Balrikan shadow craft
Outer Kuiper Belt
Grabbing onto his comm node to activate it, Khan practically yelled to be clearly heard by the Star, his loud voice magnified within the small space of the control center as it echoed off the bare bulkheads.
“Do not arm weapons or fire; do you hear me?! Do not touch a goddamn thing! Put Jameson on the line!”
There was muffled, panicked yelling that could be heard over the open comm line as Khan shared a worried look with Yuri, who looked crestfallen as if he already considered them dead. Khan looked him directly in the eyes, speaking quietly to be heard only by Yuri.
“Not on my watch, old friend. I’ll be damned if I let you die in this shit-filled ship before you get to enjoy the retirement you have been dreaming of on New Australia. What’s the name of that widow you have been sharing messages with, Yuri?”
Face turning beet red, Yuri leaned closer and answered him in a conspiratorial whisper.
“Amelia, Captain. I miss her; she is so plump and soft, perfect for the long, cold nights on New Austr-“
Yuri was interrupted as a nervous voice erupted from the comm node again.
“Jameson here, Captain!”
Khan palmed the comm node, still looking directly at Yuri as he tried to instill some control over the situation and spoke with a calmness that belied his desire to shit himself like the murder raptor did.
“Jameson, access file Khan-Three-Dash-B and type password shit has hit the fan, all lower case, one space between each letter. After that, toggle the voice confirmation code button and say Echo-1-Gamma-7. Got it?”
“Got it, Captain. Wait one.”
Khan could hear Jameson muttering to himself, spelling out the password as he typed it before hearing a beep, and then him clearly enunciating ‘Echo-1-Gamma-7.’ There was a confirmation chirp from the computer, and Khan breathed a sigh of relief before speaking into the node again.
“Jameson, in the drop-down submenu, tap the one listed Republic protocol 3A and send that to our friends. Once that is done, tie in my comm node directly to the communication system so I can talk to the Republic ships directly.”
“Solid copy, Captain. Doing it now.” Jameson replied, his voice slightly trembling as he proceeded to do as ordered by Khan. The comm node chirped twice as Jameson tied Khan’s comm node to the system, and three seconds later Jameson spoke again.
“Captain, they have disengaged target locks, but the weapons are still armed.”
“Understood, Jameson. Disconnect all comm nodes from the channel except mine, and I will contact the ship after I am done. And Jameson? Turn off power to all bridge panels except yours. I do not want any mistakes. Do you understand?”
“Aye Captain, shutting down all panels except mine. We will be waiting to hear back from you. Good luck.”
Jameson closed the channel, and Khan took a deep breath before toggling the secure channel that was open with the Republic warships surrounding them.
“Republic warships, this is Captain Rahul Khan, confirmation code Rogue-four-seven-alpha. Please verify the voiceprint and confirmation code.”
All the others were staring at him as he waited for the Republic warships to respond, their faces filled with apprehension while the seconds crawled by. Finally, the comm node beeped, and Khan received a reply from an emotionless, synthesized voice.
Voiceprint authenticated. Confirmation code authenticated. State your purpose.
Khan smiled weakly as relief flooded through him, seeing it mirrored in the faces surrounding him. As Yuri silently fist-pumped the air, Khan nodded to them before responding to the AI he was speaking to.
“We are fulfilling our mission parameters as outlined by Republic Special Operations Command. I have been ordered to capture a Balrikan ship and secure prisoners for interrogation if possible. To whom am I speaking? I wish to note this in my report.”
My designation is FB-277, acting under the orders of Command Unit FB-273. Your presence here constitutes an operational security breach of our ongoing mission. You will vacate the enemy vessel and return with us to the inner system. I will destroy the enemy vessel, and Command Unit 273 will determine the proper course of action after we escort you back to our position.
Khan stared at Yuri and the others, not believing what the AI was ordering them to do. It’ll snow in hell before he gives up the crew’s hard-earned prize and bounty to a bunch of heavily armed calculators.
“Negative, FB-277. Check your databanks again and verify my identity. We have been hired by Republic Intelligence for a bounty. I have explicit orders, and I will execute them. You have no operational control over me, my crew, or my ship. We will not comply. I will take this ship and my prisoner back to the Republic as ordered.”
The AI did not respond right away, and a few seconds later, Khan’s wristcom buzzed from an incoming text message on an encrypted frequency known only to the bridge crew.
- Weapons locked again. Comms jammed. Orders? – J
Khan quickly typed and sent back a text to Jameson before the Republic ships detected the encrypted channel and jammed it as well.
- Do nothing. Keep the crew safe. – K
Khan was just about to declare his refusal to comply again when the AI finally responded.
Rahul Khan, age: 37 years, six months, twenty-two days
Republic Special Forces Weapons Sergeant – MOS-18B
Duration of service: 11 years, three months, sixteen days.
Status: Dishonorably discharged, Article 90. Sentenced to seven years of hard labor on Lunar penal colony 14. Escaped during transit. Declared a fugitive by the Military Justice Commission on December 12th, 2172.
Last known location: Commonwealth/Insectoid border region, confirmed member of the pirate ship Star Marauder.
Alleged crimes attributed to Rahul Khan since escape:
Three counts of murder, 1st degree, 2nd degree
Six counts of manslaughter, 2nd degree, 3rd degree
Twelve counts of kidnapping, 1st degree, 2nd degree
Eight counts of attack to plunder vessel
Seven counts of receipt of pirate property
Five counts of robbery ashore
Rahul Khan, you are a known fugitive and criminal. Refusal to vacate the enemy vessel and be willingly escorted to the inner system will constitute a hostile act, and I will destroy your vessel.
You will comply or face summary judgment and execution as outlined by Protocol 3-B of The Republic Uniform Code of Military Justice. You have thirty seconds to indicate acceptance of the conditions outlined.
Khan cursed as his mind raced and tried to think of a way to get out of this. He saw the fear on the faces of the boarding party, but he also saw the determination to follow their captain to the last, no matter what he decided.
He was the captain, and ninety-three crewmembers depended on him to do the right thing. He made his choice and spoke into the comm node.
“I will comply. I will also note that you have chosen to ignore the mission immunity clause of the contract and file it in my report to Republic Intelligence. We will return to our ship and cut the enemy vessel loose. I will submit to all commands. Please cease the jamming, and I will inform the crew of my compliance.”
Thank you for ceasing hostilities. You have the right to file a protest of my actions with the creators. You have five minutes to vacate the enemy vessel and detach it from your hull. You will move away from the enemy vessel at half impulse until twenty-five thousand kilometers distance has been reached.
Your ship will dock with my vessel, and I will escort you to the inner system. Your weapons and null drive are to remain powered off. Failure to comply will result in combat operations and the destruction of your vessel.
“Understood, FB-277. I will inform my crew and begin evacuating the enemy vessel.”
The comm node beeped, indicating the channel with FB-277 had been closed by the AI. Khan toggled the comm node and opened an unsecured channel with the ship now that it was no longer being jammed.
The AI would be eavesdropping, and Khan specifically used an unencrypted channel knowing this. He did not want the AI suspecting they had any intentions other than complying with its orders.
“Jameson, I need you to listen to me very carefully. We have been ordered to evacuate the Balrikan ship and return to the Star. We will be escorted to the inner system by our new friends and figure out what to do when we get there.
Shut down the plasma conduits to all energy weapons systems, lock down the armored hatches of the other weapons, and disconnect the null space capacitors from the null drive before powering it down.
As soon as we are aboard, set a waypoint in the Navcom twenty-five thousand kilometers away from the Balrikan ship. Do not exceed half-impulse, and I’ll see you on the bridge soon. Got it?”
“Aye, Captain. See you soon.” Jamison replied. Khan closed the channel and then waved Yuri to lean in closer. Khan cupped his hands and whispered into Yuri’s ear, feeling ridiculous but not wanting to take any chances with the AI closely monitoring them.
“Yuri, we are taking the lizard with us. Pass the message along to the others, quietly!”
Yuri leaned back, a surprised expression on his face, before he nodded and leaned close to the hacker to whisper to her. As Yuri was telling the others, the hacker leaned in close to Khan and told him an idea she had.
Khan nodded, smiling broadly at her deviousness as she handed him a small scanner after she tapped on it several times. She then handed him a second, smaller device and indicated he was to place it on the Balrikan itself.
When all of them had heard the plan, Khan put a finger to his lips and then reached down, grabbing the bound feet of the disgusting reptile after placing the scanner on the deck next to the Balrikan and activating it. He then placed the smaller device on the Balrikan, putting it within a pocket of the weird jacket/apron it was wearing.
The hacker configured the first device to emit Balrikan life signs, and the smaller device she had him place on the Balrikan was a jammer that would block scanners from detecting its life signs.
The others positioned themselves around the captive, and at his signal, they all lifted it together. They moved slowly, struggling to carry the limp, shit-covered body through the tiny ship until they finally reached the outer airlock.
The hacker reached into the pocket and activated the jammer, giving Khan a thumbs up after scanning the Balrikan with a different device she had fished out of her hacker bag. Khan used hand signals to tell the crewman waiting on the other side to get a biohazard body bag and bring it to the airlock.
After the crewman left it in the outer airlock and retreated behind the hatch of the inner airlock, Khan palmed open the outer airlock, and they hurriedly stuffed the still unconscious Balrikan inside of the body bag before triggering the decontamination system.
After the decontamination sequence ended, they roughly shoved the Balrikan through the small inner hatch. Khan made sure to slam its head against the hatchway several times on purpose, and then Khan palmed it shut as he glanced at his wristcom.
They had less than 73 seconds left to cut the ship loose.
“Jameson, cut the ship loose. Now.”
“Aye Captain, disconnecting mag locks and airlock tube now.” There were several loud clunking sounds, and Khan hurried to the bridge with Yuri in tow as he felt the engines firing up and moving the ship away.
Khan burst onto the bridge with six seconds left to spare and activated his comm node, breathing heavily as he spoke into it.
“Khan here. We have complied with your orders. Please confirm receipt of this message.”
Message confirmed. Cut engines when you have reached twenty-five thousand kilometers and then maintain station keeping.
Three minutes later, the Star began decelerating at the twenty-one-thousand-kilometer mark, and a minute later, the engines turned off as the maneuvering thrusters fired to bring the ship to a complete stop.
Several particle beams fired from the ship that was tagged as FB-277 on the viewscreen, and the small Balrikan spy ship ceased to exist shortly afterwards. FB-277 then fired its engines and came up alongside the Star, the ship jerking slightly as the massive, void-black Republic warship maglocked the ship to its hull.
Ten seconds later, there was a momentary jerk as they entered null space. Khan sat down in the captain’s chair, ignoring the worried looks from the bridge crew as they headed to the inner system.
There were no words of comfort he could honestly offer the crew; he did not know what was going to happen to them next.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Six minutes later, they flashed out of null space, and all the scanners and sensor instruments of the Star went dark, as did the viewscreen. Khan stared at the static-filled viewscreen as the bridge crew tried to get their sensors working again.
He ordered them to stop after a minute had passed, as nothing they tried to do was working, and it was obvious the Republic ships had erected some type of dampening or jamming field that blinded them.
With nothing else to do but wait, Khan picked up the old-style analogue phone next to his chair and called the sickbay. He had them installed when he claimed the captaincy as a secure method of internal communication within the ship that could not be detected or jammed.
The crew medic that assisted the Medbot picked up and confirmed that the Balrikan had been placed into an induced coma. The Medbot had run scans and blood work and synthesized the proper drugs, and the Balrikan would remain unconscious until they decided to wake it.
Khan closed the line and tried to sit still, exuding an air of confidence he did not feel. For all he knew, the AIs could decide to rid themselves of a problem and destroy the ship, and there was not a damned thing he could do about it.
Twelve minutes and fourteen seconds after flashing out, the Star received a transmission, and Khan opened the channel after erecting a privacy field around his chair. It was normal for pirate captains to do this out of paranoia, so it didn’t seem unusual to the crew for Khan to do this now.
“This is Captain Rahul Khan of the Star Marauder.”
I am Command Unit 273. Verify your identity and mission.
“Confirmation code Rogue-four-seven-alpha. Mission file is Rogue Two Alpha Dash Six Gamma. I am sending you my credentials from my wristcom now on Republic frequency Zeta-Four.”
Khan sent his credentials using the undetectable frequency from his wristcom and waited.
After Khan counted to seven seconds, Command Unit 273 finally responded, its synthesized voice seeming less hostile, if that was even possible.
Identity authenticated. Mission authenticated. Credentials authenticated.
Captain Khan, I regret you have been forced to abandon your mission at this time. Task Force Extricate is under orders to locate and rescue all survivors of the Insectoid Guardian fleets and return them to the Insectoid Empire.
Your presence here is an operational security breach and poses a threat to my ships currently undergoing repairs. As soon as the task force has been returned to combat readiness, we will leave the system and release you to continue your mission.
“I appreciate that, Command Unit 273, but I am now at serious risk of having my cover blown because of your subordinate wanting to play Johnny Lawman and bring me to justice.
My crew will get suspicious if you just hold us here, and they will kill me when they realize I have been spying on them for all this time when you don’t destroy us. They may be pirates, but they are not stupid. Well, some of them aren’t, but you do understand what I am telling you, 273?”
Yes, I have calculated a 62.6% chance of your undercover identity being discovered within thirty-six hours when we have failed to destroy your ship. What do you suggest, Captain Khan?
“I want you to allow me to escape so I can complete the mission and not be flayed alive by the crew for being a traitor. I will tell them that you are ordering me to board one of the ships for interrogation and possible execution.
Send one of your ships to come get me, and I will activate an energy dampening field device we stole from a Kingdom of Faria ship a few months ago. When the ship docks with us to retrieve me, I will activate it, and then we will flash into null space and leave the system. You will have to fire on us to make it seem real.”
The Faria energy dampening device will not work on us; Republic military intelligence surreptitiously received the blueprints from an agent, and we have already installed countermeasures on all Republic ships as of six months and twelve days ago.
Khan rolled his eyes at 273’s dumb answer. As smart as these battle AIs are, they still did not pick up on some things, such as Khan’s plan that relied on subterfuge and lies.
“I know that. I was the one who stole the device and transmitted the blueprints, 273. You will have to act like the device does work, you understand? The ship will have to act like it lost power, and you will have to fire on us to make it seem real while we try to escape.”
I understand now, Captain Khan. This is a devious plan you have come up with, and I will note your tactical genius in my report to the creators.
“Fine, whatever makes you happy, 273. I am going to drop the privacy field around me and close the channel. Exactly one minute later, I need you to brute force your way into the comm system and order me to surrender myself for enhanced interrogation, or you will destroy my ship.
I will finally agree, and then you will send a vessel to get me. I will set off the Faria device to disable it and then flash out. Remember, you must make it look real, and please do not cause too much damage when you fire on us, 273. I still need to capture a Balrikan ship and bring it back for intelligence.”
Understood, Captain Khan. Good luck with your mission.
Khan closed the channel and put on an angry face for the benefit of the crew before dropping the privacy field and cursing loudly as it dissipated.
The crew was already staring in his direction, and then they looked at him with worried expressions as the field dropped and Khan continued to rant and rave about how much he hated the Republic.
“Goddamned calculators think they are going to interrogate me and this crew? I will self-destruct the ship before I let them get their hands on us!”
Khan continued his expletive-filled monologue as he stood up and ordered the crew to reconnect the null drive and get ready to flee. Jamison yelled out that there was a breach through the firewalls before the comm system was suddenly activated and Command Unit 273’s voice came out of the speakers for all to hear.
Fugitive Rahul Khan, you will submit to enhanced interrogation, or I will destroy your ship and kill your crew. Comply immediately, or I will fire your ship. It does not matter to me if you are dead or alive. Does it matter to you if your crew lives or dies?
Khan thought that was a nice touch by 273 and played along, looking around at the bridge crew staring at him before he flipped off the overhead speakers with two middle fingers as he answered.
“Really? You are going to threaten my crew? Fine. I’ll show you how a human faces death. I will surrender myself to you only if you guarantee the safety of my crew; otherwise, I will self-destruct the ship, and you will not get shit.”
After five seconds of silence, Command Unit 273 responded.
I agree with your proposal. I am sending a ship to dock with you. You will board it alone and unarmed. Any violation of the conditions I have just listed will result in combat operations and the destruction of your ship.
“Fine, asshole. See you soon.” Khan replied sarcastically as the comm system beeped, indicating the channel had been closed.
Khan waved Yuri over to his chair and looked around at the bridge crew again. Placing a finger on his lips and then pointing at his ear, he pointed at the comm system speakers on the ceiling.
They all nodded silently, understanding that he was telling them that the AI was most likely listening to them after hacking their comms. He then gently pulled Yuri closer to the chair and activated the privacy field around them.
Yuri started speaking, and Khan raised a hand to stop him. “Yuri, listen to me. I am not letting those assholes take my crew prisoner. I want you to activate the Faria energy dampener device as soon as the ship docks with us, and then we are going to flash out and get the fuck out of here.
After I drop the field, take Zarl and Sheila with you and have her get the device ready before bringing it to the airlock. Have her make another human life sign spoofer and place it in the inner airlock with the Faria device, and we will activate it as soon as the Republic ship opens its airlock door.”
Yuri stared at him as Khan spoke, looking more worried than Khan had ever seen before. After Khan finished outlining his plan, Yuri spoke quickly.
“Captain, I don’t trust Sheila. She’s a good hacker, but she has only been with us for two months. I have my suspicions, and so do several of the crew, that she might be a Republic spy. Jameson has detected several anomalous signals coming from this ship ever since she came aboard, and he has informed me of his suspicions that they might be from her. The timing is too convenient to ignore.”
Khan stared at Yuri, feeling his heart beginning to slam in his chest as he thought of a way to deflect attention from Sheila, who was, in fact, a plant from Republic Intelligence that Khan let join the crew.
Deciding to take advantage of their friendship and feeling like a dirtbag for doing so, Khan laughed before turning serious again, lying through his teeth and right in the face of the old man he loved and considered a true friend.
“Yuri, those transmissions were from me. I- I have a daughter, Yuri. A twelve-year-old girl that I haven’t seen or spoken to since I escaped from the prisoner transport. My ex-wife has done a good job of erasing all traces of her relationship with me and disappearing from public records.
I approached Sheila and asked for her help soon after she arrived, hoping she could help me locate Annika, my daughter. And before you ask, I never mentioned it, even to you, because I did not want to endanger her or let my enemies and victims know that there was a possible family link they could use to seek revenge against me. I’m sorry for not telling you, Yuri. I hope you understand.”
Yuri’s face went from confusion to an expression of pure joy as he realized that Khan was a father, which made Yuri at least an uncle, if not a grandfather, to Khan's daughter in his mind. Seeing that made Khan feel like the biggest piece of shit, and he felt even worse when Yuri hugged him.
“I did not know you were a father, Rahul! Don’t worry; I will make sure no one finds out. I hope I will get to meet her someday, maybe after I retire on New Australia. You both can come to visit, and Amelia will cook good, fresh food for you and your daughter.
Ok, I will take Sheila and Zarl, get the Faria device, and notify them of the plan. Let’s do this, Captain; you have a daughter to find and be a father to.”
Yuri was speaking fast, and his voice reflected the many emotions the old man was experiencing. Khan smothered the regret and shame he was feeling as he thanked Yuri for understanding before dropping the privacy field.
Yuri sprang into immediate action, grabbing Zarl and Sheila and practically running off the bridge with them following him. Khan took out the paper logbook he kept by the side of his chair and walked over to Jameson’s station with it.
He began writing with the carbon pencil as Jameson waited patiently, and he wrote down the basics of the plan before showing it to him. Jameson nodded and gave him a thumbs up, and Khan walked around and showed the rest of the bridge crew the written-out plan.
They all nodded or flicked their heads in acknowledgment before saluting their captain to let him know they were with him as they began preparations to play their part.
Khan looked at the bridge clock and saw that almost five minutes had passed, and he resumed his seat as he tried to calm his frayed nerves. A minute later, the viewscreen came back to life, and Command Unit 273’s synthesized voice came out of the speakers again.
Fugitive Rahul Khan, I have dropped the jamming field so your navigator can see the ship you will board. Any attempts to violate the agreed-upon conditions will result in the destruction of your ship and the death of your crew.
The warship I am sending will dock with your vessel in one minute, twelve seconds. You will have an additional sixty-five seconds to board the ship, or the agreement will be violated, and I will destroy your vessel. Acknowledge receipt of this message.
“I confirm, Dickhead Unit 273.” Khan replied as he gestured towards the overhead speakers with both middle fingers again. The bridge crew snickered at the clever insult he hurled at the AI despite the dangerous predicament they were in. They were pirates after all, and they enjoyed his defiance.
My designation is Command Unit 273. I reject your claim of possessing a hybridized penile head.
This time, the entire bridge laughed and hooted out loud, and even Khan found himself laughing at what Command Unit 273 just said. They abruptly stopped laughing when the much larger, void black warship appeared on the viewscreen and ominously filled it as it came closer.
Jameson changed the cameras to keep tabs on the warship as it began braking maneuvers and slipped alongside the Star. Khan turned as he heard gasping behind him, seeing Yuri leaning against the bridge hatch as he tried to catch his breath.
Yuri flashed him a broad smile and a thumbs up, and Khan nodded to him before signaling for the bridge crew to get ready. Jameson pulled up several camera feeds from the airlock and added them to the viewscreen.
The Faria device was inside the outer airlock, and Khan could see a much smaller device on the deck next to it, which would be the life signs spoofer. The outer airlock was lined with a shiny, metallic fabric except for the exterior airlock doors leading to space.
On the other side of the inner airlock, they could see Sheila and Zarl operating another device that was projecting a disruption wave against the inner airlock doors that would prevent the Faria device from penetrating the rest of the ship.
The ship trembled slightly as the warship engaged mag locks against the hull, and Khan held his right fist in a hold signal for the bridge crew while using his left hand to toggle the comm node Yuri had just given him.
The exterior camera feed showed the warship extending the universal airlock tube, and Khan saw the cloud of gases being expelled as the flexible tube conformed around the exterior airlock hatch before sealing itself.
The exterior hatch camera feed showed the warship's exterior airlock hatch door opening, and two androids emerged from it, easily identified by their yellow eyes and the fact that they had no void helmets or pressure skinsuits.
Each android was carrying a stunner rifle, and they marched through the 3-meter-long tube before stopping in front of the Star’s exterior airlock doors. One of them made a fist and banged against the airlock door three times.
Khan toggled the comm node and spoke quietly into it. “We good, Sheila?”
Sheila responded immediately, almost whispering. “Aye, Captain. Ready for the transfer.”
“Hit it!” Khan screamed into the comm node as he brought down his left fist in a slashing motion. The bridge crew went into immediate action as Sheila activated the emergency decompression system of the outer airlock.
Instead of the airlock door slowly opening to allow the atmospheric pressure differential on both sides of the airlock to equalize, the hatch door slammed open into its recess in the hull.
The two androids were thrown back down the tube as they were knocked back by the rapid decompression of the intentionally overpressurized outer airlock atmosphere.
The Faria device activated, sending a blast of shimmering energy that was reflected off the surrounding metallic fabric and out of the Star’s airlock. The silvery blue wave shot through the tube and into the open airlock of the warship as the Faria device continued to pulse and grow stronger.
“They are losing power!” The sensor tech yelled out excitedly.
“Jameson, get us out of here! Break away from the mag locks; we’ll repair the damage later!” Khan yelled out as he began to hear the whining sounds of the null space engines feeding the capacitors.
Jameson grunted in reply as he activated the port positioning thrusters and had the starboard thrusters slide along their tracks encircling the ship. He added their thrusting power to the breakaway attempt as soon as they reached the port side, and a loud groaning sound filled the ship.
Khan winced as he heard the horrible sounds of metal tearing apart, and he activated his chair harness system just in time to prevent himself from being thrown about like a ragdoll as the ship lurched and then broke free from the mag locks.
“Get us out of here! Flash into null space as soon as we can!” Khan yelled out to be heard over the din of the bridge crew coordinating among each other.
Jameson increased engine power to 115% and pivoted the ship before blasting the Star away from the Republic warship. On the screen, he could see the chunks of hull still attached to the warship’s maglocks as the Star rapidly moved away from it.
The black Republic warship was doing a good job of pretending to be affected by the Faria device as the internal lights flickered sporadically throughout the ship and it began to drift like it was no longer being controlled.
The weapons station yelled out. “Captain, weapons are being locked on us! Should I fire on them?”
“No! Jameson, evasive maneuvers! How much further before we can flash out?”
“2,000 kilometers!” Jameson responded as he struggled to initiate evasive maneuvers while still creating distance between them and the powerless warship. Khan was thrown against his harness again as the Star was slammed by weapons fire from other Republic warships.
“Captain, they have fired missiles and triple shots! Impact in twelve seconds!” the weapons officer called out.
“Activate the point defenses and deploy the decoys!” Khan barked out as Jameson continued to steer the ship on a wild evasion course to avoid the particle beams being fired at them.
On the viewscreen, the distance to flash out dropped rapidly, breaking past 500 kilometers. Khan heard the point defense system firing as the thumping sounds of the decoys being deployed rang the hull like a bell.
“Impact in six seconds!”
The point defense system continued firing, and the ship shook from a nearby explosion as a missile targeted one of the decoys and detonated less than a thousand meters away.
“Impact in three seconds!”
Shit. I thought this would work, Khan thought to himself as he clenched his body and gripped the arms of the chair in preparation for the ship being hit. Right before the triple bolts slammed into the ship, Jameson activated the null drive, and the bridge turned white as the ship made the transition.
After the transition disorientation passed, Khan looked around in shock, surprised they were still alive. The bridge crew was dead silent, and they all looked like how he felt.
Khan leaned his head back against his chair as he shook from the adrenaline coursing through his body. Utterly exhausted, he wearily called out to the weapons station.
“Weps, how close did that first bolt come to the hull?”
“Four meters, Captain.” The weapons officer replied, his voice trembling with raw emotion.
“Holy shit,” Khan replied, before he started nervously giggling at just how close they came to being destroyed.
The weapons officer heard him giggling and started laughing, and then Jameson turned his chair around and unclasped his seat harness before standing up and shoving his hand down the back of his pants.
“Yep, I shit my pants.” He stated plainly as he pulled his hand back out and sniffed it. The entire bridge fell apart at the sight of Jameson smelling his hand, and Khan deactivated his harness and fell to the floor, barely able to breathe as Jameson started heading to the bridge hatch with a weird shimmying walk.
Yuri was on his knees and laughing hysterically as Jameson walked by him, and he started gagging when the stench of Jameson’s crap-filled pants hit his nose. Khan couldn’t take it anymore, and he laughed uncontrollably as his eyes filled with tears at the sight of Yuri dry heaving.
As Khan surrendered to the sheer joy of being alive, he realized that he had come to love his crew and being their captain, despite them being a bunch of dirtbag pirates.
Ever since he had become captain, he had been moderating their behavior, and the crew had, for the most part, willingly accepted doing things differently. They were still pirates, but they were his pirates now.
Shit, Khan. What are you going to do with them when the time comes to turn them in? He thought to himself as he lay on the floor and stared at the overhead. Suddenly, he didn’t feel like laughing so much anymore.