Harem - English version [onc2024]

Chapter one

'Captain? I need you on the bridge right now. The AI registers an extensive asteroid field. And... oh no!'⁷⁶

That last exclamation does not bode well, and I look up abruptly from my seat that is at the back of the command module. My entire view is dominated by the aforementioned asteroid field, making me think the onboard computer is definitely a slow device, but then I see a bright light moving far too certain from behind a large chunk of the field.

We're having company.

The other spacecraft is growing increasingly, and to make things worse, smaller spacecraft are splitting off from their mothership. Since they're not making any connection, I know they have a hostile intent.

Captain Nayel arrives and observes the space.

'We are under attack.' He sounds calm, but I notice how his hands are shaking.

'Your orders?'

'Prepare for battle.'

The lieutenant repeats the words into the microphone, alerting the others in the ship. Everyone has his own task and knows exactly what to do, exactly like I do.

At the moment I was just cleaning my weapon, which is what I always do at a moment of rest, but I quickly start clicking it together with sure movements. Years of experience make that effortless, even in a stressful circumstance like this. I will never run out of ammunition, because the weapon emits laser beams,

'Sim1, get ready,' Lieutenant Cr@x growls at me, and I nod impatiently. He often gives me and Ray negative attention because he thinks our species is just a weak race, but I passed martial school on the planet Juua with flying colors, and surely that school is the best known in the entire universe.

With combined forces, I lift the cyber cannon onto the chair. When the battle starts, I will transfer it to my shoulder. Once it is stable there, I will be lethal. For now I give my body some rest.

'Ready,' I say.

I see Ray and Malahkii storm in. Of all the soldiers, I have the best relationship with them. Malahkii is a beast on the outside, but on the inside he has a small heart and I like to tease him with pointed remarks. But as soon as he gets angry, I make sure to run and take cover.

The ship suddenly shakes aggressively. We have been struck.

'Put on your oxygen mask,' Ray warns me.

Obeying his command doesn't make much sense when there's a hole in our ship; the intense cold in space is deadly enough, but I still obediently do as he says. My mask makes me look more fearsome, because Cr@x is right about that: we Earthlings have only a tame appearance compared to most other races.

'They riveted us,' someone shouts far too close to my ear.

Our outer missiles fire, but don't hit a target. Our enemy knows what they're doing.

They are also very fast. Their goal has long since been clear to me: they want to capture us alive and then sell us as slaves. Protesting fresh blood always does well in the marketplace.

Although slavery has long been outlawed by the intergalactic agreement, the six-hundred-thirteenth galaxy is simply too big to keep track of everything, and everyone knows it. That danger provides a piece of essential excitement, and while I do need that rush, I also feel some regret seeping through as I think back on that decision.

But of course such thoughts are of no use to me, because we live in the now – and now we are under attack. I finally get to let loose on a real adversary.

The enemy ship is bigger than ours and we are being dragged away unmercifully, like sheep to the slaughter. I didn't know there was a planet or asteroid nearby, because ships of this size can't do such a thing for a long time.

However, it's not like the captain informs me of his actions: my rank as a soldier is too low for that. I don't even know where exactly in the universe I am.

'Get ready to enter the atmosphere,' Ray calls out. As the asteroid field gives way I see what he'd realized already; we are indeed approaching a planet. Its dimensions expand at lightning speed until it occupies our entire field of vision. The details of an inhospitable place also become increasingly clear, and it soon hits me that if humanoids live here, one can only survive beneath the crust.

A gaping hole supports that theory, especially as we fly toward it - still at that murderous speed. 

'What's this planet called?' I wouldn't know what to do with the answer, but somehow I feel calmer when I have a little more information than I do now.

'Serail,' Ray says briefly.

As I thought, it doesn't ring a bell.

I nod briefly and then brace myself. We fly into the opening, which acts as a sluice. Heavy doors are briefly open, but are soon permanently slid shut behind us.

If we manage to fight our way free, that's the next problem we have to deal with.

We land and the tension on our ship increases. The captain is of the nervous kind and he has his lieutenants surrounding him. Although I know his race is known to be fearful, I did not expect him to act accordingly. He is our captain and he should act as our leader.

I have no time to pay further attention to him, however, because now my task begins.

The large loading ramp in the hull is opened and my fellow soldiers start firing. However, after stocking up our weapons, me and my two friends do not move. We are protecting the bridge.

Now that things are getting serious, I feel my body tighten up. No matter how many simulations I have attended and how many battles I have fought, those were all exercises. This reality is a lot more vehement then I thought.

"Sim1, focus!" shouts Ray. He's an old hand in the business and thus about seven years older than me. We know at forehand what we're getting into and also that we don't have to build up a pension.

His warning is also his last comment, as his head gets blown off. One moment I am looking at my mentor, my friend, and the next moment his body staggers and his weapon clatters to the floor, between the chairs. His disembodied body falls heavily behind it.

My brain jumps to zero. Vaguely I hear someone yell that they need to keep us alive, to which a corner of my brain responds that they should have said that before. For Ray, that comment comes too late.

Malahkii nudges me, awakening me from my frozen position. He's not the talkative sort, but he knows I have to fight now. I am a soldier and I must act accordingly.

I give him a serious nod and then hoist my cannon further onto my shoulder. The opponent has to keep us alive, but we don't have that hindrance, so I begin to shoot systematically in front of me. It is necessary for me to avenge Ray.

To my great frustration, we are dealing mainly with robots. They have no feeling and no heart: they are merely tools for their owner. It will not hurt them if such equipment breaks down, because that is exactly what they're built for. We, the exotic captives, will give them far more money than this calculated costs.  

They are flowing forward in large numbers and will not be stopped by their metal brothers who are piling up. I try to catch the few commanders of the robots, but they know better than to expose themselves. I scream in frustration and keep shooting, although I am pushed back further and further.

Within far too short a time, my biggest weapon is taken from me. The laser guns I grab next have little effect. Besides, there is no more room for me to turn around, there are too many robots on the bridge by now.

'Let me go,' I hear the captain shout, but it is of no use.

The ship has been captured, as we are ourselves.

***

⁷⁶Prompt 76: "Cap? Need you on de bridge now. The AI registers an extensive asteroid field. And... oh my God!"