To Hell and Back (Hellworlder pirates)

Ch17 Date

Date

The operation was a huge success. Every member of the Circe's crew were found and accounted for, and Brown said they were still in pretty good condition. They couldn't say the same for the Torweni captives they had found, they would need months of recovery in a hospital on their homeworld. And there was way to much mental baggage to ever hope for a full recovery on that front. But better that than whatever the rest of their lives as slave held for them.

She (who's she)spoke with the captain of the Circe and they were able to positively identify the captain of the Coiled strike and confirmed their suspicions. She felt a cold sort of furry when the captain said that they were specifically targeted. She had spent years driving other pirates out of Orion, and now those snaky bastards thought they could turn her own tactics against her. Their punishment would have to come later though.

In the meanwhile Aster and Karega drafted plans for installing auto turrets and other internal defenses in all her freighters. And ordered the crews be trained to repel boarders with prejudice. She considered equipping the ships with nerve gas or anthrax, but only an idiot would board a ship without pressure suits. Instead they drafted protocols for a ships captain to engage a reactor overload in case of certain capture.

Technically modern spaceship reactors weren't the kind to overload easily, part of the trouble in using thorium and helium-3. But maybe she could sneak a small warhead in. If not that then something else.

They had been moving towards Bravo-Alpha-Alpha (rendezvous)for ten days, they should be arriving within another two days, after that it would all depend on whether Asmodeus was there and waiting, or if they had to wait.

Karega joined her on the command deck "We just got word from Femeri"

She turned and scowled towards him "What news?"

"Our reservations of course" he smiled with everyone of those perfect white teeth of his.

She blinked in surprise before her scowl returned, "I was joking when I said I wanted to reserve the whole restaurant Kar. Do you know how much that will cost us?"

"I only got us three nights worth. Not enough for the whole crew, but enough for the officers, command, and a few special crew men who prove themselves. We can call it a treat"

"Do they know we're Hellworlders?"

His smile broadened and Astarte worried that ment she was rubbing off on him "Not a clue, but they can't turn us away. Because we paid for this reservation in advance, which means they can't refuse service after we've already paid for the service."

"You've been speaking with the horsemen haven't you?"

"It was Famines idea"

She laughed at that irony. "Alright I'll consent, when is it?"

"Our first night is in 34 days away, since we're only ten days out from Femeri that gives us a little bit of time to do some work in the vicinity. And I just got news from the Torweni"

"What news?" she repeated, Karega rarely ever got to yank her chain, and he was reveling in the chance he had apparently gotten.

"They are very thankful that we found some of there lost people, and they are announcing a reward for ever Torweni forcibly taken off world. And word from the Contact on Femeri is that there might be a Kruhur station with in a hundred light years from Torwen."