ã€ŠPhantom Starã€‹


 Chapter 1

    Kurtz StarSector

    Kenish Duchy

    System 100212-B

    Scrap processing station UNK-L

    Watching star ships fly past the massive port windows was something that I once could only dream of, but now it was a daily occurrence.

    ¡°That¡¯s a Zimmer Halogen. See the large bulb around the engine room in the back? That means it¡¯s the B variant because it has the expanded engine room.¡± I chattered away as my Mother did her best to hum along at my words to show she was listening even if her interest in ships was nonexistent.

    It seemed weird to me that so many people living on a space station above a dump planet would basically just treat it as a diversion and nothing else.

    ¡°Oh look! That¡¯s Dad!¡± I called out pointing and Mom looked up, her blue eyes shining as she smiled, her lips covered in purple lipstick, a weird fashion quirk in my eyes, stretched brightly. The tug shuttle went out and pushed the ship into the dock.

    That ship was an older freighter, and it was beaten to hell. The Zimmer had towed it here. A pretty common occurrence. It was easy Cred. Haul some old scrap ship into a dump yard and we¡¯d pay, and then scrap the thing for whatever we could get.

    Because that¡¯s what my family did. We scrapped spaceships.

    A great great great uncle had once done some amazing things for the Lord of the Duchy and had been rewarded with the right to set up a scrap yard.

    It had been running for over two hundred years now, and it had kept my entire extended family in enough Creds that we had become middle class.

    Something not easy to do when the population of any star sector was in the trillions at least and most places were nearly feudal in how they treated people.

    Of course I was even more different than most. I had been reborn in the far and distant future, memories of a past life with a blue open sky had haunted me from the moment I had become aware I was alive.

    Earth was so distant from here, you couldn¡¯t even see the light of the Sun.

    I couldn¡¯t even tell what the year was. Too much weird stuff had happened. Dark Ages. Calendar resets fighting other calendar resets. And after time people, at least my schooling programs, just didn¡¯t really know.

    ¡°Hmm. Will the ship scrap well?¡± Mom asked, and I nodded, trailing a hand through my blonde hair, my eyes searching the floating scrap heap. It would scrap very well. Everyone would be happy. I could feel my hands pressing against each other, a nervous habit I had picked up.

    I wanted to be out there too. Space was¡­ Amazing. Special.

    I had no regrets that I hadn¡¯t set foot on a planet in this life. I had the soul of a spacer through and through.

    I refocused on Dad¡¯s tugship. The old freighter was pushed into the grapple arms of the station. Where it would be scanned, and scrappers would go through it. Some would be my cousins, but most were off station workers. Scrapping was good enough money for normal people, and despite the whole working in space, it was actually pretty safe compared to a lot of in ground jobs.

    You never had to worry about a station having a super hurricane, or a Mega Earthquake leveling continents in space. Not all terraforming was made equal after all.

    And safety measures were very solid. Great Uncle Kyle was the current manager of the station and since so many family members worked here everything was reviewed constantly.

    Of course that was for normal stuff. As Dad was pushing the freighter I felt it first. A rising of the hair on the back of my neck that had me jerk to my feet. Mom stopped and looked away from the Tab she was playing with as suddenly it sparked, and she nearly dropped it as she looked up.

    Space, dark and shining with stars was suddenly cut through as a kaleidoscope of energy burst forth.

    A Warp exit.

    The feeling of static in space, a rioting flash as unreality touched reality, and suddenly empty space was filled with thousands of tons of ship!

    No. It was more than that. That was a battleship!

    I gasped. The clean lines of a military vessel were very different from the almost bulbous form of most civilian vessels. It was a shock to see. Especially since it was way way too close! Well within the safety distance of our station!

    The lights inside shifted red, and the forcefields activated at full power. I could even see the light shimmer in space as our station''s Shield Emitters activated trying to protect us against an attack.

    Just like many of the people on the station that had been looking out the windows. I started suiting up.

    Normally the heavy jumpsuit was only half on, the arms tied around my waist to keep me cooler, and to feel lighter, but I untied it in a rush and threw my arms inside. The suit was sealed up and I grabbed my gloves from my waist and threw my hands into them.

    The seals instantly locked into place around my wrist and once everything was in place, the force field activated.

    I could jump into space without any fear as I stood right now. But I turned to Mom, who was unlike most of the staff wearing a more trendy fashionable outfit.

    ¡°Come on!¡± Mom called as she grabbed me and started rushing me away.

    Even if I wanted to keep looking because honestly if that ship was hostile getting into an eva suit, or into an armored room wasn¡¯t going to help. But I did look and relax as Dad was already redocking with the station. Safe.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Dad!¡± I called out as I charged and jumped into his arms. He spun me around a bit which was doubly fun because gravity was low in the hallway section so we lifted off the air and spun around before landing gently.

    ¡°Hey! There¡¯s my StarBurst.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re okay?¡± I asked in turn, looking him over. His own suit was well worn, but clean, and he looked fine, even if his forcefield was down.

    ¡°Ah you saw that huh?¡± He asked, smiling and patted my head. ¡°Bit closer than I¡¯d ever like to be to a Battleship. Anyway, the ship that dropped off the freighter was the pirate responsible for attacking it. Turns out it wasn¡¯t the first time they pulled this stunt. Considering everything. We get to scrap the freighter as the owners are gone, and we don¡¯t have to pay the pirate so it¡¯s a good day.¡±

    I sighed in relief. That was good news. Nobility could have called us pirates as well and taken over the station, or just took the freighter entirely, or made us pay them for the mistake.

    ¡°Dear.¡± Dad called out as Mom pulled him into a hug and kiss. ¡°Good news. I¡¯ve been given scrap rights for the freighter. Gonna be busy for a few cycles, but-¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± Mom called out happily, and I smiled along with her for different reasons.

    The fact was, Mom was¡­ Well a credit digger I guess would be the right term? She loved my father of course. Truly. Yet she hadn¡¯t married him for love, but to get herself out of poverty. It did lead to some awkward times when Mom thought Dad should push for more credits or work when it wasn¡¯t culturally right.

    Weird how despite having memories of a past life, I was more a child of the station than Mom who had been born in this time.

    Dad wasn''t in the direct family of Uncle Kyle. So he and I would never own the station, or really make more than enough to live comfortably.

    I was fine with that. I had my own desires, and it had nothing to do with staying on a scrap station my whole life, but Mom had¡­ Ambitions.

    But sometimes it meant when Dad had to work more Mom took it as a positive.

    ¡°That¡¯s awesome Dad! Can I see the engine room before you scrap it?¡± I asked, smiling already knowing the answer.

    ¡°Not until you finish your Scrapper Exam.¡± He answered instantly. My fascination with ships was well known to every member of the station and nearly every traveler that stopped for a refill or anything else.

    I sighed and nodded.

    ¡°Hey StarBurst, why don¡¯t you head to the hab, okay?¡± Dad asked, and I wrinkled my nose as I instantly knew what I was being shooed away from.

    ¡°Gross! I¡¯m running away! Just let me get my Tab!¡± I demanded giving both of my parents the stink eye as I knew they were about to have sex.

    I headed into my room, which wasn¡¯t very large. Most rooms were just a sleeping bed, which was actually an emergency pod as well. If you were sleeping and the station decompressed it would close down and keep you alive hopefully long enough for someone to save you.

    Hopefully.

    I grabbed my bag full of parts and my Tab, which was just a future tablet, and headed out once more giving my parents a disgusted look as I moved past them. The two were already close together and kissing, and like usual my face made Dad laugh as I left.

    As soon as I was outside, my face smoothed out. It honestly didn¡¯t bother me that much, but it made my Dad laugh so it was one of our little jokes.

    I hurried down the dimly lit residential hall. The lighter gravity in the hallways meant I was practically bouncing as I made it to the elevator and slipped in. My feet touched the flooring solidly once I was inside the elevator the Gravity Panels set to a more normal Gravity. I hit the Hab button.

    I started digging through my bag. This was my work bag, tools and parts for my projects cluttered the inside.

    I had long ago realized that any hope of getting off station was going to take me actively making it happen.

    Well, it wasn¡¯t that I hated the station. I loved the rickety old place. It was just that I was in the future! People could explore the stars! I wanted to see it! Like Anakin Skywalker, I wanted to see them all!

    The elevator opened into the Hab floor and I walked out into the noise of people.

    Here at the top of the station was a massive park.

    The glass dome above was currently displaying an active slightly purplish sunny sky.

    For some reason everyone liked purple skies in this sector. Something, something the sector capital had purple skies. It was weird.

    It was also crowded, not just the families of the scrappers, but any travelers needing a pit stop for repairs or food, or fuel could all use the Hab floor.

    Mostly it became a trading space. There were shops all around the center park, most of them my cousins, of some sort as they sold food, or parts, or anything they thought they could bring to the table.

    I hurried past it all into the weird notgrass that coated the floor of the park and around the really scratchy annoying bushes that lined the area then across the entire hab. There was an old¡­ Well I called it a tree, but it really wasn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t wood, but actually a growing stone that looked sort of like a gnarled old tree without leaves.

    It was some sort of Lithicmorph. A stone that grew, found on some planet in the sector. We brought up rocks from the moon for it from time to time, but otherwise it just grew quietly.

    I climbed up it with familiar steps and then used it to jump onto the roofing above the shops. There was a nice quiet niche that none of the travelers could get to, where I could be left alone¡­

    ¡°Hey Marie.¡± I called out grumpily, some of my cousins were already up here. Slacking off.

    ¡°Oh little Kathy!¡±

    ¡°¡®M not little.¡± I grumbled, I really wasn¡¯t, but I still got stuck with the nickname. I decided to ignore the older teenagers. I was here to get some work done, and they wouldn¡¯t stop me. I flopped in an empty section and pulled open my bag.

    Time to finish some more work on my project.

    From within the bag I dug around for the scattered parts, grabbing half a dozen bits and bobs, and started working. The outer casing was an old nav beacon that had been thrown out, that I had snatched up. Inside, already installed, was a gravity panel that I had fixed up and adjusted properly.

    That was all mostly done, but I was struggling now with the limbs. Making a hover drone was not easy. Especially without a lot of manufacturing supplies. I had to dig through the trash and wait for something to sing to me, that it wanted to be something else.

    I blinked and shook off the thought. It was sort of like that though. I had been reborn with¡­ Something extra.

    It always made me wonder if I was actually me, or just some weird faux memory of some nanomachines, or something else entirely. Either way it pushed me to build things, and made me capable of wondrous feats.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Or it would. Once a few of these drones were done and I had some hands that could properly lift things around.

    ¡°Playing with junk again?¡± I looked up at Marshall and glared, carefully I put the drone casing back into the bag and covered it up so he couldn¡¯t swipe it. As always Marshall with his stupid short blonde hair done up in slick backed spikes which was the nova way for boys to look in the far future was glaring at me.

    ¡°It¡¯s only junk until I fix it.¡± I said, despite knowing he would not let it go.

    ¡°A Nav beacon? C¡¯mon what¡¯s the use of that? It¡¯s trash!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just the casing. I¡¯m making it something else.¡± I grumbled, but Marshall sighed.

    He was one of my oldest, teenage cousins. I was lucky he wasn¡¯t of the main line though because he was a bossy little shit. He was nice sometimes unless you went against what he said then he¡¯d turn nasty. The worst part was he had an ego, and a desire to be treated like a king.

    He had already gotten annoyed at me tinkering and told me to stop before. He viewed it as a waste of time.

    As if he had any right to make me stop, but I knew that this could go bad.

    ¡°Kat. You need to stop playing around! You should be studying for your scrapper exam! You¡¯ll be useless if you can¡¯t finish that. Not playing with garbage! We-¡±

    ¡°Marshall.¡± A voice called out and everyone went quiet.

    It was Carter. He was three years younger than Marshall, and one year older than me, at fifteen but everyone listened to him. He was Great Uncle Kyle''s Direct child.

    The Heir to the station eventually.

    ¡°C¡¯mon Carter, I¡¯m just trying to get Kat to focus up!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s up to her folks, Marshall. Leave her alone already. Remember how she fixed that light in Marie¡¯s room?¡±

    ¡°Yep, it works great now!¡± Marie called out, throwing me a wink.

    ¡°She¡¯s got some skill with it, and whether she passes or not is her problem not yours.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡± Marshall grumbled and walked away without looking and I relaxed. I looked up and Carter just looked away from me, to continue talking with his friends a bit further down.

    I pulled out my drone and got back to work.

    It needed¡­ Tools, and strength enough to adjust heavy objects that I couldn¡¯t move. I couldn¡¯t exactly make a ship with just the arm strength of a fourteen year old.

    I continued tinkering and slowly it came together. A Tab to act as both vocal, and visual equipment, as well as a good basis for accessing comm channels. Only one arm so far. Eventually it would have two. It was a cute little clamper, I had ¡®acquired¡¯ from some scrap.

    Right now it didn¡¯t have any legs, just the one arm. But eventually it would have four legs. Making it a sort of crab shape.

    Programming a pseudo AI had taken me literally years. A pet project I¡¯d been working on since I first realized I¡¯d need to pull a Tony Stark if I ever wanted to get off this station. Luckily once you formed an AI kernel, you could have as many as you wanted by just making a new copy of the kernel.

    Although this would be the first time I¡¯d given my little nascent AI an actual body. Finally bringing her out of the digital space she had lived and learned in so far.

    I nodded as I tested the limb and it seemed to work.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see how you like that.¡± I muttered and pressed a button then turned a knob hidden in a control panel letting the drone boot up.

    Slowly a light flickered on the Tab in the front, it flickered and a cute little pair of digital eyes and a mouth formed on the screen.

    The eyes blinked as they seemed to look around, although that was actually a loading sequence, and then its mouth shifted. Jumping up and down like an audio meter, but in the shape of a cute little face.

    If you were going to make an AI, always make it cute.

    ¡°Ah! It¡¯s Katherine! Hi Katherine!¡± It squirmed, in my grip as it called out to me.

    ¡°Hi Crabbit.¡± I whispered back smiling as the bright childish voice came from the drone. ¡°I finished one of your limbs, can you run through the tests for me?¡±

    ¡°Ah! New equipment found! Searching! Yes! Running tests.¡± And the little gripper limb with plenty of little attachments shifted around opening, closing, and pushing out the diagnostic tools, before closing them back up going through everything.

    ¡°Huh. What¡¯s that, Kat?¡± Marie asked suddenly, hunkering down beside me.

    ¡°She¡¯s Crabbit.¡± I told her with a smile. The name was meaningless, but I had of course had a few hundred sketches on my Tab about what the drone would look like when she was complete, and the fact I kept coming to a similar design was surely a sign of Carcinisation. They kept coming out crab shaped, because that¡¯s what I needed.

    And the rest of the name was because there were two long sensor arrays coming off the top of their head¡­ Well they looked like rabbit ears.

    Hence Crabbit.

    ¡°She¡¯s my helper drone.¡± I told Marie with a big smile I couldn¡¯t contain, because she was active!

    ¡°Wow, you made your own little toy Drone? That¡¯s so cute!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a toy.¡± I grumbled, but I couldn¡¯t help but start smiling as I lifted her up. ¡°The Crabbit is everything I need to repair and build any project I could need! It has an integrated Gravity Panel which means as long as it¡¯s working in tandem with a few others it can even lift battleship armor plates!¡±

    ¡°Wow.¡± Marie said, poking at her purple lipstick for a moment before giggling and just reaching out and poking my nose. ¡°You¡¯re so cute little Kathy.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not little! I¡¯m bigger than you!¡± I grumbled and sat up taller so I loomed over the older girl. My messy blonde hair made my shadow big enough to hide her in, that¡¯s how good I was at looming!

    I was actually tall for my age thanks to the biomods that ran through my family, sometimes they still popped up randomly.

    I was already twice the size of any other girl my age on the station. I definitely had some soldier nanomachines active, as I was hungrier than normal, and I had more muscle than a fourteen year old girl should have.

    It left me looking bullish, I was kinda ugly if I admitted it to myself. A bit too broad, a bit too tall, a bit too wide.

    But everyone called me little because of one stupid incident when I was a kid!

    ¡°But you¡¯re the only one that could slip in-¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it!¡± I said over her voice, glaring and she laughed in delight. I had slipped into a hidden compartment in a freighter we were scrapping once when I was little, and ended up refusing to leave. I was so small no one else could get me out until my demands were met.

    Also I had found one of the ships smuggling compartments while in there, so I hadn¡¯t been punished too badly for wasting everyone''s time.

    I nodded as I looked over the Crabbit. Its self-test completed, but I could just¡­ It was a feeling. Machines sang to me, and at the same time they wanted to be built. I could think about anything mechanical and my brain simply looked at everything around me, and started telling me what I would need to fix it.

    Well¡­ It was more complicated than just that. I still had to do some studying, and learning actual mechanics helped, but I could look at a broken ship and she¡¯d tell me what was wrong with her.

    I could look at a broken light, and know that the wire was shorting out because of improper installation.

    It was nice. Listening to the melody of technology around me, but it did make me a bit weird compared to my peers. I was a bit awkward, honestly. ¡®Modern¡¯ space slang was weird, and I barely used it, and most of the time I¡¯d only pick up on the new slang when it stopped being cool, or when it was used against me that I had to ask what I was being called.

    I shook that off, it wasn¡¯t important. I sat back down as Marie laughed at me.

    Since Crabbit was not entirely complete, but at least functional. She was now passing all of the tests she was running through, and more importantly, I could hear the singing of well working mechanisms. I knew she was finally done.

    I stood up, time to visit my favorite place on the Station.

    ¡ª--

    Crabbit floated after me as I ran into the Scrap Shop. Her gravity panel was working perfectly; letting her float around as she wanted!

    ¡°Aunt Sheila!¡± I called out and got a response deep within. I waited patiently bouncing up and down a bit in excitement, which to my delight my Crabbit copied floating up and down slowly as she grew more comfortable.

    Finally Aunt Sheila came out of the back, wearing the same type of jumpsuit as me, as she ambled through her entire storage room of junk.

    ¡°Alright Kat, what are you looking for this time-What?¡± She said as Crabbit floated over, her electronic eyes looking over Aunt Sheila. She wasn¡¯t actually my aunt, but a distant cousin, but all of us were related anyways. ¡°What is that?¡±

    ¡°Crabbit! My repair drone! I told you I was close!¡±

    ¡°Well I¡¯ll be damned.¡± She muttered looking just as interested in Crabbit as she was in her.

    ¡°Hello hello! Crabbit here!¡± My drone greeted chipperly. ¡°Lots of parts! Repair time?¡± She asked and I snickered.

    ¡°Alright. Alright.¡± Sheila called looking at me with a smile. ¡°You win. What do you need?¡±

    ¡°So much!¡± I called out. ¡°I need enough parts to finish her, and to make a few more Crabbits. So pleeeeease!¡±

    ¡°Ugh kid you know how expensive those tiny drives are.¡± She argued and I nodded which is why I pointed at Crabbit.

    ¡°Exactly! Think about how many of them are in the Scrap Field! My Crabbit has Type 4 sensors! They can sweep and find more!¡±

    ¡°When the blackhole did you find a Type 4 Sensor? I know I didn¡¯t give you one! So you better not have scavenged one!¡± She suddenly barked, reaching out and grabbing me by the front of my tanktop.

    ¡°I took a Type 3, and kludged it with a dermal sensor.¡± I answered back and I could see as her jaw dropped open a bit as she processed it.

    ¡°That¡¯s not a Type 4!¡± She yelled after a moment.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have the range of a Type 4, but with a bit of programming Crabbit can process the data of both and make a pseudo Type 4! It works!¡± I called out, doubly pleased because that sensor had been really tough to figure out. I had spent a long time just listening to the song of the machines telling me what to do.

    I had learned so much from doing it once, I probably could make a fully functional Type 4 with just a Type 3 and some scrap from other lesser sensors. But that would mean taking apart the kludged prototype one already installed, and I just wanted it to be done!

    ¡°Prove it.¡± She demanded, and I did just that. Aunt Sheila waved me on, and it didn¡¯t take long for Crabbit to find some Iris drives hiding in her scrap. Then my little Crabbit didn¡¯t just find the ones she expected, but found an extra one!

    ¡°That brat! I told him to go through all of these!¡± Aunt Sheila cursed as she took apart the old comm unit and found an Iris Drive that hadn¡¯t been removed. The glowing cube was pulled free with a few deft movements, and Aunt Sheila looked over the power source with a careful eye before nodding satisfied, and sticking it into her pocket.

    I was bouncing but kept myself from calling out a long ¡°Seeee!¡± And instead just stayed silent. Trying to get a favor from someone in a bad mood because they just discovered their son was slacking wasn¡¯t a good time.

    Especially since Aunt Sheila was great and I already knew if I just waited, I¡¯d get what I wanted. She was the one to give me the original tiny Iris Drive for the Crabbit after all.

    ¡°Alright. Alright. Stop bouncing around, you''re making me think the grav panels are wonky.¡± She demanded shoving a glove clad finger into my chest a little less gently than she normally would have. ¡°You can have this Drive. And we can talk about what you need to make another of those drones¡­ A drone that can hunt down Iris Drives in scrap is useful, so¡­ If you can get permission. I¡¯ll bring you along.¡±

    ¡°YES!¡± I shouted this was it! The final step I needed to go beyond just playing with whatever scrap we kept on the station.

    A chance to go to the Scrap Field. To the real treasure trove!

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Aaand lets¡¯ see if that works.¡± I proclaimed. Sitting around the kitchen table. Dinner was done, and Dad and Mom were both resting in the living room space, watching some Comm Drama. Nothing that interested me.

    No, I had started building. With my first Crabbit functional, work on the second had been easy. A Type 4 scanner made scrap hunting easy.

    I was still waiting for Aunt Sheila to convince Dad to let me go out into the scrap field with her.

    So for now I was still stuck working with station trash. Luckily, I knew the exact process to make a Crabbit, having done one already.

    The new Crabbits exterior was different though, made out of a vacuum unit I had found instead of a nav beacon. It made the Crabbit I just finished putting together more saucer shaped than my first one..

    I finished installing the interior hardware on the chassis, and the next important part. I had been planning on using this second grabber arm for my first Crabbit, but this way they¡¯d both have an arm, and that was more useful than a more put together single Crabbit. Especially since I now had two gravity manipulating drones¡­ Well I would once I started this one up.

    This is the most difficult part of the whole process.

    The fact was, I wasn¡¯t exactly working with the best hardware, which meant the Crabbits were running off cleaning drones, and the like. It didn¡¯t exactly make them smart, and I needed them to be smart.

    So I had taken an idea. Both Crabbits were running off hardware that was below what they each needed to operate optimally, but¡­ What if they shared their hardware?

    The Crabbits each were formed from the same AI kernel, but what if I did even more Synchronization?

    The idea was really simple. The Crabbits would share their memories letting them learn faster than a lone AI could, and on top of that, they could share hardware, since the AI on each Drone wouldn¡¯t override each other. They would be used to sharing digital space, and so could share their own selves with each other.

    One Crabbit, many bodies. So if a Crabbit was doing a complex task, it could request hardware power from another and in essence, become smarter to handle the task better.

    That was the idea, and just like I had relied on the song that helped guide me as I built things, I had followed the songs guidance as I aimed to complete this upgrade as well.

    I just needed to turn her on. If it worked¡­ If it worked, the Crabbits would be so much more useful to me as I aimed for my real goal.

    Without hesitating any more, I reached into the frame and started her up, and settled her on the table.

    The other Crabbit was hovering over my shoulder, her one grabber clinging onto my tanktop as she sort of huddled close. Something she had started to do in order to stay with me as I moved around.

    I thought it was cute.

    And then¡­

    The Crabbit turned on. Her little face activated, and I couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous. My hands wringing together as I stared at the small drone that suddenly settled and then hovered up off the table.

    ¡°Hello, hello! Katherine! Katherine! Hello!¡±

    ¡°You can just call me Kat, Crabbit.¡±

    ¡°Kat! Kat! Kat!¡± It cheered as it floated around my head and I relaxed. She was working.

    ¡°Can you test your hardware share for me?¡± I asked, and both Crabbits stilled and I waited. There was no way for me to check on the test, it was purely in the digital space between the two AI.

    Then finally they both blinked in sequence.

    ¡°Synchronization complete!¡±

    ¡°Yeah! Complete!¡± The new Crabbit called out and I relaxed as they were both¡­ Okay. They were okay.

    Another project down. Now I needed more.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°I don¡¯t like this.¡±

    ¡°Ed. She¡¯s fourteen, and I¡¯ll be with her.¡± Aunt Sheila argued. I was ready. I already got permission although it took me scoring incredibly well on my Scrapper Pre-test, the results being above the standard.

    I didn¡¯t say anything to Dad about whether I should go, I was already suited up in an armored jumpsuit, with a space helmet, and a mobility pack.

    I actually had some time out in space already, I lived on a station, but going into the scrap fields was another issue entirely.

    ¡°I know¡­ Just, watch her Sheila please. She¡¯ll be on her best behavior.¡± Dad said, sending me a look that I nodded up and down at, because otherwise I would get an ass whooping.

    ¡°She¡¯ll be fine. The girl is a tech savant. She¡¯s born for this.¡± Then Sheila pushed me a bit towards the docking port. ¡°C¡¯mon now Kat, It¡¯s time to go. Edward.¡± She said pointedly at Dad.

    ¡°Sheila.¡± Dad responded, both adults saying their farewells as I entered the shuttle I waved at Dad before turning around and settling into the co-pilot seat.

    ¡°Alright Kat. You know this isn¡¯t the time to mess around. You do as I say.¡±

    ¡°When you say it and how. I won¡¯t play around Aunt Sheila.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Then she turned to the controls and after a moment flipped a switch and the entire shuttle popped off from the station and started moving. Aunt Sheila wasn¡¯t even driving, just letting the auto pilot make the transfer from the station towards the scrap field.

    It was a pretty awe inspiring sight for my Earth memories.

    Imagine a small moon, then around it what looks like clouds, until you get closer and you realize all the silver clouds were thousands of ships. Most of them were pretty small, old shuttles, and jump ships for one or two people, plenty of old freighters and the like were here as well.

    We were scrappers after all, but not everything that was handed to us was garbage. Quite a few ships were still capable just needing a refit or repairs.

    That¡¯s where the Scrap Field came in. We went through the ships and took out anything of value we wanted, and then pushed the ships into place. Tied them together, and left them to sit. Of course it was also a good place to store extra salvage that we found. Some of the old freighters were used to store spare parts so the Station didn¡¯t end up filled with junk.

    There was another reason we didn¡¯t crash them into the moon, or launch the junk ships into the sun.

    War was a real thing, and sometimes the Duchy needed ship hulls regardless of quality, to quickly put together more ships. Taking a freighter and refitting the engine and adding weapons was an effective method of adding a new patrol boat to a defense screen.

    And so we saved everything. Just letting them all float quietly above the small moon until it was needed.

    Well it wasn¡¯t actually a moon exactly. A small Planetoid. Like Pluto back in Sol. Just a random space rock that UNK-L floated around.

    And this was the first time I was going to be allowed to go with!

    You¡¯d be amazed at how many of the ships hadn¡¯t been completely searched through before storing. There were times where the station would end up with dozens of new ships to scrap at the same time, and we simply didn¡¯t have the manpower to handle them all. So they were stripped of the most important bits and pushed out to scrap through later.

    That¡¯s what Aunt Sheila did. She went out, usually by herself, and searched through the old derelicts for things we missed.

    And now thanks to the Crabbit, and their sensors, I was allowed to come too!

    I was staring enraptured as we flew under a large cargo freighter, the block shaped ship was all brute force and even floating quietly spoke of how it was made to force its way through whatever astral phenomenon there might be to get to its destination.

    There weren¡¯t many ¡®pretty¡¯ ships in our field. We were out in the middle of nowhere after all. But that didn¡¯t mean a few old pleasure craft weren''t scattered here and there. The smooth curves of those ships were beautiful and caught the eye against all the brutal, or bulbous modification jobs of most of the ships.

    ¡°Alright kid.¡± Aunt Sheila said as she slowed. ¡°Let¡¯s get those scanners going. I want to make a haul today.¡±

    I nodded and turned to my Crabbit. ¡°Go ahead and begin scanning. Work together.¡± I told them and both of them bobbed from my shoulders where they were grabbing onto my space Jumpsuit.

    They started looking all around, and I pulled out my Tab to get a look at their returns.

    ¡°Looks like that one has at least six Iris Drives.¡± I mentioned with a bit of fiddling my finger was in the right direction. An old Ecal Freighter from the looks of it. Tough as shit, and usually the sort of ship a family might take care of for centuries just keeping the maintenance going and the freighter moving.

    But this one had taken a nasty looking attack, a chunk of its side was just gone.

    ¡°Got it. Let¡¯s go take a look.¡±

    I grinned feeling the excitement, exploring ships was the best part of being a space brat, but exploring an old Space Hulk? That was something even more exciting! Loot! Salvage! Treasure!

    I giggled as we pulled up to the airlock and locked in, even though the ship wasn¡¯t pressurized our airlock would depressurize us so we could get in.

    ¡°Alright. Double check!¡± She ordered and I did, checking my helmet and getting green on my seals, and my oxygen supply.

    *Radio check.*

    *Loud and clear.* I confirmed and we moved, walking out to the back of the ship, we stepped into the airlock and it sucked the air out, storing it for later before the door to the ship opened and I got my first look inside.

    Old and broken down. I could see tire tracks on the floors where the station could have pushed salvage sleds out of the ship once they loaded them up.

    *Alright follow me.* Aunt Sheila said as she took a step and transitioned to a sort of floating motion as the gravity panels inside the ship were obviously offline. I moved to follow before grinning.

    *Give me something to step on.* I told my Crabbit, with a grin, and suddenly instead of floating in zero G, my feet touched the floor and I felt like I was in normal gravity.

    Smirking as I walked after my Aunt until I was beside her as she adjusted herself to grab a door further in and open it, she looked at me, and then looked back at the door controls before jerking back to me.

    *What? I told you they have integrated gravity panels¡­ Want one?* I offered and I could make out her visibly sighing before her radio activated.

    *Yes¡­ Brat.*

 Chapter 2

    ¡°C¡¯mon you stupid thing!¡± I growled, loosening connectors that had been flash fried and then left to cool in the vacuum of space for a few decades wasn¡¯t easy. The plug wasn¡¯t moving and I finally gave up. *Crabby, give me a hand?*

    *Yes! I¡¯m here to help! Strong Strong Strong!* It repeated as my Crabbit floated over and grabbed the plug and instead of pure strength used that gravity panel inside to just push against it. I moved back and the plug popped, sending Crabbit jolting up but she inverted her Gravity and just spun for a few moments instead of smashing into the ceiling.

    *Wheeeee!*

    *Okay you goof.* I said laughing as I reached up and grabbed her to stop her spinning. She could have stopped herself, but she was playing. *We¡¯ll play after. But we need to get this console moved.*

    *Yes yes!* It cheered and I nodded. I had been working with Aunt Sheila for long enough she no longer hovered as I worked, and let me just explore and scrap whatever I wanted without issue.

    The fact was? I loved it. Exploring old Spaceships was the coolest thing in the galaxy!

    I giggled as I walked back through the dead ship, my helm light the only thing lighting my way. *Hey you all. Once you are done with that. The console is ready to go too.* I called out, and my little gaggle of Crabbit cheered as they continued to leap frog a large chunk of the engine shielding out through the door.

    Thanks to Aunt Sheila looking the other way, I had a dozen Crabbit now, and more in the works constantly. I was at the point where if I supplied the parts, I could basically go to sleep and there would be a new chassis to finish the AI install with in the morning, as they built themselves¡­

    There might be a few laws that I was skirting close to breaking, but my Crabbit were completely safe. I wasn¡¯t worried at all.

    *Aunt Sheila. I¡¯m finishing up here.* I called out over the radio as I watched the Crabbit move the large piece of equipment past me.

    *Brat. I¡¯m not even halfway through. Double check again to make sure¡­ But if you are done feel free to do what you want.*

    *Thanks!* I confirmed having already done a second sweep. The Crabbit were far from infallible after all, their child like mentality sometimes got them distracted. Type 4 Sensors were extremely good, but there were always materials that interfered with sensor readings, so sometimes you just had to take things apart and use the Mk.1 Eyeball.

    I floated back to the engine bay and stopped looking over where the Iris Drive used to stand.

    It was amazing. Even without the Drive the entire bay was beautiful in a way. Iris Drives were the piece of tech that allowed expansion into the Galaxy without limit.

    Infinite power. It only had a certain output, but an Iris Drive as long as it wasn¡¯t damaged could output power for Millennia without a hitch. They were both ubiquitous, and incredibly valuable. They came in all sorts of sizes, most people just called the smallest version of them Tiny Drives, and they were used in everything. Even if the smallest version were the easiest to produce, there was such a constant need from the ever expanding humanity that they were still valuable.

    And the larger the drive the more difficult it was to make. The more expensive the shielding and power systems were needed.

    I closed my eyes and I could see the engine room I was in at full power. I could see every piece of shielding, the plasma transfer conduits. It was a good engine. A bit old. It used some older parts, but it had been a good engine. Solid. The reason this ship died, hadn¡¯t been because of engine failure.

    Crew death.

    I shook it off. Opened my eyes and saw the room as it was, scrapped to the copper in the walls if the ship had such a low quality material.

    There was a lot of good engineering in this room, but nothing of value. Better tricks of the trade and better results were possible, shown in a dozen other ships nearby.

    Slowly, I was putting together in my head all the best tricks I¡¯ve seen. I wasn¡¯t the only techie in the Galaxy. Wasn¡¯t the only weirdo that wanted to live in an engine bay and tinker with the engine until it purred just right.

    But I could learn from them. Even if the engine was gone. The parts taken, or the engine destroyed by directed energy projection from a pirate, the ship still sang to me what it had been, every piece of hull remembered what it had been like to fly.

    I hummed along with the song of this ship. Smiling at the feeling it brought.

    I was getting closer to my goal. I nodded satisfied and turned around. Heading out through a second airlock letting the Crabbit continue to load up the shuttle to head back to the Station. I stepped out into nothing. Spacewalks were surprisingly peaceful when you still had Gravity. I bounced a few times casually drifting towards the binding cable.

    It was basically a cable with a built in gravity plate. It would hold whatever it was attached to, securely, keeping it from jostling around. It meant even when the Scrap Field was hit by micro meteors, or whatever, the ships weren''t smashing into each other.

    They were all connected but not always well. Making the entire field a sort of spider''s web of connected ships.

    I leapt and my Crabbit assisted me as I landed on the cable I wanted and I let the Gravity shift, letting Crabbit basically ¡®drop¡¯ me away from the ship I was just on towards another.

    It was exhilarating. Falling forever and ever until I landed softly on the hull of the next ship.

    Then I moved on, three more drops and I was there.

    It was an old Super Freighter. It had been completely gutted so long ago there wasn¡¯t anything of value inside, and the ship itself was pretty useless to anyone. So I had basically started using it to store all the extra scrap I had found that I was going to keep.

    Aunt Sheila had been annoyed, but had agreed that if I was scrapping I should get some rewards as well.

    It helped that the Crabbit had sped up her job by an incredible amount, and we were clearing ships just the two of us faster than ever before.

    I landed on ¡®my¡¯ hull and ran to the airlock practically giggling.

    I don¡¯t remember where it was mentioned, but going from the stone age to old modern earth would take more than just the knowledge.

    You¡¯d have to make tools. To make tools. To make the tools. Because things had advanced that much even then.

    While I wasn¡¯t in the stone age. I had big plans, and I needed big tools. So I found myself with the same problem. Building tools, to make the tools. The Crabbit had taken years of effort to get even one going, but once I had one. Another dozen wasn¡¯t hard.

    That was what I was doing now.

    I entered the ship and then went in deeper. Inside the massive cargo hangar I had actually got it all set back up for a normal atmosphere. A few Iris Drives had powered everything, and a few old air canisters brought back to the Station for recycling had given me enough air to get it comfortable.

    I passed through the airlock inside the hangar and pulled off my helmet as I hurried to the little mad science station I had set up.

    It was a Tab, connected to an old ship''s computer console, and then hooked up to a dozen odds and ends and a Crabbit stationed here to keep an eye on it all.

    ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Within tolerance! Tolerance acceptable!¡± It chirped back and I grinned as I looked over the little round tub that was at the center of it all.

    This kludged together thing was my hardest undertaking yet. I looked at the small glass tube that I was going to have to replace with the contents of my vat once they were complete. On the side in the strictest lettering it said.

    Hull Repair Nanopaste. *DANGER*

    I mean¡­ It wasn¡¯t not unsafe? They were fine. I had already hacked into their little nano brains with the Crabbit¡¯s help and right now I was making literally a few quintillion Crabbit Nanomachines.

    Nanopaste was extremely expensive and extremely rare, especially out here on the frontier. It was technically supposed to be a military only resource as the military gobbled up every scrap of it they could.

    Well that and some of the dangers it held.

    No one, uh, wanted another Grey Goo scenario¡­

    But we were scrappers, of course we had some hidden stuff stashed away. I had swiped this tube from the station''s hidden store room, and I¡¯d replace it with superior Crabbit brand Nanopaste. Once their first cycle was finished.

    Once the first cycle was done, I¡¯d have basically an infinite amount of the little goofs.

    And they could do more than repair if I gave them direction. They were vital if I was ever going to get my own ship that wasn¡¯t just a rust bucket. They would help me fix up a ship to proper status without me having to actually repair the entire superstructure.

    Nodding that they were growing just fine. I shifted to another project.

    This was one of my favorite things.

    Iris Drives.

    They were beautiful. A square of machinery with a crystal glass letting you see if the reaction was active. They came in all sorts of sizes, but for a ship I was going to need something a bit bigger than the small drives that often powered smallish machines.

    I mean my Crabbit ran on the Small sized drives, a step up from the smallest, Tiny drives. Yet the amount of power was incredibly limited compared to what I would need for a ship.

    Everything ran on Iris Drives. If you needed, say, a communications console that would work even if the ship was broken in half, then it had an Iris Drive installed.

    I looked at the Small Drive. Watching the light inside glow a pretty Blue. It was infinite energy.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°In the palm of my hand.¡± I joked as I lifted it up.

    But it wasn¡¯t enough. This Iris Drive would run something up to a car well enough, but a ship? And especially a ship that I planned?

    I wasn¡¯t going to drive a winnebago!

    So I had listened to the song, the one the Iris Drive sang, of eldritch unknowable things.

    The Iris Drive alone sang a song more otherworldy than any other. Punching through to subspace in order to draw power made the entire tech practically eldritch. There was often a joke that anyone that understood how they worked was insane and gibbering in a padded room only released when work on one needed to be done.

    But I wasn¡¯t insane! Definitely! Hearing songs of all the tech around me was perfectly sane!

    I walked over to my project. Right now I wasn¡¯t actually building. I was in the design phase. The fact was, I would never get access to a Medium sized Iris Drive. Whenever we stripped a drive from a ship if it wasn¡¯t instantly put into use it was sold to the Duchy as part of our obligation. They paid well though. So it all worked out.

    Everyone always needed more ships. Everyone always needed more ship sized Iris Drives. Everyone, and always.

    But I had none and would never get my hands on one, so I had done what I always did. I asked the song for an alternative.

    It sounded insane even to me, but I listened, and so I slowly created a 3d object in my Tab.

    I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how it would work. People that messed with Iris Drives tended to very quickly disappear.

    Iris Drives were insanely reliable, unless you started messing with them. Thankfully anyone causing the subspace breach in the Iris Drive to destabilize would usually just kill them, and leave a melted room behind as a testament to their foolishness.

    Also it ruined the materials that were needed to make the Drive function, so everyone was wary about messing with them.

    But¡­ I still worked. It was weird. A series of bypasses, to shunt the energy from an Iris Drive around¡­ I continued programming as I grabbed a small canister I had left here last time and took a swig of water.

    This was insane, yet¡­ my hands continued to work. Slowly the shape of it continued to grow. It was¡­ Strange. Shunting the power through different channels, which then forced the power into an array of other Iris Drives, which¡­ Well everything told me at that moment the array should explode in a horrendous annihilation of reality that would happen so fast I wouldn¡¯t even know I was dead before I was incinerated.

    But¡­ I continued working on it. It would require one central drive, and then six more. Placed around it shaped like an Octahedron. Once the power shunted to the other Drives they would then shunt to the others¡­

    ¡°Heh¡­ Hehehe! This is insane!¡± I told myself as I continued the project. This couldn¡¯t work. Wouldn¡¯t! I know this sort of test has happened before! The Iris Drive was old. Thousands of years old, and really the only changes that have happened since then are better power control systems to draw on the energy released. You couldn¡¯t make a zero point warp shunt provide more power! It just didn¡¯t work like that!

    And this¡­ This wasn¡¯t trying to mimic a bigger drive using multiple drives to power one thing. As long as you weren¡¯t planning on going to warp, you could stuff a ship with plenty of small drives to power it. Our Shuttles did that. Most had one small drive, and a few tiny ones. You just didn¡¯t need much power for a shuttle that wasn¡¯t going into the atmosphere.

    But this?

    This was something else.

    ¡°Hmmm? Explosion?¡± I blinked as I looked up at the Crabbit that asked and I shook it off. Of course they would look at what I was doing.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it will.¡± I said, oddly confident despite how insane this was.

    ¡°Explosion.¡± She confirmed a moment later, and I laughed.

    ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s supposed to happen, but¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure this will work. We¡¯ll do some tests, and I¡¯ll make sure we do this safely okay?¡±

    ¡°Yes yes! Safe testing! Standard Lab procedures!¡±

    ¡°Ah. You got me.¡± I told her laughing. That¡¯s what I had told Crabbit about any sort of experimental work we did. Gotta be safe about things, at least as much as we could¡­

    When working with an experimental Warp Drive like my Octahedron Drive? Eh. I¡¯ll call it the Diamond Drive. Easier to say.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Kat!¡±

    ¡°Wha?¡± I jerked upright standing where I had been sitting, blinking my eyes. Ah shit. Mom was pissed.

    ¡°What did I tell you?¡±

    ¡°That if I keep falling asleep during my lesson time. I¡¯d lose my access to the Scrap Field.¡± I answered back honestly and I winced at the admittance, closing my eyes. If I actually lost access¡­

    This was a terrible time! I was so close!

    But then Mom sighed, and reached out and pulled me down into a hug. I was much taller than Mom after all.

    ¡°You really need to get this exam done right Kathy. I know Sheila has taken you as a sort of apprentice, but you still need to pass the Scrappers Exam. Right now you are working under Sheila and that won¡¯t last.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± I said honestly with a wince. The Exam was something everyone took at sixteen, and I was inching closer.

    I was still working with Sheila nearly every day, or at least as often as I could, because I loved going out and tinkering away, but I wasn¡¯t studying as much as everyone wanted me to.

    The problem was the Exam wasn¡¯t entirely technical knowledge. There were also rules and guidelines and other stuff that I had to know.

    And I was bad at remembering all of it.

    Shit.

    ¡°Please focus on this Kathy, this is more important than you can know. I¡¯d have killed to have-¡± And Mom suddenly cut herself off and shook her head. ¡°You¡¯ll do this right. Promise me?¡±

    I grumbled out a promise, and Mom nodded, reaching out and pressing a warm hand against my cheek. ¡°That¡¯s my girl.¡±

    Then she turned and left the living room, and I was left staring at my learning docs on my Tab. I really needed to figure this out, but everything was so close to being done! The Diamond Drive chassis was basically finished.

    Because of the extreme tolerances I needed to make it entirely from Nanopaste. It was funny, if anyone ever found out it would end in my immediate banishment at how many cred¡¯s I was technically throwing at it.

    Nanopaste was expensive shit after all. Well maybe not considering I was making my own. Most people would be more likely to pay me to keep it away from them, than to buy it.

    I ran a calloused hand across my face. I didn¡¯t even want to be a scrapper. I wanted to get on a ship and travel the stars, but I wasn¡¯t ready for that. I didn¡¯t have a ship! I needed more time to fix up a ship to working condition before I could think about leaving, and no longer be bound by the Scrapper Exam¡­

    If I failed the Exam, any hope of me being allowed in the Scrap Field would be over. Almost no one failed the damn thing, but those who did? They usually left the station shortly after.

    As stupid as it was, it was a rite of passage. Do it, or you would forever be considered too stupid to keep around safely.

    I shook it off. I was practically falling asleep already, so there was no point staring at the Tab. I got up. I walked out without saying anything to Mom, gliding across the hall to the elevator and heading up to the Hab.

    It was busy as always when I entered. I noticed some new arrivals, sitting around the food court area. Gruff spacers chowing down on actually cooked fresh-ish food for the first time in potentially months depending on how far they went. Although most freighters don¡¯t travel quite that far.

    If you had to do a month of travel you¡¯d want an Iris Drive that could push into Warp. I walked past them to the food court and looked plaintively at Uncle Henry.

    ¡°Don¡¯t pull that with me. You can¡¯t pull off Nebula Eyes anymore.¡± He told me gruffly aiming a spatula at me, but then he continued. ¡°Hungry?¡±

    ¡°Yes please.¡± I said and smiled as he flipped some meat on the grill. It wasn¡¯t actually meat, Manipulated Protein was the official name. It came as a paste, and you could eat it as is, but most people would put it through a reprocessor which would set it to some texture.

    In this case, it was sort of like a Hamburger¡­ Sort of. If you closed your eyes.

    When it was finished it was served on another textured piece that was trying and failing to mimic bread. It was sort of like a Hamburger taco. But with a bit of salt and a dash of ¡®Slogan¡¯ which was actually some sort of condiment that had a real name but no one remembered it and just called it the nickname.

    It tasted like Mayo mixed with soy sauce, but it was the best I could get.

    I grabbed a seat near the travelers and started eating. A bottle on my hip provided me with water. Drinks were weird in the future and I usually just stuck to water.

    I¡¯d kill for a soda.

    ¡°What¡¯s got you so down?¡± A voice said at the same time the seat opposite me was taken.

    ¡°Oh hey Marie.¡±

    ¡°Nunununuh. Why the sad face?¡± She demanded and I couldn¡¯t help but smile at her exuberance.

    ¡°Studying.¡±

    ¡°Ew. Glad I don¡¯t have to do that anymore.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± I grumbled, but then Marie caught on and smiled at me.

    ¡°Little Kathy, you''re plenty smart. You can do it.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t even want to. I want to be a ship captain.¡± I grumbled, something that I had said before although not usually in such direct terms.

    Marie though, instead of telling me to not be silly just shrugged. ¡°The Exam still has a lot of information in it, even if you aren¡¯t going to stick around.¡±

    ¡°I know. I just¡­ I have a lot of projects right now, and I can either finish the important stuff, or study.¡±

    ¡°Stuuudy.¡± She told me waving her lunch at me as if I could be hypnotized. ¡°You just have to put it in risk and reward. Failing the test would be bad, even if you do want to be a captain. While passing would only be a useful thing. Right?¡±

    ¡°Uuuuu.¡± I moaned, then bit into my Taco-Burger and chewed so I wouldn¡¯t have to accept what she was saying. I just wanted to make shit!

    ¡°Heh. See, even you know I¡¯m right. Besides¡­ Marshall will leave you alone once you complete the Exam.¡±

    I just glared at her over my exaggerated chewing as she laughed. Once I was done I responded. ¡°I don¡¯t care what Marshall thinks. He needs to stop trying to boss everyone around.¡±

    ¡°He does, and I think he¡¯s learning that. Did you hear?¡±

    ¡°That he got the aft dock? Yeah.¡± I confirmed and Marie leaned in to whisper.

    ¡°Oof. Working with old Collin?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call him that where he might hear. You know he has bionic ears.¡± I whispered back.

    ¡°Pfft. He does not.¡±

    ¡°Pretty sure he does.¡± I grumbled. Uncle Collin was complicated. A man that was extremely good at his job, but he could be a serious asshole when he wanted to, and he woke up and chose violence most days. The sort of guy that the station might have kicked out, if his work wasn¡¯t so good.

    He ruled the Aft Dock with an iron hand. Usually that wouldn¡¯t have been allowed, but Collin was notoriously good at whipping troublemakers into shape.

    ¡°I hope they don¡¯t send me there.¡± I whispered an honest fear.

    ¡°Nah. Aunt Sheila will claim you. I¡¯m in logistics, you know? Her profits have more than tripled since taking you on, and everyone knows it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that much.¡± I denied Maries exaggerated number instantly.

    ¡°286%¡± She said right back, and I rolled my eyes.

    ¡°Calculator brain.¡± I teased her, and she smirked like a shark.

    ¡°And don¡¯t you forget it tech humper.¡±

    ¡°Uuuuu.¡± I whined and she just laughed. I had continued to get a reputation as the kid to go to when you needed something to repair. Marie was entirely responsible for that. But with my own ability, and Crabbit helping, there wasn¡¯t much I couldn¡¯t fix.

    ¡°Speaking of which!¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± I said, light bulb going off. ¡°You were talking to me, trying to be nice and comforting so you could ask me for help.¡±

    ¡°Bing!¡± She said giggling. ¡°The Logistics has some wonky stuff up there. Aunt Kelly might not care, but the door jammed on me this morning, and-¡±

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll help, that''s dangerous.¡± I said cutting right to the point¡­ ¡°But you need to help me study.¡±

    ¡°Hah! I knew you were going to ask that. Deal.¡± She said throwing out a hand which I shook.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°And if-¡±

    ¡°Alert console. Register it through the Tab and¡­¡± I grunted a bit as I dug through the control panel, my hand deep inside trying to grab the problem. Stupid wire.

    ¡°Aaaand?¡±

    ¡°And inform the supervisor.¡± I added, irritated. It was hard to pay attention to the song when I was trying to answer stupid questions.

    ¡°Kathy. I think you need to calm down. Most of the answers follow the same formula. You already know all of this.¡±

    ¡°Uuuu.¡± I groaned, doing my best to ignore her, and finally I found it. A loose wire. I pressed it back in, and spoke. ¡°Crabby, give me a bit of a push on this one.¡± I asked and micro gravity shifted pushing the wire deeper into place.

    ¡°There. Tell whoever came through for maintenance last time to be gentler. They knocked the wire loose.¡±

    ¡°Sure sure. As long as the door works.¡±

    ¡°It will.¡± I assured her. The song was glorious and happy¡­ Well mostly. I eyed a few things around the room that I could hear weren¡¯t working properly.

    ¡°Nope! I know that look. Go on Little Kathy. You did your job.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not my job, I don''t get paid!¡±

    ¡°Internship among a Gold Rated Space Station! Excellent work. I''ll add it to your file.¡± She said with exaggerated chipperness.

    I just rolled my eyes and gave the Crabbit on my shoulder a look of pain. It tilted its body at me, and that made it all better.

    This one actually looked like it should. One of the first fully completed Crabbit.

    It had both grabbing arms and four legs. With the Nanopaste I could make things much more accurately even without fabrication machines¡­ Meaning as long as I could teach the Crabbit the correct directions, they could just synthetically configure the nanopaste in the correct shape.

    Testing this had been one of the main things I had been doing in my free time. I needed the nanopaste to be perfect in order to make a diamond drive, and so the Crabbits had been the test bed for getting the Crabbit Nanopaste to configure properly.

    It had actually been going so well, I was onto playing with other ideas. Originally I had thought to grab some random hull from the scrap field for a ship, but¡­ There was potential here. That wasn¡¯t even the only idea!

    I was already playing with an armor recipe while I tried to sleep. There were a few shapes I could configure at an atomic level that would be far superior to normal materials of the same type, and I could even make the material ablative and just have it be repaired afterwards!

    I was going to make super armor for my future ship!

    Well¡­ Extremely good armor for not being one of the Monolithic State¡¯s. The human states that were so powerful, they were the source of the culture for all the sectors around them.

    We were out in the boonies of human territories, and so far our nearest Monolith State meant our tech was backwards comparatively.

    I shook off the musing and left the logistics office far behind as Marie didn¡¯t want me hanging around now that the door was fixed.

    Heading back through the Operations Floor I stopped and stepped aside as Great Uncle Kyle came walking down the hall in the opposite direction.

    I gave him a little bow, and thankfully he didn¡¯t stop.

    He wasn¡¯t an unkind man, but this wasn¡¯t the Hab level, or Quarters. If he stopped me here, it was as the absolute authority on the station, and not a distant and rather unfamiliar relative.

    I hurried past once he was gone.

    While Marie had given me an okay, that didn¡¯t mean she was right. I still needed to study, but¡­ If she thought I was doing well, if I was smart enough to pass the test, then why wait so long?

 Chapter 3

    This was the most difficult moment of my life. Line after line was typed in, questions that I just had to get right answered one after another, and then finally it popped up a message.

    ¡°Exam done.¡± I said and looked at the tester. Uncle Milbert. A very exacting man that always frowned.

    He nodded and in seconds my results were posted.

    I slumped in relief.

    ¡°That¡¯s close, but a pass. Work on your policy knowledge.¡± He said and I nodded, rising up and running out of the room before he could say anything more. My desire to escape from that room was too great to wait any longer.

    I was finally free. Taking the Exam a year early had been a surprise to everyone, but by taking it now, I¡¯d still have a few years before anyone expected much from me, and I could continue to do my work with Aunt Sheila even if Ops wanted to put me with another work segment.

    I had a few years before everyone would be expecting me to lock my job in, and start working full time.

    So let¡¯s say two years to get everything ready¡­ That would be cutting it close.

    I hurried away. Running through corridors and bouncing off the walls in the low gravity segments. Finally I made it. A shuttle was waiting for me.

    ¡°You¡¯re early.¡± Aunt Sheila said from just outside as she was loading up a few tools. I quickly rushed and started helping.

    ¡°Finished early. Passed.¡± I confirmed breathlessly, as I wiped my messy hair out of my eyes quickly throwing it back into a messy bun that it had escaped from as I ran.

    ¡°You did?¡± She asked, shocked. ¡°What¡¯d you score?¡±

    ¡°Passed with a green mark in everything, except for Policy. Got a yellow.¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± She chuckled at that. ¡°I scored a yellow in Policy too.¡± She admitted and I smiled, but I was also lifting her equipment and practically hauling it into the shuttle. ¡°Okay what has got into you?¡±

    ¡°I have a project that I put on the back burner until the Exam is done. It¡¯s why I took it early. Now I have all the time I need to finish it!¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± She muttered but in the end my exuberance, and perfect acquiescence to her orders while working meant she just shrugged me off. Once more, me being a bit odd came in clutch!

    We set off, and I pulled out my Tab contacting the Crabbit Collective on my space base to start preparing for my arrival. It had been over a month since I¡¯d been able to come do some work longer than a short stop here and there to make sure the Crabbits weren¡¯t starting a Cargonia cult or something.

    I split off from Aunt Sheila with a happy wave as I jumped out of the shuttle and into space. For a moment I was floating peacefully, then my shoulder Crabbit maneuvered me to the freighter I had taken over.

    *Crazy brat!* Aunt Sheila called after me over the radio, but it wasn¡¯t the first time I had done so, or the first time she had done it.

    Entering into the freighter''s cargo space I pulled off my helmet with a gasp and looked around.

    There was a lot of scrap gathered inside. Pieces of valuable bits that I would need that would save me time trying to make them when it came to putting together a ship. Of course the most important part was still hanging in zero gravity.

    I walked over to the Diamond Drive, noticing the slots for the Iris Drives were still empty. Today.

    Today was the time. Aunt Sheila would be working on a new cargo ship that had been dropped off, and it would be on the other side of the Scrap Field.

    ¡°Impossible.¡± A voice denied, and then dozens more joined in chanting the same thing.

    ¡°It¡¯ll work.¡± I told them. The song hitting a rising crescendo as I said it.

    ¡°Impossible! Simulation shows a 100% chance for complex deconstruction!¡± The Crabbits argued, and I turned because that voice was different from normal, she had sounded intelligent, a lot of them must be synced up for that level of sentience.

    ¡°That¡¯s because your simulations can only simulate what it already knows. We¡¯ll gather data today proving it¡¯ll work and you can update your simulations.¡± I told the one that was arguing with me.

    ¡°Impossible!¡± It denied waving its arms at me.

    ¡°Impossible!¡± All the rest then chanted at me, and I laughed. They weren¡¯t wrong. And their tugging at my pants to pull me away from the empty drive was cute. They were protective of me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll take it out past the other side of the moon, and activate it.¡± I told them. Mostly because I didn¡¯t want anyone to see the explosion if it did go up. ¡°I¡¯ll be behind the edge of the planetoid.¡±

    ¡°Impossible! Resource loss! Catastrophic! More Crabbit instead!¡± They argued with me, and I laughed. Sure, having seven more Crabbit would be useful¡­

    I looked around the bay. I was up to what? Twenty? Or more. Sometimes new ones popped up randomly. The only reason I knew that, was the random blue paint most of them now had. I had started giving them a little blue to offset the metallic chrome, but then they started trying to paint each other.

    It was messy but cute. And I kept seeing new paint jobs.

    Sneaky buggers were definitely making more of themselves. But this wasn¡¯t something I was going to put off anymore. ¡°This is it, girls. This engine works and so everything we¡¯ve done has a purpose, or it fails, and my life as a scrapper on this station is locked in forever. I won¡¯t fail. I can¡¯t.¡± I told them firmly. Trying to Impress how serious this was.

    They drooped around me which was cute, but eventually I had my crew on my side.

    I took a deep breath. ¡°Let¡¯s get it moving girls.¡± And I went and grabbed my helmet. We had gotten the Hangar doors working, including the force field that kept the oxygen in. I did a quick double check, everything was still working, and then started the doors. The massive cargo bay doors slowly opened up, and I stood there looking out over the light of the sun glinting off the ship hulls and took in the impossible sight.

    This life had been all about impossible things. What was one more?

    The Crabbit worked together picking up the Diamond Drive. The Iris Drives, and the console and scanner systems. We were doing this right.

    Getting a full reading on the diamond drive as it first activated would be important.

    I didn¡¯t need a shuttle with so many Crabbits. My little group all jumped off into space along with our equipment and started flying. They already knew where to go and carried me along with them.

    I was dropped off on the nose of an old Freighter on the edge of the Scrap Field. I took a moment to adjust my boots on the cold hull plates and looked out away from the scrap field into the distant space that would be where we finally tested something that would change my life, one way or another.

    ¡°Not on. Not on.¡± I turned and noticed the Crabbit were poking at the monitoring equipment we had brought and I smiled. They must not have much hardware space themselves right now. I walked over and started setting up what used to be a ship station, and started turning it all on.

    Slowly my little cloud of Crabbits and equipment flew off into space. Farther and farther. The Crabbit were using their gravity Panels at their maximum, synced together to get some serious distance.

    Once everything was stable, I connected and was looking through one of the Crabbit¡¯s eyes as they reached an acceptable safe distance.

    *Impossible!* They argued once again and I laughed.

    *Only if we don¡¯t do it. Everything is impossible until someone does it. Finish preparations.* I said and the Crabbit jumped into action. Twenty minutes later I was looking at the Diamond Drive with seven Iris Drives floating around it.

    *Insert Core.* I called out, and the Crabbit maneuvered the first Small Iris Drive into position. The Diamond Drive was in two halves, and as the core was put into position the two halves were maneuvered closed with the gravity control. Slowly it sort of twisted shut.

    *Insert Secondary Array Drives.* I called out, and Six more Iris Drives were gently brought closer, each with a Crabbit moving it so there would be no bumping anything.

    The measurements for the Diamond Drive were¡­ Exact. Incredibly so and I didn¡¯t want to fail because an Iris Drive was shoved in a bit too roughly and set the measurements off.

    Each one was brought into the square insert at the corner of the Octahedron and Inserted. Clamps securing the drives into perfect position and slowly the gravity controls of the Crabbit were released until it was floating safely.

    Everything was still locked down. So as far as the Iris Drives were concerned they weren¡¯t connected to anything¡­

    Yet.

    *Achieve safe distance.* I demanded and they all buzzed away leaving a single device behind that would be our close up eyes.

    Every scanner I had was then pointed right at the Diamond Drive. I waited impatiently, but I wouldn¡¯t risk my Crabbit for nothing. Especially since I would already be down a lot of Iris Drives, and time if this blew up.

    Only when I got confirmation from every drone that they were at a safe distance did I start.

    *Be-* I nearly choked on my spit. My hands felt wet in my gloves. I swallowed and started again. *Begin preliminary activation.* I called, and despite whispers of *Impossible!* Still coming through my comms which did make me want to laugh. My crew did their job. I watched as the Diamond Drive began glowing as power was drawn from the Iris Drives warp rift.

    It was still blocked though¡­ I took a breath. Felt the fear and anxiety, and exhaled it all. It was useless, I didn¡¯t need it.

    *Begin array activation!* I called out confidently, and the song around me reached an almost overwhelming Crescendo!

    I winced as suddenly that beautiful blue light of the Iris Drives shifted, as the Iris drives all started taking in power, something they weren¡¯t supposed to! Yet, instead of exploding, as the rifts overloaded, they sent the power through the shunts into another and another, and then back into the Core.

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    Then instead of exploding like what should have happened. Instead of causing a Warp Rift that would grow beyond containment, and then fail, somehow the energy flowing back into the Core pushed back the rifts expansion. I watched it almost in slow motion as the sensors registered what happened, and I watched as subspace interacted negatively with real space.

    As the rift began eating matter, destroying everything before the rift bounced against the power the array rifts were shunting through, and it sort of wobbled as the rift expanded. It turned from a stable blueish white, to an angry red light as it rumbled and exploded.

    I exhaled.

    I hadn¡¯t created a stabilized consecutive Iris Drive. That¡¯s what I thought I was making, but now I realized that was foolish, that had been tried before so of course this was something else.

    I had created a drive that drew power from a constantly expanding and collapsing Warp Rift. It was like drawing power from antimatter reactions. As the matter broke down, as the warp rift ate at reality, it released far more power than a warp rift of that size would normally release.

    ¡°That¡¯s the most metal thing I could ever imagine.¡± I whispered to the stars. Explosions made the best engines. Humanity had discovered that a long time ago. I was just¡­ Keeping to tradition.

    *Error.*

    *Error!*

    *Error?*

    *Eeeeeeeerrrroooooorrrrr!* The Crabbits started chattering and screaming over the comm, and I winced at the sound of a hysteric AI.

    They just weren¡¯t ready to have their understanding of reality shattered.

    ¡ª--

    It took a long time to get the Crabbit calmed down and refocused. I had had them quickly go and grab the Diamond Drive, and throw a tarp of all things over it, as I quickly tried to get back to the lab without anyone noticing.

    When I landed I did a quick check on Aunt Sheila and relaxed when she was still just working without issue.

    Then I sat on the hangar floor and just stared at the angrily glowing rift that was feeding off the destruction of material space that passed through it, and the constant reflection of six other rifts.

    Can I turn it off? The Song didn¡¯t even hitch and I relaxed. I could do that. I hadn¡¯t just made a big bomb the first time something happened to it. But I was doing every scan I could on it, before I tried to turn it off, as I wanted to understand exactly what I had just done¡­

    ¡°No cults.¡± I told the Crabbits as I shooed away another of them that had floated over to try and touch it.

    ¡°Awww.¡±

    ¡°I never should have let you access the station''s media collection.¡± I grumbled at them. My own pop culture was pretty weak, but my Crabbit enjoyed some of the silly stuff. Including a movie about a cult leader that kept screwing up and saving the planet he was on despite trying to destroy it¡­

    I didn¡¯t really get it, but it was rated well.

    I shook it off and once more glanced at the readings on my Tab.

    This thing was¡­

    It was exponential. The power a normal small Iris Drive gave off was basically¡­ Increased to the power of 6? Each of the Iris Drives in the set up was exponentially multiplying the power of the core.

    I¡­ I had more than enough power for a good sized ship. It was putting out a bit more than a medium drive would normally put out by itself¡­ What would happen if I got seven medium Drives. Could I make another Diamond Drive of that size?

    I shook off the idea. That was something I would think about later. Although I¡¯m pretty sure I could¡­ No, first I needed a ship, and now I had the numbers for how big I could actually make it.

    It was absolutely doable. I slipped over to my tab and started working. I of course already had ideas for designs and styles. The first thing any starship needed was a sexy silhouette after all, but now I had some numbers about how big I could make it, and the answer was¡­

    Big.

    ¡ª--

    I got home late. Aunt Sheila long since having returned with her shuttle I had to take the Crabbit back and I got a bunch of looks from everyone as I came in through the airlock without a ship.

    It wasn¡¯t against the rules but it was frowned on to not have some sort of ship just in case.

    But I also didn¡¯t have a private shuttle that the Station Master let me use like Aunt Sheila. So I ignored the mix of irritated and concerned looks as I left the docking bay and hurried to the elevators.

    I was so tired. My brain felt melty considering everything that had happened today.

    I floated limply down the hall towards home, being super lazy and just sort of shifting my foot to let me bounce along. I must have looked like a ghost with how hunched over I was. Then I opened the door, and jumped back as it wasn¡¯t just my parents inside.

    I swallowed stickily.

    ¡°Sir.¡± I greeted him. Mom was bouncing nervously, but Dad was sitting across the kitchen table from Great Uncle Kyle.

    ¡°Katherine.¡± I winced a bit, the only time someone used my full name was when I was in trouble. But that wasn¡¯t the case here. It was just a lack of knowledge. ¡°Come sit.¡±

    ¡°Yes Sir.¡± I agreed quickly and took a seat beside Dad. He gave me a comforting smile and patted my shoulder.

    ¡°You took your Scrapper Exam early.¡±

    ¡°Yes Sir.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an interesting choice, but you passed well enough. I¡¯ve had Sheila telling me for a long time now that you¡¯d better be placed with her as your little drones are too valuable to ignore. Did you know that?¡±

    ¡°Ah. No sir. Well¡­ Sorta.¡± I admitted, and he smiled kindly.

    ¡°Well I do tend to agree. But your drones don¡¯t need to just be yours alone. Their performance is impressive.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said quietly, but I wasn¡¯t really happy about what he was inferring.

    The Crabbit were my crew, but also my friends¡­

    ¡°I¡¯d like a set constructed for the station.¡± He said and I winced at the reveal. I didn¡¯t want that¡­ But that was being selfish. I could easily create a different personality kernel, and have a whole array of drones that the crew could use and keep my Crabbit personality¡­

    ¡°I can do that.¡± I admitted and he smiled looking pleased at my words.

    ¡°I¡¯ll set up a space in the foundry for you to work.¡± He said and I realized I had a chance here.

    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ Umm I already have a workspace out in the Scrap Field¡­ C1H-243.¡± I said using the numerals of the Super Freighter that I had set up in.

    He blinked and I could see him going over his memory before nodding. ¡°Sheila has it registered as a scrap drop off.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ For me.¡± I admitted, that wasn¡¯t going to get us in trouble, but Sheila might get a word from him about it in the future.

    But this was my chance.

    ¡°Hmm. If you think you work better there, that¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°Um... Uncle Kyle? There is something that I¡¯ve been tinkering with¡­ I was wondering if in exchange I could claim one of the hulls?¡±

    He registered my question and seemed to mull on it for a bit before he spoke. ¡°The Super Freighter is already registered to you.¡± He said and I realized he hadn¡¯t understood.

    ¡°Not like that. I mean¡­ Permanently? I want to repair it.¡± This got a reaction as even Dad looked at me in surprise.

    ¡°You want a ship?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I want to see the stars. I can¡­ I can repair the ship myself.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t give you a Drive.¡±

    ¡°Oh! I know. That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll figure something out! Maybe sell some drones off station? Or offer the completed ship to a captain with an extra drive! I just¡­ I like fixing things, and I want to fix up a ship¡­ I can do it. Safely! And it won¡¯t really cost anything-¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± He spoke not an acceptance, but a noise to indicate he was thinking and I went silent.

    I had known one way or another I was going to do this. Even if I had to steal a hull, but if I could earn a scrap hull to use, I wouldn¡¯t struggle to figure out the super structure of designing a ship.

    ¡°You¡¯ll have an actual workload. I expect a certain amount of drones. And I was here to also task you with your job. Repair and maintenance. Although Sheila has as I said demanded your time as well. So that will be a half shift.¡±

    ¡°I accept.¡± I said instantly. And that was that. He smiled and nodded, and after a few more moments of congratulations I barely heard he got up and left.

    A ship.

    An engine.

    And a Dream.

    Everything a girl needed.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Yes I have to go make some drones¡­ I¡¯m behind schedule¡­ So it might take a while.¡± I said keeping my face straight and honest and definitely not lying¡­ Like a lot.

    ¡°Uh-huh. Whatever Brat. Just don¡¯t be late on that. Uncle Kyle might be gentle with kids, but you made a deal, and you¡¯ll pay if you miss it.¡± Aunt Sheila offered as she hefted the last box out of her shuttle.

    ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± I assured her and then I was off. Taking the shuttle back out. I had to use the shuttle because I was moving a lot of stuff to the hangar, and more importantly I was bringing the Babbit back with me when I was done.

    Heh. Babbit. I had needed a new name for the versions of my drones that would be running on a new AI kernel. These ones didn¡¯t have the synchronization tech of my Crabbits, so they were solo drones. They were a bit less childish on average than my Crabbit, but they also couldn¡¯t reach the same highs.

    So I had chosen the new name like that. Babbit. Basic-Crabbit.

    I hadn¡¯t been sure the best way to build them, but eventually I had decided to use a bunch of the older parts. Honestly they were basically just the older Crabbit builds, from before I had the ability to use nanopaste to print whatever I wanted with nanomachines. So each of them would be unique looking, which was actually a benefit since no one would mistake them for my own Crabbits.

    And unlike what I just said, they were already long done. Setting the Crabbits to the task meant they all got completed while I slept.

    Thirty drones was a lot, but not for a group of fabrication drones.

    No, the big reason I was heading out to my lab was because of what was inside.

    The old super freighter was more than large enough for me to stick at least most of the hull I had chosen inside so I could work on it undercover.

    Because the hull I had been given was an extra large freighter ship. The sort of rust bucket that was made to just blow through anything in its path and as such had way more material than a normal ship.

    I would need every piece of it too. I had slowly come to a decision on the ship size I wanted, and the fact was I was going a bit over what I probably should.

    When I started designing the ship adding in everything I would want including my creature comforts, it had been¡­ A bit too big.

    It was frustrating to have solved the problem but still ended up lacking that perfect system.

    So I had taken my completed ship design, and started cutting. It hurt every time, but what I could do was make the ship capable of reattaching the missing pieces.

    I cut most of the crew''s comforts. My own living space was still there, but no crew space. The weapons were mostly cut. Then because I simply had to remove mass and size, I had to cut two of the four engine nacelles. Instead of a quad engine design it would be a dual engine, and¡­

    It would work, until I could get a bigger Drive.

    I left all the connections in the design, and with my Nanopaste I¡¯d be capable of connecting the completed modules later without any issue.

    But it left me with some issues because my dream boat wasn¡¯t going to be as heavily armed as I had planned.

    The plan was to have a cannon at the front, but nearly everything else? Side Repeaters for point defense, and fighter screening? Gone. Expanding missile racks? Gone. Laser broadsides? Gone. It hurt my soul to have so few weapons, but I would just have to make up for it in other ways.

    Armor? A composite ablative mix that I had tinkered with, that would be completely unusable without Nanopaste repairs. It would have been astronomically expensive for a normal ship to deal with, as the armor ablates in a way that repair would have to be done with fully repairing the entire section of armor.

    Since I could produce my own nanopaste, which could simply repair the ablated sections of plates, repairs were easy. I would be much tougher than an equally armored ship.

    Then there was the superstructure itself. I was literally using the nanomachines to break down the materials of the freighter and then remake the material from the atomic level to what I needed.

    I took scrap Klint Metal, already a future alloy and reprocessed it, Altering it into as strong a variation of the metal that I could make.

    Honestly material science was pretty crazy already so I wasn¡¯t even doing anything out of the ordinary with the material itself, but taking the time to configure it from an atomic level through the entire superstructure was definitely a high end manufacturing method. Luckily I had been creating nanopaste continuously, so I had a lot of gray goo already prepared, more than enough to keep the process going quickly as the nanopaste was able to make more of itself faster than I was using it.

    Then of course like the armor. I¡¯d be able to replace damage incredibly fast by just throwing nanopaste onto the damaged sections.

    But if my ship only had armor then what was the point?

    By this point I had arrived, and I flew the shuttle right under the massive freighter that I already had sticking nose first into the even larger freighter.

    Within a few moments I touched down, and then stepped out. ¡°Go ahead and grab everything inside!¡± I yelled to the Crabbits, who cheered at my words and floated over to start grabbing the extra parts I had gotten from Aunt Sheila.

    There were just¡­ Too many issues.

    I really needed a pretty solid shield emitter system to make use of the extra energy I¡¯d have from my Diamond Drive, and a few back up emitters in case the mains went down was pretty standard ship design, but if I had medium Iris Drive¡¯s in a Diamond Drive¡­ I¡¯d be able to support double, or triple full shields arrays.

    Which I didn¡¯t have, nor did I even really have the emitters. Those were valuable and quickly stripped off the hulls as soon as they arrived. I¡¯d only found a few hidden in storage rooms on some of the old ships from time to time.

    But then came the biggest issue. I needed a stick. Something that would truly turn my somewhat anemic ship into a danger that shouldn¡¯t be poked.

    It couldn¡¯t be weapons. I didn¡¯t have the power for anything crazy.

    It couldn¡¯t be shields. Those had the same issues. Couldn¡¯t be speed. With only two nacelles the ship would be sluggish, even with all the cutting for a modular ship design, it wouldn¡¯t be good. I needed something else.

    The sensors would be solid but unremarkable. Unfortunately to get up to a Type 5 sensor system I¡¯d need parts I just didn¡¯t have the time to make, even with nanite forging.

    If a ship couldn¡¯t hit hard. Or endure, or go fast what could it do?

    The question taunted me as I kicked my feet. I was hanging my feet out of the force field just staring into the vastness of space letting my legs feel zero G while the rest of me still stayed in the atmosphere of the hangar. I liked doing this. The weird dichotomy of gravity and not gravity. Of being in space.

    God I loved space. I ran my gloved hands through my messy hair and played with the small ponytail I had been growing. Mom hated it, as it wasn¡¯t a popular style. I mostly just didn¡¯t care and kept forgetting to get it cut since I was so busy.

    What could I do?

    I¡¯d have my Crabbits. Which could be useful boarding troops, but I¡¯d have to weaponize them a bit more first, and that still asked me to be able to board an enemy ship.

    The Crabbit working around me reminded me I had a time limit. The moment they started forming the superstructure any hope I¡¯d have of changing things would extend any timeframe out obscenely.

    I needed to figure something out.

    If you can¡¯t hit hard. If you can¡¯t take a hit. If you can¡¯t outrun them¡­ ¡°Missiles?¡± I wondered. I could do a missile massacre¡­ But no, that was stupid. That would be a one time thing and then I¡¯d be out of material, and that was assuming I even had missiles in the first place. I already said I didn¡¯t have materials for extra weapons.

    I¡¯d already likely need to secretly gobble up any extra scrap I could get my hands on without anyone noticing to finish the-

    I rose up, nearly stumbled at the mix of Gravity and not as I got my feet under me.

    Could I? The Diamond Drive was already something different. I probably could.

    I walked slowly back towards all my equipment, hearing the sound of everything singing pleasantly around me.

    ¡°What about-¡±

 Chapter 4

    ¡°Kathy! There you are!¡± I looked up from my Tab, food half in my mouth and blinked at the familiar figures.

    I couldn¡¯t quite say anything but I threw up a hand in hello and started chewing.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been gone so much! I haven¡¯t seen you for more than a second or two in forever!¡± Marie whined and I just shrugged as I continued swallowing,

    ¡°Marie, don¡¯t whine. You know what Mom says. Kat, nice to see you not running for the black.¡± Heather said. She was Marie¡¯s younger sister. A few years younger than me, but nice enough.

    ¡°You too.¡± I said and then blinked because that was dumb. Ugh. I had done the you too thing. Uuuuu.

    ¡°So tell me something Kat, because I heard a rumor.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it. Simon is lying, a lying liar who lies.¡± I denied instantly and completely truthfully.

    ¡°Moving on from whatever that is, we¡¯ll talk about that later.¡± Heather said then pointed at me. ¡°You have a ship?¡±

    ¡°I have an old super structure that has absolutely zero internals¡­ Who squealed?¡± I demanded looking between the two and then when neither responded I stood up. Time to loom.

    But I was instantly defeated by Marie pointing at herself poking her purple lips with an impish grin.

    ¡°Logistics.¡± I grumbled, and sat back down.

    ¡°Hehe! There is nothing that happens on this station that I don¡¯t find out about!¡± She proclaimed and a few of the travelers at a nearby table looked up at her words but then went back to eating.

    ¡°Can I see it?¡± Heather asked and I shook my head.

    ¡°It¡¯s in the scrap field, inside an old super freighter that I¡¯m using as a repair bay, and there isn¡¯t anything to see.¡± I lied, but I didn¡¯t want anyone to see the Diamond Core. Even if it was shut down and stable it still would instantly be a weird object people wanted to know about.

    ¡°Heather here wants to-¡±

    ¡°Shut up Marie! I don¡¯t want to travel! I just like ships. I mean, more than just shuttles. I¡¯ve always wanted to be able to really look around one, that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll end up docking it at the station when it¡¯s repaired, and I¡¯ll be around. I¡¯m not planning on leaving, leaving.¡± I admitted and Heather looked pleased.

    ¡°Speaking of your audacious plans¡­ I¡¯m going to be denying your request.¡± Marie suddenly said and I looked up.

    ¡°What why? It¡¯s just cabling and-¡±

    ¡°And a dozen other things. All of which are being sent off station as soon as we get it.¡± Marie whispered and very sneakily looked around making sure no one was listening as she leaned in. ¡°Something is going on. Every request for scrap parts has been surging and all of them are coming from the same place. L1T-Z Station.¡±

    ¡°War?¡± I mouthed more than said. L1T-Z Station was another scrap and reclamation station. Much closer to the capital of the Duchy though. Normally it acted very similarly to our own work, but if they were buying parts instead of just scrapping them, its secondary function had been activated. It was the station a refurbished fleet would be gathered in during war time.

    L1T-Z was the best repair station in the entire sector after all. Or at least the most expensive, and modern.

    From their location they would be sending out second line ships to take over defensive positions as front line ships moved out to whatever warzone was happening.

    Marie just shrugged, but I could tell that was her assumption as well.

    Damn¡­ Damn, damn damn!

    ¡°That¡­ Will push back my timetables.¡± I said bitterly. There was a lot a ship needed that wasn¡¯t very easy for me to produce myself. Plasma cabling for one. Nanopaste could do plastics, and things, but not super well, and only if I had the materials to deconstruct, and cabling was one of the valuable bits in ships.

    And there were dozens of other things. Minor components that I¡¯d now have to design myself and basically fabricate which was just more work to do.

    And worse than that? War meant pirates. It was inevitable. Pirates were everywhere, always. Usually kept mostly in check with duchy ships flying patrols through space. But during war the number of patrols would drop, and those ships that did still patrol were weaker and in smaller patrols.

    No one would go against a battleship. But a Corvette, or Frigate that is out of date and manned by green troops? That''s an opportunity.

    ¡°Is our security-?¡± I trailed off quietly and Marie just smiled and did her best to look confident, but I could tell she wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°Of course it is! We have plenty of shields! The Station won¡¯t be threatened by pirates!¡± Marie chattered on, and I smiled and nodded for Heather''s sake.

    We barely had any real security, relying on military patrols and the fact we sold to the military to keep any pirates from wanting to be anywhere near us.

    It was one thing to raid some civilian convoy. It was another to hit one of the scrappers that supplied the military.

    One was a nuisance, the other was a threat to the country''s war effort.

    But during a war? That changed things. Changed everything.

    I waved the two goodbye, as I rose up, and my face fell. Instantly I was on my feet and hurrying off. There were plenty of people I could get an answer from, but there was only one that I was sure would be actually honest with me.

    Mostly because if I was out in the Scrap Field I would need to know.

    ¡°Aunt Sheila!¡± I called out as I entered her little shop floor, Aunt Sheila was sitting at her counter, cheek in her palm as she looked bored at nothing. As I rushed in, she looked up and sighed, and her Babbit, which was floating behind her, looked at me and gave me a very small wave.

    I waved back, but it was Aunt Sheila that spoke first.

    ¡°Who told you?¡± She asked instantly.

    ¡°Marie. When she told me my requisition requests were denied.¡±

    ¡°Damn. Should have thought of that.¡± She muttered and I grumbled, because that meant it had been kept from me on purpose.

    ¡°I should have been told. What if I was out there and we were attacked by pirates or something?¡±

    ¡°Kid, I''ll be honest with you. It¡¯s too early for you to worry about pirates, and you¡¯d be told eventually." She offered and then frowned a bit as she considered something. ¡°But for the future, if a Pirate group attacks us to steal some of the Scrap Field or worse. Your best bet is to hide and hope they don¡¯t want the ship you''re in. Trying to run with a shuttle would just make you a target¡­¡±

    ¡°If there are any worries about pirates, I would have liked to have been told.¡±

    ¡°Like I said, I was planning on bringing it up later. When things got a bit more serious. For now¡­ Well it¡¯s just an assumption.¡± Aunt Sheila explained, a hand running through her auburn hair, something she only did when she was nervous. More nervous than she wanted to let on.

    ¡°Pretty damn good one I think.¡± I replied and she nodded, waving me over. I walked over to the counter and turned with a little hop sitting on top of it earning a huff from her.

    ¡°I think I heard my poor counter creak.¡±

    ¡°Did not!¡± I denied and she just laughed. But then slowly grew somber.

    ¡°Things are going to be rough if a war breaks out, kid. I know the last war was before your time, but I was around your age when it happened¡­ Just. We¡¯ll go through some policy changes about being out in the Scrap Field. Do some maintenance on your suit''s shield emitter.¡±

    ¡°I will.¡±

    ¡°Good¡­ Good. At least you got your Babbit Drones turned in before all this happened. If a war breaks out we¡¯re going to all be spending a lot of time in the scrap field getting things ready.¡± She said, trying to lighten the mood, but I was much more focused on the actual issue.

    This could be bad. Like really bad. It was one thing to joke about pirates when we could send a message to the sector patrol vessels and have a battleship or at least a cruiser pop in to check on things.

    It was another to know that help might not be coming.

    My ship needed to be put together. Soon. I¡¯d have to cut some corners I needed to get her semi operational. If I could get some main guns working.

    I winced. Some of the parts I needed were the focusing arrays for the Thermal Lance. Should I switch guns? Ballistic? No, I don¡¯t have easy access to propellant. Nanopaste wasn¡¯t safe with unstable materials like that.

    Plasma? I could just do a Plasma Cannon? I considered it, but tossed it out for the same reason I had tossed out the idea in the first place. They were bulky and it would cut into large chunks of the ship.

    ¡°You got a serious face.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking about how quickly I could get a weapon system operational.¡± I told her. Being a bit more honest than I normally would have.

    She gave me a gentle smile, maybe a bit sad as she reached up and brushed her auburn hair out of her eyes. The little bun she kept it in always left hair trailing around her especially if she¡¯d been working.

    ¡°You won¡¯t be getting any Iris Drives big enough for a long time kid. Unless you want to set up a missile platform, which would only make you a target. Just drop it. Hiding is better than trying to pick a fight. They probably won¡¯t get too close to the station, pirates are more interested in our scrap hulls. So we just need to be careful.¡± She said nonchalantly, but I knew that was a lie.

    Pirates brave enough to hit us, wouldn¡¯t stop at the scrap field.

    I nodded at her words anyways. She was wrong though. I didn¡¯t need an Iris Drive to get a weapon system going. I had my Diamond Drive, but I couldn¡¯t tell her that.

    Not yet. I needed some sort of functional ship before I ever revealed that.

    ¡°I need¡­ I still need those parts, Aunt Sheila.¡±

    She gave off a harsh sigh. ¡°I know, kid. But unfortunately the big boss is going to be cracking down on our skiving off the top.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I jerked up, because I needed skiving off the top!

    ¡°Heh. You¡¯re a riot. I told you kid. Things just changed. We¡¯ll likely be seeing requests to move out the old hulls soon. So everything is going to be slowing down. As we¡¯ll have someone coming to make sure the orders are being sent on time.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡± I said firmly, because what she had just told me was, get what I needed now because soon restrictions would stop me from getting what I needed.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you do, but just¡­ Listen kid. The moment I say drop everything, I mean drop everything. You¡¯ll have to switch to going by the books exactly. No messing around. You don¡¯t want some administrator thinking you are stealing from them, or worse. A Noble.¡±

    ¡°I got it Aunt Sheila. I have to go. Cover for me?¡±

    ¡°Sure brat. Go on. You¡¯re ahead on work as usual anyways.¡±

    ¡ª--

    It had been months since the hint of war had come, and it was unfortunately looking more and more likely as time went on. Too many odd coincidences all climbing on top of one another, and so my work with my ship had sped up, trying to get it done as rapidly as I could with just myself overseeing probably a hundred or more Crabbits.

    My hands blurred, as I was putting together a plasma pump, everything around me was a frantic mess of action. The Crabbit had all been given their orders. While they came flying in and out of the hangar carrying parts from dozens of wrecks out in the scrap field I was working to get at least one of the guns of my ship functional.

    Sure it was sort of the only gun on the ship, but that was details.

    Unfortunately weapons were complicated. I¡¯d managed to grab some old targeting computers from some of the hulks that had weapon systems before being scrapped, so I wasn¡¯t forced to code an entire fire control system from scratch, but that was only a part of the problem.

    The other was trying to design a massive weapon system from scratch. If I was making any other type of weapon, I¡¯d have given up on it.

    Trying to build a railgun or something would have been impossible with the scrap and tools I had on hand, but thankfully, while powerful, this particular weapon was surprisingly simple when you get down to it.

    I looked over where the barrels of the Thermal Lance was already completed and just floated around waiting for their final components. Each barrel was actually three barrels that all attached, each of those three was a laser system, and that had been pretty easy to finish.

    The Kenish Duchy loved their laser weapons, and most ships came with lasers already attached. I had found plenty of components to make six lasers for the sides of the barrels.

    No, the problem came with the other side of the weapon.

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    ¡°Check!¡± I called out hefting up the plasma pump. The circular device was finicky and the Crabbit had put it together, but something had been off.

    ¡°Yes yes! System check! Check the system!¡± Chanted back as a Crabbit floated over and grabbed it up and then buzzed off, to place it into the beginnings of the plasma relay system for the Thermal Lance.

    With that part done I walked over to another piece.

    Hands buzzed across an old console. While the targeting software was functional, it wasn¡¯t designed for a Thermal Lance battery. So I was relying on the song to modify the code.

    ¡°Error!¡± A voice called out and I looked up, stepping away and hurrying over. The Crabbit throwing the error was looking at one of my most recent creations. It was a compress that was trying to make the focusing arrays I needed.

    They were basically a sort of pseudo super diamond that would focus the blast of plasma into a linear beam of power.

    Without them I might as well call it a plasma flamethrower and it wouldn¡¯t be better than a fly swatter against anything but maybe cheap missiles.

    The problem was the crystal glass that made up the arrays was usually produced in advanced factories because of the exacting procedure needed to produce them.

    They weren¡¯t even that expensive really. So making my own was a waste of time and effort.

    I looked at the readings and cursed. I had tried to cheat a bit by using cheaper materials because it was all I had on hand, but it looks like it had warped and then stress fractured the array.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to make a process just to get the materials. I need to make the arrays.¡± I told myself knowing that it would take weeks, if not months for a part that I could just buy!

    ¡°Error?¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡± I told the Crabbit that had been working on this. ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything wrong. The error was with the materials. Not the process.¡±

    ¡°Error.¡± It glumly repeated and I reached out and pulled it into a hug more for my own comfort than hers.

    ¡°Error?¡± Another voice called and I looked up and sighed.

    ¡°Switch to assisting with the hull.¡± I told the Crabbit in my arms, and she bobbed into a nod, buzzing off the failure already forgotten now that she had a new task.

    I hurried over to the hull and found the error immediately.

    The conversion of material from the freighter hull to more advanced materials and being joined together to make a new ship superstructure was a constant string of issues. The song helped a lot, but Crabbits can¡¯t hear it, so if they made a mistake I¡¯d have to check it and get things back in order.

    In this case there was something wrong with the girder forming this section of the superstructure.

    It was basically pointing off in the wrong direction.

    I pulled up my tab and started accessing the Nanopaste connection and started checking the data¡­ Okay it looks like the nanomachines had gotten confused due to a slow down of material.

    ¡°Reclaim this section, we¡¯ll start over. I¡¯ll check on the materials that are missing.¡± I told the Crabbit and it would relay my orders to the nanopaste. I moved to do just that and stopped, despite the mess all around me. I wiped a gloved hand over my forehead and winced at just how wet it was.

    I was running around so much I was sweating like crazy. I grabbed my water bottle and took a long pull.

    This was wearing me out, but I had to get something going! I didn¡¯t want to be trapped on station for years!

    Wars could last a long time when it came to space conflicts, and I didn¡¯t even know if this was against another state, a Pirate faction, aliens, or something else! This could be a civil war for all I knew!

    I took a deep exhale, and capped my water bottle before looking over the frantic pace of my hangar.

    Time to get back to work.

    ¡ª--

    I was nervous. There had been a full staff call, which wasn¡¯t unusual, but the really pretty Frigate that had docked a few hours ago meant that something was up. Everyone was here, standing on the Hab where Great Uncle Kyle was standing on a small stage that was used for this sort of thing.

    ¡°Thank you all for arriving promptly.¡± He called out, but everyone''s eyes weren''t on him, but the young man that was standing beside him.

    A white suit, with gold trim. A large hat with the four pointed star of the Kenish Duchy pinned to the front. A very expensive laser pistol that sang to me of good maintenance was at his hip which wasn¡¯t unusual, but the quality of it was.

    The shield emitter he wore was a beautiful compact device that looked like some sort of medal he wore tightly at his throat that integrated into his uniform, I only noticed it because it¡¯s song was just as harmonious as the laser pistol.

    Quality equipment.

    ¡°This is Baron Cyger Elrick Ritz. He will be managing our deliveries ensuring there aren''t any problems. As of this moment, all outside communication is going to be locked and only allowed for official duties. This will not impact our normal operations, other than less civilian traffic. Yes, that does mean any packages will likely take some time to be delivered.¡± Uncle Kyle added while side eyeing a few specific people.

    ¡°Now Baron Ritz would like a few words.¡±

    ¡°Thank you Station Manager Ferrous. I am Baron Ritz, I will be acting within this system for some time, to ensure prompt and safe transfer of the war supplies from this station. Yes, that is what you heard, as of yesterday the Kenish Duchy considers itself in a state of war. Orders will be handed down for the delivery of some ship hulls that will assist in the war effort. I expect nothing but the utmost effort from all of you. For the future of the stars! For Duke Kenish!¡±

    There was a momentary silence before Great Uncle Kyle spoke. ¡°For Duke Kenish!¡± He repeated and we all quickly repeated it as well, even if some of the voices were pretty weak.

    From there the Baron talked. A lot. But it was all rhetoric for us to embrace our Kenish roots, and how our work was imperative to the Kenish victory and blah blah blah.

    I didn¡¯t care much, but the pit in my stomach only grew. My ship was still too far from completion. Making an entire spaceship, especially one as large as what I wanted from scratch took time. Time and effort, and both my time and effort was about to be taken from me.

    ¡ª--

    It actually surprised me how little really changed at first. Sure, instead of bringing in new ships our little Tug shuttles were out in the scrap field, removing old hulls from the web, and there were more of us repair techs out on the ships making sure that there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with the superstructure after sitting around for so long.

    It honestly was a breeze thanks to the Type 4 sensors on the Crabbits and Babbits.

    So work was pretty peaceful. But there was always this extra bit. We were scanned as we returned to the Station now. Like Aunt Sheila had said everyone stopped taking some bits and pieces for themselves. It just wasn¡¯t worth the risk anymore.

    Not that the Crabbit stopped, but they weren¡¯t getting me nearly as much material as I needed. The few times I¡¯d get a couple hours off that I could spend in the Hangar was mostly fixing issues the Crabbit had come across, but the actual construction had slowed to a crawl.

    The freighter was still slowly disappearing as its material converted to the super structure of my ship, but that was about all that was proceeding.

    I wasn¡¯t even able to work on tools at the station and take them out with me, as the scanners and crew that the Baron had left on board the station were keeping a close eye out on things.

    I had almost gotten busted with my Crabbit, if not for the records of me building the drones and so sometimes I¡¯d have an ¡®extra¡¯ or two around me.

    So instead all I could really do is design and code.

    My ship would have a pretty nasty targeting system when I actually managed to get a gun working.

    Otherwise, mostly I theory crafted for the Crabbit although I couldn¡¯t even properly communicate with them from inside the station as outbound signals were being locked down and monitored as well.

    The truth was, as I learned. Most of the Duchy didn¡¯t realize we were at war yet. Yep, the bastards had put us under martial law to get their refurbished ships up and running as soon as possible, but didn¡¯t actually tell the rest of the sector so they could surprise their enemies.

    The Idric Dominion. The fact it was the Dominion which was a star civilization on our galactic north and was probably the second biggest in the entire sector made me really nervous. Sure it meant that with us being on the farthest ¡®western¡¯ edge of the Sector we were pretty far from any reprisals, but Pirates¡­

    But Pirates.

    I shook it off. And wiped at my face. I was at the hab looking over my Tab for what we¡¯d managed to cobble together for the Thermal Lance. The stupid Focusing Arrays were still giving me trouble.

    Trying to increase the quality of the materials I have, in a hail mary pass to make the Crystal needed for the arrays was difficult when I couldn¡¯t spend the time I needed in the lab area building the machines to refine the material, to build the processor to make the crystals form correctly.

    ¡°Uuuuu.¡± I whined and then shook myself off. It wasn¡¯t time for whining. It was time for doing. For the future of Kat¡¯s space exploration plan! Which sounded much better than the Kenish Duchy.

    Because I didn¡¯t give a shit about this war, or the Duchy, especially since it sounded like we were the aggressors this time.

    ¡°Hey, there¡¯s little Kathy.¡±

    ¡°Hello.¡±

    I looked up and smiled at the little Babbit drone that was waving its arm at me.

    ¡°Hello Babbit. Hi Carter.¡± I greeted the boy who smiled and then slipped into the seat across from me.

    ¡°Kat, can you check over Babbit for me? She¡¯s been¡­¡± He started, but I already reached up and grabbed her and brought her down to my lap as I started poking and prodding her. ¡°A little off. Heh.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you need to replace her coupling here. This shouldn¡¯t have worn out though.¡± I said giving him a pointed look but he just shrugged.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been working on something too. You aren¡¯t the only one with secret projects. So can you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s no problem.¡± I said as I helped Babbit disengage her arm and then replace the ending plastic coupling that had cracked¡­ Extreme cold and stress? What was Carter doing out in space? He worked in the office.

    But I didn¡¯t ask. Just quickly replacing it with one that I had in my hip pouch. Then I replaced the arm and Babbit floated up.

    ¡°Fully repaired.¡± She said blandly without a lot of the personality of my Crabbit, but I smiled as it floated back to Carter to hover over his shoulder. They weren¡¯t very exuberant but they were still loyal to their person.

    ¡°Thanks Kat. You doing okay? I heard from the rumor mill that you aren¡¯t getting much time to work on that ship of yours.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t do much since I can¡¯t get parts.¡± I admitted and he gave me an apologetic smile.

    ¡°Yeah. Things are tough with our new protector.¡± He said, and I had to give him credit, he didn¡¯t sound sarcastic when he said protector despite definitely meaning it sarcastically.

    ¡°Ah. There you are.¡± Another voice called out and I wanted to say, speak of the devil, but kept myself from it. ¡°Adjunct.¡± He said looking at Carter.

    Baron Ritz was there walking across the food court, a couple of what I could only assume was his officers following after.

    ¡°Baron Ritz! How can I help you?¡± Carter asked, rising up instantly and offering a bow which I joined him in following.

    Carter would know the proper way to greet a Baron better than I could.

    ¡°You can ensure you are on time for all meetings in the future. The Station Head did assign you to me as an adjunct.¡±

    ¡°I am sorry Sir. It won¡¯t happen again.¡± He offered, but the noble''s eyes fell on me, and I felt a bit nervous about it.

    ¡ª--

    Baron Cyger Ritz

    Cyger was irritated. The boy that had been assigned to him was competent but a little lazy. As many heirs ended up being. But the boy did know the answer to any question he had, when he arrived at the meetings on time. Finding him in the eatery with a girl made his blood boil.

    Did this fool not understand that the entire Duchy was at war? That at any time pirates, or even worse Dominion Ships could warp in?

    Cyger shook it off, anger was the enemy of competent logical thought. And as he looked again. He doubted the boy was attracted to the girl. Not least because they were probably related, although whether that would actually stop backwater frontiersmen was rather relative to the location.

    But also because she wasn¡¯t the sort that the heir to a station would have any interest in.

    Gene mods were evident right away, she was twice the size of even Cyger himself.

    She wasn¡¯t the soldier type though. He could sniff that out with a glance. No, she was obviously a Flash-Gene. Some poor girl whose father or grandfather or some other relative had the nanomachine gene modification and had them activate years after they should have been flushed out.

    It was actually an accident when it happened. They were supposed to be one use only to keep entire clusters of untrusted gene modded soldiers from appearing in the frontier and becoming mini kings through strength of arms.

    But not all nanomachine production was made equal, and sometimes they remained, never shutting down.

    ¡°Ah. There you are. Adjunct.¡± Cyger called out startling the boy and the girl both as they both looked up at him.

    ¡°Baron Ritz! How can I help you?¡± The boy asked as he rose into a bow.

    ¡°You can ensure you are on time for all meetings in the future. The Station Head did assign you to me as an adjunct.¡± Cyger offered and he appreciated the look of sudden realization on the boy''s face.

    Good. Accepting you made a mistake was the first step to resolving it.

    ¡°I am sorry Sir. It won¡¯t happen again.¡± Cyger nodded dismissing the apology.

    The girl on the other hand joined Carter in his greetings and Cyger had to take a moment to take her in.

    It wasn¡¯t the first time he¡¯d seen a soldier gene mod before of course. His own guards were taller still but¡­

    Was she soft in the head?

    Her eyes were a sort of pale blue that looked everywhere but at him, while her hands twisted and shifted in front of her chest. Hands that could probably pop his head off his neck were moving so anxiously almost to a rhythm but it was an awkward motion.

    She was hunched over a bit making her almost his own height and not a good bit taller. Matched with her jumpsuit that was off her shoulders and had the arms tied at her waist showing off a plain white shirt that stretched across her body. She looked like a worker without the intelligence to back it up.

    He turned away from her as she wasn¡¯t important as he browbeat his ¡®adjunct¡¯ really there was just no getting good help these days.

    ¡°How goes the task?¡± He asked purposefully, keeping it vague.

    ¡°Completed it. Everything is in place.¡± The boy offered back instantly and Cyger blinked in surprise.

    ¡°Already?¡± He asked despite himself, and he took a moment to smooth his face and control his emotions.

    ¡°Yes Sir. Our Babbit drones were a big help.¡±

    ¡°Ah yes. The worker drones I¡¯ve been seeing.¡± He said looking over the oval shaped Drone that had a single arm sticking out of the bottom. The fact its assistance was able to place all of the sensor beacons in place around the system already was¡­ Impressive. ¡°I¡¯ve been seeing them around. What company made them?¡±

    ¡°I did.¡± The girl spoke her voice surprisingly chipper and he looked over and her face had shifted into a happy smile. ¡°The Babbit are a derivative of my Crabbit. Just a basic version. ¡± She said and yes, her drone did look far more advanced than the others.

    ¡°You made them?¡± He demanded, wanting confirmation.

    ¡°Yep!¡±

    ¡°Yes Sir. Kat, Ah, I mean Katherine is one of our best techs. She made all of the drones we use. They¡¯re her¡­ Project.¡±

    The girl with the gormless look on her face? That girl? Very well. Perhaps her looks hid something more. ¡°I¡¯d like to have a look at one of them. My own complement of FR33Ds aren¡¯t as mobile as these.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± She said and then went silent and he waited as she seemed to drift off into her own head as her fingers tapped more and more rapidly before she stilled. Seeming to realize he was still looking at her. He did his best to keep a glare off his face, but instead was using his ¡®I am a disappointed superior¡¯ look.

    ¡°I-I can send an Babbit over?¡±

    ¡°Do so. Adjunct. Take care of that. Later. Come along, we¡¯re already unacceptably late.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir!¡± He said and only slowed to give a small wave away to the girl who nodded and then the boy was focused.

    Good. Perhaps he¡¯d forgive the tardiness considering his quick completion of the sensor beacons.

    ¡ª--

    I stood well back as I watched. The nanopaste was currently floating through the entire hangar, controlled by the army of Crabbits to make sure it didn¡¯t float off. The massive pool of gray goo looked like a monster, come alive to devour ships, because that¡¯s what it was doing right now.

    Breaking down more of the old freighter as we needed more material.

    It happened in waves, the nanopaste would be released to devour a large chunk of the ship to make more of itself, and then the nanomachines would be brought over to the chunk of ship we had already built to form more of it.

    Slowly my ship was coming together, but I was only here for a short time.

    It had taken a lot of work to even get away, even for a bit. I¡¯d had to start overseeing the work on my ship through the eyes of my Crabbits just to get something done daily, because heading out on my own was becoming harder and harder.

    The Baron was making everything extremely complicated. Aunt Sheila had been right. Everything was suddenly under much closer examination, and any hope for grabbing extra material off the top had gone away.

    The Baron had a lot of people keeping an eye on things, and everyone on UNK-L was acting seriously.

    There was a real undercurrent of fear whenever anyone talked about how we all had to stop grabbing a bit extra for ourselves.

    ¡°Watch that right side, I think it¡¯s eating a bit far.¡± I said suddenly, and my shoulder Crabbit sent out word, letting the controllers shift the nanopaste swarm.

    I didn¡¯t like being away for so long, but thankfully the Crabbits had done a good job of learning the work. Only a few issues had cropped up that I had needed to fix.

    I slowly relaxed as I confirmed the Crabbits had this. ¡°How¡¯s the material for the focusing arrays coming?¡± I asked, looking at the Crabbit gripped onto my shirt.

    ¡°Uuuu.¡± It whined at me, which told me what I wanted to know. I sighed and headed over to that section of the hangar. Instantly I noticed the problem. One it was a mess of broken focusing arrays that hadn¡¯t formed correctly. I¡¯d make them clean that up later, and second¡­

    The process was still not working.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯m going to work on this while I have a chance.¡± I said and the Crabbit bumped up and down as I sat down cross legged and started grabbing the parts, and my Tab. Something about the process was off. I¡¯d have to double check what I had come up with.

    As I started hammering my head into that. I heard it, and looked up.

    My secret weapon called to me. Still just sitting there on the floor of the hangar, half completed. To a normal set of eyes it didn¡¯t look like much.

    Its exterior wasn¡¯t that complicated. Just an upgrade on a common device, but it was the programming that was driving me mad.

    Maybe literally if the joke held out. I was using a mix of my programming skills, and just listening to the song, as it helped guide me in letting the device become what it wanted to become. What it was always meant to be.

    I mean it wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as the Diamond Drive, but still obscenely complicated. Weeks of work just hammering at code.

    I turned away from it, while it was important too, I could program anywhere. Even if the eldritch song was tempting me with its potential.

    So much work to do, and with the Baron hovering so little time to do it.

    Suddenly I felt a tug, and looked down. One of the Crabbits was tugging on the sleeve of my jumpsuit.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Synchronization requested.¡± It said, after a bit like it was being shy.

    ¡°Sure, what¡¯s your question?¡± I asked back, smiling at the drone that looked up at me.

    ¡°Purpose? What is¡­ My purpose?¡±

    I went still at the sudden question, because it wasn¡¯t normal. That¡¯s not a question they should be asking, especially not yet. They didn¡¯t have the¡­ I looked around.

    ¡°Hmm? What is my purpose?¡± The Crabbit at my shoulder asked as well, and at that, like a virus, it spread through the crowd, any of the Crabbit that heard the question turned to ask it as well.

    The crowd¡­ How many Crabbits were in this room? A hundred? How many Iris Drives had they stolen out of things without me noticing?

    Huh. Had they just reached enough processing power to gain awareness? I smiled and reached down, pulled the Crabbit that first asked the question into my lap.

    ¡°That¡¯s a tough question, and it¡¯s not one that even I can answer for you. Purpose doesn¡¯t come from someone else telling you what you are for, it¡¯s for discovering it for yourself.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Are we not helpers?¡± Another Crabbit asked, and I shook my head.

    ¡°That¡¯s your job, not your purpose.¡± I explained gently patting the Crabbit in my lap. ¡°It¡¯s easy to think they¡¯re the same thing, but even for you little ones, it¡¯s not true.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± The Crabbit in my lap muttered as it tapped a little claw to its face cutely. Where did it even find that motion? TV? ¡°Purpose¡­ Unknown. Uuuu.¡± It whined and I couldn¡¯t help but fight back a snort at the poor thing.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what my purpose is either.¡± I told her. ¡°But someday I¡¯ll have an answer, and so will you. It¡¯s okay not to know.¡± I told her, continuing to tap her shell. It was a deep question, purpose. Was I reborn in this world for a reason? Some cosmic destiny, or just a mistake, a random blip of spacedust interacting with whatever soul I had?

    ¡°We¡¯ll keep living, and someday we¡¯ll find our purpose together, okay?¡±

    ¡°Together. Together.¡± It repeated back to me, settled in to seemingly quite happily rest in my lap.

 Chapter 5

    The actual broadcast of the start of the war had finally happened, and while at first everyone had gotten tense, months of nothing meant that eventually everyone relaxed.

    We weren¡¯t anywhere near the front lines, or even the sidelines, or backlines.

    Benefits of being far out onto the frontier.

    Everything slowly settled down, Baron Ritz slowly became a normal part of our lives, eventually a new status quo was reached.

    Which is why I was kind of uncomfortable. I had finished the Babbit that the Baron had requested, and Uncle Kyle had handed it over.

    But instead of that being the end of things I had been called into a meeting a while later as I was heading out to prep another hull for transport.

    It was only when I entered the room did I relax a little. It wasn¡¯t the Baron himself, but an older man, with a friendly smile, and a Babbit floating around his head.

    If a Babbit liked him it was probably safe.

    ¡°Umm¡­ Hello?¡¯

    ¡°Ah! Good, good! Welcome come in come in, you¡¯re Katherine correct? The bright girl that made these little drones?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the Babbits are mine.¡± I said and waved at his drone, which waved back at me just a little.

    ¡°How fascinating! Oh how foolish of me, I¡¯m Eugene Kilver, I¡¯m the chief engineer on the Octavius. But more importantly, I wanted to ask you about these delightful little drones. I apologize about this surprise meeting, but I had a delightful time looking into your little drone, and I had so many questions. Where did you get the AI work from? I¡¯ve never seen an AI like it before.¡±

    ¡°I made it.¡± I answered honestly, my hands already brought to my chest as I wrung my hands at the look I received in turn.

    ¡°Really?¡± He asked, seemingly disbelieving.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± I fidgeted a bit under his stare.

    ¡°Mhmm! Kat made us!¡± The Crabbit at my shoulder chirped.

    ¡°Creator Katherine: True.¡± Babbit said from above Eugene, who looked up with a smile at his Babbits quiet halting words.

    ¡°Indeed? How fascinating. I¡¯ve tinkered my hand with AI creation before. Where did you learn? Did you take some university program?¡±

    I blinked. That was a thing? I mean¡­ I guess it made sense. If you wanted to learn something, it wasn¡¯t like you could always travel the light years to a university. I just hadn¡¯t considered what actual high end schooling would be like. Sure we had our educational programs, but those were very focused on the Scrapper Exam that we all took, and that was in house.

    ¡°Miss Katherine?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Oh! Sorry. I didn¡¯t take any university programs. Just the educational programs we have on station. I didn¡¯t know you could study university stuff like that¡­ Probably should have.¡± I muttered but stopped myself from getting lost in thought.

    ¡°Is that so? Your educational program must be quite advanced then. Your programming is¡­ Extremely pure.¡± He said, and then smiled. ¡°If it isn¡¯t too much trouble, I would like any documentation you have, on the creation and maintenance of these Babbits. I¡¯m always interested in improving my own work after all.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ Sure.¡± I agreed, and it wasn¡¯t long before I relaxed a bit and was having a really fascinating conversation with Eugene about drones and their maintenance and creation.

    I actually picked up some tricks that would make any future Crabbits better. It was¡­ Nice.

    ¡ª-

    A few days later, I decided to try my luck. It was my off day, and I had gotten bored of just watching the construction through my Crabbits eyes, and wanted to get back to my hangar so I could dig my hands back into the formation of my baby.

    Of course everything had more restrictions now. I walked out of my apartment, and up to the docking ring level and couldn¡¯t help but notice what was out of place.

    Guards, The Baron had stationed a small set of Marines on UNK-L to watch over things. We were told that it was for our protection, but everyone knew that the real reason they were here, was to enforce the law, and make sure everything kept going.

    It honestly wasn¡¯t that big of a deal most of the time. There wasn¡¯t anyone on station that had any interest in rebelling or stopping processing of the scrap field, but it was a restriction that altered our usual freedoms.

    Which is why I hadn¡¯t been able to go out to the hangar myself. The scrap field had been restricted to only work crews.

    But¡­ I wasn¡¯t planning on going to most of the scrap field. I wanted to go to the hangar that was already registered as my drop off, just like Aunt Sheila had her shop on station, and technically the hull inside, the old freighter had been gifted to me.

    It was mine. So¡­ I should be allowed, right?

    I walked along the docking ring, towards one of the hangars. I was looking for someone that could actually give me permission, as I was done just accepting that I wouldn¡¯t get access to my own stuff.

    Uncle Kyle was here. Supervising, he didn¡¯t always, but we were processing a hull and waiting for the transport ship that was going to come and transport it out of the system. I had been one of the crew working on it the day before, so I knew Uncle Kyle would be here, and I knew they¡¯d mostly just be waiting around.

    I took a deep breath as I entered and firmed my spine as I strode across the busy hangar. It was mostly open, although some parts were being put onto the hull in large containers, for transport. Basically some of the equipment would need to be refitted quickly that we could send along.

    It was all part of the refit process that we took part in during war time.

    Work crews were walking from the hangar before taking a small leap into zero G to land inside the old passenger liner? A Nauxia. They had nice interior design, but terrible hulls. Too many windows. Those would be covered, and the outer rooms likely filled with quick armor foam.

    I tore my eyes away despite how much I wanted to keep looking, because spaceship! My brain was hardwired to want to stare at the flying ships.

    Uncle Kyle was standing next to a container. He had his Tab in hand and was going over the contents inside, as some of the workers dropped equipment off, floating each piece across the hangar thanks to the gravity panels making the parts weightless.

    I walked up and only when he turned to acknowledge me did I speak.

    ¡°Katherine?¡±

    ¡°Uncle Kyle. Sorry to bother you. Todays my day off, and I know the restriction with the scrap field, but I was wondering if there was a way I could get permission to visit my Freighter? I¡­ Just want to work on it.¡± I managed to speak it all without stuttering which was a relief, but as I finished, I felt my shoulders hunch in as I waited to be refused.

    This was stupid. I should just go back to my room and supervise over my Tab. They weren¡¯t going to let me go. Everyone was being super strict about this sort of thing!

    ¡°I see. A moment.¡± He finally spoke and I almost flinched at his voice, but he didn¡¯t sound angry, or upset. Instead after a moment his Tab beeped, and I flinched very hard at the appearance.

    ¡°This is Cyger.¡±

    ¡°Forgive me for the interruption Baron Ritz. I simply had an unusual situation that I wanted to confirm with you.¡± Uncle Kyle deferred, and the Baron from what little I could see from Uncle Kyle¡¯s Tab didn¡¯t look angry, instead curious.

    ¡°Very well Station Master. What is the situation?¡±

    ¡°One of my family had asked for a hull from the scrap field a while back. She¡¯s been working on it in her free time fixing it up. Unfortunately with the lockdown and restrictions that has been stopped for some time, but she has come to me requesting access. Considering the hull is her own I would like to support this request if possible.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. You understand the concern about access to the ship field. They are all now military assets.¡±

    ¡°I do. Katherine is a smart girl. She knows it would be foolish to try and take something that doesn¡¯t belong to her. But in this case the ship is her own.¡±

    ¡°Katherine you say? Ah, yes. I remember, Eugene spoke highly of her¡­ Very well. I¡¯ll allow you to approve an access token.¡±

    ¡°Thank you Baron.¡± Uncle Kyle said with an almost bow, and that was that. The Tab Comm ended with the Barons'' own acknowledgement.

    I was almost too frozen to realize though.

    ¡°Does that mean I can?¡± I asked, almost breathless because I can¡¯t believe it.

    ¡°Yes Katherine. That means you can travel into the scrap field. I hope you understand the risks if you are caught anywhere you aren¡¯t supposed to be?¡±

    ¡°Yes Sir. I understand!¡±

    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll send the Token to your Tab. Good luck Katherine. I look forward to seeing what you do with the ship myself someday.¡±

    ¡°Thank you! Thank you Uncle Kyle!¡± I cheered and, unable to resist, I moved in and pulled the smaller man into a big hug.

    ¡ª--

    I was in the hangar sitting on a box and watching as the aft quarter of the Superstructure was slowly growing. It was one of those things that needed some constant low level attention, but mostly just my eyes.

    Yet¡­ It was so nice to actually be back in the hangar, actually working myself.

    The slow growth of the nanopaste forming my ship was taking so long, in fact it gave me time to work on other things. There was a lot to do so I had made a checklist on my Tab. I looked it over, at the mish mash of an actual list, and just idle thoughts.

    Weapons: Still stuck slowly creating material to forge the focusing arrays.

    Superstructure: About eighty percent done.

    We had already spun the ship around so the new bow was sticking out of the hangar, that way no one could see the Nanopaste flash forging the ship. Luckily no one would notice how different the ship sticking out of the hangar would look compared to the freighter, because everyone was too busy for that.

    Armor: Completed.

    Outside of just actually armoring up the superstructure once it was ready. The formula for atomic bonded ablative armor was easy to make thanks to the Crabbit controlled nanopaste and I had no further issues.

    Engines: Unable to be installed.

    They were pretty much ready for installation into the housing when the Superstructure completed. They were pretty common Gravity Drives and some plasma jets for in atmosphere, or high gravity. The internals were a mix from the original freighter, that I¡¯d let the nanopaste devour, and some bits from other ships I¡¯d collected.

    They were perfectly functional, if not awe inspiring, and without a lot of time the best I could do. Maybe I¡¯d refit them once I had more to work with.

    Sensors: Completed.

    Sensor arrays were simple enough, and I had done enough practice with them because of the Crabbit that I had built a solid Type 4 with a bit more depth than normal. They weren¡¯t as long range as Type 5, or as detailed, but they were more detailed than a normal Type 4. Again, they¡¯d do until refit.

    Life support: Complete-ish.

    Air recyclers, and every piece of a life support a ship or station would need were something I could make in my sleep without even the nanopaste. With it, that was easy.

    Addendum: Bathroom was acceptable, but I really really really really really-(Note goes on for a few pages.) Really want an actual shower. Sonic showers are the grossest, Ickiest, yuckiest-(Again continued for half a page.) Things ever.

    Controls: Completed.

    Consoles have been gathered and updated for ship specs. Ship Computer Core collected, and ready for install. Display systems collected.

    Addendum: Update consoles on ship completion in case of changes.

    Big comfy Captain Chair: Absolute failure. This Galaxy has no comfy chairs. All is lost.

    Then there were all the minor components on the list. From some of the bits for the ship elevator, to plasma cabling, that was still a pain in the ass.

    So the ship was still slowly rolling out. I nodded at the still forging ship. It was at a calm period, the Crabbits could watch that. I had something I should get my hands on again.

    The other complicated piece. The thing I hadn¡¯t thought much about because Warp Arrays were in every ship and usually left alone as there wasn¡¯t anything valuable in them.

    Stolen story; please report.

    But nooo. I had to go and think I should do something crazy so now I was stuck trying to figure out how to make a Warp Array capable of doing things that only the big militaries even toyed with.

    Subspace Depth Adjustment. SDA,

    If real space was the surface of the water. And Subspace was deep under the water. Then some crazy insane Iris Drive engineer had asked, why can¡¯t the ship in warp not quite surface to make attacks while still in subspace.

    A submarine, a space submarine. That¡¯s what I had realized I could do. To give my ship a real advantage.

    If I couldn¡¯t overwhelm a ship with speed, or armor, or weapons. Then simply make it so they couldn¡¯t attack back. Stealth, of sorts. My ship was going to be a space U-Boat.

    If I could get it to actually work.

    The song in my head encouraged me on, but this wasn¡¯t just a matter of making the Diamond Drive and letting physics do their thing.

    I needed to upgrade my Warp Array so it could handle incredibly complex calculations while my computer was able to accept those calculations while my ship was able to survive the incredible forces of sticking itself both in real and subspace at the same time.

    It was, to put it plainly, a massive undertaking for something that was supposed to be a solution because I couldn¡¯t do the complicated stuff I wanted.

    So I just decided to do something even more complicated? Fuck you too brain!

    But I was too stubborn to give up on it, and it wasn¡¯t like I needed a working Warp Array right now anyways. Couldn¡¯t jump to warp with a ship that didn¡¯t even move under its own power after all.

    I looked down into the warp array I was putting together out of the scraps of a dozen others.

    It was actually a very simple piece of tech. It simply interacted with the warp rift inside an Iris Drive and expanded not the rift itself, but the waves of space interference it made to encompass the entirety of the ship letting it sink into subspace.

    Which really just involved a bunch of emitters and being hooked up close to the Iris Drives.

    Okay, but doing an adjustable array meant I had to make the array capable of calculating the difference between real space and subspace, so it would let my ship be more ¡®real¡¯ which would drag it up¡­ Like ballast on a submarine.

    The song told me this would work. That I was doing it right, but I was struggling to get my head to wrap around the math required and not just melt down.

    I leaned back and felt steam coming out of my ears. Rubbing my face with my rough gloves I could practically feel the heat in my face. Definitely melting down.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°You got it?¡± Marshall asked.

    ¡°I got it.¡± I responded confidently. Slowly we adjusted the position and slid the missile into place.

    While I wasn¡¯t entirely confident making a few missile platforms for around the station was the best use of resources. Baron Ritz had wanted it done, and so it was done.

    At least I got to take a look at more high end military targeting software for missiles and steal some choice bits of the code.

    ¡°Well that¡¯s the last one then.¡± Marshall said and looked back at me. He was sweating and looking pretty tired, but I was still mostly fresh.

    ¡°Yeah. A single surprise missile barrage each, it isn¡¯t a lot, but hopefully it works.¡± I answered back and the boy nodded looking concerned.

    No one really wanted the war to come to our front door, but it seemed the Baron was acting as if something was going to happen and was preparing for it.

    It¡¯s a bit more proactive than I¡¯d expect from a noble, but it was fine. I could actually respect it considering he was planning the defense of my home.

    ¡°So¡­ How¡¯s the ship coming?¡± Marshall asked out of the blue.

    ¡°Slowly. Why?¡± I asked with almost narrowed eyes and Marshall looked at me without guile.

    ¡°Well I was thinking I¡¯d join your crew. Getting off station¡­ I want to do that too.¡± He mentioned, wiping a hand through his slick backed sweaty hair, as he sent me a friendly smile.

    One that I had long since understood only happened, when he thought he was getting his way.

    I blinked in shock. Marshall was the absolute last person on this station I would let come with me. I would take Heather, and she was thirteen, before I let him come with! He was a bossy asshole, and the moment he didn''t get his way he¡¯d start treating me like shit like he always did.

    ¡°I¡¯m not looking for any crew¡­ My ship won¡¯t have crew quarters at first.¡± I said, trying to make sure he didn¡¯t realize I was denying him outright.

    Maybe he¡¯d forget all about it by the time my ship was completed.

    ¡°Huh. Well, I¡¯ll be the first anyway..¡± He said, once more acting like his decision was just what was going to happen.

    I didn¡¯t say anything, but I did turn and move out of the station hangar where we had been putting the Missile platforms together. They¡¯d be pushed out by the Tugs later, and would be controlled from the Barons Frigate.

    I walked out before Marshall said another word and his irritating surety he would get his way left me wanting to punch him,

    But I had something better. I would just leave and he could spend the rest of his life stuck on this station.

    I headed home. A shower would be lovely considering how sweaty I was. I was almost there, the elevator dropping down when suddenly there was a tone alert that went over the PA system.

    I hit the stop and changed buttons.

    That was a warning call.

    The elevator opened and I rushed to the offices, everyone was already gathering rushing to find out what was going on.. Monitors above me showed the problem.

    ¡°That way! Get the Tugs out there!¡± Great Uncle Kyle roared out and people were moving. It only took a moment to figure out what was happening.

    A heavily damaged ship was drifting near the station. Someone had fled from something and ended up here. Which meant we were obligated to provide relief.

    Especially since it was a Kenish Military vessel. I recognized the purple tones they used as highlights even from the monitors.

    I ran after the repair crew. I¡¯d help get anyone on board off, while making sure the ship wouldn¡¯t blow up or something.

    As I ran I untied my sleeves and slipped my arms in, and hurried to seal the jumpsuit back up. I grabbed a random helmet and jumped into the first shuttle, throwing it on, I felt the helmet suction to my jumpsuit around the neck, sealing closed with a soft pressure. Quickly checking seals I nodded, confirming I was good.

    Considering it was an emergency I called out to my Crabbit.

    *Emergency. We have an allied ship that¡¯s damaged, if you can come drop what you are working on. Come help..* And I nodded as I got an army of chirpy replies.

    And then the shuttle door closed and we were lifting off heading into space. The silence surrounded me besides the breathing of the others in the shuttle.

    ¡°Kat.¡±

    ¡°Oh hey.¡± I waved at Ian, one of the men that was just a bit older than my group. Marshall being one of the oldest, Ian was a few years older than him. He had often been the babysitter for the kids around my age.

    ¡°When we get there. Help us get any damaged sections clear.¡± He ordered calmly.

    ¡°Can do.¡± I agreed and that was that.

    I wasn¡¯t usually part of this group, but I had gotten a reputation for repair after all!

    I could just see the big ship out of the front window of the shuttle as it maneuvered over and after a moment the static buzz of a force field.

    *Alright! Slow and steady this is a military vessel!* Ian called and we all nodded.

    The shuttle landed and I was one of the first out and I winced.

    The ship looked bad. Someone had shot the hell out of them. I ignored the poor bodies floating around as the ship''s grav plates were down, instead with a Crabbit on my shoulder helping, I flew towards the Hangar door and activated it, wincing as it failed to open. I popped the panel and winced more at the lack of power.

    *Crabby, gonna need some power.*

    *Power power!* It cheered and I plugged it into the panel and a moment later the door released the lock, but didn¡¯t open.

    *Help me.* I asked, and stuck a boot into the gap and then grabbed it with my gloved hands. The door was cold, and heavy. But it was currently in zero gravity, and more importantly, the locks and control was disabled.

    Sideways in the air, boots and fingers in the small gap that had popped open, I started pulling. I could feel biceps flex, and my jumpsuit might need to be adjusted to a bigger one again, as it was pulling on my arms pretty heavily.

    But slowly the door groaned open more and more. My struggles were slow, despite all the effort I was putting in. When suddenly more hands grabbed at the gap from the other side and started heaving and soon it was slowly creaking open, more than wide enough for people to move through.

    I pushed away, Crabbit giving me a bit of gravity so I could land on the floor, and looked up at someone who was taller than me. A soldier with a big head wound, and without a suit.

    ¡°Huh. Thanks for the help.¡± He muttered with a gravelly voice that made me think he probably smoked twenty cigars a day while chugging whisky and gargling rocks. ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s move it! We got ships. Help the wounded!¡± He roared and even I jumped out of the way as he moved.

    But I turned to my group, and nodded. We weren¡¯t medics, we were scrappers. So we would be making sure everyone could get out.

    *Crabbit, register any life signs that we can. We need to help everyone off the ship.*

    *Roger Roger!*

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Ah thanks.¡± I muttered, grabbing the drink and tossing it back. Cool water went down and it was heaven.

    ¡°Good job out there. Especially when that one guy got aggressive.¡± Carter said, he was smiling at that but I just shrugged.

    ¡°I think he was concussed and just trying to defend himself. So I just lifted him off the ground. Calmed him right down.¡±

    ¡°Heh. Well good job.¡± He said as he walked off, and I just nodded.

    We were gathering back together to get everyone off the ship. It was time for the Tugs to move it into a yard arm and get it secured now that there was no one on board and the ship wasn¡¯t at risk of exploding.

    But the problem was what had happened.

    Pirates.

    This ship had gotten into a fight with Pirates, and had from what I heard, mostly won, but with a pyrrhic victory.

    The Pirates had been fended off retreating to lick their wounds, but so had the ship.

    That was bad. It meant a group of pirates had been spotted only a few systems away. With them that close?

    It meant we were in real trouble.

    I saw another of my Crabbit fly past and nodded at their quick work. They had done a great job helping to locate everyone on board and leading people to the most injured.

    Of course then out of the corner of my eye I noticed three of the Crabbit carrying something between then and I choked and sputtered on the water, coughing a bit and super glad people were looking at me, and not at them because I¡¯m pretty sure that had been a focusing array from the ships laser cannons!

    ¡ª--

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you stole this from a Kenish warship! If anyone had noticed I can¡¯t even imagine how bad it would have gotten!¡± I said firmly, and then patted them on the head. ¡°Don¡¯t do it again without asking first. I could have helped make sure no one would notice. Now get that cabling in! We have a ship to put together!¡± I roared out hand raised.

    The Crabbit all cheered along with me, limbs raised to the sky.

    It wasn¡¯t enough for everything, but with some actual plasma cabling, and the focus arrays installed. It meant I might just be able to get a weapon online.

    And considering how tense everything had gotten. I might need them. The Baron had taken his ship and was trying to hunt the pirates before they could repair their ships, but the fact we hadn¡¯t heard anything told me what had happened.

    He couldn¡¯t find them. Sneaky pirates.

    I looked over the superstructure that was completed and had to admit. It was pretty much ready. Sure it looked a little thin with both sides of the ship basically chopped off to leave it only with the most important bits.

    Sure it only had two engines and not four, but the armor was installed, and with the cabling I might even have enough to give her a test flight.

    I heard my radio click and winced.

    *This is Kat.*

    *Where are you?* Aunt Sheila asked and I went still, because the only reason she would ask that is if she already knew.

    *I¡¯m doing some repairs in han-*

    *No you aren¡¯t, I¡¯m looking at a recording of you jumping out the damn airlock!*

    *I¡¯m at C1H-243.* I said, telling the truth and she sighed.

    *Dammit kid. I told you to be on your best behavior! I have the Barons security breathing down my neck wondering why we have an unauthorized space walk!*

    *Just tell them the truth? I¡¯m doing repairs on a personal project. They already know that I go out here.*

    *Katherine! The Baron doesn¡¯t care about your personal project! He doesn¡¯t care about your ship! We just had an attack. You should be on the Iliad, doing repairs trying to get it working! They could use your help!*

    *I can get my ship operational.* I said instead and she went quiet.

    *Kat¡­ A freighter being able to move around a bit isn¡¯t going to solve anything.*

    *It has a Thermal Lance. It¡¯s not defenseless.*

    *What in the blackhole are you talking about! That¡¯s¡­¡± She went quiet for a moment as if she finally processed what I had just said. ¡°Are you serious?*

    *Yes. I¡¯m going to get it operational. Now.*

    *Do you even have a Drive? No¡­ Where did you get a Drive?*

    *Don¡¯t ask. I didn¡¯t steal it though.* I repeated back.

    *Shit. Kat. You know I¡¯m going to have to tell Uncle Kyle about this!*

    *Just¡­ Listen, give me the rest of the night. I¡¯ll tell them myself when I have proof my ship is functional. Otherwise I¡¯m just a stupid teenager that ran out and you can just throw me into work in punishment.*

    *Dammit. You have until the first shift tomorrow. I¡¯ll make up an excuse for the Baron''s men.*

    The radio cut, and I looked up. The Crabbit had heard.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± I roared out and work resumed.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°This is really really stupid.¡± I whispered to myself as I guided the Diamond Drive through the hallway. The completely bare hallway that had no panels covering the plasma conduits, that didn¡¯t even have lights. I was guided by a flashlight as I stopped at where the door to the engine room would be.

    If I had one.

    The Diamond drive was still inactive. I hadn¡¯t dared activate it in any place that wasn¡¯t the engine room with all its shielding. No telling what a warship''s sensors could pick up without that meager protection.

    The Crabbit floated the drive in, and I nodded, floating over to the consoles that were already bolted and hooked in, I flipped the switch and nothing happened. No power?

    I crouched down and checked the front panel where the tiny Iris Drive was inserted, Hmm¡­ I pulled it out and checked the connectors. They were fine. Flipped it around, did the power connectors get installed backwards?

    Nope. I pulled it again and inserted it, and this time the console activated.

    Figures.

    With a few taps I opened the locks that would hold the Drive in place. The custom work for the differently sized drive creaked open a little but I relaxed. They just needed a bit of oil. The Crabbit were always a bit stingy with it for some reason. Always muttering about more for them.

    I nodded as they inserted it into place, and I pressed the button and the machinery came down. Locking it in place and I felt the nervousness shift through me.

    I ran down the checklist. Thermal Lance Turret on the Bow? Installed and triple checked. Engines? Installed and quadruple checked.

    The Plasma conduit cabling had shown all green on the checks¡­ We had a semi functional ship... Once it had power.

    The Crabbit all turned waiting for me.

    ¡°Open Diamond Drive!¡± I commanded and watched as they maneuvered the drive open showing the space for the Iris Drive. ¡°Insert the Core!¡±

    And then it began the Drive screwed shut. ¡°Insert the Iris Drive Array!¡± The small Iris Drives were inserted and locked in place, and everything showed green. It was time.

    I didn¡¯t say activate though. Instead I grabbed my helmet and threw it on. Then I called Sheila.

    *Brat? You¡¯re past the time I said. You-*

    *Aunt Sheila. I¡¯m about to connect the drive. Can you let the station know that it¡¯s not some pirate in the Scrap Field?* I cut in interrupting her grumbling and after a moment she gave a sigh.

    *Alright, just give me a minute.* The line cut but I didn¡¯t continue. Instead I looked at my Crabbit. ¡°Prepare for launch!¡± I called out and most of them burst out of the room to head to their stations.

    And I waited, just as I was getting antsy my radio crackled.

    *Katherine.* The voice wasn¡¯t Sheila though.

    *Station Master.* I replied back being formal to my Great Uncle.

    *Your ship is operational?*

    *Unless it explodes when I connect the drive.* I muttered a bit darkly, because it felt like there was a chance of that.

    *Where did you even get a drive?*

    *It¡¯s a long story.* I said instead of actually answering him.

    The fact was, I had a ship now, which made me a ship captain. That meant I wasn¡¯t just another scrapper on the station. I was something else.

    Family still sure, but not¡­ Not just another cog in the machine. It had shifted the dynamic.

    *Very well. We are ready for your activation.*

    *Very well.* I replied back and cut the line.

    ¡°Ignite the Diamond Drive!¡± I called out and the white light of the drives once more shifted to an angry red as the rift expanded and soon there was a stable rift generating power. What few lights we did have installed came alive. Consoles, lighting up.

    The rumble of the Diamond Drive gave the ship a light rumble that reminded me of a purr. The noise of a good engine rumbling and well maintained, but it was all energy colliding with matter.

    I turned and no longer had to float through the ship as the gravity plating came online and I stalked forward, feeling the ship come alive slowly as I walked up and took the ladder to the bridge as the elevator was still nothing but dreams and hopes for the future. I stepped out into the brightest section of the ship.

    The bridge was brightly lit consoles set up in a formation letting the Captain chair overlook them all. The bridge showed outward into the stars, and I took a moment to look out through the crystal glass. It was already active. Open view to space wasn¡¯t just an incredibly powerful see through crystal, it also had embedded virtual access.

    Letting it highlight anything the sensors could see, mark objects, or even zoom in.

    The view looked out over the bow, and the Thermal Lance turret that was already going through checks as the Crabbits had the turret shifting left and right to test the movement.

    ¡°Status!¡± I called out and the Crabbits all chirped happily.

    ¡°Functional! Functional!¡±

    ¡°All working!¡±

    ¡°Aaaaaah. Non-function!!¡± I nodded at that one. Half the ship components still weren¡¯t powered. We had engines. We had weapons. And we had some internal systems, but our shields were still offline.

    But then the most important Crabbit called out.

    ¡°Engines yaaaay! Engines good good!¡± It cheered and the others cheered back and I felt myself relax a tad but I still remained standing.

    Never had found a good enough chair.

    ¡°Docking Clamps?¡± I called, to one of the Crabbit.

    ¡°Disengaging, is clear!¡±

    I nodded and walked over to the engine console. I swallowed a bit of spit and breathed in and out, and then reached out. Everything was still bare bones here. The captain''s chair was just a chair I had stolen from another freighter, and it didn¡¯t even have any control surfaces. I was controlling the ship from a Tab¡¯s touch controls.

    I breathed in and out, as my finger touched the thrust control. Although the Crabbit could drive the ship too, this was for me.

    ¡°Phantom Star! Engage!¡±

    I pushed. Just the slightest force, and the control ticked up just a single point, but that was all we needed.

    A moment later my ship. My ship. Inched out of the Hangar, sunlight splashing across her pristine hull. Making her look pure white under the sunlight as the bridge cleared the Hangar entirely and then I just kept her moving.

    ¡°Plot a course out of the Scrap Field.¡± I asked the Crabbit at the navigation console who chirped and shifted even as I pulled back on the engines. Until we were free of the old Super Freighter that had been my Hangar for so long. And returned to a complete null motion.

    ¡°Course projection!¡± Navigation called out and I checked the screen for the plot¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna have to do that.¡± I decided because that course I¡¯m pretty sure would lead us right through multiple scrap ships and then collide with the moon somehow, before reaching the Station.

    ¡°Uuuu.¡± The Crabbit whined as I took its seat and started adjusting the course. Showing it how to do it.

 Chapter 6

    Kyle Ferrous Manager of Scrap processing station UNK-L

    Kyle had seen a lot over the years. Pirate ships detonating in plasma fire. Scrappers hauling an alien Vordt ship behind them which quickly got snatched up by the Duke.

    This wasn¡¯t even the first time one of his scrappers had taken a ship and tried to get it running.

    It was the first time he looked at a ship and simply couldn¡¯t understand how it came to exist.

    Katherine had always been a bit strange. Her repair work had always been impressive so much so that her file was filled with commendations for her actions repairing random stuff around the station even before she passed her Scrapper Exam and got the job in truth.

    But as the ship Katherine was piloting, pulled through the scrap field and came into view, he was struck wondering. It wasn¡¯t the old hull she had bartered for. The scrap hull she had been given was an old rock breaker. A cargo hauler.

    It wasn¡¯t a sleek warship.

    And what he was seeing docking to his station was a warship. This was a Corvette, armored, and armed in a way no tramp freighter could match.

    He watched as it approached. Taking note of its appearance.

    It looked a little slim, the port and Starboard were almost¡­ too flat. Like the ship hadn¡¯t been completed. Its bow was more curved and aggressive. The superstructure of the freighter had been a rather blunt hull. The bridge had been right at the front. Not so on this.

    The sweeping top bridge with armored crystal glass, again, wasn''t right. This wasn¡¯t the ship he had traded for those drones.

    This wasn¡¯t right. Where had she found this? Where had she gotten the Iris Drive to power it?

    He watched as the two engines in the back shut off as it finalized docking.

    The urge to confront her the moment she stepped off the ship was there, but he tamped it down.

    She hadn¡¯t stolen the drive, and she hadn¡¯t stolen the hull. He knew this. There weren¡¯t any drives missing, and he refused to believe that anyone, even as talented as Katherine, was capable of somehow making off with an Iris Drive capable of moving a corvette without anyone knowing.

    It just made no sense. Had she made a deal with a trader? With the Baron? Kyle didn¡¯t know, and as the hatch opened and Katherine stepped out, a stubborn tilt to her neck as if daring anyone to question her. It was one he recognized.

    His sister had the same look whenever she was going to fight against his authority.

    Well Alice, your Great Great granddaughter, takes after you.

    He stepped forward and the crowd around the docking bay shifted for him. Katherine¡¯s eyes were firm and locked on him as he approached, despite her fidgeting hands. Something he understood was common with the girl.

    ¡°Katherine. That¡¯s not exactly what I expected.¡±

    ¡°I did some work on it. With the Crabbit. It took¡­¡± She started, obviously starting an explanation but then she stopped and took a breath. ¡°The Phantom Star is my ship.¡± She said instead. An obvious statement but one he understood.

    ¡°Of course.¡± He agreed, it would be foolish to argue, not with a stubborn captain. ¡°Congratulations on becoming a captain.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ Thank you.¡± She seemed surprised at his words, but her smile warmed up after.

    Good, happy people were easier to deal with. And perhaps she would let slip an actual explanation. But before he could continue they were interrupted. The Baron had left people behind on the station to make sure deliveries of components were sent out on time, and one of them approached.

    Katherine shifted looking over the intruder. His green greatcoat was an oddity here on the station, green wasn¡¯t a common color in space and it stood out. Because of that he was instantly the center of attention.

    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with this ship design. This isn¡¯t one of the ships that was listed in the manifest.¡± The man said in a not quite demand. The man wasn¡¯t the Baron himself and his power was limited, even if he worked for him.

    ¡°The Phantom Star¡¯s been heavily modified. But I was sold a superstructure for my work and this is what I ended up with. You¡¯d be amazed at how much a ship can be altered when you have an entire group of Drones working on it around the clock.¡± Katherine said after hesitating for a while. She didn¡¯t seem comfortable with the Baron''s man.

    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ll need to do an inspection-¡±

    ¡°No.¡± She denied him instantly without even a hint of give. ¡°That¡¯s my ship.¡±

    The man didn¡¯t seem off balance by her denial, but continued. ¡°As an auditor of the station during this time. I am required to ensure nothing was stolen. I don¡¯t mean to accuse you, you understand, but a simple check of some of the equipment, particularly the Iris Drive will resolve the issue.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t think I¡¯ve stolen it, then you have no business on my ship.¡± She denied him and Kyle felt a bit of tension. This could be bad. Had she stolen the Drive?

    ¡°That seems premature. A simple inspection and you will be cleared of any wrongdoing.¡± The auditor argued, and Kyle winced as Katherine instantly started glaring in response.

    ¡°Either you suspect I¡¯m a thief, or you don¡¯t. You¡¯re waffling. Since you just learned my ship existed. You couldn¡¯t have any evidence that I stole anything.¡± She argued hotly, her voice getting quite angry which is rare for the girl from his understanding. ¡°I can¡¯t be cleared of wrongdoing if there is no evidence I did the wrongdoing in the first place!¡± She added and Kyle decided it was best to step in.

    ¡°Perhaps we table that discussion for now?¡± He cut in. ¡°Katherine you aren¡¯t planning on leaving right away are you?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ The Phantom needs a lot of work still. I just needed to get her engines and weapons online in case of the pirates showing up¡­ Unless I need to leave?¡± She asked almost plaintively, and he instantly shook his head.

    ¡°Not at all. You are still family. And still have a job here if you wish. We aren¡¯t accepting civilian traffic at the moment anyways, so the use of the docking collar isn¡¯t an issue.¡± He brushed off the problem.

    Only a fool would try to send away a girl that can make a working warship out of old scraps in an even older Super Freighter. Especially with Pirates becoming an issue.

    He¡¯d have to pay more attention to her now. Perhaps she could put that talent to use on station.

    It¡¯s not like he¡¯d turn away an actual warship guarding the station. Even if the Military was usually on top of things.

    ¡°I will make a note of this, but I will allow the Baron to make the final decision moving forward.¡± The Auditor said huffily, as he brushed imaginary lint off his stiff long coat and turned stalking away.

    While they waited for him to leave he looked out the large view ports at the ship that was docked.

    The large cannon turret on the prow of the ship caught his eye. She said those were functional? He wanted to start laughing. What an absurd girl. Where did any of this come from?

    ¡°When it¡¯s finished.¡± She finally said and he looked over at her in confusion. She was fidgeting like a child caught with her hand in a cookie jar.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll let people enter and look around¡­ When it¡¯s finished. The insides are a mess. Most of the hallways don¡¯t even have panels¡­ Or flooring.¡± She explained and he blinked at that before realizing.

    She was more concerned about what it looked like than what people might find? What an odd child.

    ¡°Heh. I¡¯d like that.¡± He offered and she brightened a bit, seemingly relaxing at his acceptance of her terms.

    He knew there weren¡¯t any missing Iris Drives. So he knew the auditor wouldn¡¯t find any evidence of theft that way. If there had been a theft of a drive capable of moving this ship he¡¯d have been notified immediately, and the entire station would have been shut down. There was no point in worrying over that.

    How she managed it was something he¡¯d worry about another time. For now?

    It was much more important that she had. And the station now had some guns protecting it.

    ¡°Kat!¡± A voice called out and it was Edward, Katherine¡¯s father that rushed forward grabbing his daughter in a hug, although the fact she was a good bit taller than her father made the entire scene a little funny.

    ¡°Dad! Look! The Phantom Star is operational! Not fully operational, but operational! She flew!¡± Katherine rambled out, nearly bouncing in her boots as she pointed, and her father, obviously having seen the ship and wondering what the hell was going on, asked the question Kyle himself wanted to know.

    ¡°Kat what? How did you build that? Where did you get an Iris Drive for it? Is that a Plasma Cannon?¡±

    ¡°Thermal Lance actually. Plasma Cannons take up too much energy especially since I¡¯m already struggling with power.¡± She said and that was a clue at least. Her Power Plant wasn¡¯t operating as it should? Or was it too small?

    ¡°Kat.¡± Her dad said, obviously wanting his questions she had ignored, answered she shrugged.

    ¡°I had a lot of help with the Crabbit. You¡¯d be amazed at the amount of work you can get done with their help. Sure I had to constantly fix their mistakes, but fixing the mistakes was still faster than trying it all myself.¡± She chattered but Kyle wasn¡¯t tricked. She had purposefully avoided answering the question fully.

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Her father noticed as well, but instead of demanding an answer, just sighed. ¡°Kat, You certainly don¡¯t do things small, do you?¡±

    ¡°Uuuu.¡± She made a groaning noise and her father just laughed.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Uhh.. What?¡±

    ¡°Registration.¡± Aunt Sheila deadpanned as her only response as a data clip was handed over. ¡°Complete that, and send it in, and you¡¯ll have your registration for your ship.¡±

    ¡°The Phantom Star.¡± I said quietly, because people were refusing to use her name!

    ¡°Your ship. I don¡¯t care what you call it Kat.¡± Aunt Sheila said with a raised eyebrow.

    I sunk deeper into the seat.

    It had been a busy afternoon. After everyone had settled down and Great Uncle Kyle stopped staring into my soul with his eyes I had been hauled off for more questioning, until finally Aunt Sheila had come into our home and started this.

    Aunt Sheila glared down on me, and even Dad looked away!

    ¡°You are a captain now, you want to travel? You want to not be shot down by the first military vessel that runs your transponder and doesn¡¯t get anything back? Register your ship. The only idiots that don¡¯t are pirates.¡±

    ¡°Okay! Okay I¡¯ll register or whatever.¡± I grumbled. Why did I have to do paperwork!? ¡°Why do you know all of this?¡± I asked her as I started loading up the data clip.

    Aunt Sheila rolled her eyes. ¡°I told you before. You aren¡¯t the first kid that wanted a ship and to escape the station. I did actual research into what I would need to do before I tried putting together a scrap freighter. Not all of us rush into things and come out with a damn warship!¡±

    ¡°Ehehe.¡± I laughed a bit uncomfortably as I was being glared at.

    That wasn¡¯t the first time today I had been asked what the hell I had done, and it wouldn¡¯t be the last. But as long as the Crabbit were guarding the ship no one would be able to peek inside and see how fucked up it all was. And discover my messy ass half finished ship.

    Or discover the Diamond Drive. You know in order of importance.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Okay tell me it¡¯s working.¡± I asked my workers and the fact they didn¡¯t instantly respond was a bad sign.

    ¡°System error! 52%!¡± I finally got an answer and I slumped.

    ¡°Rerun it!¡± I called out and continued to fiddle with the console I was half way laying inside.

    Turns out that just because you got your weapons online, and hooked up to a targeting computer didn¡¯t actually mean your guns were sighted in.

    I whispered a prayer to Garrus Vakarian, Patron Saint of weapon calibrations.

    Stupid alignment! I was going to train the Crabbit to handle this, but first I needed to get it actually working.

    The targeting computer was an older model and was made for targeting with defensive blasters, or a laser cannon. Not a Thermal Lance on a large turret mount. Not just the programming, but the hardware was struggling to handle it. So I was trying to get it running.

    ¡°Try it again!¡± I called out and waited. No point in getting out until the simulation ran correctly.

    ¡°System error! 68%!¡± I got in response and sighed.

    ¡°Rerun it!¡± And continued to work.

    ¡°Alert alert! Intruder alert! Docking collar!¡± A Crabbit called out shrilly and I bonked my head as I jumped.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± I cursed as I slid out with some difficulty and started charging through the bridge rubbing my head as I did. Sliding down the ladder. Dodging around hanging cables and leaping over the sections of the floor panels that weren¡¯t complete I made it in record time only to glare as the Crabbit on guard duty were struggling with a familiar face.

    ¡°Marshall!¡± I roared out and before he could do anything else I tackled him. I hadn¡¯t called out because I wanted his attention. It was so the Crabbit would disengage and stop grabbing at him and trying to stop him.

    With a wheeze he went down and I landed on top of him as I pinned him to the floor and thrust what I had in my hands at him. Which ended up being a multitool for fastening the console panels together.

    It was basically a big wrench so good enough.

    ¡°What do you think you are doing!?¡± I demanded and he wheezed for a moment as I had obviously knocked the air out of him.

    But when he did catch his voice it only made me mad!

    ¡°I¡¯m coming aboard!¡± He finally managed to say, looking angry. ¡°You aren¡¯t the only one that¡¯s going to fly this thing!¡±

    ¡°Idiot!¡± I shouted and then rose up and grabbed him and just started hauling him out of my ship.

    ¡°H-Hey! Let me go!¡± He yelled back and soon I was grabbing him and struggling to pull him out of the docking collar as he gripped onto the sides of it refusing to move.

    The commotion drew some attention.

    ¡°What the hell is going on over here?¡± A voice boomed out and while Marshall sort of hesitated I didn¡¯t, I continued to pull and tug him off my ship.

    Then a moment later a large hand reached over and grabbed Marshall by the scruff of his jump suit and yanked. That was enough to break his hold. I backed away as Old Collin despite being shorter than I was, loomed over Marshall and I.

    ¡°Crabbit! Lockdown!¡± I demanded and the docking collar closed with a solid whoomp as the massive doors locked solid. There. Now no one could get in.

    ¡°I see.¡± Old Collin said simply then turned to Marshall. ¡°And you boy? Got an explanation?¡±

    ¡°I told her I was going on the ship too! I don¡¯t want to spend the rest of my life doing this bullshit! Kat! Stop being a bitch!¡± He yelled but that didn¡¯t make me want to bring him with me you know?

    I was still breathing heavily but now that Old Collin was here I took a moment to breathe and then when I responded it was firm.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t welcome on my ship Marshall. If you ever try to sneak on board again. I¡¯ll shoot you.¡± I told him without hesitation. I¡¯d have to get a gun of some sort. Maybe I¡¯d try to make one¡­ Nah probably best to just buy it.

    But my words of course didn¡¯t work.

    ¡°I told you I was going on board! Stop being stupid! You moron! ¡° He ranted and I just continued to glare.

    This was what Marshall was always like. He¡¯d try to play nice to an extent, but he¡¯d still be bossy. But refuse his demands, and suddenly he¡¯ll be toxic and abusive to try and get his way.

    ¡°Boy shut up.¡± Old Collin demanded once and Marshall didn¡¯t really heed him despite the back of his jumpsuit still being bunched up in the older man''s hand.

    Then when he continued to hurl abuse at me Old Collin did something that surprised me.

    A single punch slammed into Marshall''s stomach knocking the air out of him again and doubling him over.

    ¡°There. I said shut up. Don¡¯t talk again. Girl. It¡¯d be best if you lock down your ship when you aren¡¯t using the collar. He won¡¯t be the only one that tries to sneak a peek.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡± I said back and he nodded.

    Whew. Old Collin was intense.

    ¡ª--

    It was only a couple days after I revealed the Phantom Star that an alert beeped from the sensor console on the bridge. I was half way into the navigation console when it happened and had to fight myself free to see what was going on. I turned to the large window and I knew what was happening. The shifting of space was visible to the naked eye for a second, and then in a flash of resurgent matter returning where there was none before a ship appeared.

    The Baron was back with his Frigate.

    Things had just gotten complicated.

    ¡°Finish this up okay?¡± I asked, and the Crabbit held up tools in their little grabbers.

    ¡°Work work! Finish the work!¡± It sang cheerfully and I giggled at the singing Crabbit. They were developing a lot of personality ever since they had asked me what their purpose was. That one was a bit weird, but the singing was cute.

    I wiped my hands on my jump suit and stood up, one breath in and out, and I headed out of the ship.

    When I exited the ship and looked out over the large clear windows that showed the docking ring I watched as the Baron¡¯s ship slowly came into dock. Pointedly I noticed it was towards the aft of my ship where the turret couldn¡¯t reach and was facing my girl.

    Heh.

    That made sense, no one wanted a Thermal Lance pointing at their tail.

    ¡°Ah, good. Katherine. Come join me?¡± I looked up at Great Uncle Kyle''s words and nodded firmly. I knew what was coming. I joined him where he stood waiting for the docking measures to finish, and almost as soon as they did the Baron came out. The large metal seal that cut off the station from the docking collar barely opened before he was through.

    But he seemed to pointedly walk at a normal pace to not seem in a rush.

    But the way his eyes were narrowed told me a lot.

    He reached us without a word and looked from Uncle Kyle to me, and then focused on me.

    ¡°That ship isn¡¯t some scrapyard hull.¡± He stated plainly his intentions clear.

    ¡°I did a lot of work on it.¡± I answered the clear unasked question.

    ¡°Nonsense. A modded out freighter with a capital weapon is a lot of work. Pirates do that. That is a warship from start to finish.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said instead of answering, just taking it like a compliment.

    ¡°There have been no reports of stolen Iris Drives from this station.¡± He said instead, looking at Uncle Kyle.

    ¡°There have not. Nor did we sell one outside of our contracts.¡± His answer made the Baron huff a quiet laugh.

    ¡°Since there is no evidence of a crime, there is no crime then. Katherine¡­?¡± He asked, trailing off, and I realized what he wanted. I hesitated a bit.

    ¡°Umm. We don¡¯t usually use last names on station.¡± I answered truthfully, but Great Uncle Kyle interrupted with a quiet clearing of his throat.

    ¡°You''re the direct granddaughter of Lord Ferrous through his second child, his daughter, my younger sister.¡± He offered and I just shrugged. Yeah I know?

    ¡°I see. Then Katherine Ferrous.¡± He said and I frowned a bit at that. I hadn¡¯t really had a last name before. I was always just Kat.

    I mean the closest thing to a last name I had was actually a state ID number that was long and I had no hope of memorizing it.

    That was the only thing that was important for my identity outside of the station.

    But I guess that didn¡¯t matter.

    ¡°If you say so.¡± I muttered, and the Baron gave me an odd look before shaking his head.

    ¡°You frontiersmen are an odd bunch. Regardless. I am requesting your assistance in defense of this station.¡± He continued on, confident and firm.

    ¡°Ah¡­ Of course.¡±

    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll have my XO contact you and discuss our plans. Unfortunately we don¡¯t have time to discuss this further.¡± He turned to look at Great Uncle Kyle with a serious face. ¡°I tracked the Pirates to this system. They are here.¡±

    ¡°Shit.¡± I was surprised that it wasn¡¯t me saying that. Instead Uncle Kyle firmed up and nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll do everything we can to assist you Baron.¡±

    ¡°Good. I will not allow the pirates to act as they please.¡± And with that he turned and walked away.

    ¡°Shit.¡± This time it was me. I was still having issues with the guns! ¡°I have work to do!¡± I called out as I ran back to my docking collar. I had to get my guns sorted out!

    ¡ª--

    Baron Cyger Ritz

    ¡°What can you tell me?¡± He demanded as he entered the bridge on the Octavius once more.

    ¡°150 Meters. That turret on the front holds a pair of Thermal Cannons, like I suspected. The sensor scans confirm it. The armor is interesting, The material is average, but its fabrication is odd, very very odd!¡± Eugene, his Chief Engineer replied as he walked over to look at the console he was working with his sensor tech to go over.

    How in the hole did his scans of the sector never reveal this? An entire ship! Cyger shook it off. It was a blessing in disguise, and he¡¯d use it as much as he could. If the ship could fire, if it could even distract a few pirates that would be all he needed to take them out.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about the armor. Can it fight?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Well¡­ And no. The scans show almost no shield emitters are functional, the ones that are even installed anyways. Although it does look like her drones are working towards that. But really Sir. This armor is quite something!¡±

    ¡°What is it? You know I don¡¯t have time for nonsense.¡± Cyger demanded, Eugene could often get stuck on the unimportant details, but just as likely those details might actually be very important.

    ¡°Sir. It¡¯s using a design more advanced than what we have!¡± His Engineer said in a rush. The man was excellent but easily excitable about anything mechanical. ¡°The materials are average at best, but the armor is using an ablative design! I¡¯m not sure what she plans after the battle. I can''t imagine the repair time, but her armor will hold up better than normal. I¡¯ll bet it¡¯ll surprise our pirate friends quite a bit¡­ Not that it¡¯ll matter much without proper shields.¡±

    ¡°Do we need to help her?¡± Cyger asked. He hated to even consider it, but two ships were better than one and a half.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t even know where to start Sir. This isn¡¯t a common design. In fact it¡¯s not in any database. If I had to put creds on it? I think she designed it herself. It has some hallmarks of young designers.¡±

    ¡°Impossible.¡± Cyger responded instantly. Creating a ship wasn¡¯t something someone could just do by themselves like that!

    ¡°Not impossible. Improbable, but as I said sir. I¡¯d put my Creds on it. The ship is too¡­ Rough. To be from a normal shipyard. Look look, it does something strange with the sides of the ship! The design stutters there. Like she made a mistake while building. I think that¡¯s why the sides of the ship are so flat.¡±

    Cyger took in this information and wanted nothing more than to press on it. But stored it away. Whether it was true or not was unimportant to the fact of what was happening.

    ¡°Very well. Artemis?¡±

    ¡°Sir!¡±

    ¡°Confer with her, and set up a doctrine to use the ship.¡±

    ¡°Yes Sir.¡±

    ¡°And Eugene. Continue to keep an eye on that ship, having an additional ship will be useful but I need repairs done.¡±

    ¡°Understood my lord, understood.¡± Eugene remarked calming down from his excitement and soon he was off to go find some new damage to his ship to repair.

    ¡°Anything on our scanners?¡±

    ¡°Nothing Sir. But we will keep looking.¡± He nodded at that and moved to his command throne.

    What were the Pirates planning? When would they attack? And in how many numbers?

    He felt his fists tighten in his gloves. This was meant to be a milk run, an easy duty assignment to keep him out of trouble during this war. It was an insult and a gift wrapped in one, and now, it might be far more.

    If he succeeded, there would be no lauded rewards in his future. It was expected to defeat pirates, and none would accept that this pirate group was any threat. Even if they would normally be handled by an entire task fleet.

    Worse still, if he failed¡­ Failure would ruin his future. What a bitter fruit this gift turned out to be.

 Chapter 7

    My anxiety was getting to me, my hands folded into themselves in a constant twisting as I looked at the man opposite me.

    ¡°Do be more at ease my dear I beg, you are making me anxious.¡± Chief Engineer of the Octavius, Eugene sat across from me gently sipping his drink. We were at the Hab deck on the station, and we were even sharing a meal of sorts.

    I just felt so awkward. I was doing everything I could to pretend some of the parts on the Phantom Star weren¡¯t stolen, but I think the old engineer had noticed it right away.

    ¡°Looking at this, I can be reasonably sure your Thermal Lance is functional. Absolutely astounding, to put such a weapon together yourself. Thank you for letting me get a look at it.¡±

    ¡°I found plenty of the parts on old ships, most of the rest was just manufacturing the parts.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yet that¡¯s no simple task. I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d let me peek at your manufacturing method? No, no I can already see that you won¡¯t.¡± He spoke with a laugh, before I could even say anything, smiling at me as if he was sharing a good joke.

    That only made it more awkward, because I didn¡¯t want to share the joke! I wanted him to stop trying to figure out all my secrets!

    ¡°Well enough of me enjoying myself.¡± He said looking almost fondly at his Tab as he set it down. ¡°As much as I loved going through the construction of your delightful vessel. I¡¯m here as the Chief Engineer first. The Baron in his wisdom wishes to offer you assistance.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I need help? Probably.¡± I whispered and the man smirked as he took a moment to grab a bite from his meal.

    ¡°I don¡¯t just mean an offer for one of our repair teams. Although if you would be willing we would assist you. This is a serious situation after all, but I was particularly speaking of spare parts.¡±

    ¡°Power Cables.¡± I said instantly. The damn things were never long enough!

    ¡°Ah yes, I¡¯ve been in that situation. Never enough of them is it?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± I grumbled, my anxiety slowly dropping as he laughed in shared misery.

    ¡°Well that I can assist you with, the Octavius of course has large stocks of the things, but this wonderful station will be sending a delivery with quite a few of them soon. It won¡¯t be any trouble to have them reserved. I¡¯ll have a tech start dropping off some cabling in front of your ship''s airlock if that works?¡±

    ¡°The Crabbits can take it from there, yeah.¡± I said, and the Crabbit on my shoulder chirped happily not interrupting the conversation but letting me know she had told the others. I reached up to pet her chassis, she wouldn¡¯t get much from it, but there was a very human instinct to pet things.

    ¡°Delightful! Then let¡¯s talk-¡±

    ¡°Kat?¡±

    ¡°Mom?¡± I asked, turning as I saw Mom walking towards me. She seemed worried for a moment, until she seemed to recognize Eugene.

    ¡°Oh! Chief Engineer greetings to you.¡± Mom offered with a curtsy bow thing that she had tried to teach me a few times but I just wasn¡¯t good at it. ¡°I hope my daughter is on her best behavior?¡± Mom asked a little pointedly.

    Which wasn¡¯t necessary! I was always on my best behavior!

    ¡°Oh she is simply fascinating, and no insult has been given. Eugene Kilver.¡± He offered, and Mom smiled.

    ¡°Lina Ferrous, although I rarely get to use the last name.¡± She explained and Eugene offered a laugh.

    ¡°It¡¯s an odd custom, but not unusual for large families like this I¡¯ve found. I was just speaking to your daughter about her ship.¡± Eugene offered, and Mom lit up.

    Mom, even more than Dad, was proud of me for the Phantom Star.

    A ship was more than just a ship after all, it was power. Power, and freedom, something she understood very well.

    ¡°Yes, Katherine wowed us all with it. She¡¯s always been good with technology, but I certainly never expected¡­¡± Mom had thrown an arm over my shoulder as she rambled, with me sitting she was just the right height for it.

    ¡°Oh I doubt anyone expected what young Katherine has put together. I find myself jealous of her talent as well. A nebula of talent.¡± Eugene complimented me, and Mom obviously liked that.

    ¡°She is. I¡¯ve always wanted her to be something great, and she¡¯s well on her way.¡± Mom said proudly, and then reached out and tugged on my cheek a little. ¡°Now if only I could get her to care for the important things. You went to a University, didn''t you Eugene?¡±

    ¡°I did indeed, in fact. Filtborn, on Kellis. A fine institution.¡±

    ¡°The best in all of the Kurtz Sector from what I hear. I¡¯d love for Kat to get in.¡± Mom said, and I know what this was all about.

    ¡°Mom. I¡¯m not going to a University. I¡¯ve got my ship, and I¡¯m a Captain now.¡± I grumbled.

    ¡°A captain can still go to a University, and get an even better job, or a noble title.¡± Mom said, and I rolled my eyes.

    ¡°Hah! A difficult prospect, but for a girl that can forge her own ship perhaps possible.¡± Eugene said smiling, but he had sat back a bit in his chair, seemingly putting some distance between himself and the conversation.

    Rising to nobility wasn¡¯t an easy task, and considering his position it was probably something he himself was working towards.

    I just had no interest in even trying to join that rat race. I had my ship, and I¡¯d have the stars. I didn¡¯t need land to call my own, or the title to shackle me as much as it would give me power.

    Power I just didn¡¯t care about.

    ¡°I could always contact my old Alma Mater, and see if they¡¯d be interested.¡± Eugene offered, and I instantly sent him a death glare, telling him that he better not!

    He winked at me, as Mom went into a fluffy tirade about my accomplishments, and how well I would do at a university.

    Mom was super embarrassing.

    ¡ª-

    ¡°Come on baby, talk to me.¡± I whispered as I just closed my eyes and listened to the song. There was something wrong in the system, and despite fixing problem after problem, it felt like I only ever pushed the problem further away. What was I missing?

    The song chirped and swirled. Happy noise flowed through the ship even as every part of the song in part had some discordant note.

    It was working overall, the ship was flying, but there was always some part that wasn¡¯t working.

    I felt it then, a faint note that sounded off that was throwing off the rest of the melody, I turned and headed down the hall.

    Now where was that? I continued on walking past Crabbit that were digging through the cabling along the walls and in the floors. Sparks were going off as they welded the ship together. Or fixed one thing or another.

    Finally I stopped and looked down.

    I tilted my head as I looked at the pile of cables and felt my eyes narrow.

    What was wrong here? I reached down and ran a hand through the power lines and finally I felt it. Like an electric shock, as the discordant note ran under my fingers.

    ¡°Why are you broken?¡± I asked as I sat down and got comfortable, feet dangling into the open floor panel as I tugged up the cable and started looking it over. It looked fine.

    ¡°Crabbit, give me a power check.¡± I asked the shoulder Crabbit for the day. Watching on as it pressed a few tools against the place where the cable connected to another.

    ¡°Negative transfer! Error!¡± It called out and I hummed, bending down I looked through the tunnel where the cabling ran through.

    ¡°Go down and find the next connection node for this line, and check it.¡±

    ¡°Roger roger!¡± It chirped and crawled over my shoulder and floated down to the crawl space before slipping inside.

    Was it a bad cable? That would be a surprise, these things were supposed to be checked before they were used. Because a bad cable in a starship could be life support.

    I waited for a bit before the Crabbit called out.

    ¡°Error found! Error found!¡± Crabbit called out and I sighed, slumping a bit.

    ¡°Fiddlesticks. Alright bring it up, let¡¯s see.¡± I called out and a few moments later the cable''s other end was offered up to me and I whistled.

    ¡°Yep. That¡¯ll do it.¡± I muttered Looking at the connection at the end of the cable that hadn¡¯t handled power going through it. ¡°Give me a scan on this. What¡¯s it made of?¡± I asked, and a moment later the results displayed on the Crabbits face screen. I could only shake my head at what was revealed.

    Someone somewhere was trying to make a quick buck. They used a metal that wasn¡¯t rated to handle plasma flow. So it held power for a short time. Long enough for the first flight, but that had burned out the connector.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯m going to get this fixed. Add a new work order. Every cable needs to be checked to make sure they aren¡¯t this junk.¡±

    ¡°Uuuu. Roger roger.¡± My Crabbit whined, its little arms resting on its head like it was trying to hide from work.

    ¡°I know. It¡¯s a lot of work, but we have to make sure it''s safe.¡± I said and then turned and hopped over the open hole in my flooring and hurried to the hangar. I had stored all the Nanopaste there for now, and it would be good enough to break down the broken connector and then make a working one.

    ¡ª--

    *Station UNK-L, this is Phantom Star.*

    *Go ahead Phantom Star.*

    *Requesting docking release.*

    *Release is Green¡­ You leaving Kat?* I laughed at the worried tone.

    *Only a shakedown cruise Aunt Milly. I¡¯ll be back in a few hours at most. Just doing some tests.*

    *I¡¯ll let everyone know. Safe flight.*

    *Thanks you too!* I said and then blinked at what I had just done.

    ¡°Uuuu.¡± You too? She wasn¡¯t going anywhere moron!

    Shaking it off I walked from the communications console over to my captain''s chair. It wasn¡¯t a good chair, but it would do for now. Still needed to either find a good chair, or make one. But for now, I could sit, and I had the controls I needed.

    I plopped in and with a breath started activating my girl.

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    The Diamond Drive was already on, so I didn¡¯t need to reignite it, but I turned on the engines. A quiet noise filled the ship as the engines spun up. Plasma flowing through conduits to turn the two Nacelles into my ship''s legs.

    The gravity engines activated, but it was the Plasma thrusters that made the ship rumble, as I tapped the throttle to push the Phantom Star away from the Station.

    I just let her drift for a while, as we slowly moved into the black.

    ¡°Give me a status report!¡±

    ¡°Function positive!¡±

    ¡°Working! Issues negative! Yay!¡±

    ¡°Weeeee!¡±

    ¡°Crabbit! Stop floating around! Get on station.¡± I called out to the Crabbit that was in the air spinning around.

    ¡°Ah! Yes! Sorry sorry!¡± It stopped and scrambled for its station.

    Silly bot.

    ¡°Communication request!¡± One of my Crabbit called out, and I tapped on the Tab I had set up to be my captain''s chair console.

    *This is Phantom Star.* I offered once I opened the line.

    *This is Octavius operations. Phantom Star, what is your flight plan?* A bored voice spoke out and I frowned a bit. Swallowed my instant desire to tell them to stuff it, because it wasn¡¯t their business and remembered that things were a bit tense because of worries over pirates.

    *Just a shakedown cruise out to the asteroid belt for some tests. Should be no more than a couple hours.*

    *Understood. Flight plan logged. The Baron wishes to extend a warning to be careful around the asteroids. They are often used by Pirates as hiding places.*

    *Understood. Thank you for the warning. I¡¯ll be careful. Phantom Star out.*

    I closed the line and nodded.

    ¡°Alright! Crabbit! Prepare to shift to flank speed!¡± I called out and that got a lot of motion as all my Crabbit throughout the ship started checking to make sure the ship could handle it.

    When everything came back green. I put my hand on the Tab screen, and slowly pushed the throttle forward. The rumble of Plasma Thrusters died out, as the Gravity Drive took over, the two Nacelles formed a field of Gravity around the ship, and we started accelerating.

    I glanced at the sensor map and saw the Station, the place I had lived my entire life, rapidly began dropping out behind us as we moved.

    It was just too bad, it wasn¡¯t as fast as she should be. I was still down two more Nacelles that would make a much much stronger Gravity field.

    ¡°Report!¡±

    ¡°No issues! Working! Yay!¡±

    ¡°Uuuu, keeps failing!!¡± I nodded at that report, that was our deflector dish. Unfortunately our shields were still¡­ Not really there. The amount of Shield Emitters the Phantom currently had operational could be counted on one hand, and that was mostly for testing.

    She was bare naked, but at least her skin was tough.

    The deflector though, was required for non warp travel, to push, and deflect any space debris from just smashing into the ship. It was¡­ Functional. That was the best thing I could say about it.

    I checked the Tab reports and nodded. Our acceleration had maxed out. Our actual speed of course would keep increasing if I just kept gunning it, but the two nacelles could only give me so much acceleration which was the better indicator of a ships actual ¡®speed¡¯ in combat situations.

    ¡°Alright. Everything is working out¡­ It¡¯s my time to fly.¡± I said, smiling at the words as I adjusted my hand to hit all the controls.

    ¡°Exhale.¡± I whispered and then shifted the controls, feeling the Phantom curve into a long left turn. She wasn¡¯t a fighter, but when she was done, with all engines, and flight panels with the extended sides she¡¯d be zippy for a ship her size.

    For now she was a bit lazy in her handling. As I arced her into a long turn I could feel her giving less turn than I asked for.

    The Crabbit would be taking the data down though. I could check it later, and see if there was anything I could change, but for now?

    I grinned as I tilted the stick and just laughed as the stars spun around and around.

    ¡°Warning. Asteroid¡¯s detected.¡± Crabbit called out, and I nodded.

    ¡°Alright, Plot me a path through at current speed.¡± I called out, and I giggled as every Crabbit on the bridge turned to look at me like I was crazy.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t give me that look! I need a path.¡± I demanded, and all the Crabbit turned to look at one of them.

    Ah, they were sharing a data stream.

    Snrk.

    I had to do everything I could not to break out into cackles, as the Crabbit basically freaked out at my orders. Very quickly a plot through the asteroids started filling in, but I nearly instantly denied it.

    ¡°Belay that! The ship can¡¯t make those turns at this speed. Do it again.¡± I demanded and the Crabbit stilled before blurring around its console.

    Slowly I could see the asteroids ahead of me getting closer and closer.

    ¡°C¡¯mon girls.¡± I reminded, and then the plot came out and I looked it over.

    Still amateur. Even I could see that, and I had only flown shuttles that were basically the equivalent of electric scooters.

    But I could do this. I reached out and made two adjustments, sent it back and then got confirmation from the Crabbit.

    ¡°Alright. Girls. Hold on.¡± I told them, and grinned as I first shifted the Phantom into a harder left turn, then I turned her nose back the way I had turned from, and the acceleration took me into the asteroid belt, skimming past the first large rock on my starboard side.

    ¡°Ohhh. I can¡¯t look.¡± One of the Crabbit said throwing their little arms over their optics, which wouldn¡¯t do a damn thing to stop them from seeing, but it was still cute.

    With that I was off. Adjusting course, and pushing the ship as I weaved into a field of asteroids that had likely never had a human come within a million miles of before.

    And yet, despite still missing so much. The ship didn¡¯t stutter. The Gravity Drive shifted the Phantom Star left and right, at a touch, and I was spinning and adjusting without issue, following the plotted course.

    The Crabbit were making little noises of concern, or excitement depending on what their proclivities were, but it was all in good fun. I wouldn¡¯t have done this if the Phantom wasn¡¯t capable of doing it safely.

    Even if I did smash into something, it would suck, but we¡¯d be fine. Starships, even ones that I made in an old freighter with a scrap hull, were stronger than some old space rocks.

    And then, with a dizzying spin, that I didn¡¯t even feel thanks to the inertial dampeners I broke through a cloud of micro asteroids, which caused a burst of light from the deflector and shift the whole field of rocks in a wave off my bow and I was free of the asteroid belt.

    ¡°Not bad.¡± I whispered to myself, because that had felt¡­ Amazing. I shifted left and moved into an arc to just fly alongside the asteroid field. ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s find a target! Start scanning.¡± I called out, and the Crabbit jumped to do that. They were much more relaxed now and back to their chatty selves.

    ¡°Scanning Scanning! All the rocks, get a scan! That rock, that rock. That one too!¡± The Crabbit on the sensor console sang away and I just hummed along with her as we continued.

    Type 4 Sensors would be able to find what we were looking for, an acceptable target for the Thermal Lance. Flying around was fun, but in the end, it was merely a fun side activity while giving the Phantom Star some time to stretch her legs so to speak.

    As we were on a safe course I looked towards my Tab and started going over what reports I was getting.

    Yep. Some things were failing, or causing issues. I could hear the song of the ship giving me light discordant notes, but nothing dangerous. She¡¯d get us back to the station without issues, but there were definitely a few things I¡¯d need to fix.

    As I was working I let the chatter of the Crabbit flow through me. They were learning their jobs quickly. The song about what she was finding in the asteroids was cute, and informative.

    The status reports they were sharing with me, and each other was good information. The port sensor panel was on the fritz if it was giving this much static, sure the central system was kludged together, but it shouldn¡¯t be this wavy. I added it to the work order.

    Some of the plasma cabling was struggling with power, so we¡¯d need to adjust the power flow. That I sent to the Crabbit in the engine room right away. They were still learning the proper power pathing, and adjustment.

    Someday they¡¯d be able to send more or less power to different systems when needed, but for now, I was more concerned with just not blowing anything.

    ¡°Hmmm? Hmmmmmmmmm.¡± The Crabbit on the sensor suddenly stopped singing.

    The shift of her song had me looking up. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Sensor error?¡± It called out, and I got up and walked over. Looking over the console. I saw what the problem was. There were some returns that weren¡¯t right. Was the port side Panel getting worse?

    ¡°One second.¡± I called back to the pilot seat, and then I just spun the Phantom Star. letting the starboard side of the ship face the weird problem.

    ¡°Sensor error?¡± Crabbit repeated and that made me frown.

    Walking back I glanced at the console.

    No, that wasn¡¯t right.

    ¡°The starboard sensor panel is on the fritz now? That¡¯s impossible.¡± I said and then checked my port panel that was causing issues and confirmed.

    It was fine now.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± I whispered, as I placed both hands on the console and started fiddling. Something was interfering with my sensor returns, and my stomach instantly went to the worst possible thing.

    The Pirates. Had I seriously just stumbled on them? In space? I refused to believe that was probable. Space was too fucking big for this!

    ¡°Crabbit. I want you to register the exact area that we are getting that weird return from.¡± I called out as I headed back to my captain''s chair, and then started basically wiggling the Phantom Star. I was letting different Sensor panels read the bad return, which since we were getting more data¡­

    ¡°Confirmed! Return! Optical imaging.¡± The Crabbit called out, and along the viewport, a window popped up that then zoomed in over and over and I saw it.

    I breathed a sigh of relief.

    Not a pirate. Not a ship in fact.

    ¡°Do we know what that is?¡± I asked, and got a bunch of negatives from the Crabbit.

    Of course they wouldn¡¯t know. I reminded myself. ¡°Okay. Gather the scans, and mark this location.¡± I ordered. I looked at the asteroid that had a massive crater on the side of it, and what looked like veins of metal running through it, but the metal was actually pulsing a little with some sort of odd yellow light.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°A small cache of Tier 1 sensor baffling Meta Materials.¡± Aunt Sheila answers me instantly as I show her the data when I got back home.

    ¡°Oh.¡± I muttered. Meta Materials weren''t something I had much experience with. The closest we got to any was when we were stripping parts that used some of them.

    ¡°That¡¯s a nice little find. I¡¯ll let-¡± She cut herself off instantly, stiffening a bit before she took a breath and relaxed, changing what she was about to say. ¡°You could try to sell the data to a mining corp, but I doubt you¡¯d get any interest. Tier 1¡¯s are pretty common. The Baron might have some interest though.¡± She added after a moment, and I gave her a long look with a raised eyebrow in turn.

    ¡°What was that?¡± I asked, after she seemed to refuse to speak.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t someone I can just decide things for anymore kid. Hell, you''re a captain. In every respect you outrank me.¡±

    I blinked at that. Ranks. It wasn¡¯t something I thought about much considering most everyone on station was family, or were random workers, so that meant by definition they were lower rank than the family.

    But I did live in a sector of space with titles of Nobility, and rankings changed how you were treated by everyone. As a Captain. I was up there. Only Great Uncle Kyle, technically, was still above me.

    I shook it off, and decided to ignore it, because I didn¡¯t want to think of people like that.

    ¡°That¡¯s stupid. I still want your advice. What would you have told me before I had the ship?¡±

    ¡°Honestly? I¡¯d have told Uncle Kyle, and grabbed shuttles and gear, and we¡¯d have mined it up ourselves. Won¡¯t make much, and we can¡¯t refine it easily, but a trader stopping by might be interested in picking up some cheap Metas¡±

    ¡°Okay. Cool¡­ I guess I could open up the Stars hangar too. It would be safer than our shuttles.¡± I muttered, tapping a finger against my chin as I considered, but then stilled and shook it off. ¡°But we¡¯ll have to think about it after the pirates. I wouldn¡¯t want to bring so many people when we could get attacked.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. But kid. Things¡¯ve changed now. You should really start thinking of getting creds for yourself, and what you are going to do. You¡¯re a Captain now. And you aren¡¯t flying around a little shuttle or something. That beast of yours isn¡¯t a civilian craft.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still me. Phantom Star or not. And I won¡¯t let something like that just change who I am Aunt Sheila. That¡¯s stupid.¡± I argued instantly even crossing my arms into an X to show how serious I was. ¡°Will you talk to Great Uncle Kyle about it for me?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± She said instantly and I slumped, because I knew what she was going to say next. ¡°Do it yourself. You have that right, and you should get used to talking to Station Managers. Go on then.¡±

    ¡°Uuuu.¡±

    ¡ª--

    ¡°An interesting find.¡± Uncle Kyle offered looking over the data I had handed him, but he shook his head. ¡°But even if I wanted to, we can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Yeah the pirates, I know. I told Aunt Sheila the same thing when I considered using the Phantom¡¯s Hangar to help.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d let people on board?¡±

    ¡°I mean¡­ The hangar bay is mostly complete, I wouldn¡¯t let them further in.¡± I argued looking away, and he actually chuckled softly.

    ¡°Well Katherine, I appreciate you informing me of this, and not just selling the data. This is close enough to the station if anyone did come in to mine it, there could be¡­ Complications.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I was just flying through the closest field to stretch my legs when I noticed it.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Could you find more?¡± He asked and I had to consider that.

    ¡°Technically I stumbled across it because I didn¡¯t find it.¡± I said slowly, as I considered. ¡°My sensors were bugging, and the Crabbit noticed it¡­¡± Could I upgrade my sensors to better find Meta Materials? I mean¡­ There were as many Meta Materials as there were stars.

    Anything that could be¡­ Mutated? I¡¯m not sure what the official description of them was. But when something had some interaction with subspace, and came away different.

    It was honestly kind of weird, and this was the first time I had ever really come across them naturally, but Meta Materials were kind of weird. Especially since nearly anything could become one. I¡¯d even heard of water becoming a Meta Material. So it wasn¡¯t just minerals that could change.

    ¡°Alright. Well, I suppose it¡¯s something we can talk about after everything has been settled.¡± I decided. And Uncle Kyle nodded.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. How did your test flight go? If you don¡¯t mind sharing?¡±

    ¡°Good. I uh¡­ Forgot to test the weapons though I got distracted, so I¡¯ll have to take her out again to do that¡­ But that¡¯s a good thing! More tests!¡± I argued quickly to make sure he didn¡¯t think I was a ditz or something! I just got distracted by the glowy rock!

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± He offered and that was signal enough for me to get out of there.

    ¡ª--

    Of course, the tests had shown some problems even so. Power management was still coming along, and Crabbit was learning, so a few power lines needed to be rechecked as they had way too much energy flowing through them.

    Checking the damn power cables was becoming a constant thing, it was a good thing this was my own ship, and the cables working was a requirement for me not to die, otherwise I would be getting irritated constantly checking the damn things.

    Digging through the walls of the ship, one section at a time as I ran my hands over every segment, pressing a tool against the ports, and getting readings I worked down the ship.

    I was humming quietly, as I worked, the readings were all coming back good, which was a relief. I had been worried that we might burn out some of the plasma cable, but it was actually looking okay.

    Plasma Cable was tough stuff thankfully.

    But suddenly everything changed.

    ¡°Warning!¡± Crabbit on my shoulder shrieked loudly, and I stilled. There was only one reason for them to give me a warning!

    I turned and ran, dropping the tools in my hands and just moving. I had to get to the bridge.

    Leaping over the jumble of messes in the hallways, I ran into the ladder to the bridge and nearly slid right past it as I grabbed hold and started climbing.

    ¡°Communication! Communication!¡±

    Was the response I got as I climbed into the bridge.

    ¡°Send it through.¡± I yelled as I jumped into my uncomfortable chair.

    *Phantom Star, this is Octavius, respond.*

    *Octavius, this is Phantom Star.*

    *We have multiple contacts coming out of warp sending you data now. Please slave your computer to us. We will be sending objectives.*

    *Got it. I¡¯ll do that.* I agreed and the line went dead, as the request came over.

    Battle. It was time to battle.

    ¡°Crabbit! Connect to the Octavius as they requested. The rest of you, batten everything down, we are moving!¡± I called out, and then switched over to the Station.

    I was almost surprised I was still connected to the station, as most of the time if this sort of trouble came around, they would have jettisoned me immediately so the Station Shields would have better coverage.

    But I guess even with everything, I was still one of them.

    *This is Phantom Star. Requesting docking release.* I called out, and nearly instantly I was unlocked.

    *Accepted¡­ Be careful Kat.¡± Aunt Penny was on duty today then?

    *I will.* I promised as confidently as I could. I gently pushed the throttle up and moved to join the Octavius, the Barons Frigate. I tried to ignore how clammy my hands felt. Or how the humming of the Phantom Star below me, which felt so comforting a moment ago, now felt uncomfortable, as I could feel the imperfections in the ship''s noise.

    She wasn¡¯t ready for a battle.

    I wasn¡¯t ready for battle.

 Chapter 8

    ¡°Targets received! Received! Ten enemy ships! Oh no!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be okay!¡± I called back, as my Tab filled with the data the Octavius sent over.

    Ten enemy Pirates. Mostly Civilian retrofits. Lots of weapons and things but still just Civilian ships not really designed for combat. Weak to no armor, and a power system likely not designed to handle the load.

    Not that strapping on tons of weapons on a ship made them less dangerous regardless.

    I stared out into the field of stars. The crystal glass view port was reactive. Even though I had only hooked up the most basic functionality. It still came alive, with sensor markings showing where things were.

    While still a window, it was more like a massive Tab screen. I could even zoom in on things If I needed.

    The icons shifted as we moved, showing speed, and distance as best as the Phantom Star¡¯s sensors could tell.

    There was already a lot of disruption. Chaff, either physical, or electronic was screwing up the numbers making them shift a little erratically.

    Then most of them shifted, growing clearer and colors appeared as data from the Octavius was sent over. I now had my targets, as well as better information to work with.

    It was a dizzying amount of data especially since I was a complete novice, but I had AI specifically for this.

    ¡°Clear up the data, we¡¯re focusing on just one at a time. Give me a firing solution for our target. And I need a double check of the Thermal Lance!¡± I demanded, and my Crabbit with their orders jumped to work. I could see the Thermal Lance charging up and I relaxed as it held power.

    Whether it would fire accurately was another issue entirely.

    I had built the damn thing out of scrap parts, Nanopaste and dreams, and the laser emitters that guided the plasma volley were finicky.

    While taking all that in, I noticed I was falling behind the Octavius a bit too much, and pushed the engines a bit harder.

    I could feel the strain in the two nacelles as the acceleration felt sluggish.

    Ignoring that I just focused on trying to keep up.

    ¡°Warning! Warning! Hostile ECM detected!¡± I looked up and most of the targets seemed to glitch and shift just centimeters to the left and right on the viewscreen.

    That didn¡¯t seem like much, but in space that difference was more than enough to be immune to retaliation.

    One of those ships had serious ECM systems. Which made perfect sense for a group of pirates.

    ¡°Ah! Octavius is responding! Good good!¡± The same Crabbit on sensors called out, and I noticed the glitching mostly went away. Obviously the electronic warfare specialist on the Octavius was fighting back. Would the Octavius, being a military vessel, overpower these pirates on that field as well?

    Normally, I¡¯d say yes, but pirates are pirates, attacking vessels is their speciality and you need someone skilled to jam comms and make sure even a civilian vessel can¡¯t call for help.

    But there was still enough interference to make accurate long range shooting pointless.

    ¡°Gather a few hands and sync up. I want to make sure our target is a clear shot!¡± I called out, and nodded with that done. A few Crabbit floated in not long after and joined up with the sensor Crabbit, tying themselves together to try and clear up the interference for the perfect shot.

    The targets cleared up a bit more, but every few seconds it would glitch out again before clearing.

    Someone on the other end of that ECM knew what they were doing.

    I took a deep breath in and out. I wasn¡¯t an electronic warfare specialist. I knew about as much as anyone that used Tab¡¯s and other computer systems in this age knew.

    Which was nothing when it came to that level of high end warfare.

    I¡¯d just have to hope that the Octavius had someone a bit more specialized, and the Crabbit could help¡­

    ¡°Crabbit. Try to connect to Octavius''s electronic warfare specialist. See if you can work with them.¡± I didn¡¯t know if the person in charge would even want to work with a young AI but I would ask.

    Better than just leaving it to the Crabbit.

    The fact was, they weren¡¯t the best at learning something from scratch. Sure I could teach them, and they¡¯d pick it up quickly enough, but they were still like children, and would make mistakes, or get distracted.

    Or just have pure misunderstandings on what to do like they did with the navigation.

    Putting that out of my head. I noticed the distances grow closer and closer, and set to work.

    ¡°Firing solution!¡± I demanded and the Crabbit responded.

    ¡°Null! Null!¡±

    Too far still. But I urged them anyway.

    ¡°Get me a solution anyways, Keep it updated. Try to ignore incorrect responses from the ECM.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm. Okay! I¡¯ll do it!¡± The Crabbit at the tactical station called out. The reason I had put this one on weapons was because it was a bit aggressive and willing to try things even without fully correct data.

    The creation of the Diamond Drive had caused a few of the Crabbit to become a bit more experimental.

    Not something entirely safe, but it had its uses.

    ¡°Warning! Enemy fire detected!¡± I quickly tabbed the throttle to give myself a shifting trajectory and jerked to the port. The ship shifted to the right altering our course, where we would be. And then I waited.

    A moment later, I saw the attack. A laser shot passed, I watched in fear as it wiggled a bit trying to confirm our location at such a distance and with the ECM of the Octavius hiding us, and then it ended.

    That was scary. Especially since it was invisible to the naked eye, only my Crystal Glass viewport highlighting it even let me see it.

    It could also dim the beam in case someone got smart and decided to try and flash fry someone''s eyes with a high visibility laser.

    ¡°No hit! Evasion successful!¡± I felt my heart pounding, as I started adding some evasive maneuvers into my flight plan. It set me even farther behind the Octavius, but they had added some maneuvers to their flight as well, not that it slowed them nearly as much as It did me.

    It¡¯s fine.

    I was backup, they were the main thrust here.

    Then the target lights on the view port shifted color.

    Range was getting close enough for combat.

    ¡°Shifting to Engagement speed, get me a firing solution!¡±

    ¡°Yes! Processing processing, accuracy!¡± I wanted to laugh as next to the target marker the Crabbit added a little percentage which was their assumed accuracy. I watched as the number went up, but every shift in the Phantom, or the enemy maneuvering caused the number to drop.

    Not exactly comforting.

    But we weren¡¯t a long distance ship. Space warfare took on two factors, long range, and knife fighting.

    ECM was so effective it was nearly impossible to use long range weapons reliably to do more than pepper enemy shields.

    As I continued getting closer and closer I watched as the Octavius opened up with their laser batteries. A dozen beams of directed energy lashed out, all of them focused on one or two ships to try and weaken shields for when we got closer.

    The pirates continued to attack back, but they were not nearly as accurate. And only a few much smaller lasers lashed out and even touched the Octavius¡¯s shields in return.

    A few pot shots were taken towards me again, but at this range again with just minor maneuvers nothing touched the Phantom.

    And all the while, I tried to keep pace with the Octavius, and failed, while watching the firing solution for our target shoot up and down as the computer and Crabbit tried to get the shot on target.

    Then it happened. The Octavius in front of me, crossed the distance into knife fighting range where the ECM fields would interact and start tearing each other apart, and I nearly jumped as everything suddenly went to hell.

    Cannons silent in the vacuum launched massive projectiles, lasers flared, and plasma lit up the dark.

    As both pirates and Noble Frigate fired everything they had. It was a clash just like two ships on the old sea getting close enough to start firing their cannons.

    The blue glow of shield arrays flared as attacks were stopped cold on both sides, although undoubtedly the pirates had the worst of it. The much smaller ships that were struck by the Octavius¡¯s Plasma Cannon had their shields flare first blue then purple, and red, and then they popped like soap bubbles. The moment they did, secondary cannons or lasers struck them, carving into their hull, and when weapons struck the pirates hull there was little resistance.

    I looked away from that and instead focused on the battle ahead of me.

    ¡°Prepare for combat!¡± I called out and pushed forward, going for speed to catch up as even with that first strike, the Octavius was in trouble. It was slow compared to how many smaller ships were flying around it, and they were going all out to take down its shields.

    ¡°Missile Launch detected!¡± I nodded, watching as the screen zoomed in and showed one of the pirate haulers, an old transport ship, a long square of a dozen different hangar components. Each of them opened up the bay doors. Sacrificing any hope of armor to rely on the shields, but within each of the modules was missile rack after missile rack.

    They started launching and it was just an endless barrage.

    I guess I now knew why the pirates were so aggressive despite the Nobles Frigate being in sector. I couldn¡¯t comprehend how many credits they were shooting away, but I suppose, if they thought they¡¯d have access to a broken frigate, and an entire sector afterwards for long enough to hit the station and more. It would probably be worth it.

    ¡°Lock onto that ship!¡± I called out. It had maneuvered under the Octavius where less of its weapons could fire back. A maneuver only possible from the sacrifice of the other pirates.

    The Phantom Star shifted, as I jerked her around to line up the bow.

    The reticle on screen appeared and started calculating.

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    Between the fact the ship wasn¡¯t moving as fast, trying to keep its missile racks pointed, and that it was firing constantly sending up a massive heat plume the accuracy of the firing solution shot up, I winced as the Phantom was jolted.

    A laser burned into the front of the ship, sparking and causing an explosion of sparks and metal as my armor did what it was supposed to and ablated.

    My fingers did their best to keep the Phantom straight. To keep her gun on target. Both ship and turret making minor adjustments to keep the target in their sights, and then¡­

    And then it was time.

    ¡°Firing!¡± I called out as I hit the fire button.

    For a moment nothing happened.

    Then two lances of light shot out, just lasers at first. Each barrel of the Thermal Lance was actually three laser batteries, it made a sort of triangle shape as the three emitters all connected their beams into a single shaped beam. The point was to create a path within the shape of the lasers that was perfect for Plasma to propagate through without deteriorating.

    The lasers struck, confirming a lock, and the blue of the freighter''s shields lit up as it resisted the beams of light.

    Then the entire ship rumbled as the weapon actually fired.

    For a moment there was nothing but light, as the front view port lit up, and then I got to watch in shock as the Thermal Lance showed why it was considered something you equip onto capital ships.

    Down the barrel of light the lasers had created, shot two plasma trails. Launched out at incredible speeds the laser paths let the plasma not dissipate despite the distance, and nearly instantly struck the freighter.

    The blue light of the freighter''s shields buckled as the two lances of plasma struck, impacting hard enough I could practically see the shield emitters on the ship spark and go up, as the attack continued on.

    The Freighter had almost no armor. It was also carrying enough ordinance to take out a Frigate.

    I got a zoomed in view of the energy weapons piercing the shields, popping them like soap bubbles, and then continuing on, the plasma slamming into the weak armor, and lighting it up with enough energy it couldn''t hope to withstand.

    A moment later and it was all over. The armor had shifted to a bright red and then white, as it was boiled off as the plasma struck first the metal plates and then into the much weaker decks below. It pumped out the other side as a fireball of plasma having lost all the coherence the Lasers gave it, but that was already overkill.

    The freighter had a single last gasp after the beam ended before everything started exploding. Missiles not yet fired along with whatever other ordinance it had, caused the entire ship to erupt in a furious explosion.

    And then it was over. The Octavius listed a bit, as its shields hadn¡¯t managed to survive the brutal missile barrage, but then as the attack was over. The trained crew took over, shifting the ship to try and protect that side of it from the pirates as they continued attacking. The Octavius started lashing out angrily in return.

    ¡°Direct hit! Fear me! I have math!¡± Crabbit cheered out, but I just stared at the still dying explosion. At the fact I had just destroyed that ship, and everyone on board.

    Life or death was always a strange feeling having died once before. But now I was responsible for sending however many people were on that ship to their next life.

    It was only when the Phantom jolted and I winced at the alarms going off that I stopped zoning out and focused on the fact I was in the middle of a spacebattle.

    ¡°Find the next target! Focus on those shooting at us! Give me a new firing solution!¡± I called out and the Crabbit in charge of weapons cheered.

    Little devil just wanted to see the gun hit things.

    I wasn¡¯t being ignored anymore though. Now two of the pirates had split off and were firing at me, and every hit was a chunk of armor scored off.

    I gripped the controls and spun. Spinning us upside from our former direction, letting the bottom of the ship take some damage.

    ¡°Firing solution?¡±

    ¡°Not in shot? Upside down?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna spin us back. Just get me a firing solution for after I turn the ship again!¡±

    ¡°Oh! Roger!¡±

    I nodded, and as it appeared I nodded and once more spun us so the gun was actually in sight. Then I just lined up with the target on the screen, the Crabbit made a few corrections with the turret, and then.

    ¡°Firing!¡±

    The pirate dodged, but it was still a major hit. The plasma lance seared a trail of superheated metal straight across it¡¯s armor practically ignoring it¡¯s paltry shields. The pirate immediately broke off to try and escape after taking such drastic damage.

    Then weapons fire continued to smash into the Phantom, armor ablating off in massive chunks.

    It¡¯s fellow seeing that it was alone suddenly launched everything it had, missiles, and lasers scoring the Phantom¡¯s Bow as I jerked in the seat as the missiles tore craters in my girl, but then when it was done. The Pirate was fleeing having used its attack to try and escape.

    With that I looked over, the Octavius was badly damaged, but the pirates over there were running too.

    I breathed in and out. White knuckled on the controls as I stared into the field of drifting ships and debris, and realized we had actually won.

    ¡°Message incoming! Octavius Operations! Good job!¡±

    ¡°Tell them¡­ Good job back.¡±

    And I slumped into my chair as I gently brought the Phantom to a stop.

    ¡°G-get a scan of all the debris, including drifting parts! And uh¡­ Just log them I guess.¡± I mentioned as I stared out into space.

    This had sure been¡­ Something. I needed some time to process.

    ¡ª---

    I sighed in relief as the docking process finished. I wasn¡¯t home, but actually meeting up with the Octavius.

    Baron Ritz wanted to talk. I might be more nervous about it, but I was fairly certain we both had the same thing in mind. Loot.

    Technically I had been hired as a sort of mercenary, not quite system Defense Force force, not quite random addition.

    So what I would be owed for this battle was a bit hazier than normal. It¡¯s not like I had thought to discuss things with the Baron beforehand.

    On the other hand, I just shrugged, whatever I get, would be enough. I would make it enough. My home was safe.

    I got up out of my uncomfy chair and walked to the back of the bridge sliding through the still open emergency ladder hatch, because the elevators were a dream for the future, and then walked down the hall.

    ¡°We won! We won!¡±

    ¡°Math victory! Math is best!¡±

    ¡°Yaaaaaay!¡±

    I moved through the horde of celebrating Crabbit, as they bounced around the hallways cheering and happy. I couldn¡¯t help but smile at their delight. I should be like them happy that I had won, had survived, but I only felt a pit in my stomach at the fact I had killed people.

    Then I reached the docking hatch and pressed the buttons to get it to cycle, and when it finished and equalized it opened to a few soldier types standing firm in front of me.

    ¡°Uh¡­ hi.¡± I said awkwardly after a moment, as I looked up at the two burly men.

    ¡°Captain. We¡¯re to escort you.¡± One of them offered, surprisingly kindly and I relaxed, it wasn¡¯t a secret boarding action then. Not that I thought it was, but for a moment it had run through my head.

    I walked through the docking ring and blinked at the slight difference in gravity. Shrugging it off, I realized that gravity was pretty much whatever the captain wanted to make of it.

    Maybe I¡¯d have zero gravity days on the Phantom? Just float around for a while? That could be fun. Not that the Crabbit would even notice. The cheaters.

    I followed after the massive men down the long hallway of the ship, and winced at how frantic some of the techs running down the hall were.

    The Octavius had definitely taken a beating, and unlike the Phantom, getting it back in fighting shape was integral.

    After all, without the Octavius the pirates could just come back.

    To my irritation the Octavius had a working lift, and so a moment later I was brought not to a private room like I expected, but the actual bridge. I almost didn¡¯t step off but the guards both stepped out and looked at me, so I followed. Onto the bridge of an actual warship.

    People were all over the place, looking at consoles, or working, coordinating repair crews from what I could hear of their calm speech.

    ¡°Ah excellent. Katherine, please join me.¡± The Baron called out as he stood at the front of the bridge in a little area with an actual wooden table and high back chair looking out over the view¡­

    That was the mostly noble thing I had ever seen, and it made me cringe at how out of place it felt.

    I walked over, and noticed he had a few officers standing around with him, but not Eugene the Chief Engineer, which I understood, but wished he was here to at least have a familiar face.

    ¡°Congratulations on your first victory.¡± He offered to me as I arrived beside him as he was standing with his back to the table and just looking out into space.

    At the drifting hulks we had taken out.

    ¡°Thanks? You-¡± I cut myself off, not going to make that mistake again. ¡°You fought well. Thank you for protecting the station.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my duty. But it was not yours. You saved my ship today, from that surprise freighter.¡±

    ¡°It was an easy shot for me.¡± I demurred.

    ¡°Regardless, my life was in your hands for a moment. I won¡¯t forget that fact. Now onto business before pleasure. Hamlin?¡±

    ¡°Sir. There are currently four retrievable wrecks. Not including the Freighter that Captain Katherine took out for us.¡±

    ¡°Well. Four is better than none.¡± The Baron offered and turned to me. ¡°Under wartime standards, the transfer of equipment is clear, but I am not a miser, all of this is likely to end up at the same place regardless. Two of the wrecks will be yours to do with as you please. As long as what you please is handing them over to your home station.¡± He offered, and I realized he was joking a bit.

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s fine¡­ I uh. Mostly need the parts, maybe some hull for repairs, but that¡¯s-¡±

    ¡°Not something you¡¯ll need to worry over.¡± He interrupted. ¡°As service for defense of the Kenish Duchy, and an important wartime strategic asset, I¡¯ll be ensuring a stipend is offered as thanks to help repair your ship. I noticed you relied entirely on your armor?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ The shield emitters weren¡¯t ready. So I only had my deflector.¡±

    ¡°You went into combat without shields?¡± The officer, Hamlin, beside me spoke and looked up at me, and I sort of shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re either foolish, or mad. Perhaps both. But in this case I¡¯ll thank you for your madness.¡± He said and I blinked at the surprisingly¡­ Kind compliment? Insult?

    ¡°Indeed. Your armor held up well.¡±

    ¡°Oh! Yeah. It¡¯s my own design.¡± I offered smiling happily. ¡°It¡¯s a bit complicated, but I figured out a good method to produce and repair it.¡±

    ¡°Ah! I was hoping to ask about that!¡± A new voice appeared behind us and I turned and offered a smile to the man, mostly in relief at a familiar face. Eugene was walking across the bridge in a power walk. ¡°My dear, you simply must tell how you decided on an ablative design!¡±

    I opened my mouth to talk about it a bit, but the Baron interrupted.

    ¡°Eugene, as delightful as it would be to hear your discussion with the young captain, perhaps later. Now Artemis tells me the ship won¡¯t be ready in case of another fight?¡± He asked, and Eugene the Engineer shook his head.

    ¡°She needs some real attention, my Baron. That missile barrage cracked her hard. She¡¯s nearly bent out of shape. We can limp back to the station, but I do mean limp. We¡¯ll need dock time.¡±

    ¡°Dry dock?¡± The Baron asked specifically, sounding like dread, but Eugene shook his head.

    ¡°No. The work will still need some time spent motionless, but we can repair her ourselves.¡±

    ¡°How long?¡±

    ¡°That depends on how much the Scrapper Station can help. Two weeks to be safe. Maybe more.¡±

    I winced, because that was a lot of time.

    ¡°Then we will get to limping. Captain Katherine. The wrecks will need to be recovered, but the Octavius is in no shape to haul them back.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ Umm. I should be able to? My Deflector is still functional, as far as I know.¡± I muttered the last part, because the Phantom hadn¡¯t come out unscathed.

    ¡°Then if I can ask you to focus on that task. We don¡¯t want to leave this scrap around for the pirates to come back and claim.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°And it seems I will be asking for more of your assistance in the future. At least until the Octavius is repaired. I hope to have your assistance?¡±

    As much as I wanted to rush back and fix up the Phantom, I understood that I was just a sitting duck against the pirates without the Octavius.

    ¡°Yes. Leave it to me, I¡¯ll contact Great Uncle Kyle and get the ships stored away.¡±

    ¡°Good. Then as the Noble Authority in the Sector. I sign off on these two ships to your holding. The credit stipend will be transferred soon. I hope that is satisfactory?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Thank you Baron.¡±

    ¡°Good. Now my dear Captain, we have work to do. Eugene, do leave her be for now.¡± He added instantly as the Engineer looked like he was about to jump on me for a chat. I hesitated, but in the end, I tapped on my Tab that I pulled out to trade comm frequencies. Who knows if I might need his advice for something. He was a chief engineer.

    He laughed and nodded, as I was escorted out.

    So much was coming down on me, and I had to take a breath just to focus. I had work to do.

    ¡ª--

    It took hours to push all four of the wrecks towards the Station and get them locked down.

    I had done a bit extra having flown around and dropped some of the Crabbit off on smaller drifting scrap piles to see if there was anything worth grabbing, but overall it was a lot of boring flying back and forth while my Phantom struggled under me.

    Then finally. I gathered up my Crabbit, finding only a few minor things, and pushed the final ship to the Station. Once it was locked in, I docked and finally let the Phantom rest from her battle.

    Her song had gone spastic after the fight, and while I was confident she¡¯d be fine completing the task I had been given, I hadn¡¯t exactly pushed her in any way in fear of her giving out.

    Damage was damage after all.

    ¡°Report Report!¡± One of the Crabbit offered and my Tab updated, with more damage reports. They had been scanning through the Phantom to find all the problems, but I just shook my head.

    It was too much right now, and I needed sleep.

    ¡°Start to work on minor repairs, but don¡¯t go crazy. I need to sleep.¡± I told them and got a salute in turn.

    Then I walked through the Phantom leaping over the still open floor panels and finally reached the station. The air was different, as I stepped inside. Warmer, more familiar. I walked in and was instantly attacked.

    ¡°Kat!¡± Mom leapt at me, and I bent a bit to accept her hug as I just took in the fact she was here, and then I realized it was safe, and my eyes wavered.

    ¡°No. Don¡¯t cry.¡± I told myself, but Mom noticed it and her gentle smile as she reached up and pressed a warm hand on my cheek and it was too late. I was bawling.

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be like this! They were pirates!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Was all Mom told me, and I grabbed her in as tight a hug as I could manage.

    ¡ª-

    Mom placed a warm drink on my hands. I took it, letting the heat seep into my fingers. I still felt myself sniffle, tears had stopped, but I still felt like I was right on that verge again.

    I had killed people.

    Right now, my family was running over the shipwrecks. I knew what they would find.

    Dead bodies floating, and they would do what they always did. They¡¯d gather  up all the bodies and depending if they were civilians or pirates would either process them for funeral rights or just launch them into the sun with a shuttle sending them on their way.

    Since these were confirmed pirates, they¡¯d be stripped down and launched off.

    And¡­ My family would know it was my doing. That those dead bodies were because of me.

    ¡°I always knew you were a sensitive girl.¡± Mom said pulling me out of my wandering thoughts as I looked up into her oh so familiar face.

    She had always looked older than she was. Cosmetics had done a good job to hide the lines on her face. Despite Dad being five years older than her, she had always looked older than him.

    And now her face was full of worry lines as she looked at me.

    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±

    ¡°You are.¡± She said her face shifting into a gentle smile. ¡°My little builder. So good with her hands, not so good with her heart. I never wanted you to get into this sort of trouble. You might have the body of a soldier, but your heart was always so gentle.¡± She reached out and ran a cool hand over my cheek, wiping some tears along with it.

    ¡°I¡¯m not gentle.¡± I grumbled a little petulantly, I was big and strong!

    ¡°You have your father¡¯s gentleness. I was happy about that, you know? That you didn¡¯t get my own coldness¡­ But maybe you need your mother¡¯s words right now. You didn¡¯t do anything wrong. I¡¯d rather you kill those pirates a thousand times then ever put yourself in danger. You want to be a captain my little engineer. Fighting and killing is part of it.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± I said, but I looked away because¡­ I hadn¡¯t been ready for it. I thought I would have more time, that I¡¯d end up killing pirates eventually, but that it wouldn¡¯t bother me. I should be okay with this!

    Mom was beside me, pulling me into a hug that I slumped into, she might be smaller, but she was still Mom. It was weird that despite knowing I had another Mom at another time, it hadn¡¯t really changed my connection with this woman.

    She had still done all the baby stuff with me, and there was a part of me that always felt that connection even now.

    ¡°If you could do it again would you run away?¡± Mom asked then and I instantly shook my head.

    ¡°Then it sounds like you did the right thing. Did the only thing you could do. Don¡¯t be ashamed of yourself Kat. You saved not just all the men on the Baron¡¯s ship, but the station too. Trust me. I would not like to find myself at the mercy of pirates. I¡¯m proud of you. For fighting.¡±

    ¡°I guess.¡± It was a lot to take in, a lot to process. This¡­ This was part of the future I wanted. To explore the stars was to find yourself in conflict sometimes.

    Could I pull that trigger again?

 Chapter 9

    ¡°Pass me that, would you?¡± I asked, pointing and the Crabbit chirped as it brought forth the tool I needed.

    It was easy to forget that tools could drift off in the depths of space.

    I was on the hull of one of the ships that had been given to me, peeling shield emitters out of the hulk.

    It was a simple repetitive task that I could have left for the scrappers who would have done the same thing, or even the Crabbit.

    But I needed to do something with my hands.

    That and the depths of space gave me all the solitude I needed to simply stop thinking.

    I hefted one of the emitter strips. The section was forty or fifty emitters, each of them about a foot across and connected together. I finished rolling up the strip and the Crabbit I was with grabbed the bundle and flew it away.

    That was the last of them. I rolled over so I wasn¡¯t on my knees and just put my ass to the cold ship and looked out.

    The ships were all around me, shuttles flying around as they took parts that had been scrapped back to the station.

    I could switch to the open comm channel and listen in to all the voices that would be chattering away.

    No doubt Aunt Sheila¡¯d be cussing out someone for not doing it right, while Great Uncle Kyle would cut in every few minutes with updated orders for some work groups.

    But I was alone and I wanted that right now. My Comm was firmly off. The Crabbit on my shoulder would alert me if there was an emergency message.

    I had killed people.

    I hadn¡¯t been able to resist slipping into the hulls to see the damage. To see the corpses floating around. Many of them turned into smears on the walls, or worse.

    They would have killed me, I knew that. Pirates weren¡¯t kind. They were hunted by nearly everyone so to be a pirate was to accept that you weren¡¯t like other humans anymore. Mom¡¯s voice in my ear reminding me that I did what I had to, didn¡¯t make the surge of discomfort go away.

    And I had killed them. I shook it off, and rose back to my feet, a few bouncing steps and I was off. I¡¯d find another shield emitter section on another ship and peel it off. The more of them I found, the better. I might actually get some working shields for the Phantom Star.

    My poor ship. She was scarred and damaged after the battle. The Crabbit were doing their best to do minor repairs, but I needed time to get enough nanopaste I would need to repair the armor.

    But then I needed to strip these ships, and get the shield emitters. Or pull out the Iris Drives riddled throughout the ships. Every Iris Drive I could get my hand on was another step closer to maybe making an even bigger Diamond Drive.

    With a bigger Diamond Drive, I could finally finish the Phantom, and have more than just a main gun, but I needed to do repairs first in case the pirates came back.

    As I floated through space for a moment I slumped. The work felt endless, and I was pretty much doing it alone with just the Crabbit. Everyone on the station was super busy, and I didn''t really want to ask for help either.

    The Octavius was claiming any mechanics that weren¡¯t stripping ships to help. So it was just me and the Crabbits, and the Phantom Star which I needed to prepare for potentially another fight. The pirates'' assault had failed, they had fled, but if they realized how badly the Octavius was damaged, they might get enough nerve to try again.

    So here I was taking some alone time trying to fix my ship, and not think about all the blood I now had on my hands.

    I wiped my hands on my coveralls and kept going. Another strip of emitters needed to be peeled off and sent over to the Phantom.

    Always more work to do.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Go ahead and send some power through.¡± I called to the Crabbit at the control console.

    ¡°Unlimited Power!¡± It cried out, which¡­ I mean, that wasn¡¯t wrong but wasn¡¯t the right time to say that. I¡¯d have to talk to them about that¡­ Wait the only place they would have heard that line is from me¡­ Shoot. Need to watch the old references a bit more.

    Slowly the status screen on the Tab connected to my shitty captain''s chair updated, and a bubble started forming around the Phantom.

    Outside the viewport space rippled as the Shield manifested, before going back to normal as it returned to invisibility.

    But it held.

    ¡°Any problems?¡±

    ¡°Starboard B2 emitter has failures! No good, no good!¡±

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll go check them out after. Run me through the tests.¡± I called out and nodded as the Crabbit restarted the shield just to see if there were any other failures.

    I stood up with a groan and headed out of the bridge, down the ladder and into the main floor, then I headed down a ways towards quarters in the center of the ship, and then climbed down another emergency ladder, this one was much longer until finally I hit the bottom of the cargo bay.

    ¡°How¡¯s it coming?¡± I called out looking over the cargo bay where a chunk of debris, almost entirely armored hull, was floating freely.

    ¡°80 percent!¡± I got shouted back and I nodded. Below the massive chunk of armor were multiple Nanopaste vats. I had an idea for where I was going to place the vats to hook them into the repair system that would spray Nanopaste onto sections of armor when it was needed, but while the sprayers were working, there just wasn¡¯t enough space in the little hidey hole to make this much nanopaste.

    A bit of a design issue I hadn¡¯t considered. So it was all out here in the hangar.

    The nanopaste below the scrap bubbled as the Crabbit guided another section of the hull into the paste where it would be eaten and used to create more paste.

    More and more was being constructed, hopefully enough to repair the armor and more.

    Nodding at that, I turned to the other object resting in the hangar.

    A Medium Iris Drive.

    The power output of that Drive was around my Diamond Drive, it alone could basically power the Phantom, and get us moving. Unfortunately I would need another six medium sized drives to make it into another Diamond Drive. A bigger, much more powerful Diamond Drive.

    But while that was the goal, it was an unfortunate fact that I wasn¡¯t anywhere near that for now.

    Instead I was going to trade it for more supplies for the Phantom, of course that doesn¡¯t mean I wasn¡¯t going to use it to massively upgrade the Phantom while I was at it.

    The current Diamond Drive that was powering the Phantom was made up of seven Small Iris Drives. The sort of drives that would normally power small equipment. Space suits, the Crabbit, for instance, were powered by Small Drives.

    The shuttles we flew around with were powered by Small Drives, but that was mostly because we weren¡¯t rich enough to afford high end shuttles with a bit more power.

    Luckily in space a small amount of motion was all that was really needed to get around.

    Seven Small Drives in a Diamond, was a bit stronger than a Medium Drive, but the Diamond Drive was basically exponential with the power sources.

    There were more sizes of Drive. Light Iris Drives were a step up from small, something usually used for High powered Shuttles, or if a Sector used Fighter craft.

    They were well outside any hope of me purchasing one normally. If someone had a Light Drive, then they had the ability to Warp at least a shuttle out of a sector. If you could travel, then you were already pretty rich.

    But, a Medium Drive was far more valuable than even seven Light Drives.

    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s take it with us, be careful with it.¡± I reminded the Crabbit who cheered as two of them grabbed onto one side of the Drive and then we were off, through the ship and out the station dock.

    I licked my lips as when I walked onto the station, I gathered a lot of attention.

    A Medium Drive was something well outside the wealth of a normal person. At least to any of us scrappers.

    So carrying it onto the station behind me was a definite attention grabber.

    I felt myself hunch over at the looks of surprise but instead of letting it tear me down I took a breath and kept moving.

    There, not far from the airlock was Uncle Kyle, and a woman. ¡°Captain Katherine. I am Operations Officer Artemis Bluvok. I will be your contact today.¡± She greeted me instantly, in her smart navy uniform, and even a cute little hat.

    It made me feel underdressed as I was still just in my suit coveralls, covered in grease and whatever.

    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± I greeted back a bit weakly.

    ¡°And I¡¯ll be assisting this deal, as a member of the family.¡± Great Uncle Kyle added and I smiled at him. When I had pulled the Medium Drive out of the wreck it had been¡­ Tense.

    The military wanted it, and expected me to basically hand it over. Which I had every intention of, but there was the fact that the Baron had given me the hulls.

    So here we were. Trading something that was always going to belong to the Military to the Military.

    Only I was going to get something in return.

    ¡°Very well, as you know the Kenish Navy expects this Medium Iris Drive to be turned over to us as per the Military Defense Act.¡±

    ¡°Yes, and Katherine intends to do so¡­ For a fair trade value, including of course, the reduction in price due to the ongoing war.¡± Uncle Kyle offered with a smile that made me want to chuckle at how sweet it was.

    Fake, but sweet.

    ¡°And the Baron has agreed to hear out your request. Understand that Military equipment is at a premium.¡±

    ¡°Seven Light Iris Drives, of the same performance.¡± I said, before anything else. ¡°That should be well within the price range for a medium drive.¡± I said firmly. I couldn¡¯t possibly agree to anything less than that.

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°That¡¯s it? A downgrade?¡± Uncle Kyle asked me quietly, coming up on my side to whisper into my ear.

    I just gave him a firm nod. ¡°I don¡¯t want to cause a fuss and I know how valuable a Medium Drive can be at this time¡­ Oh, and I wouldn¡¯t mind a few bits and bobs as well. I have a list!¡± I called out, and pulled out my Tab, grabbing the file and sending it over to her own Tab with a twist of my wrist like I was flicking the file to her.

    Artemis hadn¡¯t shown any emotion at my request, simply hearing me out and letting Uncle Kyle speak to me, but she pulled up her Tab and looked through the file.

    ¡°An odd selection.¡± She finally said and I just shrugged.

    ¡°It¡¯s what I would like.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see any issues here, except for the Military Grade Shield Emitters. With the Octavius damaged, every strip will be needed for our own repair.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need a strip.¡± I said, only after I was sure she was done talking. ¡°Just one. I suppose it could even be a blown out emitter¡­ Or two¡­ No better to be three in that case.¡±

    ¡°A blown out Emitter, Katherine?¡± Uncle Kyle asked, looking confused and I just shrugged.

    ¡°I have a project that I need either one working one, or a few broken ones that I could fix back up.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Artemis said back without emotion as she looked the list over. ¡°I¡¯ll forward the request to the Chief Engineer. I don¡¯t see any problems with anything on this list. I believe most of it, the station has in stock, The Octavius will pay for the release of it to you.¡±

    ¡°Then Katherine and the Ferrous Family accept this trade.¡± Uncle Kyle offered formally and the woman returned his words with a salute, flat hand across her chest, and then sent towards me, and Uncle Kyle. The salute of the Kenish Navy.

    ¡°I will release the funds for the parts the station has in store. I expect you are able to manage the distribution?¡± She asked Uncle Kyle who nodded.

    ¡°Then in that case. The Light Iris Drives. They will be delivered shortly. Five from the Stations'' stock, and two from the Octavius¡¯s hold.¡±

    ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll have them pulled out of the delivery that was being prepared to be sent?¡±

    ¡°That will be acceptable. I will make a notation that they will not be in the delivery. Captain Katherine. You are young, but your actions were commendable.¡± And to my surprise I received another salute. I sloppily returned it, wincing at how badly I felt I had done.

    Artemis didn¡¯t show any emotion on her cold face, simply nodded and walked away, with a few of the Octavius guards coming up. Each of them placing a Gravity grip onto the drive making it go weightless as they each took a side of it, and started taking it to the Octavius.

    And then I slumped a bit, my shoulders heavy. I had done it.

    Another step to improving the Phantom, if I could get the Light Drives set up in a Diamond Drive, then I should have all the power I need to finish the Phantom. That would take time though. I needed more material for that. Even with what I had scrapped from the destroyed ships.

    ¡°Katherine?¡±

    ¡°Oh! Yes Uncle Kyle?¡± I asked, at his quiet word pulling me out of my head.

    ¡°I will put my faith in you knowing what you¡¯re doing. You¡¯ve gotten this far, but please be careful. You might have a ship, but I¡¯ve seen many captains lose their ships because of bad deals.¡± He gave me a long stare before nodding and walking away leaving me alone in the station''s docking ring.

    I took a deep breath and let it out.

    Did I know what I was doing?

    Probably not. I was aware enough to admit that, but¡­ I would take the risk and put myself out into the universe, otherwise I should just shut up and stay on station the rest of my life.

    I turned and headed to the Phantom. I still had more work to do.

    ¡ª--

    I watched as the Iris Drives floated into my hold. Each of the glowing square Drives were about the size of an ICE engine that I remembered from Earth. I could feel my palms itch to start working. To create a new Diamond Drive with the larger Iris Drives. The amount of power my Phantom would have¡­

    I shook it off. In the end I just didn¡¯t have the time. Basic functionality was more important than big upgrades. I reached out and let my gloved hand trail over the Iris Drive as it passed me by. The Crabbit were already putting them in sections of the hold that would hide them away until I was ready to use them.

    I shook it off. I still had work to do, which was becoming a common refrain. The Phantom Star was a big ship, far too big for just one person. Maybe it was a mistake to make her so big, but¡­ I loved her all the same. I¡¯d take the extra work. No matter how much work it was.

    And yet, as much work as I was doing physically repairing systems, there was another system I was giving even more attention.

    Once the Iris Drives were in settled I headed out of the hold, climbing up the long ladder to the second floor, then heading through the large main room, and then aft. The engine room was where I was spending most of my time. At least any time I wasn¡¯t helping the Crabbits with something they couldn¡¯t do themselves.

    The glow of the Diamond Drive, red and furious, with its threatening rumble was actually pretty relaxing white noise.

    Sure I sometimes remembered I was basically sitting next to an angry experimental nuclear reactor, but it was safe¡­ Ish.

    I looked away from the angry tear in reality and back towards the device that was currently in multiple pieces. I sat down in front of it, and grabbed my Tab to do more coding.

    The Phantom Stars Warp Array, the device that allowed the bubble of real space to surround a ship even as it dove into the discord of Subspace, was one of the most important parts on any ship. It was also surprisingly simple really.

    The technology along with the Iris Drive was the most common piece of ship tech in the galaxy. It was simple to make, easy to program if you wanted, you could even pull the data from any other Warp Array, and be good.

    Only, I wasn¡¯t just using a standard Warp Array.

    Mine was about four times as big, because it was made out of about five other Warp Arrays.

    Mostly the internals, to increase it¡¯s processing power, and data storage. Programming it was¡­ Hard.

    Within minutes of starting I felt like my ears were shooting out steam.

    Even as I listened to the Song, it still helped, but didn¡¯t solve it all for me.

    ¡°Crabbit? I need you to check this for me. Synchronize as much as you need. Main priority.¡± I added, and the shoulder Crabbit floated in until her chassis was touching my cheek. Her little grabber reached out as she faked reading through the coding.

    She had been following along as I worked the whole time, but they had a cute habit of copying me, and I sometimes used my fingers when reading on a screen.

    ¡°Awww hard.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± I said laughing at her obvious dislike. ¡°But can you tell me if these numbers look right?¡± I pointed out.

    ¡°Hmm. Error¡­ Error? Error¡­. Error?¡± I listened as she went through a few iterations of that before I tapped her lightly. ¡°Ah. Fix?¡± She offered out and a small update was offered through the Tab.

    I looked it over, closing my eyes and letting the Song flow through my mind, there was a disruption, a high pitched squeal like bad brakes. I opened my eyes.

    My hand was guided to the part of the code that was wrong and I quickly pulled it apart. Deeper and deeper I dove into this section. The code was ridiculously complex. I had needed the Crabbits help to even have a hope of getting it right in time, but I was constantly fixing and editing the code to try and get it working.

    ¡°Uuuu.¡± My Crabbit whined and I tore my eyes away from the code and smiled at her.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I messed it up too. We¡¯ll keep working on it.¡±

    ¡°Error.¡± It promptly informed me, and I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle a little.

    ¡°This is really complex stuff. It¡¯s more complicated than even your own code¡­ I¡¯m not even sure I can do it.¡±

    ¡°You can! Kat is Kat! Creator!¡±

    I had been smashing my head into this code for a while. Even before the pirates, and still¡­ I wasn¡¯t sure if I would ever get it actually working.

    But¡­ ¡°Thanks Crabbit. I appreciate the support.¡± I told her, patting her on the head a bit before looking at the code on my Tab again. I needed this working. It was too important to give up, it was my secret trick. My Trap Card. My hope for the future. Something that would save me if the worst happened.

    I turned back to the code. To the densely packed data that grew infinitely more complex the longer I worked on it. Without the Song guiding me¡­ I¡¯d never be able to do this. It¡¯s just too much.

    But, I had the Song in my ear, and a Crabbit at my side, and that was enough.

    It would be ready in case something happened. I¡¯d make sure of it.

    ¡ª--

    The days passed in a blur as I fixed one thing, only to move onto the next. Install this shield part, only to need to update the power cables to handle the new load.

    I was digging through a pile of shield emitters, trying to get the broken modules fixed, so I could improve my shield coverage when I was interrupted.

    ¡°Warning! Warning!¡± Rang out from the Crabbit and I sucked in a hasty breath.

    I opened my mouth to ask if they were sure, but they were Crabbit of course they were sure.

    The Pirates again? But why?

    No, I knew why. They knew the Octavius was damaged. Likely badly. They sensed blood in the water, and were going to try and jump on their meal before it was too late.

    ¡°Incoming message!¡±

    The second call from my shoulder Crabbit knocked me out of my frozen state.

    I was the Captain. This was my ship, and even if¡­ Even if I had to kill, I had to do something. I couldn¡¯t just not do something¡­

    Right?

    Breathe in, breathe out. ¡°Put it through.¡±

    *Captain Katherine, this is Baron Ritz.* I blinked at the familiar voice, and one I didn¡¯t expect.

    ¡°Yes Baron?¡±

    *The Pirates are moving in, but the Octavius is in no condition to meet them, our engines are still offline.. I can act as a bulwark for the station, and the static defenses we installed will help, but I regret to inform you that you will be the only active ship for this engagement.*

    I swallowed.

    Yeah.

    Yeah that¡¯s what I was afraid of.

    *Captain?*

    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± I whispered, and there was quiet on the line for a moment.

    *I understand that this is not what you wanted to hear, but I have good news. My tactical officer will be in constant contact with your ship. The Octavius will be using all of our Electronic Warfare suite to assist you. You will have the satellite defenses ready to assist, and the best minds of the Kenish Duchy at your back.*

    ¡°I¡¯m not worried about the assistance, but enemy action.¡± I said a bit bluntly, maybe a bit too hotly in fact. I shook it off, I had to calm down. ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can.¡±

    *Understood. I have full faith in our victory. The Pirates have already lost once, another engagement that shows any sign of weakness on their part, and they will break again for good. For the honor of the Duchy!* He offered to me, and the line was cut.

    Great.

    Sure.

    ¡°Activate the nanopaste dispensers! If it fails and eats the entire ship at least I won¡¯t have to worry about the pirates!¡± I called out and got up. Time to get to work.

    ¡ª--

    Baron Cyger Ritz

    ¡°Baron, we have movement from the Phantom Star.¡± Artemis informed him, calm as ever.

    ¡°Then she is a braver girl than half the damn Navy.¡± Hamlin grumbled with his normal navy miene. The life long naval man had a gruff way about him, but also a truth to his words that Cyger had appreciated over the years.

    ¡°And we will do our best to ensure this isn¡¯t some martyrdom. Eugene, have you performed a miracle?¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately not Baron.¡± Eugene said sadly. Artemis flicked a message to him and he checked his Tab.

    Engines were still basically dead. The ship simply couldn¡¯t handle moving right now with the internal damage. Too much thrust and the entire ship would rip apart. Shield Emitters were still functional, and most of the weapons were still active.

    ¡°We¡¯ll act as a defense for her then. If that¡¯s all we can do.¡± He decided and ordered out.

    ¡°They will likely gang up on the Phantom Star, before coming after us. They¡¯ll know soon enough we¡¯re dead in the water.¡± Hamlin grumbled.

    ¡°Can our static defenses turn the tide?¡±

    ¡°The Missile satellites are online and still hopefully hidden. The pirates jumped in outside of engagement range to eye us up.¡± Hamlin added the man already looking over the battlefield with a soldier''s eyes.

    ¡°Then we assist with what we can.¡± Cyger spoke with authority and the bridge crew accepted and went to work.

    He sat back and watched out into space, as everything happened. His crew would be best served by doing their work without interference.

    That doesn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t pull up the Tab to watch.

    The Pirates came up to the solar south of UNK-L the station.

    They were already starting to charge forward. Their ships burning hotly, plasma trailing them in a drive plume.

    Filthy things. They were still using plasma rockets, and they had the audacity to damage his vessel.

    When this was all over, he¡¯d be keeping his escort craft close, damn the war requisition. This entire assignment had been a disaster from the start. At least if he had his escorts, he could go pirate hunting and do more than nothing!

    He was a Baron, and even if this joke of a duty was meant to protect and humiliate him, he would do it. He would stand fast and protect this region as best as he could.

    Truly, he had told the scrappers they were important, but if he failed, then the only one truly at a loss would be him. It would be used to embarrass him and little else.

    Not that the additional hulls weren¡¯t useful, but they weren¡¯t integral.

    He shook off his morose thoughts and turned to the battle.

    ¡°Eugene. How likely is her ship to hold up to the pirates attack?¡± He asked quietly to the man standing at his side. Eugene would be up here until the pirates grew close enough to threaten the Octavius.

    ¡°She added some shield emitters.¡± The Engineer offered, the old man¡¯s voice told the truth of it though. Regret.

    ¡°I see.¡±

    ¡°Her armor is still damaged. She didn¡¯t have time to fix everything. She was likely right to install the emitters, but when they pop her-Wait a minute.¡± Eugene stopped talking and Cyger glanced away from the field of stars because Eugene was rarely distracted with something unimportant.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be damned to a Black Hole. Captain Katherine isn¡¯t without her own tricks.¡± The Engineer finally added and turned to Cyger. Flicking a file over Cyger began looking it over before stilling.

    ¡°Nanopaste?¡± He asked, making sure not to gasp in shock at the data scrolling across the screen.

    ¡°Massive amounts of Nanopaste. Look, it¡¯s actively repairing the damaged armor segments! The reason her armor was so strange! The Ablative function of her armor! It all makes sense now! That girl!¡± Eugene let out a howling chuckle and if it wasn¡¯t disturbing the entire bridge Cyger might have allowed it.

    ¡°Eugene.¡± He spoke firmly and the older man stopped and coughed into his fist for a moment getting control of himself.

    ¡°Apologies My Lord. I was simply shocked. Captain Katherine has pulled an impressive trick. It explains much about the Phantom Star and its construction.¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t leave me to wonder.¡±

    ¡°The amount of Nanopaste she is spraying over her ship right now? Far too much. She¡¯s manufacturing it. Undoubtedly.¡±

    ¡°What? Is that even possible?¡± He asked, looking away from his own Tab towards the man.

    ¡°Oh yes. Insane, sure, but indeed possible, yes.¡± Eugene mumbled rubbing his chin as he was obviously deep in thought.

    Cyger immediately realized what Eugene meant. Nanopaste was an incredibly valuable tool for ship repair and maintenance, but it was also volatile. It could go bad, or simply have a bad batch.

    Computers were capable of bugs as always, and a bug in Nanopaste often had terrifying results.

    ¡°Foolish, and mad, both then.¡± Hamlin spoke, his gravelly voice actually sounding¡­ Well it seems his old navy man was fond of the insane Captain. Cyger didn¡¯t nod, but took the man''s words to heart. For a Civilian to impress a naval officer was a rare feat.

    Nanopaste was manufactured all over the Galaxy. Often with proprietary recipes, in high end labs on orbital stations designed to suppress the nanomachines in case of any bad batches.

    Cyger knew how complex the process of nanomachine production was, there was only one production facility for it in the Kenish Duchy, and it was owned by Duke Kenish himself.

    For a moment he considered just what it revealed about this odd woman. The Captain was proving far too valuable to let die in this ignoble backwater. Perhaps he could add her to his retinue? Put her on a new station, or even convert this old scrapper station to a nanopaste production facility? It would certainly earn him all the creds he would ever need.

    The girl had built a ship, likely using Nanopaste to do it. Had hidden it from all eyes, designed an armor system using her production of Nanopaste. A peasant had the audacity to be this competent?

    Well he would be following her career with great interest.

    ¡°Contact with the enemy.¡± Artemis spoke and he shifted his thoughts. Hamlin was already working, giving the Phantom Star data, while attacking the pirates computers and systems, hopefully¡­ Hopefully it would be enough.

    He had too many questions for this girl to let her die now.

 Chapter 10

    Five ships.

    The twinkling of their engines in the distance glinted in space, it was a beautiful image for the danger it represented. They drew closer and closer, coming to kill me.

    I tore my eyes away from the viewport, and towards the Tab at my side that had a map of the system, and the estimated ranges of all of our weapons.

    I needed to bring the pirates into range of not just the static defenses, but the Octavius, and do it without losing too much of my ship in the process.

    The math was clear. I should lose this fight. The Phantom Star just wasn¡¯t complete enough for this. I was confident one or two of the ships would be dead before this fight ended, but that wasn¡¯t nearly enough before they tore me apart.

    Yet, I had to try. This was my home, and more importantly, I had some things on my side. The pirates missile boat was gone, and the rest of the pirate ships we had some data for. The Octavius was sending me constant updates of what weapons each of the ships had used in the previous engagement, and already the data was coming in¡­

    ¡°Hard Starboard!¡± I demanded without looking up.

    I would switch to a broad side and try to drag them into the missile satellites, but more importantly, the ships on that side of the pirate formation had lighter weapons¡­

    It would have to be enough.

    ¡°We have the power, as soon as they are in range, start shooting the Thermal Lance¡¯s lasers, a lucky hit is still a hit.¡± I called out, and the Crabbit in charge of the weapons immediately grumped at me.

    ¡°That¡¯s bad Math! Bad Math!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just percentages.¡± I replied knowing how to handle her. ¡°A low percentage shot, still has a chance to hit right?¡±

    ¡°Mmmm. Bad Math!¡± She grumbled back, but I could see the turret shifting already.

    Good girl.

    Once I was in position I kept the engines at a solid 90% throttle. It would hopefully give me some leeway to speed up or slow down if I need to, but I needed the pirates to think I was prey.

    Well, I was. But I needed them to think this was all according to whatever plan they had.

    ¡°Warning! Contact! Contact!¡± Sensor Crabbit called out and I grimaced as out the side of the viewport I could see flashes. And then lights flew around the Phantom. All misses fortunately.

    ¡°Alright everyone! You know what to do!¡± I called out and the Crabbit cheered despite the seriousness of what was happening.

    I guess it was to their own benefit that they didn¡¯t have any understanding of death.

    A moment later I felt the hum of power flowing through the ship and the turret started firing. Lasers shooting off into the distance.

    ¡°Miss! Miss! Bad Math!¡± The Tactical officer called out and I ignored her.

    That started the long distance portion of this fight. The Pirates came at me as fast as their ships could push, and I was forced to try and run, just too slow to use proper maneuvers against them.

    If only I had the rest of the nacelles this would be a different battle.The Phantom was kind of a big girl for just two engines.

    ¡°We¡¯re in range of the first missile platform!¡± Navigation Crabbit called out and I nodded pleased.

    That was a relief. At least one surprise was now set.

    ¡°Awww. Almost hit. Almoooost!¡± I smiled as despite the ¡®Bad Math¡¯ the Tactical Officer was enjoying the shooting gallery.

    ¡°Warning. Pirates are shifting into Aft position!¡± Sensor Crabbit called out, and I nodded.

    ¡°Alright, beginning adjustment.¡± I called out mostly for the tactical Crabbit.

    Then I shifted the controls, and the ship began sort of sliding. The back nacelles had a bit of wiggle to them, and it meant we could move almost, but not quite sideways. It was enough to get the big front gun to shoot back towards anything that was chasing me as long as I could keep them entirely from behind me.

    A tone went through the bridge and I grimaced.

    ¡°Enemy¡­ Hit? Bad Math!? How!?¡± My tactical officer squeaked out in outrage that the pirates had gotten a strike on the shields.

    I ignored her little rant as I looked at the data. Shield emitters had held of course, but they were heating up.

    Dispersal was ongoing already, but these emitters were cheap, they weren¡¯t designed for war.

    The enemy were catching up. I wasn¡¯t going to be able to make it to the next missile satellite screen before I was overrun.

    Deep breath. In and out.

    What to do? You¡¯re the Captain Kat. The choice of what to do is yours. Do you try to run, use the missile satellites to hopefully scare them off? Turn and fight? Or¡­

    Or do you jump into the warp and get the hell out of here.

    They¡¯d blame me, but¡­ But I would survive. The pirates would likely destroy the Octavious, maybe even steal the ship, or they¡¯d just start grabbing things from the scrap yard.

    UNK-L would likely be safe. Trying to take an entire station would be crazy. It¡¯s not like they could escape with it. That doesn¡¯t mean all the people on board would be safe though.

    But¡­

    Was that who I wanted to be? Or was I the kind of captain that was brave and eeked out victory from impossible odds?

    Could I?

    I ran down the list of what was currently installed. Not much. Not much at all.

    I really wish I had missiles, or something, that would be enough. There was just one thing that might work.

    Might.

    Or it could blow up my entire ship and I¡¯d be lost forever. I didn¡¯t exactly want to reveal it either¡­

    I hadn¡¯t even tested the damn thing! All the work on coding I had put into it¡­ I still wasn¡¯t sure if it was ready or if it would fail and kill me.

    The ship could go into subspace, drop into warp and move. But Subspace Depth Adjustment was something else entirely.

    SDA was insane tech, something that no one out here on the frontier should have the tech for. I had made it just in case this sort of situation happened, but I had wanted to actually try going into warp a few times before I ever tried it. I had no data for the Diamond Drive, and how it interacted with subspace. I¡¯d be jumping blind.

    Another tone went off. A second rear shield hit.

    I couldn¡¯t win this from range. There were just too many ships and too many vectors to win a long range fight.

    I couldn¡¯t win this close up. The Pirates would tear the Phantom Star apart.

    I couldn¡¯t win this from escaping, that wasn¡¯t a win.

    ¡°I¡¯m turning us around. Get me some hits!¡± I called out and Tactical cheered. She would have more range if the gun was facing forward. ¡°We¡¯re going to dive into Warp. Navigation¡­ activate the SDA controller!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡± It called out cheerfully.

    Of course it was. It had no idea what dangers we were in. My cute little Crabbit enjoyed their life with the fearlessness of a child.

    I looked at my hands, at how badly they were shaking. I had built the controller out of spare warp controllers.

    I had built it out of scrap. Out of warp controllers that had once controlled civilian vessels, and now I was going to rely on that to do one of the most dangerous maneuvers I could imagine. This was pure stupidity. But¡­ My code was good. My work was accurate, and the Song had guided me.

    Breathe. I just had to breathe. Who was I? It was a difficult question, but¡­ I could tell what I wasn¡¯t. A coward.

    I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer. Be clear. Be sure.

    I put my hands on the controls, taking over from navigation, and spun the ship around.

    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    I will let the fear pass over me.

    The turning of the Phantom wasn¡¯t instant, she was a bloated vessel under engined and slow. But it was obvious and nearly instantly the comms lit up.

    ¡°Uuuu? Octavius is calling?¡± Comms Crabbit called out and I nodded.

    ¡°Tell them I¡¯m busy.¡± I then looked at her. ¡°Switch to network synchronization. Tell everyone that isn¡¯t currently busy to do the same. Everyone should be joining navigation. Navigation we are going to drop into Subspace, and shoot the pirates point blank.¡± With that said the Crabbit Collective would be figuring that out.

    For once I wasn¡¯t going to be able to give them a better guide.

    Oh god. I was trusting children with some of the most complex problem solving in the verse, and trusting my life to their ability to solve the problem¡­

    ¡°Get me that hit!¡± I called out, doing my best to pretend I hadn¡¯t just had that realization. Tactical Crabbit was obviously doing her best, but the math required to hit the moving enemies was pretty intense.

    So I just pointed the bow at the pirates'' shining drive plumes and stopped adjusting course.

    We had some shields to take some hits. Our hits were stronger.

    ¡°Activate the Missile Satellite!¡± I called out to Comms who chirped an agreement. And then I looked at the Tab at my side.

    Dropping into Subspace, was a solved problem. You pretty much just had to activate the Warp Controller, and the Iris Drive¡¯s Subspace shadow would cradle your ship as you became too insubstantial for reality to keep you afloat.

    You create a shield of subspace, creating a pocket of reality so your ship could exist in subspace, while at the same time that shield is what pulled you in.

    There were horror stories of ships dropping into subspace never to return. Their warp controller breaking, or worse, leaving them plunging into subspace so deep they could never come out.

    I watched as suddenly the hidden satellite activated as the pirates approached and missiles were launched in a torrent of fire.

    C¡¯mon. Just work. Blow up a ship, scare them off. If they retreat I don¡¯t have to do something insane.

    Then the missiles were over, and I realized that all five Pirates were still there.

    It hadn¡¯t worked.

    One of the pirates shifted course, but just to put themselves behind another pirate. Giving them some cover, but that was it.

    They were still coming.

    ¡°Fire fire!¡± Tactical cried out happily as the lasers started shooting from the front of the Phantom Star, but I was too focused on what I would need to do next.

    I looked at the button that came up on the Tab. The activation of the warp controller. Closing my eyes I breathed in and out.

    Listening to the Song, I needed reassurance, but as I listened I simply couldn¡¯t get the complete confidence I was looking for. The ornate orchestra of the Warp Controller was sounding¡­ Cautious.

    But I didn¡¯t have time for caution.

    I felt it, the loud buzz as suddenly the Thermal Lance fired in fullness. I checked the sensor scans and grimaced. While it was a hit, it had been glancing.

    The enemy would be within close range soon, and the moment they were, the Phantom Star would be hobbled and cut down like a pack of wolves.

    ¡°Activating Warp controller. Prepare to drop into Subspace.¡± I called out letting the Crabbit know, and heard the whine from Tactical as she wanted to keep firing.

    But then I pushed the big button.

    My ears popped almost painfully, as suddenly out the front of the viewscreen I could see colors shift and skew, and then for a moment my mind and body screamed at me.

    I felt color, smelled sound, and saw lights I shouldn¡¯t be able to see.

    Then it was as if the Phantom plummeted, a feeling in my stomach that reminded me of the worst carnival rides, but it almost felt like I was falling upwards rather than down.

    Space was gone. The pirates were gone, and then it was just¡­

    Lights.

    ¡°Transition to Subspace complete! Weeee!¡± I heard from Navigation and stared out of the view port.

    There was something, a bubble of colors that was just off the ship, and everything after that was all wrong.

    Space was close and far, lights shifted and spun.

    It wasn¡¯t space anymore. To my eyes, it almost looked like moving water, a current of something that shifted and swirled, and yet, motion wasn¡¯t¡­ It wasn¡¯t right.

    There was no physics here. Distance, Gravity, none of that had any bearing on what was happening around the Phantom. There was just reality, a thin barrier, and then unreality.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that actually worked.¡± I said aloud before quieting. I didn¡¯t want the Crabbit to start getting confused.

    The Diamond Drive wasn¡¯t an Iris Drive. It was close, it operated similarly, but at the core it was an unstable clashing rift instead of a stable one.

    I had worried that warp might not work right without actually doing some testing.

    Yet, I had done it. I had willingly taken the plunge, and now I was about to do something even more complicated.

    And probably stupid. I took a moment to listen. The song of the ship was weird. Almost eldritch, with discordant notes that weren¡¯t discordant at all as they fed into the rhythm.

    The ship was okay, I was mostly confident in that. We had managed the transition.

    ¡°A-activate the SDA Controller! Let¡¯s get them.¡± I said my confidence shot, but my Crabbit had no fear.

    ¡°Yay! Surfacing! Making adjustments! Maaaaath!¡± Navigation cheered and I noticed Tactical huff a little at someone stealing her line.

    The nose of the Phantom shifted, it wasn¡¯t easy to tell, since there was no bearing on what was up or down, but the slight shift in my gut told me we were moving in a new direction. I watched as the bubble that kept realspace in, and subspace out shifted. The front of it sharpened, instead of a flat curve, it gained a crease and a sharp edge.

    Going from a bubble to¡­ Well the bottom of a ship. And then I looked at my Tab.

    Subspace depth was rising, slowly.

    Which was basically ridiculous. There were only two motions for warp for most people. Going down very fast, and going up very fast.

    Suddenly the ship jerked as if it hit something and I felt my hands grip the edges of the uncomfortable chair tightly.

    I wanted to ask what that was, but the Crabbit were cheerfully doing the incredibly complex calculations and I wanted them focused.

    Then another rocking of the ship, and a buzz ran through the entire ship. I could hear the orchestra of eldritch foreign noises get louder in a bad way.

    Like the song that I heard was being overwhelmed by the noise of what was beyond.

    I glanced at my Tab, but even with the song in my ear, I couldn¡¯t offer any advice on how to fix it.

    The level of calculations being streamed through the ship to the SDA Warp Controller and the Crabbit was so far beyond me I could never hope to help.

    I would be dead and gone before I even realized there was a problem.

    It was up to the Crabbit and the construction of the SDA controller.

    So I grabbed my chair and just held myself tense trying to keep my heart from hammering out of my chest.

    More and more we rose, and the buzz and rattling began growing stronger. Soon It felt like my teeth were vibrating and it made me feel woozy like my blood was vibrating in my veins.

    And then, the view port changed.

    I gasped as I could see into real space with just my eyes.

    We were there. The visual distortion kept shifting up and down like we were bobbing on water and unable to remain perfectly balanced.

    I felt my mouth open and close but no sound came out. The vibration was so bad I couldn¡¯t even speak, as the air itself was stealing the vibration from my throat.

    Instead I reached over and despite my finger feeling like it was moving more than a foot back and forth as I was trying to point, I hit the Tab and switched to the Sensor screen.

    The Pirates had of course moved away once I disappeared. Satisfied I had fled, but the difference between subspace, and realspace was vast.

    I hit a button, and the targeting computer received my request.

    The Crabbit didn¡¯t speak, but I could see Tactical cry out in delight even if I couldn¡¯t hear it.

    And then we moved.

    We were currently touching both reality and subspace.

    That wasn¡¯t normal, and my body reacted, as we traveled nearly instantly through real space. Appearing so close I could see the pirate ships clearly with my bare eyes out the view port. The sensation of movement doubled me over.

    My stomach heaved, but I was vibrating so badly, I couldn¡¯t even puke.

    The SDA was definitely not working as it should. I shouldn¡¯t be feeling like this, but¡­

    I felt my mouth open and I yelled with all my might. I wasn¡¯t sure if the Crabbit could even hear me. If noise even transferred with how fucked up the ships personal physics currently was.

    ¡°FIRE! FIRE AT THEM ALL!¡± I roared and a moment later, whether Tactical heard me or not, she did just that.

    ¡ª--

    Baron Cyger Ritz

    So. That was it. The Phantom Star disappeared in the flash of a warp disruption.

    ¡°The girl fled.¡± Hamlin grumbled, an interesting tone to his voice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t sound so disappointed. She¡¯s a scrap brat.¡± Artemis replied without a hint of emotion despite her words. ¡°You can¡¯t expect everything from her.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s got a soldier''s blood. I just expected better.¡± He replied back. Cyger side eyed the navy man. His broad shoulders, and structured face hinted at his own origins. Soldier Nanomachines, of a more advanced variety than the girl, ran through the man''s blood.

    A bond that sometimes came out with those who had been biologically modified. Well in the lower castes anyways.

    Nobles rarely felt the distant bonds to each other in that way.

    ¡°She did what she could without risking her life.¡± Cyger replied to the two. ¡°We can not expect her to do our duty. Battlestations! The Pirates will come for us now.¡± He demanded and his men saluted and got to work.

    It was a death sentence possibly for all of them. Cyger rose. He would not flee just yet, but he would. They knew that, and so did he, but as long as he stayed here, discipline will remain and it¡¯ll give the ship slightly better odds.

    If they could get enough hits at long range, they might be able to survive until the pirates got close enough for all the weapons to wipe them from space.

    Unlikely. Pirates weren¡¯t fools. They¡¯d come at an angle that made firing at them difficult, and the Octavius would be unable to adjust.

    Cyger stepped away from his seat, moving around the bridge.

    This ship had been given to him as a boy. He had spent more time on this ship than at his family''s holdings.

    This was in every respect his home.

    So he took a moment to memorize it once more. He walked over to the old dedication plaque on the wall. The bronze was kept polished, a sign of his crew''s respect for the ship.

    KRW Octavius.

    The Kenish-Ritz Warship Octavius. His ship. His home. The symbol of his nobility. He¡¯d have to transfer to one of his support vessels after this, and he would go from an up and coming nobility to just a foolish boy of the Ritz family.

    He¡¯d never get another Frigate to command, this was the end of his upward ascension.

    ¡°Baron?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing Artemis.¡± He replied to the woman, his operations officer, who was far more than that. ¡°The shuttle?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Is ready sir.¡±

    ¡°Very good then.¡± But he didn¡¯t move. Instead, consider his words. The men on board the Octavius deserved some last words from him. Most would likely die while the Pirates swept the Octavius aside, and more would die after as they went looting. Plenty of good materials in a Frigate of this size.

    ¡°Warp Entrance? No¡­ Something else?¡± A voice called out, alerting the bridge and Cyger turned, focused.

    Hope? Was it a traveling warship hearing the distress signal?

    ¡°What do you mean something else? Speak up!¡± Hamlin roared and the bridge officer just shook his head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know sir! A Warp Emergence, but it¡¯s not completing!¡± Before a word could be said the ship¡¯s alert sounded lightly. Warning the shields had been struck.

    Hamlin stopped his forward momentum to check, an old habit, he had to see if the hit had done any damage. When no damage report came he continued on. He marched over to the sensor operator and loomed over him as he glared at the boy''s screen.

    ¡°Well?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know sir! Look! It¡¯s a Warp Emergence signature but the rift isn¡¯t forming!¡±

    ¡°Give me a broad subspace scan.¡± Cyger demanded as he walked back to his own chair.

    They still had time and something odd could only be an advantage now.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Sir! The Phantom Star?¡± The operator called and Cyger felt himself confused.

    Did the girl find her bravery and return to fight again? Why? It was too late for that. Even if she emerged, she¡¯d be a sitting asteroid for the pirates fire, emergence rifts were excellent for improving even the most scoundrel of pilots accuracy.

    Then as Cyger looked out into space watching the five plasma trails grow closer and closer, suddenly out from nowhere shot a bright beam of energy, one he was familiar with.

    ¡°Enemy ship destroyed!?¡± The sensor operator called out and Cyger could feel the bridge crew perk up.

    ¡°Was that a Thermal Lance?¡± He asked, and Hamlin spoke immediately.

    ¡°It was.¡± But the man was staring at the same sensor terminal still trying to make heads or tails of what he was seeing.

    ¡°Hamlin?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know Sir. some kind of sensor spoofing? According to our scans, The Phantom Star is in subspace.¡± Cyger nodded, evidently that was false as the girl had attacked.

    ¡°SDA.¡± The voice came not from Hamlin, but from Artemis, the woman spoke it calmly with surety.

    ¡°Impossible.¡±

    ¡°And yet, it is what is happening.¡± She said as another burst of Plasma appeared from seemingly nowhere, and another of the pirate freighters popped.

    Suddenly the enemy force looming on them was scattering terrified and unable to fight back at some invisible unassailable foe.

    Then a burst of light as Subspace split open, and out came the Phantom Star almost spinning as it re-emerged from Subspace.

    Well.

    Subspace Depth Adjustment it was. Impossible. Improbable, something he just saw with his own two eyes and yet¡­ Something he couldn¡¯t believe. Not even the greatest minds of the Kenish Duchy had figured out that upgrade to the Warp Controllers.

    Yet, she had managed this, an impossible act? What sort of genius had he stumbled upon?

    There was surprising, and there was impossible. Katherine Ferrous just firmly put herself into that new category.

    How fascinating.

 Chapter 11

    Slowly, as the drip drip of liquid splattering onto steel slowed to a stop I finally started feeling at least a little better. My nose had stopped bleeding, at least, which was a good sign. My eye fluttered as I tried to open them, and I realized one of them was crusted over.

    I felt strong enough to stand up with only a little wobble to retake my seat.

    ¡°Status report? And let¡¯s get back to UNK-L. I think we need to dock.¡± I called out weakly.

    ¡°Yes yes! Damage bad! Ouchies!¡± I nodded at the report and just rested for a while as I felt the ship move. The Crabbit were more than capable of putting the ship onto an autopilot route, and I dozed a bit until I felt the tremble go through the hull as we docked.

    I blinked my crusted eyes and rose up with a groan. It wasn¡¯t a sharp pain, but I felt bruised and achy as I stumbled a bit through the ship to the docking port. With a fumbled press against the lock it opened and I smiled a bit as Dad was there.

    ¡°Kat! He called out instantly in shock as he rushed in and grabbed me up.

    It was nice not to have to hold myself upright, and soon I was pulled out of the ship and placed on a nearby bench as I was fussed over.

    The Station Doctor was called, and I didn¡¯t complain like I normally would. I definitely needed to be checked out.

    ¡°Move aside you lumps.¡± Mom¡¯s voice called out and the horde of people around me spread with only Dad staying close kneeling in front of me as his rough hand held my own, gentle stroking with his thumb, it was actually pretty comforting.

    Then Mom sat beside me, a cool hand tilted my head towards her as she looked me over. ¡°Poor thing.¡± She whispered to me, and I smiled a little weakly.

    ¡°You should see the other guy.¡± I joked, but then slumped a bit because once again people were dead.

    A lot of people probably, and I was directly responsible once more. I felt myself sort of drift for a while before suddenly I was brought back.

    Warmth was brought up to my cheek. A wet rag ran over my sensitive skin. I blinked my eyes open realizing I had closed them, to see Mom there, wiping at my face gently.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get you cleaned up.¡± She offered and I nodded as she cleaned up the blood and puke that had coated part of me.

    God I really must have looked like a mess.

    ¡°Ah, there¡¯s my patient.¡± A new voice called out, and I looked up to see Aunt Bea. The woman was a doctor of sorts for the station and was already pulling out some tools from her belt. A moment later a scanner ran over me, and I made sure to pay attention to her face, blinking weakly to remain focused despite everything as she did so.

    Aunt Bea would always give away the prognosis with her face. Woman had absolutely no poker face at all.

    Thankfully her face turned into a smile.

    ¡°You¡¯re bruised up, but the dizziness will pass, and the bloody nose is okay too. You got quite a bit of vibrational stress there. Whatever you did, don''t do it again, okay Kat?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± I agreed instantly, because that sucked.

    With that everyone seemed to breathe out a sigh of relief, but Aunt Bea wasn¡¯t done.

    ¡°Here. Let¡¯s give you one of these.¡± She offered as she pulled out a Hypospray.

    ¡°Uuuu.¡± I whined and the woman sent me a familiar smirk as she bent over and rolled back my jumpsuit over my right arm.

    ¡°Don¡¯t complain.¡± She told me, but I really really wanted too!

    She pressed the spray to my arm and the hiss of air injected some drugs into my body, but!

    ¡°Iiiitchy!¡± I whined and Dad had to reach over and grab my hand to keep from itching my shoulder.

    ¡°No itching.¡± Aunt Bea reminded me, a familiar refrain and then reached down and cupped my cheek. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you dear. Well done.¡± She offered and I flushed a bit as she started packing up her tools.

    Hitting me with an embarrassing thing was too mean when I already feel bad.

    Thankfully the injection she gave me was already kicking in, and the soreness was fading, and I was even starting to feel better.

    Medical tech was pretty good in the far future after all.

    ¡°Uh-oh. Eyes up, the Baron just docked.¡± A voice called out and everyone looked away from me towards the docking ring.

    Aww man.

    I slumped again because there was going to be so many questions.

    A minute later, and the doors opened and the Baron and his entourage stepped out with confidence. He didn¡¯t hesitate to shift his direction towards my group and soon I looked up at the fancily dressed man and his people.

    Including the engineer Eugene, who looked like he was about to tackle me and start asking questions, the older man was practically vibrating.

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± The Baron greeted politely, as the crowd split for him. ¡°Ah, there she is. Captain Katherine.¡± He greeted me, and I just waved a bit weakly.

    ¡°Lord Baron, excuse us, but my daughter is-¡±

    ¡°Be at ease.¡± The Baron interrupted my father with a waved hand. ¡°I will not inconvenience the hero of the hour with an array of questions.¡± He offered, and I noticed Eugene the Engineer slump a bit. ¡°Captain Katherine, well fought, and thank you. Take the time you need to recover. If there is any trouble don¡¯t hesitate to reach out to the Octavius, the ships doctor will be happy to offer any care that is needed.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Dad offered firmly. ¡°But she just needs some rest.¡±

    ¡°Then that is what she will get.¡± The Baron offered with a formal bow.

    And then he walked away, and I was able to just slump into Dad and close my eyes.

    Rest sounded pretty good.

    ¡ª--

    Unfortunately my reprieve from the Baron didn¡¯t last long. I got hauled home and tucked into bed for a long sleep. When I woke up in my bed, I got up, took a long shower and then got dressed feeling much better if still a little sore.

    ¡°Come and eat Kat. The Baron requested a meeting with you once you are up.¡± Mom told me as I came out of my room dressed and I just nodded. Some things were inevitable.

    ¡°Heard you did something weird.¡± Dad offered to me, and I blinked a little in surprise at the fact he was here and not out working.

    ¡°Not working today?¡±

    ¡°Not today.¡± He said with a smile. ¡°Things are a little up in the air right now. You going to avoid my question?¡± He then added with a smirk that made me look away.

    Because I totally wanted to.

    ¡°I made an SDA controller. It didn¡¯t work perfectly, but it worked.¡± I didn¡¯t add that the fact it worked at all was a surprise to me too.

    ¡°SDA?¡± He asked, his brow furrowing for a moment before it went slack. ¡°Subspace Depth Adjustment?¡± He demanded and I nodded.

    His slack face of shock went on long enough Mom looked confused.

    ¡°What is it, and why is it so surprising?¡± She asked then and Dad ran a hand over his face, his beard making a noise as he ran over the stubble.

    ¡°It¡¯s Advanced Tech. I don¡¯t think even the Duke has access to it. Kat? How did you?¡± He trailed off as if he couldn¡¯t finish the question.

    ¡°I just figured out a way to get it to work¡­ Mostly.¡± I admitted. ¡°I wasn¡¯t ready to use it, and I suffered for it.¡± I said back a little defensively.

    The ship was enough that everyone had wanted answers, but what I had done was beyond just fixing up a ship.

    I might have gone a bit overboard with the SDA controller. Then again it had basically saved the battle.

    ¡°You always were good with tech, but¡­¡± Dad started and I looked up from my food. The manipulation protein was tasty enough since I was hungry, but this wasn¡¯t the time for that.

    ¡°I built it, pulled apart a few Warp Controllers, and configured it¡­ It was hard, but I did it.¡± I said and Dad looked at me for a while before his face stretched into a smirk.

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    ¡°That¡¯s my girl.¡±

    I looked towards my food to finish my meal, my face a little warm at the praise.

    Now I just had to hope my explanation worked for the Baron as well.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°I would like to examine the SDA controller.¡± Eugene asked nearly instantly as I settled into the large meeting room. The Baron, Uncle Kyle, and the Barons staff were all there and the Baron had locked his eyes on me the moment I entered with a frankly scary focus.

    I hesitated as I took my seat at the request before relaxing a little.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s still functional right now. The calculations were off¡­ Obviously.¡± I added and the Engineer just shrugged.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter Captain! A functional SDA, semi-Functional even, would be¡­¡± The Engineer trailed off and looked at the Baron.

    ¡°Captain Katherine. Before we get into that. Thank you. You fought at major risk to your own life to protect not just your home, but my ship. I assure you, you will be well rewarded for your bravery yesterday. That I promise on my name.¡± He offered to me, ending with a friendly smile that might make him handsome if I wasn¡¯t really uncomfortable around him.

    His eyes didn¡¯t just shine with friendliness he looked¡­ Greedy.

    ¡°But I do agree with my Chief Engineer. Even a semi-Functional SDA Controller¡­ How did you come across it?¡±

    ¡°I made it.¡± I revealed freely. There was no point in trying to lie. The thing was a hodgepodge of Warp Controllers, if anyone looked at it, obviously they might think I had put it together.

    ¡°Can you make more?¡± The Baron demanded in a gentle tone, but it was a demand nonetheless.

    ¡°Yes. I made the current one out of a couple scrapped Warp Controllers.¡± I admitted while keeping my eyes locked on the Baron, but I could still see the way Eugene''s jaw dropped.

    ¡°Impossible.¡± He said and then I turned my eyes to him and shrugged.

    ¡°Not really. The hardest part was just the calculations, which I didn¡¯t exactly get right.¡± I admitted, hands wringing a bit as I considered all the work that had gone into it.

    It had taken me a lot of down time just coding the dang thing. Without the Crabbit helping with the ship while I worked on the thing I never would have had time to complete it¡­

    Well. Mostly complete it. I certainly wasn¡¯t going to use it again without figuring out why it had been so rough.

    So¡­ All the time and calculations had in the end not been accurate. I wanted to cry. I hated programming! It took forever, and even with the song guiding me, I made mistakes and had to edit things.

    The song might be beautiful, but I was just human.

    ¡°Can you make another?¡± The Baron asked, cutting through the muttering from Eugene and quieting the entire room.

    ¡°Yeah?¡± I said slowly, and then realized I shouldn¡¯t have said that, as the Baron¡¯s eyes flashed in interest.

    ¡°Then Captain Katherine, the Kenish Duchy is going to be very interested in as many of the devices as you can-¡±

    ¡°No.¡± I said, cutting him off no matter how bad an idea it was. I made sure to sit up from where I had been hunched over. ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ I can make another one if you want, I guess. But I need to focus on my ship. I have so much left to do.¡±

    The man¡¯s eyes were locked onto me, his blue green eyes staring me down and I didn¡¯t know what was going on in his mind, but eventually he smirked.

    ¡°I understand, Captain Katherine. I understand, then you¡¯ll create an SDA for the Octavius, and walk my Engineer through the process. After all, I¡¯ll need to do repairs on it, if we are going to use it.¡± He said, sounding rather understanding.

    ¡°And what will Katherine receive in exchange?¡± Uncle Kyle asked immediately after, and the Baron only smiled.

    ¡°I will make sure enough Creds are deposited into her account in exchange for such a boon.¡± He offered with a wave of his hand. ¡°Captain Katherine, if you want to travel, then Creds will do much to ensure your safety and comfort while doing so. Take it from someone who has visited nearly all the systems in the Duchy, and a few beyond.¡±

    I nodded slowly, I felt like I was being played, but the problem was the Baron was a noble, and he honestly could probably just order me to work for him.

    Sure I was a Captain of a ship, but no one would care if I was black bagged and hidden away somewhere to make tech for the Duchy if the tech I could make was valuable.

    Yet, despite saying he was willing to let me head off with my ship his eyes never left me, and there was a naked greed inside them.

    I looked down at my hands.

    I¡¯d have to make sure that when I was ready to leave no one knew until I was on my ship and leaving the sector.

    ¡ª--

    Looking over the list of damage from the use of the SDA, any hope of me escaping in the short term was thrown out the window.

    The vibration hadn¡¯t overly damaged the Crabbit. I had built them sturdy after all, but the ship itself was still half put together at best. Plenty of cables had ripped themselves apart, damaging the connectors, which shut off power to sections of the ship.

    I was lucky that the engines had much stronger connections and so had been fine.

    But I would need to go through the whole ship before I was satisfied. More work.

    I was going to need more Crabbit at this rate, just to keep the maintenance in check.

    ¡°How do normal Captains deal with this?¡± I asked, despite already knowing the answer. They hired repair crews at stations, to fix their ship up.

    If I had over a hundred people to fix up a ship, I could get the Phantom done quickly too.

    ¡°Alert! Intruder alert! Arm death rays! Arm.. Oh it¡¯s Dad.¡± The Crabbit on my shoulder said going from menacing to cutesy in seconds. I looked at her for a moment before narrowing my eyes.

    ¡°Is it an intruder alert, or just someone knocking on the door?¡± And a moment later the way the Crabbit looked away told me what I needed to know.

    Groaning I would have to remind them that intruders only meant people that actually tried to get onto the ship, and wasn¡¯t just someone knocking. I rose up and headed down the hallways towards the docking port.

    I pressed the switch and the airlock cycled and there waiting outside was Dad.

    ¡°Hey, Dad.¡±

    ¡°Kat.¡± He said with a smile and I felt my own smile rise up as he stepped in for a hug which I returned happily. ¡°Just wanted to tell you. The ships have all been tugged in, pushed one in to orbit myself. Uncle Kyle wants to know what you want done with them.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± I asked surprised, before I remembered.

    This wasn¡¯t a shared kill, but pirates I had taken out myself. Other than maybe the ship the missile satellite had damaged, I had done all the damage this time.

    By law the ships were entirely mine since I had taken on all the risk.

    I swallowed. I hadn¡¯t planned for that. I hadn¡¯t been thinking about any of this really. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I said truthfully, and Dad smirked at me, reaching up to pat my cheek.

    ¡°Figure it out then Starburst. Not a rush, but everyone is itching to get scrapping the components.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I need to talk to Uncle Kyle.¡± I realized. Some of those components I would likely need for my Phantom, and more importantly¡­ I needed a lot of hull to finish her. I had the components for a bigger Diamond Drive. Once I finished that, I¡¯d have the numbers for how big I could make the Phantom, but considering the upgrade from the Small Diamond Drive, a light one, would likely¡­

    Do a lot.

    ¡°Thanks for telling me Dad.¡± I said earnestly, my mind already racing, and he just smirked at me.

    ¡°Anytime Kat. So when is your old man getting a tour-¡±

    ¡°Not now! It¡¯s a mess inside!¡± I instantly responded to his questions by spreading my arms and blocking entrance from the airlock.

    The fact he instantly broke into loud guffaws, had me relaxing. ¡°Sure thing Kat, whenever you¡¯re ready¡­ But before you leave, yeah? I want to see what my genius daughter is putting together.¡±

    I just winced, I wasn¡¯t really a genius¡­ Just lucky. But I nodded without meeting his eyes and then turned and ran back inside. I needed to check my schematics, and find out what I needed, whether the pirate ships would have it, or if I should trade them for something else.

    Uuuu. Being a Captain was a lot of work!

    ¡ª--

    I swallowed a little thickly.

    Creds were a universal term for currency. Sure not every region had their creds worth the same as other regions, but you could always exchange them in new regions if you needed to, but more importantly.

    I had a lot of Creds now. I had sold the pirate ships to the station with only a few components that would go to me once they were scrapped.

    The Medium Drives on the ships had been sold off unfortunately, as the Military still had their little order for certain materials to go to them, but that was fine.

    I had a lot of Creds now.

    The bank account that was in my name had a lot of zeroes.

    I took a deep breath and looked away from the Tab that had my account information to look at Uncle Kyle.

    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of Creds.¡±

    ¡°Ships are valuable.¡± He answered back simply with a shrug.

    I nodded, and looked away from the numbers. ¡°I need more Shield Emitters.¡±

    ¡°We still have some in stock. I¡¯ll speak to the Baron about requisitioning them.¡±

    ¡°Great. That¡¯s¡­ Nova.¡± I said using some future slang.

    ¡°Katherine¡­ You¡¯ve done a lot for not just yourself, but the station. I understand the request from the Baron discomforts you.¡±

    I looked up from the Tab I was checking again to see Uncle Kyles dark gray eyes stare into mine. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I mean, exactly that. You¡¯re uncomfortable about the Barons request.¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± He asked back and I frowned.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to just be some person attached to his retinue or something. I want to travel, experience the freedom to fly anywhere in the verse.¡±

    ¡°Is it so bad? Working with the Baron would ensure a long healthy future.¡±

    ¡°But not happy.¡± I retorted, noticing the missing word. ¡°Did he ask you to speak with me?¡±

    ¡°He did. He hoped that I could convince you to join his crew. The Phantom Star would be a welcome vessel to join his entourage.¡±

    ¡°No way.¡± I decided clutching my Tab to my chest as I looked at the older man. ¡°I¡¯m not going to be stuck trapped in some deal. I want to be free.¡±

    Uncle Kyle watched me with those strong gray eyes for a while longer before just nodding.

    ¡°Then I suggest you give the Baron the SDA controller he wants, and if possible teach it to his Engineer like he requested. Then leave quickly. The Baron has been a fair man. I would even consider some of his orders to be almost kind to us, and I am thankful for that. But that is one thing, and getting someone like you under his thumb would be another.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± I said in a whisper and he nodded.

    The conversation ended with that.

    ¡ª--

    I watched as the tug shuttles moved the old hull over towards the Freighters Hangar.

    The hull was an old one, but it had lots of mass so it was perfect.

    I had purchased it for cheap compared to the newer pirate vessels and I was bringing it in so I could start breaking it down for resources.

    ¡°Alright get those vats ready!¡± I called out to the Crabbit. All the Nanopaste I had left after repairing the Phantom during the pirate raid was going to be used to start eating this old hull. I stood in the old hangar which was sort of nostalgic. This was where the Phantom had been born after all.

    I breathed a sigh of relief when the shuttle tug put the hull into place and then buzzed off.

    I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if the Baron had told the shuttle pilot to stick around.

    He hadn¡¯t talked to me since the last meeting, and I was using the time to get some work done.

    Only once the Nanopaste began devouring the old hull and I was sure it was processing the hull properly did I nod and head out. Jumping out into space to space walk back to the station was exhilarating. And when I reached the station I didn¡¯t head inside, but instead landed on the Phantom Star.

    I grinned as I looked up from her bow to see the big Thermal Lance turret, and then leapt on top of that to look up into the bridge. The shaped glass still gave it a sharp look as I looked at my ship. The massive spaceship was all mine.

    With a few more leaps I hit the airlock and let myself in.

    ¡°Alright, we all have work to do. Get at it.¡± I told the Crabbit on my shoulder the quiet girl saluted and buzzed off into the ship to find some more work to do.

    Just as I was getting ready to head to the hold to get to work on the new Diamond Drive, I heard the alert.

    ¡°Intruder alert! Arm death rays!¡± I heard echo through the ship and I rolled my eyes, really going to have to get them to start shouting that. I hurried across the ship to the other side where the airlock connecting to the station was located.

    ¡°Stop that.¡± I scolded the Crabbit waiting at the Airlock, its clampers opening and closing aggressively. ¡°Now who is it?¡±

    ¡°Fancy!¡± It told me which wasn¡¯t an answer, but sort of was.

    I opened the airlock to see not the Baron like I dreaded but his operations officer. Artemis.

    ¡°Hello?¡±

    ¡°Greetings Captain Katherine. You have been invited for a meeting on board the Octavius at 1600 ship time. A meal will be provided.¡± The woman said all at once in a calm tone and then dropped a salute and turned to leave.

    ¡°Umm. What?¡± I asked her, retreating back in confusion and she stilled and turned back around. I swallowed as her icy eyes stared back at me in not exactly a glare, her face never shifted but I felt like she was dissecting me.

    ¡°The Baron requests your presence tonight to join him for the ship''s dinner. Dress is casual.¡± She offered at the end and then once again turned away¡­

    Okay?

 Chapter 12

    Walking up to the airlock of the Octavius I wilted a little under the looks of the two guards standing outside it.

    The soldiers were huge and both locked eyes onto me the moment I started approaching.

    ¡°Umm. The Baron?¡± I managed to stutter out before the guards nodded and stepped aside.

    ¡°I¡¯ll escort you Captain.¡± The guard offered surprisingly kindly and I perked up a little. They might be scary as fuck in their uniforms with some minor armor plating, and laser rifles, but they were nice I guess?

    I followed along into the well lit clean halls of the Octavius. I once again looked around in slight jealousy at the Phantoms'' less than clean interior. I¡¯d get there eventually, but for now it was a mess.

    Following after I continued wringing my hands as we traveled deeper into the ship. I didn¡¯t know what the Baron was really after with this, but it made me super uncomfortable. I just wanted to fix the Phantom Star. Not¡­ Carouse with nobility!

    It was common sense not to piss off nobles. I had some protection from it being from a middle class background, but even Uncle Kyle would be really wary about pissing off someone of the nobility.

    Out here in the Kenish Duchy, on the frontiers of explored space, they were the law, and they had the weapons to back it up.

    Another reason to get my ship up and running. Kind of hard to press me into something when I had weapons to argue my point.

    Then the soldier stopped and a door opened.

    There stood the same woman that had invited me to this dinner. Artemis? Cool name, scary woman.

    ¡°Excellent. You¡¯re dismissed. Captain Katherine, please follow me.¡± She spoke, the guard I had been following saluted and then I was following her inside into a room that was¡­ Swanky?

    Large window panes with a view out to space, with lots of gilding and pomp. It was like something out of a period drama, only with a space backdrop.

    The large table in the center of the room was just large enough for a group of people to sit around it, without it being so large you couldn¡¯t talk to people.

    And around it was a collection of familiar faces.

    I continued to wring my hands a bit as I realized that my idea of casual, and their idea of casual might not be the same thing.

    Sure I was wearing clean clothes, but my jumpsuit, and work shirt were still rough, and a bit stained. I lowered my hands a bit to try and hide the old grease stain in my shirt just under my chest. Maybe no one would notice?

    No. They would notice. I sighed quietly as I was guided forward.

    ¡°Captain Katherine Ferrous.¡± Artemis introduced me, and the Baron rose from his seat.

    ¡°Wonderful! The woman of the hour. Please Captain take a seat here, be welcome as an honored guest at my table.¡± He said, speaking formally¡­ Which, I wasn¡¯t sure if it was just his personality, or some tradition I had no idea about.

    Greeeeat.

    I walked to the seat at the Barons right hand that was held open for me and I settled in, only once I did, did I notice the rest of the men around the table also taking their seats.

    As I had moved, Artemis I noticed had also taken her seat at the same time.

    It took just a moment as I sat to notice the height difference of everyone at the table. The chair was just large enough for me, but it still left me head above the Baron on my left. It made it really hard to sink into the chair to hide.

    ¡°Thank you for coming, I hope my spread will delight you. I pulled out all the stops in celebration of our victory.¡± The Baron began and I smiled a bit weakly as I looked at all the food on the table.

    I had once lived on earth with its seemingly infinite amount of food from all over the globe, but I couldn¡¯t name a single dish that was heaping on the table in front of me.

    I watched with an awkward eye as everyone began. A pointed finger, and the plate would float up from the table and move into reach. Everyone began filling their plate, so I pulled up my bravery and pointed at something that didn¡¯t look like it was going to make me sick.

    When it floated over I used the tongs to grab a bunch of what I had thought was noodles.

    Nope. Not noodles¡­

    I very carefully grabbed the tiniest amount onto the plate as I didn¡¯t know if putting it back would be a bad idea. And then pointed at something else.

    Yep. This wasn¡¯t moving. So I grabbed a bit more of it onto the plate to try and cover up the fucking wiggling wor-Nope.

    ¡°Tell me Katherine, how long before your ship is fully repaired? I hope the damage from the battles wasn¡¯t too much?¡± The Baron started and I nodded actually relieved as it meant I didn¡¯t have to try and eat any of this.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It could be a while. I have everything I need now to complete the next expansion. So I¡¯ll likely do that first.¡±

    ¡°Expansion?¡± This voice came from Eugene who looked up from his bowl of squirming worm-Nope. Bowl of Nope.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°You plan on making her even larger?¡± Eugene asked, sounding interested.

    ¡°Oh yes. The current floorplan had both of the sides cut off due to some¡­ constraints. It¡¯s missing basically all of her crew quarters, and additional weapon sections. Thanks to the Pirate ships, I have everything I need to finish her.¡±

    ¡°Aha! I knew there was something off with the design! It was left unfinished!¡± Eugene crowed out seemingly quite happily, and I noticed his Babbit peeking over his shoulder, and I gave her a wave.

    ¡°Oh? How many more weapon systems will be available? I had considered the ship to be undergunned for its size.¡± The Baron asked, between a sip of whatever he was drinking.

    ¡°Well¡­¡± I trailed off because¡­ Did I want to just tell him? I shook it off. He would know no matter what, it wasn¡¯t like I could install the weapons stealthily. It wasn¡¯t impossible to hide weapons when they were installed, but moving equipment into position and installing it would be obvious to the Octavius.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Well first I¡¯m going to install some laser batteries. A quad battery along the side, and then a few smaller AA turrets. Missiles aren¡¯t fun to deal with.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. The Octavius will be getting some missile defense retrofits as well after what happened.¡± The Baron grumbled, and for a moment, he wasn¡¯t the powerful noble, but a man in his twenties pissed that someone had damaged his ship.

    I felt a bit of camaraderie with him for a moment, and then he looked back at me, and spoke.

    ¡°But is that all?¡± He asked, almost too casually. His eyes told me he was digging for information, and luckily for him he was going to get it.

    ¡°Pop up missile racks. Missiles are expensive, but in emergencies they¡¯re valuable.¡±

    ¡°Indeed they are!¡± This time the military officer Hamlin spoke up, the man nodded seriously after his declaration. ¡°If you need to source some ordinance, please don¡¯t hesitate to contact me. Finding missiles is not a difficult task, finding missiles that function often is!¡± He offered and the Baron raised a glass in the air to that earning chuckles around the table.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± I agreed with a smile. They were scary but most of the actual officers were pretty nice.

    Speaking of drinks. I looked over at the glass of¡­ Whatever that was beside my food, and reached for it so people would stop asking me some questions for a moment.

    I took a sip and put it back down smiling fakely as I fought the desire to puke.

    It tasted like cough syrup. Flat cough syrup.

    The only good thing was that it wasn¡¯t alcoholic at least.

    I had a sinking feeling that I wasn¡¯t going to enjoy this meal very much.

    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    Thankfully, conversation was stalled out as Eugene cut in.

    ¡°So the SDA for your Phantom. Outside of the calculations which are the most complex parts, you made it out of just a few Warp Arrays?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s more complicated than that.¡± I offered, which he nodded already understanding. ¡°But mostly true. The Warp Control Arrays already function as an SDA Controller¡­ If you don¡¯t have a working Warp Array, then when you drop into subspace¡­¡± I trailed off and Eugene nodded, but he added for those around the table. Not all of which were engineers.

    ¡°You drop deeper into subspace constantly without one. Technically you could still escape if you break your ship''s rift bubble, but it¡¯s much more dangerous, and it¡¯d be a rocky re-emergence.¡± He said and earned some nodding heads.

    But the obvious question was still there so I spoke it. ¡°So I took multiple Warp Arrays and fixed them up and combined them, so they¡¯d have at least enough processing power to handle the actual calculations from another source. Most of it is done on board the Phantom Stars computer, but that¡¯s not really amazing either. Just some modules I¡¯ve scrapped over the years.¡± I ended up mumbling a bit towards the end as more and more eyes were locked onto me.

    ¡°Do go on Captain. I¡¯m truly fascinated.¡± Eugene urged me, and I nodded. It was kind of embarrassing to talk about salvaging garbage when I was surrounded by so many really rich people.

    ¡°Well my Crabbit, and my ship''s computer, and the Warp Controllers, all work together to handle the calculations. Well¡­ The calculations were a bit off. Which is why it nearly shook me apart when I used it¡­ I should be able to fix that, probably.¡±

    ¡°Indeed! I can¡¯t even imagine. The calculations for entering subspace are difficult by themselves. I studied the best courses in the entire Duchy, and I can assure you the math is well beyond me.¡± He said looking at me with an eye that spoke of how serious he was. And¡­

    Well just like the baron there was greed there. The desire to have what I had.

    I nodded and fake sipped at my drink. As we had talked I¡¯d grabbed a few things from the table and finally found something mostly palatable. Some sort of meat dish, that I was pretty sure was actual meat, and not just manipulated protein. I of course had no idea what sort of protein it was.

    ¡°I just¡­ Kept working on it, until I figured something out.¡± I said, which was technically the truth. Mostly I had just listened to the song as it guided me in making a functional SDA controller.

    Eugene to my surprise didn¡¯t jump on me, and instead simply nodded, but his eyes spoke of his desire to learn more.

    Slowly different subjects were brought up. The repair of the Octavius. System defense plans. Even the transport of some of the new supplies from the pirates out of the system and towards L1T-Z Station.

    I nodded along taking in the information idly as I did my best not to become the subject of conversation again.

    Thankfully things grew relaxed, and instead of being asked tons of questions, I was enjoying a story from Hamlin about some battles he had been in years ago, and how bad things had gone.

    ¡°Of course the damned Idric and their love of ballistic weapons started firing like crazy. You could practically hear the sound of all the rounds crashing into the asteroid. Of course the fools didn¡¯t realize it was pure Iron. We hid out for an hour or so hiding among the craters and just keeping them from trying to push around with our lasers.

    Eventually our reinforcements arrived, and they had blown through most of their ammo! Hah! Damned fools! They always run out of ammo, that¡¯s the first thing you need to remember whenever you fight the Dominion.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± I offered, as that last bit had been aimed at me, and he nodded pleased at my words.

    It was good information to be fair. So the Idric Dominion, the star civilization north of the Kenish Duchy, was focused on using ballistic weapons.

    Cannons like that were still useful even in space battles. Whether they were something like flak rounds, or high speed gauss cannons. Throwing a heavy projectile at incredible speeds was still a strong basis for weapon systems.

    There was a lot of research and technology already built into a simple cannon. It was a weapon that had existed for literal millenia. Even frontier civilizations like us could pretty easily pull out some crazy things using ballistic weapons because the tech was completely ubiquitous.

    The only other tech that was as ubiquitous was missiles.

    The Kenish Duchy I lived in tended to specialize in lasers though, which was a bit odd for a frontier civilization, but it was thanks to some asteroid fields with excellent materials for laser emitters that had galvanized the Duchy in the past.

    There was a reason the Phantom Star was going to mostly have energy weapons, after all.

    Well, I thought they were cool, but besides that, they were easy to get here.

    Thankfully the meal started winding down, and soon enough I was finally able to escape, but as I rose to leave the Baron spoke.

    ¡°Captain Katherine. I hope you enjoyed dinner?¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes. It was an experience.¡± I offered back. My plate was still full of some things, but I had found a few things I could enjoy.

    ¡°Excellent. Then Captain, I bid you goodnight, and I hope we will work together many more times in the future.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­ Yeah.¡± I offered back and then hurried away. Shit. Was that some sort of weird tradition that said I would work for him now?

    Stupid social shit. I was an engineer! I built things! I didn¡¯t deal with people!

    ¡ª--

    ¡°How''s that coming?¡± I called out as I hit the bottom of the ladder back in the hangar bay. I stepped out onto the hangar and then walked to the pile of cabling grabbing a bit more and throwing it over my shoulder. I started walking back to the ladder as I waited for the update.

    ¡°Little biters are chew-chewing!¡± Was the response I got which made me stop and shoot a look at the Crabbit that was in charge of keeping the Nanopaste in order.

    ¡°Details please.¡± I demanded flatly.

    ¡°Uuuu. Projected timeline is intact?¡± She offered, sounding sad that she had to actually speak normally.

    ¡°Thank you. Make sure the biters are doing well.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± She cheered her little arms waving above her happily. The Crabbit were developing their personalities very well.

    I continued on dragging the cabling back up the ladder. For once I was glad that I hadn¡¯t finished the interior paneling. Running more and more cabling from the power systems through the ship so that the future additions would get power was a long task, and it was only made easier since I could just jump into the maintenance tunnels.

    Suddenly as I was walking down the hall to the starboard side of the ship, to try and get the power cables ready for the additional crew quarters, and weapons, the lights went out.

    The Crabbit on my shoulder reacted pretty quickly, she activated a flashlight from her face screen.

    ¡°Thanks. Now what is going on? Can you find out?¡± I asked and she chirped quietly in response.

    My current shoulder Crabbit wasn¡¯t much of a talker. I could see her antenna flicker a bit as she sent requests and then she spoke.

    ¡°Uuuu. Accident¡­ Everything will be fixed soon¡­ Don¡¯t come to the engine room¡­ They say.¡± She said in a slow stutter.

    ¡°Don¡¯t come to the engine room huh?¡± I asked, turning towards the engine room. What were they up to?

    Walking down the hall I could hear the sound of Crabbit cries and the sound of struggles.

    As I walked into the engine room I dropped the cable on the ground and put my hands on my hips.

    ¡°Alright! That¡¯s enough of that!¡± I called out and all the Crabbit inside stopped. ¡°What happened?¡± I demanded as I glared at the mess.

    One of the Crabbit had obviously gotten trapped in some falling cabling which was pretty rare. They were usually good about this sort of thing.

    But then the rest had obviously decided to make it into a game.

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    ¡°Accident! Accident!¡±

    ¡°Save me!¡±

    ¡°Uuuu.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you lie!¡± I said and that earned a flinch from all of them except the tangled up drone.

    ¡°Uuuu.¡±

    ¡°Just a game?¡± One finally admitted and I nodded. The trapped Crabbit looked like she had been looped up and the others had obviously been messing with her keeping her trapped.

    ¡°Help! Save me!¡±

    ¡°Where are we?¡± I demanded and the Crabbit squirmed a bit. Their grippers touched together awkwardly as they were afraid to answer. ¡°Well?¡± I demanded not letting it go.

    ¡°Engine room.¡± One said and I nodded glaring.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! The engine room! What¡¯s the rule about the engine room?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? No strangers inside?¡±

    ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s the rule!¡± Another agreed nodding.

    I opened my mouth and then realized I never had actually given any rules for the engine room¡­ I was dealing with childlike AI. They might not be just like human children, but I still needed to remember what I was dealing with sometimes.

    ¡°Okay, new rule! No playing in the Engine room! This is a Red Zone!¡± I called out, and I had to fight off the smirk as the Crabbit gasped.

    ¡°Red! That¡¯s serious!¡±

    ¡°Yeah! Red!¡±

    ¡°What does Red mean?¡±

    ¡°Duh! It means¡­ Stuff! You should listen more!¡± They all argued together and I just let them. It was actually more effective sometimes to let the AI work out the meaning of things themselves.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll start marking off some of the sections of the ship on the door to mark the seriousness of the insides. But the Engine especially isn¡¯t a game area. All of you get back to work.¡± I pointed and the Crabbit sensing they were being forgiven zoomed off as fast as they could,

    All except one.

    ¡°Uuuu. Trapped! Help! Save me!¡±

    ¡°I know, relax Honey. I¡¯m coming.¡± I said with a laugh as I bent down and started untangling the poor drone.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Kat!¡±

    ¡°Oh hey Marie.¡±

    ¡°Look at you! I haven¡¯t seen you in forever! Hiding in your ship?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not hiding! I¡¯m fixing her.¡± I denied a bit sullenly. Just because Mom had been super duper angry when she learned I had had dinner on the Barons ship in my normal clothes didn¡¯t mean I fled to the Hangar ship to hide¡­ Still my look had Marie¡¯s teasing turned into a gentle smile.

    ¡°How¡¯s your ship? Need any help?¡±

    ¡°A bit beaten up, but I¡¯ve fixed most of the damage from the battle.¡± I admitted. Most of the damage had just been cables jostled around or a few electronics cracked from the vibrations, which was a good learning experience to harden them a bit more.

    The damage from the battle was mostly fixed by now, but the prep work for the upgrade to the full sized ship was a continuous stream of work on top of the repairs.

    I had to not just prep for the expansion, but also keep the work on course. Right now the Crabbit weren¡¯t actually adding the large side wings of the ship, instead the large chunks were being formed from nanopaste. After all, there was no difference whether I grew the wings from the ship, or grew them separately and then attached them later.

    Not even touching on the additional engine Nacelles that was taking up all of my personal attention when I wasn¡¯t doing anything else.

    So I was basically supervising both wing growths, the engines, the prepwork for the attachment, and repairs..

    It was a lot. Crabbit might be incredible, but they still needed a lot of supervision.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good! You had us all worried about that.¡± Marie said as she came in to nudge my shoulder. ¡°But hey. You¡¯ve been hiding for so long you haven¡¯t heard. The War started in full.¡± She told me and I flinched a bit.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yep! Apparently there was a huge sneak attack against the Dominion. But more importantly. It means the station isn¡¯t on lockdown anymore. We should be getting visitors again soon!¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­ That¡¯s nice?¡± I asked, because I mean, we always had visitors before and it wasn¡¯t a big deal then.

    ¡°Silly! You have a ship now! You should start thinking about your crew!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want-¡± I cut myself off. That wasn¡¯t entirely true. I did want crew, but I wanted people that I would actually like. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind, but I¡¯m going to be pretty picky about crew.¡± I said and Marie rolled her eyes before reaching up and poking my cheek.

    ¡°Of course you are! You¡¯re the most socially awkward person I know!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not socially awkward! I just like doing my own thing!¡±

    ¡°Suuuure.¡± She teased out and I huffed at Maries laughter as she jerked her head. ¡°C¡¯mon let¡¯s get some food, and I can fill you in on all the gossip you¡¯ve missed.¡±

    ¡°All of it?¡± I whined, because I never paid any attention to the station gossip.

    And there was a lot of it. The fact was almost everyone on the station was family. And family members loved to share gossip.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! So I need to work extra hard to keep you filled in!¡±

 Chapter 13

    ¡°Brat.¡± Aunt Sheila called out, surprising me and I stalled out on my rapid pace towards the air locks.

    ¡°Aunt Sheila, what¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°Before you run off, I¡¯d like a second.¡± She called out and I shifted my path, turning towards Aunt Sheila''s little shop area. I followed her back in, and noticed that a lot of the scrap that once was scattered across the ground was now gone.

    The war had been a constant drain on all the resources on the station. Sure we still had plenty of food and water, the military transports with food hadn¡¯t been affected, but we were sending out basically all of the valuable scrap we had.

    Well everything but the stuff I had picked out for the Phantom Star from the pirate ships before they had been cleared out and sent on their way.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem.¡± She started as she stopped at her store counter and dropped into a chair, I noticed instantly she was tense, her fingers tapping away on the steel as if nervous.

    ¡°Okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m serious Kat. I just finished talking to Uncle Kyle. He asked me to talk to you about this, since he thinks I have a closer relationship with you. That¡¯s how serious it is, he¡¯s trying to use our relationship to get you to do this.¡±

    ¡°Do what?¡± I asked instantly, because yeah, this was sounding serious.

    ¡°We have a supply shipment, the merchant who was supposed to transport it disappeared. You heard?¡±

    ¡°Not really¡­ I haven¡¯t talked to Marie in a while.¡± I admitted and that actually earned me a snort from the older woman.

    ¡°Yeah that tracks. Been hiding away in your ship?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not hiding¡­ I do have a Captain''s Quarters¡­ It¡¯s bare bones, but-¡±

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to defend yourself Kat, C¡¯mon. You think if I had a ship I¡¯d be sleeping on station?¡± She asked and I shrugged and she finally shifted from her seriousness into a laugh. ¡°Ah, you''re such a funny girl. Alright listen here¡¯s the deal, and why I¡¯m the one asking you. We need this deal. The longer we wait the more likely it slips through our fingers. Let¡¯s just say the station has been getting sidelined for some parts that we need thanks to the war, and this was our chance to finally get them. We got the start of a deal, but transport became an issue, and a dealer like this is more likely to sell the goods if we can¡¯t pick up.¡±

    ¡°Okay, so it¡¯s important¡­ And you obviously need a ship to go get the parts, but?¡± I asked, because if it was just that, Uncle Kyle could have asked.

    Hell I¡¯m actually kind of excited to go out and travel a bit even if the Phantom Star isn¡¯t finished. I wouldn¡¯t get into a fight, but her hangar space is still there, and she can jump into Subspace without problem. So a short trip to get some missing supplies sounded¡­ Fun.

    ¡°Okay I¡¯ll be straight. The shipment is large, not a huge issue, but we¡¯d need someone that can speak on behalf of the station¡­ We¡¯d be requesting you take a few people with you.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± I denied instantly, my hackles rising. ¡°She isn¡¯t ready for more people!¡±

    ¡°I know Kat.¡± Aunt Sheila said, hands raised and waving to calm me, and I only felt my desire to run from this conversation grow all the more. But I didn¡¯t. ¡°I know you aren¡¯t comfortable with it. Hell, you¡¯ve told me, your ship doesn¡¯t even have the crew quarters built in yet, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°So I get why you¡¯re uncomfortable, but we don¡¯t have anyone else to ask. Merchant transports haven¡¯t been coming through just yet. It¡¯ll be another month or two before word spreads that we are open again, and anyone bothers to stop by¡­ Merchant captains don¡¯t like stopping in a system and being told to leave because the station is in lockdown. It hurt our contacts.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, happens every time we have to lock down. Some captains won¡¯t come back again, some it¡¯ll take a while. Think about it kid. It can sometimes be days, or even a week out of a captain''s way to visit us, so for them to arrive only to find out the station is on lockdown?¡±

    ¡°Yeah I wouldn¡¯t come back again either.¡± I muttered. That¡¯s something I¡¯d have to keep in mind. While it didn¡¯t cost anything really to travel with modern Iris Drives providing infinite power. There were still costs. Time, repairs, food and more.

    Travel wasn¡¯t arduous, but it was still travel.

    ¡°So we need you. We¡¯re willing to pay. Uncle Kyle is willing to be generous¡­ For what we have anyways. Just to temper expectations.¡± She said the last bit apologetically.

    I nodded, really just wanted to wring my hands. I didn¡¯t like it! I didn¡¯t like it at all.

    ¡°W-who would be going?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ Uncle Kyle is thinking of giving little Carter some responsibility. It¡¯ll be him as leader, along with Collin to back him up and handle anything and a few hands.¡±

    I blinked at that combination. Old Collin¡¯s bad attitude usually meant he was kept away from any sort of diplomacy.

    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look. Collin knows his shit. Besides, he¡¯s there to be Carter''s backup. If Carter messes up, we¡¯ll need a hardass to fix it.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha.¡± I said and then sighed, reaching up and scratching at my messy hair with my gloved hand. I really didn¡¯t want people on my ship. She wasn¡¯t ready! ¡°I don¡¯t even have everything set up for more people¡­ My toilet is already¡­¡± I started and Sheila just laughed.

    ¡°Listen Kat. It¡¯s your ship, and your choice. I¡¯m of course of the opinion you should help out, but it¡¯s up to you. But, and take this as honest advice? You¡¯re the captain. If you want them shitting out of a bucket and chucking it out into space, then that¡¯s your decision.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t!¡± I said wrinkling my nose and Aunt Sheila just laughed harder.

    ¡°Well if you accept, it doesn¡¯t have to be right away. Give it some time to fix up what you need, or even drag them into working for you if you need it. Could install some emergency toilets wherever you plan on setting them in. You don¡¯t need to overthink it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll think about it.¡± I said, definitely going to be overthinking it.

    ¡°Alright. Just let me, or Uncle Kyle know once you¡¯ve made a decision¡­ We do need this Kat.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ Got it.¡± I said and turned to escape.

    What was I going to do now?

    ¡ª--

    I traveled back to the ship, all the while as I drifted through space helped around by the Crabbit on my shoulder I considered what was going on.

    Travel sounded fun. Sure the Phantom wasn¡¯t ready yet, but just a transport job sounded pretty fun. A flight out of system, give myself a chance to really test warp travel on my ship, but¡­

    But, I didn¡¯t want to have other people around! I¡¯d have to lock down the engine room and make sure no one could get in. I¡¯d have to find some way for them to live. Hell, my own quarters were basically an empty room with a toilet, near the bridge. I didn¡¯t even have the rest of the bathroom installed. I had skipped all the pleasantries trying to get the ship combat ready.

    I still had a shitty chair too.

    So if I was going to bring people along¡­ The hangar would be the best space. There just wasn¡¯t enough finished room on the ship to have anyone wandering around.

    As I floated I realized I had already come to the decision to help out. I was running through what I would need to make the trip actually safe for people. Instead of ways to say no. The hangar would need the lights double checked most of them weren¡¯t installed. I¡¯d need sleeping space, and food. Water.

    Uuuu.

    As I floated I pulled out my Tab and started checking the work orders.

    It wasn¡¯t entirely followed to a T by the Crabbit, sometimes things needed to be done in a different order as situations came about. Yet, now I would have to add even more to the seemingly endless list.

    I reached the massive hangar ship and floated in through the forcefield enjoying the feeling of gravity returning as I fell onto my feet and looked around.

    ¡°Are you guys playing again?¡± I asked, because the Crabbit were all flying around not working.

    ¡°Bully! Kaaaat! They are bully!¡± One of them screamed as she raced over and buzzed around my head and it only took a moment to notice that her backside had a big red streak of paint.

    ¡°Slow down, slow down, why are they bullying you?¡±

    ¡°Trouble!¡±

    ¡°Makes more work! Worst worker!¡±

    ¡°Clumsy! Clumsy!¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± I called out as the crowd gathered around me. ¡°That is being a bully. Stop that.¡± I told them and looked at the Crabbit that was floating behind me peeked out around my head to wave her hand at the others.

    ¡°Blegh!¡±

    ¡°Hey don¡¯t start it either.¡± I warned, but I had to ask. ¡°Why do you have a red streak on your back?¡±

    ¡°Red Zone! She¡¯s a red zone! Danger!¡± One of them called out and I felt my jaw drop.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what Red Zone means! You can¡¯t label anyone a Red Zone!¡± I called out. Okay this is my fault. Should have made sure they understood what a Red Zone meant a bit more clearly before I left it for them to figure out.

    ¡°Aww. I thought we had it that time!¡±

    ¡°Yeah me too, The Red Zone label means a dangerous area and requiring more attention was a good idea I thought?¡±

    ¡°I guess not-¡±

    ¡°Hey! That¡¯s actually pretty close!¡± I jumped in because holy shit the Crabbit had actually almost got it this time! ¡°But we don¡¯t label people as Red Zone! It¡¯s an area not a Crabbit or a person¡­ So who marked her?¡± I asked, and they shuffled for a minute before one of them floated up. The fact she had a paint sprayer in her hand told me she was definitely the one.

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Uuuu¡­ I thought it was right?¡± She offered to get out of trouble and I sighed.

    ¡°Okay, you''re the one who is going to clean her up then¡­ Wait. Where did you get a paint sprayer?¡±

    ¡°I found it!¡± She chirped, waving the little paint spray gun around and then after a few moments I realized she wasn¡¯t actually intending on adding anything more I decided to do the smart thing and not ask any questions.

    If I don¡¯t know where she stole it from, I certainly wouldn''t be an accomplice¡­ Actually since she¡¯s a drone I would be blamed regardless, but I was going to stick to my happy ignorance here.

    ¡°Okay. Clean her up, and no spraying anything without permission.¡±

    ¡°Aww¡­ I like painting.¡±

    I almost managed to stop myself from asking, but I had a feeling I needed to know.

    ¡°What are you painting?¡±

    ¡°Hehe! You want to see Captain? It¡¯s amazing!¡± She cheered and then flew away. As I grew more and more concerned, I relaxed when she came floating back with a chunk of plating from the hangar¡­

    That was certainly¡­ Something?

    ¡°Do you like my art?¡± She asked, rubbing her claws together nervously. Her question shook me out of just staring and I smiled.

    ¡°I love it, Crabbit. It¡¯s very you.¡±

    ¡°Yay!¡± She cheered and I looked at the paint on the plate. It kinda looked like old Fractal Camouflage.

    Tons of tiny dots and things making a weird distorted sort of image. It didn¡¯t look like anything I could recognize.

    ¡°Can you tell me what it¡¯s supposed to be?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Oh Captain! Don¡¯t be silly! It¡¯s a digital message! I¡¯m practicing implementing digital code into an image! I want to paint them on the ship! This one tells any missiles shooting at us that they are big dumb stupid heads!¡±

    I looked from the weird distorted pixels, to the Crabbit and then just laughed.

    ¡°You¡¯re such a cutie aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Wha!? Me?¡± It gasped in shock and grew embarrassed as I walked over and gave her a hug.

    That was hilarious. I loved it.

    ¡°Yay! Good job!¡±

    ¡°Yeah! Way to impress the Captain!¡±

    ¡°I still think marking the clumsy one a Red Zone was better than that art.¡±

    I sighed as I heard that comment and looked over the crowd that all quickly looked away to hide who had just said that.

    ¡°Alright! Listen up! We¡¯re taking on a new job soon! We need to get some amenities set up for human travel! That means we need to get the Phantoms hold cleaned up and some space secured for bunks and bathroom facilities. I¡¯ll talk to the station about getting some bunks, but it means we¡¯re changing some of the planned upgrade order.¡±

    ¡°Aww. I wanted to finish!¡±

    ¡°I know. Just bear with it okay? I¡¯ll start adding the jobs onto the list, so let¡¯s all get some work done! You¡¯re all doing great!¡±

    ¡°Yay! We¡¯re doing great! Did you hear that?¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡± I smiled as that simple praise had raised the Crabbit¡¯s spirits. They really were cute.

    ¡°And¡­ I have to get to work too.¡± I muttered staring at my Tab. I would have to make a call. Figure out how many were coming along with Carter, and Collin, and then figure out living space.

    I took a deep breath in and out and decided to roll up my sleeves. I can¡¯t be afraid of just having people on board. Even if the Phantom Star was barely half finished, and the insides looked terrible, and people might think I¡¯m a crappy engineer with how much of everything was left open and-

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Hmm. I understand. We can spare the Sleeping Pods for everyone, and we will give you food and water to last you for your trip, but I¡¯d suggest loading up on supplies when you reach your destination.¡± Uncle Kyle said his fingers entwined as he looked over at me from behind his big station boss desk.

    ¡°Okay?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mean it in a bad way Katherine, but you want to travel the stars? Get used to buying the necessities. It¡¯s not easy to find food in the dark of space. So it¡¯s a skill you should learn quickly.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah I should probably talk to some people.¡±

    ¡°Luckily your destination is a higher tech planet. Elinai is an industrial hub. Since you¡¯ll be visiting for the first time, it might be a good time to spend some of your creds to get supplies for your ship. Things we don¡¯t normally carry.¡±

    ¡°What? Like what?¡± I asked, honestly surprised at the comment. Sure I had intended on checking out what was around, I mean¡­ A whole new world. An actual planet. I hadn¡¯t set foot on an actual planet in this life!

    Uncle Kyles lips twitched a little despite his stern demeanor. ¡°Unless you want to eat manipulated protein straight from the compression tube, I¡¯d suggest getting some cookware. And there are lots of other things a ship captain might find useful on their journey.¡±

    I nodded slowly, that was a good point. Also something I hadn¡¯t considered. Sure the food the Baron had offered had been¡­ Yucky, but raw manipulated protein looked like pink goo, and was about as appetizing. It needed to be cooked, and season packets added to make it into something edible except in emergencies.

    ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought about that. I¡¯m so used to food just being there.¡± I admitted a little embarrassed at how naive that was.

    ¡°Hah.Tell that to Henry and he¡¯ll smack you with his spatula.¡± He said and I couldn¡¯t help but break into a smile at the thought. Henry loved cooking, and he was good at it, and he brooked no argument about the importance of good food.

    He also made hamburgers, which always reminded me of earth.

    ¡°Thanks Uncle Kyle.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me Katherine. You¡¯re the one doing us a favor this time.¡± He said and then slumped a little his usual put together appearance showing some seams as he looked tired.

    ¡°What exactly am I picking up anyways?¡± I asked and he looked up and then nodded.

    ¡°The package has a few things, parts for the docking ring airlocks. You know some of the seals are bad.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve fixed them a few times.¡± I agreed, docking seals were supposed to last a long time, but like all things that was in a perfect circumstance. If a ship docking with us came in too hot, or had a bad docking port it could damage our equipment.

    ¡°While things are quiet, I¡¯ve been trying to get some real repairs done. It won¡¯t be long before trade picks back up, slow as it might be for a while, but I¡¯d like to get everything back up and running, but also, parts for the oxygen scrubbers, and the atmosphere adjuster. The water refiner. The-¡±

    ¡°I think I get the picture.¡± I said, with a laugh. That was half the integral station systems right there. ¡°Is there anything else? Maybe some new sheets for the sleep pods?¡± I joked, but then I winced and hunched over, because Uncle Kyle wasn¡¯t joking.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t aware, because I make sure the children don¡¯t know, but things have been tight for the station for the last few years. As I¡¯m sure you noticed before this war, the scrap field was expanding.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ Oh.¡± I realized and he nodded.

    ¡°While we make Creds from parting out and scavenging equipment, most of our income is selling the ship hulls, but that¡¯s been slow over the past few years. Some new shipyard has been set up in the Kellin sector. They¡¯ve been selling off cheap ships for the last decade, and so it¡¯s been cutting into our income.¡±

    ¡°Are we okay?¡±

    ¡°We are okay. It made things tight, not dangerous. We are still useful as this war has shown. And with the sale of nearly all of our useful hulls to the Duchy, we are quite fine. But that¡¯s why we need to do some of these repairs now, while everything is good.¡±

    ¡°I see. Okay, right, I get the seriousness.¡± And I did. I hand repaired a lot of those parts after all. Or at least helped out. Sure I had never needed to really kludge together anything for the Atmosphere Generator, but that didn¡¯t mean the system was good. It was a mess of old repairs.

    ¡°Then Captain Katherine, I thank you for accepting our job request.¡± Uncle Kyle offered semi formally, his smile ruining the official sounding wording.

    ¡°Sure¡­ Sure¡­ I should have everything sorted for the hold space in a few days. I mostly just want to set up some toilet stuff, and maybe move a real bed into my own quarters too.¡±

    ¡°Talk to Collin about anything you need, and he¡¯ll make sure his crew prep it for transport to your ship. Don¡¯t hesitate to make them install things as well.¡±

    I nodded, but I didn¡¯t plan on letting a bunch of people install things on my ship.

    ¡ª--

    The Phantom Star pushed off from the old freighter, almost a little sadly. Leaving behind the massive wings of the ship, floating in the hangar as they were still being formed from nanopaste, the massive vats of paste mostly having broken down the ship hull I had picked out to supply the material.

    Some Crabbit would continue working as best they could while I was gone, but if they ran into any trouble their orders were to stop working on that.

    Hopefully I¡¯d come back to the completed parts of my ship, but I had my doubts.

    Then with just a simple throttle I soared out of the much diminished scrap field and headed towards the station. The Octavius still docked, was flown past as I settled into one of the lower docking rings, and with just a few careful movements, settled the Phantom into place and the airlock clamped on, locking us in place.

    Then I took a deep breath and got up, heading down the ladder and then hurrying across the ship until I was at the airlock.

    The Crabbit were ready. Hovering around agitated. They had picked up my own discomfort, and were reacting to it.

    I opened the airlock and stepped out a small gaggle of people waiting. Old Collin, and Carter in the front, Carter was wearing a nice looking jumpsuit, not the usual working coverall space suit that most of us wore. But then behind them were two more people and I was surprised at the group.

    I was stuck between happiness and anger as I looked between two of the people coming with.

    ¡°Why is he here?¡± I asked bluntly, and I noticed Marshall hiding behind Old Collin wince before he looked away.

    ¡°Sorry Kat. I know you and Marshall had a thing. And I wouldn¡¯t bring him along if there was any other choice. But everyone is still pretty busy. I promise We¡¯ll be keeping a close eye on him. He¡¯s mostly here as an extra pair of hands for transport.¡± Carter offered apologetically. And I felt my lips thin as I pressed them together tightly.

    ¡°He also fucked up, so he¡¯s our whipping boy during the trip.¡± Old Collin said abruptly and smacked Marshall on the back of his head earning a yelp. ¡°This trip isn¡¯t meant to be a reward for him.¡±

    I took that in for a moment, my obvious unhappiness on full display. Yet, it was Marshall who didn¡¯t react besides rubbing the back of his head that surprised me. I expected some sort of aggravated exclamation.

    I shifted from him to Marie.

    ¡°Why are you coming?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m logistics Little Kat. If we need to make any deals, I¡¯ll be the one to handle accounts and things.¡± She explained proudly and even threw me a wink.

    ¡°Fine.¡± I grumbled accepting her presence.

    ¡°Well¡­ The Hangar door is open.¡± I explained and then shuffled a bit as Carter was just looking at me, and Marie then spoke.

    ¡°C¡¯mon Little Kat. I¡¯m not going on a spacewalk to drop off my stuff.¡± She said pointing at the bag she had at her feet. They all had a bag like it¡­ My shoulder slumped. There goes the easy way.

    ¡°Fine¡­ C¡¯mon follow me, and only follow me. The ship isn¡¯t complete, and don¡¯t go exploring. If you are caught anywhere I¡¯m going to throw you off the ship.¡± I said firmly and Carter nodded.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure such a thing doesn¡¯t happen.¡± He offered and I just shrugged.

    I took a breath and then turned around, but didn¡¯t make it more than a step before Marie was there, shooting her arm through mine.

    ¡°C¡¯mon little Kat. Don¡¯t be down. I know you¡¯re still fixing it up, but I¡¯m so excited to see your ship! I¡¯ve never been off station before you know? So show me around.¡±

    I grumbled a bit but walked back through the airlock and waved off the swarm of Crabbit.

    ¡°Geeze Kathy, think you have enough drones?¡± Marie asked as the Crabbit filled up one of the hallways that split off from the airlock.

    ¡°They¡¯re security. To make sure no one tries going somewhere they shouldn¡¯t.¡± I said making sure to speak loud enough that everyone could hear me.

    Old Collin offered a grunt seemingly agreeing and then pushed Marshall forward. Marshall turned to glare but Collin just threw up an eye brow as if daring the boy to try it, and Marshall slunk forward.

    ¡°C¡¯mon the Hangar entrance is this way, you¡¯ll have to take the ladder though. Freight elevator doesn¡¯t exist yet. Or any stairs.¡± I offered and then we turned a corner into one of the hallways and the absolute mess of it made me twitchy. ¡°Just be careful about the cabling, and don¡¯t fall into the holes.¡±

    ¡°Relax Little Kat. This isn¡¯t that bad." Marie said with a gentle smile as she started moving her way through the hallway.

    ¡°Girls right, I¡¯ve seen worse.¡± Old Collin said and that was that. Everyone sort of clambered through the hallway until we reached the ladder that led down into the bottom of the ship where the hangar was.

    Then when I made sure everyone was down first I followed.

    The hangar door was open with the forcefield active and I joined them at the bottom and slowly relaxed as they all looked around the large open space.

    ¡°Well this is it then! We¡¯ll bring everything over, but get used to it kids, this is your home for at least a week.¡± Collin called out as he walked over to the section with the sleeping pods and dropped his gear.

    ¡°Yeah yeah.¡± Marshall grumbled but otherwise everyone seemed fine with the space, and I showed Marie where I had already installed some storage spaces for them, she dumped her bag inside the cubby and then looked around.

    ¡°Bathroom?¡± She asked and I nodded walking over to one of the walls with a newly created door, and popped it open. Inside were four more doors in a hallway that would lead to four toilets, because it wasn¡¯t really any harder to make four considering the piping was the hard part.

    ¡°This is the bathroom, four toilets just in case. Please don¡¯t make a mess.¡± I pleaded and she smiled and laughed. Then I pointed towards the end of the small room. ¡°That¡¯s a shower room. Sorry they¡¯re a bit close together for piping reasons. So it might be a bit awkward, but the shower room has a lock.¡± I explained to Marie who flashed me a smile.

    I hadn¡¯t known if it was going to be all boys or who would be coming so I set it up for mixed.

    And that was that. I watched as everyone got their stuff situated, and then headed back to the station to start transporting the beds and other cargo they would need.

    We¡¯d be leaving in the morning.

 Chapter 14

    ¡°Okay. Everyone is secured?¡± I asked, looking around the Phantom Stars hold. Double checking everything was in place.

    ¡°We got it Captain.¡± Old Collin said, speaking formally much to my surprise. ¡°Everything is locked down and ready for the trip. We¡¯re set for travel.¡± I took the words and nodded, my back straightening as the time was now.

    ¡°Alright. We are setting off. Call me through the Crabbit if you need something.¡± I said, to the small group and I got nods and a thumbs up and a wink from Marie.

    I turned and climbed up the ladder, sighing in relief once I was out of the hold and back in the Phantoms holds. I closed the hatch behind me and walked much more calmly up to the bridge.

    ¡°Is everything ready?¡± I asked, my current shoulder Crabbit.

    ¡°Yes yes! All ready! Green Green!¡± It chirped happily and I nodded. Did the Crabbit decide to start using colors for the status of things? I¡¯d have to check with them once we were going to see what they had come up with.

    It wouldn¡¯t do to think Green is a good color only for it to mean everything was on fire.

    I climbed up into the bridge a few moments later and happily flopped into my uncomfortable chair.

    ¡°Alright! Prepare final checks for departure, secure all hatches!¡± I called out playing into the role, enjoying how the Crabbit all cheered and got to work.

    ¡°Captain Captain! Message message!¡± My shoulder Crabbit who had switched over to comms called out and I slumped.

    I did a check on my Tab and blinked. I expected a message from Uncle Kyle, but this was from the Octavius.

    There was my anxiety again. I took a breath and let it out. Was he calling to cause me issues? Make demands? I had no idea, so there was no point in waiting and wondering.

    I tapped the request, and put it through.

    A moment later an image of the Baron was on my Tab.

    ¡°Baron?¡±

    ¡°Captain Katherine. I heard you are traveling to Elinai.¡± He said with faux casualness.

    ¡°That¡¯s right?¡±

    ¡°Then I wish you safe travels Captain. This is your first time leaving this system, is it not?¡±

    ¡°It is.¡±

    ¡°Then I wish you to take this.¡± My Tab chirped and I noticed I received a message from him. ¡°It¡¯s a seal, should any nobility give you any trouble, you can use it to assure them you are working under me for now.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll need it? I shouldn¡¯t run into any nobility.¡± I offered in an attempt to deny what he was saying.

    ¡°Just in case Captain, just in case. I need you to upgrade the Octavius, so it¡¯d be rather difficult if you end up stuck somewhere. So I¡¯ll make sure no one else thinks they can hinder you unduly.¡± He explained and I had a feeling there was more going on, but instead of arguing I just nodded and then he nodded back. The comm channel ended a moment after.

    Weird.

    I shook it off, and with that, all the checks were finished, I sent a request for the airlock to disconnect to UNK-L, and I felt a tremor run through the ship as the Phantom Star was freed.

    I didn¡¯t say anything this time, just putting my hands on the Tab controls, giving the nudge to slowly pull away from the station.

    Soon I started really pushing the ship and enjoyed the way everything just disappeared behind us. I let that go for a short time to get some distance from the small Moon''s gravity well that the station orbited.

    Then finally it was time.

    ¡°Prepare for jump into subspace!¡± I called out and the Crabbit quickly started working to get the calculations ready. ¡°And let the cr-Let our guests know we¡¯re about to jump to Warp.¡±

    ¡°Yes yes!¡± Was all I got in response, and I watched the Tab as the calculations were entered into the Warp Controller. The Controller sent back a 100% response, and so I adjusted myself in my seat and hit the button to dive.

    Instantly my stomach felt like I was falling except it almost felt like I was going up instead of down, and the stars disappeared from view, shifting to something else, as we left real space.

    It didn¡¯t take long until we seemed to stabilize, and I nodded. ¡°Set route!¡± I called out to the Navigation Crabbit and watched as it squirmed for a second pushing a few buttons before it looked back at me shyly.

    ¡°Route entered! I think!¡± I nodded, checking it myself and not finding any issues. Pretty straight shot to the system we needed to reach. No crazy astral phenomena in the way.

    ¡°Engaging engines.¡± I said and instantly the Phantom Star was moving at incredible speeds. There was no acceleration in Subspace. You were either moving, or not. And so we rocketed away at such incredible speeds it wouldn¡¯t take long before we left the star system behind, and then only a few days as we traveled incredible distances until we reached our destination.

    The Planet Elinai in the Cross Industrial System.

    I rested back and just breathed in and out as I felt the Phantom vibrate slightly below me.

    The song the ship had was actually syncing with the vibrational hum I was hearing. It was triumphant and eldritch, and that told me nothing was wrong. The ship was loving its trip through subspace, this time without the SDA.

    I considered what I should do next. There were three things. Stay here and just be lazy. Get to work on some of the internals that I could fix up, or go visit my guests¡­

    I stood up. There was plenty of cabling that still needed to be installed, and I had most of it dragged on board so we could work while we traveled.

    ¡ª---

    I didn¡¯t have any trouble as I worked. The Crabbit floated around me carrying different parts and pieces as we all worked on prepping for the eventual upgrade.

    But hiding away in the bowels of the ship couldn¡¯t last forever.

    ¡°Ah! Captain! Big Sis Marie says it¡¯s dinner time!¡± I stilled as I was clamping down another row of cabling that would eventually power up the laser broadsides¡­

    ¡°Big Sis?¡± I asked as I looked at my shoulder Crabbit. Its large rabbit ear antenna twitched happily as it nodded.

    ¡°Yeah! Big Sis! She¡¯s super nice and even taught us some games!¡± I sighed as I realized that of course some of the Crabbit had been hanging around the guests, and of course they were probably bored.

    Marie and the others had probably been teaching the Crabbit bad habits¡­ But if it was just a game that was okay.

    I rose up and stretched, I was feeling a little sore from crawling through the ship all day, and food did sound pretty nice. I had been planning on just eating alone, but if Marie was inviting me to eat with them, I guess I should show up.

    I wiped my forehead with the back of my work glove and started heading towards the hold of the ship. ¡°Alright, tell everyone we are taking a break for a little. Make sure they lock down their current project before leaving though!¡± I reminded the Crabbit who twitched as she sent off the message along their network.

    ¡°Yay!¡±

    ¡°Break! Break!¡±

    ¡°Weeeee!¡±

    I heard the shouts of the Crabbit through the ship as I gave them a break. I just rolled my eyes at their silliness. Most of them would be right back to working in like three minutes when the excitement of getting to choose what to do on their break passed and they just wanted to do more fixing.

    I slid down the ladder into the hold and when I turned around I was surprised to see a little cooking section had been set up. Marie was passing out some manipulated protein that came out of a reprocessor to look like steaks, and everyone was eating happily.

    ¡°There you are! How¡¯s the ship Captain Kat?¡± Marie asked with a smile as she offered me a plate.

    I hesitated a moment, taking off my gloves and sticking them in my pocket, before reaching and taking it.

    ¡°Ships fine. We¡¯re making good time.¡± I added simply. There was a little fold out table and chairs that had been placed in the hold and I walked over noticing there was even an extra chair for me.

    ¡°Good. Let us know if you need some extra hands. Otherwise this¡¯ll be a boring trip.¡± Old Collin offered as he stuck a forkful of his dinner into his mouth.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother. Kat¡¯ll freak out before letting anyone on board.¡± Marshall mumbled out around his meal, and I noticed he got a swift kick under the table for his trouble, but I was frowning because I wasn¡¯t going to freak out!

    I just wasn¡¯t going to let anyone go wandering around my ship! She wasn¡¯t ready!

    ¡°I don¡¯t need help, and I don¡¯t freak out!¡± I snapped at Marshall who rose up from his plate and was about to say something when Carter smacked him in the shoulder.

    ¡°Drop it. Not another word.¡± He snapped at the other boy and Marshall looked mutinous for a moment before turning away and focusing on his meal.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need help. Thanks though. Most of it is just setting up cabling and things right now. So you¡¯d just get in the way. The Crabbit and I got it.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Old Collin said calmly. ¡°We¡¯ll just keep ourselves occupied. Ugh. I never did like ship travel.¡± He grumbled and I blinked as I looked the older man up and down.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you traveled before.¡±

    He chewed his food for a bit before responding, which surprised me. I didn¡¯t expect to get an answer. ¡°A few times. Nothing adventurous. This isn¡¯t the first time we¡¯ve needed to send someone to make a deal. I¡¯m a good choice. The lower dock can be closed down for a while without much trouble.¡±

    Stolen novel; please report.

    ¡°Have you ever been on a planet?¡± Marie asked suddenly and Old Collin continued chewing for a bit before he answered with one word.¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°Really? What¡¯s it like? Is Gravity really that bad on world?¡± Marie asked eagerly for more details.

    ¡°Not much different. Just wider. It¡¯s the wideness that gets you.¡±

    ¡°Wideness?¡± Carter prompted this time.

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    I waited for a minute and started giggling a bit as he didn¡¯t seem interested in explaining.

    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll find out for ourselves.¡± Carter said after a while. ¡°We¡¯ll all get to see what it¡¯s like to be on an actual planet.¡± He bit into his food after he said it, and it really felt weird for a second.

    I had never stepped foot on a normal world during this life, but I had before of course. So it wasn¡¯t too strange for me, but for the rest of them¡­

    Heh. I¡¯d have to keep an eye on them when we finally landed to see their reactions.

    ¡ª--

    After dinner I had split off from everyone and headed up to my room. The Captain''s quarters were just off the bridge, although it wasn¡¯t on the same level as the bridge itself, I popped open the door and sighed at the bare room.

    A single door to the bathroom, and basically a completely bare space besides one of the sleeping pod beds. I walked over to it, and slipped in. The beds were kinda strange at first, but they were comfortable. They came out kind of rectangular looking, so they could be pressed into corners. And weren¡¯t just open beds, but were like small rooms you crawled into. Because if something happened and the ship decompressed while you were sleeping you¡¯d be safe.

    I stripped off my boots leaving them outside and then peeled my jumpsuit off, slipping my legs out of the bottom half. I usually wore the sleeves tied up around my waist anyways, but finally being free I groaned in delight as I could wiggle my toes and just feel nice and light.

    I closed the rolling door that sealed off the pod and was about to get comfortable before realizing I wasn¡¯t ready for sleep yet. I popped the hatch open and grabbed my suit pulling my Tab out of my pocket before sealing it back up. With that I rested back and pulled up the entertainment section of my Tab. Future TV was pretty weird, but I had made some efforts to try and watch it.

    Mostly because I kinda wanted to fit in more. It might seem stupid to try and take cultural cues from TV, but most places I traveled weren''t going to be my home station.

    I would need to improve my understanding of how people acted across the verse if I wanted to travel and see the stars.

    Yep, it was definitely cultural training, as I turned on the show and settled in, the vast space opera nobility show wasn¡¯t good. Definitely. Yep.

    ¡°Noo! Don¡¯t kill him off, he¡¯s the best character!¡± I whined into the air as I shook my Tab.

    I was just getting into the episode when I got an alert on my Tab.

    Groaning a bit I paused the show and slipped out of my bunk, taking a moment to throw my jumpsuit back on so I wasn¡¯t just in my underwear I was tying my sleeves around my waist as I opened the door.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked the Crabbit that was floating in the hallway.

    ¡°Uuuu.¡± It whined at me, and I blinked, because usually they¡¯d actually add something to their whines, but not this time.

    I reached out and it slipped into my arms, its little arms grabbing onto my tanktop.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Lonely.¡± She whined at me, and I was a little confused, before realizing.

    While I had taken a lot of the Crabbit with me to handle the repairs and upgrades and general crew for the Phantom, more than half of them had been left behind to work on the wings.

    ¡°Is the network quiet?¡±

    ¡°Uuuu.¡± I had to fight off a laugh, at how plaintive she sounded.

    ¡°Alright, want to stay with me? I¡¯m watching TV. You can share with your sisters.¡±

    ¡°Yes yes.¡± She said a little quietly, and I hefted the large drone up and into my room. Making my way back to my pod I once more settled in, and set up the Tab to start playing, but this time I had a Crabbit settled next to my pillow, her optics swirling around as the Tab played the show, and I soon drifted off without even realizing.

    ¡ª--

    Traveling through space was incredibly boring.

    This is something I had understood mentally, but hadn¡¯t yet really experienced. I had spoken to plenty of spacers traveling through UNK-L. Or well, I had heard their stories. I rarely actually talked to them directly, but the others would and I¡¯d hear what they had to say.

    So I really shouldn¡¯t be surprised that my guests were getting antsy.

    I wiped a bit of sweat from my forehead, as I stood up. I had spent the last hour dragging cables through the crawl space beneath the hallway floors and this section was now done.

    Rising up I was about to head to grab something to drink when the Crabbit hovering over my shoulder beeped at me.

    ¡°Trouble. Trouble.¡± It repeated at me suddenly, an alarm and message all at once. Glaring, I stalked off towards the other side of the ship where the ladder into the hold was located.

    As I approached I heard the noise of loud voices, and to my surprise, it wasn¡¯t exactly what I expected.

    ¡°C¡¯mon!¡± Marie whined at the Crabbit that was hovering around her in a semi circle keeping her from moving forward.

    ¡°No! Intruder alert! Red Alert! Trouble!¡± One of them shouted at her, and I watched her roll her eyes and then she noticed me and she perked up.

    ¡°Kat! Tell the Crabbit to stop blocking me.¡±

    ¡°What are you doing up here!¡± I demanded and Marie instantly was on the backfoot from my very obvious unhappiness.

    ¡°I¡¯m just trying to stretch my legs a bit! Do you have any idea what it¡¯s like to be trapped in a room with those three?¡± She whined, throwing her arm towards the hatch.

    ¡°Marie, this isn¡¯t a game. Go back in the hold. The rest of the ship is off limits!¡± I snapped at her. I had expected someone to try during the trip, but I expected it to be Marshall, not Marie.

    ¡°Kat. I¡¯m going crazy!¡± She snapped back which surprised me. ¡°The only privacy I get is during a shower!¡± She grumbled and then sighed and rubbed her face. ¡°Please just put me in a quiet room for a while? They never shut up. Never. I¡¯ve listened to Collin repeat the same four stories for the last few days. I think he¡¯s doing it on purpose!¡±

    I hesitated but shook my head. ¡°There aren''t any other rooms, Marie. I told you all this when you came on board. I fixed up the Hold so you could all be in there and not accidently break something!¡±

    ¡°I might not be the mechanic you are, obviously. But I still took all the courses, remember? I won¡¯t break anything. Black Hole, I won¡¯t even touch anything! Just a quiet room for a few hours, where I can watch my Tab without having Marshall constantly trying to watch over my shoulder, or Carter giving spoilers to things I haven¡¯t seen yet!¡±

    I blinked, almost stepping back at her annoyance. That was¡­ A lot.

    I reached up and rubbed at my nose. This was going to be a mess. I just knew it. ¡°If I find some place for you to get some peace and quiet, I¡¯m going to have to do it for the rest of them. That¡¯s not happening. Marshall isn¡¯t going anywhere on my ship.¡± I grumbled back at her, and Marie looked away, because what Marshall had done, had been a serious faux pas.

    ¡°I know¡­ But I¡¯m not Marshall. I didn¡¯t break your trust.¡± I very pointedly didn¡¯t say anything as I looked her up and down right now, as she stood in a section of the ship I had told her to stay out of. ¡°So please¡­ Don¡¯t blame me for his shit.¡±

    I inhaled and exhaled. I had two options. Find something to help Marie, or tell her to get back in the hold.

    There wasn¡¯t anyone to ask advice from, or make the decision for me. I was the Captain. This was my ship.

    And despite everything, Marie wasn¡¯t just a guest, but family.

    ¡°Okay. Get back in the hold.¡± I told her firmly and she blinked as suddenly she realized she was looking up at me, as I stepped into her space and guided her towards the ladder. ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out, but right now the ship is still off limits. My Ship. My rules. But I hear you.¡± I said and she looked like she might want to argue for a moment, but eventually just nodded relenting, and I watched her head back into the hold.

    Now to figure something out.

    ¡ª--

    The rest of the voyage was surprisingly quiet. I had, with some help from the Crabbit, set up an area outside of the hold. Just a small room, one I had intended in the future to be a storage room for the much larger dining area, but it was empty for now, so I had set up some space inside and was giving everyone, even Marshall as much as it annoyed me, some time every day where they could use it to get away from everyone else.

    Of course a Crabbit was always with them. It wasn¡¯t like I was letting anyone actually wander around, but that suited Marie, as not only would she get her own time, but with one of the boys away it was also quieter in the hold.

    That fixed the issue of the tension in the hold, and at least there wasn¡¯t anything they could break in the storage room.

    And then it was time.

    ¡°Prepare to return to real space.¡± I called out using the Crabbit to relay the message through the ship, the ship intercom wasn¡¯t installed yet after all.

    And then I took a few moments to get ready. And activated the process to leave subspace, this time without the worry about an experimental SDA system shaking me apart.

    The transition took a few moments, as we approached the surface subspace and realspace collided, causing a warp eruption and then with barely a rumble through the ship, through the viewport I saw stars.

    We were a good bit away from the planet Elinai, coming out of subspace well outside of any protective area. As we settled into realspace the sensors on the Phantom Star pinged out. They weren¡¯t the most amazing sensor system ever made. In fact considering the parts I had used they were probably worse than a normal ship.

    Well at least a normal military ship.

    The upjumped sensors, my own little Type 4 sensor upgrade, began reporting everything it could see. And boy was it a lot.

    The sensor display came alive, telling me just how active the system was. Hundreds of ships were coming in and out of subspace all around us. But of course space was so infinitely big none of them were actually close enough to see.

    ¡°Transition complete.¡± I called out through the Crabbit knowing my guests would hear it, and then I focused on the next part.

    I slowly started forward, The acceleration of the Phantom a bit sluggish, as usual, but this time purposefully. Not long after I started moving I received a comm message, and I accepted it.

    *This is Elinai Flight Control, to unknown vessel, state designation and destination.*

    *This is Phantom Star, Destination is Caskinade City.* I rattled off, and sent over the location data. I waited a few moments as I just kept moving before getting a response.

    *Understood Phantom Star. Sending you auto nav coordinates.* I could practically hear the quiet ¡®Follow them and don¡¯t try to fly off on your own¡¯ in the man''s voice.

    *Understood, accepting Auto Nav pathing. Thank you.*

    The comm ended without another word, and my computer was sent a rush of data, which I accepted, and the autopilot kicked in, slowing the Phantom Star down even more, and I winced at the more than hour long wait the journey would take.

    I guess traffic was bad right now. I settled in just to watch in case I was needed.

    Slowly the planet grew bigger and bigger, Elinai was an industrial world. One of the big ones for the sector. The planet wasn¡¯t an Ecumenopolis or anything, but it was absolutely covered in cities. I could see the lights twinkling through the clouds down below as we passed over the night side.

    As we grew closer and closer, I started seeing more than just the city lights. Ship lights buzzed around out through the atmosphere and then beyond. Hundreds of them, then more as below the clouds even more lights shot around like tiny ant trails.

    The planet was busy. Super busy.

    Of course I was getting closer and closer, so I called out once more for my guests.

    ¡°We are about to hit atmosphere¡­ It¡¯ll be a good idea to sit down, or hold onto something.¡± I called out and then settled back in my chair myself.

    The first sign was a slight brightening of the Phantom Stars nose. Then a tremor ran through the ship.

    She¡¯d be fine. Her armor was more than capable of handling re-entry, and shields were up and working with the deflector dish to make it even more capable¡­ Yep. It was fine.

    Great even.

    The rumbling grew, and I felt my hands grip the chair tightly, the sound of the ship was fine. The music was normal and happy, but I couldn¡¯t help but remember I had made this ship myself.

    And then almost before it started getting really bad, it stopped rumbling and the fire cleared from the front of the ship.

    We were in the atmosphere.

    Wow.

    There was a tugging in my stomach, and a weight on me, that made me realize the gravity plating had switched off. They would only work to keep inertial forces light now, but that still left planetary gravity and it was¡­

    Weird.

    ¡°Eeeee!¡± I heard and looked away thinking something had gone terribly wrong, but then I had to look away and fight back the snickers. The Crabbit on Navigation hadn¡¯t been settled into her position when we hit real gravity.

    She was now on her back, flailing limbs and crying for help.

    ¡°Relax! I¡¯ll come get you in a minute!¡± I told her, keeping an eye on the space before the Phantom Star. Then I realized what it meant. ¡°How many Crabbit are on their backs?¡±

    ¡°Uuuu. Lots.¡± Tactical informed me, and I noticed she was struggling to remain in her seat too.

    The Crabbit used Gravity panels to move around. It meant in space they were completely weightless. Even with ship or station gravity, as the gravity panels sort of neutralized each other if used.

    But this was a planet. There was nothing for the gravity panels to talk to, and adjust with. And the Crabbit were too heavy under full gravity to really float like normal. All the Crabbit had just been grounded, and most probably hadn¡¯t been ready, they had never felt real Gravity before.

    My fault, but thankfully none would be damaged. I watched the one on her back sort of twitch around.

    Still kinda cute though.

    But I shook that off and focused on the flight path. I was serious about not moving until we were landed, not even to help the Crabbit.

    While the Phantom Star mostly used the two Nacelles on the back of the ship to move, it did have plasma thrusters. As gravity engines weren¡¯t as efficient in gravity wells. Those plasma thrusters were what was engaged to give the Phantom more in atmosphere control.

    The Gravity engines that moved the Phantom in space were still capable of moving even in atmosphere, unlike gravity panels, but it was even more sluggish than normal, and considering the Phantom was already under powered with only two engines, the in atmosphere flight was¡­

    Well I wanted to stay in the captain''s chair in case of any issues.

    Slowly I watched as the Phantom flew forward, towards an absolute mess of shuttles and ships that made beautiful trails through the sky of the city.

    I was just getting nervous about hitting something, when there was a gap. The flight patterns altered opening a path through. I could see the shuttles or other ships that were flying around me, and I noticed that the Phantom was one of the bigger ships, by a hefty amount. Like a shark floating through a school of fish everything shifted around the Phantom.

    Then we were passing by buildings, and I could feel the Phantom''s flight grow a bit rocky as the atmosphere changed, wind picking up around the skyscrapers slammed into my ship.

    I tugged back on the controls, slowing the Phantom Star even more as I continued to follow the flight pan. The auto pilot took my slower speeds into account as it continued on the flight path I had been given.

    Then we came out over a section of the city that had a ton of landing pads, only a small amount of them large enough for the Phantom, and that is where we headed. The engine whine picked up as more plasma thrust was sent down to slow the Phantom even more as we came in and shifted around cutting off more speed before slowing into a hover.

    The landing gear were released with a button press on the Tab, and the large feet dropped out of the bottom of the ship only when I felt the rumble through the ship of each leg locking into place did I accept the final descent.

    The ship shook a bit as it tried to keep itself still as it slowly dropped down the last dozen feet. Then as if all the effort to get here was just a joke she touched down with a soft sigh as the landing gear compressed, settling the ship into place without issue.

    We were here. On an actual planet. An alien world.

    I breathed out a sigh of relief.

 Chapter 15

    I slipped down the ladder into the hold and rolled my eyes at the Crabbit tantrum I was witnessing here too.

    ¡°Oh Kat, umm?¡± Marie asked, looking at the spectacle in concern.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind them.¡± I said as I walked over to the Crabbit on her back who was crying as I just flipped her with my foot.

    ¡°Ah! Nooo! Heavy!¡± It whined and then to my amusement flipped herself back, and continued to cry and flail.

    ¡°Hey knock it off.¡± I warned her, this wasn¡¯t the time for tantrums.

    ¡°Uuuu.¡± It whined at me pitifully, but I rolled her back on her legs again.

    ¡°Get used to the gravity, you should all sync up and practice moving like this. It¡¯ll be important whenever we land. Go on now.¡±

    ¡°Your drones are weird.¡± Carter said suddenly as he appeared at my side.

    ¡°They¡¯re just children¡­ And act like it sometimes.¡± I shrugged it off, and instead started walking, I could hear the others follow me as I reached the rear of the hold, and I nodded.

    It was time.

    I walked over to an access panel, and flicked the digital lock upwards.

    Suddenly the hold shifted lightly, the rear armored doors adjusted opening, and then a light burst into the hold.

    Real sunlight, slipping through the slowly opening crack as the hold ramp descended.

    I took in the sight and felt a smile come to my face as I had done it. Traveled across the stars and now visited a new world!

    But then I jerked back my hand running up to my face, Carter was the first to cough, and we all recoiled.

    ¡°What the hell is that smell!?¡± Marie screamed as she backpedaled. I was just in shock because whoa. That was rank!

    ¡°Heh. Get used to it, brats.¡± Old Collin offered, definitely amused at our reaction. ¡°This is an industrial city, there are billions of people mashed together here all working in factories to produce for the whole sector. That¡¯s the stink of a working city.¡± He explained as he walked past us towards the entrance, and then I felt my eyes narrow.

    ¡°You have your suit forcefield up. You¡¯re using stored oxygen!¡±

    ¡°Course I am! This sort of place stinks!¡± He laughed as he definitely hadn¡¯t told us on purpose.

    Ass!

    ¡°Old Collin, sure is a jerk!¡± I called out loudly enough he could hear and I saw the way his shoulders twitched.

    ¡°I¡¯m not old!¡± He snapped back and I nodded. Revenge successful.

    But first. I adjusted my jumpsuit, activating the integrated forcefield generator using the small control panel on the sleeve of my jumpsuit, and an invisible bubble stopped air from passing through around my head, despite not wearing a helmet.

    The others did the same thing, and I watched as everyone breathed sighs of relief as the smell was processed out.

    I fiddled with the small Tab control panel on my sleeve making sure it was on a low range just to keep the air ¡®in¡¯ and not much else.

    Jumpsuits with emergency force fields were super useful and everyone on board UNK-L got one as a just in case measure.

    It had saved lives over the years.

    Plus you could re-use the electronics pretty easily. It was just a Tiny Iris Drive, in a padded section, and a force field emitter, usually implanted around the jumpsuits collar. Connect it to a Tab in my case I had one sewn into my wrist as a just in case.

    Yep, definitely because I was worried about forgetting my Tab and not being able to adjust settings, and not because I had forgotten my Tab at home too many times and Mom had laid down the law.

    ¡°There, everyone ready?¡± I called out, and got a few surprised looks as the other kids had been staring out the now opened ramp at the sight of the city beyond.

    They hesitated so I rolled my eyes. I was about to walk out but I realized I was Crabbit-less. I walked over to one of the Crabbit that had gotten herself on her feet and was walking around weakly, and picked her up.

    ¡°Cling on.¡± I told her as I threw her over my shoulders, and with her little legs she clung on like a backpack. It wasn¡¯t quite as comfortable as having them hovering on my shoulder, but it was fine.

    And so I walked out, following after Old Collin that was waiting at the base of the ramp. The man sent me a dirty look as I approached, he then looked away, and then sent another one.

    Yeah he was still sensitive about his nickname.

    ¡°That¡¯s the Port office. You¡¯ll need to speak with them, get the docking fees paid, and we can get our work done.¡±

    ¡°How much is the fee?¡± I asked, because I hadn¡¯t really thought about that! I mean sure I had Creds, but!

    ¡°Depends on the dock. Don¡¯t worry about it this time. Marie¡¯ll be clearing that. It¡¯s on us. But you should still be there, get a feel for what it¡¯s like if you want to keep flying this beast.¡±

    ¡°Thanks Collin.¡± I said surprised at how nice he was being. Collin was usually a massive jerk!

    ¡°Yeah yeah, brat.¡± He grumped at me, but while he still seemed to kind of hesitate I stepped forward off the ramp and then onto the large landing pad. We were pretty high up, on a massive building that was a starport, so it wasn¡¯t like I was looking at grass, instead I was practically in the clouds, and in between the massive buildings that sort of made a funny bowl shape around the star port I could see far out in the endless distance more and more buildings spread out as far as I could see.

    I didn¡¯t head straight for the port authority office, instead I walked over to the edge of the landing pad and looked out.

    Down at the base level streets there were thousands of tiny vehicles moving around, looking like rows of ants, then above that were the smaller ground buildings. None of them looked less than four stories, all of them belching white smoke into the sky. The smoke trails entwined into a misty cloud layer that was constantly being torn apart by the shuttles, or whatever the flying vehicles in this planet were called running through it.

    And then the massive buildings broke up even that. Some of them looked residential, some might be industrial belching smoke, or even a mix.

    I could see far down a street was a terrace with plant life, real or fake, and people were eating at some sort of cafe hanging off the side of a building. Shuttles coming up and parking alongside to let their passengers off.

    So many people.

    But it wasn¡¯t that, that had me entranced. A sci-fi city was something amazing, and I would have happily stared at it for a long time, but it was the song that entranced me.

    It sounded like a jungle beat, but made of industrial noises. Hammers hitting steel, the hiss of steam and smoke, and the rumble of engines.

    It was a song utterly unique to any other I had heard. I¡¯dheard the song change, but I hadn¡¯t realized until that moment that different places would sound so different. UNK-L had its unique song, and I realized that it was utterly unlike any other place.

    ¡°Kat?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± I asked, turning my head but not tearing my eyes off the sight, as Carter had called me.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°You okay?¡±

    ¡°Yeah just enjoying the view, and the sound of it all.¡± I breathed in and out and shook it off. Turning to see the boy as he seemed almost wary of the edge leaning back like the edge was going to snatch him off.

    ¡°You okay?¡± I asked back and he grimaced.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is! It feels like something is pushing me! But the Gravity is weird!¡± He hissed and I realized what it was with a laugh.

    ¡°That¡¯s wind Carter.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like wind!¡± he argued back looking like a startled cat.

    ¡°No, it feels just like wind, you¡¯re just used to the breeze of the oxygen units on UNK-L. Wind can get really strong on a planet. C¡¯mon.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ How strong?¡± He asked in a whisper and I just laughed. Hopefully he¡¯d never find out.

    Everyone was gathered up and the kids were looking around in shock. Old Collin was hiding it, but even he seemed a little uncomfortable on the planet.

    Huh. I guess when you spend your entire life on a space station, a normal planet must be kinda strange.

    It was strange for me too. My body wasn¡¯t used to the wind, or the way everyone just felt different with Gravity being so¡­ Firm?

    I don¡¯t think I had ever really registered that gravity plates, for all their effectiveness, weren¡¯t quite¡­ Right.

    But for station kids that was how gravity felt.

    I walked past them into the Port Authority building and looked around at the massive room that was like a ring around the building. Then there was a set of circle stairs that led to a large round desk where a person was sitting.

    There was actually already another¡­ Captain? Ships crew? At the desk seemingly doing their paperwork.

    ¡°C¡¯mon.¡± I called out to the group behind me, as I walked to the stairs and took them carefully. My balance was a bit wonky as gravity was different. Striding across the room I reached the circular desk, and ended up just waiting at the spot that was marked for the Docking Pad we had landed at.

    There was only one woman manning the desk so I just started waiting.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Marshall asked, looking around as he joined me at the counter and seemingly getting annoyed at the wait.

    ¡°Just relax.¡± I told him firmly, I didn¡¯t want him being rude!

    Finally a few minutes later the woman pushed a button and her chair actually shot across the inner ring of the large round desk until she slowed and stopped in front of me.

    ¡°Welcome to Elinai! Can I have your Ships transponder information please!¡± She greeted and I nodded grabbing my Tab and a moment later she had what she wanted and nodded. ¡°Phantom Star, registered! Welcome to your first visit to Elinai! Docking Fees are listed here, and all payments must be made before liftoff.¡± She warned and I nodded at her rapid fire explanation.

    ¡°Let me see!¡± Marie called out as she walked up and looked at my Tab with the fees.

    A moment later, her own Tab was out and she made a few rapid fire presses and tapped my Tab with her own.

    ¡°Thank you for your payment! You have 21 standard hours before additional fees! Do you have any questions?¡± She asked, and I just shook my head, because most of it was all on my tab, the fees, and what caused them and everything else. I¡¯d have to look it over later.

    ¡°Excellent! There is a comm number if you need assistance, if you find yourself unable to reach your ship and renew your fee, please contact us through that number before your time is up! The elevator to the bottom floor is right there, and if you hit floor six, you¡¯ll find the ride service area!¡± And that was that. Much faster than the time she had taken with the other group.

    ¡°Do you know where the supplies are?¡± I asked Old Collin who nodded.

    ¡°We do. It shouldn¡¯t be far, let¡¯s take a shuttle, it¡¯ll be pricey, but I don¡¯t want us getting lost.¡± He said despite the fact this was supposed to be Carter''s mission.

    Carter didn¡¯t interrupt, only when Collin was finished did he speak. ¡°I agree, planets like this can be dangerous.¡±

    ¡°Then we can stick together for now. First stop should be the supplies right?¡± I asked and Carter nodded.

    So we turned towards the elevator and we all followed Carter as he led the way.

    Old Collin I noticed had purposefully stepped back to let Carter lead for a bit.

    We all stepped into the elevator which didn¡¯t feel much different than the ones on earth. No fancy tech or anything.

    Just a lift that went up and down.

    We hit the button for the sixth floor and everyone but me and Collin jumped as the lift shot us down. I felt the tingling in my belly as we dropped,, but couldn¡¯t tell how quick, but it was causing the others a lot of trouble.

    ¡°Relax.¡± Collin offered. ¡°That feeling is normal. It just means we¡¯re going down quickly.¡±

    ¡°Right. Nothing to worry about.¡± Carter added throwing looks to Marie, Marshall, and I.

    I threw him a thumbs up and then the door opened and we all flinched back at the noise.

    It sort of looked like a train station, if I could describe it as anything, but instead of trains there was a section in the center of the room cut out completely open to the sky, letting the wind kick up and around. And Shuttles idling near the edge seemingly waiting.

    ¡°Yo! You lot need a ride! Cheapest rates you¡¯ll find!¡± A large man called out, massive beard covering most of his face, and slightly greasy looking shirt tucked into half hazard pants.

    Yep. This felt like calling an Uber alright.

    ¡ª--

    We all tumbled out of the shuttle once it landed, with an urgency.

    The driver was right. It was certainly the fastest trip we could pay for, but it was also the fastest trip we could pay for.

    ¡°We¡¯ll find a new driver after.¡± Carter demanded looking a little green and I nodded along.

    Marshall was more¡­ Effusive in his complaints.

    ¡°Fat fuck! Go die in a Black Hole! Learn to fly! Ass hole!¡± He roared at the bearded driver as laughed it off, the man just smiling and waving at all of us.

    ¡°If you need a ride back I¡¯ll be here!¡±. The man just laughed harder as all of us looked like we would attack him before getting in his shuttle.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t something I want to ever do again.¡± Marie whispered and I reached over to rub her back.

    ¡°C¡¯mon. We¡¯re here. Let¡¯s get our deal done.¡± Collin said, looking the best out of all of us. We walked into the large building, and I noticed everyone was rubbernecking hard.

    There wasn¡¯t much to see though. It was a storage yard for freight moving through the star port. We were here to talk to one of the workers here.

    We entered the front office, and instantly a panel came down that was over a desk and an obvious AI face appeared.

    ¡°Welcome to the Elinai Solar Storage! Please state the nature of your request!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re here to speak to a sales manager. Potter?¡± Carter asked firmly.

    ¡°Understood! I will inform Manager Potter of your presence, please take a seat and enjoy the wonders of Solar Storage! We have-¡± I very specifically tuned out the ad spiel.

    That was a VI, not an AI. I knew with just a glance, her song wasn¡¯t alive enough to be an AI.

    Before I could even start getting settled into the chairs around the little front office, a man stepped out.

    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Ian Potter.¡± He greeted Collin first after taking a look at the group, but Collin looked to Carter who jumped up from the seat he had just been settling into.

    ¡°Carter Ferrous of Scrap Station UNK-L, we have a shipment stuck here in holding.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Let me check.¡± The man said as he pulled out a Tab and started searching. After a moment he nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll need a verification code?¡±

    ¡°I have that.¡± Marie offered as she headed over and flicked something at the man from her Tab.

    I stopped focusing on the conversation as it wasn¡¯t really important, and instead paid attention to the Crabbit that was tugging on my shoulder.

    ¡°Yes?¡± I asked her quietly, and she pointed at the VI.

    ¡°Strange.¡± She whispered back and I felt myself laugh a bit.

    ¡°Looks like a business VI. What¡¯s strange?¡±

    There was a quiet whisper from the Crabbit, but I couldn¡¯t hear it, so I adjusted her a bit.

    ¡°Say that again?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not nice. Not saying hello. Rude.¡± I had to bite my lip and look away to keep from giggling.

    ¡°She¡¯s not being mean, Cutie. She just doesn¡¯t have the process to do that.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± She whispered, and I started explaining the difference to her about a VI to an AI. Something she should know, but sometimes the Crabbit would still get confused about basic stuff.

    Especially if she was alone, like this one was. The more Crabbit connected the smarter they were¡­ Usually.

    ¡°Kat?¡±

    ¡°Coming!¡±

    ¡ª--

    Thankfully we didn¡¯t need to hire Beard guy again, or another shuttle to get back. The shipment was in a large shipping container. Carter and Collin broke the seal on it once we were brought to it, and we all checked everything to make sure it was what we had ordered.

    I had even gone through and double checked the components, only to find that everything was what it was supposed to be, and working fine. The song inside a quiet symphony of functional parts.

    But it was too large to throw into the trunk of a shuttle of course, so the Solar Storage guy set up a large transport to move the unit, and we went along with it. Mostly because I don¡¯t think anyone wanted to risk beard guy again.

    So we landed back on the pad where the Phantom Star was located, and I relaxed as no one had come by according to the Crabbit that were walking stiffly around the hold.

    ¡°Glad to hear it.¡± I said to the one that told me and it chirped happily and sent me a lazy salute before turning to start walking away and instead just constantly going sideways like it was drunk until she hit a wall.

    Cute. My little drones were the cutest!

    ¡°Alright Captain. The container unit is locked down.¡± Collin told me, and I looked over. The hovering forklift vehicle that had pulled the storage unit off the transport and then floated it into the hold had set it into place. The boys had finished locking it down with a mixture of Gravity Panels, and actual locking components.

    ¡°Then that¡¯s that.¡± I said with a firm nod. I reached for my Tab and poked at it, and nodded. ¡°Alright everyone! Lift off is one hour before our docking fee is up. I have some errands I want to run, for some stuff for the ship. Anyone want to come?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll come!¡± Marie called out waving happily and I nodded, but Marshall shook his head.

    ¡°Hell no. I¡¯m not babysitting.¡± He said and if he had been closer he would have earned a slap upside the head.

    ¡°Hey easy. We still need to stick together¡­ But if we want to split up into different groups that''s fine.¡± Carter cut in, and Marshall looked like he was going to argue, but Collin broke in.

    ¡°Groups or no go.¡± He said straight at Marshall, who scoffed but nodded.

    ¡°Alright well¡­ Marshall and I then, Collin, will you stick with the girls?¡± Carter asked, and I saw Collin¡¯s eyebrow shoot up.

    But he didn¡¯t argue, just nodded.

    ¡°If that¡¯s what you want.¡± He rumbled, and scratched at his five o¡¯clock shadow.

    ¡°Fine, but don¡¯t be a loser Carter.¡± Marshall said as he stalked off the ship, and Carter sent a shrug to the rest of us as he raced after him.

    ¡°Huh. I wonder how much trouble they¡¯ll get into?¡±

    ¡°Hopefully not too much.¡± Collin offered. ¡°Now I¡¯m coming with you two, neither of you are armed.¡±

    ¡°Wait, You''re armed?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Collin answered back, shooting me a look like I was an idiot.

    ¡°Does that mean Carter is armed?¡± I asked, and got a smirk from Collin, but not an answer.

    Huh. I guess as the leader of the group he would have been given a blaster or something. I hadn¡¯t noticed it though¡­ Wait, the Crabbit should have. And they should have told me!

    I¡¯d have to add that to their programming to inform me if anyone guest or not got on the ship armed. What was the point of having Type 4 sensors, if I wasn¡¯t being told what they found?

    But first? Time for a shopping trip.

 Chapter 16

    Marie, Collin, and I found another shuttle. This time demanding a more reasonable ride from the driver, a woman chewing some sort of¡­ Stick? It made me think it was some sort of drug or something, but Collin didn¡¯t make any motion to choose another shuttle, and then we were off.

    We didn¡¯t end up going far, just across the gap from the Star Port and right up to a large tower that I could have seen from the Landing Dock.

    ¡°This is the best shopping center in the area. Caters to off-worlders.¡± The driver said, as we pulled up. Then to my surprise she hesitated in holding out her Tab to get payment from Marie. ¡°They also have a tendency to raise prices. So be cautious.¡±

    Marie nodded and to my eyes flicked a few extra Creds into the woman''s account, as all three of us stepped away from the shuttle.

    ¡°Good advice, but something I would have told you as well.¡± Collin rumbled out in a deadpan.

    ¡°Sure, but she did offer us the information.¡± Marie said and I nodded.

    ¡°She could have just kept quiet. The warning is worth a bit of a reward. I think.¡± I added and turned towards the large glass doors that led from the shuttle drop off into the building. Interestingly, it had a sort of air lock. As we approached the outer doors opened. Instantly we were attacked by air conditioning.

    It wasn¡¯t until the inner doors opened that I realized it was a pressure room. To keep the air from outside out.

    I suppose even the people that lived on the planet didn¡¯t like the smell.

    Not that I could be entirely sure since my forcefield kept me safe. The inside of the building was a giant mall of sorts. It had a very industrial feel. Many of the sections were shadowed from old lights failing, and massive fans spun slowly along the wall for some reason. Even with the song in my ear I wasn¡¯t sure why they needed to be so huge. But it caused the light that came in through the glass walls to flicker and turn.

    But while I was looking over the technology of the building and trying to figure out why things had been built that way Marie had noticed the people.

    ¡°What is she wearing?¡± Marie asked quickly in a whisper, but the voice was shocked. I looked over and blinked and felt like I needed to cover my eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± Collin offered, but as I looked over I realized he wasn¡¯t tearing his eyes away.

    ¡°Collin!¡±

    ¡°Shush girl. For once I¡¯m not on station. I¡¯m not related to anyone here. Don¡¯t blame me for looking.¡± He grumbled and I flushed a bit at the tone and interest in his voice.

    ¡°She¡¯s naked!¡±

    ¡°Almost.¡± He agreed and Marie looked a little grossed out. I looked back at the woman that had so shocked Marie, and tried to figure out if that was some sort of forcefield, or just¡­ Oh, no it was some body paint¡­

    Yikes.

    Not brave enough to walk around literally wearing nothing.

    ¡°C¡¯mon.¡± I pulled Marie forward looking away from the woman that had been sitting on the side of a building, and¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure she was a lady of the night to be honest.

    I suppose that sort of thing was accepted here? Or maybe it was just because this was a shopping area for offworlders.

    Offworlders were usually rich, or men that worked hauling between worlds or systems. Which would still make them rich, because you don¡¯t hire someone desperate for Cred to control a Starship no matter how humble.

    We moved on, but it wasn¡¯t the only shocking outfit that had Marie grabbing my arm to point them out in scandalous outrage.

    I just did my best not to look, instead keeping an eye on the shops and looking for things I actually needed.

    There had to be a place where I could buy a cold storage unit for the Phantom. And maybe some better fixtures for my Captains Room? A larger Tab Screen could be cool, like a big screen TV?

    Or a Captains Chair?

    Our exploration was stopped by Marie before I could start looking as she gasped and hurried away forcing Collin and I to follow. Even if Collin cursed under his breath at Marie¡¯s sudden rush.

    The thumping bass was what told me where we were going. The shop had a dark entrance, but light was flashing inside, and as we chased Marie inside, the place had some light machines spinning around and making the whole place sort of ethereal.

    It was a music shop, and Marie was already looking through what I thought at first was some sort of hard copy. Like a CD or something.

    I hadn¡¯t really seen anything like that in this life, everyone just used their Tab for shows or music, but then I realized they weren¡¯t hard copies, just plastic shells with images displaying the music, and from the looks of it, little speakers to test the music, with links to download locations.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to get this album forever!¡± Marie said when we joined her as she spun and flashed¡­ Yeah I wasn¡¯t listening to that. ¡°What?¡± She demanded at my look,

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

    ¡°Eon Fleet is the best band in the entire Galaxy!¡± She snapped at me, and I just very pointedly looked away from the five young men that were on the cover of the download chip, and very pointedly kept my opinion on boy bands off my face.

    ¡°Get it if you want or don¡¯t. But hurry it up.¡± Collin demanded, and Marie looked like she wanted to argue, but instead turned and started searching.

    Collin and I shared a look and just shrugged.

    ¡ª--

    I was stuck people watching. We stopped at a clothes store oddly enough, for Collin. Apparently, he was looking for some gloves as his work gloves were going bad, and he hated the standard ones that we had stocked up on the station.

    I used them though, and didn¡¯t know why he hated them. I looked down at the mostly white gloves I still wore. They were actually super stain resistant, so the color didn¡¯t get smudged up too much until the gloves ended up really worn, but they were safety equipment, and you shouldn¡¯t wear them out that long anyways.

    But I looked up to watch more of the people walk by.

    Most of them were locals despite the shopping area being meant for the Star Port.

    And almost everyone had a mask of some kind over their face.

    Either a sort of cloth mask that reminded me of cheap cloth masks, or actual respirators. Most of them had taken them off inside, and looked relieved to breath in fresh air, but it told me a lot about just how toxic the air on Elinai was.

    I don¡¯t think I¡¯d risk taking a breath myself even inside, I still remember how bad it smelled. Luckily the Phantom Star had an oxygen refresher I had found in an old wreck, and those things were designed to be fixable with spit and a stick, so it was functioning perfectly.

    I¡¯d do a double refresh just in case though.

    ¡°Got it.¡± Collin called out, looking pleased as he walked out with a new pair of gloves in his hands¡­

    ¡°They¡¯re blue.¡± I commented and Marie looked down at them confused too.

    ¡°Yep.¡± He said happily. I looked from my gloves to the ones he had.

    The exact same.

    ¡°It¡¯s the same gloves.¡± I pointed out, and he scoffed.

    ¡°No, these ones are blue. Damn loggies ordered an entire shipment of white gear. Used to be blue when I was a kid, I like them.¡± He said and I just looked to Marie who was pouting.

    ¡°If logistics needed to change the color it was for a reason!¡± She snapped, but Collin wasn¡¯t having it.

    ¡°Girl I know exactly why they changed it up, and it¡¯s as stupid as you¡¯d think. Shut up.¡± He snapped back, and Marie flinched and looked away.

    ¡°Okay okay, calm down.¡± I demanded, looking at the two supposed adults. No, I wasn¡¯t dealing with this. This time I purposefully set off. While waiting I had the bright idea of checking for a map, and my Tab had easily found a digital copy of the shopping center.

    Traveling through the crowds I found one of the brightest shops in the entire place as my destination. Marie, and Collin followed after me as I charged towards my own goal.

    ¡°Slow down Little Kat, you and your long legs!¡± Marie grumbled as she nearly had to jog to keep up.

    ¡°Fine, we¡¯re here anyways.¡± I called back, barely looking at her as we entered¡­ Well a pretty normal appliance store. With slick shiny tiles, things were brightly lit, and painted white.

    ¡°Oh this is nice.¡± Marie offered and I nodded, before nearly instantly we were attacked!

    ¡°Welcome to Calvin¡¯s Appliance and Materials! How can I help you today?¡± A man asked, and for the first time there was no mask in sight, instead he was well dressed in an odd, sort of suit that was three colors, with a strange pattern to it.

    ¡°Umm, I¡¯m looking for some mess supplies for my ship.¡± I said, and I could see the man''s eyes widen, even as his smile never shifted from its bright grin.

    ¡°Well I am Tilly, and I¡¯ll be your assistant today in your journey of perfection! Let me walk you through our Shipboard Food Preparation section! I promise you will find the grandest appliances this side of the Duchy!¡±

    ¡°Great.¡± I said looking at Marie and begging with my eyes for help, but she instantly shook her head and stood with Collin near the entrance.

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    Something something treason then.

    I sighed and realized that if I was the Captain I had to figure this part out myself.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see what you got.¡±

    ¡°Excellent! May I ask what your budget for this trip is? I want to make sure you get the best we can offer with the grav of your Cred.¡±

    I had to parse that for a second. ¡°Right, yeah I¡¯m looking for quality.¡± I added, he might try and oversell me, but I was able to tell with tech anyways, and more importantly, this was going on my ship!

    The Phantom Star wasn¡¯t a tramp hauler! She would get the best!

    As I followed the flamboyant man deeper into the aisles of steel chrome paneling, I wondered how the boys were doing?

    ¡ª--

    Carter Ferrous

    They should not have come down this deep. They couldn¡¯t even see the sun anymore.

    But Carter had a mission, even if Marshall was really trying his patience.

    The loud sudden honk of a land vehicle had Carter yelp and jump out of the way as the strange wheeled contraption weaved past him, the driver throwing up a rude gesture as he passed.

    ¡°Marshall!¡±

    ¡°Fuck off Carter! Go back to the ship already!¡± The other boy yelled back, still stomping away.

    Carter knew this was what was going to happen. Marshall was trying to jump ship. It happened sometimes, family members that had issues deciding to try their luck somewhere else¡­

    It also usually led to a message arriving months later that they were dead. The Duchy wasn¡¯t a gentle place, and UNK-L was. So the lifers didn¡¯t always have the skills to survive off station.

    Carter pointedly didn¡¯t think about the fact that Dad had once mentioned that was on purpose.

    Which is why he was chasing his stupid cousin, to try and save his dumb life, through the dark understreets of a world he had never stepped foot on before today. The bastard was trying to escape from him, despite the press of bodies, and worse.

    The eyes watching them.

    Carter squirmed to grab his weapon, if just to make sure it was still there. He didn¡¯t doubt his pockets had already been picked clean in this press of bodies.

    Finally Marshall stopped and turned, letting Carter catch up just as he headed down into a set of steps.

    Carter stopped at the top of them, and winced.

    Up above the steps was an old holo sign. BAR.

    Really Marshall? First day on the planet and you find the worst most run down bar you can get? Carter followed.

    And then down the steps and past the already open door. Instantly Carter was glad his forcefield filtered out oxygen, because the air was hazy with a purple cloudy mist.

    Unfortunately that same haze meant he couldn¡¯t see Marshall anymore, and winced at the look inside.

    A dive bar, full of rough and tumble types, not a single normal friendly face inside, just toughs, and women glaring with sharp eyes.

    The fucking things he did for his family. Carter headed deeper inside.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Here is your total!¡± The man chirped with a grin that bordered on mania and I flinched from the way his grip seemed to wrap around my shoulder, only the fact I was a good bit taller than him kept him from dragging me around.

    I looked to the only source of solace I could find.

    ¡°It¡¯s pricey.¡± Marie offered after a moment looking down the list displayed on the Tab. ¡°But¡­ He wasn¡¯t lying. It¡¯s good quality gear. Better than we go for on the station even.¡± Marie said, sending me a look.

    Yeah okay so maybe I didn¡¯t need the deluxe protein resequencer, with its ability to alter protein into four things at once¡­

    But I wanted it! It had a really gentle soothing song, and it was kinda pretty too!

    The fact it had a similar blue and chrome color scheme of the Crabbit certainly didn¡¯t help either!

    ¡°We do also offer, for an additional fee, Grade A Manipulated Protein canisters. I assure you of their quality, we w-¡± I held up a hand to stop him, and looked to Marie.

    ¡°Grade A is what we use on UNK-L. You don¡¯t want to go below Grade B.¡± She explained and I nodded.

    ¡°Let¡¯s check the price on that Manipulated Protein then?¡±

    ¡°Excellent! Valued customer I assure you, you will not be disappointed in the quality!¡± He practically chirped as he flipped the Tab and started adding more to the list.

    ¡°Heh.¡± Collin offered a quiet chuckle, but when I looked at him he refused to actually meet my eyes.

    ¡°And there you go! Including transport to the docking pad!¡± He offered and I looked at the number¡­ It¡­ It didn¡¯t feel like a lot? I mean, my sense of how much things cost was pretty broken. I had barely ever even owned a Cred to my name until the Pirates had attacked¡­

    I once more slowly felt my eyes drift to Marie.

    ¡°Oh for all the heavens! Kat! If you are going to be a captain you need to work on your finances!¡± She hissed at me.

    ¡°I will! I just¡­ I¡¯ve been busy! Pirates Marie! And I wasn¡¯t even intending on leaving yet!¡± I pleaded, trying to get some sympathy, and that worked because the look on her face, that had promised refusal shifted and she sighed.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll get involved. That Protein is overcharged and you know it. That¡¯s the cost of Grade A along with transport fees, and we aren¡¯t taking that on. Dump that.¡± She demanded and Tilly¡¯s smile never shifted.

    ¡°I believe I can have a discount applied, but only if the amount purchased exceeds, say¡­ Ten canisters?¡±

    Marie rolled her eyes and looked at me. ¡°Is that a lot?¡± I asked her and she shrugged.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a huge amount for UNK-L, but for a single ship?¡±

    ¡°They basically last forever though right?¡±

    ¡°Correct! The canisters have a shelf life of nearly a century! Without a dip in quality!¡±

    ¡°Then if it¡¯s a good deal?¡± I asked Marie and she looked like she wanted to throw something at me.

    ¡°It¡¯s an okay deal. But finding a good deal isn¡¯t easy.¡± She admitted and that finished that.

    ¡°It was a true pleasure to assist you today, please do come to our store again, we have stores across the entire Duchy and beyond!¡± He exclaimed with an over the top wink.

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll think about it.¡±

    ¡°Excellent, is there anything else I can assist you with?¡± He offered and I felt my chance.

    ¡°There is one thing. I¡¯m looking for something in particular and if you can help me find it I would appreciate it..¡±

    ¡ª--

    Carter Ferrous

    ¡°This is your fault!¡± Carter screamed as he ducked to try and avoid the man chasing him.

    ¡°How is this my fault!?¡± Marshall yelled back, as he continued fending off the guy that was trying to grab him with a bar stool.

    ¡°How isn¡¯t it your fault!? Ever since you fucked around, you¡¯ve been a pain in the ass!¡±

    ¡°Fuck you Carter!¡± Marshall screamed, then screamed like a girl as he ducked a chair that whistled past his head. He rolled to the side and threw the stool he had been holding, it landed perfectly to trip up the man that was trying to brain him.

    ¡°C¡¯mon!¡± Carter yelled as he finally cleared a path to the entrance, and Marshall took one look at the trouble he was in, and did what he always did. Bailed.

    The two boys ran up the steps with a few of the bar men behind them still pissed and angry and then without any plan they turned a direction and started running.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a pain in the ass!¡± Marshall yelled as they hurried away and it took a moment for Carter to realize he was still on the previous point.

    ¡°Of course you are!¡±

    ¡°Fuck you! Just because I¡¯m not the heir! Maybe I just wanted to escape because my life sucks!¡±

    ¡°You have a great life! Fuck you!¡± Carter snapped back. Marshall often had delusions about his own situation and Carter wasn¡¯t having it this time. ¡°You had everyone help you pass your test! Despite how much you slacked off. You get paid more than most people on this planet could ever dream of! You have your own space, you breathe clean air, and you can have whatever you want!¡±

    Marshall looked like he was going to still argue but Carter was done with him. He reached out mid stride and grabbed Marshall to throw him against a grimy wall.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t a mistreated hero Marshall off to claim some great destiny! You¡¯re the overfed, overstuffed noble brat that complains about his perfect life! If you don¡¯t want to live on station anymore. Then fucking stay here! Right here! In this fucking black hole pit of a world!¡± Carter was pushed away suddenly as Marshall struck out and Carter realized he had been punched.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from you! Anything you want you get! You actually have hopes and a chance for more, while I¡¯m stuck working at the lower dock with Old Collin! I¡¯m the-¡±

    Carter wasn¡¯t going to hear it, all Marshall wanted to do was make excuses! He swung a punch into the moron''s jaw.

    Everything got a bit tangled after that as they fought.

    ¡ª--

    It was beautiful.

    Perfection. Nirvana!

    ¡°Kat. It¡¯s a chair.¡±

    ¡°My butt feels like it¡¯s being cradled by a solar flare spreading out across the galaxy of fluff and wonder.¡± I whispered out in delight and Marie just blinked at what I said before looking to Collin.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me. The kid¡¯s a weird little shit.¡±

    ¡°Rude.¡± I whispered out without any heat, I was too happy to have found a chair.

    ¡°I assume this one then?¡±

    ¡°Maybe.¡± I admitted only after a few more moments of lounging. ¡°What are the hookups? Does it have any power feeds for integrated force fields, and the data wiring, what¡¯s the bandwidth?¡± I streamed out questions and instantly the seller looked a little lost, but the woman kept her smile as she pulled up the Tab on her wrist.

    ¡°Let me get you those specs.¡±

    ¡°Sure, but I want to look at it as well.¡± I offered and with regret got up and kneeled down.

    ¡°Umm miss, this is a display model!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s still functional.¡± I muttered as I started checking the base of the chair and quickly finding the access panel, pried it open despite the clerks'' attempts to get me to stop.

    ¡°Crabbit give me a scan, what are we working with?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm!¡± My backpack Crabbit since they weren¡¯t on my shoulder perked up, and the clerk screamed in fright as it clambered off me, and between the two of us we started checking the internals.

    Just because they said the bandwidth was that high didn¡¯t mean it actually was! It was important to check this sort of thing!

    ¡ª--

    Carter Ferrous

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you got us into this.¡± Carter hissed and Marshall looked up from the cell across from him with a look of shock on his face before it went angry.

    ¡°My fault!? This is your fault!¡± Marshall snapped up but didn¡¯t rise from the bench, his black eye had been hurting him.

    ¡°You started swinging first!¡± Carter growled.

    ¡°You hit me first! Lying asshole. Fuck off!¡±

    The two were about to start bickering again but the sound of metal on metal shut them up.

    ¡°Quiet!¡± The man that stomped into the room dwarfed both boys. Definitely a soldier mod and he looked mean. ¡°Now you two shit heads aren¡¯t from around here obviously. I want your fucking Data, and then we can talk bail.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the creds for bail!¡± Marshall nearly shrieked and Carter really wanted to kick him, because the large officer slowly shifted his attention to the boy.

    ¡°You don¡¯t, do you? You know where you go then? Fucking purgatory. Orbital prison.¡± The man said with a sinister leer and Carter wanted to roll his eyes at the exaggeration, but of course Marshall fell for it.

    Carter quickly shifted his face into fear too when the officer looked at him.

    ¡°We have the Cred! We came in on a ship, we¡¯re offworlders like you suspect, they¡¯ll cover the bail!¡± Carter offered and Marshall looked hopeful towards Carter.

    God dammit Marshall. The only time you think you need us is when you fuck up!

    ¡°Well then, I guess you little shitstains need a Comm to your crew.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°One Comm.¡± The officer grunted and Carter relaxed as he grabbed his Tab and started making a call. C¡¯mon. Pick up. These sorts of underbelly stations were all about bribes to get free, and Carter wasn¡¯t interested in finding out what would happen if they couldn¡¯t get the Creds!

    ¡ª--

    ¡°It¡¯s only been a few hours!¡± I snapped at the two boys as they were pushed out by a truly massive police officer. Or Securitate apparently? Weird word.

    ¡°It¡¯s Carter''s fault!¡± Marshall hissed and Carter looked like he was about to throw a punch but then Collin was there, lifting both boys by the scruff of their jumpsuits.

    ¡°Both of you are going to the ship.¡± He grumbled and the boys slumped.

    We pulled them into the shuttle we had used to head over to the police station and then we were off. The driver seemed pretty used to dealing with the police station as he moved through the security boundary without a hitch.

    ¡°What were you two thinking?¡± Marie asked, and then to my lack of surprise. Marshall opened his mouth.

    ¡°It¡¯s his fault!¡±

    ¡°How is it my fault!¡±

    ¡°Are you kidding? You moron!¡± Marshall yelled at him, but this time Collin didn¡¯t interfere. ¡°I went to a bar I had heard about, a spacer bar. Was gonna see if I could find a crew to travel with! And then Carter comes in, sits at the bar and five minutes later he¡¯s flirting with the wife of a guy!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s! That¡¯s not what happened! I just asked her a question!¡± Carter defended himself, but¡­

    Wait.

    ¡°Then we got into a bar fight, we escaped and Carter hit me!¡±

    ¡°You hit me first!¡±

    ¡°Only after you threw me against a wall!¡±

    Carter opened his mouth to argue and then stopped, and actually reddened a bit.

    ¡°He was being a shit whining about stuff, so yeah I pushed him.¡±

    ¡°Then we got stunned.¡± Marshall shuddered. He still had a nasty red spot on his arm that he rubbed at.

    ¡°That¡­ Yeah that hurt.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Collin said to the boys. ¡°Most idiots go out, and don¡¯t end up needing a bail out on their first chance at freedom on a world. So hopefully it¡¯ll teach you a lesson.¡±

    We landed without much else going on, both boys nursing their wounds and as we came out onto the docking pad Marshall didn¡¯t just turn around and take off, but just slumped towards the Phantom Star and climbed up the ramp.

    ¡°I thought he was going to leave?¡± I asked looking at the older boys back. I almost hoped he would leave.

    ¡°Eh. He probably would have if it all worked out, but real life has a tendency to remind even fools about the good things they have.¡± Collin said with a bit of wisdom in his voice. ¡°Also the boy¡¯s a dumbass. He probably forgot.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± I muttered and turned away, looking towards the stack of goods we had been loading up when we got the call from the boys.

    Time to install all my new stuff!

 Chapter 17

    It was not yet time to install my new stuff.

    For one, everything was super heavy in atmosphere, and the Crabbit weren¡¯t much help like normal.

    That would have to be a later thing. Instead we all had a decision to make.

    Well, I had a decision, but I was trying to make others decide it for me. I turned away from where everything was finally stored away in the hold to look at my guests.

    ¡°Do we leave now, or spend the rest of the time looking around?¡± I asked the group and everyone looked to Carter, then to me.

    Carter continued looking at me.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s up to you Captain.¡± Carter said firmly, and I wanted to curse. Foiled again by responsibility.

    ¡°Okay let me rephrase.¡± I grumbled, because Carter was being a shit on purpose. ¡°We picked up our main goal, and we had some shopping time. Does anyone have anything else they want to pick up before we leave?¡± I had a few things I wouldn¡¯t mind trying to find, but when everyone just shook their head, I slumped.

    Decision time then.

    ¡°Okay we¡¯re heading out early. Let''s do a double check that everything is secured before lift off, it¡¯ll probably be a bit rocky.¡± I said because it was worth mentioning. Everyone would be down here in the hold with all of our new stuff.

    I didn¡¯t want someone to get smooshed.

    ¡°Yes yes!¡±

    ¡°Check check!¡± My Crabbit chattered, as they started skittering around to the large cargo container and my smaller purchases that were in smaller packaging. They weren¡¯t really doing much other than checking the systems that held cargo in place were working. They couldn¡¯t exactly climb all over things with Gravity holding them down.

    They had gotten pretty good at moving around though. Each of them was skittering around on their little rubber ended legs without too much issue.

    Why were they walking sideways so much though?

    ¡°I¡¯ll double check it.¡± Collin said suddenly looking not quite confident in the Crabbit.

    Probably for the best.

    ¡°Then let''s close everything up, I¡¯ll recycle the air a few times before we take off.¡± I offered and everyone looked happy about that.

    The smell was still in my head even if I couldn¡¯t actually smell it right now.

    I left the hold climbing up the long ladder to the next floor, and then across the ship to the bridge ladder, climbing that.

    It felt¡­ Right to be back inside. I looked out the view screen and smiled at the evening sunlight slipping into the bridge. It left a warm glow that was unusual in space, but easily familiar to anyone that had laid on a couch under a summer sun.

    I shook off the memories of a past life, and a world I likely would never see again and instead sat in my stupid uncomfortable chair and started waking up the Phantom Star.

    Systems powered back up, and I could feel the rumble as the plasma thrusters woke up and adjusted themselves to the correct positions.

    ¡°Give me a systems test for atmosphere flight.¡± I called to Navigation. The Crabbit already in the little chair for them.

    ¡°I can do that! It¡¯s just this button! And this one! Hehehe!¡± It cheered as it followed the task and I watched my Tab as reports were updated.

    Green across the board. Well, green or yellow, but the colors hadn¡¯t changed from the last time. Some things just weren¡¯t finished.

    Then I settled back and winced at how the chair just didn¡¯t fit me right.

    ¡°Tell the hold I¡¯m going to close the bay doors.¡±

    ¡°Yesfirmative!¡± One of the Crabbit called out and I just snorted at the word.

    Then I flicked the switch and watched the Tab as the doors closed, and once they were secured, I locked down the oxygen system, and flicked it to do a refresh. Instantly I felt the air in the bridge start blowing around pretty fast.

    ¡°Hold secure! Hold Secure!¡± The Crabbit called out, and I nodded.

    ¡°Then tell everyone to secure themselves. We are readying for liftoff.¡± I sighed and then commed the Star Port.

    *This is Phantom Star looking for clearance for liftoff.* I called into the traffic controller channel.

    The line was quiet for a while and so I waited, but finally I got a response.

    *Understood Phantom Star, Flight path will be open for you shortly, sending data upload.*

    I watched as I got an updated autopilot pathing, and just winced as it looked like it would be twenty minutes before we were clear for liftoff.

    ¡°Tell everyone we have twenty minutes. So they can relax.¡± I told the Crabbit and decided to stretch out myself a bit and go over some more system checks while I wasn¡¯t doing anything.

    ¡ª--

    The liftoff was rough, as the Phantom just didn¡¯t like pulling free of the Gravity without most of its engines but she was strong enough to do it still, and we were soon blazing out past the constant trail of shuttles and cars that flowed around the city and then as we got farther and farther out of atmosphere I felt the flight stabilize as more and more power returned to my girl.

    ¡°Ah! I can fly! Weee!¡± The Crabbit that was on tactical called out as she started circling the bridge.

    ¡°Hey! You¡¯re on the job right now. Back to your station.¡± I reminded her and she yelped and scrambled back to her spot.

    ¡°Aww. I wanted to fly too.¡±

    ¡°Yeah me too.¡± The others said but I ignored their mumbles and instead focused on getting out of the Gravity well and far enough for a jump to Warp.

    Then finally as we flew past an orbital station that looked to be a factory station pumping out something or other that needed to be done in zero G, I finally reached far enough out of the gravity well and started up the Warp Controller.

    A minute later we got all green and the ship dropped into subspace.

    Then there was nothing but flying eldritch lights going past the bridge and we were well on our way.

    Instantly I got up and rushed for the hold. Not one more minute!

    As I slipped down the hold ladder, holding on to the edge of the ladder and just dropping down quickly I saw that everyone was already up and moving around as well.

    ¡°Kat! That¡¯s dangerous!¡± Carter chided me instantly but then stopped as he realized what he had done, but I just ignored him as I rushed to the very special package.

    ¡°New chair!¡± I cheered out as I reached it, and looked at my Crabbit.

    ¡°C¡¯mon. Let¡¯s get this through the ship. I want to install it.¡±

    ¡°Yes yes!¡± I got a cheer back and the Crabbit clamped onto the package and floated off the ground, and started flying off, but¡­ I moved without thinking about it.

    I jumped on.

    ¡°Hahaha!¡± I laughed freely as I surfed the package through the hold. I could feel Gravity lightening on me thanks to the Crabbit so I wasn¡¯t really in any danger, but it was definitely fun.

    ¡°Kat! That¡¯s dangerous!¡± Marie called out. But I just ignored them. My ship, my rules! If I wanted to gravity surf there were no station rules to tell me no!

    And then we ran into a problem.

    ¡°That¡¯s not gonna work.¡± I mumbled as the Crabbit had arrived at the ladder exit but the actual opening wasn¡¯t really large enough to fit the chair.

    ¡°To the elevator shaft!¡± I called out and got a cheer as the Crabbit in the lead shifted and started flying back down. There was an elevator that was going to connect the hold, second floor, and Bridge together.

    But it wasn¡¯t anywhere near ready, and that was fine. Because we were in space!

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    The elevator door opened, without issue since the Crabbit had access and once the doors opened we floated right in, and then up. No elevator, nothing to block our path.

    ¡°Weeee!¡± echoed around the shaft, but it wasn¡¯t me I was just laughing. I guess I wasn¡¯t the only one enjoying the moment of escaping gravity. The Crabbit had seemed pretty bummed when they were landlocked.

    Might have to come up with some method to give them wings in gravity. Maybe an upgrade. Or better yet, just an addon that they can take off and put on when needed.

    I shook it off as the door opened to the bridge and we floated in, I leapt off and only just managed to keep from tripping onto my face.

    ¡°Any record of that happening needs to be deleted.¡± I told the Crabbit who just kinda looked at me confused. But I shook it off and pointed. ¡°Let¡¯s get the chair set up!¡±

    ¡°Yay!¡±

    We dropped the container and then I worked on opening it up, and when it finally opened I looked at the chair with an interested eye.

    It was of a design called a floating chair, Klint metal the same stuff most ship hulls were made out of, held the floating cushions on strong arms curving up from a central base. Each cushion was two parts. The connector to the arm, and the actual pad. The pad was connected only with some light cushion fabric. But instead the end of each arm was a Gravity panel, meaning each cushion was always fluffed and floating a bit off the metal arm.

    Hence why it was a floating chair!

    Unbolting my old chair and then kicking it away without a care¡­ Well I would pick it up later. Can¡¯t clutter my bridge after all.

    I guided the Crabbit to move the base into place, and we got to work.

    It would take a while to get it properly installed, I had to run new power conduit to the chair to power it, as my old chair had just used a self contained Tab because it had never meant to be a Captains chair.

    This one was.

    I giggled in delight as it slowly came together.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Ah! Message for you! Message for you!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I asked, looking up blearily from the chair. I was comfy!

    ¡°Big sis Marie wants to know if you want dinner!¡± I blinked and rubbed at my face, noticing I was drooling.

    Captains chair too comfy. Please no nerf. I sat up without even a groan as I rubbed my eyes.

    ¡°Yeah. I should eat.¡±

    ¡°Roger roger!¡± She cheered as she turned back to the Comms station.

    I tore myself from my new chair only after doing a quick check of navigation. We were still on course, no issues.

    And then I climbed down the ladder, and then again into the hold.

    ¡°Hello.¡± I called out and noticed that I was getting a glare from Marie. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You could have installed at least some of the food processors. I¡¯d like something more than just protein steaks.¡± She grumbled at me, and I just blinked a little sleepily.

    ¡°Chair was too comfy.¡± And I sat down at one of the chairs.

    ¡°Leave off Marie. This is still Kat¡¯s ship.¡± Carter said between bites.

    ¡°I know! But still!¡± She whined but thankfully didn¡¯t say anything more as some food was handed over on a plate and I started eating.

    ¡°So you like the new chair?¡± Carter asked, and I nodded.

    ¡°Yeah, I fell asleep while testing it¡­ I¡¯ll probably start moving up the rest of the kitchen stuff after this.¡± I said more to Marie than Carter.

    Carter just shrugged, but Marie seemed pleased.

    ¡°Great. I want something other than this.¡± She said and I looked at the meat steak.

    Well it was basically a hamburger steak if you were being generous with its texture. But we only had a small processor installed right now here in the hold.

    Here in the hold we had brought along a simple processor to turn the manipulated protein into something that at least had texture instead of just goo.

    The Phantom Star didn¡¯t have anything in the mess area yet. It hadn¡¯t exactly been a priority.

    I just nodded and went back to eating my meal. I''d get the Crabbit to start moving the mess appliances up after dinner, and I¡¯d start installing them. The only issue was as always the power, I hadn¡¯t finished the conduits to the mess area because it hadn¡¯t exactly been a priority.

    I¡¯d be laying even more cable in the tight confines under the floors down the hallways again.

    I sighed, but just nodded. Work was never done.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Okay tell me that works?¡± I asked, and only when I got the happy cheer above did I relax. ¡°Great, pull me out.¡± I felt my body slide a bit uncomfortably along the flooring pulling me out from under the Protein Resequencer.

    The damn thing had some goofy proprietary connectors and I had to basically finish it while it was already settled into place, as I couldn¡¯t just use an extender cable.

    I sat up and was doubly thankful there wasn¡¯t dust or anything in here, because crawling around all this would have been messy otherwise.

    ¡°That¡¯s the last of it right?¡± I asked the Crabbit who ran down their own checklists, as I looked over the array of appliances.

    The largest was a large freezer box that had been a real bitch to install, but I now had a walk-in freezer for anything that wouldn¡¯t store well otherwise.

    Then next to the door to the freezer, was an array of appliances. The protein resequencer, next to that a grill, although it had an integrated microwave as well, and then a combo appliance I had picked up just in case.

    Basically it was a drink machine. You popped in a cartridge and it took water and gave you something other than just water to drink.

    Very important.

    It also could do coffee! Well not coffee-coffee. There were no beans involved. I had a row of cartridges that I was looking forward to trying.

    Coffee!

    But as I looked everything over I nodded. It was all secured along the wall, and this room was now almost ready to be a mess hall.

    I turned around and looked over the room, and felt a smile spread across my face. For now it was empty, but soon I¡¯d have a large table right there, with a warm light from above, and the whole place would feel homey and warm.

    I still wasn¡¯t sure what kind of crew I¡¯d end up with, but at least it would be a nice place for anyone I was transporting.

    The Phantom Star was going to be my home after all.

    ¡°Whew.¡± I wiped at my forehead, I could feel some of my hair had gotten loose from the messy bun I tended to throw it into.

    I walked over to the coffee station and grabbed my water bottle from my hip and slotted it into place. And pushed a button. I could hear the water start filling it, and so I took a moment to straighten my hair up and throw it back into the bun. A few light stretches to air out my tanktop and retighten the arms of my jumpsuit around my waist.

    Great. While this was all installed. I still had more work to do. Grabbing my bottle I secured it on and headed to the next project that needed some work. It was going to be a long trip back to UNK-L after all.

    ¡ª--

    I finally relaxed as the docking clamps locked in, and the Phantom Star was connected to the Station.

    That had been a long flight. Mostly because the tensions with the guests had gotten even worse after Marshall''s escape attempt on Elinai. He hadn¡¯t been putting up with anything and being super toxic to everyone.

    Thankfully I didn¡¯t need to put up with it, so I had just not gone into the hold unless I needed to, and avoided most of it.

    ¡°Let everyone know that we¡¯ve docked.¡± I told the Crabbit on comm duty and it shot me a surprisingly sharp salute before doing just that.

    I met Collin climbing out of the hold and nodded.

    ¡°C¡¯mon.¡± I told him and the others behind him to follow, and I led them back through the ship. Sure we would need to pull the stuff out of the hold later, but that was later.

    Right now everyone wanted to get back home. Without too much stumbling everyone made it to the airlock and I popped it open to the cheers of our family that was gathered up waiting.

    I smirked and walked out to wrap Mom and Dad into a tight hug. ¡°Welcome back.¡± Mom whispered into my hair and I felt myself break into a brighter smile at how happy she sounded.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to be back.¡± I said, and soon everyone else was out of the ship and pulled into back slaps or hugs depending.

    Finally I pulled away and looked back at the airlock.

    Unfortunately there were still things to take care of.

    ¡°Kat?¡± Dad asked, wondering why I was walking away.

    ¡°Sorry, Dad. I still have to oversee the transfer of stuff out of the hold.¡±

    ¡°Let the others take care of it.¡± He said, not quite a demand, but it was obvious he wanted me to come home.

    I just shook my head. ¡°I can¡¯t Dad. It¡¯s my ship.¡± I said and my words made him blink his eyes so similar to my own softened and his shoulders slumped.

    ¡°Well this old man should help move our supplies out of your hold then. Mind showing your old man where it all is?¡± He asked, and I blinked, flushing a little mostly in happiness, at just how proud he sounded.

    ¡°Sure. But she¡¯s not done yet! So don¡¯t look at anything!¡± I demanded and he just laughed as he walked over and pulled me into another hug.

    I wasn¡¯t joking though! It was still a mess!

    ¡ª--

    I followed after as the large container was pushed out of the Phantoms hold.

    Dad was already there, in the tug shuttle to grab it, lock it down. The other cargo hands that were helping out grabbed on, just like I did, and soon we were flying away from the Phantom and towards one of the cargo bays for UNK-L.

    We floated in through the exterior forcefield, and our weight returned as gravity dragged at us, but everyone was a practiced hand, and had a firm grip on the container and then slowly the tug found a spot and lowered down, only once it touched down entirely did everyone let go and step away.

    The tug detached from the container and floated away towards the shuttle landing areas while the cargo movers went to work. Clearing the path, they all threw a signal towards the large window up above where the controls for the entire cargo bay were held, and suddenly the container shifted, lifting off a few inches from the ground and then slowly drifting down a path laid out for it.

    Gravity Panels were pretty useful for this sort of thing.

    Soon the container would be unloaded by the crew and that would be that.

    ¡°C¡¯mon Kat.¡± Dad said suddenly at my side as he threw an arm around my back. ¡°You did good. You¡¯d have been useful here in the cargo bays, if that rotten woman hadn¡¯t snatched you up.¡± Dad grumbled and I couldn¡¯t help but snicker.

    ¡°Aunt Sheila is great. And I¡¯m really happy she let me work with her¡­ I¡¯d never have gotten the Phantom Star together if not for her.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I mean.¡± He said, revealing perhaps a bit more than he wanted about his feelings about me having a ship.

    So I just leaned into his hug a bit more, despite the fact I was a good bit taller than him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to this old man. I love Sheila, even if she is rotten.¡±

    ¡°You just say that because she used to blame you for anything she broke.¡±

    ¡°Like I said, rotten.¡± He confirmed and we both laughed at the old family history.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Thank you for your prompt delivery.¡± Uncle Kyle said to me. It was the next day and I had been called to a meeting.

    ¡°It was no problem.¡±

    ¡°It was a problem, but I hope your first experience off station was at least exciting?¡±

    ¡°It was.¡± I confirmed smiling at the memories.

    ¡°Well that¡¯s good to hear. If you are willing. There are deliveries, both incoming, and outgoing supplies that we used to outsource to whoever we could, in order to run the supplies.¡± Uncle Kyle said and I realized what he was actually offering.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll always be free, but¡­ If the station ever needs something.¡± I began and then tightened my fists. A bit to stop fidgeting. ¡°I hope my home station will know they can always reach out to me first, I might not always be there, or able to help, but I would like to.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m glad.¡± Uncle Kyle said with a smile that made me relax. ¡°It¡¯s not often we have anyone leave the station, and¡­ I think only once before did one of our family have a ship they owned, but they rarely came back home once they had all the galaxy opened up for them.¡±

    ¡°The Phantom Star is my home.¡± I said a little bluntly. ¡°But home isn¡¯t just a place, and my family is still here.¡±

    Uncle Kyle smiled, seemingly pleased as he nodded. ¡°I am pleased to hear that. Right now everything is calm thanks to your most recent supply run. Even the Octavius is no longer in system.¡±

    ¡°I noticed that¡­ Is the Baron gone?¡± I asked, almost hopeful.

    ¡°Not for good. His ship is back to fighting shape, and it seems he¡¯s quite displeased by the attack. It seems he¡¯s looking to hunt pirates for a time to make sure they don¡¯t think about coming into our system again¡­ He left a message for you.¡±

    I nearly flinched at that. ¡°Do I want to know?¡±

    ¡°Nothing so terrible, and just a verbal message. He wanted you to know that if you wanted to earn more creds he would be willing to hire you as a secondary vessel for his fleet while he hunts.¡±

    I stilled at the offer, because it was frankly a pretty good deal. He wasn¡¯t hiring me per kill, but to assist his own ship¡­ I shook my head though.

    ¡°I can¡¯t. Things have finally calmed down, and I have a lot of work to do, to finish the Phantom Star. I¡¯m going to fly her over to the Hangar right after this. I won¡¯t be leaving for months, at least.¡±

    ¡°That long?¡±

    ¡°Two additional engines, the wings of the ship, and any additional weapon systems¡­ The only reason I might leave is to go pick up parts that you can¡¯t supply.¡± I explained rattling off the items on my gloved fingers.

    ¡°Hmm. Well the Baron was clear that you had access to the military supply lines. You shouldn¡¯t have too many issues.¡±

    I nodded. Technically I had already ordered some things, but they hadn¡¯t arrived yet. Things were still busy with the war after all.

    But the wait wasn¡¯t a problem. Just putting the rest of the ship together was going to be its own massive chore¡­

    And upgrading the Engine room so that the upgraded Diamond Drive doesn¡¯t send off enough of a sensor signal that everyone and anyone knew that I was doing something weird.

    More work.

    I felt a smile split my lips regardless.

    I kinda liked it.

 Chapter 18

    There was something so integral, something so human, about the awe I felt when I took the step onto an asteroid that no human had ever visited before. A place nothing human had ever reached.

    ¡°One small step.¡± I repeated the famous line as I landed softly on the dusty rock.

    ¡°Ah? But it was a big step Captain! You went. Wooooo, all the way from the ship!¡± I blinked at the comments of my shoulder Crabbit doing my best not to break into giggles at her innocent comment.

    ¡°It¡¯s a line from a famous astronaut. The first man to ever set foot on a moon.¡± I told her as I looked over my shoulder as she hovered there. She brought up her claw to just under her eye screen and tapped herself a few times like tapping at her lip.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t think it makes sense? It was a big step.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a cutie.¡± I told her and she wiggled a bit at my words.

    ¡°Whaa! Oh you think so?¡± She asked both arms up to her ¡®face¡¯ and wiggled around in space.

    ¡°Yes. I made you that way after all.¡± I said and poked her view screen which had her rolling backwards a few times before she regained her gravity.

    ¡°Hehe!¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start mining. It¡¯s going to take forever to refine all of this.¡± I added looking over at the rocks. This was the asteroid with the sensor dampener meta material.

    The material I really wanted to add to my ships engine room to hopefully hide more of the Light Diamond Drives sensor profile.

    I could get away pretending I had a medium drive. Maybe I could eventually reveal I had a heavy once I was off doing some jobs and earning enough Creds I could feasibly pretend.

    But if I was going to finish the Phantom Star I needed the larger drive, and I needed a way to hide it.

    I¡¯d even sat down in the engine room, and basically communed with the song trying to find the best way to hide the Diamond Drive, but unless I wanted to spend a long time trying to make another new crazy component that could maybe cause some serious sensor disruptions. I should just focus on the normal stuff.

    I just didn¡¯t think turning off the sensors of an entire system all at once was a good idea to even contemplate making. There was acceptable tech, and tech that would have everyone set out to kill or kidnap me.

    Like the Diamond Drive itself.

    So I was out here on an asteroid with some mining equipment¡­ Well it was mostly a few drills and the Crabbit, and I was going to try and gather up some of the meta material, and then make the forging facilities I needed to manufacture some dampener plates made out of it for my engine room.

    I sighed, which was an interesting feeling when you were just standing around on an asteroid. But that¡¯s all I was doing, standing around. I started walking the short way to the damn magic space rocks. Time to get to work.

    ¡ª---

    Work, repairs, and upgrades all continued. The forging of sensor dampening panels made out of the meta material had turned into a massive task, until I just decided to make the Nanopaste do it.

    Sure it probably wasn¡¯t a good idea to make sensor protected nanopaste, but needs must.

    Yet the return of the Baron was what caused me to look out the viewport of the Phantom Star¡¯s bridge as I watched the Octavius fly in.

    I had already received a message from him before he even docked that he would like my presence for a meeting.

    ¡°This is so annoying.¡±

    ¡°What is? Is it red?¡± I blinked at the question as I looked at the Crabbit hovering around me.

    ¡°No it¡¯s not red. Just annoying. The Baron wants me to work for him. He won¡¯t leave me alone.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Is that bad?¡± The simple question stopped me because, honestly it probably wouldn¡¯t be. The Baron had shown obvious intentions to try and tempt me with the carrot at every turn. He wasn¡¯t¡­ Evil or something like I would have expected.

    Just a normal man.

    ¡°It¡¯s just not what I want.¡± I decide and the Crabbit takes that information in for a moment as it floats around before she finally comes to her own conclusion.

    ¡°If Kat doesn¡¯t want to, Kat shouldn¡¯t do it!¡± She decided and I smirked. Childish logic at its core, but tempting all the same.

    I watched as the Octavius docked and turned away from the view out into space, towards the future I wanted.

    Back to the reality of the situation of now. A bit of work, which was fine. The Phantom Star wasn¡¯t ready just yet, so I¡¯d do this to buy more time.

    That¡¯s all I needed to do, just get some more time.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Captain! A delight to see you again! You have no idea how much I looked forward to this!¡± Engineer Eugene greeted me effusively as I was escorted, not into an expensive meeting room like I had expected, but instead a more familiar engineering bay.

    I couldn¡¯t help but look around. The engine room of the Octavius was just large enough that it felt like some massive ship room, rather than the cramped little hole my own was. More like walking into an engine room on the Enterprise, or something than what I was used to.

    It was¡­ Cool.

    ¡°I got the message, and I can guess what it¡¯s about?¡± I offered and Eugene went serious, waving away at the soldiers that had led me here, which they promptly left.

    ¡°Indeed! Come, I have everything you requested already prepared and the tools, and since the Octavius is docked, all the computing power you might need. Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°As I¡¯ll ever be.¡± I said as I followed him to a little side of the engine room, a workbench was set up with two chairs. Eugene had planned ahead. I settled in, noticing it was a much larger chair meant for soldiers so it actually fit me, as I looked over the parts he had laid out.

    It was basically a similar looking copy of the SDA I had made, a warp controller stacked on top of another like a ringed pyramid.

    I quickly pulled it apart, and started looking over it, the song in my ear guided me, as I explored the internals, even noticing a bad connection between the controllers, and quickly grabbed a soldering iron and redoing the node.

    Once that was done, I nodded.

    ¡°It should work.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Eugene mentioned with a tone of voice as if he was thinking hard. ¡°I¡¯m glad the hardware is acceptable, but it¡¯s the code that truly represents the difficulty.¡±

    ¡°I know. I¡¯ll need the data on the Iris Drive, and dimensions of the ship.¡± I said, and pulled out my Tab, grabbing the copy of the data that let the Phantoms SDA work, I took a deep breath and settled in to alter the code to work on a new ship.

    It took even longer than I would have liked with Eugene¡¯s constant poking and prodding about what I was doing, but he would have to repair the thing if it ever went bad, so I didn¡¯t take it personally.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Alright! Check the strut integrity! No messing around!¡± I called out, as I watched from inside the Phantom Star as the second wing of the ship was brought up to the connection and integration began.

    Luckily with all theCrabbit working together, they could bring it up perfectly in line with the place it was meant to attach onto the ship, but that still meant that I had to make sure the connection was perfect.

    I didn¡¯t want my ship ripping itself apart because it was off by a micrometer.

    ¡°Gloop gloop!¡± The Crabbit in charge of layering the Nanopaste onto the strut nearest me chattered out as it sprayed the two connecting struts.

    First the struts, to connect it, then further internal connections like walls, and flooring binding, and then outer connectors like hull and armor.

    I closed my eyes, everything sounded right, but mistakes could still be made so I had to keep a close eye on all of this.

    Regardless of what today is.

    No I wasn¡¯t ignoring my comm as it kept beeping at me. I was busy!

    ¡°Done done!¡±

    ¡°Let me check!¡± I called out and pushed off, careful not to touch the strut, instead slowing myself on the floating Crabbit so I could peer in. ¡°Give me a scan?¡±

    ¡°Beep boop!¡± And my tab chirped.

    ¡°Really where are you lot learning this stuff?¡± I asked half laughing as I pulled out my tab. Inside were the sensor scans of the strut.

    It looked¡­ Good.

    ¡°Give me scans of every strut! No issues are allowed!¡± I called out and heard a few muffled comments through the holes in the walls.

    Only once I was sure the struts were all on straight and the Nanopaste was binding the struts together did I step from the Phantom Star into the section that was being added.

    I had of course been in the wings before, but this was¡­ They were actually part of the ship.

    The wings weren¡¯t extremely large, but it added enough space for four quarters on each side. Two up, and two down.

    The hallway I was in connected to the second floor right into the mess room. So everything was centralized through that room. I walked down, and took the stairs to the lower level, which was much more compact, and then towards where the lower strut would be located. It actually ran through the roof of the front lower quarter, although that wouldn¡¯t be noticeable to anyone inside.

    I slipped into the empty room, and looked at the seam that ran half way through the room and the strut that was already being connected with Nanopaste.

    ¡°Everything good?¡± I asked, and the Crabbit turned and waved an arm at me.

    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°Everything is green!¡± It chirped happily and I just nodded.

    ¡°Green is good right?¡±

    ¡°Green is good!¡± She confirmed and I nodded.

    Good.

    ¡°Then¡­ Good job on keeping it green.¡± I told her and she gasped and giggled happily.

    ¡°Oh, Captain!¡± It waved at me, embarrassed.

    I walked out and relaxed.

    This addition was so tense, I had been¡­ Irritable all week. My Tab beeped again and I quickly pretended I didn¡¯t hear it, and continued to check the connections. We were nearly there. This was the last of the big additions.

    When I was done here, I¡¯d move the current Diamond Drive into the secondary power slot I had been working on, and install the Light Diamond Drive into the main power slot. The sensor baffling meta material would come down and support the Diamond Drive and should muffle a lot of the sensor profile.

    The Phantom Star would be sneaky even with such a big drive. At least for the most part. It was only a Tier 1 material I had used after all.

    The Phantom Star would finally be moving as she should. All four engines were connected, all the tests had come back positive, or ¡®green!¡¯ as the Crabbits would cry out. The Plasma thrusters were installed and hooked up, and with this once everything was sealed up the wings would be connected.

    It felt¡­ Great. To finally have her together. Not done of course.

    Maybe never done. I grinned at the idea of ever really thinking the Phantom Star was done, but at least I could say it was put together.

    ¡°Alert alert! Intruder alert!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I jerked at the warning my Crabbit on my shoulder gave me. ¡°Just throw them out then! What¡¯d they do, space walk?¡± I was out at the ship hangar not docked to the station.

    ¡°Can¡¯t! Can¡¯t! Red! Red!¡± I frowned. Can¡¯t throw out an intruder? What?

    ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°Starboard Airlock! Warning warning! Red!¡±

    I hurried away climbing back up the stairs, to the mess room, which had emergency force fields set up to keep the atmosphere in despite the Phantom Star currently cut into three. Then headed across the ship to the airlock hallway and then I slowed when I recognized who it was.

    The Crabbit surrounding him were all hiding their faces behind their hands as he glared down at them.

    Yeah. That made sense then. Definitely Red.

    ¡°Hi Dad.¡±

    ¡°Katherine!¡± Uh oh. Full name. Dad stomped past the weakly resisting Crabbit trying to stop him and failing as he headed straight for me. I winced and looked away as he glared up into my face. ¡°Why are you hiding away on your ship during your birthday?¡± He demanded and I winced.

    ¡°I was attaching the wings! I had to be here.¡± I made excuses not daring to meet his eyes.

    ¡°That could have been put off and you know it.¡± I continued to look away. This week I¡¯d been very irritated. Mostly because everyone had been looking forward to my birthday. I wasn¡¯t, not really.

    I was eighteen now.

    ¡°I¡¯m busy.¡± I whined and Dad didn¡¯t even shift from his look. The Dad look of disappointment, followed by the look of, and do you think I buy this?

    Too powerful!

    ¡°Everyone is expecting me to do something crazy because I¡¯m a captain. I¡¯m not flying the Phantom Star to the station. I¡¯m still securing the wings.¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t. C¡¯mon your mother had a whole thing planned. And she¡¯s going to start crying soon if you don¡¯t show.¡±

    ¡°Uuuu. Do I have to?¡± I whined but by saying it I had already given up.

    ¡°No, but you should.¡± He said and I huffed and took a second. Pulling off my gloves I ran a hand through my hair, it was messy as I had purposefully ran away to hide in the ship to avoid people today.

    ¡°I¡¯m eighteen.¡± I told him and he nodded his lips pursed a little as he knew what I was getting at.

    I was in a weird place. On one hand, I still took resources from the station, but I wasn¡¯t really providing much. I was only barely ever working with Aunt Sheila, and it had been noticed.

    Most kids my age had already picked a profession and were working on it. Like Marie.

    I was different, because I was a captain, I wasn¡¯t working for the station, but for myself, yet I was still around.

    It wasn¡¯t bad, but I still wanted to contribute while I was here, but it had taken a lot longer than I had hoped to get the Wings completed. And that¡¯s without the weapon systems still.

    ¡°Kat, you¡¯ve already done a lot for the station, and no one cares you aren¡¯t working a job. You¡¯re finishing your ship.¡±

    ¡°I care.¡± I grumbled, and Dad just smiled at me and opened his arms for a hug, as if that would make everything better¡­

    It did make me feel better.

    ¡°I just want to finish the Phantom Star. I¡¯m almost there.¡±

    ¡°You can finish it tomorrow. C¡¯mon.¡± He demanded and pulled me along and I sighed and nodded.

    The airlock had a shuttle connected in, and he slipped inside, and I felt myself smirk a little as this was one of my favorite things.

    I slipped in and took a seat behind him in the small jump chair. Not the most comfortable, but¡­ I felt the airlock close and Dad started flying, and I was a little girl again wanting to fly through space because it was space, and I had never gotten a chance to go into a spaceship in my last life.

    And then Dad pushed the shuttle to its limits and I laughed as the little shuttle went flying through space towards the station.

    ¡°The idea to make the Phantom Star. You know it''s your fault right?¡± I offered and he just laughed long and loud at my words.

    We docked and as I was pulled out of the shuttle I was attacked by Mom.

    ¡°Katherine!¡±

    ¡°I already spoke to her.¡± Dad said and to my relief swept Mom up and away.

    Then¡­ Then it was time to face the music. I followed as we reached the elevator and Mom was glaring at me for being messy no doubt, but I pointedly ignored her as the elevator took us up to the Hab level.

    And it opened to a party.

    It wasn¡¯t entirely for my birthday, but celebrations were one of the few stress reliefs the crew of the station really got.

    Instantly I felt myself want to laugh.

    Uncle Tom had gotten drunk again as he was only so sure of his musical talents when he was drunk.

    He had no talent.

    But it was a familiar sound and I walked out into the celebration.

    ¡°There she is!¡± A voice called out and plenty of people cheered at the sight of me.

    I flushed and just rubbed the back of my head as I did my best to look away while giving a little wave.

    This was so embarrassing.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°So when are you leaving?¡± Aunt Sheila asked me cornering me later on during the party. I was mostly hiding at the food tables enjoying a meal when she sat down and asked the question on everyone''s mind. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look. I saw you putting the wings on her while I was out working before the party.¡±

    ¡°I still have a lot of work to do.¡± I tried, but she blew me off.

    ¡°Once you secure that addition and if the ship is capable of flying¡­ Unless you went over on the Iris Drive you got¡­ What is it, a Heavy Drive you picked off those pirates in secret? I get not sharing it, but-¡±

    ¡°I have no idea what you are talking about.¡± I argued and Sheila sent me a look, but just smirked.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t. So when are you leaving?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± It was the simple truth that I could leave pretty soon. I probably should. I was an adult, in both worlds I lived in. I should start making my path. That doesn''t mean I don¡¯t feel uncomfortable about the future. About going out on my own into space.

    But¡­ I was a child of Star Trek, and Star Wars. Of that hope to travel the stars¡­

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave soon. I¡¯m going to find my first job.¡± I decided and Aunt Sheila started smiling.

    ¡°Good.¡± She finally said after a moment. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t waste away here Kat. Go explore the galaxy, that¡¯s what you always wanted right?¡±

    ¡°Something like that¡­ I just have so much more work to do!¡±

    ¡°Then do it on the go. You have a massive hold, and your crazy little drones.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s easier when I¡¯m docked.¡±

    ¡°But still doable, so do it. I look forward to hearing all the tall tales you¡¯ll share when you come to visit.¡±

    I felt myself smile at that as that sounded fun.

    ¡°Me too.¡±

    ¡ª--

    Internet in the distant super future was pretty much exactly like the internet of the past.

    99% things you don¡¯t want to know, and 1% actually useful, but only if you knew how to get to it, or if you were willing to pay.

    Luckily, the Transport Guild was pretty easy to find, unfortunately it required a yearly payment to join. All to access the best place to find safe transportation jobs in the sector. I¡¯m not sure if the guild was galaxy wide, or if each sector had their own, but it was still something I needed.

    So I paid the Cred to get a guild transport license.

    That was it. The license was digital, and there was no test, or practice exam. Just a handover of my personal data, so if I ever ran off with a shipment without explanation, I¡¯d be labeled a pirate. Not something I wanted of course.

    I had a ship, and I could transport goods, so I was considered good enough. I guess the Guild expected that I would have already been trained or was competent enough to get a ship so there was no testing required.

    Probably not the wisest thoughts, but it was good for me.

    Then, I had access to a network of requests, and quickly started searching. Thankfully UNK-L was the only real civilization in the sector, so it had been outfitted with a network node.

    A Subspace relay that lets the station connect to the internet freely. The Phantom Star didn¡¯t have one¡­ Yet.

    So I could only search requests while at UNK-L or while close enough to connect to another relay point.

    ¡°Any luck?¡± Marie asked me, and I sort of shrugged. We were in the office area mostly so I could use Marie as a double check for any job I took.

    I had actually been learning under her when I could about money and deals for the station. Mostly looking over her shoulder as she made them, so I could find what was good or bad.

    ¡°There¡¯s a large transport request, sixteen days, from Constance to Stark Point.¡± I explained and Marie¡¯s brow wrinkled as she settled in to look over the Tab.

    ¡°Constance I know. Agricultural Hub. Lots of Manipulated Protein is shipped from there.¡± She explained.

    ¡°And Stark Point?¡±

    ¡°Never heard of it.¡± I nodded and checked the Net, searching for the planet, and only got a bare bones response on the Kenish Duchy government site.

    ¡°Stark Point is a brand new Frontier world. Only one Generation.¡± I said, realizing what the dates on the planet listing meant.

    ¡°Oh. Rough and tumble then.¡± Marie added and I nodded.

    A brand new world. Maybe the terraforming wouldn¡¯t even be completed yet. It was far out on the Sector edge. Sixteen days was a long trip for goods. It made sense why no one had taken the job yet. I looked it over, and couldn¡¯t help but wince. The job had been up for almost eight months.

    That¡¯s a long time to be without supplies.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to do it.¡±

    ¡°You sure? The pay isn¡¯t great.¡± Marie added looking it over, and yeah, the Creds weren¡¯t the best, especially for such a long travel period.

    ¡°Yeah, but I still want to. It¡¯ll give me time to work in subspace, and on top of that, it¡¯s nice and easy. No one is going to pirate around a world this young, well not unless it has some super resource or something.¡±

    ¡°True, doesn¡¯t look like there is anything out there to bother with, but you never know.¡±

    I hummed mostly because I wasn¡¯t that worried about pirates. Even without all my weapons. The Phantom Star would be a lethal threat, especially since she now had all of her engines.

    I had only gone out once with the new engines attached to give them a test run and the difference had been amazing.

    ¡°Well when are you going to accept? It¡¯ll be a few days to reach Constance.¡±

    The Phantom Star was complete. The wings were fully attached, and all the layers had finished. I could comfortably walk through my entire ship without forcefields, to keep the atmosphere in.

    I hit the button on the Tab and sent a confirmation, I was taking the job as well as an extra two days for a buffer period on my arrival.

    ¡°Soon.¡± I decided and Marie blinked at my sudden choice.

    ¡°Sudden, but you probably needed the push. I¡¯m gonna miss having you around Kat.¡± She said and suddenly I was smothered in a hug. ¡°Stay safe okay Little Kat?¡±

    ¡°I will, Big Sis Marie.¡± I added my own cutesy addition. And then she squeezed tighter and I heard a sniffle above my head. It was a bit awkward to be sitting as she hugged me, but I don¡¯t think she would let me stand up.

    I would miss my family, I realized.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°So soon!?¡± Mom gasped. I had gone ¡®home¡¯ for dinner which was something I still did often enough, and around the dinner table I told my parents what I had planned.

    ¡°I already confirmed it. They¡¯ll be expecting me in a few days. It¡¯ll be a good first job.¡± I offered and Mom was looking like she wanted to respond but was speechless.

    ¡°Kat. Congratulations. But it¡¯ll still be your second job.¡± Dad said with a smirk and I couldn¡¯t help but smile back at him.

    ¡°That so doesn¡¯t count!¡± I joked back and he shook his head.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it does.¡± He counted calmly, but his straight face was cracking.

    ¡°You both! What am I going to do with you! Don¡¯t joke around! Kat is leaving. I expected to have more time.¡± She said and looked at me, and I just flushed a little.

    ¡°I¡¯ll come back.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯ll be off galavanting around like you are now! I never managed to make you into a proper lady!¡± She whined, and I felt my mouth drop and then I jerked up.

    ¡°You¡¯re messing with me!¡±

    ¡°I am.¡± She said with a smile that made me release a noise in my throat in outrage. ¡°The heavens know that I tried to get you cleaned up, but I¡¯ve given up on changing my little engineer.¡± She said and I felt my face heat up.

    ¡°Mean.¡± I commented, but I didn¡¯t mean it.

    ¡°Just be careful Kat. You don¡¯t know how dangerous it is out there. I lived on an industrial world, but there were dangers there, you¡¯ve never had to face. Not even when you went to Elinai.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± I said, but realizing that was rather silly to say I added. ¡°I know that I don¡¯t know, I mean. I¡¯ll be careful. I¡¯ll have the Crabbit, and maybe I¡¯ll find some people that I¡¯ll take on as crew! I could always use a good pilot, or someone with some trade background. Marie tried to help me, but I¡¯m still not great.¡±

    ¡°Be careful about who you welcome on your ship.¡± Dad said instantly, and very seriously. ¡°You have your Drones, but those aren¡¯t a guarantee, and if someone is on your ship they might learn enough to figure out how to take over. Be careful.¡±

    ¡°I will. I promise.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to it, and more importantly. I think it¡¯s time.¡± Dad said, looking at Mom, and she hesitated, looking like she didn¡¯t want to, but eventually nodded.

    ¡°Wait here dear.¡± She said, pointing at me, and rose. Then headed into their bedroom.

    I heard a little shuffling and then she came out, holding a small tub.

    Pretty normal sort of plastic transport tub. Meant to keep the insides safe in case of decompression.

    She set it on the table and popped it open, and then with a deep breath she reached in and pulled out¡­

    ¡°Is that a blaster?¡± I gasped out, surprised.

    ¡°It was mine, back when I lived on Franks Hollow.¡± Mom said and then placed the blaster onto the table in front of me. ¡°It¡¯s still functional. Don¡¯t expect much from it, it¡¯s just a bit of protection I used to need. But¡­ I wanted you to have it when you left.¡±

    A blaster was an energy weapon. Not a laser, as that was a bit different. It shot off bolts of contained plasma.

    A mix between an old slugthrower, like back on earth, and laser weapons. Not as accurate as a laser, but bolts had their own advantages in a fight.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had a blaster.¡± I finally said because it was the only thing in my mind. My Mom had always been a socialite. Not a fighter.

    ¡°There¡¯s a lot about my life before you were born I never told you about.¡± She finally said. ¡°That is all behind me. Take that, and protect yourself.¡±

    I reached out, and handled the blaster carefully. Old, a bit worn, and it was mostly plastic. If I was being entirely honest it was kind of ugly. The sort of blaster you¡¯d expect to be bought cheaply, for someone absolutely in need of it.

    But it was functional, and more importantly, I could always work on it a bit.

    ¡°Thanks Mom.¡±

 Chapter 19

    ¡°Open the Diamond Drive!¡± I called out firmly, I was nervous, but I didn¡¯t want to show that to the Crabbit.

    Seven Light Iris Drives were floating around me, held in place by Crabbits as I looked at the new Diamond Drive.

    I had done test after test to make sure. It was¡­ Perfect.

    My stomach didn¡¯t care though.

    The much larger Diamond Drive opened, revealing the inner slot for the core drive. ¡°Insert the core!¡± I called watching as the Crabbit floated over and gently slotted in the Light Drive. The Light Drives were much larger than the small drives of the old system. So it took a moment for it to be settled in place.

    I watched as the Diamond Drive screwed shut, the deep glow of the Light Drive already peaking through.

    ¡°Insert the Iris Drive Array.¡± I said and the Crabbit floated in, each of them carrying the glowing foot wide squares. It was time.

    They were each inserted, each of them had been very specifically gone over, and each drive had a unique slot just for that drive. Just in case.

    Then as it was all put together. The entire mechanism clamped down, becoming nearly a perfect octahedron.

    The blue glow of the Iris Drives filled the room, and I took a breath.

    ¡°Ignite the Diamond Drive.¡± And ignite it did. A wicked rumble began and I wanted to flinch back at the way the song of the Iris Drives shifted, and screamed, but it wasn¡¯t agony, more like¡­

    Heavy Metal.

    A wild cascade of noise, a roar.

    And the blue turned red, as the Diamond Drive ignited. ¡°Insert the drive.¡± I confirmed once it settled down, and watched as the Diamond Drive was slowly lowered into its new slot.

    I had realized that if anyone found out about my drive I¡¯d be in trouble, so I¡¯d come up with this as a solution.

    The Diamond drive was lowered into an assembly on the floor, and then the metamaterial plates would clamp down on it, giving it added protection and keeping it out of sight, then another assembly would be lowered, that had basically a mock Iris Drive resting on it. It glowed, it was all hooked up, and it would help keep casual examination from noticing the truth.

    The old Diamond Drive was still there as well, it was fitted into the roof for now, but I would likely need to do a full remodel on the entire engine room, if or when I ever got enough larger Iris Drives.

    The Engine room settled in, as everything was locked in place, and sealed away

    It was time.

    ¡ª--

    Final flight checks were being run, this was the first time the Phantom Star was going out into the stars with everything attached where it should be. She¡¯d have twice the main engine power. And more than a few additional plasma thrusters for in atmosphere flight. She¡¯d be speedy and sleek for a Corvette.

    And I wasn¡¯t trying to run away just because we had gotten word that the Baron was coming back again for a visit.

    He¡¯d come back a few times, and each time it was just so awkward. He kept trying to be so nice to me! It was weird!

    So I was preparing to go. Not because of him of course, I had a job!

    But I was leaving early to hopefully avoid him.

    ¡°Status?¡± I asked, and I smirked as the response came back.

    ¡°Green!¡±

    ¡°Green, green means good!¡±

    ¡°Greeeeeeen!¡± I nodded at my three bridge crew. Comms, Navigation and Tactical all agreed.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go. I¡¯m completing decouple.¡± I called out and felt the slight tremor of the airlock closing shut and the umbilical returning to the Station.

    For just a moment the Phantom Star was still, and I hesitated. This was it. The final time I¡¯d leave as just a normal kid. With this, I was heading into the stars alone, at the head of my own ship, and all of space was opening up before me.

    My hand touched the controls and I pushed forward. I slowly increased power, the ship smoothly moving, picking up speed, and then, once I was clear, I really pushed her forward the rest of the way.

    It was my time to fly.

    The Phantom Star purred, as the engines all entwined their gravity fields, and this time there wasn¡¯t a weight issue. They were all working at full efficiency and then some.

    It wasn¡¯t like I was hurting for power, so the engines got a whole lot of juice.

    And then we were gone, rocketing away from the Station with a speed that would be startling to anyone thinking my girl was still as slow as she had been before.

    It didn¡¯t take long at all, to move outside a safe distance, and then with a flick of a switch everything was all green, and I dived into subspace. The ship moved within that ethereal realm at more than twice the speed I had been able to achieve before. As the Phantom Stars engines opened up and shot me forward, towards my destiny.

    Or at least my first normal job. I was a space trucker now¡­

    ¡°And that¡¯s enough staring into the abyss for today.¡± I decided aloud at that thought and tore myself away from the comfy captain chair. ¡°Alright everyone. Light duty.¡± I called out, and the Crabbit cheered, light duty meant a majority of them could play around for a while.

    I was tempted to head to my quarters and be lazy for a while, but I had just left, and there was still work to be done.

    Most of the exterior stuff was out of reach thanks to being in subspace, so I was basically stuck with internals, which really sucked.

    The shipments for some of my additional weapon systems had finally come in. Despite requesting them almost a year ago, it took this long for them to be transferred over.

    I had the big ones though. The ones I had requested through the Baron¡¯s military connections.

    Eight Laser batteries and two missile racks rested in my hold just waiting for the time to install.

    Most of the connection points were already installed into the hull thankfully, but it was still a matter of installing them, and that wasn¡¯t safe in subspace.

    So they¡¯d get installed slowly as I had time.

    For now, that meant I was stuck working on internals, and for the most part that was done.

    I walked through the halls that still didn¡¯t have flooring. Most of the cables had been properly stashed away. Looking up I saw the neat rows of strapped down cabling that supplied power to different sections.

    I still had to finish installing the overhead lights, the Phantom wasn¡¯t exactly dark, but there were sections where I had to use flashlights to get enough light to work.

    ¡°Where did I put the overhead lights?¡± I asked my shoulder Crabbit, and it hummed for a second.

    ¡°Ooh. Where is that? It¡¯s not in the hold!¡± She told me, and then went back to processing. She was being cute, but she was actually checking the manifest.

    I was pretty bad about remembering where everything was, so the Crabbit kept a manifest of stuff that I put down and forgot about.

    ¡°It¡¯s in the Mess! You put them in the cupboards!¡±

    ¡°Why did I put them in the cupboards?¡± I wondered, and then instantly got my answer. As my own voice came out of the Crabbit.

    ¡°Shit Fu-dge! I almost tripped! Put these lights in the cupboards until we¡¯re installing them!¡±

    I stopped and looked at the Crabbit. She looked at me. I could, and probably should tell her to not record my voice like that. I¡¯m absolutely sure I¡¯m either going to regret it, or really appreciate that some day.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I decided I¡¯d roll that dice I supposed.

    ¡°Teehee! Of course Captain!¡±

    ¡°Did you just say Teehee? Where are you learning this from?¡± And once again my question was ignored, and I just figured out my Crabbit was definitely hiding something from me.

    I sighed and just walked to the Mess to get my lights.

    ¡ª--

    I groaned as I stretched, flexing sore muscles tired from carrying things around. The string of lights behind me only highlighted how much more of the hallway was still in darkness. I scratched an itch as I decided to take a break.

    I was hungry. Time to really test out some things.

    Walking into the mess room, the central point of the Phantom Star, I headed into the Icebox, grabbing one of the Manipulated Protein Canisters. You didn¡¯t need to freeze them, but it was just the best place to store them, and it didn¡¯t hurt the protein.

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    Walking out I carried the canister over to the reprocessor, and slotted it into place.

    ¡°What¡¯s for dinner?¡± I asked aloud, looking at the Crabbit but it just tilted a little at me in confusion. ¡°Right silly question.¡± I turned back to the reprocessor. Let¡¯s try something simple first. A steak¡­ Hmm, yeah I¡¯ll add some texture to it, so we¡¯ll add a nice side of crunchy stalks. They sort of reminded me of green beans, but were mostly hollow.

    Drink? No, I wasn¡¯t in the mood for the drinks you could make from the Manipulated protein, they were thick like smoothies most of the time.

    Instead I turned and walked to my nice little drink maker. Coffee was a bit much, but I could add some sweetener to water and enjoy that. I grabbed a spare water container and pushed it into the slot and added one of the flavor mixes.

    It would be a surprise because I hadn¡¯t had any of them yet.

    When I turned back to the reprocessor the meal was already done.

    I popped open the completion tray and smelled the wave of steam and flavor that washed over me as I stared down at a cooked steak, and some crunchy stalks. They had an actual name, but I liked mine more.

    I grabbed the plate and had to admit, that looked really good. I guess going full out for something expensive had been the right call. I placed it on the counter, as I didn¡¯t actually have a table for the Mess yet, and grabbed my drink and dug in.

    ¡°Oh, sour! Nice.¡±

    ¡ª--

    Two days later, and a much brighter Phantom Star slipped back into realspace with a flickering kaleidoscope of reality smashing into unreality.

    And then I was back among the stars and I relaxed.

    Thanks to my job request, I had all the details already, so I called the direct comm line for transport arrivals. *This is Phantom Star, here to pickup delivery H-00545.*

    I looked out the window, and I could just see the massive station set up near the planet''s moon. Constance was another major industrial planet, and it showed. I could see with my naked eye the glittering trail of ships flying from the planet to station and back. Just a line of tiny sparkling lights glinting off the light of the sun.

    Then a digital voice responded. *This is Eclair Biotech, credentials accepted, please follow instructions to docking ring B4.*

    I accepted the data packet, and my auto pilot started up, slowly ramping up speed as I flew towards the large station.

    I stayed aware just in case there were any issues, but autopilots were so common, unless someone decided to pull away and start flying around, it was perfectly safe.

    Slowly we pulled up to the station, and then finally I did have to take control. Considering the size of the containers I wouldn¡¯t be fitting it through an air lock, that meant direct hold to hangar connection. The Phantom Stars hold opened up on the rear of the ship.

    I could have made it a front loader, might have even been easier without the big engines in the way, but then she would have had an ugly nose. And my ship was a beauty! And it didn¡¯t matter if I added a little more to her aft, she was already a bit of a dumptruck back there.

    So I backed her in the final few meters and only when the hangars'' gravity panels reached out did I stop and let them hold my ship steady.

    I lowered the hangar bay door, and headed out. I wouldn¡¯t have to help pack everything away, but I would need to confirm everything. And more importantly supervise.

    If they dented up my ship they¡¯d be paying for it! Sliding down the ladder into my hold I noticed men already bringing massive shipping containers over.

    I walked over, noticing the ship slowly being adjusted until she was just touching the inside of the station''s hangar letting the men walk off and on without issue.

    ¡°Captain of the¡­ Phantom Star?¡± He asked looking up from his Tab at me.

    ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± I confirmed the first man to arrive.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need your electronic confirmation.¡± He said, me his Tab and I checked the details, but it was just the order, and if I accepted responsibility for its delivery.

    I acknowledged and that was that.

    ¡°Alright, We¡¯ve got a few of the containers ready, but it¡¯s going to be another day before we have the last of it to load up. You have docking clearance until the shipment is compiled.¡± He offered and with a few button presses I got an alert on my Tab. ¡°Accept that, and you¡¯ll get a message from Station Control when we¡¯re done.¡±

    I hit accept, and put my Tab away.

    ¡°Alright, try to stay out of our loading zones. You can use the elevator to head up to Deck 3 if you want to stretch your legs.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do that. Thanks.¡± I confirmed, and turned back to my ship first. I did a quick check that everything was locked up. ¡°Make sure you set a watch around the entrances of the ship. I don¡¯t want anyone getting on board that shouldn¡¯t.¡± I told my shoulder Crabbit, and she gave an electronic chirp in agreement. I reached up and scratched just under her face''s optic plate.

    Huh, looks like this one didn¡¯t like to talk.

    ¡ª--

    The elevator opened and I smiled at the familiar sights and sounds.

    Of course this station was way bigger and busier than UNK-L.

    They had a fully populated planet right next door, and were a manufacturer, which meant a constant stream of transport ships coming and going.

    The warm smell of cooking food was familiar, but I was enjoying my own kitchen at the moment, so instead I started going around the edge of the large park area. This station¡¯s park was really different from UNK-L. Not nearly as well taken care of, but I guess if you have a planet right there, it wasn¡¯t as big of a deal.

    So instead I focused on the shops along the ring, and walked around to see if there was something interesting.

    There were lots of little shops that reminded me of ho-UNK-L. Of the station. Almost like I would turn a corner and run into Aunt Sheila barking orders at me to come help fix something.

    Huh. I stalled out and looked over the area and realized I was a little homesick. Or maybe just a little lonely.

    I realized that other ship crews were around the ring, sitting in groups and drinking and talking.

    It must be nice to have people to be with.

    Maybe I should have asked if someone from UNK-L wanted to come?... Marshall?

    No. That way lay me eventually throwing him out an airlock. I was just a bit homesick. It¡¯d pass. I took a breath and kept walking, turned into a shop that looked like it was a parts shop and decided to look around. Maybe I¡¯d find something neat.

    The shop¡¯s atmosphere was weird. Unlike Aunt Sheila¡¯s where the parts were just scattered around, this one seemed more official, with actual shelves and things for the parts.

    ¡°Welcome! Are you looking for something in particular? If you need mechanic services we assist with that as well!¡± The man, no the boy called out from behind an actual counter. He was probably sixteen, and he had a sharp face that had made me think he was older than he likely was.

    Hmm. Maybe some genetic thing? I think the dock master I had spoken with had looked similar.

    The fact was that ethnicities still existed, they had just added about a billion more to them, so most people didn¡¯t seem to care much.

    ¡°Oh no, I¡¯m a mechanic myself, just seeing what you have.¡± I added as I browsed around and he nodded and then jerked a bit.

    ¡°Whoa, what¡¯s that?¡± He pointed at me, and I looked around. Nothing behind me? I looked to my Crabbit and it spun around a little and then did a little shrug too.

    ¡°What¡¯s what?¡± I asked as I turned to him, but he was pointing at the Crabbit¡­

    Oh right.

    ¡°Oh, it''s a Drone. Say hello Crabbit.¡±

    ¡°Hello Crabbit.¡± She repeated in my own voice. I pouted at her, as the little drone bounced up and down rapidly as she giggled.

    ¡°Smart ass.¡± I told her as I looked back at the boy. ¡°They¡¯re assistant drones I made.¡±

    ¡°Whoa. Is that an AI?¡±

    ¡°Partial.¡± I admitted, AI were rare, out here on the frontier. ¡°They don¡¯t have nearly enough processing power on their own to be actual AI.¡± I said, which was the truth, but I didn¡¯t admit that they were a synced hivemind, and their combined processing power was more than enough to reach that level.

    They were a little ditzy, but were AI.

    ¡°Nova.¡± He said as he came around the corner. ¡°I don¡¯t recognize any part of it, you said it was custom?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the shell is completely custom, but like the optic is just a visual display from a Tab.¡±

    ¡°Oh I see that.¡± He muttered and reached out, but she jerked back and flew behind me out of reach.

    ¡°Sorry they¡¯re shy.¡±

    ¡°Wait, are they running on Drives?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, they have Gravity Panels integrated for mobility, I needed at least an Iris to give them enough power.¡±

    ¡°Crazy build, but I guess if you have the creds. You¡¯re a spacer right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a Captain.¡± I admitted, and the boy''s eyes widened.

    ¡°Whoa, you¡¯re so young! Did your family?¡± He asked, and I instantly understood what he was inferring. Did my family die and leave the ship to me?

    ¡°Oh they¡¯re fine back home¡­ Anyway, I¡¯m going to look around.¡± I said and very purposefully looked away. I guess it was odd that I was so young captaining a ship, especially one like the Phantom.

    But that was my business. I hummed a bit as I purposefully focused away from the boy. I listened, and heard the gentle chimes of the tech in the room. Some of the songs were brittle, some fritzed as they weren¡¯t working properly.

    I even heard the slightly tinny noise from my mothers blaster on my hip. It thankfully wasn¡¯t too distracting wearing it, as it felt like any of the usual tools I had on my belt, but its song was a little off.

    It was functional, but I was going to have to do some work on it soon.

    And then as if guided I walked towards the back, but unfortunately had to stop.

    ¡°What¡¯s back there?¡± I asked, the doorway in the back of the shop called to me, a song that was familiar but odd in my ear.

    ¡°Storage. Mostly.¡± The boy offered and then hesitated and shrugged. ¡°If you want to check it out, I can show you?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± I agreed, and watched as he opened the door, and I felt myself smirk because this was more familiar. A mass of spare parts, and equipment all piled up randomly.

    This is what a part shop should look like.

    ¡°Now we¡¯re talking.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but say as I followed him in, and looked around.

    Lots of random bits and bobs, but that one song was still drawing me over and eventually led me to the side of the room where a stack of Shield Emitters were laid out, with junk covering them along with a good layer of dust.

    ¡°What¡¯s with these?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask as I looked the emitters over and noticed just how different they were.

    ¡°Those old things? They¡¯re weird. Shield emitters, but they¡¯re not right.¡±

    ¡°Not right?¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t act like normal shields. They¡¯re combat rated deflectors, lasers, and such go right through.¡± Then he grimaced. ¡°They disrupt normal shield fields too. So you can¡¯t even double up on them or something. So no one wants them.¡±

    I hummed deep in my throat. No wonder they sounded so strange yet familiar. They were literally a different tech base. No one used deflectors as a shield tech, there were too many energy weapons in space. Sure every ship had a deflector dish, but that wouldn¡¯t do squat in a fight, and basing your entire defense network on hoping the enemy didn¡¯t have lasers?

    It was nonsense.

    ¡°Any idea where they came from?¡±

    ¡°Not a clue, You¡¯d have to ask my dad, he¡¯s the one that originally picked them up, but that was years ago. He didn¡¯t know they were duds when he picked them up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take them.¡±

    ¡°Seriously? They don¡¯t work, I mean, they do, but they¡¯re useless.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re interesting, and maybe I can learn something from them. I¡¯ll take them.¡± I confirmed and pulled out my Tab, to make the deal, the boy obviously realizing he was about to sell something they had been stuck with for a long time quickly grabbed his own Tab and made an offer.

    It was fair, and I flicked the Creds over.

    Well I guess I¡¯d have an interesting project for my trip after all.

    ¡ª--

    The next morning I was off, the Phantom flying off from the station and then dropping into subspace for a long flight to Stark Point.

    Only when we were fully traveling along the course did I sit up from the captain''s chair and head back towards the hold.

    Almost the entire cargo hold was full of massive containers, which was interesting to see as it left my normally empty room feeling like a cave network of small passages.

    Not that I was going to try and play around in there. The containers were secure but accidents were called accidents for a reason.

    Instead as I slid down the ladder to the bottom I headed to the small section where the stack of dusty shield emitters were left in a pile and rolled my eyes.

    ¡°What are you lot doing?¡±

    ¡°Weird!¡±

    ¡°Weird!¡±

    The Crabbit commented back at me, as they were going over the emitters themselves.

    ¡°Weird? Is that the official decision of the council?¡± I teased, and the Crabbit each twitched and looked at me.

    ¡°Council? Are we supposed to have a council? Red! Red!¡± One of them chattered and the other nodded, and they both raced off, and I realized instantly I had made a mistake.

    ¡°Aw well.¡± I muttered and settled back down, my shoulder Crabbit surprisingly didn¡¯t run off and instead just moved a little close by holding onto my tanktop to look over my shoulder.

    ¡°Weird?¡±

    ¡°Seems so.¡± I said, and pulled out some tools I had with me as I pulled one of the strands of emitters into my lap and started exploring.

    First I¡¯d really like to know where these came from. So with an air blower and suction tool, I started blowing the dust from one of the sections of the strand. Usually there would be some company markings on it, and I could look it up with my Tab once I connected to the net again.

    As I slowly worked, I hummed a little off tune to my usual, as I was mimicking the sound of the emitters, and I realized instantly that it was still a nice song. Simply different. But not wrong.

    That only made me more sure I had made the right choice in picking these up.

    It took a while, and a magnification using my Tab but I found the company logo. I copied it to the Tab to search later, and with that sorted, I started scanning the emitters.

    Some would likely be no good and need some repair work after all this time of just laying around.

    As I went over them I quickly realized just how different they were. Completely different concepts to normal shield emitters. Sort of like a group that had only heard about shield emitters and decided to try and make them on their own.

    Considering how large human space was, it was possible. Maybe a planet of colonists got lost until they went out exploring the wide empty space and found more humans again.

    It happened sometimes, more often out here on the frontier than not, which would explain this.

    These emitters were¡­ Rough. Interesting but rough. Like looking at one of the first computers ever created and comparing it to an Ipad. They were both computers¡­ Mostly.

    But would these emitters play Doom? That was the real question.

    I giggled to myself at the old joke as I started fiddling with them. So they were only capable of stopping projectiles and did nothing to energy weapons. That wasn¡¯t entirely a bad thing. I might be able to see how they worked and integrate the idea into normal shield emitters.

    Specialized shields were pretty common after all, and while the Kenish Duchy tended to specialize in laser weapons, the Idric Dominion specialized in projectile weapons.

    I wasn¡¯t exactly planning on running into a Dominion Battlegroup, but I was a Kenish citizen, and I was flying a warship of sorts.

    Best to be careful.

 Chapter 20

    ¡°Marco!¡± I called out slowly walking through the hallways of my ship.

    I heard some of the Crabbit that had already failed the game, tittering all around me, but finally one called out from down the hall. ¡°Polo! Green!¡±

    ¡°Oh you think you¡¯re green do you?¡± I muttered darkly as I hurried down the hall and then came into the empty crew room. The light was off, which made sense because I didn¡¯t have a light installed yet. I flicked a flashlight from my belt and looked around the room.

    The quiet titters of silly drones did not help my search at all, but it was to my benefit that the Crabbit hadn¡¯t quite figured out sneaky yet.

    I took three steps in and instantly knew what had happened.

    ¡°Hmm. Where could my Crabbit be hiding? In¡­ Here!?¡± I faked spinning around and looking up at the ceiling above the door.

    Instantly I heard titters, and the Crabbit that had been badly hiding their attempts to follow me thought it was hilarious, peeking their head around the door and giggling.

    Of course I had found all of these Crabbit already, and with how many of them I had grabbed it was getting harder to find the last few because of all the giggles following me.

    But I had already spotted this one, I was just giving her a bit of fun.

    I rolled my eyes, took two steps back and then reached out and grabbed the floating floor plate that I don¡¯t even want to know where she grabbed it from.

    ¡°Or are you here!¡± I called out and she shrieked. Her face plate spazzed out a bit at her surprise.

    ¡°Nooo! I got founded! Not Green! Red! Red!¡±

    ¡°Hehehe! Red!¡±

    ¡°Totally Red!¡±

    ¡°Alright alright.¡± I called out to keep them from bullying each other¡­ Themselves¡­. Seriously, these Crabbit were silly. ¡°That¡¯s everyone right?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Got us all! Captain is too good!¡±

    ¡°Too good!¡±

    ¡°Well that¡¯s why we¡¯re doing this! Now you have some data to learn about hiding with. Why don¡¯t all of you share that data and try to figure out even better hiding spots for next time.¡± I said and they all cheered because that meant more games.

    There, that had been an hour or so of playing around the ship, and it would keep the Crabbit busy for hours as they tried to figure out how to hide better.

    Giving me a bit of time to relax.

    Well, I can¡¯t say it wasn¡¯t fun for me. Long distance travel was boring, especially by yourself. Watching TV and reading books in between fixing up more of the internals of the ship got pretty boring when you couldn¡¯t just float over to the station and get a warm meal around people.

    But¡­ It was also kinda nice. Peace and quiet, outside of my Crabbit causing trouble.

    I stretched up and let my hands brush across the ceiling as I groaned for a moment, before relaxing. That had been fun, but I should do a full check on everything. I pulled out my Tab and looked at the bridge status. Everything was good. We were still on course, and there were no issues.

    I walked over to the engine room and relaxed at the noise of the Diamond Drive. It still sounded terrifying, especially the larger Diamond Drive, but it was still a soothing clash of noise. It sounded dangerous, like something out of a horror movie, but it was still obviously music.

    That checked I closed back down the engine room, noticing the splash of red was on the door, and shaking my head.

    The Crabbit that had found the painting sprayer really liked marking the color level of each room.

    I was gonna have to get her to redo most of it though, it was still a little messy.

    I headed down to the hold and slipped down the ladder about half way before looking over the containers. Everything was solid, and there wasn¡¯t any shaking or rattling. I continued all the way to the bottom of the hold, and then went towards the forward most section of the hold.

    There was an upraised section here, that would be the safety section for people coming out of the elevator¡­

    But I walked to the elevator door and opened it to the shaft.

    Then I stepped inside, and straight across.

    This little section had been something I¡¯d come up with a long time ago, the entire back wall of the elevator shaft wasn¡¯t a shaft, but actually a blast door.

    The door here would be covered in red if not for the fact it was meant to be hidden.

    I knocked on the door and a moment later it opened.

    ¡°Passcode!¡±

    ¡°There is no passcode.¡± I told her, and the Crabbit that opened the hidden door cheered.

    ¡°Yes that¡¯s true!¡± I stepped into a small room, but it was only small because it was full.

    A short path led all the way to the back of the room, and along the sides of the room the entire room was filled with massive metal vats. ¡°How are the little ones?¡±

    ¡°Growing growing!¡± The Crabbit told me. As she floated around. Just like the bridge, or the engine room, a Crabbit was always assigned to this room as well.

    I closed my eyes and listened to the song, feeling my smile growing as I did.

    It was a mechanical ever growing beat. With every tiny addition that was built the song grew more and more complex.

    But it also sounded perfectly in sync. There were no disruptions this time. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve been doing a good job managing them.¡±

    ¡°Yes yes! All growth must follow code! No bad builds!¡± The Crabbit chattered as she floated around checking the vats. I joined her climbing up the ladder and looking in and nodding. The chunks of scrap metal that had once filled the vats now looked like a bubbling goop. The vats were connected to channels that could release the Nanopaste onto the section of the ship that needed repair.

    I had decided to make it all into a secret room, because Nanopaste was something that tended to get people upset. This entire room like the engine room was covered in sensor dampening materials, and it should make anyone that scans me think the entire thing is just more armor. Mostly because there was already a lot of armor covering this section.

    With that done I was satisfied the nanomachines were producing themselves properly. When I had first cracked the nanopaste I had gathered from UNK-L I had known it was dangerous, and had completely remade the programming that formed the nanomachines ability to create more of themselves.

    There was a reason I made sure a Crabbit was in charge of them. The tiny nanomachines didn¡¯t have the processing power to do all the checks and tests they needed to make sure there wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but a Crabbit, even a lone one did.

    So there was always a Crabbit minder offering a large chunk of its processing power to the nanomachines.

    I looked down into the vats and the grey goo inside was actually trillions of nanomachines and some clean water. The nanomachines used the water molecules as a heatsink and it made them look like a goo.

    ¡°Good work everyone.¡± I whispered into the vat, and climbed back down and out. That was all the checks. Maybe I¡¯d go up to the bridge and sit in the comfy chair and read a book.

    ¡ª--

    The appearance of the star system was a relief, just from the tedium of nonsense that normally flickered across my view in subspace.

    ¡°Sensors¡­ Clear. Nothing here?¡± Navigation questioned and I giggled at her.

    ¡°Stark Point is just a little colony. They won¡¯t have anything in orbit yet. Can you search for a landing beacon?¡±

    ¡°Searching!¡± It chirped, and I nodded as I looked towards the planet we were already accelerating towards. It looked pretty good to my eyes. Plenty of green, and clouds floating around¡­ Why they were purple hued I didn¡¯t even want to ask. The Kenish Duchy fascination with the color purple showed up in the oddest things.

    I ignored it and simply continued heading towards the planet. We¡¯d get a hit on their location soon¡­

    ¡°Anything?¡± I asked, and the Crabbit buzzed out a little hum and then she turned to me, and donked her head with her grabber.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see it! Teehee!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t teehee at me. I¡¯ll search too.¡± I offered and looked at the floating screen that was connected to my chair. Perks of the new chair was an actual Tab integrated in. I hit a few buttons to pull up the sensor reports, but I wasn¡¯t getting anything.

    Huh. Nothing. There wasn¡¯t a beacon. Had they damaged it or something? That was super unusual. All planets had a landing beacon near cities and things. No one wanted some crazy pilot to land in the middle of a park or something.

    ¡°I¡¯ll open up a Comm channel and just call out to the void if I have to.¡± I said and worked on doing just that. Grabbing the communication equipment on the Phantom Star I opened basically a broadband channel, with zero security.

    *This is Phantom Star Transport coming to Colony Stark Point. Please respond.*

    Then I just kept flying towards the planet, still not seeing any point where I would actually want to land. What the heck was going on here?

    Finally I got something back. A muffled weak comm message, that I couldn¡¯t make heads or tails out of with all the static.

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    *Please repeat Stark Point, that didn¡¯t come through.*

    I fiddled with my own settings giving the comm system a bit more power, and shifting the entire ship towards where the signal was coming from to try and pick it up a bit easier.

    *This is Stark Point, Black Hole you gave us a fright!* The voice said as the static mostly cleared.

    *Sorry about that Stark Point, but I¡¯m not seeing any landing beacon, or signal, I have a delivery.*

    *Well I¡¯ll be we didn¡¯t get completely forgotten about after all? Sorry to say our Landin¡¯ Beacon is long gone. I can give you some coordinates? Or you can follow this signal, I¡¯m Stark, the Governor of this little colony.*

    I blinked, and altered my course to start coming into the atmosphere.

    *This is Phantom Star, I¡¯ll head to your signal. Any particular landing area?*

    *Oh damn, anywhere that isn¡¯t my fields¡¯ll do. Look for old Beth, The colony ship. She¡¯s become the storehouse. You can land at her nose. That¡¯s just a bit of empty we don¡¯t use much.*

    *Understood.* I focused back on flying, as the rumble of the atmosphere had already overtaken my ship. But this wasn¡¯t the Phantom that struggled to reach Elinai. The plasma thrusters kicked in, and assisted the Gravity Engines in keeping her nice and stable. And soon I¡¯d slowed down enough that I wasn¡¯t fighting the atmosphere anymore, but instead just flying through completely blue skies.

    I couldn¡¯t help but feel like I needed a little fun, and I kicked the engines up a bit and suddenly we were roaring through the sky under heavy thrust and I was laughing as I arced a bit left and right just to feel the wind under my wings.

    My ship. My spaceship. This was what it was all for.

    I overshot my target a bit, but that was okay, it let me turn sideways a bit and looked out the window to see the town below me.

    The large colony ship was landed, and it looked less like a ship now, and more like a building, being torn apart for the town to consume.

    I could see houses, some prefab, and some farther out looking like they were wood. What a wild thing. To see wood homes even from this distance, after decades of never even seeing something with a wooden handle.

    But finally I came back around and down, letting the sky airbreak me a bit as I came in slow.

    Checking the exterior sensors, I got a view of what was below me in a perfect image, as I slowly let the Phantom come straight down, the field looked like a park..

    I guess parks were the best place after all? Who knows. I wasn¡¯t a dirt runner anymore after all. Who knows what their common sense was.

    I couldn¡¯t help but goggle a bit as I watched what looked like a soccer ball, or something of that sort rolled away from the light backwash of the plasma thrusters through the sensors. It was kinda funny even so.

    Then with a quiet groan, the Phantom touched earth, its landing gear flexing as it distributed the weight.

    ¡°Landing successful! Landing successful!¡± The Crabbit cheered but then whined as they realized they couldn¡¯t float anymore.

    Hadn¡¯t gotten around to fixing their atmosphere mobility yet.

    I sat up and noticed the difference in depth to the gravity and then walked through the ship to the Hold.

    I didn¡¯t open the doors right away. Instead I walked down the safe paths around the containers until I was at the entrance. And activating the ramp and doors.

    Reaching down I flicked my suit controls as well. I had no idea what this place smelled like, and would test it when I wasn¡¯t about to meet the locals. Nothing quite said hello, like puking all over the floor at the smell.

    Elinai had taught me that one well enough.

    The doors opened to a brightly lit day and I had to shade my eyes a bit as the ramp finally landed.

    A crowd was already there. To my shock, they were actually riding horses. Real actual horses¡­ Well they seemed a bit short. More like a sort of pony?

    I tore my eyes from the animals and looked at the crowd. Men and women dressed in¡­ Well I wouldn¡¯t call them fancy dress, but it looked like actual cloth, and probably handmade. Leather looking boots, and things.

    It felt like I was stepping out of my spaceship into the wild west. The styles weren¡¯t the same, but the actual materials were.

    Jeeze. This place really was a backwater.

    The man in the front had a big hat, an odd mix between a cowboy hat, and a sun hat, but it wasn¡¯t cheap looking, well made and clean.

    ¡°Captain?¡± He called out, and I nodded.

    ¡°Katherine, Captain Katherine of the Phantom Star, but you can just call me Kat.¡± I greeted and the man''s rugged, sun baked cheeks grew into a smile. Five o¡¯clock shadow going gray matched by gray almond eyes. He and all the others had some Asian blood in them.

    Or maybe not, who knows how crazy the human genome has gotten over thousands of years.

    ¡°Governor Stark Euwyne. Just call me Stark, we aren¡¯t much for fancy titles here.¡± He offered, climbing off his horse and walking up to offer me a hand which I took and shook. ¡°Heavenly stars, is it good to see you. We thought our last transport failed to put in the request for more supplies.¡± He said and I couldn¡¯t help but notice I was a good food taller than the man, and most of the people were equally short.

    ¡°It was in, just behind. A war started up.¡± I admitted and his eyes widened and then he looked serious. ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°The Dominion.¡± I answered equally as quickly.

    ¡°Oh.¡± He offered seemingly chewing on that before nodding. ¡°Thankfully that puts us out of any trouble with that. But enough about that. Come why don¡¯t we go inside and get something fresh in your hand?¡±

    ¡°Maybe after.¡± I said and looked to the containers. ¡°I¡¯d rather be here to supervise as we pull all of this off¡­ Do you have a forklift?¡± I asked suddenly, worried that it was going to be horse powered.

    ¡°Ah, not to worry. We do still have a hauler. Doesn¡¯t get much use, but it¡¯s still functional. It¡¯s already on its way. We¡¯re waiting for it to arrive before we can properly move the containers¡­¡± The man offered and then smiled at me, as I couldn¡¯t help but wipe my forehead.

    It was hot. Even my forcefield wasn¡¯t keeping the heat from affecting me.

    ¡°Inside with something fresh sounds good.¡± I offered and the man laughed jovially and waved me forward, but I stopped to look behind me.

    The Crabbit were hiding like I told them to. And the one on my back just looked like an odd backpack with her antenna down, and her grippers closed.

    I smiled and nodded and followed.

    I took two steps and wobbled a bit. The dirt here was weird.

    ¡°Ah, watch that. The topsoil of the planet is very loose, but we have incredibly mild winds, and there are vine networks just under the soil that keep the whole thing held together. It¡¯s why this planet was chosen to be colonized. It¡¯s perfect for agriculture.¡±

    I nodded and stepped a bit higher, just like moving through snow almost.

    I followed Stark back towards the crowd who were looking all excited at me, and the cargo, but I stalled as the horse that Stark had been standing beside trotted forward and nuzzled him and I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little uncomfortable.

    It has been a long time since I¡¯ve seen an animal even half as large. Pets weren¡¯t really a thing on station.

    ¡°Ever seen a horse before?¡±

    ¡°Yes, even ridden one, a long long time ago when I was a kid. Just been a while.¡± I offered and he laughed, and waved me forward. ¡°Well let¡¯s get inside then. We¡¯ll just walk if that¡¯s alright?¡±

    ¡°Yes please.¡± I agreed, I had no interest in testing the tiny amount of knowledge I had about riding a horse¡­

    Which was basically just sit in the saddle and let it follow the horse in front of it.

    ¡°Welcome to Stark Point!¡± A voice shouted suddenly from my side and I looked down, and then farther down to see a little girl wearing a cute little blue dress, and bright green almond eyes smiling up at me with a whole chunk of teeth missing.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to be here.¡± I offered back and she smiled back twice as bright as she ran off, and a moment later I could hear her shout.

    ¡°Mama! The giant space woman talked to meeeee!¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but snort, at that description and I quickly followed to catch up to Governor Stark who had stopped a bit to wait, he had a smirk on his face at the interaction as well.

    ¡°Sorry about that. It¡¯s been so long a lot of the little ones don¡¯t remember the last visitor.¡±

    ¡°Aren''t there more towns?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s only one other town on the planet, and it¡¯s not far. A mining town that was built up, we found some useful minerals, and decided to dig a bit of it up for what we needed.¡± He explained, and I nodded as we walked.

    The moment we got out of the field I was parked in, we hit a dirt road that wasn¡¯t squishy anymore, and that led down a hill and into the town.

    The buildings we walked past at first were prefab, made out of a material I vaguely recognized. It was basically concrete foam, you can build whatever you want with it, and it hardens into a sort of rock. Solid stuff.

    But those buildings did look older, and from what I could see many of them, had faced a few conversions. Government buildings, into homes by the look of it.

    ¡°The original fabs were supposed to be for all sorts of things, but we grew fast, and didn¡¯t really have enough contact with the verse. No need for a starport control when we don¡¯t get more than one ship a year.¡± He offered, pointing to one building, and I¡¯m pretty sure the antenna on top was part of the comm array the town should have, but it was currently covered in some kind of line with clothes hanging from it.

    ¡°Here we are.¡± He said turning to another one of the buildings, which even had a horse post outside, and tied his horse to it, as he waved me inside.

    The doors slid open, which was really incongruous to the almost western surroundings, automatic doors. And we entered with a wave of cold air, into what looked like a mix between a bar and a restaurant.

    ¡°Welcome to the Watering Hole. Bit of a joke, but it¡¯s where we hold our social meetings, and grab food.¡± He offered and moved to take a seat at one of the tables in the center of the room. I noticed that our entrance wasn¡¯t alone, as I followed him in, plenty of the crowd joined us, and it wasn¡¯t more than a moment, that half the people in the room were sitting close and looking over at me.

    Ah. They were going to listen in.

    Stark sent them a look but just sighed and shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t mind the evesdroppers. They¡¯re just as interested as I am, about any news you might have¡­ But where are my manners. Before I ask you to speak to a full room, let me offer you a drink.¡± A moment later a pitcher was brought over and two glasses were poured.

    They were glass, and I could see the almost purple liquid inside swirl around.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Heh! Our main export. Well it will be. We call it Vinefruit. Because it grows on the vines under the ground. It was an odd mutation from some of the seedlings we brought and the native fauna.¡± He explained and I looked at the drink a little warily.

    ¡°Is it safe?¡±

    ¡°While we are only a colony, we still have medical equipment. It¡¯s completely safe.¡± He assured me, I was tempted to deny it, but I took the glass and took a sip.

    Hmm. Almost sour, but citrusy. Like a mix between a lemon, and an orange.

    ¡°It¡¯s good.¡± I offered and he smiled.

    ¡°I hope so, we plan on using it as one of our main export crops. You could someday see the flavor of our world across the entire sector¡­ But that¡¯s for the future.¡± He offered and I nodded, and then suddenly the atmosphere shifted.

    The noise of a transport from outside, tracked by the noise it made, had everyone suddenly stiffen, and Stark frowned.

    ¡°He¡¯s early.¡± He commented as he rose up. ¡°Excuse me for-¡±

    That was as far as he got when the door to the bar opened with a whoop from a group of boys as they sauntered in with all the bravado of a group of young twenty somethings¡­ All of them were armed.

    And the tension in the room increased.

    I felt myself stiffen as well, as the boys didn¡¯t look friendly. They had that sinister smile that spoke of casual violence.

    ¡°Well well there¡¯s the Old Dirt. Well, you made a demand, and we¡¯re here Dirt.¡± The lead young man offered as he sauntered up, very purposefully to my eyes slamming his ass onto the table I was sitting at with his gun belt on full display. ¡°You know I woke up today to little Martin heading into the garage to grab the hauler. You know anything about why my youngest brother¡¯d do such a thing?¡±

    ¡°I called your home Custer. We finally had our-¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask about what happened here. I asked why my youngest brother was doing such a thing.¡± He snapped back, cutting the older man off, and then the young man turned a bit to look at me.

    Dark hair, and green almond eyes, but these were dangerous, and unfriendly. They roved over me, and seemed to notice my face¡­

    I felt my own eyebrows shift together in irritation.

    I know my face was a bit blunt because of the gene mods, and it made me a bit self conscious of my looks.

    I didn¡¯t appreciate the harsh eyes roving my face.

    ¡°Well well, an outsider well and true. You the one that demands the use of my family''s Hauler?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t demand-¡±

    ¡°Shut up, void trash. I wasn¡¯t actually asking.¡± He snapped back instantly and I flinched from the threat of violence.

    What the fuck? I knew frontier worlds could be rough and tumble, but this was¡­

    This guy¡­ He would absolutely shoot me if he felt like it.

    I suddenly had the sinking realization that there were no police, or guards here to protect me. I was alone in a strange world with strange men and women.

    Fuck I didn¡¯t even have more than an old medkit on the Phantom Star in case something happened. Stupid. Really stupid.

    ¡°Custer.¡± Old Stark growled and the boy didn¡¯t respond to the threat with anything, but turned his eyes from me to the older man.

    ¡°Well Old Dirt. You going to explain?¡±

    ¡°I called your home and Martin picked up. I explained that I was calling in the hauler duty as per the law.¡± He said back and Custer didn¡¯t look like he appreciated it. His hand didn¡¯t quite reach for his gun. But it was close.

    ¡°And you think that gives you the right to order around my family? I told you before Old Dirt. If you want something from the Wellings, you talk to me. Not Martin. Not old Nam. Me.¡±

    Stark seemed to mull over how to respond for a moment, and took a swig of his drink, seemingly to buy time.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do what I need as Governor when an emergency arises.¡± He finally stated, and that was a challenge.

    ¡°Yeah you think so? Maybe your oh so important ship captain will end up dead-¡± He said and I started to rise up as soon as I realized he was threatening me. Nope. I don¡¯t want anything to do with this.

    His hand shot out to grab my arm as I rose up, but his hand slipped a bit as he couldn¡¯t quite get a grip, and I just kept going. The motion unbalanced the man.

    He nearly fell off the table as I stepped back to try and get some distance and he went right with me, his hand scrambling on the fabric of my jumpsuit.

    The guy was only about five foot nothing. And I think he weighed about a hundred pounds soaking wet.

    That didn¡¯t make him not dangerous with that gun, but he certainly wasn¡¯t going to stop me from moving as I moved back and suddenly he was on his feet facing me scrambling to hold me still and then.

    There was a moment where he was looking up at me, and I was looking down at him.

    He let go of me then, and I took a few steps back. I wasn¡¯t about to stick around for a gun fight at the Stark Corral so to speak.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back at my ship.¡± I stated loudly, and then turned and hurried away the¡­ Brothers? That had been at the door stepped aside in a hurry as I brushed past them. Hurrying past the cargo hauler that was idling out front of the bar. And then I hurried to the ship. Just managing to keep myself from running.

    Scary! That was scary!

 Chapter 21

    The brothers thankfully didn¡¯t follow, and I think my sudden and hasty departure saved me from anyone thinking to follow me, as I rushed back onto my ship as fast as my long legs could take me without breaking out into a sprint.

    I immediately hit the hold door, watching as the armored wall of metal that would laugh at any handheld weapon these¡­ Assholes! Would have!

    Yeah! Assholes!

    Only when the door shut did I realize I was pressing my back against one of the containers and then I weakly slid down until I was sitting.

    ¡°Scary.¡± I breathed out, my heart hammering a mile a minute. Someone had pointed a gun at me!

    A gun!

    Scary! It was scary!

    What was I supposed to do? Sure I had a gun too, but that would just lead to a gun fight! I didn¡¯t have armor! Or a shield! I barely knew how to shoot a gun!

    ¡°I could have died.¡± I whispered to myself in realization.

    ¡°Bad. Red.¡± Came from my back and I looked over at the Crabbit that was still holding onto me.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± I agreed, and her face shifted into a glare.

    ¡°We should shoot them. Main battery!¡± She offered and I blinked at the words, before snorting, I couldn¡¯t help it.

    ¡°That¡¯s a bit overkill, but the guide lasers would do fine.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ No boom.¡± She told me, and that helped me relax. I took a breath and let it out in a loud exhale.

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s get everything locked down. I¡¯m sure the assholes are going to be around. I¡¯m letting the locals figure this out, and we aren¡¯t opening the doors until I have some assurances.¡± I stood up a bit shakily, my knees felt weak, but I marched to the back of the hold and climbed the ladder. A nice comfy captain''s chair would make me feel better.

    But¡­ What was I going to do? That had gone from normal to dangerous in a heartbeat.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Comm Message! Comm Message!¡± The Crabbit called out and I stirred from where I had been staring out into the sunny day.

    ¡°Go ahead and patch it through. Let¡¯s find out what they want.¡± I said, perhaps a little darkly.

    ¡°Uhh. Captain Katherine, you uh, there?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± I said, a bite to my tone that I could hear made it through as there was an audible silence on the line.

    ¡°Right. Forgive me Captain, that was¡­ Not the side of Stark Point I wanted to share. I¡¯ve managed to settle the issue with the Hauler, we are just¡­ Waiting on your leave to retrieve the cargo.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll open the doors then. I¡¯ll be keeping an eye on things and won¡¯t be joining you physically. I think you understand.¡±

    ¡°I see. I apologize, Captain. I understand. I¡¯ll ensure the cargo is offloaded swiftly.¡±

    I considered responding but instead just hit the button on my Tab ending the call.

    ¡°Open the bay doors, and keep an eye out. I want to make sure no one gets any bright ideas about stealing anything.¡± I told the Crabbits who cheered and waved their arms at my orders. To them this was just a fun game. To me, it was¡­ Bitter. So much for a fun adventure.

    I pushed the Tab and accessed the feeds some of the Crabbits hiding in the hold were sending. There wasn¡¯t much in the hold that could be taken easily, but it could still be taken, and I was no longer giving this planet the benefit of the doubt.

    I settled in, watching as the people brought the floating hauler up the now descended ramp. The boy that was driving wasn''t the one that threatened me. Instead he was a much younger boy who guided the hauler up carefully, as a few men swarmed the container.

    Releasing the locks, the Hauler moved in, and took the first container slowly backing it out, and then away.

    Looks like they had a place for it all, but it meant a longer wait on my side.

    I sighed as I just kept watching. The fun of delivering out into the far frontier of humanity having lost a lot of its luster.

    Next job would be more normal, I decided.

    ¡ª--

    Once the hold was empty, I closed the door, and made ready to leave. Of course before I could actually jump I got another comm message.

    ¡°This is Phantom Star.¡± I said, bluntly, and this time the response wasn¡¯t cowed.

    ¡°Thank you Captain, for coming out here, these supplies were desperately needed. I understand your position, and I know you will leave soon. If¡­ If it isn¡¯t too much, we do have messages, we¡¯d like to be sent to the net?¡± Stark asked, speaking carefully.

    ¡°I¡¯ll deliver them.¡± I pointed at the Crabbit on communications and it wiggled as it started partitioning out some space for it.

    ¡°Thank you Captain. I¡¯ve left an¡­ Apology, although it hardly matches the crime, in your hold.¡± I blinked because I hadn¡¯t actually noticed that.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take a look.¡±

    ¡°Very well. I wish you luck in the verse. Maybe we¡¯ll see each other again.¡±

    ¡°Doubtful.¡± I said firmly, because I was never coming to this place again.

    ¡°I see. Farewell then.¡± He offered, sounding weary.

    The comm line ended, and I quickly started prepping for liftoff, no way did I want to be here any longer.

    ¡°What did they leave in the hold?¡± I asked, and the Crabbit all seemed to humm a bit, obviously sharing the data with the ones in the hold.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s a box? Little orbs?¡±

    ¡°Orbs?¡± I whispered before realizing. ¡°Are they sort of blue?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s that fruit of theirs then. Alright. Lock it down, I¡¯ll figure out what to do with it later.¡±

    ¡°Yes yes!¡±

    I flipped the switches and only once I checked the external sensors to make sure nothing was going to be blasted, I engaged the engines.

    Time to leave.

    ¡ª---

    ¡°What the hell am I going to do with these?¡± I asked, staring at the little transport package full of fruit.

    I mean, they were nice enough, but they would definitely go bad if I just left them. I sighed and moved them towards the cold box. At least I had a place where they would last a bit longer. I guess I¡¯d be getting some extra vitamins from fruit with my meals for a while.

    Once it was packed away I headed towards the hold again.

    I needed something to protect myself, and I had a long flight back to civilization to figure it out.

    Unfortunately as I started digging through the boxes of junk I had collected, I realized two things. I didn¡¯t have a good location to work on things myself. Most of the parts for the ship had been built out of nanopaste, or had been something I had a functioning scrap station to work on.

    I had tools. But most of them were packed away, and I didn¡¯t have a workbench, or some place to tinker.

    The hold was a terrible place to do it too.

    Realizing it was time to get some things set up, I called out to the Crabbit.

    ¡°Alright! We need this moved up, to the starboard supply room. That¡¯s going to be a workshop from now on. That means it¡¯s a red room!¡±

    ¡°Eeeee!¡± An electronic squeal echoed out and I blinked as I looked over at a familiar Crabbit unit.

    She already had her paint sprayer and was rushing out of the hold.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make a mess!¡± I called after her, but didn¡¯t get a response. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Okay bolt that in?¡±

    ¡°Yes yes!¡± I held the workbench stable and nodded as the Crabbit pushed in the bolt and just spun their little grabber around to tighten it up.

    With that done, I looked over the bench I had made. It had just taken a bit of Nanopaste, and it was done. I pushed it up to make sure the hinges would work, and it secured to the wall giving the supply closet turned workshop a bit more room.

    ¡°Alright, looks great. Good job!¡±

    ¡°Hehe! I¡¯m the best!¡± The Crabbit agreed and then floated around me in happy circles.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t grow an ego on me.¡± I grumbled, but let her have her moment regardless.

    Now to get back to the entire reason for this project. How was I going to protect myself? Armor? Shields?

    Personal shields did exist, technically my forcefield projector in my suit was like that, but there was a difference between a forcefield to keep air in from a vacuum, and something that would stop bullets or lasers.

    I lowered the work bench and grabbed the first object I was going to tinker with.

    An old Shield Emitter. This one thankfully, wasn¡¯t even a spare, just an old junk part.

    Tearing it apart, I looked at all the components, and came to the same conclusion I had known from the start.

    These components were way too large to make some sort of personal shield.

    It was one thing to move these things around in space, with a Crabbit helping. But in atmosphere? These things weighed a ton, and there was no way I was moving around with one.

    The Shield Emitter was made up of a few different parts. The sync controller. That let the shields all form into a single solid wall. The emitter which shot out the energy that formed into the shield. Which if I tried to hold this thing and activated it¡­

    It¡¯d probably be like holding onto a firehose. I didn¡¯t really want to be launched around the room, as the output of the emitter tried to move me. So it would have to have a stabilizer¡­

    I rubbed my head. The ship used Gravity Panels like most things to keep the shields from knocking a ship around. But this was meant to be an atmospheric piece of gear.

    If I walked around with a ton of metal on my back, it wouldn¡¯t exactly be inconspicuous.

    I knew it was possible too. I had seen a small personal shield emitter myself, the Baron had one, a fancy one shaped like a medal. But the components for it.

    I¡¯d have to start from scratch, try to figure out a much smaller emitter¡­ Miniaturization would be necessary. That was going to be tough. I closed my eyes to listen to the song, yeah that was going to take some work. Without even touching on the stabilizer¡­

    ¡°Alright, enough of this.¡± I grumbled, pushing the old emitter away. ¡°I¡¯m getting lunch.¡± I told the nearly empty room, and the Crabbit floating around me chirped in acknowledgment.

    ¡ª--

    The gentle jolt as the umbilical attached to the Phantoms docking port was a relief.

    It had been nearly ten days before I hit a system that had a station that was open to the public that had net access.

    I was going to have to send Stark Point¡¯s messages, and finally be done with that task, and more importantly, it was time to get paid! The Transport Guild would be hearing from me, about my jobs completion, and then payday!

    Well, not much of one, but it was enough.

    I headed off the bridge, leaving the Crabbits to monitor everything. Once I made it to the hatch I hurriedly opened it and stepped onto the station''s docking ring.

    It was¡­ Well, about normal for a station out on the frontier. I wasn¡¯t the only ship docked, and the spacers that moved around, were armed, and looked tough, but mostly keeping to themselves.

    Getting banned from a station could be a serious problem if you lived your life in that area.

    But I ignored all of that, and headed into the station''s comm office.

    The room was a bit small, just four comm stations that were hooked up to the galactic net, in little cubicle areas. I settled into the uncomfortable little chair, and tapped the Tab. Instantly a price popped up.

    I couldn¡¯t help but roll my eyes at the expensive use for just an hour, but that was just the way of things, and flicked my personal Tab to transfer funds.

    Then I was in. Instantly I uploaded the messages from Starks Point, and once that file was off, my duty to that shithole was done.

    A quick update to the Transport Guild, and the Creds were added to my account. It was a paltry sum, for what I had just dealt with and how long it took.

    So this time I decided for something that would pay better!

    Marie would be proud!

    I started searching for offers, and there was plenty to choose from. I had thought that maybe I wouldn¡¯t be able to find an expensive job easily, but even a quick search of jobs that the Phantom Star could handle opened up a lot of work.

    The fact was, there were only two types of transporters. Freelance, and Corporate.

    Corporations usually only did the same routes over and over, and it cost a lot to get them to add another route into their rotation.

    Freelancers, like me, were rare, super rare. There were only so many privately owned Spaceships this far out into the frontier, and most of them would be doing more gainful work than transport. They¡¯d be mercs, hunting pirates, or fighting in the war. Or pirates themselves.

    A heavily armed Corvette like the Phantom with a large hold, and the willingness to do direct transport jobs?

    Time was money after all, and Creds talked.

    So I scanned through the jobs, grabbing a few that caught my eye and then comparing them all.

    Then I added them into a map, to see which I was closest to.

    ¡°Vickers it is.¡± I muttered, as I looked over the listing. Vickers was a system only a day or so away. It was well within range, and the delivery was a rush job, extra Creds for me.

    I sent in a response, and waited.

    Normal jobs would go through the Guild, and they would have control of the entire contract but this one was a private request which meant my information needed to be handed over including a timeline for how long it would take for me to get there before they accept.

    So I settled back for a moment as I waited for a response. I stared at the Tab screen for a while before deciding to do something productive with my time. What could I find out about personal shields on the open net?

    I guess I was about to find out.

    ¡ª--

    Nearing my hour long time limit I got a response back from the Guild, which was good, because I hadn¡¯t learned anything.

    There were plenty of mentions of the technology, but nothing on the net I could find about setting up personal shields, or the tech needed.

    I guess I should have expected that, but at least I had looked.

    Glancing at the response I frowned a little. I had been hired, but the conditions on the supplies being transported were a little tight. Nothing I couldn¡¯t do.

    I read through all the conditions and in the end just shrugged. Most of that was standard stuff anyway. So I sent off an acknowledgement and a general time frame of my arrival to Vickers.

    I logged out of the net and headed out of the Comm room. I stopped on the docking ring, I could still see the Phantom, but down the way I could also hear the sound of spacers having a good time in a bar. I considered heading in, meeting new people, maybe finding a crewmember?

    My boots took me back to the Phantom, and I was undocking not long after. I just¡­ Wanted some peace and quiet for a while.

    ¡ª--

    Vickers was an interesting system. Not an industrial hub, or a total Frontier like Starks Point. It was more like a mid system. One that had grown out of being a frontier, and was becoming a burgeoning population world.

    You could find a little bit of everything here.

    I had sent a comm update to my employer once I entered the system, and was coming into land at the starport at one of the largest cities on the sixth planet in the system. The one most populated and rich.

    There had even been a pretty spaceliner arcing through the atmosphere that passed me as I came down. If there were tourists, it meant this world was comfortable enough to have them.

    As I gently dropped in on the star port I couldn¡¯t help but take a while to just look at it. There were no massive skyscrapers, instead, the star port was just a massive flat area, with a large building connecting all the star docks together. As I flew in I could actually see another big freighter belch plasma as it lifted off, and started its slow ascent.

    Nothing like the gentle glide that the Phantom had!

    I landed on the concrete lot, with a gentle pressure and that was that. I quickly lowered the engine outputs and calmed down the thrusters. Turning the Phantom off while we landed.

    ¡°Aww. Heavy again.¡± Grumbled the Crabbit on Tactical, and the others all agreed, with an electronic whine.

    ¡°Just for a while girls. After this job, we¡¯ll take a bit of time in space okay?¡±

    ¡°Oh! That would be nice!¡± They chattered, looking at each other. ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll win hide and seek this time?¡±

    ¡°Aww. I don¡¯t know. Captain is really good.¡±

    ¡°Yeah Kat is good.¡±

    ¡°Okay you lot, my hide and seek skills pushed to the side, keep an eye out.¡± I told them as I left the bridge to their happy responses.

    I took a stop in my room to use the bathroom attached to my Captains Quarters, and then back out and to the hold. I popped open the hold doors, and breathed a sigh of relief. There wasn¡¯t a bad smell on this planet. I had suspected there wouldn¡¯t, but you never know. Instead I stepped out into the sun peaking through the cloudy sky.

    The customers still weren¡¯t here, so I would wait for now.

    ¡ª--

    The approach of a large hauler truck slipping onto the tarmac is what woke me up from where I was just sitting on the ramp up to the hold just enjoying the wind in my face.

    I stood up and wiped myself down, I looked clean enough, even adjusted my jumpsuit so I was wearing it and didn¡¯t just have it tied to my waist to look more presentable.

    As the truck approached, I blinked because there was a smaller hover car behind it. I only took a single glance to tell it was fancy and expensive.

    They both pulled up and it didn¡¯t take long until the driver of the hover car stepped out, a man wearing the equivalent to a suit. Although the weird fact it was all in one piece was a bit odd.

    Then again I ran around in a jumpsuit so I shouldn¡¯t throw rocks in my glass house.

    The driver opened the door and out stepped another man who looked around before seeing me, and stepping forward quickly. The man was obviously in a rush and he approached quickly.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking for Captain Katherine? Of the Phantom Star?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± I greeted back and he blinked and seemed a bit bewildered for a moment, before his face fell into an easy casual smile as he threw a hand to his chest and then splayed it out.

    It wasn¡¯t anything I recognized. A planetary gesture? Or maybe even a weird Kenish thing?

    ¡°Forgive me, I don¡¯t know what I was expecting. I am Ian Kettermen, I wanted to thank you for taking on my package and being so prompt about it! Time is of the essence.¡±

    ¡°Well I¡¯ll be taking off and heading directly to the drop off, the moment we¡¯re done here.¡± I offered back to him, and his smile shifted into something more real for a moment.

    ¡°Excellent! Truly Captain you are a ray of starlight. Shall my men load it now?¡±

    ¡°Now is great.¡± I waved at the hold and Ian turned and waved at the truck which instantly moved forward a bit and started backing up into the Phantom Star.

    It was interesting to see what this planet must consider as normal for a large hauler like this. The truck was a weird almost triangle shaped cab, and the package itself was a large container. Sealed and locked down like it was supposed to be.

    So I did the correct thing and didn¡¯t ask about what was in it. The Guild would have checked to make sure it wasn¡¯t anything dangerous, and so it wasn¡¯t my business.

    ¡°A beautiful ship, when I received your offer I only had the metrics from the guild, I didn¡¯t realize my package would be so well protected!¡± He offered suddenly, and I tore my eyes away from the truck as it was settling the container in the hold. It had an interesting function as it sort of split apart to drop the container off.

    ¡°It¡¯s a dangerous galaxy. I just make sure I¡¯m well defended.¡± I said, earning another smile.

    ¡°Good good! You shouldn¡¯t have any issues, it¡¯s always good to have a big gun involved! Haha!¡± The man offered and I nodded along. Ian seemed the type to just never stop talking.

    Finally the truck pulled away, the package was dropped off, and I would secure it shortly. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s that then. I¡¯ll be heading off immediately.¡± I cut in, interrupting the man''s discussion about the safety of travel routes and things he had dealt with in the past.

    I wasn¡¯t a system trucker, I would be jumping to warp so it wasn¡¯t really important.

    ¡°Ah! Of course! Quick travels Captain! Quick Travels!¡± He cheered as he hurried off the ramp and I hit the close.

    Time to get this container secured, and then get out of here.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Okay try it now?¡± I asked, looking over at the Crabbits that were helping me.

    ¡°Ooh! I hope it works!¡±

    ¡°Me too!¡±

    ¡°Yeah this is fun!¡± They chattered to each other as they all were locked together.

    The answer had come to me rather quickly when I realized I was overthinking things. A personal shield emitter was going to be a long term project. I would need to make equipment, to make the equipment so to speak to even hope to get to that point.

    So I changed my approach. That could be put on the back burner for now, because right now I needed function, better than form.

    I had been planning on making some modules for the Crabbits anyways, so rather than a personal shield, I decided to see what I could do with a Crabbit shield.

    This was just a testing version. Four Crabbits grabbing onto each other, forming a square floating in the air. A series of emitters connected together, and what should be enough power between the four of them.

    I ducked down as the air crackled a bit, and I looked up to see all of them strewn across the room.

    ¡°Ow.¡±

    ¡°Hehehehehe!¡±

    ¡°Look I¡¯m stuck!¡± They chattered away, each of them responding differently. I stood up and walked over. Distangling one that had gotten wedged in my tool bench, and then checking on the one that had expressed pain.

    ¡°You okay?¡±

    ¡°Uuuu. Dent.¡± It whined at me, poking the top of its chassis that did in fact have a little dent.

    ¡°We¡¯ll pop that right out, c¡¯mon. Good work everyone! I''ll still need to make some adjustments.¡± I told them and got chipper responses. The four bounced back from the emitter sending them flying away nearly instantly now that I had checked on them. Kids.

 Chapter 22

    The arrival into the new system was as always a breath of fresh air as we emerged into real space. Star-like lights that didn¡¯t move or shift, or grow or shrink met my eyes and that was a relief from the constant weirdness of subspace.

    I flicked my Tab to open the Comm channel, and broadcast my basic information, as I started shifting the Phantom towards my goal.

    The station was near one of the main planets in the system. My sensor net was already picking up the system traffic, filling the sensor display with all the ships flying around.

    This was a busy system. Lots of ships flying in and out but none of that was my concern. I received an automated message soon enough once the station understood I was here for a delivery, and soon I was backed up to the station and locked in place to begin handing off the cargo.

    I spent a bit of time making sure everything was in order before deciding I should stretch my legs a bit. I ended up passing through the quiet cargo hold, and then up the personnel elevator to the Hab level.

    Unfortunately while most stations have some sort of Hab area, to walk around and get some sunlight for spacers, this one was¡­

    Not that.

    I blinked as I stepped out of the elevator, into a dark passage that was lit by red lights. I stepped out looking around a little scared I had gotten out at the wrong level, when a sign flashed off across the way in the center of the Hab area.

    The flickering red light told me I was in the right place, as it was hard to mistake the BAR sign as anything but the place to come relax.

    I stepped forward and saw that the bar was actually a large stand alone structure. Like someone had built a bar in the middle of the Hab area where the park normally went.

    Weird. Super weird, but I guess that shouldn¡¯t be a complete surprise. Everyone did things differently. I stepped forward and entered the bar to the dull thump of music I didn¡¯t recognize, and the stink of spilled alcohol.

    The whole place had the feel of a dive bar, which was a bit weird to find on a station. I found myself standing in the door for a moment taking it in. The server woman going around dropping off massive beers to one of the two tables that were full of spacers sitting and relaxing. Men at the bar, and of course a bartender, it all felt normal despite being so far into the future.

    People never really change I guess.

    I realized I was being noticed as I was just standing there in the way. The burly bartender was staring, his eyes had drawn the one man at the bar¡¯s attention as well.

    Taking a breath I stepped in. This wasn¡¯t a frontier planet, even if it was a rough bar. I was a Captain, and the station would make sure I would be okay.

    I headed to the bar, stepping past the tables of spacers enjoying their drinks and joking around to take a seat across the wooden, or at least faux wood counter.

    It was only then, that I realized the one other man at the bar was a soldier. He was massive, only the fact the bar was well sized, and the Bartender was rather large himself kept me from realizing the man that was probably seven feet tall at least.

    I had settled in a few chairs down, and the Bartender walked over.

    ¡°Well that¡¯s a new face. This is the Particle Drive, what can I get you?¡± His grumbly voice was pleasant, and I didn¡¯t even realize that I was responding so well to his words until I smiled at him.

    ¡°Just something non alcoholic. Not sure how long I¡¯ll be here before I head off.¡±

    He nodded, and pulled out a bottle from under the bar. ¡°Try this then, it¡¯s bottled in system.¡± He offered and passed the actual glass bottle over. I looked it over for a minute before deciding to just try it.

    I flicked the creds over, and twisted the top of the bottle. Letting myself just settle into the atmosphere.

    My eyes met with the soldier and he gave me a jerk of his head as a nod, before he went back to the drink he was slumped over.

    He didn¡¯t look friendly, but his nod had been one of acknowledgement.

    I guess my genes had some benefits.

    So this was a spacers bar. It wasn¡¯t quite like the few I¡¯d seen on shows. It was quieter for one, less people, less extras just standing around.

    That and no scoundrel sitting in the corner shooting first.

    Instead I listened to the conversation as I took my first sip. Huh. Sort of a butterscotch flavor? Interesting.

    My attention was instantly grabbed by a familiar word.

    ¡°... Pirates. Seriously, it''s getting troublesome. I had a pair try me as I jumped into Materin. Nothing I couldn¡¯t handle, I got away, but it¡¯s becoming annoying.¡±

    ¡°Not going for the bounty?¡±

    ¡°Hell no. I like my ship just where it is, in one piece.¡±

    I had turned fully to listen in.

    ¡°Coward!¡± A svelte woman commented from around her drink earning chuckles, and a faux grunt of pain from the man.

    ¡°You wound me! Someone help me! My ego!¡±

    ¡°Your ego¡¯s fine!¡± Another of the men called back and that caused the table to chuckle.

    But I was more interested in what had just been said.

    Pirates. My hands in my gloves felt suddenly moist and clammy, and I was gripping my drink with both hands.

    I realized there was an acidic feeling in the pit of my stomach.

    ¡°Hey!¡± I said before realizing what I had done, my voice coming out strong, and every eye in the room turned to look at me. I had stood up straight, but felt my spine waver a bit at the fact everyone was looking right at me.

    ¡°What?¡± He asked, as I was looking right at him.

    ¡°Those pirates, where did you say that was?¡± I asked loudly. I felt like my voice wavered a bit, but the firmness of the bottle in my hand kept me on track.

    The man¡¯s face shifted a bit at my question as the room relaxed from my call.

    ¡°Huh, you on board some pirate hunter ship?¡±

    ¡°Can I get those cords?¡± I ask back, my nerve was already failing so I really wanted that before it fled me entirely.

    He hesitated for a moment, and then shrugged.

    ¡°Sorry, can¡¯t help ya. That was just a story, you know?¡± He offered, and I felt that feeling of acid in my stomach vanish replaced by a cold pit.

    ¡°How embarrassing.¡± A voice called out, and the room erupted in laughter, and I felt myself go red. I didn¡¯t know what to do, but my body did.

    I only hesitated for a moment before I stomped out of the bar.

    Fuck this station.

    ¡ª--

    Hammond Kristler

    He continued his drink, as the spacers around him ragged on the dumb captain caught out in his embellishments.

    How embarrassing indeed.

    The woman that had questioned him suddenly stomped out, passing through the bar and disappearing in an instant.

    Huh. Guess she was irritated at not finding some prey. A real little hunter that one. She was a bit small, but definitely a little cousin. Some sort of soldier gene mods ran through her. Just like him.

    He looked down into the drink, the swirling amber liquid didn¡¯t fill him with anything but regret. He had hunted pirates once too.

    He¡¯d been a proud sergeant in the navy. He¡¯d loved boarding pirate vessels and showing the scum what a real hunter was like.

    Sure, he was hunting pirates now, but there was no pride in it, not this time. Just¡­ A pit in his stomach at what had brought him to this. Now he was just a bounty hunter, desperately trying to make up for¡­

    He rose up, ignoring the way the spacers were still throwing biting words at the idiot that talked up running from pirates.

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    Instead he headed out of the bar. He could use a walk, and maybe he wanted to see what kind of ship that little soldier was crew for that was so willing to ask about pirate coordinates. Maybe he¡¯d finally find his ride to finish this bounty up.

    The one Bounty he¡¯d been aiming at for fourteen years.

    Hammond ran a hand through his beard, more salt and pepper, than the dark brush he used to have. Was the girl an officer, maybe an engineer? She certainly had the looks for an engine wench. He¡¯d met soldier gene modded engineers before and he feared them far more than the norm.

    Crazy bastards, all of them.

    Good to have on your side though. Nothing like an engineer willing to get their hands dirty.

    He stepped out of the elevator and walked to the large windows looking out into space.

    There was that braggarts freighter. Barely large enough for more than a couple. Then there was Mara¡¯s Gunship. The little thing was riddled with weapons and armor, but that was mostly looks. She might act like a hunter, but she mostly ran expensive transport. Getting paid extra for the protection of an armed little ship.

    But nothing else was docked around, so he looked down towards the hangars. Ah.

    Ah?

    What the hell was that?

    That wasn¡¯t some freighter, and it explained why it wasn¡¯t docked at the ring.

    It was¡­ He eyeballed it. Maybe a Frig? He scoffed, what was a frigate doing out here when the war was going on?

    He turned and got back in the elevator. Sometimes you just need to find things out. He headed to the hangar levels and stepped out. The hangar was already mostly cleared, whatever they had pulled from the ship was already long gone along the conveyor paths.

    He walked confidently up to the hold of the ship, where deep inside, the lightly lit hold he could see a familiar form so this was the ship the little soldier came in on.

    He made it to the base of the ramp and stopped. No way was he going to walk onto a ship of this size without permission. Would the ship''s security rough him up before sending him on his way? Or maybe just hit him with a stunner? Damn he hated stunners. Better to just shoot him.

    But something unexpected happened instead, just as his foot stopped an inch from the ramp he was surrounded by something he didn¡¯t expect!

    ¡°Intruder! Red, red!¡± The buzzing drones came out of nowhere in the ceiling of the hold and floated both in front of him and around him as they seemed to scan him with the large scanning panels on their heads.

    What a strange little design, they even had little faces.

    The worst part was that he didn''t see any weapons¡­ Did that mean there were weapons he couldn¡¯t see, or were these just alert drones?

    Either way the call and frantic swarming of the drones alerted the girl.

    He got a look at her, as she noticed him, how she almost flinched, but then her spine straightened, and she stomped over. Standing a bit out of reach from him, the drones swarming around her like a cloak, as she looked him up and down.

    ¡°Can I help you?¡±

    ¡°Maybe.¡± He replied back looking the place over. Hold was mostly empty, no big containers. But considering it was parked up to the hangar, it meant she had been dropping something off.

    Transport gig? Well this station had its secrets, maybe something important was going on to need a ship like this protecting the cargo.

    He eyed up the hold, she was clean. Not a scuff, or stain in the hold. Which said a lot. No transport vessel got away with a spotless hold. The drones were still everywhere as well dozens of them, it meant money.

    Good discipline. Good security, and good funds.

    Military? Government ops? Maybe a Nobles private vessel?

    ¡°Well maybe get to what you want, you¡¯re bothering my Crabbit.¡± She eventually replied a little flatly.

    ¡°Would like to talk to the captain. Heard you get upset about pirates. No doubt with a ship like this, you do plenty of hunting. I¡¯ve been looking for a ship, willing to go on a bounty hunt.¡±

    She blinked, her fierce look slackening a bit showing just how young this girl was. Curious what her position was. Obviously not a soldier despite the genes. Engineer? Maybe assistant? She was pretty young after all.

    ¡°I¡¯ve fought pirates a few times.¡± She offered with a little too casual of a shrug. Ah, a sore point. Made sense.

    ¡°Mmm. The Captain?¡± He prompted the girl. He wasn¡¯t exactly going to share the intel out in the hangar, and certainly not without the Captain themself.

    ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± She said bluntly, and his eyebrows rose a bit in surprise.

    Young. Way too young. Definitely some noble thing then. No military, or government op would put a frigate in the hands of a kid.

    Yet that didn¡¯t change anything. He¡¯d risk it.

    ¡°Hammond. Hammond Kristler, Formerly a Sergeant in the Kenish Navy. Been retired from hunting pirates at the command of the Duke to doing it freelance.¡± He introduced himself semi formally. He had joined crews before after all. This was hardly going to be his first.

    She took in the information, and seemed to hesitate before her spine straightened. She stood tall, still a good bit shorter than him, but she had some presence this young Captain.

    ¡°Katherine Ferrous. Captain of the Phantom Star.¡± She offered back, and when no noble title came, he felt his own curiosity rise, but he shoved it back. Whatever black ops bullshit was going on, he didn¡¯t care, or need to know. Only the fact it was a damn warship, and she sounded like she wanted to hunt pirates really mattered.

    There was silence between them. She slowly looked more and more uncomfortable.

    Hmm. Had he not said something? He was pretty sure he had said he was a bounty hunter.

    Ah, she was young. Right. Treat her like a dirt commander. They never could find their own ass even with both hands, and a sensor grid.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got some intel on where some pirates are hiding out.¡± He offered leadingly, and when the Captain still hesitated, he wasn¡¯t sure what to add.

    This was a weird one.

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know why you are coming to me. Shouldn¡¯t you tell the military?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re gone. Besides, the info revolves around a bounty¡­¡± He trailed off and looked around, he wasn¡¯t about to air this out in the hangar, too many ears. ¡°If you aren¡¯t interested. Then you aren¡¯t, but if you are, I¡¯d prefer to talk about it somewhere more private.¡±

    ¡°How many?¡± She asked then as the silence stretched a little long.

    ¡°Two ships. Pretty confident on the numbers.¡± He admitted with a grumble. He really didn¡¯t want this intel to get out, if anyone else found out, and tried to go after her¡­ He couldn¡¯t allow that.

    She looked at him for a long time. ¡°Come on.¡± She finally said and he felt a smile grow across his face, finally.

    A ship like this? Finally he might actually make up for his mistake.

    ¡ª--

    What the hell was going on? I didn¡¯t know. But¡­ The Crabbits had locked down the secure areas of the ship, and I had my pistol on my hip, as I climbed up the ladder and brought some strange guy into my ship.

    A massive bear of a man, that was probably old enough to be my Grandpa considering the gray in his beard.

    It was weird how uncomfortable I was at bringing someone on board, and it wasn¡¯t the fact he was probably seven feet tall and could kill me with his bare hands.

    We stepped off the ladder, and I led him to the mess room.

    It wasn¡¯t exactly the most comfortable, I only really had the one chair inside it, and it was just a metal fab that I had used some Nanopaste for.

    Need to buy more chairs.

    I waved him at the chair and instead sat on the counter facing him.

    He looked around the room for a moment taking it in, before taking his seat, dwarfing the chair despite it being made for someone my size.

    Then I faced him and I could see the way his gaze continued to sweep across the room taking in everything.

    ¡°Where¡¯s your crew?¡± He finally asked, and while I knew this question was coming I wasn¡¯t expecting it this soon.

    I sighed a bit and sat up straight. ¡°You¡¯re looking at the only human crew on board. The Crabbits handle most of the other things.¡±

    He didn¡¯t say anything, instead seemingly quiet for a while. Then he nodded once. ¡°Strange. Weird ship. Weird crew. Normal circumstance, I¡¯d walk out now. Too much of this isn¡¯t right. Makes me think something funny is going on, but this is the only warship I¡¯ve seen in months, and I have a job that needs doing¡­ But you¡¯re the best bet I¡¯ve seen so far.¡±

    I chewed on the side of my cheek as I felt my hands wring together at his words. I tried to let the feeling of being insulted a little slide off my back. It didn¡¯t matter. Not really. So don¡¯t take it that way.

    Instead I focused on what he had said.

    ¡°Mr. Hammond¡­ Pirates, you said two ships. You know where they are?¡±

    ¡°I know what system they are in, and I have a good idea where their hideout is. Enough that you should be able to find them easily enough.¡±

    ¡°So you say.¡±

    ¡°Mmm. You don¡¯t trust me. I get it, I¡¯m just some random jerkoff from a bar you saw once, and just call me Hammond. Not a Mister.¡±

    I nodded at his request, but focused on what I needed to say. ¡°It¡¯s a concern. What if you¡¯re a pirate yourself? Joining crews to sabotage them or lead them into traps.¡±

    My words were pointed purposefully meant to slight, and I could see a vein in his neck clench, a reaction I wanted to be honest.

    Pretty sure this guy didn¡¯t like Pirates any more than I did. It was good info.

    ¡°Here.¡± He offered, grabbing a Tab out of his jacket, flicking it at me, and I got a beep on my own.

    I pulled it out and looked it over.

    It was records. Military, for Hammond Kristler, about his time working for the Duchy, along with a record of his affiliation with the Bounty Hunter Guild.

    It wasn¡¯t a guarantee, but both seemed to be in good standing, and he was well decorated from his time in the military according to this.

    He was dangerous, but¡­

    I still remember that tiny man pointing a gun around, and the feeling of danger I had gotten then. I needed more crew. I needed someone that could do the things I couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s say if I¡¯m interested in hiring you. I wasn¡¯t expecting to pick up any crew here. How much are you looking for, or I guess more importantly¡­ How long are you thinking of staying? Until these pirates are taken out?¡±

    ¡°Normally just until this job is done. I don¡¯t usually join crews for long. Do a few jobs, use them to get me where I need to hunt my next target¡­ But. don¡¯t often join an actual Warship either. So who knows?¡± He offered, and it was actually an explanation I could understand.

    I was from a station after all, I was used to seeing spacers moving from ship to ship as they traveled.

    ¡°Right, then in that case¡­ A trial period. Let¡¯s see how this works out, and if we are satisfied we can figure out if this is a long term addition or not.¡±

    ¡°Sounds about right.¡± He said with a nod, and I pulled up my Tab. I actually did generally know how much a spacer made on a ship like this. It depends on the sort of work, and I could get away with a monthly pay, or a portion of whatever is earned depending on the spacers choice.

    ¡°How do you want to settle pay?¡±

    ¡°Portion is fine. Especially considering the job, my main interest is the bounty. I want it to be clear, that this bounty I¡¯m on, is mine. I don¡¯t care about scrap, or loot. Just the bounty.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± I nodded and pulled up a basic crew contract, added in the confirmed amount of a portion of all pay and flicked it to him. He glanced at it, and nodded, pressing a button to confirm.

    ¡°Then Mr. Hammond, welcome onboard the Phantom Star.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Got a bunk?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s rooms available, yes. There¡¯s a few sleeping pods in the hold I¡¯ll need to bring up to whatever room you like¡­ I guess I should give you a tour.¡±

    ¡°If you want.¡± He offered sliding up and rising up to his full height.

    Right.

    I had a crew now, and he was joining me because he had info on pirates¡­ Pirates that he expected me to hunt down¡­

    Fuck, had I just accepted that!?

    I wiped the nervousness from my face with a breath and then pointed down the paths out of the mess. ¡°So that way is the engine room, and some supply rooms. Engine room is strictly off limits. Supply rooms are open, one of them is my workshop, try not to grab anything without talking to me first. Those halls are the crew quarters, I figure we¡¯ll start on starboard-¡±

    ¡ª--

    After a short tour, Hammond picked one of the rooms, and I had the Crabbits bring up one of the sleeping pods that Marie, Marshall, Collin, and Carter had used. While he headed back off the ship to collect his things.

    Then even as the Crabbits buzzed around attracted to the new person in their space I headed up to the bridge which was thankfully quiet.

    Then I sat in my chair and stared out at the stars trying to figure out the emotions I was feeling.

    That¡­ It had been a spur of the moment choice. To accept a crewmate. To even slightly accept that I would be hunting pirates next. I didn¡¯t¡­

    Did I want to do that? I could make plenty of money just doing transport. Happy and safe with that.

    But¡­ That feeling in my stomach. I wanted this. When had I chosen the safe choice? I could have lived safe and happy on station for the rest of my life as well, if I wanted.

    I had made a choice while fighting those pirates so long ago, not to be afraid, and not to be a coward.

    I had power. A ship that was strong, and unique. One I had built with my own hands. The Phantom Star wasn¡¯t built to transport goods across the stars. It was built to transport my dream.

    Today, that dream was pirate hunter.

    I checked my ship''s status. I was still down to just my Thermal Lance. It was time to do some upgrades. I could use the time to get used to Hammond, and the both of us would probably do with a station right there, in case something goes wrong, and we don¡¯t mesh well.

    Besides I had no idea what sort of stuff he might need. I had plenty of food, and things, but¡­ The only shower outside my room was the one in the hold.

    I¡¯d have to talk to him about that, and maybe get the Crabbits to fix up another one for him. I¡¯d have another person on my ship¡­

    It was good, right? There weren''t any hanging wires, or open pits anymore!

    Right? I quickly ran my ship through my head. No¡­ It should be okay? Right? I mean¡­ The elevator still didn¡¯t work, and the ship was sort of empty looking since I hadn¡¯t really tried to fix it  up, I didn¡¯t even have enough chairs¡­

    I quickly pulled out my Tab and sent a request to the Nanoforge Crabbit to make a second chair for the mess. I¡¯d need a table too. Should I make one, or look around on station to see if they had one?

    The thoughts ran through my mind, as I was getting stressed about it. That desire in my breast to be perfect, but always feeling like I was just not good enough eating at me.

    I took a breath and exhaled.

    ¡°One thing at a time.¡±

 Chapter 23

    Hammond gone from the ship meant I had time to have a private conversation with my other crewmates. I gathered all the Crabbits onto the bridge and started the meeting.

    ¡°So Hammond is going to join us for at least a little while as part of the crew.¡± I explained to the gaggle of Crabbits hovering and hanging around me.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± The Crabbit said as she rubbed at her chin. ¡°Information needed.¡± They finally responded in fits and spurts among them.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have all of it yet. So while we still want to keep him out of any red zones, he¡¯s allowed to enter and leave the ship. We should still keep an eye on him though. He¡¯s new, so we want to make sure he isn¡¯t doing something scary like¡­ Planting a bomb or something.¡±

    ¡°Oh scary!¡±

    ¡°Hehe. I like bombs!¡±

    ¡°Tactical.¡± I grumbled at that particular Crabbit. But it only continued to giggle sinisterly. ¡°Alright. So he¡¯s going to be with us, but he isn¡¯t like Marie, or the others. We¡¯re going to figure out what working with someone is like, so mistakes might happen. So I want everyone to be careful about what they learn from him. If you are curious about something, ask me.¡±

    ¡°Got it! We got it! New crewmate added!¡±

    ¡°Oh oh! Captain! Captain! I have a question!¡± One of the Crabbits called out bouncing among the floating horde.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Does he play hide and seek?¡± She asked and that caused an eruption as all of them started chattering about it as well, wondering if he was better at it than me, or worse.

    I just felt my shoulders relax as they chattered away to each other. In their minds this was no big change. Just something new, maybe something fun, but not something to be anxious about.

    They couldn¡¯t even feel anxiety.

    They were happy to find out what it would be like.

    So I would be happy to find out as well.

    ¡°Oh! Right, should get the lasers installed while we¡¯re here. So let¡¯s get that sorted! Back to work!¡±

    ¡°Aww, I wanted to play Hide and Seek.¡±

    ¡°I promise we¡¯ll play later.¡±

    ¡ª--

    I was moving the laser arrays up from the hold to the two rooms one each side of the ship where they would be maintained, even as the Crabbits started the process of eating away at the armor with Nanopaste to create the slots the lasers would shoot from.

    The rooms each had a forcefield set up at the door to keep the air from escaping once the hull was cut through, and I was just walking through the mess when a noise had me look up and see Hammond entering the mess with a large bag over his shoulder.

    There was a sudden shock in my hindbrain. The sense of someone being here in my private space was WRONG.

    I yelped, and jumped a bit as I flailed and almost ate shit as I was so surprised I fell backwards a bit.

    Hammond stopped, and stared, and I stopped and stared back.

    ¡°You okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine! You just surprised me!¡± I said instantly laughing it off even as I felt my face heat up.

    Jeez I knew he would be around!

    ¡°Lasers?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Oh yeah. If we¡¯re fighting pirates I need to get these installed.¡± I said pointing at the floating array that the Crabbit were lifting through the ship. Three of them were working together on each one, front on top, and the back to make sure it didn¡¯t get damaged.

    Although I¡¯m pretty sure the one on top was just giggling because she was enjoying the ride rather than doing anything helpful.

    He looked from me to the lasers, to the Crabbits and finally spoke.

    ¡°You sure got a lot of those drones.¡± He muttered.

    ¡°Yeah. The Crabbits are¡­ important. They handle a lot of things I can''t do by myself.¡±

    He looked them over just as they were looking him over and he shrugged.

    ¡°Need a hand? Not much of an engineer, but I know how to hold a Mag wrench.¡± He asked, I hesitated at the surprise offer. I wobbled a bit on each foot as I considered it. I took a breath in and out, then nodded.

    ¡°Sure, if you want. I could use some help installing everything.¡± I decided and he nodded his massive head and followed after me as I led the trail of Crabbits and Lasers to the room.

    I moved in and helped guide the Crabbits inside only to realize something just as Hammond was about to walk in.

    ¡°Wait!¡± I called out, but my voice didn¡¯t go anywhere, because the entire room was now in vacuum. I rushed forward and slammed into him just before he stepped through the door. My hand barely slowed him, and it was more surprise than any actual force that caused him to back up a few steps and I followed.

    My helm forcefield turned off as I stepped into the atmosphere, and I was able to speak again.

    ¡°Sorry! Sorry! You okay?¡± I asked a little frantic as I looked from his face to make sure he wasn¡¯t stuck in vacuum, to his chest to make sure my push hadn¡¯t hurt him.

    ¡°Fine. What was tha-? Ah, forcefield.¡±

    ¡°Yes! Sorry I forgot, I had to cut through the hull to install the lasers, and that was already done, so the room is in vacuum. Do you have a forcefield? I should have asked first, but I wasn¡¯t thinking, and I almost just had you walk into a vacuum!¡±

    ¡°Hey. Relax kid. Err, I mean Captain.¡± He corrected himself. His voice had shifted to very amused before realizing what he had said. ¡°I¡¯ve got a forcefield emitter too.¡± He confirmed and I felt myself relax.

    Good! Good. Sending my first crewmate into a vacuum on accident wouldn¡¯t be something I could ever live down.

    I pulled back and he followed me into the room, as the Crabbits were already positioning the lasers.

    I tapped my Tab on my wrist and I sent a comm request over as I settled in front of the first laser array position.

    *I¡¯ll start here, you want to start on the other end? Just guide the Crabbit in inserting it into the slot, they¡¯ll check to make sure it¡¯s positioned right, and help them secure it down.* I asked, and I got a grunt in return, as I started working.

    Double checking the now revealed section cut out of the hull, I confirmed it was the right dimension by using the Crabbits scans on my Tab, and then started positioning the Laser into the slot.

    I looked over and noticed that Hammond was sort of working, but mostly just seemingly trying to figure out what the Crabbit around him were doing.

    *You can either ignore them, or just ask. They¡¯re smart enough to respond.*

    *These aren¡¯t VI.* He finally said, poking one of the Crabbits which I could hear giggle through my comm, which meant it had purposefully transmitted its giggles.

    Silly thing.

    *Yes and no.* I admitted and that earned me his full attention, as I turned away and continued to work. Okay so the clamps were in place, and then I would lock it down, and start hooking in all the equipment. Mostly the cables that would transfer weapon control systems to the bridge, and power of course.

    *You have a horde of AI on your ship.* He repeated and I hummed a bit. Clamps secured I turned to look at Hammond who wasn¡¯t working and was much more focused on the Crabbits floating around him as they chattered and worked on getting the lasers in place.

    *I¡­ I could explain how they aren¡¯t entirely AI, but the fact you noticed it already means there isn¡¯t much point in trying to keep it hidden really. Yes, they¡¯re burgeoning AI. I¡¯m honestly surprised you picked that up.* I said as I looked back at the setup, more focused on the installation than the conversation.

    *I assaulted a ship that had been taken over by an AI before. It was a memorable experience¡­* He explained gruffly, but it was his judging look that told me that he wanted something from me.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    *If you¡¯re worried about them going rogue or something. There are plenty of protections in place.* I explained, turning away from him as I continued to plug in the laser arrays. I didn¡¯t want to look him in the eye, because to be honest, most of the protections were just the Song, and my own confidence in my little Crabbits.

    They were too cute to go rogue! I loved them so obviously it would be okay!

    Hammond was quiet for a bit before I realized this might be more serious than I really cared to deal with. Deep breath, exhale.

    *If it¡¯s an issue. I won¡¯t take it personally if you want to head off. Afraid to say, they aren¡¯t going anywhere though. They¡¯re too important for the running of my ship.*

    *How long you had them?* He asked, sounding a little high strung. I noticed he was kneeling a little straight as he kept an eye on the Crabbit.

    *Oh years. Let¡¯s see. The first time they really became aware¡­ Two years maybe?*

    *And they aren¡¯t¡­ Off?*

    *Not unless you count cheating at hide and seek.* I added bluntly, and my non-sequitur caught him off guard, and earned me a flood of denials on my comm channel.

    *We don¡¯t cheat!*

    *I¡¯ve never cheated! Not nice!*

    *Were we supposed to cheat? Is that how we¡¯re supposed to win? We never win.*

    *No cheating.* I called out, to nip that in the bud, and earned a stream of whining in turn. Finally as the Comm line went quiet from complaining Crabbits I looked at Hammond. *It¡¯s up to you whether you stay or not. If you want, I can still go after the pirates if you give me the information-*

    *No.* He cut me off instantly, and firmly. *This is something I have to do. It¡¯s fine.* He grumbled, and I nodded as I turned to my work.

    *If they bother you, just explain it to them. They¡¯re capable of understanding things.* I added which probably wasn¡¯t entirely helpful as it was a reminder they were AI, and not just little bots.

    I looked over and noticed he was back working. Settling the array in place, and the Crabbits were helping, scanning the position to make sure it was settled as they started clamping it down.

    I finished the first one, at least most of it was installed and stood up.

    *I need to install the exterior armor hatches. You want to finish this up?* I asked, and he blinked at me, took a moment to look around at the Crabbits that were waiting for him to guide them and he hesitated.

    To see such a big man look so uncomfortable around my Crabbit was both a little funny. And deeply uncomfortable myself.

    I knew AI went rogue sometimes. I knew it happened, and I knew it could get bad. It wasn¡¯t usually as bad as Skynet would have you believe, but if the AI was integrated into the ship strongly enough you might find a ship filled with nothing but people paste as it decided to turn off the Gravity Panels and just move around a bunch, squishing people.

    Or worse.

    But if he wanted to be on my ship, he¡¯d have to get used to the Crabbits. I¡¯d choose them over some random person any day.

    I stepped out and down to the hold, where I needed to grab the armored covers. Always more work.

    ¡ª--

    I was taking a break from installing the armored pop up panels. Sitting my ass against the hull as I looked out into space.

    The hatches were a lot of work to install. They covered over the top of the laser emitters, but did exactly what you would expect. When used. They would pop open and let the lasers fire without issue. I looked at the half globe sticking out of my ship. Inside I could see the laser director that would turn and fire in different directions.

    Considering the lasers were on the side of the ship, they¡¯d give me a lot of arc on each side to protect me from anyone trying to attack where my Thermal Lance couldn¡¯t.

    I still had the missiles I would need to install too, but that would take a long time. They weren¡¯t quite as plug and play as lasers.

    Sitting out on the hull as I looked out into the stars, I watched a ship slowly come in. Looks like a little freighter. I took a drink from my canteen. Pushing the canteen through my forcefield to take a sip before putting it back down.

    I was getting hungry too. Maybe I should go inside and get lunch?

    The freighter passed close enough as it approached the dock I could see inside the bridge a little waving at the pilot as they passed by.

    I should definitely head inside. Check how Hammond was doing. Leaving the last few pop up panels where they were, I pushed off.

    Coming in through the hold. Everything was quiet thankfully, and I headed up the ladder and into the mess room. Hammond was there, not a surprise, but what he was doing was. The man was standing in front of the counters and before him was the big bag he had brought in with him earlier.

    Only now it was revealed what was inside.

    Weapons. Lots of weapons.

    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of gun.¡± I offered and he turned his head lightly to meet my eyes and nodded once.

    ¡°You end up needing a lot when you do bounty work.¡± He replied simply.

    I wanted to say something, but¡­ There weren''t really any spaces set up in his room for what he was doing.

    He was pulling the weapons apart and going over them, cleaning and checking them out.

    This was the closest thing to a normal table in the whole ship. We didn¡¯t even have a real mess table either. Ahhh, I still needed a table! Maybe¡­ A big wood one? That would feel nice. Better than just a plastic, or metal mess table. Something large enough everyone could sit around?

    ¡°If you need anything for your guns let me know. We have some fabrication systems on the ship.¡± I offered, and he turned to glance at me again before nodding once solemnly and going back to it.

    I turned to my own task. What sounded good today? Maybe something a bit more like a stew? I¡¯ve been out of the ship for the last few hours, something warm sounded nice.

    ¡°If you¡¯re hungry the sequencer is free to use as you like.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? You don¡¯t have any restrictions?¡± He asked, confused, and I blinked in surprise at the weird question.

    ¡°No? Why would I?¡±

    ¡°Usually food¡¯s rationed. Only during meal times and the like.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s weird.¡± I muttered, before realizing that might make more sense on a military vessel.

    ¡°Well I don¡¯t have any specific chow times. You can help yourself. We have a good stock of protein, and some things in the freezer¡­ Got some fruits from a world I stopped at. People sucked, but the fruits are nice.¡±

    ¡°Huh. Haven¡¯t had real fruit in¡­ Been a while.¡± He offered gruffly, as he to my surprise, put his weapons back in his bag right then and zipped it up before walking towards the freezer. He popped it open and stepped in.

    Huh. He must be hungry¡­

    Oh. I¡¯ve been out of the ship for hours. He must be hungry.

    He came out already crunching into a Vinefruit, and chewing it as he seemed to be figuring out if he liked it. A moment later he swallowed and started on another bite.

    ¡°We got a good Protein Resequencer too. It¡¯s got a good list of things it can make.¡±

    ¡°I saw that. Expensive machine that. Didn¡¯t want to mess with it.¡±

    ¡°Oh, well, it¡¯s pretty easy. Here, I¡¯m going to prep a meal, if you want to see.¡± I offered, and while he hesitated a moment the large man walked over, and soon I was showing him all the options happily.

    Maybe¡­ Maybe having some crew wasn¡¯t such a bad thing?

    ¡ª--

    Not long after we were both sitting around the room. Mostly on the furniture as there weren''t enough chairs, but it worked.

    ¡°So you grew up on a planet?¡± I asked as I spooned a bit of stew into my mouth.

    ¡°Yep. I¡¯m a dirthumper. Got used to space, but it¡¯s not quite as natural to me as you spacers. Don¡¯t like going out there.¡± He added, and I had to blink in surprise as I put a spoon of brothy stew to my lips.

    I mean I had been a ¡®dirthumper¡¯ too, but I got used to space.

    I shrugged. It was whatever.

    ¡°What made you go into space?¡±

    ¡°Work. Homeworld¡¯s just a dustball. Grew up on a farm, nothing to see or do. Ship stopped off, and I walked up to the captain. Got a lift off world. Signed up with the Navy not long after. Got my mods, the rest is history.¡±

    I nodded at that, as we both ate. We were sort of feeling eachother out. Offering bits of our backstory and just¡­ Getting to know one another.

    ¡°Ever been back?¡±

    ¡°No. Not in a long time.¡±

    ¡°I see. I plan on going home from time to time, but that¡¯s me I guess. Any family or anything?¡± I asked, and for the first time he didn¡¯t answer my question. Just continued tearing into his steak.

    Ah.

    That was obviously a sensitive topic. I dropped it, and instead changed the subject.

    ¡°Well if you stick around long enough, you¡¯ll get to see UNK-L at some point. I¡¯ll head back for a visit or something now and again.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Home being a station seems a bit weird to me.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not. The Phantom Star is my home.¡± I offered, looking around the room fondly. I¡¯d made this. It still struck me how amazing it was to be in a spaceship I had made with my own hands. A ship that would take me among the stars.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± He offered back, Hammond was a man of few words at times. ¡°How long until we head out Captain?¡± He asked, and the pointed use of my title had my back straightening a bit in happiness.

    ¡°Oh we can head out soon. I just want to finish the laser installation. Once the panels are installed and hooked up we¡¯re good.¡±

    ¡°Good. We¡¯ll need to land on Vel Kata. Got a contact there that¡¯s been keeping an eye out for the pirates. Should have some information for me.¡±

    ¡°Vel Kata, got it.¡± I offered, pulling up my Tab and double checking everything. Hmm. That was about a two day jump from here. Not bad at all. I dropped my Tab back into my pocket and grabbed my food and started inhaling.

    ¡°You alright?¡± Hammond asked, after a minute of me chugging down the rest of my stew.

    ¡°Yep! But I have work to do!¡± I said practically chirping. I was adding lasers onto my ship! How could I not be excited!

    I jumped off the counter and headed for the hold. Time to finish the panels!

    ¡ª--

    The final panel installed, I stepped well back.

    *Okay let¡¯s do a test on all of them.* I called out to the Crabbits on the bridge.

    A moment later the hatches all popped open with a fast motion, the armored panel splitting open to reveal, well nothing yet. But each of the holes would have lasers in them soon.

    *Okay seal them.* And then the panels slapped back shut securely. *Try putting atmosphere into the rooms now. I want to see if they will hold.*

    *Roger roger! Adding air! Adding air! Ah! It¡¯s holding! No leak no leak!*

    *Alright.* I said with a sigh of relief. That meant that the ship was once more good to go, we could jump to subspace right now while I finished installing the rest of the lasers.

    I walked over and grabbed my tools, before kicking off. I delighted in the weightlessness for a moment as I basically super jumped over the back of the ship, until I came floating in upside down to the open hold.

    I flipped around and landed gently, as I pressed my Tab. Watching the large hold doors close.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Hammond?¡± I asked my shoulder Crabbit who hummed for a second.

    ¡°Ah! He¡¯s in his room.¡± She chirped at me, and I nodded. I¡¯ll let him know we were ready to leave then.

    I climbed up the ladder, and then headed into the starboard section. He had picked a room on this side, and I found his door and knocked.

    It took a minute but he answered. He looked like he had been relaxing, the heavy jacket he had worn up till now was gone showing a lighter under shirt revealing his bare arms that looked like he could have torn Arnold Schwarzenegger in half.

    ¡°We¡¯re all bolted up. Gonna be undocking. As soon as we¡¯re ready. Do you need anything else from the station?¡±

    ¡°Got all my stuff already.¡± He said a bit gruffly, and I nodded. Hesitating a moment because I wasn¡¯t quite sure what to say before I just nodded again and turned. Time to get to the bridge and then we¡¯d be out of here.

    I relaxed as I left him behind climbing up onto my bridge and flopping into my chair with a long exhale.

    Okay. Time to go, time to find some pirates.

    Time to find some pirates?

    I was planning on going after pirates¡­ What was I thinking?

    But despite the insanity of it all, I didn¡¯t stop and tell Hammond to get off the ship and go flee looking for a more normal job.

    Instead I informed the station I was leaving, and pulled away. Slowly powering up the engines and feeling the acceleration kick in as we blasted off into space, and then in a surge of colors, dropping into subspace.

 Chapter 24

    ¡°Give me a bit more light.¡± I asked, as I grumbled, my fingers not quite able to figure out what I was dealing with.

    ¡°Yes yes! Liiiiight!¡± The Crabbit cried out and then turned on its little flashlight. That let me see what had happened. The cords got tangled, and it had dragged a connection out of socket.

    I started pulling the section apart, and reordering it. This hadn¡¯t been something I¡¯d done. This whole section needed a bit of cord management, but it¡¯d be fine for now once I reattached this line.

    Getting all the lasers installed was a long task, even once they were fitted in place. Each of them needed a power line, and a computer uplink. I could have done a wireless connection, but¡­

    Well wireless connections could be disrupted.

    It wasn¡¯t really easy, and from other ships I¡¯d seen almost all of them had just used wireless connections, but I guess my old Earth sensibilities were coming into play. I never liked wireless devices, they just weren¡¯t as reliable.

    ¡°You alright in there?¡± A gruff voice called out from above me, and I very purposefully went rigid so I wouldn¡¯t bash my forehead into the panels above me.

    ¡°I¡¯m alright. Just fixing a wiring issue.¡± I called out. Dang it. My legs were sticking out of the floor panel, and I was on my back underneath it, of course it would look weird.

    I finished reconnecting the cord and looked at my Crabbit on my stomach.

    ¡°Lighten me up, so I can get out of here?¡±

    ¡°Yes yes! Graaaavity!¡± She cheered and I felt myself go weightless. I pushed out with my finger tips and soon I was floating feet up out of the floor crawl space, and then when I was clear, I snagged my fingers around the edge and spun myself around so I was on my feet on the floor.

    Then gravity returned.

    ¡°Hammond? Need something?¡±

    The man was wearing more casual clothes than I had seen from him before. His heavy jacket and pants, which I¡¯m pretty sure were armored, were gone, leaving him in a much more comfortable looking long sleeve shirt and slacks.

    He shook his head. ¡°Just walking the ship. Getting a feel for her.¡±

    ¡°Ah I understand.¡± I reached over to the floor panel that had been removed and settled it back into place making the hallway once more safe to walk. ¡°Don¡¯t let me stop you.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Need a hand?¡± He offered, but¡­

    Well, I had accepted with the lasers, but when I had gone back into the room after finishing the outer paneling¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m good, thank you. This is just how I keep busy.¡± I added which wasn¡¯t entirely a lie. I guess it was good to know that my newest crewmate could help with emergency repairs, but I wouldn¡¯t put him anywhere near anything too important.

    I think his repair ability was about on par with someone who hadn¡¯t taken their scrapper exam back on UNK-L.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± He agreed, but didn¡¯t actually head off, and I had a sudden realization that¡­ Well he might be crew, but I hadn¡¯t actually given him any work since he had joined.

    That was weird. Like super weird.

    Usually when you joined as crew for a ship you were put to work. Whether repair, maintenance, cleaning, or some form of support.

    But I just didn¡¯t really need anything. The Crabbits handled most of the tedious tasks, like cleaning¡­

    ¡°Actually Hammond. I do have something I need to ask, walk with me while I finish this?

    I asked, and he nodded instantly.

    I headed back to the laser battery room. They were now mostly installed, but I was checking everything and Tactical was running simulations for their accuracy. She was doing okay so far.

    ¡°Tell me everything you know about these two pirate ships? Common tactics? What size ships are they in? Anything like that?¡± I asked, as I settled in and started connecting up one of the lasers to the power line I had just fixed.

    It took a while for Hammond to respond, but he breathed out in an exhale and finally spoke.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know a lot directly. Two ships, one an old freighter of some sort. The other¡¯s something bigger. Don¡¯t know exactly. Tactic is simple enough. The freighter fakes damage and starts running a distress beacon.¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that get them caught by system defense?¡±

    ¡°Not if the damage is real¡­ But otherwise I don¡¯t know what trick they''re using.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± It made sense. Chasing ships was a hard. If a ship was in subspace you weren¡¯t going to get them.

    Instead you had to bring them into real space, or better yet, disable their engines. A ship that couldn¡¯t move, couldn¡¯t get into subspace.

    ¡°I know they have a good Electronic Warfare Specialist.¡± I looked up at that.

    ¡°That¡¯s dangerous, anything you know about him?¡±

    ¡°Her. She¡¯s the Bounty. Need her alive.¡± He explained tersely, more gruff than I had expected from him.

    ¡°Alright? That¡¯s not an easy thing to ask for. Taking a ship without severe damage depends more on how quickly they surrender.¡±

    ¡°They won¡¯t. Pirates like that don¡¯t surrender. They know what¡¯s waiting for them.¡± He said, and I frowned as I stared at the rear of the laser wires and connections flowing out of it.

    I took a breath and my hands moved practically without thought. Slowly reattaching the complex arrangement of power and control lines.

    Once I was done I turned to look at Hammond.

    ¡°Then how exactly is this going to work?¡± I asked him, honestly curious.

    ¡°The two ships¡­ The bounty is on the freighter.¡± He added after a moment of gruff silence.

    ¡°So we only need to capture the freighter, that¡¯ll already be mimicking damage, and destroy the other ship?¡±

    He nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll have more details when we land. Got a contact on a world that¡¯s been keeping an eye out.¡±

    ¡°Right. You mentioned that.¡± I said as I moved on to the next laser. ¡°How does the bounty thing work anyways? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever met a bounty hunter.¡±

    He went quiet but eventually just shrugged. ¡°I hunt people down, sometimes dead, sometimes alive. Get paid when I confirm whichever way it matters.¡±

    ¡°And this one you need the target alive?¡±

    ¡°Definitely, preferably unharmed.¡± He added almost unthinking.

    ¡°Who is she? Some nobles daughter or something? This EW specialist pirate?¡±

    ¡°No one important¡± He said instantly, but hesitated. ¡°You need anything else Captain?¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ No, I¡¯m good. Just finishing this up.¡± I confirmed and he walked out of the room.

    So, a girl taken by pirates, and working as their EW specialist? Not good, but it was a job, and I didn¡¯t like pirates to start with¡­

    I was going to hunt pirates.

    I¡¯d made the choice already. So there was no point in getting anxious about it. Right?

    Reaching out I grabbed another power cable and started hooking the next laser up. More weapons would be perfect.

    ¡ª--

    There were a lot of adjustments needed with adding someone new to the Phantom Star.

    For one, I was used to just walking around my ship and only the Crabbits being there. Every time I stepped into a room and Hammond was there it felt like a jolt of surprise.

    Then of course the fact he was a massive guy, and the first time I¡¯d entered the mess room, to see him drinking out of a bottle and a small glass and I realized he was drinking alcohol. Or the fact he sang in the shower.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    At least it was down in the hold, and I could get away from the off key, and off color lyrics by heading away from it.

    But that was just part of the process of being on a ship.

    The burst of real space appearing through my bridge window was a welcome change once more.

    Like a storm clearing and suddenly you see open sky and land.

    ¡°Transition to real space complete.¡± I said, mostly for myself, and the Crabbit gave little cheers

    ¡°Oooh! This is annoying!¡±

    ¡°Aaaaah!¡±

    ¡°Relax!¡± I called out, as the Crabbit got frustrated.

    The sight outside the window showed stars, and space, but also beautiful shifting colors, as gas clouds so massive they could hide entire worlds flowed around the system.

    This was one of those systems where space stations were more popular than planets. Only two planets in the system were livable, but most of the population lived in space, because these gas clouds were massive resources, so harvesting them was the main output of the sector.

    It also explained how the pirates got away with things.

    Sensors didn¡¯t like the nebula, and received constant weird responses, or just nothing as they couldn''t scan through the filled space.

    Just in case, I checked comms and added a bit of power to the system, just to see if anyone out there was sending out a distress signal.

    Nothing. Just normal chatter.

    ¡°Let Hammond know we are on our way to the planet.¡± I told the crabbit, as I touched the controllers and started accelerating.

    This entire system was¡­ Weird. The massive nebula made travel a bit strange, as you couldn¡¯t easily go straight towards some locations. It was a maze of paths through the gas that had been formed from travel, or on purpose as the gas was harvested. I was going to have to go around a massive chunk of the nebula to get to the planet thanks to my current location.

    As I accelerated though I was tagged with a comm message. I accepted the automated message after checking it over quickly. ¡°Huh.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but say as the comm message had the list of paths through the nebula.

    Suddenly my sensor net had data for how to get around through the system.

    Adjusting my course, instead of going all the way around, I had a path through the nebula that would save me a good chunk of time.

    It was actually kind of exciting. The Phantom soared through space, her nose pointed towards the shifting colored nebula. And as we got closer and closer there it was, a massive breach in the cloud a tunnel that was puckered inwards and I wasn¡¯t alone. I slowed down a tad, as I entered the gaping hole, aiming towards one of the smaller paths shooting off.

    I ended up right behind another ship, a small in system work freighter from the sensor return, as I came up behind it, but didn¡¯t push my way forward to try and cut him off.

    I couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the way the little ship seemed to jerk around a bit at my appearance behind it, but I simply slipped into the tunnel that was almost too small for the Phantom behind it, and started moving through the nebula superhighway.

    And then together we traveled through the twisting turning tunnel.

    ¡°Mind if I come up?¡± Hammond suddenly shouted from below, and because I was such in the groove I didn¡¯t even have time to think about my anxiety of someone else on the bridge.

    ¡°Sure!¡± I shouted, practically laughing, as I continued through the tunnel, enjoying the feeling of the Phantom juking and diving through the path. I could see that the little freighter ahead of me was pushing their engines to try and create some distance from me, but even with the Phantoms larger size, she was much faster than an in system worker bug.

    It was probably a little mean, but it was kinda like racing, and I wasn¡¯t about to lose!

    Then the tunnel ended, opening up not out of the Nebula, but into it.

    A massive chunk of the Nebula had been farmed away, and inside was two stations, both of them gas harvesters. Their long ¡®tail¡¯ pushed into the nebula, and as the station slowly traveled around the massive cave, it left an indent in the gas behind it.

    But I wasn¡¯t here for these stations, instead I split off from the little freighter, and accelerated hard leaving the poor thing in our dust as we headed for another tunnel. That would lead us to the other side of the nebula and the planet we were aiming for.

    ¡°What a place.¡± Hammond said from my side, and I didn¡¯t even jump! Instead I smiled and nodded

    ¡°It is. Amazing really. When we¡¯re done with the pirates, I kinda want to go through more of these tunnels and see where they lead. This place is amazing¡­ Like a cave system in space.¡±

    ¡°Heh. Caves are scarier than this. This gunk you could just aim out and push through it, you¡¯d be blind, but it won¡¯t stop you.¡±

    ¡°Unless you run into a chunk of rock or something.¡± I offered and he nodded.

    ¡°True.¡± He went silent just taking in the sights of the nebula around us as I continued flying.

    This was it. The entire reason the Phantom Star was so important for me.

    I was¡­ I was the first human from my century to get to experience this. Space travel. Seeing the marvels of all the far and distant galaxy¡­

    It was perfect.

    ¡°Mind slowing down a bit?¡± Hammond asked from beside me and I didn¡¯t take my eyes off the view. I couldn¡¯t if I wanted to stay in the tunnel, but I still felt the tension in the older man.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t really going that fast. It just feels that way because of the way these tunnels formed. You don¡¯t usually see things moving past a ship like this, as most things are millions of miles away.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ Mind slowing down?¡± He asked, and I couldn¡¯t help bark out a laugh, as I cut back on the speed, and the tunnel within the gas slowed down rapidly, as I cut the speed to a much more casual cruise.

    ¡°Sure.¡± I offered, it didn¡¯t bother me, even if going fast was more fun. It was still a beautiful view.

    I leaned back and just casually made the course corrections, feeling the thrum of my girls engines shifting alignment to spiral us through the gas tunnel.

    I glanced over and Hammond looked calm staring out just like I was.

    It was still strange to have someone else on board, someone I barely knew. Someone so much older than I was.

    But¡­ I nodded as I returned to flying, this was just part of being a ship captain. It would all work out. If he ended up getting annoying, then we wouldn¡¯t work together, and I¡¯d find someone else.

    It might take a while but¡­

    Finding my crew¡­ I smiled. Yeah, starship captains had to have a crew.

    Suddenly a turn in the tunnel and we were out, at least mostly, a massive gap in the nebula revealed the sun, in the large almost¡­

    I¡¯m pretty sure it was artificial. A massive gap in the nebula that let a planet see the sun. Huh, that must have taken a long time to set up.

    ¡°That¡¯s the planet.¡± I said and he nodded.

    ¡°Here. I have the coordinates. It¡¯s a small town. Gotta talk to the bartender there¡­ Can you set us down outside the city? So no one can see the ship?¡±

    I blinked and looked up at him. ¡°Sure I can, but¡­ That would be a long way away.¡±

    ¡°We take a lifter¡­¡± He said and then went quiet as he looked at me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any ground vehicles.¡± I responded to his obvious question.

    ¡°Well shit.¡± He hissed, out a grumpy sigh.

    Shit was right¡­ I had planned on getting some kind of vehicle eventually, but I didn¡¯t have one yet.

    ¡°We can¡¯t just land in the town?¡±

    ¡°Not with this thing¡­ The town is where some of the pirates go to drink and spend some of their creds.¡± He explained, and I felt my eyes narrow.

    So¡­ I can¡¯t just point the Thermal Lance and wipe it off the face of the planet? I shook off that dark thought. No, don¡¯t be evil. Okay¡­

    ¡°This planet. It¡¯s a dirt ball right?¡± I asked, able to tell most of that just from looking at it. Barely any satellites, or space activity.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s not just the one town right?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s got cities. We¡¯re aiming for a small town. Private.¡±

    ¡°Then we land in a city first.¡± I decided, and he looked surprised.

    ¡°You¡¯re gonna buy a vehicle?¡±

    ¡°Seems like it. Unless you fancy a ten mile walk into and out of town.¡± I asked him, because that would be the minimum I would have be from the town to even hope to remain hidden. The Phantom Star was a bit of a big bitch. She wasn¡¯t stealthy in atmosphere.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be cheap.¡± He said, after a while. ¡°Planet like this, a crawler''s gonna be pricey.¡±

    ¡°Do you have a better idea? I don¡¯t suppose there would be a taxi from the city to the town?¡±

    ¡°Not a chance.¡±

    ¡°Then we buy a vehicle.¡± I decided firmly. It would hurt my wallet, but that¡¯s what all the cred was in there for to start with, besides, if we managed to take out two pirate ships that was going to be a nice chunk of creds anyways.

    Decision made, I poked my Tab, I¡¯d need to make some calls for landing if I was going to a city.

    ¡ª--

    Landing at what I could only describe as some sort of massive slum was a bit of a surprise.

    The entire planet looked brown upon entry, and the smoke, and mess of human habitation had stretched out.

    But more shocking was how bad it all looked.

    From the bridge on landing I could look out and just see endless brown buildings made out of whatever material they could find, stretched out into the distance, and masses of people wandering through the streets.

    ¡°You good?¡± Hammond called up to me, as I was still staring out the bridge with a sense of serious regret.

    I didn¡¯t want to walk out there. It was like Starks Point, but worse.

    That had just been a small frontier town. This was like a boom town, hundreds of thousands potentially living in squalor.

    ¡°Coming!¡± I finally found my voice and called out.

    The shield Crabbit idea was still¡­ Not functional, I had my gun, and I had a big guy with bigger guns¡­

    I was going to have to make some armor or something. Maybe a power armor? Or just a walker? A massive Crabbit I could hide in as it moved around?

    No, that was just a tank, and I couldn¡¯t deal with normal people from inside a mechanized war machine¡­

    Or could I?

    I took a breath, in and out and then headed for the ladder down. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s get this over with.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Shouldn¡¯t be too hard.¡± Hammond commented, as he adjusted the large coat he had over his shoulders. That did very little to hide the gun he had on his hip.

    I was at least comforted by his presence. Hopefully if anyone felt a desire to point a gun at me, they¡¯d think twice with the massive giant beside me.

    We headed down the ladder, and I grabbed a Crabbit and threw it over my shoulder where it clamped on and snuggled in.

    ¡°Hmm? You taking one of those?¡±

    ¡°Yep! They¡¯re useful even if they aren¡¯t mobile in atmosphere.¡±

    He shrugged, and we both headed to the ramp which was still up, and I pushed a button on the Tab controls, the moment the seal broke, noise washed over us, slowly opening up the view to the chaos outside.

    We were on a landing pad, but it was butted right up against a street. A busy street where people were walking by or driving vehicles pulling cargo.

    It was shocking that people would be positioned so close to landing pads.

    I mean, most ships wouldn¡¯t just blast engine exhaust into crowds, but¡­ I looked down the road, to the other ships that were parked and it made me anxious to have to walk past them.

    One crazy pilot, and I¡¯d be chewing engine exhaust.

    ¡°Hey hey! You want some supplies! Best dealer on the planet!¡± A voice called out right next to me, and I jerked. A man was there, reaching out to grab my arm, with a crooked grin.

    But then Hammonds hand grabbed the man''s arm and stopped him cold.

    ¡°Beat it.¡± He demanded in a gravel growl that had the guy skittering back without hesitation.

    ¡°Jeez.¡± I grabbed my chest as my heart was beating like crazy. ¡°Did he have to appear out of nowhere?¡±

    ¡°This your first time on a world like this?¡± Hammond suddenly asked, and I looked over and felt my face heat up. I nodded.

    ¡°Not like this at least.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Just stay close, and close up the ship. Don¡¯t want anyone sneaking in.¡±

    I nodded at his orders, and I felt a bit embarrassed that I wasn¡¯t the one confidently doing what needed to be done. I pushed the button on my Tab and the hold doors closed behind us.

    ¡°C¡¯mon. Let¡¯s go get some information, then a dealer.¡± He offered and waited a moment for me to follow before setting off into the crowd.

    The swarm of people was almost suffocating, but Hammonds massive bulk pushed through and I followed in his wake.

    My hands glanced over my blaster, and I followed as best I could in the press.

    Finally he stopped and turned, and I pushed through his wake as we entered a building that only took me a moment to recognize.

    Ah, of course it¡¯s a bar.

    I took a breath, filled up my lungs and stepped into the gloom. I could do this.

 Chapter 25

    The bar was full, and fairly noisy, but it was darker than the outside, and the path was clear. Hammond stepped forward without hesitating and I only followed after I got my bearings.

    As I looked around I couldn¡¯t help but wonder.

    We were looking for pirates right? Weren¡¯t they all right here?

    The people in the bar looked rough, and dangerous, blasters and weapons, adorned hips and bodies, and it was obvious there was a tension of danger.

    Eyes followed not just Hammond, but me as well, and I realized that other than one other, we were definitely the tallest people in the room.

    The only other gene soldier was in the corner and had very little interest in us, as he was much more focused on the waitress flirting with him.

    Yet, I couldn¡¯t help but know that I wasn¡¯t in polite company.

    Hammond stopped at the bar, and a moment later, with a flick of his hand creds flowed across the gap between men,

    I was kinda surprised to be honest, I expected him to ask me for Creds, instead of taking care of it himself.

    By the time I caught up Hammond was already leaning away from the bar. ¡°Thanks.¡± He offered and turned around, almost bumping into me. ¡°C¡¯mon.¡± He told me, a bit gruffly, and I quickly followed once more in his shadow.

    It felt a bit embarrassing, but at least no one stopped me, or pointed a gun at me.

    We headed back out into the mass of people and I once more followed the wavebreaker that was Hammond as we headed down the street away from the so-called spaceport.

    We walked a while, but it was loud, and the press of bodies was difficult to deal with. I couldn¡¯t exactly ask him what he had learned, until he slowed, checked to make sure I was still behind him, and following and stepped into a gate on the left side of the road.

    The moment we stepped through the press of bodies disappeared, and I could see what we had walked into. I actually felt myself relax. Vehicles of all sorts sat around the lot, and then inside what looked like a warehouse, was the sights and sounds, and smells of mechanics.

    I breathed in, and the smell hit me. It wasn¡¯t quite the same, but the whole area had that smell of vehicles being worked on.

    It was incredibly familiar. One I hadn¡¯t really experienced in this life. Dirt, oil, and metal all ground together.

    ¡°Captain?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay!¡± I said looking at Hammond as I moved forward to catch up. We both walked farther in, and it didn¡¯t take long before a man in a hat meant to keep the sun off his head walked up.

    ¡°Looking to buy or repair? Best dirt runners this side of the nebula!¡± He offered with a faux charm to his tone.

    Ah, the humble used car salesman, did they ever really change?

    ¡°Need a vehicle. Looking to buy.¡± Hammond grumbled, sounding irritated, and almost angry, and the salesman''s smile dimmed for a moment.

    Ah, I almost stepped back myself at his growling voice, but Hammond turned and gave me a more normal nod. So he wasn¡¯t actually pissed, just using it to put the salesman on the back foot.

    I stopped caring at that moment. Instead, I opened my ears to the song all around me.

    Instantly as I listened, I realized this was just like any used car lot back on old Earth.

    These were all crapsacks, repaired just enough to sell them, without worry if they fall apart the moment they were off the lot.

    The song crooning from the lot as a whole, was a somber miserable sound.

    It was heartbreaking.

    ¡°Captain?¡± Hammond called out distracting me, and I turned.

    ¡°Ah! This is the Captain? I suppose she¡¯s the one with the Cred Account then? You can trust old Ed, whatever you¡¯re looking for, we have it, and the best prices, and best condition of any place on  this side of the Nebula!¡± he offered, waving his hand around and I just nodded, mostly wanting to ignore him.

    ¡°Show me what you have.¡± I demanded and he started trying to sell me something right away.

    ¡°This is the Mountain Crawler, made over on Stellar Way, amazing vehicle, tough as a Kenish Warship you have my word on that. I¡¯d not usually let this one go, you understand, she¡¯s a real workhorse, but you honest folks look like you need it!¡± He chattered away, and I wasn¡¯t even looking at the vehicle he was talking up.

    The poor thing looked tough, it sort of reminded me of open top Jeeps, but it was practically weeping. Tough is not the description I would use.

    But there had to be something in the lot worth grabbing. I moved away from the salesman let Hammond distract him for a while as I walked.

    There were tons of different types of vehicles, it was kinda wild to see future cars, running my hand across them as I moved.

    There were even a few motorcycle¡¯s that I was really tempted to grab, but they cried just as much as the others.

    Then I saw it.

    A four wheel hauler. It had an open cab, but a good amount of storage space in the back, and more importantly than any of that.

    I could hear its song. It was weakened, but not dead. It sang of future travels, how easy it would once more go off to the distant horizon with just a little work.

    There was a bit scrawled on the window, I ignored the numbers, and instead noticed it wasn¡¯t actually running.

    That was fixable.

    ¡°Hammond!¡± I called out, the two men were still looking at the crap sack the salesman had been trying to sell.

    To my relief, Hammond walked over instantly, ignoring the salesman¡¯s continued pitch until he caught up with me.

    ¡°This one?¡± He asked, as he caught up, but my hands were already popping open the hood, much to the Salesman¡¯s discomfort.

    ¡°She¡¯s non-functional right now.¡± I told him, which had Hammond frown a bit.

    ¡°If she isn¡¯t working, then we should get something else.¡±

    I ignored him, as I dug in, the song was guiding me, and it didn¡¯t take me more than a few moments to find the issue.

    ¡°Crabbit give me a scan here?¡±

    ¡°Yep yep! Scan scan. DooDoooDooo.¡± It sang and I looked up at the way the salesman had backed away at the reveal of the Crabbit.

    ¡°We¡¯ll take this one.¡± I said and the man¡¯s face blossomed.

    ¡°Excellent! Excellent! A real fixer upper!¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t even work.¡± Hammond grumbled, not just at the salesman, but I nodded at his point.

    ¡°Yep, which means it¡¯ll be cheap. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± I asked, and the Salesman laughed off my words. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°We have the best prices on this side of the-¡±

    ¡°The Nebula, yeah you¡¯ve used that one a few times. This thing doesn¡¯t run. So it¡¯ll be cheaper. I¡¯ll give you¡­ Ten K.¡±

    ¡°The sale price is unfortunately twenty-five.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the price new, and functional. Ten.¡± I cut back, which was just a guess, but fuck it that¡¯s how places like this worked. My hands already digging through the engine compartment, the issue had something to do with the battery bank, looks like maybe a processing error? I¡¯d have to check the programming, but I wanted to check the wires first. I pulled my Tab, that had the scans to look it over.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t go over eight for this scrap heap.¡± Hammond cut in, and I looked up.

    ¡°Really? Eight then?¡± I played along, and the Salesman seeing that things weren¡¯t going his way cut in.

    ¡°I understand the worries of it not currently running, but-¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you the Creds right now, no more arguments.¡± I said instead, and the man hesitated, before his face shifted into a smile.

    ¡°Ten with an immediate transfer.¡±

    ¡°Ten, and no problems while I check it over.¡± I moved my Tab from where I was looking at the scan, to Creds, and flicked it right at him.

    ¡°A pleasure doing business with you!¡± He immediately confirmed, and I ignored him from there as I continued to dig into the engine.

    Ah! I see, one of the power cables was corroded, cheap replacement, probably meant to get the vehicle off the lot before failing, only to corrode too fast.

    Idiots.

    ¡°Get me a replacement for this processing.¡± I told my shoulder Crabbit and she chirped.

    ¡°Yes! Order on the way!¡±

    ¡°Hammond? Head back to the ship, the Crabbits will give you a part, bring it back okay?¡± I asked him, and he blinked before nodding slowly, his bulk slowly moving out of my light as I got back to work.

    Plug this into the Tab, and check the engine programming, yep, someone had tried to crack this thing.

    ¡°Sync up, we¡¯ll need to fix whatever nonsense this is.¡± I said and soon I was restoring the programming that handled power management.

    ¡ª---

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said as I grabbed the part from Hammond on his return, the man just nodded, and ten seconds later I had pulled the corroded head off the cable, replaced it with a good one, and plugged it back in.

    ¡°Is that it?¡±

    ¡°Pretty much, someone tried to turn this thing into a hot rod. Up jump the power, but they didn¡¯t upgrade the power cabling. Blew the whole assembly. These dimwits, obviously tried to fix it, but they put shitty power lines in to replace the blown ones, and so they failed as well, couldn¡¯t even get the power through before the whole thing corroded.¡±

    Hammond blinked took in my explanation with an actually impressed look, as I stepped out of the engine and moved over to the cab. With just a flick of my Tab, I started her up.

    Instantly she came alive. The haulers'' song was eager and happy, and I knew she¡¯d handle what we needed.

    ¡°Hop in!¡± I called out and it took a moment for the larger man. He looked like he was going to argue before he sighed and slipped into the passenger seat.

    Release the brake, level the power, and slide up the accelerator on the side of the odd ¡®y¡¯ stick that was the wheel.

    She didn''t¡¯ make a noise, electric engines usually didn¡¯t, but she jerked as she broke free from her immobile position, and then we were accelerating out of the crappy used car lot, and off..

    I had to basically shift to nothing, as I came out on the street, there was just too much traffic.

    Going at one mile an hour as I slowly rolled down the street certainly wasn¡¯t the exciting drive I had been hoping for.

    ¡ª--

    Lifting off was a bit of a chore, as the little slumcity spaceport wasn¡¯t exactly well managed, but thankfully the Phantom had the heft, that when I called out over comms I was taking off, all the smaller freighters, and haulers didn¡¯t argue.

    One benefit to being the big kid on the block.

    We headed out of the atmosphere, and then around the world for a while, as our actual goal was on another landmass.

    ¡°Hmm. Planet. Gross.¡± The Crabbit on navigation grumbled, and I had to quirk my eyebrow because that statement was just full of opinion.

    ¡°What makes you say that?¡±

    ¡°Dirty. Heavy. Don¡¯t like it.¡± She explained to me a bit clipped.

    ¡°Sorry. I¡¯ve still got a lot on my plate, but some upgrades for all of you is on the list.¡±

    ¡°I like upgrades!¡± Tactical chirped out wiggling in her little indent at the tactical console. ¡°I want a big laser! Math!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I was going to tell her that it wasn''t math, but you know what. A laser was high tech enough in my opinion to count. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±

    ¡°Eeeee!¡± She squealed, and the others around the bridge whined.

    ¡°But I want a laser too!¡±

    ¡°Ooh! I want a rocket! Speed!¡±

    ¡°Math is better!¡±

    ¡°Speed is best!¡± The two Crabbits got into an argument and I tuned it out as I started adjusting my course. Dropping lower and lower, so I would be harder to spot.

    ¡°Get me those scans. We need a road or something flat to drive on leading to the town.¡± I called out, and the Navigation Crabbit who had been arguing about speed turned to her task. A moment later I got an update.

    ¡°Flat found!¡±

    It took only one glance for me to hold back a snort. ¡°No, that¡¯s a river.¡±

    ¡°River? But it¡¯s flat!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s water, we can¡¯t drive on it.¡±

    ¡°Oooh.¡± She went back to it, and not long after I was in fact updated with some different roads, looks like most of them were pretty short, this town, some sort of mining town? Or maybe something else?

    Either way, it wasn¡¯t very large, and it only had one real road leading out of the town, which was perfect.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s try¡­ Here.¡± I said pointing at a location on the sensor map, the road passed through a forest, and I could use that to cover my landing.

    I shifted course, still staying low, using the hilly terrain to keep myself as well hidden as I could.

    Then with a smooth curve, using the entire ship like a wind break I slowed down, as I hit the forest and found a spot right against the road.

    With only a few crunched trees I felt the landing gear compress as we touched down.

    ¡°Alright.¡± I breathed out in relief, it was the first time I¡¯ve ever landed in such rough terrain. ¡°Hammond! We¡¯re down!¡± I called out, even as I slowly turned the engines to idle, and then let them power down.

    We¡¯d be here for a while. It was¡­ About twenty miles from the town up a dirt road.

    I headed down, sliding down the ladder into the hold where Hammond was throwing a few things onto the truck. His personal stuff. Duffel bags and the like.

    ¡°Hammond? What¡¯s all this?¡±

    ¡°Gotta make sure it looks like I¡¯m traveling.¡± He offered simply, and I relaxed as I realized that made sense.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got the comm line? The Phantom should be able to pick up any messages you send even from the town.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got it.¡± He said confidently, giving me a single nod before turning.

    I nodded and stepped back. I wouldn¡¯t be joining him this time. For one, it was just safer to stay with the ship, and two¡­

    Well I just didn¡¯t fit in as well.

    Hammond in his big jacket and guns, looked like the sort of guy that¡¯d travel through the rough terrain to this tiny little town.

    Instead I lowered the hold door, and watched as he took the new hauler out onto the rough brush, and then onto the dirt road before heading off.

    I closed the hold for safety and headed up to the bridge.

    Not much for me to do besides wait.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°What do you think?¡± I asked, and the Crabbit hummed as she touched the device on the end of her feet to the floor. I had gotten bored after just a few minutes of waiting, considering it could be hours before Hammond got back and decided to do some more testing.

    I didn¡¯t really want to mess with the shield Crabbit idea in atmosphere, mostly because Crabbits were kind of heavy outside of zero G, so instead I was working on their in atmosphere mobility.

    The first idea had been to give them some upgrades to let them still hover, but honestly, their Iris Drive just didn¡¯t have the power to handle it properly, at least not without them attaching into a whole new system that would easily double their size.

    So I had gone back to low tech options, and came up with these.

    The little wheel spun at the end of her leg as she tested forward and reverse.

    It was only one leg that had the module so far, mostly just to test out the connection system. So no wild driving Crabbits slamming into things.

    ¡°Hmm. Control software complete.¡± She told me studiously, and I grinned. There was a reason I was using this Crabbit as my test bed. She was one of the calmer ones.

    ¡°Alright. Then I¡¯ll start working on some more of them. Do you want to beta test them?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± She answered almost primly, and I couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll get one of your sisters to do it. Thank you.¡± I told her, patting the top of her casing, as I plucked the module from the bottom of her leg.

    I looked over the new leg she was sporting. After all, I needed some sort of power connection for the wheels to spin. ¡°Want me to give you your old leg back?¡± I asked, and instantly her leg was curled up under her body.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Okay. You can keep it¡­ Actually, Let¡¯s see.¡± I reached over for my Tab, and accessed a quick bit of design work.

    The power plug on the leg, being left open wasn¡¯t great for it. So I¡¯d just take the plug and¡­ It needed something. No point in just making a cover. I scrounged around and found the perfect thing. A tiny operating light.

    I scanned it and combined the two pieces, and then sent the request to the Nanopaste that I had in my little store room. It was just a small batch, enough to make the casings and parts for the wheel modules.

    A moment later, using some grabbers I pulled the part out, made sure all the nanopaste was off it, and then inserted the light, and held it out to her.

    ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a light.¡± She confirmed, blandly, and I snorted.

    ¡°Yeah, but you¡¯ll need something to protect that plug in your new arm. Here.¡± I offered it to her, and she let me slip it in. The processing light turned on, and instantly her attention shot to it.

    She waved her arm up and down, and the red light continued glowing.

    ¡°You can change the colors too. You¡¯ll have to figure that bit out thou-Oh you got it.¡±

    The colors shifted until it landed on a green light, then it changed to Blue.

    ¡°Do you like it?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± She offered back and then she nearly took a flying leap off the bench I was working on, only my quick grab saved her.

    ¡°Hey slow down!¡± I scolded her, but settled her onto the floor where she quickly scurried out of the room going full speed, the squeaking of her legs on the floor panel echoing in her wake.

    ¡°Look what I have!¡± She cried out, and I could instantly hear all the Crabbits that heard her perk up and start heading over.

    Oh no. I¡¯d definitely just started a fad with them, didn¡¯t I?

    I couldn¡¯t help but just chuckle, at the excited cries through the ship. Thankfully instead of getting flooded with orders for more, my Tab beeped with a Comm message.

    I flailed for it, and picked it up.

    *Hammond: Omw*

    I blinked at the message and just snorted. Not much of a talker, but¡­ It meant it was time to hunt pirates.

    ¡°Do a full check of our combat systems!¡± I called out as I headed out of the work room. ¡°We¡¯ll be facing pirates soon!¡±

    ¡°Yay!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll show them our Math!¡±

 Chapter 26

    The hold door was down as I watched Hammond pull off the road. He looked a good bit rougher than he had before. Dirt and grime coated his face and beard, but as he stepped out of the hauler after parking, he flicked his tab at me before saying anything.

    I checked what he sent, and the data was clear.

    Coordinates in the nebula, undoubtedly where the pirates were hiding.

    ¡°This legit?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask as I looked up and he nodded.

    ¡°I¡¯d trust my life on it.¡± He said simply, as he started unloading his stuff from the hauler.

    I looked back at the Tab, the data was clear. An old hunk of rock floating in the nebula in the middle of nowhere, and even navigation data to get there.

    From the information it was undefended, just a hidden little cove for them to dock and repair when needed. But the way the information was formatted¡­ Sounds like this came from the pirates themselves.

    I shook it off, whatever was going on if Hammond trusted it, it was worth at least checking out.

    ¡°Okay, take some time. Get cleaned up.¡± I told him, as I started heading up towards the bridge.

    ¡°I can wait. How long till we arrive?¡± He asked, his gravely voice more urgent than I was used to.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need to check over the navigation system and find a sneaky path to the location. Wasn¡¯t planning on rushing up there.¡± I offered and he stilled.

    He seemed to swallow whatever he was going to say and nodded.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll hit the head.¡± I nodded in turn and hurried to the ladder. I could put this into the navigation computer, and get some better details. Maybe even a Warp emergence I could use.

    No, probably best to try and sneak through the nebula quiet.

    I¡¯d have to check out the data before I could decide.

    I slipped not into my captain''s chair but to the navigation console when I reached the bridge and transferred the coordinates over.

    ¡°Help me find a path?¡± I asked the Crabbit still sitting on the console and she cheered .

    ¡°You bet! Quick path! Quick path!¡± She chattered, and I smirked.

    ¡°We don¡¯t want the quick path. We need the sneaky path, we¡¯re playing hide and sneak.¡± I told her, and she went still her face screen shifted until her optics were locked on my face.

    ¡°Hide and sneak?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Hehehehehehehe!¡± She cackled almost evilly as she started going over the data, I noticed instantly as the console lit up with calculations that she was borrowing processing power from her sisters.

    Heh Crabbits always did take hide and sneak seriously.

    I settled in, let¡¯s find the path that gives me the best chance for victory.

    Path, after path was pulled up, checked, and thrown away as the Crabbits and I worked. Finally we came to a decision.

    We¡¯d leave the atmosphere, and jump to warp, go to a part of the nebula that was barren, facing out into nothingness, and pass through from there.

    It was slightly more dangerous, as the nebula was less scouted on that side, so I¡¯d have to go slow, but it should be much harder to notice us over there. Pirates wouldn¡¯t be checking a section of space that no one traveled through. They¡¯d be keeping an eye on the more active areas.

    Hopefully. It was worth at least attempting to be sneakier. If it didn¡¯t work, then it would be a battle regardless.

    I nodded satisfied at the plan, before I realized I had other tasks I needed to do.

    I¡¯d want to batten everything down, and prep the nanopaste sprayers.

    This was a battle, and no matter how dangerous the Phantom Star was compared to a couple pirates, I had learned a valuable lesson from the Octavius.

    A good trick could ruin your day.

    Good thing I¡¯d already come up with a few myself, just in case.

    As I hurried around the ship, locking things down, and talking to the Crabbits about a neat trick to hopefully secure us a win against anything strange, Hammond came up from the Hold, his hair still a little damp as he wiped at it with a towel.

    ¡°We¡¯re pretty much ready for liftoff. Going to jump to warp, and come around the Nebula from the rear. There¡¯s less traffic that way, and it should let us get close without them noticing. I explained as I went around the halls, closing doors as I passed, and locking them down.

    They probably wouldn¡¯t help if we got a bad hole, but maybe it would, you never know.

    ¡°Got it. Where should I go?¡±

    ¡°Oh, the bridge would be best, so you can see what¡¯s going on, but if you want to prep your gear near the airlock? Or the hold¡­ Probably the airlock. We¡¯re going to have to board them at some point, the airlock is more secure.¡±

    ¡°Airlock it is. I¡¯ll get geared up then.¡± He said without seemingly worrying about the combat ahead of us, and hurried off.

    Now if only I could get my stomach to stop doing flips.

    ¡ª--

    A quick burn off the planet and then just far enough that I could drop into subspace, and as far as the system was concerned, we were leaving.

    Sure, plenty of sensors in the system would be tracking our travel through the system, but as we started heading out away from the nebula, it would be obvious we were leaving and we would drop from anyone paying attention.

    Then far away, in a burst the Phantom Star returned to real space.

    I did what I could to lower any sensor registry from there. Our sensors went dark, as we turned and just followed the path I had decided on before ever lifting off.

    Hammond stood uneasy beside me, the guy was covered in guns now, a massive rifle strapped across his chest that I was pretty sure was a really high end laser kept catching my eye.

    It had a pretty song.

    But I focused on maneuvering us back to the nebula and then once we were inside, I turned back on the sensor systems, setting it to very short range.

    ¡°Well even if they did notice us, they won¡¯t now. This Nebula might as well be soup for all the return we¡¯re getting.¡± I muttered, and Hammond relaxed only partially. I noticed the way his hand kept clenching and unclenching.

    He was nervous, his eyes never leaving the sight of the nebula we were flying through. The multicolored gas cloud glowed even this far from this systems sun. It rippled as we passed through it, reflecting sunlight into a refractory brightness.

    There was a blip on my Tab¡¯s screen, just barely there for a moment. I gave the ship a sharp adjustment, just in time to miss an asteroid floating in the soup letting us fly around it.

    ¡°Give the sensors a bit more power.¡± I told my Crabbits, and I watched my Tab clear up a little bit on what I could see. Didn¡¯t want any more close calls.

    Dangerous, this was really dangerous, but I was fairly confident. I just needed to get close.

    ¡°How long until we get there?¡± Hammond asked, and I hummed, not really wanting to take the time to check.

    ¡°Navigation ETA?¡±

    ¡°Oh! That¡¯s me! Hmm. Fifty eight minutes!¡± She called back, and I nodded.

    ¡°That long?¡± He asked, as I once more, shifted, flying part of the gas cloud, so I could avoid the less dense areas.

    ¡°We¡¯re trying to be sneaky.¡± I explained, Sure, we could have arrived in a very short amount of time, but that would have been very direct, and very obvious.

    I reversed thrust, reaching over on my Tab, to flip the engine output.

    Then dipped down, flying around what could have become a moon if not for this nebula being sucked up by humanity.

    ¡°There¡¯s no straight path that isn¡¯t watched, so we aren¡¯t taking one.¡± I explained, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw his face firm, and nod.

    Good, I really didn¡¯t want to argue about the path I¡¯d chosen anymore. It was already not fun to fly through.

    Constantly checking the Tab, adjusting course, and speed, all so that I wouldn¡¯t smash into something.

    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    But, if everything went to plan, we¡¯d be there soon.

    ¡ª--

    Sinclair Kirkbride

    On board the Huskarl

    The computers surrounding her hummed, and she did her best to ignore them. Her boot clad feet up on the console her chair set all the way back.

    She was so done with this job. Who¡¯d have thought being a Pirate would end up just being a job?

    ¡°Hey Sin! Anything out there! The boss is getting hungry!¡± The voice echoed into her room along with a pounding on the door.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said there isn¡¯t! Fuck off!¡± She shouted back and Tiko walked off grumbling. Damn right. She looked around her little room. It had taken a long time before she was trusted enough to basically own this space. She was the undisputed Queen of The Huskarl¡¯s sensor, and Electronic Warfare Suite.

    EW specialists weren¡¯t common, and pirate ones¡­ Well they were there, but usually whoever they could throw into the job considering how important it was to any sort of raid.

    She¡¯d started out like that. Just some dumb kid enamored with some other dumb kid that was talking up how he was a pirate.

    Eventually she had become important enough that she could kick people out of her space and have some creature comforts.

    She glanced at the screen, actually looking if there were any targets.

    A few had potential, but she looked away from it.

    Piracy had seemed so much fun and exciting when she was a teenager. Fourteen years and numerous close calls had killed the adventure.

    That and the realization that the people she was with weren¡¯t exciting outlaws, but terrible people.

    She looked at the broken holo emitter. The old holo picture of her and Trent. Now First officer Dread, long destroyed in a fit of pique at him once more trying to have his way.

    She had thought he was the one for her. The scoundrel corsair couple that would rule the sector in terror.

    Instead she had caught him in bed with others, again and again, and his abuse had gotten¡­ Rough.

    Luckily she was the crew''s EW specialist. So when she finally put her foot down and broke up with him, the Boss had protected her from his wrath.

    Fucking piece of shit.

    Now she was trying to get out. Limiting the amount of attacks the Corsairs complete until she could escape was just smart business. Hopefully she¡¯d be able to hack in a new ID and be free from the past.

    She¡¯d sent out feelers to a few different groups, data and information through some merc connections. Hopefully one of them would get her out. Her skills were useful after all, and fucking over the Corsairs would be a benefit to anyone with half a brain.

    ¡°Hey!¡± The voice called out from the other side of her door and she jumped, quickly getting to her feet, slamming a hand across the screens to bring up a fake display.

    ¡°Boss!¡± She called out as she opened the door, looking up at the large man with his silly sprawling beard and eye patch that he didn¡¯t actually need, but used to play into the part.

    ¡°Sin, I¡¯m growing real impatient.¡± He growled glaring down at her.

    ¡°Sorry Boss, I heard. I¡¯m looking, but there¡¯s some weird movements in the Nebula right now. Some of the ships traveling around are almost¡­ Too easy. I¡¯m thinking bait, so I¡¯m doing some extra scans and-¡± Her voice died as he raised a hand with a massive finger pointing nearly into her nose.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it. We rule this nebula with the navy gone, and everyone knows it. I want a target, and I want my loot. You understand? We have a business to do, and you¡¯ve been slacking.¡±

    ¡°Yes Boss. Sorry Boss.¡± She acquiesced instantly, fearful he might actually react.

    Captain Barbatos, which was a fake name, his real one hidden so deep even Sin hadn¡¯t managed to find the man''s original ID. Looked at her with his one eye practically glowing.

    He was usually pretty reliable the sort of man that was a natural leader, but he liked being feared. Sometimes he took it out on the crew almost randomly to remind them to fear him as much as they loved the Creds he brought them.

    ¡°Good. Get me a target.¡±

    ¡°Yes Boss!¡± She said standing up straight and looking contrite.

    He turned and walked away and Sin had a moment where her heart was pounding and her hands shook. She needed a Klitz, it¡¯d calm her nerves, and then she needed a damn target. To get him off her ass.

    She shrugged, whatever, another batch of ¡®innocent¡¯ civilians would be under the Corsair Pirates thumb. Not the first time, not the last, and not her concern.

    Hell if she picked a good one, she might be able to get some extra creds for her escape.

    She turned back inside making sure the door was shut. She took a moment to wipe her hands across her face, and then through her spiked red hair. Pushing the mess back behind her ears as she calmed down, reaching for the pack of Klitz she had hidden behind some monitors. Fuckers would swipe them if she didn¡¯t hide them.

    She quickly ran the end across a bit of metal, and the end started smoldering, putting the other end into her mouth she inhaled, and exhaled.

    The smoke was light and soothing.

    ¡°Alright, who''s in trouble today?¡± She wondered, as she sat back in her chair actually active this time and pulled up the real sensor report, and started accessing the data she¡¯d pulled on each of them.

    Hauler? No. Transport? Possible, but it was already too close to landing.

    That one was possible, she could have the Huskarl in position and sending the distress beacon shortly¡­

    She exhaled and nodded. Slapping her comms. ¡°Found a gas transport that¡¯s taking the earthward path. Looks like traffic got him thinking he¡¯s safe.¡± She spoke instantly, and not long after the sinister laughter of Barbatos came over the line.

    ¡°Good! Good! Get that distress beacon of yours ready!¡± He roared out and she could hear the crew all roar along with him.

    Pirates.

    She rolled her eyes. She turned to her baby. The system that let this whole network work.

    Normally distress beacons are sent over subspace, and everyone would get the message. Anyone getting the message would come by to help, but that would lead to a lot of attention.

    She smirked. This was a message sent directly to one ship at a time, they¡¯d never notice it was a message and not a distress beacon. The message hacked into comm systems as it was sent out, and made it look like just a normal run of the mill distress beacon.

    Even better, she could configure it to look like an allied ship. Let¡¯s see this Gas Hauler was owned by¡­ Ah Stellar Course.

    She switched the message to a SC ship registry, and prepped the distress message.

    ¡°Okay Boss. Message is ready just need to get us-¡± She stopped mid call, as she looked at her screen.

    That¡­ That wasn¡¯t right.

    ¡°Sin?¡±

    She spun her chair and looked at the screen.

    What was that? The sensor was getting something, and the data was coming in, but that wasn¡¯t right.

    She pressed the Tab, commandeering the power she needed to enhance the image. That was¡­ On the completely wrong side of the Nebula, nothing came from that way. The only-

    ¡°Sin! The Black Hole is wrong with you girl?¡±

    That was an enemy ship. Coming straight for them. Was it one of her contacts? She hadn¡¯t heard anything, or was it just a Kenish Warship here to hunt some pirates?

    No, the Duchy was at war, they wouldn¡¯t bother coming here¡­ Right?

    She flipped switches, her sensors clearing up as the ship drew closer, and the additional power gave her what she needed.

    That¡­ That was not one of her contacts. That was too big to be Daylight Mercs, or Cosmosaic Shipping. It certainly wasn¡¯t Stellar Course. Maybe some crazy bounty hunter? She had passed the info to Connor to put into the bounty office¡­

    So she had a choice, inform the Boss, or use this as her chance to escape.

    She reached out and hit the distress beacon, the same one she had just configured.

    ¡°Sorry Boss, something¡¯s up with the beacon, the signal didn¡¯t upload right, give me five?¡±

    ¡°For Holes sake, get it working!¡±

    She returned to the beacon and uploaded a new message. She couldn¡¯t use Comms, not directly, not without the Boss noticing, but the beacon was entirely under her control.

    She activated it, something no one on the ship but her would notice.

    *I¡¯m trying to escape from these pirates. They¡¯re using me as an electronic warfare specialist. If you agree to get me out, I can help you take them down.*

    It was audacious, but¡­ She had to try. That ship coming out of the murk was a monster, and the Huskarl wasn¡¯t going to do shit to stop it. Maybe the Mauve Raider could slow it down, but she wasn¡¯t on the Mauve, and she¡¯d rather fuck these assholes over for all the bullshit.

    Then, Sin rushed around her room. Grabbing everything she might need, she had a data drive with some useful stuff stashed, and of course her bug out bag under her chair.

    It was only then she got a message back. A large data file.

    She blinked, it was requesting to be uploaded?

    She hesitated, was it a virus? She couldn¡¯t do shit if they locked her out of everything¡­

    Then she flipped it on, loading it anyways. Fuck it.

    ¡°Ah Hello! Hello!¡± The voice came out of the sound system on her Tab, which now had a pair of digital eyes looking back at her.

    ¡°Uh¡­ Hello?¡±

    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m here to help! I¡¯m a Crabbit!¡± It greeted her cheerfully, and she was struck dumb for a moment trying to understand, even as the lights on all her systems flashed as it started accessing them¡­

    It started accessing them?

    Oh Black Hole at the center of all¡­.

    ¡°A-a-AI?¡± She whispered in terror. She had just let an AI access her system!? Was that massive warship some AI deathfleet!?

    She felt her back press against the wall as she watched the eyes bounce happily around the large Tab screen before it blinked and looked at her. Directly at her. Despite just being a digital construct it was looking at her.

    ¡°Control Override. Opening all exterior hatches! You should stay inside.¡± It informed her, and suddenly Sin could hear the rumble of all the oxygen in the ship rushing away¡­

    All but what was in her room.

    She was doomed.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Ah! Second ship is powering up weapons!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine, we already confirmed our target. How¡¯s the signal?¡± I asked as I started really putting the power into the engines. We had a cleaner map of the area, so I could fully let the Phantom run loose.

    ¡°Ooh! They¡¯re bad at math!¡± My sensor Crabbit informed me, yet despite that I could see the targeting lock on the enemy ship distort and fail.

    They were now jamming.

    Damn. I hadn¡¯t managed to get close enough for an alpha strike, but at least the pirate freighter was no longer a threat.

    Not all the pirates had been sucked out with their entire atmosphere, unfortunately old Earth movies had lied to me about the dangers of decompression. Unless you were right at the front of the breach, so an entire force of the oxygen sucking out was behind you, you¡¯d probably get thrown around a bit but be okay.

    Shame, but it would definitely keep them out of the fight long enough, which was good since Hammonds bounty target was on that ship, and currently working with a Crabbit.

    We¡¯d gotten lucky they had been so quick to accept a Crabbit upload.

    I looked over at the Crabbit settled in the corner, the poor things Tab screen was dimmed, as its mind was elsewhere.

    It also had a whole horde of additional Crabbits in the ship giving their extra processing power to make sure it¡¯d be able to control that ship for a bit.

    I shook it off and focused. ¡°We¡¯re charging in. Get me a starboard broadside aimed and ready.¡± I demanded, and Tactical started whispering numbers under her breath.

    It was kinda scary, but she was my scary.

    ¡°A broadside?¡± Hammonds rumbling voice cut in, questioning.

    ¡°I want to get in between the two ships in case they decide to fire on their allies before trying to escape.¡± I explained and Hammond instantly nodded. He¡¯d been very firm that I had to do everything I could to keep his bounty alive. So that¡¯s what I was doing.

    I hadn¡¯t expected him to react so strongly when we got a distress message that was actually a normal comm. What a weird trick.

    I looked up from the Tab just in time to see a lucky shot ballon our shields. The blue cloud of energetic particles expanded before dimming out of view as the ballistic round slammed into us.

    It was a lucky shot, and not a threat. ¡°Keep their lock ons off me.¡± I reminded, and the Crabbit continued to work.

    They were a little sluggish. Too much of their processing power was given to the invading Crabbit right now.

    Something to consider for the future. Maybe a box full of processors to give them more power in emergencies? Wouldn¡¯t be good long term, but for short bursts- I shook off the wandering thoughts, and flipped the button on the Tab before pressing it again.

    The Nebula burned a little as the Thermal Lance turret started firing its lasers. Missing unfortunately, but I wanted the pirates on the back foot.

    They might not even realize what kind of weapon it was at the bow of my ship.

    I watched closely as the turrets lasers managed a lucky hit, but I didn¡¯t flick the switch for the Lance to open up.

    ¡°How''s their jump coming?¡± I asked. This wasn¡¯t like the last time I¡¯d faced pirates. We weren¡¯t working with a Kenish Navy Frigate with a military level of finesse towards Electronic Warfare. Nor were we outnumbered and prey. I was the biggest ship in the area, and these pirates were scavengers, preying on the weak. Of course they¡¯d try to jump into subspace and escape once a warship showed up.

    It was one of the reasons Electronic Warfare was so important. If I flooded their sensors with enough false data their Warp Controller might not be able to handle the data to safely jump.

    Right now the Crabbit at the EW station was more on the offense than defense. Trying to keep that ship in real space so we could take it out.

    Another hit to the Phantoms shields flared up, but it was minor at best. These pirates only had armaments capable of threatening civilian ships.

    In return I now had an angle, not just the Thermal Lance turret, but the new Laser batteries on the starboard side fired, And I watched as the pirate ships shields flared, as a few of the lasers managed to hit as the green lasers searched through space for their targets.

    To the Phantom they were just prey.

    Then it was time. Just before the Phantom would cross over the barrier from long range to knife fighting, I accelerated even more. A little bit of extra speed I¡¯d been saving.

    It meant that the moment we crossed the barrier, the pirates largest weapon, a Rail Gun of some sort, missed, as they¡¯d been using data from my previous speed.

    Without the ECM interference, the Phantom¡¯s sensors locked.

    ¡°Firing!¡± I called out and thumbed the button on the tab for the Thermal Lance.

    If the lasers and weapons shooting through the nebula had lit up the gas into a kaleidoscope, the Thermal Lance ignited a star. Everything went pinkish white, and the viewport dimmed in response to protect my eyes.

    ¡°Direct hit! Math was correct! Math is best!¡± The Tactical Crabbit cheered startling Hammond as he looked from her to me, but I just focused on the viewport.

    The glare faded as the reflection of the light on the gas faded, and it showed my deadly work.

    I swallowed as I watched the former pirate ship list to the side.

    It wouldn¡¯t be jumping to subspace anymore.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the other ship?¡± Hammond prompted, after a while and I blinked away the scene seared into my mind.

    ¡°Right. The other ship.¡± I turned, the Phantom. Work wasn¡¯t done yet.

 Chapter 27

    With both ships disabled, this fight was mostly over.

    But just because the ships were dead, didn¡¯t mean the pirates were.

    As the Phantom came up on the side of the overridden pirate freighter, I could already see pirates on the hull of the ship, those that had survived the decompression and being yanked out of their ship already returning to try and retake it.

    ¡°Do it.¡± I whispered to myself as my thumb hesitated over the button. I watched as they turned to me, and some even had weapons on them, minor lasers flashed over the Phantoms shield, doing so little it might as well be a joke.

    I pushed the button. The laser battery had already locked onto the pirates.

    Naval scale weapons, even just the smaller lasers that I fired did terrible things to people.

    I looked away, unable to really watch as the lasers lashed out using the Crabbits calculations to strike the men.

    Soon the only thing left was already cooling craters in the ship''s hull.

    ¡°Hammond I¡¯ll connect with the port airlock.¡± I told him, and as soon as the words left me he was gone, rushing off the bridge.

    With a few shifts on the controls, I maneuvered the ship into place and then we locked with the pirate freighter.

    I sat there for a while, should I get up? Should I go help? I wavered. I really wanted to just sit here and cry for a while, but instead I rose up and moved.

    Hammond was crew, I wouldn¡¯t let him go alone, and more importantly¡­ I needed this. This was part of being a ship captain. If I was going to hunt pirates, I needed to do this.

    ¡°Oh! Oh! Is it our turn! It¡¯s our turn right? Right?¡± The sudden appearance of a small squad of Crabbit floating up onto the bridge before I reached the ladder distracted me, and I took a moment to recognize which ones I was looking at.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re really ready, girls.¡± I muttered remembering the last experiment with them.

    ¡°Pleeeease! We want to help! We can help! Pleeeease!¡± One of them begged at me, tugging lighty on my sleeve, and I sighed and let out a chuckle.

    Of course they had no issue with the killing we had just done. They were innocent. Just happy to help. To do their job.

    ¡°Alright, come on, let¡¯s catch up with Hammond.¡± I called and turned to the ladder hurrying down. I raced across the ship to the airlocks and caught Hammond at the door. He had stalled for a moment, as he worked on a personal forcefield device around his neck.

    It looked cheap, and I did actually recognize it. While mine was built into my suits, and was a solid model that could save me from sudden decompression at any time, his was an old military issue. The short lived devices would last a few hours at best.

    Actual battery tech.

    That was rare. Batteries were something I¡¯d almost never seen.

    I¡¯d definitely have to get him an upgrade, even an Iris Drive hooked up to a jacket or something would be more reliable.

    Once he was done, he looked at me. ¡°My main target is going to be the Bounty. I need to find and secure her. I¡¯ll clear as I go. Just stay behind me, and keep my back clear. It could take a while to find her.¡±

    ¡°Wait. We know where she is.¡± I told him and he blinked in surprise. I looked to the Crabbits who cheered at getting to help, and the data beeped on his Tab. He looked at it for a moment checking his path and then he turned, hitting the switch for the door.

    His large laser rifle led the way into the decompressed ship. Stalking his prey. He looked menacing, and I was sure that his bounty, the woman that had actually reached out to the Phantom before the battle, would not be escaping from him.

    I drew my blaster, and the Crabbits took places around my shoulders as I moved towards the airlock. Hammond was already farther ahead, rifle checking corners.

    I felt my hands go clammy in my gloves even with my Crabbits around me for some protection. I squeezed the blaster for luck and slowly followed, making it two steps into the ship before the light of a laser shocked me to back up and hide for a second.

    Then I realized that it hadn¡¯t been an enemy firing.

    Hammond had fired.

    I swallowed back the bile. I¡¯d already killed way more people than he has today. Move forward. I had a job to do.

    I stepped forward and the Crabbits floated around me as I carefully moved into the ship.

    Should I just stay on the Phantom and let Hammond handle this? Yes, yes I really should, but if Hammond got hurt and I was too scared to help? I couldn¡¯t live with that.

    I moved around the corner and Hammond was down the curving hallway through the ship. I slowly stalked to catch up even as I saw another flash of light.

    I made it a way down catching up and saw the first casualty through an open door. I looked away and reached over to hit the door controls.

    I didn¡¯t really want to see that.

    My steps were silent eerily so thanks to the lack of air, but I had gravity thanks to the Crabbits, and Hammond leading the way.

    Which is why I was shocked when the Crabbits suddenly called out to me.

    *Ah! Captain! Bad buy! Bad guy!*

    I turned, there was a closed door that Hammond had already passed, but the Crabbits were close enough for their sensors. I hesitated, gun pointed at the door, but nothing happened. They just confirmed there was someone through there.

    I tilted my wrist even as I kept the pistol pointed to hit the Tab sewn into my sleeve.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    *Hammond. We have someone here.* I called out to him through comms as I kept my eye focused on the door.

    *I know. That¡¯s the bridge, doors locked. Looking through the rest of the ship first.* his gravelly voice came in through the comm, but¡­

    *Set up here. Let¡¯s do it.* I told my girls and they cheered as suddenly they shifted positions and came together.

    These were the four Crabbits that I¡¯d been working on making a shield out of.

    I winced as the shield emitter activated for a second. I was worried it was going to explode again, but without atmosphere there was less disruption and it actually held.

    For now. I had no doubt that if it took a hit from anything serious it¡¯d pop just like it did while testing it.

    So I hunkered down, staring at the door. Then suddenly I felt it. The entire ship suddenly shifted.

    *Ah! They took control! I¡¯m sorry!* I heard the message and knew what it was. Atmospheric controls had re-activated, the pirates on the bridge had retaken the ship from the Crabbit that had infiltrated, that was bad enough but-

    I looked up as the bridge''s door opened, revealing a person.

    He looked at me, and I looked at him. Only the blue light from the shield between us.

    My pistol was already aiming, and yet. I couldn¡¯t pull the trigger. His eyes widened, and he didn¡¯t hesitate. A gun was pulled out and brought up and yet¡­

    I couldn¡¯t move. My finger wouldn¡¯t pull the trigger. It just wouldn¡¯t move no matter how much I seemed to want to scream to pull it.

    And then his pistol raised up. The big dangerous looking blaster glowed as it engaged, and then he fired.

    It slammed into the shield, ballooning into an energy release as he jumped out of the way expecting a shot in return.

    I jumped out of the way as well not to fire, but because the shield emitters!

    A moment later there was an explosion washing over me. The shield emitter had failed. I realized in my head, but it was a primal feeling that got me scrambling back onto my feet as I started dashing until I was around the corner just enough before another discharge came down and slammed into the wall right past me.

    I slipped and scrambled before raising my blaster back towards the bridge, and firing, the cracking energy slammed into Klint metal and shrieked, and I just fired twice more at nothing just in the private hope that he wouldn¡¯t follow.

    I stood there pressed against the inner wall staring at the winding corridor and hoping that he wouldn¡¯t.

    Please don¡¯t come.

    Don¡¯t follow me.

    It¡¯s not worth it. You don¡¯t want to die.

    So just stay away.

    I hunkered down staring and slowly slowly I realized that¡­ He wasn¡¯t following. I shuddered, and realized I was panicking and not thinking.

    *Captain. You alright?* Hammond¡¯s gruff voice came over the line and I managed to keep myself from jerking at the sudden noise.

    *I¡¯m okay. Managed to dodge everything.*

    *Good, I got him. Your uh¡­ Drones are destroyed though.*

    I instantly got back to my feet and charged back around the corner to take in what had happened. The explosion of the shield failing as it was struck had scattered the Crabbit all across the hallway.

    Hammond standing at the door to the bridge his gun pointed in, but it was obvious the guy that shot at me was dead at his feet.

    I did my best not to look at the corpse and instead focused on my Crabbit.

    Which weren¡¯t nearly as damaged as they were pretending.

    *Noooo!*

    *I¡¯m dying!* They cried out but¡­

    *You all can float, you don¡¯t even like walking.* I reminded them a bit done considering how much adrenaline was flowing through my veins. They shifted to look at me, and then started rising from the floor. One of them even picked up her detached leg and carried it with her.

    *Fix?*

    *Yes I¡¯ll fix all of you, C¡¯mon now, we have a job to finish. Any other life signs you can register?* I asked, and there was some difficulty. Most of their sensor antennae were damaged, but we finally got confirmation. There were a few still alive.

    *I¡¯ll hunt them down¡­ Need to get to Sinclair, but we have to clear the ship first.*

    *Wait.* I demanded, and then changed the comm line my hands shaking a bit making it hard to hit the Tab. *I want another dozen of you girls to come over and start doing a full check. I don¡¯t want anyone hiding out. Send us updates if you find any pirates.* I called out, relaxing at what I should have done from the start.

    Hammond took in my words and then just nodded accepting the idea.

    I glanced at the broken Crabbits that were hamming up their injuries and at least a small smile broke across my lips. They were cute when they were faking for attention. I bent down still ignoring the body and started gathering parts to slip into my pockets.

    Hammond stalked off, to handle his job while I finished gathering the parts and carefully moved over the body into the bridge.

    *Lock the door down for me.* I asked, and the Crabbits went to work on that as I headed to the control consoles.

    *Hello hello!* The voice of the Crabbit network infiltrating the ship greeted me as I sat down.

    *Everything back under your control?*

    *Yes yes! Bad man is dead! Target Sinclair is very distressed but is locked down in the comms room.* It informed me, and I nodded as I took that in.

    *Tell Hammond that she¡¯s safe and secure for now. We¡¯ll capture her after everything else is clear.*

    *Yes yes!*

    Then I flopped into the pirate''s chair and sighed.

    I¡­ Didn¡¯t like getting shot at.

    ¡ª--

    I watched through the sensors as Hammond made his way through the ship. The Crabbits backing him up now, meant I felt less bad about abandoning him to clearing the ship.

    I just¡­ Yeah I was done. I wasn¡¯t ready for combat, leaping into it had¡­ It was stupid.

    I finished plugging a crabbits leg back in and had her give it a test. It spun around and curled a few times confirming it was fixed.

    ¡°Yay! Fixed!¡±

    ¡°See told you, you weren¡¯t dying¡­ Thanks for protecting me.¡± I told her and she looked up at me with her screen shifted into a big happy smile.

    ¡°Final pirate life sign cleared!¡± The Crabbit in the ship''s systems informed me and I nodded.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go meet our bounty target then. Get the ship aired up as well.¡± I said, and stepped back into the hallway that as I moved was already being filled with oxygen.

    Purposefully ignoring the dead body and the blood that had splattered on the ground when the Gravity panels turned back on.

    I caught up with Hammond as he was about to hit the room, and the moment he saw me, he had a look cross his bearded face that told me he didn¡¯t want me here, yet it vanished in a moment.

    ¡°Captain.¡±

    ¡°Hammond, let¡¯s secure your bounty.¡± I told him, and he sort of looked away from me as he looked at the locked door.

    He walked over and slammed a fist into it a few times to my surprise.

    ¡°Not worried she¡¯ll try to shoot you?¡± I asked, and he just jerked his head in a no.

    I could feel the door unlocking through the plating below my feet as it rumbled, and then slid open.

    The woman on the other side¡­

    Shit she was kinda cool looking. For a Pirate I mean, so not cool at all but lame¡­ Totally lame.

    She was totally punk rock. Red hair, slightly tattered clothes but in a cool way, a look on her face of faux confidence. But before I could say anything, she opened her mouth and her jaw dropped for a second and then she said something that I definitely wasn¡¯t expecting.

    ¡°Grandpa?¡±

    ¡°Sinclair.¡± Hammond rumbled as he pushed into the room, she flinched but was too slow, and he pulled the woman into a bone crushing hug.

    She was normal sized, and Hammond very much wasn¡¯t. He dwarfed her and she had no way to resist his bear hug.

    Wait.

    What?

    I looked on as the two reunited, and I just had to wonder what was going on. Hammond had said a Bounty¡­ If he was trying to rescue family, he should have told me.

    Huh. So his granddaughter was captured by pirates and her big tough space marine grandpa had come to rescue her?

    That was kinda sweet.

    Finally Hammond pulled away and Sinclair? Looked up at him, the shock finally starting to melt from her face.

    ¡°You¡¯re here to rescue me? I wasn¡¯t¡­ I wasn¡¯t expecting you.¡±

    ¡°You called for help.¡±

    ¡°To the bounty office, not you!¡± She hissed and then stopped looking away. ¡°Thanks. I guess that means I don¡¯t have to worry about being handed over to the Securitate then?¡± She asked, sounding a little hopeful, but then Hammond sort of turned a bit to look at me.

    Hmm?

    I blinked as I looked between the two faces. Was there something on my face? Did something happen? Why are you looking at me?

    ¡°Captain?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± I asked honestly, confused, and Hammond seemed a bit irritated at my incomprehension.

    Well excuse you! Why don¡¯t you actually say something!?

    ¡°There is still a bounty on Sinclair¡­ I didn¡¯t come here to collect it.¡± Hammond finally said, turning to face me and standing firm. ¡°I know it¡¯s a grave risk to harbor a fugitive, but she¡¯s my granddaughter. I won¡¯t turn her over to the Securitate. If you can take us to a rogue harbor, we can get off and you can go on your way, or if that¡¯s too much, if you could leave us one of the ships with enough to make repairs.¡±

    I blinked at him as my realization of this entire situation just shifted.

    Hammond wasn¡¯t working as a bounty hunter, he was just here to rescue his granddaughter that had a bounty¡­ I knew what happened to people that had bounties.

    They were hunted, and protecting them was pretty bad. You could end up getting a lot of attention for doing so, and¡­ She did have a bounty. Was that how he knew she needed help?

    Jeez this was actually complicated.

    ¡°I¡¯m not really a big fan of pirates.¡± I offered, trying to work my own head through the situation when Sinclair spoke up.

    ¡°Neither am I. You think they¡¯re bad, try living with them.¡± She grumbled darkly, and I took that in. She went still as she seemed to realize she snarked a bit before clearing her throat. ¡°So¡­ You¡¯re the captain of that warship?¡±

    ¡°The Phantom Star. I¡¯m Kat, Well Katherine. Just call me Kat.¡± I offered and there was a bit of a perking up in her body.

    ¡°Sin.¡± She responded back, as I looked her over there. She looked¡­ A little rough if you looked close. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she had bags under them. Her hair was a mess¡­ Did this freighter even have a real shower?

    Ew. I¡¯m very glad my forcefield is still active, I couldn¡¯t imagine the smell.

    Her clothes were rough and filled with holes. They might look purposeful, but they were definitely well worn.

    She had on an emergency jacket that didn¡¯t match her clothes at all. The jacket was designed to power a forcefield and such. It was crap. The sort of garbage that ran on batteries and dreams.

    ¡°Captain¡­ I know it¡¯s a big ask. I should have brought it up earlier. But just a flight out of here would¡­ Be appreciated.¡± Hammond finally said and I looked back at him.

    He looked stressed. Well, so was I.

    ¡°Listen¡­ Forget this for now. I want to secure these wrecks and loot what I can¡­ She¡¯s¡­ Your family, and your bounty I guess. So bring her on board, we have extra bunks. We¡¯ll¡­ Figure it out.¡±

    Hammond nodded looking to Sinclair who met his face and then looked away. ¡°Sure¡­ Can I get my stuff?¡±

    I hesitated and just shrugged. I turned on my heel and walked away.

    I¡¯d got into a space battle. Been shot at, been looking at dead bodies, and now had my arms full of damaged Crabbit¡­

    There was only one thing I wanted and that was to get someplace safe.

    ¡°Can you go out and grab up the remains of the other ship¡­ Unless it¡¯s drifted too far?¡± I asked the Crabbit in my arms. She tapped at her screen with one of her hands before shaking her head.

    ¡°Too far.¡±

    ¡°Uuuu.¡± I whined because that meant I¡¯d have to chase after it in this sludge.

 Chapter 28

    Sinclair Kirkbride

    ¡°What the fuck.¡± She hissed as she stared into a mirror. Grandpa¡­ Her Grandpa had shown up out of the blue with an AI warship and rescued her¡­

    The same man that had said without hesitation he would put a blaster through her skull when she ran off to join Trent. She¡¯d thought it funny then. As she called him a relic on the comm, the last time she¡¯d seen him fourteen years ago.

    But now?

    She¡¯d sent out the distress message through some tricky routing to keep any of her crew, or worse other pirates from finding out¡­

    She ran a hand through her hair. Actual hot water, what a fucking luxury. She needed a Klitz to calm her nerves.

    She took the towel that had been supplied warm and fluffy and finished drying off. A few minutes later she was re-dressed enough and stepped out of the bathroom into the hold. She swallowed. She never did get used to just staring out into open space, especially not without a suit and  Forcefield.

    But what was worse was the swarm of AI floating around. They chattered to each other, and worse to anyone they saw as they floated around.

    ¡°Hello! Nice and clean!¡± One called out to her as it floated past heading back out of the hold. She shuddered. This was a disaster. Was the AI in control? Who flew around with an active AI!?

    Yet she couldn¡¯t help but stare as part after part was brought floating into the hold by a team of the drones.

    It was part of the Huskarl Shield Emitters, and she was pretty sure that part was part of the weapons systems.

    I guess having AI to help scrap a ship down was useful.

    ¡°Sinclair.¡± A rumbling familiar voice spoke up and she turned from where she was staring to see her Grandpa. Standing a bit awkward and looking like he wasn¡¯t sure what to say.

    Yeah her either.

    Especially since all she wanted was to get into whatever room or cell that was waiting for her and just not, for a while.

    ¡°How did you even know to come?¡± She finally spoke, the question that had been burning on her mind throughout the shower.

    ¡°The Bounty¡­ I always kept an eye out for you. I saw your bounty and started searching for you¡­ I had to be the one, couldn¡¯t let anyone else catch you. One of my contacts reached out to me, with your message.¡±

    ¡°So you thought, to just capture your pirate granddaughter?¡±

    ¡°Rescue.¡± He said instead and she flinched as she looked away.

    ¡°What happened to a blaster to the head?¡± She asked harshly, and he stopped looking at her, just as she had stopped looking at him.

    ¡°I said that in anger¡­ I¡¯ve dealt with pirates for decades. Couldn¡¯t¡­ I couldn¡¯t deal with my own blood joining them.¡±

    ¡°Yeah well¡­ How''s Grandma? Aunt Cass?¡± She asked, it had been fourteen years since she¡¯d even¡­ Heard from them.

    ¡°Your¡­ Grandma passed. About eight years ago.¡± He said almost gently.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    ¡°Cass is fine. You should call her sometime¡­ The Captain of this boat is¡­ Nice. She¡¯ll probably allow it.¡±

    She nodded and then shuddered as she was reminded of what was going on.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with this ship? The AI, and the Captain¡­ She¡¯s kinda young looking.¡±

    ¡°She is. Not sure. Disavowed Noble maybe. She¡¯s a bit awkward, but a good person.¡± Her grandfather finally offered. ¡°A bit green, but she¡¯s¡­ Well she flys this thing.¡± He said while waving around, and yeah that fit.

    ¡°Fucking monster of a ship. When I saw it on the radar I thought I was dead.¡±

    ¡°You called out though.¡±

    ¡°Well of course I did! This thing would have butchered the Huskarl just like¡­ It wasn¡¯t a fight. Barbatos had delusions of grandeur.¡±

    ¡°Barbatos?¡±

    ¡°The Captain. He was¡­ An evil bastard, but he protected me from Trent. So I¡­ I guess I sort of regret it.¡±

    ¡°He was a pirate.¡± He rumbled, angrily, but breathed in and out. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright.¡±

    ¡°Yeah well¡­ They needed my skills. It kept me safe. Mostly.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep you safe Sinclair. Sinny.¡±

    ¡°Ugh, don¡¯t call me that.¡± She grumbled, her childhood nickname came off so lame. ¡°I just go by Sin now.¡±

    ¡°Nothing wrong with your name.¡± He grumbled, but he stopped and spoke seriously. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Katherine. We¡¯ll get dropped off somewhere, and I¡¯ll call in some favors to get home. Once there we can hide you out.¡±

    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll just go hide in the mountains living off stream water and fresh air the rest of my life. Nevermind the fact I¡¯m an Electronic Warfare Specialist! I¡¯m meant to be on a ship.¡± She hissed. All her life was down the drain. She¡¯d hoped it would be a merc outfit that would have picked her up. Or at least a bounty hunter willing to put her to work.

    She didn¡¯t want to be useless on some dirtball.

    She¡¯d run away to the pirates to get away from that!

    ¡°We¡¯ll figure something out.¡± He said then, but she could tell he actually meant that he just wanted to wrap her in fabric and hide her away.

    ¡°Hey Uh, Crabbit. Where is Captain Katherine?¡± Grandpa suddenly called out, and one of the fucking AI drones, jerked from it¡¯s path out the hold to float over.

    ¡°Hello hello!¡± I greeted as it floated sinisterly around her grandpa¡¯s head before seemingly coming in to land on his shoulder, its gripper grabbing at his jacket to stabilize itself. ¡°Captain is sad crying on the bridge as she oversees scrapping!... Oh I wasn¡¯t supposed to say that¡­ Uuuu. I¡¯m a bad girl.¡± It offered as it seemingly donked itself on the head with it¡¯s free arm.

    Sin blinked as she stared at the drone. What the hell was that?

    Grandpa seemed a bit more used to it and nodded. ¡°I¡­ Won¡¯t tell her you told us?¡±

    ¡°Oh no! Lying is bad. Red! Very very bad!¡± It warned him before seemingly perking itself up from¡­ It¡¯s mood? It was all artificial, why would it have moods like that? Was it trying to trick them? Make itself seem slower than it was?

    ¡°Alright¡­ We¡¯ll leave her alone for now.¡±

    ¡°Okay okay! Back to work! Hehehe!¡± It giggled as it floated away rejoining the line of drones floating around the hold and back out of the ship.

    ¡°This ship is weird.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ll take weird over broken. Tramp haulers¡­¡± Grandpa said with a tone of utter disgust.

    ¡°Oh yeah, I¡¯ve been there. The Huskarl is the newer ship, we uh, captured it, before that the piece of junk we were flying around on would break down at random.¡±

    His face tightened up for a minute before relaxing. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind hearing¡­ About everything.¡± he offered and Sin knew a trap when she saw one.

    ¡°Maybe another time. You know where I can¡­ Well I guess bunk? Unless there¡¯s a brig I¡¯m being stuffed in somewhere?¡±

    ¡°Yeah c¡¯mon.¡±

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Make sure you pull those power lines.¡± I said, as I looked over the Tab screen.

    ¡°Yes yes!¡± Chirped the Crabbit that was resting on my stomach. I had moved to my room and was currently curled up with a warm blanket and my Tab floating in front of my face thanks to my Crabbit as I took in the scans and data the Crabbit were sending over from the wreck.

    I rubbed at my eyes again which felt puffy and itchy. Stupid crybaby.

    All because I got scared in a fire fight. At least my Crabbit shield had sort of worked¡­ It¡¯d need a lot more adjustments. Considering how bad that had gone, it was now a much higher priority. Maybe¡­ An additional attachment?

    If I made a box that had the shield emitter, and just used the Crabbits as carriers it would probably work a lot better than trying to turn Crabbits into shields¡­

    Then again both were a good idea. No reason to only have one source of shield. Emitter did work better in a group.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    I sighed and looked back at the Tab. I had a thought of just keeping it. The whole ship I mean. It was¡­ Well a Junker, but even a Junker had value. But I didn¡¯t have the crew to even hope to handle that, much less want to put them in such a crunchy vessel.

    No better to loot it down, including its really well equipped EW setup.

    Sinclair¡­ She was a pirate, but going over the scans of her EW equipment, she definitely knew what she was doing. The crabbits knew some basics, but¡­ They weren¡¯t amazing. Fast, but rigid. They only knew how to do it like they¡¯d been shown by the Barons staff and what little I¡¯d managed to work with them on.

    But an actual EW specialist? Already the Crabbits were going to be grabbing every bit of the equipment. I¡¯d have to set up a new console on the bridge really dedicated to it.

    I swiped the screen and relaxed. The other wreck was drifting, but thankfully it was still in range without the sensors scattering too much, and it was still safe.

    I¡¯d have to go grab it soon to keep it from getting too far, but for now I wanted to ensure I got the best bits out of the ship first¡­

    Well if I decided to leave it. I could fly it back to UNK-L. Its navigation system was still intact, and it still had its Iris Drive.

    I groaned and turned over. Did I want to go home? Should I? I currently had a bounty target on board, and that would be really bad. Yet¡­ Hammond had wanted to rescue her in the end. Not actually hand her over.

    Can¡¯t say I was pleased he had lied to me about it. If I had known this was a rescue mission from the start¡­ Well I wouldn¡¯t have done much differently, but I would have felt a lot better!

    Plus there was the pirate issue. Sinclair was registered as a pirate. She even had a bounty on her head. No matter where she went she¡¯d have to stay off any scanners, or anything like that, or she¡¯d instantly be taken and thrown into prison.

    Or worse.

    Most places in the Duchy considered holding pirates a pointless affair. They were simply shot and spaced. Or if they were disliked, just spaced.

    I rubbed my face. My hands weren¡¯t shaking anymore. Not that I felt comfortable with what had happened today. I¡¯d¡­ I¡¯d messed up. I shouldn¡¯t have chased after Hammond with a half assed shield and no training.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need to add some blaster training into my schedule.¡± I muttered, maybe Hammond could run me through some military drills?

    No wait¡­ He was leaving¡­

    Hammond had been vital in taking out that pirate ship. I could probably have swarmed the inside of the ship with Crabbits, if I had bothered to actually arm them.

    But¡­ It still would be a risk. He had the training instincts, and equipment to do it himself.

    Was I going to let that talent walk off my ship?

    Former space marine, and former pirate Electronic Warfare specialist¡­ That sounded like the beginning of a pretty good crew. Sinclair had managed to not just lock her own ship down, but keep the other ship from escaping all at the same time¡­

    There was the start of a plan in my head, but I¡¯d need to actually talk to people first.

    I sat up. No point in hiding.

    ¡°Hmm? Kat?¡± My Crabbit asked, almost sleepily, she must be sharing most of her hardware with her sisters to sound like that.

    ¡°I¡¯m feeling better, want to come with me?¡±

    ¡°Yes yes!¡± She cheered coming back online and flying around me.

    I headed down and then into the mess room, fortunately it wasn¡¯t empty. Hammond was there. Using the countertops to clean his blaster rifle. The large gun was disassembled and he was going over it.

    I took a moment before I alerted him to actually listen.

    The gun sounded well taken care of. Its tones were clean and clear. Yet¡­ It felt old. Worn in places. No doubt it¡¯d seen a lot of conflict. I considered how to broach the whole thing, and this was a good enough offer as anything.

    ¡°If you ever want me to go over that, I can do that. Replace some of the old parts if anything is getting worn.¡± I offered in greeting and he stopped.

    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it, but if I¡¯m running Sinclair back home¡­ There won¡¯t be much reason to use her anymore.¡±

    ¡°If.¡± I added, and that finally got the older man to turn to me fully.

    ¡°If?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I said¡­ I don¡¯t¡­ Need a crew exactly. Not for the Phantom, not if I¡¯m just doing normal jobs. Going place to place just delivering packages, and stuff like that I can do alone¡­ But hunting pirates? Getting into fights. That¡¯s something¡­ I¡¯m not so good at, but you are.¡±

    ¡°Honestly I only came back to it, to hunt down Sinclair¡­ I retired back to Callum after everything¡­ Expected to live my life there. Lived with my sister''s family for a while. Helped out around the place. Cattle ranching, farming and hunting¡­¡±

    He went silent for a long while. ¡°So you want to go back.¡±

    ¡°Hell no. I hate cattle, and I hate farming.¡± He said back instantly, surprising a laugh at how blunt his dislike was. ¡°But it¡¯s the sort of place that Sinclair can hide out. No one¡¯ll ever look for her there¡­ So that¡¯s where I¡¯m going.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯d prefer to keep working? On board a ship that could use a man that knows his way around a gun?¡± I offered, and with that he turned from his rifle to look completely at me.

    ¡°If I had a choice, that¡¯d be preferable.¡±

    ¡°Sinclair¡¯s a pirate. You¡¯d need a noble, or someone in the government to help out.¡± I mentioned casually.

    ¡°I figure I would.¡± He responded back, his eyes intense. ¡°This the big reveal that you¡¯re some noble kid?¡± He asked suddenly and my entire thought process ground to a halt.

    ¡°What? No? My dad is a scrapper, and my mom is a¡­ Let¡¯s call her a socialite.¡± I explained and his face shifted into confusion.

    ¡°Really? With the ship I expected?¡±

    ¡°I made the Phantom Star myself. With a whole lot of help from my Crabbits.¡± I explained and the Crabbit on my shoulder waved at being acknowledged.

    ¡°Then¡­ That still leaves us where we were. We need a Noble.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I know a guy. I could talk to him. I''d probably owe him a favor, but he¡¯s a Baron. He¡¯d be willing¡­ Probably.¡± I offered and I saw something kind of flattering in Hammonds eyes. Hope.

    ¡°You¡¯d do that?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ It depends. I¡¯m not entirely altruistic here. Sinclair¡¯s an EW specialist. I¡¯m sort of lacking one of those right now. But¡­ I don¡¯t like the idea of demanding she work for me, if I did this. I mean, we haven¡¯t talked to her, to find out if she would even be willing-¡±

    ¡°Probably something you should do first, yeah.¡± Another voice called out startling me, as Sinclair came around the corner. She was wearing the same clothes as before, but she¡¯d obviously showered, and wasn¡¯t quite as done up. She looked¡­ Tired to be honest.

    ¡°Sinclair. Eavesdropping is rude.¡± Hammond rumbled, but Sinclair despite being in her twenties rolled her eyes like a teenager.

    ¡°We haven¡¯t had a chance to talk, and it seems like you¡¯ve been coming up with some ideas.¡± She offered to me, and I nodded my head.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You did a good job on that other ship. Kept them from jumping away.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s what I did for the last decade.¡± She offered simply, and I could see Hammond tense at the explanation.

    ¡°Then¡­ If you could do it to hunt pirates instead, would you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not picky about targets.¡± She said which earned her no points for me, but she settled against the counter across from Hammond and crossed her arms. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to live the rest of my life on some dirt ball. If you can clear my name. I¡¯ll work for you¡­ Until it doesn¡¯t work anyways.¡±

    ¡°Sinclair. Be more polite. Captain Katherine is offering you¡­ Your life back.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m thankful, but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m swearing myself to slavery here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not asking for that.¡± I offered and then breathed in and out. ¡°I¡¯ll offer you the standard crew contract. You¡¯ll get paid. You¡¯ll work, and if you want to leave you break the contract and I drop you off.¡±

    ¡°And what¡¯s the price then?¡± She asked, a bit harshly. ¡°People don¡¯t just ask favors from nobles for nothing. That¡¯s a big cost.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already worked with him in the past. It¡¯s fine.¡± I said despite it kinda not being.

    Was this the right thing? She was a pirate, she didn¡¯t even seem all that bothered by the fact. This wasn¡¯t a woman that stopped being a pirate because she saw how horrible her actions were, she did it for herself¡­

    I stared until her eyes caught mine and our eyes locked.

    She looked away first. Almost instantly. Was that regret? Shame? Or was she just unhappy about her powerless position right now?

    It was impossible to say, the only thing I could do¡­

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll put my faith in you then.¡± I decided and that earned a look of surprise from the woman.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Well there¡¯s no way for me to know for sure if you are really going to be a good fit, or a good person. So I can either turn you away, bring you on and constantly doubt and suspect you, or just have some faith. So I¡¯ll do that. It¡¯s less stressful.¡± I decided, and shrugged.

    ¡°That¡¯s so stupid.¡± She offered back, and I smirked, because someone that was trying to trick me, wouldn¡¯t have said something like that!

    Probably!

    ¡°Alright, I need to go find the other ship and scrap what I can from it. We¡¯re going to keep the hull of your ship, and sell it off back home. I¡¯ll be able to talk to the Baron from there.¡±

    Hammond nodded, while Sinclair continued to just stare at me with an array of emotions constantly appearing and hiding on her face.

    ¡°But before that¡­ We did just finish a big battle so we should celebrate right? Anyone hungry?¡± I asked, pointing at the protein resequencer and earning myself a bit of a surprised look. ¡°Great, what does everyone want to eat?¡± I asked before anyone could actually say anything. Some food would likely break up the tense atmosphere.

    I hurried over to the protein resequencer, and started it up, slowly getting it turned on and active.

    ¡°Anything is fine.¡± Sinclair offered, but Hammond came over and put in his order as well. The fact both of us were setting up the machine got Sinclair interested.

    ¡°Wow. That¡¯s not a cheap unit.¡± She muttered as she got closer.

    ¡°Nope. I splurged on a good one. Good Protein too.¡±

    ¡°The meals here are good.¡± Hammond offered to his granddaughter and she seemed to perk up at that.

    ¡°Wait, you buy high quality protein?¡±

    ¡°Yeah why wouldn¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°Maybe because it¡¯s expensive?¡± She offered back a little shocked.

    ¡°It¡¯s really not.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but argue. ¡°I bought a ton of it when I was first picking up rations. Oh we have some fruit in the freezer. It¡¯s called Vinefruit. It¡¯s pretty good.¡± I offered and that had Sinclair¡¯s jaw drop a little in shock.

    ¡°Fresh fruit?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ It¡¯s frozen now. But it should still be pretty fresh.¡±

    ¡°And I can just have some?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re hungry you should eat.¡± I explained simply. And then smiled as the resequencer dinged. ¡°Foods up!¡±

    I smiled as Sinclair perked up at the smell wafting from the steaming plates. I grabbed two and carried them over. I handed one of the identical meals to Sinclair. ¡°Welcome aboard.¡± I offered, and for a moment she smiled an actual normal look.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡ª--

    It was a bit hard to have a big crew meal around the mess hall without a table, but that was still on the important things to buy list. But we made do, and Sinclair seemed to actually get used to the whole thing.

    After the meal, I got back to work. Sinclair was still settling in, and Hammond was hovering over her, but that left the real work to me.

    Which was fine. This was the fun part.

    ¡°Okay you know what to do?¡±

    ¡°Yes yes! Navigation complete!¡± Chirped the Crabbit and I reached down and stroked her chassis.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good girl. We¡¯ll be following you soon, just head straight to UNK-L and send the message once you arrive, but we¡¯ll probably beat you there.¡±

    ¡°We can do it! No problem!¡± She responded excitedly, and I couldn¡¯t help but stroke all of their chassis for a minute.

    Five of my Crabbits were taking the Huskarl, and would jump it back to UNK-L while I scrapped what I could out of the ship I¡¯d blown apart.

    It¡¯d be good Creds, and¡­ I already had to head back to UNK-L anyway to talk to the Baron.

    But it still meant I had to leave my little Prize Crew traveling on their own.

    I¡¯d taken a bit of time to make sure the engines, navigation, and comm system were all functioning on the ship. Although not much else was.

    Still¡­ I didn¡¯t like sending them off on their own. When I left the Crabbits back in the old freighter when I¡¯d left it¡¯d been something I had to do, and it was mostly safe since they were where they always were.

    But now they were off on their own.

    ¡°Okay. I set up a Tab that¡¯ll play lots of shows, and you can pause and stop it, but don¡¯t get distracted and forget to check on navigation, and don¡¯t watch it all the time. Do something else sometimes¡­ Don¡¯t forget to sync up, so you don¡¯t overload your databanks.¡±

    ¡°Roger roger! We¡¯ll be good girls! Everything Green!¡± They all nodded at me, and I nodded along with them. I¡¯d picked some of the calmer less rambunctious girls for this.

    ¡°I believe in you. I¡¯ll see you soon.¡±

    ¡°Yay!¡± They cheered as they floated onto the Huskarl. I hit the switch closing the airlock and disengaging the clamps.

    They were on their own now.

 Chapter 29

    I landed in the hold with a gentle exhale as I looked behind me.

    Hehe! The pirate freighter that I had destroyed had been a gold mine. Even if most of the components on the ship were trashed, some things had survived.

    The glowing Medium Iris Drive the Crabbit were hauling in behind me was exactly what I had hoped to find in the wreck.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good find.¡± Hammond offered from deeper in the hold, although the large man seemed uncomfortable in the open hold.

    ¡°It is! This is worth more than the last few deliveries I did. It¡¯s great!¡± I cheered as I watched the Crabbits set it down and secure it. ¡°Anything from Sin?¡± I asked, using the name the former pirate had asked me to use.

    Hammond looked irritated at the name, but didn¡¯t argue. ¡°She says she has the stash coordinates. We can head there when you¡¯re ready.¡±

    ¡°Awesome. Yeah I think I got most of the value out of the wreck. Let¡¯s get everyone back on board and head out.¡± The pirates had an asteroid out in the middle of this nebula soup that they were dropping off all their loot at until they could sell it off to pirate traders.

    Funnily enough there was an actual market for trader ships that brought pirate loot and then jumped it a few sectors away to sell it off.

    Damn pirates. I shook that off and flicked my Tab. ¡°Alright girls, gather up whatever is left, we¡¯re heading out.¡±

    I winced a bit as my Comm suddenly exploded with positive responses and just waited out the Crabbits energy.

    ¡°They¡¯re¡­ Exuberant.¡± Hammond offered as he watched the pair that had moved the Iris Drive float up to the main ship, both chattering away with each other happily about their adventure¡­ Despite both of them being together the whole time.

    Silly girls.

    ¡°Yeah. It bothers Sin. Does it bother you?¡±

    ¡°A little.¡± He offered instantly. ¡°I never worked alongside AI before. Never seen a ship that wasn¡¯t real top brass that even used them.¡±

    ¡°Most military ships have drones I thought?¡±

    ¡°Drones sure.¡± He offered back before shaking it off and turning back to face me. ¡°But you¡¯re the Captain.¡±

    ¡°I am, the Crabbits aren¡¯t going anywhere. That¡­ It won¡¯t be an issue, will it?¡± I asked firmly, just so there were no misunderstandings. I wasn¡¯t about to subject the Crabbits to social issues like that. They were still young.

    ¡°I¡¯ll live.¡± He offered back and I hesitated.

    ¡°If you want to leave even after I get Sin¡¯s name cleared. That¡¯s fine¡­ It¡¯ll be annoying, because you¡¯ve proven you''re useful, but I don¡¯t want a crew that doesn''t want to be here.¡±

    ¡°I forget how young you are.¡± He offered, and before I could even start to feel offended he continued. ¡°It¡¯s fine. They haven¡¯t done anything that freaks me out. Just something I¡¯ll get used to.¡±

    ¡°Could always set one of the girls as your partner.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll pass.¡± He said simply, and I chuckled, because that might entirely be his choice, if one of them grew attached to him, that would pretty much be that.

    I turned away staring out into the nebula as I waited for my girls to come back. As I did I unzipped my suit. And pulled my arms free.

    While I was comfortable going pretty bare in space, the nebula meant it was just safer to be completely covered.

    Finally the last few girls came floating in with chunks of scrap, or parts, and I closed the Hold.

    I hurried back up the ladder once again promising myself to get the damn elevator working sometime soon, before climbing more ladders to the bridge.

    Could just zero G up the ladder, but the exercise was good for you, and I¡¯d keep that for special occasions. Like when I surfed my chair up to the bridge.

    I chuckled a bit at the thought as I climbed up to the bridge. It only took a few steps to realize there was a problem.

    ¡°Yay!¡±

    ¡°Good job!¡±

    ¡°Tricksy math! Good good!¡±

    Sin didn¡¯t look happy, covering her head as she lay face down on the EW console that had been hers on her former ship.

    ¡°Sin?¡±

    ¡°Oh thank the Hole. Please help.¡± She jerked up and then ducked as the Crabbits continued to float above her in a circle and congratulate her.

    Ah. They were trying to be positive with her. Usually they didn¡¯t just keep going like that. I watched for a minute as they continued to congratulate her, before I realized I really did need to intervene.

    ¡°Alright girls! Thank you for being nice to Sin, but she has some work to do, why don¡¯t you give us some space.¡± I called out as I walked over, and the Crabbits broke off to float around me. I could see their little faces on their Tab screens shift from positive shouting, to sad as they flew around.

    ¡°She¡¯s sad.¡±

    ¡°So sad.¡±

    ¡°Cheering didn¡¯t work Captain.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ Kat, help!¡±

    ¡°Okay I¡¯ll take care of it. Good job. You didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡± I told them, and their screens shifted to happier smiles as they floated off.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t do anything wrong?¡± Sin whispered at me as I approached, and I had to stop and take a breath before I snapped at her.

    ¡°They¡¯re trying to make friends. You acting scared of them, is just confusing them. Sorry. If they bother you, you can just tell them to give you a little space.¡±

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll let the AI know that I don¡¯t like it. I¡¯m sure that¡¯ll go well for me, when they decide they don¡¯t want to be controlled.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re harmless¡­ Well they¡¯re good girls.¡± I corrected. They were certainly not harmless. Especially not once I started giving them some better upgrades.

    I still remembered holding the broken girls in the ship after the shield failed. Remembered the way my hands kept shaking, and how-

    ¡°Anyway.¡± I interrupted. ¡°You got the stash location?¡±

    ¡°Sure it wasn¡¯t hard since you brought over the nav console.¡± She flicked her Tab and I checked the data. That wasn¡¯t far. Good.

    I really wanted to get the hell back to UNK-L, hopefully meeting the Crabbits I¡¯d sent off as a prize crew, and hopefully all of them would be put together and not exploded or something.

    ¡°Great, let¡¯s go see what the pirates have collected¡­ Or I guess I should just ask?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been there, but we weren¡¯t allowed in so to speak.¡± Sin explained with a shrug. I noticed she was messing with the mess of consoles and systems I¡¯d installed setting things up to work better together I thought.

    Or at least more comfortable for her.

    ¡°Then I guess it¡¯ll be a surprise.¡± I said as I settled into my chair to input the navigation data. Hmm. We were pretty far from the stash. It was on the entirely opposite side of the nebula. I started working on a path to it, my Navigation Crabbit helping out. She was getting pretty good at it actually.

    Then when the path was plotted, and started up the engines and sped away from the wreck of the pirate ship.

    I slipped through the nebula much faster than I had when sneaking up on this area. The pirates had a really high quality map of all the rocks and junk in it, so the new path let me really kick the engines up without worry.

    It didn¡¯t take long at all, to break free from the gas into one of the long tunnels through the nebula formed from constant travel.

    ¡°So, how long did you do the pirate stuff around the nebula here?¡±

    ¡°Years. It¡¯s a good spot. The gas causes sensor disruption, and even distress signals don¡¯t get far. That and the gas is worth a nice stack of creds.¡± Sin actually answered after a while to my surprise. I hadn¡¯t expected a real response.

    Sin had been¡­ Quiet since she came on board. She didn¡¯t like talking to me much.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be pretty obvious, selling the gas?¡±

    ¡°No, there are a lot of minor harvesters all over the place. Sure the big consortiums extract more in an hour than most of the little harvesters do in a month, but they only sell with restrictions. The little harvesters sell to smaller businesses, or private markets.¡±

    ¡°Seems like a lot for just some gas.¡±

    ¡°The rumor is it has something to do with lasers.¡± She offered back idly, and then made a happy noise, as she looked over her set up. ¡°There we go.¡±

    ¡°Something happen?¡±

    ¡°Just finally got this all working again. It¡¯s a pain in the ass to get all this junk synced up. Your comm setup isn¡¯t going to be able to handle all of this by the way. If you want me to be able to attack and defend, I¡¯ll need something a bit more heated.¡±

    I nodded absently, focused on the view. The tunnel I was in ended, into one of the massive openings in the center of the nebula where the massive harvesters were gathering.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do, should have some stuff from the salvage. Girls add a comm system upgrade to my to do list.¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes yes! Added! Priority level?¡± The Crabbit on my shoulder asked, and I shrugged.

    ¡°Put it pretty high.¡±

    ¡°Added!¡±

    I ignored Sin¡¯s shudder at the reminder my Crabbits existed. She¡¯d get over it. Or not.

    ¡°So this noble you know. You really think he¡¯ll give me a pass?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± I offered simply, but I realized for me this was just a frustrating situation where I had to deal with someone I didn¡¯t like, for Sin it was her life. ¡°I¡¯ve worked with him before, and¡­ We fought pirates together funnily enough. I saved his ship, he saved my home station¡­ I also built some stuff for him. He¡¯s been trying to get me to work for him.¡±

    ¡°Really? A noble wants you to work for him? And you¡¯re still independent?¡±

    ¡°Thankfully yes.¡±

    ¡°Thankful? Why wouldn¡¯t you want to work with a Noble? That¡¯s the cushiest job in the sector.¡± She asked, and I tore my eyes away from the screen for a moment to look at her.

    She had turned in her chair to look at me, her red hair wild and almost feral looking gave her a sinister look, which was definitely purposeful, but her face was all confusion.

    ¡°Because I made the Phantom Star, so I could be free.¡±

    ¡°Free huh? Wait, made? What do you mean made?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that yet? The Phantom Star, I made her from scratch. Top to bottom.¡± I offered before turning to look back where I was going, focusing on actually piloting.

    ¡°What the fuck? How the hell¡¯d you do that?¡±

    ¡°I made an AI drone swarm.¡± I said a bit dryly, maybe even a bit cruelly, since she was bothered by them.

    ¡°I¡­ Yeah I guess that¡¯d do it.¡± She said turning back around and that was the end of that conversation.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°That¡¯s kinda cool.¡± The stash ended up being an old ship smashed into the side of an asteroid.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what it is. I always wondered, considering he would use the airlock to hand off the goods.¡± Sin muttered and I looked at her and frowned.

    ¡°Well I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s a great idea. Girls, let''s get as good a scan of that airlock as we can please. I¡¯m worried about traps.¡±

    ¡°Eh, the Captai-I mean, Barbatos wasn¡¯t that good with tech.¡±

    ¡°Gonna be careful anyways.¡± I offered, as I brought the Phantom as close as I felt safe to the floating asteroid and broken ancient ship. ¡°Girls I want a dozen or so of you to float over and check everything out. Be careful.¡±

    ¡°Oooh!¡±

    ¡°I wanna go!¡±

    ¡°No me!¡± The bridge crew started chattering but I shook my head.

    ¡°You all have jobs to do, so you have to stay.¡± I offered, but then I could hear the arguments going through the whole ship, as every Crabbit wanted to go out and explore. ¡°Figure out who''s going, or I¡¯ll pick.¡±

    ¡°Aww.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    I settled in as the Crabbits went out through the hold in a line of dozens of them to land on top of the broken old ship. Some sort of long haul freighter? It was old for sure. Maybe a colony ship? Those could be weird since they would have come from before the Duchy even had its own style of ship.

    Also colonists would have come from a higher tech sector. I wonder if there was anything interesting leftover?

    The thought left an urge in me to head over myself, but I stayed put. Let the Crabbits check it out. Their sensors were good, and they were getting better at hide and seek.

    Heh. I hadn¡¯t really planned for Hide and Seek to be training for boarding actions, but it had its benefits.

    ¡°Captain Captain! There¡¯s something on the airlock, yep! See?¡± My Tactical Crabbit called out, as they were obviously sharing sight with the Crabbits that had floated over to the ship.

    I looked at my Tab that changed to a slightly fuzzy vision of what the Crabbits were looking at. Stupid nebula disrupting signals.

    ¡°That¡¯s not a bomb.¡± I said confidently, looking it over, it looked more like-

    ¡°That¡¯s what he wanted that for?¡± Sin asked suddenly, as she had walked over to look.

    ¡°You know it?¡±

    ¡°I built it. It¡¯s just a screamer. Basically a distress signal. It sends a specific message back to the Huskarl.¡±

    ¡°Well I guess that¡¯s safer than a bomb. Do you know a way to disable it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, here.¡± She grabbed her Tab and a few moments later some simple instructions were flicked over. The Crabbits got to work and the device was disabled with just a few wires snipped.

    ¡°That was easy.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t meant to be like a bomb or something.¡±

    ¡°Well that¡¯s one thing, but I¡¯m not confident yet. Keep scanning and double check everything girls.¡± I ordered and got a happy wave from the optics we had been looking through before they continued on.

    ¡ª--

    We finally linked up after triple checking everything, the Crabbits had even slipped inside to look around, without finding anything dangerous.

    Sin and I were standing behind Hammond as the airlock cycled and then opened.

    ¡°Forcefields up.¡± He demanded and flipped on his own as he took a step on board.

    There was no atmosphere, and no gravity working. But while he started floating looking around I just followed him at a normal pace, my Crabbit giving me some Gravity.

    I once more looked at Hammond as I walked sort of up to him with a quirked eyebrow, and a moment later another Crabbit came up as I waved for them and he slowly lowered to the ground with Gravity.

    *Forgot about that.* He muttered a bit grumpily and I just smiled happily before focusing once more on the ship around me.

    It was ruined. Hanging cables, and panels hanging from the wall. It looked terrible, this was definitely a wreck.

    *Crabbits, have you found anything?* I asked, looking towards my shoulder Crabbit.

    *No, not yet. They¡¯re beating us in hide in seek¡­ We¡¯ll win though!* She assured me, and I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.

    *It¡¯s okay, just keep an eye out for anything out of place. Sin, you coming?* I called out over the comms. The woman was standing at the entrance.

    *I guess.* She responded back after a moment, hesitantly. It made me a bit suspicious for a moment, before I realized it was because the Crabbit hovering around her, helping her with the gravity situation.

    She really was a scaredy cat when it came to my girls.

    Hopefully some time will help her get more comfortable with them.

    We started exploring, and thankfully, it didn¡¯t take long for us to find what we had come for.

    Inside the hold of the ancient spacecraft were crates all stacked up, and obviously newer than the ship around it.

    *Bingo.* I couldn¡¯t help but state as the door opened and we walked inside. This was a lot.

    *What?* Sin asked, looking at me funny.

    *Nothing, don¡¯t worry about it. Let¡¯s see what we got.* I walked over to the first crate and hit the electronic release pad, and it released, the front opening revealing¡­ *Aww man what¡¯s this junk?*

    ¡°Trion Gas. It¡¯s the stuff they harvest out of the nebula. Why did he bother keeping this?¡± She asked and I didn¡¯t have an answer either. I went to the next crate. And thankfully this one was full of something more useful.

    Weapons.

    ¡°Huh.¡± I muttered pulling out a blaster rifle. I¡¯d never seen the design, but as I pulled one free and started looking it over, I picked up pretty quickly it wasn¡¯t the highest quality.

    ¡°Blasters?¡±

    ¡°Seems so. You recognize these?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, not a gun gal.¡± She offered and I had noticed she didn¡¯t even have a blaster or weapon on her hips even now.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t carry as a Pirate?¡±

    ¡°Oh I do. Got a nice pair of blasters when I need to show off or defend myself, but I¡¯m not a soldier, and¡­ Well I¡¯m new to your crew. Figured I¡¯d go without for a bit.¡±

    I took that in. Huh, she was actually surprisingly careful.

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about that later. Girls! Let¡¯s get all of these moved over to the Phantom! Check them first, make sure none are dangerous or bombs or something, but I want everything we can grab.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll get them Captain!¡± Shouted the Crabbits over comms as they started floating into the hold in a rush.

    ¡°C¡¯mon. Let¡¯s finish checking the rest of the ship.¡± I told Sin, who nodded, we both headed out of the hold up the stairs leading to the next floor and I opened my Comm. *Hammond, we¡¯ve found the loot, while the Crabbits grab everything We¡¯re going to keep looking around. Find anything?*

    *The captains quarters. This ship¡¯s a few hundred years old if what I¡¯m seeing is right.*

    *Yeah, I noticed that. Sin you want to come with me? I want to pull the computer data if I can.*

    *Sure.*

    ¡ª--

    I watched as space turned into confetti, as we dropped into subspace. Finally on our way to catch up with my girls.

    I hope they were okay, I hope they weren¡¯t scared.

    Shaking it off, I hit the gas and we took off towards our destination, navigation was set, and the Crabbits monitoring things I stood up and stretched.

    It was quiet up on the bridge, the girls up here were mostly just idling sharing their resources with their sisters causing trouble.

    I slipped down the ladder and into the mess hall my drink canister pulled out and stuck into the drink mixer for a moment to refill.

    ¡°You really just have all this stuff open to use huh?¡± Sin asked, from where she had a plate of recently cooked food in her hands.

    ¡°Yeah. I just think it¡¯s weird that people can¡¯t eat when they¡¯re hungry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a good way to have some idiot eat all your food.¡± She pointed after chewing, and pointing her fork at me. I looked her over. Her red spikey hair was cool. She looked like the kinda woman that became a pirate.

    It was kinda cool. Also annoying. I wish I had cool anime protagonist spikedhair.

    I could probably alter it, if I really wanted? I ran a hand through my blonde hair but ended up just shaking it off. I would look weird with red hair.

    ¡°I think if an idiot eats all my food, then I¡¯m the idiot for hiring them in the first place, and they won¡¯t be on my ship much longer regardless.¡±

    ¡°Heh. I guess that¡¯s fair. You¡¯re not a pirate, and you¡¯re not military, so it¡¯s easier for you.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s the room? Need anything?¡±

    ¡°Bit empty, but the bunk¡¯s comfortable.¡±

    ¡°Well if you need anything let me know. I still need to pick up a nice table for in here.¡± I mumbled looking at the big empty space. I had wanted a wood one, but should I just make one out of nanopaste?

    ¡°So, let¡¯s say everything goes smoothly. You clear my name, and I stick around¡­ What jobs exactly are we doing? Pirate hunting?¡±

    ¡°Sometimes.¡± I agreed instantly, locking eyes with her own. Her reddish eyes shifted away purposefully not matching my own. ¡°I was doing some transport jobs before I met your Grandfather. Then I jumped into the pirate hunt. But I do all sorts. That going to be a problem?¡±

    ¡°What? Hunting pirates? Pfft, pirates hunt themselves all the time. Just curious.¡± She mentioned, and I nodded.

    ¡°It¡¯ll take some adjusting, we¡¯ll figure it out.¡± I said confidently as I turned to make myself something to eat too.

    Better to eat now, so I can get some work done during the trip. It was going to be about five days to get back to UNK-L.