to the boarding craft, she ran into him. He was cockiest motherfucker in all of the cruiser, and that came from the girl who charged into battle as if she were unable to be hit by bullets. If she hadn't believed in the 'Pilot Ace' stereotype before, she did the moment she had met him. He was the complete opposite of Vanessa and her inner circle: where she was boisterous he was reserved, where she was playful he was laser-focused and where she was likable he was damn well despicable. It didn't help their relationship that he was in direct competition with her for the coveted Quartermaster's position.

The smile cut away from her face and she held her fist up in the air, her crew stopping on a dime. She strode across the hall with a fury in her step, her crew watching eagerly as they grinned maliciously at the Ace. When she closed the distance between them, she pressed her face up opposite his, the fire in her cold, steel-blue eyes not easily hidden and the stench of alcohol fresh on her breath. "Sorry what did you say, flyboy? You're lucky the Captain still likes you" she purred, though there was a definite ominous note in her tone.

Vanessa turned slightly to her crew, raising her voice as if she was addressing them like they were an audience. "What do you think boys, this pretty boy got a pair of balls under this tight little outfit?" she barked, her hand placing itself patronizingly on Ajax's shoulder. "Maybe that's why the slave girls always look black and blue after they leave his room. Fucker has to beat them to make sure they keep his secret" she added with a harsh laugh, her hands forming into a fist as she gave Ajax a hard hit to the shoulder. "Careful you don't get shot out the sky, flyboy. We need the parts after all!" she roared, flashing him a boisterous grin. "You better scurry off to your little plane. Take out those hardpoints so the real work can begin." She turned back to face him, glaring at him, almost daring Ajax to talk back.

 

[KeeXeyn]

Ajax just kept walking until Vanessa was right in front of him. For a split second, he considered just walking over her, letting his formation push her aside - but he stopped. His wingmen did the same, still standing in formation. Most of them smirked, looking forward to the confrontation. But two of them - who also happened to be Ajax's favourites - rolled their eyes, just wanting to get the job done. Ajax let Vanessa finish her little speech, formulating his response carefully before replying.

"If you're so desperate to know about my balls, you can come to my cabin later," he replied, with something of a smirk. He knew the confidence in his reply was all the sting he needed. He ignored the statement about the slaves. "Now, get out of my way. You won't be boarding shit until we stop that ship," he pointed out, gently putting a hand on Vanessa's shoulder to push her aside. Then, his crew made their way to their fighters, still with that brisk and disciplined swagger.

As always, Ajax was the first to enter the cockpit, and the first to fly out of the hangar. Once all the fighters were out and in formation, Ajax began issuing his orders. Everyone knew what to do, but he told them, all the same. "Torpedoes on the engines. Laser-equipped fighters, use your nil-mass rays to lock down their hyperdrive. Mass-driver fighters, pummel that shield! You've got sixty seconds to eat through it," he warned, wanting to keep a tight timetable. "The black wing" - that was Ajax himself and two other fighters - "will target enemy hardpoints. Yellow, you're on the engines. Red wing, form a breach and pummel the bridge!"

The fighters zoomed towards the target, at speeds exceeding 150c. Even at these blinding speeds, his pilots knew how to drag an enemy ship out of hypercruise with ease. Ajax could pull a corvette out of a 600c hypercruise alone, if he had to. This should be easy, he thought to himself. As a final taunt to Vanessa, he patched his comms system into the Vengeance's PA, and called out his wing's motto.

"When chaos rides," he started. There wasn't even half a second of delay before his wing replied: "WE HOLD THE REINS!"

The call echoed throughout the Aurora's Vengeance. Everyone knew the fighters' motto. And every crew member - perhaps except the boarding party - called the motto along with them, to cheer them on.

That should piss her off, Ajax thought to himself.

 

[AlluringEnigma]

Vanessa rolled her eyes and let out a snort at his line. She called out at him as he entered the hangar "Or maybe I'll send a few of my boys over to punch a few new holes in you. I like my whores to have 3, after all" she shouted. She held her gaze at the hangar for a moment, savoring the anger his mere presence afforded her, before bottling it inside her, saving it for the boarding itself. She gestured her head towards the hangar "Come on boys, we got a ship to plunder!" she shouted, storming off towards the large transport ship.

In comparison to the sleek fighters, it was a lumbering craft, though to fit her inner circle it had to be. They had also taken more liberties with its design, painting on a set of teeth at the front of the vessel, and a lovely, curvy slavegirl on the right side. Vanessa stood outside the entrance to the craft as her crew filed in, before finally taking her place at the front of the packed-in fighters. After all, she was, like always, going to lead the charge. She heard the motto and slammed her fist against the wall of the ship. "Get ready to take off, pilot. The second flyboy and his gang of fags get the ship ready for boarding, we're out for blood!" she shouted, her eyes red with bloodlust.

 

[KeeXeyn]

It didn't take long until the fighters reached the target vessel. Judging by how the other cruiser had changed direction, making for a nearby planet, Ajax and his crew had been detected. Not that it mattered - the merchant cruiser was too cumbersome by far to evade the sleek and agile fighters. The nearest planet was still several light minutes away, and Ajax needed mere seconds to intercept.

"All wings, start interdiction, then form up for assigned tasks," Ajax commanded. His own black wing zoomed in front of the enemy cruiser, and bombarded it with nil-mass particles. Almost instantly, the ship came to a grinding halt, as the hyperdrive collapsed and overheated, shutting down. Fifteen seconds, Ajax thought to himself. They had to identify the ship, slow down to sublight speeds, and get within two kilometres of the cruiser in less than fifteen seconds, while the cruiser still kept a speed of fifty kilometres per second.

Easy.

All the fighters were in range before ten seconds had passed. Immediately, the lighter fighters began bombarding the ship with more nil-mass particles, freezing the enemy's hyperdrive. Ajax wasted no time. He hand his black wing zoomed in close, circling the cruiser at a range of a measly three hundred metres, evading hardpoint fire and drawing the enemy's weapons away from the rest of the fighters. The cruiser's automated systems kept trying to hit the closest targets, meaning that the bigger mass-driver fighters could pummel the shields with machine-and-railgun fire. It took nearly half a minute before the crew took manual control of the ship's hardpoints to target the heavier, more dangerous ships, but by then, it was too late. The guns needed five seconds to swivel to new targets and lock on. And in those five seconds, the shield began to shimmer.

Then it fell.

The heavy fighters immediately launched small clusters of IR bombs and EMP, making them nearly impossible to target. Ajax's black wing spun, and started pummeling the ship's heavier hardpoints, blowing a massive railgun right into space, as well as the three engineers that crewed it. Ajax began to laugh. "Well shot!" He called out, as the rest of the wings closed in for the kill. The two heavy torpedo ships slammed their payload into the ship's engines, crippling the ship. The lighter laser ships pummeled the bridge, causing their leadership to be shaken. And the heavy mass-driver fighters circled around everything, taking shots of opportunity.

Ajax and his wingmen soared around the cruiser, cutting through enemy weapons with their high-energy laser guns. While the crew put up a valiant fight, the cruiser was doomed. With each hardpoint lost, the fighters swarming them had greater freedom of movement. And finally, Ajax jinked his way through two batteries of concentrated laser fire, and launched a precise salvo of small missiles at the two hardpoints, blasting them into space. The entire port side of the cruiser was now free of hardpoints, just as Aurora's Vengeance arrived at the scene, its hyperdrive groaning with the effort.

Ajax hailed the Vengeance. "Portside hardpoints eliminated. Enemy shields will be up in twenty seconds. Wait for it to come live, then launch boarding craft. The Vengeance's broadside hardpoints and my fighters will have it down again in time for boarding," he stated, all gleeful professionalism. Despite his rivalry with Vanessa, he knew better than to give bad advice on boarding - that could easily cost him his head, after all.

And so, the enemy shields came back online. It lasted for all of ten seconds, before the Vengeance's massive railguns brought it back down. The fighters returned to the Vengeance's side, except the red and black wings, that got busy forming a breach. Twenty seconds, Ajax thought to himself, and the boarding crews will arrive.

 

[AlluringEnigma]

Vanessa heard the call over the radio and gritted her teeth. "Thirty seconds boys!" she shouted as the craft lurched into action, Vanessa turning to face her crew as she paced in front of them aggressively, like a caged wolf about to be fed. She turned her earpiece on, allowing the whole ship to both watch her video feed and listen to the audio. Captain Melissa tacitly endorsed the one-upman-ship; after all, if they fighting each other they would be too busy to fight her. "You hear those fucking flyboys? They think they own this shit!" A resounding set of boos echoed across the craft, which Vanessa allowed to continue on for a few moments before she held up a closed fist, the raucous ending as quickly as it had started.

"15 seconds boys! It's time to remind the Aurora who brings home the bread around here!" In reality, both sides depended on each other, but the truth didn't make for a striking bit of showmanship. Vanessa turned to the doors in one smooth motion, timing out the arrival in her head, beginning to walk forward before the doors even opened. The second they did, she was already at the thresh hold and ready to break into a sprint. She grabbed her trusty rifle from its perch next to her and thrust it outwards, charging out at a dead heat into the fray, yelling at the top of her lungs "Charggeeeee!!!!!"

The video feed that was broadcast to both the fighters and across the Aurora showed Vanessa charging at the nearest security guard, sending a hard teep into the chest of the bewildered kid. He went flying to the ground, and she quickly followed up with a burst of plasma to his chest. She then dove forward, narrowly dodging a sticky grenade and rolling up at the feet of a second guard. She flicked her offhand, a long knife flicking out from her battle suit, which she promptly lunged upwards at the startled guard. The blade easily pierced through the under portion of his chin and into his brain, the man falling to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Vanessa pulled the knife out, the blood and brains sticking to the blade held aloft in the air as she lout out a loud war 'whoop'.

Without hesitating, as the final reinforcements arrived from the corridor opposite her, she fired from her hip, a blast of plasma sending the first man who rushed through the tight hallway to the ground in crumpled heap. She then stationed herself behind a nearby wall, taking a moment to look around her. Her boys fought just as balls-out as her, and most of the security force was dead on the floor. Only a few remained still fighting in melee combat, though she spied one of the wounded soldiers crawling his way over to the defense turrets at the far end of the room. Part of the startegy of the boarding crew was to hit hard and fast, thus avoiding most of the static defenses within the ship. One wounded soldier wasn't going to turn the tide of the battle, but with the heavy firepower of a small railgun he could take at least a half-dozen of her boys.

Without thinking, she charged forward at him, in a dead sprint. As he began to drag himself onto the seat of the turret, he looked up and was surprised to see Vanessa towering over him. She leaned into him and grabbed both sides of his head, locking lips with him in a passionate embrace. The man was confused until he felt a sudden sharp pain in his mouth, and he quickly let out a bloodcurdling scream. Vanessa detached a camera from the thigh of her suit, switching the video feed from her point of view to the camera she now had pointed at her face. She spit out the man's tongue, and licked her lips, as if she had just thought of a particularly salacious thought, and then remarked cheerily "Hard work's done flyboys. Come be good little boys and gather up my prizes" she purred, before cutting off the feed entirely, exhaling sharply as she enjoyed the low moans of injury that accompanied the aftermath of any battle.