Ubel sat in his seat at the bridge of the Blitzkrieg. Frustration was evident in his furrowed brow and clenched jaw. Three Sol Days had passed since he assumed leadership of the Demonic Monkeys, and already he found himself growing restless with the burdens of administrative duties.
"This is not the real reason why I signed up," he muttered to himself, his voice tinged with frustration. "I didn't become a pirate to sit behind a desk and deal with paperwork. Fuck, this is going to be more stressful than my corporate desk job back in Japan."
Ubel sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He had underestimated the challenges of leading a group of pirates. He was so blinded by the potential of experiencing the thrill of action with the rush of adrenaline that came with daring raids and close encounters with danger, that he forgot the role of numbers to know if they got profit or loss in a raid.
"Munda," he muttered darkly, the name dripping with venom. "If we ever cross paths again in the afterlife, I'll make him regret leaving this mess behind for me to clean up."
But even as he seethed with frustration, he could not change the current situation with the current resources they had.
Their supply and the division of food was based on favoritism instead of equal order. Creating a massive rift between other ships' crews. Also, the lack of accounting and inspection of their armaments made it a nightmare for Ubel when he realized that some ships were practically useless in the heat of battle due to the lack of shells and ammo for their main guns and turrets.
His headache was reaching its peak as he reviewed the sorry state of their supplies and armaments. The rifts between the crews of the various ships had grown into chasms, fueled by favoritism in the distribution of food and resources.
"This is unacceptable," Ubel growled, his voice echoing through the chamber.
The fact that he had to ask some droids to help with the accounting and inspection proves that this pirate fleet lacked any form of organization.
"And don't even get me started on the armaments," Ubel continued, his frustration mounting with each passing moment. "How are we supposed to defend ourselves if half our ships are practically unarmed?"
The lack of accounting and inspection had left them vulnerable, their firepower diminished by a shortage of shells and ammunition. It was a nightmare scenario for Ubel, who knew that they would be woefully unprepared if they were to face a serious threat. Without Blitzkrieg, he would be folded easily by any sovereign fleet.
"We need to fix this," Ubel declared. "We can't afford to continue like this. I want a full inventory of our supplies and armaments, and I want it done yesterday."
His droids nodded, understanding the urgency of the situation. As they set about their tasks, Ubel's mind raced with plans and strategies.
The maintenance was another hell also as the operating systems of each ship were so outdated that even without using his cybernetics and nanotechnology, he could destroy one of the pirate ships in the fleet on his own.
Ubel sighed as he surveyed the state of the maintenance logs spread out before him. The outdated operating systems of the pirate ships were a nightmare to navigate, let alone repair. It was as if they were stuck in a bygone era, relics of a time long past.
"These systems are practically ancient," Ubel muttered to himself, frustration etched into his features. "I could probably take down one of these ships single-handedly without even breaking a sweat."
His enhancements and Neuromancy would give him a significant advantage over the archaic technology that plagued the fleet. However, relying solely on his abilities was not a sustainable solution. The entire fleet needed to be brought up to modern standards if they were to have any hope of surviving in the unforgiving expanse of space.
"We need upgrades, and fast," Ubel said, his voice laced with urgency. "I want every available technician working around the clock to get these systems up to speed. We can't afford to be sitting ducks out here."
Ubel clenched his fists in frustration, his jaw tensing as he processed the magnitude of the oversight. How could they have been so negligent?
"Unbelievable," Ubel muttered under his breath, his voice tinged with anger and disappointment. "All this time and no one even bothered to update their defense systems."
The implications of this oversight were staggering. The lack of updates to their defense systems rendered his previous efforts to hijack their drones and droids utterly useless. With the mainframes of every ship in the fleet vulnerable to his hacking skills, Ubel could easily seize control and command them to turn their weapons on each other.
Ubel's frustration deepened as he listened to the excuses offered by the engineers from each ship. Their rationale for neglecting to update the defense systems was nothing short of baffling – that they simply swapped ships and carried over modifications from captured vessels before scuttling them. It struck him as incredibly shortsighted practice.
He resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands in disbelief. How could they be so shortsighted?
"That's it? Are you fucking kidding me?" Ubel exclaimed, disbelief coloring his tone, slamming his armrest. "You're telling me that we've been relying on hand-me-down modifications from previous ships and moving them to captured vessels? That's not good enough!"
His frustration mounted as he struggled to comprehend how such a flawed system could have persisted for so long. It was a gross oversight, one that left their entire fleet vulnerable to attack.
Ubel set about devising a plan to implement the necessary upgrades across the entire fleet. There was no room for error, no margin for complacency.
His disappointments increased as he scrutinized the state of the food supplies.
Ubel's stomach churned as he inspected the so-called "food" that passed for nourishment among the pirates. To their accustomed eyes, it may have appeared as meat, greens, and hearty beer, but to Ubel's discerning gaze, it was nothing more than a facade.
With a disgusted grimace, he scanned the sorry excuse for sustenance before him, unable to mask his revulsion. The meat resembled nothing more than processed sludge, the greens wilted and limp, and the beer… well, the less said about the beer, the better.
His ocular nano-enhancements provided him with detailed analysis, he could only grimace at what he found. What the pirates were consuming bore little resemblance to actual food – it was as if they were dining on cardboard masquerading as meat and vegetables.
Their palates were dulled by years of deprivation and food scarcity. But to him, it was nothing short of a travesty. As he surveyed the dismal state of their provisions, a fire ignited within Ubel. He refused to accept mediocrity, especially when it came to something as fundamental as food. They are fucking pirates and they deserved to dine like kings, not scavenge scraps like beggars.
It was clear that there was some sort of cutting corners or a mindset of just making do with substandard provisions. He also assumed that they were either scammed by the traders who sold them food or Munda and his lackeys pocketed the money meant for food supply and chose the cheapest they could find.
It seemed inconceivable that such subpar provisions could have been acquired through legitimate means. Either they had fallen victim to unscrupulous traders peddling inferior goods, or, worse still, Munda and his cohorts had lined their pockets with ill-gotten gains intended for the crew's sustenance.
Determined to enact change, Ubel vowed to overhaul their entire food supply system. No longer would they tolerate cardboard masquerading as meat, or wilted greens passing for vegetables. He would ensure that they had access to fresh, nutritious food, sourced from reputable suppliers and prepared with care.
Now, he made it his top priority to upgrade his fleet. And with that, he need something that his reincarnation couldn't provide, money. Ubel knew that without adequate resources, his plans for overhauling the fleet would remain nothing more than a distant dream.
Money, or rather the lack thereof, was the primary obstacle standing between him and the formidable force he envisioned. His mind whirled with schemes and strategies to acquire the funds he needed to breathe new life into his fleet.
But where to begin?
And Ubel needs credit fast after seeing the deteriorating fleet. A LOT OF MONEY.
And he could only get that amount through plunder.
Fortunately, their pirate life offered ample opportunities for acquiring wealth. And as if Lady Luck was on his side, he immediately got three potential prey coming to a silver platter. His first order of business was to address the crew and lay out his new plans for their hunt.
He called another meeting via holo and stood before them.
His whole body in display, covered entirely by a black Thetamite plate armor with his face only remaining to be seen and his hands clasped behind his back as he spoke.
"Listen up, everyone," he began, his voice firm and commanding. "I know that some of you may have doubts about my leadership, and I understand that. But I want you to know that I am here to earn your trust, not demand it."
He paused, allowing his words to sink in before continuing.
"You are pirates and as pirates, you have certain needs and desires. Sex, wealth, and power—these are the things that drive us. And I promise you, I will do everything in my power to ensure that you have all of these things and more."
The crew murmured amongst themselves, exchanging skeptical glances. But Ubel pressed on, his confidence unwavering. Hiding his true objective and worry to upgrade their fleet.
"We have a powerful fleet at our disposal and with it, we can carve out our mark in this universe," he declared. "But before that, every one of you plays a vital role in our operation. I assigned each ship of yours a droid that will act as a helmsman. Crew members who are assigned to the bridges have the responsibility to learn from them.”
“I also kept the activation of dozens of droid soldiers to protect each ship to counter enemy boarding actions. They will also help in fixing and maintaining your ships. They are your temporary coworkers as we will recruit more later that are appropriate for the positions. Positions that were lacking in manpower." He added.
"As your new leader, I promise to lead by example and always have your best interests," Ubel concluded. He may have started on shaky ground, but he was confident that with hard work and determination, he could give his crew a taste of a pleasure world.
“And finally, you all should address me not as the boss or boss man, but commander,” he said with a glint of intimidation. Then as if to send weight to his statement, all of the droids besides the crew on every ship suddenly twitched with suddenly raising their rifles.
An inorganic but terrifying salute.
“Aye! Commander!” They all said in unison through their holos.
Ubel stood on the bridge of the Blitzkrieg, his hands clasped behind his back as he studied the holographic map of the Sol System.
“Now let us start making money!” he grinned.
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Then he passed the same information to them so that they could also see what he saw in real time as he briefed them.
“Blitzkrieg detected three ship IDs passing on the Weslow District, an independent colony under the sponsorship of a Terran corporation. These ships were probably traders on their way to sell the ice and metal ores that they mined from Saturn’s moons.” he then opened another window that showed the specs and details of the target ships. Displaying rectangular-shaped vessels. “These are Hippo Type Freighters; they have a crew of sixty to seventy servicemen and an average of ten to fifteen marines on each ship. But from their affiliations, it's most likely that they are mercenaries. These ships can hold small arms turrets and six twin-barreled slug cannons on both ends of the ship. Their average speed of these ships was 100-200 m/s.”
“How do you know all of these, commander?” one of his crew asked in the Holo.
“Blitzkrieg,” he uttered a single word as an answer with a wide grin and went back to explaining his plan. The digital interface then showed a 3D field of a planet, several moons, and the coordinates of the target ships. Although his reply did not clear their confusion.
“Their probable routes were already estimated and they are using the Karithme Shipping Lanes as their guide.”
The coordinates of the lone group of UGTR freighters flashed on the screen, tantalizingly close and ripe for the taking. Then an imaginary dashed line appeared, lining up until it reached Mars and looped back to Saturn.
“The Karithme Shipping Lanes will pass through this area of the Belt. They will be Vector Traveling through the said shipping lanes and then stop at their normal coursing speed in crossing the belt. This is our only chance of ambushing them. The asteroids will help cover our attack, disabling any chances for these freighters to use FTL Jump for escape. And also, a blind spot for the UGTR patrol and the distance from the nearest military station is 25,622 km away—enough for us to commandeer these three freighters within an hour at most without detection or alerting the authorities nearby.” Ubel intricately explained then asked. “Any questions?”
“How will we position ourselves into the ambush point in time? Even if we use FTL, we would be late by several hours by the time we arrive.” Creed asked.
“That’s where Blitzkrieg comes in.” Ubel just grinned. “Don’t worry about that. The only thing you should focus on would be to check the integrity of your hulls and your engines before our departure.”
Then as if he remembered something he should’ve asked earlier.
“By the way, Creed,” he called out the ship captain of Godright.
“Yes bos-, I mean commander?”
“How do you… how do you always make attacks or raids on freighters or supply vessels under Munda?”
“Hmmm… we would just Vector Travel, stop midway in front of the ships, overwhelm it with the firepower while destroying the turret defenses and sending in the boarding pods,” Creed answered honestly but got confused on the reason Ubel asked. Vector Travel is a mode of traversing space by using the maximum burn of the ship without going into Faster Than Light Travel. It was much slower but preferred by ships when crossing asteroid belts or debris fields.
Ubel however was just speechless at such revelation. He got silent for several seconds before replying with a very annoyed and disappointed look.
“Were you all retarded?” his honest frustration had burst out.
“C-Commmander?” Even Creed and others who heard the outburst of Ubel were taken aback by his sudden insult.
“You do know that moving at such a fast speed will turn you into a jelly once you hit even a single small fragment of debris in space right? Even if your ship is under Vector Traveling Speed. Even if it is below the speed of light, you do know that you will still feel the consequences of hitting something under such high acceleration. And I just checked, not one of your ships was equipped with even the most basic Predictive Navigation System. A single floating asteroid that was not detected by your long-range sensors would destroy your entire fleet while in VTS.”
“Well, we actually kind of… have such measures for these scenarios.” Bastille scratched his head as he answered.
“What do you mea-ah…” Ubel then remembered something and sighed. “Ah… yeah right… so that’s the real purpose of thick frontal hulls in your ships and the metal rostrums.”
He immediately remembered the strange and peculiar ‘horns’ on every ship in their fleet and finally realized their purpose.
“I thought they were just there for design and intimidation because I admit it looks cool as hell… but never mind. In any case, we will change the way we do our raids starting now.”
Ubel opened another interface which he then combined with his previous interface, creating a new display of complete information of the current involved space.
“First we will group ourselves into three groups. Group A will be Arturos, Zertum, Royal Carriage, Rockguard, and Disavowed. Group B will be Magurba, Shianon, Pussypaw, Massclaw, Ardent Will, Lonely Skull, and Millicent. Group C will be Godright, Reinbull, Silent Bitch, Culling, and Shen Zo. Blitzkrieg will be with Group C.” then he asked. “Does anyone confirm?”
“Aye!” The crews on each ship bridge nodded.
“After arriving at these coordinates, Group A will position themselves at these coordinates at 60 degrees, 63 km away from the target coordinates. Group B will then take position at these coordinates and would be assigned to take up the task of exchanging fire with the freighters.”
Then he pointed at another grid that was shown in the interface.
“Group C will maintain a 150 km distance away from the targets and disable the turret defenses using their main cannons. Remember, the assignment for Group C will be the turrets only. Your main weapons would fucking pulverize the thin hulls of these freighters so stop firing once you completed your tasks…” he remembered that he was currently lacking any well-trained helmsman in his fleet. “-ah never mind, the droids will handle the main guns, you all should just watch for now on how they will handle the shooting at long range. The small caliber weapons of Group B will handle the rest of the small arms defenses of the freighters.”
Bastille coughed as he found it funny but Creed gave him an elbow that stopped him.
Then Ubel focused on another task where he dragged the 3D image figures of several ships and drew their point of entry.
“Group A will commence the boarding once all of the main turrets are disabled. Group B will cease firing once Group A has successfully sent its boarding pods. Group A will provide support by circling the target ships.”
He gazed towards the crew of the ships he assigned to Group A.
“By the way, how many minutes will the boarding teams will take, in these types of ships?” he asked.
The crew looked around for someone who could answer him correctly as he correctly assumed that they still feared him. However, one of them spoke out loud.
“We have good experience in boarding these types of freighter so unless they’re modified like ours, our teams should have no problem in overwhelming them. And it will take 30-45 minutes at most on each ship. But if they are military or black corp agents, it will be much longer and we may take some casualties.” a female crew from Group C answered.
“Can you handle simultaneous boarding?” Ubel asked. He was referring to the simultaneous insertion of boarding pods while under the cover of small-caliber suppression from the ships. Because if they couldn’t, Ubel could use his droids to board other ships with the drone fighters.
“Yeah it's nothing.” the woman shrugged.
“Then I will also activate and send several boarding droids to help with the raid and pilot the captured vessels. They will also provide medical support in case something happens.” Ubel said.
"Prepare the fleet," he ordered his voice firm and determined. "We're going hunting."
His crew sprang into action, their movements swift and efficient as they prepared the ships for battle. The atmosphere on the bridge was tense with anticipation, each member of the crew eager to finally get themselves in the heat of combat.
“Formation V, 200 meters offset!” He ordered, then a command droid standing near him calculated the distance and set a holographic figure of their supposed positions which it passed on to other ships.
Several ships then moved at their designated positions as their engines started one after another, they formed a V-formation with the Blitzkrieg on the pointy end. Even the crew who were watching the command droids in action were in awe of such fluid and intricate movement that wasted no fuel in their formations.
As the fleet assembled, Ubel addressed his crew, his voice carrying across the bridge with authority.
"Today, we make our mark on the Sol System," he declared, his eyes blazing with determination. Then he sat unto the captain's bridge while a command droid acted as his helmsman.
“Set course for the coordinates of our prey,” he commanded.
“Aye captain.” the droid obeyed as it controlled the holographic terminal interface.
“Destination set.” the droid informed.
“Prepare an Accompany Warp for the fleet. At the same destination,” he said to the droids. “Activate Photon Shields! Enable the Fleet Gravity Sphere!”
The droids followed his orders and then the Titan ship Blitzkrieg suddenly glowed in golden light and a golden filament suddenly expanded until it covered the entire ship. Then another layer of white filament expanded from the ship and expanded, covering the entire fleet of eighteen ships.
The crew became mesmerized by the spectacle that was happening.
Then as the sphere stopped expanding, the entire crew suddenly felt a strong gravity pulling them towards the direction of the Blitzkrieg. It occurred only for seconds but it was enough to make them feel nauseated and fall to the floor for the sudden presence of gravity.
Ubel then noticed this and didn’t expect them to have such bodily reactions on the Fleet Gravity Sphere. He allowed the pirates to recover themselves before continuing.
“This is just a small change in gravity, not so different from a station's gravity. So stand up pirates!”
They heard his words and quickly stood back to their feet. As Ubel confirmed that his crew had recovered from the sudden presence of gravity, he turned to his droid.
“Start the warp sequence.”
“Aye aye captain.” the droid responded then started a countdown. “3...2...1… Warping!”
Then the space in front of them started to bend and stretch, pulling in their ships into a singular point. In a second, all of the fleet disappeared, leaving no trail behind.
And in the next second, the display in front of them had changed, the stars and their ship system all simultaneously reported the location change.
Ubel was exhilarated to finally witness the warping, and personally in his current second life. He could almost cry and jump around like a kid witnessing something that he could only see behind a monitor.
But for the pirates who also witnessed it with him, they were speechless.
As the fleet emerged from the warp, the pirates looked around in awe, their eyes wide with surprise and wonder. As if they had witnessed something incomprehensible to their minds.
“W-wha…” Creed, the captain of Godright, couldn’t even complete his words on what just happened.
"Did you see that?" one of the pirates exclaimed, his voice filled with excitement. "We just jumped through space like it was nothing!"
“What the...”
"Holy shit... We don't even need a jump gate..."
"Yeah, I've never seen anything like it," another pirate replied, shaking his head in disbelief.
"What in the fuck…" another cursed in his breath as he still has a hard time taking in the reality that just happened.
Ubel couldn't help but smirk at their reactions, knowing that he had successfully impressed his crew with his fabricated display of what Blitzkrieg is capable of. But deep down, he knew that he had to tread carefully if he wanted to maintain their trust and loyalty.
"Now that's how you make an entrance," Creed remarked, a grin spreading across his face. "I didn’t know you had some tricks up your sleeve, commander."
Bastille whistled in agreement. Then they were all snapped back to reality by Ubel’s loud voice on a holo.
“Move to your assigned positions!” Ubel however was tempted to show off and brag about this technology that Blitzkrieg brought but he knew he could do that later and must focus now on their current tasks. “I know you’re all in a state of wonder but you can continue that later after we succeeded in our plunder!”
“Y-yes! Commander!” they all said in unison as they shook the feelings of childish excitement and curiosity as the spectacle that they had witnessed still lingered in their minds.
Ubel was thankful for his decision to let the command droids pilot the ships for now as he could see that his new crew still had slow reactions and responses like a giraffe who was just born from its mother's womb, fumbling around. He couldn’t blame them after he surprised them with such a mystifying event that they had never seen before in their lives.
“Kill the engines, wait for the signal to commence the attack,” he commanded.
Just in time before, Blitzkrieg could detect the incoming target ships, the droid commanders he placed to the rest of the ships, swiftly maneuvered their ships into their designated position. The droids piloted the ships with calculated movement, weaving through the asteroid belt with practiced precision. Ubel watched from the bridge of Blitzkrieg, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of the approaching UGTR freighters.
"Keep an eye on those sensors," he instructed his droid commanders, his voice calm and steady.
"We need to know the moment those freighters come into range."
"Aye, Captain," the droids replied, their fingers flying across the holo controls as they monitored the ship's sensors.
Suddenly, a blip appeared on the sensor screen, indicating the presence of the UGTR freighters. Ubel could see the enemy ships looming ahead, their targets closed in on the ambush coordinates, his heart raced with excitement.
"Here they come," he said, his voice barely containing his anticipation. "Prepare to engage."
The pirates sprang into action at their battle stations. Ubel issued final orders, reminding them of their roles in the attack.
"Remember, disable their turrets and finally the resistance on those ships," he called out over the holo coms. "We want to capture those freighters intact."
The tension on all ships was palpable as their target unsuspectingly closed in and as they waited for the signal to strike. Their anticipation was building with each approaching freighter.
"Steady, everyone," he said, his voice calm but firm. "Wait for my command."
As they waited, hidden amongst the asteroids, Ubel could see now the clear view of a group of UGTR freighters in the distance. Their bulky forms glint in the light of the distant Sun. Their sleek rectangular forms cast ominous silhouettes against the backdrop of space.
"Prepare to engage," he called out to his crew again. "This is our moment. Let's make it count. We strike on my mark."
As the freighters drew closer, Ubel took a deep breath.
Then he yelled a word.
"Mark!" he commanded, his voice echoing through the bridge of the Blitzkrieg. At Ubel's command, the fleet sprang into action, their ships launching a coordinated assault on the unsuspecting freighters.