After action

The officers all assembled around the table, round like king Arthur’s, and marked with the seal of Astaroth. When Astarte had requested a table fit for sacrificing goats and worshipping the dark lord, the Martian shipwrights obviously didn’t realize that it was a joke and produced an actual satanic sacrificial alter, black granite with gold inlays and coated with something that made it impossible for liquids to stain the surface. Karega had laughed at the dumb look on Aster’s face when she saw it for the first time.

“What were they supposed to think Aster, with all the other ‘strange’ requests we made they probably assumed we’re an actual satanic cult. Spreading goats blood and the name of Satan across the stars.”

“Why the hell would any sane and logical being assume that! It was a joke! They should have known from my stupid smile!” she had exclaimed.

“In their defense, your smile is akin to a torture’s sadistic grin. And besides aren’t you a Toolist, to Martians most of the ‘new saints’ all seem pretty devilish.”

“There is nothing evil about the new saints!” she snapped. “For fucks sake this whole ship is travesty, the halls, the doors, and now this. Remind me to never deal with MDY again!”

She been very upset with all the ‘quirks’ her new ship had, but after several years aboard she had come to think of them as the ship’s personality. And despite being a bunch of humorless idiots, they had built a solid ship that had gotten them out of several sticky situations. Besides where else would she go for a new ship? Martian Drive Yards, or MDY, were the only Terran shipwrights in the galaxy. On the plus side since they made the table to resist fluids like goats blood, so they didn’t need to bother with coasters for their coffee and just set the mugs down on the table. Small blessings.

The after-action report, AAR, was one of the ships oldest traditions, started before the ship had any formal officers. Learning how to be pirates and run their own ship had come with a steep learning curve and meetings like this helped her figure out how the ship could run more efficiently.

“We ran her to hard Sir.” Chief Heizer reported “My crew are currently pulling out parts that melted from friction or a burst coolant seal. I know the Astaroth was made to work at extreme temperatures and pressures, but she’s not a new ship anymore. We run her like that again and we’ll need that refit sooner than we thought.” Heizer concluded after an extensive report on the condition of the ship’s engines and reactors.

“Astaroth is only seven years old, and her engines and reactors are built for so much more than what we’re getting. Is there any way to improve performance? Because like it or not we need the edge that 7.6 provides.” Karega interrogated. It was an old discussion, one they touched on every chance they could.

“I’ve said it before, the engines and reactor could put out a lot more. But without proper cooling they would both turn to slag under their own power. Besides; in terms of capability we’re equivalent to a heavy cruiser, despite being a third their tonnage. That kind of power at our size means we have less cooling capacity. To have better cooling we need more space, more space means more mass, more mass means whatever boost we get from more cooling systems we lose because it will take more energy to move the ship. We’re as good as it gets right now. The refit will only replace the parts that are completely worn down and give us fewer cooling failures.” Heizer said, reiterating the same point he always made.

“We have to accept that right now this is Astaroth’s peak performance unless some new technology becomes available” Astarte interrupted. Karega looked like he had more to say but it wasn’t something they haven’t heard before. During these meeting the captain acted as a focus for the discourse and tried to keep everyone from getting stuck in the mud. She turned to Alice “Ghost, tell me what went wrong on the ground.

Alice ‘Ghost’ Fidelus was one of her two Marine captains. She and her sister Wendy had been brought to Aster by Captain Bell back when she was reorganizing the ship on Mars. Aster had discussed with her friend the creation of boarding teams specifically trained for the job, rather than storming the ship herself like she used to. In turn Bell had reached out to the Vet clans of America. A bunch of old US veterans who had joined together and established their own community and kept the old traditions alive.

They made a practice of taking in orphans and raising them, gave them all the surname of Fidelus/Faith, and molded them into strong warriors from a young age. They kept the old fire burning despite the century and a half of peace of time and the fact that the United States no longer existed. When Bell had inquired if any of them wanted to join their fleet, Alice and her sister Wendy were the first to come aboard. They brought other’s from the compound with them, and molded the newcomers into proper Marines just like old days before the Union had arrived.

Her sister had led Sin squad until she passed away. Wendy had taken a lead role in forming two different teams with their own strengths and weaknesses. Nowadays the Sins were led by Gato, who was absent from this meeting due to his severe injuries. Though if he were conscious Aster knew he would try to limp in and offer feed back.

“Nothing really, we breached with efficiency and were made aware of the mechs earlier on. The only reason Gato got hurt was because he decided to act as live bait for Gaw and couldn’t get away in time. We had to improvise because we didn’t have anything big enough to deal with armored mining mechs. And as good as this ‘space magic’ armor is, it can’t completely deal with a pure lance of concentrated plasma meant for cutting asteroids, or a steel beam dropped from fifty feet up.” She said, using the simplified term the marines had invented for any sufficiently advanced tech that was too hard to pronounce. ‘Space magic’ had become an easy catchall term for a lot of things that were too advanced to explain simply, and Astarte had trouble not using it herself. Especially when it came to discussing the complicated mechanics of warp fields.

“Maybe its time to look at some new equipment, we’ll have to talk to Toy man when we next visit Sol. Brown how long does Gato need?”

Doctor Bachir, or Doc Brown, was technically speaking the chief of his own division, equal to Highland, Heizer, and the marine captains. Even though said division had only one member. They still brought him into these meetings because he offered a great deal of insight into the health of the crew “Weeks, longer if we can’t keep him in bed to recover. I’m using the last of our Panacea on him, but I don’t have enough for a full recovery. Just enough to keep him from choking on his own blood. On that note I need more help, Doctor Djani is good, but we need some nurses. One that you marines wont steal” he growled towards Alice.

“If we didn’t have Brevot, Gato would have died before he got to your table. Besides he makes a great squad leader, and has been teaching all of us first aid suitable for combat.” Alice countered.

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“I’m working on it” Aster interrupted “But there are very few qualified medical practitioners willing to join a ship like ours.”

“Yes, we got lucky with Djani.” Brown agreed. “On that note, was she not aware of what kind of people we are?” he asked, his two beady eyes turning to Astarte, his ears fully swiveled towards her to hear whatever she had to say. Part of Astarte wanted to reach out and scratch him behind the ears, but she knew that many Mammaloids didn’t appreciate being demeaned like that. Bachir especially.

Alice’s ears twitched and swiveled to Bachir. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Doctor Djani left my wardroom for the bridge just before condition three and returned very shaken, ramblings about pirates. I wondered if she might not have been aware of who we were and what we did” He was growling now in that distinctly bear like way that sounded like the low rumble of a chainsaw.

Alice blinked in surprise and turned to Astarte, Aster sighed “Yes about that, before the most recent job Alwen Djani was not made aware of who we are and what we do. I fixed that. She now has a full grasp of the situation and is now signed on. However she refused to take the mark” the men and women assembled at the table grumbled. Astarte held up a hand “I am aware of what this means. Going forward there are a number of secrets the whole crew will need to exclude her from, Pandemonium, the Reclamationists, the greater Hellworlder fleet, and the Alliance. The next time her contract comes due she will either take the mark or leave.”

Aster watched as the people around her reacted to this news, Bachir sighed, Heizer scowled, and the Bosun appeared crestfallen, Alice just looked confused. “Wouldn’t it be way easier for her to take the mark if she knew what was really going on? To know we aren’t just bloodthirsty greedy pirates.”

“Yes it would,” Aster agreed. “But that is privileged information only meant for those who are marked. That is my final word in this, everyone here is to inform their divisions and maintain the secret.”

~~~*~~~

Alwen woke up that morning refreshed and happy, until last night’s anxieties returned to her. By the goddess she still couldn’t believe she was on a pirate ship, or that she had willingly signed on.

‘Calm down Alwen, just because you joined a pirate ship doesn’t mean you’re a pirate. You’re still just a doctor helping people, just like always.’ She thought to herself. As long as she remained faithful to her vows then Alwen was certain that wouldn’t really become a pirate. The goddess taught compassion, charity, and kindness, everyone who devoted their lives to the orders of Ashendra swore vows of pacifism and committed to helping people. Ashendra’s followers were the doctors, social workers, and first responders of Torwen. They were the glue and grease that helped to promote the common good, and that wouldn’t change just because she joined a pirate ship.

There were many tales of Ashendra’s followers who went to dangerous places to do her work. In the Sun god’s war, thousands of doctors marched to the front lines as medics for both sides of the conflict that covered the globe, despite the hate and violence they received from sun god’s worshipers, and the cold glares on their own nations soldiers for helping the enemy.

She dressed silently and left for the mess deck. She had woken much later than most of the crew, but doctor Bachir had ordered her to get as much sleep as she could, so she wasn’t late yet. Adela’s divine cooking filled her nose and her stomach growled aggressively, she followed her nose into the mess deck and only stopped when she realized that everyone had turned to stare at her as she walked in. She tried to wave towards Isabela and Gabriel, but they wouldn’t acknowledge her.

She continued on to the front where Adela had left the flurry of her kitchen to the other cooks and stared at Alwen with crossed arms. “So you refused the mark?” the chef asked bluntly.

“Yes” Alwen answered, she had been expecting something like this, it was just like that time in med school when people realized who her father was and kept their distance.

“Can I convince you to change your mind?” a voice asked behind Alwen.

She turned to see Alice was staring at her with flattened ears. “I’m sorry, but no. I am already sworn to my goddess and her orders of pacifism, I can’t sign permanently sign on to a pirate ship.”

“I see, and you didn’t really know who we were?” Alice pressed.

“No”

“I see, do you still want to be friends?” she asked, a little hitch in her voice told Alwen this was important.

Alwen frowned to herself, followers of the goddess couldn’t swear themselves to outside gods, gods who were not a part of Torwen’s pact. It was a major instigator of the Sun gods war, and a personal justification she had made for not taking the mark. But it didn’t forbid befriending other people, and Alice had been very nice to Alwen “I don’t see why not” she said after a moment of thought.

Alice smiled, exposing many pearly whit fangs. “Good, you seem like a good person. Now do yourself a favor and cover your ears” she said with a wink before turning to the rest of the room. “YOU HEAR THAT FUCKTARDS, SHE’S ONE OF US. ANYONE WHO GIVES HER A HARD TIME WILL ANSWER TO ME AND MY MARINES. UNDERSTOOD? She roared; the power of her voice resonated deep within Alwen’s chest. Sound like that was purely unnatural.

The whole mess deck shot to attention and roared back “YES MAM!”

Alice’s tail was swishing back and forth mischievously as she turned back to Alwen “well that’s that. Now Limey tells me you’re in deadly need of some conditioning. As your friend I would be personally offended if you trained with those meathead fuckers from Sin squad. It would be really appreciated if you trained with us instead”

Alwen gulped “It’s going to hurt, isn’t it?”

“Of course, that’s how you know its working”s

~~~*~~~

Pain, that was all Gato felt, even through the haze that shrouded his mind. He was used to pain, but not like this. He gritted his teeth and tried to orient his thoughts. His last memories were of running, something hitting his head and knocked him down, and something else piercing his back, then…a light and…a purple angel?

Angel didn’t sound right; Gato was already bound for Hell even before he joined the Astaroth’s crew. Maybe she was a devil? That also didn’t seem right.

He tried to move his arms but found that they were strapped to a bed rail. A torture room then, maybe this was Hell. He kept his eyes closed and tried not to show any movement as he tested the bindings, too tight to break, damn.

He strained his ears to hear anything that might help, someone was in the corner fiddling with something metalic, thumbscrews? He waited for several moments when a new sound appeared. Heavy footsteps, not from weight but exhaustion. He knew that sound well. From the gait he guessed that the newcomer was bipedal, and short. He heard a chair creak from where he had heard the metallic sound and guessed that the first torturer was a very heavy person. If that weight was from muscle and not fat then he would have to eliminate him first, assuming the second person didn’t have a weapon at least.

“You’re late,” the voice in the corner grumbled.

“I sorry Doctor, I was forced to join a marine workout” a pleasant female voice said, breathless from her jog.

“Sin squad or Virtue?”

“Uh, it was…Temperance?” the female said, the words were strange in her mouth, like she was unused to the syllables of English words, and he could pick out a strange unfamiliar accent.

“Good, you’ll still have the energy to work today then” the ‘Doctor’ chuckled, did he know that voice from somewhere? “Check on Gato, I think he’s awake but doesn’t want me to know”

Things clicked into place for Gato. He wasn’t, dead just in the med bay. The corner voice was Brown, and the women, the women? He didn’t know who the women was, but from context he guessed she was his angel.

“Already? We gave enough sedatives to kill a Oroptith”

“Is that a type of large land mammal?”

“Big fish with a long, they hunt in packs and are frighteningly intelligent”

“Like Orcas then. Gato has been enhanced with bionic and cybernetic systems, a part of their job is to help him more efficiently metabolize food and drink. It also means pain killers and sedatives are not as effective on him” Brown explained to the stranger.

The face of the purple angel appeared over him “really, I couldn’t tell when I had his chest open.”

“Thas cuz therr speshial” Gato slurred. “Could ya leh me go”

“That depends” Doc Brown said as he stood up and lumbar over. “Why were you pretending to be asleep still?”

“I though’chyu were a demon, ann you were gonna torture me. I waz gonna get the jump on yoo”

The doctor didn’t show any surprise unlike the purple angel women “I thought so, you are a danger to yourself and the crew until your recovered. Unless you would like me to take you off the pain killers”

“Nah shanck-yoo”

“I thought so. Gato this is Doctor Djani, she will be taking care of you while your strapped down.”

“Du, Duh-j. Hmm, Violet” Gato said giving upon the strange name. “So yer’ not an angel”

The young doctor turned a deeper shade of purple and fiddled with the morphine drip, “Uh, no. And if my name is to hard you can call me Bones.”

“But yer purple, or violet. Those seem better to me” he grumbled before the increased sedatives made him drowsy. “You’re Vi-” he mumbled before drifting off.