Belleran and the royal guards together with the security team on the bridge were busy fortifying our position in case the enemy tried to charge in.

Various stations reported reported hull breaches in their area. The boarding tubes would first ram into the outer hull before digging themselves further inside, once far enough they would seal the cracks around the boarding tube to re-pressurize the area before the invaders got out.

Looking out across the various camera feeds I saw Henry join the fight with his engineers with our new experimental exosuits, these had been made for construction and mining rock, but their bulky mechanical frame and big metal claws proved to be equally as effective against flesh as the engineers tore apart the screaming mass of pirate boarders.

Switching over to the rec room I saw security chief Wigun backed up against an upturned pool table, with various of his defenders doing the same with other furniture. The fight seemed to be a stalemate, after the last fight we had stolen and adapted the pirate’s weaponry for our own needs. Until the damned arrived to reinforce their position nothing seemed to change any time soon.

Logistics had it easier than the other areas, as the damned were stored near there. The horrified screams and death wails of the pirates echoed around them in the small storage chamber, as the former pirates that attacked Rafar, now layed into their successors with cyberneticly enhanced strength. The lobotomized pirates now called the damned were making short work of them. There is a reason why we call Grimar Grim. His work never disappoints. I still had mixed feelings about the damned. On one hand what we did was clearly inhuman, on the other they killed so many innocents on Miranda’s hope that I did mind their current state too much. And then there was the practical aspect of needing more weapons of war for these dangerous times. We can’t let the Pragians discover them though. That is why I kept the damned on our ship for now.

I checked in with the EMP cannon again.

[EMP CANNON CHARGE STATUS 85%]

Within a few minutes we would be lined up for a shot against the pirate battlecruiser, already reports came from the assault teams on the pirate carrier, soon they would conclude their fight as they were now near the bridge. If things proceeded as they were we would soon have the upper hand, and the enemy knew that as well.

Shots from the battlecruiser rammed themselves into the Indomintable’s hull, looking for any advantage they could gain, for our part there wasn’t much we could do against a battlecruiser-type ship. Well, there was still one thing. As the battlecruiser got closer I contacted

Forrick. “Forrick are the drone corvettes ready?” He gave me a quick thumbs up on the holo screen before going back to ordering his men. I accessed the drone corvette through the [Remote Control] function, and a few minutes later five drone corvets took off towards the carrier at my command.

The battlecruiser's formidable defenses had already shot down one of the corvets in the time it took for them to go near the ship, as they got in combat range we lost another one. Finally, however, the payloads could be released. Hundreds of drone missiles were let loose against the battlecruiser, some carried explosives, whilst others carried deconstructor drones, which were modified construction drones that could only deconstruct, but they could do so at rapid speeds. The drones began stripping away the battlecruiser's exterior to target the various systems lying underneath the hull. The enemy seemed content to keep shooting at both us and the drones, with the payload of our corvette now gone I ordered them to charge into the main cannons of the ship. Further reducing their firepower.

[EMP CANNON CHARGE STATUS 90%]

Soon we would be ready to unleash hell against our foes, and it was at this moment that I got careless, as I heard a gunshot tearing through flesh right near my left ear. Belleran had shot a pirate who was about to end me dead. Flickers of light popped in all around the bridge as exo-combat suit-wearing pirates teleported inside. With not a moment to spare I jumped over the command console and hunkered down for cover whilst drawing my pistol out of its holster. Chaos reigned inside the room, as every which way sounds of battle and the smell of blood and iron filled the room. After a few minutes, the pirates seemed to focus on me. Belleran and the royal guards quickly proved their worth, as their training under Xander paid off in spades. However, both their and the crew's weaponry were simply no match for the pirate's combat armor, as they effortlessly shrugged off the damage.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

When the opportunity presented itself I dashed for the bridge’s exit, holding up my mechanical arm in hopes of shielding myself from some of the damage as the pirates ruthlessly fired the weaponry at me. To provide me cover the royal guards engaged the pirates in melee. As I went around the corner I could hear the metal door behind me screech as it was torn open, soon the thundering steps of the pirate's suits could be heard stampeding behind me.

[EMP CANNON CHARGE STATUS 95%]

Luckily some of the damned had finally made their way towards my location, immediately I sprung them on the enemy. Like before their weapons did nothing, but they did manage to hold up the enemy. I looked at the EMP cannon charge status with desperate longing.

[EMP CANNON CHARGE STATUS 95.5%]

Son of a-

I quickly ducked behind the next corridor as a hole the size of my torso was created into the corridor wall. I ran for dear life to the engineering bay.

By the time I got there Henry and his team who had bravely fought off the boarders were ready to assist. A moment later one of the pirates burst through the door, only to be smashed to smithereens by the Rafarian exo suits of Henry and two of his engineers. The other pirates for their part seemed unfazed by the death of their comrade, as they threw three grenades our way. Our new exo suit's bulky armored frame held against the blast, however in the moments of smoke it provided the advantage of surprise was now lost.

We held them at bay by throwing everything we had at them, from the construction drones in the bay, to work tools anything and everything was used to buy time, until finally.

[EMP CANNON CHARGE STATUS 99.5%]

Just before we were ready to fire the pirates were surrounded by light, as they were teleported back to the battlecruiser, which was engaging its FTL drive.

“I hope your life was worth it little prince, as it is now worth an extra hundred souls lost from your heathen gods embrace,” said Furek Tar as he and his ship jumped away.

The battle was now over, and our forces had won. No one cheered, however, as the damage was once again too much to call it a victory. We spent the next half hour treating our most injured and repairing our most critical systems. With the bridge now functional again thanks to our engineers I reestablished contact with Commander Williams. “How is Harvest station holding up?” Williams took in his surroundings with a solemn look. “It’s standing thanks to you and your help. If only I could say the same for our loss of life.” I nodded. Pragia like us didn’t have a big navy, at most they had two fighter squads and that was it. How they managed to hold on for an hour was nothing short of a miracle.

“We can let our traders and diplomats handle the details, but I feel that it’s better to tear off the band-aid now. In return for any info we can find, the help we have provided so far, and our help in repairing your station I want that carrier.”

“Done,” said William. I raised an eyebrow. “Just like that.” William shrugged. “We don’t have the materials, manpower, or military training to crew it anyway so it’s useless to us. I have heard of those defense platforms you’ve made at home, I would ask that we get those.” I gave him a thumbs up. As we were collecting our data we got a collective call from the boarding team, they called for me specifically.

[Enemy Pirate Carrier - Prison]

As I walked through the now blood-soaked corridors of the pirate ship I kept wondering why no one had told me the details of what they found. I gave Belleran a look of concern. “Don’t worry Milord, we got your back.” A nice sentiment, but not one that felt too comforting as he and his guards carried many fresh battle scars with them.

After a few more steps we finally made it to the area that the boarding team wanted to show me. The guards covered the entrance and as we made it inside I began noticing the interior. To call it a prison would be charitable. I couldn’t tell if it was better that we couldn’t see the flies and excrement through the darkness, as the gut-wrenching smell fueled one’s imagination in the worst ways possible. Like a prison the cells were tiny, one barely had enough room for a toilet and a bed.

At the end of the hallway in which we stood was the one prison cell with an occupant left. The woman was barely recognizable under the many bruises that seemed to cover every part of her skin. Her eyes had a lifeless grey look in them that sought death. I was at a loss for words, describing the scene as hellish or a tragedy would not do it justice.

It was under those circumstances that I found the traitor of the trade alliance. Lady Elanor Romira, the princess of Romira and my former friend and Fiancee.